Workout Routines: Home Grown Muscle Phase IV

HGM: Phase IV: “Gimme a V!”

Upper Day

Superset A

Superset B: 6 – 10 reps
T-Bar Row
Neutral-Grip DB Bench Press

Superset C: 10 – 15 reps
DB Fly
DB Reverse Fly
Poor Man’s Shoulderhorn

Superset D: ten to fifteen reps
Weighted Reverse Crunch
High-to-Low Cable Woodchopper

One Set of Pull-ups, as many as I can do.

Then do pec/lat stretches and Sun Salutation as a post-workout stretch.

Sets: 3
Reps: As specified per superset
Rest Period: 90 seconds

Lower Day

Superset A

Superset B
BB Back Squat
DB Traveling Lunge

Superset C
One-Legged Romanian Deadlift
Seated Calf Raise

One set of falling to the floor in a pile of sweat. Followed with three Sun Salutations – with twelve “reps” of vacuum incorporated.

Sets: 3
Reps: 8 – 12
Rest Period: 60 seconds

Schedule:
Sunday: Off
Monday: Upper
Tuesday: Lower
Wednesday: Off
Thursday: Off
Friday: Upper
Saturday: Lower

Duration: Four weeks

The original specifications for this called for doing the upper twice a week, while using the lower to “maintain” your wheels. Oh really. Screw that, I’m doing it as an upper/lower split. During Phase II, I did the Lower workouts first, then the Upper the next day. I’ll be doing the Upper first this time, as my legs are going to need some recovery time. I’ve heard lore of the pain factor from this leg day. That excits me. And I don’t want a painful day only four times in a month, I want eight painful days! Yay!

What will be ABSOLUTELY critical to keep my recovery up is dun dun dun PROPER NUTRITION. My sleep has been good lately, so it’s all up to whether I get enough food in the 48 hours following my Lower days.

I’ve decided to use the evil lat-pulldown machine, as I can’t do wide-grip pull-ups in that rep range. Nope, not a chance. Honestly, I was never good at lat-pulldowns. I always found them really difficult. And going to wide-grip is just going to end up pissing me off. Hence adding a single set of bodyweight pull-ups at the end, just so I can make sure I’m not losing anything.

Assuming I understand T-bar rows right, I have one of those at my gym. It’s on a lever, and you pretty much bent-over row it? Right, and I’m supposed to grip it with a neutral grip.

I don’t want to give up external rotation, so I’ll be tacking on Poor Man’s Shoulderhorn to the fly/reverse fly superset. Cubans are awesome, but I should find SOME variety.

Now, the leg day. BSS will be the death of me, but I’ll find a way through. If I do 3×12, that’s 72 reps of split squats. Eeeegad! To think there’s also traveling lunges after squats. I considered trying to work on my front squat form, but now’s not the time. (Plus, it’s used in Phase V.) My goal isn’t so much to jack the weight. My goal is to SURVIVE. Sixty second rest periods? SIXTY SECONDS? Heh. BRING IT ON!

Vacuums seem utterly ridiculous, so I’m putting on one-legged romanian deadlifts, instead. It’ll help with my balance, and more importantly, it’ll fry my glutes. …However, being the responsible person, I bet they’re there for SOME REASON. So I’m doing them after my heavy lifting. Bending over with my ass in the air is only exercise if.. Uh, I’m not finishing that sentence.

Here’s to limping into November. Phase IV officially starts Friday, November 10th, 2006.