Heather Lee is a bodybuilder, powerlifter and fitness model. You'll also see her occasionally performing in Strongman (Strongwoman?) competitions.
Aside from the usual range of photos that seem to go hand-in-hand with the sites of most fitness models, her training journal contains some interesting tidbits.
Updated 28/09/2009 : although I wrote this article more than 3 years ago, surprisingly little has changed - these guys are all still very much at the top of their game. Good stuff.
In that time, however, I've worked with a number of other trainers and coaches who combine various bodyweight and resistance training approaches. Chief among these - and the only one I would add to this list - is Adam Steer. Extremely creative, and well worth tracking down.
To get an idea of his current bodyweight training approach, check out the brilliant Bodyweight Blueprint. Love it.
If you've ever been tempted to incorporate a few bodyweight exercises into your training, you may like to look through a few of these sites for ideas.
Mike Mahler
Considered by many to be the foremost kettlebell instructor in the US, Mike Mahler brings a combined weighted/bodyweight approach - not to mention over a decade of experience as a Strength Trainer - to an ever-hungry audience.
He is the first to admit that a mixed approach is usually the best - he favours a blend of bodyweight, kettlebell, clubbell and traditional free weights in his routines. My thoughts exactly.
Matt Furey
Matt Furey has a wrestling background, switching from a successful career as a wrestler to one as a trainer in 1987. In 1990 he began studying various martial arts and gradually combined this knowldge with wrestling - writing his first book, The Martial Art of Wrestling, in 1996.
Also beginning in 1996, Furey won 3 national titles for the Chinese art of Shuai-Chiao - the oldest fom of Kung Fu - before winning the world title in 1997.
In 1999 Furey moved to Tampa, Florida, in order to commence training under Karl Gotch. Several books followed, including the infamous Combat Conditioning.
Scott Sonnon
Having a solid grounding in the Russian grappling art of Sambo, Scott Sonnon gradually formed a series of techniques all centred about the principle of 'dynamic flexibility' or 'flexibility in motion'.
These were based around CST - or Circular Strength Training - and made strong use of traditional items such as Clubbells. Clubbells in particular help to strengthen the joints through their entire range of motion.
Sonnon has written two key books on the subject of CST. The first, Body Flow, establishes the theory behind CST and provides a good range of exercises to demonstrate this. The second, Softwork, shatters the notion that there are fundamental differences between conventional fitness training and martial arts. CST walks - and blurs - the line between them.
Pavel Tsatsouline
www.powerbypavel.com
Pavel Tsatsouline (aka the 'Evil Russian') cut his teeth training members of the Spetsnaz (an elite Soviet special-forces unit) for a number of years before duplicating his successes with American agencies. Although perhaps most widely known for his Kettlebell skills and knowledge, Pavel trains people using a wide variety of both bodyweight and weighted techniques.
His thinking encompasses a concept rarely considered by many bodybuilders. Rather than increasing strength by adding muscle, he teaches methods of contracting existing muscle much harder. Naturally, both approaches have value; however it is far more common to see people 'building' than 'enhancing'.
Scrapper
http://www.trainforstrength.com/
The man now known as 'Scrapper' certainly has the credentials to train others in bodyweight exercises. Having spent over 10 years as a Navy diver (4 years of which was supporting Navy SEALs), he trained with World Jiu-Jitsu Champion and Super Brawl Champion Egan Inoue for 3 years; going on to win Future Brawl 6 in 1996 and his debut professional fighting match in 1999.
He has also worked for a number of years training various military personnel using his particular brand of physical fitness. This has proved to be astonishingly successful, with those who had previously failed PRTs finding themselves passing after his training. His Basic Training by Fish program has also enjoyed a 100% success rate in preparing candidates for SAR training.
Brooks Kubik
Realising that nearly 40 years of traditional weight training was beginning to take a toll (the usual nagging injuries gradually became more frequent, and more severe), Brooks Kubik completely redesigned his training regimen - based on a combination of bodyweight exercises and a few items more commonly associated with strongman and grip training.
