How To Maintain Muscle Mass

We all know how much persistence and consistency it takes to get a great physique.

• You have to hit the weights 3-5 times per week, every week, for at least 1-2 years.
• You often have to also find time for a couple hours of cardio per week.
• You have to watch what you eat, regulating intake to meet your goals of gaining or losing weight.

While some of us learn to enjoy the process, nobody ever said it was easy. It takes intense, regular work.

Now, how do things change once you’ve achieved the type of body you desire? Do you have to work just as hard to keep a good physique as you do to build one?

If that question doesn’t matter so much to you–if you’re like me and you just enjoy the fitness lifestyle–then maybe this one will catch your interest:

How can you maintain muscle and strength when you’re not able to follow your regular exercise routine?

Although some of us would love to be able to hit the gym 5 times per week without any unplanned breaks, year-in, year-out…life will inevitably throw us curve balls.

Staying in shape while traveling can be tricky. The holidays are notorious for messing with schedules (and diets). Family and work often take precedence over personal time.

Are you simply doomed to losing muscle and strength in such situations? Or is there an easy way to avert such problems?

Well, as you’ll see in this article, it’s much easier than most people think to maintain muscle and strength, and even continue to make gains.

Let’s get to it.

How Much Exercise it Takes to Maintain Muscle and Strength

I have good news for you:

It’s much easier to maintain a good physique and level of conditioning than it is to get there.

How easy, you ask?

Well, consider a study conducted by the University of Alberta with competitive rowers. After 10 weeks of weightlifting 3 times per week, 18 varsity female rowers were split into two groups. Both groups then did 6 weeks of maintenance resistance training, with one group training once per week, and the other twice per week.

The results? Both groups improved their strength in two exercises they performed each week, and maintained strength in the four others in their routine.

Yes, that’s right–according to that research, you can maintain your strength training just once per week. And that’s not the only study demonstrating this.

The University of Alabama at Birmingham conducted a study wherein subjects lifted weights 3 times per week (9 sets per workout) for 5 months, and then were assigned to one of three groups for the next eight months:

1. No exercise at all.
2. One weightlifting workout per week that consisted of 9 total sets.
3. One weightlifting workout per week that consisted of 3 total sets.

Over the course of the following 8 months, group 1 lost muscle (of course), but both groups 2 and 3 were able to maintain most of the muscle they had gained in the first part of the study, and even increase their strength.

So, what we can learn from these studies is this:

You can not only maintain muscle and strength training only 1-2 times per week, you can actually make gains.

Sure, you won’t be able to make the same kinds of gains as you can training 3-5 times per week, but you can do better than most people think.

• One study conducted by The University of Queensland showed that subjects that trained a muscle group twice per week made about 70% of the gains of those training three times per week.
• A study conducted by the University of Florida showed that subjects doing isometric training twice per week made about 80% of the gains of those training three times per week.
• Researchers from Laurentian University found that one group of subjects training twice per week, performing 27 total sets per week, made equal gains to another group training three times per week for the same number of sets.

The key takeaway here is that weekly workout volume is at least as important, if not more important than, workout frequency.

So, here’s the point that will come as a great relief to many:

Regardless of what’s going on in your life, if you can sneak away from the hustle and bustle for a couple hours per week, you can minimally keep your hard-earned gains.

Now, how do you best go about the training? What type of workouts will deliver the best results when you’re only training 1-2 times per week?

The Perfect “Muscle Maintenance” Program

When you can only train once or twice per week, what you do is very important.

If you’re in decent shape and simply hopped on some machines and got a pump, you certainly won’t make gains, and will almost certainly lose muscle over time.

The bottom line is when you reduce workout frequency, you have to increase volume and, most importantly, intensity (the amount of weight you’re lifting).

You also want to focus on exercises that recruit the maximum amount of muscle, which are the big compound lifts like Deadlifts, Squats, Bench Press, and Military Press.

I could delve into some more advanced physiology here to further explain the relationship between frequency, volume, intensity, and exercise choice, but let’s save that theory for another post and get to the practical.

Here’s how to get the most out of training twice per week.

