I always do a couple to a few minutes of cold water after a regular shower and it’ll always boost my mood, tighten up my pores, make my joints feel better, and will even help with my IBS and just overall rejuvenate me.
Cold water gets my upvote fwiw.
There’s even been studies that show that cold water will at least temporarily boost seratonin(sp?) levels!
I agree about cold showers. Nature’s cure for everything 
I do contrast showers after football training (soccer to you guys) and I always feel better afterwards, no matter how beat up I was. I’m also jealous, Alpha, that you train in a place where you don’t have a staff member breathing down your neck threatening to throw you out as soon as you take your shoes off. Bloody armchair bureaucrats who write useless rules just for the hell of it and have no clue how biomechanics works.
/rant.
Nice squats btw. I wouldn’t say that last one was too high. I guarantee it was better than I could do with 650. XD
How often do you guys use contrast showers for? Only for directly after training? How long do you have the cold water on for? How many cycles? Anybody do it in the mornings when just waking up?
Hope you groin gets better Alpha. I often find when my groin is in pain, so is my lower back. Do you find that correlation?
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I’ve found cold showers to be useful after an extra hard session. One immediately after the session really reduces soreness for me. And right before bed that same night. It’s ten times easier for me to jump in a cold pool for 10 mins than to work Into a cold shower.
On a more regular basis I have good luck by taking the hottest shower bearable before bed and stretching out in that shower.
[quote]theBird wrote:
How often do you guys use contrast showers for? Only for directly after training? How long do you have the cold water on for? How many cycles? Anybody do it in the mornings when just waking up?
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I would save the contrast for after training/ when I am really, really, sore. Same goes for any kind of long hot bath. Cold showers are usually good enough, so contrasts aren’t a regular thing for me. They -are- good though, especially if you can make the contrast large and also go hot-cold two or three times.
Just saying cold isn’t very objective. Water temperature can vary drastically. My water in winter is freezing cold. I’ve stayed in 4ish minutes and I started turning purple all over. A freezing cold shower helps me feel better after 45 seconds. Do it enough times and you’ll be able to tell when the cold sets in. If you are doing contrast and the water was just very very hot, it will take longer.
Cold anytime of the day for me. Mornings are especially great. I only take warm showers when I really don’t feel like a cold one.
Hot/warm showers are relaxing or refreshing…but cold showers are rejuvenating.
Usually I do contrast showers after training or when I’m really sore, which isn’t too often. I find training at night, then a contrast shower just before bed is the type of sleeping pill there is.
I usually do hot and cold for about 90 seconds each, repeated 3 or 4 times. That’s quite variable depending on mood though. Honestly I’m not sure that the exact times matter too much. I don’t seem to notice a lot of difference.
My knee that I had surgery on (10 years ago) was acting up for like 3 days a couple of weeks ago, so I wrapped it up it a fairly hot towel for like 10-15 minutes, and then I used this old massage gun (from 1934!) eg powerful vibrator lol, and it fixed it really nice. Think I probably have scar tissue or something. Thought I’d share that for anyone who may experience something similar.
The Grappler: I really don’t see that much of a negative effect on either. I will regularly train Jits hard for up to 10 days without taking a break and will change nothing about my lifting. It is a personal thing for each athlete, you just need to keep pushing the boundaries until you figure out what is “too much” then tale a small step back. Hope that helps man!
TVS Coach: I’ll have to give that a shot man, thanks for the tips. And the words about the brain tumor were much needed, it seems as if I am starting ti have some complications so I have t go get them checked out ASAP. Thanks for stopping in!
Suteburn: Yea, I think I am going to fill up my tub with cold water and ice, then keep a scolding hot shower running in another bathroom, the vacillate between the two. I used t do this, I am to sure what I got away from it. Thanks!
Fletch, i used to do this as well. Will get back to it!
the bird: Nah, I ave to go see and endocrine doctor to see if it is a hernia or an issue with my pituitary glad tumor. I am making an appointment as we speak! My pain is from lower left abdomen down into my sack where it feels like someone is squeezing my junk. Not good.
