* strict form on the rowing and made sure i dont move my torso. resistance down to 120lb. form felt solid. will use the seated lat machine for heavy pulling.
* added wrist curls to kill time when i'm recovering between push/pull routine. i can't do much on the neck curls because i'm tired from that and delaoding. i'm doing very high volume sets but still taking as much time as i need to recover between sets. i'm usually good by the 5-7 min mark but up to 10min on the 4th-5th set. if i can't recover the first 1-2 sets within 5 mins, the weight is too heavy or i cut the reps to 15s. grind it out on the 15s until i get strong enough to raise it to 20 reps, add weight and start over.
* very strong this afternoon. 25-50g carb pre-intra and 50g hydrolized whey towards end of workout. volumes doing well. prefer to do the hand supported rows because my torso is getting tired doing two hand rows.
* lowerback fatigued a little from the smith calf raises. skipped that and back to seated but with these lighter 20reps, the 4 plates should not hurt my quads. i quit this exercise months ago because the 7x45lb was crushing my mid quads.
* felt very strong after taking down 4 plantains post workout this morning 800kcal/200carb (200kcal / 50g carb each) with a 500kcal/100g prot grilled chicken breast. * had to find a way to add resistance to my upperbody push. the chest press machine i tried again this morning did not feel as good as the dips. cannot add more to my 135-150 dips because i get pushed up on the machine. back to bw dips and will add little weight soon with belt. lowerback felt solid. * rowing the 180 to 20 reps. no straps. sets take too long. circulation to hands not so good with straps. did the 180 with pause/reset every 4 reps.
* lowerback did not tire from the shoulder press this morning. keep this going. i like how this machine hits my front delts. feels like an isolation motion for the delts because i barely feel anything on my tricep. its an overhead press with split handles that converge at the top.
* gym too busy and was not able to use the seated row. trap bar actually felt better. its the dips in reverse. i like it. don't know how much the gyms trap bar weigh but will weigh it soon.
* will assume the trap bar is 50lb. its the heavy duty version with the double grip. could be 60lb but definitely over 45lb. since 25s are perfect for not bottoming out, i stayed with the double 25s instead of 25 and some change and lowered the reps to 15. i was losing form on the 16+ reps. the bar will tag my glutes because i'm not rowing to the back when i get tired. 15 is good for now. will bring it to 20 when i get strong on this. * squats tired. deload to 10s.
* took my rowing to another level and deload down to 100 but with very strict form - torso as parallel to ground as possible and i grip the 25lb hex plate for a wider grip. the regular heavy rowing with 150 has the same form for the first few reps and then my delts take over when it gets harder. rowing is very complicated. * during a townhall meeting at work (gene.com), it seems like things are looking good for our anti-myostatin drug for DMD treatment. i was half asleep after a big meal then i hear something from our plant manager and became interested. "Results from a Phase Ib/II study of the investigational adnectin fusion protein RG6206 in young male adolescents with DMD. These data will highlight the myostatin suppression levels achieved and its potential effect in increasing lean body mass volume."
* was planning on doing trap bar RDLs but decided to skip it so i don't tire my back. used the trap bar for rows and the movement felt great. i can use this exercise for volumes. this pulling is more on the low to mid. something very good for the lower rhomboid area. the top ROM has to be pulled towards the rear end because thats the only way the bar clears my glutes. sloppy form gets checked with that.
* very strong this afternoon after taking in 200g+ carbs worth of mangoes post workout this morning. thats 800kcal from carbs, 500kcal from the double chicken breast and 200kcal from a potato. 1.5K kcal x2meals roughly meets my 3K+ daily to maintain. * will start incorporating carb timing into my routine. my physique bros do that all the time but i was not convinced that it will have a big impact on me because i dont have the same hormone levels as they do. i thought il just get fat. il try it slowly. same daily calorie total but will shift some calories in pre and peri workout shakes. got the quick acting carbs (karbolyn) from amazon already and some good quality hydrolized (quickest acting) whey from costco (iso100). * might do this intra-workout carb routine after i get better with the metabolic sets of volumes. il max at sets of 10s and try to decrease my rest time.
