Journal - Andy Sines (Mached)

[Mached]

Well, I figured that I'd start a journal. Before I get into it, I probably should give some background info. I turn 30 in April '09 and I've been lifting since '97 when I graduated high school (going on 12 years). I'm a lifetime nattie, so hopefully this journal can give some insight for those of you who plan to do the same.

I graduated high school around 175 lbs. I was a fairly decent athlete....placed in the PA State Wrestling Championships and also won a State Championship in Track & Field (Discus). I was naturally strong, but lean & "lanky". I started lifting to prepare for collegiate wrestling. I think the very first time I stepped foot in the gym I had to see "what I could bench" (surprising, huh?) I think I put up 245 lbs. Anyway, when I went to college to wrestle, I had to juggle an hour commute, 18 Engineering credits, and long wrestling practices. I soon realized I had to give 1 of the three up....and the choice was obvious. So, without wrestling, I decided to focus to weightlifting.

By the time I graduated college (2001), I was around 215 lbs and had a raw bench of probably close to 400 lbs. I dabbled in the traditional volume routines, but I never trained legs and didn't attempt heavy back work. Sounds like most people, right? Well, after college I started to really do some research on diet. I had no clue up to this point what it took diet-wise. I trained my butt offf.....but my diet was absolute crap. After few years of fairly serious training & diet, I was starting to make some nice progress....even though most of my "knowledge" came from experimentation and a severe lack of long term plan.

Sometime in the spring of 2005 (while weighing around 230 lbs) I stumbled across DC training. I was hooked. Everything started finally making sense.

So, in a nutshell, I've been DC Training since the spring of 2005. I've come a LONG way......in terms of physical size, body composition, and poundages.

I'll try and update this thread as often as possible. I can't promise continual updates, but I'll do my best.

[Mached]

Last December (2007), I was up around 270 lbs. Due to my brillant idea of neglecting cardio work, I was reaching an undesirable bodyfat level. So, for the first time ever, I decided to go on a 'cut". I adjusted my diet as I went and learned some valuable lessons along the way. By May of 2008 I was down around 225 lbs, but I over did it with both the cardio and diet and ended up depleted. Lesson learned. Here's a PDF file of my progress photos.

[Mached]

Since May, I've regained everything I lost and even added some since. I took some photos in August at a bodyweight of 251 lbs:

[Mached]

Here's a few recent videos:

Deep squats, 440x5
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AFgHSKlBCs

Deep squats, 325x20
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=op0hbvvErnE

Flat DB Benchpress, 130x12
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O51Rt6pGy0o

[Mached]

I plan on continuing with my offseason mass gain for another few months. Then I'll get back into the diet-mode and take it slow.

[Mached]

Last night (11-20-08) was my bicep/forearm/calf/hams/quad split.

Biceps - straight BB curls - 115x21RP
I've recently backed down the weight on these since my form was starting to get sloppy. I'm sure a little "english" isn't terrible for these, but I wanted to establish a new baseline. Nice strict set, no rocking.

Forearms - cable reverse grip straight bar curls - 85x15SS
I will probably be switching these soon.....they are getting hard to hold onto.....the weight basically rests on your thumbs. I'll either start using straps to relieve the weight or go to hammer curls or something.

Calves - Cybex double leg raises (non-DC scheme)
Once again these were done with a 50-60RP set. The main thing is to keep the tension on the calves for as much as possible. Intermittent foot placement readjustments are always needed, but only when necessary. These burn like crazy. If a "rest" is needed during a set, I try to make sure that it's at the bottom of the rep so that I'm at least still under tension......although this doesn't end up being much of a "rest"!

Hams - good mornings - experimental weight
I'm going to give these another go. I've always had lower back recovery issues so I was trying to stay away from these, but I've discovered that by using lighter weight, your hamstrings are more prone to do the pulling. When heavy weight is used, my lower back ends up taking over. This makes tracking progression a little more difficult since adding weight is my primary goal here.

