Mental acuity in workouts > achieving weight loss muscle gain goals

Parrillo Performance
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IRON VIC SPEAKS

Teen pain tolerance and increasing “mental acuity”
Back squat alternatives…Shaking things up

Parrillo Products in this article: CapTri, 50/50 Plus, Parrillo Bars, Hi-Intensity Workouts.

Hey Vic, I got a teenage son who has the pain tolerance of a 6-year old girl. The boy says he wants to grow muscle but he wants to quit a set the instant it gets a little tough. Hell, we aren’t talking about entering the pain barrier - he doesn’t even make it to the discomfort barrier! I’m not making him do forced reps or drop sets. Vic, he wants to bail out of a set before he gets anywhere near positive failure. I try and reason with him and tell him that the gains lay past his current capacity - but he thinks his capacity ends at about rep 8 of what he could handle for 15 reps! Any ideas? He is 15, stands 6 foot and weighs 150. He says he wants to add muscle so he can try out for football this fall as a running back. I don’t know Vic, if the kid can’t hack a little pain in the weight room, how is he going to stand up to the real pain of getting cracked by some 240 pound JV lineman? Roger, Alabama

First off Roger, is weight training his idea or your idea? I get a lot of adult males trying to relive their glory days (or more often, their lack of glory days) through the exploits of their male offspring. Usually the kids are not the slightest bit interested in sports but get forced into it by fathers living out their own unfulfilled sport fantasies. I will assume this is not the case and Junior is motivated but sissified. The sissyfication of the American adolescent male is quite common in our overly feminized society.

Let me pass along a trick I used on a neighborhood kid a few years back to “up” his pain tolerance: multiple sub-maximal top sets. Rather than use the classical, all-out top set to trigger hypertrophy, I used “multiple sub-max top sets” to induce hypertrophy. In a remarkably similar set of circumstances, I had a youngster come to me and say he sincerely wanted to add muscle for high school sports. The problem was that up until that point he had done nothing more physical or strenuous than to play Xbox or Play Station.

It wasn’t that he was a sissy (well, maybe a little) it was that he had no frame of athletic reference. Over time we gradually built up his pain tolerance. We began using a “volume-based” resistance approach. Later on, after a month of multiple set sub-max training, I introduced him to the standard, intensity-based weight training approach. By then he was ready, willing and able to bite into the “all out” top set-style training.

As John Parrillo would say, we “developed his mental acuity.” How did I increase my neighbor kid’s pain tolerance? Rather than have him work up to a single all out set of say ten reps, I had him per-form three top sets of 7 reps with poundage he could (and should have) handled for 10 reps. If, by way of example, your boy was capable of 100×15 in a particular lift - yet because of his low pain tolerance he bags the set at 7 reps - rather than go mental and create a negative situation, start him off doing three sets of 7 with 100.

Each subsequent session get him to add one rep to each set. When he is able to do 100 x 7 reps for 3 sets, in the next workout have him hit three sets of 8 reps across the board with 100 pounds. In the next workout induce and cajole him to make 9 reps per set for three sets. When he is able to achieve three sets of 10 reps with 100 pounds, increase the weight to 110 and drop back to three sets of seven reps: repeat the process. This way he gets to stay within his com-fort zone and still get something out of it. By using sub-maximal multiple top sets, his capacity, strength and pain tolerance will gradually increase and improve over time. This way we avoid freaking him out and run the risk of his quitting the whole deal altogether.

On a related note: I would strongly advise purchasing a canister of 50/50 Plus^TM. Have Roger Junior drink a serving after each and every work-out. 50/50 Plus^TM provides the human body exactly what it needs to heal the body and grow muscle. It has been my experience that kids will assign almost magical power to over-the-counter nutritional sup-plements and that is a good thing that can be used to our advantage. Not only does 50/50 Plus^TM actually improve results obtained from a workout, kids get a huge placebo effect from taking a shake. We encourage them to think they are engaging in an almost magical ritual: they train hard and then they drink this incredible tasting shake immediately afterwards; it makes them feel terrific.

