Summer transformation

Well, Spring is upon us all officially and unofficially in some still colder climates a bit further north of the Equator.  Nevertheless this week I will embark upon a journey to slim down for this fantastic beach season ahead of us all here in the Sunshine State (Florida).

My current weight is at ~215 pounds.  My ultimate goal is to breach the 200 pounds resistance line in my index of weight.  I've been trending sideways between 220-210 for too long now and it is time for a major sell off and a correction before another build up takes place to inflate my waist line for the Winter time.  Therefore, I welcome the public to join me in my task of self discipline which may be tough to master, but I will try my hardest to do it.

The first major milestone will be to reach 205lbs.  This will be a grand moment in this journey south to slimville.  Once there newer and potentially more aggressive goals will be set for the resistance line breaking.

Posts will consist of workout summaries and energy levels and general gibberish about my endeavor.  Pictures will be posted for progress purposes with perhaps some videos in between.  Let's see how things turn out.

Tomorrow will be the first set of pictures.  Stay tuned.

Stability Ball Squats

Compound movements involve exercises that require the concerted action of several muscle groups working together to perform it.  In essence, this form of work enabling the body to function as one cohesive unit is the most productive one when it relates to building muscle.

This muscular convention triggers extra releases of testosterone within your body.  This hormone is the main factor in building mass which eventually will lead to less fat and a better physique.  Via the recruitment of several muscle fibers these exercises render most isolation work as unnecessary for many beginners as well as intermediate to advanced lifters.

Examples of such exercises are Squats, Rows, Dead lifts, Military Presses, Bench Presses, Pull ups, Dips, and etc.

On this short post I'd like to focus on one particular exercise, if the Dead lift is the queen of compound movements, then the Squat is certainly the king.

One can clearly see why just by running through the list of muscle groups this simple yet very effective exercise recruits:

Leg Anatomy

Primary Muscles

Erector Spinae, Gluteus Maximus (glutes), (Quads (Quadriceps femoris), Rectus femoris, Vastus intermedius (Cruraeus), Vastus lateralis (Vastus externus), Vastus medialis (vastus internus)), Hamstrings (the three posterior thigh muscles - semitendinosus, semimembranosus and the biceps femoris – also including the tendons that make up the borders of the space behind the knee).

Secondary Muscles(Synergists/Stabilizers)

Transverse Abdominus, Gluteus medius/minimus (Abductors), Adductors, Soleus, Gastrocnemius

Therefore, it is essential that some variety of this exercise is a mainstay or a foundation of your routine.  There are several available forms of squats.

1.  Hack Squats

2.  Front Squats

3.  Barbell Back Squats

4.  Box Squats

5.  Stability Ball Squats (see YouTube video below)

There may be others that right now escape my mind, but one gets the idea of the several choices you can make when it comes to this exercise.  You may try every single one and find out for yourself which form is most comfortable or yields the best results.

However, there are limitations at times that present themselves in the form of injuries.  Sometimes these will only allow you to perform a restricted amount of exercises in order to not aggravate matters or elicit any more pain from the affected area so that it may heal properly.  One of the most common injuries are lower back (lumbar) related ones, myself having been a victim of 'ego lifting' that led to a severe set back (no pun intended) in my lifting career.  This has caused me to sift through the veritable cornucopia of potential ways to perform this crucial exercise without making matters worse.

Enter variety number 5.  Stability Ball Squats have been a great solution for someone like me who has lingering lower back issues.  To perform this exercise, all that needs to be done is to find a mid-to-large sized stability ball, place it between yourself and a flat wall surface and then proceed to squat.  Not only does this exercise help with stabilization, it requires that your abdominal muscles act as a support beam in order to maintain the upper body erect and the ball itself acts as a soft cushion that guides the body up and down in a smooth path.  I would advise to initially perform this exercise with body weight only, finding the tolerable level of depth your body will be comfortable achieving.  You may slowly try to descend further until you reach parallel with the floor or a bit past it.  Once at this stage, you may choose to start holding onto a 25lbs. plate in front of you and eventually increasing the amount as your body becomes better accustomed to the exercise and is able to tolerate the increased resistance.  Below is a video of yours truly doing this exercise at the gym.  You will find here that I utilize two dumbbells for resistance and that I break parallel by a few inches because I am okay reaching this level.

