December 29, 2011

December 29, 2011 Lower / Light

  • Squats: 290*4 300*2 315*1
  • Hanging Power Snatches: 100*3 120*3 140*3 150*3 160*2
  • Trap-Bar Jump Deads: 225*3 245*3
  • Kneeling Paloff Presses: 30*3 40*3

I just don't get squatting any more.   I was warmed up, foam rolled before hand, etc.  First set I thought my left IT band was going to snap and my lower back stung all over.  Second and third sets IT band was better but my lower back is just extremely fatigued right now.  Regardless I wouldn't have gotten much more than I did anyway.  My 1RM for deadlifting right now is probably a shade over 500 meaning I can deadlift almost 200 lbs. more than I can squat.  I have no explanation for this whatsoever.  I am prioritizing my deadlift this bulk, so I didn't expect my squat to go up a ton, but it's actually gone down some.  The power-snatches went well, added 5 lbs. to them, almost had a 3rd at 160 but dropped it on the back of my neck.  Note to self: don't do that again.   Did some trap-bar jump deadlifting which I love and haven't done in ages.  Finished with kneeling paloff presses...holy crap I think I like these more than the standing version.

December 27, 2011

December 27, 2011 Upper / Heavy

  • Flat Bench: 235*3 255*3 265*3 275*3 285*3
  • Pullups: 75*3 75*2 75*2 55*4 55*3
  • Push Press: 190*3 200*3 210*3 220*2 NEW PR!!
  • Dips: 13, 10 
Progression, etc.   Got an extra rep at 285 on the flat benching. Decided to drop the weight on the last two sets of pullups in order to get the extra reps in. New PR on Push Press.  I'm really dialing in on it lately.  I think I'm cutting it back to 3-4 sets from 5, and focusing on moving up the weight quicker. So next week I'll go 200, 210, 220, 225 probably or 205, 215, 225 who knows. By the time all this was over I was pretty beat, so I did dips with just my bodyweight and got out. Whole session was about 55 minutes.

December 26, 2011

December 26, 2011 How I started lifting

I was 17 years old, it was February 1999.  I had left high school after my sophomore year to attend college via a dual-enrollment program in Massachusetts.  Basically the state paid for me to go to college and take courses which would obviously count for college credit, but also high school credit as well.  Most people took one or two courses at the local college per semester.  Not me; as soon as I heard about this program I knew I was doing it full time.  Not only that, but I had amassed enough credit that I could graduate from high school after spending that junior year of it taking classes at the local college.  I think I took 5 my first semester, 2 over winter break, and 6 second semester.  But I digress.  The only requirement I couldn't fill was my gym requirement at my high school.  I looked at a few classes on volleyball, swimming, and the like, but none fit with my schedule.  I actually enjoyed both of those activities, but never did them extnsively, and was basically Austchwitz-mode at this point. After talking it over with the administration they decided that if I worked out at the colleges gym a few times per week and had a trainer sign off on it they would consider the gym requirement fulfilled.

I'll never forget the fitness assessment they do.   The trainer took me into the room and weighed me , I think I was 130 lbs @ 5' 10".  Then he put like 95 lbs. on a bar and had me attempt to bench it.  I basically dropped the thing on my chest, I could barely even unrack it.  He tried 75 or 65, same thing.  If /fit/ existed back then spaghetti would've started pouring out of my pockets (note: 90% of the people reading this won't get that).  They set me up on a program, pretty much only machines.  I liked the leg press the best.   Oddly, despite being weak as dirt I enjoyed going there.  It just felt natural.  Granted I barely gained any weight (by September of 1999 I was only up to 138 lbs.), but I was enjoying myself. Maybe it's because my dad had lifted and I grew up around it, I dunno.  Anyway, I started to get somewhat stronger, and eventually after graduating early I joined a local gym.    The rest is a story for another time.  Looking back though it's hard to believe that after my bulk this year I was 231 lbs., over 100 lbs. heavier than when I started

December 26, 2011 Lower / Heavy

  • Deadlift: 405*3 430*3 440*3
  • Hanging Power Cleans: 185*3 195*3 205*2
  • Trap-Bar Deadlifts: 315*3 405*3 495*1 545*X


Whoo...good times. Probably could've done 450 here for a 3rd set. If I ramped up properly I could hit 500 right now I believe. But I'm going to keep adding poundage instead. I actually wanted to do some trap-bar deadlifting so I only did 3 sets of deadlifts, and 3 sets of hang cleans. The hang cleans went great, I'm really getting forceful with the jump and my catches are improving. Last week I got 200 for 3, but the 3rd was a really bad catch. If I had used that same form I could've gotten a 3rd at 205 but I didn't want to torque my spine again, so I just dropped it instead. The two that I got at 205 were solid. I need to start using chalk though, my grip is shot by the end of these. So the trap-bar deads went great, I was pretty tired but got 315 and 405 for easy triples. Decided to try 495 for a single, and if it went easy go for 515. I got 495 easily. I decided though that since 515 was my old record why not go for something a bit more challenging. Threw 545 on there, with my cellphone recording. I got it 2" off the ground and was just too tired to finish the rep (my sticking point is actually about 2" off the ground, unlike breaking it off the floor for most people), I've actually never failed to complete a pull that I've gotten past that 2" point. I think if I went 315 405 and 495 for singles I might've had a better chance. I deleted the video, but I regret it now, I haven't posted one in a while. Not all my videos need to be successful lifts. I'll try trap-barring again in a few weeks, see if I can get 545. 


note:  I've been doing hanging power cleans, I need to go back and correct this in previous entries.  

December 23, 2011 Upper/Light

  • BB Incline: 240*5 230*4
  • T-Bar Rows: 135*5 150*5
  • Standing Press: 165*4 155*3
  • Incline DB Curls: 30*9

Was in a bit of a hurry here but still wanted to put in some reps.   I've noticed as my benching numbers improve my standing press/push press is becoming more difficult, probably on account of fatigue in secondary and tertiary movers on those movements are primary movers on the shoulder exercises.  Decided to throw some rows in here because people spew soda out their mouths in shock/indignation when they see my usual routine doesn't have any rows in it.

December 22, 2011 Lower / Light

  • Squats: 290*5 300*4 310*2
  • Hang Snatches: 95*3 115*3 135*3 145*3 155*2
  • Front Squats: 185*5 205*5 225*5

I don't get squatting.  I just don't.    I've heard people say to 'sit down between your hips' or something like that for squatting.  I feel like I am, but it makes no difference.  I get to parallel and it's like my hips, hamstrings, glutes, and quads just go limp for lack of a better word.  It's like they're "empty" or something, like that part of my body is just completely missing, as though there's nothing there to flex.  I actually can do almost the same weight going Olympic ATG on squats.  I get that momentum of starting from the floor, so that when I get close to parallel and all the power evaporates, I've still got enough speed to carry me through to the top of the rep. The weird thing is, If you told me, "Matt go find your 1RM, I could do singles til the cows come home.   I can get out of the hole with a heavy weight once, but anything more than that is asking too much. I also accept that my numbers may be effected by the fact that for the last month I've broken my 3 rep record on deadlifting.  But still this problem predates that by a good ways.  Other stuff went well here, hang snatches got 2 at 155! I did more lighter sets first today to get there.  Good stuff!

