Having trouble making it through workouts.

[SAHD]

I am starting to lift some heavy weights and have never been too strong.

Trouble is I am now starting to have trouble making it through a workout.

I typed a heap and deleted it cause basically I need to know what people think is the absolute minimum they would need to do to progress?

I am 36 and weigh 230lbs at 5 foot 8inch.

I work shift work and have never been to strong however I am now getting stronger and have started having trouble getting through workouts. My strength is going up well and progression isn't the issue but I just want super brief workouts I suppose.

Last week I just did a workout of Bench of 310lbs for 15 and felt smashed so decided to take ti easy and did a set of deads of 550lbs for 6 then 450lbs for 15 and called it quits.

Next few days I was sore as shit and swelled up pumped all over. Felt good but obviously this isn't too balanced. Can anyone suggest a good balanced breakdown for an old tired, shift working father of a 6yr old and teenager.

I weigh 230lbs as stated and don't really need to get bigger. I am a Natural and am just wondering if that sort of weight is all I can move in one go. If I tried a standard DC A1 day I know I'm going to be doing a 1.5hr workout recovering in between exercises.

Has anyone just done DC with 1 straight set and if so what would the rep range be for each exercise. If anyone has non DC advice this would also be good as I have not been doing DC for some time and understand that all programs have validity.

Well this got long anyway.....any suggestions appreciated.

[theroymccoy]

When you say you can't get through the workout are you

a) winded? if so, are you incorporating cardio and how often? i've noticed the first few weeks of doing cardio my strength was a bit down but quickly shot up as my endurance and ability to suck in air improved.

b) your minds fried as you near the end of the workout? maybe stressed or need to cruise. Even though I know it's short, I personally blast for 6 weeks and cruise for 1. If I keep going, week 7-8 I feel like hell/still strong but my mind is not fresh/get colds.

c) your lifts have progressed but has your eating/recovering progressed as well to coincide with it?

d) maybe youre just old? hehe jk...no but really...

[SAHD]

Not winded, cardio is 3-4 times a week of a 1hr brisk walk and some sprints on the bike. I feel great day to day and just find that the exercise itself Smashes me.

For example bench press, last time 8,3,2. This time 9,4,2 and felt strong on bench but fatigued on a whole / system type level.
Deads last time 5 on 550lbs then 15 on 420lbs, this time 6 on 550lbs and 15 on 44olbs, felt good doing them but then super tired, five minutes later still stuffed, 30 minutes later felt I could do another exercise or two.

All my exercises are going up and I am mentally still very keen to workout, sleep has been good, only 5 weeks in to this cycle of training, usually last 10-12.

Recovery is always my biggest issue, can it be the case that I can recover enough to lift more but not be recovered properly to endure a workout?

And I am getting older, every day.

Still thinking maybe straight sets of about ten reps and dropping the RP stuff.

[Doberman]

Could you detail your current training, diet, and supplementation? Also, what is your current body comp? I have a few suggestions, but would need more info to really help you out. Are you doing the standard DC training or are you doing straight sets?

[Sammich]

I swear to God, the thing that allowed me to survive the 2-way RP split:
MG's Powdered Muscle along with my supp stack. No joke.

[Doberman]

I definitely agree with Sammich's recommendations. I have switched my supplement strategy up very similar to this and it's helped a ton. I am training doing Mountain Dog Training 4 days a week and can't wait for my next workout. My biggest difference is that I use pure Pepto Pro and Karboload instead of MG's Powdered Muscle. Not the best tasting combo, but it kicks butt for recooperation. Everything else I do is almost the same. I know a lot of people don't think Beta Alanine is very good, but I think that is because they are not taking enough. Many products only sprinkle a little in with caffeine, and niacin. Not something to worry about when you get a TN product or put together your own combo at TN.

[SAHD]

DOBERMAN:

Current training is three full body workouts rotated, basically a chest exercise like incline press followed by a shoulder then Dips or similar followed by pulldowns or chins then a row or deadlifts then a leg exercise like squat. Obviously I wouldn't have deadlifts then squats.

On a day I do trap bar deadlifts I don't do any other leg exercise. Most days end up with six exercises, each for a different body part, all are compound, similar to a DC A1 with a leg exercise added onto the end.

Exercise days are Mon then Fri then following Wed.

Supps: Very basic;
Creatine at workout time, Glut morning, workout and prior to bed on workout days, 5g a time, on non workout days then just mornings.

Protein is fairly high - around 250-300grams but meals are the hardest thing to manipulate due to strange shift hours and being at jobs and not being able to eat whenever I want (am a cop)

This is why recovery is an issue, due to meals and strange hours of work rotating between days afternoons and nights. Working 10pm to 6am for 7 nights, having a few days off then working 6am to 2pm for a few days then doing 2pm to 10pm or 4pm to midnight.

You also get called to a job like a seige and find yourself hiding under a bush for 8 hours in the cold not moving too much let alone going for food so several shakes are had in a row. Other days you will go from disturbance to noise complaint to domestic to whatever and again not have access o a fridge, microwave or similar so either have takeaway (not for me) or shakes.

