Step 2: RMM's Journal

[RMM]

Hi chaps.

So, after breaking the ice with the gym and building the habit of going there, and a 3-week holiday, it's time to turn up the heat and start getting bigger. As in proper bigger, not burger and fries bigger.

Anyway, a bit of background. I started going to the gym in September last year, with the idea of (mostly) losing weight and building the habit of going there. In that respect it succeeded, I now get jittery if I spend a few days without going, and don't have to struggle to convince myself to go, I just have formed the habit of going there.

As far as weight loss, I've dropped from ~210 pounds, which is where I hovered most of the time (give or take), to about 195 pounds. I'm 6'1", for reference. The important thing is not so much the weight, but that I've dropped about 8+ cm waist size. I was carrying a lot more than I thought! I can still lose some more, but I just don't feel like I can keep cutting forever, I think I'm ready for a shock to the system and go for bulking big time now. Hilariously, I've not been able to drop pants size. I thought I could, then my legs started not to fit in the smaller pants properly. Funny what squatting can do.

Note that I've actually not been in "full out cutting mode" all the time, as it's been pointed in this forum repeatedly the best way is to cycle between cutting down and eating big, I've done that alternating twice so far but haven't really gone for really big eats and big bulking yet. I wanted to get a decent fitness base first, and I think I have.

Also I've noticed a great improvement in my stamina for intense exercises. My more active hobby has been hiking, doing 2-6 hours a day with a backpack hasn't been a problem for a long time, but that's not particularly high intensity. Now I can do sprints and my recovery in general has improved a lot. It takes a lot more to get my heart rate going too, all good things.

My workouts have been split in three days:

Mondays: PT, varied from week to week. We would do different kind of exercises and push pretty hard, this worked great to keep my interest, variety is the spice of life!
Tuesdays: Cardio/HIIT (I veered more towards the HIIT as my fitness level went up, now I'm doing walk/jog/run/sprint for 1m/1m/30s/30s cycles, 6/11/14/16 km/h).
Wednesday: Rest. It sucked, but I had a lot of stuff scheduled for Wednesdays so I simply didn't have the time to go to the gym. I'm hoping I'll be able to reschedule things and be able to use Wednesdays now, because...
Thursday & Friday: Weights. Split in two:

A: Squat, Bench, assists for both.
B: Back, Shoulders, Abs.

The order would depend on what we did on Monday. If Monday was very specific for something, I may try to squeeze a weights day on Tuesday. 2 lifting days back-to-back wasn't the best, but it's what I had.

Exercise I'd usually go for 3 sets of 10 reps, and alternate with something else. For example, when squatting I'd immediately follow each set with a set of dumbbell lunges, then rest. Bench I'd do pushups or triceps dips after each set, then rest. And so on.

Well, enough of that. Now I've ditched the PT, and I'm going to follow the more "regular" programs, starting with...

http://www.leehayward.com/squats.htm

20 squats!

My plan is to do my routine A today and find my squat max (no supersets or 10 reps this time, just to get back on the groove after the long break, and just add weight until I can only do 3-4 reps then plug the number in one of the nifty online calculators that give you the 1-rep max), then do some of the assist exercises to see how I handle them. I'm a bit wary of the dips, since I hurt my chest doing the bench-triceps-dips thing before, we'll see how that goes.

Wednesday I'll do my B and check if I can actually do pullups unassisted... I suspect I may not be able to with the wide grip, though I can do 3-4 at a time with the closer grip (with palms facing away from me, that one I've actually tried before a few times since you can do it on any bar that happens to be handy). If I can't, what would be a good alternative? Use weight assist and steadily drop the weight? Do negatives? Use the narrow grip? Other?

Friday, first day of 20-reppers. Start at how much weight? Some % of my 1-rep max or...? Also, what happens when/if you fail? Do the same weight the day after, do the same weight until you can do the 20 reps? Unload more and ramp up again? Other?

As far as diet goes, the diet laid out in that link seems pretty straightforward. Here's what my schedule looks like:

8:00 am - wake up.
10:00 am - morning tea break.
Noon - Lunch.
3:00 pm - afternoon tea break
5:00 pm - gym.
7:00 pm onwards - free, except when not.

So the plan was:

8:30 am-ish: Breakfast - I'm really bad at this because I don't feel like cooking when I wake up, so I was thinking of making a large Spanish Tortilla with 6 eggs + 6 whites and some 750g potatoes, then take a third for breakfast, that way I can have 3 breakfasts cooked in one go - and it's nice cold too. Fruit.
10:00 am - tea break. Probably a glass of milk will go here.
Noon - Lunch. typically meat & veges, or tuna salad. Fruit.
3:00 pm - Snack? Question, how would a peanut butter sandwich fit here? Muesli and nut bars here are all loaded with Corn Syrup and whatnot, and protein bars are stupidly expensive, so I'm thinking of dropping them for something else.
5:00 pm - gym. Okay, so it's 2 hours between the snack and the gym. Should I have something else between them?
7:00 pm - Or whenever I leave the gym. Protein shake made with milk and some lowfat, low sugar yoghurt (for flavour mostly). Fruit?
9:00 pm - dinner. Usually I cook something I can have the leftovers as lunch the day after, and when I don't I have a tuna salad the day after for lunch. Low carbs veges/salad and no fruit or bread.

