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 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 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.

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.