Project 40

Very light workout

10 mins treadmill

Core workout with PT

Sword Draws (cross between scare crows and lateral raise) on cable machine

2 sets 10 - 2 plates
Not a particularly light weight for this movement and went to near failure.









Low incline DB Press
3rd lightest DBs x 30 x 2 sets

Med High Incline DB Press
3rd lightest DBs x 25ish x 2 sets

Felt the DB presses in triceps a lot more than chest and shoulders. Stopped short of failure and more to do with burn from high reps. Will see how I feel tomorrow, but felt only a tiny bit of discomfort while doing this.










Early evening same day

DB Rows (House DBs)
30 reps x 3 sets

Rotator cuff work

5 mins warm up on bike

Leg Press
About 4 warm up sets Max OT style - not fatiguing by any means
3 Sets 5 reps.
Couldn't press any more than 5, with good form. HEAVY

Leg Extensions
3 Sets 9-10 reps
Backed off from failure by about 1 or 2 reps each set.

Leg Curls
3 Sets 8-10 reps
Stopped when form deteriorated so as not to overtrain

Some ab and lower back work on Swiss Ball

APPIOINTMENT 10.30 FRIDAY FOR POSTURE TRAINING

Must record weights next time!

Much has already been learnt, so thank God for Louie Simmons!

What do I mean. I read and reject and then read again and realise that he really does know what he's talking about. The bodybuilding fraternity has indeed got its head up its arse, including Max OT. They never focus on the bigger picture, but try to focus in on one form of training to prove themselves right. The links below are self explanatory vindications of Simmons / Westside approach to gaining strength and size. I just have to hold back from the mega heavy 1-5 rep ranges and keep things 6 and above, with good form and not injuring myself, and not doing too much volume (as reccomended), not going to failure very often in the higher rep ranges etc. In light of the serious and proven information out there, Westside really adds up and makes sense - in the long term. Its not a quick fix, but a proven system. All the questions are answered by Westside i.e. what rep range? ALL in their own time! How much recovery time? 72-96 hours etc. Its all in there if you are patient and you look for it. Here's just a couple of links that vindicate the wisdom behind the Westside approach.

http://www.strengthcats.com/CSfinalrep.htm
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/topicoftheweek8.htm

Going for a walk today.

Noticed that Ruggiera works out like a body builder to some extent, training each bodypart once a week, grouping chest/shoulders/tri, back/biceps/, legs, with rest days in between each session. See http://asp.elitefts.com/qa/default.asp?tid=79

"When I first started messing with weights I was reading a lot of bodybuilding magazines. I got my workouts from them. After years of doing that, I switched to a three day routine where I hit everything once a week. I grew like a weed and my strength started to take off. This is when I realized more is not necessarily better." From http://www.elitefts.com/documents/mike_r_interview.htm

This is well worth thinking about, and I think its what I did years ago when I was very big.

12 minutes treadmill highest incline walking 4.5 mph (?)

Leg Press 4 plates 30 reps 1 set

One leg squats bodyweight

10x2

20x4

Some swiss ball abs and hypers

Felt strong but dazed and dizzy

Hot tub

Its later in the evening now and I'm feeling shot to peices from that workout. Should not have done it all. Or anything else I think for upper body. The injured shoulder (whatever it is) comes into play in too many movements so I'm just going to take the advice below and just do mobility work for upper body. I've left the upper body alone for 3 weeks or so before without any great loss in strength or size.

I've got pain all down my arm too. Just take a look at some non ant / med delt movements and see that they are used in some way as synergists. Plus the doctor said it could be related to my biceps tendons too. So I really do have to leave off the upper body weight training for 3 weeks, but keep the ROM going without too much pain.

And for proper recuperation and taking the advice of MOST of the Westside boys (many of whom are not juiced up), I'm going to stick to an Upper Body / Lower Body split, training both groups twice a week i.e. 2 upper body workouts per week, using a 7-9 day week, and employing different exercises and rep schemes each time so as not to overlap and overtrain. It does actually work, but I don't need to go heavier than 5-6 reps any more. The Jay Culter things ok for Jay Cutler who has the advantage(!) of steroids and superior / different genetics to me. James Smith tends to speak a lot of sense on all of these things and is drug free too.