Salads and plain veges get doused on olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

And then, try to get as much milk as possible. I'll start with a litre a day and ramp it up. Question, milk vs. cheese? Can't stand cottage cheese, though Ricotta is nice.

 

[CarlitosWay]

Hi chaps.

So, after breaking the ice with the gym and building the habit of going there, and a 3-week holiday, it's time to turn up the heat and start getting bigger. As in proper bigger, not burger and fries bigger.

Anyway, a bit of background. I started going to the gym in September last year, with the idea of (mostly) losing weight and building the habit of going there. In that respect it succeeded, I now get jittery if I spend a few days without going, and don't have to struggle to convince myself to go, I just have formed the habit of going there.

As far as weight loss, I've dropped from ~210 pounds, which is where I hovered most of the time (give or take), to about 195 pounds. I'm 6'1", for reference. The important thing is not so much the weight, but that I've dropped about 8+ cm waist size. I was carrying a lot more than I thought! I can still lose some more, but I just don't feel like I can keep cutting forever, I think I'm ready for a shock to the system and go for bulking big time now. Hilariously, I've not been able to drop pants size. I thought I could, then my legs started not to fit in the smaller pants properly. Funny what squatting can do.

Note that I've actually not been in "full out cutting mode" all the time, as it's been pointed in this forum repeatedly the best way is to cycle between cutting down and eating big, I've done that alternating twice so far but haven't really gone for really big eats and big bulking yet. I wanted to get a decent fitness base first, and I think I have.

Also I've noticed a great improvement in my stamina for intense exercises. My more active hobby has been hiking, doing 2-6 hours a day with a backpack hasn't been a problem for a long time, but that's not particularly high intensity. Now I can do sprints and my recovery in general has improved a lot. It takes a lot more to get my heart rate going too, all good things.

My workouts have been split in three days:

Mondays: PT, varied from week to week. We would do different kind of exercises and push pretty hard, this worked great to keep my interest, variety is the spice of life!
Tuesdays: Cardio/HIIT (I veered more towards the HIIT as my fitness level went up, now I'm doing walk/jog/run/sprint for 1m/1m/30s/30s cycles, 6/11/14/16 km/h).
Wednesday: Rest. It sucked, but I had a lot of stuff scheduled for Wednesdays so I simply didn't have the time to go to the gym. I'm hoping I'll be able to reschedule things and be able to use Wednesdays now, because...
Thursday & Friday: Weights. Split in two:

A: Squat, Bench, assists for both.
B: Back, Shoulders, Abs.

The order would depend on what we did on Monday. If Monday was very specific for something, I may try to squeeze a weights day on Tuesday. 2 lifting days back-to-back wasn't the best, but it's what I had.

Exercise I'd usually go for 3 sets of 10 reps, and alternate with something else. For example, when squatting I'd immediately follow each set with a set of dumbbell lunges, then rest. Bench I'd do pushups or triceps dips after each set, then rest. And so on.

Well, enough of that. Now I've ditched the PT, and I'm going to follow the more "regular" programs, starting with...

http://www.leehayward.com/squats.htm

20 squats!

All I see this program accomplishing is leaving you with a not so proportionate body (huge legs and small upperbody)

My plan is to do my routine A today and find my squat max (no supersets or 10 reps this time, just to get back on the groove after the long break, and just add weight until I can only do 3-4 reps then plug the number in one of the nifty online calculators that give you the 1-rep max), then do some of the assist exercises to see how I handle them. I'm a bit wary of the dips, since I hurt my chest doing the bench-triceps-dips thing before, we'll see how that goes.

Wednesday I'll do my B and check if I can actually do pullups unassisted... I suspect I may not be able to with the wide grip, though I can do 3-4 at a time with the closer grip (with palms facing away from me, that one I've actually tried before a few times since you can do it on any bar that happens to be handy). If I can't, what would be a good alternative? Use weight assist and steadily drop the weight? Do negatives? Use the narrow grip? Other?

Yes if you want to get better at pullups do assisted, plus static holds at the top and negative pullups. Throw some lat pulldowns in there also. Ramp up to an all out set of 10-15 reps hitting failure. Maybe even throw a rest pause in there (rest 10-12 secs then get back at it)


Friday, first day of 20-reppers. Start at how much weight? Some % of my 1-rep max or...? Also, what happens when/if you fail? Do the same weight the day after, do the same weight until you can do the 20 reps? Unload more and ramp up again? Other?

Are you even confident in your form? Anyways just warm up and pick a low-moderate weight. if you Don't hit 20. No biggie. Quickly drop some weight off and hit some more reps to failure. Note what weight you failed at for the first time. Then use a lighter weight for next time. What I do is take a weight I think I can get 10 reps with and I push it to 20 by pausing and stopping a bit after 10 reps....by 15 you should be dying/begging for it to stop...by 18-19 you'll think you're going to faint ...but some way some how you get that 20th rep.

