Pastorgbc

[pastorgbc]

May 9 - Since I had about a year layoff because of repeated bouts of the gout, I have been able to workout relatively injury free for a solid year and a half now. I do feel my strength and endurance returning, but at 47, I do sometimes lack the consistency I had when I was younger.

One of the things that really energized me was getting a workout partner. My friend Bob is a beginner-on-verge-of-being-an-intermediate, and he is eager and willing to learn and work hard. Since I am very intense, it helps to have someone who is no-nonsense and shows up each day.

6 weeks ago, we embarked on an 11-week program to increase our bench by 10%. Bob's goal was 225. My goal was 335, which I had not benched since I was in my early 30s (I'm 47 now). Our program has us increasing intensity and spreading out the volume for the first 6 weeks, then reducing the volume while intensity increases by percent of the goal. We have computed one rep maxes for chest, shoulder, and triceps during the program, which means alot of work, but it seems to be paying off well.

On Monday the 8th, I did the following (week 6 of the program)

Flat Bench - 255 5x5
Incline Bench - 205 5x5
Flat Dumbbell Bench - 75 5x10
Dips 3 sets to failure

(The good news is that we have a full gym right in the building where I work. The bad news is that we only go up to 75 pounds in dumbbells).

On Thursday, we will do shoulders

Behind the neck press - 205 5x5
Front raises - 50 pound dbs 5x5
Dumbbell shoulder press - 75 pounders 5x5
Shrugs - 3x8, 365

Friday is arms. The tricep portion is:

Close grip bench - 215 5x5
French press - 145 5x5
Pushdowns - 120 5x5

Tuesday is back. Yesterday we did:

Cross bench pullovers - 75 pounds, 3x10
Bent over row - 4 sets, 12,10,6,12 (145, 155, 185, 145)
Close grip pulldowns - 4 sets 8, 170
Dead lifts - 3 x 8 205
Seated cable row - 3 x 8, 200

Legs are today.

Ray

[jtroster]

Welcome Ray.

[jaguarr]

Welcome aboard The Crazy Train, Ray!

jag

[joed]

Shhhh, let him enjoy life as a new guy; he'll find out soon enough.

Welcome.

[pastorgbc]

Ah, the best laid plans of mice and men...

I was all set to do a great leg workout, but...

The best thing about where I work is that we have a great full service gym on the first floor; the worst thing about working out at work is that sometimes your boss wants you to attend meetings and do work that interferes with the workouts. Thus I missed my leg workout yesterday.

When I got home, I had to eat and then head out to church (by day, tech writer, by nights and weekends, pastor). By the time we got home, it was about 9, and I do not have the ability to work legs at home like I need to, so I am making a special trip into the office to work the legs on Saturday.

I was feeling antsy, so I did head to the basement and did some benching (275, 3 sets of 6), and since my biceps have been lagging lately, I decided to add some bicep work at the end. I did three sets of the "Sedlock Dumbbell Curl" (I named it after myself because as far as I know I am the only who does them). I do sets of 12-16 reps alternating between a full curl and a hammer curl. I start of 40 and finish with 50. It usually has my bis screaming. I finished up with 3 sets of one-armed preacher curls with a 50-pound dumbbell.

Shoulders today.

Stay hungry,
Ray

[pastorgbc]

Yesterday was an excellent shoulder workout. Bob and I are in week 6 of our 12 week program to add 10% to our one lift max on the bench. This will serve as the basis for our percentages thorughout the next year. To do this, we determined one lift maxs on exercises for chest, tris, and shoulders. Shoulders have been the most challenging part of the workout.

Yesterday was our 75% per cent day, 5 sets of 5 of three exercises:

Behind the neck press
Front Raises
Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press

My weights were as follows:

Behind the neck press - 5 x 5 at 195. Actually, I did my first set at 205 as Bob was pressing 115, and I did not want to completely strip the rack. The 205 was a challenge, and I figured to make sure I got the reps in, I needed to strip the rack and go down to 195 as scheduled. In hindsight, I could have done the 5 sets at 205.

