SQUATTING ON HIGH HEELS

Squatting on high heels. That's exactly how it felt last Friday when I was squatting with 80% of my max with the new weightlifting shoes.

If you remember, prior to that I was squatting with old runner shoes that were already worn out. And, therefore, their soles have already lost all their "bouncing properties".

Anyway, I didn't feel strong in the squat. I really hate that because squat is my strongest lift. And, the most important lift to me. I felt like I was front squatting: With almost all the weight in my quads and without the possibility to let other muscles to help in lifting the bar. Plus, I felt that I was about to fall forwards cos the bar was too much too the front; but, it also felt that getting in a more upward position would make the bar too much too the back with the risk that it would felt out from my shoulders.

I guess I'll need to get used to the heels. At least they improved greatly my snatch from the hang.

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Image Credit: foobar

MY FIRST WEIGHTLIFTING SHOES

I'm so glad my first weightlifting shoes finally arrived.

Where I live, there's no way to buy them in a shop. So, you have to buy them through Internet. While I've been buying a lot of stuff through Internet (mainly books). Shoes are something I like to try on before buying. Specially with weightlifting shoes cos they are expensive and they should fit tightly.

Anyway, I had to take the risk. I selected and Adidas model and asked the seller for advice about how to know what was the right size for me. He recommended me to go to a sports shop and try on running shoes from Adidas to see which one was my size. And, order shoes with the same size (size go by UK sizes) or the 0.5 size bigger (they go by 0.5 increments) if that one was slightly too tight.

I'm aware that I gave you the name of the brand of my weightlifting shoes. I did that only because the trick to know your correct size might be specific to this brand. But, I'm in no way suggesting that you should buy that brand. I'm sure you're a big guy (or girl) and can figure out what brand and model is best for you.

So, anyway, I ordered the shoes. And, this morning, I finally went to the post office and picked up the shoes and tried them on. And, I thought, "Oh, sh*t! There too small. The length is alright but they're extremely narrow!". And, I went to work, thinking I'd have to send them back and order 0.5 or 1 size bigger.

But, this evening, when I came back home I tried again. And, I realized that they really are my size. I just loosen the shoelaces enough (I guess that I was too much in a hurry this morning because I was late to work) and they fit perfectly. It seems that the important parameter (at least with this model) is length and that the wideness can be greatly modified to suit your needs.

So, Shoes fit me perfectly. That's just great. :-)

I'll try them out tomorrow. I had the temptation to go today. But, I'm completely fried from front squatting iron beasts.

THE EVOLUTION OF WEIGHT LOSS

This post is about a guest post by Brad Pilon (the author of EatStopEat) at The Fitness Black Book. Here's the link to the original post.

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I read Brad's post and I thought that this is a post we all should read and think about it.

I think low-carb/low-glycemic/paleo with non-processed foods is a great way to eat (for fat loss and for strength training). And, I guess some of you agree and some of you don't (which is alright). But, I think it's important to realize that, for fat loss, if you aren't losing fat and everything else is in place you need to eat less. And that, by eating less, you can lose you're unwanted fat with many different diets.

That's why I think it's important to read and re-read Brad's words when he talks about all the different diet approaches he has been advising over the years (low-fat, cheat-day, low-carb, low-glycemic, carbohydrates-cycling, fasts). For ALL of them he says:

"And, this approach helped people get lean. Really lean. Sometimes even contest lean."

And as, a conclusion he states:

"Just about any diet will help you lose weight as long as it puts you in a calorie deficit. [...]
[But] you DO NOT have to be in a calorie deficit every single day.
[...]
The bottom line is this – The diet that will allow you the best weight loss success is the one that you find to be the easiest to follow and most comfortable way to create an ongoing calorie deficit over time."

So, if you're weight loss have stalled, and if you aren't paying much attention to calories and portion control, this might be something to think about.

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Image Credit: babaghan

MY WATER KEFIR EXPERIENCE

I've tried to convert my milk kefir grains to water kefir grains. Water kefir grains are supposed to be clear like crystal. But, a lot of people have successfully converted their milk kefir grains to water kefir grains.

