Upping My Endurance with BSN's Amino-X

[bmontgomery87]

Today's leg day was a little hectic. The fiance met me at the gym in between her classes, so I tried to stay focused on my routine, while still helping her out with some lunges, shoulder presses, leg presses, and adductor/abductor work.

5 minute elliptical warmup

Squats. Warmed up. Then did 205x5 215x5 250x1 280x1PR
I'm determined to squat 300 soon, so I'm pushing myself every workout.

Adductor/Abductor work. Couple of sets.

Hamstring Curl Machine 2 light sets to warmup

Deadlifts (I know I need to stop DLing 2x a week, but I hate skipping them)
135x5 205x5 215x1 225x1
Decided to not try to pull a lot of weight today, I just really wanted to deadlift, so I kept it reasonable.

I had a couple of random leg sets thrown in, showing the fiance how to do things.

Not the most focused workout, but I felt good, and I'm happy with how my strength is increasing.

[thekaratekid]

Today's leg day was a little hectic. The fiance met me at the gym in between her classes, so I tried to stay focused on my routine, while still helping her out with some lunges, shoulder presses, leg presses, and adductor/abductor work.

5 minute elliptical warmup
Squats. Warmed up. Then did 205x5 215x5 250x1 280x1PR I'm determined to squat 300 soon, so I'm pushing myself every workout.
Adductor/Abductor work. Couple of sets.
Hamstring Curl Machine 2 light sets to warmup
Deadlifts (I know I need to stop DLing 2x a week, but I hate skipping them) 135x5 205x5 215x1 225x1
Decided to not try to pull a lot of weight today, I just really wanted to deadlift, so I kept it reasonable.

I had a couple of random leg sets thrown in, showing the fiance how to do things.

Not the most focused workout, but I felt good, and I'm happy with how my strength is increasing.

I lifted with my wife one time.... NEVER AGAIN. She's a great athlete, and I don't mind helping her, but she kept making me laugh and asking me rediculous questions during my sets. You're a better man than I am, good for you. But it works out well now that we have kids because we both can't be at the gym at the same time, so we take turns going. It's great that your wife is into training too. That has to be good for holding eachother accountable with working out and diet... Do you guys eat pretty well?

Nice squat PR by the way. you'll be throwing 300 around before you know it.

[bmontgomery87]

I lifted with my wife one time.... NEVER AGAIN. She's a great athlete, and I don't mind helping her, but she kept making me laugh and asking me rediculous questions during my sets. You're a better man than I am, good for you. But it works out well now that we have kids because we both can't be at the gym at the same time, so we take turns going. It's great that your wife is into training too. That has to be good for holding eachother accountable with working out and diet... Do you guys eat pretty well?

Nice squat PR by the way. you'll be throwing 300 around before you know it.

She's had a gym membership for like 5-6 months now. This is probably her 5th trip to the gym haha. Fall semester started Monday for her, and now she has a 2 hour break between classes on Tuesdays. So I've talked her into coming out at least once a week to try to do a few things.
It definately took a little patience yesterday because she didn't understand the concept of making every set challenging. I added 20 pounds to the hamstring machine she was on, and she said no, 30 was easy. So i tried to explain that if something is easy for 12 reps, she neees to up the weight a bit. The sheer frustration must have fueled my new PR

I ate fairly "clean" for a while, but lately I've been a little more prone to pick up fast food or take-out. We've been back and forth between our apartment and the house we just baught, so there hasn't been much time for home cooked meals lately, so my diet is definately suffering at the moment. Fortunately I'm bulking, so the extra fat isn't a big concern to me right now. She's been talking about going on a diet for a while now. She's definately put on a few pounds since we started dating, between work, school, and raising a child, she has trouble making good food choices. I've tried to work with her, but sometimes I catch her at the wrong time, and it's not a fun conversation, so I've left it alone lately.

[TheMatzah]

Same with my wife, maybe goes with me twice a month..wish she'd go more.

[bmontgomery87]

Yesterday would have normally been a cardio/off day, but I was feeling pretty good, and wanted to go lift.

