Not Just Getting Older, Getting Better

[Lifting N Tx]

Intro and a Little About me


I have lifted on and off since my youth, not always too seriously. I'm now old enough to have sons that lift, and decided a couple of years back to get strong before I got too old. I was working pretty hard at bench and curls, not too hard at other things. My bench finally stalled at a max of 275 and I started trying to learn more about better methods of training.


In the last year or so I've done Max-Stim (similar to HST with a few unique aspects), Madcow's Intermediate 5x5, a couple of HST runs, and a little bit with routines of my own creation. I'm currently about a week into a new routine that is my own tweaked version of one used by a guy on bb.com (LSU1), who had great success with it as a natty.


I'm 6'0? and bulked from an only moderately lean 185-190 to a high of 230 over about 6 months in the last half of 2006. Over the last five months or so I've lost over 20 lbs while being able to add some strength here and there. I've probably still got at least 15lbs to go before I'll be ready to raise calories back above maintenance, this time more gradually.


I wanted to change to this routine for several reasons. One, I have never developed much work capacity or endurance, usually taking whatever time I needed. Two, I don't think that I'm so advanced that I should need a long buildup, such as with HST, to set PRs for only a workout or two. Three, I've never really tried a split and would rather workout more frequently, but with shorter workouts. Four, this routine, while a split, still allows for relatively high frequency, at almost 2x per week for each muscle group. Finally, it balances a strength emphasis with a workload or hypertrophy-oriented emphasis. It's something different from what I've done that I'd like to try, and I've observed that several guys have had good success with it, for both strength and hypertrophy.


Of course I may eventually decide that nothing is going to work too well while I'm in a caloric deficit, but so far I've had at least modest success with other routines while losing fat and will try to continue that for now. Next I'll post the outline of what I'm doing. Note that it may be subject to adjustment as I get more experience with how this routine does for me.

[Lifting N Tx]

3 Way Split Routine
Done 3 on, 1 off, 2 on, 1 off

Back/Bi Hypertrophy (1-1.5 minute rests)
Chins 2x6-8, 1x10-12 # probably do pulldowns for the set of 10-12
Dumbell Row 3x8-15
Hammer Curl 3x6-10
Cable Row ? Hammer Grip 2x8-12 Done with a ?Y? chain with handles on the end
Incline Curl 2x8-12
grip 1xsome
Calves 2x15-20
16 work sets

Legs/Shoulders Strength (2-2.5 minute rests)
Box Squat 3x5, 1x8-12
Push Press 3x5, 1x8-12 # doing regular BN press for the high rep set
Rack Deadlift 2x5, 1x8-12
DB Laterals 2x8-12
ATG Squat 1x12-15 # a little more quad work as box squats are less quad intensive
Neck exercises 1xsome (4 way)
RC work 1xsome (4 way)
16 work sets

Chest/Tri Hypertrophy (1-1.5 minute rests)
Incline DB or BB presses 3x6-12 # may do with bands if BB
Flat BB Press 3x8-12
Skull Crushers 3x8-15
Incline DB Fly or Cable Xovers 2x8-15
Tri pressdown 2x8-15
Abs 2x8-12
15 work sets

Back/Bi Strength (2-2.5 minute rests)
Pendlay Row 2x5, 1x8-12
Narrow Grip Chins 2x5-8
Seated DB Curl 3x5-12
Cable Row ? Hammer Grip 2x8-12 Done with a ?Y? chain with handles on the end
Hammer Curl 2x8-15
grip 1xsome
Calves 2x15-20
15 sets

Legs/Shoulders Hypertrophy (1-1.5 minute rests)
Front Squat 3x6-12
BTN Presses 3x8-12
GHR 3x8-15
Clean pulls 3x5 # Might add some hang cleans or power cleans ... light form work
Neck exercises 1xsome (4 way)
RC work 1xsome (4 way)

Chest/Tri Strength (2-2.5 minute rests)
Flat BB 2x5, 1x10-12
Floor Press 2x5, 1x10-12
Incline BB (or DB) 2x8-12 # 30 degree incline
Skull Crushers 3x8-15
Cable Crossovers 3x8-15
Abs 2x8-12
16 work sets

[Dave76]

*subscribed*

Of course, I'll be reading at bb.com, assuming you keep that journal going. I'm just tired of seeing an empty User CP.

