alucidinterval's road to... competition?

alucidinterval · 02-05-2009, 07:53 PM

alright so i've had a couple journals, but none that i've really ever kept up with. however, i've been fairly interested in possibly competing sometime in the future, so i'm hoping that maybe keeping a journal will help to motivate me. as of right now, i generally workout 3-4 days a week with a two upper/two lower split. i don't really have set in stone days that i lift, as i usually just work around my schedule and by what my body tells me. anyways, hopefully ill be able to keep this going for at least a little bit. here goes!

stats:

5'11 185lbs @ ~12-13% bf
Squat-350lbs tested in december
Bench- 235lbs tested in february
Deadlift- 415lbs tested in december
Powerclean-235lbs tested in february

alucidinterval · 02-05-2009, 07:57 PM

Flat BB Bench- 135x5, 155x3, 185x1, 215x1, 235x1 (10lb PR), 245x0, 185x5x4 (w/ 2 second pause)
Incline DB Bench- 60sx10, 60sx10, 65sx10, 65sx8
Decline CG Bench- 135x5, 145x5, 155x5, 165x5, 175x5
Dips- bwx15, bwx12

Set a new PR, but not as much as i wanted. My bench has always been my weak link and takes forever for me to set a new pr. i've only added about 10lbs in the past two months. anyways, rest of the workout felt pretty good. hopefully i'll be good for 245 within a month or so.

alucidinterval · 02-05-2009, 08:04 PM

Deadlifts- 135x5, 225x5, 275x5, 295x5, 315x5, 335x5
Light Squats- 135x8, 185x8, 225x8, 225x8
EZ Bar Preacher Curls- 65x10, 75x10, 75x10, 80x10, 80x8
Hammer Curls- 40sx10, 40sx10, 40sx8, 35sx10

First time doing deads in about a month due to me having a ****ty lower back, so i went pretty light. I've always had good lower body strength, but i just seem to get injured way too easily. Anyways, these felt really good and i think im gonna try to start incorporating them again once a week with my other lower day being squat dominant.

alucidinterval · 02-05-2009, 08:16 PM

Incline BB Bench- 135x5, 145x5, 155x5, 165x5, 175x5 (5lb PR)
Flat BB Bench w/ 2 second pause- 135x8, 135x8, 155x8, 155x8
BB Rows- 95x8, 115x8, 135x8, 145x6
CG Bench to Skull Crushers (EZ Curl Bar)- 65x8, 80x8, 90x8, 95x7 (PR)
Pec Fly Machine- wasn't paying too much attention to weight, but i did 5 sets and worked up to about 200 pounds for a set of 10. I'll pay more attention to actual weight next time haha...

really good workout today. Set a new PR on incline bench. Flat bench was more of a form work than anything, but it was more difficult than i had expected cause i was already so worn out from incline. this was actually the first time i've ever done BB rows too. I generally do either rows on the T bar machine or DB rows, but i really liked them. used a pretty wide grip and could really feel it all over. skull crushers were killer today too. set a new pr with 95, when last time i failed at 6 reps. nothing big, but hey its progress. hopefully i'll have another good workout soon.

alucidinterval · 02-08-2009, 04:03 PM

Squats- Warm Up: 135x8, 185x5, 225x5 Work sets: 275x5, 295x5, 315x5, 335x2
Speed Box Squats- 225x2, 185x2x2, 205x2x2, 225x2x2
Close Stance Squats- 225x12, 225x12
Preacher Curls EZ Bar- 5 sets of 65x12

Pretty good workout today. I was going for 3 on the 335 but i was pretty worn out by then. Hopefully i'll get it next time. I've been really focusing on my bar speed as well. I find that box squats are one of the best things for me on squat. Dynamic bench work does almost nothing for, but i saw my squat increase very quickly while doing speed work for squats. My squat gains seems to be slowing down a bit though, so i think i'm gonna start putting more emphasis on deadlifts.