* modified my lifting schedule for mondays as i have a 2-6pm work meeting. had to start the morning workout early at 2-3ish am. had the gym to myself again and did the routine circuit style. * 7hr fasted since 7pm and had my first day of pre-intra workout fancy carbs. took 25g karbolyn preworkout and sip thru another 25g intra. did not feel any sugar rush or heart palpitations from the carbs. must be mentally pysched because of this and did so many sets of 20s. was planning 10s only. weights used for the metabolic sets were not very light. still in the 50%ish+ of heavy sets. i looked thicker after the volume sets. veins got thick. not a bad feeling. * did not rush thru the workout like a newbie but was excited that i'm not running out of steam. the 315x10 on squats yesterday was too heavy for 10s. have to lower that so i don't burnout. the 315 this morning felt heavier even with my bloated legs full of glycogen.
* got my order of the strawberry flavored karbolyn and it was delicious. sipping 25g intra after a straight 25g pre-workout. i use the unflavored for preworkout. no taste. no issues. will slowly increase the carb intake and see if i bulk up without getting too fat.
* had a 9:30-4:30pm work schedule today and tmrw. i was struggling to stay awake 12pm onwards. got home before 5pm and passed out til 7:30pm. woke up totally confused what was happening and when things made sense, shower and 25g karbolyn pre-workout. 25g intra and here comes the 20s. * might up the intra carbs by another 25g since i feel good sipping it. i can do the 225s x20 without breaking a sweat (literally).
* did my planned 50g intra workout carbs now after a 25g pre workout. i'm not getting fat so il continue with this. last day of this crappy day shift schedule. i might find a way to go home by 3pm today. passout til 6-7ish and lift at night.
night Squats 315-365-405, 225 20x1 sets Shoulders seated machine dips 135 20x4 sets Rows seated rows high pull neutral grip 130-140 20x2 sets each | seated lat pulldown machine 120 20x2 sets Neck neck curls 75 20x4 sets
* drank more coffee to stay more awake for my daytime meeting but got me a little dehydrated at the end. slept 4:30pm-7pm and was 192lb dry. did my 25-50g pre-intra carb drink again. i was surprised that i was very strong this afternoon. i got going and added 10lbs to my volumes. * i cannot go a lot heavier on the machine dips because il get pushed up. 150 tmrw morning on dips. doing the pulling also without the straps. i dont want to blow a bloodvessel in my hands because the sets take 2min+ to complete.
do you recommend feet touching narrow stance full squat?
I think that may have been why i got my right knee to be achy.... I was doing a 225lb super narrow full squat , feet literally touching
thats something i leave for the bodybuilders doing high reps/moderate to low weight with the goals of shaping their quads.
doing that form with heavy weights is taxing the knee area too much. you can do it but dont go too heavy. big guys doing it with little weights and high reps are on metabolic training.
* i showed this exercise a few days ago to 300lb+ samoan beast and my buddy was able to rep 135-150lb for 10 controlled reps. thats a weight most people use for lat pulldown. * i'm using 60lbx5s. 75lbx3 max so far as i'm only doing them for a few weeks only. got a lot of room to improve.
high pull rowing. 180lb fail. i got lifted up. 165lb x10s. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P23rq65hK40" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P23rq65hK40</a>
* posterior shoulders work hard on these. dont feel much on the mid back. the mid rowing takes care of that.
* found a way to do the high pull rowing using another setup. i was able to go heavier than 140 because of better leverage on keeping myself planted. did 180 and i was not able to keep myself seated. * did volumes of squats on the smith to keep fatigue low. the movement feels very good.
afternoon Squats 315-365-405 | smith machine 275 3x1 sets | 315 3x3 sets Shoulders smith machine close grip bench 275 3x2 sets, 205 10x1 sets each Rows high pull neutral grip 165 10x3 sets Neck neck curls 60 5x2 sets | 75 5x2 sets | 90 3x1 sets
* bw 194 dry/fasted. was very strong on the squats. after effect of the morning smith volumes. did them again as backoffs. i might give this combo a try. minimal singles on the free weight and then go volumes on the machine. i should get thicker faster with this because fatigue will not accumulate as fast. * rest on the horizontal rowing.
