Saturday Fever

Hypertrophy will definitely stall because of diet. That's pretty much because hypertrophy is all about diet.

For strength purposes, you can adapt with or without a solid diet. Maybe increase the weight and lower the reps it takes to fail on your first lift. Keep the CNS guessing.

yay.

Duncans Donuts

Thanks for the post SF.

Yeah, I actually did that today, lowered the reps to what I thought I could handle at around six reps. Maybe I should go even lower in terms of rep? I should note that I'm a type one diabetic and have been using heavy loads of insulin with post workout supplementation to try and keep my recovery up.

I've dropped roughly 1 and a half percent of body fat in the last month according to losely done caliper tests and gained about a pound of weight, so I think I'm doing something right. I'm notorious for misinterpreting data, though.

"in the howling bleeding nights, the dogs plunge into the Volga and swim desperately to gain the other bank. The nights of Stalingrad are a terror for them. Animals flee this hell; the hardest stones cannot bear it for long; only men endure."

Duncans Donuts

Excellent workout today.

Close grip benchpress: 245 x 9
DB press: 115 x 4 (stuck on 5)
Rack deadlifts: 645 x 2 (5 second hold on rep one, 11 second hold on rep two)
Pullups: bodyweigh + 30 x 6

Today was a good day of progression. My chest felt enormously tired after my Closegrip presses and my DB press. I've never felt such fatigue after I lost control on the 2nd rep of the rack deadlifts. Moving 645 pounds is very very stimulating.

As far as my pullups go, I did slow reps again, 2-3 second lifting phase, 3 second hold, and 3 second negatives. The last rep I held maximally as long as possible. A very low amount of volume but an enormously intense workout.

"in the howling bleeding nights, the dogs plunge into the Volga and swim desperately to gain the other bank. The nights of Stalingrad are a terror for them. Animals flee this hell; the hardest stones cannot bear it for long; only men endure."

Duncans Donuts

I weighed in for the first time in a while this morning. My weight was sitting, suprisingly, at roughly 216 pounds. My starting weight was roughly 221 pounds. According to my body fat testing I've gone from (in probably 2 and half months of dieting) from 13 percent to 10 percent.

According to my calculations I've lost nearly 8 pounds of body fat, and presumably added between 2-3 pounds of something else. The idea of me adding 2-3 pounds of muscle in the span of slightly over 2 months seems a bit far fetched, so I'll be the pessimist and say that the times I weighed myself I may have been retaining water, and the times where I weighed low (215-216) I was probably slightly dehydrated.

From my own measurements and mirror trips, I'd gauge that I've lost maybe 7 pounds of fat and added maybe a pound and a half of muscle.

In any case, I'm about 5 or 6 pounds away from my goal of 7 or so body fat percentage wise. For those of you who were ever curious as insulin for use without AAS, I will say that with appropriate nutritional timing, it has been a godsend. In terms of my workouts I have made progress every workout, minus deadlifts, which is related to a lower back problem. Slin is enormously dangerous, though, and not worth the risk unless you know comprehensively what you're doing.

Everyone who has given me kind words and support in my journal, thank you very much. It means a great deal

Goals:
Squat: 450 x 20
Military press: 225 x 6
Rack deadlift: 700 pounds x 1
Deadlift: 650 x 2
DB press: 130 x 6
Barbell curls: 170 x 6

Trying to psyche myself up, I've changed some exercises and updated and modified a few goals. I hope to reach all of them within five months.

"in the howling bleeding nights, the dogs plunge into the Volga and swim desperately to gain the other bank. The nights of Stalingrad are a terror for them. Animals flee this hell; the hardest stones cannot bear it for long; only men endure."

M.J.H.

Damn DD, must be nice to have access to insulin---it's definitely one of the most anabolic horomones in the body. I can see that you're taking full advantage of being a diabetic. Do you have any physique pictures up?


How deep are you taking the squats? I have never heard of anyone squatting 450 for 20 before. That's absolutely insane. And where are you pulling from in rack deadlifts?

The other goals look a little more reasonable. 170 on BB curls is insane, how much body momentum are you using there?

Stats!
23 years old, 5'11.5", 206 lbs., ~8% bodyfat

380/455/655 bench/squat/deadlift (current)
405/495/675 bench/squat/deadlift (goals)

The M.J.H. Chronicles

Duncans Donuts

I take the squats full parallel, deeper on the last few reps. I do use a smith machine, and I appropriately calculate the weight of the bar and so forth. I am very wary of my form and in taking the squats to a point of positive failure, and I am perfectly satisfied with a parallel squat, instead of a rock bottom. On rack deadlifts I'm pulling from slightly below the knee. Before I hurt my lower back, say three weeks ago, my best deadlfit was 545 6 times (it may have been 565, i don't remember exactly). Unfortunately I did strain my lower back slightly after that.

