_tim's Log

Sorry to hear you've been ill, _tim. Apparently Lol and I aren't the only ones...

With regard to Vibrams, I eventually decided to forgo the internet route. I went to a real brick and plaster store, with real live people, and bought my shoes off the shelf. I'm glad I did, since the fit is quite particular. I felt much more comfortable having the pros do the measurements, than me trying to do them at home. They make terrific workout shoes.
 
Try #3.... (formatting was a mess all other times)

Lol - Thank you! This has been a tremendously hard few months health-wise. To your question - my Vibrams are still my favorite footwear to train and run in. I don't have any calf, ankle or foot issues to report - but I very strongly advise people from running on pavement in them. My doctor suspects that my broken foot was due to undue stress from repetitive running in them on pavement. I now run on treadmills or off-road (hills, yard, woods, etc.) exclusively with no issues whatsoever - and I train in them exclusively without issue.

G11 - Thank you for your WS suggestion. I had solid results with the method - but the one thing that I need badly right now is conditioning. As such, I'm going to use a 2-style approach like WS, but as you'll see based on my WO from last night, the work is nothing like the WS template.

Metabolic Bench Day:
Treadmill Run: 6:30 @ 6.5 mph - .8 miles
Pause Bench: 6 x 3, 1 x 2 @ 185
Treadmill Run: 6:00 @ 6.5 mph - .79 miles
DB Incline Press: 3 x 8 @ 50
Kroc Rows: 65 x 25

OK - so here's the thought behind the first of the two approaches using the above as reference: the metabolic days will focus on volume for the primary exercise and sets will be done to form breakdown. Last night I wanted to do 5's but it wasn't in the cards. Yes, I could have decreased the load, but didn't want to; it was bad enough that 185 was the load I worked up to and could only hit triples. I digress - the rest of the workout was a derivative of the primary lift (the inclines) and an opposition lift (the Krocs). The runs amid the lifts were intended to solely do one thing - empty the tank - and would have been miles had it not been for the pneumonia that I'm still fighting. I used this method when training for a race a while back and it was profoundly successful in both killing fat and increasing endurance.

So - to summarize - the metabolic days will focus on volume with moderate loads that are determined each workout using rep ranges of 3-5; at least one lift related to the primary lift using a higher rep range and fewer sets; and at least one opposition lift, which is either using an opposing muscle group to the primary lift, or an assistance lift that in some way balances the primary lift (like ab work for lower body lifts). Lastly - there will be something that assists in making the experience metabolic. Runs, multiple Tabata sessions, Crossfit lifts, Olympic lifts, etc. - something focused on power, aerobic endurance, or just pure energy burn will be interspersed between lifts. Again - this is a strategy I've tested in the past with great success.

Strength days will be much simpler, and sorta similar to the WS Max Effort day. Mine will work the primary lift down to doubles or singles, sometimes perhaps using rest-pause sets with a maximal load. At most, 2 assistance lifts will follow; the only other sets will be drop sets of 10-12 reps each.

OK - this is the first stab at detailing the method, and I'm fairly certain it will evolve as I see what works and what doesn't. For the next week at least, the workouts will be solely metabolic. I'm very, very untrained - and still sick. I'm hoping that a little bit of torture will go a long way for both items.
 
Last edited:
Thank you, TR - much appreciated.

For anyone looking for Vibrams, check out City Sports - www.citysports.com. That's where I got mine and they were the lowest price I found on the net at the time.
 
Thursday and Saturday WO's...

Thursday:

Pause Squat: 5 x 4 @ 205
Attempted Bulgarian Split Squat - fail due to foot cramping
Hanging Ab Raise - Knees to Chest: 4 x 10

Saturday:

Treadmill Run/Jog/Walk: 1.25 miles, 15:28 total time; running speed 6.5 MPH
Pause (Supinated Grip) BB Row: 8 x 5 @ 135
Dips: 3 x 10 @ BW
Cable Row: 117.5 x 15; 97.5 x 10; 77.5 x 8 SLOW

OK - neither of these really fit into my new experiment, with the exception that I did two lifts that were related and one that was an opposition lift. On Thursday I felt like garbage, but forced my way through. Friday I had a followup with my doc and it is theorized that I have persistent bronchitis, and that I may have developed asthma over the past several months. So - today was my first workout on the albuterol that I was given, and though the run took some mental pushing, I did notice a difference. Lovely.

