Did you know the human body has over 600 muscles? Your skeletal muscle is categorized into three different fiber types. Each type has a different contraction speed and not surprisingly, each has a special function within your body.

Slow twitch muscle fibers are called type I and they are recruited first for any type of activity you do, whether it be strenuous or mild.  Slow twitch fibers are your body’s aerobic specialists. They are fueled by blood fats called triglycerides and the aerobic energy system (the oxygen you breathe). They help you go for long periods of time at a light or moderate pace. Distance runners have a lot of slow twitch fibers and they train them to be resistant to fatigue for as long as possible.

Fast twitch, or type II muscle fibers are recruited for strenuous activities requiring power, speed or strength such as heavy resistance training (weight lifting,  power training, etc.) and interval training. They are fueled by your anaerobic energy system (glycogen, ATP, creatine phosphate in muscle cells) and help you go fast and hard. The downside is these fibers fatigue quickly.

Fast twitch fibers come in two sub types: type IIa and type IIb. Fast twitch type IIa fibers are basically  a hybrid of the slow twitch type I fiber and the super fast type IIb fiber, utilizing both the aerobic and anaerobic energy systems equally. They have attributes of both power and endurance and are used for extended periods of relatively heavy activity, like carrying heavy grocery bags up a flight of stairs.

The type IIb fibers are the ones responsible, along with adrenaline, for helping you work at the highest intensities, for only brief periods of time. These muscle fibers fatigue very quickly, usually in less than 30 seconds. They are reserved for only the most difficult of tasks and unfortunately most trainees never recruit them during exercise.  If you are not training these fibers, you are missing out on some important components of fitness, namely, explosive power, speed and strength. You are also missing out on hypertrophy, i.e. an increase in muscle mass.

How Muscle Fibers Are Recruited

When your body moves, it recruits muscle fibers to perform the work. Individual fibers are not called into action however. They band together in bundles called motor units, which  are controlled by individual motor neurons.

Slow twitch muscle fibers are grouped into small motor units which have a low “firing threshold”. So when you perform any activity, whether lifting your arm or doing a sprint, you recruit slow twitch muscle fibers first. Activities requiring increasing amounts of strength and speed are met by increasingly larger motor units containing the fast twitch type II fibers needed to do the job.

By the way, motor units always contain the same type of muscle fibers. In other words you can’t have slow twitch and fast twitch fibers in the same motor unit. If that were possible, you would have some fibers lying dormant while others were being recruited. The dormant fibers would not perform any work and would be “carried along” for the ride in the motor unit by the activated fibers.  Fortunately for us, Mother nature is smarter than that!

In part 2, I’ll explain the differences among individuals with respect to muscle fiber types and some ways to train different fiber types for both sports fitness performance and for building big muscles – without complicating your training program or your life.

It’s called the Triple Threat Muscle system or 3XM, and it’s being described as the new “Bible of strength and mass building” for average guys like myself.

What exactly is Triple Threat Muscle system? It’s the fastest way to gain muscle and get ripped with the least amount of time and effort.

It’s based on years of trial and error experience and the latest muscle building research for 2010. It only takes 45 min, 3 times per week to trigger serious anabolism in both skinny and fat guys with average genetics. Once and for all, you’re going to gain the muscle you want.

Remember, no program can change your genetic makeup and your God-given ability (or lack thereof)  to gain mass… But 3XM comes as close as you can to changing your skinny or fat guy genetic code to a muscle building, fat torching genetic code.

My own experience…

I have personally used these same techniques to make dramatic strength and size gains. I added nearly 100 lbs to my 1 repetition maximum for the deadlift.

I can do 8 pull ups with a 100 lb plate strapped to my waist. You should see the heads turn in my gym when I do this. Everybody stops what they’re doing to check me out. It’s an incredible confidence and yes, ego booster. You can’t help but feel a little arrogant with your new found muscle and strength.

One of these days I’m going to do a short video of me doing this if my gym will allow it .

So, are you ready for this breakthrough program? Are you ready for a system that actually delivers on the promise of building ripped, incredibly strong muscles?

Are you ready to get the stares of envy from men?… and stares of intrigue and attraction from women? It can all happen to you in the next 90 days!

But you need to take action now…

Muscle Building DVD

Important Note: The normal price of Triple Threat Muscle will be $77 but during the launch (for the next 72 hours ONLY) it is going to sell for just$47.

