Iron619's Strength Training Journal

[iron619]

Hello everyone and welcome! This is my first online training journal, and I invite anyone to frequent this thread and throw in your comments. Any constructive criticism, opinions, and advice will be greatly appreciated, and I thank you in advance. I'm sure there will be times where I may skip a workout, or won't have the time to post my training results for that day, but I will work hard in being dependable and committed to this journal and to all of you as well.

My current routine is very similar to young_squatter's DFT routine, fittingly, since the members who helped design his routine have also played a role in helping design mine. However, my routine is tailored to fit my experience level and goals.

Monday: Upper Body Strength
Max Effort Bench Press: (greater than 85% of 1RM). 1 set.

-Horizontal Pushing Exercise-barbell bench press (decline, incline, and flat)
-Horizontal Pulling Exercise-rows (barbell, T-Bar, One-Arm DB, Hammer/Cable Rows)
-Vertical Pushing Exercise-Seated Barbell Military Press or Weighted Dips
-Vertical Pulling Exercise-Pullups
-Arms--Optional, if not already too fatigued
-Biceps-DBs, One-Arm Preacher Curls, Cable Curls: 1-2 sets
-Triceps-Close Grip Bench Press, Skull Crushers, Extensions: 1-2 sets

Tuesday: Lower Body Strength
Deadlifts
Front Squats
Calves

week 1: 4x6
week 2: 5x5
week 3: 6x4
week 4: deload/active recovery
week 5: 5x5
week 6: 6x4
week 7: 7x3
week 8: deload/active recovery
week 9: 6x4
week 10: 7x3
week 11: 8x1-2
week 12: OFF ALL WEEK FROM TRAINING

Thursday: Upper Body Hypertrophy
-Speed Bench 8x3, starting at 45% of 1RM, increasing 5 percent a week until optimal resistance is found.

--Horizontal Pushing Exercise-DB Bench Press
--Horizontal Pulling Exercise-Rowing exercise
--Vertical Pushing Exercise-DB Shoulder Press/Dips
--Vertical Pulling Exercise-Lat Pulldowns
--Biceps-DB's, Cables...etc.
--Triceps-Close Grip Bench Press, Skull Crushers, Extensions...etc.
Any further exercises completed is considered icing on the cake!

Friday: Lower Body Hypertrophy
-Front Squats
-Weighted Hyper Extensions or Good Mornings
-Barbell Lunges
-Calves
-Leg Extensions
-Reverse/Seated Leg Curls

Week 1: 2x15
week 2: 3x12
week 3: 3x10
week 4: deload/active recovery
week 5: 3x12
week 6: 3x10
week 7: 3x8
week 8: deload/active recovery
week 9: 3x10
week 10: 3x8
week 11: 3x8
week 12: deload/active recovery

This is where I will explain misc. things about my routine. As you can see, this is a 12 week program. I have focuses on my Bench Press, therefore, you see the ME work and Speed Benches being placed before I start my training. My deload/active recovery will depend on the actual fatigue accumulated. This will depend on my intensity, diet and nutrition, and R&R. Some deloading weeks may be "lighter" than others; others may not. I am also considering doing 20-rep squats on the last Friday before my deloading week. From experience, I know my training sessions might be lengthy on Monday and Tuesday, but I know I can keep my rest times shorter on Thursday and Friday. Also, I might throw in a couple more exercises on my Thursday routine, or I might take a few out. I am only doing 1-2 sets of biceps and triceps on my upper body strength day, if any, because my short arms gets plenty of stimulation from the heavy compound lifts, plus, I know I feel very exhausted after those exercises. I know many of you probably noticed that I don't have any set days or exercises for my abs. I have decided that I will fit them in once I get "in the groove" of this routine. Also, you won't see me doing conventional barbell squats. The reasoning is because I just recently recovered from a terrible accident and don't feel very comfortable doing regular squats. Also, I feel that the front squats stimulate my quads more. I had sciatic nerve injury from heavy bent-over barbell rows. Sometimes doing regular barbell squats makes my back and legs feel uncomfortable, so I've decided to opt for front squats.

As far as cardio is concerned, I plan to do an hour cardio on Saturdays. The preference of my cardio would be the elliptical machine or treadmill walking. I'm also toying with the idea of doing cardio on Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays for about 20 minutes, then doing cardio for 45 minutes on Saturday. The cardio on Monday should be okay since that is an upper body training day; Wednesday will work for cardio because that is my complete day off; and Friday is my hypertrophy day for legs, so that could work. Once again, we will see how things go.

My biggest setback I know I will face will be my diet and nutrition. I am making an effort to eat more clean foods and drink more water. I will try not to skip meals, as I sometimes do.

From experience, I know that I will make many changes to my routine. I also know that I will make adjustments, and that's fine. I know some of you may think that this routine might be overtaxing on my CNS. To them, I say, "we'll see!" There are no perfect routines, but I know that I respond well to something like this.

Lastly, let me add that I train pretty late in the evenings, normally between the hours of 11pm-3am. Because of this timing, my journal entry dates may or may not coincide with the thread's date and time.

Hopefully, I might get some motivation from all of you and we can learn and benefit from one another.

