I Got it Made! [Forum Archive]

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I Got it Made!

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Posted by: 33sun33

Well, I've decided to start an on-line journal rather than logging my progress on just a word document. Makes sense since I check this site at least daily!

Stats: 32 years old, 6"3 tall, 205lbs

Goals: gain muscle/weight; currently bulking.

Diet: I try to keep it as clean as possible, and usually do a pretty good job of it. Im not going to list my exact diet each day or anything like that, but suffice to say that (since Im bulking) Im trying to eat as much clean food as possible right now! Typical protein sources - chicken breasts, ground turkey or sometimes lean beef; fish (mahi mahi, swordfish, snapper); sometimes steak. Typical carbs: sweet potatoes, brown rice, oatmeal and of course veggies and salad. Typical fats: olive oil, natural fats from the fish, steak, etc..., fish oil supp.

Supplements: Just protein powder for a PW shake; creatine; multivitamin; efas/fish oil

Routine: I love full body workouts, and Im currently doing a Push/Pull 3x a week routine, but I vary the reps every 2-3 weeks ala PRRS.

Workout A (Push): DB Press; Front Squat; Jump Squats; OH Shoulder Press; Weighted Dips; Rotator Cuff work (every couple of weeks or so).

Workout B (Pull): Sumo Deadlift; Yates Rows; Chin Ups; Ham Curls; DB Curls.

I then alternate each workout every other day, M, W and F. So: Monday (Push), Wed (Pull), Fri (Push) and then next Monday (Pull), Wed (Push), Fri (Pull). That sort of thing.

More to come on my progress so far!

Posted by: DOMS

Good job on starting a journal!

I should note that lack of a definitive hamstring exercise. An SLDL would be one, but I don't think that Sumos really count as one. That's just me two cents.

Posted by: 33sun33

I've been following the Push/Pull routine for the past 8 weeks. Prior to that time, I was a total slob over the summer!!! I was traveling almost the entire summer to various locations, and simply gave up on the idea of finding gyms or even eating properly. During this time I also was trying to cut for beach season. What happened? I went from 220lbs in May to 200lbs by September! Some of it clearly was fat, but I am positive I lost muscle too.

So Im pissed at myself about that, and Im on the road to recovery!

I've made some very slow progress over the past 8 weeks, and I am ready to make a change. A brief summary of my progress (weight/reps/sets):

DB Press Front Squat Yates Sumo

Week 1:70lbs x 10reps x 2 sets 135x10x2 185x10x2 NA

Week 5: 75x7; 80x5; 85x2 155x6; 175x4 225x4x2 225x4; 245x4

Week 8: 75x9x2; 75x5 135x10x2; 155x8 205x10x3 225x8x3

I should note that Week 1 was rep range (8-12 reps); week 5 happened to be Power (4-6 reps) and currently Im back at Rep Range. Also, where I noted only 2 sets, I usually actually did 3. But the last working set was at a different weight and reps.

I suppose Ive made *some progress, but not as much as I would like. Some of that might be chalked up to simply not eating enough!

However, for the past two weeks I've suffered from some lethargy in the gym, loss of stamina in the gym, and triceps soreness whenever I try to do weighted dips at the end of my Push workout. Im worried that I may already have fallen victim to overtraining in ONLY 8 weeks!!!

Im planning on continuing on for another couple of weeks to see how it goes. If there is still triceps or shoulder pain, lethargy, etc... then Ill take a week off.

I also wonder if the lethargy is simply due to needing a better pre-workout energy boost. Right now I cycle between some Thermoxyn I got for free with my last protein purchase, and some Ephedra+Caff+Asp tabs I got a while back. Ephedra has never seemed to do anything for me, though. Im considering trying a new pre workout jolt like NO Shotgun or something.

Tomorrow is my last Pull workout of the week, and I hoping to pull at least 245x8 reps for 3 sets on the Sumos.

Next week is Shock week!!!

Posted by: 33sun33

Quote:

Originally Posted by DOMS

Good job on starting a journal!

I should note that lack of a definitive hamstring exercise. An SLDL would be one, but I don't think that Sumos really count as one. That's just me two cents.

Thanks Doms, and I think you are right.

I chose Sumos over regular Deads due to injuring my lower back while deadlifting about 5-6 months ago. It was really a bitch to rehabilitate, so I decided to just avoid deads and focus on Sumos which put less strain on the lower back. So far I LOVE the Sumos!

For the first 4 weeks I did SLDLs along with ham curls with no problems. Then I switched to SLDLs with Sumos and the second week in I felt a familiar twinge of my lower back.

I just assumed that SLDLs AND Sumos on the same day were overloading my back, so Ive switched to just doing Sumos with regular ham curls.

I believe my form is spot on with deads, sumos and sldls. However, I have had a knowledgeable person check out my Sumo form, but havent had anyone check out my sldl or reg dead form.

I should note that Ive had a surgery on each knee (ACL on the left about 12 years ago) (Meniscus repair/scraping of the Right about 3 years ago). Im not sure if that contributes to my back issues or not, though it does mean that range of motion is somewhat less than before.

Anyways, I have been worried that the Sumo is not sufficient for a Ham exercise. Maybe Ill give the Sumo + SLDLs another shot and be even more super super careful about limiting the weight of the sldls.

Posted by: 33sun33

Well alrighty then...

Just got back home from my pull workout. Overall things went well - good energy and stamina (which had been an issue), pulled decent weight. However, I did take things easy with the deads and the rdls since I have had lower back issues in the past. So today I reduced the reps from 8-10 to 6-8and didnt go crazy with the weight.

Sumo Deadlifts

(Warmup - 135x10; 185x8) 225x8; 246x6; 245x6. Felt strong on this exercise, and most likely could have done more reps or weight, but decided to take things slow in order to avoid tweaking my back. Bought some mens lacrosse soft shin guards to protect my shins on the deads, but they failed miserably. Guess I just need to accept my bruised up shins.

Yates Rows

(Warmup - 135x12) 185x10; 205x10; 205x10. Felt pretty good, though form started to suffer on last rep during the last two sets.

Romanian Deadlifts

(Warmup - 135x10) 185x8; 185x8. Felt very strong, but again wanted to take things slow as to avoid back issues.

Cable Curls

20x12; 25x10

Chin-Ups / Pull-Ups

Chins: BW x 5; BW x 5
Pullups: BW x 6; BW x6

Chins and pullups are a weak point for me. I usually do them on the assisted machine to get more reps, but decided to do bodyweight today instead.

One major issue for me in regards to chin-ups, is that I have a strange shoulder issue with my left shoulder.

Brief history: about 3 years ago my shoulder started killing me after doing bench presses. Went to one specialist and he recommended surgery on my AC joint due to some extra bone growth that he claimed interfered with the joint. Went to another specialist, and he said the other guy was full of crap. He recommended physical therapy for a few weeks - I did the PT and the shoulder got better. A year ago, the shoulder flared up again after doing Bench presses. Went to a third specialist (I had moved by this time), and he found nothing wrong with the shoulder, and again just prescribed some basic rehab exercises. I did them, and the pain went away.

I no longer do the bench press bc it seems to bother my shoulder. However, the joint in my left shoulder always feels a little unstable, and there is usually more soreness in that shoulder after workouts.

I noticed today while doing BW chin ups in front of a mirror, that my right shoulder development seems much more advanced than that of my left shoulder. That is, my left shoulder looked smaller than the right. So whats up with that??

I think seeing a fourth specialist may be in my future....

Posted by: vortrit

Quote:

Originally Posted by 33sun33

I noticed today while doing BW chin ups in front of a mirror, that my right shoulder development seems much more advanced than that of my left shoulder. That is, my left shoulder looked smaller than the right. So whats up with that??

I think seeing a fourth specialist may be in my future....

Is it a huge difference? Because if it's not too bad I wouldn't worry about it. It's called muscle imbalance and almost everyone has it to some extent.

Posted by: 33sun33

Quote:

Originally Posted by vortrit

Is it a huge difference? Because if it's not too bad I wouldn't worry about it. It's called muscle imbalance and almost everyone has it to some extent.

Good point! Its not that bad. I never noticed a difference until I looked in the mirror while doing chin ups, so maybe I am making a mountain out of a molehill.

Posted by: vortrit

Quote:

Originally Posted by 33sun33

Good point! Its not that bad. I never noticed a difference until I looked in the mirror while doing chin ups, so maybe I am making a mountain out of a molehill.

Personally I would not worry about it then. Especially if you are new to lifting. I had a lot of arm and shoulder imbalance through my first year of lifting but there now starting to even up a bit. But look at anyone and you'll generally see their dominant arm looks better. My right forearm looks better than the left.

Posted by: 33sun33

Quote:

Originally Posted by vortrit

Ive been lifting on and off for a few years now. Even though Im only a shade over 200lbs, I used to be about 165-170lbs at 6"3 about 6 years ago!

Posted by: 33sun33

Had a bad night yesterday.

Unexpectadly had to work much much later than usual when I agreed to voluntarily judge a moot court competition at the school I work at, and didnt leave until 1am (usually leave anywhere between 4 and 6pm). I was starving (hadnt brought enough food with me), so unfortunately scarfed down a cheat McDonalds meal (which was nasty as hell). To compound things, while walking home after parking my car, I slipped on something (I was wearing slippery leather dress shoes) and fell, breaking my fall with my right wrist.

It is now quite sore, and Im contemplating either letting it heal and calling this week of training off (I was planning on doing a shock week), or heading to the gym to test it out. Ill probably go to the gym and see if it interferes with training or not. Ill post later with my results!

Posted by: 33sun33

Tuesday (10/16): Push, Shock Week

Went ahead with my scheduled Push workout today, despite my wrist soreness. The wrist wasnt a problem at all, but the big ass bruise on my palm got worse, and made it a little painful to push on certain exercises. I dont think it affected the workout much though.

This and next week are "Shock" weeks for me. Todays workout was brutal with all the supersets and dropsets, but overall went well. I also decided to do (mostly) different exercises than I usually do during these shock weeks. For instance, I typically do Front Squats and Jump Squats for my Push days during Power/Rep Range weeks... This week Im doing Back squats and Leg Ext. Here is the breakdown (warmup sets are excluded):

DB Incline SS with Machine Flyes

70x10 (DB) // 165 x10 (M.Flyes) ; 70x9 (DB) // 145x10 (Flyes)
Overall felt great.

Back Squats SS with Leg Extensions

185x9 (Squats) // 165x10 (Leg. Ext) ; 185x10 (Sq) // 145x8 (Leg Ext)
Felt great. Probably could have squated more, but this was the first time doing back squats in about 3 months. Could barely walk after the last leg extension set!

Hammer Shoulder Press SS with Standing DB Shoulder Press

90 (Ham. Shldr Press) x 10 // 25lb dbs x 10 (DB press) ; 140 (Ham) x 10 // 20lb dbs x10

Went well, though completely fried my shoulders. New to the Hammer Shoulder Press, so didnt know what weight to start working sets with.

DB Flat Bench Drop Set

65 x10; drop to 50x8.
Strength was OK, but struggled with last couple of reps on the drop set.

Cable Push Down Drop Set

85x8; drop to 50x10.
No problem with strength, but this exercise bothered my palm bruise. Actually wanted to do a CG bench press dropset instead, but that also bothered my bruise too much with one warm up set test.

Diets going well today (in contrast to last nights ill fated McDonalds escapade) -- 3 solid meals eaten already; got two more meals planned with Swordfish steaks, salad, sweet potatoes, and finish up with some cottage cheese before bed.

Next workout -- Thursday, Pull (Shock)

Posted by: 33sun33

Thursday Pull Workout (Shock Week)

Today's workout went well, though Im not sure if Im doing enough volume during this "Shock" week. I tried to model my Shock exercises (mostly Supersets and dropsets) after the PRRS system, but adapted to the fact Im doing a Push/Pull Full Body workout. Anyways, here is what I did today:

Romanian Deadlifts, followed by Ham Curl Dropset

RDLs: 135x10; 185x8; 185x8, followed by Ham Curl Dropset: 145x10, immediately drop to 95x8. Wanted to Superset these two, but Ham machine was unavailable, so just did a dropset after 3 sets of RDLs

Yates Rows Supersetted with Bent Over Rows

Yates 135x10 SS with Bent Over 95x10
Yates 185x8 SS with Bent 95x8
Yates 185x8 SS with Bent 95x8

Probably should have upped the weight with the Bent Overs, but this is a new exercise for me and I was focusing on form. Next shock week Ill probably up the Bents to 135x8 or so during a superset.

