Bo Flecks' Training Lean and Power Density Experiment

[mharrislove]

Sounds like an amazing day. It was especially good to hear that the hacks did not aggrevate the lower back. I don't know how you do it; they always hit mine. Obviously a form issue with me since I rarely do them.

Good stuff.

Yeah, it was great to read your summary, Bo. I love workouts like that; the workout influenced by the Yates leg routine seems to be an ideal fit for you.

[Pretty Hardcore]

Good stuff, I'm so glad to hear that you had a good leg workout.

I apologize if you've mentioned this before, but how are your feet positioned on the leg press, are they pointing out at all?

[Getsum]

Sunday 7/17/11- Legs

Leg Extensions
10x115
14x125*
13x135*
Burnout x 100*
(*set taken to failure)

Leg press-Wide Foot Position PWO
10x400
12x425*
10x450*
Burnout x 300*
(*set taken to failure)

Leg press-Narrow Foot Position PWO
10x375
12x400*
10x425*
Burnout x 270*
(*set taken to failure)

Hack Squats PWO
10x90
15x140*
12x180*
Burnout x 90*
(*set taken to failure)

Lying Leg Curls
12x50
12x55*
10x60*
10x65*
10x70*
10x70*
10x70*
Burnout x 50*
(*set taken to failure)

Leg Press Calf Raises w/Toes turned out PWO
20x450*
20x450*
20x450*
18x450*
18x450*
(*set taken to failure)

Leg Press Calf Presses w/Toes straight PWO
18x450*
18x450*
17x450*
15x450*
15x450*
(*set taken to failure)

Observations
Yates protocol under full throttle today. It felt good to be back up to 100% intensity on my leg work.

Leg Extensions:
Doing these first really puts a good burn and pump on the quads to start. I leaned back to put more of the stress higher on the quads rather than down around the knee.

Leg Press-Wide Foot Position:
Based upon where I was last week with my sets, I guessed pretty well where failure would be today. Quads coming out to the sides of my rib cage. Trying to focus the emphasis on the area around my knees as well as the inner quads. Slow descent, pause at the bottom, and blasting out of the hole.
Leg Press-Narrow Foot Position:
Putting emphasis on the top of my quads as well as the outer portion. Same protocol as with the wide foot position leg presses.
Hack Squats:
Torture sets with somewhat light weight. The focus here was to make the weight absolutely burn the quads up without placing a lot of weight on my lower back. Mission accomplished.
Lying Leg Curls:
Yates cadence with a short hold at the top. I added an additional working set today.

Leg Press Calf Presses- Toes turned out:
Gastrocnemius day. Focusing the weight on the belly of the muscle and getting a full stretch.
Leg Press Calf Presses- Toes straight:
Same as above.

Final Thoughts
This was quite possibly the most comprehensive leg workout I have ever done. Nothing was left in the gym and as far as I am concerned, no muscle fiber in the quads went untouched.

Geez, my legs are still sore from Friday's workout and then I look at this and just shake my head in amazement! Great job Steve, that is an incredible leg smashing workout!

Your comments always provoke additional thought as well man, it gives me plenty to think about when I'm approaching my workouts.

Enjoy your week man!

[Bo_Flecks]

Darn nice work, but this^^ was extra nice. Back on track? Yup, it would appear so.

All of the back pain from the last set of outages is gone. Yesterday, it felt very strong so it is just a matter of keeping in mind what has caused the problem and training smart.

I hear you on this. Even without impressive arms, there's times when it would be nice even if just to avoid the heat. As for the impression: if the equation with general douchebaggery wasn't bad enough to deal with, try dealing with it as a pastor!

I can only imagine. If I remember correctly, Zav caught some flack just for working out. Certain people in the flock have an image of their pastor that is hard to let go.

You're arms are looking super inflated there Steve...especially with your great tapered waist. Awesome stuff!

These are all things I am going to be building on in the next 10 months. The last time I sat down with my prep coach, accentuating around my "ectoness" was a big topic. The goal is to use my small joints and bone structure as positive against a blockier competitor.

I'd say so

Hey bro... with gunz like those go for it.

Believe me, I'm not hiding my arms with my other summer wear .

