I love how what you consider weak i consider quite amazing and hope to hit some day a long ways from now
I can only hope to be as weak as you one day, PA
I love reading your stuff man, I always like hearing the writings of āolderā lifters because you can hear a sort of battle-hardened wisdom in there that you just donāt get from people who have been doing it for a shorter period of time.
For example, Bruce Lee: [quote]Before I studied the art, a punch to me was just like a punch, a kick just like a kick. After I learned the art, a punch was no longer a punch, a kick no longer a kick. Now that Iāve understood the art, a punch is just like a punch, a kick just like a kick. [/quote]
I think Iām coming back around to the āPunch is just a punchā mentality in my training. When I first started lifting, I was very BASIC in my approach (A punch was simply a punch) - Then, For years I got bogged down in various different methods that didnāt necessarily advance me towards my goals (A punch was no longer a punch), and now I am coming back around to the basics and am making great progress again. A punch is back to being just a punch.
Also, its very encouraging to see guys reaching their PEAKS after lifting for 20-25 years, instead of peaking at age 23 and training to hold some idealized physique of their youth. Like a fine wine, we get better with age.
Hereās to throwing a few more punches in the coming decades.
I love this post and your thoughts. Good stuff. And as a martial artist Iām always eager to read Bruce Lee quotations.
Iām planning to improve for many years to come. Okay, I do know and accept that I canāt increase my bench until I hit 1000 pounds by the age of 80. There are limits. But till 45, or 50? Why not? And even then, when I will no longer be able to increase my numbers, there will be so many possibilities of becoming better. One can learn and improve an entire lifetime. Iāll focus on becoming a better husband and father then, on becoming a better teacher, friend, brother. I can study new stuff, learn how to cook better or simply read more books.
Ya, this wonāt be bodybuilding anymore (make no mistake, Iāll keep lifting till the day I die), but in the end, bodybuilding isnāt too diffrent from cooking, painting, writing. Itās the āhowā that counts, not the āwhatā.
Thatās something I learned from my Karate Senai. He told me thatin Japan, they do not really care whether you are practicing karate or caligraphy or ikebana, itās all Do-categories. In the end, itās all the same.
But I digressā¦
One more thing about the analogy of tge gym and the battlefield. I wrote that in a spill yesterday: For us noble men of the almost extinct clan of true iron warriors, the gym is both battlefield and church at the same time. Thatās why we long to be there all the time.
Cheers, PA
[quote]Lonnie123 wrote:
I can only hope to be as weak as you one day, PA
I love reading your stuff man, I always like hearing the writings of āolderā lifters because you can hear a sort of battle-hardened wisdom in there that you just donāt get from people who have been doing it for a shorter period of time.
For example, Bruce Lee: [quote]Before I studied the art, a punch to me was just like a punch, a kick just like a kick. After I learned the art, a punch was no longer a punch, a kick no longer a kick. Now that Iāve understood the art, a punch is just like a punch, a kick just like a kick. [/quote]
I think Iām coming back around to the āPunch is just a punchā mentality in my training. When I first started lifting, I was very BASIC in my approach (A punch was simply a punch) - Then, For years I got bogged down in various different methods that didnāt necessarily advance me towards my goals (A punch was no longer a punch), and now I am coming back around to the basics and am making great progress again. A punch is back to being just a punch.
Also, its very encouraging to see guys reaching their PEAKS after lifting for 20-25 years, instead of peaking at age 23 and training to hold some idealized physique of their youth. Like a fine wine, we get better with age.
Hereās to throwing a few more punches in the coming decades.[/quote]
Inspirational stuff ParagonA!
When I started lifting it wasnāt because I want to impress anyone either. While all my friends were doing their curls and crunches back in high school, I was hitting the heavy compound lifts day after day because it was FUN!
[quote]ParagonA wrote:
My overhead press is weak and my squat, compared to my front squat, too.
