mesomorphin' journal

[mesomorphin']

Finally time to start an online journal. After an extended period of bulking, I decided it was past time to do reestablish some level of control over my burgeoning waistline. At this point, I am "transitioning" toward a period of slow cutting. (This really means I stopped deliberate bulking a couple of weeks ago and began cutting down on carbs. However, I didn't maintain my diet log during this period while I was trying to make up my mind what to do, so I really didn't control the process as well as I should have.)

In the past couple of weeks I have lost probably 6-7 pounds, and I suspect I dropped my caloric intake more than I meant to. I've restarted keeping a log of everything I eat, since this seems to be the only way I can keep track at all.
I don't know my current bodyfat % -- other than WAY too high and its concentrated especially on the dreaded lower back/love handle area ("stupid back fat"). I plan to get a 7 point caliper test, but it looks like it will be probably about two more weeks before I have it done.

Initially, I'll post my partially completed Self Assessment Sheet. (I plan to finish the goals portion of the assessment after I get better info on my bodyfat %). Later I'll post some workout info or observations and maybe some diet stuff. Comments/advice welcome!

[mesomorphin']

Self Analysis Part I
Your personal work sheet

This analysis sheet goes hand in hand with the article "The Ultimate Guide to Bodybuilding: Self Analysis Part I." It is important that you use the article as a guide to filling out this important sheet! I will, however, place small notes to further assist you in this process. It is important to realize that you very well may be taking the most vital steps ever in your bodybuilding program, by completing this self analysis. Enjoy your gains!

I. Muscularity

a. After carefully assessing your body, what do you feel would be a solid muscular foundation for you to develop? (E.g., 200 pounds and shredded.)

b. How close are you to reaching your goal?

c. It is important not to begin by shooting for your overall goal. What is your first plan/program to accomplish what you mentioned in choice a?

[Reserving until I complete 7 point caliper test in next week or two.]

II. Muscular Separation - Body fat percentage aside, you will never have a fully separated muscle group unless it is fully developed. For example, your thighs may be well built except for your outer sweep. If this is the case, list that your quads lack complete development due to the outer quad sweep.

a. Which of your muscle groups lacks complete development and why?
b. Immediately underneath each muscle group list your plan of attack for it.

1. Forearm - [B]need to increase strength/development of this area generally with special focus on forearm extensors and elbow flexors.

Plan of attack: (1) continue with exercises in "8 weeks to bigger forearms;"(2) consider modifying program to put reverse wrist curls at beginning of some forearm workouts and increasing reverse wrist volume.

2. Lats - need to develop more width

Plan of attack: (1) increased emphasis on pullups, especially wide grip; (2) consider rearranging split again to put more emphasis on back. (Have been doing chest/delts/back lately; may want to return to back/bi/forearm or some other variation like back/forearm/abs)


3. Quads - need increased development of vastus lateralis outer sweep;
- need better development of teardrop on lower vastus medialis;
- would like more overall size (at least 2-3 inches; currently around 26")

Plan of attack for outer sweep: (1) emphasize narrow stance/toes-pointed-forward squats in lieu of wide stance, toes-pointed-out squats I have been doing. (2) emphasize toe-pointed-in leg extensions. (3) find out how to do free weight hack squats, unless/until join gym with hack squat machine. [done]. (4) find out if narrow stance, low foot placement on leg press is useful for building outer sweep.

Plan of attack for tear drop: (1) find out what exercises are good for this area (free weight hack squats?) and implement.

4. Bis/tris - Maybe some additional emphasis on upper-outer bicep; maybe some additional attention to lower tricep heads. Individual parts seem generally well developed, but overall size increase needed.

Plan of attack for biceps: 1) concentrate on very strict form -- no flexing of wrists and no elbow movement; 2) be more rigorous about limiting rest time between sets; 3) a little more emphasis on narrow grip barbell curls; 4) mix up shocking techniques – some slow rep sets; some static contraction; some drop sets/ascending sets/ supersets; 5) continue hitting from a variety of angles. [Nothing really new in 4 and 5; any gains would have to come from 1-3, plus improvements in forearm strength]

Plan of attack for triceps: 1) focus on heavy mass work, especially weighted dips on bench (try to increase weight from 125 lbs to 150 lbs or more)

5. Chest - some increased emphasis on upper (especially at clavicle tie-in) and mid-upper section of inner pecs.

Plan of attack for chest: (1) maintain emphasis on incline work; (2) follow program like 8 weeks to bigger pecs; (3) review shocking principles and consider alternatives for increasing intensity. (4) Concentrate on shortening rest time between sets. (5) more straight arm pullovers?

Delts - some increased emphasis on rear delts?

Plan of attack for delts: Maintain balanced delt workout, some increased emphasis on rear delt work. Consider occasionally hitting rear delts early in workout on back day. Consider some static contraction sets, ascending sets, drop sets for rear delts.