Decline BB Bench

Military Press on smith machine. worked up to 105x5. I've got week ass military presses, but that was progress

DB Bench. Almost got seriously hurt here, I lost a 55 as I was lying back, and instead of just dropping it, I tried to save it. I felt something in my elbow pulling. Not too much discomfort today, so I'm hoping I didn't mess anything up.

Shoulder Press Machine Felt good on this. Shoulder was hurt for a long time, now I'm feeling a lot stronger and I'm trying to focus on building my shoulders up.

Pushdowns

Simple workout. But I enjoyed it. Pushed myself hard on the shoulder press machine. I'm just really hoping my elbow isn't messed up.
My workouts haven't ran long in a while, but I've been able to work out pretty intensely, and be fine. Looking forward to a long workout, to really test out my endurance soon.

[thekaratekid]

She's had a gym membership for like 5-6 months now. This is probably her 5th trip to the gym haha. Fall semester started Monday for her, and now she has a 2 hour break between classes on Tuesdays. So I've talked her into coming out at least once a week to try to do a few things.
It definately took a little patience yesterday because she didn't understand the concept of making every set challenging. I added 20 pounds to the hamstring machine she was on, and she said no, 30 was easy. So i tried to explain that if something is easy for 12 reps, she neees to up the weight a bit. The sheer frustration must have fueled my new PR

I ate fairly "clean" for a while, but lately I've been a little more prone to pick up fast food or take-out. We've been back and forth between our apartment and the house we just baught, so there hasn't been much time for home cooked meals lately, so my diet is definately suffering at the moment. Fortunately I'm bulking, so the extra fat isn't a big concern to me right now. She's been talking about going on a diet for a while now. She's definately put on a few pounds since we started dating, between work, school, and raising a child, she has trouble making good food choices. I've tried to work with her, but sometimes I catch her at the wrong time, and it's not a fun conversation, so I've left it alone lately.

Things will slow down eventually with the new house and you'll be able to put more time into your meals. It's so hard though, I'm with you. I'm pretty good at avoiding fast food but I do dumb stuff like yesterday dinner was almost done (20 minutes) but I just had to have a snack of chips and salsa... It could be worse but I'm really try to take my diet to the next level. Some of these guys on bb.com are machines. They eat nothing but exactly what they plan to eat.

[thekaratekid]

Same with my wife, maybe goes with me twice a month..wish she'd go more.

You'll have to find other ways to workout.

[bmontgomery87]

Things will slow down eventually with the new house and you'll be able to put more time into your meals. It's so hard though, I'm with you. I'm pretty good at avoiding fast food but I do dumb stuff like yesterday dinner was almost done (20 minutes) but I just had to have a snack of chips and salsa... It could be worse but I'm really try to take my diet to the next level. Some of these guys on bb.com are machines. They eat nothing but exactly what they plan to eat.

I did the whole machine thing for 6-8 weeks. I know everyone says food sources don't matter, it's just overall macros. But when I was eating "clean" and hitting my macros, I looked better than ever and felt better than ever.
Definately eating super healthy when I cut in the spring. I just felt great. It was hard to stay that disciplined though. There were days when I'd just watch the clock, drinking water, waiting for my next chance to eat a bag of carrotts haha.

You'll have to find other ways to workout.

what you did there,
i see it,
and i like it.

[bmontgomery87]

Yesterday I went a little longer in the gym than usual.
Tried to hit my back with lots of different excercises.

Pullups Warmed up with a light set of lat pulldowns. then bwx10 bwx8 bwx7-8
Shrugs Warmup. 2 Working sets. Then a light set.
DB Rows 60s x 10 65s x 10
Row Machine 4 sets
Lat Pulldowns 3 sets
Chin Ups 2 sets of 10
Then I finished up with some curls. Not sure of the exact name. I took the pushdown rope, and used it in the low cable machine, so I was grabbing it and pulling it up. Mainly felt in the forearms.

I had a great workout, and awesome pump. Still wasn't completely exhausted, but figured I had hit everything pretty well. Didn't want to do curls, my elbow was bothering me a little bit, and I didn't want to aggravate that.

