Brick by Brick

[D.McClain]

My journey into the bodybuilding game started back in 09 when I was deployed to Afghanistan. During that time I went through a bad break up...blah blah blah - end result I attacked the weights and ate everything in sight. I wound up going from 170 to 210 over that time with some amazing gains in strength.

Since then, my numbers have been on a perpetual roller coaseter ride. Last summer I was back down to 175 and looking unhealthy according to some friends. I found this website and started soaking in as much info as possible. I've been bulking since August of last year. Right now I'm sitting around 200 with about 15% body fat (thats a scientific wild ass guess).

Strength gains have been good but I'm running into a bit of a road block - headaches. Today I hit a new personal record for incline bench. I went to my next exercise and I felt a familiar pressure building in my head so I stopped, frustrated as hell. The last time it happened it felt like a bomb went off in my head and I was out for two weeks. My doc says its one thing and my chiropractor says its another leaving me wondering what the hell is going on.

Anyways I'm not going to let that stop me. Any comments, suggestions or crititiques are welcome. My feelings don't get hurt easily so lay that shit on me without mercy.

[Brick By Brick]

Might be exertion headaches. Be sure you are well hydrated when you lift, might look into high blood pressure issues. Like your journey title, BTW.

[D.McClain]

My doctor mentioned something about those last time I talked with him. I think I'm just going to take it easy for the next couple of days and then hit it hard once I return. I've found that rest is the only thing that does it any good.

[Brick By Brick]

My doctor mentioned something about those last time I talked with him. I think I'm just going to take it easy for the next couple of days and then hit it hard once I return. I've found that rest is the only thing that does it any good.

True. The only time I have suffered from exertion headaches was right after North American Strongman Nationals in 2010, and really needed a week or two off. Try some time off and let us know how it works.

[D.McClain]

After taking about a week off I came back and hit legs. The numbers were pretty good and I was happy that my head didn't feel like it was going to explode. Looks like rest is about the only thing I can do for that one. Now that lifting has been accomplished it's time to hit the books and study for exams...

[D.McClain]

It's been a while since I've posted so I figured it was time to stop being a schmuck and do so. My biggest gains have been in deadlifts. I've increased my one rep max a good deal to 315. For the last month though I've leveled off around there. I think I'm going to change up my rep scheme to 5 x 5. That helped me a while back with my squats so I'm hoping the same will hold true for deadlifts.

[D.McClain]

28 May 2012
Squats - 5 x 185 5 x 195 5 x 205 4 x 215 2 x 215

01 June 2012
Deadlifts - 5 x 245 5 x 255 5 x 265 5 x 275 3 x 285

Only one more pak left but I'm broke...damn. Time to scrape up some $$

[D.McClain]

I haven't posted in a while and figured it is time to get back to doing so. Since starting this thread I've admittedly suffered from a severe lack of focus. I was still hitting the gym but I didn't have any set goal in mind nor a systematic way to measure progress.

Fast forward a few months to January of this year and I had surgery to repair a torn meniscus in my left knee. That put me out for a little while and I am now getting back to a routine. So here's the training plan - its rather basic:

I lift Monday, Wednesday and Friday, swapping between Routine A and Routine B. I've been doing this for only a few weeks now.

A DAY

Squats 3 x 5
Bench Press 3 x 5
Dead Lifts 3 x 5

B DAY

Squats 3 x 5
Overhead Press 3 x 5
Dead Lifts 3 x 5

Today's Numbers

Squats 3 x 5 @ 185
Overhead Press 2 x 5 @ 115, 5 @ 120
Dead Lifts 4 @ 245, 5 @ 245, 3 @ 245

My grip is the limiting factor on dead lifts. Any comments or criticism is greatly appreciated.

[D.McClain]

Squats: 5 @ 185, 5 @ 190, 5 @ 190
Bench Press: 4 @ 200, 5 @ 195, 5 @ 195
Dead Lift: 5 @ 245, 5 @ 245, 5 @ 250

I felt pretty good on the squats but my knee has been buggin the hell out of me since lifting. I imagine it's just been overworked from the combination of morning PT and afternoon lifting. And I'm still benching more than I squat....sad face.

[D.McClain]

I'm pretty sure the knee is fucked again. It feels like it did before surgery. So I'm going to take it easy for a while. This is quite frustrating but I guess a week off isn't much in the long run.

[D.McClain]

I decided to give it a shot and hit my normal routine as the knee was feeling alright.

Squats: 5 @ 155, 5 @ 155, 5 @ 155
Press: 5 @ 115, 5 @ 120, 4 @ 120
Dead Lifts: 5 @ 245, 5 @ 245, 5 @ 245

I decided to lower the weight a tad and focus on nailing each rep with perfect form. Overall I'm satisfied with the numbers and amount of pain in my knee. I'll be really interested to see how it feels tomorrow morning. For anyone out there dealing with injuries, keep your head up.