JerG: Lifting, Cardio, And Food - My Journal.

[JerG]

11/27 Legs/Shoulders/Back (mixing thursday and friday's workout due to Thanksgiving)

FRONT SQUATS
-170lbsx8
-170lbsx8
-170lbsx6 (PR)

WALKING DB LUNGES
-50'sx8
-50'sx8
-50'sx8

PAUSED MILITARY PRESS
-95lbsx5 (PR)
-95lbsx4
-95lbsx4

PULL UPS
-bwx7
-bwx6
-bwx5

DB ROWS
-65'sx10
-65'sx10

LATERAL RAISES (First time trying these, was always a bit scared they'd mess up my shoulder)
-6'sx10
-10'sx10
-12'sx10
-15'sx10

FRONT SQUATS: B. No power rack= no spotters. I didn't want to get buried on the last set.
DB LUNGES: B+. These were solid. I definitely feel these better thank normal lunges.
PAUSED MILITARY PRESS: B+. These were harder than I expected, but I hit five for a set.
PULL UPS: B-. These were alright.
DB ROWS: C+. I know I've got more in me, I want the psu db's back.
LATERAL RAISES: B+. First time ever trying these, but they felt AWESOME. Will add more weight next time.

Overall: B-. Looking forward to psu's gym again.

Next workout= sunday upper power

[nrk5014]

Big PR's bud! nice fronts mang.

[JerG]

Big PR's bud! nice fronts mang.

Thanks dood. See ya sometime this week? You hittin lower power on monday?

[1111111111111111111111111111]

New Idea- I'm going to give a grade (sort of like gpa) to each lift. Grade based on result and how I felt during the lift.

A=awesome
B=pretty solid
C=average
D=pretty ****ty
F=fail

I'm liking this idea so far breh.

[JerG]

I'm liking this idea so far breh.

Haha thanks. It allows me to reflect on the workout a little bit more, which is good.

11/30/2008

FLAT DB PRESS
-60lbsx8 (PR)
-65lbsx3 (PR)
-65lbsx3 (PR)

PAUSED MILITARY PRESS
-95lbsx6 (PR)
-95lbsx5 (PR)
-95lbsx3

PULL UPS (didn't have a spot for rack chins... did these instead)
-bwx6
-bwx6
-bwx6

DUH BB ROWS
-155lbsx6
-155lbsx6 (PR)
-155lbsx6 (PR)

DB Shrugs
-FKING forgot completely to do these... Will just do these tomorrow after squatting. Shouldn't be too big of a problem.

BB CURLS
-75lbsx6 (PR)
*

SKULL CRUSHERS (Will do dip machine next time, somebody was using it and I just wanted to get out of the gym)
-65lbsx6
-70lbsx6
-75lbsx5 (PR)

FLAT DB PRESS: A-. Wasn't expecting 8 reps with 60's and definitely wasn't expecting 65's... but I'm getting at least 4 reps with 65's next week
MILITARY PRESS: A-. Last set was a bit weak but I keep pr'ing so that's good.
PULL UPS: B. Ok.
DUH BB ROWS: B+. Straight sets with 155lbs is good.
DB SHRUGS: . Will do tomorrow.
*CURLS: B. Right forearm hurt bad after just one set. My forearms get really pumped during curls, but I really hope this isn't some sort of tendonitis. It feels ok now though.
SKULL CRUSHERS: B+. Wanted 6 reps with 75lbs, but got 5.

Overall Rating: A-. Felt really good throughout, except forearm hurt during curls. Legs tomorrow!

[JerG]

12/01/08 - Lower

SQUATS
-235lbsx5 (PR)
-225lbx3 (leaned too far forward and lost it, fck)
-225lbsx3 (Tried parallel squatting instead of atg... form could have been better)
-225lbsx5
-225lbsx4 (Failed rep 5... had nothing to get out of the hole)

GHR's (Assisted)
-bwx5
-bwx5
-bwx5
-bwx5
-bwx5

LUNGES
-135lbsx5
-135lbsx5
-135lbsx5

LEG EXTENSIONS
-Stackx8
-Stackx7 (PR)
-Stackx7 (PR)

LEG CURLS
-7blocksx6
-7blocksx6
-7blocksx5

SQUATS: B+. 235lbsx5 makes me happy...but it also tired the **** out of me right away. Rep 5 was sooo close to failure. I never did 5 sets before, so I need to adjust to the increase in volume. Goal for next week= 225lbsx5x5.
GHR's: B+. Holy fking **** 5 sets
LUNGES: B+. These were pretty good after the above.
LEG EXTENSIONS: A-. I used to be against these... but I'm starting to really love the quad pump here.
LEG CURLS: B+. Hamstrings=toast.

