[quote]giterdone wrote:
[quote]big nurse wrote:
It’s a goal cav, dosen’t mean i will get there, but a good thing to work for all the same and i did pull 296 a few weeks back in ‘total anger mode’[/quote]
315 is yours. [/quote]
Fixed that for you.
3rd try…hooray.
Short video clip for critique.
Sorry about the crap music, its what i have to put up with there.
todays work.
Am fasted walk 45 minutes.
Pm workout : first run through of the programme as suggested by CT. Basically a 6 move whole body workout divided into 3 bilateral and 3 unilateral movements and with weights based on a 8rm. After that, to concentrate on 1 muscle group as isolation work.
Today kept well below that weight just to get the feel of things.
Treadmill warm up 10 minutes.
New warm up complex routine. (will post separately).
1st…bilateral work
Front squatt
88lb 1 x 6
110lb 2 x 6
Bench press
66lb warm up 1 x 1-
88lb 3 x 6
Deadlift
132 lb warm up 1 x 10
176 lb 3 x 6
2nd…unilateral work
Weighted step up (6 blocks and deck)
bb warm up
88lb 3 x 6
Db bench press
22lb warm up 1 x 10
26lb 3 x 6
Suitcase lift 66lb db
3 x 6
3rd…chosen isolation work, triceps
Tricep cable (rope grip) push down
79lb 1 x 10
90lb 3 x 6.
Todays cardio.
Treadmill dartmoor miles routine 20 minutes (aim for 2 miles and maximum height gain)
Achieved = 2.15 miles and 857 feet vertical ascent (new record)
Protein shake and flapjack.
Then…left gym, went to car IN GYM CAR PARK found parking ticket on window !!, club has apparently brought in a parking ‘company’ to levy fines on anyone parking and leaving site…fair enough as non members are parking and then eg walking over to the hospital, my mistake–parking in a disabled bay !! (never get used) so had a £90 fine slapped on the window. As you can imagine …as a MEMBER i was absolutely raging as i only park there about once a week !!, so stormed back inside, spoke to the jobsworth parking guy and insisted on speaking to the duty manager—who is going to look into it.
F*****G outraged…
Sucks about the ticket! A few gyms I’ve been to had awful parking conditions. One place had about 8 spaces for everybody, so you had to park on the street. Or far away. Or something.
What is particularly galling is that it’s a decent sized car park, there are virtually no disabled members and there has been no communication from the club about the new ‘rules’.
Completely spoiled a great day !
The Indigo experience.
2 weeks in.
Ok: as promised I have put together a few thoughts about the indigo experience so far.
Background:
As most of you now know I have only been training with weights since February this year, before that I was on a self designed walking and ?green gym? workout and before that was basically a fat bastard.
During the last 8 months I have been learning and applying the basic lessons of proper weight training and slowly getting further into a cleaned up diet, in the last stage ?pre indigo? I went on an all out 6 week fat reducing effort with quite poor results, ok got a bit leaner (not much) lost hardly any actual weight and started to have problems actually getting through my workouts.
Goals.
I have never really stated my goals with all of this and when I was also using the Q&A thread it became obvious that I needed to think about long term and immediate goals so:
Long term?live long and healthy and not be an old fat weak git heading for early disease (like I was)
Also long term.to be maximally ?fit? across many dimensions of fitness that would relate directly to my life as an outdoorsman eg climber, sailor, kayaker/canoeist.
Short term: change my body composition i.e. add muscle and drastically reduce bf to increase my available power to weight (climbing is all about power to weight)
Immediate: get stronger in all the main compound lifts
Get faster over 1.5-mile distance (aim is sub 10 minutes)
Increase endurance e.g. in load carrying.
Indigo:
Which is where Indigo comes in.
The spiel on Indigo is that it is being sold as a nutrient partitioning agent which should make it possible to eat a normal or higher carbohydrate diet without storing that as fat.
That in turn should make it possible to fuel harder/longer/more intense workouts which should allow me to gain muscle mass and strength and again without laying on extra fat.
Looking into Indigo I did a basic search on what is being said about the main ingredient i.e. Cyanidin.3 . Glucoside: there is lots of interesting and relevant stuff but mainly suggesting that I3G may be a powerful anti-oxidant/anti inflammatory and potentially anti-carcinogen as well as specifically having a strong fat/glucose metabolic effect.
Actual experience as logged by the indigo users suggests that increased carbohydrate intake is happening alongside increased fat loss and significant gains in performance.
What I have done so far:
Week 1.
This was all about 2 things: 1. Working out a dosing and eating regime that would be doa-able during a normal (night shifts) working week. 2. Getting used to not having any tea (sob) wheat or milk.