[/quote]
What standard are you comparing yourself too!! Those numbers are HUGE!!
One thing I have to deal with is, that I am getting more and more tired. I wouldnāt say itās the training, itās the cumulative fatigue from many diffrent things. Work has been very tough lately. Many deadlines, long working days, working on weekends. Additionally, I still have to allocate a lot of time for my family, for my father. Things have gotten harder since my mother died and literally keeping my father alive is energy and time intense. I wonāt complain, though. Itās familiy, and familiy comes first.
After last weeks strength tests I was toast. Almost felt paralized in the evening.
The high workload, mental stress, little sleep and the calorie deficit in combination have burned me out a bit.
I hope I can get an answer from CT what to do training-wise.
I thought about doing one week with a little less volume, probably only 4 sessions and reduced weights; kind of a deloading week. Additionally, even though I am preparing for a contest right now, I plan to increase calories for a week - to allow for supercompensation and proper recovery. More sleep is a must.
Hope to be back to normal energy levels and training in a week.
Iāll keep you posted.
Cheers, PA
Cheers up, Paragon!
Honestly, youāre a relentless machine with inhuman work capacity and mental energy. Compassion, caring for others, work, training, all of them drains a man.
I know you have a hell of a productive and active life, so, no wonder if you feel you should get back a bit. You should be supercharged after some mental break.
I wish everything turns out well, keep rocking.
[quote]Vejne wrote:
Cheers up, Paragon!
Honestly, youāre a relentless machine with inhuman work capacity and mental energy. Compassion, caring for others, work, training, all of them drains a man.
I know you have a hell of a productive and active life, so, no wonder if you feel you should get back a bit. You should be supercharged after some mental break.
I wish everything turns out well, keep rocking.[/quote]
Thank you so much, man. Always great to get some verbal support. Iāll be ābackā in no time. Actually, I have been getting stronger since the beginning of my prep. I just want to make sure I am not going to hit the wall, so I plan to ādeloadā for a week. Letās see what CT says. Iāll do what he says no matter what 
Tried doing any Neural Charge type stuff? 15-20 minutes of that stuff actually left my pretty amped up when I tried it.
I think its perfectly reasonable to feel run down given everything you are going through. Of course we cant let those kinds of things stop us from doing what we do, but knowing that it is ālogicalā for it to happen can often help me deal with it in a more effective manner.
When I was dieting down I felt pretty tired and unmotivated at times, but KNOWING that I was SUPPOSE to feel that way made it easy to tell myself āthats how it suppose to feel, you are doing something right, now just keep goingā
this is from CT
''I like to actually use neural charge workouts within a training week, to amp up the system and improve the quality of the subsequent workouts. But it is also possible to perform a whole microcycle (5-10 days) using only this type of session. It represents a great way to revive a dead nervous system while giving the musculoskeletal system a much needed break.
What does these workouts consist of? Fairly simple:
a) pick anywhere between 2 and 4 exercises either working the whole body (at least indirectly). These can be basic lifts (bench, squat, deadlifts, rows, chins, dips, etc.), variation of the olympic lifts or jumps and throws, or covering a specific movement pattern (depending on how you structure your training).
b) perform the exercises as a circuit.
c) use moderate rest intervals between exercises (roughly 15-30 seconds if using a whole body approach or 30-45 seconds for a movement pattern-specific one).
d) use a load that is roughly 70% of your maximum and perform sets of 3 reps. If you decide to include jumps, use only your body weight and perform sets of 5. At this intensity level and number of reps even when doing a āāsame movement pattern circuitāā (e.g. push press, bench press, dips) you should be able to go through the workout being super explosive and not causing any excessive fatigue or have a drop in performance.
e) perform each repetition as explosively as possible.
f) complete as many circuits as you can in 20-30 minutes (start at 20 and gradually build up to 30) but never allow yourself to do a non-explosive rep. If one exercise stops being explosive drop it from the rotation.
