The izeboxs race to 5/4/3 plates gst style

[The_Izebox]

So i just finished my first macro (month) of GST. Here's some changes

Weight 185- 200

1RM

Deadlifts 385- 408
Front Squats 205- 230
Incline bench 225- 253
Chins 270- 295

Now Im not stupid. I know Ive gained some fat.

Some water.

Some undigested food.

But I'm feeling swelled up right now and I'm ready for month two.

I'm not stopping till I'm deadlifting 5 plates. Till I'm squatting 4 plates. Till I'm benching three plates.

The plan. 3800 on lifting days. 3500 on rest days.

Sundays will deadlifts, followed by stiff legs, good mornings and shrugs.
Mondays is Incline barbell, weighted dips, flat bench dbl press and close grip bench press.

Tuesdays I will grow

Wednesdays is Front squats, Back squats, leg press and calf raises.
Thursdays I will destroy weighted chins, t-bar rows, barbell rows, and barbell curls. Then I will flat bench for 5 sets

Friday I plan on building muscle
Saturday I will build more.

I 'm going to run in the AM for two miles monday through thursday. This is not for ABS. This is not for preventing fat gain.

This is to maintain my ninja like speed, and my assassin-style endurance.

Follow me on this journey and be amazed.

Sunday it begins

[The_Izebox]

0913011759.jpg

I will use a camera besides my ****ty cell phone for further pics. This is me at a puny 193 lbs.

[slytheslayer]

Lookin Beast bro!! Love that GST!!

Edit: and hey im 192lbs!! hahah im on a cut though trying to drop to 10% BF and im at about 18 right now.

[The_Izebox]

Lookin Beast bro!! Love that GST!!

Edit: and hey im 192lbs!! hahah im on a cut though trying to drop to 10% BF and im at about 18 right now.

Yeah buddy! Glad to see you in here!

Youre already making phenomenal gains sly, just stick with it and youll see the best still to come

[The_Izebox]

So today is my rest day. But I dont like rest days so I go to the gym, figure Ill get my cardio in while I have some downtime.

Now Im not trying to brag, but I can run. I don't get tired very easily. So I settle in to the treadmill, keep pushing it up, do some low intensity stuff or whatever.

But the Icebox doesnt do low intensity.

So I put it up to 7.0. ....8.0....9.0...

And then it hit me what Im going to do. Im going to push this machine until I blow the circuit breaker...

So I push it higher and higher....

I get into pure Fort Benning mode, and Im just trucking, Im wondering how high I need to go to blow this damn switch. I look down and see Im over my two mile limit.

Damn sissy ass gym is lucky Im bulking.
I guess they get to listen to their metro trans music for one more day.

So now Im home. I realize with horror that I'm out of supplies. I need fuel. So I go to key food, get my chicken, my milk, bananas my pasta, get my eggs. I'm at the checkout line and I realize that Im a walking ****ing stereo type. The guy in front of me has a case of beer. I see him looking at my chicken and eggs and I know hes jealous. He smiles at me. I Glare at him. "Touch my eggs mother****er" I'm thinking. You will be terminated. He doesn't.

I allow him to leave unharmed.

[The_Izebox]

Pre sleep nutrition.

8 jumbo eggs
1 tablespoon olive oil
1.5 oz low fat cheddar cheese
16 oz 1% milk

1220 calories
90 grams protein

I'm not a huge fan of 1000 calorie meals right before I go to sleep, but I was slacking today and didn't eat like I was supposed to. 1200 was the magic number to hit 3500, so... Well Ive been reading a lot about intermittent fasting, and while I dont think that its for me the one thing Ive ben gathering from reading is the important of hitting your macros as opposed to the specific timing of meal, eating carbs now and fat later etc. So hopefully they're right...

[The_Izebox]

Off day today. Im psyched for tomorrow. 70% on deadlifts. 280lbs...I know its light, but Im going to make up for it. I'm going to demolish that ****. Going for 20 reps. No straps. The more I think about the more I think that I'm going to get it. 20 reps. Going HARD or going HOME.

Woke up this morning after my 1200 calorie omelet. Feeling stronger than ever. Casein? Why have that before bed. Go with the omelet. Watch the muscles grow.

