SUNDAY
SUNDAY 9:30 am - Abs
L-Sit Hold, 10 seconds
Superset with
Weigthed Serratus Crunch, 20 pound DB in each hand, 10 reps
7 rounds
SUNDAY 2:30 pm - Legs
Occluded Walk - wrap upper thigh with red line knee wraps, walk for 30 minutes
TOTALS
Barbell Training and Ring Work
35 minutes x 5 (weekday) + 50 minutes (Saturday) = 225 minutes
Tire Dragging
30 minutes total (15 for legs, 10 chest/bicep, 5 tricep) x 4 = 120 minutes
- I usually don’t get in 4 tire dragging sessions, this was a good week
Ab Work
15 minutes x 3 = 45 minutes
Calves/Forearms
15 minutes total for the week
TOTAL ACTIVITY:
225+120+45+15 = 405 minutes
6.75 hours not counting posing practice.
All in all, not bad. I am happy to be losing fat/retaining muscle at my current level of activity and caloric intake.
GOT MY TRUNKS!
My posing trunks arrived on Saturday. Great fit, but also a motivator to get my glutes a bit tighter. They (referring to my glutes) look good, but not as good as I would like.
Celebrated my birthday this weekend with my family. My wife made an excellent corned beef meal with homemade bread and tons of vegetables cooked in the beef brine. It was delicious, and we followed it up with Chocolate Angel Food cake and whipping cream. Everything from scratch and homemade.
Got some birthday presents I will be putting to good use;
Lifting straps - my current ones are torn halfway through, but still working!
Fat Gripz - hopefully give a little boost to my forearms and make pressing easier on the wrists
I like the tracking of the activity. You are very time efficient. I actually thought about doing that soon just to see how much I am doing.
Care to comment on how you think the bands/rings are “working” for you? Seen any improvement in back development or strength? Its a VERY interesting avenue and I’m curious as to any details you can offer.
@ JW
Thanks, it’s good to make note of it, but I don’t worry too much about it. My main concern is with the 225 minutes I spend barbell training and doing ring work. If everything else went away, I feel I could still make progress with those sessions.
@ Lonnie
I like them a lot. I currently only do a few sets of chinups per week, the rest of my back work (besides stabilizing in the big three) comes from rings and bands. My back (IMO) has been a strength, and I have maintained, if not improved it with just doing rings and bands. Previously, I did lots of pullups, chinups, rows (barbell, t-bar) and pulldowns to build my back. I loved it, but it was draining. I feel much better/fresher doing it with the rings and bands and it has definitely at the very least, maintained my back. I actually feel my lower lats are a little thicker from the front lever holds. I won’t know for sure until I get some good pictures of it, but from what I can see, it is a bit thicker.
I do feel stronger as well. I hit a PR in chinups just messing around with my boys when I was coaching them through their workout. We occasionally see if they can total more chinups than me, they get to add theirs together. They can’t beat me yet, but someday they will. Well, I got 20 and my previous PR was 17. PR of 17 was at a similar bodyweight too.
I can’t say if I am stronger in rows because I haven’t done them in ages. During my sets of weighted chins I do feel as strong as I have been but with better form and lat contraction. And I was always good at the MMC for lats because I enjoyed working back, but it is even better now.
But don’t think back is the only benefit to rings. I feel like my chest is blowing up from ring dips and maltese holds. To me, it seems to project up and out more on the side chest pose than it previously did.
My abs have benefitted greatly as well. They are more aestetically pleasing and much stronger, which of course, helps on the big three.
Finally, I feel as if the rings have “connected” my bodyparts, created more of a flow. Rather than being a collection of body parts, the rings help develop the whole torso in unity due to enormous tension on the entire upperbody.
In the LiveSpill the other day, CT wrote this:
Christian Thibaudeau: @ Jud… what I found is that the theory of training stating that you tear the body appart so that it is forced to rebuild itself stronger is erroneous. Inm reality, training is used to send a signal to the body which then initiate changes at the cellular level which lead to body comp modification. Tearing your body can accomplish this to some degree but you then spend so much energy just repairing the damage that progress is hard to accomplish. The REAL key is to send the proper signal
I thought what CT wrote was awesome. My own thoughts on what I am actually accomplishing with a training session began to shift once he introduced the HFS concept. I began to look at training as a chance to nutrient repartition. No need to completely destroy yourself, just give your body the signal to properly handle the nutrients you are taking in.
WARNING - My own silly line of reasoning, I am just spit balling here…
I think one reason the “tear it down” theory is erroneous is due to protein turnover. It is not as if the the new cells being built will be in your body for the rest of your life. If they were, then by all means, destroy them and make them rebuild as awesomely strong as possible. Rather, they will eventually be replaced, over and over again. So why not give them just enough of a signal to grow and repair better than before, but not to the point of destroying yourself and causing all types of fatigue?