alucidinterval · 02-09-2009, 07:58 PM

Flat BB Bench- 135x8, 185x5, 175x8, 175x8, 180x8, 185x8
Incline BB Bench- 135x8, 135x8, 135x8, 135x10
Chest Supported Rows- 90x10, 115x10, 125x10, 135x8, 115x10, 90x12
Tricep Pushdown- 12x10, 12x10, 11x12, 10x12
Pec Fly Machine (has odd numbers, so i'm just rounding)- 165x10, 180x10, 200x10, 180x10, 165x12

Pretty good workout today. I was planning on doing a bit more for triceps and back but my workout was cut a bit short cause i had to go to work. I've been a 5x5 on bench recently working up to a final heavy set, with monday being flat bench and thursday/friday being incline. today however, after doing my first set of 5, i decided that i was gonna switch it up and do 4 of 8 today. regardless, good workout.

alucidinterval · 02-11-2009, 06:05 PM

Deadlifts- Warm Up: 135x8, 225x5 Work Sets: 275x3, 295x3, 315x3, 335x3, 345x3, 355x3, 365x3, 375x3, 385x3
Preacher EZ Bar Curls- 4 sets 65x12, 65x15

Great workout today even though i only got about 5 hours of sleep last night cause i was writing a paper. I tried 10x3 for deadlifts today and it kicked my ass, didn't even have time to do anything else. I didn't even get all 10 cause the 385 at the end kicked my ass. My deadlifts are stronger than ever though even though i haven't been training them much lately. I think im also gonna start working with a closer squat stance in order to aid my deadlift, even though i'll have to drop the weight a bit.

alucidinterval · 02-14-2009, 01:09 PM

Flat BB Bench- 180x8, 185x8, 185x8, 190x8 (PR)
Incline BB Bench- 4 sets of 135x8
DB Rows- 45sx10, 45sx10, 50sx10, 50sx10, 55sx10
CG Bench to Skull Crushers (EZ Curl Bar)- 65x8, 85z8, 95x8 (PR)

Surprisingly good workout today. I haven't been able to get to the gym the past two days cause thursday was my 18th birthday and i've just had a lot of things going on. I figured that since i've been partying/drinking a bit much the past two days i was gonna be feeling pretty weak today, but i actually felt really good. set a new 8 rep bench PR of 190. Overall good workout though.

lonewolf101190 · 02-14-2009, 08:26 PM

very nice so far , im interested.

alucidinterval · 02-15-2009, 12:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lonewolf101190

very nice so far , im interested.

thanks man, good to see someone is haha.

alucidinterval · 02-15-2009, 01:03 PM

Squats- 135x10, 185x8, 225x5, 225x20 (PR)
Box Squats- 6 sets of 2 with 225
Preacher EZ Bar Curls- 3 sets of 12 with 65, 2 sets of 15 with 65

Never done 20 rep squats before and decided to try them out today. Felt like doing cardio just like everyone says haha. I was sucking wind for like 5 minutes afterwards, but it still felt pretty good. Got a video of the 225x20 too.

alucidinterval · 02-18-2009, 07:48 PM

Flat BB Bench- Warm Ups: 135x8, 155x5 Work Sets: 185x3, 195x3, 200x3, 205x3, 205x3, 210x3, 210x3, 210x3
Incline BB Bench- 135x8, 135x8, 145x8, 155x7
Chest Supported Rows- 90x10, 115x10, 125x10, 135x10, 135x10
CG Bench to Skull Crushers- 55x8, 85x8, 85x8, 85x8
Dips- Bwx15, Bwx15
Pec Fly Machine- 3 sets of 180x10

Pretty good workout. The 8 sets of 3 on bench were pretty tough though and that last set was a killer. Everything else was feeling pretty good though. On another note, i might not be able to do my lower workout tomorrow. I got kneed right at the top of my kneecap on my quad this morning playing basketball in PE. I got a pretty bad dead leg, but figured i'd just walk it off and kept playing. However, the pain just got worse later on in the day, and i was practically limping but like 12. It's feeling a bit better now, but i'll have to see how it feels tomorrow.