Excellent session Steve. That was quite the beat down on the pecs. Strong way to finish with the flys.

That variation of spider curls looks interesting. I have done them with db's, but never in a pistol grip form. May have to steal these.

As far as the beater goes, rock on. Its only doucher style if your arms and chest, resemble that of a preteen school girl. You are clear.

I experimented with a variation of the spiders on that workout that I really liked.

I set my SuperBench at a 45 degree angle and leaned over the top allowing my arms to hang straight down with no pad support. This allowed me to let the biceps really stretch out at the bottom. As I pulled the weight up, I kept my upper arms in the same vertical position which threw a lot of emphasis on the belly of the bicep. This variation gave more of an ache than a burn. It felt like the biceps were hit more deeply than normal. Doing this with the tricep bar with its hammer grip seems to make this work.

It great to see a smart bber working hard with an injury.
You're bouncing back very well!

What I have found over the last year that as I have gotten stronger and the weights that I am forcing the lower back to support have gotten heavier, there seems to come a breaking point with the old injury. As I am finding those breaking points (which come unexpectedly) I am learning from them. Variations in my training to work around this have to be put into place. I know better than to just keep swimming against the current.

Sounds like an amazing day. It was especially good to hear that the hacks did not aggrevate the lower back. I don't know how you do it; they always hit mine. Obviously a form issue with me since I rarely do them.

Good stuff.

Hacks with a barbell kill my lower back, but hacks on the machine with its back support have yet to cause me any problems.



I was nearly up to 400lbs PW for reps with these before I blew my back out doing another leg movement. You can see how my back stays supported on the machine hacks. That seems to keep it from moving in the direction that causes the outage. Putting the hacks last after the heavy leg press work will keep me from needing to use so much weight to hit the target area of the quads effectively. I think that is what Yates had in mind.

Yeah, it was great to read your summary, Bo. I love workouts like that; the workout influenced by the Yates leg routine seems to be an ideal fit for you.

I had a pretty decent run with the Charles Glass protocol before the outage. I knew from the beginning that the reverse hacks in an unsupported position had the potential to be problematic. In the end, doing them with 400+lbs was.

Nothing in the Yates protocol is unsupported so it gives me the potential to really run with it. Given hindsight, I wish I would have found the Yates protocol initially. I possibly could have saved myself some time and pain.

Good stuff, I'm so glad to hear that you had a good leg workout.

I apologize if you've mentioned this before, but how are your feet positioned on the leg press, are they pointing out at all?

My foot position on the leg press in both the wide and narrow position has some very similar characteristics.

• I am placing my feet high enough on the platform that I can drive the weight with my heels
• I turn my feet out to the point where my knees will travel out over my toes
• In the wide foot position, my heels are approximately 15 inches apart
• In the narrow foot position, my heels are together

The main goal of my foot position is to get as much weight on the target areas of my quads as possible.

Geez, my legs are still sore from Friday's workout and then I look at this and just shake my head in amazement! Great job Steve, that is an incredible leg smashing workout!

Your comments always provoke additional thought as well man, it gives me plenty to think about when I'm approaching my workouts.

Enjoy your week man!

I have some pretty good quad DOMS today. Another thing that is very important to me is that my hammies are sore today, also. When I said that I felt yesterday's leg training was possibly the most comprehensive I had ever done, I was serious. From a purely bodybuilding perspective, the Yates protocol doesn't seem to leave much untouched.

[Swann74]

I can only imagine. If I remember correctly, Zav caught some flack just for working out. Certain people in the flock have an image of their pastor that is hard to let go.

Now this is just sad. I can say that much: no one at the church has any issues with my working out. Actually, one of my trustees made a joke about it when he saw my set-up in the garage. He asked if I was going to beat them into obedience. The thought was tempting. Just kidding. Kind of... :P

I experimented with a variation of the spiders on that workout that I really liked.

I set my SuperBench at a 45 degree angle and leaned over the top allowing my arms to hang straight down with no pad support. This allowed me to let the biceps really stretch out at the bottom. As I pulled the weight up, I kept my upper arms in the same vertical position which threw a lot of emphasis on the belly of the bicep. This variation gave more of an ache than a burn. It felt like the biceps were hit more deeply than normal. Doing this with the tricep bar with its hammer grip seems to make this work.

