what type of complexes do you do?
and by complexes you mean movements between sets right?
Your leanness is making you look awesome these days Prof!
[quote]paulieserafini wrote:
what type of complexes do you do?
and by complexes you mean movements between sets right?[/quote]
I mostly mean moving at a decent pace between sets and exercises so that you really aren’t resting in one place for long. For instance, a back workout for me in the morning might be alternating between rows, lat pull downs and seated rows (doing one set of each). I also started doing more unilateral movements to increase volume as well.
This is a huge difference from the way I used to train where I would take way more rest between sets. That got me big but it also kept that layer of fat on me.
[quote]MytchBucanan wrote:
Your leanness is making you look awesome these days Prof![/quote]
I can’t wait until I feel awesome to go with it.
Will be working on gaining a little here if I can.
[quote]Professor X wrote:
[quote]paulieserafini wrote:
what type of complexes do you do?
and by complexes you mean movements between sets right?[/quote]
I mostly mean moving at a decent pace between sets and exercises so that you really aren’t resting in one place for long. For instance, a back workout for me in the morning might be alternating between rows, lat pull downs and seated rows (doing one set of each). I also started doing more unilateral movements to increase volume as well.
This is a huge difference from the way I used to train where I would take way more rest between sets. That got me big but it also kept that layer of fat on me.[/quote]
Good call on this! Thanks for reminding me…
I always have the intention to do this and I keep my rest periods super short. But then weeks will go by and for some reason I start resting more and wasting time. Had a killer workout today because I forced myself to get my ass in gear and pick up the pace. 
[quote]Spock81 wrote:
[quote]Professor X wrote:
[quote]paulieserafini wrote:
what type of complexes do you do?
and by complexes you mean movements between sets right?[/quote]
I mostly mean moving at a decent pace between sets and exercises so that you really aren’t resting in one place for long. For instance, a back workout for me in the morning might be alternating between rows, lat pull downs and seated rows (doing one set of each). I also started doing more unilateral movements to increase volume as well.
This is a huge difference from the way I used to train where I would take way more rest between sets. That got me big but it also kept that layer of fat on me.[/quote]
Good call on this! Thanks for reminding me…
I always have the intention to do this and I keep my rest periods super short. But then weeks will go by and for some reason I start resting more and wasting time. Had a killer workout today because I forced myself to get my ass in gear and pick up the pace. [/quote]
That’s the biggest change I made. Once I hit the gym twice a day I dropped extra weight quickly. I also used to use whey protein as my base when dieting but still saw a lot of muscle mass loss. I would like to stick with leucine or MAG-10 from now on because it did make a difference.
I think there is a time and place for more rest and less rush, mostly when really trying to pack on that strength and mass.
[quote]Professor X wrote:
[quote]therajraj wrote:
PX,
Are you a fan of pre-exhausting muscles with an isolation before a big lift?[/quote]
No. The only muscle I “pre-exhaust” is my biceps because my brachioradialis fires first and cramps up. I have to fatigue it just to train my biceps heavy.[/quote]
Would you mind elaborating? The same thing happens to me.
[quote]jskrabac wrote:
[quote]Professor X wrote:
[quote]therajraj wrote:
PX,
Are you a fan of pre-exhausting muscles with an isolation before a big lift?[/quote]
No. The only muscle I “pre-exhaust” is my biceps because my brachioradialis fires first and cramps up. I have to fatigue it just to train my biceps heavy.[/quote]
Would you mind elaborating? The same thing happens to me.[/quote]
I screwed up that muscle years back showing off when some doofus said I couldn’t curl what I knew I could. In curled it without warming up and it strained that muscle. From then on, it would hurt like hell to do biceps exercises. It took me a long time to drown out my ego and drop to a light weight and warm up the area real good before training biceps.
After I did that, I found I could go heavy again.
I usually start a biceps day on a machine now and maybe do 4 sets or more using static holds and holding the peak contraction. I do this until I feel the brachioradialis fatigue (it feels like lactic acid build up). Then I can usually train normally.
[quote]Professor X wrote:
30min 3 or 4 times a week is so minimal it is no wonder you got fat. [/quote]
So how much time do you estimate you were you putting in during your early days?
[quote]paulieserafini wrote:
lol maybe, your options are endless. id have a day off though keeps you from getting burned out try maybe
chest/tri, back/bi, shoulers, legs, OFF repeat.
chest - two compounds movements 6-9 sets (id start at the lower end for sets and adjust from there as you progress)
tri - two isolations 6-9 sets
back - same as chest
bi - same as tri
shoulders - i like to do all isolations and work my traps
legs - two compounds and two isolations, calves and stuff can go on this day too
simple and easy[/quote]
Thanks. Looks like a good balanced program. Going to give this a shot for the next 3 months or so.
OP: you need to develop the flexibility and technique to squat and deadlift properly, get assistance/coaching to shorten the learning curve and prevent any injuries from inadvertent poor technique.
Learn and implement proper eating habits. No caloric surplus no gains.
Post your diet and training for feedback.
Personally I found fully body workouts most beneficial when gaining weight in my early days training and put on around 75LB’s that way.
[quote]Nexic wrote:
[quote]Professor X wrote:
30min 3 or 4 times a week is so minimal it is no wonder you got fat. [/quote]
So how much time do you estimate you were you putting in during your early days?
[/quote]
LOL at “early days”. I don’t think you even get to use that term until you hit 50.
I took as long as it needed. At no point did I ever pull out a timer or a clock and say, “I will leave in exactly 35min”. My shortest workouts were while I was in dental school because of my time restraints…so I worked out pretty much everyday but focused on only one body part a day. That doesn’t take hours to do so yeah, at that time, it took me about 35-45min.
Mind you, I spent way more time than that making meals and getting everything situated so that I could make that happen everyday.
There were weeks where I wouldn’t even take a day off. That is a far cry from the guy only in the gym 2 or 3 times a week.
When I first started, I would guess most of my workouts were about an hour.
Before my accident, I was in the gym about 1 and a half hours total each day broken up into two sessions.