^ no testosterone cycles for me ever. read so many things about AAS and i always end up to the same conclusion.. its not healthy and will make you age so fast. gains are temporary and side effects are always there. man boobs, hairloss and acne..no thanks. i like fat and strong.
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Lol, yeah not really surprising that you can out pull big benchers when your back has morphed into that of an NFL linebacker. Good god. I get that you let your self gain a little weight so when you diet down to dunk you don't look like a skinny twig... Somehow you have only put on 15 lbs and your back and arms look ridiculously huge. It's just one angle and not the best video to judge body comp... But it looks like you have ridiculous back development, 17'' arms and still pretty low bodyfat... I'd say you have more than enough mass to diet down without fears of looking skinny..
probably from all the nutropin i'm formulating at work.
the horizontal pulling movement is something almost everybody in the gym is doing wrong. too heavy and too little ROM for the muscles your are targeting. it is hard to master because you really have to eat your ego and start out with weights you can control thru the full rom. i started heavy already because i served my time building up to a 90lbx5 weighted chins.
nice! looks strong. what is that equiv too, a ~90 lb. strict one arm row? better ROM like you said on the machine .. a big DB would be slamming into your chest with that pronated grip.
Thanks 4plates feel at least in the high 90s but could be heavier. It's so much easier to pull heavy if you don't spend energy balancing the resistance.
I rep 80lb kb to 20. That's a very similar motion and a no-balancing required resistance. 4 plates is in the 100s. Would be nice if I can find a 100lb plus kb.
* did my horizontal pulling single arm to really focus on getting full ROM. it made the exercise a lot easier. did 4 plates easily. i'm pulling stronger than most guys who bench a lot of weight. my upperbody push has been left behind but i don't worry about it. 185-225lb close grip bench is as much as il rep out. been back to bench because the push up setup just takes too much time and not available sometimes.
4x45lb one arm horizontal pulling <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_JMSsNsQHM" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_JMSsNsQHM</a>
* here in vegas for a 3 day vacation. tired from the plane trip and abnormal sleep pattern. skipped the 405 this afternoon. will do it later in the early morning. have to lift early because when the sun shows up here.. its 100F+.. sauna hot.
Mon Aug 22
morning paused full squats 315s-365-405 hammerstrength iso row 3x45lb 5x1 sets, 4x45lb 5x1 sets, 3x45lb+25lb 10x1 sets
* felt a lot stronger this morning after getting fluids in. buffet and hot vegas temp got me dehydrated a little. i was not going to get that 405 last night even with a strong diet, preworkout nap and at this 205+ bw. got stupid and did not drink enough water. just realized it now because i was really drinking a lot of water last night. * knew i was dehydrated because i was skinny 205lb when i checked my weight.
* some good signs in my leg strength. been over a week now of no backoffs. overpowered 405 with good speed this afternoon. * my upperbody pull warmup with 4 plates already. i'm adding another 25lb and bring the rep down to 5 soon. had the best buffet in vagas so far at the BLT steak bruch in ballys. most expensive but worth it if you like lobsters and lamb. i sprinkled caviar on lamb.. woot.
* will return to SF this afternoon. might be weak later so did more things this morning. ice cold gatorade preworkout helped a lot in this hot vegas morning. i respond well to carbs. my tricep bench felt solid. shoulder wide grip and bring the bar to the lower chest with elbows tucked to the sides. very good mass builder for my tricep and front delts with some upper chest too but minimal. i like the unloading too because my head is all the way at the top edge of the bench making the pushoff not as awkward.
* 3 hr nap after flight. slept 1 hr during flight. grip strength is struggling now with my pulling. the hammerstrength row machine tops out at 5 plates. i'm at 4x45lb+25lb but 5s for now only. i got some time to grow here.
Wed Aug 24
morning paused full squats 315s-365-405 +20 hammerstrength iso row 4x45lb 5x4 sets seated calf raise soleus 5x45lb 10x1 sets
* might for for a 405+ paused rep top single later.