Front raises - 5 x 5 at 45. Right after the hard work with the behind the necks, the first set was grueling. However, I really got my second wind, and by the fifth set, I was pausing for a count of 2 in the up position. The shoulders felt great.

Seated dumbbell press - 5 x 10 at 60. 60 felt way too light, so I just kept going to 10 reps on each set. I am going to run into a problem here as our gym only has dbs which go up to 75, which I could have easily jacked yesterday for the 5 x 5.

We finished with some heavy shrugs. I like to do a reverse pyramid on shrugs, so I did 4 sets, 1 x 10 at 365, 1 x 10 at 315, 2 x 12 at 205.

Next week we are resting in motion to let the body recoop after all of the work we did. We will be going back and doing our week 2, 55% workout.

However, today is arms, with some very heavy tricep work on the menu. I can't wait until 11.

Ray

[RioGringo]

It's great to have a partner ... keep one motivated!

[pastorgbc]

What a nightmare last week was. I was battling the flu all week. I had to miss a couple of days of work, have someone fill in for me at church on Wednesday night. I also was unable to work out all week.

I did go to the gym but I had no energy or wind to do anything of substance--just some very light work.

But today, I needed to get back on track for my goal of benching 335 on Jun 19th. The good news was that last week was actually supposed to be "resting" week where Bob and I went back to week 3 and did our 60% of goal workout.

Today was the 80% day, so the workout was scheduled to go like this:

Flat bench - 4x4 - 275 (rounded up)
Incline bench - 4x4 - 225 (rounded up)
Flat dumbbell press (5 sets with 75 pound dbs)
Dips - 3 sets to failure.

I took my temperature before we started and it 99.6, so I am still in the throes of the flu, especially indicated by the coughing fits I am going thorugh. I really had no idea what to expect. I started on the flat bench. I did a warm up with no weights, and 135. I then did a working warm up of 225 for 8 reps. I still couldn't gauge where I was, but I pressed on.

I did hit all four sets for all four reps. The reps where blah though. I was not at failure, but at the same time I did not feel like I owned the weight either. It could have just been a function of feeling sick and a frame of mind of just wanting to be done. I'm scheduled for 4 sets of 3 next week with 285.

At the incline bench, the 225 felt light and I breezed through the 4 sets. My goal is 275 on the 19th. I may try 305 after I blow 275 away.

I was winded after the inclines though, so I passed on the flat dbs. I have stated, we only go up to 75 pounds on the DBs, so I really felt that wearing myself for a pump wasn't prudent. I did finish up with my dips, and called it a fairly quick day.

Tomorrow brings my back workout...I can't wait.

Ray

[jaguarr]

Hope you're feeling better, man. I'm impressed with your pressing forward with your workout. When I'm feeling that crappy, I usually just bite the bullet and let my body get some rest.

jag

[pastorgbc]

Good news - my cough has become productive; Bad news - my cough has become productive. I sounded like I was an escapee from a TB ward.

Today was back day. I continue to feel run down and congested. I really wanted to attack the back today, but I just didn't have a whole lot. I did go through a lighter routine.

Here's what I did:

Cross-bench dumbbell pullover - 2 sets x 12, 55 and 75
Bent over row - 3 sets x 8, 135 pounds
Wide grip pulldowns 3 sets x 8, 130 pounds
Close grip pulldowns, palms facing, 3 sets x 8, 130 pounds
Seated cable row, 3 sets x 8, 160 pounds.

I did each rep, slow, holding, then squeezing. Even though I went light, I did feel the back working.

I was very winded after the routine, so I went straight to the shower, then had my favorite lunch: my wife makes a chicken and rice dish with tomato paste in it. She cooks up a whole pot of it, and it gets 6 or so lunches, with a side salad, or today, 3 slices of fresh pineapple.

My wife: I think I'll keep her!

