I am a workaholic. I love to train and thus my work ethic is “over-the-top.” I perform a system for every body part that is designed to exhaust that particular muscle group slowly. I start very low with my weight resistance and add minimal amounts of weight with each set. I keep the number of reps per set in the neighborhood of 12-15. I continue to push the resistance per set higher and higher until I reach a point where doing 12 reps is pretty hard and I’m barely able to do it. This is where my workout begins. I do 7 more sets of 12-15 reps and that part is “cooked.” Then, I begin aother exercise for that same muscle and I do the same routine. I then repeat it for exercise #3. Sometimes I will do giant sets using 3-5 exercises but each time using the same philosophy of slow ascension to failure as discussed above. It is called, “Make Haste Slowly.” But, as Jose Raymond would say, “Keep at it!” This is day one and it’s a Shoulder Day.
On day two I select a completely different muscle group (Hamstrings, Calves, Abs) and I use the same rules of engagement to work the designated muscle or group of muscles to exhaustion.
Day three sees another muscle group (abs, Back, Lats, Posterior Delts, Traps). Again, I use the same philosophy of slow ascension and heavy work at the peak for each exercise.
You get the idea.
Each day starting with Monday and ending on Saturday I train but I do a different muscle of focus for each daily session. I use the Philosophy of “Make Haste Slowly” because I discovered that as I get older I am more prone to injury if I use too much weight for a given exercise too early in the workout. Gone are the days of being a teenager when no matter what we did to our bodies it would recover quickly and completely. So, over the last 5 years I have refined my workouts so that I eventually end up lifting as much weight as I would using the “teenage model” but I plug in the game of earning every increment as I ascend to that ultimate weight resistance.
I take great pride in handling big weights but I take even more pride in earning my way very slowly to that end point. In doing so my way, I get tons more reps and sets in and I perform this exercise against mildly increasing resistance. I have a rule of thumb that says I will only raise the weight per set by no more than 5 lbs. By doing it this way, the steady mild increases in weight force my muscles to adjust to the new resistance slowly. It gives my muscles and tendons plenty of time to fill with blood and to be ready to lift the new weight. By doing it this way, I have had no major injuries related to my tendons, joints, or muscles in over 6 years. But, I get to very heavy weights in my workout, “Slowly.”
I have also combined into this regimen of “Make Haste Slowly” my coaches’ admonition to do 7 sets of 12. I just do it when I can barely do any more at my peak that I arrived at ever so slowly. Somebody asked Muhamad Ali one time how many crunches he did. He replied, “I do crunches until it hurts—–then I begin to work and count the crunches.” Same principle slightly different mechanism.
Regarding Rest. I am still tempted to get into the gym twice per day. But, my coach Justin Dees really hammered me on this one. He said if I keep pushing my muscles into a state of “over training” I would cancel out my muscle growth. Everything I want to happen would, in fact, not happen. Thus, we rotate the muscle groups to allow them to have time to rest, get replenished with glycogen, and grow.
Be sure to listen to your body. It will often tell you whether you need to do more or less work on a given training day. I’ve actually gotten to the gym and not gone in to work because I was “core tired” for whatever reason and I needed more rest.
Testimony: I started weight training just to stay in shape. I weighed 155 lbs. I went up to as much as 210 lbs. Since I’ve started competing I got into the competition as a Middle Weight weighing 173 lbs. I then went up to 210 lbs again and I gained 23 lbs of new muscle. I now compete as a Light Heavy Weight and today I weigh 193 lbs and my last body fat was 5% and my last competition in July 2015 I was at 2.4%.
All of these things are wonderful and it prepares us to meet other great challenges as we apply the basic principle of “Make Haste Slowly,” rotate your body parts for training, and give yourself plenty of time to replenish and grow.
This is “OUR TIME” and anything is possible if we want it. Planning and effort will usually be enough to get you where you want to go. Remember! I do Bodybuilding. You may do something else. But, the rules always stay the same. Go for it! Don’t look back! Ignore Nay Sayers and those that would steal your dreams! See you at the finish line!
Until Next Time!
Douglas E. Graham, Lt Col, USAF, (ret), MHSM
Six Pack and Senior 