Sunday 8 am
Cambered bar bench press
Warm up
1 rep max out set and keep on doing max out sets until you feel fatigue and soreness in the fronts of the shoulders, chest, and tricep.
Also you're going to want to check out the the form for the benchpress here.
Stiff legged deadlift
Only do single rep sets for any kind of deadlift. The position you first lock in your spine on your first rep will always be the most rigid and safest and you tend to lose that spine position the more you increase your reps, but if you can hold your breath for the entire set of reps and keep your spine locked in then by all means do some reps.
The form for the stiff legged deadlift is position yourself as close to the bar as possible. Your legs are as straight as possible with your shins resting on the bar and a slight bend in your knees. Take a huge gulp of air, hold it in and pull the bar up to knee lockout and a straight up and down position of the spine and head.
It's important to hold your breath throughout the entire range of motion in the lift to lock your spine in a straight up and down position. Also if possible, try to pull your glutes to the ceiling and arch your lower back before you start pulling the bar up. I only do single rep sets of the stiff legged deadlift until I
feel noticeable soreness in the lower back which usually happens after four sets of single reps.
Rack Pulls
The form for these is you pull your glutes to the ceiling and take a huge belly full of air in and hold the air in to lock your spine in a severe arched lower back position throughout the entire range of motion in the lift.
These tend to wreck the shoulders, so quit if you start to feel sharp pain in them. You've had enough training simulation when that happens.
Pause back squat
These are very hard on the knees and the lower back. The position of the exercise requires you to have the bar on the back of your neck which has a crushing effect on the lower spine. I used to single rep sets of these, but I went back to doing max out sets because the training effect is much greater than just doing single rep sets. Just remember to fill the chest cavity with air taken in through nostrils but not so much that you put an arch in your lower back before every rep you perform.
Here's a pretty good explanation of how to squat:
Tricep extensions using barbell.
Do the max out routine. If you feel extreme pain in the elbow, quit. This exercise is intended to strengthen your elbow joint as well as the tricep so quit if you feel pain. That's enough stimulation. Also check this out if you're having any pain in the elbows.
Standing barbell curl
I do max out sets of these. They add stability to your bench press range of motion, and they help increase your barbell row.
Pectoral flyes, inverted flyes, and shoulder presses
If I have any energy and protein shake left and I have the time, I'll do some light shoulder work mostly for recuperation after blasting my shoulders on the bench and deadlift. I'm aiming for a time under tension of a minute and a half to two minutes. Time under tension is the time the muscle or muscles are contracted or flexed. It can be accomplished by holding a lift in the range of motion at a point where the muscles are fully engaged and held for a time of a minute and a half to two minutes. You could also do reps for the necessary time or you could slow down the reps for the necessary duration of time. I prefer not to do too many reps as it wears down the joints involved in the range of motion. Sometimes I'll hold the weight at a position where the muscles are fully contracted and flexed. If I can't hold the lift, I'll rest for a couple seconds and then start lifting again to accomplish a burning sensation in the muscle. Of course you have to do these with light weights or use bands that have a weak enough tension in them so you can keep the muscles contracted for a duration of minute and a half to two minutes.
The time under tension has a secondary effect of muscle hypertrophy. That's where the muscle becomes engorged with blood and intercellular fluid. The intercellular fluid is a byproduct of the muscle producing lactic acid. The lactic acid inflames the muscle and irritates it. This is what is referred to by bodybuilders as "the burn" or "the pump". This adds definition and fullness to the muscle giving it a nice sculpted look as well as adding mass to the muscle which adds stability to your lift.
Time under tension can be used for any lift or muscle provided the weight is light enough and that you can maintain the proper form in the lift. Sometimes I'll do time under tension exercises for the tricep extension or the lats or the biceps. I guess they could also be done for leg extensions or calf raises. I don't think it would be safe for deadlifts or squats because the spine has to be kept in a nice stiff position to safely complete the lift although I've never tried holding a squat or deadlift in a fixed position for any duration of time.
Standing Abdominal crunches using a band
I go mostly for the time under tension technique. I loop a band over an upright on a power rack, grab the two ends of the band and start doing standing crunches for a minute and a half to two minutes. Of course the band has to be loose enough to accomplish the requisite amount of time. Sometimes I'll go slow in the range of motion or I'll take three or four second rests and then go back doing crunches until I feel a noticeable "burn" in my abdominal wall.
Tuesday 8 a.m.
Military Shoulder Press
I do military presses in front of the neck, and I start the lift with the bar resting on the safety crossbars on the rack. I have the bar positioned just under my chin, so I can sink my elbows deep and give my shoulders and chest a nice stretch in my setup before the lift. In essence, it's a dead military press because I'm not using reflexive bounce to complete the lift when I bottom out.
I have shoulders that are susceptible to injury, so I don't like to reach behind my head to unrack the bar. Also I take a sip of air through the nostrils to fill the chest cavity with air and lock my spine in a straight up and down position to support the bar throughout the entire range of motion of the lift.
Do max out sets until you feel soreness in the triceps. The main difference between doing the military press and flat bench press is the military press takes the lats out of the lift which means the lats don't have to be contracted to complete the lift. This leaves the triceps to complete the lift which is the most important muscle used in the flat bench press. I learned this from Louie Simmons' site.
Another important thing about the military press is it puts your shoulders at a different angle in the range of motion compared to the flat bench press. This will help alleviate any shoulder pain you might have taken on while flat bench pressing.
