New Stuff

Well, this I'm excited about. After working through Robert dos Remedios's excellent Book of Power Training for about the last eight months or so (with tremendous results I might add) I have decided that after this cycle I'm going to really change things up. My goal is to design a super-set based workout that I will be able to do at a commercial gym. A lot of what I read talks about supersetting and it's something I have tried at times in the past but not too extensively for hypertrophy. As you'll recall, the last time I tried it was during my fat-loss month. I recently purchased Charles Staley's EDT book, "Muscle Logic" and I will also be looking deeper into Alwyn Cosgrove's "New Rules Of Lifting" book. The key thing is to able to do this program at a 24-Hour Fitness kind of gym. It's easy when you have your own place as Cosgrove and Staley do. It's much harder when you constantly have to tell people that you're using that bench even though you stepped away from it for a second. I hope to have something to start with by the end of the weekend. I really need to get onto a hypertrophy phase. And don't worry folks, I will still be snatching and cleaning!

Mitchell Rothbardt

www.mitchrothbardttraining.com

(coming soon)

Sorry again.

Yeah I know it's been a while again, but I've been busy. I promise to keep up a little more from now on even if it's just to touch base a little. There's not much new to report. Since I've ended my fat-burning extravaganza I've gone back to my more standard workouts. I've been trying to put back a little weight, but it seems to be staying right around where it was. I'm trying to up my calories a little bit at a time so as not to gain back the fat I lost. I haven't lost any weight in my lifts so I know I'm doing pretty well. Also, since we last spoke I set a PR in the clean with a 195 lb. pull. I almost jerked it, too but I just couldn't finish it up. I really need to be doing these with bumper plates. If I didn't have to worry about putting it down or have already tired myself out by putting the weight down I feel confident I could get a 200 lb. Clean & Jerk easy right now. Lowering a heavy clean or snatch to the ground takes a lot more out of you then you'd think. If you don't believe me, try doing a set of 4 or 5 snatches at a decent weight, lowering it to the ground each time. Of course, the problem with bumper plates is that no one has them except specialty gyms.

 Anyway, stay tuned for more updates and keep root for the greatest no-limit hold'em player in the world, Phil Hellmuth, at the World Series Main Event. He's a little low right now with about 710,000 chips, but he knows what to do with them and he can put a run together. There's only 79 players left out of about 6800. It seems like he's had a tough couple of days, but due to his superior skill he's still in it. He's due for some good things today. Talk to you soon.

Mitch Rothbardt

www.mitchrothbardttraining.com

(coming soon)

Sorry.

Sorry, it's been so long. Things have been a bit busy. I think I'm busier now than when I was working. Anyway, to end the suspense, the month long fat-burning extravaganza was definitely a qualified success. I say qualified because I definitely lost some fat and most definitely improved my conditioning, but I was a little short on my fat loss goal. I think to really dial it in, I need a sports nutritionist to consult with. I think the training aspect of things was pretty close to 100%. I did a workout every other day all month long. Each one was excellent and difficult as you can see from my posts. I didn't enter my last one or two, but I did them and you can that they were very tough and featured a lot of variety. 

My diet was pretty good, but with my genetics I need to really have everything pretty close to 100% with my diet to get really cut. I was probably closer to 90%. I have to say, though, that the myfooddiary.com site has really helped a ton with my diet. 

Since I have been back on my hypertrophy cycle for the last week or so I can tell that I really lost virtually no strength during the last month and, as a matter of fact, last week I posted a new PR for the snatch at 145 lbs. and matched my clean PR at 185 lbs. I tried for 195 but couldn't get it. 

I have been doing everything in a "5 for 5" rep progression (5 sets of 5 reps) with a one minute rep cycle and I don't think I would be able to keep that going if my conditioning wasn't pretty good. On top of that I can already see an improvement in my general physique. I'd like to experiment more with supersets, but it's really hard to do that in a commercial gym setting, although I'll probably try to start dropping them in now and then. 

Anyway, just a quick one today to let everyone know that I'm still going. I'll post more frequently from here on, and I'll do a few more "Basics" posts soon, as well. 

Talk to you soon.

Mitchell Rothbardt

www.mitchrothbardttraining.com

(coming soon)

P.S. Be sure to vote in the new poll!

May 12, 13, 14 and 16 workouts

Hello. Sorry it's been a while, but it's been a bit of a crazy week. Anyway, I'll fill you in on the last four workouts I've done this week.

May 12

Stiff Leg Deads-6 reps

Hang Clean-Front Squat-Push Press-6 reps

Reverse Lunge-6 reps

6 sets with a 45 sec. rest between sets

I did it with a 95 lb. barbell. This is probably the easiest of the Alwyn Cosgrove barbell complexes, although it's still very challenging. The clean-squat-press hybrid in the middle is a tough bit.

Countdowns: Box Jumps and Pushups

Countdowns a protocol where you do 10 reps each of two exercises, then 9 reps, then 8 reps and so on down to 1 rep. You time them so you can compare your development. I did this one today in 4:18 and the last time I did this it was in 4:42. Nice improvement!

Hanging Ab Raise-10 reps

2 sets with a minute rest between sets

May 13

30 minutes on the treadmill

May 14

Front Squat 12 reps 135 lbs.

Wide Grip Cable Seated Row 12 reps 130 lbs.

3 sets with a 30 sec. rest 

Supine Hip Extension w/Leg Curl 12 reps

Barbell Push Press 12 reps 85 lbs.

3 sets with a 30 sec. rest

Lunge 12 reps 135 lbs.

Swiss Ball Ab Roll 12 reps 25 lbs.

3 sets with a 30 sec. rest

Squat 20 reps 85 lbs.

Lat Pulldown 20 reps 100 lbs.

Step Up 20 reps.

