Q & A with The Bodybuilding Golf Pro - Michael Manavian

[Manavs]

Just wanted to take this time and thank you all for a great 2009. I've met a lot of nice people thru shottalk and i'm looking forward to a great 2k10.

Merry Christmas, a great 2k10 and lower scores and bodyfat for all =)

 

[TheTrueReview]

Just wanted to take this time and thank you all for a great 2009. I've met a lot of nice people thru shottalk and i'm looking forward to a great 2k10.

Merry Christmas, a great 2k10 and lower scores and bodyfat for all =)

Thanks Manavs. It's already xmas here in Australia. Merry Christmas to you too.

 

[Manavs]

In a completely unrelated topic -

i wanted to give a little update on my whereabouts and going ons.

As some of you know i traveled to florida for about a 6 week stretch but i've been a little sketchy on why i went down.

a few months back, i was listening to a podcast in where the owner of ALR Industries - a major supplement company in the bodybuilding/mma industries - had announced that they were working with advanced nutritional compounds for those with Autism/Alsheimers/ADD/ADHD syndromes. The basis behind it was that by improving focus for those suffering with those syndromes, they could improve performance in athletes - as both groups are looking for the same thing - super human performance.

The product that they had developed had undergone clinical trials at UCLA med center and had validated research. It provides an enzyme that passes the blood/brain barrier to enhance focus with no increases in; adrenaline, heart rate, or blood pressure.

When i heard about this, I contacted the ceo and discussed the possibilities of working together in bringing the supplement into the golf industry. This was the reasoning behind my trip to florida - talk to the tour players at the Disney event and at q school, and during the weeks surrounding it, go touch base with my friends, club pros, and caddies to see if there was even a market for the product.

the trip proved to be very successful and we are launching the product along with a few others at the 2010 pga show - booth #1182 (come on by tell me your from shot talk and we'll hook u up).

personally ive used the 3 products with great success. i played 4 rounds of golf on the trip - savannah golf club, pga national - champions course, deering bay yacht club, and again at savannah. i tinkered with getting the right doseages/food combinations for each one and finally put something together that was really good for the 4th round back at savannah gc. i hit the ball the best i've ever hit it tee to green, missed 1 fw, and 3 greens, hit shots really close all day.

then when i got back to ny, i get word that the gym i'm working out at is interested in setting me up with an indoor golf studio to give lessons - we're looking into getting a simulator/launch monitor/video capture program to take the place of the spin room that is not making the gym any money.

i;ll keep you all posted on both projects and again best in 2010

Michael

 

[Manavs]

Thanks Manavs. It's already xmas here in Australia. Merry Christmas to you too.

good stuff truereview!!!! this ones for you mate!

[video=youtube;S9NhL3agUaw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9NhL3agUaw[/video]

 

[Phana24JG]

I wouldn't say it was stupid.

I was hoping for a laugh.

FWIW, I myself find it extremely hard to follow typical golf instruction and wish you the best of luck!

Of course I got a laugh. If a person cannot laugh at themselves, they obviously cannot play golf. My problem is my golf game results in far too much of that kind of laughter.

 

[Phana24JG]

Just wanted to take this time and thank you all for a great 2009. I've met a lot of nice people thru shottalk and i'm looking forward to a great 2k10.

Merry Christmas, a great 2k10 and lower scores and bodyfat for all =)

Thanks Mike, and the same to you and yours.

 

[3Bogey]