This sounds interesting. So if my mental image is correct, this sounds a bit like a reverse/opposite angle incline curl. Is that right?

Hacks with a barbell kill my lower back, but hacks on the machine with its back support have yet to cause me any problems.

That's right. I forgot you have a hack squat machine! I only have the barbell. This makes much more sense to me now.

I have some pretty good quad DOMS today. Another thing that is very important to me is that my hammies are sore today, also. When I said that I felt yesterday's leg training was possibly the most comprehensive I had ever done, I was serious. From a purely bodybuilding perspective, the Yates protocol doesn't seem to leave much untouched.

I said it yesterday, and I'll say it again. Nothing less than completely impressive!

[Bo_Flecks]

This sounds interesting. So if my mental image is correct, this sounds a bit like a reverse/opposite angle incline curl. Is that right?

Basically, all of my chest supported work is done the same way. The only difference is that I will do some with my bench at 45 degrees and others at 60 degrees. When I am in the chest supported position it looks just like this vvvv



I do my barbell rowing, all shrugging movements, and now the spider curls in this position. It totally takes my lower back out of the equation, and takes my ability to cheat the movement completely away.

The design of my SuperBench is better than the one in the YouTube vid, and allows for a lot of versatility. I will take a pic of how I am doing the spider curls with the tricep bar next weekend.

[bamazav]

wha? did someone call my name? Leaving TN and heading to BAMA in the morning.

[Bo_Flecks]

I have not been happy with my lower pec development, and was thinking about making an exercise change in my chest work. I was thinking about doing some dumbbell pullovers.



I read where this movement was one of Arnold's staples, but I've never really done it.

Thoughts?

[Swann74]

Thoughts?

I'm not proficient enough to make comment on how they develop the lower chest, but I have enjoyed adding them to my chest day. In practice, I think that if you like flys, you will like pullovers. To me at least they have the same quality of "feel" to them.

[IronAvalanche]

I have not been happy with my lower pec development, and was thinking about making an exercise change in my chest work. I was thinking about doing some dumbbell pullovers.



I read where this movement was one of Arnold's staples, but I've never really done it.

Thoughts?

DB pullovers are an excellent exercise. What about decline BB, or DB presses?

[Getsum]

I have not been happy with my lower pec development, and was thinking about making an exercise change in my chest work. I was thinking about doing some dumbbell pullovers.



I read where this movement was one of Arnold's staples, but I've never really done it.

Thoughts?

I love the way they feel but I haven't been doing them as much as I should be. By feel, I mean that I feel them hitting areas that aren't getting hit anywhere else...if that makes any sense. I use my Triceps bar when I do them at home, or a DB if I do them at the gym. I also them lying on this stand alone bench I have in the garage or a stand alone bench in the gym. I've never done them like the picture. Hmm, I think I should drop my Triceps Extensions and do these pullovers on my Chest day and just do the extensions on my arms day.

Here's something close to what I'm talking about: http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercise...rbell-pullover

[rhino1964]

Good progress in here!

For lower chest, how about decline pullovers supersetted with decline DB flyes?

[nvrstopworking]

I have not been happy with my lower pec development, and was thinking about making an exercise change in my chest work. I was thinking about doing some dumbbell pullovers.



I read where this movement was one of Arnold's staples, but I've never really done it.

Thoughts?

I used to do these fairly often WAY back when I first started working out... I've never heard of them specializing in lower pec development though.... have you ever done decline bench press or DB press Ste-Bo?

[Bo_Flecks]

I'm not proficient enough to make comment on how they develop the lower chest, but I have enjoyed adding them to my chest day. In practice, I think that if you like flys, you will like pullovers. To me at least they have the same quality of "feel" to them.

DB pullovers are an excellent exercise. What about decline BB, or DB presses?

I love the way they feel but I haven't been doing them as much as I should be. By feel, I mean that I feel them hitting areas that aren't getting hit anywhere else...if that makes any sense. I use my Triceps bar when I do them at home, or a DB if I do them at the gym. I also them lying on this stand alone bench I have in the garage or a stand alone bench in the gym. I've never done them like the picture. Hmm, I think I should drop my Triceps Extensions and do these pullovers on my Chest day and just do the extensions on my arms day.

