Thread: A penny for my thoughts, now I'm rich

I took a few pics on Friday:









It was hard to take pictures of my back and hamstrings without somebody taking them for me, but I did my best with what I had.

My legs are really starting to come along. I always get bloated after I drink a protein shake, but I still look somewhat cut up in picture 2.

These are really just progress pics... or am I just saying that because I'm disappointed with them?

Looking back at my old journal, I guess I never posted these pics I took in February:

Originally Posted by sox

Squat = 345 x 0, 315 x 3; went up by increments of 30 pounds and wasn't able to touch the bench with my ass with 345. Fuck off Doublebase, next time I squat I won't fail.

Haha, laughed my ass off at this. This journal looks promising.

Looking good sox, I suppose the threat of Iain's whip, keeps you motivated to stay in shape....

Originally Posted by goob

Haha, laughed my ass off at this. This journal looks promising.

Looking good sox, I suppose the threat of Iain's whip, keeps you motivated to stay in shape....

I guess that shithead does serve a purpose in life: motivating me.

I think this will be my best journal to date. I usually jump into things without fully understanding them, that won't be the case this time around.

Thanks goob... and yes, I got to stay in shape for the misses.. err mister

Originally Posted by soxmuscle

Thanks goob... and yes, I got to stay in shape for the misses.. err mister

^^^ I guess that depends on whether he's been watching his Alice in Wonderland and Sound of music DVD's....

good shit bro. im def gunna watch for when you start fighting and shit.

subcscirbed

Originally Posted by goob

^^^ I guess that depends on whether he's been watching his Alice in Wonderland and Sound of music DVD's....

Well, he does like touching little boys...

good luck, summer is always the best time to get big gains.

Here's my two cents. Good luck, sox. I'll be following along.

Originally Posted by danny81

good shit bro. im def gunna watch for when you start fighting and shit.

subcscirbed

Good to see you in here, bud.

Now that I'm around these parts again, I'll surely be crossing paths with your journal on a regular basis.

Originally Posted by fufu

good luck, summer is always the best time to get big gains.

Yup - unlike school where you have stuff do outside of classes, I can more easily plan my day when I'm obligated to work 9-5 and not think about it again until 9 the following morning.

Thanks for stopping by, fufu.

Originally Posted by Triple Threat

Here's my two cents. Good luck, sox. I'll be following along.

Glad to have you in here like old times.

DE Bench
May 11th, 2008

Chain Bench = 55 pounds x 3 reps x 10 sets.
DB Shoulder Press = 35x8, 50x8, 50x8, 50x8, 35x10.
JM Press = 75x8, 65x10, 60x10, 55x10.
HS Incline Press = 110x8, 105x9, 100x10, 95x10.
Cable Lateral Raise = 25x10, 10, 10.
Tate Presses = 30x8, 8, 8.
DB Flies = 30x8, 8, 8.
DB Shoulder Punishers (?) = 15x8, 12.5x8, 10x8.

All in all, a phenomenal workout to start out the new journal. I was a little worried because I woke up with my right pec feeling sore, but it didn't hinder me in the least.

I started at 50 pounds with the chains last week and felt some improvement in my overall speed this week adding 5 pounds to it. I originally planned to start out at 75 pounds, but these chains must 30 pounds each, because I was struggling with it and opted to start out at 50 instead. It's embarrassing throwing 2.5's on a barbell, but oh well...

I can't really go into too much detail about tonight, seems pretty self explanatory. Plus, I'm getting up at 5:30 tomorrow morning to workout before work so I can watch the Celts/Red Sox games tomorrow night.

One final note: I went to Vitamin Shoppe, right by the gym, to see if they had any lifting chalk. Well they didnt and the guy at the store recommends I go all the way out to Sports Authority, because it's the only place he knows for a fact they have it. I agree, go out to bumblefuck to this Sports Authority, ask a guy if they have it, and he says they don't. I was fuming, perhaps thats why the workout was so good.

As far as the diet goes:;
- (3) Go Lean Blueberry waffles w/ sugar free syrup
- Skim milk, 1 scoop of whey
- Skim milk, 2 scoops of whey
- Veal, sweet potato w/ sour cream & cinnamon, green beans

^ I'll probably eat something else after I smoke and talk to the misses.

See you in the morning, fellas.

Originally Posted by soxmuscle

With that said, I'm back home at a Lifetime but luckily (minus a belt to strap weight to my body for weighted chin-ups and dips) they have chains, bands, kettlebells and other various things that I like to use.

Wow, what Lifetime has all this good stuff? My local one has none of this, and you should see the looks I get when I bring in my bands. The closest thing they have to kettlebells are the soccer ball sized medicine balls with handles that might go to 18 lb. I'm feeling a letter to Lifetime management coming.

And your new routine looks solid, good luck with it.

Originally Posted by soxmuscle

I went to Vitamin Shoppe, right by the gym, to see if they had any lifting chalk. Well they didnt and the guy at the store recommends I go all the way out to Sports Authority, because it's the only place he knows for a fact they have it. I agree, go out to bumblefuck to this Sports Authority, ask a guy if they have it, and he says they don't.

Bodybuilding.com - Lifting Chalk - Keep Your Hands Dry And Grip Secure! On sale now!

Originally Posted by Triple Threat

Bodybuilding.com - Lifting Chalk - Keep Your Hands Dry And Grip Secure! On sale now!

Thanks!

This Rosin Bag will have to do until I get my first pay check.

