Chest Expander Workout 8/14

Overhand Vertical Pullapart - 1 set - 4 springs - I might have managed 3 full reps. Only way to confirm is to try it again next time.

Overhand Vertical Pullapart - 1 back off set - 3 springs

Underhand Vertical Pullapart - 1 set - 3 springs

Overhand Vertical Pullapart - mechanical drop set - 3 springs

Horizontal Pullapart - 1 set - 2 springs

Underhand Vertical Pullapart - 1 mechanical drop set - 2 springs

Overhand Vertical Pullapart - 1 mechanical drop set - 2 springs

Back Press - 1 set - 5 springs - 7 reps

Back Press - 1 back off set - 4 springs

Sideway (Tricep) Extension - 1 set - 4 springs - 5 reps

Sideway (Tricep) Extension - 1 back off set - 3 springs

Overhead Tricep Extension - 1 finisher set - 2 springs

Reverse Curl - 1 set - 3 springs - 8 reps

Reverse Curl - 1 back off set - 2 springs

Deltoid Raise (scapular plane/Y raise) - 2 finisher sets - 1 spring

I decided to treat this day as my "heavy" day, really pushing to failure on the 5-spring Back Press and the 4-spring Sideway Extension.

I posted a while back that I'd given up on doing the regular Bicep Curl on the chest expander, due to elbow pain. Then found this video on straight-arm exercises for bicep strength and muscle gains:

Out of the exercises presented, I decided to try Supinated Grip Front Raise, which is the 2nd exercise presented in the video, with the elastic band that was shipped with the IsoMax. This band offers light resistance for most exercises, but for the front raise the resistance is too heavy.

I did 3 sets of isometric Supinated Grip Front Raise with my IsoMax. My lower body was working just as hard as my shoulders and biceps, if not harder, just to maintain my balance. Next time I'll try isometric Bicep Curl and see if my elbows hold up.

Chest Expander Workout 8/12

Overhand Vertical Pullapart - 1 set - 4 springs - Managed 2 nearly full range reps.

Overhand Vertical Pullapart - 1 back off set - 3 springs

Underhand Vertical Pullapart - 1 set - 3 springs

Overhand Vertical Pullapart - mechanical drop set - 3 springs

Horizontal Pullapart - 1 set - 2 springs

Underhand Vertical Pullapart - 1 mechanical drop set - 2 springs

Overhand Vertical Pullapart - 1 mechanical drop set - 2 springs

Back Press - 1 set - 5 springs - 3 reps

Back Press - 1 back off set - 4 springs

Sideway (Tricep) Extension - 1 set - 4 springs - 3 or 4 reps

Sideway (Tricep) Extension - 1 back off set - 3 springs

Overhead Tricep Extension - 1 finisher set - 2 springs

Reverse Curl - 1 set - 3 springs - 6 reps

Reverse Curl - 1 back off set - 2 springs

Deltoid Raise (scapular plane/Y raise) - 2 finisher sets - 1 spring

After a weekend of rest, I was still feeling DOMS in the upper back and shoulders from last week's chest expander workouts. I realized I had not been varying my effort very much. Except for the very first workout in this training block, I've been training with high effort every workout - going to failure on every set and not taking much rest between sets. So for today's workout I did not push myself to failure on all sets. I stopped short of failure on the higher effort sets such as the 5-spring Back Press.

I posted a while back that I'd given up on doing the regular Bicep Curl on the chest expander, due to elbow pain. Then found this video on straight-arm exercises for bicep strength and muscle gains:

Out of the exercises presented, I decided to try Supinated Grip Front Raise, which is the 2nd exercise presented in the video, with the elastic band that was shipped with the IsoMax. This band offers light resistance for most exercises, but for the front raise the resistance is too heavy.

I then decided to try using my IsoMax to do an overcoming isometric version of the Supinated Grip Front Raise. Any isometric version of the front raise should be less risky to suspect elbows than any dynamic version, due to the elimination of joint abrasion.

I set up the IsoMax with the strap attached to the bottom newel of the stairs, and the bar held behind my body to put the shoulders, biceps, and forearms all at a stretched position. For this first session, I set the IsoMax in Load mode with load set to 10 lbs. for the first rep and tried to exert force to failure within 30 seconds. I then looked at the average force, with was close to 17 lbs. then reset the load to 17 lbs. and tried to sustain a minimum 17lbs. of force for up to 45 seconds, for each of the remaining reps. It was only on the last rep that I remembered to focus on activating the biceps so that my shoulders are not doing too much of the work. I am not expecting dramatic gains in bicep size doing this isometric front raise, but it's better than relying only on the Reverse Curl to try to stimulate bicep gains.

Chest Expander Workout 8/9

I did not skip the 8/7 workout. There just wasn't anything in particular to report. Today's workout:

Overhand Vertical Pullapart - 1 set - 4 springs - About 4 attempts. Failed on the 1st, 3rd, and 4th attempt. Succeeded on the 2nd.

Overhand Vertical Pullapart - 1 back off set - 3 springs

Underhand Vertical Pullapart - 1 set - 3 springs

Overhand Vertical Pullapart - mechanical drop set - 3 springs - Extra practice of this movement should help.

