MuscleScience's Iron Lab

[MuscleScience]

Today was back and biceps.

My legs were super sore from yesterday's workout and I was really fighting cramping and dehydration. I did a nice long warmup before I lifted today to prime my body. For some reason this go round my traps have really been building up well. Traps had always been a weakness in the past, but now they are growing and I even have veins in them. Never had that before, maybe it's just my time for them to grow.

[songdog]

Good Morning everyone! another rainy day here but it's looking like a nice weekend

[MuscleScience]

Forgot to update yesterday.

Got a really good leg workout in without any knee pain. That's 3 workouts in a row now that I have been able to string together without any complications. I am not going to jinx it but I feel like I am finally back to being injury free.

I have really radically changed my leg days. BG made a great point about adapting training to go along with reality as we age and injuries pill up.

The biggest change I made is how and when I do squats. I love love love to squat and squat heavy. In the past I had judged my leg days based on how good my squat went. All other exercises were ancillary.

Now squat is an ancillary exercise that I do after I'm midway through a workout. I'm still going heavy for my levels of fatigue. My thought is though, if I'm already mid way through a workout and my legs are fatigued. Squatting heavier than my body will allow isn't possible as I can't get even close to my heavy weight. So far it's gone great, I squated 225 for 10 reps with zero pain on my last set. I know I could go heavier if I started earlier in the workout but would my knee hold up as well? I got just as good a workout and my legs were pumped. So in my mind it was an excellent workout and the risk of injury is reduced.

[OdinsOtherSon]

Forgot to update yesterday.

Got a really good leg workout in without any knee pain. That's 3 workouts in a row now that I have been able to string together without any complications. I am not going to jinx it but I feel like I am finally back to being injury free.

I have really radically changed my leg days. BG made a great point about adapting training to go along with reality as we age and injuries pill up.

The biggest change I made is how and when I do squats. I love love love to squat and squat heavy. In the past I had judged my leg days based on how good my squat went. All other exercises were ancillary.

Now squat is an ancillary exercise that I do after I'm midway through a workout. I'm still going heavy for my levels of fatigue. My thought is though, if I'm already mid way through a workout and my legs are fatigued. Squatting heavier than my body will allow isn't possible as I can't get even close to my heavy weight. So far it's gone great, I squated 225 for 10 reps with zero pain on my last set. I know I could go heavier if I started earlier in the workout but would my knee hold up as well? I got just as good a workout and my legs were pumped. So in my mind it was an excellent workout and the risk of injury is reduced.

I'm in the midst of learning this same lesson. I turned 43 last week and sometimes it's hard to face the realities of how my body is changing. A lot of things are actually for the better but others aren't. Learning how to adapt when you've been used to using, essentially, the same play book for 25 years can play with your head. I feel your pain MS!!


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[ghettoboyd]

Forgot to update yesterday.

Got a really good leg workout in without any knee pain. That's 3 workouts in a row now that I have been able to string together without any complications. I am not going to jinx it but I feel like I am finally back to being injury free.

I have really radically changed my leg days. BG made a great point about adapting training to go along with reality as we age and injuries pill up.

The biggest change I made is how and when I do squats. I love love love to squat and squat heavy. In the past I had judged my leg days based on how good my squat went. All other exercises were ancillary.

Now squat is an ancillary exercise that I do after I'm midway through a workout. I'm still going heavy for my levels of fatigue. My thought is though, if I'm already mid way through a workout and my legs are fatigued. Squatting heavier than my body will allow isn't possible as I can't get even close to my heavy weight. So far it's gone great, I squated 225 for 10 reps with zero pain on my last set. I know I could go heavier if I started earlier in the workout but would my knee hold up as well? I got just as good a workout and my legs were pumped. So in my mind it was an excellent workout and the risk of injury is reduced.

I have adapted my leg training in the last few years like you to work around injurys and getting older so I too pre fatigue my legs with leg extensions and heavy leg presses before I squat so I don't have to go any higher than 315 but It allows me to use perfect form without worry...