Here's something close to what I'm talking about: http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercise...rbell-pullover

Good progress in here!

For lower chest, how about decline pullovers supersetted with decline DB flyes?

I used to do these fairly often WAY back when I first started working out... I've never heard of them specializing in lower pec development though.... have you ever done decline bench press or DB press Ste-Bo?

Wow! You guys are the best!

You have definitely given me a lot to think about and also some pretty good ideas in how to approach my dilemma.

The thing is, when I say my lower pecs/chest area is weak, it is not just the bottom of the pecs but the entire region of my lower rib cage (boxed in area).



Currently, when I throw up a front double bi pose, this area is exposed and is lacking any real muscle definition. Something needs to be done about that, and I only have 10 months to shore it up. I hope to have my adjustment made by Saturday.

[rpaul11]

Wow! You guys are the best!

You have definitely given me a lot to think about and also some pretty good ideas in how to approach my dilemma.

The thing is, when I say my lower pecs/chest area is weak, it is not just the bottom of the pecs but the entire region of my lower rib cage (boxed in area).



Currently, when I throw up a front double bi pose, this area is exposed and is lacking any real muscle definition. Something needs to be done about that, and I only have 10 months to shore it up. I hope to have my adjustment made by Saturday.

not really sure whats gonna work that area in question Steve, but I dont feel that Decline presses are gonna be the answer. Pullovers maybe the way to go. Just trying to remember the feel from them when I had them in my routine.

If anybody can figgure it out, its you

[Bo_Flecks]

Tuesday 7/19/11- Back/Triceps

Medium Grip Pull Ups
10xBW+50
12xBW+55*
10xBW+60*
Burnout x BW+20*
(*set taken to failure)

Bent Barbell Rows
10x190
12x200*
10x210*
Burnout x155*
(*set taken to failure)

Seated D-Handle Cable Rows
10x145
12x155*
11x165*
Burnout x130*
(*set taken to failure)

Weighted Tricep Dips
10xBW+80
12xBW+85*
10xBW+90*
BurnoutxBW+40*
(*set taken to failure)

Reverse Grip Bench Press
10x175
12x 185*
10x 195*
Burnout x135*
(*set taken to failure)

Seated OH Cable Extensions
16x70*
16x75*
15x80*
14x85*
(*set taken to failure)

Hanging Knee Raises-Obliques
20xBW
20xBW
20xBW
20xBW
20xBW
20xBW
20xBW

Hanging Knee Raises-Abdominals
20xBW
20xBW
20xBW

Decline Oblique Crunches
20xBW
20xBW
20xBW

Observations
Quite a few weight increases were put into place today to try and drive the sets to failure right at my target rep range.

Back Workout
Medium Grip Pull Ups:
Medium grip and looking up, using the hands as hooks to concentrate on pulling with the lats. The weight increase felt heavy but manageable.
Bent Barbell Rows:
Chest supported protocol. Keeping my elbows back, and pulling to my stomach. Squeezing the lats at the top of the movement. I dropped the weight back on this movement today to increase my ROM and ability to squeeze at the top.
Seated D-Handle Cable Rows:
Pure MMC was achieved with this one today. Slow controlled reps with no momentum allowed to build up. Squeezing and holding at the apex.

Tricep Workout
Weighted Tricep Dips:
Chest upright and looking up to focus on the triceps. Since this movement is my starter for triceps now, I increased the weight which dropped the rep count down.
Reverse Grip Bench Press:
This is a pure tricep movement in the decline bench position. My MMC with this one was awesome today.
Seated OH Cable Extensions:
I am still tinkering with the weight to use on this one. I believe I have it figured out and can put it in the power/density protocol next week. Targeting the medial head of the tricep which got a very good pump today.

Direct Ab Work
Hanging Knee Raises
Continued emphasis is being place on my obliques. I added some decline oblique crunches today. This is a very lower back friendly routine, and always makes my abs sore.

Final Thoughts
I don't remember thinking about my lower back once today during this training session, so my confidence that it will hold up is building.

[Swann74]

Final Thoughts
I don't remember thinking about my lower back once today during this training session, so my confidence that it will hold up is building.