Training Twice Per Week

When you can only train twice per week, I recommend you use one day to train your push and pull muscles, and another day to focus on your legs, with a little additional push.

The following workouts take about an hour to complete. Rest 2-3 minutes in between each set, and take at least one day of rest in between each (two days of rest between each is ideal, I think).

Day 1: Push/Pull

Deadlift: Warm up and 3 sets 4-6 reps (80-85% of 1RM)

Bench Press: Warm up and 3 sets of 4-6 reps (80-85% of 1RM)

Barbell Row: 3 sets of 4-6 reps (80-85% of 1RM)

Military Press: 3 sets of 4-6 reps (80-85% of 1RM)

Day 2: Legs & Additional Push

Bench Press: Warm up and 3 sets of 4-6 reps (80-85% of 1RM)

Squat: Warm up and 3 sets 4-6 reps (80-85% of 1RM)

Hack Squat (sled, not barbell) or Leg Press: 3 sets of 4-6 reps (80-85% of 1RM)

Romanian Deadlift: 3 sets of 4-6 reps (80-85% of 1RM)

This is a brutally simple and effective workout. With it, you should expect to make gains, not simply remain the same.

It trains every major and minor muscle group in your body, and the emphasis on the 4-6 rep range focuses on inducing myofibrillar growth, which is ultimately what creates the big, strong, dense muscle that we all want.

As with any program, the most important factor in terms of making gains is progressive overload.That is, you have to keep adding weight to the bar as time goes on.

To do this, simply add weight once you hit 6 reps in a set. Go up 10 lbs, whether by adding 5 lbs to each side of the barbell, or moving up 5 lbs on dumbbells.

Training Once Per Week

If you can only train once per week, don’t despair–you can not only maintain muscle, strength, and conditioning, but you too can make gains.

The following workout hits every major muscle group in the body, and takes about 1:15 to complete. Rest 2-3 minutes in between each set. It’s hard, but very effective.

Squat: Warm up and 3 sets 4-6 reps (80-85% of 1RM)

Deadlift: Warm up and 3 sets 4-6 reps (80-85% of 1RM)

Bench Press: Warm up and 3 sets of 4-6 reps (80-85% of 1RM)

Barbell Row: 3 sets of 4-6 reps (80-85% of 1RM)

Military Press: 3 sets of 4-6 reps (80-85% of 1RM)

Again, nothing fancy here–just heavy, compound lifting, hitting your entire body. Move up on your weights as described above.

originally posted by muscleforlife.com 

The Beginners Workout Guide For Building Muscle

You’re an eternal beginner. You get on a program and fall off just as fast. You skip the gym if it’s raining.

Sound familiar? Don't blame yourself. Your problem probably isn't a weakness of character (although you need some steel in your spine too)—it's probably that you're not following the right strategy. Pry the snooze button off your alarm clock, because with a little effort, you can adopt good exercise and diet habits, thanks to this plan from Brian Grasso, a trainer and life coach in Montreal. (Photographs by Marius Bagge)

The Beginner's Guide to Interval Training >>>

The Beginner's Profile: If any of these points sound familiar, this workout's for you.

Mantra: “I’m just not consistent.”

Longest streak of consistent gym-going: 6 weeks

Best lifts: 225-pound bench press; “What’s a squat?”

Typical dinner: Anything/everything

You tell yourself: “If Carrot Top can get ripped, so can I.”

THREE THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE YOU START

Start Slow: “The body and mind are terribly homeostatic machines,” Grasso says. “They constantly search for comfort and consistency,” so deciding to make a slew of changes at once often leads to failure.

“Making minor amendments to your daily routine will fl y under the radar of your conscious thought and become positive habits.” In other words, if you start so gradually that you barely notice the change, you’ll be more apt to continue it and make more changes without them ever seeming daunting.

Train two days per week:This isn’t asking a lot, so try to go at the same times every week. Get used to making appointments with yourself and keeping them. But if you don’t feel like working out, don’t. Just go to the gym, walk in, and leave if you want. The important thing is that you establish the habit of going. At the very least, change into your workout clothes when you get there—you can change back out of them and leave right away. In no time, you’ll be going to the gym and staying to train, and regular exercise will be a part of your life.

