Lifting Thread;training for the tattooed warrior.

[Cork]

This weekend will be 11 weeks out. I've been prepping since mid January.

[lving4today]

Alright alright I'll keep you guys feeling good about numbers....

Yesterday 3/29 workout:

Squats 3x5 @ 150 (working on depth by placing bench seat behind me like a box squat)

Bench 3x5 @ 100

Deadlift 1x5 @ 155

I'm pissed my squats were at 225 which felt great when I finally hit it. Then I stopped working out. And started smoking and drinking way more and eating shit. At 160 now.

[hogg]

Nothing to feel bad about there, @lving4today. You're back at it, and you'll only get stronger if you stick with it.

[kylegrey]

This weekend will be 11 weeks out. I've been prepping since mid January.

Sounds like a plan, a good idea is to learn your posing routine and practice your mandatory poses now when you have plenty of carbs still going in your system.Ideal preparation for me meant being ready to step on stage at least two weeks prior to the show ,knowing you are in condition early reduces stress/cortisol which combined with posing/flexing will shunt the water out from under the skin .Not to be a party pooper but be very cautious about attempting any maximal 1-rep stuff for the time being ,perhaps you can post pics instead of numbers .:)

[RoryQ]

A. Dynamic warm-up with lower body focus

B. 10X10 Leg press @ 150kg / 330lbs, 60 secs rest between sets

C. 10x10 Leg curl @ 40kg / 88lbs, 60 secs rest between sets

D. Supplementary arm and shoulder work

I would really prefer to sub something like a back squat or front squat for the leg press, but to be frank I seem to see some flare up for radiculopathy through my arm when I do. The leg press seems a little more forgiving, even if it's not optimum. Kind of novel after years of barbell squat variations.

[hogg]

At the risk of you hating me forever, @RoryQ, have you tried Bulgarian Split Squats? I hate them so much, but they really work your legs in ways that the leg press won't. I'm not sure if your current condition allows for them, though.

[ChrisvK]

Just a quick question: I'm in the process of losing bodyfat. I workout with a 3 day split (chest and biceps, legs and shoulders, back and triceps). Each workout is followed by 30-45 minutes of treadmill running (30 on leg day, otherwhise im going to snap) and try to get an hour of normal walking in on rest days in combination with clean diet (no beer suuhuucks)

Now to my question: For lowering bodyfat what would you recommend? Doing a 3 day split like i'm doing now or go for fullbody workouts with compound exercises only followed by cardio?

Cheers

[Cork]

@ChrisvK For cutting, a normal weightlifting routine is fine. You want to keep your weightlifting anaerobic as usual to prevent muscle loss. I assume you're suggesting full body for more of an aerobic effect? Just work on your cardio and diet and you'll be good. I personally hate running, and I use the stepmill/stair climber or incline walking as my cardio of preference.

@kylegrey let me just be the first to tell you that I don't consider myself a bodybuilder, even though I compete, haha. I'll take any criticisms. Here is a crappy cell phone pic that I just took 5 minutes ago.

[RoryQ]

At the risk of you hating me forever, @RoryQ, have you tried Bulgarian Split Squats? I hate them so much, but they really work your legs in ways that the leg press won't. I'm not sure if your current condition allows for them, though.

@hogg

I've tried them - great exercise to say the least, but punishing. Before I started GVT I had deliberately gone to using single leg work for all my lower body stuff - split squats, bulgarians, single leg squats etc. Probably for the reasons you're thinking - less spinal loading, basically.

My rationale for not using them as part of GVT is not that I don't think they can be condusive to hypertrophy but just that I want to be in and out of the gym relatively sharpish since I'm often in there during my lunchbreak from work, and if I do a single leg variation then it means It's 10 on the left side, 10 on the right etc. x 10. Aside from being b-r-u-t-a-l it just takes yonks.

I know I'm being pretty cautious in terms of avoiding putting a barbell on my back but I'd just like to get a good few months of incident free training under my belt before I push things again. It's quite annoying, but while there's plenty of stuff about lumbar spine issues (Stuart McGill etc) there's not that much out there on c-spine related issues other than the idea that you need to get your neck strong and then keep it in a neutral position (or even in retrusion) when lifting.

[Petri Aspvik]

Cork, that is a better look tham 99% of americans have. Kyle. Post pics of you when you were competing! Yiu were ripped!

OK, numbers. Im one work out shy from finishing my singels deadlift routine before changing it. Started 2/13/2012 (my first time REALLY deadlifting) with 110kg, did 125kg 3/28/2012. Still loads to improve. But have to start from something.

[kylegrey]

@Cork You look very complete with nice full muscle bellies . Your overall shape and symmetry is excellent which to me is the sign of a good contest physique ,the signs of cuts in your Quads is really promising !

[hogg]

Just did my usual Saturday workout.

Bench Press 205x4, 185x6, 185x5, 175x6, 175x7

Power Shrugs 135x5, 185x5, 245x10, 295x10, 335x10

BB Rows 155x10, 155x10, 155x10

Ab Rollouts from Knees 3x10

Dips BWx5, BW+65x5, BW+77x1, BW+40x8, BW+40x6

DB Laterals 23s x8x3

Comments: Compared to last Saturday's workout, I added 5 lbs to each set of bench, 20 pounds to my top 3 sets of power shrugs and 10 lbs to my first set of BB rows. Last week, I hit a PR on dips (BW+77x3), but I only got 1 rep this week. Oh, well. I added another set at BW+40 to try to make up for it.

