Time to get back on top Westside style!

[gervvin]

Over the past 4 years I have really enjoyed bodybuilding. I have enjoyed the working out, the nutrition behind it, and the results. Over the past couple years I have lost motivation. I have kept working out but I find myself only going through the motions. I find it hard to stay motivated now that I am not playing any form of serious sports. I now have a nice gut thanks to laziness, eating, and drinking. It wasn't till a few days ago that I found motivation through a minor injury. I managed to pull a muscle in my back while watching TV on the couch lol. As I limped around the house looking like an old man I realized how pathetic my injury was. It's time to get myself back in great shape. The old me was never hurt, especially not from watching TV.

My goals are to: Increase strength and muscle size, reduce body fat, gain flexibility, and strengthen my core.

**WORKOUT**

I will be using WS4SB Part 3 as my workout. Westside Training has always worked my body very hard and it fits my life's schedule very well. This time I made it my duty to do as many foreign exercises to my body as possible. My workouts will also include an elliptical warm-up before the workout and some static stretching after the workout. Upper body days will include some lower back exercises given to me by my physical therapist.

MONDAY – Max-Effort Upper Body:

-Incline barbell bench press (work up to a max set of 3-5 reps)
-Flat DB bench press (2 sets of max reps)
-Seated cable rows w/ Band pull-aparts (3-4 supersets of 8-12 reps)
-Barbell shrugs (3 – 4 sets of 8-15 reps)
-Barbell curls (3-4 sets of 8-15 reps)
-Triceps rope pull down (3-4 sets of 8-15 reps)
-20 minutes on elliptical
I personally added the triceps pull down to Monday's. If I feel like I am starting to over work myself I will drop them.

TUESDAY – Dynamic-Effort Lower Body
- Vertical jumps (5-8 sets of 1-3 jumps)
- Barbell reverse lunge w/ knee lift (2-3 sets of 8-10 reps)
- 45-degree hyper extensions (3 sets of 8-12 reps)
- Weighted Swiss ball crunches (4 sets of 10-15 reps)
- 45 minutes on elliptical

WEDNESDAY - Cardio
- Run 1 mile
Typically this is a day off if you follow the workout program. However with my school schedule it works best if I do some cardio on Wednesday and take the weekend off.

THURSDAY – Repetition Upper Body
-Push-up variations (3 sets of max reps)
-Lat pulldowns w/ Seated DB “power cleans” (3-4 supersets of 8-12 reps)
-DB military press (4 sets of 8-12 reps)
-DB shrugs (8-10 reps) w/ BB triceps skull crushers (10-15 reps)
-DB curls (4 sets of 8-12 reps)
-20 mins on elliptical
I personally added the DB curls down to Thursday's. If I feel like I am starting to over work myself I will drop them.

FRIDAY – Max-Effort Lower Body
-Rack pulls (max set of 3-5 reps)
-Leg Press (3 sets of 6-12 reps)
-Hamstring Curls (3 sets of 8-12 reps)
-Calf Raises (4 sets of 10-15 reps)
-Ground-based, high-rep abdominal circuit
-20 mins on elliptical
I know what your thinking.....Yes, I changed this day completely. This is because I no longer am going to squat. (I KNOW I KNOW! I AM BREAKING THE BB.COM LAW!) This is because it hurts my knees and lower back. At this point I feel that the risks are out weighing the benefits. Guess we will see what happens with my lower body strength.

SATURDAY AND SUNDAY - Rest

So there is the workout. There is a lot of cardio which I feel is necessary for removing my gut. I plan on doing these exercises for 8 weeks then switching them up with others from WS4SB.

**DIET**
As we all know this is such a major part of reaching your goals. The principals of my diet will be low fat and high protein. I will eat most of my fats in the morning for breakfast, doing so really helps me curb my appetite. I will try to go low carb for dinner anytime it is possible. It can be hard being a broke college student while trying to eat as healthy as possible. I love natural and organic foods and will buy them whenever my budget allows (I highly recommend the film Food Inc. to everyone who appreciates good food). Also I will be drinking a ton of water daily. I am going to aim for a gallon a day.

**Supplements**
Pre-workout: Green Tea Extract and Vitamin B 12
I am pretty much over all other pre-workout supplements. I have tried them all from NO Xplode to Animal Pump. I think they are all garbage and the same results can be achieved much cheaper and safer.

Post Workout: Dymatize Elite Gourmet Protein
I will probably only take one shake per day following a workout. I chose this protein based on price and reviews.