Ray

[RioGringo]

Way to fight through it ...

I have a bit of a nose & cough thing myself. Not too bad and I am training - just not as intense as I want. I have to also since I am away from home and my diet is not as strict... feel winded also.

Wives are great

[pastorgbc]

I took yesterday off to give myself some rest. I actually feel a little better in the cough department, but my nose is a bit stuffy. However, I am having a flare of the gout. It turns out that medicines like "Nyquil" and the ilk can aggravate the condition. My right ankle is swollen, hot, and sore. I have to get to the doctor today for some meds.

Anyway, today was shoulder day. As part of the bench program I am on, I calculated the one rep max for shoulder exercises as well and have been working towards those as well. We are in our 80% week, so the shoulder workout went like this:

1. Behind the neck press, 4 x 4 at 205. I did two working warmups at 135, then got into these boys. My ankle was screaming as I was reaching failure on the fourth rep in each set. I got through the sets and reps. I felt like I really accomplished something.

2. Front raises - I had been doing these in a standing position, and with just a tiny bit of sway towards the end, I can handle 45 pounders for 8 reps. However, my ankle was sore, so I did them sitting, and did three sets of 8, very strict, using 25 pounders.

3. Seated dumbbell press - 3 sets of 8 with 65 pounders. With the pre-exhaust I had, these really felt great. I wasn't at failure, but I was working and got a good pump.

4. Barbell shrugs - there is no other way I know to do these other than standing, so I sucked it up and did 3 sets to failure, but I stayed at 225. The first set took me into the 20s. The second I failed around 18. The third my grip gave up the ghost at 12, so I called that a workout.

Arms tomorrow.

Ray

[pastorgbc]

I am feeling better today than I have in over two weeks. I saw the doctor yesterday. She gave me sulindac for my gouty ankle, and an antibiotic as I now have bronchitis in my lungs.

I still have the cough, but it is less frequent. However, when it hits, I go into a coughing fit that usually leaves me lightheaded and seing double.

Arm-day.

Bob got down to the gym a little earlier than I did and he started with a set on the ez-bar curls on the preacher bench. I don't particularly like the preacher bench we have at our gym. The cushion is too thick and rounded for me. I have shorter arms, so it really starts to cause problems for me. I let Bob finish and I figured I would join him on the close-grip benches. Our triceps are one of the bodyparts we have targeted for one-rep max in our 12 week program to increase the bench by 10%. Up until today, we have been doing:

Close grip benches
French press or skull crushers
Pushdowns

Today, I dropped out the middle exercise; sets of four of french press or skull crushers just doesn't seem to be a good movement.

My goal for close grip benches is 275. We are in our 80% cycle, so today I was suppose to do 4x4 with 228. I decided to round up to 235. I wound up doing 4x6 with 235, and my triceps felt great.

Next I did some barbell curls. I did a warm up with the bar, then I did 3 x 8 with 85 pounds. I went very slow, very strict, and really focused on the contraction. My grip was about 2 inches in from the knurling. All three sets were great. I do not go to failure (generally) on this movement because that just generally leads to cheating for me.

Next I did my pushdowns. I did 4 x 8 at 120. I had solid rhythm and control, so I was just enjoying the heck out of these. It was a high-bio day for the arms in general.

I did three sets of one-arm isolation curls on the incline bench. I did 3 x 8 with a 40 pound dumbbell. I went very slow and controlled, no resting at the bottom and holding the contraction for 2 mississippis.

I felt very good about the workout, so I did some abs and called it a day.

Ray

[pastorgbc]

After a three day weeekend, a weekend that saw my dog Buddy get sprayed by a skunk, we were back in the gym today. We are in week 9 of our program, with my goal in three weeks to bench 335. Today was the 85% day. My first movement was the flat bench, and my target for today was 4 x3 at 285. I did the following:

1x12 - 135, 1x8 - 225, 4x3 - 285. I hit everything. I was at failure on the third rep, so the workout felt good. 335 seems a long way off though.

