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Operation Get Swole Training Logs: 5/13/2013 thru 5/18/2013

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It was an intense week of training. I am making great progress. Today I share with you the past week's training logs. One issue this week was that I was having numbness in my finger tips of 3 fingers on my right hand. This slowed down training just a bit, but it was still an intense week. 

Training Logs for the Week

5/14/2013 – Quads/Hams

Exercise Weight x Repetitions
A1. Squats

225 x 15
275 x 10
315 x 5
365 x 3
365 x 3
A2. Leg Press 630 x 5
540 x 10
450 x 15
360 x 20
270 x 30
Leg Extension 165 x 10
175 x 10
185 x 10
185 x 10
Stiff Leg Deadlift 135 x 10
155 x 10
175 x 10
195 x 10
Seated Leg Curl 133 x 15
133 x 15
133 x 15
133 x 15
Lying Leg Curl 95 x 20
95 x 20
95 x 20
95 x 20

5/18/2013

Exercise Weight x Repetitions
T-Bar Rows 90 x 8
135 x 10
160 x 8
185 x 8
210 x 8
Seated Cable Rows 210 x 8
225 x 8
240 x 8
255 x 8
Hammer Rows 55 x 8
90 x 8
95 x 8
95 x 8
Deadlift 225 x 10
315 x 5
Incline DB Curls 25 x 12
25 x 12
25 x 12
Lying DB Curls 15 x 15
15 x 15
15 x 12
BB Wall Curls 40 x 15
50 x 12
Cable Crunch

165 x 20
165 x 20
165 x 20
Leg Lifts 15
15
15
Planks 60 seconds
60 seconds
60 seconds

Thoughts for Upcoming Week

Now that the numbness in my right hand is subsiding I am going to kill it this coming week. I have worked too hard to let something small like this derail my progress. Watch this site for the progress I make in the coming weeks!

 

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My Quad Destruction Workout

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Building your quads requires very hard work. Add to that the need to burn fat and you could be in for a brutal training session. That's exactly the idea behind My Quad Destruction Workout. You build bigger quads while burning fat and getting leaner. The concept behind all of this is really simple and something you might want to learn about.

Building the Quads

The quads are very large muscles. They can move a large amount of weight and you should do so in order to build them. Pushing heavy weights is the way to faster quad development. As with any other muscle, the squeeze is important as well. 

Burning Fat While Training with Weights

Weight training can have an aerobic effect if you handle the rest period correctly. When doing legs, shorten up the rest period to no more than 30 seconds and you will find your heart rate soars. You will find it harder to catch your breath. You will be getting a cardio effect from your weight training workout. The legs are a great muscle group to use for this purpose.

Supersetting for Success

A superset usually involves opposing muscle groups being trained back to back with no rest. I use supersets on the same muscle group to push the intensity through the roof. The My Quad Destruction Workout uses supersets and shortened rest periods to accomplish the results for you.

The Workout

Exercise Set 1 Set 2 Set 3 Set 4 Set 5 Set 6 Set 7 Set 8
A1. Squat 15 reps 15 reps 10 reps 10 reps 8 reps 8 reps 5 reps 20 reps
A2. Leg Press 50 reps 40 reps 30 reps 20 reps 10 reps 5 reps 5 reps (add weight) 5 reps (lower weight, repeat 5 times)
Leg Extension 30 reps 25 reps 20 reps 15 reps 10 reps 5 reps    
B1. Lying Leg Curl 30 reps 25 reps 20 reps 15 reps 10 reps 5 reps    
B2. Stiff Leg Deadlift 5 reps 10 reps 15 reps 20 reps 25 reps 30 reps    

Executing the Workout

This workout relies on 2 supersets and a standard exercise. The load is ever changing. You will have to dig deep to get through this.

You begin by doing a superset of Squats and Leg Press. On the squats, you aim for a weight you can do for the repetitions listed. For the leg press you start out light (I use 3 plates a side) and then increase the load as the number of repetitions goes down. On the final set (#8) you do 5 reps and then lower the load. You keep the rest at 30 seconds maximum between sets/supersets

Reasoning

This is a shocking type of workout. It is also a fat burning type of workout. The shortened rest periods will give you a cardio effect. This will aid you in getting leaner. You are working your quads first then your hamstrings. It is going to take fortitude to get through it. You may even feel like throwing up so don't be surprised. This type of workout changes your world.