[iron619]

ME Work-Flat BB Bench Press: 365x1

Decline BB Bench Press: 275x6, 295x6, 315x6, 325x6

Bent-over BB Rows: 205x6, 225x6, 255x6, 265x6

Seated Military Press: 205x6, 225x6, 235x6, 235x6

Pullups: BWx6, BWx6, BWx6, BWx6 (5+1)

Standing One-Arm Preacher Curls: 40x6, 45x6 (supersetted with triceps)

One-Arm Overhead Tricep Extension: 35x6, 40x6

Comments: Perhaps I should of gone a little lighter on my ME work. 365lbs was 90% of my 1RM. I think I should of started at 85%. I'll just adjust next time. I am a bit weary of going too heavy on bent-over BB rows because that was the exercise that took me out for 2+ months, so I don't really like going too heavy on these. The seated shoulder press felt great! I love getting the deep stretch at the bottom, so low that the barbell just barely misses touching my collar bone. I don't normally do direct arm work, so I'm not very strong at curling barbells or dumbbells. I just started incorporating these two sets in, and my arms feel completely pumped! Supersetting the two exercises is something that I like to do. I also should of gone heavier on my tricep extensions. One thing that I do want to mention are my pull ups. On the last set, I was too fatigued to get the 6th rep without stopping. I had to dismount, reset, and finish the last rep. For the last several years, I rarely incorporated pullups in my routine, so my vertical pulling strength is underdeveloped. It's that, or I'm just physically fatigued! Overall, it was a great training session. After my training session was completed, I was driving home and it felt like I wanted to throw up a little. I kept having to spit out my saliva. After about 3-5 minutes, that feeling went away.

[iron619]

Conventional Deadlifts: 365x6, 385x6, 405x6, 425x6

Front Squats: 225x6, 235x6, 245x6, 255x6

Seated Calf Raises: 135x6, 160x6, 160x6, 170x6

Comments: I felt great after this workout session. I haven't done any calf exercises for several weeks, so this exercise felt great. I like to do my reps slow and very controlled on the seated calf raises. I also like to pause on the bottom and get a real good stretch, then lift up. Because of this method for calves, I can't handle much more wieght. I'm focusing on quality contractions more so than weight. I am executing the front squats with full ROM. I squat down till I can't physically squat down any more. It's an awesome feeling. Today was also the first time I started sipping on SciVation's Xtend. The only flavor they had was grape. Let me say, this stuff doesn't taste good at all. I definitely can't jug this drink. Amazingly enough, I didn't feel too fatigued after this workout. We'll see how my workouts go after a few more weeks with xtend. I decided to only consume xtend during my workouts or cardio, so that means I would only consume five drinks a week. Also, there is no way I'm doing more than six scoops per serving. One, I probably couldn't handle the taste; and two, it wouldn't be very cost effective. Also, there is a good amount of BCAA's in just one serving. So I will only be using two scoops per drink. Overall, excellent workout.

[iron619]

Decline DB Press: 80x15, 100x15

Bent-over BB Rows: 185x15, 205x15

Seated DB Shoulder Press: 55x15, 65x15

Medium Grip Front Lat Pulldowns: 100x15, 120x15

One-Arm DB Preacher Curls: 20x15, 25x15

One-Arm DB Overhead Extension: 25x15, 35x15

DB Front Raises: 30x15, 30x15

Pec Deck Machine: 150x15, 180x15

I forgot to do my bench speed work!!!! I can't believe it!!!
Also, after doing my lat pulldowns, heavy nausea set in. I had to go outside for about 10 minutes before I could work out again. I don't know what exactly caused this. Today, I displayed poor time management, and was kind of in a rush to get done, so that was why I forgot to do my speed work. Also, I wanted to shorten my rest period between sets, so I may not of been performing at the strength at which I could handle weight within this rep range if I rested longer. I haven't done decline DBs in a while, so this felt great. The 15th rep with the 100s was more than likely the last rep before failure. I am not used to training at this high rep range, so this was something very different. I prefer to lift heavy ass weight! (low reps ). I didn't go heavy with the DB bicep curls, but the quality of each rep was great, not to mention the pump had me hurting! I definitely should of gone heavier with the tricep extentions. I will be sure to monitor my next training session to be more challenging. Also, doing these isolation exercises after finishing my compound lifts had my little muscles burning. For my next upper body hypertrophy training session, I am thinking of adding once more exercise, perhaps DB pullovers or dips; we'll see. Overall, I think I had a decent training session, not too bad, but it definitely could of been better.

I want to note that I didn't have the proper diet and water intake today. I didn't consume enough calories and only consumed a limited amount of water. I felt dehydrated, and of course, this is all my fault. It's okay though; you just have to pay more attention to these things. I was just lazy, plain and simple.

[iron619]

Front Squats: 135x15, 185x15

Good Mornings: 95x15, 115x15

Seated Calves: 135x15, 115x15

Leg Extensions:140x15, 170x15

Leg Curls: 80x15, 95x15

Comments: This training session went by very fast (less than 20 minutes). Rest times were kept at a minimum; average was about a minute between sets. I haven't done reps with 15 since I experimented with HST many, many months ago, so I didn't really know what I can or can't handle. The front squats with 135 was too light, but since I completed 15 reps, I am counting it as my first set. If I only did 5 or so, I would of considered it a warm-up set. No big deal though; I'll be sure to start higher next time. As far as good mornings go, this is only about the third time I've ever tried this exercise. I know there are several variations of Good Mornings; I executed the sets with a straight back with my knees bent. I periodically watched my form on the mirrors; it looked fine. The weight was actually decent, plus I want to perfect my form before going any heavier. After the second set, my lower back was sore, but a good sore. I think I will start incorporating this exercise routinely in my program. I hope this will help with my deadlift strength. I lowered the weight on the seated calf raises because I wasn't getting the full ROM. Like I mentioned earlier, I want to execute these sets slowly while achieving peak contractions on the top and peak stretches on the bottom. I should of started heavier on my first set of leg extensions. I supersetted the seated leg extensions with the prone reverse leg curls to save time. Overall, it was a great training session.

