Blonde will make you STRONG

[EvilPie]

Still retired, and just started doping myself up on the sativex.

Hoping it gives me the munchies, so I can have a few weeks going ballistic on the calories

Awesome, is this the one you were talking about years ago but it was really expensive?

I remember when my dog was on THC/CBD for his cancer we were talking about its effectiveness.

Be really interested to hear how you get on with it.

Yeah, the same stuff. I could have had a month of it, but then had to pay ~£400 a month after if it was any good.

It tastes horrific, so hopefully I will know if it's doing anything before I get to 12 sprays a day

I'm only a week in, and haven't noticed anything of real note, other than my calves seem a little less tight.

I've tried normal CBD oil before (no THC) in spray form and that tasted revolting, can't imagine having to do 12 sprays.

I know with the dog it was all about getting as much in to his system as possible in the shortest amount of time but whilst building tolerance levels

The key thing was the total in his system but you couldn't lump it all in at once so had to ramp it up.

Can't remember the doses but it was something like 1mg per day for a week, 2mg per day for a week, 4mg for a week...... up to say 40mg per week

So very slow start with an exponential ramp up.

Is yours similar progression?

Noticing anything is awesome. Fingers crossed for you mate.

[Marky147]

Yeah, that's the programme I've got for mine. Started with 1 in the evening first few days, then 2 in the evening next couple.

Split 3 1 in the am & 2 in the evening. And add one spray every day until you get to 12 split 5am/7pm.

Should have been at 12 a day for a couple days when my appt with the specialist unit comes around, and then I'd imagine she'll have some plan for what to do over the following month while we work out if it's efficacious enough to continue with.

As you say anything is nice, and to not feel like my legs have had a Viagra OD will do me, even if it's not perfect.

Cheers Matt

[StuartHopkin]

You guys realise there is a more effective way to consume this right?

[RED-DOG]

So here's a question.

About 9 or 10 months ago I started doing chin ups.

Actually, that's not quite true. I attempted to do 1 chin up but couldn't manage it, I had to stand on a step and assist myself a with my legs. That continued for quite a while but I have slowly worked my way up to 10 proper chin ups, 6 more after a one minute rest and three more after another minute.

I've always done each set to the point of exhaustion and for the first 6 months or so I improved slowly but for the last few months It's been 10, 6 & 3 for my best effort.

I'm happy enough with that, I'm only doing it to try to maintain a bit of upper-body strength as I get older but I am curious about reaching this plateau. Is that how things usually work and what would I need to do to improve if I decided I wanted to?

I do 3 sessions a week btw.

[arbboy]

So here's a question.

About 9 or 10 months ago I started doing chin ups.

Actually, that's not quite true. I attempted to do 1 chin up but couldn't manage it, I had to stand on a step and assist myself a with my legs. That continued for quite a while but I have slowly worked my way up to 10 proper chin ups, 6 more after a one minute rest and three more after another minute.

I've always done each set to the point of exhaustion and for the first 6 months or so I improved slowly but for the last few months It's been 10, 6 & 3 for my best effort.

I'm happy enough with that, I'm only doing it to try to maintain a bit of upper-body strength as I get older but I am curious about reaching this plateau. Is that how things usually work and what would I need to do to improve if I decided I wanted to?

I do 3 sessions a week btw.

Having someone 'spot' you once you have reached failure holdnig your legs so you can squeeze out 1 or 2 more assisted reps would usually help you gradually get stronger

[EvilPie]

So here's a question.

About 9 or 10 months ago I started doing chin ups.

Actually, that's not quite true. I attempted to do 1 chin up but couldn't manage it, I had to stand on a step and assist myself a with my legs. That continued for quite a while but I have slowly worked my way up to 10 proper chin ups, 6 more after a one minute rest and three more after another minute.

I've always done each set to the point of exhaustion and for the first 6 months or so I improved slowly but for the last few months It's been 10, 6 & 3 for my best effort.

I'm happy enough with that, I'm only doing it to try to maintain a bit of upper-body strength as I get older but I am curious about reaching this plateau. Is that how things usually work and what would I need to do to improve if I decided I wanted to?

I do 3 sessions a week btw.

Plateaus are common but they're very normal. 10, 6, 3 shouldn't be a plateau for pull ups so you've just got to find a way of doing more work and giving your body a chance to adapt.

If you always do 10 reps your body will adapt to 10 reps. No more, no less. Why would it get strong enough to do more if you never ask it to?

The problem with pull ups is they're one of those exercises where once you've done an all out max set it's very difficult to recover. For this reason I'd never max out until the final set.

The key to building strength is programming. You have to develop a program that allows progressive overload. Initially you can wing it but you're past that stage now if you want to progress further.

I'd recommend doing something slightly different every session in the week.

Day 1 - 4 sets of 6.

Day 2 - 5 sets of 5.

Day 3 - 6 sets of 4.

Also scrap the arbitrary 1 minute break. Just rest for as long as you feel you need to rest to be able to complete your next set whether it be 1, 2 or 5 minutes it doesn't matter.

