Results matching “log”

I'm in the midst of a very slow bulking process. Rather than suffer the bodybuilder extremes of an intense bulk/cutting cycle, I elected to simply increase my daily caloric intake above my average requirements whilst making sure not to cook everything in bacon fat.

According to the US Military's Bodyfat Test (see below), I'm currently around 16%; and not showing signs of changing anytime soon. A repeat of the test in another couple of months should give me a reasonable indication of the quantity of muscle gained. With a little luck this will translate into improved results - for the big three at least.

US Military Body Fat testing

The Department of Defense formula for calculating approximate body fat is based on three measurements, and is :

% body fat = 86.010 x log10(abdomen - neck) - 70.041 x log10(height) + 36.76 (for males)

% body fat = 163.205 x log10(waist + hip - neck) - 97.684 x log10(height) - 78.387 (for females)

Naturally there are far more accurate methods of determining body fat; however this provides a reasonable approximation with a minimum of fuss.

For demonstration videos showing how the measurements should be taken, take a look at this site.

I'm in the midst of a very slow bulking process. Rather than suffer the bodybuilder extremes of an intense bulk/cutting cycle, I elected to simply increase my daily caloric intake above my average requirements whilst making sure not to cook everything in bacon fat.

According to the US Military's Bodyfat Test (see below), I'm currently around 16%; and not showing signs of changing anytime soon. A repeat of the test in another couple of months should give me a reasonable indication of the quantity of muscle gained. With a little luck this will translate into improved results - for the big three at least.

US Military Body Fat testing

The Department of Defense formula for calculating approximate body fat is based on three measurements, and is :

% body fat = 86.010 x log10(abdomen - neck) - 70.041 x log10(height) + 36.76 (for males)

% body fat = 163.205 x log10(waist + hip - neck) - 97.684 x log10(height) - 78.387 (for females)

Naturally there are far more accurate methods of determining body fat; however this provides a reasonable approximation with a minimum of fuss.

For demonstration videos showing how the measurements should be taken, take a look at this site.

I first came across this exercise some time ago in an old Coach John Davies article, however I didn't actually try them out until a recent comment by John.


The movement itself really is as simple as the name suggests. Grab a plate by the sides (angled down a bit, as if driving a bus) and straighten your arms in front of you. Raise it until you're looking through the hole, and lower it again. That's it.

As this is pretty close to an isolation exercise (for the anterior deltoid) I tend to slip these in after a bit of pressing.

Following a recent comment by John I decided to reinstate some incline benching into my workouts - 15 degrees at a time. The bench has settings at 15, 30 and 45 degrees; I'll be using the first two (the 45 is about where shoulder pain begins).

Worked up to a comfortable 5RM at 60kg, then dropped back to 50 for a bit of speed work (all except the last 2 sets - painfully slow, but the bar went up eventually).

Finished off with a couple of sets of weighted chins. Love them.

Incline bench press (15 deg) 10@20kg, 5@40kg, 5@50kg, 5@60kg
Incline bench press (15 deg) - explosive 8x3@50kg
Chin-up 8@10kg, 3@20kg
Pull-up 10@bw

Following a recent comment by John I decided to reinstate some incline benching into my workouts - 15 degrees at a time. The bench has settings at 15, 30 and 45 degrees; I'll be using the first two (the 45 is about where shoulder pain begins).

Worked up to a comfortable 5RM at 60kg, then dropped back to 50 for a bit of speed work (all except the last 2 sets - painfully slow, but the bar went up eventually).

Finished off with a couple of sets of weighted chins. Love them.

Incline bench press (15 deg) 10@20kg, 5@40kg, 5@50kg, 5@60kg
Incline bench press (15 deg) - explosive 8×3@50kg
Chin-up 8@10kg, 3@20kg
Pull-up 10@bw

What is RSS?

RSS is an acronym for Rich Site Summary, an XML format which is widely use for publishing data around the web. RSS feeds enable a site to be viewed through News Readers (also known as 'aggregators'); which are often a lot simpler than web browsers.

These news readers display only a small part of the information contained on a page, before displaying the full page if requested. Simpler and faster.

How do I publish an RSS feed?

If you're using any of the major blog tools, generating an RSS feed automatically isn't difficult at all. The following are guidelines for the big ones:

Movable Type

A Movable Type blog generates several RSS feeds automatically. Unchanged, the link 'Syndicate this site' will point to an RSS 2.0 feed listing the last 15 posts on the site.

