Gigantic Newsletter # 2
1-15-99
Hi all,
After the first issue, I was wondering what you, the readers thought of this newsletter. I would be happy to answer any questions or comments about this newsletter, or lifting in general. Now that the holidays are behind us, it is time to get serious about our progress. Ahead of us awaits a period of a few months in which most of us can get to the gym/weightroom on a regular basis, and really make some great gains before summer. Just think about all those new faces you may see at the gym. In a few weeks, 90% will be back on the sofa watching TV. It is the truly dedicated who will reach their goals. Lets all make our goals right now. Find a piece of paper, and write down where you want to be in 1 month, 3 months, and a year from now. Keep this piece of paper with you when you go to lift, and in a spot that will force you to look at it frequently. Anyone can get motivated, but how many of us will be motivated 3 months from now? That is to be determined.
This month, the full-body exercises section continues with back and abs. There is a great routine included, and a very informative overview of one of the most popular supplements: creatine. In addition to my physical goals, I am setting goal related to my site. You will find them at the end of this newsletter.
ABDOMINALS
The abs are key to a great physique. You may have nice arms, but can you show off your stomach? They are also instrumental to several sports because they are an important factor in running, jumping, and throwing. The following are great for developing a killer six-pack:
Lower Abdominals:
Leg Raises -Lie on your back; bring your legs up until they form a 90-degree angle with the floor. Keep your legs as straight as possible to really make the lower abs burn. Don't allow your legs to touch the floor to keep constant tension on your abs. Stop when you are about 1-2 inches off the ground, and start the next rep.
Lying Leg Thrusts- Lie on your back. Perform a lying leg raise. Thrust your heels to the ceiling, breathe out; keep contracting the lower abs so that you are raising your torso. Lower out of the thrust back to your initial position, leaving your feet straight up. Lower your legs back to the starting position.
Hanging Leg Raises- Hang from a chin-up bar, or use a dip stand, or another devise so that your feet do not touch the ground when they are directly below you. Bring your knees up to your chest, in a slow, controlled motion. To maximize the exercise, keep your legs straight, and bring them up slowly to form a "L" with your torso.
Upper Abdominals
Ab Crunches-Lying on your back, put your knees up in the air so that your thighs are at a right angle to the ground, with your knees bent. Put your hands either behind your head or on the sides of your head. Slowly raise your shoulders off the ground and focus on keeping your abs tight. Do not let your shoulder blades touch the ground during the exercise if you can help it. Do not focus on going all the way up, as much as having a slow, consistent pace, and really flexing the abdominal muscles throughout.
Cross-Knee Crunches-These are like ab crunches, lay on your back, in the bent-knee position, but crunch diagonally so that you touch each elbow to the opposite hip alternately. At the top position, one shoulder and one hip should be off the ground.
Cross Overs-Lie on your side and cradle your head in your hands. Bend your knees, place one elbow, and arm on the ground just under your head. Keep your hands linked, and point the other elbow up. Twist your body and lift the lower elbow up off the ground and across your torso. Do this in a slow manner, and hold it at the top for a second before lowering and repeating. Try not to go all the way down, stop lust short of the bottom so you get more of a work. Be sure to do this for both sides.
BACK
Lower Back
Deadlifts-This is the best and most difficult mass builder there is. A belt is necessary due to the stress put on your lower back. Use a barbell and place it on the floor with some weight on it. Grab the weight with your palms towards you. Your feet should be shoulder width apart, and your arms outside your knees so that they are a little wider than shoulder width apart. Keep your arms straight throughout the movement. Keep your head up, look forward. Keep your back flat. You may even want to push your chest out a little to keep your back from bending. Bend your knees, so that you are in a very low squatting position. Stand up with the weight so that your legs straighten, and your back becomes upright at the same time. Do not straighten your legs, then your back or vice-versa. If you want, you can add a shrug to the end of the movement, but don't bend your arms. This will work your legs, back, and shoulders.
Upper Back
Bent-Over Rows-Bend over so that you are on a 45 degree angle with the floor. Hold a barbell with a medium amount of weight with your palms facing you. Let the barbell hang, and bring your elbows up and in. You should feel some strain on your upper back. Do not let your chest move. Bring the weight up to you chest.
