Intense...

[Hellreaver]

Just had a damn good leg workout. I don't train my legs often because I have knee problems and I tend to avoid legs because of the pain...but sometimes I just say "fuck it" and do it anyways. Grit the teeth. Load the weight. Kick those legs boy, kick those legs! Only able to put up a little over 500 lbs for leg press for about 8 damn good reps. Sad to say, I'm no longer able to do squats. What shit. Well fuck it. I'll just do leg press and a lot of other stuff to make up for it. Did some leg presses supersetted with a few sissy squats, 4 sets, including a warm up. Then did leg extensions supersetted with bodyweight squats. Then some prone leg curls. And finally some calf presses with heavy weight. 300 lbs for 8 good reps. Not bad for someone who only does legs every couple weeks...On the bright side, yesterday I trained arms with enough intensity that I nearly vomited after I was done. Damn that was awesome. Never pushed an arm workout like that before. I was pissed off and I threw all my aggression into my arm workout. Can't do that kind of workout every time though. Well, that's it fellas.

[Hellreaver]

Today was a back day. I felt like doing something that I haven't done in a long time, but for development I absolutely know I need to....Deadlifts. Now, I normally don't do them because of my knees. Too much weight and the pressure will make my knees fucking throb like nobody's business. But today I had to add some new shit. Time to switch up the routine. Started off with some barbell rows. Ended at just a weak ass 205 for 5 reps...What a pussy. Oh well. Nowhere to go but forward. Hit deads and ended with a set at 315 for 2 reps...saw a few stars and took a breath, then hit one last rep. Damn my deads are so fucking weak. A year ago I was doing much better. Gotta get back to that point. Wanna get some insane strength like Rage. That dude hits fucking mad numbers in weights. I can't even fathom doing hammer curls with 100 lb dumbbells...Anyways, on with the workout. Hit some behind the neck lat pulldowns, then some low cable rows. Finished off with some single arm standing cable rows. Won't post any numbers 'cause they ain't worth mentioning....yet. It'll get there. Effort and time. And reading the Animal journeys. That shit fires me up. Fuck yeah.

[hjayss]

Looking good I like the split..throwing around nice weight but just get in more reps when the weight is to much for the joints...Keep it up bro getting stronger each day is the only way...

[Hellreaver]

Good shoulder day. Had to change some stuff up. Needed something new. Kind of bored with the same shit. So I went back to old school. Pulled out some standing overhead barbell presses. And it went a little something like this.....

Standing overhead BB press: Warmup set w/bar x 20, 90 x 15, 110 x 10, 130 x 8
Can't go too heavy with this exercise because of the dangers posed to the lower back.

Machine laterals: 130 x 12, 150 x 8 + 2 + 2 (rest pause), 170 x 6

Hammer Strength seated overhead press: 100 x 20, 190 x 8, 280 x 4,
(I realized after the first set I had failed to put enough weight on....)

Rear delt machine rows: 140 x 12, 160 x 10, 170 x 8

Hammer Strength standing shoulder shrugs: 280 x 15, 330 x 10, 370 x 8
Supersetted with EZ-bar shrugs: 90 x 20, 100 x 20, 110 x 20

Then my workout partner/training client said he was debating whether or not he wanted to do abs since there was 15 minutes until the gym closed. I hadn't thought about abs to be honest, so I said "Fuck yeah we're doing abs! Get your ass over there on the mat!" I guess you could call it a giant set of sorts...but not really. Went like this.

Medicine ball crunches x 15, Toe touches with med ball x 15, torso twists w/med ball x 15, leg raises x 20.
Then did a plank on a swiss ball for about a minute and a half.
Then the gym closed.

[Pizzalamp]

Good shoulder day. Had to change some stuff up. Needed something new. Kind of bored with the same shit. So I went back to old school. Pulled out some standing overhead barbell presses. And it went a little something like this.....

Standing overhead BB press: Warmup set w/bar x 20, 90 x 15, 110 x 10, 130 x 8
Can't go too heavy with this exercise because of the dangers posed to the lower back.

