MissKB's 2018 Journal: Recomposition

[thehobbes]

Great workouts in here! Strong bb rows!

*this exercise is supposed to be lunges. but i DESPISE lunges. i only live once. i'm not doing lunges.

I was just thinking about lunges today, have been avoiding them forever. Damnit I'm going to add in some lunges. Complaining will happen.

Unrelated fun corner
I officially changed my name today (7 months after the wedding) hahaha. I'm officially Mrs. W!

Well at least it's easy to spell.

[shesprints]

I'm still in awe of how much you row vs. deadlift and bench. It's very unusual to have that sort of strength distribution from what I've seen, since most of us are terribly inclined to use our pecs more than our back muscles.

[Fiction2Fitness]

Maybe when I'm actually strong I'll adore the power days haha. As of right now it's just a reminder of the fact that I'm a WAB.

Strength varies on perspective. Though if it helps... when I did PHUL I was lifting much less and may have struggled to get out from under an incline bench fail at around 75 or 80 lbs. Ah fun times up in Oregon. Talk about awkward though as didn't know how to get out from a fail and no one helped either. Still preferred power days then.

Congrats on the name change.

[mavd]

Strength varies on perspective. Though if it helps... when I did PHUL I was lifting much less and may have struggled to get out from under an incline bench fail at around 75 or 80 lbs. Ah fun times up in Oregon. Talk about awkward though as didn't know how to get out from a fail and no one helped either. Still preferred power days then.

Congrats on the name change.

Lol I once failed on BB incline bench and did the roll of shame. Lots of witnesses, no help. And the bruises I had on my thighs after :'D

Although, I'm pretty sure I failed at around 55.... my incline bench lags so much lmao

[thehobbes]

I always bb incline in a cage. If no safety bars then I may accidentally rip off a nipple on a less than graceful failed rep. Gravity is cruel.

[MissKB]

Oooh you're getting close to barbell weight for the OHP! I bet if you moved it up in the workout like I did (before the second bench) you'd be able to get the bar if you wanted.

That is great advice!!

Great workouts in here! Strong bb rows!

I was just thinking about lunges today, have been avoiding them forever. Damnit I'm going to add in some lunges. Complaining will happen.


Well at least it's easy to spell.

DON'T DO IT!!! hahaha and LOL @ easy to spell

I'm still in awe of how much you row vs. deadlift and bench. It's very unusual to have that sort of strength distribution from what I've seen, since most of us are terribly inclined to use our pecs more than our back muscles.

I think I'm most confident in the row - maybe that's why? My squat and deadlift went up this week, but my bench is weak AF! I lack a lot in chest because I had them done - so I'm not as inclined to do much chest hahah.

Strength varies on perspective. Though if it helps... when I did PHUL I was lifting much less and may have struggled to get out from under an incline bench fail at around 75 or 80 lbs. Ah fun times up in Oregon. Talk about awkward though as didn't know how to get out from a fail and no one helped either. Still preferred power days then.

Congrats on the name change.

I definitely got stuck under just the bar in HS hahaha. So weak. You're right though about perspective. I'm starting to feel like a BOSS.

Lol I once failed on BB incline bench and did the roll of shame. Lots of witnesses, no help. And the bruises I had on my thighs after

Although, I'm pretty sure I failed at around 55.... my incline bench lags so much lmao

Incline and Decline benching is so hard! Ah!

I always bb incline in a cage. If no safety bars then I may accidentally rip off a nipple on a less than graceful failed rep. Gravity is cruel.

Hahahaha nooooo nipple ripping! AH!

You ladies are the best. ****ing hilarious

Tuesday's Workout: Lower Power
Squat
95 lbs x 5 reps
95 lbs x 5 reps
95 lbs x 5 reps
95 lbs x 5 reps

Deadlift
115 lbs x 5 reps
115 lbs x 5 reps
115 lbs x 5 reps
115 lbs x 5 reps

Leg Press
Sled + 50 lbs x 15 reps
Sled + 50 lbs x 10 reps
Sled + 50 lbs x 10 reps
Sled + 50 lbs x 10 reps
Sled + 50 lbs x 10 reps

Leg Curl
65 lbs x 10 reps
65 lbs x 10 reps
65 lbs x 10 reps
65 lbs x 10 reps

KB Calf Raise SS w/ Standing Side Crunches
22lb KB x 25 reps SS w/ 15 crunches per side
22lb KB x 25 reps SS w/ 15 crunches per side
22lb KB x 25 reps SS w/ 15 crunches per side


Yesterday's workout
I did about 30 minutes on the elliptical and did some ab work afterwards. Today will be Upper Hypertrophy!!

