So if you read (LOL, or read) this blog you may have noticed that not much has happened in, oh, since January. I guess like many people who start blogs, they are motivated, post a lot, then the motivation diminishes and the posting slows down, or comes to a complete stop, such as in my case. 

Heck, my WordPress hosting was up for a renewal and I called my hosting company last week and actually cancelled it. I talked to my wife and she convinced me to keep it. She said I love to write and there are a lot of things I could share. She said don’t take it so seriously and just have fun.

That’s why I married her.

And that’s what I’m going to do. I’m just going to post whatever, whenever, and have fun.

My original goal when launching this blog was to grow it into a blog with massive readership, and eventually monetize it. Eh, still a goal I guess, but not one I’m pursuing heavily. If it happens, it happens.

So there you go.

If you remember where I left off (and if you can’t then just look at my last blog entry or two – it’s there somewhere), I told you I was having surgery on the 22nd to repair/remove a torn meniscus. I also mentioned that they actually had to do a “lateral release.” It’s a medical procedure for unfortunate schmucks like myself whose patella is tracking laterally. This causes bone deterioration and pain. 

I didn’t realize that was going to be part of the procedure, but I woke up and the “damage” had already been done. I wish I’d known because I’d probably have at least tried to seek out alternatives. I’ve read after the fact, of course, that a physical therapist who knows what they’re doing could have helped.

Yeah, so that’s what the Dr. did and 6 months later and I’m still recovering. It sucks. And it makes me an angry person. And that sucks, too. I just want to be back to normal. My knee is still weak and swollen and I can feel A LOT of scar tissue. I sometimes wonder if this is just the way it’s going to be from now on. And if that’s the case then that sucks.

Yeah, yeah, I should be happy I still have two legs that work, and you’re right, it could certainly be worse, but thinking that way isn’t easy. If I wasn’t a bodybuilder then sure, I’d be fucking thrilled that my legs just worked and I could walk. 

But when you’ve spent the last 20 years of your life being passionate about the sport of bodybuilding and achieving a big, strong, muscular, symmetrical body, then a big busted knee isn’t exciting.  

But I’m staying positive that eventually it’ll be back to looking the way it was. This whole knee thing is one reason that I hadn’t updated my blog in so long. I just wasn’t motivated to write about bodybuilding or being a bodybuilder when my outlook was a bit negative as to what the future held.

Nonetheless, I’m working every day to rehab this stupid knee. I even discovered using a foam roller. This damn thing is one of the greatest inventions ever. I plan to write a blog post soon about how unbelievably helpful the foam roller has been in rehabilitating my knee and making it feel indescribably better. I’ve used it everywhere else on my body and it’s truly been a blessing. Stay tuned. You’ll want to learn more about it.

Alright, so I’m back. I promise I’ll be updating regularly and I’m hopeful that all of you will find my blog helpful. Please leave a comment if you have a question or just want to tell me I’m a wuss and to suck it up. That’s cool, too. We’re all friends here.

Two days on, one day off

Being in my mid-thirties now I just don’t recover as quickly as I did in my 20′s. Thirty-six isn’t old by any means, but it’s not 22 either. Recently I’ve changed my workout split to a 2 on 1 off using the same bodypart split mentioned above.

I switched to doing 2 on/1 off for several reasons:

• I was feeling tired all the time
• I was not motivated to train
• My joints were aching
• I needed a change

This split has worked out excellent because after two days of intense training I’m ready for a break. And after that one day break, I’m ready to get back in the gym. My motivation level now is sky high for each and every workout! I’m excited to go in the gym and really push myself, and since I’m there only two days in a row, I’m able to give each training session everything I’ve got.

There is something else I have found to be working well for me… that is, doing only two sets of each exercise instead of the customary 3-4 sets. It just makes sense, doesn’t it?

Two sets instead of three, or four

We’ve always been told that it is best to do 3-4 sets of each exercise, right? But why? Maybe it’s just me but I think that logic is flawed for a couple of reasons:

• Anything after two sets gets boring
• The same amount of intensity is not given to each set because mentally you “save” yourself

Boredom

Let’s address the first one first. Boredom. I may suffer from ADD I’m not sure, but I seem to get bored after the first two sets. I want to go do something different – a different exercise for that bodypart. An exercise with a different machine, a different bar, a different grip, a different rep scheme, a different angle, all to hit a different part of the muscle.

And since I keep my total number of sets for a bodypart  low, then doing only two sets of an exercise allows me to do more exercises as well. That’s a plus in my book.

Intensity

As far as the second point regarding the intensity, I think this has a lot of truth to it – at least for me. If I’m planning to do four sets of let’s say, leg presses, then one or more set of those four sets is going to suffer. It is simply difficult to maintain 100% intensity for an exercise in which you do 3 or 4 sets. Now 2 sets is no problem, I can bust my ass on set one, and then bust my ass again on a second set, but after that I lose some momentum. Whether it’s mental or physical doesn’t matter, the fact remains that my workout has suffered. Not good.   

The two sets thing came about because I noticed that I just instinctively wanted to stop after the second set. Maybe it was boredom or maybe I knew that I wasn’t going to give my all to the last one or two sets. In either case I’m liking this change. It makes sense and I’ll stick with it for a while to see how I progress. So far so good, I feel stronger and more focused in the gym these days.

Is it right for you?

Is a two day on, one off routine doing two sets of each exercise right for you? I don’t know. It might be worth a shot. Have you done something similar? If so, how has it worked out for you? There are an infinite number of ways to train, what’s yours?