December 21, 2011 Conditioning

  • 34.5" Plyo Box Jumps: 30
  • Side Rope Slams: 13, 15, 15

Was feeling particularly depressed again today.  I have no idea why.  Got an interview for a great job on Friday, I should be excited. I am, but I'm still feeling 'dark' overall.  I decided to go to the gym and jump on boxes, since that usually cheers me up.  It did a little.   Went over to Wendy's after this workout, and felt much better.  Still not up to where I should be though. You can see the alternating rope slams (side rope slams) in the beginning of the following video.  I'm not actually in the video or anything, it's just the only example I could fine easily on youtube.  I'm obviously doing them with much more violent force.  


December 21, 2011

December 20, 2011 Upper / Heavy

  • Flat Bench: 235*3 255*3 265*3 275*3 285*2
  • Pullups: 75*3 75*2 75*2 75*2 75*2
  • Push Press: 185*3 195*3 205*3 210*2
  • Dips: 12, 8
Good session, bench is moving up gradually, pullups have been kind of higher as well.  As my weights are moving up on those first two push pressing is getting harder, I run out of steam on them.  Dips are bodyweight at this point, just tired after the benching and pullups. 

December 19, 2011

December 19, 2011 Lower / Heavy

  • Deadlift: 325*3 285*3 405*3 425*3 435*3
  • Hang Cleans: 170*3 180*3 190*3 200*3 NEW PR!! 180*3

not gonna lie bros (&sisses) this workout beat the piss out of me.  Was absolutely exhausted at the end.  Feels good man.  Keeping up with the deadlifting, still focusing on tearing it off the floor as violently as possible.   Hang cleans went good, that 3rd catch at 200 was somewhat garbage though.  I got it, but I don't want to be using piss poor form like that often, or even rarely. Was leaning forward too much when I caught it.  

December 18, 2011

December 18, 2011 Progress Pics

Couple of progress shots, I'm back over 190. I'm 194 in these pictures, gaining about 1.5 lbs. per week.  Going much cleaner this time around than last year.  I think the olympic movements that I've thrown in are keeping my metabolism higher.  Plus not eating 5000 calories like a slob helps.



December 18, 2011 Conditioning

  • Weighted 34.5" Plyo Box Jumps / Seated Plyo 34.5" Box Jump Giant Set: 6kg*15-BW*15
  • Plyo Bench Clap Pushups: 8, 7, 6
  • P.U.P.P.: 1:00

Basic session.  I feel the clap pushups a bit more than the regular bench pushups.   PUPP was not to failure, just something to keep my core awake.  

December 16, 2011 Upper / Light

  • Incline Bench: 235*5 230*5 220*5
  • Pullups: 13, 9,6
  • Standing Press: 155*5 160*5 165*4
  • Hammer Curls: 50*8 55*3

I actually do better on the pullups supersetting them with incline benching.  Probably on account of that first set of pullups would only be preceded by one set of incline benching, as opposed to the 3 that came before them today. Come to think of it I may put pullups first here on this day.  Standing Press went well, added 5 more pounds. Hammer curls. I did them.  

December 15, 2011

December 15, 2011 Lower / Light

  • BB Squats: 290*5 300*4 310*2
  • Hang Snatches: 135*3 145*3 155*X
  • Front Squats: 225*3

OOOF. Weights felt like they were made of lead today.   I think I'm fatigued a bit from my Monday deadlifting/clean session.  Plus I didn't sleep well last night. Stayed up a bit too late drinking.  Need to get back on a regular sleep schedule.  I've been staying up too late lately.  That ends now. 

December 13, 2011 Upper / Heavy

  • Bench Press: 230*3 25*3 260*3 275*2 280*2
  • Pullups: 75*3 75*2 70*3 70*2 70*2+1
  • Push Press: 195*3 205*1 - exhausted
  • Dips: 60*5 60*5 BW*12

whew. Solid workout. Took a bit less time between sets.  Caught up with me on the push pressing though.  I was absolutely exhausted.  I don't think I could've push pressed 135 after that 1st rep at 205.  Took a bit of a break, came back and got a couple sets of dips and realized I was still pretty fatigued, so switched to body weight.  You know it's a good session when you've got nothing left in the tank at the end.  Enjoyed this one. 

December 12, 2011

December 12, 2011 Lower, Heavy

  • Deadlifts: 320*3 380*3 400*3 420*3 430*3
  • Hang Cleans: 170*3 180*3 190*3 200*2 180*3
  • Weighted 34.5" Plyo Box Jumps / 34.5" plyo Box Jumps Giant Set: 15*15 - BW*15
  • Shoulder Touch Planks:12, 10

Niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice session.  I'm focusing on really tearing the bar off the ground, really helps when you start getting to higher weights.  Considering a month ago I was at 405*2 I'm happy with today's results. I'm actually thinking that the 420 and 430 are 3 rep records for me.  Hang cleans went well. I need to get some chalk though.  I'll be looking for a 3rd at 200 next week.  Need to keep practicing form before hand as well.  That giant set I did afterward destroyed me.  I literally did 30 jumps to 34.5" in less than 90 seconds.  

December 11, 2011

December 11, 2011 Sunday Conditioning

  • 7kg MB Ball Slams: 60, 50
  • 34.5" Plyo Box Jumps: 15
  • 34.5" Plyo Seated Box Jumps: 15
  • Paloffs: 50*1 60*2

good session, ball slams got my heart pumping.  jumps went well, as did the paloffs. 

December 9, 2011 Upper / Heavy

  • BB Flat: 225*3 245*3 255*3 270*3 250*4
  • Pullups: 65*3 75*3 75*2 70*3 70*2
  • Push Press: 195*3 205*3 210*3 215*1
  • Dips: 60*5 60*5 60*5
Good session, will be moving up bench weights by 5 lbs. next workout.  Pullups went well, tried fiddling with order I did the weights in, got an extra rep on that first set of 75.  Push Pressing went well, was getting tired by that point though so kept it to 4 sets, really had no pop left.   Dips went well, didn't hurt my collarbones or anything.  So this coming week I'm going to try doing my two heavy workouts back to back, so Tuesday I'll be doing upper/heavy again.  I figure that makes more sense since it's earlier in the week, and maybe I'll be less drained for this session if I move it to Tuesdays. We shall see.
 

December 8, 2011

December 8, 2011 Lower / Light

  • BB Squats: 280*5 290*5 300*5
  • Hang Snatches: 135*3 140*3 145*3 150*3
  • Front Squats: 225*5 225*3

Good session, weights moved up.  I was actually gassed by the time I got to front squats.  Probably going to go 205, 215, 225 in some order next time, just so I can get the full 3 sets in and not be sucking wind the way I was today.  Next week I'll start squats at 290 probably, and the snatches at 140.  

