But reminders are necessary ------
I like repeating safety rules :
Just remember focus and control. Quality muscle contraction combined with your improved eating habits will see great gains. Along with some honest well-earned pain and your body asking for rest.
For sure, make cardio after leg workouts mandatory so you get more blood flushing. Helps with recovery - I think I’ve said this before but saying it again so I know I’ve said it before at least twice maybe. haha.
No one is going to call ya a wuss if you have to take 5 minutes to breathe. You haven’t been going at it consistently for a full year yet! Though if your mind starts a gibbering, thats when you grit your teeth and stomp on the little gibbering voice, and get back to work.
Workout today went much faster than yesterdays. Legs were tight today but I did some stretching this morning and felt much better. Not as bad as I thought
Wokrout kinda sucked today. I did a ton of physica labor with heavy iron at work today. I build gear industrial drives that typically weigh over 40,000lbs so the individual pieces are quite heavy.
I also noted that my hamstrings are a huge weakpoint. No matter how much I stretched they still hurt during the workout. I will have to put much more efort to bring up this area as the time goes on.
Deadlifts: 2 minutes rest between each set.
95 x 6 reps
115lbs x 6 reps
135lbs x 6 reps
200lbs x 6 reps
200lbs x 6 reps
200lbs x 6 reps
200lbs x 6 reps
200lbs x 6 reps
Super sets:
B1: Leg curls: 10 reps @ 50lbs
B2: Goodmornings: 8 reps @ 50lbs (never did these before so I was worried about my lower back and getting the hang of the movement)
2 minute rest
Everything looks pretty good to me from skimming through your log. Kinein has offered some great advice to you along the way and you seem to be very committed to what you do so I tip my hat to both of you. The program looks pretty solid. A few things I wondered about was the building up to 6 reps on the deadlift (I like reps to be a little lower for this exercise) and your reps looked high for leg curls too.
Hamstrings are a fast twitch muscle fiber so they usually respond better to HEAVY weight and reps under 8 (I usually go multiple sets and reps around 4-6). Given your training age though I think you should still see results from the higher reps you use. One thing I personally disagree with is steady state cardio. I have posted the reasons in other’s threads in the past but, to save you the time searching I will re-cap:
(1) Continuous aerobic work plateaus after 8 weeks of training so anything more is counterproductive.
(2) Aerobic training worsens power locally and systemically �?? in other words, it can make you slower.
(3) Aerobic training increases oxidative stress which can accelerate aging.
(4) Aerobic training increases adrenal stress which can make you fatter and produce other undesirable health consequences
(5) Aerobic training increases body fat in stressed individuals by contributing additional stress.
(6) Aerobic training worsens testosterone/cortisol ratio which impedes your ability to add fat burning lean muscle.
I favor doing GPP or interval work as a seperate evening session 6-8hrs. after morning workout. I am a huge fan of sled pulling, we use it extensively at Westside Barbell and it was something we are encouraged to implement as Poliquin trained coaches.
I don’t know if you have access to it but, for hamstrings and also (as an added bonus) for increasing sprinting speed there is NOTHING better than the reverse hyper. It works the posterior chain in the exact order it would fire if you were sprinting. and will also strengthen your lower back while de-compressing the spine. Also glute-ham raises are GREAT!! Finally try changing your foot position on leg curls (toes pointed :in, out,neutral) to hit different parts of the muscle).
Some things nutritionally: in skimming through I did not see your peri workout nutrition. This is THE most important feeding in terms of progressing. At the very least , on a low carb diet I would use Whey Isolate/glutamine/glycine post workout and make sure you are getting PLENTY of H2o and Vitamin C. I don’t want to overwhelm you and overall things look pretty good. Those are just a few quick things I noticed that might help with your progress.
Overall you have made good progress and deserve congradulations for you dedication and improvements. If you have any specific questions I will be happy to offer any help I can, you have got some great input from some great members already and I am happy to help any way I can. It is always great to read about another T brother’s progress!!
When you talk about your workout and after your job. It kind of figures that if you do a lot of active stuff at work, you might want to go for less volume and heavier. I think laroyal made some very solid concise and clear points about various aspects of your training that I haven’t really touched upon. Welcome to Brootal’s log Laroyal. Your input is highly valued.
