Getting Back to Basics

It's only over the last couple of years that I've come to realize that training doesn't need to be planned, structured and methodical in order to be progressive and effective. It's very easy to drown in the sea of useless routines, programmes, recycled information and general pish that circulates and dilutes the fitness industry.

Quantification - Thinking outside the box:

One of the main problems I've had with current progressive training programmes is the need to quantify everything to do with exercise. Sets, reps, rest and recovery time, calories, grams of nutrients etc. Most conventional bodybuilding programmes attempt to fit a rotational exercise routine into a 7 day week, allocating certain muscle groups to certain days, exercises to muscle groups and and quantities to exercises. This led me to ask the questions; Why do our exercise routines have to be squeezed into a 7 day box? Why do the exercises we perform have to be controlled and restricted by numbers? Boring sets of repetitions of the same robotic movements. One of the biggest mistakes I made was trying to quantify everything with numbers. Sometimes this can be useful but numbers don't translate into the language our bodies speak. The best thing to do is think outside the box and listen to what our bodies are telling us. Go with the flow of our physiological fluctuations, highs and lows and the cycles of nature rather than trying to program our physicality through applied mathematics.

I came to realize this after designing various training programmes over the years which theoretically looked perfect on paper, but when I tried to follow a specific, progressive routine it never went down the way I had planned. Something always went wrong, it didn't feel right and I got bored or I wasn't progressing. It took me years to figure out that this was because I couldn't see into the future. I was making the mistake of trying to tell my body what it was going to do before I had the chance to feel it out, rather than letting my body tell me what I should be doing. This is the reason training programmes aren't sustainable for me. The best results I have had in my training have come through living a certain lifestyle and letting my body change at it's own pace in order to reflect that lifestyle rather than forcing it to change into something or do something it doesn't feel comfortable doing. If my physique will be a manifestation of my living conditions then I must live the life that will lead me to the physique and abilities that I desire.

One of the things that confused me most throughout my training journey was standard recovery time allocations. Some experts say it takes 48 hours for you to recover fully after weight training - some say it takes 14 days. The truth is that no one knows because recovery time is so variable. The only way to get it right is by winging it and training when your body tells you it's ready. There is no point in planning a workout on Monday, Wednesday and Fri only to find you're not feeling ready to train by the time your next workout rolls around. But the stupid thing is that I was training anyway because my programme told me to do so, and that's why I got bored and didn't make any progress!

There are so many different exercises, training and periodization structures, sets and rep structures it's mind-boggling - all just dilution and recycled information. It's hard to know where to start, and that's why for a time I found it difficult to begin progressing towards my goals. So many questions need to be answered in order to begin, "How many Exercises per body part?, How many times a week?, How many sets and reps?". The truth is that none of that really mattered to me when I looked at my training life from an unabridged perspective. Enduring a monotonous and repetitive workout routine eventually demotivated me, whereas when I learned to enjoy intense exercise as a functional task with merit encompassing other aspects of athleticism, I could not only train when I felt like it and look forward to the occasion but I could accomplish more than merely banal, linear progress. That to me is a no-brainer. To me, a 2 month periodization phase - although I had achieved great results from it previously - seemed restrictive and unavailing in the bigger picture.

Body part splits can be effective occasionally. But they are extremely limiting and boring. To me, the idea of going into a gym and being limited to chest and triceps impedes creativity and freedom of natural movement. I have always had greater gains from - and had much more fun - doing full body workouts. The body functions as a single unit, everything is attached, there are no separate parts.

Functional Training - Genetic Inheritance:

I am a very active individual, I have a strong urge to perform physically hard tasks and I get great satisfaction from doing so. I was born with an athletic and muscular physique and respond very well to training. That is because I am the descendant of a long genetic line of laborers, farmers, construction site workers etc. Hard physical labor has been part of my genetic heritage for a long time and as a result, I was born with that genetic memory in my blood. I was bred for hard physical labor and I'm not happy or healthy unless I'm doing that. Just like a functional task for a sheep dog is to sprint around the fields, a functional task for me is to run, jump climb and lift heavy objects! True functional training for me, is the discovery of what physical tasks I was bred for. Some people are descendants of a genetic strain that endows them with an inclination to physical exertion and the bodily robustness to sustain an intense training lifestyle with satisfaction and attainment. Since I have been gifted with the ability to excel and enjoy many different disciplines, I want to take advantage of my relationship with these natural inclinations.