The whole thing with the Bulg. Split Squats was the resultant from my first workout, I think. My support foot kept cramping to the point that I couldn't do more than a rep or two before caving. These will be a fixture in the experiment - as will the rev. grop rows. My biceps need massive help before doing any true chinning - and these did the trick a couple years back.
 
Back, again

Treadmill: 1:00 WU; 14:00 jog @ 5.5 MPH; 2:30 CD. 1.49 total miles

Pause Deads: 5 x 4 @ 225

Put together a five to six word phrase of expletives and that's about where I'm at. So - two things stalled me this time. A bruised rib, and a very nasty cough. The bruised rib is just about healed now, and the cough is subsiding - still, I have been completely devoid of energy these past couple weeks. This WO was quite the wake up call, and come hell or high water I'm going to fight my way back.
 
OK - so I ain't dead, but I sure as hell thought this site was.

I tried for a couple months to post progress but every time I tried, the forum was down or just wouldn't let me log in. So - I sorta wrote it off, but Lol let me know that he'd been able to log in a bit ago, and for the heck of it I gave it a go today.

So - the past few months have been lots upon lots of experimenting to try and find a programmatic (progressive) workout paradigm that works with my schedule. As such - I'm still looking. I'm currently doing a sort of one-off experiment with "strength endurance" where you do a ton of doubles with heavier loads and small-ish rest times. I'll post a WO later tonight - which will be the first in about 2 weeks due to schedule woes. If any of you lads out there have wacky schedules that disallow a regular pattern of workouts and have found something programmatic that works for you, I'd love to hear it. I'm very close to just working out for working out's sake without any sort of programmatic sense whatsoever; I'm finding that it's a whole lot easier to adjust within a workout to appropriate loads and volumes when a regular routine isn't present than to try and work within a progressive structure and essentially struggle because the progression in place simply doesn't fit within what the body expects.

Regardless of anything else - I'm quite happy to find the forum up and active. Hope all of you lads are doing well.
 
Welcome back Tim!

I tried for a couple months to post progress but every time I tried, the forum was down or just wouldn't let me log in. So - I sorta wrote it off, but Lol let me know that he'd been able to log in a bit ago, and for the heck of it I gave it a go today.
Click to expand...
I’ve been having the same problems which is why I’ve not been logging as much too.

I doubt my program will help you since it’s focused on powerlifting now but I just make sure I hit my Max Effort and Dynamic Effort lifts which doesn’t take to much time and then just fit in the Repetition Effort lifts whenever I can.

One thing that has helped out a lot is having bodylastic bands which allow me to sneak in workouts almost anywhere. I’m not sure if something like that is an option for you but they’ve really helped me out especially when traveling.
 
Hey G11 - thank you so much for the suggestion. Do I understand correctly that you do bench, squat and dead days and then fill in repetition where you can? That sounds like a bit of a sub-Westside model, and I kinda likle the sounds of it. Can you fill me in a bit more?

I tried to log earlier in the week to no avail. Not cool.
 
Yep Tim it is based on the Westside model, with a little bit of an HST frequency twist. I was finding that doing most of my volume on the 4 major days, ME Bench and Squat and DE Bench and Squat was sometimes taking too long especially on the ME days when I want to get enough rest between sets, and leaving me feeling like I’d been in a train wreck.

Since the Westside model already suggests incorporating 2-10 mini (20 minute) workouts during the week I figured I could move some of the RE volume work off the main 4 days and onto the other days or do an AM/PM split depending on what fit my schedule. Note that to fit the RE work into 20 minutes I use Myo-Reps for almost everything the few exceptions are things like Shrugs and Calves.

The advantages I’ve noticed so far are that I don’t ever feel the need to skip a core lift (ME and DE Squat, Bench Deadlift) for lack of time since doing them only takes 15-20 minutes. I leave each workout including the RE workouts feeling energized rather than beat up and tired. I’m theoretically getting the advantages of doing an AM/PM split discussed here in some of the old posts. It allows me to workout both at home and at work which allows me to take advantage of the equipment unique to both places (e.g. no power rack at work but a variety of machines I can’t afford/fit at home.