III. Assessing your X factor - Examine the following aspects of your body. Then write down your thoughts on each of them below. You should include how well the muscle group is developed and what workouts will assist them in future growth. I would suggest that you prioritize these aspects of your body with the highest regard! When each of the aspects above is developed in proportion, you will have achieved a text book "X frame" of the body, whereby your wide deltoids taper into a narrow waist, which flare out to sweeping quads to complete the "X".

1. The side deltoid - can always use wider shoulders, but not as glaring a need as lats, outer sweep and waist

2. The upper back - Lats are definitely a weak point, in both in strength and size. Generally, I have alternated between workouts that emphasize pullups and workouts that emphasize rows. Lately, I've been doing chest, delt, back together (in effort to increase emphasis on bis/tris, which are worked together on separate day). Sometimes, for lack of time, I wind up cutting short back workout or deciding to shift back to a separate day (which sometimes hasn't worked out from a scheduling standpoint.) I need to: (1) emphasize wide grip pullups rather than avoiding this weak point. (Have been alternating between pullups and rows, but need more emphasis on pullups.) I will initially use a gravitron to assist in getting out a reasonable number of reps and slow negatives, BUT I NEED TO DEMAND SOME IMPROVEMENT EVERY WORKOUT, either increased reps, decreased assistance. (2) review posts on how to increase pullup capacity and implement. (3) May need to rearrange split. Have been doing chest, delt, back together (to allow better focus on bis/tris, which I work together). Sometimes, for lack of time, this has resulted in shortened back workouts or deciding at last minute to move back to a separate day (which sometimes doesn't work out from a schedule standpoint).

3-4. Hips and waist - Waist is WAY too big (2-3 inches bigger than when I started my last bulk). Need to trim at least 3-5 inches off for starters. Want to trim this carefully/slowly to minimize loss of lean body mass along the way. Have neglected ab work somewhat; need to be more consistent here.

Hips????? Generally seem OK to me, from standpoint of X factor.

Need to: (1) make decision about whether/what type of cutting is consistent with appropriate overall goal; (2) implement appropriate diet & boost glutamine intake; (3) stay away from any weighted oblique work (no change: haven't been doing any)

5. Outer quad sweep - I have seen some improvement in this area, since taking up squats last summer, but my focus so far has been mostly wide stance squats, and this is an area that definitely needs improvement, so I will focus more on narrow stance squats, and increase poundages on those.

continued...

[mesomorphin']

Personal Assessment continued

IV. Lagging body parts and symmetry - Below I will list each of your body parts. You need to rate each one on a scale of 1 to 10, using your best muscle group as a 10. See article for further explanation.

1. shoulders (deltoids) - Overall, I'd give these about a 6. Although, I don't identify glaring deficiencies, I think my rear delts lag somewhat. Also, I'd say my delts front look somewhat less developed than my chest, and probably easier to develop than my upper arms. I would be happy to increase size on all three heads, but I think rear delt is probably the biggest priority, followed by front delt.

Generally, I have been hitting front & side delts every 7 days, with 5 or 6 sets of upright rows, or with 3/4 sets of military press or dumbell presses and 3-4 drop sets of side laterals. Haven't done front laterals in quite a while. I work rear delts on back day, but not every workout. Could probably use more supersets/other shocking techniques for shoulders.

2. biceps (biceps bracchi) - I'd give these about a 5. I'm satisfied enough with shape/peak (except for a small "divot" in my upper outer left bicep -- left over over from a bicep tear -- but I don't think much can be done about that). However, I'd definitely like to increase overall size. Other people seem to think my upper arms are bigger than they are (maybe because I'm fairly small boned), but I'm still a tad under 17" (pumped) near the end of a bulk. I'd like to keep this and add another inch or two, even after reducing my bodyfat. (Last time I dropped from 200 - 190, I lost ½ to 3/4 inch here; I want to do better this time.) Brachialis are reasonably well developed in relation to bicep size.

I generally work biceps every 7 days, with a wide variety of exercises (BB curls, db curls, preacher curls, incline curls, lying curls, lying cable curls (high & low pulley), two arm cable curls, etc). Lately, I have tried to give this area increased emphasis by working biceps with triceps, rather than after doing biceps after back. More recently, I have reduced loads and concentrated on more strict form, slow reps. I pretty much always take these to failure.

3. forearms and brachialis (the brachialis is the elbow flexor that gives the biceps a 3D look. See Eight Weeks to Bigger Forearms for further explanation. In addition, the forearms are made up of both the flexors and the extensors, discuss both. I place them together because I prefer to train all three in the same sitting.)

a. forearm flexors - I'd probably give these a 4 or 5. They're much stronger than my forearm extensors (probably due to years of cheating during bicep curls.)

b. forearm extensors - I'd give these a 1. Since starting the 8 weeks workout, I've made a some progress here, at least in terms of reverse wrist curl poundages, but this is still a very weak area. I need to modify the 8 week workout to provide increased emphasis on these.

c. elbow flexor brachialis - I'd give the brachialis about a 3 or 4. This area is a little better/stronger than my forearm extensors, but still a weak point. Need more reverse barbell emphasis. Maybe some drop sets.

