Complexes are totally something I want to incorporate soon.
I also want to sometime write out something like a 3-6 month periodization starting where we are now, moving to a hypertrophy phase, on to a strength phase, and then some turbulence. Seems like it would really shake things up all of the time, and would be really neat to have a road map of the next 1/4 or 1/2 a year.
Front Squats a plenty! Wow those are tough/fun/effective. Especially when you incorporate lunges into your routine for the first time.
My legs were like bowls of JELL-O! I honestly think the Cytofuse helped. I drank Cytofuse (a small bit before) during my workout, and had a post workout shake of casein protein (chocolate) and some pb2 after. Then I took a fast shower and went to SLEEP.
Worked wonders. Also I just heard about CLA and plan on buying some next time I pick up supplements. I need to use up some of my old protein powders and such first. Moving towards a more unified front here.
I've been reading New Rules of Lifting and I really like it. I've always enjoyed Lou Schulers' style, and you can't beat pairing him with somebody like Alwyn either.
I actually bought Lift like a man, look like a goddess as well. Let's see if I can't convince my girlfriend of...well...anything....ever.
I just realized that while I've been taking the extra time to improve my fitness and personal appearance, I haven't been putting as much effort into the rest of my life.
I've kind of been coasting. I've gotten lazy in some respects, used to things being easy. Just coasting. One of these such behaviors I noticed in myself. As work has picked up with the summer season I just haven't been as able to keep up as I used to be...which would seem odd since I'm in better physical condition. Really it's my practice. I'm out of practice and I need to step it up.
Another thing is that some problems have been happening at work, none of which are my fault, but somebody's up to no good and it puts everybody under suspicion. The problem is that I, having not done these things wrong, shouldn't be worried right? I have nothing to worry about, but in my heart of hearts I am worried. I wasn't doing what's been going wrong and none of the things I've done have been done in malice. I'm just trying to help out. But bottom line is I've been over stepping my bounds and I shouldn't be. Today is a clean slate. I want to work for everything I have. I want to commit myself to my crappy job, because if I can't commit myself to the easy work, how can I expect to do so with the harder stuff?
I need to be the best version of me that I can be. This includes sleeping, this includes trying to stop swearing so much (in recent months I've gotten out of control!) and giving my all at work, even if it's slow and even if I'm tired and even if it "doesn't matter"....because it does matter.
It shouldn't take something like this to change a person, but often it does. And often those people don't heed the warnings and end up in trouble for something. I got a speeding ticket last weekend...I haven't had one in four years, I'd learned my lesson....but I apparently hadn't.
I noticed that every speeding ticket I've ever received had one of two things in common: Late at night and I should have been in bed already, hadn't taken any caffeine or anything to potentially heighten my alertness (or at least make my body FEEL more alert) and/or going to/back from a concert. EVERY ticket is one or both of those.
Obviously I shouldn't drive very late at night, and should watch my speed like a hawk. I should also worry less about how I may sleep when I get home, and more about how well i'll drive on the way home. You don't sleep well if you get in a wreck or get somebody hurt! And I need to be careful when it comes to concerts as I'm more likely to either be excited about it and want to get there, or be excited to get home and be glad to be getting home.
So no swearing, no speeding, and give my best to my job...should be something I just did naturally...but I needed a hard reset...here it comes.
Not so much a rest as a resEt. I didn't take any time off from lifting and working on my body composition...just spent extra time trying to be the best me possible, in other areas.
I have made some pretty good progress since my last post, moving up in weights on all of my lifts, gaining some more muscle mass, dropping some body fat.
I got a better hold on what supplements I need, which I don't. One I personally can't take.
Have you ever tried CLA? My body doesn't like it much at all. For a week I kept burping up this terrible medicine taste but I couldn't figure out which of the new things I'd added it was. CLA had been added a week or more before so it wasn't even on my list. One day I took too much CLA at once and I actually threw up. The next day I found one of my CLA caps sitting on my car floor while waiting for my girlfriend to come out of a store. I was curious how fragile the cap would be (not very fragile at all!) and popped it...when I did the smell that came out was the same as the taste I had been gagging on for a week.
I stopped taking CLA, and I've been fine since.
Also I ordered some Nike Free's...they should be here tomorrow, I'm excited.
I also picked up Magnificent Mobility, a couple of Berardi's books, several ebooks.
I got a great deal on some Black Star Labs stuff so I bought several pounds of CytoFuse and a 5lbs tub of the Ultra Peptide, Chocolate flavor.
My dad ordered us some Thick Gripz, those should be here soon.
Also, this may sound odd, but he and I are going to start working on the exercise plans outlined in the Scrawny to Brawny book and online coaching program. Here's why:
-At it's heart S2B is just a mass building plan.
-While my father and I are obese, we are skeletally proportion like an ectomorph. Narrow shoulders and hips, long arms and legs, ectomorphic proportions in our limb lengths.