Horizontal Pullapart - 1 set, followed by mechanical drop set of Underhand Vertical Pullapart - 2 springs

Horizontal Pullapart - 1 backoff set w/ 1 spring

Back Press - 1 set - 5 springs - Managed 6 reps

Back Press - 1 back off set - 4 springs

Sideway (Tricep) Extension - 1 sets - 4 springs - Yes! Moved up to 4 springs and managed 5 reps.

Sideway (Tricep) Extension - 1 back off set - 3 springs

Overhead Tricep Extension - 1 finisher set - 2 springs

Reverse Curl - 1 set - 3 springs - Managed 8 reps per arm

Reverse Curl - 1 back off set - 2 springs

Deltoid Raise (scapular plane/Y raise) - 2 finisher sets - 1 spring

I managed to do one full rep of Overhand Vertical Pullapart with 4 springs. After that one full rep, I guess I no longer had the energy to do another full rep. My technique in this movement still needs work, so I decided to do an extra set as a mechanical drop set after a set of Underhand Vertical Pullapart.

Next session, if I'm still struggling with the transition to a 4-spring Overhand Vertical Pullapart, I will try doing the mechanical drop set of Overhand Vertical Pullapart after my first set of Underhand Vertical Pullapart. To try to avoid overtraining, I will cut the back off set of Horizontal Pullapart. These changes will only be in place until I can do more than one clean rep of Overhand Vertical Pullapart with 4 springs.

I'm getting a better feel for the groove of the Sideway Extension. It's harder with 5 springs of course but the movement doesn't feel as awkward as the first time I tried it. That very first attempt was a failure because I didn't have the mobility to stretch the springs behind my head like that. That was with 2 springs. Now I'm up 5 which is decent progress.

The shoulders are fatiguing faster than the triceps in the 5-spring Back Press. Perhaps the tricep strength gains will carry over to Back Press performance, thus allow the shoulders to work hard for more reps, leading to shoulder gains

Chest Expander Workout 8/5

Overhand Vertical Pullapart - 2 sets - 3 springs

Underhand Vertical Pullapart - 2 sets - 3 springs

Horizontal Pullapart - 1 set, followed by mechanical drop set of Underhand Vertical Pullapart - 2 springs

Horizontal Pullapart - 1 backoff set w/ 1 spring

Back Press - 1 set - 5 springs - Was worried I might fail do do a rep, but I ended up doing 5

Back Press - 1 back off set - 4 springs - .

Sideway (Tricep) Extension - 2 sets - 3 springs - Did 14 reps first set.

Overhead Tricep Extension - 1 set - 2 springs

Reverse Curl - 1 set - 3 springs - Managed 7 reps per arm

Reverse Curl - 1 back off set - 2 springs

Deltoid Raise (scapular plane/Y raise) - 1 set - 2 springs

Deltoid Raise (scapular plane/Y raise) - 1 back off set - 1 springs

I went back to doing the overhand version of the Vertical Pullapart first. I tried doing the underhand version first with 4 springs and failed. I had been doing the underhand version first because it felt easier to do than the overhand version. The overhand version felt more awkward. I've realized the overhand version felt more awkward because I was trying to make the expander move in the same way it moves when I do the underhand version. In the underhand version, all the springs end up against my chest. I was trying to force all the springs to touch my chest in the overhand version, just like in the underhand version. However, there's no real reason to try to force this to happen. When I try to force it to happen, the shoulders internally rotate too much, which in turn leads to the uncomfortable feeling in the shoulders. I notice when Alex Leonidas does the overhand version, his palms end up facing the floor. This is probably the best ending position for the overhand version. Turning the palms away from me would just put some springs up in my face. Turning the palms towards me would be too much internal rotation.

If I focus on executing the Overhand Vertical Pullapart with a feeling of pressing out to the sides, and not just pulling the handles apart, anf finishing my palms down, I should be able to avoid shoulder discomfort and more effectively leverage my triceps. The triceps are the difference makers in the amount of force that can be applied to the vertical pullapart with the overhand grip, compared to the underhand grip, which does not allow the the triceps to be used as effectively. Thus, I should have a better chance of doing the Vertical Pullapart with 4 springs with the overhand grip rather than the underhand grip. For the next session I will not attempt the overhand vertical pullapart with 4 springs. By not expending effort on such an attempt, I should have more gas in the tank to do more reps of the overhand version, and thus get more practice. Hopefully that will stimulate enough strength and muscle gain to a successful 4-spring attempt on the following session.

Being able to do 15 reps in one set proved to be a more reliable indicator of readiness to move up a spring, than being able to do 2 sets of 12 reps. I did 15 reps for my first set of Back Press, with 4 springs, last Friday, and today I was able to do 5 reps with 5 springs. Today I did 14 reps of Sideway Extension with 3 springs. I will see if I can do at least 1 rep with 4 springs next session.

Each spring supposedly has 10kg of tension. So I am apparently able to Back Press 5 springs for 50kg of tension, which is 25kg per arm. So I was curious about whether that meant I can now press my 24kg kettlebell overhead. I quickly found the answer was no. I was not surprised as I have an understanding that stretching springs that have 50kg of resistance is not the same as lifting a 50kg weight. Springs deliver more resistance as you stretch them, with the most resistance being at the end range of the movement. A weight delivers the least resistance towards the end range because at that point it is moving at a high enough velocity that the muscles do not need to exert much force to keep it moving. The muscles have to more force at the beginning of the movement to change the weight's velocity from zero to some positive value. So if/when I move up to a 6-spring back press, I will once again attempt to press the 24kg KB. Anyway, I'm still pretty happy to move up from 4 springs to 5 springs

Chest Expander Workout 8/2

Underhand Vertical Pullapart - 2 sets - 3 springs - Attempted a rep with 4 springs, but could not complete it. Did 12+ reps per set with 3 springs.

