VAlifter's Training Journal

[VAlifter]

Hey all, this is the first post i'm gonna start my training journal with. I'll give you guys a brief description. I am currently a junior in college and have been lifting seriously for about 3 and a half years. When I started lifting, I was about 125 lbs but now i am 165 lbs. I've been through a lot of different programs - max-ot, dfht, westside (my gyms don't have proper PL equipment), 5x5 to name a few... but to be honest i had the most gains with max-ot, so i decided to try it again. my main priority is STRENGTH. i actually started max-ot again last week and currently stacking BN CEE and Citrulline Malate. I've been having GREAT workouts with this stack, hitting new pr's almost each time. I also got omega cre-ethyl thunder yesterday and will incorporate it into my stack. Other minor supplements include 100% whey protein, pro complex, gnc mega men multi, fish and flax oil, and syntrax r-ala. my diet is eating as often and as much as i can...but trying to keep it relatively clean. i try to drink a gallon of water and a lot of milk every day. oh, and i also could not work out for 4 months due to a really bad ankle injury from october 2004 to february 2005. i think by now my lifts are back to normal or better. i hope this journal will benefit all of you.

Monday 4/18/05 - Legs
Squat: 255x6, 265x4, 265x3
Leg Press: 8 45'sx5, 8 45's x 5
Stiff-Legged Deadlift: 205x6, 205x6
Standing Calf Raise: 260x8, 280x8
45 degree Calf Raise: 4 45'sx8

Tuesday 4/19/05 - Arms & Abs
BB Curl: 85x6, 90x5
Alternating DB Curl: 35'sx6, 35'sx6
Cable Curl: 140x6
Skullcrushers: 95x6, 100x5
Tricep Pushdowns: 150x6, 150x6
DB Kickback: 25x6
BB wrist curl: 65x8, 75x8
DB wrist curl: 30'sx8
Leg Lifts: (BW+10)x15, (BW+10)x14
Weighted Crunches: 90x10, 100x10
Incline Crunches: BWx10

Wednesday 4/20/05 - Shoulders & Traps
Military Press: 155x5, 155x4, 155x4
DB Press: 65'sx5, 65'sx6
Lateral Raise: 30'sx6, 30'sx7
Trap Shrugs (machine): 6 45'sx6, 6 45'sx7
Upright Rows: 75x6, 75x6

Thursday 4/21/05 - Back
Lat Pulldowns: 180x4, 180x4
BB Rows: 155x6, 165x6
Seated Cable Rows: 150x6
Goodmornings: 190x6, 190x6
Reverse Hyper: (BW+80)x6, (BW+80)x6

Friday 4/22/05 - Chest
Bench: 225x6, 225x4, 225x4
Incline DB Bench: 75'sx5, 75'sx5, 75'sx6
Decline DB Bench: 80'sx6, 80'sx5
-had no access to a dip belt, so i decided to do decline DB

Monday 4/25/05 - Legs
Squat: 265x6, 275x4, 275x2
Leg Press: (8 45's+10)x6, (8 45's+10)x5
Stiff-Legged Deadlift: 225x6, 225x6
Standing Calf Raise: 300x8, 300x8
45 degree Calf Raise: 6 45'sx8


Tuesday 4/26/05 - Arms & Abs
BB Curl: 95x5, 95x4
Alternating DB Curl: 40sx6, 40'sx5
Cable Curl: 150x4
Tricep Dips: (BW+225)x8, (BW+250)x6
Skullcrushers: 100x6, 100x5
DB Kickback: 30x6
BB wrist curl: 85x8, 90x8
DB wrist curl: 35'sx8
Leg Lifts: (BW+12.5)x15, (BW+12.5)x12
Weighted Crunches: 100x10, 110x10
Incline Crunches: (BW+10)x8

Later today I'm gonna do shoulders and traps

[VAlifter]

Military Press: 165x5, 165x4, 165x4
DB Press: 70'sx5, 70'sx4
Lateral Raise: 30'sx8, 30'sx7
Upright Rows (Smith): 105x8, 105x7
BB Shrugs: 275x8, 275x8

Comments: Solid workout, was running a little short on time. didn't feel as "in the zone" as i was in previous workouts. Nevertheless, new pr's = always good =).

