Chest 14 180sec
Row 13 180sec
Leg 19 164sec
Static holds. First number is the number of plates lifted (out of 20 on a 200lb stack) and second number is number of seconds. For leg press the pulley arrangement effectively doubles the weight.
Chest press: 3rd week at this weight and I reached 3 minutes with still something left in the tank. I made sure the seat was correctly positioned this time and perhaps that helped. Will add a plate the next cycle.
Row: first attempt at this weight and made three minutes but just barely. Still, I will increase the weight again next cycle.
Leg Press: second attempt at this weight. TUL up 44 sec over last week. I thought I might make 3 minutes but couldn't quite hold on. Try again next week.
I didn't sleep all that well this week though I slept in this morning. I was a bit concerned that this might be the week I hit the wall but as it turned out it was a good workout. Up in TUL or weight in all three exercises.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Sunday, October 24, 2010
WOW 10/24/2010 #27
Shoulder Press 13 180sec
Lat Pull Down 13 143sec
Leg Press 19 120sec
Static holds. First number is the number of plates lifted (out of 20 on a 200lb stack) and second number is number of seconds held. For leg press the pulley arrangement effectively doubles the weight.
Shoulder Press: third attempt at this weight and made it to 3 minutes with some gas still in the tank. Will increase weight next time. Lat Pull Down: first attempt at this weight and failed well short of three minutes. Will be interesting to see how long it takes to get to 3 minutes at this weight. Leg Press: first attempt at this weight and failed well short of 3 minutes, will give the same weight another go next week.
Flew to Japan last Sunday and got back Wednesday so my sleep pattern was a mess this week. Hard to say whether this had much effect on my workout today. I felt OK but perhaps did not have as much mental reserve as in recent weeks. Still a satisfactory workout. Up in weight or time on all three exercises.
Lat Pull Down 13 143sec
Leg Press 19 120sec
Static holds. First number is the number of plates lifted (out of 20 on a 200lb stack) and second number is number of seconds held. For leg press the pulley arrangement effectively doubles the weight.
Shoulder Press: third attempt at this weight and made it to 3 minutes with some gas still in the tank. Will increase weight next time. Lat Pull Down: first attempt at this weight and failed well short of three minutes. Will be interesting to see how long it takes to get to 3 minutes at this weight. Leg Press: first attempt at this weight and failed well short of 3 minutes, will give the same weight another go next week.
Flew to Japan last Sunday and got back Wednesday so my sleep pattern was a mess this week. Hard to say whether this had much effect on my workout today. I felt OK but perhaps did not have as much mental reserve as in recent weeks. Still a satisfactory workout. Up in weight or time on all three exercises.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
WOW 10/17/2010 #26
Chest 14 155sec
Row 12 180sec
Leg 18 180sec
Static holds. First number is the number of plates lifted (out of 20 on a 200lb stack) and second number is number of seconds. For leg press the pulley arrangement effectively doubles the weight.
I have to fly to Tokyo this morning so I got up early and did workout #26 before breakfast. I am not a morning person so this was something of an unnatural act for me. Couldn't tell that it made any difference to my workout though.
Chest press: same weight as last time but down 4 seconds. After I finished I noticed the seat height was up two notches from where I usually position it. Don't know if this made any real difference. I failed on the right side for some reason.
Row: same weight but made it to 3 minutes (up 28 seconds) so I will increase the weight again when I do this set the next time.
Leg Press: Weight the same as last week and was able to hold for the full 3 minutes (up 21 seconds). Will add a plate next week.
Overall a good workout but I have to say I am increasingly skeptical whether very many people could be persuaded to put up with the discomfort of holding to real failure on a regular basis, especially on a leg press. Once I was within 20 seconds of the three minute target for the leg press there was no way I was going to quit but it required an intense emotional as well as physical effort to finish those last few seconds.
Row 12 180sec
Leg 18 180sec
Static holds. First number is the number of plates lifted (out of 20 on a 200lb stack) and second number is number of seconds. For leg press the pulley arrangement effectively doubles the weight.
I have to fly to Tokyo this morning so I got up early and did workout #26 before breakfast. I am not a morning person so this was something of an unnatural act for me. Couldn't tell that it made any difference to my workout though.
Chest press: same weight as last time but down 4 seconds. After I finished I noticed the seat height was up two notches from where I usually position it. Don't know if this made any real difference. I failed on the right side for some reason.
Row: same weight but made it to 3 minutes (up 28 seconds) so I will increase the weight again when I do this set the next time.
Leg Press: Weight the same as last week and was able to hold for the full 3 minutes (up 21 seconds). Will add a plate next week.
Overall a good workout but I have to say I am increasingly skeptical whether very many people could be persuaded to put up with the discomfort of holding to real failure on a regular basis, especially on a leg press. Once I was within 20 seconds of the three minute target for the leg press there was no way I was going to quit but it required an intense emotional as well as physical effort to finish those last few seconds.
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Effort is what matters
In my last WOW post I referenced a study summarized on Clarence Bass' site that found that training with ligher weights to failure might be more effective to build muscle than training with heavier weights to failure. I think there is more evidence that training to failure is the critical factor whether with relatively lighter or heavier weights. Here is a link to another post from C. Bass on this point:
http://cbass.com/Effortbasedtraining.htm
In my own training I have recently moved from a 2 minute target to a 3 minute target which means that I work with relatively lighter weights than before. My intuition about this is that I fatigue and therefore stimulate my muscles more profoundly if I fail at a ligher rather than a heavier weight. I personally feel much more fatigues after a workout using the 3 minute targets.