Overhand Vertical Pullapart - 2 sets - 3 springs

Horizontal Pullapart - 1 set, followed by mechanical drop set of Underhand Vertical Pullapart - 2 springs

Horizontal Pullapart - 1 backoff set w/ 1 spring

Back Press - 2 sets - 4 springs - Did 15 reps first set, 9 2nd set.

Sideway (Tricep) Extension - 2 sets - 3 springs

Overhead Tricep Extension - 1 set - 2 springs - Managed 3 reps with left arm

Reverse Curl - 1 set - 3 springs - Managed 7 reps per arm

Reverse Curl - 1 back off set - 2 springs

Deltoid Raise (scapular plane/Y raise) - 1 set - 2 springs

Deltoid Raise (scapular plane/Y raise) - 1 back off set - 1 springs

This workout is based on Alex Leonidas' old school workout. In this or his intro to chest expander video, Alex says you add a spring to a particular exercise for your next workout if you have achieved one of 2 milestones: 2 sets of at least 12 reps, or one set of 15 reps. The first requirement does not seem to work for me. I have never been able to complete one rep with an added spring, in the very next session, after achieving 2 sets of 12+ reps. I went up in springs for some exercises early in this chest expander training bloack, due to gains from previous training blocks - the most recent 8-week Easy Muscle block, the 6x6 IsoMax block before that, and so on. I think the other milestone - one set of 15 reps - might turn out to be the more accurate one. I am wondering if I do 2 sets of an exercise, and can do 15 reps in the first set, if it matters where or not I can do 12 reps in the 2nd set.

Chest Expander Workout 7/31

Underhand Vertical Pullapart - 2 sets - 3 springs - Did 12+ reps with relative ease

Overhand Vertical Pullapart - 2 sets - 3 springs

Horizontal Pullapart - 1 set, followed by mechanical drop set of Underhand Vertical Pullapart - 2 springs

Horizontal Pullapart - 1 backoff set w/ 1 spring - This was too easy so I might just repeat the set + mechanical drop set next time.

Back Press - 2 sets - 4 springs - Stopped first set at 12 reps, thinking I'd bank reps for the 2nd set.

Sideway (Tricep) Extension - 2 sets - 3 springs

Overhead Tricep Extension - 1 set - 1 spring - Felt light, but managed less than 10 reps per arm.

Reverse Curl - 1 set - 3 springs

Reverse Curl - 1 back off set - 2 springs

Deltoid Raise (scapular plane/Y raise) - 1 set - 2 springs

Deltoid Raise (scapular plane/Y raise) - 1 back off set - 1 springs

I decided to drop the regular Bicep Curl from this routine for the remainder of this chest expander focused hypertrophy training block. I believe the best medicine for the affected areas of my elbows at this time is rest.

I did the Underhand Vertical Pullapart sets before doing the Overhand Vertical Pullapart sets. The UVP sets did not appear to have any kind of pre-exhaust effect on my OVP performance.
Alex Leonidas says in his chest expander videos that a high volume program is not necessary or even desirable with the chest expander, which implies that the more usual rules of exercise programming that apply to lifting weights or calisthenics may not apply to chest expander training. I stopped my first Back Press at 12 reps because 2 sets of 12 reps is one of Leonidas' suggestions for knowing when it's time to add a spring; and because I thought maybe Red Delta Project's rep backfill strategy would apply here. However I think maybe I should have continued that first set up to failure instead of stopping at 12. If we are generally doing only 2 sets per exercise on the chest expander, maybe we should go to failure on both sets to stimulate the most muscle gains we can get from that one workout.

Chest Expander Workout 7/29

Overhand Vertical Pullapart - 1 set - 4 springs - Could not complete the rep, so went back down to 3 springs.

Overhand Vertical Pullapart (backdown set with one less spring) - 1 set - 2 springs - About 12 reps

Underhand Vertical Pullapart - 2 sets - 3 springs

Horizontal Pullapart - 1 set, followed by mechanial drop set of Underhand Vertical Pullapart - 2 springs

Horizontal Pullapart (1 spring less, no following drop set) - 1 set

Back Press - 2 sets - 4 springs

Sideway (Tricep) Extension - 1 set - 3 springs

Sideway (Tricep) Extension (backdown set with one less spring) - 1 set - 2 springs

Overhead Tricep Extension - 1 set - 2 springs - Left tricep was so pumped and burned out, could not do one rep. Could do 2 with right triceps.
Reverse Curl - 2 sets - 3 springs - Managed to do 2 sets of 5 reps with very high effort.

Deltoid Raise (scapular plane/Y raise) - 2 sets - 2 springs - Was able to do 5 reps but could not get the handle to shoulder height.