I really do feel a difference in my endurance at the gym. And it's not training related, because I've pretty much cut all the cardio from my routine. It's hard for me to put on weight without cardio, even harder when I'm running 2 days a week. But somehow I'm still powering through workouts and supersetting like crazy.

[bmontgomery87]

Friday was another leg day. Some progress again.
I had a friend who doesn't lift who came along with me, so I switched things up a bit, but still managed to get my time to focus on my two main lifts.

Weighted situps- 4 sets of 10. Worked up from 80ish to around 120.

Squats- A lot of warmup sets, working with my friend on how to do them properly. Got 280x1 again.

^^Threw in a little calf work in between sets.

Oblique twist machine- 4 sets

Abductor machine 2-3 sets

Leg Press 3 sets

Deadlifts- Warmed up with a few light sets of 5. Then did "heavy" singles. Pulled 255x1 PR

Was a pretty good day. Felt great all the way through, and had a nice feeling of accomplishment.


Update: Still really loving the Amino X. The endurance increase is noticeable.

I'm lifting heavier than ever, and putting the weight one, but I'm definately gaining too fast. A lot of fat gain in my stomach and chest. And my diet has been kind of "dirty" lately. Definatley going to clean it up a bit, and maybe not eat quite as many cals. Starting to get boobies

[TheMatzah]

boobies ftw!

[bmontgomery87]

boobies ftw!

I was getting dressed yesterday and Janice goes "you're starting to get boobs".
I had to remove myself from the room. haha

[TheMatzah]

I was getting dressed yesterday and Janice goes "you're starting to get boobs".
I had to remove myself from the room. haha

oh no! Time to hit those flyes, and decline bench heh

[bmontgomery87]

Yesterday was a mediocre day at best. I put up a few decent sets, but my focus was suffering, and I got a late start.
I agreed to meet my friend again. So I text him around lunch and tell him I'll be there at 3:15. I get there a few minutes early and call him, explain that I needed some batteries for my mp3 player, and ask where he is. He says he's only 2 minutes away, so I skip the batteries and just decide to wait.
10 minutes later I call him and ask where he is. He's lost. Mind you the gym is MAYBE 5 miles from his house. So I ended up walking over to the dollar store and grabbing some batteries so I can at least have music during my workout.
We get started about 20 minutes late. Of course it's national bench day, so I can't get a bench. So I started with DB presses (pause rant)

Lateral Raises 5s to warmup. then 10s x 10
DB Press 35s to warmup 50s x 12 60s x 10 65s x 10
DB Rows 50s to warmup 55s x 10 65s x 7
Lat Pulldowns Light warmup. Then two decent sets, then I see a bench opening. Of course someone grabs it before I get there.
Another guy offers to let us work in on military presses on the smith machine. So I took him up on that
Military Press on Smith 75x10 warmup 85x10 105x10
Finally got a bench after that. Shoulders were already a little tired, but I wanted to do bb bench.
Flat BB Bench 105x10 warmup 155x5 155x5 155x8
I normally work out with a little bit more but since it was near the end I figured I'd be tired. Somehow on the last set, I just kept going. I asked sean if he had taken a plate off the bar because it felt lighter. Good stuff either way.
Row machine 3-4 sets

Called it a day after the rows. I didn't get much focus the whole workout, but it was apparent that my friend was tired, and ready to talk to me about life instead of lifting. We talked a bit after the gym and I mentioned how my partner and I pretty much ignore each other. We offer works of encouragement, and ask each other for spots, and other than that, we lift. He asked if I was hinting at something and I jokingly said yes, I'd like you to keep your mouth shut tomorrow. Thing was, it wasn't a joke.
If anyone else has experience with this issue, feel free to provide insight. I'm not in the gym to socialize, I'm there to train, and to push myself. Most of the time I'm more concerned with if I'm going to puke or pass out after a set of squats, but he wants to talk about his Friday night. I don't know how to put it nicely and without seeming like a douche.

/rant

Aside from the lack of concentration I did feel great. Lots of endurance. And I still had some energy left. (see next post)

[bmontgomery87]

The friend I met at the gym actually has the decent start of a home gym. Part of which he is trying to get me to buy. So I told him I'd swing by after the gym and check out the olympic bar and weights, and consider working out a price on them. Decided I'd go ahead and test my deadlift since I could do it by myself and not have anyone else around to distract me or anything.

