Diamondmaker's 2012 offseason log

[ch3v3ll3]

Lookin jakked man. Might wanna up your upper back/rear delt work even more if you are going to press 3x a week.

So far, how do you like the increased frequency on upper body? That's not something I've ever given serious thought, but I seem to respond best to higher frequency with moderate volume vs low frequency high volume.

[DiamondMaker]

Lookin jakked man. Might wanna up your upper back/rear delt work even more if you are going to press 3x a week.

So far, how do you like the increased frequency on upper body? That's not something I've ever given serious thought, but I seem to respond best to higher frequency with moderate volume vs low frequency high volume.

Thanks brah, yeah I'm in the least going to need to add rotator cuff work in every upper body day (and focus on getting stronger with it) along with some deep tissue work. I might double up on rear-delt work also.

It's too soon to really tell about the routine because I'm only in week 3 BUT it seems like I'm basically going through a whole body growth spurt all over again. I haven't upped my calories but I'm already up nearly 4lb heavier since just 2-3 weeks ago and my entire upper body is looking ultra full. It may just be my cardio adapting but my reps are also much higher then when I started.
If it works out like I'm hoping it will what I may do is another 4-5weeks like this, deload a week, then flip the routine to 3x lower days/2x upper days for 6 weeks, then one last go around at the 3x upper split. At that point hopefully I'll be 205+ and it'll be time to diet.

[DiamondMaker]

1/4/13
Power Lower
Squats
135 for 5
195 for 5
235 for 5
265 for 5
295 for 5
325 for 5 (couldn't believe how easy it was)
335 for 4 (pr, probably 1 more in the tank too)

incline hack squat 3pps+5lb 3x 5 reps (not to failure)
deadlifts
135
225
315
365
415
445 for 3 (pr tie)
405 for 5
405 for 5

BFR hamstring cluster 170lb 30-15-15-12
Standing calve raise 2x 400lb for 15
toe-in BFR calve raises 300 30-15-15-15
hanging ab raises 4x bw for 12
BFR leg ext. 185lb 30-15-15-15

Right glute/hamstring was feeling semi pulled during the entire workout- must have tweaked it during my hyper or hiit session. Either way got a huge pr for me on squat and still tied the DL pr. I think if my hamstring wasn't bothering me I could have probably gotten 4-5 on the 445 set because I was basically muscling it up with quad/lower back and couldn't really tighten up my glutes properly.
Developing some pretty narly squat bruises!

[ch3v3ll3]

335x4 is very solid.

traps of peace.

[pastorpritch]

Nice job man!!!!
I always get these purple lines (bruises) on my traps after squats ... I admire them in the mirror

[DiamondMaker]

1/6/13
Power upper
Db incline bench
50s for 5
70s for 5
80s for 5
90s for 5
95s for 5
100s for 3

Dips
Bw for 8
Bw + 95lb for 6, 5

Ohp strict 135 for 6,4,3
Scott laterals (bent over) 2x45 for 15
Scott laterals (straight) 2x 35 for 12

Bent over row w/hold for 1 second
135 for 5
185 for 5
225 for 5
275 for 5
285 for 5

Pull ups med grip
Bw for 8
Bw+ 90 for 3
Bw+ 70 for 7, 4(slow negatives)

Sl db tri ext seated. 3x 55 for 5
Db standing curls (ct) 3x 55 for 10
Bfr db curls 30lb's 22-12-9-9

Reverse ezbar wrist curl 3x 50 for 15
Wrist curl ezbar 90lb 12,10,8,8

[ch3v3ll3]

That's a pretty heavy DB incline there, man.

What rep range do you generally try to stick to for power/hypertrophy days, respectively?

[DiamondMaker]

335x4 is very solid.

traps of peace.

hahaha, I'm happy i'm over 3 plates but I won't feel like I'm legit until I'm past 405 (but by then maybe I'll change my mind and won't be happy until I hit 495 lol).

Nice job man!!!!
I always get these purple lines (bruises) on my traps after squats ... I admire them in the mirror

Sign of a true man!

That's a pretty heavy DB incline there, man.

What rep range do you generally try to stick to for power/hypertrophy days, respectively?