Bicep Curl - 1 sets - 1 spring - I did about 30 reps per arm

After one set of Bicep Curl, my elbows were feeling sore already - the tendonitis kind of soreness. I think at this time I should just let my elbows rest - no overspeed eccentric curls, no Flexbar work, etc. - as much as possible.

For the next session, I'll do the 2 Underhand Vertical Pullapart sets first, then do 2 Overhand Vertical Pullapart sets. The reason is last week I was strong enough in the OVP to move past 3 springs, but today I was not strong enough to do OVP with 4 springs. By doing the UVP sets first, perhaps there will be some kind of pre-exhaust effect on my OVP performance. Pre-exhaustion was one of the strategies mentioned by Alex Leonidas in his videos, for getting more mileage out of the Baraban chest expander when one has progressed to working with all 7 springs. Perhaps it can also be employed as a strategy for progressing when one is too strong for the current spring count, but too week work with an added spring.
Another thing I will try is doing the 2nd OVP set with the same number of springs, instead of as a backdown set.

Yet another thing to change for next session is to go ahead and remove a spring if my triceps have nothing left for Overhead Tricep Extension.
I think I'm starting to understand the point of back off sets. When the load for the first set is so heavy that you can do only about 4-6 reps with higher than normal effort, dropping the load for the 2nd set allows for more reps, which means more practive of the movement and more potential stimulus for muscle adn strength gains. Thus for next session, the 2nd sets of Reverse Curl and Deltoid Raise will both be back off sets (1 spring removed).

Today's Chest Expander Workout

Overhand Vertical Pullapart - 1 set - 3 springs - Easily did 12+ reps

Overhand Vertical Pullapart (backdown set with one less spring) - 1 set - 2 springs - Did almost 20 reps

Underhand Vertical Pullapart - 2 sets - 3 springs

Horizontal Pullapart - 1 set, followed by mechanial drop set of Underhand Vertical Pullapart - 2 springs

Horizontal Pullapart (1 spring less, no following drop set) - 1 set - Damn, forgot again to do this one.

Back Press - 2 sets - 4 springs

Sideway (Tricep) Extension - 1 set - 3 springs

Sideway (Tricep) Extension (backdown set with one less spring) - 1 set - 2 springs

Overhead Tricep Extension - 1 set - 2 springs

Reverse Curl - 2 sets - 2 springs - Easily did 12+ reps both sets

Bicep Curl - 1 set - 2 springs

Bicep Curl (1 spring less) - 1 set - 1 spring

Deltoid Raise (scapular plane/Y raise) - 2 sets - 1 spring - Easily did 12+ reps both sets

I reversed the order of the Bicep Curl and Reverse Curl. Due to the current condition of my forearms/elbows it is unlikely I'll be able to practice the Bicep Curl for muscle and strength gains during this current training block. The best I can do is train the regular curl as an overspeed eccentric exercise - as fast as possible, and as many reps as possible, with a resistance level low enough to allow pain-free high reps. Upon further reflection, I'll move the Bicep Curl all the way to the end of the workout, working with only 1 spring, and aim for 50 reps per set before moving up to 2 springs.

Pushing to failure on both sets of Overhand Vertical Pullapart affected performance on the other pullapart exercises but not as much as I thought. I felt my delts got a good amount of work, but I still had enough energy to do both sets of Delt Raise easily.

I'm realizing that chest expander exercises need to be done as explosively as possible. This should emphasize the Type 2 muscle fibers. Louis Simmons and the Westside Barbell folks believed overspeed eccentrics would caused tendons to grow and become more resilient to injury, but there doesn't seem to be any recent research that backs this up. Recent research does back up the notion of slow eccentrics for recovery from tendonopathy. OTOH again, Simmons stated that Westside experimented with slow eccentrics vs. overspeed eccentrics and found overspeed eccentrics superior for their strength and hypertrophy goals. So, I'll just try the overspeed approach for at least a month and see how my aching forearms/elbows feel then.

Next Training Block: 6-8 Weeks of Chest Expander Training

Yesterday, I went a little overboard playing with shoulder dislocates with a light resistance band and with a stick. As a result, my left shoulder felt sore and unstable. Also, both my forearmms/elbows have persistent soreness from weeks of holding a 24kg kettlebell in bottoms up position for goblet squats and working with the 24kg KB in general. I think the 2 weeks of passive hangs 3-5 times a day, 5 days a week also affected my forearms/elbows. The conditions of the shoulder and the elbows made me reconsider doing 6x6 on the IsoMax for my next training block.

I decided instead to train on my Baraban chest expander for 6-8 weeks. I think my connective tissues will feel better with the eccentric loading offered by the expander. Also, because I was unable to press the 24kg KB, I don't think my delts got enough stimulus for size and strength gains in this latest Easy Muscle block. The chest expander routine is sure to work the delts much more thoroughly. So in short, what I hope to achieve with this chest expander training block is increased deltoid muscle mass and strength. The workout is also designed to stimulate strength and muscle mass gains for the triceps and upper back. I'm fine with the gains I got from Easy Muscle for the triceps and upper back but I'm not going to say no to more gains in those areas.

I thought I'd test my overhead press on the IsoMax. The high intensity reps on the IsoMax should relieve some of the soreness. I also decided to test reverse drag curl as well just for fun.

