Had a good last week of workouts. Good, not great. After the 315 x 13 I was feeling really optimistic and strong, but this last week was a little more humbling. That's not to say I didn't do well - I just didn't smash a bunch of PR's. But that's okay. I need to remember that focusing on building strength - moderate weight, moderate rep ranges, lots of volume - has made me the strongest I've been in a very long time. Strongest I've ever been? Not yet, not across the board. But I'm only just finishing my first cycle. In a couple more cycles, I'll be breaking Pr's without even trying. And that should be the goal, not constantly testing myself and never really improving.
Anyway, last thursday hit 295 x 5 front squat, which is only 20 lbs off my best 5 ever, but it was a tough 5, not a joke. I was hoping it would move nicer than it did.
Friday was the day after a celebratory night with friends, so I took it real easy and hit 185 for some sets of 12, mostly with a close grip. that was really about it for that workout.
Sunday I squatted. I felt surprisingly good after a long and busy weekend, but I suspect I ACTUALLY felt bad - but my strength has improved so much that bad feels good. Anyway, worked up to 365 and hit it for the maximum allowable reps, 4. It moved really nice, but the final rep was definitely tough. Again, my PR at that weight is 8 so I was hoping 4 would feel like a damn joke, but it didn't. Still, that doesn't mean what I'm doing isn't working. 365 x 4 is still one of the best sets I've ever had at that weight.
Monday I benched. I decided to take the weight up to 225. I'm getting sick of moving 185 for tons of reps, and I've already moved it for a set of 20 so I feel okay making the jump to 225. The workout went really well, I hit 225 for a touch n go set of 7 - unfortunately failed the 8th rep. But that ties my PR. Then, I hit it for 4 more sets of 6, pausing the final rep of each set. So that was definitely more volume than I've ever hit at 225. So what I was doing at 185 clearly worked - now my challenge is to find a way to mimic that style of training, with a weight I can't throw around as easily. I want to start incorporating variations in grip width, range of motion, and keeping my feet up ASAP, but I'm not sure how well I will be able to handle those things at this weight. I'm thinking I might start playing around with variations, using sets of 5 - 6's moved really well so hopefully 5's will be manageable, even with variations. I'm nervous to be changing what I'm doing, but ultimately hopeful. Bench is feeling good.
Tuesday I did a bunch of sets of 20 pushups, feet way elevated. I want to keep incorporating lots of pushups, but I want to stat using more challenging variations so I can increase force production and build more muscle with less reps - the reps were starting to get a little ridiculous.
Finally, today I front squatted 335 for a tough single, then did a bunch of powercleans, up to 225 for a handful of reps. Again, I wish 335 was a joke but it wasn't. Still, that's the best front squat I have hit in a long long time, AND my wednesdays are really hard so I suspect that has a significant impact on my lifting this day. The powercleans at 225 were pretty cool though. I don't know exactly how much they will help my deadlift, but I know that speed work always does my deadlift good, so I feel like incorporating more powercleans could be useful. Also, I just think it's generally badass to be able to throw around 225 on a whim. I'd love to be able to do that with 315.
Last thought of the day: I really need to be working more on my upper back. It's probably a big part of the reason front squat feels bad and it'll help my bench too. For a while there I was doing back first every single upper body day, but then I got caught up benching. It's time to re-commit to the back work. That means starting every bench day with back - even if the bench workout suffers, it doesn't REALLY suffer. Performing worse in any one workout doesn't mean I'm not building strength. Also, I may want to start doing more back - heavy variations for deadlift as well - snatch deads come to mind, I used to use those a lot when I was stronger than I am now. Anyway, more back. Lets keep at it
Thursday, February 19, 2015
Monday, February 9, 2015
Squat Gainz: 315 x 13
Had a good couple workouts since my last post. Right now, I'm feeling absolutely demolished, so I think I need to take the next couple days off and rest up. But overall I'm doing really well.
Saturday I probably should have rested, but I got into benching with some friends. I focused mainly on doing some close pushups and biceps work, but I also hit some bench - I took my first real crack at 225 in a long time, and it moved REAL nicely. I hit it for 2 very solid (I hesitate to say easy, so I'll stick with solid) sets of 5. That is indicative of serious gains, especially considering that I had just hit a ton of reps at 185 the day before.
Sunday, I crushed a squat workout. I was supposed to work in the 4-6 rep range, and the plan was to go up to 315 for the first time in a long time. I figured I would belt up, hit it for a set of 4 at the very least, and if I was feeling good hit it for a few sets, or a few sets of 6 before dropping back. Well, The first set moved like a joke and I hit 6, second set same deal. So I got my buddy to film me on set 3 and just kept squatting. Ended up hitting an easy 13 reps, which is an all time PR. I could barely believe it - I have been squatting with extremely moderate weights, not pushing myself very hard, and just focusing on lots of volume at moderate weights, with back off sets where I changed stance width, paused reps, etc. I didn't expect to hit a PR at all, but clearly what I'm doing has been working really well. So, I need to keep doing what I'm doing - moderation. Moderate weights, don't push too hard, but hit a lot of volume and a lot of squat variations, maintaining speed and athleticism. My only criticism of the video is that I'm not going as deep as I would like - I think all the reps are to parallel, but I prefer depth to be unquestionable. So I'm going to try and sink the reps a little more in the future. Still, that set of 13 was cake, I definitely left some in the tank. I am getting much stronger.
Finally, today I hit about 8 sets of 30 pushups, all different variations. Pushups are what got my bench moving, so I am going to continue to devote a lot of training time and energy to pushup variations. I feel like they are building strength, size, pressing power, and athleticism in all different positions. Also hit some rear delt flyes and biceps. Overall, however, I felt awful today. No motivation, sore, exhausted. Still, made it through the workout. So, time to rest up a bit and feel better.
What I'm doing is working very well. Lets keep the focus and not lose sight of what is working. And, lets keep at it.
