Well, I've tried it before without success but I'm dead set on it now. Every time I try to cut I never stick with it, the second I feel like a lost a single muscle fiber or feel weak in one training session, I quit and start eating again. Well, this summer I'm determined to show off what I've worked so hard to get. Feel like I finally have the knowledge to do it and enough size to where if I lose some it won't be a big deal to me. I'm up to a pretty solid 210 right now (first thing in the morning, empty stomach weight), I'd guess my bf between 13-15%. I'm still 'bulking' now, but I'm gonna start my transistion next month, and I figure maybe keeping a log here might help me stick with it. The plan is in March to switch to a more full body approach (I do an upper/lower split now), and slowly start adding in high intensity conditioning work. Then in April I'll drop high repititon work, decrease weight training volume a little and keep adding conditioning. Then May and June are all out cutting months. Gonna cut ME work out of my routine for the first time in a long time, saving my really high intensity work for DE and conditioning. I'll still be lifting heavy in the 75-90% range for compound exercises, I'm just gonna try not to go over 90%, don't want to burn out on that caloric deficit. I figure my body could use 8 weeks off of ME work anyway.
Don't really know what my bf goal is right now, I have two free PT sessions at my gym, I guess I could use them to measure my bf so I can set a goal, but I like going off the mirror, we'll see. I think it'd be nice to get in the 8-9% range. I figure if I can get up to 214-215 by the end of March and lose 5-6lbs a month for 3 months without losing much muscle, that'll put me right there at about 195lbs. Man, I wish it was easy to do it as it is to type it.
__________________
I do not workout. I TRAIN.
I do not eat. I FEED.
I do not sleep. I RECHARGE.
My greatest fear in this life is the fear of being ordinary.
I guess before I post today's training I'll outline my program right now. I use an 8 day micro cycle, training every other day. 2 upper body days, 2 lower body days, and I split them up between nueral stress and muscular stress. i.e.:
Neural Stress Upper body (heavy training)
recovery session
Neural Stress Lower body (heavy)
recovery session
Muscular stress upper body (repitition training / EDT)
recovery session
Muscular stress lower body (RE / EDT)
recovery session
Meso-cycle is 4 weeks (32 days) long, I use EC's strategy of a high stress week, medium stress, very high stress, and then a low stress deload week. Today was muscular upper body training (on a Monday too, thank god I don't bench press right now )
5 Feb 07
a) RE pullups (to concentric failure, stop as soon as the rep slows down) 60s rest b/t sets
standard grip x 20
wide grip x 7
underhand grip x 8-9
nuetral grip x 6-7
b1) Chest Supp Rows
b2) blast strap push-ups (handles as low as possible)
10 minutes EDT
c1) DB Bulgarian split squat
c2) cable face pulls
10 minutes EDT
d1) Zottman curls
d2) Wrist Roller
3 supersets
What I learned today:
1) I'm not ready for open chain pressing exercises (sprained my AC joint in Dec). I've progressed to blast strap push-ups with a band around my back, but tried DB floor presses today and there was a little discomfort, so I aborted, almost there though.
2) If you forget your watch, 10 minute Metallica songs can be used to time EDT segments.
3) If you don't have thick handle DB's for Zottman curls, using a thumbless grip is a good substitution.
__________________
I do not workout. I TRAIN.
I do not eat. I FEED.
I do not sleep. I RECHARGE.
My greatest fear in this life is the fear of being ordinary.
Good luck with your new goal! I'll be watching and encouraging. Blast strap push-up are excellent and I'm glad you're shoulder is already able to handle those. That's a good PR Zone with the rows. Impressive sets of pull-ups, too!
I love #2! I hate timing things, but that'd make it doable!
__________________
I do not workout. I TRAIN.
I do not eat. I FEED.
I do not sleep. I RECHARGE.
My greatest fear in this life is the fear of being ordinary.
c1) Single Leg DB RDL's
c2) Hanging Leg Raise
10 minutes EDT - 5 reps
d1) Side Cable Crunches
d2) Neck Machine (sides and front)
2 supersets
What I learned today:
1) Sometimes you have a great training day when you're really not feeling that great.
