8/24/6 Cardio only
Friday, August 25th, 2006Today was two sessions of cardio only. Dropped the cals by about 400 which meant 100 grams of carbs. Dieting sucks a cow’s teet!!!!!
Archive for August, 2006
666 Back and Calves Training 8/23/6
Thursday, August 24th, 2006Damn are my chest and legs sore. These are some tough workouts and I normally don’t lift with a partner but a good friend at the gym asked if he could train back with me today and I said why not. Little did he know that he was in for some truly grueling training. Here was today’s workout.
Assisted Pull Ups: 15, 15
Pull ups: bw + 25lbs x 6, bw + 25lbs x 6, bw + 25lbs x 6, bw + 25lbs x 6, bw + 25lbs x 6, bw + 25lbs x 6
Underhand Barbell Rows: 135 x 10, 225 x 6, 225 x 6, 285 x 6, 285 x 6, 285 x 6, 225 x 6
Palms In Lat Pulldown: 150 x 10, 200 x 6, 200 x 6, 200 x 6, 200 x 6, 225 x 6, 185 x 6
Dumbell Pullovers: 50 x 10, 90 x 6, 100 x 6, 100 x 6, 100 x 6, 100 x 6, 100 x 6
Cable Rows: 150 x 10, 240 x 6, 240 x 6, 200 x 6, 200 x 6, 200 x 6, 185 x 6
Sarcev Style Wide Grip Deads: 135 x 6, 135 x 6, 135 x 6, 135 x 6, 135 x 6, 135 x 6
As you can obviously tell, my lifts weren’t to high and tapered off towards the end of the workout. On the surface this appears to be more of a strength routine when in reality it is volume training taking into account the 30 second rest between sets. It is truly exhausting.
For calves I decided just to some Hybrid Calve Training (http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/fitshow30.htm) that I saw on the Fit Show awhile back. My calves have really exploaded since incorporating the philosophy behind this training. The following giant set was complete four time for four sets:
Calve Press (on a leg press): 360 x 30
Standing Calve Press (flat foot): bw x 30
Standing Calve Press (on two plates): bw x 30
Single Leg Calve Presses (on two plates): bw x 15/15
666 Leg & Abs Training 8/22/06
Wednesday, August 23rd, 2006Based on yesterday’s chest workout I knew this would be a tough one. I have been using VPX NO Shotgun for about a month now and figured I would try stacking it with MuscleTech GAKIC. Here was my workout:
Back Squats: 135 x 15, 225 x 15, 225 x 15, 355 x 6, 355 x 6, 355 x 6, 355 x 6, 355 x 6, 355 x 6
Leg Press: 270 x 15, 540 x 6, 540 x 6, 630 x 6, 630 x 6, 630 x 6, 630 x 6
Bench Crossover Plyometrics: 95 x 6/6, 95 x 6/6, 95 x 6/6, 95 x 6/6, 95 x 6/6, 95 x 6/6
Lying Leg Curls: 180 x 6, 180 x 6, 180 x 6, 180 x 6, 180 x 6, 180 x 6
Single Leg Curls (no rest between sets): 45 x 6/6, 45 x 6/6, 45 x 6/6, 45 x 6/6, 45 x 5/5, 45 x 2/3
Rope Crunches: 150 x 6, 150 x 6, 150 x 6, 150 x 6, 150 x 6, 150 x 6
This was another killer workout. I can normally go a lot heavier on most of these lifts, but the tempo of this program prevents that and offers a much different form of stimulation. On the surface this sort of looks like a low rep power program similiar to 5 x 5 but this relies much more on endurance and is actually a volume workout. Both GAKIC and Shotgun greatly assist with workouts like this for many reasons. Here they are:
Analysis
One the most impressive features, if not the most, of VPX NO Shotgun is how it allows you to train harder and longer due to the anti-fatigue elements of the formula. Upon inpspecting the ingredients citrulline malate stands out quiet clearly as one of the ingredients responsible for this. However, the other elements aren’t quite so clear unless you are familiar with what GAKIC stands for, glycine-arginine-alpha ketoisocaproic acid calcium.
