IOL Strength and Conditioning

Training Variety

Many iron enthusiasts short change themselves by rigidly adhering to a set routine and a limited amount of movements. They patiently and persistently plug away at the same old movements, done in the same old sets and reps…and they wonder why they aren’t enjoying their training anymore and why they seem to get injured frequently. Have you ever found yourself in that situation? Training variety can help to free you…if you’re brave enough to try.

Let’s examine everyone’s favorite…the bench press.

Our intrepid trainee does three sets of ten of the flat bench barbell press three times weekly. If he/she is normal, a plateau will be reached where it seems progress stops. To add insult to injury, our trainee’s shoulders are starting to hurt. Maybe he/she is just plain bored. What to do?

First, you must conquer your fear. Many trainees persist at a movement, even if their progress has stopped or the pain of injury rears its ugly head. The reason why they do this is fear…fear that they will drop some pounds off the lift, fear that they may lose a quarter of an inch of size or maybe even fear that someone will call them a quitter or some similar name. Fear can paralyze and cause you to avoid doing anything that might benefit, simply because it is different. Follow? Although you may not believe it, your body is constantly changing and reacting to the various demands made upon it…so why limit yourself to one or two basic movements?

The first thing our trainee could do is vary either the amount of weight used and/or the set and reps. Next, different movements or tools could be utilized. Here are some examples:

The incline press with either a barbell or dumbbells

The decline press with either a barbell or dumbbells

The floor press with either a barbell or dumbbells

The floor dip (push up) with feet elevated

The parallel bar dip

There’s four variations (or seven, if you include the dumbbells) of a basic bench pressing movement and also the parallel bar dips. Now, even more variety is available by varying hand spacing. By utilizing either wide, medium or close hand spacings, the options available increase to at least 21 variations. Varying the incline/decline will offer even more variety. Further variety could be introduced by using partials. You could easily find 50 variations with just a little creativity.

What are the benefits of thinking and training this way? The first and most obvious benefit would be the elimination of boredom. You also might avoid setting up a “repetitive stress” situation. It’s quite likely that you would achieve a more complete development or that your strength would increase. Or maybe, just maybe, you’d enjoy your training more…and isn’t that sufficient reason alone? Give it a try…there’s quite a menu available. It would be a shame to limit yourself to just one entree.

Let’s start with the facts, what’s known to be true about chelation, before we move to the possibilities and the rumors of quackery. Chelation (pronounced “key” rather than “che”) is the process of bonding metal or mineral, and in medical terms can be done either via intravenous (IV) or orally by pill to remove excess metals or toxins from the body.

EDTA chelation is approved by the FDA to treat lead poisoning and for heavy metal removal; different chelation chemicals are used for various purposes. In fact, multiple agents are used in each treatment, such as adding magnesium and potassium, and perhaps bicarbonate to reduce acidity.

Its first documented use in treatment of atherosclerosis was in 1956, but it’s still not approved to treat cardiovascular disease, nor does insurance pay for it in that instance. Still, the anecdotal evidence is accumulating, and that may get more solid next year when the results of an on-going National Institutes of Health (NIH) study are published. This is a 5-year trial that began in 2002 to determine the efficacy and safety of EDTA IV chelation therapy on coronary artery disease, specifically adults who have previously had a heart attack.

At this point, there are only guesses at how this works for reducing blood vessel stress, if it works at all. Researchers don’t yet know if it actually pulls the calcium from the plaques blocking the arteries or whether by reducing the metals in the bloodstream, arterial oxidative stress is decreased along with inflammation. Or something else entirely, no one knows; the majority have never heard of the treatment or those who have doubt it works at all.

But heck, let’s just make the jump from skeptic to curious — it’s easy enough to see how such a process would benefit us all. Arsenic… lead… cadmium… now mercury: metals are known to be toxic to the human body, some of us more susceptible than others, yet all affected somewhat by metal poisoning. Chelation is acknowledged even by the AMA to work for removing metals, and is covered by most insurance companies for treatment of metal poisoning, so why wouldn’t it work to treat people like Dave who may have problems with oxidation causing arterial disease?