[songdog]

Good morning everyone! well MS I lost another one of my chickens yesterday evening in the same spot and the rest didn't come back last nite.I believe it's time to kill wats killing my chickens.I would like to have a set up like the old coyote trappers had but on a decoy.They pull on the bait a rd goes off in their mouth.But with a hawk it would be a gut shot or I could spend countless hrs in my garage waiting with my turkey gun.

[OdinsOtherSon]

Good morning everyone! well MS I lost another one of my chickens yesterday evening in the same spot and the rest didn't come back last nite.I believe it's time to kill wats killing my chickens.I would like to have a set up like the old coyote trappers had but on a decoy.They pull on the bait a rd goes off in their mouth.But with a hawk it would be a gut shot or I could spend countless hrs in my garage waiting with my turkey gun.

Keep your eyes peeled for him hanging out on a power line or fence post, then a .22 will do the job for you...just got to keep it handy. That's why my old man always keeps one behind the seat of his pick-up. Lol


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[MuscleScience]

We can't legally shoot hawks here. I don't know how I would deal with them.

[hammerheart]

We can't legally shoot hawks here. I don't know how I would deal with them.

Hire a picciotto to do the job for you.

[MuscleScience]

Hire a picciotto to do the job for you.

I don't know any Italians

[MuscleScience]

Chest/shoulders/tris

Good workout tonight, my upper body is putting on mass like crazy. My shoulders have really started to grow recently. It's been a point of emphasis in my training. I have in the past not focused much on shoulders and arms since they grow well with just pressing and pulling exercises. But I have decided that I am going to build those up especially the shoulders to have that wide shoulder look and help with my V-taper in preparation for competing if I decide to do it.

[Obs]

We can't legally shoot hawks here. I don't know how I would deal with them.

.243 @ 300-500 yards is the most fun way to deal with them. Its like prarie dog hunting except its not just tearing up your field with burrows, it killing your livestock.
I only cater to the law so far.
Hawks are in no way endangerd and can be a real pain in the ass.

[MuscleScience]

.243 @ 300-500 yards is the most fun way to deal with them. Its like prarie dog hunting except its not just tearing up your field with burrows, it killing your livestock.
I only cater to the law so far.
Hawks are in no way endangerd and can be a real pain in the ass.

No but they are a bird of prey and are federally protected. It's a felony if you get caught.

[Obs]

No but they are a bird of prey and are federally protected. It's a felony if you get caught.

True, where I lived though, our neighbors would stop in front of my house to shoot at them. Was pretty damn funny. One of the neighbors was an 80 year old man who drove our dirt roads with his wife every day. If he saw a hawk he would stop and hobble out with his 30_06 and shoot across his hood.
They were super friendly, always waved and always had a smile. Adorable senile old folks.

[songdog]

Good morning everyone nice day today and yes MS we are not allowed to shoot hawks either.

[MuscleScience]

Good morning everyone nice day today and yes MS we are not allowed to shoot hawks either.

Lucky for them...

[songdog]

Lucky for them...

No it isn't!

[MuscleScience]

I have adapted my leg training in the last few years like you to work around injurys and getting older so I too pre fatigue my legs with leg extensions and heavy leg presses before I squat so I don't have to go any higher than 315 but It allows me to use perfect form without worry...

315 is going to be my working rep goal eventually. I think for me, that's the sweet spot between both rep range and heavy enough to stimulate my legs without much risk of injury.

[ghettoboyd]

315 is going to be my working rep goal eventually. I think for me, that's the sweet spot between both rep range and heavy enough to stimulate my legs without much risk of injury.

its plenty heavy enough.... if I'm feeling it I just do a few more reps...

[songdog]

Good morning everyone yeah I know MS this is why you never tell anyone

[MuscleScience]

Back and Bi's today. Was a lighter day for back and Bi's more to work on form and anything I've missed lately. Got a really great cardio session in afterwords. Will probably be off working out since I will be traveling tomorrow and maybe the next day.