[iron619]

Flat Bench ME Work: 345x1 (85% of my 1RM)

Incline BB Bench Press: 275x5, 295x5, 315x5, 320x5, 315x5

T-Bar Rows: 185x5, 205x5, 215x5, 230x5, 250x5

Seated Military Press: 225x5, 235x5, 245x5, 255x5, 245x5

Body Weight Pull ups: BWX5, BWx5, BWx5, BWx5, BWx5

One-Arm DB Preacher Curls: 45x5, 40x5

One-Arm Overhead Tricep Extension: 45x5, 50x5

Comments: Wow, what a great training session! As some of you may of noticed, I dropped my ME work down to 85%. Last week, I started my ME work at 90%, which I mentioned was too high. I want to start at 85% and gradually increase my ME work percentage by a percent or two each time. The incline bench felt great. Full range of motion for everything, chest-touching bench press baby! I could have gone a little higher on one of the sets, perhaps 325 lbs. T-Bars is an exercise that I recently started incorporating in my routine. I'm not exactly sure how much I can do, so today was kind of a "testing" session, though I still felt them in my lats. Note that the weight I posted does not include the weight of the barbell. Next was the seated military press--one of my favorite exercises. I was somewhat surprised that I did 255 for all 5 reps without TOO much struggle. Note that each rep is done with a full ROM. With each rep, the barbell nearly touches my collarbone. Some might say that it is dangerous, but this is how I've always trained my delts, fittingly, they are one of my best developed muscle groups. I supersetted the military press with bodyweight pullups. The reason I supersetted them was because I was crunched for time. After doing three of these compound lifts, my vertical pulling strength is not nearly at 100%. I've always struggled with pullups because I am now doing them with my palms facing away. In the Marine Corps, I've always done them with my palms facing towards my face, often called chin ups. I think I will start adding a little bit of resistance. I finished up my workout by supersetting DB preacher curls with overhead tricep extensions. I lowered the weight on the preacher curls because I wasn't getting the quality contractions that I want and I caught myself not extending my arm low enough. As a reminder, I only do two sets for biceps and triceps on strength days; after the other exercises, they are decently worked. Overall, it was an excellent training session!

[iron619]

Conventional Deadlifts: 375x5, 405x5, 425x5, 445x5, 435x5 *(1+4)

Front Squats: 245x5, 265x5, 280x5, 290x5, 285x5

Seated Calf Raises: 135x5, 160x5, 175x5, 185x5, 195x5

Comments: I am pleased with today's training session. I didn't have much to eat until about 9pm, so I was worried that I didn't intake enough calories to support my training today, but everything turned out great. On my last set of deadlifts, my straps came undone after the first rep. I quickly re-attached my straps and finished the set. That is why I put "1+4" next to the last weight/rep info. The front squats felt good. I think I will widen my stance next time around. I am going ATG most of the time; breaking parallel is automatic. During a few of the sets, I felt a little off balanced; nonetheless, I completed all the reps. For the calf raises, I once again dropped the weight. To me, especially for this exercise, I don't really care about the numbers. I am going for quality reps and full ROM, sometimes pausing on the bottom and top portions of the lift. One thing that I should of done was to go maybe 5 or 10 pounds heavier on my fourth set of deadlifts. Instead of 445x5, I think I could of done 450x5 or even 455x5. Another good note: I am starting to get use to the taste of the grape-flavored Xtend. I can actually drink it at a decent rate and not gag! . I am still interested in trying the watermelon though. Overall, this was a good workout, and I have no complaints.

[iron619]

Incline DB Press: 75x12, 85x12, 95x12

T-Bar Rows: 140x12, 165x12, 185x12

Comments: I skipped my training session yesterday. I was suppose to do upper body (hypertrophy) on Thursday. Instead, I lost track of time and played basketball for nearly three hours. After playing b-ball, I came back and took a shower, with intentions of eating and training 2-3 hours later. That didn't happen. After the shower, exhaustion quickly set in, and I crashed. . Basically, I sacraficed my training to play basketball. I thought I could play basketball for a few hours, go home, eat, rest, and go work out. Now I know that it most likely will not happen, so I will do what I have to do to make my training sessions a priority. I woke up Friday morning, but still feeling exhausted from last night's bball. I planned to train yesterday's routine on Friday morning, but I slept in!! Nonetheless, I still made it to the gym, but was really crunched on time. I was only able to do two exercises. I will complete the rest of my routine tonight. Also, as noted, on Friday's, I am scheduled to do lower body hypertrophy. As of now, I plan on finishing my upper body routine and completing my lower body routine. So tonight's training session will take a little longer than normal.

[iron619]

