SuppVersity EMG Series - Rectus Abdominis, Obliques and Erector Spinae: The Very Best Exercises For Sixpack Abs and a Powerful Midsection

Image 1: There is more to a strong core
than just the m. rectus abdominis aka
'the abs' (red);  its imperative to train your
obliques (blue) and the muscle strands
of the erector spinae muscles which
stabilize your spine (violette)

"6 weeks to 6-pack abs" - although we all know that this is unattainable for the majoritity of beer-bellied casual Men's Health reader, headlines like that still make the sales of today's fitness magazines go up. On the other hand, Charles Atlas, John Grimek, Ray Parks, Eugen Sandow and the other fathers of physical culture would certainly turn in their graves, if they saw the metrosexual size zero bans on the covers of respective 'lifestyle' magazines and read about the 'cult of sculpted abs' that has befallen their 'grandchildren'... well, I guess you don't care about those 'grandpas', let alone my rants, and still want your sixpack to shine in its full glory on the next spring break, no matter what? Ok, but beware, even the best exercises won't help, as long as your glorious rectus abdominis is covered by an unaesthetic layer of adipose tissue - the key to sculpted abs is dieting! As far as core training is concerned, it is imperative to understand that building a stable core, which is a major yet often disregarded prerequisite for lifelong mobility, is not only about 'ab-training'. Its about training all those exterior and interior muscle strands that keep you upright:

• the m. rectus abdominis (image 1, red), which consists of two parallel muscle strands that run vertically on each side of the anterior wall of the human abdomenis and are often simply referred to as 'the abs'
• the external and internal oblique muscles (image 1, blue),  which pull the chest downwards and compress the abdominal cavity (external) also have a limited action in both flexion and rotation of the vertebral column (both) and cover the transverse abdominis muscles, which are located beneath the obliques and help to compress the ribs and viscera, thus providing thoracic and pelvic stability
• the muscles of the erector spinae (image 1, violette), which are of paramount importance to your life, because they stabilize and protect your spine

Now that you know what this issue of the SuppVersity EMG Series is all about, I do not want to put you on the abwheel, ah... pardon, the rack any longer, but just in case you agree with me that a great physique is not about having abs alone, you may want to check out some of the other parts of this series, as well.

Chest	Biceps	Back	Core	Legs	Triceps	Shoulders
Navigate the SuppVersity EMG Series - Click on the desired body part to see the optimal exercises.

The SuppVersity proudly presents: The most effective exercises, as measured by electromyography (10 male resistance-trained subjects, mean age 22y, mean body-fat 13%; data from Boeckh-Behrens & Buskies. 2000) for your abs, your obliques and your the stabilizer muscles...

I. Training the m. rectus abdominis (aka 'the abs') & the oblique muscles
 

I want to begin with a word of caution, although 'the abs' do in fact comprise two muscle strands, the two strands ran vertically and parallel to your spine. The assertion that there are 'upper' and 'lower' abs is thus not supportable from a purely anatomical point of view. If you do ab-exercises and even more so, if you do full body movements like squats, deadlifts or military presses, the muscle strands of your rectus abdominis (as well as your obliques and the erector spinae muscles) will always be engaged as a whole. As it is the case for the latissimus dorsi, another of the large muscle groups in your body, it is yet possible to put a special emphasize on the upper or lower part of your abs. Remember that, when you read about the best exercises for 'upper' and 'lower part' of the m. rectus abdominis in the following overview.

Six or eight packs - genetics or training? It is an urban or, I should say a 'gym myth' that you "progress from a six- to an eightpack" by training your abs until they hurt. The way your 'abs' look, which includes the number of packs, is determined by genetics and body fat level. The latter, by the way, is the reason why so many trainees believe they would just have to keep training until - almost magically - the 7th and 8th pack would pop up. While this does work for many people, it is not because of training-induced hypertrophy, but rather due to atrophy - adipocyte-atrophy, or fat loss to be precise. Especially the lowest of the six or eight packs tend to be covered by a very stubborn layer of stress-fat, that's why many peple begin to see them, when their training advances and their body fat levels drop.

The EMG data from Boeckh-Behrens & Buskies also goes to show that even in the case of the rectus abdominis and the external and internal oblique muscles, true isolation is impossible. Everytime you engage in any type of core exercise both the central, as well as the lateral stabilizers or, in other words, the abs and the obliques will be working.

Figure 2: EMG activity of m. rectus abdominis (upper part), m. rectus abdmonis (lower part) and oblique muscles during twelve selected core exercises relative to muscle(-part) specific reference exercises as indicated by the asterisk '*' (data adapted from Boeckh-Behrens & Buskies. 2000)

The graphical illustration of the relative EMG activity of twelve selected core exercises confirms the statement that any given exercise for the 'abs' will inevitably also involve a certain degree of oblique activity. It is however also quite obvious that trainees can easily emphasize a certain muscle group (or part) by selecting the appropriate exercises from the following top 12:

Table 1: Top 12 ab- and oblique exercises; ranking according to Boeckh-Behrens & Buskies, 2000

It is quite obvious that with a set of 3-6 exercises (I marked the top exercises in green) you can effectively train the whole anterior part of your core and still keep enough variety to avoid getting bored - and, what's probably even more important, to "keep your body guessing". It is yet also obvious that much more than it is the case with exercises for other body parts, there is huge inter-personal variety in terms of which ab-exercises work best for whom. Therefore I decided to give you some additional data on the exact mean ranks of the specific exercises - something I omitted in the previous issues of the SuppVersity EMG Series simply because (with the exception of the chest, where I mentioned it in the text) the mean rank and the mean EMG activity toplists would have been identical, anyway.  

