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twoheadedboy
03-06-10, 11:26 am
You can title this "Unfinished Business" or "Life's a Journey, Not a Destination". From December through February through Rage's cutting contest, I focused on weight and body fat% through cardio and diet with secondary goals of lean muscle mass through strength training. Now my goals are reversed - I'd like to continue to lose body fat, but strength and lean mass are the focal points. My judgment points will be my lifts, the mirror, my waistline, and the scale in that order, but the lifts and my mirror are most of it; the waistline and scale should take care of themselves. First (short term), I want to be significantly stronger in the core lifts for the April Chicago ABC meet. Next (medium term), I want to look great for my 10 year high school reunion this year. Finally (long term) I want to be doing sets at a 945 raw total with sets at bodyweight for chins and standing BB presses. Chins are my most advanced lift (sets @ -40 right now), followed by bench (1/2 goal), deads (slightly less than 1/2 goal), press (slightly more than 1/3 goal), and squats (almost exactly 1/3 goal).

I will alternate 2 workouts:

Workout A

Bench 3x5
Chins 3x5
Seated Rows 3x5
Squat 3x5

Workout B

Press 3x5
Standing Rows 3x5
Dips 3x5
Deads 3x5

Weight or reps will be added every time until I hit my goals or until I no longer can, at which point reassessment will be necessary.

Here's what my supp stack will look like:

Pak/Omega/Flex/PM + (1g x 3 Vitamin C) + (1g x 1 Vitamin E)
4x5 Uni-Liver per day
Intra-Aid during workouts, Torrent post-lifting
Choco whey/natty PB/banana/oatmeal shake upon waking, casein before bed

I plan a 6 days on/1 off plan with weights + walking alternated with HIIT + walking, based on a Friday through Thursday week with Thursday as the off day.

Diet besides the shakes will include at least 2 whole food meals consisting of steak or chicken, sweet potato, and raw baby carrots or steamed broccoli. I will cut extra carbs out on Thursday by eliminating the banana from my morning shake and there will be no Intra-Aid since I'm not working out. Cheat meal will be dinner on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. Extra cheats will be minimal but "punished" by extra cardio.

Friday everything begins in earnest, I took a week off from the gym and I'm going to start going back on Monday. I'm pretty stoked to see how far and how fast this will take me...I feel like the last 14 months have been preparing me for this!

twoheadedboy
03-06-10, 11:31 am
Here's my last journey: http://forum.animalpak.com/showthread.php?t=28646 and ancient history: http://christophermhickman.blogspot.com/

twoheadedboy
03-10-10, 12:08 am
Got started a little early and worked a little different today...

Bench: warmups w/bar, 95, then 115x3x5
Deads: warmups w/95, 135, then 185x3x5
Squats: warmups w/bodyweight, 95, then 135x1 on Smith machine (since a group of dbags were hogging the ONE power rack at my gym, wasn't sure I would get to use it), then 115x2
Torrent, 1 hr walking @ 4.0 mph
100 hammer machine crunches @ 10 lbs

I like doing the cardio after Torrent to burn some of those carbs (gut feels pretty bloated) and get that protein-loaded blood circulating through the body, since I generally do full body workouts Rippetoe-style.

Took my Animal PM @ 10:15, going to bed at 11 with my casein shake, I can't wait to see how I feel in the morning!

Phil800101
03-10-10, 2:36 am
You know I'm down for this...

wedge
03-10-10, 2:55 pm
I'd say move Torrent to the end of the workout, after cardio. Torrent is meant to replenish your energy and feed your muscles. Maybe get some EAAs for during cardio. Add in some glutamine.

Phil800101
03-10-10, 3:09 pm
I'd say move Torrent to the end of the workout, after cardio. Torrent is meant to replenish your energy and feed your muscles. Maybe get some EAAs for during cardio. Add in some glutamine.

I agree. I would take aminos post-workout/before-during cardio, and then hit up the Torrent after the cardio. You want some of those carbs to go to the muscles, not to just be burned up by the cardio.

Myself, I take Nitro post-workout right before cardio, and then start slamming my Torrent as soon as I'm done.

twoheadedboy
03-10-10, 10:45 pm
Slept like a rock again on Animal PM...girlfriend states that's 2 nights in a row I didn't toss and turn, which again, never happens. Woke I definitely feel more rested. I have major major DOMS but that was my hardest workout in a week and a half...my legs were already feeling it during the walking after the squats.

I was going to do arms tonight but there's no way I'd get a worthwhile workout. Unfortunately, due to my schedule, that means I'm not going to be able to lift until Friday night now, but I'm going to get up early tomorrow and do some cardio at least. Then I'm going to try to compress the week a little bit and work out Sunday morning, then Monday night again to get on a more consistent Mon-Wed-Fri lifting schedule.

twoheadedboy
03-10-10, 11:02 pm
A 4.0 mph walk can barely be classified as cardio for me...maybe after 2 hours I'd start to get into that range, but I don't even feel anything for the 1st half hour. Usually I do about 5 mph on elliptical at 10/20 resistance when doing "cardio". My body is in the "fat loss" heart rate range the whole time at that speed (walking); I know because that's what I used throughout the cutting challenge (and recumbent bike to mix it up).

I love the Torrent profile, taste, and how it makes me feel compared to any other PWO I've tried, but I wish I could cut the carbs in half, make it close to 1:1 carbs to protein because I tend to eat too many carbs in other places in my diet, 50 from my protein shake is NOT where I want to waste them.

As far as a separate EAA supp, Torrent has 15 grams of Leucine and other EAA's does it not?

Phil800101
03-11-10, 2:20 am
Sounds like a good call to me bro. Better to get the extra rest than to half-ass it. Glad to hear that PM is working well for ya!

As for the aminos, they are there in Torrent. It's just that a dedicated amino supp tends to have more.

twoheadedboy
03-13-10, 2:24 am
Worked at the Peoria, IL Cardinal tonight. Definitely a different scene than the Channahon one. Something is up either with the assisted chin/dip machine there, or the one at my home gym, because the assistance needed is COMPLETELY different...

Chins/Dips supersetted -100x3x7
BB Press 75x3x6/EZ Curl Upright Rows 80x3x7 supersetted
BB Squats 120x3x5, warmups w/bodyweight and 95
1hr walking 4.0 mph

I'm still sick, which is ironic because I have dramatically increased my Vitamin C intake and Zinc (through Animal PM). Inability to talk is gone but it's morphed into a nasty sinus infection; still more annoying than debilitating. I am not yet noticing faster recovery from the supplement, but it could be because I'm sick. What I AM noticing is that I am much more "recharged" from sleep, whether I get 6 or 8 hours...I have that relaxed yet alert sense of well being, like vacation sleep, only every day.

Just got my backordered can from bb.com today, so they got restocked fast, that's pretty sweet. Goodnight.

Phil800101
03-13-10, 2:39 am
Killer session there Chris! Looks nice and intense, way to push through and get it done. Yeah, it's funny how similar machines can be so different in terms of resistance.

Hope you're feeling better soon bro! I've been feeling like ass myself.

twoheadedboy
03-16-10, 3:29 pm
Went to the doctor yesterday, as I've been sick for over a week now...what started as "garden variety voice scratchiness" (couldn't talk for 3 days, never happened to me before), turned into a sinus infection for 4 days, and then THAT went away and is now severe bronchitis. I've taken the last 2 days off of work to get better and not pass this on to anyone else, doctor has me on Albuterol, some sort of steroid, and Mucinex with a script for an antibiotic if it doesn't improve by the end of this week. After a couple of days of rest I'm feeling a lot better, at least it doesn't hurt to cough. I'm hoping to be ready to lift tonight but will probably skip the cardio, though I will do it pending how I feel. Sleep and diet have been totally messed up due to this besides being a day behind on training...ugh.

Phil800101
03-16-10, 9:16 pm
That sucks...hope you're feeling better soon!

twoheadedboy
03-17-10, 11:40 pm
Felt a lot better today, so it was time to go to work...at my job, AND the gym:

BB Bench: Barx10, 95x8, 120x3x5
Deads: 95x10, 135x10, 205x3x5
BB Squat: Bodyweightx10, 65x10, 95x8, 125x3x5
60 min walking @ 4.0 mph, no incline (after the squats this kept my HR in the mid-140's)

I was disappointed in my benches because of the rest/pause necessary in sets 2 and 3, so I took it out on my deads. Squats were AMAZING, I felt this warmth/tingle through my legs in the last set and rep #4 wasn't the best so I blew through rep #5 in form and intensity...I felt like I could put that fucking bar through the CEILING.

Just got home, my ass is still vibrating. Just took my PM, that berry smell is starting to become extremely enticing. I will casein up shortly before 11 and hit the sack.

Nix0r
03-18-10, 12:12 am
Awesome work, Chris!

Good to see some steady progress in here.

Phil800101
03-18-10, 3:04 am
Killer session Chris! Looks brutal.

sunny_max
03-18-10, 5:56 am
solid work buddy......looking good in here...keep up the hard work!

twoheadedboy
03-19-10, 1:02 am
Between training days recovery report...I'm feeling a lot better illness wise, but my muscle recovery is off the hook. If you didn't read above, in addition to incorporating Animal PM I'm also up to 2 - 3 1000mg Vitamin C doses and 1 1000mg Vitamin E dose per day in addition to Animal Pak, based on the recommended daily amounts and dosages in Bill Starr's phenomenal book "Only The Strongest Shall Survive". This combination of supps really has me hitting on all cylinders, I feel like I could go lift again despite repping the heaviest squats I've ever done! (incrementally, but still). I'm bowling phenomenally as well, shot 840 over 4 games Sunday and 717 (224-257-236) over 3 tonight for my first 700 series of the year and bringing that average back up in to the 200's again. I've gained a full mph on my shot since the beginning of Rage's contest.

Also, thanks for the support everyone. I don't always say it enough, but I always appreciate it.

Phil800101
03-19-10, 1:17 am
Fuckin' awesome bro! Damn, not too shabby...where do you bowl at? I don't get to bowl nearly as much as I would like to.

twoheadedboy
03-19-10, 7:24 am
Thanks! I bowl at Victory Lanes in Dwight on Thursdays and a travel league once a monthish on Sundays that hits Dwight, Morris, Peru, and Streator.

Phil800101
03-19-10, 8:47 am
Thanks! I bowl at Victory Lanes in Dwight on Thursdays and a travel league once a monthish on Sundays that hits Dwight, Morris, Peru, and Streator.

Cool.

twoheadedboy
03-20-10, 1:58 am
My posts will continue here for the next 30 days: http://forum.animalpak.com/showthread.php?t=30458

Phil800101
04-18-10, 9:51 pm
Hello!

twoheadedboy
04-18-10, 10:06 pm
Hey! Where have you been?!

twoheadedboy
04-18-10, 10:07 pm
Hey! Where have you been?!

N/M I see you answered that. Glad everything's ok.

twoheadedboy
04-19-10, 11:27 pm
Alright, 1st workout back here, let's start it off with some good numbers:

Chins -55x3x8
Dips -55x3x8
Press 65x3x5 (arms were dead after the first two, had to drop the weight)
BB Squats 10xbodyweight, 8x95, 6x115, 5x135, 5x145, 5x155

Felt really good doing those squats, I definitely have room for some more rapid improvement I think. I'll probably go up another 5 on Wednesday and then up to 165 Sunday, depending on how I feel. Definitely hitting Deads and Bench Wednesday.

Phil800101
04-20-10, 2:47 am
Sick work bro! Looking strong.

twoheadedboy
05-19-10, 11:42 pm
Today: 1 hr elliptical

What can I say? I totally fell off the wagon. Some would say that I had a legitimate reason (the sudden death of my mother), but other than the first week or so, I can't say that it is. Other stressors have distracted me as well - a coworker walked out without notice leaving me with most of the work, I'm moving in 2 weeks, I had a weekend trip planned long ago and every other weekend has been spent with family, girl troubles, etc. etc. The bottom line though is that training is not an activity to be pushed to the side, it is a part of life that should be next to only eating and sleeping. I've been really down on myself the last week especially, and today I finally got the nerve/pissed off enough to GO to the gym. Started out slow with some cardio and it felt great. My goal is to lift tomorrow night, hit some of everything. For practicality's sake I can't go too crazy even though my urge is just to go rip up one muscle group per day to get back in the swing of things...I'm helping a friend move this weekend. I'm going to take it slow over the next week and put myself in position to be able to work very hard come June 1.

It's not really my mom that's getting to me...there's a lot of things about my life with which I'm unsatisfied right now, and it all came to a head this past weekend. However, the one thing that I can control, and can follow me no matter what path I take, is my journey with Animal, training and eating. No matter what I do, that is there if I will just reach out and grab that. I need to remember that and take both comfort and motivation from that in the coming months as my life continues to change.

twoheadedboy
05-20-10, 11:05 pm
Just finished:

Squats: bodyweightx10, 95x5, 115x5, 115x5
Deads: 115x10, 185x5, 185x6, 185x8
Press: 65x3x8
Bench: 95x3x5
Chins: -85x10, -70x8, -70x6, -70x5

Obviously the weights used are disappointing, but you'll get that after a long layoff. I tried to use weights where I could manage great form and forceful reps and was pretty successful on that part. I also wanted to hit all the muscle groups, and feel I did that. The plan is cardio tomorrow night, help a friend move Saturday, off day Sunday, weights on Monday. I am not looking forward to the DOMS tomorrow, I can already feel the warmth of torn muscle fibers throughout my entire body. But it's a necessary evil and is good incentive to never stop training entirely.

twoheadedboy
05-21-10, 11:38 pm
1 hr of elliptical again tonight. I'm sore all over but it felt great to do the cardio, especially with my RATM mix on my mp3 player...

Yeah ya tryin' ta tire me, tire me
I can see you in front of me, front of me
Ya tryin' ta tire me, tire me
Why don't you get from in front of me?

mcbeast
05-21-10, 11:42 pm
Keep your head up brother. Times like these really define who you are. Take your time getting back into your lifts, the iron isnt going anywhere. If you need anything lemme know.

twoheadedboy
05-21-10, 11:48 pm
Thanks man, I appreciate it. I've taken it slow as long or longer than I could and now I'm ready to rip it. My job has been super stressful and working hard in the gym makes that go a lot easier. Plus I'm really busy the next 2 weeks so I gotta pack it in where I can. Come June, a lot of time will open up for me!

Phil800101
06-07-10, 10:56 pm
How are you doing Chris? What's new?

twoheadedboy
06-12-10, 1:12 am
Well, I'm back. Again. You can knock me down but I'm going to get back up, and here I am. I'm all moved now and my head is much more clear now. After dealing with a breakup, the death of my mother, a move, continued work stress, and a number of other issues over the past few months, all I've wanted to do is come home and play guitar and read and eat poorly. And that's mostly what I did. I'm happy to say that it didn't go too far out of control as I still look pretty good, but my strength is not what it was. This will change.

I still have some commitments to meet over the next few weeks but I am back in the gym mentality and I'm going to work around them as much as I can. Without further adieu, here's today:

Deads: 10x135, 3x5x185
Press: 10x45, 3x5x65
Chins: -100x10, -70x3x5
Squats: bodyweight x 10, 95x3x5

Took it pretty easy because I thought I took it easy last time, and ended up being sore for almost a week. I was super strict with form, however. I want to do cardio tomorrow and lift again Sunday, plus have other things I want to do, so I can't afford to make that mistake. There's no time like the present to fulfill your potential.

Anywho, thanks for checking in guys. I'm back, for real this time. I think.

twoheadedboy
06-12-10, 12:38 pm
1 hr elliptical + 4x25 10lb Hammer MTS crunches

A little sore but not ridiculously so. Barring some massive DOMS later tonight/tomorrow morning, we are on task to lift again.

Phil800101
06-13-10, 4:07 am
Solid work my man! Glad to see you back.

No worries bro, any one of those would be a huge load for anyone's plate, let alone all of them.

twoheadedboy
06-13-10, 5:04 pm
Today was a good day, as far as progress in getting back to where I was pre-break.

Seated rows: 95x10, 140x5, 125x5x2
Bench: Barx10, 95x5x2, 105x5
Dips: -85x10, -55x5x2
Squats: Bodyweightx10, 115x5x3
1 hour walking @ 3.5mph

DOMS did ramp up last night and into this morning but not too bad...soreness is at about a 5 and much to my delight, it did not hinder my abilities in the gym, just something that is "there" all the time at the moment. I tweaked my squat form today and moved my feet a little wider, the bar a little lower, and bent at the waist more and I feel like I gained 50% more power...thought about putting more weight on the bar but as squats were the one lift I was repeating in less than 48 hrs and I wanted to do cardio today and tomorrow, I decided to just stick with what I had. I may go straight back to 135 next time.

As I stated, the plan is cardio and abs tomorrow, then Tuesday will be an off day as I'm going to the Cards/Mariners with a friend that's "in town" (Peoria via Portland), then I hope to hit Wed/Thur/Fri/Sat as I probably will not be back in time Sunday to work out after Cubs/Sox with my dad Saturday night. Phew!

Phil800101
06-14-10, 4:10 am
Nice work bro! Looks like you really killed it.

Sounds like a plan.

wedge
06-14-10, 10:20 pm
Good to see you back in the gym. Stay strong bro.

twoheadedboy
06-14-10, 10:21 pm
Thanks Wedge!

Today: 1 hr elliptical, 20x5 10lb Hammer MTS crunches.

Tomorrow: off day/Mariners v. Cards!

Perfect timing, as I'm pretty sore all over.

twoheadedboy
06-16-10, 11:49 pm
Now we're getting somewhere....

Deads: 135x10, 185x8, 225x5x3
Press: barx10, 55x8, 65x6, 75x5x3
Chins: -100x10, -85x8, -70x5x3
Squats: bodyweightx10, 95x8, 135x5x3

I really pushed it on the deads and squats, because I really want to get back to where I was mid-April before 90% of the bad stuff went down...then continue onwards and upwards from there, of course. I've been on a sub-optimal "vacation diet" the past couple of days and not had sufficient sleep, so that made it all the more impressive...but I know after that workload, I'd better eat well and get good sleep. I feel like there's a number of things in my life that are about to break through in a positive way so long as I take care of business and keep in check what I can, and this is one of the areas where I need to keep chugging.