But, as you can see in my first pic of the post my grains don't look too happy. The color is because that's the color that the drink they generate has. But they don't seem to be growing. Maybe it's because I just drop them to the new watery mix without doing the "induction" process mentioned in some web pages. That process, if I recall correctly, consists in submerging the grains in water with sugar and change water and add again sugar for some days. Anyway, it's still too soon to tell if my grains will grow or not.

So, here it's how I do it. First, I put non-processed sugar in the jar, water and mix it well. Then, I add the grains.

Then, I add the fruit: half lemon, two dried figs, two dates, six raisins, and a cinnamon bark.

In the fourth pic of this post you can see the water kefir jar "kefirising" by the milk kefir jar.

If you have some fruit that floats, like the apples in the last pic of this post, you can put a glass like I did (I don't know if you can see it in the picture) so it keeps the fruit submerged. In this jar, I also added some pieces of coconut so they don't spoil. That's another very good use for the kefir water: If you have any fruit that it's going to spoil, just drop it there and eat it whenever. I should try with bananas.

At the beginning, you won't know the kefirization speed of your mix. So you can taste it. If it's still too sweet let it ferment more. If you let it ferment too much it will be too acid. Also note that the fermentation makes it a slightly alcoholic beverage. But, I think it's only 0.5% or 1%.

Once it's ready, collect the fruits and you can eat them. OK, except maybe the cinnamon bark. Then, pour the kefir water through a plastic strainer to recover the grains. And start again the process.

If anybody has experienced with water kefir and wants to share it, just drop a comment.

I hope, this post makes some of you people that are already doing milk kefir to try to also do water kefir.

MY KEFIR EXPERIENCE

I friend of mine gave me some kefir grains and I've been doing kefired milk for a while. Here you have some pictures that show you my kefir routine.

You can see in the first picture, how my kefir jar looks after 24 hours of "kefirization". In the bottom of the jar there is the serum of the milk that has been separated from the more solid yogurt looking part (which is basically casein and fat).

Every evening I take the kefired milk, shake it a little bit and pour it through a strainer. I shake it so the serum mixes with the yogurt-looking-part and, therefore, it is easier to strain.

I put the kefired milk in a pitcher and to the fridge.

The kefir grains are put back in the jar.

The jar is refilled with milk. I use organic milk. Try to use the closest thing to real milk you can get.

So, if you want to try, just find somebody that gives you some grains. Don't buy them. It's easy to find in Internet somebody that will give some to you.

Use plastic strainer. Metallic strainer can damage the grains. The grains will grow. The more grains the faster they will kefirize your milk. Let them grow till you're happy with their kefirizing speed and size. Every time you have too much kefir grains you can just throw away some of them or give them for free to somebody.

YOU GOTTA ALSO TRAIN YOUR ARMS

Lately, it has became obvious that I need to focus on training my arms and shoulders. Because my arms are my weakest body part.

You see, I'm a squatter. Squats are my strongest lift. Which is great. So much more better than if my strongest lift would be bench press or biceps curls. X-D

But, I've been a little bit carried away with the "squats-dealifts-benchpresses-shoulderpresses-rows-chinups-dips-nothing-else-is-needed" philosophy. Plus, I haven't done enough volume with my shoulders and arms to get them where they should be. Moreover, I haven't been so mentally focused with my arms as I am with my squats and deadlifts.

Yep, that's the complete opposite of the average gym Joe.

An important thing to note, is that with arm exercises is hard for me to keep my elbows tucked in. Always, my elbows seem to beg to tuck out to be able to do the exercises. Maybe it's because a head of my triceps is specially week. I don't know.

But that's gotta change. I need to get my arms up to par with my legs. So I'm gonna try to do arms in almost any single workout and see what happens. I'm even gonna do isolation barbell exercises for my biceps and my triceps. Oh, my God. What's happening to me. ;-P

And most importantly, I need to make arm exercises in such a way that they seem almost as excruciating as squatting and deadlifting.

