Can No Longer Resist the Heavy!

[tjoe]

another 60 on the tredmill
3 mph @ 5% incline

pprivon - thanks bro! Will I have... abs I don't! Haha, keeps me goin'

[tjoe]

Wow! It feels good to sleep until 7 o'clock!! (compared to 4:30)

Anyway
Wide grip chins
me x 10, 10, 10, 9, 8

Close grip pulldowns
100 x 10
140 x 10
180 x 10
200 x 7+1, 7+1

Betover barbell rows
135 x 10
225 x 8
315 x 6, 6 *Heavy today, plus my lower back is still a bit tweaky from spotting a guy on Monday. He was squatting 275 and I swear I picked up the 275 + half his bodyweight!!

Deadlifts
225 x 10
315 x 10
405 x 10
Just to feel them out. I haven't done then from the floor for a long time. Went dbl OH with straps. Felt good, and again 405 x 10 was fine as I didn't want to push my lower back too much today.

Finished with 30 minutes on the tred at 3.5 mph with NO incline. The HR is already elevated after training and again more incline = more stress to the lower back. Day felt great and I snapped a few new pics and 2 vids which I will post when I have a bit more time.

[IronBender800]

Those are some heavy ass rows. Bet those sets of 10 on deads lit your back up. Good workout.

[tjoe]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMVrP-7FP18
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsI_ufHXWLo

Don't know how to embed vids on this site... If anyone would like to tell me.

[thorra]

Great pics and vids tjoe! You're progress is great to watch! As usual, your back looks huge, and you definitely don't look like you're below 200!
How big is your back, if you don't mind me asking? Do you track your measurements or do you just use the scale?

[tjoe]

thorra - Thanks bro! I'm really gettin into the whole thing. I do not do measurements. Not sure why, just never did. I guess BBing is all an illusion anyway. So if I stand next to my wife I look like a monster But if I stand next to Mariusz I look like a smurf!!

Keep watching... more progress to come!!
How are you coming along??

[HumanHorrorFilm]

Looking sick man, awesome awesome work.

how close are you to your goals?

[tjoe]

HHF - Thanks bro. How close... Not very!! haha. Seriously, the more progress I see, the more I want. Last week I was around 15.5% and it is dropping a bit this week. But I would like to see 8%. I have a feeling when I get there I may want more (since I'll be close anyway) and do a show. That's a big MAYBE so far though. I am figuring a good 12-16 weeks anyway.

Tredmill at 5 am Before morning shake
60 minutes
2 different plans
3.0 mph at 5% incline...
3.5 mph at 0 incline...
switched every 10 minutes just for a little variation.
Felt good.
Shoulders in about an hour or so...

[HumanHorrorFilm]

so your staying on this diet for another 3-4 months? thats deidcation man haha.

[thorra]

You should definitely do a show! And thanks, I'm doing well. I've been fiddling about, trying the whole slow bulk thing (1-2 pounds a month) for kicks!!

[tjoe]

HHF - It's not all that hard now to be honest. I just kinda do it. I guess the biggest pain is the cardio every day, but I am fortunate enough to be able to get it in with my crazy schedule.

thorra - The general consensus is that I should at least try one show and see what happens. Most seem to think I would do well and get hooked. Honestly the only part that scares me is the 90 sec night routine. Up there all by yourself, all eyes on you etc. I MAY give it a shot someday... no promises yet though. Glas to hear you are well! Keep at it bro!

Rear db laterals
15s x 20
20s x 15
25s x 10
30s x 12, 12

Cutler side laterals
30s x 10
40s x 10
45s x 10, 10 Actually felt real good today.

Front smith press (bar weight not inc.)
90 x 10
140 x 8
160 x 6
180(2 plates) x 6

Strict db side laterals (standing)
30s x 12, 12 and then 8 strict and 4 to the front for a little extra momentum.

Seated db press
60s x 10
80s x 8, 7 + 1 forced *Whoa! I was smoked!! Those 80s are heavier when it's your fifth movement.

Great day of training. Feel as though I moved some OK weight, got some good reps etc. Looking forward to arms tomorrow as usuall.

[tjoe]

right out of bed onnto the recumbant bike for 60 minutes
manual level 3 for the first 50 minutes and then level 2 for the last 10
HR was 115-127 during level 3 (higher toward the end, which is why I dropped to level 2)

Now its off to help set up for a church picnic, then it's off to trash my arms.

[tjoe]

Rope pdown as warm up
40 x 20, 20

Reverse grip bench *playing with a closer grip lately*
bar x 15
135 x 10
185 x 10
225 x 10, 10

EZ bar curl (close grip)
70 x 15
90 x 10
120 x 10, 10

1 arm OHExt
25 x 15
35 x 12, 12

1 arm preacher curls
30 x 15
40 x 10, 10

db skull crushers
30s x 15
40s x 10, 10

Incline db curl
25s x 15
30s x 10, 10

Rev grip pressdowns
120 x 15
160 x 10, 10

Real good day of training. Definately seems as though I'm getting leaner. Not a single twinge in either elbow today which is nice! Looking forward to my cheat meal tonight which will be.... ready....
McDonalds!! Can ya believe that! I think I'm just gettin 4 burgers and a large fry. Just want those carbs. Then I'll finish it off with the half of cantainer of B&J Phish Food I got in the freezer and a piece of some sort of cake I'm gonna grab at Walmart in 10 minutes
Good times!