Do yourself a favor and save the 30… only a few good muscle building programs come out each year and you’ll probably end up getting Triple Threat Muscle anyway.

P.S. The video in the main page is not working yet for some reason.

Posted by:  Bob Thomson, Certified Personal Trainer

Welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre put his title at stake against top ranked challenger Dan Hardy of the U.K., while Frank Mir and undefeated Shane Carwin squared off for the interim heavyweight title. The heavyweight title was vacated earlier this year by Brock Lesnar after he was diagnosed with a life threatening hole in his stomach in November of 2009.

To my surprise, Dan Hardy didn’t win a single round and was dominated the entire fight by St-Pierre, who pressured him every round with take downs, superior grappling ability and blurring speed. St-Pierre handily earned a 5 round decision victory. The final scorecard was 50-43, 50-44, 50-45.

As a UFC fight fan, I had hoped Hardy would keep it competitive but it was clear he was outclassed by a superior tactician.

In the other main event, Shane Carwin knocked out (TKO) top ranked contender and former 2 time Heavyweight Champion, Frank Mir at 3:48 of the first round.

After all the hype leading up to the fight and factoring in Carwin’s undefeated status in the UFC with Mir’s impressive recent track record, I thought it  would be a war. Quick KO’s are exciting for the moment but you soon feel deflated. Maybe UFC 112 will have some real wars. We will just have to see. ~

Want the body of a professional UFC fighter? Stay Tuned for tomorrow’s launch of 3XM Triple Threat Muscle -- a brand new muscle building and cardio conditioning program based on the latest human performance research and over 20 years of lifting experience by the creator. It was developed by Jason Ferruggia, a world-renowned resistance training guru and sought-after writer for top mens muscle and fitness magazines like Men’s Health® and Muscle & Fitness®. Jason knows what he’s talking about when it comes building muscle because he actually walks his talk. This dude is big and functionally fit. And ironically, he’s a vegetarian! Stay Tuned for program launch details tonight and tomorrow. Til then…

UFC is a registered trademark of Zuffa, LLC.

Posted by:  Bob Thomson, Certified Personal Trainer

Jason Ferruggia of Renegade Strength Systems has been working on a brand new muscle building and conditioning program that’s going to take the market by storm this Sunday night at 12:00 am.

This program is hot! It’s specifically designed to give you, the skinny guy, the body of a professional athlete and modern day gladiator.

Want the body of an NFL running back or UFC fighter? Of course you do.  If you had the body of a George St. Pierre or Randy Couture imagine the looks you’re going to get.

What do women want in 2010 and beyond? A well-built, muscular and functionally fit athletic body is what women really want! Not some over-the-top, muscle bound, juicer looking freak.

Trust me… I have spoken to hundreds of women about this exact topic, and almost without fail, they all prefer the ripped, muscular look of an athlete – NOT a bodybuilder!

This is the look that turns heads and earns respect from everyone. Guys crave it and women can’t help but be attracted to it.

But the look itself is only the beginning… You will soon be able to walk your talk. You’ll create a buffed, athletic body that’s also incredibly strong, explosive and with killer endurance.

Important Note: using muscle building and conditioning techniques like the ones in 3XM, I have upped my 1 -RM deadlift to nearly 500 lbs! That’s a strength gain nearly 100 lbs for me! And I only weigh 180 lbs. I look jacked. I get stares from everyone, wherever I go. Even the steroid-taking muscle heads in my gym can’t help but envy my look and my strength.

This  is what impresses people the most, the ever-elusive combination of athleticism and ripped, jacked muscularity.

If you are interested in this program, bookmark my home page and come back Monday morning after the product launch  for a special discount offer.

The banner below is NOT LIVE YET… I’m posting it just to give you a taste of what’s coming in 2 days. As soon as the program is launched, I’ll make the link live.