Saturday I probably should have rested, but I got into benching with some friends. I focused mainly on doing some close pushups and biceps work, but I also hit some bench - I took my first real crack at 225 in a long time, and it moved REAL nicely. I hit it for 2 very solid (I hesitate to say easy, so I'll stick with solid) sets of 5. That is indicative of serious gains, especially considering that I had just hit a ton of reps at 185 the day before.
Sunday, I crushed a squat workout. I was supposed to work in the 4-6 rep range, and the plan was to go up to 315 for the first time in a long time. I figured I would belt up, hit it for a set of 4 at the very least, and if I was feeling good hit it for a few sets, or a few sets of 6 before dropping back. Well, The first set moved like a joke and I hit 6, second set same deal. So I got my buddy to film me on set 3 and just kept squatting. Ended up hitting an easy 13 reps, which is an all time PR. I could barely believe it - I have been squatting with extremely moderate weights, not pushing myself very hard, and just focusing on lots of volume at moderate weights, with back off sets where I changed stance width, paused reps, etc. I didn't expect to hit a PR at all, but clearly what I'm doing has been working really well. So, I need to keep doing what I'm doing - moderation. Moderate weights, don't push too hard, but hit a lot of volume and a lot of squat variations, maintaining speed and athleticism. My only criticism of the video is that I'm not going as deep as I would like - I think all the reps are to parallel, but I prefer depth to be unquestionable. So I'm going to try and sink the reps a little more in the future. Still, that set of 13 was cake, I definitely left some in the tank. I am getting much stronger.
Finally, today I hit about 8 sets of 30 pushups, all different variations. Pushups are what got my bench moving, so I am going to continue to devote a lot of training time and energy to pushup variations. I feel like they are building strength, size, pressing power, and athleticism in all different positions. Also hit some rear delt flyes and biceps. Overall, however, I felt awful today. No motivation, sore, exhausted. Still, made it through the workout. So, time to rest up a bit and feel better.
What I'm doing is working very well. Lets keep the focus and not lose sight of what is working. And, lets keep at it.
Friday, February 6, 2015
Bench 185 x 20
It's been a good week of training. Very cold out in the garage, but I'm surviving. Yesterday, I hit front squats. I tackled 275 beltless again yesterday, did a pyramid up from one to 4 reps, tried to hit a final set of 5 but I could only manage 4. Which was a little annoying, but at the same time it was significantly more volume at 275 than last week, when I only hit one set of 4. I think it's time to start belting up again. I need my legs to be growing, and the belt just allows me to use so much more weight. I'm still going to be careful to keep the load reasonable though, to work on athleticism and building, not just testing strength. Also, I hit some deadlift assistance at 225 - just trying to work the middle of the movement a lot, with half-and-half deadlifts, still leg deads, and 2 deadlifts with a 10-second pause off the ground.
Today was bench day, and I tentatively decided to do another rep-out at 185. My short term goal these last few weeks has been to hit 185 for 20-25 reps, then work my way up to 225 and try and start throwing that around for reps. I was tentative about repping out 185 because I have been doing a good job of keeping my focus on building the lift, through rep work, bench variations, pushups, bodybuilding work for biceps and back, etc. So, I worry about testing my bench cause I don't want to get into the habit of getting all worked up and focused on testing strength, when it is clearly increasing. However, on the other hand I don't want testing my strength to become this big bad taboo and scary thing, so I just went for it. Ended up hitting a set of 20. Here's the weird thing: I failed rep 17 because I was trying to maintain touch n go, and I think that my triceps are just too weak for that. They tire out too quickly for me to sustain touch n go. However, after failing 17 I switched to paused reps, taking a few seconds to rest at the bottom, and managed another 4 reps. So I hit the big Two-Oh, which is a 3 rep PR. However, I feel kind of annoyed by the failure. It makes me feel like I'm sneaking out those last few reps, like I haven;t actually gotten stronger, I just figured out a gimmick that allows me to sneak out more reps. Obviously that's pretty stupid, but we are always hyper critical of ourselves.
Next, I hit 5 x 10 floor press at 185, to target my triceps more specifically. I decided to do this after noticing that floor press was a real weakness of mine - a few weeks ago I hit floor press at 185 and a set of 6 was challenging. Since then, I've hit it a few times, and today I was able to do my 5 x 10, even after that set of 20. So that is some clear improvement. I still think I need to be really focusing a little more on my triceps, they seem to be the weak link. I'm going to try and do more close-grip variations when I bench and do pushups, and maybe even add in a little specific tricep work. Hopefully in another few weeks I can hit that 185 for 22-23 reps, and then I think it would be time to work my way up to 225 and make that my new working weight.
Speaking of 225, I did something stupid today. After the 70 reps at 185, I put 225 on the bar and took a swing at it. I benched it for a regular single, a feet-up touch n go single, and a feet up paused single. The first rep moved nice, but the others were a little slow and tough, and that really ground my gears. That, combined with the failure on rep 17, makes me feel like what I'm doing isn't working. Which is completely stupid. Of course 225 didn't move great. First of all, I haven't handed that weight in a long time. I need to be prepared that, even though I'm getting much stronger with what I'm doing, I'll still need to adjust when I switch to heavier weights. The movement will feel a little different for sure, the weight will feel heavy. However, after a few workouts with the new weight it will start to feel comfortable again and I can start to treat it with the same confidence and control with which I have come to treat 185. Secondly, I hit 225 AFTER 70 reps at 185, 50 of which were specifically targeting my triceps. Of course 225 didn't move like a dream. But it is going to feel significantly different once I am fresh and taking a crack at it.
So, I think I'm gonna try and take a little bit of distance from benching. Put some focus on pushups, triceps and biceps for a couple workouts, try and get those arms growing and get my speed and athleticism up. I'll hit another couple bench workouts at 185, try and take it up from sets of 10 to sets of 12 to increase the difficulty and practice dat stamina, and I'm gonna focus on close grip or tricep-dominant variations. Then, I'll bang out another PR set of 23 or so before February is over, and start working my way up to 225. Lets keep at it folks.
