_Wolf_

matt,

5x5 = 25 reps which u know adds #s to ur 1RM, right?

ok,

similarly,

10x3 = 30 reps which is close to 25 and will add #s to my 1RM plus it will also add a bit of hypertrophy

no, for me everything is not 1RM. im not a powerlifter. I am a powerbuilder. also, my goals right now have very little to do with 1RMs...

here are my goals:

1.) get from 18% bf to 12.

2.) get my deads up to 225 (this will happen very soon)

3.) overhead press 185 (this will take another 4-6 months)

thats all i am concerned about, matt.

more importantly i want to get big and strong overall.

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hrdgain81

Your goals are reachable anuj, and again I'm not flaming, I just dont want to see you spinning your wheels. If you believe this to be working thats cool, just giving some constructive criticism is all.

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_Wolf_

what do u mean by planned progression of 5x5? the fact that u start out 25 lbs lighter than ur 5x5 max and then u add 5 lbs to the bar every session? in that case how am i doing anything different? i started at 165 lbs for 10x3. i added 5 lbs a session and now i am at 190. its the same principle.

also, it would not be possible for u (or anyone) to just stick to a static weight for the rest of ur life like benching 225 for 5x5. not only do other factors like fatigue, injury, etc count in but if u try for even a short while like 9 weeks to stick to the same weight with the same set-rep scheme u will actually get MUCH weaker on the lift.



i guess what works for some people may not work for others then matt. this has worked very well for me and the reason why my bench presses have sucked off late is because of the sheer volume ive been putting into my overhead press workouts. and i think thats fine. im willing to sacrifice the bench press for my OH press any day.



i am looking at:
1.) work capacity
2.) overall fitness levels
3.) the way i look in the mirror
4.) my progression on lifts with respect to set-rep schemes

so 1RMs arent all that important to me right now, hrdgain. the way i see it, going from a 3x3 max of 185 to a 10x3 timed max of 185 means progress because:
1.) ive increased my work capacity by almost 3 times
2.) i have progressed on the 10x3 set-rep scheme since my old 10x3 max was 165
3.) my chest looks much better
4.) i feel fit

this is how i guage my progress, matt.

Quote:

I just dont want to see you spinning your wheels.

i know i know, matt. feel free to ask me anything. when u ask me questions i re-enforce my own principles by answering them

Quote:

just giving some constructive criticism is all.

i recognize that, matt. which is why im being civil with u

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hrdgain81

Sorry for gunking up your log with all this. I see what your saying, and as I said before if you believe it to be working, then stick with it. I just wanted to make sure that what your doing, translates to you achieving your goals.

ah its almost the weekend, hope you have a good one anuj.

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EricT

I think it is important when it comes to injuries, and especially ones as bad as Anuj's shoulder injuries, to get away from the idea of plainning things based on what you did before.

Although it makes sense to say it, I think some of this confusion comes from the phrase "converting 185x3x3 to 185x10x3". That makes it sound like Anuj took 185 and plugged away at it until he could do 185 for three sets. Although that would likely have some little impact on your max, it would mostly be endurance work like hrdgain was saying. Maybe we should say he used to be able to do 185x3x3 but now he can do 190x10x3. You can't see the progress if you just judge things with numbers without the circumstance.

But the 185 that he could do before has nothing to do with what he started with after the injury. It does, however, help to explain the progress he was able to make on the 10x3. Make no mistake, you can't load the bar every session with any set rep scheme and not be getting stronger

Anuj started with his approximate 5RM AT THAT TIME. He did 10 sets of 3 with approx. 60 second rest intervals. Probably most people would think of this as "endurance" because of the short rest intervals but you have to recognize that the shorter rest intervals were used to actually increase the challenge.

If he had done 5x5 or something with a little less weight with typical rest periods, say 3 minutes or more you figure he is actually going to take at least around 13 minutes to complete the sets. And, yes, most people rest that long. Even with 2 minute rest periods he would still take at least 9 minutes...just viewing from the pure standpoint of time. And he probably would have used something like 145 to start instead of starting with his actual 5RM of 165.

So if you look at the actual working time and the weight on the bar you can see that the combination of short rest intervals, plus more weight on the bar, plus the continual loading of the bar was pure strength work as much as anything else. After all he started doing more work in 8 to 9 minutes than he would have doing 5x5, for example. HE LIFTED MORE WEIGHT in that time period. That right there will make you stonger. Not to mention increasing recovery and work capacity. Anything can work, you just have to know how to make it work for your goals.

Also, enduarance is a mixed bag. Primarily endurance is simply doing a given level of work for a longer period. But that is not what Anuj did. He started with a given period of time and increased the workload he could do in that time. So unless you are a person that contunually changes you rest intervals, that is not different than any other set and rep scheme.

Pretty soon he will switch to 7x4 while keeping the total time around the same. Density will increase. The rest periods will increase except the total time will remain about the same. The total reps are about the same at 28. The bar will be loaded as long as possible. That is assuming he recovers and gets going again.

