Splattered Angst

I am going to keep after this 5 x 5 thing. I thought that doing legs in a 5 x 5 might be kind of weird, but it was amazing. Loaded various exercises up with a good deal more weight than I normally would and just made sure I kept the reps slow and the pump was a scream. Arms were the same way today too. I have learned that if you don’t slow the reps way down, you should probabley not bother with 5 x 5. You gotta make sure all the muscle fiber you can recruit to move the weight is engaged.

The workout partner [Jess] has been keeping at it too. I think we are beyond a month now and when he compared some pics that he took this week to pics he took when we started, there is some change going on that he is pretty excited about. I think the bug has bit him. He took me up on some of the Animal supps I use and he is most impressed. Animal Pump, Flex and Pak. I can almost say if you are not using that trio, you might be wasting your time. I have had such good results with them.

I won’t bore you with posting this coming week’s workout because there is not a lot of change from the previous week. I did swap out a few exercises like doing weighted close grip pull ups with a different grip and a few other things like that, but my in large, I’m staying the course for at least a couple more weeks. The extra weight you can use doing 5 x 5 really gets the confidence up. Very cool.

The workout partner and I are looking forward to the coming week of 5 x 5. We might stick with that theme for the next few weeks and see how it goes flopping the exercises around regularly. I also threw up a new video clip in my body space page of me doing some of my weekend duty prepping meals. I spend about an hour and a half maybe throwing things together in mass. I have the Goat Milk Yogurt concoction on the video [you can use regular yogurt for that too if the goat based stuff is pricey where you are] and some other tips for gleaning.

OK … here what is coming this week:

This is the coming week’s workout for me … 5 x 5

Monday: 5 x 5
Chest and Back
Weighted Pull Ups [close grip/palms in]
Weighted Dips [Elbows out]
Close Grip Low Cable Row
DB Incline Press

Tuesday: 4 sets
Abs and Core
Hanging Crunch/ Oblique Crunch  [25 Rep Minimum]
Weighted Flat Crunches [100 rep Minimum]
Flat Plank

Wednesday: 5 x 5
Leg Extensions
Smith Machine Squat
Hack Squat
Leg Press
Calve Raise Machine

Thursday: 4 sets
Abs and Core
Ball Crunch  [Weighted]
Floor Wipes
Decline Set Ups [Weighted]

Friday: 5 x 5
Arms
Reverse Grip Pull Downs
Tricep Push Down
Seated DB Curls
Skullys

Saturday: 5 x 5
Shoulders/Traps:
Smith Mach Behind the Neck Mil Press
Smith Mach Upright Rows
Smith Mach Shrugs
Shoulder Raise Machine

Sunday
Stretching Routine and Aerobics

I was quite pleased with this past week. Flying solo this past week, but I did manage with proceed with some surprising intensity. There was some post muscle soreness that would lead one to believe that something was going right with the 3 x drop sets I was doing. I also bumped up the intensity in the aerobics department this past week too and shed a couple of lbs without even trying.

Cool!
Brian
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Monday: 3 Set Circuit
Abs and Core

Hanging Crunch/ Oblique Crunch
Flat Crunches [w/medicine ball]
Flat Plank

Tuesday: 2 x 15 Circuit
Chest and Back

Circuit 1
Pull Ups [close grip/palms in]
Dips [Elbows out]
Weighted Push Ups [Plate over the Shoulder blades]

Circuit 2
Incline DB Press
BB Rows
Chest Supported Row

Wednesday: 2 x 15 Circuit
Legs

Circuit 1
Smith Machine Squat
Hack Squat
Leg Press

Circuit 2
Leg Extensions
Weighted Walking Lunges
Seated Calve Raise

Thursday: 3 set Circuit
Abs and Core

Floor Wipes
Decline Set Ups [Weighted]
Ball Crunch  [Weighted]

Friday: 2 x 15 Circuit
Arms

Circuit 1
Reverse Grip Pull Downs
Tricep Push Down
Bicep Cable Curl

Circuit 2
Seated Incline DB Curls
Skullys
Bench Dips [Weighted]

Saturday: 2 x 15 Circuit
Shoulders/Traps:

Circuit 1
Smith Mach Behind the Neck Mil Press
Smith Mach Upright Rows
Smith Mach Shrugs

Circuit 2
Incline Rear Delt Cable
Shoulder Raise Machine
Front to Side DB Raise

I have not been paying as close attention to getting in the intense aerobics sessions I have in the past and I am picking that back up. It is pretty amazing how that is effecting me. When I was at a business convention a couple of weeks back, I undertook the usual Sunday morning routine of going for a jog after a strectching routine and about half way into, my calves started screaming. Thought I could push through it and found I could not. Crap … it hurt to walk for a week. I was jogging on concrete sidewalks. Bad idea. My usual jog at home is mostly dirt path. I guess that is a bigger deal than I realized. I have recovered from that at this point [it does not hurt to walk anymore at least] and think I’ll steer clear of jogging for another week or two just to make sure that things are good. I really do enjoy it even though I have had people tell me I really do not have a jogger’s frame. I have been doing the stair mill with some intensity in the mean time - not an elliptical gizmo, we are talking  rotating stairs of doom. I go for 20 minute sessions and make sure that the level is high: 15-17 on a scale of 1-20. Last session I did at level 17 I nearly lost my breakfast, but the thing that was interesting is that I could certainly sense that my metabolism was ramped up for quite a while the rest of the day. I would be doing just normal stuff related to my work and find I was breaking a sweat. Hmmm!
It is apparent that for me the short intense aerobic bursts work way better than the long slow aerobics sessions chatting with who ever is around. Like weight training and sun tanning and now aerobics: expose yourself to the heat and then get out of there!

