Mon 4 Jan 2010
New Year’s WOW 1/03/10 (and Diet DVD’s Available)
Posted by Doug McGuff under Uncategorized
It was COLD today with temperatures in the 20’s. Ultimate Exercise is a building that was built in the 1800’s and the walls are old brick that is not insulated. Even with my high capacity air conditioning system, it took a while to get the temperature up to 61 degrees. I progressed the weight on all 5 movements today and broke even or a couple seconds down on all TUL’s. The workout was very tough from an effort and discomfort standpoint, but was only moderately hard from the metabolic standpoint. The Big 5 I did today was the following:
Leg Press
Compound Row
Chest Press
Pullover
Overhead Press
It is always fun to do the first workout of the New Year. Looking back over 2009, I am very happy with my progress. My main resolution for 2010 is to focus on form while blinding myself to my previous performance. I will project the resistance for my next workout well ahead of time and not look at my prior performance before performing the workout. Form and intensity should trump performance “on paper”. Also, I am going to try to wean off my only non-paleo indulgence…diet sodas.
I reviewed my diet DVD this morning and am happy with its content and quality. I made a few misstatements here and there, but nothing that would stop me from distributing it as-is. I have an initial run of 25 copies that I will sell through UE, and am trying to set up an Amazon store account for the remainder. I am setting the price at $45.00. If anyone is interested in getting the early copies you can leave your purchase information at UE by calling (864)886-0200 and following the prompts. I will make notification when the Amazon option is available or if we will offer additional copies through UE. For right now we are set up to process the first 25 orders.
Post your WOW’s and your resolutions
Butt cheeks still sore from last week’s one legged leg presses,so I did a sick upper body assault.
barbell curl with variable resistance chains
barbell curl
chin up
barbell overhead press w/chains
barbell overhead press
dips
As reprted in the past,the workout felt almost too easy without the lower body component.
Doug,
Your workouts are so brutal and primitive looking. I may just start duplicating your WOW’s to avoid workout envy. I bet your upper body soreness will match your butt-cheeks.
Doug McGuff
W.O.W. 01/02/2010
Lower back up 5# / 3 reps/ 3:06 TUL
Leg press up 5#/ up 10 sec
Inclines stable / stable TUL + 1 r/p
Rows up 5# / up 13 sec
Declines stable / up 1 sec
Lat pull up 5# / down 13 sec + 1 r/p
A very good workout to start off 2010. Our wind chill temperature was -15 degrees and it was very cold in the gym but I will never complain because summers are so warm.
Like Dr. McGuff, my New Year’s resolution will be to strive for that “letter of the law” form and not become too obsessed with weight progression just for something that looks like progress on paper. I will also do some experimenting on subdividing the workout so that I allow greater recovery. Perhaps a Big 3 / Little 3 combo each workout in which all the exercises aren’t too demanding. I will do this as soon as I notice any cessation in progress.
I can’t wait to get the DVD; I’ll be ordering it as soon as I sign off.
Happy New Year to the entire BBS family.
Ed H
Any way for us overseas readers to order the DVD or should we just wait for the Amazon option?
12/31/09 20 days of recovery since previous WOW- Limited ROM as always
*Smith machine squat- 335/62 24 reps
Same weight, up 7 seconds, up 2 reps
*Smith machine bench press- 230/38 13 reps
Same weight, same TUL, up 2 reps
*Incline dumbbell curl- 40×2/51 7.5reps
Same weight, down 3 seconds (stable), up 1.5 reps (was very close to completing the 8th rep)
*Hammer strength pullover- 228/50 12 reps
Same weight, down 8 seconds, up 1 rep
*tricep pressdown- 90/47 16 reps
Same weight, up 4 seconds, up 4 reps
*dumbbell heel raise- 45lb l=11 r=9.5 (in reps)
Up 3 reps L, up half a rep R
This was by far the longest recovery interval I have ever used for a HIT workout. I took such a long break since I was back in my home town. My gym membership works all over Florida, but the equipment there is not exactly the same. Not a huge deal, but enough to motivate me to try an extended recovery between workouts.
I did put my mother through a workout while I was back home in that LA Fitness though. Unfortunately, I’m doubting she’ll stick to it, and as far as I know there are no HIT trainers in SW Florida. They seem to be abundant in Orlando though!