My second movement was incline bench. I have a 1 rep goal of 275, so my 85% today was 235. I wound up feeling very strong on the 3rd rep of each set, so I kept going and hit 4x5 - 235.

My third movement was flat dumbbell bench. We did 5x8. I used 75 pound dbs, which is our biggest db. I'll tell you though, after the high intensity barbell sets, this movement really produced a great pump.

I finished up with 3 sets of dips, each to failure. Right now my pecs are exhausted. I love the way the workout turned out.

Ray

[pastorgbc]

I am feeling much better, but I do have this nagging cough that comes in nasty bouts. I seem to have a gagging cough after each set.

I had taken it easy on back last week, and the week before, I did not do backs at all due to being sick. I was anxious to put everything to work today. I decided to do a modified 5x5 program, with the compound movements getting the 5x5 teatment, and the other movements getting a 12-10-8 shakedown. I am moving deads to my shoulder day, so I did not do them this week. I am going to do my chins on my arm day this week, Friday.

I started out with 3 sets of dumbbell cross-bench pullovers. 55 x 12, 65 x 10, 75 x 10.

Next I did front pulldowns, 3 sets, 12, 10, 8, 130, 140, 160.

I then did my bent over rows, 5x5, all with 185.

I finished up with 5x5 of seated rows at 220.

My post workout meal was a grilled chicken breast with a cup of homemade pasta salad (lots of veggies and non-fat dressing).

Ray

[pastorgbc]

I decided to put the shoulders through a 5x5 session, and I found out that this level of intensity can be very addicting. My routine for the day was:

Behind the neck press - 5x5 at 195
Front Raises - 5x5 at 45 dbs
DB Shoulder press (sitting) 5x5 at 65
Shurgs - 5x5 at 315

I was able to hit on everything except the DB shoulder press. I wasn't at failure, but my workout buddy, Bob, developed a twinge in his neck. We decided to go stop at 3 sets of the db presses and go to shrugs. Bob was unable to keep going (he probably pulled something). I knocked out the shrugs and felt great. Exhausted, but great.

I am going to keep running with the program for a while. Once we finish our bench program (3 weeks), I am going to 5x5 it across the board and mix and match the body groups on different days. I have been doing a single body part each day for a while now, so this will mix it up nicely.

Ray

[pastorgbc]

Friday is here. A short week so I had to pack a lot of working out into 4 days. As always, I love to finish up the week with a session dedicated to arms.

I am still testing out the 5x5 program. I decided to incorporate that today.

I started out with two non-working warm-up sets with an Olympic straight bar. I then did a couple of non-working sets of tricep overhead extensions with a 25 -pound dbs.

Ready to go, I got right into barbell curls. I did 5x5 with 95 pounds. It actually was a great weight and routine for me. I was able to go very strict and controlled and feel the biceps working up and down. I'll do more weight next week, but I am enjoying a really satisfying workout there today.

Next was close-grip benches, my favorite exercise! Again, 5x5, and with 245. I did 4 sets of 5, but needed a spot on the 5th rep. The guy I was sharing the bench with was benching 225, so I did my 5th set with that weight, 5 reps no problem. I will load 245 again next week and I think I will eat up the 5 sets.

Next was one-arm preacher db curls on an incline bench. 5x5 again. I started with 50 pounds, but I was at failure on the 5th rep. Not that that is bad, but I had a feeling I would fail at 4 next, and who knows after that. I decided to drop down to 45 and I felt much more in control for the next 4 sets. I'm not sure if 5x5 works well for this movement, so I may try a 3x8 next week.

Lastly, I finished up with triceps pushdowns, 5x5, 120 pounds. It was a perfect finish to the workout. I worked very hard to hit all reps, but I was in control and know cheating.

I had a great pump after the workout. I will rest this weekend. Monday is a big day on the bench: 305, 3x2. Bob will also be trying to bench 205 for the first time ever.

