Bodybuilding Myths

A great article from Drew Baye which sums up why I do HIT workouts 1/week (besides the fact that it only ties me up for 1 hour/week!).

 

http://baye.com/the-ten-biggest-bodybuilding-mistakes/

HIT Workout Oct 23rd

I haven’t made any progress on my leg press since the ‘big’ jump from 640 to 840 lb.s.  I dropped it over 2 weeks to 790 lb.s to get back to a weight level at which I could both use good form and get to my target 90 seconds.  All other exercises show steady improvement. J 

 

One other thing to note – I felt my lower back the whole week since my last workout.  As Doug McGuff points out, http://www.bodybyscience.net/home.html/?p=764, this may indicate I need a little extra recovery.  I may push my next work-out into the following week…

 

HIT	1st Time		Last Workout		This Week		Increase	Kevin J Smith
	21-May		15-Oct		23-Oct		% since
Exercise	Weight	Time	Weight	Time	Weight	Time	initial	Comments
Lower Back	210	02:15	284	1:33	286	1:41	36%	ROM: 72 degrees
Pull-Over	110	1:42	174	1:37	176	1:32	60%	MedX
Arm Cross	140	1:56	176	1:27	176	1:32	26%	ROM: Increased
Pulldown	100	2:04	136.5	1:34	137.5	1:30	38%	Super Slow (Ken H)
Overhead Press	160	1:22	252	1:40	258	1:38	61%	MedX
Leg Press	540	2:11	790	1:22	790	1:22	46%	ROM: 5 holes
total weight	1260		1812.5		1823.5

After reading Mark’s Daily Apple, http://www.marksdailyapple.com,  this morning, I decided to skip eating until dinner tonight.  I really should be doing this every week, but have been lazy about it.  I typically skip breakfast, but once I smell other people’s lunches, I give in and eat lunch.  But I toughed it out today…and it really wasn’t that difficult.

Intermittent Fasting

IF is perhaps your greatest tool when losing weight and maintaining muscle.

 

It increases insulin sensitivity (good for mobilizing adipose tissue), promotes the secretion of growth hormone (a muscle sparing, fat burning hormone), and reduces body fat.

 

What’s not to love? It’s almost like the human body’s response to IF was designed specifically for our current predicament. Hmm, I wonder if Grok ever found himself in a situation where food was scarce and muscle mass was precious…

 

For extra benefits, exercise in a fasted state and wait at least an hour before you eat something.

HIT Workout: 10-15

HIT	1st Time		Last Workout		This Week		Increase	Kevin J Smith
	21-May		8-Oct		15-Oct		% since
Exercise	Weight	Time	Weight	Time	Weight	Time	initial	Comments
Lower Back	210	02:15	278	1:49	284	1:33	35%	ROM: 72 degrees
Pull-Over	110	1:42	172	1:29	174	1:37	58%	MedX
Arm Cross	140	1:56	174	1:35	176	1:27	26%	ROM: Increased
Lat Pull Down	100	2:04	135	1:29	136.5	1:34	37%	Super Slow (Ken H)
Overhead Press	150	1:22	246	1:46	252	1:40	68%	MedX
Leg Press	540	2:11	790	1:25	790	1:22	46%	ROM: 5 holes

HIt Update

In my recent HIT workout blog, I had meant to mention the Range of Motion (ROM) parameter I started capturing in the comments section.  I am playing with this parameter in addition to weight and TUL.  I’m not sure if this is mentioned in any books, or if it is just something my trainer Chris and I am exploring. 

 

A few weeks ago I increased the leg press from 6 holes to 5 – this had the effect of compressing my legs further into my gut – more distance to travel to extend my legs.  W = F*D – therefore, more work.  Today I increased the ROM on the Arm Cross, moving the pin back 1 setting – further pulling my arms backwards –  more distance to travel to touch the pads in the middle.

HIT Workout: Oct 8th

Excellent week! I felt a lot of energy even though my lower back was still a bit sore…went up in almost everything.  I purposefully dropped the Leg Press to improve form and get my TUL into the 90 sec range.  This let me get 4 solid reps before floundering.  I now realize why the Arm Pull-down is my most hated exercise…it’s a Super Slow machine designed by Ken Hutchins.  I hate it.  Hate it.

 

HIT	1st Time		Last Workout		This Week		Increase	Kevin J Smith
	21-May		1-Oct		8-Oct		% since
Exercise	Weight	Time	Weight	Time	Weight	Time	May 21st	Comments
Lower Back	210	02:15	276	1:29	278	1:49	32%	ROM: 72 degrees
Arm Pull-Over	110	1:42	172	1:32	172	1:29	56%	Med X
Arm Cross	140	1:56	174	1:30	174	1:35	24%	ROM: Increased
Arm Pull-down	100	2:04	133.75	1:24	135	1:29	35%	Super Slow (Ken H)
Overhead Press	150	1:22	240	1:38	246	1:46	64%	Med X
Leg Press	540	2:11	800	1:05	790	1:25	46%	ROM: 5 holes

HIT Workout - Oct 1st

Lower back still had some soreness from last week…so the 2 sec drop in TUL was not unexpected.  I improved in time & weight on the pull-over and overhead press.  I’m still trying to find the right weight on the Leg Press – 2 weeks ago Chris inadvertently jumped me up 200 lbs. Since I was close to breaking through the 4^th rep, I’m going to drop it 10 more lbs to 790. I  feel that will get me to 1:30 (losing the battle somewhere on the 5^th rep).

 

HIT	1st Time		Last Workout		This Week		Increase	Kevin J Smith
	21-May		24-Sep		1-Oct		% since
Exercise	Weight	Time	Weight	Time	Weight	Time	May 21st	Comments
Lower Back	210	02:15	276	1:31	276	1:29	31%	72 degrees, rom
Pull-Over	110	1:42	170	1:18	172	1:32	56%
Arm Cross	140	1:56	170	1:44	174	1:30	24%
Pull-down	100	2:04	133.75	1:26	133.75	1:24	34%
Overhead Press	150	1:22	238	1:31	240	1:38	60%
Leg Press	540	2:11	800	1:15	800	1:05	48%	5 holes: >rom