So quite a lot of dietary change:
Stop all wheat intake
Stop drinking milk
Stop drinking tea.
Add in other carb source with every meal
Add in Surge workout fuel each workout.
Week 2.
Focusing on what training would be best to use while on the Indigo.
So far this week I have had an online chat with coach Christian Thibaudeau who has pointed me in a completely new direction for my training and strongly based in the work he has done for the Indigo project. For me this means continuing with whole body workouts every training day but split between bilateral and unilateral work + beginning on specific muscle isolation work.
(First new workout posted earlier today).
For those not familiar with CT?s work I have just started on the foundation stage of his HFS work and my first stage is working at a weight this is 6 reps of what would be my 8rm.but moving the bar fast.
Indigo effects:
What I have noticed so far is:
- Fluid balance seems to be all over, at times I have clearly dumped quite a lot of fluid and at other times I have been really dry. What could be happening is 2 separate mechanisms i.e. 1. Taking up more water with the increased carb intake (storing glycogen and water in muscle) 2. Losing water from fat store.
- Getting leaner? my lateral abdominal skin folds are already looser/smaller and my waist has cinched in again.
- Some noticeable thermogenic effects after taking the indigo, especially on night shifts when my body temperature drops.
- Training effects: I have quite deliberately worked longer and harder during training and felt a lot better while training. At this stage I can?t say whether that is directly an indigo effect or whether it is down to having more fuel on board and/or also using a workout fuel.
- Strength: hasn?t really been affected yet although I have definitely rep-maxed on squat and deadlift?again just working harder and longer.
Plans:
Carry on with the full Indigo dose for the full 12 week initial dosing period and then re-assess.
Ok. Week 3 begins !.
Workouts this week will all be based on CTs foundation work for the indigo project except with a modification suggested by the man himself :
that evert workout will be whole body, 6 moves divided into 3 bilateral and 3 unilateral and with a chosen muscle group isolation as well.
Day 1.
12.00 first dose and straight out for fasted walk 45 minutes.
13.00 breakfast : bacon, eggs, potato rostis . black coffee
Walk to gym.
pm workout.
warm up complex (new version) x 4 rounds : bare bar (10s) 55lb (8s) 66lb (6s) and new weight–77lb (4s).
1 scoop Surge wof.
New CT designed programme :
- bilateral whole body moves.
A. Front squat :
Warm up set at 88lbs
98 lbs 3 x 6
B. Bench press
Warm up set @ 66lb
94lb 3 x 6
C .deadlift
Warm up set at 132 lbs
187lbs 3 x 6
Unilateral work.
Weighted step up (6 blocks and deck)
88lbs 3 x 6
Suitcase lift 66lb
3 x 6
Db bench press
26lb 3 x 6.
Isolation work = triceps
Tricep cable push down 90lb
3 x 8
Tricep cable overhead pull 68lb
2 x 5 each side.
Resistance band work–various.
Finisher : treadmill 20 minute aim 2 miles and max height gain, achieved 2 miles and 825 feet.
Protein shake and flapjack.
Walk home
2 x 5 l&r
So are you in constant contact with CT for training advice? I thought they just gave you a program at the onset? Is that costing extra?
And keep thinking of that American tea you hate so much.
Not so much constant contact (especially now during boot camp) but CT directs and advises as needed via the livespill.
It’s actually the first time that i have been working to somebodies programme, and one from CT isn’t a bad place to begin.
The way this came about was due to a livespill discussion about bilateral deficit–which as a skinny beginner is definitely a problem.
After a month on that i will probbaly just start on one of the foundation stage programmes and take it from there.
Carrying on with CT’s suggested programme of whole body workout divided into bilateral and unilateral work, 3rd session this week–aiming for 5 if possible.
Going to make an attempt at a personal cardio/endurance record today ie the dartmoor miles routine on the treadmill, aiming to crack the 1000 feet/2 miles barrier.
Todays work.
Warm up complex x 4 rounds.
Surge wof 1 scoop.
1.Bilateral work : front squat, bench press and deadlift. (not icluding warm up sets)
Fs 110 lb 3 x 6
Deadlift 187lbs 3 x 6
Bench press 94lbs 3 x 6
- Unilateral work : weighted step ups,suitcase lift and db bench.
Step up 6 blocks and deck
88lbs 3 x 6
Suitcase lift 70lb 3 x 6
Db bench 26lb 3 x 6
3.Isolation work.
Db flye 25lb 3 x 8
Cable crossover 50lb 3 x 8
- Cardio, treadmill challenge ie 20 minutes aim to cover 2 miles and maximum height gain
Achieved 2.02 miles and 1057 vertical feet…new record.