Neither of us is convinced this will work. In fact, even Dave’s new doc (Warren Klausner, D.O.), who has seen IV chelation work time and time again in his own patients, tells us the success of chelation is varied. Some of his patients have remarkable results; some have moderate success and others can’t tell much of a difference.

It’s a gamble, really, of time (each of the 20 or 30 treatments takes nearly three hours) and of money (the treatments are $125 each and, in Dave’s case for cardiovascular disease, are not covered by insurance). But it’s not an unreasonable gamble. We paid more than that for our portion of Dave’s by-pass operation, and that was more of a targeted patch than a permanent fix. If chelation works, it’s a systemic solution to clear the circulatory system throughout the body, rather than replacing arteries of the heart that may again get blocked… and all this without major surgery.

While it’s only an experiment of one, we’ll make notes and provide an assessment, pro or con — and truthfully, we have no preconceived notion other than a positive but faint hope — for others who have arterial problems such as heart disease or peripheral arterial disease and are heading for radical medical options.

Most chelation doctors are registered with the American College for Advancement in Medicine (ACAM) and you can search out a local physician on their site if you find yourself interested in a consultation.

For the rest of us, the average aging adult with no apparent health issues who may be wondering about taking EDTA pills, Dr. Klausner says he hasn’t seen any research showing the effectiveness of oral chelation. However, Dr. Garry Gordon, perhaps the most well-known modern chelation practitioner, says in this article, “In our toxic world, oral EDTA offers potential benefits as diverse as those seen with some of our most powerful essential nutrients. I believe it has become as essential today for optimal health as any essential nutrient.”

There are plenty of skeptics, way lots. For a collection of opposing viewpoint material, spend some time at Dr. Stephen Barrett’s Chelation Watch site, where you’ll find much of the anti-chelation pages organized. At first read, it appears the major gripe is that the studies done to date were inconclusive or not done using the double-blind protocol, and secondly, that there are chelation scam artists at work, no big surprise there.

Between 2,000 and 3,000 medical doctors use IV chelation in their practice here in the US, and it’s even more commonly used in Europe. Literally hundreds of thousands of patients have been “chelated,” perhaps even millions. Problems — side effects — of IV chelation include kidney pain, scary indeed, yet when patients who have kidney damage are pre-screened and dissuaded from treatment, problems are virtually eliminated if the chemical drip is slowed down and if adequate water is consumed by the patient. Conservative chelation doctors tamp down the drip to take at least two hours, even up to four, while monitoring the patient during treatment. Slower intake seems to prevent side effects.

Additionally, not everyone is a candidate. Blood tests should be done prior to beginning treatments, and the doc should review the patient’s prescriptions and supplement intake to determine the safety of the chelation chemicals in combination with the person’s other medicines.

Wild speculation here, coming from complete ignorance: I wonder if ineffectiveness has anything to do with using the wrong chemicals. That is, since it’s *known* that chelation can clear out metals, would chelation have worked on heart patients who felt no benefits had a different solution been used? It’s quite a time and financial commitment. Patients who don’t feel better are unlikely to take another run at it with a different doctor using other agents.

This article by Dr. Ward Dean discusses chelation as an underutilized treatment for heart disease and overall wellness, and is a good place for me to drop you as we wait for Dave’s treatments to begin or good, bad or null results to report.

Finally, we’re both hopeful, and Dave’s willing to invest a couple of months’ trial. Just the same, we’re completely aware that we may be back a month or two from now with a dismal report, and a laugh at ourselves for jumping, however briefly, off the traditional medicine treadmill.

If you made it past the title, Congratulations!

If you’re interested in huge muscle size, powerlifting, strongman events or the latest “bioengineered protein supplement with additional NO2 for a monsterous pump”…you won’t find what you seek here. What you will find are some thoughts and ideas from an “average” trainer. Some may anger you. Some may challenge you to think. Some you may dismiss entirely…so be it. But if you hang in there, you just might find something with which you agree. Still with me?

