Month: March 2024

Using chalk when lifting is an underrated way to grow.

To grow in strength training or hypertrophy, you need intensity.

Intensity can be lost in a lift due to many confounding factors.

However, one of the major culprits of limiting intensity is grip strength. 

Ever do a deadlift and feel like you could have just done an extra rep or 2 if your grip didn’t fail you or the bar didn’t slip away?

Yeah, we’re going to fix that with one of the many great tools.

Chalk!

Let’s go into it.

The Role of Chalk in the Gym

Chalk is widely used in gyms to enhance grip. It’s been around for decades.

It’s not just for professional athletes; even casual lifters can benefit significantly. I believe everyone should use it.

Chalk reduces moisture and slippage, allowing for a firmer and more secure grip on the bar.

If you go into a powerlifting gym / dedicated section, they will sometimes have a chalk bowl. You can easily go into it, chalk yourself up, and get to it.

How Chalk Enhances Grip

So how does chalk actually work?

Chalk (magnesium carbonate) works by absorbing moisture from your hands.

This absorption creates a dry and rough surface, increasing friction and grip on the lifting apparatus.

It’s a simple yet effective chemical reaction that can make a significant difference in your lifting routine.

You Should Use Chalk When Lifting for Muscle Growth

It’s frustrating. You are having a good lift, you know physically you can push out 2-3 more reps. Boom your grip starts failing and you can’t hit it anymore.

You may reset and start again, but that initial tension is now lost.

A strong grip is crucial when lifting.

It’s the primary connection between you and the weight.

When your grip fails, your ability to lift heavier weights and stimulate muscle growth is compromised.

If you can’t get that intensity in your workout because your grip is a factor, it will limit your growth overall.

You can read more about that here.

You Should Use Chalk When Lifting for Better Performance

As mentioned above, having a limited grip strength can easily decrease your lifts overall.

Using chalk when lifting will enhance your performance overall.

It will allow you to have a strong grip over anything.

Here’s the thing though, you don’t need to just use it for barbell lifts. Use it for everything!

Use it for:

• Pull Ups
• Curls
• Bench Press
• Overhead Press

Anything that requires you to have a strong grip, use it.

It may “look funny” but that shouldn’t matter. Your performance matters.

Exploring Different Types of Chalk Products

So we understand that chalk in general can increase performance which can increase muscular growth and strength gains overall.

If you want to buy chalk online, you may notice plenty of different types of chalk.

You will usually find these types of chalk products available:

1. Loose Chalk: Traditional and widespread, great for covering large areas quickly.
2. Chalk Balls: Less messy, offering controlled application.
3. Liquid Chalk: Convenient, less dusty, and often more skin-friendly.

Now that we know the types, let’s go over the pros and cons of each.

Choosing the Best Chalk: Pros and Cons

• Loose Chalk:
  • Pros: Full coverage, cost-effective.
  • Cons: Messy, not allowed in some gyms, can’t carry it around with you unless in a bag.
• Chalk Balls:
  • Pros: Less waste, more gym-friendly, easy to carry around.
  • Cons: Might not provide as thorough coverage.
• Liquid Chalk:
  • Pros: Less messy, longer-lasting.
  • Cons: More expensive, drying time required.

My personal favorite is a chalk ball.

I can bring it with me everywhere easily, it doesn’t leave a mess and it’s long-lasting. I probably go through a chalk ball every 5-6 months and I use a decent amount.

Any chalk is better than no chalk though. If you can get your hands on some, use it.

Other Ways to Improve Grip

Now, chalk isn’t the only tool you can use to improve grip. You can use wrist straps. They are less messy overall and provide even better strength.

However, if you are training for a competition of powerlifting, it may not be the best option because you can’t use them in competition.

I like chalk because it enhances your ability to grip but it also can help progressively improve your grip strength overall. You don’t get that with straps.

Final Thoughts

Chalk is an invaluable tool in the weightlifting arsenal.

It enhances grip, ensures safety, and aids in performance which can help you gain more muscle and strength.

Note: All Amazon Links are affiliated.

When it comes to building muscle, the debate between using machines or dumbbells is a longstanding one.

This argument has been going on for so long. It’s time to dive into both dumbbells and hypertrophy and find which is best for you.

What are Dumbbells / Free Weights?

Dumbbells, a type of free weight, are small, handheld weights that come in various sizes.

They offer a range of motion that is more natural and free-form. This way, you are not restricted to a specific movement pattern.

Although they aren’t technically the same, Kettlebells can still be used like dumbbells for some exercises.

What are Machines?

Workout machines are designed to target specific muscle groups with controlled movements.

These machines often provide external stability, allowing you to focus on lifting heavier weights safely.

This can be very beneficial for beginners who are learning proper form or for those focusing on isolating specific muscles.

Which is Better for Hypertrophy: Machines or Dumbbells?

First, let’s get this out the way, you can use both Machines and/or Dumbbells to achieve hypertrophy or gain muscle.

There is no doubt or argument about that.

The question is, which will help you achieve hypertrophy more effectively? 

The Argument for Machines

For isometric-specific exercises, machines, in most cases, allow you to lift heavier than dumbbells.