[VAlifter]

Lat Pulldowns: 180x6, 180x5, 180x5
BB Rows: 165x8, 175x8
Seated Cable Rows: 160x6, 160x6
Goodmornings: 205x6, 205x5
Weighted Hyperextensions: (BW+90)x7, (BW+90)x8

Comments: WHEW!! what a good workout!! i was kinda worried because i only slept 3.5 hours last night due to a nasty project and presentation due today. maybe it's the omega cre-ethyl thunder?!?! but wow! i was bursting with energy today. everything seemed so light, even though all weights went up. my back feels great right now. well just had my shake and now it's time to eat. PEACE

[VAlifter]

Bench Press: 235x5, 235x4, 235x3
Incline DB Press: 75'sx7, 80'sx6
Chest Dips: (BW+90)x5, (BW+90)x4

Comments: I always love chest day...getting great pumps from my stack. gotta move up on incline db. time to give me muscles some rest for the weekend...HOW COME NOBODY'S REPLYING?! i guess nobody likes my journal... =(. maybe ill post some pics up soon.

[VAlifter]

Leg Press: 10 45's x 2, (8 45's + 35) x 3, (8 45's + 25) x 3
Squat: 225x6, 245x6
Leg Curl: 100x6, 100x6
Stiff-Legged Deadlift: 245x6, 255x6
Standing Calf Raise: 320x8, 320x8
Seated Calf Raise: 75x8, 85x8

i overestimated myself on the leg press...hence the few # of reps. then i underestimated myself on squats cuz i thought i was too tired from the leg presses. other than that, it was a good workout. for some reason, my legs felt SO pumped...i guess it's the cre-ethyl thunder kicking in. it feels good changing things up and starting a new routine. on another note, im FREE until my first final this friday!! imma use this week to get JACKED!!!!

[VAlifter]

Incline Bench: 195x6, 205x4, 205x3
Flat DB Bench: 85'sx7, 90'sx5, 90'sx5
Decline Bench: 205x9
Weighted Rope Crunches: 110x12, 120x10, 120x10
Incline Situps: (BW+10)x8, (BW+10)x8

Comments: AWESOME workout yet again. Hit new PR's on basically everything. My incline bench has gotten a lot stronger... i think i coulda hit one more on the last set, but i moved the bar too forward when my spotter helped me unrack. i underestimated myself on the decline bench, so i will definitely move up the weight next time. my CHEST hasnt felt this pumped in a longgg time. on a side note, my legs are incredibly sore from yesterday.

[VAlifter]

Bent Over Rows: 185x5, 185x5
V-Bar Pulldowns: 190x4, 190x4
Pullups: BWx6, BWx4
Seated Cable Rows: 150x6
Deadlifts: 315x4, 315x5
BB Shrugs: 275x6

Comments: Workout felt good today...i think i need to try harder on pullups. i used to be able to do 12 full ROM. maybe i was tired from the previous sets. Deadlifts felt really good...but now im in pain, haha. ive been eating SO much lately so my strength better go up.

[MC26VA]

VAL,
The workouts looking pretty damn solid bud. The leg press (overestimated, i know) looks damn solid...great job there. The benching also looking solid as is the back work...with pulldowns and goodmornings showing some decent numbers there. Great job overall...keep up it up.

-Cooley

[VAlifter]

Thank you, MC26VA!! i was afraid that nobody was going to reply to my journal. it's good to see another lifter in the northern virginia area, very encouraging. i hope you are reaching your goals as well. Keep lifting!!

[VAlifter]

DB Press: 75'sx5, 75'sx4, 75'sx3
Standing Military Press: 125x5, 125x4
DB Lateral Raise: 35'sx6, 35'sx6
Skullcrushers: 105x4, 95x5, 95x4
Straight-bar Cable Pushdowns: 150x5, 150x5, 150x6
Seated DB Overhead Tricep Press: 60x7

Solid workout, but everything felt really heavy. i tried going up on everything, so this is kind of expected. ill probably stay at the same weight for DB presses next week. i put in standing military press instead of seated because i think it feels better on the delts for me...i also wanted to change things up. going up on lateral raises is always hard for me...i think i sacrificed some form to get 6 reps of those 35's. for the skullcrushers, i had to go down in weight to get the reps...i think my triceps may have been tired from all the shoulder stuff. i could have gone higher on the overhead tricep press, but i didn't really know how much i could do since i hadn't done them in so long. nevertheless, my upper body feels freakin huge now and i feel great. i weighed in at 166.5 lbs today.

[VAlifter]

Standing BB Curl: 95x4, 95x4, 95x5
Hammer Curls: 35'sx7, 35'sx6, 35'sx5
EZ-Bar Curls: 75x6, 75x6
Leg Lifts: (BW+12.5)x15, (BW+12.5)x12
Weighted Crunches (facing other way): 70x10, 80x10

Comments: man didn't feel so strong in the gym today, probably because i had a final today that i was studying for last night. i am sooo sore from the previous workouts of this week...i wonder if im overtraining. i shoudlnt feel so sore with my current stack. oh well, time to use this weekend for rest.

