Trapzilla's training log-the storm journals

this is going to be my journal indefinately for my sadistic, high volume, somewhat controversial routine.
basic split is as follows;
Monday-chest + tris
Tuesday-back + forearms
Wednesday-legs + calves
Thursday-Delts + traps
Friday-Arms
Saturday-rest/lagging bodypart if feeling good
Sunday-legs + calves

all weights have been converted from kg-lbs for the American readers so number may seem a bit odd.
As today is thursday I shall have to back log a bit;

Monday;
flat barbell bench 132x20, 220 x12, 220x10, 264x8, 308x5, 220x22
incline bench 132x30, 220x10, 264x10
flat flyes 60.5 x10, 77x10, 88x10, 99x6
reverse grip incline smith machine bench 60.5x15, 82.5 x12, 104.5 x12
machine flye 110x12, 165x12, 187x10, 209x6(5 part drop set reps, 10,15,20,25,30)
close grip straight bar pressdown 110x10, 220x12, 242x12 (triple drop set)
straight bar skull crushers 88x12, 110x12, 132x8
dips bodyweight x30, x50, x45
rope pressdowns 110x15, 154x15, 187x15(5 part drop set 20,25,30,35,40)
rock 'n' rolls 44x8, 60.5 x8, 77x8

Tuesday;
straight arm pulldowns 110x12, 154x12, 220x12, 220x12(2 part drop)
reverse grip ez bar pulldowns 110x12, 220x12, 275x12, 275x12(double drop)
wide grip pulldown 165x12, 220x12, 275x12, 308x12(double drop)
chest supported t-bar rows 44x12, 88x12, 132x12, 132x12(double drop)
reverse grip bentover rows 132x12, 220x12, 308x12, 308x12(double drop)
hammer strength rows(weight total) 110x12, 220x12, 330x12, 330x10(double drop)
hyperextensions bodyweight x 30, x30
cross body hammer curls 44x12, 66x12, 88x12, 110x12
behnid back wrist curls 88x12, 132x12, 132x15

wednesday;
front squats 132x8, 220x8, 308 x8, 308x5(3 part 21's drop sets)
hack squats 176x10, 264x10, 352x12 (treble drop set)
leg press 440x10, 770x10, 1100x10, 1430x10 (10 part drop set)
sissy squats 132x12, 220x12, 220x10
standing leg curl 33x12, 44x10, 55x10
seated leg curl 66x10, 99x10, 132x10(treble drop)
lying leg curl 66x15, 99x15, 132x15
dumbbell romanians 110x12, 110x10, 110x9
one leg seated raises 110x15, 165x15, 165x15
one leg toe presses 220x12, 330x12, 440x12, 550x12(2 part drop sets)

thursday;
behind neck press 88x12, 132x12,176x12
barbell press132x12, 176x12, 220x12
incline lateral raises 22x12, 38.5x12, 44x12
dumbbell upright rows 44x8, 66x8, 88x8, 99x8
lateral raises 44x10, 44x10, 55x10
rear cable laterals 44x12, 66x12, 88x12, 110x12(double drop)
face pulls (continous drops) 220x30, 198x40, 176x50,154x60, 143x70, 132x80, 121 x90, 110x100
barbell shrugs 308x10, 418x10, 550x10, 616x10
vbar cable upright rows 110x12, 165x12, 220x15
behind back smith machine shrugs 110x20, 220x25

I'm doing a controversial routine now myself, working good for me! I'll follow along, should be interesting. Careful with the behind the neck shit, it's hard on the rotator cuff.

How so is your routine changing? are you moving away from HIT?

Are you man or machine, that is Arnie style volume?! The first thing that struck me was the last rep of flat bench you repped out at 22 x 100kg which is mighty impressive in my book. From what i can see of you routine you must be a big bloke and been doing this for a long time to handle that kind of work.
I take it you decided you could live without the deads then?

davegmb said:

Are you man or machine, that is Arnie style volume?! The first thing that struck me was the last rep of flat bench you repped out at 22 x 100kg which is mighty impressive in my book. From what i can see of you routine you must be a big bloke and been doing this for a long time to handle that kind of work.
I take it you decided you could live without the deads then?