Perfect form counts, especially on the advanced movements

Image 2: Trainees tend to (ab-)use the psoas major and thus decrease the activation of the 'abs', when doing leg raises, sit-ups etc. (image by Beth ohara @ Wikipedia)

A perfect example of improper form compromising exercise efficiacy is the hanging leg raise, where, in the case of the upper part of the m. rectus abdominis, you can see that the exercise must have produced an extraordinarily high EMG activity in some, and a rather mediocre muscular activation in other subjects. Otherwise the ranking according to mean EMG for the exercise over all subjects (rank 2) and the mean exercise rank for the individual (rank 3) would be identical. Those of you who know how to do the exercise properly will know that even under professional supervision many trainees fail to actually flex their abs and thus train their psoas major (cf. image 2) instead of their abs, when they hang like a flabby sack from the bar and swing their legs up and down. A similar shift away from the m. rectus abdominis and towards the psoas, occurs in all ab-exercises where your legs are held in a fixed position, the most dreaded example being the classic sit-up, from which generations of trainees developed a hollow back (hyperlordosis); a pathology that cannot only entail lower back pain, but will also make your abdomen stick out even further, the result of which would be an untrained pair of abs that "sticks out" not in the intended metaphorical, but in the unwanted literal sense. Don't get me wrong, I am not generally against doing sit-ups, let alone leg raises (they are in fact among my favorite core exercises), I just want you to make sure, you are doing them right, so that you...

1. do not get hurt,
2. do not develop muscular imbalances, where despite or rather due to improper ab training your m. rectus abdominis becomes the weakest link and thus
3. do not put yourself at danger of developing a (painful) hollow back and an untrained pair of abs on a portruding abdomen

Therefore I would advice beginners to follow exercise tip #1 to build up the strength of your abs and learn how to do the hanging leg raises properly before you wrack havoc on your lower back.

Exercise tip #1 - the road to correct hanging leg raise: Done properly, hanging leg raises are the king of all ab-exercises, which does yet require practice and a core that is already pretty strong. Therefore I would suggest beginners start out with the lying leg raises with their hands or one of those pillows under their lower back for lumbar support. By trying to press their hands / the pillow into the floor in the course of the movement, they will develop the core stability that is necessary to progress

1. from the supported to the unsupported lying leg raises
2. from leg raises on the floor to leg raises on a decline
3. from decline leg raises to hanging leg raises

Note: It is neither necessary nor advisable to fully extend your legs during any of these exercises. Doing any of these movements with your legs straight tends to shift the relative workload away from your abs and towards the psoas major, and it increases the overall load on your lower back - the same applies for the dreaded sit-ups with leg-fixation, as well.

I suppose, some of you may be disappointed, that exercises like the cable crunch or your favorite abdominal trainer have not made it to the list. While I think that many of the ab-machines share the same problematic psoas major activity as improperly executed hanging less raises or sit-ups, I count the cable crunch among the most effective ab exercises one can do.
 

Image 3: Exercise variation is key, especially for advanced trainees, who do not want to hit a plateau. Therefore, even self-proclaimed 'pros' should not back off from stability exercises like the side plank, which is the 2nd most effective exercise for the oblique muscles in the top 12 (image from www.everkinetic.com)

That being said, EMG data, no matter how scientifically objective it may seem, should never have you give up what works for you. Ab training, just like everything else you do in the gym, is not about doing, but about feeling the movement. Or, in other words, if the consequence of extending your arms behind your head is that you stop feeling how your upper abs are contracting, chances are that the purported #1 exercise for the upper part of the m. rectus abdominis, the crunch with extended arms, is not for you. The possible reasons for that are manifold, with the two most likely reasons being that you're simply not doing the exercise right (remember: doing crunches is not about raising your head off the floor ;-) and/or the exercise intensity is not appropriate for your training level. The latter is an oftentimes overlooked factor which hampers progress in beginners and advanced trainees, alike. I've hinted at this in exercise tip #1, already rookies need to build a foundation before they start doing 'advanced' exercises such as hanging leg raises - you would not tell a toddler who has just taken his/her first steps to go and compete in the Olympic 200m race, would you? In the same vein, you will probably get neck and lower back problems if you start doing 100s or 1000s of 'ballistic' sitpus, where you're virtually trying to lift your upper body from the floor by pulling it up from your ears or the back of your head. Believe me, many of the pot-bellied weekend warriors I see doing this type of "ab training" would be better off doing a single set of 6-12 properly performed crunches with peak contractions. Unfortunately, many of them cannot do even one of those, because their m rectus abdominis is simply too weak to lift their massive upper body off the floor. Similarly, I see some advanced trainees still perform an hour-long crunch workout, carefully making sure that they perform at least 50 reps of each and every funky move they have ever seen in one of those stupid fitness magazines - come on guys (interestingly only few girls seem to be stupid enough to do so), I know you have not been making progress in years... always remember. progress, or rather progressive muscular (not lumbar ;-) overload that is the key to success in whatever you do in the gym.