Thats the first time I ever tried 100s on incline actually. I still feel like my bench has a long way to go but interestingly I don't have much of a strength difference between db's and barbell. I can flat press 125 db's just as easily as 250 on the bb.

For power I do 3-6, for hyper upper A and hyper lower I do 12-15. For hyper upper B (the 3rd upper day of the week) I aim for 8-12.
This is all pretty new for me though, in the past I did about 3-6 on power and 6-10 on hyper.

[DiamondMaker]

1/7/13
Hyper Lower (Rest time 2 minutes between sets)

Squat 5x 235 for 15 (holy **** brutal)
single leg leg press 4x 3pps for 15

GHR 3x bw for 8
single leg leg curl 3x 95lb for 12

Standing calve raise toe-in 2x 360 for 12
Seated calve raise 3x 315 for 15
BFR inner abductor cluster 250lb 30-15-15-15

This may not seem like much, but this may have been the hardest workout of my life. I had done 15,12,12,12,20 last week on squats but doing al those sets of 15 in a row really became hard fast. Even though part of what made it so hard was my current cardio level, it was also that the gym was super hot today and I had directly gotten off a long work day where I basically stood for 8 hours.

My workout partner and I had planned on doing 4x235 for 15 and then a final 5th set of "as many as we could" where we would video it and have a contest. However by the time I got to the last set all I had in me was 15. He got 20, but paid dearly by basically collapsing on leg press lol.

[DiamondMaker]

1/7/13
Hyper upper [8-12]

Bench 225 for 8,7,7
Cable fly 52kg 12,12

shoulder press (explosive/straight back) 3x60's for 10
Seated lateral raise 3x30 for 12
Rotator work*

Underhand row 225 for 10,10,12
One arm cable pull down 3x 60kg for 12
Rack pull 3x 405 for 5
Shrugs 2x 405 for 8

incline db curls (ct) 3x 45 for 8
Super set w/ cable rope ext.*

Ez-bar wrist curls 80lb 12-10-8
Superset w/db hammer curls 3x 55 for 9

[ebomb55]

Workouts are looking sick...nice squat marks.

Are you in the city yet? If so, where are you training?

[The Solution]

Had to re-read that lower hyper a couple days in a row to make sure you are still walking. Keep it up brother.

[DiamondMaker]

Workouts are looking sick...nice squat marks.

Are you in the city yet? If so, where are you training?

Thanks man, yeah I'm working out at synergy (24/7 club) on 32nd and lex. Honestly the gym sucks but it's a block from where I live. I want to commit to steel but the walk to get there every day makes it too impractical for me. I've ended up buying some equipment for my gym just so I'd feel a little better about the choice lol.

Had to re-read that lower hyper a couple days in a row to make sure you are still walking. Keep it up brother.

Dude your telling me! I've never done high-rep squats like that before, totally brutal. My legs finally feel un-sore today... just in time to squat again.

[DiamondMaker]

01/10/13 (yesterday's workout)
Hyper Upper [12-15 rep range]

Incline db press 4x70's for 13
Incline db fly 3x 60's for 10

Lat pull down 3x 190 for 15
db row 2x 95's for 12
narrow grip pull ups bw for 16,13

Scott press 3x 50's for 10
standing lateral raises 2x 25 for 15

Superset:
db strict curl 3x 40's for 15
db tri-ext seated overhead (one arm) 3x 45's for 15

It seems like everyone is commenting on my sudden upper body growth. The new routine is working, undoubtedly, but I must confess that I feel like I'm coming very close to overreaching... that's how awesome it is.

[ch3v3ll3]

Fuuu upper body of peace.

Really thinking of giving your approach a shot with the 3x a week frequency on upper body when cals come back up. What are rest periods like for the hyper day above? How are joints feeling?

[DiamondMaker]

Fuuu upper body of peace.

Really thinking of giving your approach a shot with the 3x a week frequency on upper body when cals come back up. What are rest periods like for the hyper day above? How are joints feeling?

Do it man, if it doesn't work at least you'll know for the future what you respond to. I had considered it for a while but never acted upon it and now I regret not trying sooner.

Rest on power upper day is 3-5 minutes,
rest between sets on hyper upper 1 (8-12 rep range) day is 2-3 minutes,
and rest between sets on hyper upper 2 ( 12-15 rep range) day is 1-2 minutes.