[tjoe]

weight 194.7 @ 15.1%
which translates to....

weight.....down.....1.6lbs.
fat%........down....0.5%
fat..........down.....1.22lbs.
muscle.....down.....0.38lbs.

OK! A little better than last week! Things seem to be going well and back on track again after that little plateau. I haven't cracked the 15% range yet however the fat mass is now in the 20's rather than the 30's... that's cool I suppose. I will keep pretty much everything the same as I have been, oil in the shakes, 1oz almonds with my chicken etc. I have been using PB in the shake after I ttrain though. I figure good time for the few extra calories and the bit of carbs that are there.

So last night was a cheat meal and today is Sunday which means I woke up at about 8 and I'll be going to bed around 9:30 or so. That means I'll be eating every 2 hours or so to get all my meals in. What better day to try a NO FAT day! I know Dave uses them quite a bit (and probably more thought out) but I'm a give it a try today since my meals are close together and I won't get real hungry. Then I'll go back to my normal thing on Monday. A - could be a nice little shock to the system and B - I may not get cardio in today.

[tjoe]

Squats
bar x 20
135 x 10
225 x 5
315 x 3
405 x 1
475 x Holy crap!!! I had absolutely NO reversal!! It went from top to bottom in one controlled motion! Sunday was a good day for no fats because of the way I time my meals, however it was a very BAD day for no fats due to training legs on Monday!! Haha!
275 x 15 close stance for the quads. All the above sets were a bit wider than shoulder width.

45 degree sled (back rest up high)(feet high and shoulder width)
2 x 10
4 x 10
6 x 20

HS V-Squat
1 x 10
3 x 10
5 x 15

40 minutes on the tredmill
20 minutes at 3.5 mph flat
and then 20 minutes at 3.0 mph at 5% incline

[tjoe]

Perhaps the most depressing day I've had so far. Very disappointed with my numbers. I will stay on track however since I am getting closer to that point where I "usually fall off". To make it all worth while, I need to stick it out and see the final product! But boy, lemme tell you, nothing makes me want to eat more than a bad day of pressing...

Bench
bar x 20
135, 185, 225, 275, 300 all for 1 set of 5
then 300 again for 4 and a forced rep

Inc. db press
80s x 5
100s x 5
120s x 4 + 1 forced
100s x 12

Inc db fly (lower than the press)
30s x 12
40s x 12, 12

Inc bench press (higher than the press)
135 x 15, 14 + 1 forced

and I was smoked!

Finished, hit a few poses in the locker room (good thing those are looking better or it would have been a really bad day) and then hit the tredmill.
40 minutes
3.3 mph @ 3% incline

Nothing else to say today...

[dpd555]

this weeks averages:
196.3 @ 15.6%
so you don't have to look back...
That is EXACTLY the same as last week!!!
So the good, I didn't go backwards.
The bad I mad NO forward progress last week either.
Not sure what I'll change yet...

Hey tjoe,
You are looking great bro. Damn..nice cuts and your back is very solid.
Are you planning to compete?

What's your diet like- you still following Palumbo's Diet?
What are your macro ratios? (P/C/F)
I've been doing pretty good with 50/25/25

[tjoe]

Hey big D! Whats up? Takin time out to see how us little guys are doin'?
Thanks for the compliments bro! Means a lot comming from a monster.
Not planning a show yet but it is definately in the back of my head for sure. Never been under 12% though so it would be something completely new for me. I'll have to see how I am doing in a few weeks and go from there. Ron Harris really wants me to shoot for the NPC natrual that is being held in RI on Oct. 20th. He seems to think I would be ready by then. Me... I'm not so sure.

Yeah still doin the Palumbo thing. It is getting me leaner no doubt! Did notice a big dip in strength this week though. My fats may be a bit too low. But so goes the battle.

Thanks for checkin in and good luck with the rest of your prep! When is that show? pretty soon right?

[dpd555]

You'll be ready by Oct 20th. Your back already looks crazy, so once you bring your BF down to 7 or 8% you'll be unbeatable. And your structure looks very symmetrical- no real weak points.
So, how many grams of carb are you getting/day now on Palumbo's diet?
I need about 200/day to function, especially when doing cardio. I average about 250 to 300.
My show is on 9/15, so I'll keep cutting for another 5 weeks to get around 5%. I'll maintain that for the last 2 weeks and come in as full as possible between 230 and 235lbs. We'll see...it's my first show, so it's been a learning process

[tjoe]

Thanks for the vote of confidence and the kind words Dom. I am probably getting between 20-30 grams of carbs per day from various sources like what little is found in my pro powder and in Natrual PB etc. If I do actually do the show it would be my first as well. I am almost starting to lean towards doing it, just not 100% sure yet. Everyone else has a lot more confidence in me than I do. I guess that is half of being a BBer though, you always want to look better or be bigger or leaner etc. I will be posting another progress vid on youtube next wed (the 1st). We'll see how that looks compared to the last one.
As far as my cardio goes I keep my HR under 130 to burn primarily fat stores. According to Dave, if you go over that then your body wants to use glucose for fuel and since I don't eat any carbs it will make some... from muscle tissue! Can't affoard to lose any of that! What are you doing for cardio at this point? I shoot for 40-60 minutes 6-7 days a week.

