MALE
MUSCLE
A
NDY McKENZIE IS A WELL-RESPECTED
strength coach, speaker and educator in the fitness
industry.
Andy is the founder of the
Combined Strength Group, and
possesses a wealth of coaching
experience.
Having served sixteen years in the
military with 7 Para RHA, Andy went
on to work in professional sport. He
has prepped a variety of athletes, from
North and South Pole endurance
teams to competitive CrossFit athletes
and Olympic weightlifters.
At present, Andy is living in the
South of France, where he consults
for the newly formed Toulon Rugby
League team, winning 3 major
National titles in his first season.
A body that moves and feels
as good as it looks…
Unless you are training to compete
within a certain discipline, then what
about that for a training goal?
As a fitness professional I am
bombarded with the same questions
over and over- what is the best method
to get strong, increase muscle mass or
move better?
How can this be attained when you
can only get strong with a barbell and
the big 3 lifts? Building muscle has to
be in the weights room, progressively
lifting until the weight personifies
the story of Milo and the bull. And to
move well you have to relinquish all
your gains and embrace the inner yogi.
Each of them true through their
own lens of fitness, yet leaving them
vulnerable to the missing pieces that
catch up with them in time.
Ask yourself - “when you train,
do you focus on the quality of your
movement?” As you grow stronger
and increase in size, are you slowly
‘weakening’ over time by reducing the
active range of movement at the joint?
So, how do we build a suit of muscle
armour that keeps us training for
longer?
‘THINK MOVEMENTS NOT
TRAINING TOOLS’
Combine them; barbells and
bodyweight. Focusing more on the
movement pattern and not just the
tool. Manipulating the loads, time
under tension and leverage
to maximise every single session.
There is no hiding, to get bigger
and stronger requires heavy lifting
and more importantly, consistency.
Train long enough and you will
appreciate this comes with a high
risk of injury, and associated wear
and tear on the joints.
Who doesn’t love a heavy bench
press to build strength and size? With
a little more thought we can exhaust
the muscle, working it through a full
range and involve more of the body
as a consequence.
For example - Bench Press for
3 explosive reps at 78% or more
of 1RM, into 9 Gym Ring Press
Ups with a *TMB of 1-1-3.
*TMB is short for Top, Middle and
Bottom. I use this primarily to own
each movement and maintain a
strong mind and muscle connection
throughout. In this example, it’s a 1
second hold in the Top and Middle
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MUSCLE & FITNESS / MARCH 2018