Thread: MonStar's Journal: Quest for Strength

PreMier: Hey man, you're right about my weight, I just always overreact. Especially while I am on M1T I think because it makes me retain a little more water than usual, so I have a tendency to freak out a bit more when my definition gets a little blurry, or I start to gain a little weight. I am going to focus on body recomposition this time around though.

GRIFF: Hey man, no problem at all. I have been busy too, trust me. Tons of car issues, my brother's graduation, the list goes on. Tons of sh*t occupying all of my time. Gotta' fit the gym in though.

SF: Hey man, yeah I guess I shouldn't have been so hard on myself about the 465 squat. I got somewhat stuck halfway up, and just pushed it out. That's great to hear about my physique. Today man I honestly was so drained from the box squats, SLDL, and sus. good AM's I honestly had to force myself to train lats. I mean I wanted to leave after the 6 sets of 4 in the good AM's, lol. Talk about exhausting. Tomorrow is Upper1, focusing on triceps, anything special you would like to see?

BTW, I wanted to ask you about this. The powerlifters at my gym tonight that I was talking to were saying that I still set the bar in the bodybuilding placement on my back. That I should set it much lower right in the very bottom of my traps? Or something like that. I had a hard time honestly figuring out what they were saying. But they said its an instant way to get your squat up some.

Morning Cutie!

Go back a few pages to where I posted the picture of the guy arching his back before he began his squat. Check out the bar placement. It actually rests low on the traps and on the rear delts. It is difficult to get that part nailed down, but it puts the weight in a position that gives you more functional strength.

Cyndi: Hey there, good morning. You should IM me sometime on AIM or Yahoo or MSN Messenger.

SF: Yeah I know I realize that now. That's definitely tough I agree man. Getting the bar back down into that groove or whatever. Really takes some practicing in my opinion. I might start wearing belt a little more as well. The powerlifters from yesterday also mentioned that if worn correctly a belt can make a huge difference in your squat/deadlift.

6-8-2004

Upper Body 1

Close-Grip BB Presses:
135x5, 185x5, 225x5, 285x4

4" Lockouts:
135x3, 225x3, 315x2, 405x1, 500x0, 455x1, 475x0

Flat DB Presses:
120x5, 120x5, 120x5, 120x5, 120x5, 120x5

Cable Pressdowns:
200x8, 200x8, 200x8, 200x8, 200x8

DB Front Raises:
50x6, 50x6, 50x6, 50x6

Pretty good workout today I guess. My left elbow is really giving me some trouble for whatever reason. I am not sure what the problem is. I really think that its from all of the heavy deadlifting always using my left palm up, and right palm down. Because my right elbow is completely fine. Really was aching today though, especially during the CG bench and pressdowns. Need to be careful. I am taking glucosamine/MSM so hopefully that will help some. We'll see what happens.

Today I was trying to hit a 5RM on CG bench with 285 but unfortunately that didn't work, oh well. Then moved onto 4" lockouts where once again, my strength was down. I wanted to hit 500 for a single---but I couldn't even budge the godd*mn weight. Whatever. Barely got 455. I don't know what happened here today. I think it has something to do with my elbow being all f*cked up. Decided to do some heavy flat DB presses since I wanted to at least throw some heavy weight around since my last 2 exercises sucked. Hit 6 sets of 5 with the 120's. Not bad at all. Good sets. Pressdowns and DB front raises finished up my workout today, both were really good.

Diet:
- MRP + 2% milk + banana
- Gatorade during workout, whey protein postworkout
- ham & cheese sandwich, mixed fruit
- turkey & cheese sandwich
- chicken salad sandwich
- chicken lettuce wraps, salad + Italian dressing, roasted chicken wrap
- peanut butter sandwich

Diet was good today, not that high in calories though. Whatever. Ended up with a pretty good amount of protein today, not too bad at all. Could have used another protein bar or shake here or there.

Sleep: 7 hours.

Weight: 228 lbs.

Belts help because they help add more stability to your trunk.

Don't worry about the lifting today. 285 for 4 isn't a bad lift, and the lockouts look fine. Your body might be asking for an extra rest day here and there, but it doesn't seem to me like your workouts are even suffering.