[tjoe]

sweet it worked! Just figured out how to do that so I can stop posting links.
Anyway that was my set of 100s x 12 after my bad benching and my miserable 120s x 4+1.

[tjoe]

55 minutes on the tredmill
3.3 mph @ 3 % incline

[thorra]

Great pic and amazing shoulders/back, tjoe. Keep up the great work and I hope you're doing well.

[tjoe]

thorra - doing very well thanks. Thanks for the compliments as well. That pic is from last week sometime.

Wide grip chins
me x 5 sets of 10

HS iso lateral back (1 arm at a time)
plate x 10
plate and a quarter x 10
2 plates x 10
2 and a quarter x 7.5 in each arm
1 and a quarter x 12 (both arms same time)

1 arm db row (supported on bench)
80 x 10
100 x 10
120 x 10
70s x 15 (standing, both arms together)

Seated cable rows (close grip, long stretch like in pumping iron)
150 x 10
200 x 10
250(stack) x 8 not so pretty
dropped to 150 x 12 real tight no lean forward just all lats

Deadlifts
245 x 10
335 x 10
425 x 10

Tredmill
45 minutes
5 minutes at 3.3 mph flat
40 minutes @ 3.1 mph @ 4% incline

Good day altogether. Back was lit up! Great mind muscle link today, really focused for some reason. I felt good today actually. Like maybe fuller. I did double up my fats yesterday. Perhaps it was what I needed. Today I brought them back to normal again. We'll see how that plays out. Perhaps I nedd that "re-charge" every once in a while.

[pprivon]

Nice workout and nice avatar too!

From what I see I imagine you would do quite well in a BB competition if you kept on with this diet.

Very impressive!

[tjoe]

pprivon - Thanks bro. I'm tryin'. The show is not definate... just a posibility right now.

Seated db press
30s x 20
50s x 15
70s x 8
90s x 6, 6

Smith behind the head (bar weight not inc.)
50 x 15
100 x 12
150 x 8, 8

Cutler side laterals
30 x 15
45 x 12, 12

Strict standing side laterals
25s x 15, 15, 15

Bent db laterals
20s x 15, 15, 15

Rev pec dec
60 x 12
80 x 12, 12

NO CARDIO!! uh oh...
Great shoulder day though. Got some pics and a couple vids and everything felt real good. Diet was on point today as well. My first client was at 8 am instead of the usual 5 so I took the opportunity to sleep in for a change. Busy day and boom, no cardio. Will hit it tomorrow though... got a vid to shoot next week

[tjoe]

Smith shoulder press:


My version of cutler side laterals (well the last 4 reps anyway):


And some bent laterals for the all important rear delts:

[NuclearArms]

Thought I'd stop by over here. Interesting thread. Carry on.

[tjoe]

NA - Whats goin on? Thanks for checkin in. I had this journal before the "other site" started so I just kept it going.

Ez bar curls close grip
40 x 20
70 x 15
90 x 10
110 x 10
130 x 10

Str8 bar preacher
65 x 12
85 x 12
105 x 7

Seated db curls (alternating)
35s x 10
40s x 10
45s x 10
*all very strict and controlled since I already "moved weight"

Rope pressdowns
60 x 20
80 x 15
100 x 12 Started to loose the squeeze towards the end
switched to the cambered bar (close) and continued
130 x 10
160 x 10
190 (stack) x 10

Elbows out ext. (from westside barbell)
35s x 12
40s x 12
45s x 10
50s x 10
55s x 10

EZ bar OHExt. (close)
70 x 15
90 x 12
110 x 7 and a forced rep

Final pump (ez bar 70lbs.)
curls shoulder width x 20
OHExt. close grip x 20

Great day of arm training. Normal partner didn't make it as he has an infected tooth and is all f'd up. Brought my other partner and another guy I train with on occasion and he is also one of my regular clients. Good day all around though. Gonna try to get some cardio done while at work from noon til 4pm. We'll see how it goes.

K, Just got back from work and I was able to get my 60 minutes in on the tredmill. 3.0 mph the whole time and the first 30 minutes at 5% and the last 30 minutes at 6%. Only had 2 real quick interuptions. Got it done!

[tjoe]

195.2 @ 14.5%

weight......UP.........0.5lbs
fat%........down......0.6
fat...........down......1.1lbs.
muscle......UP.........1.6lbs.

Sweet! Good week. Now only if I could keep that progress going

Sunday - Cardio
60 minutes on the recumbant lifecycle
manual setting at level 3. HR remained between 120-128ish. Perfect! Just under the 130 mark.