Great job there BN. I’m avidly following your progress on teh Indigo.
[quote]JoeGood wrote:
Great job there BN. I’m avidly following your progress on teh Indigo.[/quote]
Cheers joe.
I don’t transfer everything over from the Ilog as a lot of that is dosing and diet. Big difference in the training at the moment is that i am back to whole body workouts every day that i train–and that means DL’ ing every day too.
If this week goes well i onto week 2 where i up the weight and sets a bit but drop reps.
Working on the bilateral deficit has thrown up some shocking inconsistencies and weaknesses–like having a my arms waving about all over the place during db bench press…at really light weighs. So having to take a big step back on that count.
With that ,and following CT’s suggested programme very closely it is unlikely that i will have the chance to go for a max effort deadlift pr this side of christmas which is something that i really wanted to do, but for the first time i am actually working to a programme.
At the moment it feels that i am not working hard enough as the programme is very much ‘nothing to failure’ so i come out very fresh–todays (own routine) new distance/height record was a breeze after the programmed work.
Todays work.
10.00 first dose. straight out for fasted walk .
11.00 breakfast, cottage cheese, banana , creme fraiche,berries, pb.
12.00 drove up to gym (wet and cold day)
Warm up complex 3 rounds
Surge wof i scoop.
Bilateral work : front squat, bench press and deadlift
Fs 99lb x6
Fs 110lb 2 x 6
Bench (after warm up sets)
94lb 3 x 6
deadlift
warm up set 132 lbs 1 x 10
187lb 3 x 6
Unilateral work : weighted step ups, db bench, suitcase lift
Step ups 6 blocks and deck
88lbs 3 x 6
Db bench 26lb 3 x 6
Suitcase lift 70lb 3 x 6
Isolation work
1.lats lat pull down
134lb 1 x 10
142lb 2 x 6
2.Triceps/biceps
Cable pull down 90lb 3 x 6
Barbell curl standing 55lb 3 x 5
Cardio/endurance
Treadmill 30 minutes : aim 3 miles and max height gain, achieved 3.01 miles and 1501 feet.
Pretty maxed out at that.
Foam roll and stretch.
Protein shake and flapjack.
[quote]big nurse wrote:
With that ,and following CT’s suggested programme very closely it is unlikely that i will have the chance to go for a max effort deadlift pr this side of christmas which is something that i really wanted to do, but for the first time i am actually working to a programme.
[/quote]
Well done for following the routine to the letter, too many people play around with stuff. I don’t think that I could resist the lure of that 1 rm attempt.
I think it’s a slight shame that you’re trialling the supplements and doing a drastically different workout all at the same time.
I’m sure you’re going to make some great progress, but I’d like to have known which one was most responsible. Especially as the supplements are such a financial investment.
I guess it doesn’t matter. All progress is good.
To a great extent i agree brett.
My original idea was just to go on the Indigo-3G and just carry on with what i was doing and that would then have been a single change.
However there was a strong reccomendation to change my diet ie had to stop drinking tea, drop milk and wheat etc and then being involved in the livespill i got into a discussion about the bilateral deficit problem, then after an online discussion with CT (and reading his article on it) CT suggested a programme based on the foundation work that he did for indigo that has me working on the BLD problem.
Having asked CT speciically for advice about this i think it would be extremely wrong for me to ignore and carry on, it has in fact thrown up some shocking weaknesses.
At this stage in the programme i don’t feel as though i am doing enough work–everything is sub-max and i am used to going to my limits regularly.
At this stage i think the biggest influence on my workouts immediately is simply using workout nutrition (Surge) although i am seeing a dramatic thinning out of fat/skin folds…and here is the clincher : while eating significantly more but especially carbs.
It makes sense that you want adopt a program that Indigo was designed to work with. Even the best supplement is worthless if you don’t even work out or eat horribly.
Still, Brett has a point. If you change several variables and something results, it’s hard to figure out exactly what caused it. That’s what tormented me for so many years. I’d try this, try that, did anything work, was it something else . . .
I’ll give you fair warning, you can get really anal-retentive with this if you’re not careful.
[quote]big nurse wrote:
To a great extent i agree brett.
My original idea was just to go on the Indigo-3G and just carry on with what i was doing and that would then have been a single change.
However there was a strong reccomendation to change my diet ie had to stop drinking tea, drop milk and wheat etc and then being involved in the livespill i got into a discussion about the bilateral deficit problem, then after an online discussion with CT (and reading his article on it) CT suggested a programme based on the foundation work that he did for indigo that has me working on the BLD problem.