Ray

[pastorgbc]

After today, there are just two more weeks left in our bench program. My target is 335, Bob's is 225.

Today I was slated to get 305, 3x2. On the first two sets, I got 1 rep, but needed a spot on the second rep. Feeling frustrated, and not feeling like I was going to get the second rep on the third set, I decided to slap an extra 10 on and try for 315 once. I got half-way up, then need "two-fingers" to get me to lock-out. I was disappointed. I may retool next week, which is a 2x2 week, and use 305 again, and try for 315 as a goal in the last week. 335 seems so far off. Bob was impressive today. He hit all his reps at 205, the first time he was ever over 200. He felt good and I felt good for him. I do not think he will have trouble hitting 225.

The second movement was incline bench. I had much more success there. I am shooting for 275, and today I got 3x3 at 245. Bob hit all his reps at 185, and he had a great rhythm going.

Our third movement was flat db benches. I did 3x8 with 75, while Bob did 3 sets with 70. His first hit all 8. I spotted him at 6 on the second, and he failed at five on the third. Still, great weight for him after all the work on the previous movements.

We finished up with dips, 3 sets. I felt fairly fresh and breezed through these. Bob struggles on dips, but he hit 7 on his first set, which was a personal high. He has really made great gains

See you tomorrow for backs.

Ray

Our third

[pastorgbc]

I decided to dive fully into a 5x5 program for the back, after giving it a modified approach last week. I am going to run the routine for a month or so and see what we find.

Here is the routine I did today:

Cross bench DB pullovers - 55 1 x12, 65 1 x 10, 75 1 x 10

Front pulldowns - 5x5, 170
Bent over rows - 5x5, 195
Seated cable rows - 5x5, 220

Each set was at failure by the fifth rep, which is great. I want to run these weights again next week, and then see if it makes sense to go up. I finished up with some abs.

Because I missed a day this week due to work, I am holding off on dead lifts until next week. I have two weeks on my benching program. Once that is done, I want to go 5x5 across the board, and I would like to do this routine:

Monday - Back (no deads or chins)
Tuesday - Legs
Wednesday - Chest
Thursday - Chins, deads, and shoulders
Friday - Arms

Ray

[pastorgbc]

I decided to change things up a little. I have been locked into behind the neck presses and last week was a great workout with them. I was at numbing failure on the 5th rep of the 5th set last week at 195, so I am going to leave them for about a month.

I am continuing the 5 x 5 assault and I am lovng the intensity it is brining for me. Believe it or not, I am starting to see a little more thickness across the upper body. Here was my routine today:

Seated DB shoulder presses - 5 x 5 at 75. I am glad there was someone there to help me get the weights up. I am so uncoordinated jacking them with help from my legs. The weights felt good. On the fourth set, I lost my concentration and the left hand started to drift back a bit. I was able to catch it before it caused a problem. I kept focus through the fifth set and hit all five with a nice rhythm and control .

Lateral DB raises - I haven't been doing these for a while, since we started our bench routine, and before that I was using the machine. Nothing like the real thing though. Since it had been a while, I did a set of 12 with 25, then I did 4 sets of 5 with 30.

Front raise with 45 pound plate - I hit all 5 reps of 5 sets here. I held the plate up and out for two mississippis, each time flexing the front deltoid. This is one of my favorite movements and I really enjoyed each set today.

Barbell shrugs - I had trouble finishing my 5 sets last week as one of callouses tore. I wrapped it before this exercises, and I did my 5 x 5 at 315.

Ray

[pastorgbc]

This was an eventful day. I found out that the my car that was rear ended while my daughter was driving (has had her license for less than two months) is a total loss. The settlement from the insurance company is about 90 dollars short of what I owe, so I am washed here, and I have to go car shopping with no trade-in.

I was mad, so I took it out on the weights.

I am continuing the 5 x 5 program, and it was my arms turn. I did the same routine I did last week, with some extra poundages added (in some places).