* felt like the smith machine squats is very quad and glute driven without any action for my p-chain. added some very light sets of hex bar DL to get used to the movement again. * did my seated cable rows elevated a little sitting on a 30lb db. the movement felt a lot better because the pulling is very close to being horizontal. * about time i started doing some calf work. i have an afternoon work meeting today. woke up early and 2am gym time. i had everything to myself. did all circuit style. strong breakfast of chicken beasts and potatoes. big sleep and lift again tonight.
* post workout bw down to 193lb. the morning routine burned a lot of calories. i was still very strong on the squat singles because of thicker legs form the volumes this morning. the RDL did not dom anything but i feel my hams and glutes got involved. * tried to see how much volume i can do on the 100lb high pull. the middle pulleys max out at that weight. got to 40 and became bored.
* the double rope attachment on the high pulling rows gets my side shoulders all the action. its the pulling apart motion that targets this sides/back. i got muscle spasms / near-miss cramps after i did a set to 20 to warm up on my right anterior delt. * neck curling getting very strong now.
* smith machine pressing over-fatigued from the volumes of 205-225 x10s a couple of days back. will use the seated shoulder press as backoffs. this machine stacks out at 165. the motion of the double rope high pull rowing hits the posterior delts best. its the pulling and diverging towards to top ROM that gets all the action to the rear delts. i used the shoulder press machine because its almost the same motion as the rope rowing but reversed. it must be good for the other side of the delts (front).
* added volumes of 10s for volume backoffs. will try if intra workout carbs + higher volumes make a difference in making me thicker and stronger. i know it will not be as effective when ur not anabolic as those on cycle but it doesn't hurt to try. * this volume idea is already working in a way because i'm very lean right now at 194lb but the heavy squat singles are feeling easier lately as an effect of the back-off volumes. must be the blood/nutrients making my legs fuller. will slowly play with the volumes and make sure i don't overdo it and burn myself out. il still be doing this daily or twice daily.
* was able to full stack the seated rowing at 300x3. ROM was solid. weakish on the smith pressing. not regressing but not able to do more triples. don't want the rep to be too slow and fry my lowerback. neck gains slowing down now. 90-105 for a few more days.
chicken thigh and ricex2 - 1840 740x2 banana protein shake - 1480 3320kcal without the nuts on protein shake. will see if this maintains 194lb
protein shake recipe: 740kcal updated without nuts. lowering uric acid. 2 scoop protein - 260 (130 each) 4 banana - 480 (120 each) 2 cups peanuts 340 (170 each) - skip 1 cup cashew 170 skip 5g creatine mono 0
protein - 50 powder, 16 nutsx0 , 8 cashiewx0 = 50g chicken thigh 18g total protein per meal - 68g protein per day 136g
home cooked meal - 920 3 grilled chicken thigh - 720 (240 each) 1 cup rice 200 misc - leg of lamb 240g - 720kcal per meal.
April Week 3 of 4
Sun April 15
morning Squats 315s-365-405 Shoulders smith machine close grip bench 255 3x4 sets Rows seated cable rows straight bar 225-240-255 5x3 sets each Neck neck curls 30 10x4 sets, 20x1 sets | 45 5x4 sets
* lowerback feeling very good now for the last couple of weeks even with all the volumes of rowing and smith pressing. i'm weak on the squat because of the calorie cutting. * added neck curls to my exercise rotation. something i learned from a guy in vegas gym on my last vacation. he was doing all sorts of neck workout on the leg curl/extension machine. his neck gains were real. i did my neck workout easier on the lat pulldown machine. i place my neck on top of the handle (split handles) and curled away. i prefer to train the bicep part of the neck (front) because the back side gets me the big trap look. * i have a neck harness but prefer to not use it in public. and i look like a try hard boxer looking for attention. it messes up my hair too. the lat machine neck curls look simple. just put a towel and bow away.
