Synergy93 - Fill Us In

Training
241

Thanks Synergy. I’ve done a lean out before - V Diet. Not good, I didn’t have enough size going into it. I’m 6 foot 2, 195 pounds. Sounds small, whatever. I appreciate all the advice! I’ve also focused too much on the scale before and messed myself up. I’m probably going to stick to 1 or 2 HIIT type session a week, and see what happens. I also was wondering how often I should cut kcals? And when I do, how much? Because I don’t have too long a time frame, but I don’t want to lose muscle either…

Thanks for the help!

242

LOL, one more thing. I forgot to ask about rest days…I do cardio on rest days, or REST! On those days, my 2 meals bring my protein intake to around 135-140g. The Mag-10 like product probably adds a few grams ~40-50, but is this enough? I’m thinking of maybe adding some whey or something to get more protein on these rest days.

ALSO, I’ve noticed since starting this fat loss (only a week, so could be coincidence) that I’ve been less able to sleep. I usually sleep like a baby, but I’ve been tossing and turning more, and waking up pretty sweaty. Could be completely unrelated though…Thanks!

243

If that’s you in your avatar, it looks like your pretty lean. Any idea of what your current body fat % is? Any reliable way to measure it?

It’s not super important, but does help.

What’s your deadline? How many weeks out? Any goal body comp in mind? sub 10%? mid single digits?

The amount your drop your kcals is dependent on all the things I mentioned in the previous post.

As I mentioned, you want to increase your activity levels before reducing calories. However, if your deadline is less than 8 weeks away, you could “get away with” decreasing cals (I’d suggest 250-300 for a week and see what that does…assess your progress weekly and make adjustments) and increasing exercise levels (I’d suggest one more day of both cardio and another weight training).

But, depends on how many days your weight training now? How many? What kind of split?

This is important, if there’s a deadline near.

As I approach my deadline (about 6-7 weeks out and depending on my progress at that point), I’ll employ full body workouts, in a circuit fashion. Actually, VERY similar to John Romaniello’s latest article “Lose Fat, Stay Strong” or whatever it was called.

I can talk more about that later, if anyone is interested. They have worked extremely well for me, but can only be tolerated for a short amount of time.

[quote]hlss09 wrote:
Thanks Synergy. I’ve done a lean out before - V Diet. Not good, I didn’t have enough size going into it. I’m 6 foot 2, 195 pounds. Sounds small, whatever. I appreciate all the advice! I’ve also focused too much on the scale before and messed myself up. I’m probably going to stick to 1 or 2 HIIT type session a week, and see what happens. I also was wondering how often I should cut kcals? And when I do, how much? Because I don’t have too long a time frame, but I don’t want to lose muscle either…

Thanks for the help![/quote]

244

[quote]synergy93 wrote:

As I approach my deadline (about 6-7 weeks out and depending on my progress at that point), I’ll employ full body workouts, in a circuit fashion. Actually, VERY similar to John Romaniello’s latest article “Lose Fat, Stay Strong” or whatever it was called.

I can talk more about that later, if anyone is interested. They have worked extremely well for me, but can only be tolerated for a short amount of time.

[/quote]

← very interested

245

As I approach my deadline (about 6-7 weeks out and depending on my progress at that point), I’ll employ full body workouts, in a circuit fashion. Actually, VERY similar to John Romaniello’s latest article “Lose Fat, Stay Strong” or whatever it was called.

I can talk more about that later, if anyone is interested. They have worked extremely well for me, but can only be tolerated for a short amount of time.

^ I am also interested to hear about this.

Thanks for all of this priceless info, The next time I diet I will be employing a lot of these strategies.

