Pork Chop's Meathead Blog

[Pork Chop]

In a nutshell, I'm sick of looking like mashed potatoes.
I'm starting a new routine with little to no emphasis on cardio or Muay Thai training - treating those two as supplementary only.
I'm focusing almost my entire focus on lifting, packing on muscle, and getting stronger.
Using a modified version of the program found here:
http://www.weightrainer.net/training/beginners.html

I'll be lifting in the mornings 3 times a week.
I may sneak in some cardio on off days, and/or some muay thai training in the evenings.
Not going to go too hard on either of those last two - I can't, I'm nursing a broken foot (for starters).
In fact the injuries have been piling up so much the last couple years, I'm thinking about walking away from Muay Thai entirely.

[Pork Chop]

Day 1
Friday 9/11/2015

Squat: 95lbs x 10 reps; 95lbs x 10 reps - pretty easy, but felt really stiff. slight balance issues that cleared up by end of second set.
Bench: 65lbs x 10 reps; 65lbs x 10 reps - slow motion reps
Bent Row: 65 lbs x 10 reps; 65lbs x 10 reps - slow motion reps, a little hard on back & hamstrings
Overhead Press: 65lbs x 10 reps; 65lbs x 10 reps - slow reps until the end of the second set, started getting tired.
Assisted Chinup: 150lb assist x 10 reps; 150lb assist x 10 reps - 1st set with wide chinup grip - slow motion, 2nd set with neutral grip - got tired, so regular speed.
Barbell Curl: 40lbs x 10 reps; 40lbs x 10 reps - slow motion reps, pretty easy
Lying Tricep Extension: 40lbs x 10 reps; 40lbs x 10 reps - slow motion reps, pretty easy
Stiff Legged Deadlifts: 95lbs x 10 reps; 95lbs x 10 reps - felt stiff, the stretching felt more rigorous than the weight felt heavy
Calf Raise: Bodyweight with both feet x 10 reps; BW w/both feet x 10 reps - not too hard
Roman Chair Knees to Chest: 10 reps; 10 reps - little bit difficult.

I might not have been resting enough between some of those sets where I got tired.
Supposed to be resting 2 to 3 minutes between sets.

If these weights look ridiculously low, that's because they are.
The program I'm on is adamant about doing "easy" weight.
The argument is that full body workouts are more taxing than split workouts.
Also, given the amount of time since I been lifting (at least 3 months), it's better to ease back into a program.
Most of the exercises were pretty easy, I tended to make them harder with the slow motion speed of the reps.

I think the progression's going to work out to be:
+5lbs each week for the 2 isolation exercises, and
+10lbs each week for everything else.
While that plan looks aggressive, these "easy" weights are still way below my normal "warmup" weight.
It'd take about 6 weeks of this progression schedule to get to my normal "warmup" or 10-rep weight.

Today was kind of a test day.
Week 1 doesn't really start till next week.
Weeks 1 & 2 of the program are supposed to be 2 sets of "easy" weight for 10 reps each.
Weeks 3 & 4 of the program are 1 set of "easy" weight, 1 set of "moderate" weight for 10 reps each.
Weeks 5 & 6 of the program are 1 set of "easy" weight, 1 set of "low-moderate" weight, and 1 set of "high-moderate" weight for 10 reps each.
Weeks 7 & 8 of the program are the same as above, with 1 day where I do a set of "difficult" weight instead of "high moderate".
Weeks 9 & 10 of the program is the same as above, with 2 days where I do a set of "difficult" weight instead of "high moderate".
Weeks 11 & 12 of the program, I add an additional set (for a total of 4) on the 2 heavy days, with the last 2 sets being heavy. On the other day, I just do 2 sets: "easy" and "moderate".

After I finish the 12 weeks I'm going to switch to a 5x5 program.

