Current physique #ectomorphsrule and cheeky insight into my stylish Xmas underwear collection
Dang. That was tough. I just finished my second Project Kratos workout following my return from a week of debauchery. For more context on this experiment and my full regimen, check out Part 1.
I attempted to complete a full Kratos workout (modified slightly since Part 1):
- TSC neck extension
- TSC neck flexion
- Push-up
- Chin-up
- Single legged squats
- Pike-push up
- TSC simple row
- Prone trunk extension
- Crunch
- Heel raise
I could not complete all of the exercises. Now I remember why I abbreviated to the condensed Kratos split 6+ months ago when I was living in London, UK. It would seem that due to my training level and thus ability to inroad my starting strength significantly and/or my fibre type (according to 23andMe, I seem to be more glycolytic and therefore fatigue quicker – see my podcast with Ryan Hall on this here: Part 1 and Part 2). I just can’t cope with too much volume in a single workout.
Here’s my performance:
- TSC neck extension: changed from 30/30/30 to 30/20/10
- TSC neck flexion: same as above
- Push-up: H+4 74 TUL (not entirely happy with my form, feel like I should have reverted to an easier lever or timing to re-learn the skill following my short lay-off) —> moved this exercise ahead of chin-ups to focus more on chest and tricep development (if it even makes a difference!)
- Chin-up: H+4 75 TUL (really pleased with my form, but struggle to contract my lats consciously as hard as possible at the top during the 4s hold)
- Single-legged-squats: U+4 R 70 L 60 (use door handle to help with balance and will alternate starting leg for next A routine)
- Pike push-up: M 62 (moved this exercise ahead of TSC simple row to allow for more recovery from chin-ups)
- TSC simple row: changed from 30/30/30 to 30/20/10
- Prone trunk extension: H+4 45 NTF (never mind the TUL or difficulty – I was whacked from systemic fatigue)
- Crunch: Nah
- Heel raise: Nada
Total workout time: 19 minutes
Notes: Single set to failure on each exercise. No deliberate rest in between exercises but enough time to safely execute the next exercise. No specific cadence. I just focused on very smooth turnarounds. My cadence probably started at 3/2/3 and became progressively longer as the set progressed on all exercises.
Definitions:
- ## = seconds
- M = full range of motion / medium lever
- H+4 = hard range of motion / hard lever with 4s hold
- TUL = time under load
- U+4 = unilateral with 4s hold
- L = left side/leg
- R = right side/leg
- NTF = not to failure
- TSC = timed static contraction (e.g. 30/20/10 means 30 seconds 50% contraction, 20 seconds 75% contraction and 10 seconds 100% contraction / as hard as you dare :D)
It feels like the first 2-3 exercises wiped me out, which is why I’m going to move to the condensed version of Kratos for my next A Routine. I will continue with the full version of Zelus until I experience the same problem.
The condensed Kratos A workout looks like this:
- Chin-Up
- Push-Up
- Squat
- Prone Trunk Extension
- Heel Raise
But I will likely modify and include TSC neck extension and flexion because these exercise don’t cause much systemic fatigue, so:
- TSC neck extension
- TSC neck flexion
- Chin-Up
- Push-Up
- Squat
- Prone Trunk Extension
- Heel Raise
As per Part 1, I’m currently working out every ~3 days (I use an ~ because I really don’t care if I go 4 or 5 days without a workout some weeks). Please note, though I wrote 80% of this straight after my workout, I finished and published the post the evening of.
As is my normal routine these days, I have intermittently fasted from 9pm yesterday evening to 2pm today. I did this bodyweight workout about an hour ago, so I will eat shortly (Ribeye and 4-egg omelette fried in coconut oil – YUM!). But as you can see, I really detach my eating schedule from exercise. This is because I’m not yet convinced that eating more frequently has any measurable impact on muscle hypertrophy or strength. And I enjoy the fasted feeling before, during and after training for a short time. I feel like my body is building muscle and the governor is liberating fat stores. Of course, this might not be entirely true and these processes are far more complicated.
Post your questions/advice in the comments below. I would love to learn about your workouts and I am happy to elaborate on the above in as much detail as you like.
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Hello Lawrence, is interesting to see that you reduces the TSC from 30/30/30 to 30/20/10. How do you feel? What differences do you observe to do that? I suposse that you are following the TSC guidelines of Doug Mcguff.
Awesome post Lawrence – love the blogs and keep them coming!!
What part of 23andme did you look at to determine you’re more glycolytic? Thanks!
Hey Lawrence,
Short question.
Do you think if you increased the duration of rest periods between exercises you may be able to better cope with all of the Kratos exercises?
Thanks.
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Hi Lawrence, as promissed, here are some photos with a Champion and myself!
He came out second (arguably 1st) at 188/86 weight class “classic bodybuilding”.
Some short comments:
We are the two ends of the spectrum…so it is most obvious;
Champ – 179/88 kg at the photos, Top shape for contest, painted, cut etc..
Me – 188/88 kg, everyday shape, no paint, no tan, no pump…
Champ – 27 years old, Me – 39 years old;
Camp – trains 6 days a week 1,5-2 hours/day, pre-contest 2 times daily;
Me – 20-30 minutes once a week;
Camp – supplements…tons of them…literraly, including the chemicals…especially the days before the contest. Actually as I saw it this time first hand it was hard form to believe it;
Me – 1 tablet Multivitamins + 2-3 capsules Omega 3 supplement a day;
Champ average cost for preparation, roughly 2500 USD in BG pricing;
Me, eating two meals a day…roughly about 150 USD in BG pricing…
I hope, that this can be a visual of the 80/20 rule 😀
I also hope, that these photos will be taken with a good smile too, as there is no editing whatsoever – just the real life deal 😀
Hope, I will not get banned from the site for these…but you asked 😀
Kamen,great photos!Just wondering,do you do any form of cardio work? I’m 59 and just started HIT again ,and on each exercise you do, do you do just do one set?, keep up the great work!
Hay Dean, thank you! Yes sir, it is 1STF for me. Very rarely I may use a second or third, not a set but rather attempt, like in a rest pause fashion. And mostly if I felt like I was not focused enough. No specific cardio sessions for me. I try to walk in my lunch hour brake. In addition I have a 3 year old at home, so he helps with my moving around. But no specific cardio exercise for that matter. In fact the last time I decided to strip down weight/fat, I choosed the lowest rating of activity in the calculator – sedentary and subtracted another 200 to be sure…and ended up at about 1600-1700/ a day. When I started to diet this last summer I was 39 years old,188/97-8 kg. If you’re interested, I’ve shared my current workout experiment by Lawrence’s request over at Mr. America Jonh Heart’s interview section here at CW, in the comments.
Cheers !
Kamen, Thank you for taking the time and giving me your information, looking forward to doing HIT again,I’m going to check out John Heart’s video,thank you again!
I’ve done some Kratos workout, and had huuge gains in muscle and strentgh. Buuut… After few months of training, I would need up to a week of recovery, because I would be destroyed. Part of the problem is that I work as physio(massage) therapist, and am pretty active. Also massages drain my energy quiet a bit, and such workout is just too much.
So, I needed to adapt. I use Convict Conditioning tamplate pushups/abs, pullups/squats. Do one set to failure and then some Tabata protocols, just to get heart some pump and to sweat a bit. I do get some soreness next day, but it doesn’t affect my everyday activities. Workouts are done every other day, because I like to move more frequently, and all is done in less than 10 minutes. I must say, that this type of workout suits me really well, and I am much more focused, and it’s little easier, because I know that I have only two sets, so can do them with much more concentration.