Going to make some changes this new macro.

Getting rid of tricep pushdowns. Putting in some close grip bench presses. Hoping that will help with my pressing strength. I know thats my weakest point, so Im going to need all the help I can get. My triceps always blow up regardless, so I think that with the weighted dips and CG presses theyll get plenty of work on press day.

Thinking of adding shrugs to my lift day. Only have two supps as of now. My traps are probably my easiest part to grow, so I wonder If Im wasting time with such a limited range movement. Thought about hyperextentions before i LOLed. No hyperextentions for me cupcake. Were going heavy. Maybe Ill do a little sumo deads. Thats actually sounding real good right now. 4 heavy sets of sumo after deadlifts, stiff legs, good mornings...

Decisions decisions

[400Lb Gorilla]

I'm not stopping till I'm deadlifting 5 plates. Till I'm squatting 4 plates. Till I'm benching three plates.

in and subbed. i liked everything i read in the OP EXCEPT this! this is not where you will stop bruddah this is where you will BEGIN!!!

[The_Izebox]

in and subbed. i liked everything i read in the OP EXCEPT this! this is not where you will stop bruddah this is where you will BEGIN!!!

Don't worry my friend. 5/4/3 is just the first phase of my training. I am so psyched for tomorrow that I've been thinking about deadlifts all day. Theres NO ****ING WAY i don't get 20 reps at 280. NO WAY.

[slytheslayer]

Man, all this talk about crushing the weights makes me want to go back to the gym and give it hell some more!! Just wrapped up my 65% press day! Destroyed it of course!!

[The_Izebox]

Man, all this talk about crushing the weights makes me want to go back to the gym and give it hell some more!! Just wrapped up my 65% press day! Destroyed it of course!!

Nice! How many reps did you bang out on the AMRAP?

[The_Izebox]

Just read a pretty good article about carb cycling and nutrition in general (http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_..._cycling_codex )

Looks like I'm on track with the 3800 on my work days and 3500 on my off. I don't think that I would be interested in going much further in terms of my diet. If I did what this guy recommended I would be having 200 grams of carbs in my post workout shake. Maybe it would work but that just doesnt seem to healthy in my opinion...800 calories in sugar lol. Not for me

Losing a little definition in my abs. Actually taking longer than I thought for that to happen. Cant wait till the belly comes back in full force. My belly is where i derive my power from.

Heading to the gym in a few minutes. Destruction awaits.

[The_Izebox]

Deadlifts...

Past few days thats what Ive been thinking about. I go to sleep and I think about deadlifts. My wife and I go to dinner and Im thinking about deadlifts.

So today is the day. 1st day of my second macro (month), high reps @ 70% of my 1rm, high rep supplements. I get in my car, take my 200 mgs of caffeine, put on the chevelle...and Im getting hyped. Walk into the building, I see people looking at me out of the corner of my eye...

"whats up izzy!"

I grunt...

Go **** yourself boy....izzy isnt in the building...this is Icebox time....its time to get some work in...time to get some....

Get downstairs. Im in the zone. 5 minutes on the treadmill 3.5 incline 3.5 mph...got my hoody on. No ac in my gym kid...eyes are focused...I got to get these 20 reps...i got to get these twenty reps....Ive been dreaming about these 20 reps for three days...now its my time

Bar is on the ground. 10 reps with the bar. Slide on 135...bang out 5 reps...225...5 reps...my back is getting loose, getting the blood flowing. Im sweating...time to take off the hoodie...

280 on the bar. Light weight. Too light. But I got to do what I got to do.

1st set is too easy. Bang out 5 reps, let go of my grip. Damn, I forgot this wasnt a warmup. Bang out another three. 8 reps. Easy...Easy
2nd set is a joke...bang out 8 reps like nothing. 280 is too ****ing light son...this **** is too light...
3rd set....As Many Reps As Possible. AMRAP time....Im laughing because Im getting 20 easy... get a nice over under grip...high reps you think I should use straps you say? Icebox doesnt do straps...Icebox dont do belts unless they have plates attached...

