You summed up my sentiments exactly.
Grunt11's Training Log
- Thread starter grunt11
- Start date
Week 3: Workout 1: Today:
Close Parallel Grip Chin Ups: BW (166 lbs) x 11 +2 +2 +2 +2 +2 +2 +2
Dips BW (166 lbs) x 11 +2 +2 +2 +2 +2 +2 +2
Supported DB Rows 65 lbs x 14 +4 +4 +4 +3
Incline DB Bench Press 55 lbs x 11 +3 +3 +3 +2 +2 +2
BB Curls 65 lbs x 14 +3 +3 +3 +2 +2 +2
Incline DB Shoulder Press 40 lbs x 11 +3 +3 +3 +3 +2
Based on my two weeks doing the 20-25 rep range I decided to skip the 15-20 and 12-15. I probably wouldn’t have skipped the 12-15 if I hadn’t done the higher rep range but I figured my joints and connective tissues got their fair share already.
Everything felt really good and the whole workout only took 35 minutes compared to 55 minutes in the 20-25 rep range, most of which was just spent trying to catch my breath. Still got a good pump that felt almost as intense at the high rep range, but this time my muslces felt like they actually got worked right after the workout.
I had a little stabilty problem on all the pushing movements I think both because I’d been using M-Time for so long and I’ve never really tried to use DBs that much. I will stick to using DBs as long as I can, switching over to BBs if I find the stabiltiy issue is compromising my load progression.
Friday I did just and activation set of each of the above exercises to get an idea of what weight to use. Saturday I tried the same thing with Squats and Dead Lifts but about 5 reps into the squats I said screw this I’m switching to M-Time for theses lifts. So much for my experiment doing Myo-reps for these lifts. I just don’t feel it’s worth it in the high rep range, unless you want a heart attack, and I just didn’t feel safe as the rep range got lower. However, I still plan to use Myo-reps for the Calf Raises and Shrugs.
Close Parallel Grip Chin Ups: BW (166 lbs) x 11 +2 +2 +2 +2 +2 +2 +2
Dips BW (166 lbs) x 11 +2 +2 +2 +2 +2 +2 +2
Supported DB Rows 65 lbs x 14 +4 +4 +4 +3
Incline DB Bench Press 55 lbs x 11 +3 +3 +3 +2 +2 +2
BB Curls 65 lbs x 14 +3 +3 +3 +2 +2 +2
Incline DB Shoulder Press 40 lbs x 11 +3 +3 +3 +3 +2
Based on my two weeks doing the 20-25 rep range I decided to skip the 15-20 and 12-15. I probably wouldn’t have skipped the 12-15 if I hadn’t done the higher rep range but I figured my joints and connective tissues got their fair share already.
Everything felt really good and the whole workout only took 35 minutes compared to 55 minutes in the 20-25 rep range, most of which was just spent trying to catch my breath. Still got a good pump that felt almost as intense at the high rep range, but this time my muslces felt like they actually got worked right after the workout.
I had a little stabilty problem on all the pushing movements I think both because I’d been using M-Time for so long and I’ve never really tried to use DBs that much. I will stick to using DBs as long as I can, switching over to BBs if I find the stabiltiy issue is compromising my load progression.
Friday I did just and activation set of each of the above exercises to get an idea of what weight to use. Saturday I tried the same thing with Squats and Dead Lifts but about 5 reps into the squats I said screw this I’m switching to M-Time for theses lifts. So much for my experiment doing Myo-reps for these lifts. I just don’t feel it’s worth it in the high rep range, unless you want a heart attack, and I just didn’t feel safe as the rep range got lower. However, I still plan to use Myo-reps for the Calf Raises and Shrugs.
Week 3: Workout: 2 Today:
Sumo Dead Lifts 255 lbs x 20 M-Time
BB Calf Raises 255 lbs x 19 +5 +5 +5
BB Shrugs 255 lbs x 19 +5 +5 +5 +5
Olympic Squats 185 lbs x 10, x 10 (straight sets w/30 second break between them )
Yep I wussed out and switched to M-Time for my Dead Lifts and will also for the Power Squats. However, it felt good to finially start putting some weight on the bar.