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haha, i like to think I have more similarities with machines then men Thank you, the rep out set is something i've only being doing for a couple of weeks but it seems to add a lot to my gains.
I wouldn't say i was big by any means, quite strong maybe but big? hardly. The volume was actually rather low this week, i slighlty over stretched the week prior so cut down to recover a bit better haha!
and the deads I will probably rotate in with rack pulls on back day after hyperextensions.

thanks for the comments

Friday 29th April 2011
Arms
Giant set; ez bar ovehand press down, reverse grip pressdowns, overhead rope pressdowns, flaring rope pressdowns, close rope pressdowns-each x20 reps 66lbs, 88lbs, 110lbs
close benches 132x12, 220x10, 220x6 drop set 132 x20
over head ez bar extensions-60.5x12, 82.5x12, 104.5x8
one arm overhead negatives-38.5 x10, 60.5x8
skull crusher 21's- 44x21, 44x21
dumbbell preacher curls-33x10,44x10,55x10
barbell curls (stright bar)-66x10, 88x10, 110x10, 132x10, 154x10
cross body hammer curls 55x8, 77x8, 88x8
concentration curls 33x12, 38.5x12, 44x129drop set to dumbbell curls 33x20
wrist curls 110x12, 132x12, 198x12, 242x12
reverse curls 110 x12, 110x15

trapzilla said:

How so is your routine changing? are you moving away from HIT?

Click to expand...

Sort of, for a short time. I am doing block training to bring up my weak points (which just so happen to be chest and arms, don't worry I will work out every thing else evenly again soon). It goes:

day 1: chest arms
day 2: chest arms
day 3: everything else
day 4: rest

I was skeptical was this routine, but, I've put 3/4 an inch on my arms in 3 weeks, and a solid inch on my chest. People are quick to dismiss this training, but there is more to it than the split, it's not something you run for a long time, I did 16 days and took 5 days off from chest arms last week, feel ready to run it one more time now. Hoping to get arms up to 16 inches soon.

trapzilla said:

Friday 29th April 2011
Arms
Giant set; ez bar ovehand press down, reverse grip pressdowns, overhead rope pressdowns, flaring rope pressdowns, close rope pressdowns-each x20 reps 66lbs, 88lbs, 110lbs
close benches 132x12, 220x10, 220x6 drop set 132 x20
over head ez bar extensions-60.5x12, 82.5x12, 104.5x8
one arm overhead negatives-38.5 x10, 60.5x8
skull crusher 21's- 44x21, 44x21
dumbbell preacher curls-33x10,44x10,55x10
barbell curls (stright bar)-66x10, 88x10, 110x10, 132x10, 154x10
cross body hammer curls 55x8, 77x8, 88x8
concentration curls 33x12, 38.5x12, 44x129drop set to dumbbell curls 33x20
wrist curls 110x12, 132x12, 198x12, 242x12
reverse curls 110 x12, 110x15

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Damn I forgot about 21s! I'm throwing those in my routine next week.

The Thought Process

I thought it might be interesting for some if I were to post the thought process behind the exercise slection and volume for each bodypart;

we'll start from the bottom up;

Calves-
2 main sections gastrocenemious(gastroc) and soleus
hence minimum 2 exercises.
gastroc-standing raises
soleus-seated raises
Both-bent leg toe press, donkey raises
it is worth noting that the tibialis anterior is hit powerfully on bent leg toe presses so direct work is not requiredd.
only common insertions so no additonal angles required

Hams-
3 main section semimembranosus, semitendinosis, biceps femoris
2 insertion upper and lower hence additonal angles reqquired
romanians/seated leg curls for upper insertions and biceps femoris
lying leg curls with toes in, lower insertions semimembranosus, tendinosis
full range of motion and unilateral development-standing leg curl
3-4 exercises 12-25 sets

Quads-
3 sections; rectus femoris, vastus lateralis, vastus medialis
1 exercise overall mass-squats
2-3 exercises-vastus lateralis-hacks/fronts/smith fronts
2-3 exercises vastus medialis-leg press/lunges/sissy squat/zercher squat
1 exercise rectus femoris-quad extensions
hence between 6 and 8 exercises and between 25 and 40 sets

