back to training - loaded carries

[Justfine]

11 minutes ago, tropo said:

What qualifications do you have? As for me, just 43 years in the dungeon, a couple of personal training courses and gym instructor way back... and a keen interest in exercise physiology and health.

I don't claim to know everything.

[tropo]

11 minutes ago, Justfine said:

I don't claim to know everything.

You asked for my qualifications, I answered your query, what are yours?

 

You're pretty good and one-line trolling, but at least answer the question. There's no need to bring your animosity from other threads.

[Justfine]

Just now, tropo said:

You asked for my qualifications, I answered your query, what are yours?

 

You're pretty good and one-line trolling, but at least answer the question. There's no need to bring your animosity from other threads.

There you go again.

[tropo]

2 minutes ago, Justfine said:

There you go again.

And there you go again...  

[Justfine]

16 minutes ago, tropo said:

And there you go again...  

Righto whatever you say.

[tropo]

1 minute ago, Justfine said:

Righto whatever you say.

I'm sorry - I stuck you on ignore but still got a notification.

[Justfine]

3 minutes ago, tropo said:

I'm sorry - I stuck you on ignore but still got a notification.

That's great.

 

Bye

[watcharacters]

 

 

You've certainly made up for lost time.

 

Did you get an impending diagnosis or something?

 

 

Sorry I never noticed you were missing.

 

[Justfine]

3 minutes ago, hyku1147 said:

For cardio, I like jogging or cycling.

 

I was surprised to discover that volume will cause fatigue much quicker than intensity; consequently I started a 531 program that includes a once every 8 weeks deload week. What I failed to do - and just remedied - was a 2 week active rest period.[I was unaware of being fatigued]

 

After my rest, I resumed deep squats at the pre-rest level. It is important to note that I had achieved a personal 3 rep best before resting. So, now I am using my personal best weight. I am thinking "I hope that the rest did not weaken me." I focused on form, got a belly full of air - then I pumped off 6 reps!

 

That was two days ago. I have no DOMS, and my knees and back feel great.

5 -3-1 is hardcore. Good luck.

[tropo]

43 minutes ago, hyku1147 said:

For cardio, I like jogging or cycling.

 

I was surprised to discover that volume will cause fatigue much quicker than intensity; consequently I started a 531 program that includes a once every 8 weeks deload week. What I failed to do - and just remedied - was a 2 week active rest period.[I was unaware of being fatigued]

 

After my rest, I resumed deep squats at the pre-rest level. It is important to note that I had achieved a personal 3 rep best before resting. So, now I am using my personal best weight. I am thinking "I hope that the rest did not weaken me." I focused on form, got a belly full of air - then I pumped off 6 reps!

 

That was two days ago. I have no DOMS, and my knees and back feel great.

I took 4 days off this week. 3 days straight, then workout day, then rest day... and had the best cardio session for ages. 

 

People are often afraid of rest days - think they're going to go backwards. Many professional athletes will have complete rest days leading up to a competition. Some powerlifters will take a whole week off. Others taper to very light work the week before a race or competition.

 

There are different types of rest days... The ones where you wake up and just can't be bothered, and the planned ones. I do both. There's another one which I rarely do - you start a workout and quit because you're just not feeling up to it, and then, of course, sick days... and then the dreaded injury day off... followed by recovery days. Then there's the "I really don't have time to train today" day off when life's burdens and commitments make it impossible. There are probably some more that I haven't mentioned...

 

I always try to put a positive spin on days off. I think about how good the next workout will be after the break. I think about how beneficial the rest will be for my growth and recovery. Never feel bad about rest days - there's no need to think negatively about something good. Enjoy the break. A lot of people suffer from guilt and anxiety if they take days off - that's no good at all... that's when they've crossed the line and made training an obsession.

 

Disclaimer: Please note that all comments here are my personal opinions and they will differ from person to person.

[Justfine]

 

 

[Justfine]

 

[Justfine]

"I always try to put a positive spin on days off."

 

A simple walk stretches out the back, provides a low intensity cardio exercise and gets the metabolism going.

 

 

[Justfine]

The volume approach is interesting. Aiming for volume on 60% of your 1 rep max makes sense to me. Heavy enough to stress the muscles but light enough to do volume.

[Justfine]

Did another session of bucket walks. Walked longer with less stops. I will stay at 26kgs for 8 sessions then move up to 28kgs. Buckets feel more natural than dumbells.

[Justfine]

56 minutes ago, hyku1147 said:

I am going to add more 60-70 percent volume to my bench.

Ok. See how it goes.

[robblok]

Just to go back to loaded caries ... the semi gloves i bought seem to work. Normal gloves are too thick and make gripping harder. This is not a problem during normal workouts but the handles on my kettebels are thick.

 

Need to clean them from the chalk, they have the option to add more weight. I dont need the chalk anymore those semi gloves seem to do the trick.

