Multi-joint exercises

Multi-joint exercises (MJE) are extremely efficient way to engage all muscle groups in your body to build muscles, be more physically fit and more functional. When MJE are performed with the correct form, they can engage a huge range and key muscle groups each singular repetition. If done correctly, one can slab on muscle much quicker than isolation exercises.  Some of the MJE movements include, but not limited to are squats, lunges, leg presses, dead lifts, bench press and pull ups.

What are the benefits of MJE compared to that of isolation exercises? Firstly, multi-joint movements are regarded as more beneficial to the body than isolation exercises as they engage various muscles within the body which work simultaneously each repetition. Secondly, you also burn more calories during multi-joint workouts than isolation exercises. This is simple logic, bicep curls might give you a good arm pump, but substituting this for a set of chin ups will engage much more muscles while giving your biceps a workout. In addition, MJE increases your metabolic rate which results in more fat loss. It helps you to develop a lean, strong body. Because you have burnt more calories, you are now able to enjoy a well deserved post-workout meal, aiding in your overall recovery and growth. Furthermore, the risk of injury is significantly lower if the form is performed correctly. Exercises such as bench press, pull-ups, squats and dead lifts are all considered natural movements. You would do the exact same movements if you were picking up a box, pulling yourself out of a swimming pool or pushing a trailer up a ramp. The simultaneous activity of various muscle groups creates a simultaneous movement pattern that promotes safety as you workout. By knowing your limits and performing sets of 80% of your one-max-rep in MJE, it will reduce the risk of injuries and helps you to develop a fully functional and fit body.

Don’t completely ignore isolation exercises; they can be effective towards an end of a workout. Adding leg curls/extensions, biceps curls or triceps extensions are completely fine towards an end of a workout, but by then, your core muscle should be fatigued so you cannot perform another full set of a MJE. It has been 12-18 month since I had an ‘arms’ days, and I would never go back to one of those sessions.

Try adding arms towards the end of a back workout, or add abs to the end of a legs workout. Because at the end of the session, I get home to that 400g stotch fillet, I wanna make sure I earned every calorie of it!

The missing link behind muscle building

So many people focus so much on dieting, training routines and even supplements hoping to excel to the next level. Fortunately those do play a vital part in the muscular development of an athlete, but the unfortunate story is most will plateau excelling to that next level, unless you start developing more testosterone. Testosterone allows any individual to dramatically increase their muscle mass than what their body would normally do. Every single male and female will produce different levels of testosterone, and that is why there are testosterone deficit deficiencies and why males can develop muscles easier than females.

In the world of muscle building, testosterone plays a huge role in regulating muscle growth and the body's response to strength training. Strength training correlates to muscle growth, by causing small traumas to the muscles each time you train. You body will react from the muscles damaged by repairing those tissues damaged by adding new protein strands, giving you more strength and size. All this process is called protein synthesis. What limits protein synthesis is regulated by a number of factors in your hormone, most importantly, testosterone.

Quite simply, testosterone is the most important muscle developing hormone in your body, and it is the one of the key limiting factors that determines how much muscle a person can develop. Testosterone aids muscle growth by connecting receptors on the surface of the muscle cells and acts as a key catalyst in providing signals for muscle tissues to repair, amplifying protein synthesis. Testosterone also enhances growth hormones, which also helps the body to recover from strength training.

Testosterone is the backbone in muscle development, unfortunately, unlike dieting, training intensity and protein supplements, you don't have much control of your natural production of testosterone. A lot of people will debate that genetics and testosterone will be overcome by dedication and training, that is only partially true, because there will come a point, where you will plateau and wonder what went wrong.

Let's take prisoners as a example, do you ever wonder in documentaries why prisoners are so big and build. Do you think they get access to 1 gram of protein per pound of lean muscle mass from nutrient, do you think they get access to top of the range supplements and get to eat 6 meals totalling 3500 calories a day. No. Most of them do have two things, access to weight lifting everyday and they have high testosterone. Men who go to prison normally have higher testosterone than average, then they are placed in an environment drowning in testosterone and their own testosterone count shoots through the roof. You’ve got to have high T just to survive, to be on the lookout every day, willing to fight or kill at the drop of a dime. Testosterone is the building block of muscle and these guys are loaded with it. Access to anabolic steroids is not as common as everyone thinks in prison, however, it does contribute partly to the muscle image in prisoners.

Testosterone plays an important role in muscle growth. This is one reason why anabolic steroid use is popular for people desiring to build big muscles quickly. Anabolic steroids are basically a synthetic form of testosterone. If a patient is diagnosed with HIV, in clinical stage three of the symptom, they can suffer severe weight loss. Do you think the doctor will tell the patient to take BCAA, Creatine or even protein supplements? No. To combat this, doctors will prescribe steroids for the patient, increasing their testosterone and their ability to put on weight.

It is a hard pill to swallow to learn about testosterone and looking to my heroes and idols in the bodybuilding industry and seeing the difference between what I'll never be and what they are.