hey ray, what do you think of this? anything you'd change?

http://www.strstd.com/

calculates your weights and everything and even gives a full routine to follow

after summer i'll start bulking again, and would like to try 5x5 to get my lifts up

last thing...

why distilled water when preparing for contest? i'm curious about the scientific explanation. I know it contains less minerals or something... hah

I also read that when the body is dehydrated, it retains water under the skin to protect itself, giving less definition to the muscles. Is this false? so confuse in jam mind

Overall, it's a pretty good guide for finding 1RM and doing a 5/3/1. I'm impressed with the quality of the calculator.

It doesn't calculate accessories though, and I ALWAYS like to dedicate some time to train them (bis/tris/abs/calves/forearms/traps). HOWEVER, it does provide a routine with accessories included, referred to as : "Dave Tate's Periodization Bible" at the bottom of the page.

That particular plan is NOT bad....but focusing on accessories in the manner that YOU personally see results with, would be highly recommended in addition to the traditional 5x5 or 5/3/1.






If you are talking about being actually dehydrated, yes this can be the case, especially for prolonged periods of dehydration. That is why consumption of distilled water is absolutely necessary, in the large area, in the week prior to a contest.

Distilled water does the following:

Removes excess sodium
Does not add any additional sodium
Keeps body hydrated
Pulls excess water from the surface skin tissue for mineral value

As a result, you WILL stay hydrated, but you will also shed water weight. You body will not be dehydrated, but your electrolytes will be imbalanced (this is normal before a contest). It's actually highly unnatural to be a bodybuilder, as 4-6% body fat, extreme amounts of muscle mass, dark tans, and flexing and posing for a crowd are clearly not something human being were MEANT to do (genetically). However, in order to achieve certain goals, certain sacrifices must be made.

In the case of distilled water for the week prior, and dehydration in the 12-15 hours leading up to the contest, this is all to maintain the ultimate dry look. In the case of having to shred down in a week, and ALSO be contest ready, is extremely difficult.

If you were already on a pre-contest routine, training hard to shed body fat for around 6-8 weeks, in the one week prior to going on stage, you'd actually start carbing up, and killing sodium from your diet, while drinking distilled water or distilled water. But because the initial question was posed in reference to losing additional body fat within 1 week, one would have to rigorously cut down body fat, and then carb up only in the HOURS prior to going out. The result would not be quite the same, but it would be the best given the circumstances.

Overall, distilled water will NOT dehydrate you. It will simply remove certain minerals from your body, particularly sodium, which you get from your regular diet as it is. This reduction in sodium is extremely helpful in maintaining a dry physique prior to a contest.

Warning: DO NOT drink distilled water as your regular source of hydration, as this will cause you to suffer electrolyte imbalance.



EDIT::

If I haven't already mentioned, during the regular year, or anytime contest prep is not required, I personally recommend Zephyrhills Spring Water, as it has an EXTREMELY low content of toxic substances (such as arsenic, lead, etc.), a very good pH balance, good flavor, and also a good electrolyte balance. The price is also much less than any of the "gourmet" waters, which are mostly a scam. It usually runs about $1.00 / gal.

This post was edited by SKCRaynor on Jul 12 2014 06:20am

Something that's been bugging me lately.

My cousin was about my size, an inch taller but weighed less and looked way fatter, certainly wasn't any stronger. He joined the Army and came out of basic looking like the Hulk. What gives? I don't know if I'll ever get to bench 5 sets of 10@225, and that's just his normal.

This post was edited by mykromisfit on Jul 13 2014 06:39pm

Basic Training in most military applications combines extreme physical training, combined with extreme eating (caloric intake relative to normal eating), and put them in a setting of forced mental control and exertion.

The overall outcome is usually pretty extreme in terms of body reshaping. You must understand that 6+ hours of intense physical training every day, coupled with enough calories to sustain that, will yield excellent results. I am sure that most people simply do not have the time or inclination to dedicate that much of their life to physical training, unless a job depends on it.

In the case of most professional bodybuilding, 4-6 hours of total training per day is not uncommon. Between targeted weight training, cardio sessions, and compound lifts, there is no doubt that the days are long and arduous.

If you want to strive to be an elite athlete, of any type, it will require copious amounts of training, a careful nutritional plan, and of course, plenty of time to recover.

Does this mean bench presses are over rated ?

http://journals.lww.com/nsca-jscr/Abstract/publishahead/Bench_press_and_push_up_at_comparable_levels_of.97293.aspx

Break down of your muscles release myglobin that pretty much kills your kidneys, so how is that different from your body breaking down muscle for fuel?

First of all, 6 week comparison is absolutely not credible for long term strength gains.

In general, light weight on the bench press, or bands for push ups will result in the same gains, assuming the amount of tension on the chest muscles remains the same. The overall necessity is that the chest muscles are forced to accommodate a specific load of weight for a specific amount of time and number of repetitions. Therefore, a pushup with body weight + elastic band resistance will equal the same amount of tension on a relatively low weight bench press.

The key component here is that elastic bands are unable to create a true high weight low rep environment, and thus improve serious strength gains over time. That isn't to discredit bodyweight or elastic band training, as these are excellent if weights are not available.

I can personally assure you that a 400+ lb bench press can not be effectively or safely recreated with elastic bands, as there is a huge safety issue from bands breaking, as well as form issues from the multidirectional pull of bands and unpredictable behavior that differs from simple gravity.

I think you are confusing Muscle Catabolism (muscle wasting) with Rhabdomyolysis. There is a huge difference here.

When the body breaks down lean tissue in an extremely low calorie environment to stave off starvation, you will have Catabolism, which is the GRADUAL reduction of lean mass through natual processes that break the muscle tissue down when it is not used or when additional calories are required for sustenance.

Rhabdomyolysis is the process in which a rapid and incomplete breakdown of muscle tissue immediately enters the blood stream and causes damage to the kidneys through filtration attempts.

Usually Rhabdomyolysis is caused by severe trauma, disease, EXTREME exercise (with very little rest or nutrition or without prior training), and even drug use.


Simple muscle fiber microtears caused by exercise that ultimately make the muscles grow does not have any impact on kidney health.

Sup Ray

So I do fasted HIIT cardio every morning, do you think it would be alright to do abs after? Or should I really eat something and do abs with my workout later.