Pectoral flyes with dumbbells on a flat bench or on a pec fly machine like the guy below in the video:
Yeah, I know I said I do these last, but since I'm in the power training phase where I'm training to gain strength I'm doing power max sets. I go for a very hyper extended position while in the range of motion of the lift. I make sure the position of my hands are way behind the vertical plane of my chest as far back as comfortable. I also make sure my elbows are locked and my arms are straight as possible. Be careful as these are especially hard on the fronts of the shoulders. These help with raising the bench press.
Leg Presses
My back is especially tender after a pause squat workout so I have taken to doing any kind of movement which involves bending the leg at the knee into a closed position and then pressing with the leg against some kind of resistance. The main point is to take the weight off the back of your neck and give your spine a rest.
This can take the form of doing leg presses on a machine. You can also do pistol squats or lunges. You can also do hack squats on a machine like this one:
You will need to know how to squat before you work out on this machine. If you don't know squat form, click the link above for pause squats because there is a risk of injury even though you're on a machine.
The main point of any leg pressing machine is take the weight off the back of your neck and give your spine a rest from doing back squats. You put a lot of stress on your spine when balancing a heavy weight on your neck.
If you don't have access to machines, I guess you could try barbell hack squats or front squats to take the weight off the back of your neck.
Good mornings
First off, I stopped doing these thanks to fact that I'm wearing powerlifting shoes. The shoes prevent the buttwink problem that occurs when squatting barefoot, so staying upright is much easier.
But if you still want to do them here it is:
I only do single rep sets of these as well. I take in enough air in my nostrils to lock my spine in and hold the breath in throughout the entire range of motion of the lift. Of course you'll want to do these on a squat rack in case you miss and have to bail on the weight and let the safety crossbars catch the bar.
Notice the use of the safety squat bars in the first two videos and the straight barbell in the last one. I never tried these in a down position like the big guys are doing in the first and last video, and I don't know why you couldn't start in a down position like that off some safety crossbars on a squat rack. I'm sure you could achieve a safe and rigid position like they're doing without the bar being suspended by chains. Maybe if you setup a locked in spine position by holding your breath before getting under the bar, you could achieve a safe stable lifting base in your spine. That might negate having the need for the chains. I'm just wondering about this because I don't have chains at my gym.
Stiff legged deadlifts
Yeah I know I said I never do the same movement twice in a row, but I gave up doing deadlifts. The deadlift is really just a hybrid of a squat and stiff legged deadlift anyways, and if I gain in my stiff legged deadlift I'm almost certain to gain in my deadlift.
It's also important to note that the lower lumbar part of your back is a very resillient part of your body when it is strong and stable.
Bent over row
I do max out sets of these.
Tricep extensions
I do max out sets of these. If you feel like mixing it up just use a different machine for your triceps.
Lastly if I have energy, I'm doing recuperative training on the shoulders using ultra light weights or bands that have a small amount of tension in them. I'm mostly going for a time under tension like I talked about in the above paragraphs. Pectoral flyes and/or inverted pectoral flyes, tricep extensions, bicep curls and shoulder presses are some of the time under tension lifts I do. Also I do some more abdominal standing crunches using a band and go for an extended time under tension as well.
Thursday 8 am
I've changed my position on doing three consecutive workouts in a row with 48 hours rest between them. That third workout really makes me hate my life and lose motivation
to go to the gym, so this third workout is totally optional. Also if you were to skip this third workout, your next workout would be on Friday if you worked out on Tuesday. This will give your central nervous system enough time to recover, and Friday's workout would be Sunday's workout, and repeat the cycle between the alternating workouts.
However if you're set on doing the third workout in a row, just do Sunday's workout again on Sunday of course. Here's my take on two vs three times a week workouts.
In conclusion take notice of when I'm doing the workout. I like to workout in the morning. My central nervous system is at it's prime operation condition in the morning because I'm haven't been stressed out by the usual trials and tribulations that happen to me throughout the day. Consequently, my strength gains are more consistent.
I stay away from doing the same workout routine twice in a row, so the next workout on Sunday will be the Tuesday workout, and on Thursday I'll do the Sunday workout. Read this to see why you shouldn't do the same workout two times in a row.
If you learn anything from Louie Simmons' website, one thing you should take away is that strength is more a product of conditioning your central nervous system to fire off electrical impulses to the requisite muscles in order for the body to complete the lift. Sure, muscular development is necessary for strength training but the central nervous system dictates how strong you will be, and I don't care if you have big muscles because if you don't have a well and rested central nervous system that fires off electrical impulses to your body in a timely and efficient manner there is no way you're making that lift no matter how big your muscles are. Read this to see how long you should rest between workouts.
Any of these workouts takes 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 hours to complete. Also I drink about 80 grams of whey protein while I workout, and I drink a small amount of whey protein before any one rep set. Read this on why drinking whey protein while you workout is important.
I used to do supplements. I would take three grams of creatine and three grams of beta alanine daily to boost my endurance. I usually eat a meal of eggs with a carbohydrate food source about an hour before working out. Oatmeal works the best because it is low glycemic so it's absorbed slowly into bloodstream. This helps prevent insulin spikes. You definitely do not want to go into a sugar coma before you workout because it will make you weak and mess up your workout. Protein is not necessary before you workout provided you drink whey protein while you workout. Additionally, I used to take 3 grams of omega 3 fatty acids which equals about nine pills of fish oil daily. This helps keep your heart healthy.
You're going to be completely wrecked if you do these workouts, so check out my post workout recovery routine. Also click here to see how you should eat after working out.
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