[songdog]

Good morning MS just sitting here trying too wake up with my coffee

[MuscleScience]

Good morning MS just sitting here trying too wake up with my coffee

Morning SD, me too, I got a 12 hour drive ahead of me. Went and visited my parents and grandparents for a few days up in the KC area. Time to head back and get to work.

Had some crazy good workouts while I was home. When you ain't got nothing to do but play with the dogs, fish and workout. You can really get them in

[songdog]

Man I70 between ST Louis and KC is CRAZY the things I have seen there and in the winter it's brutal.

[MuscleScience]

Man I70 between ST Louis and KC is CRAZY the things I have seen there and in the winter it's brutal.

Lots of traffic, seen some pretty nasty tractor trailer wrecks too

[MuscleScience]

Decided not to drive back home and stay at my folks a few more days. Since work is kinda at a stand still for another week or so.

Instead I got a great leg workout in. Did my heaviest leg press yet. 6 plates on each side. I started to feel some pressure in the knee at that point. My legs were strong enough to go much higher but any chance it. So I did reps to near failure.

I feel like now I can go heavy and hard enough to get my legs to grow again. Have narrowed down my hack squat foot placement, I can squat again and even do some light ply stuff. I'm really kicking around trying to go for classic physique. I figure I will need a solid year of bulking and training to get my weight up in my legs to where I wouldn't embarrass myself. Since summer is nearly over I think I am going to plan a bulk and get to a target weight then lean up.

[Obs]

Decided not to drive back home and stay at my folks a few more days. Since work is kinda at a stand still for another week or so.

Instead I got a great leg workout in. Did my heaviest leg press yet. 6 plates on each side. I started to feel some pressure in the knee at that point. My legs were strong enough to go much higher but any chance it. So I did reps to near failure.

I feel like now I can go heavy and hard enough to get my legs to grow again. Have narrowed down my hack squat foot placement, I can squat again and even do some light ply stuff. I'm really kicking around trying to go for classic physique. I figure I will need a solid year of bulking and training to get my weight up in my legs to where I wouldn't embarrass myself. Since summer is nearly over I think I am going to plan a bulk and get to a target weight then lean up.

Do it man you only live once. Hit it hard

[MuscleScience]

Decided not to drive back home and stay at my folks a few more days. Since work is kinda at a stand still for another week or so.

Instead I got a great leg workout in. Did my heaviest leg press yet. 6 plates on each side. I started to feel some pressure in the knee at that point. My legs were strong enough to go much higher but any chance it. So I did reps to near failure.

I feel like now I can go heavy and hard enough to get my legs to grow again. Have narrowed down my hack squat foot placement, I can squat again and even do some light ply stuff. I'm really kicking around trying to go for classic physique. I figure I will need a solif

[songdog]

Good morning MS yes that bit of road is nasty seen many a freaky woman also!

[MuscleScience]

Good morning MS yes that bit of road is nasty seen many a freaky woman also!

I haven't gone down that stretch to much. I use to hit I-70 west to Colorado to snow ski a lot when I was younger. Got caught in a blizzard one year and they closed the highway for 3 days. Stayed st some little hotel in Burlington Kansas. All they had was that, a gas station and a Pizza Hut. Needless to say I was sick of pizza by the second day...lol

[RaginCajun]

how is the knee holding up?

[MuscleScience]

how is the knee holding up?

So far so good, been pushing it a bit more and a bit more each week. No soreness or pain during exercise. I feel like I'm as close to 100% as it's going to get. My lower quad strength is terrible though, so I am focusing on that at the moment.