Mike.....I'm glad I stumbled onto this thread. I have a long one here so I hope you can bare with me. I also just purchased your book and it is on the way....I've been reading many of these threads over the past few days and really buy into your theories. I am a golf enthusiast and fitness fanatic myself and one thing I have always believed in and have seen results personally is constantly shocking the body with different weight training principles. If I wanted to get big it was simple....I ate like a pig (clean pig mind you ) and pounded heavy weights and "whala" I got big as well as strong. If I wanted to drop a little bodyfat.... dropped my calories used a variety of weight and rep schemes and lost unwanted bodyfat. Never have I focused on cardio or even aerobic for that matter and have always stayed within reason body fat wise. I have always used the progressive overload principle and journal to track my progress. I always want to be one rep stronger than my last workout. I have always believed in whole body, one set per body part workouts and believe compound exercises are the only necessary exercises you need to perform. I have also gotten great results with lifting just 2 days a week getting plenty of rest between my workouts. The key to my succsess has always been diet and intensity. Eating and eating some more to gain strength and size cut back when I want to lose the extra bodyfat. My workouts average 25-35 minutes long but are super intense. As I just reached 40, I am finding the body wearing down a bit with these high intensity exercises. Maybe its the heavy weight and low reps that is getting me...... 8-12 is where I am usually at. I see that you recommend higher reps with lighter weight at faster speeds. I have tried this in the past as a platau breaker but have always lacked seeing any results..... however in fairness, I haven't stuck with it very long. My biggest concern however is that I have never been flexible. I mean really unflexible...barely get past my kneecaps when I try to touch my toes unflexible...zero hip rotation unflexible. I muscle out all my distance with upper body and arms. I am a clubfitter on the side and I have fit myself the best I can with equipment but can still only get it out there 230 yards. My 6 iron is a whopping 150 yards. I average 90-95 swing speed with 130-135 mph ball speed on my Zelocity. Plain and simple......I want and need more distance!!! I know I am strong enough but I have always blamed my limited flexibility as my biggest issue. I just cant rotate or get the club back far enough to generate club head speed. I have tried every flexibility program out there...Static, Ballistic, PNF,AIS....nothing works!! So when I here that you echo these same feelings I ponder what can I do??? I am happy with my current weight training style, however I have never been satisfied with my lack of flexibility and my shorty golf game. Will your program help my flexibility? I know I need more club head speed. I certainly lack the necessary lag and have a moderate to early release however I have never been able to create the lag that I belive is innate ( I also read that in an article somewhere that you can't consciously control lag with your mind...your release is contingent on flexibility and the plane of your swing....just what I read somewhere)???. I have pretty good technique and keep it on an inside to outside plane and I am a good ball striker for such a short hitter. It just goes nowhere and I am tired of it!!!!! What to do??

 

[Manavs]

Mike.....I'm glad I stumbled onto this thread. I have a long one here so I hope you can bare with me. I also just purchased your book and it is on the way....I've been reading many of these threads over the past few days and really buy into your theories. I am a golf enthusiast and fitness fanatic myself and one thing I have always believed in and have seen results personally is constantly shocking the body with different weight training principles. If I wanted to get big it was simple....I ate like a pig (clean pig mind you ) and pounded heavy weights and "whala" I got big as well as strong. If I wanted to drop a little bodyfat.... dropped my calories used a variety of weight and rep schemes and lost unwanted bodyfat. Never have I focused on cardio or even aerobic for that matter and have always stayed within reason body fat wise. I have always used the progressive overload principle and journal to track my progress. I always want to be one rep stronger than my last workout. I have always believed in whole body, one set per body part workouts and believe compound exercises are the only necessary exercises you need to perform. I have also gotten great results with lifting just 2 days a week getting plenty of rest between my workouts. The key to my succsess has always been diet and intensity. Eating and eating some more to gain strength and size cut back when I want to lose the extra bodyfat. My workouts average 25-35 minutes long but are super intense. As I just reached 40, I am finding the body wearing down a bit with these high intensity exercises. Maybe its the heavy weight and low reps that is getting me...... 8-12 is where I am usually at. I see that you recommend higher reps with lighter weight at faster speeds. I have tried this in the past as a platau breaker but have always lacked seeing any results..... however in fairness, I haven't stuck with it very long. My biggest concern however is that I have never been flexible. I mean really unflexible...barely get past my kneecaps when I try to touch my toes unflexible...zero hip rotation unflexible. I muscle out all my distance with upper body and arms. I am a clubfitter on the side and I have fit myself the best I can with equipment but can still only get it out there 230 yards. My 6 iron is a whopping 150 yards. I average 90-95 swing speed with 130-135 mph ball speed on my Zelocity. Plain and simple......I want and need more distance!!! I know I am strong enough but I have always blamed my limited flexibility as my biggest issue. I just cant rotate or get the club back far enough to generate club head speed. I have tried every flexibility program out there...Static, Ballistic, PNF,AIS....nothing works!! So when I here that you echo these same feelings I ponder what can I do??? I am happy with my current weight training style, however I have never been satisfied with my lack of flexibility and my shorty golf game. Will your program help my flexibility? I know I need more club head speed. I certainly lack the necessary lag and have a moderate to early release however I have never been able to create the lag that I belive is innate ( I also read that in an article somewhere that you can't consciously control lag with your mind...your release is contingent on flexibility and the plane of your swing....just what I read somewhere)???. I have pretty good technique and keep it on an inside to outside plane and I am a good ball striker for such a short hitter. It just goes nowhere and I am tired of it!!!!! What to do??