Wish me luck. :-)

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Image Credit: trehala

DO YOUR CARDIO

Few weeks ago I read the article Advice You Don't Want to Hear from T-Nation. I bookmarked the article knowing that I needed to put in practice some of its advice.

The truth is that, since I've started doing weightlifting my cardio has been reduced to zero. Yep, that's right I don't do cardio at all, nada.

This would provably be alright if I'd be in my target weight range. But, that's not the case yet. I thought that weightlifting alone would burn the fat that I needed to lose, but no luck.

Since I can fit in my weekends one or two cardio sessions this is what I'm gonna do. Today I did a light weight workout with mainly shoulder preses. And then HIIT, cardio plus steady cardio.

In case your wondering why I did shoulder presses, I'll confess that my strongest lifts are my squat and deadlift, so I need to bring up my upper body. Yep, that's the opposite situation of the typical gym goer.

Anyway, coming back to the subject of this post. If your training and diet are in place but you still need to get rid of some fat, do what Dr. Clay Hyght says in the T-Nation's article: "Do Your Damn Cardio".

And, now that you have the link to the article, read the whole thing to see if there is more "advices you don't wanna hear" in the it that you need to put into use. Just as I've already done.

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Image Credit: dextr

RESISTING TEMPTATION

Yesterday I had to fight against temptation. It was strong like hell and lasted more than an hour.

We all have to face temptation in this quest. It might be skipping training, doing an unplanned "cheat" meal, drinking beer or eating chocolate when we decided that we won't, etc.

In any kind of quest, once you've drawn your big plan and start following, you know you'll be faced by temptations.

So, before you start you have to think about what are you gonna do when temptation comes.

I propose you write a list. Here's mine:

Accountability

If you tell somebody about your plan, it might well be that you'll stick to it so that you don't have to tell to that someone that you failed. You really don't need to tell it to absolutely everybody, but if telling to everybody works better for you go for it.

Counting how many days in a row you've sticked to the plan

It might sound silly, but if you count in a calendar how many days in a row you've sticked to the plan. You know that if you succumb to temptation the counter is gonna go back to zero. Plus it helps you to get in the "day by day" mentality.

Plan ahead your day

Before going to sleep, review all the temptations you're gonna face the day after and see how you will avoid them. Maybe you can rearrange you day to make it easier.

Negotiate

If things get tough you might be forced to negotiate with the part of you that wants to give up. Of course, the plan is not negotiable. But, you can offer some other compensations that do not affect the plan.

Focus on the target

When faced with temptation, focus on the target. Think about the difference of fully achieving your target (even beyond your expectations) and getting very very far away from it.

The enemy

Think of the voice that wants to give up as the enemy. Give it semi-human characteristics. So it is not that you're weak. The thing is that the enemy is strong. This is war! It's your enemy that wants you to lose. But you shall prevail. Go ahead and make it epic.

Remember the crab bucket story

One day I was walking along the Washington Beach, the black beach in Washington, North Carolina with my father. I was about eight years old. I noticed a man with a bucket of crabs. The crab bucket did not have a top on it. I asked my father why the crabs were not able to escape. My father’s explanation taught me a valuable lesson.

My father said, “If there was only one crab in the bucket it would certainly escape. However, when there is more than one crab in the bucket, if one tries to crawl out, the other crabs would grab hold and pull it back down so that it would share the same fate as the rest of them.”

This is true with people. If one person attempts to better himself, other people will attempt to drag him back down to share their fate. My father said, “ You must ignore the crabs if you want to be a success in life.

[...]

Do you know crab people? Have you attempted to better yourself only to have family and friends to discourage you? Watch out for the crab syndrome.

Use the fact that your friends and family (the wants that should support you the most) are the ones that seem to want to see you failing. Don't get angry with them. Imagine that the voice ("the enemy") is also inside them trying to make you fail.

Optionally, if it works for you, resist temptation just to show that you're stronger than them.

"Absorb what is useful, reject what is useless, add what is specifically your own." -Bruce Lee

Try up these things. Decide what works and what doesn't for you. Come up with your own ones. If you fall, stand up immediately and start again. Practice makes perfection.