Bicep curls 5 x 5 at 105. All five sets went very well.
Close-grip bench - 5 x 5 at 245. This is the same weight I did last week. I was at failure on all sets. This really felt good.
One-arm preacher curls on the incline bench - my favorite; I have several people in the gym doing them now. 5 x 5 with 45 pound db.
Tricep pressdown - 5 x 5 with 130. I did a drop set on the last set and added 4 more reps at 100.

Ray

[pastorgbc]

This was supposed to be week 11 of our bench program, but Bob was unable to meet me at our appointed time, so I decided to postpone the lifts scheduled for today (315 2 x 2 flat bench), and do them next week. Instead I did a 5x5 routine for chest. Here is what I did:

Flat bench, 5x5, 265.
Incline bench, 3x5, 225, 2x5, 185 (I felt a funny twinge in my upper abdominal as I banged out the last rep of the third set, so I thought dropping down a few pounds was prudent).
Dips, 5x5 to failure.

I like the workout. I think that I will enjoy the 5x5 more when I mix up the bodyparts each day. Anyone who has any suggestions for how to mix it up on a 5-day workout, I am all ears. I am thinking about the following:

Day one
Squats, 5x5
Stiff legged deads lifts, 5x5
Dips, 5x5
Abs\core

Day 2
Bent over row, 5x5
Front Pulldowns, 5x5
DB shoulder press, 5x5
Shrugs, 5x5
Calf raises

Day 3
Flat Bench, 5x5
Incline DB, 5x5
Leg extensions, 3x8
Hamstring curls, 3x8
Abs\core

Day 4
Chins, 5x5
Dead lifts, 5x5
Lateral raises, 5x5
Front raises, 5x5

Day 5
Barbell curl, 5x5
Close grip bench, 5x5
One arm Scott curls, 5x5
Tricep pushdown, 5x5
Abs\core

Ray

[pastorgbc]

I took a day off yesterday because it was my wife's birthday. She just gets better with age.

I have decided to really focus on my diet, starting today, and see if I can rip up some of this chubby I am carrying. So far, my day has looked like this:

Breakfast - 2 bowls of raisin bran with 1 cup skim milk.
Mid morning - Glass of creatine\glutamine\taurine blend with a protein bar (20 grams protein).

Post workout - glass of Muscle Milk

I will have a spinach salad with chicken, half cup cottage chees, and half cup no-fat plain yogurt, with the creatine blend again.

Dinner still to be planned.

The workout:

I felt very strong today, even though I had a twinge in my lower back. I continued the 5x5 mindset.

Cross bench pullover - 2 x 12, 65, 75
Weighted chins - 5x5
Bent over row - 5x5, 185
Close grip pulldowns with the U-handle, 5x5 170
and to try something different, I did a superset:
Seated cable rows\one-armed rows - I did the seated cable rows with 220, and the one-armed rows with 75-pound db. I did 3 sets of 5, seated row, and of course with each arm.

The first four movements were very workmanlike. I added the superset to add some excitement to the monotony. It worked.

Ray

[jaguarr]

A belated happy birthday to your wife, Ray. Mine was yesterday as well. Workouts and diet are all looking spot on in here, man! Keep up the good work!

jag

[pastorgbc]

A belated happy birthday to your wife, Ray. Mine was yesterday as well. Workouts and diet are all looking spot on in here, man! Keep up the good work!

jag

Happy Birthday to you as well, Jag.

Thanks for the encouragement. I'll take all I can get.

Ray

[pastorgbc]

I hit the gym with a great attitude and focus today. I felt well rested and alert and I overall I felt very good. My workout partner Bob, complained of some tenderness in his shoulder, so we decided to forego anything that would stress it too much, but we decided to forge ahead on the shoulder workout. We decided to do the following routine:

4 sets on the shoulder press machine
3 sets lateral raises
3 sets front raises
3 sets shrugs
3 sets upright row

The shoulder press machine is not one of my favorite movements, and I can do the whole stack, so it pretty much served as a warm up. Bob was worried about aggravating the shoulder, so he seemed to get something out of it.