Nix0r
06-17-10, 12:04 am
Solid work in here, Chris! Bet you're gonna be feeling that one tomorrow.

twoheadedboy
06-17-10, 10:57 pm
Surprise surprise, I feel pretty good. Almost decided to compress the schedule a bit and lift again today, but decided to stick to the plan.

Hammer MTS Crunches 10 lbsx20x6
1 hr elliptical

Done and done. Tomorrow night will be weights. I'm going to spend my off day Sunday golfing with my dad, so I'm looking forward to that.

Phil800101
06-18-10, 1:29 am
Killer sessions there Chris! Keep it up bro.

twoheadedboy
06-18-10, 10:50 pm
No pink pills were involved in this training session, but some purple ones aren't far away!

Rows: 80x10, 100x8, 120x6, 140x5, 130x5x2
Bench: 55x10, 85x8, 115x3, 115x2x6
Dips: -100x10, -85x8, -70x6, -55x5x3
Squats: bodyweightx10, 95x8, 115x6, 135x5x3

Notes: 115 was apparently too much weight on the bench as I was only able to do triples and doubles with it, but I decided I was going to get 15 reps done regardless of the multipliers. Squats were crazy crazy hard but I made it...and could barely walk back to the locker room/my car/my apt afterward, but it was worth it.

Diet was not good today and work was particularly long and stressful, so I'm very happy with this session.

Phil800101
06-19-10, 10:58 am
Sick work my man! Looks brutal, way to push through and get it done.

twoheadedboy
06-19-10, 3:42 pm
1 hr elliptical
Hammer MTS Crunches @ 10 lbs 2x30, 4x20, 1x10
Tomorrow rest day.

mcbeast
06-19-10, 3:44 pm
60 Minutes on the elliptical=supreme boredom!

lol

twoheadedboy
06-19-10, 3:52 pm
That's why I have my 22gb "ipod equivalent", on which I listened to Local H "Ham Fisted" and Rage Against the Machine "Battle of Los Angeles" while watching the Cubs game :D

Phil800101
06-21-10, 12:27 am
Cardio sucks.

twoheadedboy
06-21-10, 11:19 pm
Ok, hopefully you cardio h8ers dig this a little more...

Deads: 135x10, 185x8, 235x5x3
Press: Barx10, 55x8, 70x6, 80x4, 80x3x3, 80x2
Squats: Bodyweightx10, 95x10, 115x6, 140x5x3
Chins: -100x10, -85x6, -55x5x3

Focus was unbelievable today, especially during squats...all I knew was down, then up. I noticed that when I was really digging in to push that bar up, I was pulling the bar down tight against my back, is this normal/good/bad? Form was definitely way better, I can definitely tell the difference in the assisting muscles and tendons compared to my last squat session.

I couldn't believe how much easier chins were today, especially when making it my last exercise...I'm wondering if I just didn't allow enough rest between press and chins last time. Or maybe this is a better alternating pattern for me than starting with deads and finishing with squats. I like that for what the deads and squats do at those stages of the session but if it's going to weaken me for one of the other lifts then maybe it's not worth it?

Nix0r
06-22-10, 12:29 am
Nice work in here! Good to see some things clicking for you!

Phil800101
06-22-10, 11:36 pm
Killer session my man! Looking strong.

twoheadedboy
06-22-10, 11:39 pm
Thanks everybody!

Tonight:

Hammer MTS Crunches 10lbsx30x6
Elliptical - 1hr, increased to the "11" resistance setting (out of 20 possible). Done and done, excited to bench and squat tomorrow! My recovery has been absolutely INSANE...I feel better after one day than I used to after 2 with no cardio in between in the past. I am definitely using that to my advantage to push the intensity up and up each time out.

Phil800101
06-23-10, 12:22 am
Awesome bro! Gad to hear it.

twoheadedboy
06-23-10, 10:54 pm
Tonight:

Seated V-bar Rows: 85x10, 100x8, 120x6, 140x5x3
Bench: barx10, 85x7, 115x5x2, 115x4x1*, 115x1, 95x7
Dips: -85x10, -70x8, -55x6, -40x5x3
Squats: bodyweightx10, 95x8, 115x6, 145x5x3

I put a star by that last rep at 115 on the bench because I think if I had a spotter, I could have made it the actual 115x5x3. Without a spotter, I wasn't going to risk injury so I racked the weight for a little bit before getting that last rep.

I'm looking great (down to 181) and feeling strong, but I'm feeling pretty banged up. I have a twinge in my right shoulder/lat area, I slammed a drawer shut on my left middle finger today at work, and my legs were definitely not done recovering from my last squat session. In fact, based on the difficulty of doing the above lifts with the form I want, the only one that will go up in weight next time will be the bench press. I'm hoping I'm able to do squats again Friday but based on the way my legs feel that's in jeopardy. They were barking during the 115 set and started hurting during the 1st 145 set, but I kept going after checking my range of motion between each set. I was going to do cardio tonight (walking, NOT elliptical) since I can't go to the gym tomorrow night but it just wasn't possible, so I plan on hitting the gym @ open tomorrow to get that hour out of the way. I also decided that Juggernaut-esque intake would probably aide in my recovery efforts, so I slammed my Torrent at the gym, drove across the parking lot to Jimmy John's and got a roast beef sandwich and ate that in the car, drove home and had a 10 oz skim milk/choco protein shake, and finished that off with 5 Uni-Livers, another Vitamin C, and another Cissus cap. PM will be coming at 10:30 and bed as well, as the alarm for the gym will be calling at 4:30.

Phil800101
06-24-10, 10:14 pm
Sick work there Chris! Looks brutal, good call with the bench.

wedge
06-25-10, 12:27 am
Way to bust ass on the squats and deads. It'll only help you in the long run.

twoheadedboy
06-28-10, 11:47 pm
Busy Thursday, gassed Friday, busy Saturday, decided to skip Sunday to start a Mon - Sat 6 day cycle and go in to the week strong. 10+ hour work day didn't help, but I still had a pretty good workout...

Deads: 135x10, 175x8, 215x6, 245x5x3
Press: 45x10, 60x8, 75x6, 80x3x4, 85x2
Squats: bodyweightx10, 85x8, 115x6, 150x5x3
Chins: -85x10, -75x8, -65x6, -55x5x3

Deads and squats are getting epically hard...I'm feeling them in my bones, my whole body really, not just the muscles. It's good but the amount of effort and concentration required is unreal. Makes me have that much more respect for the people in those You Tube videos pulling 1k, I mean I know they are 2x my size with years and years of training but I'm pretty sure there's no amount of training that makes lifting 1k off the ground easy!

Mid-term goal date: 9/11. That's the day of BOTH my high school reunions now (the one where all my friends are, and the one I spent the last 2 years of school at and actually graduated from). I want to blow people away who only knew me as a skinny kid, and I think I have the time to do that considering the progress made thus far.

Phil800101
06-29-10, 12:34 am
Killer session bro! Looks brutal. Good call with the reset.

Definitely sounds doable to me.

Nix0r
06-29-10, 8:08 am
Nice work! You're gonna be reppin' 3 plates on deads in no time.

twoheadedboy
06-29-10, 9:11 pm
Thanks guys!

Tonight: 1 hr elliptical, 10lbsx30x7 Hammer MTS Crunches

Phil800101
06-29-10, 11:17 pm
Solid work Chris! Keep it up.

twoheadedboy
06-30-10, 9:37 pm
Rows: 100x10, 120x8, 140x6, 160x5x3*, 120x4**, 140x4
Squats: bodyweightx10, 95x8, 125x6, 150x5x3
Bench: barx10, 75x8, 100x6, 120x4, 120x3x3, 120x2, 95x8
Dips: -85x10, -70x8, -55x6, -40x5x3, -55x4

*This was too heavy. I used more back than I'm wanting to use in this movement.
**I meant to do 140 the whole time for this last set, realized after 4 reps that I set it wrong, heh.

I'm trying to head straight to the gym after work, which means packing my shit before work, but also means I'm working out more during "prime time". So instead of doing squats at the end as I like to do, I do squats when I spy an opening at the one power rack. Today that meant stopping rows halfway through to go do squats.

This was a good workout, maybe didn't have the intensity of Monday, but honestly I'm glad because I just wanted to curl up and die that time. One thing I'm struggling with is achieving appropriate volume. I'm getting to a point where I have no more reps at my work weight (e.g. 120 on benches) but there's still work to do in my body, so I'm going back lighter and basically doing another set to failure. I don't know if this is the best approach; any suggestions in this area would be appreciated.

Phil800101
07-01-10, 1:46 pm
Killer session my man! Good stuff.

That's one way to do it. Another is to try pyramiding the weights, go up to a peak and then go down. Every few weeks I'll do a volume week, where I'll do repeated sets with the same weight and very high reps. As the saying goes, there's more than one way to kill a cat...I would try out some different methods and see what works best. Oftentimes with weights, rotating through multiple methods works quite well.

twoheadedboy
07-01-10, 9:50 pm
Tonight: 1 hr elliptical to a Local H mix consisting mostly of "As Good As Dead" and "Here Comes the Zoo", 10lbsx40x6 Hammer MTS Crunches. 300 reps on that is within my sights and another new intensity record on the cardio; I use the elliptical with the, um, cross country skis I guess? Precor machine, set to 11 (out of 20) resistance, maintained 133 rpms the whole hour for a 700 calorie burn for the hour according to the machine, 1000 according to my watch, 5.1 miles total. Felt a little sick but good at the end.

Thanks for the info Phil. It's been a weird adjustment; for a long time 3x5 sets at my max working weight was enough to gas me on that movement. Now on some of my exercises I can't go higher in weight or add sets or reps at that weight, but I can definitely do more if I drop the weight down. Mostly on benches, presses, and rows I notice this.

Phil800101
07-01-10, 10:46 pm
Cardio sucks.

No problem bro. We all need to make adjustments, all part of the game.

twoheadedboy
07-02-10, 11:29 pm
Deads: 135x10, 175x8, 215x6, 245x5x3*
Squats: bodyweightx10, 95x8, 125x6, 145x5**, 155x6, 155x5x2
Press: 45x10, 60x8, 70x6, 75x4x4
Chins: -85x10, -75x8, -65x6, -55x5x3, -70x4

*Tweaked the right side of my back on the last 2 reps of deads, we'll see how that turns out
**145 went up super easy, which is still great considering that was my max not very long ago. Knew my legs were feeling great coming in to tonight but not THAT great. Fixed the error and yep, 155 was deathly hard.

Cardio tomorrow will be day 6 in a row, then rest on Sunday.

Phil800101
07-03-10, 1:16 am
Nice work Chris! Looking strong. Hope the back is ok.

twoheadedboy
07-03-10, 6:39 pm
Today: 1 hr elliptical, 30x9 10lb Hammer MTS crunches

Back is feeling pretty ripped up today, but just extra sore not injured. I'll see how I feel Monday but I may do rows instead of deads on Monday, contrary to the original plan. Also, I'm not going to be able to get to the gym Friday or Saturday so I have that to contend with.

Phil800101
07-03-10, 8:09 pm
Solid work bro! Glad to hear the back is ok, sounds like a plan for Monday.

twoheadedboy
07-05-10, 8:29 pm
Today:

Rows: 100x10, 120x8, 140x6, 160x5x3 (still too much back but better than last time), 120x7
Squats: bodyweightx10, 95x8, 125x6, 155x5x3
Bench: barx10, 75x8, 95x6, 115x5x3, 95x6
Hammer MTS Crunches 40x4

I decided I'm going to try lifting all 4 days this week and see how it turns out. I'll hit squats again on Thursday along with deads, press Tuesday and Thursday, chins Tuesday, dips with bench again on Wednesday, and cardio Tuesday and Wednesday with 4x40 crunches at the end every day. With 2 full days off on Friday and Saturday, and a 5 day week next week followed by another 2 days off; I figure I can afford to push my volume a bit for the time I have and get 5 days worth of training done in 4 (and 6 days in 5 next week). That said, I'm going to make absolutely sure that the calories stay up and the sleep as well...I'm not worried about staying where I am as far as fat in this period, just continuing my gains in lifting while not getting injured or worn down.

wedge
07-05-10, 9:29 pm
Looks like you have some taxation going on in here. Impressive.
If you don't know what I'm talking about, look up Juggernaut's increased taxation thread.

twoheadedboy
07-05-10, 9:40 pm
The thread is over 140 pages...is there a cliff notes somewhere? LOL

I just try to make sure that I get every effective rep I can out of my body before I leave the gym. That doesn't necessarily mean drop sets, because I generally want to be doing the same movement 2 - 4 days later and drop sets when pushing up the weight used nearly constantly might necessitate a week of recovery from past experience. I try to do 3 progressively heavy warmup sets then 3 work sets of 5ish reps, and if my muscles aren't done, I bang out a bunch more reps at a lighter weight. I've been tinkering with this for a couple of weeks and I've liked it a lot.

twoheadedboy
07-06-10, 10:13 pm
Today: off

Not sure what happened exactly, but I went to bed at 10pm last night, everything was normal, but I woke up at 3am and have been in some sort of catatonic sleep state most of the day. Called in to work, finally got up and got some grub mid-afternoon, then came back and slept some more earlier this evening. Only thing I can compare it to was when I had mono in high school, but I don't think it's that. I'm just going to have to reboot tomorrow and play it by ear.

wedge
07-08-10, 2:30 pm
Cliff notes: "INCREASED TAXATION now means INCREASING TAXATION on muscle fibers through the addition of more working sets. (Can you get any more meat head?) The celebration goes like this, WE (yup, all of you) add a few more sets to your routine on your best mass builders and in doing so, we change a negative title into a positive one! (and pack on some more mass...always a good thing)"-Juggernaut.

twoheadedboy
07-14-10, 7:51 am
Alright. The business of my mother's memorial is behind me. 2 cans each of Test and Stak and a can of M-Stak are staring me in the face in my kitchen, as well as a can of Pump and a new 5 lb tub of protein. I've developed a diet plan, and after analyzing my own body I'm going to adjust to a heavy>medium>light system, with 1x5 deads on Sun (rows the rest of the week) and squats Sun/Thur for minimal breakdown and max gains.

Going to do some basic lifting tonight and tomorrow, then I'm gone Friday and Saturday for NASCAR with my dad.

It'll be 8 weeks until my high school reunion, and 10 weeks until the plane pull. Let's do this.

twoheadedboy
07-15-10, 11:32 pm
Consider me an Animal Pump convert.

Deads: 135x10, 165x8, 195x6, 225x5, 250x5
Press: 45x10, 55x8, 65x6, 75x5, 80x5
Squats: bodyweightx10, 95x8, 135x6, 160x5
Chins: 10x-85, 8x-70, 6x-55, 5x-50
supersetted with
Dips: 10x-70, 8x-55, 6x-50, 5x-35

I felt like I could have done 170 on the squats but decided not to push it...maybe Sunday. My focus was great, but my endurance was phenomenal and my pump ridiculous. I felt like I was finishing those 4th, 5th, and 6th reps with much more authority, and looking at my arms in the locker room I had new veins all over the place and my bicep/tricep/shoulder area seemed to be 1/3 bigger than I had ever seen it before. The downside is that I'm a little sick to my stomach. I start my Stak/Test for 42 days followed by M-Stak for 21 days regimen Sunday.

I'm thinking about kicking up the rows a notch and finishing my workouts with heavy statics and negatives to train for the plane pull...getting a staff member to assist me in getting a heavier weight pulled, then holding it or slowly racking it. Not quite HRT but the next best thing. Do you guys think that would be good work to train for the plane pull? I'm not even sure what weight I would begin with, maybe 225 since I rep at 160?

I'm really really excited for 9/25!

Nix0r
07-16-10, 8:07 pm
Killer work, Chris! So excited for that plane pull.

twoheadedboy
07-17-10, 4:31 pm
Today @ hotel in Collinsville, IL:

5 min elliptical>25 min treadmill @ 3.0mph>25min recumbent bike totaling 6 miles>35 min treadmill @ 3.0 mph

Nothing too serious since I'll be outside again today and the heat index is about 104. Hopefully I get home early enough tomorrow to hit the weights.

twoheadedboy
07-18-10, 5:34 pm
Today:

BB Bench: 65x10, 95x7, 115x5x3
Seated Chest Press: 130x2, 130x0, 125x0
BB Bench: 95x7
Rows: 100x10, 120x8, 140x6, 160x5 (rest/pause @3), 160x4, 160x3x2, 120x8
Squats: bodyweightx10, 95x8, 135x6, 165x5
Leg Press: 170x2, 210x5, 130x10

Note: First workout on Test and Stak, second on Pump.

I'm seeing if adding to my volume with machine work at weights heavier than I am currently successfully doing with barbells will help me bust plateaus. However, this only being my second workout with Pump, plateaus and squats have no relation to each other...I feel like I have limitless potential here and will be able to add weight every session for a while. That 165 went up with less effort than I might have thought possible two weeks ago and my form was great too...I feel like 185 by the end of next week is in reach. I've always felt like my squat progress was lagging behind some of my other lifts, especially deads, and now it's really starting to catch up. Makes me really excited for that every other day to come along.

Nix0r
07-19-10, 7:54 pm
Awesome work in here, man. Also, great to hear about your squat progress. Keep on killing it.

twoheadedboy
07-19-10, 10:14 pm
Today: 10(sets)x30(reps)x10(lbs) Hammer machine crunches
1 hr elliptical

That's the first time I've hit 300 in a session for the abs. Felt good.

Feeling good on Test and Stak. Can't wait for my deads and squats tomorrow, oh man.

twoheadedboy
07-20-10, 8:35 pm
**BEAST MODE ACTIVATE**

Dips: -70x10, -55x8, -40x6, -25x5
Deads: 135x10, 185x8, 225x6, 275x5
Presses: 45x10, 55x8, 65x6, 85x4, 85x0, 55x8
Squats: bodyweightx10, 95x8, 135x6, 185x3x2

At this stage I have a plan for what lifts I will do at each session, how they complement my last session, and how they will lead in to the next session, but the number I target for my working set(s) is only a suggestion...I let the workout dictate what the final weight will be on the bar.

