Schopenhauer Training Log

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Schopenhauer

New Member
Hey guys!

My routine follows:

15's (no WU, 2 sets; 1 minute rest between sets and 3-5 minutes rest between exercises):
AM
Leg Press
Bench Press
Barbell Row
Barbell Shoulder Press

PM
Hack Squad
Dips
Chin-up
Upright Rows

10's (1 WU, 2 sets; 1.5 minute rest between sets and 3-5 minutes rest between exercises):
AM
Leg Press
Calf Raises (2 sets)
Bench Press
Barbell Row
Barbell Shoulder Press
Barbell Shrugs (Front, 1 set)
Barbell Curl (1 set)
Lying triceps extension (1 set)

PM
Hack Squad
Calf Raises (2 sets)
Dips
Chin-up
Upright Rows
Barbell Shrugs (Back, 1 set)
Dumbbell curl (1 set)
Close-grip Bench Press (1 set)

5's and post-5's (3 WU, 3 sets; 2 minutes rest between sets and 3-5 minutes rest between exercises):
AM
Leg Press
Calf Raises (3 sets)
Bench Press
Barbell Row
Barbell Shoulder Press
Barbell Shrugs (Front, 1.5 - 2 sets)
Barbell Curl (1.5 - 2 sets)
Lying triceps extension (1.5 - 2 sets)

PM
Hack Squad
Calf Raises (3 sets)
Dips
Chin-up
Upright Rows
Barbell Shrugs (Back, 1.5 - 2 sets)
Dumbbell Curl (1.5 - 2 sets)
Close-grip Bench Press (1.5 - 2 sets)
 
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Today I found the 15RM for each exercise:

AM
Leg Press: 397 lbs
Bench Press: 115 lbs
Barbell Row: 98 lbs
Barbell Shoulder Press: 58 lbs

PM
Hack Squad: 154 lbs
Dips: 15 X BW
Chin-up: 12 X BW
Upright Rows: 44 lbs
 
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Hi guys!

Today I found my 10 RM's:

AM
Leg Press: 485 lbs
Calf Raises: 110 lbs
Bench Press: 150 lbs
Barbell Row: 123 lbs
Barbell Shoulder Press: 84 lbs
Barbell Shrugs (Front): 220 lbs
Barbell Curl: 66 lbs
Lying triceps extension: 57 lbs

PM
Hack Squad: 200 lbs
Calf Raises: 110 lbs
Dips: BW + 22 lbs
Chin-up: BW + 18 lbs
Upright Rows: 66 lbs
Barbell Shrugs (Back): 198 lbs
Dumbbell curl: 35 lbs
Close-grip Bench Press: 110 lbs

Remarks: The training was very good. I felt all the groups being worked well during the sessions, which does not take longer than 40 minutes.
 
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Hey Schopenhaur - Why did you choose to do Leg Press and Hack Squats for your non-calf lower body work? I ask out of curiosity more than anything else.

Also - if I may make a suggestion about your calf training... It takes a monstrous amount of work to effect change (ESPECIALLY hypertrophy) in your calves. Even though you're working them both in the morning and afternoon, the standard HST rep ranges are almost assuredly not going to do what you're looking for, especially if you are looking to bulk. The calves are very adaptive muscles; they recover very quickly. A good rule of thumb to live by for big calves is volume. I'd suggest that you double the reps for calf raises as you make your way through the HST progression. So - switch up the twice a day thing and do your calf work once per day, and adjust up the rep volume: for the 15's do 30's for your calf raises, for the 10's do 20's and for the 5's, do 10's. If you're doing 2 sets, that should do it. Be sure to stretch before, during and after the calf work - you will know it if you really hit 'em.

Best of luck.
 
Hey _tim!

"Why did you choose to do Leg Press and Hack Squats for your non-calf lower body work? I ask out of curiosity more than anything else."

I chose these exercises because they work very well the whole set of leg muscles. At first I would do leg press in the morning and alternate between squats and deadlifts in the afternoon. However, at the gym where I train you can not do squat because of lack of support. In my next cycle I intend to add deadlifts.

"A good rule of thumb to live by for big calves is volume... So - switch up the twice a day thing and do your calf work once per day, and adjust up the rep volume: for the 15's do 30's for your calf raises, for the 10's do 20's and for the 5's, do 10's."

In fact ... calves do not tire! I feel a slight pain around the body due to the training sessions, except in the calves. I think that increasing the volume is a good idea. However, I do not know if it really worth working on tracks of repetitions over 10's. Support me in the argument presented in the text Pimp My HST:

"For highly tonic muscles (such as the soleus, 87.7), then, You May Have to start at 70-75% 1RM (~ 10RM) right out of SD and work up to 120% 1RM (high-load negative) with larger than 5% Increments in order to Facilitate growth. "

So I think it could do so:

15's
3x10's

10's
3x10's

5's
5X5's

twice a day. What do you think?
 