2) Deadlifts in an EDT format suck (in a good way). Didn't have much weight, but just keeping perfect form for 10 minutes was work enough.
__________________
I do not workout. I TRAIN.
I do not eat. I FEED.
I do not sleep. I RECHARGE.
My greatest fear in this life is the fear of being ordinary.
No, not at all. The trap bar is just something different.
__________________
I do not workout. I TRAIN.
I do not eat. I FEED.
I do not sleep. I RECHARGE.
My greatest fear in this life is the fear of being ordinary.
Took the last two days off, resting up. Just did some foam rolling and mobility work. Tomorrow I'm gonna start a new full body program to start preparing for my cut. I'm still gaining right now, another few weeks and I'll start reducing cals to transition. I also feel like I've developed a little anterior pelvic tilt, so I'm gonna concentrate a little more on hip flexibility, glute activation, and rectus abdominus strengthening. The new plan (right now):
Day 1
a) ME Upper Body exercise
b1) SQ / DL Variation
b2) Row/Pull-up variation or Press exercise (depending on what ME exercise is used)
c1) Abs (Rotation/Obliques)
c2) Post Chain assistance (GHR, back ext., pullthroughs, etc.)
d) Grip / Neck SS
Day 2
Foam Rolling, recovery work
Day 3
a) ME SQ/DL
b1) Press variation
b2) Row/Pull-up variation
c1) Muscle Complex Exercise*
c2) Single Leg Exercise
d1) Heavy Rectus Ab Work
d2) Glute Stretching
Day 4
Foam Rolling, recovery work
Day 5
a) RE Upper Body
b1) SQ/DL Variation
b2) Press variation or Row/Pull-up (depending on RE exercise)
c1) Abs (Hip Flexion)
c2) Post Chain assistance
d) Grip / Neck SS
Day 6
Foam Rolling, recovery work
Day 7
a) RE Lower Body
b1) Press variation
b2) Row/Pull-up variation
c1) Muscle Complex Exercise*
c2) Single Leg Exercise
d1) Heavy Rectus Ab Work
d2) Glute Stretching
Day 8
Depending on how I feel, either a recovery day or start over with day 1
I'll post the reps and periodization and stuff later.
__________________
I do not workout. I TRAIN.
I do not eat. I FEED.
I do not sleep. I RECHARGE.
My greatest fear in this life is the fear of being ordinary.
a) ME DB bench press
worked up to a set of 5 with the 125's. First time pressing in almost 2 months, after I hit a set of 3 with 120, thought about going to 130 or 135, but decided to play it safe. Had one or two left in me with the 125's but figured I'd take it easy and cut it there. Absolutely no pain though, so that's good.
b1) Front Squat (first time doing these since my shoulder injury too, felt good)
b2) Chest Supp Row
8 x 3 - 60s rest b/t sets of each
c1) Side Cable Oblique crunches
c2) Cable Dimel Deadlifts
3 x 6-8 - 30s b/t sets of each
d1) Heavy hangs (strap a bunch of weight to a dip belt and hang on the pull-up bar for time)
d2) 4-way neck machine
3 sets of each, no rest
What I learned today:
1) I don't go heavy enough for 8x3's, I could have done more.
2) Figured out a way to GHR's at my gym. I can hook my feet under the bench for the low cable row with my knees on the ground. I used to do my best modification on the 45 back ext. and thought it would carry over a little, it doesn't!! Those were killer, I didn't figure it out until the end, so I was kinda spent, but all could do was slowly lower myself to about 45 degrees and I couldn't hold it anymore, had to drop and push off the floor back up to about half way and I could GHR the rest. Anyway, I'll be doing those very regularly from now on.
__________________
I do not workout. I TRAIN.
I do not eat. I FEED.
I do not sleep. I RECHARGE.
My greatest fear in this life is the fear of being ordinary.
Wow, great job on your DB bench! I didn't expect you to get back at it so fast. Good work!
