Progress; Maybe……………..

I am finishing up my second month of the Power Macro. I have been increasing the working weight and increasing the workout density; work per given session. It’s going a bit slower than expected but hey, it’s going. For my upper body progression during this macro, my goal is to complete 95 kg (210 lbs) neck presses. We want a strong upper body when chasing that Last 10 Pounds.

To get there, I have been completing a Triple Pec Superset. Just so you can see what I’m doing here;

Triple Pec Superset  (20 to 30 Minutes)

Muscle Group; Pectorals with Lat, Rhomboid Pulls

Exercises Included; - Barbell Neck Press - Elevated Push Ups - Seated Row (Moveable Grip)

Exercise Procedure; This is a superset of 2 pectoral exercises and 1 row plus a treadmill walk to maintain an elevated heart rate between sets. Start off with a flat bench neck (guillotine) press, followed by pushups with feet elevated then a set of seated rows. This is followed by a 45 second to 1 min 30 second walk at a fast pace on the treadmill; this is your rest period between sets. The rows are best completed with a machine that allows for a narrow grip on the pull and a wide grip extension. For the benches and rows, we start out at target weight. The benches should be at a weight that at your 8th rep, it is impossible to maintain form, you’re struggling to get the bar up (if you cannot complete at least 4 of the 8 reps with good form, you’re at failure and need to drop the weight). The rows can be a bit lighter if you will be completing rows again later in the workout; if not they should also be quite heavy. You should complete 6 to 8 supersets with the heaviest weight on the 1st and 2nd set. Do not reduce weight on the 2nd set, wait until the 3rd. Do not change weight on the rows; try to manage the same weight through the entire 6 to 8 sets. Pushups; as pushups become easier with training progression, just increase the number. The last pushup should be a real bugger. - Bench presses are neck presses; keep the barbell biased toward the clavicles and neck. - Use a wider grip, elbows out and pinkies on the grip rings (smooth ring in knurled area). - Bench Press weight should be reduced minimally as you progress through the sets, 2 to 5 lbs at a time and on every other set.  - Pushups are feet elevated and no higher than a flat bench. We want to keep the work at top of the lower pec.   - Row, as heavy as you can pull for 8 reps. Squeeze the shoulder blades together on the narrow pull, let the traps hold the load during the extension. The rest period between exercises is a 1 min walk on the treadmill. As you progress through the power macro, you will shorten the treadmill walks to something just less than 30 seconds. You want to keep the speed up just to keep your heart rate up; not a jog but a nice crisp walk, about 4 to 4.5 KPH.

How You Should Feel After the Exercise; Your pec’s should be well pumped by the 6th set, e.g. maybe a ‘D’ cup. You should be breathing pretty hard by the end of the 7th or 8th set. However, this will be short lived. DOMS may set in about 30 to 40 hours after the workout. If soreness sets in earlier or is greater than a minor annoyance, lower the weight of bench presses.

January 2015, Guillotine Press, 85 kg.

This work routine is demanding but by cutting all workouts back to 3 days a week, the work is more than manageable. Along with this group of exercises, I’m also completing Arnold presses, bicep work, more rows and some posterior delt work. It is really hard to keep this work out at 1 hour. You really need to pay attention to the rest periods; keep them short.

The Power Macro SLOG……………

I’ve talked quite a bit about cardio before and as you guessed, we’re goin’ there again. Since starting my own crusade for normal and pursuit of that Last 10 Pounds, cardio has been a pretty big part of my daily routines. I enjoy running outside and on treadmills, I like stationary bikes and elipticals, I like real bikes, I like breathing hard and sweating heavy. That’s what makes a good cardio session. But this first macro, this Power Macro, I have cut wwwwaaaayyyy back on my favorite working routines. Actually, I’m doing less now than when I broke my foot, WOW!!! In last month’s blog, I had stated that I would run SLOG’s 2 days out of 5.

