Strength and Physique Podcast?
Q: "Hey James. I am a 51 year old Homicide detective for the City of Philadelphia. I also have done Olympic lifting on and off since my teen years. I have read your many articles and ordered your books. I enjoy your writings very much.
"What would you suggest for an old head like me who would like to still compete (Masters) in the Olympic lifts but want to add some muscle and strength? Most of my training is at home, so I am limited to a full Olympic set, dumbbells, squat racks and kettlebells.
"Any advice and or routines would be greatly appreciated. Keep up the great work. I know this has been a very tough year for Police Officers…..please be safe and continue the good fight!"
Sincerely,
Gregory Santamala
My Answer: Good to hear from you detective. Yes, this really has been a tough year for law enforcement, and I can only imagine it’s been a rough one for you guys at the Homicide Unit in Philly. I answered your exact same question for someone else, so here’s what I told him.
1) You can use my Shotgun Method. For Shotgun Days, practice your compulsory lifts (snatch, clean and jerk) and assistance lifts (front squats, Romanian deadlifts, etc.)
On your Troubleshooting Days, do some hypertrophy work. So during the week, you’ll do 2 Olympic weightlifting workouts (one heavy, one light) and 2 bodybuilding workouts.
2) If you can only do 3 workouts a week, then do the Olympic lifts at the beginning of the workouts, and then follow up with hypertrophy work. Just make sure you don’t go beyond an hour.
Q: “First, I am an ectomorph - 5′6″ 120lbs. I have gained 10 lbs. since I started working out consistently for the past month. I have been doing pyramid split routines of 15-12-10-8 reps.
Monday (chest/triceps)
Tuesday(back/biceps)
Wednesday(Legs+abs)
Thursday(shoulders)
“I have noticed I tire out after the first few exercises. I have a question regarding your pyramid 10-8-6-15 training. I know it’s best to have a rest day in between, but can it be 3 out of 4 days?
“My free days are Monday to Thursday. Could I do Monday, Tuesday, Thursday with Wednesday doing abs? Or either of those combinations between Monday to Thursday? Since it’s a full body workout on each workout day, do I need to rest a full day in between?
“Another thing how much weight should I take off between set of 6 reps and set of 15 rep?
Example: Bench press
10×105
8×115
6×125
15×105?
“Please help me. I really like this idea of training 1 exercise per body part.”
Thanks,
Steven Chan
My Answer: If you can only train Monday to Thursday, then I suggest you split the body parts in half and do 2 upper body workout and 2 lower body workouts:
Monday and Wednesday (chest, back, deltoids, biceps, triceps)
Tuesday and Thursday (quads, hamstrings, calves, abs)
Stick with one exercise per body part. As far as weight progression for your last set, drop the weight to slightly less than that which you used on your first set:
10×105
8×115
6×125
15×100
Q: “I have put some of your arm training ideas to good use. I have found your training ideas very effective. I am a blinded vet. I can access your info with the use of ’screen reading’ software.
“I was wondering about the possibility of an audio version of your latest book? With an audio version of your info, I could get the info independently. I know I would get some great info and effective training ideas. Thanks for all the great info that you put out.”
Sincerely,
Dale Allen
My Answer: Hi Dale, thanks for the high praise. Believe it or not, I’ve actually had a few people request that I do a podcast version of my books and sell them on iTunes. Unfortunately, I don’t have the audio equipment to make a decent podcast. Time is also an issue for me as well, since I’m playing around with several different projects, not all of them strength training related. I’ve got a bit of A.D.D. (I’m joking, of course), so I like to keep a variety of interests.
I’m not closed to the idea of a podcast, however. But at this moment, I’m not sure how much of a demand there is for it (aside from yourself) to merit buying the audio equipment. I’ll keep you posted.
