Whats up Dungeon?
As promised, I stated that I would start a journal for my training split for the next month. I have some more free time for the holidays, so I thought it would be a good idea 1) to keep myself motivated, and 2) for anybody else who may be interested.
For this routine I will be following a 4 day split. It will be as follows:
Day 1
AM- Chest, back, triceps, shoulders (intensity)
PM- Chest, back, triceps, shoulders (volume)
Day 2.
20-30 mins low intensity cardio, abs
Day 3
AM- Quads, Hamstrings, biceps, forearms (intensity)
PM- quads, hamstrings, biceps, forearms (volume)
Day 4- HIIT cardio, calves
Day 5- repeat
Ive incorporated a lot of variables in designing this routine. Normally during the year I am unable to train as often as I would like (work, school, etc.) usually 3-4 weight training sessions a week. I will consider this phase as an accumulation or over reaching phase, where the goal will be to borderline “overtrain” for a short time 4 weeks, then perform a short tapering phase, then I will return to my usual 3-4x per week training, and begin cutting.
All my days of weight training will be twice a day. Ive posted this a bit before, but here is a study by Dr. Hakkinen, who is regarded as one of the best anywhere.
Distribution of strength training volume into one or two daily sessions and neuromuscular adaptations in female athletes.
Hakkinen K, Kallinen M.
Department of Biology of Physical Activity, University of Jyvaskyla, Finland.
Neuromuscular adaptations were investigated in ten female athletes during a "normal" intensive strength training period for 3-weeks (I) as well as during a separate second 3-week training period (II), when the same total training volume was distributed into two daily sessions. No systematic changes took place in the maximal voluntary neural activation (averaged integrated EMG) of the leg extensor muscles, in the cross-sectional area (CSA) of the quadriceps femoris muscle or in maximal voluntary isometric strength of the leg extensor muscles over training period I with one daily sessions. However, a significant increase was observed in maximal strength from 2493 +/- 553 to 2620 +/- 598 N (p < 0.05) during period II accompanied also by a significant (p < 0.05) enlargement in the cross-sectional area of the muscle and by slight (ns.) increases in the maximum IEMGs of the trained muscles. The individual changes in the maximum IEMGs of the trained muscles during period II correlated significantly (p < 0.01) with the individual changes in maximal strength. The present results with female athletes suggest that the distribution of the volume of intensive strength training into smaller units, such as two daily sessions, may create more optimal conditions not only for muscular hypertrophy but by producing effective training stimuli especially for the nervous system. These kinds of training conditions may lead to further strength development in athletes being greater than obtained during "normal" strength training of the same duration.
My morning sessions I am calling Intensity sessions. Here I will keep a high intensity in my exercises, with a low volume & relatively long rest periods (3-4 minutes). I will be working up to one max sex of most likely approximately 4-6 reps.
The evening sessions will be your traditional “bodybuilding” style training. Here I will keep the reps higher, 10-12 usually, and will employ short rest periods, and more volume. Due to a very high frequency, I will probably perform roughly 8-12 sets per body part for these workouts. I plan on starting out with semi heavy lifts, then finishing off with your typical cable/machine exercises, etc. These finishers will be movements that will emphasize a lot of stretch, ie. Cable crossovers, preacher curls, skull crushers, etc. Behm (1995) suggests that exercises which contain a stretching component may enhance the anabolic benefits of exercise. Many animal studies show that protein synthesis is greatly elevated during intermittent stretching of rats, as well as potential hyperplasia. Furthermore, humans with a muscle immobilized in a cast or shortened position will experience considerable atrophy.
One day in this split will be devoted to HIIT cardio, and sprints. This will serve many purposes:
1. Cardiovascular benefits
2. Potential increase in lactic acid threshold
3. To help minimize fat accumulation
4. Anabolic effects
Low intensity cardio (60-70% of max HR) will be used once in this split. I will keep it short because it will come on the day before leg day. It will mainly serve as a way to burn some fat, while improving insulin sensitivy and glucose tolerance.
To offset as much fatigue as possible, I will keep my caloric intake very high, I probably will not count the exact macronutrient ratios, but I will try to eat every 2-3 hours and as much as possible. I will keep a low GI breakfast, however for the rest of the day I will include a fair bit of high GI carbs as it is better for glycogen re-synthesis. Ill throw up a sample diet once in a while.
My supplement stack will include the following:
1) ON
100% whey
2) A mix of egg/casein protein
3) Creatine Ethyl Ester
4) HMB
5) BCAA’s
6) Glutamine
7) Vitamin C
8) Coconut oil (for cooking)
9) Olive oil (If I find I am gaining too much fat, I will reduce this as monounsaturated fats tend to be the easiest stored)
10)
ZMA
11) Dextrose
12) Maltodextrin
13) Greens +
I will include some weight numbers for my lifts, mostly to monitor my progression. My current stats are as follows:
Weight: 237
Body fat %: unsure, I will edit this when I get it clipped tomorrow, brobably around 14-16%.
I think that’s it for now, first workout starts tomorrow :xmastongu