Today was bench day, and I tentatively decided to do another rep-out at 185. My short term goal these last few weeks has been to hit 185 for 20-25 reps, then work my way up to 225 and try and start throwing that around for reps. I was tentative about repping out 185 because I have been doing a good job of keeping my focus on building the lift, through rep work, bench variations, pushups, bodybuilding work for biceps and back, etc. So, I worry about testing my bench cause I don't want to get into the habit of getting all worked up and focused on testing strength, when it is clearly increasing. However, on the other hand I don't want testing my strength to become this big bad taboo and scary thing, so I just went for it. Ended up hitting a set of 20. Here's the weird thing: I failed rep 17 because I was trying to maintain touch n go, and I think that my triceps are just too weak for that. They tire out too quickly for me to sustain touch n go. However, after failing 17 I switched to paused reps, taking a few seconds to rest at the bottom, and managed another 4 reps. So I hit the big Two-Oh, which is a 3 rep PR. However, I feel kind of annoyed by the failure. It makes me feel like I'm sneaking out those last few reps, like I haven;t actually gotten stronger, I just figured out a gimmick that allows me to sneak out more reps. Obviously that's pretty stupid, but we are always hyper critical of ourselves.
Next, I hit 5 x 10 floor press at 185, to target my triceps more specifically. I decided to do this after noticing that floor press was a real weakness of mine - a few weeks ago I hit floor press at 185 and a set of 6 was challenging. Since then, I've hit it a few times, and today I was able to do my 5 x 10, even after that set of 20. So that is some clear improvement. I still think I need to be really focusing a little more on my triceps, they seem to be the weak link. I'm going to try and do more close-grip variations when I bench and do pushups, and maybe even add in a little specific tricep work. Hopefully in another few weeks I can hit that 185 for 22-23 reps, and then I think it would be time to work my way up to 225 and make that my new working weight.
Speaking of 225, I did something stupid today. After the 70 reps at 185, I put 225 on the bar and took a swing at it. I benched it for a regular single, a feet-up touch n go single, and a feet up paused single. The first rep moved nice, but the others were a little slow and tough, and that really ground my gears. That, combined with the failure on rep 17, makes me feel like what I'm doing isn't working. Which is completely stupid. Of course 225 didn't move great. First of all, I haven't handed that weight in a long time. I need to be prepared that, even though I'm getting much stronger with what I'm doing, I'll still need to adjust when I switch to heavier weights. The movement will feel a little different for sure, the weight will feel heavy. However, after a few workouts with the new weight it will start to feel comfortable again and I can start to treat it with the same confidence and control with which I have come to treat 185. Secondly, I hit 225 AFTER 70 reps at 185, 50 of which were specifically targeting my triceps. Of course 225 didn't move like a dream. But it is going to feel significantly different once I am fresh and taking a crack at it.
So, I think I'm gonna try and take a little bit of distance from benching. Put some focus on pushups, triceps and biceps for a couple workouts, try and get those arms growing and get my speed and athleticism up. I'll hit another couple bench workouts at 185, try and take it up from sets of 10 to sets of 12 to increase the difficulty and practice dat stamina, and I'm gonna focus on close grip or tricep-dominant variations. Then, I'll bang out another PR set of 23 or so before February is over, and start working my way up to 225. Lets keep at it folks.
Monday, February 2, 2015
Honor Never Dies
"If I live, I will kill you. If I die, you are forgiven. Such is the rule of Honor"
-Lamb of God.
So, it's been over 6 months since my last post. This blog used to be one of my favorite things to do, and keeping it was one of my proudest accomplishments. I wanted to chronicle my journey, in the hopes that one day I would achieve great enough things that it would be a joy to look back at this. And, perhaps I would achieve great enough things that others would look back at it too and see my whole journey.
However, this last year provides an important lesson: life gets in the way. Life will knock you down. And my absence from this space is, in a way, an accurate summary of my journey the last year. I haven't been all here, mentally or physically. I've been dealing with injuries to my back, my knee.... And I've been dealing with issue much more difficult and limiting than physical injuries.
I was fortunate enough for the first few years of my journey to never hit a real stumbling block. I was privileged. I didn't understand how people could accept plateaus and stagnation. These experiences I've had over the past year have helped me to see the other side of the coin. But they have also taught me that doing what I do, every single day, is still a choice. A difficult one. There will be times when just hanging on for dear life is all you can ask. But I've shown myself that I can do that. I might not be through the woods yet, but for the first time in a long time I am seeing things more clearly. Great things are forged in the crucible of suffering. More suffering may be to come, but all that means is more greatness in the end.
I'm not going to return to writing here every workout, I don't think that's possible right now. But I'm going to try and begin to document my training again, even if that means just a post every week or two. I'll try to keep this blog current with big PR's, videos, news, etc.
Right now, I am in the middle of a slow build. All my lifts are feeling very strong, but I am doing a lot of work in the middle rep ranges with moderate weights. I'm trying to move everything with speed and athleticism, and just feel as comfortable and confident as possible. I have some big goals in mind for about 4 months from now - perhaps the most ambitious and important of which is to finally bench 315. Bench has been a weakness of mine for years, and I think it might be time for me to finally vanquish that weakness. Here's a video from todays high-rep session. Thanks for checking it out - I'll be around folks.
Saturday, June 21, 2014
Pullups
Nice easy back day today - hit some pullups. I've been slowly but steadily improving my ability to do strict pullups, and today I hit a set of 4 strict pullups and then a bunch of sets of 4 chinups and sets of 3 pullups. Nothing crazy, just trying to keep my back growing and my shoulders healthy. Lets keep at it.
Friday, June 20, 2014
Bench sets of 20
Good bench workout today. Keepin the grip tight, using the triceps and the lats. Starting to feel good. Everything paused.
Hit a couple warmup sets, then 130 x 20, 20, 135 x 20, 20. Felt strong although hard at the end. Afterwards, hit spoto press, 135 x 5, 145 x 5, 155 x 5. Did doubles of pullups and chinups between all sets.
