Jettisoned Ponderings

I’ve been heavily re-evaluating a lot of my past training and looking at what has really been the most effective. When I think on what I would typically say "worked" I have to look closer at what that actually meant. As strength improves, size will as well. Though now as I find myself not much larger than I was eight months ago, but moving more weight, I have to ask myself where the size is? Many of my programs were great for getting my strength up, but not hypertrophy. Why is that? All of my recent routines have been a bit less structured and moving toward listening to my body more. I read an article just now that describes this as "auto-regulation". I’m always impressed how T-Nation seems to come up with the articles I need at all the right moments. This one is no exception. It illustrates why I’m such a fan of Christian as a trainer. The last couple lines in the article drive home the point better than I could ever hope to. Give this a read for some fuel for thought.

http://www.tmuscle.com/free_online_article/sports_body_training_performance/thibaudeau_talks_training

Looks like I’ll be doing a portfolio building shoot in 2-3 weeks. I don’t need to be in contest shape for it, but I need to try and get down below 10% bodyfat or so and quickly. I’ll still keep the training the same, but my macros have been shifted. I’ve found going with roughly a 50/20/30 split that I get quick results without getting gaunt and still have functional energy and enough for workouts with the carbs timed appropriately. I really needed to get some sort of deadline to get my motivation back.

My new workout program is based on the 8×8 principles of Vince Gironda. I don’t prescribe 100% to everything he did, but I agree with many principles. This past week I’ve been toying with some things to find the right volume and am pretty pleased with what I’ve been seeing thus far. All compound exercises have 30-45 second rest times. Isolation exercises are 15-30 second rest times.

Back/Triceps:
-Close Grip Seated Rows
-Straight Arm Lat Pulldowns
-Assisted Pull-Ups
-EZ Bar French Presses (Full stretch!)
-Rope Pushdowns

Chest/Biceps
-Flat or Incline Bench Press
-Mid-Pulley Cable Flies
-Preacher Curls (Wide Grip, Elbows In)
-Incline DB Hammer Curls

Upper Legs:
-Back Squats or Front Squats (Medium Stance)
-Narrow Stance Leg Press
-Prone Curls

Delts/Traps/Calves:
-Wide Grip High Rows
-DB Lateral Raises
-1 Leg Standing Calf Raises (15 sec rest after both)
-Seated Calves