Acquiring the Mind, Body, and Spirit of a Warrior

[ChecksandGiggles]

Hi all,

I've decided to finally keep an online training log in addition to the notebooks . I believe this will give me additional motivation and improve my chances of success.

Background

My name is Michael. I'm 19, turning 20 in March. I lifted for a year in high school when I was a junior, and made some pretty good progress. After that, I took a hiatus from the sport due to personal issues until the beginning of Fall '09. When I got back in the gym, I found a lot of my strength was gone. I got myself onto a program that was based off of my high school program, but it quickly started to include too much volume. I also had a very weak lower back and could not deadlift or squat until several weeks ago. Until then, I worked on lower back strength with body weight exercises. My high-volume program was not optimal, but it brought my bench from 170-200 in 3 months, and my DL's and squats are still going up. I'm bulking to 160. I've decided to go with an expanded 5x5 routine that includes all the necessary lifts plus a few others.

I am a neuroscience major about to begin my sophmore year. I took a semester off because I was not doing so well in life, but now, in part thanks to lifting, I'm more motivated than ever to succeed. I'm not entirely sure what I want to be yet-I'm leaning towards medical research, preventive medicine, or perhaps sports medicine. Regardless, a Bachelor's in Neuroscience will look kick-ass.

I am also an artist. I lost my artistic ability in the summer due to a relationship I was in, and I aim to seize it again. It's been coming back. I'm also an analytical chess player and am always trying to improve my skill in that.

In this log, I will keep track of my workouts, challenges of life, achievements, and conquests.

Goals

The Body of a Warrior

-Be strong. Very strong. I want to haul around heavy-ass weight and look good.
-Compete in a Powerlifting competition by the end of 2010, no matter what my lifts are at the time.
-When summer comes, bike a minimum of 1500 miles from June 1st-August 31st. This will go into a different log that I will create when the time comes.
-Improve my cardiovascular endurance through HIIT and bicycling in the summer.
-Re-learn how to play tennis and play 2-3 times a week in the summer.

The Mind of a Warrior

-Continuously challenge myself in regards to schoolwork.
-Achieve and maintain a GPA of 3.6 or higher.
-Return to being an avid leisure reader.
-Continue to better my chess skills.
-Always, always seek to expand my knowledge.

The Spirit of a Warrior

-Strive to regain my artistic ability. I've written over 150 poems in the past 4 years. I should not stop.
-Return to musical and songwriting composition.
-Be more in tune to patterns in nature and the flow of things.
-Improve my relationships with women.

Workout Program

I've settled on a 3 day lifting split, set up as a 5x5. Weight will increase as such: 60% of 5RM, 70%, 80%, 90%, 100%. If 5 reps are completed on the last set, I will increase the weight next time. Each day will include a couple of isolation lifts with a different set/rep scheme. On non-lifting days, I will get myself to the gym at 5:30 am and do HIIT swimming for 15-20 minutes.

Monday: HIIT

Tuesday:

-Bench Press
-Incline Bench Press
-Squat
-Military Press
-Shoulder Superset (Front Raises, Empty-the-Cans, Lateral Raises) 2x12
-Skull Crushers (pyramid 10 8 6 4 2)
-Weighted Dips 2x8, 1xFailure

Wednesday: HIIT

Thursday:

-Deadlift
-Barbell Row/Power Cleans
-Barbell Shrugs
-Back Hyperextensions (16 reps, increasing weight)
-Barbell Curls (pyramid 10 8 6 4 2)
-Plate Squeeze/Wrist Curls

Friday: HIIT

Saturday:

-Squat
-Bench Press
-Walking Lunges (12, 10, 8)
-Calf Raise/Calf Press
-Glute Ham Raise 3x8/Leg Curls (10 8 6 4 2)
-Close Grip Bench Press (10 8 6 4 2)
-Farmer's Walk

Sunday: Rest

I will update this as much as possible, preferably daily. Wish me luck.

[ChecksandGiggles]

January 10, 2010

Today was the last day of my deload. I did Squats, Calf Press, Leg Curls, and Lunges. It was cake and supposed to be so. Still, this 5x5 is gonna kick my ass and I can't wait! Went to go test out HIIT in the pool. Did about a half-session and felt AWESOME. Sprints to one end (front crawl) then nice, easy elementary backstroke back...felt like I was going to explode. Did MISS for the rest of the time, soaked in the jaccuzi, went home. Been energized all day from that session. HIIT is gonna be bomb.