Originally Posted by DLDave

Wow, what Lifetime has all this good stuff? My local one has none of this, and you should see the looks I get when I bring in my bands. The closest thing they have to kettlebells are the soccer ball sized medicine balls with handles that might go to 18 lb. I'm feeling a letter to Lifetime management coming.

And your new routine looks solid, good luck with it.

There is a guy who I've gotten friendly with who's a Westside connasuer.

I think they're his chains, his bands and his kettlebells, but luckily for my sake he leaves them their.

Thanks for coming, Dave. I look forward to seeing you around here this summer.

You may want to be careful with the chalk if you're planning to take it to Lifetime. It specifically says "no chalk" on the rules sign at my local Lifetime, although I've taken some in and use when I do heavy deadlifts there. It leaves a huge mess on their dark, rubberized floor, pretty hard to use it inconspicuously. I have a bottle of liquid chalk that I use in there when I don't need the full support of real chalk, works OK and a lot cleaner. Yours may be a bit different though if they're letting you guys store PL gear there. Worst case, they'll tell you if they have a problem with it.

Originally Posted by DLDave

You may want to be careful with the chalk if you're planning to take it to Lifetime. It specifically says "no chalk" on the rules sign at my local Lifetime, although I've taken some in and use when I do heavy deadlifts there. It leaves a huge mess on their dark, rubberized floor, pretty hard to use it inconspicuously. I have a bottle of liquid chalk that I use in there when I don't need the full support of real chalk, works OK and a lot cleaner. Yours may be a bit different though if they're letting you guys store PL gear there. Worst case, they'll tell you if they have a problem with it.

I actually asked the Westside connaseur about chalk and he said, so long as I'm not making a mess, it's fine.

I'm going to have to bring the chalk in a tupperware container and put it on over the trash can, because you're right, they're anal about that shit.

Last week I brought a bench onto the wood floor in the "advanced training" area, because I wanted to try those incline pullovers that Chris Mason was talking about in the training thread and they were pricks about that as well even though I was extremely cautious not to mess up the floor.

One more funny story: Last week I was using the inner quad machine and I could do like 50 reps of the entire machine, so I decided to add some resistance. I added a 10 pound plate to the machine to make it a full 200 (machine maxes out at 190). On rep 9, the cable snapped. Luckily, I got the eff out of there as fast as possible and nobody saw me do it. It seemed like it was still broken when I was there last night, I hope they don't look at tape and make me pay for it.. I wouldn't put it past them with how stingy that freakin' place is.

Good stuff about that cable snapping

Your layout must be slightly different than my Lifetime, as there is a cable crossover as well as cable pushdown stations right by the dumbbell area, overlooking the pool, where you could do those pullovers. The "advanced" area is other side of the floor from the dumbbells, so you'd have to haul the bench quite a ways, although there are usually one or two abandoned near the power racks back there.

Yeah, I need to have TOH read this one... he's notorious for putting a 25 lb plate on the machines... one of these days.....

F**k commercial gyms, I will never train in one again. the only type of gym I will ever pay to join again would be a powerlifting based gym, where I wouldn't mind spending my money there, but normal gyms, nope, never again....home gym all the way. I can spill my chalk all over the damn place, throw weights around, drag benches wherever I want, etc.

Yeah, I know it's not possible for you right now, but when you get out of college, get a job and get your own place to live, you should definitely look into a home gym, or of course a powerlifting gym if you are still into it then.

Originally Posted by soxmuscle

Yup - unlike school where you have stuff do outside of classes, I can more easily plan my day when I'm obligated to work 9-5 and not think about it again until 9 the following morning.

Thanks for stopping by, fufu.

np, I will be following this journal.

what are you a power lifter or some shit?

Originally Posted by DLDave

Good stuff about that cable snapping

Your layout must be slightly different than my Lifetime, as there is a cable crossover as well as cable pushdown stations right by the dumbbell area, overlooking the pool, where you could do those pullovers. The "advanced" area is other side of the floor from the dumbbells, so you'd have to haul the bench quite a ways, although there are usually one or two abandoned near the power racks back there.

Everything sounds the same, probably just aligned differently.

It's a good gym with a nice pool, nice sauna, nice steam room, and nice hot tub, but I definitely prefer my "hardcore" gym at school.

Originally Posted by katt

Yeah, I need to have TOH read this one... he's notorious for putting a 25 lb plate on the machines... one of these days.....

Those cables are supposed to be replaced every couple of years.

Up until last Friday, I was lucky. Eventually one of them will snap, especially with 25 pounds.

This PSA has been brought to you by...

Originally Posted by Stewart20

F**k commercial gyms, I will never train in one again. the only type of gym I will ever pay to join again would be a powerlifting based gym, where I wouldn't mind spending my money there, but normal gyms, nope, never again....home gym all the way. I can spill my chalk all over the damn place, throw weights around, drag benches wherever I want, etc.

Yeah, I know it's not possible for you right now, but when you get out of college, get a job and get your own place to live, you should definitely look into a home gym, or of course a powerlifting gym if you are still into it then.

I couldn't agree more.

Commercial gyms are shit, powerlifting gyms are the next best thing, but a home gym where I can blast music, slam weights, use chalk without worrying, etc. would be ideal.

I feel like a home gym wouldn't be all that expensive either. What do I need? A squat rack, a lot of weight, an Olympic barbell, and a few various other things... whats your home gym have?

Originally Posted by fufu

np, I will be following this journal.

Glad to hear it