Pull Down Dropset

270x10; drop to 180x8
270x10; drop to 180x8

DB Curls Supersetted with Preacher DB Iso Curls

DB Curl 35x10 SS with Iso Curl 20x8
DB Curl 35x8 SS with Iso Curl 20x7

Dropset Cable Rows

145x10; drop to 95x8

I've had 4 meals so far. About to make dinner so Ill get at least get 5 meals in today. Would like to get anohter meal in before bedtime, but not sure if there will be enough time. That is, Im going to eat dinner at around 9, and then hit the hay around 10 or 1030.... Is that enough time to digest dinner before eating again??

Next workout is this Saturday -- Push day, Shock. Will look similar to what I did this past Tuesday, though will probably add some weight in things like Back Squat, Incline Press, etc...

Posted by: 33sun33

My Craptacular Saturday Push Workout (Shock Week)

Well, todays workout didnt go as well as I would have liked. Specifically, I wasnt able to get the same number of reps in during my Incline Press // Fly supersets as I did on my Tuesday push workout. Perhaps the reason being that I stayed up late on Friday night, and had a couple of drinks?? Other than that, things went relatively well I guess.

Im going to be traveling from Thursday through Sunday of next week, so I am considering just taking the entire week off instead of doing two more shock workouts on Monday and Wednesday. Ive been going strong for about 9 weeks now, and like the idea of taking a break before starting up another power phase in my modified PRRS 3x a week Full body plan. Havent quite decided yet, but todays workout makes me think a break is in order.

(warmup sets excluded)
Incline DB Press Supersetted with Machine Flies

Set 1: DB Press: 70 x9 Supersetted with M. Flies: 165x10
Set 2: DB Press 70x6!! Supersetted with M Flies: 165x8

Really pissed that I could only get 6 reps during the second working set!!

Back Squat Dropsets

Set 1: 185 x10 drop to 135x10
Set 2: 185x8 drop to 135x8

Originally was going to do a Superset with leg extensions, but folks were waiting for the squat racks to become available, so I decided to just do some dropsets instead (rather than run back and forth from the squat rack to the leg ext machine).

Hammer Shoulder Press Supersetted with standing DB Shoulder Press

Set 1: Hammer, 140x10 SS with DB overhead press, 25x10
Set 2: Hammer, 180x10 SS with DB overhead press, 25x8

Flat DB Bench Dropset

70x10 drop to 50x8

Skull Crushers Dropset

80x10 drop to 50x8

Leg Extension Dropset

165x10 drop to 135x7

DB Lat Raises

12.5x10 ; 15x10

I do these with strict form, raising slowing to my sides, and then raising slowing up in front. Doing this exercise slowly and with low weights keeps my left shoulder joint feeling good for some reason.

So thats it. Im really leaning to taking next week off, and starting fresh with a Power phase.

The power phase of my Push/Pull 3x a week workout will look like this:

Push Workout

DB Incline or Flat Press: 3 (working) sets x 4-6 reps
Back Squat: 3 sets of 4-6 reps (decided to switch back to back squats instead of front squats, though i love the front squats!)
Military Press: 3 sets of 4-6 reps
Weighted Dips: 2-3 sets of 4-6 reps
Barbell Lunges?: 1-2 sets of 4-6 reps (just threw this in here. Good idea or are back squats enough??)
Planks

Pull Workout

Sumo Deadlifts: 3x4-6 reps
Cable Rows: 3-4-6 reps
Romanian Deadlifts: 2-3 sets of 4-6 reps
Chin Ups: 2 sets of 4-6 reps (probably just bodyweight since this is a weak point for me)
Pull Ups: 2 sets of 4-6 reps
DB Curls: 2 sets of 4-6 reps
Birddogs

Posted by: the other half

welcome to the journals 33, having a shoulder pain, or any pain is always a shitty thing to deal with. but sometimes u will find different exercises to do that you can still gain from without the pain. good luck.

Posted by: 33sun33

Quote:

Originally Posted by the other half

welcome to the journals 33, having a shoulder pain, or any pain is always a shitty thing to deal with. but sometimes u will find different exercises to do that you can still gain from without the pain. good luck.

Thanks. Switching from the Bench Press to a DB Press has definitely helped, as has doing rotator cuff type exercises.

Posted by: 33sun33

Worked out today after taking the last week off for business reasons (also just seemed like a good time to rest the body).

Im continuing with the Full Body Push/Pull PRRS workout that I used for the last 8 or so weeks, with some minor modifications.

Here are the results of todays "Workout A- Push; Power" Workout. This and next week are "Power" weeks, with rep ranges in the 4-6 area.

DB Flat Bench Press

[45x10 (warmup); 60x8 (warmup)]

75x6; 80x4; 85x2

Felt pretty good on this exercise. Was a bit suprised I only repped the 85 dbs for two reps. My PR is just 85 though. I do think that i could get at least one rep in on the 90lbs. Maybe Ill try on Friday's Push workout.

Standing Military Press

[45 x10 (warmup); 65x8 (warmup]

85x6; 95x6; 105x4

Felt pretty strong in this, had hoped to get 6 reps on 105...

Back Squats

[135x10 (warmup)]

185x6; 205x6; 225x4

Felt decent. 225 wasnt as easy as I had hoped it would be, but I was also confident in my ability to move the weight. Next session, depending on how it feels, Ill likely do 245 for my last set.

Weighted Dips

[Bodyweight x 10 (warmup)]

BW +25lbs x6 ; BW +45lbs x3

Was a bit tired by this point. Gave up on the 3rd rep on the last set.

Jump Squats

BW+30 x 6 ; BW + 35 x 6

Jump squats always seem pretty easy for me. I keep the DB weight low since Ive read studies indicating that Jump Squats should be done with no more than 10-15% of your max Squat weightage. Im guesstimating my max squat to be about 250-260, hence the low weights.

Controlled Lat Raises

12.5 DBs x 10; 15 DBs x 10

I do this mostly for my recurring shoulder pain in my left shoulder joint. These exercises at low weights seem to help minimize the pain for some reason.

So thats it. I was suppossed to do Planks to finish the day, but skipped them. Ill add them in with the Turkish get ups on Wednesday's Pull day.

Supps: CEE started up again; NO Shotgun. Really felt energized for the first time in a while -- whether this was due to the NO Shotgun, the week off, or both I dont know.

Diet: (1) 5 egg whites, 1 whole egg omelette with chopped up white potatoes (yeah, should have used red potatoes at the least); chopped up green peppers and onions; low fat cheese (hey, Im bulking). Guesttimation: 40 g. protein; 50 g. carbs; 15 g. fat

(2) PWO Whey Protein shake: 55 g protein; 85 g. carbs; 3 fats

(3) Chicken Stir Fry with brocolli, snow peas and brown rice: 55g protein; 75 g carbs; 4 g fats

(4) Chicken Stir Fry with brocolli, snow peas and brown rice: 55g protein; 75 g carbs; 4 g fats

(5) Plan on eating the remaining leftovers of the Chicken stir fry, with fish oil caps: 55g protein; 75 g carbs; 10 g fats

(6) Cottage cheese and fish oil caps: 40 g protein; 5 carbs?; 10 g fats

TOTALS: 300 grams (Protein); 365 grams (Carbs); 46 grams (Fats)

Posted by: 33sun33

Wednesday's Workout (10/31)

Sumo Deadlifts

(Warmup - 135x8; 185x6); 225x6; 255x6; 275x4

Romanian Deadlifts

(Warmup - 135x8); 185x6; 225x6

Cable Rows

(warmup - 100x8) 140x6; 180x4; 160x6

Had intended to do Yates rows, but gym was packed and got tired of waiting for a bar to open up

DB Bicep Curls

35x6; 40x6; 50x4

Turkish Get ups with DB

10x6; 20x6; 30x6

First time doing these. A lot more difficult than they look! Just getting used to the movement at this point.

Pull Ups

bwx5. Gym was packed, went to get some water and the pull up station was taken over. I was exhausted at this point anyways. Need to put pull ups at the beginning of the workout.

Posted by: 33sun33

Completed my "Push" workout today. This week and the next Im still focusing on Power, and thus reps will be kept between 4-6. Will get into rep range in a couple of weeks. I had pretty good energy for this workout and all workouts this week, which Im attributing to starting up NO Shotgun again (or maybe its just a placebo effect!). Diet has been decent as well, though not perfect.

DB Bench Press

[warmup- 45 x10; 60x6] 75x6; 80x6; 85x4

Felt a lot stronger today than during my last push workout. Happy to get 2 more reps than Monday on both the 80lb DB lifts, and the 85lb set.

Back Squat

[warmup - 135x10] 185x6; 205x6; 225x4

Still not feeling as explosive or strong as in the past with the back squat [Ive just started doing back squats again after doing front squats for the prior 3 months or so]. Not sure whats going on here, maybe I should start off the day with squats instead of the flat press.

Standing Military Press

[warmup - 45 x10; 85x8] 105x6; 115x4; 115 x 4

Felt strong on these. A slightly narrower grip has helped tremendously.

Weighted Dips

[warmup - bodyweight x10] BW + 25lb plate x 6; BW + 45lb plate x 5

Felt very good on these. In the past Ive been too burnt out energy wise to crank out decent reps. Today wasnt a problem (btw - I typically limit dips to just two working sets... should I increase the volume and do 3 working sets??]

Jump Squats

BW +15lb dbs at sides, x 6 reps x 3 sets

Felt fine with these. Again, I read somewhere that jump squats should be performed with only 10-15% of the weight of your maximum 1 rep squat. Im probably going to just switch to one legged box jumps next week.

Rotator Cuff DB

Did Three sets of rotator cuff work at low weights.

Turkish Get Ups

25lb dumbbell x 6 reps x 3 sets

I counted as one rep: starting on your back, moving all the way up to standing position, and then going back down to the starting position.

Man, these are hard. havent really felt any AB or core soreness (yeah, soreness isnt an indicator of a good workout), but my stabilizer shoulder muscles sure get a workout.

All in all a decent workout. Next monday will be a Pull day for me, again in the power phase.

Christian

Posted by: 33sun33

Hmmm.... while I modeled my Full Body workout off of Cowpimp's stickies (Push/Pull; Workout A; Workout B), I have noticed that most people seem to like Push- Pull - Legs better than a Push-Pull where legs are incorporated into each day (e.g., squats and such during the Push day; romanian deads and such during pull day).

Is there a reason for this? I tend to like the push/pull ; workout A/workout B three times a week since it means slightly more volume. That is, I will work out the same body parts and movements 3 times every two weeks instead of just twice every two weeks on a push-pull-legs.

Anyways, I suppose Ill stick with my no longer in vogue simple push-pull workout until I reassess everything in a couple of months.

Posted by: 33sun33

Todays workout went pretty well, though I started to fade a bit towards the end of the workout (caffiene overload I think - had breakfast with two cups of coffee right before, and also had a serving of no shotgun right before the workout).

Sumo Deadlifts

(warmup - 135x8; 185x8) 225x6; 275x5; 275x4

Felt very strong on the deads. Tempted to go up in weight from 275 for a new pr. Shins took a beating as usual. Thinking of trying some Ace bandage wraps around my shins next time!

Yates Rows

(warmup - 135x10; 185x8) 225x6; 225x6; 225x5

Felt OK on these. I worry that my form might be off, like I might not be bending enough to create a decent angle. Id say my angle is around 15 degrees right now.