Oh, yeah, I forgot. About yesterday... I was able to finally resist temptation.

Good luck to everyone.

BTW, what are your techniques to resist temptation? Do they work well to you? Leave a comment to let me know.

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Image Credit: ArTeTeTrA

I FAINTED TODAY

I fainted today. But it wasn't after the first time I gave blood (like the guy in the picture). It was in the gym. It wasn't powerlifting (we do have buckets, but they are there just because of the many ceiling leaks we have). It was weightlifting. At the end of a clean, and before the jerk. I was doing a clean and jerk from the blocks (so bar is just below knee cups). It was actually the last rep. I was using the same load than the previous lift.

It was my first time (that I fainted, I mean). Afterwards, my trainer has explained that it has happened several times to him. Even in competition. I still don't know exactly why it happens. I know it happens when you clean the bar too close to your neck. Maybe it preses some artery and the blood doesn't reach your brains. Or, maybe it pinches some nerve.

Anyway, I just remember looking at my trainer. He was with a wide smile. I felt very happy so I was also smiling. Then I wondered why was he laughing, so I asked him. He told me that I had just fainted and I was like 'really'. I didn't remember anything. I also laughed and told him that I was alright. He told me that I'd been like ten seconds unconscious.

I tried to move and then I realize that I was lying on the floor and that the trainer was leaning on me. Just before that, I would have sworn that we both were standing. So, I moved the bar apart and got up.

For some reason I was very happy for the rest of the workout (yeah, I know, brain damage ;-P).

The only bad side-effect from the fainting was that (for some wired reason) my gluteus where completely fried. Which was kind of extra-tough because after the fainting it was pulls from the hang and back squats. But I got all the reps and survived.

Of course, I'll try to avoid fainting by all means. But, all in all, it was a good workout. And I'm still smiling (yep, I know, permanent brain damage ;-P ).

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Image Credit: halgatewood

LAZY DAYS

Lately, I'm having very lazy days. It's probably because my new training program is quite demanding combined with other things going on in my life.

On weeks like this, I just allow myself to be lazy. And, I cut a lot of tasks that are not too important. I just make sure that I train right and I accept that my body needs to be lazy outside the gym and I try to even enjoy this laziness.

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Image Credit: heavenuphere

LIVING WITHOUT A TRAINING LOG

I haven't kept a training log since I started weightlifting. My trainer does it for me. That's the way it should be. He just tell me the exercise, load, reps and sets and I do it. I don't question it. It's like I'm a soldier and he's the captain. It takes a lot of the mental drain from me. Yeah, it's actually freeing.

Well, I only train with him on Mo,We,Fr. On Saturdays and Sundays I train alone (if I'm too destroyed I skip Sunday). For those days I might have to start to keep a mini-log. But, it is not as important as my training log when I was training all by myself.

Weekend trainings are somehow more relaxed: Trying to go through the points of the snatch and of the clean&jerk that I do worst. Doing some some really heavy squats, rows and benches. Because, on week days the emphasis is more on the Olympic lifts.

So far things are going great: Elbows and knees hurt and I ice them. My hands are full of turn calluses and I put athletic tape on them before going to the gym. Most training days I feel kind of scared before going to my training and I recognize this as a sign of having challenging enough training sessions.

Now, that I'm being physically beaten up by the new training. It's a good thing that my trainer does all the planning and logging for me and that I don't have to worry about it.

P.D.: Hopefully, the hurting joints and the turned calluses is a temporary thing. ;-P Yeah, I think so, my elbows are getting stronger day by day and don't hurt much anymore.

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Image Credit: RunnerGirl713

MY NEW GYM

So, this is my new gym. It's in the basement of a commercial gym. It only has a long weightlifting platform (the platform is long enough for two or three people to lift at the same time), many rusty Olympic bars, rusty squat stands, as many plates as you want, chalk, and not much more.