Barbedwired: Good point. There is a small lake on the gyms property. When it warms up I may start dropping in there as part of my post workout routine…Just gotta be careful, lots of big snapping turtles in there!
TheWolfMan: Good points to bring up.
MattyG: That is awesome man, I would love to get my hands on one of those!
MONDAY, 02MARCH2015 - Work For Today
Wave 5/Day 1
EVENTS - At the Top of Every Minute for 12 Minutes
Pick up and carry a keg 50 feet. Once there, perform 1 Clean & Press With the Keg. Take the remainder of the minute to rest. Keg should be as close to body weight as possible. - 225b Keg
STRENGTH - At the Top of Every Minute for 20 Minutes
135x1
2 Burpee Lateral Jumps over the barbell.
225x1
2 Burpee Lateral Jumps over the barbell.
315x1
2 Burpee Lateral Jumps over the barbell.
405x1
2 Burpee Lateral Jumps over the barbell.
500x1
2 Burpee Lateral Jumps over the barbell.
585x1 (Vid, it went up pretty fast)
2 Burpee Lateral Jumps over the barbell.
635x2 (PR for a double, also in the Vid)
2 Burpee Lateral Jumps over the barbell.
650x1 (I just wanted to see if I could hit it after the 635x2…I didi)
ACCESSORY - At the Top of Every Minute for 10 Minutes
Complete 3 Double Paused Deadlifts @ 405lbs
Plate Loaded Reverse Hyperextensions
250x10, 250x10, 2510
NOTES: I and Pulling the bar away from my body immediately in the pull. I think this may be due to being too far over the bar. Maybe pulling the slack out more and queuing my lats will fix this. That portion is the only slow part of my deadlifts at this point.
Here is the vid;
Hey Alpha,
I read that you thought I might be trolling because I deleted my posts, I’m not. I just did that because it was hard for me to spill my emotions online like that. I got injured so I couldn’t workout at all and now I’m an even bigger piece of shit. Might be able to start working out next week. So much for trying out for a school sport
:[
Here’s a link
https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/108169402/1950s-vibrosage-electric-massager-by
and the glorious vintage vibrator museum, lol
http://www.vintagevibrators.com/vintage_vibrators/vibrosage.html
What an heirloom to have. Still works great tho.
I find it’s right by the scalpel scars that I get numb and sore, so that’s where I used it. Felt like I might have gotten blood, eg nutrients, into a place that didn’t have them for some time.
So I’ve been trying your template, conditioning followed by the strength giant sets, and I’ve got to say for many of my main movements it’s goin well. However my squats seem to be at a standstill. Granted, I’ve only been at it for a month but I get rather upset at myself when I feel like I’m not making progress but I digress. I just wanted your thoughts to see if I’m doing this right and ramping up to a correct weight or am I going too heavy? Prior to this I was on 5/3/1 and always based my lifts off percentages so this rpe method is foreign to me.
Squats:
135 (warm-up)
185 (warm-up)
225 x 3 rpe 5
245 x 3 rpe 6
255 x 3 rpe 6.5
275 x 3 rpe 8
295 x 3 rpe 9
315 x 1 rpe 10
275 x 3 x 3 rpe 8
Thanks in advance for any information, als
gvaldes, if you compare your percentages, you’ll noticed some marked differences
Alpha’s Projected 1RM = 650
135xsome = ~20%
225xsome = ~35%
315xsome = ~50%
405x3 = ~60%
455x2 = ~70%
500x1 = ~75%
550x1 = ~85%
570x1 = ~87%
585x1 (In video) = ~90%
620x1 (In video) = ~95%
650x1 = ~100%
gvaldes Projected 1RM = 315
135 (warm-up) = ~42%
185 (warm-up) = ~60%
225 x 3 rpe 5 = ~70%
245 x 3 rpe 6 = ~78%
255 x 3 rpe 6.5 = ~80%
275 x 3 rpe 8 = ~87%
295 x 3 rpe 9 = ~94%
315 x 1 rpe 10 = ~100%
275 x 3 x 3 rpe 8 = ~87%
Look at the difference in reps at the higher percentages, you basically blow your load on the sets spent ramping up
Redkrbu: Sorry to hear that man, I hope it all works out for you. Heal up.