I totally understand where you're coming from as you're taking things from the FAQ's, and that's never a bad idea; I wrote what I did because I only got to see hypertrophy in my calves with rep ranges over 25, in sets of at least 2. High-load negatives work AFTER you stress the life out of 'em. I disagree with your assertion that calves don't tire, Schop - if you induce the same type of fatigue in your calves as you do, say, in your pecs, you'll feel the same type of DOMS you do after an intense chest workout. By no means am I saying that you should train to failure - please don't take that away from this. It is very possible to train the calves sub-maximally and induce hypertrophy. It hurts to walk for days if you do. Trust me.
 
Well, the suggestion of a more experienced user is always welcome! I'll do as you suggested:

- Training once a day;
- 2x30 reps in 15's
- 2X20 reps in 10's
- 2X10 reps in 5's

Is that it? Should I find my 30RM and 20RM and make the progression to load normally?

Thanks!
 
EXACTLY! To answer your second question... Sorta. At volume like this, you need to adjust to it. It's likely that your calves will put up a pretty decent fight when you try to hit high rep sets for the first time, so setting up your RMs may be tricky. When you get to the work sets, you have to work through pain - and yes, there will be pain. Cluster the reps as you need to.

For the heavy 10's, do paused reps - with long pauses (a slow count of two) when your calves are contracted.

Never, ever do this type of work without stretching. I think in the end, you'll like the kind of DOMS you get. Enjoy, Schop. I'll look forward to reading as you go.
 
Just to spoil things a bit... ;) I didn't get any calf growth to speak of until I used really heavy loads for lots of low rep sets. All the high rep stuff did for me was to keep calf muscle glycogen levels high. That's not a bad thing as it adds some size, but for real growth I had to progress to doing heavy low-rep work (ie. >10RM loading) for multiple sets.

However, like Tim said, calves are tough, well conditioned to loading and fairly resistant to growth in most (but not all) people. If you switch to using heavy loads for calf work, what tends to happen is you don't get enough TUT. Doing 5 sets of 5 might seem a lot for most muscle groups, but for calves it's not. When you think about the loading your calves tolerate in just walking about, 25 reps with ~5RM loads is not a lot of work. Of course, lots of sets takes more time. One way around this is spread calf work throughout your workout rather than in one lump. That way you can cut down on resting time between sets by doing a different exercise. So, I might do a set of calves and then some chins, more calves, more chins, more calves, bench, more calves, more bench etc. until I'e done enough. This is only really practical if you have your own equipment or if the gym is quiet and no one is using the calf-raise machine.

Another problem with using heavy loads for calves is that it is easy to go too heavy so your form goes all to pieces and you end up with a stretch-point movement with very little ROM -- I did this and ended up injuring myself - stoopid and easily avoidable!

I tend to start a cycle with loads around my 10RM and then increment the load from there. I'll start a cycle with three or four sets of 10 and follow the last set with loaded stretches and pulses to build up the metabolic burn. As the cycle progresses I'll have to drop reps but increase sets. I actually think that, once your calves have built up a tolerance to training, you'll probably need to do around 40-50 reps per session -- if you are doing 2 x daily sessions then maybe 50 total reps per day.

Always add a burn set at the end of the calf session to train the MAPKerk1/2 pathway, ie. for some good old hypoxic stress!

Assisted negs for calves (where you use both legs to raise the load and lower with one) are great for post-5s and allow for a few more load increments to get a bit more mileage out of a cycle.

at the end of the day, however, all the training and techniques in the world can only enhance what you have been genetically bestowed with. If you have small, high calf muscles then don't expect to ever be able to develop calves like Tom Platz. It's just not going to happen - even with drugs (implants or synthol, maybe, but they look fake! :) ). I wrestled with calf training for a long time as I inherited less than stellar calf muscles. After endless high-rep, fatigue oriented sets, that got me almost nowhere, I switched to heavy low-rep calf work after reading Jules' posts here and his 'Pimp my HST' ebook. That's when I finally got some stuff happening in the lower leg department. They are still nothing to write home about, but at least they are now more in keeping with the rest of me.
 
Hey everybody!