[readyforthepain]

good luck man

[ChecksandGiggles]

January 11th, 2010

Went over to the university today to get my books. When I had chosen to take a semester off (Fall '09) I bought a bunch of books to teach myself with in preparation for my future courses. This came in handy, as I had all but one of the books already.

Spring '10 courses:

Calculus 1
Biology for Biologic Science Majors, Part 2
Biology Lab
Organic Chemistry 1
Intro to Drug Therapies and Addiction-Online

Should be sweet.

Today was a rest day, tomorrow I break into the 5x5!

[readyforthepain]

looks like some hard classes

[ChecksandGiggles]

looks like some hard classes

I'm not worried about it. Hardest one will be calculus. I took it last year and dropped it. But on my semester off I reviewed the material up to the point that I dropped out at, and I'm planning to ask a LOT of questions this time around.

[ChecksandGiggles]

January 12, 2010

Did my first day of the 5x5. Here's how it played out.

Bench: 110, 125, 140, 160 x5, then for 175 I got 5.5-the spotter assisted me with about 5lbs of weight. Will move up next time.
Incline Bench: 95, 110, 125, 140x5, 155x6! Moving 5RM up 10
Squat:100, 120, 135, 150, 170x5. Will increase by 5. Moved to a different power rack (the one I had been using, I found, was only letting me get to parallel). Started going ATG, it was brutal. Squat's weak, but will move up soon.
Military Press: 80, 90, 105, 120x5, 130x5.5 Moving up.
Skull Crushers: 50 60 65 75 x5, 85x4. Better than on my last program by 1 rep, but will stay at this sequence.
Dips: Bodyweight x 13, 13, 12. Waiting for dip belt to get here, ordered 2 days ago.
Did not do shoulder superset-I was fried.

This program is going to kick my ass and it's going to be great. It feels a bit different from the training I'm used to-I always pyramided, basing everything off the 1RM, doing a 10 8 6 4 2 sequence (usually) with increasing weight. So when I started my sets for the first 2 or 3 I was thinking "why am I moving this light weight" but on the 4th set is when it became hard, and the 5th sets really made me prove my worth.

I'm thinking about taking out the isolation exercises. I mean, I did skull crushers but I probably didn't have to as my arms were worked very hard in this. I will probably keep the forearm exercises in (Farmer's walk, wrist curls) but I don't think I'll need bicep curls or skull crushers. CGBP might still be in though. I think I should also include dips on day 3 and use them to replace something. I'm going to play around with this program, see what I can improve.

EDIT: COMPLETELY forgot to include pullups for day 2. They should replace Barbell Curls, I think. I ain't in this for the biceps-I'm in this for raw strength.

[readyforthepain]

I'm not worried about it. Hardest one will be calculus. I took it last year and dropped it. But on my semester off I reviewed the material up to the point that I dropped out at, and I'm planning to ask a LOT of questions this time around.

oh i gotcha

[ChecksandGiggles]

January 13, 2010

Hey guys. It's been a good day, did early morning HIIT and that sh!t wakes you up like no other. It's weird, they were playing good music at the gym in the early morning, none of that top 10 bull**** they got going later in the day.

Was my mom's birthday, went to a nice greek restaurant. I've eaten a LOT of meat today. All came out to 300 grams of protein. That's a new PR.

I'm reworking my program. Making it less complicated and more effective. Once it's finalized, I think I'll make a new thread.

[readyforthepain]

HITT in the morin not for me lol

[ChecksandGiggles]

HITT in the morin not for me lol

It's bomb, dude. You jump in the pool then swim your ass off. By the time you're out you can't even think about sleep.

[readyforthepain]

It's bomb, dude. You jump in the pool then swim your ass off. By the time you're out you can't even think about sleep.

oh thought you meant running

[ChecksandGiggles]

im subscribing to your journal, we are about the same age, i just started my journal too, what is HITT?

High Intensity Interval Training.

Basically, you do a warmup of about 5 minutes of steady state cardio. Then, you proceed to do sprints for 30 sec-1min (near maximum/maximum effort) followed by an equal or slightly larger amount of active rest. You do as many of these as you choose, sort of like sets in weightlifting. The ratio of sprint:rest can be modified based on your fitness level. Then you cool down with 5 more minutes of steady state. I'm currently doing 8 sprint/rest reps, by freestyling at full speed to one end of the pool and slowly elementary backstroking back.

