kinkoshinkai’s BodyBlog

In my ongoing search for increased wheel size (quads/hams), I took a page from Milos Sarcev today.  He and his guys essentially do this all the time, but because I haven’t been training as long, and am knocking on the door of 50, I have to consider injury and recovery a major factor in my training.  But to shock the system, I did a giant circuit today for legs. 

Front Smith Squats, straight to Leg Press, to Leg Extension, to Ham Curls, to Seated Calves.  As I’m training back tomorrow, I shose to avoid Squats, standing exercises or anything that might make my back training tomorrow weaker, opting for the exercises listed.  Back to back through all 5, 4 times through the circuit.  My legs are wobbly and swolen!!  LOVE IT.  All exercises were in the 12-15 rep range and weights were kept only slightly lighter than my usual straight set training weight to enable me to complete the full circuit.  That ought to wake my wheels up a bit!!

So I’ve focussed for the last few months on increasing quad sweep in my "old-geezer" legs.  Never mind that in my observation of even national level competitors, the legs seem to be a weaker spot (along with triceps) as the competitor age goes up, unless they’ve been training for MANY years, and even then, they are not what they once were.  It is fairly commonly accepted that leg training BOOSTS testosterone levels which concordantly helps increase growth rate in other muscle groups.  But what the natural DROP in testosterone levels as we age, and the effect THAT has on the legs!?  It seems there is a direct reciprocal relationship.  (I may have to do a study on that for my Master’s Capstone project.  It seems a reasonable hypothesis)

So, age and T-levels notwithstanding, I seem to have had some decent increase in my quad sweep, aka the vastus lateralus.  However, the net effect has been that I inadvertently neglected my medialus (the tear drop). So, as of today, that is the new priority in my leg training. 

I did my leg extensions one leg at a time (even though I usually use a bilateral machine so my legs work independantly, unless I’m on my machine at home or the Hammer stack machine is occupied).  I used the unilateral LifeFitness machine, but did one leg at a time with my foot turned slightly out.  I can feel it already!!  And it was definitely a weaker movement.  Even with standard form of toes UP, because I’ve focussed so long on the lateralus, that muscle seems to take over now, so a form adjustment was called for if I want to bring the lagging aspect up.  I noticed a significant drop in the weight and reps I was able to complete, confirming to me the weakness and the need. 

So when I got to the squats and leg press, I continued the theme, using wider stance on my squats and wider and lower foot placement on the leg press.  Once again, the reps and weight were lower, but I am definitely feeling the pump in the right place, so I think I hit it pretty well.  I don’t want to completely neglect to outer aspect of my quad, but I definitely will be using these adjustments for a while, maybe not for EVERY set like I did today, but enough to hopefully build a more balanced set of wheels and bring up the overall size I’m shooting for. 

Challenging at age 49 with less than 4 years of serious training??  You bet.  But I’m determined to make it happen!!!

Fun is

1. Training with a friend
2. Your friend is a hot babe in your age bracket
3. Your friend is a national level competitor with years of experience
4. Your friend PUSHES you

Motivation

1. Your training partner is hugely successful
2. She’s hot so there’s NO WAY your woosing out on a set
3. You actually have fun!!

Had a great training session with a BodySpace friend turned flesh and blood in person friend.  What a gem of a human and great gym partner!!!

We did back and tri’s.  Pull ups to warm up.  Then Hammer machine rows, Dumbell rows, cable lat pulls.  Then on to weighted Hammer dips, skull crushers, and cable tricep presses.  Three to 4 sets of each.  (Holly threw in kick backs while I finished my last skull set.  Huge pump, great workout, nice non-stop intensity but still pleasant conversation throughout.  What a BLAST!!

Thanks, Holly.  Anytime, anywhere!

Some people may think I’m a bit obsessive in tracking my training, but I have logs from the first day I started my regular resistance training on my Bowflex to the present at my gym.  4 years worth.  But here’s what I’ve found it does for me.

1) It allows me to try to exceed my previous performance, knowing exactly what that previous performance was.  Every session, I try to do at leats one more rep, or one more set, or move a couple minutes faster, or lift a couple extra pounds.  Having a record lets me know what I need to do to move that one step forward, consistently.

