12-Week Cycle Update

While gym night is generally Wednesday, I shifted it to Thursday. The plan kept it as a lighter night. What I’ve done is shifted from the four day split to the more common three day split. This pattern allows for Monday to be the moderate intensity night, Wednesday to be light intensity, and Friday is Beast Mode.

Friday is Beast Mode because there are two days for recovery. And, two days for my wife and kids to laugh at me. When any of my kids join me at the gym, which they occasionally do, we laugh And cuss at each other for what we’ve done.

Another change that I’ve done to the 12-Week mass routine is changing some of the 8 to 10 repetitions for three sets into drop sets. I love the intensity of the drop sets.

If you are not familiar with the overload capabilities of drop sets, we can cover them quickly. You set the weight to start at just about your max repetitions. Whatever that number looks like, you set the bar with that weight. I am setting the weight for a rep range of 3 to start with. I know that I will be able to max out at 6 to 8 repetitions as the weight drops during the set.

So, for example, you’re doing squats. I set the weight today at 345 pounds. Being a light day, I only did 3 reps and racked the bar. As quickly as I could, I stripped 20 pounds from the bar, shouldered the weight, and did the next set. Then, I acmes the weight and stripped another 20 pounds. And squatted more.

You keep this pattern of squat, rack drop weight, squat, rack, drop weight, and so on going without stopping or resting until one of two situations happens. One, you have only the empty bar on your shoulders. Two, you have completed the number of drops you have set for yourself.

For me, that’s 10 drops. My 12-week cycle has become a mix of drop sets for the compound movements and sets of 3x8 for isolation exercises.

This is week 10 of 12. At the end of 12 I will tell you how much weight I’ve added to my squat, deadlift, bench, bent row. I will also share how much my body weight has changed. To date, I’ve put on just under 10 pounds of body weight. The rest of the update will have to wait until the end of the cycle.

I will also outline the full routine again so that you all can go and grow, too.

Stay healthy!
Stay strong!

12-Week Cycle

         About 8 weeks ago I pulled a 12-week cycle out of the depths of my memory. The notebook I logged it in years ago has long since disappeared. I tried my best to rebuild the 12-Weeks to Mass routine. 

         This has two split variations, the traditional 3-day split and a lesser used 4-day split. The routine is a push/pull setup. One Day One you do push muscle groups (Squat, {include leg extensions and toe raise}, Bench Press, Shoulder Press {barbell or dumbbell}, triceps extensions, and abs). Day Two is the pulling groups (Deadlift {include leg curls, back extensions}, Bent Row, Upright Row, Curls, Abs.

         The idea is to keep each workout at about the same length of time. Yes, Gym Rats, we all love the sound and smell of the iron; however, many of us do have family to spend time with. Or, friends outside of the gym. Yes, I know ... this may come as a shock to some, but there can be friendships outside of the gym. I made some very good and lasting friendships in a local MMA club. I haven’t been for a long time, but I do intend to go back. One thing we love about our relationship is that lifters can eat lots of hits. Smiling. It’s frighteningly fun!

But, I digress!! Anyway, the traditional 3-day split alternates the Day One and Day Two workout every other day. Week 1 will have you doing two Day One workouts, or two push days and one pull day. Week 2 will have you doing two pull days and one push. Easy enough, right?

The 4-day split is Monday/Tuesday:Thursday/Friday. Monday and Thursday are both Day One, push, days. Tuesday and Fridays are Day Two, pull, days. 

Doing abdominals at each workout is not a problem. This massive muscle group adapts quickly and responds very well. Personally, I do planks for increasing amounts of time followed immediately by bicycle crunches. 

Again, I’m at Week 8 of 12. I’m enjoying some great gains in strength. I’ve come from nearly cold and jumping back into the gym to adding 80 pounds to my squat and deadlift. My bench has not increased so dramatically, it has gone up 30 pounds in the first 8 weeks. My rowing lags as, when I get there, my back wants to get away from me.

I can’t wait to update you at the end of the 12 weeks.

1 Minute, 1 Mile

Image Found on Pixabay done by alan9187

     Running. “It’s healthy.” “It’s good for you.” “It’s not so bad once you get used to it.” These make it sound like liver. Then again, some people like liver. We know that running is an excellent exercise. We also know that, due to our increasing use of technology, we have become less active.

     I can hear you now, “What do you mean ‘we’? Do you have a mouse in your pocket?” No, I do not have a mouse, there are a heap of medical and health statistics. According to the CDC, going back as far as 1991, people ranging in age from 18 and up were found to be more and more sedentary. At a rate of 58%, people have been moving less. It has only gotten worse.