Just want to take a second and THANK YOU! both for the massive amount of help you guys are putting into both the forums and into my log. It’s totally awesome, and makes me want to work even harder!
My workout today was simply put: “ass kicking”. Although I just started HSS-100, I am seeing the difference in what I thought was a “hard” workout. I think that when someone tells a beginner to “eat and lift hard” the “hard” part needs to be much more defined. The workouts that I used to think were hard are almost laughable now.
Lifting:
Incline bench:
95lbs x10
115bs x 8
135lbs x 6 (2min rest)
135lbs x 6 (2min rest)
135lbs x 6 (2min rest)
135lbs x 6 (2min rest)
135lbs x 6 (2min rest)
B1)= 3 sets of 10 reps
B2)= 3 sets of 8 reps
2 minute rest after each superset.
B1)Front shoulder Raises: 25lb plate weight with both hands
B2)Decline Bench press: 115lbs
C)Variable incline/decline dumbbell press. (Utterly ridiculous)
-45 deg incline (12 reps with 35lbs dumbbells)no rest
-30 deg incline (10 reps with 35lbs dumbbells)no rest
-flat bench (8 reps with 35lb dumbbells) no rest
-decline bench (7 reps with 35lbs dumbbells)
I only did one set of the above Variable incline press. I am not sure if that whole run through is considered “one set”*
D) 100 reps of lateral side raises (can you still be hardcore with 2.5lbs plate weights?)
1 set of 50 reps, 1 set of 30 reps, 1 set of 20 reps (30 second rests between)
15 minutes of bicycle sprints.
2 minutes ride, 30 seconds balls to the wall sprint, repeat for 15 minutes. + 5 minutes cool down.
Nutrition was typical (day isn’t over yet)
Is it best to go back to drinking half Surge during and half Surge after my workout instead of the whey before and full Surge directly after?
The whey I use before working out is the ON brand from GNC (Metabolic Drive is saved strictly for before bed). It says it contains BCAA’s, does that count or is the amount to minimal?
Drink Surge 30 minutes before and immediatly after. Drinking it during your workout would pull blood away from the muscles and into the gut to break down the dextrose and you want the blood in the muscle!
For during a workout I do a high dose of BCAA’s in pedialyte (2caps) and no-carb powerade. Optimum has a good line although I like Biotest better. Check out www.thejuicedmoose.com if you need to pick up some Biotest and other supplements, they have great prices! Hss-100 is a great program but be carful of doing that much volume & sprints.
I am all for GPP/sprinting but don’t overdo it and if you are doing something like that program you may want to space the sprinting out later (6-8hours). Great job though, and happy to help!
[quote]BROOTAL wrote:
I think that when someone tells a beginner to “eat and lift hard” the “hard” part needs to be much more defined. The workouts that I used to think were hard are almost laughable now.
[/quote]
Haha I’ve seen quite a few guys just never come back to the gym after seeing what I consider hard. I believe in progression and gauging a persons current ability and promoting their own self-discovery. When a person finds that drive within everything and anything can happen!
Now if I told you to conquer a third world country vs winning a street-fight which would you more willing attempt to do first.
Also I think teaching someone control and emphasizing foundational stuff is important to long-term growth and progress. Plus making sure you aren’t setting yourself up to get hurt somewhere down the road. More knowledgeable skilled educators like LaRoyal are necessary to fill in all the nitty gritty stuff hehe.
[quote]kinein wrote:
BROOTAL wrote:
I think that when someone tells a beginner to “eat and lift hard” the “hard” part needs to be much more defined. The workouts that I used to think were hard are almost laughable now.
Haha I’ve seen quite a few guys just never come back to the gym after seeing what I consider hard. I believe in progression and gauging a persons current ability and promoting their own self-discovery. When a person finds that drive within everything and anything can happen!
Now if I told you to conquer a third world country vs winning a street-fight which would you more willing attempt to do first.