Exercise tip #2 - Exercise intensity and the myth of high-rep-training for abs: In that it is important to accept that they may be no limit to the number of 1.25 pounds of weight you want to try to add to the bar every week, there certainly is one to adding another rep to the number of crunches, leg raises or side-bends you perform. In the case of the crunch, for example, the beginner would first have to practice doing the basic crunch right, to feel his abs working, to be able to stop half-way up or down and deliberately contract his muscles and to "peak-contract" his m. rectus abdominis until it hurts. The advanced trainee, on the other hand, will have to refrain from increasing the number of reps beyond a max of 20 reps. Instead, they should focus on increasing torque by either

• varying the position of his arms - beginner: hands support lower back; intermediate: hands on the chest / at the sides of your head; advanced: arms extended behind the head
• adding light weights - e.g. holding a light dumbbell in your hands when you do the crunch with your arms extended behind your head, on the leg raises you could use some of those weight straps for the ankles, etc.
• switching to more advanced exercises - properly executed hanging leg raises, for example, activate the upper part of the abs almost as effectively as crunches; they are the #1 exercise for the lower abs and #3 for the obliques; but they are difficult to do and require an already fortified core (cf. exercise tip #1)

Rookie or pro, training abs is not essentially different from training any other muscle group - its about feeling the contraction not about lifting the weight (your body), let alone impressive rep counts and without proper rest, i.e. at least 48h to the next ab workout, the m. rectus abdominis will rather atrophy than shine in full glory.

If you are doing the right exercises and increase reps and then weights, incorporate advanced exercises and still do not see progress, I can tell, without even even knowing what you had for breakfast that it ruined your efforts in the gym. Having great abs is 75% diet and 20% whole body training and 5% ab training, remember that whenever you get the idea that doing another 100 sit ups or training your abs every day (every other day = max) would magically melt the fat away... you better save the time for some serious squatting, deadlifting or high intensity interval training if you want your abs to shine in their full glory. II. Training the erector spinae (focus on lumbar part) Contrary to having "great abs", which is probably the #1 on the wish-list of trainees in gyms all around the world, impressive erector spinae muscles appear to be way less popular in a world where the divide between morbidly obese exercise dyslectics and ripped exercise freaks is ever increasing. And while the former simply ignore that a strong lower back may save them from a whole host of minor ailments of will experience on top of heart disease, diabetes and Alzheimer's in their later life, the latter keep looking at their sixpacks and simply take for granted that the literal flipside of what they consider the epitome of a fit and healthy body (their sixpack) would look alike. Sometimes this may be the case, more often than not, those are however the same guys and girls who neither squat or deadlift, because they falsely assume that this would make them bulky. The EMG data by Boeckh-Behrens & Buskies goes to show that, due to this commonly held misconception many trainees miss out on the two most effective (hard-)core exercises.

Image 4: Variations of the deadlift (here the romanian deadlift) are still the most basic lower back movements

The best exercises with standard equipment

1. Leg raises on the lying leg curl machine*
2. Classic squat
3. Hackquat machine
4. Deadlift (100% body weight)
5. Romanian deadlift (50% body weight)
6. Partial Deadlift (50% body weight)

* The leg raise on the lying leg curl machine is done with your hamstrings flexed by just rising your quads off the pad with the muscles of your lower back - the move is quite tricky and I personally would suggest you refrain from doing it, when you do not have any health issues that hinder you from doing squats and deadlifts

Figure 3: EMG activity of erector spinae (lumbar part) during six selected core exercises with standard equipment relative to the "king of all exercises", the squat (data adapted from Boeckh-Behrens & Buskies. 2000)

I consider it noteworthy that the decrease in weight on the deadlift (done to avoid injury) obviously takes away from the EMG activity Boeckh-Behrens & Buskies were able to measure. It is thus highly likely, that

1. the deadlift is the most taxing and at the same time most stimulating exercise for the muscles of the erector spinae, and
2. the partial romanian deadlift (legs straight) is probably even more taxing and thus more stimulating than the "classic" deadlift (the EMG data seems to confirm that, as the subjects lifted 2-times the amount of weight on the classic deadlift, yet the muscular activation increased by only 76%)

That being said, at least one of the two fundamentals of true strength, i.e. deadlifting or squatting, should be part of everyones routine - no other exercises will fortify your core and whole body in a similar fashion as these two. Add one, maximal two of the following body weight exercises and your lower back is ready to roll... pardon me, to lift!

Image 5: The flutter kick with endcontractions & the pelvic lift, which is similar to the lying hip extension with the exception that you bend the free leg (100°) turn to be slightly more effective than the good old reverse extensions

The best body-weight exercises

1. Flutter kicks, prone position, with peak contractions
2. Pelvic lift, knee angle 100°
3. Hyper-/reverse extensions
4. Bird (plank position, no arm activity)
5. Sitting upright arms spread like an eagle

I find it quite telling that just sitting 100% straight on a bench with your arms in the eagle position (90° between upper arms and torso, arms slightly bend, so that your palms are facing upward / has something of a preacher ;-) still produces 25% of the activation classical reverse extentions do. This goes to show you how demanding everyday life is for your lower back!

Figure 4: EMG activity of erector spinae (lumbar part) during five selected body-weight exercises relative to the well-known hyper-/reverse extensions (data adapted from Boeckh-Behrens & Buskies. 2000

III. Conclusion: 3 basic moves for a fortified core!

I suppose, there were not too many big surprises in this issue of the SuppVersity EMG Series, or at least I would hope so... you did not believe all those exotic contortions Men's Idiocy & co invent each spring to attract new readers would be worth doing. Did you? Some sort of crunch, some leg raises and one of the core (this refers to both your core as well as the core of your workout) exercises, i.e. deadlifting or squatting max 2-3 times a week is all it takes to fortify the center of your body. If you want the additional bonus of a shiny six (or eight-)pack, do at least as many squats and deadlifts as you do crunches, add in some HIIT (high intensity interval training) and stick to your diet.

