Ch3v3ll3's Log

[ch3v3ll3]

Hey guys. Been meaning to come start a journal over here for a while now.

This will be a long intro post (in b4 TL;DR)

Stats: 5'11-6', 160 lbs, ectomorph
All-time PRs:
DL: 405 w/belt
Bench: 250x2
Squat: 340x1 (belt)

Training History:

I've been training seriously for about 1.5 years now. Previously, I was into competitive cycling, which cut me down from a bodyweight of 160 to 136-140 pretty quickly. I was disgustingly thin, and still am pretty small.

Started out on Madcow 5x5 in March of 2010. I saw good progress in strength, but then injured my back in May of 2010, which kept me from squatting heavy (relatively) for quite a while.

After BSing on a high volume, high frequency program that I gained very little from (with diet in check, in excess of 4,000 calories consistently), I switched back over to Madcow 5x5 in August of 2010. After four months on the program, I had brought my squat back up from a high 225x1 to squatting 300x3, benching 225x1 with spotter help to 235x4, and deadlifting in the 290s-300 range to deadlifting 345x5.

After that last bout with 5x5, I decided to make a change to a more physique-focused routine, as I felt I wasn't getting the size I was looking for with Madcow (with a consistent caloric surplus).

I switched to an upper/lower split in November/December of 2010, which I have been on up until this past week.

I then moved to a push/pull/legs split. I made the change in order to move some of the heavier back movements into my routine, such as deadlifts and barbell rows, rack pulls, sldls, etc.

Goals:

After bulking to 180 at about 15-16% bodyfat, I decided to cut down for the summer. I am currently at about 160lbs at 10%-ish bodyfat. Yes, I am small, and I know it.

Why cut? I am a FFB, I have pictures of when I was 13-14 and very chubby. This cut was a dry-run, so to speak, of teaching myself how to diet down from a bulk weight. It has greatly improved my confidence in my mental strength to diet down and I do not regret the decision in the least.

I have a few more weeks to go on my cut, after that a lean bulk is in order, hopefully into the 190s.

It is a future goal of mine to compete in a bodybuilding competition in 3-4 years. Whether or not that becomes a reality depends on the progress I make in these next couple of years.

Current Split:


Every Other Day

Quads/Hams/Calves/Posterior Chain A:
Deadlifts
2 sets
Lying Leg Curls
2 sets
Hack Squats
2 sets
Seated Calf Raise
1 set

Chest/Shoulders/Tris A:
Barbell Incline Press
2 sets
Seated Dumbbell Military Press
2 sets
Skullcrushers
2 sets
Ab work

Back/Bis A:
Lat Pull-Downs
2 sets
T-Bar Rows
2 sets
Alternating Dumbbell Curls
2 sets


Quads/Hams/Calves/Posterior Chain B:
SLDL
2 sets
Seated Leg Curls
2 sets
Leg Press
2 sets
Standing Calf Raise
2 sets

Chest/Shoulders/Tris B:
Seated Barbell Military Press
2 sets
Incline Dumbbell Press
2 sets
Decline Skullcrushers
2 sets

Back/Bis B:
HS ISO Pulldown
2 sets
Dumbbell Rows
2 sets
EZ Bar Curls
2 sets

[ch3v3ll3]

I log my daily intake on fatsecret, whether bulking or cutting.

h ttp://fatsecret.com/Diary.aspx?pa=mdcs

The link above will take you to my diet calendar, complete with protein/carbs/fat breakdown. I don't track micros. I only count protein sources if it comes from dairy, eggs, whey, or a meat source.

[ch3v3ll3]

Chest/Shoulders/Tris tonight.

Bodyweight at 158.6.

I'm debating working with 3dmj for the long-term. I'd have them help me cut down to 8% then bulk back up while staying relatively lean (sub 15%). 75/25 on me going through with hiring them.

[ch3v3ll3]

Pre-workout: Felt good. 8/10.