Saturday and Wednesday workouts take place in my basement, where there is just enough room to make it work:

Those Home Depot sawhorses are my version of a "rack." :) They work for squats, too.

[Scott R]

@hogg racks and chains ohh my nice setup

[hogg]

@hogg

I've tried them - great exercise to say the least, but punishing. Before I started GVT I had deliberately gone to using single leg work for all my lower body stuff - split squats, bulgarians, single leg squats etc. Probably for the reasons you're thinking - less spinal loading, basically.

My rationale for not using them as part of GVT is not that I don't think they can be condusive to hypertrophy but just that I want to be in and out of the gym relatively sharpish since I'm often in there during my lunchbreak from work, and if I do a single leg variation then it means It's 10 on the left side, 10 on the right etc. x 10. Aside from being b-r-u-t-a-l it just takes yonks.

I know I'm being pretty cautious in terms of avoiding putting a barbell on my back but I'd just like to get a good few months of incident free training under my belt before I push things again. It's quite annoying, but while there's plenty of stuff about lumbar spine issues (Stuart McGill etc) there's not that much out there on c-spine related issues other than the idea that you need to get your neck strong and then keep it in a neutral position (or even in retrusion) when lifting.

Hey, I'll make any excuse to skip Bulgarians. It just so happens that you have a valid one. :)

[hogg]

@hogg racks and chains ohh my nice setup

Unfortunately, my basement ceilings are very low, so you have to be under 6'1" to work out there. Fortunately for me, I'm only 5'10".

[RoryQ]

Overhead work is out then, I take it...? Unless you do some zotts' presses or something...!

[hogg]

Overhead work is out then, I take it...? Unless you do some zotts' presses or something...!

I go to a real gym on Sundays for OH presses, some hamstring machines, squatting in a proper rack, etc. In fact, I did that today, followed by my first-ever experience with hill sprints. (Note, @RoryQ: prepping for hill sprints was today's excuse for skipping Bulgarians. :) ) When I drove home, I walked one block up my street to this:

A local bicycling map lists that block as having a grade "greater than 18%." Steep enough for me. I got six sprints to the top in all. Not much of a start, but it's a start. After squats, seated good mornings, hamstring curls, rows and OH presses, I was already pretty wiped out. Nice excuses, huh? I'll try to sneak in more hill sprints one morning this week.

[kylegrey]

Sweet sson .You are rolling like a tattooed Steve McQueen .

[RoryQ]

I'm a big fan of home-training.

At the moment we're kind of limited in the appartment, but I've got a doorframe pull-up bar (which I hang rings from), couple of different kettlebells, resistance bands and that's about the height of it. It's possible to do some kettlebell conditioning workouts and occassionaly if I'm stuck I'll work out a way to do my GVT, but mainly I try to use one of two gyms - either work's 'globogym' type set up, or the main strongman/olympic/powerlifting gym I train in.

Got a hammer strength rack in storage, another bench and rack, oly bar and plates, dumbells etc. in storage but they'll stay there until we sort out a house with a shed/garden.

Seeing as hill sprints were mentioned - this is one of my favourite types of interval training :

They gym I was in (in the video, now closed) referred to them as 'spider blocks'. Guess it's a variation of shuttle runs, but because of the slightly convoluted / spidery route, you can do them anywhere you've got space about half the size of a squash court. Ideally you need some markers to touch off, but you can do them without. The way I do this for conditioning is to do 6 complete runs, with 30 seconds recovery between them. Takes about 10 minutes. I'll rest 5 minutes and then repeat at least once more.

In the video they're doing a different variation - a test - to measure progress.

[Cork]

Cork, that is a better look tham 99% of americans have. Kyle. Post pics of you when you were competing! Yiu were ripped!

OK, numbers. Im one work out shy from finishing my singels deadlift routine before changing it. Started 2/13/2012 (my first time REALLY deadlifting) with 110kg, did 125kg 3/28/2012. Still loads to improve. But have to start from something.

@Cork You look very complete with nice full muscle bellies . Your overall shape and symmetry is excellent which to me is the sign of a good contest physique ,the signs of cuts in your Quads is really promising !

Thank you for the compliments guys. Kyle I'd like to see your pics too. I know an old head in London who competed so much it almost killed him. I don't know how much into the scene you are, if you might know Jim Moorey?

@hogg I'm jealous of your setup except for the lack of head room. That's a nice hill too. 6 sprints just starting out is pretty good. I do 3 on flat ground and feel like I'm going to hurl. I push myself to 5 and I've got the shakes for the rest of the day, haha.

And yes, any excuse to skip split squats is a good one, haha.

[kylegrey]

Thank you for the compliments guys. Kyle I'd like to see your pics too. I know an old head in London who competed so much it almost killed him. I don't know how much into the scene you are, if you might know Jim Moorey?.

You guys asked so I'll make no apologies for the gratuitous speedo shots.

[Scott R]

I am not gay but.... No homo

[hogg]

Traps for days, @kylegrey!

[Cork]

I pictured you with more tattoos, haha. Pretty huge though. You stay that lean year round?

[kylegrey]

I am not gay but.... No homo

@Scott R As we are in the early courtship stages its only fair I tell you I don't really look like this any more ,shame really cause wifey would gladly get shot of me for a night .