[douglis]

Hi all,

It 's been almost two years(April 2007) since i discovered VRT and i'd like to make a review to all the routines and experiments i did.Not that i believe i have done something great that is worth written but i want to remember anytime the results each routine gave me and also to answer to same mails i received.Also i think it's the right time to start a training log since i want to experiment on something new.
First of all my stats:i'm 6'3" and two years ago i was 202 lbs with 16%BF.Now i'm 220lbs with 11%BF.

This was my routine for my first VRT year(April 2007-Feb 2008):
Day 1:wide grip pullups 1-2 sets of 10-12 reps
Day 2:bench press 1-2 sets of 10-12 reps
Day 3:squats 1-2 sets of 10-12 reps
All exercises(VRT style of course) done positive only with maximum tension.I know it's a minimalist approach but if i applied max tension i didn't feel the need and couldn't do more.On day 4 i started the cycle again.

From March 2008 to August 2008 i changed the things a little:
Day 1:bent over rows and triceps push downs each from 3 sets of 10-12 reps
Day 2:military press and stiff legged dead lifts each from 3 sets of 10-12 reps
Day 3:squats 3 sets of 10-12 reps
Day 4:chest flies 3 sets of 10-12 reps

From September 2008 to November 2008:
Day 1:wide grip pullups,bent over rows and triceps push downs each from 3 sets of 10-12 reps
Day 2:chest flies and stiff legged dead lifts each from 3 sets of 10-12 reps,pushups with DVR tension 2 sets to failure
Day 3:leg presses iso power flexes
I had to give up squats because of terrible knee pain.

From December 2008 to January 2009:
Day 1:wide grip pullups and stiff legged dead lifts iso power flexes
Day 2:chest flies iso power flexes and DVR pushups
Day 3:leg presses iso power flexes
My iso power flexes are one set of 10-12 six seconds maximum isometric contractions at various angles of ROM.

From February 2009 to yesterday:
Day 1:wide grip pullups and triceps push downs each from 2 sets of 20reps(the first) and 15 reps(the second)
Day 2:chest flies from 2 sets of 20reps(the first) and 15 reps(the second)
Day 3:leg presses iso power flexes

If i remember well this is what i've done the last two years.Now i want to try a new routine because,after all,experimentation is what i enjoy most.

[douglis]

Yesterday was the first day of my new experiment which is pre-exhaustion VRT supersets.
I did 3 supersets of chest crossovers/chest flies.
Each superset consists 6 reps from the first exercises followed immediately from 6 reps of the second.
I take 30 secs rest between supersets.The burning sensation and the pump is incredible.I consider it a perfect workout for both chest and delts(antagonist muscle).

Today is my leg day and i did my usual leg presses iso power flexes.My bad knees don't give me chance for experiments for my leg training.

Tomorrow i'll do my back pre-exhaustion VRT supersets and i'll explain better the how's and why's of this method.

[douglis]

I just completed my back,deltoids(antagonists) and arms workout.
3 supersets of wide grip pullups/bent over rows.
Each superset was 6 max tension reps(positive only) of the first exercise followed immediately by 6 reps of the second.30 secs rest between supersets.Very good pump and i'm sure my delts tomorrow will be sore.
3 sets of 10 reps triceps push downs.

With VRT supersets and VRT in general i rarely do and i don't suggest any direct shoulder workout.Deltoids are the antagonists muscles at both the chest and back workouts so they get a pretty tough workout already.Also delts are not a very big muscle group and any additional direct training i think it will lead to overtraining.
For more details of pre-exhaustion VRT supersets you can take a look at the related thread at Greg's place.

[douglis]

Today my shoulders are sore and i'll take a rest.Delts contract eccentrically(as antagonists muscles) in back and chest workouts so DOMS are very common the next day.
I'd like to say a few words about the rest between sets.I try to keep rest as short as possible (less than 30 sec) because this way i believe i get better hormonal response from the exercises and also get a cardio effect at the same time.In simple words with short rest the exercises become much more intense.If someone's goal though is strength i'd suggest longer rest.
This way my workouts rarely last more than 10 min.But even if i wanted i don't think i could train more with max tension.In fact i believe that anyone who trains more than 15 min he doesn't train hard enough.

