Synergy93 - Fill Us In

Training
501

The Indigo Project
Day 2: AM Strength and Complex (with active rest)

A. Dead lift + 150 lbs of chains
Ramp to max 5 rep weight

Hip/Hamstring dominant work capacity complex B(+ active rest)

B1. Yolk bar top 1/2 squat…5 reps
AR: KB lateral raises

B2. Dead lift + chains…5 reps
AR: KB front raise variation

B3. Heavy Prowler push…100 yards (4 trips up and down the length of the room)
**this was hell
AR: None prescribed

B4. Tire flips…across the width of the room…about 5-6 flips each way
AR: KB shoulder press

B5. KB swings…max reps in one minute
AR: None prescribed

Post Complex Hip focused density/Mechanical drop set

C1 Power clean from hang…6-8 reps
30 seconds rest
C2 BB RDL’s…same weight as C1…max reps
30 seconds rest
C3 deadlift…same weight as C1…max reps

Thoughts on this workout…

Personally (and it seems with the other guys as well), this was the toughest workout so far. Typically lower body workouts are “tougher” than upper body workouts (not always!), but two major reasons I believe this workout was so tough:

  1. The elevation we’re training at. You could really feel it during this workout and the bigger/more muscle you have, the more oxygen you need! This was a huge contributing factor in my opinion. NO EXCUSES, it was just very apparent.
  2. Dead lifting is very tough on the CNS (for me personally it’s very hard on my nervous system, but for everyone in general). So, the combination of elevation and a very high demand on the CNS, made this workout a beast. We all loved it though. That’s why we’re here, to push the limits.

Workout #2—Structural Workout
Focus: Back, glutes, hamstrings and quads

Back Work
A. Kayak rows with EZ bar
AR: Rope triceps pushdowns
*performed 4 rounds of this

B1 Straight arm rope pushdowns…8-10 reps
B2 Kneeling forward leaning rope lat pulldowns…same weight max reps
B3 Kneeling leaning back rope rows to chest…same weight max reps
**all 3 movements were held for 2 seconds at peak contraction position
AR: Kettle bell overhead triceps extensions
*performed 4 rounds of this

C1 Low rope straight arm pulldowns to lateral thighs…8-10 reps
C2 Low rope rows to rib cage…same weight, max reps
AR: EZ bar cable triceps pushdowns
*performed 4 rounds of this

D1 Rope face pull to forehead/eyes area…8-10 reps
D2 Rope face pull to chin with a neutral grip…same weight, max reps
D3 Rope pull to chest…same weight, max reps
D4 Kneeling rope pull to chest…same weight, max reps
AR: More kettle bell overhead triceps extensions…did the single arm variation
*performed this 4 times

****While one group was doing the above back work, the other group was doing the following, until the group doing back work was finished:

Glute/Ham/Quad Work:

E1 Lying hamstring curls…6-8 reps
E2 Prowler Pushes…25 yards
E3 Heavy Kettle bell RDL’s…usually about 10-12 reps each set
***each group went through as many sets as they could while the other group did the back work

**EACH station (back work and lower body work) took about 25 minutes each

Challenging workout, simply to the fact that the main goal was to create as much fatigue as possible, which meant, not a lot of rest between movements.

This was definitely easier on the nervous system, but it needed to be, since the AM workout was so demanding on the CNS.

Overall, a great day of training and coaching from CT.

C

502

On Tuesday workout did you do the active rest just once per round say do B1 B2 B3 then the AR set or is it between each movement?

503

Synergy, hell, it’s even tiring to look upon it, not to mention doing it…

You’re at the HQ giving the term “work capacity” a new meaning. Perhaps some of the guys who scream “overtraining” for anything more than 5 workout per week should take a look at the efforts you make up there.

I’ve also noticed that you don’t use straps for snatches, that must be a hell on the grip. In the vids, all of you HQ guys look inspirational.

504

[quote]BurtButcher wrote:
On Tuesday workout did you do the active rest just once per round say do B1 B2 B3 then the AR set or is it between each movement?[/quote]

We did the complex/series of movements first (B1, B2, B3), then a set of AR after…so if we did each complex/series of movements, we did a total of 4 AR sets

505

Syn thanks for taking the time to posts your daily routines, especially with such details!

506

Synergy Sorry if you or someone else posted it but could you post the shoulder workout and the squat workout when you have time of course since you are traveling and getting back. I cant seem to put everything together and the order from the video.

507

I think that CS mentioned something about an article about the bootcmap with all the workouts and stuff etc

lets wait for it :slight_smile:

508

I didnt see that thanks

509

ditto on all the comments about posting your indigo project workouts! really good stuff! thanks

510

Training in the gym today just wasn’t the same man haha. I’m completely serious about our get together next March so I hope you can make it! Stu and I were just chatting on the 'spill about how fun it would be.

511

Hey big guy,

I actually took the last couple of days off. I’m doing all I can to resist the urge to go in today and train. I basically haven’t taken more than a day or two off in over a year, so it’s nice to chill and let these old bones rest a bit.