This may seem a little controversial but Shotgun does contain all of the constituents of GAKIC just not bonded together and in less quanitity I’m sure based on the proprietary blend mass totals. If you look at the ingredient profile you see glycine, arginine ethyl ester HCL, and ketoisocaproic acid calcium. Although, they are not listed in the same matrices their presence to someone who has used GAKIC is quite apparent when training with Shotgun.
I mentioned during my MuscleTech Anator, GAKIC, and LEUKIC review that I had a hunch that combining a citrulline malate based supplement with GAKIC could quite possibly be one the most potent anti-fatigue cocktails in theory.
The precise mechanism by which glycine-arginine-alpha ketoisocaproic acid calcium works is still unknown but is theorized that it can an effect on ammonia and transanimation waste products (Buford 2004). From my previous discussion we learned that citrulline also has the ability to do this as well ((Vanuxem D 1990). Malate assists the delay in fatigue by enhancing aerobic ATP production (Bendahan D 2002). Combining the three is turning out to be quite the cocktail in tackling all aspects of fatigue and fatigue sensation.
Glycine-arginine-alpha ketoisocaproic acid calcium helps decrease the drop in mean power output during repeated bouts of supramaximal exercise (Buford 2004). We will use the same example of barbell bench presses that we used for creatine. When benching glycine-arginine-alpha ketoisocaproic acid calcium will not help necessarily help you exert more force, but will help maintain a more consistent applied force. This means that if you normally start dropping reps on you last few sets, glycine-arginine-alpha ketoisocaproic acid calcium could potentially assist in pushing out those few extra reps, because it is indeed an anearobic fatigue toxin reducer (Stevens BR 2000).
What first made me aware of the presence of GAKIC in the formula was not actually the inspection of the ingredients. It was indeed the fact that when you time and injest glycine-arginine-alpha ketoisocaproic acid calcium correctly you have a strange sensation in your body. It’s really hard to explain but those who have used GAKIC with success know what I’m talking about.
While the Shotgun formula doesn’t contain the bonded form or the same quantity of glycine-arginine-alpha ketoisocaproic acid calcium it seems the addition of glycine, arginine ethyl ester HCL, and ketoisocaproic acid calcium has a similiar effect. The addition of citrulline malate only enhances the effect making this a true anearobic and aerobic fatigue toxin reducing supplement.
I must say that when stacking this with GAKIC you have the ultimate anti-fatigue cocktail. After experimenting with the two I must say the synergistic effect of both VPX Shotgun and MuscleTech GAKIC is truly unbelievable. However, since this is an expensive venture I would sav this combo for your most grueling workouts.
Buford BN, Koch AJ. Glycine-arginine-alpha-ketoisocaproic acid improves performance of repeated cycling sprints. Medincine & Science in Sports & Exercise. 2004 Apr;36(4):583-7.
Vanuxem D, Duflot JC, Prevot H, et al. Influence of an anti-asthenia agent, citrulline malate, on serum lactate and ammonia kinetics during a maximum exercise test in sedentary subjects. S©minaire des H´pitaux de Paris 1990;66:477…81.
Bendahan D, Mattei JP, Ghattas B, Confort-Gouny S, Le Guern ME, Cozzone PJ. Citrulline/malate promotes aerobic energy production in human exercising muscle. British Journal of Sport’s Medicine. 2002 Aug;36(4):282-9.
Stevens BR, Godfrey MD, Kaminski TW, Braith RW. High-intensity dynamic human muscle performance enhanced by a metabolic intervention. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2000 Dec;32(12):2102-8.
