Kcabo's Log: Strength and Aesthetics.

[nwskier]

Yeah, it is pretty tough. Following them up with lunges + GHR's doesn't leave much light at the end of the tunnel either haha. I'll reduce the intensity when needed, and I deload pretty often as well, which helps. Overall, this set-up has been working pretty well for me.

nice man, and props for adding in some lunges on a day like that. those are so effective and challenging at the same time. Was doing BB Lunges superset with SOHP for a while back in Sept/Oct. prob one of most tiring supersets.

looking forward to seeing the gains from the changes.

[Kcabo]

Strong everything. I wouldn't call squatting 365lbs for reps "weak" but do you always lose strength after a deload? It always happens to me. A few people on this site have told me that they hit PRs after deloading.

Yeah I usually do. I've tried both taking weeks off and reducing the intensity to 50-60% for a deload, but still lose a bit of strength on the heavy compounds. I have no idea how people hit PRs after a deload, but I have heard that here as well.

Pull A:

Pull-ups:
BWx10
BWx10
BW+45x6

BB BOR:
225x6
225x6
225x6
225x6

Chin-ups:
BWx12
BWx10

DB Lateral Raises:
40x10
40x10
40x8
40x8

Incline DB Curls:
30x10
30x10
30x8
30x8

BB Shrugs:
225x10
225x10
225x10
225x10


DB Rear Delt Flys: Supersetted with some DB curls
20x10
20x10
20x10
20x10

DB Curls:
30x12
35x8
35x8

Standing Calf Raises:
495x10
495x10
495x8
495x8

[Kcabo]

Went in yesterday and did a few sets of deadlifts and that was it really. Today I went in and hit a PR on bench press.

Im confident im good for 375 on a stronger day.. no excuses though, just barely missed it tonight. Here's 365



May do a small lift tomorrow, but will be having to adjust my lifts for the next few weeks because I'll have to be lifting at home instead of @ a commercial gym.

[deltpecx]

Benching is strong in this one.

[Kcabo]

Moved back home for a few weeks. No access to a commercial gym. Have to make due with the weights at my house, which in this case goes up to 400lbs. I'll be deficit pulling for a bit.

Legs:

Deficit Deadlifts:
295x5
365x5
365x5
400x5
400x5

Pause Squats:
225x5
275x5
275x5
275x5

Standing Calf Raises:
205x10
255x10
255x10
255x10

Comments:
Having to make due at home. Standing calf raises felt really awkward. I'll probably add another exercise or a lot more sets next work out.

[nwskier]

Impressive bench! You still only 190? that's freaking solid.

[Kcabo]

Impressive bench! You still only 190? that's freaking solid.

Yeah most I've weighed is lower 190's. Now that I'm home my gym routine/food will most likely suffer a bit unfortunately. I will be trying to get to mid to upper 190's before I do any kind of cutting.

[EthanHun]

Awesome PR on bench! that is freaking solid man! O hope to hit 3 plates soon. considering I way 40 lbs more than you and bench 50 pounds less you are a strong man!

[Kcabo]

Gonna take a break from logging until I have access to a commercial gym again. Check back early January brahs.

[davisj3537]

Gonna take a break from logging until I have access to a commercial gym again. Check back early January brahs.

BOoooo! lol. See you in January for new PRs brah

[-Lucifer]

Home gym > commercial gym.

See you in 2014, OP.

[Kcabo]

Home gym > commercial gym.

See you in 2014, OP.

My home gym is very limited, I have enough stuff to get by/manage but definitely would need a lot more investment for it to be worthwhile for me long term - specifically more weight, dumbbells, pull-up/dip bar, ghr, a better safety/squat rack, ect.

I'm on that 35lb and 20lb DBs at home. u mirin'?

[-Lucifer]

My home gym is very limited, I have enough stuff to get by/manage but definitely would need a lot more investment for it to be worthwhile for me - specifically more weight, dumbbells, pull-up/dip bar, ghr, a better safety/squat rack, ect.
I'm on that 35lb and 20lb DBs at home. u mirin'?

Do you have a basement? I assume all US homes have one, right? If so, you just need to buy a power rack (with pullup and dip bars), Oly bar, adjustable bench and plates. You also don't need to buy brand new stuff if money is tight. Craigslist is a good place to find used and refurbished goods. You can do your GHR's using a loaded barbell.

I set mine up for $540 USD (brand new equipment), but I use a half rack and squat stands due to very limited space. I don't miss my commercial gym one bit.

[Kcabo]

Do you have a basement? I assume all US homes have one, right? If so, you just need to buy a power rack (with pullup and dip bars), Oly bar, adjustable bench and plates. You also don't need to buy brand new stuff if money is tight. Craigslist is a good place to find used and refurbished goods. You can do your GHR's using a loaded barbell.

I set mine up for $540 USD (brand new equipment), but I use a half rack and squat stands due to very limited space. I don't miss my commercial gym one bit.

I was unaware that it would be that cheap (Would like DBs though and these are pricey.. I'm a fan of cables as well), and yeah I have a basement (Not all U.S homes do) but it's pretty small. I may look into something like this in the future, thanks man. Currently, I find it's a lot harder to get pumped up/mentally prepared for sets as well without the atmosphere, did you have this problem when you first switched to the home gym set-up or is this just me?

I'm looking forward to getting back to Gold's

[-Lucifer]

Currently, I find it's a lot harder to get pumped up/mentally prepared for sets as well without the atmosphere, did you have this problem when you first switched to the home gym set-up or is this just me?

I don't have that problem, but I do realize some people prefer the 'public gym atmosphere'.

