Yeah, the program I'm running is meant to be a good mix of bodybuilding and strength building. You pretty much nailed it with your assessment. The supplemental lifts don't ONLY focus on definition though. As you can see, one of the supplemental schemes is 4 Sets of 4-6 Reps. The core lifts have some variation in them too (as you probably know, 8 rep sets are much different than 2 rep sets). Front Squats aren't bad once you learn how to do them. You just can't go into them thinking you can do it like a back squat, because they're an entirely different animal which requires a completely different technique. I had a really hard time getting my hands in the right position the first few times I did them, but they feel a lot more natural now. Probably the only thing that sucks more than 20 rep sets of Front Squat is the 20 reps sets of Lunges. Uhg. I'm not sure how much longer I'll be able to go 5 days a week, but it's been fine so far.
so i tried doing this and i wanted to make sure i could finish the workout so i thought 10 would be safe. i made it up and back but i seriously doubt i could have done 11. You are a monster schnitzel edit: 10 being the highest of course in a set
That's actually not bad man, not bad at all. Back in January I was sitting pretty close to the same count. It's all about slowly building it up over time. Another fun one is trying to hit 100 reps total in as few sets as possible. I'm able to knock it out in 5 currently, but I want to get back to the point where I can do it in 4... Or the elusive 3 that I've never managed. :O Ideally, I'd like to get up to the point where I can knock out 5 sets of 30 reps consecutively.
Since we're posting workouts, shock workout today. 10 exercises. 5 sets in each, 20 reps per set. 1000 reps Flat Bench DB Fly Incline Bench Pec Fly Decline Bench Cable Cross Machine Press Push Ups Vesp Press Incline Machine Played soccer last night so took a fairly strong cup of coffee to get through it.
Today, second day straight of back. Yeah, I know, I should rest a few days before doing back again. Pullups 5x20 One Arm Rows 45lb 4x15 Lat Pulldowns (seperate handles instead of bar) 5x20 Short, quick, workout.
Incline Press - 105lbs X 6/6/11 Seated Overhead DB Press - 25's X 17/12 DB Bent Row - 30's X 20/20 Close Grip Bench Press - 70 X 20/20
For the gym gurus here's a question. When I lift I hit muscle failure fairly quickly in my workouts. I hit them so quickly that I usually don't even feel them coming. For example when doing arms I would do a pull up workout (3 sets total), hit preacher curls (again 3 sets), then do something like seated curls. However, when doing the seated curls, I'll be doing the reps feeling fine and then boom mid set I can't curl my arm anymore. I'm just dead. I'm sure I don't need to explain muscle failure to most of you, but it hits me so suddenly. I still finish my workouts, it's just a struggle at that point. I've tried less exercises, lower reps, lower sets, just about anything and it doesn't help. To be clear, I'm not attempting to eliminate hitting muscle failure. I'm wanting to know why it occurs out of nowhere with no signs of coming on. I don't feel tired before it happens or anything. Any ideas?
Can be many things. Firstly, it could be in your head. Youve said its become a norm, so now you expect it. Part of training is to push past pain/fatigue. You could be thinking of failure the second it hits, and just accepting youre done. Do that enough times, and it becomes the standard. Secondly, your muscles could just be tired, and fun out of fuel quickly. Thats mainly a diet thing. Lifting uses up a different energy system to, say, walking. It requires fuel. Run out of that fuel, and the body will convert to other resources in your body (which it doesnt like), and can just fall flat. Try get some solid eating in before a workout, and see what happens. A good example to what I mentioned above is running long distances. You ever get that "second wind"? Where you are on your arse mid run, then suddenly get a boost for the rest of the run. This period is when your body is changing from burning carbs, to fat. Your body hates it at first, but once you're eventually burning that fat, you get that "second wind"
I probably should post my workouts more. Yesterday An hour of tyre pushing/pulling (if anyone has one at a gym, with floor space, and isint sure what to do with it, throw a message on here) Overhead Dumbell Press 4 sets, 5 reps or so (im pooped at this point) Lateral Raise DB (4 X 5) Front raise barbel (4 x 5) Machine SHoulder press (4 x 3) Killed me, kinda ruined going to the movies later and having a burger followed by snacks. Today Shock leg workout. All 20 reps, 5 sets Barbell squat (no weight) Barbell Straight Leg Deadlift Leg Press Leg Curl machine Leg Extension Machine Lunges (no weight) Sumo squat (smith machine) Calf press Leg addcutore machine Leg abductor machine Above took about 2 hours
New personal record with my pullup pyramid routine! Today I added in sets of 5 body squats superset in with my 10 pushups after each set of pullups. As always, started with a set of 1 pullup, and built up by adding 1 rep to each set till I hit 18 reps, then reversed and went back down to 1 again. That made for a total of 324 pullups! Stoked!
I ended up with a week long break after being out of town for several days, and then getting sick. I was due for a deload anyway, so it's not the end of the world. I've been back at it the last two days, but been doing really light workouts because I don't have any energy. Hopefully I can kick this damn cold within the next couple of days and start hitting it hard again.