Vitamins: Multi-Vitamin, Fish Oil, Glucosamine & Chondroitin

**My Weakness**
I am currently a 24 year old college student in a small town. In other words there isn't much to do besides party. I will try not to drink more than once a week and this should be possible. When I do get wasted I will try to drink lot's of water before bed as well as take some ZMA to try and get my testosterone levels back up.

**Current Pic**


So yeah I think that covers it I will post my daily workouts on here and keep everyone posted. I plan on starting this coming Monday! Comments good or bad are welcomed and appreciated!!!!

[gervvin]

Just finished up day 1. To be honest it felt great. I was a little worried about the lifting because it had been roughly 3 weeks since I last lifted. My muscles were still in pretty good shape.

-Incline barbell bench press (work up to a max set of 3-5 reps) This went much better than expected. I have very little experience with incline BB but I was able to do a set of 5 with 155lbs for a max set.
-Flat DB bench press (2 sets of max reps) To be on the safe side I didn't max out the reps. Instead I went 4x12 with 40lb dbs.
-Seated cable rows w/ Band pull-aparts (3-4 supersets of 8-12 reps) These felt great even with my lower back a little sore. I did 80lbs on the rows.
-Barbell shrugs (3 – 4 sets of 8-15 reps) This lift has potential to hurt my lower back. However it didn't hurt at all. I went 3x8x155lbs
-Barbell curls (3-4 sets of 8-15 reps)I went with the ez curl bar since I tend to get tendenitis from the straight bar. I went 4x12x60lbs I believe.
-Triceps rope pull down (3-4 sets of 8-15 reps) These felt good although I totally forgot what weight I did. It is always hard to remember with cables.

The cardio, back exercises, and streching all felt so great! I honestly feel awesome right now. If anyone is a person who just lifts without doing any streching or cardio like I used to be I highly reccomend adding both to every workout day! I hope tomorrow goes as well!

[gervvin]

Day two went pretty week. Soreness from day 1 set in overnight. It wasn't anything too bad but it definitely tightened me up. My body seems to tighten up very easy that is another reason why I want to improve my flexibility.

- Vertical jumps (5-8 sets of 1-3 jumps) I knew these were really going to be hard on my injured lower back. I did very little jumps to make sure I didn't re injure it. I went with 5x5. It felt alright but could have been better.

- Barbell reverse lunge w/ knee lift (2-3 sets of 8-10 reps) These again have the potential to injure my back. I was sure to keep my back as straight as possible and completed 2x8x20lbs with no problems.

- 45-degree hyper extensions (3 sets of 8-12 reps) This is a great workout for my lower back. I could feel some soreness at first but then it just started to feel good. I went 3x10.

- Weighted Swiss ball crunches (4 sets of 10-15 reps) No problems here 4x15x25lbs

Cardio and stretching went great as well. I fully expect my lower body to be nice and sore tomorrow even with the stretching, that is just how first weeks back are. But overall I still am feeling good

[gervvin]

There is one way to describe my body today. Sore. The second I woke up I could feel it. My upper body has recovered pretty well but my lower is very sore including my lower back. I considered taking the day off but instead I powered through the mile run. I went nice and slow since my lower back was so tight. It actually went decently well, and a lot of the soreness in my legs is gone. My back is still tight and really sore. I'm going to hot tub tonight as see if I can loosen it up.

All that being said, I'm ready to workout tomorrow

[gervvin]

There is one way to describe my body today. Sore. The second I woke up I could feel it. My upper body has recovered pretty well but my lower is very sore including my lower back. I considered taking the day off but instead I powered through the mile run. I went nice and slow since my lower back was so tight. It actually went decently well, and a lot of the soreness in my legs is gone. My back is still tight and really sore. I'm going to hot tub tonight as see if I can loosen it up.

All that being said, I'm ready to workout tomorrow

Upon further view it would have been better to take today off. My back is so sore and tight. I think I should have walked a mile instead of ran. I will probably be fine in a few days but I think it caused me to take a few steps backwards. I think I will still be able to lift tomorrow at least.

[gervvin]

Well I survived the night of back pain. It still hurt when I woke up but one I moved around the pain seemed to get much better. I think that it just keeps on getting really tight from the workouts so I just have to take it easy and keep it loose. With today's workout I made sure to not over do anything that would tighten my back.