Come to think of it, I may buy your DVDs and send them to her Doug.
On that note, I’d be careful with Amazon Doug. I too am looking at DVD distribution/production lately, and Amazon is enticing, but they take a 55% cut, AND, they control the pricing. You can “suggest” a price, but as far as I understand, they control it. I think Drew Baye actually mentioned this to me about books on there as well a while back.
Back to my WOW, I was pleased with my progress, even if some wasn’t so obvious on paper (such as the dumbbell curl with a slight drop in TUL, but additional rep).
The squat was especially brutal. I was tempted to increase the weight due to the 22 rep set last WOW on 12/11, but I chose to leave it the same for comparison’s sake.
The last few reps I really felt the load on my entire body too, as if every muscle was contributing to moving the weight at that point (when the muscles in my legs were really screaming).
I’m curious to see if this feeling will increase at earlier reps at a higher weight next WOW, simply because the resistance is so much higher than my body weight now (approaching double).
On the subject of diet, I defintely ate more carbohydrate than usual when back home. Some days I still ate “zero”, but most days were probably around ~50, and some even close to 100.
Didn’t touch any grain or beans though. This was mostly from sauces on meats, veggies, fruit, and some fruit juice added to raw Snook Sashimi we cooked up (I caught a 2 foot snook off my dock one night, tasted great!).
Back in Orlando I’m back to my standard eating plan of coffee and a pint of heavy cream in the morning, and a good amount of meat later in the day, often times including a side of pemmican I bought from US Wellness meats.
I received a food dehydrator for Christmas as well, which I intend to use for beef jerky, to be made into more pemmican. Once I get the process down pat, I intend to stockpile a ton of the stuff actually. Never know when you’re gonna need it!
Back to carb intake, I don’t sweat eating a little, but I feel best having coffee/cream (a lot of it), and then meat later in the day, and that’s it. Nothing I eat consistently anymore, has carbohydrate in it. This used to be difficult to pull off, but now it seems that to eat carbohydrate, it would take extra effort. Funny how that works.
Hope everyone’s holiday went well
-Anthony
After a two week break, I too am focusing more on form and extending my tul’s out to about three minutes. Each rep includes a 3-sec static hold and I’m going to failure.
Focus this year is to finally get down to 195. Currently at 210 which is down from 212 before Christmas.
Also will enlist the help of one or two of my clients as a training partner. I just don’t work as hard as I should or can.
Todays session:
nautilus abdmominal
SS Leg Press
Med X arm cross
SS Chest Press
Second session will be:
Calf raise
nautilus lower back
medx pullover
ss pull down
Hi,
First machine workout in 2 months. I had been using db’s and bw exercises, 1-2x/wk.
Used Bodymasters LP, cybex CP, OP, and row. Chins bwx13 with a 3/3 cadence.
I don’t think the weights mean anything so I won’t list them, but they were the same as 2 months ago. All tul’s were up buy 5-9 seconds, about 60s. on average, except LP at 98 sec, which stayed about the same. My wife made me keep good form.
I experienced no soreness in the lower body and only a little in the shoulders. I felt like I could do the workout over again in about 5 min., but I have been doing more sets using bw/db’s.
I gained 4 lbs between halloween and new years, but I went in lean, at about 144. I turn 60 this month and I feel better now than when a ran 30 miles a week back in my 30’s. Leaner, too. I don’t eat “paleo”, but I do cut carbs a bit to drop weight. The thing that struck me when I went to the gym was how many really overweight people were in there. And mostly young. (compared to me, everybody in there looks young, though)
Regards,
Griff
Anthony,
Are you only eating twice per day? One meal having only cream and the second meat?
If that is so, I like that template.
Al
Dr.McGuff,
Please don’t give up Diet Coke!!
1)My family inheritance is in Coke stock(which isn’t worth what it once was anyway)
2)I need medical validation for my own Diet Coke addiction, and what better proof do I have than a Dr. who is in excellent shape and drinks it by the gallon?
Lol.
Al
Doc,
I am glad to see Doug H say he is sore, I did not think it possible. He killed me on my first workout of 2010! I am still sore today. I really tried to concentrate on form this workout.