My barbell curls are done in perfect form. I lean over when the bar is contracted maximally so that I feel the weight. I am currently doing about 130 for 8 solid reps, with slower negatives on all reps, and a maximum hold on the final rep and 7-8 second negatives.

Thanks for looking in man, good luck with the SF routine :-)

"in the howling bleeding nights, the dogs plunge into the Volga and swim desperately to gain the other bank. The nights of Stalingrad are a terror for them. Animals flee this hell; the hardest stones cannot bear it for long; only men endure."

Duncans Donuts

Leg workout today:

Squats: 415 x 19 (stuck on 20)
Calf raises: 545 x 12
Leg Extensions: 175 per leg x 4 (rest pause)

It's been a little over a week since my last leg workout and I have had excellent progress. I added about 3 reps on my squats, and started doing rest pause leg extensions (single leg) and I can barely walk

I had a friend come over and evaluate my form. I am going parrallel and a little lower on all reps.

"in the howling bleeding nights, the dogs plunge into the Volga and swim desperately to gain the other bank. The nights of Stalingrad are a terror for them. Animals flee this hell; the hardest stones cannot bear it for long; only men endure."

yellowmoomba

415 x 19 That's strong DD!!!!

My Journal

"You are born small and weak... you die small and weak... how you look in between is up to you."

Duncans Donuts

Thanks YM

My leg days are enormously taxing. My mind seems to be on the verge of going out early in my sets. I feel incapaciated for a good while afterwards.

"in the howling bleeding nights, the dogs plunge into the Volga and swim desperately to gain the other bank. The nights of Stalingrad are a terror for them. Animals flee this hell; the hardest stones cannot bear it for long; only men endure."

camarosuper6

God.


It may be apparent that I got the good looks in the family but Mike defintely got the strength. In the past 2 years you have totally put all my guiena pig schemes to shame with HIT. Mike. Play FOOTBALL. NOW. Damn it if I could go back, I would have tried out for college. But with you strength, your gonna be putting their LINEMEN to shame with what you can do on the squats/deads. Unfuqqingbelievable.

I have to say, I think you should go into powerlifting competition, especially at your size/weight you could be something. Use your strength and play some damn football. I seriously think you could get yourself a scholarship to a major university with those numbers.

I cant say enough about how well youve come about. From a fat little nerd to a pure beast of strength. Now get your ass a scholarship and play some big time ball. You could be deadly.

Just dont get hurt you injury prone sumabitch.

"TOLERANCE is the virtue of a man without convictions"

G.K.Chesterton


Boot Shine and Polish $15.
New Uniforms: $250
New gun and holster: $450
Looking like a stud in uniform: Priceless

Girl: Me and this new guy are getting kinda chummy.
Me: Good chummy? Like friends forever?
Girl: Ya
Me: Or Chummy like, spank my ass chummy?

Duncans Donuts

Thanks, Dave.

I will be playing football it seems. As soon as that ligament is 100 percent healed. I started training with a dude who's playing over at Chaffey. As far as your comments on HIT, there is always room on the bandwagon Especially considering that I'm the only one on it round here.

"in the howling bleeding nights, the dogs plunge into the Volga and swim desperately to gain the other bank. The nights of Stalingrad are a terror for them. Animals flee this hell; the hardest stones cannot bear it for long; only men endure."

Duncans Donuts

Rough workout today.

Military press: 215 x 6 (superset behind the neck)
Behind the neck press: 165 x 5
Behind the back shrugs: 310 x 8
Barbell curls: 165 x 4 (rest pause - 6 second negatives on all reps)
Tricep pulldowns: 135 x 7 (superset dips)
Dips: x 4

I am nearing a sticking point. I had progress on all exercises except my military, which I basically kept the same. I fear that I'm now overtraining working out so intensely every other day, and will start taking 2 days off again. It was nice working out so frequently, though. I am proud that I was able to achieve my body weight on military press for reps. I will supplement those with behind the beck presses for a while.

"in the howling bleeding nights, the dogs plunge into the Volga and swim desperately to gain the other bank. The nights of Stalingrad are a terror for them. Animals flee this hell; the hardest stones cannot bear it for long; only men endure."

PreMier

Yea, I might give HIT a shot sometime. Need to get back in the groove of things first. Recomend any good literature?

P-side Inc.

"the post-workout high is more profound than any drug-induced rush imaginable." -Dante B.

yellowmoomba

DD - you are throwing around some major weight - 165 x 4 Barbell Curls

Good luck with Football !