However, I’ll be back in the swing tearing the roof off tomorrow!

Have you noticed if your recovery between sets, is any faster at home, versus CO?

[quote]ashylarryku wrote:
Training in the gym today just wasn’t the same man haha. I’m completely serious about our get together next March so I hope you can make it! Stu and I were just chatting on the 'spill about how fun it would be.[/quote]

512

I took Friday off while flying back but that was all I could stand :slight_smile: I’ve taken much more “rest days” than you have over the yet though, and I didn’t go through a diet either which I can only imagine is very demanding.

My session yesterday was much better than usual. I kept rest periods in my contrast grainy to 30 and 60 seconds, rather than my usual 60 and 90, and felt much stronger. Even added some active rest between several sets. I hit 275 for a rough single on decline before CO ad NAILED 285 paused yesterday, so be prepared to feel like a machine once you get back in it tomorrow!

[quote]synergy93 wrote:
Hey big guy,

I actually took the last couple of days off. I’m doing all I can to resist the urge to go in today and train. I basically haven’t taken more than a day or two off in over a year, so it’s nice to chill and let these old bones rest a bit.

However, I’ll be back in the swing tearing the roof off tomorrow!

Have you noticed if your recovery between sets, is any faster at home, versus CO?

[quote]ashylarryku wrote:
Training in the gym today just wasn’t the same man haha. I’m completely serious about our get together next March so I hope you can make it! Stu and I were just chatting on the 'spill about how fun it would be.[/quote]
[/quote]

513

Awesome work on your decline!!! I love hitting new PR’s. The power of confidence…now that you’ve trained with an elite level coach and other guys who work their butts off and not only kept up, but led the charge in a lot of ways, you now have the internal belief that you can achieve much more! So cool. Good work Ashy…keep it up.

I actually headed into the gym today to work on my lower lats and abs (two areas I want to improve) I could definitely feel that I was recovering quickly between sets and blasted through 75 minutes or work. I’m going to post what I did next…

[quote]ashylarryku wrote:
I took Friday off while flying back but that was all I could stand :slight_smile: I’ve taken much more “rest days” than you have over the yet though, and I didn’t go through a diet either which I can only imagine is very demanding.

My session yesterday was much better than usual. I kept rest periods in my contrast grainy to 30 and 60 seconds, rather than my usual 60 and 90, and felt much stronger. Even added some active rest between several sets. I hit 275 for a rough single on decline before CO ad NAILED 285 paused yesterday, so be prepared to feel like a machine once you get back in it tomorrow!

[quote]synergy93 wrote:
Hey big guy,

I actually took the last couple of days off. I’m doing all I can to resist the urge to go in today and train. I basically haven’t taken more than a day or two off in over a year, so it’s nice to chill and let these old bones rest a bit.

However, I’ll be back in the swing tearing the roof off tomorrow!

Have you noticed if your recovery between sets, is any faster at home, versus CO?

[quote]ashylarryku wrote:
Training in the gym today just wasn’t the same man haha. I’m completely serious about our get together next March so I hope you can make it! Stu and I were just chatting on the 'spill about how fun it would be.[/quote]
[/quote]
[/quote]

514

My lat and ab workout from tonight…

Preface: Since my traps dominate much of my back movements, I worked minimizing their involvement, utilizing a few different exercises and techniques. Here is what I did…

**I actually went to a commercial gym with a friend, so I wasn’t sure what equipment I would have available heading into the workout, as it was my first time going to this particular gym

A. Nautilus pull overs…8-12 reps…2 second hold at bottom…5 sets
Active Rest (AR): crunches on floor with pelvic tilt…as many quality reps as I could get, but not to absolute failure…just enough to work hard and induce a nice little ab burn
Began EACH rep with a hard contraction of the abs, focused on bringing my sternum to my pelvis, and re-contracted the abs again for two seconds at the top of each rep. I drove through my heels and raised my hips up as I approached the point of maximum contraction on each rep. it’s a subtle movement, but increases ab recruitment, dramatically.

B. Kayak Rows…as seen in the Indigo Bootcamp videos…4 sets
AR: Standing cable crunches with WIDE stance. I picked this up from Hipscar. He was right, it definitely increases the intensity of the contraction at the bottom of each rep. You keep you elbows tight and crunch your elbows down and back between your thighs…very nice feel to this movement. I will definitely do this one again.

C. Underhand pulldowns to upper abs…8-12 reps…squeeze as hard as possible for two seconds at bottom…4 sets and my lats and technique were fried
**I wanted to do single arm pull downs with lateral trunk flexion at the bottom of each rep, but the pulldown machines at this gym were terrible.
AR: V-ups on bench

D. Single Arm cable row to lower rib cage/hip area…8-12 reps…did 4 sets
**I did these on a machine I have never used before. It basically looked like one of those standing single-leg hamstring curl machines. You placed one knee on a pad and your non-working hand on another pad. You pulled from low to high. Typically, when you pull in this line, it can involve the traps due to the pull angle, but I circumvented this by setting up away from the machine, kept my shoulder blades depressed and pulled the handle towards my hips and internally rotated my arm in order to keep my elbow close to my body to maximize lat involvement. I actually liked this movement very much. It surprised me.
AR: Hanging leg raises. I like to include some ab movements that involve the hip flexors, as they’re an important part of the lower ab/hip tie in.

