Just as important as a consistent programme! Quality rest/sleep is one of those things most people never think about or neglect - it's one of my failings.
Thanks guys. Yup, diet and rest are critical. I usually make my best gains on the week off between cycles.
Karate class this morning, heavy lifting this afternoon. I am beat, will post my lifts later. Made progress across the board.
This was last week leg/back: This was yesterday: Barbell Squats 20 x 135 20 x 135 10 x 225 10 x 225 Gravitron Pull-ups 12 x 90 8 x 70 7 x 70 Dead-lifts 12 x 225 7 x 275 6 x 290 Bent-over Rows 12x 135 6 x 155 7 x 155 Progress all around and it was even after a karate class. :lifting: Very happy with it.
Last Monday: Today: Dumbbell Bench Press 12 x 50 6 x 80 8 x 70 Barbell Press 7 x 85 (Still some pain, but better) 6 x 95 7 x 85 Dumbbell Flyes 12 x 40 11 x 45 9 x 40 Rotator Cuff exercise External rotation lying down 12 x 15 each arm repeat Dumbbell Side Lateral raise 12 x 20 12 x 25 12 x 25 Progress today too. Nothing like moving more weight each week. I also did REAL farmer's walks this morning. We went apple picking and I needed to carry a pick in each hand for about 3/4 of a mile. Funny how things work out, I was too tired to do them yesterday and now my forearms are shot.
I thought a little note here about my training would be appropriate. I do not train for competition, only for myself and my goals and personal enjoyment. So my training is much different than what it would be for a competitive MMA fighter. Yes, I do mix in some stuff a competitive MMA fighter does and yes, I cycle my training efforts, but my cycle lengths have no relation to any upcoming fight dates and I choose what I focus on based on how my body feels and is performing. For the past year I was mostly focused on just shedding fat, which I have done pretty well losing about 50lbs of the stuff. I have switched gears and am going through a strict hypertrophy/strength phase and am trying to lift as heavy as I can and eat enough to continue to gain muscle and strength. Right before I started this phase, my weight had come down to about 212-214. I took a week break and floated up to 217. I then started to cycle creatine and revved up my eating and quickly went up to 227. That was three weeks ago and my weight remains around that level, despite the fact that I have been eating like crazy and haven't done any light calorie cycle days now in almost a month. I hope I am eating enough and will re-assess my diet this week to make sure I have the macro-calories close enough.
Nekoashi, this is inspiring for sure, and I hope I'm not pouring any cold water here, but - Don't forget that the body doesn't forgive in its 40s what it takes in stride in its 20s, esp sit-up or rowing-type movements which are notorious for leading to lower back disc injuries. Once you herniate a disc it cannot be repaired! Take it from me, I know of what I speak! Also, the male body experiences a drop in testosterone after 40. I know a lot of guys swear by supplements to keep them training like teenagers, but I think they're kidding themselves. Much better to back off on the training and give the older body time to recuperate than have an injury that leads to months of recuperation. Just my 2 cents...
Nah, I am doing fine. My testosterone has actually increased quite a bit lately, from lifting. There are plenty of guys out there who lift well into their 70s and 80s. As long as you do so with good form, you will be fine. As for recuperation, I am very sensitive to how my body feels and how it is responding to training and won't hesitate to take off an extra day or week if need be. Lastly, the lifting is a great help to injury prevention, especially us aging martial artists. In fact, without weight training, I probably wouldn't be back to training karate due to past back issues. As for supplements, I use very few of them (right now just take the Animal Pak vitamin, occasional whey protein and creatine) and haven't touched a testosterone booster. As for the creatine, my body responds quite well to the stuff, but I have discovered that I do need to take long breaks between cycles.
Light day today. Went to the pool at lunch time and swam for about 10-15 minutes to loosen things up after this weekend. Also sat in the hot tub for about ten minutes. Also did some static stretching. I don't feel all that sore today, despite my increases in the weight lifted across the board.
Do you get your levels tested ( cert. laboratory ) regularly? I'd heard that test. boosters/supplements actually have a negative effect due to the extra artificial levels causing the pituitary to scale back production - I reckon it functions like OPEC.
No need to at this point. As long as I am making gains I am fine. I don't take any test booster, etc. If I felt like I was very low, I would.
So I lifted this Saturday after teaching a karate class. The teachers in our system usually train right along side of the deshi, which I did. I don't know what it was Saturday when I went to lift, but I couldn't even bench on par with last week. I left this workout thinking that perhaps I need to deload, but then I had a great session on Sunday. So it could have been low blood sugar, fatigue, who knows??? After failing out on my dumbbell bench presses, I wrongly decided to change the routine that day and put in some benching on a machine, subbing it out for my flys and adding extra sets to the DBBP. You shouldn't change your routine unless you are done with a cycle and it isn't working. Don't know what I was thinking. Dumbbell Bench Press 12 x 50 4 x 80 4 x 75 10 x 65 4 x 70 Barbell Press 8 x 85 (Then I make progress here, go figure) 8 x 95 3 x 100 Iso Bench Press 12 x 70 11 x 90 9 x 110 Rotator Cuff exercise (skipped these this week, as I reversed days of the workouts) Dumbbell Side Lateral raise 8 x 30 12 x 25 7 x 35 Abs (didn't work these in karate at all this week) 20 Leg raises at dip station (great for lower abs) Then I did crunches on the incline ab board. I hold a 40lb dumbbell in each hand straight out in front while I switch off between a straight crunch and a twist crunch. Did a set of ten and then a set of twenty. On the lighter side for me
Last Saturday: Yesterday: Barbell Squats 20 x 135 10 x 225 6 x 250 10 x 135 Gravitron Pull-ups 12 x 80 6 x 60 (heaviest I have gone on these = about 170lbs) 8 x 70 Dead-lifts 10 x 225 6 x 295 3 x 300 Bent-over Rows 6 x 145 7 x 165 4 x 165
As much as I like to lift and eat, I am feeling a bit puffy and bulky. I am also feeling a bit worn out from all the progressive lifting. As it stands I just have one more heavy week in my planned lifting/hypertrophy cycle. I have made some decent strength gains and am happy with my results. My weight has hovered in the 220s, being 223 Saturday morning after karate class and 228 this morning upon waking up (obviously shifting water in the body). I have been eating a ton of peanut butter, Greek yogurt and lots of other stuff to keep my calories high over the past five weeks. As my macro goal is to lose bodyfat, I may go on a cut next. The most I wanted to reach during this cycle is 230, so at 228 I am fine. (Just a few years ago, I was pushing a very fat and out of shape 270) My metabolism should be nicely raised after five weeks of high calorie eating. I believe most of my latest weight gain was from creatin and this should come off quickly, that will bring me back into the teens. I want to bring myself down to the 200-210 range, before my next hypertrophy phase. I still haven't decided whether I want to do this next bulking phase next or later in the year. If next, it will be after a two week cut/deload.