Overhead Press: 101, 118, 115.8
Reverse Drag Curl: 79, 110.2, 101.4

The overhead press numbers were down compared to the end of my last 6x6 training block when I was pressing in the high 120 to low 130 range. I think this is just exercise specificity at work. To get my overcoming isometric pressing force back into the high 120lb range, I have to practice generating overcoming isometric force. In any case, my shoulder felt better after the IsoMax tests. Now on to the chest expander workout itself:

Overhand Vertical Pullapart - 1 set - 3 springs

Overhand Vertical Pullapart (backdown set with one less spring) - 1 set - 3 springs (oops, forgot to remove a spring)

Underhand Vertical Pullapart - 2 sets - 3 springs

Horizontal Pullapart - 1 set, followed by mechanial drop set of Underhand Vertical Pullapart - 2 springs

Horizontal Pullapart (1 spring less, no following drop set) - 1 set - oops, skipped this.

Back Press - 2 sets - 4 springs.

Sideway (Tricep) Extension - 1 set - 2 springs, which felt so easy that I'll try 3 next time.

Sideway (Tricep) Extension (backdown set with one less spring) - 1 set - oops, skipped this

Overhead Tricep Extension - 1 set - 2 springs

Bicep Curl - 1 set - Tried 3 springs, but was too painful for forearm/elbow, so removed a spring and did about 20 reps

Bicep Curl (1 spring less) - 1 set - oops, skipped.

Reverse Curl - 2 sets - 2 springs

Deltoid Raise (scapular plane/Y raise) - 2 sets - Totally forgot to do this.

So, kind of a sloppy chest expander workout, albeit the first one in months. Despite the mental miscues, there was definitely carryover from the preceding training blocks: the 8-week Easy Muscle block, the 6 week 6x6 block before that, and so on. The Overhead Vertical Pullapart, Sideway Extension, and Reverse Curl in particular felt noticeably easier to execute compared to my last chest expander workout. The improved performance in those exercises seem to correlate with improved performance in pullups, dips, and 24kg kettlebell clean + push press via Easy Muscle training.

I suppose it would be natural to wonder why not just stick to Easy Muscle, instead of messing around with the chest expander. The main reason is that all 3 Easy Muscle schedules are 8 weeks long and I lack the expertise to tweak any of the schedules to, say, an 12 week, 16 week or whatever schedule longer than 8 weeks; in such a way that the schedule produces desirable results in muscle mass and strength. If I create a 16-week schedule derived from Easy Muscle but it doesn't produce results at Week 16 that are measurably superior to results at Week 8, it would be a waste of time and effort. Simply repeating the last 2 week of Schedule B is not going to work because of the Law of Adaptation as documented by Vladimir Zatiorsky. The body will eventually adapt to the training stimulii - and thus no longer progress in strength, muscle mass, or whatever fitness goal is desired - unless sufficient changes are made after a certain amount of time.

Updated Chest Expander Routine and The Rollon

I watched Alex Leonidas' chest expander workout video yet again, to try to catch details I've missed before. Some things I'd missed include the backdown set of Sideway Extension and the 2nd Bicep Curl set being a backdown set (1 less spring).

Leonidas kind of explains what a back off/backdown set it in his videos but leaves out the info on when to do a back off set in your routine. So, my guess is this: If your perceived effort is high during your first set, your next set should be a back off set. I like GMB's Ease and Quality scales for evaluating exercise performance. So using these scales, if your Ease is Challenging/Maximum Effort or your Quality is Broken/Rough on your first set, your next set should be a back off set. Doing a back off set allows you do to more reps compared to your first set, and thus gives you more opportunities to practice the movement and possibly stimulate more muscle gains than if you had done your 2nd set at the same load. Conversely, if your Ease is Solid/Relaxed and your Quality is Smooth/Snappy for your first set, a 2nd set at the same load might be preferred over a back off set. I may have to watch Leonidas' videos again but I think he says in at least one of them that going for high reps does not buy you much on a chest expander - so I do say 10 reps with Solid Ease and Snappy Quality in the first set, then I might be better off doing a 2nd set at the same load - in which I might hit 8-10 reps, than dropping one spring and going for say 23 reps in the 2nd set.

Here is what I think is the corrected routine:

Overhand Vertical Pullapart - 1 set

Overhand Vertical Pullapart - 1 set - May optionally be back off set with one less spring

Underhand Vertical Pullapart - 2 sets - 2nd set optionally a back off set with one less spring

Horizontal Pullapart - 1 set, followed by mechancial drop set of Underhand Vertical Pullapart

Horizontal Pullapart (back off set) - 1 set - All these pullapart exercises should stimulate strength and muscle gains in the upper back to improve shoulder stability, as well as pre-exhaust the delts and triceps.

Back Press - 2 sets, with 2nd being optionally back off set - improves behind the neck pressing mobility, as well as working the shoulders and triceps. Whether the mobility gain translates to improved mobility for double KB press, double KB jerk, etc. remains to be seen.

Sideway (Tricep) Extension - 1 set

Sideway (Tricep) Extension (optionally done as back off set) - 1 set

Overhead Tricep Extension - 1 set. Should be enough to finish off the triceps, which are probably feeling pumped by this point.

Bicep Curl - 1 set

Bicep Curl (optional back of set) - 1 set

Reverse Curl - 2 sets, with 2nd being optionally a back off set - All these curl variations are for stimulating strength and muscle gains for the biceps and forearms. There is no direct benefit for pressing but these exercises should help improve elbow health and performance in the kettlebell clean, as the biceps help control the descent of the KB out of the rack position into the bottom position.