* my rows are not getting tired. did more volume again this morning. calf raises are starting to progress again. back to 6 plates using just the calves - no arms on support. could go 6x45s to 10 reps soon.
afternoon paused full squats 315s-365-405 hammerstrength iso row 3x45lb 10x2 sets seated calf raise soleus 5x45lb 16x2 sets kb push up feet elevated 20x1 sets
Mon Aug 15
morning paused full squats 315s-365-405 hammerstrength iso row 3x45lb 10x2 sets | 3x45lb+25lb 10x1 sets seated calf raise soleus 5x45lb 16x1 sets kb push up feet elevated 20x2 sets
* squats feeling better already from skipping the 315 backoffs. will continue this way until i top off at 455. my horizontal pull is so strong. need to use the straps soon. my grip is dying now.
morning paused full squats 315-315-315 db bent over row 65lb 20x2 sets seated calf raise soleus 6x45lb 8x1 sets
afternoon paused full squats 315s-365-405 | 315lb 8x1 sets kb bent over row 80lb 10x1 sets (36kg) bw chins bw 20x1 sets seated calf raise soleus 6x45lb 8x1 sets
* kb rows feels much better than dbs because of better leverage. i can pull closer to my body because of the shape of the kb. * had to reset the chins at 16th rep because my grip gave up. did another easy 4 after reseting my grip. still called it 20. i could have done it straight if i had used straps. i'm 210lb at gym.
Mon Aug 8
morning paused full squats 315s kb bent over row 80lb 10x1 sets (36kg) kb push up feet elevated neutral grip 20x2 sets seated calf raise soleus 6x45lb 10x2 sets
* also noticed on the kb rows that the distribution of weight of kb vs db favors the kb a lot. i can concentrate more on pulling it up with no balancing issues. the movement felt like my one arm cable rows but this time, i'm not stuck on 75lb.
afternoon paused full squats 315s-365-405 | no-pause 315 8x2 sets kb bent over row 80lb 20x1 sets (36kg) kb push up feet elevated neutral grip 20x1 sets seated calf raise soleus 6x45lb 5x2 sets | 5x45lb 10x2 sets
* the calf raise machine in another gym is leather padded and slides out easily. did not feel comfortable doing 10s with 6 plates. i thought i'd be 440lb strong by now. i'm not. the skipped 405 in the morning is helping but i need to stop doing volumes of 315 if i want to focus on my top heavy single. the 8s this after did not help that. i will skip the squat next morning and see if 2 sets of sleep can get me stronger. * the 80lb kb felt very light this afternoon. whenever i can make use of max leverage, the rows become a lot more comfortable movement. i was pulling the kb towards my armpit. pretty much an inverse neutral grip pushup. i'm stuck at 80lb. again.
Tue Aug 9
morning paused full squats 315s-365-405 | skip backoffs kb bent over row 80lb 20x1 sets (36kg) kb push up feet elevated neutral grip 20x2 sets seated calf raise soleus 6x45lb 10x1 sets | 5x45lb 14x1 sets
* not only did i not skip the squat, i went all they way to 405. did it because i felt very strong already. i will stick to 315s only on mornings when i feel weakish. but definitely no backoff volumes in the morning. just enough priming so my afternoon will feel smoother.
afternoon paused full squats 315s-365-405 | no-pause 315 16x1 sets kb bent over row 80lb 10x2 sets (36kg) kb push up feet elevated neutral grip 20x2 sets seated calf raise soleus 6x45lb 10x1 sets
Wed Aug 10
morning paused full squats 315s hammerstrength iso row 2x45b 10x2sets | 3x45lb 10x1 sets | 2x45lb+25lb 10x1 sets kb push up feet elevated neutral grip 20x1 sets
* had to do my morning workout very early after a 3 hr nap. have a company even this lunch time and need to sleep before so i don't pass out. no work tonight so another 3-day week back to back..woot. * this hammerstrength iso seated row machine is not so bad after all. i can pull 3x45lb first time using it with room for 3 more plates. i probably use this more for my horizontal pull. db works but i don't like the effort i put on balancing and bigger db also make the top ROM kinda off. kb is awesome but tops out at 80lb.
