Rumble In The Jungle: Jag's 2006 Journal Of Lifting & Life

[jaguarr]

Well, folks, I had a great time keeping my journal last year, here in the Over 35 Forum. So, it's time for a new one now that 2006 has rolled around. I look forward to sharing what I'm doing, exchanging ideas, finding inspiration and having some laughs with all of you in 2006. I plan to continue on with the routine I've been using for awhile, now, as it's still doing wonders for me. I'm still doing a clean bulk and working to improve not only my size, but my strength. Here's what it looks like:

Configuration
Mostly, I plan on running a 6x3 configuration with a round of 3x6's thrown in there for a week, once in awhile. I also tend to use some different rep/set ranges on certain lifts where I've found something different to be more effective, such as using more reps and sets on calves for example.

Before Each Workout

Before I start lifting in earnest on each workout, I will be continuing my current warmup routine, which looks like this:

Jumprope
I use the jumprope as a warmup tool, jumping rope at a medium pace for 45 second sets with a 30 second break inbetween those sets for roughly 5 minutes or so. It gets the blood moving and the oxygen flowing.

Abs
4x10 Superset of:
Weighted Crunches and/or Weighted V-Ups
Roman Chairs And/Or Hanging Leg Raises
The Ab Wheel Of Doom

I plan to do the abs routine before every workout, two weeks on and then take a week off from it before going back to it. This is a trick I picked up from Leon and it seems to be helping me on that front.

And now on to the split. All exercises are listed in the order in which they are performed:

Day 1: Chest & Bi's
- Incline DB Press
- Flat DB Press
- Decline Fly
- Weighted Dips (Chest Emphasis)
- Weighted Chinups
- BB Curls
- Incline Hammer Curls


Day 2: Off
Cardio if I get the itch.


Day 3: Legs & Shoulders

- BB Squats OR BB Lunges
- Weighted Donkey Calf Raises
- Leg Extensions
- Leg Curls OR SLDL's
- Standing DB Military Press
- Xtra Credit for Left Side Only:

• DB Rows

• Concentration Curls

- Superset:

• Front Lat Raise

• Side Lat Raise

• Bent Over Side DB Lat Raise OR Bent Over DB Rows

Day 4: Off
Cardio if I wanna.

Day 5: Back & Tri's

- Weighted Pullups:

• Shoulder-width Grip

• Hammer Grip Sternum Pullup

- Rack Pull Deadlift
- Bent Over, Underhanded BB Rows
- BB Shrugs
- Close Grip BB Bench Press OR Reverse Grip BB Bench Press
- Weighted Dips (Tri's Emphasis)
- Skullcrushers (sometimes with a DB, sometimes with a BB)

Day 6 & 7: Off
Cardio....maybe.... (I really am starting to do more cardio, again. I swear!)

I'll be shooting to keep all my workouts under 60 minutes if possible. First workout (Chest/Bi's day) is tomorrow. I'll post my diet and supplementation information later on, when I have a little more time. I'll also get around to getting some new photo's pulled together as well.

So, there it is. Let the fun begin! I'm looking forward to everyone's insight, humor, inspiration and comraderie in here over the course of this year! As always, questions, comments and suggestions are welcome!

Cheers!
jag

[jmurjr]

It's nice we know your split now. I must guess your off working out already so I expect to see todays workout posted in um "under 60 minutes". lol wlecome back jag

[phikappa]

Go get 'em...Manimal!

[justtryn]

Good to see you've started a new thread... due to popularity of your old thread, I hear they're going to award you a platinum "hit" url, or something like that!

I know you discussed the benefits of your 6x3 regimine and your occasional 3x6'ers in your old thread, but for all the newbies on here who are looking for info (welcome one and all from a constant lurker and an occasional poster), would you mind discussing why you go with this config vs. a pyramid, or a constant 8 rep or 10 or 12 or what ever.

Keep up the good work!

M.

[jaguarr]

Originally Posted by jmurjr

It's nice we know your split now. I must guess your off working out already so I expect to see todays workout posted in um "under 60 minutes". lol wlecome back jag

Heh! Thanks for the welcome back, man! My split was always mapped out in my old journal. You just had to read through 40 some-odd pages to see it. Tomorrow is the day I start hitting the iron pills again, so check back tomorrow, same Bat Time, same Bat Channel to see how it went.

