FORUMS > Strength Training Forum Rules

Welcome to the official support forum for the new RealJock.com Strength Foundation 12-Week workout program from Diakadi Body co-founder Billy Polson. This forum will be linked from the Complete Strength workouts, which launch January 1.

Use this forum for any questions, as well as for support and encouragement from other members.

Good luck!
Team RealJock

Just starting this today...

How did the side pillar hip lifts go?

lift_n_run saidHow did the side pillar hip lifts go?

God! A lot harder than I thought they'd be. And I smashed my finger. Great way to start a work out

Day 4 tomorrow! My legs feel things they haven't felt in a long time!

Started the workout this week. Day 4.

Started trying out the sneak preview exercises over Christmas vaca. A couple of the frat boys were lookin at me funny...not unusual since I'm often doing something atypical at the gym...and then I noticed they were attempting them later in their workout. HA!

Lovin the new workout, Billy! Felt it on the bike ride yesterday. Bring it on!
GRRRR

the website is making threads!!!

I am getting bored with what I am doing. So I have to print the stuff out and then I am going to try this.

Day Two done! The knee tucks were a bitch. Damn ball rolling everywhere. But over all, it's awesome so far!

Simply_Drew saidDay Two done! The knee tucks were a bitch. Damn ball rolling everywhere. But over all, it's awesome so far!

Cool I start on Monday...

I really like that this starts off slow so that I can work on rebuilding my base strength (something I need to do). Started it yesterday, and really liked how basic and beginner the exercises were. I'm looking forward to continuing with it.

I'm on week two! I'm really enjoying it. Its harder than I though it would be!

I just started day 1 today! I'm excited for the rest of the week.... and the 11 to follow!

I'm really liking this workout...needed the change. My main problem is getting time to do this 6x's a week as prescribed. Can the cardio be combined with the lifting days?

BorntobeMild saidI'm really liking this workout...needed the change. My main problem is getting time to do this 6x's a week as prescribed. Can the cardio be combined with the lifting days?

I really don't have much of a choice, as I ride my bike everywhere. I wouldn't recommend it because it is kinda heavy on the legs.

Yup I am on board with it. I am such a "perfect form" geek....I add the videos to my utube account each day so I can look at it while I workout at the gym.

I thought it was a bold move to make dead lifts the very first exercise. LOL.
God I hate them.

I just started this week. I love deadlifts actually, I feel like I get a lot out of them. I think I'm only going to do one cardio day a week though. Anybody know of an exercise that I can do besides stability ball pushups? I cant be hurting my wrists like that.

MusicMan87 saidI just started this week. I love deadlifts actually, I feel like I get a lot out of them. I think I'm only going to do one cardio day a week though. Anybody know of an exercise that I can do besides stability ball pushups? I cant be hurting my wrists like that.

I would think push ups feet on the ground, palms on a padded flat bench should do the trick.

So unless I am looking at this wrong....each week it is basically the 2 different days of the same exercises...done twice each week.

The exercises don;t really change although the tempo, intensity and number of reps/sets might .....am I correct?

SilverFox1, yes, it seems that's true. I'm finishing up week 3 now, and looking at week 4... and the exercises are the same.

Mind you, they are great, original exercises and I'm certain I'll keep doing them long after the workout program's done, but I do wonder if we could all collectively* come up with a couple of "variants"... it hasn't gotten completely monotonous for me yet, but I fear it will in 2 or 3 weeks, which is exactly when I need the most motivation to follow through with all 12 weeks.


Thoughts?






*or the many professional trainers we have on this site (including the creators of this program) could pitch in too!

BrainyBrainyBrainy saidSilverFox1, yes, it seems that's true. I'm finishing up week 3 now, and looking at week 4... and the exercises are the same.

Ok Brainy.....I am so happy to see your post. I mean, I thought perhaps I wasn't drinking the same Kool-aid as the rest of y'all. I am in agreement.....variety is the spice of life- I am all for a change up or minor tinkering.

Yesterday, I had my earphones on at the gym but I could have sworn I witnessed one guy walking by me mouthing to another---- "There he goes again with that damn WOOD CHOP exercise".

the exercises change once you get past week 6. Hopefully you won't get too bored before that

Hey Guys-

First up it is great to see so many of you guys going strong with this workout. It should hit your body in new ways and help you break through plateaus and see some great results after 12 weeks.