-JB's the man.
-It's never good to have too many gods.
I could personally list at least 50 names of people in this industry that I really respect and trust like: Alwyn Cosgrove, Mike Boyle, Scott Abel, Lou Schuler, Leigh Peele etc... but I can't follow everything they all say. So we're picking a happy medium for my father and I and we're going to follow JB's recommendations as close as possible and see how it flies. We plan on running through this type of work throughout the end of the year at least.
I mentioned Magnificent Mobility, I've only been using it for 3 workouts...but it's really helped a lot. My hips are more flexible and I'm able to get deeper in my squat while actually firing the correct muscles. I could hardly walk after...but that's because I was using a better muscle balance and my legs were just NOT used to it.
We'll be lifting like we have been for another week or two, then a full rest week: No lifting, no cardio. After that we're going to come back and do various fitness measures: 1 RM's, Vertical Leap, push-up, pull-up etc. Then we'll do the various pre-S2B fitness tests, do the corrective exercises prescribed, and move on to S2B hypertrophy land.
Not a whole lot to report, but it's about time for a de-loading. We just worked through long few months and then we worked on some muscle balance and body conditioning stuff. Now we're taking a week or two off before we get in to our next strength phase.
In the mean time, we got some pretty sweet new toys!
I bought a trap bar, or shrug cage, whatever you want to call it, and an ankle strap (we had only one, anytime we did anything we'd have to take off the strap, change legs, take off the strap, change people, now we each have our own)
My dad bought a dip/leg lift type standing unit, and we got a portable dip/chin assist machine. I know it's not the best way...but I'm a fat Mo Fo and I simply don't have the strength to do it any other way. I figure this way I can get my reps in, and when I really need to work on it I can leave it set up out in my gym on off days and "Grease the Groove".
I can't wait to get back into the heavy lifting, I find it a lot easier to keep my diet in check when I'm working out that hard. Guess it just feels better.
I checked out my local library's fitnes section a few weeks ago while taking the kids. Most of what they had was crap. But, they did have a copy of Scrawny to Brawny. I'm not scrawny by any stretch of the imagination, but there was a lot of good stuff in that book.
It's an especially good read if you're a precision nutrition member, or if you've got the scrawny to brawny coaching program, which gives you another whole YEAR worth of routines.
After our little break, we'll be starting phase II
If you've been paying any attention at all, you'll be thinking "Pull ups? how can he possibly be doing pull ups?" No, I didn't go back to a commercial gym, I bought a portable dip/chin assist machine.
We're more than halfway through our rest period, but I'm getting antsy, and a bit stressed out without the ability to get my aggression out through lifting heavy things. So I was testing out the new equipment (we need to lower our bar just a bit in order to get full range of motion) and trying out movements I've never been able to do before.
Also we went creek walking locally yesterday, it was a lot of fun, but a bit easy compared to what I've done in the past. I'm no big shot, and I'm certainly not the most fit man alive, it's just that I used to go to this state park an hour or so away and the creek is like...100 times the size and intensity. This was a good warm up though, and we plan on going to the state park next week.
It's just pretty hardcore, but I like it a lot. I've also become a pretty hardcore Disc Golf enthusiast. I've been playing various disc sports for years, but I finally got the motivation to actually try disc golf and I'm seriously addicted!
There's also a lot of other great exercises involved like front squats and bulgarian split squats.
No I don't have a specific reverse hyper machine, but I don't see why you'd really *need* one. I have a leg extension leg curl machine from the 70's (before I was BORN) and it's about 30" wide. I just lay on that sideways and grab on to the plate holder underneath. If I cared about more extension you can lay across a ball or pad on top of it.
Works pretty well.
If I need to add weights I have two ankle straps and chain, I can just hang plates off my ankles.
No I don't have a specific reverse hyper machine, but I don't see why you'd really *need* one.
Right now I don't have anything that I can use. I'm severely limited in equipment....I have a barbell and some sawhorses! But, I somehow get it done. You should see my convoluted bench press set up!
Talk about topical! Mike Robertson just posted a blog (a day or two ago) about Reverse Hypers and how they can be a terrible exercise...then showed why.
Basically he said the way "most" people do them it's TERRIBLE, but I've never heard of them being done in that insane swing type of motion. He said to do them exactly the way I've been doing them, so go us.
Also the S2B Phase II workout that's dips, hypers, rows and trap bad deadlift? F***ing KILLER. everything from the top of my butt to my ears was KILLING ME.
School started, still lifting hard, and I've been playing a LOT of disc golf. I'm using it as my cardio, at least low level cardio. Also with school I've pretty busy keeping up with work and keeping the lifting schedule on track, so extra time hasn't been spent on the internet it's been spent at a nice park throwing some plastic.
Keeps me active.