Originally Posted by phikappa

Go get 'em...Manimal!

LMFAO! I'd rep you for that one if the system would let me, bro! That was good!

Originally Posted by justtryn

Good to see you've started a new thread... due to popularity of your old thread, I hear they're going to award you a platinum "hit" url, or something like that!

I know you discussed the benefits of your 6x3 regimine and your occasional 3x6'ers in your old thread, but for all the newbies on here who are looking for info (welcome one and all from a constant lurker and an occasional poster), would you mind discussing why you go with this config vs. a pyramid, or a constant 8 rep or 10 or 12 or what ever.

Keep up the good work!

Hey, thanks, man. I think my old thread was popular in the same way that car wrecks and Amtrak "incidents" are popular. You can't help but watch the horror.

So, here's the thinking behind 6x3's (and sometimes 6x4's). The theory behind it is that type IIb fibers only have the ability to contract forcefully for about 10 seconds. By only doing 3 reps with heavy weight, you can theoretically target the large type IIb's. So, the idea is that hypertrophy stimulating activity really happens in the first 3-4 reps of a lift, and everything else after that is just gravy. So why not work a routine where every single freakin' rep falls in that category? I do a 30 second stretch on the muscle group I'm working between sets and only take 60-90 second breaks between each set whenever I can (sometimes heavy compounds like squats and deadlifts take me a little longer). And, I mix in a week or two of 3x6's to help prevent my muscles from adapting to my routine and the 6 rep range is also known to help induce hypertrophy as well, so it's certainly not a bad thing to mix into a routine like this by any means. I've shamelessly copped most of this from Leon (ExCompetitor), so maybe he'll swing by and drop some enlightenment on our heads.

The $64,000 question, justtryn, is when are we going to see YOUR 2006 workout journal?

Happy Hump Day's Eve, everyone!
jag

[Baldsnake]

Oh no here we go again. They are here on my keyboard somewhere....found 'em....PB PB PB PB PB PB PB. OK Jag, I'm ready when you are.

[jtroster]

New Year, New Journal. I look forward to seeing those PBs pile up.

[mom24boys]

waves hiyas

[GSCampbell]

Alright alright, I'm watching the thread - sheesh!

GSC

[HoosierHardGain]

Ambitious looking routine jag...good luck!

[justtryn]

Originally Posted by jaguarr

The $64,000 question, justtryn, is when are we going to see YOUR 2006 workout journal?

Heavy Sigh... I know, I know. I keep a paper log, but simply haven't taken the time to do it online. Lame excuse, I know... but that's all I got! I see what I can do a bit later today.

Right now, I'm winding up a GVT routine... not sure if I like it or not. I had gains in some areas, but not in others. Maybe I'll look at your old thread again and see how your 6x3 and 3x6 route went. I've always had it stuck in my head that that low of reps was more for those who were into power lifting... not sure why I thought that, but it seems to have stuck.

[jaguarr]

Originally Posted by Baldsnake

Oh no here we go again. They are here on my keyboard somewhere....found 'em....PB PB PB PB PB PB PB. OK Jag, I'm ready when you are.

Originally Posted by jtroster

New Year, New Journal. I look forward to seeing those PBs pile up.

Man...I'm going to have to really kick it into gear and see if I can get those PB's going again!

Originally Posted by mom24boys

waves hiyas

Hi, mom! Good to see ya!

Originally Posted by GSC

Alright alright, I'm watching the thread - sheesh!

Excellent! And I didn't even have to send you any threatening PM's or anything to get you in here!

Originally Posted by HoosierHardGain

Ambitious looking routine jag...good luck!

Thanks, Hoos! It's the same routine I've been using for a few months, now. The one main thing I've started doing more of, that I forgot to mention, is more slow count negatives. I've found those to be extremely beneficial and very agreeable with this training style.

Originally Posted by justtryn

Heavy Sigh... I know, I know. I keep a paper log, but simply haven't taken the time to do it online. Lame excuse, I know... but that's all I got! I see what I can do a bit later today.