Well the first thing i'd suggest is getting rid of that puke yellow towel and opt for a flying elvis or pat the patriot LOL j/k i actually respect the steelers as i find them to be good adversaries.

seriously, i appreciate your kind words and interest in what i've written and posted here. Your question requires a few part answer that may need a few posts back and forth to fully resolve so i thank you for your patience.

Personally, my weight training has been targeted towards a very specific goal -mentally intend a goal first and bring that mental thought into the physical universe via demonstration despite the 'noise' created as a byproduct to take you off purpose.

With that said, the purely physical subgoals (again me personally) are symmetry, endurance, and aesthetics. I've never trained for strength, size or power, yet i have achieved plenty of strength, size and power as it relates for golf. (if my golf was powerlifting or strongman, then obviously my training would be not suited for that)

A person is in the condition they are in because of the things theyve done - or as Ronnie Coleman said, "if you always did what you done, then youll get what you always got!"

So for you, your lack of flexibility is because of your style of weight training. youve done a helluva job getting big and strong congratulations for that. it has gotten you exactly what youve got. and here's what i mean by that -

doing a one set per body part builds a strong, thick muscle capable for moving heavy weights. to accommodate this size, the joints (ligaments and tendons) get big, very thick and rigid (inflexable) but the muscles dont ever develop the endurance or strength along the entire length of the muscle that they require. in otherwords strong in gym, but weak on the course.

first and foremost functional muscle is what we are after here, not size or thickness, though that will be a great by product.

I very often see people that can do 1 rep of a compound movement with a massive amount of weight, but ask them to do an exercise that isolates the muscle independently they are very weak. for example - a heavy bench press uses more triceps then chest. i can take a guy who can do 405 or more and make him cry with quarters on each side of a smith machine just by using his chest and taking his triceps out of the exercise. Now i can build his chest independently of his arms, increase the endurance of the chest fibers, and actually increase his bench power indirectly.

now mind you putting this guy under a smith with only 25lbs on each side is not a light weight - if your using the pecs.

next time your in the gym set up under a smith (you could do it with a broomstick or golf club to get the idea) and unlock it bring it down to your chest raise it up 1" of your chest - at this moment activate your pecs by trying to squeeze the bar by pressuring your hands into each other towards the middle of the bar as hard as you can, the first thing you will notice, is that your pecs have been activated - now maintain that inward push as hard as you can as you do your reps till your pecs burn so hard and engorge / fill with so much blood that they cant move - now add weight and do it again. it will take 3-5 sets to fully hit all the fibers as the first few sets will only touch the surface fibers and spare the ones deep by the bone. those deep by the bone fibers dont activate till the top ones are fatigues (they are the calvary of sorts that only get summonsed in the 3rd/4th/and 5th sets when there is a need.) this way you build up dense muscle deep in the fibers.

this is the type of endurance that you will build within the muscle - using full range of motions and with massive recruitment of fibers and by no means is the weight light. even though the weight is lighter, i separate out the specific muscle group and put muscle in its weakest position to make the weight it has to move very heavy and do it very intensely.

i get no help from another muscle group so the muscle can strengthen the entire length of it. using our chest example, if you pack on too heavy a weight on the bar then your not using your chest and are asking for your triceps for help - well when they're helping they are taking the stress off of the pecs, so your pecs are becoming weaker at the start of the rep. (fyi a great way to tear your pec)

now as you said your getting older, there is a funny thing about muscles. the fibers can grow quite well into 40's, but you must protect your joints as they can age quickly. modifying your training to target the muscle fibers will spare the joints.

