MonStar's Journal: Absolute Dedication

[M.J.H.]

Saturday, 5-22-2004

Diet:
- MRP, peanut butter toast
- 3 parmasean chicken breasts
- apple
- turkey & cheese bagel
- Pure Protein bar
- whey protein + 2% milk
- Gatorade during workout, whey protein postworkout
- 1/2 tuna sub
- General Tso's chicken, chicken fried rice

Ate a lot today, lol. Went camping and at some Chinese food at about midnight. Not too smart. Ended up with 4.6-4.8K calories, and maybe 350g of protein.

Sleep: 5.5 hours.

Weight: 226 lbs. Not bad.

Lower Body 2

Speed Squats
295x2, 295x2, 295x2, 295x2, 295x2, 295x2, 295x2, 295x2

Suspended Good Mornings
135x3, 185x3, 225x2, 255x1, 275x1, 305x1!, 325x0

Hack Squats
500x6, 500x6, 500x6, 500x6

Good Mornings
205x6, 205x6, 205x6, 205x6

Support Rows
280x2, 280x2, 280x2, 280x2, 255x3, 255x3, 255x3, 255x3

Overall workout today was excellent, aside from the speed squats, which honestly really sucked a fat one. Bar speed was nothing at all to brag about. I was doing them off a box so that may have slowed things down some. I was trying to just touch the box and go but everytime I would go down and touch it would for whatever reason throw off my rythem, whatever.

Suspended good mornings are simply regular good mornings from the bottom position. These were somewhat deep, nothing too extreme though. I really need to get a video of these up. They're EXTREMELY difficult. Basically trying to come up with the bar from a dead standstill, if you can imagine. Worked up to 305 for a single, which hit my lower back, hams, and glutes hard. Moved onto 4 sets of 6 in hack squats, and then 4 sets of 6 with regular full ROM good AM's. Damn, the full ROM good mornings kicked my f*cking a*s today.

Did high/low today in support rows. Not too bad at all, changed my grip up from parallel to an underhand grip between sets. Seemed to help me feel it in different areas of my upper back, who knows. I guess I was hitting my "outer" lats with one grip and my "lower" lats with the other, lol.

---Wanted to add that I think I am going to split my back work up like this. On Lower1 day I am going to do 3-5 sets of 6-12 reps, and then some biceps work. On Lower2 day I am going to do high/low (7-10 sets of 1-3) and skip out on the biceps work. We'll see what happens.

Day 6 of 6-OXO, 3 caps 2x per day, everything is going well. My boys have almost 100% returned to their full potential, things are great downstairs.

 

[gwcaton]

Man , You are kicking ass in here !

Keep up the great work !

 

[Monolith]

Glad to see the 6oxo is doin its job! Gettin "everything back in order" is priority number one.

Nice PR too. I'd love to see a vid of that one.

 

[M.J.H.]

gwcaton- Thanks man, really appreciate the support.

Monolith- Yeah, lol, the 6-OXO is definitely getting the job done. And thanks for the support, I have been extremely pleased with my PR's lately.

 

[M.J.H.]

Sunday, 5-22-2004

Diet:
- ham & cheese omlette, 2 slices of toast, strawberry pancakes
- whey protein + 2% milk
- Gatorade during workout, whey protein postworkout
- turkey & cheese sandwich
- 1/2 turkey & cheese sandwich
- banana
- Pure Protein bar
- chicken salad sandwich
- breaded chicken, strawberry grilled chicken salad, 2 White Russian's
- whey protein + 2% milk

Diet was okay today I guess. Pigged out at breakfast some, but I definitely enjoyed myself there, damn. Ended up with around 4.5-4.7K calories, something along those lines. And right around 330-340g of protein.

Sleep: 4 hours. Very busy.

Weight: 228 lbs. Up some, damnit, pigged out late last night on a ton of Chinese food, lol. Not the brighest idea in the world obviously.

Upper Body 1

Pin Presses (pins 6" off chest)
135x3, 185x3, 225x3, 275x3, 315x3, 335x2

Flat DB Presses
120x2, 120x2, 120x2, 120x2, 120x2, 120x2, 120x2, 120x2

Cable Pressdowns
200x10, 200x10, 200x10, 200x10

Seated DB Presses
70x6, 70x6, 70x6, 70x6

Nautilus Lateral Raises
220x8, 220x8
Dropset: 200x8, 160x8, 130x8, 100x8

Really good workout here today I think. Especially since I was running on very little sleep and honestly diet wasn't too good at all. Lots and lots of protein yesterday, I mean lots and lots, but WAY too many calories. A sh*tload of Chinese food last night after midnight was not the best idea in the world. Woke up this morning holding so much water it was absolutely ridiculous. This morning's breakfast also sucked.

Workout was good though, havn't gotten in touch with SF, so I just stuck to his original plan of working up to a 3RM on bench, varying the height of the pins. Expected to hit 335 for a triple, dissapointed, honestly. Whatever. Flat DB presses were pretty good, nothing too exciting. Pressdowns smashed my triceps.