I kept the Myo-reps for the Calf Raises and Shrugs. Since I’ve only done them for 2 weeks I wanted to still give them a chance. I can’t say for sure but they do “feel” more productive than the straight sets I was doing before, but only time will tell.
I took about 10% off my scheduled weight for Power Squats to use for the Olympic Squats since I’m not use to doing them. The first rep was so easy I just went ahead and did a set of 10 and took a quick break and did another set of 10. I probably could have done 20 on the first set but I didn’t want it to turn into a Breathing Squat session.
Sumo Dead Lifts 255 lbs x 20 M-Time
BB Calf Raises 255 lbs x 19 +5 +5 +5
BB Shrugs 255 lbs x 19 +5 +5 +5 +5
Olympic Squats 185 lbs x 10, x 10 (straight sets w/30 second break between them )
Yep I wussed out and switched to M-Time for my Dead Lifts and will also for the Power Squats. However, it felt good to finially start putting some weight on the bar.
I kept the Myo-reps for the Calf Raises and Shrugs. Since I’ve only done them for 2 weeks I wanted to still give them a chance. I can’t say for sure but they do “feel” more productive than the straight sets I was doing before, but only time will tell.
I took about 10% off my scheduled weight for Power Squats to use for the Olympic Squats since I’m not use to doing them. The first rep was so easy I just went ahead and did a set of 10 and took a quick break and did another set of 10. I probably could have done 20 on the first set but I didn’t want it to turn into a Breathing Squat session.
M-Time is the way of doing reps for a Max-stim routine. Here are some links to read about it:
http://www.clutchfitness.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6130
This one has basically the same info but also has a working link to the Max-stim PDF in the first post:
http://anabolicminds.com/forum/exercise-science/53632-max-stimulation-next.html
This is one of the many threads about Max-stim here on the forums unfortunatly most if not all of the links are broken:
http://thinkmuscle.com/forum/showthread.php?18689-Max-Stim-questions&highlight=max-stim
In a nutshell M-Time reps are a way of managing CNS fatigue while maximizing the number of reps and thus Time-Under-Tension when the weights get heavy.
I used a combination of M-Time reps and Myo-reps during my last cycle and found them very effective. Last cycle I started out all my big lifts, Dead Lift, Squat, Chin-Ups, and Bench Press using M-Time and did assistance exercises for most of them using Myo-reps. They seemed to complement each other very well. This time around I started out using Myo-reps and plan to switch over to M-Time reps when the weights get up to around 85% of my 1RM or higher if I can manage. I want to see if I can determine whether they best complement each other when both are done at the same time or if you hand off the Myo-reps (which appear to be most effective in the 8RM range and above) to the M-Time reps (which appear to be the most effective in the 5RM and lower).
I’d be happy to try to answer any questions you may have about them. I find them very effective on the heavy lifts for maximizing reps. However, there are a lot of discussions about them here on the forum, just search for “Maximum-Stimulation,” “Max-Stim,” and “M-Time.”
http://www.clutchfitness.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6130
This one has basically the same info but also has a working link to the Max-stim PDF in the first post:
http://anabolicminds.com/forum/exercise-science/53632-max-stimulation-next.html
This is one of the many threads about Max-stim here on the forums unfortunatly most if not all of the links are broken:
http://thinkmuscle.com/forum/showthread.php?18689-Max-Stim-questions&highlight=max-stim
In a nutshell M-Time reps are a way of managing CNS fatigue while maximizing the number of reps and thus Time-Under-Tension when the weights get heavy.
I used a combination of M-Time reps and Myo-reps during my last cycle and found them very effective. Last cycle I started out all my big lifts, Dead Lift, Squat, Chin-Ups, and Bench Press using M-Time and did assistance exercises for most of them using Myo-reps. They seemed to complement each other very well. This time around I started out using Myo-reps and plan to switch over to M-Time reps when the weights get up to around 85% of my 1RM or higher if I can manage. I want to see if I can determine whether they best complement each other when both are done at the same time or if you hand off the Myo-reps (which appear to be most effective in the 8RM range and above) to the M-Time reps (which appear to be the most effective in the 5RM and lower).