Thanks for subscribing, but I am changing my workout routine and will have to start a new log. I'm just trying to work out the details to the best of my ability.

[ChecksandGiggles]

January 14, 2010

Excellent workout today. Really pushed myself on deadlifts, PR'ed at 210x6. Also got my dip belt-the one I ordered from BB.com, the one size fits all one actually didn't fit me-my waist is too damn small. I fit into size 30 pants pretty easily. I took two towels, sewed them together, wrapped them around my waist, and was able to get the belt on that way. Did 6 Wide-Grip pullups with 25, 8 narrow grips with 25, then 5 with 35. I was absolutely scorched by this point (also dropped squats, rows, and shrugs before this). Then I picked up two 45 plates and went for a farmer's walk. Someone in the gym asked me if I was lost. I lapped the machine area, went up the stairs to the cardio area, drew some impressed glances, went back down, lapped free weight area, and stopped. Rested, lapped again with 25's. Forearms never felt so good.

Spent a lot of time reading, relaxing at home. College starts very soon, I've been reviewing some chemistry.

I set up a session with a trainer at my gym who is also a competitive powerlifter. Gonna have him teach me how to power clean, have him form check my squats and DL, and review my routine. Very excited.

[readyforthepain]

nice Prs on deads

[ChecksandGiggles]

January 15, 2010

HIIT day. Hit the gym at 7 am this time, still pushing back the sleep schedule. I love transitioning to being an early riser, feel like I can get so much more done. Did 8 laps of sprints and 8 slow laps for a total of about a half hour of solid swimming. One more day of 8 sprints then I bump it up to 9. Gonna work a scheme of 8, 8, 8, 9, 9, 9, 10, 10, 10, etc up to 12 or so, then move back to 8 and make active rest intervals shorter for a better sprint:rest ratio. This is awesome conditioning and the most fun, grueling cardio I've ever done. When I leave the pool I feel like the world is swaying and I walk weird for about 5 minutes. Lifting tomorrow. Might reset bench press as I've stalled out at 205 for the past month or so.

Another thing, I was called by my interpreter agency to do an appointment today, and it was my first one. Before this they had called me at really inconvenient times and I've had to decline (just got the job a month ago, I'm an independent contractor) but this time I went. Interpreted for a lady on the operating table for four hours, while wearing hospital scrubs, a lead vest, and a lead skirt (lot of x-rays in the OR). I learned that wearing lead clothes the day after PR'ing on deads gets really painful. But it was worth it.

[readyforthepain]

I know what you mean I been getting up around 6:30 everyday feels alot better then rolling out of bed at noon

[ChecksandGiggles]

January 16th, 2010

One of the best workouts I've had in a long time.

PR'ed on squats today. Went like this.
5x105
5x120
5x140
5x155
5x175-PR

Decided to test 1RM. Loaded up 200 and went to work. The first rep I cranked out with explosiveness and felt like I could do it again. I went down, and a third of the way up I hit the point where you will either go right back down or shoot straight up. Time stops when you're at that point. I pushed with my mind and I pushed with all I had, and squat out the 200 a second time. I racked the bar and let out a loud "Holy sh!t..." Felt like a gym idiot for a second, but couldn't care less, as I had just PR'ed and hit a really important mark in my mind. Tried to max with 225, but could not complete.

Rest of the workout was damn good too.

Bench
5x110
5x130
5x145
5x165
5x180
Decided to max. Did 200x1, second one I needed some assistance. So absolute max is still around 205.
Moving up 5

Walking DB Lunges

5x40
5x45
5x50
5x55
5x60
This really kicked my ass. Lunges are not optional, my friends. I enjoyed going heavy on lunges MUCH more than doing, say, 35x12, 40x10, 45x8.

Weighted Dips:
Bodyweight x 8
25x10
35x9
45x8
This gave me such a pump it's not even funny. Gonna bump it up 10 next time and see what happens. Had my colorful towel on, of course. Drew glances.

Seated Calf Raise
5x87.5
5x105
5x117.5
4x150
Was in a hurry and absolutely SPENT on the last set. Skipped the second to last set cause I had to be somewhere. Will do this sequence again next time.

Finally broke 200 for each of my 3 big lifts! This is a hell of an accomplishment.

Meeting with the trainer tomorrow (for real this time!)

[ChecksandGiggles]

January 17th, 2009

Was supposed to be a rest day, and that would have been nice as I was sore as hell from PR'ing the day before. Alas, it was not so!