Suggestions of _tim and Lol are diametrically opposed ... it is interesting how certain protocols work better for some than for others. The only way to know what works best for me is to test them... :). In my first cycle, as I'm training in the morning and afternoon, will keep the protocol

15's
3x10's

10's
3x10's

5's
5X5's

In the next cycle i try the suggestion of _tim. Today I found my 5RM:

AM
Leg Press: 573 lbs
Calf Raises: 132 lbs
Bench Press: 176 lbs
Barbell Row: 146 lbs
Barbell Shoulder Press: 101 lbs
Barbell Shrugs (Front): 265 lbs
Barbell Curl: 88 lbs
Lying triceps extension: 71 lbs

PM
Hack Squad: 234 lbs
Calf Raises: 132 lbs
Dips: BW + 34 lbs
Chin-up: BW + 27 lbs
Upright Rows: 88 lbs
Barbell Shrugs (Back): 242 lbs
Dumbbell curl: 45 lbs
Close-grip Bench Press: 133 lbs
 
Schopenhauer said:
Hey everybody!

Suggestions of _tim and Lol are diametrically opposed ... it is interesting how certain protocols work better for some than for others. The only way to know what works best for me is to test them... :). In my first cycle, as I'm training in the morning and afternoon, will keep the protocol
...

AM
...
Calf Raises: 132 lbs
...

PM
...
Calf Raises: 132 lbs
...
Click to expand...

Just out of interest, how much do you weigh at the moment? I suspect more than 132lb. I also suspect that you may be doing calf raises on a leverage machine, but if not...

In doing calf raises with 132lb you are actually stressing your calves less than when you walk about! Each calf has to support your entire body weight with each step you take. True, you are increasing ROM when performing calf-raises (well, you should be aiming for full ROM with a good stretch at the bottom). Also, when walking, one leg is unloaded while the other is loaded which helps reduce fatigue build up. However, it still makes sense to work towards 2 x bw loading for calf-raises.

If you are using a leverage machine for calf raises, it can be difficult to know exactly how much load you are working with. As an experiment for comparisons sake, you could try doing some calf raises while holding onto a heavy bar taken from a rack (use straps so you can forget about grip issues). Increase the load on the bar until the stress on your calves feels about the same as when you use the machine. See how that compares to your body weight. It is actually possible to do calf raises through a full ROM while holding a heavy bb and standing on the edge of a calf-raise platform. It's not as hard to keep your balance as it might sound but it does take a little practice to get just right.

I'll be interested to find out how you get on with the different approaches to calf work. Don't forget to add some high-rep work during 5s. :)

---------------------

Oh, I meant to add that Tim and I are not really at opposite ends of the scale; we both agree that for most folks it takes a lot of work (ie. total reps) to get even half-decent calf growth. However, there comes a point where using a load to which you are conditioned will do little to provide enough stimulus for MAPKp38 pathway activity, even if you do a shed load of reps.
 
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Hey guys!

"In doing calf raises with 132lb you are actually stressing your calves less than when you walk about! Each calf has to support your entire body weight with each step you take. True, you are increasing ROM when performing calf-raises (well, you should be aiming for full ROM with a good stretch at the bottom). Also, when walking, one leg is unloaded while the other is loaded which helps reduce fatigue build up. However, it still makes sense to work towards 2 x bw loading for calf-raises."

Makes sense. In fact, I use a machine to perform the seated calf raises. In the gym where I train there is a specific machine to work the calves in a standing position. Maybe I'll start doing the exercises for the calf in the leg press or hack squad.

I expressed myself badly; when I said 'diametrically opposed' I was referring to the proposed training itself: few repetitions and many sets versus many repetitions and few series, although both have the same volume. :D

Today I will give details of my diet for bulking. I used as main sources of research articles by John Berardi (http://www.johnberardi.com/articles/nutrition/index.htm).

Data:
Age: 25 years
Height: 184 cm (6.04 ft)
Mass: 88 kg (194 lbs)
Body Fat: 14%

Daily routine, my day to day is pretty sedentary. How work at home, I get most of the day sitting. For now, the gym is my only physical activity.

From this information, my daily caloric expenditure - regardless of weight training - is about 2831 Kcal.

Since the duration and intensity of training increases with the evolution of the cycle, the amount of calories expended with each training session increases. Each session will consume between 200 Kcal (first session 15's, light, 40 min) to 528 Kcal (last session 5's heavy, 60 min). Also, consume 15% more calories on days of training. So my caloric expenditure on training days throughout the cycle to between 3715 kcal and 4470 kcal. On rest days I consume 5% more than the calories needed for weight maintenance - about 2970 Kcal.

I'll divide the macronutrients (carbohydrates, proteins and fats) in the proportions:

50% carbohydrate, 35% protein and 15% fat.