[MC26VA]

Hey VAL,
Dont' sweat the "not feeling strong" day...we all get them. Great work so far, specially on the db presses and standing militaries. Do you feel you get better stability/lift doing military standing? Damn nice going on skulls and lat raises...those are tough as $hit to get with any sort of real weight. On the weighted crunches (facing other way), do you mean you worked your lower back instead? Great job overall, keep it up.

-Cooley

[VAlifter]

sup MC, thanks for the feedback. for military presses, i guess i like standing better because i feel like i am forced to use my delts to raise the bar up. when i use seated, i can use more weight, but sometimes (when i'm really straining) i feel like im using my back or pushing with my legs or anything else to get that damn bar up. For the weighted crunches on friday, the reason i did them "the other way" was because the cable machine was occupied by other lifters, so I used the tricep pressdown on the side of the cable machine (the one with the pad where your back is supposed to be) and did the crunches facing away from the cable machine.
This week is the last week of finals, and I hope I can use my time wisely to study hard, lift hard, and eat like a maniac =).

[VAlifter]

Leg Press: (8 45's + 25)x4, (8 45's + 25)x4, (8 45's + 25)x4
Squat: 265x4, 265x4
Leg Curl: 110x6, 110x6
Stiff-Legged Deadlift: 265x6, 265x6
Standing Calf Raise: 330x8, 320x8

Kinda pressed for time today...didn't realize that gyms closed at 10 pm today and my partner couldn't go 'til around 9. i think it actually benefitted me though, because i was just focused on lifting. didnt have time to do the last 2 seated calf raise sets...although i probably needed them considering calves are a weak point of mine. nevertheless, everything else went up in weight =). im thinking about starting some powerlifting routines soon...

[VAlifter]

Incline Bench: 205x6, 210x5, 210x4
Flat DB Bench: 90'sx3, 90'sx5, 90'sx6
Decline Bench: 225x6
Weighted Rope Crunches (facing other way): 70x12, 80x10, 80x10
Incline Situps: (BW+10)x10, (BW+10)x10

Very pleased with my workout today. i felt really strong on my incline bench along with flat DB bench. on the first flat DB set, i kind of lost balance in my left forearm so i had to drop the weight, but i came back strong in my next 2 sets. so far so GOOD....

[VAlifter]

Bent Over Rows: 185x6, 190x5
V-Bar Pulldowns: 200x4, 190x4
Pullups: BWx6, BWx6
Deadlifts: 325x5, 325x5
BB Shrugs: 295x6

Awesome workout, but forgot to do 1 set of seated cable rows...its all good, it would have taken too long if i did. my body aches

[matpal]

Great job, man....anxious to see where you top out at.

[readysetlift!!!]

Great log so far man keep it up! I wuz just wonderin if you still take the bn cee and cm with the cre-ethyl thunder?

[VAlifter]

DB Press: 75'sx5, 75'sx4 (barely), 70'sx6
Standing Military Press: 135x5, 135x5
DB Lateral Raise: 35'sx8, 35'sx6
Skullcrushers (using DB's): 30'sx6, 30'sx6, 30'sx5
Straight-bar Cable Pushdowns: 150x6, 150x6, 150x6
Seated DB Overhead Tricep Press: 70x8

To readysetlift!! - Yes, I am still stacking bn cee, cm, and cre-ethyl thunder. I take ~5 g of cm twice per day, one usually in the morning and one ~30 min prior to workout. I take the cre-ethyl thunder 30 min before workout and ~5 g BN CEE postworkout and twice on off-days.

As for my workout, it was really good. The 75 lb DB's still feel heavy on shoulder press...but my shoulders were still quite sore from incline bench on tuesday. all of the EZ-curl bars were in use so i had to do skullcrushers with db's...i actually like them with DB's though. i have been noticing significant gains in hypertrophy, and all my friends can testify to that. i love getting the "dude ur getting HUGE" comments...muahaha.

On a side note, only ONE final left!! and it's my easiest one. too bad i gotta wake up at 8 am to take it... but EDUCATION is important!