As far as diet goes, the diet laid out in that link seems pretty straightforward. Here's what my schedule looks like:

8:00 am - wake up.
10:00 am - morning tea break.
Noon - Lunch.
3:00 pm - afternoon tea break
5:00 pm - gym.
7:00 pm onwards - free, except when not.

So the plan was:

8:30 am-ish: Breakfast - I'm really bad at this because I don't feel like cooking when I wake up, so I was thinking of making a large Spanish Tortilla with 6 eggs + 6 whites and some 750g potatoes, then take a third for breakfast, that way I can have 3 breakfasts cooked in one go - and it's nice cold too. Fruit.
10:00 am - tea break. Probably a glass of milk will go here.

Gauge how you respond to milk, for most it's a big no no and causes so much unnecessary fat gain . If you feel you're starting to pack on to much fat...I'm 90% sure dairy like milk would be the culprit.


Noon - Lunch. typically meat & veges, or tuna salad. Fruit.
3:00 pm - Snack? Question, how would a peanut butter sandwich fit here?

Make sure it's natural peanut butter, wheat toast is good, ezekiel bread is even better (bit expensive though)

Muesli and nut bars here are all loaded with Corn Syrup and whatnot, and protein bars are stupidly expensive, so I'm thinking of dropping them for something else.
5:00 pm - gym. Okay, so it's 2 hours between the snack and the gym. Should I have something else between them?

Protein shake + ground up oats or with carbs like maltodextrin, waxy maize. or protein+carb meal

7:00 pm - Or whenever I leave the gym. Protein shake made with milk and some lowfat, low sugar yoghurt (for flavour mostly). Fruit?

Meh not a fan of milk after a work out...more carbs like the waxy maize/maltodextrin I mentioned would be good with the protein shake. or even grape juice or something.

After your shake a 1/2 hour to an hour later you should have another protein+carb meal.

I'd have some more carbs and protein like... white rice/potatoes with chicken/fish or beef.

9:00 pm - dinner. Usually I cook something I can have the leftovers as lunch the day after, and when I don't I have a tuna salad the day after for lunch. Low carbs veges/salad and no fruit or bread.

protein + good fats for dinner...things like raw nuts almonds/walnuts or 2 tbsp's of natural peanut butter/or couple tablespoons of light tasting olive oil(or can be drizzled on protein and veggies)

Salads and plain veges get doused on olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Oh nice lol didn't see this...


And then, try to get as much milk as possible. I'll start with a litre a day and ramp it up. Question, milk vs. cheese? Can't stand cottage cheese, though Ricotta is nice.

Again watch the milk if you start getting a bit tooo soft...ditch the milk. Sugar, carbs and fat are not a good combo for some people lol....

 

[CarlitosWay]

Some ideas for a split......that is a bit more sensible and won't leave you with huge legs and a lagging upperbody. I just copy and pasted from another thread I posted this in...


Chest/Tris/Bis
legs
off
shoulders/back
off

When pressing for chest, always make sure to retract shoulder blades nice and tight get chest high...no huge arch in back is necessary we're not powerlifting here. Keep shoulders on bench as well. Deep breath on the way down....stay tight slow negative and push up explosively..

chest movements Pick 2 out of these ramping up/warming up to 1-2 all out sets to failure. Add maybe one rest pause if using a machine (10-12 sec pause after failure then go at it again)

low incline barbell press/smith low incline press
hammerstrength machine incline/iso flat
dumbbell work incline/flat/decline (higher reps say 8-15 reps for final set)
smith machine low decline/or barbbell

now pick one fly movment (2-3 sets 8-15 reps)
machine flys/
low incline cable flys/
low/flat/decline dumbbell flys

Triceps pick one main pressing movement
close grip bench press off pins (bar should be like 4-5 inches off chest, elbows should be close to side and tucked on the way down, push up with flares in the elbows to activate tris more)

smith machine reverse grip bench press
smith machine inhuman close grip bench press
(take bench and set it up so ass is hanging off the end, helps you get better leverage, same setup as CGBP)

Hammerstrength machine dips

now pick one extension/pullover (2-3 sets to failure higher rep area 10-15 rep area)
pjr pullovers
larry scott extensions
dead skull crushers/lying tricep extensions as done here (always going behind the head) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1AZebtYyA0&feature=PlayList&p=E2078BBA6F8 8DC36&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=2

Pressdowns are k the above are better though...if you do pressdowns go with a close grip with elbows tucked

legs
pick 1-2 hamstring exercises
leg curls (6-12 rep area)
stifflegged deadlifts/romanian deadlifts/db sldls (8-15 rep area)

quads (ramp up on one to all out set to 6-10 reps) (Then after a rest do the same exercise or another one and take what you think you can get 10 with and push for 20 reps) ( I would avoid doing 20-reppers with front squats though as your back will get fatigued before legs, unless you do them in the smith machine )
barbell front squats/smith machine front squats
hack squats
leg press

calves (I alternate workout to workout)
seated
standing

shoulders pick one main pressing movement ramp up to 1-2 all out sets 6-12 reps

smith machine behind-the-neck press (ear level)
hammerstrength BHTN press
seated pin press (set pins so bar is like at forehead height)
regular seated shoulder press
smith machine high incline shoulder press

pick one lateral movement
machine laterals
db seated/standing laterals
cable laterals