I am also entertaining the idea of using some ideas from Cressey Performance’s take on the conjugate method which involves doing 2 each ME days for both Bench and Squat/Deadlift each week and incorporating Speed work into the warmups.

http://www.syattfitness.com/6-principles-from-westside-barbell-and-cressey-performance/
 
A Start...... Again

WU - 15:00 elliptical

Pause Squats: 185 x 3; 215 x 1; 245 x 1; 265 x 1; 275 x 1
All reps ATG and paused. I had more in the tank after the last set, but felt that form may be compromised so I chose not to force it. The load is a tad sobering, but given that this is the first WO in over a month of any substance, I'll take it.

Assistance:
Dips: 3 x 12 @ BW
|
Leg Raise (Hang Knee to Chest): 3 x 12
Last set of dips was clustered 9-2-1. I didn't really rest between supersets - it was just walking between the equipment that provided the rest time.

With the holiday, looks like I will only get 2 in this week. I'm taking a hard look at this to see how I can possibly get into a better schedule - but that's gonna be tricky.
 
WU: 25:00 elliptical, intervals + CD

Deads:
WU: 135 x 10; 185 x 5; 225 x 3
Singles: 255; 275; 305
Step Down: 164 x 10
These were done without a belt, without straps (chalk only) and Vibrams. I still had probably 25-30 pounds left in me, but not enough stupidity. My back is essentially untrained and as such, pushing too far into the current upper range didn't exactly sound like a good idea. Still - being able to pull at least 305 without grip assistance is encouraging at this point. As a note - my stance that I've used for a while now is sort of a wide conventional if that makes sense; my hands are inside of my legs, but my knees are flush with my elbows at the start of the pull. The wider stance really helps with hip alignment for me; true conventionals never felt right and I could never pull straight. With the slight modification, my spine is straight at the start of the pull, and my hips don't strain to move in a straight line up in the eccentric part of the pull.

Leg Raise: 3 x 20
Last set was awful.

OK - so I think I figured out how I'm going to do this experiment after all. I'm going to do a modified version of the very first cycle that is on this log. One week, heavy singles for the 3 core lifts, and the other week volume-based assistance work. Sorta makes sense to me that I do it this way as it's only programmable as far as the weekly activity - I think this may work. So - that's what we're gonna do.
 
Chest WO

WU: 15:00 elliptical intervals + 2:00 CD

Decline Bench: 2 X 17, 1x 6 @ 155
The two long sets were done explosively. I was so cooked in my tri's for the 3rd set that I called it at 6. I won't progress loads until all sets are complete, and two of them are done without clustering. The second set was clustered 12-3-2.

Cable Cross: 3 x 17 @ 30
These were also done explosively - all reps. Haven't done a cable cross set in literally years. Felt pretty good, and broke up the tricep punishment a bit.

Strive BB Incline Press: 2 x 17 @ 70, 1 x 17 @ 90
The progression was followed in terms of having the weights in the different positions to put more oomph on different parts of the press. My anterior delts got hit pretty hard throughout, so I'm not sure if this lift is going to remain on the chest menu; I literally want to do one decline, one lateral and one incline movement for this assistance work.

I'm now very interested in what DOMS lie ahead. This could be a nasty recovery - if I remember right, after the first week of volume work I was a mess.
 
Lower Body WO
WU: 5:00 elliptical

Hack Squats: 3 x 17 @ 90
Felt extremely light - but I very honestly decided to take things easy today to ease into the volume. We'll see how the quads/knees heal up in the next couple days and decide how to progress.

SLDL: 3 x 12 135
These were not nearly as easy as the hacks were. The last set posed a challenge for better than half of the set, but no clustering was necessary. Forearms surprisingly got a nice pump and my thumbs got a bit of a taste of once again dealing with the mighty hook grip.

Ab Machine: 1 x 25 @ 145
Didn't like the thing at all - odd movement that didn't really hit the abs at all.