Try the above for a week and report back how it went. Don't worry if you don't hit failure, you're not actually supposed to. You don't have to fail to get stronger.

The above is a starting point, don't be tempted to change the numbers just do the above and we'll tweak it once we know where you're at.

Make a note of how each day goes then we'll work on your progression if it's too easy or you don't hit your rep count.

I'm assuming the ultimate goal is to do as many as possible in a single set? It may seem counterintuitive but doing the above is what will get you there.

I'm happy to work with you on a little programme, I find it really interesting and it's as much fun for me as you. We'll keep tweaking it and test your single set max after 4 weeks to keep an eye on progress.

[RED-DOG]

So here's a question.

About 9 or 10 months ago I started doing chin ups.

Actually, that's not quite true. I attempted to do 1 chin up but couldn't manage it, I had to stand on a step and assist myself a with my legs. That continued for quite a while but I have slowly worked my way up to 10 proper chin ups, 6 more after a one minute rest and three more after another minute.

I've always done each set to the point of exhaustion and for the first 6 months or so I improved slowly but for the last few months It's been 10, 6 & 3 for my best effort.

I'm happy enough with that, I'm only doing it to try to maintain a bit of upper-body strength as I get older but I am curious about reaching this plateau. Is that how things usually work and what would I need to do to improve if I decided I wanted to?

I do 3 sessions a week btw.

Plateaus are common but they're very normal. 10, 6, 3 shouldn't be a plateau for pull ups so you've just got to find a way of doing more work and giving your body a chance to adapt.

If you always do 10 reps your body will adapt to 10 reps. No more, no less. Why would it get strong enough to do more if you never ask it to?

The problem with pull ups is they're one of those exercises where once you've done an all out max set it's very difficult to recover. For this reason I'd never max out until the final set.

The key to building strength is programming. You have to develop a program that allows progressive overload. Initially you can wing it but you're past that stage now if you want to progress further.

I'd recommend doing something slightly different every session in the week.

Day 1 - 4 sets of 6.

Day 2 - 5 sets of 5.

Day 3 - 6 sets of 4.

Also scrap the arbitrary 1 minute break. Just rest for as long as you feel you need to rest to be able to complete your next set whether it be 1, 2 or 5 minutes it doesn't matter.

Try the above for a week and report back how it went. Don't worry if you don't hit failure, you're not actually supposed to. You don't have to fail to get stronger.

The above is a starting point, don't be tempted to change the numbers just do the above and we'll tweak it once we know where you're at.

Make a note of how each day goes then we'll work on your progression if it's too easy or you don't hit your rep count.

I'm assuming the ultimate goal is to do as many as possible in a single set? It may seem counterintuitive but doing the above is what will get you there.

I'm happy to work with you on a little programme, I find it really interesting and it's as much fun for me as you. We'll keep tweaking it and test your single set max after 4 weeks to keep an eye on progress.

Thanks for that impressively comprehensive reply Matt. You have definitely covered the two main points of my question.

I am curious about reaching this plateau. Is that how things usually work and what would I need to do to improve?

I do feel you might have missed this bit though...   if I decided I wanted to.

[RED-DOG]

I might give your programme a go though. Watch this space.

[RED-DOG]

I was thinking about Matt's reply last night and I realised just what a mine of information he is when it comes to diet & exercise.
It's easy to take this stuff for granted but it takes a lifetime to learn.

Cheers Matt.

[EvilPie]

I was thinking about Matt's reply last night and I realised just what a mine of information he is when it comes to diet & exercise.
It's easy to take this stuff for granted but it takes a lifetime to learn.

Cheers Matt.

Still learning as well mate and probably will be for the rest of my life.

For me it's a hobby so I find it very easy. People say "must be awful having to eat what you do and go to the gym 5 times a week.....?" What they don't seem to understand is that I don't 'have' to do what I do, I 'get' to do what I do. It's a huge privilege to be able to eat well, stay healthy and train in our leisure time.

I hope you try the little pull up programme. I'd be really interested to see if you benefit from it. I tried to make it as close as possible to what you do now so that it isn't any more of a burden. I reckon we could get you doing single sets of 15 to 20 or multiple sets of 10 within 3 months. You already have the base strength there if you can do 10. Trust me there aren't many people who can do 10 pull ups, I know I can't.

[RED-DOG]

I'd recommend doing something slightly different every session in the week.

Day 1 - 4 sets of 6.

Day 2 - 5 sets of 5.

Day 3 - 6 sets of 4.

OK Matt, day 1 complete.

First set was easy.
I minute rest.
Second set, easy until rep 6 which was tough.
2 mins rest
Third set tough after 3 reps but managed OK
2 minutes rest.
Last 2 reps on the fourth set were poor form and only achieved by jerking my legs about to get me there.

Day 2 will be Monday.

For clarity, I used to alternate chin ups and pull ups but for this experiment I will stick to chin ups and do a few pull ups on my off days just to keep my hand in.

