Edward Morris’s BodyBlog

After finishing out this week on Saturday, I’ll have done 11 weeks of training Serge Nubret-style. I enjoy the focus on the pump and contraction and want to continue training like this. However, the intensity is very high and I’ve been dragging my feet lately, so I know that’s my body telling me it’s time to take a rest. One week off should do. (I’ll need the time out of the gym anyway, since my non-workout schedule’s only getting more brutal as the school semester ends.)

When I start training again, I may change up the routine a bit; right now I’m thinking a Serge-style split Monday through Wednesday, then rest, then a full-body strength day on Friday, then two days of rest. This will give me the best of both worlds: the awesome cardio benefits and detailed muscle pumping of Serge’s routine combined with the CNS/full-body strengthening and growth-inducing rest days of strength training.

 

I did a set of 400 sit-ups tonight. Jarvis should think twice before challenging me to a couple-hundred-sit-ups contest again.

Started working out again this Monday, after approximately nine days off, as a rest/transition time after the Velocity Diet. I’ve been reading up on the practices and philosophies of the great Serge Nubret and it really couldn’t have come at a better time. After using a Rippetoe-style strength program all summer and most of the autumn, I’m getting burnt out on high-weight, low-volume, power-lifter stuff. Don’t get me wrong, it’s fun and all, but I’ve been getting the urge for more volume and hypertrophy-style training lately… and this is exactly what Serge preaches. Inspired, I adapted Serge’s training to my needs and this is the routine I came up with:

The routine is three days, done twice a week, with rest on Sunday. All exercises are done to 12 reps except calves and hamstrings which are 15 reps. Weight used should be what you could do 20 reps with; lift slowly in the first sets, focusing on contraction, using intense focus to induce muscle failure in every set.
WORKOUT A: MORNING - Quads
Squats - 8 sets, 1-2 min rest
Leg Extensions - 6 sets, 30 sec rest

WORKOUT B: AFTERNOON - Chest
Flat Bench Press - 8 sets, 30 sec rest
Flyes - 6 sets, 30 sec rest
Incline Bench Press - 6 sets, 30 sec rest
Incline Flyes - 6 sets, 30 sec rest
Pullovers - 6 sets, 30 sec rest

WORKOUT B: MORNING - Upper Back
Chin Ups - 6 sets, 1 min rest
Bent Rows - 6 sets, 30 sec rest
One-Armed Row - 6 sets, 30 sec rest

WORKOUT B: AFTERNOON - Calves, Hamstrings, Lower Back
Standing Calf Raises - 8 sets, 30 sec rest
Lying Leg Curls - 8 sets, 30 sec rest
Stiff-leg Deadlifts - 6 sets, 1 min rest

WORKOUT C - MORNING - Shoulders
Behind the Neck Press - 6 sets, 30 sec rest
Alternating Front Raise - 6 sets, 30 sec rest
Side Lateral Raise - 6 sets, 30 sec rest

WORKOUT C - LATER MORNING - Biceps, Triceps
SUPERSET 1: DB/BB Curls & Triceps Pushdowns - 16 sets (8 sets each), NO rest
SUPERSET 2: Preacher Curls & Lying Tricep Ext. - 16 sets (8 sets each), NO rest

 

EVERY DAY (EVEN REST DAY!) - EVENING - Abdominals

A single set of 2000 sit-ups before bed (I’m working up to this… as of tonight I’ll be doing 200… so I’m 10% there! I started at 100 last week and have been adding ten every night. When I get to 400, I’ll start adding 25 each time. I’ll be there in no time… and then Jarvis will never again lay claim to "best.abs.evar."!)

 

So, this is my crazy, 40-50 set-per-day, Golden Era-style routine. As I said, it’s based on a routine written by the great Serge Nubret, the epitome of the classic era of bodybuilding. (Actually, this routine is a good deal LESS intense than Serge’s, mostly because I don’t have the equipment for some of his exercises… but the principles of high volume with very low rest times between sets is his).

I’ve completed one week of this routine so far, and I must say I’m blown away by it. The low rest times make it like cardio (it reminds me of how I used to lift when I started out a year ago, with circuits/supersets and a good amount of volume… the opposite of the "stand around and rest for five minutes after busting your ass lifting 300 lbs for a couple reps" power-lifting mentality) and I end up dripping with sweat after each workout, my muscles more sore and pumped than they’ve been since… again, since I first started working out. I think I was on to something originally with the high-volume, low-rest philosophy. Serge’s big advice is "listen to your body," and I think mine is saying it likes high-volume. (At least, for now!)