To finalize; 

1.  Compound movements are the best forms of exercise to promote muscle growth due to hormonal release (testosterone).

2.  Squats are crucial in anyone's routine.

3.  There are several varieties available of this exercise, but for those who are limited there is an available option in stability ball squats which assist the lifter with a 'freer' range of natural motion than most machines that are constricted to the angle and motion set forth by its engineers and design, thus limiting the body to that artificial range of motion which overtime may lead to imbalances and long term injuries.

Good luck!

Warming up is a breeze...

Warming up is the best injury prevention any active person can perform.  Stretching is not bad, but I would definitely advise against it as a method of 'loosening up' before any physical activity.  I often allude it to taking a rubber band out of a freezer and stretching it right away.  Typically, the consequence of such an action is  that the band will snap and potentially break.  In other words, this is analogous to the functionality of our body's muscles.  Although they won't probably snap as easily as a rubber band, one will not be able to get the most out of their stretching without at the very least some form of a warm up.  The individual's ability to stretch is limited by the constrictive force of their hitherto unused 'cold' muscle.  Therefore, the end result may turn out to be a shorter range of motion during exercise thus cutting short the benefit of an unhindered movement performed in its entirety.

Warm it up before stretching it!

There are several easy methods to warm one's body up in order to gain the benefits of added flexibility during subsequent stretches (which I recommend to be done post workout, not during or before) and prevent injury from coldly performing an exercise which places much strain on a particular muscle group.

 
The most mundane and remedial method of warming up is by briskly walking on a treadmill.  This will automatically enhance the circulatory properties of your blood by bringing in oxygen to your body's highways and roads; i.e., veins and arteries.  Ergo, such flow will eventually work its way to the muscle which will lead to its progressive 'loosening'.  This action leads to better performance during a work out and will prepare the body for its consequent physical activities.  Elliptical machines, stair masters  and all such cardiovascular machines serve to lightly warm the body up.  Granted the aforementioned be performed at low levels of intensity   For one must remember, the aim here is to incrementally warm the body up for injury prevention, not to try and race an imaginary cheetah.

Other methods can be done by performing core exercises to prepare the most important part of the body which plays a supporting role (theater pun intended) throughout all physical activities.  The abdomen and lower portion of the back can be lightly targeted here and returned to a later point with more intense exercises towards the end of the routine.  Never neglect either side for this will cause a problematic imbalance that may lead to future discomfort and possible injury.  Perform light exercises for the rectus abdominis, the erector spinæ and their ancillary muscles to give all ends equal attention.

Core Muscles

Body weight exercises (for the intermediate or advanced lifter) may also server as a wonderful form of warming the body up as most of the movements call for the entire body to act as a cohesive muscular unit.  In this instance, blood and oxygen quickly spreads to all parts triggering this action; i.e., the muscles being utilized.  These can be performed via push-ups, dips, pull-ups, chin-ups, body weight squats, lunges, and others.  Of course a beginning lifter will have difficulty doing this as a warm up for it will initially require much output from the body's physiological faculties that may drain any future energy needed for other exercises that compose the main body (no pun intended) of the routine.

Small Compilation

Emphasis must once again be placed on the purpose of a warm up, it isn't to initially tax the body, but rather to prepare it for the oncoming barrage of physical stress placed on it by strenuous exercise.

Light isolation exercises should not be performed as a warm up as they may actually tax the targeted muscle group too much since the focus is solely placed on it.  Consequently, this specific muscle group may end up being the Achilles's heel for any future compound exercise that involves it in the workout routine.