Romanian Deadlifts

(Warmup- 185x8) 225x 6; 245x6

These felt great! 225 was my previous PR (for 4-6 reps), but it felt super light today. I usually do 2-3 warmup sets, and this time I only did one. Maybe that made a difference? Plus, I typically am very cautious on all forms of deadlifts - and keep the weight lowish -- after my last back injury.

DB Curls

40x6; 45x6

Dont really care too much about how much I curl. Mostly just a finishing accessory move at the end of the workout. That said, I actually accidentally did these prior to my pulldowns.

Pulldowns

(Warmup - 180x8) 270x6; 320x6; 350x5

Felt very strong on these. Form started to suffer a bit on 350, but still able to pump out 5 decent reps while keeping good form.

Planks

1 x 1.5 minutes; 1x 1minute
I supersetted these with the pulldowns.

Posted by: 33sun33

Today's workout was difficult, primarily because I felt like crap the entire day. I think due to (1) having a couple of manhattans the night before, (2) only getting about 5 hours sleep due to insomnia (and perhaps due to the drinks), and (3) being dehydrated for the first half of the day at least. Plus my diet was all screwed up today (only 3 meals in so far). Perhaps I shouldnt have gone to the gym, and just postponed the WO until tomorrow. But I went anyways.

DB Bench Press

(warmup - 45x10; 65x6) 75x6; 80x6; 85x3

Back Squat

(warmup - 135x10; 185x6) 225x5; 225x5; 245x4

Standing BB Military Press

(warmup - 45x10; 85x6) 105x6; 115x4; 95x6

Weighted Dips

(warmup - bwx8) BW + 25lbs x 6; BW+45lbs x 5

Pause Squats

135x5 (4 second pause in the hole); 135x4 (4 second pause)

turkish getups

4(8) x 25lb DB; 6(12) x 30lb DB

Not sure what counts as one rep. I start off on my back with the DB raised, get up until Im in a standing position with the DB above my head, then gradually lower myself back into the startin position with the DB still above my head. Im counting this as one rep.

So even though I felt crappy, it was a decent, but not great, workout overall in terms of how much weight I was able to move, etc...

This Friday is my Pull workout, and the last "Power" workout before I switch up reps to RR next week.

One question I have -- how often should I switch up the exercises? Like do front squats instead of back sqauts, incline presses instead of flat presses, etc...? Im about to complete week 2 of this newish workout plan -- too early to mix things up?

Posted by: the other half

great workouts going there 33. sometimes i think that i should go to the gym for what ever reason, but i am always glad when i do. u just cant let lower weights get into your head the next time around.

katt and i like to do front squats about every third leg day on our last program, but we only do legs, if i tried to do any shoulder or bicep sets after that i would be screwed. but we were doing sets of 8 rather than sets of 5 like people had mentioned. we also put incline press ahead of our flat press for about 2 months. definetly got stronger on those, any bulking difference, i dont know. but if felt good.

good luck and keep trying different exercises and routines, it sucks to get bored with your workout.

Posted by: 33sun33

Thanks "Katts spotter"! Im pretty happy with how things are set up, and my progress so far. I suppose the main exercise Im trying to tweak is my second leg exercise on "push" day. Im already doing back squats (btw, I LOVE front squats!).

Ive played around with doing jump squats and pause squats as the second exercise. Right now I am seriously considering putting hang cleans in there. Just worried if that will be way too much as a complementary exercise.

Posted by: 33sun33

Friday's Pull Workout (Power) 11/9

Todays workout went surprisingly well, considering how I was thinking about skipping it. One of my lymph nodes in my jaw is a bit sore, and I was worried that was a sign of a cold coming on. However, I feel physically fine. I decided to risk it and hit the gym. Before my workout I weighed myself, and noticed I had gained 5lbs! So Im at 210 now. Hopefully part of that gain is muscle, and not just water weight or fat. I typically weigh myself once a month or so.

I would say my short termish goal (like over the next year or possibly two years (hopefully it doesnt take that long)) is to hit 220lbs at 6"3, around 10 % bodyfat. Long termish goal is to get to about 230 at 10% or less bodyfat. At that point, Id probably just maintain, and focus on increasing athletic ability in other areas.

Sumo Deadlifts

(warmup - 135x8; 225x6) 275x5; 300x3; 275x4

Wow! Hit a PR with 300! I felt pretty strong at 275, so decided to up the weights and give 3 buck a shot. I felt strong at 300, but 3 reps was pretty much my max. Forgot to buy those ace bandages for my shins, so my shins are bruised up again.

Yates Rows

(warmup - 135x10) 225x6; 225x5; 225x5

Felt OK on these. Still not sure if Im getting enough angle on these. I bend my knees a bit, and Im guessing my angle is around 15% lean.

Romanian Deadlifts

(warmup - 135x8) 225x6; 245x6

Felt very strong on these. Probably should have increased the weight since 6 reps was relatively easy during this power phase. Grip sort of sucked though.

Hammer Pulldowns

(warmup - 180x8) 270x6; 360x4; 360x4

Last two sets were hard as hell!

Standing DB Bicep Curls

40lb x 6; 50lb x4

All in all a good workout. Hopefully I dont get sick over the weekend!

Posted by: JailHouse

Damn 300pd Dead lift is vary strong! Good luck on the road to 220

Posted by: 33sun33

Monday's Push Workout (Rep Range) (11/12/07)

Today's workout was brutal. I came into the workout with good energy, but just crashed midway through it. The weights seemed much heavier today, and the entire day was a struggle. Perhaps its because I started Rep Range again this week (8-12 reps per set) after a couple of weeks of Power (4-6 reps per set).

DB Flat Bench Press

(warmup - 45x10; 60x10) 75x9; 75x7; 65x9

I was hoping to hit 10 reps of the 75dbs for three sets. Didnt happen, and I was dissappointed in the gym. Maybe my expectations were too high. Every set, even the "light" ones, were a struggle. I have to get my body used to going for higher reps.

Back Squat

(warmup - 135x10) 185x10; 225x9; 225x6

I was happy to get 9 reps in at 225, but upset that I couldnt come closer to 8 reps at least on the last set.

Standing BB Military Press

(warmup - 65x10) 85x10; 105x6; 85x10

Again, was hoping to hit 105x10 for 3 sets. Expectations probably too high. Nonetheless pissed that I couldnt get more than 6 reps out of the 1 105 set I did. Ahh well.

Dips

Bodyweight x10; BW+25 x 7

The weighted dips were killer for me. I was just thrashed by this point. Gave up on trying a third set. Again, I was hoping for bw+25 for 10 reps for at least 2 sets.

Hang Cleans

Messed around trying to learn the form for hang cleans. Just used the bar and no weight. Trying to nail the form was a lot harder than I anticipated, and I still dont have it down quite right. The cleans started to mess with my bad shoulder for some reason -- maybe bad form?? Im thinking I should just not do these unless I can find someday a powerlifter to show me proper form. Too bad, because I really really want to integrate some sort of olympic lift in this spot. Guess Ill go back to some plyometrics instead.

Turkish Get ups

25lb DB x 10

Again, Im counting one set as (1) starting off laying down with the DB above your head, (2) getting up into the standing position with DB above head, and then (3) getting back down into the starting position with DB still above head.

Man these are brutal!!! Still havent felt it in my core, but I feel it in my shoulders, legs and lungs, lol. Only didthe one set of 10 and was wasted.

I suppose I had some decent lifts today, but also had some bad ones. I was surprised my energy level got shot so quickly! I had taken no shotgun before hand. Maybe I should blame my diet this weekend. It wasnt horrible, but wasnt great. Sunday I only was able to consume 3 meals, and one of them was crappy chinese.

Next workout -- Wednesday Pull!

Posted by: katt

bad diet = bad workout.......

I know,,,,, from experience....

Are you low carbin' it??

Posted by: 33sun33

Yeah, I was worried diet was the culprit. Hey Katt- youve inspired me to not punk out and cook tonight for tomorrow!

Im trying to bulk, so Im not intentionally trying to low carb. The more good carbs the merrier! Prior to my workout this morning, I had oatmeal (30g carbs), and eggs with a little potatoes (maybe 20g carbs?). So far today Ive had 4 good meals, and hope to cram in another two tonight.

Posted by: the other half

thats no fun going from lower reps to high, i never now exactly were to start,
we just started a new program, whole body, i set per part, max 8-10 reps. im still trying to find the max on alot of them.

Posted by: bigss75

I had some shoulder problems with similar bone growth causing rotator cuff impingement. Lucky me I tore my Rotator cuff about two months after feeling discomfort so they fixed that as well.

Posted by: 33sun33

Wow, that sucks! In my case, there was disagreement among the specialists as to whether the bone growth was sufficient to cause any rotator issues. Shoulders doing fine, but I always try to be careful

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigss75

I had some shoulder problems with similar bone growth causing rotator cuff impingement. Lucky me I tore my Rotator cuff about two months after feeling discomfort so they fixed that as well.

Posted by: 33sun33

Wednesday's Pull Workout (Rep Range) (11/14/07)

Today's workout was decent. After Monday's fiasco I really paid attention to my diet the last few days. Been having a bit of insomnia though, but some caffiene helped with that a bit.

Sumo Deadlifts

135x10; 225x8; 225x8; 275x5

Three things about this workout: (1) my shins got messed up with the higher rep range!!! I found myself wanting to stop short on the reps (e.g., only 5 reps at 275) just because my shins were about to bleed. (2) Higher reps on deadlifts just feels like a recipe for injury to me. I purposefully kept the reps on 225 to 8 instead of 10 or 12 for this reason. Not sure if this is a valid fear. Anyone? (3) my grip needs work. Seemed like my grip might fail on the 9th or 10th rep of 225, even though my legs and back could take it.

Chin Ups

BW x 5, BW x4, BW x4, BW x6 (PR - bw reps)

Wow! It made such a difference by doing these earlier in my workout (before rows, etc...). I really suck at chinups, and this was by far the most amount of nonassisted reps Ive ever done. My problematic shoulder kinda acted up. Didnt hurt per se, just feels awkward and almost out of joint during the movement at times, if that makes sense.

Romanian Deadlifts

135x10; 225x8; 225x8; 225x8 (PR reps at this weight)

These felt pretty good. Again worried about doing high reps on these. Felt strong enough to do more reps, but whatever. Grip was an issue. My hands were feeling numb towards the last set - not good. Though I felt strong, it also felt heavy, and so I was super super strict with my form.

Yates Rows

135x10; 185x10; 185x10; 185x10

Felt very good on these. I dont think it was a PR for me, since Ive done 10 reps of 185 in the past. Not sure if Ive done 10 reps for 3 sets at 185 tho.

Standing DB Curls

35x10; 30x12

Felt good. the end.

Also threw in some planks at the end.

All in all, a decent but not stellar workout. I may be obsessing a bit much about the whole bruised shins thing, and hopefully my grip will continue to improve.

Posted by: katt

Deadlifts are a total power move aren't they? Why would you want to do higher reps with them?

Also, have you tried using straps on your last sets when your grip is failing?

Oh btw - it looks like a great workout to me!

Posted by: 33sun33

Thanks Katt!

That does make sense about deadlifts being a power move, so keep the reps low. Ill adjust that next time, which is awesome because it means I can add more weight!

Ive never tried straps before, dont even know how to use them. Maybe its time to give them a try, at least on the last set if my grip is a problem.

Posted by: 33sun33

Friday's Push Workout (Rep Range) (11/16/07)

Today's workout wasnt a total loss - it had its good moments. However, I just had a total lack of energy, and whats worse, experienced muscle fatigue and pain on a number of sets. For instance, after I finished up with DB flat bench (which went OK), I simply could not finish more than one set of dips due to pain and fatigue in my triceps (chest was fine). Similarly, I cut short the reps on my back squats due to similar pain/fatigue in my hip flexors (quads, etc.. were fine).

Ive had this issue with dips and triceps come up in the past. The wierd thing is, is that Im doing a "chest" dip by leaning forward and trying to take pressure off of my tris. The hip flexor thing has been going on for the last couple of weeks. I had hoped it would go away, but it hasnt.