Back-
7 major groups; erector spinae, latissumus dorsii, rhomboids, trapezius, teres major, teres minor, serratus anterior.
6 focus ares; upper width, lower width, thickness, erectors, serratus, finishing
2 exercises upper width-wide pull ups, wide pulldowns front/behind neck, hammer strength pulldowns
2-3 exercises lower width-reverse chins, reverse pulldowns, close pulldowns, underhand seated rows, hammer strength rows, incline close pulldowns
2-3 exercises thickness-tbars all forms, bent over rows, rack pulls, close seated rows, incline dumbbell rows
1-2 exercises erectors-rack pulls, deads, hyperextensions
1 exercises serratus-pullovers all forms
1-2 exercises finishing-one arm rows(most dumbbells are too light to use as anything else) straight arm pulldowns
so 9-13 exercises and between 36 and 52 sets

chest;
5 main regions; upper, middle, lower, inner, outer
4 main areas of work; Upper,middle, flyes, finishing
2-3 exercises upper- incline barbell, dumbbell, smith machines, incline hammer strength presses, reverse bench
2-3 exercises middle-flat barbell, dumbbell, smith machine hammer strengths
1-2 flyes-incline, flat, decline, wide bench, machine flyes
1 finisher-dips, machine presses, crossovers
so 6-9 exercises and 24-34 sets

delts;
4 main regions; anterior, medial, posterior, upper trapezius
6 areas of work; pressing, compound moves, anterior isolation, medial isolation, posterior isolation, trapezius, finishing
1-2 exercises pressing; dumbbell, barbell, behind neck
1 exercise compound moves; upright rows/ medium/wide/dumbbell
0-1 exercises anterior isolation; front raises dumbbell/barbell/cable
2-3 exercises medial isoaltion; lateral raises dumbbell/one arm/seated/leaning/cable
2 exercises posteior isolation; bent over laterals standing/seated/incline bench, rear delt machine, cables
2-4 exercises trapezius; shrugs barbell front/behind back/hise/ dumbbell/cable, upright rows behind back/vbar cable
1 finisher; machine laterals, face pulls
9-14 exercises and 35-53 sets

biceps;
3 main regions biceps brachii long/short heads, brachialis
3 target areas; thickness, peak, finishing
2-3 thickness-barbell curls, preacher curls dumbbell/bar, dumbbell curls
2-3 peak-close ez curls, hammer curls cross body/straight/rope, concentration curls, close cable curls
1 finishing-high cable curls, lying cable curls, 21's
5-7 exercises, 19-26 sets

triceps;
3 main regions; triceps brachii lateral/long/medial heads
4 target areas; lateral head, long head, overall mass, finishing
2-3 lateral head; pressdowns ez bar/ v bar/ straight bar, skull crushers(all)
2-3 long head-bench dips, dips, rope pressdowns, rever grip pressdowns, backhands
1-2 overall mass; close benches, all over heads, rock 'n' rolls, elbows flared pressdowns
1 finishing-any movement very high reps
6-9 exercises, 21-33 sets

forearms;
3 main regions; flexors, extensors, brachioradialis
4 target areas; hang, thickness, brachioradialis, extensors
1-2 hang-behind back curls, standing wrist curls, cross body hammers
1 thickness-wrist curls, drag curls
1-2 brachioradialis- reverse curls, hammer curls, reverse drag curls
0-1 extensors-reverse wrist curls
3-6 exercises, 12-23 sets

I hope this helps somewhat, the target areas and exercises per region are as per my own discovery and development so some other may contest some things.

ihateschoolmt said:

Sort of, for a short time. I am doing block training to bring up my weak points (which just so happen to be chest and arms, don't worry I will work out every thing else evenly again soon). It goes:

day 1: chest arms
day 2: chest arms
day 3: everything else
day 4: rest

I was skeptical was this routine, but, I've put 3/4 an inch on my arms in 3 weeks, and a solid inch on my chest. People are quick to dismiss this training, but there is more to it than the split, it's not something you run for a long time, I did 16 days and took 5 days off from chest arms last week, feel ready to run it one more time now. Hoping to get arms up to 16 inches soon.

