My Current Routine

I've created a new page on the site. I'll probably change the template of the site soon. The new page is My Current Routine that I'll keep updated. I was going to wait longer before I went from a 3-day split to a 2-day split.

I just read an article stating 2-day splits aren't a good idea because you do legs one day, and cram everything else into the other day. I'm sacrificing a lot of sets for my upper body (somewhat) in order to have another leg day a week. I need to develop my legs more. My back is very developed. I feel my triceps and chest could use work as well as my legs (mostly quads).

I'm thinking of adding more upper body lifts to the leg day - maybe biceps and shoulders. I think developed legs make you feel lighter in general. It makes you agile and gives you endurance. I'm proud of where I took my arms and back, and I do have definition in my legs, but I need more mass.

Techniques and Program Change

I’ve learned a new technique for the squat. Hell, I haven’t posted in so long, I have a new technique for everything. I changed my routine from a powerlifting style to a bodybuilding style. That is to say I went from 2 sets of 8 on everything as heavy as I could to 4 sets of 8 on most of my exercises with less weight, but I am building my way up.

Immediately, I benefited from the extra time at the gym. With my old routine, I was Deadlifting so heavy (8 reps of 380lb, 2 sets) that it took me 4 days to recover before I could do any type of lifting. I was Deadlifting once a week and Squatting once a week. I was only going to the gym twice a week. Prior I had been going three days. Now though, on the new routine, I train six days a week. Having one day to rest versus four days to rest is a huge difference. I hated my off days, so this was a perfect fit.

I modified Arnold’s Beginners Routine that I snagged from his book, ‘The Encyclopedia of Bodybuilding’. I replaced some exercises and changed reps and sets for some. His routine was the skeleton though. The results were very drastic. I lost 11lb and put on muscle. I’ve been on the new routine since August. So it’s been 1.5 months.  My hands look significantly worse from all the volume. I have 4 rows of callouses on each hand and they’re all black.

I highly recommend this routine. You can see my lifts at Fitocracy under the name ‘vampborn’. So back to the new squat technique, I’ve found you must approach a heavy squat different than a light squat. I bounced around for a long time squatting 180-185lb, which was my weight. I could do 8 reps, but if I went any heavier my body collapsed under the weight, which makes sense logically since it was heavier than me.

I read something recently and it stood in my mind imprinted. “If you squat heavy, your legs will have no choice but to grow.” I guess the first thing I changed that helped me lift heavier is utilizing power breathing, and inhaling before each rep, holding breath until I’m shooting back up. I do stomach vacuums before sets. I also noticed my preferred stance in squats is wider than most people squatting heavy. I like to feel my adductors a bit, but I tried going narrower and it worked.

Making my leg stance narrower made the lift feel more like a Leg Press. I suppose I was able to push the earth away more intuitively and more easily. You have to treat heavy weight differently than light weight. You need to sync your pace with the poundage of the weight. For instance, I can squat 135lb like a rag doll as fast and explosively as I want for 30+ reps. But when I Squat 250lb, the weight doesn’t move quickly. It accelerates slower and I have to wait for it.

The technique I want to talk about most is the one I picked up recently. A funny thing I’ve heard people comment on during critiques of someone’s form on a Squat is that they Good Morning the weight up. What they mean is that their hips go up faster than their torso and so they’re forced to lean their torso back in order to stand up. This kills your lower back. What I found is a better technique for Good Mornings that carry over to Squats.

Previously, when I did Good Mornings, I went down and pushed the weight into my hammies, then stood back up straight, which does hurt your lower back because your lower back is a hinge that brings up your torso. I never understood how powerlifters could Good Morning 135lb+ when I struggled so much with 95lb and felt pain and not good muscle sensation. So I’ve been doing very light weight Good Mornings staying in the 45-75lb poundage.

The technique is that when you’re in the down position and are about to stand back up, you should grip the bar, pull it into yourself, contract your abs powerfully and stand up. Effectively your abs should be doing an eccentric contraction. So you’re horizontal bent over, and as you rise, your abs are crunched, then extend. It’s not like a reverse crunch; It’s like a normal crunch in reverse. This works your abs unbelievably, and protects your lower back.

As you squat, you can use this Good Morning technique to pull the bar into yourself and eccentrically crunch as you stand. I suppose this works only for low-bar squats because in high-bar your torso is vertical.

Bodybuilding Posing !