[douglis]

I just completed my chest/shoulders and leg workout.
For the chest/shoulders i did my 3 supersets of VRT chest crossovers/VRT chest flies.
6 reps of the first followed immediately by 6 reps of the second.I only take five deep breaths(~30sec) between supersets.
It felt much better than the last time.That's something very common with VRT.The eccentric contraction of the antagonists muscles(the resistance in simple terms) gets stronger very fast and the exercise "feels" better workout by workout.That's why some say that you have to "believe" in VRT in order to make it work.I prefer to understand the mechanism rather than believe in anything but whatever works for everyone is fine.
For my legs i did my usual leg presses iso power flexes.I really miss my VRT squats.My goal is to reach 230lbs till summer but without VRT squats and VRT deadlifts i think is very hard.

[douglis]

Today i'll take a rest to get ready for tomorrow's back/delts routine.
A few words for VRT exercise selection.I post them here and not at Greg's place because i don't want to tire viewers with so many details.
When we select exercises we must choose those that cause the best anabolic response and are more productive for us.This depends on the number of muscles each exercise engages and the degree of activation of those muscles.With VRT the most exercises engage many muscle groups(agonosts+antagonists) so the key element is to find the exercises that cause the highest degree of activation.
For example VRT wide grip pullups and VRT shoulder press(positive only of course) engage exactly the same muscle groups but the first activates both the back and the shoulders at a very high degree while in the second only the shoulders contract maximally.
The same for VRT chest crossovers and VRT side leterals.The first activates chest and side delts very good while the second only the side delts.
Generally the rule for exercise selection must be the big muscle groups to contract positve as agonists and the small to contract negative as antagonists.This way both agonists and antagonists contract at maximum degree with all the related anabolic benefits.
It's not wrong if you don't follow that rule but i think it makes the workouts more productive.

[douglis]

Today i did:

3 wide grip pullups/bent over rows supersets (6+6 reps with 30 sec rest between supersets).
Felt nice.The braking force of the delts gets stronger workout by workout.

2 sets of 12 reps triceps pushdowns.

A few words for the one directional-bi directional debate.
For me one directional or positive only is clearly superior.Since VRT works muscle groups in pairs going bi-directional fatigues the smaller muscle first leaving the bigger unexercised.
To take things one step further i believe that we only have to go positive only for the big muscle groups and leave the braking force do the job for the small ones.

[douglis]

Today was my legs workout:

1 set VRT terminal knee extensions(TKE).Reps till muscle burning.

2 sets VRT leg presses (in pain free zone only) till muscle burning.

I found that is better for leg exercises not to count reps but to keep doing them till the muscle burning sensation.Maybe i'll try that for the upper body too.

The last 4 years i've been giving a battle with knee pain and VRT has helped me a lot.With VRT TKE for the vastus medialis and VRT straight leg raises for my hip flexors(iliopsoas) i managed to reduce the pain to a high degree but still VRT squats hurt and i had to stop doing them.But VRT leg presses either as isos or with movement in pain free zone can offer a pretty good alternative.Prior it's wise to do VRT TKE to get blood flowing in the knee area.

[douglis]

Today i did:
3 supersets VRT chest crossovers/VRT chest flies (6+6 reps)

There's something i don't like at my current workout.I think it's too taxing for the CNS and leaves me exhausted after training.I think i'll return to a more simplistic approach.I'll choose 4-5 exercises that hit the whole body (something like my big 3 of VRT) and i'll do them in brief and intense split routine.Instead of counting on supersets to elevate intensity i'll try to make every rep count by applying maximum effort rep after rep.
In other words back to basics!!!

[douglis]

I returned to a more simple routine and today i did:

VRT pec dec 2X10

DVR push-ups 1 set to failure

I started doing DVR push-ups again.I believe that is by far the most effective way to perform push-ups.In fact are so effective that my chest grew overproportionally and i had to replace them with VRT flies for my chest workout so my middle back and rear delts catch the progress.