* neck felt alright after waking up. little tightness while sleeping but no doms. added more weight. all paused reps.
Mon April 16
morning Squats 315s-365-405 Shoulders smith machine close grip bench 275 2x5 sets Rows seated cable rows straight bar high pull 140 10x4 sets | high pull neutral grip 140 10x4 sets Neck neck curls 45 5x4 sets, 60 3x2 sets
afternoon Squats 315s-365-405 Shoulders smith machine close grip bench 275 2x4 sets Rows seated cable rows straight bar 225-240-255 5x2 sets each | wide neutral grip 150-165-180-195 10x1 sets each, 255 5x1 sets each
* my neck is tight in a good way. felt like it wants to curl heavy things. skipped this afternoon for better recovery. smith pressing doing well. start and kept it at 275s.
* was a little worried that il be tired this afternoon from the extended no-sleep because of the first day of work. i added more fruit carbs and it did its job. bw is the same 196ish but felt thicker and stronger this afternoon. 275x3s on bench and was also able to row 285x3 (300max stack). form is full on the rowing otherwise i would not have done the rep. elbow behind plane of back. * neck curl up to 75 now.
* bw 195ish. since im not thick enough for 455s, i might as well go lean as i can with routine 405 top singles. added some mid-heavy 10s for backoffs. took day off from work tonight. coworker got me coughing in the last few days. will rest it out so i don't turn this into a full blown sickness.
afternoon Squats 315s-365-405 Shoulders smith machine close grip bench 245 3x7 sets, 275 3x1 sets Rows seated face pull rope grip 140 10x4 sets, 150 10x1 sets | seated cable rows shoulder width straight bar 180 5x2 sets, 195 5x2 sets | one arm cable rows 80 10x2 sets
* been doing very high volumes of pulling lately. im at a very lean 198lb at the moment. lower back feels very fresh even with all the smith pressing. squats not very strong because legs lack thickness. could add back off volumes but i prefer to use my energy for the rowing and smith pressing. multi sets of 275x3s for shoulders is a good maintenance routine.
chicken thigh and ricex2 - 1840 740x2 banana protein shake - 1480 3320kcal without the nuts on protein shake. will see if this maintains 194lb
protein shake recipe: 740kcal updated without nuts. lowering uric acid. 2 scoop protein - 260 (130 each) 4 banana - 480 (120 each) 2 cups peanuts 340 (170 each) - skip 1 cup cashew 170 skip 5g creatine mono 0
protein - 50 powder, 16 nutsx0 , 8 cashiewx0 = 50g chicken thigh 18g total protein per meal - 68g protein per day 136g
home cooked meal - 920 3 grilled chicken thigh - 720 (240 each) 1 cup rice 200 misc - leg of lamb 240g - 720kcal per meal.
April Week 1 of 4
Sun April 1
morning Squats 315s-365-405, 225 5x4 sets Shoulders smith machine close grip bench 225 3x4 sets, 255 3x3 sets | seated machine dips 150-165-180 10x1 sets each Rows one arm cable mid pull 80lb 3x4 sets, seated cable row 180-195 5x1 sets each | bw wide grip pullups 3x7 sets
* lower back feeling very fresh now. i did my smith bench pressing with my back friendly feet elevated on box with crossed legs just to make sure.
afternoon Squats 315s-365-405, 225 5x1 sets, 275 3x2 sets Shoulders smith machine close grip bench 225 3x4 sets, 255 3x2 sets Rows one arm cable high pull 100lb 3x4 sets
* now i need to get carb loaded again to feel thicker. i'm at a very lean 200lb wet bw. 198lb when i wake up. might also not bulk up because summer is here and can't be fatty on summer.