2-3 sets 10-15 reps

Back width exercise pick 1-2 all out sets 8-15 reps
lat pulldowns (underhanded close grip or pronated)
hammerstrength high rows
rack chinups
machine assisted pullups/chinups


back pick 1-2 rowing/rack deadlift movements (if you did stiff legged deadlifts/Romanian dls on your leg day skip deadlifts as to not wear out your lower back to much)

Ramp up to one all out set of 6-10 reps

Rest then do another all out set to 12-15 reps

yates rows (supinated)
barbell rows
dumbbell rows
t-bar rows (can be done one handed also)
rack deadlifts (pins set right at knee level, just below or slighty above)
seated cable rows

Like last workout for instance I did rack deadlifts at knee level ramped up to 365X6

Then I did seated cable rows with something like 140X15 or something.

That was it for back thickness work.


The rep ranges I mentioned are just a guideline ...you might respond better to higher reps or lower then I mentioned so gauge this ........Focus on getting stronger in those rep ranges....always perfecting technique/form and going for either more reps or weight each session. Of course it will not always be linear...Yet do your best. Give your body a ****in reason to want to hang onto or gain muscle.....and become a human blast furnace by eating lots of protein/veggies/goodfats!!! Every time you walk into that weight room, whisper under your breath "I'm one bad ass mother****er and nothing is going to get in the way of my goals"

When you're in the kitchen or thinking about binging on ****...stop for a second imagine your body is a high performance Porsche Carrera GT (my fav car haha) or your favorite bad ass super car....You wouldn't go putting unleaded cheap ass fuel in it right, when it clearly states in the manual only high octane 93+ premium gas. Right?

 

[RMM]

Thanks for the feedback. The thing is, the 20 reppers intrigue me in more ways than one. It may not be the best balanced workout, but everywhere I've read about it it's been the same:

"It's ****ing tough!"

I'm interested not only in the physical aspect of it, but also the mental one. And that aside, six weeks or so of this sound like a great break from the previous "all body" routine.

That said, once I'm done with it I was still not sure what to do next, and your split seems like a good way to go. Thanks for that.

More specific points:

Yes if you want to get better at pullups do assisted, plus static holds at the top and negative pullups. Throw some lat pulldowns in there also. Ramp up to an all out set of 10-15 reps hitting failure. Maybe even throw a rest pause in there (rest 10-12 secs then get back at it)

Ta. I'll see how it goes on Wednesday, and then I'll figure out what to do about them.

Are you even confident in your form?

Yes, quite. The back is solid, I go down below parallel and definitely feel the hams and glutes being recruited when I hit the bottom (not ATG, but the hams and calves touch). No knee problems or falling forward problems, I rest my weight solidly on the back of my feet (I can wiggle my toes at any moment while squatting with no problem if I want to). I had a lower back injury years ago, so I've been careful not to repeat the foolishness.

Protein shake + ground up oats or with carbs like maltodextrin, waxy maize. or protein+carb meal

After your shake a 1/2 hour to an hour later you should have another protein+carb meal.

Sounds like tinned tuna/salmon/herring sandwich time. I use wholemeal bread, haven't heard of Ezekiel Bread before (I don't think I've ever seen that here in New Zealand). Hm, that's 6 slices of bread a day if I also have the peanut butter sammy.

Meh not a fan of milk after a work out...more carbs like the waxy maize/maltodextrin I mentioned would be good with the protein shake. or even grape juice or something.

The thing is that I can't stand protein shakes with just water. Milk makes it go down much more smoothly, otherwise it kinda makes me go "yuck!", which is not a good recipe for sticking to it. I could go for the untra-skimmed milk I guess, 5g carbs and protein per 100 ml with something like 0.1g of fat.

Or for the extra carbs for the shakes, hows Milo sound? I may be able to chug it down without milk, just the Milo, protein powder, and water.

That said, report on the gym today:

Warmup: 15 minutes on the treadmill (bit of warmup/cooldown, rest was interval walk/jog/run).
Squats: Trying to find out my max.

Bar x 8
40 kg x 6
60 kg x 3
70 kg x 2
Work set: 80 kg

That was really weird. Last time I did squats I did 70 kg x 10, 3 sets with lunges as supersets, and I thought it was really hard. So I started with the 80 kg.

At 2 reps I got a bit dizzy.
At 5 reps I had pulled through and was in the groove.
At 9 reps I racked the weight really puzzled because I still had 2 or 3 more reps in me, which wouldn't help me get my 1-rep max.

I was very confused because I was doing 80 kg, hard but manageable, and that was after three weeks of inact...

Then it hit me. I haven't been really inactive during my holidays. I've done a lot of hiking. And that hiking often involved going up or down a mountain.

Which I did pushing myself hard, instead of pacing myself (think 15-20 minutes pushing hard and then having to take a break, another 15-20, and so on).

So I guess I've been training, just differently.

90 kg x 6
90 kg x 3 - should've rested more!