Flexibility - I dont believe in flexibility training. i believe that if one trains full range of motion and as i have described above, that there is no need for it - you can still do it if it makes you fee good, fine. I feel that joint manipulation via deep tissue massages, ART, and chiropractic care, can help loosen any tight spots on a body far better than flexibility training.

if your tight, there is a reason preceding that action. The muscle is locked in tightening the area up for a reason. getting a person (who knows their stuff) in there to work the cause of the tightness at this level relives the reason behind the tightness, thus loosening up the muscle and giving back your flexibility. if you were just to stretch out without relieving the "knot" if the muscle first, you could tear the muscle at another location - and still have the knot present.

now on getting you distance, i have seen many inflexible person have clubhead throwaway as well as clubhead lag, so its not a related issue. i have solved and can solve clubhead lag with stress given to the shaft with the hands in a correct direction. lag is not flexibility dependent!!!!!

I believe section 3 in the book (the golf lesson section) will have the answers youve been looking for and can help you resolve some of these issues with lag. independently training each hand properly so that they can work together will be your key.

I trust that you will apply what i've discussed here with great diligence, and look forward to hearing your feedback and assisting you in any way we can to help you work through any barriers or confusion that may arise.

Continued success -
Michael

 

[3Bogey]

Careful there Mike....those are fightin words!!! The Black and Gold need some help this weekend let's not be to hard on them, their down right now! Anyway Thanks for the great feedback. I am really getting excited here. Your theories are really challanging me on how I should approach lifting weights...which is a good thing. I have always believed in Mentzer and his HIT principles because they have worked for me. But as you said, I am a by product of what I have implemented and as a result have gained tough unflexible tendons and muscles, not a body which is good for the golf. This all makes sense to me. I came here as a means to increase my distance, not in getting more muscular, so I am going to put your theories to the test...I can promise you that. I also teach Physical Education at the HS level for a living and have been teaching 1 set whole body workouts to my students 2x's per week, the same as me. This has worked well and alot of students have had success. But I am always looking for change. But up until now I haven't really found anything worthwhile to make me want to change. I am going to read the book and implement your theory to my students as well. I believe life is all about becoming the best version of yourself...... physically, spiritually, and intellectually. You come across very few people in the world who can challange you to change your ways for the better. I was pretty cemented in Mentzer's theories because they allowed me to get bigger and stronger. Unfortunately, I am not receiving the benefits for golf as you so elloquently laid out so it is time to make some changes. Words have value from those who speak them. You're a golfer with a weight training attitude....I value that. The goal is simple....Hit the ball longer. What ever you can recommend I am all ears.

 

[Manavs]

Careful there Mike....those are fightin words!!! The Black and Gold need some help this weekend let's not be to hard on them, their down right now! Anyway Thanks for the great feedback. I am really getting excited here. Your theories are really challanging me on how I should approach lifting weights...which is a good thing. I have always believed in Mentzer and his HIT principles because they have worked for me. But as you said, I am a by product of what I have implemented and as a result have gained tough unflexible tendons and muscles, not a body which is good for the golf. This all makes sense to me. I came here as a means to increase my distance, not in getting more muscular, so I am going to put your theories to the test...I can promise you that. I also teach Physical Education at the HS level for a living and have been teaching 1 set whole body workouts to my students 2x's per week, the same as me. This has worked well and alot of students have had success. But I am always looking for change. But up until now I haven't really found anything worthwhile to make me want to change. I am going to read the book and implement your theory to my students as well. I believe life is all about becoming the best version of yourself...... physically, spiritually, and intellectually. You come across very few people in the world who can challange you to change your ways for the better. I was pretty cemented in Mentzer's theories because they allowed me to get bigger and stronger. Unfortunately, I am not receiving the benefits for golf as you so elloquently laid out so it is time to make some changes. Words have value from those who speak them. You're a golfer with a weight training attitude....I value that. The goal is simple....Hit the ball longer. What ever you can recommend I am all ears.

Here's my issue with Mentzer's (and really the Nautilus founder's Author Jones') theories. Both Mentzer brothers Mike and Ray had phenomenal physiques - (Mike shouldve won the 80 Mr Olympia IMO hands down) my only issue is that their physiques were not built with HIT training. Its plain to see if you've ever watched 'pumping iron' that he didnt train 1 set, low volume. He like everyother golden era bodybuilder did high volume non stop training, using moderately heavy to very heavy weights.

