And there it is. After yesterday morning's workout, I felt nicely spent, mellow throughout the day, and wired at night. I slept almost not at all. I didn't eat differently or at different times than I did for several of the preceding days. The day was otherwise not notably different. And so, I can only attribute the insomnia to the workout. I had hoped that since I now work out shortly after 6am rather than mid to late afternoon, I could do some of the myo/rest-pause stuff and be able to get a good night's sleep. Especially since I took a week off and am now reducing my frequency. But I can't do it. I suppose that if I didn't go to full failure on all of the principal or myo-rep sets that maybe I could get away with it. But the total effort to failure is what makes the whole enterprise challenging ("unboring") and keeps me coming back. Some of the younger guys here will think I'm just wussing out. But I can tell you that recovery is different today than it was, say, ten years ago. I can still go to the limit, and I don't seem to be weaker, but it takes longer to recover. And I keep banging my head against that wall trying all kinds of workarounds short of not going to failure: And so, the myos are out, except perhaps for my dips, since I want the total upper body pulling and pushing reps to be about equal, now that I added supinated chins back into the workout. As an aside, I continue to do intermittent fasting and have grown to like the discipline of it. So I finish eating at around 5pm and by no later than 6pm, and then have my first breakfast after 9:30am and preferably closer to 10am. The point being that I work out in a fasted state and then don't eat for a few hours after the workout, limiting myself to water, a bit of black coffee and green tea, both unsweetened, until breakfast #1. I can't imagine that this routine cuts into my recovery, since I certainly make up for the fasting during the day. On the plus side, I think I'm slightly leaner than I was in the photos I posted a couple of years ago. In conclusion, I need to watch this short video regularly and whenever I get the urge to do more:
Abandoning MYO so quickly has consequences. Reps for Jesus Club: you were on thin ice to begin with being a godless heathen, this cuts it. Membership revoked. Glorious House of Gainzzz: 30 day suspension pending review of body fat status. Bro Science Institue of facts don't matter: demanding a public apology before their next meeting. I know this is hard news and you're probably devastated, but you did bring this on yourself. You can sleep when you're dead. Until then, it's rep city.
It's the best I could come with considering the results you're getting from the program you work at. No one can argue with that, so if it works, don't fix it. I did MYO on biceps and hamstrings today. Feeling the burn. I was able to do one more rep on the last set than I did last week, so I'll take it.
That's good of you to say, but keep in mind that I was around 20 pounds heavier up to my mid to maybe ~later 40s and about as lean. So is what I'm doing now really "working?" I do know that I can no longer maintain the kind of routine I did in those days or even eat as much if I wanted to. And if I did eat as much, I'm sure I would get fatter, since I did try eating more a while back to see where it would go. It did not go where I wanted it to go. That's the reason for my continual second-guessing. I used to be bigger. But I used to be younger, too. And I keep wondering what contribution my getting older has to my current physique vs. the (necessary) changes to my routine. I'm sure it's a combination, but I keep wondering about the relative contribution of each and keep testing accordingly. You'd think I'd have better things to do.
It is the aging process that we're trying to overcome and while we can slow it down, it still gains ground on us. I'm pretty much in the same boat. I currently weigh 203 lbs. Age 22 just out of the Marine Corps, weighed 205 with a 33 inch waist. Lean and well toned muscle definition. Age 40, weighed 210 lbs., 34 inch waist. Still lean enough with good muscle definition. Today I have a 36 inch waist and muscle definition while decent for an old fuck, it ain't at all what it was. Father time takes it's toll, and the toll gets higher with every passing year. The process goes into high gear. Age 60 to 70 takes more out of you than 50 to 60, that I can tell you. It's a battle just to maintain. Still, better than the alternative of just giving in. Goal is to leave a decent looking corpse.
The MYO update. Nice results for the biceps in both strength gains and muscle definition. Hamstrings, not so much. Little stronger but no real muscle definition or growth visible to me. Was also doing some with seated leg raise for quads. Again, little stronger but no real growth. I have runners legs, just skinny. I'm currently in a traditional 5x5 program with bench, OHP alternating between dumbbell and barbell.
Do you think the MYO reps were responsible for the noticeable gains where you got them? Or were you just working harder? In other words, was your intensity higher, that is, closer to failure? Were your volume and frequency otherwise the same? Serious questions; I’m not looking for a “gotcha.”
Well, I think MYO is a technique to get closer to failure, so yes I believe it was the intensity of the exercise. I wouldn't want to use it on something like bench or squats because it would be dangerous. Failure using MYO is a complete meltdown on the last set.