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Tell us about today's workout/exercise (v.new thread, finally)

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Yesterday I did conventional deadlifts and bench press along with some isolation work. My back was too weak to front squat following the deadlifts which sucked balls.

Today I'm going to take it easy and reassess what I want out of my hobby since it's getting a little convoluted.
 
whats your routine like SirTopham?

Mine is:

Day1: LEGS
Squats 1x5-10, 1x20-30
Deadlifts 1x5-10
Facepulls 3x10-20

Day2: CHEST/SHOULDERS
Decline Barbell 3x10-20
DB OH Press 3x10-20
Upright Row 3x10-20
PUSHDOWNS

Day3: OFF

Day4: back and iso leg work
Split Squats 3x10-20
T-bar ROW 3x10-20
DB Row 3x10-20
Pullups 3x10-20
BB CURLS

Day5: OFF

Day6: REPEAT DAY1 ADDING REPS AND/OR WEIGHT (if stall on exercise then switch exercises ie for instance pushdowns exchanged for rack lockouts)

I started doing higher reps (hence the 10-20 rep range) a couple months ago and it feels good man. It really works for gaining lean mass but protecting joints. Only thing I hit low reps for is deads and squats.
 
Do you rest on Day 7 and then go back to day one or is Day 7 Day 2 and soforth?

Right now I don't have a routine which is probably why it is going to shit right now.

Here is a rough approximation

DAY 1

3-4 set BACK SQUAT start with 6-8 reps last set usually burnout with less weight
1-2 set FRONT SQUAT burnout
3 set either BARBELL ROW or WEIGHTED PULLUP
3 set TRICEP ISO exercise

DAY 2

4-5 set HANG CLEAN 5 reps/ set
3 set DB LUNGES 8-10 reps/ set
3 set STANDING MILITARY PRESS or 2 set SEATED DB MILITARY 8-10 reps/ set
3 set REVERSE DB FLY
3 set DB CURLS

DAY 3 either rest or 30-45min swim.

---

Here is the routine I've used for most of my time training, which has given good results in the past for being so linear:

Day 1 MONDAY/THURSDAY

3x8 back squat
3x8 weighted pullup - sometimes row
auxiliary exercise (usually arm work)

Day 2 TUESDAY/FRIDAY

3x8 seated db military press - sometimes bench press
3x8 deadlift
auxiliary exercise (usually arm work)


Then I began buying into the whole "you shouldn't squat and deadlift so many times in a week" and from there my whole programme has just disintegrated into hardly a semblance of anything ordered. I like your idea of doing two long squat sets a lot. I like doing rows when my pulls get stale but otherwise pretty much stick with the same few exercises no matter what -- tried true tested etc.
 
Day6 = Day1 on my schedule. So if I started day1 on monday I'd do another day1 on saturday.

I try to gain SOMETHING as long as its something (even 1 rep hehe) then I can continue on with the exercise. If its a stall (even one day) then its over and I switch to a similar exercise. Makes you really go for it with the lifts you love (ie squat).

IMO you're not giving your CNS enough time to rest with heavy compounds like rows and next day cleans. And squats then next day DB lunges. If you really pushing both lifts then Im surprised you're not stalling quickly given you're natty ;) Even an "assisted" lifter would have trouble with that first split you listed.
 
Ok cool. Yeah, I try to always gain something from workout to workout even if it's just using half a minute less rest between sets. I think you are right about the CNS overload thing; since today is a rest/recoup day I think it might be time to start a new split beginning tomorrow. Right now I'm considering going back to the Mon/Thurs Tue/Fri split except doing just legs on one half of the split and just upper on the other. Or maybe doing a three day total body workout. I'm pretty sure if I tested my maxes this next week they would be 2x bodyweight (squat/deadlift) and 1.5x bodyweight (bench) and 1x bodyweight (OH press). Maybe it is time for some bodyweight feats because I get bored easily :\
 
played some bball yesterday arvo. the home made dumplings i had for lunch prior made me feel heavy as shit, my shots and runnning were both way off, but i did score a few hoops this week. also copped a ball in the face (gave me a fat lip for about an hour), and one dude accidently swiped my glasses from my face knocking a lense loose (i fixed it).

good times. i think i might do this every week.

except the dumpling part.
 
SirTophamHat said:
Ok cool. Yeah, I try to always gain something from workout to workout even if it's just using half a minute less rest between sets. I think you are right about the CNS overload thing; since today is a rest/recoup day I think it might be time to start a new split beginning tomorrow. Right now I'm considering going back to the Mon/Thurs Tue/Fri split except doing just legs on one half of the split and just upper on the other. Or maybe doing a three day total body workout. I'm pretty sure if I tested my maxes this next week they would be 2x bodyweight (squat/deadlift) and 1.5x bodyweight (bench) and 1x bodyweight (OH press). Maybe it is time for some bodyweight feats because I get bored easily :\
Click to expand...

that is great man! then you have been progressing with every workout (adding reps or weight)? 1x BW OH Press is a good benchmark of strength...great work! I bet like 90% of americans couldnt do that. What weight are you sitting at now? I gained a few pounds in January...sitting at 174 now although my conditioning is off since I havent been doing cardio (breathe hard after 30 rep squat sets!).
 
