For anyone who doesn't know swimming, let me give you the basic outline of training for competitive swimming in college:
Wake up early, swim until you drop. Go to classes for a few hours, swim until you drop. Get some dinner, go to bed early. Repeat.
We would train doubles in the pool 3x per week, and the other days per week I'd have a morning workout and an afternoon weight training session. This meant I was putting in about 20 hours of strenuous exercise each week, and I could hardly eat enough to keep my weight up let alone actually gain muscle mass. At any rate, swimming ended 8 weeks ago, and I wanted to start a high-frequency weight training program to fill the void in my schedule, help me keep my fitness levels up, and enable me to put on some serious muscle mass.
Enter Chad Waterbury's "Next Frontier" program.
I took two weeks to warm up, then I entered into Phase 1 of the program. I've now completed 6 weeks of the program, or Phases 1-4. I have the last two weeks ahead of me, with scheduled doubles 4x per week. Unfortunately, with upcoming finals I will only be able to train 7x per week (I estimate), so I will make that sacrifice for school
I'll be logging my workouts for the last 2 weeks of the program, time permitting with my finals, etc. This is crunch time with the program, so I'm anxious to see how I'll respond to the physical and mental demands. I'm betting I'll be flipping through the old MMMM's in order to get through the tough workouts...
So far, in 8 weeks I've added 9 lbs with no visible fat gain, and I'd estimate that I'm around 9.5-10% BF. My max DL, Bench, Weighted Dip, Weighted Pull-up, Squat, Split Squat, BO Row, and Military Press have already increased considerably (>5%), and I've seen some minor gains in isolation exercises as well.
Here we go...
__________________ You're not the only one improving yourself... I worked out with a dumbbell today -- I feel vigorous!!!
You'll be absoloutely fine with the doubles, if I can handle it, you've got it in the bag. It will definitely be an interesting read seeing the culmination of this program from another persons viewpoint; I was sick to death of that program by the last day and actually skipped the final workout but loved it up until 2 days before the end!
I didn't have much visible fat gain until the last phase where I really went for it! I came home from University where my maintenance is about 500 calories lower and carried on eating 4000-4500 cals a day, added about 8lbs in that phase alone, haha.
Unfortuantely I'll only get in 1.5 workouts today, as I am quite busy all day with a test this morning, a presentation this afternoon, and a speech later tonight at our annual athletic department awards banquet (wish me luck). I did my first workout at a little higher volume in order to make up for the fact that I only have some fairly light DB's available for my half workout tonight.
Morning Workout:
4 Supersets, each 4x12 (unless otherwise stated) with 75s rest between each pairing:
Superset 1
Full Squat, Medium Stance - 135 lbs
Standing BB Military Press - 70 lbs (Yes, I need some work on the upper push)
Superset 2
Pull-Ups, Pronated Grip - Body Weight
Decline DB Triceps Extension - 20 lbs
Notes
*Felt stronger on Squats, Military Press. Kept a better tempo throughout the sets, and did not get stuck in the hole on either.
*4th set of Pull-Ups was a struggle
__________________ You're not the only one improving yourself... I worked out with a dumbbell today -- I feel vigorous!!!
Superset 3
4x12 Shrugs (on a machine ) - 260 lbs
4x10 Leg Extensions ( Beats nothing, I suppose) - 100 lbs
So I was relegated to using my DB's (max 45 lbs) for the first few exercises, then I went to the crap gym on campus to get the pull-ups, etc done. Back to business tomorrow, with real weights...
Total Calories Burned: 3700
Total Calories Consumed: 4300
__________________ You're not the only one improving yourself... I worked out with a dumbbell today -- I feel vigorous!!!
My nephew swims competitively in college and has been looking for something to do during his downtime as well...might steer him over here to check out your log.
My nephew swims competitively in college and has been looking for something to do during his downtime as well...might steer him over here to check out your log.
Looking good
Thanks TG.
If he's still swimming now, though, I would recommend he stays far away from a program like this. I learned the hard way that if you don't keep the volume low during the double swimming workouts, you burn out REALLY fast
__________________ You're not the only one improving yourself... I worked out with a dumbbell today -- I feel vigorous!!!