Feedback

If you give this workout a try, let me know via the comments. Tell me how it went for you.

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Operation Get Swole Update: 5/13/2013

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The Operation Get Swole update this week is not exactly what I would like to bring, but it is what it is and perhaps it will be educational. I have been having incredibly intense workouts with Ken Waters, my new training partner. He and I compliment each other's style and we push each other hard. Every training session has counted. We have left it all on the gym floor. It is an amazing feeling.

Training

I have adjusted my training split to give body parts more rest time between training and still allow me to double and triple up on a given body part. I use a smaller workout in the morning as a supplemental workout aimed at improving those lagging body parts. I feel like it is doing the job. I know my biceps are harder and tighter. My chest is pumped and starting to look better. I am now going to focus more on shorter rest periods to add a cardio effect to my training.

Ken and I had an incredible back workout twice this week. We shortened the rest period to next to nothing and just pumped out the sets. We were both dripping in sweat when we were done. It felt so incredible to drip from a weight training workout. We have also improved the strength of our core by working it at every workout. We started with 2 sets per exercise and just increased it to 3 sets per exercise. Core has never been a great strength of mine, so I am excited to see the changes.

Potential Injury?

What I hate reporting is that I think I have an injury to my right hand/wrist. I noticed that my thumb and index finger on my right hand felt a little numb towards the tip. As a result I postponed chest training for one day. As the day wore on I found that my middle and ring finger started to feel the same way, so I postponed my chest training yet again. I am going to be icing the hand on a regular basis and a regular, but intense therapy of Ibuprofen. I will watch and see how my hand feels and make a decision about training. However, if the weight training has to stop for a bit I am going to add a 5th day of cardio to keep myself active and burning calories.

Lessons Learned

If you want to get to the next level you have to push yourself very hard. It isn't enough to just cruise. Don't leave anything on the gym floor. Focus on the situation at hand. Rely on your training partner to push you and you to push him/her. At the same time you have to listen to your body. If you feel something abnormal take action before it gets worse. Don't just ignore it and hope it will get better. Remember that you are putting a huge amount of stress on your body, so if something feels wrong it is just going to get worse instead of better if you continue to push forward.

Be consistent with your supplementation. Get into a routine and follow it. These things don't work if you are not consistent. 

Be consistent with your training and take it to a new level at every single workout. Get a training partner who will push you and who can move a similar load as you. 

These variables, when put together in a consistent manner, will produce some amazing results. Watch me do that very thing throughout Operation Get Swole.

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Willing to Be Flexible

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Be flexible with changesOne of the hardest parts about planning your training is remaining flexible. We get an idea in our head for how things will work and sometimes they look perfect on paper but when executed they don't work very well. This is when we need to be flexible about how we handle ourselves and our plan. We must be ready to make changes, but not too quickly. Changes can sabatoge an OK plan but failure to change will destroy an already bad plan. 

Plan for Flexibility

One way is to plan certain places in your program where changes can be applied. Break an 8 week plan into weekly or slightly longer time periods. This will enable you to enact  changes as soon as you reach the end of a planned portion of your program. With natural breaks in your plan it makes it easier to throw up the flag and make the changes necessary.

Don't Be Too Rigid

We tend to think of things in terms of the calendar. The biggest learning I've had in the past year is not to do that with a training split. You train when the body is ready. Depending upon your goals, a split might not fit into a nice neat week or month. I would like to give you an example from my own planning.

My goal is to increase the size of my arms and my chest (my two weakest body parts by far). In order to do this I need to fit in multiple extra workouts for these body parts. My plan took a lot of work, but I have come up with a 6 day rotation that will do what I need it to do:

  Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6
AM Cardio Chest Cardio Cardio Shoulders Cardio/Biceps
PM Back (t)
Biceps (p)		 Shoulders Biceps(h)
Triceps(h)		 Back(w)
Calves		 Chest
Triceps (p)		 Hams
Quads

This schedule allows me to hit my biceps 3 times, my triceps 3 times and my chest twice. It also spaces things out enough that I am able to get recovery time. As my trainer, Ken Turchek, continually tells me “I don't care about rest! Just eat!” so that is what I do–I eat.