Machine laterals: 130 x 12, 150 x 8 + 2 + 2 (rest pause), 170 x 6

Hammer Strength seated overhead press: 100 x 20, 190 x 8, 280 x 4,
(I realized after the first set I had failed to put enough weight on....)

Rear delt machine rows: 140 x 12, 160 x 10, 170 x 8

Hammer Strength standing shoulder shrugs: 280 x 15, 330 x 10, 370 x 8
Supersetted with EZ-bar shrugs: 90 x 20, 100 x 20, 110 x 20

Then my workout partner/training client said he was debating whether or not he wanted to do abs since there was 15 minutes until the gym closed. I hadn't thought about abs to be honest, so I said "Fuck yeah we're doing abs! Get your ass over there on the mat!" I guess you could call it a giant set of sorts...but not really. Went like this.

Medicine ball crunches x 15, Toe touches with med ball x 15, torso twists w/med ball x 15, leg raises x 20.
Then did a plank on a swiss ball for about a minute and a half.
Then the gym closed.

i just checked out ya journey and im def subbed
that was a great shoulder workout man-very impressive stuff
i feel ya pain w/ the knees ive been dealing w/ sore knees for over a year now-needless to say leg days are killers for em

[Hellreaver]

i just checked out ya journey and im def subbed
that was a great shoulder workout man-very impressive stuff
i feel ya pain w/ the knees ive been dealing w/ sore knees for over a year now-needless to say leg days are killers for em

Well, I don't really consider it that impressive lol. I should be lifting a lot more weight, but I've been out of the Iron game for about 9 months. No gym close by and work was taking up too much of my time. Back into it now though. Gonna grab my AnimalPak again in the next couple days. I didn't want to start off with it, simply because I tend to push myself to the max when I am on it. You can bet in the next couple months, you'll see some numbers jump. Right now got some extra weight too, but not too much. Of course, with my idols in bodybuilding being Frank Zane and Jusup Wilkosz, I'll always consider myself fat, lol.

[Hellreaver]

Fuck. Pushed it to the limit on my arms again. Felt good. Shit, it felt great. Had to choke down vomit halfway through my workout. Still staying off the supplements for the moment. Might grab a pak of Animal and get back on the can this week though. I think my body is sufficiently rehabbed from nearly a year off of training to start hitting heavy ass weights again. Well, here's the rundown for today....

Had to switch things up for my arms. Felt the same exercises were starting to get stale. Still supersetting bi's and tri's, but I started with close-grip bench today.

Close grip bench press: Warmup of 90 x 15, 155 x 12, 185 x 10, 225 x 6.
Supersetted with
Standing barbell curls: Warmup of 55 x 15, 95 x 8, 95 x 8, 115 x 5.
(The curls were a little cheat, but not much, although the very last curl was sloppy.)

Overhead dumbbell triceps press: 80 x 12, 90 x 10, 100 x 8.
Not supersetted.
Hammer curls to the chest, running the rack: 50 x 5 + 45 x 5 + 30 x 8,
50 x 6 + 40 x 7 + 30 x 8, 45 x 7 + 35 x 6 + 30 x 7.

(During this set is where I choked down that feeling of vomiting.)
Machine triceps dips/pressdowns: 180 x 15, 200 x 12, 225 x 10.
Supersetted with single arm machine preacher curls: 50 x 8, 60 x 8, 70 x 6.

Was running out of time before my gym closed, so had to hurry with these bitches...

Sitting cable extensors (for the forearm extensors) drop set: 50 x 10 + 40 x 8 + 30 x 6.
Supersetted with dumbell wrist curls on a flat bench: 55 x 8 + 40 x 6 + 30 x 6.

Ran to the EZ-Bar rack and pumped this shit fast..
Reverse EZ-Bar curls drop-up set: 40 x 10 + 30 x 15 + 40 x 8 + 30 x 10.

Well after that, I realized my arms were missing and I figured I might find that they ran home ahead of me cause they sure as hell were done lifting...

Oh, and the gym closed on me again.