Yesterday was Workout A of Phase II in S2B and I made some really sick gains on my incline bench press. We're doing 5x5's but we're going to failure of power on our last set so we can increase our weights to where they need to be. Old school builders know what I'm talking about, but if you can get 6+ on your last set, go up a small amount. If you can do like 10+ go up more etc.
Well I did 5, 5, 5, 5....21. And we'd added 5lbs from the week before in which I had done 8 on my last set.
So some serious strength increase there. I was pleased. Also the front squats felt better than they have since before we went on our deloading phase. Still don't like the Bulgarian Split Squats but we'll get there.
We're just past this phase's half-way point, I'm looking forward to the next two phases in the book...and we already own the phases 5-17 or whatever it is with the S2B coaching program. Maybe we'll keep this up all the way though.
Especially if I can keep my activity level this high. I'll be dropping weight and packing on muscle like no tomorrow.
I know I'm all over the place, I had a REALLY LONG night at work and I'm just scatter brained.
The amount of Disc Golf I've been playing is just ridiculous. I think I've played like 100 holes in the past week. Which is even more insane when you realize I've only played 18 in a row like...3 times in the past month.
I also did some driving practice at a local park, just took all my driver discs and crushed them out into the field. Good times. But I need to rest my shoulder for a bit. I'll be playing a friendly round tonight, but I didn't play yesterday and I'm really working on my recovery and eating right and taking the right supplements. I think things are pretty dialed in right now, I'm conforming, but I'm not suffering. Today I rewarded myself with a small brownie at work. Which didn't REPLACE any of the good foods I ate. I had it about half an hour after my "big boy salad" full of spinach and spring mix and onion and tomato and cucumber and chicken breast and all kinds of good stuff.
Also I don't know if I mentioned this but I bought some stuff off of TrueProtein.com and I love that site, the people there are wonderful. I made a BCAA mix according to what JB wants...BAD IDEA. Phenylalanine tastes like...well like the worst thing ever. Couldn't stomach the stuff. So I ordered "The Capsule Machine" and I just stuffed my BCAA mixture into caps. I have to take like 10 before during and after my workouts...but it works out really well. I'm doing this for FOUR POUNDS of the mixture because my dad couldn't stomach it either. I bought him new stuff without the phenylalanine and ordered the phenylalanine separate, so I'll be putting just his phenylalanine in caps for him (2 caps before during and after) and he'll mix the BCAA's in with his shakes.
I'm so used to taking pills because of my fish oil, Green's + and stuff like EGCG and Vitamin C that another handful of pills on lifting days don't really bother me.
Also, I've been drinking a ton of filtered water. I bought a Pur water filter on Amazon and I've gotta say, it rocks. Buy yourself one of those aluminum bottles too, they rock. Even the cheap ones. I have some Sigg brand ones that are AMAZING, but they also cost 20$.
I saw some REALLY CRAZY bottles at the store that look really neat, all plastic...but they're like 30$ and I'm wayyyy too cheap for that. They look really cool, but I can't remember their name and the store I saw them in doesn't have them on their site.
School is in full swing, S2B phase II is one day away from completion and I'm ready to reflect on my progress so far:
Better than expected, and I had some high expectations. These workouts are kicking my butt and causing me to grow in all kinds of ways. I've grown noticeably stronger, not just in the gym but in my everyday life!
Also my shoulders are starting to get defined in ways they never have before, which is awesome because on me my shoulders are very "showy" muscles.
Also I got a bit beat up and though I would have problems the following week because I'd over done it a little...the exact opposite is true, I'd repaired and grown and this time it felt better with no twinge of pain.
Wow, I'm impressed so far! And while I'm sad to see some of this routine go, I'm excited to see what's down the pipeline. Also I never understood why every fitness professional was always talking about changing routines SO OFTEN...but I get it now, I couldn't keep doing these specific exercises for 6 months. It just wouldn't fly.
On the other side of things, I'm getting to the point where I don't get winded playing casually at Disc Golf any more. I wasn't getting winded BAD, like I need to sit down and breath...just like "I don't want to have to tee off first, need a moment" type of winded.
Yesterday I *ran* down a huge hill, and *ran* back up, and I just needed a moment and then CRUSHED my disc out there. Big arm on that one.
I think I'm going to be able to play "speed disc golf" soon. Basically you're just running through a disc golf course with one disc, playing as fast as possible.
The new lifts are going GREAT! I'm feeling really strong and I'm getting some muscle growth..in ways I didn't even expect.
This is doing a lot of good for me, and I plan on keeping it up.
Also I'm really working myself, I'm really fighting to make the reps I need to, I'm truly taxing my CNS and my muscles. I love it.
If you want to see what I've been doing that DOESN'T involve lifting (so far) check out my Flick account where I've got pics of all my disc golf stuff.
Eventually I'll separate these into categories and I'll put pictures of my gym up there too!
Linear Mode
