Weight still holding at 223 with a test level of 211 and yet I am still somehow progressing.  It isn't dramatic but it is progress, none-the-less.  I'll take it.

My philosophy for this off season is if I do what I have always done (for 30 years of training), the results aren't going to be terribly dramatic.  Instead, despite all of my experience and years of figuring out what I feel has worked for me, I am going back to the drawing board and considering it a clean slate.  I am revisiting exercises that I had written off years ago and finding that a lot of exercises I didn't used to like, for whatever reason, are working very well now.

EXAMPLE:  My chest has always been a weak point so instead of continuing to focus on the same exercises that I have done for years, my focus this off season is more on fly work and slightly higher rep ranges than I am used to.  I am still pressing, obviously, but these added fly movements are already making a difference.

 

I am applying some of this logic to cardio by using HIIT cardio this year for the first time.  I am not at all convinced that I like it because I have questions about recovery for my legs but I am experimenting, anyway.  Nutrition is slightly different, as well, adding in more carbs than I am used to.  If something doesn't work well then I push it out but I am at least open to a lot of different things that I was closed to in years past.

 

My current training schedule looks like this for the week:

 

Mondays - rest

Tuesdays - chest/side and front delts/stretch

Wednesdays - back/rear delts/abs

Thursdays - rest

Fridays - arms/stretch

Saturdays - legs

Sundays - rest and Skipload

 

This schedule allows balance for my business schedule especially during the week which is nice.

I train roughly 7:30pm every day except Saturdays where I train roughly 2pm.

In the dark months (winter and spring) I work very late so I don't get into bed usually until about 5 or 6am and I sleep until noon or 1pm.  I do this because I have 4 kids and the house tends to be quieter at night so writing  is easier and I can get more work done without as many distractions.  In the Summer months I tend to get to bed earlier (1am or so) and get up earlier.  I have a lot of kid's sports to tend to and summer activities that I don't want to miss out on due to sleeping away half of the day.

 

I tend to get 3 meals before I train and another 3 meals after I train with the exception of Saturdays where I get one meal prior to training legs.

 

I was going to begin detailing my workouts this week but I may hold off until next week so that I can get more thoughts posted on the structure of what I am doing, first.

 

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