Image 6: You asked for it, here is the
info - the ab-roll-out probably is probably
among the most effective ab-exercises, as well.

User requested update: "Dr. Andro What about the Ab-Roll-out?" This question has now been posed twice and not only because one of the persons who asked was my Buddy Duong, I dug a little in the archives of exercise sciences and came up with a study that compared 8 Swiss ball exercises (roll-out, pike, knee-up, skier, hip extension right, hip extension left, decline push-up, and sitting march right) and 2 traditional abdominal exercises (crunch and bent-knee sit-up) and found that EMG signals for the upper and lower part of the m. rectus abdominis, as well as the obliques were "greater compared to most other exercises". In that it has to be said that the movements were performed for 5 reps only and that even the authors remark that higher / more diverse repetition ranges could have influenced the overall results they summarize in their conclusion as follows: "The roll-out and pike were the most effective exercises [in this study! a direct comparison of the EMG data with the one from the Boeckh-Behrens Buskies study would of course be invalid] in activating upper and lower rectus abdominis, external and internal obliques, and latissimus dorsi muscles". Bottom-line: Daron, Duong & the rest - keep doing your roll-outs, if you like them ;-)

An EMG-optimized routine

Image 7: The kneeling cable crunch (image shows seated) is one of my favorite exercises for the m. rectus abdominis; although the authors did not measure EMG activity, Boeckh-Behrens & Buskies explicitly mention this ab-exercise as being particularly effective for advanced trainees (image from everkinetic.com)

There is of course a myriad of ways of combining the individual exercises, my personal recommendation for overall core development (based on EMG measures) would yet be as follows*:

1. Crunches < 20 reps; vary arm / hand position or add weight + peak contractions to build intensity without going past max. 25 reps
2. Leg raises < 15 reps; vary according to exercise tip #1; do at least one of your sets with your legs / torso rotating sideways, alternate left and right
3. Deadlift variety 10-12 controlled reps; select the deadlift variety you feel isolates your lower back best

* "<" indicates that you should not be able to perform another rep with perfect form You may alternate that with:

1. Kneeling cable crunch < 15 reps; add weight whenever possible
2. Side bends < 15 reps; add weight if necessary, be cautious not to bend over or go into hyperlordosis
3. Hyperextensions** < 12 reps, with proper form + peak contraction; add weight if necessary

** I chose the hyperextensions over the other two movements, because you can easily add weight by grabbing a plate and holding it before your chest You may notice that I do not make volume (i.e. set) recommendations. This is due to the fact that I found that everyone has to find what works best for him / her in terms of optimal volume and training frequency. This may also change over time / according to lifestyle factors / nutrition and supplementation.

Integrated Core Exercises for Six-Pack Abs: New EMG Data Questions Efficacy of Crunches, Extensions & Co.

Image 1: Jersey Shore or a fortified core,
what do you chose? (img mediabistro)

If you train in one of the mainstream gyms, you will probably already have realized: It is May, and the beach season is approaching! Now, that it is almost too late for the chubby coach-potatoes to get in shape, they finally realize that their never-existent six-pack is buried under several layers of flabby adipose tissue... so what do they do? Right, they perform the most ridiculous contortions, .. ah, pardon, "ab-exercises" you can think about and talk to their pre-obese neighbor on the right about how they feel their abs working during their latest and greatest Men's Health, Shape and Co "Jersey Shore Ready Beach Workout 2012" ;-)

Strong core and six-pack abs, anyone?

Most of the aforementioned spring-break warriors would be better off dieting hard, and lifting heavy, but I don't have to tell you that, right? Lean or about-to-be-lean as you are, you are probably more interested in which ab-exercises will complement your balanced workout routine best, right? According to the latest research from scientists at the Pennsylvania State University and Le Mills International in Auckland City, NZ, these are not the classic crunch, the oblique crunch and the extensions, everyone is doing for the rectus abdominis (what people usually call their "abs"), the obliques and the musculature of the erector spinae (Gotschall. 2012).

Figure 1: Normalized EMG data for the different exercises and muscle groups (data adapted from Gotschall. 2012)

The EMG measurements Gotschall et al. recorded for healthy college students (10 men, 10 women) suggest that integrated core exercises, rather than isolation movements, are the way to go to maximally stimulate your "abs", your obliques and your lower back. As the data in figure 1 goes to show, not just one, but all of the integrated core exercises shown in figure 2), i.e. (exercise descriptions are quoted directly from Gotschall. 2012) ...

• Int. Hover with Lateral Arm Reach. Each participant began the exercise in a prone position with the shoulders superior to the elbows, forearms flat with the surface of the floor, shoulders and hips at an even height from the floor, and feet wider than the hips. There [sic!] were instructed to move a single hand laterally from the start position across the floor until the elbow was extended and return to the start position at the cadence of the metronome. 
• Int. Balance Mountain Climber Plank. The participants were instructed to start with their shoulders, elbows, and wrists aligned from superior to inferior with their feet hip width apart. We provided the cue of flexing the knee to the opposite elbow at the cadence of the metronome and maintaining a flat upper body while twisting the lower body. 
• Int. Side Hover. Each participant began the exercise in a side position with the shoulders superior to the supporting elbow, supporting forearm flat with the surface of the floor, and feet stacked. We then instructed them to hold the nonsupporting hand superiorly above the head arm for 20 seconds. 
• Int. Pointer. The participants started in a quadrupedal stance with both hands and knees flat on the surface. We then instructed them to contract their gluteal muscles to lift a single leg and opposite arm to the height of their shoulders at the cadence of the metronome. 

