“Tonight if you’re awake at all”
Tuesday - Chest
Here’s a sample of how I hit my chest. Oh, what a glorious day…
All sets done with 1-minute rest in between (stop watch on-hand, literally)
10 minute warm-up stretch (hold no more than 2 seconds and repeat)
Push-ups 2x25 at quick pace to get loose
Density-style Flat Barbell Bench Press 2x12 @ 220 lbs
Decline Dumbbell Bench Press 2x10 @ 65’s
Incline Dumbbell Fly 4x5 @ 40’s
Dumbbell Wrist Curls 1x25 @ 25’s - 1x8 @ 40’s - 1x10 @ 25’s (Supersets)
10 minute cool-down static stretch (hold for 10 seconds and repeat)
Hit the middle, lower, and upper pecs and threw in a little forearms for fun. Got a great “pump” to the point where I couldn’t even pick up my shaker cup. I love it.
I’ve found that the incline flies really make my upper chest pop and give me the inner pec separation I’m looking for. It’s a tough exercise and I suggest getting a good strength foundation with flat benches before you tackle flies. It’s more of an intermediate/expert routine. I say this because beginners can easily go beyond parallel, hyper-extend their outer pecs which can easily result in a torn muscle, tendon, or ligament; not to mention you’ll develop hideous stretch marks. I cannot stress enough the importance of maintaining proper form when executing any exercise. Pushing your body past its limits is great for progress as long as you keep those limits within your body’s natural range-of-motion.
“Various Techniques to Exercise and Nutrition”
Today is Monday! That means Legs-Day! After 8 weeks of training doing the same routine can get mundane. Every two weeks I change my routine to keep my body guessing. Squats are one of my favorite (and least favorite) exercises. It is one of the best mass-building routines because it incorporates multiple muscle groups rather than isolating a specific muscle. The added bonus of using a large muscle group for an exercise is that it burns more calories and I am also able to use more weight because more muscles are used for support. I prefer training heavy so this is right up my alley, but that’s not to say it isn’t a great exercise to get cut or maintain either.
There are two formula’s for weight-training:
1) High weight - Low Reps for Mass
2) Low weight - High Reps for Cuts
However, this isn’t as black and white as it may seem. There is a ton of middle ground that I make sure to hit for variations. Our bodies are made to adapt to our environment. To combat this and keep myself from plateauing I have to find different ways to make my muscles work harder. Here are a few techniques that I use:
1) Giant Sets: I line-up 5 exercises that incorporate a targeted muscle group. I perform each exercise to failure without rest in between sets. Example: Squats to Stiff-Legged Deal Lifts to Leg Extensions to Lunges to Lying Leg Raises to Jump Squats to Mountain Climbers and rest. Since this is a killer routine I only do one or two sets per day/week.
2) Drop Sets: This incorporates the same “no-rest” idea as Giant Sets but it is only used for one exercise. I start my exercise at the highest weight I can safely execute, perform one set, immediately drop the weight 15-25 pounds, and without rest I do another set, repeating until I reach failure or break form at the lowest weight.
3) Tri-Sets: Choose three exercises that incorporate 3-different parts of the targeted muscle group, performing the three back-to-back without rest for a total of 2-3 sets. Example: Incline bench presses (targets upper pecs), decline bench presses (targets lower pecs) and dumb bell flies (targets inner pecs).
4) Super-Sets: Same idea as Tri-sets but only performing two-exercises back-to-back without rest.
The common lifting routing has 2-3 sets of 4-5 exercises with a 1-3 minute rest time in between sets. This allows full recovery and strength to perform each exercise.
I make sure to know my boundaries and not over-train my body. This is a common mistake many people make because they have what is called “muscle anxiety.” Our muscles NEED rest and recovery. The act of resistance training tears the muscles fibers apart. This is a good thing. In order to see growth and progress the muscles need rest in order to re-build those muscle fibers. Re-building makes the bonds stronger and larger. Our muscles actually grow while we rest and sleep (weird, huh?). If I train my chest every single day of the week or even on consecutive days there would be no time for rest or recovery and just a constant tearing of my muscle fibers. This leads to over training and I will see an catabolic reaction from this habit. “Catabolic” means the break down of complex molecules to simple molecules for energy (aka your body eats your muscles for energy). I want to keep my body “anabolic” which uses my fats stores for energy. Our bodies are made to store fat. It is the ultimate, natural snuggie. When the body is in a nutrient-depleted state the body will keep your fat stores and feed on muscle. “It’s science.” - Ron Burgundy
This leads me to another important point. Your muscles are made in the kitchen. Without a proper diet I will see absolutely no progress. Many think that in order to lose weight they will just not eat for hours. The body, once again, is made to store fat. The more time I go without eating the more my body will use my muscles as energy rather than my fat stores. Blame the nomads of the ice-age. They would travel days without eating and once they found food it was an all-out-eating frenzy. To keep their bodies running and warm the body would store the food at fat.
Keep yourself eating every 2-4 hours. This keeps the body in an anabolic state and it also keeps your metabolism working. Digestion burns calories, too. The more we digest within an appropriate portion-size the more we can utilize the nutrients we supply to our bodies. We are all different metabolically so find out what works for you. The one thing we have in common, however, is that immediately after exercise our body’s glycogen levels are depleted. Glycogen is energy stored in the muscle in the form of carbohydrates. After training I have a crucial half-hour limit to restore my glycogen, otherwise I can kiss those muscles I worked so hard for good-bye because they will become lunch. The best weapon? Glucose! This is commonly known as simple-sugar. Throw out the “carbs and sugar” are bad myth in this half-hour. You’re body NEEDS to restore its energy and the quickest way to do so is by downing an appropriate amount of simple sugars. Example: Baked Potato, OJ, Waxy Maize (corn), and plenty of other natural sugar-based drinks and foods. I suggest fruit-drinks (not from concentrate) because the body doesn’t have to digest whole foods and it’s easier to convert the fructose into glucose.
Here was my Leg-Routine today: 1-min rest between sets
Light warm-up bounce-stretch for 15 minutes (no hold-stretches pre-work out)
Jump Squats 3x20
Drop-Set Squats 4 @ 300 lbs - 4 @ 275 lbs - 6 @ 225 lbs - 8 @ 175 lbs
Stiff-Legged Dead Lifts 1x10 @ 140 lbs - 1x8 @ 150 lbs
Super-Set Lying Horizontal Leg Raises/Lying Reverse Leg Raises 2x25 each leg
Finished off with a 15 minute hold-stretching routine
Let’s-Go-Fly-ers!
This Saturday, October 31st (aka “All Hallows’ Eve”), I will be catching the Flyers’ game from these kick-ass seats. I would like to thank my Brother for locking in those tickets. Maybe after the Powerhouse Perry Duo can stroll across the parking lot to find a good samaritan that will “lend” us two Phillies’ World Series tickets!
Slammed my nose on the doorway doing pull-up’s today. I thought it was broken but turns out it’s only a minor dent in the ol’ schnoz! That could have been tragic. My nose is my livelihood.
Sweet pores, huh?