In a typical training day, my meals will be Distributed as:
- Breakfast
- Pre-workout meal I
- - Training session (during the session I'll eat a diluted solution of carbohydrate and protein, like maltodextrin and whey)
- Shake post workout
- Post-workout meal
- Snack
- Pre-workout meal II
- - - - Training session
- Shake post workout
- Post-workout meal

That's all folks! Good weekend for everyone.
 
Hey Schop - I'm so glad that Lol added his $.02 to the calf discussion. This highlights a very, very good point. What works for some doesn't work for others; in the end you have to find what works best for you, relative to your goals. Specific to your calves, you have to stress them a ton in order for them to react. As you said, the one constant between my and Lol's suggestions was that of a very high volume. So, no matter what you do, get the rep count up and grind out some calf growth.

Making a switch out of the seated calf raise is a good idea - heck, even if your gym has a power slide, that works well too.
 
Hey guys!

Next Tuesday will initiate the cycle. Since I will add exercises for the calves from the first week, I decided to do other specialization exercises (biceps, triceps and traps) as well. So my routine looks like this:

15's:
basic exercises: 2x15
Specialization: 2x10
calves: 3x10 + 1X15

10's:
basic exercises: 2X10
Specialization: 1.5 X 10 (15 reps)
calves: 3x10 + 1X15

5's:
basic exercises: 3X5
Specialization: 2X5 + 1X15
calves: 5-6X5 + 1X15

I am a little worried about the volume of specialization exercises. Although bis, tris nd traps are worked on basic exercise, the volume is not small in the specializations exercises, particularly in the 10's and 5's? In 5's, you better do a lot more of the specialization (3x5) and maintain the current volume of the basic exercises (3X5) or a series most of the basic exercises (4X5) and keep the volume of specialization exercises(2X5)? Or do you think the original volume is a good size?

Thanks!
 
Hey guys!

next Tuesday will initiate the cycle. Since I will add exercises for the calves from the first week, I decided to do other exercise of expertise (biceps, triceps and traps) as well. So my routine looks like this:

15's:
basic exercises: 2x15
Specialization: 2x10
calves: 3x10+1X15

10's:
basic exercises: 2X10
Specialization: 1.5 X 10 (15 reps)
calves: 3x10+1X15

5's:
basic exercises: 3X5
Specialization: 2X5+1X15
calves: 5-6X5+1X15

I am a little worried about the volume of specialization (bis, tris and traps). Although they are worked on basic exercise, the volume is not small in the specialization, particularly in the 10's and 5's? In 5's, you better do more specialization (3x5) and maintain the current volume of the basic exercises (3X5) or a series most of the basic exercises (4X5) and keep the volume of specialization (2X5)? Or do you think the current volume is a good size?

Thanks!
 
Hey guys!

Yesterday I started my first HST cycle. I organized my routine to avoid zigg-zagg over the cycle. For example, bench press, my RM are:

15RM: 119lbs
10RM: 150 lbs
5RM: 176 lbs

From these data, my evolution looks like this:

15's: 92lbs, 101lbs, 101lbs, 110lbs, 110lbs, 119lbs
10's: 123lbs, 132lbs, 132lbs, 141lbs, 141lbs, 150lbs
5's: 150lbs, 159lbs, 159lbs, 168lbs, 168lbs, 176lbs

To provide better muscle recovery after the last training session of each microcycle, I organized my training sessions like this:

Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun
off 15's off 15's off 15's off
15's off 15's off 15's off off
off 10's ...

As I said in a previous post I realized all the years of expertise (bis, tris, traps and calves). I finished the workout in under 40 minutes. The charges were:

AM
Leg Press: 308 lbs
Bench Press: 92 lbs
Barbell Row: 75 lbs
Barbell Shoulder Press: 44 lbs
Barbell Shrugs (Front): 180 lbs
Barbell Curl: 52 lbs
Lying triceps extension: 44 lbs

PM
Hack Squad: 128 lbs
Dips: 10BW/8BW/6BW
Chin-up: 8BW/6BW/5BW
Upright Rows: 31 lbs
Barbell Shrugs (Back): 158 lbs
Dumbbell curl: 26 lbs
Close-grip Bench Press: 88 lbs

calf-raises: 573 lbs in leg press (3x10)

As a general rule, I made the first complete series (15 rep) and interrupted the second about two repetitions before muscle failure (1 minute rest between sets). In those exercises that depends on my BW as chins and dips, I'll increase the intensity of the first series of the excercise approaching the number of repetitions with the number of repetitions to muscular failure. Do more one or two series, always stopping before failure.

The diet is OK! In the first week, I'm eating 3680 kcal on training days and 3220 kcal on days of rest. My supplementation is restricted to basic (multivitamin, whey protein, creatine and dextrose).

That's it!

Hugs to all!
 
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