Also I think teaching someone control and emphasizing foundational stuff is important to long-term growth and progress. Plus making sure you aren’t setting yourself up to get hurt somewhere down the road. More knowledgeable skilled educators like LaRoyal are necessary to fill in all the nitty gritty stuff hehe.
[/quote]
I think you make an excellent point. Progression should be relative to the individual and there is no “one size fits all” program out there. By building a strong foundation you set yourself up for a more productive injury free future. With absolute beginers a lot of times the first phase of their program will focus on GPP, Flexability, and Joint Stability.
They are soon ready to transition to big basic movements where the focus is on technique and then onto splits or more traditional workouts. Always remember form should be paramount and don’t try to do too much at once.
Very interesting point about drinking Surge during the workout. I guess I never thought about the blood going to the stomach for digestion.
Not doing cardio type work right after my workout presents the following problem: If it is not ideal to do sprints right after an intense workout I only have 2 places left to fit it in.
-I can wake up 30 min earlier and crank it out.
-I can do this about an hour before sleep.
Is one of the two more ideal to do it? or is just getting it done good enough at my current level?
With the slight reintroduction of carbs (toast at breakfast and oatmeal after workout) I have noticed that I am getting a better “pump” in the gym, and also feel stronger when working out. On the flip side to this I feel a bit fatter during the day specifically around my waist.
Is there a good chance I am going to balloon back up to where I was? or should I just keep them and hope that my workouts are now intense enough to justify healthy carbs?
I think you should be OK with the new carbs just keep an eye on it and try to be objective. Carbohydrates cause more water to be stored in the body (each gram of carbohydrate stored requires an extra 2.7 grams of water). Try to realize that you may look a little smoother at first (aldosterone, the hormone responsible for regulating h2O Balance works on a 72 hour loop) it will likely just be water. Don’t panic.
Given your schedule, what I would do is either add 1 day of GPP work or cut back on volume on leg day and do sprints afterwards. Different people are going to have different work load tolerance so be sure your strength is going up and you feel ready to train with the added GPP/Interval.
**215 is my new heaviest weight and exactly 100 lbs heavier than from my first day of squatting. It makes me want go for a 1 rep max but I typically have no one to spot me.
I have noticed that its getting to the point with my squat where my legs can keep doing more, but my body can’t handle the load on my back. For example today my legs felt strong as hell but my form started to crap out when I went for 220lbs. Is this normal? ways to fix it?
Super sets:
B1: Leg extension: 10 reps @ 75lbs
B2: Front Squats: 8 reps @ 115lbs
2 minute rest
Leg extension: 10 reps @ 75lbs
Front Squats: 8 reps @ 115lbs
2 minute rest
Leg extension: 10 reps @ 75lbs
Front Squats: 8 reps @ 115lbs
2 minute rest
(I am having trouble with front squats. It seems that I have to concentrate more on how I am holding the damn bar than on the movement itself. I hope this is just a matter of learning the move and getting better with practice.)
Isometric Bulgarian split squats:
3 “sets” of 30 second holds on each leg.
100 squats with an EZ curl bar
1st set = 50 reps
2nd= 30 reps
3rd= 20 reps
15 minute cool down on the bike to get some blood flow through the legs. (Is it still considered “cardio” if I am not breaking a sweat?)
On a side note, it feels just flat out wrong only doing legs once a week. I have gotten so used to doing them 3 times a week, that after a few days I start getting all anxious.
After leg day I also feel kind of sick for about 20 minutes and find it hard to slam my Surge directly after I finish. Its something about that last 100 reps that makes me feel I am going to puke. Is it better to just suck it up and slam the Surge? or is waiting 20 minutes too much of a delay?
I read the front squats are giving you trouble, some of that is getting used to the movement. One thing you can do is use a manta ray bar attatchment, it should help. Great job!!
2 reps (4 assisted up, controlled lowering)
2 minute rest periods ( a little better than last time)
Supersets:
B1) Incline bench supported rows (35lbs) dumbbells x 10 reps
B2) Bent over barbell rows (115lbs)x 8 reps
2min rest
B1) Incline bench supported rows (35lbs) dumbbells x 10 reps
B2) Bent over barbell rows (115lbs)x 8 reps
2min rest
B1) Incline bench supported rows (35lbs) dumbbells x 10 reps
B2) Bent over barbell rows (115lbs)x 8 reps
(My rows felt weak as hell today. My traps were sore as hell today. I think it is from the way I hold the bar while front squatting.)