The combination of endorphins and the delicious post-workout protein/carb mixture ac-celerates results. Nothing fires a kid up more than real results: results that are measured in terms of poundage handled and reps added; results that are measured by muscle added and body fat shed. Use the multiple-set sub-maximal approach for a month. Add a post-workout 50/50 Plus^TM shake. In four weeks the kid will have built up his pain tolerance and concrete results will morph him from sissy into serious.

Iron Vic Steele, I need some help in building my quads. I cannot back squat on account of an upper back injury that happened when I was in a car crash a few years back. Pain makes it impossible to hold a barbell on my traps in the squat position. The injury occurred three years ago and I have been back in hard training since November of 2007. I currently confine my leg work to leg extensions - but I don’t feel like I’m getting much out of them. Plus I am pretty burned out on them. I also do some leg presses but I would like to try something new, something that would put some spark and fire back in my thigh training. I am bored to tears with leg extensions and leg presses! Todd, Paris

(Texas! not freaking France!)I have three thigh exercises that I would suggest you try. The first is the front squat. In my opinion the back squat is the best single thigh exercise and the front squat is the second best thigh exercise. If you can do these without pain then I strongly suggest you make front squats your core thigh exercise. In addition, I would strongly suggest you try and use the “clean grip” as opposed to the less stable “cross-hand” grip. If the clean grip causes wrist pain, try and persevere. The wrists will loosen up over time and the clean grip is far more secure and safe than the precarious cross-hand grip. Keep the torso bolt up-right as you squat. Above all else: squat deep! The biggest mistake made by front squatters is handling too much poundage and skimp on the depth. Done properly, a full front squat is a thigh builder with-out equal. If you cannot do front squats without pain, the belt squat is a terrific alternative. Since the poundage hangs between the legs and the weight is attached with a hip belt, there is no spine pressure whatsoever.

Obtain a sturdy hip belt and construct a sturdy platform on which you can stand. The elevated platform must be high enough to allow the poundage, suspended on the belt, to dip way below the feet. Two sturdy benches of equal height should suffice. At the low point the upper thighs should be parallel to the floor. Keep the knees forced out as you raise and lower the weight. Do not let the knees buckle inward when the upward pushing gets tough. Belt squats are an exquisite thigh exercise if you can acquire the belt and devise the platform. The ancient sissy squat is a forgot-ten exercise from a by-gone era that requires no equipment other than a block of wood and a sturdy post or doorframe to hang onto.

Describing a proper sissy squat is difficult: place your heels on a block of wood that is anywhere from 1 to 3 inches in height - the height of the wood block is strictly a matter of personal preference. Stand with heels high on the wood block. Hang onto a pole or doorframe with one hand. Keeping the hips locked, lay back. The idea is to keep the body locked while bending only at the knee joint. With torso/hips locked straight, you lay backwards. Hang onto the pole/doorframe for balance. Lay way back, until you are looking at the ceiling, before coming erect. The thighs contract in order to force the torso back to the erect starting position. Done properly a lay-back sissy squat will burn the thighs on the 1st rep of the 1st set. You don’t squat down you lean back. A super strong man might eventually be able to hold a 35 pound plate while doing these. Write back after trying these thigh-building alternatives.

