The heat is on! Summer in the dungeon gym is actually a pretty nice place to be, as the basement is the coolest part of the house, and it’s been hot ‘n humid for several weeks straight. A few breaks with thunderstorms and temps in the 80s, but it’s otherwise been mid- to upper-90s through most of June and July. The cool dungeon training zone is helping to keep the intensity and motivation up, though…
The weekly wrap-up: The daily blogs have become nearly impossible lately, but training is going really well. Training days have evolved to Monday-Tuesday and Thursday-Sunday, so Wednesdays have been “off” days, though I try to slip in a bit of cardio or other activity just to fight the effects of sitting at a desk for so many hours per week.
On the first three training days this week (M, T, Th), I went back to the basics with full-range POF (Positions of Flexion – 3DMB) on all exercises, and I kept the rep count within what most people consider the “normal” range of 9-12 reps per set. That actually felt great, as it allowed me to use a bit more weight than normal while still keeping respectable time under tension. Rest periods were still low, around 35 seconds. It left me with more of a pump in all bodyparts than I expected, and just felt good overall.
For the second round of the training split (Fri, Sat, Sun [tomorrow]), I went with a combination of TORQ (Tension Overload Repetition Quantity) and “power” on just the midrange (TORQ) and stretch (power) exercises. The TORQ made for a wicked and full muscle pump on every target muscle, and it meant that the weights used for the power exercises wouldn’t need to be excessive. Don’t get me wrong, I like moving some good weights, but on stretch-position exercises I prefer to take the safe approach (read that as getting smarter in my old age). Really great balance to the workout week, and the variety does a great job at breaking up any monotony.
Note: My split is based on the Ripping Phase Routine in the Beyond X-Rep Muscle Building e-book.
Summer in the Dungeon Summary
As mentioned, time simply hasn’t been on my side for daily updates, but the variety of training techniques is keeping the motivation high and making sure it doesn’t become easy to miss any training. It doesn’t matter how busy I get, I always find the time to get in the gym. Missing a training day here and there is good for recovery, but I prefer those days off to be planned. Missing because of scheduling actually causes my stress levels to increase and makes it considerably harder to concentrate during the day. It’s like weight therapy! I’m just glad my summer in the dungeon is indoors, below ground, and on the same floor as the AC unit. LOL!
Diet, Supplements & Nutrient Timing
For meal-by-meal diets plus training and nutrition info, see the X-treme Lean e-book.