What I hated the most was traveling to my gym, changing, and then lifting in an environment that was not ideal in my books. People try and steal your DB's/equipment all the time, the 'DJ' plays crappy music that's not meant for lifting (e.g. love songs. seriously, WTF?), and there are certain people who bother you mid-set. All of that got on my nerves and that's the main reason why I was so inconsistent in the past.

ETA: I'm from India, by the way. Most things are cheaper here.

[evenitoutplease]

Subbed Brahh. Trying to watch the lifts grow.

[Kcabo]

Alright Brahs Kcabo is back in action... finally. Lifting was extremely limited and my diet was not very good the past ~3 weeks. I hope everyone had a good holiday with their families.

Today I started off with squats. I kept it light and am just going to work back slowly up to the weights I was at. I guess the good news is my CNS is completely fresh as it was about time for a deload.


Legs A:

Squats:
135x8
225x6
275x2
295x1
315x6
315x6

Leg Extensions:
2 sets of 12
2 sets of 10

Deadlifts: This movement felt extremely awkward today, looking forward to climbing back up.
225x5
275x5
315x5
365x3
365x3


GHR:
BWx15
BWx15
BW+45x12
BW+45x12

Seated Calf Raises:
90x15
90x15
90x15

[Kcabo]

Subbed Brahh. Trying to watch the lifts grow.

Good to have you here bri, may take a bit a month or so for some PRs to start rolling in - just getting back into the grind.

[Kcabo]

Back at it.

Push:

Incline DB Press:
90x10
90x10
90x10
90x10

DB Shoulder Press
65x8
70x8
75x6
80x6

Cable Crossovers:
4 sets of 12 Reps

Ez-Bar Overhead Triceps extensions:
80x10
80x10
80x10

Rope Push-downs:
40x10
40x10
40x10
40x10

[Kcabo]

Pull:

Pull-ups:
BWx10
BWx10
BWx10

BB BOR:
135x8
155x8
175x8
195x8
215x8

Chin-ups:
BWx8
BWx8

Cable Lateral Raises:
30x12
30x12
30x12
30x12

DB Incline Curls:
20x10
30x8
30x8
30x8

Face Pulls:
40x12
40x12
55x10
55x10

DB Concentration Curls
20x8
25x8
25x8

[irishbrah23]

Subbed, you should log some food entrys, and what way did you do your cut? Lower cals each week or every few weeks? Macros? And keep training the same?

Goal physique good work bro

[-Lucifer]

Strong pullups, son.

[Kcabo]

Subbed, you should log some food entrys, and what way did you do your cut? Lower cals each week or every few weeks? Macros? And keep training the same?


Goal physique good work bro

I don't really track calories most of the time. Every once in a while I'll add up my typical day to make sure my macros are reasonable. I eat pretty much the same foods everyday and just follow the scale. I either add/remove food (or add in cardio) depending on my goal at that time. Yes, I keep training the same. During the cut I'd shoot for ~ 1lb loss per week and if strength would start taking too much of a hit I'd slow it down. I plan on cutting again in a couple months so then I could start logging some food entrys/more specific details then.

This has worked for me. Tracking calories/macros would be the way to go if you're trying to optimize your diet. Personally, I find counting calories/macros daily to be a bit excessive.. or obsessive (not sure of proper word choice here) for my liking.

Thanks man good to have you aboard.

Strong pullups, son.

This. My grip starts to give out each time I do higher reps. I'm trying my best to stay away from my straps, though. Not using them at all currently.

thanks guys. I took an extra rest day yesterday because of some DOMS. I'll be doing legs later today.

[irishbrah23]

Cheers, how often do you deload?

[Kcabo]

Cheers, how often do you deload?

Usually every 6 weeks. Sometimes I try to stretch it out to 8 weeks depending on how im feeling, but that usually doesn't go over very well.

Since I was just off for a couple weeks and am completely fresh - ill shoot for 8 weeks this time around.

[Kcabo]

Legs:

Conventional Deadlifts:
405x8
405x7
455x4

Box Squats: Decided to start doing these instead of pause squats. I can't remember the last time I did these. Really low box + long pause.
185x5
225x5
275x4

GHR:
Bw+45x10
Bw+45x10
Bw+45x10

Leg Extensions:
2 sets of 12
2 sets of 10
Setting #10

Single Leg Leg Curls:
50x10
50x10

Seated Calf Raises:
110x12
110x12
110x12
110x12

Standing Calf Raises:
450x6
450x6
450x6

[Comments]:

Slowly getting back into the groove of things. Slowly adding back to the volume/intensity I was at before the lay-off. Feels good man.

[davisj3537]

Dem burly Dls. Good to see you back at it.

[Kcabo]

Push:

BB Flat Bench:
275x8
285x6
295x4

BB Incline Bench:
225x6
225x6
225x6

Dips:
BWx10
BW+45lbx10
BW+90lbx8
BW+115lbx6

DB Overhead Triceps extensions:
60x12
75x10
85x10
90x8

Incline Cable Flys:
50x10
50x10
50x10
50x8

Reverse Grip Straight Bar Pushdowns:
70x12
80x12
80x12
80x12

[Kcabo]

Weighed in at about 194lbs today (gym weight), which is heavier than I expected from coming off the short break. I felt like I didn't eat much at all, but the scale doesn't lie.

I plan on bulking until March 1st, may shoot for that 200lb mark. I've never weighed 200lbs in my life and it was a goal of mine to hit that years ago when I was ~150lbs

Today after the gym session:

Dem burly Dls. Good to see you back at it.

Good to be back on the gym grind.

[deltpecx]

Still pretty lean.