OVERALL: B+. Exhausted. Legs were pumped.

[nrk5014]

For The Pumpsss!!!!!!

[JerG]

For The Pumpsss!!!!!!

My legs are still tingling, omfg. I think I'm just gonna go to sleep now, haha.

Glad to lift with ya mayne

Oh and a misc note from today:
-I got an A on my last English paper! My teacher hardly ever gives em out, and me being a math/science person... this is big new for me haha.

[JerG]

12/3/2008

I'm going back to bb bench for a bit. Over x-mas break I won't have access to good db's, so I may as well make bb bench a primary lift for a while.

BB BENCH (Tried reverse Pyramid)
-135lbsx2
-145lbsx1 (lot easier than last time I tried to bench 145)
-155lbsx0 (was damn close)
-135lbsx4 (PR)
-125lbsx7 (PR)
-115lbsx10

INCLINE DB BENCH
-55'sx5 Kinda PR
-50'sx10
-50'sx8

SINGLE ARM BENCH
-45'sx8/8 (PR)
-45'sx7/7 (PR)

DB CURLS
-32'sx10
-32'sx9
-32'sx8

WRIST CURLS
-45lbsx12
-65lbsx12
-75lbsx12
-75lbsx12

BB BENCH: B+. First time starting off benching in a while, but I really liked pyramiding. Much more than straight sets.
INCLINE DB BENCH: B+. 55's were a bit much after bb'ing, but these still felt great.
SINGLE ARM BENCH: B-. I wanted more reps with 45's.
DB CURLS: B. I want to stay away from bb curls for a bit. I'm afraid my forearm pain might be a bit of tendonitis.
WRIST CURLS: NR. More of a rehab exercise than anything. Should help with forearm tendonitis.

Overall: B. I want 155lbs next week.

[nrk5014]

bro, don't keep goin for a 1RM week in and week out, you're gonna hit a wall before you even know it. The key is to work up to these things. As you can see, from going lighter and doin some more reps with DB's, your chest got stronger, why change that approach with the BB?

If you wanna get your bench up? follow this program. Start with your workout 1 on wednesday, then do workout 2 the following sunday, workout 3 the following wednesday, etc, etc, etc.

http://www.joeskopec.com/add50.xls

[JerG]

bro, don't keep goin for a 1RM week in and week out, you're gonna hit a wall before you even know it. The key is to work up to these things. As you can see, from going lighter and doin some more reps with DB's, your chest got stronger, why change that approach with the BB?

If you wanna get your bench up? follow this program. Start with your workout 1 on wednesday, then do workout 2 the following sunday, workout 3 the following wednesday, etc, etc, etc.

http://www.joeskopec.com/add50.xls

Hey dude. I should have been more clear about my intentions. I'm still doing db. This is kind of what I had in mind:

Sunday (keeping it all the same):
-Flat DB (Low reps)
-Military Press (Low reps)
-Rack Chins, Rows, etc. (Low reps)

Wednesday (lil change)
-BB bench (pyramiding)
-High rep incline bench (same as before)
-Single Arm bench
-Might start doing flies if shoulder allows

I just really liked pyramiding so I might give it a shot for a little while. And I'm still doing high rep incline db's- but after bb benching.

That program seemed pretty cool, but that means I'd have to stop doing db... which I don't want to do. I'm basically focusing on db one day, then bb bench another. And you're right about going for a 1-rm. I won't do it every wednesday- I just wanted to see where I was at now.

[JerG]

12/4/2008

Legs a bit sore going into this... not too bad though. Higher-rep Lower.

