ebug9 wrote:
This would be awesome. Maybe make it the first 4 or 5 posts of the thread (if it'll be in a separate thread) so you can link to certain sections.
Irish: less reps + heavier weight, you won't need to do them every workout.
Now, we could get into a debate about "less reps heavier weight" thingy... That's not exactly correct.
I'll clarify:
There are 3 ways of doing an exericse
1. 3 sets of either 9,10,11,12 reps
2. 4-5 sets of pyramid reps = 12,10,8,8 - increasing the weight each time : This is what Sonder does/did
3. 5x5 strength training
Now, to clarify using the numbers in the above list:
1 is for maximising muscle size, not strength. It's called muscle hypertrophy and it's what you want if you want to aim for total toning and size. You usually do reps of 75% your max weight (any more and you wont manage)
2 is for a bit of both. It strengthens your muscle and adds size to it as well. It wont tone, but it will add size and strength due to the constant over exertion of your muscles on each set as you increase the weight
3 is for the ultimate way on increasing strength - 5x5 should bbe done at about 90-95% your max lift weight. Your stregnth increases can be noted by the ease of being able to put on more weight over week/couple of weeks.
Studies show that if you start off with muscle hypertrophy and move through 2 and 3 in a 12 week period (4 weeks per exercise programme) you'll optimise your muscles. Doing it the other way round may cause a negative effect on the strength and size.
So to come back to your point eBug - That's only if Irish is wanting pure strength, which I know isn't his goal. So for him, a less heavy weight and more reps will do the trick.
There are lots of other studies (more importantly, Tom Venutos book) that say you can do 1 or max 2 sets of exercises and focus solely on getting it right, but I haven't put them to the test yet.
@Irish - No, you want to hit the biceps once a week. People keep having the misconception that the more you train your arms, the bigger they'll get. Wrong. Your biceps are one of the muscles that need the most time to recover, so if you start overtraining them, all you're going to do is make them worse (I know, I did this when I started out).
This is my current bicep workout
- 3x12 Barbell curls
- 3x10/12 alternating hammer curls
- 3x10 (or when I fail) chin ups (VITAL FOR BUILDING BICEPS. One of the greatest exercises for your biceps, learn to do it properly and you have a winner here)
- 3x8 EZ close grip curls
- 3x10 Preachers (optional, I don't do these every week, I alternate between EZ and preacher sometimes)
Try and "feel" the bicep tensing, that's the best way of figuring out how well you're doing the exercise.
As for the workout post. I'm away at a wedding from tomorrow onwards, but I will try my best to get it done when I'm back.
@ Sonder - Sweet man, loving the workout and diet. I'm currently one meal under your 7, but I believe it's going to have to be 8 by the end of the week. I'm starting to get hungry again.