-Push-up variations (3 sets of max reps) Just being in push up position works out your lower back so I tried not to stay in it for long. I just did 3x10.
-Lat pulldowns w/ Seated DB “power cleans” (3-4 supersets of 8-12 reps) Everything went well here, I took it easy and went 70lbs on the pull downs and used 15lb db's on the clean.
-DB military press (4 sets of 8-12 reps) Did 4x8x30lbs, obviously went really light.
-DB shrugs (8-10 reps) w/ BB triceps skull crushers (10-15 reps) 3x8x45lbs on DB shurgs, 3x10x50lbs on skull crushers.
-DB curls (4 sets of 8-12 reps) 3x10x30lbs

Also did 20 minutes of cardio on the elliptical which I think helped my back a lot. I will do my stretching now as I prepare to watch the Vikings vs Saints. Go Vikings!

[gervvin]

-Rack pulls (max set of 3-5 reps) This workout worried me since it involves so much lower back. At the time it felt fine but it's a few hours later when the pains tend to start. I decided to only do 3x10x95lbs. So far so good.
-Leg Press (3 sets of 6-12 reps) I had no idea this would test my lower back so much. I couldn't really extend my legs all the way without the left side of my lower back hurting. Although I feel like in the end it helped my back. I went 3x8x90lbs
-Hamstring Curls (3 sets of 8-12 reps) I figured it would be this lift would be the toughest of my back. Instead it felt fine. I did one leg at a time 3x8x30lbs.
-Calf Raises 3x20 went great.
-Ground-based, high-rep abdominal circuit Wow this was tough to get through. You don't know how much your back is involved with ab strength until you injure it. I was able to do this safely I feel but my back my kill me in the morning.

Overall I feel it was a great first week. I thought maybe my back pain would almost be gone by today but maybe that was wishful thinking. I do feel like I helped my back this week more than I hurt it. I have ate pretty healthy all week as well. However I need to drink more water next week. I have to get a big water bottle and carry it everywhere with me. These days off should help with my soreness but in all honestly I can't wait to get back in the gym.

See you Monday!

[gervvin]

So the two days of rest over the weekend felt great. My back was really able to make some great progress. I would say it is at about 85% health wise.

Mondays workout felt really nice as a result. It tightened up towards the end of the workout but overall it was fine.

-Incline barbell bench press Did a 3 rep max of 165lbs
-Flat DB bench press 4x12x40lbs
-Seated cable rows w/ Band pull-aparts 3x10x100lbs on rows
-Barbell shrugs (3 – 4 sets of 8-15 reps) 3x8x155lbs This is where my back tightened up.
-Barbell curls (3-4 sets of 8-15 reps) 4x12x60lbs
-Triceps rope pull down (3-4 sets of 8-15 reps) 3x10x100lbs

Since I am updating this on Tuesday I can tell you that my body is hardly even sore. Once my back is up to 100%, which should be next Monday, I can really start to go hard!

[gervvin]

Just got done with today's workout. I did get a little more sore in my upper body from yesterdays workout. All around I am feeling pretty good.

- Vertical jumps (5-8 sets of 1-3 jumps) 5x8 These felt way better than last week.

- Barbell reverse lunge w/ knee lift (2-3 sets of 8-10 reps) 2x8x20lbs Didn't have to focus as much on my lower back. Instead I felt like I got a good leg workout.

- 45-degree hyper extensions (3 sets of 8-12 reps) 3x10 This really gave me some stiffness in my lower back last week. So far so good today. I guess we will see how I feel in the morning.

- Weighted Swiss ball crunches (4 sets of 10-15 reps) 4x15x25lbs

- 45 minutes on elliptical This was good and tiring and always.

You know, you always hear people say that you "use your core" doing everything. Well I always thought that was a bit of an exaggeration. Once you hurt something like your lower back and lose strength in it you really notice how much you use it for everything. Never skimp on working your core!

[gervvin]

Had to post this! Anyone looking for some good affordable protein has to hit this deal up! SciFit Prota-Lyn 3lbs buy 1 get 1 free! For $29.97! 6lbs of high quality protein for that price is too good to pass up! http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/sf/prota-lyn.html

So needless to say, I will be starting to take some SciFit Prota-Lyn at the end of this week

[DREhova 87]

Yep....time to put in work! ... I want to try WS sometime. Looks pretty interesting.

[wabeer1]

Checkin in mate and keen to see how WS works for you. Solid base and you are hell motivated so it will be great to follow - subbed.

Diet and drinks are always the hardest variables to control - us aussies like to knock back a few brews as well

So true about your supplement statements..so much dodge marketing out there. I have scaled back my supps range and have seen marginal change...except more money in the bank.

[gervvin]

@cota0429 Ya man try WS sometime. I would describe it as a "fun" workout.

@wabeer1 Thanks for the sub man. Glad to know I am not the only guy on here that likes to drink a few beers

[gervvin]

Just got done with today's 1 mile run. I must say it was almost easy in a way. Absolutely no pain in my back and my lungs kept up with my body. I guess I might have to change it to a 1.5 mile run in weeks to come.