So this is what I mean by pain/fatigue. I dont mean simple doms pain. I love some muscle soreness after a workout, and dont mind working through the soreness at all. What I am talking about is a deeper pain in my muscle tissue that is COMBINED with a general feeling of fatigue in the muscle, which makes me stop short on sets for fear that I might fail on the next rep.

Right now I am doing a Push-Pull workout. This means Push (with back squats) on Monday, Pull (with Deads/RDLs) on Wednesday, and then repeat the same Push workout on Friday. The following week is Pull-Push-Pull.

Im wondering if maybe that is just too much volume for my body? Maybe I should step it down to a push-pull-legs weekly workout?

Here are the results of today's workout:

DB Flat Bench

[warmup - 40x10; 60x6] 70x10; 70x10; 70x10

Happy to get 10 reps for 3 sets at 70lbs. Still hoping to bump it up to 75 soon. Felt pretty good though.

Back Squats

[warmup - 135x10] 185x10; 225x8; 225x7.

A little dissapointed with only getting 7 reps on the last set. I dont want to admit it, but maybe I should just do 185 x 10 or 12 reps for 3 straight sets next time.

Standing Military Press

[warmup 45x10] 75x12; 95x10; 95x8

Overall pleased.

Dips

BW x10

This really sucked. A lot of pain in my triceps, though chest was dandy. Usually I do weighted dips. Didnt even try this time, and also didnt even do another BW set. I did mess around with some light flies, but even that hurt my triceps for some crazy reason!

Slow Straight-Arm Shoulder Raises

10lb x 12; 12.5lb x12

Front Squats

95x12; 135x8

Getting 8 reps of 135 was a struggle after the back squats.

Turkish Getups

30lb x 10.

So next Monday is supposed to be a Pull workout. Im really leaning towards going to a one time a week Pull-push-legs workout, but Im interested in any advice. Thanks

Posted by: DOMS

When is the last time you took a week off?

That was still a good workout!

Posted by: katt

let me get this straight... you're thinking about going in just once a week and doing all of the push/pull/legs??? Am I reading this wrong???

Posted by: 33sun33

Thanks Doms for the support. Thing is, I took a week off only like 4 weeks ago!

Sorry for the confusion Katt. No, I mean going into the gym 3 times a week, with one day for Push, one day for Pull, and one day for Legs. What I meant was that I would only be doing push exercises, for instance, once a week (instead of 3 times every two weeks like now).

Posted by: 33sun33

Monday's Pull Workout (Rep Range)

Today's workout went well overall. No feeling of fatigue, and hip flexors felt fine (a little tender still - but perhaps the thanksgiving break will help).

Sumo Deadlifts

135x10; 225x8; 275x4; 300x3

Wide Grip Chin Ups

bwx5; bwx5; bwx5; bwx5

There has been such a difference in chin ups since I placed them towards the beginning of my workout instead of at the very end.

Romanian Deadlifts

135x10; 225x8; 225x8; 245x6

Yates Rows

135x10; 185x8; 185x10; 185x10

DB Curls

40x8

Planks

1.25 minutes x 3

Posted by: the other half

great looking sumo's. i hate doing pullups anywhere but at the start of a workout. how much do you weight.

Posted by: 33sun33

Hey Other Half, I weigh 210lbs right now at 6"3. So Im happy-ish with my chin ups, though there is certainly room for improvement.

Today was my last workout until next week, since Im traveling for Thanksgiving to spend some time with the family. Overall I was pleased:

DB Flat Bench

[warmup - 40x10; 60x10] 75x8; 75x8; 75x8

I was pretty happy with my performance today. My still illusive short term goal is to get in 3 sets of 10 with the 75lb dbs, but Im getting closer! Also, there was no muscle fatigue or pain like last time.

Back Squats

[warmup - 135x10] 185x10; 225x8; 225x8

Ehh... These were OK. I was kinda hoping to get in 10 reps each at 225 though.

Standing Military Press

65x10; 85x10; 95x8; 95x7

One Legged Box jumps

bwx6; bwx6; bwx6

Just started these up as my secondary leg movement on push days. I gradually want to incorporate more plyometric movements into my workouts. On these, I jump up onto a platform about 10-12 inches tall on just one leg. I really focus on jumping as high as possible, and also landing as softly and quietly as possible while maintaining balance. It actually is harder than it sounds to land like a cat on one leg!!

Dips

BW x10; +25x8; +25x8

Thankfully there was no pain during this workout, but I was just thrashed by this point and had no energy to pump out additional reps. Plus my stupid IPOD battery died. It really sucks working out without music! Also, the cute girl that was working out next to me on my first set (and giving me a boost of energy to get in my reps

), moved on to a different machine during my last two sets. Having hot women in my vicinity while working out is usually a

for me!

Turkish Get Ups

30x12; 35x8

These are always a pain in the butt. They just wear me out. Probably looked like a fool doing these in the middle of the gym right on the floor, but there was no other hidden away area to do them.

So that was it. Overall I am pleased, and looking forward to eating some Turkey tomorrow!!! Happy T day everyone

Posted by: the other half

well i guess if i would have looked at the bottom of your post i would have seen that. it sucks doing dips or pullups when you weight that much. im at 202-205 most of the time. about a year and a half ago i got down to 185 and i could do a ton of pullups, but you add on another 20 pounds and forget it.
have a great day tomorrow.

Posted by: 33sun33

Today was a decent workout, though my energy really crashed after deadlifting. It was probably a combination of really focusing on a PR for the deadlift, and also taking an energy drink (no shotgun) an hour before working out (I usually take it 15-20 minutes before I workout). Also, I REALLY need to get to the store and by some straps or something! After deadlifting, my grip failed a couple of times on my yates rows - couldnt even finish my sets!

Sumo Deadlifts

135x8; 225x6; 275x4; 305x3 (PR!); 275x6

Felt good on these, but 305 certainly wasnt easy. Decided not to tempt fate with a second set at 305. I cant wait until I can do a set of 315 (6 45lb plates).

Chin Ups

BW x4; bwx6; bwx5; bwx6

Romanian Deadlifts

135x10; 225x8; 225x8; 225x8

Yates Rows

135x10; 185x8 (grip started to fail at 9th rep); 205x4 (grip was failing by 5th rep!!!)

My grip killed me on this. My back definitely could have pulled more but for my grip. I gave up on Yates, and then did a set of bent over rows at 135lbs x10. Grip was still an issue, but at least the weight was lighter.

DB Curls

35x10; 30x12

Posted by: 33sun33

I think my post on Monday was lost by the system somehow. Anyways, I will try to remeber the details. I do recall that it was a good workout overall.

DB Flat Bench

45x10; 60x8 (warmup); 75x10; 75x9; 75x8

Back Squat

135x10; 185x10; 225x9; 225x8

Standing Military Press

75x10; 95x10; 95x8; 95x7

Weighted Dips

bwx10; +25x8; +25x8

One legged Box Jumps

bwx6; bwx6; bwx6

Turkish Getups

30x8; 30x8

Im pretty sure those were my numbers on Monday, but I might be a little off. I missed my usual workout (Pull) on Wednesday due to work (I teach and its the last week of classes - a lot of makeup classes scheduled, etc...)

Today I finally have the time to go back to the gym to do my Pull workout. Im playing around with the idea of doing singles, doubles and triples only for the sumo deadlift, and just increasing the number of sets.

Ill post back my results after my workout!

Posted by: 33sun33

Good day today at the gym! I set some PRs, especially on the deadlift. I think switching up the rep range and number of sets helped.

Sumo Deadlifts

[Warm up - 135x8] 225x3; 275x3; 315x3!! PR!; 315x1

I was so stoked to get 315! It actually felt "relatively" light. Switching to 1-3 reps with a shorter rest interval and more set definitely made this possible. In hindsight, I think I should have done at least one more set though. What do you guys think? If Im going for power/explosiveness, and purposefully keep the reps to 1-3, should I do 5 working sets? 6?

Oh, I bought some calf wraps from a pharmacy store to protect my shins. They cover most of the shin area and are padded. Worked great!! No bruising at all!

Wide Grip Chin Ups

bwx4; bwx5; bwx5; bwx5

Felt decent.

Romanian Deadlifts

135x10; 225x8; 245x8; 265x6 (PR!)

These felt very good. I had to do these using a bar from a flat bench station, because some jerkoffs were using the squat rack for about 45 minutes, taking 10 minute breaks between sets (and then just doing a couple of heavy quarter squats at that).

I admit that on the last two sets I used straps for the first time ever (on any exercise). Felt a little wierd to use straps for the first time, but helped hugely with grip strength. While I dont care too much about grip strength, I do care about forearm development and thus will try to only sparingly use straps. Probably just on this exercise probably.

Yates Rows

135x10; 185x10; 185x10; 205x8

These felt very good.

Standing DB Curls

35x10; 40x6

Ehhh....

Posted by: 33sun33

I was sick all of last week and could not work out. Ironically, I noticed that I wasnt feeling well after my first warm up set at the gym last monday. I did the one light set... wasnt feeling too good all of a sudden, plus my ipod died... so I went home and was out the rest of the week. But I feel good now, and put in a workout today.

Unfortunately, I will likely only be able to work out at the gym this week only, as the next two weeks I will be spending a week in Southern Illinois visiting family, and then another week in Chicago visiting family. There will be basically no chance to hit the gym during those visits, and it would be seen as uncouth to spend even brief time away from the family during xmas, etc... anyways.

So since this is my last week of working out until the new year, I decided to do a shock week. Dont really know if it makes sense to do a shock now or not (as opposed to just doing rep range, etc...), but what the hey. Had to rely on a lot of dropsets (instead of supersets) since it was so busy at the gym

Back Squats w/ dropset

135x10; 185x10; 225x7 drop to 135x8

Front Squats w/ dropset

95x10; 135x8 drop to 95x8

My legs were shaking after these two exercises!

DB Flat Bench Press w/ Dropset

55x10; 70x10; 70x8; 70x8 drop to 55x6

A little dissapointed that the 70s felt so heavy after only a week off (albeit being sick and with a horrible bb diet (not a lot of protein or meals... mostly just soup and tea the whole week))

Machine Flyes w/ dropset

205x10; 220x8 drop to 145x8

Hammer Shoulder Press machine Supersetted with Standing DB Pushes

90 (2 45lb plates) x10; 140x8 SS 25db x8; 140x8 SS 25dbx6

These supersets really fried my shoulders.

CG Bench Press Dropset

95x10; 135x6 drop to 95x8

Turkish Get ups

30lb dbs x 8
Damn these are tiring.

Posted by: 33sun33

Today was my pull workout. While I had done a "shock" push on Monday, today was essentially a normal workout with just a couple of dropsets added. Overall it was a good workout. Since I leave to visit family on Saturday (and thus likely will not be able to train for two weeks), Im wondering if I can get in one more Pull workout on Saturday before my flight. Ill see how my body feels and play it by ear.

Sumo Deadlifts

135x8; 225x6; 275x6; 315x3; 315x2

These felt pretty good. Since this was my first pull workout after being sick for a week, I was generally pleased.

Pull Ups supersetted with Chin ups

Pull ups - bw x5; pull ups - bwx5 SS with Chin ups - bw x4; pull ups - bwx5 SS with chin ups - bw x4

In all of my previous posts I think I was incorrectly using the term "chin ups" (narrow grip, palms supinated) when I was really doing "pull ups" (wide grip, palms facing away). I mostly do the latter, though today I supersetted them with chin ups.

Romanian Deadlifts with dropset

135x10; 225x8; 225x8; 225x8 drop set to 135x10

I have a feeling it maybe wasnt a smart idea to do a dropset on deads, even if it is romanian deads. At least I went with a light dropset though, and I feel fine.

Yates Rows with dropsets

135x10; 225x7 dropset to 135x8; 225x6 dropset to 135x8

Hammer machine Pull downs Supersetted with DB curls

180 (4 45 plates) x 10; 270x10 SS with 30lb curls x 8; 270x8 SS with 30lb curls x8

Posted by: 33sun33

After spending the last few weeks visiting family in Illinois for the holidays, I am almost back home and can begin going to the gym again!!!

