Bodybuilding.com’s Arnold’s Blueprint Trainer – Day 18 – Chest & Back 2

Greetings, all.

I have a busy day today, so it’s just gonna be the quick & dirty update for today. However, I did want to sneak in a quick tip.

A lot of guys want a shelf-like chest. I won’t, it’s nice to have, and the chicks don’t mind it. Of course, as it is, most cats are gonna go to the bench to build it. Or perhaps flyes. These are all great, but there’s something you’re very much underestimaiting.

Dumbbell Bench. Since I started doing these bad boys lately with the recent bodybuilding.com program I did, and within a month or two, my strength shot up from using 70lb dumbbells to 100, 105, 110, for sets of 8. My flat bench, incline, everything went up, and so did the size of my chest. It became much thicker and more pronounced. The dumbbell bench is awesome for building chest because it allows you a greater range of motion, and absolutely targets the hell out of the pecs. Seriously, do 3-4 sets, and hit failure on that final set. Now, go try and do a normal chest exercise that you always do, with a weight you always use, and see if you aren’t completely zapped. It’s amazing.

Plus, it helps you build up functional strength every where from lugging around those damn 100lb dumbbells.

Alrighty, let’s get it.

Bodybuilding.com’s Arnold’s Blueprint Trainer – Day 17 – Legs – Plus, What I Think Of Crossfit

Greetings, all.

Crossfit has been around for quite a while now, and I received an email asking me what my thoughts were.

Personally, I think it’s a fad. I think that along with Jazzercise, Zubaz Pants, and Atkins, Crossfit will soon be sitting on the shelf, collecting dust. Now, with that being said, I do think it’s a good way to get in shape, and that a lot of these guys are strong beasts with crazy endurance. However, that strength & endurance comes at a price, because these guys are doing the most inane, and ridiculous workouts that I’ve ever seen. Frank Zane said that Crossfit is great for the Physical Therapist industry due to all the injuries that are happening as a result of the training.

I mean, look at those ridiculous kip-up pull-ups. Holy crap, those are TERRIBLE for your rotator cuff. To come crashing down with your full bodyweight, yanking on your rotator cuff, over and over and over is absolutely not good, and it’s why you see a lot of Crossfitters with that injury tape on their shoulders.

Beyond that, have you seen some of these workouts? There was one I saw in a recent issue of Muscle & Fitness, and it went something along the lines of:
Deadlift:
135×8, 185×10, 225×12, 275×15, 300×20, 365×36

No joke, that was the workout. 365lbs for THIRTY-SIX REPS?! That is absolutely absurd. Watch some of these Crossfit cats on youtube when they do these sort of things, and their form absolutely falls apart like a Jenga tower about the mid-way point. Which is why this form of exercise results in a lot of injuries, because form is absolutely crucial for things like cleans, clean & presses, snatches, and especially deadlifts. So to be doing these things in succession, for a great deal of time is very dangerous.

I would never tell anyone that their style of training is wrong, so long as they’re happy with the results it’s giving them. I would however advise anyone who wants to give this a go to be very, very careful, and do it under the guidance of someone with some experience who can make your form air-tight. I’d much prefer to see someone doing some classic bodybuilding or powerlifting, as I believe those are always going to be styles left standing at the end of the day, but, to each their own.

Alrighty, let’s get it.

Bodybuilding.com’s Arnold’s Blueprint Trainer – Day 15 – Shoulders & Arms

Greetings, all.

I got up at 12am today, the workout clocked in close to 2 hours, and then later I went on an hour and a half long walk. Needless to say, I’m so tired right now it feels like I have freaking sad in my eyes. So, we’re gonna rock a short update, just the workout, buckaroos.

Alrighty, let’s get it.

Bodybuilding.com’s Arnold’s Blueprint Trainer – Day 14 – Chest & Back – Plus, Forget Your Comfort Zone

Greetings, all.

