1. Your body type- this is essential to mapping out challenging, yet attainable goals for your personal situation. Dr. William Sheldon identified over 88 distinct categories -called somatotypes- but generally it is enough to understand the differences between the three main categories: Ectomorphic, Mesomorphic, and Endomorphic (Encyclopedia of Bodybuilding, Robert Kennedy, 2008). For those of you who have not heard of these before the breakdown can be explained thus: Ectomorphs have very low body fat and often have a hard time adding mass of any kind, let alone muscle mass. Mesomorphs tend to be very muscular with a low body fat and can add muscle mass pretty easily. Endomorphs tend to have higher body fat and can put on mass easily, though not always the good kind ;)
2. There are generally three accepted categories of working loads (the weight and reps you use within a set), though this is not a rule by any means. Almost everyone has heard that you should perform a lot of reps at lighter weight for "toning," medium reps and weight for "hypertrophy," (muscle growth), and low reps of heavy weight for "strength." These categories can be generally true, however I have found that often the desired result has to be worked for using not only a specific working load, but also adjusting your rest periods, your cardio, your set tempo, and --likely most important-- your diet. For example, many bodybuilding programs actually use lighter weights for 20-30 reps in order to achieve hypertrophy, despite the fact that most people use that kind of working load with the goal of "toning" or slimming down. (An interesting WebMD article on building muscle mass with light weights can be found here)
3. Your muscles need time off to recover. As my powerlifting coach often said, "The magic happens when you are resting." Of course he wasn't saying I should lay in the sun for 18 hours a day slurping chalky protein shakes. We had to work hard, but we also had to give our bodies a break between sessions. Any worthwhile routine will include at least 24-72 hours of rest in between sessions that target the same muscle group. While our age, gender, and genetics will play a role in determining exactly how much rest we need between sessions, I find that I generally abide by a rule of two to three days between hitting the same muscle group. Sometimes, during heavier working load cycles I may increase the rest days. And, to be honest, I have made strength gains in as little as one gym session a week. (Not that I recommend that, but at the time my work schedule only allowed for one day at the gym, and I did the best I could with pushups and light dumbells on the other days.) Frank Zane was able to create his physique with a lot more rest days built in than the average gym rat gives themself today. (Look up Zane's book "Personal Training Diaries" for more on this.)
4. Your diet determines at least 70% of your results. Let's face it, would you buy a Ferrari and then pour just anything into the gas tank? Of course not, it wouldn't perform well and would likely ruin your machine if you used anything but the best fuel. Our bodies are similarly built and the old adage "you are what you eat" definitely comes into play, more than we may think about. Of course our exercise routines, stress levels, and sleep will all factor in as well, but our diet will make or break our goal of becoming Steel Dads. It is easy to eat everything in sight (well, if you don't have a gluten free diet that is) and then lift heavier poundages until you are bending the bar. The problem is you will also be bending your credit card buying a whole new wardrobe of baggy clothes and really, really big belts... that is not what a Steel Dad should be doing. On the opposite side of the spectrum it may be "possible" to eat only salad or cabbage soup to slim down, but then your body will be flung into a horrible catabolic cycle where it breaks down your muscle tissue to fuel its functions. Definitely not the right option. However, we don't need to count every calorie either. There is a happy medium. I concentrate on portion sizes. I keep carbs to "complex carbs," make sure I eat enough protein for my body (between 0.6 - 1.0 grams per pound of bodyweight) and try to limit my fat to about 20% of my daily caloric intake. My method may not work for you, but that is what I do. I also drink about two liters of water a day.
5. There are no magic pills! Supplements are expensive, may not work as advertised (or, perhaps probably is a better word) and can have many side effects. I certainly do not pretend to be a chemist, so I am not going to get into the nitty gritty here. What I am going to say is that I only use a protein shake, a multi vitamin, and an amino acid complex as my staple supplements. On occasion I will do two to four weeks of creatine to bust through a plateau. However, regardless of what supplement I use (don't worry, this isn't going to be a sneaky commercial here) I only buy products that I trust to be clean and safe. I look for the "NSF Certified for Sport" to ensure they have no banned substances, unlisted ingredients, or harmful impurities. After all, for me even a cross contamination with gluten can be a big problem, so I have to really trust what's going into my body. So the lesson here is, try to get as much of your nutrition from actual food as possible, and when using a supplement, make sure you know what is in it.
6. Weightlifters and Bodybuilders are not the same. This should be obvious, but many people confuse these two terms. Often a person who wants to build a bodybuilder physique will train like a weightlifter, make incredible gains for a while, and then quit because they don't look like the cover of this month's bodybuilding magazine. It is important to understand that overall (this is a big generalization here) weightlifters are primarily concerned with getting stronger to lift maximal weight. These are your power lifters. Bodybuilders train their bodies with weights to shape and form their muscles. Hence, they each train differently (although they often do mix in and do similar programs) concentrating on routines and programs that give them the desired results. (As a side note, many people think that bodybuilders are not strong because often they use lighter weights than their weightlifter counterparts. While this may be true, let us not dismiss a bodybuilder's strength. Former Mr. Olympia Ronnie Coleman told me he could bench well over 600 pounds. And Arnold describes going out in public to bench sets of 450 pounds after he had already completed his workout, just to see peoples' faces when he did it.) A Steel Dad's goal is to maximize his full potential. Thus he focuses on both types of lifting programs at precise intervals to achieve the goals I have set.
Obviously, it would require at least one entire book to get a good explanation of all of the different workout routines depending on your current physical condition, age, gender, goals etc. My intent with writing this entry is simply to prime your interest in educating yourself about all of the many variables that go into creating a workout program, and understand that no one person has the Golden Exercise Program. The good news is that any routine that touches on the five points above will likely give you some good results. The real key is to know your body and how it responds to training, and to dedicate yourself to the programs you decide to do. A Ferrari may be an amazing car- but if you keep it in the garage you will never feel the power. Likewise your body has amazing potential, but you have to get out there and make it happen!
I have several programs that I keep in my "go to" notebook, so please feel free to ask if you are looking for something new. In the meantime, you can follow my workouts and watch me as I work to become a Steel Dad. Feel free to comment on your own programs an your progress as well.
To get you started building a library of your own, I would suggest you read the following books (listed in no particular order)
- "Encyclopedia of Bodybuilding" by Robert Kennedy (one of my all time favorites)
- "Building the Classic Physique" by Steve Reeves
- "The New Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding" by Arnold Schwarzenegger
- "Body for Life" by Bill Phillips
- "The Workouts, Personal Training Diaries" by Frank Zane
- "Brother Iron, Sister Steel" by Dave Draper
- "Brawn" by Stuart McRobert
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