Flush Failure 2, Mass-Building

TIME / REP BRACKETS

Okay, regarding time and rep brackets, when given a time or rep bracket, we will shoot for exactly the middle of the range, then take 10% of the maximum number, half it, and place half either side. [laughs] This actually is a lot less complicated than I've made it sound. Maybe an example will help.

Imagine we are doing Bench Presses for a target range of 6-10 reps. First we calculate our exact middle of the range, in this case the range is 6-10, so our middle will be 8. Yes? Good. Now we take 10% of the highest number possible in the bracket, which is 10. 10% of 10 is 1. With me so far? We then subtract this from the middle of the bracket, giving 8-1=7, so the first number in our new range is 7. Then we add it on to the original middle, giving 9. So our minimal target bracket is 7-9.

Or, imagine that you are walking or jogging for 45-60 minutes. The exact middle of a 45-60 minute bracket, if you can't work it out by looking at the numbers, which I can, is (45+60)/2, which is 52.5 minutes, or 52 minutes, 30 seconds. 10% of 60 is obviously 6, which, halved, is 3. So our range is 52:30, +/- (plus or minus) 3. So our minimal range is 49:30-55:30.

INTENSITY

Let's keep this short and sweet. The hard stuff gets results. More work, more results. However, working too hard and ripping or tearing a muscle or ligament will only set you back weeks at best, or permanently at worst. Train consistently hard, but listen to your body - if it's telling you it's not up for it, it probably isn't.
Don't get obsessive. You won't deflate overnight by missing one session.

FREQUENCY

Okay, another important factor is frequency. A few of the exercises have included the amount of times each one is supposed to be performed per week, lots don't.

As a basic guide, use the bodybuilding programme in a 3-day split, and don't train abs - with sledgehammer training, boxing and leg raises our abs and obliques are going to get plenty toned without crunches. If you want to obsess about it, knock yourself out - but don't injure yourself.

In further regard to bodybuilding, you want to have 24 hours clear between each group of bodyparts, you want to be working 2 or 3 bodyparts at a time, you want to be working for less than 60 minutes a session, and you want a week between each session of a similar sort.

The reason we want to spend less than 60 minutes bodybuilding is that between 40 and 60 minutes into working out in an atrophic(building muscle via lifting heavy weights) fashion, testosterone and growth hormone begin to drop, and after 60 minutes, it's dropped so much that you're losing muscle.

The reason we want to leave a week clear between two sessions on the same bodypart is that you'll take about a week to heal and gain. Any interruptions via training with weights in the same fashion will slow your mass building.

So, for example:

Monday - Chest, Deltoids & Triceps;
Tuesday - REST;
Wednesday - Back, Traps & Biceps;
Thursday - REST;
Friday - Legs;
Saturday - REST;
Sunday - REST.

Rinse & Repeat, as they say.

DON'T GET SLOPPY

Be a stickler for form. Use a time period of 1-2 seconds for the concentric phase and 3-4 seconds for the eccentric phase. Always emphasize the negative. Keep your form proper, and never sacrifice technique for weight - if you're lifting too much and having to cheat to complete the lift, you aren't getting a full range of motion, so the benefit of having more weight is being cancelled out by the defect of not correctly completing the exercise.

NUTRITION

To be honest, a good nutritional base is incredibly helpful, but not entirely necessary. If you've got the money to spend on whey proteins and supplements, fine, but I haven't. If, like me, you don't have the cash, then just try to eat eat as much protein as possible, with healthy and unhealthy fats. Yes, I said unhealthy fats. Your body needs to eat something when you exercise, and I don't want it to be muscle, do you?
Try different things. Figure out what you like that has a lot of protein, eat loads of it, and drink 2 litres of water a day. Simple.

Huge slabs of meat pie? Sure, with a large serving of vegetables. Massive steak? With a couple of tomatoes and some peas, why not? Hell, wash it down with a beer if you like, just never have alcohol within an hour either side of, meaning before or after, training.

If you can afford to keep up a high-protein diet, by all means, go for it. I try to include a lot of steak, chicken, eggs, fish and milk into my diet.

I often take 500-750ml of whole milk, stick it in my blender, add an apple, minus the core and stalk, a plum minus the stalk and seeds, some strawberries minus the leaf and stalk, crack in three eggs and empty four small pots of fromage frais into a blender and liquidise it up.
This is a well-balanced shake that produces about a litre of smoothie, which contains around 57g of protein.

Good sources of protein include whole milk, eggs, chicken, steak, porridge... If you look elsewhere on the internet, you can find a BV - Biological Value - Rating for various foods. This means how much of the food is utilised by your body. Eating anything that comes from the outside or inside of an animal has seemed to do me well.

