Powerlifting and Crossfit: Best Lifts

[harris69]

Originally Posted by Rmtt

Honestly....looks pretty well thought out. Biggest thing to remember is that you need to be tracking progression if aren't already. But you always want to be on that cusp of almost overtraining. I'm a big believer in that it's not that your muscles can't recover as its been proven hypertrophy can occur even when a muscle isn't 100% recovered.

I believe that your body's Central Nervous System is our biggest crippling factor. Right now my workout is set up as a 3 on 1 off. But it's very common for that to change to a 2 on, 1 off, or 3 on and 2 off.

In other words, if I feel I need the extra rest day, I take it. So I don't ha e day's with specific muscle groups....I have workout days. Chest may be on a Monday one week, but on a Wednesday at some other point.

I follow the KISS formula. I don't get into complicated workout routines, and keep track of progression by doing 2 sets of 10 of all compound movements. Once I am able to finish my working sets I move up 10 lbs on all exercise except for OHP (only 5 lb). There is no complicated pyramids, or dropsets (although they have their own place in training) but doing it this way I always remember what weights I did previously. Volume is right where it needs to be and I don't constantly miss gym due to doms. Only downside to doing 10 reps is strength comes at a slower pace than 531, but without making notes this is easiest I could come up with.

Big thing with any training regimen (no matter what the frequency, or volume is) is sticking with the basics- compound movements. I often find people in the gym killing themselves on isolation exercises. Most of the older big guys I see are mostly on machines.

Most people have no idea on how to train for functional strength. To give you an example I see alot of people doing front raises. I have not touched front raises in over 5 years as I don't feel the need to over develop my front delts. Instead I work on rear delts as that is what I feel is the most underdeveloped head of the delt.

[harris69]

I also work on posture corrective exercises and stretches. For me it is about preserving my joints, tendons, and avoiding injuries. I keep isolation work for last. And contrary to popular beliefs you only need to do 120 reps of any muscle group to build muscle. Any more and you are over training. Now, if you on juice it is a different story. But for most of us who are in the 40s I find it extremely difficult to recover on 531 once you are at intermediate level. (Over a year of training)

[FlaPatsFan]

Originally Posted by Rmtt

TRT is great....but only if you need it. Once "on" your on for life so remember that. If you are having no issues and making the progress you are making.....I'm sure your levels are where they need to be.

Gains are a plenty for now, so yeah no need for it. I’ll see how long I can keep the “gain train” going!

[1MOREMOD]

Originally Posted by Rmtt

LOL. My blood pressure is typically in the low 100's over upper 50's.....it must had been a rough day at work that day.

Man if you only knew how I am about this stuff. Since I work in a Chemical plant that makes some pretty nasty stuff, we get mandatory bloodwork every 3 months. On top of that, my insurance allows to full checkups per year which also include bloodwork....and I offset them.

If there is any test that shows the nature of your health....I have had I Vldl, Calcium Channel testing, arterial wall flexibility, homocystine.

I sound like a hypochondriac, but honest to god I've never even had so much as a cold in the last 2-3 years+. But I do take Glutathione, and I do internal cleanses about twice a year with "fasts" and various detoxification supplements.

Yeah I have these other theories about my liver and brain cells also. Its survival of the fittest. If I give my liver or brain a workout by drinking too much it's only killing the weak cells that deserve to die and makes me stronger.

[FlaPatsFan]

Originally Posted by harris69

I also work on posture corrective exercises and stretches. For me it is about preserving my joints, tendons, and avoiding injuries. I keep isolation work for last. And contrary to popular beliefs you only need to do 120 reps of any muscle group to build muscle. Any more and you are over training. Now, if you on juice it is a different story. But for most of us who are in the 40s I find it extremely difficult to recover on 531 once you are at intermediate level. (Over a year of training)

Harris, I’ve been using a modified 531 for years. The key for me is allowing time for my CNS to recover after heavy compound lift days. Like Rmtt said it is crucial for optimal progress especially at heavy weights.

I have simplified a lot of my big movements. No more Olympic lifts other then Power cleans and hang cleans for explosiveness. This has helped recover faster and go heavy on the other stuff. This works for me and like I’ve said before my numbers are better now then in my 30s.

[Rmtt]

You all hit on good points. I think it comes down to variation. You push to the edge of CNS overload....then reduce weights and volume by as much as 50% and de-load for a week or more if needed. Spend that time just chasing the pump and getting blood in there. I look at it as feeder sets.