Seated DB Shoulder Press: 65x12, 70x12, 75x12

Lat Pulldowns: 120x12, 140x12, 150x12

DB Side Lateral Raises: 25x12, 25x12, 25x12

One-Arm DB Preacher Curls: 20x12, 25x12, 30x12

One-Arm DB Overhead Tricep Extension: 30x12, 35x12, 35x12

DB Shrugs: 90x12, 100x12, 100x12

Cable Crossovers: 60x12, 70x12, 80x12

Front Squats: 165x12, 195x12, 215x12

Seated Calf Raises: 135x12, 155x12, 145x12

Good Mornings: 100x12, 125x12, 140x12

Comments: Now this was an exhausting training session. As noted in my earlier post today, I screwed up and could not do my Thursday's training session on Thursday. On Friday morning, I tried to get a good amount of it in, but was only able to complete two exercises. So on Friday night, before I performed my scheduled lower body training session, I completed my upper body training session. Once again, I was crunched for time, so I tried to keep my rest time especially short. I supersetted the preacher curls with the tricep extensions; I supersetted the shrugs with cable crossovers; and supersetted front squats with calf raises. Because I supersetted so many sets and exercises, I was pretty exhausted by the end of the routine. I'm sure I could of gone heavier on each exercise, but some of my rest periods were less than a minute long. Some of you may know that I prefer heavy-ass weight (consequently longer rest periods, too ), so I don't particularily enjoy my hypertrophy training sessions, just because I train within a higher rep range. I know it will benefit me in the long run though. Next week, I know I will be more prepared. I also plan on switching out a few exercises. For instance, next week, I think I will do weighted dips and DB pullovers. Overall, it was a great workout that was somewhat lengthy, but manageable. Normally, I don't do shrugs, but this week, I decided "what the hell, it doesn't take that much effort and it could benefit me". I don't normally do shrugs because my traps really gets hit from deadlifts and military press. I would like to add that the good mornings felt pretty great. This was the only the second week doing them, but I felt a large increase in strength for that exercise. I will definitely go heavier next week. Also, I am perfecting my form on this exercise; I am feeling more confident about it. I would of liked to include more one leg exerise; preferably barbell lunges, however, after completing 30 sets, I was pretty fatigued.

[iron619]

Flat Bench ME Work: 350x1

Flat BB Bench Press: 315x4, 335x4, 345x4, 325x4, 330x4, 335x4

Bent-Over BB Rows: 225x4, 245x4, 265x4, 285x4, 295x4, 305x4

Seated Military Press: 225x4, 235x4, 245x4, 260x4, 250x4, 250x4

Pullups: BWx4, BW+10x4, BW+15x4, BW+15x4, BW+20X4, BW+25x4

One-Arm DB Preacher Curls: 40x4, 45x4

One-Arm Overhead Tricep Extensions: 45x4, 55x4

Comments: Today's training session was great, though it did take me a little bit longer to complete. Throughout the day, I didn't eat enough food, so I didn't know how my training session would hold up, but everything was fine. As far as my ME work, it looks like I will be going up five pounds every week, since the smallest plates at my gym are 2.5 pounds. This should be okay; I will be going up between 1-2% each week. My first couple sets of flat bench felt a little awkward. Perhaps it's because I haven't done these for nearly a month. You might notice that I dropped my fourth set to 325. Around the third set of so, my elbows started feeling a bit sore. I'm sure I properly warmed up, but perhaps I'll throw in an acclimatizing set next week before starting my working sets. I kept a cautious mind when doing my barbell rows. I'm not sure if I mentioned this before, but I've been to the Emergency Room twice because of this exercise. About six months ago, I somehow strained my sciatic nerve. I think I was rowing 335 pounds for six or so reps. On about the fifth rep, my sciatic went out. I somewhat managed to rack the barbell, then fell to the floor. I was immobile for nearly twenty minutes before slowly being helped out to the car and taken to the hospital. I healed several weeks later. About a month later, it happened again, but this time it hurt much more. This took me out for nearly six weeks. I am pretty confident that my form was good, however, I think I may have cheated a little on the last two reps, which consequently led to my ER visit. You live and learn, right? . The reason I am cautious about this exercise is because as of today, I do not have any medical insurance. If I get hurt, I'm screwed! So I need to be especially careful about certain exercises. That is why I start my Barbell Rows somewhat light (225 pounds). Anyway, I haven't exceeded 275 pounds for this exercise for several months, and today, I felt pretty strong, so I tried it. My last set of 305 was pretty challenging. Rest assured I won't even cheat on the last rep!!! . Next was the seated military press. I was very pleased with these sets. Hitting 260x4 reps was very tough, and I had to really focus on it. Keep in mind that I have done 275x3 reps several months back, but that was while I was on superdrol. Note that I do these presses with a full stretch on the bottom, with the barbell nearly missing my collarbone. Damn these felt great. Next was (weighed) pullups. Today was the first time I've ever done weighted pullups in my life--I can't believe I waiting this long before doing them. I have been wasting my time doing lat pulldowns. Let me clarify that I will still do lat pull downs, but only when I am training within a high rep range (10+). The reason is beacuse after doing several compound lifts, my pulling strength is compromised, so I won't be able to get a high number of pull ups in. But anytime I am going heavy, I will definitely include some resistance with my pull ups. I forgot to bring my dip belt, so I had to secure the dumbbell between my feet, which was sometimes challenging. I didn't do weighted pullups on my first set because I wasn't planning on doing any weighted sets. But I think I am slowly increasing my verticle pulling power, so I decided to try it. I started very light, but that's okay. I hope this exercise makes a noticeable difference in my overall back development. I supersetted my preacher curls and my tricep extensions. I struggled too much with the 55s, so next week, I'll have to make some adjustments. Keep in mind that I haven't done direct arm training in nearly a year or so! Now that I am doing them, I already see a difference in my arm. They look for full and solid. I don't have much shape to my arms, but now, the shape is starting to form. Overall, I was very pleased with this training session.