If you could find a place to choke a band (maybe a black?), you could assist that bottom portion of your natural GHR. I could never do that at the cable row (although I could hook my feet there and push off the floor with my hands). I found I could set the safety support of the power rack on the bottom position and hook my feet there, then set the other safety support higher (but on the same side of the rack) and choke a band there. Just an idea.
Great news today (sort of); the Nebraska Raw Powerlifting State Championships are back on. When it first got scheduled it was in September then all of the sudden it wasn't there anymore, well today it got re-scheduled for August 4. I'm definitely gonna compete, just don't know what weight class. I'm gonna continue as scheduled with my bodyfat cut though, that's something I really want to do, and correct some posture problems along the way. I'll cut til the end of June (I get married June 30), still gonna drop ME work for the month's of May and June. I'm hoping to be down to about 190-195, well conditioned, a little stronger than I am now, and very efficient at the core lifts (I'll be doing a SQ/DL variation, push and pull in every training session for a while). And then in July I figure I'll have 3 solid weeks ME/DE work, maintaining weight, just seeing how strong I can get. Then I'll have to decide if I want to compete in the 198's or use this strategy to cut to the 181's. Either way, as the state records stand now, I can destroy the 198's open records (except maybe the bench at 330 - don't know how my shoulder is going to react), and there is no open records for the 181's or 220's, so I think I'll have a good showing.
In other news, I've decided to stick with push-ups indefinitely for the time being, no open chain pressing for a while. Even though my shoulder feels fine, I just feel like bench pressing isn't going to help things, and push-ups just feel so much better. I don't just want to get my shoulder to 100% and starting pounding it again and trying to make up for it with prehab stuff. I've read time and time again that push-ups are so much better from a health standpoint, the latest being Mike and Bill's article. Plus I want to save my back for SQ/DL and conditioning stuff, and I think push-ups will help with posture, given the rectus abdominus activation. I'll just progress up in difficulty, I figure the hardest push-ups I can think of are using the blast straps, feet elevated on bench, wearing an 84lb X-Vest, with a strong band around my back. Once I can do those for reps, I'll think about pressing again.
__________________
I do not workout. I TRAIN.
I do not eat. I FEED.
I do not sleep. I RECHARGE.
My greatest fear in this life is the fear of being ordinary.
Wow, great job on your DB bench! I didn't expect you to get back at it so fast. Good work!
If you could find a place to choke a band (maybe a black?), you could assist that bottom portion of your natural GHR. I could never do that at the cable row (although I could hook my feet there and push off the floor with my hands). I found I could set the safety support of the power rack on the bottom position and hook my feet there, then set the other safety support higher (but on the same side of the rack) and choke a band there. Just an idea.
That's a good idea about the power rack, never thought of that. There's no place to hook a band near the cable row, but the rack might work. I don't have a black though, all I have in the light (purple) bands and mini's.
__________________
I do not workout. I TRAIN.
I do not eat. I FEED.
I do not sleep. I RECHARGE.
My greatest fear in this life is the fear of being ordinary.
good news about the PLing meet man. I'm planning on competing in September... but i may also do a meet the first week in march for the fun in testing my maxes... nothing too serious, just a drug free meet in michigan.
Cool man. Let me know how it goes. There's a strongman competition is Salina, KS on March 3 I'm gonna check out. I'd LOVE to compete in those one day, but don't have near the equipment I need to train for it right now.
__________________
I do not workout. I TRAIN.
I do not eat. I FEED.
I do not sleep. I RECHARGE.
My greatest fear in this life is the fear of being ordinary.