You can see it in the picture on the left. The bucket is not for puking. It's because the ceiling has leaks. ;-P We have more than five buckets all over the room. No windows, no mirrors, no distractions.

There is also a place for bench pressing (you can partially see it in the top left corner of the picture), and a very rusty leg press.

I'm still getting adapted to the new gym. But, so far, it looks good. One of the things that was worrying me was to do heavy squatting without safety catches. I was used to have safety catches and to squat till I almost touched them (which was almost ATG).

Now I'm squatting Olympic style (which means that both front and back squat are done in such a way that my thighs touch my calves and that my ass is almost touching the floor and without safety catches.

So, today I was doing some squats after practicing the snatch and I knew that sooner or latter I'd fail a rep with that weight and that I'd had to drop the bar. When that happened, the movement of pushing backwards and dropping the bar was very easy. It was like my body already knew how to do it but I was afraid of doing it because I had never done it before.

I'll miss my dip station and my dumbbells from my old gym, but in here it seems that we can also use the commercial gym. So, if I'm desperate to do some dips I can always go upstairs. Anyway, it's feels so much better down here in the basement, training alone on weekends and with the Olympic herd on Mo/We/Fr. Upstairs, I think they don't even have Olympic bars. And, they have very few plates.

And, down here I can do almost everything that is important for me: Olympic lifts, squat, chin ups (with a barbell fixed to the wall by its sleeves in such a way that it can rotate), deadlift, bench press, shoulder press, bent over row, hanging hip raises, etc.

STARTING WEIGHTLIFTING

Great news!!!

I finally found a weightlifting gym with a weightlifting trainer!!! :-)

It really sucks, but in my country weightlifting is kind of dead. I thought there would be no way for me to find a weightlifting gym. But, I finally found my place. It's looks more like an old small car-repair garage than like a gym but it has everything we need. It's actually a big room in the basement of a public gym. The room is owned by the regional weightlifting federation. It has no windows and no mirrors. And, the bars are a little bit rusty. But I just love it.

So I paid the federation fees and started training on Wednesday. There is only one teacher and a single schedule: Mo, We, Fr at 16:30h. We are only three persons training with him. I'm the only one who is just starting to learn proper technique. I had been doing the power version of the lifts (specially the power clean). But doing the lifts with proper technique is a whole new thing.

So far, it feels great. The feeling at the end of a weight-training session is completely different. You feel less winded. I actually feel tired and energized at the same time, and cannot help smiling all the time.

Besides, a turned callous and some teared off skin in my hands, it's great mentally to leave all the planning to the trainer and concentrate only into doing whatever he says. Besides the weightlifting sessions I plan to keep going on Saturdays and Sundays to do my usual weight-training sessions. I didn't do it this weekend because I had a cold with sore throat.

This is gonna be a very big change in my training. So I expect that it will be mentally refreshing and physically shocking. And that, my friend, should create some big strength gains!

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Image Credit: Infinity Fotos

INTERMITTENT FASTING?

I didn't know what intermittent fasting was till very recently. I read somewhere about somebody trying it. But I was believing the traditional wisdom that says that if you fast your body will eat your muscles. I still think prolonged fasting has that effect on you.

Nevertheless, I wasn't a believer of the "six meals a day" mantra. I believe that you'll be alright with three or four meals per day. Actually, I think that many people will overeat when having six small meals a day because they will consume many more overall calories than they would if they'd consume only three or four meals. Besides, I didn't believe that it was that crucial for mass gain and fat loss. All in all, I've always thought that unless very well planned "six meals a day" might not be your best choice.

Moreover, some days I had dinner only because it was dinner time. Not because I felt hungry. Of course, once I started eating I was hungry. So, sometimes I wondered if me having dinner was necessary or not. But, hey, you don't want to be wasting muscle.

Then, I came across intermittent fasting through the "Relative Strength Advantage" website and started to do some Googling. I found the Fast-5 Diet and I thought it was an interesting concept.