BACK SQUATS
-205lbsx8
-205lbsx8
-205lbsx12 (PR)

DB WALKING LUNGES
-55'sx8/8 Pr's?
-55'sx8/8

HYPERS
-45lbsx12
-45lbsx12
-45lbsx12

+15 minutes incline walking

Did some pistols after these sets. Also messed around with some overhead squats for a bit... but tweaked my left shoulder a little. I think it will be ok though.

Looking back on this, I need to do more volume. I was in a bit of a rush because I have a lot of homework now, but I really should have done more sets.

Squats: B+. These went better than expected, especially since I haven't done more than 5 reps in ages. But I know I can do better.
Lunges: A-. Had a great time with these.
Hyperextensions: B+. Solid here.
Overhead Squats/ Pistols: NR. Just did some.

Overall: B+. Solid since this is the first time back squatting for higher reps.

[nrk5014]

good job with those high rep squats brooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

[JerG]

good job with those high rep squats brooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Thanks bro. I want 205 for at least 15 or 16 next week.

Somehow my legs are hardly sore at all today, must have been the incline walking and cold shower pwo.

[JerG]

****, haven't been on the site much at all this weekend.

Workout from Friday:

Back/Tri

(Gave rack pulls a shot, but didn't know where to put the pins. Even on the lowest setting I felt like I was only doing like a 6 inch ROM. So I started with pull-downs, an exercise I haven't done too much of)

PULL DOWNS
-105lbsx10
-120lbsx10
-135lbsx7
-150lbsx4
-135lbx6 drop
-105lbsx10

DUH BB ROWS
-145lbsx10 (PR)
-145lbsx10 (PR)
-145lbsx10 (PR)

DB ROWS
-70'sx9 (PR)
-70'sx9 (PR)

LATERAL RAISES
-17'sx10
-17'sx10
-17'sx10

SKULL CRUSHERS
-70lbsx7 (PR)
-65lbsx9 (PR)
-60lbsx12 (PR)
-55lbsx15 (PR)+ 15 close grip presses

REVERSE GRIP PRESSDOWNS (Friend showed me these, weren't bad)
-40lbsx6/6
-30lbsx10/10
-30lbsx10/10

PULL DOWNS: B+. Lats were pumped after this.
BB ROWS: A-. Went very well.
DB ROWS: B+. Solid here.
LATERALS: B. Good weight.
SKULLS: A-. Went very good. My friend from summer said my form has improved a lot, and that weight is going up= good.
PRESS DOWNS: B-. Not sure if I will stick with these.

Overall: B+. Went better than I expected.

SATURDAY:
-20-25 minutes of cardio on bike and treadmill.

SUNDAY:
-Actually didn't go to the gym. Had a lot of schoolwork I had to do this weekend. I probably shouldn't even have gone out friday night, but I did since it's the last night I'll be able to (next weekend will be shot for finals studying). I feel bad for not going to the gym, but this is what I got done:

Saturday (upon after waking feeling like ****): 8 page research paper on the Nation of Islam, its history, leaders, etc. Involved tons of researching, reading library text, and so on.
Sunday: 7 page final paper for English, 3 hour review session for calc, and still have some econ/ math to do.

I think I'll do power upper tomorrow and probably lower on tuesday. Then probably chest/bi/forearm thursday and back/tri friday.

[nrk5014]

laterals? on back day?

regardless, you're learning what volume means, i like it.

[JerG]

laterals? on back day?

regardless, you're learning what volume means, i like it.

I feel it in my lats... it's weird. I know it's good for the medial shoulder, but don't you feel it in teh lats?

And I'm enjoying the volume myself, I'm not gonna lie.

[JerG]

12/08/2008

FLAT DB PRESS
-65lbsx4 (PR)
-65lbsx3
-60lbsx6.5

PAUSED MILITARY PRESS
-100lbsx5 (PR)
-100lbsx3 kinda pr's
-100lbsx3 kinda pr's

LAT PULLDOWNS (WO Partner wanted to do them)
-150lbsx6 (PR)
-165lbsx4 (Lol, had it on the wrong setting)
-150lbsx6 (PR)

DUH BB ROWS
-160lbsx6 (PR)
-160lbsx6 (PR)
-160lbsx6 (PR)

DB Shrugs
-80'sx6 (PR)
-80'sx6 (PR)
-80'sx6 (PR)

BB CURLS
-45lbsx15
*Just a few light weight reps here. Wanna be safe before I go back to heavy curls.

