Hey, all
I’m a long-time lurker but this is my first post.
I’m 39 and was an intermediate-advanced lifter before I took a sabbatical to the Caribbean and South America.
I love lifting but wasn’t able to consistently lift when travelling (i.e. Needed a break but got overly lazy)
I have not lifted since June, 2011!! I know, I know, tell me about it!!
Anyways, I’m back!!
This will be my program for the next 4 weeks:
Full-Body (Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays)
Chest: Benchpress
Back/Biceps: Chin-ups
Triceps: Dips
Quads: Back Squats
Hamstrings: Leg Curls
Plus on Sundays only: Deadlifts
Notes:
Each exercise for 3 sets.
Maximum of 10 reps to (almost) failure (First set will be a max of 10 reps then will drop, obviously, for the last two) Once I can do 10 reps, put more weight on.
2 minute rest periods between set.
P.S. My initial weight will be based on safety more than anything else, don’t want to get injured so it won’t necessarily be maximal weights.
I want to be lifting for no more than 45 minutes (wink to Poliquin!!).
So that’s 8 minutes per set (if my scientific calculator is correct), thus the 3 sets.
I chose the exercises because I need the most bang for my buck.
I will be on a low-carb diet, except for right after I lift (Surge) and Saturday I’ll carb up,
Thoughts? (Please be gentle, I haven’t lifted for a while so my Test is low)
PPS On Sundays, when I deadlift, I’ll add 15 minutes for a total of 60 minutes lifting.
i am not 100% but my research tells me that low carb diets reduce testosterone, more important the amount of protein in relation to the amount of carbohydrates. studies show protein:carbs need to be 1:2-3 to increase testosterone. would love to hear someone else’s opinion on the matter
im currently only doing 2-3 exercises per day and workout almost every day - if i miss a day i dont stress it. had some issues a month or two ago and im currenly correcting it. adrenal/cns/low test/sympathetic overtraining/burn out or whatever you want to call it. just saying you might want a similar set up where you workout for 30-45 minutes but write down 5-7 different days of full body work outs and just cycle through so you get more variation
playasolmar, I like your plan–the high frequency, the low volume, the basic movements. Would suggest you consider doing leg curls before squats as recommended by John Meadows here on TN. Your diet is reminiscent of Kiefer’s Carb Nite approach, which has proven successful for many. davidpz is correct, some research has found a correlation between carb intake and testosterone levels; however, the implications of this research are not clear. For example, while test seems to drop in response to low carbs, research also indicates that the carrier protein which binds serum test (sex-hormone binding globulin, or SHBG) drops as well, so the net effect on free testosterone (ie, the muscle-building fraction) may end up being nil.
David, thanks for your reply!!
I think for a 4 week program, you don’t need much variety.
As for working out every day, that’s asking for trouble.
From what I gather from your post, you’ve already seen some of the affects.
In exercise, more is not better.
Maybe your right about low-carb diets (just wanted to burn fat fast) but this isn’t the traditional low-carb diet since I’m having carbs 5 times a week.
Eye Dentist,
I’m changing the Leg Curls to before the Squats, as you suggested.
Should be interesting, I never done that, always did squats first out of habit.
I’ll look up the article you mention.
PS Would using this low-carb approach for a month or two affect my T very much?
Otherwise, fk tt!! I’m changing it!!
Hopefully not.
Thanks for the feedback!!
You’re welcome. Here is the John Meadows leg-training article in which he advocates performing leg curls prior to squats (I have it bookmarked):
As for the low-carbs-and-T issue, I feel the benefits of a carb-manipulating approach to dieting more than outweigh the theoretical risk to T levels. In fact, carb cycling (including frequent near-zero-carb days) is what I do myself.
Awesome, Eye Dentist!!!
Will read the article later and thank you for the feedback on carb cycling.
I wanted an effective but uncomplicated way to shed fat while I built muscle.