Train Kept A-Rollin’

After having experimented, I have decided to ditch the overhead squat for now.  Don’t get me wrong; the overhead squat is quite useful for certain applications, especially for training stability (and possibly fat-burning).  My goal for now, though, is balls-out strength and leg development, and the overhead squat just doesn’t let you lift enough weight to achieve that goal (or hypertrophy).  When/if I start training a new martial art, I can almost guarantee that I will dust this one off, though; I can definitely see its usefulness there.

I will stay with the front squat, though.  It is easily the best quadiceps exercise I have ever discovered.  An additional benefit is how it blasts the abdominals (they have to work hard to keep you upright if you’re squatting quality weight).  I therefore like this exercise not only because of its benefits to the legs and abs, but also because it further supports my view that direct ab work is for pansies who want to have bad backs.

 Deadlifts are now a fixture in my regimen.  I may start playing with some variations to keep it interesting, though, such as Romanian deadlifts.  These start in the upright position and emphasize the hamstrings more.  Also, since the bar is elevated when at rest, there is the strategic advantage that it’s less of a hassle to load weight. 

There are now two scales at my law school’s gym.  One says that I am 12 pounds heavier than the other one does.  Until I have regular access to one that I can confirm is reliable, I’m going to stop keeping track of my bodyweight.

Sweating Bullets

My school gym sucks. The AC was out today (again) on a legs day, so my ass was soundly kicked. I would have posted measurements, but unless I gained 10 pounds in one week, the scale is also broken. Also, I noticed last night that the dumbbells only go up to 100 lbs. As my legion of two faithful readers knows, that means that I can incline dumbbell bench press more than that gym has.

This does not change my opinion on the subject of expensive, “nice” gyms, though. I still think all those bells, whistles, specialized machines, and spin classes are a waste of money and glycogen. However, I think this experience does speak to the need for basic maintenance, which applies not only to maintaining equipment (like air conditioners), but also maintaining oneself. I’m not sure what the point was that I was trying to make, but I think it would be awesome to wrestle a bear.

Becoming the Bull

I haven’t articulated my goals in concrete terms on here before, and it’s party because I’ve been trying to work out what they are. It’s a common trap not to have specific, measurable goals, though, or to have unrealistic expectations about how they work together. My problem is that I have three distinct goals, but it is important to spell them out so they can be broken down and attacked.

1. Lose fat. This is a goal a lot of lifters ignore because so many of us don’t like doing cardio. To this end: eat clean, stick with Tabata intervals, keep staying away from beer, and start swimming.  If I picked up a new martial art, though, that would probably take care of this.

2. Greater total-body strength. For the most part, my primary goal is not to bulk up further.  This may be heresy to some, but the fact is that there’s such a thing as Too Much.  I’m 6′, and XL T-shirts are getting tight for me.  My frame doesn’t need to be larger. Besides, ladies don’t like huge guys; guys like huge guys.  And, hey, if that’s your thing, that’s fine.  There’s all kinds of guys whose preferred performances of masculinity involves slapping each other’s naked asses in the locker room.  I also don’t judge you if you like Coldplay or The Postal Service.  Just kidding; of course I do.  Not that I’m worried about a Postal Service fan trying to slap my ass in the locker room; guys like that are usually only in the locker room to plant a hidden camera. 

3. Add some mass to my legs (especially calves) and forearms. Yes, I did just say that I’m not looking to bulk up so much.  However, most lifters, and I am no exception, usually end up with some kind of “deficit area” after they’ve shown substantial gains.  Commonly, it’s the calves and forearms that just don’t grow like the rest of you.  I’ve developed into a guy where the bulk of my development has been on my trunk (don’t cry for me, I’ll be okay), and so my goal regarding size progression would be directed toward my limbs.

A cross-section of What I’m Doing Now:  yesterday I focused on shoulders and biceps.  Many guys do biceps and back on the same day, the theory being that since you’ll recruit your biceps during your back exercise anyway, you should do it all on the same day.  That is exactly the reason I don’t do it that way; your biceps are pre-fatigued from the back workout, so you won’t be able to curl as much as you would fresh, thus limited your gains.  This is also why it’s a bad idea to do triceps on the same day that you do any sort of press. 

Shoulders: 
4×6 seated vertical dumbell press (last set:  80 lbs.  I make people cry just watching me.)
3×8 upright rows
3×10 face-pulls (for remedial shoulder mobility)

Lower reps and higher intensity for the main exercise.  The thrust is strength, not size (although the upper traps aren’t exactly going to get smaller this way).  I actually prefer standing military presses as the primary exercise, but it’s important to mix it up so you don’t plateau.

Biceps and Forearms:
8×3 steep preacher curl
8×3 dumbell hammer preacher curl
8×3 inverted preacher curl
3×10 forearm curls, supersetted with 3×10 reverse forearm curls

I’m playing with that biceps regimen largely out of curiosity about a technique espoused by Christian Thibaudeau at T-Nation.  The idea is that you pick a weight that you can curl 5 times before exhaustion, back of to 3 reps, and do 8 sets.  Do this 2-3 times for one week.  The next week, staying with the same weight, drop to 7 sets, but increase the reps to 4.  Continue, dropping one set and adding one rep, for four weeks.  At the end of the fourth week, if you want to stick with this, start over again, but now you can increase your weight.  Yes, this requires commitment. 

At this rate, I’ll be able to throw cars and crush heads with my biceps.  I rule.

Reprise

Fuck Dick’s, also. One of the readers in this thriving community said that “there’s nothing gay about looking at Dick’s.” After exploring the options there, I respectfully disagree.