Finished up with 3 sets of skullcrushers, some straight bar curls and isolation curls, and some front raises with a light barbell. Feeling good, strong, technique is nice, and I think I'm gonna start getting big fast if I keep up the lifting and start eating like a bawss. Lets keep at it.
Hit a couple warmup sets, then 130 x 20, 20, 135 x 20, 20. Felt strong although hard at the end. Afterwards, hit spoto press, 135 x 5, 145 x 5, 155 x 5. Did doubles of pullups and chinups between all sets.
Finished up with 3 sets of skullcrushers, some straight bar curls and isolation curls, and some front raises with a light barbell. Feeling good, strong, technique is nice, and I think I'm gonna start getting big fast if I keep up the lifting and start eating like a bawss. Lets keep at it.
The Viking Braid
It has been a rough 6 months, full of road blocks, derailments, and a number of other problems. But I am finally, finally back on a real program, eating right and trying to get as big and strong as possible again. And again, I'm back to the blog. Hopefully I will be able to be writing more consistently again. I never stopped training for these past 6 months, but now I'm back for real so hopefully I can be posting for real again.
Anyways, program I started is written by some friends of mine, nicknamed "The Viking Braid." The emphasis is on working up in waves for squat and bench press, trying to hit a hard, heavy set and then maintain the same number of reps while increasing the weight. I'm starting crazy light and with really high reps, to try and lock in form and make sure my back stays healthy and my body starts growing. For squat, I am squatting wide and low bar, trying to keep the load off my back best I can/ For bench, I have taken my grip in and I'm really trying to use my lats and triceps as much as possible - I think improving my triceps strength by a lot might be a big step in the right direction for getting my bench up.
Most recent workout was Squats yesterday - 4 sets of 20, 160, 165, 170, 175. Felt strong but difficult. Finished up with some lower back and ab work.
Gonna go hit bench now, and I'll be back to report. Need to get back in the habit of posting. Lets keep at it.
Anyways, program I started is written by some friends of mine, nicknamed "The Viking Braid." The emphasis is on working up in waves for squat and bench press, trying to hit a hard, heavy set and then maintain the same number of reps while increasing the weight. I'm starting crazy light and with really high reps, to try and lock in form and make sure my back stays healthy and my body starts growing. For squat, I am squatting wide and low bar, trying to keep the load off my back best I can/ For bench, I have taken my grip in and I'm really trying to use my lats and triceps as much as possible - I think improving my triceps strength by a lot might be a big step in the right direction for getting my bench up.
Most recent workout was Squats yesterday - 4 sets of 20, 160, 165, 170, 175. Felt strong but difficult. Finished up with some lower back and ab work.
Gonna go hit bench now, and I'll be back to report. Need to get back in the habit of posting. Lets keep at it.
Thursday, April 3, 2014
Legs
Realy good workout today, especially considering I feel like absolute shit. I hope I'm not getting crazy sick. Anyways, I give this workout
Rating: 9
Honestly, it should probably be higher considering how bad I felt. Anyways, started with hamstring curls today to try and keep the quad work more squished together. Did 5 x 20 hammy curls, quite hard with the weight at 95 for the later sets. Then, did 5 x 20 leg ext with 130 which was the perfect setup, my legs were DYING by the end. Then downstairs for some sets of leg press, ended up working up to 3 "max" sets at 5 plates with like 30 seconds rest between sets, legs were burning. Then 3 x 15 back ext to finish up. Worked hard as fuck on everything, probably would have been good to do a little more overall work but I felt like shit, so I'm really happy with the workout overall. Lets keep at it.
Rating: 9
A god among men
Honestly, it should probably be higher considering how bad I felt. Anyways, started with hamstring curls today to try and keep the quad work more squished together. Did 5 x 20 hammy curls, quite hard with the weight at 95 for the later sets. Then, did 5 x 20 leg ext with 130 which was the perfect setup, my legs were DYING by the end. Then downstairs for some sets of leg press, ended up working up to 3 "max" sets at 5 plates with like 30 seconds rest between sets, legs were burning. Then 3 x 15 back ext to finish up. Worked hard as fuck on everything, probably would have been good to do a little more overall work but I felt like shit, so I'm really happy with the workout overall. Lets keep at it.
Tuesday, April 1, 2014
SHRED (upper body)
Great day today. First and formost, I weighed in at 225 today, and I look like 225 lbs of straight SHRED. Not really haha. But I do look the leanest and best I have looked in a long time, which is saying something because I have looked so much better recently than I did at 245. I think what I'm doing is clearly starting to work well. Also, killed it in the gym today, give the workout at
Rating: 9
Really great session. Focused and fun. Hit sets of 12 for bench, then triceps, lat raises for shoulders, cable rows and curls for back + biceps, and some situps to boot. Everything in the 10-20 range, and on EVERY singe movement I was burning like crazy and ended up with a really hard set + a huge pump. My one concern is simply that I am doing SO much that maybe I'm not hitting each body part hard enough, and it might be time to start focusing more on 2-3 muscle groups instead of chest, tris, back, biceps, shoulders, every single workout. But I'm not sure yet. ALSO, I did all of that in a little under an hour, which I think is great - I think keeping the pace of the workout up is what is gonna allow me to 1) keep losing fat without adding much cardio or having to "diet" and 2) Build some serious muscle without crazy heavy weights. Keeping rest time down is allow me to really fatigue my muscles, get a huge pump, and have to really squeeze/grind out reps, even though the weights aren't crazy heavy. Anyways, great day. Lets keep at it.