alucidinterval · 02-20-2009, 05:37 PM

Deficit Deadlifts- Warm up off floor: 135x8, 225x5 Work Sets: 225x3, 275x3, 295x3, 315x3, 335x3, 345x3, 355x3, 365x3
Preacher EZ Bar Curls- 65x12, 65x12, 75x12, 75x12, 75x12

My leg was feeling better today, so i decided to go for it and go for my lower day. Haven't done deficit deads in as long as i can remember. The last set was killer, especially on my grip. I came real close to dropping it on my last rep, but i pulled it out. I thought i had brought my straps today, but turns out i only had one in my gym bag so i was pretty screwed there haha. Anyways, next week is rack pulls, should be fun.

alucidinterval · 02-21-2009, 11:45 AM

Flat BB Bench- 135x8, 175x8, 185x8, 190x8, 195x7 (PR)
Incline BB Bench- 135x5, 155x5, 155x5, 160x5, 165x5
Dips- Bwx10, +25x8, +45x8, +70x6, +90x4 SS w/ +45x8

Had to cut the workout short today cause i had other things i had to do today, so i focused primarily on chest. Flat Bench was surprisingly good, hitting a PR of 195x7.

alucidinterval · 02-22-2009, 02:25 PM

Well my friends were going to the gym today, so i decided to go and just do some tricep/upper back stuff that i missed doing yesterday.

CG Bench to Skull Crushers- 65x8, 85x8, 95x6, 85x8, 85x8
Chest Supported Rows- 90x10, 115x10, 125x10, 135x10, 135x10

alucidinterval · 02-23-2009, 05:14 PM

Just did 30 minutes on the elliptical today while my friends were working out. I'm trying to get in decent shape and get down to like 9-10% bf before spring break in april, so i figure doing the dreaded cardio every once in a while will help. Also we're maxing out on squats in weightlifting at school wednesday, so i decided to take it easy today and tomorrow so i'll be ready for it. I'm going for 365 since its been like 2 months since i've last maxed at 350.

alucidinterval · 02-25-2009, 05:26 PM

Squat- 135x5, 225x5, 275x2, 325x1, 365x1 (PR), 375x0, 275x5x3
Preacher EZ Bar Curls- 65x12, 65x12, 75x12, 75x12, 80x12, 65x15
Leg Press- 3 (Plates per side)x8, 4x8, 6x8, 7.5x8, 5x10, 5x10

New Squat PR! Got the 365 i was going for, but failed outta the hole on 375. Regardless, i was happy with it considering i haven't been training my squat as heavy lately. I think i'm gonna switch it up and start doing heavy low box squats to help my deadlift as well. I also might be joining a new gym called elite fitness. I'm gonna go and check it out tomorrow, but it seems like a pretty good gym. Its got a deadlift platform, chalk and the works. A big enough step up from the Y anyways haha.

heres a link to it, if anyone remotely cares haha. http://www.elitefitnessnc.com/

alucidinterval · 02-28-2009, 10:20 AM

Flat BB Bench- 135x8, 185x3, 195x3, 205x3, 205x3, 205x3, 205x3, 205x2, 185x5
Incline DB Bench- 55sx10, 60sx10, 60sx10, 65sx10
Lat Pulldown- 225x10, 225x10, 245x10, 225x10, 225x10
CG Bench to Skullcrushers- 65x8, 85x8, 90x8, 90x7, 90x5
DB Pec Flies- 35sx10, 35sx10, 40sx10, 40sx10
Dips- bwx8, bwx8, +45x5, +45x6, +45x6, bwx12