Interesting thoughts Tim, thanks for your write up.
[quote]timmcbride00 wrote:
In the LiveSpill the other day, CT wrote this:
Christian Thibaudeau: @ Jud… what I found is that the theory of training stating that you tear the body appart so that it is forced to rebuild itself stronger is erroneous. Inm reality, training is used to send a signal to the body which then initiate changes at the cellular level which lead to body comp modification. Tearing your body can accomplish this to some degree but you then spend so much energy just repairing the damage that progress is hard to accomplish. The REAL key is to send the proper signal
[/quote]
lol @ CT the human physiologist.
@ Lonnie
No problem.
@ 3 Commandments.
Not sure what you mean.
SHRUGS
Knocked off 65 pounds from last week’s workout and instead of going for a 1 second contraction, I went for a 3 second contraction on each rep. And I didn’t let it stretch as far down since last week I strained my neck doing that. Felt awesome.
FAT GRIPZ
Tried them for the first time doing some DB Curls. They were great, really nice stimulation of the forearms compared to normal curls without the fat gripz.
“I LOVE YOU TIRE GUY”
Training outside sure is interesting, training outside by dragging a tire is SURE to get you looks/comments.
I’ve had probably 20 different people come up to me and ask what I was doing, what I was training for, how much weight is in the tire? People tell me I have a flat tire, I laugh, it’s all in good fun.
Policemen stop and talk to me because they are curious about my training. The Chief of Police of a nearby borough thinks its great and recognized me at a park over summer. He says, “Hey, you’re that guy who drags the tire all the time!”
My favorite though, is a young teenage boy, who drives buy and shouts, “I love you tire guy!” I smile, I know he is just being goofy, I was the same way as a teenager (who am I kidding, I haven’t changed, that’s why I find him amusing). Now if I see him coming I make sure to give him a wave or a nod.
IMBALANCES
Ever since breaking my left arm in college, my right arm has been bigger and stronger. Additionally, my left tricep long head actually changed shape post-break. Not sure why, but it is at least 1 inch shorter than my right side long head.
I’ve tried to fix it over the years by doing extra sets of OH extensions and even DB presses for my left side. I noticed that my right lat insertion was bigger as well and figured it was because my right side was taking over and getting more stress from my back work. So I came up with a “brilliant” idea, I attacked my imbalance with stiff arm lat pulldowns on my left side since it hits the lats and tricep. However, posing recently I noticed that my left lat looks bigger than my right…and my left delt looks bigger than my right, no doubt from extra sets of stiff arm lat pulldowns and DB presses respectively.
I had to laugh at myself, in my effort to correct an imbalance, I created more. I think I have learned my lesson. I should be more careful and pick more isolation exercises to correct imbalances. I was probably fine doing a few sets of single arm OH tricep extensions, but as soon as I got into compound exercises I made it worse. Lesson learned, the hard way.
6 WEEKS OUT - POSING WITH TRUNKS
I let out my dog right before posing, so I was a bit rushed because I knew any moment he’d be scratching to come back inside…I’m smart.
At the end of the video, I’m heading off to let my dog in…after hearing him scratch twice and ignoring him because I was trying to finish the posing positions.
Exactly 6 weeks from the show today!
Tim, I’m trying to do a bunch more research on the ideas behind the Pulse Fasts, and the Pulse Feasts. I saw your name pop up a few times in the live spill, is this something that you made use out of ever? Any ideas on it? Its VERY intriguing to me and its something I may play with in the future.
You look great man. Nice Xmas tree.
The only thing I could comment on is the Side Triceps pose around 1:10 looked a little off. Your other Side tri looked good though.
@ Lonnie
My normal eating pattern is IF (intermittent fasting). Depending on if I eat a late night snack, I either follow a 17 hour fast / 7 hour feeding window (11am training breaks the fast, done eating by 6pm) or if I eat a snack at night, it’s more like 14 / 10 (9pm snack).
I know, I know, 14/10 doesn’t seem like much of IF, but the 9pm snack isn’t much, just enough to make sure I am not going to get hungry/stomach growling. I’d rather push the whole thing back so my feed window was more like 1 or 2pm to 9pm, but I work out on my lunch break and have to work around that time frame, so I always break the fast at 11am.
I use a pulse fast approach on Sundays, with modifications based on how heavy or light I am weighing. If I am heavy, than I will pulse upon waking and at 1pm, then eat dinner at 5 or 6pm and pulse at 10pm. If I am light, than I will just pulse upon waking at eat a normal lunch and dinner.
I use a pulse feast approach when there is a party/social event plannd and I want to eat “normal” at the party. For example, I just had a birthday, I will purposefully eat lighter (or not eat, just pulse) prior to the “event.”
I think I made good lean mass gains using this approach. Also, I feel strongly that my diet has gone very smooth thanks to IF. If there is any easier time to go without food it is in the morning, plus, training on an empty stomach just feels better as well (of course, I slam a peri-workout drink, but I mean without tons of food in there).