Right now, I'm winding up a GVT routine... not sure if I like it or not. I had gains in some areas, but not in others. Maybe I'll look at your old thread again and see how your 6x3 and 3x6 route went. I've always had it stuck in my head that that low of reps was more for those who were into power lifting... not sure why I thought that, but it seems to have stuck.

Yep. Lame excuse. In fact, consider it rejected and get your journal online, mister!

So, when you start looking at some of the German Volume Training approaches and even the Waterbury methods, you can see where they use some of the low rep, heavy weight for increased sets theory. It's sort of the sweet spot between power lifting and bodybuilding, which is great for me since I'm looking to add both strength AND mass. The majority of the mass that I've put on in the last six months started coming when I started using this sort of an approach. I do plan to mix more 3x6's into the routine this time around as I think the muscle confusion it brings to the table has helped induce more hypertrophy as well.


Happy Hump Day, folks! It's a busy day at work, but I'm smiling with the anticipation that I'll be returning to my home gym after work and hammering out a killer chest/bi's routine!

jag

[joed]

Welcome back.

[jaguarr]

Originally Posted by joed

Welcome back.

Thanks, Joe! Good to be back at it again!

The Workout

It seems like the first workout after 7-10 days off of the lifting is always the most difficult one. I had to really fight my way through it tonight, and could have probably used a nap before I started lifting, but I had a great workout, nonetheless. I really felt like I hit the chest and bi's very hard tonight and I'm sure I'm going to be damn sore in the next couple of days! Here's how it went tonight, following a preworkout meal of some oatmeal and a protein shake. As usual, Mr. Redbull and the PowerRack were my spotters:

Preface: 30 second stretches between each set. Tried to keep rest time between 30-60 seconds where I could.

Jump rope - High speed for 45 seconds, rest for 15 seconds. I repeat this over and over for five full minutes. It's a good light warmup and gets the blood pumping. I do this before every workout.

Ab's Superset - 4x10
Weighted Crunch/Weighted V-ups - 35 lbs. plate (alternated between the two)
Ab Wheel
Roman Chairs

Incline DB Press - 90 lbs. (each DB) 6x4 - I bumped the angle on the incline up another notch and boy did I really feel the difference. I don't think I was getting quite enough incline on these before. Good mind-muscle connection.

Flat DB Bench - 100 lbs (each DB) 6x3 - Felt every single one of these tonight. In other words, I paid for the sangria and the martini's I had last week on my trip.

Incline DB Flies - 60 lbs. (each DB) 6x4 - Went to a steeper incline on these as well, like the Incline Presses. Also worked on a very slow negative rep and my entire chest was twitching by the time I was done. I feel I'm getting more from these than any other chest exercise at the moment.

Weighted Dips (chest focus) - 75 lbs. on Grizzly Belt 6x4 . Nice finish to the chest workout.

Palms facing my body chin-ups - 6x4 - 25 lbs. on Grizzly Belt. Slow negative reps. I apparently was making interesting noises during these, because my wife popped in and checked on me. LOL! Great pump from these.

Straight BB Curl - 105 lbs. 6x4 --Dropped the weight by ten pounds from the last time I did these to take it easy on my left elbow. It's finally cooperating for the most part, and 115 bothered it just a little bit, so I dropped it down to play it safe. I still got a great workout with slow negative reps and very strict form. I was toast at the end of these.

Incline Hammer Curls- Yanked these out of the routine today. I'd be overtraining if I'd tried to keep them in, after the chin-ups and BB Curls. I may have to rotate these in and out with one of the other bicep exercises, because I'm getting exactly what I need from those previous two lifts at this point.

Stretched out during cool down and then got my PWO Supershake(tm).

Total Lift Time - 63 minutes. A little longer than the last time I ran this routine, but close enough to 60 minutes for me. Especially on my first day back.

I'm happy with this workout, and I know I'm going to be feeling it in all the right places in the next couple of days. So, we're back at it here in this part of the jungle. Hell, even Lady Jag came home from work and slammed out 30 minutes on the "Epileptical" (I love that she calls it that). I'm glad to see her taking interest in her physical health again. I hope she can stay consistent with it as she makes very serious, fast progress when she puts even a little bit of effort into it. Speaking of Lady Jag, I think I'll go enjoy some time with her. Hope you're all having a great Hump Day!

jag

[Chi_town]

Nice one Jag, My Boy !

