Ive been squatting- conjugate programme based on WS.

[Varven]

Well today I trained with one of the Gym staff/PT's... he's the only PT in the gym that I get along with and he seems to know his stuff. Anyway he spent a whole good hour training me (For free) on a routine duplicate to his, albeit toned down cause I cant handle his sorta working loads any time soon.

I know he trains in the same style and it works pretty well for him, so I decided to DROP all my prejudices and try it.

So Today was a chest and Tricep workout in a new style.

Ok the supersetting - Tri set insanity begins. In the notes below, SS= Super Set

Flat DB Flyes 10kg 1x 15, SS Flat BB Bench 30kg 1x15 SS very wide grip Pushups 1x15

1min rest

Flat DB Flyes 10kg 1x 15, SS Flat BB Bench 30kg 1x15 SS very wide grip Pushups 1x15

SHITE this is really hard.. who am I kidding about the weights.. IM sooo glad Im using Less than half my usual weights. Im sweating, seeing a white light. the pump in my chest is enormous.. the pain is even greater.

1 min rest.

Same Routine again... I Failed on the pushups and had to rest Pause several times.

3 mins rest... Im scared now...

Flat DB presses with a twist :

Im made to lie down, hold 10kg dbs straight up in the air, in line with my shoulder, then I am told to bring them down the same way, elbows tucked in.

That is, starting position is: DBS on my chest, along the body: same grip as how you would perform a Hammer curl.

Im pleased..... I DB flat Press 30kg for reps normally, so this ought to be piss easy init ?

Not exactly

15 reps straight up and down, drop the DBS jump onto Incline BB presses for 30kg 1x15 reps, jump into feet on bench incline pushups for 15 reps.

DAMN pain.... 1 min rest.

10kg Close grip DB presses as described above SS with BB incline presses 30 kg 1x15 SS with Incline Push ups 1x15

1 min rest

10kg Close grip DB presses as described above SS with BB incline presses 30 kg 1x15 SS with Incline Push ups 1x15

I HAD to rest Pause all the way through the Incline presses and pushups on the last 2 rounds. I had a spotter helping me as well.

This was really really hard... I cant believe the tiny weights are capable of inflicting such damage. Huge pump on my chest... never felt it before...

3 mins rest

1x 30 bench dips SS with Rope Push downs 1x15

1 min rest

1x 30 bench dips SS with Rope Push downs 1x15

1 min rest

1x 30 bench dips SS with Rope Push downs 1x15

3 mins rest.

AB work.

EXTREME STRETCHING with a partner. This is very very painfull.. but at the end of it, the feeling was soooo good.

There done a whole workout in an hour or so.

Ok I Have never ever done a workout like this.

Its unconventional for me.

It uses tiny weights, It uses high reps, low recovery time, low workout time, very painfull, massive pumps.

Did I enjoy it, HELL YEAH !

Points to note: this is done for about 3 weeks after which, it drops to a 10 rep range on all excercises. This is maintained for 3 weeks then its dropped to 6 rep range.

I think this is an excellent change to a routine. I cant decide if I should actually carry on with it from next week.

BTW I know this dude uses this once in a while to shock his system and it does give him good results.

What do you chappies reckon ?

Oh and if anyone tries this workout, dont try to use more than 30% of your current working weights, it will kill. As a side note this PT uses 21kg dbs and 80kg BB presses on a 15 rep set at the weights listed above.. its pretty impressive, if you try it !

[Simo]

Dam thats sounds pretty hard out, big ups for givin it a go. sounds scary might be worth a try. :grin:

[Growth]

I think change is always good. I think youll benefit quite a lot from a change up in routine such as this.

Looks damn tough though i must say :grin:

[jono]

props for giving it a go man. sounds like you enjoyed it

[Varven]

Friday I worked long hours.. past my usual gyms opening hours so worked out at another gym.

it was a short and quick workout... was really really low on energy after working all day despite eating, and the workout shows it. Ah well.. cant allways expect to be making gains.

Wide Grip Chinups

12kgs assisted 1x10

12 kgs assisted 1x6

15kgs asssited 1x8

15kgs assisted 1x8

Bent over barbell rows

60 1x8

70 1x6

75 1x4new weight :grin:

60 1x8

Rack deads

dammit left my straps at home

60 1x8

100 1x8

140 1x6

160 1x2.... slippery bar.. could have gone for much more reps and weight... but need straps.

Can someone please tell me how to increase grip strenght and I need some forearm excercise... any suggestions ?

Ok I know BB is all about proportionality.. but 2 friends and my gf have told me that I look weird cause they cant see my neck anymore... i.e. my traps are covering them... help I dont wanna look like a handicapped person with a stumped neck ... contemplates african tribeswomen silver neck rings to elongate neck :grin:

[Growth]

For more forearm strength you could try some static holds, farmer walks etc. Perhaps grab a pair of those things you hold in the palm of your hand and squeeze...

[Varven]

Well today was just cardio,

Sunday diet really really fell apart.. but im not too fussed.. one cheat day.. back on track today.

did 40 mins cardio, covered 4.5 kms on treadmill at an incline of level 2.

Reason being ive never seen anyone do lots of incline work with small calves... and i got baby calves.

Outta green tea.. need to get more.

[Ash]

Can someone please tell me how to increase grip strenght and I need some forearm excercise... any suggestions ?

Plate gripping works wonders for grip strength, as does squeezing one of those hand gripper things (if it's got a strong enough spring). The best thing about the gripper is you can take it everywhere. Use a good one for a few weeks and you'll notice a difference.

