The 4-Hour Body_ An Uncommon Guide to Ra - Timothy Ferriss [84]
In more than 15 years of resistance training, I have never been injured following the protocols I will describe here. I suggest adopting one rule of Dr. Ken Leistner, an NFL strength consultant I had the painful pleasure of training with in 1996: the goal of strength training is to reduce injury potential first, and to increase performance second.
Occam’s Protocol
Recall that coach Matt Brzycki at Princeton nicknamed me “Growth.” He has written more than 400 articles on strength and conditioning and dealt with everyone from SWAT teams to NFL teams. What made me different from trainees who didn’t grow?
I used hyper-abbreviated training to compensate for mediocre recuperative abilities. It was the self-control to do less.
“Occam’s Protocol” is a variation of the consolidation routine used by the late Mike Mentzer, who won the heavyweight class of the Mr. Olympia competition in 1979.
It is possible to get huge with less than 30 minutes of gym time per week. The following A and B workouts are alternated, whether you choose the machine or free weight option.
The exercises should be performed for one set each and no more. The objective is to fail, to reach the point where you can no longer move the weight, at seven or more repetitions at a 5/5 cadence (five seconds up and five seconds down). The leg press is to be performed for 10 or more repetitions at the same cadence. The only exceptions to the cadence rule are the abdominal exercises and kettlebell swing, which are described in earlier chapters.
The mechanisms of growth we want to stimulate are both local (muscular, neural) and systemic (hormonal). The longer time under tension (TUT) for the lower body will elicit a greater full-body growth hormone response while also stimulating the formation of new capillaries, which will improve nutrient delivery.
Each workout consists of just two primary lifts.
WORKOUT A: THE MACHINE OPTION
1. Close-grip supinated17 (palms facing you) pull-down × 7 reps (5/5 count)
2. Machine shoulder press × 7 reps (5/5 count) (Optional: Abdominal exercises from “Six-Minute Abs”)
It is critical to record seating settings on all machine exercises. If there are four holes showing in the sliding seat adjustment, for example, note this in your notebook or iPhone. Even one to two inches of difference in starting position can change the leverage and create the illusion of strength gain or loss, especially with pressing movements. Record it all and standardize the movement.
There are a million and one ways to perform exercises.
To keep things simple—and to keep you safe—I will make one recommendation: use the “locked position” to protect your shoulders in all weight-bearing exercises, whether the kettlebell swing, the bench press, the deadlift, or other.
Asking for trouble. From Marie’s normal shoulder position, I can easily pull her shoulder forward like a dislocation. Her entire upper body is unstable in both pictures.
The “locked position.” Marie has pulled her shoulder blades back and pushed them down toward her hips 1–2 inches. Notice how you can see her shoulder strap in these photos but not in the first set. There is a slight arch in the back, and if you extend your arms in front of you, the elbows should be closer to nipple height than collarbone height. Marie is now stable, and I can even lift her off of the ground with one arm.
WORKOUT B: THE MACHINE OPTION
1. Slight incline/decline bench press × 7 (5/5 count)
2. Leg press × 10 (5/5 count) (Optional: Kettlebell or T-bar swings from “Building the Perfect Posterior” × 50)
3. Stationary bike × 3 minutes at 85+ rpm (to minimize subsequent leg soreness)
Slight Incline/Decline Bench Press (Shown Here: Hammer Machine) If you’ll injure your shoulders on any exercise, it will be the flat bench press. For this reason, I suggest a slight (less than 20-degree) incline or decline when possible. For stubborn chest development, Dorian Yates suggests