I’d be happy to try to answer any questions you may have about them. I find them very effective on the heavy lifts for maximizing reps. However, there are a lot of discussions about them here on the forum, just search for “Maximum-Stimulation,” “Max-Stim,” and “M-Time.”
I can’t tell yet if Myo-reps are going to be effective for my Calves but for the first two weeks even with the very light weights the DOMS was intense. I’ve only done one workout so far since bumping the weight up but staying with high reps and they felt more effective than doing multiple straight sets. I stuck with Myo-reps for both Calves and Traps since the “felt” like they were being effective already. I’m also planning to do Calves and Traps 3 times a week rather than just 2 times on my lower body days.
Week 3: Workout 3: Today:
Close Parallel Grip Chin Ups BW (166 lbs) x 12 +3 +3 +2 +2 +2 +2 +2
Dips BW (166 lbs) x 12 +3 +3 +3 +3 +2 +2
Supported DB Row 67.5 lbs x 15 + 5 +5 +5
Incline DB Bench Press 55 lbs x 12 +5 +5 +5
BB Curls 70 lbs x 12 +4 +4 +3 +3 +3
Incline DB Shoulder Press 40 lbs x 12 +5 +5 +5
I think I’m adapting to the increase in weight and drop in reps as I felt much stronger today in every lift, especially the pushing movements.
I am no longer feeling any pain in either arm when doing curls since I switched to using a vertical computer mouse. Previously I felt intense pain doing curls with 65 lbs and couldn’t even do them with 70 lbs. Now there is no hint of pain at all so I’m quite sure that as I had suspected it was using a standard computer mouse that was causing the problems. The bonus is that the vertical mouse has more functionality built into it. Things like mapping the keys like “shift” and “Ctrl” to the thumb buttons so I don’t have to use the keyboard for when selecting/deselecting items with the mouse.
Close Parallel Grip Chin Ups BW (166 lbs) x 12 +3 +3 +2 +2 +2 +2 +2
Dips BW (166 lbs) x 12 +3 +3 +3 +3 +2 +2
Supported DB Row 67.5 lbs x 15 + 5 +5 +5
Incline DB Bench Press 55 lbs x 12 +5 +5 +5
BB Curls 70 lbs x 12 +4 +4 +3 +3 +3
Incline DB Shoulder Press 40 lbs x 12 +5 +5 +5
I think I’m adapting to the increase in weight and drop in reps as I felt much stronger today in every lift, especially the pushing movements.
I am no longer feeling any pain in either arm when doing curls since I switched to using a vertical computer mouse. Previously I felt intense pain doing curls with 65 lbs and couldn’t even do them with 70 lbs. Now there is no hint of pain at all so I’m quite sure that as I had suspected it was using a standard computer mouse that was causing the problems. The bonus is that the vertical mouse has more functionality built into it. Things like mapping the keys like “shift” and “Ctrl” to the thumb buttons so I don’t have to use the keyboard for when selecting/deselecting items with the mouse.
TunnelRat
Active Member
Sometimes ya gotta take one for the team, and sometimes ya do things in the interest of science. Then there's the times you just say 'the hell with it' and get back to what you know will work...!
Yup, this was clearly a case of if-it-ain’t-broke-don’t-fix-it. But if I wasn’t willing to at least try something different I would never have picked up on Max-stim
Week 3: Workout 4: Yesterday:
Power Squats (ATG) 205 lbs x 20 M-Time
BB Shrugs 260 lbs x 20 +5 +5 +5 +5
BB Calf Raises 260 Lbs 20 +5 +5 +5
SLDL 185 lbs x 10, 10 (straight sets)
Nothing much to say about the workout except my upper back really felt the SLDLs when I got up this morning. Also, I want jogging 3 miles while at work both this day and the day before. I can’t say if it had any effect on my Squats since the weight is so light right now. I’m making sure to up my carb intake right after jogging and taking more creatine.