Seated Barbell Military:
Ramping
145# x 4 -PR
-narrowed my grip. Have much more power at this narrower grip.
140# x 5 wide grip (-2R)
120#x 14 (PR, +3 or 4r)
-Solid.

Incline Dumbbell Bench (HS Bench Position 4)
70s x 5 (-4R)
-Da fuk? Shoulders seemed to be tired out from the military effort.
75s x 3
-Wanted to go heavy.

Reverse Grip Bench Press
135# x 5
135# x 5
-Kind of an awkward movement, but it really hits the triceps.

Dumbbell Skullcrushers
15s x 15
20s x 7

Wojo Laterals
15s x 18
20s x 12
ss w/Front Raises
20s x 12
25s x 7

Cable Crunches
120# x 20
130# x 13

Notes: Overall pretty solid. DB benching sucked, which was surprising as it's usually a noproblem lift for me. Oh well.

Sorry for not posting for a bit, I was debating running one log or the other on another site and I've decided to double-log it for a while.

AM weight today was 155.7

[ch3v3ll3]

Haven't logged in to this in a while. I think I'll start updating this again.

[ch3v3ll3]

I moved to a larger bodypart split a few weeks ago. I wanted to focus on some more isolation exercises in addition to some major compounds. Volume is roughly 10-12 sets for most bodyparts, but it goes entirely by feel.

Current split is:

Chest/Triceps
Incline DB Press
Dips
Flys/Crossovers
Skulls
Rope Tricep extension

Quads/Hams
Barbell Lunges
Hack Squat/Leg Press (one only)
Optional: Leg Curls

Back/Biceps
Barbell Rows
Lat Pulldowns
Deadlifts 5/3/1
Seated Cable Row
DB Curl
Machine Curl

Shoulders/Calves
Seated DB Military Press
Standing DB Lateral Raises
Reverse Pec Deck
Standing Calf

PRs I've hit relatively recently:
DB Incline 90s x 5
Front Squat 280# x 3
Barbell Row 225# x 6 no belt


My bulk has been quite the fail over the semester. I'm sitting at 162.something right now. Not super lean, but not fat either. Going to really up the intake as I feel I'm gaining strength easily; it's the diet consistency that messes with me.

[ch3v3ll3]

Pre-workout: Neck still felt a little stiff. Went in anyway

Barbell Rows (no belt)
205# x 8 (+2R)
205# x 7
225# x 5
225# x 6
185# x 12
185# x 13

Wide-grip Lat Pulldown
160# x 8
160# x 7
150# x 9
150# x 8

Deadlifts [5]/3/1/D
150 x 5
190 x 5
225 x 3
245 x 5
280 x 5
320 x 5 [6]
-Felt pretty good. Not as easy as it has been in the past b/c of the exercises beforehand.

Seated Cable Row
170# x 6
150# x 9
150# x 8

Offset-grip DB curls
20s x 8
30s x 7
30s x 7
30s x 6
35s x 5
25s x 12
25s x 8

Machine Curl
70# x 5
50# x 8
40# x 10
40# x 9

Need to up the food intake. I'm going to be shooting for 4,000 everyday. I could probably make due with 3,500, but i really just need to say "**** it" and focus on gaining size. I continue to make consistent strength gains, but it doesn't mean **** without food.

[ch3v3ll3]

Chest/Triceps 3 RW

Pre-workout: Lats were sore, as were triceps for whatever reason (likely due to attachment to lats. Felt a bit unstable on some of the pressing, and I fatigued quicker than usual.

DB Incline (HS Bench Position 4)
90s x 4 (slightly short on ROM)
90s x 4 (deep)
80s x 6
80s x 5
70s x 6
-Shut it down at the 70s. 70s felt light, but I couldn't rep them out like usual due to instability.

Body Masters Horizontal Chest Press (cable)
90# x 16
100# x 17

Dips
45# x 7
-LOL.