It wasnt till later in life where he made his millions catering to lazy americans looking to get fit in conjunction with selling nautilus equipment. Which i applaude him for it. But its not the type of training HE did to build his physique. Once a physique is built, the maintenance of the shape doesnt require nearly the same effort and energy it takes to build it from scratch and doing HIT type of training can do a fine job for maintenance purposes.

Fast forward now 20-30 years from the introduction of HIT principles, and its clear to see the influence of HIT training has had on the shape of physiques. Rightly or wrongly HIT training has created a blockier physique. Probably a stronger physique but not as 'pretty' of the yesteryear physique with the smaller joints and smaller waists - (Think Arnold, Reeves, Zane), vs the typical athletic physique most academic programs use for their athletes - 1 rep max, HIT, low volume training. They look at the number of lbs lifted as progress and the physiques that follow are just plain blockier and IMO uglier.

1 rep or 1 set training just doesnt get enough blood flow to the area to deliver the nutrients to the area.

Now look at Dorian Yates' HIT training and that was some serious stuff, but also look at the toll it took on his shape and physique. Lots of injuries, TONS of weight, and tons of chemicals. and now look at him not far removed from the days of being onstage in the 265 range he looks like a normal person - not the monster he once was. The older generation guys built much denser muscle fibers that didnt diminish - meaning they kept more of what they built (even without the chemicals).

My recommendations are quite simple - exhaust the muscle and engorge it with blood. 25-15-12-8-6 rep schemes work very well with increasing weights. line up 2-3 machines doing full range contractions and going non stop.

for ex:
Shoulders
Overhead DB Press -
DB Side laterals
Bent over Rear DB laterals

use 15 lbs and go 25 up, 25 sides, 25 rears,
go to the rack get the 20's do 15 up, 15 sides, 15 rears
rerack and grab the 25;s - 12-12-12
grab a breath and a sip of h2o and right back in with the 30;s 8-8-8
find another breath and another sip and go for the 35's 6-6-6

thats alot of work in a short period of time. start with the 10's if you need to and go to the 30's. or if its too light start with the 20's or 25's.

and if you want to make it interesting work the pyramid back down

8-8-8
12-12-12
15-15-15
25-25-25

the 2nd section of the book has a lot of these types of groupings you can put together. but the common thing is lets exhaust that muscle and engorge it with some bloodflow.

Lemme know how it goes - I applaud your willingness and desire to improve. Where in the country are you? PA?

 

[3Bogey]

I here what you are saying about HIT training but it has been the one theory that has worked for me the best. I came from the era of minimum 2 hour workouts, a gazillion sets, split routines, 3 days on 1 day off training and it pretty near killed me. I once was squating 500 lbs and benching close to 300 lbs but I wasn't getting anywhere near the rest that I needed and started to overtrain. I was consuming 6000 calories a day from egg whites, chicken breast, legumes, oatmeal, broccoli, protein shakes,weight gainer, brown rice,almonds and bananas. That was my diet day in and day out. All I did was crap my brains out, lift, and sleep. I was obssesed on getting bigger and stronger. Then it all caught up to me. I partially tore my rotator cuff and developed chronic tendonitis in my right knee along with severe cases of hemroids!!! All for the sake of getting bigger,stronger. I was out for about 4 years. That is when I stumbled across Mentzer and his less is more routine. Now I was able to get back close to where I was (alot of muscle memory I'm sure) and maintain what I had developed and it didn't wear on me and I felt energized. So I can't say that it had no value at all because I was able to maintain wheras the volume training was too much. But you are right, what I got probably came from the crazy long workouts and lifting routines in the past. I have maintained quite well over the last 8 years even with the shoulder injury that still plagues me at times to this day. Legs are gone. My knees took a killing from heavy squats and years of Basketball. I do very light leg workouts because my knees just can't take the abuse. I hope the joints can take the several sets that you recommend....I'd be lying if I said I'm not nervous about this. In fairness I have never pyramided this way but am willing to give it a shot. I am familiar with super sets or giant sets but it has been years since I have done them. As I said I am willing to give it my all for the sake of hitting the ball longer. I still have a muscular physique, not ripped, so I could drop some body fat and yes I am hoping to see a little better physique, but that will be a by product and not nearly as important as hitting 300 yard drives....my ultimate goal. Actually I'm from Maine.....Go figure. Love the Celts and Sox...Can't stand the Patriots. When I was a kid (70's) the Steelers were the team of the decade and I have latched on to them ever since. They also have the best attitide of any sports team and I love the blue collar mentality. Another question which is probably in the book. What days do you lift and what muscle groups do you target on those days?