With that in mind...that 225 dead lift went up so easy, I decided to try the 275 on the mindset that, I know I can do it at least once. I did it all 5 times without a pause. Dips were just the next progression. Presses are still progressing slowly but surely, such a difficult lift for me. Squats were like deads...after the 95's I took a bathroom break and I felt like I was floating along the ground walking back and forth to the locker room, so I decided I was going to push that work set hard. I did not get fantastic depth at 185 but I still did it!

If this is a placebo effect to Test/Stak/Pump then hook me up with some more placebo! Also, I have to give a shout out to Universal for selecting me as one of the winners of Torrent vs. Torrent Zero at bodybuilding.com...I have a tub of watermelon on its way to me very shortly and I can't wait to try it!

C.Coronato
07-21-10, 9:32 am
Everything looks good in here my man, enjoy the winnings!

wedge
07-21-10, 12:08 pm
Still busting ass in here bro. Good to see.
Enjoy the watermelon Torrent. Word on the street is it is good tasting.

twoheadedboy
07-21-10, 12:27 pm
Thanks everybody!

One thing I have noticed since starting Test+Stak+Pump is that a couple of hours (I'm guessing after the Pump wears off) I have an increased level of soreness. However the PM seems to be having a synergistic effect as I am noticing a much higher level of recovery after a good night's rest than I was previously.

Also to all readers - make sure you represent for Universal at the bodybuilding.com supplement awards, voting going on right now. I know I did.

twoheadedboy
07-21-10, 12:35 pm
Also, I'm up to 184 but I am definitely leaner than I was at 182, so that's a good sign.

Nix0r
07-21-10, 8:01 pm
Chris, you have had some absolutely funk-nasty progress since we lifted at Jakked.

Awesome stuff, sir.

twoheadedboy
07-21-10, 8:09 pm
Oh man, I know, thanks...seems so long ago....

twoheadedboy
07-21-10, 10:44 pm
Tonight: 1 hr elliptical, over 5 miles 700 calories burned according to the machine, ho hum.

twoheadedboy
07-22-10, 10:31 pm
Tonight I decided to take it down a notch and concentrate on form and volume, to cap out a long hard week at the gym and not be too burnt going into some important weekend events...

Rows: 100x10, 120x10x3
Bench: barx10, 75x10, 105x10, 95x8, 75x10
Squats: bodyweightx10, 95x10, 135x5x5
Chins: -100x10, -90x10, -80x10, -70x10

twoheadedboy
07-24-10, 7:22 pm
Off day Friday...1 hr elliptical today. I upped the intensity about 10% and did not utilize my arms (neither to hold on nor to steady myself) to give myself more of an ab work out.

Test/Stak results - I still feel and look lean and yet I've gained another 2 lbs...this is ridiculous!

twoheadedboy
07-25-10, 7:12 pm
Today I didn't feel too great...part of the problem was that I woke up at 2:30pm and had to get to the gym by 4pm with a 20 minute commute to have a reasonable shot at getting my full workout in. I was up until 7am last night at the boat, closed down the Hold 'Em table to the tune of $155. I also had a date Friday night. Needless to say, it's been a crazy weekend even by my standards.

Packing a meal, Pak, Test, Stak, and Pump in before my workout was a challenge but I got it done. Here are the results:

Deads: 135x10, 185x10, 225x10, 285x5 (rest/pause after 3)
Press: 45x10, 55x8, 65x6, 85x5 (no pauses, fuck yeah), 65x10 (another fuck yeah)
Squats: bodyweightx10, 95x8, 135x6, 185x3x2 (much better depth this time but still couldn't bang out 5 in a row)
Dips: -70x10, -55x8, -40x6, -20x5, -40x8

Deads and squats were HARD today. Not that they're not hard every day, just that I needed to dig a little deeper even during my middle sets. I blew those presses through the ceiling, super super strong today. Dips are becoming a challenge more because there is so little resistance to the knee pad that my legs keep sliding off. I'm almost wondering if I should switch to the tricep pressdown machine until I get about 20 lbs over bodyweight, then go back to dips at bodyweight?

Also I'm trying to decide if my Tuesday squats should be at 185 again or if I should go to 190 or 195. As usual I will play it by ear.

twoheadedboy
07-26-10, 10:53 pm
1 hr elliptical, ho hum.

I don't know if it's the Test, the Stak, or both (I'm thinking the 1st), but my cardio intensity has increased by 10% and my sweat by about 50%...I haven't sweat like this since I was a lard butt. I'm thinking a Test + Cuts stack could be the most incredible cutting combination ever devised and may be attempted down the road, maybe Q1 2011...

I'm still at a +4 lb differential since beginning the Test + Stak stack. I'm gaining weight every day and it's almost all muscle...some stubborn tummy/love handle/moob fat seems to be going away and my shoulders and quads especially are getting hyooge (for me).

One other (weird) observation....Stak smells TERRIBLE and Test smells a little like chocolate. Just a couple of things I've noticed. Also my newest can of PM has orange/natural colored pills in it instead of all white/blue/purple, that was weird. That's all for tonight.

twoheadedboy
07-27-10, 10:21 pm
Tonight:

Squats: bodyweightx10, 100x8, 145x6, 190x4, 190x2
Rows: 100x10, 120x8, 140x6, 160x5, 120x8
Bench: 45x10, 70x8, 95x6, 120x5, 135x1x4 chest press machine, 100x8
Chins: -65x10, -55x8, -45x6, -35x5, -70x7

Happy with the progress with everything except rows. I don't understand how my deads can explode and I can keep good steady increases in my chins, but my rows stay fairly stagnant. I had a fantastic bicep pump after my rows today, I will say that. I'm going to stay at 160 until I start banging my palms against my chest like the other weights.

Sunday is the day...I should hit 300 on deads and 200 on squat. Those are HUGE milestones for me.

twoheadedboy
07-28-10, 8:45 pm
Another hr of elliptical in the can, and I'm done with that until Saturday, w00t. Up to 187 for +5 weight gain since starting Test+Stak+Pump!

twoheadedboy
07-29-10, 8:35 pm
I was back down to 186 this morning, which is hilarious because I had a HUGE steak dinner last night...9 oz sirloin w/mushrooms, salad w/pepperoni, and cottage cheese. Not the cleanest meal in the world but I was feeling very beat down after that cardio last night...most certainly because I only had about 10 - 12 hours of sleep in the last 2 days combined. I rectified that last night too, ate big and clean today, and here's the end result:

Deads: 135x10, 190x8, 235x6, 295x5
Press: 45x10, 55x8, 65x6, 90x3x2, 65x8, 45x10
Squats: bodyweightx10, 95x8, 145x6, 195x3x2, 155x5
Dips: -55x10, -45x8, -35x6, -15x5, -0x1, -55x10

Yeah!!! Very happy with this session. I even feel like there's more volume to be had, but I want to make sure I can go up higher in weights again on Sunday so I left some sets at the gym today. The only thing I didn't like was that I could not get "comfortable" on the first 195 set, my bar position was very unstable the whole time and I never got into a rhythm. This is why I backed down to 155 and killed that set with the best form I could do, only one breath separating rep 4 and 5 otherwise no stopping.

twoheadedboy
08-01-10, 6:52 pm
Aright fellas:

Deads: 135x10, 185x8, 225x6, 275x4, 315x2
Bench: 45x10, 75x8, 95x6, 125x5, Chest Press 140x2, 140x0, back to bench 100x8
Squats: bodyweightx10, 95x8, 135x6, 170x4, 205x2
Chins: -60x10, -50x8, -40x6, -30x4, -30x2, -55x8, -70x8

Due to my schedule I'm not going to be doing any cardio for the next week. But I will be lifting every other day without a 2 day break. Saturday won't be a gym day but I will be moving furniture all day at my dad's so I'm counting it. Tuesday and Thursday will be about adding volume without pushing the max weight higher, all week will be about a clean bulk diet, and Saturday and Sunday will be about cutting down a little bit. I have next Monday as a vacation day but may make that my off day to get back on the Sun/Tue/Thur schedule, get some extra rest (will be outside at Lollapalooza all day and evening Sunday on top of everything else), and get some other shit done.

Phil800101
08-05-10, 12:58 pm
What's going on my man? How are things?

twoheadedboy
08-05-10, 1:40 pm
I was going to ask the same thing! Incredibly busy week, business trip today, Soundgarden tonight, travel day Saturday, Lollapalooza Sunday, travel day Monday. I'm hoping to lift Monday night but it's going to be dicey between now and then....

Phil800101
08-05-10, 3:09 pm
Sounds good. I bet Soundgarden will be awesome.

twoheadedboy
08-15-10, 8:53 pm
Today -

Deads: 135x10, 185x8, 225x6, 315x5
Bench: 45x10, 75x8, 105x6, 125x5, chest press 135x2, 135x0, 130x1, 130x0, 125x2...back to bench 95x10
Dips: -55x10, -45x8, -35x6, -25x5 (these were hard)
Squats: bodyweightx10, 95x8, 135x6, 185x5

Great to be back. I feel terrible for not working out over the past week or so but my schedule has just been insane, I got ridiculously sunburned right where I would put the bar for squats last Sunday (still burned), and...well those are my only excuses. So for my return I showed deads who's boss and shredded my chest and tris. Squats are where I definitely noticed the fact that I hadn't worked out...deads were probably ok because I lifted furniture for a few hours last Saturday and for about a half hour this Saturday. I will go up again next week but Tue/Thur will be dedicated to seated row volume...they will be last and I'm going to do drop sets until I can't grab the T-bar anymore.

How's everyone else in the Animal world? Soundgarden was amazing, Lollapalooza was great, I have a new girlfriend who has had a similar journey to mine in that she wasn't living up to her potential in her early 20's and then started training intensely as a part of a life changing process. She's training for a half marathon and wants to do a full next year...I'm getting her in to strength training and hooking her up with Intra Aid to replace Gatorade...just gotta get her past her strict vegetarianism :D Work is insane and I have shit going on that's planned every weekend from now until the beginning of October, but overall life is pretty good right now.

Nix0r
08-15-10, 9:35 pm
Awesome work, Chris! Way to smoke those deads.

twoheadedboy
08-19-10, 1:32 am
Took an extra day off, the squats and deads Sunday were just killer. My weekend is insane with a trip to Iowa Friday night, coming back to Peoria for a funeral Saturday morning, and I'll be in Bloomington until Sunday morning, so the likelihood of me getting back to the gym before Sunday is slim. With that in mind, I decided to just blow non-squat volume out of the water...squats I'm still trying to go up 10 lbs per session to get up to 205, then work on reps.

Anyway, here we go:

V-bar seated rows: 85x10, 100x10, 120x10 (rest/pause @ 8), 140x5x3, 100x15
Squats: bodyweightx10, 95x8, 135x6, 195x3x2
Standing BB Press: 45x10, 55x10, 65x10 (rest/pause @ 8), 85x4
*huge cramp in my left foot's arch*
Seated BB Press: 65x6, 45x10
Chins: -75x10, -65x10, -55x10 (rest/pause @ 7), -45x5, -85x11 (because these amps go to 11)

I was pretty much smoked by the time I started chins but I did them anyway, and a lot of them, just a little bit of a lower weight than usual.

Thanks to smart shopping, I got 2 cans of Pak, 3 cans of PM, a tub of Intra Aid, a can of Omega, and a "Stand Your Ground" tee specifically for the Plane Pull (unless something gets whipped up for the occasion by corporate) for less than $200 shipped. I'm pretty pumped about that.

Alright, check ya all later. Time for PM and this as my soundtrack: http://tv.gawker.com/5614901/what-happens-when-you-slow-down-a-justin-bieber-song-by-800

wedge
08-19-10, 10:40 am
You know, every time I stop in here, I see the numbers going up. Impressive.
Keep up the good work brother.

Nix0r
08-19-10, 10:43 am
Great work in here! Also...

Nigel Tufnel: Well, it's one louder, isn't it? It's not ten. You see, most blokes, you know, will be playing at ten. You're on ten here, all the way up, all the way up, all the way up, you're on ten on your guitar. Where can you go from there? Where?

Marty DiBergi: I don't know.

Nigel Tufnel: Nowhere. Exactly. What we do is, if we need that extra push over the cliff, you know what we do?

Marty DiBergi: Put it up to eleven.

Nigel Tufnel: Eleven. Exactly. One louder.

Marty DiBergi: Why don't you just make ten louder and make ten be the top number and make that a little louder?

Nigel Tufnel: [pause] These go to eleven.

twoheadedboy
08-19-10, 6:33 pm
Yes, Spinal Tap, an all-time classic.

And thanks guys! Just trying to see where I can get to by the time of the plane pull, then go from there....

twoheadedboy
08-22-10, 6:41 pm
Today:

Squats: bodyweightx10, 95x8, 135x10, 205x3x2

super-setted with

Deads: 135x10, 205x8, 255x6, 315x5 (small pauses)

Press: 45x10, 55x8, 65x6, 85x5
Dips: -55x10, -45x8, -35x6, -25x5

Wanted to start emphasizing squats over deads. Super-setting them also forced me to take longer breaks between sets while still staying productive. I used higher intermediate weights on my deads to increase the volume and man, that 315 was HARD when factoring in the higher volume and super-setted squats; normally deads are all alone at the beginning.

I think I can get up to an honest 1x5 @ 225 on the squat by the plane pull. Thinking of doing a Super Squats routine after that to really kick start some new growth. I felt really fresh going into today and even at the end of my workout so I think Tuesday will be a good day, should be able to do 205x5x1 and then go up to 210 on Thursday.

twoheadedboy
08-24-10, 11:17 pm
[/quote]One two three and to the four
Snoop Doggy Dogg and Dr.Dre is at the door
Ready to make an entrance so back on up
Cause you know we bout to rip shit up[/quote]

Actually, today's theme is really "Curb Your Enthusiasm". I felt so strong during this workout, it was tempting to just add more weight and sets. But it's not about today, it's about what today's reps will allow me to do Thursday, September 25th, and beyond. Slow and steady wins the race.

Seated Rows: 100x10, 120x8, 140x6, 160x5x3, 120x7
Bench: barx10, 75x8, 105x6, 130x5, Chest Press 145x3, back to bar 115x7, 95x8
Squats: bodyweightx10, 95x8, 135x6, 205x5
Chins: -65x10, -55x8, -45x6, -35x5, -55x6

Starting to make some progress on the bench and rows. Killed those squats at 205, I think I could have done another set so I'm definitely going up to 210 next workout. On that note, I'm contemplating my next 2 workouts, because I'm going to have to go Saturday instead of Sunday, plus I'm bowling Saturday night...I'm thinking an all out heavy day Thursday followed by a lighter day Saturday, then still working out Tuesday.

Nix0r
08-24-10, 11:21 pm
Nice plan. Also, if you want to fix that quote, remove the "/" from the first tag.

twoheadedboy
08-24-10, 11:27 pm
Nice plan. Also, if you want to fix that quote, remove the "/" from the first tag.

Dammit, I know that. And it's too late now, the board won't let me edit the post. Oh well.

twoheadedboy
08-26-10, 11:05 pm
Tonight:

Squats: bodyweightx10, 100x8, 140x6, 210x6 (rest/pause after 2 and 4)

super-setted with

Deads: 135x10, 195x8, 255x6, 315x5 (short rest/pause after 3)

Press: 45x10, 60x8, 70x6, 95x5, 65x7 (shoulder twinge), 65x4

Dips: -50x10, -40x8, -30x6, -20x5

I don't bold the squats because I expected at least that much out of myself after my last workout. I hit a wall after 2 reps, my 2nd 2 were better and the last 2 were the best yet. The presses, on the other hand...I wasn't sure I could do a good number of reps at that weight, but I surprised myself. Felt a little twinge in the shoulder on reps 5 and 6 of that 1st volume set. Also felt a twinge in my left hammy and knee during the work set of dead lifts and after that last set of squats. I'm not too concerned at this point but I'll see how I feel tomorrow. I have no problem with taking Saturday off if need be and coming back strong Monday

twoheadedboy
08-30-10, 10:57 pm
I almost took another day off. I had little sleep, and a lot of lingering soreness in various places from my first time bowling in 3 months (for those who don't know...I'm a 200+ avg bowler, and my style is anything but fluid) and a total of 10 hrs of driving in 48 hours. I decided the soreness was not from physical exertion or overtraining but from rigor mortis so I just pushed through.

Squats: bodyweightx10, 100x8, 150x6, 210x3x2
Deads: 135x10, 205x8, 275x6, 325x5 (fuck yeah)
Bench: barx10, 75x8, 105x6, 135x5 (rest pause) (another fuck yeah) 115x6
Chins: -65x10, -55x8, -45x6, -35x5

Disappointed that I couldn't get 5 nonstop 135's on bench but I'm still thrilled with the weight I'm doing on that lift compared to a few months back. Insane pump in my tri's and bi's today by the 3rd set of chins, great intensity and finish at the top of the heavy reps too which is where I've been lacking on this lift.

This took 75 minutes today, I usually would do this in 50 but I did a lot of warmups due to the tightness and soreness, a lot of stretching, and good pauses between sets. Usually the first set of deads IS my warmup, maybe I should consider doing more in the future...I'm not getting any younger, even at 28.

SpankyC
08-30-10, 11:05 pm
I almost took another day off. I had little sleep, and a lot of lingering soreness in various places from my first time bowling in 3 months (for those who don't know...I'm a 200+ avg bowler, and my style is anything but fluid) and a total of 10 hrs of driving in 48 hours. I decided the soreness was not from physical exertion or overtraining but from rigor mortis so I just pushed through.

Squats: bodyweightx10, 100x8, 150x6, 210x3x2
Deads: 135x10, 205x8, 275x6, 325x5 (fuck yeah)
Bench: barx10, 75x8, 105x6, 135x5 (rest pause) (another fuck yeah) 115x6
Chins: -65x10, -55x8, -45x6, -35x5

Disappointed that I couldn't get 5 nonstop 135's on bench but I'm still thrilled with the weight I'm doing on that lift compared to a few months back. Insane pump in my tri's and bi's today by the 3rd set of chins, great intensity and finish at the top of the heavy reps too which is where I've been lacking on this lift.