Stand up straight: Want an easy way to tell if you’re performing your exercises correctly? Check your posture. The correct starting position for most exercises is shoulders back, chest out, standing (or sitting) tall, with your abs tight. Good posture, good form.

The Beginner's Guide to Weight Training >>>

THE BEGINNER'S MEAL PLAN

Your goal should be to eat at least one healthy meal per week. “I believe in making modest changes to the diet that don’t leave people feeling trapped and anxious to return to their old habits,” Grasso says. Choose just one meal to eat that you’re sure is healthy. Don’t psyche yourself out here—use common sense. Lean meat and fish, fruits and vegetables, whole grains and raw nuts and seeds are all fine. Eat what you like the rest of the day. Do this for two weeks and then up it to two healthy meals per day. Continue in that fashion and you’ll find you’re eating healthy most of the time. Get the full beginner's meal plan >>

HOW TO DO THIS WORKOUT ROUTINE

Frequency: Perform the two workouts (Day 1 and 2) once per week, resting at least a day between each.

Time Needed: 35 min

How to Do It: Perform the exercises marked with letters as a group. Do one set of A, rest, then one set of B, then rest (note that some groups have an exercise “C”), and repeat until all sets are complete. Then go on to the next group. Perform three sets of 8–10 reps for each exercise.

After 1 Month: By this point, working out has become part of your routine, and you look forward to it. If not, continue to at least show up at the gym (even if you don’t have the desire to go through with the workouts) until the habit sticks. Remember to continue adding healthy meals to your diet—you should be at two per day by now.

DAY 1

1A) Dumbbell Squat

Rest: 30 sec.

Hold a dumbbell in each hand and stand with your feet shoulder width apart. Squat down as low as you can while keeping an arch in your lower back.

1B) Push-Up

Rest: 60 sec.

Place your hands on the floor outside shoulder width and tighten your abs. Keeping your body straight, lower yourself until your chest is about an inch off the floor.

2A) Dumbbell Reverse Lunge

Rest: 30 sec.

Hold a dumbbell in each hand and step back with one leg. Lower your body until your rear knee nearly touches, and your front thigh is parallel to, the floor.

2B) Dumbbell Reverse Lunge

Rest: 30 sec.

Hold a dumbbell in each hand and step back with one leg. Lower your body until your rear knee nearly touches, and your front thigh is parallel to, the floor.

2B) Standing Dumbbell Shoulder Press

Rest: 60 sec.

Hold a dumbbell in each hand at shoulder level. Brace your abs and press the weights straight overhead.

3A) Bulgarian Split Squat

Rest: 30 sec.

Rest the top of one foot behind you on a bench or chair. Lower yourself using your support leg until your rear knee nearly touches the floor.

3B) Dip

Rest: 30 sec.

Grab onto the parallel bars of a dip station and lower your body until your upper arms are parallel to the floor. If you can’t do dips, do a lying triceps extension with an EZ-curl bar

3C) Russian Twist

Rest: 60 sec.

Sit on the floor with a dumbbell or weight plate in both hands and recline your torso to a 45-degree angle. Hold your arms out straight and twist as far as you can in one direction and then to the other side.

4) Stationary Bike

Pedal at a moderately hard pace for 12–20 minutes.

DAY 2

1A) Dumbbell Romanian Deadlift

Rest: 60 sec.

Hold a dumbbell in each hand with the weights against your thighs. Bend your hips back and lower your torso, allowing your knees to bend as needed, until you feel your lower back is beginning to lose its arch. Squeeze your glutes and hamstrings to come back up.

1B) One-arm Dumbbell Row

Rest: 60 sec.

Grab a dumbbell in one hand, and rest the other hand and knee on a bench. Let your arm hang straight down. Keeping your lower back in its natural arch, row the weight until it touches your side. Perform all your reps with one arm first, and then switch arms and repeat.

2A) Straight-leg Glute Bridge

Rest: 60 sec.

Lie on your back on the floor and rest your heels on a bench or chair. Brace your abs and push onto your heels to raise your hips off the floor until your body forms a straight line.

2B) Lat Pull-down

Rest: 60 sec.