SKULL CRUSHERS then PUSH-DOWN
-75lbsx5 (Skulls)
-90lbsx6 (Push-down)
-90lbsx6 (Push-down)

WRIST CURLS
-45lbsx12
-65lbsx12
-80lbsx12
-80lbsx12

FLAT DB PRESS: C+. Wanted 5 reps. Plus my workout partner said I should be going deeper, so I'm not sure if I want to sacrifice reps for a full form.
PAUSED MILITARY PRESS: A-. 100lbsx5 was hard as ****. Almost failed on first and third set. Yet, the weight keeps going up.
LAT PULL DOWN: B+. Feels sooo good.
DUH BB ROWS: A-. 160lbsx3x6 makes me happy.
DB SHRUGS: B+. Solid here.
CURLS/WRIST CURLS: NR. Still working on forearms issues.
SKULL CRUSHERS: C-. My tris were a bit sore for some reason still, and I just didn't feel as strong here. So my workout partner and I gave pressdowns a try.

Overall Rating: B. Solid, but I should be doing better on some exercises.

Tomorrow I'm doing legs even though they are a bit sore from last workout. I'm thinking about making it a crazy ass session because I don't think I'll be doing legs again until monday of next week. It will probably involve both high and low rep squatting, db lunges, curls, and maybe split squats if I'm feeling daring.

[nrk5014]

niceeee bb rows jeremy, they're progressing nicely. keep it up.

[JerG]

niceeee bb rows jeremy, they're progressing nicely. keep it up.

Thanks bro, yours are coming along great too.

[JerG]

12/09/08 - Lower

SQUATS (Gave "thumbed" grip a try... worked well for the most part)
-225lbsx5
-225lbsx5
-225lbsx5
-225lbsx5 (PR)
-225lbsx5 (PR)
-205lbsx9
-135lbsx12 (Front Squat)

WALKING DB LUNGES
-55'sx9 (PR)
-55'sx9 (PR)

LEG EXTENSIONS
-Stackx7
-Stackx6
-Stackx6

LEG CURLS
-8blocksx6
-9blocksx4
-9blocksx4

SQUATS: A-. Hit the main goal of 225lbsx5x5. Tried a "thumbed" grip and felt more comfortable- except on the higher rep set. My hand went numb so I stopped the set.
DB LUNGES: A-. Burnnn
LEG EXTENSIONS: B+. Kept the pump going
LEG CURLS: B+. Hamstrings=toast. (again)

Overall: A-. Pleased with this one.

Misc Notes:
-Kind of panicking about finals next week

[JerG]

Ok so I've been lazy on the updating... my bad. Finals were rough, but I still found time to lift. I started the "add 50" bench program and have finished 3/14 scheduled workouts. For the next 6 weeks I will be really focusing on getting my bench press up- focusing on form, eating, resting, everything.

I won't go over all the sessions, but this was today's workout (first workout back at my home gym):

12/20/2008

BB BENCH
-115lbsx6
-125lbsx6
-130lbsx5
-130lbsx5
-130lbsx5

PAUSED MILITARY PRESS
-100lbsx5
-85lbsx9
-85lbsx7

LAT PULLDOWNS (weights must be way off)
-170lbsx10
-190lbsx8
-210lbsx6
-210lbsx6

T-BAR ROWS
-115lbsx8
-125lbsx6
-125lbsx6

BB CURLS
-45lbsx15
*Just a few light weight reps here. Wanna be safe before I go back to heavy curls. Felt less pain than last time

SKULL CRUSHERS then PUSH-DOWN
-75lbsx8 (PR)
-75lbsx6
-75lbsx5

BB BENCH PRESS: A-. I think I may have done more than what the bench program even called for... but 130lbs wasn't too hard at all. Next workout will definitely be more difficult though.
PAUSED MILITARY PRESS: C+. Tied pr... but I wasn't feeling it at all for some reason. So I dropped the weight and did some more reps.
LAT PULL DOWN: B+. Good lift, but the weights were definitely different from PSU's.
T-BAR ROWS: B+. Gonna go with these for a while. My gym has a good t-bar set up.
CURLS: NR.
SKULL CRUSHERS: A-. Easy.