[Misanthrope]

Count me in, too, Steve. I will still check in with your journal at BB.com, but since I follow so many of them there it would probably be easier for me to keep track of what you're doing here.

[Lifting N Tx]

Thanks, guys. I write things up in Open Office and just cut and paste, so the workout entries should be the same. The discussion, of course, will be different.

Workout post in a few minutes...

[Lifting N Tx]

This is the first workout in the 2nd rotation.

Sunday, July 15^th, 2007
(warm ups not shown)
90 second rests between sets of the same exercise, unless otherwise noted.
I'm putting numbers from the previous workout where an exercise was done in parens.
Dumbell exercises same number of reps each hand unless otherwise noted.

Chins
BW x 7 (6)
BW x 7 (6)
Cable Pulldown @ 130 x 11 reps (120 x 12)
Showing the cable pulldown with chins, as it's there until I can do enough chins for a high rep backoff set.

Dumbell Row (new exercise)
70 x 8
70 x 8
70 x 10

Hammer Curl
39 x 7 (6)
39 x 7 (6) 2' rest due to short interruption
39 x 8 (7)

Cable Row-Hammer Grip
Pulled to around mid chest level. Using chains that split into a ?Y?, each with a handle attached.
90 x 10 (9)
90 x 10 (8)


Incline Curl
29 x 8 (7)
29 x 8 (7)

Generic Gripper
20 reps + 20 second static hold each hand (19)

Single Leg Calf Raise
done holding a dumbell in the same hand
35 x 18 (16)
35 x 18 (17)

16 work sets
Body weight ? 209; Workout time 46 minutes, including warm up and post-workout stretching

Comments
I tried to stick closely to the rest times between exercises, and also limited rests in between exercises, as I like the short WO time. Dave will be happy to know that I felt the chins about as much in my tris as in my lats. Empirical evidence continues to validate that that Rippetoe guy does know a thing or two.


I was a bit worried about the dumbell rows' range of motion (using a dumbell that holds Olympic plates) when I bumped my chest a couple of times with the edge of a 25lb plate. I found, though, that if I turned the dumbell at an angle I could get about the same ROM as a barbell, and I felt these quite well in my lats.


I don't know what else to call the ?cable row-hammer grip?, which are done with my home made apparatus. I can't do much weight with them; weight shown is plates only, as I don't know the (modest) weight of the cable assembly nor how much equivalent weight that the friction (which seems fairly significant) adds. Still light resistance, though, and I'm not trying for the most possible weight as much as trying to pull to a point reasonably high on my chest. I'm trying to hit my rear delts and middle back with these, which are weak points compared to my lats.


Next workout is scheduled for tomorrow, and will be a legs/shoulders strength-oriented day.

[Misanthrope]

Good job today. LNT = the MacGuyver of the home gym.

Do you have enough smaller plates for the oly dumbbell handles?

[Lencho]

Count me in, too, Steve. I will still check in with your journal at BB.com, but since I follow so many of them there it would probably be easier for me to keep track of what you're doing here.

Hi, Matt.



Nice program, Steve. Me likey the layout.

[Kyle]

Stevo, no more OLs?

Kyle

[Lifting N Tx]

Good job today. LNT = the MacGuyver of the home gym.

Do you have enough smaller plates for the oly dumbbell handles?

Thanks, Matt. I tried to make the best of what I have ... or what I can buy on the cheap. I don't really manufacture stuff like some do, though.

I have 2- 300 lb oly sets, plus an extra pair of 45s for each. They are totally different in the plates, though, so I keep em separate. Right now if I wanted a bilateral dumbell exercise I'll likely have to combine the small plates from both, though.

Hi, Matt.

Nice program, Steve. Me likey the layout.

Thanks, Lencho. I'm glad that you checked this place out. It's just getting started, but I have high hopes for it.