Steve's Journal Comments

[slw0096]

This covers the basics.
http://exrx.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=8284" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.

I'm having a hard time eating right according to the nutritional plate, let alone a specific diet plan such as the anabolic diet; especially since it warns about fatigue, lethargic, irritability. How does one combat that while having to work with certain types of people?

You could add in progressively challenging sprints or other challenging exercises on your days between strength workouts. You could also do them right after your workouts if that works better for you. Outside the gym, increase your other activities. Long easy walks out in nature is always a good bet.

Wednesday of this week, I got up, timed myself swimming one lap then just swam with my daughters. I may do this once or twice a week on off days. I'm trying to get movitated to go walking when I wake up especially since we have a green belt - trail that goes through the area neighborhoods. I find it hard to get motiviated to get up and head to the gym just to walk on a treadmill for 30 minutes or so; it's much easier when I am going to lift weights. :D

Just keep the weight loss reasonable. If you start losing strength, throw in a refeed day or even 2. You should read "the anabolic diet" (check Google for a pdf.) That program has weekly refeeds built in for a reason.

I don't plan on going crazy and dropping too much too fast; though I'd like for my belly to vanish quicker than it took to get. I've started looking at the anabolic diet.

[Jungledoc]

I'd put the DL first on Thursday. I'd also put in more pulling.

Any of the combinations you mention would be fine for a vertical press. Why not just sub the incline for the press for a few weeks?

You have lots of accessories. I wouldn't have time for any more than you are doing. You need good rest periods between sets with heavy work like that.

[stuward]

...I'm having a hard time eating right according to the nutritional plate, let alone a specific diet plan such as the anabolic diet; especially since it warns about fatigue, lethargic, irritability. How does one combat that while having to work with certain types of people?
...

My wife tells me I get irritable when I go low-carb. There may be mood changes but if you manage it well there shouldn't be too much of a problem. The Anabolic Diet works by cycling low-carb and high-carb. That cycle should prevent the mood issues. If not, make the cycles shorter. I do best on a daily cycle, fast until lunch, then low-carb for lunch,a balanced meal at dinner, a high-fat snack prior to bed. It's still a carb cycling system, just one that works better for me.

The main thing is to clear your plate of all junk food. If there is no nutritional reason to include a food in your diet, cut it out. Meet all your micro-nutrient requirements. This will only improve your health and mood. After that, it's manage your macro-nutrients according to your goals.

[slw0096]

I'd put the DL first on Thursday. I'd also put in more pulling.

Please check out the outline of my revised routine in my journal; you should see a few added pulls: cleans replace pendlays for main exercise; pendlay added to light day as auxiliary. Do comment if any tweaks can be done.

Any of the combinations you mention would be fine for a vertical press. Why not just sub the incline for the press for a few weeks?

I have replaced MP with incline press for a short run.

You have lots of accessories. I wouldn't have time for any more than you are doing. You need good rest periods between sets with heavy work like that.

It does look like a lot on Saturdays; however, it doesn't take a lot of time. I'm usually done within an hour and feels good. Plus, on Saturday, I don't have to rush. On my revised routine, I don't spend a lot of time in the gym.

[slw0096]

I do my routine in the mornings; I take my wife and kids to the Y in the evenings on the same day. While standing around, I get the urge to do something. Are there any auxiliary exercises I can do while just hanging out with them that won't affect my progress?

[slw0096]

The main thing is to clear your plate of all junk food. If there is no nutritional reason to include a food in your diet, cut it out. Meet all your micro-nutrient requirements. This will only improve your health and mood. After that, it's manage your macro-nutrients according to your goals.

My plate isn't perfect; I can say that the junk food is limited, and I'm working on it. I'll be looking at the difference between micro-nutrients and macro-nutrients next.

[slw0096]

I've updated my journal. Please review and critique. I'm also looking for ways to respark motivation for going to the gym. Any changes that I can make that will make it more fun or cause me to look forward to going rather than the feeling of "same-oh, same-oh".

[Jungledoc]

One of the things about Madcow is the old "squat everyday" thing. I think that's fine for a while, but wow, it would get old. I love to squat, but I think that would make me hate it. Also, you have a bench or bench variation every day.

What lift do you love?

