Fitness and Nutrition, Rep VI

[Lshap]

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[Adonis Creed]

Was 275 last year in july...I looked brutal in my trip pics...needed to changed my whole life and now I train 5-6 times a week and wieght 190 pounds...still a little bit of fat but god damn it feel good to buy new clothes, doing exercises and being in shape

ran a 10k last week...I was barely able to run 100 meters 1 year ago...

My mental is way better since i've decided to take my life in charge...marriage, being lazy and TV f***ed up myself...

broke the chains, now divorced but I'm happy..less $$$ but i don't care

Thanks to all here wh I have read tips and I try to apply some of them..

 

[Mrb1p]

Was 275 last year in july...I looked brutal in my trip pics...needed to changed my whole life and now I train 5-6 times a week and wieght 190 pounds...still a little bit of fat but god damn it feel good to buy new clothes, doing exercises and being in shape

ran a 10k last week...I was barely able to run 100 meters 1 year ago...

My mental is way better since i've decided to take my life in charge...marriage, being lazy and TV ****ed up myself...

broke the chains, now divorced but I'm happy..less $$$ but i don't care

Thanks to all here wh I have read tips and I try to apply some of them..

I know this sounds like some hippie mambo jambo but self love is so important. You kinda forget about it when youre in a relationship for a long time. Being single for two years was a real blessing to me. Went from a fat beta unhappy guy to a real alpha in a matter of months.

 

[DAChampion]

Do they usually include substantial carbohydrates in protein bars for taste reasons, for the insulin spike, or because it helps with the texture and storage?

 

[DAChampion]

self love is so important. You kinda forget about it when youre in a relationship for a long time. Being single for two years was a real blessing to me.

Do you use your left hand or your right hand?

;-)

 

[DAChampion]

Was 275 last year in july...I looked brutal in my trip pics...needed to changed my whole life and now I train 5-6 times a week and wieght 190 pounds...still a little bit of fat but god damn it feel good to buy new clothes, doing exercises and being in shape

ran a 10k last week...I was barely able to run 100 meters 1 year ago...

My mental is way better since i've decided to take my life in charge...marriage, being lazy and TV ****ed up myself...

broke the chains, now divorced but I'm happy..less $$$ but i don't care

Thanks to all here wh I have read tips and I try to apply some of them..

Congratulations man.

85 lbs of loss and improved mental health is very good, most people who need to lose weight never do, and most that do don't keep it off. You're exceptional.

 

[DramaticGloveSave]

Right now my workout is 4 days a week. My average week looks like Upper/Lower/Rest/Push/Pull/Rest/Rest..

Do any of you follow AlphaDestiny on youtube? Dude is making crazy strength gains doing 2 days a week, full body for both- benched 330 at 160... more than double body weight. Crazy.

 

[Kriss E]

Right now my workout is 4 days a week. My average week looks like Upper/Lower/Rest/Push/Pull/Rest/Rest..

Do any of you follow AlphaDestiny on youtube? Dude is making crazy strength gains doing 2 days a week, full body for both- benched 330 at 160... more than double body weight. Crazy.

Are you talking about his novice program?
That one is 3 days a week. He also calls it a Strength and Conditioning program but I don't see any of the conditioning work.
He states you can do this twice per week, but really you will only see a drop in 10-15% of strength gains, which seems like a stat he pulled straight out of his ass, no offense to him.

I am getting pretty busy myself, 3x a week is all I can do now, maybe I'll try this.

 

[Mrb1p]

I just finished what is, so far, the toughest thing ive done in a weight room, I think. Week two of phase three of Smolov, where I had to add 20 pounds to my already high %'s. The 7s and 5s were really, really tough. Not looking forward to adding another ten pound.

So far I havent used any equipment, no belt, wraps or sleeves, just me, the bar and my shoes.

 

[Adonis Creed]

Congratulations man.

85 lbs of loss and improved mental health is very good, most people who need to lose weight never do, and most that do don't keep it off. You're exceptional.

Thanks for the kind support.
and to the above poster I concur about the self-love part. It is not mambo jambo..it just show confidence and believe and people see it.

I am in no mean exceptionnal...I couldn't quit this time around and I found Boxing...god I love this kind of training.

Next step is some SPARTAN RACE next year. It was rough some time but I never quit...and now going to the gym and making clean meal is fun and make me feel better.

Off to run a 10k this morning...eat 3 hot-dogs at St-Jean yesterday and god dam I feel sick becuz of that junk food lol

 

[DAChampion]

Thanks for the kind support.
and to the above poster I concur about the self-love part. It is not mambo jambo..it just show confidence and believe and people see it.

I am in no mean exceptionnal...I couldn't quit this time around and I found Boxing...god I love this kind of training.

Next step is some SPARTAN RACE next year. It was rough some time but I never quit...and now going to the gym and making clean meal is fun and make me feel better.

Off to run a 10k this morning...eat 3 hot-dogs at St-Jean yesterday and god dam I feel sick becuz of that junk food lol

You need to develop finer tastes in hot dogs, to prepare for next year's changes at the Bell Centre.