This new training style quickly became the basis for Dinosaur Training, and a swag of books and DVDs soon followed. I have to say, it works.
But wait, there's more
If you need some more motivation, check out Alwyn Cosgrove's latest piece on EliteFTS. It may just change your thinking on the value of bodyweight training.
Update: Mich pointed me in the direction of Ross Enamait (of rossboxing.com fame), outlined below. A great find.
Ross Enamait
Ross Enamait has been involved in competitive athletics for over 20 years - baseball, soccer, US football, wrestling and most notably boxing. Unfortunately, the boxing resulted in injuries (fractured hands and damaged ligaments), which steered him toward the helping of others.
In addition to his formal education (Enamait is a certified trainer with the International Sports Sciences Association), he has trained with world champion Marlon Starling, title contender John Scully, Olympian Lawrence Clay-bey, and many other world-class athletes.
Updated 28/09/2009 : although I wrote this article more than 3 years ago, surprisingly little has changed - these guys are all still very much at the top of their game. Good stuff.
In that time, however, I've worked with a number of other trainers and coaches who combine various bodyweight and resistance training approaches. Chief among these - and the only one I would add to this list - is Adam Steer. Extremely creative, and well worth tracking down.
To get an idea of his current bodyweight training approach, check out the brilliant Bodyweight Blueprint. Love it.
If you've ever been tempted to incorporate a few bodyweight exercises into your training, you may like to look through a few of these sites for ideas.
Mike Mahler
Considered by many to be the foremost kettlebell instructor in the US, Mike Mahler brings a combined weighted/bodyweight approach - not to mention over a decade of experience as a Strength Trainer - to an ever-hungry audience.
He is the first to admit that a mixed approach is usually the best - he favours a blend of bodyweight, kettlebell, clubbell and traditional free weights in his routines. My thoughts exactly.
Matt Furey
Matt Furey has a wrestling background, switching from a successful career as a wrestler to one as a trainer in 1987. In 1990 he began studying various martial arts and gradually combined this knowldge with wrestling - writing his first book, The Martial Art of Wrestling, in 1996.
Also beginning in 1996, Furey won 3 national titles for the Chinese art of Shuai-Chiao - the oldest fom of Kung Fu - before winning the world title in 1997.
In 1999 Furey moved to Tampa, Florida, in order to commence training under Karl Gotch. Several books followed, including the infamous Combat Conditioning.
Scott Sonnon
Having a solid grounding in the Russian grappling art of Sambo, Scott Sonnon gradually formed a series of techniques all centred about the principle of 'dynamic flexibility' or 'flexibility in motion'.
These were based around CST - or Circular Strength Training - and made strong use of traditional items such as Clubbells. Clubbells in particular help to strengthen the joints through their entire range of motion.
Sonnon has written two key books on the subject of CST. The first, Body Flow, establishes the theory behind CST and provides a good range of exercises to demonstrate this. The second, Softwork, shatters the notion that there are fundamental differences between conventional fitness training and martial arts. CST walks - and blurs - the line between them.
Pavel Tsatsouline
www.powerbypavel.com
Pavel Tsatsouline (aka the 'Evil Russian') cut his teeth training members of the Spetsnaz (an elite Soviet special-forces unit) for a number of years before duplicating his successes with American agencies. Although perhaps most widely known for his Kettlebell skills and knowledge, Pavel trains people using a wide variety of both bodyweight and weighted techniques.
His thinking encompasses a concept rarely considered by many bodybuilders. Rather than increasing strength by adding muscle, he teaches methods of contracting existing muscle much harder. Naturally, both approaches have value; however it is far more common to see people 'building' than 'enhancing'.