Quads - deep squats - 440x6 & 330x20
Great sets here....both PR's. Still more lower back involvement in the first set, but not as much as last time. Both sets done barefoot....felt good.

[Mached]

I'm fresh off a 1.5 week cruise (break).

Nice workout last night....it felt good to get back into it. My split was biceps, forearms, calves, hams, quads.

During my last blast, before I decided to go on a 10 day cruise, I had already figured out the weights / reps for the next 2 weeks in the cycle. Usually when I take a cruise and start blasting again I scrap these previous plans and back off the weight slightly to start off.

That didn't happen last night.....it was almost as if I never even took any time off.

The one exercise that I should've backed off slightly is 13" Box Squats. I ended up getting my goal, (385x7) but the reps weren't pretty. I'm probably going to take off 15 lbs or so and see if I can clean them up a bit for next time.

My widowmaker for 13" Box Squats was brutal though (265x20....not the greatest, but these things are extremely difficult!). I had to start doing singles at rep 6........yeah......rep 6! By 10 I was ready to die. I managed to get 20 though. After it was over I laid on the floor for a good 5 minutes trying to figure out where I was at! (well, not quite, but pretty close!)

All in all it was a pretty good workout.

[Mached]

Good workout last night - split was chest/shoulders/triceps/back width/ back thick. This was my first time doing this split since my 10 day cruise, so I was expecting to drop somewhat in weight or reps for all exercises.

On a side note.....my MP3 player wasn't charged...so I was forced to listen to the crappy stuff on the gym radio. This might not sound like a big deal, but for me, I need that extra edge for intensity!

Chest - Incline BB Press
Started off fantastic. Goal was 305x15-20 RP....ended up with 16 or 17. This was more than what I got at the end of my last blast.....with a 10 day cruise in between! Also, I believe it's a PR as well. I felt REAL strong on these. I actually tried warming up by working up to a heavy single (not a 1 rep max or anything)...I threw up 365 like it was nothing. I then proceed with my regular working set. I bet I could press 405 on the incline right now.

Shoulders - Smythe Front Press
This went ok. I dropped a little bit.....I got 215x12 or so....i was shooting for 15-20.

Triceps - Close Grip BB Press
Another PR and increase from last workout. Goal was 270x16 RP....I ended up with 16 or 17. HERE'S SOME ADVICE - try using wrist wraps for both close grip and reverse grip presses. This allows a much more stable grip. For close grip, I can now keep my thumbs "less wrapped" and get a better push with my triceps. They feel even better than they did before.

Back Width - Lat Pulldowns
This was also more than my last blast and I think it was also a PR. The goal was 19 plates (I think 12 lbs plates = 228) x 15-20 RP....i think I got 16 total. Extremely strict form on these.....it felt great.

Back Thickness - Floor Deads (Conventional stance)
This was the downer for the evening. During my last blast, I reached 505x6 SS for my first heavy set. However, the main reason for my last cruise was that my lower was taking a severe beating.....both from the heavy poundages I was using and some sloppy form that I shouldn't have allowed myself to get away with (particularly with squats). So, the 10 day cruise allowed my back to finally recover and heal. I first tried 495x4-6 SS....I only got 2, which sucked. I then bumped it down to 475 to get a few more heavy reps......I ended up getting 3. So, I then just bumped it the whole way down to 405 for my lighter set (which I go for 7-10 SS) and ended up getting 8. The form was perfect on all of these reps, which is the bright side. As long as I saty injury-free, I will be happy.

So, the overall workout was a success, but it could've been better.

[Mached]

I suck at keeping this journal up-to-date. I keep a pretty good logbook so it's almost like doing it twice.

I doubt that anyone cares (based on the 0 replies) but I think what I'll do is just randomly post training highlights....PR's, photos, videos, etc. I'm too short on time with my line of work to do a journal entry after each workout.

Thanks to the couple people that read this so far.....I promise I'll check back in once in awhile! Thanks!

[Cronos1247]

Damn, crazy lifts. I wish I had started a lot earlier, I've only been at it for about 10 months or so, maybe a year. I was always after weight loss, only recently I've shifted over to trying to add mass after realizing that underneath all the weight I had put on, there was very little lean mass.

