Waytootall’s BodyBlog

My new gym was finally delivered and assembled on Wednesday! I purchased a Keys Fitness 1/2 cage with a smith machine and high/ low cable tower. See the photo of it in my gallery. One of the coolest features (I think) is that the multi- angle bench I bought to go with it, connects via a cable to the low pulley so one is using the plate loaded lat tower for the resistance instead of loading plates on the leg curl/ extension attachment. The bench is made by Smooth fitness and is from another 1/2 cage system, but I picked it anyway. I began Wed. night with a new training regimen (as soon as I cleaned up from the install!). It works so smooth (linear bearings rule!). I did chest and triceps for my first workout. I’ve switched back to a more classic routine of chest/ tris, back/ biceps, legs, shoulders/ forearms with calves and abs every other day (opposite each other). It’s Friday morning now and my chest is really sore.

One thing I’ve learned very quickly- working out on a leverage system gym (i.e.- the Powertech I just sold) gives one a truly false sense of strength. The weights I’ve been benching with the Powertech are considerably higher than I can push now that I’m going completely free weight! I’m glad I started with chest and not with legs, I might have hurt myself trying to squat free weight what I used to push on the leverage squat! It’s a shot to the ego to drop the numbers so much, but I just need to focus on the truth that it’s not about the weight in bodybuilding, but the pump and the form. Although, a little bit of heavy weight never hurt…..

It’s the end of an era…. albeit a brief era, 5 years. I’ve sold my Powertech Workbench gym. (see the photo in my gallery) It’s not that the gym wasn’t effective and useful, I just grew kind of bored with the same old routine of exercises. I did okay though, I sold it for only $200 less than I paid for it 5 years ago. And that $$ is now the down payment on my NEW gym! I’ve ordered a Keyes fitness 1/2 cage with a smith machine, lat tower and lower cable (plate loaded). The utility bench I’ve ordered to go with it is a flat/ incline bench with leg extension/ curl attachment. And the cool thing about this bench is that it comes set up with cables and pulleys so that it can be attached to the low cable of the lat tower so the weight moved is on the tower instead of out on the leg attachment. I’m very excited about the new gym and eagerly awaiting delivery and assembly. Yes, I cheesed out and am paying to have it assembled. Time is money as they say, and running my business and caring for my two boys takes up way too much valuable time to give up a Saturday bolting the bad boy together. Plus, the gym store will be responsible if there are any problems. I look forward to posting about my new (and hopefully improved) workouts and gains! For now, while I await my new rack, I’m training with a piece of laminated beam over two 5 gallon buckets as my bench. It’s fun to go all cave- man sometimes.

Well, last night I finished up my "light" week of Time Under Tension training with arms. I only did 6 sets for both bis and tris and what a pump! It’s very different to have forced each rep out so slowly, as opposed to exploding the weight up. I often do a super slow negative at the end of a set for the burn, but not each and every rep. All in all, I’m very pleased with this week of lighter training. Hopefully, I will have allowed for more than the usual recovery time and yet surprised my body in a new way, forcing it to adapt and grow.

This evening I began to try a "new" kind of workout. All this week I am going to be going "light". The concept of heavy days/ light days is as old school as it gets, but I’m employing a "new" twist to the old standard. I’ve recently been reading about "time under tension" and it’s benefits- especially for natural bodybuilders. For those uninitiated, time under tension amounts to the length of time of each repetition. Where normally, one would move the weight up explosively and lower it more slowly (1-2 seconds), with time under tension workouts, one does both the concentric and the eccentric  parts of the lift  slowly (3-5 seconds).  Thereby increasing  the time under tension the muscles experience. And the other key here is to choose weights which allow you to stop short of complete failure on all of your sets. The goal is to fully flush the muscles full of blood, not do the kind of damage usually associated with training to failure.
So tonight I did calves and chest. Yes, in that order. Calves are my weakest body part so I have begun prioritizing them. I performed the same exercises as I usually do for this day, but with substantially less weight and really dragging out the reps. The routine consists of the following:

seated calf raise- 4 sets of 12- 15, supersetted with standing calf raises- 4 sets of 12- 15.

Incline machine press (remember, most of my exercises are performed on my Powertech leverage gym)- 5 sets of 15- 10.

Close grip flat machine press- 4 sets of 15-10.

Flat dumbbell flyes- 4 sets of 15-10.

My first impression of the first workout of this kind is as follows: I really achieved a full pump of the target muscles. I mean the skin bursting kind of pump. The slow speed of the reps allows me to get my head deep inside the muscle as it’s working. Much more so then when I’m explosively chucking the weights around. I do love moving the big poundages, but this just "feels" powerful. I anticipate a whole new level of soreness in the days to come.

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