2010 New Research On How To Grow 357% More Muscle

Posted by Bob Thomson, BSc, CPT

These 27 Fitness and Fat Loss Tips will get you on the right track for 2010:

1. Visualize the accomplishment of your goals each and every day. Experience the taste of success and feel that sweet satisfaction.
2. Push the intensity of your workouts. Don’t kill time, burn calories by maintaining a challenging intensity.
3. Use smaller plates at home. This effortlessly reduces calorie intake and promotes weight loss.
4. Build accountability into your workouts so that you resist the temptation to take days off. The best way to ensure accountability is to work with a personal trainer either one-on-one or in a group training setting.
5. Believe in yourself. Know with conviction that you CAN accomplish your goals.
6. Drink water throughout your day. Do this by carrying a water bottle and opting for water rather than calorie-filled beverages. This simple action is extremely beneficial.
7. Maintain your metabolism by eating a healthy snack or meal every three hours. This food should be unprocessed, low in fat and high in fiber.
8. Don’t be afraid to ask for help.
9. Incorporate High Intensity Interval Training into your cardio workouts by performing bursts of high intensity rather than exercising at a single steady pace.
10. It’s not about will-power, it’s about want-power. You have to want it.
11. Do not eat processed foods. These items are high in empty calories and contain a plethora of chemicals that are harmful to your health.
12. Stop talking about losing weight. Start doing it.
13. Fat contains twice the caloric density of carbohydrates and protein, so limit the amount that you consume. Fill your diet with lean protein and carbohydrates from plants and whole grains.
14. Be wary of products that are labeled as ‘health food’. Always read the nutrition labels.
15. Find a workout partner who is in better shape than you, or better yet work with a personal trainer to guarantee dramatic results.
16. Make a habit out of reading nutrition labels. Avoid items that are high in fat and carbohydrates.
17. Destroy negative self talk.
18. Avoid the trap of high-calorie beverages after your workouts.
19. Be consistent with your workouts. Exercise three to four times each week.
20. Expect more of yourself.
21. High fructose corn syrup should not be in your diet. It is high in calories and will quickly derail your weight loss efforts.
22. Challenge your body with each workout. Use different weights, do different exercises and break through plateaus.
23. Eat lots of whole plant foods. Vegetables, fruits and whole grains are filled with fiber and antioxidants, vital for your good health.
24. Do your cardiovascular exercise after weight training to ensure more fat burn. Your stored sugars will be depleted during the weight training then your body will rely on fat stores to get you through the cardio workout.
25. Set specific, measurable goals.
26. Start each day with a healthy breakfast. This important meal should be a balance of carbohydrates, protein and fat to get your metabolism going strong.
27. You deserve better…go get it!

After writing these tips, I realized how powerful and inspiring they are. Print this list and place it somewhere that you’ll see often – this will keep you motivated and pumped up to accomplish your goals.

If your New Year’s Resolution has to do with losing weight and getting into great shape (and whose isn’t?) then guarantee your success by working with a fitness expert who can guide you to success.

I’d love to team up with you – together we will transform your body in 2010!

Call or email to get started today. (845) 223-8168

Between these new ventures and my marketing business I am stacked working 6-7 days a week and unfortunately, blogging has suffered big time.

The good news is that my clients are experiencing phenomenol weight loss results and my fitness income is taking off. I now have a total 17 clients and growing in my boot camp and personal training programs.  

I’ll post some good stuff soon as I catch up and come up for air. 

 Posted by: Bob Thomson

Long before any symptoms appeared, epidemiological research was used to identify people in high risk groups.

Among the highest risk factors are males over 35 years of age, high blood pressure, cigarette smokers,  high blood fats and a family history of cardiovascular disease.

There is also another risk factor: the compulsive, hard-charging, high anxiety personality. The greater the stress, the greater the overall risk.

These threats to your “heart health” can be divided into 2 main categories:

1) Those beyond your control, such as age, sex, heredity and…

2) Those that can be avoided, controlled or eliminated through lifestyle modification.

Among those in the second category are what cardiologists call the triple threat. These are high blood pressure, cigarette smoking, and high LDL (bad) cholesterol levels.

If you smoke a pack of cigarettes a day, your risk of having a heart attack is twice that of a non smoker. If you smoke, have high blood pressure and eat a diet high in saturated fats without any exercise at all, your risk is 5 times greater than normal!!

How To Get a Healthy Heart Fast!

Obviously, quitting smoking cigarettes and eating a low saturated fat diet will help. The next best thing you can do for your heart is to give it what it needs:

regular exercise which includes cardio interval training.

The heart is a muscle. It’s actually a group of muscles, similar in many ways to limb muscles of the body. And just as exercise strengthens and improves limb muscles, it enhances the health of the heart muscles as well.