Strongman is something that i'd like to do after a few years. Yea i agree with equipment. It's best to find a group to train with. You only REALLY need a log, tire (usually you can get for free) and farmers. And, train your deadlift.
a) ME Rack Pulls (bar starting just below knee)
445 x 1
445 x 1
475 x 1
500 x 1
475 x 1
First time ever having 500# in my hands, but what excited me even more was that pulls from this level have usually been my weakest, I have no leverage at that point. I get a lot of leg drive from the bottom of my pulls (I can pull from a deficit about as much weight as I can from the floor) and my weak point is always right at the knee, every DL I've ever failed was at that spot, once I get it over the knee I can push my hips through and lock it out, so now I'm curious as to what my max DL is. The reason for 2 lifts at 445 is a long story, I'll explain at the bottom.
b1) Blast Strap push-ups with a light band, feet elevated
b2) Weighted Pull-ups
5 x 5, 90s rest b/t each
c1) DB Bulgarians
c2) Farmer's Walks
Only managed 2 sets, and the bulgarians were lack-luster to say the least, I was a little wiped at this point.
d) Corrective stretches:
Bulgarian Illiopsoas stretch
Hip Adductor Stretch
90-90 stretch
Prone IT band stretch
What I learned today:
1) The reason for the two lifts at 445, here goes. About 8 or 9 years ago I had elbow surgery after breaking my elbow and proceeding to play an entire football and baseball season without seeing a doctor (high school kids are smart, huh?). Had a bunch of bone chips removed and now I have a big lump of 'extra bone' on the side of my ulna, preventing me from fully supinating or pronating my right wrist. I can pronate a lot more than supinate. It's not painful at all, but it's uncomfortable to use an underhand grip with my right wrist, so I always trained my DL with my left wrist supinated and right wrist pronated. Well, recently I noticed a difference in mobility and apparent 'position' between my two shoulders, and figured training my DL constantly this way isn't helping. So now I'm gonna train my DL with a double overhand grip (using straps for my heaviest set to overload the lift) and use an alternate grip in competition only. So once I got to 445 I noticed my grip starting to weaken so I strapped up. I feel like a pussy using straps, so for my peace of mind I did another rep with 445 with straps, then did one with my usual alternate grip, it felt just as secure with my alternate grip as with straps so I concluded (maybe falsely, I don't know) that if I could pull it with straps, I could pull it with an alternate grip. So the 500 pull was with straps, but I'm fairly confident I could've done it with an alternate grip. Thought about actually doing it with the alternate grip, but decided to check my ego at the door and start training right. How's that for a long story?
2) The trainers at my gym are even suckier than I thought. Today this little girl had this grossly overweight older man (had to be 350, ultimate pear shape guy) doing triceps pushdowns and cable biceps curls. I felt so horrible for the guy, paying this girl for crap 'training' like that.
3) People who do leg extensions are ignorant. People who do leg extensions wearing jeans and a nice polo sweat shirt, with a cell phone clipped to their belt are just fucking stupid. If you're not even gonna make the effort to change into proper workout attire, why bother showing up?
__________________
I do not workout. I TRAIN.
I do not eat. I FEED.
I do not sleep. I RECHARGE.
My greatest fear in this life is the fear of being ordinary.
a) RE T-Bar Rows (wide angle grip)
115 x 17, 7, 4, 6
Did the 'double rep challenge' (made up name), took the first set pretty much to failure, then 1 min between subsequent sets till I double my reps, i.e. 7+4+6=17.
b1) Safety Squat Bar Lunges onto 6" box
b2) Incline Push-ups (oscillatory isometrics)
10 min EDT
c) Accessory Work: 4 sets of hanging leg raise
first 2 sets alternated with modified GHR
last 2 sets alternated with turkish get-ups
d) Corrective stretches
What I learned today:
1) There's no way to cinch a band to the t-bar row in my gym. I fucked with that thing for like 10 minutes, found a way to get it, but it was only a single cinch, so it added like 3 pounds of tension to the last 3 inches of the lift, not worth it.
2) A little self-discipline. Could've pushed it a little more today, but I pounded myself about as hard as I ever have on Monday (with the exception of meets), a rack pull PR kinda takes it outta ya. I didn't feel great, but felt pretty good today, but I knew I wasn't recovered yet, and since I left it all in the gym Monday I took a little with me today. I always preach managing your stress like that, but it's tough to do yourself, it's hard to leave a gym knowing you've got more. Don't get me wrong, after that EDT today my heart was pumping and the intensiveness was definitely there, but it wasn't all out drop to the floor work.
