Total Physique Online

Welcome to my online wellness journal. In addition to my own wellness journey, you will find articles and links to other fitness web sites and blogs. We also recently started podcasts. So, stay tuned for those as they pop up from time to time.

The genesis behind this blog is that I wanted to keep an online journal of my strength progress and setbacks. I also wanted to increase the awareness of Cystic Fibrosis. This is a condition that affects app. 35,000 people world wide. It is a rare condition and not without it’s challenges, but with the Grace of God I am overcoming this illness every single day. This blog serves as testimony to that fact.

Thanks for stopping by.

T-Man: AKA Webmaster – TPO

Popularity: 3% [?]

10/25/06 Wednsday 330 PM – 530 PM Workout Cables – Legs (note: took NO Xplode an 30 min prior to workout.)

• Par. Chins – 20 x 11SH5sec, 7 SH5sec, 2 SH5sec (huge gain on first set)
• Pushups 60, 20, 15, 5 SH5sec
• Dips 20lbs x 5(lol-shot) SH5sec, 6SH5sec
• Vulcan Calf Raise 13c x 15, 13, 12, 10SH10sec
• Vulcan Squat 13c x 17, 13fail (wow)

Great workout. I had ample recovery…almost a week. I needed it. The stress of my life dictates that I manage my recovery time to maximize my recovery ability without resting too much. My gains in fitness show I am on the right track. Only dips disappointed me today. I expect to rebound the next time I do them. Squats were awesome.

I was going to do stepups but my thighs were shot after two sets of Vulcan Squats. I need a 3rd set of Fabled Cables and some sand bags. That is about $150.00 worth of stuff. Unless someone gifts me with it, I won’t be able to get that any time soon. But, as God promised in Jeremiah 33:3, “If I call on Him, he will show me mighty and wonderful things I do not, as of yet, know.” I truly believe this. 20 Minutes after w/o did some protein Almost out of my NO2, and protein.

Popularity: 3% [?]

10/20/06 Friday 1030 AM – 1100 AM Workout Cables – Arms(note: took NO Xplode an hour before and drink some protein 30 minutes prior)

• Cable Curls – 2c x 20, 10, 10 , 10, 8, 8
• Reverse Cable Curls 2c x 8, 8, 10, 10
• Side Cable Tricep Extension – 2c x 30, 20
• One Arm Cable Tricep Extension – 2c x 15, 15
• Pushdown – 2c x 10, 10, 10

I wanted to do arms today. I have not done an arm routine in ages. Chins and dips have been giving my arms plenty of work. But today was a new day and I decided to re-introduce some arm work. The concept was simple.

Since chest has been growing so much from pushups of 100 or more, plus dips, I decided to do a total of 100 reps each for biceps and triceps, spread over 2-3 exercises for each body part. Pump was amazing. As for size, dig this: Remember, I have not touched a barbell in over 3 months.

I have just been using chins, dips, pushups and band training. I Weigh 160 friggin pounds! That’s 10 pound more than I weighed a month ago!! And the gain has been muscle! Couple that with the fact that I have CF, and this is borderline miraculous. Could the high rep training be forcing new muscle adaptation? Anyway, this is awesome news.

Popularity: 3% [?]

10/19/06 Thursday 130 PM – 300 PM Workout Cables/Calesthenics (note: took NO Xplode an hour before and drink some protein 30 minutes prior)

• Front HUSKY Raise – bar x 20, 10, 10 , 10
• Side HUSKY Raise – bar x 10, 10, 10 , 10
• Palm Up HUSKY Raise – bar x 10, 10, 10 , 10
• I hate to admit this, but that shoulder injury of mine really weakened me. My shoulders have never been strong up until now. Sadly, at present, they are even weaker. I am glad to know this however. I can focus on them for a while. While the weights were embarrassingly light, after all 12 sets (which only took about 8-10 minutes), my shoudlers we more or less shot. LOL Wild.
• Parallel Chins – 20 lbsx 7SH5sec (tough, slow reps), 3SH5sec
• Pushups – 55, 20, 13, 12 (getting stronger, not very winded, suprisingly stronger than last time)
• Dips – 20 lbs x 7 (its very humid today, and at this point I needed a hit on my enhaler), 10 strong reps, I was determined. Plus SH5sec
• Cable One Leg Bench Stepups – 6c x 7, (not very confident due to lack of balance, but I really felt the first set. These will take some practice), 7 (sucking wind. This is hard as shit. Wow)