Now we're talking. According to the nifty online calculators, that puts my 1-rep max at about 105 kg. Carry the two... About 65 kg to start the 20 reppers. Sounds fun.

Dips: 10. Then I felt very tight on my chest (the part where I injured myself last time with the bench triceps dips). Rest, try again while trying not to put any pressure on the chest (breathe into the belly!), managed 6 and I was hurting again.

It seems like it hurts when I put tension - as in pulling at the upper chest. I can do benchpress and incline benchpress no problem.

So, dips aren't happening, at least for now. I'll have to look for alternatives (DB low incline bench press and triceps extensions as supersets sounds like a decent combo, to keep it simple enough. It does mean I have to track weights and reps for them too, though).

Bench Press:

Bar x 8
40 kg x 6
50 kg x 3
55 kg x 5
57.5 kg x 5
60 kg x 5
62.5 kg x 5

Triceps were really tired by now, so I didn't try pushing to 65. By the end of it, though, the pain in the chest had disappeared. I can do incline BP without pain too, even when pushing hard. Hmm.

Still, I had maxed out at 60 kg before the holidays. Nice to be able to pile up the weight some more.

Decline sit ups: 55, headache, rest, 30, then I stopped because the headache was a lot worse.

Alternatives: Captain's Chair? (They do have one in the gym) Pulley crunches? My usual ab workout is medicinal ball crunches, reverse crunches, plank, I always try to vary a bit and do at least two different exercises. Wondering which one to choose if I'm going to only do one ab exercise.

I cut the workout short here because I didn't want to overdo it after three weeks out of it, I had found out what I wanted to know, and I was ravenously hungry - my feeding schedule is a bit off since the holidays, blame opportunistic eating habits instead of regular ones. So I had a nice stretching session and buggered off.

 

[RMM]

Tuesday: Cardio.

5 rounds of interval:

1.5m 5 km/h
1m 11 km/h
30s 14 km
30s 16 km/h

Wednesday:

Weight: 91.6 kg. Apparently the old scales in the gym were underweighting me by about 5 pounds. They got a new electronic fancy one.

Warmup with 3 sprints as above.

Chin Ups:

No assist, wide grip: 1, and got stuck halfway on the second one.
No assist, narrow grip: 4 (palms facing each other, lat pulldown style).
40 lbs assist: 7, 9, 8.

I think doing assist and dropping weight every week may do the trick. Tried to do them slow, counting to three on the way down.

Compound Row:

170 lbs x 10
170 lbs x 10
170 lbs x 10

No problem here.

Dual Axis Pulldown (narrow grip):

190 lbs x 10
190 lbs x 10
190 lbs x 9

Failed the last one, damn!

One thing, after these two exercises my forearms always feel really pumped up.

Shoulder Dumbbell Press:

13.5 kg (each) x 10
15.5 kg (each) x 10
15.5 kg (each) x 7

T'was a bit heavy. Hm, I'm such a wuss with shoulder exercises.

Cable Lateral Raise:

First time doing this, per arm:

25 lbs x 10
25 lbs x 10
25 lbs x 10

Swiss Ball Crunches: 60.

Then I remembered I wanted to try...

Captain's Chair: 25, 22

I didn't quite like this one, I'll probably stick to the Swiss ball crunches and add a couple of dumbbells.

Friday is the main event, 20 squats!

 

[Jitterbug]

Hard to see whether to listen to CarlitosWay who has no clue about 20 rep squat, or go with what strongmen and strength coaches around the world recommend.

RMM, good on you for trying it, but have you done squat much before? It's not something for people completely new to squat. You gotta have decent form down pat before you try it, as when you get to higher reps and under serious stress, your form is prone to break down badly.

If you're confident enough with your squat, by all means, go ahead & enjoy it!

 

[RMM]

RMM, good on you for trying it, but have you done squat much before? It's not something for people completely new to squat. You gotta have decent form down pat before you try it, as when you get to higher reps and under serious stress, your form is prone to break down badly.

If you're confident enough with your squat, by all means, go ahead & enjoy it!

Reasonably confident, yes. It's not like I'm lifting huge weights yet *points at the 90 kg max above*, but I've been working on the form since I started doing them (circa October or so) and usually when my back is sore, it's sore in the "I've really worked this muscle!" way.

Biggest points of failure are: Not going completely below parallel if I'm not paying enough attention, stressing the area between my legs if I focus on pushing the knees outwards too much. The first's not really a problem other than not getting enough workout, the second hasn't happened in a while and I'm being careful.

I'm also not above dropping them and doing something else if it doesn't work I'll see if I can tape it and post it here (and presumably get half the forum to point mistakes, heh).

 

[Kerpal]

stressing the area between my legs if I focus on pushing the knees outwards too much.

Assuming you're low-bar squatting, this is not a bad thing. You should be pushing your knees out during the squat. This will help recruit your adductors and posterior chain, keep your knees from sliding forward, and make it easier to hit depth.

 

[CarlitosWay]

Hard to see whether to listen to CarlitosWay who has no clue about 20 rep squat, or go with what strongmen and strength coaches around the world recommend.