[Pork Chop]

Sunday 9/13/2015

Did Eisa drumming today as I usually do on Sundays.
It's a little like kung fu - with kicks & stances; just with hitting the drum instead of punching.
We're getting ready for a performance next weekend, so practice ran long.
Today's workout was 3.5 to 4 hours.
First half hour was nothing but basics: stances & stretching.
I do 4 minute rounds of basics, which works out to:
4 min horse stance, no drum
4 min alternating front rising kicks, no drum
4 min horse stance with the drum
4 min alternating front rising kicks with the drum.
My drum's an O-daiko, so it's the big one.
We ran through our planned routine for the performance (6 songs) straight through at least 3 times, going over a couple of the songs at least another 3 to 5 times each.
Here's an idea of what one of the songs looks like:

[Pork Chop]

Monday 9/14/2015

Squat 95lbs x 10 reps x 2 sets - easier than last time, still a little stiff at first, picked up by 2nd set
Bench 65lbs x 10 reps x 2 sets - may not have gone quite as slow, easy
Bent Row 65lbs x 10 reps x 2 sets - hamstrings a little stiff, otherwise, pretty easy
Overhead Press 65lbs x 10 reps x 2 sets - may not have gone quite as slow, easier than last time
Assisted Chin 150lb assist x 10 reps x 2 sets - much less tired than last time, much easier
Tricep Extension 40lb x 10 reps x 2 sets - did it standing this time, was easy last time, still easy
Ez Bar Curl 40lb x 10 reps x 2 sets - this was supersetted with the tricep extensions. About the same if not easier.
Stiff Leg Deadlift 95 x 10 reps x 2 sets - kept perfect form. really easy. Kind of think I should do standard deadlifts though.
Standing Calf Raise Bodyweight x 10 each leg, BW x 10 both legs together. I'm always going to be weak at this exercise, but both legs together feels pretty good.
Decline Reverse Crunch 10 reps x 2 sets - had to do this on the situp bench instead of roman chair, might actually be a better workout, felt it directly on abs instead of hip flexors.

Was really sleepy this morning. Daughter kept us up last night. She's not sleeping well lately. Almost overslept. Didn't even think I'd make it to the gym. Was still sore from Sunday's practice, which was brutal. Temperature's dropping to a really comfortable range (50 in the morning), so that gave me a little extra energy. Had a pretty good workout.

Will probably have to double it up tonight, so there'll be another post unless I wuss out. My coach is fighting soon so this should be his last week of hard training. Not going to push it very hard myself though. Still can't kick. Going to try take it easy.

[Pork Chop]

Monday 9/14/2015 Part 2
Ended up doing about 2 hours of muay thai.
First hour I mainly held pads for 2 guys.
Second hour was a bit of boxing sparring, a bit of clinch, and a few more rounds of holding pads.
Coach fights in 10 days.
I know he'll do well, I don't think I've ever seen anyone performing on that level.
He's a machine.
Foot held up okay, but I didn't kick with it, just boxing, and was able to push off of it pretty well.
Did lunges instead of jump rope during warm up, didn't want to risk it.
Feels a lot better than last week, but i want to be sure it's 100% before I do anything with it.
I need to give it another 2 weeks at the bare minimum, preferably 4.
I think I'm going to spend a lot of time re-conditioning my legs on the heavybag before I spar or kick much in class.

[Brule]

Your path and mine sound similar. I've started and stopped many training routines either because of injury, health or just plain laziness. It got to a point at around this time last year where I said to myself, I'm not satisfied with being stagnant, always jump into something and not following through until the end or at least until I see some results. I was sick of giving up.

I went back to my old kung fu school and tried that for 3 or 4 months but quickly realized it was no longer for me. Then I checked out this local gym as they were advertising a discounted rate. The gym was clean and had new equipment and was really close to my house. I went home, did a lot of reading of weight training, although I was exposed to it in the past with trying to do it at home following the starting strength routine I once again quit before I could see results. But this time would be different. I started with starting strength in Jan this year and used that for a few months until my body told me it couldn't handle it anymore. This time, instead of quitting, I did some research because with all the info out there, there had to be a program that I could use and see results. I came to Wendlers 5/3/1 and have been on it since. I have seen results and am enjoying it so much. It fits perfectly with my schedule and because it's only one exercise per workout it doesn't burn me out.

Sorry for the long post, just wanted to say that I hope you find something that you can enjoy and will continue with it to see the results you want.