135x5 warmup

175x1

205x1

225x1

ADD BELT

255x1

275x1PR

Felt good. Definately getting near my 1RM though. I've been far enough below it to where I can keep setting a new PR every week, and keep pulling 1-2 times per week. But I could tell with this one that I'm close to the top and I'll probably not deadlift again until sometime next week. Or I'll go lighter. I feel like I can probably pull close to 300.

It was the first time I've ever used a belt so it felt pretty awkward to me.

[bmontgomery87]

My right knee has been bothering me a bit lately, so I skipped squats and had a pretty easy leg day. Not quite a deload, but definately less work than usual.

Leg Press- with calf work in between sets
Hamstring Curl
Weighted Situps
Leg Extension
Hip Adductor Machine
Oblique Twists

Knee isn't feeling bad today. Hopefully I'll be good to go by next week. I think I've just been overdoing it lately.
My endurance is still up and I felt like I could've kept working out yesterday, but wanted to give myself a bit of a break.
Taking the day off today. Going home to catch up on some sleep.

[TheMatzah]

Nice work with the DL PR buddy!

Do you have any joint supplements? R3, Super Cissus, etc.. for the knee? Or is it a different type of soreness?

[bmontgomery87]

Nice work with the DL PR buddy!

Do you have any joint supplements? R3, Super Cissus, etc.. for the knee? Or is it a different type of soreness?

Definately joint. And i have a little trouble with runner's knee or something similar. I can feel it in the tendon under my knee.

I ran out of my r3, definately need to stock up on something. Got paid today so I've got a few bucks, and thats the supp i need the most right now.

[TheMatzah]

Definately joint. And i have a little trouble with runner's knee or something similar. I can feel it in the tendon under my knee.

I ran out of my r3, definately need to stock up on something. Got paid today so I've got a few bucks, and thats the supp i need the most right now.

check it out, heard great stuff about this one.
http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/usp/super.html

[bmontgomery87]

check it out, heard great stuff about this one.
http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/usp/super.html

hey hey hey.
i just loiter here. I don't shop here

[bmontgomery87]

I'm gonna take today off.
Supposed to close on the house tomorrow, so as stressed as I am I'd love to be at the gym, but my body needs a break.
I'm not one to deload very often, but I think I'm going to go easy tomorrow and friday. Take the weekend off. Then come back Monday ready to kill it.

Starting a 5,3,1/westside hybrid. Going to really focus on strength and try to not overdo it on the supplemental lifts. It's hard for me to just pick 3-4 lifts for the day and stick to that.

I've got a hectic month coming up, so I think a short,heavy routine would be the best for right now.

[TheMatzah]

hey hey hey.
i just loiter here. I don't shop here

I'm gonna take today off.
Supposed to close on the house tomorrow, so as stressed as I am I'd love to be at the gym, but my body needs a break.
I'm not one to deload very often, but I think I'm going to go easy tomorrow and friday. Take the weekend off. Then come back Monday ready to kill it.

Starting a 5,3,1/westside hybrid. Going to really focus on strength and try to not overdo it on the supplemental lifts. It's hard for me to just pick 3-4 lifts for the day and stick to that.

I've got a hectic month coming up, so I think a short,heavy routine would be the best for right now.

I've found some decent deals in the store on here before, just gotta catch 'em. Always quick shipping too.


5-3-1 go! I think it's the weather, lots of time off going around today

[bmontgomery87]

Had a nice day off.
With some not so nice news.
Looks like I'll be closing late on the house, definately not stoked about that, because I've got 1 month from today to be out of my townhouse. :/

I'll be starting the new routine Monday, for sure.

Today I'm gonna work tris, shoulders, and chest. Doing light bench and working on exploding out of the bottom, I always get stuck an inch or two from the bottom.