One arm Barbell rows
(45lb bar + 30lbs) 3x8 each arm 1 minute rest
(45lb bar + 30lbs) 3x8 each arm 1 minute rest
(45lb bar + 30lbs) 3x8 each arm 1 minute rest
100 shrugs holding 10lbs dumbbells.
100 bent over rows with 10lbs dumbbells.(since the 100 reps is for flushing, I figured I might as well do a pulling rowing movement since this is what I do more of during the workout.
15 minutes sprints on bike after workout. ride for 90 sec sprint for 30 sec → repeat for 15 minutes.
Before bed: 1 scoop Metabolic Drive in carb countdown milk, 1 tablespoon of milled flax seed.
I tried some of those reverse hypers to see what they felt like and I’m not quite sure I am doing them right. I feel it more in my lower back than I do in my hamstrings. Is this normal? My hamstrings are drastically weaker than they should be.
You should feel the rev hypers in your lower back but your hamstrings will respond too. When you do them let the weight "stretch out " the lower back/spine try to resist at the top of the movement. Lower the weight slowly “swing” the weight up. Great Job! Another good hamstring builder (I use it as a warm up) is swiss ball leg curls.
For diet I would stay away from egg beaters. I would rather see you eat 2 whole eggs and 4-5 egg whites.
Please explain why you are against usuing egg beaters as opposed to regular egg whites. (hopefully some others are reading and learning from this as well).
I am usuing egg beaters for the sole purpose of adding protein in the form of food (rather than whey). Buying the egg beaters at costco and adding a quarter cup to the whole eggs is cheaper than using 5 or 6 eggs everyday. I would rather just eat 3 or 4 whole eggs instead.
Is sticking to 2 eggs and adding some type of meat a better idea?
A sample breakfast: 2 eggs, 1 slice of toast, couple slices of lean breakfast ham?
I want to try and keep the carbs low(er) until workout time as I am still carrying some chub around the waist, and don’t want to go overboard adding carbs everywhere. Otherwise I would just eat a big bowl of oatmeal with whey and blueberries!! (love that meal)
Whole eggs are your best bet with the lean meat and I would use a lean red meat because it is higher in Tyrosine than ham or turkey. Turkey since it is higher in tryptophan is ideal for you late meal as it promotes good sleep.
There’s nothing wrong with eggbeaters. It’s just eggs with the yolk removed, and color and flavor added back in to make up for it I just wonder what chemicals are added to get the color and flavor back in? Why eat processed food when the real food is better? Also, for every 64egg whites, it costs about $2 more to use egg beaters.
�??We found that the dietary cholesterol in eggs does raise the LDL-1 and LDL-2 fractions but it does not impact the small, dense LDL-3 through LDL-7 particles that are the greatest threat for cardiovascular disease risk,�?? explained Maria Luz Fernandez from the University of Connecticut.
�??We also found that that egg cholesterol did not impact the small, dense LDL particles among a sub-set of participants who were genetically predisposed to being most sensitive to dietary cholesterol,�?? she added.
The larger LDL-1 subclass was greater in hyperresponders, those more sensitive to dietary cholesterol, following egg intake, showing that the consumption of a high-cholesterol diet does not negatively influence the atherogenicity of the LDL particle, reported the scientists.
Most interestingly, a recent study, by the American Cancer Society found that people who ate eggs had fewer heart attacks and strokes than those who did not! It makes sense, since eggs are one of the richest sources of choline, a component of lecithin which acts in the arteries like a fat and cholesterol emulsifier, keeping the cholesterol in the egg itself moving through the bloodstream and preventing it from sticking to artery walls. Ironically, it�??s the yolk itself – the part of the egg infamous for its cholesterol content – that has the highest concentration of this artery-protective nutrient.