Praise the Lord!

Solid workout as usual Steve.

[Meatpants]

Wow! You guys are the best!

You have definitely given me a lot to think about and also some pretty good ideas in how to approach my dilemma.

The thing is, when I say my lower pecs/chest area is weak, it is not just the bottom of the pecs but the entire region of my lower rib cage (boxed in area).



Currently, when I throw up a front double bi pose, this area is exposed and is lacking any real muscle definition. Something needs to be done about that, and I only have 10 months to shore it up. I hope to have my adjustment made by Saturday.

Are you looking at serratus anterior, Intercostals, and upper abs?




Maybe close grip lat pull downs, Straight arm pull downs, DB pullovers, as well as hanging knee raises, would all target that area.

[Meatpants]

Thats a lot of work Steve.

I am glad your back is playing nice.

[mharrislove]

Great to hear of the low back cooperating and the weighted pull ups look really good. It's odd to hear you speak in terms of months now; that really heightens the importance of the remaining off-season!

[IronAvalanche]

Good to hear your back is playing nice Steve.

Based on the area in the pic, I think your right about the DB pullovers being the way to go.

[Getsum]

Wow! You guys are the best!

You have definitely given me a lot to think about and also some pretty good ideas in how to approach my dilemma.

The thing is, when I say my lower pecs/chest area is weak, it is not just the bottom of the pecs but the entire region of my lower rib cage (boxed in area).



Currently, when I throw up a front double bi pose, this area is exposed and is lacking any real muscle definition. Something needs to be done about that, and I only have 10 months to shore it up. I hope to have my adjustment made by Saturday.

Pullovers, Chin ups and Underhand Cable Pulldowns on the lat machine are the two exercises I've used in the past to target that area. All part of hitting my lats.

http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercise...able-pulldowns

[2nd_chance]

I'm happy with any excuse to throw up a Zane pic!

Re reverse grip bench... I tried with DBs on Monday... me likey

[Vytis]

I'm in agreement that it's the lower pecs and anterior serratus muscles that you're looking to build. Decline presses are great here, plus lat pull downs, chin-ups and dumbbell pullovers...give it a go...

[Whatanejit]

I was doing DB pullovers for a long time but nothing like the way that pic of Arnie doing them!

I don't think your back could cope with that Steve.

I just stood up or did lay on the incline bench while doing them.

When it got heavy I was alway wary of cracking my head with them though

[Bo_Flecks]

Are you looking at serratus anterior, Intercostals, and upper abs?



Maybe close grip lat pull downs, Straight arm pull downs, DB pullovers, as well as hanging knee raises, would all target that area.

Good to hear your back is playing nice Steve.

Based on the area in the pic, I think your right about the DB pullovers being the way to go.

Pullovers, Chin ups and Underhand Cable Pulldowns on the lat machine are the two exercises I've used in the past to target that area. All part of hitting my lats.

http://www.bodybuilding.com/exercise...able-pulldowns

I'm in agreement that it's the lower pecs and anterior serratus muscles that you're looking to build. Decline presses are great here, plus lat pull downs, chin-ups and dumbbell pullovers...give it a go...

I was doing DB pullovers for a long time but nothing like the way that pic of Arnie doing them!

I don't think your back could cope with that Steve.

I just stood up or did lay on the incline bench while doing them.

When it got heavy I was alway wary of cracking my head with them though

I always say at work that I don't want to just have input into a decision, I want to impact the decision. All of the great input you friends gave me impacted how I am going to approach my chest sessions over the next few weeks. You gave me lots of things to think about that I could have never thought of on my own.

Praise the Lord!

I do every time I WALK out of the gym.

Thats a lot of work Steve.

I am glad your back is playing nice.

My back feels great. And I intend to keep it that way. MUST...TRAIN...SMART! I simply cannot afford any more unscheduled downtime in the next 15 months.

I'm happy with any excuse to throw up a Zane pic!

Looking at that Zane pic reminds me that I will need to start practicing my posing soon. That guy was pretty amazing.

Great to hear of the low back cooperating and the weighted pull ups look really good. It's odd to hear you speak in terms of months now; that really heightens the importance of the remaining off-season!