Machine Flys
55# x 17
70# x 16
70# x 10
70# x 11
85# x 8

Tricep Pressdown straight handle (skullcrusher movement)
50# x 20
70# x 20
70# x 11

Skulls (loaded weight)
20# x 10
20# x 13
20# x 9

Body Masters Horizontal Chest Press
100# x 19
120# x 11
130# x 11
150# x 11

[ch3v3ll3]

AM Weight: 164.4

Tired as hell today. Back and chest is extremely sore.

[ch3v3ll3]

Was planning on working quads/hams today, but decided to wait until tomorrow. I prefer to work out only two days in a row, otherwise I start to feel run down pretty quickly. So, tomorrow will be quads/hams, and the following day will be shoulders/calves, etc.

[ch3v3ll3]

:yawn:

No weigh-in today. Had a long night last night, but it was fun. Planning on hitting quads/hams later in the day today. I'll post it up in a bit.

[ch3v3ll3]

Notes: Quick workout. Only had about an hour to hit quads/hams. Overall it went pretty well.

Barbell Reverse Lunges
135# x 8
185# x 10 (+1)
205# x 6*
205# x 4
185# x 5
135# x 11

Polaris Leg Press (no lockout)
6 plates x 16
6 plates x 21
8 plates x 21
10 plates x 10*
8 plates x 21
-Did these instead of hack squats. Couldn't even get one plate moving on hack squats my glutes/hams were so fried.

That's it. Gym was closing so had to get out of there. No longer doing calves on this day, calves are now with shoulders.

[ch3v3ll3]

No training today. I would have hit shoulders if the gym was open, but it's not.

Not worried about it. This will actually put me in a good position for my 2-on, 1-off split. Split from here on out will naturally be

Day 1: shoulders/Calves
Day 2: Back/Biceps
Day3: OFF
Day 4: Chest/Triceps
Day 5: Quads/Hams

Should work out well.

[ch3v3ll3]

Upper A
Pre-workout: Didn't think my strength was going to be there considering yesterday's festivities. Was pleasantly surprised.

Tbar Row
4 plates +25# x 9 (+3R)
4 plates x 8

Seated DB Military Press
70s x 11 (+4R)
75s x 0
-Couldn't flip em
70s x 8

Incline Barbell Bench HS Bench Position 3
115# x 8
135# x 11
145# x 9
-Not bad, considering the pressing effort beforehand. I was able to arch pretty well on this bench.

Tricep Bar CGBP
2 plates x 9
2 plates x 7

Lat Pulldown Close-Grip
170# x 8 (+10#, -1R)
170# x 4 (short rest, gym was closing)


Notes: I'm reverting back to this split. It's the most familiar and comfortable for me, and it's the one that allows me to progress the fastest. I just don't have the right mindset for higher volume training at this point. I find myself feeling bored after the third set of any bodypart.

I will run this into the ground and then make the switch to DC at a future time.

[ch3v3ll3]

Nothing's changed for the most part.

Upper A:
Tbar Row
Seated DB Military
Barbell Incline
CGBP
Lat Pulldown Close-Grip

Lower A:
Deadlift 5/3/1
Lying Leg Curl one-legged
Machine Hack Squat
DB Curls
Calf Raise

OFF

Upper B
Barbell Row
Incline DB Press
Smith Military Press
Lat Pulldown Wide Grip

Lower B:
Barbell Lunges
Leg Press (feet low and narrow)
Machine Curl
Calf Raise

OFF

OFF

[ch3v3ll3]

5/[3]/1/D Deadlifts
150 x 5
190 x 5
225 x 3
265 x 3
300 x 3
340# x [3] 7
315# x 7 BELT

Polaris Hack Squat (2 holes showing)
8 plates x 7
6 plates x 15


Barbell Curl
65# x 11
85# x 6
85# x 7
-Biceps were actually sore before this workout from lat pulldowns and tbars. I expect a jump in strength next session.