[iron619]

Deadlifts: 385x4, 405x4, 430x4, 455x4, 445x4, 435x4

Front Squats: 225x4, 275x4, 295x4, 310x4

Seated Calf Raises: 180x4, 180x4, 180x4, 180x4

Comments: Today's training session was cut a few sets short. The deadlifts felt great. I had to focus hard on the 455x4, but I think I could of done 5-10 more pounds. I'm not complaining though. Today, I was suppose to do six sets of everything. You will notice that I only completed four sets for squats and seated calf raises. I definitely should of started my front squats with higher weight. The reason I didn't start my working sets heavier was because from last week, I somehow slightly strained my right quad muscle. It was sore for about three days. This strain occured while I was playing basketball. Anyway, on my third set of front squats, I felt something uncomfortable in my left knee. It wasn't pain or anything, but just, something. I decided to go for one more set. The fourth set was pretty challenging. The most I've ever front squatted was 315x3, so I think I am slowly passing my old record on this. At any rate, after my fourth set, my knee started bothering me. This wierd feeling is right on top of the knee cap. I also did four sets on the seated calf raises because I was supersetting this exercise with front squats. Interestingly, my knee doesn't hurt, but there is a round, red, bruise-like mark on my knee. I warmed up for my workout by doing ten minutes on the elliptical machine. Perhaps I should warm up on a bicycle, to properly get my knee ready for my heavy leg workouts. Also, I am going to ATG on most of my reps; hitting parallel is standard, so this might be doing something bad to my knee. We will see. Despite this occurance, my training session was good. I am happy with my weight, and look foward to hitting it harder next time I do heavy legs. Remember, next week is my deloading week.

[iron619]

Flat DB Bench Press: 100x10, 110x10, 110x10

Bent-Over BB Rows: 185x10, 215x10, 225x10

Seated DB Shoulder Press: 65x10, 75x10, 75x10

Lat Pulldowns: 140x10, 160x10, 160x10

Pec Deck Machine: 140x10, 160x10, 180x10

Reverse Pec Dec Machine: 100x10, 110x10, 120x10

EZ Curl Bar Curls: 70x10, 80x10, 85x10

French Press: 70x10, 80x10, 85x10

Barbell Shrugs: 225x10, 275x10, 305x10

Comments: For some reason I started very late today; around 2:45am. I got done sometime around 4am. I didn't feel like I was at full strenth today, but that was probably because I started late. Normally, I like starting around 11pm-midnight. Well, these 27 sets didn't take that long. The exercises all felt great! The DB chest press was very challenging for me. On about the 8th rep with the 110s, I had to really focus. On the 10th rep of the 3rd set for the DB presses, I really struggled. I'm not sure if I mentioned this before, but I really prefer the barbells over dumbbells, but I know both are very important and both should be used. The last couple years, I didn't do much dumbbells. Now that I am doing dumbbells regularly, I need to catch up my DB strength. I suppose when I use dumbbells, it's the smaller, "supporting" fibers that are lacking in strength; that and the balancing that I am not use to. I supersetted the pec deck and the reverse pec deck. I also supersetted the ez curls with the french press. I normally never to shrugs, but as of last week, I decided to incorporate them on my hypertrophy days. I guess it feels okay, but nothing that I look forward to doing. The french press sets were all easy. I don't think I will do this exercise that often; I will opt for skull crushers or one-arm DB overhead extensions. My form was very strict on the ez curls too. I need to remember to bring my dip belt with me also. Next week is my deloading week. I look forward to this very much, as I physically feel like I need to take a break. I've tried my program before with 4-week load periods, but I quickly realized that it was too much, especially with the intensity and weights that I use. So for this current training journal, I decided to do 3-week loading periods. After doing this latest "cycle", I am thinking of cutting it down to 2-week loading phases, and then deloading for 1 week. I wonder how that will change my recovery and overall energy levels. Aside from just my physical exhaustion, I started playing more basketball, at least once or twice a week. Because of this additional energy expedenture, as well as my volume and weights used, I am considering a 2-week loading phase. We will see. I need to be sure that it is not due to my lack of calorie intake, laziness, or mental weakness. . Overall, it was a great training session.

[iron619]

Flat BB Bench Press: 335x4, 325x4, 325x4

Bent-Over BB Rows: 275x4, 285x4, 290x4

Seated Military Press: 225x4, 230x4, 235x4

Weighted Pull ups: BW+20x4, BW+25x4, BW+30x4

One-Arm DB Preacher Curls: 40x4

One-Arm DB Overhead Tricep Extensions: 45x4

Comments: Before I get into anything, let me state that there is no journal entry for last Friday, the 5th, because I skipped my training session and played basketball instead. This was my first deloading session of my program. Before I started my training today, I had to determine how I wanted to deload my workouts for this week. To me, a deloading phase will be based on overall fatigue accumulated, the length of the loading phase, and the point of where I am in my mesocycle. For me, my entire training program lasts 12 weeks. I am at my first deloading phase (the 4th week). At this time, I took what I did on the 3rd week, and cut the volume down by 50%. At the next deloading phase (week 8), I might decrease the volume by 65%. Once again, this is determined by those three aforementioned variables. So how did I feel after the three weeks of training? I felt pretty good. I feel my body is a bit fatigued, but I must admit that my diet has not been sufficient during the last week, mainly because I have started playing basketball 2-3 times a week (gotta keep a social life, right?! ). The idea of loading for 2 weeks is still lingering in my mind, but I'm going to stick with the 3-week loading phases. So anyway, during week 3, I did 6 sets of 4. So for my deloading period today, I did 3 sets of 4. As far as the bicep/triceps are concerned, no matter what, I always stick with just two sets, so during my deloading period, I will only do 1 set for biceps/triceps. Now, onto my workout summary. Today, I started training pretty late (1:30am), so I didn't have my partner with me, nor did I have any spotters available in the gym. Perhaps I could of done a little bit more weight, but I am still happy with my training session. I don't have any complaints about anything today, except that I wore the wrong shoes to the gym. During the bench press, my feet kept sliding around a little bit; my shoes didn't have much grip. Once again, the weighted pullups felt fantastic. Overall, it was a fairly short training session, and it felt great to get out of the gym in a short(er) period of time.