T-Bar Rows-Perform these similar to bent-over rows. This time, you should be nearly horizontal when you stand over the t-bar machine. Keep your back flat, and look forward, not down.
Pull-downs-This is a fairly simple exercise, but many people do it wrong. First, sit on the machine with your back slightly arched. Take a comfortable grip, which does not have to be wide. Bring the weight down, with your elbows coming down, and in. Try to emphasize the contraction of your lats and upper back in this movement. Do not round your back just to bring the weight down further. It will have no advantage to you, because your abs and biceps will be doing the work. Do not bring it down behind your head because your rotator cuff will get injured.
Reverse Flyes-These are very hard to master. Many lifters do not even know what these are. Lay on your stomach with some light dumbells in your hands underneath you as if you were at the top of a regular fly, only on your stomach. Now bring the weight up, keeping a little bend in your arms. Keep your hands even with your shoulders beside you on the way up. Try to focus on contracting the muscles in your upper back behind and between your shoulder blades.
Day 1-
Flat bench press-3 sets, 6-8 reps with heavy weight, 1 minute break between sets
Incline dumbell flyes-3 sets, 10 reps 1 minute break between sets
Preacher curls-3 sets, 8 reps 1 minute between sets
Tricep extensions-4 sets, 10 reps, 2 minutes rest between sets
Seated hammer curls-4 sets, 10, 8, 6, 4 reps with heavier weight for each set, 1 minute break between sets
Seated military press-3 sets, 8 reps, 1 minute break between sets
Dumbell front raises- 2 sets to failure, 1-1.5 minute break between sets
Wrist curls- 4 sets, 8 reps, 1.5 minutes rest between sets
Reverse wrist curls- 4 sets, 8 reps, 1.5 minutes rest between sets
12 minutes hard ab work, 30 seconds rest between sets of 45-60 seconds
Day 2-
Squats- 2 sets of 10 reps, 2 sets of 8 reps-heavier weight for the 8 rep sets 2-3 minute break between sets
Dumbell or barbell lunges-3 sets of 8 reps per leg 1 minute break between sets
Stiff-legged deadlift-3 sets, 8 reps 1 minute break between sets
Leg extensions-4 sets, 10-12 reps, 1 minute break between sets
Leg curls-4 sets, 12 reps, 1 minute break between sets
Calf raises-4 sets, 15-18 reps 1 minute break between sets
Day 3-rest
Day 4-
Pull-ups-2 sets to failure, 2 minutes rest between sets
Reverse flyes-4 sets, 8 reps-keep good form 1 minute rest between sets
T-bar rows-3 sets, 10 reps-2 minutes rest between sets
Bent-over barbell rows-3 sets, 8 reps, 1 minute rest between sets
8 minutes of hard ab work- 45 second sets, 15 seconds rest between sets
Day 5-
Bench press-3 sets, 8 reps, 2 minutes rest between sets
Decline close grip bench press-3 sets, 8 reps, 2 minutes rest between sets
Alternating dumbell curls-3 sets, 8 reps, 1 minute rest between sets
Standing barbell curls-3 sets, 8 reps, 2 minutes rest between sets
Seated lat raises-4 sets, 10 reps, 45 sec rest between sets
Barbell shrugs-4 sets, 8 reps, -do not use a circular motion, go straight up and down
Wrist curls- 4 sets, 8 reps, 1.5 minutes rest between sets
Reverse wrist curls- 4 sets, 8 reps, 1.5 minutes rest between sets
Day 6-
Regular deadlift-4 sets, 10, 8, 8, 6 reps in that order, with heavier weight for each change in reps, 3 minutes rest between sets
Leg press-4 sets, 12 reps, 2 minutes rest between sets
Toe Press (calf raises on a leg press sled)-4 sets, 12 reps, alternating between toes in and toes pointed out other every set, 45 seconds rest between sets
Leg curls-4 sets, 12 reps, 1 minute rest between sets
12 minutes of hard ab work, 1 minute sets, 30 second rest between sets
Day 7-rest
Day 8-
Lat pull-downs-4 sets, 8 reps, 1.5 minute rest between sets
