progress so far with mad scientist muscle program

Comment

Comment by JBF Mentor Tom Mortensen on December 23, 2011 at 2:55am

Well done Markku! I think its important to celebrate those moments in life when you feel on top of the world, either in general or in a specific area. Too often we are too busy to enjoy our victories and success.

 

Its an interesting challenge to be able to bench press one's weight. I'll will have to try that one of these days.

 

Funny enough my present weight is nearly exactly the same as yours, 94,8. I would have liked to be down to about 90, with increased muscle, but only the latter has occurred. So I'll have to work a bit harder on nutrition.

 

Merry Christmas to all!

Comment by JBF Coach Sarah on December 22, 2011 at 8:15pm

A very nice Christmas present from you to you! Congratulations! As for the 100 Kg bar, you'll get it! Keep persevering like you have been doing thus far, and I'm certain you will get it sooner than later.

In this case, yes you can compare :) have a very merry Christmas!

Comment by Markku Niilo-Rämä on December 22, 2011 at 2:29pm

It is official - I can bench press more than my weight.. I bench pressed 95kg.. 209lbs and I weighed 94.2kg that morning (last sunday).  I tried the magical 100 but couldn't do it this time.

I have been very busy and not able to workout as much I would have liked to but it is a mental game as well as a physical..

But what does the 95kg bp pr mean? 

Here is a very interesting resource: http://lonkilgore.com/freebies/ 

According to that my result puts me approximately in the top 20% strength category..

So I'm stronger than 4 out of 5 over 50 year olds.. 

And for some reason, even though you are not supposed to compare yourself to other, I will and feel very good about myself..

Comment by Markku Niilo-Rämä on December 22, 2011 at 11:53am

It is official - I can bench press more than my weight.. I bench pressed 95kg.. 209lbs and I weighed 94.2kg that morning (last sunday).  I tried the magical 100 but couldn't do it this time.

I have been very busy and not able to workout as much I would have liked to but it is a mental game as well as a physical..

But what does the 95kg bp pr mean? 

Here is a very interesting resource: http://lonkilgore.com/freebies/ 

According to that my result puts me approximately in the top 20% strength category..

So I'm stronger than 4 out of 5 over 50 year olds.. 

And for some reason, even though you are not supposed to compare yourself to other, I will and feel very good about myself..

Comment by JBF Coach Sarah on November 1, 2011 at 3:19pm

Agreed. My preferred pull-down is the reverse grip :) but I do try to change the grips regularly.

 

I had security give me a tour of the gym at work today - you can only use your swipe card to get in if you're a member, but I wanted to see the set-up before paying (5$ Canadian/month). Funny thing, this security guard was female and headed straight up a flight of stairs as soon as we were inside the gym door: to the cardio area! She bypassed the actual gym without so much as a glance!

 

The result of that quick visit: I will be joining Thursday (I'm off tomorrow). Going up to HR to have them set me up with access, and doing 7MM straight after work is not a problem at all :) I still have 18 months left of the membership at the gym across the road - where I don't mind spending a bit more time and add the GXP at the same time.

 

I may also try on Adam Waters' RTP program for size ... got a copy Sunday. I "met" Adam in 2006 when Nick Nilsson asked me if I'd give him some pointers. He was overweight, blogged daily for 84 days, and the results of his training and nutrition was spectacular. He's just improved since; and has his own program now - 7 modules, I'm reading nr 1 at the moment, skimmed a few of the others just to see if it would be worth checking in more detail. It looks like it is.

 

Something to alternate 7MM with :) RTP, 1RM, Nick's crazy stuff, Jeff Anderson's CTF ... all compatible with EODD, that's the beauty of it!

Comment by Markku Niilo-Rämä on November 1, 2011 at 9:29am

I think my progress with pull ups came almost exclusively by doing a lot of pull downs with a wide grip.  I did sets of 3 with 60kg (about 2/3 of my weight) for 15 minutes for a total of close to 90 reps.  During that time I did very few pull ups and yet was able to do 11 which is a recent time PR.  I think it shows that high volume training works.  I did do a couple of weeks of low rep high weight training and a deload/rest week so all of those worked pretty well.  

 

I guess my point is that you don't have to the actual chin ups to prepare for a good chin up performance..

Comment by JBF Coach Sarah on November 1, 2011 at 4:07am

Thanks Markku :) I've tried with resistance bands (assisted chins), partner assisted, from a kneeling position on a bench; tried Nick Nilsson's tips (just hang for a while, progress to negatives, then the whole movement) ... not getting any closer to getting them.

 

Sure, I can do a negative - not optimum form - but only a few, not so much bicep strength stopping me as grip!

Comment by Markku Niilo-Rämä on November 1, 2011 at 2:01am

My chin ups are really weighted chin ups, I have excess body fat to deal with... Luckily my elbow problem is getting resolved so I can develop the most important muscle in a man's body, bicep ;)

What is helping me tremendously is a powerball http://www.powerballs.com/ 

It is a great tool that really helps..  You can buy a powerball clone in Finland for 13 euros.. so it is definately worth looking into..

 

Sarah, I would try a chin up program.. there are a few of them around.. One way to improve is to do pulldowns a lot... http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/LatissimusDorsi/CBFrontPulldown...

(btw. http://www.exrx.net is by far the best  web site for exercise information that I have found) 

You can also try negatives..  

 

Comment by JBF Coach Sarah on October 31, 2011 at 4:04pm

I'm still trying to beat the chins ... on the brink of giving up altogether!

Comment by JBF Mentor Tom Mortensen on October 31, 2011 at 2:44pm

Excellent Markku, finding the right set up for yourself is one of the keys to getting the results you want.

 

I am with you on the chin/pull ups. I am trying to improve in this exercise as well, as it is one the most efficient "back builder" exercises. From your achievements it looks as if we are on approximately the same level. My chin ups being slightly better, since this is where I can use my biceps as well!

 

Keep it up!

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• 2
• Next ›
• Page