Christopher Warden: Before I answer your question, take a moment to appreciate the incredible design of your body.  Think about how it functions. 

 

Stand in the cold with a t-shirt on, it’ll shiver in an attempt to warm you up.  Expose pale skin to the sun, it’ll darken to keep you from burning.  Begin sprinting regularly after a prolonged lay-off, the heart and lungs will develop the endurance to increase your work capacity. 

 

The common factor in these examples?

 

The body was exposed to an extreme environmental stimulus and, in order to protect itself (or to make living easier), it adapted to make those “extreme stimuli” less significant.

 

And, as you can imagine, effective weight training causes the same type of response.

 

Lift heavy weights, your muscles gain size and strength so that those weights aren’t so heavy anymore.  (And then you can lift even more!)  The weight is the stimulus that causes your muscles to grow.

 

Just remember the key variables required to make that stimulus effective:

 

1) Make sure the weight (or training technique) is intense enough to take your body outside its comfort zone.  The body will only adapt when it’s surrounding environment forces it to do so in order to survive.

 

2) Provide your body with quality nutrition, rest and recovery – the essential ingredients for rebuilding after your intense training.

 

Christopher “Doctor” Warden, CSCS traded in his lab coat, latex gloves and microscope in the late 90's as part of a transformation from pencil-necked geek to, well, freakishly strong not-so-pencil necked geek. 

 

His ability to understand and teach the technical aspects of fitness, coupled with his passion and intuitive sense -- hey, are we sure this guy's not Spiderman? -- have made him one of the most coveted trainers in NYC. 
 

When he’s not busy studying, writing or transforming client physiques, Christopher loves traveling, snowboarding and chillin’ with his family and friends.  You can learn more about him and his training insights by visiting his fitness and self-empowerment  blog.