December 6, 2011

December 6, 2011 Workout from 4 Years Ago

Was just flipping back through the log book I use and came across a workout from almost exactly 4 years ago.  Check out these beastly numbers.   I probably weighed around 167 or so for this workout:


  • BB Sumo Squats: 185*2 225*2 245*2 265*1
  • Good Mornings: 95*10 115*10
  • Nautilus Leg Extensions: 125*10 155*10 
  • Nautilus Leg Curl: 65*3 -hamstrings shot
  • Hoist Leg Press Calf-Press: 8*10 10*12 15*10 21*10

Good to see how much things have improved.  It's funny flipping back through this thing, on December 8th, 2007 I did 5 pullups with 25 lbs. added on, so that's 192 lbs. I was pulling up.  That's my bodyweight now and I can do 14 dead hang, those 5 I did 4 years ago may have had a slight cheat on them.  My 5 rep max now is probably 192 lbs + 55, so 247 lbs.  Not too shabby.  It's good to look back and see if you're making progress, one of the good things about keeping a log book, and backing it up somewhere. 

Even better, I just found one from December 12, 2001.  On that day I quarter squatted the hell out of 3 sets of squats:

  • BB Squats: 225*12 175*12 315*6
  • Leg Extensions: 11*11 12*11
  • Leg Curls: 10*10 10*10
  • Calf Press: 395*10 395*10 395*10 395*10
Wow...a decade ago.  

December 6, 2011 Upper / Light

  • DB Incline: 100*5 105*5 100*5
  • DB Rows: 120*5 120*5 120*5
  • Standing Press: 155*5 160*4 150*5
  • Hammer Curls: 45*8 50*5
 Not bad, swapped in DB Incline for this workout, and did some DB rows instead of pullups.  Got an extra rep at 160 on Standing Press. 

December 5, 2011 Lower / Heavy

  • BB DL: 315*3 375*3 395*3 415*3 425*3
  • Hang Cleans: 165*3 175*3 185*3 190*3 175*3
  • 34.5" Plyo Box Jumps: 30
  • P.U.P.P.: 3:00!!! whoah where did that come from NEW PR!!
Deadlifting went well, steadily moving up there.  Hang cleans as well.  I need to work on the synchronization of the pull & jump on the movement though.  I still mistime it a few times per session and I barely catch the weight.  Was absolutely brutalized after those two exercises, did some plyo work after, which is something I'm going to try and work in a bit more.  Then ended with a PUPP.  I think I could've gotten to about 3:05...but still 3:00 is my new record by far.  I got to 2 minutes and figured 2:30 was my record and beat it, then I figured I was almost to 3 so if I could hold out a little longer I could bag that.  Good times.

December 3, 2011

December 2, 2011 Upper / Heavy

  • BB Flat: 225*3 245*3 255*2? 270*2 245*3
  • Pullups: 65*3 70*3 70*3 75*2 75*2
  • Push Press: 185*3 190*3 195*3 205*3 210*3
  • Dips: BW* 13 BW*13
It's weird not prioritizing bench press.  For so many years I was so deficient  in it that I had to put it first on the day after my day off.  Now that it's at the end of the week I don't progress as fast at it.  I don't mind though.  The rest of the workout here went well. Pullups went good, added a rep at 205 & 210 on push press. Amazing what an actual 1/4 squat on Push Presses does...also went BW on dips and just repped out. Feels good man.  2nd day of not having a job...actually feels good.

December 1, 2011 Lower / Light

  • Squats: 275*5 285*5 295*5
  • Hanging Snatches: 135*3 145*3 135*3 135*3
  • Front Squats: 225*4 205*5 205*3 
  • Snatch Grip Deadlifts: 225*5 225*5 225*5

Good stuff.....may put a 2nd session of hang cleans instead of snatches for now while I work up on the weight.  Not sure.  Front squats were harder this week, with 2 exercises behind them, instead of leading off with them.  Snatch-Grip deadlifts are pretty difficult but worked out as well.  I actually slept good last night after getting fired. I actually feel better after being done with the jackasses where I worked.  Relieved.  

November 29, 2011 Upper / Light

  • BB Incline / Pullup S.S.: 230*5-BW*14 235*3-BW*11 220*5-BW*10 
  • BB Standing Press: 155*5 160*3 140*6
  • Standing Cambered Curls: 75*10 85*8 75*7
  • Ab-Wheel: 12, 10

Good stuff.  DESTROYED the pullups.  35 over 3 sets.  Can't believe how well that went.  Standing press is going well too.  Not sure my biceps look any different, but I'll keep on with the direct arm work any how.  It's actually kind of fun.  

November 28, 2011 Lower Body, Heavy

  • BB DL: 315*3 365*3 385*3 405*3 415*3
  • Hang Cleans: 185*3 175*3 175*3 175*3 175*3
  • Shoulder-Touch Planks: 10

Well I'm still alive.  Deadlifting went well.  Very well actually.  Clean volume went way up, so that's good. Up by several hundred pounds.  Finished off with some planks.  not bad...not bad

November 27, 2011

November 27, 2011 Conditioning

  • 34" Plyo Box Jump / DB Drop & Overbox Jump S.S.: 15/15
  • 34" Seated Plyo Box Jump: 20
  • 7kg MB Slams: 50, 50

Good session, got the blood pumping.  I enjoy jumping, it's so effortless for me.  Balanced out the lower body work with some ball slams.  Felt good. 

November 26, 2011

November 25, 2011 Upper / Heavy

  • Bench Press: 245*3 255*3 270*3 255*3 245*3
  • Pullups: 75*2 75*2 70*3 70*3 70*2
  • Push Press: 185*3 190*3 195*3 205*2 210*2
  • Dips: 55*5 60*5 55*5
Great session; bench is moving up glacially slow.  I'm chomping at the bit here.  Pullups are going well, feel like I'm adding strength there. Still feels like the power movements are what's moving fastest for me; the push pressing especially.  I actually narrowly missed a 3rd rep at 205 and 210.  Dips went well too, glad they don't hurt my shoulders

On another note, I've gained back most of the weight I lost during the glycogen-depletion experiment pre-halloween, and subsequent week off to rest up for this bulk. I'm at 189 right now, and I'm gaining about a pound every few days.  I hope to be back to 193 by the first week of December.  I've noticed actually that I haven't really gained any fat at all so far.  I know it's early, but still.  It feels like the 'density' of my muscles is changing. I'm assuming it's from the olympic lifting I've added.  My body just looks 'denser', and just as lean. It's hard to describe, but it looks good so far.   

November 24, 2011 Lower / Light

  • BB Front Squats: 225*5 225*5 225*5
  • Hang Snatches: 135*3 145*3 155*1 115*3 115*3
  • Ab Wheel: 11, 11

Switched it up a little, did front squats, gave my lower back a rest.   Hanging snatches...yeah I thought I'd be getting a much larger boost to weights since I wasn't doing them off the floor. I figured shortening the movement would help.  Not so much. It was actually harder without the force of that first pull off the floor.  Finished with the ab-wheel, the only infomercial fitness product in history that actually is legitimate. 