ALCOHOL

If you're gonna drink alcohol, drink it when you're not training, and, if you're training the next day, take it easy. Nothing worse than training with a hangover. Trust me, I've been there. Also, if you are going to drink, drink something that occurs naturally - i.e., beer, wine, cider and mead as opposed to whiskey, absynthe, vodka and gin. The first four are made from naturally occurring ingredients, the others are distilled.
I, myself, drink red wine exclusively, as it provides various health benefits.

LIQUIDS

When you're not drinking alcohol, you should be drinking fruit juices, honeyed milk, milk, honeyed water or water. 2 litres of water a day. Tea and coffee don't count.

ATTITUDE

Never give up. The ones you idolise got to be where they are by working harder than everyone else. You will only get to where they are by wanting it more than anyone. Remember, defeat is a temporary beast, and the only way for something to be a mistake is to repeat it. If you only do it once, then it's a learning experience. Strive to be the best. The best is as much about accepting and learning from defeat as it is about never willingly being defeated.
This sounds paradoxical, but it is true.
Develop a strong character as well as a strong body. Help those in need. Helping only yourself is easy, but the easy road is the road of weakness. Love those who support you when you need it, lose those who don't. We have a finite amount of time on this earth, but an infinite amount of potential with which to fill it.

We are Legends. We do not believe in luck. Luck is for those without the drive to shape their own destiny. We work hard to use our minds and our bodies to account for every possible outcome.

REMEMBER THE CODE OF DRUSS THE LEGEND

"Never violate a woman, nor harm a child. Do not lie, cheat or steal. These things are for lesser men. Protect the weak against the evil strong. And never allow thoughts of gain to lead you into the pursuit of evil."

Druss can box. From braying Cajivak in his Thieves' Den hall to winning his fare in gold to the Thunderchild ship by becoming Champion of the bareknuckle fighting championships in the sand-circles of Mashrapur, The Silver Slayer dominates whether it be as a sport or in the midst of a raging battlefield.

Boxing Training is such a great training method from whichever perspective you choose to examine it. It get you fit in a cardiovascular sense, improves hand-eye coordination, reflexes, peripheral vision, strengthens, tones and defines most of your body, in particular the obliques, abs, intercostals, deltoids, triceps, quadriceps and calves, and can save your life.
If you're following this programme and have enver had any training in boxing, go to a boxing gym at least twice a week and learn to box. You won't regret it.

Insofar as it's use for this programme goes, we're going to be doing something like this:

PHASE ONE

2-minute rounds of bag work, throwing 60 or more punches a round for 3 rounds, 60-second rest inbetween rounds.
Be tactical here. Don't just try and beat the crap out of an inanimate object. Duck and weave, step inside and out, work around the target. Throw combinations, use different ranges, work angles, practice stepping outside of hands.
Practice slipping, ducking and rolling, coming back with a punch. Remember, however you hit the bag is how you're going to hit your opponent - so be clever, educate yourself, and box tactically.

This is to be followed by Shadowboxing.

Now, a lot of people have the wrong idea about Shadowboxing. Shadowboxing is NOT just about throwing punches into thin air. It is a clinical dismantling of the defenses. To shadowbox correctly, stand in front of either a dummy or a mirror.
Dip and weave, throw punches - the point is to look for weakspots in the defense. This is especially useful in a mirror as you can use the information to tighten your defenses.
Good boxers deliver punches in combinations of threes and fives.
5 rounds of 90-seconds, with 45 seconds rest inbetween.

PHASE TWO

Kick it up a notch, now.
3-minute rounds of bagwork, 75 punches or more a round, 4 rounds, 1-minute rest inbetween.
Shadowboxing remains the same, 5 rounds of 90-seconds with 45 seconds rest inbetween.

PHASE THREE

Last notch.
4-minute rounds of bagwork, 90 punches or more a round, 4 rounds, 1-minute rest inbetween. Shadowboxing, 5 rounds of 120 seconds, 60 seconds rest inbetween.

SPARRING

If you can find a partner to spar with, it's great for your reflexes and ability to read a fight situation.

If you're going to spar with a friend, my suggestion is to first stand a couple of feet away and attempt to land soft blows with an open hand or with the tips of the fingers. We're trying to sharpen up reflexes and defensive capability here, not brain each other.

If you're going to spar with full force punches, do it at a gym with a qualified coach. Doing anything without a great deal of knowledge is dangerous, and even apart from that, lots of people develop bad habits when learning to box - if these aren't corrected when you first learn, you will have them forever.

SLEDGEHAMMER TRAINING

Okay, it's easy to get carried away and long winded here, so let's try and keep this simple.