... were superior to their classic counterparts, the isolation crunch, the oblique crunch and, of course, the notorious back extensions done lying on one of those exercise mats.

Figure 2: The integrated core exercises; for a detailed exercise descriptions see text above (img Gotschall. 2012)

The normalized EMS values of the respective target muscles, the rectus abdominis (crunch), the obliques (oblique crunch) and the musculature of the eretor spinae (extensions) were...

• +225% and +250% higher for the int. hover and the int. m.c. plank than for the crunch
• +9% higher for the int. side hover than for the oblique crunch, and
• +66% and +41% higher for the thoracic and lumbar erector for the int. pointer vs. extensions

As you may already have recognized, the additional activation during the side hover, as compared to the oblique crunch, is not only comparably low, the int. mountain climber plank, the int. hover with lateral arm reach and even the standard crunch elicit a +36%, +30% and still +6% higher EMG activitity of the abdominal oblique than the purported "gold standard", trainers in most commercial gyms still prescribe as the "go-to exercise for your obliques".

High EMG values don't equal six-pack abs & 'integrated' exercises  require core stability

Just because the EMG activity that is the electrical potential the scientists measure by the means of surface electrodes is higher for a given exercise than for another, this does not mean that the results you will get from this particular exercise are necessarily going to be superior to those you would see if you performed the 'non-integrated' variety. If you read through the descriptions the scientists give as far as the execution of the exercise is concerned, you may also realize that many of the "spring break warriors" are probably not even able to perform those "integrated exercises" correctly, because they require a non-negligible core-strength to begin with; a foundation, the average Facebook addicted 2012 couch potato is lacking and which obviously cannot be build on the 1000-crunches-a-day people like "The Situation" apparently really believe they had build their abs with.

Chest	Biceps	Back	Core	Legs	Triceps	Shoulders
EMG data for all body-parts -> The SuppVersity EMG Series - Click on the desired body part to see the 'optimal' exercises.

If you can do those movement properly (note: even if you have the strength it will take some practicing to acquire the skills!), fine, do them! If you can't or just started training with your cousin who is raving about the ab-workout he has heard the aforementioned media-personality talk about in one of his YouTube vidoes, you better start (him) out with 'less-integrated' versions of those exercises, such as the "boring"

• regular plancks, for the rectus abdominis and the obliques, and
  
• classic pointers, for the musculature of the erector spinae.

And don't worry, in view of the fact that none of these exercises, advanced or not, are going to shed the flab that may still be covering your muscles, anyways, you and your cousin can, with a clear conscious, take your time, to fortify your core. Not for the next beach season, and not just to build the foundation which will allow you to increase your deadlifts, your squats, your bend-over rows, your pull-ups and all the other movements of which people often don't even realize how much core stability they require, but also and most importantly to be able to walk upright and without pain to the day you depart this life.

Step By Step Guide to Your Own Workout Routine - Part V: Example Routines - Round 3: A Detailed Strength Workout

Image 1: Being strong has gotten somewhat out of fashion these days. Apropos fashion, can you imagine David Beckham doing that?

Aside from Thursday, when Adelfo "guest lectures" here at the SuppVersity, you usually have to content yourselves with the sometimes more, sometimes less knowledgeable stuff I am putting out on a daily basis. For today's sixth installment, you are yet lucky that I could convince my friend Sean Casey from CasePerformance to take care of the strength workout template in the "Step By Step Guide to Build Your Own Workout Routine" series. And though Sean, modest as he is, started out his article with a the words "I would like to thank my friend Adel aka Dr.Andro for giving me the opportunity to share a one week sample strength training regimen  with the SuppVersity community", I am the one to say "thank you", sit back and just have Sean take you through your new workout routine ;-)

Sean Casey's Strength Workout Template

Some of you may have seen my face on the SuppVersity facebook wall, already. Others may know me from (accidentally?) clicking on the "suggested reading" link in the navigation of the SuppVersity. Yet regardless of whether you know me or my business @ CasePerformance.com, I want you to know that I do not claim to be an originator of any revolutionary training technique or an "almighty" guru. Similar to everyone else, I'm searching for the best way to maximize human performance (ed. Dr. Andro: highly recommended article "The Guru I am not!" by Sean Casey).

Image 2: Sean's way of designing workouts was inspired by Ian King (photo) and Luke Richesson

My training philosophies and the way I set up training programs are heavily influenced by the writings of Ian King. Those familiar with his work will be able to note several of his original principles in my approach to program design (tempos, general layout, etc). I also must give credit to my mentor, Luke Richesson, with whom I worked for many hours when I first started in the physical preparation field. This does not mean that the program below is endorsed by either of these individuals, but I do feel it's important to give them credit.

If you will, take those workouts as being are "inspired" by these two extraordinary physical preparation coaches.

General Discussion on The Training Week – Strength Focus

There are a thousand different ways you could write a strength based training program depending on your goals. For instance a strength based program for a powerlifter will differ from that for a ball/speed/team sport athlete. Additionally, one's training age impacts things as well. I could have a novice lifter with <1-2 years of experience impressive gains in absolute strength while working in the 5-7 rep range. In contrast, if I went up to a powerlifter with 15-20 years of experience and told them that we were going to lift predominantly in the 5-7 rep range during their peak strength phase, my "street cred" would be tarnished and I'd  probably get laughed out of the gym.