November 22, 2011 Upper / LIght

  • BB Incline / Pullup S.S.: 225*6-BW*14 230*4-BW*10 215*5-BW*10
  • Standing Press: 145*5 155*4 135*5
  • BB Curls: 95*8 95*6 95*4
  • P.U.P.P.: 1:40
Felt particularly good on the pullups...got 34 over 3 sets here. Last week got 31, and that was NON supersetted.  Continuing with direct arm work, did some BB curls.  May just go with DB curls from here on out.  Also, Standing Press weight isn't really progressing that much, not sure why. Added a rep at 155, but it was incredibly hard.  Guess we'll see

November 21, 2011 Lower Heavy

  • Deadlift: 405*2 415*1 425*1
  • Hang Cleans: 175*3 185*3

Was super pressed for time here so I shortened up this session. I had to go do something after, though I forget what that was now...So this is the start of the 3rd week of the bulk....I don't exactly feel stronger on most of my lifts, except power lifting. It feels like it's getting easier, probably because I've never consistently done it before.  

November 20, 2011

November 20, 2011 Conditioning

  • 34.5" Plyo Box Jumps: 30
  • 34.5" Plyo Seated Box Jumps: 15
  • Plyo Bench Pushups: 5, 5, 5

Back to doing conditioning work here. My gym was closed, so I went to their facility in Watertown, it was nice. There was a pool. I didn't bring anything to swim in though, so no go there.  Tonight I'm going to use the lacrosse ball on my hamstrings, quads, glutes, and piriformis during the Sunday Night Football game.  Should get everything ready for this coming week. 

I'm 188 lbs. currently.....that glycogen depletion diet thing I did pre-halloween really stripped the weight off me. I must've been down to like 184. I'm pissed I'm starting this bulk so low. My body just likes being around 188 or so. It sucks because I'm at like 3400 calories per day and I still gain slow. It's like I have to either pig out on like 5000 per day like last winter, or I don't gain very much.  I also think adding in the olympic lifts is just sucking down the extra carbs I added, which isn't a bad thing, they're being used for something useful, but I didn't anticipate how many extra calories I'd need to make up for them.  I'm going to wait another couple weeks before tinkering.
 

November 18, 2011 Upper / Heavy

  • Bench Press: 270*3 265*2 (hit post) 255*3
  • Pullups: 60*3 65*3 70*3 75*2 70*2
  • Push Press: 165*3 175*3 185*3 190*3 200*3
  • Dips: 50*5 50*5 50*5

Kind of pressed for time,  I take forever between bench sets so I cut it at 3 sets here.  Felt a little flat on it anyway, I think because I do it on Fridays now after a week's worth of working out.  Still not awful.  Pullups went great, really happy with them.  Push Press is moving up as well.  Next week I want to start with 185 or so.  Dips were not painful either.

November 17, 2011 Lower / Light

  • BB Squats: 275*5 285*5 295*4
  • Snatches: 95*3 95*3 115*3 135*3 155*1
  • Bulgarian Split Squats: 60*5 70*5 75*5
  • Paloffs: 60*3

Looking at what I did here it doesn't look like much, but the snatches kill me, in a good way.  Plus the split squats...my goodness.  Still the hardest exercise I do. I'm screaming like I'm being murdered on the last rep for each leg.  Decided to do them instead of front squats this week.  I was thinking of doing hanging snatches here, but opted for full.  I think next week I may switch to hanging snatches, as I'm really just focusing on power production with adding them in. 

November 15, 2011

November 15, 2011 Upper / Light

  • BB Incline Bench: 225*5 220*5 215*5
  • Pullups: 13, 11, 7
  • Standing Press: 145*5 155*3 135*5
  • Cable Curls: 45*12 50*10 50*8

Decided to not go with the superset this week. Pullup numbers improved on account of thisTrying to slowly bump the weight up each week....may get some 1 lbs. magnets from elitefts or somewhere to make increases easier. Was pretty tired so I didn't do any rope work here; got to bed late last night.  Stomach is still bothering me in bed in the mornings, actually woke me up today, but otherwise it's back to normal.  Did cable curls as my biceps work this week.

November 14, 2011

Forearm


Finally managed to get a decent picture of how vascular I generally am.  Obviously I just started this bulk so my bf is still very low, but you get the general idea.  One of those veins actually runs up my bicep, onto my shoulder and into my pec somewhere.  Anyway, I've wanted to get a good 'vein shot' (pause.) for a couple years now, so here you go. And yes, the mirror is filthy. I have no idea what the fuck my room mates do in the bathroom, but I clean the mirrors and the next day they look like what you see here.

November 14, 2011 Lower / Heavy - More f*cking like it.

  • BB DL: 315*3 365*3 385*3 395*3 405*2, 1
  • Hang Cleans: 95*3 135*3 145*3 155*3 175*3
  • Glute Bridges: 315*3 365*3 405*3 425*3 445*3
THERE we go.  No need for doing O-Lifts first, I actually find it easier doing them after a big movement for some reason, maybe the weight just feels lighter.  That last set with 405 I just did too soon after the 395, if I had rested more I would've had all 3.  I immediately reset and pulled it for a third rep.  Hang cleans went well, there's a guy there that does snatching at the same time I'm doing cleans, so I work in with him.   I'm grateful there's someone there that knows their shit with the o-lifts, he noticed that on the hang cleans I'm doing the 'jump' and 'catch' portions one after the other instead of simultaneously so the movement takes too long. Also weights went way up on the hang cleans, going to start at 155 next time, use 95 as an unrecorded warmup, probably 135 as well.  Also, stomach is about 78% back to normal. Hard to describe how much better it feels compared to this time last week.  Still not great exactly, but definitely much better

November 13, 2011 Food Poisoning?

So you know what makes it hard to get over a slight stomach bug you've been fighting all week?  Food poisoning and throwing your guts up.  Went to a farmer's market today, got some organic chocolate, barely ate any of it.  Didn't feel right after it, for a couple hours. Went to bed at 9:45 on a Saturday.  My body punished me for being a candy-ass by making me get up about 45 minutes later and throwing my guts up.  Afterward I was sweating and freezing and shaking while I tried to sleep.  Not good times.  Sunday my stomach hurt way too bad, I was almost doubled over.  Started to feel a bit better in the afternoon, went to a bar with some friends had a glass of Budweiser and that didn't go well. Went home, slept from 5-8, got up for Patriots game, promptly passed out afterward.  This has just not been my week.

November 11, 2011

  • Bench Press: 265*3 270*3 255*3 245*3 245*3
  • Pullups: 50*3 60*3 60*3 55*3 55*3
  • Push Press: 135*3 155*3 165*3 175*3 185*3
  • Dips: 50*3 50*3 50*3
  • Lying KB Rope Drags: 36kg, 60kg
  • Ab Wheel: 11, 12

For some reason my anterior delts have been sore all week.  This is only odd because I literally can count on one hand the number of times they've been sore in the nearly 14 years I've been lifting.  Even things like front raises don't leave them sore.  This week however they've been sore to even the lightest touch. So the dips at the end there I had to cut short because it was borderline excruciating.  Also bench press started well but I was quickly gassed.  Also had an odd issue this week with my stomach; I haven't really been getting hungry, my stomach just hurts periodically throughout the day, and it's usually around the times I'd be hungry.  Not sure what that means. I hate being 30. Seriously it blows.  I fucking hate this shit. Also, did the rope drags; here's a video of Sinicore Moss doing them.  
 
 notice how he has someone spotting him?  Apparently that's a good idea.  I did them without one, and was exhausted at the end.  I knew I was getting close so I gave the rope one more giant pull.  Apparently the 60kgs were about 2" from my head and I cracked myself right at the top of my forehead.  I fucking hate being 30.   Session was fine overall I guess, just sore and tired all over. Hopefully I recover quickly.