[iron619]

This past week (5/6-5/14) was suppose to be a deloading period for me, however, I did not train all week. Instead, I played basketball several times and stayed away from the weights. This week was a time for me to re-evaluate myself in terms of where I am physically and where I want to be. It was clear to me that I need to shed some bodyfat. I want to get down to around 8%. I think I am currently 14-15%. During my normal training program, I hardly do any form of cardio, mainly because of the total volume and intensity at which I train. In conjunction with my training, my diet and nutrition are my lacking points. I haven't consumed a protein shake in over a month--not even for PWO. I normally don't get over seven hours of sleep either. Also, with my routine, and the time it takes to complete my daily program, leaves little time for me to fit in some cardio. That being said, I have tweaked my routine so that: 1) I will shorten my training sessions per day, and 2) I can increasingly perform cardio. I will still train 4 days a week, with the same upper/lower split, same exercises; the only thing I am changing are my set/rep schemes. Sometimes, I may do 7 sets of 3, or even 8 sets of singles. Imagine doing this set/rep scheme for my 4 major exercises + a few sets of iso. exercises--it can be very time consuming. So with this "revised" routine, I will be significantly reducing my sets per day. Also, I will be performing cardio after my weight lifting sessions. I will start off easy and short, perhaps 15 minutes of cardio. I will increase my cardio as needed. Also, I will pay more attention to my diet. Once I get down to my ideal body fat percentage, I will tweak my routine again. With this newly revised program, my goal is to at least maintain what I have grown and shed body fat. Hopefully, I will see some changes in the upcoming weeks.

[iron619]

ME Work: 355x1

Incline BB Bench Press: 275x6, 275x6

Bent-Over BB Rows: 225x6, 255x6

Seated Military Press: 205x6, 215x6

Weighted Pull ups: BW+20x6, BW+25x6

Seated One-Arm DB Preacher Curls: 40x6, 40x6

One-Arm Overhead Tricep Extensions: 45x6, 45x6

Cardio: 15 minutes Elliptical

Comments: This was my first training session with my revised routine. As you can see, I only did 2 sets of 6, followed by a short cardio session. I want to gradually get myself into doing cardio. I had lost some of my strength, mostly due to my lack of calories and training during my "deloading" week, or should I say, my week off. Next week, I will simply increase the sets, but still keeping it pretty low. I will also increase cardio as the weeks go by. I felt a little bit discouraged when I couldn't put up my normal weights, but then again, I must remind myself that I lost 13 pounds in the last three weeks (I went from 222 to 209). I don't plan on breaking any records in any lifts during this newly revised program I am doing. One thing that bugged me was that I actually struggled with my ME work of 355x1. Next week, I am going to start back from a lower number and start going up again. All of the exercises felt fine, my form is still excellent, and the cardio wasn't bad, even though I don't like it. I supersetted the preacher curls with the tricep extensions. Naturally, I will make adjustments as I progress through this routine. I don't anticipate doing any deloading phases since I am not really loading. Once I start feeling fatigued on my days off, or feel I need a break, then I might do some kind of deloading work. But with my decreased sets and time spent in the gym, I don't foresee this until at least eight weeks. We shall see.

[iron619]

Deadlifts: 405x6, 415x6

Front Squats: 225x6, 255x6

Seated Calf Raises: 135x6, 160x6

Cardio: 15 minutes elliptical

Comments: I like this training session a lot, mainly because it didn't take much time to complete. The deadlifts felt great; I really missed doing them during my break. I was surprised that my front squats were this weak. I suppersetted the front squats with the calf raises. Normally, I don't advocate doing cardio after doing legs or lower body training, but in my case, with the decreasing loads, I think it will be okay.

[iron619]

Incline DB Bench Press: 75x15

Bent-Over Barbell Rows: 205x15

Seated DB Shoulder Press: 70x15

Lat Pulldowns: 160x15 (12+3)

Pec Deck Machine: 160x15

Reverse Pec Deck Machine: 100x15

Standing Alternating DB Curls: 25x15

One-Arm DB Overhead Tricep Extentions: 35x15

Barbell Shrugs: 225x15

Barbell Front Squats: 185x15

Seated Leg Extensions: 140x15

Reverse Leg Curls: 110x15

Standing Calf Raises: 300x15

Cardio: 30 minutes elliptical

Comments: Since I skipped my training and cardio on Thursday and Friday, I combined those workouts and cardio and did them today. I will have to utilize better time management because it isn't optimal for my R&R and training to double up like I did today. Because of today, I will only have one day (Sunday) for R&R before I have to start the beginning of my training on Monday. Anyway, I don't really know why, but I started feeling nausea after performing my lat pulldowns. Speaking of lat pulldowns, I completed the 15 reps, but after the 12th rep, I had to let go, take a five second break, and finish the remaining three reps. It wasn't that the weight was too heavy, but it was because the nausea started sitting in. After the barbell shrugs, I had to leave the gym for about ten minutes and sit outside to get some fresh air and take a little break. After my ten minute break, the nausea went away and I completed my workout. I suppersetted the dumbbell curls with the overhead tricep extensions, the pec deck with the reverse pec deck, and the leg extensions with the reverse leg curls. I felt a decent pump in my biceps while performing the dumbbell curls. After I was done with the weight training, I hopped on the elliptical. I know I did 30 minutes today, but keep in mind that I was "catching up" on two days worth of cardio. Next week, I will increase the cardio time from 15 minutes to 20 minutes. Aside from the nausea, it was a good workout. Like I previously mentioned in my earlier posts, I don't really like doing high reps, so the 15s are something I didn't look forward to doing. But with my newly revised program, I only had to do one working set. The one set coupled with my several supersets made this training go by pretty fast.