Image 3: One of the things, I like about my friend Sean Casey is his modesty. So, I am not sure that he is going to like me promoting his service and knowledge - sorry, Sean ;-)

Other things to consider when designing the program are: How many days per week will you be training? How much time do you have available per day? What type of "build-up" work have you done in previous training phases? I'm not going to have one prioritize their bench and squat during a strength phase if they walk hunched over with caveman-"esque" posture and absolutely no back or posterior chain strength. This would be setting them up for injury by simply exasperating a problem that is already present. You will also have to take into account which of the main lifts you are specifically looking to increase your strength in – those that are most important should be placed first in the week when you're most fresh.

The latter brings up another issue, relating to the type and amount of baseline stress that is going on in your life at the moment. If you're overworked at the job, getting only 5-6 hours of sleep a night, this may not be the best time to start up a max strength training block (unless you're one of those individuals who thrives in the gym when life is crazy outside of it!) ...This list could go on forever, luckily I won't have to go into to much more detail on this as Adel covered them nicely in Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 of this "Step By Step Guide to Building Your Workouts".

First things first… What are you doing for your warm-up?

The warm-up seems to be a highly debated topic amongst many individuals, some like to jump rope for a few minutes, do a few warm-up sets and hit the weighs hard. Others like a more comprehensive warm. I personally fall on the more comprehensive side of things. The "looser" I feel going into a workout, the better I recover after it. After playing around with various warm-up protocols, I have found the below to work well:

• Total Warm-up Time: 15-25 min
   
• Light Aerobic Activity: 5-10 min*
  *ride a bike, light jogging on a treadmill, etc.

Your goal in whatever type of warm-up you may be performing is just what the term "warm-up" implies, you want to get the muscles warm. To this ends, I find it most useful to perform your warm-up at an intensity that will give you a light sweat. You should be able to do it at a pace where you could have a conversation with someone standing near you. This will make you a little more limber for the stretching to follow.

Tip on warming up: A nice way to warm up is to simply ride your bike/walk to the gym (this will obviously work only for those who live close enough and don't have a super hilly ride that would turn something that is intended as a warm-up into a brutal leg workout ;-). This convenient and time saving strategy can also be applied to your cool down, once you've finished your workout and need to get back home.

Static Stretching: 5-10 min

I know, I know … "static stretching decreases muscular force and should NEVER be used prior to working out!" I used to repeat this mantra as well, until it was challenged by Ian King (read up on the issue in Sean's interview with Ian King). The fact alone that a highly respected and successful physical preperation coach like Ian, a man who has been coaching elite athletes on an international level for 30+ years questioned this "longstanding truth" made me think: "Could someone like Ian King be so completely wrong on a subject?" Thus, I forced myself to reevaluate the allegedly "conclusive" science which supposedly confirms that a stretching would decrease muscular performance. In doing so, I found that when followed by doing a dynamic/sport specific warm-up, static stretching DID NOT decrease performance (click here for Sean's full review of the literature on the subject).

From what I have learned during this research I deduced these two simple rules for my own, as well as my clients pre-workout static stretching regimen:

1. Focus the static stretches on the muscle groups that will be used during a given workout or are specifically tight
    
2. Before you slam static stretching during the pre-workout time, give it a try for 3-4 weeks. The best research study in the world is N= 1, with that 1 being you. Thus, If you find it effective – Great! If not, ditch it.

Dynamic Stretching: 10 min

Common ones that I'll do, depending on the workout I'm doing, include the following:

1. "World's Greatest" stretch
2. Walking heel-to-butt - Stretching quadriceps
3. Backwards lunge with lateral flexion - Upper body will flex towards side that has leg up
4. Handwalks/Inchworms - I've heard this referred to various things, but basically you get in a pushup position, "walk" your hands out in front of you and then "walk" your feet up to your hands. Your hips will pop up into the air similar to how the middle of a tent pops up when you stand it up
5. Single Leg RDL's/ Walking RDL's
6. Walking Knee Hugs
7. Walking Leg Cradles
8. Lateral Squats
9. Drop Lunge

I'll usually do 3-4 reps per leg, pausing for 2 seconds at the end range of motion. All of these are body weight only.

Ok, Let's Start Pushing Some Iron - The Workout

Here's an example workout for someone with a training age that would fall in the "intermediate" range. Overall body strength, with a focus on his posterior muscle groups, is going to be the general priority for our workout. Thus, we place these exercises 1st in the week on day's 1 and 2 followed by pushing exercises later in the week.

Day 1: Pullups, Wall Slides, DB Overhead Press, Abdominal / Core Training

• A1) Pullups
  
  Warm-up: 1x7, 1x5
  Workout: 5x3
  
  Rest: 3-4 min for less advanced, 5-6 min for advanced lifters
  Tempo*: 201
  *time in seconds spent in eccentric, isometric and concentric phase as created by Ian King. Although the weight may be heavy which makes it impossible to perform the concentric action in 1 second, the intent should be to move as fast as possible during the concentric phase

• A2) Wall Slides
  
  Workout: 1x 6-8 reps
  
  Tempo: 212
  
  Set 1 done prior to the first warm-up set or between 1st and 2nd warm-up set.
  Purpose of these is to activate the lower traps and scapular muscles.
   
