To start off, you do a Giant Set of Quad Blaster, Leg Extensions and Squats.  After that first Giant Set I was barely able to walk.  I literally had to bail out on the squat rack during my squats.  It was pretty intense.  Matty had the same experience.  The Quad Blaster primes your Quads, the Leg Extensions start to fry them and the Squats just punishes them into oblivion.  After a 20 second rest you do your second Giant Set that consisted of reverse leg raises, lying leg curls and stiff-legged deadlifts.  Mind you, in Giant Sets there is no rest between each of the exercises.  I was breathing like a freight train for the rest of the workout after concluding my set of stiff-legged deadlifts.

I could feel the quad portion of the workout throughout the rest of the routine.  I had to push extra hard to get good lifts.  Everything required extra focus.  The entire time I could feel my quads twitching and shaking.  I could literally feel the blood pumping through my quads throughout my entire workout.  The DOMs were setting in quickly.  We had literally destroyed our quads during this workout.  We both finished our workout with alot of energy and then slowly walked out of the gym.  It was a very extreme experience and one that I do not recommend for the weak minded.

Yes, this workout took alot of mental fortitude.  If you are not ready for pain and suffering at the gym, this workout is not for you.  Matty made me very proud.  This is a kid who only a few months ago was trying his best to act weak and yet he banged out extra reps on every single set.  He looked like he was ready to quit at 8 reps on his lat pullovers and yet he managed to squeeze out 4 more.  He even worked his triceps extra hard (a muscle group he always has trouble with). 

When it was all said and done, as we were leaving the gym, I commented to him that I was having trouble walking.  His response was classic.

"Dad, walking is overrated…when are we back in the gym doing this workout again?"

Matty's Workout Log (Date incorrect):

Today was a great day spent with family.  We took a subway trip from a nearby city into Downtown Los Angeles.  The purpose of our trek was to go to a restaurant called Philippe's.  It is a 100 year old restaurant where the French Dip sandwich was invented.  We ate beef dip sandwiches and just enjoyed the sites.  The youngest children really enjoyed the excitement of the subway trains.  They could not stop talking about that part of the trip.  We also spent some time on Olvera Street in Los Angeles, a famous hispanic area.  I have posted some pictures of the trip below. 

Today I just marvelled in the innocence of my youngest children.  We walked past several homeless people and their reaction was of great concern.  They wanted to know how come these people do not have a home to live in.  They asked how they stay warm.  They wanted to know what these people do when it rains.  It was very touching to see their concern.  At the same time, their innocence showed.  As a father it was an amazing experience to watch it all unfold.

The Muscle Building Fat Burning Machine Video Podcast – 12/21/2008 – Carb Cycling 

Philippe's Trip

Matty, Mitchell and Alison (my wife) on the Green Line train
	Alyssa on the Green Line train.  At first she wasn't too sure this was going to be fun.
Ashley and Chris (Ashley's boyfriend) on the Green Line train
	Matty, Alyssa and Mitchell exiting the Red Line train in Union Station
Christmas tree in Union Station
	Alyssa is checking out the old ticket counters in Union Station
The Midgets in front of the Christmas tree at Union Station
	The sign for Philippe's
My gang (Ashley, Chris, Alison, Matty, Mitchell and Alyssa) in front of Philippe's
	The address label for Philippe's — 1001 Alameda, Los Angeles, California
Dancers performing on Olvera Street
	Dancers performing on Olvera  Street
A pretty awesome head dress on one of the dancers
	Nativity scene on Olvera Street

I taught Matty how to do my interval cardio and he did quite well.  He was dripping with sweat when he was done.  I did a steady state session for the entire 45 minutes while Matty did intervals for 30 minutes and steady state for 15 minutes.  He now understands how important it is to do cardio.  We have now added cardio to his plan.

I began planning the nutritonal ideas for next week.  I decided to keep Christmas day as a low carb day because my gym is closed and I don't want to add extra carbs when I can't do cardio.  It is supposed to rain on Christmas day, so I am not planning to be able to do outdoor cardio at all.  Most likely I will do some kind of body weight cardio circuit if all else fails.

I am just adjusting to the new workout routine and it is already time to start the specialization training.  I am actually very excited to start that part of the routine.  Matty is a little worried about it.  He doesn't think he will "lift enough" during the giant sets that are required.  I reminded him that the goal is to lift as much as you can with maximum effort.  That means just what it says.  You lift as much weight as you can and you give it the maximum amount of effort.  I explained to him that I have had to drop some of my weights (and will be dropping them even more) as a result of this new training program.  It doesn't matter because you are doing the most your body can handle.  That's the key.

Yes, it is important to lift heavy, but it is the kind of "heavy" that you can handle.  I pointed out a few guys in the gym today who were lifting way too heavy.  They were arching their back or swinging the weight around.  I explained that he was getting more benefit from his lifting lighter weights than them because he was using proper form and going all out.  He seemed to get it, but he is still a bit nervous about the workouts that will come next week.

Matty's Workout Log:

You see, it is very possible to put alot of time into an issue and do nothing about it.  You could spend hours or days on something and really get nowhere with it.  In fact, it is entirely possible to waste every minute of the time you put into an issue.  This is where effort comes in.

When we apply ourselves to a problem or issue the effort we put in will be directly proportionate to the results we receive.  It isn't enough to workout an hour a day 3 times a week.  You have to workout with extreme effort in order to see results.  This is why High Intensity Training works so well.  It demands alot of effort from you and not alot of time.