11/8/2019
B: Nothing
L: Rice and veggies and BBQ sauce and banana
D: Rice and beans and veggies and apple
S: Orange
Wasn't hungry for breakfast so skipped it.
E: Deadlift, Bench Press, Overhead Press, Bentover Rows and Squats
One week of workouts done...51 more to go
Still DOMS sore but its getting better. A bit tired today. Did a little less today as I've decided to change my schedule from being M-W-F to Sun-Tues-Thurs. So I won't get 2 days off this week. Working the new schedule means I only have to work out on one workday. This gives me more time to get things done as my work schedule has moved up an hour for the holiday season. I have a strange work schedule in that I work Wed thru Sat Evenings (10 hr shifts). Only having to exercise on one work day a week makes a big difference for me and hopefully I will be less tired on my work days.
Q: So what is my strength routine like?
A: Simple answer is it is a high intensity routine comprised of one set of 5-7 exercises taken to momentary muscular failure (MMF).
Q: Can you be more specific?
A: Sure! I use a relatively low starting weight. Generally somewhere around 50% of what I think I can lift in any particular exercise. I don't limit reps. Rather, I lift the weight as many times as I can, with perfect form, in a slow controlled manner without stopping on the top or bottom of the lifts. A rep is usually done 2 secs up and 4 secs down or 3 up/3 down. It doesn't really make too much difference, as long as you are moving smoothly and not jerking/swaying/explosively lifting or dropping the weight. You do not want to involve momentum in your lifts. So a rep takes about 6 secs. Now I do as many reps as needed till I can't lift the weight anymore (or I think I can't) and on the last rep I will do a very slow 30 sec or so lowering of the weight, i.e., I accentuate the eccentric motion on the very last rep. I try to make a set last about 2 mins.
Q: How do you know when to progressively increase the weights?
A: When I can do more than 15 reps (or about 90 secs of lifting + 30 sec of the last rep eccentric lowering, i.e., ~ 2 mins) then I will increase the weights on the next workout. I try to add no more than 5% extra weight for the next workout.
Q: How do you track all this info?
A: I don't! I neither keep a notebook or log the weights and such that I use. Its not necessary at all. I have a separate barbell or dumbbells for each exercise I do. The first workout I set them all up with the weights I want to start with. When I do an exercise, if I have exceeded those 15 reps then I know I will need to increase the weights the next workout. Rather than writing this all down or trying to remember it. I simply add the extra weight I will be using immediately after I have done the set and am resting before the next exercise. Now that exercise is ready for the next workout...nothing to remember or write down and no time wasted setting things up on your next workout. So I don't need to know what weights I need to use or keep track of. Its already on the bar and ready for the next workout. If I really want to know the numbers I can just look at the bar and count the weights. Simple! And remember the whole purpose of this resistance training is to get progressively stronger, not to lift some maximum weight for some record. So the actual numbers don't matter! The only thing that is important is that you progressively keep getting stronger.
Q: So why do you do that extra 30 sec lowering of the weight on the last rep?
A: Thats the key to the High intensity workout! Most people simply cant workout at a high enough intensity level. Why? Because its hard, its tiring and lactic acid buildup (that burning sensation) in your muscles hurt. Your mind rebels against the pain and tells you you've had enough before you really have. Thats why many people recommend partners and trainers. They help drive you and motivate you to work harder and reach your potential. Left to our own devices we simply can't do it ourselves continuously with out some added push. But what do you do when you don't have a partner or trainer to push you and you want to reach that momentary muscular failure point on your own? The simple way is to do as many reps as you think you can and on the last rep, lower the weight very slowly for 30 secs or so. This will completely exhaust your muscle (in a safe way, since your lowering it) and will guarantee that you have reached MMF...all without any help. After the 30 second lowering you will be amazed at how week you feel and no matter how hard you try you won't be able to lift the weight anymore...you have reached true momentary muscular failure (at least as it pertains to the particular weight you are using). Why this works is because you are actually significantly stronger on the lowering portion (eccentric) part of an exercise than the lifting (concentric) portion. Lowering a weight just doesn't feel as hard as raising it, but its very effective to increasing strength. In fact, some say that doing nothing but eccentric lifts can be more effective than lifting of the weights. The major downfall to eccentrics however is that they are brutally hard on your muscles and your recuperability may be taxed to the limit.
OK enough for now...