Week 3: Workout 5: Today:
Close Parallel Grip Chin Ups: BW (166 lbs) +5 x 8 +2 +2 +2 +2 +2 +2 +2 +2
Dips BW (166 lbs) +5 x 9 +3 +3 +3 +3 +2 +2
Supported DB Rows 70 lbs x 15 +5 +5 +5
Incline DB Bench Press 57.5 lbs x 6 +5 +5 +5 +3
BB Curl 75 lbs x 10 +3 +3 +3 +3 +2 +2
Incline DB Shoulder Press 45 lbs x 12 +4 +4 +3 +3 +2 +2
I felt really weak today especially at the start. I only got 6 reps on the activation set of the Bench Press because is just lost stability in my arms. Clearly they weren’t exhausted since I was able to do 3 x +5 on the Myo-rep sets. For some reason I felt much stronger by the time I got to the Shoulder Press so those went very well.
For some reason my weight has been fluctuating by 3 lbs or so every day. My diet is stable especially during the work week and I’m making sure to stay hydrated. I just seems odd since for my first 3 cycles my weight stayed pretty stable. About the only thing I can think is I’m not getting enough electrolytes given that It’s getting warmer.
Power Squats (ATG) 205 lbs x 20 M-Time
BB Shrugs 260 lbs x 20 +5 +5 +5 +5
BB Calf Raises 260 Lbs 20 +5 +5 +5
SLDL 185 lbs x 10, 10 (straight sets)
Nothing much to say about the workout except my upper back really felt the SLDLs when I got up this morning. Also, I want jogging 3 miles while at work both this day and the day before. I can’t say if it had any effect on my Squats since the weight is so light right now. I’m making sure to up my carb intake right after jogging and taking more creatine.
Week 3: Workout 5: Today:
Close Parallel Grip Chin Ups: BW (166 lbs) +5 x 8 +2 +2 +2 +2 +2 +2 +2 +2
Dips BW (166 lbs) +5 x 9 +3 +3 +3 +3 +2 +2
Supported DB Rows 70 lbs x 15 +5 +5 +5
Incline DB Bench Press 57.5 lbs x 6 +5 +5 +5 +3
BB Curl 75 lbs x 10 +3 +3 +3 +3 +2 +2
Incline DB Shoulder Press 45 lbs x 12 +4 +4 +3 +3 +2 +2
I felt really weak today especially at the start. I only got 6 reps on the activation set of the Bench Press because is just lost stability in my arms. Clearly they weren’t exhausted since I was able to do 3 x +5 on the Myo-rep sets. For some reason I felt much stronger by the time I got to the Shoulder Press so those went very well.
For some reason my weight has been fluctuating by 3 lbs or so every day. My diet is stable especially during the work week and I’m making sure to stay hydrated. I just seems odd since for my first 3 cycles my weight stayed pretty stable. About the only thing I can think is I’m not getting enough electrolytes given that It’s getting warmer.
Week 3: workout 6: Today:
Close Parallel Grip Chin Ups: BW (166 lbs) x 12 +3 +3 +3 +3 +3
Dips: BW (166 lbs) x 12 +3 +3 +3 +3 +3
Supported DB Rows: 75 lbs x 12 +5 +5 +5
Incline DB Bench Press: 57.5 lbs x 7, x 9 +3 +3 +3 +3 +2 +2
BB Curls: 75 lbs x 11 +3 +2 +2 +2 +2 +2 +2
Incline DB Shoulder Press: 47.5 lbs x 9 +3 +3 +2 +2 +2 +2 +2
I decided to change my workout days from Sunday-Thursday to Monday-Friday so that gave me an either and extra day off or extra workout(s). Obviously I chose the latter. Yesterday I did just Shrugs and Calf Raises but didn’t think I should push it and add in any extra Dead Lifts or Squats. So today I did another full upper body workout and will probably hit the Shrugs and Calf raises tomorrow, again skipping the Dead Lifts and Squats.
I think maybe I need to start doing another set of warm-ups to find the grove for the DB Bench since again today I just couldn’t control the weights half way through the activation set. I rested about 20 seconds and started the first Myo-rep set and realized I could do more than 5 so I pushed to make it the “real” activation set and made it to 9. It seems to me that it’s not an issue of strength but perhaps just needing to practice the movement one more time before the activation set. I’m not really sure if warm-ups help with coordination but for some reason the second set was much more stable despite having just done a set.
