One of the great things about having logs of your workout is to be able to see how long you've been performing an exercise, and to mark down your technique level. This will help strengthen weak areas, and will expose any blatant holes that need to be addressed.
/Legs
Barbell Back Squats
9 Months
Barbell Hack Squats
6 Months
Barbell Rear Lunges
2 Weeks
Barbell Good Mornings
9 Months
Barbell Standing Calf Raises
18 Months
Abductor Machine
3 Months
Adductor Machine
3 Months
Glute Kickback Machine
3 Months
Lying Leg Curls Machine
2 Months
Running Treadmill Machine
5 Months
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Perseverance
Every day is not the same. We must accept and embrace this. You must workout consistently to see results and for your body to adapt to the programming. Momentum can carry you from one workout to the next. Deviation is dreadful. The willpower of a human should drive his actions. Have the willpower to carry yourself day to day, and improve - evolve. If it's raining, you train. If it's too hot, you train. There are people who will not train under many circumstances. But to train consistently, is to get into a groove. It is efficiency. We train according to our recovery, which is dictated by intensity, volume, load, and experience. To train your body is to listen to your body.
The mind works quite well with a dysfunctional body, but a strong body does not come from a weak mind. Physical culture is a discipline. It is wise to invest in discipline, because it can shape and direct your life in a sound manner. There are many lives that we are capable of living. That which grasps our attention is what garners respect. Of all the things you can do throughout a day, how many are truly productive? Exercise is that thing that is truly productive. Some people have the thought that exercise results are temporary, and require you to continue working out, and that this is clearly not worth it. I do not see it that way.
I do not enter the gym for the sole purpose of enhancing muscle. Having a fit body, allows you more liberation in life. You can break into a run at any moment. You can carry people with ease and over far distances. I go to the gym to experience my muscles engaging in full range of motion, getting pulled with resistance. Afterwards, my body is primed for repair and growth, and as i recover as does my fire for taking my muscles through another run so that they can repair again. These cycles should be done as close as possible for maximum results. To skip a day of training is to ruin the day that you were to workout, the momentum from the prior day's workout, and it jeopardizes the following workout, so that you need to do the day prior's workout, but even then, you've lost momentum, and so you're at somewhat of an intermittent stall. It's like slamming on the brakes when you're driving 80mph on the freeway. The car doesn't want to brake, and when it does come to a stop, it's much harder to accelerate than keep momentum. Our bodies are similar in this aspect. Don't fight your body; nurture it. Feed it. Hydrate it. Train it.
The mind works quite well with a dysfunctional body, but a strong body does not come from a weak mind. Physical culture is a discipline. It is wise to invest in discipline, because it can shape and direct your life in a sound manner. There are many lives that we are capable of living. That which grasps our attention is what garners respect. Of all the things you can do throughout a day, how many are truly productive? Exercise is that thing that is truly productive. Some people have the thought that exercise results are temporary, and require you to continue working out, and that this is clearly not worth it. I do not see it that way.
I do not enter the gym for the sole purpose of enhancing muscle. Having a fit body, allows you more liberation in life. You can break into a run at any moment. You can carry people with ease and over far distances. I go to the gym to experience my muscles engaging in full range of motion, getting pulled with resistance. Afterwards, my body is primed for repair and growth, and as i recover as does my fire for taking my muscles through another run so that they can repair again. These cycles should be done as close as possible for maximum results. To skip a day of training is to ruin the day that you were to workout, the momentum from the prior day's workout, and it jeopardizes the following workout, so that you need to do the day prior's workout, but even then, you've lost momentum, and so you're at somewhat of an intermittent stall. It's like slamming on the brakes when you're driving 80mph on the freeway. The car doesn't want to brake, and when it does come to a stop, it's much harder to accelerate than keep momentum. Our bodies are similar in this aspect. Don't fight your body; nurture it. Feed it. Hydrate it. Train it.
Friday, March 9, 2012
Physique Update
It can be hard to monitor muscle growth. One has to study their muscles to see change and to see what needs work more so than others. I've had some noticeable pec growth this week. Today I benched 8*190lb Incline and 8*195lb Flat. My triceps are noticeably growing due to incorporating Standing Barbell Tricep Extentions. I've also been lifting heavy on Standing DB Tricep Extentions, having used a 115lb db today.
Surprisingly, my lats are also growing and evolving. Pull-ups are my best exercise, and I've been doing them longer than any other exercise. So my lats are accustomed to pull-ups. However, I've just began doing pillar pull-ups which involve hyperextending your body so that your lower limbs are vertical with no bend. This activates your lower abs supposedly. Them along with weighted pull-ups and chin-ups. Today was 5*75 with both grips.
I remember the first time I had felt my lats with my hand, and knew it to be my lats. I would open and close my elbow laterally, which does move your lats a bit, but now I understand how to contract them more powerfully. I wasn't able to do a double biceps pose with flexed lats as I didn't have the mass or control. The mind-muscle connection started in just a small spot on my lats, and even last year, my lats were sort of limited in their range of contraction. I was afraid of doing a full lat contraction, because I had gotten muscle spasms from contraction muscles too hard, and I had interpreted that as a thing to avoid. After a few months of weighted pull-ups and diligent muscle control, I began feeling my lats much lower towards my waist. One muscle control in particular contracts the full lats. It is to stand and with the right hand grab the left lower thigh, resting your right elbow on your right knee, and digging it downward for leverage as you contract your right lat. It's a bit scary feeling as it's half the length of your torso, and the tension feels like it could rip your body in half. And now my double biceps pose is comfortable with my lats flexing with my whole upper body seemingly sitting on top of my lats.
I've had steady progress with calves. I'm up to 24*235lb Standing Barbell Calf Raises. I sort of feel like my legs would be better trained if I trained them three days a week like I train upper body. I think a six day routine would be too much. I've having the thought of scaling back on upper body exercises for lower body exercises. I'm interested in incorporating more leg exercises. I'm looking into Barbell Split Squats.
Surprisingly, my lats are also growing and evolving. Pull-ups are my best exercise, and I've been doing them longer than any other exercise. So my lats are accustomed to pull-ups. However, I've just began doing pillar pull-ups which involve hyperextending your body so that your lower limbs are vertical with no bend. This activates your lower abs supposedly. Them along with weighted pull-ups and chin-ups. Today was 5*75 with both grips.
I remember the first time I had felt my lats with my hand, and knew it to be my lats. I would open and close my elbow laterally, which does move your lats a bit, but now I understand how to contract them more powerfully. I wasn't able to do a double biceps pose with flexed lats as I didn't have the mass or control. The mind-muscle connection started in just a small spot on my lats, and even last year, my lats were sort of limited in their range of contraction. I was afraid of doing a full lat contraction, because I had gotten muscle spasms from contraction muscles too hard, and I had interpreted that as a thing to avoid. After a few months of weighted pull-ups and diligent muscle control, I began feeling my lats much lower towards my waist. One muscle control in particular contracts the full lats. It is to stand and with the right hand grab the left lower thigh, resting your right elbow on your right knee, and digging it downward for leverage as you contract your right lat. It's a bit scary feeling as it's half the length of your torso, and the tension feels like it could rip your body in half. And now my double biceps pose is comfortable with my lats flexing with my whole upper body seemingly sitting on top of my lats.
I've had steady progress with calves. I'm up to 24*235lb Standing Barbell Calf Raises. I sort of feel like my legs would be better trained if I trained them three days a week like I train upper body. I think a six day routine would be too much. I've having the thought of scaling back on upper body exercises for lower body exercises. I'm interested in incorporating more leg exercises. I'm looking into Barbell Split Squats.
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