Im still in NYC for a conference that will end Saturday, and plan to put in one or two workouts at the hotel gym here. But my new plan will begin in earnest next Monday.

I would like to bulk and put on as much muscle as possible for 3.5 months until around mid-April. At that point, I will start to cut to get ready for the beach/outdoor basketball season, lol.

Right now, I think I will do a Bill Starr variation for the next 9 weeks (4 - volume, 1 - deload, 4- intensity). After looking at various Bill Starr threads, this is what I think it will look like:

Monday

DB Bench - 1x5 (flat or incline?)
Squats - 5x5
Yates Rows - 5x5
Planks

Wednesday

Military Press - 5x5
Front Squats - 5x5
Sumo Deadlifts - 5x3
Pull-Ups - 5x5

Friday
DB Bench - 5x5
Squats - 1x5
Yates Rows - 1x5
Turkish Get-Ups

In regards to diet, I plan to eat as much as possible essentially. I will have seven balanced meals planned throughout each day.

In regards to supps, I will restart taking CEE creatine, a multivitamin, and ON protein shakes (used as sporadically as possible).

I am also toying with the idea of doing the NHA stack (rebound reloaded/activate) during this time. I probably have half a bottle of each left over, though that means Id still have to buy some more.

Anyways, I am super excited to finally stop traveling all over the damn place during the holidays, and to finally get back in the gym!! Hopefully I havent lost that much strength these last few weeks.

Posted by: 33sun33

My first workout after a few weeks of inaction was kinda sucky. I blame the suckiness on two things: (1) my layoff from the gym, and (2) the sucky ass gym equipment at the hotel. This workout was my "practice" 5x5 workout.

DB Flat Bench

(warmup) 65x5; 65x5; 65x5; 65x5; 65x5

I suppose I was lucky that the hotel gym had a flat bench and DBs that went up to 75. The reps were never a problem, but even 65lbs seemed heavier than I remember.

Smith Squats

2 45lb plates x 5; 2 45lb plates and 2 25lb plates x 5 reps x 3 sets

Arggh... I hate the Smith machine. I felt very awkward and unnatural doing these lifts, so I squatted pretty lightly.

DB Rows

75x5; 75x5; 75x5

Stopped after only 3 sets.... was frustrated with the hotel gym and that my apple iphone earbuds kept falling out of my ears.

Standing DB Military Press

30x5; 40x5

So a pretty bad workout, and yes I know Im making a lot of excuses. I mostly viewed this workout as a throw away, just to shock my body back into a lifting mode. Ill come back strong with complete sets once I formally start the Bill Starr next week!

Posted by: 33sun33

Today I kicked off my slightly modified Bill Starr workout plan. So far so good!

Incline DB Press: 1x5

[Ramp up: 40x5; 55x5] 70x5; 80x2(fail)

Today was 1x5 for the DB presses. Still not sure what my 1x5 weight should be, but 70x5 reps was pretty easy. Obviously, 80lb was too hard!!

Squats: 5x5

[Warmup: 135x10] 185x5; 185x5; 185x5; 185x5; 185x5

Overall this felt good. Perhaps a little too easy. Next week I may bump it up to 205x5 for 5 sets, depending on how my 1x5 day on Friday goes (I aiming at 225x5, which is a very reasonable goal).

Yates Rows

[Warmup: 135x8] 185x5x5

This also was relatively easy. Probably need to up the weights. I kept the low-ish today since I wasnt sure what weight I could do consistently for 5 sets of 5 reps.

That was it for today!!! I planned on doing some planks at the end, but didnt.

At this extremely eary stage, Im diggin the Bill Starr ish plan. I do question only doing squats for 3 days, with no hamstring exercise. Even though Im throwing sumo deads in on Thursday, I wonder if I should switch the light loaded squats on Wednesday for RDLs or something for the hams.

Posted by: 33sun33

Had a decent workout today, the second of my new modified Starr plan. Didnt have much energy all day - likely due to some insomnia the night before, but still glad I hit the gym.

Sumo Deadlifts

[warmup - 225x4] 257x3; 275x3; 275x3; 275x3; 315x2

Felt a little heavier than usual, but this is my first crack at the sumos after a 3 week or so layoff. Hopefully Ill work myself back up to 315x3 for 5 sets in a couple of weeks or so.

Front Squats

95x5x5

These felt very easy and super light. Of course, I was purposefully lifting with lighter weights pursuant to my version of Starr [e.g., Mondays I do 5x5 of back squats pretty much all out, Wednesdays instead of doing 80% back squats, I do light front squats; and Fridays I do 1x5 full exertion hoping for a PR].

Military Press

95x5x5

Felt awesome and light. I psuedo supersetted these with the Front squats since I was doing the same weight on the same rack.

Wide Grip Pull Ups

bwx5x3

Felt decent, but stopped at three sets.

Posted by: DOMS

Really nice sumos, man!

Posted by: the other half

good to see you making it back to the real gym. its hard to have a good workout when you are in a strange gym, you cant get in to it mentally as well i think.

anyways you know the weights will go up quickly, and then of course they just die on you. ha

Posted by: 33sun33

Thanks Doms - sumos have quickly become my favorite exercise!

Thanks for the support Other Half, the weights are finally starting to come back up.... the hard part is to keep them increasing!

Posted by: 33sun33

My workout on Saturday was kinda crappy. I was very busy that day, and the only time I could workout is for an hour right after waking up. Only had time to eat a half a bowl of cereal, and then rushed through the workout. Needless to say, I had no energy and actually felt faint towards the end of the workout.

Incline DB Press - 5x5

[warmup] 70lbs x 5 reps x 5 sets

Decent performance considering everything.

Squats -1x5

[warmup] 185x5

Kept these light since I really started to feel faint during this set.

Yates Rows -1x5

[warmup] 245x5

Form suffered a little towards the end -- Im not quite ready for 5 reps of 245

Posted by: 33sun33

Today's workout went much much better than my previous workout with no food in me.

Incline DB Press - 1x5

[warmup - 40x8; 55x6; 70x5] 80x4 (failed on 5)

Was disappointed that I didnt get the 5 reps with 80lbs. Perhaps Ive been reaching with my goals these past couple of weeks.

Back Squats - 5x5

[warmup - 135x10; 185x5] 205 x 5 reps x 5 sets

Happy that I was able to get a 5x5 at an increased weight (205). Still itching to get to 225 x5x5

Yates Rows - 5x5

[warmup - 135x8] 205 x 5 reps x 5 sets

Its so wierd that my Yates development is mirroring my Squat development.

Planks

3 planks at 1 min each.

So overall a good workout. Just have to keep up my diet and get enough sleep and I should see more improvement!

Posted by: 33sun33

Todays workout went pretty well, although instead of doing everything 5x5 or thereabouts, I did 4x5 for the most part.

Sumo Deadlifts

[warmup - 135x6; 225x6] 275x4; 315x3; 315x2; 315x2

I was just too pooped to put in a fifth working set of the sumos. I am always surprised at how physically draining these are.

Standing Military Presses

[warmup - 75x8] 95x5; 95x5; 105x5; 105x5

Front Squats

(same weights and reps as the military presses - I essentially supersetted these two exercises).

Im keeping the weights on the front squats low since this is my recovery day. On friday I shoot for a new PR on 1x5 for back squats

Wide Grip Pullups with pause

5 reps x 3 sets at bodyweight

Posted by: the other half

its getting there. great numbers on the sumo, thats what we are doing for deads also, hopefully we are doing them right.

Posted by: 33sun33

I had a surprisingly good workout today. Very happy that I hit my goal on the 1x5 Incline DB press, and generally pleased with the rest of my performance. Im going to keep on truckin'!

Incline DB Press

[warmup - 40x8; 50x8; 65x5] 75lb x 5 reps x 5 sets

Pretty happy about getting in 5 full sets of 5 reps each with the 75lb dbs. I feel pretty good about my chances of getting 5 reps for one set with the 80lb dbs on Tuesday.

Back Squats

[warmup - 135x10; 185x6] 225x5

Happy about this, although had hoped I would be getting 245/265 for 5 reps by this point.

Yates Rows

[warmup - 135x10; 185x5] 245x5

Form started to deteriorate by the 4th rep.

Turkish get ups

30lb DB for 4 minutes

35lb DB for 3 minutes

Posted by: the other half

nothing wrong with those numbers. getting up to the big stuff on the incline.

Posted by: 33sun33

Went skiing for the first time during MLK weekend, and thus missed my scheduled Monday workout. Skiing is awesome btw!!!! I was still a bit sore (quads, back, calves), and perhaps it showed in my performance today re squats. But still not too bad.

Incline DB Press (Strength day)

[warmup - 45x10; 60x5; 70x5] 80x5

Happy to get in 5 reps with the 80lb dbs (which was my goal), though it wasnt a cake walk.

Back Squats (Endurance day)

[warmup - 135x10; 185x5] 205x5repsx5sets

Just repeated my endurance day from last week. Felt OK, but my knee joints felt a little stiff/tight/swollen from the skiing. I did have surgery on both knees in the past after all. I think the tightness limited my performance today (e.g., didnt feel comfortable attempting 225 for 5 reps and 5 sets).

Yates Rows (Endurance day)

[warmup - 135x10; 185x5] 225x 5 reps x 5 sets

This felt very good, form did not fail at all.

Planks

1.25 minutes x 3 sets

Birddogs

1.5 minutes x 2 sets

Posted by: 33sun33

Cool - my journal has three pages now! Anyways, today's workout went pretty well.

Sumo Deadlifts

[warmup - 135x6; 225x6] 315x3; 315x2; 315x2; 315x1; 225x6

This is by far my favorite exercise nowadays. Which is why I am a bit dissappointed that I've been stuck at 315 for a few weeks. Im sure I could lift more than 315 for one rep, but not safely. 315 still feels kinda heavy to me, and as you can see on my last working set of 315 I could only get in one rep. That said, Im not overly worried since I am doing Bill Starr right now (focusing more on the squat), and only do the Sumos once a week, primarily for maintenance.

Wide Grip Pull Ups

BW x 5 reps for 4 sets

These felt pretty good. Ill probably mix it up next week and shoot for higher reps with less sets

Standing BB Military Press

[warmup - 45x10; 75x10] 95x5; 105x5; 115x5; 125x2

I felt strong on these. Slowly but surely Im gaining strength in this area.

Front Squats

95x5; 105x5; 115x5

These felt fine. Since today is supposed to be like an active recovery day re squats, I kept the weight and volume low.

Im very tempted to add in some Romanian Deadlifts on this day to directly target the hamstrings. Do you guys think this will be overkill? The other workouts mirror the Starr method (e.g., focusing on either volume (5x5) or strnegth (1x5) for the big three lifts (squats, bench, rows). This middle workout thus includes only active recovery work for squats, and other secondary exercises (deadlifts, military press, pull ups, etc...).

Posted by: Burner02

where did u go skiing?
if u say NY....you've GOTTA come try the real snow...you'll never wanna leave!

Have u tried dropping the weight of the sumos to say, 275 and work on repping that, instead of the whole plate jump in weight?

Posted by: 33sun33

Quote:

Originally Posted by Burner02

where did u go skiing?
if u say NY....you've GOTTA come try the real snow...you'll never wanna leave!

Have u tried dropping the weight of the sumos to say, 275 and work on repping that, instead of the whole plate jump in weight?

Yeah, I went to Whiteface Mountain in Lake Placid, NY to ski for my first time. I loved it, but there was alittle too much ice on the slopes. thinking of hitting up Vermont for my next trip! I am definitely addicted after only one trip... Where are you at?

Re sumos, I used to rep the 275s and then maybe end with one set at 315. I suppose Im confused at how many total reps I should be shooting for if Im doing triples or doubles. I find 4-5 sets of triples to be pretty damn strenous as it is (so dont say I should be doing 8 sets!!!!). Perhaps I could do something like: 275x3; 275x3; 275x3; 315x2; 315x2?