Lastly, the first exercise of a routine, whether lower body or upper body* is always typically (and rightfully so) a compound movement.  Compound movements are those exercises which recruit a large number of muscles to contemporaneously work together in order to complete the action.  Before performing an active or live set of this first exercise, it is advisable to do a light set as well to get the body accustomed to that motion that will soon be done with more weight.  Not only will this fine tune exercise form as it is extra practice before the real thing, it will also mentally prepare the lifter for the next set and beyond.  The lifter's state of mind is just as important as the body's preparation.  This lighter set should consist of 45-50% of a one rep max and high repetitions in the 15-20 range.  If the one rep max is not known, the lifter may go by an educated guess as to what he believes he could easily handle to serve the above purpose.

*With upper body movements L-Flyes are recommended as a precursor to performing them in order to protect the thin layer of muscle tissue surrounding the rotator cuff by strengthening them in this simple and yet crucial exercise for shoulder health.  L-flyes should never be done with much weight, preferably on the low end around 5lbs-10lbs, never exceeding 20lbs due to the sensitivity of the area being worked. 

So, to recap...

1. Stretching prior to exercising is analogous to taking a rubber band out of the freezer and trying to bend it.  It's not a good idea.  Leave stretching to the end of the exercise routine.

2. A brisk cardiovascular warm up on any of sundry machines such as the treadmill, the elliptical, the stairmaster, and etc. Never exceeding more than ten minutes, and always done at low intensity.

3. Warm the core of the body by performing light exercises with high repetitions for the rectus abdominis, the erector erector spinæ and their ancillary muscles.

4. Bodyweight exercises at higher repetition ranges for the intermediate and advance lifter may also be a great form of warming up.  Beginners should avoid this so as to not tax their body too much prior to the actual workout routine.

5. The first set of the first compound movement should always be done with a very light weight determined by the lifter's calculations or educated guess that can be easily performed for 15-20 repetitions.  This helps with form and prepares the body for the heavier loads.

Workout Week - Overall Barbell Progress

Considering the amount of time that it takes me to post each of Dan's workout results and my other priorities in life, I've decided to change the manner in which his progress is to be tracked via this blog.

I will reserve the blog for long term tracking with overall posts which will concentrate further on other experiences of mine with regard to exercising as well.

However, since this marks over a month of working out for Dan, I'd like to post a comparison between the weight used in each exercise in order to see how far he has gotten.

We will start by comparing the Barbell week exercises.