* lots of volumes of the non-squat routine but still keeping it up daily. i recover fast on loaded upperbody pulls. i suck at loaded upperbody push. i tire with those (bench/db/machine press). i might bring my vest and just go with weighted pushups. * bw 206-210 but can still see upperabs. this is good.
afternoon paused full squats 315s-365-405 kb push up feet elevated neutral grip 20x2 sets
Fri Aug 12
afternoon paused full squats 315s-365-405 hammerstrength iso row 3x45lb 10x2 sets kb push up feet elevated neutral grip 20x2 sets seated calf raises soleus 6x45lb 10x1 sets
* beginning to really like upperbody horizontal push/pull. i'll go heavy on these and some light vertical push/pull just for movements sake.
Sat Aug 13
afternoon paused full squats 315s-365-405 hammerstrength iso row 3x45lb 10x2 sets kb push up feet elevated neutral grip 20x1 sets seated calf raises soleus 5x45lb 16x2 sets
afternoon paused full squats 315s-365-405 | no-pause 315 8x1 sets bw push up on db feet elevated reverse grip 10x2 sets
* been doing the push up x20s with close grip neutral. tried them today with reverse for more tricep action. felt better but it was harder.
Mon Aug 1
morning paused full squats 315s-365-405 | no-pause 315 4x2 sets bw push up on db feet elevated reverse grip 10x1 sets, 20x2 sets
afternoon paused full squats 315s-365-405 +10 | no-pause 315 12x1 sets bw push up on db feet elevated reverse grip 20x1 sets db bent over row 75lb 10x2 sets
* i'm still heavy at 206-210lb but still not overshooting the 405 like before. reread my log to see how i was stronger before at this weight. i need to limit the 405 to 1x/day in the afternoon only. will do 315s only in the morning from now. i'll focus more now on the top heavy single and some easy 315 volumes for thickness as backoffs.
Tue Aug 2
morning paused full squats 315 1x4 sets db bent over rows 75lb 10x2 sets bw push up on db feet elevated reverse grip 20x1 sets
* skipping the heavys in the morning worked well. did 315x20 with 2-3 reps left in my legs.
Wed Aug 3
morning paused full squats 315 1x3 sets db bent over rows 75lb 10x2 sets bw push up on db feet elevated reverse grip 10x2 sets seated calf raises soleus 6x45lb 10x2 sets
* calves getting a lot stronger. back to 6 plates but this time with no hand leverage on the machine handles. i kept my hands on the side and leave all the lifting for the calves. i used the handles only on the racking part. pulling with hands is at least 25-35lb assist. probably even more on the near max top reps. * quads, glutes and hams are not fatigued from the 20s yesterday.
* a few more days of this bare minimum on squats and some bw upperbody push/pull. i'm feeling some leg strength coming back. the paused 405 still has a little slowdown then a powerthru. i need to get to all smooth concentric. then fast concentric. then im back to 440.
afternoon paused full squats 315s-365-405 +15 bw db push-up feet elevated 20x2 sets
* finally lifted 405 without a glitch. this is good. maintain bw upperbody work. had to skip calves this afternoon. took some gout medicine. right ankle got gout tightness. can't abuse volumes of calf work. 2-3 hrs after meds, i was at the gym already.
* bw 208-210 now. no wonder my bw chins feels heavy. its like pulling an extra 25lb when i was 185lb a few months ago. i can do strict 14-16 bw reps right now. no kicking but it has to be the parallel bar without the cross bar in between.
afternoon paused full squats 315s-365-405 +25 | no-pause 315x16 bw db push-up feet elevated x20
Wed July 27
morning paused full squats 315s-365-405 +10 bw db push-up feet elevated 20x1 set
* still overpowered the paused 405 by a little bit the morning following 315x16s.
afternoon paused full squats 315s-365-405 | no-pause 315x16
Thur July 28
afternoon paused full squats 315s-365-405 bw db push-up feet elevated 20x2 set
damn, my quads have atrophied. and my left quad is smaller than my right! its even SOFT when i flex it and push down on it with a finger! they used to be rock hard wtf!!!
def have to try squatting again tomorrow. even if i cant go atg i have to do something...
morning paused full squats 315s | no pause 405x0 | 315 x0 resting backoffs db bent over row 60lbx10 | 70lbx10 reverse close grip smith bench 135lbx10 | 185lbx10
* felt tired this morning. probably from the 185lb x10s last night on the bench. squat stayed at paused singles of 315s and il go for usual routine this afternoon.
afternoon paused full squats 315s-365-405 | no pause 405x0 | 315 x1 resting backoffs bw chins x10 x20 reverse close grip smith bench 135lbx10 | 185lbx10 seated calf raise soleus 5x45lb 10x3sets
* legs feeling better but still very weak for my weight right now. its been almost a week since i stopped with the 405 volumes. i'm still fried from those accumulated beatings.