[VAlifter]

Sorry for not updating yesterday...I had to run a lot of errands and now im back in the comfort of my home home after all my finals were over! well here was my workout yesterday:

Standing BB Curl: 95x4, 95x4, 95x4
Hammer Curls: 35'sx7, 35'sx6
EZ-Bar Curls: 75x7, 80x6
Swiss Ball Crunches: 12, 11
Weighted Crunches: 120x10, 120x10

It's so hard for me to move up in weight on standing BB curl, but im trying to get stricter on the form so it's still workin for me. decided to switch things up with swiss ball crunches...i dont know why. i just dont feel like leg lifts are doin anythin for me. on a sad note, i decided that today is the day i will stop CEE, CM, + Cre-Ethyl Thunder. It's been about 7 weeks since ive been on it. I have also been working out hardcore for about 13 weeks straight, so I am going to take the next week off. I might max out on bench to see where I'm at on monday....we'll see. After I get back, I want to go on a strength/powerlifting routine (keep in mind that I lift raw). My main objective is to increase bench because that's the only intramural strength competition they have at my school. I'm thinking about either doing Bill Starr's 5x5, Kyle's Russian Bench Routine, Prilepin's Bench Routine, Weil Bench Routine, or variations of Westside. Has anybody had good results with Stephen Korte 3x3???

[sword chucks]

Really impressive lifts VAlifter!

sounds like a lot of creatine too lol

[VAlifter]

Well im back after a week break. its been a good break but i was aching to go back in the gym. i decided to try kyle's russian bench program to bring up my bench in preparation for a bench competition at my school in the fall semester. i have been off supplements since my week off started. This past weekend i was busy with movin out and cleaning my old apt cuz im moving into a new one....that was really tiring.
For maxes, I'm using 275 max bench, 245 max incline, and 185 max powerclean.

Bench: 195x8, 195x8, 195x8
Incline: 170x8, 170x8, 170x6, 170x2
Powerclean: 125x5, 125x5, 125x5
Squat: 225x5, 235x4, 245x3

Everything seemed alright until i got to the inclines....i couldnt get the last set so i had to finish it up with 2. today i wasnt feeling too physically well....my allergies were goin crazy and i had a pounding headache, probably from all the cleaning and moving i had to do. hopefully i will start feeling better soon.

[VAlifter]

hey guys, sorry for not updating in so long. i was busy with moving out and didn't have internet for a while. well since i last updated, i went through a cycle of Kyle's Russian Bench Routine. it was awesome. gained 20 lbs on my bench (went from 275 to 295). after that, i tried playing around with patrik nyman's prilepin bench routine, but i found that i didn't like it too much, so i decided to go on DFHT (the newer version that Matt Reynolds made). It can be found here:

http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/core_feb_6.htm

Yesterday, I did the first upper body workout. it was pretty damn tiring:

Low Incline BP: 175x10, 175x10, 175x7, 155x7
Flat DB Bench Press: 75'sx6, 65'sx9, 65'sx8
BB Rows: 135x5, 145x5, 145x5, 155x5, 155x5
Upright rows: 95x8, 95x8
DB Shrugs: 110'sx8, 110'sx8
E-Z Skullcrushers: 75x12, 75x12, 75x8
Alt DB Curl: 30'sx8, 30'sx8
EZ Curl: 75x9

[VAlifter]

Full Squats: 185x5, 205x5, 225x5, 250x5, 275x3
Goodmornings: 185x5, 185x5, 185x5
Arched Back Pullthroughs: 60x12, 70x12
Rounded Back Pullthroughs: 80x12, 90x12
GHR's + Leg Extensions Superset: (BW+10)x10 55x12, (BW+10)x10, 65x12
Various Abs: 5x10
Seated Calf Raise: 45x15, 55x13, 65x13, 65x12, 65x10

Played around with weights because i wasn't sure what i was capable of, but i had a real good workout today. performed better than i thought i would considering i didn't work out at all last week because of vacation and sickness. DFHT always proceeds to KICK MY ASS (higher volume than what i'm used to).

[VAlifter]

Flat Barbell Bench Press: 225x5, 225x5, 225x5, 225x5, 225x5
Floor Press: 205x3, 155x5, 165x5, 185x5, 205x4
Standing Military Press: 135x5, 135x5, 135x4, 135x3, 115x5
Dips: (BW+45)x8, (BW+45)x8
Wide-grip Lat Pulldown: 110x12, 120x12
Med-grip Lat Pulldown: 130x10
V-Bar Close-grip Lat Pulldown: 130x10, 130x8
Triceps Pulldowns: 120x10, 120x9, 110x8
Standing BB Curl: 55x12, 65x10, 70x8

Workout seemed very tiring. Could have gone higher on the 5x5 bench, but just wanted to make sure i could do 'em. every exercise literally kicked my ass. it was my first time doing floor press, so i had to get used to the motion. i did this workout yesterday and im sore as hell today. oh and my legs are even sorer.