Bang out the first ten easy...Im lucky a machine...EAASSSSSSYYYYY....BANG!...11...BANG...12 ....BANG...13...its LIGHT! Im starting to feel it in my traps...its burning GGOOOOODDD..BANG...17.....BANG...18....BANG...19.. .BANG...20...

I throw the weight down in disgust....Get that WEAK **** OUT OF HERE...I would do more but Im disgusted....280 is ****ing nothing..

So its all light supplements from here..

three sets of 20 on stiff legs at 145...NICE STRETCH...SLLLOOOOOWWWW...forearms burning! I dont get tired tho...cant get tired increased on reps on all set...

Goog mornings light at 65...3 sets of 20 reps...LIGHT WEIGHT..new movement for me...PERFECT FORM. Going to have to go heavier on these next time. Increase of reps on all sets

Shrugs for three sets of 20. Light at 135...will definitely be going much heavier on these next time...forearms are BURNING. I laugh at them!

Three sets of 10 on the leg lifts...SLLLOOOOOWWWW....stretching the entire body on the negative...will have to add weight on these next time as well...

stretch for 10 minutes...total time in one hour ten minutes.

Real happy with the workout. Increased on reps for all my supps drastically from my last light week. Maxed every set out at 20 reps. May have underestimated my 1 rm a bit( going with 408), but I'm cool with that. Im going to take it slow with deads and squats to make sure I stay healthy. Im def seeing improvement tho. My traps are and upper back is blowing up, and while I have gained some fat I actually feel like I have more definition in my lats and traps. Im very pleased with the progress, Going to weigh in 10 days from now, and I hope by then Ill be in the 203-205 range.

Diet has been solid. Hitting my calories every day. Today looked like this
0900-2 scoops myofusion, 5 grams creating mono, 1/2 cup raw oats, 1 cup strawberries, 16 oz %1 milk- 600 calories 70 grams protein
1200 workout
1315- 2 scoops myofusion in water, 2 large bananas 5 grams glutamine- 55 grams protein, 600 calories
1400- 1 cup whole wheat pasta, 1 tbls olive oil, 1 cup tomato sauce, 5 oz chicken breast - 700 calories 45 grams protein
1700- Two slices whole wheat bread, 1 oz reduced fat cheddar, 5 oz chicken 1 tbls bbq sauce 1 oz almonds- 600 calories 50 grams protein
1930- 1/2 pound steamed broccoli, 1 tbls olive oil, 5 oz chicken breast 1 oz almonds- 600 calories 50 grams protein
2400- 1 tablespoon olive oil, 7 jumbo eggs- 700 calories 56 grams protein

total 3800 calories 326 grams protein

[The_Izebox]

Morning run completed. Just 1.5 miles for me today. I dont do coffee to wake up, I do wind sprints cupcake. 70% push today. Incline barbell, Weighted dips, Flat dumbell, close grip barbell. No direct tricep work. No time for that. Just compound city

[400Lb Gorilla]

lmao excellent workout and narrating i was actually in suspense to see if you got it or not lol. i hate high rep deads of any weight so excellent work getting 20!!!

[The_Izebox]

Hmmm, nothing like getting to work at 9 AM and staying there till 230 in the morning the next day.. 8 hours overtime will be nice on the next check tho!

Got to hit press yesterday morning. High rep supplements, 70% 1rm.

So Its been a long time since I was in school. Apparently math ability is eroding rapidly. My core lift is incline bench press, which due to a RC injury in 2006 I havent done in years, so Im very weak with it. So Somehow I computed 150 lbs as 70% of my 1rm (250). Yeeaaahhhhhhh

After warming up on the treadmill, my warmup sets, load up 150 with a 30 degree incline. Knock out 8 reps easily for the first two sets, and TRY to get twenty on the AMRAP but go to balls out failure and get 19. Im pleased with that, because my goal is to get 20 reps on all my 70% lists.

But then all that college kicks in, the gears start turning, and I realize that Im doing 60% of my 1rm. LOL.

So theres only one thing to do! Put the proper weight on and get busy. 175 on the bar, 8 reps for each of my first two sets (my fourth and fifth actually), starting to struggle toward the end. That's the thing with high rep amraps, they really break you down. Last set, manage ten reps with the amrap, pretty far off from 20 haha, but Im glad that I did over eight at least.