Start 02-28-2012 / End 04-9-2012

Abdominal Sit ups - 8 reps - BW / 20 reps - BW

Leg Raises - 6 reps - BW / 20 reps - BW

Incline Bench Press - 8 reps - 105lbs / 10 reps - 115lbs

Bent Over Barbell Row - 10 reps - 65lbs / 12 reps - 125lbs

Machine Chest Flyes - 12 reps - 70lbs / 15 reps - 140lbs

Wide Grip Lat Pulldowns - 12 reps - 70lbs / 10 reps - 110lbs

Hammer Strength Pullovers - 12 reps - 55lbs / 15 reps - 130lbs

Barbell Curls - 12 reps - 55lbs / 15 reps - 75lbs

Tricep Pushdowns - 16 reps - 100lbs / 10 reps - 125lbs

BB Forearm Curls - 15 reps - 45lbs / 20 reps - 45lbs

Start 02 -29-2012 / End 04-10-2012

Hack Squats - 10 reps - 50lbs / 10 reps - 135lbs

Leg Press - 12 reps - 90lbs / 10 reps - 405lbs

Leg extension - 12 reps - 75lbs / 15 reps - 225lbs

Seated Leg Curls - 12 reps - 165lbs / 15 reps - 240lbs

Seated Calf Raises - 12 reps - 90lbs / 15 reps - 120lbs

Low Back Extensions - 12 reps - BW / 20 reps - BW

Start 03 -01-2012 / End 04-11-2012

Barbell Military Press - 10 reps - 75lbs / 10 reps - 95lbs

Cable Rows - 12 reps - 120lbs / 12 reps - 165lbs

Barbell Flat Bench - 12 reps - 115lbs / 8 reps - 135lbs

Barbell Shrugs - 15 reps - 135lbs / 20 reps - 155lbs

Reverse Pec Deck - 12 reps - 60lbs / 12 reps - 110lbs

Seated Lateral Raises (Nautilus) - 12 reps - 60lbs / 10 reps - 95lbs

Skull Crushers (EZ BB) - 30 reps - 30lbs / 15 reps - 60lbs

Seated Preacher Curls (EZ BB) - 15 reps - 50lbs / 12 reps - 70lbs

Barbell Wrist Curls - 25 reps - 25lbs / 40 reps - 25lbs

Start 03 -15-2012 / End 04-12-2012

Barbell Squats - 11 reps - 100lbs / 12 reps - 135lbs

Barbell Deadlifts - 8 reps - 95lbs / 8 reps - 185lbs

Leg Extensions - 15 reps - 105lbs / 15 reps - 255lbs

Lying Leg Curls - 15 reps - 60lbs / 15 reps - 75lbs

Standing Calf Raises - 30 reps - BW / 40 reps - BW

Standing Calf Raise Machine - 15 reps - 120lbs / 15 reps - 150lbs

Lower Back Extensions - 15 reps - BW / 20 reps - BW + 25lbs

Stationary Planks - 30 seconds / 60 seconds

Next post will outline the DB progress...

First Comparison Shots - 04 - 02 - 2012

This marks one Month of training. Let's not get disappointed if not much progress is seen here. One month is not enough time to see much visible progress, but I guarantee all of you the changes are there as his body is currently mutating to build newer and stronger muscle to adapt to these workouts every week. Let's look at the shots:

Congratulations to Dan! The improvements are actually visible. His biceps have gained a bit in their peak from when he started, his waist is more controlled and most importantly his posture has improved considerably from his first set of pictures. It is a night and day difference, all one needs to do is look at how much less curvature there is in the area where his thoratic region meets the cervical region. That new posture alone connotes his new found confidence in himself with the workouts which I put him through and that makes me extremely happy. I hope that he can continue on this amazing journey with me until the 6 months are over and we will see what we were able to do together...I'm excited. Stay tuned.

The Past Week's Workout - 03 - 27 to 03 - 31 - 2012

This past week Dan was still recovering from his illness early on and still took it easy on Monday. However; he felt much more energized on Tuesday and was ready to come back full force into it. I was very pleased with this because now we can move on and continue on our progression towards more repetitions, more weight and better shape.

He took NO-Xplode prior to his Tuesday workout which I would not recommend for those that are just starting out in training. Generally in my opinion the Nitric Oxide offers not much more than a placebo effect tricking you into thinking you truly are more energetic than before and therefore signaling your brain into releasing adrenaline out into your body, solidifying this artificial presupposition that the feeling of hyperactivity came from the consumption of the pre-workout supplement. There are however some instances where the supplement actually does provide a level of energy that helps awaken the person; but like with any other substance on the planet, every human will react differently to it. If you want to keep it simple, take a caffeine pill or some ginseng prior to the workout and you’ll be ready to go. It will definitely save you from having to pay $70.00 for a month’s supply of energetic powder that in some instances, if consumed on a not so empty stomach, can cause rapid bowel movements. I know of many friends who have interrupted their workouts due to abdominal cramping and subsequent release, yes, I mean pooping.

Anyway, enough about NO type supplements. Onto the workouts, I’m proud of Dan because I see his numbers have not fallen back since his bout of self-pity these past few days and that he is once again back on track with the exercises and kicking ass. The end of this week marked the end of the first month of true weightlifting activities. This calls for some comparison shots from the start to the end of the first month. We will do these every month until the 6 month mark. The shots will be posted in the next update.

