Training Log - Introduction

Alan...Love having you on the boards man...I get this wise grey bearded version of you when ever I read your posts.  You reak of experiences had.

Anyway, I think more and more of us are trending towards this less is more philosophy by cutting down our days in the gym and overall volume.  I have been incorporating more and more functional compound type movements, and outdoor activities.  It can be a bit of a challenge at times though, as I am training regularly with one of our clients as he is prepping for a show, so he constantly wants to work with more of a bodybuilding type style...understandably.  I have however completely converted him over from the school of; I am going to wait 43 minutes between each set so that I can lift the absolute maximum amount of weight all the time and end up staying in the gym for 4 hours mentality.

By the way...418 lbs after not deadlifting for 40 years AND at the age of 66!!  you are a poster child for staying natural my man, and 'user' would have no chance of maintaining that kind of strength and muscle after going off the juice.  You are a freak!

Good stuff buddy

Thanks, Jordan . . . much appreciated. One thing though . . .  when I get to look like Gandolf from Lord of the Rings, I'll let you know!

As for the Dead-Lift, it was the ONLY exercise I showed a semblance of strength. If I recall ( can be a touch shaky at times ), I Dead-Lifted 400 lbs, or very close to it, at my first specialized Dead-Lift session. I had been training about 4 years, at the time, but never on this move. It only took 12 weeks or so, at one workout per week, to get to the 500 lbs level and into my one and only Power lifting competition. It was the same with a friend of mine. We both must have been built like apes as our arms reached the bar purely by standing over it . . . . . . see Avatar.

You might be right about this trend towards less is more. Everything you pick up & read these days, suggests that this is better for your health & overall well being. A fine line between training enough to limit the ageing process or so much that you actually accelerate it.

I like your philosophy as well.  The less is more idea is great in keeping your energy up so each workout and cardio session is more effective.  I am having a hard time converting over myself.  But this last week, I was short on time every day, so I got in the gym, did the basics with lots of supersets and little rest and I felt I got the best workouts I had in a long time.  I didn't waste my energy on endless sets and reps.  The sets and reps I did were shorter, but stronger and I really felt it.

As for the cardio, I like to do it every day simply because I sit at a desk all day, so aside from the weight training, its the only activity I get (except weekends).  I don't think doing High intensity stuff everyday is very good for many so I do those HIIT's 2 times per week and the rest I do about 45 min moderate intensity, but still keep my HR at or above 80% most of the time.  I need to get my train of though like you though.  I keep thinking more is better with cardio and always feel like I should be doing double cardio sessions, but Joe always says he would rather I don't.  When I read your post, I can understand why. 

Thanks for sharing all the information.  I always learn a thing or two from you.

Thanks, Annette

Agreed, that it's not easy to change your mind set.

I would put yourself COMPLETELY in the hands of Joe and listen to him, at least for a while. He is pretty lean himself right now and has been so for a while. You could say that he is gaining good information on this process, by self experimentation. I need to tap into that knowledge pretty shortly, myself. But first, a vacation!

I thought it was about time to give an update on my training, for any one that is interested.

Fitness training continues along the lines that I laid out, previously. A couple of hard interval workouts, twice per week, of around 25 - 30 mins incl. the warm-up and cool down. I am happy with that. NB. I still am unable to get to terms with only doing this hard workout once per week, as per Clarence Bass! For now, it's twice for me.

Weight training has been slightly modified. It still consists of 2 main workouts per week, but I admit to not liking training the whole body at each workout. I have divided them between upper and lower body workouts.

Generally speaking, I follow a compound movement with a rehab movement for that area. My repetitions on the 3 main compound movements ( bench, front squat & dead lift ) are fairly low and the sets high. I am trying "Cluster sets " on Front Squats and am enjoying them. They work like this : - use 85 - 90% of your best single and perform 1 rep followed by 10 seconds rest and then the next rep and so on. Complete 3 to 5 of these single reps to make up one set. Rest & repeat 3 to 5 times, depending on energy levels. This gives a pretty good workout. Try it. I follow this with buttock and a hip stretching exercise before moving on to the next movement.

My dead lifts are, in the main, performed explosively, or at least, that is the intention. Ten sets of 2 reps with a 45 sec rest between each set, does the trick for my lower back.

For the rest of my body parts, I am using a lot of Rest / Pause work. Select a weight for 10 good reps, rest 15 secs, do as many as you can again, rest 15 secs and repeat. If the weight is selected correctly on the first set, I usually get 10 / 6 to 7 / 4 to 5.

That's about it and should keep me rolling along until Christmas and the New Year. Get that behind me and I will aim for another peak next year. Looking forward to it.