Michigan Muscle Boy

Squats vs. Leg Press in an H workout

Remarkably, it's Tuesday, two days out from the weekend carb load, and I'm feeling like a stud.  I'm not sure I've got the carbs quite right, but it feels better than last week.  One thing, I seem to sweat a good bit more.

As I mentioned in my last note, Nancy and I are on a hypertrophy phase.  This is the light week.

Here's today's workout:

• Nautilus Leg Press (60% 1RM):  275 lbs./ 12 reps X 4 sets
• Single leg pulley leg curl (60% 1RM): 70/8X3
• Smith Lunges (60%): 113/12X4
• Bent Underhand Rows with EZ Bar (60%): 105/12X4
• Back Extensions: 15X3
• BOSU Crunches: 15X3
• Skull Crushers (60%): 65/12X4

One might wonder at the leg press.  The movements is similar to the squat.  Muscle activation studies show that the squat works the glutes and lower back more than the leg press.  However, stress on the lower back may also be just the reason for avoiding the squat, particularly if you have back issues.  One intriguing suggestion is to combine the leg press with a partial deadlift to get the glute activation.  I may try that.

I Don't recommend high fat cottage cheese

So, I continue my low carb adventure, but things are going better this week.  So far, I've had two intense workouts that have gone reasonably well.  After last week's training fiasco, Arnold and I got smart and decided to do a hypertrophy cycle.  We understand hypertrophy, and it pays to reduce the unknowns while you're exploring something completely new like the metabolic diet.

Today's adventure with the metabolic diet involved eating high fat cottage cheese.  Don't eat it!  Particularly if you like low fat cottage cheese which I had developed quite a taste for during Arnold's last show prep.  High fat cottage cheese is edible, but it is for the most part dense and undesirable, more like a paste than low fat cottage which offers a very hydrated feel to the mouth.  It has some carbs, and I worried about going over quota (a bit like when I was eating 1.5 cups of roasted peanuts at the beginning of the diet).  No worry, it's just not appetizing enough.

Don't quite have the low carb mojo

I've been laying low on the blogging front.  This week was kind of tough.  I traveled down to Alabama to visit my dad and work on house selling.  Then, it was back up here.  All while maintaining the discipline of the low carb induction phase.

On top of all of this, Arnold and I tried to launch a muscle definition phase this week.  Doing something like that is strongly discouraged in the metabolic (anabolic) diet literature.  Well, we learned our lesson.

Then, at the end of the week, a disastrous spate of 1RM attempts.  I had felt energy drained all week from the low carb diet, and we could not get our current training quite right.

Well, it's a new (though even busier) week next week.  I've had a carb load this weekend.  Let's see if we can make some improvements.

The anabolic (metabolic) diet

So, in Summer 2003, I did the atkins diet, a low carb diet.  I more or less stayed on that for 2 years.  My main complaint was that it did not really seem to account for the very active lifestyle.  You just did not get the fuel you needed to perform well.  Food choice was also a little restricted.

The main advantages were that it was easy to follow (just avoid carbs) and not too hard on the system after the first couple of days.  I found I had a good amount of energy, just not the afterburner I sometimes wanted for the really intense workout.

Enter the anabolic diet.  Arnold (the anabolic girl wonder) has been chortling about her initial success on the diet recently.  I discovered this diet a couple of months ago after Arnold's last competition when we were looking for a better training program.  I found the book Serious Strength Training after Arnold showed me an article on periodized training programs.  Serious Strength Training recommended the anabolic diet (basically, a sport-oriented version of the metabolic diet).

The main idea of the metabolic diet is to go low carb to get yourself in a fat burning mode.  The initial goal of the diet is not to lose weight but merely to switch from carbohydrates to fat as the main source of your body's fuel.  Di Pasquale, the diet's creator, in fact recommends that you not have a target weight as your goal but rather a target body fat percentage.  Once your body is burning fat, you can manage your body composition by reducing dietary fat.

Sounds great.  We'll see if it really works.

I'm just 6 days in to the 12 day induction phase, but I think I've switched into fat burning mode.  Energy is good.  Di Pasquale recommends going two months before you try to pull any manipulations like weight loss.  Personally, I know I have lost weight during the first week.  I think it is mainly fluid, but it's pretty clear my body has undergone quite a transition and not reached a steady state.  It doesn't seem like I have the basis to play around with yet.

One difficulty with these diets is keeping proper track of how many carbs you are consuming.  Here are two good resources:

• Fit Day, a nice online macronutrient tracker, originally brought to my attention by Scott Bird.
• The carbohydrate counter is a nice resource if you don't want to go to the hassle of tracking all the details of what you eat.
• Here's another account of one person's experience with the diet.