• B) DB Overhead press
  
  Workout: 2-3x8  
  
  Rest: ~ 1.5-2 min
  Tempo: 311 or 211
   
• C) Abdominal/Core Training To be completed in circuit fashion (20-30 seconds rest between exercises fine); rest 2 min after completing all 3 exercises
  
      C1) PB Pikes- 2x 8-10  > Tempo 301
      C2) Prone Pillar Planks: 2x 40-60 sec          

Day 2: Romanian Dead Lift, Glute Bridges, Glute Ham Raise, Abdominal / Core

• A1) Romanian Dead Lift
  
  Warm-up: 1x7, 1-2x5
  Workout: 5x3
  
  Rest: 3-4 min for less advanced, 5-6 min for advanced lifters
  Tempo: 201 or 301
   
• A2) Glute Bridges
  
  Workout: 1x 6-8 reps
  
  Tempo: 121
  
  Set 1 done prior to the first warm-up set. If needed, the 2nd  Set 2 would be done inbetween 1st & 2nd warm-up sets. Purpose of these is to activate the glute muscles.
   
• B) Glute Ham Raise*
  *if no machine, have someone hold your ankles and do them off floor
  
  Workout: 2-3x8
  
  Tempo: Between 201, 211 or 301
   
• C) Abdominal/Core Training To be completed in circuit fashion (20-30 seconds rest between exercises fine); rest 2 min after completing both
   
• C1) ½ kneeling Cable Chops 2x8-10*
   
• C2) ½  Half Kneeling Cable Lifts 2x8-10*
  
  *Tempo: Multiple parts in these lifts; can't use traditional tempo numbering system

Day 3: Active Recovery day

1. 20-25 minute easy conversation pace on a bike. The purpose of this is not to enhance your "cardio" fitness or accelerate your fat loss. It will rather help you to shake out some of the stiffness that may have build up in your legs following Day 2's leg session and increase the muscle blood flow. You should place the bigger emphasis on accomplishing the former vs. the latter so don't go at high speeds with the thoughts of getting a good "muscle pump workout".
    
2. Stretching. 20 minutes, combination of static and dynamic (regimen see above)
    
3. 15 minutes relaxing in a pool (submerged up to the neck or at least nipple line) while drinking one of those fruity drinks with the cool umbrella top straws that are always advertised with with those tropical vacation advertisements ;-)

Day 4: Bench Press, Band Pull Aparts, Single Arm DB Row, Abdominal / Core

• A1) Bench Press 
  
  Warm-up: 1x7, 1x5
  Workout: 5x3
  
  Rest: 3-4 min for less advanced, 5-6 min for advanced lifters
  Tempo: 201 or 211
   
• A2) Band Pull Aparts
  
  Workout: 1-2x10 reps
  
  Set 1 done prior to the first warm-up set or between set 1 & 2. Focus on pinching the shoulder blades down and behind you, activating the scapular muscle groups, similar to how they should be during the actual bench press.
   
• B) Single Arm Dumbbell Row (opposite arm supported on bench)
  
  Workout: 2-3x8
  
  Rest: ~ 1.5-2 min
  Tempo: 201 or 301
   
• C) Abdominal/Core Training To be completed in circuit fashion (20-30 seconds rest between exercises fine); rest 2 min after completing all 3 exercises
   
• C1) Curl Ups or Kneeling Cable Pulldowns/Crunches- 2x 10-1, tempo 301   
   
• C2) Prone Pillar Planks: 2x 40-60 sec

Day 5: Squats, Walking Lunges, Abdominal / Core,

• A1) Squats
  
  Warm-up: 1x7, 1-2x5
  Workout: 5x3
  
  Rest: 3-4 min for less advanced, 5-6 min for advanced lifters
  Tempo: 301
   
• A2) No Specific "activation" exercise for Squat. However, if you have tight hips, doing kneeling quad-hip flexor stretch can help assist hip mobility. If needed, I go with ~ 6-8 reps with each leg, holding the end range of motion for 2 seconds before relaxing out of it and completing the next rep (if one side tighter, will hit it in a second set).
   
• B) Walking Lunges
   Workout: 2-3x8
  
  Rest: ~ 1.5 min
  Tempo: Between 211 or 201
   
• C) Abdominal/Core Training To be completed in circuit fashion (20-30 seconds rest between exercises fine); rest 2 min after completing both
   
• C1) Lateral Pillar/Planks 2x 40-60 sec  
   
• C2) Standing Cable Russian Twist 2x8; Tempo: 211 or 311

Day 6: Active Recovery day

1. 20-25 minute easy conversation pace on a bike
    
2. Stretching. 20 minutes, combination of static and dynamic (see above)
    
3. 15 minutes relaxing in a pool (submerged up to neck)

Day 7: Lazy Day

That's right; I said "Lazy Day", rejoin the normal population and simply relax. Mentally prepare for your following week of training. 

A brief note by Dr. Andro: Although I am sure Sean is going to chime in on all your questions in the comment area, you may also want to check out his website for more information on training and supplementation and consider using his services. Unlike me, Sean is a fitness professional and not just some stray physicist ;-)

Notes on "The Workout": Tweaks, Upper Before Lower Body & More

Image 4: Exercises like the squats or deadlifts, here performed by Arnold, are more taxing to your system and require longer recovery times. Than bench presses and other upper body work. This is why you will perform the upper before the lower body workout, so that the squats and deadlifts won't hamper your performance on the bench.