Mon July 18
morning paused full squats 315s-365-405 | no pause 405x0 | 315 x0 resting backoffs db bent over row 60lbx10 | 70lbx10 reverse close grip smith bench 135lbx10 | 185lbx10 seated calf raise soleus 5x4l5b 10x2sets
afternoon paused full squats 315s-365-405 | no pause 405x0 | 315 x0 resting backoffs db bent over row 60lbx10 | 70lb 10x2 sets | 80lbx10 seated calf raise soleus 5x45b 10x2sets | 6x45lb x10
* my quads are still not getting me an epic comeback probably because i did that stupid 185lb 10x3sets the other day. i recall tensing my legs to get the last 1-2 rep to 10. even at feet elevated, i was still driving the bar up using some lowerbody. remove pressing for now and stick to what does not get me broken. chins/rows and calves.
Tue July 19
morning paused full squats 315s-365-405 db bent over row 70-80-90-100lb x5s db close grip bench feet elevated 70lbx10 | 80lb 10x2sets
* still did some upperbody push using db. at least by the time i (subconsciously) use the lowerbody to get the weight going, my left hand will already given up. dbs are very unforgiving when you tire. there is little fight when the stabilizers calls it a day. * i'm so strong on the bent rows. 80-90lb x10s after doing a 100x5 as top set sounds like a good plan. i really have to watch myself in the mirror to make sure my upperbody is parallel to the floor. if my traps are higher than my hips, i will use some traps to get the weight going. not good for the squat. sore traps makes setting the weight on squats very uncomfortable.
afternooon paused full squats 315s-365-405 db bent over row 70lbx10 | 80lb 10x2sets db close grip bench feet elevated 70lb 10x2sets
Wed July 20
morning paused full squats 315s-365-405 db bent over row 80lb 10x2sets db close grip bench feet elevated 70lb 10x2sets seated calf raises soleus 5x45lb 10x3sets
* did the seated calf raises without my hands holding on the cheat bars. felt stronger contractions on my calves. this is the most honest way of doing them. i can do 6/7 plates the same way but definitely not to 10 reps. be lucky if i can do 5 reps on 7 plates.
afternoon paused full squats 315s-365-405 db bent over row 80lbx10 db close grip bench feet elevated 80lbx10
Thur July 21
afternoon paused full squats 315s-365-405 bw chins x14,6
* squats felt a lot better today. removing the upperbody weighted exercises yesterday helped recovery a lot. i was underestimating the fatigue from db work. i will go back to what works. bw routine for the upperbody. i thought being at 204-208lb bw is enough to recover from db work. * no work tonight. i have some sinus thing going. can't work inside a cleanroom when i'm sick. running nose is annoying but i'm not broken at all.
* modified my dip form to look more like the close grip db press. i had to tilt the upperbody and be parallel to the floor as much as i can. form worked. felt strong for at least 30 reps just by doing dips that way.
morning paused full squats 315s-365-405 | no pause 405x0 | 315 x0 resting backoffs one arm cable rows 75lb 10x2sets
* quads need more time off. i was waking up during sleep because of involuntary kicking/spasms. the more modern gym i go to this morning (24hr fitness) did not have the chest press machine with leveled handles. most are inclined and designed for pronated pushing. did not bother with my upperbody push this morning. save for later.