Short H Workout

Hammered out an H workout today with some good intensity.  I seem to have my strength back after a lull.  Eating close to 4000 calories per day in fat and protein.  I think the body is coming around.

Here's the workout:

• EZ Bar skull crushers (80–85% 1RM):  85 lbs./7 reps X 2 sets; 90/5X3;
• Behind neck pulldown (80–85%):  125/7X2; 135/5X3;
• Dumbbell rear delt lateral (75%): 25/6X5;
• Dumbbell shrugs (80–85%): 60/7X2; 80/3X5;
• Back extensions: 15X5

A good but tough max strength workout

The Big Girl seems to be having an easy time cutting over to the anabolic diet, a good thing.  I've done low carb diets like the anabolic diet before, but my experience is that I tend to need more than the minimum carbs to feel really good.  The thing that attracted me to this diet is that it seems designed to get you to the right level of carbs for exercise ... eventually.

I hit the wall a bit on carbs yesterday, day 3 of the diet, and felt a little drained.  But, I had a decent enough workout.  Here's what I did:

• Smith Squats (90% 1RM):  174 lbs./2 reps X 1 sets; 184/2X4;
• Kneeling hammerstrength leg curls (80%):  95/6X5
• Bench Press (90% 1RM): 172.5/2X5
• Bent underhand EZ Bar row (90%): 150/2X5
• Front dumbbell press (90%): 55/2X1; 50/2X4;
• Hack calf raise (80%): 240/6X5

A few observations.  We worked out at Gold's.  The Smith machine there is different, angling you back in the squat, and the bar weight is also different also.  It's harder than what we do at Liberty, so I can do less weight in the squat. 

On the bench I needed some light spotting on the last two sets (thanks Arnold!).  The bar is also a little heavier than standard (47.5 lbs. vs. 45).

Based on past performance, I felt pretty sure I could do 55 lbs. on the dumbbell press.  Well, barely.  I suspect the carbs were hitting me.

Nice little H workout with intensity

So, I trained with Mary today and did a nice little H workout.  Lots of intensity, hitting some new levels.  Here's the workout:

• Skull crusher (80-85% 1RM): 85 lbs./7 reps X 2 sets; 90/2X5; 90/1X3; 85/1X2;
• Nautilus wide grip pull-down (80–85%): 125/7X2; 135/3X5;
• Incline rear delt dumbbell flyes (75%): 25/6X5;
• Dumbbell shrugs (80–85%): 65/7X2; 70/3X5;
• Back extensions: 15X4

I'm eating too many peanuts

The Scott Bird recommended fit day comes to the rescue.  I've started this insane anabolic diet with Arnold where you are only supposed to eat 30 grams of carbs per day to start.  Well, I've been doing 60.  The culprit: the 1.5 cups (0.4 liter) of peanuts I've been eating. 

I was feeling a little boost after those peanuts.  I thought it was the fat.  I've been telling Arnold that I love fat.  Well, now we know.

It's all Arnold's fault.

Max Strength Day

So, Arnold and I did a max strength workout yesterday.  We also talked about the plan going forward, something Scott has been asking about.  We'll have more on that in a later post.  It includes elements of diet and measurement.

We stuck with Smith squats.  We're both getting good depth and range of motion.

Here's the workout:

• Smith squats (90% of 1RM): 198 lbs./3 reps X 4 sets; 178/3X1
• Single leg curls (80%): 80/6X5
• Bench press (90%): 170/3X5
• Bent underhand EZ Bar Row: 150/3X5
• Overhead dumbbell press (90%): 50/3X5
• Seated calf (80%): 190/6X5

Short But Intense

The big girl is wondering if the hypertrophy workouts are too short.  Personally, I felt like I got my butt kicked today doing 80% 1RM for five sets per exercise with 45 seconds rest between sets.  It was just hard.

Now, I think she has a bit of a point.  We're doing a small number of exercises.  If we don't do one right, well we're just in trouble.  That's why I've been so focused on the squat analysis.

Here's today's workout:

• Skull crusher (80% 1RM):  85 lbs/7 reps X 3 sets; 85/4X1; 75/3X1; 75/7X1;
• Behind neck pull down (80%): 125/7X5;
• Rear Delt Pec Deck (80%): 70/7X3; 80/7X1; 75/7X1
• Shrug (80%): 65/7X5
• Back extensions: 15X4

Tomorrow, we're on to doing six exercises for multiple sets at 90% of our max effort.  Nancy may be happy that today was a little lighter.