What's your diet like right now? I like seeing what other people who over 6'2" with a larger sized frame do, all those people that are 5'10", etc have it on easy street as far as putting on quality mass or re-shaping themselves.

[Mached]

Originally Posted by Cronos1247

Damn, crazy lifts. I wish I had started a lot earlier, I've only been at it for about 10 months or so, maybe a year. I was always after weight loss, only recently I've shifted over to trying to add mass after realizing that underneath all the weight I had put on, there was very little lean mass.

What's your diet like right now? I like seeing what other people who over 6'2" with a larger sized frame do, all those people that are 5'10", etc have it on easy street as far as putting on quality mass or re-shaping themselves.

Diet......well, pretty simple:
- I don't count calories....it drives me nuts...but I'm probably in the 4000 per day range
- Eat 5-6 meals per day (meals.....not snacks....meals)
- 1.0-1.5 grams of protien per pound of bodyweight, evenly distribute throughout day
- lots of quality carbs centered around earlier in the day OR after weight training
- healthly fats in the PM
- low intensity cardio 3-4 days per week

[Mached]

NOTE:

I am updating this journal by copying and pasting it from my other journal over at IM (user = 5spotbullseye)......that's why many of the following posts were made on the same day.

Just wanted to clear up the confusion.

Check out some of the progress so far!


Workout summary from 12/29/08:

I'm going off of memory here since I don't have my logbook handy. Tonight's highlight was definately quads.....I smoked them.

Biceps - Incline DB Curls - 60x15 RP
These hit the biceps like no other exercise I've ever done.

Forearms - Reverse Grip EZ Bar Curls - 65x15 SS
Not a big fan of these, but I got through it. I need to find some better quality forearms exercises.

Calves - Smythe DC Raises - 205x13 SS
Very difficult and painful. I have a heck of a time keeping my feet from sliding off the edge of the box I'm standing on.

Hams - Leg Curls - 16PL (192 lbs) x 20 RP
Nice set. As usual, the stretching is almost unbearable. My hams are SOOO tight.

Quads - Deep Squats - 425x8 SS, 320x20 SS
Great form on these....finally. The only downfall is that after the initial working set I realized that I probably could've gotten a rep or two more. I completed the set with so much ease that it caught me off-guard and I racked it once I hit 8. Anyway, next time I'll be moving up to where I was before....only this time I'll be using better form. The widowmaker was the same story.....the 20 reps weren't easy, but I did continuous reps until about 11 or so......and finished with doubles from there on out. That never happens. Like I said though, next time around I'll be bumping these up.

[Mached]

I have to go from memory here again.

Summary of Wednesday's workout (12/31/08):

Chest - Incline Press - 315x12 SS
Once again, feeling strong on my chest exercise.

Shoulders - Front Smythe Press - ?? 205x15-20 RP ??
I can't remember the specific weight / reps, but I hit my goal.

Triceps - Close Grip BB Press - 295x13 RP
Good set.....kept bar 2" from chest at bottom and controlled weight on decent. Soon I'll be using 3 plates per side....

Back Width - Lat Pulldowns - 19PL(228 lbs)x17 RP
Decent set....biceps are starting to get involved a little too much. I did a few partials after my RP set....these really seemed to give me a little extra overload.

Back Thickness - Floor Deads (conventional stance) - 505x6 SS, 455x8 SS
This weight EXPLODED off the floor......best set of floor deads for me ever. I'll be jumping at least 15-20 lbs up for next workout. On my way to 6 plates / side......

Saturday is my next workout.....back to a normal schedule without the holidays. My wife & I are going out to breakfast with her family to a local Mennonite restaurant.....lots of good food for preworkout!

[Mached]

Saturday's workout went good....didn't feel the greatest, but I beat the logbook. (See above...we went out to eat prior to me training....slightly too much food!)