Sit at a lat pulldown station and hold the bar with an outsideshoulder- width grip. Pull the bar down to your collarbone

3A) Dumbbell Single-leg Deadlift

Rest: 60 sec.

Hold a dumbbellwith one hand and stand on the opposite leg. Keeping your lower back arched, bend forward at the hips as far as you can and then extend your hips to come back up. Complete all your reps on one side and then switch sides.

3B) Dumbbell Biceps Curl

Rest: 60 sec.

Hold a dumbbell in each hand and, keeping your upper arms against your sides, curl the weights up to shoulder level.

3C) Plank

Rest: 60 sec.

Get on the floor in push-up position, then lower your weight onto your forearms. Brace your abs and hold the position—body completely straight—for 60 seconds, or as long as you can.

4) Stationary Bike

Pedal at a moderately hard pace for 12–20 minutes.

originally posted by mensfitness.com

How To Properly Track Your Fitness Progress

 Earlier this week I passed along four success stories from readers who saw freaking awesome results in just six weeks.  Last month, I shared my talk at Google that contained more success stories with fellow nerds who made incredible changes and drastically changed their lives over the course of a few months.

Some people gained strength and muscle while others lost tremendous amounts of weight and body fat; despite the differing goals and vastly different results, they all made one specific change that helped them truly get the results they wanted:

They wrote everything down.

If you’re serious about making changes to your life and getting in shape, I cannot stress enough the importance of tracking your progress, and I don’t mean just stepping on the scale every morning and freaking out every time it goes up 1/10th of a pound.  I’m talking about a plan that allows you to find and stay on the right path.

Luckily, I’m here to help you start putting these practices in place TODAY.

In the immortal words of that overweight Italian plumber, “here we gooooooo!”

The Importance of Tracking Everything

Does this sound familiar?

1. You decide you want to get in shape
2. You go for runs every day for a week and try to eat less food
3. You step on the scale every day for a week and the numbers go down. Yaaaay!
4. You go to a cookout on a Sunday, step on the scale on Monday, and its higher than before!
5. You freak out, go crazy, and fall off the wagon
6. Lather, rinse, repeat

I’d guess this is 80% of people who try and fail to get in shape. Fortunately, you’re reading Nerd Fitness which means you’re most likely smart, incredibly good looking, humble, and aware that doing the same thing over and over again while expecting different results is the definition of insanity.  On top of that, you understand and value the importance of tracking your progress – as the saying goes “that which get measured gets improved.”  This is true specifically for these reasons:

• Scales don’t tell the whole story. I’ve already covered my thoughts on scales. If you are training the right way (with an emphasis on strength training), your weight might not drop as fast as it would if you starved yourself and ran 20 miles a day.  Heck, you might be getting stronger and more muscular but the scale refuses to budge.  Now, if you only had a scale as your ‘measuring stick,’ you’d probably get super discouraged and depressed at the lack of “progress.”  However, if you were tracking your body changes properly, you’d realize that you are making far more significant and healthier progress by doing things the right way.  At the end of Saint’s journey to the Ab-promise land, his weight WENT UP while his body fat percentage went down.  The scale can lie!
• You don’t know if you’re on the right path. Along with the scale not telling the whole story, it’s tough to tell if you’re losing the right kind of weight in the right kind of places.  There are so many other aspects to consider other than the number on the scale, including how you look, feel, and where the weight loss is coming from – your muscles or your stored fat.  It’s like driving cross country without a map, compass, road signs, or land marks to use – how do you know you’re going the right way if you have no idea where you were or where you’re headed?
• You don’t know how much you’re eating. If you’re overweight, you probably don’t realize how many calories you consume on a daily basis.  If you’re underweight and “can’t gain weight no matter what you eat,” you probably don’t realize how many calories you consume on a daily basis.  Americans have such a warped sense of reality when it comes to proper “portion size” and what constitutes a meal.  We need to be better informed.
• You can’t tell if you’re getting stronger. Our bodies need to be constantly challenged in order to adapt and get stronger.  If you do three sets of 10 push ups every day for a year…you will just be really good at doing 3 sets of 10 push ups and nothing more.  You need to constantly increase the difficulty of your workouts in order to get results.  If you didn’t know how you did last time, how the hell are you going to know if you’re doing better this time?
• That which is measured gets improved! I’m sure there are actual psychological reasons behind why this works, but I know that I get better results when I exercise if I know EXACTLY what I need to lift or how fast I need to run to get stronger and better.  If I did 30 push ups in a row last week, then this week I have “31! 31! 31!” emblazoned in my mind while doing them…sure enough I’ll get to 31.  On top of that, if you’re constantly keeping track of what you eat, taking measurements, and tracking your workouts, you will always be thinking “healthy!” and thus make healthier decisions on a more consistent basis.