246

I have a training log with a bunch of pics, but I’m guessing (complete guess) that I’m 10-15%, honestly don’t know though, and don’t have an accurate way to measure. I want to get sub 10%, hopefully single digits ripped within 9-10 weeks. My kcals are already pretty low, so I don’t know how much/how often I should drop them.
My split:
MON - chest/back
TUES - treadmill HIIT
WED - arms
THURS - legs + cheat/refeed
FRI - rest
SAT - shoulders
SUN - complexes/HIIT/jogging whatever

I’m following CTs article pump down the volume. no crazy training, just standard stuff

Like I said, since my kcals are already pretty low, how do I know when to drop/how much. I’m 20, so I can probably handle quite a bit, but I’m already low, and I’ve never really done this “right…” Thanks for all the feedback Synnergy and whoever else!

247

BTW Synergy, do you get PM’s? I sent you one a few days ago but wasn’t sure if you got it or not.

248

Quick post about what I did today for my second lower body day
*First lower body day was on Monday (Major strength focus…lower reps, chains on front squats, etc)

Today:
“Hybrid” Power Circuit
Reps: 5 on strength and olympic movements…12 reps on jumps
Load: about an 8 rep max, but added weight to each circuit when I could, which was about for the first three times through
Rest: 30-60 seconds between exercises…averaged about 45 or so on most rounds)…about 75 seconds between circuits

A1. Top 1/2 Squats from pins (knees just above 90 degrees)
A2. Sumo Deadlifts (only time I do deads for the week)
A3. BB Power High Pull (focused on full hip and ankle extension…bar finished at upper chest…grip was about 3 inches wider than shoulders)
A4. Power Snatch from the Hang (Really focused on changing my hip elevation to catch each rep at the top)
A5. Standing Broad Jumps across turf (did 10 jumps in week 1, 11 jumps last week and 12 this week)
A6. Lying Hamstring Curls (I had been doing heavy sled pushes, but didn’t today, because I included sled sprints as part of the metabolic circuit I did after the weights portion)

Made it through this beast 7 times (only made it through 4 in week 1, 5 last week and 7 this week). I have to admit, I wanted to stop after about 5, but soldiered on. In fact, I didn’t feel great at all heading into the workout, but I found the mental fortitude to get it done. This would be an example of one of those days, where I basically through auto-regulation out the window and put myself to the test. However, tomorrow will be a less intense day.

Metabolic Circuit
**I also did a metabolic circuit on Monday after the leg strength work. I like doing these on lower body days, as I’m in more of a “Battle” mindset and don’t want to perform this type of work on non-leg days, which will interfere with recovery. I do the “slow” sled pushes on those days.

Movements: 4 different movements
Time per movement: 15 seconds balls out work sets, 15 seconds rest (I did this with my workout buddy. I went, then he went, then we changed the exercise)
Total Time: Shuffled through the 4 exercise circuit in this 15 seconds on, 15 seconds off mode for 20 minutes. Basically didn’t rest at all, only when the other dude was going

M1 Battle ropes…did various movements each round, as fast as humanely possible…double arm lift and slams, single arm lift and slams (Temper Tantrums), side to side hip tosses, etc
M2 Prowler sprints…full sprint for 15 seconds. This is the only time I use the “sprint” version on the sled
M3. Kettlebell swings
M4. Farmer’s walk…it was more of a run

Damn near puked!

So, I’m starting to add in some of this type of metabolic work as my deadline nears (10 weeks away). I’ll start with two such sessions per week for most of the remaining time. I’ll also be adding in some treadmill “run/walk combos” after upper body days.

That’s all for now. Keep training hard and EXPECT to get better everyday. You may not get bigger, stronger, or leaner on some days, but as long as you get better, those other things will follow.

What does better mean to you?

249

Also, DESTROYED a home made pasta dinner tonight! Bodyweight had dropped down about 4 lbs. this week, and I could tell I definitely needed a huge hit of cals and carbs today. Only cheat of the week :frowning:

250

Thanks for sharing your training and diet. I have learned a ton following this thread. Where do your train that has all that equipment?

251

[quote]synergy93 wrote:

That’s all for now. Keep training hard and EXPECT to get better everyday. You may not get bigger, stronger, or leaner on some days, but as long as you get better, those other things will follow.