[Hellreaver]

Well, today was a day off for me, but unfortunately, I had to go to do a presentation for the company in front of some of our corporate big wigs. Well, to my surprise, I found a little-known legend who works at one of our clubs as a weekend sales manager in Laguna Niguel. I recognized him and talked to him during one of our breaks. Some of you old-schoolers may know him, or you might not. His name is Chuck Williams. He's competed in Mr. America, Mr. Universe, and in the 1984 Mr. Olympia, where he placed 14th. Why did he place 14th? Well, research the competitors for 1984 Mr. Olympia...Lee Haney (the winner), Jusup Wilkosz (one of my idols), Albert Beckles, Roy Callender, Samir Bannout, Bob Paris, Sergio Olivia, Tom Platz, Chris Dickerson, Boyer Coe, Bill Grant, Charles Glass, Hubert Metz, Robby Robinson (whom he beat), and more. These guys are huge legends in the old school of bodybuilding. There was so much talent that year. Still, Chuck looked damn impressive! Here is the video of him for his 1984 Olympia showing http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KPJmx0B937A You can see he trips up at the beginning, but otherwise his showing is solid. However, for the Olympia, you have to be perfect. Anyways, just thought I'd share this part of my journey with you all. You can bet your ass I'm going to be making a short trip to the other club to train with Chuck sometime in the near future!

[Hellreaver]

Here it is baby. Finally picked up a can of AnimalPak on my day off yesterday. Gonna start it up again beginning with today. Can't wait. The reason I've been off the pak for a while is because I was out of the lift game for a while and I knew as soon as I started the pak again, I'd be going full-out intensity. Wanted to ease back into it slowly and get my body and muscles used to hard lifting again. But fuck that. I've eased in. I'm ready. Time to be a real Animal again. I'm fucking excited.

[Pizzalamp]

Here it is baby. Finally picked up a can of AnimalPak on my day off yesterday. Gonna start it up again beginning with today. Can't wait. The reason I've been off the pak for a while is because I was out of the lift game for a while and I knew as soon as I started the pak again, I'd be going full-out intensity. Wanted to ease back into it slowly and get my body and muscles used to hard lifting again. But fuck that. I've eased in. I'm ready. Time to be a real Animal again. I'm fucking excited.

excellent bro

[Hellreaver]

Ok, forgot to post last night's workout. It was some good shit. Starting to approach some respectable lifts. Popped my animal pak after lunch, and I'm on my lunch break right now, so after I finish eating I will pop my pak again 30 minutes later (as prescribed). Later in the evening, I was excited as hell. My workout went a little like this...

DB flat bench press: Warmup of 40x15, 80x12, 90x10, 100x6, 105x4
Hammer Strength Decline Press: 230x12, 270x10, 320x8
Double arm cable chest pressdowns: 100x15, 120x12, 140x10 (I was one plate away from maxing the machine stack, should have just loaded the last plate. I think the weight listed is per handle. Not sure though.)
Incline seated cable flyes: 110x12, 100x15, 90x20
Suppersetted with bodyweight dips: 6, 8, 7

That was it. chest was demolished and time to go home. So now I'm finished eating up some carbs and calories. Gonna mix a protein shake and head back to work. Then gotta take my animal pak soon and wait for the work day to end so I can train my back. Mmmm, deads here I come!!

[Pizzalamp]

Ok, forgot to post last night's workout. It was some good shit. Starting to approach some respectable lifts. Popped my animal pak after lunch, and I'm on my lunch break right now, so after I finish eating I will pop my pak again 30 minutes later (as prescribed). Later in the evening, I was excited as hell. My workout went a little like this...