* lots of rowing. back felt good. squat form feeling very smooth with all these light back off volumes. not 455 strong because of the leaness but not complaining. * i usually add some form of SVJ/explosive exercise whenever i get very lean. might do them in the near future for more conditioning and calorie burn.
afternoon Squats 315s-365-405 Shoulders smith machine close grip bench 225lb 3x4 sets, 255lb 3x1 sets Rows seated cable row wide grip 150lb-165lb-180lb-195lb 5x1 sets each, 210lb-225lb 3x1 sets each | seated face pull rope grip 100lb 5x2 sets
* part of the street i live in was closed due to another shooting. only shooter died. i live down the street from youtube HQ. * all abs showing now and i lost my 455 gains. will try and bulk another time. il max 435 at best. putting more effort in the shoulder work. 245 on the smith hits the spot. will continue with multi sets of triples. face pulls using dual rope grip feels very good for my back shoulders. already maxd the 200lb stack and was able to get 20 reps this morning. not a single thing was domd this afternoon from that.
* squats beginning to feel easier. bw 198lb. i was already at 207.5 a couple of weeks back doing 455 outside the pins. lost the gains. enjoying the rope pulling for my anterior delts. looking thick there right now.
afternoon Squats 315s-365-405 Shoulders smith machine close grip bench 245 3x7 sets Rows seated face pull rope grip 100 10x4 sets
* don't know how i was able to use very heavy weights on the seated dip machine here and not get pushed up. the 10 reps on 330 did feel like i was doing weighted dips. kept squats to 405 but feel good now for at least a 435. bacchanal buffet tonight. woot! * got an annoying crushed feeling on my left mid quad area during sleep post workout. the seated calf raises are adding fatigue to my quads. now i'm not very sure if the pullups/dips combo few days back strained my back. weaker quads mess with my squat form. i can subconsciously shift the weight to the lowerback on the pause (lesser plantar flex) if i don't have enough quad explosiveness. that wreaks the back. will skip the calfs and see if my quad strength shoots back up strong.
Wed Mar 28
morning Squats 315s-365-405 Shoulders seated machine dips 240-255-270-285-300-315 10x1 sets each Rows one arm cable high pull 70lb 5x3 sets Pullups wide grip neutral bw 3x4 sets
* skipped calf work this morning. the 7x45lb did some damage to my quads yesterday. squats felt heavier than usual.
morning Squats 315s-365-405 Shoulders seated machine dips 255-270-285-300 10x1 sets each Rows one arm cable high pull 70lb 5x5 sets Calves standing smith machine calf raises 405 3x3 sets
* the old school equipment at 24hr tropicana only goes to 70lb for my rowing. everything else is alright. seated dip machine is awesome. legs feeling a lot better when i started skipping the seated calf raises. going to SF by lunch.
Fri Mar 30
afternoon Squats 315s-365-405 Shoulders smith machine close grip bench 185 3x2 sets, 225 3x4 sets, 275 2x2 sets Rows one arm cable high pull 100lb 3x4 sets Calves bw standing calf raises 20x1 sets
Sat Mar 31
afternoon Squats 315s-365-405 Shoulders smith machine close grip bench 225 3x4 sets, 5x3 sets Rows one arm cable mid pull 80lb 3x4 sets, seated cable row 150-165-180-195 5x1 sets each, 210-225 3x1 sets each Calves standing smith machine raises 405 3x4 sets
* bw 200lb dry. no wonder i'm not feeling very strong. had buffets and lots of heavy eating at vegas but when i do that, i tend to eat a lot more meat and drop my carbs (so i can eat more of the expensive and awesome wagnu beefs, tri-tips lambs.. etc.) don't want to waste a $60+ buffet getting full with potatoes and rice.
* getting back to normal after the 3-day workweek. will probably go 455 later and back to 275 triples. skipped smith calf raises for more back recovery.
* the heavy smith machine calf raises added some back crushing fatigue. not enough to strain or injure anything but i can feel that my torso is not as solid as i want it to be to pause rep 455. 405 was alright.