I wanted to take a quick second and address some of the questions/comments you guys have had to see if I can help. I do recommend reading through the program overview, as well as the individual links to write ups on the SETS, REST, TEMPO, etc. These all have some great insight into why the program is designed the way it is.


DEAD LIFTS FIRST

One of you guys mentioned it was a brave move with the Dead Lifts right off the bat. You are right, but it is definitely for a reason. The logic on my programming is to always do the most compound and difficult exercises first in the workout and then as the workout goes by slowly move to more isolated movements. This way you have full muscle strength available and you have not worn out your body (especially your core) when doing the most difficult exercises. Dead Lifts not only require legs and back work but also some of the most intense core work in order to complete the move properly and safely. As you guys design your own workouts, I recommend you keep this same rule in mind, compound/complicated (ie. dead rows) before simple and isolated (ie. pullups).


CARDIO AND STRENGTH ON SEPARATE DAYS

One of you mentioned the question of doing your cardio and strength on the same day. In order to gain the full hormonal benefits of your strength workout (HGH and testosterone) I always recommend doing your cardio in a separate workout from your strength program. If you combine the 2, then at the end of the hour, hormonally your body will be in more of a catabolic state as opposed to an anabolic state after just strength work. It is fine to do cardio during one workout and then strength during a second workout 4+ hours later. But separate days is ideal. If you are going for strength, body fat reduction, and lean muscle mass but you are having trouble with making 6 days a week, I would eliminate the cardio days and have perfect food over reducing the strength days.


STABILITY BALL PUSHUPS - HANDS ON SIDES OF BALL

Often when guys do SB pushups they place their hands high up on top of the ball and this causes intense flexion in the wrists and often pain. Ideal form with this movement actually places your hands nearly half way down the ball on each side so that your palms are facing in towards one another and you are squeezing the ball with palms and finger tips to contract your chest even more fully. In this position your wrists actually have far less flexion and in fact should be more comfortable than even a floor or bench pushup. Check out the video one more time and give it a try. It is definitely a tough move for stability (place the ball next to a machine or wall if it helps), but your wrists should be fine if your form is correct. Even my clients with fragile wrists prefer this pushup over floor ones. Good luck and let me know if you continue to have trouble.


REPETITIVE - WHY NOT MORE VARIETY?

Guys, this hands down is one of the big questions I tried to address in this program. There are a LOT of trainers out there that still look at their job as keeping clients from getting bored during their workouts. However, our goal for you guys is to bring you and your body efficient results and muscle production. In this program we train your body into a state where it is given a stimulus repeatedly over 6 weeks (with periodization changes in sets) until it has to react to it and add muscle and strength. TRUST ME, I used to be right there with you expecting workouts to be non-repetitive and more entertaining. But ever since I began using this more logical/analytical programming method with my clients (AND myself) we are getting results (strength, hypertrophy, function improvement) FAR greater than before. When a workout is changed too frequently, your body is in a constant state of confusion and does not understand what you are asking it to do. By following this program, (1) your body will have ample time to learn ALL the movements correctly and (2) you should use increases in intensity (ie. weight lifted) and weekly changes in sets to push your muscles in these movements to grow and change. If this is a new idea for you, I 100% recommend following through with the 6 week repetition and weekly set changes to see what progress you make. Then at week 7, you will be given 2 days of new exercises that progress what we have done in weeks 1-6 to push your body a bit further for the final 6 weeks. Start thinking of your exercises as a logical training method and less of an hour of entertainment for you and you will start to see the results you are working for. PLEASE feel free to ask me further questions on this if you have them. And again I recommend reading the following links for more details on why we designed the program as we have. Best of luck you guys!!!

PROGRAM OVERVIEW
http://www.realjock.com/workout/1826

FAQ FOR THE PROGRAM
http://www.realjock.com/workout/1827

SETS
http://www.realjock.com/article/1836

TEMPO
http://www.realjock.com/article/1813

INTENSITY
http://www.realjock.com/article/1812

REST
http://www.realjock.com/article/1835

thanks billy, very helpful

Really helpful stuff, Billy, muchas gracias.

It makes perfect sense what you said about really taking time to learn the movements, and instead of changing exercises, changing speed, tempo, weights, etc. I noticed that during in these three weeks and was surprised at how much those "little" changes did to challenge my body. I'm glad that week 6 will bring a new set of exercises because, like I said, I feared not being able to stick to the program for 12 whole weeks otherwise.

thanks again!