Any updated pics to show us all what these monster WO's have done for ya.

[GSCampbell]

Great work - as usual

[Dia-Tribe]

Just a quick question on your rationale..

I notice your shoulder workout doesn't include any overhead pressing..

Superset:
Front Lat Raise
Side Lat Raise
Bent Over Side DB Lat Raise OR Bent Over DB Rows

Do you have any shoulder impingement problems?... without surgery I'm basically restricted to shoulder level lifts only. Interesting to hear your results with this routine.
Good luck.

[Hibiscus09]

Hiya jag!

[joed]

I KNEW either hibby or dbfl would be here with happy faces holding signs! hehe.

Hey man, is lady jag off the cigs now? As I recall she was trying to quit.

[kimsquit]

Originally Posted by jaguarr

LMFAO! I'd rep you for that one if the system would let me, bro! That was good!

consider him repped


Out of curiousity and for the benefit of those who may not know there is a difference, how are you differentiating between chest dips and tricep dips?



ps: I'm really tempted, but I won't ask if you include the bar in your weights

[joed]

Originally Posted by kimsquit

...ps: I'm really tempted, but I won't ask if you include the bar in your weights

(kimsquit, giving jag a late xmas present. No wonder he still has merry christmas as his sig.)

[jaguarr]

Hey Folks!
It's a crazy-ass day here at work! Talk about busy!

Originally Posted by Chi_town

Nice one Jag, My Boy !

Any updated pics to show us all what these monster WO's have done for ya.

Thanks, Pan-Man! No pics at this point in time. It's on my "to do list".

Originally Posted by GSCampbell

Great work - as usual

Thanks, Hoss. How's the lifting coming along? I'd think you'd be able to do a lot more pullups without that appendix weighing you down. :P Have you verified any connection between the appendix problems and all that Liquid Ass you drank?

Originally Posted by Dia-Tribe

Just a quick question on your rationale..

I notice your shoulder workout doesn't include any overhead pressing..

Quote:
Superset:
Front Lat Raise
Side Lat Raise
Bent Over Side DB Lat Raise OR Bent Over DB Rows

Do you have any shoulder impingement problems?... without surgery I'm basically restricted to shoulder level lifts only. Interesting to hear your results with this routine.
Good luck.

Actually, just above that superset you quoted from my split are some Standing DB Military Presses, so I've not completely cut out the overhead press movements. I have some slight tendonitis in my left shoulder. I tend to experience more issues with it when I'm NOT working it, though. One thing that has helped quite a bit for me has been Dante's DoggCrapp Broomstick Shoulder Stretch, which coolexec did a nice job of documenting HERE the other day. There have been quite a few posts on that and other shoulder stretches in this forum, so do a search. It's helped me a great deal to stretch my shoulders regularly.

Originally Posted by Hibby

Hiya jag!

LOL! Okay, now I'm seriously considering a joed style extended period of promising pictures but not delivering them for quite awhile, just to be a brat!

Originally Posted by joed

I KNEW either hibby or dbfl would be here with happy faces holding signs! hehe.

Hey man, is lady jag off the cigs now? As I recall she was trying to quit.

I still think I'm going to follow your example and make 'em wait for the pic's. Lady Jag is still smoking, unfortunately, but I think she's starting to get serious about wanting to quit...again. We'll see. She's not going to stop until she truly wants to, though, no way around it. I'm just being supportive and understanding for her.

Originally Posted by kimsquit

consider him repped

Out of curiousity and for the benefit of those who may not know there is a difference, how are you differentiating between chest dips and tricep dips?

ps: I'm really tempted, but I won't ask if you include the bar in your weights

Thanks for repping the phimeister, Chris. He earned that one!