2) That in turn motivates me.  It gets my mindset focussed on a performance based session.  That said, I still keep my technique clean, as clean as possible, because at MY age, who has time for injuries??

3) The log also takes the guess work out of which dumbell to pick up, or how many plates to load.  I just look back to whenever I last did that particular exercise and know.  Then I try to do as I said in point #1.

4) There are days, inevitably, due to rest, diet, mood, whatever, when I’m not as strong as I want to be, and can’t lift the same weight, or do the same reps or whatever as last time.  THEN WHAT!?  Well, even when unsuccessful, you can find success based on your log.  Maybe I didn’t get the 100 lb dumbells up for incline presses.  So, I drop the weight, slow the reps, push for one more set or a post-fatigue finishing technique (drop sets, rest pause, partials, whatever).  That way, and based on my training log, I still know the target muscle is going to get challenged to grow, whether it wants to or not!!

So, even when I’m unsuccessful on a lift, or take a week or a day off, my training log allows me to continue to work toward my goals, and be successful. 

We drove to Vegas Christmas night, and knowing the size of my sister-in-law, I was worried about the cuisine for the weekend.  So to be safe, I brought my proteing powder and a few cans of protein pudding.  But lo and behold, we were greeted with an evening meal of baked sweet potato, steak and lobster, and fresh salad!!!  BEAUTIFUL!

I did justify a rather generous visit to a buffet for lunch yesterday.  Given that we tromped all over the Strip with kids in tow, I felt the cardio more than justified a little indulgence, but I mostly had the meat entrees, shrimp, cod, chicken (peeled off the skin), and salad.  But LOTS OF MEAT!!!  Mmmmmmmm. No dessert bar for me!  (My kids avoided it, too, bless them, since the buffet challenged their limits anyway!)
So, generally, I’ve tried to be good.  I had a slice of pecan pie with my breakfast protein, but high glycemic in moderation is OK at two different times of day, breakfast being one.

I hope everyone else indulged if it was in their plan, or stayed super clean if that was the plan, and in general stayed on track with their continued fitness goals.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

So, I know that everyone has different gyms, home or commercial, with varying levels of equipment options.  The freeweight room in my gym is well stocked and very organized, especially compared to freeweight rooms at the famous chain gym, atomic symbol Ag, or at least the branches I’ve seen.  But the actual variety of plate loaded equipment is very limited, and our squat rack is different.  It’s not a cage and has no front hooks for partial deadlifts.  There are a few hammer strength machines. Anyway, I sometimes am jealous of people who have more variety in their gyms.  But it has led me to be creative.  Sticking the bar from the bench in a corner for t-bar rows with a v-handle, for instance. 

So, I really wanted to do partial dead-lifts to finish off back workouts.  I moved two flat benches(fortunately they’re not bolted down like in some gyms), which are just above mid-shin level for me, and took a bar from the bench-press rack.  It takes a bit of set up time, but is much better than trying to do them on the Smith rack, which I’ve done.  The free movement of the bar allows me to move more naturally, and for the last 4 or 5 weeks that I’ve incorporated partial dead lifts, I’ve felt my back REALLY getting a nice full finish! 

My gym, as much as I like it, doesn’t have much in the way of helping develop my calves, which have always been a weak spot.  So I’ve had my Craig’s-list-eye open for quite some time.  The main piece I’ve wanted is a seated calf machine.   Standing calf raises, whether with dumbbell or barbell, require engagement at the hip joint (core stabilizers) and knees.  Good for overall calf work.  But our gym doesn’t have even a ‘calf board’, so I have to use the plastic aerobic step, which isn’t as solid a surface, allowing some ball of the foot slippage.  Leg press calves and the seated calf press stack take the hip joint out of the equation, increasing the focus on just the targetted calves, but still engaging the knee joint flexion (unless you use bad form and LOCK your knees, endangering the joint).  Donkey calves I’ve done by putting a pad on my lower back and sliding my butt under the Smith bar.   But none of these hit JUST the calf, including the soleus, as effectively as the plate loaded seated calf can for really finishing them off. Dumbells on the knees, done it.  But the pad right on the knees of a seated calf machine takes all the other joint flexion out more effectively, and puts all the flexion in the ankle, meaning all the contraction is in the calf.