* finished everything very quickly because i took little breaks altenating the pullups-dips. was planning to add more rest time the moment the pullups start to lose explosiveness. got to 7 sets of triples without a grind at 3-5min break max. * squats still alright but decided to wait another workout before i go very heavy later. did some walking to build more appetite.
afternoon Squats 315s-365-405-455 #228 Shoulders seated chest press reverse grip 150-165-180-195 3x1 sets each, 210-225-240-255 3x1 sets each Rows one arm cable rows mid pull 80 3x5 sets | one arm cable rows high pull 100 3x4 sets
* the 455 should have been a lot easier but since i haven't lifted this for days, i put the pins on. and i tap the left pin. strong enough to push it back up from a pause even if i had to balance it back to place after the mishap. * i want to lift the heavy again tmrw morning. i skipped the pullups-dips because these also add fatigue to my lower back. keeping my lowerbody braced on these bw exercise gets my midsection tired. i have a heavy lowerbody to stabilize.
Tue Mar 20
morning Squats 315s-365-405-455 #229 Shoulders smith machine close grip decline press 185 3x2 sets, 205 3x1 sets, 225 3x4 sets Rows one arm cable rows mid pull 80 3x5 sets | one arm cable rows high pull 100 3x2 sets
* my gym needs to get the seated calf raise machine fixed. i dont want to use the smith on standing calf raises because my back needs to be fresh for the heavy. did the 455 this morning without the pins. no issues.
morning Squats 315s-365-405, 225x3 Shoulders smith machine close grip decline press 225 3x2 sets Rows seated cable rows 195 3x2 sets | one arm cable row high pull 100 3x2 sets Calves seated calf raise soleus 5x45lb 3x2 sets, 6x45lb 3x2 sets
* skipping 455 for 2 workouts now. keeping back fresh. il try later and start the 4-night workweek. i might have underestimated the lowerback fatigue coming from the seated cable rows. there is no off-hand bracing. i initially thought the weights would be light enough to not tire anything. need to skip these now and do one-arm only.
* did not feel like fighting a 455 this afternooon. lowerback not 100% fresh yet.
Thur Mar 22
afternoon Squats 315s-365-405 Shoulders bw dips 5x2 sets Rows one arm cable row high pull 100 3x4 sets Calves seated calf raise soleus 6x45lb 3x2 sets, 7x45lb 3x1 sets
* something got tired on my lowerback. the smith pressing probably did not help that too. staying off the heavy until i fix this.
Fri Mar 23
morning Squats 315s-365-405 Shoulders standing one arm landmine press 1x45lb 3x3 sets, 1x45lb+25lb 3x2 sets, 1x45lb+35lb 3x1 sets, 2x45lb 3x1 sets Rows one arm cable row high pull 100 3x4 sets | one arm cable rows mid pull 80 3x5 sets, 5x1 sets Calves seated calf raise soleus 6x45lb 3x3 sets, 7x45lb 3x1 sets
* took some day off work. got good sleep and did a morning workout.
afternoon Squats 315s-365-405 Shoulders standing one arm landmine press 1x45lb 3x2 sets, 1x45lb+25lb 3x2 sets, 2x45lb 3x3 sets Rows one arm cable row high pull 100 3x4 sets | one arm cable rows mid pull 80 3x3 sets | one arm cable upright rows 25 10x2 sets, 50x3, 60x3 Calves seated calf raise soleus 6x45lb 3x2 sets, 7x45lb 3x2 sets
Sat Mar 24
morning Squats 315s-365-405 Shoulders bw dips 3x7 sets, 5x5 sets Rows one arm cable row high pull 100 3x4 sets | one arm cable rows mid pull 80 3x4 sets Calves seated calf raise soleus 6x45lb 3x3 sets, 7x45lb 3x1 sets
* will stop all pressing that compresses my lowerback. i'm not getting any worst but i'm not getting very strong either. calves are alright.
afternoon Squats 315s-365-405 Shoulders bw dips 3x2 sets, 10x4 sets Rows one arm cable row high pull 100 3x4 sets | one arm cable rows mid pull 80 3x4 sets Calves seated calf raise soleus 6x45lb 3x4 sets
* its the squat cage floor thats probably bothering my back. no weak feeling this afternoon but decided to skip another workout and go for the heavy tmrw. used another gym today and the dip machine was high enough that my leg was not bottoming out. felt so much better doing dips this way.
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