As for the difference between chest and tri dips, it really comes down to the positioning of your body angle and your elbows that will help determine where the focus is at. If you lean forward, keep your head down and flare your elbows out a bit, you'll get more of a chest emphasis. If you keep your body straight (perpendicular to the ground), head up, and elbows closer to your torso, you'll get more of a tricep focus. It takes a little practices, but once you find those proper angles, you'll really feel the difference.

ps: I'm really tempted, but I won't tell you whether I included the bar in my weights or not. (Merry Xmas to you too, buddy).

Okay, back to the grind and yet another meeting. Hope everyone's having a great Thursday!

jag

[ChocoChick]

Hi Jag... Sorry I am late to the party...

[joed]

You're not late, we've been waiting for you.

[jaguarr]

Welcome, dbflgirl! I think there's still a batch of ON 100% Gold Whey Margaritas behind the bar there, if you're thirsty.

The Workout

Felt really strong today, and by the time I'd had some yams and a protein shake for a pre-workout meal and gotten Mr. Red Bull in to spot me, I was ready to hit the weights when the work day was over. Here's how it went:

Ab's Superset - 4x10
Weighted Crunch/Weighted V-ups - 35 lbs. plate (alternated between the two)
Ab Wheel
Roman Chairs

Barbell Lunges – 125 lbs. - 4x10 -- Opted for the lunges tonight for a couple of reasons. The first is that I've been having a little bit of lower back pain and I didn't think carrying uber-heavy weight across my shoulders would be a good idea tonight, and the second is that well...I'm getting better growth out of the lunges lately than I have been the squats. I feel they hit more of the upper leg and glute area than the squats have been at the moment, so I'm trying to maximize my time with them. I think I'll do a round of squats next week if my back is up for it, though. They still have their place in my routine.

Weighted Donkey Calf Raises - 220 lbs. on the Grizzly Belt- 6x10 -

Leg Extensions – 165 lbs. - 6x3

Lying Leg Curls – 125 lbs. - 6x3

DB Military Press – 55 lbs. on each DB - 6x3 - Did these with a very slow negative and with a 30 second max rest between each set.

Xtra Credit SuperSet For Left Side Only - 3x6
DB Rows @ 65lbs
Concentration Curls @ 30 lbs.

And, my slow game of catch-up continues.

Superset w/ 20lb Dumbbells - 6x4
Standing Side Lateral Raises
Standing Double Front Raises
Bent Over Double DB Row/Reverse Fly (alternated between the two on each set)

Did these with a slow negative on every rep. I thought my shoulders were going to explode or burn my tanktop off or something. Yeesh!

Stretched out during cool down and then got my PWO Supershake(tm).

Total Lift Time - 49 minutes.

After a brutal week at work, this was a very nice way to let off some steam at the end of it. Anyone got one of those Little Rascal scooters I can borrow? I'm going to be crippled tomorrow. Hope everyone had a great Friday and that an awesome weekend is in store for ya'll!

Cheers!
jag

[jmurjr]

Jag, you can't say "Felt really strong today, and by the time I'd had some yams and a protein shake for a pre-workout meal and gotten Mr. Red Bull in to spot me, I was ready to hit the weights when the work day was over."

And not have a PB. I even read the post twice thinking I must have missed it!
j/k

Great Workout. Hope your functioning tomorrow.

[jaguarr]

LMAO! Well, this was my first leg workout in awhile, since this my first week back after the break. Give me some time to ease back into the PB's, man!

jag

[Gunn27]

Originally Posted by jaguarr

Weighted Donkey Calf Raises - 220 lbs. on the Grizzly Belt- 6x10 -

Serious calf burn, I can almost feel it just reading that.

Anyone got one of those Little Rascal scooters I can borrow? I'm going to be crippled tomorrow.

If you find one, can I use it next? Great job, bet it feels good to be back form your break? Hope you have a great weekend.

[jaguarr]

Thanks, Gunn! I'm getting back into the swing of it. My chest/bi's workout on Wednesday was murder and I felt that way about it, even though it was a good workout. Yesterday, I was really into it, though. My legs are damn sore today! Yeesh! I did 22 minutes on the "epileptical" before breakfast today in the hopes that it will help flush the muscles out a bit and keep me from getting TOO sore!

It's a beautiful day here in the jungle! I hope the same holds true for you, wherever you are!

Happy Saturday, folks!
jag

[fitnessman]

Looking good in here jag!