[iron619]

Flat BB Bench Press: 315x5, 305x5

One-Arm DB Rows: 110x5, 120x5

Seated Military Press: 215x5, 225x5

Weighted Pullups: BW+25x5, BW+30x5

Barbell Curls: 85x5

Close Grip Bench Press: 255x5

Comments: Well this was a very quick training session. I only did 2 sets of 5 today, with the usual one set for arms. I haven't done one-arm DB rows in months, so I really didn't know what I could or couldn't handle. Anyway, both sets were okay, but I could of gone much higher. For some reason, I am struggling on the seated military press. 225lbs was actually very hard for me. Normally, I would always start with this weight, but now, I am almost topping out with it. I think I am getting stronger with the weighted pullups. Again, I never incorporated this exercise until recent, so I a need to slowly build up that strength. The BB curls were decent, but I should of gone heavier; same with the C.G.B.P. I am not disappointed with this training session, but I think I could of gone a little bit heavier on certain exercises. Since I dropped weight from 222.5 to about 210, I can definitely see and feel a strength decrease in pretty much all of the exercises that I do. Lately, I have been thinking of my "newly" revised routine. I have been corresponding with a few of the people on here that go to when I wonder about a few things. These guys all had the general idea that what I am doing is not optimal for growing or even maintaining muscle mass. Briefly, I drastically reduced my overall volume to have time for post-lifting cardio and to save time. I am still periodizing my sets, but I don't think this program will have the same effect as my original program. I will read Waterburys' article on his idea of the set/rep and will do more research. I am almost convinced that for me to reduced bodyfat, it would be more beneficial if I would of just kept with my original plan. Because of the time factor, I will still need to tweak it a little bit. I will play around with these ideas and find a happy medium. Of course, I want to at least maintain the muscle mass I have earned. Needless to say, I have some knowledge of diet and nutrition, however, my research base has never been too focused on those to things, but rather training techniques and principles. I will also research more into carb cycling. Until then, I will experiment a little bit with my program. I won't write another huge summary of my thoughts again, like this comment; I will just state what I basically did and how it felt. Lastly, another factor that may explain my strength decrease for today's workout is that I trained both upper and lower body, along with cardio on Saturday afternoon. That means I only had one day for R&R, and I even played a few hours of basketball on Sunday.

[RipStone]

Wow, you have one of the most detailed training logs I have seen. Nice work man.

[iron619]

Wow, you have one of the most detailed training logs I have seen. Nice work man.

Thanks brother! You are the first person to post in my journal--you should feel honored! lol.

Thanks for all your help dude!

[iron619]

Incline Barbell Bench Press: 255x6, 265x6

Bent-Over BB Rows: 225x6, 245x6

Seated Military Press: 205x6, 215x6

Weighted Pullups: BW+15x6, BW+15x6

Weighted Dips: BW+75x6, BW+75x6

Barbell Curls: 95x6, 95x6

Comments: Once again, I took some time off to ponder about my workout, training, progress, and overall exercise program. After many extremely lengthy and time consuming conversations via PM's with Rip, coupled with my hours of research and studying, I made some adjustments and will do my best to stick with this program. It feels like I have lost quite a bit of strength in every lift!!! But I have to take in account that I have not lifted for a period of time, my diet sucked, and I've been doing lots of cardio (basketball). Worry not, I have my head straight again. So back to what I was saying, I didn't really lift the weights that I previously could do. I'm not bitter or anything; I just have to start back somewhat slow and regain what I had and then some. For some reason, I did not like my form on BB Rows. I felt too upright, I think. It just didn't feel natural and smooth. I haven't done weighted dips in several months, and it felt great to do them again. I will try to do them pretty much every time I do upper body, simply because it is an outstanding exercise. I will probably alternate this with CGBPs. The volume overall was pretty low, and it will only increase as the weeks go on. I still plan on deloading on the 4th week, but we'll have to wait and see how I feel. Overall, I am happy with this training session. I need to remind myself that I need to eat more healthy foods and more frequently. I will try to keep my junk food intake at a minimum, though it's really hard. Diet and nutrition is my weakness, and I plan on learning more about it and seeing results.

[RipStone]

Hey man,

Your PM box is full, so I am gonna post my response to your question here...

Personally, I would not to heavy deads from the floor 2x a week. They are just too stressful on the CNS to be done so often. Instead, do another deadlift varation such as rack deads, RDLs, SLDLs, deadlift from blocks, etc, etc Or like you mentioned, do GMs.

For squats, they are still very stressful on the CNS, but less so than deadlifts. However, it would still be a good idea to vary them as well. For example, one day do power squats and the other day do ATG squats. Or pair front squats with rack lockouts, etc, etc YOu get the idea.

[iron619]

Conventional Deadlifts: 365x6, 385x6

Front Squats: 225x6, 245x6

Seated Calf Raises: 160x6, 160x6

Comments: Another quick workout! Apparently, I lost some strength in my lifts, as mentioned in yesterday's post. I'm completely cool with it though. The deadlifts were actually pretty decent in weight for me; I couldn't believe it. Normally, I start my sets at around 405 pounds. I remind myself that I will get my strength back and then some. Also, the 365 and 385-pound lifts were within my goal of lifting roughly around 80% of my 1RM, though technically, I trained a few percentages lower than that, nonetheless, it's fine. Everything felt good. I went just below parallel on my front squats. After completing the routine, I did 4 sets of abs. I won't include my ab exercises in my log because training abs will be more of a case-by-case scenario. If I feel I have some energy left, or if I feel that I need to do some abs, then I will. I feel my abs are pretty well built from the compound lifts--it's just a matter of shedding the bodyfat to be able to see them. Overall, I'm satisfied with this training session, and feel anxious to see how my strength goes up for the next time around.