This took 75 minutes today, I usually would do this in 50 but I did a lot of warmups due to the tightness and soreness, a lot of stretching, and good pauses between sets. Usually the first set of deads IS my warmup, maybe I should consider doing more in the future...I'm not getting any younger, even at 28.

nice workout bro, thats how everyone should be training!!!! woa 210 on squats then 325 on deads? you got a big muscle imbalance there, but your time will come!

Nix0r
08-30-10, 11:08 pm
Numbers keep increasing. I love it.

twoheadedboy
08-30-10, 11:09 pm
It wasn't long ago that I was benching more than I squat, and I consider bench to be my weakest lift (obviously at the time squat was)! I'm hoping to get to 225 by my high school reunion (9/11).

My squat volume far exceeds my dead volume, as in a 2 week span I'll do squats 4 - 6 times but deads 2 - 3 times. I haven't hit a wall yet on the deads so I figure there's no harm in continuing to throw on another 5 almost every time.

twoheadedboy
08-30-10, 11:12 pm
Thanks guys! I appreciate the support.

What do you all think of 20 rep sets, such as the super squats program? I was thinking of trying that after the plane pull.

twoheadedboy
09-01-10, 8:14 am
5am squats FTW.

Seated Rows: 85x10, 100x8, 120x6, 160x5, 180x5 (partials), 140x8
Dips: -55x10, -45x8, -35x6, -20x5, -25x6
Press: 45x10, 60x8, 75x6, 95x3, 95x0, 95x2, 95x0 (the rest dumbbells) 35'sx1, 25'sx5
Squats: bodyweightx10, 95x8, 140x6, 185x5x3

Working out early because I will most likely be spending the evening at the car dealership. Since I'm only a day and a half from my last workout, I decided on less weight and more reps for squats, still brutal. Plus I wanted to back off a little bit, step up Friday evening, then hit 215 for 5 on Monday morning.

I should note the tunes...something new (my good buddy's band the Murdocks' new album, check it out at http://www.the-murdocks.com/ ) and something "classic", Them Crooked Vultures, which was the most frequently played album during my time participating in Rage's cutting contest late last year and early this year.

twoheadedboy
09-06-10, 4:03 pm
Today:

Squats: bodyweightx10, 100x8, 150x6, 200x5x2
Press: 45x10, 55x8, 65x6, 95x3x2
**ran out of time**

Friday I worked late, Saturday I bought a car and attended a birthday party, today I came home from that area and barely made the gym on their reduced labor day hours. However, I am happy to find out that my gym now goes till 7pm on Saturday and Sunday, and 11pm weekdays! That will be so helpful in dealing with my schedule.

This weekend I'm busy Friday night and all day Saturday, so I think I'm going to use this reduced workout today to go again tomorrow and do deads, bench, and chins; then Thursday night do squats and press again and add dips. Thursday should be 215x5, maybe even 220...those 200's felt great today.

Phil800101
09-06-10, 5:03 pm
Chris my man, what is new and exciting?

twoheadedboy
09-06-10, 5:06 pm
Phil! I was beginning to wonder if you retired! What's up?

The most new and exciting thing would be my new car, a 2011 Hyundai Sonata SE, in Indigo Blue Pearl. That, and 300 lb-range deads and 200 lb-range squats, a full 2 plates for benches and 25's on my press bar. Other than that, same old shit!

Phil800101
09-06-10, 10:48 pm
Phil! I was beginning to wonder if you retired! What's up?

The most new and exciting thing would be my new car, a 2011 Hyundai Sonata SE, in Indigo Blue Pearl. That, and 300 lb-range deads and 200 lb-range squats, a full 2 plates for benches and 25's on my press bar. Other than that, same old shit!

Awesome, sounds good bro!

twoheadedboy
09-11-10, 1:05 am
Oh damn...raw total up to 700.

Squats: bodyweightx10, 105x8, 155x6, 215x3x2
Bench: 45x10, 75x8, 105x6, 140x4 (rest pause @ 2), 140x2
Deads: 135x10, 205x8, 275x6, 345x5 (rest pause @ 2 and 4)
That's all...no volume work today.

I tried 345 on the deads as a lark, honestly...I wasn't even going to do deads but I saw 700 within my reach after squats and bench so I said what the hell. Squats are my 100% #1 focus right now and deads are just being done to stay strong, but if I can keep going up in weight on them then why not? I honestly feel like the sky is the limit on that lift for me, it seems like every week without fail I can add more weight to that lift, and periodically make huge jumps. I feel like my squat progress is slower but just as steady, but I have to fight for each and every pound on my "arm" lifts (bench/press/chins/rows); dips are another lift that I just seem to "effortlessly" get better at.

I'm up closer to 190 now...a lot of that is muscle (my legs look unbelievable) but I've put on a teeny bit of fat again too. I'm not too concerned because I'm keeping my strength up and moving forward even when I'm missing workouts. Plus, things are starting to calm down a bit so I expect to get on a much stricter regimen that will burn off some fat very soon.

twoheadedboy
09-14-10, 1:14 am
Tonight:

Chins: -85x10, -75x10, -65x10, -55x8, -45x6, -35x5
Dips: -55x10, -45x8, -35x6, -25x5
Squats: bodyweightx10, 105x8, 155x6, 215x5
Bench: 45x10, 70x8, 95x6, 120x5
Press: 45x10, 55x8, 65x6, 75x5
V-bar Seated Rows: 85x10, 100x8, 120x6, 140x5

Last day of Test+Stak so made it count in volume. Chins and Dips were supersetted once I got to -55, though I did my last 2 sets of dips in between the 2nd-to-last and last set of chins as my biceps were feeling smoked. Was running out of time once I got to the V-bar rows partially because of a too-long chat with the owner so there was almost no pause between 85 and 100, a small pause between 100 and 120, and a slightly longer one between 120 and 140 but we're talking 30 seconds tops even there.

Question for my readers...my training is a little behind on squats as far as where I wanted to be for the plane pull...basically next Tuesday, I want to hit 225x5, and my gains have slowed quite a bit. If I'd still like to attempt it, what's the best way to tailor my workouts between now and then? I plan on working out Friday and Sunday, but I could throw in a Wednesday "squats only" session, since I don't want to work out my arms due to bowling next day. Also do I still incorporate deads between now and then if I plan to do those next Tuesday as well?

twoheadedboy
09-15-10, 10:50 pm
Tonight I was still feeling the effects of my last workout, and wanted to back off the squats a little in preparation for hitting 225 for reps next Tuesday, so with that in mind:

Squats: bodyweightx10, 95x8, 125x6, 155x5
supersetted with
Deads: 135x10, 185x8, 235x6, 285x5
Chins: -85x10
Dips: -85x10
Press: 45x10
Bench: 45x10
Rows: 85x10

Just wanted to get the blood flowing through those aching muscles a little bit with the post-dead work. Friday will be a "real" workout and I'll do 205 on squats, then 185 on squats Sunday, followed by 225 Tuesday. Figured out that I have been rounding my back at the bottom of my squats and that's probably why my lower back's been a little sore from squats...also I really focused on flexing that lumbar region for the deads and it felt really good.

twoheadedboy
09-18-10, 1:57 am
A brutal 10 hour day with a 20 minute break to run and eat and come back left me pretty exhausted for the gym; M-Stak and Pump didn't even get me out of my funk. But I still had a decent enough workout:

Press: 45x10, 55x8, 75x6, 95x5 (rest/pause @ 3)
Squats: bodyweightx10, 95x8, 150x6, 205x5
Seated V-Bar Rows: 100x10, 120x8, 140x6, 160x5
*supersetted with
Chins: -65x10, -55x8, -45x6, -35x5

I'm finally killing that 160 in the rows, but supersetting them with another biceps workout smoked my arms pretty good tonight. Sunday will be bench/dips/rows with Squats at 185 as my working set, then Tuesday is the 225 day, and I'll do deads but only at 315. The 205 squats didn't feel too bad at all. My form is still a work in progress...still rounding at the bottom, which I feel is contributing to my lower back soreness, and I'm trying to get into that "zone" because I feel like I can get everything locked in a certain way and I start activating my ass and hamstrings a lot more, and get great reps. When they're not so good the reps are much more quad dominant.

twoheadedboy
09-28-10, 8:15 am
I've been lax on posting, not work, though I have taken some pre-planned downtime:

Tue 9/21

Squats: bodyweightx10, 105x8, 165x6, 225x3x2 (yeah buddy!)
Deads: 135x10, 195x8, 255x6, 315x5
Bench: 45x10, 75x8, 105x6, 135x5, 95x15
Dips: -55x10, -45x8, -35x6, -25x5

Sat 9/25

I pulled a plane 20 ft across a runway in 16.9 seconds with my Chicago ABC brothers.

Mon 9/27

1 hr elliptical
----------------
I had planned on no workouts between Tuesday and the plane pull, and I had planned on not lifting this week due to not really taking any time off since mid-June. Tons of progress during that time though, but my back is shredded so I need some rest. I will hit cardio at least 2 more times though, and that was rough having not done it in a couple of months or so.

Phil800101
10-03-10, 4:24 pm
Sick work in here Chris! Looking good. How are things?

twoheadedboy
10-12-10, 8:13 am
Life is stressful. My back has never fully recovered, and I'm not quite sure when the problem started. I can't blame it on the plane pull, I mean I worked hard but I warmed up very well and didn't feel anything during or immediately after...just a general, but high level of achiness in my lower back that has never quite gone away.

Went back to the gym this morning. Didn't want to go crazy so I just did enough to wake up the motor paths and work up a bit of a sweat:

Warmup - standing cable rows, focusing on lower back activation
Chins - -85x10x3
Deads: 135x10, 165x8, 195x6, 225x5
Press: 45x10, 55x8, 65x6, 75x6
Squats: bodyweightx10, 95x8, 115x6, 135x6

My diet has been bad, stress level high, sleep patterns off, etc. etc...not a good couple of weeks. Last night I fell asleep at something like 7:30, woke up at 2:30, so I finally said fuck it I'm going to the gym. Got some cleaning and gym prep done and got there shortly after 5 for this. I felt good by the end of the workout with all those endorphins kicking in, but once that wore off I felt the stiffness and achiness again. I think I'm just in a bit of a rut because I haven't wanted to do much of anything, it's not been limited to the gym. I'm going to work on getting back to good habits again and go from there.

twoheadedboy
10-24-10, 2:36 pm
Work is under control, life is under control, I've dealt with a couple of health issues, so now it's back to the gym:

5 min elliptical
Romanian Deads: whateverx70
Squats: bodyweightx10, 95x8, 115x6, 135x5
Press: 45x10, 55x8, 65x6, 75x5
Deads: 135x10, 185x8, 225x6, 275x5
Dips: -85x10, -75x8, -65x6, -55x5

My lower back has never really loosened up so I started researching various stretches and decided to try the Romanians...and it worked wonders. My back immediately felt great and did so all the way through my squats, and deads too. My squats were free and easy and my pulls were labored at 225 and 275, but my whole body was in sync, so I'm going to be able to get up to my previous highs very quickly I think, and then push above them. And that's the plan...I'm going to work back up to 315 on deads (easy), 225 squats (still hard), 95 press (easy), 135 bench (medium), then start increasing the reps and dropping the weight until I get to 135x20 squats, 45x20 press, 95x20 bench, then start adding 5 lbs per workout for 6 weeks while consuming as much protein as I can shove down my gullet. Going to stay at 5 rep deads as my target there, only once per week but go up 10 lbs each time. Will still do assistance work with rows, chins, and dips as necessary.

On a side note, bowling has been awesome...I started out the year averaging in the low 190's but the last two weeks I've gone 705 and 698...and this is a tough house. I'm considering bowling the PBA midwest regional if I'm still going this good when it comes around.

twoheadedboy
10-26-10, 12:55 am
1 hr elliptical, 25x4 Hammer MTS crunches @ 10 lbs, dead hangs and romanian dead lifts to strech. Lift tomorrow.

Nix0r
10-26-10, 10:54 am
Solid stuff all around, Chris. You gonna be able to make it to the ABC in November?

twoheadedboy
10-27-10, 12:42 am
Tonight:

Squats: bodyweightx10, 95x8, 120x6, 145x5
Seated Rows: 85x10, 100x8, 120x6, 140x5
Bench: 55x10, 75x10 (spaced out), 95x6, 115x5
Chins: -85x10, -75x8, -65x6, -55x5

Romanians and dead hangs to stretch, 5 min elliptical warmup

I would like to go to the ABC but I work that weekend so I don't know if it's possible. I'll be in Dwight until 11am the day of. I'm evaluating my options...

twoheadedboy
12-10-10, 8:05 am
You didn't think I quit, did you?

Well, November wasn't good. But the last 2 weeks have been a good return to form.

11/28: 30 min elliptical (all at "10" resistance 8000 strides/hr)
11/29: 45 min elliptical
11/30: 30 min elliptical, 45 min walking (all at 4.0 mph w/0 incline)
12/4: 45 min elliptical, 60 min walking 4.0 mph
12/5
Deads: 135x10, 185x8, 225x6, 275x8
Squats: bodyweightx10, 95x8, 125x6, 155x5
Press: 45x10, 55x8, 65x6, 75x5
Chins: -100x10, -85x8, -70x6, -55x5
12/7
Rows: 85x10, 100x8, 120x6, 140x5
Bench: 55x10, 75x8, 95x6, 115x5
Dips: 85x10, 70x8, 55x6, 40x5
Squats: bodyweightx10, 95x8, 135x6, 175x5
12/8: 45 min elliptical, 60 min walking
12/10
Squats: bodyweightx10, 95x8, 135x6, 185x5
Press: 45x10, 55x8, 65x6, 80x5
Standing EZ-Curl Rows: 30x10, 40x8, 50x6, 60x5 (should have started w/40....)
Chins: -85x10, -70x8, -60x6, -55x5

twoheadedboy
12-20-10, 12:11 am
12/11 - 45 min elliptical 1 hr 4.0 mph walking
12/17
Deads: 135x10, 185x8, 235x6, 285x5
Squats: bodyweightx10, 95x8, 140x6, 185x5
Press: 45x10, 55x8, 65x6, 75x5
Chins: don't remember now, 4 sets

Today -
Squats: bodyweightx10, 95x8, 140x6, 195x5 (rest/pause @ 4)
Bench: 55x10, 75x8, 95x6, 120x5 (rest/pause @ 3)
Rows: 100x10, 120x8, 140x6, 160x5
Dips: -85x10, -70x8, -55x6, -40x5, -70x8
*extra bench no rest* 95x7, 95x4

Back is sore. I did not warm up properly the last time I did deads, the squats made it worse, and I'm paying the price. My back is what made me rest/pause on my squats, not my legs. I'm pissed but I'm just working through it...

twoheadedboy
12-22-10, 7:53 am
Last night:

Squats: bodyweightx10, 95x8, 140x6, 185x5
Press: 45x10, 55x8, 65x6, 80x5, 55x10
Upright row: 50x10, 60x8, 70x6, 80x5
Chins: -100x10, -85x8, -70x6, -55x5, -85x10

30 min break, then

45 min elliptical, 60 min walking

Smoked.

wedge
12-30-10, 11:52 am
What's good bro?

twoheadedboy
12-30-10, 6:03 pm
Hurt my back doing deads Sunday. I'd estimate it's about 75% better but I still have limited ROM. First test will be bowling tonight, if that goes well then I have more bowling and plans this weekend and I will start off the new year lifting again. Sunday I finished my deads, wasn't able to unrack my work set of squats (195) but was able to go on to do bench and dips. I'm just going to do a total reset on deads, back to 135, but start doing them every work out and increasing by 5 lbs each time until my body tells me otherwise.

twoheadedboy
02-14-11, 11:02 pm
Hi everybody...I've been gone a while but not for as long as it seems...I've just been laying low while I get back in to the swing of things, though those who are on my Facebook know I've been back in the gym for a month plus now...starting to feel good about my progress AND am having trouble remembering all the different sets from session to session (not the type to carry a pen and paper around while I'm lifting) so I figured now is the time to come back here.

Tonight:

Press: 45x10, 55x8, 65x6, 85x5, 85x4x2, 70x8, 65x7
Squats: bodyweightx10, 95x8, 145x6, 205x5
Seated Rows: 85x10, 105x8, 130x6, 155x5, 120x12x2
Chins: -85x10, -75x8, -65x6, -45x5, -70x8, -75x8

I've been doing 2 sets after my heaviest work set at somewhere around/between my 2nd/3rd set weight for as many reps as I can do it...this is the biggest variable each workout and it feels great. Sometimes I do a little more weight for 7 or 8 reps, sometimes a little less for 12 - 15. I do this on every lift except deads and squats.

Anyway, it's good to be back and my progress has been pretty incredible since coming back. I haven't worked with the weights I'm doing right now since mid-September and I got "here" in a month after essentially taking a month off after getting 50% of the way there. I can't explain it either - my focus, diet, and supps aren't really any different, and the mentality I go about for my sessions, work sets, and rest really hasn't changed. I just keep waiting to hit a wall, and other than some minor difficulties on bench (and dips and chins, which who cares?) I just keep going up every time. I guess I'll address the wall when I get there.

Phil800101
02-14-11, 11:42 pm
Nice work there bro! Sounds like some solid progress for sure.

twoheadedboy
02-16-11, 11:48 pm
Ugh.