Since 1943, several large-scale statistical studies have evaluated the relationship between physical activity and cardiovascular disease. One prominent survey compared 31,000 drivers and conductors of bus companies. The more sedentary drivers had a significantly higher rate of heart disease than the conductors, who walked around the buses and climbed up and down stairs to the upper level.

The results of these statistics were tested by experiments with dogs whose coronary arteries were surgically narrowed to resemble those of humans with atherosclerosis. Dogs who were exercised had much improved blood flow than those kept inactive.

The exercise seemed to stimulate the development of new connections between the impaired and the nearly normal blood vessels, so exercised dogs had a better blood supply to all the muscle tissue of the heart. The human heart reacts in the same way to provide blood to the portion that was damaged by the heart attack.

To enable the damaged heart muscle to heal, the heart relies on small, newly-developed blood vessels for what is called collateral circulation. These new branches in the arterial network can develop long before a heart attack — and they can prevent a heart attack if the new network takes on enough of the function of the narrowed vessels.

With all these facts we have, what should be done in order to improve heart health?

Some studies show that moderate exercise several times a week is more effective in building up these auxiliary pathways than extremely vigorous exercise done twice as often. Other studies show that vigorous exercise such as Cardio Interval Training is better in this regard.

The general rule is that ANY exercise helps reduce the risk of harm to the heart. Some researches further attest the link between exercise and healthy heart based on findings that non exercisers had a 49% greater risk of heart attack than exercisers in the study. The study also attributed 1/3 of that risk to a sedentary lifestyle alone.

So, by employing cardio interval training you can expect positive results not only on cardiovascular health but on your overall health as well.

This particular activity for the heart is a cycle of brief “repeated drills” of an intense nature followed by longer periods of recuperation (45 seconds to 3 minutes).

So it’s high intensity exercise for a short period (20 seconds to 1 minute)  followed by a break. Then, you repeat the cycle 2-5 times or so.

The benefits of engaging in Cardio Interval Training include:

1. Heart attack risks are lessened, if not eliminated

2. Enhanced heart function (i.e. better blood circulation, more blood vessels)

3. Increased metabolism, which increases calorie burning helping you in lose weight

4. Improves lung capacity

5. Helps lessen or eliminate stress

Indeed, cardio interval training is a fast and modern way of creating a healthy, happy heart and body in today’s hectic world.

Posted by: Bob Thomson, CPT

Still, I get a ton of emails and information requests about “getting huge” or “monster cuts” like a bodybuilder.  If you’re dead set on getting really big muscles – that are also functional for sports and activities of daily living- then I recommend a hybrid workout program:

Use a total body OR lower body / upper body split training routine using power & performance based conditioning exercises like squats, deadlifts, standing presses, Olympic style lifts, bench presses, pullups/chinups, core twists and all varieties of core stabilization exercises like planks. 

These exercises build power, strength and muscle size, especially when you adjust the volume of work performed upward. If all you did was focus on these exercises and their variants, you will get big. Couple it with clean eating, and you’ll get ripped.  

For those of you who don’t trust chinups and pullups to build big biceps (and by the way, they do, just look at mine in this blog’s header image), then by all means throw in some bicep curls both with a straight bar and dumbbells once in a while. Just don’t over do it. If you do, you will be wasting your time.  

Total Bodybuilding / Performance Conditioning Hybrid Workout: 

The following exercises call for high repetition volumes per workout, more so than regular fitness training or strength training. You’ll be completing between 32 and 48 repetitions per exercise. Do this total body workout 3 times per week. You will use supersets with rest in between each exercise (exercise pairs that work opposing muscles in a superset). You can also split this routine into upper and lower body splits and train 3 -4 days per week). For example, train lower body on Monday, Upper body on Tuesday, rest on Wednesday, lower body on Thursday and upper body on Friday.

Perform 4 sets of 8-12 repetitions for each exercise and rest 60 seconds between each set in each pair. For example, perform a set of the first exercise – rest 60 seconds – then perform the second exercise in the pair. Rinse and repeat until you’ve completed all sets and reps for each exercise pair. Then move on to Pair 2, and so on.