Below are his workouts for the week:

Monday 03-28:

Decline Abdominal Sit Ups – 2 sets – 15, 15 reps – BW

Leg Raises (on mat) – 2 sets – 15, 15 reps – BW

L-Flyes – 1 set – 25 reps – 5lbs

Incline Bench Press – 1 warm up set, 2 work sets – 20, 12, 10 reps – 45, 105, 105lbs

Bent Over Barbell Row – 2 sets – 15, 8 reps – 95, 105lbs

Machine Chest Flyes – 2 sets – 15, 15 reps – 90, 110lbs

Wide Grip Pulldowns – 2 sets – 15, 12 reps – 85, 100lbs

Hammer Strength Pullovers – 2 sets – 15, 15 reps – 90, 90lbs

Barbell Curls – Did not perform

Triceps Pushdowns – Did not perform

Barbell Forearm Curls – Did not perform

Stationary Planks – Did not perform

Cardio – Did not complete

Stretch – Did not complete

Although I’m a bit disappointed in how he couldn't tough it out through the remainder of this workout, I’m still glad that at the very least he completed his compound movements. Therefore, it’s safe to say he got a nice upper body workout done even though he did not isolate his arms. He still indirectly hit his arms through his pressing and pulling motions.

Tuesday 03-29:

Decline Abdominal Sit Ups – 2 sets – 15, 15 reps – BW

Leg Raises (on mat) – 2 sets – 15, 15 reps – BW

L-Flyes – 1 set – 25 reps – 5lbs

Hack Squats – 1 warm up set, 2 work sets – 15, 10, 10 reps – 45, 135, 135lbs

Leg Presses – 3 sets – 15, 15, 10 reps – 275, 305, 395lbs

Leg Extensions – 2 sets – 15, 15 reps – 105, 150lbs

Seated Leg Curls – 2 sets – 15, 15 reps – 180, 225lbs

Seated Calf Raises – 2 sets – 15, 15 reps – 115, 135lbs

Standing Calf Raise Machine – 2 sets – 15, 15 reps – 105, 120lbs

Lower Back Extensions – 2 sets – 20, 20 reps – BW

Stationary Planks – 2 sets – 1:00 minute

Cardio Cool Down – 15 minutes

Stretch – Complete

Dan performed quite well in the above workout and came back with newfound energy it seems. Perhaps the NO-Xplode did have an effect on him, placebo or not. One thing to note is that jumping up in weight the way he did in the leg press is not quite smart in my opinion. Although he may feel muscularly strong enough to push the weight, the remaining load is still being placed on the slower adapting tendons and ligaments of the knee. I would err on the side of caution with increasing the weight in any exercise at such large amounts and tend to be more conservative with at the most utilizing 50lbs increments for lower body exercises.

Wednesday 03-30:

Decline Abdominal Sit Ups – 2 sets – 15, 15 reps – BW

Leg Raises (on mat) – 2 sets – 15, 15 reps – BW

L-Flyes – 1 set – 25 reps – 5lbs

Standing Barbell Military Press – 1 warm up set, 2 work sets – 15, 12, 12 reps – 45, 75, 85lbs

Cable Rows – 2 sets – 12, 12 reps – 135, 150lbs

Barbell Flat Bench – 2 sets – 12, 10 reps- 115, 125lbs

Barbell Shrugs – 2 sets – 20, 20 reps – 135, 135lbs

Reverse Pec Deck – 2 sets – 15, 15 reps – 70, 90lbs

Seated Lateral Raises (Nautilus) – 2 sets – 15, 12 reps – 65, 80lbs

Skull Crushers (EZ BB) – 2 sets – 15, 15 reps – 50, 50lbs

Seated Preacher Curls (EZ BB) – 2 sets – 15, 15 reps – 60, 60lbs

Barbell Wrist Curls – 2 sets – 25, 25 reps – 25, 25lbs

Nautilus Ab Crunch machine – 2 sets – 25, 25 reps – 110, 110lbs

Cardio Cool Down – 30 minutes – Incline Walking on Treadmill

Stretch – Completed

Thursday 03-31:

