ME bench,7-16-03

[jack]

I'm going to have find a way to jack up my intensity on my max effort work,find a way to be one real nasty SOB,get controlled crazy. Actually my bench has gone down since my son moved back around the first of May and I lost my workout partner. I'm going to get it back one way or the other.

Floor press(med. grip)--warmups,1x3x135,185; 1x1x225,245,265,275(F),275(F);

Pin press(med. grip)--1x3x225,250,275; 1x2x290;

Flat rolling DB extensions--4x12x55;

BB row--1x8x135,145,155,145,145;

DB side raise--1x5x30,35,40; 2x8x30;

Cuff work--rear & front delt thumbs up,zottmans,lower half; 1x20x5 ea.

It's taking me longer to adjust to my new schedule than i thought but come next Wednesday, I'm drinking coffee all afternoon,take calls from telemarketers and check my 401 before I start the workout. That ought to be enough to get me ready .

[Pam]

Would it help if I told you that if you didnt get your butt in gear I was going to kick you ass? You dont want a girl to lift more than you do you? I'll work on finding a way to help you increase your intensity. Maybe you just need a change.

I'm still impressed. I cant believe how much you can use on your tri extentions.

You'll get your intensity back, I promise.

[jack]

A good ass kicking or a slap upside the head wouldn't hurt a thing. Just don't enjoy it to much . My tri work is OK but it's my lats I need to bring up. Cutting back to 4 days per week really put a dent in my lat work. I'm going to give the 4 day workout/week until September to see if it will work and if the results aren't in by then I'm going back to my old schedule and add an extra assistance day for lats and shoulders. Don't hit or kick me to hard .

[mrF]

Y'all,

I may refer to stuff y'all have discussed in the past, but ...

Are you familiar with the intensity cycling as discussed at cns-web.bu.edu/pub/kellyfj/hgfaq.txt ?

There are two concepts I'd like to get your opinion on:

First, the idea that when you hit a max point and can make no further progress, you should take a rest period and then resume at 75 - 85 % of your former max and gradually increment your way back up to and then past that former max.

Second, the idea that sticking points can be delayed by using smaller increments in the later stages of the cycle.

For eg. I went to an industrial hardware store and picked up a bunch of 2" washers. These weigh 12 oz each, so one on each end equals 1.5 lbs. I find that I can do 1.5 lbs when 5 lbs are out of the question.

Peace,

mrF

[Pam]

Jack, I would never slap you upside the head, but I cant promise that I wouldnt enjoy the ass kicking. Next time you bench dont sit there and feel bad because Joe isnt there, get over that (this is my tough act, just go with me here ). Imagine me with you yelling at you and calling you a pu**y for not being able to get that bar up. It might go something like this, "Come on Jack, you can get it!!! You've done it before!!!! Tuck those elbows in!! Concentrate!!! Move that bar and stop being such a @^*(%$# about everything! I want to see a PR and I want it NOW!!!!"

It actually would be a lot better in person. I'd probably cuss a lot more.

You need to have the right attitude to make the 4 days work Jack. I think you went into "knowing" it wouldnt make a difference. Let it work Jack.

[Pam]

Fish, though I dont have time to read the article now let me give you my take on this. Jack is the one that knows more about this stuff than I ever will and is who I go to with all my questions so he may have a better answer for you. Chris would probably be a good one to answer this too. They have both helped me tremendously.

Not sure if this is what you are looking for but the idea behind Westside max effort days is to try to set a PR each time out. You cycle your core lifts every 2-3 weeks (some do every week). Once you stop making gains you switch exericses. This usually happens for me on week three. Then I move on to something else and will go back to that exercise maybe a month or two later. I am usually able to set another PR then. If on week 2 I dont set a new PR then the next week I would change my core lift. I'm not sure if by rest period you meant no lifting, but I think platues can be broken by changing things up rather than actually taking time off.

Anything more technical than that will have to wait for Jack.