As mentioned earlier, we have placed the upper body workouts in front of the lower body lifts simply because upper body days are less stressful on a "system wide" basis. In contrast, the heavy lower body lifts (squat variation, deadlift variation) which involve the entire body have, at least in my humble opinion, a much greater carryover effect on your exercise performance, when you perform them on the day before your upper body workout. This is also, the reason that a rest/recovery day subsequent to each lower body workout is an absolute must.

In general, I will place the abdominal/core work at the start of the training day after doing the warm-up.  When the day's workout is so heavily focused around a single lift and you've been mentally gearing into it since the previous day, however, I like to hit this one first. Hence, during this particular strength phase the main lift is done right away and core done afterwards. The reason I mention this is that you will find the core work as the first element of your workout, so I deemed it necessary to give you an explanation for why I deviate from this principle, which, by the way, is another one from Ian King's book.

On the core lift, take whatever amount of warm-up sets you need to get your body feeling "primed" to start the work sets. While I did suggest reps/sets, you know your body better than I!

Important: As Adel mentioned on his previous workout templates (Hypertrophy & Health, Fat Loss). There is no template that will work for everyone. For the one I outlined above, one of the most convenient tweaks you can apply is simply flip day 5 and day 6 depending on what works best with your schedule.

You will notice that I have 1 set of an "activation" exercise of some sort paired with the primary lift for the day. An experienced lifter may not benefit from this to the same degree as a less experienced individual as they may already be efficient at activating these muscle groups.

Rest Periods for the Rookie & Advanced Lifters and Tempo Prescriptions

There are not a whole lot of exercises per day for a couple of reasons. First, we have long rest periods on the main lifts (4-6 min). If we do 5 work sets, you're looking at ~ 20-30 minutes on one exercise alone, plus whatever time is needed for the 2-3 warm-up sets. Longer rest intervals  (5-6 minutes) are needed for those with greater lifting experience. Most of the individuals I work with tend to be in the 3-4 minute range. Second, I want all of your attention focused on that main lift for the day. Previous lifting cycles should have taken care of support musculature, etc to allow you to thrive for a few weeks with lower volume. Remember, our goal here isn't necessary to add slabs of muscle mass. Rather, we're trying to make our nervous system more effective at using the slabs of muscle mass that we already have in place!

The tempos I have listed are suggestions only. The main focus is to make sure you're under control during the eccentric phase and pushing as fast as possible during the concentric phase. The use of the "0" or "1" at the isometric pause interval is dependent upon goals. If you're looking to take advantage of the Stretch Shortening Cycle effect to assist the concentric phase, make the isometric as short of possible. However, if you're looking to emphasize the concentric portion of the lift, take a 1 second pause during the isometric portion of the lift. Again this is just another variable you can manipulate based off your desired goals

A Note on Intensity, Weights, RM-Prescriptions and Your Form of the Day

Image 5: Your form of the day is important not only on the days of big meetings. Weight prescriptions in % of RM do thusly have limited value. If your 1-RM max varies from day to day, it should be obvious that whatever percentage of this 1-RM you may be shooting for will vary as well.

Although some people like to work off % 1RM's for all of their lifts, I tend to work more off how my body, or that of the individual I'm training is feeling. 1 RM's (3 RM's, 5 RM's, etc) are only an accurate measure of strength for the day that it was originally set. Let's say that someone is having a phenomenal day (solid night of sleep, promoted at work, the good looking guy/gal that they've had their "eye on" finally agrees to go out on a date with them, etc). More than likely their given 1RM will test amazing.

Unfortunately with the ying comes the yang. Let's say that 1 week later, this individual oversleeps their  6:30 AM alarm (while staying up to 2 am just to get their business papers completed), gets yelled at by their boss for arriving late and were told to "take a hike" from their significant other, etc. etc. In this case doing 5x3 reps at a predetermined X% of their 1 RM may be absolutely futile if they're already mentally and emotionally drained from all the other occurrences of the day.

Thus, as long as you give yourself a planned deload at some point in the cycle, I encourage you to base your rep weights off how you're feeling on a given day; Not off your 1RM from a previous point in time.

Post Work Regeneration – Are you serious…. There's More?

In one word – YES! Remember, you're only as strong as your ability to recover between sessions. Dr. Andro has discussed many nutrition protocols and supplements that assist with this process. Thus, I'm just going to touch very briefly on some of the non-nutritive strategies, of which you may not have read that much on the SuppVersity, as of yet:

• I have found that taking my muscles though gentle, slow stretches to "re-limber" the body to be quite effective.
• If at all possible, I also like to follow my workouts up by doing hydrotherapy. This can involve either contrast, cold water immersion, thermoneutral water immersion or hot water immersion protocols. I've written an ebook on hydrotherapy which may be of interest to some of you who are interested in the research and applied evidence on this topic (you can get it for free when you sign up for my newsletter).
• Massage, when done by a skillful hand, can be helpful as well. I stress the word "skillful" because some massage therapist seem to confuse, "let's bring the muscle tone back to healthy levels" with "I am going to press as hard as I can on the muscle until the client screams, call it Advanced Trigger Release Mumbo Jumbo therapy….". I've seen to many people actually have to back off their workouts simply because their massage was way too aggressive and they're still sore 3 days later. 
• Although I've never done it myself, I do know that some individuals swear by acupuncture and similar types of modalities.

Assuming that you have made it thus far in this epic workout template, I hope that I have been able to give you an idea of how a strength specific workout could look like. If you have questions, feel free to post them in the comment area, or just reach out to me either via the contact formula on my webpage or via Facebook!