Journey, Not A Destination

Steve,
Here are the videos I found for the exercises I haven't done before:

Pendlay Row
Dumbbell Lateral Raise
Lat Pulldown
Seated Calf Raise
Romanian Deadlift
Lying Leg Curl
Reverse Lunge
Push Press
Cable Row
Split Squat
Jump Squat

Another question:

I've been feeling more and more tired. Today I went in for my Weights "B" routine, even though I didn't feel very energetic. I did 5 x 5 squats at 220 lbs., then really struggled through my incline db presses at 130 lbs. Next was the deadlift. I set it at 220 lbs, up 5 lbs. from last time. On the last rep of the first set, I could tell I was really wasted. To make matters worse, my form got sloppy, and I rounded my back. I didn't completely wreck it -- but stopped just short of that -- it's the feeling you get when you know your back is going to be sore for a few days.

I stopped right then and there, because I didn't want to screw up my back any more than it already was.

I have only 3 more days in this cycle until my 7 day rest. I'm wondering if I should just go ahead and start my rest now, and come back in 7 days with the new routine. What do you think?
 
TomO said:
Steve,
Here are the videos I found for the exercises I haven't done before:

Pendlay Row
Dumbbell Lateral Raise
Lat Pulldown
Seated Calf Raise
Romanian Deadlift
Lying Leg Curl
Reverse Lunge
Push Press
Cable Row
Split Squat
Jump Squat

Another question:

I've been feeling more and more tired. Today I went in for my Weights "B" routine, even though I didn't feel very energetic. I did 5 x 5 squats at 220 lbs., then really struggled through my incline db presses at 130 lbs. Next was the deadlift. I set it at 220 lbs, up 5 lbs. from last time. On the last rep of the first set, I could tell I was really wasted. To make matters worse, my form got sloppy, and I rounded my back. I didn't completely wreck it -- but stopped just short of that -- it's the feeling you get when you know your back is going to be sore for a few days.

I stopped right then and there, because I didn't want to screw up my back any more than it already was.

I have only 3 more days in this cycle until my 7 day rest. I'm wondering if I should just go ahead and start my rest now, and come back in 7 days with the new routine. What do you think?
Click to expand...

The Penley Row video is good. I explode up a bit more, but that is not a biggy. Bottom line is, lift the weight to your chest explosively, control the weight back down, set weight on floor, repeat. Keep straight back in mind.

DB Lateral video is good. I tend to keep my pinky higher than my pointer finger when doing these. I also go a little above perpendicular to the floor.

With the lat pulldowns, I want you to use a supinated (reverse grip). So your palms will be facing your face/chest at the bottom of the movement. You will also have a more narrow grip than that in this video. Follow me?

The calf raises were kind of week. Stick to my temp, not only for these, but all of the exercises. With these in general, really focus on the eccentric portion and get a full stretch in the calf.

Romanian deadlift vid is okay. I think I may have posted one elsewhere on this forum.... maybe in the workout stickie. Regardless, idea is to keep your legs relatively straight, but not locked. Initiate movement at the hips, not back. Idea is to keep pressing your ass back as if you were trying to place it against a wall behind you. This will call for flexion of the hips and your back will naturally come down toward the ground. Make sense?

Leg curl vid is okay. Just remember to point your toes, unlike those in the vid.

The reverse lunge vid is good. Of course leave out the good mornings :) You can do reverse lunges using DBs or BB. I prefer BB but it is your choice.

Push press vid is blah. It is more explosive than that. First, I like to use a squat rack. I don't pick the bar up from the floor, as the vid you showed suggested. It's easier to pick it up from shoulder height to start. I like this vid better.... shows the explosiveness: Damn, my vid isn't working. Anyhow, your vid gives you the general idea. It is a standing military press with an explosive component. Before pressing the weight up, you bend at the knees and drive upward. You should actually come high up on your toes as the weight reaches peak height. At times, my feet actually leave the floor.

Cable row is okay, aside from the juicehead showing us execution, lol. Really focusing on stretching the back at the initiation of the movement. At the contraction, really focus on squeezing your scapula together. Pinch your shoulder blades. And remember, my tempo calls for a 2 second hold at the end of the contraction. Your torso should remain relatively stable/stationary throughout this movement.