Yep. The countdown feels very real at this point. The three weeks prior to this week's training were weighing on me pretty hard. I haven't felt frustration like that in a long time.

[Bo_Flecks]

Thursday 7/21/11- Shoulders/Traps

Seated Overhead Dumbbell Press
10x90
13x95
10x100
Burnout x70*
(*set taken to failure)

Scooby Press
10x45
14x50*
11x55*
Burnout x40*
(*set taken to failure)

Glass Seated Lateral Raises
10x30
12x32 1/2*
10x35*
(*set taken to failure)

Seated Bent Lateral Raises
10x35
12x37 1/2*
10x40*
(*set taken to failure)

Medium Grip Barbell Shrugs
10x235
14x245*
11x255*
Burnout x225*
(*set taken to failure)

Narrow Grip Barbell Shrugs
10x225
12x235*
10x245*
Burnout x225*
(*set taken to failure)

Hammer Grip Dumbbell Shrugs
14x100*
16x100*
16x100*
15x100*

Seated Calf Raises
15x270*
16x270*
46x270*
15x270*
14x270*
14x270*

Observations
My lower back felt solid as a rock today, so my shoulder work was put back into the power/density protocol.

Shoulder Workout
Seated Overhead Dumbbell Press:
Back with the hundos today. It felt like grabbing a hold of old friends. Slow controlled descent with a slight pause at the bottom.
Scooby Presses:
Today was only the second time I have done these, but I got quite a few more solid reps. The front delts were definitely having to work.
Glass Seated Lateral Raises:
Slow controlled reps. The Glass protocol gives a very good burn.
Seated Bent Lateral Raises:
Bent over until my chest touches my quads. Concentrating on pulling the dumbbells up with the elbows, forcing the work to be done by the rear delts.

Trap Workout
Medium Grip Barbell Shrugs:
Chest supported and medium grip at a 45 degree angle. Holding and squeezing at the top.
Narrow Grip Barbell Shrugs:
Chest supported and narrow grip at a 60 degree angle. Holding and squeezing at the top.
Hammer Grip Dumbbell Shrugs:
Chest supported and hammer grip at a 60 degree angle. Holding and squeezing at the top. Traps had a good burn and felt well worked by the end of the last set.

Calf Workout
Seated Calf Raises:
Soleus work day. I took this pic to show how I had devised a way to do seated calf raises without a seated calf raise machine. When I was reading through Phil's journal this week, it made me think of this. If it helps someone do seated work at home, it was worth the 30 seconds it took me to snap this picture.



Just all part of my Frankenstein's laboratory of a gym. I built the calf block out of wood, and put a thick BMX bicycle crossbar pad on the oly bar to protect my knees. I set the bar on the outside supports of my rack and just slide it back when I am ready to lift.

Final Thoughts
Took this pic in my gym today for the "Does your gym have AC" thread. It's difficult to train under such conditions, but somehow I manage .

[Brackneyc]

[b[/IMG]

Excellent work Steve, and cool idea for the calves. Your numbers are just nuts.

[IronAvalanche]

Thanks for the seated calf pic Steve. That should work perfectly for me!

[Bo_Flecks]

Excellent work Steve, and cool idea for the calves. Your numbers are just nuts.

I felt like a completely different person working out yesterday than I did last week. My shoulder training requires that my lower back do some balancing and supporting of the weight. Last week, the entire training session felt dicey. I probably had better than 50% of my focus on paying attention to what was going on with my back rather than what was going on with my shoulders. Last week's session was nothing more than just holding onto my gains.

Yesterday was a different story. With my back feeling 100% solid, I was able to really get in and dig out the reps with my attention being 100% on my shoulders. Even at that...that description really doesn't begin to do it justice.

Thanks for the seated calf pic Steve. That should work perfectly for me!

I built that calf block a couple of years ago and used it all of the time for standing calf raises in my rack, and I also used it for the seated calf raises. When I got my leg press, I started doing all of my calf work on it.

A few weeks ago, MHL pointed out that I wasn't doing any soleus work for my calves. It was a complete oversight. I got so wrapped up in doing 500lb calf presses on the leg press that I forgot all about doing the seated work...just one of the many reasons the journals are so valuable.