Usually, the reason for this is that you can get some type of external stability to use to lift more with adequate form.

Not all machines have something to easily stabilize yourself on, and some machines are better than others overall because of this.

Stability

Let’s use the example of a dumbbell row vs a machine row.

A dumbbell row has you usually stabilizing yourself on a bench press with your arm.

It looks like this:

Image from Barbend

This is good for stability reasons but still difficult because your arm itself will get fatigued from this.

Now let’s look at the machine row:

Image from Muscle and Strength

You can see from this image alone, that the person can prop their feet up for stability. They don’t have to worry about their arm fatiguing just from stabilizing themselves on the bench.

Now, I’ll be honest, this isn’t even the best example of a row that has good stability. 

The best one would be something that is a chest-supported machine row.

 

Image from Titan Fitness

As you can see with this exercise, the chest and feet are supported for stability.

Now, the only thing you need to worry about is your back and the row movement itself.

On the other hand, while it’s often emphasized, the role of stabilizer muscles in hypertrophy is somewhat overstated. They do contribute to overall muscle development, but the primary muscle groups are the main drivers of hypertrophy.

Controlled Eccentric Movement

The eccentric portion of an exercise is very important when it comes to hypertrophy. Many people think it’s just the concentric that grows muscle, but it’s both and there is an argument to be made that you can grow more with a more controlled eccentric overall. 

With dumbbells, controlling the eccentric can be a bit difficult when dealing with heavier weights, especially with a lack of stability support.

Machines make this portion of exercising easier overall, especially when lifting heavier.

Having a good controlled eccentric with heavier weight will lead to better hypertrophy overall. 

The Argument for Dumbbells

No Restrictive Movement

Dumbell’s main pro is that you can use them in any way. They’re non-restrictive and don’t force you into any position.

Whereas with machines, you’re bound to a specific position. For some, this doesn’t work too well and can cause injury if their biomechanics don’t mesh well with the machine.

More Variation

Considering there is no restrictive movement, you overall get more variety with your exercises.

As we know, variety is the spice of life! 

But seriously, having more variety is never a bad thing. Being able to do more or something that you’re comfortable with will usually be better than being stuck with a certain amount of exercise.

You can do more exercises with a pair of dumbbells than you can with 1 machine.

What Builds Muscle the Best?

Considering the points above, I would always choose a machine over free weights for hypertrophy if the opportunity exists and the exercise is ideal for what I’m trying to build. 

Now, this doesn’t mean I don’t or wouldn’t use dumbbells. Dumbbells can still build muscle very effectively.

I find through most exercises, when they have a machine option, I have:

• Better stability
• More control over the weight
• Less room for error
• Can “easily” take to failure or close to failure

Considering those points, having all that accounted for should lead to better hypertrophy.

If I can’t train as hard as I need to in an exercise because of fatigue of stability or lack of control, I won’t be getting the best results overall. 

Use What You Like Best

In the end, machines and dumbbells can both build muscle effectively. That’s not an argument.

However, I do believe some machines offer more value and allow you to solely focus on just moving the weight without any other worries.

When you don’t have to worry about other external issues like stability or other areas being fatigued due to form on free weights, you get to move the weight better and more effectively. 

This overall will lead to better gains for most.

However, you should use what you like best. 

Any exercise that you can do with a high intensity and not get hurt regardless if it’s a machine or dumbbell, then you should do that exercise.   

The benefits of strength training can’t be overstated. Strength training popularity isn’t just a fitness trend but a testament to its profound impact on health and well-being.

It’s one component that I suggest almost everyone do.

Its profound benefits outweigh most cons.

However, you may be wondering “Do I need strength training?

Well, luckily, this article delves into the essence of strength training, its universal applicability, the remarkable benefits it offers, and how it can benefit you.

What is Strength Training?

Strength training involves exercises that improve muscular fitness by exercising a specific muscle or muscle group against external resistance.

This improvement in muscular fitness will overall make you stronger and in essence, will allow you to lift more weight.

Resistance can be anything that’s an opposing force, but in most cases related to strength training, we’re specifically talking about barbell training.

What’s the Difference Between Strength Training and Bodybuilding?

Strength training, distinct from hypertrophy or bodybuilding training, focuses on increasing muscular strength rather than just muscle size.

However, you can still gain muscle on a strength program, however, that’s not the primary goal and the repetitions you do aren’t ideal for hypertrophy considering strength training is fairly low repetitions.

You can also gain strength when doing hypertrophy training, but it won’t be as profound as if you did strength training.

If you are more of an intermediate lifter, you won’t be getting as much hypertrophy on a strength program as you would on a bodybuilding program.

Who Should Do Strength Training?

Everyone.

Ok, maybe not everyone, but most people, and in my opinion, especially beginners.

Why Beginners Should Train in Strength

For beginners, strength training lays a solid foundation for overall fitness. It teaches basic movement patterns, builds a baseline of strength, and may even help prevent injuries in more advanced training. It’s also encouraging for beginners to see tangible improvements in strength, which can be a significant motivator.