     What are we going to do? Busy schedules that are packed full. Commuting times that are unbearable. Meetings with school administrators and teachers. What can we do?

     1 minute of running per day. Really. 1 minute of running per day. According to the researchers at the University of Leicester who studied data from a variety of sources on more than 2,500 women, just one minute of running a day was beneficial. The researchers used information from the UK Biobank and the University of Exeter. Researchers found that one to two minutes of moderate to high intensity aerobic activity like running was bringing about positive results. The results showed a 4& to 6% increase in bone density and an overall improvement in bone health.

     Let’s consider what the risks of a sedentary lifestyle and benefits running just one minute a day look like:

Health Effects of Sedentary Lifestyle 

     Caloric expenditure and health outcomes 

     Contribute to anxiety and depression

     Increased risk for cardiovascular diseases

     Increased obesity

     Decreased musculature

     High cholesterol

     Increased risk of diabetes

     Increased risk of cancer

     Increased risk of stroke

Benefits of fast, short runs

     Improve cardiovascular fitness 

     Time compatible with most schedules

     Can be done daily

     Strengthens heart

     Prevents heart disease

     Less depression

     Lowers body weight 

     Lowers cholesterol 

     Lowers risk of cancer

     Lowers risk of diabetes 

     Lowers risk of stroke

     When talking about this with people, it was found that almost everyone responded with, “It takes me longer than the run to get ready for it.” That was the most common response. Another consideration is the likelihood of doing just one mile. One mile, that is all. Most people who are just starting out will be able to do a mile in about 15 to 20 minutes. While that is longer than the one minute just talked about, that is not a large amount of time invested. US Dept of Health advocates 150 minutes, 2 1/2 hours, weekly of exercise. How many people hit that goal? According to what we have seen so far, not very many.
     Running one mile can be a great workout. A beginner is going to finish that mile somewhere between 15 and 20 minutes. That time is not going to stay like that for long. Oh, no. Running one mile is short enough of a distance that, as mentioned, you can run it as hard as your body can handle it and recover enough to run it again the next day.

     In time, if you keep up with this, you will find running to have become easier. Walking around stores much easier. Your doctor will see your cholesterol levels going down, too.

     This type of running can even fit in if you are already going to the gym and working out. While it will push you and burn excess calories, it will not take too much out of you and ruin your weight lifting. You will be able to burn a few extra calories, cut some bodyfat, build your wind, and still pump up your lifting numbers. What is not to like?

     This is an ideal way to begin a running routine. Running daily becomes something you look forward to. If you are challenging yourself to go a few seconds faster each day, it becomes a game. Get your kids involved and you have a competitive game going. Set rewards or trophies for who can take the most time off their run in one week or who has the fastest mile. Have fun. Make it fun. The more you do this, the less time you spend doing it as the mile run gets faster.

     It takes about 21 days to make a new habit stick. On another blog, I’ve written about making habits stick and you can read about that here if you are curious.

     By the end of one month, you’ve built a one-mile habit. Now, harping on the creativity, make that mile into a Tabata or wind sprints. Tabatas are a form of training that was developed by a Japanese sports scientist and Olympic coach. If you want the details, this post is a good source. The down and dirty is you download a Tabata Timer. This timer will count 4-minutes off in 20 and 10 second intervals. Run like your life depends on it for the 20 seconds then jog or run lightly for the 10 seconds.

     The other easy option I’ve used for running the mile is doing it in 100-meter sprints. 

The quarter mile track is usually marked off in four 100-meter increments. Run the first 100 as hard as you can. Lightly run or jog the second 100 meters. Keep alternating 100-meter blocks until you have finished the 1600 meters. 

     Running 1 mile in as many different ways as possible will serve you well. It is short enough to not interfere with the rest of your training, get silly with it. Run it once, then beat your time. Daily.

     Do wind sprints.

     Run it with the kids and race with them. Make bets to see if they can beat “the old man.” Then win.

     Talk to your doctor about this before you start, though. Make sure that your heart can handle changes like this. You do not want to have anything seize up on you, so make sure that your physician agrees that this is safe for you to do.

     Oh, yes, both the Tabata and wind sprints will hurt if you do them right. That is what they are supposed to do.

     However you choose to add and run the Daily Mile, add it. Rain, shine, cold, or hot it’s only one mile. Anyone can do one mile. Too easy.

     Train hard.

     Train smart.

Training Mistakes

     Accidents happen. Haven’t we all heard that too many times? Anyone who has been involved in competitive athletics or sports long enough has firsthand experience with training mistakes.

