Progession Theory

   This is a simple theory that a lot of people miss out on and either don't comprehend    
or don't care. While I'm in the gym, I get people asking all the time how to lose 
weight or build muscle and strength. It's simple I explain, all you have to do is 
take a certain weight and add to that weight every week on the same exercise, and the 
next thing you know you get stronger and have more muscle. Now, most people are saying
I know that, don't talk to me like I'm stupid. I know that most people know that, but
few apply it. Here is an analogy that I use all the time to explain this theory.    
Take a balloon, blow it up with air. If that balloon sits there a day or two the balloon
will get smaller, unless you pump a little air into it each day, the more air you pump the 
bigger it gets. Simple right, yes and no. With our muscles we can't just keep pumping
air or in the muscles case blood in them everyday, because this can actually deter growth
in what we call overtraining. Another thing people tend to forget is you don't grow in the 
gym, we would like to think so, because you feel the pump(blood)in the muscle and you feel 
huge, but remember when you are in the gym you are breaking down the muscle fibers and when 
your body goes into the resting stage is when it repairs the muscle larger than it was before
(given you punished the muscle with more intensity, resistance, etc.). This is what I try to 
do every week. 

Three main components 

1.) Lift Smart-This entails not overtraining, and doing enough to punish the bodypart, but not 
overwork it to where your body won't grow. Limit sets to two or three per exercise and three    
to four exercises per bodypart.On every set get 1 rep or 5lbs. more. If you broke down the 
muscle properly last week then it should have repaireditself bigger and stronger this week, 
so you should be able to handle more weight or more volume. The key is to educate yourself, 
read (most likely why your here right now) whatever you can get your hands on, but also be smart
in what your reading, if the article is about a guy that weighs 260lbs, 2% bodyfat,most likely 
you will not be able to follow his workout regime. My bet is he is not a natural bodybuilder, 
and non-naturalbodybuilders recover quicker and punish their bodies more often allowing for 
maximum growth, but in the end the    body will return the favor back to him when he is forty 
in a sixty-year old    body, or dead. Things to consider, natural bodybuilding is becoming big 
and    the mainstream, with the internet there is a host of information on the superhighway,    
also, support the local contests and natural magazines, which provide the information.    

2.) Rest Smart- If your not getting at least seven hours a rest a night, you may find yourself
tired, not motivated, sore a lot morethan you should be. This is a tricky topic, rest is 
extremely crucial. If your staying up late watching    t.v., partying, etc.. Your robbingyour 
body of essential growth time. This is where the instinctive principle comes into play. If 
your body is telling you    your tired, then listen to it and grab a nap or get to bed, the 
other things    can wait. In addition, playing sports is one reason we all lift, to get bigger,    
stronger, faster, hit, kick, or throw the ball farther, etc., but this comes    at a price. 
The more cardio type exercise you do can rob your body of essential    recovery time, and can 
even send your body into a catabolitic(using muscle for    energy, instead of carbs, fat, 
glycogen, bodybuilders kryptonite) state. If    your cardio is too long the muscle will be 
eaten for energy, my example I give    for this is how many marathon runners do you see that 
are buffed.

3.) Eat Smart-This is the toughest of the three. Eating right is one not only confusing,    
but downright sucks when there are so many wonderful things to cleanse the pallette.    
As I have said before, "More Energy Out, than More Energy In"    All food is, is energy, 
fat is stored energy, if you don't deplete what your    store, you will store more. I don't 
believe in extreme diets, a balance diet    in my mind is most effective, with a little more 
emphasis on protein (45% protein,    35% carbs, 20% fat(not all saturated, omega-3s efa), 
with substantialcarbs for    glycogen stores and good fats such as omega 3,6, and 9s can 
keep your weight    down, but still supply your body with enoughenergy and calories for 
proper growth.    

The key is finding the right balance for yourself. What works for you might    
not work for me, and vice versa. Keeping logs and a notebookis crucial to generate    
data to make yourself accountable for what you are doing, but none of this matters    
unless your serious about improving yourself physically. 

    …For more information and tips, check my website, www.chadamartin.com