Swiss Ball Exchanges: 10, 5
KILLER. I forgot how intense these were! One rep was passing the ball from hands to feet and back - so really one rep was 2 movements. I like counting reps like that - really helps get volume up, especially for ab exercises.

With that, I ran out of time, but also sorta had done all that I wanted to for this first volume session with the lower body. I'm going to watch how my body responds very carefully - I'm all about extending endurance where it needs to be extended, but I don't want to incur a tremendous amount of hypertrophy.
 
Nice to see you posting your log regularly which of course means you’re getting in more regular workouts, wish I could say the same.

Good luck with the Hack Squats. I’ve tried them before and couldn’t handle how the felt in my knees.
 
Thanks G11 - I must admit that you truly helped me refocus on an approach that I could get into. This is a true challenge from a schedule perspective, but I think I can get at least 3 WO's in a week. I hope to anyway - I'm sorta on a roll and am starting to feel pretty good. I forgot how much I loved doing this type of orientation (heavy week/volume week) but am very glad that I'm doing it again.

On the hacks - I've found that as long as my knees stay close to being directly over my feet at the lowest point of the descent, my knees don't suffer. If they travel too far forward of my feet, my knees die. It's a challenge to set up the machine right so that you have enough leverage and still accomplish that; with the one I used last night, my toes were actually off of the platform. There's one other hack machine that I'll try the next time I do 'em. In any case - no knee pain today.
 
7/12/2012:

Cardio/WU: 25:00 elliptical intervals

T-Bar Rows: 45, 55 x 17; 60 x 9
These were only the added loads - I have no idea how heavy the bar was. I think it was easily a 45-50 pound lever.

NGPD: 90, 97.5 x 17; 110 x 6
That volume was enough to cook my bi's; I had wanted to do one suppenated grip pull, but it wasn't in the cards. As in the past, I may have to do some accessory bicep work so as not to inhibit strength gains in my back.

Last night (7/16/2012):

No time for a WU so I went right into it.

Bench Press:
WU: 135 x 15; 175 x 5; 195 x 3
Singles: 215, 235, 255
The reps were not paused but were well controlled. I had spotter availability for the 255 press but didin't need assistance. I likely had another 5-10 pounds in me, but I opted for another round of WWRD......

Paused Bench Press: 10 x 3 @ 185
The last 2 sets were sorta interesting - but I got through 'em without clustering.

Machine Row (NG): 110 x 20, 11
After the back work last week, my lats and my posterior delts have been aching like no tomorrow, and stretching is only doing so much. So - I figured I'd throw some blood in the mix and see what happens.
 
Last night...

Hack Squats: 90, 120, 140 x 17
I switched up machines and had no issues with foot placement.

SLDL: 135, 155, 165 x 12
Last set was clustered 9-3.

Leg Raise (K2C): 4 x 15
Tank was empty - completely empty - after the last set.

As much as I'd love to say my gap in gym time was intentional, it wasn't. My schedule has been atrocious lately, but hopefully things are stabilizing for the week. For this workout, the first goal of progressing the loads through the high-rep sets is complete - but now I need to add a lift. I'll see what DOMS are present tomorrow and make the right adjustment. The one thing that continues to be mighty humbling is my endurance; it's understandable, but still very humbling.
 
Incline Bench: 135, 145 x 17, 155 x 5
Second set was clustered 11-3-3 and the third set was 3-2. I used a rest-pause approach and allowed only 5 breaths between clusters. This was a shock - I have never excelled at inclines and to hit 17 with 135 and no clustering was a great way to start the workout.

Machine Row (NG): 97.5, 110, 117.5 x 17
Third set was clustered 10-3-3-1. Same rest-pause approach as above.

Dips: BW x 17, 6, 1.5 (negative)
The second set was clustered 5-1; I had no idea my tri's were so shot at this point.

Pulldowns (SG): 110, 120 x 17; 130 x 5
Forearm/grip fatigue was the key culprit here. Second set was clustered 10-4-3.

DOMS from the lower body work on Monday were kind crazy yesterday. My hams in particular were very tight. Quads had some soreness, but weren't anything like the hams. More quad work is officially on the menu for the next round of low body, high-rep work.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top