Delts were hit hard with seated DB presses, and Nautilus laterals also were really really good. Especially the dropset. Worked out today for the first time with a girl that I am seeing. That was kinda' strange. Her seeing me making all these funny faces and all that, lol. I had a good time.

Day 7 of 6-OXO, 3 caps 2x per day. Everything is going well.

 

[atherjen]

Super training sessions this weekend Mike!
Especially for the "limited sleep" because you were "busy"

ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh to press a 120 DB Nice work!

 

[M.J.H.]

Jen- Thanks so much for the support, Jen, really appreciate it. I know my sleep has been absolutely ridiculous lately. Eh, the 120's for 8 sets of 2 is okay I guess, I really would have liked to pressed the 120's for 8 sets of 3, oh well.

 

[greekblondechic]

Hi sweetie

 

[M.J.H.]

greekblondchic- Hey there, thanks for stopping by. Havn't seen you here in my journal in a while.

 

[M.J.H.]

Monday, 5-23-2004

Diet:
- MRP + 2% milk
- Gatorade during workout, whey protein postworkout
- grilled chicken nachos, tuna garden salad
- whey protein + 2% milk, grapes
- Metrx bar, soy protein bar
- 1/2 chicken salad sub, 1/2 tuna salad sub, Healthy Choice ice-cream
- whey protein + 2% milk, rolled oats + 2% milk

Ouch, took in a TON of food today! I am not sure whatsup with my appetite lately---but it's been friggin' high as hell. I mean I am hungry all day and all night, for whatever reason. Ended up with roughly 5.2-5.4K calories, and around 340-350g of protein. Again, WAY too high in calories.

Sleep: 8 hours.

Weight: 226 lbs. Better.

Lower Body 1

ATF Squats
135x3, 225x3, 275x2, 315x1, 365x1, 385x1, 405x1, 455x1!, 405x1

Conventional Deadlifts
135x3, 225x3, 315x2, 405x1, 585x1!, 605x1!

Nautilus Leg Extensions
250x12, 250x12, 250x12

V-Bar Cable Rows
290x6, 290x6, 290x6, 290x6

Stiff-Arm Cable Pullovers
120x12, 120x12

Incline DB Curls
40x10, 40x10, 60x5!

Absolutely GREAT workout here today, except for the ATF squats. I set the pins exactly how far I come down with the bar. Which is honestly as far as my flexibility allows. Today I worked up to 405 for a single. Well for whatever reason, 405 felt f*cking impossible. Maybe because I did these just a few days ago in my last Lower1 session to a 1RM. Whatever. So I raised the pins up to the next level. Up about 2" I would say. Then I attempted 455, and hit it for a single. The reason it's not a PR is because it's honestly not as deep as I can go. I took a video of 455 for 1 so you guys can look at it and tell me what you think about the depth.

Conventional pulling, WOW. Strength was through the godd*mn roof here today. Absolutely great sets, strength was nuts. 585 I somewhat struggled with, I took a video so you'll see what I mean. Somehow, though, 605 came up much easier. Of course I f*cked up the record button with 605, so there is no vid of that. But honestly 605 came up easier than 585. Must have been the groove I was in, my focus, etc. Anyway, extremely pleased with my PR's here today.

Leg extensions, nothing exciting there. Cable rows, used the entire stack, got some attention doing that, lol. Stiff-arm pullovers were pretty good, had to them because some old fart was on the Nautilus pullover machine using like 10 lbs. for about 20 minutes. Incline DB curls hit a PR, not bad at all. Used the 60's for 5 reps on each arm.

Day 8 of 6-OXO, 3 caps 2x per day. Everything is going pretty damn well.

 

[OrbitalChime]

damn man, those Incline DB curl sets are Impressive. WTG!

 

[Saturday Fever]

Good session.

Everything is looking good.

 

[Monolith]

Damn dude, see what happens when you get a good nights rest?

And could you post a link to where your videos are? I lost it. :/

 

[M.J.H.]

OrbitalChime- Thanks man, really appreciate it. I was very pleased curling the 60's today, definitely a huge PR for me. I was definitely happy.

SF- Thanks man, really appreciate it.

Monolith- Yeah I know, right? I need sleep so damn much, it makes such a big difference in my workout intensity and focus, etc. Yeah I'll post a link in my next post, no problem bro.

 

[M.J.H.]

Here is a link to my videos, they're both linked together, the first is the 455 for 1, and then immediately after my 585 for 1 conventional pull:

http://www.ironmagazineforums.com/temp/Monstar/Monstar585x1CDL.WMV

 

[Saturday Fever]

You'd get red lighted for going up on your toes like that, but that's an excellent lift. If you didn't mean to go up on your toes, it means you're not pulling back, but you're pulling up. Not a big deal though.

And ouch on the ATF squats. Aren't your knees screaming? Do you use similar form for "normal" squatting?

 

[M.J.H.]

SF- Wow, I never knew that, I'll have to remember that about my toes. Yeah the ATF kicked my in my f*cking a*s. Strange thing is that my knees are absolutely fine, they don't hurt at all. Every now and then my ankles will give my stiffness. Yeah I use very similar form for my regular squatting. I'll have to get a box squat video up.