November 10, 2011

  • BB Snatches: 135*3 115*3 95*3:3
  • Squats: 275*5 295*2 wtf?  255*5 245*5 
  • Front Squats: 185*5 205*5 185*5
  • PUPP: 50 seconds

So I know I said I would be doing squats first here, but wanted to see if the snatches effected my squat any.  Yeah...they did.  Moving along, next week I think I'm going to do both compound lifts first, then follow it with the Olympic movement.  Sore as hell here, cramping up, feet cramping, calf cramp still hurts from the other day, feel rusty. NOT enjoying this week back at all. 

November 9, 2011

November 8, 2011 Upper / Light

  • Incline Bench / Pullups S.S.: 225*5 / BW*12  215*5  / BW*8  205*5  / BW*8
  • Standing Press: 135*5 145*5 150*5
  • Hammer Curls: 50*8 45*8 40*8
  • Battling Ropes: 40, 50, 40
  • Pullup Iso-Hold: 25 Seconds

Rhomboids still trashed from previous session, oddly pullups and the iso hold did not exasperate this.  The session went well.  Today (wednesday) when I'm putting this in my delts are actually sore.  They are NEVER sore, even after standing presses, so I'm doing something right.  Apparently looking back actually the last time I did Standing Presses I did 145*5 and 145*4, so I actually bumped up my weight here.  Maybe the time off did something strength wise.  I'm also noticing I look massive compared to the end of the cut, and I've only been on increased calories for a couple days.  Probably just glycogen.  Anyway, hammer curls were fun, I haven't done direct bicep work consistently in over a decade, so this should be fun.   Another note; that template I posted the other day is going to be the vast majority of the routine.  If I finish off that stuff for a workout and still have energy I may add in a set or two of some other work, like with the iso-hold here.  So, so far bulk 2011 is off to a great start

November 7, 2011 Lower / Heavy

  • Hang Cleans: 95*5 135*3 140*3 145*3
  • Deadlifts: 315*3 365*3 385*3 390*3 365*3
  • Glute Bridges: 365*3 405*3 415*3 435*3 455*1-LEFT CALF CRAMP

So I learned several things here:
  1. I'm never taking over 3 weeks off from heavy deadlifting again.   Holy crap....seriously I cannot explain how rusty I was here.  Probably should've eased back into this instead of going near 400 right off the bat again, much less for a triple.  
  2. I'm never taking a whole week off again, or not going heavy for 2 straight weeks, at least intentionally.  Last week I had off, two weeks ago I was doing that glycogen depletion stuff. By the 3rd set of deadlifts I actually was feeling something similar to DOMS. I'm recording this a couple days later and all I can say is that every part of my body is sore, and it's not even from the upper body workout I did the day after this.  My rhomboids feel like someone took a lead pipe to them
  3. Hang cleans do not 'prime your nervous system' they just tire you out.  I think what I'm going to do from now on is switch the order every other week.  So next week I'll lead off with deadlifts.  For my Thursday workout this week I'm going to lead off with the squats and go to the snatches second.  Next week I'll do deadlifts first on this Tuesday workout and hang cleans second.  Then next Thursday I'll lead off with snatches and move to squats 2nd.  
  4. You can apparently cramp your calf  by doing glute bridges.  That fucker didn't let go completely for about 5 hours, but I could at least walk. 
  5. Kale does not work in my morning shakes.  Just does NOT work.  I'm going to eat it with dinner from now on.
 

November 7, 2011

November 6, 2011 Bulk Routine

Alright, so here's the routine I'm going to use while on this bulk; it's a heavy/light upper/lower like my usual split, but the 'light' is actually going to be around 5 reps...Also, I'll be doing direct arm work!  First time I'll have consistently included any in probably a half dozen years. Never really got anything out of it before, but I'm not going to get cute with it this time. Just curls, and dips.  Also, Wednesday may end up being an off day.  I have Sunday as being the lone conditioning day on this split, but I may end up going on Wednesdays too....we'll see.  So here's the routine:



·         Sunday:
o   Box Jumps, Box Jump Series, Plyo Pushups, Plyo Box Jumps.
·         Monday:             
o   Cleans (5x03)
o   Deadlifts (5x03)
o   Glute Bridges (5x03) (Jump Deads?)
o   Paloffs
·         Tuesday:
o   Incline Bench  (3x05) / Pullups (3x12) S.S.
o   Overhead Press (3x05)
o   Curls (3x08) (KB Rope curls?)
o   Rope Work
·         Wednesday:
o   Off, Foam Roll, stretching , massage, whatever
·         Thursdays:
o   Snatches (5x03)
o   Squats (3x05)
o   Front Squats (3x05) or Split Squats (3x05)
o   Planks (plank rope drags) / Lying Rope Pullover S.S.
·         Friday:
o   Flat Bench (4x03)
o   Pullups (4x03)
o   Push Press (4x03)
o   Dips (3x05)
o   Weighted Carries
·         Saturday:
o   Off






November 6, 2011 Bulk Beginning!

Alright! So the bulk begins tomorrow.  I guess technically it began November 1st, but I actually made it through this previous week without going to the gym, so I'm rested up.  Got a massage too, felt great.  So without further adieu here is diet for the mass building phase:





October 31, 2011 Halloweeen

OK, so the flush out didn't really work...at all.  I didn't look bad, I just looked regular.  The point was you drink a few gallons of water per day, then cut out the water and piss out any water your body is holding.  Plus you take in carbs to 'plump' your muscles back up.  Didn't happen at all.  As soon as I stopped drinking the water, I stopped pissing, like within an hour.  Not sure what I did wrong. Regardless, I didn't look bad and had a good Halloween Saturday.  So anyway, I'm going to attempt and take this coming week completely off, we'll see how it goes.  I haven't taken a week off in 13 years.

November 2, 2011

October 28, 2011 Carb Up

  • DB Front Raises: 15*13 15*15 15*12
  • DB Shrugs: 75*20 75*20

Alright, carb up has begun, we'll see how this goes and how I look at the end of it.  Cutting off water as well, we'll see the effects.   I did the raises & shrugs here because I want to emphasize my shoulders & traps.  Bro science at its finest.

October 27, 2011 Glycogen Depletion Day 4

  • 7kg MB Slam Tabata: 20, 22, 21, 18, 19, 19, 18, 18
  • Battling Ropes: 47, 40, 40
Only cardio session for the week...I'm actually noticing something; after this summer's accidental ketosis incident I was hesitant to do the low carb thing for more than a day at a time.  But this is my fourth day of doing it and honestly I feel fine.  I'm not doing two-adays like I was during that thing this past summer. Plus I'm consuming a bit of extra fat too, and things seem to be going MUCH better this time.  I'm not even vaguely irritable or feeling as though I'm going to die or be consumed by wolves.