Click to expand...

I see a smart move IMO. The earlier you get things up to an even level of development the better! I did block training (smolov) for my legs and they went wild so ahd to back off, and I owe my back and shoulder size to block training I used to train back atleast 2-3 times a week often on consecutive days doing routines with a different aim and it loved it, in fact so much so that now i almost always train it 2x a week.
and delts loved it too haha one of my best parts too!!

trapzilla said:

I see a smart move IMO. The earlier you get things up to an even level of development the better! I did block training (smolov) for my legs and they went wild so ahd to back off, and I owe my back and shoulder size to block training I used to train back atleast 2-3 times a week often on consecutive days doing routines with a different aim and it loved it, in fact so much so that now i almost always train it 2x a week.
and delts loved it too haha one of my best parts too!!

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Nice, I like to hit everything twice a week too, when I'm not doing block training. You not natty though right? I think my arms would fall off if I did your workout right now lol.

ihateschoolmt said:

Nice, I like to hit everything twice a week too, when I'm not doing block training. You not natty though right? I think my arms would fall off if I did your workout right now lol.

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Haha, no i'm not, but it hasn't affected how i train, I trained this way naturally and got freaking strong off it. TBH all gear has allowed me to do is suffer less the next day in terms of doms and eat more whislt not gaining as much fat.

I think you should try it, I always like other people's opinions on my routines and where they feel it needs improvements and so on, particularly someone with training experience and doesn't really know me such as yourself, it would allow an unbiased, educated opinion on the routine.

trapzilla said:

I always like other people's opinions on my routines and where they feel it needs improvements and so on, particularly someone with training experience and doesn't really know me such as yourself, it would allow an unbiased, educated opinion on the routine.

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Haha I hear ya, I made this account when I was 15 and I worked out for like a year and then quit for 5 years. I've been back training since the end of January, so I would hardly call myself experienced, as I have only been working out for like 3 months. But when this IM contest is over I plan on trying a new style of training, I can certainly give you my noob opinion on it after I try it lol.

LOL, okay I look forward to it

I would just fatigue massively half way through, so its the stamina issue that im impressed your able to deal with

davegmb said:

its the stamina issue that im impressed your able to deal with

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I thought that my workouts tended towards high volume, but they pale in comparison to yours. Impressive strength numbers, too. How long do your workouts typically take to complete?

Triple Threat said:

I thought that my workouts tended towards high volume, but they pale in comparison to yours. Impressive strength numbers, too. How long do your workouts typically take to complete?

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Haha, thanks triple. strength is ok, today is gonna be a heavy back day so you should see my true machien come out in me today . typical workout time is 2 hours but it is more accurate to give timings per bodypart;
calves; 20-45 minutes
hams;30/45 minutes
quads; 1 hour 15-2 1/2hours
back 1 1/4 hours-2 hours
chest 1hour-1 1/2 hours
biceps 45 minutes
triceps 45 minutes
delts 1 1/2 hours-2 hours
forearms 30-45 minutes

I like to tear shit up in the gym, have been known to go crazy fast on back; 2 training partners 60 sets in 75 minutes =) that was a fun day

As I said earlier today was a heavy back day, took longer than I would have liked due to heat and no gym-bitch to help strip and load shit but still go some good numbers in.
weight at time of training-107.6kg, 236.7lbs
routine time-1hr 53 minutes
wide pull ups bw x12-30 sec one arm streches between sets, bw x11, bw x10
wide pulldowns to front 176lbs x10, 225.5x10, 291.5x10, 324.5(stack)x8
reverse pulldowns176x8, 225.5x8, 275x8, 308x8
corner t-bar rows 4 plates x8, 7 platesx8, 9 plates x9
reverse grip bent over rows 132x10, 220x10, 308x10,396x8, 484x4
hammer strength rows(done bilaterally) 55(each side) x12 (2 sec squeeze), 99x12(2 sec squeeze), 143x8 (2 sec squeeze(double drop 99x12, 55x20)
seated cable rows 168x10, 225.5x10, 275x10, 324.5(stack)x10, 357.5x7(going for 15 but cable snapped )
close grip pulldowns 143x12, 176x12, 225.5x12
v bar straight arm pulldowns 110x12, 143x12, 176x12, 198x10(double drop, 165x12, 121x15)
one arm rows 110x12(slow+ 2 sec contraction) x2 sets
pullover machine partials(continuous drops) 220x30, 198x40, 176x50, 154x60, 132x70, 99x80, 77x90,55x100, 275 x 5 negatives
hypers bw x45, bw x42