The exciting part of the weekend was the results of my progress photos. Now if you read the beginning part of this journal, you'll see that last December I weighed in at 265 lbs....my heaviest ever. I reached that weight with no cardio (mistake) and decided to cut down. Anyway, after the cut, from which I overly-depleted myself, I weighed around 225 lbs. I started gaining mass again sometime around August. My training / poundages has exploded ever since.....and I've implemented 3-4 days of low intensity cardio per week.

Last night I weighed in at 264 lbs. So, I figured it would be a perfect opportunity to take some progress photos and compare to last December. The lighting isn't the greatest, but it's the best I could do. Now, maybe I'm biased, but I feel that I made nice gains. I honestly think that I'm at least 5% leaner.....which translates to a 13 pound lean mass gain. For me....as nattie.....this is pretty decent I think. What do you guys think:

Last December (2007) - Rear Double Bicep


Last night (Jan 4, 2009) - Rear Double Bicep


Last December (2007) - Front Double Bicep


Last night (Jan 4, 2009) - Front Double Bicep

[Mached]

Summary of workout from 1/6/09:

Chest - Flat DB Press
LT: 145x15 RP
TT: 145x16 RP
Slowly climbing on these......soon I'll be hitting that 150 milestone.

Shoulders - DB Press
LT: 90x20 RP
TT: 90x18 RP
I have no idea what happened on these. I felt strong going in. Maybe last time was sloppy or something, I don't know. I'm going to give it another shot next time and see how it goes.

Triceps - Skullcrushers
LT: 120x19 RP
TT: 130x15 RP
Triceps were hit abnormally hard this time around. I don't know if I stretched more effectively or something, but they feel real good.

Back Width - Rack Chins
LT: 85x15 RP
TT: 85x16 RP
I need to lower the weight and reset my form. My biceps are taking over. Also, the smythe rack isn't wide enough for my liking. I might try and grip outside the rack hooks next time and see how that feels. I'm going to also incorporate slight pauses at the bottom and top portion of the movement.

Back Thickness - Sumo Floor Deads
LT: 495x4 SS, 430x8 SS
TT: 495x6 SS, 430x8 SS
I felt extremely strong on these again. I'll be bumping these up next time.

[Mached]

Summary of workout 1/8/09

Split - bicep / forearm / calves / hams / quads

Biceps - Supinated Preacher DB Curls
LT: 60x16 RP
TT: 60x17 RP
I experimented with getting more of a twisting motion towards the top. Seemed to work a little better. The bottom portion of the movement hits the forearms pretty hard. I've been trying to find an exercise that mimicks incline DB curls.....I love them.

Forearms - Hammer DB Preacher Curls
LT: 40x14 SS
TT: 45x12 SS
Nothing special here.......made sure to use my forearms to raise the weight.

Calves - Standing Cybex Raises
LT: 160x53 RP
TT: 250x12 SS (DC Style), 250x15 SS (short pause)
Once again.....mixing it up with calves. I did the standard DC protocol for the first set. I then used the same weight and pumped out 15 reps with only a short pause at the bottom. Also, I used he same weight and got into a DEEP stretch for 1:00. This was the most painful stretch I've ever done. My calves were hit HARD.......obviously. I need something to spark growth with these things.

Hams - Single Leg Curls
LT: 7PL(84 lbs)x24 RP
TT: 8PL(96 lbs)x20 RP
Nothing special here.........stretched afterwards were killer as usual.

Quads - Smythe Back Squats (w/ feet close & forward)
LT: 405x6 SS & 295x20 SS
TT: 425x6 SS & 315x15 SS*
Nice jump here. The initial set felt GREAT. These are right in line weight-wise with my regular deep squats. Although, these hit my quads SO much harder. The widowmaker kinda screwed me up. Since it's in a smythe machine, I didn't notice that I had an extra 45 on the one side for my first 5 reps. I figured it out and mustered 15 reps with the correct weight. I knew something was up when I hit reps 2 and thought uh-oh!