RMM, good on you for trying it, but have you done squat much before? It's not something for people completely new to squat. You gotta have decent form down pat before you try it, as when you get to higher reps and under serious stress, your form is prone to break down badly.

If you're confident enough with your squat, by all means, go ahead & enjoy it!

Yeah I have no clue when I clearly described to him what a widowmaker should feel/be like in my previous post. What do strongmen and strength coaches have to do in a discussion of a newbie doing a 20 rep squat program? You and me told him the exact same ****, if his form is not decent, he could do more harm then good.

I do always do a widowmaker after doing real heavy leg work.

 

[CarlitosWay]

Tuesday: Cardio.

5 rounds of interval:

1.5m 5 km/h
1m 11 km/h
30s 14 km
30s 16 km/h

Wednesday:

Weight: 91.6 kg. Apparently the old scales in the gym were underweighting me by about 5 pounds. They got a new electronic fancy one.

Warmup with 3 sprints as above.

Chin Ups:

No assist, wide grip: 1, and got stuck halfway on the second one.
No assist, narrow grip: 4 (palms facing each other, lat pulldown style).
40 lbs assist: 7, 9, 8.

I think doing assist and dropping weight every week may do the trick. Tried to do them slow, counting to three on the way down.

Good stuff....after all this Try adding a static hold (flex your back/lats and keep your chin up as long as possible!) up at the top until your back fails and then do slowest negative you can.

Compound Row:

170 lbs x 10
170 lbs x 10
170 lbs x 10

Bleh straight sets?
Ramp up that weight each set until you're form breaks then stop!!

No problem here.

Dual Axis Pulldown (narrow grip):

190 lbs x 10
190 lbs x 10
190 lbs x 9

Again ramp up each set, you're not working hard enough if you get 190X10, then 10, 9 with the same weight.

Failed the last one, damn!

One thing, after these two exercises my forearms always feel really pumped up.

Shoulder Dumbbell Press:

13.5 kg (each) x 10
15.5 kg (each) x 10
15.5 kg (each) x 7

T'was a bit heavy. Hm, I'm such a wuss with shoulder exercises.

Seated barbell shoulder press or hammerstrength shoulder press machines are great also.

Cable Lateral Raise:

First time doing this, per arm:

25 lbs x 10
25 lbs x 10
25 lbs x 10

nice, IMO any form of lateral raises really help add that "width" to your shoulders and make you look wide.

Swiss Ball Crunches: 60.

Then I remembered I wanted to try...

Captain's Chair: 25, 22

I didn't quite like this one, I'll probably stick to the Swiss ball crunches and add a couple of dumbbells.

Friday is the main event, 20 squats!

anyways good start.....

 

[RMM]

Thursday: Cardio, Cross-trainer (better for the knees than running all the time).

5 intervals at 6-7 speed:

1m @ level 10
1m @ level 15
30s @ level 20
30s @ level 25

Friday:

Weight: 91.4 kg

Warmup: 3 cycles as above.

Squats: 65 kg x 20.

Harder than I thought, but breathing in between helps. I've noticed that my traps are getting bigger, or at least holding the bar better.

There isn't a single good spot to place the camera in the gym to record the squats, so I tried a precariously dangerous "on the edge" of a nearby machine, and the camera hit the floor before I was doing rep 2. Luckily it's rubber floor, whew. I'll have to figure out a better solution.

12 kg x 20 Dumbbell pullovers, as advised, right after.

Assisted Chinups:
-40 lbs x 11
-40 lbs x 10
-40 lbs x 6

Very busted on the last set.

Incline Dumbbell Bench Press:
18 kg (each) x 15
20 kg (each) x 10
20 kg (each) x 9

Overhead Cable Extensions:
90 lbs x 16
100 lbs x 10
100 lbs x 11

The hardest part of these are getting into the correct position to get started, heh.

Swissball Crunches: With 2x 7.5 kg dumbbells
33
35
35

Didn't like that one, I'll have to figure out a better way to do good crunches (Swiss ball crunches I do fine, but with the dumbbells it was weird). Cable crunches may be the ticket, I'll try next time.

I was thinking of doing a set of static holds for the pullups, but after failing the last set so early I decided I was probably too busted for it. Nonetheless, it looks like I've been a bit conservative on the weights, I'll have to up pretty much everything for the next workout.

Diet:

Breakfast: Spanish Tortilla: 2 eggs + 2 whites, ~200g potatoes. I'll probably drop it to 1 egg + 3 whites or I'll get way too much cholesterol.
Lunch: Chicken sandwich (no Mayo, some butter, tomato and lettuce).
Tea break: Peanut butter sandwich.
5 pm: Oaty bar (was in a hurry).
Post-gym: 350 ml skim milk + 3 scoops whey + 3 tbsp lowfat, lowsugar yoghurt. Apple. Banana. I simply can't stand shakes with water only, yuck.
Snack: Plain tuna sandwich (low fat tuna).
Dinner: 350g boneless, skinless chicken. 1 cup steamed veges.

Next week, start adding milk. I usually don't have bread for lunch, but I left my tuna salad at home today (D'oh!).