My Journal

"You are born small and weak... you die small and weak... how you look in between is up to you."

yellowmoomba

Premier - it's about time to start lifting - isn't it??

My Journal

"You are born small and weak... you die small and weak... how you look in between is up to you."

PreMier

Yea YM. I am thinking next Monday(soonest) or 2 weeks(latest) for sure. I think I will be in the dumps for a while, because progress will be slow.

P-side Inc.

"the post-workout high is more profound than any drug-induced rush imaginable." -Dante B.

JerseyDevil

Damn DD. Awesome weights... I must say I've always been a fan of Mike Mentzer and later Dorian Yates. Seems to me, HIT was a great idea that was later diminished, and ruined by proponents taking it to the extreme. An example would be one guy who used to post here that claimed you only need to work one bodypart A MONTH. Yeah right. I could see me working chest 12 times a year and making fantastic gains.

Ok, that said, your HIT workouts look beautifully constructed, and would make MM proud.

Duncans Donuts

Thanks for all the positive responses, guys.

I learned about HIT a year into my weight lifting career as a 25-30 set volume trainer type. Good literature regarding HIT is as follows: the book that introduced me (quite ignorant at the time) to HIT was "Maximize Your Training", a generally insightful book on all aspects of training. I of course graduated to the High Intensity Training: the Mike Mentzer way, with a handful of variations, which is how I've arrived along my present course of training.

YM: Thanks for the football encouragement. If you have any good drills be happy to share.

Jersey: Thanks for the compliments on my program design. It took a while to get it down appropriately. I think the greatest problem with most people who try HIT is that they don't really push themselves to their limit (regardless of whether it's CNS or Muscle failure that's being reached). It took me at least a month to arrive at that point where I could mentally push myself to failure, and my progress has been phenomenal since I've achieved this, to say the least. Unfortunately, intensity training still is not a popular method despite it's time efficient benefits. Nobody should doubt it's effectiveness.

"in the howling bleeding nights, the dogs plunge into the Volga and swim desperately to gain the other bank. The nights of Stalingrad are a terror for them. Animals flee this hell; the hardest stones cannot bear it for long; only men endure."

PreMier

Its not popular, because most are AFRAID to push the limits. Or they just dont have the drive.

Also, one style isnt for everyone

P-side Inc.

"the post-workout high is more profound than any drug-induced rush imaginable." -Dante B.

Duncans Donuts

Be that as it may, I still am surprised that nobody else around here uses it.

"in the howling bleeding nights, the dogs plunge into the Volga and swim desperately to gain the other bank. The nights of Stalingrad are a terror for them. Animals flee this hell; the hardest stones cannot bear it for long; only men endure."

JerseyDevil

Duncan here is some inspiration for your goal of 450 x 20 squats. Go to this site, http://www.joeskopec.com/biglifts.html, then scroll down to the video of the great Tom Platz squatting 500... for 23 reps. Awesome!

PreMier

Holy fuck!

Looka big Bill in the background. He was a bad ass.

P-side Inc.

"the post-workout high is more profound than any drug-induced rush imaginable." -Dante B.

Duncans Donuts

I am a big Tom Platz fan. Those videos are amazing. Makes me want to work my legs today Unfortunately, as I squatted on Sunday, my legs are still sore as hell. Thanks for the link

"in the howling bleeding nights, the dogs plunge into the Volga and swim desperately to gain the other bank. The nights of Stalingrad are a terror for them. Animals flee this hell; the hardest stones cannot bear it for long; only men endure."

JerseyDevil

Platz's quads were friggin HUGE in that video. You could almost tell how shredded they were even thru the sweats. Yep, that was Big Bill Katzmaier and Dr Squat Fred Hatfield in the background.

Duncans Donuts

Read up on some intense methods here: http://www.intensemuscle.com/showthread.php?t=724

And had a friend of mine do one of the techniques. His results after one workout (a week later) were very dramatic so I gave it a try today.

Close-grip bench press: 250 x 7 (15 second pause) x 4 (15 second pause) x 2
Rack deadlifts: 655 x 2 (10 second hold on first; 0 hold on second, it was lifted)
Pullups: Bodweight + 35 x 5 (10 second pause) x 1 (hold to failure

My workout was extremely brief (15 minutes?) but terribly intense. Keeping my deadlifts in the stronger range of motion is ridiculously difficult and moving so much weight is productive. My pullups are doing really really well, too.

All divisions of set one were done to failure, so I picked the weight perfectly for the rep range advised at the above website.

"in the howling bleeding nights, the dogs plunge into the Volga and swim desperately to gain the other bank. The nights of Stalingrad are a terror for them. Animals flee this hell; the hardest stones cannot bear it for long; only men endure."