[shesprints]

Dang, your squat and deadlift are progressing so fast! At this rate...



... you'll be squatting 900lb by two years from now.

That sounds about right. :P

[mavd]

How do you leg curl so much?!? I swear 40 feels like death after about 5 reps to me. Are you using a chair machine or a lying one or what?

[MissKB]

Dang, your squat and deadlift are progressing so fast! At this rate...

... you'll be squatting 900lb by two years from now.

That sounds about right. :P

I'm dead. HILARIOUS haahha. It's 1000000% my confidence level. I was so nervous about squatting too much and getting stuck in this wide open gym with one million people - so I was doing what I was comfortable with BUT it's not about being comfortable so I broke out of that during the power workout and said **** IT and made noise and didn't breath properly and had a red face etc. and it was AWESOME. I felt so alive.

How do you leg curl so much?!? I swear 40 feels like death after about 5 reps to me. Are you using a chair machine or a lying one or what?

Hahaha maybe the resistance on the machines is different because you can definitely lift more than me lol. It's a seated leg curl.


I added a few more exercises in today to spice it up. I felt pretty challenged on the pull ups which was terrifying hahaha. I was assisted by half my weight. Oh well Time to eat!!

Today's Workout: Upper Hypertrophy

Incline BB Bench Press
50 lbs x 12 reps
50 lbs x 10 reps
50 lbs x 10 reps
50 lbs x 10 reps

Flat Bench DB Flyes
10 lbs x 12 reps
10 lbs x 12 reps
10 lbs x 12 reps
10 lbs x 12 reps

Seated Cable Row
55 lbs x 12 reps
55 lbs x 12 reps
55 lbs x 12 reps
55 lbs x 12 reps

One Arm DB Row
25 lbs x 12 reps
25 lbs x 12 reps
25 lbs x 12 reps
25 lbs x 12 reps

DB Lateral Raise
10 lbs x 12 reps
10 lbs x 10 reps
10 lbs x 10 reps
10 lbs x 10 reps

Seated Incline DB Curl
10 lb DBs x 12 reps
10 lb DBs x 12 reps
10 lb DBs x 10 reps
10 lb DBs x 10 reps

Assisted Pull-ups
55lb assist x 12
55lb assist x 12
55lb assist x 12

Face Pulls SS w/ Cable Tricep Extensions
20 lbs x 10 reps
20 lbs x 10 reps
20 lbs x 10 reps[/QUOTE]

[MissKB]

Today's Workout: Lower Hypertrophy

Front Squat
*ATG - I feel like I could do more weight but FUK it hurts my shoulders lol
55lbs x 8 reps
55lbs x 8 reps
55lbs x 8 reps
55lbs x 8 reps


One Leg Push Downs?
60lbs x 10 reps (per side)
60lbs x 10 reps (per side)
60lbs x 10 reps (per side)
60lbs x 10 reps (per side)

SLDL
75 lbs x 10 reps
75 lbs x 10 reps
75 lbs x 10 reps
75 lbs x 10 reps

Leg Extensions
45 lbs x 12 reps
45 lbs x 12 reps
45 lbs x 12 reps
45 lbs x 12 reps

Leg Curls
65 lbs x 12 reps
65 lbs x 12 reps
65 lbs x 12 reps
65 lbs x 12 reps

Standing Elevated Calf Raises
25lb KBs x 25 reps
25lb KBs x 25 reps
25lb KBs x 25 reps

Seated Calf Press
130 lbs x 15 reps
130 lbs x 15 reps
130 lbs x 15 reps
130 lbs x 15 reps

[thehobbes]

Strong leg day! I'd love to do front squats but I can't get into that position with my wrists/shoulders at all.