Picked a workout this week that would keep me focused flying solo. The workout partner is going to be out of town on business, so something intense is in order: Drop Sets. Going from one set to the next with little to no rest. I’ll be taking each movement to positive failure, starting with what I might consider a good working weight for 15 reps. I’ll drop it a plate or so [10-20 percent] each set for three consecutive sets. Should be cool.

Here is what my diet looks like, for those interested.

I do PLAN a cheat meal every weekend. I’ll either have some kind of restaurant meal [I love Soup Plantation here in CA] or go out for Steak. The usual the last several weeks however has been BBQ steak at home. It is either Sirloin, Tritip or New York and I eat as much as I can hold.

Here is the usual daily fare:

Early AM
1 Cup Low Fat Yogurt
1 Scoop Protein Powder
Juice
Fruit

Mid Workout
Aminos [Higher Power] … I just take a chug from the bottle. Liquid Aminos are  great.

Post workout Meal - Frozen. I make this meal in mass every weekend [8 at a time] and throw it in the freezer. The amounts below are what each serving approximately shakes out to.

1 Cup Goat Milk Yogurt
1/2 Cup Ezekiel Cereal
2 Scoop Protein Powder
1/8 Cup Honey

10:00 AM meal. I also make these 6 at a time and throw them in the fridge. I start with a box of Couscous [8 servings], 2 lbs of ground beef and mix them together after they are cooked. Then I season it with the dressing. Each serving contains approximately what is mentioned below.

1 Cup Couscous
Ground Beef 6 Oz
1/8 Cup Spicy Ranch Dressing

2-3 hours later:

1 Cup Pearl Barley
1 Small Can Tuna
1/8 Cup Asian Sesame Dressing

2-3 hours later:

1 Cup Brown Rice
1/2 Can of Kirkland [Costco] Chicken
1/8 Cup Vidalia Onion Dressing

2 Hours later:
2 Sweet Potatoes
Supp: Animal Flex

Before Bed
1 Cup 4% Cottage  Cheese

Totals: 3670 Cal, Protein: 302g, Carbs: 413g, Fats: 90g
33% Protein, 45% Carbs, 22% Fats

2 1/2 Cup ZipLock Containers are the way to go … You can buy them at WalMart for pretty cheap. I have about 30-40 of them. Making most dishes in advance makes it easy to stay on course and keep the muscle building.

Be as relentless about the diet as you are about the workouts and you’ll get there, eh?

Set some new goals with a group of very cool folks on a forum called C4. Here is the link:

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?p=185197301#post185197301

My goal in this next three month Challenge is keep thing on course to continue to put on muscle: 5 more lbs of mass/muscle by the end of September. Doable and easy to track. I’ll stay the course with the current diet which I have been at now for nearly two months:

Calories: 3627
Protein: 302g
Carbs: 409g
Fats: 87g
33% Protein, 45% Carbs and 22% Fats.

I might add more carbs a bit later and back off on the protein, but I am hanging with it as is for the next few weeks.

This week’s workout is below. My workouts are brief, but intense. I have a workout partner and we are generally done with weight training in 40-60 minutes. The briefer the better. "Weight training is just like getting a sun tan." Short brief exposures and then get out of there and then give yourself a chance to grow. Long workouts result in over training just like staying in the sun too long can result in a burn. I do not do generally more than 5 movements in a weight training session. I pick them carefully and mix them up regularly. I would rather have a 30 minute workout that torches the muscle group I am working than a 90 minute workout that feels like a marathon. I have discovered that more is not better when it comes to this, but exactly the opposite. I also make sure that momentum is not in on what I am doing. Reps are slow and controlled so that ALL the muscle fibers are recruited for the movement and the joints and ligaments are not being bounced on. Momentum is not my friend [thanks for that advice Mark Mentzer, and Markus Reinhardt - HIT Training]:

Monday
Abs and Core/Major Aerobics
[4 Sets of each]
Oblique Plank vs Flat Plank
Hanging Crunch vs Oblique Crunch
Ball Crunches
[30 minutes of shirt soaking aerobics, Run, Stair Mill or Recumbent Bike on a high setting]

Tuesday
Chest and Biceps 2 x 15
Dips
Preacher Curls
Decline DB Press
Seated DB Curl
DB Incline Press
[20 minutes light aerobics, i.e. eliptical, stair mill at a low setting]

Wednesday
Legs:  2 x 1 5
Weighted Walking Lunges [2 Warm up ? no weight]
Leg Extensions
Seated Calve Raises
Bar Bell Squat [1 Warm up set]
Leg Press
20 minutes light aerobics [as mentioned above]

Thursday
Back and Triceps 2 x 15
Close Grip, Palms Forward, Pull Ups
Cable Push Down
Wide Grip Chest Supported Row
DB Pull Over
Weighted Bench Dips
20 minutes light aerobics [as mentioned above]

Friday
Abs and Core/Major Aerobics
3 Sets
Floor Wipes [165lbs]
Decline Set Ups [Weighted] vs Ball Crunches
Oblique Plank vs Flat Plank
30 minutes of shirt soaking aerobics [as mentioned above]

Saturday
Push Pull: Shoulders/Traps:
HIT 2 x 15
Smith Machine Behind the Neck Mil Press [1 Warm Up]
Incline Rear Delt Cable
Upright Rows
DB Seated Side to Front Lateral
DB Shrug
20 minutes light aerobics [as mentioned above]

Sunday
Stretching/ More Shirt Soaking Cardio [generally an outdoor run of about 3 miles] See the video clip on my bodyspace page for an idea about what I do for a the stretching routine … I do more than what is there, but the bulk of the movements I got from that video.

I put on 7 lbs over the last three months, so we’ll see how this goes the next three months …