Overall this was a good workout. This saturday's workout will be the end of week 6 of this blast. I'm feeling great so far. Hopefully I can get my usual 8-10 weeks out of it. Most likely after my next blast I will begin my fat loss phase for a few months. Hopefully I can reach 270-275 lbs by the end of the blast.

[Mached]

Belated workout summary for 1/10/09:

Chest - Incline DB Press
LT: 130x16RP
TT: 130x17RP
I think this is a PR. Slowly climbing higher & higher.....

Shoulders - Rear Faced Smythe Press
LT: 140x19RP
TT: 150x16RP
For those of you who haven't tried these.....you're missing out! Extremely hard though, as you can see. I feel like a pansy, but I'm progressing.

Triceps - Rack Reverse Grip Press
LT: 305x12RP
TT: 305x12RP
I didn't beat it......one more try next time before I scrap it. I've been climbing on these for awhile now. Hopefully next time I can continue.

Back Width - Wide Grip Pullups
LT: ---
TT: 0x15RP
I reset my form on these. I make sure to get a brief pause at the top and also a longer stretch at the bottom. This makes it almost impossible to cheat. They felt great.

Back Thickness - Rack Deads w/ bar 3" below knee
LT: 510x5SS & 460x7SS
TT: 535x4SS & 485x7SS
I destroyed these today. Another PR. I've pulled more on rack deads, but the low setting subtracts a TON of weight.....near 100 lbs. Fantastic sets here.

[Mached]

UNBELIEVABLE WORKOUT LAST NIGHT (1-13-09)! Quads in particular.

Biceps - Incline DB Curls
LT: 50x19 RP
TT: 55x15 RP
My favorite bicep exercise.....hit 'em real hard.

Forearms - Reverse Grip EZ Bar Curls
LT: 65x15 SS
TT: 75x15 SS

Calves - Cybex Raises
LT: 205x13 SS
TT: 205x14 SS
I've started incorporating a 1:30 stretch at the end for additional TUT. Seems to be making a difference so far.

Hams - Leg Curls
LT: 16PLx20 RP
TT: 16PLx21 RP

Quads - Deep Squats
LT: 425x8 SS, 320x20 SS
TT: 440x8 SS, 330x20 SS
PR! By 3 reps! Not only that......the last time I tried 440 I got 5 reps (which was one of my youtube videos posted at the beginning of this thread) and my form was suspect.....lot's of lower back involvement. Last night, I SMOKED those 8 reps......perfect form, great depth, etc. I can't believe how strong I felt on these. The widowmaker was also a PR. Needless to say, my quads were fried afterwards. Maybe in 2 weeks when I try these again I'll take a video for ISOM.....most likely 460x6-8 reps.

[Mached]

Decent workout last night (1-15-09). I don't have my logbook so I'll just list the highlights that I can remember.

Chest - Incline BB Press - 315x13 RP
I got 9 on the first set, which is a PR. The second miniset I did not wait long enough....much too quick.....I think I got 3. After the last set, I failed to get it back up to the hooks, so I had to let it rest low on the safety pins (in rack). Instead of taking the weight off and lifting it back up, I stupidly tried to press from the low postion and only got 1 rep. So, I ended up tying my last workout, but I know it would've had 1-2 more reps if I wasn't so dumb.

Shoulders - Smythe Front Overhead Press - 210x15 RP
Nothing special here

Triceps - Reverse Grip Rack Press - 295x13 RP
Tied my last workout.....no excuses.....just didn't reach the goal.

Back Width - Lat Pulldowns - 20PL(240 lbs)x15 RP
Nothing special here

Back Thick. - Floor Deads (Conv. Stance) - 525x5 SS, 475x7 SS
PR! The last rep of the first set was a little sloppy, but otherwise it felt great. 60 more pounds until 6 plates per side (585 lbs)!

[Mached]

A side note......

These last few weeks have been AWESOME in terms of gains. My bodyweight right now is sitting in the mid 260's at a bf% of low to mid teens. I may prolong my diet until the beginning of March or April to take advantage of this recent progression.