Seated Calf Raise
90# x 12

[ch3v3ll3]

Upper B RW
Chest-Supported Row
3 plates x 11
3 plates+25# x 5
-Gym was BUSY. couldn't find a spot to do barbell rows. Settled for these.

Incline DB HS Bench Position 4
90s x 6 (+1, all time PR)
-Ugly last rep
80s x 9

Smith High Incline Shoulder Press (assume 45# bar)
135# x 10
155# x 6

Body Masters Lat Pulldown Station
170# x 7
160# x 11

Skulls (Behind Head) (loaded weight)
40# x 5
40# x 7

Lateral Raises
30s x 13

[ch3v3ll3]

Lower B
Squats (low bar, deep, just outside shoulder width)
225 x 5
250 x 3
275 x 3 (groin)
225 x 13
225 x 11
275 x 4
-Felt good to back squat again. Quads and lower back were sore before I even started. On the first run with 275 I was going to hit 275x3, then 300x3, then 315x3. Got a lot of stiffness in my left groin after 275, so decided to go lighter and push out some reps.

I'm going to be focusing on a lot of groin stretching and other mobility exercises on my off days. The squat-to-stands helped a TON, but I'm going to need much more work if I want to hit 315 sometime next week.

Alternating Lying Leg Curls
40# x 10
40# x 8

Alternating DB Curls
35s x 10
40s x 5

Standing Calf Raise
160 x 7

[ch3v3ll3]

Split will be changing slightly. Squats will have priority.

Monday: Lower A
Squats
Lying Leg Curls
DB Curls
Standing Calf Raise

Tues
Tbar Rows
Seated DB Military
BB Incline
Lat Pulldown Close Grip
CGBP

Wednesday: OFF

Thursday:
Deadlifts 5/3/1
Hack Squats/BB Lunges
BB Curls
Seated Calf Raise

Friday
Barbell or Cable Row
DB Incline
Seated Smith Military Press
Lat Pulldown WG
Skulls
Shoulder Laterals

Saturday: Off
Sunday: OFF

[ch3v3ll3]

No AM Weight today.

Inner thighs and lower back are pretty sore today. Still some quad soreness as well. I think I may stick with the higher reps on the squat for a bit. I'd like to work up to a heavy 3-5rm on Monday, but main goal will be 225x20. I think higher reps on squatting is where it's at for ze quads.

[ch3v3ll3]

:yawn:

Hope everyone had a solid NYE. I've been posting on this site for two years now. Sheesh.

NY Resolution: Get huge.

I'm going to be doing the DC protocol for quads for my back squats. First set will be 6-10 reps, and then a 20-rep widowmaker. I was debating doing a strength rep range for a while, but tbh I've ALWAYS done a strength rep range for squats, and it never seems to help my legs. Going to focus on higher reps at the expense of working on a more impressive 1rm.

I'm aiming for 275x6-8 tomorrow, and a 225 widowmaker. Just going to progress through the rep range, bumping up 5 lbs or a rep or two each session. Would like to see 315x6-10 in a couple of weeks.

[f=ma]

are you logging over here off and on? im thinking about doing on over here strictly for detailed lifting and diet info

[ch3v3ll3]

are you logging over here off and on? im thinking about doing on over here strictly for detailed lifting and diet info

If you log on here I will also. I have no friends on here, sadly. The contest prep section is great for diet and shiz.

[ch3v3ll3]

I'll just do a brief update of some notable lifts.

DB Incline: 90s x 7
BB Row (yates): 235# x 6
Squats (belt): 315# x 6
Deads: 330# x 12, 355# x 7 (no belt, just straps)
DB Military 75s x 8-9 (won't be able to replicate this for a bit, I switched gyms and need to get used to the benches/dbs)
BW: 165-166

I typically have a lot of lean with my squats (horrible leverages), and my back wasn't feeling THAT strong on the day I took this vid, but still I know there's some GMing going on from reps 4-6.

[ch3v3ll3]

Upper B
DB Rows (one-armed)
135# x 10 PR
135# x 12 Nother PR
-pretty controlled. Def not branchwarrenin' dem weights. DBs here go to 145#. well ****.