Sledgehammer training is a great way to add a finishing touch of tone and muscle mass to the arms, shoulders, upper, lower, middle back, quadriceps, abs, intercostals, obliques, glutes, hamstrings, calves and forearms.

We're also mimicking the movements used by Deathwalker himself when engrossed in axe combat.

What you will need here is a sledgehammer, an old tire, which you will lay flat on the ground, and a stopwatch, and nothing else.

PHASE ONE

Okay, to start with, perform 1 minute of a vertical swing with the sledgehammer, coming straight down onto the sledgehammer. Right hand above your left on the shaft. Over the right shoulder, come straight down.
After a minute, switch immediately to the left and reverse the technique.

One minute each side comprises one set. Complete 5 sets, with 1 minute rest inbetween each set.

PHASE TWO

Again, one minute vertical swings, switching dominant hands. The exception is that now we're going to include diagonal swings, whereby the sledgehammer is raised over the right shoulder - for a right-handed diagonal swing, obviously - and brought down at a 45 degree angle into the tire. Again, after a minute, mirror the technique on the other side.

One minute right-hand dominant, one minute left-hand dominant overhead verticals, followed by one minute rest, one minute left-hand diagonal, one-minute right-hand dominant diagonals, is 1 set. Rest 2 minutes between sets, for 4 sets.

So, it'll looks something like this:
1. Right-hand verticals, 60 seconds;
2. Left-hand verticals, 60 seconds;
3. Rest, 60 seconds;
4. Right-hand diagonals, 60 seconds;
5. Left-hand diagonals, 60 seconds;
6. Rest, 120 seconds;
7. Repeat 3 times.

Back to Training - Size & Power.

BODYBUILDING

Welcome to the bodybuilding section.
Bearing in mind that our goal is not only to develop our physiques, but to build massive levels of muscular strength as well, it stands to reason that our exercises in this section should be derived from lifts that enhance functional strength.
This means free weights, kettlebells and bodyweight mechanics. Because of the "functional strength" dynamic of our training, our exercises should be mainly push, pull, flye or any mechanic that is duplicated by the body in it's natural function.

The basic programme is as follows:
1. Time a 5-minute period in which to exhaust the smaller part of a large muscle group with "low extension" exercises - being dumbells, kettlebells or bodyweight mechanics. Execute 3-5 reps of the pre-exhaust, rest 10 seconds. Repeat. When you can't perform 3-5 reps anymore, start resting for 20 seconds, then 30, 40, etc.
2. After 5-minute pre-exhause period is up, repeat the same with a 10-minute period of a big mass-building compound exercise, such as barbells or EZ-bars.
3. Move onto another mass-building compound exercise with a 5-set, 6-10 rep bracket.
4. Cool down, hydrate and relax.

Here is a typical example for a chest day:
1. 5-minute "flush failure" period of Three-Chair Push-Ups or Incline Dumbell Flyes.
2. 10-minute "flush failure" period of Incline Bench Presses, Incline Dumbell Presses.
3. 5 sets, 6-10 reps Flat Bench Presses or Kettlebell Bench Presses.
4. Drink some water, chill out.

A list of chest exercises, 3 suggested for each category, arranged by mechanics utilised [uncommon exercises will be elaborated upon]:

CHEST

Flush Failure 1, Pre-Exhaust

Three-Chair Push-Ups
Three Chairs are arranged so that the hands when rested on the chairs are at the Wide-Grip Push-Up position, attention is given to obtaining a "deep" push between the front chairs. The feet are rested on a different chair between and behind the first two. The basic arrangement is such that the hands will be in line with the shoulders, and the feet will be only just past the edge of the back chair, the head and feet in relation to the arms making a "crucifix" shape.

Incline Kettlebell / Dumbell Flyes
No explanation needed, I think.

Decline Push-Ups.
No explanation needed, I think.

Flush Failure 2, Mass-Building

Incline Bench Press
No explanation needed, I think.

Heavy Incline Dumbell / Kettlebell Press
No explanation needed, I think.

Chest Dips
No explanation needed, I think.

Heavy Mass-Builder

Bench Press,
5 sets, 6-10 reps.

Decline Bench Press,
5 sets, 6-10 reps.

Heavy Cable Crossovers,
5 sets, 6-10 reps.

Drink some water, done.

Back to Training - Size and Power.

CALISTHETICS

This will probably be the most brief page of the entire programme. Druss performs calisthenics while trapped in Cajivak's dungeon, in order to regain strength. We are going to be using calisthenics in our bodybuilding training anyway, but we don't want to just be strong, we want to be animalistic.

So, in aid of that, aside from anything else, we are going to do press-ups and leg raises to failure every day, and each day we are going for one more rep. Just one. This means that if on Monday we can do 5 pushups, by Tuesday we want 6, by Friday, 9. Simple right?