I did three sets with 30 pound dbs for the lateral raises, 8 reps. That felt good.

With the front raises, I did three 3 sets of 8 using a 45 pound plate. I like doing this movement very slow and deliberate, and I like to hold the plate for a count of two when I have my arms parallel to the floor. I love the way you can feel the front delts working.

Shrugs were workmanlike. I only did three sets at 8 reps with 225 as I wanted to do some wide-grip upright rows.

I did the rows using 135 for 3 x 8.

My food for the day so far:

Meal 1 - 6 egg whites, scrambled. 1 cup of fresh fruit.

Meal 2 - Creatin\Glutamine\Taurine drink with a protein bar.

Post-workout drink - 1 drink of Muslce Milk.

Ray

[pastorgbc]

Life was good in the gym today. I have been on a very controlled eating program for two days, and I felt great. I have also started using creatine again after about 10 years. I am taking 10K mgs twice a day with a glutamine\taurine\ribose blend. I also take 500 mgs of ALA in a separate capsule, so I feel pretty good that the uptake should be pretty efficient.

As always, I love to fry my arms on the last workout of the week. I had a lot of energy to hit them with today, so I changed things up a bit on my biceps, and continued to work my triceps very heavy.

1. Barbell Curl - 5 x 5. I did the first two sets with 110. I hit them all but the fifth rep of the second set felt very heavy, and I felt my form starting to slip. I dropped down to 105, and did the last three sets of 5 with good form and motion.

2. Close grip bench press - I have been doing 5 x 5 with 245 here, so I decided to back off of the weight and do 4 x 8 with 205. On my first set, my grip was off, and I found myself trying to adjust it on each rep (I never did get comfortable). The other three sets, though, I did them very slow and deliberate and really felt the exhaustion in the tris.

3. Incline dumbbell curl - Because my wrists are bad, I have never done well with this exercise as my grip gives way long before my biceps do. However, I am determined to master this movement. I have not done these in a while, but I am going to substitute them for the one arm preacher curls at least for the next month. I did 3 x 8 with 35 pounders.

4. Incline e-z bar curls - I have never done this exercise, but a friend of mine recommended it. Right after my incline dbs, I did two 2 x 10 with 50 pounds on the bar. I will do this combo again.

5. Pushdowns - I have been doing a 5x5 with these, but I backed off and did 100, 4 x 10. Again very slow and deliberate. Again I felt the triceps working.

6. Hammer curls - because I was feeling my oats, I decided to do 2 x 5 of hammer curls with 50 pounders. After I was done, a fellow came up and asked me why I only came up halfway on the movement. I explained it was to keep tension on the brachialis. He had never heard of the brach, so I was able to talk a little muscle anatomy with him. He tried the hammers, and I was able to show him his brachs when he got them pumped. It was fun.

So far today, I have et:

2 bowls of honey bunches of oats with 1 cup skim milk.

Mid-morn: 1 cup fresh pineappe and my creatine cocktail.

After workout - 1 cup of Muscle Milk

Mid afternoon - (in an hour and a half) Roasted chicken breast and rice pilaf.

Have a good weekend,
Ray

[jaguarr]

Looks like a killer arm workout, Ray. How's the stomach feeling with all that creatine in it all of a sudden?

jag

[pastorgbc]

You know what, jag, not bad at all. I learned from when I took it when I was younger that I need to drink extra water with it. Right after I down the cocktail, I drink another 12 ounces of water right away. I then make sure I get plenty of water through the day.

Ray

[jaguarr]

You know what, jag, not bad at all. I learned from when I took it when I was younger that I need to drink extra water with it. Right after I down the cocktail, I drink another 12 ounces of water right away. I then make sure I get plenty of water through the day.

Ray

Good to hear. A lot of people have to ease into that much creatine so it made me curious. You must have a cast iron stomach.

jag