This plan was accomplished by hitting the gym twice a day, but what if I could not do that? Here is another cycle that would accomplish the same thing:

  Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6 Day 7 Day 8 Day 9
AM Cardio   Cardio   Cardio   Cardio   Cardio 
PM

Back(t)
Biceps(p)

 Chest Sholders Biceps
Triceps		 Back
Calves		 Shoulders Chest
Triceps		 Biceps Quads
Hams

This accomplishes the same thing as the top plan, but takes 3 days longer to do so. The key here is flexibility. Don't be so rigid with your schedule that you think you have no way to accomplish your goal. I would use the second plan if I was not able to hit the gym for 2 workouts a day. It is all about time and effort.

Consider Your Progress

I am a big believer in tracking your progress. I know many bodybuilders will laugh at me for keeping a log, but I am scientific with my approach and believe in seeing the progression visually. It is just essential for me personally. 

When you log your training you will start to see things jump out at you. This is when you need to think about your progress. Are you getting stronger? Is your body composition changing? If not, it is time to make a change. If things are changing, but at a slower pace, it is time to make a change. You have to consider this and be flexible as well.

Flexibility Leads to Success

By taking the time to consider your situation and being flexible enough to make the changes necessary, you are going to see major benefits from the approach. Get ready for major changes in your body. If you have any suggestions or comments about flexibility, please leave them in the comments area of this article.

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Beat Yourself to Compete

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Compete against yourselfBodybuilding is definitely a subjective sport. As I told you in my article “Why I Love This Subjective Sport” the judges make bodybuilding subjective, but the competitors make it a competition. With the right attitude they can compete against themselves and make the improvements needed to place higher in each competition. 

How to Compete

When you walk into the gym you have some choices to make every single time. Will you do more repetitions than your previous workout? Will you increase the weight? Will you add more sets? Each decision is aimed at the same thing–to help you compete against yourself.

The way to build a bigger and more asthetic body is to push yourself harder and harder. Compete against yourself in the process. Remember that nobody else is really competing with you. It is all you. 

How It Works With Other Sports

In baseball, if the Dodgers are about the play the Angels, they have a recent example of how the Angels played. They have a reasonable expectation of how things will come out. A bodybuilder does not have this luxury. Most competitors don't compete in back to back shows. They take time for improvements between shows. That means that anything is possible. All the competitors have been busting their butts in the gym and the kitchen. The results they bring to the stage will be unknown until they actuall step up on that stage. 

The Bodybuilder's Job

Our job as a bodybuilder is to work on our weak parts. I know this better than most because I love the sport and want to compete, but I have some major flaws that need improving. I am expected to figure out a plan to improve the weak body parts and then execute on it. I have to prepare a training plan that works, a nutrition plan that handles the caloric needs for my body, a cardio plan that will condition me and then I have to get my mind in the right place. Each of these things on their own is not easy, but put together as a package and it is even more difficult.

Beat Your Own Training

Always figure out what body parts of yours are lagging. Plan your training to hit them more than once in a cycle. Get the right amount of time in between body parts. Train with intensity. Always beat your previous workout. Never give up. Your bodybuilding career depends upon it.

Be Consistent with Your Eating

Plan what you are going to do for nutrition ahead of time. Failing to plan is planning to fail. It is very true. You have to map out your menu ahead of time. It is the best way to insure you get the right amount of calories into your system. If you want to grow you have to eat. Eating helps with recovery. It helps with muscle building. It helps with keeping fat to a minimum. It just plain helps. It is essential.

Beat Your Cardio Training

Cardio training is no different than weight training. I personally like to push it harder and to higher levels each time I do it. Can I beat the number of calories from the previous workout? Can I go further? Can I go for more time? These variables can be messed with to improve the cardio training. Cardio goes directly to your conditioning, so don't let it slip.

Get Your Mind Straight

Much of what goes on with failing at the other parts of the plan involves mental issues. We don't think we can do it. We are too tired. We don't want to train. The list goes on and on. Get your mind straight and get into the gym. It is not an easy thing, but it is an essential thing. Our mindset is going to determine the success of our program. It effects every single aspect of our program. Take the time to figure it out.

Reach All Your Goals

Put together these elements and you will reach your goals. It is easy in a way, but extremely difficult in another way. Push hard and reap the rewards. Tell us how you beat yourself to compete by commenting below.

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