Third set was really tough

[vegaslover]

I was thinking about Matt's reply last night and I realised just what a mine of information he is when it comes to diet & exercise.
It's easy to take this stuff for granted but it takes a lifetime to learn.

Cheers Matt.

Still learning as well mate and probably will be for the rest of my life.

For me it's a hobby so I find it very easy. People say "must be awful having to eat what you do and go to the gym 5 times a week.....?" What they don't seem to understand is that I don't 'have' to do what I do, I 'get' to do what I do. It's a huge privilege to be able to eat well, stay healthy and train in our leisure time.

I hope you try the little pull up programme. I'd be really interested to see if you benefit from it. I tried to make it as close as possible to what you do now so that it isn't any more of a burden. I reckon we could get you doing single sets of 15 to 20 or multiple sets of 10 within 3 months. You already have the base strength there if you can do 10. Trust me there aren't many people who can do 10 pull ups, I know I can't.

Agree not many people can do close to 10 proper reps, including those cross fitters who seem to do half reps.
Before my wrists were fked I could only do 11 or 12. Can still do a pretty long hang with legs straight out working the core.

A friend of mine can do loads, does lots of boxing MMA, weights sod all mind

[EvilPie]

I'd recommend doing something slightly different every session in the week.

Day 1 - 4 sets of 6.

Day 2 - 5 sets of 5.

Day 3 - 6 sets of 4.

OK Matt, day 1 complete.

First set was easy.
I minute rest.
Second set, easy until rep 6 which was tough.
2 mins rest
Third set tough after 3 reps but managed OK
2 minutes rest.
Last 2 reps on the fourth set were poor form and only achieved by jerking my legs about to get me there.

Day 2 will be Monday.

For clarity, I used to alternate chin ups and pull ups but for this experiment I will stick to chin ups and do a few pull ups on my off days just to keep my hand in.

Third set was really tough

If the third set was really tough and you needed to cheat on the fourth set we've got your rep range about perfect. The gauge for progression is that third set getting easier and the fourth set becoming achievable.

I never know which one's which out of chin ups and pull ups? I've just Googled it and apparently chin up is the one with your palms facing towards you?.....

So pull ups are significantly tougher than chin ups. With chin ups you can cheat a fair bit by using your biceps, with pull ups you can kind of turtle up to bring some bicep and chest in to it but it's mostly your back doing the work.

I'd definitely recommend picking one and sticking to it for now. You can always swap in future but for now just go with whichever is easiest (chin ups.....)

Keeping your eye in with a few chin ups on your days off is a great idea but keep it easy. 3 or 4 sets of 3 or 4 is plenty. Don't hit failure at any point, you don't need to. Obviously if it's too easy then step it up a touch but tiny jumps and maintaining perfect form are the key in the long term.

[EvilPie]

I was thinking about Matt's reply last night and I realised just what a mine of information he is when it comes to diet & exercise.
It's easy to take this stuff for granted but it takes a lifetime to learn.

Cheers Matt.

Still learning as well mate and probably will be for the rest of my life.

For me it's a hobby so I find it very easy. People say "must be awful having to eat what you do and go to the gym 5 times a week.....?" What they don't seem to understand is that I don't 'have' to do what I do, I 'get' to do what I do. It's a huge privilege to be able to eat well, stay healthy and train in our leisure time.

I hope you try the little pull up programme. I'd be really interested to see if you benefit from it. I tried to make it as close as possible to what you do now so that it isn't any more of a burden. I reckon we could get you doing single sets of 15 to 20 or multiple sets of 10 within 3 months. You already have the base strength there if you can do 10. Trust me there aren't many people who can do 10 pull ups, I know I can't.

Agree not many people can do close to 10 proper reps, including those cross fitters who seem to do half reps.
Before my wrists were fked I could only do 11 or 12. Can still do a pretty long hang with legs straight out working the core.

A friend of mine can do loads, does lots of boxing MMA, weights sod all mind

The cross fit 'kipping' pull up is designed to maximise reps whilst sticking to the enforced rules for competition. They aren't half reps, they're exactly what's needed to efficiently do a full rep as quickly as possible in their sport. They look f**king stupid though in my opinion.

It's my shoulder that stops me doing pull ups now. They used to be my favourite exercise and I could do double figure sets with 20kg+ strapped to my waist.

Every time I try to get back in to them I end up injuring myself so I've had to just give up 

There's no better exercise in my opinion for building the back and I hate that I can't do them any more. I'm hoping to try again in future but sadly I'm not optimistic.

[EvilPie]

Nice PR today on bench hitting 3 paused reps at 140kg. Never managed a triple before so this was a huge confidence boost.

Followed it up with a 150kg double and a couple of 160kg singles with the slingshot then finally 110kg for 11 and 10 for the volume work again all paused.

I've dropped my volume in the week and increased the weight to try to peak myself and also I've increased my food intake to help recovery. Currently sitting at 103kg which is only of couple of kg more than normal but definitely makes a difference.

Three weeks to go for the 1RM attempt. Got to keep at the current programme and then carefully back off in the final week to hopefully crack the 150kg.