What lift do you want most to improve?

Pick a lift (based on your answers to one or both of those questions) and make it a priority for a while. Do it heavy on the day of your lifting cycle when you are most fresh, and don't have a lot of other heavy work that day. Pick accessories on your other days that will support that lift.

Another advantage of breaking away from a canned program is that you don't have to use the same rep-set scheme all the time. For example, you can do heavy doubles for a one lift, and do 2 sets of 15 another. And you don't have to use the same rep-set scheme forever, either.

Also, I see the old issue of lots of pushing and not much pulling. I don't think (maybe I'm wrong here, 'cause I don't clean or snatch much) the Oly lifts are pulls in the same sense that chinups or rows are.

I've gone back and forth on the issue of published programs. I started out pretty much picking exercises randomly, or according to the wall chart that came with our weight machine. Then I became a great fan of published programs, and would often ask relatively inexperienced lifters why they thought they needed to reinvent the wheel, or how they thought that they could design better programs that famous, experienced lifters. Now I'm to the point of saying, "Think it through, and work out your own program. You know yourself and your needs better than anyone. Learn a lot, try a lot, be willing to adjust." And be willing to think on your feet. Your routine can change at a moment's notice.

I think that's the way to avoid the "same-old, same-old" feeling.

[slw0096]

One of the things about Madcow is the old "squat everyday" thing. I think that's fine for a while, but wow, it would get old. I love to squat, but I think that would make me hate it. Also, you have a bench or bench variation every day.
What lift do you love?
What lift do you want most to improve?.

I actually love to squat. The catch is pushing past sticking points; due to the amount of weight, I get a bit nervous, almost fearful. The last attempt, which has been some time, I was extremely nervous until someone offered to spot me - the right way. Once I had a spotter, I had a little more confidence or security, and I attempted the lift. I made one, struggled a little. I went for two, and he assisted when I hit the sticking point on the way up. I repeated and was done. - Because I'm not a professional lifter, I don't always follow the no touch or it doesn't count rule. There's not always someone available for spotting.

Also, I see the old issue of lots of pushing and not much pulling. I don't think (maybe I'm wrong here, 'cause I don't clean or snatch much) the Oly lifts are pulls in the same sense that chinups or rows are.

I feel as though my pulls were on the light side. I just wasn't sure if DL's and cleans counted as pulls and didn't want to over do it.

I've gone back and forth on the issue of published programs. I started out pretty much picking exercises randomly, or according to the wall chart that came with our weight machine. Then I became a great fan of published programs, and would often ask relatively inexperienced lifters why they thought they needed to reinvent the wheel, or how they thought that they could design better programs that famous, experienced lifters. Now I'm to the point of saying, "Think it through, and work out your own program. You know yourself and your needs better than anyone. Learn a lot, try a lot, be willing to adjust." And be willing to think on your feet. Your routine can change at a moment's notice.
I think that's the way to avoid the "same-old, same-old" feeling.

At the beginning, I was looking for the "best" program to make gains and achieve my goals the fastest. As I have read, learned and progressed, my thinking has changed. Now, I'm focused on doing the work outs knowing the gains will come. I started with the begginer, moved onto the Madcow intermediate and since I've started walking at least 3 times a week, I do look forward to my walks. I will always like lifting weights, and I've been going strong for 8 months and looking to keep the motivation up.

Since I've made gains, my goals might be subconsciencely shifting to weight loss rather than just gaining strength. Thanks for the thoughts to consider. I could use additional opinions on assistance exercises and variations that can be applied. What are some ways to identify weak points? My bench press and overhead press are a little on the weak side; other than that, I feel balanced and not particularly weak in any one area.

Do you have suggestions on how to better balance the push/pull inbalance you see?
I'm looking at 531. By separating main lifts to separate days adding accessory lifts, I may be able to break the monotony. Thoughts on accessories I should look at; I know there's a lot to choose from.

[Proper Knob]

Couple of questions for you -

1. Did you start with your working max at 90% of your true 1RM?

2. Do yow know you can shoot for as many reps as possible on the last working set?

[Proper Knob]

Welcome back Steve.

[slw0096]

Updated journal with my routine for the past two years. I spent last night reading over my journal and journal comments expanding over the past six years. Man! I have learned a lot since then.