Thatās it! You do not want to be gassed or slow during the workout. The emphasis is on speed and power, not burning yourself out. At the end of the workout you should actually want to continue training. And one hour after the session you should feel the need to chain yourself to a tree to avoid going to the gym again!
With this type of deloading microcycle not only do I feel that a drop in training frequency is not necessary, I believe that it is counterproductive. Neural charge workouts work best (as a deloading week) if the frequency of training is high: at least 4 sessions per week, preferably 5 or even 6.
This type of deloading week is ideal when you start to feel less explosive and being to have a lowered motivation to hit the weights. A similar approach is often used by Russian powerlifters who include a phase of explosive lifting only after spending some gruelling weeks under mostly heavy weights.
At the end of such a deloading week you should feel like you want to destroy the weight; you should be amped up to train like never before!āā
I actually do neural charge workouts 2 to 3 times a week or as needed. Did one session of 20 minutes each on Saturday and Sunday and felt pretty good already on Monday.
Today I did some isolation leg stuff and it felt so very easy. I am not so much an isolation work lover. Donāt know why, but to me, doing leg extensions just lacks passion.
Iāll only do neural charge and isolation workouts this week - as adviced by Thib - and then go back to my normal training on Saturday.
Very much looking forward to doing some āreal workā.
Now I am watching the Indigo Project vids
good stuff, i was pretty sure you knew about 'em, just making sure though
[quote]ParagonA wrote:
I love this post and your thoughts. Good stuff. And as a martial artist Iām always eager to read Bruce Lee quotations.
Iām planning to improve for many years to come. Okay, I do know and accept that I canāt increase my bench until I hit 1000 pounds by the age of 80. There are limits. But till 45, or 50? Why not? And even then, when I will no longer be able to increase my numbers, there will be so many possibilities of becoming better. One can learn and improve an entire lifetime. Iāll focus on becoming a better husband and father then, on becoming a better teacher, friend, brother. I can study new stuff, learn how to cook better or simply read more books.
Ya, this wonāt be bodybuilding anymore (make no mistake, Iāll keep lifting till the day I die), but in the end, bodybuilding isnāt too diffrent from cooking, painting, writing. Itās the āhowā that counts, not the āwhatā.
Thatās something I learned from my Karate Senai. He told me thatin Japan, they do not really care whether you are practicing karate or caligraphy or ikebana, itās all Do-categories. In the end, itās all the same.
But I digressā¦
One more thing about the analogy of tge gym and the battlefield. I wrote that in a spill yesterday: For us noble men of the almost extinct clan of true iron warriors, the gym is both battlefield and church at the same time. Thatās why we long to be there all the time.
Cheers, PA
[/quote]
Great post
Hi Paragon!
I hope the intended battery recharging period works out well so far. We only get bad news from Switzerland nowadays, so itād nice to hear something positive.
Itād be interesting if Biotest would have āHQā in europe, too. There are great european guys on these threads, not to mention that itās quite easy for europeans to travel around these days. Lot of great bodybuilders in the central regions, too.
Iām saying this because it was disappointing to digest that you wonāt be participating in the livespill vids. Would have been thrilling: Synergy vs. PA.
Like the philosophy of yours. Actually back a few years ago, the Rocky movies were an initial inspiration for me to start lifting-training. Heck, I still recall that Iāve learnt bradford presses from perhaps the second Rocky movie. 
@Vejne: Thank you, man. I feel I have pretty much recovered/recharged my batteries after 5 days of lighter workouts and many neural charge stuff. Iāll hit the gym again tomorrow and am very motivated again.
One thing I will have to find a way to deal with is my terribly thight time schedule. The move of my 80 year old father just takes so much time and enegy. You know: selling the house, de-cluttering and packing stuff, cleaning, reparing stuff, all the administration. My father lives 120 miles away from me, so I spend a lot of time travelling back and forth our places.
This on top of my 11-12 hour wor days is a bit much. It will get much better in October, but till then, Iāll have to really focus not to lose me energy and stamina.