Check out the links below and not where the insertions for various muscles are - in the shoulder joint! Also, the other day when doing one arm rows, I knew I got a pump in my triceps but said "No way. This is a back and biceps movement." But check the other muscles used - yes triceps! Not to mention brining in the fron delts on the bicep curls.

SO CALLED BACK AND BICEPS WORKOUT

http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/BackGeneral/DBBentOverRow.html
http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/BackGeneral/CBSeatedRow.html
http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/BackGeneral/LVSeatedRow.html
http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/Biceps/DBCurl.html


SO CALLED CHEST AND TRICEPS WORKOUT

http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/PectoralSternal/BBBenchPress.html
http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/PectoralSternal/DBBenchPress.html
http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/Triceps/CBInclineTriExt.html
http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/Triceps/BBLyingTriExt.html
http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/Triceps/DBLyingTriExt.html


SO CALLED SHOULDER WORKOUT

http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/DeltoidAnterior/BBMilitaryPress.html
http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/DeltoidAnterior/DBShoulderPress.html - NO WAY can you seperate shoulders from the same muscles you use when you train back
http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/DeltoidLateral/BBUprightRow.html

Nuff said really!

Check the date today and do NO MORE WEIGHTS for shoulders or chest for 3 WEEKS.

When your tissue is injured it heals with scar tissue, not fresh new cells, just protein branches called collagen. For about the first three weeks scar tissue is forming therefore, lifting weight too early is counter productive; however, it is quite essential to work on passive then active ROM. You should be aware that once the scar tissue has stabilized you must begin exercising the area with weights as soon as possible.
From: http://www.elitefts.com/documents/shoulder-rehab.htm

I might have injured myself a little more today (see workout blog below) because I used weights far too early on. Even though I did this last ME bench workout (check date) I may have set myself back a little today. So all I'm going to do for shoulders and chest is range of motion work with NO WEIGHTS until the 3 weeks are up.

Until then its just lower body, back, biceps, abs and triceps etc.

LA FITNESS

• Lateral raises. -Worked up to 3rd lightest dumbells 4 x 10. Very strict and felt it in the med delts. Slight pause at bottom ala Jay Cutler's advice.
  
• Front DB raises 2 x 10. Didn't feel right so switched to ....
• Plate Raises 4 x 10 10kg
• Cable crossovers (Unuilaterally felt better) 3 notches x 30-15 reps
• Tate Presses 14kg DBs x 10-15 supersetted with ....
• Shrugs. Heaviest DBs 15-25 reps
• Triceps Pushdowns, slight cambered bar. Whole stack 17-12 reps x 2 sets
• Some cuff work.

Woke up and right shoulder felt stiffer and more painful than day before, Supposed to be normal this way. Avoided chest pressing as felt painful still. Night before had pain in left shoulder blade. This morning had the same pain in right! Good workout though. Hit everything thoroughly. Shoulder feels a lot better for it.

Been checking out some more of the training logs http://asp.elitefts.com/qa/default.asp?qid=38357&tid=92 for example.

The guys mix things up more than you would imagine, doing DE plus ME plus Repetition in 1 session. I can incorporate these tactics into my own training, which will be about every 5-6 days for each bodypart from now on. Dave Tate even recommends doing triceps just once a week for some people. I think that to gain strength and size I must :

1. Go reasonably heavy (5-6 reps) if feeling strong with various exercises. But be careful.
2. After that, go for a higher rep range either with the same movement or something different.
3. Not going to bother with speed work anymore. It puts too much pressure on my joints, plus Metal Militia and quite a few people even in Westside don't bother with it that often if at all.

Doing this every 5-6 days will not let the strnegth go but will allow for full recovery of tendons and muscles.

This will ensure strength and hypertrophy.

[SUBSEQUENTLY TAKEN A LOT OF THIS BACK. The typical "bodybuilding" split is a recipe for overtraining - see my post above with links to exrx showing how you can't really have a "back" workout, because you heavily involve the triceps and chest in most back movements. Same applies to so called shoulder workouts, chest workouts etc. The only reasonable split is upper body / lower body.]