Rating: 9
Really great session. Focused and fun. Hit sets of 12 for bench, then triceps, lat raises for shoulders, cable rows and curls for back + biceps, and some situps to boot. Everything in the 10-20 range, and on EVERY singe movement I was burning like crazy and ended up with a really hard set + a huge pump. My one concern is simply that I am doing SO much that maybe I'm not hitting each body part hard enough, and it might be time to start focusing more on 2-3 muscle groups instead of chest, tris, back, biceps, shoulders, every single workout. But I'm not sure yet. ALSO, I did all of that in a little under an hour, which I think is great - I think keeping the pace of the workout up is what is gonna allow me to 1) keep losing fat without adding much cardio or having to "diet" and 2) Build some serious muscle without crazy heavy weights. Keeping rest time down is allow me to really fatigue my muscles, get a huge pump, and have to really squeeze/grind out reps, even though the weights aren't crazy heavy. Anyways, great day. Lets keep at it.
Monday, March 31, 2014
Legs
Good day today. I'll give it
Rating: 8
Really quality pump workout. I had a hard time getting my head into it, and I just did NOT want to do heavy leg press today. So, instead I hammered leg extensions, and at the end of the workout, after literally hundreds of reps, I managed to sack up and do a really great, crazy drop set: 8 sets of 12 in a row. Got a nice pump, felt good. Idk how much it's gonna make my legs grow, I'm still very skeptical about that without the heavy squats. But we will see. Lets keep at it.
Rating: 8
Really quality pump workout. I had a hard time getting my head into it, and I just did NOT want to do heavy leg press today. So, instead I hammered leg extensions, and at the end of the workout, after literally hundreds of reps, I managed to sack up and do a really great, crazy drop set: 8 sets of 12 in a row. Got a nice pump, felt good. Idk how much it's gonna make my legs grow, I'm still very skeptical about that without the heavy squats. But we will see. Lets keep at it.
Friday, March 28, 2014
Upper body
Decent workout today. Head wasn't as in it as it would have been, and I was kind of tired. But I still worked hard and tried my best to stay focused and do the best I could for the day.
Rating: 7.5
Started with shoulder press, which idk how often I will do in the future... I like the idea of giving shoulders some precedence because 1) I think they used to be a real strength of mine when I was shoulder pressing a lot, and 2) they are one of the most awesome body parts to have huge. But the problem is, working shoulders first makes it harder to do any kind of pressing for chest. Anyways, hit 135 for a strong set of 10 overhead press which is pretty badass considering I haven't done anything close to that in forever. Also hit a bunch more overhead press, then some cable flies for chest because I couldn't really bench after O press - the flies really pumped my chest in an almost uncomfortable way haha. Then hit lat pulldowns, then a few sets of 21's with the curl bar, plus a couple extra sets to finish off the biceps. Then situps. Pretty solid workout, although I think it could have been better with a little more focus, intensity, and better planning. Looking forward to a fun and hopefully restful weekend. Lets keep at it.
Rating: 7.5
Started with shoulder press, which idk how often I will do in the future... I like the idea of giving shoulders some precedence because 1) I think they used to be a real strength of mine when I was shoulder pressing a lot, and 2) they are one of the most awesome body parts to have huge. But the problem is, working shoulders first makes it harder to do any kind of pressing for chest. Anyways, hit 135 for a strong set of 10 overhead press which is pretty badass considering I haven't done anything close to that in forever. Also hit a bunch more overhead press, then some cable flies for chest because I couldn't really bench after O press - the flies really pumped my chest in an almost uncomfortable way haha. Then hit lat pulldowns, then a few sets of 21's with the curl bar, plus a couple extra sets to finish off the biceps. Then situps. Pretty solid workout, although I think it could have been better with a little more focus, intensity, and better planning. Looking forward to a fun and hopefully restful weekend. Lets keep at it.
Leg work
Good workout for legs yesterday. Really worked hard and kicked my ass, and in a short time too which is always good.
Rating: 9
Really good workout. I was focused and intense. I hit 10 sets of 15 leg ext, 10 sets of 15 hammy curls, then a tabata of leg press with 2 plates per side, which was crazy hard and awesome. Then some back ext to finish up. I wish I kept the reps higher on the leg ext and hammy curl, I think 20 reps just works better on those movements. Other than that, felt like it was a really quality workout. Lets keep at it.
Rating: 9
Really good workout. I was focused and intense. I hit 10 sets of 15 leg ext, 10 sets of 15 hammy curls, then a tabata of leg press with 2 plates per side, which was crazy hard and awesome. Then some back ext to finish up. I wish I kept the reps higher on the leg ext and hammy curl, I think 20 reps just works better on those movements. Other than that, felt like it was a really quality workout. Lets keep at it.
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
Upper body madness
Great day today. Felt happy, felt strong, worked my ass off
Rating: 8.5
Really had a great workout today. Hit a ton of stuff - probably won't do quite so much EVERY upper body day, but today I just felt like going all out, so I hit bench for chest, seated dumbell press for shoulders, close grip cable rows and pullover machine for upper back and lats, curls for biceps, some pushdowns for my tri's, and then situps for abs. Worked really hard on chest, shoulders, biceps, could have pushed harder on back and triceps, but I still got a lot of quality work in AND going all out on 7+ movements is asking a lot. Overall, feeling big, strong, and happy. Think my beer gut from the last few weeks is already starting to dissipate haha. I can't wait to look the part of the animal I am. Lets keep at it.
Rating: 8.5
Really had a great workout today. Hit a ton of stuff - probably won't do quite so much EVERY upper body day, but today I just felt like going all out, so I hit bench for chest, seated dumbell press for shoulders, close grip cable rows and pullover machine for upper back and lats, curls for biceps, some pushdowns for my tri's, and then situps for abs. Worked really hard on chest, shoulders, biceps, could have pushed harder on back and triceps, but I still got a lot of quality work in AND going all out on 7+ movements is asking a lot. Overall, feeling big, strong, and happy. Think my beer gut from the last few weeks is already starting to dissipate haha. I can't wait to look the part of the animal I am. Lets keep at it.
Monday, March 24, 2014
I'M BACK
So, it has been a WILD couple months. In terms of training, I have dealt with quite a few setbacks, both mental and physical. I needed a break, for my mind and my body, and some time to create a new relationship with training. And, although I trained in one way or another through the last 8-10 weeks, it is NOW that I finally feel ready to return full force. I know now, more than ever, how and why training is a part of my life, and I am extremely excited to be back at it.