[RaginCajun]

So far so good, been pushing it a bit more and a bit more each week. No soreness or pain during exercise. I feel like I'm as close to 100% as it's going to get. My lower quad strength is terrible though, so I am focusing on that at the moment.

that's good to hear

what exercises are you doing to try to strengthen it? squats, leg extensions, single leg squats with kettles/db, ..........what else? i feel like all of the muscles in my quad are inflamed and tendons really tight. it feels like i have a log, hard tube running down from my hip to my knee that just won't relax. even when i foam roll i can feel it rolling around

[MuscleScience]

that's good to hear

what exercises are you doing to try to strengthen it? squats, leg extensions, single leg squats with kettles/db, ..........what else? i feel like all of the muscles in my quad are inflamed and tendons really tight. it feels like i have a log, hard tube running down from my hip to my knee that just won't relax. even when i foam roll i can feel it rolling around

I am feeling that just above both knees actually. Makes it very uncomfortable to do squats and such at first. I'm using hack squats, smith machine squats (which I have never done before) and leg press to really isolate my lower quads. My upper quads are strong I need to balance the lower quads more. On leg day especially I have to do a really thorough warm up or my quads hurt to bad to squat down. My surgeon told me that it's a reaction to the surgery to some extent in my right leg, couldn't explain why it hurt on my left. Oh well, I figured it was just from sitting on my ass for two years.

[RaginCajun]

I am feeling that just above both knees actually. Makes it very uncomfortable to do squats and such at first. I'm using hack squats, smith machine squats (which I have never done before) and leg press to really isolate my lower quads. My upper quads are strong I need to balance the lower quads more. On leg day especially I have to do a really thorough warm up or my quads hurt to bad to squat down. My surgeon told me that it's a reaction to the surgery to some extent in my right leg, couldn't explain why it hurt on my left. Oh well, I figured it was just from sitting on my ass for two years.

haha, i think that is my problem, sitting on my ass!

i need to get back on the leg press machine

[MuscleScience]

Chest tris and shoulders. Went a little light on the tris since I worked them 3 days ago pretty heavy. Really a good workout, worked on some lagging parts and got some stability exercises in for the shoulders. Got a really good pump and had some bros come up and ask me some questions. Feels kinda nice to be
Somewhat in shape again. Still got a long way to go. Also I need to cut back on my time in the gym. With Cardio and all I was there for almost 2 full hours. I ran out of steam a bit towards the end.

Cardio went fairly good, I did some walk run hiit training like I normally do. My right quad started to cramp up a bit. I tried working through it but with my knee I decided not to push it to far. I got 22 of the 30 planned minutes of cardio in and with HIIT that was probably more than enough anyway.

Overall I have been able to work out at very high percentages of my max heart rate and not be winded. I was starting to notice it at about 92% and was working in the 85-90% range without much effort. I feel my stamina is really good. I will start to push the envelope a bit and try to get it to where I can sustain exercise at a higher Heart rate for a bit longer duration.

Other than that, that's all I got for tonight lol

[songdog]

Good morning MS well now I have no chickens the last 2 disappeared yesterday that's it for me on the chickens I am not feeding the wild life!

[MuscleScience]

Good morning MS well now I have no chickens the last 2 disappeared yesterday that's it for me on the chickens I am not feeding the wild life!

Dang, you got a pen for them chickens?

[MuscleScience]

Woke up this morning and my midsection was very tight. Cardio before bed seems to make me look great in the mornings. Had two upper abs relaxed and 4 flexed with some mild oblique showing through. I'm going to probably shread a bit more BF and start bulking in September. Sat down this morning and mapped out a plan for the next 12 months. I might look to doing a show sometime in June or July. Just probably a small local show and see how I do and go on from there.

[MuscleScience]

Back and biceps today, lighter on the back heavier on the Bi's since I hit them Monday. Worked mainly on unilateral movements and super strict form and slow slow slow negatives. Worked up an incredible pump.

The thing about slow negatives is they cause an insane pump and insane amount of sweating. I was completely covered in sweat within 5 minutes of warming up and my working sets. Also really helps make the muscles and striations pop.

I have really been having great workouts and improvements lately. I am having so much fun. Makes me wonder why I ever stopped working out. I know injuries and such but it was such a choir to go to the gym for a period in time. Now it's all I think about.

Got a really great session of HIIT cardio in to after weights. My knee was bothering me a little at first but I got it to warm up and eventually pushed myself pretty hard. Made my full 30 minutes I had planed, went even a little over since I was having such a great session.

Traveling tomorrow. Probably won't hit the gym until Saturday or Sunday again.