Weight Lifting

I have just completed 6 weeks of doing a Power Hypertrophy Upper Lower (P.H.U.L.) Workout and was very pleased with the results.

I’d probably classify myself as an intermediate lifter - I’ve been lifting consistently for about 3 years and concentrate on strength-based routines grounded in the big compound lifts of squats, deadlifts, bench press and shoulder press.

I started the program in Sept after maintaining a pretty lean weight over the summer, and planned to use P.H.U.L as my first bulking period. I’m 5'10" tall and 39 years old and on day one I tipped the scales at 162lb. Today I weighed in at 175lb for a gain of 13lb. Not bad.

In January I wrote down a few goals that I wanted to reach this year. Among them were my lifting goals of 225lb bench press, 225lb squat, 315lb deadlift.

Today I pulled 315lb for 3 reps on the deadlift, and 225lb for 5 reps in the squat. Unfortunately my bench press is lagging way back at 185lb but I’m hoping that I’ll get it to 200lb by the end of the year.

I recently watched two interesting documentaries/instructional films about bodybuilding. Now, I’m certainly no bodybuilder but I feel that there’s a lot that I can learn from the bodybuilding community.

The first was Layne Norton’s UNLEASHED, and the other was Ronnie Coleman’s The Cost of Redemption.

Layne Norton was eloquent, educated and entertaining to watch. He takes a science-based approach to his diet and workouts, and he appears healthy, strong and vibrant. At the end of the film I was convinced that I should try some variant of his Power/Hypertrophy workout at some point in the future and I particularly liked his approach to bulking which includes a short cut cycle every few weeks paired with a whole-food diet.

On Monday, I had a humbling experience - I got stuck under the bar on the bench press. I workout in the early morning so there aren’t usually a lot of people around, but fortunately one of the other pre-dawn regulars jumped in and helped out.

I got off lightly; my pride is the only thing that was injured.

I am currently working through a version of The Texas Method which involves varying volume and intensity throughout the week, with a personal record (PR) attempt on Friday. I had decided that I’d go for 5 rep max’s rather than 1RM but I got into trouble on the 3rd rep. A part of me thinks I shouldn’t have attempted the 3rd rep, but on the other hand I know that the only way to progress is to relentlessly push forward.

If you listen to the bodybuilding community, you’d be convinced that you need to eat shitloads of meat every day in order to put on muscle.

It’s a myth.

There’s nothing special about meat - it’s protein, not steriods. And you can get plenty of protein from non-animal sources like vegetables and quinoa.

If you want to build muscle then get your ass in the gym and start lifting heavy weights. It’s that simple. The harder you work, the more muscle you’ll pack on.

Lifting taught me two lessons today.

My logbook said that my previous lift on the Incline Bench was 150lb (that’s 105lb on the bar), and today I decided to go for 155lb so I put a 45, a 10 and a 5 on each side.

I unracked and pushed out 3 reps, but it felt really heavy and the last rep was very slow. A little confused, I checked the weight and realised that I’d loaded 120lb on the bar for a 165lb lift.

You load up the bar, step back, and stare down at it, thinking, “I’m gonna lift you”. You take a few deep breaths, step forward and adjust your stance, then bend down and grip the bar.

You straighten your back, apply some tension and then … GO! But there’s a fraction of a second, just a moment, when nothing happens; the bar doesn’t budge; your veins are popping; and your mind is screaming, “Move, you fucker!”

An article on The Greatist by JC Deen titled “common workout mistakes” lists combining cardio and strength training as a mistake.

This is incorrect according to this study done at the University of Wisconsin - Madison. In fact, they found that combining endurance training and strength training in the same session yielded the benefits of both.

The subjects showed improved strength similar to those that did only strength training, and improved endurance similar to those that did only cardio.