What does better mean to you?

[/quote]

Getting more work done in less time.

252

Finally dipped below 250 to 248 this week. This is week 7 of my prep, and everything seems to be going along nicely. Getting leaner, maintaining strength…blasted out some singles of flat bench today of 450 + chains. Very happy with my strength levels at this point.

Threw up a new vid I took on Sunday. It’s one of my favorite biceps exercises…DB Preacher Hammers (+ partials to fatigue). The weight’s not impressive, but shouldn’t be, not what I’m going for on this movement. I did some heavier curl work previous to this exercise.

253

Posted the vid in my hub…gives an illustration of my current body comp levels. Lighting isn’t great, but I’ll keep posting from time to time, for comparison.

254

…seen your new video, you look absolutely massive.

Big inspiration.

Just gotta put in the years I guess…

255

Synergy,

Lifting at the level that you are, how have you delt with injury prevention and such. For instance, many lifters tend to experience issues with their elbows and forearms after a certain amount of time in the gym (years of lifting). Have you ever experienced these pains in the elbows (golfers elbow) or in the forearm bones (similar to shin splints) and if so how did you combat it so that it would not interfere with your training?

Thanks!

256

[quote]synergy93 wrote:
Posted the vid in my hub…gives an illustration of my current body comp levels. Lighting isn’t great, but I’ll keep posting from time to time, for comparison.[/quote]

Tried some of those dead stop tricep extentions from the floor I saw in one of your hub vids. Felt pretty good, definately a keeper.

Lookin good man, great stuff in this thread

257

Today’s workout

Focus: Lower (Hips) + Upper (Back)

Mechanical Ramp

Activation Work:
Box Jumps
Med Ball chest pass into wall
Overhead Med Ball Power Throws (keg toss)

A. Power Snatch from the floor
Reps: 3 (only 2 if I’m unsure of the third)
Worked up to a challenging, but not nut busting 3 RM)
Load progression: about 10 lbs. per set

B. Power High Pull from Floor
This is a strong lift for me
Reps: 3
Started at top Snatch weight
Load progression: 15-20 lbs. per set

C. Sumo Deadlift
Not one of my best lifts, but decent
Reps: 3
Load Progression: 20 lbs per set

D1. Close Grip Lat Pulldowns…alternated between triangle bar and rope…didn’t extend arms all the way, and initial pull from the top was slow…aiming to keep constant tension on the back
D2. Standing Cable Rear Flies…again, constant tension and peak contraction
Reps: 8-12 for each movement
Load: added weight when I could, but didn’t if quality of movement suffered

E1. Seated Neutral Grip Cable Rows
**Went as heavy as I could, while still being able to hold a solid contraction for a count
Reps: 6-10
E2. TRX Body Weight rear delts (External rotations)
Max reps with good acceleration and strong hold of the rotation

F1. 1/2 Kneeling Cable Pulldowns 1 1/4 reps (independent cable for each arm)
*Focused on a full ROM for both pulls, but held the second pull for a count
Reps: 6-10
F2. Rope Face pulls

Ran a mile on the tread after…took 10 minutes…not too bad, considering I weigh 250 and have only ran on a treadmill once in the last year. Goal is to run a sub-8 minute mile in the next 2 months…it shall be done

Not a bad day…I killed legs on Monday and press work yesterday

258

Yes, I’ve had my fair share of both serious injuries and nagging ones.

I have experienced elbow pain and shoulder pain, from time to time. Although, this was more due to heavy tricep extensions (skull crusher variations), more than a high volume of presses. My shoulders do get “cranky” from a lot of press work.

To combat this I’ve used a couple different strategies:

  1. I do a pretty thorough upper body warm up before every workout, and spend even more time if I’m working upper body that day. I’ve got a routine that focuses primarily on shoulder blade mobility and stability. I’m not going to run through the movements I use, but I do this pretty much every workout. I’ve found that the more mobility and stability you have in your scapulae, the better your shoulders, biceps tendon, elbows and even hips feel.