 

[Fuglydude]

20-rep squats are humbling to say the least... I'm 5'8" - 180 w/ 10% bodyfat (6 pack all the time). DL 455 lb x 1, Squat 330 x 3 below parallel, do pull ups w/ 100 lbs around my waist for reps... yet I can only do around 160 x 20 for the 20 rep squat. I think they really kick your ass, and somehow have a "metabolic shock" effect to really ramp up metabolic rate. I think its great that you're incorporating them into your routine.

I'm not sure what your goals are, but if you're trying to reduce bodyfat and optimize body composition, I'd suggest decreasing your milk intake and increasing overall protein intake. In my opinion you're not getting enough protein for someone of your weight. If you can eat 1.5-2 lbs of meat/day and do 1-2 shakes around WO time, you'll have plenty of protein, and based on your routine, should be able to optimize body composition easily. I've found that since I've minimized milk and bread intake several years ago, I've had a much easier time staying leaner.

Based on other posts I know that you have a decent amount of knowledge in metabolic biochem/cell physiology... my first degree is in molecular bio... I've been training for over 10 years, and can tell you that fitness is as a very empirical endeavour. Although your knowledge will help you to plan out your diet, please do not forget to consider the importance of hormonal regulation on metabolism. I believe that everyone has a very unique metabolism. One of the most important things in fitness is to figure out what combo of exercises, dietary regimens, supplements work for you...

Good luck.

 

[Jitterbug]

Didn't like that one, I'll have to figure out a better way to do good crunches

Ab wheels.

Swiss balls are cute tools for hot chicks to provide entertainment for us while we work out at the gym.

 

[RMM]

Fugly, thanks for the feedback. Right now I'm mostly looking into getting bigger. I have to eat more for that, but I was eating even less during my recent 3-week holiday (and it was a lot more carbs, I was doing a lot of hiking, anywhere between 2-6 hours most of the days!), so I'm ramping up from there. I know the overall body regulation is important, that's the part I'm weakest at, so I'm trying to follow the good advice given in this forum!

Once I've gone through the 20-squats regime for long enough, I'll look into cutting down. I suspect that once I've sent my body into overdrive it'll be a lot easier.

Jitter, I'll give the wheel a try. What about Renegade Rows? Just because the name sounds hilariously corny. Oh, as for the ball, I like it because situps with a ball that only supports your bum and your lower back, with the feet on the ground close together are great to develop balance, something I'm not too good at.

 

[RMM]

Today's workout:

Weight: 93 kg.

Water, or maybe the 6 bowls of clam chowder I had yesterday, who knows? (I went to the beach to collect tuatua clams on Sunday, almost hit the 150 daily limit with very decent sizes!).

Warmup: 3 rounds of interval on the cross trainer.

Squats: 67.5 kg x 20

Lost my balance a bit on the 15th - almost started to fall on my butt on the way up (I was concentrating too much on my knee placement and got distracted, doh!). Managed to recover without much trouble, took a few extra seconds to breathe, and finished no problem. The muscles of my lower back are starting to feel big when pumped up (or rather, I guess the 20 reps are pumping them up like I've never pumped them up before).

20 Dumb/barbell Pullovers afterwards. The gym was quite crowded today, so a few times I couldn't do the following exercises in their proper order (I do Pull ups -> Bench -> Cable Extension -> Abs), unless I wanted to sit there for several minutes waiting.

Pull ups:
-35 lbs x 9
-35 lbs x 8
-35 lbs x 6

I think once a week I'll just do negatives, again at the end of the workout I was too busted to do negatives/static holds.

Incline Dumbbell Benchpress:
22.5 kg x2 x9
22.5 kg x2 x8
22.5 kg x2 x8

Overhead Cable Extensions:
110 lbs x8
110 lbs x10
110 lbs x10

Time to up the weight on this one again it seems. Man do these ever pump my arms up.

Ab Wheel: I had to do them on my knees like a wuss or risk a faceplant So i tried to go really far with the wheel to compensate.
19
20
18

They tire my arms almost as much as they do the abs, but they seem to work.

This workout kicks ass, I feel great at the end of it.

 

[Jitterbug]

If you're working your way up to a full dead hang pull-up, I recommend Inverted Rows (various versions). The assistant pull-up machine doesn't help you get there very quickly if at all.

Ab wheels are awesome, but we have to build it up slowly. See this for inspirations: http://www.rosstraining.com/articles/wheel.html

 

[Jitterbug]

CarlitosWay, this beaut is just for you, mate:

http://www.leehayward.com/squats.htm - oh hang on, that is exactly what RMM quoted.

So in case you didn't actually read it, let me point it out for you.

See how Tom Platz has such a disproportionate body? Huge legs and tiny everything else... my god look at his puny arms!!! He shouldn't be squatting so much and should really focus on leg pressing and cable extensions and get machines to lift weights for him.

 

[CarlitosWay]

CarlitosWay, this beaut is just for you, mate:

http://www.leehayward.com/squats.htm - oh hang on, that is exactly what RMM quoted.

So in case you didn't actually read it, let me point it out for you.