I had a training session with my powerlifting friend who works at my gym. He corrected my form on deadlifts, showed me how to do box squats, showed me how to press my shoulder blades in together on the bench, taught me to power clean, and critiqued my program. I believe I will enter a PL competition in June. I'll have some nice lifts by then...

With that being said, I've come up with a better program, based on this trainer's suggestions and input I got in the workout programs forum. It's still 5x5 on the compounds. Here's how it looks:

Day A:
-Squat
-Bench
-Power Clean (5x5 or 3x5, 2x3 if I feel like cleaning heavy triples)
-Military Press
-Dips (bodyweight, for warmup, then increase weight and take to near failure)
-A tricep isolation movement (pressdowns, CGBP, Skull Crushers) (probably 10 8 6 4 2 scheme)

Day B:
-Deadlift
-Squat (-15% weight adjustment)
-Row (alternate BB/DB)
-Pullups (Same scheme as Dips)
-A bicep isolation movement (one of the many varieties of curls...same scheme as tricep isolation movement)
-Farmer's Walk/Plate Carry or a forearm isolation movement

Day C
-Squat
-Incline or Decline Bench (alternate)
-Power Cleans
-Lunges
-Calf Raise/Press
-Dips

HIIT continues on in-between days, one total rest day remains. I think this program strikes a better balance between upper/lower body, especially with the addition of the cleans. Trainer recommended doing a split-body routine in about a month, but this has a really good feel to it and seems more productive, so I will stick with it for a while.

[ChecksandGiggles]

January 18th, 2010

Intervals at 5:45 am. Last time doing 8, next time I'm up to 9. Still feels brutal, but I'm at least learning to breathe better. Prepared for college, got myself mentally ready.

[ChecksandGiggles]

January 19th, 2010

First day of sophmore year for me! It was excellent, I went in with the right attitude, and I like my classes. I was not shy, struck up conversations, feel like I got more female attention than I used to. I'm sure the lifting helped with that.

Workout: Today was day A. Starting next week I'll be rearranging my workout schedule to lift Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, swim in between and Saturday, and rest Sunday. Will work out better and let me sleep more.

Squat
110x5
125x5
145x5
160x5
180x4
Went up from last time, but failed halfway up on the 5th rep. Should be able to bust past this soon.

Bench Press
110x5
130x5
150x5
170x5
185x5
I used the technique of tucking my shoulder blades inwards to activate the chest more, I feel like it works. The spotter on my last set was kind of weird and I think he gave me assistance even though I didn't need it. I'm gonna move up 5 anyway, or get microplates/1lb chains.

Power Cleans
65x5
70x5
80x5
90x5
100x6
This is by far the most demanding exercise I've ever done. I've never been so intimidated by 100 pounds my whole life as I was then. I really pushed to get that 6th rep out, but had to rest like 5-7 seconds between rep 5 and 6. Nevertheless, I'll bump it up 5.

Military Press
80x5
95x5
110x5
125x5
135x5
Moving up 5. Feels good man.

Dips
Bodyweight x8
35x9
45x6
55x4
Repped out less than last time because I realized that last time the plate touched the ground. This time I slipped the chain through the center so it wouldn't do that. Good god, this exercise scorched me.

Tricep Pressdowns
100x10
120x8
130x6
140x4
150x3
I'm used to doing this with the rope that you can pull apart but I didn't see that today. Used the bar and upped the weights a bit. Made the muscles around my left elbow jolt with pain on the concentric motion. This doesn't happen with the rope. I'll be using a different isolation next time anyway.

All in all, a very good workout, and a superb day.

[readyforthepain]

nice Military Press brah

[ChecksandGiggles]

nice Military Press brah

Thanks brah. It brings all the girls to the yard

[ChecksandGiggles]

January 20, 2010

Intervals at 5:30 am. Went awesome-did 9 reps, and in less time than it took me to do 8 the previous day. Must be getting better.

Classes were all right. Organic chemistry shouldn't be too bad, and the professor seems nice. Calculus, though, is an entirely different story. The professor said, and I quote "students complain to me that I go too fast for them to take notes, and that is my intent. Just go to my site and watch the lecture again online." So I'm thinking, what is this retarded sh!t? Why would I want to watch your lecture twice? Math is my weak link. I'm not sure how to deal with this. I tried to switch to a different teacher but that wasn't an option. Considering taking something else and taking Calc in the summer at a community college instead. Meeting with my adviser tomorrow to discuss.