Then he will switch to 6x5. So 30 reps which is close enough for government work. The rest periods will adjust again. Bar will be loaded for as long as possible. These loading periods may only be a couple of weeks, it doesn't matter.

Then he will go to more maximal work for a little while assuming everything is OK.

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Fall '07 - Lower 1, Week 25

Overall Impression:

good workout. my diet has become pretty good. just in case anyone wants to know this is what i ate today:

- wake up: 9:30 am
- sipped my protein shake mixed in gatorade (3 scoops) from 10:00 till 12:30 pm
- ate some pasta with plenty of green and black olives with chicken and shrimp. also ate an apple and a bowl of salad with some nuts. this was very heavy.
- drank 2 scoops of whey with 1/2 a gatorade + 1/2 water from 2 to 4:30 pm
- drank 2 scoops of whey with gatorade from 4:30 to 6:30. this is during workout.
- swallowed 4 taurine pills at 6:30 pm
- plan for tonight is going out to eat dinner a thai restaurant at 7:30 and then seeing a movie, etc and probably getting a late night snack around 3-4 in the morning. from now till then apart from the dinner ill just be having a lot f water.

this is my diet. it probably looks pretty bad but compared to before this is like a 180 degree turnaround for me. i never used to eat fruits or veggies. my carbs were low. i ate too much fat. i drank too much coke. now none of that shit. i can begin to see small - very small changes to my physique already. im giving this 3-4 months max before i can attain my goal of 12% bf. the way i see it: the longer it takes me to reach that while gaining muscle, more permanent will the change be.

also, just incase anyone wants to know how my diet was 2 weeks ago on this friday (i remember):
- wake up @ 9:00 am
- starve from 9 till 1 pm
- 1 pm lunch: smoked brisket
- 3 pm: 1 scoop whey
- 4:30 go for workout
- 6:30 post workout, eat 5 BCAA pills.
- go out for dinner
- drink water
go to sleep

yeah, thats how bad things had gotten. no wonder ive gone from 188 to 175 lbs. but its fine. im going to be backing off the scale for a few months and im going to look at the mirror to see progress. im not a bodybuilder but as ive mentioned before, my current short term goals are:
1.) get to 12% bf
2.) hit a 225 lbs deadlift
3.) overhead press 185 lbs

anyways, time for the workout:

Deadlift = 1 set x 8 reps x 145 lbs, 1 set x 13 reps x 135 lbs

this felt really light and easy. i liked this. the 8 rep set was easy. i could have done a LOT more. good thing i didnt. i can see the 225 lbs being closer than expected. next week im going to do 155x8 and 135x15. then im aiming for 165x8 and 145x10 or something like that. basically 2 sets: one heavy with progression the other more like a light back off set. nothing to failure of course.

Bulgarian Squats = 2 sets x 8 reps x 30 lbs in each hand

this exercise feels VERY wierd to me. i dont like it.

Glute Ham Raises = 2 sets x 10 reps, 1 set x 10 reps x 10 lbs

next week ill get 1 set of 10 reps with my bodyweight and then 2 sets of 10 reps with me holding the 10 lbs plate.

Ab Work

6 sets for abs. 4 exercises supersetted. here u go:
A1: Static Holds: untimed
A2: Lat Pull Down Sit-ups: 3 sets x 8 reps x 60 lbs
B1: Leg Pistons: 3 sets x 12 reps
B2: Overhead Side Bends with plates: 3 sets x 10 reps x 10 lbs

Neck Exercise on Hammer Strength Machine

something new i did just to see how it feels. very light work.

Leaving Thoughts:

i feel positive about this session. i think it went off well and i did everything without doing anything stupid so im happy. my back is feeling better and after those sets of deads i kinda felt invincible and a part of me wanted to load 225 onto the bar but i refrained from giving in to my stupid impulsive feelings.

thanks for reading everyone and i hope y'all all have a great weekend

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EricT

I'd like to see a vid of the glute/ham raises. Sorry dude but I find it hard to believe that you are so good at those already that you need to add weight. But seeing is believing .

What do you mean about the bulg. squats feeling weird?

On the neck thing I don't know how that maching works but if it involves actual neck movement back and forth I would avoid it like the plague. It can cause severe and permanent damage to the cervical spine and you know when I say these things I speak from sad experience. The best things for neck are more isometric in nature. It does not take a lot to make the muscles grow like crazy but it is so extremely easy to screw up and once you do you are looking at problems extending from the neck to the whole shoulder girdle.

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_Wolf_

next week then Eric. u will see a vid of me doing glute ham raises haha....

oh just generally. i dont like them. thats what i meant lol.

im not using that machine again, Eric. point taken. its a dumb hammer strength machine.

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EricT

Oh. Well then you should do them even more

For the neck there is a method for working it and you can use weight exercise. But to tell the truth your bodyweight is all you need. You can do neck bridges on the floor. Against a wall, etc.

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