Bench: 65x10, 85x8, 105x6, 125x3, 125x0, 125x1 from a dead stop off the rails, 125x lots of triples, doubles, and singles
Squats: bodyweightx10, 95x8, 155x6, 205x4, 205x2
Seated Rows: 85x10, 120x8, 140x6, 160x5
Dips: -70x10, -60x8, -50x6, -40x5
Squats: 95x5, 135x6, 135x5

I spent over an hour and a half in the gym today, with the biggest portion of that being on the bench. I was so disappointed and pissed off at my inability to get 125x5 that I decided fuck backoff sets, I'm going to put up 125 until I can't put up 125 any more and then be done...I probably did about 20 more reps at 125. I was totally flat all workout and just could never get anything going. Felt my patella tendon tightening up during rows so I went and did what fixed this problem in the first place back when I was fat: Lots 'o squats with strict form. My 205's sucked tonight, I probably had no business putting that weight on the bar but I did it Monday so I wanted to do it today. I have a few theories about why this workout sucked:

1. Bad diet today, not a great diet for the last week.
2. I've been coming in flat on day 5 my last couple of of weeks, maybe I need to start thinking about a heavy/medium/light schedule instead of more weight or reps every time
3. I might be getting sick again...nothing major like mid-January but I may be coming down with a little something
4. All of the above

I also didn't have much motivation going into tonight, but that could be a result of 1 and 3.

I'm going to really focus on my diet the next 2 days and try to go in strong to my day 1 workout Friday night. If I'm not feeling it, I'm going to postpone it until Saturday afternoon because I absolutely do not want to jack around with deads and heavy squats.

I will figure this out.

Phil800101
02-17-11, 1:42 am
Bad days happen. Sounds like a plan though, I'm sure you'll figure it out.

twoheadedboy
02-19-11, 1:01 am
Tonight:

Press: 45x10, 60x8, 75x6, 90x4, 90x1, 90x4
Squats: bodyweightx10, 95x8, 150x6, 205x5
Chins: -85x10, -75x8, -65x6, -50x5
"Cardio Deads" 135x10, 185x8, 235x6, 285x5

The cardio part comes into play with the deads because I did those 4 sets in double time, roughly 8 minutes, due to the gym closing.

The gym was closing because I got their late, due to my after-work nap because I am fighting off illness, which thankfully is almost gone after about 24 hours of annoyance and 36 hours of effect. I pretty much willed this one away I think, after my 1 1/2 week illness a month ago (sickest I've been in 4 years, and for comparison's sake a friend had the same bug and was sick for almost a month and nearly caught pneumonia).

My press set was pretty dull, no explosiveness, but I got through the reps. Got through my squats relatively decently, think I'm ready for 210 on Sunday*, might have hit a 6th rep or a small 2nd set if I wanted to but volume is not my goal, top-end strength increases week to week is. Deads are progressing nicely again, I feel like I'm still good for +10 every week as I have been doing for a while...no fatigue in the back yet, which I have learned to recognize before it turns into injury based on Bill Starr's very good description of "slowness" in the back muscles when it comes to deads/power cleans/etc.

Overall I'll take this one, but I'm thinking the Animal Rage can't come soon enough.

*Going through some shit right now with my grandpa, I may be out of town at his side watching him die that day.

Phil800101
02-19-11, 3:03 am
Sorry to hear about your grandpa Chris...

twoheadedboy
02-19-11, 3:09 am
Thanks man. Without getting on the soapbox too much...as fucked up as our healthcare is in this nation, you do not realize how bad it can be until you see how the elderly are treated. I am just at a loss.

Phil800101
02-19-11, 3:18 am
Thanks man. Without getting on the soapbox too much...as fucked up as our healthcare is in this nation, you do not realize how bad it can be until you see how the elderly are treated. I am just at a loss.

I hear ya man. I have seen it myself with family so I definitely know where you're coming from. Deplorable to say the least.

twoheadedboy
02-20-11, 6:31 pm
First off, RIP Loran S. Hickman Jr., age 80, Korean War vet, my grandfather.

2nd, this didn't seem to affect my bowling positively or negatively, but my workout on the other hand...

Bench: 45x10, 65x8, 85x6, 125x7, 135x3x3
Squat: bodyweightx10, 95x8, 155x6, 215x5
Rows: 85x10, 115x8, 145x6, 175x5 (lots of back in that last set)
Dips: -85x10, -70x8, -55x6, -25x5

I drove 3 hrs last night, slept about 5 hours, then drove 3 hours back and bowled 4 games. Had a 5 hr energy at 11:30am and took Pump at 3. Started workout at 3:30 and was done in about 50 minutes. I felt like I could have done reps at 140 or 145 on the bench but I just decided to do more 135's. I felt no soreness and needed no recovery, just waited long enough between sets to catch my breath and stop sweating a little bit. Very fucking intense.

Phil800101
02-21-11, 1:09 am
Sorry to hear about your loss Chris. My condolences to you and your family.

twoheadedboy
02-22-11, 11:36 pm
After that last weekend I was so intensely sore I thought I was going to take an extra off day, then cardio tonight and lifting tomorrow. I made a miraculous recovery today so even though I didn't do my normal Monday cardio, I still did Tuesday lifting.

Press: 45x10, 65x8, 95x3, 95x2, 85x4, 85x3, 65x7
Squats: bodyweightx10, 95x8, 155x6, 215x5
Chins: -85x10, -70x8, -55x6, -40x2x3
Deads: 135x10, 205x8, 255x6, 305x5

With the stretches I do before squats (light Romanians and various statics), plus my improved deadlift form, I feel like I have completely realigned and reMADE my back since my injury in December. I still get stiff from being stationary too long but less so. I'm back to the point where my limitations are how hard I can pull, not how much my back will give me.

Normally I do deads Friday, but I wanted to switch to Sundays so that I wasn't doing seated rows 2 workouts in a row or twice in 3 days, so to get my days realigned I did deads today and then will do them again Sunday...possibly not at my 5RM, I will play it by ear. 220x5 squats is the goal for Friday, then maybe 225x5 Sunday? I don't work Friday so maybe I try at 225 then, we'll see.

Thanks for all the support with my grandpa, everyone.

twoheadedboy
02-23-11, 11:02 pm
Tonight:

20 min recumbant bike
1 hr treadmill
45 my elliptical
4x30 Hammer MTS crunches

THAT's a cardio day.

Phil800101
02-23-11, 11:58 pm
Tonight:

20 min recumbant bike
1 hr treadmill
45 my elliptical
4x30 Hammer MTS crunches

THAT's a cardio day.

No kidding! Nice work.

twoheadedboy
02-26-11, 12:46 am
Tonight:

Warmup: 5 min elliptical, super set 1x10 100lb chins and dips
Bench: 75x8, 100x6, 135x3, 135x2, 125x3, 125x2, 125x3, 125x2
Squats: bodyweightx10, 95x8, 160x6, 225x6 (rest/pause @4)
Rows: 85x10, 115x8, 145x6, 175x5, 120x15, 120x10
Dips: -85x10, -70x8, -55x6, -40x5
Bench (static holds): 145, 155, 165

Took me all day to get jazzed up to go to the gym, but when I did I felt great. I'm happy with the results.

Phil800101
02-26-11, 1:18 am
I know how that goes...

Great stuff Chris! Keep it up.

Geneticfreak09
02-26-11, 4:50 am
I have days like dat but I love it when I finish the workout lookin real strong keep at it

twoheadedboy
02-26-11, 9:48 pm
Thanks bro. Holy shit, my journey's gone international!

Today: Cardiopalooza

15 min 4.0 mph walking
45 min elliptical (cranked it up to "11" today, definitely noticed it in sweat quantity)
45 min 4.0 mph walking
4x30 Hammer MTS crunches

3 plates tomorrow on deads...nice to be back at that round number. I may do 225 on squats again, I may go up to 230...I'll play it by ear. We're in uncharted territory now! I'm pretty much at a lot of my short term goals but with the can of Rage on its way (thanks Animal) I'm going to keep things going the way they are for another week or two before I drop the weight and add reps. I have a plan in mind that involves a "super squat"-esque program paired with Rage (assuming it pans out for me)+Pump+Test+Stak. It's a diabolical plan but I think it is doable and could have me looking huge and being strong by my best friend's wedding July 3rd.

Nix0r
02-27-11, 12:10 am
That cardio. Holy shit.

Phil800101
02-27-11, 3:27 am
Cardio sucks.

Geneticfreak09
02-27-11, 3:55 am
Thanks bro. Holy shit, my journey's gone international!

HA HA HA Hell Yea I'm deployed in this death trap but we have a great gym so its great lol

twoheadedboy
02-27-11, 5:00 pm
Today:

BB Press: 50x10, 65x8, 80x6, 95x4, 95x3, 95x2, 95x1, 65x10x2
Squats: bodyweightx10, 95x8, 160x6, 225x2 (half-squat misses), 205x5
Chins: -85x10, -70x8, -55x6, -40x5, -70x10x2
Deads: 135x10, 185x8, 245x6, 315x5

Just never got into the groove with squats. First time in 2 months I haven't hit the same weight or better from the previous workout. 205 reps were hard, but good.

Chins were drudgery too, and I got through presses and deads but they really challenged my conditioning (sweating profusely) and I could feel it in my joints. I'm bowling tomorrow night so I'm going to skip cardio, and thankfully I was done at 2:30pm so I have about 54 1/2 hours until the next workout, not the normal 46...I have learned not to discount those extra few hours that I occasionally get between workouts. Maybe I'll be lucky and my Rage will have arrived by then. All I know is that I'm beat down as fuck right now.

twoheadedboy
03-05-11, 9:58 am
Tuesday
-Typical cardio workout

Friday
Bench: 75x10, 95x8, 115x6, 135x15 (via triples and doubles), 165x3 static holds @ top, 145x3 static holds at bottom
Squats: bodyweightx10, 95x8, 155x6, 210x5
--ran out of time--

Well at least I figured out where the weakness is...the bottom. I felt like I could probably do 175 if not 185 at the top, but I could barely get 145 off the pins at the bottom. Not sure whether speed work or chains or what is the best way to solve this problem.

Did this all on the road from Joliet > Peoria > Indianapolis, and my day started at 4:30am. My last squat rep wasn't great but I was distracted and in a hurry as I found out I needed to leave right away so I think I'm still going to go back to 215 Sunday. All I know is the extra time off did me some good. Good luck to the Animals in the cage and hope everybody has a good time, wish I was there instead of where I have to go...

twoheadedboy
03-06-11, 9:29 pm
Promo can of Rage received, we interrupt this journey to take a 6+ week hiatus and log here: http://forum.animalpak.com/showthread.php?35515-Despite-all-my-Rage-I-am-still-just-a-boy-in-a-cage

twoheadedboy
12-18-11, 11:33 pm
Ok, so I'm back. The latest news is that my back has been injured on and off these past few months, I took a bit of a promotion, moved to Naperville to facilitate that, have a new girlfriend (4+ months now), and am starting to hit the training hard again. My next mile marker is the Cage, as I will be heading there with the Chicago boys this year, finally. I'm not setting any specific goals for myself as I'm kind of looking at it from a "total" approach - I want to be stronger, leaner, and continue to work around and hopefully improve my back as I go along. I am not doing deads at all right now, which kills me because I love them, but even belted my back doesn't feel right. To counter this, I am working squats that much harder (belted), and ramping up the ab work as well as doing more chins and back extensions, both of which make my back feel really good. I've also been going to the chiro and massage therapist (trigger point). The good part is that my dislocated shoulder is almost completely fixed, however my back is seemingly not making much progress....I have better range of motion, but still the same amount of pain.

My girlfriend is starting to work out, so after cancelling Cardinal, I'm back since they are the only gym that is both near Naperville (Glen Ellyn, where I go) and Peoria. So without further adieu, here's today:

Bench: DB Flyes w/25's, 45x10, 75x8, 105x6, 140x3, 135x3
Squats: GM's barx10, bodyweightx10, 95x5, 135x5, 175x2, 135x5, 175x3
Press: 45x10, 55x8, 65x6, 95x1
Chins -100x10
Dips -85x10
-Lots of dead hang chin stretching, back extensions, obliques, and decline bench situps

Started using the Valsalva maneuver on squats as of that 2nd 135x5 set and my back felt great, so I went back up to 175 and got it done. I tried deads @ 135 too, and while it didn't feel too horribly bad, I could definitely feel it and feel that one wrong move would hurt me really bad, so I stopped. Which is too bad, because I feel like I could rep 225 and make a lot of fast progress if my back was ok (grip and legs are very strong). I'm going to do squats 3x a week and alternate heavy sets of 5, and 20 rep breathing sets at my 10RM, since that works my low back and doesn't hurt it (as long as I am careful not to round my back).

Stack is pretty simple right now...Rage pre, EAA Stack + Carb Max intra, Torrent Zero post, Pak>Flex>Omega>PM daily. I have Pro and Oats and Uni-Liver laying around too in case I feel the need. I have some Cuts and M-Stack that I can incorporate at some point.

Phil800101
12-19-11, 1:24 am
Solid! Sounds like a plan bro.

Without deads, strengthening the abs and doing the extensions is a good call. Glute-ham raises are another good one to do.

twoheadedboy
12-26-11, 4:55 pm
Ok, I've been bad about logging here, but the work has been happening....4 - 5 days per week, alternating cardio and weights. Here is some recent work:

110x1 overhead press (today)
105x3x2 overhead press (today)
140x1 bench
175x5 squat
185x3 squat (today)
135x20 squat
140x10 squat (today)

Also lots of decline situps, hypers, chins and dips, cable crossover flyes, and elliptical

I am absolutely GROOVING some OH press right now...my max before my back injury was 115 and I'm almost there. Bench is a little stalled so I'm working hard on that assistance work, Squats I'm going up weekly but not a huge amount of progress workout-to-workout. Back is feeling incrementally better as I go along, but still have moments of "what the fuck was that" when doing mundane things like grabbing my wallet while in the car, and tying my shoes in the gym. Diet will start hardcore next week, right now I'm letting myself pig out a bit and just repping as hard as I can.

twoheadedboy
12-26-11, 5:03 pm
Also, I'm logging everything at Fitocracy too...it's a stupid site still in Beta that's akin to Farmville or one of those Facebook games, where you get "experience" and "levels" based on the amount of work you do. It's pretty cool for those of you with significant others and family/friends interested in your (and their own) training who want to follow along with you, but aren't necessarily going to be doing the same type of work. Let me know if you want an invite.

Phil800101
12-26-11, 5:26 pm
Good stuff Chris!

I'm doing the same thing bro, next week I am back on the wagon hardcore.

Nix0r
12-26-11, 7:41 pm
Also, I'm logging everything at Fitocracy too...it's a stupid site still in Beta that's akin to Farmville or one of those Facebook games, where you get "experience" and "levels" based on the amount of work you do. It's pretty cool for those of you with significant others and family/friends interested in your (and their own) training who want to follow along with you, but aren't necessarily going to be doing the same type of work. Let me know if you want an invite.

I've got something like that on my phone.

The difference is that mine is for tracking the beer I drink.

twoheadedboy
12-30-11, 9:49 pm
Today's working sets:

Bench: 140x3, 145x2, 150x1
Squatz: 150x10x2

Bunch of press, dips, chins, back extensions, good mornings, and some other random shit.

Bench felt amazing...I'm 5 lbs away from my PR, just as I am with OHP as of the last time I worked that. Squats felt good too but I'm having trouble getting past 10 reps. Bowled a 667 last night, getting my average up close to 213, going to bowl a tourney tomorrow afternoon.

Pretty stoked that one of my Iron Contest bros Wedge will be at the Arnold...I might get a new red iconic for the occasion. I do have a new Rage iconic on its way, jump on that at bb.com if you haven't already.

Phil800101
12-31-11, 2:11 am
Killer!

wedge
01-02-12, 1:31 pm
Looking forward to meeting ya bro.

twoheadedboy
01-02-12, 11:38 pm
Today's working sets:

Press: 105x1.5, 105x1.9, 100x3, 95x5
Squats: 150x11, 150x9, 190x3, 200x1
Deads: 135x5
Lots of chins/pull-ups, dips, back extensions, decline crunches

Today was a great example of fighting through flatness and seeing what happens. I had nothing in the press and my goal was 150x20, didn't even come close. The 150x9 was really easy so I decided to go up on my max working weight and do a rep of 190. That was free and easy so I did one more, then a third. Then I said screw it, let's put 200 on the bar. That went well too. I probably could have done 210 but my legs started to feel a little wobbly at that point so I decided it was enough for today.

Deads are a significant milestone...this was the first time I've been able to do them pain free in over 9 months. All the lower back and ab work, chiro visits, and technique work (including learning the valsalva maneuver) seems to be paying off. What really put it over the top is that I was able to get my belt another notch tighter thanks to cardio and some somewhat more responsible eating. My back still hurts doing mundane things like pulling my wallet out of my back pocket while in the driver's seat of my car, and tying my shoes in a chair, but if I can squat and dead then I'll struggle through the rest!

I'm wondering if maybe I need to do more warmups. I do 5 min of cardio before anything, and I warm up with the bar before presses as well as some intermediate sets; squats are always 2nd and I also have some light sets and back extensions before I belt up and put more weight on the bar, but I haven't been able to increase my 20 rep sets even though my 5RM and less have gone up.

I don't know, I'm just really excited about deads...they're my favorite lift.

Phil800101
01-03-12, 5:58 am
Awesome Chris!

Nix0r
01-03-12, 9:56 am
Great work!

twoheadedboy
01-06-12, 1:34 am
Tonight:

Bench 135x5, 155x1, 155x0
Squats: 95x10, 135x5, 185xnope
Some other stuff

Patella tendon is bothering me a lot. I'm actually fine to walk but I barely unracked the bar at 185 and it hurt quite a bit so I quit at that point. I bought knee sleeves, going to ice and not do any squats until at least next Thursday, after seeing how my knee fares after bowling with the sleeve. So frustrating.

If I could send my 30 year old brain back to my 20 year old body, a lot of things would be different, that's for fucking sure.

Phil800101
01-06-12, 1:48 am
Knee sleeves help tremendously with patellar tendonitis, that is for sure.

twoheadedboy
01-09-12, 8:20 am
Yesterday:

Press: 105x2x5
Seated cable rows (strict): 100x10x3
Bunch of hypers, chins, dips, crunches

Gave my knee a break and even bodyweight squats hurt today after about 5. Guess it's time to work on the beach bod for a while, though the right peck is still a bit strained from the last bench session...ugh.