[Mached]

Man.....is this journal THAT boring that I have 1 response?

lol

[amc11890]

wow insane lifts and size! keep it up, im considering switching to DC, just gotta do some research on it, i have always been a fan of progressive overload.

[Mached]

Originally Posted by amc11890

wow insane lifts and size! keep it up, im considering switching to DC, just gotta do some research on it, i have always been a fan of progressive overload.

Here's a few notes that I jotted down awhile ago....it might help.

DC Training


Basic Workout Schedule
You lift 3 days a week with a 2 way split (train half your body one day, the other half another day). Only 1 exercise is performed for each muscle group on the day that it’s trained. (Yes, it’s hard to grasp at first, but until you try it and see the progress, you probably won’t be convinced. Just give it a shot!) Always try to make sure to have at least one day off in between workouts. For example, on Monday, you work:

SPLIT A:
Chest
Shoulders
Triceps
Back Width
Back Thickness
(in that order!!!)

Wedensday you would work:

SPLIT B
Biceps
Forearms
Abs
Calves
Hamstrings
Quads
(in that order!!!)

Friday would be Split A again, the following week starts off with Split B, and the cycle continues. So, in essence, one week a muscle gets trained once, the next week it gets trained twice, but there’s always 4-5 days between training sessions for a muscle. This is the reasoning that only 1 exercise is done…..to allow proper recovery so that it can be trained more frequently.

Each split has three different variations…..the same basic layout remains, but different exercises are used for the muscle. So, you’ll have the following layout, in this order:
Split A-1
Split B-1
Split A-2
Split B-2
Spilt A-3
Split B-3

This means a couple things:

1) One complete cycle through your workout schedule is two weeks
2) The exercise that you do for a certain muscle will not be repeated for two weeks

The easiest way to start setting up the program is to pick your three favorite exercises for each muscle group. Make sure to use heavy compound movements whenever possible. Say you pick incline bench, decline dumbbell bench, and flat dumbbell press for chest. You will only do ONE of these exercises on each of your chest day splits.

You need to try to have at least 4 or 5 different exercises available for each muscle group because once your progress plateaus on an exercise, that exercise gets replaced with a new one. You can always add that exercise back in again whenever you plateau on another exercise, but for the time being, it’s rotated out of your schedule. For this reason, it makes it extremely critical to get the most out of every time you use a certain exercise, otherwise you might lose one of your favorite exercises temporarily.

When to Switch Exercises
Your number one goal on this program is to beat either the reps (within the rep ranges listed below) or weight from the previous time you did that specific exercise!!! If you don’t beat one of those two things, replace that exercise with a new one, as stated above. If for some reason you had an “off day”, you might want to give that exercise one more chance next time…..it’s up to you.

Sets & reps
All exercises are done using either rest-pause sets or straight sets TO FAILURE, except for a few cases. A rest pause set of 20 means that you do 3 “mini sets” (with about 30 seconds to a minute of rest time in between) to reach a total of 20 reps. A straight set of 20 means that you do 20 reps in one single set. Rest pausing should be used whenever possible, but you can use straight sets where you see fit for safety reasons or if you need a little less volume.

The rep ranges are completely individualistic….you have to find out what works best for you. Most people use rest pause sets of either 11-15, 15-20, or 20-25 or straight sets of whatever feels comfortable. Obviously the lower end allows more weight in both cases. You don’t have to apply a certain rep range to all exercises……you may like to 15-20 RP for chest and 20-25 RP for back width…..that’s perfectly fine. Also, the rep ranges might even vary for different exercise for the same muscle….you may like to do 11-15 RP for barbell chest movements and 15-20 RP for dumbbell chest movements…..that’s fine too.

Always warm-up with a light weight before starting the actual working set. The warmup should not be hard at all….just enough to get the blood flowing.

The same weight is used for all three mini-sets on a rest pause set, except as noted in the “Exceptions” below.

Exceptions to the Typical Rep Ranges
There are some exceptions to the typical rep ranges. As always, these are also individualistic.