For me, getting caught up in specifics led me further away from my predispositions and took away the joy/freedom from my exercise lifestyle. From now on, all of my training knowledge will come from the wisdom of my body. My body will answer all of my questions for me and guide me through my training experience! I am my own prototype and the journey begins now!

October Training Progress

After hitting a plateau a few months ago on a push, pull, legs split I've decided to take a week and a half off training and change to a different training programme with more recovery time:

Workout 1: Full Body Push
Workout 2: Full Body Pull
Workout 3: Hill Sprints and Calisthenics

I will only train once I've fully recovered from the last workout so the training frequency is totally flexible. Workouts will be based more on powerlifting/strongman training rather than bodybuilding.

Full Body Push

Squats
Bench Press
Shoulder Press
Weighted Dips

Full Body Pull

Deadlift
Bent Rows
Single Arm Row
Weighted Pull Ups

Hill Sprints and Calisthenics

6 Sprints, warming up to one maximal sprint.
All over bodyweight exercises.

Current Statistics

Body Weight - 83kg
Deadlift - 220kg
Bench press - 110kg
Squat - 165kg

Training Progress June 2010

A few weeks after my bodybuilding competition I've put on almost 10 kilos, sitting at around 83kg now (about 13 stone). My aim is to reach 86kg by the end of the month (13.5 stone).

I'm hoping to compete in the Scotland's Strongest man competition under 105kg next june in 2011. Going to attempt to increase my weight to 16 stone (100kg) by then and increase my weights as much as possible!

Current Statistics

Body Weight - 83kg
Deadlift - 200kg
Bench Press - 110kg
Squat - 150kg

2010 Bulking

I've just competed in the BNBF Scottish natural bodybuilding competition and I placed 4th in my class. It's not the result I was hoping for but I'm pleased I placed at least. I will be taking a year out and training for the 2012 competition. From now until then I will be training to get much bigger, I'll post my training and diet here to keep track of how I'm doing!

Training Plan Example

Monday: -
Tuesday: Upper Body (Compound)
Wednesday: Sprint Training (100m)
Thursday: -
Friday: Upper Body (Isolation)
Saturday: -
Sunday: Lower Body/Core

Upper Body (Compound)

Bench Press - 3/8-10
Incline Bench Press - 3/8-10
Military Press - 3/8-10
Weighted Dips - 3/8-10

Wide Grip Pulldown - 3/8-10
Chin Ups - 3/8-10
Bent Rows - 3/8-10
Upright Rows - 3/8-10

Upper Body (Isolation)

Barbell Curl - 3/10
Skull Crushers - 3/10
Lateral Raises - 3/10
Shrugs - 3/10
Single Arm Row - 3/10
Pec Flys - 3/10
Incline Pec Flys -3/10
Pullovers - 3/10
Sit Ups - 3/10
Leg Raises - 3/10

Lower Body/Core

Squats - 2/20
Deadlifts - 4/5
Leg Press - 3/10-12
Leg Extensions - 3/10-12
Leg Curl - 3/10-12
Calf Raises - 3/10-12

Sprint Training

6-10 x 100M sprints with 4-7 mins rest between each.

Diet Example

Meal 1: Oats, almonds, shake.
Meal 2: Rice or Pasta, tuna and mixed veg.
Meal 3: Shake, protein bar*
Meal 4: 4 eggs, rice cakes or crisp bread.
Meal 5: Shake, protein bar*
Meal 6: Sandwich, fruit juice.
Meal 7: Steak or chicken, potatoe or rice.
Supplements: Kre-Alkalyn, BCAAs, Animal Pak, NaNo Vapour, Cod liver oil and Glucosamine Sulphate.

* Shake = 400ml milk, 1 banana, 2 scoops weight gainer or whey protein, 1 scoop oats, 1 tbsp EFA oil or flax seed powder.
* Homemade protein bar = 3 cup oats, 4 cups whey protein, 1/2 cup peanut butter, 1 cup milk, 1 cup raisins and crushed almonds.

This is my plan, it will change due to how I'm feeling or how my day is going but I will try and maintain it as much as possible. I am sitting around 76kg at the moment which is way too light. I'm trying to bulk back up to 86kg in the next few months which is where I was sitting before I started cutting, but I hope to be a bit leaner this time. The ultimate goal is 200lbs (91kg) lean by the end of the year.

Current statistics and progress pictures

Body weight - 75kg
Deadlift - 190kg
Bench press - 100kg
Squat - 145kg