[robblok]

3 hours ago, hyku1147 said:

https://www.t-nation.com/training/secret-of-loaded-carries

Im no where near those weights as i go for distance and make sure i do't go full out. Otherwise I would have burned out by now. My take on it after having done them for a while a lot of it is mental. I do 5 1/2 rounds (havent upped it for a while even though i know i can) just because I use them more as cardio - HIIT. I might start to do days with real heavy loads just to see where it gets me. 

 

Just right now I am on a caloric deficit, i doubt its the best idea to go that heavy then. I like the idea of a sled pull.. just worry the locals will blame me for damaging the road. 

[Justfine]

1 hour ago, robblok said:

Im no where near those weights as i go for distance and make sure i do't go full out. Otherwise I would have burned out by now. My take on it after having done them for a while a lot of it is mental. I do 5 1/2 rounds (havent upped it for a while even though i know i can) just because I use them more as cardio - HIIT. I might start to do days with real heavy loads just to see where it gets me. 

 

Just right now I am on a caloric deficit, i doubt its the best idea to go that heavy then. I like the idea of a sled pull.. just worry the locals will blame me for damaging the road. 

How far do u walk before stopping the first time?

[robblok]

44 minutes ago, Justfine said:

How far do u walk before stopping the first time?

Quite far..might be 400-600 meters (not exactly sure on the size of the park round)

 

After that it goes down to 100 meters... and at the end even lower than that. 

 

At first I do 2 full rounds and a bit.. then 1/3 and later maybe 1/2 of a round

Edited May 20, 2018 by robblok

[Justfine]

Yeah good. Im hoping to make it to 400m in 1 go in another 3 weeks with 26kgs.

[robblok]

3 hours ago, Justfine said:

Yeah good. Im hoping to make it to 400m in 1 go in another 3 weeks with 26kgs.

I actually might be able to do more, its often more mental then physical. Anyway I havent measured out the exact distances. Not sure if I am going to add weight as long as I am doing it every day and while I am on caloric restrictions.

[robblok]

Actually just walked it with my dog... counted the houses (i know how wide the houses are).

 

2 sides of 80 meters and 2 of 50 so one round is 260, first time I do 2 rounds and 1/3 would make it around 600 meters or so. 

 

Its a bit far actually, but after that it just drops a lot and then its doing more what it is meant to do. 

 

Do you just pace ? how long is your way (that you can go before you have to turn around)

[tropo]

10 hours ago, robblok said:

Just to go back to loaded caries ... the semi gloves i bought seem to work. Normal gloves are too thick and make gripping harder. This is not a problem during normal workouts but the handles on my kettebels are thick.

 

Need to clean them from the chalk, they have the option to add more weight. I dont need the chalk anymore those semi gloves seem to do the trick.

3

Maybe this could be helpful - just a thought.

 

Attach your powerhooks to your regular DB's, then use single cable handles looped over the top of the powerhooks. This way you get to hold regular bar width, knurled handles and the DB's swing free about halfway between knee and mid-calf. I tried farmer walking with my 70lb DB's and they don't touch the legs at all. This is what I use for holding DB's for single leg calf raises and DB shrugs, but I think you may like it for farmers walks. It's a lot better than just holding a DB handle as the position is more comfortable and you don't have to bend right down to the floor to pick them up. You can hang your arms straight down with no interference (touching) to your legs. You also have easy adjustment up to about 120 lbs each with the DBs. (I think your maximum DB is 120lbs).

Edited May 20, 2018 by tropo

[robblok]

9 minutes ago, tropo said:

Maybe this could be helpful - just a thought.

 

Attach your powerhooks to your regular DB's, then use single cable handles looped over the top of the powerhooks. This way you get to hold regular bar width, knurled handles and the DB's swing free about halfway between knee and mid-calf. I tried farmer walking with my 70lb DB's and they don't touch the legs at all. This is what I use for holding DB's for single leg calf raises and DB shrugs, but I think you may like it for farmers walks. It's a lot better than just holding a DB handle as the position is more comfortable and you don't have to bend right down to the floor to pick them up. You can hang your arms straight down with no interference (touching) to your legs. You also have easy adjustment up to about 120 lbs each with the DBs. (I think your maximum DB is 120lbs).

That might actually be a good idea, today i tried the new gloves (not really gloves) and it worked actually quite well. I can load these kettle bells as much up as the dumbbells 120 lbs (will not need it for sure). I actually cleaned the kettlebells after i took the picture because i think i might not need chalk anymore. Tomorrow we will see, today was a bit of an off day. I had slept real bad was a bit sick so I gave up after 3 rounds. 

 

You can advise me on something else though.. i want to increase leg exercises, right now I am doing lunges and back squats, would you suggest anything else (beside the obvious calf muscles). 

 

An other thing i came across reading was that actually only your last set or your full out set is the one that gives your muscles growth. Is it then needed to do 4 sets ?  I mean why not ramp it up right away to something that is heavy and hard. 