Having asked CT speciically for advice about this i think it would be extremely wrong for me to ignore and carry on, it has in fact thrown up some shocking weaknesses.
At this stage in the programme i don’t feel as though i am doing enough work–everything is sub-max and i am used to going to my limits regularly.
At this stage i think the biggest influence on my workouts immediately is simply using workout nutrition (Surge) although i am seeing a dramatic thinning out of fat/skin folds…and here is the clincher : while eating significantly more but especially carbs.[/quote]
My advice, for what it’s worth, is to do whatever is recommended for maximum results. At a later date you can change variables (training, diet, Indigo) and see if it negatively impacts your progress.
I’m all for experimenting to determine what works and what doesn’t. But, generally I’m a point A to point B person. The shortest distance is a straight line. If I invested in Indigo I would stay on the line. And kick some ass.
[quote]giterdone wrote:
[quote]big nurse wrote:
To a great extent i agree brett.
My original idea was just to go on the Indigo-3G and just carry on with what i was doing and that would then have been a single change.
However there was a strong reccomendation to change my diet ie had to stop drinking tea, drop milk and wheat etc and then being involved in the livespill i got into a discussion about the bilateral deficit problem, then after an online discussion with CT (and reading his article on it) CT suggested a programme based on the foundation work that he did for indigo that has me working on the BLD problem.
Having asked CT speciically for advice about this i think it would be extremely wrong for me to ignore and carry on, it has in fact thrown up some shocking weaknesses.
At this stage in the programme i don’t feel as though i am doing enough work–everything is sub-max and i am used to going to my limits regularly.
At this stage i think the biggest influence on my workouts immediately is simply using workout nutrition (Surge) although i am seeing a dramatic thinning out of fat/skin folds…and here is the clincher : while eating significantly more but especially carbs.[/quote]
My advice, for what it’s worth, is to do whatever is recommended for maximum results. At a later date you can change variables (training, diet, Indigo) and see if it negatively impacts your progress.
I’m all for experimenting to determine what works and what doesn’t. But, generally I’m a point A to point B person. The shortest distance is a straight line. If I invested in Indigo I would stay on the line. And kick some ass.[/quote]
Git thanks.
Last week simply felt a bit down–like a big step back. Thinking about it now i am glad that i have made that backstep as it has exposed a serious weakness ie the BLD.
This week feels a lot better as i am almost back in the familiar territory of a near to 5 x 5 routine with a weight that i feel i can ‘work’ and crucially try to accelerate the bar.
Might well try for 5-6 workouts with this routine this week.
Week 4 begins.
Better nights sleep and a bonus lie-in, feeling a lot better (really miserable yesterday)
Weigh in today at 83.9 kg
11.00 first dose, fasted trail walk 45 minutes, sunny/cold.
12.00 breakfast : bacon,eggs,potato rostis. black coffee.
Pm. drive to gym (weather turning foul again)
Workout.
1 scoop surge wof.
Warm up complex x 2 rounds (just i case it is this causing the sore elbow) so 1 round at bare bar 1 with 55lbs.
Today is essentially week 2 of CT’s suggested programme , sticking with 6 whole body movements (3 bilateral, 3 unilateral) but with a set/rep change to 4 x 5 and with an extra 10lbs on bar.
So :
1.Bilateral work : front squat, deadlift, bench press.
Fs 88lb (warm up) 1 x 8
Then 121 lbs 4 x 5
Deadlift 132 lb 1 x 8 (warm up)
Then 198lbs 4 x 5
Bench press warm up at 66lbs 1 x 8
Then 105lbs 4 x 5
2.Unilateral work : weighted step up, db bench, suitcase lift.
Weighted step up 6 blocks and deck
99lb 4 x 5
Db bench press
31lb 4 x 5
Suitcase lift
79lbs 4 x 5
3.Isolation work (back)
ist round lat pull down paired with bent over barbell row.
Lp 150lb 4 x 5
BB row 110 lb 4 x 5
2nd round
back hyper with weight plate paired with seated cable row
hypers with 22/35 lb plate 4 x 5
seated row 132 lb 4 x 5
Finishing work
Foam roll and stretch
Protein shake and flapjack.
Have to say that todays workout feels like more familiar territory as it is almost the 5 x 5 routine that i am used to.
Second session of day.
18.00 second dose
19.00 second session (1 scoop wof)
Conditioning/cardio.
3 rounds of :
Kb (light) swing and 1 arm press x 5 each side
Kb halo
Kb 24kg dl x 10
kb squat 24kg x 10
Kb swing 16kg x 15
Then 2dm treadmill routine : 2 miles and 987 vertical feet in 20 minutes.