Close Parallel Grip Chin Ups: BW (166 lbs) x 12 +3 +3 +3 +3 +3
Dips: BW (166 lbs) x 12 +3 +3 +3 +3 +3
Supported DB Rows: 75 lbs x 12 +5 +5 +5
Incline DB Bench Press: 57.5 lbs x 7, x 9 +3 +3 +3 +3 +2 +2
BB Curls: 75 lbs x 11 +3 +2 +2 +2 +2 +2 +2
Incline DB Shoulder Press: 47.5 lbs x 9 +3 +3 +2 +2 +2 +2 +2
I decided to change my workout days from Sunday-Thursday to Monday-Friday so that gave me an either and extra day off or extra workout(s). Obviously I chose the latter. Yesterday I did just Shrugs and Calf Raises but didn’t think I should push it and add in any extra Dead Lifts or Squats. So today I did another full upper body workout and will probably hit the Shrugs and Calf raises tomorrow, again skipping the Dead Lifts and Squats.
I think maybe I need to start doing another set of warm-ups to find the grove for the DB Bench since again today I just couldn’t control the weights half way through the activation set. I rested about 20 seconds and started the first Myo-rep set and realized I could do more than 5 so I pushed to make it the “real” activation set and made it to 9. It seems to me that it’s not an issue of strength but perhaps just needing to practice the movement one more time before the activation set. I’m not really sure if warm-ups help with coordination but for some reason the second set was much more stable despite having just done a set.
Barbell and Dumbbell exercises
Week 4: Workout 1: Yesterday:
Close Parallel Grip Chin Ups: BW (166 lbs) +5 x 10 +2 +2 +2 +2 +2 +2 +2
Dips BW (166 lbs) +5 x 9 +3 +2 +2 +2 +2 +2 +2
Supported DB Row 77.5 lbs x 12 +4 +4 +4
Incline DB Bench Press 60 lbs x 11 +3 +3 +3 +3
BB Curl 80 lbs x 9 +2 +2 +2 +2 +2
Incline DB Shoulder Press 47.5 lbs x 10 +3 +3 +3
The DB Bench Press went much better today. Not only did I do an extra warmup set with closer to my working weight I realized I was keeping my arms tucked too far in when starting because of the need to use my thighs to leverage the DBs up into the starting position. I wasn’t adjusting to a wider spacing from the start but rather trying to transition to it during the set.
Week 4: Workout 2: Today:
Sumo Deadlift 265 lbs x 20 M-Time
BB Shrugs 265 lbs x 15 +5 +5 +5
Olympic Squats 190 lbs x 12 +3 +3 +3 +3
DB High Pulls 25 x 15 +5 +5 +5
My legs could have handled more Squats but it was starting to become more of a cardio workout so I cut the Myo-reps at 12. My lower back is feeling much stronger after my Deadlift workout now than ever before.
I decided that after get some of my cardio back after doing the high rep work I don’t want to lose it again. The last time I was at this body weight (actually 165 lbs was the highest I’ve ever been before) I was sucking wind just walking up stairs. So I’m dropping the Calf Raises and going to try incorporating some limited hill runs in hopes of both working my Calves and getting some cardio .
Just for kicks I decided to try out doing some DB High Pulls. I chose DBs since the last time I tried doing Upright Rows with a BB I didn’t like how it was feeling in my shoulders.
Week 4: Workout 1: Yesterday:
Close Parallel Grip Chin Ups: BW (166 lbs) +5 x 10 +2 +2 +2 +2 +2 +2 +2
Dips BW (166 lbs) +5 x 9 +3 +2 +2 +2 +2 +2 +2
Supported DB Row 77.5 lbs x 12 +4 +4 +4
Incline DB Bench Press 60 lbs x 11 +3 +3 +3 +3
BB Curl 80 lbs x 9 +2 +2 +2 +2 +2
Incline DB Shoulder Press 47.5 lbs x 10 +3 +3 +3
The DB Bench Press went much better today. Not only did I do an extra warmup set with closer to my working weight I realized I was keeping my arms tucked too far in when starting because of the need to use my thighs to leverage the DBs up into the starting position. I wasn’t adjusting to a wider spacing from the start but rather trying to transition to it during the set.