Posted by: 33sun33

Pretty good workout, though I kept the weights the same as last week re endurance lift (5x5) for the incline presses, and strength lifts (1x5) for the squats and rows. Just didnt feel confident that I could get in 5 solid reps for 5 sets at a higher weight on the inclines, or that I could get 5 solid reps with good form at a higher weight on my other two lifts. I might try bumping up again next week, though my "strength" phase (e.g., 3x3 and 1x3) of Starr is coming up soon (after next week I think?)

Incline DB Press - 5x5

[warmup - 40x8; 60x6] 75 x 5 reps x 5 sets

Felt great.

Back Squats - 1x5

[warmup - 135x10; 185x6] 225x5

Felt OK. Probably should have done another warmup set, as I felt stiff during the last 225 working set.

Yates Rows

[warmup - 135x8; 185x6] 225x5; 255x3(grip failure)

225 x 5 was easy, so I attempted 255. Didnt feel that bad, but my grip started failing pretty quickly and I forgot to bring my straps.

Turkish GetUps

35lb DB x 4 minutes; 35lb DB x 3.5 minutes

Posted by: the other half

75s on the incline bench, thats getting up there pretty good. i only got a set of 5 and a set of 4 yesterday on those. i think we might have a little competition going on here.

Posted by: 33sun33

Quote:

Originally Posted by the other half

75s on the incline bench, thats getting up there pretty good. i only got a set of 5 and a set of 4 yesterday on those. i think we might have a little competition going on here.

Lol! A little competition is good!

Posted by: 33sun33

I was happy with my workout today, even though I failed on the last rep during DB inclines. This is also the last week of the endurance phase of Bill Starr, and next week is a deload week. Cant wait!

Incline DB Press: 1x5

[warmup - 55x5; 65x5; 75x5] 85x4 (failed on 5th rep)

Overall pretty happy. Knew I was pushing the limit with the 85s, but I also knew that the 80s would be a little too easy. The warmup felt like a piece of cake, even with the 75x5 set!

Back Squats: 5x5

[warmup- 135x5; 185x5; 205x5] 225 x 5 reps x 5 sets

God this was hard. I just find 5 sets of 5 reps with squats to be incredibly draining. But I sucked it up, and was extremely happy to finish all the sets at 225.

Yates Rows

[warmup - 135x5; 185x5] 225 x 5 reps x 5 sets

This felt great, and wasnt that difficult. Need to increase the weight, but I forgot my straps again.

I go skiing tomorrow, and hopefully that wont mess up my gym progress!

Posted by: 33sun33

Today's workout went well, considering that I had some post-nasal drip/on the verge of getting sick stuff going on the day before. But today I felt fine, and decided to head to the gym.

Sumo Deadlifts

[warmup - 135x6; 225x6] 275 x 5 reps x 4 sets

275 was pretty easy to get for 4 sets. I may up the weight to say 295 next time, seeing how I can only get about 4 sets of 315 for 3 reps.

WG Pullups

BW x 5 reps x 4 sets

Standing Military Press SS with Front Squats

Military press: 45x8; 75x6; 105x 5 reps x 4 sets

Pretty happy to pump out 4 sets of 5 at 105.

Front Squats (same exact weights as the military press. This is essentially a light/deload quad exercise for me on this day)

Posted by: DOMS

Sweet Deads! Great workout, too!

Posted by: the other half

so are you trying to kill yourself with the military/front squats thing.
shit, isnt that like a train wreck waiting to happen?

when you do sumos, do you start on the ground and hit the ground on each rep? cause we start with the bar about knee high and the weights go to the side of the squat machine lower than foot level at the bottom so the weights dont touch the ground at all.

Posted by: 33sun33

Quote:

Originally Posted by the other half

so are you trying to kill yourself with the military/front squats thing.
shit, isnt that like a train wreck waiting to happen?

when you do sumos, do you start on the ground and hit the ground on each rep? cause we start with the bar about knee high and the weights go to the side of the squat machine lower than foot level at the bottom so the weights dont touch the ground at all.

Hey TOH,

I mislead you all, I only do a "quasi" superset of the military press and front squat. I do a set of the military press, wait until I cardiovascularly (sp?) recover or about a minute, then do a set of the front squat... and so on. Its not so bad, and helps to keep the workout short! I make sure to give myself sufficient time to recover before the next set of presses though. Since the weight on the front squats is so low, its never a problem.

For the sumos, I dont use the squat machine, but just a regular 45lb bar and plates on the ground. I start with the weight resting on the ground, lift the weight, bring the the weight back down slowly (dragging across my shins), and rest the weight on the ground again. Pause/reset (usually pop my butt out and get back into position) . And then repeat for another rep. I really try to avoid just bouncing the weight off the ground, like I see so many others do. (not judging, just how I like to do DEADlifts, lol)

How you do sumos sounds like how I do Romanian deadlifts. I stand on a platform with the bar, and go down - often with the weights lower than where the ground would be, but for the platform.

Posted by: 33sun33

Wow, today's workout went horribly. I lacked energy, weights that Ive lifted easily in the past seemed super heavy, and all of my joints seemed to ache with the strain of it all. Im guess it could be a few things: (1) overtraining. This is my last workout of the Bill Starr endurance phase, and thank god next week is my deload/taking it easy week. Maybe the stress of the last few weeks just caught up to me. (2) Effects of insomnia. Only got 4 hours of sleep or so last night, and maybe 6 the night before that. (3) Going to the gym during rush hour. Made the mistake of going to the gym inthe after work rush, which meant I had to switch up the order of my exercises, wait for benches to become available, etc....

Anyways- here is my dissappointing workout. Im not too worried, since next week is my deload week.

Back Squats - 1x5

[warmup - 135x6; 185x6; 205x5; 225x5] 245x3

I really didnt feel strong on this, even though just four days earlier 225 x 5 reps x 5 sets was fine. I might have done too many warmup sets, but I did that because each freakin set -- even the "light" ones, felt heavy. I stopped after the 3 rep at 245 cause it just didnt feel safe anymore to push it.

Yates Rows - 1x5

[warmup - 135x5; 185x5] 245x5

This wasnt all that hard, but then again the rows never seem to give me trouble - which probably means I need to up the weight.

Incline DB Press -5x5

[warmup - 50x6; 60x6] 80x5; 80x5; 80x5; 80x3 (failed on 4th rep) (didnt attempt 5th set)

Wow. My performance on this blowed. The last couple of weeks I had stayed at 75lbs x 5 reps for 5 sets without any trouble at all. It was a breeze. So I thought for sure I wasnt overestimating myself by attempting 80x5x5. I was wrong. It also didnt help that I attempted this as my last exercise during my workout, since all the incline benches were being used when I first got to the gym (yet the squat rack was open). Plus some jerkoff started working in with my on my bench, without even asking.

Could have told him off, but I was taking 2 min rest intervals between sets so.... I decided to be nice. But it kinda thru my groove off.

I think this is the last time Ill go to the gym during that after work period. It sucked balls

Posted by: the other half

well,you know we had a bad workout last week and then the next one kicked ass. so hope your next one is better.

Posted by: 33sun33

Last Thursday was the first workout during my "deload" week on the Bill Starr program. During the deload week, I keep the weights the same as the previous week, but reduce the reps and sets to 1x3 or 3x3. Man, it seriously sucked. Everything just felt super heavy. Basically felt the same as my previous workout.

Incline DB Presses - 1x3

[warmup -50x5; 60x5; 70x3] 85x1 (failed on second rep)

Gosh, this was a bad way to start out the workout. The previous week I made 85x4 reps, and this week I could barely get one rep in. What a dissappointment.

Back Squats

[warmup - 135x8; 185x6] 225x 3reps x 3 sets

I reached my goal by replicating the same weights I used the prior week at 5x5, but it still felt pretty heavy for a deload week.

Yates Rows

[warmup - 135x8; 185x6] 245x 3 reps x 3 sets

At least this was easy.

Posted by: 33sun33

Todays deload workout went pretty well. My energy was high, and I felt strong. Good signs, considering my last two workouts went pretty poorly. Of course this was Workout B during my Starr plan (e.g., not doing the main lifts of DB pressing and squats and rows), but Im still optimistic that Ive turned a corner.

Sumo Deadlifts - 3x3

[warmup - 135x6; 225x4] 275x 3 reps x 3 sets

Felt very light and easy. Kept the weights the same as last weeks 4x5.

Standing BB Military Press - 3x3

[warmup - 65x10] 105 x 3 reps x 3 sets

Again, felt super easy.

Front Squats - 3x3

Same exact weights and reps and sets as the military press.

WG Pullups

BW x 3 reps x 3 sets

Nice and easy and smooth.

This wednesday will be last deload workout. Saturday I will move into the strength phase of Starr, and looking forward to it.

Posted by: the other half

dam bro, strong numbers.

what kind of rep range will you be doing for that strenght portion of your program.

Posted by: 33sun33

Thanks TOH! The strength phase will be awesome -- I alternate between 3x3 and 1x3 for the next 3-4 weeks! Im feeling good, and hope to move some good numbers. Once Starr is finished in March, Ill take a week or so off, and then do a volume program (e.g., rep ranges in the 8-12 range)

Today was my last deload workout! I felt very good, and am anxious to start increasing the weights next week (saturday actually).

Incline DB Press - 1x3

[warmup - 40x8; 50x6; 65x4] 75x3

Back Squats - 3x3

[warmup - 135x8; 185x5] 225x3

Yates Rows - 1x3

[warmup - 135x8; 185x5; 225x3] 255x3

Actually forgot that I was supposed to do 3 working sets of 3. Instead I only did one working set. Oh well.

Posted by: 33sun33

Todays workout, the first of the strength phase (which last 4 weeks I think), went relatively well. I mostly kept the weights the same as where I left off, so I know I need to start pushing the envelope more over the next few weeks.

DB Incline Press: 1x3

[warmup - 50x8; 60x5; 70x3] 80x3

Not a problem. Should be able to do 3 sets of 3 reps at 80lb during workout C (wednesday)

Squats - 3x3

[warmup - 135x8; 185x5] 225 x 3 reps x 3 sets

Also no problem here. Considered tackling 245 for 3 sets, but played it safe dammit.

Yates Rows - 3x3

[warmup - 135x10; 185x6] 245x 3 reps x 3 sets

Not much of a problem. Grip is an issue here, might need to use straps.

Dips

BWx8; BW+25lbs x8

Decided to throw this accessory exercise in here.

My goals for the workout on Wednesday will be 80lb x 3 reps x 3 sets for the DB press; 245 x 3 for squats, and 265x3 for the rows. The intervening workout on Monday is deadlifts, military presses, etc...

Posted by: the other half

smart way to start the new program. its always easy to work up than work down. kind of kills your confidence if you start to heavy.

Posted by: 33sun33

Todays workout went well. This is probably the latest Ive worked out (8-9pm), but the gym was nice and empty.

Sumo Deads - 3x3

[warmup - 135x6; 225x6] 275x3; 315x3; 315x3

This felt pretty good, and had no problem pulling the weight. My lower back was kinda tight after that last set though.

Standing Military Press - 3x3

[warmup - 45x10; 95x3] 115x3; 135x2 (push press assisted); 115x3

115 felt so good that I decided to try 135. Ehhh, Im not quite there yet! Couldnt move the weight standing still, so converted two reps into a push press.

Front Squats - 3x3

Same weight and reps/sets as the press. I take it really easy with these, so as to not be fatigued for Workout C's heavy back squats. Maybe this is a mistake and I should up the weight? Im guessing I could probably get 185x3 if I decided to push it.

WG Pull Ups

BWx3; BW+15lbs x 3; BW+15lbsx3

First time I ever added weight to pull ups. Even 15 lbs made it much harder.

Im a little concerned at how little reps Im getting in during this strength phase, but I guess Ill stick to it for a while longer. Its worked for others who know much more than I do, so it will probably work for me. Plus it only lasts a few weeks. My next workout plan will be completely hypertrophy/8-12 rep oriented though.

Posted by: 33sun33

Hit my goals today mostly. Diet was a little off today (too much space between meals), but it didnt seem to have a huge effect.

