I wish my gym had a proper squat rack, and not just a “stand” as it can be quite shaky to squat heavy the day after a Body Pump class. My hip flexors got really tight after Wednesdays Body Pump class, restricting my range of motion so much that I could barely hit parallel on my squats the day after.

One thing I didn’t think about when I planned for Romanian Deadlifts was that I have to perform a clean style deadlift off the ground to get started, which isn’t exactly optimal. It seems the stand doesn’t go low enough for a rack pull.
But I’m not 100% sure about that, I will have to try it once to be sure.

It’s funny how I never saw anyone using the stand for anything before, but now that I started utilizing it myself, during my first four sessions I’ve seen one guy using it for squats and three guys using it for curls. But that is during “rush hour” so it seems most of the time I get the bar all for myself which is a big plus.

Speaking of curls, most of the time I feel that my biceps are worked pretty hard by the pulldowns and the rows alone, which leads me to think I may not need so much direct arm work. Instead, I’m leaning more and more towards using that time for more rowing. My back seems to have a lot of growth potential so it makes sense to put more focus on it.

I was planning on using the smaller fixed weight barbells for the Military Press and the Upright Row, but after two weeks I’ve already worked my way to the end of the rack. And that’s even though I’ve been working in the 8-12 rep range for these two exercises. So I figure I will have to move on to using the Olympic bar for those exercises as well. Which means I’ll be using the bar and the stand for four exercises in a row which in a sense would be quite practical, but it might piss a few people off when I monopolize the bar for half an hour…

I find that it is quite difficult to adjust to a 5RM rep scheme as it’s difficult to gauge whether I can take on a heavier weight on a workout following a PR. So what I’ve been doing is that I build up to 10 reps before moving on to a heavier weight, and this works out better for me on deadlifts and squats. So in a sense I’m now working in the 5-10RM range which is not very far from the 8-12RM range I have been working in previously.

I just hate it when I forget to pack my spinning shoes and am forced to use my running shoes for spinning class. When I bought my spinning shoes I wasn’t convinced at first whether they made much of a difference, but now whenever I go back to the old sneakers I feel it is very obvious how much of a difference it really makes. It’s not just the fact that you can better utilize the pulling motion, it’s also the stability that a pair of spinning shoes provide which really make the difference. With a pair of soft and flimsy running shoes I constantly fear that I’m going to trip on the pedals. Especially when I’m standing up on the bike and all of my body weight is resting on the balls of my feet.

I’m starting to think that my running shoes aren’t really good for anything in the gym. They are too soft for safe and stable squatting and they are too heavy and clumsy for group training. Ironically, they are probably not very good for outdoor running either as they’ve lost their bounce a long time ago.

So I probably need new gym trainers. The ideal solution would be some kind of compromise, a shoe which is flat and relatively stable and solid for weight lifting and have enough chock absorption to survive a step class.

According to Lyle McDonald one of the primary goals of beginning strength/weight training is to “determine optimal exercise selection for targeting individual muscle groups”. And that can only be achieved with hands-on experience.

With that said I think that when it comes to machine and cable exercises I have come a long way in finding out which exercises work out well for me. However, when it comes to barbell exercises, my experience is rather limited. While I have been benching, deadifting and squatting for the past couple of years in Body Pump and Power Step class, it is not quite comparable to when you are working with heavier weights. For one thing, the Body Pump bars don’t even allow for a wide enough grip to properly target the pecs. So my summer project will be to relearn these exercises with the “big boys” equipment.

So for the next six week cycle I’ll be doing a full body workout twice per week with a focus on the heavy compound barbell exercises. Also, I’m reducing the number of exercises so as to keep the volume down a bit. However, to add some flexibility and familiarity I’m including quite a few extra auxiliary exercises which I will include in my workout whenever I feel that I have the extra time or when I feel after completing my main exercises that I still have plenty of strength left in me for a few more sets. Deadlifts and Squats put a lot of pressure on the core and the central nervous system so it may turn out that I won’t need any Crunches or Back Extensions, but as I will eventually progress into some form of split routine I feel that I should at least include them so that I can try them out a few times in advance as they make more sense in a split routine. In fact, the twelve exercises which I have included in this cycle may go completely unchanged into the next cycle in some form of upper/lower body split.

I’ll be aiming for 3 sets of 5 on my main exercises and 2×8-12 on my auxiliary exercises.

1. Barbell Squat	2. Romanian Deadlift
3. Bench Press	4. Cable Underhand Pulldown
5. Barbell Military Press	6. Barbell Upright Row

Pictures from the exercise database at ExRx.net.