Quads
For quads, a single heavy set of 6-8 is usually done first. After that heavy set, use something like 50%-70% of that weight and do what is called the “Widowmaker set”. This is a single set of 20….and you’ll know why it’s called the Widowmaker when you’re done. Most likely, you’ll get to about 8-12 reps and you’ll feel the pain…..NO MATTER WHAT, PUSH OUT 20 TOTAL REPS!

Back Thickness
Exercises like deadlifts are exactly suited for rest pausing (for safety reasons), but it can be done. However, since rest pausing may lead to a breakdown in form, it could be prone to injury. So, for heavy back width movements such as deadlift, rack deads, etc., some people do 2 straight sets…..one is 4-6, the other is 7-10. It really doesn’t matter which one is done first. If the 7-10 is done first, then you might be able to use the same weight for the 4-6 afterwards. However, if you choose to do the 4-6 first, obviously it will be heavier than the 7-10 afterwards.

Abs
Do these as you see fit. You can even do these on your cardio days if you’d like.

Calves
These are tricky. The general recommendation is 12-15 SS. However, a true 5 second negative is required, and you hold the bottom postion (as low as painfully possible) for 10 seconds before exploding up. These seem easy at first until you get about halfway!

Control the Negative!
When executing a rep, make sure that you control the negative portion of the rep. Explode on the positive, control the negative. This doesn’t mean you have to go super slow on the negative, it just means that you should be able to stop that negative motion at any time….being in control of it.

Stretching
After each muscle group is worked, you stretch the muscle extensively. This stretches the fascia and allows additional growth to occur over time. Also, it greatly improves your recovery ability and soreness.

There are different ways of doing this, so the easiest way to learn them is to see them. Normally, you try to hold the stretch for 1 minute, but for most of the stretches, they are so painful that you usually only make it to 45 seconds. If you’re really hardcore, go for 90 seconds. Regardless of how long you do them, make sure that you are stretching it as hard as possible……it will be extremely painful!

Here’s an attempt to explain the stretches:

Chest: Use dumbbells and lie on a flat bench. Let the dumbbells drop down into a deep stretch.

Triceps: There’s two popular ways. The first way is to sit on a bench with a back support. Use a dumbbell and let it sink behind your head, like doing extensions. You can do either one arm at a time or both, whichever feels better. The other way seems to have less shoulder pain involved. Set up a stomach level bar on the Smythe machine. Grab the bar with an overhand grip (close) and position yourself as if you’re doing a skullcrusher. Push your body’s weight into the bar and make your triceps stretch.

Shoulders: There’s two variations to this stretch. The first one - put barbell in squat rack shoulder height and face away from it and reach back and grab it palms up. (hands on bottom of bar) Walk yourself outward until you are on your heels and the stretch gets painful, then roll your shoulders downward. The other method – take a broomstick and grab it overhand wide enough so that you can roll it over your head and behind you. Keep the grip as close as possible and your arms straight. Do 10-15 reps with it.

Biceps: Just like the first shoulder stretch, only with palms down (on top of bar).

Back: There’s two available methods for this as well. The first one – grab a vertical support (like a squat rack post or doorknob) and pull with a rounded back. While pulling, turn your hand in to really feel the stretch. The second method - hang from a chin up bar (with weight if necessary) with a wide grip for as long as you can.

Hamstrings: Put leg up on a high barbell holding toe. Keep your leg straight and try to force your toes away from you.

Quads: Face a barbell in a power rack about hip high. Grip it and simultaneously sink down and throw your knees under the barbell and do a sissy squat underneath it while going up on your toes. Then straighten your arms and lean as far back as you can. This one takes some practice.

Calves: Since calves are trained with a special stretching style (see above…”Exceptions..”), stretching really isn’t needed for calves.

Blasting / Cruising
Blasting refers to the time period of everything mentioned above. Once in awhile, say every 8-12 weeks, you’ll need some “downtime”, or a cruise. Take a week or two to simply let your body catch up. Take off completely or just go into the gym and go through the motions (nowhere near 100% effort) and find new exercises to try on your next blast…..the choice is yours. Just make sure to let your body recover.