Over the past two years, I started a routine strong, then made changes, more changes, got distracted by another goal (fat loss), got bored, got fatigued, lost motivation and enthusiasm, reset several times due to fear of the amount of weight lifting, made things complicated, reverted back to simplicity, dreaded workouts and now look forward to them. 10 cycles ago, I became determined to push my lifts higher and higher until I absolutely had to reset based on rules for resetting I developed. So, I grabbed a spotter for my squat and started pushing myself on all lifts.

At this point, I'm about to reach my goal in military press. My two questions are what do I do when I hit my goal for MPress? Do I keep pushing it forward even though I have not reached my goals in my other lifts?

The one thing I did not do and have learned to do and hope that others will learn from my mistake is: Keep It Simple! The simpler the routine, the quicker I get through it, the more fun it is and that lends itself to achieving PR's and looking forward to workouts. Especially since I do not have to lift every time I go to the gym. I go to the gym 5 times a week: three for weight lifting and two for fitness with youth. Making things different helps.

The second thing I did was let any miss or any circumstance (being sick and missing several workouts) provoke a reset rather than push through. Cycle starting week 68 I decided to keep lifting simple (I ain't doing jack $h1t version of Wendler's routine) and push until I missed according to the rules I developed. If I missed all three lifts in one cycle and had misses in previous cycles, then it is time for a reset. I had another rule: if I missed the same lift over three cycles, e.g. missing the last set on the 3x5 week over three cycles. I did not really apply this rule as long as I made the lifts in the 3x3 and 5,3,1 weeks because that shows I was still making progress/gains.

So far, I have only reset squat within the past 10 cycles. I missed the 3x5 lift two cylcles in a row followed by missing the 3x5 and the 5,3,1 top set in the following cycle. Thus, I reset. Upon reset, I added a backoff set to the squat. Currently, I am starting to struggle with deadlift. I am doing singles with a lot of rest, dropping the top sets once I get the weight down to my knees rather than easing the descent. But, I'm going to push as far as I can before I reset. My bench is going through the roof without any issues (even at 10 cycles in). My M press is pushing forward and about to reach my goal based on exrx advanced strength standards for someone who is suppose to be 180-200lbs.

[slw0096]

So, I took off the tail end of week 109 and week 110 due to head cold junk and Christmas. The rest is definitely what I needed. I came back in week 111 to a banner week for deadlift; lifting 375 x 3. Did okay in my other lifts as well.

Week 111 (3x3) was repeat of week 109; I did do half of week 109 that week. Making it out of week 112 (3x5) this week.

week 112 - all lifts progressing nicely; I did miss attempt on press - looking like a reset is coming.

week 113 - nailed Deadlift one rep max, personal record; most I've ever lifted...

Question:

When I started, I did full body routine 3x per week. As I got stronger, I shifted to working main lifts once a week to increase reset period between lifts. At what level would weekly rests not be sufficient rest to recover from the lift? I know I am years, decades away. I am just curious to know that level would require more than a week rest? I know it is subjective and dependent on the individual; however, I know there is a general rule of thumb such as: once a lifter can squat 1x or 1.5x his/her body weight then 24-48 hrs rest is no longer sufficient.

[slw0096]

So, I was thinking about the resetting process for Jim Wendler's 531 routine. And, being the math person that I am, I discovered a bit of a conundrum. He states to take 90% of training max or new one rep max and start again. He has also stated to take three steps back. If the lifter is near the low 200 lb bracket, 10% off of this would back the squat / deadlift off only two cycles and back the press and bench press off four cycles. If the lifter is in the 300 lb bracket, this takes the upper body lifts back six cycles and lower body lifts back three cycles.

Is backing the upper lifts this much a good thing? Is it better to take 90% and go or just back off 3 or 4 sets?

Yes, I know it's all relative and depends on the lifter. General opinions accepted.

[Proper Knob]

You start the process with 90% of your max. You then go forward 5 cycles and then go back 3 and repeat. For example if you started at a training max of 300 for the squat it would look like this.

300
310
320
330
340
Then back 3.
320
330
340
350
360
Then back 3.
340
350
350
360
370
Etc etc.