To give a quick summary of the time I have been missing - First of all, my back injury needed rest, and secondly my mind was simply not in a place to put the focus and energy into training that I needed to be putting into training. I needed to rest my body to try and make it heal, and I needed to put more time and energy into friends, family, fun, etc. Physically, the time off did not do what I hoped - I tried to come back to squatting and deadlifting after a long hiatus, and unfortunately my back immediately started bothering me again. However, mentally I am finally feeling great again - I am ready to be training my ass off again. Unfortunately, because of my back I can't train the exact way I want to (the way I always have), with heavy weights and lots of squats and deads.
SO, the new plan is simple - I'm going to avoid movements that load my lower back. This means no squats and deadlifts for a while, and only very light stuff when I do come back. HOWEVER, aside from that, I am basically just going to MURDER my body every workout, and work to get as big and aesthetic as I possibly can. I lost around 20 lbs total over the past few weeks, so I'm sitting around 225, and I think my goal over the next 8 weeks or so will probably be to try and stay at this weight, and just make myself as lean and huge as possible. That means tons of high-rep leg press, leg extension, hammy curls, air squats, back extensions, glute bridges, light squat and dead variations when I feel healthy enough. For my upper body, I can still bench, but I am also goign to try and focus more on movements I tend to neglect - more back work, more shoulders, more dumbell work. Basically: focus is not on strength and the big 3, but rather on getting an insane pump and simply KICKING MY ASS every single workout. I can use the big 3 to get there, but I need to keep my focus elsewhere.
So the goal is to basically get as big and aesthetic as possible. I want to look like a fucking cartoon character by the time I come back. For the next 8 weeks, I'm not going to set any real goals except to try and work my ass off every single workout. Then, once I graduate and settle into a new rhythm of life, I might set some more concrete size goals - Right now I have 30 inch legs and 18 inch arms in mind for starters. I also would like to set a waist goal, as I have been carrying some extra belly fat for a long while and it would be nice to increase my leg/chest/arm size and get my waist down a few inches. Kill two birds with one stone, and go from looking okay to looking awesome.
I think, since I am just getting back on the blog, I am going to keep my blogging goals simple too - I'm not gonna type up every set and rep. Rather, I think I'm gonna rate every workout out of 10, give some brief explanation, and leave it at that. Rating will be based on intensity, productivity, how I'm looking, etc. I'm so excited to be back.
SO to start: today was legs.
Rating: 8
Good workout. I worked really hard, for the first time in forever. Pre fatigued with sets of 20 leg extensions, then sets of 20 leg press, air squats, hammy curls and finally back extensions. I would have gone heavier on the leg press for more sets, and the air squats, while hard, don't seem very productive to me - I feel like I'd rather do sets of 15 with 95 or so, although I'm not sure that's a good idea yet. Definitely a very intense workout, and I'm happy with it for a first workout back. But I think it will be more productive if I push the weights a tiny bit more. Lets keep at it.
To give a quick summary of the time I have been missing - First of all, my back injury needed rest, and secondly my mind was simply not in a place to put the focus and energy into training that I needed to be putting into training. I needed to rest my body to try and make it heal, and I needed to put more time and energy into friends, family, fun, etc. Physically, the time off did not do what I hoped - I tried to come back to squatting and deadlifting after a long hiatus, and unfortunately my back immediately started bothering me again. However, mentally I am finally feeling great again - I am ready to be training my ass off again. Unfortunately, because of my back I can't train the exact way I want to (the way I always have), with heavy weights and lots of squats and deads.
SO, the new plan is simple - I'm going to avoid movements that load my lower back. This means no squats and deadlifts for a while, and only very light stuff when I do come back. HOWEVER, aside from that, I am basically just going to MURDER my body every workout, and work to get as big and aesthetic as I possibly can. I lost around 20 lbs total over the past few weeks, so I'm sitting around 225, and I think my goal over the next 8 weeks or so will probably be to try and stay at this weight, and just make myself as lean and huge as possible. That means tons of high-rep leg press, leg extension, hammy curls, air squats, back extensions, glute bridges, light squat and dead variations when I feel healthy enough. For my upper body, I can still bench, but I am also goign to try and focus more on movements I tend to neglect - more back work, more shoulders, more dumbell work. Basically: focus is not on strength and the big 3, but rather on getting an insane pump and simply KICKING MY ASS every single workout. I can use the big 3 to get there, but I need to keep my focus elsewhere.
So the goal is to basically get as big and aesthetic as possible. I want to look like a fucking cartoon character by the time I come back. For the next 8 weeks, I'm not going to set any real goals except to try and work my ass off every single workout. Then, once I graduate and settle into a new rhythm of life, I might set some more concrete size goals - Right now I have 30 inch legs and 18 inch arms in mind for starters. I also would like to set a waist goal, as I have been carrying some extra belly fat for a long while and it would be nice to increase my leg/chest/arm size and get my waist down a few inches. Kill two birds with one stone, and go from looking okay to looking awesome.
I think, since I am just getting back on the blog, I am going to keep my blogging goals simple too - I'm not gonna type up every set and rep. Rather, I think I'm gonna rate every workout out of 10, give some brief explanation, and leave it at that. Rating will be based on intensity, productivity, how I'm looking, etc. I'm so excited to be back.
SO to start: today was legs.
Rating: 8
Good workout. I worked really hard, for the first time in forever. Pre fatigued with sets of 20 leg extensions, then sets of 20 leg press, air squats, hammy curls and finally back extensions. I would have gone heavier on the leg press for more sets, and the air squats, while hard, don't seem very productive to me - I feel like I'd rather do sets of 15 with 95 or so, although I'm not sure that's a good idea yet. Definitely a very intense workout, and I'm happy with it for a first workout back. But I think it will be more productive if I push the weights a tiny bit more. Lets keep at it.
