It’s time for another quick update, this time around the mid-torso region. Ah, the elusive six-pack. Upon examination today, I feel like I’m making decent progress, but much of the progress has little to do with direct ab exercise. In fact, I’ll use this time to discuss bodyfat and how spot elimination is a myth. Progress pictures after the jump!
Yesterday, I arrived at the gym to find it a bit busier than normal. Still, it seemed not crowded enough to really slow down my routine, so I proceeded. I headed over to the squat racks and found that both were occupied, which was also unusual. However, I initially had no problem waiting because I’m hugely in favor of anyone who wants to do squats. Additionally, a delay prior to starting my routine is far more desirable to a delay once I’ve already begun because of the “activity window” that closes quite quickly, though this window is a topic for its own post. However, my patience disappeared nearly instantly, as what I saw next horrified me. Continue reading
Today was one of those very special days in the gym. A day where the weights all felt very light and I was completely and totally focused on the workout. Today was an Alpha Day. Further explanation after the jump.
Many of you ma
y be familiar with Zyzz. He was an amateur Australian bodybuilder, but had an absurdly over-the-top online persona. I personally thought he was trolling the whole time, but I know some people were actually turned off by his ridiculous self-absorbed attitude.
So, why am I telling you about him? He was a hardgainer in all senses of the word. There are some videos around that depict his transformation, and as you can see from the picture, his physique was truly impressive. Unfortunately, about a week ago, he collapsed and died as a result of cardiac failure. Here is the sticky part though: about a month ago, his brother was caught with anabolic steroids. More thoughts after the jump.
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Back when I trained in college, I had no idea what a good diet was. Now that I do know, however, it’s become an extremely stressful endeavor: I feel like everything is bad for me except for the smallest subset of food that I prepare myself. So, how do you maintain a healthy diet (being healthy is a necessary precursor to growing muscle and losing fat) without losing your mind? Let’s go back and examine two of the major issues with working out and food…
In college, I ate whatever I wanted and figured a protein shake after my workout was sufficient. This thinking could not be more flawed. Not only does working out *not* give you free license to eat whatever you want, but your results can be extremely detrimentally affected by what you consume. In other words, working out will never be able to “make up” for the junk food you eat; additionally, that junk food you do consume will also negatively affect your ability to perform strenuous exercise. Elaboration after the jump.
Other than one year during college, I have always been consistent with going to the gym. During the time I spend in there, I’ll see guys come in, untrained, and pass by my personal bests that have taken years to attain, all in a matter of months. It is, without a doubt, one of the most confidence-crushing experiences and one of the most unfair truths to the universe. Some people are just better suited to lift heavy things than I am. Often times they don’t even care as much as I do, nor do they possess even one ounce of the motivation that I have. So the question is, how and why do I keep going back? My personal motivation methodology, after the jump.
I love working out on Sundays. The gym is practically empty. Just you and the weights. And your music, of course, to give you something motivating to listen to instead of the filth that most commercial gyms play. Workout playlist plus post-workout pics after the jump.
Exercise Frequency
Back when I was doing Max-OT, I was doing body part training every day of the week. I believe this to have been semi-effective, but the frequency was on the high side. I would make some progress, but would need to take time off frequently. Some who are more genetically gifted than me would most likely benefit more from a higher frequency program, but I cannot count myself amongst this group.
When I was doing high intensity training (HIT), I was only doing one workout per week, which was total body, with one set to compete failure for each exercise. I was operating under the impression that training to failure was absolutely necessary to provide growth. In essence, the HIT crowd believes that your body will not provide an adaptive response unless pushed to its limit, i.e., failure to do any more mechanical work. More on frequency and an effective hardgainer routine after the jump. Continue reading
If you haven’t read my About page, I’ll summarize by saying basically that I’ve trained ineffectively for about 10 years, but only recently have I experienced success. It is this newfound success, which I personally define as muscle-mass and strength gain, that has prompted me to start this blog and share my experiences and knowledge with you. I have several topics planned, but I’m also interested in what you would like to know, so please let me know in the comments!
Hardgainer Experiments 