Lateral Raise (scapular plane/Y raise) - 2 sets - Finish off delts which have been pre-exhausted by the earlier exercises, to stimulate muscle growth.

Alex Leonidas has another chest expander video in which he introduces the chest expander and has some advice on exercise programming, favorite exercises, etc. I didn't find any info on how often to do the routine, so I'll just do it 3 times a week.

Leonidas mentioned Fred Rollon - aka The Human Anatomy Chart - in his chest expander videos. Rollon was a bronze era bodybuilder who claimed to have developed his anatomy chart physique using only chest expanders and cables. He reportedly started lifting weights eventually... years after he developed that physique. Rollon reportedly trained with chest expanders with as much as 140kg (about 308lbs) of tensile strength. I am only one of several - or perhaps many? - satisfied owners of the Baraban Chest Expander, which comes with 7 springs, each of which has 10kg of tensile strength, for a maximum of 70kg. In the time I've owned mine, I've figured 70kg is more than enough for me. However, I just found out that Robert Baraban has started selling a new version of the steel string chest expander called The Rollon.

Now it is possible to work up to Fred Rollon's level of strand pulling strength and beyond. What is also interesting is Baraband is also making foot stirrup attachment for his chest expander models. With 2 chest expanders, 2 foot stirrups, and 2 or more of the "super springs" that come with The Rollon, it should be possible to do exercises that may require more than 70kg of tensile strength such as shrugs, deadlifts, and squats.

Easy Muscle Results

My pullup and dip repetition maxes at the start of the program were well short of the recommended number. The consequence was not being able to perform a set without having to pause to take a break, before resuming. This in turn led to not being able to do a desirable volume (reps x sets x load) for stimulating muscle mass gains.

I chose the 24kg KB Clean + Push Press option because I wanted to see what gains I would get with this option, combined with the 2 calisthenic exercises per Schedule B.

Tape measurement showed about 1/4" increase in arm circumference and 1/2" increase in chest/lat circumference. Perhaps the gains might have been greater if I had higher pullup and dip rep maxes at the start of the program. Despite that I'm satisfied with the hypertrophy.

I tried to press the 24kg KB but could not press it past the midpoint. Clean + Push Press works the triceps and traps more than the deltoids, because the use of the lower body to launch the KB upward eliminates the work that would have been done by the chest and delts. During this training block, I tried to actively "pull" the KB down on the eccentric to try to increase my KB pressing strength. However, one training block of this combination of C + PP and "active eccentric" was not enough. That said, this is another opportunity to try using 6x6 training on the IsoMax to increase my force output (strength) to a high enough level for a complete 24kg KB press.

I tested my double 16kg KB Clean + Press. I was able to do 8 reps. The 16kg KBs felt light in my hands after 8 weeks of training with the 24kg. Pressing double 16kg KBs took little effort for my upper body. My lower body fatigued more quickly than my upper body. I was able to lock out both arms on the double press, which I took as a sign of improved mobility compared to last year, when I couldn't lock out the arms. There is still room for mobility improvement in that I still have an arch in my upper back at the top of the press.

I could have, and probably should have, done this Easy Muscle training block on Schedule A with a single 16kg KB. I didn't have the mobility to work with double 16kg KBs. I think my rep max with a single 16kg KB would have been ideal per program guidelines. However I don't regret the choices I made for this training block, because I just had to satisfy my curiosity regarding training the 24kg KB C+PP. Also, I was itching to do pullups and dips again.

My next training block will focus on strength, with 6x6 on the IsoMax once again being the program of choice.

After that will be my next hypertrophy training block. What I will do for that training block will be determined by the results of re-testing my rep maxes with the single 24kg KB and double 16kg C+P:

1. 24kg C+P 4-6 reps. Program: Easy Muscle Schedule B with single 24kg KB
2. 24kg C+P 0-3 reps and double 16kg C+P 8-12 reps. Program: Easy Muscle Schedule A with double 16kg KBs.
3. 24kg C+P 0-3 reps and double 16kg C+P 13+ reps. Program: Chest Expander routine. In this case, I'm not strong enough for option 1 and too strong for option 2, so I think it might be fun to devote a 6-8 week training block to chest expander training and see what strength and muscle gains might be had from it.

I might do my next Easy Muscle training block on Schedule A with double 16kg KBs, unless my rep max turns out to be 15 or higher. I'm also going attempt to press the 24kg KB again, depending on how I progress in my 6x6 training block. If by the time I test for my next Easy Muscle block, I have a rep max of 12 on the double 16kg C+P and a rep max of 2 on the single 24kg C+P, I'd go with the double 16kg KBs. If however I have a rep max of 17 or something like that on the double 16kg C+Ps but I still can't press the 24kg C+P, I might go with Schedule B with the 24kg C+PP and calisthenics again again... we'll see.

Easy Muscle: Week 8

For the final kettlebell session, I held the kettlebell in the normal goblet squat grip, for the goblet squats, because my forearms were feeling beat up from the combined work of holding the KB in the bottoms up position, the calisthenics work, and hanging for time.