Incline DB Bench Position 3 methinks
90s x 7 matched
90s x 5 (+2R)
80s x 5
-meh

BB HISP
135# x 8
135# x 7

Wide Pullups (palms away)
BW+25# x 11 (+2R)
BW+25# x 8 (+1)
BW x 9

straight bar skulls (short bar)
20# x 10
20# x 9
30# x 6
-some couple was using the lone ez bar at this gym. Bish was decent lookin and she was mirin' my diamond delts when I did lat raises later.

Lateral Raises
30s x 17 (+2R)
35s x 7 (+2R)

[ch3v3ll3]

Haven't logged in a bit. I log on another site more consistently simply because I get a bit more traffic there, heh.

For any lurkers, I'm now moving from my upper/lower to Madcow 5x5, a program I believe in wholeheartedly.

Tested some numbers before the run:
Squat 365x1 (Belt and TK Knee sleeves)
OHP 155x1 (First time doing this in a loooonnngg time)
Bench Press (245x1)

Overall, not bad. Haven't OHP or Benched in a long, long time. I have issues with arching on my bench, so I'm hoping that as I become more comfortable that number will rise pretty quickly.

Bodyweight has been hovering in the 168-170 range lately. Looking to really gain a ton of mass on this program. I'm taking a look at possibly doing powerlifting. I seem to have an easier time gaining strength rather than size, and I like the objectivity of PLing much, much more than bbing. That being said, I will always train for size in some aspect.

Numbers I'm shooting for:
500x1 deadlift (no belt)
405x1 squat (belt)
300x1 bench
185x1 OHP
BW: 185

This was my squat max attempt.




I will be logging my workouts from here on out consistently.

[ch3v3ll3]

Madcow Week 1 Friday
Squats
150x5
190x5
225x5
265x5
310# x 3
225x8
-Felt very good. Squat to stands have really helped out with hip mobility. Stance is very wide but feels very comfortable.

Bench Press
100x5
125x5
150x5
180x5
210# x 3
150x8
-Meh. Going to move my grip in closer. Thumbs distance away from smooth. I seem to be most comfortable shoulder-wise in that position.

Pendlay Row
95x5
115x5
140x5
160x5
190# x 3
140x8

Lying Tricep Extensions
EZ bar +40# x 12
EZ bar +50# x 6


Good session. Squats felt very comfortable. Excited for my inzer lever to come in. Should be here just as the weight gets heavy.

Having some pain with my elbows after squats. I'm low bar squatting, and the bar is pretty low on my back. Seems like there's some strain on the elbows in that position. May wear my TK elbow sleeves (horrible sleeves for elbows, btw) during squat sets from now on.

[ch3v3ll3]

[ch3v3ll3]

Madcow 5x5 Week 2 Monday
Squats
160x5
195x5
230x5
270x5
310 x 5
-Not too bad.

Bench
105x5
130x5
155x5
180x5
210 x 5
-Kept the wider grip.

Pendlay Row
95x5
120x5
145x5
165x5
190x5

DB Curls
45s x 7 (+3R, PR)
45s x 4
-Lol, approaching 50s for pretty strict curls.


Notes:

The Malaysians were having some sort of Monday gathering at the rec center. Took almost all the squat racks. Tons of good ol bros ****ing around and getting nothing done. Saw a ginger in a Superman cutoff complete with cape. True story.


Good session. In and out pretty quickly. Feel like I'm looking pretty thick through chest/shoulders/traps. Arms will likely always suck, but thats okay because I can outcurl most anyone at my gym.

Focus was unreal this session. I won't stop until I've hit a 405# belted squat.

[juicydanglers]

hey thanks for the comment, lol, we may be the same supposed size but your sure making better use of it, some heavy ass lifting goin on in here!


i tried madcows last year, great for strength but then i took it into a cut and sure enough died after a couple of weeks!!