Let’s start with the “muscle mags” and the training/nutritional advice contained therein. Most of what these “overly expensive supplement catalogs” contain is pure, unadulterated crap. As in not realistic for the average trainer…or the average human, for that matter. I am sick (and tired) of shelling out five bucks or more for about 20 pages maximum of information. Of those 20 pages, maybe ten percent is useful. I am also sick of seeing steroid bloated, inhumanely vascular, painted tan “freaks” training…mouths agape with wild eyes, as if this last set were a life or death emergency. Some of these guys train hard for sure…but the rest is pure theater. The training and weights used by these chemically assisted aberrations have little to do with the average trainee.

Supplements. The magazines are loaded with them. Suffice it to say, you’d better be rich if you’re gullible enough to swallow all the hype in print. Many of the supplements are just plain ineffective as anything other than a reducing agent. They are wonderfully efficient at reducing the size of your wallet. A good protein supplement is convenient and will allow you to easily obtain extra protein and calories without overloading your digestive system…but isn’t an absolute necessity. I’ve used non-fat dry milk or dried whole milk for years as a protein supplement…and I haven’t experienced any muscle wasting. A good multi-vitamin/mineral formulation (without iron) completes my supplement blueprint…the rest is optional and usually in response to a specific need…such as an oil for the omega complex and some extra C and calcium to try and combat osteoporosis. It’s been said so many times it’s almost a cliche’…supplements supplement your intake, they don’t replace it.

If you’ve endured my ranting thus far, genetics, goals and training are next on my hit list.

Genetics and your genetic potential can be both an excuse and a liberating wisdom. In a nutshell, you need to realistically assess what you’ve been given genetically and structure your goals so that your genetics assist you rather than hinder you, in the attainment of these goals. (That is, unless you really enjoy banging your head against the wall for diminished returns.) I’d be a fool (at 51) to continue to think that I would have a realistic chance at high level bodybuilding or strength competition…but it’s not foolish to think that I could maintain above average strength into my old age or that I could develop an above average level of grip strength. I’m 6′1″, narrow shouldered, with a medium small bone structure…hardly Olympia material or a WSM contender but I can look better than most men my age and be a fair amount stronger than many of them.

It’s been said that “A man’s reach should exceed his grasp, else what is there a heaven for?” That’s a nice thought but again, it’s not very realistic. If you continue to reach, reach, and reach yet again.but never touch that which you seek…don’t you think that at some point you’ll stop reaching? I’m not ashamed to admit that I would. Does this mean that you shouldn’t strive or have goals? No, that’s not what is being said. You should have realistic goals…goals which probably can’t be achieved at your first, second, third, fourth or even fifth attempt. However, consistent effort should see you obtaining that goal after a time…at which time, you select another goal just a bit further down the road. Dig?

My thoughts about training have really evolved over the years. First off, I’ve drastically cut down on the amount/volume of training I do. I’ve found that I need less than I think I need. The use of 3-5 quality compound movements, two to three times weekly, in sufficient sets and reps gets it done for me. I’ve gravitated toward whole body workouts, since you can’t split up your recovery…you only have one recovery system. Also, if you aren’t quite up to snuff, you cut back on the sets and reps but still work the whole body…which is something that a split system can’t do. Since I don’t entertain any physique competition goals, a split is unnecessary and intrudes too much into my normal life.

I’ve also altered my thoughts on poundages. I was originally of the “heavy weight, high rep, train to failure” mindset. The rewards of training in such a manner (for the most part, without proper and intelligent supervision) haven’t been good. I’ve numerous issues with soft tissue injuries and some joint problems. These often limit the movements that I can use effectively…or at all. A popular author maintains poundage goals of 300-400-500 respectively, for the bench press, squat and deadlift. Phooey, I say! I once read poundage goals by a trainer/fellow by the name of David Manners. His take on the issue was that the average trainee simply didn’t need to strive to exceed 150-200,200-250-300 in those lifts. I agree. If you feel that’s not enough…try a 10×10 of bench presses, or try a 6×6 with 15 seconds in between sets and I’m fairly sure that you’ll develop a new appreciation for moderate weights. I’ve come to view the iron as a medicine…you should only take what you need to get the job done and for the least amount of time that proves effective.