DB Incline Press - 3x3

[warmup - 50x6; 65x3; 75x3] 80 x 3reps x3sets

Felt pretty good, a little pain in my triceps for some reason.

Squats - 1x3

[warmup - 135x8; 185x5; 225x3] 245x3

Again, felt pretty good. Will likely give 245x3x3 a shot on Saturday.

Yates Rows - 1x3

[warmup - 135x10; 185x5; 225x3] 265x2 (failed on 3), then dropsetted to 225x5 out of frustration

Eh, didnt get 3 reps at 265. Probably should just stick to 245 and work up to 255, etc...

DB Curls - accessory movement, 2x8-10

40x8; 40x8

I also threw in stationary bike for 30 mins. Ive decided to integrate more cardio, even though I am still bulking for the next 3 weeks. Which means Ill just need to eat more!!

Posted by: 33sun33

Had a solid workout today.

DB Incline Press - 1x3

[warmup - 50x8; 65x4; 75x3] 85x3

Pretty stoked about meeting this goal - should be able to go 3x3 at the same weight come Wednesday.

Back Squats - 3x3

[warmup - 135x8; 185x6; 225x3] 245 x 3 reps x 3 sets

Felt very good on this. Im learning to trust my body to be able to squat heavier weights. On wednesday Ill shoot for either 255 or 265

Yates Rows - 3x3

[warmup - 135x8; 185x5] 245 x 3 reps x 3 sets

Well, I messed up here by yet AGAIN forgetting to bring straps. For some reason 245 is about the heaviest my little hands can handle in a pulling movement.

Dips

bw x 8, bw x10

Just threw this in here before the gym closed.

Posted by: 33sun33

Solid workout in the gym today. Had some doms in my quads for the first time in a long time the last two days (after my saturday workout), but it didnt prove to be a problem with deadlifts or front squats

Sumo Deadlifts

135x8; 225x6; 275x4; 315x3; 335x2 (PR!)

Pretty happy about the 335 PR.

Standing BB Military Press

45x10; 65x8; 95x4; 115x3; 125x3; 135x2

Good workout here. Stoked to get 135 with the 45 plates for two reps.

Front Squats

135x5; 135x4

WG Pull Ups

bwx5; bwx5; bwx5

Abandoned the whole 3x3 thing with this exercise, since Im still only pulling up my bodyweight.

cardio

Stationary bike for 20mins

Posted by: 33sun33

Seriously thought about abandoning the last two weeks of Starr, given that I missed a week of working out due to travel. Buutttt... two more weeks isnt a long time, so Im sticking to it. Will likely switch over to a push-pull-legs by mid-March, and probably start focusing on cutting at that time (Im up to 225lbs now!).

DB Incline Press- 1x3

[warmup/ramp up: 55x5; 65x5; 75x3] 85x3

Back Squats - 3x3

[warmup/ramp up - 135x8; 185x5; 225x3] 245x3; 245x3; 265x3 (PR!)

DEcided to up the weight on the last set, and its the first time I ever attempted and squated 265! Happy about that, and... dare I dream?... I hope to be able to get 275 on Friday during my 1x3

Yates Rows- 3x3

[warmup - 135x8; 185x5; 225x3] 245 x 3 reps x 3 sets

Again limited by grip strength here. I used to love Yates rows, but now Im getting sick of them. Really looking forward to the end of Starr so that I can switch things up.

Dips

bw x 10 reps x 2 sets

Posted by: the other half

thats one nice thing about squats, a 10 or 20 pound jump isnt as bad as the same jump on bench.

strong looking workouts.

Posted by: 33sun33

Thanks Other Half!

Today was workout B, and let me tell you I am really looking forward to the end of this Starr program (next week is my last). It has really beat me up! Energy was kinda lacking today, and I felt a little weaker than before. Not sure why... perhaps because I stopped with creatine supp last week? Or it was just one of those days. Not a horrible workout though:

Sumo Deadlifts

135x6; 225x5; 315x3; 335x2; 335x2; 225x6

I was a little frustrated to only manage 2 reps (twice) at 335 (my goal was 3). As a result I threw in an extra set at 225 - probably a mistake since my back was really tight after the last set.

Standing BB Military Press

45x8; 95x6; 115x4; 135x1.5 (failed at 2); 95x5

Good- 95 felt really light. Bad- 135 is obviously too heavy for me, even though I keep giving it a shot.

Front Squats - light

95x8; 115x5; 135x4; 135x4

WG Pull Ups

BWx5; BW+15 x 3; BW +15 x2; BW x5

Posted by: 33sun33

Had a somewhat dissappointing workout today. Energy was a little low, and the day before I had the beginnings of a sore throat (swollen glands). Today my throat felt fine, and I felt fine, so I decided to hit the gym as scheduled.

Well- I didnt reach two of my three main goals today, which was dissappointing. To to you all the truth, my body has been ravaged by this bill starr thang, and I think Im going to cut it short one week early and take a week or so off (IIm traveling next week anyways, so the timing is good).

Im going to start a cut, and change to a push-legs-pull 3x week plan probably. Ill post more details about that in a separate post.

Incline DB Press: 3x3

[55x6; 65x6; 75x3] 85 x 3 reps x 3 sets

This felt pretty good overall, and was the only goal I reached today!

Back Squats - 1x3

[135x8; 185x5; 225x4] 255x2; 225x5

My goal was 275x3, but even my last "warmup/rampup" set of 255 was very difficult. Just didnt feel safe to continue. Plus my knees felt very tight/swollen. Ive had a couple knee surgeries in the past (ACL 12 years ago; meniscus 4 yrs ago) - they feel pretty good, but are prone to some inflammation at times.

Yates Rows: 1x3

[135x8; 225x6] 265x1 (grip); 225x6

DB Curls

40x10; 45x7

Posted by: 33sun33

I am virtually positive that Im going to cut Bill Starr short a week, and just take the next week or two off. During this time I will try to keep my diet in check, but also add some cardio like BB.

Anyways, here are my goals for my next training regimen (starting end of March):

Decrease bodyfat (cut). Not sure what my BF level is right now (Ill check later), but I would guess Im around 18-19%. My goal is to have some ab definition and get somewhat "ripped," so Im aiming at a BF of around 8-9%. Im guessing that this would mean I would need to lose about 10-15lbs? I am 225lb right now. I will provide more accurate measurements later.

Maintain muscle. Since I will be on a cut, I know I cannot reasonably expect to add muscle mass during a caloric deficit. That said, I want to try to keep all of the gains Ive made if possible. Diet should be key here

Improve Cardiovascular capacity; increase/regain athletic ability; dunk again Ive played basketball at a fairly high level for a long time (high school player; college player briefly before knee injury, etc...). I have played since last summer, and i supect I will be pretty slow, winded, and old looking out there my first day back on the court. So one of my goals is to get my body used to the movements involved in Bball, to shed some fat, and regain my quickness and jumping ability. To that end, I want to add some plyo movements in my training plan, but also avoid for the potential of overtraining since I will be actually playing basketball 3 or so times a week.

So here are my thoughts -- please feel free to critique or add anything!!!

Sunday - Bball

Full court pick up basketball. Probably for a couple of hours or so.

Monday - Push

DB Press - 3 sets x 8-12 reps
Incline BB Press: 2 sets x 6-10 reps
Push Press: 3 sets x 6-10 reps
Standing DB Shoulder Press: 2 sets x 8-12 reps
French Press: 3 sets x 8-12 reps
Turkish Get Ups

Tuesday - Rest Day

Just chill.

Wednesday - Legs

Sumo Deadlifts- 3 sets x 4-6 reps
Front Squats - 3 sets x 8-12 reps
Romanian Deadlifts - 2 sets x 6-10 reps
1 Leg Box Jumps - 4 sets x 6 jumps (just jumping with one leg only onto a raised surface. Focus on explosive power, yet landing as softly as possible in a controlled manner - like a cat)
Lateral Side Jumps - 2 sets x 12-16 jumps (involves jumping repeatedly over some barrier or cone, side to side)
Depth Jumps - 2 sets x 10 landings (Standing on a high box (if I can find one) and stepping off the box and focusing on landing as softly as possible, and then exploding back upwards after the soft and controlled landing)

Planks
Exercise bike for 30 mins

Thursday - Rest day

Hey... Im a big believer in some rest!!!

Friday- Pull Day AND Basketball

(morning workout)
Pendlay Rows - 2 sets x 6-10 reps
Cable Rows - 3 sets x 8-12 reps
WG Pull Ups - 4 sets x 6 reps
Chin Ups - 2 sets x 6 reps
Pull Downs - 3 sets x 6-10 reps
Preacher Curls - 2 sets x 8-10 reps

Swiss Ball Crunches

(late afternoon)
Basketball for about an hour or so.

Saturday- Basketball

Basketball for 1-2 hours.

Posted by: the other half

imo, i see nothing wrong with it, i wish i could get back on the court.
i havent played any bb for about 10 years, not including driveway bb.
my step son wants to get a team going for hoopfest this year. but i dont see it happening.
have you ever heard of hoopfest. its in spokane washington. the biggest 3 on 3 tournament in the u.s.

how heavy do you go on the front squats. we have been doing them, and my shoulders give out long before my legs start getting tired. i hold the bar with my arms crossed.

any way good luck with the new program.

Posted by: 33sun33

Thanks TOH! Im still holding onto my basketball past, though getting older and slower isnt helping things. I know I probably wont be as quick or vertical as I used to be, but hopefully I still have some gas left in my tank even at 33.

Thats a good question as to Front squats. At 8-12 reps, I suspect I would be around 185lbs. Ive done that weight in the past for a decent number of reps. For some reason, Im a lot better at front squats than back squats. Front squats just seem like a much more natural movement. I also hold the bar cross-armed, but havent experienced shoulder fatigue yet. Sometimes the bar starts to hurt my shoulders, but usually its because I dont have the bar close enough to my neck.

Ive heard of hoopfest, but didnt know it was a spokane thing. I love 3 on 3 though - a lot less tiring than full court 5 on 5!

Posted by: 33sun33

Daaammmmmmm.... I am way fatter than I thought!!!! Granted, my body fat caliper measurements may be off or inaccurate, plus I have been bulking, but here are the results from my Accumeasure caliper readings and calculations:

Weight: 225
Current BodyFat Percentage: 19.2%!!! (kinda guessed it was this high, but dam!)
Pounds of Fat in my Body: 43.2lbs!!! Thats just gross
Lean Body Mass: 181.8lbs... thats it???
Body Fat Percentage Goal: 9%
Weight Goal that will reflect 9% BF, assuming little loss in muscle: 199.9.... Not too terrible... at least Ill still be around 200lbs at a lowish bodyfat.
Weight Loss Goal: 25 freakin pounds!!!! Dang thats a lot to cut!!!

So with a 40/40/20 protein, carb, fat split, and gradually decreasing my calories from around 3500 right now to 2000 or so towards the end of my cut; and assuming a safe weight loss target of 2lbs a week.... Im going to have to be cutting for 3 months??? Man that sucks . I REALLY hate to cut.

Im slowly learning that this whole sculpting your body thang is really an art - and a difficult one to master at that. I have a ton of respect for you folks that count calories and build awesome, low fat, high muscle bodies. I think Im getting there though!

My overall long term goal is to top out at around 225-230 pounds at 8% bodyfat. I dont think I really want to get much larger than that (though my perspective may change with time!) Right now if my cut goes well, Ill be at 195lbs at 8% or 200lbs at 9%.

Posted by: 33sun33

Hit the gym for my first workout after a 2 week rest. I changed up my workout quite a bit to a push-legs-pull program, and my goals are to slim down to about 8-9% bodyfat while maintaining as much muscle as possible.

today's workout was brutal! Maybe it was the 2 week layoff, maybe it was the new program focusing on high reps and short rest intervals, but I am thrashed.

Incline Bench Press- 2x8-12 reps

135x12; 155x10

DB Flat Press- 3x6-10

60x10; 65x8; 70x6

My triceps were killing me by the last two sets.