As such I am certainly not thinking this will get me big and lean and contest shape however I have always managed till now. I am just finding the recovery thing an issue and am wondering if it is more age or the fact I am starting to move some slag on the big lifts.

Body conditioning is OK, bit sloppy around the midsection but everyone thinks I am in great shape whilst I think that as I have no abbs I am fat. I have big legs, arms are 19inch very big chest, often get comments on chest and back. Calves are no good.

During workouts I take gatorade with dextrose and glut, vit C
Post I take 100g carbs with 60 pro then 1 hr later repeat this but with a meal rather than a shake.
I do 6 grams of fish oil and eat fish 3-4 times a week.
Was eating 4 eggs a day but this has changed as my chickens got to old so had to get 4 new chickens. Could this be the magic ingredient that has changed???

In any case that is about it.

[SAHD]

Sammich;

I have to goto work so will read your stuff later. Thanks for the reply.

[Cooporilla]

Have you thought about taking a cooler with you with food prepared in it? I know some company's make lunchbox type bags specifically for bodybuilders and such, I'm planning on ordering a six pack bag. Also, just a side not, the other day I read Derek Poundstone, strongman competitor is a cop and he boils chicken and mixes it with water in a blender and drinks that on his shifts sometimes. Obviously that's really drastic but I suppose is an option if getting the food in is more important than the taste haha

[SAHD]

Sammich,

I read your stack and wonder if you have cut out caffine due to the creatine intake (people argue both ways on that ie no caffine vrs caffine doesn't really matter).

I've never taken half the stuff on your list so wonder what it does, I gather increased circulation / pumps.

I can't get MG's mix here in Australia so would have to try looking at local products with similar ingrediants or doing some home brew up of both these.

Thanks for your stack as it lays it all out in easy to measure amounts.

Also are you training DC now or powerlifting?

[Doberman]

I'm about to jet out the door right now, but I can see a lot things you can do to improve. I'll review your post again and get back with you. Thanks for being a part of the site and being open to the help. This is the best site for real world information.

[dice77]

Most days end up with six exercises, each for a different body part, all are compound, similar to a DC A1 with a leg exercise added onto the end.

This in itself sounds tough.

Because of where I am (age 41, I need a lot of warm up sets, nagging injuries, time restraints, recovery, etc) DC A1 was very tough for me.

Now I just do chest, delts, tris together.

Depending on the exercise I either RP in a rep range of 20-30 OR I do a straight set of 12-15 and a straight set of 8-12 (much like back thickness or quad movements for some guys). For example, a smyth decline of 8 + 4 + 2 aggravates my shoulder and I find it just isn't best for me. I'd rather do 255x13, 265x9. The key is progressing on reps or weight every time. I'm happier and feel healthier this way.

[Sammich]

Sammich,

I read your stack and wonder if you have cut out caffine due to the creatine intake (people argue both ways on that ie no caffine vrs caffine doesn't really matter).

I've never taken half the stuff on your list so wonder what it does, I gather increased circulation / pumps.

I can't get MG's mix here in Australia so would have to try looking at local products with similar ingrediants or doing some home brew up of both these.

Thanks for your stack as it lays it all out in easy to measure amounts.

Also are you training DC now or powerlifting?

If you don't care about blood flow/circulation/DA PUMP then you can safely omit the arginine and cirtulline. The issue with caffeine isn't with creatine, it's with arginine, since caffeine constricts blood vessels and arginine helps to dilate them.

Right now I'm trying to decrease my rest energy (relativistic physics/fat joke).

[Doberman]

Ok. I see a few things that may help. You say you are training doing 3 full body workouts. I put a lit of beginners or people coming from a lay off on this type of routine, but once the eeights go up the amount of work being done increases. For example if you do a set of 10 reps on squat with 135 you aredoing 1350 lbs of work. If you are doing 225 for 10 you are doing
2250 lbs of work for this set. That's a lot more work and that doesn't take into consideration the extra warmup sets necessary. The point is that at some point you are taxing your nrrvous system too much, thus making recovery more difficult. My sdvice would be to go to the. DC two wy split for 2-3 straight sets. With the weights you listed I would say full body training is too much.

As far as nutrition make your intra workout, & post workout meals a priority. Intra workout get a good carb source ( I like Karboload, but obviously you will need to find a similar product) and a fast acting protein like Peptopro. Post workout(about an hour later) I like beef. Potatoe or white rice work good here.

Now during your shift you need to be creative. Boiled eggs, beef jerky, protein pudding ( just mix your protein with less water), make your own protein bar (recipes are on the internet), protein panckes (I use oatmeal and eggs or egg substitute with oats or ground up almonds.) Just some ideas. The key is planning. Eat when you can. Sometimes things may be difficult. That's when a homemade bar in your pocket can be nice. Quest bars are great for this, but I don't think they have them outside the US.

[SAHD]

Thanks so far, I will look at splitting things up to see how recovery goes.

I liked the full body stuff but if it is too much then I got to change.

Thanks for the assistance so far.

Had a nice meal of choc protein today, dry spooned straingth from the container, actually not bad and very convenitne. Topped it off with a drink of water a carrot and celery sticks.

Looking through the journals to check out what others are doing.