You can take this too far of course. I think moving the target out to say 5 minutes would risk getting into the range where the first fibers to fire and exhaust would recover and reengage in sufficient numbers so that the harder to trigger fibers would never kick in.
http://cbass.com/Effortbasedtraining.htm
In my own training I have recently moved from a 2 minute target to a 3 minute target which means that I work with relatively lighter weights than before. My intuition about this is that I fatigue and therefore stimulate my muscles more profoundly if I fail at a ligher rather than a heavier weight. I personally feel much more fatigues after a workout using the 3 minute targets.
You can take this too far of course. I think moving the target out to say 5 minutes would risk getting into the range where the first fibers to fire and exhaust would recover and reengage in sufficient numbers so that the harder to trigger fibers would never kick in.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
WOW 10/10/2010 #25
Shoulder Press 13 173sec
Lat Pull Down 12 180sec
Leg Press 18 159sec
Static holds. First number is the number of plates lifted (out of 20 on a 200lb stack) and second number is number of seconds held. For leg press the pulley arrangement effectively doubles the weight.
Shoulder Press same weight up 8 seconds. 7 seconds short of 3 minute target so will keep weight the same next time and see if I can get to 3 minutes. Lat Pull Down up 1 plate and still made it to 3 minutes. This is the second week in a row that I have added a plate and still made it to 3 minutes. Will increase weight next time and would expect to fail before I get to 3 minutes. Leg Press up 1 plate and failed 21 seconds short of 3 minutes. This one is really draining. Can't imagine doing another exercise right after leg press. Will keep the weight the same next week and try to get closer to 3 minutes.
All in all a satisfactory workout. Up in weight or time or both on all three exercises.
This month Clarence Bass reports on an interesting study that compares results of lifting relatively heavier or lighter weights to failure. You can see it here: http://cbass.com/LightWeights.htm
Always interesting stuff on Mr. Bass' site and of course I always recommend the Body by Science site. The discussion there is more or less continuous and always informative.
Lat Pull Down 12 180sec
Leg Press 18 159sec
Static holds. First number is the number of plates lifted (out of 20 on a 200lb stack) and second number is number of seconds held. For leg press the pulley arrangement effectively doubles the weight.
Shoulder Press same weight up 8 seconds. 7 seconds short of 3 minute target so will keep weight the same next time and see if I can get to 3 minutes. Lat Pull Down up 1 plate and still made it to 3 minutes. This is the second week in a row that I have added a plate and still made it to 3 minutes. Will increase weight next time and would expect to fail before I get to 3 minutes. Leg Press up 1 plate and failed 21 seconds short of 3 minutes. This one is really draining. Can't imagine doing another exercise right after leg press. Will keep the weight the same next week and try to get closer to 3 minutes.
All in all a satisfactory workout. Up in weight or time or both on all three exercises.
This month Clarence Bass reports on an interesting study that compares results of lifting relatively heavier or lighter weights to failure. You can see it here: http://cbass.com/LightWeights.htm
Always interesting stuff on Mr. Bass' site and of course I always recommend the Body by Science site. The discussion there is more or less continuous and always informative.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
WOW 10/3/2010 #24
Chest 14 159sec
Row 12 152sec
Leg 17 180sec
First number is the number of plates lifted (out of 20 on a 200lb stack) and second number is number of seconds. For leg press the pulley arrangement effectively doubles the weight.
I took a week off. Last Sunday I was feeling low energy and still a little tight and achy so I decided to give it another week.
Chest press: added 2 plates this week and hit failure at 159 seconds. Will keep weight the same next week and go for longer time. .
Row: added a plate this week and hit failure at 152 seconds. Will keep weight the same next week and go for a longer time.
Leg: Weight the same as last workout and was able to hold for the full 3 minutes (up 30 seconds). Will add a plate next week.
Overall a good workout. The extra week of rest helped. On the 10th day of rest I woke up feeling really great. I am thinking I will insert an extra week of rest after every 3 or 4 workouts.
Observed changes: Clothes fitting still looser though my weight has plateaued the last few weeks. Seems %BF has moved down a bit. Can see more definition in the veins in my arms....
Row 12 152sec
Leg 17 180sec
First number is the number of plates lifted (out of 20 on a 200lb stack) and second number is number of seconds. For leg press the pulley arrangement effectively doubles the weight.
I took a week off. Last Sunday I was feeling low energy and still a little tight and achy so I decided to give it another week.
Chest press: added 2 plates this week and hit failure at 159 seconds. Will keep weight the same next week and go for longer time. .
Row: added a plate this week and hit failure at 152 seconds. Will keep weight the same next week and go for a longer time.
Leg: Weight the same as last workout and was able to hold for the full 3 minutes (up 30 seconds). Will add a plate next week.
Overall a good workout. The extra week of rest helped. On the 10th day of rest I woke up feeling really great. I am thinking I will insert an extra week of rest after every 3 or 4 workouts.
Observed changes: Clothes fitting still looser though my weight has plateaued the last few weeks. Seems %BF has moved down a bit. Can see more definition in the veins in my arms....
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