DB flat bench press: Warmup of 40x15, 80x12, 90x10, 100x6, 105x4
Hammer Strength Decline Press: 230x12, 270x10, 320x8
Double arm cable chest pressdowns: 100x15, 120x12, 140x10 (I was one plate away from maxing the machine stack, should have just loaded the last plate. I think the weight listed is per handle. Not sure though.)
Incline seated cable flyes: 110x12, 100x15, 90x20
Suppersetted with bodyweight dips: 6, 8, 7

That was it. chest was demolished and time to go home. So now I'm finished eating up some carbs and calories. Gonna mix a protein shake and head back to work. Then gotta take my animal pak soon and wait for the work day to end so I can train my back. Mmmm, deads here I come!!

great man
i love that hammer decline u can get such a great squeeze on it
and u gotta love dips best way to finishchest imo

[Hellreaver]

Ok, haven't posted in a while, but no worries, I have still been lifting. So I did a leg workout two days ago, and I'm sore in places I've never been sore before....Forgive me if I don't get all the numbers accurate, but I'll try. It went a little something like this:

Warmup on cybex leg press w/4 plates for 15
Leg press:
8 plates x 12 reps
12 plates x 10 reps
14 plates x 8 reps
16 plates x 6-8 reps

Leg Extensions Superset W/Bodyweight squats:
110 lbs (I think?) x 15 reps + 20 squats
130 x 12 + 15 squats
130 x 10 + 15 squats

Seated Leg Curls:
Don't quite remember the weights or reps here. Did 3-4 sets of heavy weight.

Standing Single Leg Curls:
60 x 10 reps (I was rotating in with another guy, so I just left the pin where it was)
50 x 10
40 x 12, then dropped the pin to 20 lbs and banged out another 8 reps per leg.

Prone Leg Curls (Have to bring up my hams, they be laggin!)
110 x 12
130 x 10
130 x 8

Donkey Calf Raises on Cybex Machine Superset with Standing Calf Raises:
4 plates x 12 + 110 lbs on Standing raises for about 5 slow, exaggerated reps
6 plates x 10 + 130 x 5 slow reps
8 plates x 8 + 130 x 5 slow reps

Seated Calf Press:
275 x 15
290 x 12
315 (I think) x 8-10

That's it for legs. That was a bitchin workout, but I loved it. Hit quads, hams, and calves. I might start splitting things up next week, though. We'll see how I feel.

[Pizzalamp]

damn man that was a crazy workout

i wish we had 1 of those cybex leg presses in my gym

[Hellreaver]

Ok, so that was the leg workout 2 days ago. This is my workout last night:

Shoulders

Warmup on seated DB overhead press:
50 lb DB x 15 reps
60 x 15

Hammer Strength Seated Overhead Press:
4 plates x 15 reps
6 plates x 10 reps
6 plates and 2 quarters (That's 3 plates and a quarter per side) x 8 reps

Standing Lateral DB Raises:
25 x 12
30 x 10
35 x 8 (Not as much as Pizzalamp, but I'll work my way up!)

Seated Alternating Front DB Raises:
20 x 12
25 x 10
30 x 8

Machine Reverse Flyes:
120 x 15
140 x 12
160 x 10

Seated Free Motion Cable Row Machine (Keeping elbows high and out to hit the rear delts)
Alternating:
110 x 8, then hit 4 more reps bilaterally
130 x 8, then hit 4 more bilaterally
130 x 6, then hit 4-5 more bilaterally
100 x 12, then hit 4 more bilaterally

Abs

Hanging knee raises:
20 reps
10 reps

Decline Crunches:
15 reps
15 reps

Prone Leg Raises:
20 reps
10 reps (lower back was aching to much to continue)

Machine Ab Crunches:
90 x 15 reps
90 x 15 reps

Triceps Rope Cable Crunches:
120 x 12
120 x 12
(I don't really like these. I never really feel it in my abs. I'm sure I'm not doing the exercise correctly.)

Cardio
20 mins on the eliptical at about 130 heart rate

That's it for last night. I'm off to do tonight's workout, even though I can barely walk from my damn leg day! Tonight is back, I might throw in some biceps, because I feel like my biceps are lagging. It's been about 3 days since I did arms, and my arms recover quickly, so I should be good. Also gotta hit the cardio machine....more abs tomorrow night lol. I'll post the workout as soon as I get back.