Went to the doctor today, and the nurse and the doc both commented that my arms looked bigger. I hadn't seen the doc in 2 months, which is right about the time I started the HF program.
__________________ You're not the only one improving yourself... I worked out with a dumbbell today -- I feel vigorous!!!
Went to the doctor today, and the nurse and the doc both commented that my arms looked bigger. I hadn't seen the doc in 2 months, which is right about the time I started the HF program.
Sweet! It's kinda nice when people notice your hard work!
Went to the doctor today, and the nurse and the doc both commented that my arms looked bigger. I hadn't seen the doc in 2 months, which is right about the time I started the HF program.
Bonus Superset
Reverse Crunches - 30 lb DB
Forearm Rolls - 4x3xRoll, Reverse Direction
Notes
*Still having trouble getting weights into position on DB Bench. Capable of lifting more, just incapable of getting into set position initially.
*Squats felt good, so upped the weight
__________________ You're not the only one improving yourself... I worked out with a dumbbell today -- I feel vigorous!!!
I think the most common suggestion to get the weights into place is to sit with the dumbbells on your knees. As you lay back use your knees to push them up and into position.
Og.
__________________ 2009: No races, No times. Slow year. So, now you're 96 cals short. You're now in starvation mode. Doomed. - LostDog
Blog entry: November 1, 2009, Pancakes LiveSTRONG daily plate log
Thats what I currently do, but for some reason the weights are too damn low when I try to start. I think I just have some weakness in that part of the ROM that needs some work...
If the weights are handed to me, I can do full ROM with a given weight, but often I have trouble getting that same weight up on my own for the first rep. If I do manage to get it up, then I can complete the given set, no problems.
__________________ You're not the only one improving yourself... I worked out with a dumbbell today -- I feel vigorous!!!
Ed, bodyweight is up another 1 lb this week, and I don't seem to be adding any fat yet. Before bed I look a little soft compared to usual, but when I wake up I'm right back where I want to be. Obviously that's mostly due to water loss through respiration overnight, but I think it's partly due to hte fact that the metabolism is quite revved up from the doubles as well. Churning through those calories...
__________________ You're not the only one improving yourself... I worked out with a dumbbell today -- I feel vigorous!!!
Notes
*Stronger than I expected on most sets, so I upped the weight as I progressed.
*Might have to modify this afternoon's workout... Math final later and Gym closes early...
__________________ You're not the only one improving yourself... I worked out with a dumbbell today -- I feel vigorous!!!
Excellent work Milkman. Just wanted to say again that the swimming video you posted on my log was very helpful. I watched certain sections frame by frame to watch their styles...gave me some ideas on form to focus on. Thanks again!
I was reading a thing on MH that says Phelps can cross 25m in 7 strokes..
That's INSANE!
Og.
__________________ 2009: No races, No times. Slow year. So, now you're 96 cals short. You're now in starvation mode. Doomed. - LostDog
Blog entry: November 1, 2009, Pancakes LiveSTRONG daily plate log
Og, Phelps is quite a freak of nature. His efficiency and distance per stroke make him one of best swimmers in the world (if not the best).
I can make it across 25m in 7 strokes, but not very quickly. When I'm at top speed it's more like 12 or so. What blows my mind is that the top dogs maintain that efficiency while racing--keeping 10 or fewer strokes per 25m.
By the way, go to http://www.swim.ee/videos/index_example.html
You can see video clips of many top swimmers competing in various strokes, starts and turns, etc. Lots to learn from watching the underwater footage.
__________________ You're not the only one improving yourself... I worked out with a dumbbell today -- I feel vigorous!!!
Bonus Superset
Forearm Roll - 3x3xRoll, (Forward, Reverse, Forward)
Light Weight Cable Trap Row - 70 lbs (2x7, just to stretch the muscles out)
Notes
*Felt stronger than expected on bench, so increased the weight.
*Got winded on Sumo DL's, but maintained tempo.
*Week one of doubles is in the bag
__________________ You're not the only one improving yourself... I worked out with a dumbbell today -- I feel vigorous!!!
Milkman's journey to the "Next Frontier"
Linear Mode