Edit: Annoying thing about fitocracy - Apparently 1 hr of moderate intensity cardio on the elliptical trainer (which, by the way, I'm doing a lot of but not necessarily putting here because who cares?) is worth 2x the points of a full bench press workout. I know I'm only working up to 155 but still.

Phil800101
01-09-12, 10:55 am
Solid!

wedge
01-12-12, 12:51 pm
Keep working bro.

twoheadedboy
01-13-12, 12:25 pm
I'm still here. I've been sick for 3 days now, got a nasty bug that's gone from a sore throat to a sinus infection to now bronchitis. I feel like I'm coughing shit up now, so hopefully that means I'm starting to get on top of it. I would like to work out tomorrow before a big dinner that's planned but we'll see. Big things coming in the future with 2 - 3 regional ABC's plus the Arnold, so I'm not about to quit but I gotta get healthy. This has been a good excuse to rest my stupid knee, so that's a plus...whenever the next workout is I'll deadlift and judge from there if I'm ok to squat.

Phil800101
01-13-12, 5:06 pm
Hope you're feeling better soon bro.

twoheadedboy
01-15-12, 10:57 pm
Wanted to get back to the gym yesterday, but wasn't quite up for it. That means I have Sun/Mon/Tue, off Wed, Thur, off Fri, ABC in Detroit. So today was pulling/cardio, tomorrow will be pushing (bench)/cardio, Tuesday cardio only, Thursday will be a mix (press), then I want to do deads and bench again at the ABC.

Chins: -100x10, -85x8, -70x5 over/neutral/under
Seated V-bar cable rows: 100x10, 120x8, 140x6
Deads: 135x10, 185x5 (all overhand)
Back extensions: 10x3, 10lb weighted x10
15 min elliptical w/5 lb dumbbells, 30 min treadmill @ 4.1 mph with 0.5/1.0% incline (half and half)

Deads felt really good. Still having issues with my patellar tendon in my bowling knee, but not nearly as bad doing deads as it was doing squats. Really, that's ok, because to get my deads back in line with bench and squat, I need to get back up to about 255. My goal is to do a set of 225x5 reverse grip Saturday, but I'll play it by ear. Had a small back tweak on rep #7 in the 135, but it was more of a "warning" than an injury, because I was able to proceed just fine. A good day, and I'm still only running at about 90% from being sick.

Phil800101
01-16-12, 4:45 am
Good stuff there bro! Sounds like a plan.

twoheadedboy
01-16-12, 9:44 pm
Monday at a commercial gym in January? Douchebaggery is afoot! My own oversight for needing to do bench today.

Dips: -85x10, -70x8, -55x6
Lots of back extensions and good mornings
Bench: 20x45 (10 slow/10 fast), 85x8, 125x5, 145x1x3, 135x2x2, 115x6x2
Press: 45x10, 65x8, 85x3.5, 85x3 (barely)

Tomorrow is cardio only if anything, Wednesday bowling, so the goal was to empty the tank today. I'm still sick and my body is super-sore from deads yesterday (holding the lockout is apparently equivalent to heavy shrugs, who woulda thunkit). I got about 3 hours of sleep and a 45 minute nap on my lunch break today, though to be fair I slept until 3pm Sunday. Went in pretty flat but Rage at least brought me back to normal.

I saw many things today:

-Touch and go deads with 95, supersetted with quarter squats at the same weight
-Benching without getting within 6" of their chest (no, they were not using boards)
-The most disproportionate chest to rest of the body ratio I have ever seen, and of course he was wearing spandex. Think chest of a 250 lb guy, rest of body 160. Of course he was doing ez curl bar curls
-Some teens supersetting (I guess) two different row machines at some absurdly light weight, I'm guessing less than 50 lbs.
At least there was a 6'4"ish guy banging out 235 reps on bench like they were just the bar.

I did briefly walk into the wrong (i.e. girls) locker room on my way in. That could have been bad.

Phil800101
01-17-12, 2:35 am
Nice work!

Wow, just wow...

twoheadedboy
01-20-12, 11:01 pm
No Detroit ABC Saturday, so I braved the roads and drove to my gym tonight:

Bench: 45x20, 85x8, 115x5, 145x1x4, 145x2, 155x1, 135x3, 125x4
Deads: 135x5, 185x4 (overhand), 225xnope, 205x1 (reverse grip)
Pull-ups: -100x10 overhand, -100x10 neutral, -100x10 underhand
Lots of good mornings and back extensions

I am so in the zone benching right now. I thought about trying for a new 1 rep max but I had done a lot of reps at 145 so I decided to test 155 and see. That was the right choice, 160 probably would have been missed because 155 was close. I'll get it next time I think, I'll go for a triple at 145 too.

225 got about an inch off the ground and then I felt the familiar signs of "yr back is about to explode dude" so I dropped it. 205 went up without incident, though. Back was stiff the whole work out no matter how much stretching or light low back work I did. Baby steps..

Since my knee is hurting, I think I'm going to try deads 2x a week or 3x every 2 weeks, alternating between going for a new 1RM and high rep overhand work. I feel like I am to a point now where I know how to work with my back. Does it feel like pre-injury, no, but at least it's functional (belted) and I'm experiencing gains.

My knee, on the other hand, is really bad. I can feel that my left patellar tendon is about 4x the size of my right. I'm just going to start icing the fuck out of it, 5x a day or more on weekends and 3x a day during the week.

Cardio and diet have been totally lacking due to a number of things, mostly because of a lack of sleep due to a number of things. I was really feeling lean Monday and then I just went suckfest the rest of the week. I see a lot of cardio in my future this weekend, maybe I can convince my uncle to go play racquetball tomorrow...

Phil800101
01-21-12, 12:21 am
Awesome session Chris!

Hope that knee feels better soon.

twoheadedboy
01-22-12, 8:39 pm
Yeah buddy.

Squats: bodyweightx10, 100x5, 125x5, 150x5, 175x5, 205x3
Random unplanned Deads: 135x5, 185x5, 225x1 (reverse)
Press: 45x10, 65x8, 85x6, 105x1.5
Dips: -100x10, -85x8, -70x6, -55x5, -40x5

Today was actually going to be my press day and see how I fare on squats. Squats went so well, and everything felt so great that I decided to do deads. It was all about form today...I really focused on 1) keeping the bar high which allowed me to 2) shove my ass out further and also 3) focus on knees out, and it all came together. I worked with knee wraps for the first time and besides protection of my left knee, I really like the "feedback" on the knees out portion of them. Kept the wraps on for deads but I don't think they did much here. The downside to the deads is that I was pretty gassed after them, and pressing didn't go well. With the deads, I have a tendency to have the bar too far out in front of me, so I really worked on OVERcorrecting this and trying to push my heels through the floor. That 225 moved with no problem whatsoever.

Also, 2 hours of Mr. Dead Phil yesterday, alternating half hours of elliptical (700 cal/hr pace) and treadmill @ 4.1 mph 1% incline.

Phil800101
01-22-12, 11:19 pm
Out-fucking-standing my man!

Yup...if your shins aren't scraped or bleeding, you're wrong, ha ha.

twoheadedboy
01-24-12, 12:37 am
2 hours Mr. Dead Phil. Probably another 2 tomorrow, then bowling Wednesday, then lifting Thursday so I can get 3 lifting days into a Thur - Wed week.

I think I'm going to try something a little crazy...deads 2x per week, +10lbs each time, but very low volume (I'm thinking 5x135, 3xhighest overhand weight, 1xreverse grip 1RM). If I am successful at this pace until the Arnold, I will hit 315 with one workout to spare.

If I could dead 315x1, squat 225x5, bench 185x1, and press 135x5 by the Arnold...I'd be pretty happy with that. Deads and press are going to be the hardest parts of that, so I'll do them 2x per week along with chins since my biceps need the most "cosmetic" work, then once a week on squat/bench/dips.

Phil800101
01-24-12, 1:40 am
Two hours? Damn...that would drive me nuts! Way to bust it out bro.

I dunno, that might do more harm than good. It might work, but it could also backfire...it can be hard to force gains with deadlifts like that. They can be tricky.

A thing you might want to look at it is the accessory work...is there any part of the lift that you're specifically having trouble with? You don't want your main focus to be accessory work, but on the other hand it's there for a reason.

You might get better results really busting your ass on heavy deadlifts one day each week, and if you're going to double up on anything do so on the accessory work (keeping it higher volume with lighter reps).

twoheadedboy
01-24-12, 1:55 am
225 went up so easy, I don't know. I feel like most of the strength I had pre-injury is still there, and rapidly returning. Plus I'm belted now, so a belted 305 would definitely not be equivalent to the 305 I pulled last March.

I'm also considering alternating heavy 1RM with a Pulcinella-type plan. So since I just did 225, maybe I do 10x1x210 in a half hour next time, then work up to a higher 1RM next time. I don't know, my experience with deads has been that high volume does nothing but improve my higher rep sets, and wears me out for my other lifts if I don't do it last. 10RM deads are just brutal, I'd rather do 20 rep squats than that. Barring injury (caused by bad form, not anything else) I have never stopped making linear gains on deads and the lowest volume manageable (i.e., enough warmups to work up to a new RM) gets the job done.

twoheadedboy
01-24-12, 2:03 am
The other thing is that my recovery has been awesome. Before that 305 when I was working in the high 200's, it was taking me 3 days to fully recover that area. I pulled 205 Friday night at 8pm, failed at 225, then pulled 225 at about 4pm Sunday, after not pulling anything heavier than 185 in almost a year. No pain or undue soreness during the lift, no DOMS...I felt like I could have pulled some more today.

I think part of that has to do with my Vitamin D supplementation. Deads are something I really feel in my bones moreso than any other lift. In addition to 1 Pak a day in the morning, I take a 5000mg Vitamin D gelcap at night. I also take 1000 - 2000mg extra Vitamin C, 1000mg Vitamin E (Starr Shovel Method), Animal Flex, and Cissus Q, with a suitable diet. Oh, and Omega of course. If I did another cycle of Animal Test, I'd probably be able to deadlift every day haha!

Phil800101
01-24-12, 4:07 am
Ah, gotcha. That makes sense.


I don't know, my experience with deads has been that high volume does nothing but improve my higher rep sets, and wears me out for my other lifts if I don't do it last. 10RM deads are just brutal, I'd rather do 20 rep squats than that. Barring injury (caused by bad form, not anything else) I have never stopped making linear gains on deads and the lowest volume manageable (i.e., enough warmups to work up to a new RM) gets the job done.

Not sure if this was in response to my post or not (or if you were just referring to the plan you were considering) but in case it was I wasn't suggesting high volume deadlifts. Hitting accessory work with high volume, on the other hand, can be a good way to go.

It's a nice contrast...pulling heavy with lower volume, and then blasting your hamstrings, traps, lats, biceps, etc with some higher volume and lighter weight. Really balances things out.

twoheadedboy
01-25-12, 12:07 am
2 hours Mr. Dead Phil (30 min x4 alternating elliptical and fast walk slight incline treadmill).

Bowling tomorrow.

I'm at about 200 but this is the best 200 I've ever been at...I feel like I'm as lean as I was at 182.

Phil800101
01-25-12, 2:57 am
I'm at about 200 but this is the best 200 I've ever been at...I feel like I'm as lean as I was at 182.

Hell yeah! Solid progress for sure.

Nix0r
01-26-12, 9:45 am
Sweet mercy. Two hours?

twoheadedboy
01-27-12, 12:31 am
Hell yeah 2 hours. Before lifting was my #1 priority and I was in a "number of hours of cardio over 3 months" cardio contest with no daily limit, I once went from open to close (7 - 5) at 2.0 mph (if it's good enough for old people, it's good enough for me) with 2 half hour breaks. True story. I also did some 4 hour days alternating recumbant bike and treadmill, and some 3 hour days with 1 hour elliptical 2 hours treadmill. If I didn't hate actual running so much, I probably could be ready to do a marathon in like 3 months. My sheer hatred of it has me half contemplating doing it...someday.

But back to the matter at hand. Tonight:

Warmup: chins, cable crossover flyes, lat raises, side raises
Press: 45x10, 65x6, 85x3, 115xalmost, 110x1, 95x5, 85x6, 75x7
Some posterior chain warmup involving back extensions, good mornings, and squats up to 85lbs
Deads: 135x5, 185x3, 235x1
Chins: -85x8, -70x6, -55x4, -55x2, negatives @ -55x5

235 went up real easy, just like 225 last time. No knee wraps, which confirms that theory. It's pretty sad, apparently 235 is enough at my gym to be a spectacle, because there were about 5 people working out at nearby stations watching me out of the corner of their eye...actually they were watching as of the 185. Then again, I guess from what I've seen, if anyone even does deads, it's touch and go @ 185 max, dudes a lot bigger than me. I've seen a skinny kid doing a shit ton of 95lb reps also touch and go, then quarter squatting the same weight. There's another dude who wears Animal tees that I see periodically here, I keep meaning to say something to him and tell him about the next ABC etc. but I haven't seen him in a while. He does mostly bodybuilding type stuff, but legit weights/form, and is somewhere between me and Angel in body type.

I'm beginning to think my left knee problem is mostly scar tissue from previous problems, not anything legit and new on its own other than inflammation from not being able to take a good path. When I bend my knee back and forth while rotating my patella with my hand, it brings a LOT of relief to the area, and just has that "breaking up" feeling that you get when working over an area that has scar tissue. I'm going to continue to ice (it's helping some) but I think I'm going to start doing this more often.

I think this 315 by the Arnold quest has legs fellas...I'm obviously not accustomed to the heaviest of deadlift weights yet, but in every other major goalpost for me (press/bench/cardio/bodyfat) I am at or above a previous peak. I am definitely loving going to the gym right now.

twoheadedboy
01-27-12, 12:40 am
Also, those negative chins got me a bicep pump like none other...it was unbelievable. I could feel my whole arm burning all the way back to my lats, I'm definitely going to incorporate those more.

Phil800101
01-27-12, 2:29 am
Killer! Do it bro, it's yours for the taking.

Man, that is just sad...gotta be good for the ole' ego though, eh?

twoheadedboy
01-28-12, 6:09 pm
Yesterday: 2 hrs Mr. Dead Phil, ho hum.

Today:

Bench: 45x10slow, 45x10fast, 85x6, 125x3, 155x1, 160x1, 165xnope, 140x3, 140x3, 140x2
Squatz: (GM's and back extensions to warm up) 95x3, back sore, 95x2 belted, 140x5, 205x5
Seated V-bar cable rows: 100x10, 120x8, 140x6, 160x5, 135x8
Dips: -105x10, -95x8, -75x6, -55x5, -45x3

Got that 165 about 2" off my chest before I realized it was hopeless, oh well...160 is still a new 1RM. Everything after squats was a very tough slog, ugh. I am definitely ready for my 1 hr trigger point massage + chiro adjustment Monday night.

Phil800101
01-29-12, 1:15 am
Sick work, congrats on the PR!

twoheadedboy
02-01-12, 12:31 am
5:30am - 6:30am

Bench: 45x10, 85x6, 125x3, 165xdammit, 150x1x4
Deads: 135x5, 190x3, 245xbarely
Chins: -100x10, -85x8, -70x6, -55x5

7pm - 9pm

2 hrs Mr. Dead Phil (same on Sunday too)

Today pushed the very limits of what I am physically capable of at the moment. The lifting session was initially supposed to happen Monday morning, and I had a chiro session Monday night so I wasn't going to do it then. Wanting to space it as far from bowling night as I could (Wednesday), I got my ass up at 4 and went to the gym.

I packed my stuff just in case I decided to go do cardio tonight, as regularly scheduled. Had a good day, so why not? I actually had a record breaking elliptical block (hit 350 calories in 28:50), then my block of treadmill (2% incline 4.1 mph) went without incident. I decided I would slow down the pace for the 2nd block of elliptical but it was getting boring so I started working a little closer to normal. Well, I started to have weird heart palpitations so I slowed it back down, no other problems so I kept going with just a few minutes left. Rested a couple of minutes then hit the treadmill, tuning it down to 1.5% and 4.0mph after 10 min and it was still a very hard slog...sweating profusely. I went through almost an entire extra fill-up of my water bottle, meaning I hit about 70 oz, and finished it later putting me at a full gallon just for my gym time, not including the 3 or 4 glasses I had at work. My hip flexors are pretty sore just from lifting my legs. Just bowling tonight and lifting on Thursday.

That 245 dead barely went up but it went up. Didn't feel any closer on that 165, but honestly I didn't spend enough time warming up and working up to it, and it's been a while since my last early AM lifting session so even with Rage in me, I wasn't quite in my normal zone. Nonetheless, work got done. Now here's hoping I get some good news from the powers that be about Columbus tomorrow, with a good finish to my month. Still sitting at 200ish even soaking wet.

Oh, some funny logistical problems - dropped my mp3 player on Sunday, it died a day later...I've been through a lot with that one, damn. Also I realized once arriving to the gym tonight that I had everything except a t-shirt. There was a soccer store in the strip mall so I went and bought one of their "clearance" ($15) t-shirts. I'm not sure what it is but it's all black with a black design so whatever.

Phil800101
02-01-12, 1:52 am
Killer! Sounds like one hell of a day.

twoheadedboy
02-03-12, 12:32 am
Much drama, little time, my most hated type of fucking day. Nonetheless:

Bench: 45x20, 95x8, 135x2, 165x0, buncha statics @ 165, 4 slooooooow singles @ 140
GM's, back extensions, etc., you know the drill.
Deads: 135x5, 195x2, 195x1 (overhand), 255x1 (reverse)
Chins: -100x10, -85x10, -70x5, -70x4, -55x2x3, forced negs -40x1x5

I'm thinking my problem on bench is that my technical ability to get weight to the bottom and the top has exceeded my real life strength. Yes, I did a rep to 160, yes it went to the bottom and I locked out, and no I didn't bounce it, but it was pretty fast. Today on 165, like before I felt like the descent was not controlled enough, and when I went to push back up, I had a lot more of a prayer than the previous two attempts but I still could not get it past about 6 inches. Those slow 140's burned but I'm thinking increasing the time under tension with heavy weight is going to pay dividends...whereas doing a set of 6 at 135 is not going to raise that 1RM.