Harris brings up a good point as well. I never train front delts directly. I also superset all my bench sets with face pulls. It teaches you the concept of retracting your scapula, and you need that rear delt/rear back strength for proper posture.

As far as rep ranges go, I think you have to find what works best for you. Our bodies are made up of a combination of fast twitch and slow twitch muscles....and each respond differently to certain rep ranges.

[harris69]

Originally Posted by Rmtt

You all hit on good points. I think it comes down to variation. You push to the edge of CNS overload....then reduce weights and volume by as much as 50% and de-load for a week or more if needed. Spend that time just chasing the pump and getting blood in there. I look at it as feeder sets.

Harris brings up a good point as well. I never train front delts directly. I also superset all my bench sets with face pulls. It teaches you the concept of retracting your scapula, and you need that rear delt/rear back strength for proper posture.

As far as rep ranges go, I think you have to find what works best for you. Our bodies are made up of a combination of fast twitch and slow twitch muscles....and each respond differently to certain rep ranges.

I have a forward head posture, and lumbar lordosis; so I do corrective exercises for those. I still have the 531 app on phone and mine was set for a de-load after 3 weeks. It worked great when I first started on it but then it got harder and harder. With Big Boring Sets it was alot of volume. App does it all for you so you don't have to write anything down which was a huge plus. Reason I know that it was hard on my CNS was due to poor recovery (4-5 days after a leg day), and declining t-levels. My speculation is that either too much volume was putting my body in flee or fight response, and therefore raising cortisol levels, or my t-levels were declining due to age and therefore slowing down my recovery. In anycase cutting back on volume has definitely helped with recovery.

After being sick for a week, and being out of the gym for two weeks I finally went today and did legs. I have a video footage that I am going to put up on YouTube and link it here in just a bit.

[harris69]

[Rmtt]

You know your body best. There are many variations of Wendler out there now...Nsuns being one of them.....that reduce volume but still offer various means of progression so that you are continually moving forward even though sometimes you you feel it's painfully slow. But art our age...gains are gains!

I'm naturally a "low bar" squatter....plus I'm short, so the mechanics work in my favor.

Plus I used to box in the amateur division, so shoulder mobility and being loose was an essiential part in being able to stay covered.

But when I boxed, I was in the 150lb ish weight class. I had a friend who introduced me to the gym. I went in with the intention of stregenthing my punching power.....so all I ever trained was legs because I didn't won't to affect my shoulder mobility....and all your power is generated from the ground up anyway.

I trained legs exclusively for over a year without touching my upper body....maybe that's why my legs develop so easily now.

But I found out that my body really agreed with the weights....guess I had better genetics for that than boxing. I put on 20+ pounds my first year in the gym.

But that also brought along repercussions. It moved me into a weight class in boxing where everyone was 6+ inches taller than me.....so reach immediately became a factor. It only took a year of me lowering my head and taking shots just to get inside to figure out it wasn't working out like I wanted. (I'm stubborn)

Now my ears look like a toned down version of some of these MMA fighters!

[Rmtt]

But if you have android....look up the zero to hero app. Pick powerlifting....and you can pick a variation called Nsuns that is 3 days a week. I do the 5 day version because it lowers total working sets since you go more often, and it gives me time to work on accessory exercises. You just plug your numbers in and your off. And there are no set days...so if you decide you need an extra rest day....you take it and resume right where you left off.

Ive always been a 5-6 day a week guy in the gym. I've always boxed, trained Aikido for 20+ years although I cut back on it because I don't want to damage my joints (I mainly instruct) or some type of weights or cardio.

Have you thought about seeing a specialist about your hormone levels. Being below normal is as bad as being above normal.

Also just a thought, but good essiential fats are crucial in the role of hormones. I've seen way to many people eat drastic diets where they have nowhere near enough fat in their daily intake.

Look at studies. I'm an Engineer by trade, but used to be a personal trainer. I was actually going into the medical field, but had a great aptitude for math and engineering fit that.

But that didn't mean I quit taking an interest in the body. I research a lot, read PubMed, and could rattle on about bodily processes such as Leptin, Ghrelin,....supplements that have been tested in-vivo vs. in-vitro, different receptors and how they work.

Both my parents are diabetics, so I've extensively researched how the Pancreas feedback system works, isolates...you name it.

I can remember being 16 years old, eating something, and picking my finger with one of my parent's test kits to see what effect it had on my blood glucose.