I'm dead. HILARIOUS haahha. It's 1000000% my confidence level. I was so nervous about squatting too much and getting stuck in this wide open gym with one million people - so I was doing what I was comfortable with BUT it's not about being comfortable so I broke out of that during the power workout and said **** IT and made noise and didn't breath properly and had a red face etc. and it was AWESOME. I felt so alive.

Just wait til you rip the hugest fart of all time on a heavy squat. Pretty good strategy to create a circle of personal space around your power rack.

[shesprints]

Strong leg day! I'd love to do front squats but I can't get into that position with my wrists/shoulders at all.

Just wait til you rip the hugest fart of all time on a heavy squat. Pretty good strategy to create a circle of personal space around your power rack.

You say that, but you haven't lived until someone does this while you are grappling with them in a room full of sweaty people who already smell less than ideal and you CAn'T LeAVe

...

Anyway, great job here KB. Front squats are very hard, so even 55 for 8 reps is quite respectable, imho. That's half your bodyweight! I used to have a friend who would do like back to back 10 reps of front and back squats at half bodyweight for conditioning. What grip do you use on front squats tho? I hear varying that can help but I never figured out how to do anything other than rest it on my clavicles so don't ask me.

You know, I always do leg curls single-leg on the prone hamstring curl machine? I can manage 50-60lb single-leg but haven't tried both legs for the longest time for some reason.

[MissKB]

Strong leg day! I'd love to do front squats but I can't get into that position with my wrists/shoulders at all.

Just wait til you rip the hugest fart of all time on a heavy squat. Pretty good strategy to create a circle of personal space around your power rack.

Hahaha ah! so many of my coworkers go to the gym with me. I'll die if I fart in front of them. "This is what a beast smells like. You're welcome." I'll have to work on my self-confident one-liner ahead of time.

You say that, but you haven't lived until someone does this while you are grappling with them in a room full of sweaty people who already smell less than ideal and you CAn'T LeAVe

AH! WHAT! hahaha That's terrible! This has happened to you, hasn't it? Do you need to talk about it?

Anyway, great job here KB. Front squats are very hard, so even 55 for 8 reps is quite respectable, imho. That's half your bodyweight! I used to have a friend who would do like back to back 10 reps of front and back squats at half bodyweight for conditioning. What grip do you use on front squats tho? I hear varying that can help but I never figured out how to do anything other than rest it on my clavicles so don't ask me.

You know, I always do leg curls single-leg on the prone hamstring curl machine? I can manage 50-60lb single-leg but haven't tried both legs for the longest time for some reason.

Thank you! I literally have mini bruises across my chest, wrists and both shoulders from it STILL! talk about low iron lol.

I use this grip:


I can't do the other one because i have a ganglion cyst in my right wrist

Also, we don't have a prone machine but I bet I could just use the low cable row machine to complete it? that's a great idea!!

__________________________________________________ __________________

Side note: I bought an Apple watch. I never spend any money on myself. EVER. so I decided to buy the watch and it's so much more accurate than the fitbit. I can do a strength training workout session and it uses heart rate, steps, and other metrics to determine my calorie burn. I'm about 400 calories ahead of where my fitbit usually has me and it makes sense as to why eating as many calories as my fitbit said to gain weight wasn't working.

Today's Workout: Upper Power

Barbell Bench
75lbs x 5 reps
75lbs x 5 reps
75lbs x 5 reps
75lbs x 4 reps

Incline DB Bench Press
27.5lb DBs x 5 reps
30lb DBs x 5 reps
30lb DBs x 4 reps
30lb DBs x 3 reps


Bent Over Row
*i need gloves. ouch.
105 lbs x 5 reps
110 lbs x 5 reps
110 lbs x 5 reps
110 lbs x 5 reps

Lat Pull Down
65 lbs x 6 reps
65 lbs x 6 reps
65 lbs x 6 reps
65 lbs x 6 reps

Overhead Press
20lb DBs x 8 reps
20lb DBs x 6 reps
20lb DBs x 5 reps
20lb DBs x 5 reps