Get one more every day and in a few years you could be pushing over a thousand.

Oh, and feel free to vary the pushups, from wide, medium and narrow grips, but, if you're using different ranges and grips, keep a seperate "one-more" chart for each, as different exercises target different specific muscles differently.

Back to Training - Fitness and Calisthenics.

ANAEROBIC TRAINING

For those who don't understand what Anaerobic Training is, it's basically training without air. This is useful because, in a fight situation, or while boxing or sparring, you tend to hold your breath while delivering flurries of punches.

For anerobic training, sprint 100 metres. However long that took, take three times as long to recover before the next sprint.

Example:
You run a hundred metres in 13 seconds.
You times that by three to get your recovery time, which is 39 seconds.
After 39 seconds, you sprint another hundred metres, this time taking 15 seconds.
You times that by three to get your recovery time, which is 45 seconds.
After 45 seconds, you sprint again...

And so on. Start with four sprints. When this gets easy, move up to six, then, when that gets easy, go to eight. You don't really need any more than eight, considering the amount of training you're doing anyway within the rest of the programme.

Back to Training - Optional.

CHOPPING WOODS

Unlike the other points we've gone over in the programme, chopping wood is not an exercise that we are planning to execute on a regular basis. This is a once-in-a-while style of thing.

When chopping wood, have a large "round" of wood upon which to rest smaller logs. Raise your axe in an arc and try to complete the downward motion with inertia and momentum, as opposed to brute force. Our goal here is longevity - we want to complete the exercise for muscular and cardiovascular stamina, as opposed to attempting to build massive amounts of muscle.

Drink water regularly while doing this. Spend half an hour chopping with your right hand, rest 5 minutes, switch to your left hand. An hour's worth of wood chopping is enough.

Remember, this is for stamina, so take this at a slow, relaxed pace. We're not trying to supply firewood for the entire Arctic Circle here. Slow and steady, maintain form. This is a wonderfully relaxing exercise, great for clearing the mind.

Back to Training - Optional.

WALKING

In the Drenai novels, Druss walks everywhere. He is, in fact, famous for walking;

"The old boy's walked from Skeln!"
"Of course he has, that's Druss! He never rides!" - Legend.

Walking is a good exercise for bone and muscle density in the legs, as well as being, when practiced regularly, great for building a solid cardiovascular foundation with which to promote the other exercises.

In White Wolf, Druss says, "One time I could walk thirty miles in a day. Now, I can do less than half that. Obviously here in order to get maximum benefit, we should start out with timed walks and work up to distanced walks. So;

PHASE ONE

Phase One begins with 30-60 minute walks, three times a week. Any time period that falls within the target bracket is acceptable. The easiest proposed split is an "every other day" split, with a day's rest minimum between each walk, for example;

Monday - 35 minute walk;
Tuesday - Rest/Off;
Wednesday - 48 minute walk;
Thursday - Rest/Off;
Friday - 40 minute walk;
Saturday - Rest/Off;
Sunday - Rest/Off.

Obviously such a random array of times cannot be our target, if you refer to the Methodology page, you will see that for a 30-60 bracket, you should be aiming for 45 minutes with a 6-minute grace, so our target is actually 42-48 minutes. This is to introduce the athlete to the conditions ahead.

PHASE TWO

Phase Two increases intensity whilst still attempting to maintain consistency by reducing the days per week of walking while increasing total time consumed by exercise.
In Phase Two, walks will be for 90-120 minutes, simultaneously increasing the rest period between to two days, rather than one, as shown below, with grace period included;

Monday - Rest/Off;
Tuesday - 99-111 minute walk;
Wednesday - Rest/Off;
Thursday - Rest/Off;
Friday - 99-111 minute walk;
Saturday - Rest/Off;
Sunday - Rest/Off.

PHASE THREE

Phase Three follows the vain of Phase Two, by increasing intensity further. Here, we will be walking for one day a week, but for a distance of 15 miles, which will take roughly 150-180 minutes.

And that's walking.

Back to Training - Fitness & Calisthenics.

REGTIME TEMPLATE

Some example regimes.

BEGINNER (1-6 WEEKS)

MONDAY -

Weights - Chest, Delts & Triceps, 30-60 minutes walking;

TUESDAY -

Bag work & Shadowboxing, Sledgehammer Training - Verticals;

WEDNESDAY -

Weights - Back, Traps & Biceps, 30-60 minutes walking;

THURSDAY -

Bag work & Shadowboxing;

FRIDAY -

Weights - Legs, 30-60 minutes walking;

SATURDAY -

OFF;

SUNDAY -

OFF.

More to come.

Дата добавления: 2015-10-24