I even plotted a "Bell Curve" on my P-Ratio (Partitioning Ratio) which shows you when you reach a threshold of your body using excess insulin to either push nutrients into the muscle, refill glycogen, or go straight to fat.

There are so many things out there being studied that people don't even know exist that can do so much for the performace and health of your body. And I work at a Chemical plant where I have access to Gas Chromatography and can look at the peaks and purity levels of even things being sold over the counter. That opens your eyes to a whole new level.

But I digress.......I'm a walking encyclopedia of some useful knowledge....and a lot of useless knowledge!

[harris69]

I will look up Nsuns. 531 also keeps track of your days off and starts you back where you leave off. At 5'11" I have a long femur, so I don't have the ideal proportions for squats but I love squats. Bench on the other hand has always been tough for me and I have not made alot of progress on bench over the years.

I do take fats but I don't track my macros. My guess is I take about 140 g of protein, but carbs, and fats I am not so sure of.

I used to do JKD so I am quite familiar with the concepts of boxing, and few other styles. Never competed though but I wasn't that great anyways. I gave it up when I seriously hurt my back after a Thai Boxing sparring session.

I must have the shittiest genetics as I trained for years, and spent countless hours reading and researching on what exercises, and what supplements worked and still didn't get massive. And for years I worked out 5 days a week religiously. Now I am lucky if I get my 4 days in.

My PC considers my levels on the low end of the normal range. After years of keeping an eye on my t-levels he has finally agreed to start me on trt, albeit at 50 mg/week. But that's very low....

On JM 531 your main lifts combined with BB were a killer. I made so much progress even with slow recovery that I hated to give it up. NSuns sounds like it would be a ticket for me.

[zentanker]

Originally Posted by 1MOREMOD

That's good call can set records no matter what I do because I'm my own species

LGBTQIAPK1MOREMOD? :P

[1MOREMOD]

Sure gonna take it easy since dont have to be better then anyone anymore silly me, thought all of life was a competition. Now I know I have none.

[zentanker]

Originally Posted by 1MOREMOD

That's good call can set records no matter what I do because I'm my own species

LGBTQIAPK1MOREMOD? :P

[FlaPatsFan]

Any of you guys familiar with Triphasic training? Book/Program by Carl Dietz.

It focuses on the 3 types of movement
Eccentric
Isometric
Concentric

It can be applied to various training methods. I am considering giving it a go.

[Dinan-M]

Originally Posted by 1MOREMOD

Wanna call bullshit, if you bench 500, your squat and dead would be 800lb range. Do you have one leg?

Combat vet, lower back and leg injury! Instead of making such a bone head reply ask! I served in OEF 1 and had lower body injuries. I still think a 525 deadlift and 495 raw lift is good for 51 year old! I will post my last Raw bench if I can find a way to post it! Don’t hate just congratulate 1 MoreMod!

[1MOREMOD]

Not trying to hate but what I said stands most dont bench anywhere near their bench or squat.

[Dinan-M]

Originally Posted by 1MOREMOD

Not trying to hate but what I said stands most dont bench anywhere near their bench or squat.

No you said "I'm going to call Bullshit!" was your reply. I have a video, but it's a mov. clip from phone so when I try to post it, it say invalid attachment. I tried to convert, but cannot. Do you have a way I can convert to JPEG? Send your email and I will send clip to you.

Signed 51 year old Veteran benching 5 plates at Gold Gym Raw!

[1MOREMOD]

That's a very nice bench sir. I apologize. I dont need to see it and thanks for your service as well. Just thought someone was clowning around in here.

[Dinan-M]

Originally Posted by 1MOREMOD

That's a very nice bench sir. I apologize. I dont need to see it and thanks for your service as well. Just thought someone was clowning around in here.

Thanks.

[1MOREMOD]

4 plates is rare, 5 epic.

[Rmtt]

So this week is de-load week for me. So humiliating!

In the grand scheme of things, I know it's good for me and prepares me for my next round of programmed lifts....but it really hurts your ego when you are using weights that are about 60%-70% less than what you normally do.

Had some new guys show up in the gym this morning while doing my bench de-load set. 155lbs of AMRAP (As Many Reps As Possible).

I stopped at rep #28 just because I ran out of steam and was getting bored...right at the same time they came in the back room to see me finish maybe the last 6 reps at that weight and struggling a little.

Bet they were thinking...man that old man is weak!