Hit dips with ten lbs. Didnt beat my reps from four weeks ago, but am 15 lbs heavier, so Im sure that contributed. Will hit my rep range next time for sure. Flat dumbell press, close grip barbell, and leg raises.

All high rep stuff, which really tore me up. Ive done high rep stuff with my legs plenty, and that doesnt really affect me to much, but upper body...oh boy!

Was at work all day yesterday, I brough plenty of food, but toward the end was reduced to myofusion in water with almonds as a late meal. That means I had three myofusion shakes yesterday, something I DO NOT like to do. I prefer whole foods rather than dye laden powders, but what can yo do...not many places to eat in the south bronx at one in the morning! Hit my calories tho, 3800 in, so that what matter

Knocked out my run this morning with the dog. 1.5 miles, nothing spectacular. Lost a lot of bloat today for some reason...Ive been front loading my carbs toward the morning and post workout, now eating them whatsoever for my last two meals. Woke up this morning and had more ab definition than I have been...

will weigh in this weekend, hoping for 203lbs, if I havent gained than will bump up the calories to 4000 on work days.

Squats tomorrow! High reps supps!

time to get motivated

[The_Izebox]

lmao excellent workout and narrating i was actually in suspense to see if you got it or not lol. i hate high rep deads of any weight so excellent work getting 20!!!

Yeah man, I never was really big into high rep anything, but let me tell you get a SICK pump from the deadlifts, just sick. If you ever want to mix it up I highly recommend it, I swear I can could almost feel myself growing (pause) while I was doing it

[The_Izebox]

Heading to the gym now for high rep squat day. Skipped my cardio this morning. My patellar tendinitis is actin up in my left knee to the point where it is tender to the touch. I dont want to run, then go to the gym an hour later and have my knee tight from the delay. Will def make up the run this weekend during my off days.

High rep squats. Going for 20 reps with 155 on front squats.

No motivation necessary. This will be easier than breathing.

[lllDBOlll]

Interesting read, keep it up. Will be following along.

[slytheslayer]

Nice! How many reps did you bang out on the AMRAP?

Got 155 for 11!! I wanted 12 but 11 when that was my last set and going for 8 on the first two with 3 warm up sets. Not too bad i dont think!

[The_Izebox]

High rep squat day

So I wake up exhausted today. I have various reasons I could give to why. But they aren't reasons. They are excuses, plain and simple. And excuses are simply an explanation of failure. And I cannot fail.

I sped the morning trying to get hyped. Im putting on my lets-get-busy music, thinking about things that make me angry, but my body is rebelling. My weak, whiny, pathetic body just wants to BITCH and COMPLAIN, about how tired it is. So it must be punished!

Get into the gym and look at the menu for me today. Front squats, back squats, leg press, and calf raises. My little girl of a brain starts whining to me. I dont listen. My usual treadmill warmup, 4.0 on a 4.0 incline today. My eyes keep closing while Im walking. But the Izebox doesnt need eyes to squat.

Knock out my warmup sets. get to my work sets of 155. Bang out eight on the first. Eight on the second, but Im struggling a bit on the form. Front squats are a new movement to me. I start thinking about all the reason I have to take it easy today. My knee is sore. My back hurts. Im tired. I look at the pathetic meat bag thats facing me in the mirror. "SHUT UP. LETS GO."

Time for the AMRAP. 155 gets on the shoulders, start pumping. Im going until I dump the bar. Bringing it as deep as I can, I get up to 10. Theres no energy today. No anger. No motivation. But this train has another fuel. Determination. I knock out 2 more. Try to go up on the thirteenth and fail. Not quite 20, but 12 is an increase in four reps from my last 70% at the same weight. So Ill take it

Back squats at 165. Focusing on going deeeeeppp. Last high reps got 20, 16, and 15 at the same weight. But today I must be punished for being lazy, so i grab 20 reps on all three sets. Maxed out on reps, will increase to 175 next time.

Leg press at 340. Maxed my reps at 20s @ 320 lbs last high reps. Maxed them again this time. Getting sick to my stomach from the high reps. Good. Pain is good.

Barbell calf raises @115 is a cool down. Three sets of 20 easy. Increase in reps.