Dumbell Shoulder Press 20 reps 30 lbs.

2 sets with a 60 sec. rest

Swiss Ball Crunch 10 reps

2 sets with a 60 sec. rest

May 16

Deadlift 10 reps 155 lbs.

Explosive Push-Up 10 reps

Bulgarian Split Squat 10 reps each leg 50 lb. dumbells

One-Arm Dumbell Row 10 reps 50 lb. Dumbell

4 sets with a 45 sec. rest

This was the first workout we did for this month long progression. We upped the weight a little and did only 10 reps per set instead of 12, but we also had a 45 sec. rest instead of a 60 sec. rest. It made it a lot tougher.

1 minute punching intervals

3 sets

We cut this one a little short because I am definitely feeling things a little. But like I mentioned to Tim, this was a short workout for us but for most people it would be the most hardest workout they might have ever done. 

There are only three more of these workouts to go and after that I will probably take a few days off and jump into a hypertrophy phase. As much as I loved doing this stuff I am starting to feel a little run down so it will be great to go back to that stuff. I think, as I wrote a few posts back, I should be able to really get some good results with the hypertrophy now that I haven't done any of that kind of overload in quite a while.

Mitchell Rothbardt

www.mitchrothbardttraining.com

(coming soon)

May 10th

Dumbell Snatch-Overhead Squat-6 reps 35 lbs.

Forward Ball Roll-8 reps

Windmill Lunge-3 reps 35 lbs.

Dumbell Row-10 reps 45 lbs.

Swiss Ball Alt. Wood Chops-10 reps 20 lbs.

5 sets with a 90 second rest between sets

15 Bodyweight Squats

5 Pushups

50 Jumping Jacks

10 Mountain Climbers

10 Bodyweight Lunges

2 sets with a 60 second rest between sets

If the first set seems familiar, that's because this is the second time I've done this particular complex. The first time I did it was April 19th. I made a few changes to make it a little more difficult this time around. I did 45 lb. dumbell rows instead of 35 lb. I did 20 lb. wood chops instead of 8 lb.  and I decreased the rest between sets from 2 minutes to 90 seconds. Overall very nice.

The second complex is all bodyweight stuff. Really good. I got it from an interview with Craig Ballantyne. 

So far I am about two weeks into this program and I can definitely see a small difference. I don't know if I will be able to cut the full 5 lbs. of fat I was hoping for, but there is still some time. 

I think it's been good to do this for many reasons. My conditioning is definitely a lot better, and like I said I can see a difference. I think to really get my body fat down to 7 or 8% would take some very precise fine-tuning to my diet and I don't know if I have the overall expertise to get that detailed about diet. I know the basics pretty well, but this goes beyond that a good bit. 

The other reason is that although I am working very hard, my muscles aren't getting that hypertrophy or strength kind of overload that I am used to giving them. This is giving them some good recovery time and it also means that when I go back into my hypertrophy phase, (which is what I am planning on going into next) I should see some nice results. Not only because of the fact that I should be able to overload them pretty well after this month, but also because due to my improved conditioning, my work capacity should increase which should, in turn, increase the overload effect. 

It's all fun and games.

Mitchell Rothbardt

www.mitchrothbardttraining.com

(coming soon)

May 8th

Snatch-Grip Deadlift 12 reps 185 lbs.
T Push-Up 12 reps
3 sets 1 minute rest between sets

Split Squat/Overhead Press (Bring dumbells up to the shoulder and then press while in the down position) 12 reps 30 lbs.
Curl-Grip Lat Pulldowns 12 reps. 100 lbs. for sets 1-2, 90 lbs. for set 3
3 sets 1 minute rest between sets

Straight-Leg Dead/Bent Over Row 12 reps 95 lbs.
Windshield Wiper 12 reps
3 sets 1 minute rest between sets

Very nice today. Some quicker complexes allowed us to hit things in a different way. Very nice and very intense. The snatch-grip deads were really effective. The wider grip makes it a bit harder although the bar doesn't have to travel the same distance.

3 one minute sprint-two minute rest intervals at about 9.5 mph.
These are always superb. Particularly after a workout like this one.

Also, as an update, some developments have happened that will allow me to really increase my study time. They aren't great developments, but I will take advantage of the increased study time to get my certification a bit quicker.

As always, let me know if you have any questions or comments by leaving comments here or emailing me at mitchrothbardttraing@yahoo.com.


Mitchell Rothbardt
www.mitchrothbardttraining.com
(coming soon)

May 6th

Jump Squat 6 reps
Squat 6 reps
Squat and hold for 10 seconds 6 reps
Military Press 6 reps
Push Press 6 reps
Squat & Press 6 reps
6 sets 45 sec. rest between sets

I'm sure exeryone recognizes this as the devastating "Complex D" from this article: http://www.alwyncosgrove.com/complexes.html.

I made a slight adjustment today using dumbells instead of a barbell. When I have tried this complex previously with a bar my shoulders cramped up big time. If you notice every exercise here has your shoulders either stretched or flexed. Doing it with the dumbells worked very well. I used 35 lb. bells for sets 1-3, 30 lb. for set 4, and 25 lb. for set 5-6. This is, quite simply a great complex. Three kinds of squats followed by three kinds of shoulder press, the last two also involving some sort of squat action. It really adds up. Very nice.


Clean & Jerk 12 reps 65lbs.
Lat Pulldown 20 reps 60 lbs.
2 sets 1 minute rest between sets


The C&Js are always great, even at a light weight. Finishing up with the 20 pulldowns is a great topper.


Ab Wheel 10 reps
2 sets 1 minute rest between sets


Great exercise.



Mitchell Rothbardt
http://www.mitchrothbardttraining.com/
(coming soon)


P.S. Please vote in the latest poll.