__________________
I do not workout. I TRAIN.
I do not eat. I FEED.
I do not sleep. I RECHARGE.
My greatest fear in this life is the fear of being ordinary.
Upon further research into open versus closed exercises and rehabilitation, and the strength carryover between the two, I've decided not to completely nix open chain pressing from my program. I figure I'm pressing 4 times a week, I'm gonna make 3 of those closed chain (push-up variations, or dips if I can handle them), and 1 open chain pressing exercise each week. The open chain press will be sub-maximal and rehabilitory (if that's a word) in nature. First off, no barbells. DB grip will be closer to neutral than pronated (or completely nuetral), and I'll do them off the floor, alternating (piston) press, one-arm press, or on a swiss ball. After several months and when I'm looking to put on size and big strength again, I'll be a little smarter on my shoulders. Not only balancing shoulder joint and girdle movements, but also balancing open and closed chain exercises (for pushes and pulls).
__________________
I do not workout. I TRAIN.
I do not eat. I FEED.
I do not sleep. I RECHARGE.
My greatest fear in this life is the fear of being ordinary.
I think you're always smart about your plan, Jason. I like what you said about stress management and what you're thinking about your pressing movements. I'd expect dips to be contraindicated, so proceed with caution. I like the neutral grip DB press as your best choice, even declined if you need variety from floor pressing. Have you ever done DB presses on a swiss ball? They're supposed to be good, but I hated them, lol.
I would have loved to see those hanging leg raises supersetted with turkish get-ups! That would be a hard combo. Good job.
Yeah, I've done presses on the swiss ball before, I like them. I feel like a nancy using those balls, but they are great for certain things, like shoulder health.
__________________
I do not workout. I TRAIN.
I do not eat. I FEED.
I do not sleep. I RECHARGE.
My greatest fear in this life is the fear of being ordinary.
a) RE Safety Squat Bar Squats
In honor of this video, I did drop sets today.
8 reps x 295, 245, 195, 145 (assuming bar weighs 55#, it's a little heavier than an oly bar)
Still fatigued from my training this past week, but I'm gonna keep pounding, accumulating fatigue because next Thursday I go to Austin to see my fiancee and I'll have 5 days off, so I'm hoping for a little supercompensation. Weights felt very heavy today!
b) passed out on leg press machine for about 5 minutes while the room stopped spinning. If I wasn't breathing so heavy somebody probably would've checked to see I was alive.
c1) BW Dips (felt fine on the shoulder)
c2) Cable Rows
4 x 10, 60s rest b/t each
d) Accessory work: 4 sets of 4-way neck machine
first 2 alternated with thumbless Zottman curls
last 2 alternated with cable external rotation (arm abducted)
e) Corrective work:
Mini-band steps to side, front 45, rear 45, both legs (concentrating on glute activation)
Hanging Leg Raise (holding my feet straight toward the ceiling as long as possible)
One-legged GM's (concentrating on glute activation)
Hanging Leg Raise (reps)
What I learned today:
1) Drop set squats suck! (In a very good way)
__________________
I do not workout. I TRAIN.
I do not eat. I FEED.
I do not sleep. I RECHARGE.
My greatest fear in this life is the fear of being ordinary.
I haven't checked out your new log yet.
Impressive work on those Rack Pulls. And that is one hell of a squat drop set!
Good luck with the shoulder. It looks like you have a good plan in place. If you are interested, check out my log entries in early September. I was going to physical therapy for my shoulder and have a few complete sessions logged. It might give you some more ideas.
I haven't checked out your new log yet.
Impressive work on those Rack Pulls. And that is one hell of a squat drop set!
Good luck with the shoulder. It looks like you have a good plan in place. If you are interested, check out my log entries in early September. I was going to physical therapy for my shoulder and have a few complete sessions logged. It might give you some more ideas.
Cool, thanks pjb!
__________________
I do not workout. I TRAIN.
I do not eat. I FEED.
I do not sleep. I RECHARGE.