The real focus is deads, of course. I decided I wasn't leaving the gym until I picked up that 255. Got it on the first try, and got a compliment from the dude doing some t-bar rows near me. I was pretty much cashed after that though, strength was there for chins but endurance wasn't.

I'm pretty happy, this is the kind of workout I need to have on shitty days, so the ones on good days are that much better.

Nix0r
02-03-12, 9:00 am
If you're going to the ABC, come press and bench with Josh and myself.

Phil800101
02-03-12, 11:02 am
Solid!

Yeah, that makes sense.

twoheadedboy
02-03-12, 9:24 pm
2 hours Mr. Dead Phil. Weight is actually UP a couple of pounds, which is not really what I want, but I'm less concerned with the scale and more with my numbers and look/feel, and I'm happy with both of those.

Phil800101
02-04-12, 12:29 pm
Good deal!

twoheadedboy
02-04-12, 6:13 pm
Today:

Press: 45x10, 65x6, 85x3, 105x1, 115x1 (yeah buddy!)
Squats: 95x8, 135x5, 175x3, 215x3 (YEAH BUDDY!)
Seated V-bar rows: 100x10, 120x8, 140x6, 160x5, 140x6, 120x10
Dips: -85x10, -70x8, -55x6, -40x5, -25x3 (yeah buddy)

Took a melatonin and slept like 11 hours last night, I swear I woke up looking 5 years younger. Felt great too. Went in and had a great workout. Not much else to say.

I'm going to skip my Thursday deadlifts and do more volume Monday; assuming I get 265 I'll go for 285 at the ABC. I'll base my bench target off what I hit Monday, too.

Also started to teach my g/f squats. She can 45 degree leg press about 160 so I said it was time. Had her doing some short bar box squats to start out with, just to get her used to the depth she needs to hit. Went well.

Phil800101
02-04-12, 10:30 pm
Awesome work my man! Good stuff.

Sounds like a plan.

Cool.

twoheadedboy
02-06-12, 4:42 pm
Yesterday: 30 min elliptical, 30 min treadmill, quit after this.

Today:

Bench: 45x15, 85x8, 125x5, 165x1, 145xslow1x5, 135x3, 135x2
Deads: 135x10, 180x5 (overhand), 225x3, 265x1 (reverse) (most of those were done as singles)
Chins: -100x10, -85x8, -70x6, -55x5, 5 negatives @ bodyweight

Finally got 165 on bench...I think adding time under tension with the slow reps has helped. I got it up halfway, stalled, then was able to finish. I'm noticing glute contraction in my hard bench reps, don't know if that's a good or bad thing. Decided to add more dead volume today since I wouldn't be doing any more until the ABC, and this definitely made me realize that my back is still fucked up, but it's also good in a way. I feel like the only limitation (within reason) is form not strength, and that all boils down to concentration. Get my ass down, get the bar back, take the deepest breath possible, start the lift with the legs, lock out. Do all of these things, and the weight goes up. Fail on any one of them, and I can immediately feel it in the lumbar region, but quickly enough to where I just drop the weight and start over. All in all it probably took me a half hour to get those reps done, including misses at 185 and 225. However, the 265 went right up, easier than the 255 Thursday, so that tells me my form was spot on.

I'm hoping to work up to a single of 225 in squats on Thursday. I couldn't complete 2 hours because my legs were just dead, most likely from the squats the day before. I completed the reps strong, no pain in my knees or back, but they were very taxing. It's exciting to me that I'm finally getting to the point where my strength is finally exceeding my CNS recovery abilities. After the Arnold I'm going to drop the weights and do a more typical 3x5 progression, with the exception that I might do 20 rep squats.

Phil800101
02-06-12, 5:15 pm
Sick work there Chris!

twoheadedboy
02-10-12, 12:39 am
Many lulz were had today. First the weights:

Press: 45x10, 30'sx8, 85x5, 105x1, 120x1, 95x5
Squat: 95x5, 135x5, 180x3, 225x1x2
Rows: 100x10, 120x8, 140x6, 160x5, 120x10x2
Dips: -85x10, -70x8, -55x6, -40x5, -25x5, -55x7, -70x10
-Lots of warmup GM's, RDL's w/60 ez curl bar, back extensions

New PR on Press, back to my PR on Squats (though I did a set of 5 pre-injury, and with no knee wraps or belt, but I was using a tampon on the bar at the time). I felt like I probably could have done 235, maybe more. I feel better doing squats than I ever have before, not that my knee doesn't bother me a little bit but it's not hindering me at this point. If I'm squatting 225, pulling 285 on Saturday should be a breeze, right?

Now for the lulz: I walk over to the power rack for my press and squat, there's of course a bar with a 25 on one side and nothing else. I start to set up and Douche McBaggins walks up and says he was using the cage but just left to get a drink. I questioned this because of the status of the weights and he said he was in the middle of changing them. I ask how many sets and he says 2, so I'm like, whatever, let him do his thing and I move on to my rows and do some additional back warmup work as listed above. Then I see the guy do at least 4 sets and seemingly not stopping. I go over there and ask him "I thought you only had 2 sets". It's then he tells me he's doing "at least 4". To add insult to injury, his "sets" are quarter squats at 135, but with the rails set as low as they would go (?) Whatever, I don't care if he's doing drop set reverse alternating bosu ball wrist curls in the power rack so long as he does the number of sets he says he is and gets the fuck out. I slowly continue what I'm doing to avoid burning out and watch him from the corner of my eye. He finishes up (I guess) and starts to walk away (oh I should mention he increased his quarter squat load to 155 at some point in his 8 - 9 sets), then changes his mind and proceeds to load every non-45 plate onto the right side of the bar. I guess this was supposed to piss me off, but I just laughed...mind you this guy is probably upper 30's low 40's. I could see him watching me so I'm sure his balls shrunk up into his body when I pressed nearly what he thought he was squatting, and he was nowhere to be found when I was loading 2 plates a side onto the squat bar...he was busy doing god knows what in the selectorized area and at one point did like 40 lb ez curl upright rows, like 1 set. I get done with my squats, go back to rows and do my heavy sets, and then head over to the dip/chin station which is directly across from the locker room. I see the guy go in and go out, eyeing me the entire time. He happens to catch me between sets, so he makes it a point to flip one of the grips the other way on his way out the door, and I see him talking to the front counter. A minute or two later the site manager starts walking toward me; my thought was "jesus christ are you kidding me". Yes, he must have "told" on me, because he received "a couple of complaints" and asked me if there was a problem. I told him exactly what happened and I could see him suppress an urge to roll his eyes, when he said "that's why there's 2 sides to every story", he small-talked me for a couple minutes and then left. I half expected to see this dude in the parking lot but I guess he was too much of a pussy to confront me outside the protected walls of the gym.

So yeah, I definitely cannot wait for the ABC Saturday, with guys who outclass me at an awesome place. No offense to Cardinal, because in over 3 years I've only had one other problem and that was with an employee.

Phil800101
02-10-12, 1:06 am
Killer, congrats on the PR!

Oh man, what a douchebag...

twoheadedboy
02-12-12, 2:26 am
Today at the ABC:

Deads: 135x5, 185x4 (overhand, thick bar), 225x1, 255x1, 285x1, 300x0, 135xgod only knows
Bench: 45x20, 85x8, 125x5, 150x1, 170x0x2, 135x5, 95xa whole bunch

Many thanks to the Chicago ABC crew for trying to whip my ass into shape in regards to my form on deads. I got motivated, taught, and yelled at, and all of the above are good. I am not afraid of anyone, including myself and my own weaknesses. What became abundantly clear is that while I thought I was using significantly better form in deads than when I injured myself, in reality it's maybe only a little better, and I'm only not injuring myself because I'm breathing correctly and belting. It's clear that I have to put as much time and energy into gaining flexibility in my entire posterior chain but especially my hamstrings and hip flexors.

Problems: Either I was hunched too far over the bar, or my ass was too low to get my back into position, or I had no stability in the necessary position. In positive news, even before the form assistance came, my back was feeling amazing, almost as good as pre-injury. Missing that 300 was a great test too, because missing a heavy 1RM attempt is how it got injured in the first place.

I know the Arnold is going to be an awesome experience. My hope is that everyone can see that I'm not a wilting flower (see what I did there?) and that I can take any warranted criticism, related to form or otherwise. I do not tend to yell or carry on as much as some others, but I burn with an internal intensity that few realize. Part of the "fun" of weightlifting for me is doing something and getting better at something that I suck at. One of my best friends kicked my ass up and down the racquetball court for over a year as he was teaching me, but in the end my superior athleticism and sheer tenacity brought me to at least an equal level to him.

So yeah, Ghost, Nix0r, Phill, Josh, everyone...you are appreciated.

Bruiser
02-12-12, 8:53 am
It was great meeting you at the ABC. It's good that you can take advice, pointers and yelling. Trust me, I'm still recovering from a severe back injury/botched surgery from over four years ago and the last thing you want to do is have bad DL form. What's helped me the most is trying to loosen up my hamstrings, glutes and hips a lot! My flexibility is still a joke but it's getting there. What has helped is opening up my stance a lot. You might wanna try sumo pulls until you've got your form dialed in better. This will help lower the risk of injury.

Phil800101
02-12-12, 4:56 pm
Strong work yesterday bro!

Just keep plugging at it, and it will all come together. It takes time, but when it clicks it will stick.

twoheadedboy
02-14-12, 12:40 am
Today was pretty shitty.

Press: 45x10, 65x8, 85x3, 105x1, 125x0x2, 120x0, 105x2, 95x3, 85x5
Squats: bodyweightx10, 95x5, 155x5, 135x20
Rows: 100x10, 120x8, 140x6, 160x5, 120x10, 140x7
Dips: -85x10, -70x8, -55x6, -40x5
Chins: -100x10, -85x8, -70x6, -55x4, 5 forced negs @-55

I didn't sleep well last night, and then while work went well, I found out about a meeting I'm having tomorrow that's potentially life-altering, yet I have no idea as to what it entails. The possibilities are endless, I could lose my job, I could be promoted, or it just may be a lot of pomp and nothing may happen and anything in between. As a result, I fucking forgot my gym shorts so I did my whole workout in jeans, because I don't give a fuck if people think I look stupid, I wasn't going to not work out especially after driving the 20 minutes to the gym. I have a little bit of soreness/tightness in my LEFT elbow, which has never happened before, though it is the underhand part of my reverse grip deads and I did a shit ton with a fat bar on Saturday, which I have never used before. I'm not too concerned because I'm not really planning on doing anything with it until I pull on Thursday. I was just happy to see my workout and this day end and we'll see what tomorrow brings...

Phil800101
02-14-12, 12:44 am
Eh, shitty days happen bro, and a shitty day of work is better than nothing. Hope all goes well at the meeting tomorrow, and take care of that elbow.

twoheadedboy
02-17-12, 12:32 am
Press - 105x3
Bench - bunch of reps at 145 and 135
Deads - I got up to a rep of 265

Just flat and dead as hell today. I don't know what the deal is. Nothing hurts nothing is sore, I just have no endurance. I might skip Saturday and come back around Sunday, we'll see.

Phil800101
02-17-12, 1:27 am
Rest up bro, sounds like your body is telling you something.

twoheadedboy
02-20-12, 2:14 am
Today:

I was going to lift Saturday after my bowling practice and decided a nap would be a better idea, after sleeping 10 hrs the night before, no PM or melatonin. I'm really wiped out on weekends, and I did zero cardio last week. So since Sunday is normally a cardio day, Monday weights, and I don't like to lift Tuesdays since it's the day before bowling league, I decided to just do some cardio with some weighted warmup/assistance type work. Here's what I did:

-Normal chins progression, super-setted with
-Normal dips progression
-Back extensions, as low as the pad would go, 3x10 floor to arched back slightly beyond parallel
-Good mornings, 45x10x1, 65x10x1
-Stupid ass seated machine flyes, went up to 70 lbs at a whole bunch of reps, total waste of time. Seriously, who uses this machine, and why?

Then my normal 2 hrs of cardio...but I kicked ass at it. Usually the 1st half hour of elliptical is rough, I don't really do much to warm up and am feeling pretty good 10 minutes into it.

Tomorrow will be squats/press day. Maybe I'll do bench cable flyes at the cable crossover station, which to me are the best flyes of all, giving constant resistance throughout the entire range of motion.

I read about the Juggernaut method today...I think I'm going to give that a go post-Arnold, after a (most likely brief) period of pure SS 3x5 work on the core lifts. I like that it's similar to 5/3/1 but has you testing your maxes on a more frequent basis...I would think that would make it more suitable for someone like me who doesn't quite bench his bodyweight or squat 3 bills yet.

I think my training difficulties may just be that I'm maxing out my linear progress on my current training system. I'm not doing straight SS, I'm testing my 1RM about once a week. I've pretty much hit a wall in overheads, bench, and deads, but I still have space to go in squats. I think I'll give 230 a try tomorrow and see how many reps I can do.

Phil800101
02-20-12, 2:21 pm
Sounds like a plan. I had the same thing happen to me when I did 5 x 5 training, it got to the point where I wasn't able to really go any heavier each week.

twoheadedboy
02-24-12, 9:38 pm
Today:

Bench: 135x4, 135x2sloooooow, 155x1
Bunch of back warmups
Deads: 205x1 overhand, 225x1, 255x1, 295x0, 225x1x5, 185x3 overhand
Bunch of fuckoff bodybuilding-type accessory work...db presses, db bent rows, alternating hammer curls, getting swole and jacked bro

Work has been really kicking my ass and I've been in a funk about a lot of things so I didn't do much in the last week. I'm pretty excited about my post-workout Arnold plans though. Basically I'm going to do a fuckton of deads and other low back and hamstring work, 5x5 bench, and 3x5 everything else, then switch to the juggernaut method after I'm satisfied with my progess and/or plateau. I MAY have an occasional workout buddy, a crossfit-trained guy, so that'll be nice. Basically my endurance (anything above 4 reps) is shit and I need to fix that. Oh yeah, and the Arnold will be sweet, too.

Phil800101
02-24-12, 11:55 pm
Nice work my man!

Hell yeah, less than a week to go.

twoheadedboy
02-26-12, 6:24 pm
Today: Last squat day pre-Arnold

Press: 45x10, 65x8, 85x6, 105x1, 115x0x2, 110x1, 100x4, 95x5
Squat: 95x5, 135x5, 185x5, 210x3, 235x2
Seated Cable Rows: 100x10, 120x8, 140x6, 160x5, 180x3
Dips: -85x10, -70x8, -55x6, -40x5

Press was a little disappointing, but I did more reps at the lower weights than typical, so that may be why...I was THIS close to getting that 115 to the top, it was suspended in mid-air over my head for quite some time. Squats were great, I think I could have done 245, really in a groove on these. I've never done reps at 185 on the rows, either, so that's great, and dips were strong...I think I might have a very minor partial tear in my chest because I've at times felt a sharp pain right where the upper peck connects to the middle, when I'm at the fullest stretch on bench and dips. I didn't have that problem today, fortunately.

Looking forward to squatting with Higa and Seath at the National ABC!

Nix0r
02-26-12, 7:19 pm
Today: Last squat day pre-Arnold

Press: 45x10, 65x8, 85x6, 105x1, 115x0x2, 110x1, 100x4, 95x5
Squat: 95x5, 135x5, 185x5, 210x3, 235x2
Seated Cable Rows: 100x10, 120x8, 140x6, 160x5, 180x3
Dips: -85x10, -70x8, -55x6, -40x5

Press was a little disappointing, but I did more reps at the lower weights than typical, so that may be why...I was THIS close to getting that 115 to the top, it was suspended in mid-air over my head for quite some time. Squats were great, I think I could have done 245, really in a groove on these. I've never done reps at 185 on the rows, either, so that's great, and dips were strong...I think I might have a very minor partial tear in my chest because I've at times felt a sharp pain right where the upper peck connects to the middle, when I'm at the fullest stretch on bench and dips. I didn't have that problem today, fortunately.

Looking forward to squatting with Higa and Seath at the National ABC!

You are going to learn a metric fuckton from those two fellas.

Phil800101
02-27-12, 1:57 am
Solid!


You are going to learn a metric fuckton from those two fellas.

Most definitely.

twoheadedboy
02-29-12, 12:25 am
Last workout before the Arnold.

Bench: 45x20 (10 slow/10 fast), 85x8, 135x5, 135x5, 135x4, 135x2
Deads: 135x10, 185x3 (pause) 185x2, 235x1, 295x1
Pull ups: -100x10, -85x8, -70x6, -55x4, -55x2

Fuck yeah on the deads. At my chiro's suggestion I'm carrying around tennis balls with me in the car and using them to apply pressure to the lumbar area of my back, and I'm in my car a lot...the flexibility I've gained in a short time is unbelievable. So unbelievable that I feel like I gained an additional 6" of flex toward proper deadlift setup, which is by far my biggest problem in the lift (as Phil, NiX0r, and Ghost can all attest to). I've learned the "arch the lower back" part of the equation, and now I'm working on the "chest up and back" part. I could feel the difference today and it immediately changed my weakness from "what can I get off the ground and lock out?" to "what can I stand up with?" Which, I feel, is where the weakness should be felt. As a result of my better setup position, the bar path was much straighter and shorter, and as a result, I don't feel any pain or soreness even with that 1RM lift...ok, the slightest of tension in my lower back early in the lift, but immediately gone afterward. This is also evidence of having an open mind when doing your workouts...originally I planned on banging out as many reps at my max overhand weight as possible. Then when I had to pause after 3 because of conditioning not weight or soreness (an issue to be addressed later), I decided to do a triple at 235 reverse grip and judge from there. The first rep went up so easy I'm like, what the hell, let's load up 295 again and see what happens. What happened was that it went up so easy that I'm thinking I could have pulled 305 tonight and it has me thinking 3 plates per side on Saturday...

The mental breakthrough I had regarding form today was that I realized my back and hips in the deadlift are like a bowstring, with my belly button representing the butt of the arrow. The more taut and longer I can make that string, the shorter the bar path, the easier the lift, and the more weight that can be pulled.