I managed to do 35 total reps of pullups and dips for the Monday calisthenics session. For the Friday session, I managed to do 40 total.

I got quite a spike in appetite after my calisthenics sessions. I presume it's because the workouts stimulated muscle growth.

I'll give my body a few days to recover, then evaluate the following:

• 24kg KB press repetition max
• Double 16kg KB overhead press mobility
• Arm width

Current Mobility Training

I've been starting my workouts with a mobility warmup, starting with a warmup of the legs and hips. For my hip/leg warmup I've been doing most of the exercises from the GMB Muay Thai mobility routine. They make my hips feel good.

I occasionally change up my hip/leg warmup by instead doing prying goblet squat for 5 reps, then cossack squat until my legs/glutes start to feel a little burn - with the 8kg kettlebell held bottoms up.

I then move on to kettlebell arm bar and bent arm bar for t-spine mobility and loosening up the chest and front of the shoulders. T-spine mobilization seems to loosen up my lats despite not directly stretching the lats all that much. This article by Jon Engum lists 4 items on which to focus for the kettlebell arm bar, with the 4th item being the arm on the ground, which is supposed to be moved to your rear as much as possible and stretch the lat.

One of the latest mobility exercises I've added to my routine is the kettlebell pullover, which is supposed to help improve mobility for overhead lockout. There are straight leg and hip bridge variations taught in this video:


Doing the hip bridge variation first for about 3-5 reps seems to increase ROM (Range Of Motion) for the straight leg variation.

I did passive hangs in the past, but gave up on them because I thought of hanging as a lat stretch and found the quadraped side bend to be more productive for getting the lats to loosen up. This FitnessFAQs video inspired me to try hanging again. I don't agree that total hanging time per day should be 5 minutes, as that looks like an arbitrary number rather than a number backed up by research. However I do agree that the 2 sets of 20-30 second holds I was doing 3x a week might not have been enough to improve grip strength or lat mobility. 2 weeks of hanging 5 days a week, 3 or more sets per day resulted in my left elbow being less susceptible to tendonitis pain from playing guitar. However this week I'm taking a break from passive hangs because of accumulated soreness in my forearms - which might be caused by hanging combined with bottoms-up goblet squats and other work with the 24kg kettlebell.


My hamstrings are not particularly flexible. I've tried various stretches and other mobility exercises in the past with some improvement, but have admittedly not focused much on improving hamstring flexibility, other than the Muay Thai routine above. One of the exercises that I attempted was pike compression - aka "pike pulses" - which were just too hard for me. In the below video, Eugene Teo shows easier pike pulse variations, and how to progress in difficulty. I've been doing 3 sets of pike pulses on my recovery days, as well as after my Easy Muscle calisthenics days.

Easy Muscle: Week 7

Not much to report, other than showing up to do the workouts.

Easy Muscle: Week 6

The Monday calisthenics session prescribed a number of reps per set that was pretty much my rep max in both movements at the start of this Easy Msucle training block. I managed to do 3 sets of each exercise. While doing the 4th set of pullups, I had to stop 2 reps short, rest for a bit, then do the final 2 reps. I also had to pause while doing the 4th set of dips. After the calisthenics session, I once again did a mini circuit of hand-elevated tuck planche and ring-assisted pistol squats. Hand-elevated tuck planche is shown here by Simonster:

Simonster's video inspired me to try the hand-elevated tuck planche and assess where I am in the progression towards the tuck planche. I can get my knees level with my hands. However, I decided to play it safe with my shoulders and stop practicing it. My shoulders have not manifested ill effects from doing it so far, but I will wait until I've gotten strong enough to press the 32kg kettlebell overhead before thinking about trying it again.

The Wednesday kettlebell session went fine. The 24kg kettlebell began to feel lighter as the session went on, which was interesting.

The Friday calisthenics session prescribed a lower number of reps, so I was able to do more sets, and thus a higher total number of reps, compared to the Monday session. I managed to do 7 sets.

Easy Muscle: Week 5

The Monday kettlebell session went fine.

The calisthenics session also went fine. At the end of the session, I got into the top position of a dip on the rings, then attempted to get as close as possible to tuck planche by contracting my abs and pulling up my hips and knees, and held the position for as many seconds as I could. Simonster in this video advises to start working on tuck planche with hands elevated - as they would be at the top of a dip - instead of with the hands on the floor. That's where I got the idea. I then practiced ring-assisted pistol squats. My real leg workout in this Easy Muscle training block is the KB goblet squat, so in this case I only did a couple of reps per leg. I then did another little circuit of regressed tuck planche hold and assisted pistol squats.

The Friday kettlebell session was a bit more challenging than the Monday session, because I had to do 4 reps per set. Each 4-rep set in this session drained more of my energy compared to the Monday session. I managed 3 sets in the prescribed time period. For the goblet squat portion of the workout I managed to complete all sets without letting the kettlebell flop over.

Easy Muscle: Week 4

This week called for pushing oneself a little harder than normal. It basically amounts to taking shorter than usual breaks between sets.
The calisthenics workout scheduled for Monday presented a bit of a dilemma. 6 reps per set were prescribed. Last time I attempted 6 reps per set, I was able to complete all 6 reps for first couple of sets. For the remainder of that workout, I could not complete each set without taking breaks. But per the guidelines I had to push myself for this week. I think I found a reasonable balance in the Monday workout - not resting too long and at the same time doing the 6-rep sets without stopping during the set.