Joints feel fine but my rotators are bothering me a little bit on chest flies, so I may take those out and switch something else in. I also recommend doing some deep tissue work on the cuffs post workouts, and in the least rotator & rear delt movements on all upper days.

[ch3v3ll3]

Do it man, if it doesn't work at least you'll know for the future what you respond to. I had considered it for a while but never acted upon it and now I regret not trying sooner.

Rest on power upper day is 3-5 minutes,
rest between sets on hyper upper 1 (8-12 rep range) day is 2-3 minutes,
and rest between sets on hyper upper 2 ( 12-15 rep range) day is 1-2 minutes.

Joints feel fine but my rotators are bothering me a little bit on chest flies, so I may take those out and switch something else in. I also recommend doing some deep tissue work on the cuffs post workouts, and in the least rotator & rear delt movements on all upper days.

Yea that's about what I figured your rest times are at. I'll take a look at setting it up like that for sure. My upper body is quite a bit behind my lower body in terms of upper anterior (th-thanks Madcowz).

Did you do a prep and compete or just wanted to really lean out?

[DiamondMaker]

1/11/13
Power lower
Squats
135 for 5
195 for 5
235 for 5
265 for 5
295 for 5
325 for 5
335 for 1 - failed in the hole on 2
Rested 6 minutes*
335 for 4 (that's more like it!)

Deadlifts (Deload/start of wave)
315 for 5
355 for 3
375 for 3
385 for 3

Bfr hamstring seated curls 185lb 30-15-15-12

Sl Glute press 3x 90 for 8
Hanging ab raises 4x bw for 13

Yea that's about what I figured your rest times are at. I'll take a look at setting it
up like that for sure. My upper body is quite a bit behind my lower body in terms of upper anterior (th-thanks Madcowz).

Did you do a prep and compete or just wanted to really lean out?

I prepped with intentions of competing but due to some personal obstacles was unable to. I will compete at least once this season though!

[The Solution]

Arms are looking huge man.

[DiamondMaker]

01/13/12
Power Upper
Incline BB press
95 for 5
125 for 5
145 for 5
185 for 5
205 for 5

Dips
bw warmup
bw+95lb for 5
bw+95lb for 5

OHP 3x 140 for 4
Scott laterals 3x 40's for 15

Bent over row 3x 285 for 5
med pull up bw+90lb for 3, bw+70 for 7

Db standing curl 3x 55's for 5
BFR ez-bar curls (w/fat gripz) 70lb for 30-15-15-15
Db seated tri ext. single arm 55lb for 6,5,4

Db reverse wrist curls 3x 30's for 15
Rear delt machine 2x 265 for 10

Got some new gear in the mail. 2.5lb magnet plates, fat grips and spiky peanut ball.

Arms are looking huge man.

Getting there! Thanks brah

[ch3v3ll3]

What's your position like on the incline? I always found incline barbell to be really awkward for some reason. I also have to really arch to be able to touch my chest comfortably.

How're rotator cuffs doin?

I like the look of that roller. I just use a bare pvc pipe and ot has worked pretty well so far. Would def not mind something a little tougher tho.

[NaturalPursuit]

LOVE the fat gripz! Absolute amazing arm work!

[DiamondMaker]

What's your position like on the incline? I always found incline barbell to be really awkward for some reason. I also have to really arch to be able to touch my chest comfortably.

How're rotator cuffs doin?

I like the look of that roller. I just use a bare pvc pipe and ot has worked pretty well so far. Would def not mind something a little tougher tho.

I keep my traps tight but do not arch very much on incline. Im still finding the ideal hand placement for me because with flat I tend to almost close grip (which doesn't work very well with incline).
I've noticed an improvement in chest size (mostly upper) since switching over to incline as my primary power movement but I have also noticed rotator cuff pains and soreness that I never got with flat. I will pribably move back to flat as my power day lift for chest as I do feel that for me it's a more natural movement.

The grid roller is not harder then PVC since its basically PVC with padding over it. I like it as a nice medium toughness roller and I follow it up with a frozen 2liter bottle of soda for the real deep tissue work. Occasionally I go a little to hard and bruise myself when I use the 2L so for me the grid is an awesome "every day" roller.