I donāt complain, itās simply another challenge. I will have to somehow adjust my training to the situation.
The plan is to schedule only 4, or possibly even only 3 wirkouts per week, do them no matter what and just do as much optional stuff as possible - like eccentric-less training and neural charge sessions. I will probably end up working out 5-6 days a week, but twice-a-day sessions will most probably not be possible for a couple of month.
Man, CO would have been cool. But maybe there will be anothet chance fir a PA vs. Synergy session or a PA and Thibs 500 pounds bench press session next year. Letās see, weāre all still young (donāt laughā¦).
There are indeed many cool European T-man on this site. I couldnāt travel much this year, but we should plan something like a meet-up in London or so one day. Or in Scottland, which happens to be my favourite European country besides Switzerland
Cheers, PA
THE LOST LOG
Dear friends
As you know, I am currently planning my fatherās move (we sold the house. Now, after my motherās death, it would have been too big for my 80 year old father to live in, and non-financeable, too).
Last weekend I spent de-cluttering the basement and garage. Gee, the amount of stuff that accumulates over the course of half a century is gigantic. I have to give away or throw away most of it. Some very interesting things came to light, though.
For example, I found a box with some of my early training and nutrition logs. From the time when I still lived with my parents.
I have been logging my workouts, supplements, diet, and many other training-related factors (sleep, stress levels, etc.) for more than 20 years and filled dozens of books with it. One of my earlier logs was a 1000-page book with Michelangeloās famous āCreation of Adamā on its cover. Donāt laugh.
Iād say that the period over which I filled this book with hundreds and thousands of entries was one the most productive training period in my life. It must have been the time when I gained strength and mass the most rapidly in my life. And the time of my first contest.
I went through the log yesterday and on Monday and found some very interesting and/or funny things Iād like to share:
Training:
Most of the time I trained whole-body style. No joke. I did more or less only big compound movements and Olympic lifts. The only isolation work I did was some biceps work and some abs.
Here is a typical workout of the time:
-
Squat. Staring with a few warm-up sets, then I started my actual work sets. Usually did 6 sets with progressively heavier weight up 700 pounds. Then I did some sets with top-half partials with up to 792. After that I did a set with 20 reps 440 pounds. This set alone took me several minutes, because I had to breathe for 30 to 60 seconds or so between the last reps.
-
Bench Press. Same pattern as with squats.
Not my strongest exercise back then and I went heavier than 352 pounds. The heaviest rep I fond in the log was a single with 396. Cool to see that I added almost 100 pounds to my bench press since then. -
Wide-Grip Pull-Up. 50 reps in as few sets as possible.
The funny thing is the rep pattern. Since I went to failure every set and took 1.5 to 2 minutes of rest in between sets, the number of reps I was able to do drastically decreased from set to set. I did something like 17-11-6-5-4-4-2-2.
Really would not do this anymore. I would rather do more sets with lower reps (something like 10 sets of 5 explosive reps with a 1 to 2 seconds static hold each rep).
-
Standing Barbell Press. 6 sets of 6 reps. Not my strongest exercise back then. Used 176 pounds or something in close vicinity.
-
Deadlift.
Usually sets of 5 with progressively heavier weight each set. Worked myself up to where I could no longer hit 5 reps. Usually 8 to 9 sets. -
Barbell Curls. 6 sets of 6 reps. I used up to 176 pounds but I remember exactly how those curls looked like. It was a mixture of heavy shrugs and barbell rows. I would never use such poor technique anymore just for the sake of moving as much weight as possible.
Heck, the curls I am doing today are much lighter, and my arms look much better than back then.
That?s it: a sample workout. A lot of volume and it took me between 2.5 and 3 hours. Another thing I would not do again.