  2. I’ve taken CT’s advice on starting each upper body pressing day with an overhead movement (after some activation work focusing on the movement patterns for that day), and moving to flat movements. This has helped A TON! I hardly ever get sore shoulders any longer, since implementing this strategy. It works.

  3. Elbow pain
    strength training
    Start training their grip strength. It helps elbow discomfort tremendously (and shoulders and biceps tendon)
    I like all the standard grip work, but I’ve found that Thor’s hammer and timed gripping movements to work very well.
    “Rehab”
    Dixie Cup ice massages
    get some Dixie cups, fill them up about 3/4 with water and freeze. Then peel away the top, exposing the ice and massage affected areas (this works great for elbows…allows you to focalize the pressure of the ice where needed…all around the elbow) Works for forearms too.
    Some people I know have had some success with those velcro elbow straps. I supposed sleeves could help as well

  4. Biceps tendon/shoulder pain
    Often, shoulder pain is mistaken for irritation (or even partial tears) of the biceps tendon.
    One thing I ALWAYS do before working the biceps, is to warm them up thoroughly.
    I’ve found that “ultra-supinated” db curls with a light weight do the trick nicely. The key is to keep your hands rotated out as far as possible. I work one arm at a time (when one arm is doing the curling, the other hand is down by your side with tension in the bicep and rotated out as far as possible). Be sure to keep your elbows locked at your sides or even slightly behind you. This will minimize delt involvement.

Also, be sure to do a lot of supplemental pulling work that’s “non-stressful.” TRX/Blast Strap high pulls and external rotations, rope pulls to face, single arm DB external rotation work, Prone mid trap raises, etc. I’ve found that only doing the usual pulling work, isn’t enough to maintain a good “shoulder girdle relationship.” Often, with back movements in general, range of motion suffers from using too much weight and not pulling primarily with the back musculature (arms dominate movement and too much body english). Again, this ties into that shoulder blade mobility and stability. These assistance movements, help ensure you work your shoulder blades, chest, delts, etc through a healthy range of motion. Plus, I don’t think you can ever do too much of this kind of work for your back. It needs the volume and work, as long as it’s not excessively difficult to perform, which it shouldn’t be, based on the nature of the movements and loads used.

I’m not the most well versed in injury rehab, so take what I’ve said for what it’s worth…possible not much :slight_smile:

[quote]Mateus wrote:
Synergy,

Lifting at the level that you are, how have you delt with injury prevention and such. For instance, many lifters tend to experience issues with their elbows and forearms after a certain amount of time in the gym (years of lifting). Have you ever experienced these pains in the elbows (golfers elbow) or in the forearm bones (similar to shin splints) and if so how did you combat it so that it would not interfere with your training?

Thanks![/quote]

259

Yeah, I love floor skulls, both with DB’s and BB’s

Thanks for the compliments. Keep killing the wieghts!

[quote]Maiden3.16 wrote:

[quote]synergy93 wrote:
Posted the vid in my hub…gives an illustration of my current body comp levels. Lighting isn’t great, but I’ll keep posting from time to time, for comparison.[/quote]

Tried some of those dead stop tricep extentions from the floor I saw in one of your hub vids. Felt pretty good, definately a keeper.

Lookin good man, great stuff in this thread

[/quote]

260

Yep, there’s no substitute for effort and consistency.

Find a way to make some of your training fun. That will keep you coming back for more!

That’s one of the main reasons I train more like an athlete, than a bodybuilder.

I’d be bored out of my mind using a typical bodybuilding style program.

I love moving fast, being violent, and seeking top performance each workout.

I sprinkle in some of standard BB exercises, but even do them a bit differently than most.

[quote]NIguy wrote:
…seen your new video, you look absolutely massive.

Big inspiration.

Just gotta put in the years I guess…
[/quote]