Steve the Geek wrote:
> My background: A computer geek by trade who sits on his ass all day. I'm
> currently on Weight Watchers with the wife. My total weight has dropped
> from 225 lbs to 185 in the past fourteen weeks. It's been sweet to give
> away a forty-inch waist pair of jeans to fit into a 35-inch waist. Pity
> it can't add height to my five-foot-seven frame.
>
> Of course, this also means I've lost muscle mass, so it's time to
> reverse that. I'm not looking to be a power-lifter or body-builder - I
> definitely don't have the freakish genetics for it - but simply want to
> put the muscle back in place. If I burn off fat in the process, that's a
> bonus.
Are you at your goal weight or bodyfat percentage?
What equipment do you have access to?
Building muscle while dieting is difficult for mere
mortals. It would be better if you were on maintenance
or even willing to add a bit of fat in the name of
better muscle building progress.
If you have time to read them, I can pass along what
I think are some excellent e-books, but I'll need a
real e-mail address. Otherwise you can grab them
via bit torrent. They are: Beyond Brawn and the
companion technique book, and Burn the Fat, Feed the
Muscle.
> ANYway. Here's my routine and shitty numbers after two sessions (all
> weights in US pounds):
>
> Lift Weight Reps (completed each set)
> Front Squat 55 8 & 8
> Bench Press 95 6 & 7
> Good Mornings 20 8 & 8
> Full Squat 115 5 & 6
> Dumbbell Row 30 8 & 8
>
> Once I can do two sets of eight, the weight goes up by 5 lbs or 5%,
> whichever is greater. I've got 1.25-pound and 3-pound plates too if I
> need them for smaller changes.
It's good you have little plates.
Some people progress better using fixed rep targets
and little plates that produce small weight increases
as opposed to working through a rep range. Experiment
with both techniques (fixed reps with the smallest possible
weight increases, and a rep range with larger weight increases)
over time to see if one or the other produces better results.
> Squats have -always- been my weakest lift by far and bench press my
> strongest.
That means you may be better structured for deadlifting
than squatting. Further, you don't need to squat super
low either.
> Who knows why, but I can always pound out a decent bench
> press (for an untrained lifter) regardless of fitness level.
Some of it might be motivation and technique.
> In past lifting cycles I've noticed my form in the full squat has been
> terrible.
That's what I mean. It takes motivation to spend
the time to develop consistent grooves in the three
powerlifts. The bench groove develops first because
the motivation is there (you spend more time on it).
> The front squats are are for me a lot easier to keep good
> form, and while I've noticed a negatives on the weight of ass-to-grass
> conventional squatting, my form in them is a -hell- of a lot better.
You didn't mention your age.
I don't believe that super deep squatting is necessary
or particularly safe in the long term. Try squatting
to where the tops of your thighs are a little less than
parallel to the ground, and deadlifts from just below
the knees. And set the reps per set at 20 with a 3/3
or 4/4 cadence (slow enough to be smooth in both directions).
> Until I have the back strength I'm shying away from deadlifts.
You're doing front squats, back squats, and good mornings.
You don't mention your workout frequency (how many workouts
per week), but as far as I'm concerned you're doing too
many exercises that involve the lower back as it is.
The good mornings are especially troubling. If you were
doing barbell bent rows that would mean even more lower
back stress per week.
> It's been
> my experience that as soon as I blow my form I blow out my back - which
> leads to time off, which leads to permanent time off.
The same thing is even more likely to happen with good mornings
as soon as the weight becomes substantial.
> The other question I have is, are the squats enough leg work on their
> own, where they feel to me like they hit two different parts of the legs?
In general, I like to combine squats with something that
hits the hamstrings more directly and some calf work.
Again, I don't know what equipment you have access to.
With just the basics you can squat for the quads, do
stiff legged deadlifts (especially the lower half of
the movement) for the hams, and one legged calf raises with
a dumbbell for calves.
> Any suggestions on the lifts themselves - what to add or remove, or even
> if the methods are sound - would be greatly appreciated.
Lose the good mornings first of all.
Rework the routine to hit more bodyparts with the
same number of exercises. Put together two or three
routines that alternate through the week. Decide
whether you're going to train 2 or 3 times a week.
I recommend twice a week. The 5 key exercises are
the 3 powerlifts, a lat movement (pulldown, chin or row)
and the overhead press. Make sure all of those are
trained intensively once per week. I like your 2 work
sets per exercise arrangement; however, I'd up the
reps per set on squats, deadlifts and calf work to
20 (15-20 if you prefer a rep range). So, for example,
two 5-exercise routines in one week might look something
like this:
A 10-minute aerobic warmup if you feel you need it.
1. Squat one day and deadlift the next. Deadlifts can
alternate between bent leg and stiff leg.
2. Calf work one day and ab work the next. Ab work can
be moved to the end of the workout if you feel that it
is effecting core strength in other movements.
3. Bench one day and dips the next.
4. Row one day and chin or pulldown the next.
5. Overhead press one day and shrug the next.
Use warm up sets as necessary, rest between sets as necessary
(don't rush), and perform 2-3 work sets per exercise. Apply
enough intensity (effort) and volume (sets) to feel as though
you taxed yourself. Eat something 90 minutes before training
and again as soon as you're through. Go to bed early enough
to where you wake up naturally rather than through the use
of an alarm. Eat as much as you can without gaining fat.
Don't go nuts with the protein, but don't skimp on it either.
Try different meal frequencies to see what works best. For
example, I've tried everything from the warrior-style diet
(one little meal and one big meal per day) to six meals per
day. For me, 2 meals works well when I'm limiting carbs, and
6 meals works best when carbs are up. Drink plenty of water.
If you think it'll help, take a multi-vitamin/multi-mineral
supplement daily. The large tablets usually have a line in
the middle so that you can break the tablet in half. If yours
is like that, break it in half, take half with your first meal
of the day and half with your last meal of the day. And chew
it so there's no chance of it passing through undigested.
Keep a journal (training, nutrition and anything else that might
be useful down the road like hours slept, unusual emotions,
temptations, cravings, waking body temperature, etc.).
That's about it in summary form. There's more detail in the
books I mentioned. What's here is but one interpretation.
Good luck,
Bill Eitner
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