Hope that helps!
@ Rocky
Thanks for watching and thanks for the feedback!
And here are the ideal glutes!
Phillip Ricardo Jr.
Doug Miller is an absolute beast, lol.
Tim, you’re looking great. Two suggestions: 1. On rear poses, make sure to pull the floor together to flex your hammies. Also, on rear poses where you have one foot spiked, point that knee out more instead of forward. It will make your legs look wider.
Again, you’re looking great 6 weeks out. Can’t wait to see you on show day!
V-taper looks really good from the back, and chest looks thick in the side poses. Conditioning is great, small waist - overall very pleasing shape. You should do well.
Best of luck at your show. : )
@ thoughts
Regarding Doug Miller…no doubt.
Regarding the tips.
-
I am pulling the floor together. However, two things I think are at play. One, In this video, I believe my hamstrings aren’t catching the light (in the shadows from leaning back). And two, I admit they just aren’t detailed enough yet to show it. I actually feel quite comfortable pulling the floor together and I can feel the contraction in my hamstrings and glutes really well. Unfortunately, my hamstrings did not get detailed in my previous cut. I am hoping with another year of mass on them and a leaner physique that 5 and a half weeks from now they will show up on stage with me. : )
-
I have read this before but definitely need to work on it. I can feel the difference in contraction as well when I remember to point the knee out.
Thanks for your kind words and insight. You’ve been very helpful through this prep.
@ SkyNett
Terminator fan? : )
Thanks for checking in SkyNett. I appreciate your feedback…any negatives (posing or physique wise) that I can improve upon over the next few weeks? (I know not much will change physique wise, just asking)
VERTICAL JUMPS
So I have been inserting vertical jumps into my day since reading the training lab last Wednesday. I love it. I actually thought about training to dunk a basketball again (I was able to dunk during intramurals in college, but haven’t played basketball much since) once the contest was over, so inserting vertical jumps has been really fun and motivating.
Here’s how I have been using them…
During a regular training session:
Squat 230 plus chains x 3 reps, Vertical Jump, OH press 123.5 x 3 reps, rest briefly, repeat for 10 sets
During an off day:
While walking my dog, stopped every now and then and did a max jump. Did about 10 during the walk.
During a miscellaneous extra session last night:
8 rounds of -
a) L-Sit Hold, 10 seconds
b) Weighted Serratus Crunch, 20 lb each hand x 10 reps
c) 1 max vertical jump
d) Rear Relaxed Pose - really squeezing the glutes
The jump prior to the relaxed pose really helped me feel the glutes more than normal…and I don’t have trouble feeling my glutes. It was nice.
EPIC REFEED MEAL…WELL…FOR ME ANYWAY
I was feeling quite sluggish at the end of last week. Just sore and tired. I was still performing fine and my weight wasn’t dropping so I was holding off on a refeed.
However, Sunday evening arrived and my mother-in-law took my family out to eat at this excellent Chinese buffett. Perfect time for a refeed. This place is simply awesome, they even have good cuts of sushi. I’ve seen buffett’s with eel and crab because they are cooked, but they actually have salmon and tuna at this buffett as well.
I am not sure how many plates I ate, but it was a ton
Tons of sushi, green beans with almonds, spicy chicken/mushroom/onion, mongolian beef/green pepper/onion, black pepper chick, broiled salmon, california rolls, crabmeat wrapped in bacon, broccoli. It was outstanding, and I topped it all off with a nice sized bowl of mint chocolate chip ice cream.
I haven’t ate like that in a long time. However, it actually wasn’t too bad since I purposefully served myself tons of vegetables and tried not to get the pieces that were drenched in sauce.
I also drank WAY more water than I usually drink (and I drink at least 1.5 gallons per day) on Sunday. Tons of water plus lots of food equalled a much refreshed me. I woke up feeling great on Monday morning (and only up 2.5 pounds) and have crushed my workouts thus far this week.
On Monday I hit 270 for 5 sets of 5 on squats. While not technically a PR for 5 sets of 5 (I hit more in early 2010 training on Smolov), once your factor in bodyweight (180 versus 200), form (my form is much better now) and speed (I am way more explosive), this is actually a PR. I am less than 6 weeks from my show, I am refreshed and I am hitting PR’s in the gym. It feels good.
Today I hit 353.5 for 5 sets of 5 on deadlifts. Similar to squat, not a PR, but for this bodyweight and rep speed, it is feeling excellent.
I don’t think so. Just don’t do anything drastic in the next few weeks and screw up your peak (which I’m sure you won’t, you clearly have an intelligent and methodical approach to the whole thing) and you should do well.
Looking fwd to seeing the vids! : )
Just chiming in: impressive.
conditioning really coming in. Tan’s gonna make a world of difference too.
S