So, just what is my definition of a SLOG. Generally, when I have mentioned these in the past, the reference has been used to describe a Slow Jog. However, instead of just a plain old 30 minute steady state slow runs (11 to 12 minute miles, Slow Jogs), most recently I have turned these into segmented runs. In an earlier blog entry, I had described segmented runs as a series 5 minute running segments separated with a walking recovery period. The SLOG’s for this Power Macro are 32 minutes long and consist of 4, 5 minute running segments separated by 2 minutes of walking recovery. There is a 3 minute walk on the front end as a warm up and a 3 minute walk on the back end as a cool down. The goal is to cover 5K in the 32 minute period. This means that during the 5 minute runs, you’re at an 8 to 9 minute mile, e.g. you ain’t jogging. These are actually pretty challenging especially if you are outside with hills and uneven surfaces to manage. These aren’t a replacement for the Widow Maker’s or Split 20’s but they will keep you breathing hard. And they’re a heck of a lot more entertaining than a slow steady state run. Oh yes, it’s not fair to jog or slow trot during the 2 minute rest, a fast walk maybe but nothing more.

The reason I’m sticking to the SLOG’s is that during the Power Macro, the goal is to increase working density during the weight sessions. If I’m burning out, pushing cardio sessions to the max, I don’t have the energy reserves to carry into the weight room. So 2 runs every 5 days will have to do.  

The 60% Diet Plan…………….

As I had stated last month, during this Power Macro it’s a basic ‘See Food’ diet. Eat as you please, just cut out sugar and refined carbohydrates. Exceptions of course are blueberry and girlfriend pie. Anyway, before I digress further, I bumped into a website, www.precisionnutrition.com, that provides a bit of advice, actually pretty good chunk of common sense; that I am testing. It doesn’t involve counting calories or measuring macro nutrients, it’s more of a ‘mindful’ ‘See Food’ diet. To manage your body fat levels to below 20%, the advice given is;

• Eat slowly until satisfied at 60% of your meals.
• Add a ‘palm’ of protein to 1 - 2 meals per day.
• Add 1 - 2 ‘fists’ of vegetables to 1 - 2 meals per day.
• Exercise 3 – 5 days per week, any intensity.
• Eat fewer processed carbs, do not reduce drastically.
• Drink fewer caloric beverages but do not reduce drastically.

And to get below that 15%;

• Eat slowly until satisfied at 75% of your meals.
• Add a ‘palm’ of protein to 2 - 3 meals per day.
• Add 2 - 3 ‘fists’ of vegetables to 2 - 3 meals per day.
• Exercise 30 to 45 minutes daily.
• 1 – 2 sessions per week working hard, break a sweat.
• Sleep 7 plus hours a night.
• Practice stress management techniques. Navel to spine, find your chi!
• Reduce deserts and processed carbs to 3 – 5 times per week.
• Reduce caloric beverages to 3 – 5 per week.

Is this something that people could stick to? Could this be key advice on the path to looking normal? Again, I am two months into the Power Macro, so for the next 2 months I’ll be looking at this 60% advice and see if it works within my ‘See Food’ diet plan. And once I get into the Endurance Macro, we’ll shoot for the 75% advice. WOW!!! There is still something worthwhile on the web; maybe. And I still get to make exception for blueberry and girlfriend pie.

Finishing Up In Korea………….

As of March 1^st, I’m back in the USA. My job takes me to Danville Kentucky. I will miss the little gyms in Japan, Korea and Beijing and of course the World Gym in Taiwan. They were very educational as far as the experience gained in managing a fitness routine no matter where you land. It’s a bit tougher when you don’t speak the language but it’s doable if you’re persistent. And it’s refreshing to note that there are gym rats worldwide; it’s not just an American thing.

In Conclusion……………

It doesn’t matter where you are, if you’re serious about your health and striving for normal, or pushing to beat that Last 10 Pounds, you can do it if you put your mind to it; location is irrelevant.

Farewell my Asian friends.