Bench is not really exciting me right now, at least this rep range. I think I'm going to target more like 3x6-7 instead of 5, because I feel like I'll have more power, as well as flexibility in the weight used and rep range if I go for that. I think I'll go for 130x3x7 next time.

I'm more and more psyched for this weekend by the minute. I feel like this is the culmination of the last 2 1/2 years, and yet is just another milestone. I feel like even though my numbers aren't much different from last year at this time (mostly due to injury), I have the tools (and will gain more this weekend) that will allow me to make a ton of progress and surprise some people at the Arnold 2013. My raw total is right 700 right now (695 with my 2RM in squats), I think I could crack 1,000 next year...I feel like I could add another 100 between squats and deads without changing anything, just by continuing to do what I've been doing.

So going into the Arnold, here are my (tested) 1RM's:

Deads: 295
Squat: 235 (x2)
Seated Row: 185 (x5)
Bench: 165
OHP: 125

See you guys in Columbus...

Phil800101
02-29-12, 4:12 am
Out-fucking-standing bro, congrats on the PR! Strong pulling for sure.

Hell yeah man, I cannot wait...

twoheadedboy
03-01-12, 8:58 pm
Tonight @ Metro:

-Worked up to 245x1 and 255x2 (1st rep pretty shitty) in squats, both PR's. Attempted 275, couldn't get out of the hole.
-Lots of barbell OHP.

Good day.

Kowboy
03-05-12, 11:19 am
Grats on the 315 deadlift at the ABC

twoheadedboy
03-05-12, 12:12 pm
Thanks! Beat me to the punch!

Saturday, National ABC:

Deadlifts with Higa, Seath, ED COAN, The Ant, Sam Byrd, Wedge, and many others

135x5, 225x4, 275x3, 275x1, 315x0x2, 315x1

New PR, roster above....words can not express how awesome this was, though I will try in a week or so, time permitting. Higa really harped on "tight abs" for me and I could definitely feel the difference in the heavy lifts...went from shaky to machine-like. I was actually only a couple inches away from lockout on my first 315 attempt but the weights weren't collared and I dumped one side. 2nd try was poor setup. 3rd try was slow, but I had it all away. Again, I can't thank everyone involved enough, including the Chicago crew who really focused on my back position at the last local ABC. I won't be able to hit the gym again until Sunday at the earliest due to bowling nationals, but I think it's an opportune time for an off week anyway...I've been shooting for 1RM's in most of my lifts since the beginning of the year. Now time for bowling nationals.

twoheadedboy
03-13-12, 12:42 am
Tonight:

Warmup: Chins -100x10
Bench 45x10x2, 75x8, 105x6, 140x3x5
Deads: 135x10, 185x5 (overhand), 225x3, 270x1x5, 225x1 (reverse)
Chins: -85x8, -70x5x3 (chin/neutral/pull-up)
One arm hammer curls (left arm only) 25, 20, 15, 12.5, 10, 5, 3 drop sets

First post-Arnold workout, went decently well. I wanted 5x3 on that weight for bench, and 5x1 on deads, but considering I was operating on about 2 hours sleep, a grueling day at the office, and a pretty shitty diet, I'll take it. My goal is to run a pretty strict Rippetoe until the linear gains end, then switch to 5x5, then evaluate my progress from there. If I can net 2 more months of linear gains, that has me repping at my 1RM's as of the Arnold, including on bench and press which I had not been within 10 lbs each in a month for some reason. The left arm bodybuilder curl work is strictly vanity, I'm tired of the asymmetry caused by 2 decades of pitching and bowling, so I'm going to throw in a little extra work at the end of workouts as I see fit...pump was pretty insane.

Deads were great. At the Arnold, Higa gave me the great cue of "tight abs" and it's really putting everything together. "Tight abs" is keeping my low back flexed, the bar close to my body, and the focus on pushing the floor and standing up instead of pulling the bar, all the things you're supposed to be doing with the deadlift. No back pain, though those 270's really gassed me, especially the last 2. Focusing on that, it seems like my weak point is really my lock out and not from ground to knees as originally thought...amazing what good form can do. I think this may be the most reps at the highest weight I've ever done, but it doesn't really matter.

On the bad note, my knee has been trashed since the Monday after the Arnold where I stupidly bowled 8 games without my knee wrap. I couldn't even squat 95 as a warmup for deads without bad pain in that knee. I did back extensions and got into a weird position and felt a pop, but it was a good pop. I'm icing with a blue ice pack right now and it's working wonders, so I'm going to keep that up as well as my Pak + Flex + Cissus + 5000mg Vitamin D supplementation and hope to hit the squats hard next week...gotta bowl Wednesday, then I have a week off from that, so 13 days really. After that I have 1 week of league, a roll-off in a different league, and state at the end of March which will be 12 games in 2 days, then I'm done, probably won't touch a ball for month after that.

All in all, things are going well right now athletically...I feel like I accomplished my goal of coming in to the Arnold the strongest I've ever been, and after the inspiring experience that weekend was, I have the motivation to really bust my ass over the next year and surprise some people at the next Arnold.

twoheadedboy
03-16-12, 1:00 am
Tonight:

Warmup with 5 min elliptical, super-setted side lat raises and front lat raises, 15's; chins -100x10
Press: 45x10, 65x8, 85x6, 105x3x5
Squat warmup: GM's 45x10, 65x10; back extensions x10, romanians 70x10
Squats: 95x5, 135x5, 175x5, 215x5x3
--running out of time--
Seated V-bar cable rows: 70x10, 100x8, 130x6, 170x5 **short rest** 160x5

Everything felt good. OHP's were really really hard. Squat was progressively harder, that last set particularly. Knee still having issues but squats did not make worse, if anything a little better...banging the car door into it on my way into my house did not help though. Form was not as solid as I would like due to that but as I continue to rehab it, that issue will fix itself. I have another week off bowling, that will help a lot.

My back gets better and better every week, you don't know how exciting that is for me.

twoheadedboy
03-18-12, 5:36 pm
Today:

Warmup: 5 min elliptical, -100x10 pullups, 25'sx10 DB OHP
Bench: 55x10, 85x8, 115x6, 140x5x3
Warmup: Good mornings, back extensions, Romanians, stretching
Deads: 135x10, 185x5, 225x3, 275x2, 275x1x3
Pullups supersetted w/Dips: Worked up to -55x5x1 chins and -40x5x1 dips, too gassed to continue

Bench was hard but felt great. Deads were easy until 275, then a chore. I was originally going to shoot for 270x5x1, and judging from what I did would have been closer to achieving that, but I was too lazy to set up the bar with 270! Felt a little tweak in my back but nothing too serious. I did 1 1/2 hrs cardio yesterday which probably didn't help.

Phil800101
03-18-12, 7:47 pm
Good stuff bro! Glad to hear about the back.

twoheadedboy
03-21-12, 12:59 am
Short on time (55 min) due to a long "relationship discussion" so I only had time to do my main lifts tonight.

Warmup: front raises into lat raises w/15's x10, 10 x-100 chins, 1x10 back extensions
Press: 45x10, 70x8 (because I can't add), 85x3, 105x4, 105x3x3, 105x2
More back extensions, good mornings
Squats: 95x5, 135x5, 185x5, 225x5x3

Back feels great. Knee feels better and better. I was supposed to do 220 not 225 today, and paid for it...one rep was high, and the last 2 reps were very hard, but I got through it. I feel like my squat is outpacing my other lifts right now, so I'm really going to dial down the depth and speed going forward. Watching Ben Seath's speed on his warmup work for 805x2 at the Cage...I want to look like that when I'm doing my non-working sets.

I think I'm going to switch my combinations to Deads + Press and Squat + Bench; I feel like mentally the squat and press are harder and require more between set recovery time for me, deads and bench less even though they're more weight.

Side gym note - there's a guy I saw for the 2nd time today who's skinny (like, 6'3" 135 type skinny) who's working with a muscley dude that I have to assume is a trainer of some sort...2 of the lifts I have seen him do are smith machine deads with too much weight to keep a flat back, and decline bench. I know there are training methods for beginners other than starting strength, but seriously, WTF.

twoheadedboy
03-23-12, 12:48 am
Today: Extra-heavy squats last time, deads next time, what to do? Decided to do medium squats.

Bench: 30's x10, 85x8, 115x6, 145x4, 145x3x3, 145x2
Squat: 95x5, 135x5, 185x5x5, 140x10
Seated cable v rows: 85x10, 110x8, 135x6, 160x5x3
Dips: -70x8, -55x6, -40x5x3
-Also did my typical warmups

My recovery was AMAZING from that last squat session, plus my knee was feeling pretty good, so instead of giving myself an extra day off like last time, I just decided to go do more squats though not as heavy. Knee still bothers me but it doesn't get worse, so I just ignore it. This was a LOT of volume for me.

Training w/NiX0r Saturday. It's going to be funny to see him in my sissy gym.

Doing the Bowl For Kids' Sake tourney Sunday, which benefits Big Brothers Big Sisters. If you'd be interested in donating, I, my team, and the organization need all the help they can get - http://bbbs.kintera.org/2012/chrishickman

Nix0r
03-23-12, 8:55 am
Tomorrow is gonna be fun.

twoheadedboy
03-24-12, 8:09 am
Yep, this gon' be good.

twoheadedboy
03-24-12, 12:41 pm
Today w/NiX0r:

Press: 45x10, 65x8, 85x6, 105x5, 105x5x2 w/some assistance at the end of each
Deads: 135x10, 185x5 (overhand), 225x3, 280x2x2, 280x1 (reverse), buncha 135 sumo
Chins: -100x10, -85x8, -70x6, -55x5x3
Various db curls etc bs

Nice to bring a freak like Steve to my home gym. I mean, nobody SQUATS 225 at that gym other than me and he was pressing it! Good times in Glen Ellyn.

Sumo was a revelation...I'm going to have some fun with that, stay tuned...

twoheadedboy
03-24-12, 12:43 pm
Also Mr Dead Phil last night. I've seen the light and am going to start doing more at a lower intensity, bbecause three 1000 calorie sessions are better than two 1100.

twoheadedboy
03-28-12, 12:41 am
It's days like this that make it all worth it.

Tonight:

Press: 45x10, 65x8, 85x3, 105x5, 105x4x2, 110x1, 115x1, 120x1
Squat: 95x5, 135x5, 185x5, 230x5x3
You know the drill on my warmups

I didn't want to go to the gym tonight. I have a very important decision looming, work has been fairly stressful, and my sleep and diet haven't been the greatest. However, if I didn't go, I couldn't go Wednesday either, and then I could go Thursday or Friday (lifting-wise) but not lift all weekend since bowling state tournament is going on all weekend. So I almost backed out at the last minute but went anyway.

Couple of adjustments I made tonight: #1, I'm going to bench waaaaaaaaaaay less. For my goals, bench just doesn't matter that much right now, and everything I've read indicates a strong OHP will carry over anyway. So I think, for a while anyway, bench is going to be assistance work only. #2, working in more volume with OHP. Rather than finishing with a double or triple at 105, I decided to do some heavier singles...felt good man. #3 messed with my squat set up a bit to great result. I'm most comfortable with a fairly high bar, but I feel it in my knees and wrists. I tried the other extreme, the lowest bar I could set up with, and this made me way to apt to incorporate good mornings into my reps and not get full depth with my hips, and I could feel the strain in my back. As of that 2nd set of 230, I found a happy medium that felt absolutely amazing...I feel like I could have done reps at 240.

Thursday will be deads and arms. I'm going to continue to work up my sumo by working up to splitting my heaviest overhand set sumo/conventional. Eventually I think I'd like to get to the point where I'm doing 2 sets overhand, 2 sets reverse conventional, 2 sets sumo (in order of weight). I only tried 135 with NiX0r but I felt like it's only a matter of time before I'm pulling 350+ this way...all my mass is in my ass and thighs and I think this leverages that a lot more.

twoheadedboy
03-29-12, 10:32 pm
Today:

Bench: 45x10, 85x8, 125x6, 145x3x4, 145x4
Deads: 135x5/5, 185x3/3, 225x3, 265x1, 290x2x3
Press: 10x85, 10x90, 10x95 all from bottom of the movement to the top of the head, 115x3 from top of the head to lockout, 95x3 from a dead stop on pins full range
Dips: -85x10, -70x8, -55x6, -40x5

Splits on deads are conventional/sumo. I feel great pulling 290 but it's frustrating that I can't seem to do a heavy set of 5. I feel like I could have pulled 3 or 4 more doubles at that weight if need be! Really focusing on abs tight, back arched, bar close to the body, heels through the floor. Sumo did not feel quite as easy as last time, but I forgot to alternate my grip, and I just did heavy squats 2 days ago and bowled last night so maybe my legs are a little tired...I've been fighting some lingering soreness in my quads for a couple of weeks, nothing too bad just noticeable when I do anything that requires bearing weight across a full range of motion. I've gained a lot of flexibility in my hams and they feel great...really right now, I'm firing on all cylinders, my only enemy is time and that's a great feeling to have.

Won't be lifting until Tuesday unless I really feel great Monday, bowling 12 games this weekend in state tournament. I'm thinking bowling that much and then squatting the next day is not going to be a great idea for my knee but we'll see...I've squatted and bowled twice since Sunday already and lots of Vitamin I and ice have done the trick thus far.

Phil800101
04-01-12, 12:09 pm
Looking good in here Chris! Solid work for sure.

The OP will definitely translate to bench, as will the dips and chins/pullups.

twoheadedboy
04-03-12, 10:52 pm
Added my first softball practice Sunday and a throwing session Monday night, so skipped the gym; way too beat up and still am feeling the effects of the last week. Nonetheless, went tonight:

OHP: 45x10, 65x8, 85x6, 105x5, 105x4x2, 105x3, 95x5, 85x7
Squat: 95x5, 135x5, 185x5, 235x5, 235x1
Bunch of dips and chins

I could still feel the level of overall exhaustion in my body going into my work sets on the press. I can tell that when I am out of gas in a cardiovascular sense, I am beat down; my strength is mostly there but my recovery time between sets increases dramatically. So, I decided to up the volume on top of this because all the literature I've read on OHP has been in favor of higher volume programs; I'm definitely at a point where adding 5 lbs per workout at 3x5 is not a possibility. I'm very close to moving my work weight up to 110, but I still want to get a little better at 105 first. I think I'm going to continue doing OHP 2 out of every 3 workouts and bench on the other, approx. once a week.

Squats were brutal today, just brutal. I've figured out that my knee problems are not made worse by squatting (with good form), so I just ignore the pain and go to town. However, today with the exhaustion in my body, I was trying to both ignore pain and fight the will to quit, and today the weight won. That set of 235x5 was fine, and I have no doubts that on a good day I could do another 2 sets at that weight and probably even higher, but today it just wasn't there. It didn't help that I stupidly forgot my knee wraps today but again, I'm confident in my knee and the after effects of squatting that I'm not doing anything to it so long as I remember to spread at the bottom and keep my ass back.

Dips were very very hard after all the OHP but chins were surprisingly easy considering everything else. I added them at the end because I figured why not gas my arms in every way possible? No bowling tomorrow, all that I have to contend with is my next workout. That should be Thursday, when I will attempt to pull 300 for reps. I don't see why that won't happen, I mean my back is feeling great, for all intents and purposes it is fully healed, plus stronger and more flexible than pre-injury. That's not to say I don't still feel stiffness, I do, but my trusty tennis balls in the car fight off that issue very effectively.

More and more I'm starting to think about/plan the days leading up to my deadlifts, and what to do the days following heavy squats. My volume was so low today it's no big deal, but it's very interesting to me the mindset shifts I'm having to make. Before, getting decent sleep and eating a good meal a few hours before the workout was enough, now I really have to be on point for 2 - 3 days before (for deads) or after (for squats) to be really successful and make it to the next session/recover sufficiently. Diet-wise I feel like I can still garbage pit myself to recovery and work off any excess fat or bloating on the elliptical, but sleep is ever more crucial as the lbs increase. It's paying dividends, because I continue to improve in my lifts and I can definitely notice the difference aesthetically.

twoheadedboy
04-06-12, 2:24 am
Tonight:

Press: 105x5, 105x3x4, 95x5, 85x6, 75x8
Deads: 135x10, 185x5 (overhand), 225x3, 225x1*, 265x1, 300x2, 300x1x3
Normal dip work

Deads felt great, those single reps were really hard, but I grooved the last one. I know I'm doing well when the bar path feels short, doesn't have to "go around" my knees, and my legs are more sore than my back. Grip has not been an issue, honestly the "shrug" characteristic of the deads have been more of a problem than holding on to the bar...really feel it in the biceps and shoulders.

Things witnessed at the gym today: 95 lb quarter squats in the Smith machine, 95 lb deficit deads on a 12" squat box with a banana-shaped back.

Going to go pass out now.

twoheadedboy
04-07-12, 8:32 pm
Today:

Bench: 45x10, 85x8, 125x6, 145x4, 145x3x4
Press: 95x5, 85x7, 75x9, 65x10
Good mornings, back extensions, etc., squats 95x5nope
45 degree leg press: empty (assuming 105? didn't say on this one) x10, 195x5, 245x5, 285x5, 335x5, 375x5
Seated cable rows: 85x10, 110x8, 135x6, 160x5x2, 165x5
Chins: -95x10, -80x8, -65x6, forced negatives x5 @ bodyweight

Knee is still shitty. Which is so frustrating because my back is stronger and more flexible than it's ever been. I can't call it "pain free" but it effectively is; sometimes it's stiff and hurts, sometimes I feel a kink here and there when lifting, but I can lift heavy and even miss reps without hurting myself so I'm happy...just have to remain vigilant with flexibility work and warmups.

With that in mind, I think I'm going to attempt to get a new 1RM in deads at the ABC next Saturday, and I'm targeting the weight that slayed me slightly over a year ago at Jakked: 325. I'm going to do deads Monday, which is only 4 days after my last deadlift workout but I'm only going to target 275x5 and then 305x1. Considering the fact that I'm not squatting, hopefully that's a light enough load and enough reps to make the attempt.