[The Solution]

300 pound rows, +95 pound dips, +90 lb Chins?
yeah thats huge.

[DiamondMaker]

1/15/13
Hyper Lower

Squats 275 for 8,8,8,8,10
Singe leg leg press 3.5pps for 12,12,12,15
GHR bw for 9,8,8
singe leg leg curl 3x95lb for 15
seated calve raises 3x 3.5pps for 12
toe-in BFR calve standing raises 300 for 30-15-15-15
BFR inner (250lb) and outer (250lb) abductors (superset while occluded) 30-20-20-20

Last week I did 5x235 for 15, this week tried to see what I could get with 275. Went well but I think I psyched myself out a little because I probably could have gotten a couple more reps (5x235 for 15 seemed much harder). Next week I'm going to try for 5x275 for 12. Overall still a 9/10 level workout, just not at last week's caliber.

LOVE the fat gripz! Absolute amazing arm work!

Yeah I'm excited to try something new out. Have you noticed overall arm growth or just forearm? Still deciding how i'm going to implement them. For right now I'll probably just use them on my hyper upper 12-15 rep day.

300 pound rows, +95 pound dips, +90 lb Chins?
yeah thats huge.

Thanks dude, means a ton. I've always been strong with rows and bodyweight stuff but it's just too bad my total isn't as impressive. Working hard to reach 1250+range before prep begins.

[The Solution]

1250 cant be far off man. Bodyweight to Strength Ratio is damn good. Its funny how many bodybuilders have a big total 3 even though we dont really strive for it ya know?

[jpfaherty]

Damnnnn. I don't know where I've been but I'm officially subbed. This log is awesome.

[DiamondMaker]

1/15/13
Hyper upper [8-12 rep range]
Flat bench 3x225 for 9
Db incline fly 2x 55's for 15

Explosive shoulder press (strict/straight back) 3x65's for 8
Lateral raises seated 3x 25's for 15

Underhand row 3x225 for 12
Shrugs 2x405 for 8
Straight arm pull down 3x 210 for 12

Db incline curls (ct) 3x 45's for 8
Superset
Rope tricep ext. 3x80lb for 15

Fat gripz hammer curls 3x40's 5
Superset with
Rear delt laterals 3x 30's for 12

Wrist curls ez-bar 2x80 for 15
Superset with
Rotator cuff stuff

Bench is increasing a little every week, curious where my 1rm is at. I'll probably test it out once I hit 3x225 for 12.
The dumbbells at my gym have a slightly thicker handel then the standard Olympic barbell size, so the fat gripz end up extra "fat" and don't fully close. Hammer curls with them was insane, my fingers were dying trying to hold on.
Threw in rotator and rear delt work at the end just to keep everything fresh.

1250 cant be far off man. Bodyweight to Strength Ratio is damn good. Its funny how many bodybuilders have a big total 3 even though we dont really strive for it ya know?

Yeah that and I've always found it interesting though how for bber's the row is kind of like the 4th big lift. Guys like Dorian rowing 400-500lb for reps always impressed the hell out of me. A huge long term goal of mine is to do 405 with half way decent form.

Damnnnn. I don't know where I've been but I'm officially subbed. This log is awesome.

You son of a bitch!

[fltallpaul]

Impressive Squatting! I wanna see that 405!

[DiamondMaker]

1/17/13
Hyper upper [12-15]

Lat pull down 210 for 15,11,8
Db row (non-staggered) 95 for 5, 85 for 8,8
Neutral grip pull ups bw for 16,14

Incline db press 4x70's for 14
Incline db fly 3x 60's for 9

Scott press 3x 45's for 11
Incline lateral raise 2x 20's for 15

Db strict curl (ct) 3x45's for 12
BFR ezbar curl (w/fat gripz)60lb
Reverse ez bar curls w/fat gripz 60lb for 12

Standing one-arm tricep db ext. 3x45 for 12

Db wrist curls 3x40's for 8

Little bit out of order because the gym was packed with the new year people.
Tried non-stagger step rows and found that I instantly had to drop the weight. Will be sticking to those for sure.

Impressive Squatting! I wanna see that 405!

Revelia vs Redmond, it's on now coach!