Edit; for those who are interested; sets-39(not incuding drops as additional sets), reps-926(including drop set reps)
quite a good workout, no PR's however which i'm puttign down to the heat and bi's yesterday, but back was fried at the end.

You broke the fucking cable

ihateschoolmt said:

You broke the fucking cable

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haha i was pissed tbh it's taken an additional 175lbs before now so I would ahve thought it could have easily taken 33lbs, stupid fucking cables

4 different type of pulldowns and 5 different types of rows, so whats the reasoning behind all this volume? I presume your assisted or over training would be a big danger if you were doing this natural!

davegmb said:

4 different type of pulldowns and 5 different types of rows, so whats the reasoning behind all this volume? I presume your assisted or over training would be a big danger if you were doing this natural!

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well i don't see it as movement types but rather areas affected anatomically. Which causes the volume to seem much less to me than others. I'd class high volume as 13 exercises plus for back for example.
The roots of my love for volume goes back to my early days when i did full upper and lower body routines(not powerlifting but bodybuilding) every day so; upper,lower, upper,lower,upper,lower, rest. i was training at least 3 hours a day and since then its just stuck, it is also the best way that my body grows.

if you look at a typical workout from a failure standpoint a typical back workout will say have your muscles hit failure from say 4 different angles with only one form of range of motion-total. my routine allows me to hit failure from upwards of 9 angles and in mutiple rep schemes and multiple range of motions, upper partial, lower partial, stretched, semi-stretched fully contracted. this is why I feel my development is often superior to many others. It is not also that I don't push to failure in each exercise I go beyond failure on every last set, with cheat reps and pulses, partials etc.

I am assisted but i still trained this way unassisted and never had recovery issues or problems with overtraining, the early days i did absolutely with the upper/lower split routine I was overtrained and stopped for 3 months, when I came back i tried numerous routines and then concocted the training I do now and have never looked back.

And numerous people have trained my way with me and all grown well and ot overtrained-they still get stronger whilst cutting and bigger too(naturally no chemical enhancement), whilst bulking they bulk more cleanly with better increases in strength than usual.

I think too many people take what they are told by magazines or common gym lore to be set in stone-we are all genetically unique and all react different ways. If you convince yourself that instead of doing 5 exercises say you do 7 or 9 or 11 or whatever that you are overtraining then by hell your gonna overtrain, just as if you tell yourself your not gonna get a weight you won't get it. the mind is a trainers most powerful weapon

I tell my body before every session that it will grow from what we are about to do.

Try it my way just for a week or two and see how you progress, my best progress unassisted was in 3 weeks of swithcing to this program my t-bar row went from 5 plates for 3 shitty reps to 7+1/2 plates for 35 good strict reps, go figure.

Sorry for the long explanation but I felt it necessary

Its a good explanation, wasnt busting your balls or anything, its just you hear so often about the dangers of overtraining and you seem to fly in the face of that but are clearly making gains and benefiting from it!
Like you say it really must just depend on the individuals body and how quickly they can recover.

davegmb said:

Its a good explanation, wasnt busting your balls or anything, its just you hear so often about the dangers of overtraining and you seem to fly in the face of that but are clearly making gains and benefiting from it!
Like you say it really must just depend on the individuals body and how quickly they can recover.

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what can I say? maybe I am just one of those genetic freaks.

I think frame has a lot to do with trainability, those with thicker frames can take a higher volume of training, take the bodybuilding world dexter jackson, branch warren-small frames lower volume. Ronnie and Jay thicker frames higher volume/frequency.

if your actually in Liverpool then i'm only a stones throw away over the Mersey

trapzilla said:

what can I say? maybe I am just one of those genetic freaks.