If your site no longer has this link, or you want to fine tune which information ends up in your feed, here are a couple of templates you migh like to try:

Default Movable Type RSS 2.0 template

Modifications to publish comments or other post data

Blogger

The default Blogger template can be easily modified to produce RSS 2.0. A good starting point is the code at eggminus.com/blogger-rss.php.

LiveJournal

All LiveJournal sites publish RSS feeds by default (simly add '/rss' to the end of the main URL), however they are often ignored. Creating links is often all that is required.

What is RSS?

RSS is an acronym for Rich Site Summary, an XML format which is widely use for publishing data around the web. RSS feeds enable a site to be viewed through News Readers (also known as 'aggregators'); which are often a lot simpler than web browsers.

These news readers display only a small part of the information contained on a page, before displaying the full page if requested. Simpler and faster.

How do I publish an RSS feed?

If you're using any of the major blog tools, generating an RSS feed automatically isn't difficult at all. The following are guidelines for the big ones:

Movable Type

A Movable Type blog generates several RSS feeds automatically. Unchanged, the link 'Syndicate this site' will point to an RSS 2.0 feed listing the last 15 posts on the site.

If your site no longer has this link, or you want to fine tune which information ends up in your feed, here are a couple of templates you migh like to try:

Default Movable Type RSS 2.0 template

Modifications to publish comments or other post data

Blogger

The default Blogger template can be easily modified to produce RSS 2.0. A good starting point is the code at eggminus.com/blogger-rss.php.

LiveJournal

All LiveJournal sites publish RSS feeds by default (simly add '/rss' to the end of the main URL), however they are often ignored. Creating links is often all that is required.

Ed Zercher performing an unsupported leg press.

The name Zercher is survived by a couple of lifts, primarily the Zercher Squat. Deadlifts are also occasionally performed, holding the bar in the same unusual way.

Technique

For both the Zercher squat and deadlift the bar is rested in the crook of the elbows. This shifts the body's centre of mass much further forward than in the case of a front squat or traditional deadlift. The hands are then crossed, made into fists, clasped together or held in whatever way feels most comfortable to the lifter.

In the case of the squat, these were originally performed free-standing. The bar was deadlifted from the ground (using traditional methods) and rested on the upper thighs whilst the lifter carefully squatted down. The lifter would then proceed to hook their arms beneath the bar and stand up again, before reversing the process and returning the bar to the ground. These days the lift is often started with the bar already raised (via the pins of a rack, blocks or anything else at a convenient height), and only the squatting motion is performed.

For the Zercher deadlift the bar begins much lower - on the ground if possible, or at the very least on the lowest pins of a rack. Taking a wide stance, the lifter's arms are hooked beneath the bar in the same way as in the squat. The hips are lowered, and then the lifter raises the back and straightens the legs simultaneously. As the body's centre of mass has been shifted forward by holding the bar in this unusual way, much more stress is placed on the hamstrings than in a traditional deadlift; which focusses on the spinal erectors.

See also

Slow like honey - workout from 04 May 2005 (video)

The Zercher lift
ironbarbell.com/Articles/Zercher.html

Wally's Place: The man behind the Zercher lift
www.usaplnationals.com/wally/wallyA.html

ABC Bodybuilding forum: The Zercher Deadlift
www.abcbodybuilding.com/forum/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=936321&page=0&view=collapsed&sb=5&o=7&fpart=1

During the '60s and '70s Soviet sports scientist A.S.Prilepin collected data from the training logs of more than 1000 World, Olympic, National and European weightlifting champions. Prilepin synthesized his findings in a very simple table; which provides workout guidelines as to how elite weightlifters trained for maximal strength.

To demonstrate how the table works, consider an example lift of 75% of your 1RM (1 rep max). The table suggests that this lift should be performed (according to the 70-79% range) :

• in sets of 3-6 reps
• total reps should be at least 12, no more than 24, and optimally at 18 (fewer than 12 is insufficient for muscle adaptation, greater than 24 is too fatiguing)

During the '60s and '70s Soviet sports scientist A.S.Prilepin collected data from the training logs of more than 1000 World, Olympic, National and European weightlifting champions. Prilepin synthesized his findings in a very simple table; which provides workout guidelines as to how elite weightlifters trained for maximal strength.

To demonstrate how the table works, consider an example lift of 75% of your 1RM (1 rep max). The table suggests that this lift should be performed (according to the 70-79% range) :

• in sets of 3-6 reps
• total reps should be at least 12, no more than 24, and optimally at 18 (fewer than 12 is insufficient for muscle adaptation, greater than 24 is too fatiguing)

See also :