Finally, I’ve found that enjoyment is probably the major motivation behind the way I train and the resultant changes. If you don’t enjoy your training, why do it? Is it because some “Trainer of Champions” says that you should train that way? C’mon…think for yourself.

Can I reasonably fit this training within my lifestyle and budget? Are my goals realistic? Will this style of training help me achieve my goals, while maintaining good health and physical integrity? Do I still enjoy my training a majority of the time? Answer those questions and don’t blindly follow the crowd. After all, most of the crowd is out of shape and has little training longevity.

Thanks for sticking with me, if you’ve made it this far. Just had to get this off my chest.

I don’t usually write about fat loss, because, frankly, I’m not very good at it. Still, I do have close to 40 years of dieting experience (yes, watching my folks taught me the grapefruit diet at around age 12, maybe 13), so let’s try this again.

By the way, after the admission above, there can be no need to add the disclaimer of the “I” here being Laree and not Dave. And by-the-way part two: apologies in advance for the self-centeredness of this post, written only with the hope others may benefit from the experience it contains.

This go around I’m trying something a little different, something I’ve never tried and perhaps you haven’t either. You see, usually we set a weight goal… to weigh a certain amount or lose a specific number of pounds by a named future date. I can’t begin to guess the percentage rate of failure of these diets, my own and yours and most of our friends,’ but we all know it’s huge.

The game plan this time? Something I’m in control of, something I know I can do, and it’s this: 100 days logging everything I eat.

That’s it.

From there I can tweak the calorie counts, macronutrient ratios and food choices as guided by feeling, how clothes fit, scale weight and waist measurement. Still, the underlying goal – 100 days logging – stays the same and can be accomplished. Weight loss goals may or may not be successful, or easily controlled, but writing everything down is completely under our power. Similar to our training, we either did it or we didn’t.

Naturally, our food choices tighten up when we’re honestly writing them down. Expanding on that, when we use a tracking program like fitday.com (I use the faster $29 PC version), the percentages of fats, carbs and protein, the total protein and fiber grams per day and the in-your-face graphs do tend to straighten out a sloppy diet.

But that’s the bonus. The GOAL is straightforward and achievable. Log 100 days. There’s no failure here, unless it’s mine.

Bonus: A 100-day food habit is likely to stick.

Scale weight and tape measurements are emotional. Up or down, the results, which are often fluke numbers measuring water weight, or real numbers that are less in our control due to facts we haven’t begun to discuss, our days can be heavily influenced by a morning step on the scale. Logging your food intake is more simple, completely clear. I did, or I didn’t.

When I told Dave about this, his initial response was, “No offense, but.. counting calories? Haven’t people been dieting like this for centuries?”

Here’s the point: It’s not the calorie counting diet that’s the goal; it’s the 100 days of recordkeeping. It’s a subtle difference, but it’s important. Logging I can do every day, and there’s no failure.

Dieting usually involves a bit of failure or a feeling of failure every day or two as we choose to eat an extra bite or as water weight or colon volume causes an upswing on the scales. Small, unimportant failures when built in to the big picture, but the feeling of failure sets in, not allowing the possibility of the 100% success that logging offers. I’m at the 5-week mark and am fully satisfied with 100% success.

I haven’t lost much weight over that time, a bit over a pound total. As a weight-loss diet, it’s utter failure. If losing 10 pounds by the end of summer was the ultimate goal I’d probably give up after a month at 1,300 calories, good exercise effort and virtually no change in the bathroom scale marker.

Yet with complete success in the goal – logging – I’m still on track, happily and guiltless, and can continue on, tweaking the macronutrients (fat/carb/protein) or the food choices to see what happens next month.

Here’s one thing the experiment did over the course of the past month. It removed doubt, the nag that I might be fooling myself and eating too much fun food. Nope. What I thought was true was true. I don’t eat overmuch. Around 1,300 is my maintenance calorie intake. That’s what I’ve been doing and it’s not over-indulging.