DB Curl
15lb DBs x 10 reps
15lb DBs x 10 reps
15lb DBs x 8 reps
15lb DBs x 8 reps

Cable Tricep Pressdowns
25 x 10 reps
25 x 10 reps
25 x 10 reps
25 x 10 reps

[shesprints]

Yeah, I definitely see people doing cables for hamstrings at my gym. I'm very impressed with your upper body weights, btw. 30lb for DB chest press took me like six months to get to when I was younger/smaller. And you are literally rowing right about your body weight, which is crazy to me. Just from a physics perspective. You could row... yourself. I bet you could do a pullup pretty easily if you trained the specific movement.

[mavd]

Your bench numbers are super impressive. You've passed me on the incline DB :*) (I'm not helping myself by moving these after OHP, but I wanna have boulder-shoulders lol).

[MissKB]

Yeah, I definitely see people doing cables for hamstrings at my gym. I'm very impressed with your upper body weights, btw. 30lb for DB chest press took me like six months to get to when I was younger/smaller. And you are literally rowing right about your body weight, which is crazy to me. Just from a physics perspective. You could row... yourself. I bet you could do a pullup pretty easily if you trained the specific movement.

I can do one, singular pull up right now hahaha. :P I think I'm going to be plateauing out here shortly - but thank you for the vote of confidence!! it has been so helpful

Your bench numbers are super impressive. You've passed me on the incline DB :*) (I'm not helping myself by moving these after OHP, but I wanna have boulder-shoulders lol).

See, I wish I could love OHP but they really fuggin hurt my shoulders Chest seems so much easier to me - I need to get a different shoulder exercise because I LOVED shoulder day haha.

______________________________

I just did cardio and abs on Tuesday - a coworker wanted to do legs with me yesterday! We finished the workout in 42 minutes! My average heart rate was 128 bpm, my average heart rate on the elliptical afterwards was 142bpm so we were killin' it during the workout hahah.

Yesterday's Workout: Lower Power
Squat
95 lbs x 5 reps
100 lbs x 5 reps
100 lbs x 5 reps
100 lbs x 4 reps

Deadlift
115 lbs x 5 reps
115 lbs x 5 reps
115 lbs x 5 reps
115 lbs x 5 reps

Leg Press
Sled + 50 lbs x 13 reps
Sled + 50 lbs x 10 reps
Sled + 50 lbs x 10 reps
Sled + 50 lbs x 10 reps
Sled + 50 lbs x 10 reps

Leg Curl
* I really went for it here. I kept upping the weight until it felt VERY hard.
70 lbs x 10 reps
85 lbs x 10 reps
85 lbs x 10 reps
85 lbs x 8 reps

KB Calf Raise SS w/ Standing Side Crunches
28lb KB x 25 reps SS w/ 15 crunches per side
28lb KB x 25 reps SS w/ 15 crunches per side
28lb KB x 25 reps SS w/ 15 crunches per side

I'm sore today, but feeling good! Off to eat lunch and then UH!

[mavd]

Standing rows are a favorite of mine for shoulder work. And DB seated over head press. And just doing an explosive clean of the bar from the rack (around knee height).

[MissKB]

standing rows are a favorite of mine for shoulder work. And db seated over head press. And just doing an explosive clean of the bar from the rack (around knee height).

Oooh, great suggestions!

_______________________

Completed this mother in 28 minutes!!

today's workout: Upper hypertrophy

incline bb bench press
50 lbs x 12 reps
50 lbs x 10 reps
50 lbs x 10 reps
50 lbs x 10 reps

flat bench db flyes
12.5 lbs x 12 reps
12.5 lbs x 12 reps
12.5 lbs x 12 reps
12.5 lbs x 12 reps

seated cable row
60 lbs x 12 reps
60 lbs x 12 reps
60 lbs x 12 reps
60 lbs x 12 reps

one arm db row
25 lbs x 12 reps
25 lbs x 12 reps
25 lbs x 12 reps
25 lbs x 12 reps

db lateral raise
10 lbs x 12 reps
10 lbs x 10 reps
10 lbs x 10 reps
10 lbs x 10 reps

assisted pull-ups
55lb assist x 12
55lb assist x 12
55lb assist x 12

[shesprints]

I think it's easier to get through upper body workouts faster, recovery-wise. The muscle groups are smaller. At least, that's what I've observed... I should take a page from your book on efficiency. I dawdle too much at the gym and rarely time my rests!