Week 4: Workout 2: Today:
Sumo Deadlift 265 lbs x 20 M-Time
BB Shrugs 265 lbs x 15 +5 +5 +5
Olympic Squats 190 lbs x 12 +3 +3 +3 +3
DB High Pulls 25 x 15 +5 +5 +5
My legs could have handled more Squats but it was starting to become more of a cardio workout so I cut the Myo-reps at 12. My lower back is feeling much stronger after my Deadlift workout now than ever before.
I decided that after get some of my cardio back after doing the high rep work I don’t want to lose it again. The last time I was at this body weight (actually 165 lbs was the highest I’ve ever been before) I was sucking wind just walking up stairs. So I’m dropping the Calf Raises and going to try incorporating some limited hill runs in hopes of both working my Calves and getting some cardio .
Just for kicks I decided to try out doing some DB High Pulls. I chose DBs since the last time I tried doing Upright Rows with a BB I didn’t like how it was feeling in my shoulders.
I think this is exactly what was wrong. My warmup weight wasn’t enough to show the flaw in my form at the start of the set so I wasn’t making the correction until half way through my working set.It does sound like a form / groove type thing. Maybe you have to build up to a warm up weight heavy enough to hit the groove without affecting strength on the activation set - good luck with finding the balance
Week 4: Workout 3: Wednesday:
Close Parallel Grip Chin Ups BW (166 lbs) +5 x 10 +3 +2 +2 +2 +2
Dips BW (166 lbs) +5 x 12 +3 +3 +2 +2
Supported DB Row 80 lbs x 12 +4 +3 +3
Incline DB Bench Press 60 lbs x 11 +3 +2 +2 +2
BB Curls 80 lbs x 11 +2 +2 +2
Incline DB Shoulder Press 47.5 lbs x 11 +2 +2 +2
Cardio: Jog 3 miles
Week 4: Workout 4: Thursday:
Power Squat (ATG) 225 lbs x 15 M-Time
BB Shrugs 270 lbs x 10 +5 +5
SLDL 195 lbs x 12 +4 +4 +4
DB High Pulls 30 lbs x 12 +5 +5
Cardio: Jog 3 miles
Week 4: Workout 5: Friday:
Close Parallel Grip Chin Ups BW (166 lbs) + 5 x 10 +2 +2 +2 +2 +2
Dips BW (166 lbs) +5 x 11 +2 +2 +2
Supported DB Row 85 lbs x 12 +3 +3
BB Incline Shoulder Press 100 lbs x 10 M-Time
BB Curls 80 lbs x 9 +2 +2 +2
Incline Bench Press 60 lbs x 8 +2 +2 +2
I’m noticing a trend over the last week and a half that my workouts are mediocre. I’m sure part of it is lack of sleep largely due to work related stress. I hit my bed exhausted but then wake up every hour or so until after about 6 there’s just no use trying to sleep anymore. Since my body weight hasn’t increased in 2 weeks part is also likely nutrition. I’m eating right just not enough. Plus either with or without those issues I think I’m doing too much volume with the Myo-rep sets.
Since I like to work out every work day as a stress reliever my first plan is to cut back on the volume but keep the Monday- Friday schedule. If that doesn’t help then I think I’ll have to try switching to a Lower/Upper/Off rotating split. It will only drop my frequency from 15 to 14 workouts every 3 weeks but will unfortunately mean some workdays I won’t be working out.
Otherwise I like this routine and plan on sticking with it or something very close for my next cycle.