WOW for 01-02-09:
Nautilus Pullover w/Holland Cam
Med X Avenger Overhead Press
Hammer Leg Press-best form ever and PR
Nautilus Pullover w/Holland Cam
Nautilus Leverage Bench Press
I set new PRs on every lift again. Even the weeks I feel like throwing in the towel I end up with new PRs! In the past under HV I may go months with no improvement in weight or reps, sometimes I may have to drop the weight to meet my rep count. With HIT/BBS I seem to be stronger every time I workout.
My wow for the last 6 months has been:
Compound Row
Chest Press
Leg Press
The time under load for each exercise is 50 to 70 seconds and I complete the workout in just under 5 minutes.
I believe this abreviated workout has helped me put on some muscle. In the last 6 months I’ve gained 10 pounds and the waist size of my pants is still the same.
Bo
I enjoyed my first workout of the New Year today. I didn’t improve on last week, but then I’ve been improving more than I ever thought possible over the last few weeks anyway.
Do give up your diet sodas Doug ! I’ve stuck with Paleo over Christmas and the New Year no problem….been eating this way for three and a half years now. As well as being healthier, Paleo food has far, far more taste than Neo food and I never miss the latter even though all round me eat it.
all the best,
Anne
Bo Railey,
Fantastic results. This looks like Dr. Darden’s 5 minute workout, except he thinks you need to do it 3x/wk, I believe.
I might give this a shot. I’m wondering about the strength aspect of it. Heck, I didn’t think I could even maintain strength on 1x/wk workouts and I was wrong about that!
I also like to do some other activities, so maybe this would work out.
Griff
@Bo
Any reason for picking the Compound Row over the Pulldown in your routine?
Also at 50 to 70 seconds TUL you probably are not getting any muscle burn. I notice whit myself that when I get down to 1.5 minutes in my TULs that the muscle burn never appears. I’m not sure what it means in terms of progression and/or muscle growth.
Thanks
John
@Al
I just released a post on my blog detailing why I eat the way I eat. You can click my name to view it.
But, the short answer is, yes, mostly. It’s simple and delicious =).
In other news I should have mentioned these nifty new ear plugs I got. They are similar to the cheapies you buy at walamrt for a buck per dozen, expect much better. Not night and day per say, but pretty darn close.
You can get them at
earplugstore.stores.yahoo.net/silnatrubear.html
I dropped 21 bucks on the three pair trial pack to figure out what size I needed. As it turns out, medium fits me best, but they all fit fine without any pain, and work properly.
My room mate requires medium though, and the small/large to not work at all for him.
Strange, but I understand little about the ear. Anyone understand why this would be so? I assume it has more to do with the shape of our ears than size, but again, no clue.
Anyway, highly recommend the ear plugs. Not cheap, but well worth it, and it appears they will last light years longer than the cheap foam versions.
-Anthony
Anthony,
That was a great blog post my man. You are a talented writer for your age. Keep up the good work.
Al
No workout this week. I did a high intensity interval training session instead by doing a tabata on a treadmill(12 degree incline and 6.6mph). 4 minutes of hell with lots of carpet time and strange looks from the cardio crowd after. Taking a bit of extra recovery so I can be fresh for a workout at UE this week. I will pick up the DVD when I am there.
My wife did a Big 5 and still isn’t achieving her weights and times from 3 weeks ago. Only improvement was on seated row. Is it possible she would be better off with 2 workouts per week? Any thoughts appreciated.
Jeff,
Have your wife go to every 14 days before going to twice a week. My wife has had a similar pattern in the past. The cure has always been less frequent, not more frequent. It seems to be particularly true for women. A good figure and body comp will come mainly from your diet. I bet less frequency will get things moving again and she will feel better also. Try to time the 14 day intervals so that the week surrounding her menses is one of the weeks where she doesn’t train.
Doug McGuff
Most certainly, this is a very unusual request or suggestion of Dr McGuff.
A close friend of mine follows the HIT/BBS system of exercise as well as a paleo diet. Unfortunately he had to have removed recently his prostate gland and is in a “recovery” mode including an exercise program for the pelvic floor muscles. Moreover he is advised to do no other weight training, golfing, snow shoveling, etc.
Here’s the issue: Are there exercises for the pelvic floor muscles which follow the HIT/BBS protocol which you would suggest? The goal here is to accelerate the return of bladder control and enable my friend to return sooner to your exercises.
I realize that this may take time to answer. However, any advice Dr McGuff can provide would be very much appreciated.