October 26, 2011 Glycogen Depletion Day 3

  • Cable Flyes / Cable Row S.S.: 30*17 / 60*20 30*17 / 80*20 30*17 / 80*20 30*17 / 90*20 30*17 / 100*15
  • Hammer Curls / Seated Skull Crushers S.S.: 12.5*15 / 50*20 10*17 / 55*20 10*16 / 60*20 10*17 / 65*16 10*20 / 65*15
  • DB Reverse Laterals: 10*15 7.5*15 7.5*15

Not sure if this is working or not, but I'm sure tired after these workouts.  Hopefully it'll turn out to be worth it. 

October 29, 2011

October 25, 2011 Glycogen Depletion Day 2

  • Squats / Front Squats S.S.: 135*12/135*12 135*12/135*12 115*12/115*12 115*12/115*12 115*12/115*12
  • DB Incline / DB Rows S.S.: 55*15/55*15  55*13/55*15 55*12/55*13 55*12/55*12 55*12/55*12
  • AB Wheel: 13, 13, 13

Oof.  Figured this would be easy since the squat weight was so light. Yeah not so much.  I'm not sure how much glycogen I have left after this stored in my muscles but it can't be much.  Diet is still my 'conditioning day' day with less than 50 carbs per.  Still drinking a shit ton of water. 

October 25, 2011

October 24, 2011 Glycogen Depletion Day 1

  • BB Flat / Pullup S.S.: 185*12/BW*10 195*12/BW*10 200*9/BW*10 185*10/BW*8 185*10/BW*7
  • Leg Curl / Leg Ext. S.S.: 90*12/60*12 90*12/60*12 90*12/70*12 90*10/70*12 80*12/80*12
  • Standing DB Press / DB Curls S.S.: 35*12/25*12 35*12/25*12 40*12/25*12 40*12/25*10

So for Halloween I'm going as a Gladiator/Spartan/Whatever.  I'm following Thibs Shredded in Six Days protocol that he lays out in this article.  I'm at trace carbs, The workouts for today and the next 2 days will be focused on glycogen depletion; as such these supersets are done with 30 seconds between supersets.  Was pretty tired after this one, but it wasn't too bad. We'll see how it goes tomorrow

October 22, 2011

October 21, 2011 Lower

  • BB DL: 315*4 315*5 315*5 315*5 365*5
  • Rope Pullups: 9, 7
  • Front Squat / PUPP G.S.: 185*5/:30/185*5/:30/185*5/:30
  • Shoulder-Touch Planks: 10, 10
  • Decline Situps...just for the hell of it: 25, 15

Recently I watched this video, and it made me want to take a look at my deadlift form:
  So for today's session I decided that since I had to do a deload week anyway I would focus on my setup and keeping the bar close to my shins on the way up. Felt good man.   Also when I searched for that video I used blogger's youtube search function and pasted in the DL video's url.  This also came up for some reason:




So for the rest of this session I put in some rope pullups, kind of got away from them recently.  Next I decided to throw in a Front Squat & PUPP giant set.  I got the idea from here it's an article from Dan John that lists some challenges to try.  Here's an excerpt:


Simply take a squat movement and use a weight that you can get for ten reps. For this workout, however, we'll halve those reps, so we'll do sets of five. Instead of resting, you will PUPP.

Here's an example:
Front Squat
PUPP
Front Squat
PUPP
Front Squat
PUPP

Be careful on the last set as the heaving of the chest makes handling the barbell a bit suspect. I strongly encourage you to rest for a little bit after this workout.Yes, you can PUPP longer than 30 seconds. Yes, five reps with a weight you can front squat for ten is very light. And guess what? Neither will matter when you attempt to leap off the ground and front squat that last set. How about this? Try it first, then decide if you want to ask me about longer PUPPs and more weight on the bar.


I definitely thought this would be easy.  I figured maybe for someone untrained it would be hard.  I actually thought I had misread it at first and that there were supposed to be 4 sets of each.   Yeah it didn't matter.  After that last set of P.U.P.P.s I collapsed and lay face-down on the floor of the squat rack for at least two minutes.  The hardest part was actually not vomiting from the burning in my shoulders.  The front squats really put a stretch on my delts, and then the PUPPs don't let up on them either.   Overall it was a great session, and I finished with some decline situps since I haven't done any type of situp in about 3 years.  I'm still not impressed with them, and will continue doing my usual core routines

October 20, 2011 Upper Body

  • BB Incline: 225*8 225*7 225*8
  • Pullups: 14, 10, 6
  • Standing Press: 145*5 145*4
  • Dips: 9, 9

Did this one with minimal rest between sets, wanted to see how it worked.   I'm going to begin another mini cut pre-Halloween. I'm going as a Roman gladiator, I want to look extra cut for this.  Going to manipulate my water intake starting probably this coming Sunday, and follow Shelby Starnes' protocol for pre-show sodium/water/nutrient intake

October 18, 2011

October 18, 2011 Lower

  • BB Squats: 315*2 335*1 345*1 315*2
  • Front Squats: 225*3 245*2 265*1
  • Power Cleans; 95*5 115*5 135*5 145*2

keeping my core tight while squatting definitely makes a huge difference.  Going to keep plugging away at it.  Front squats went well.  Adding in power cleans here too instead of snatches.  I'll put snatches on another day, maybe after deadlifting, which sounds like a brutal day, but if I just do those 2 exercises I should be able to manage.  Good session here

October 17, 2011 Upper

  • Bench Press: 280*3+2 285*2+1 270*2+1 265*2 225*8
  • Pullups: 75*2 75*1 65*3/BW*6
  • Push Press: 185*3 205*2 215*1
  • 24kg kb swings: 35

Bench is going well, got some good forced reps with a great spotter.  Pullups going well too.  Push pressing added some more weight on, and then finished with some metabolic stuff (swings). 

October 16, 2011 Conditioning

  • Weight-drop->medium over box jump -> Broad Jump: 12.5*5 12.5*6 12.5*6 12.5*6
  • Battling Ropes: 50, 40, 40
  • Paloffs: 50*3 60*2

 Wow....well that was a fun series....basically hold a db in each hand (that's what the weight listed is), dip down, dip down again and drop them and on the way up from that dip jump over the box, as you come up out of the crouch from landing you explode up and broad jump.  Very tiring.   Finished with some ropes & paloffs. 

October 16, 2011

October 14, 2011 Lower

  • BB DL: 405*2 415*1 425*1 315*5
  • Glute-Hams (on lat pulldown): 3
  • Pistols: 4, 4
  • Chinups: 12, 6
I'm still not back at 100% on deadlifting, I feel like my lower back/glutes/hams are still exhausted.   I guess that makes sense considering last Friday was supposed to be a 'light' day and instead I broke my leg press record by 250 lbs. or whatever and my glute bridge record by 100 lbs.  Whoops.  This coming Friday I'm going to keep the weight low on deadlifts, like in the 315 range, and see how I feel.  Glute-Hams on the lat pulldown worked, but they hurt my knees...Did more pistols. I enjoy them even if they're hard; I feel like it'll work out any imbalances I have.  Finished the posterior chain off with some chinups.   