Scrapper
http://www.trainforstrength.com/
The man now known as 'Scrapper' certainly has the credentials to train others in bodyweight exercises. Having spent over 10 years as a Navy diver (4 years of which was supporting Navy SEALs), he trained with World Jiu-Jitsu Champion and Super Brawl Champion Egan Inoue for 3 years; going on to win Future Brawl 6 in 1996 and his debut professional fighting match in 1999.
He has also worked for a number of years training various military personnel using his particular brand of physical fitness. This has proved to be astonishingly successful, with those who had previously failed PRTs finding themselves passing after his training. His Basic Training by Fish program has also enjoyed a 100% success rate in preparing candidates for SAR training.
Brooks Kubik
Realising that nearly 40 years of traditional weight training was beginning to take a toll (the usual nagging injuries gradually became more frequent, and more severe), Brooks Kubik completely redesigned his training regimen - based on a combination of bodyweight exercises and a few items more commonly associated with strongman and grip training.
This new training style quickly became the basis for Dinosaur Training, and a swag of books and DVDs soon followed. I have to say, it works.
But wait, there's more
If you need some more motivation, check out Alwyn Cosgrove's latest piece on EliteFTS. It may just change your thinking on the value of bodyweight training.
Update: Mich pointed me in the direction of Ross Enamait (of rossboxing.com fame), outlined below. A great find.
Ross Enamait
Ross Enamait has been involved in competitive athletics for over 20 years - baseball, soccer, US football, wrestling and most notably boxing. Unfortunately, the boxing resulted in injuries (fractured hands and damaged ligaments), which steered him toward the helping of others.
In addition to his formal education (Enamait is a certified trainer with the International Sports Sciences Association), he has trained with world champion Marlon Starling, title contender John Scully, Olympian Lawrence Clay-bey, and many other world-class athletes.
Yes, this book is a valuable resource for anyone who loves the iron - not just bodybuilders. Without being swayed by more recent debates such as the benefits of creatine, it's an excellent work on the fundamentals of good nutrition.
Despite being more than 20 years old, this book was well worth the money. In fact, my first thought was 'if this amount was known 20 years ago, why isn't it common knowledge now?'.
Columbu has certainly 'walked the walk', and for that reason I was more than keen to find out what he had to say on the subject of nutrition (I realise he's written a fair bit over the years, but up until now it's managed to elude me) . The book goes into a good level of detail on the basis for his diets, the many things he's tried over the years - some more successful than others - as well as some basic diet plans for anyone lifting weights.
Yes, this book is a valuable resource for anyone who loves the iron - not just bodybuilders. Without being swayed by more recent debates such as the benefits of creatine, it's an excellent work on the fundamentals of good nutrition.
It's been known for some time that muscle tends to waste away as we get older (over the age of 40, people start to lose up to 2% per year). A team of scientists at the INRAs Human Nutrition Research Centre in Auvergne has demonstrated that this loss - at least in rats - is prevented with sufficent Leucin supplementation.
So what is Leucin? Leucin is one of the essential amino acids (essential as the body needs it but doesn't produce it directly). As it's found in all protein foods, it isn't exactly difficult to come by. In fact, bodybuilders have been taking protein supplements with leucin for years. The study, however, focuses on the effects of muscle aging - and recommends, among other things, up to 9 or 10 grams per day (the average in the US is around 4 or 5) to reproduce the results shown.
For a little more detail, the findings by Lydie Combaret and colleagues were published in the December issue of the Journal of Physiology (vol 569, issue 2, pp 489-499).
It's been known for some time that muscle tends to waste away as we get older (over the age of 40, people start to lose up to 2% per year). A team of scientists at the INRAs Human Nutrition Research Centre in Auvergne has demonstrated that this loss - at least in rats - is prevented with sufficent Leucin supplementation.
So what is Leucin? Leucin is one of the essential amino acids (essential as the body needs it but doesn't produce it directly). As it's found in all protein foods, it isn't exactly difficult to come by. In fact, bodybuilders have been taking protein supplements with leucin for years. The study, however, focuses on the effects of muscle aging - and recommends, among other things, up to 9 or 10 grams per day (the average in the US is around 4 or 5) to reproduce the results shown.