Some of you may notice that the exercise selection above is quite similar to Mark Rippetoes Starting Strength Program with the exception that I’ve replaced the Bent Over Row with two vertical rowing motions, the Pulldown and the Upright Row. A more optimal selection would include some form of horizontal row as well, but I feel that my back might not be able to handle it. So I choose the Upright Row as my secondary Rowing exercise as I like to give my Lateral Delts a bit more work.

What worries me is that Sats Jakobsberg doesn’t have a proper Squat Rack. Putting on too heavy and not getting out of the “hole” is not something I want to experience. The same applies for the Bench Press as well, there are no safety racks/bars in the Bench racks at my gym. So for this reason I’m placing these two exercises early in the routine so that at least I’m not fatigued when I do them. When it comes to the dangers associated with Deadlifting, I’m not too worried as I feel that I’m quite good at keeping my back straight so as long as I get the bar of the ground I shouldn’t be hurting myself with that exercise. Another unknown is whether or not I’ll be able to handle both Squats and Deadlifts in the same workout, but as Rip would say:

“Those who argue against squatting and deadlifting on the same day may just be pussies.” Mark Rippetoe

Auxiliary Exercises

The following are my auxiliary exercises. A little extra for the arms, legs and core.

Cable Pushdown	Cable Curl
Weighted Calf Raise	Lever Lying Leg Curl
Weighted Back Extension	Weighted Crunch

Pictures from the exercise database at ExRx.net.

Another six week period has passed and so it is time to summarize what I have learned in the weight room.

I have steadily been increasing the volume of my workouts during the past couple of months from 1-2 sets per exercise to 3 sets per exercise and I even stepped up to two full body workouts per week. The increase in volume has been taxing and I feel that it is soon time to take a short break and a de-load to restart the progress but seeing how I’m still making beginner gains I will keep going with my current routine and volume for a couple more weeks until I stall on the majority of my current exercises.

Since I had a mix of both new and old exercises in my third routine, it doesn’t make sense to talk about gains in “total weights lifted” anymore as some of them started off scratch and some from a level close to my previous best. Also, as the weights go up the reps start to vary from one workout to the next so that also makes it harder to talk about progress in these terms. So starting with my next routine I will be logging reps/sets as well as weights lifted. I will also get started on free weights based exercises, which are easier to benchmark against.

That said, I did increase the weights (for 8RM) for the new exercises by a bit more than 60% in six weeks, which is in line with previous gains on new exercises. As percentages work in mysterious ways this obviously doesn’t mean much, but I’m happy with the progress I’ve done with the Underhand Pulldown at the very least. I can really feel that exercise in my lats so it stays for another round. The Lying Leg Curl is also a lot better at targeting the hamstrings than the seated version, so it too qualifies for a second round. I’m not a big fan of the Calf Press machine as it has some of the same issues as the Seated Leg Curl machine. If I choose to target the calfs in the future I think some kind of Calf Raise exercise might be a better option.

What I can say with certainty is that I have been steadily increasing my weights and hitting new personal bests every week with the majority of my lifts. Both the Chest and Shoulder Presses have progressed very nicely but are now coming to a stall. The Seated Row however has been progressing slower which is a bit of a disappointment. Deadlifts or Back Extensions may be a better choice for me for targeting the lower back.

As I’ve been progressing with smaller increments (5-10 pounds instead of 15-20 pounds per week) I have been able to maintain form with all of my exercises, which was one of the primary goals of this cycle.

I also note that it feels like I’ve outgrown the Core class so I probably need to change my strategy, drop the Core class and include some heavy lifting work if I want my abs to grow past this point. And before anyone says anything, I’m fully aware that a six pack is a result of more things than a large Rectus Abdominis, it also involves getting your total body fat down, something which is better accomplished by dieting than by trying to “spot reduce”. Which is not what I am trying to do. But I digress. When it comes down to core endurance and balance Core Pulse class is sufficient I believe.

While the weights have been going up the reading on the scale has not been going anywhere. But this is no mystery. It’s as simple as Calories in = Calories out. Even though I try to eat 7-8 meals per day I somehow end up screwing up one or two days of the week so that the average calories over the whole week ends up at roughly maintenance levels.

I also realize that I do too much cardio, which is why I have stepped up to 2 strength training sessions and gone down to 3 group training sessions per week. Eventually, I may have to progress to a 3:2 split of strength:cardio.

However, for the first time in my life I can actually see a faint definition of upper abs and I think I can see a slight increase in size and definition in my “beach muscles”. If the weights go up in the weight room, at some point the muscles have to grow larger as well. I realize I won’t be able to make “lean gains” forever, but progress against the odds is what being a beginning weight lifter is all about so I’m quite happy with these results.