Indian_Iron’s BodyBlog

I will dedicate this post to all the "Big Men" trying to tear it hardcore at the gym. In all the years I have been training, it has been inevitable to spot people making weird and loud roars at the gym. It has always troubled me to the guts to see them train wrong and make their bodies injury susceptible.

I just want to place a subjective opinion on such situations. Apparently, such people fail to understand (or intentionally ignore) the difference between maximum load and maximum weight. The mere reason? Well, its what I describe as the Ego-litious Disease! Being an engineer I like playing with equations.

 Considering a situation of a guy doing deadlifts, lets say he does the following:

1st set - 200 pounds and 10 reps. It takes him 8/10 th of a second to complete one rep and lifts the bar 2 feet from the ground

2nd set - 300 pounds and 5 reps. It takes him one second to do one rep

3rd set - 350 pounds and 3 reps. He starts slowing down and takes amlost 2 seconds now.

4th set - 400 maxed out at 1 rep with 3 seconds.

Let’s examine the power equation, shall we? Most of you probably know it: power is equal to force times distance, divided by time.

P=Fd/t

Lets see the formula principle, then we will see what a waste of time his “max load” sets were.

1st set:

P = 200X2/.8 = 500 lb.ft/s

2nd set:

P = 300X2/1 = 600 lb.ft/s

At this point, looking at the numbers, it seems his progressive overload is right in line with an adaptive response.

3rd set : 

P = 350X2/2 = 350 lb.ft/s

Strange but true: his max load was increased, but his power output, or overload response, decreased substantially

4th set:

P = 400X2/3 = 266.67 lb.ft/s..You see what I mean?

Lifting heavy weights for the sake of lifting them won’t always get you the results you want. Assuming that all 10 reps are performed explosively and that is the maximum weight the person could lift when doing 10 reps, they’d generate far more power demand than would sets using heavier weights for fewer reps. I am not denying an adaptive response with a higher weight, but it wouldn’t be as powerful. I know I am wrong conventionally, but if MUSCULAR DEVELOPMENT is the goal, yelling to lift more weight is a disaster!

In my previous post I mentioned that I had decided to consume Creatine Monohydrate. I am almost approaching a month since I started taking it. I have not been following the loading and maintenance cycle. I decided to consume 5 grams a day post workout with grape juice to stay easy on my stomach. I don’t know if its too early to make conclusions since this is my first time on creatine. However, I thought I’ll give a heads up.
I have not really noticed any considerable increase in my energy levels but my muscles definitely appear fuller and have better definition. Another variable during my creatine intake has been Xtend which I started the same time as creatine.

I am going to continue creatine until 25th January and see how it helps!
Feel free to share your expereinces/suggestions.

So I have been really occupied with work. But its holiday time! I have set my goals and working hard to materialize them..

I have made the following changes to my diet:

1. After lot of research, I have included 5 grams Creatine Monohydrate in my post workout meal. I am not going to follow the loading cycle. I’d rather take 5 grams for a period of 1 month.

2. Started consuming Xtend during workout. It is too early to comment on the effectiveness as of now. Nevertheless, I feel less tired during workouts and have been able to lift a little more weight. Moreover, I have started seeing changes in my vascularity.

3. I am not going to eat tofu everyday now. I am going to have it 3-4 days in a  week. I am doing this to cut down fat intake. My daily  consumption of tofu consisted of 13 grams of fat. I also consume fat from other sources (nuts, whole grains, peanut butter etc..)

4. I have started drinking 6-7 liters of water everyday.

5. I have started carb cycling. I stick to less than 150 grams for 5 days. I aim for about 300-350 grams on carb loading days when I work my legs and shoulders/traps.

6. I cycle GNC Energy formula (guarana, gotu kola, Panax Ginseng) every other week

I still have a long way to go. I want to hit 10% BF and will be making changes to my diet/ workouts by observing the biological feedback (slick term  ) from my body

A normal day would be:
6:00 A.M - 600 ml water, 1 scoop whey, 1 Banana
6:30 A.M. - Workout + 600 ml water
8:15 A.M. - After workout - 1 scoop whey, 1 cap GNC sport Multivitamin, 1 cap GNC Flax Seed Oil(1000mg), 1 tab GNC Papaya Extract, 1 tab GNC Bromelaine(Pinapple enzyme)
8:30 A.M. - 3/4th cup oatmeal + 1/2 cup Kashi Almond Flax Cereal + 1 cup fat free milk
10:00 A.M - 600 ml water
10:30 A.M. - Ommolette - red peppers + cilantro + chillies + 9 egg whiltes + 1 whole egg
12:30 P.M. - 1 cup mix vegetables + Half Packet Organic extra firm Tofu (25 gm protein)
3:00 P.M. - 2 fat free cheese slices, 1 scoop whey, whole wheat bread + 1 teaspoon peanut butter
5:00 P.M. - 1 cup Chai(Indian Tea with 2 cubes of sugar+ 1/2 cup of milk), 1oz Peanuts, 0.5 oz almonds
6:00 P.M.- 600 ml water
7:00 P.M. - 1 scoop Casein Protein

I vary things depending on high carb or high fat days

Hey everyone!

Feel free to post your experiences/comments here. I have been a vegetarian all my life and find it pretty hard to gain good size without gaining fat. I have been lifting for quite a while now and really getting serious to make a noticable transformation. Hit me up with your questions here and I’ll be happy to answer or make suggestions. Also, leave anything you have learned..

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