Alright so i went to that new gym today and i have only one word for it: amazing. Right off the bat i knew i was gonna like it. I walked in and theres 4 squat racks, tons of hammer strength machines, different sized bands, chains, and even a deadlift platform with chalk. My numbers weren't that great, but i also haven't trained upper body in almost a week so i guess its alright. The main attraction though was these two HUGE dudes that were deadlifting. When i walked in they had an 100 (yes they have 100s here) and 2 45s on each side. After each set, they threw on another plate, until they were well into the 600s for triples. By the end, i saw one deadlift of 745 and another of 765. i talked to them for a bit after they were done and found out both of them compete in strongman competitions. anyways, all i know is that my Y membership is fixing to expire soon... and i think i've found a more than adequate replacement

alucidinterval · 03-02-2009, 03:54 PM

Rack Pulls from mid shin- Warmup: 135x5, 225x5
Work Sets: 315x3, 365x3, 385x3, 405x3, 425x3, 455x1 (PR), 475x0 (miss), 315x3
Speed Low Box Squats with mini bands SS w/deficit box jumps onto 42" box: barx2, 95x2, 135x2, 135x2, 185x2x6
Hyperextensions: 25x12x3

Good workout today. Rack Pulls were good and my grip was feeling on point. It was my first time using chalk and it makes a HUGE difference. Also my first time ever using bands. Felt kinda awkward for the first couple of sets but once i got the hang of them i really liked it. I also discovered that they have plyometric boxes at this gym and box jumps are one of my favorite exercises to build explosiveness. My PR box jump is in the low 50s, didn't measure it at the time though. I'd say about 52". Hopefully i can get up to a 60"+ box jump in time which would almost guarantee a big increase in my vertical.

alucidinterval · 03-05-2009, 05:49 AM

1 Board Bench- 135x8, 185x5, 205x3, 210x3, 215x3, 210x3, 210x3, 210x3, 210x3
CG 3 Board Bench- 135x8, 185x5, 190x5, 195x4, 185x4
Incline BB Bench- 135x5, 145x5, 155x5, 135x5, 135x5
Flat DB Bench- 70sx8, 70sx8, 70sx8
Pullups- 5 sets of bwx5
Dips- bwx8, +45x7, +45x6, +45x7, bwx12

Alright workout today. I had to go REALLY early this morning, as i have a school trip that i'm gonna be gone on til saturday. I was gonna workout yesterday but i donated blood for my school's blood drive so that was outta the picture. I was pretty tired as im not used to working out at 6:15 in the morning haha. Bench was feeling ok today, not that great. Didn't have a spotter either so i had to go easier than usual on my reps. Anyways, next workout won't be til sunday, or maybe monday.

alucidinterval · 03-09-2009, 06:27 PM

Box Squats- Warm Up: 135x5, 225x3 Work Sets: 275x2, 285x2, 300x2, 315x1, 275x2, 275x2
Speed Deadlifts SS w/ deficit box jumps: Warm Up: 135x5, 225x5 Work Sets w/ chains: 225x3, 275x3, 295x3, 315x3, 315x3+more chains, 315x3+even more chains

So its been a while since i last lifted cause i didn't get back til saturday evening and wasn't planning on working out sunday anyways, so i was pretty ready to go. I'm starting to switch up my routine and do a lot of westside stuff for my squat and deadlift now that im at this new gym and have access to all kinds of stuff i didn't before. My biggest problem right now on squats is out of the hole. On the box squats, which were a few inches below parallel, i'd struggle right off the box but once i got it just a little bit past parallel the weight literally flew up. I was actually hoping for a double on 315, but couldn't manage it. I'm gonna start doing strictly box squats for a while to help me out there and see if that helps any. Speed deadlifts were feeling great. I started off with about 35-40 pounds of chains at the top for my first couple sets and by the last set i had about 55-60 on there. Regardless, the weight was still moving really fast. If i keep this pace up, i'll reach my deadlift goal pretty quick. Box jumps went really well today as well. Started off on a 42" box and by my last set it was in the mid to low 50s, prolly around 52". Oh and we also had 40 tests in weightlifting today, first time i've done it since last year. Last year ran about a 5.05, today my fastest was a 4.72, so huge increase there without even training it haha.