Basically, Fast-5 says: eat all you want during a 5-hour windows and fast the rest of the day. They recommend having this 5-hour window at the end of the day; although they say you can place the 5-hour window wherever is most suitable for you. But, for me, it makes more sense having breakfast and lunch and then fast (basically skipping dinner) than skipping breakfast and maybe also lunch. If I go to work on an empty stomach I'm completely useless.

I also found Leangains. Leangains modifies Fast-5 to have it in a 8-hour window with three meals for people that train.

All in all, it made me think that maybe if I don't feel hungry at dinner time I could safely skip it and just have a nice cup of green tea without worrying about losing muscle mass.

What do you think about it? Has somebody experimented with some sort of intermittent fasting? Did you get good results?

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Image Credit: jani.elizabeth

NEWBIE TAKEN AWAY FROM THE SQUAT RACK ...

... AND BROUGHT TO THE USELESS SIDE OF THE GYM

Yesterday I was training doing shoulder presses and barbell bent over rows (alternating sets of both exercises). My gym doesn't have much space that is clear from machines. So the bar in which I was doing rows was too close to the squat rack. That usually isn't a problem because, unfortunately, this ain't a squatters gym.

Then I see a young man coming to the squat rack and immediately I kindly ask if he's gonna use the rack. He says 'yes' and shows me his gym workout printed in a page (I assume provided by the gym trainers) where he's pointing to a drawing of a man doing deep squats.

And, I'm all like thinking "Oh, my God. The trainers recommend deep squat to newbies. What a wonderful World". So I find another place to put my bar, and resume my training. After doing one set, I see he's now in a machine that "simulates" the squat. The heresy-machine is one that has you lying down on an horizontal bench with pads on your shoulders, and where you push a platform with your legs. So, basically, a completely useless and half-assed-simulation of the squat.

I usually don't talk and don't care in the gym. Hey, I'm working. But, this time I thought that the young man deserved better than that. So I go there, where he is with the trainer and ask: "Hey, weren't you going to do squats. And the trainer replies in behalf of the man: "I don't want him to do squats yet. We were going to do them in the smith but there's a guy training there".

That's when my soul was smashed back to the hard floor of reality. This is a commercial gym.

I still don't give up, so I kindly but firmly say: "This machine is completely useless. And doing squats in the smith injuries your back since our body cannot do the movement in a completely vertical and straight path. The squat is the real deal."

But the trainer (which, I'm sorry, but looks like he has never lift anything heavier than a pink dumbbell) replies "Well, I've been speaking with a lot of personal trainers and they all agree that squatting with a barbell is dangerous for your back and the smith is safe. This machine is not as save as the smith. But, the smith is taken right now so he'll have to do it here".

Here I give up. Who am I to contradict "a lot of personal trainers" that earn they living by giving such advice? The young man looks at me. By his look I get the feeling that he is sending me a telepathic message that says "Don't give up. Say something that convinces the trainer to let me do the SQUATS." But it's too late. I'm already thinking about a polite way to end the whole thing. And I find myself politely saying something like "Well, I guess each trainer has its methods".

And then, I start shutting my mind and getting ready for the next set. But, while the rest of the World (that is, everything but me and the barbell) starts to blur, I cannot help to have some voices in the head saying things like:
- You failed to the young man.
- You don't want to get into trouble with the management of the gym. On how many gyms will let you grunt and deadlift in this country?
- You still ...

Thoughts disappear... Now, there is only me and the barbell.

It's row time!

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Image Credit: Habitat for Humanity ReStore Elgin

F*CK, I'M SO TIRED

If you remember, I'm training on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays. I do so because It is so much easier for me to allocate two of the three training sessions in the weekend (when I don't have much else to do). Nevertheless, some Sundays are super tough. I feel sore at the beginning of the workout and I'm winded by the time I'm stretching. Today was one of those "Bloody Sundays".

Trying to minimize the "bloody Sunday" effect, I already have and "easier" workout on Sundays. But, easier just means neither squat nor deadlift (it is still a tough workout: barbell shoulder presses, barbell rows, weighted dips, and hanging hip raises).

