Lifting Speeds
The ideal lifting speeds: one second to raise. Three seconds to lower.
For more strength, take one second to lower the weight and one second to raise it, say researchers at the College of New Jersey. To burn fat, take three seconds to lower a heavy weight and one or two seconds to raise it, according to a study by Wayne State University. “To trigger muscle growth, take one second to raise a weight and three seconds to lower it,” says personal trainer Mark Raynesford.
Best Rep Range for Growth
Best rep range for growth: 8-12
Doing this many reps will help you slap on size by forcing your muscles to grow and increasing your body’s production of testosterone and growth hormone, found research by the National Strength and Conditioning Association. Just think of the pain as your body releasing its weakness.
When to Stretch
The only time to stretch: after your workout
Forget the laments of your misinformed school PE teacher. Researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in America reviewed more than 350 studies and found warm-up stretches had no effect on injury prevention, and limbering up before pumping iron actually made men weaker.
The Best Muscle Building Strategy
The strategy for building the most muscle: full-body workouts
Researchers at the University of Alabama found that full-body regimes gave on average 2.3kg greater muscle gain per month than sessions that focused on lone muscle groups. Each kilogram of muscle earned burns 420 extra kilojoules a day, even if you don’t leave the couch.
How to Reduce Back Pain
The exercise most effective at reducing back pain: back extensions
A survey by the marketing company Nielsen found that the most common muscular ailment is back pain. Fortunately, research at the University of Madrid found that back extensions reduced the incidences of this pain by 80 per cent. Do four sets of 12 reps to get your back on track.
The Best Time to Build Muscle
The best time to build muscle: late afternoon and evening
Muscles take time to wake up. Research in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise discovered you’ll lift up to 11 per cent more weight in late afternoon and evening sessions compared to morning sessions. But keep the workouts short — you’ve got far better night-time pursuits to attend to.
The Perfect Rest Time
The perfect rest between sets: three minutes
For more strength, take a three-minute breather, advises the Journal of Strength and Conditioning. The study also revealed that this was as effective as five minutes’ rest. For bigger muscles, take 60 seconds’ rest. You’re now armed with the excuse to cut short that talkative gym ‘buddy’.
The White Elephant of Fitness Equipment
The fitness industry’s biggest white elephant: the Swiss Ball
Wobbling about deprives you of weights heavy enough to build muscle. Doing dumbbell chest presses on a Swiss ball was 40 per cent less effective for building chest strength than the same exercise performed on a bench, found a Dynamic Medicine study. So, never turn your workouts into a ball game.
How to Bust a Plateau
How to bust a plateau: get negative
Forget what you can lift: you can handle up to 40 per cent more weight on the lowering portion of an exercise than on the raising portion, found the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. “Take three to four seconds to lower the weight,” says Daniel Hollander, the study’s author. This forces your muscles to work harder and amass more strength.
The Exercise Foe
The exercise foe turned friend: fat
Fat as an enemy is ’80s thinking. A study in the Journal of Medicine, Science and Sport Exercise found that men who ate a normal diet with moderate amounts of fat gained 2.3kg more muscle and 86 per cent more strength than those on low-fat diets. Fats should make up 20 per cent of your kilojoule intake, so grease your guns with vegetable oils, nuts and seeds. But make sure to avoid transfats — the ones served at your local fish and chip shop — as they block protein absorption.
The Most Underrated Supplement
The most underrated supplement: caffeine
There’s a secret weapon in your cappuccino: caffeine. It helps you lift two per cent more weight, push two to four more reps in a set, train for 30 per cent longer, makes exercise seem five per cent easier and helps you burn up to five per cent more fat. No wonder Starbucks is everywhere. To reap these benefits, take 200-400mg (a mug of coffee contains 132mg) an hour before exercise.
Your Must-Have Work-Out Drink
Your must- have work- out drink: water
The most convincing reasons to drink water are the penalties of being parched. Studies in the Journal of Applied Physiology found that dehydration lowers testosterone — your chief muscle-building hormone — and hinders aerobic performance. What’s more, dehydration reduces strength by 17 per cent, found the University of Connecticut. How much is enough? Divide your weight by 30. The resulting figure is the number of litres you need to swig a day.
The Best Number of Reps
The best number of reps to burn fat: six
Warning: this may challenge all fat-burning dogma you know. Using weights so heavy you can only manage six reps hikes up your metabolism more than doing 12 reps, found the Norwegian University of Sport and Physical Education. You’ll also fry 50 per cent more kilojoules if you rest for 30 seconds rather than three minutes between sets.
The Top Tip For Losing Fat
The top tip for losing fat: interval training
To go from fat to flat, pick up the pace. Alternating between hard work and recovery — that is, interval training — burns three times more fat than training at a consistent pace, found a study by Laval University in Canada. Try this: sprint for 90 seconds, then walk for 30 seconds. Repeat seven times for the stamina and fat-burning benefits of a 40-minute treadmill slog.
The Best Cardio Machine
The best cardio machine: treadmill
It will take you 14 minutes to fry 840 kilojoules on the treadmill, 16 minutes on the elliptical machine, 21 on the rower and 27 on the bike. But, for the fastest results, run outside, because treadmill running is 36 per cent easier than running at the same pace on terra firma, found a study in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. Canter on Mother Nature’s treadmill: grass.
The Best Time to Burn Fat
The best time to burn fat: morning
When an exercise is done on an empty stomach in the morning, as opposed to later in the day, 1kg of fat is burned 67 per cent faster, found Kansas State University. You’re also more likely to make it a habit if you do it at sun-up, found the American Council on Exercise. As the day goes on, excuses to sit in the pub are easier to find.
The Kilojoule-Burning Weapon
The kilojoule-burning weapon: free weights
Barbell squats burn 50 per cent more kilojoules than the leg press (the machine equivalent) because the squat uses more supporting muscles, say the lab coats at Truman State University.
How To Be Less Sore in the Morning
Be less sore in the morning: combine cardio and weights
Tired of walking like John Wayne after your workouts? A 45-second cardio burst before each weightlifting exercise reduced soreness.
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