-Gonna start box squatting more, my main problem is out of the hole
-Speed deadlifts were feeling good
-Box jumps were good and explosive

alucidinterval · 03-10-2009, 08:09 PM

2 Board Bench- 135x5, 185x5, 205x3, 215x3, 225x3 (PR), 185x5
Incline BB Bench- 135x8, 145x8, 155x7, 155x5
Pullups- 5 sets of bwx8
Skullcrushers (slow and held)- 65x8, 65x8, 75x8, 85x5, 65x8
T-Bar Rows- 50x8, 50x8, 55x8, 50x8
Cable Crossovers- 55x12, 70x10, 70x8, 70x8

Well the triple with 225 felt really good today, regardless of whether or not it was off a three board. the third rep was a serious stretch and was so slow, but got it. This was the first time using this row machine at my new gym and its a LOT different. I threw 2 45s on it like i usually do to warm up at the Y and could barely get it for one rep. The placement of the weight on the bar is a lot different and its a LOT heavier. I ended up starting with 2 25s on it, which was still really damn heavy. Anyways, everything else was good too.

alucidinterval · 03-13-2009, 03:30 PM

Speed Bench Press- 115+chainsx3x6, 135+chainsx3x3, 185+1chainsx2
Flat DB Bench- 70sx8, 70sx8, 75sx8, 80sx8
Pullups- bwx8, bw+10x5, bw+15x5, bw+15x5
Skull Crushers- 65x8, 75x8, 85x8, 85x6
Cable Crossover- 60x10, 60x10, 65x10, 60x10

So i sprained my ankle pretty bad playing basketball in gym yesterday. Prolly be out of doing lower body lifts for at least a week, maybe more. Oh well, can't do anything now except rest it and take it easy. Good workout today though. First time ever using chains on the bench press and i actually really liked it, definitely gonna start incorporating them more often.

alucidinterval · 03-16-2009, 04:56 PM

1 Board Bench- 135x5, 185x3, 195x3, 205x3, 215x2, 185x3, 185x3, 185x3
Flat DB Bench- 75sx8, 75sx8, 80sx8, 80sx7
Pullups- bwx8, +10x5, +20x4, +20x5, bwx6
Skull Crushers- 65x8, 75x8, 85x8, 85x7
T-Bar Rows- 50x8, 60x8, 65x8, 70x8
Military Press- 95x5, 105x5, 105x5, 105x5, 115x3
Dips- bwx10, +45x8, +45x8, bwx15

Good workout today besides my bench. I'm working on tucking my elbows in more, so right now my numbers are down a bit. Hopefully they'll start going back up again once i get used to it. I have relatively strong triceps so i figure once i get the form down and get used to it it should help me out a bit. I need to start doing some more military presses too, they're really weak. I figure i'll be happy once i can get a few solid reps with 135. Also, the ankle's doing really well. I did a couple of sets of box squats with 135 just to test it out and it was feeling really good, so i should be good to go on wednesday.

-Working on tucking my elbows more so my bench numbers are sucking; hopefully will help in the long run
-Suck at military press, need to work on that more
-Ankle's doing better, should be good to go wednesday

alucidinterval · 03-17-2009, 05:41 PM

Reverse Band Deadlifts- 135x5, 225x5, 315x3, 405x3, 435x3, 475x1(PR), 500x1(PR)
Low Box Squats- 135x2x2, 225x2x4
Straight Bar Curls- 65x8, 70x8, 70x8, 75x8, 70x8

HUGE pr today on reverse band deadlifts. I've never actually done these before, but just the fact that i pulled 500 was a huge accomplishment. The bands were medium bands and they gave out tension completely right above my knees. I'd say it was around 425-435 at the bottom of the lift. I'm still pumped up though. Big pull for me.