666 Chest and Calves Training 8/21/06
Tuesday, August 22nd, 2006So I thought I would give the 666 Beast training (http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/beast36.htm) shot this week. Overall, this workout was hard as hell. I made some slight modifications to suit me a little better and here was today’s workout and keep in mind there was only 30 seconds rest between sets:
Supine Barbell Bench Press: 135 x 10, 225 x 10, 285 x 10, 315 x 6, 315 x 6, 315 x 6, 315 x 6, 315 x 6, 315 x 5
Incline Dumbell Press: 110 x 6, 110 x 6, 95 x 6, 95 x 6, 95 x 6, 95 x 6
Pec Dec Flyes: 225 x 6, 225 x 6, 225 x 6, 225 x 6, 225 x 6, 225 x 6
Incline Hammer Strength Press: 180 x 6, 180 x 6, 180 x 6, 180 x 6, 180 x 6, 180 x 6
Seated Calve Press: 300 x 6, 300 x 6, 300 x 6, 300 x 6, 300 x 6, 300 x 6
Cardio: 30 minutes on a Precor Elliptical
This workout was pretty damn tough. Resting only 30 seconds between sets is hard enough and six sets just amplifies fatigue. Overall, I’d give this workout a 9.5 out 10 as far as effectiveness goes. The Scivation crew know what they are talking about!
Shoulder and Trap Training Volume Workout 8/20
Monday, August 21st, 2006Dumbell Lateral Raises: 20 x 15, 20 x15, 50 x 12, 50 x 12, 50 x 12
Military Press: 135 x 15, 185 x 15, 225 x 13, 225 x 12, 225 x 10
Rear Cable Raises: 30 x 20, 50 x 12, 50 x 14, 50 x 12
Reverse Pec Dec: 150 x 14, 170 x 12, 170 x 12
Dumbell Shrugs: (100’s x 8 drop 80’s x 8 drop 60’s x 8 drop 40’s x 8 drop 20’s x 
x 2 sets
Beind the Back Cable Lateral Raises (speed set) 20 x 12, 20 x 12, 20 x 12
Incline Crunches: 20 x 20 x 20 x 20
The Government vs. The Supplement Industry
Sunday, August 20th, 2006I feel it is a double edged sword when it comes to keeping our rights to choose are own supplements. We have learned from ephedra and prohormones that the government opens it’s ears only to the media and powerful pharmacuetical lobbyists and thus will use it’s powers vested in the FDA to ban certain substances deemed dangerous. In my opinion, in order to keep supplements from increased governement control supplement companies and consumers must try harder to keep supplements safe, assure that they are used properly, and marketed correctly.
A huge part of the supplement dilemma is that you do not have to be a reputable company to market a product. Due to lack of regulation, there are no quality control measures in producing supplements. A company can basically make grandiose claims about their products and until this gets noticed by the FDA, the claim will go unchallenged. Secondly, production methods are not regulated and thus you can have tainted supplements that may include trace amounts of other ingredients not listed which also is in pure infringement of FDA policy.
The other aspect of the dilemma is that anyone of any age can buy supplements. A huge part of the whole prohormone dilemma was that teenagers were using the potent steroidal compounds without proper knowledge of anabolics. I knew kids who were 15 and using andro. Since the supplement idustry couldn’t get it’s act together in regulating this the governement took away it’s rights. The same thing with ephedra. All you need are a few idiots who use this stuff wrong to stir up high profile media coverage to catch the ears of mom’s across the nation and then awake the regulatory giant known as the government. It is this type of bad press that lumps supplements together into one big category that it is viewed like a red-headed step child in the eyes of the general public. I just had a friend ask me if creatine was illegal. This type of ignorance runs rampant throughout America.
As a supplement user I find it my responsibility to educate anyone I can in order to stop this disease of ignorance concerning dietary supplements. That is why I post on these boards and scrutinize new supplements very hard. It pains me when I see some fourteen year get advice from a fifteen year old on test boosters, etc. It is the job of the educated user to educate others and to call out the idiots who have this hardcore mentality towards getting big at all costs and doing or taking whatever will help this.
Having the attitude that the government should just leave supplements alone and that it is my body so they should do f uck off is not proactive. This attitude is the one that will get all supplements banned from multi’s to steroidal compounds. Supplement companies need to be more responsible in their marketing and quality control measures. EAS is a good example of this and is now endorsed by the NFL. The other positive measure will be current supplement users educating others so young kids don’t make stupid mistakes and to correct any myths Mr. Joe Smith American might have as well. We should learn from the mistakes of the past as we know what the government will do if we don’t. The ball is in our court.
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