Cable crunch....ab work is not worth writing about. I did some.


Today was a weird day. I just didnt have the juice today. The good news I increased on weight or reps on every exercise. Hopefully tomorrow I have the eye of the tiger for pull!

[slytheslayer]

High rep squat day

So I wake up exhausted today. I have various reasons I could give to why. But they aren't reasons. They are excuses, plain and simple. And excuses are simply an explanation of failure. And I cannot fail.

I sped the morning trying to get hyped. Im putting on my lets-get-busy music, thinking about things that make me angry, but my body is rebelling. My weak, whiny, pathetic body just wants to BITCH and COMPLAIN, about how tired it is. So it must be punished!

Get into the gym and look at the menu for me today. Front squats, back squats, leg press, and calf raises. My little girl of a brain starts whining to me. I dont listen. My usual treadmill warmup, 4.0 on a 4.0 incline today. My eyes keep closing while Im walking. But the Izebox doesnt need eyes to squat.

Knock out my warmup sets. get to my work sets of 155. Bang out eight on the first. Eight on the second, but Im struggling a bit on the form. Front squats are a new movement to me. I start thinking about all the reason I have to take it easy today. My knee is sore. My back hurts. Im tired. I look at the pathetic meat bag thats facing me in the mirror. "SHUT UP. LETS GO."

Time for the AMRAP. 155 gets on the shoulders, start pumping. Im going until I dump the bar. Bringing it as deep as I can, I get up to 10. Theres no energy today. No anger. No motivation. But this train has another fuel. Determination. I knock out 2 more. Try to go up on the thirteenth and fail. Not quite 20, but 12 is an increase in four reps from my last 70% at the same weight. So Ill take it

Back squats at 165. Focusing on going deeeeeppp. Last high reps got 20, 16, and 15 at the same weight. But today I must be punished for being lazy, so i grab 20 reps on all three sets. Maxed out on reps, will increase to 175 next time.

Leg press at 340. Maxed my reps at 20s @ 320 lbs last high reps. Maxed them again this time. Getting sick to my stomach from the high reps. Good. Pain is good.

Barbell calf raises @115 is a cool down. Three sets of 20 easy. Increase in reps.

Cable crunch....ab work is not worth writing about. I did some.


Today was a weird day. I just didnt have the juice today. The good news I increased on weight or reps on every exercise. Hopefully tomorrow I have the eye of the tiger for pull!

Love the story telling man. I know how you feel. Somedays are better than others. I always say to myself to get the sand out of my vagina and get moving. LOL Keeps me motivated. I really just want to see that damn six pack!!

[The_Izebox]

Love the story telling man. I know how you feel. Somedays are better than others. I always say to myself to get the sand out of my vagina and get moving. LOL Keeps me motivated. I really just want to see that damn six pack!!

Yeah man, while its good to be able to power through a workout, I really enjoy lifting when Im feeling good and energized. Im hoping that today was an anomaly, I have pull tomorrow, so I guess see.

[The_Izebox]

Pull day, 70% 1rm on weighted chins as a core lift, then high reps for supported tbar rows, dbl rows, and barbell curls.

Wake up, have a little breakfast of 2 scoops of myofusion in water and one cup of plain oatmeal. No cinnamon in my oatmeal cupcake. Just plain nasty oatmeal, gangsta style. 200 mgs of caffeine, out the door and ready to rock.

Walk into the building. Tired of people saying hello to me. Its time to get busy. Get the Breaking Benjamin on the ipod. Treadmill for 5 minutes, 3.5 incline on 3.5 mph. You know the routine. Then its time to get some work in.

Warm up on the pulldown. Warm up with a set of body weight chins. Strap on ten lbs. Im 15 lbs heavier than I was during my 70%chins last month, and I only strapped on ten lbs then too. But I dont do bodyweight chins. Im not in jail my friend.

1st and 2nd sets are easy eights. As man reps as possible on the third. Grab the bar, get a good tight grip. Thats the one thing about me since I have trained. I have never used straps ever. So it is very rare that my grip ever fails.

