John’s Blog: New training, new equipment, and other fun stuff.
by John Meadows on April 28, 2016
So what has been going on in my life since the Arnold?
REST
The first thing I did was do some analysis. I believe my body responded really well to Arnold prep, so I Iooked at the whole picture, what did I do during prep, and most importantly, what did I do BEFORE prep started? I figured that would give me some clues. If you remember, last year was a whirlwind for me. I did the Team U in early July and won my Pro Card, and maintained that bodyfat (sub 4%) all the way until I did the San Antonio pro show which was in later August if I remember right. By the time I got to San Antonio I was hurting. Even my knees hurt, and my knees are bulletproof. I knew I needed a really good rest so I trained very light and easy in September, October, and November. I doubt I did one set to failure. When December hit, and Arnold prep was in sight, I felt awesome again and not worn out. The break was EXACTLY what I needed. My body changed dramatically during this prep.
Based on that I felt I needed a nice break after the Arnold before I reset and went hard again. So I did. I trained very easy for probably 4-5 weeks. Now my body is responding really well. I would have taken longer but even though I pushed REALLY hard for the Arnold, last year was much worse as I had to then hold condition for the better part of 2 months, so I didn’t think a 3-month period was necessary.
High Frequency
I wanted to try something different for my training also, especially my back. I don’t think the answer is to go heavier at this stage, as the risk vs reward is not worth it, and I didn’t think upping the volume is the right answer because I already do a ton of volume, probably 40-45 sets a week right now of back training. I decided to try a high frequency approach using the same volume but spreading it out over 3 sessions. Obviously this means you can’t go balls out every session, so I had to approach this carefully and with a lot of thought. I am going through this now and am very pleased with my results. If you look at my Instagram (Mountaindog1) you will see a rear lat spread video that I never thought was possible on me. My high frequency approach is different but also similar to my classic training style, and it’s been pretty cool watching my training partners grow with it as well. You can bet this will be a program I release in June or July.
Squatting again!
I continue to get deep tissue work done 2 times a week and my body is very healthy. Of course I have to still watch my lower back, as it is fragile, but all in all, I feel great. Speaking of low back, I haven’t been able to squat much in the last 3 years due to it, but I found an answer. I have been using a bar called an EMAXX bar that is incredible. It is like a bamboo bar (made by the same guy – Jim Seitzer) but bigger and better I think. There is something about it that actually makes going really deep feel good, and oddly enough I feel NOTHING in my low back. If I went this deep with a barbell, my neck and low back would hurt for a few days, sometimes enough to make me move around like a 90 year old. Fouad happened to do these with me once, and at the time his lower back was really hurting. These did nothing to his low back either. Since then, we have all noticed massive quad pain (the good kind) and no low back stress when using this bar, so I am really digging it. I posed a video below so you can see it in action.
What’s next
Right now my plan is to continue to eat fairly clean, keep training with this approach and see where it takes my body. I just turned 44, but I think I still have some gas left in me!
See you again, in maybe June…maybe.
Thank you for all your support!!!!
John Meadows