I can picture the low volume guys now, gnashing their teeth, thumping their copies of Rippetoe’s Starting Strength, pulling up half a dozen articles about how training for any more than a half hour a day will cause your testicles to atrophy… I know what you guys are saying. "What is this kid thinking? Working out 2+ hours, twice a day, six days a week? Doing 40+ sets? Doing 20 sets for chest?? THIS… IS… MADNESS!"

NO, BITCHES!

THIS SHIT IS SPARTA!

Yesterday was Day 28 for me… I’m officially finished the V-diet. Lost a total of 18 lbs, 173 to 155.

I have to admit… I’m disappointed with the results. I didn’t lose strength or visible muscle so far as I can detect, but I’m just not "cut" like I thought I’d be at this weight. If anything, this diet’s shown me that I had a lot more fat and a lot less muscle mass than I thought. I’d say I’m still at or above 14% bf, easily… so I shudder to think what I must’ve been at before the V-diet.

Oh well. The bulk I did before was pretty dirty, I was just surprised how much of my weight ended up being fat. It seems the V-diet itself was a success, as it helped me lose 18 lbs of what was apparently fat. It’s just that 18 lbs wasn’t enough for me to get really cut. Like I said, oh well… I’m still 18 lbs closer to "really cut" than before, so I can’t complain too much.

Anyway, I may post some before and after pics later when I get a chance to take some more.

For now, my plan is to ease off the diet very slowly, so I can keep milking the fat loss til the end. After two weeks of transitioning, I hope to be at maintenance calories (about 2400, a couple hundred more on w/o days), eating three solid meals in addition to six shakes. I’m going to try to maintain for a while, because I’m also about to take a week or two break in the gym (haven’t had a break in months). After that, I’m gonna clean bulk for some much needed mass, but I may run another V-diet before summer time.

Now, I’ve gotta go cook some eggs.

 After "maintaining" (or rather stagnating) through autumn with Rippetoe’s Starting Strength and a dirty bulking diet, I’m changing things up. I reached a peak of 175lbs, with rather high body fat. Then I began to gradually reduce calories. On December 26th, I began the Velocity Diet ( part 1 here, part 2 here ). It’s an all-liquid protein sparing fast. Basically, I get all the protein I need so my body doesn’t break down muscle, while taking in only a minimum of healthy fats so that my body relies on its internal supplies for fuel. In other words, I’ll lose fat very rapidly with minimal muscle loss. The diet lasts 28 days. By the end, I hope to be at a lean body fat percentage, hopefully with some abs (at last). I’m on day 11 now and I look a little bit leaner already, but nothing too dramatic. I’m down to about 161 lbs.

As far as training goes, I’ve just been continuing a Rippetoe-esque 3-day full-body routine, even though I’m not really making progress in any of the lifts. I’m tired of the strength only routine, though, and I’ve devised a new, four-day “hybrid” routine that I think I’ll start toward the end of the V-diet. This routine, which I’ve nicknamed the “Vegeta routine” just for my own amusement, is a hybrid strength/ hypertrophy routine, composed of my hand-selected favorite exercises. It keeps my favorite parts of the Rippetoe-esque strength routine while adding some pure hypertrophy-focused training into the mix. It’s also a little more periodized for the intermediate level than the basic Starting Strength routine, as for instance I’ll now only be squatting heavy once a week, with another squat day aimed at lighter weight “recovery” work. So I’ll hopefully start making new PRs on the big movements again as well. Anyway, I pasted the routine at the bottom.

My long-term plan for now is to finish out the V-Diet and ease into my new routine. After the V-Diet, I’m going to slowly reintroduce solid foods over the course of another few weeks, while easing calories back to a clean bulk level. I’ll be at a low bf% and therefore in a better position to gain some quality mass than ever before. I’m hoping by the end of the year I can bulk back to 175-180 lbs, this time maintaining a low bodyfat of 10-12%.

Anyway, here’s the aforementioned routine I invented today:

Vegeta Hybrid Training

(Exercises separated by “/” are to be worked in alternating sessions; for instance, if you worked Dips last Monday, you should do Military Press next Monday. Volume days will be done as supersets.)

