strength

The Hidden Benefits of Creatine for Men in Midlife

The Hidden Benefits of Creatine for Men in Midlife

While creatine is commonly associated with bodybuilding and athletic performance, it also holds significant potential for men in midlife seeking to optimise their health and well-being.

As we navigate the journey beyond 40, many of us are confronted with the realities of aging, including declines in muscle mass, strength, and cognitive function.

However, with the right strategies and tools at our disposal, we can defy these aging stereotypes and embrace a life of vitality and vigour.

Here, we'll explore the myriad benefits of creatine supplementation explicitly tailored for men in midlife.

Team Sustain: Sport of Fitness: MAX Weights Method - Part 4

Team Sustain: Sport of Fitness: MAX Weights Method - Part 4

In the 5/3/2/1 method, we start with loads just under 5RM and attempt to add 2-3% more weight every set, performing 1 fewer repetitions every set until you achieve a new 1RM. This progression has the advantage of teaching the skill of expressing your true maximum in a 4-week block.  We cannot go from a block of performing 3-5reps per set (MAX Weight PART 3) and expect to perform well in a 1RM until we have allowed the body to recruit higher-threshold fibres.  Therefore, we will slowly increase the percentages of each set from week-to-week with the aim of increasing your 1RMs by 2-3% in 5 weeks from now.

Team Sustain: Sport of Fitness: Maximum Weights Method - Part 3

Team Sustain: Sport of Fitness: Maximum Weights Method - Part 3

The Functional Strength Method - with this system in the first two weeks we are going to perform four sets of [4-6] tempo repetitions.  In the first two sets, we want to be hitting 6reps.  In the final two sets, we expect to be hitting 4-5reps as the load reaches maximal.  Always use your quality of movement to set the limits of yours. 

Team Sustain - Sport of Fitness: The maximum weights method - Part 2

Team Sustain - Sport of Fitness: The maximum weights method - Part 2

The Patient Lifter 6 x [2-4] Method - with this training system, we start off with a weight that we can handle comfortably for six sets of just two repetitions.  Depending on your neurological efficiency, that will translate into about 80 to 87% of your 1RM.  The goal is to increase your strength SLOWLY over time so that you can handle that same wight for six sets of 4 repetitions.  

The reason The Patient Lifter's Method works is that the load increases only when the trainee can complete all sets of 4 repetitions with the starting weight of 6 sets of 2 repetitions.  The system works using what is called the law of repeated efforts because the nervous system is forced to accept the loads as being normal.  

How Long Should You Stick To A Programme?

How Long Should You Stick To A Programme?

It’s easy for us to focus our attention on the “work” in the workout - the vein pumping effort, the sweat-drenched final reps, and the PAINZ of making GAINZ. We’ve all seen the marketing tactics and fitness gimmicks showing us how to get “shredded” or “6-pack abs” in some absurd time frame. The before and after pictures may be convincing, but often these images are fabricated and fake. These “fitness programmes” are scams that abuse the general public’s ignorance on the subject of health and fitness, despite countless studies that have proven that fitness isn’t an “overnight” sensation.

Structual balance for posture and performance

Structual balance for posture and performance

The most absurd example is when we look at the typical commercial gym, where we often see many guys focusing on their “beach muscles.”  Their exercise selection is often limited to the muscle they can see in the mirror - bench press and bicep curls.  The overtraining of the anterior chain often leads to an imbalance that can cause frustration, pain, and injury.

This can also be seen in gymnastics when athlete focuses on pushing exercises like planche, dips, and handstand push-ups while neglecting pulling exercises like pull-ups.  This is a recipe for creating a structural imbalance in strength and flexibility that will induce shoulder pain.

My Deadlift mantra v2.0

My Deadlift mantra v2.0

All humans should possess the ability to lift stuff from the floor, our survival depends on it.  If squats are the king of gym exercises, deadlifts are the queen. One thing to love about the deadlift is the fact that there is no way to cheat in this movement. There is certainly room to seriously hurt yourself if you don’t understand how to build tension and lift a weight safely. Generally speaking, if you are not strong enough to pick it up, it's not going budge.  I’m no deadlifting champion, but the tips I share here are some of the things I think about on deadlift day.