Decline Abdominal Sit Ups – 2 sets – 15, 15 reps – BW

Leg Raises (on mat) – 2 sets – 15, 15 reps – BW

L-Flyes – 1 set – 25 reps – 5lbs

Barbell Squats – 1 warm up set, 2 work sets – 15, 15, 15 reps – 45, 95, 115lbs

Barbell Deadlifts – 3 sets – 8, 8, 8 reps – 135, 135, 135lbs*

*I am happy about how Dan paid attention to what I told him with regard to maintaining a low rep range with deads. Way to go man!

Leg Extensions – 2 sets – 15, 15 reps – 150, 165lbs

Lying Leg Curls – 2 sets – 15, 15 reps – 60, 75lbs

Standing Calf Raises – 2 sets – 40, 40 reps – BW

Standing Calf Raise Machine – 2 sets – 20, 20 reps – 120, 135lbs

Lower Back Extensions – 2 sets – 20, 20 reps – BW

Stationary Planks – 2 sets – Did not complete

Cardio Coold Down – Did not complete

Stretch – Completed

Overall, Dan did a fantastic job this past week aside from its beginning. I am looking forward to see how far I can take him in these 6 months.

Thursday Workout - 03 - 22 - 2012 - Dumbbell

This was the last workout of the past week and I was not able to keep posting due to scheduling conflicts again, hence its tardiness. It's getting very hectic and difficult to manage so many different things at once and I'm at times spread out about as thinly as American Military forces in the sundry wars and bases existent throughout the world akin to, well, like imperial Britain and Rome. Call it my work raj.

Anyway, getting to the subject at hand, here he performed Squats once again. I got a video of him doing his reps during one of his sets. He told me he was not feeling 100% due to being sick, so he cut himself some slack and went a bit easier this time around, sacrificing the short term for long term results. Good for him and a great strategy to follow.

On his squats; he nailed the form for a brief period during his set and sort of fell apart a bit at the 6th repetition. I believe that by stopping mid-set and asking how many reps he had done at that point mentally broke his stride and his form went with it. He recovered it on the last couple of reps though. The cadence or speed does not matter as much as does his form in my opinion. However, you can easily see his propensity to do a quarter of a good morning at the bottom of the lift instead of keep his back stable and still at the right angle and drive with his heels; legs and butt upwards to completion. Nevertheless, you can see it all for yourself below:

As mentioned above, he was not feeling 100% so he skipped on a few things during the workout.

See it below:

Decline Abdominal Sit ups - 2 sets - 15, 15 reps - BW

Leg Raises (on mat) - 2 sets - 15, 15 reps - BW

L-flyes - 1 set - 25 reps - 5lbs

Barbell Squats - 1 warm up set, 2 work sets - 15, 12, 12 reps - 45, 95, 95lbs*

*See video

Dumbbell Deadlifts - 3 sets - 10, 8, 8 reps - 35, 35, 40lbs

Iso-Lateral Leg Extensions - 2 sets - 12, 12 reps - 80, 80lbs

Iso-Lateral Lying Leg Curls - 2 sets - 12, 12 reps - 30, 30lbs

Iso-Lateral Standing Calf Raises - 2 sets - 15, 15 reps - BW

Iso-Lateral Standing Calf Raise Machine - 2 sets - 12 reps, no second set - 30lbs, no second set

Lower Back Extensions - 2 sets - 15, 15 reps - BW

No Stationary Planks

No Cardio

Stretch - Complete

Dan weathered this illness over the weekend and as you will see it affected him early on in the next week where he also took it easy. Too easy on my opinion.

Until next post!