Odds and Ends for Experiencing the Arnold

This is just a short list of tips (some humorous) to keep in mind when visiting the Arnold Sports Festival here in Columbus, Ohio. This year was my first time attending and though it was fantastic experience, there were some things that I wish I would have known before going.

Do what I did. Ride the Bus. It will be the best $2 you ever spent.

Pick a few events to watch. Know where they are and what time they start. You don’t want to look back on this experience and think “Gee, I didn’t really see anything.”

The door guards get really pissed if you try to enter the expo through an exit, and vice versa. Read the signs!

  Do not, I repeat: do not wear a white shirt because you will inevitably ruin it by rubbing up against someone else’s spray tan.

If Darth Vader and Chewy are doing a fencing demonstration, you’d better be there!

 Giving high fives to random people is standard procedure.

  Don’t let the military guys talk you into doing pullups because I promise that a brown, leathery-skinned bodybuilder is going to do at least 30 pullups right after you finish.

If you do not feel like punching the new and improved innovative punching bag that an exhibitor is showing off, politely let him know and keep going. Don’t fall for peer pressure.

  Don’t stare. That’s all I need to say.

  Bring your own food. I took blueberries and chocolate covered almonds.

  If you plan on meeting some celebrities at the expo, know which booth they’ll be at, what times they’ll be there, where those booths are located on the map, and which path you’ll take to get to each destination. You can even make your own map with checkpoints with fancy stuff to make sure you see EVERYTHING.

No, you do not need another cinch bag.

  If you just ask, exhibitors will give you samples. Don’t be shy.

  Stop trying to find Arnold. He is far, far away in the VIP section.

Enjoy yourself. This is a networking experience for a lot of people, but it doesn’t have to be stressful. In fact, people watching can be pretty fun!

Savannah Steamer, Intern

Lifting Heavy Is...Good? - An Intern's Blog

As some of you may know, I am from Houston, Texas, and as the holidays are approaching, I decided to head home for a couple of weeks to get some much needed family time. For some unexplainable reason, I thought it was a good idea to head up to my old gym after a 20 hour drive and running on minimal sleep. Now my tolerance for idiocy is already low as it is, but factoring in sleep deprivation, let's just say that this was not the ideal day to spout off broscience in my face. Sure enough, within 10 minutes of me being there, one of the guys that has been a regular at this gym for at least the last 4 years (yet you wouldn't know it) came up to me and told me that I was lifting too heavy to make any serious hypertrophy gains and that using light weight while utilizing "time-under-tension" is the best way to gain mass...WHAT?!?!

I thought I had heard it all until this. The most basic principle of any kind of weight lifting whether it be bodybuilding, powerlifting, cross fit, etc is to pick up HEAVY things! And now just because some people are lazy and don't want to load up a bar and crank out heavy sets, this fad of lifting light and "squeezing" is gaining momentum.

I'm in no way saying that "time-under-tension" methodologies should never be used in a program. I'll be the first person to admit that I've tried just about everything while trying to put muscle on including TUT, and it has it's merits as an intensity technique. It will get you sore the next day, it will give you a nice pump in the gym, and yes you can make some progress using it, but nothing, I repeat, NOTHING will ever replace good old heavy weight.

Building a physique forged by heavy deadlifts, squats, and bench press will always look more impressive than one built with lighter weight and contraction training. Some people will say heavy weight is a great way to get injured or they don't feel the muscles working properly. Well lift with proper form while taking necessary precautions and you won't get hurt. You can't feel the muscles working? I guarantee if you're squatting 500 pounds that your quads, hamstrings, and glutes are all working pretty darn hard.

There are tons and tons of techniques out there meant to be added to your programs in conjunction with heavy weight not as an alternative. If your goal is to be big and strong then throw some weight on the bar and get focused on moving it up and down rather than avoiding a little strain.

Bryce Calvin- Strength and Conditioning Intern

Know Your Goal (and know how to train for it)

Between Facebook, Instagram, and every terrible/legitimate website dedicated to getting stronger, faster, jacked, yoked, shredded, explosive, aesthetic, hyooge, etc. there is a plethora of individuals and sources to follow on your path to greatness. The vast amount of resources and information at our fingertips is great but, at the same time, it’s easy to get caught up following people and programs that may not be right for your goals. For the seasoned iron pumper this is probably not an issue but for the pencil neck n00b (or the vast majority of people), this can be a real issue. Before you follow some random program because the dude who wrote it is really vascular or has a monster squat, it’s important to know your goal then figure out what you need to do to get there. I think a flow chart might be nice for this but given that my technology skills are on par with an ornery old person, I’ll stick with this.

Are you an athlete? Then don’t follow a bodybuilding program. Don’t follow a powerlifting program. Yes, powerlifting will make you strong but powerlifting is a sport. As a soccer, volleyball, football, lacrosse, etc player you need to be strong but your goal isn’t (and shouldn’t be) to have a bar bending bench. You shouldn’t even be hitting heavy singles on your lifts. Because that’s not the point of your weight room training. Likewise, you shouldn’t do crossfit. Crossfit is a sport. It’s not programmed to make you better at your sport.

Do you want to get strong? You probably shouldn't be following a cutting bodybuilding program. Doing volume based and isolation work will not be the most beneficial when it comes to improving your patterns and overall strength. Furthermore, for the most part, it’s good to be a little chubs for powerlifting. Good for your joints and good for bouncing your stomach off your thighs when you squat. Granted, there are a lot of great, super cut powerliters. But, the point of the sport is not to be vascular and have the biggest bicep peak. Some powerlifters do great with high volume training but don’t get caught up in trying to do too much with the wrong program or your strength will suffer.

Before I started powerlifting, I did random bodybuilding stuff that I found on the internet. I wanted to be strong but didn’t have a concrete goal or any concept of training for said goals. Needless to say, I didn’t make very good progress for a number of years until I dialed into my goal and figured out the training that was most effective to get there.  Make sure you have a concrete goal and are following a program that’s in line with those goals or else you’ll be spinning your wheels wondering why you’re not making progress.

Coach Lily

JL's weekly technique video- upright rows

This week, JL explains how to properly perform an upright row. Upright rows help develop the traps and upper back. Unfortunately, many fitness "professionals" shy away from upright rows because they think that they are bad for the shoulders.  JL explains why they're wrong.

Bodybuilding versus Powerlifting

The first day you walk into a gym, most people will know what they want to work towards. Either it's training to get stronger or more muscular/"toned" (I hate the word toned). Now a lot people will tell you that strength and muscularity are two separate paths; you have to pick one and stick with only that or you can never succeed in it. Basically, it's a choice between being strong OR muscular.

But the way I see it, why can't you have both?

I don't think there is a professional bodybuilder alive who wouldn't want to be strong as well, and vice versa, I don't think that any powerlifter wants to be questioned if they even lift. Yes to reach the pinnacle, bodybuilders must rely more heavily on volume work and "feeling" the muscles work, but sometimes they have to strap up and pound out a heavy triple on squats. And powerlifters love to live in the 1-5 rep range, but I see nothing wrong with grinding out 3 sets of 15 on curls.

Now I, being an intern and a bodybuilder, naturally take my fair share of good-hearted trash talk from the guys (and Lily) at The Spot, but I still want to be the strongest person in that weight room. My ultimate goal may be to be lean and muscular, but I take pride in strength as well. What's the point of being 250 pounds and 5% bodyfat if you can't deadlift 5 plates?

So, train hard and heavy no matter what the goal is. Different paths require different approaches, but the one thing that never changes is that moving heavy things = progress.