health

The 10×3 training protocol – a sample workout

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muscle-building-back

In this article, we talked about how the 10×3 training protocol can really help in jacking up your muscle mass. However, there are two things that one needs to remember when incorporating this kind of training into your workout.

The 10×3 protocol, if overused, can quickly lead to over-training.

The 10×3 protocol is very conducive for lifting very heavy weights, simply because you are less number of reps in a set. This is great for muscle building. But it also comes with a cost. It can really put a lot of stress on your muscles (obviously), but also your nervous system. The more heavy weights you lift, the more recovery time you need.

So lifting super-heavy weights can really bite you in the back, if done too frequently without proper rest.

The 10×3 protocol is most effective if used for compound exercises.

Compound exercises (like squats, deadlifts, benchpresses, pull-ups etc) are exercises where you can pile on a lot of weight, when compared to single-joint exercises. What I mean is – you can lift much more weight when doing a bench press, than let’s say a tricep kickback. As a result, when doing these compound exercises, you are putting much much load, and hence these are extremely useful (if not downright essential) to pack on new muscle.

Use the 10×3 lifting protocol for compound exercises. They are much more bang for buck for single joint exercises.

With the above two points in mind, let us take a look at a sample exercise regimen, which will incorporate the 10×3 training protocol.

Monday (Lower body, Abs) – Week 1

  • Squats OR Dead lifts (not both), 10×3
  • Leg extensions, 3×10
  • Leg curls, 3×10
  • bodyweight crunches, till failure
  • Front  raises, till failure

Wednesday (Chest, Shoulders, Triceps) – Week 1

  • Any variation of the benchpress, 3×10
  • Military-press, 3×10
  • Side shoulder raises, 3×10
  • Tricep pushdowns (OR) skull crushers, 3×10

Friday (Back, Biceps) – Week 1

  • Barbell rows, 10×3
  • Weighted pull ups, 3×10
  • Lateral shoulder raises, 3×10
  • Bicep curls, 3×10

Monday (Lower body, Abs) – Week 2

  • Squats OR Dead lifts (not both), 3×10
  • Leg extensions, 3×10
  • Leg curls, 3×10
  • bodyweight crunches, till failure
  • Front  raises, till failure

Wednesday (Chest, Shoulders, Triceps) – Week 2

  • Any variation of the bench press, 10×3
  • Military-press, 3×10
  • Side shoulder raises, 3×10
  • Tricep pushdowns (OR) skull crushers, 3×10

Friday (Back, Biceps) – Week 1

  • Barbell rows, 3×10
  • Weighted pull ups, 10×3
  • Lateral shoulder raises, 3×10
  • Bicep curls, 3×10

In Week 3, give your body a break from the 10×3. All workouts should be 3×10.

Week 4, repeat the cadence …

 

And you’re welcome! Try it, and let me know how it works out (no pun intended).

 

A simple home-made drink to burn off fat

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turmeric-spice-with-amazing-health-benefits
Turmeric – the super spice?

Do you want to lose unwanted body fat and keep it off? Of course you do. Who doesn’t?

Effective and safe weight loss always starts with a proper diet and a properly training regimen. But there are always other things that you can do to help the process along. Here is something that will give you terrific results.

Take a cup of water and add the following ingredients:

  • Half a teaspoon of turmeric
  • A little bit of black pepper
  • Tiny pieces of ginger
  • quarter inch cinnamon stick
  • (optional) some drops of lime for taste

Mix thoroughly and heat the mixture until it is almost close to boiling. Let it cool for a while, and then gulp it down.

Have this concoction at least once a day, maybe even twice, but not more. You can probably have it early in the morning on an empty stomach, and once again just before going to bed.

You should see some good results within a week. And what’s more – all of the ingredients are completely natural.

The magic component here is something called ‘Curcumin’ which is present in turmeric, and also in small amounts in ginger. So how does Curcumin help in fat loss? For starters, it makes you more insulin-sensitive which is extremely essential for weight management. It also helps to increase the body’s core temperature which increases your metabolism and helps in fat burning. It also helps you manage excess cortisol levels (high cortisol levels are very bad news for belly fat).

And that’s not all. Curcumin does a lot of other great things to your body. Here is a few of them.

  • Helps in reducing blood sugar levels, which is great to stave off diabetes
  • It helps reduce cortisol – the stress hormone – to manageable levels
  • It is a powerful antioxidant and helps prevent inflammation
  • As a result, it is very good for painful joints and arthritis, and for recovery from strenuous exercise
  • It is a mood enhancer, as it can cross the blood-brain barrier
  • Because of that, it can also help in prevention of Alzheimer’s disease
  • It may help in reducing total cholesterol levels, and increasing HDL (good cholesterol)
  • It is mildly estrogenic. This is not necessarily bad because it displaces estrogen from binding to its receptors. This helps manage excess estrogen levels in the case of women.
  • It helps increase testosterone in the case of men.
  • It may increase nitric oxide levels which helps in decreasing high blood pressure and is great for cardiovascular health

Isn’t that just wonderful?

So why do we add black pepper to the above mixture? Because curcumin is not really well-absorbed by the human body. Black pepper helps in much better absorption of curcumin.

Ginger and Cinnamon add greatly to Curcumin’s ability to increase insulin-sentivity and control blood sugar levels. Together, all the ingredents make this a potent fat burning drink.

Note though that Curcumin may reduce iron absorption. So if you already suffer from anemia or iron deficiency, curcumin can make it worse. Consult your doctor for their opinion if that is the case.