Ok I know BB is all about proportionality.. but 2 friends and my gf have told me that I look weird cause they cant see my neck anymore... i.e. my traps are covering them... help I dont wanna look like a handicapped person with a stumped neck ... contemplates african tribeswomen silver neck rings to elongate neck :grin:

Ah necks are for girls. You want to be a freak or what? :grin:

[Varven]

Alright.. wil get me some grippers.

Now how do I do plate holds ?

hehe i just gotta make sure im proportional.. yes sire i wannna mutate into a freak... bring it on ! :grin:

[sponge]

I've always found the more I gained the more I was able to grip. You'll get there mate

[Ash]

Now how do I do plate holds ?

Grab a plate between your fingers and thumb, let your arm hang at your side and hold onto it for as long as you can. Make sure the plate doesn't have a raised lip on the edge, it should be smooth.

[Marcus]

Grab a plate between your fingers and thumb, let your arm hang at your side and hold onto it for as long as you can. Make sure the plate doesn't have a raised lip on the edge, it should be smooth.

I do the same as this but using a barbell. Aim to hold on for a minute. Once you get there raise the weight.

[Varven]

today was supposed to legs and shoulders but the aforementioned PT was training legs and chest as well so I decided to workout with him.

Less focus on legs, but not fussed cause i was feeling down anyway from the flu and i had crap loads of uni work to do, so it was good to squuze in 2 huge workouts into one session

squats

60 1x10

80 1x8

90 1x5 good form, new reps

Front squat

60 1x8

65 1x7 new weight

70 1x5 new weight

felt quite sick by now....bloody blocked nose

Stiff legged deadlifts

70 1x10

100 1x6

120 1x4 pretty solid... though form on this weight was a bit dodge.. will drop weight and focus on form more.

SUPERSET INSANITY

Incline db flyes 16kg 1x6 SS Flat BB bench 60 1x8 SS 15 incline push ups.

1 min rest

Incline db flyes 16kg 1x6 SS Flat BB bench 60 1x8 SS 15 incline push ups.

1 min rest

Incline db flyes 16kg 1x6 SS Flat BB bench 60 1x8 SS 15 incline push ups.

4 mins rest...throats dry eyes watering massive pump on chest.. immense pain.. but happy

Flat DB chest press 16kg 1x15 (elbows tucked in as described in previous post ) SS incline BB bench 40 kg 1x10 SS Incline Push ups 1x15

1min rest

Flat DB chest press 16kg 1x15 (elbows tucked in as described in previous post ) SS incline BB bench 40 kg 1x10 SS Incline Push ups 1x15

1 min rest

Flat DB chest press 16kg 1x15 (elbows tucked in as described in previous post ) SS incline BB bench 40 kg 1x10 SS Incline Push ups 1x15

Survived ! lol

next 2 hours i came down with a fever and felt really light headed... gee i should have known better than to push so hard when sick..

nonetheless.. recovering now. Will have to miss some workouts this week due to too much uni work etc. At least diet is on track .

[Growth]

All that supersetting is CRAZY! No wonder you were exhausted after that! Good work :grin:

[Ash]

Nice work getting those new reps on squats but don't push yourself too hard when you're feeling off - the end result can be a forced break and you don't want that.

[jono]

great work on all the squats man. looking good

[deegee]

No wonder you came down with a fever. thats alot of chest work there

[Simo]

lovin that super setting, nice job. Good luck with ur study

[Varven]

thanks Simo.

Guys ive figured it out.

I think all the sickness is overtraining -DOH , you would have thought all the symptoms would have made me realize it earlier. Ive taken most of this week off recovering. From next week Im going to tone down a bit.

I dont think im going to push to failure on every workout anymore.

[Varven]

Went for a 6km run on the road very very slowly. HR was kept relatively low, so Im pretty sure I was mostly burning into fat reserves and not destroying any muscle. Diet has been reasonable.

I havent measured myself .. but fat around my chest.. or shall we say man tits has dropped and stomach as well. Still a whole lot left around the waist.

[Pseudonym]

What were your overtraining symptons, VV? I'm taking this week off for exactly the same reason. I can't remember the last time I had a break, and I was getting muscle twitches, a few scratches were taking longer to heal than I thought they should, and I was incredibly lethargic.

So no training this week. Well, maybe a few days of really light weights, just so I remember how to find the gym...

[Varven]

Flu/mild fever and it wasnt a bacterial/viral infection. Lethargy, irritability, un-motivated to work out which is very very strange for me.

well im feeling better now so decided to have an easy abbreviated workout today:

shoulders

seated db presses

26.5 1x8, 1x8, 1x5,

23.5 1x6

didnt do a 5 repper set on 29.5 as i didnt wanna push too hard.

squat

60 1x10

80 1x8

90 1x6

95 1x4 new weight :grin:

100 1x4 new weifht :grin: yeah buddy... in a few weeks im gonna try a 1RM and see what I can nail. :grin:

80 1x6

Didnt wanna push any higher volume than this. Made gains on squat even though im still not at 100% so that is good. besides got a long day at work ahead till about 2 am.

diet is excellent... but weight isnt dropping... ive been stuck where i am

[jono]

nice squats

[deegee]

Good to hear that you are feeling better, alot of people i know are feeling a bit the same though, just worn down things only start getting more busy from here though as the year winds down.

[Growth]

Good squating there mate, just watch though, you sound like you are on the verge of overtraining, it could lead to a physical injury.