And if you find yourself sitting around today, throw ice in a bowl and plunk your elbow into it.

SF: I will definitely have to start wearing my belt then, I really think that it helps when I really tighten it down as far as I can tolerate it, lol. When it's not so tight I really don't notice it as much. About my workout today, it was okay I guess, whatever. I really think that I was still beat up from my CAT with the seated DB presses. That just wiped me out completely. My joints, my shoulders, my triceps, everything. Knocked me right on my friggin' a*s. I am going to take a rest day tomorrow I think, I am really not sure yet. I'll see how I feel. What do you have in mind for my Lower2 session? I would honestly like to attempt 650 again. Or maybe test my 1RM on conventional, I really think my strength has come up in them. I might even be able to pull the same sumo and conventional, who knows.

My elbow is all f*cked up. I am not sure what the hell I have done. It's been irritated the past few weeks or so, nothing major so to speak, so I have unfortunately been ignoring it. Stupid obviously. Oh well. I am going to continue with the glucosamine/MSM. I have tried to alternate my hands in my mixed grip for deadlifts, but I just can't. Naturally, I pull left palm up, and right palm down. I can almost guarantee this is why my left elbow hurts, though.

Have you ever had tendonitis? That could be it.

Any pain in your biceps or forearms? Or is it just in the elbow itself?

Take 2 days off. If you get the itch to workout, get a day in for calves and forearms and little stuff you haven't directly done in awhile. You've been going really intense lately, so a 2 day rest period might be just what your body needs.

Otherwise, maybe pull a conventional 1RM this time around. Work on alternating your grip on the lighter sets. Eventually you'll get more comfortable with it.

PreMier: No, I have never had that, and I hope I do not have it now.

SF: Pain is all throughout my elbow and forearm. When my left palm is completely facing up, I get a sharp pain throughout my elbow and forearm. When my hand is completely twisted with palm facing as far down as it can go, I also get a really sharp pain throughout my elbow and forearm. When I lockout my left arm, I get a pain in my left elbow. Any ideas?

I am going to take tomorrow off. And probably just test my conventional 1RM on Thursday. I promised this guy that I would pull heavy for him in one way or another on Thursday---just because I have always talked about how much I can deadlift but he has never witnessed it.

Originally Posted by MonStar

Cyndi: Hey there, good morning. You should IM me sometime on AIM or Yahoo or MSN Messenger.

I dont really like IM... but we can chat through PMs some time!

Sucks about your elbow buddy! I've had tendonitis in both arms for quite awhile and know that it sucks! Good luck and be smart.

Cyndi: Yeah, that's good enough.

rock: Yeah this definitely friggin' sucks man, trust me. I am really trying to let it heal up. I think that the glucosamine/MSM is going to aid in it's recovery. We'll see what happens. I really should take it easy on the heavy pulling, but I can't help myself.

Morning Hottie Hope your elbow gets to feeling better

Andrea: Hey there, good morning. Thanks for stopping by. I really hope that my elbow gets better as well. I mean I really don't think its strictly elbow pain, I honestly think that its tendonitis the more I try and test what parts hurt, etc. Whatever. I just need to heal, lol.

6-9-2004

Rest

Took a rest day today. My past 2 workouts have really been nothing special, so I figured that it was time for a rest day. Tomorrow I am going to go to the gym and test my conventional 1RM. So I am going to maybe try for 615-625 maybe? I honestly really am not even sure what to attempt conventional. We'll see what happens.

Diet:
- MRP + 2% milk
- sweet & sour chicken
- 1/2 turkey & cheese sandwich
- parmesan chicken
- Pure Protein bar, Atkin's bar
- garden salad + Italian dressing, 2 chicken breasts, baked potato, vegetables

Diet was pretty damn good today. Really trying to clean things up. Even though not every meal was completely clean, I am really trying to clean everything up and just eat more clean foods. And limit sugar and liquer.

Sleep: 6.5 hours.

---Day 5 of M1T, 5mg 2x per day still. Looking forward to upping this dose to 15mg starting on day 8.