Pair 1: Traditional Back Squat followed by Romanian Deadlift 

Pair 2: Traditional Bench Press followed by Barbell Rows  

Pair 3:  Standing Front Barbell Press followed by Weighted Chinups 

Pair 4:  Standing, Bentover Torso Twists w/Olympic Plate followed by The Plank 

So that’s 8 exercises for a total of 32 to 48 reps per exercise. This workout is fast compared to a traditional bodybuilding workout which usually take 2-3 hours each. I think you’ll find the shorter training duration refreshing and motivating, especially when you realize you can achieve nearly the same mass as a traditional bodybuilding program with much less time-investment. 

Give this sample workout a try for the next 2-3 weeks. After that, lower your reps for each exercise to 3-6 reps and rest 90 – 120 seconds instead of 60 seconds. This is your strength cycle. After another 2-3 weeks it’s time to go back to 8-12 reps, 60 secs rest and use different versions of the compound exercises above (example: substitute the Front Squat for the traditional Back Squat, Traditional Deadlift for Romanian Deadlift, etc.). 

Lastly, please let me know how you’re doing. I’d love to hear from you!

Posted by: Bob Thomson, Certified Personal Trainer & Natural Bodybuilder

Performance conditioning routines which work several muscles and joints at the same time are called compound exercises. And if you’re looking to get huge, you need to focus on these movements.Still, I get a ton of emails and information requests about “getting huge” or “monster cuts” like a bodybuilder.

If you’re dead set on getting really big muscles – that are also functional for sports and activities of daily living- then I recommend a hybrid workout program:

lower body & upper body split training routines using power & performance based conditioning exercises like squats, deadlifts, standing presses, Olympic style lifts, bench presses, pullups/chinups, russian twists and all varieties of planks.

These exercises build power, strength and muscle size, especially when you adjust the volume of work performed upward. If all you did was focus on these exercises and their variants, you will get big.

Couple it with clean eating, and you’ll get ripped. For those of you who don’t trust chinups and pullups to build big biceps (and by the way, they do, just look at mine in this blog’s header image), then by all means throw in some bicep curls both with a straight bar and dumbbells once in a while. Just don’t over do it. If you do, you will be wasting your time. 

Sample Bodybuilding / Performance Conditioning Hybrid Workout: 

The following exercises call for high repetition volumes per workout, more so than regular fitness training or strength training. You’ll be completing between 32 and 48 repetitions per exercise.

You will also use supersets with rest in between each exercise (exercise pairs that workopposing muscles in a superset). Perform 4 sets of 8-12 repetitions for each exercise and rest 60 seconds between each set in each pair.

For example, perform a set of the first exercise – rest 60 seconds – then perform the second exercise in the pair. Rinse and repeat until you’ve completed all sets and reps for each exercise pair. 

Pair 1: Traditional Back Squat followed by Romanian Deadlift

Pair 2: Traditional Bench Press followed by Barbell Rows

Pair 3:  Standing Front Barbell Press followed by Wide Grip Lat Pulldown

Pair 4:  Standing, Bentover Torso Twists w/Olympic Plate followed by The Plank

So that’s 8 exercises for a total of 32 to 48 reps per exercise. This workout is fast compared to a traditional bodybuilding workout which usually take 2-3 hours each. I think you’ll find the shorter training duration refreshing and motivating, especially when you realize you can achieve nearly the same mass as a traditional bodybuilding program.

Give this sample workout a try for the next 2-3 weeks. After that, lower your reps for each exercise to 3-6 reps and rest 90 seconds instead of 60 secs. After another 2-3 weeks it’s time to use different versions of the core compound exercises above ( example: substitute the front squat for the traditional back squat).

Also, please let me know how you’re doing!

Posted by: Bob Thomson, Certified Personal Trainer

It’s along the now defunct Conrail line. I bike, hike and run here. It’s so peaceful and tranquil all my stress and worries just evaporate. I see critters such as wild turkey, deer and a variety of woodland birds. There are bear in “them thar hills”, but I have yet to see one – a good thing I guess. In these trying times, it’s nice to know I can quickly escape to somewhere peaceful to get back to the basics.

I do all sorts of body weight training exercises here, including wind sprints,  jumping jacks, mountain climbers, off trail hill walking and more. Here are some pictures from my sunrise training sessions:

The photos are copyright © Bob Thomson

Posted by: Bob Thomson