My foray into powerlifting was short lived but very informative in terms of exercise regimen and what my body is limited to doing. I'm going to take the best of Westside's methods and apply them to a fairly normal bodybuilding split. Reasons?

1. Cannot handle the mega heavy lifting. Get screwed up benching, squatting and deadlifting! That IS powerlifting so what's the point?!
2. Prefer the look of bodybuilders any day to powerlifters.
3. Like the pump of bodybuilding and concentrating on a bodypart at a time.
4. Like to train nearly everyday.

Going to do a fairly normal split taken from Jay Cutler's website http://www.jaycutler.com/sub/training_beginner.html for beginning bodybuilders. On the shoulder day, I will eliminate overhead pressing and all barbell pressing for good and concentrate on lateral raises, traps etc. Otherwise keep it fairly simple.

The Split is:

Day 1:
Chest & Triceps
Day 2:
Back & Biceps
Day 3:
Legs
Day 4:
Shoulders, Traps, Abs & Calves
Day 5:
Off
Day 6:
Repeat cycle

Ha! I'm no powerlifter. I have to admit this at last. Just have not got the tendons or body structure for it. Anyway, as you can see from my last Max Effort post, I went heavey and the result - a couple of days later I could not move my right arm. Went to hospital monday morning and had an X ray. Nothing broken but large swelling around shoulder joint. Probably rotator cuff tendonitis or something.

Went to gym with Any Bishop on Monday and Wednesday. Another discovery of mine - I hate training with anybody else. I am definitely a lone trainer.

Its Sunday today and the shoulder is feeling better. Done a couple of shoulder rehab workouts and some moderately heavy DB rowing on Friday. BUT I am going to have to be very careful not go mega heavy anymore. Been looking at Mike Ruggiera's training logs on Eliteefs. He does mostly bodybuilding type work with about a week between bodyparts. Rep ranges from 6-15 on most movements.

WHAT CAN I TAKE FROM THE WESTSIDE SYSTEM THAT IS WORKING FOR ME COMPARED TO THE HIT I WAS DOING BEFORE?

1. Higher volume of training that HIT. This has been a big factor. 3-5 sets instead of just 1.
2. Conjugated periodization. Keep switching exercises. This has worked. Plus, have tried lots of new exercises - increased arsenal of exercises has helped.
3. Working on weak points. E.g. never really trained triceps before like this and resulted in huge increase in pressing strength on DB work.
4. Higher frequency of workouts. Be careful here though not to overstress joints.

My shoulder injury may have been caused by overhead pressing and also going for heavy singles on bench press. Am going to stick to DB work in the 10-15 rep range for a while, and not going overhead, just inclines to about 45 degrees. NO MORE BARBELL BENCHING. Heard interview on Dave depew where natural bodybuilder said that barbell benching gave him rotator cuff injury too, and he laid of them for over a year. I never liked them anyway. First time training heavy with a bar, I knackered myself. So no more.

This is also my first week without any alcohol for years. Must keep to it and give myself time to recover from liver abuse!

Haven't blogged anyting for ages. Here's the workout

Note: Did this workout this morning 10am on the back of drinking 6 tins of Guinness the night before, too much puff and I've got a cold. Felt a bit crappy this morning.

Bodyshapers Gym

Rack lockouts Hand inside rings at all times (enough space between me and the bar to get out from under bench if fail.
Weights Kg not counting bar:
Bar x 10
20 x 6
30 x 5
40 x 5
50 x 5
60 x 3
70 x 2
75 x 1
80 FAILED
60 x 3

Close Grip Bench
40 x 6 x 6 sets

Seated Military BB Press
80lbs x 6
90 x 6
100 x 5 x 4 sets

Tate Presses
30lb DB x 6-8 reps 3 sets

Comments:
Ha! Scared under the bar! First time using the bench press for Westside training, crazy! Need to adapt to bar work because I am totally not used to it yet. Feel I have much potential considering this. Up to now I have been doing it quite wrong as been using dumbells for max effort work. Just need to hit Bodyshapers once a week to use the bench press and rack. Need to do this to find out what's in me.