Hopefully at this point you’ve at least come to the conclusion that maybe you should start tracking your progress.  “Yes Steve, I have seen the light and I’m ready to start tracking my progress…tell me what the hell I need to do!”

PERFECT.  Here’s how to do it.

Track Your Body

THE NUMBER ON THE SCALE DOES NOT DEFINE YOU! When you strength train and eat properly, your body tends to only shed fat while keeping the muscle you already have.  Compare that to crash dieting and hours of cardio where your “weight loss” will be greater…but you’ll be losing both muscle and fat (and leave you looking and feeling like a weakling).

By tracking your body composition in more than one way, you’ll have a more accurate view of what’s working and what’s not working with your training.  If after a few weeks you’re not losing the right kind of weight, you’ll know that you need to make some adjustments.

Before we get into metrics, let’s set one ground rule: Don’t track everything on a day-to-day basis.  Our bodies are incredibly complex pieces of machinery where all kinds of crazy stuff happens all day and all night.  Our weight can fluctuate by many pounds over the course of a day.  Measuring EVERY day will promote an unhealthy OCD behavior where every tiny little change will be scrutinized and blown out of proportion.   So, measure yourself once a week at the same time, I advices after you wake up and before you eat breakfast.  Depending on your schedule, I’d either pick Friday or Monday mornings to track all of your measurements – if you tend to let yourself go on the weekends, I’d advise doing your measurements on Friday morning so that you’ll have a whole week to get back on track and see long-term changes.

Here are the best ways to track yourself OTHER than a scale:

Take a picture – My favorite method.  Stand in front of a mirror in a bathing suit or your underwear with your cell phone camera and take a picture.  Then turn to the side and take another picture of your profile view.  You might not like what you see.  You might not want to look at it again, and you probably won’t want to show it to anybody.  THAT’S FINE.  Just take the picture, hide it in a folder on your computer, and add to it once a week.  You live with yourself (duh), so it’s tough to notice changes on a day-to-day basis.  However, if you have two months of week-to-week photos to look back on, you’ll be able to tell if your body is transitioning in the right way.

Take measurements – Go to a craft store and buy a cheap tape measure or buy one of these self-help tape measures.  Make sure your measurements are taken in the morning and not after your workout.  Also, make sure you measure the same location each week – kind of weird, I know, but I pick freckles on my arms and legs so I know exactly where to measure each week.  Take a circumference measurement at each of these spots and write it down:

-Neck (for most people, this is the thing that connects your body to your head)
-Shoulders (both arms down at your side, at the widest point from shoulder to shoulder)
-Chest (lift up your arms, wrap the tape measure around your chest, just above the nipple, and then lower your arms)
-Bicep (either left or right, but be consistent)
-Waist (at the belly button for consistency)
-Hips (measure the widest part of your hips)
-Thigh (left or right, but pick the same spot on your thigh each week)

Measure your body fat percentage – This one is a little tricky depending on your resources and financial situation.  If you are severely overweight, start by I’d put your focus on measuring inches and how you look with your pictures and then add this one in once you’ve had some success.  Now, if you ARE interested in tracking your body fat percentage, your best bet would be to purchase a simple body fat caliper if you’re strapped for cash.  If you want to be more accurate, pay $40-60 per visit and get your body fat tested at a Bod Pod Location – a wise investment once a month (or every other month) to make sure you’re on the right path.

I am NOT a fan of body fat calculators that are built into your scale as I find them to be wayyyy too hit and miss.