For a little more detail, the findings by Lydie Combaret and colleagues were published in the December issue of the Journal of Physiology (vol 569, issue 2, pp 489-499).
I'm in the midst of a very slow bulking process. Rather than suffer the bodybuilder extremes of an intense bulk/cutting cycle, I elected to simply increase my daily caloric intake above my average requirements whilst making sure not to cook everything in bacon fat.
According to the US Military's Bodyfat Test (see below), I'm currently around 16%; and not showing signs of changing anytime soon. A repeat of the test in another couple of months should give me a reasonable indication of the quantity of muscle gained. With a little luck this will translate into improved results - for the big three at least.
US Military Body Fat testing
The Department of Defense formula for calculating approximate body fat is based on three measurements, and is :
% body fat = 86.010 x log10(abdomen - neck) - 70.041 x log10(height) + 36.76 (for males)
% body fat = 163.205 x log10(waist + hip - neck) - 97.684 x log10(height) - 78.387 (for females)
Naturally there are far more accurate methods of determining body fat; however this provides a reasonable approximation with a minimum of fuss.
For demonstration videos showing how the measurements should be taken, take a look at this site.
I'm in the midst of a very slow bulking process. Rather than suffer the bodybuilder extremes of an intense bulk/cutting cycle, I elected to simply increase my daily caloric intake above my average requirements whilst making sure not to cook everything in bacon fat.
According to the US Military's Bodyfat Test (see below), I'm currently around 16%; and not showing signs of changing anytime soon. A repeat of the test in another couple of months should give me a reasonable indication of the quantity of muscle gained. With a little luck this will translate into improved results - for the big three at least.
US Military Body Fat testing
The Department of Defense formula for calculating approximate body fat is based on three measurements, and is :
% body fat = 86.010 x log10(abdomen - neck) - 70.041 x log10(height) + 36.76 (for males)
% body fat = 163.205 x log10(waist + hip - neck) - 97.684 x log10(height) - 78.387 (for females)
Naturally there are far more accurate methods of determining body fat; however this provides a reasonable approximation with a minimum of fuss.
For demonstration videos showing how the measurements should be taken, take a look at this site.
Well that completes the first 12 weeks of resistance work, and I must say I'm hooked. During that period I've tried out a number of exercises with the aim of finding both those which are providing me with the greatest gains in strength, and those which I enjoy doing. Fortunately the two goals overlap in my new friend the Romanian Deadlift. I love it.
My goals for this period were to learn the basic techniques for these exercises, as well as establishing a base of strength for future work. After a decade of working behind a desk - and doing little or no strenuous exercise - I'm somewhat weaker and less flexible than I'd like to be.
The major changes over the first 12 weeks :
Now the fun part - setting goals for the next 3 months :
Flexibility
A few months of resistance work has given me a taste for the benefits of enhanced flexibility, which again goes toward the idea of making everyday tasks just that little bit easier. Rather than limit my increased flexibility to the period just after a workout when I am still warm, I'll be adding both dynamic and static stretching routines to the workouts in order to make the benefits available 24 hours a day.
I'm still considering ways in which to measure progress - for now I'll use photographic evidence as well as the standard measurements for things like hamstring flexibility (one of the main areas I want to improve).
Strength
My overall goals centre around strength, and I'm a little closer aligned to the mentality of a powerlifter than a bodybuilder in that respect. Once the hamstring/quad imbalance has been corrected, I want to include more compound lifts - particularly squats - to my routines. The idea of getting my hands on a reasonable power cage is still floating around; and this would certainly come in handy for max-effort squats and bench presses.
Training schedule
I've decided to move from 3 to 4 sessions per week, using a simplified Westside-style upper/lower/speed/strength breakup. The basic breakdown of days will be :