There is a stack calf press that I’m still waiting to pick up from the high school where I got my other dandy garage treats.  But we have that and a leg press at the gym where I can do the same thing.  A seated calf would allow greater isolated/targetted focus on my weak calves.  I’ve tried, with some minor success, using pads and the Smith rack to do seated calves.  I’ve used the lying leg curl, sitting at the end with my knees under the pad to do seated calf raises.  So, on Craig’s I finally found it.  75 bucks and a drive to Vegas! (figure 100 bucks total).  A bit more than I wanted to pay, but still a bargain.  I found it to be in GREAT shape, and apparently custom built by the guy who makes stuff for one of the Gold’s in Vegas.  OK, so I got the piece I’d wanted. 

Then I went to visit a good friend whose house is being essentially rebuilt due to extreme water damage that occured while he was overseas.  We did a walk through, looking at all the repairs being done.  In the bathroom off what HAD been his home gym room, were weight plates strewn on the floor.  I asked him if he was re-stocking his gym after all the damage, and he said he might, but didn’t really need all the plates, so help myself if I wanted some.  I got 250 lbs (4 45’s and 2 35’s) and left the majority of his weights.  Didn’t want to take advantage TOO much of a friendly offer.  But that made my 100 dollar trip  MUCH more productive, adding 250 lbs of plates to my garage gym.  PRETTY GOOD, I think!!

I belong to a gym which is just a couple blocks away.  Why have a home gym, then??  Because sometimes, due to life and schedules, I can’t get there when they’re open and having the versatility to work out WHEN I want is better than a gym full of equipment that’s locked up!!

So, Saturday was just such a day.  My dumbbells only go up to 80 pounds, but since it was arm day, and not chest day, I was fine with it, as anything over 60 for arms (one in each hand for overhead tricep extensions) is of no use for my arm day!  And while I don’t have a cambered curl bar (yet!), the standard Olympic bar was fine.

So, with my laptop playing my saved video clips of the 2007 and 2008 Ironman Pro Bodybuilding, and my now 16 year old son to spot my final sets on close grip bench, I got a GREAT arm pump with the following simple routine!

Barbell curls 105 lbs for sets of 12 (wide grip), 12 (close grip), 11 (wide grip), 10 (medium grip) and a final "rest pause" set (resting 15 seconds and continuing with the same 105 lbs after failure each time) of 10/6/4 and 3 reps.     This was supersetted with overhead Tricep extensions, 50 lb in each hand squeezing the dumbells together to keep my elbows close, 15 reps, 60 lbs ea. for 10, 60 for 9, 60 for 9 more, and a drop set of 50’s/12 reps, 40’s/10 reps, 30’s/10 reps, and 25’s/10 reps.  I was WAY full in the upper arms, massively pumped, at this point.  Time for exercise number 2.

Seated DB curls, 40 each, alternating to sets of 12, 11, 11, and a drop set of 40’s/10 reps, 30’s/7, 25’s/7 and 20’s/7 final reps.  (I could barely flex my arms at the elbow at that point, with only a measly 20 lb dumbbell!!!!)  Each set was spersetted with close grip bench.  185 lbs for sets of 10, 8, 8, and a forced rep/assisted set (Thanks to my son!!) of 8 full reps and three forced negatives.

That was it.  Done.  Fried.  9 sets for bi’s, 9 for tri’s, with a forced-beyond-fatigue last set on each exercise.  My arms were pumped almost 3/4 of an inch above my normal size, and an hour later were still 1/2 over normal (16.75 inches pumped to 17.5!!!)  And today, let’s just say, I’m pretty sure I worked them plenty hard for an old man!!

Always remember, too, that there are 4 types of resistance training, which from “easiest” to “hardest” are: endurance, hypertrophy, strength, and power. There are also 3 types of muscular strength - concentric, eccentric, and static. Your goals, needs, and activities determine your training style. Your genetics determine how much of which muscle fiber types in what percentages are present in every different muscle group of your body.

This was in answer to another member’s question on lateral raises.  Thought it might be post-worthy, plus I like having a record of what I’M learning personally.