Important info about body fat percentage tracking – no test is truly 100% accurate, and the specific number isn’t nearly as important as how it’s changing from month to month.  If you do the body fat caliper method, make sure you measure in the same place each time, take multiple readings, and get an average.  Even if your method of tracking your body fat percentage is less than optimal, you can at least make sure you measure it the same way each time to measure if it’s trending in the right direction.

In my opinion, measuring inches and observing changes in pictures is a far better estimate.

Track Your Food

Are you aware of how many calories you eat on a daily basis? When I talk to somebody who is trying to gain weight/lose weight, the response is the same: “I eat enough for my goals, but I’m not getting results…I guess it’s genetics!”  Unfortunately, 95% of the time, it’s usually ignorance and not genetics.  Unless you’ve taken the time to actually count calories for a few days of your normal eating schedule, you probably have no freaking clue how many calories you eat!

You CAN’T outrun your fork – 80% of your successes or failures will be a direct result of how you eat. Although the quality of your calories consumed is incredibly important, the quantity of calories you consume is the first thing that needs to be fixed.  Think of your stomach as a muscle that adapts to its surroundings.  If you continually shovel 4000 calories down your throat, your body will start to crave 4000 calories even though it doesn’t need that many.

Most people eat the same few meals over and over again on a weekly basis – I do.For that reason, I don’t think it’s necessary for you to track ALL of your calories EVERY day for months and months.  However, I think spending a week writing down every calorie is incredibly important for your education and awareness on what you’re eating.  I’m talking every freaking calorie: that half of a Kat Kat bar at Judy’s desk when you stopped by to grab some cover pages for your  TPS reports, the handful of M&Ms you ate while watching 30Rock reruns on NetFlix, the five cans of Coke you drank while finishing up that late night project, and the six beers and three slices of pizza you crushed to celebrate afterwards.

Every. Single. Calorie.

Once you have an idea of how much you eat regularly, take a look in the mirror.  Do you like how you look?  If so, GREAT!  Keep doing what you’re doing.  If not, it’s probably time to make some changes.  Start by eating less, and training your stomach to expect less.  Once you have your numbers under control, you can startmaking some other healthy changes.

I understand writing down your calories can  be a pain in the ass, which is where sites like DailyBurn.com, SparkPeople, and the DailyPlate come in handy. They all have massive food databases that allow you to simply plug in what you ate (Big Mac, one apple, a gallon of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, etc.) and it keeps track of calories, protein, carbs, and fats for the day.

If you eat out a lot, you’ll have to do some research – go to the restaurant’s website and they’ll probably have nutritional information on there.  If they don’t have it online, do your best to estimate by picking a similar meal option on one of the sites listed above and use its meal information instead.

It doesn’t have to be perfect, but tracking your food for just a few days could be one of the most eye opening experiences you have when it comes to getting in shape.

Write it down, sucka!

Track Your Workouts

“Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?”
“That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the Cat.
“I don’t much care where–” said Alice.
“Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,” said the Cat.

When you exercise, do you do so with purpose? Do you know exactly what you’re going to do and how long it should take you?  Or do you kind of wander around the gym like a lost sheep, trying to figure out which machines look fun to use that day.  If you’re serious about getting in shape, you need to start tracking your workouts:

• If you did 3 sets of 10 push ups last week for a total of 30 push ups, you need to be able to do 31 total push ups this week to be stronger.
• If you did squats with 135 pounds last week, this week you better be squatting 136 pounds or more
• If you did 3 pull ups last week, you know you need to get to 4 this week if you want to be stronger.

Have a plan, know what kind of results you need to get in order to be better today than you were yesterday, and then GET THERE!  You can certainly use any of the sites listed above for diet tracking to keep track of your workouts too, but I personally prefer just using an Excel or Google document (when I’m strength training), or a simple new entry in Evernote (when I’m exercising while traveling).  I always know exactly how I did in my last workout so that I know what I need to do in this workout to get stronger.

As we’ve learned from the Spartans, “appearance is a consequence of fitness.” If you are focusing on getting stronger and faster, taking a more active role in how you eat, and you are consistently tracking your progress to make sure you are heading in the right direction, you WILL get the results you’re after.