Peterson Step Ups x 12 x 3 sets. With seated psoas raises between sets.
Regular Step Ups x 11 x 3 sets. With high knee suitcase march.
Leg Extension vs average band x 25 x 3 sets. With incline leg raises.
Standing Calf Raise. Pause with heels on floor on bottom, pause at top x 12 x 3 sets.
Seated Calf Raise x 25 x 3 sets. With band tibias between sets.
Leg raises on an incline (decline?, head was higher than hips) today. When I do leg raises off a flat bench I only really get lower abs at the top top of the move, if I get my legs up there at all. If I do them hanging I only get lower abs at the bottom of the move, before my hip flexors take over. On the inclined bench the super easy to get to mid range kept tension down there for the whole move. All I had to do was just barely think about raising my tail bone off the bench. Legit.
I listened to this for awhile. Dr Mike makes an interesting point about how going closer to failure (like counting reps in reserve) increases the demand on recovery exponentially. But the effectiveness goes up linearly. So training to failure or beyond is a little more effective than leaving a rep or two in the tank. It also blasts your body harder and builds more fatigue, requiring more recovery and as a result you can’t do it as long. There is a point of diminishing returns.
Carter counters saying dudes leaving something in reserve don’t know to push hard enough. Like Johnny X thinks he’s got 10 reps in him, so he stops at 8. In reality he’s got 17 reps in him so he’s only working less than half-assed if he stops at 8.
It reminded me off the Mel Siff/ Louie line; Don’t train minimally, don’t train maximally. Train optimally. Don’t be a puss, but don’t fight Mike Tyson to get ready to fight Cicely Tyson.
I’ve not watched the vid yet but I will when I get some quiet time.
My sessions can be put into 3 categories… Just get it in days 15%of the time
Energy not at it’s best, will get some quality work done and concentrate on making 1 or 2 things great. So maybe work on form or try a new weight.
God like days 15% of the time
Energy through the roof, will push for prs on everything. Near every set to failure or past extended sets etc.
meat and potatoes 70% of the time
Energy average, few prs, training near or to failure on last set of each exercise.
I find this works pretty well but takes a bit of experience to know when you need to push or dial back.
I just love those Herculean days too much. I always fall into the pattern of setting up my training so it goes; Just get it in/ meat and potatoes/ godlike, week by week so I can experience that great workout more often.
I know I need to rig it up so I get more time in the meat and potatoes zone, and I keep not doing it.
If you can get away with it then its fine! I have tried every session being a max effort whilst doing the likes of doggcrapp and I really need those deload weeks as my motivation and energy just crashes hard, it feels almost like my hormones are knocked off. So although it’s a routine I really enjoy I just cant keep it up.
Volume and intensity really are an individual thing. People tend to overlook what actual works best for them because they read the latest coachs recommendations and blindly follow.
Ab crunch on stability ball x burn
Leg raise, sit on bench with hands behind back, holding bench x 12ish
Three times
Non failures with non killer weights. Then a nice dog walk up to the top of the ridge. Steak night to follow and later the Bills game. Not a bad Sunday.
Here’s a super slow and long video with JM. About an hour of how to get up on your traps and neck and to use your legs to drive yourself up into your neck and traps. From there benching is just bending your elbows. Strength is making all your muscle fibers fire together and fast.
And another one about fatiguing all the fibers when you do your accessories. Maybe the only thing less exciting than ultra slow motion tricep extensions is a slow motion video about those extensions, but maybe interesting if you’ve been thinking about your programming.
Seated Calf, one leg x 12, two leg x 12 x 3 sets. Plate loaded gripper between sets.
Hurdler stretch is another one from team Panora. If you do it this way you get that good internal hip rotation and adductor activation on the back leg with the glute and external rotation on the front leg, at the same time. Just like that awful seated 90/90 hip move that tears my hip flexors apart, without the damage. It’s less difficult and I can actually feel myself relaxing hip flexors while tensing glutes/abs/adductors.
Back raises on the glute/ham bench are cool. The footplate on the one at my gym is huge, I can take a pretty wide stance and get some nice adductor work at the lockout or top.
I turned 40 a couple days ago. How the hell did that happen? Happy birthday to my other Christmas time birthday bros who don’t talk about it much.
I think I tore about 4% of my left pec messing around with plate loaded dips 10 days ago. My arms were up behind me just as I was about to start a set. It was a light set on a deload day and I was like fuck it, I’ll use the other handle/grip on the machine, I rotated my hand position and POP, like one little thread breaking in my chest. Super minor in the grand scheme but it kinda sucked to limp across the finish line of my 30s.
Got up to 12.5s on flat bench and 7.5s on incline bench. Slight pain in pec, worst on inclines. Stretch pec or bicep/shoulder between sets.
Dicks Press x 10 x 3 sets
Band Overhead Tricep Extensions x 35, Band Pushdowns x 25 x 2 pairs
Pinch Grip 25 Bumper Plate Hold x 1 minute
Seated Calf x 50
Twice
Grittin’ my teeth pumping up the pecs, sharing dumbbells with the old ladies. I’m really getting some good work in with the Dicks Presses. The first part is likes close grip bench, I’ve been making sure to keep tension on the tris, and keeping the elbows pretty high. My arms are kinda long so the bar seems high high above my chest/face in the second part where you slide the bar back towards your head.
Get loose. Stretch lat/bicep. New dumbbell internal/external rotations. Arm circles against wall. x 2
Easy, quick to do, nice warm up
Single Arm Lever Pulldowns
2 warm up sets with 5 count eccentric. Lats were cramping
3 regular sets of 10
Cable Pulldown, semi supinated, close MAG grip
3 sets of 10
Straight Arm Pulldowns. 1 arm, rope
3 sets of 12ish. I was trying to focus on elbow close to body to get after the lats in a shortened ROM/length. Some kind of neutral grip row would have been easier but the program said Vertical Pulls.
Chins
Medium grip x 3
Close neutral x 3
Wider x 3
First chins in awhile. I felt stable and got my chin over the bar OK but I felt kinda stiff and I was far away from the bar , like it was way in front of me.
Fat Gripz Alternating DB Curls, 3 sets of 10
DB Spider Curls, 3 sets of 12-15ish
Incline Hammer Curl 3 sets of 12
McGil Curl Up x 6
Seated Psoas Raise x 6
Crunch on Ball x 12
Leg Raise off Bench x 12
2 rounds