Overall Rating: B+. Pretty good session. Doing legs tomorrow- will probably give box squats a try.

Misc. Notes:
-Got back from PSU two days ago, after finishing finals. Glad to be home. PSU is sweet, but I like the change (and not studying like a mo-fo).
-Finals themselves were rough, my schedule was more difficult than need be: had calc monday morning, chem at 8:00am wednesday and then econ right after that. I was done early, but I wish everything was more spaced out so I could have more time to study.
-Basically studied all weekend for math and finished 3 huge papers, then found time monday-tuesday to cram for both chem and econ.
-Econ was easy as **** but both math and chem were waaaay harder than the practice tests I took from previous years. I even ran out of time on chem, so I didn't do nearly as well as I would have liked.

Right now this is what my grades are looking like:

Calc: A- (would have had an A if I had an extra question right on the final... fuk)
Chem: A- (Final brought me down a bit)
Econ: A
English: A- (my prof doesn't give out A's really)
Malcolm X class- No grade yet (better be at least an A- though)

All in all I should have done better, but the GPA will come out to 3.7-3.8 depending on my Malcolm X class.

[nrk5014]

solid grades brooooo, congrats!

[JerG]

solid grades brooooo, congrats!

Thanks dude. Oh man though, I'm gonna be lucky if I make it through next semester alive.

Physics and Calc II are supposed to be two of the hardest classes PSU offers right? Not to mention I still have stupid **** like chem lab to deal with

[nrk5014]

chem lab blows donkey balls.

[JerG]

chem lab blows donkey balls.

Yeah everybody I've talked to has said that.

12/21/08 - Lower

BOX SQUATS (New lift for now, working on getting my hips back: done on a bench, a few inches below my knee)
-205lbsx2
-225lbsx2
-245lbsx1
-255lbsx1
-265lbsx1
-225lbsx4

GHR's (Assisted)
-bwx5
-bwx5
-bwx5

LUNGES
-50'sx10 (PR?)
-50'sx12 (PR)

ONE-LEG LEG PRESS (new exercise)
-180lbsx8
-180lbsx8
-180lbsx8

+ some cardio, random chin ups, and shoulder rehab work.

BOX SQUATS: B+. These were pretty cool. I just hope the box (i mean bench) was low enough.
GHR's: B+.
LUNGES: A-. Last set was great
LEG PRESS: A-. Good way to finish the workout.

OVERALL: B+. Will keep box squats as main focus on leg day as of now.

Misc notes:
-Back to work in the carpet factory tomorrow...

[nrk5014]

nice job you carpet muncher.

box squats are the way to go in all honesty. make sure you focus on sitting down with your shins perpendicular to the floor. I know it's really hard to do, but i worked up from 135 and now look at my squat form.

[JerG]

nice job you carpet muncher.

box squats are the way to go in all honesty. make sure you focus on sitting down with your shins perpendicular to the floor. I know it's really hard to do, but i worked up from 135 and now look at my squat form.

Thanx big dog. Yeah it's just a work in progress. Btw, fine squatting for you today with 3 platesx3.

I must say my glutes are quite sore today (big no homo)

Today I did cardio for about an hour, with a mix of incline walking and HIIT on the bike. Estimate of at least 600 cals burned but I wasn't keeping to close of track. My buds and I then hit up a Chinese buffet... good ****.

No lifting til wednesday when I go for workout #4 of the add 50 program.

[JerG]

Holy ****ing horse****. I'm so pissed.

I can't get to the gym because the roads are to icy. I've been eating a ton and I just wanted to lift... damn it. And I can't lift for like another 4 days either because I have to go visit family and ****.

So much for following the bench program to a T

I'm gonna go do a million push ups and some bench dips, but it's not the same.

Terrific.

[nrk5014]

dude, when you get back at it you're gonna absolutely killl it, trust me. maybe your body needed the rest.