[iron619]

Hey man,

Your PM box is full, so I am gonna post my response to your question here...

Personally, I would not to heavy deads from the floor 2x a week. They are just too stressful on the CNS to be done so often. Instead, do another deadlift varation such as rack deads, RDLs, SLDLs, deadlift from blocks, etc, etc Or like you mentioned, do GMs.

For squats, they are still very stressful on the CNS, but less so than deadlifts. However, it would still be a good idea to vary them as well. For example, one day do power squats and the other day do ATG squats. Or pair front squats with rack lockouts, etc, etc YOu get the idea.

Yeah dude, I was thinking the same thing. More than likely I'll incorporate the GMs or weighted hypers as an alternative exercise. As far as squats go, I haven't decided on the altenative exercise, but I will pick one by the next lower body training session.

By the way, I didn't know my inbox was full! I just cleared it out.

Thanks man.

[leanTXmuscle]

Reps for the GREAT training log. It's nice to hear from somebody who faces time issues like i do. Makes me feel better about my own problems, and it's great to see you rebound.

Good luck as you keep at it!

[iron619]

Reps for the GREAT training log. It's nice to hear from somebody who faces time issues like i do. Makes me feel better about my own problems, and it's great to see you rebound.

Good luck as you keep at it!

Thank you for your comments! Believe it or not, it motivates me. If you ever create a training log, I'll definitely throw some thoughts your way. I see you recently joined this board, so let me say, welcome!

[iron619]

Incline DB Bench Press: 100x6, 105x6

One-Arm DB Rows: 105x6, 110x6

Seated DB Shoulder Press: 75x6, 80x6

Weighted Pullups: BW+15x5, BW+15x6

Weighted Dips: BW+80x6, BW+80x6

One-Arm DB Preacher Curls: 35x5, 40x6

Comments: This training session was pretty good, though I started kinda late (1:30am). As some background info, I have never really liked using dumbbells. The main reason was because you can't handle as much load and to me, it isn't the best way to gain strength. I've always preferred barbells over dumbbells. As I've matured as a lifter and my experience and knowledge have expanded, I now (since last year) realize the benefits of using dumbbells. Since I've kind of avoided dumbbells over the years, I need to strengthen my muscles to get use to them. That is pretty much why I can't handle much weight on some of these lifts. I'll have to start slow and build. I must admit that the incline dumbbell sets felt great! I'll be sure to go heavier next time. I also keep in mind that building your body isn't a sprint--it's a marathon. You want to build your body safely and steadily. It takes time. We're all in it for the long run, right? Well this is how I feel about weight lifting. Longetivity and health are the upmost priorities. Anyway, back to my training session. The toughest exercise for me to do are the seated dumbbell presses. I feel the lack of my stabilizing muscles as I lift up to start my set. This will strengthen as I continue training with dumbbells. I'm getting a great stretch on the bottom range of motion on my dips. Rest assured, I am going all the way down and almost to lockout on the way up. The only hassel I have when doing weighted dips are the the heavy dumbbells and the dip station are across the room from each other, making it a pain in the *ss to carry the dumbbells across. As I get stronger with this exercise, it will just be more weight for me to carry!! Surprisingly, I didn't feel much of a mind-muscle connection with the dumbbell preacher curls. Next time, I'll try another exercise. On my pullups, I am clearing the bar with my chin, but I haven't brought my head all the way up past the bar. I suppose this isn't necessary. Overall, I am pleased with this training session.

[iron619]

Conventional Barbell Squats: 275x6, 295x6

Good Mornings: 155x6, 185x6

Barbell Lunges: 95x6, 135x6

Seated Calf Raises: 160x6, 165x6

Comments: Pretty quick training session today. I kept my rest periods to no more than three minutes between sets. I haven't done conventional squats in a while; I've been doing only front squats in conjunction with deadlifts. I had to think about what I was doing today. I didn't know if I was going to do squats or an alternative exercise, such as leg press or hack squats. These conventional squats felt so good! My glutes are really sore, and it was a different type of stimulation from my normal front squats. I had a sciatic nerve injury that took me out of the gym for nearly two full months. This has left me with a mental block for going too heavy on squats and bent-over rows. I don't really care about the weight I am pushing, as long as it's challenging and I use good form with the full ROM. I went down past parallel on these squat sets. I went with the conventional squats to see how I would respond to doing heavy squats twice a week. Perhaps once I start doing more sets, it might be too taxing for me to do this. This logic also applies for my deadlifts. I will not deadlift twice in one week, as there are good alternatives to choose from. Today, I chose good mornings. These were all done with a slight bend in the knee and my back straight. This is only the handful amount of times I've done good mornings, so I really don't know what I can or can't handle. That is why I started light and will slowly build up. It still feels a little awkward for me to do. The barbell lunges on the first set felt a little too light, but the second set was actually challenging. Also with lunges, I haven't really included this as a staple movement in my leg routine, so I may not be really strong on it, but once again, I will build on this. The most important thing for me is to get a good stretch on the full ROM on the seated calf raises. With this weight, it felt pretty good. I also did four sets of abs today. Overall, I am pleased with this program, and look forward to taking the next two days off for some R&R. I might do a short, easy-moderate intensity cardio session today, but that would be it. I'm anxious to get back into the gym on Monday for some upper body barbell trashing!

[RipStone]

Nice squatting bud. Impressive weight.

[iron619]

Nice squatting bud. Impressive weight.

Thanks dude! I know eventually, I will get back to the normal weight I've used prior to my injury.