Start pumping, focusing on getting a good stretch on the negative. I dont do no half reps on chins tough guy. Alllll the way down. Alllll the way up. Get to 12 before I feel myself giving out. Do one more just so the pull bar knows I mean business. So 13 on my amrap. Increased on weight and reps from last month.

Tbar rows, chest supported. Now this is high reps so Im trying as hard as I can to check my ego. put 70lbs on the bar, bang out 17. Hmmmmm. Think I may just be tired from the Amrap, so do another set, Only 11 on the second. Time to drop to 60 lbs. Even the Icebox can check his ego. Bang out 18 on two more sets with 60. Next time will grab 20 with 70 on all four sets. Still an an increase in reps on the first set. Max my reps on dbl rows at 40 lbs with 20 reps on all sets, and barbell curls at 45 lbs with 20 reps on all sets.

[The_Izebox]

It definitely takes an ego check to do these high reps weeks. Now that my high rep week is over, I can look back and really say that they can be grueling at times. Its almost takes a different type of strength to be able to get reps 15-20 than doing 6-8. You really have to train for this to be able to do it. Also, now that Im doing an online journal where Im posting my weights, its definitely an ego check to post that Im training with 40 lbs dbl rows, or 45 lb barbell curls. This is good for me tho, because I often get caught in the cycle of always trying to force up heavier and heavier weights, not having a plan other than going hard and going heavy. So Im hoping that incorporating this high rep training will lead to long term gains and better joint health for me. Feeling good tho. Trained in a tank top today for the first time in a while, and I have put on some solid gains, especially in my back and traps. Looking forward to weighing in a few days

[slytheslayer]

Nice work man. I know what you mean about those 15-20 rep weeks. I think the worst for me is the stationary dumbell lunge and the barbell reverse lunge. I got little chicken legs so i feel like jello afterwards..lol Keep it up man, i like reading your story telling!! haha

[The_Izebox]

Nice work man. I know what you mean about those 15-20 rep weeks. I think the worst for me is the stationary dumbell lunge and the barbell reverse lunge. I got little chicken legs so i feel like jello afterwards..lol Keep it up man, i like reading your story telling!! haha

You know I hear a lot people saying that those high rep barbell lunges are murder, Ive never done them before, but I plan in having them as a supp in a couple of months when I change things around. Im looking forward to the jello legs!

[The_Izebox]

Off day today and tomorrow. No cardio, but will do a half hour of stretching later. Already starting to daydream about those deadlifts Ill be doing on Sunday. If I got 20 with 280 than how many can I get with 325? If your thinking 20, than you and me think a lot alike my furry friend! Im really wondering if I might grab 20...

[jcranston]

So today is my rest day. But I dont like rest days so I go to the gym, figure Ill get my cardio in while I have some downtime.

Now Im not trying to brag, but I can run. I don't get tired very easily. So I settle in to the treadmill, keep pushing it up, do some low intensity stuff or whatever.

But the Icebox doesnt do low intensity.

So I put it up to 7.0. ....8.0....9.0...

And then it hit me what Im going to do. Im going to push this machine until I blow the circuit breaker...

So I push it higher and higher....

I get into pure Fort Benning mode, and Im just trucking, Im wondering how high I need to go to blow this damn switch. I look down and see Im over my two mile limit.

Damn sissy ass gym is lucky Im bulking.
I guess they get to listen to their metro trans music for one more day.

So now Im home. I realize with horror that I'm out of supplies. I need fuel. So I go to key food, get my chicken, my milk, bananas my pasta, get my eggs. I'm at the checkout line and I realize that Im a walking ****ing stereo type. The guy in front of me has a case of beer. I see him looking at my chicken and eggs and I know hes jealous. He smiles at me. I Glare at him. "Touch my eggs mother****er" I'm thinking. You will be terminated. He doesn't.

I allow him to leave unharmed.

I'm loving the supermarket portion! That happens half the time I go on a non-Sunday. Dude in front of me with a frozen pizza, a suitcase of cheap beer and some frozen chicken wings. Occasionally he has 18 bags of Doritos too...

Subbed!

[The_Izebox]

DEADLIFTS.

Going to go for 15 today with 325. The cycle of motivation has begun its process. Once this cycle begins it cannot end with anything other than success. There will be nothing less than 15 reps today. There cannot be.