Bent-over rows-4 sets, 8 reps, 1 minute rest between sets
Chin-ups (underhand grip)-2 sets to failure 90 secs rest between sets
Reverse flyes-3 sets, 8 reps, 1 minute rest between sets
8 minute ab work
Day 9-
Incline bench press-3 sets, 8 reps, 1 minute rest between sets
Decline bench press-3 sets, 8 reps, 1 minute rest between sets
Tricep press-downs-4 sets, 10 reps, 2 minutes rest between sets
Military press- 3 sets, 8, 8, 6 with heavier weight on last set, 1.5 minutes rest between sets
Seated alternating bicep curls- 10, 8, 6 reps with heavier weight for each set, 2 minutes rest between sets
Reverse barbell curls-4 sets, 10 reps,
Dumbell wrist curls- 4 sets, 6 reps, 1 minute rest between sets
Reverse dumbell wrist curls-4 sets, 8 reps, 1 minute rest between sets
Day 10-
Deep squats (go down as far as you can, you may need to use much less weight than normal)-4 sets, 10, 8, 8, 8 reps, heavier weight for last 3 sets, 1 minute rest between sets
Stiff-legged dead lift- 4 sets, 10 reps, 1 minute rest between sets
Dumbell step-ups- 2 sets, 20 reps, 10 reps per leg per set, 30 seconds rest between sets
Leg extensions-3 sets, 6 reps with heavy weight, 2 minute rest between sets
Leg curls-3 sets, 6 reps with heavy weight, 2 minutes rest between sets
Seated calf raises- 4 sets, 15 reps, Same toes in, toes out system as before, 1 minute between sets
12 minute ab workout
Day 11- Rest
Day 12-
Modified dips -instead of doing dips with your palms on the bars of the dip stand, put your entire forearm on the bar of the stand, and do dips. It will be a smaller movement, and you should look like a chicken flapping its wings. This isolates the lats very well. 3 sets to failure, weighted if you like, 1 minute rest between sets.
Pull-ups-2 sets to failure, 2 minutes rest between sets
T-bar rows-3 sets, 8 reps, 1 minute rest between sets
Shrugs-4 sets, 12 reps, 1 minute between sets
Wrist curls- 4 sets, 8 reps, 1.5 minutes rest between sets
Reverse wrist curls- 4 sets, 8 reps, 1.5 minutes rest between sets
8 minute ab workout
Day 13-
Bench Press-3 sets of 8 negatives with 110% your max before this routine taking 5 seconds on the negative, 2 minutes between sets
Incline flyes-4 sets, 6 reps, heavy weight, 2 minutes rest between sets
Behind-the-head tricep extensions-4 sets, 8 reps, 2 minutes between sets
Preacher curls-5 sets, 8, 8, 6, 6, 5 reps with heavier weight for each increase in reps, 2 minutes between sets
Seated hammer curls- 4 sets, 10, 8, 6, 4 reps, with heavier weight each set, 1 minute rest between sets
Wrist curls-4 sets, 6 reps, 1 minute rest between sets
Reverse wrist curls-4 sets, 8 reps, 1 minute between sets
Day 14-
Front squats- 4 sets, 10 reps, 1 minute between sets
Stiff-legged deadlift-3 sets, 8 reps, 1 minute between sets
Leg extensions- 3 sets, 8, 8, 6 reps, heavier weight on last set, 2 minutes rest between sets
Step-ups-2 ten rep sets per leg, 1 minute rest after every 20 reps
Leg curls-4 sets, 10, 8, 6, 4 reps, heavier weight each set, 1 minute rest between sets
Seated calf raises- 4 sets, 12 reps, 1 minute rest between sets
12 minute ab workout
Day 15- rest
Day 16-
Shrugs-4 heavy sets, 8 reps, 1 minute between sets
Bent-over rows-4 sets, 6 reps with heavy weight, 1 minute between sets
Pull-downs-3 heavy sets, 6 reps, 1.5 minutes between sets
Reverse flyes-5 heavy sets of 5 (be sure to keep good form), 2 minutes between sets
T-bar rows- 3 heavy sets, 6 reps, 1 minute between sets
Chin-ups- 2 sets to failure, 2 minutes between sets
8 minute ab workout
Day 17-
Bench press- 3 heavy sets, 6, 6, 5 reps, increase weight on last set, 1 minute rest between sets
Incline bench press- 2 heavy sets, 6 reps 2 minutes between sets
Decline bench press- 2 heavy sets- 6, 5 reps, increase weight on last set, 2 minutes between sets