Anyway, after my workout I drunk my liter of milk in the gym and ate my meat once back at home. And now, fortunately, since it's Sunday I can spend the rest of the day doing nothing but posting, reading blogs, and being lazy.

By the way, talking about reading blogs, I just found those two that seem pretty interesting ones:

- Double Your Gains

- Relative Strength Advantage

Enjoy

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Image Credit: Crossfit HEL

SQUAT MOTIVATIONAL POSTER

I was google-ing for an image of somebody squatting. And I came across with this great squat motivational poster.

"SQUAT, because out there, a girl is warming up with your max."

Anyway, I was laughing, and I thought that I'd share the picture with you so you would laugh too.

But now, I'm thinking...

IT IS TRUE!

- If you are a boy (or a man), there IS a girl warming up with your max. (Girls, you know what to do, just go to the gym till you are the one who squats the biggest load. That should teach them.)

- And, if you have been training for many years, there IS a person that has been training for fewer years that squats much more than you.

So make sure you are training as hard as you can. Make sure you're not starting to take it easy because you're already more or less happy with your current loads.

Being the biggest squatter in your gym may make you proud. But the max squat in one gym might be a warm up load in another one.

P.D.: I wonder how much she squats.

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Image Credit: ???

SLOW PROGRESS IS STILL PROGRESS

Last week it was a test for me. Specially in the Squat and Overhead press. If you remember, the previous week I only got 4,2,2 reps for the squat and 3,2,2 for the overhead press.

Well, last week I got 4,3,2 for the squat and 4,3,3. So, I guess I won't deload at all. Because slow progress (even that extra rep in the squat) is still progress.

Of course, I hope the speed increases soon, otherwise it's going to be hard to achieve my target for week number 16th (which is in April). But, still it's better than stalling.

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Image Credit: Rosina

WEIGHT PROGRESSION STRATEGIES

COMING BACK AFTER A TWO WEEK HOLIDAYS

Last week it was my first week after my two week holidays. But, instead of having some light training sessions to build slowly to the poundages that I was lifting before the holidays, I just jumped to the gym with the program and poundages that I would have done if I wouldn't had that two week break.

That's right, and I even had an increase of 1 Kg in my squat and deadlift loads, just because I got my reps in those exercises the week before holidays. In retrospective, maybe I should have just kept the same loads than the last week. Or maybe not, because I got again all my reps in the deadlift again.

As you know, I'm doing 3 sets of 5 reps for almost all exercises. And, I consider to reduce load when I get less than 12 reps in the 3 sets. Well, the only exercises where I didn't got that 12 reps minimum where the squat (with 4,2,2 reps and feeling that my lower back was not too strong) and barbell shoulder presses (with 3,2,2 reps and feeling that my left triceps was fried). So, I think, I'm going to keep the poundages for those two exercises this week and see if I can get the 12 reps per exercise. Otherwise I'll drop 1 or 2Kg.

In the other exercises (weighted chins, bench press, deadlift and barbell row) my reps where alright.

All in all, I think it was a good idea. Although you might disagree with me and think that it was stupid to do so and that it could stunt my progress or risk injury. I think it gave an interesting shock to my body after those two weeks without going to the gym and I never got the feeling I was risking injury.

Maybe it's something to consider after a short gym-break. Maybe you don't need to drop much your poundages (or even at all) when you go back to the gym.

HOW MUCH TO INCREASE THE POUNDAGES ONCE YOU GET YOUR REPS

MuscleHack has an interesting post about how to increase poundages. Instead of having all your working sets with the same load, he suggests to have independent loads in each of your working sets for the same exercise. So you will provably have the most weight on your first set and a little bit less in each of the subsequent ones. Each time that you reach the target reps in any of the sets, you increase the load for that specific set without modifying the loads for the other sets.

I think I'm gonna keep having the same load for all my working sets but it really looks like an interesting thing to try. Maybe it's something you could consider. Specially if you're looking for some small change or tweak in you're program without changing the exercises.

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Image Credit: marielito

RESTING MY BODY AND MY SOUL FOR A COUPLE OF WEEKS

Image Credit: vipa