Monday, February 17, 2014
New Beginnings
So I have been absent for a while. Because not only was my back hurt, and my training has merely consisted of bench bro stuff for the last 4 weeks of so, but my life also sort of fell apart for a while. Some life changing events happened, and training took a seat in the way back - I simply knew I couldn't mentally train as hard as I wanted, and because of my back I couldn't physically train hard either, so I embraced it and allowed myself some time off. Mentally. Just got into the gym, did my bench bro stuff, and got out, simple as that.
Well, now it is time to rebuild. My life is changing again, this time for the better. I have lost about 15 lbs from the shift in training focus, and I look pretty great right now. I think I am going to truly start back next week. I'm going to keep eating to lose weight, but I am going to try a little harder to get some more protein in to make sure muscle/strength gains aren't too affected. And I'm going to bench and squat every single day for a while, to work on technique and try and seriously master the lifts. Here's what the template is gonna look like.
squat, bench, deadlift, core
bench, squat, back, core
squat, bench, deadlift, core
bench, squat, arms, core
Try and keep workouts to around an hour and a half. Try and just have fun, work hard, and cut down to around 220. I think I will look AWESOME at 220 as is (that's another 12 lbs of fat), but hopefully if I add in all this extra stuff I will maintain/gain even more muscle, and look even better at 220. Then, after I hit 220 ish I think I will start really pushing myself hard again in the gym. Hopefully that will be 4-8 weeks from now, we will see.
Anyways, hopefully next week I will return to regular posting. This will be my last week being dark. Life is hard and strange and painful, but I am the master of my soul, no one else. Love and passion will reign supreme. And my hate will die with you.
Lets keep at it.
Well, now it is time to rebuild. My life is changing again, this time for the better. I have lost about 15 lbs from the shift in training focus, and I look pretty great right now. I think I am going to truly start back next week. I'm going to keep eating to lose weight, but I am going to try a little harder to get some more protein in to make sure muscle/strength gains aren't too affected. And I'm going to bench and squat every single day for a while, to work on technique and try and seriously master the lifts. Here's what the template is gonna look like.
squat, bench, deadlift, core
bench, squat, back, core
squat, bench, deadlift, core
bench, squat, arms, core
Try and keep workouts to around an hour and a half. Try and just have fun, work hard, and cut down to around 220. I think I will look AWESOME at 220 as is (that's another 12 lbs of fat), but hopefully if I add in all this extra stuff I will maintain/gain even more muscle, and look even better at 220. Then, after I hit 220 ish I think I will start really pushing myself hard again in the gym. Hopefully that will be 4-8 weeks from now, we will see.
Anyways, hopefully next week I will return to regular posting. This will be my last week being dark. Life is hard and strange and painful, but I am the master of my soul, no one else. Love and passion will reign supreme. And my hate will die with you.
Lets keep at it.
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Tuesday bench
Really good day today. Started off feeling a little tight and weak and the weights were feeling heavy, but I got into the swing of things and ended up performing very well.
Decided to do sets of 4 today, so I could work up to some heavier weight. Started with 95, then 135, 165, all of which felt not great. But then 185 felt a little better, and 205 was solid, so I took the jump to 225, and ended up hitting it for a really hard 4! Pretty good shit, considering I hit it for a tough 2 just the other day. Because I made all 4, I took one more jump, to 240. Would have liked to have doubled it, but a single was hard enough. After, dropped back to 205 and hit it for 3 sets of 4.
Then, hit my arms. Did a rest-pause type workout where I only rested very little between sets of each exercise - I counted how many breaths I took, and rested for the same number of breaths as reps in the sets I was doing. So, for example, 10 reps - 10 breaths - 10 reps - etc. Did 5 x 10 close grip tricep bench with 95 lbs, then did 4 x 12 bicep curls with 20's and some lateral raises, 5 x 5 but with a rep out on the last set cause the first few weren't hard enough.
Making bench gainz, slowly but surely. Lets keep at it.
Decided to do sets of 4 today, so I could work up to some heavier weight. Started with 95, then 135, 165, all of which felt not great. But then 185 felt a little better, and 205 was solid, so I took the jump to 225, and ended up hitting it for a really hard 4! Pretty good shit, considering I hit it for a tough 2 just the other day. Because I made all 4, I took one more jump, to 240. Would have liked to have doubled it, but a single was hard enough. After, dropped back to 205 and hit it for 3 sets of 4.
Then, hit my arms. Did a rest-pause type workout where I only rested very little between sets of each exercise - I counted how many breaths I took, and rested for the same number of breaths as reps in the sets I was doing. So, for example, 10 reps - 10 breaths - 10 reps - etc. Did 5 x 10 close grip tricep bench with 95 lbs, then did 4 x 12 bicep curls with 20's and some lateral raises, 5 x 5 but with a rep out on the last set cause the first few weren't hard enough.
Making bench gainz, slowly but surely. Lets keep at it.
Sunday, January 26, 2014
Sunday Bench
Decided to bench a day early today, because I am going to have a crazy day tomorrow. It went pretty well - although I am starting to get some serious tightness and it feels like my pecs want to explode haha. But I think it's nothing serious - just adjustment to the new bench frequency.
Started with sets of 8, feet up and paused. Hit 95, 135, 175, then jumped straight to 205 because I was feeling strong. I thought I could crush it for 8, and was feeling REALLY strong up through 7 - then lost it on the 8th rep. I tried SO hard to lock it out, and just did't have it. Made me really mad. Dropped back to 175 and hit it for 3 sets of 8, easy, despite the pec tightness. Really wish I got that 205 x 8 and could have gone up, but alas, next time.
Anyways, finished up with some back work. 3 sets of 20 t-bar rows, 3 sets of 12 rear delt flyes, and then 3 sets of 16 lat pulldowns.
Feeling alright. Gonna keep hitting it. I know it is a lofty goal, but I REALLY want to bench 315 soon. I'm going to try and just believe and work hard haha. Lets keep at it.