The clean-and-push press workout was relatively easier. I aimed to do at least 10 total reps per arm and I achieved that. I stopped counting reps after that as I wanted to focus on good quality execution during the prescribed workout time instead of chasing reps. I think I did 13 per arm. The squat workout mostly went fine, although my hands tired enough to allow the kettlebell to flop over on one of the later sets. One thing I changed was setting up my feet wider apart, about where the feet would be if I were doing a double kettlebell front squat. I haven't been squatting with the feet this far apart for a while. I figured I'll eventually progress back to double KB front squat so might as well ge used to the foot placement since double KBs require more space between the feet for the double KB clean to set up for the squat, and then the reverse clean to park the KBs on the floor.

The Friday calisthenics workout called for 4 reps a set. I pushed for as much volume as possible, and even raised the training time an extra 5 min. I was able to do 8 sets of pullups and dips. This should help prep me for doing more sets of 6-rep sets.

Red Delta Project on lower back isolation exercise

I just watched this video posted by Matt (Red Delta Project) on his channel a few months ago.

Matt contends that the lower back is more like a joint, so saying "work the lower back" is like saying "work the knees". Just as "feeling the knees working" is a sign that something is wrong with your knees (joints), "feeling the lower back working" is not a good sign either. Matt does teach exercises that target the posterior chain, which includes the lower back, but at the same time, he also teaches that you should engage your lats, glutes, and hamstrings - so that force travels through the lower back instead of being concentrated on the lower back.

One question that often comes up is What calisthenics exercise is an alternative or replacement for the barbell deadlift?. Matt does not mention it in the video but I think the majority of the people who asked Matt about lower back isolation exercises were thinking about the barbell deadlift. The barbell deadlift is believed by quite a few people to be a lower back exercise. The muscles that actually do the heavy work in the deadlift are the glutes and the legs, with emphasis on the hamstrings although other leg muscles such as the quadriceps also contribute. What we think of as lower back muscles are the spinal erectors and transverspinalis groups - both muscle groups just work to stabilize the spine when the deadlift is done in proper form. If you mess up and try to use the spinal erectors and/or transverspinalis to lift the barbell, you'll probably injure your back - I unfortunately learned this from direct experience.

There was a time that I too wondered what calisthenics exercises might be good substitutes for the barbell deadlift. This was when I still believed in the deadlift as the best low back exercise ever invented by humankind. However I eventually realized that the deadlift is really a good dynamic exercise only for the leg and glutes - because if you attempt to use it as a dynamic exercise for your low back, you could very well destroy your lower back instantly. The deadlift is at best a decent isometric (static) exercise for the low back. Some people have a good reason to practice the deadlift. If you care more about "lower back strength" than, say, achieving a double or triple bodyweight deadlift, you probably don't need to practice the barbell deadlift

The Red Delta Project channel and other Youtube channels like Knees Over Toes Guy have videos teaching posterior chain or "lower back" exercises. But if you pay close attention, most of those exercises do not involve dynamic movement of the lower back itself, but instead have you keep the back fairly straight and have other muscles - typically the hamstrings, glutes, hips, and/or lats - do the dynamic work.

One dynamic exercise for the lower back that seems to be in fashion at the moment is the Jefferson Curl - however just about all the coaches that advocate that this exercise advise training with light weight - this is not an exercise in which you should be working towards a double bodyweight lift! In fact, just about all the advocates say you should start with no external load at all. Another dynamic exercise that has always been in fashion are side bending exercises such as the one advocated by Knees Over Toes Guy. Knees Over Toes Guy posted their latest lower back exercise video here, including the side bending:

Easy Muscle: Week 3

I was able to do 5-rep sets of the calisthenic exercises without pausing before the last or 2nd to last rep. This is an improvement over the previous week.

I also noticed improvement in performance of the kettlebell exercises. Still a little slop here and there, but noticeable improvement over the previous week.

Easy Muscle: Week 2

The first calisthenics day prescribed a number of reps that was very close to my 8 rep max for both pullups and ring dips. I managed to do all the reps for 3 sets for each exercise. For the last couple of sets, I was able to do 4-5 reps, then I had to pause before attempting another rep. I tried to do one more set per exercise when the timer rang, and managed to do 4 reps. I could feel that was it for the day for both exercises.

The kettlebell day prescribed clean-and-push press singles. I thought I might be able to just do singles left and right, over and over without break, for the prescribed number of minutes, but I did end up needing some rest between singles. The prescribed reps per set for squats seemed daunting for bottoms up goblet squat, but my hands were able to hold up, though the very last set required noticeable effort to keep the KB from flopping over. I tried to think of keeping my weight under the KB, which helped.

The 2nd calisthenics day prescribed 4 reps per set of pullups/dips, which was easier for me compared to the first day. I think I managed 5 sets of each exercise within the prescribed period. I didn't keep count because the idea is to do as many sets within the time period as allowed by autoregulation guidelines, rather than to go for a specific number of sets

I started doing these exercises again with the Flexbar because of intermittent elbow pain, which is sometimes manifested during guitar playing or working with the 24kg kettlebell. I'm not sure if the cause was overuse from too much guitar playing or practicing isometric drag curls with the IsoMax.