[Hellreaver]

damn man that was a crazy workout

i wish we had 1 of those cybex leg presses in my gym

Yeah, they are awesome. Btw, I usually do bodyweight lunges from the leg press to the leg extension machine, but I didn't feel like doing it that night.

[Hellreaver]

I forgot to mention, last night after shoulder I did traps. I always do traps with shoulders. This is what I did:

Warmup of 90 lb EZ bar shrugs x 10. Slow, exaggerated reps

Seated DB Shrugs:
80 x 15
105 x 12
105 x 10
105 x 10

Triple Sets of Standing Hammer Strength Shrugs leaning forward, then a set leaning backwards, then Standing EZ bar shrugs with slow, exaggerated reps, squeezing hard at the top:
4 plates and 2 quarters x 12 + same weight x 12 + 90 x 10
Using all the same weight
10 reps + 10 reps + 10 reps
10 reps + 8 reps + 10 reps

By changing the angles while doing the shrugs, I can hit the traps slightly differently, and I feel it gives me a more complete development. Leaning slightly forward hits a little more to the top of the traps, while leaning back hits more of the middle and lower portion of the traps. Hope that makes sense...

[Hellreaver]

Ok, just got back from my workout. Wasn't so great. This is the recap:

Back

Started off warming up with some behind the head pulldowns:
90 x 15
110 x 12
130 x 10

Bent-over Barbell Rows:
2 plates and 2 quarters x 15
4 plates x 12
4 plates and two dimes x 5
Now after the fifth rep, I felt like something started to pull in the area of my right lumbar (Lower back you brainiacs). So I immediately set the weight down and stopped with rows. I assessed the situation and decided to travel on, even though there was some slight discomfort in my back because I wasn't about to blow my entire workout.

Supersets of Hammer Strength Pulldowns and Hammer Strength High Rows:
2 plates and 2 quarters x 15 + 2 plates and 2 quarters x 12
4 plates x 12 + 4 plates x 10
4 plates x 10 + 4 plates x 10

Moved on to T-Bar Rows but couldn't go heavy at all because of the pain:
2 plates and a quarter x 8
Same weight x 8 reps
Same weight x 10 reps
I considered stopping the workout there, but I sucked it up and pressed on. The next exercise had me scared, but fear is something I know of.

Rack Deadlifts:
2 plates x 12
4 plates x 10
6 plates x 8 + 2
6 plates and 2 x 6
Back didn't give me too much pain for that exercise, for which I was pretty relieved. Moved on with my workout.

Biceps

Standing Alternating DB Curls w/wrist twist:
Warmup with 25 x 12
40 x 8
45 x 7
55 x 5

Single Arm Preacher Curls with 45 lb DB:
10 reps w/right arm, 7 reps w/left arm. WTF?
8 reps
8 reps

Superset Hammer Grip Preacher Curl Machine and Single Arm Bisolator Curls:
110 x 10 + 140 x 8 (Note, the 140 is the weight for both arms, I believe)
110 x 8 + 140 x 7
110 x 8 + 140 x 10

Forearms

Seated Cable Wrist Extensions supersetted with Standing Cable Reverse Curls. 60 lbs each:
15 reps + 12 reps
12 reps + 10 reps
10 reps + 8 reps

Behind the back Barbell Wrist Curls supersetted with Single Arm Wrist Curls on a bench w/45 lb DB:
2 plates x 12 + 8 reps
2 plates and 2 quarters x 6, dropped the quarters and did another 3 reps + 6 reps
2 plates x 10 + 5 forced reps

That's all folks. Hopefully my back isn't too hurt. I was able to complete my workout, so I don't think it was too bad. I'll just rest it a lot. Tomorrow is chest, triceps, and cardio, so I should be ok if I keep it relatively moderate weight.

[simpleguy]

good workout bro... pretty high volume , it's good you can take it... keep it up

[Pizzalamp]

DAMN!!!!!!!!!! CRAZY BARBELL ROWS!!!!!

CRAZY WORKOUT!!!

thats smart u stopped when u felt the pain-i hope your back is okay tommorow