John,
I use the compound row and chest press for my upper body because I have a shoulder/neck issue. For some reason my neck and shoulder started hurting a lot last spring. I kept changing exerises until I found the two upper body exercises that hurt me the least. These exercises involve the least amount of shoulder flexion. Now my neck and should feel fine most of the time.
In regards to feeling a burn, I never really thought about it. I seem to have settled into these shorter times. I have tried several times to reduce the weight and go for longer times. I can’t give you exact percentages, but I have to drop the weight a lot to add one rep.
Bo
@Bo
Thanks Bo. Do your times(TULs) include the through inroading (for up to 10 seconds) at the end of the set?
John
John,
I do use the thorough inroad technique most of the time, but I have my trainer stop counting time when the movement stops.
I try for 3 good reps. If I get more that’s great, but I usually only get 3 reps per exerise. For some reason my TUL just seems to be around that time on these particular compound movements.
On other exercises my TUL is longer, espcially single joint exercises.
I feel like I am recovered and ready to go every week with this workout. When I was doing 4 or 5 exercises I didn’t always feel that way.
Bo
January 8, 2010
1. Overhead Press: 272 lbs / 1:40
2. Torso Arm: 340 lbs / 1:44
3. Abduction: 98 lbs / 1:40
4. Adduction: 184 lbs / 1:25
5. Rowing Torso: 154 lbs / 1:20
6. 10° Chest (NAUT): 170 lbs / 1:30
7. Lumbar Ext.: 226 lbs / 1:45
8. Biceps: 140 lbs / 0:50
Duration: about 20 minutes
Norm,
Someone wrote a protocol for the old SuperSlow exercise standard regarding exercise for the pelvic floor musculature. We have your address at UE. If I find it, I or Ed will send it along to you.
Doug McGuff
“Doug, thank you for your help. Hope you find the protocol. Norm”
Doug,
I have read The Paleo Diet and Good Calories, Bad Calories.
What other books or resources could you direct me to in regards to the Paleo Diet.
Bo
Bo,
The handout that is coming with your DVD will give you a good list of web resources to help refine your dietary approach.
Doug
Bo,
Checkout the post in marks”dot”daily”dot”apple”dot”com a few days back. Mark provided a good list on paleo and his own blog and book is pretty good.
Very interesting… have been following paleo guidelines now for about 2 weeks…. eating all I want, still weigh within 3 lbs of my contest weight… and according to body composition scale, have lost fat and gained muscle. All the more interesting, because I haven’t been working out due to recovery from hernia surgery. Intermittent fasting incredibly easy to do. Also got some raw milk, raw cream, raw goat’s milk and raw butter today. Spent some time on the phone with Randy Roach on a phone consult… very interesting… anyone worked with Randy? (or read book Muscle, Smoke and Mirrors?)
I’m the dude from Dr. McGuff’s old home town. In the future I’ve got some questions and curiosities on diet and volume and frequency etc. I’ve got some (what I think are logical?), hangups with ‘maintenance’ etc.??
I’m not challenging or criticizing the good doctor or Little John!! Just a few things I can’t quite get my mind wrapped around?? That’s all.
For example: in BBS there was mention of researcher Gibala, in the McMasters study? I don’t know if it was what CNN published, or the BBS book? The statement stated that six minutes ‘once per week’…?? Well, then the mention was about HIT stationary cycling “Three times” per week?? That kind of confused me? Long time ago that Zimmerman guy of ‘Power of 10′ talked about ‘recovery’ as like a ‘crystal growing’?? Well, if you’re disturbing that ‘crystal’ three times a week; doesn’t that mess up the growth of muscle??
Anyhow, the Cowboys beat Philadelphia for the second time in a week!! Does anyone realize, the Cowboys don’t have any starters on the ‘injury reserve’ list?? Every other playoff team does? Critics of coach Wade Phillips say that he is too easy? They say he runs a ‘Camp Cupcake’?? Wade gave the ‘Boys Christmas off before their big game a week back? They won though!!? They won this week again too!! In keeping with McGuff and Little, avoiding too much steady state, and allowing recovery, might have something to it??
Football is a brutal sport. I love to watch it but am thankful my son doesn’t want to play. A choice few get highly compensated for their physical sacrifice-the rest are open to loads of physical damage and memories. Anyway, go cardinals!