One simple goal: Log the food intake for another month, review and adapt again. No guilt is a nice place to relax for the summer.

We spent Monday, Joe Weider Day, tromping around the California State Capitol Building in Sacramento in our Sunday best, adding our presence to the honoring of Joe Weider’s contributions to world-wide physical fitness. There’s no doubt that because of his passion for bodybuilding and his publishing talents, weight training gained popularity and grew from a basement sub-culture to its current standing running the gauntlet from medical re-hab to athletic pursuits, elder longevity to supermodel weight loss. We may have gotten here, eventually, or truthfully we may not have; there’s no way to measure the results of his life’s work.

Now that Dave’s given you the fodder of his reminisces, you can count on me for a blow-by-blow report.

Dick and Penny Tyler, Frank and Christine Zane, Dave and moi (I’m the short one)
John Corlett photo

We spent the prior day at Dick and Penny Tyler’s, where the good doc you know as the author of West Coast Bodybuilding Scene and the medical text Alternative Chiropractic did live blood cell analysis on both of us — fascinating to see both of our blood looking entirely different, not even the color of the cell groupings were the same — and ran a phonocardiograph on Dave to get a reading on his heart health.

Phonocardiography is similar to the electrocardiograph you’ve probably heard of from your cardiologist (or your dad’s), only this machine measures sound instead of electrical pulses. So here’s Dave holding his breath for what felt like minutes, while an ancient and perfectly preserved dust-free machine scratched out its markings and Dick muttered his interest in the squiggled peaks of ink.

Dick’s a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to his doctoring tools. I say that with a grin thinking of his telling the story of gluing his important trinkets into their positions, and then laughing with glee after realizing this was the impression he had shared with a woman sitting next to him at dinner who turned out to be the Executive Director of the President’s Council on Physical Fitness, her introduction to our pal Doc Tyler. Melissa Johnson (said Director) was just one of a number of fascinating people we were to spend the day with Monday.

Senate Pro Tem Don Perata and Joe Weider
John Corlett photo

On the Senate floor after the brief presentation to Joe by the Senator Perata, Sylvester Stallone, on a four-hour break from editing a new Rambo film, captured the attention of all, and when he departed game show host Bob Barker took center stage. Considering the Weider group’s friends and family and the summer tourists in attendance, the legislative hall was quite empty; I’m uncertain how many bodies it takes to constitute a quorum, but as a voting Californian, I hope there was no pressing business that day.

Oh, right. The budget’s two weeks past due. I suppose the lawmakers were on holiday.

Well, we *were* on holiday, so after the presentation, our party of about 40 shifted off to the Council Room adjacent to the Governor’s Office, where subsequent presentations were made, including a 10-minute video compilation documenting Joe’s notable history.

Arnold spoke, of course, as did Franco Columbu, Sly and Melissa, followed by a family member and a family doctor. The speeches were nice, and Arnold’s especially so, but I remember thinking how delightful would have been the addition of an Artie Zeller story about Joe – any Weider/Zeller drama would have done — hilarious in the telling. Alas, Artie died in 1999; his characterizations perished with him, but happily we’ll always have his priceless black & white photos of Golden Era bodybuilding.

Dave Draper, Serge Jacobs, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Frank Zane
Artie Zeller photo

Golden Era bodybuilding was the time that many consider pivotal to today’s fitness atmosphere, and the heroes of those days were well represented this week in Sacramento. Led by — who else? — the Governor, included in the group were Frank Zane, Franco Columbu, my personal fav Dave Draper, Dave’s model-partner, Joe’s wife Betty Weider (still unbelievably beautiful, I’ll just toss that in there before you get a chance to ask), and flanked by Dick Tyler, the writer who made them famous in Joe’s Muscle Builder magazine.

Joe and Betty’s families filled out the crowd, wherein we were introduced to Joe’s sister, Freda — you knew about Ben, but did you know he had a sister? Quite a jewel, that woman. I liked her very much, as did the others at our end of the table later that night at dinner.