Having this baseline in strength as a beginner will easily traject you to further hypertrophy gains if you ever decide to do more hypertrophy-related training. 

Strength training may seem intimidating but remember we all started somewhere.

Story Time

I used to only do hypertrophy training when I first started working out. So only dumbbells, machines, etc. 

It was nice and I gained some okay muscle for someone who was fairly skinny. Most people considered me to be in good shape.

I then thought to myself, I can probably squat 135 easily.

Nope.

I barely could unrack the bar.

I had embarrassment not because it was my first time squatting and things didn’t go well, but because I thought I was so much stronger than I was.

Fast forward, after trial and error with many strength training programs, I finally built up a solid foundation of strength for my weight and height.

I had a

275 deadlift

250 squat

200 bench

at around 140 lbs. 

This isn’t anything to brag about by any means and I could still improve more than that (and I did) but it still felt good at the time since I could barely do the bar for any of those lifts originally.

I went back to hypertrophy training and things felt like they made more sense and overall “easier”.

I was able to lift more weight for more reps than when I was only doing hypertrophy.

I felt like I could properly train and knew how to grind sets out as well.

Everything just started to click afterward. 

What I’m trying to say is, that building a base of strength is imperative if you want to get more into bodybuilding training. You will get better results with a better base of strength. Period. 

Why Elderly People Should Engage in Strength Training

Strength training is also very beneficial for older adults.

Most people don’t realize how important having muscle mass is, especially when you get older.

Strength training can help prevent the loss of muscle mass and strength that comes with aging and improves balance and coordination, reducing the risk of falls.

Most don’t realize but falling is a very serious issue when you get older and chances of mortality are much higher with it. Preventing such a thing can prevent potential death. 

Strength training is also associated with bad knees, joints, etc which is not true. 

If anything, strength training can help alleviate plenty of these issues due to them stemming from weakness of muscles or ligaments and tendons. 

Everyone Else

So for everyone else, it’s mainly up to you if you want to do it or not.

You are either at this point an intermediate or advanced trainee and you probably have decent strength already. 

I would still recommend doing blocks of strength training but this is completely up to you and your goals.

5 Major Benefits of Strength Training

Enhanced Muscle Mass and Strength 

So we just mentioned that you can build muscle on a strength training regimen but it won’t be as great as a hypertrophy-specific program.

However, you will still get some muscle from it and of course… strength!

Having strength is of course amazing because you can lift more. Having more strength is also related to a better expectancy of life. 

Weight Management

Strength training aids in weight management by burning calories during and after workouts.

Muscle tissue burns more calories than fat tissue, even at rest.

This means that the more muscle mass you have, the more calories you’ll burn throughout the day.

Improved Bone Health

Engaging in strength training helps in improving bone density.

This is particularly important as we age, reducing the risk of osteoporosis and bone fractures.

The stress that strength training puts on bones stimulates additional deposits of calcium and activates bone-forming cells.

Improved Joint Stability 

Strengthening tendons and ligaments, which connect muscles to bones and bones to each other respectively, enhances joint stability.

This reduces the risk of joint dislocations and other injuries, especially in high-impact activities and sports.

Increased Load-Bearing Capacity

Strength training will help strengthen your tendons and ligaments. This can increase the body’s ability to bear heavier loads. This is particularly beneficial for improving performance in various physical activities and exercises, including everyday tasks.

3 Main Exercises for Strength Training

Three fundamental exercises are pivotal to strength training: the Squat, Bench Press, and Deadlift. Each targets different muscle groups and offers unique benefits:

Squat

Primarily targets the quadriceps, hamstrings, and glutes. It also strengthens the core and lower back.

Most cases for strength training, you have a barbell on your back and are squatting the weight up and down.

You can watch a video by Starting Strength on how to squat here.

Bench Press

On the bench press, you are unracking the weight and then bringing it down to your chest and lifting it.

Another video by Starting Strength.

Deadlift

You pick up weight and put it down… ok, that can be explained better but that’s esentially what it is.

You can watch how to deadlift here.

Note: If you are part of my newsletter, you missed the series of explanations of these exercises. Join the email list to not miss out. Join the discord if you want these articles.

Starting Strength Program

The Starting Strength program is a great way to get into strength training as a beginner. 

Here is the program below.

1. Workout A

   • Squat: 3 sets of 5 reps
   • Bench Press: 3 sets of 5 reps
   • Deadlift: 1 set of 5 reps

2. Workout B

   • Squat: 3 sets of 5 reps
   • Overhead Press: 3 sets of 5 reps
   • Barbell Row or Power Cleans: 3 sets of 5 reps for rows or 5 sets of 3 reps for power cleans

Progression

Begin with a weight that is manageable but challenging enough to perform all reps with proper form. For each workout session, try to increase the weight slightly, usually by 5lb and then when things get harder, 2.5lbs. This incremental increase is crucial for continuous strength development.

You can view their official program here as this is just a quick overview.

Final Thoughts

Strength training is an inclusive, versatile, and immensely beneficial exercise regime.

If you are a beginner, you should include it in your training.

Strength training benefits can’t be overstated if you are getting into fitness and exercising. I highly recommend you start if you haven’t.