So why did we ever stop eating eggs? Consider the way in which that originally damning set of studies were performed so long ago – by the Cereal Institute: Dried egg yolk powder – an oxidized form of the yolk was used in those studies. Oxidation destroys lecithin’s protective properties. Consuming oxidized foods has long been known to cause free radical damage within the body. It all makes more sense now, doesn�??t it!
Thirteen patients at the Highland Hospital in Oakland, California were fed the equivalent in egg yolks of that found in 15 eggs per day for a 3 week period. The serum cholesterol did not increase significantly in any except two bedridden, obese patients. Four of the 7 ambulatory patients in the study actually showed a slight decrease in serum cholesterol.
Dr. Robert Itchiness, a cardiologist in New York city specializing in metabolic disorders, has treated over 8,000 patients. He lowered the serum cholesterol markedly in 63 percent of his patients with a diet high in meat, milk, and eggs. Dr. Itchiness believes that 95 percent of all heart trouble is associated with high serum triglycerides and attributes this to the staggering increase in sugar consumption–up from 7 pounds per person in 1840 to over 100 pounds today.
An analysis of nationwide federal data involving 15,633 healthy adults found that even high egg intake - defined in the study as egg consumption four or more times per week �?? did not raise blood levels of cholesterol.
For instance, a 1999 Harvard study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that healthy people who consumed up to seven eggs a week did not increase their risk for heart attacks or strokes. The study involved more than 80,000 women and nearly 38,000 men.
Schnohr et al. 1994. Egg consumption and high-density-lipoprotein cholesterol. J. Intern. Med. 235:249-251.
To determine the effects of egg consumption on plasma HDL cholesterol levels, twenty-four adults added two eggs per day to their usual diets for six weeks. Total cholesterol levels were increased by 4% while HDL cholesterol levels increased 10%. The dose adjusted response to the change in dietary cholesterol was 2.4 mg/dl per 100 mg/day. The authors concluded that “a moderate egg intake should not be rigorously restricted in healthy individuals.”
To put that in perpective, 2 Eggs has about 400mg of Cholesterol. If it was a 2.4 mg/dL per 100mg rise, that would be a 9.6mg/dL - rounded off to 10 mg/dL - rise in TOTAL Cholesterol. Let’s assume for comparison sake that their Total Cholesterol was a nice round 160 to begin with, and let’s assume their LDL/HDL levels were very good…let’s say HDL = 50, LDL = 100. A 10% rise in HDL would equate to a 5 mg/dL rise in their HDL and a 4.6 mg/dL rise in their LDL. That would make the newer numbers: TOTAL = 170, LDL = 105, HDL = 55. The ratio of LDL: HDL for the old numbers would be 2.0:1, and for the newer numbers 1.9:1, a noticeable improvement in their Ratio.
*2.3 mg/dL per 100mg for persons lacking apo A-IV-2 allele and 0.7 mg/dL per 100mg for persons not lacking apo A-IV-2 allele
**3.9 mg/dL per 100mg for persons fed a High Polyunsaturated Fat (Corn Oil) diet in addition to the added Eggs. 3.8 mg/dL per 100mg for persons fed a High Saturated Fat (Beef Tallow) Diet in addition to the Eggs.
***1.6 mg/dL per 100mg for persons with pre-existing High Cholesterol and 3.2 mg/dL per 100mg for persons with BOTH pre-existing High Triglycerides and pre-existing High Cholesterol.
That works out to about a 5 mg/dL rise in TOTAL Cholesterol per Egg per day for all the studies listed. But, since many of those studies included so-called Hyperresponders [persons who have a greater than normal response to Cholesterol,] the average would be even lower for Normal Folks. Add to that, that the Hyperresponders mostly increased their LDL-1 (GOOD LDL !!!)
Not to mention that one study found found a 4% rise in TOTAL Cholesterol, but a 10% rise in HDL (Good) Cholesterol. Add to that, that one study found it only raised LDL-1 and LDL-2 (GOOD LDL !!!) in both regular folks and Hyperresponders…and it becomes clear Eggs not only don’t contribute to heart disease, they may actually prevent it. In fact, they also contain Antioxidants that help prevent Heart Disease.