Nutrition:
A hungry young man, I was. Here is a sample diet of a training day (was a Sunday):
Breakfast: 250g oatmeal, 250g apple, 250g cottage cheese, 3dl skim milk, 2 whole eggs, 100g MegaMass2000 in water (a classic!! Basically sugar and powdered milk)
After workout: Protein shake with 60g protein powder (a milk and egg protein), 4dl skim milk, 1 pack (250g) of cookies (yummy!)
Lunch: 250 whole wheat pasta (dry weight), 6 whole eggs, 200g broccoli, 300g rump steak
Snack: 1 large banana, 250g cottage cheese, 100g nuts, some dry fruit
Supper: T-Bone steack (500g incl. bone), 100g rice (dry weight), large salad with olive oil dressing
Before bed: 100g MegaMass2000 in 5dl skim milk with 1 scoop of vanilla ice cream and 1 large banana.
I did not calculate the totals back then, but it most have been in the vicinity ofĆĀ 8000. Oh boy.
Thatās it for the moment. I also found a few interesting notes about workouts that did not go so well because of being terrible love sick. But thatās another storyā¦
Cheers, PA
Up to 700 x 6 then 440 x 20 back squat???
Thatās some insane strength.
[quote]ebomb5522 wrote:
Up to 700 x 6 then 440 x 20 back squat???
Thatās some insane strength. [/quote]
Technique was very bad back then, and range of motion was limited. I squat less today (usually around 660) but I go all the way down and donāt risk to break my hips anymore, like in early times. I feel that today I am much stronger overall, though Iām using less weight in some exercisrs. But I really donāt cheat anymore and donāt see a reason to risk severe injury. The sample training above was just a sample of what I wrote in my training log back then. Iām sure I wouldnāt be too proud if I saw myself training as a youngster.
I have to say that squats really always were my strongest lift and noone in my gym ever came close to my weights, whatever technique used. But still, I proabably should have lifted less and care more about proper technique.
[quote]ParagonA wrote:
[quote]ebomb5522 wrote:
Up to 700 x 6 then 440 x 20 back squat???
Thatās some insane strength. [/quote]
Technique was very bad back then, and range of motion was limited. I squat less today (usually around 660) but I go all the way down and donāt risk to break my hips anymore, like in early times. I feel that today I am much stronger overall, though Iām using less weight in some exercisrs. But I really donāt cheat anymore and donāt see a reason to risk severe injury. The sample training above was just a sample of what I wrote in my training log back then. Iām sure I wouldnāt be too proud if I saw myself training as a youngster.
I have to say that squats really always were my strongest lift and noone in my gym ever came close to my weights, whatever technique used. But still, I proabably should have lifted less and care more about proper technique.[/quote]
Well, a 660 squat is unreal strength. Either way, youāre definitely unbelievably strong on that lift.
[quote]ParagonA wrote:
@Blackaggar: There were times when I was very weak at pull-ups, but they probably are a naturally strong lift. When I started bodybuilding at the age of 15 I was underweight and weak. I was a pretty good athlete, though, having done karate and other martial arts since I was 8.
When I finally joined a gym my coach had me do mostly basic lifts, Olympic lifts and a few other exercises. I bench pressed 90 pounds or so back then, but could do sets of 10-15 parallel-grip chins. Over the following 3-4 years I gained 90 pounds of bodyweight, but somehow forgot about pull-ups. Just didnāt do them anymore.
I re-introduced the lift into my routine in the mid-90ā after reading Poliquinās article in the good old MM2K. He stated pull-ups and chins being essential back builders and a must-do.
At 240 or so I could hardly pull myself up 5 times. I really focussed on the lift for years and did some variation of the pull-up at leasr twice a week. Thatās how I built my pull-up strength.
The two approaches that worked best fir me were doing many, many sets spread over the day, not going to failure, and doing them as force spectrum ramps, weighted, starting with bodyweight only and adding weight each set for 8-10 sets of only 3-4 reps.
Cheers, PA[/quote]
Wow awesome post i really appreciate it man! All the best