 

[Monolith]

Damn dude, those vids rock. Especially the squat... looked like awesome form to me. Little shaky at the bottom, but you held it together. Nice work.

 

[Saturday Fever]

I'm not being critical of the form on the ATFs. But that form won't recruit the right muscles to help the squat and deadlift complement each other. Check out this video:

http://66.235.16.23/training/2004_west_coast_open/040521-squats.wmv

I know it's hard to see, but watch his knees. They never move. He sits back as if he's sitting down to take a shit and then he stands up by first pushing back with his shoulders (remember I mentioned pulling back with deads) and then pushing his hips forward. This moves all of the tension to the posterior, which is what complements a deadlift, and vice versa.

Again, I'm not being critical, I'm just looking to give some insight to better all of us.

 

[Monolith]

Yeah, i see what youre saying. It looked like Mon was starting to pop his hips a little too fast, but recognized it and tried to fix things mid-lift.

If he used the form in that vid you posted, SF, he could probably do 50lbs more.

 

[Saturday Fever]

He deadlifts 625. With proper form he could be squatting 585 easy. And this is all without any kind of squat suit or knee wraps.

 

[M.J.H.]

Monolith- Hey man, thanks for the support, really appreciate it. Yeah my squats today felt a little shaky, I am not sure why. I think just because I did ATF squats just 2 days ago, on Saturday. Who knows, I am not sure what the hell the problem was. Whatever. Still hit 455 I guess, so that's not too too bad. I really want to test my sumo deadlift 1RM and my regular parallel squat 1RM in the next few weeks. We'll see what happens.

SF- Woah, okay, I think I understand more what you're saying. Maybe I should widen my squat stance? Do you think that would help any at all, or nah?

Wow, after watching my video and then watching his video, that's friggin' insane. I can't get over what a huge difference in our form there is. My knees instantly come forward as I start to come down with the bar. His knees stay in the exact same spot the entire time throughout the whole rep. F*ck, that's no good.

BTW, I can't imagine squatting 585, that's f*cking insane. Funny you say that because the other day at the gym I started talking to this ex-powerlifter who really seemed to know his sh*t. He trained pretty extremely and doesn't really follow too much of a program. But I witnessed him squat 635 so that's definitely nothing to frown at. The guy weighed about 275ish. Anyway, he couldn't believe my deadlift was 150 lbs. more than my squat. He kept saying that there was absolutely no reason at all that I shouldn't be able to squat 600. It has to be my form that needs work.

 

[Saturday Fever]

Yep. It's like I said, a squat done correctly is a poartial ROM deadlift. The only difference is where the weight is. Now the difference in the positioning of the weight is what causes unsuited/unwrapped lifters to pull more than they squat, but the idea is true. If you used the same muscles you deadlift with to squat, you'd be pleasantly surprised. It will definitely take some work and some getting used to. A good way might be to tape yourself doing squats. Compare yourself to the video I linked. Find what's different and fix it. No worries, though. Everything is going to work out.

 

[M.J.H.]

SF- I really think that this is going to be a tough habit to get into, maybe because of the way I am used to squatting. I mean just standing up squatting down naturally my knees go forward. What should I focus on? Kicking back my hips? Or leaning forward with my chest? I mean for whatever reason this is just so damn hard for me to get into the habit of. I am thinking about widening my stance some, maybe that will help? I would love to get my squat way up.

 

[Saturday Fever]

My feet are wider than shoulder width when I squat. The first motion is back with the hips, like you're going to sit back on the toilet is the best way I've ever read to describe it. When you hit depth, you push up and back with your shoulders and forward with your hips. I'll find a good article by Dave Tate on the right form and post it.

 

[atherjen]

GReat Vid!!! gosh that a lot of weight!!!! Great work and EXCELLENT advice from SF- I always learn something reading his advice to you!

 

[PreMier]

Originally posted by Saturday Fever


http://66.235.16.23/training/2004_west_coast_open/040521-squats.wmv
.

Nice death metal


Mike- Howcome you use that pad? Doesnt it push your head forward? Nice lift btw.

 

[M.J.H.]

SF- Okay man, I think shooting your hips back is the best thing that I have read in terms of practical advice. Simply because that advice is what always comes to mind when I do my good mornings. I always shoot my a*s back as I come down and then push my hips forward as I come back up. Honestly, this style squat must not work your quads too much at all!

BTW, SF, my next Upper2 and Lower2 sessions are coming up, anything in mind? I havn't changed things up too much lately on bench. CG inclines?

Jen- Yeah I agree, absolutely awesome advice as usual. I can't imagine how strong I am going to get with SF's advice. Things so far are working out wonderfully.

PreMier- I use that pad because 400+ lbs. on the back of my neck really gets to be quite uncomfortable, I guess I am a p*ssy, lol.

 

[PreMier]

Yes, the pussy pad

 

[Saturday Fever]

It doesn't work your quads at all. I'm sure in the grand scheme of things they may bear a little weight, but not much at all. This style puts all the tension on your posterior, where it belongs if we want to move big weights.

Here's Dave Tate's article on squatting. We can call it "Squatting Form Bible" if you will.

http://www.testosterone.net/html/body_120squat.html