I see a lot of cats at the gym, and there’s one thing I’ve noticed over the years. I rarely see people sweat, and I often see people doing the same routine over and over and over. It often gets to the point where I’ll know what day it is, and know what they’re gonna do, and damn near every exercise they have planned. Along with what weight, because they never put any new shit on the bar.
Now, there’s a reason for all of these things: People don’t like stepping out of their comfort zone. When you stick with a program for a while, you become familiar with it, and it feels safe. You always kick ass at the lifts, and things always go smoothly. However, while this may all seem well & good, you’re doing yourself a huge disservice. You’re not challenging yourself. You’ve become complacent. You’re simply going through the motions. C’mon, that’s not what the gym is about. It’s about putting yourself through a little bit of hell to forget a better version of you.
Are you really having a good time at the gym when you leave with a dry shirt, after completeling a workout you’ve now done for the 40th Monday in a row?  How on Earth do you expect your body to build new muscle, or strength that way? You’re simply maintaining what you have, and at this point, barely that.
Bruce Lee once said that his style was like water. That water was shapeless, yet it could fit the shape of any container you place it in, and it could be powerful enough to break rocks. His style, was no style. It was the style of adapting to the situation.
That’s advice I’ve always tried to heed, no matter what I do.

What I’ve always recommended is changing your program once every 3 months or so. No need to change it up every 10 minutes or anything for “muscle confusion” or whatever buzz-word crap is floating around. 3 months of busting your ass is plenty of time to get everything you need from the program, before your body can start to adapt, and learn the pattern.
Now, unless you’re doing a set that’s based on gaining strength, stop with these long rest periods. It’s about intensity. It’s about sweat. It’s about stimulaiting these muscle fibers, and you aren’t doing any of that with your 3 minute breaks in between sets of 8 with a weight you could have hit 15 reps for. Rest for no longer than a minute, 45 seconds is optimal, and then get back at it. No, you won’t be able to use as heavy a weight as when you rest 2-3 minutes, but when you’re about building muscle, it isn’t about how much you lift. Besides, that’ll come with the territory, you’ll get that weight up, with time. But that’s why I dig Powerbuilding, because you get the best of both worlds.
Either way, you have what it takes to be so awesome that people mistake you for an explosion, you’re already ahead of the curve because you’re under the roof of the gym, just don’t insult it, us, and yourself by half-assing it.

Alrighty, let’s get it.

Bodybuilding.com’s Arnold’s Blueprint Trainer – Day 12 – Leg Day

Greetings, all.

You know the drill. It’s the last day before my day off, meaning I’m gonna be lazy and just post the workout for today.

Alrighty, let’s get it.

Bodybuilding.com’s Arnold’s Blueprint Trainer – Day 12 – Shoulders & Arms – Plus, Some Progress Photo Action

Greetings, all.

Per request, I’ve got some progress photo action going on. I realized I’ve posted zero photos of my back, so I made sure to include those. Of course, being fat buff, you don’t get the road-map back like when you’re low-bodyfat, instead, it’s just a thick freaking back, which I’m proud of. My back wasn’t anything, for years, because I wasn’t really paying attention to it, like I was the mirror muscles, as so many of us do. But then I quit being an idiot, and went after it with a vengeance.

My two favorite movements for the back have been Bent-Over Rows, which I hit 275 with for a few reps the other day, and the Hammer Strength Reverse Grip Pull-Down. Just an awesome feeling with that machine, creates an incredible stretch in the lats.

The two photos on the left are older photos. The black & white one was taken in May of 2013, almost 2 years ago. The difference is pretty significant, as it doesn’t even really look like I lift, I thought I was, but I wasn’t. I was doing Heavy Duty training, only working out twice a week, like a chump. Not to mention I was sticking with machines. The bottom left was July 1st, 2014. Less than a year ago and there’s still significant change. My forearms, biceps & triceps are thicker, and I really grew in the yoke area, which is the chest/shoulders/traps. The photo on the right was taken this morning.

This is just a picture of my ‘yoke’. The yoke is the shoulders/upper chest/traps/upper back. It’s something I’ve been working on for a while, and I think I have it at a pretty respectable level.

I just need to start tanning, so I quit looking like Casper The Fat Buff Ghost.

Alrighty, let’s get it.

Bodybuilding.com’s Arnold’s Blueprint Trainer – Day 11 – Chest & Back

Greetings, all.

Another busy day, and I’m actually falling asleep as I update this, so, we’re going for a quick, minute-man update.

Alrighty, let’s get it.