The split squat vid is not correct. That is actually a bulgarian split squat. Here is an example of a regular split squat, which too, can be performed with a BB or DBs:

YouTube - 65kg 4x10 split squats

With the jump squats, great vid. That is correct. Form is important, but is second to fitting their work into a short amount of time, relatively speaking. All reps should be performed relatively quickly, down up, down up, etc..... and transition from one exercise to the next immediately.

With regards to taking the rest early. I would take a 10 day rest instead of the planned 7, believe it or not. Sounds like you are over-reached and you aren't going to detrain signifantly by taking a 10 day break.

If you want, throw in some cardio for the next few days until your previously planned break was supposed to start.

Start hitting the weights again 2 mondays from now.

Also, how are you planning on eating during this break?
 
Steve, again thanks for all the great feedback. I think I'll do what you say, and get good and rested. I've been pushing it very hard, actually for 6 months now. On my last break, when I saw my son in San Francisco, I took a break from working out, but worked my butt off making cabinets all week. I think I need a break where my main form of exercise is walking my dog. :)

During the break, I plan to eat at around 2,500 calories, which is pretty much my maintenance level without exercise.
 
TomO said:
Steve, again thanks for all the great feedback. I think I'll do what you say, and get good and rested. I've been pushing it very hard, actually for 6 months now. On my last break, when I saw my son in San Francisco, I took a break from working out, but worked my butt off making cabinets all week. I think I need a break where my main form of exercise is walking my dog. :)
Click to expand...

If it's any consolation, I used to take 14 days off as my strategic deconditioning (time off). Detraining doesn't happen as quickly as many think. There is certainly no reason to sweat the time off.

Again, I think you should start back up two Mondays from now, especially since we are on a weekly schedule/split now.

During the break, I plan to eat at around 2,500 calories, which is pretty much my maintenance level without exercise.
Click to expand...

Let me think about that for a moment.
 
Hi Steve. My back is very tender this morning -- not a full-fledged blowout, but right on the edge. I plan to walk my dog for a half hour or so today, and that'll be about it on the exercise front.

Signs are good that I've busted through Plateau #4 -- I'll know by Friday for sure.

Thinking about 2500 calories a day? Hmmmm. . .
 
TomO said:
Hi Steve. My back is very tender this morning -- not a full-fledged blowout, but right on the edge. I plan to walk my dog for a half hour or so today, and that'll be about it on the exercise front.

Signs are good that I've busted through Plateau #4 -- I'll know by Friday for sure.

Thinking about 2500 calories a day? Hmmmm. . .
Click to expand...

Yea, I think I'd like to see you do more than that. At least for a bit. It's good to "reward" your body a bit after it's been getting "kicked" for so long.

2500 cals would put you between 10-11 calories per pound. I'd think going up closer to 12 would be better. Even though the physiological survival adaptations don't occur as dynamically when one is carrying a lot of excess weight (relatively speaking of course), they do still happen. Eating close to maintenance if not above is a good idea for anyone every once in a while. I think your trip to visit your son proved that.

How many cals did you eat out there on average? Do you know?

Maybe start at 12 cals per pound and really monitor weight on a daily basis. Don't fret if a pound or two creep on. Acute fluctuations matter little. As we get towards the middle of the break, we will start dropping them down closer to 10-11. Not a drastic number of calorie change anyhow.

Glad to see the weight is still coming down.
 
DeepGreen said:
Because its so active! Suppose I go away for a day. I'll come back, and there will be 20+ new replies to the tread, and I wouldn't know whats going on :p
Click to expand...

It really isn't as active as many others. It moves a page or so per day.... that's all.
 
Quote of the Day

Happiness is a butterfly, which, when pursued, is always just beyond your grasp, but which, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you.

Random thought of the day:

Many people do NOT know how to debate. Many reason with fallacies. Many don't comprehend what they read very well. Why is that?

Do they choose what they want to hear? Does it stem from cracks in our education system?

It never ceases to amaze me.
 
Steve said:
Random thought of the day:

Many people do NOT know how to debate. Many reason with fallacies. Many don't comprehend what they read very well. Why is that?

Do they choose what they want to hear? Does it stem from cracks in our education system?

It never ceases to amaze me.
Click to expand...

People take debating as personal attacks or even sometimes revert to personal attacks.
 
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