Flat bench flyes-2 slow sets to failure with medium weight, 3 minutes between sets
Day 18-
Regular deadlift- 5 heavy sets, 8, 6, 6, 5, 5 reps, with heavier weight after sets 1 and 3, 4 minutes rest between sets
Leg press-3 heavy sets, 15 reps, 3 minutes rest between sets
Leg curls-4 sets, 8 reps, 2 minutes between sets
Lunges- 2 sets of 8 with each leg, 1 minute rest after you have finished a set for both legs
Toe press- 5 sets of 10 reps, in this order: toes in, toes out, toes straight up, toes in, toes out, 1.5 minutes between sets
Day 19-
Tricep extensions-4 heavy sets with good form, 8 reps, 2 minutes between sets
Close grip bench press-2 heavy sets to failure, 2 minutes rest between sets
Tricep press-downs-2 heavy sets to failure, 2 minutes between sets
Standing barbell curls-3 heavy sets, 8, 6, 5 reps, heavier weight after each set, 2 minutes rest between sets
Preacher curls- 5 sets of 5 reps, make sure you use a weight that will allow you to get 5 reps on each set, you may lower the weight if need be, 2 minutes rest between sets
Seated hammer curls- 4 sets, 8 reps, 2 minutes rest between sets
12 minute ab workout
Day 20, 21- REST- you will need it,
Day 22- Max out in all lifts you are interested in, and see how well you progressed in only 3 weeks.
Take a week off, and repeat this routine. Be sure not to touch weights for 7 days straight. After that switch to another routine.
This month, I will give you some information about creatine. You may or may not have seen this information already if you searched through my site, but I still get questions about it so this might answer them for you.
Creatine is one of the most popular supplements available today. This is how it works. The main energy source in your body is ATP. This is an abbreviation for Adenine Triphosphate. Each molecule of ATP contains 3 phosphates. When your body uses energy the bond holding the one of the phosphates together is broken releasing energy. When your body runs short on ATP, it begins to produce lactic acid, which is what makes your muscles sore after a workout. Creatine works by providing another phosphate to remake the ATP molecule. It also causes the muscles to take on water, which leads to a gain in size (mass).
Creatine is found in meat and fish especially beef, and is made in your liver. For this reason, vegetarians usually have a lower amount of creatine in their bodies than everyone else.
Proper Dosage (maximize your window for best view)
Creatine should be taken in these doses:
Weight Loading (days 1-4) Maintenance (days 5 on)
140-160 lbs 2 doses of 5g per day 1 dose of 3g per day
160-185 2 doses of 7.5g per day 1 dose of 4g per day
185-210 2 doses of 10g per day 1 dose of 5g per day
210-235 2 doses of 12.5g per day 1 dose of 6g per day
Creatine works best when taken with grape juice or with sugar sweetened Kool-Aid. Avoid drinking any orange juice or foods with caffeine in them as these have a negative affect on the absorption, and effectiveness of creatine.
There are no concrete studies so far that prove whether or not there are any long-term side effects associated with taking creatine. It is believed that possible kidney and liver problems could result in a few cases, but nothing is for sure. Dehydration is a common problem and can easily be remedied by drinking 1-2 gallons of water per day, which would also lessen the strain on the kidneys and liver.
Overall, I would recommend creatine to anybody that is healthy, and is looking to add some lean mass.
Until next month, stay motivated, and strive for your goals. Writing this newsletter is one of the most fun parts of my day, and it is a great diversion. I hope you enjoy reading it.
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