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All up in the gym like every day,
Drinking protein shakes chock full of whey,
Like I said, cardio can’t… mess with this,
And cardio can’t… mess with that,
The weights I’ll never drop, ‘cuz you know it don’t stop,
When I get my 2-2-5 grams of protein – I’m on top.
– Snoop (probably)
You know the drill… if you’re the first person who responds and can tell me which Snoop song this is without Googling – play fair – I’ll send you a free item from our Swag Shop.
If you wish, you can grab the N.W.A. Newsletter Playlist on Spotify here, all of the songs that have been featured in the newsletter are on the playlist.
Happy Friday, Coach J here from Anyman Fitness – and welcome to the latest edition of The N.W.A. Newsletter.
Each week with the N.W.A. Newsletter, I give you the best Nutrition, Weightlifting, and/or Attitude advice for you to start to use in your life today.
Tens of thousands of people have used this exact newsletter to gain muscle, lose fat, and become a better version of themselves…
Without any further ado, let’s get started..
N.W.A. Tip Of The Week
More and more people are catching onto the fact that machines are an excellent tool for building muscle.
They focus intently on maximum contractions.
They reduce the risk for injury.
They tend to be easier on the joints.
When I first got into fitness in the early 2010’s, the general consensus was “barbells and dumbbells are the best” and “machines are for wusses and don’t work as well”.
I’m glad that mode of thinking has disappeared.
One thing is for certain – if using a machine will help keep you motivated, in the gym, and injury free – that is a huge net positive.
BUT… I do think there’s a caveat here…
You cannot use machines as a “crutch” for avoiding the hard work.
Let me tell you a short story…
The “me” from 2000-2011 or so used a lot of machines.
I used the Smith Machine to squat. And bench press. And incline bench press. And shoulder press.
I didn’t deadlift at all.
And while yes, I made progress, I didn’t make *a lot* of progress.
It was minimal at best.
The reason I didn’t make much progress with machines is because I had not yet built a solid base of strength.
Around 2011, I became fed up, and I started training hard, with a full body, barbell based program consistently.
It wasn’t a crazy program – it was short, about 40 minutes, 3 times per week.
Here’s the entire program:
Monday:
Barbell Sumo Deadlifts (3 sets x 6 reps)
Chin Ups (3 sets x 6-8 reps – add weight as necessary)
Seated Cable Rows (3 x 10)
Wednesday:
Barbell Bench Press (3 x 8)
Incline Barbell Bench Press (3 x 10)
1 Arm Dumbbell Rows (3 x 10)
Friday:
Barbell Back Squats (3 x 8)
Romanian Deadlifts (3 x 8)
Barbell Shoulder Press (3 x 10)
That’s it. My entire program.
But I told myself I would push as hard as I possibly could, and add 5 pounds to my lifts if I hit my reps, no questions asked.
I am here to tell you, after 2 years of that (very) simple program, I was stronger than I had ever been in my life.
I was bench pressing 300 pounds. I was deadlifting 500 pounds. I was squatting 330 pounds.
And every workout was scary as sh!t!
Seriously, I remember being terrified of every squat, every bench, and every deadlift session.
I was moving serious weight!
I won’t lie – these days, I don’t train like this any longer.
Yes, I push my lifts all the way to failure.
But I often use machines, I don’t barbell back squat, nor do I do from-the-floor deadlifts (at 6’8″, they wreak havoc on my back).
However, my results wouldn’t be as good as they are if I hadn’t spent some time really pushing the heavy weights and developing the skill of absolute, maximum intensity in the weight room.
You heard that correctly – trying hard is a SKILL, first and foremost.
You have to LEARN how to push yourself to the brink – to failure and beyond.
What are some decent strength standards to aim for?
These are what I would consider to be the “bare minimum” before you can move on to using primarily machines.
Men:
Bench Press Bodyweight (in pounds) x 5 reps
Shoulder Press 60% of Bodyweight x 5
Squat Bodyweight x 5
Deadlift 150% of Bodyweight x 5
Women:
Bench Press 60% Bodyweight x 5
Shoulder Press 40% Bodyweight x 5
Squat 75% Bodyweight x 5
Deadlift 125% Bodyweight x 5
These are rough estimates, of course. Don’t be bummed out if you’re a bit short in one of them.
But if you’re woefully short on these numbers, your first focus should be to use the barbell and build your strength up.
Meaning, if you’re a guy who weighs 180, and you can only bench 95 pounds currently, you have some work to do.
You shouldn’t be doing a chest press machine.
You should be on a simple, linear progression, and adding weight every session (and you should be able to do this fairly easily, assuming a decent diet).
Using barbells and forcing yourself to get stronger is the best way to set yourself up for a long, fruitful lifting career.
Machines are great, and they do work.
But just remember not to use them as a crutch.
If you want to chase a “pump” with machines, you have to be sure you have enough strength to catch it first.
—-
Check out these results in just 6 weeks of our group coaching program (below).
This is what happens when you put in the work.
You can learn more and join about our most popular – and affordable coaching offer here.
More AF Content From Around the Web:
If you’re going to overeat a macro, overeat protein.
There’s almost zero chance it gets stored as body fat.
(Be careful of carb/fat tagalong calories, though)
I hope you enjoyed this edition of the Anyman Fitness N.W.A. Newsletter.
I’ll be back next week.
Hope you have a wonderful weekend.
Best, Coach J
Anyman Fitness
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