Friends and business partners over the years stood the test of time — even Betty’s oldest friend, Janet, friends since age 14, was there to tease Dave about his beach photo shoots with Betty at his side, Janet there to keep her company amid the 1960s Venice Beach bodybuilders. Weider Publications was well represented by Editor in Chief Peter McGough, quick to put a smile on my face, who was there with his terrific wife, Ann. Kris Lannin Liang, Arnold’s long-time executive secretary, and Charlotte Parker, the Weiders’ publicist, were credited with pulling the event together efficiently and effectively.

The biggest surprise and a great pleasure of the day was spending time with Bill Chatfield, an energetic and knowledge-filled ex-Marine (actually, I’m told there’s no such thing as an ex-Marine; at any rate, he’s no longer on active duty), whom we later discovered to be the Director of the Selective Service System.

At one point, an assistant to the Governor moved about the room dispensing commemorative Arnold Schwarzenegger cigars. When Dick and Penny discovered our souvenirs were heading to Baghdad to reward an IronOnline pal after a training session in the 140-degree heat of Camp Victory, they, of course, contributed theirs. If either the Governor or the Selective Service Director Chatfield had known of our plans, I’m certain there would have been a greater cigar subsidy.

Gary Volesky, Joe Anderson, David Mullin
Cigar Aficionado photo

Comin’ atcha, guys. While we’re off gallivanting around the state for the fun of it, you and the rest of our troops continue our anti-terror mission. We can’t thank you enough.

Drought in California and Australia, plus the rise of fuel and transportation costs, higher demand from Chinese consumers and feed corn diverted to ethanol production have all combined into a sort of perfect storm, shooting a price rumble through the catalog of dairy products. Increasing dairy prices affect everything from milk, cheese and yogurt, to secondary markets that use dairy products, such as Starbucks espresso drinks, Hershey’s chocolate and Round Table pizzas.

And protein powders, all of them, everything using any form of whey or casein. As manufacturers take delivery of new shipments, we’ll begin to see price increases across the board. I’m guessing in that regard, of course, but I’d be *very* surprised if protein powder makers will be able to absorb a price increase this large and remain in business.

Today marked our second cost increase this year; we took a loss the first few months on the off-chance whey and dairy prices would return to normal this summer. That didn’t happen as hoped, and with receipt of our new shipment this week, we simply have no choice but to pass the price increase on, representing our first price increase since bringing Bomber Blend to market six years ago. The cost increase? $5.00 per jug.

No kidding. That’s how much *more* our whey and casein costs per jug this year over last. And that’s the amount we’re forced to pass on to the consumer. If we had a choice, we’d choose something different. In fact, we’ve had minor cost increases over the years and have chosen to hold our price steady. This time, unfortunately, it can’t happen that way.

One bright light in this otherwise gloomy picture: We’ve negotiated new UPS shipping rates that will decrease the shipping costs for most packages. We’ll continue to ship smaller one-pound parcels via the postal service’s priority mail service, and will shift the majority of our other US mainland orders over to USP delivery.

This switch enabled us to switch to flat-rate shipping costs.

I think you’re gonna like this part: Freight charges for a case of protein will now be a flat $10, down from $18-$25, depending on delivery location. Other packages with multiple items will all be cheaper to ship, and all with better online parcel tracking.

US Mainland Flat Rate Shipping
Order Total - Freight Cost
$1-$49 - $ 5.00
$50-$99 - $ 7.50
$100-$199 - $10.00
$200-$249 - $15.00
$250-$299 - $20.00
$300-349 - $25.00
$350-$399 - $30.00
$400-499 - $35.00
$500+ - $40.00

We’ll continue to ship USPS parcel post and priority mail to Alaska and Hawaii, and USPS Priority and Priority Flat Rate to international locations. Top Squats are shipped via DHL from the manufacturing plant in Indiana.

So it goes, a bit of good news mixed with the bad. But you know, all in all, things are pretty favorable when we can continue to feel healthy, train, eat right and share our experiences with the terrific friends of IronOnline.

Those arriving here from the online store Bomber Blend page can return by clicking here.