* legs feel a lot better already. will skip the 405x5s until i feel that the 405x1 pause is explosive enough to get at least a 440lb pause single. this might take a while or it might just take a few more skipped days. i'm 202-204lb now.
afternoon paused full squats 315s-365-405 | no pause 405x0 | 315 x0 resting backoffs standing calf raises smith 405x10 | 495 5x2sets db reverse close grip press 60lbx10 | 70lbx10 | 80lbx5 one arm cable rows 75lbx10
* resting the backoff sets on squats. doing more of the little things. i planned on doing my upperbody tricep push using the reverse grip smith but other people were waiting on me while i was doing my calf raises. i used db and a flat bench. still feet elevated. i was being extra careful in getting to starting position. i've seen many peeps injure and tear their pecs/biceps just by carelessly swinging heavy dumbells to get to starting position. i could do 90-100lb in a few days but would stay with 70-80lb because i don't want to get injured with this.
Tue July 12
morning paused full squats 315s-365-405 | no pause 405x0 | 315 x0 resting backoffs db reverse close grip press 70lbx10 | 80lbx10 one arm cable rows 75lbx10 bw chins x10
* i might have fried myself from the daily higher tonnage 405s/315s x5s. my bodyweight is holding steady at 202-204lb. quads just feel beat. just waiting to bounce back and make use of this 200lb+ bw i got myself into. i'm usually in the 440/455 by this weight but i underestimated the fatigue from daily 405x5s. * at least my upperbody push is strong. db tricep reverse press feels awesome. feels like the best counter movement to my one arm cable rows.
afternoon paused full squats 315s-365-405 | no pause 405x0 | 315 x0 resting backoffs seated alt db shoulder press 60lbx10 | 70lb 5x2setsone arm cable rows 75lbx10 bw chins x10,20
* seated db shoulder press feels way easier/stable when i used wrist wraps. this is my counter to the chins. i just have to make sure i don't overdo my upperbody push/pull when i'm recovering my squats. * so far, the hardest movement for me is the upperbody horizontal pull. these cable rows are very taxing if form is maintained throughout. i get good technique by tensing some area in the pulling elbow and really feeling it go thru a full ROM. pulling hand can be getting close to the body but if the elbow rom is cutting short, the pull is worthless.
Wed July 13
morning paused full squats 315s-365-405 | no pause 405x0 | 315 x0 resting backoffs db reverse close grip press 70lbx10 | 80lbx10 db bent over row 80lb 10x2 sets
* 405x5 strong now this morning. might do it later in the afternoon and start my 3-day work week wed-fri night. i lasted way longer doing 440/455 singles before i lit up. 5 reppers are brutal. il give myself another shot at adapting to these on a daily schedule. if not, i can always go lazy and go for top heavy paused single. * cable machine is broken. did my horizontal pull using dbs. felt alright. might use this for a while.
afternoon paused full squats 315s-365-405 | no pause 405x0 | 315 x0 resting backoffs db seated alt press 70lbx5 reverse grip bench press smith 135lbx10 bw chins x20
* squats recovering as planned. a couple of days more and i'll be back to normal again. db overhead press is tired. tried the smith machine for reverse grip benching. not bad at all. might use this instead of db. i'm afraid of injuring something on the setup using 80lb+ db. * chins x20 at 204lb bw is awesome. been frying my 578grams of white rice (750kcal/meal) using 30g of olive oil. thats 1000kcal from the carbs/fat alone. add that to lean pork chops or chicken tenders. i'll slowly get to 208-212lb.
Thur July 14
afternoon paused full squats 315s-365-405 | no pause 405x0 | 315 x0 resting backoffs db reverse close grip press 70lb 10x4 sets | 70lbx14
Fri July 15
afternoon paused full squats 315s-365-405 | no pause 405x0 | 315 x0 resting backoffs db bent over row 60lb 10x3 sets | 70lb x10
Sat July 16
afternoon paused full squats 315s-365-405 | no pause 405x0 | 315 x0 resting backoffs db bent over row 65lbx10 | 70lb 10x2 sets reverse close grip smith bench 135lbx10 | 165lb 10x2sets | 185lb 10x3sets
* squats still not strong. not much effort in paused 405s but at 204-206lb bw, i should be lifting a lot more. 5s never again with stupid volumes. * smith machine press feels a lot better than the db. my weaker left hand does not get left behind.
Foul them hard. They're skinny and you can injure them, and then you can win the game.
seeing how unfair the gsw lineup is (4/5 vegas championship odds now), maybe some team will really play dirty on them. gsw needs a bruiser. somebody like kurt thomas back in NY days. hard foul specialist.
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