Shy guy. Alright. How about carbs? If the four whites are bad (white flour, sugar, rice and salt), what about whole grain flour, brown rice, and beans? Black turtle beans any good?
There are smarter folks here to ask these questions. As for me, I do stay away from the 4 whites as much as I can, but I'm also not a fan of any flour, whole grain or otherwise, though I prefer whole grain. My understanding is that because flour is ground so small there is a lot of surface space which results in a higher glycemic value than if the grain was not pulverized to flour. If I eat more than a small amount of bread of any kind, I find that I gain weight which goes away fairly quickly afterwards. So I'm guessing it causes me to retain water? Regardless, though I love bread I eat it sparingly. Never tried black turtle beans, however I enjoy dark red kidney beans and lentils and have both quite regularly. The only rice I eat is brown rice. I even add some to my scrambled egg whites, to which I also add sautéed onions and peppers, a bit of hot salsa, balsamic vinegar and roasted garlic.
A pic of me from a couple of years ago: And a more recent one: Meh, forget the more recent one, makes me look like a lesbian.....
Again, going to failure largely depends on how and what you`re training. Failure on a set of 20 repetitions is different from failing on the 4th or 5th repetition on a heavy set. Failure on one set is different from failure on 5 sets of the same exercise including forced reps and drop sets. Failure on the deadlift is more taxing for your CNS than failure on a bicep curl.
Yes, those distinctions did not escape me. I'm just saying that I like the idea of stopping at the point described in my last related post, as quoted from a web site. I will try it for a time and assess. I tried leaving a full and proper rep or two "in the tank," and after a couple of workouts it felt far too much like not finishing my homework. What's your opinion of the approach as quoted in my earlier post this morning? I'm thinking this is how I'll try to do all exercises and workouts. I will reevaluate after a time.
I`m sorry, but I think I may not have been very clear about how I perform my repetitions. Sorry about that. I perform the maximum number of repetitions that I`m able to, but stop prior to the repetition where I would fail. That seems to be the same as in the article, no? Occassionally I make a wrong call and actually go to failure. The only times I would keep one in the tank is if I am to perform multiple sets (a volume approach) and want to maintain the same weight for all sets or possibly on dead lifts (simply because it`s not necessay and if you fail and fuck up on your form, you may get fucked). I often go too heavy on the dead lifts as well, as I don`t know what is good for me. Failure happens pretty much never though. There is no way I could keep two in the tank myself. I even struggle to perform a normal deload week.
There is however one exercise where I have responded superiorly by keeping one or two in the tank and performing a lot of volume instead and that is pull-ups. I tried training to failure, using weights, etc, but never gained with it, until I started performing volume. I may now start a cycle with 5 repetitions for 5-8 sets. Increase by 1 repetition per workout. Only the last set(s) should be heavy. Works very well for me.
Okay, I think we're on the same page. The oly difference between this approach and what I had been using previously is that I would occasionally use some "body english" to complete a set. I will refrain from doing so. Also, no more partial reps at the end of a set where I cannot complete a full rep. So that's not a major departure from what I had been doing, but hopefully it will be a meaningful one as it relates to recovery. Well, I now do a maximum of 3 sets of any exercise, and I decrease the weight for each subsequent set, so the above approach I mentioned makes sense to me.
Okay. I do pull ups (and close gip chins) weighted and reduce the weight for each subsequent set to ensure a rep count of 8 or 9 for that exercise. How many reps were you doing when you were going for volume? As I had noted earlier in this thread, my two pec (and tricep) exercises are pushups and dips. The dips are weighted for the relevant range, but the decline pushups (feet elevated) are for volume. I don't seem to have lost any size in the 2+ months or so that I've been doing the volume thing as compared to a more conventional, higher-resistance, lower-rep bench press type movement. Perhaps it's too soon to tell, though. I'll tell you this: the decline pushups are seriously gruelling towards the end of each set, much more so than conventional pushups and even, surprisingly, bench press, as I grind out one more rep towards the end and then one more and then...