On a separate note I've been thinking of reorganizing my training; I do the deadlifting at the end of the week since I have a day off right after, but that doesn't really make sense.  It's the hardest lift I do, and it comes after squatting on Tuesdays and sprinting or some other heavy conditioning on Wednesdays.  I'm still sore sometimes when deadlifting, which is probably not good.  I should probably be deadlifting on Mondays.  Just like you prioritize within a workout, doing the largest lifts first, you want to do that during your training week as well.   I take Saturdays off, and Sundays I do conditioning work, but it's usually more anaerobic work (ball slams, kb swings, etc.) and box jumping (which I could do all day and not end up with a seriously fatigued CNS).  So Mondays should probably be deadlifting day, Tuesdays incline benching etc, Wednesday conditioning, Thursdays Squatting, and Friday bench pressing.  That is if I keep the same routine when bulking as I have now.  I'm not entirely sure I will though.  More on that later though; I'm thinking of doing something like a push-pull-olympic or explosive split.

October 13, 2011

Bulking Guide, Part 2


So if you’re trying to bulk fairly cleanly the simplest strategy is to have two days: One in which you have macros set to account for a workout, and one to account for not working out or doing some conditioning work.   Look at the picture over here on the right; these are my macros while at maintenance (~197 lbs, ~10% bf).   I have four workouts per week where I do weight training, and then two conditioning days, with Saturday as my off day. These macro levels are for a cut, but pay attention to the way carbohydrates are spread out.  In a clean bulk, they’ll be spread out the same.  On training days 90+% of carbohydrates come at breakfast, pre-workout, and post-workout, with 70+% of them coming pre and post workout.  That means that a greater proportion of those carbohydrates are going towards ‘useful’ purposes of aiding in the maintenance or construction of lean body mass, or restoring glycogen.  Of course 100% won’t be used for this,  but with this strategy you can keep things relatively ‘clean’ and employ those carbohydrate calories for something useful as opposed to having them contribute mostly to adipose tissue that you need to dispose of later with a cut.

For a bulk we’re just going to increase the carbs around workout time, add a tad bit of healthy fats /carbs in to the morning and up the protein a bit.   Start by setting protein somewhere between 1.5g and 1.75g per pound of lean body mass.  Next, set your fat intake to between .5g and .75g per pound of lean body mass.  Finally, set the peri- and post-workout carbohydrates to around 1g per pound of lean body mass (These numbers come from Shelby Starnes , read his articles on T-Nation for a ton more info).   Here’s a picture of how it might shake out,below this paragraph. 

The percentage of carbohydrates that are consumed around breakfast, pre-workout, or post-workout is even greater now, at 95%.  The percentage just in the pre and post-workout time is up as well, to over 75%.  You’ll also notice that on conditioning days the fat and protein are up, as are the carbohydrates a bit.  Most of these extra carbs come in the morning.  The reason you want these extra calories/protein on your conditioning or off days is that you are still healing from previous workouts.  If you wanted to you could split it out even more; say a day you train legs take in the most carbohydrates, the day you train upper body or smaller muscles slightly less carbohydrates, and on off days or conditioning days even less than that.  It’s really up to you how you split things out.  It’s also important to realize that your body will change as you pack on mass, and you may need to adjust things.  If you’re gaining fat too fast adjust fat/carb intake, if you’re not gaining mass fast enough try adding some more in.  Just make sure whatever carbs you add in are focused around breakfast and more importantly peri- and post-workout times.   That’s really all there is to a clean bulk, from a nutrition standpoint.  It's not overly difficult  Best of luck, and here's a mediafire link to a PDF version of this guide. 

Alright, that wraps things up, I hope that this was simple and easy to follow; I’ll probably update this after I get some feedback.  If you want to send comments, critiques, death threats, etc. I can be reached at Accipitergym@gmail.com.  Happy Lifting! - Matt

Bulking Guide, Part 1.


There as many ways to bulk as there are to skin a cat: 4. Actually there’s a metric crap-ton of ways, but here’s the most well-known ways.

1. Eat everything. Pizza, hamburgers, take-out, etc. Do no conditioning work and no cardio. Nutrition stays the same on off days as it does on days you workouts. 6000, 7000,8000 calories even can be the norm here. You will gain lean mass. You will gain even more fat. Think GOMAD & fast food.



2. Eat like this:


This was actually the first step of a cut. I was over 5000 calories using whole milk instead of the 2%. I didn’t eat garbage foods, and I still did some conditioning work. You’ll still gain a ton of fat this way though.

3. Eat selectively; increasing macros based on if you’re working out on a given day or not, and even basing it on what part of your body you’re working on a day.

4. Eat slightly more than usual, say a 100 or 200 calorie surplus primarily from protein and some extra carbs, stay disciplined, do this year round. It'll take a while but over the years you'll slowly put on mass.

This guide focuses on #3 in the preceding list; the others are fine, but 1 & 2 are pretty simple. In fact you could probably modify amounts seen in the above screen shot to fit your own caloric needs and have a pretty simple guide for a semi-dirty bulk. #4 is also ok, but most people I’ve spoken to are interested in making gains quicker than that strategy would allow. #3 is what people call a tactical or strategic bulk, and that’s what the rest of this guide will be devoted to.

I’m not going to go into great depths here about insulin and the mechanics behind it, but it is something that will help you understand the rest of what follows here. Insulin is a storage hormone, and when it’s circulating in your blood your body will take glucose out of circulation and either dump it in fat cells, or as glycogen (fuel for your muscles to do work) in muscles or your liver. Basically when glucose levels in your blood rise above a certain point (100mg/dl) your pancreas releases insulin which then pulls that glucose out of the blood and deposits it in one of the aforementioned spots. The fortunate part is that if muscle & liver glycogen are depleted raised insulin levels will not result in glucose being converted to fat. This is because your body will top off your muscle & liver glycogen stores first. Conversely, when insulin levels are low tissue is more likely to be broken down, and fat is your body’s first source of fuel.

Fortunately, manipulating this is not rocket surgery; the centerpiece of a strategic bulk is your carbohydrate intake. When you ingest carbohydrates they ultimately get broken down and enter the bloodstream as glucose. So if you want to put on weight while keeping your fat accumulation to a minimum you need make sure that the carbohydrates you consume are being used for something, and not just stored as fat. In this case that really only means three things: stopping catabolism after sleeping, being used as fuel pre-workout, or being used to raise insulin levels post-workout and shuttling glucose to your muscles. Let’s cover these three now.


1) Breakfast: When you get up in the morning you’ve been fasting for several hours, at least eight if you’re doing it right. Your insulin levels at this point are the lowest they will be all day, and you are at the highest risk for catabolism. Your liver has also spent the night pulling glycogen out of its stores to make sure that your blood sugar stays stable and doesn’t murder you while you sleep. What this means is that carbohydrates you ingest with breakfast are going to help get your insulin up which stops the catabolic cycle that occurs when you sleep, and those carbohydrates are most likely going to restore glycogen in your liver and not be stored as fat.