Close Parallel Grip Chin Ups BW (166 lbs) +5 x 10 +3 +2 +2 +2 +2
Dips BW (166 lbs) +5 x 12 +3 +3 +2 +2
Supported DB Row 80 lbs x 12 +4 +3 +3
Incline DB Bench Press 60 lbs x 11 +3 +2 +2 +2
BB Curls 80 lbs x 11 +2 +2 +2
Incline DB Shoulder Press 47.5 lbs x 11 +2 +2 +2
Cardio: Jog 3 miles
Week 4: Workout 4: Thursday:
Power Squat (ATG) 225 lbs x 15 M-Time
BB Shrugs 270 lbs x 10 +5 +5
SLDL 195 lbs x 12 +4 +4 +4
DB High Pulls 30 lbs x 12 +5 +5
Cardio: Jog 3 miles
Week 4: Workout 5: Friday:
Close Parallel Grip Chin Ups BW (166 lbs) + 5 x 10 +2 +2 +2 +2 +2
Dips BW (166 lbs) +5 x 11 +2 +2 +2
Supported DB Row 85 lbs x 12 +3 +3
BB Incline Shoulder Press 100 lbs x 10 M-Time
BB Curls 80 lbs x 9 +2 +2 +2
Incline Bench Press 60 lbs x 8 +2 +2 +2
I’m noticing a trend over the last week and a half that my workouts are mediocre. I’m sure part of it is lack of sleep largely due to work related stress. I hit my bed exhausted but then wake up every hour or so until after about 6 there’s just no use trying to sleep anymore. Since my body weight hasn’t increased in 2 weeks part is also likely nutrition. I’m eating right just not enough. Plus either with or without those issues I think I’m doing too much volume with the Myo-rep sets.
Since I like to work out every work day as a stress reliever my first plan is to cut back on the volume but keep the Monday- Friday schedule. If that doesn’t help then I think I’ll have to try switching to a Lower/Upper/Off rotating split. It will only drop my frequency from 15 to 14 workouts every 3 weeks but will unfortunately mean some workdays I won’t be working out.
Otherwise I like this routine and plan on sticking with it or something very close for my next cycle.
i have the same problem with regards to not eating enough, transitioning from a cut to a bulk is harder than i thought! with the addition of carbs i constantly feel bloated and not hungry at all (geez i sound like a bloody woman!).
is it the same for you? i know i just have to force it down and eventually my body will get used to it.
is it the same for you? i know i just have to force it down and eventually my body will get used to it.
The only way I can get enough “quality” calories is by eating 4-5 shakes a day. During my previous cycles I alternated between a shake and a solid meal about every 3 hours but based on reading these I have switched to eating both a shake and solid food at the same time about every 5 hours:
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/muscle-gain/meal-frequency-and-mass-gains.html
http://www.slideshare.net/biolayne/...ort-maximal-protein-synthesis-and-muscle-mass
The problem is eating that much at one time does make me feel bloated and tired right after eating.
Additionally I don’t think I’ve increased my calories enough to account for the weight I’ve gained. Also, though I thought I was adding enough I don’t think I’ve upped the calories enough to deal with the cardio I’ve added in this cycle. To top it off my relations with the management at work have gotten extremely strained over the last 7 months creating a lot of stress. All this is probably also exasperated by the fact I’ve had to switch to wearing my “fat jeans” (32” waist) more often and that the easy early gains are gone (I now weigh 1 lbs. more than I did when powerlifting) so I’m not being as aggressive about eating more.
I just have to get over the hang-up of starting to feel fat and shut up and eat.
shut up and eat.
good advice!
Week 5: Workout 1: Today:
Close Parallel Grip Chin Ups BW (166 lbs.) +10 x 9 +2 +2 +2
Dips BW (166 lbs.) +10 x 9 +2 +2 +2
Supported DB Row 87.5 lbs. x 8 +2 +2 +2
BB Incline Bench Press 125 lbs. x 12 +3 +3
Chin Ups BW (166 lbs.) +10 x 8 +2 +2 +2
BB Incline Shoulder Press 105 lbs. x 8 +2 +2 +2
I decided to switch out the DB pressing movements for BB today. My original plan was to just swap out one exercise each day but the BB Bench felt so much better than the DB version I also switched over the Shoulder Press. I feel like I’m losing out on weight progression with the DBs just trying to get use to controlling them. I would like to be able to keep using them to get more use to it but at most I will only keep them for the Wednesday workout and based on how much better using the BB felt today I’m not even sure I’m going to do that.
