Anyone use Thermogenics

**Crawfinski** · Posted On: 1/10/2008 6:08am

I'm currently lifting three days a week, doing cardio three days, and taking one day off. I rotate the days of lifting between upper body and lower body and have been doing HIIT cardio on the stationary bike (fyi, I never liked the bike until I started doing it like this...now I love it - especially since its too cold to do anything outside).

This week went like this: M-Upper, T-Cardio, W-Lower, Th-Cardio, F-Upper, S-Cardio, Su-Off. For my weight training I do 5 sets of one lift for each major muscle group (12x, 10x, 8x, 6x, 12x) followed my 1 set of twelve from a different lift, same muscle group; I've been using the Body for Life Training. I know the work outs are not unique to their "program," because my coaches in high school had a similar workout, however, the BFL people explained it better and now I'm actually motivated to do something about it and it works.

6 sets may seem like a lot since the weight usually increases every set (except for DB shoulder presses-I have to handle those carefully), but the difference in what the BFL people teach and my high school coaches did was how to determine how weight to do each set. In high school we did it based off of a percentage of your max. I was a scrawny, yet awkwardly chubby kid who was not very strong, so I did not have a great max and the percentages I used did not give me the best workouts.

Now, I am doing the weight based on how "intense" the weight makes each life (similar to HIIT). The first set of 12x, on a scale of intensity is supposed to be at a "5" out of "10." Each set goes up a level of intensity, so it is up to the individual to determine how much weight is going to get them to that level (entirely subjective to each person). However, it is not just the weight that determines the intensity-it is also the speed with which you perform the lift and they recommend you only spend one minute in between lifts, etc. I high school, they did not account for "how" you lift. For example, I have long arms which suck for bench press, so I do DB presses and when I lower the weight I make sure I go slow enough and deep enough and hold it long enough to feel it in my chest. Sometimes going that slow and thorough means I cannot do as much weight for the set as if I were just blasting through the lift.

Ok, I have rambled way too long and this doesn't have anything specifically to do with thermogenics-so I'll make a sad attempt to do so :P The reason for using intensity as the gauge instead of a set percentage is similar to HIIT cardio workouts. If you pace yourself at regular intervals and are intense at the right times it works you out more effectively than if you do marathon lifting sessions. The principle of HIIT cardio is something along the lines of: you can get a better workout by doing HIIT in 20-30 minutes than you can by running for an hour, and by doing so you'll perform better when you do run for an hour. It is similar for lifting. If you lift effectively, you don't need to be in a gym for hours a day, you should be able to finish in around one hour (provided all of the people with New Year's resolutions aren't hogging the stuff you need).

And the major principle behind this program is not the exercise, it's nutrition. What happens during your recovery, food and rest, will determine how effective your workouts are.

And now, off to the gym and my beloved bike. I really need to start waiting until after I get back to check bullshido.

*Edit, stupid mispleling error and I was being picky

**Emevas** · Posted On: 1/10/2008 11:58am

Craw, what are your goals, and why do you only train lower body once a week?

**Crawfinski** · Posted On: 1/10/2008 12:49pm

Right now I am working on fat loss and strength. I am currently at 252 and between 19-22% body fat (19% if I'm using the calipers correctly, 22% according to the Army's taping method which IMO is not entirely accurate). My current goal is to lose 30 lbs over the next three months and just become stronger in the process. I need to improve my run time and adding mass is not in my best interest :)

The lifting rotates each week, sorry, just realized I did not indicate that above. One week is "Upper-Lower-Upper" then the next week is "Lower-Upper-Lower" I like lifting legs too much to limit it to once a week.