2) Pre-Workout: The 2nd time in which you can safely consume carbohydrates is prior to working out. Your body is going to need fuel for the battering you’re about to put your muscles through. In this case consuming some complex carbohydrates and finishing them up about an hour – 45 minutes before hitting the gym is going to result in your body using the byproducts of those carbs mostly as fuel for the workout as opposed to storing them as fat.

3) The final area in which carbohydrates can safely be consumed is post workout. So you’ve gone ahead and put in your reps at the gym and now your glycogen stores are low, in both your liver and muscles. You also want to get protein and nutrients to the muscle tissue you just decimated in your workout. Fortunately carbohydrates help here too. Simple carbohydrates result in a quicker spike in insulin levels as they are broken down into glucose quicker. As mentioned previously insulin is the storage hormone of your body. This quick spike means that your body (your muscles) is rapidly ready to consume the protein and carbs that you take in from your post workout meal or shake. In other words those carbs aren’t going to fat either. They’re going to restore the glycogen that your muscles burned during the workout, and they’re going to result in a spike in insulin that shuttles the protein you consume into repairing and strengthening the muscles you just worked.
 
      Some people ingest simple carbohydrates while working out; this is the 4th safe time to consume carbohydrates. I’m not including it here because it shouldn’t change much if you’re cutting or bulking. Unless you want to be a complete slob. The principle here is that you’re using simple carbs mid workout because they break down rapidly and are rapidly available as ‘fuel’ for your body.

October 13, 2011 Upper

  • Incline Bench: 225*7 225*6 215*6
  • Neutral Grip Pullups: 14, 9
  • Dips: BW*15 BW*13 BW*8
  • Standing Press: 145*5 145*4
  • Face Pulls: 60*12 60*13

FINALLY got dips to work without hurting my clavicles.  I was going too low before I believe and putting too much stress on them. This was MUCH better.  My shoulders were jelly after doing them and the inclines so my standing press numbers took a dip here.  Felt great doing the dips though. Totally worth it. 

October 12, 2011 Conditioning

  • Over Box Series Jumps / PUPP S.S.: 8kg*10/1:00 12.5 lbs*10 / 1:00 12.5*10/1:00 12.5*10/1:00
  • Plyo Bench Pushups: 4, 3, 3
  • Knee Stretch: 1:00 1:00
  • TKEs: 50

I tried holding a weight while doing these over box jumps, worked out well.   Did some bench pushups since I don't do enough plyo stuff for my upper body.  Below you can see the knee stretch I did, it's from this T-Nation article.  I did the one on the far left, with no reach.   Finished with TKEs.  I need to start taking stretching/mobility work seriously so I'm going to be tracking what I do from here on out. 

October 11, 2011

October 11, 2011 Lower

  • Squats: 300*3 315*2 335*1 350*X
  • Snatches: 95*4 135*3 145*2
  • Good Mornings: 185*3 135*8
  • Pistols: 6
  • P.U.P.P.: 2:31 NEW PR!!
  • Ab-Wheel: 12

I should be able to squat 350 but on this attempt I unracked it ultra-shitty.  You generally want to have a belly full of air, I was exhaling as I descended. Stupid.   Snatches went well, I'm focusing on breaking the weight off the floor rapidly, may do some speed deadlifting after regular deadlifting this week.   Good mornings for lower back.  Somehow got 6 on pistols.  They look VERY weird when I do them using my right leg though, kind of like things aren't straight, my upper leg goes in and crookedly, I need to post a video.  Beasted out the PUPP, not sure I ever want to do that again.

October 10, 2011 Upper

  • BB Flat Bench: 280*3 285*2 275*2 225*10
  • Pullups: 75*2 65*3 65/BW G.S.: 2/7
  • Push Press: 185*3 205*3 210*1
  • Meadows Rows: 135*3 160*1
  • Rope Slams: 30, 30

 Getting back to normal on heavy benching after the summer of higher rep stuff.  That was fun, but I like lifting heavier best.  Did a giant set on the pullups for the heck of it, feelsgoodman.jpg, everything else went well, push pressing is going good, honing form still, I want to get it to where 99% of the time my form is perfect, still feel like I'm not quite there yet.  Finished with some rope slams for a metabolic component.  I want to be particularly shredded on Halloween

October 9, 2011 Conditioning

  • 7kg MB Slams: 50, 50, 50
  • 34" Plyo Box Jumps: 4kg*10 8kg*10
  • 34" Seated Plyo Box Jumps: 10kg*10 12kg*10
  • Paloffs: 50*3 60*2

So since I can't quite get onto the medium & tall box stacked on each other (about 39") without worrying about catching my shins on the steel frame, I decided to hold a weight in front of me while jumping on the regular height box.  This way I'll get used to jumping with the extra weight, should make getting on the taller stack easier.  Honestly though I wish they had soft boxes to jump on instead of these steel ones, seems like a leg-break hazard.  Apparently the club in Medford has soft boxes.  Also liked how holding a kettlebell while doing the jumps took the arm swing out of the movement and made me focus more on legs. 

October 7, 2011

October 7, 2011 Lower Body BEAST MODE

  • Leg Press: 540*4 630*3 720*2 NEW PR!! 810*1 NEW PR!! 855*1 NEW PR!!
  • Glute-Bridges: 405*3 455*3 NEW PR!!  505*2 NEW PR!!
  • Elevated-Foot Rope Pullups: 14, 13, 10


WHARGARBL.  OK, so I was starving for this workout, I thought I was going to pass out about 5 minutes in.  I thought my old record on leg pressing was like 780.  Apparently it was 700.  I beat that 3 straight sets, and my final set was 155 lbs. over my previous record.  I was actually out of room on the sled for weight, I had to balance a 45 behind the foot plate.  Also thought on glute bridges that 455 was my old record, turns out it was 405. I beat that by 100 lbs. for a double. So yeah...good session

October 6, 2011 Upper

  • BB Incline: 225*8+1 225*6+1
  • Pullups: 14, 10
  • Standing Press: 140*8 160*4
  • Shoulder-Touch Planks: 12

Was super pressed for time here, still got in a good session though.  I'm not sure what my record is for dead hang pullups but I feel like I could hit it soon whatever it is.  Did some forced rep on the incline too. Good stuff.  

October 5, 2011 Sprints

  • 100m Sprints: 8
  • 50m Sprints: 4


 It was nice and cool out, strong breeze as well kept me nice and cool while running.  Finished in about 25 minutes. 

October 4, 2011 Lower

  • Snatches: 95*1,1,1,1,1 135*1,1,1 155*1,X,X,1 165*x 135*1,1,1,1,1 135*1,1,1 95*1,1,1,1
  • Front Squats: 225*2 245*1 255*1
  • Overhead Squats: 135*2 135*5
  • P.U.P.P.: 1:15

Since I'm not doing back squats I decided to try getting form down on snatches.  My #1 biggest thing I need to work on right now is my speed off the ground.  I'm so slow it looks like I'm deadlifting even with 135.  Every few reps I pull it off the ground fast and snap it up and over in one movement, but 80% of these reps were slow and looked like 3 separate movements done rapidly together instead of one fluid thing.   One of the trainers was talking about overhead squats and I realized I hadn't done them in a while so I tossed them in there as well.