Started with sets of 8, feet up and paused. Hit 95, 135, 175, then jumped straight to 205 because I was feeling strong. I thought I could crush it for 8, and was feeling REALLY strong up through 7 - then lost it on the 8th rep. I tried SO hard to lock it out, and just did't have it. Made me really mad. Dropped back to 175 and hit it for 3 sets of 8, easy, despite the pec tightness. Really wish I got that 205 x 8 and could have gone up, but alas, next time.
Anyways, finished up with some back work. 3 sets of 20 t-bar rows, 3 sets of 12 rear delt flyes, and then 3 sets of 16 lat pulldowns.
Feeling alright. Gonna keep hitting it. I know it is a lofty goal, but I REALLY want to bench 315 soon. I'm going to try and just believe and work hard haha. Lets keep at it.
Friday, January 24, 2014
Bench Friday
Good day today
Hit sets of 6, all paused and feet up. Hit 75, 95, 115, 135, 155, 175, and 195 x 6, then went to 215 for 5 which is pretty awesome. Then dropped back to 185 and hit it for 3 sets of 6.
Then, arms. Did a bunch of sets of curls, some close pushups for my triceps, and a bunch of lateral raises to hit shoulders.
Feeling pretty good! Lets keep at it.
Hit sets of 6, all paused and feet up. Hit 75, 95, 115, 135, 155, 175, and 195 x 6, then went to 215 for 5 which is pretty awesome. Then dropped back to 185 and hit it for 3 sets of 6.
Then, arms. Did a bunch of sets of curls, some close pushups for my triceps, and a bunch of lateral raises to hit shoulders.
Feeling pretty good! Lets keep at it.
Bench Thursday
Keeping this short cause it's a little late -
Bench went well. Everything was done feet up and with a pause. Decided to do sets of 10, so I hit 95, 135, 165 for 10 and then 185 for 9. Then, dropped back to 135 and hit it for 3 sets of 10.
Then, back work. Did a bunch of sets of 12 dumbell rows facing a bench, then some rear delt flyes, and then some lat pulldowns.
Felt solid. Lets keep at it.
Bench went well. Everything was done feet up and with a pause. Decided to do sets of 10, so I hit 95, 135, 165 for 10 and then 185 for 9. Then, dropped back to 135 and hit it for 3 sets of 10.
Then, back work. Did a bunch of sets of 12 dumbell rows facing a bench, then some rear delt flyes, and then some lat pulldowns.
Felt solid. Lets keep at it.
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
Bench Bro Cycle
Okay, gonna keep this as short as possible:
SO, lately I have been having some lower back trouble. It has been bothering me pretty much every workout for the past month or so, and I think it is simply tired out, overworked, and a weak point right now. FURTHERMORE, something is very wrong with my form on squat. It is NOT the same squat that I was feeling AMAZING with a month or more ago - form has eroded and I am now getting caught forward and loading my back really bad, not using my quads or keeping my chest up. Because of this combination of things, my back was feeling especially bad during my workout today, and I think it is time for some drastic action. So, this is what I am going to do: The plan is to stop squatting for 4 weeks, to let my back heal completely, and then rebuild from semi-scratch to get to a greater level of strength, with much more ideal form. In those 4 weeks, I am going to try and experiment, and live like a bench bro - bench press 4 days a week, in addition to a ton or core work, back work, arm work, and cardio. The goals are as follows 1) Heal my back 2) Address my bench weakness head on and try to make some serious gains 3) Lose some fat / make my upper body look awesome. Should be fun, and hopefully productive and the right decision in the long run.
The rough plan is as follows: Only feet up bench, to fully rest my back. Probably going to do
Monday: Bench, back, core
tues: Bench, arms core
wed rest/cardio
Thurs: bench back core
fri: Bench arms core.
Should be fun, and I BETTER make some solid fucking bench gains haha.
And, if I like it, when I come back in 4 weeks maybe I will simply bench/squat every single workout. We will see.
Anyways, here is how today bench workout went: Bench 225 x 3, 230 x 3. 235 x 3, 240 x 3, 245 x 2, 1. Then feet up bench, moving up in sets of 3: 135, 145, 155, 165, 175, 185, 195, 205, 215, and finally 225 x 2. Then, 25 x 4 rows, and finally 3 x 15 dumbell bench with 50 lb bells.
Long journey ahead. Lets keep at it.
SO, lately I have been having some lower back trouble. It has been bothering me pretty much every workout for the past month or so, and I think it is simply tired out, overworked, and a weak point right now. FURTHERMORE, something is very wrong with my form on squat. It is NOT the same squat that I was feeling AMAZING with a month or more ago - form has eroded and I am now getting caught forward and loading my back really bad, not using my quads or keeping my chest up. Because of this combination of things, my back was feeling especially bad during my workout today, and I think it is time for some drastic action. So, this is what I am going to do: The plan is to stop squatting for 4 weeks, to let my back heal completely, and then rebuild from semi-scratch to get to a greater level of strength, with much more ideal form. In those 4 weeks, I am going to try and experiment, and live like a bench bro - bench press 4 days a week, in addition to a ton or core work, back work, arm work, and cardio. The goals are as follows 1) Heal my back 2) Address my bench weakness head on and try to make some serious gains 3) Lose some fat / make my upper body look awesome. Should be fun, and hopefully productive and the right decision in the long run.
The rough plan is as follows: Only feet up bench, to fully rest my back. Probably going to do
Monday: Bench, back, core
tues: Bench, arms core
wed rest/cardio
Thurs: bench back core
fri: Bench arms core.
Should be fun, and I BETTER make some solid fucking bench gains haha.
And, if I like it, when I come back in 4 weeks maybe I will simply bench/squat every single workout. We will see.
Anyways, here is how today bench workout went: Bench 225 x 3, 230 x 3. 235 x 3, 240 x 3, 245 x 2, 1. Then feet up bench, moving up in sets of 3: 135, 145, 155, 165, 175, 185, 195, 205, 215, and finally 225 x 2. Then, 25 x 4 rows, and finally 3 x 15 dumbell bench with 50 lb bells.
Long journey ahead. Lets keep at it.
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