Soreness from yesterday is pretty minimal. Looks like I really will be able to push it harder next week.

My new protein will be here at the end of the week so I will let you know how it is!

[gervvin]

Today's workout felt good. I went to sushi for lunch before the gym which would have been a great meal....... that was until my girlfriend ordered the tempura cheesecake with ice cream lol. Needless to say that motivated me to workout harder and burn some calories.

-Push-up variations (3 sets of max reps) I suck at push ups, that is why I choose to add them to my workout. These literally killed me lol.
1x20
1x17
1x10

-Lat pulldowns w/ Seated DB “power cleans” (3-4 supersets of 8-12 reps)
Pulldowns: 3x10x90lbs
Power Cleans: 3x10x20lbs

-DB military press (4 sets of 8-12 reps) I also suck at these. I think my shoulders are just weak!
4x8x35lbs

-DB shrugs (8-10 reps) w/ BB triceps skull crushers (10-15 reps)
DB Shrugs: 3x10x60lbs
Skull Crushers: 3x10x60

-DB curls (4 sets of 8-12 reps)
4x10x30lbs

-20 mins on elliptical

So tomorrow I have to miss my workout for this Oktoberfest type thing. So not only will I be missing a workout, I will also be drinking beer and eating fatty foods. Sadly things like this will continue to come up in life and I have to learn to work through them. I will be making up my workout on Saturday and will immediately get back to eating healthy.

[gervvin]

I was hung over, I felt like ****, and didn't get much sleep. However I still made it to the gym.

-Rack pulls (max set of 3-5 reps) Had to do a bunch of reps with really light weight. My lower back just had something going on with it. It wasn't that bad of pain it just felt weird. I decided it was best to just go easy on it.
-Leg Press (3 sets of 6-12 reps) 3x8x180lbs
-Hamstring Curls (3 sets of 8-12 reps) 3x10x37.5lbs each leg
-Calf Raises (4 sets of 10-15 reps) 4x10x30lbs
-Ground-based, high-rep abdominal circuit Felt so much better than last week.

Getting some much needed rest tonight.

[wabeer1]

Checkin in mate

Lolz at hittin the gym half tanked. Hope your back feels better and what do you think the issue is? What kind of weight are you using for rack pulls?

MP's are a great exercise and my fave for shoulders. I find that shoulders take forever to gains strength given the relative size compared to other muscle groups. I am a big fan of throwing explosive lifts such as Push Press and Clean and Press tro get $$ traction in strength.

How long is your average workout?

[gervvin]

Checkin in mate

Lolz at hittin the gym half tanked. Hope your back feels better and what do you think the issue is? What kind of weight are you using for rack pulls?

MP's are a great exercise and my fave for shoulders. I find that shoulders take forever to gains strength given the relative size compared to other muscle groups. I am a big fan of throwing explosive lifts such as Push Press and Clean and Press tro get $$ traction in strength.

How long is your average workout?

For the last couple years my lower back has always bothered me. It is from a combination of bad posture, lack of flexibility, and genetics. It will be fine now that I am taking care of it. It just takes a little time to get back to 100%.

For rack pulls I only had 145lbs on. I expect that to skyrocket once I'm healthy.

Ya man MP's are so simple yet you get such a great workout from them. Good to hear about shoulders taking awhile to gain strength, I was worried it was just me.

Thanks for checking in! Helps me stay motivated.

[gervvin]

Oh my average workout is usually about 90 minutes. 60 of that is weights. Rest is cardio and stretches.

[gervvin]

So the back pain I talked about seemed to carry on to my workout on Monday. In fact it was a little worse on Monday. I was getting worried about it but today I woke up pain free. I cannot wait to get this behind me. Injuries are so irritating when your trying to see gains.

-Incline barbell bench press (work up to a max set of 3-5 reps) Did a 3 rep max of 175lbs. I could feel the pain in my back too so hopefully next week I will feel great and go even higher.

-Flat DB bench press (2 sets of max reps) 2x12x50lbs This was actually really hard lol.

-Seated cable rows w/ Band pull-aparts (3-4 supersets of 8-12 reps)
Rows: 3x10x100lbs Pull-aparts: 3x10

-Barbell shrugs (3 – 4 sets of 8-15 reps) 3x15x95lbs Kept the weight low because of my back.

-Barbell curls (3-4 sets of 8-15 reps) 4x10x60lbs

-Triceps rope pull down (3-4 sets of 8-15 reps) Flat out forgot to do these.