How are you liking the high reps you're working with? I cringe looking at it, I always get so intimidated with reps above about... 8 tbh.

[Fiction2Fitness]

Things are looking good in here as usual. I find my upper body days take much less than than lower as well. Often less involved since the jumps in weight are much smaller so don't need to build up as much in order to get to that top weight for the working sets. Or that's what I find anyways cause weak upper body. Still I probably could do more on upper body days but their aren't as fun as squats and deadlifts.

^ agree to above question too. Not a fan of going above 8 reps either. ;-)

[astronut96]

I too am in awe of your rowing power! I love working back - feel so strong. Excellent gains going on here!

[thehobbes]

Loving all the row work! Back work is the most important work IMO.

[MissKB]

I think it's easier to get through upper body workouts faster, recovery-wise. The muscle groups are smaller. At least, that's what I've observed... I should take a page from your book on efficiency. I dawdle too much at the gym and rarely time my rests!

How are you liking the high reps you're working with? I cringe looking at it, I always get so intimidated with reps above about... 8 tbh.

You're so right - today was a lot harder to go quicker haha. Now that I have a taste of efficiency, I feel like I can't go back hahaha.

I love hypertrophy days, it has been so nice to have both types in one plan. SO many plans are often one or the other, I love that this is both

Things are looking good in here as usual. I find my upper body days take much less than than lower as well. Often less involved since the jumps in weight are much smaller so don't need to build up as much in order to get to that top weight for the working sets. Or that's what I find anyways cause weak upper body. Still I probably could do more on upper body days but their aren't as fun as squats and deadlifts.

^ agree to above question too. Not a fan of going above 8 reps either. ;-)

If I had to do 8+ reps every workout, I wouldn't last haha. PHUL is a great plan for those of us with fleeting attention spans!

I too am in awe of your rowing power! I love working back - feel so strong. Excellent gains going on here!

Thank you! I LOVE back lifts. The only ones I feel kinda powerful in haha.

Loving all the row work! Back work is the most important work IMO.

I agree! I looooove it. and it's so good for the abs too

_______________________________

I had a good workout Friday! Today is Upper Power, which I was really looking forward to all weekend I have some back to back meetings after lunch so I'll have to be efficient.

Friday's Workout: Lower Hypertrophy

Front Squat
60lbs x 8 reps
60lbs x 8 reps
60lbs x 8 reps
60lbs x 8 reps


One Leg Push Downs?
65lbs x 10 reps (per side)
65lbs x 10 reps (per side)
65lbs x 10 reps (per side)
65lbs x 10 reps (per side)

SLDL
*I can definitely go heavier here. I need to invest in some gloves.
80 lbs x 10 reps
80 lbs x 10 reps
80 lbs x 10 reps
80 lbs x 10 reps

Leg Extensions
45 lbs x 12 reps
45 lbs x 12 reps
45 lbs x 12 reps
45 lbs x 12 reps

Leg Curls
65 lbs x 12 reps
65 lbs x 12 reps
65 lbs x 12 reps
65 lbs x 12 reps

Standing Elevated Calf Raises
25lb KBs x 25 reps
25lb KBs x 25 reps
25lb KBs x 25 reps

Seated Calf Press
130 lbs x 15 reps
130 lbs x 15 reps
130 lbs x 15 reps
130 lbs x 15 reps

[mavd]

Solid lower hypertrophy day. I had a KB moment this morning when I remembered I was supposed to do BB lunges. Almost subbed them out lol.

I don't particularly enjoy the high reps, especially on squats, but I do think it is effective.

[shesprints]

Those weights are going up nicely there, and that's great volume, too. I really do like this program, though tbh I'm not sure you could pay me to do front squat every single week. Roughly half the time I do it I pull something in my neck by being an idiot and looking up.