I also decided to dump the Biceps Curls for another set of Chin Ups with a regular supinated rather than Parallel Grip. As cool as it is to be able to do Curls now that my arms don’t hurt from using the computer mouse I just feel like I’ll get more out of the extra set of Chins.
I also cut back on the volume of the Myo-reps. I’m quite sure now I was doing to may for the overlapping in the exercises I have. I also don’t think that struggling with stabilizing the DBs was helping my CNS either. Hopefully both those changes will show positive results over the next couple weeks. I think after about 7 months I’m finally dialing in a routine I like now I just have to stop tinkering with it. So that gives me 2 things to focus on to shut up and eat and stop tinkering with the routine.
Close Parallel Grip Chin Ups BW (166 lbs.) +10 x 9 +2 +2 +2
Dips BW (166 lbs.) +10 x 9 +2 +2 +2
Supported DB Row 87.5 lbs. x 8 +2 +2 +2
BB Incline Bench Press 125 lbs. x 12 +3 +3
Chin Ups BW (166 lbs.) +10 x 8 +2 +2 +2
BB Incline Shoulder Press 105 lbs. x 8 +2 +2 +2
I decided to switch out the DB pressing movements for BB today. My original plan was to just swap out one exercise each day but the BB Bench felt so much better than the DB version I also switched over the Shoulder Press. I feel like I’m losing out on weight progression with the DBs just trying to get use to controlling them. I would like to be able to keep using them to get more use to it but at most I will only keep them for the Wednesday workout and based on how much better using the BB felt today I’m not even sure I’m going to do that.
I also decided to dump the Biceps Curls for another set of Chin Ups with a regular supinated rather than Parallel Grip. As cool as it is to be able to do Curls now that my arms don’t hurt from using the computer mouse I just feel like I’ll get more out of the extra set of Chins.
I also cut back on the volume of the Myo-reps. I’m quite sure now I was doing to may for the overlapping in the exercises I have. I also don’t think that struggling with stabilizing the DBs was helping my CNS either. Hopefully both those changes will show positive results over the next couple weeks. I think after about 7 months I’m finally dialing in a routine I like now I just have to stop tinkering with it. So that gives me 2 things to focus on to shut up and eat and stop tinkering with the routine.
Week 5: Workout 2: Yesterday:
Sumo Dead Lift 275 lbs. x 15 M-Time
BB Shrugs 275 lbs. x 15 +5 +5 +5
Olympic Squats 200 lbs. x 9 + 3 + 3 +3
DB High Pulls 35 x 12 +4 +4 +4
Cardio – 30 minutes jogging in the PM.
Week 5: Workout 3: Today:
Parallel Close Grip Chin Ups BW (166 lbs.) +10 x 10 +2 +2 +2
Dips BW (166 lbs.) +10 x 10 +2 +2 +2
Supported DB Rows 87.5 lbs. x 9 +3 +3 +3
BB Incline Bench Press 135 lbs. x 12 +2 +2 +2
Regular Grip Chin Ups BW (166 lbs.) +10 x 8 +2 +2 +2
BB Incline Shoulder Press 105 lbs. x 12 +2 +2 +2
Sumo Dead Lift 275 lbs. x 15 M-Time
BB Shrugs 275 lbs. x 15 +5 +5 +5
Olympic Squats 200 lbs. x 9 + 3 + 3 +3
DB High Pulls 35 x 12 +4 +4 +4
Cardio – 30 minutes jogging in the PM.
Week 5: Workout 3: Today:
Parallel Close Grip Chin Ups BW (166 lbs.) +10 x 10 +2 +2 +2
Dips BW (166 lbs.) +10 x 10 +2 +2 +2
Supported DB Rows 87.5 lbs. x 9 +3 +3 +3
BB Incline Bench Press 135 lbs. x 12 +2 +2 +2
Regular Grip Chin Ups BW (166 lbs.) +10 x 8 +2 +2 +2
BB Incline Shoulder Press 105 lbs. x 12 +2 +2 +2