Push Press- 3x6-10

95x10; 95x8; 95x8

Damn, these were harder than I thought they would be.

Standing Alternating DB Shoulder Press- 2x8-12

20x12; 25x10

French Press - 2x8-12

Darnit. I forgot to do these today.

Planks/Birddogs

Planks- 45 seconds x 2; Birddogs - 15-30seconds per side x 8

HIIT Cardio

Recumbent bike - HIIT x 20 minutes

Posted by: the other half

welcome back, good workout for starting a new program.

we do incline db bench first also. and i am starting to hate it. my db flat bench seems to have gone down alot since we started.

sorry to hear about the bf%. i hate having them done. i did a challenge a couple of years ago. and started at 202, lost 18 pounds. but i felt like a stick figure. and then on top of that i lost 8 lb. of muscle mass. not enough protien and to hard of cardio. so be careful no to lose more than 2 lb. a week.
i still dont think i have gained all the muscle back.

Posted by: 33sun33

Quote:

Originally Posted by the other half

welcome back, good workout for starting a new program.

we do incline db bench first also. and i am starting to hate it. my db flat bench seems to have gone down alot since we started.

sorry to hear about the bf%. i hate having them done. i did a challenge a couple of years ago. and started at 202, lost 18 pounds. but i felt like a stick figure. and then on top of that i lost 8 lb. of muscle mass. not enough protien and to hard of cardio. so be careful no to lose more than 2 lb. a week.
i still dont think i have gained all the muscle back.

Yeah, I lost a ton of muscle last summer when trying to cut down. I was running around the country the whole summer and didnt eat nearly enough. Ive just about made back the muscle I lost, but of course now Im starting another cut. Hopefully this time I will lose minimal muscle.

Posted by: 33sun33

Had a decent legs workout today.

Sumo Deadlifts

135x6; 225x6; 275x6; 275x6

Romanian Deadlifts

135x12; 225x10; 225x8

1 Leg Box Jumps

4 sets of 6 reps per leg

Front Squats

95x10; 95x12; 135x10

Posted by: 33sun33

Had a pretty good workout today, though by the end I was so tired that it was probably dangerous for me to drive home (felt faint and a little disoriented).
Perhaps it wasnt the workout that made me feel so out of it at the end, but rather taking Superpump for a preworkout boost? Maybe I should just stop with the preworkout caffeine supps for awhile.

DB Rows - 3x6-10

40x10; 60x10; 70x10; 80x8

Wasnt sure which weight to start my working sets, since I havent done DB rows in a while. Pleasantly surprised at how easy the 70s and 80s felt. Next week I will start at 75 or even 80 for the working sets.

Pull Ups - 2xfail

bwx4; bwx5

wow - I really sucked on these today. Had hoped to get in 6 reps, but 4 and 5 was hard enough!

Cable Rows- 2x8-12

100x12; 120x10

Was starting to feel pretty tired and faint by this point, so kept the weight down

Pulldowns - 2x6-10

180x10; 270x6

Chin ups - 2xfail

skipped this one.

Preacher DB curls- 2x8-12

25lbx10l 25lb x10

Cardio HIIT

Bike x 20 minutes

Posted by: 33sun33

Had an OK workout today. Missed monday's workout due to a sore throat. I felt about 95% fine today, so hit the gym. I was a little disappointed that I still weighed in a 225, even though Ive played basketball (with a few suicide thrown in there) about 3 times last week, and also have been doing hiit cardio after my workouts. My diets been pretty solid too.

But Ill give it time - Ive only just started to cut after all.

DB Incline Press - 2x6-10

50x10; 65x10; 75x7

Incline BB Bench- 3x8-12

135x12; 165x5 (wtf!??); 135x10; 135x10; 135x10

Kinda pissed that I started to fail on the 7th rep at 165. So I did the remaining sets at 135 just to make sure Id get the reps in. Really need to work on higher rep sets apparently.

Push Press - 3x6-10

95x10; 95x10; 95x10

These felt good. Probably should up the weight.

DB Alternating Standing Shoulder Press- 2x8-12

20lb dbx x 12; 30lb dbs x10

Weight was fine, but damn these are draining!

Cable Push Down- 2x8-12

40x10; 60x10

Cardio

Elliptical - 5 minutes
Treadmill HIIT - 16 minutes -- I sounded like an elephant on that dam treadmill with my loud pounding stomps!

Posted by: the other half

im feelin your pain.
we are doing sets of 10 reps. they just seem to take forever. i get bored if i cant do both arms at the same time.

i cant seem to get below 200 lbs. right now. same as you been eating better, doing cardio, went from 208 down to 201, but have been there for about a week. but i have 2 more months to lose 10 lbs. so im not in a rush.

anyways- good workout.

Posted by: 33sun33

Uggghhh.... Just got back from the gym, and Im not a happy camper. Im not sure if Im in a rut, if i just need time to get used to a higher rep scheme (Coming off of 2 months of bill starr), or if my cutting diet is hurting my workouts. But in any event, I feel a lot weaker than I should be.

To be honest, my diet last week sort of sucked since I wasnt eating enough (even on a cut!!!) due to some travelling (I travel almost every week unfortunately).

DB Flat Bench Press - 2x6-10

60x10; 70x10; 70x8

Maybe this is "ok", but it still is hard as heck to get reps number 7-10 on the flat bench, almost without regard to the weight. Wierd. It seems my triceps start giving out before my chest.

Push Press: 3x6-10

95x10; 95x10; 115x8

I suppose this went well enough. 95 was a cinch... 115 was a little harder, but it should be easier if I tackled this weight on the second rep.

Incline BB Press- 3x8-12

135x12; 135x10; 135x7 (failed on 8)

OMG- what is up with me being stuck at 135 on this??? I even failed on the 8th rep on the 3rd set!! A couple of years ago when all I did was BB bench and BB incline, I was doing 185x8 pretty easily. Oh well, hopefully my strength will come back soon. once again, it seemed my arms/tris were failing well before my chest.

Standing Alternating DB Shoulder Press - 2x8-12

25x10; 20x12

Cable Tricep Kickbacks - 2x8-12

20x12; 25x8 (dropset to 15x4)

Cardio

HIIT bike for 20 minutes

Anyways, Im still a little frustrated with my cut and this new workout. My ego has definitely taken a hit. But I am really committed to cutting my bodyfat and hopefully retaining as much strength as possible.

To that end, Im going to experiment with posting my diet each day, just to have a reality check in case Im not being as clean as I think.

Today's Diet

(1) Kashi Go Lean Cereal and Lowfat Milk (I teach early on Monday and Wednesday mornings, and thus usually resort to some half ass breakfast like this on those days); Large Coffee with a shot of expresso and cream [[guess i should cut back on the cream]]

(2) Mixed Greens salad with grilled chicken (approx 6oz worth), cucumbers, garbanzo beans, red onions, carrots and tomatoes; balsamic dressing

(3) Small beef chili (6 oz or so): yeah, this was dumb but I was mad hungry and this was convenient. Need to plan my meals better to avoid this.

(4) Small (1 cup?) Kashi go lean/barbara's shredded wheat mixed cereal with lowfat milk: Not the greatest meal, but I was getting ready to workout and had no energy.

(5) PWO Protein shake - 600 cals, 50 protein, 70 carbs, 3 fat

(6) [[Planned dinner tonight -- grilled swordfish and salad]]]

Posted by: lucifuge

that seems like rather low calories for 225#, even on a cut... have you figured out your maintenance level?

Posted by: 33sun33

I cant believe its been three months since I last posted!!! The last three months have been very busy for me - I finished up my semester and graded exams at end of may, sold my sweet audi s4 and got a vw gti, subletted my apartment out and moved to Chicago for the summer to be with my fiance. And then attended professional conferences in ohio, miami, and milan. Plus, I just found out that my fiance is pregnant and Im going to be a daddy!!

Surprise surprise, I havent kept up with my lifting at all. So far Ive been lifting very sporadically - maybe 1-2 times a week if Im in town at all.

but Im trying to get back on track, now that my summer traveling should be at an end. While I have certainly lost some strength and muscle (based on my performance at the gym today

), I havent lost all of the body fat I wanted to either. So I think Im still going to cut, but increase my cals a bit (my diet has been shite).

Here is what I am thinking of for the next month or two.

Diet

I am horrible at counting calories, but I will try to model my diet to match the one posted by emma in the stickies of the diet section as closely as possible. No beer, no liquor, maybe a little red wine here and there, fresh veggies, clean complex carbs, lean sources of protein, no sugar, etc...

Im not sure if I should use any supps beyond a multivitamin or not. Ive been tempted to buy some whey protein and creatine - is this a good idea?

Workout

I think I will go back to a full body workout, based on the cowpimp sticky (just changing out some exercises here and there).

2-4 sets each exercise, 6-12 rep range, 2-3 days a week

Workout A

Incline Press
Front Squats
Bent Over Rows
Shldr Prehab
DB Curls
Planks
Swiss Ball Crunch

Workout B
OH Press
Lunges
Romanian Deadlifts
WG Pull Ups
Turkish Get Ups
Birddogs
OH DB Ext

Posted by: 33sun33

So Ive been pretty vigilant about my diet, workouts, and cardio the last week (even if I havent posted until now).

Im 216lbs right now at 6"3, and hope to be close to 210 by the end of July. By end of August, my goal is to get down to 195-200lbs. Before my cut started, that would have put me at 8% BF. But Im pretty sure Ive lost a little muscle based on my decreasing strength, so maybe 195-200 is only about 10% BF. My ultimate goal is to get below 10% bf whatever the weight.

So after missing many workouts and meals and eating badly at the beginning of the summer due to constant travelling, etc..., this is my current plan to reach my goals.

Diet

Im following the "low carb male cut" plan outlined in the Sticky by jodi in the Diet section. Basically it amounts to 2000 cals, something like 250 g protein, 80-90 g carbs, and good fats.

Breakfast: 5 egg whites, 1 whole egg; 4 oz lean meat; 1/2 cup oatmeal. I also often throw in some mushrooms into the omelet to mix things up. I take a multivitamin, 6 efa caps, and glucosamine at this time as well.

Snack: Protein shake

Lunch: 8 oz lean meat (eg chicken mostly, sometimes fish); small sweet potato; salad

Snack: Protein shake

Dinner: 8-10oz lean meat; veggies/salad

Bedtime: Cottage cheese

Ive been following this pretty well the past week, but Im getting sick of eggs.

Workouts

My workouts have been decent this past week, but not stellar. i have lost a lot of strength! Im basically following a full body plan outlined by cowpimp in a sticky in the training thread.

Sunday: Workout B

Push Press: 95x8; 105x8; 135x8 (felt strong.. need to up the weight)
DB Rows: 70x10; 80x8; 90x7 (felt good, but grip is too weak! im going to buy some gloves)
Romanian Deadlifts: 135x10; 185x10; 225x8 (felt pretty good)
Standing DB Curls: 40x8; 25x12
Shoulder Prehab: 10lb x10 x 2 sets

Tuesday: Workout A

Incline Press: 60x10; 65x8; 65 x 9 (felt weak on this)
Front Squats: 95x10; 115x10; 135x10 (legs felt fine on this, but for some reason the weight of the bar was really bothering my right shoulder. Shoulder joint was just sore and felt grisly while holding the bar in my usual cross armed way. I switched to the alternate front squat hold (using both hands to hold the bar in a narrow grip), and it didnt bother my shoulder anymore.
Neutral Grip Pullups: bwx4; bwx5; bwx4; bwx4 (these actually felt pretty good, and I should have strived for more reps but I was just dead tired)
Tricep Cable Pushdown: 120x10; 130x8
Cable Ab Crunch: 120x12; 150x10; 190 x8

Cardio

For the last week, Ive run 3 miles on three different days, played basketball one day, and used the bike at the gym once. Im not going to keep close track of my cardio - just try to run in the mornings when I can, and play basket ball when I can. Diet is obviously most important to my plan.

Posted by: lucifuge

everyone has setbacks...
the good thing is that you're 'back on the horse' so to speak...
keep hammering, you'll get there