LOL @ the question mark on the pushdowns. I think you can call them what you want. I do see a few women doing them at my gym, wonder if they follow your program.

[pastorpritch]

Great work! And don't get gloves, just do a mixed grip and let your calluses build up

[MissKB]

Solid lower hypertrophy day. I had a KB moment this morning when I remembered I was supposed to do BB lunges. Almost subbed them out lol.

I don't particularly enjoy the high reps, especially on squats, but I do think it is effective.

Hahaha, SAY NO TO LUNGES. ugh god, even the word but you're right, the switch between high and low reps is definitely effective

Those weights are going up nicely there, and that's great volume, too. I really do like this program, though tbh I'm not sure you could pay me to do front squat every single week. Roughly half the time I do it I pull something in my neck by being an idiot and looking up.

LOL @ the question mark on the pushdowns. I think you can call them what you want. I do see a few women doing them at my gym, wonder if they follow your program.

My front squat form is pretty on point! i don't feel the pressure to go too high in weight though because it's a volume day, so that's nice. the pushdowns weren't part of the program!! mavd did 'em and i subbed the lunges for them

_____________________________________________

I weighed in this morning at 110.6lbs still. UGH. But, my hubby said my butt's getting bigger so maybe I'm truly doing a recomp? Hahaha. Gonna try and eat big this week and see what we turn up. I didn't feel strong during this workout. Maybe it was the weekend off, or that I'm finally hitting plateaus in some of the exercises. I'm starving though. I've been saving 700 calories at night for dinner, but maybe I'm not truly hitting that amount? I normally eat like a boss, but maybe it's just not enough. I know, I know, you're all feeling really bad for me not being able to gain weight and having to eat more. I KNOW.

Today's Workout: Upper Power

Barbell Bench
75lbs x 5 reps
75lbs x 5 reps
75lbs x 5 reps
75lbs x 4 reps

Incline DB Bench Press
30lb DBs x 5 reps
30lb DBs x 5 reps
30lb DBs x 4 reps
30lb DBs x 4 reps


Bent Over Row
115 lbs x 5 reps
115 lbs x 5 reps
115 lbs x 5 reps
115 lbs x 5 reps

Lat Pull Down
65 lbs x 8 reps
65 lbs x 8 reps
65 lbs x 7 reps
65 lbs x 6 reps

Overhead Press
45lbs x 8 reps
45lbs x 6 reps
45lbs x 5 reps
45lbs x 5 reps

DB Curl
15lb DBs x 10 reps
15lb DBs x 10 reps
15lb DBs x 8 reps
15lb DBs x 8 reps

Cable Tricep Pressdowns
25 x 10 reps
25 x 10 reps
25 x 10 reps
25 x 10 reps

[mavd]

I feel like a broken record because I say this all the time on this forum but, TDEE stands for Total Daily Energy Expenditure. If you are eating 4000 calories a day and not gaining any weight, you are expending 4000 calories a day. A million online calculators won't tell you more about your TDEE than truly accurate calorie counting and weigh-ins. It's time to up the calories if you're serious about gaining :-)

And I'll try not to hate you too much for struggling to gain. During my first bulk I was so active between lifting, playing hockey, teaching, and lab work I didn't start putting on weight until I was at about 3500 calories.

[wildturkey]

I feel like a broken record because I say this all the time on this forum but, TDEE stands for Total Daily Energy Expenditure. If you are eating 4000 calories a day and not gaining any weight, you are expending 4000 calories a day. A million online calculators won't tell you more about your TDEE than truly accurate calorie counting and weigh-ins. It's time to up the calories if you're serious about gaining :-)

And I'll try not to hate you too much for struggling to gain. During my first bulk I was so active between lifting, playing hockey, teaching, and lab work I didn't start putting on weight until I was at about 3500 calories.

This is exactly right, and further to this weight gain based on calorie consumption is not a linear correlation either as the more you eat the more energy you expend processing the extra food so you actually have to eat quite a decent surplus to gain weight

[wildturkey]

Furthermore the rate of energy at which your body expends the extra food is also dependent on gender, age, genetics...