 

[DramaticGloveSave]

Are you talking about his novice program?
That one is 3 days a week. He also calls it a Strength and Conditioning program but I don't see any of the conditioning work.
He states you can do this twice per week, but really you will only see a drop in 10-15% of strength gains, which seems like a stat he pulled straight out of his ass, no offense to him.

I am getting pretty busy myself, 3x a week is all I can do now, maybe I'll try this.

He has a video titled something along the lines of "why I only do 2 total body workouts a week". I've always believed recovery to be underrated but it may be way more underrated than I thought. He also states how much more motivated you are when you only have two days. The whole thing makes a ton of sense to me.

 

[justafan22]

He has a video titled something along the lines of "why I only do 2 total body workouts a week". I've always believed recovery to be underrated but it may be way more underrated than I thought. He also states how much more motivated you are when you only have two days. The whole thing makes a ton of sense to me.

YMMV, but I found when I went from 2-3 times a week of 2 1/2 - 3 hours of intense working out to 5-6 days of 1 - 1/2 hours of intense working out I made more gains and had a body I was satisified with more.

 

[Lshap]

Thanks for the kind support.
and to the above poster I concur about the self-love part. It is not mambo jambo..it just show confidence and believe and people see it.

I am in no mean exceptionnal...I couldn't quit this time around and I found Boxing...god I love this kind of training.

Next step is some SPARTAN RACE next year. It was rough some time but I never quit...and now going to the gym and making clean meal is fun and make me feel better.

Off to run a 10k this morning...eat 3 hot-dogs at St-Jean yesterday and god dam I feel sick becuz of that junk food lol

I'll add my congratulations. Pretty amazing life transformation in a year! You sound like a buddy of mine who got divorced about two years ago and went from heavily overweight to lean and muscular in a year. Negative motivation is a powerful force.

Great thing about eating better is your appetite adjusts. Junk still tastes good, you just can't eat as much.

 

[DramaticGloveSave]

YMMV, but I found when I went from 2-3 times a week of 2 1/2 - 3 hours of intense working out to 5-6 days of 1 - 1/2 hours of intense working out I made more gains and had a body I was satisified with more.

I've always been a 4-6 day a week person. Just for myself I find that I need to do something active everyday in order to be in top spirits. I just feel bummy if I don't do anything active lol

But the logic of less is more makes sense to me. I find it applies to many things in life, and I definitely see the logic as explained by AlphaDestiny.

 

[Kriss E]

I've always been a 4-6 day a week person. Just for myself I find that I need to do something active everyday in order to be in top spirits. I just feel bummy if I don't do anything active lol

But the logic of less is more makes sense to me. I find it applies to many things in life, and I definitely see the logic as explained by AlphaDestiny.

This video?
My thoughts on this is it sounds more like a rant and based on his personal training than anything else.
Also, as much as he wants to scream it, I doubt he truly only works out twice per week. He already mentions in this video about little 20min sessions that he doesn't consider workouts, whatever those are.
I mean, strength training only twice per week? Absolutely. And then...maybe you play hockey once a week too, go swimming once a week, go mess around in a park...
Well that is not twice per week.
But that's not to say he's wrong. I also prescribe full body workouts 2x per week to beginners with a 3rd day of training. The reason I like to get them in for 3 days is to establish a routine of going to the gym, otherwise people give up rather quickly.

Anyways, his issue seems to be very specifically geared towards trolls saying you need to be in the gym 5-6 days to get a decent shape. I'll agree with him there. I mean, you don't even have to go to the gym if you have good genetics. Just play a physical sport and you'll get jacked.

In terms of strength though, I mean, a lot of strength trainings are based on 3 days. Conjugate method has you lifting heavy only twice per week.
GVT is 3 days...

I mean, 2 days fullbody isn't that crazy. A lot of the people I know who get in there 4-6 days per week though do it because they love working out, not necessarily because they think they have to. Now, if your objective is to compete in a performance related sports, then absolutely, you can't just do 2 days.
If you want to become a bodybuilder, you absolutely need to come in more often too.

So depends on the goals. Also depends on various other factors such as age. He looks like a young kid, a 40yo man isn't going to put on and develop muscle like him.

Another thing I am strongly against, is in his novice program, he says do not change anything. Too many people think programs cannot be tinkered. That's silly.

 

[DramaticGloveSave]

Was refering to this video.

 

[Kriss E]

Was refering to this video.

As I suspected, he isn't just training twice, he's doing 4x per week.

 

[DramaticGloveSave]

As I suspected, he isn't just training twice, he's doing 4x per week.

He's lifting twice a week.

 

[Kriss E]

He's lifting twice a week.

Yes, and doing other workouts on other days...