Mistakes in training and in the gym carry a range of repercussions. These can range from possibly being featured on a Gym Fails video an injury that lays you up for a few days to weeks to a crippling injury that dead ends your training. If you’re lucky, the worst injury will have you out of the gym for a few days.

     I am looking at this topic through my own history. I have been a competitive power lifter, led fitness training in the military, been a competitive runner and swimmer. Fitness is, obviously, a large portion of my life and has been for decades. During my life in training I have had a staggeringly large number of injuries. These injuries have happened in different events and through a surprisingly large number of different ways, but generally were due to one or more of the following three reasons.

     Overtraining 

     This is a term some of you may not know or be familiar with. Overtraining, sometimes also called overlifting, happens when your training cycle is so intense that your body cannot recover completely between each session. Each session is breaking your body down more than you have time to recover from.

     While our bodies are, in fact, surprisingly resilient and can adapt to arduous conditions in a rapid manner, there is a point of overload at which you go too far. This begins to sap your strength and endurance. In essence, you are getting weaker rather than stronger. Your bulk is bailing on you. Your strength is strutting away.

     Some of the symptoms that you may be experiencing are likely:

•      Persistent fatigue
•      Deep mental fog
•      Notably higher resting heart rate
•      Increasing/ed injuries
•      Burnout
•      Depression
•      Irritability
•      Loss of strength and endurance

     

     This can be, as said above, from not getting enough recovery between workouts. Another culprit is insufficient nutrition. If you are experiencing any of the above symptoms you should start by taking a few days off from training. Increase your protein and amino acid intake. Take a close look at how and what you eat on a regular basis. Are you actually getting enough protein and calories? Are you getting enough carbohydrates? Is your diet adequate to fuel your training?

     Under-eating

     When physically active, under-eating can be a hazard. You wouldn’t run a high-performance motorcycle or sports car on low grade cheap fuel, would you? Why would you not fuel your body and brain with the best fuel available? What about cutting fat for that upcoming competition or the bathing suit season? Really?

     Keep in mind is that the human brain is comprised mostly of fat. The brain is 60% fat. What do you suppose happens to people who starve themselves of fat? Their brain physically shrinks. The brain loses both size and functionality. But, this is a last resort act of desperation done by the brain to preserve itself. When you initially drop calories and fat from your diet, you will go through a period of brain fog. This is given as a direct warning in the information for all the ketone diets I have read about, too.

     Carbohydrates, the complex carbs not the simple ones, play an important role. If you are diabetic, go talk to your doctor right now! Complex carbs are metabolized into glycogen and stored mostly in the liver. There is a small amount of glycogen in the blood stream, too. Glycogen is what actively fuels the muscles when moving. What is stored in the lover is gone after approximately 25 minutes of intense activity. At which point, the body begins to burn fat or muscle tissue for energy. It all comes down to what the body has become accustomed to using.

     Proteins and carbohydrates are most needed. By eating or drinking protein and carbos after yoru workout, you are

•      Decreasing muscle catabolism
•      Increasing muscle growth
•      Restoring glycogen stores
•      Aiding your own recovery
•      Promote muscle growth

     It is recommended that your protein to carb ratio is 3:1, three grams of carbs for every one gram of protein.

     Bad Form

Compound movements are those that involve more than one set of joints to complete. This includes bench press, squat, bent row, and deadlift as examples. These lifts are very technical in nature. That is, you are best off to study the form prior to stacking the bar with weights. The mantra has always been, “Form first, strength will follow.”

     Proper form ensures proper and complete muscular development and strength throughout the entire range of movement. Proper form is also going to minimize the risk of injury. For instance, in deadlift, I and many others, have gotten over-enthusiastic. In this, we start to perform the lift too fast in each rep. By not taking the few moments necessary to ensure that feet, knees, and hips are properly aligned and that the back is in its proper alignment, a lower back injury is inevitable. Even in my 20’s, I lost far too much time to that injury by not checking my form and technique. Squat and bench press are two other lifts that are considered technical lifts in their execution. I have detailed the specifics about those two competitive lifts in You Don’t Know Squat and Pressing Matters.

     Take the time to study proper form for each lift you are using in your routine even if you are not necessarily a newbie. Even the simple biceps curl, if done with poor form and enough weight, can result in injuries. Bad form with curls can put your rotator cuff at risk.

     Make the necessary adjustments. Starving your system while pushing it to levels beyond what it can already handle is just asking for injuries. Injuries that will keep you away from what you love most, training. It does not matter of that sport is martial arts, cross country, swimming, powerlifting, or what.

     If you are an older athlete, like me, do not shortcut the recovery time or nutrition. At this point in our lives shortcutting on these will bite us in the end faster than we care to admit.

     Train hard.

     Train smart.