Yesterday was a good workout day. I completed the 5th day of my 5 Rep week (which is pretty tough). I started the 2nd cycle in a fairly poor condition (caught that damn flu everyone was getting and it didn't fully go away until 1.5 weeks or so) and as a result my strength has lagged, but not too badly at least. After tomorrow I should be breaking many of my personal bests in terms of amount of weight lifted, but hopefully my strength will be there. Yesterday was a typical full-body workout, however, this time I decided to make a glucose-salt (energy-electrolyte)** drink with me to consume during the workout. I must say, I felt much more capable and less fatigued throughout the workout. I measured out about 90 grams of pure glucose and threw in some random amount of table salt. Felt really good.
As for the routine I follow, it was introduced to me by my uncle (same uncle who purchased my gym membership) through his own research of working out. It's called HST (Hypertrophy Specific Training) and it emphasizes full-body workouts 3 days a week utilizing compound exercise to maximize protein synthesis. Much like any of those other routines that exist (Max-OT, DC training, HIT, etc. etc.) HST does have its own little nuances which actually separate itself pretty well from those other training methods. It is very important to note that these "nuances" are based on scientific research rather than all personal experience from people who have similar genes and muscle development rates (or whatever you wish you call it). Among those, it says the purpose is to train our muscles rather than our central nervous system (CNS)*** where most "traditional bodybuilding splits" seem to emphasize the latter. The big question then is: why train your muscles once a week when you can train it more often to see more growth? Many answers to that question, but it won't be answered here unless someone really wants an answer.
Funny thing is that I was introduced to HST in my late sophomore year (at this time my uncle and I were exploring bodybuilding concepts together though he did the most research), but I soon felt it was ineffective and then went on to [essentially] experiment with a few other regimens that exist only to [eventually] come full circle and embrace it. I am now done with college and feel strongly that compound exercises are THE way to gain muscle the fastest. Enough cannot really be said about multi-joint exercises in comparison to their single-joint exercise counterparts. I can honestly and earnestly say that I've seen the most results using a full-body regimen then a split body-part regimen, especially for my average genes. I think I've built some respectable set of wheels, though my upper-body (or well whole body in reality...) needs to be balanced out. I'm getting my back, shoulders, and arms up to speed little by little. Just FYI, squats are my favorite...or working the legs in general.
I will record my numbers/poundages for tomorrow as tomorrow is my last day of the 5 Rep week. It's gonna be a tough day, but I'm gonna bring my "Glucose drink" (coined by a friend who said the orange bag containing glucose looked like dog food...hahaha).
As for music...I think I've finally got adjusted the the HR*6M that I purchased about 1.5 weeks ago or so. My embouchure has developed sufficiently (finally!). Now I can ship back the HR*5M I thought I might have to switch to back to WWBW. <---WWBW is far less stringent on mouthpiece trying than Weinermusic just for you saxophonists out there. I really hope I can practice when I go abroad to Japan...I've realized that 3 hours at least is the time I need to set-aside to really get better. 5 hours is actually preferable though.
Well more to come in the few days, my stuff is long-winded.
Go out and enjoy some jazz~
**Just for your information table salt is a very powerful electrolyte. Here is a brief explanation of why:
First, you must know the basics of what an electrolyte is...it's simply a free ion (this implies a charge/conductivity). Salt dissociates in water into its individual components (Na+ and Cl-) hence the charges. These charges essentially help regulate blood pH and hydration levels (and ultimately muscle contraction). I'm no kinesiologist but, you can find out more on the whole metabolic view from one.
***It is a KNOWN fact based on scientific research that muscles finish adapting to the stress within 48 hours. And by 'adapting to stress' I mean repairing itself. Of course proper nutrition is assumed in this case as malnutrition could slow down this process. The CNS on the other hand is like a pool of energy for synapse...once you use it up it may take several days if not a week to fully recover. This explains why if you experienced a heavy ass leg day and the day after or two days after is your...chest day and it suffers for "some" reason even though your chest feels fresh. You've already used up all your reserves for synapse that the response for your chest isn't there. (with this in mind, training to "failure" like most regimens recommend means you constantly drain your CNS to the point where you reach the "overtrained" state).
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