Breathing is challenged today, but not in an alarming way. It was humid and I finally got back to using cables for one leg squats. The stepups were very hard, but more interestingly I could not be sure I was hitting the quads. They seemed to hit the lower hams and glutes, especially at the lockout position. Some congestion. More than I like, but not unmanageable. The workout lasted an hour.

I may do some more later tonight. Depends on how I feel. Note: As an aside, the current state of geo-political events have caused me to suffer from overload, and I have felt quite depressed lately. Like a dog returning to its vomit I keep going back to the news, and each day seems to inch us one step closer to all out nuclear war. I was so depressed today that all I wanted to do was go to bed. It took all I had to resist the urge.

Training was hard, but starting the workout was even harder. I had to pray and encourage myself to just pick up a dumbbell. Needless to say, I am glad I did. There was a sense of victory in that small gesture. Once I grabbed the iron, I was able to continue, but damn, it was so hard to make that small commitment. I wonder if other people are feeling this weight of ominous oppression like I am? The world is headed down a very dark path indeed.

As for my health, I claim victory each day. My body is responding to this new training in leaps and bounds. Muscle density and firmness is markedly improved, as is muscle memory, and my ability to get a good pump steadily improves. Shape and size is improving and so is strength. Again, no barbells for next to 3 months. Really cool. I may be close to getting some sand bag training started. Ciao!

Popularity: 3% [?]

10/14/06 Saturday 130 PM – 300 PM Workout Cables/Calesthenics (note: took NO Xplode an hour before and drink some protein 30 minutes prior)

• Grippers – 3reps x 6 top, 6 bottom
• Forearms – 5c x warm, 6 SH6sec, 5 SH6sec
• Bench Forearms – 12cd x warm, 10 x 3 (ineresting)
• Pushups – 50, 20, 15, 15 (getting stronger, not very winded, suprisingly stronger than last time)
• Vulcan Rack Cable Calf Raise – 12c x 21, 10 (no doubt about it, these kicked my ass today. I swear to Jeebus, anyone who tries this will end up whimpering like a whipped puppy. These cables rock!)
• Breathing is great. Energy is 10. Little congestion so far.
• Reg Chins – 20lbs 5, 4 fail, static hold 5 seconds (forearms so shot i cannot hold on to the damn bars. lol Lesson learned. Tried to use straps, but could not get them hooked in properly from this angle)
• Par Chins – 20lbs 5, 4 fail, static hold 5 seconds (forearms still shot. but got straps locked in. Used a wider spacing this time. Pointless. Biceps got nothing because my puny grip was simply saying “Fuck this!” HAHAHA! So funny. Grip is the one thing that when it starts to fail it actually tickles. I actually end up laughing when it happens. It is such a helpless feeling.)
• Right To Dips – Several warm up sets BW 20 lbs x 11 (awesome) slow reps, 8, 6SH15sec (less rest between sets, not very winded)

The workout lasted basically an hour and a half. I spent maybe 30-40 min on forearms alone. I blasted the hell out of them. They will get rest for about a week or so. Calves are totally blasted, from just 2 sets. Amazing. Dips….strong as can be.

My chest is stronger than it has ever been in my life, over all. Chins left a bit to be desired because of the forearm factor, but that said I rocked. No pushups today. Tomorrow I may do pure cables with no progressive resistance or BW exercises.

Popularity: 3% [?]

