A gram of glycogen stored in the body is bound to 3 or 4 grams of water. High intensity resistance training, which includes a hefty portion of eccentric TUL, would deplete glycogen levels quickly and severely. This glycogen depletion would signal many molecules/hormones which would be extremely beneficial as regards improving health.
Runners have used this glycogen depletion/replenishment cycle for years to maximize endurance. The glycogen storage capability of a human can be improved upon greatly, all the while greatly improving health. I also realize this is way above the knowledge of average readers here. However, I am currently engaging this 30/10/30 methodology along with my wife. We utilize few exercise sets, as we incorporate Nautilus machine with cams. Full range exercise with these Nautilus crammed machines depletes glycogen even further, as does compound joint exercises such as the Nautilus Leverage leg press. The gluteus Maximus and thigh muscles are a gold mine of glycogen stores as are the lats and traps a secondary vein of glycogen stores.
So, use this knowledge to your advantage. Carb load, deplete with the 30/10/30 methodology, and repeat. This ca be healthy as all get out, but does not address cardiovascular fitness fore with, as that is answered by Ventilatory Threshold 1.
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Nice solid workout.
I think that you could slow the (regular) negative reps down slightly on both presses, especially the decline press. But otherwise your application looks good to me.
Mark
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Good feedback. Greatly appreciated! I’ve sent you an email but not sure if I have your current email.
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My shoulders hurt just looking at the starting point on that high incline (?) press you’re doing. Move that seat down about 4 or 5 notches (maybe more). At the bottom, your hands should be just above your delts at the very most (probably higher) — but definitely not down to your lower pecs. You do this and I’ll bet you could use 30-40% more weight!
Even though you’re going relatively slow, you are still rebounding out of the bottom on some of those movements. If you can, come to at least a momentary stop and then you can start from ‘zero’ and accelerate to the top/contraction.
Best,
Scott
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I usually aim to just bring handles down to eye level for the reasons you state. However, I am able to bring lower without any shoulder discomfort. Similarly, when I do dips, I often go into a fairly deep stretch which is also frequently frowned on. Again, with no discomfort. But perhaps , i simply haven’t used up all my free passes yet (Bill Desimone analogy). Point taken. Your time and help are greatly appreciated! 
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Ricky, how have you and your son been enjoying the program thus far? I’m really excited to start it with my brother!
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Well this is day 6 of 35. I’m a long time exercise enthusiast and always enjoy sessions. Fun to do a father son project. Too soon to speculate on results. First week, we worried about whether we were coming close enough to failure. We increased a bit for challenge #3. Some exercises are easier to estimate “two reps short of failure” than others. Example with super incline or pullover nearing failure feels obvious. But with leg press as one example or leg extension, I find myself guessing if I might have done several more if I really dug deep. I went to 11 mid-reps on leg press and decline Press yesterday. Trying to find a balance leaving “just enough” in the tank without over or under doing it. Afterwards, there is a definite sensation that your body has been metabolically challenged. My heart is racing but can’t say I’ve felt “winded” at any point. I have experienced what I’ve heard Dr Darden describe in previous books of really feeling like having a nap afterwards. I’m anxious to move on to week 2. Would love to see others document results objectively so we could serve as each other’s “controls”. Looking forward to seeing your and your brother’s progress. All the best to everyone’s progress.
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Why do you think you increased weights but did not put on muscle in two years?
Perhaps age (62)… perhaps getting more fast twitch fibres (wishful?) … perhaps overtraining? perhaps undertraining? perhaps already at genetic potential… wish I knew for sure…
As a maturing lifter, I have noticed responses that might not be misconstrued as me getting more FT fibers, but I can definitely attest to certain muscle groups “acting” more FT than they did previously!!
Best.
Scott
Hi Rick/Roch,
This is really interesting! Something is actually happening in such short period of time! Keep it coming and keep up the good work! Much appreciated!
How are you going with diet? Calories ingested? More protein? Did you fall into the MAG-10/Plazma recommendation?
thanks for the kind words… yes, doing Mag-10/Plazma as per book. Eating other protein sources abundantly, meat, fish of all types, fat free greek yogurt, cottage cheese, and lots of fruit and vegetables…and not avoiding bread or pasta… though I’m not into candy/desserts… not counting… eating at will… may have to curb at some point to avoid gaining too much fat, (but it’s so much fun lol)… or perhaps Dr. Darden will suggest following up with a 4 week caloric deficit, and then a variation on doing this again… still early to celebrate… hoping for continued progress
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You seem very dedicated. This usually leads somewhere.
Out of curiosity, how do you know when to apply NTF? I find there is a potential risk of going to light a weight, if not careful. Whether that matters or not, is the question? How do you know you’re not 3 reps away from failure? (Maybe a question for Dr Darden). I noticed you have been trimming weights, meaning you should be fine.
I’ve reduced weights on some and added on others… as I’ve mentioned in a previous post, some exercises are easier to gauge “almost” failure than others… so to answer your question “how do you know…?”… I’m making my best guess trying to balance previous experience and curbing my enthusiasm…
what I do know, is that I have a feeling of having had a good work out when I’m done, but short of ROBAT feeling (run over by a truck)
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peterson,
How do you know? 2 reps or 3 reps before failure?
The answer is the same way you know how to deal successfully with going to a restaurant or cafeteria?
Your experience . . . and you’ve had a lot. I trust YOU can work through this question with the right answer.
Ricky is correct. Your best “guess” is usually on-target.
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“Perfect” form will start break when reaching failure. For example, when I approach failure on the leg press, my knees will start to wobble a bit from intense fatigue…that tells me to stop and really you’re just ‘outroading’ at that point (i.e taking away from the target muscles as it shifts to the rest of the body to handle).
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