I think frame has a lot to do with trainability, those with thicker frames can take a higher volume of training, take the bodybuilding world dexter jackson, branch warren-small frames lower volume. Ronnie and Jay thicker frames higher volume/frequency.

if your actually in Liverpool then i'm only a stones throw away over the Mersey

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You ARE a damn freak lol. I think it has to do more with what type of muscle fiber makes up the majority of your muscles. Maybe you are mostly slow twitch and you get good results because of that? Just a thought.

ihateschoolmt said:

You ARE a damn freak lol. I think it has to do more with what type of muscle fiber makes up the majority of your muscles. Maybe you are mostly slow twitch and you get good results because of that? Just a thought.

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I think your wrong there, If I was training with very high rep ranges consistantly then i'd be inclined to agree, yet predominantly i'm training in the fast twitch threshold (A-level PE student don't ya know) there is insufficient time for aerobic training to be taken into effect, and even in the drop sets it is only towards the very end. it may eb the brushing of this region that causes the additonal growth but is doubtful, it mostly just serves to allow the msucles to cope with the volume by providing a window for aerobic recovery

Yeah i was in Liverpool but moved just up the road to Widnes where i live with my girlfriend. Take it you live on the Wirral then?

trapzilla said:

I think your wrong there, If I was training with very high rep ranges consistantly then i'd be inclined to agree, yet predominantly i'm training in the fast twitch threshold (A-level PE student don't ya know) there is insufficient time for aerobic training to be taken into effect, and even in the drop sets it is only towards the very end. it may eb the brushing of this region that causes the additonal growth but is doubtful, it mostly just serves to allow the msucles to cope with the volume by providing a window for aerobic recovery

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True, your right your not really training endurance. Maybe you got a bunch of the type 2a muscle fiber. 2a allows are used for longer periods of anaerobic activity right? Maybe not, I don't know that much about this, I just think you got an above average amount of SOMETHING lol.

davegmb said:

Yeah i was in Liverpool but moved just up the road to Widnes where i live with my girlfriend. Take it you live on the Wirral then?

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I sure do

ihateschoolmt said:

True, your right your not really training endurance. Maybe you got a bunch of the type 2a muscle fiber. 2a allows are used for longer periods of anaerobic activity right? Maybe not, I don't know that much about this, I just think you got an above average amount of SOMETHING lol.

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yeah i think your right may be 2b though :s. haha thankyou

Quite happy with today's workout, took longer than I would have liked by about an hour due to a new training partner who struggles with the pace and had to vomit twice and collapsed a few others. but still got it all done =)

time 3 hours 30 minutes
squats(hip was struggling from the beginning so not happy with the weights) 132x6, 220x6, 308x5, 396x3, 440x2
hack squats 176x8, 264x8, 352x8, 440x8
smith machine front squats 110x12, 198x12, 264x12
leg press railroads 1 45lbs plate each side x10, 2 plates x 20, 3 plates x30, 4 x40, 5x50, 6x60
sissy squat 21's 88x21, 132x21, 220x21
~superset with~
bodyweight lunges x 100m, x100m, x200m
quad extension partials(continuous drop set) 132x30, 110x40, 88x50, 66x60, 44x70, 22x80, 154 x5 (negatives)
seated leg curls 66x12, 88x12, 110x12, 132x12
one leg curls 33x10 (double xreps) 33x10 (double xreps) 44x10(double x reps)
lying leg curls 66x10, 99x10, 132x10+10 partials
~superset with~
dumbbell romanian deadlifts on a 6 inch box 88's x12, 99's x10, 110's x 11
toe presses 550x12, 638x12, 902x12, 902+165lb training partner/tp(couldn't be bothered to hunt for plates) x12, 902+165lbtp +148lbtp x30, 902+165lbtp +148tp +183 random guy x23
one legged seated raises 88x12(3 second strecthes, contractions and negatives) 110X12(" ") 132X10 (" ")

sets;41 (counting drop sets and supersets as one set)/53 otherwise. reps; 1176

was a fun leg day and I consider my mission succesful in destroying the new guy which was my goal.What can I say i'm a