Raising The Bar

T

Typhon

2
Well here it is, the time for me to get myself organised and step up a level with my training. I've decided that my usual workout schedule of turning up at the gym and doing what I feel like has served me well but it's time to move on.

A brief biography of me for those of you unfortunate enough not to know me already;
I'm a 26 y/o male, 6'2", 220lbs. I've been lifting for about 14 months. I started lifting because I was painfully skinny (160-170lbs) and hated the way I looked however I no longer care about appearance and performance is my sole priority.

Below is the basic set up of my routine, I'm not sure of the weights I'll be using yet as I've never done anything similar to this set up before, I usually train for strength using high weight low reps. I'll be going to the gym today and running through workout 'A' at medium intensity to get a feel for it and what my limits will be.

Please note that this workout has been formed with nagging shoulder injuries in mind, I'm trying to repair past mistakes as well as gain strength.
The idea is that each workout is performed as a circuit without rest between each exercise until the end and then the circuit starts again but with altered reps.
I'll be alternating between A & B on M,T,T,F and taking weekends off

Workout A


Exercise..........................Sets...........Reps

Front Squats.....................3..............6,8,12
Step Up............................3..............8
Pushups w/ shoulder raise....3..............5,8,10
Seated Cable Row..............3..............5,8,10
Overhead Shrug.................3..............10

Workout B

Exercise.................Sets........Reps

Deadlift ..................3...........6,8,12
Static Lunge............3...........8
Barbell Military Press..3...........5,8,10
Pullup.....................3...........5,8,10
Face Pull.................3..........10
 
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OK, just had my first session with workout A and all I can say is that the guy who made this plan for me is a sadistic ba*tard. I've never done front squats before and I can honestly say that I've never been pushed so close to my overall physical limit before. Today for the first time I was making grunting noises when lifting, I've always hated it when guys do that but I couldn't do it any other way.

This routine reminds me of the feeling I used to get when I had to try and sprint the last 500 meters of a cross country race even though I'd lost the feeling in my legs. The difference is that this time I'm holding a f***ing heavy bar on my shoulders

In brief, that workout kicked the crap out of me; it's fantastic! :D
 
No worries FF, I'd seriously recommend trying this. By the third set I found it impossible to go between exercises without rest, I just had to wait until I was able to stand again before moving on.

I felt a bit like Rocky at the end though
 
For those interested in my nutrition, I'm going to be eating about 3,500 Kcal's a day from now on (down from about 3,800) which will be split between about 8 meals of approx 450 Kcals. I'm hoping I can still gain weight with the lower intake but hopefully I won't gain fat as quickly.

On a completely seperate note, has anyone heard of the 'Vacuum pose' being a good exercise for correcting posture? I'm trying that out at the moment as my back is suffering for spending years sat behind a desk
 
The movement where you suck in your stomach? Its been tossed around for awhile. Some say it works, some say no.

NASM recommends it, but Ive tried it and didnt experience any noticeable effects.
 
tonymcclellan said:
The movement where you suck in your stomach? Its been tossed around for awhile. Some say it works, some say no.

NASM recommends it, but Ive tried it and didnt experience any noticeable effects.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that's the one, you bring your stomach in and under the rip cage rather than flexing. I read about it when looking for ways to improve posture and I have to admit it's a lot harder than I thought it would be
 
you do the vacuums as an exercise alone, or do them while you do squats, deads, etc. If its the later, that has been beated to a bloody pulp..
 
Lol, I can't imagine even trying to do them while squating, I generally make my stomach big for the compounds. I do the vacuums on there own as and when I remember during the day, it's also a good reminder to myself to stand/sit up straight
 
I was still feeling yesterdays workout a little so I didn't push it too hard today, especially until I get the hang of this routine. I stuck with 100kg for the deadlifts and 40kg for the MP for all the reps, I'm gonna change that up a lot next week and maybe start with 140kg for DL and 50-60kg for MP and then cut the weight as the reps increase.

And does anyone have a form guide for face pulls, I was finding it hard to keep my balance while doing these
 
philsaigon said:
Just curious, How come?
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I don't know really, I guess I just had low self esteem and lacked an interest of my own (I have a young daughter so all time away from work is spent looking after her)

Now I'm doing OK with lifting and I have a little corner of the world that's just for me (the squat rack :)) I feel more human and alive again. I think the bad feelings about my appearance was just a reflection of being unhappy in general which has now gone away
 
Chillen said:
Take a look at these two. Hope this provides a little assistance for ya.







Chillen
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Thanks Chill

It looks so easy in those demos but when I do it I find it hard not to get pulled forward. I'll propably have to look at my form more closely to find the problem
 
Performance increase for what sport?

Also, why in the world are you front squatting 12 reps. I don't see the inherent value of doing high rep squats.
 
Performance increase for what sport?

Also, why in the world are you front squatting 12 reps. I don't see the inherent value of doing high rep front squats.
 
evolution said:
Performance increase for what sport?

Also, why in the world are you front squatting 12 reps. I don't see the inherent value of doing high rep front squats.
Click to expand...

No particular sport, just my performance with lifting, it's become a major interest of mine

As for 12 reps of front squats, I'm not quite sure, the routine was made for me and it might just be there to shock my body a little as I usually stick to the 5-8 rep range. I'll ask my routine designer for a better answer
 
I was back on workout A today; after initially having a problem getting to the squat rack. As I walked towards the rack a guy took the bar out of it and placed it on the floor just outside the rack to do rows with. I asked how long he would be and he said 8 sets which pi**ed me off as he could have used the spare bar and gone anywhere in the gym to do that but he chose to stand by the squat rack so no one else could use it :mad:

Anyway, I walked over to the corner of the gym, picked up a rusty old spare bar, walked back to the squat rack and loaded it up. Then I lifted the bar on my shoulders and asked the guy to move or he might accidently get whacked in the head. I think he got the idea and moved out of my way.

For the actual lifting, I decided to still stay within myself a little as this would only be the second time I'd done this workout but I upped the weight on the front squats and step ups to 80kg from 60kg on Monday. This was pretty taxing although it didn't mess me up like it did earlier in the week although I felt far more strain on core muscles this time. I was far more in control but had a face like a beetroot, I almost dropped the bar when I saw my face in the mirror!
I think my biggest problem with front squats is the balance, I'm getting used to it now though (I hope)

This time for the rows I used 105kg for the 5 and 8 reps and 98kg for the 12 (actually 10) rather than 105 for the 5 and 98 for the 8 and 12
 
You got the proper form on your hand position for front squats correct? The bar really just sits on your fingers.
 
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