 

[Manavs]

I here what you are saying about HIT training but it has been the one theory that has worked for me the best. I came from the era of minimum 2 hour workouts, a gazillion sets, split routines, 3 days on 1 day off training and it pretty near killed me. I once was squating 500 lbs and benching close to 300 lbs but I wasn't getting anywhere near the rest that I needed and started to overtrain. I was consuming 6000 calories a day from egg whites, chicken breast, legumes, oatmeal, broccoli, protein shakes,weight gainer, brown rice,almonds and bananas. That was my diet day in and day out. All I did was crap my brains out, lift, and sleep. I was obssesed on getting bigger and stronger. Then it all caught up to me. I partially tore my rotator cuff and developed chronic tendonitis in my right knee along with severe cases of hemroids!!! All for the sake of getting bigger,stronger. I was out for about 4 years. That is when I stumbled across Mentzer and his less is more routine. Now I was able to get back close to where I was (alot of muscle memory I'm sure) and maintain what I had developed and it didn't wear on me and I felt energized. So I can't say that it had no value at all because I was able to maintain wheras the volume training was too much. But you are right, what I got probably came from the crazy long workouts and lifting routines in the past. I have maintained quite well over the last 8 years even with the shoulder injury that still plagues me at times to this day. Legs are gone. My knees took a killing from heavy squats and years of Basketball. I do very light leg workouts because my knees just can't take the abuse. I hope the joints can take the several sets that you recommend....I'd be lying if I said I'm not nervous about this. In fairness I have never pyramided this way but am willing to give it a shot. I am familiar with super sets or giant sets but it has been years since I have done them. As I said I am willing to give it my all for the sake of hitting the ball longer. I still have a muscular physique, not ripped, so I could drop some body fat and yes I am hoping to see a little better physique, but that will be a by product and not nearly as important as hitting 300 yard drives....my ultimate goal. Actually I'm from Maine.....Go figure. Love the Celts and Sox...Can't stand the Patriots. When I was a kid (70's) the Steelers were the team of the decade and I have latched on to them ever since. They also have the best attitide of any sports team and I love the blue collar mentality. Another question which is probably in the book. What days do you lift and what muscle groups do you target on those days?

let us know how it goes, do it gradually -

start with 3 sets - 25-15-12 and work up to adding the 8 - 6 set.

once that starts becoming easy, dont go heavier, just add the pyramid down. your heart, lungs and muscles should be burning with this, not your joints. as far as 6000 cals a day goes, yeah thats what you gotta do to get that goal - the stress on the body as you well know is horrific, but that is the price one pays to look that way. people ask my why i do or have done what ive done, is it crazy, make no mistake about it - yes, but that wasnt why i did it, it was because it was what i desired to do and see if i could do it.

funny thing about experience is that the more you have the more youve done and hopefully the better you are because of it one way or another.

do i need to do 3 hour workouts followed by 4 hours of cardio and boiled chicken - no. would i if i thought thats what it took to get my next goal - id gladly do that plus 10x more if i knew that was the means to the end product. but ive learned over the years how to get more efficient utilizing the tools at my disposal to get the best result.

as far as losing some body fat - thats more to do with metabolism and your kitchen than the gym.

glad your a SOX, and Celts fan - the 70s werent a good time for the then Boston Patriots who knew it would take a flying elvis logo to get them turned around!