Not a great day in the gym but that's just how some days go. I have to keep working through the good and the bad days and stay motivated. I will update again later tonight with today's workout.

[gervvin]

Today's workout went well. I spent all day working hard detailing my Dad's SUV so I was worried I might run out of energy. Instead I still manged a good workout.

- Vertical jumps (5-8 sets of 1-3 jumps) 5x3 Didn't jump real hard since my back is still a little tender.

- Barbell reverse lunge w/ knee lift (2-3 sets of 8-10 reps) 2x10x50lbs

- 45-degree hyper extensions (3 sets of 8-12 reps) 3x10

- Weighted Swiss ball crunches (4 sets of 10-15 reps) 4x15x35lbs

- 45 minutes on elliptical Sweat my ass off!

Goodnight everyone.

[wabeer1]

I struggled with flexibility and lower back issues years ago (slipped lower disc about 6 years ago). I have not had any issues as took a proactive view on building core strength. Other than resolving major issues it has helped me heaps with getting my lifting numbers and cannot stress how beneficial this has been to my training.

Great selection of lifts and 2 sessions in one day..modivation must be high to achieve so props. Go easy on the back and what's your current rehab strategy. No probs subbing, journal scene is great source of motivation and accountability - owe alot of my success to this.

SUV detailing..fark hate cleaning cars haha!

Some days are just average but main thing is that you rocked up and did a workout.

[gervvin]

I struggled with flexibility and lower back issues years ago (slipped lower disc about 6 years ago). I have not had any issues as took a proactive view on building core strength. Other than resolving major issues it has helped me heaps with getting my lifting numbers and cannot stress how beneficial this has been to my training.

Great selection of lifts and 2 sessions in one day..modivation must be high to achieve so props. Go easy on the back and what's your current rehab strategy. No probs subbing, journal scene is great source of motivation and accountability - owe alot of my success to this.

SUV detailing..fark hate cleaning cars haha!

Some days are just average but main thing is that you rocked up and did a workout.

Yeah as I learned from my physical therapy sessions my lack of flexibility and lower back problems are closely related. To sum up my strategy I must increase flexibility while increasing core strength.

Today's workout was my 1 mile run. As I said last week I felt like I could go longer than a mile so today I did 1.5 miles. Once again it felt pretty good surprisingly lol. I hate running and usually only do it for football. I might try for 2 miles next week.

[gervvin]

What a crazy day. I move back down to college tomorrow so today was crazy. Still managed to get a good workout in though.

-Push-up variations (3 sets of max reps): I still suck at them but I am getting better.
1x25
1x15
1x10

-Lat pulldowns w/ Seated DB “power cleans” (3-4 supersets of 8-12 reps):
Pulldowns: 3x10x80lbs (I switched machines and this one was much harder, who knows?)
Power Cleans: 3x10x20lbs

-DB military press (4 sets of 8-12 reps): 4x10x30lbs

-DB shrugs (8-10 reps) w/ BB triceps skull crushers (10-15 reps)
DB Shurgs: 3x8x65lbs
Skull Crushers: 3x10x60lbs

-DB curls (4 sets of 8-12 reps) 4x10x30lbs

I am going to miss tomorrows workout because most of my day will be spend driving in a car. Hopefully I can make it up on Saturday if the school gym is open.

[gervvin]

Well I am back at school now. Things are crazy but I still have time for workouts and our gym is pretty nice.

MONDAY – Max-Effort Upper Body:
-Incline barbell bench press (work up to a max set of 3-5 reps):
3 rep max of 185lbs

-Flat DB bench press (2 sets of max reps):
1x12x45lbs
1x10x45lbs

-Seated cable rows w/ Band pull-aparts (3-4 supersets of 8-12 reps)
Rows: 3x10x160lbs
Pullaparts: 3x10

-Barbell shrugs (3 – 4 sets of 8-15 reps)
1x8x135lbs
2x8x185lbs

-Barbell curls (3-4 sets of 8-15 reps)
4x12x70lbs

-Triceps rope pull down (3-4 sets of 8-15 reps)
3x10x60lbs

Ran home from the gym 2 miles.


TUESDAY – Dynamic-Effort Lower Body
- Vertical jumps (5-8 sets of 1-3 jumps)
5x3

- Barbell reverse lunge w/ knee lift (2-3 sets of 8-10 reps)
2x10x50lbs

- 45-degree hyper extensions (3 sets of 8-12 reps)
3x10

- Weighted Swiss ball crunches (4 sets of 10-15 reps)
4x15x45lbs

My back has been feeling pretty good this week and I am starting to see some improvements all around.