 

MONDAY

Volume Push

-Squat (Recovery)        3x 8-12

-Incline Bench              3x 8-12

-Dips/Military Press      3x 8-12

-Side Laterals               3x 8-12

-Bent Over Laterals      3x 8-12

-Tricep movement        3x 8-12

calf work                    
  3x 8-12

-toes pointed straight,

-in,

-and out                    Â
 Â 

 

TUESDAY

Strength Pull

-Pullups/Chinups           5×5

-Bent Rows                  5×5

-Shrugs                  Â
 Â Â Â Â  3×5

-Deadlifts                 
    1×5

 

 

THURSDAY

Strength Push + Abs

-Squat (Heavy) 5×5

-Dips/Military Press      5×5

-Ab Crunches               3x 8-12

-Hanging Leg Raise      2x to failure

 

FRIDAY

Volume Pull

-Chinups (Recovery)    2x 8-12

-One-arm DB Rows     3x 8-12

-Lying DB Rows          3x 8-12

-Shrugs                  Â
 Â Â Â Â  3x 8-12

-EZ/BB Bicep Curl       3x 8-12           

-Hammer Curl              3x 8-12

-Preacher Curl              3x 8-12

-Wrist Curls                 3x 8-12

-Reverse Wrist Curls    3x 8-12

Making PRs again. Next week I should break 200 on squat and 250 on deadlift, for reps. Also, I’m doing chin ups with 20 lbs. ^_^ Forward progress FTW! I don’t feel quite so weak now that my lifts are at least 200+.

Not gaining much weight anymore, but frankly I don’t care if I’m 160 forever, as long as I keep getting stronger.

I tried reducing intensity, I tried reducing volume. But despite my efforts, my body’s just not doing so hot. It’s been about eight months of consistent heavy training, not counting the couple of weeks I was out for the hernia, and I think the fatigue is wearing me down. My left arm is shot due to some kind of pain/tendinitis in the elbow, and I’m still being pestered by groin pulls in both legs. I’m also having trouble sleeping, which is supposedly a sign of "overtraining." Since nothing else seems to be alleviating these issues, I guess my only alternative is to lay off the weights altogether for a while.

So, with the exception of an occasional "maintenance" work-out every four or five days, no more strength training until I really start to heal. I’m gonna keep doing a little bit of cardio, but I’m not going to strain myself there, either. Mostly I’ll be aiming to relax and eat healthy at maintenance-level calories. With any luck, I won’t lose too much muscle (or gain too much fat), and hopefully I can get started again in a few weeks.

I’ve been taking it easy this week, trying to recover from injuries as well as just get my strength back to its peak after a few weeks of high volume. I’ve been doing only a few sets of light-weight compounds all week. Next week I’m starting back on Rippetoe’s Starting Strength. Hopefully I’ll be able to do heavy squats and deads again now that my groin pull’s had time to heal.

That’s about it.

It’s been six weeks (I think) since I started Rippetoe’s Starting Strength. It’s been fun and beneficial, except for one thing… well, two things… groin pulls/adductor strains, on both sides. Since they aren’t going away no matter how I adjust my squat form, I figure I need a few weeks of rest from squatting heavy 3x a week. So, I think I’m going to go back to my old hypertrophy routine for at least two weeks. That had squats in it, but only on leg days, and in varying rep ranges, so I’ll end up squatting heavy much, much less. This switch might have an added benefit in that I now want to accelerate fat loss, and the super sets/circuit style of the old routine really added a cardio component to the work out. If I can get my body fat back down to the original 12-13%, I’ll be pretty pleased.

Oh, one other thing. I’ve become very interested in GPP stuff. I need to construct some kind of huge-ass sled which I can load up with weight and drag around. It’s gonna be awesome.

This program is starting to kick my ass now that the weights are increasing. Had to drop back a couple pounds on squat to really solidify my form, and I’ve stalled on bench the last two times at 150. Last week I missed the last rep of the last set; this time I got crushed after just three reps on the second set… And I banged up or twisted the back of my wrist somehow in the process and it’s kinda swollen now. I’ve also got adductor strains on both sides that bother me when I squat. Finally, I’ve stopped gaining weight; pretty much stalled at 158-159 for a couple weeks.

But, I’m not too worried. I’m not expecting weight gain at the moment, rather a general recomp, and that seems to be succeeded; I can’t tell if it’s just my increasing tan, but that damnable film of fat that’s lingered around my middle seems to be reducing. At the same time, my chest and especially back are getting more defined. If I can keep trading fat for muscle, I don’t think I’ll mind being 159 for the summer.

As for the stalled training… I’m just gonna eat more! Heheh. I’ll try benching 150 x 3 x 5 one more time on Friday, but I have a feeling I’ll have to reset the weight. 135 seems to be my max for three sets with perfect form, so I’ll drop back to that if I fail again on Friday, and start rising from there. Then I WILL breach 150, finally.

However, for now, my wrist is pretty sore… I hope it’ll feel better by Wednesday. I’ve gotta go for 90 on military press.