My progression has been decent, I could only hit 205# for 3x6 squats less than a month ago and recently killed 4x6 @ 225. My torso (back & pushing) strengths have been stagnant but I work those exercises after my squats and am still content with them... I benched 190 for a comfortable 3x5 yesterday and can get 5-6 deadhang pullups with 70lbs around my waist. I don't know if you read my post in the steroid forum where I mentioned that I started off with a bench max of 110.

I haven't weighed myself recently but I would guess still just shy of 160. I have been cheating too much and not eating nearly enough meat, and way too many grains. My only cardio is walking the dog 1-2 miles a day. Depression really kills one's appetite, I've found that if I spend a week eating solid brekkies I start waking up hungry, but if I skip it one day I ruin all that progress. My guess is that I'll plateau here for a while unless I take much better care of my recovery. I want to look into getting some bcaas, tribulus, or rhodiola rosea with my tax return hahahaha.

It sounds like you are making fantastic progress yourself, after spending a good amount of time in the gym I've noticed that for most people three plates on the bar for any exercise is just too much (talking about casual/recreational lifters). I started lifting when I weighed 120-125lbs senior year of high school (same height I am now) and it really is a complete lifestyle adjustment to dedicate one's self to the iron. You used to climb, right? What is your pull up max?
 
3 plates is where I am right now for squat yeah I agree with you its the limit for me right now until I gain more mass...then I'll bump up to 405 (and hopefully stay there forever). I think I can get to 315 1x20 for the squat (and 275 1x30) before I worry about adding weight (8 more reps damn!). Deads are at 315 also Im just coasting with them until I go up in my squat (then I'll slap on a 25 then a 45 extra ;)

Thats funny cuz I also weighed 120 in HS at 5'6". I gained 40 pounds in last 2 years.

I used to rep pullups out ridiculously. Now I hit 15 with a quarter (25 hehe). I want to get to 20 reps with 45 soon (couple months?). I did used to climb. We (my gf and I) are starting again soon once it gets warm. Its great cardio :D

good talking to you dude :)
 
How long do you guys wait in between each set? And then how long do you wait between working each different muscle/between each different exercise?
 
With the 3 plates thing I wasn't necessarily referring to you or I, just saying that it seems like going over 300lbs for reps on any exercise is a lot to ask of the layman who doesn't given the whole training thing his all. In other words, yeah there are always going to be athletes who can bench 300 squat 400 and deadlift 500 without apparent effort but in the end you should only be comparing yourself to yourself. Otherwise it is impossible to be happy, I mean there's only one person in the world who can call themselves the strongest right? Just a little aside on the philosophy of bodybuilding or strength training.

Strong pull-ups dude. I usually start off my workout with a max attempt with 45#, depending on the day it's 8-10 reps. I can't get more than 24 unweighted, my endurance sucks. Training for a OAP, I'm more concerned with hitting reps at 90-100# weighted than getting 30 unweighted.

I like talking with other enthusiastic people about lifting
14.gif
. I convinced a friend of mine to lift at six in the morning 4 days a week with me for three straight months last year and it was incredible. Nowadays it is much easier to lose motivation. I find myself becoming complacent and disgusted with my progress alternatively, which makes things rough.

(mini-rant)
NSFW:

Back in 2007 I bought a 300lb barbell & plate set for 100 bucks and a squat rack for 75 bucks incl shipping off of Dick's Sporting Goods and Amazon.com respectively. Of course I sold said items for drug money a year later and now it costs so much more for those things with this economy. Now I'm stuck at a public gym with only 1 squat rack that personal trainers take up for as long as they please, arrrrghhhh. I have to suffer through squats with my two plates only to watch a group of wannabes quarter squat 405 afterwards with a smug look on their faces, or rack my DBs between sets only to have a pair of soccer moms take my spot.


n3o: That is a complicated question. A textbook will say to wait 1 minute between sets if you are trying to achieve size (hypertrophy), 3-5 minutes if you are looking to increase pure strength or power, and less than a minute if you are training endurance. It is obviously not so cut and dry. I like to wait an average of two minutes between sets, sometimes less, sometimes more for really intense stuff. I use a scheme revolving around 8 reps, which is in between the target for strength & hypertrophy. As far as waiting between exercises, there is no wait. Sometimes I utilize supersets which is where you do one exercise while resting another exercise. This is very tiring but it also gets your heart pumping and saves you time too.
 