10/13/06 Friday. 6:00 PM-7:30 PM Workout Cables/Calesthenics (note: took NO Xplode an hour before and drink some protein 30 minutes prior)

• Wide Chins – 20lbs 7 (hold 5 seconds), 4( static hold, 5 seconds – good pump)
• Pushups – 55, 15, 15, 10, 10 ( 105 total; getting stronger, training this late is interesting; not very winded, but training earlier seems to have advantages)
• Vulcan Rack Cable Squats – 12c x 20, 15 (stronger)

Again, less volume today. It was so late for a workout that I didn’t have the Qi I needed for complete focus. Also, I am going on about 4 hours of sleep. So, I didn’t want to overtrain. As you can see, I went 5 days between workouts, plus its been two weeks since my last squat routine. I made huge gains in stamina and strength in cable squats since my last workout.

Popularity: 3% [?]

10/09/06 Monday. 4:45-6:00 PM Workout Cables/Calesthenics (note: took NO Xplode an hour before and drink some protein 30 minutes prior)

• Grippers – 3reps x 6 top, 6 bottom
• Forearms – 3c x warm, 30, 15 (paused each rep)
• Pushups – 50, 20, 15, 15 (getting stronger, not very winded, suprisingly stronger than last time)
• Right To Dips – 7 reps, 8, 9 (less rest between sets, not very winded)
• Wide Chins – 20lbs 4, 2 fail, static hold, 5 seconds (good pump)
• Vulcan Rack Cable Calf Raise – 12c x 25, 15

Not so much volume today. I really want to workout tomorrow and I had so much stress today, plus a deficit of sleep, so today was short and sweet and to the point. I will hit legs tomorrow and see about doing more cable work for shoulders and arms.

As you can see, I went a full week between workouts, the prevailing wisdom being that I felt a tad overtrained. So, I wanted to recover fully, hence the long recovery time.

Popularity: 3% [?]

10/02/06 Monday. 4:00-5:00 PM Workout Cables/Calesthenics

• Vulcan Rack Cable Calf Raise – 12c x 20, 7, 7 (Brutal as squats, and maybe the best standing calf raise in terms of intensity. Pics to come. Like Squats, tools needed: Vulcan Racks/Dipping bars, lifting strap, Fabled Cables, Two 3 foot 2×4 boards and Hip belt. In spite of all these tools, the efficiency of the workout is worth it. Fabulous! As you can see, when your reps drop from 20 to 7 on your second set, you know you have found an intense exercise! ) I waited 30 minutes after calves because I drank some NO Explode and I wanted to give it time to get into my system
• Vulcan Rack Thick Bar Stiffs Deads – 3 warm up sets of 3-4 reps. Then : 12c x 10, 10, (Judging by the tension in my grip, hamstrings and glutes, I would say this is best for legs and forearms. I feel it in my lower back, but not as much as I would like. I may have to go back to one lieg isolation pulls for low back stimulation. I suspect that at the top position I am pulling against some 325-360 lbs. Of course, at the start of the movement (bottom of the pull), the tension is much less; I would estimate around 200lbs. But as you would expect the tension increases exponentially as you pull upward. By the time you reach standing position, the force pulling downward is staggering. If I added 4-5 more cables, I think the forces we would be looking at would be monstrous. Adding some sand bag work here would be a strategic coup de grâce.)
• Vulcan Rack Cable Squats – 12c x 15, 10, 7 ( The pressure on my hips is tremendous, but my hips can take it. If I go much “heavier” I may wish to wrap my hips in a towel for added comfort. At some point though, I can see me getting strong enough that the discomfort may just have to be ignored, as there may be no way to mitigate it. This hip belt probably could be designed with thicker padding for added comfort. Thighs also shaking like a leaf on a tree) Protein Dink
• Wide Chins – 14, 5 (wow, shot), 5 done!
• Pushups – 40, 20, 10, 10, 10, 10 Adding the stiff thickbar deads really added to the volume/intensity. By the end of this I didn’t have enough juice for dips. I was spent. Awww what the hell, I will rest 5 minutes and then:
• Dips -20, 11 (not bad!)

Strength going up, up, up. Pump awesome.

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