alucidinterval · 03-21-2009, 11:07 PM

DB Bench Press - 75sx8, 75sx8, 80sx8, 80sx9
Military Press - 95x5, 105x5, 115x5, 120x5, 120x5
Skull Crushers- 65x8, 75x8, 85x8, 90x8
Dips- bwx10, +45x8, +55x8, +70x4, bwx10

I've about given up on my flat bb bench. I started doing a couple sets today and just stopped because it was just feeling so off. I'm just gonna start doing more accessory lifts for it and see if that helps.

alucidinterval · 03-22-2009, 01:21 PM

Speed Low Box Squats- 135x2, 205x2, 205x2, 225x2x6
Hyper extensions- +25x10, +25x10, +25x10
Pull Ups- bwx10, bwx10, bwx10, bwx8

Taking it easy today. Plan on going heavy on low box on wednesday and hopefully putting up around 335 or so.

alucidinterval · 03-23-2009, 03:47 PM

Incline BB Bench- 135x5, 155x5, 165x5, 170x5, 175x4
Decline PG (Prone Grip) DB Bench- 50sx10, 60sx8, 65sx5, 55sx12
CG Bench- 4 sets of 135x8
PG DB Floor Press- 50sx8, 45sx10, 45sx10, 50sx10
Cable Crossovers- 55x10, 55x10, 60x10
Bench Machine- 135x10, 155x8, 135x10

Alright workout. Trying new stuff and trying to really hit my chest, as its lagging wayyyy behind everything and i can't seem to make it grow. I'm also trying to switch things up to try and increase my flat bench. I'm experimenting with different grips trying to find ANYTHING that will help me get out of this rut. I'm thinking of using a slightly closer grip (pinkies on rings instead of thumbs on rings) in order to utilize more triceps. Need more pop off my chest.

alucidinterval · 03-25-2009, 03:48 PM

Low Box Squats- 135x3, 225x3, 275x2, 300x2, 315x1, 325x0 (miss/pissed off) Knee wraps on- 275x3, 275x3, 285x3
Trap Bar Deadlifts- 245x5, 335x5, 355x5, 355x5, 385x3
ATG Front Squats- 135x5, 135x5, 135x5
T-Bar Rows- 50x8, 60x8, 70x8, 50x10, 50x10
Pullups- bwx8, bwx8
Straight Bar Curls- 70x10, 70x10, 70x10, 70x10, 60x12, 60x12
Cable Pullthroughs- 90x8, 90x8, 95x8, 100x8

Good workout today. Kinda pissed that i missed the 325 single on low box, but i guess i can't expect too much cause i haven't been training my squat as much lately. Oh well, i'll just train harder and get 335 next time. After that i got my knee wraps on and tried some box squats with them. Don't think i got the full use of them cause i wasn't free squatting, but i found that those things HURT when cranked really tight. Trap bar deadlifts were good. Last set was killer and my quads were done afterwards. Cable pullthroughs were a first time today and i have to say i like them for glutes/hips. I'll prolly start incorporating these more often.

-Missed 325 box squat single
-Got the hang of knee wraps, but need to try them on free squats
-Trap bar deads killed my quads
-Gonna start doing cable pullthroughs more often.

alucidinterval · 03-27-2009, 03:31 PM

Flat BB Bench- 135x5, 185x5, 185x5, 185x5, 190x5, 195x4
Incline BB Bench- 135x8, 135x8, 135x8, 145x6
PG DB Floor Press- 45sx8, 50sx8, 50sx8, 55sx9 (PR)
Flat DB Bench- 70sx8, 80sx8, 80sx8
DB Seated Shoulder Press- 40sx8, 45sx5, 40sx6
Dips- bwx12, bwx12

Pretty good workout today. I'm trying a closer grip on bench press to use my triceps more. Can't tell if its working yet, but bench felt pretty good today. Its been really bad lately and ive been feeling like i've been going backwards. Hopefully that'll change.