SirTophamHat said:
n3o: That is a complicated question. A textbook will say to wait 1 minute between sets if you are trying to achieve size (hypertrophy), 3-5 minutes if you are looking to increase pure strength or power, and less than a minute if you are training endurance. It is obviously not so cut and dry. I like to wait an average of two minutes between sets, sometimes less, sometimes more for really intense stuff. I use a scheme revolving around 8 reps, which is in between the target for strength & hypertrophy. As far as waiting between exercises, there is no wait. Sometimes I utilize supersets which is where you do one exercise while resting another exercise. This is very tiring but it also gets your heart pumping and saves you time too.
Click to expand...

Cool thank for the info mate!
 
No prob, I'm sure Matsuo has even more information to offer that will fill in anything I missed.

I just scanned in a chart from one of my texts that does a good job of showing the repetition continuum. Hopefully I am not breaking any laws in sharing it.

repcontinuum.jpg


Pretty much you just decrease rest for endurance stuff and increase it for power/strength stuff. It is a little misleading in that you can still gain plenty of strength working in higher reps and you can gain endurance working in low reps too, these ranges are just considered optimal I suppose.
 
i feel as though if i can generally do more than 10 reps, i'm not doing enough weight. the only exception are leg exercises where i don't want to hurt myself.
 
Sounds good if you are going for size/strength mainly! With lifting the key is always stimulus. If you use 5x5 or 4x10 for months on end you won't get anywhere. Sometimes this can be counterintuitive. For example, Matsuo is using a variation on the 20rep squat theme if I am comprehending his posts correctly, which is a technique where you max out on reps for only one or two sets, but also using a relatively heavy weight. It is intended to stimulate growth in both size and strength parameters and has been documented as being effective in doing so. You wouldn't think it is, but it is.

I am posting like a banshee right now because it is -10F/-23C outside. With windchill? -25F/-31C. Yeah.
 
keep posting! and fast please. i'm going to the gym in 10 mins (my lunch break).

explain stimulus.
 
Stimulus is just another word for keeping your muscles guessing. Working different exercises that use the same muscle is an easy example. Close grip press and tricep pushdowns both work your triceps very hard, but in different ways. Once you lose stimulus, your gains will stop. This also explains why bodybuilders do such ridiculous movements, they are looking for new stimulus all the time. Good?

edit: lunch break? It is 9:30pm here. Not even close to "arvo" (hehe)!
 
yeah good, and although i got this info late, i'm good. was doing chest, shoulders and tris. i did 4 different chest exercises (the first being barbell bench presses 60kgs x 10, 10, 8, 6), 4 different tricep ones and 3 different shoulder ones.
 
I am glad you had a good workout L2R. Beach muscles (arms/chest) are so fun to work out! :) Lots of mirrors reflecting that beautiful pump. I think I get too carried away when talking about this stuff/disseminating facts and things... I really don't feel comfortable telling people how to work out, because one of my beliefs is that everyone is different, therefore there is no one-size-fits-all approach to exercise, and also, my paramount belief #2 is that you have to make things FUN for yourself if you are going to succeed. It doesn't matter if your exercise selection blows as long as it's getting you through that door and into the gym. If you are forcing yourself to always do things the expected way, the accepted way, or the 'right' way--this applies to ANY activity--there's no point. You will get fed up and quit.

Maybe it is just my current cabin fever, however I have noticed myself becoming more wrapped up in all of the fitness craze jumbo. So I am going to take a break from being so INTO this. I am going to try and correct the things that are wrong with my mentality re: exercise and I am going to start by making it a goal to not post in this thread until I actually have some meaningful developments of my own to share. Cheers.
 
I trained with some new guys today. The goal was to have a play with some heavy kettlebells which I don't own. I kind of wrecked one of the guys plan. He brought in a workout that called for 5 circuits but we only did 2 so we could work with heavier weight.

Part 1: Circuit of 4 positions: Person one does two sets of 15 pushups as the timer while the others do: floorsweepers, double 24kg kb push presses, double 32kg kb renegade rows. So we only got through that twice. Honestly I think the guy was being ambitious anyway thinking we'd make it through 5 times. It was fairly brutal on the triceps.


Part 2: Then we did some farmer walks with a 64kg kettlebell in one hand and 56 in the other. Down his driveway and back which I would guess at 40-50m one way.

Finished it off with a pyramid of swings. 10 swings, 1 push up, 10 swings 2 push ups and so on up to 10 then back down to one. We rotated around using a 64, 56, 48 and 40kg kettlebell.

It was fairly brutal, I lost one callus off my right hand since they're not conditioned for high rep work anymore apparently or maybe I've just got soft over Christmas
 
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