[tropo]

13 hours ago, hyku1147 said:

I am going to add more 60-70 percent volume to my bench.

I did a long trial (about 8 weeks) with the German Volume Training back in 2013. I got nothing at all from it apart from some overtraining injuries and burn out. No strength increase (I dropped strength because I was using less weight), no size increase - nothing.

 

That was a time when I was really interested in gains, so I was rather disappointed. I had high hopes at the time.

 

I've seen results of some studies that were done comparing volume training to more standard methods, and it didn't fare very well. If I can find them I'll come back here and post them.

Edited May 20, 2018 by tropo

[robblok]

5 minutes ago, tropo said:

I did a long trial (about 8 weeks) with the German Volume Training back in 2013. I got nothing at all from it apart from some overtraining injuries and burn out. No strength increase (I dropped strength because I was using less weight), no size increase - nothing.

 

That was a time where I was really interested in gains, so I was rather disappointed.

 

I've seen results of some studies that were done comparing volume training to more standard methods, and it didn't fare very well. If I can find them I'll come back here and post them.

I did German volume training... i like bench press.... but it was just too much (boring). I completed the program was not really impressed. 

[tropo]

24 minutes ago, robblok said:

That might actually be a good idea, today i tried the new gloves (not really gloves) and it worked actually quite well. I can load these kettle bells as much up as the dumbbells 120 lbs (will not need it for sure). I actually cleaned the kettlebells after i took the picture because i think i might not need chalk anymore. Tomorrow we will see, today was a bit of an off day. I had slept real bad was a bit sick so I gave up after 3 rounds. 

 

You can advise me on something else though.. i want to increase leg exercises, right now I am doing lunges and back squats, would you suggest anything else (beside the obvious calf muscles). 

 

An other thing i came across reading was that actually only your last set or your full out set is the one that gives your muscles growth. Is it then needed to do 4 sets ?  I mean why not ramp it up right away to something that is heavy and hard. 

I've always believed it's your last 2 sets where you get all your strength gains and muscle growth... but you need warmup sets to get you there. That's the way Dorian Yates used to train. Just count the first 2 - 3 sets as lead-up sets to prepare you for the big one, or two. It is very important to get the body and mind prepared for the heavy sets. If you're training this way, be sure that your leadup sets are comfortable and easy, stopping well short of your limit.

 

Regarding extra leg exercises to do at home. You could add front squats that target your quads more vs back squats. Step-ups with weights is a good one. Just think, when you step-up you're pushing/pulling your entire body weight with one leg. If you squat 100kg (assuming you weigh 100kg), each leg is pushing 100kg (not quite because we're not pushing much of our body weight below the knees). If you step up with no extra bodyweight, each leg is still pushing exactly 100kg... then if you add say 20kg each arm, that's 140kg each leg. With step-ups you can also adjust the height to suit your goals. If you want more quad strength, step lower. If you want to work the glutes more, step high. You get a lot of leg stimulus with far less load on your spine too - another big advantage. Unfortunately for me, it's hard on the knees. It's actually the stepping down that is more difficult than going up.

Edited May 20, 2018 by tropo

[Justfine]

8 hours ago, robblok said:

Actually just walked it with my dog... counted the houses (i know how wide the houses are).

 

2 sides of 80 meters and 2 of 50 so one round is 260, first time I do 2 rounds and 1/3 would make it around 600 meters or so. 

 

Its a bit far actually, but after that it just drops a lot and then its doing more what it is meant to do. 

 

Do you just pace ? how long is your way (that you can go before you have to turn around)

Doing 40m laps. Have to slow down on the turns. Havent walked to exhaustion as I want to train arms after. But my goal will be 400m non stop and 600m overall then move up in weight. 

[Justfine]

8 hours ago, robblok said:

I did German volume training... i like bench press.... but it was just too much (boring). I completed the program was not really impressed. 

10 sets is extreme. I think 5 to 6 is the go.

 

When the guy talks about volume in video he's not talking about extreme volume. He's talking about measuring how much you do then going up in an orderly way. If you are lifting 60 to 70% for 5 or 6 sets to exhaustion you will be tanked already. Anymore would be over training. If you want to go heavy at 80 to 90% then 3 sets at that level and 3 more at 60 to 70% creates volume. Anymore would be too much.

 

Lets say your 1 rep max is 100kgs. Do a warm up at 50kgs for 10 reps. Then 3 sets at say 85kgs to exhaustion or near then 3 sets at 65kgs to exhaustion or near. Out of the 6 sets I would do 4 to exhaustion rather than all 6. Say 2 in the heavy range and 2 in the lighter range.

 

Now if the total volume is 4000kgs one week the goal might be 4100kgs next week. After 10 weeks you are moving an extra 25%.

 

That way you don't overtrain and have energy for multiple exercises same day.

Edited May 20, 2018 by Justfine