Today was a full rest day and I used it to plan ahead for the coming week. I looked over my planned workouts (there are 4 distinct workouts in this particular series) and decided what my starting weights should be. I'm being very agressive this time with my starting weights. I am running with this workout plan until April 11, 2008, 10 days after The Big Reveal. It is primarily aimed at increasing strength.
Wave Loading: What the heck is it?
When you do a strength training program you are trying to teach your muscles to generate more force at their current size. As your muscles grow that growth will help you generate more force, but for now we have to fool the muscles into generating more force. There are two techniques taught that will help you get past your current limitations:
Your body learns to “skip” motor units. Normally, your body will call on motor units in order of the size of their fibers as you attempt a heavy lift. The small, slow-twitch fibers go first, then the medium-sized fibers on up to the fibers reserved fro max-effort lifts. The muscles of the most experienced lifters can bypass the slow-twitch motor units and go straight to the motor units that contain the biggest, strongest musce fibers.
Your body learns to “switch off” the mecahnisms within the mucles and connective tissues that inhibit force production. If your body thinks you are trying to do something that will cause damage, it has a braking system in place to stop it. The longer you lift the further in the background these mechanisms go.
These two techniques happen on their own, subconsciously. In my new workout plan I will be employing another technique called “wave loading.” It will be combined with “precontraction.”
Precontraction is where you activiate the muscles opposite the ones you plan to use in the lift. For example, if you were bench pressing, you would flex your lats and pull your shoulder blades together in back before you lower the weight to your chest. At this point you pull the weight to your chest like a row and you should be able to generate more force on the upward push this way.
Wave loading involves a warm up and then six reps of an exercise followed by a set of just one rep. The next set will be another set with six reps, but it will be with a heavier weight than the previous set of six. Because the body remembers how heavy the single rep was, the eight you use for the set of six is going to feel relatively light, even though it is more than you used for the previous set of six. When you do your fourth set, you again use a heavy weight for one rep. This one rep set should feel lighter because you don't have to lift it for six reps.
Thus, wave loading is a technique for tricking your neurosystem into lifting heavier and heavier weights.
Accountability Log:
| Week Begins 3/16/2008 | |||||||
| Sun | Mon | Tues | Weds | Thurs | Fri | Sat | |
| Cycle spot | LC | LC | HC | LC | LC | LC | HC |
| M1 * | 5:30 a.m. | 3:30 a.m. | 3:30 a.m. | 3:30 a.m. | 3:30 a.m. | 3:30 a.m. | 5:30 a.m. |
| M2 * | 8:30 a.m. | 6:30 a.m. | 6:30 a.m. | 6:30 a.m. | 6:30 a.m. | 6:30 a.m. | 8:30 a.m. |
| M3 * | 11:30 a.m. | 9:30 a.m. | 9:30 a.m. | 9:30 a.m. | 9:30 a.m. | 9:30 a.m. | 11:30 a.m. |
| M4 * | 2:30 p.m. | 12:30 p.m. | 12:30 p.m. | 12:30 p.m. | 12:30 p.m. | 12:30 p.m. | 2:30 p.m. |
| M5 * | 5:30 p.m. | 3:30 p.m. | 3:30 p.m. | 3:30 p.m. | 3:30 p.m. | 3:30 p.m. | 5:30 p.m. |
| M6 * | 7:30 p.m. | 6:30 p.m. | 6:30 p.m. | 6:30 p.m. | 6:30 p.m. | 6:30 p.m. | 7:30 p.m. |
| Weights * | N/A | Lift | Lift | N/A | Lift | Lift | N/A |
| Cardio * | N/A | PM | PM | AM | PM | PM | AM |
| Abs * | N/A | FYA | FYA | N/A | FYA | FYA | N/A |
| Water * | 265 oz | ||||||
| Post-workout nutrition * | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Pre-sleep nutrition * | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Vitamins/Supplements * | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Accountability * | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Cals within 5% (+/-) * | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Target Cals | 2250 | 2250 | 2700 | 2250 | 2250 | 2250 | 2700 |
| Cals | 2199 | ||||||
| Ratios (C/P/F) | 34/44/27 | ||||||
| Total Completed | 15 | ||||||
| Total Possible | 15 | ||||||
| Mission 2 Total Complete | 627 | ||||||
| Mission 2 Total Possible | 645 | ||||||
| * = Counts towards total | |||||||
| Success! | |||||||
| Failed | |||||||
| Not Counted! | |||||||
Nutrition Log:
| Mission 2: Day 43 of 100 | |||
| Meal/Training Plan: Real-time accountability | |||
| Day 43: March 16, 2008 | |||
| 5:30 a.m. | Meal 1: Protein shake with banana and Udos and oatmeal and 3 glasses of water | ||
| 5:30 a.m. | Supplements: Animal Pak, Glucosamine Chondroiten, calcium, chromium, glutamine, BCAAs | ||
| 6:00 a.m. | Workout: 30 minute intense run | ||
| 7:00 a.m. | Supplements: Protein shake, BCAAs, glutamine | ||
| 9:00 a.m. | Meal 2: 1 egg, 5 egg whites, oatmeal, large salad and 3 glasses of water | ||
| 12:00 p.m. | Meal 3: Protein shake with banana and Udos and Oatmeal mixed with non-fat milk, large salad, and 3 glasses of water | ||
| 3:00 p.m. | Meal 4: Lean beef, brocolli and large salad and 3 glasses of water | ||
| 6:00 p.m. | Meal 5: Turkey breast, corn, large salad and 3 glasses of water | ||
| 8:30 p.m. | Supplements: Casein protein shake, glutamine, calcium and 3 glasses of water |
Workout Log:
Today was a rest day.
Thought for the Day:
Anything worth doing is worth doing right. That includes a physique transformation. Learn what you need to know in order to be successful at your transformation. Leave no stones unturned. It will benefit you in the end.
Until tomorrow…GET BACK TO LIFTING!