That was it for the weights. I then shot around on the basketball court for about 30 minutes…I’m terrible!!

515

[quote]synergy93 wrote:
AR: Standing cable crunches with WIDE stance. I picked this up from Hipscar. He was right, it definitely increases the intensity of the contraction at the bottom of each rep. You keep you elbows tight and crunch your elbows down and back between your thighs…very nice feel to this movement. I will definitely do this one again.
[/quote]

I’ll have to remember this one. So far I’ve only ever done them with my elbows going outside my thighs.

Thanks Syn and Hip!

516

Just reading this thread again cos I need a bit of motivation. You’ve grown some since the beginning of this thread… I watched the Indigo vids and you look like a beast of man! It was cool watching you all train.

What’s next in your bodybuilding career; have you got another contest lined up?

517

Synergy: Now that you are gaining whats the diet look like? Obviously periwork out is pretty crazy but whats the rest looking like? Any idea on estiimated breakdown/expample days? Hope training is going good even though you not in CO anymore and back to MN where the humidiity wont quite.

518

[quote]Merv77 wrote:

What’s next in your bodybuilding career; have you got another contest lined up? [/quote]

I’m curious as well. You seem relatively lean now despite making gains. I’m wondering what your staring weight was at the onset of your last prep, and how you feel you stack up now, weight wise, and condition wise.

S

519

Thanks for the message.

To be honest, I track my macros much less these days. Since beginning Indigo-3G , it seems I can’t really “out eat” it!

I basically aim to have between 40-50 grams of protein at each solid meal (usually 3-4 per day and sources are the usual suspects…eggs, egg whites, chicken, fish, lean beef, turkey, protein powder).

I then have about 75-100 grams of carbs at breakfast
175-250 grams of carbs peri-workout…depending on the amount of work I’m doing that workout

75 grams carbs post workout meal #1
50 grams carbs post workout meal #2

Sometimes I’ll have a few (or a lot) of rice cakes with my last meal

So, I guess I have ABOUT:
300 grams protein
350-500 grams of carbs
100-150 grams of fat
Around 4000 cals per day, give or take

Interestingly, since beginning Indigo-3G, or at least the last 4 weeks or so (not counting the feasts we had in CO), I have basically had ZERO cravings for junk food. Some of that is attributable to having a higher carb intake each day, but the reports of people not craving junk, seem to hold true for me as well.

I’ve actually been trying to “tighten up” a bit since returning home from CO. I’m borderline “too puffy” for my liking. I’m weighing just over 280 again (was up to over 290 while there, but that was mostly from the massive amounts of FINiBARs, Surge Workout Fuel, ANACONDA, MAG-10 a couple times per day).

I just lower my overall food intake a couple days per week and it’s enough to get the scale moving south.

Hopefully, I answered your question…it’s been a long day…kind of brain dead

[quote]ryanbCXG wrote:
Synergy: Now that you are gaining whats the diet look like? Obviously periwork out is pretty crazy but whats the rest looking like? Any idea on estiimated breakdown/expample days? Hope training is going good even though you not in CO anymore and back to MN where the humidiity wont quite.[/quote]

520

STU!!!

What’s up dude? I hope you’ve settled in and are enjoying your summer!!!

My weight at the onset of my last contest prep was about 265, which was Feb. 1st of this year.

Honestly, I don’t feel very lean at all!! I’m definitely at my ceiling body fat % I allow myself to reach in the off-season. In fact, while In CO, that’s the “puffiest” I’ve been in a while, BUT considering I weight around 285 right now, I’ll take it. It’s BY FAR the leanest I’ve been, at this weight…not even close.

I attribute this to 3 main things:

  1. Indigo
  2. Basically doubling my peri-workout
  3. Working out twice per day, 3-4 days per week

My plan is to wait until June 2012 to compete again. I honestly feel, that if I can nail my prep and show up, in great condition, I have a very good chance of earning a top spot. I placed 4th overall this past competition, but I should have probably been about 8-10 lbs. drier.

I feel my symmetry and size are my greatest assets, but I do have a lot of weak points too. Mainly, my conditioning, but I need work on my lower lats, a bit more quad sweep, a fuller lower chest and definitely need to thicken up my abs, as they’re naturally very shallow.

I’ve already started to address these areas and will continue to do so, to the best of my ability for the next few months.

Thanks for asking big guy.

How is your training going?

Did you decide when you’re going to compete next???

Say hi to Kat for me…she’s awesome!

[quote]The Mighty Stu wrote:

[quote]Merv77 wrote:

What’s next in your bodybuilding career; have you got another contest lined up? [/quote]

I’m curious as well. You seem relatively lean now despite making gains. I’m wondering what your staring weight was at the onset of your last prep, and how you feel you stack up now, weight wise, and condition wise.

S[/quote]