[bmontgomery87]

I found a beginner friendly strongman comp in NC. Supposed to happen sometime in late October.
Gonna start training for it. I've been wanting to get into strongman stuff for a while now.
I know I'm not built for it, but it's something I've always folllowed, and it's pretty obvious I'm not built for bodybuilding either
I just always have a better work ethic if I have a clear goal in mind, and I love having something to train for.
The comp should be about a week before my 24th birthday, and I'd love to have a respectable finish. Definately getting a late start on something like this, but since I quit playing soccer, I've felt like less of an "athlete".
There's a 175 & Under class and I feel like, with decent training, I can be fairly competitive.
So the next 6 weeks are about lifting heavy, and absolutely whipping my own ass.

[thekaratekid]

I found a beginner friendly strongman comp in NC. Supposed to happen sometime in late October.
Gonna start training for it. I've been wanting to get into strongman stuff for a while now.
I know I'm not built for it, but it's something I've always folllowed, and it's pretty obvious I'm not built for bodybuilding either
I just always have a better work ethic if I have a clear goal in mind, and I love having something to train for.
The comp should be about a week before my 24th birthday, and I'd love to have a respectable finish. Definately getting a late start on something like this, but since I quit playing soccer, I've felt like less of an "athlete".
There's a 175 & Under class and I feel like, with decent training, I can be fairly competitive.
So the next 6 weeks are about lifting heavy, and absolutely whipping my own ass.

That's sweet man. Good luck.

I agree, training is better when you have a goal or something to work harder for, like a competition.

[kingjameskjf]

I found a beginner friendly strongman comp in NC. Supposed to happen sometime in late October.
Gonna start training for it. I've been wanting to get into strongman stuff for a while now.
I know I'm not built for it, but it's something I've always folllowed, and it's pretty obvious I'm not built for bodybuilding either
I just always have a better work ethic if I have a clear goal in mind, and I love having something to train for.
The comp should be about a week before my 24th birthday, and I'd love to have a respectable finish. Definately getting a late start on something like this, but since I quit playing soccer, I've felt like less of an "athlete".
There's a 175 & Under class and I feel like, with decent training, I can be fairly competitive.
So the next 6 weeks are about lifting heavy, and absolutely whipping my own ass.

That would be fun if nothing else. Work hard and go for it!

[bmontgomery87]

That's sweet man. Good luck.

I agree, training is better when you have a goal or something to work harder for, like a competition.

Agreed. Of course I lift to try to get bigger and look better, but my training is much more intense if I have a larger purpose.
Avoiding public humiliation should be sufficient motivation for the next 2 months.
Anything but last place.

That would be fun if nothing else. Work hard and go for it!

Thanks man. I think it'll be a blast. Gonna do what I can, I don't have a lot of the implements needed for training but I'll do what I can and see how it turns out.

[kingjameskjf]

Agreed. Of course I lift to try to get bigger and look better, but my training is much more intense if I have a larger purpose.
Avoiding public humiliation should be sufficient motivation for the next 2 months.
Anything but last place.



Thanks man. I think it'll be a blast. Gonna do what I can, I don't have a lot of the implements needed for training but I'll do what I can and see how it turns out.

Find out what you can about the challenge and what lifts/events you'll have to do and then practice those often.

[bmontgomery87]

Find out what you can about the challenge and what lifts/events you'll have to do and then practice those often.

I'm trying. Looking like things are last minute this year, but judging from the last two years I have a rough guess of what they'll have.
I can practice atlas stones because I dont have any.
But I'll work on the tire flip, farmers walk, and some sled drags/ prowler pushing.
Bus pull is out of the question....unless I borrow a friends jeep and rig up somethign with the wench haha

[kingjameskjf]

I'm trying. Looking like things are last minute this year, but judging from the last two years I have a rough guess of what they'll have.
I can practice atlas stones because I dont have any.
But I'll work on the tire flip, farmers walk, and some sled drags/ prowler pushing.
Bus pull is out of the question....unless I borrow a friends jeep and rig up somethign with the wench haha

yeah it helps to have an idea. You might have to improvise some, maybe for the atlas stones duct tape some sand bags together. Not quite the same but it will give you a bulky heavy mass that you can practice lifts with. Good luck with the bus pull though! Maybe a harness on a car in a parking lot? Dunno, just trying to suggest possiblities!