[readyforthepain]

math is my weak spot too it sucks

[ChecksandGiggles]

January 21, 2010

Very rage-fueled workout. Was stressing over college stuff, but surprisingly enough the answers came to me as I was doing deadlifts. Imagine that. Then I PR'ed.

Deadlifts:
5x135
5x155
5x175
5x200
6x220
Getting harder to advance each time, but my technique is better and man, it feels good to see that weight go up.

Squat (-15%)
5x95
5x110
5x125
5x135
5x155
Left hip flexor has been hurting on squats for some reason.

DB Row
5x50
5x55
5x65
5x75
5x80
Bumping up 5. Should I do them from a lunge stance, or leaning on a bench with one knee? I was taught to lean, and that's how I do it still. I tried the lunge position and felt like I could generate more power this way.

Pullups (narrow grip)
8xBodyweight
8x25
6x35
4x45
Bodyweight narrow pullups felt like cake. Last set had me screaming, literally.

Preacher curls
60x9
65x5
75x0?????
Not sure what happened here. I think my arms were fried from pullups. Upon examination of my excel weight tables, I found that I also programmed too high. Maybe I mixed up the weights for this exercise with something else. Doesn't matter, got a massive pump from going to failure.

Farmer's walk
35's in each hand
25's in each hand-0 drops for full gym lap
I love and hate the Farmer's Walk. Love it because it makes my forearms strong and draws impressed glances...hate because it makes me want to die while I'm doing it.

Overall, a very good workout. Anger helps with the PR's.

[readyforthepain]

strong deads

[ChecksandGiggles]

January 22nd, 2010

Got through my first week of college. Was tough, man. But should get better from now on, first week is the worst. Got my classes figured out.

Today was interval day. Couldn't do it in the morning, was running low on sleep and figured it'd be better to postpone it than lose 1.5 hours of sleep. I operate on a pretty tight schedule, because this makes me feel optimal. I went after I got back from college. Turns out I lost my goggles. Well, screw it, I thought. I guess my eyes are gonna have to burn. I plunged into the pool, did 9 intervals, then cranked out one more just because I had the balls to.

I ran into a few people at the university today whom I thought I would never see again. I have my own reasons to believe that. But one of them is in my organic chemistry class, and we reconnected. As I was waiting for the bus home, I ran into this girl I partied with last year. She stole my number. Then on the bus I saw another person I hadn't seen for a LONG time (less than a year, though), we had a good conversation, got her number out of it.

Came home, made an AMAZING salad (for some reason massive salads always taste better after HIIT), took a nap of champions, then studied for several hours to get ahead. Should be doing something a little more fun than this tomorrow. Just had a small toke to celebrate this week...it's been an adventure, that's for sure. Tomorrow, I destroy the legs. And everything else. 2x a week power cleans? Death in a barbell.

[ChecksandGiggles]

January 23, 2010

Went to the gym not feeling too well. Thought it would affect performance...but nothing makes you feel better than that first set of squats. You just sort of get over yourself and press that weight.

Squats:
5x110
5x125
5x145
5x160
6x180
Up 10. SMASHED through that little 180 plateau.

Incline Bench Press
5x100
5x115
5x130
5x150
5x165
Up 5, find that I do better when feet are farther apart on the floor.

Power Cleans
Went for triples today.
3x85
3x95
3x100
3x110
3x115
Last set I cranked out a 4th, but form was poor. I'll move up 5 anyway. This was hard.

Walking DB Lunges
5x40
5x45
5x50
5x55
5x60
Thought I was gonna die on the last two sets. Hobbled back to the DB rack and had to lean on it for a while to catch my breath. Still, gonna increase the whole sequence by 5. These make me want to cry. But they aren't optional.

Calf Press (on leg press machine)
5x255
5x295
5x340
5x380
6x425
It's been a while since I've done this, but got the hang of it real quick. Up 10

Dips
Bodyweight x8
10x35
7x45
5x55
Up from Monday by 1-2 reps straight across. Up by 5. This exercise makes me scream.

Went to chill with my best friend after this. Was great seeing the guy.

[ChecksandGiggles]

January 24th, 2010

Rest day.

Came to the conclusion that the answers to most philosophical questions in life are right there in front of your face, waiting for you to look at them should you change your perspective of the world ever so slightly.