Keep us posted!
Michael

 

[3Bogey]

Well had my first week week using your system and all I can say is wow!! I am as sore as I have ever been. Here is my split-

Monday- (CHEST and BACK)
Dumbell Press (deep as I could to get maximum stretch and used Giant sets on every exercise)
Set 1- 40x25
Set 2- 45x15
Set 3- 50x 6 ( could not get to 10....failure)

Dumbell Fly's ( staright arm to get a good deep stretch)
Set 1- 10X25
Set 2 15x 12 (failure)
Set 3 20-8 (failure)

Lat pull down (full range of motion bar to chest)
Set 1 80 x 25
Set 2 90x15
Set 3 100x 10

Seated rows
Set 1 80 X 25
Set 2 90 X 12 (failure)
set 3 100x6 (failure)


Wednesday SHOULDERS & LEGS
Seated dumbell press
Set 1 20x25
set 2 25 x 12 (failure)
set 3 30 x 4 (failure)....weak!!!!!)

Lateral ext straight arm-
Set 1 10x25
set 2 15 x 7
set 3 10 x 10 (dropped back to 10....completely ruined!!)

bent over rear delt ext
Set 1 10x25
set 2 15 x 15
set 3 20 x 10


Dumbell Shrugs
Set 1 70 X 25
Set 2 80 X 15
Set 3 90 X 10

Leg extensions ( i have bad knees so i take it easy and do wimpy exrcises...squats and leg presses kill my knees...so do deadlifts)

set 1 80x 25
set 2 90x15 (failure)
set 3 100x 7 (failure)

Leg curls
set 1 50 X 25
set 2 60 x 12 (failure)
set 3 70 x 5 (failure............weak!!)

Friday Arms

Seated Dumbell curls
20x25
25x15
30x7 (failure)

Preacher curls machine
30x25
40x 11 failure
50x 5 failure

Hammer curls
20x 25
25x10 failure
30 x 5 failure weak!!!

Seated dumbbell extension above head
10x25
15x15
20x10

Tricep pushdowns ( straight bar)
40x25
50x15
60x7 (failure)

Tuesday I couldn’t even lift my arm over my head…..my chest and back and biceps were on fire with every movement ( I haven’t had this much soreness ever after a lift!!!) Thursday my shoulders were sore but no where near the pain as of Wednesday….legs were no sore at all…. Today biceps a little sore but not much soreness in the triceps… …Some exercises didn’t take me to failure so I need to up a little I think…..others I couldn’t get through the 2nd set before hitting failure. Workouts lasted 20-25 minutes. I had no rest between the 3 sets per exercise(giant seted every exercise). Rested about 3 minutes when I changed to the next exercise. Any suggestions or changes????

 

[Manavs]

Well had my first week week using your system and all I can say is wow!! I am as sore as I have ever been. Here is my split-

Monday- (CHEST and BACK)
Dumbell Press (deep as I could to get maximum stretch and used Giant sets on every exercise)
Set 1- 40x25
Set 2- 45x15
Set 3- 50x 6 ( could not get to 10....failure)

Dumbell Fly's ( staright arm to get a good deep stretch)
Set 1- 10X25
Set 2 15x 12 (failure)
Set 3 20-8 (failure)

Lat pull down (full range of motion bar to chest)
Set 1 80 x 25
Set 2 90x15
Set 3 100x 10

Seated rows
Set 1 80 X 25
Set 2 90 X 12 (failure)
set 3 100x6 (failure)


Wednesday SHOULDERS & LEGS
Seated dumbell press
Set 1 20x25
set 2 25 x 12 (failure)
set 3 30 x 4 (failure)....weak!!!!!)

Lateral ext straight arm-
Set 1 10x25
set 2 15 x 7
set 3 10 x 10 (dropped back to 10....completely ruined!!)

bent over rear delt ext
Set 1 10x25
set 2 15 x 15
set 3 20 x 10


Dumbell Shrugs
Set 1 70 X 25
Set 2 80 X 15
Set 3 90 X 10

Leg extensions ( i have bad knees so i take it easy and do wimpy exrcises...squats and leg presses kill my knees...so do deadlifts)

set 1 80x 25
set 2 90x15 (failure)
set 3 100x 7 (failure)

Leg curls
set 1 50 X 25
set 2 60 x 12 (failure)
set 3 70 x 5 (failure............weak!!)

Friday Arms

Seated Dumbell curls
20x25
25x15
30x7 (failure)

Preacher curls machine
30x25
40x 11 failure
50x 5 failure

Hammer curls
20x 25
25x10 failure
30 x 5 failure weak!!!