Gvaldes: Yea man, I think Matty hit it pretty much on the head. I am working towards a competition right now, so my training looks a little bit different. You can see that I was working up with singles, so it was much less work for me. Also, I would not be going for a single on that program until it has run the entire 5 weeks. You should be trying to keep 1-2 reps in the hole. So you were probably going a little bit heavier than you should. I am glad it is working for you on most of your stuff. Also, your conditioning should be a little bit light on the legs on your squat days. I hope that helps brother!
MattyG: Thanks brother, that was really helpful when you broke it down like that.
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“Until you get enough of enough, the “enough” that is never enough, you dare not quit! If your good is better, your better can be best; your best too can become excellent.” --Israelmore Ayivor
TUESDAY, 03MARCH2015 - Work For Today
Wave 5/Day 2
STRENGTH:
Today was completely random. I hit a lot of wide grip pull-ups, worked up to a 385 paused double on bench but decided to not go any heavier because of my elbow. Then hit a few “Z” Presses with more wide grip pull-ups.
Decided to leave the rest in the tank for the rest of the week and just walked on an incline for 20 minutes while reading to burn some calories…Lame day
Here’s a book recommendation Alpha, got it in the mail last week, plan on reading it when school ends in April
What’s up with your elbow?
Thanks!
And what are your thoughts on burning fat while building muscle as an overweight beginner? Have you ever tried it and any tips?
Re recovery/showers etc, the best thing you could do for recovery is consider taking MAG-10 immediately postworkout- its a significant step up from Metabolic Drive and can really bring down the incidence of sprains and niggles.
[quote]MattyG35 wrote:
Here’s a link
https://www.etsy.com/ca/listing/108169402/1950s-vibrosage-electric-massager-by
and the glorious vintage vibrator museum, lol
http://www.vintagevibrators.com/vintage_vibrators/vibrosage.html
What an heirloom to have. Still works great tho.
I find it’s right by the scalpel scars that I get numb and sore, so that’s where I used it. Felt like I might have gotten blood, eg nutrients, into a place that didn’t have them for some time.[/quote]
You’re on to something actually -Pro strongman Clint Darden’s a big fan of this…
https://vimeo.com/97485791
Be good to see a before and after pics of getting buffed
MattyG35: Thanks for the book recommendation brother! I will definitely check that out! I am getting ready to finish book 22/100 so i will throw this one on my list.
As far as my elbow goes, I am not really sure. It has been going on for the better part of a month now and any pressing with a barbell (be it bench or overhead) is pretty painful. It doesn’t bother me with the log because it is a semi-supinated grip. But anything with a barbell is painful right on the inner knob/bone of my elbow. I have been icing it and wrapping it when I lift, but it hasn’t subsided yet. I’m sure it will be ok in time.
Redkrbu: I think it is pretty easy actually. Just stick to the advice I gave you before as far as programming and eat completely clean. Do that consistently for a year and you will be shocked at the results. It is not exciting or sexy but most things extremely effective usually are not. Consistency is the key to uncommon results.
RamapntBadger: Thanks for the tip man! I had no idea that it had that sort of effect! If it will stop a lot of the little nagging inflammation problems then I am all for it!
MattyG: You mean of me? To be honest, I don’t have a lot of pictures of myself. I have never been big on getting my picture taken. I posted a pic of me when I was a skinny 16 or 18 year old or something in one of my past logs. It was Alpha’s Work II I believe. You would have to search through it, but it is one of me flexing my bicep. In it you can see that I didn’t start with a very large frame. I still don’t when standing next to guys of similar height and weight…I just have a lot of muscle and thickness. Especially in my upper back.