The Big Bang

Nat Pero

This article contains 3 workouts and some wisdom from Nat Pero. Big bang exercises bring BIG results. Find out more:

Whether your goal is to increase size and strength, reduce body fat or to become more-athletic the chances are that your pursuit will be greatly assisted by embarking on a well constructed, uncomplicated resistance programme. If you were anything like me ten (ok five) years ago you probably spent hours in the gym pumping out a whole range of isolation exercises ready to show off your hard earned biceps to the ladies on a Friday (and quite often Saturday) night. If I added up the amount of man hours wasted doing biceps curls or triceps kickbacks then I’d probably be in for a bit of a shock. These days reams of good quality information on strength and conditioning is freely available at the touch of a button yet I still see gyms packed with alpha males, grunting, groaning and posing their way through a set of concentration curls.

Now I’m not suggesting that isolation exercises can’t play a part in your programme, of course they can. However, these types of exercises should be used sparingly and at the right phase in your physical development. The concept of building lean tissue is greatly misunderstood by a lot of regular gym users, quite often quality is sacrificed for frequency. This article will attempt to quash all the confusion by explaining why big bang compound exercises should form the lion’s share of your conditioning programme. Say good bye to long two hour stints in the gym and say hello to challenging fun workouts completed in less than half the time, functional strength and the physique you’ve been searching long and hard for.

Compound vs. Isolation

Isolation exercises can be great for bodybuilders who have plenty of time to train every muscle from every possible angle, but are not the best way to build functional strength, or mass. Compound exercises recruit several muscle groups simultaneously in order to perform a multi joint movement pattern. To the contrary, isolation exercises focus on a single joint with the sole purpose of working one muscle or a solitary group of muscles. Let’s look at the squat vs. leg extension for developing leg strength. When performing a leg extension you are sat fixed on a machine utilising the quadriceps to extend the knee joint. During the squat, not only are the quadriceps engaged but also the hamstrings, glutes and erector spinae (posterior chain) during the hip extension. Not to mention the huge load placed upon the rest of your core muscles ensuring you don’t fall flat on your noggin. That’s three major muscle groups required to perform the squat compared to just the single muscle group to complete a leg extension. That is why the squat is the daddy of all muscle building exercises and should be a staple part of any worthwhile strength and conditioning programme.

If fat loss is your aim let’s take a closer look at the metabolic effect of intense strength and conditioning work. A temporary increase in metabolism occurs post intense exercise; this takes place whilst your body attempts to recover. In my experience most gym goers do not train at an intensity high enough to encourage this post exercise metabolic surge. The point I’m trying to make is the greater number of compound exercises in your programme should equate to a much more intense workout than if your session was littered with isolation work. This leads to an increase in lean tissue mass, which in turn fires up your resting metabolic rate shaping your body into a calorie torching furnace even when you’re lying on the couch with your feet up. It’s your resting metabolic rate that plays the most crucial part in keeping you a lean, mean, gut free machine!!

When designing your strength and conditioning programme ensure the following big bang compound exercises form the basis of your workout:

Upper Body: Weighted pull-ups, weighted triceps dips, military press, bent over rows, renegade rows.

Lower Body: Squats, deadlifts, Romanian deadlifts, lunges, bench steps.

Whole Body: Barbell clean, power cleans, clean and press, clean & jerk, squat & press, squat & curl.

of course there are plenty more but you get the point I hope, let’s take look at some programmes to help you on you get some Big Bang action.

5 x 5 for Size and Strength

If your sole purpose is to increase your size and strength then 5 x 5 rep scheme provides a great place to start. It’s a favourite of many a bodybuilder and is a proven method for excellent gains. Complete a set of A1, rest for 45-90 sec’s if you desire muscle growth or 120-180 sec’s if you’re sole purpose is to increase strength, then complete a set of A2. Continue the sequence of work with B1 and B2 (except Wednesday), and then finish with the midsection punishment afterwards. Once you can complete 5 sets of 5 up the weight by approx 2.5kg and start again.

Monday’s

A1. Bench Press

A2. Dumbbell Bent Over Row

B1. Front Squats

B2. Romanian Deadlifts

Medicine Ball Double Crunch (2 x 12) superset with Full Windmill (5 reps left and right)

Wednesday’s

A1. Weighted Dips

A2. Weighted Pull-Ups

B1. Deadlifts

Half Get Ups (10 reps left and right) superset with Dorsal Raises (2 x 10)

Friday’s

A1. Military Press

A2. Renegade Row

B1. Squats

B2. Lunges

Full Turkish Get Ups (5 reps left and right)

Kettlebell Circuit for Fat Loss and Athletic Conditioning The 10-20

The 10-20 alternates lower and upper body exercises in an intense circuit using a combination of kettlebell and dynamic and explosive bodyweight exercises. Repeat the following circuit 2-3 times without any rest between exercises. Take a minute rest at the end of each circuit. Perform 1-3 x per week depending on your specific aims and goals.

Sumo Squat x 10

Push-Ups x 20

One Arm Swings x 10 (per arm)

Prisoner Squats x 20

Snatches x 10 (per arm)

Alternate Split Lunges x 20

Renegade Rows x 10 (per side)

Two-Handed Swings x 20

Body Weight Circuit for Fat Loss and Athletic Conditioning

This is an excellent circuit for promoting fat loss and functional strength using only your body weight as resistance. Complete each exercise consecutively with no rest. Aim to complete 12-20 reps or 30-60 sec’s per exercise. Complete 1-3 rounds with a 1 minute rest after each circuit. Perform 1-3 x per week depending on your specific aims and goals.

Jumping Jacks

Spiderman Crawls

Overhead Squats

Elevated Triceps Dips

Reverse Lunges with Overhead Reach

Press-Ups with Clap

Jump Squats

Alligator Walks with Press-Up

Burpees

Summary

Whatever you're training for, big bang compound style exercises should normally make up the bulk of your program. Activation and correctional exercises aside, and unless your a bodybuilder who has time for every exercise in the book (if there is one) the amount of specific isolation training in your program should pale in comparison to your compund moves. The notion of toning up or becoming defined by lifting moderate weights in an isolated manner thousands of times is a complete load of cow’s manure. Muscles can grow, get stronger, faster and improved endurance and fat can be burned. This is how changes in appearance happen, the fastest way to stimulate this is to do some proper compound exercises and eat some proper food.

More Articles from Nat Pero:

An Intro to bodyweight training
Mastering the Turkish Get Up