On a side note, I think this CNS argument gets thrown a whole lot around by way too many people without knowing much about it.
There's research available that show heavy strength training doesn't tax the CNS as it is perceived to be.
3 CNS Fatigue Myths

" These elite athletes then performed one of their typical workouts, consisting of 4 sets of 5 reps for the back squat, the split squat and the push press: a total of 12 sets of heavy compound work. Split squats are a strong contender for the most brutal exercise in strength training. Push presses involve the entire human kinetic chain from feet to hands and involve more musculature than squats or deadlifts. Even in this case there was no central fatigue."

They continue:
" Of course, there was significant neuromuscular fatigue, as evidenced by reduced contraction power of the muscles (MVIC) and an insignificant trend for lower jump height (CMJ). There was also metabolic stress, as measured by an increase in blood lactate. But the nervous system had no trouble activating the muscles. The muscles were simply fatigued themselves, presumably from the damage of the workout and the metabolic stress. The fatigue was local, within the muscles, not in the central nervous system."

Btw, I'm not knocking on the guy. I tried his Day 1 today, enjoyed it quite a bit. I will do some GPP tomorrow and try his Day 2 wednesday.

 

[DramaticGloveSave]

Yes, and doing other workouts on other days...

On a side note, I think this CNS argument gets thrown a whole lot around by way too many people without knowing much about it.
There's research available that show heavy strength training doesn't tax the CNS as it is perceived to be.
3 CNS Fatigue Myths

" These elite athletes then performed one of their typical workouts, consisting of 4 sets of 5 reps for the back squat, the split squat and the push press: a total of 12 sets of heavy compound work. Split squats are a strong contender for the most brutal exercise in strength training. Push presses involve the entire human kinetic chain from feet to hands and involve more musculature than squats or deadlifts. Even in this case there was no central fatigue."

They continue:
" Of course, there was significant neuromuscular fatigue, as evidenced by reduced contraction power of the muscles (MVIC) and an insignificant trend for lower jump height (CMJ). There was also metabolic stress, as measured by an increase in blood lactate. But the nervous system had no trouble activating the muscles. The muscles were simply fatigued themselves, presumably from the damage of the workout and the metabolic stress. The fatigue was local, within the muscles, not in the central nervous system."

Btw, I'm not knocking on the guy. I tried his Day 1 today, enjoyed it quite a bit. I will do some GPP tomorrow and try his Day 2 wednesday.

If it wasn't clear, that's what I was referring to.

 

[Kriss E]

If it wasn't clear, that's what I was referring to.

You said he was doing crazy gains doing 2 days per week...I assumed you meant 2 training days, not just lifting.
You can have great gains doing 2x per week of strength lifting, I just think it's important to note the week includes other training days too. But yes, I agree.

Sorry for confusion.

 

[MSLs absurd thighs]

Anybody went Smolov Jr. for their Bench? My friend and I decided to follow a modified Smolov Jr. routine.

Saturday is Bench (10 x 3 @ 85%) + Biceps
Sunday is Legs (Squat 10 x 3) + Calves
Monday is Bench (6 x 6 @ 70%) + Shoulders
Tuesday is off
Wednesday is Bench (7 x 5 @ 77.5%) + Triceps
Thursday is Back + Abs
Friday is Off

Some anabolic cardio is also added on Saturday at the end of the workout. Tire flips, Sledgehammer, Prowler, Farmer's walks, etc...

We both expect to increase our bench quite a bit. 23 sets of bench a week should get this done.
Timing is great as I just came back from a week in Jamaica with my GF. CNS is well rest and the joints had a much needed break.

 

[Andrei79]

He has a video titled something along the lines of "why I only do 2 total body workouts a week". I've always believed recovery to be underrated but it may be way more underrated than I thought. He also states how much more motivated you are when you only have two days. The whole thing makes a ton of sense to me.

That's what I'm doing now. I lift 2 (3 at the most) times a week. They're full body workouts and rather simple. I like how I can more easily do sports during the week and it's easier to recover from at my age. Another thing is it's a time saver.

 

[MSLs absurd thighs]

I just finished what is, so far, the toughest thing ive done in a weight room, I think. Week two of phase three of Smolov, where I had to add 20 pounds to my already high %'s. The 7s and 5s were really, really tough. Not looking forward to adding another ten pound.

So far I havent used any equipment, no belt, wraps or sleeves, just me, the bar and my shoes.

Did you change your nutrition and/or sleep routine? I'm on week 1 of a routine somehow similar to Smolov Jr. for bench, and right now the weights still feel easy (6x6 @ 70%, on my 6th set I did an AMRAP and pushed the weight 12 times... after doing pause bench on all of my previous sets). But I have no doubt it will get pretty hard pretty quick. We're using a less aggressive progression scheme as the actual Smolov Jr. to increase the longevity of the program, but I can't imagine someone following this routine on a caloric deficit. Sounds like suicide to me...

I'd also like to know how your joints are feeling and if you do anything to preserve them doing this routine? I'm personally trying to do A LOT of band pull aparts and external shoulder rotations as a warm up to help balance the ridiculous amount of pushing done on this program. Was thinking of adding something for elbows too...