Active Low-Carber Forums
Atkins diet and low carb discussion provided free for information only, not as medical advice.
Home Plans Tips Recipes Tools Stories Studies Products
Active Low-Carber Forums
A sugar-free zone


Welcome to the Active Low-Carber Forums.
Support for Atkins diet, Protein Power, Neanderthin (Paleo Diet), CAD/CALP, Dr. Bernstein Diabetes Solution and any other healthy low-carb diet or plan, all are welcome in our lowcarb community. Forget starvation and fad diets -- join the healthy eating crowd! You may register by clicking here, it's free!

Go Back   Active Low-Carber Forums > Main Low-Carb Diets Forums & Support > Exercise Forums: Active Low-Carbers > Advanced/High Intensity
User Name
Password
FAQ Members Calendar Search Gallery My P.L.A.N. Survey


Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1   ^
Old Mon, Sep-04-06, 11:29
kbfunTH's Avatar
kbfunTH kbfunTH is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 1,240
 
Plan: UDS
Stats: 199/190/190 Male 69
BF:12%/11%/6%
Progress: 100%
Location: Pflugerville, TX
Default Olympic Coach Charles Poliquin 12 week sample arm workout.

Here's a sample arm workout using the 5x5 method:

Weeks 1-3 (5x5 Reps 402 Tempo 120 Second Rest Interval)
A1: Seated Dumbbell Curls
A2: Parallel Bar Dips
Increase resistance by either hanging a plate off a weight belt or by holding a dumbbell between your feet.
B1: Scott Reverse Curls
B2: Lying EZ Bar Triceps Extensions

Weeks 4-6: The Patient Lifter's 6x4 Method
This method requires that you start off with a weight that you can handle comfortably for 6 sets of 2 reps. Depending on how neurologically efficient you are, the weight will be anywhere from 80 to 87% of your 1-rep maximum. The goal is to be able to eventually use the same weight to do 6 sets of 4 reps. Why is it called the "Patient Lifter's" method? Because you don't get to increase the load until you can do all 6 sets for 4 reps, using a weight that you could initially only do for 6 sets of 2 reps. You'll either get stronger or bore yourself to death by using the same weight over and over.
Don't worry, though. You'll get stronger quickly and graduate to a higher weight. The system works by the law of repeated efforts. You'll force the nervous system to accept the new load as being "normal." Be sure to take at least 4-5 minutes in-between sets, though, to allow full recovery of the nervous system. However, you can still pair exercises for the agonist and antagonists together during the 4-5 minute resting period to maximize the return on your training time. In other words, if you do a set of 2 (or 4) reps for biceps, you can do a set of 2 (or 4) reps for triceps while you're waiting for the 4-5 minutes to tick away.

Here's a sample routine for weeks 4 through 6:

Weeks 4-6 (6x2-4 Reps 501 Tempo 120 Second Rest Interval)
A1: Scott Close-Grip BB Curls
A2: Close-grip Bench Press
B1: Standing EZ-Bar Curls
B2: Rack Lock-Outs

Weeks 7-9: 2 x 6-8 Reps to Absolute Failure Method
Fans of Mike Mentzer will recognize the similarities between this type of training and Mike's Heavy Duty training. Why do I recommend a Heavy Duty type protocol? Well, because it works...for the brief time it takes you to adapt to it, which is usually about 3 weeks.
If you've followed the program religiously to this point, you'll have been doing between 20 and 24 sets for arms, per workout. By this time in the 12-week program, your arms will be ready to train at a lower intensity (in terms of percentage of maximum) and use a method where the time-under-tension, per set, is lengthened.
Before we talk about the rhyme and reason behind this 3-week training phase, let's first go over the three types of muscular failure. The first type is concentric failure. It simply means you can't lift the weight again. Then, there's static failure: your muscles are so wiped out that you can't even hold the weight statically at any point in the range of motion. And lastly, there's eccentric failure. This is the point where you can't control the weight as you lower it, regardless of what tempo you're using.
When you reach failure on all three types of contractions, you've reached "absolute failure." Here's how a typical set would progress: After warming up, you choose a weight that allows you to do between 6 and 8 reps before reaching concentric failure. At that point, a training partner gives you just enough assistance to complete the next rep, but you lower the weight in a controlled fashion without any assistance. After doing 2 or 3 of these assisted reps, your muscles should be so fatigued that you can't even control the eccentric descent. This is absolute failure.
Of course, this may be problematic if you don't have a training partner. You can, however, use single-arm movements like the one-arm French press or dumbbell concentration curls that allow you to perform forced reps with your free arm.
The only other thing you have to remember is to increase the weight on the next workout once you reach 8 reps.

Sample routine for weeks 7-9 using the 2 sets of 6-8 reps to absolute failure method:

Weeks 7-9(2x 6-8 Reps 302 Tempo 90 Second Rest Interval)
A1: Rack Lock-Outs Concentration Curls
A2: Lying DB Triceps Extensions
B1: Seated Hammer Curls
B2: Decline EZ Bar Triceps Extensions

Weeks 10-12: The 5/4/3/2/1 Method
This method is a favorite of sports medicine expert Dr. Mauro DiPasquale, who used to be a World Powerlifting Champion. It's also a favorite of mine because it teaches me to count backward. You simply start off with your 5 RM and add 2-3% more weight every set, doing one less rep each set until you reach your 1RM. One added benefit of this method is that it teaches your muscles and nervous system how to express their true, 1-rep maximum. In other words, most people can't go from doing habitual sets of 8 reps to doing a true, 1 RM until you've "taught" yourself how to recruit higher-threshold fibers.
Here's what a typical work-set progression would look like for a close-grip bench press, assuming your 1RM for the movement is about 300 pounds:
Example Work-Set Progression (Using PlateMates or record plates, increase resistance by 2.5-pound increments).
265x5 - 270x4 - 275x3 - 282.5x2 - 290x1
Obviously, you'll need to adjust the starting weight upwards by small amounts as you progress. For instance, if you successfully complete all the reps (5/4/3/2/1), you'll need to add a small amount of weight before the next workout.

Sample routine of weeks 10-12 using the 5/4/3/2/1 method:
Weeks 10-12 (5/4/3/2/1 Method 120 Second Rest Interval)
A1: Decline Close-Grip Bench Press 321 tempo
A2: Scott One-Arm DB Curls 601 tempo
B1: Incline BB Triceps Extensions 311 tempo
B2: Standing Reverse Curls 321 tempo
Reply With Quote
Sponsored Links
Reply


Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off



All times are GMT -6. The time now is 13:50.


Copyright © 2000-2024 Active Low-Carber Forums @ forum.lowcarber.org
Powered by: vBulletin, Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.