My greatest fear in this life is the fear of being ordinary.
a) ME Wide Pull-ups
BW+70 x 3
BW+ 90 x 2.95 (ok, 2, got my bottom lip over the bar but just couldn't inch my chin over)
BW+70 x 3
BW+45 x 6
BW x 5
b1) Front Squats
b2) Blast Strap Push-ups
Wave load; 6,3,6,3,6
Waved the weight on the front squat, and the difficulty on the push-ups (flat, inclined, band, no band)
c) Accesory Work
3 sets of DB Farmer's Walks alternated with cable rear delt flyes
2 supersets of cable scapular retractions and scap push-ups on swiss ball
Did the fat wrist roller until it dropped, could barely open my hands afterward
Hit a PR with the Farmer's, carried the 150's the length of the DB rack and back, about 40yds total. The heaviest DB's are 150, so it looks like I'll have to start getting creative with these, although I guess I could just walk further.
d) Corrective stretches
What I learned today:
1) Actually 'learned' this yesterday, I figured out what's caused my shoulder imbalance: driving. For the last 6 years I've driven a standard transmission car, so I put my left hand on the wheel and shift with my right. Well, that puts my left scapula elevated and protracted, and my right scapula depressed and retracted. I've driven a lot over these years, several long trips where my shoulders have been like that for 14-15 hours. Now when I look at my shoulders relaxed my right shoulder is retracted and externally rotated where it needs to be, but my left is protracted, the scap is winged a little, and the shoulder joint is slightly internally rotated (evidenced by hand position). So now I know, and knowing is half the battle (I am the real american hero!), so I'll be consciously driving with my right hand on the wheel and making a constant conscious effort to retract my left shoulder blade throughout the day. I might add in extra retraction and external rotation movements for my left shoulder as well.
2) Think I'm ready for a little more work on my (b) exercises, wanted to keep the volume low while I get used to this high frequency, but I think the fact that I was able to squat today two days after that drop set says my work capacity and recovery abilities are increasing.
__________________
I do not workout. I TRAIN.
I do not eat. I FEED.
I do not sleep. I RECHARGE.
My greatest fear in this life is the fear of being ordinary.
Thanks man. I really thought I was get that one. I think I just needed a little more hip flopping like a fish and woulda got it no problem.
__________________
I do not workout. I TRAIN.
I do not eat. I FEED.
I do not sleep. I RECHARGE.
My greatest fear in this life is the fear of being ordinary.
a) ME Concentric Only Good Mornings (Safety Squat Bar)
305 x 3
325 x 2
285 x 3
My multiple rep sets on these are more like groups of singles, after I GM the bar up, I squat it back to the pins, get out from under the bar and reset, then lift again, about 15-20s between reps. I squat the bar down because ME GM's are stressful enough, I don't put the eccentric in there. Plus the GM does help with the squat, but it's primarily geared toward assisting the DL in my opinion, and since the DL is concentric only, it makes sense to train the GM that way.
b1) Snatch Grip Deadlift
b2) Chest Supp Rows
8 x 3, 60s rest b/t each
c1) Modified GHR
c2) Spread Eagle Sit-Ups
3 supersets, I'm already getting better at those GHR's, I can lower my self a lot more than the first time I did them, can still only get like 6-7 reps though.
d1) Step-Downs (keeping shin vertical, concentrating on glutes/hams)
d2) Hanging Leg Raise
2 supersets
e) Corrective Stretches
Hit it pretty hard today, I'll do the same thing tomorrow with emphasis on the upper body, on Thursday I go to Austin to see my fiancee and get 5 days off, so I'm hoping I've accumulated enough fatigue over the last few weeks to get a little supercompensation. Might attempt a max testing of the SQ or DL when I get back.
What I learned today:
1) GM's with a safety squat bar are much different than with a straight bar. When that camber throws the weight forward when it comes off the pins, you better have your core braced, that's all I've got to say.
__________________
I do not workout. I TRAIN.
I do not eat. I FEED.
I do not sleep. I RECHARGE.
My greatest fear in this life is the fear of being ordinary.
Time to finally show it off
)
Linear Mode