See how Tom Platz has such a disproportionate body? Huge legs and tiny everything else... my god look at his puny arms!!! He shouldn't be squatting so much and should really focus on leg pressing and cable extensions and get machines to lift weights for him.

TOM PLATZ:LEG ROUTINE
EXCERSISE SETS REPS
SQAUT 8-12 5-20
HACK SQAUTS 5 10-15
LEG EXTENSIONS 5-8 10-15
LYING LEG CURLS 6-10 10-15
STANDING CALF RAISES 3-4 10-15
SEATED CALF RAISES 3-4 10-15
HACK MACHINE CALF RAISES 3-4 10-15

Hmm some machine work and doing barbell movements he felt worked for him. Something I've been preaching ever since I came on here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJJZ5XhS17E ooooh here he is doing one of them damn machines, that lifts all the weight for ya !!

Tom Platz was literally built to high bar back squat, you nor I can deny this. (especially @5'7) He was a big fan of front squats to, which I do enjoy from time to time and which IMO work a lot better for most people, especially those having issues with back squats.

Actual quote from him
"I was built to squat."

(from dc training) quote about seeing his legs ..."Saw him in person back in the day and he pulled down the sweats and it was a freakshow......you could hide quarters in his leg cuts"

some other people aren't so lucky...for instance some one with real long femurs/long torso (especially real tall people).....To much lower back involvement/good morning the weight up will be a constant problem with back squats.

 

[RMM]

Tuesday: Cardio, sprints on the beach.

It was a nice day for late afternoon angling (bite times around 6 pm), so I decided to go surfcasting and run a bit on the sand. Fun, I really like running on sand. I also am pretty sure I can run a lot faster now, funny what training the hamstrings can do.

I also cut my left index finger while gutting a flounder. Ever notice how one always cuts oneself with "that damn blunt knife that can't even cut bread properly"? Note to self: Buy decent filleting knife. Luckily, after some surprisingly scandalous bleeding from such a small wound, after tightly binding it with a band-aid it didn't bother me when doing weights today.

Wednesday:

Warmup: 3 rounds of interval on the cross trainer.

Squats: 70 kg x 20

Felt very strong today. At the warmup on the crosstrainer I already felt I had a lot more energy than usual, and the squats were as tough as they always are, but somehow I felt I still had a bit left on the tank by the end of them.

20 Dumb/barbell Pullovers afterwards.

As you've all kindly pointed out, adding rows to the workout:

Inverted Rows:
12
11
8

First two were with the feet on the ground, last was with the feet on a box, which looking at the results seems is how I should've started. I don't quite manage to touch the bar with my chest, but I come within a few millimeters of doing so. More than strength, I just can't quite pull my arms back far enough to touch the bar from that position (as in, I feel like the shoulderblades are just so compressed against each other there's just no more room for them to keep pulling). Closer grip? Wider Grip? Other?

I stopped counting reps when I was clearly failing to come close enough to the bar.

As usual, I like variety. Alternating these, assisteds and negatives will probably keep me entertained, which is quite important!

Incline Dumbbell Benchpress:
25 kg x2 x8
25 kg x2 x7
25 kg x2 x7

I have trouble with the set-up for these as the weight goes up. Once I've raised the dumbbells the first time and positioned myself on the bench properly with them held high it's no problem, but getting on proper position before starting is giving me a bit of trouble.

One Handed Cable Pulldown Extensions:
60 lbs x8/8
60 lbs x7/9
60 lbs x8/10

Doing single-handed ones with a more comfy setup than the overhead ones, I think I'll stick to these. Sets 2 and 3 were to confirm that my right arm is indeed still noticeably better than my left arm *grumble* I'll stick to identical reps from now on.

These pump up my arms quite nicely too, seems like a fine replacement of the OH Pulls.

Ab Wheel:
19
10
10

Doing them on my knees was hurting them too much, so after the first set I switched to partials while starting from standing up (hitting the wall when halfway through). It's definitely harder! The movement is not as smooth as when I do them on my knees, but eh, I'll get better.

Starting to eat more. Should hit close to 1.5 lbs of meat a day by the end of the week.

 

[RMM]

Thursday: Cardio, sprints.

Friday:

Weight: 93.3 kg

Warmup: 3 rounds of interval on the cross trainer.

Squats: 72.5 kg x 20.

I was sweating like a wet sponge being squeezed on the last handful of reps.

20 Pullovers.

Static holds:
30s
31s
29s

Did them with the straight bar, hands facing away from the body at shoulder width. The "bent down" bar felt weird when it came to holding up there.

Dumbbell Incline Benchpress:

25 kg x2 x9
25 kg x2 x9
25 kg x2 x9

One Handed Cable Pulldown Extensions:

60 lbs x9/9
60 lbs x10/10
60 lbs x9/9

Ab Wheel:
20
22
19

Found out that one of the rooms in the gym has a couple of decent thick mats, so I went back to the knees, better for smoother movement! Also, I've noticed that my erector spinae is getting too tired with the ab wheel, so I tend to get some back pain because it doesn't hold the spine up properly. May have to stop wussing and alternate with decline crunches even if I get a headache.

Good workout overall, very tiring too! But the numbers seem to be steadily creeping upwards.