Mr. Vic, I have read your magazine column for years. I use Parrillo Products and methods and work out intensely. I have been at it for seven years and I get your toughness. I know what it takes is to “get real” and train like a hard head. I am not sure that I fit that hard head category; however can you give me some advice? First off: I eat “clean” 99% of time. I work out six times a week. Due to my work schedule, my workouts tend to be 30 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes again in the evening. My work hours suck - but I can’t complain because I love my job and at least I have one! My eating is as follows:5 am: two hard boiled eggs and either oatmeal or 1 slice of sprouted Ezekiel bread with cashew butter 8:30: A handful of almonds or macadamia nuts, (if I didn’t have toast at 5am) green tea11:30: 4 oz of grilled chicken breast or a 10 oz pouch of tuna fish, or a turkey burger with 1/3 avocado plus 1 cup of steamed broccoli 3pm: Parrillo shake or Parrillo bar 5:30: dinner - similar to lunch 8pm: Parrillo shakeWorkouts: I hit chest/triceps and abs twice a week; I hit shoulders and biceps twice a week; I do a high rep, light leg workout (usually with no weights) on shoulder/bicep day. I hit cardio one day and I hit a heavy leg day once a week. I am doing something five to six days a week and usually hit every muscle twice weekly. My issues are as follows: muscle gains are not happening as fast as I want. I seem to fatigue very quickly. I hate cardio but do it anyway. I like using a boxing bag for cardio. I want more muscular definition! Should I be using heavier weights with fewer reps? My caloric intake is around 1,500 calories per day and I use CapTri®. I stand 5′1″ and weigh 107 pounds. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Teresa, from parts unknown

Okay Girl! You are doing a whole lot of things right. My suspicion is that you need a total change of direction. We need to shock your complacent body as you have obviously exhausted all progress pursuing this particular groove. No matter how effective a training routine, sooner or later progress stalls and you need to have another method ready to roll out. Parrillo Pros rotate training protocols on a periodic basis and always have another approach ready to roll out at the first sign of stagnation. I would suggest the following: I assume that you can train 30 minutes twice a day, once in the morning and again in the evening…Okay - since you’ve indicated that you “hate” cardio, likely big gains can be had by hitting cardio six times weekly for 30 minutes. True progress lies in hitting your weaknesses and not always playing to our strengths. Let’s not eat any-thing until after the morning cardio session is done. This will force the body to burn body fat.

In the absence of glycogen, (carbohydrate) the body’s favorite fuel, the body will use its second favorite fuel source, body fat, to power the car-dio session. If you are able to gen-erate a sufficiently elevated heart rate using the “boxing bag” then go ahead and use it. On the other hand, if you just paw at it and cannot break a sweat, then you need to “man up” and find another cardio mode. You need to sweat when you perform aerobics! If you ain’t sweating you ain’t doing jack! Let’s shake up the lifting: on Day I hit legs hard using squats, leg extensions, leg curls and calf raises. You can squeeze a lot of sets in thirty concentrated minutes if you rest about one minute between sets. On Day II train chest and triceps using dumb-bell bench press, dumbbell incline presses, pec dec, (or cable flyes) tricep pushdowns and/or overhead tricep extensions. Day III work back and biceps: barbell rowing, pull-downs, seated rows, preacher curls and seated dumbbell curls. Day IV is dedicated to shoulders and light legs: I suggest seated Smith Machine front press followed by Smith Machine press behind the neck and dumbbell lateral raises.

Finish this workout with three quick tri-sets: leg extensions, leg curls and calf raises. On Day V perform machine chest presses, perhaps some dumbbell flyes and then bag it. On Day VI perform 5 sets of biceps and triceps; strict incline bench dumbbell curls can be super-setted with tricep pushdowns. That’s it for the lifting.

Let’s shake up the eating: you can actually kick your calories upward quite a bit. I would suggest adding extra protein and cutting back on the amount of fat you are currently consuming. It may seem counterintuitive, but by eating more lean protein and fibrous carbohydrates you will actually spike your metabolism and will lose body fat through a process called thermogenesis. This new program will emphasize cardio and up the calories - but with a shift in nutrients away from fat and towards lean protein and fiber. The radical increase in cardio, the dietary changes and the new resistance training program will blast you out of your current rut. If you implement and enact these new procedures and settle in for a solid month, the bodily changes will be dramatic: more muscle, more “definition,” more energy and less fatigue.

Be sure and “heavy up” on the Parrillo supplements. I would make sure I had a box of Parrillo Bars on hand at all times. Be sure and consume a 50/50 Plus^TM shake after weight training. I would also increase the amount of CapTri® you are using. Let’s look to bump the caloric intake from 1500 to 2000 per day. Please keep me informed.

Parrillo Performance
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