Seated dumbbell extension above head
10x25
15x15
20x10

Tricep pushdowns ( straight bar)
40x25
50x15
60x7 (failure)

Tuesday I couldn’t even lift my arm over my head…..my chest and back and biceps were on fire with every movement ( I haven’t had this much soreness ever after a lift!!!) Thursday my shoulders were sore but no where near the pain as of Wednesday….legs were no sore at all…. Today biceps a little sore but not much soreness in the triceps… …Some exercises didn’t take me to failure so I need to up a little I think…..others I couldn’t get through the 2nd set before hitting failure. Workouts lasted 20-25 minutes. I had no rest between the 3 sets per exercise(giant seted every exercise). Rested about 3 minutes when I changed to the next exercise. Any suggestions or changes????

Congratulations, and I applaud your effort here my friend.

reading this there are a few things here make me VERY concerned.

from what you commented on how sore you were with the relatively light weight you were/are using - your ability to deliver oxygen (and nutrients) to the muscles worked show me that your a lot more out of shape than i thought. if your getting to failure with a 50lb for 6 reps on a db press, we need to improve your stamina and endurance (reads heart and lungs) for about 3 weeks before you start pushing failure reps.

by focusing on heart and lungs work rather than failure muscle building reps, we will improve the delivery of o2 to the area worked. the build up of lactic acid (which you are feeling) is basically the remainder of a sugar molecule. as it stands you are not efficient enough to burn off all 4 molecules right now so the left over 2 molecules leave behind a half burnt sugar - aka lactic acid (my simplistic non scientific analogy). once you do about 3 weeks of endurance/stamina training - heart and lung work, we will create the ability to better deliver o2 to the area so then when the time comes to go heavier or to failure your already used to a heavily oxygenated state.

my suggestion is to do beginner routine 1 on pg 125. you can customize it by doing it for the exercises you did above but use the 25 rep scheme for each of the 3 rounds using the same weight.

use the same weights you did for the first set above for each of the exercise. you gotta be able to get to that level of endurance and recover from that before you do any failure stuff.

make sense? this is why a student/client benefits from giving feedback - i had no idea what level of conditioning you were in, and how could i? you trained and gave the feedback and here are the adjustments. good work :thumbs up:

 

[3Bogey]

I guess those 1 set exercises have really have not benefited me much from a muscular endurance point of view!! Actually I thought I was in pretty decent shape!!!! I mean I can run the mile in under 8 minutes (better than 90% of my students and jump rope 3 minutes non stop (better than 95% of my students) so this is a reall eye opener!! ...I mean I look like I am in shape. I'm not this big gutted beer belly PE teacher in their 40's. I am pretty muscular (not as lean as you)....but I mean I look like I lift. I am 5'8" 185 with about 18% bodyfat and I realize I am now where near as strong and lean as I used to be when I was in my 20's but I didn't realize how out of shape my muscles were in. So for you to say that I am out of shape that's a little slap in the face!!!!! And exactly what I needed!!! I''m still a lttle shocked even as I am typing! What amazed me, being the first week, I used what I thought was very light weight for the first set. I wanted to make sure I could get through all 3 sets because I have'nt done giant sets for a long time. I wasn't fatigued at all with the 1st sets on any of the exercises because they are much lighter( half the weight that I normally workout with was my guide.. ie dumbell press 80's for 10-12 reps is what I usually do but 1 set only). Then "wham" I hit the wall quickly going into the 2nd set and the 3rd sets forget it on most! What an eye opener. But to be honest, I actually thought this was normal because I was looking to get stronger and bigger not using whimpy light weights trying to get 50 reps in with giant sets. I mean my first impression with your workouts was a workout for string bean long distance runners. So this is what is interesting to me, my whole life I have read and been told that if you want big strong muscles diet and pounding heavier weight would achieve the results and to heck with light wimpy sets of 25 reps. I have always beeen told that was a waste of time because the body responds by stimulating it to lift heavy not light. As I said before even if this is not the best method of getting bigger and stronger ( I still question if this is the best way????) I don't care....I want to get in better shape for golf especially getting more flexible. So this is going to be interesting. I'm going to stick with it and as hard as it is for me to hear that I have to go the beginner route I guess I really need to!!!

Thanks for the quick reply!