I have been hitting forearms once every 7 days using the "8 weeks" program.

4. triceps – I'd probably give these a 6. I have seen recent development here, particularly along the lower part of the horseshoe. Like the biceps, I'm not too dissatisfied with shape/definition here, but I would like more size.

I hit triceps once every 7 days (with biceps). My favorite tricep workout is 6 drop sets of weighted bench dips, 8-10 @ 125 lbs, 5-8 @ 100 lbs. and 3-10@ 50 pounds. Sometimes I'll do 3-4 sets of standing or lying french presses, 3-4 sets of press downs with rope or cambered bar, and occasionally some kickbacks. I haven't done any incline or decline french presses for quite a while.

5. chest (pectoralis major, divided into the upper portion which inserts into the clavicle and the lower portion that inserts into the sternum) -
I'd probably give this area an 8. Reasonably large measurement for my small frame (49.5"+ pumped) – especially considering my relatively weak lat development. Lower chest is a little more developed than upper chest, but I have put more emphasis on upper chest for the past several months. (Due to an old shoulder injury, decline is the one area where I can lift more serious weight, so it became my "ego" exercise.) Upper pec tie ins are not equally developed along the entire clavicle. Upper tie ins best at inner and outer chest, with lagging area in middle.) Middle chest could also use more development (especially inner middle). My loads on flat bench are way below what I handle on decline, and I will probably benefit by focusing on increasing strength on flat bench. However, I have to proceed fairly carefully here to avoid significant (bad) shoulder discomfort.

For the last 6 months or so, I have been hitting chest once/week (before that twice/week). I alternate between barbells and dumbells, usually on a 2 or 3 week cycle. I usually do 4 working sets of an incline press, 4 working sets of flat bench (or decline) press, a couple of double drop sets of flyes (usually pec deck or incline), using 1 + 2 ½ reps. Sometimes, I also throw in a couple of sets of cable cross overs with static contraction. I stretch heavily between most sets. (I lift without a spotter and do not always go to complete failure, except when I use the smith machine.) My flat bench is significantly weaker than my decline. Partly, this reflects an old shoulder injury, which makes flat bench work more uncomfortable; however, I would probably benefit by focusing on carefully, gradually increasing my flat bench loads.

6. back (divided into back width in which you target the lats and center back density in which you target the rhomboids. Finally, you should analyze your lower back/erector spinae)

a. Lats (latissimus dorsi) - I would give these about a 3 or 4. As noted above, these are definitely a weak point, and they look even worse with the extra waist inches from my bulk. (Illusion is a two edged sword!) Mainly, I need to deal with this deficiency as a challenge rather than trying to sweep it under the rug. Pullups, pullups, pullups!

I work back once a week, although half my back workouts give more emphasis rowing movements than back widening exercises. Lately, I have alternated between working back with chest & delts and working back with forearms and traps. As noted above, this bouncing around has not always worked well. For the last month or so, I had been giving short shrift to pullup movements, for the ridiculous reason that I'm not very good at them. NO MORE EXCUSES/AVOIDANCE!

b. Rhomboid density/center back thickness note: best trained with rows, e.g. barbell rows. Hard to get a good view of these, but I'm relatively strong here, and I think these are probably a 6 or 7.

c. Lower back (erector spinae): Not sure what to look for here. (probably obscured by lower back fat????) I used to hit these a lot, and heavy, on a hyperextension machine, but since a lower back injury a year ago, I have neglected these quite a bit. I should get back to doing hyperextensions, probably with less weight somewhat more limited range of motion. (I used to go to a pretty extreme stretch, which I think may not have been good for my back, as I have a narrowing of disc space between a couple of vertebrate in the lower back.) I try regular deadlifts (which I still haven't tried).

7. Traps (trapezius) – I'd probably give these a 6 or 7. I don't have monster, hulking traps (yet), but I think they're generally in line with the rest of my development. I hit them once a week with behind the back barbell shrugs on a smith machine. (Since I gave up straps, my heaviest sets are somewhat lighter, but I do them nice and slow, with a long squeeze at the top.) Lately, I have totally neglected dumbbell shrugs, and I guess I should be more rigorous about working them in for variety.

8. Thighs (quadriceps and adductors) - I neglected these for years, started doing heavy leg presses a couple of years ago, but no squats, and took up squats this summer. Since then I gained almost 2" since this summer when I took up squats for the first time. (Now around 26".) Due to weakness in outer sweep, and lack of tear drop, I'd give these a 5.

I generally quads/hams once every 7 days. I have been doing at least 6 sets of squats or front squats (with the last 2-3 sets devoted to partial rep squats), although I have focused almost entirely on wide stance squats until just recently. I also generally do 3-4 sets of leg extensions usually with static contraction or some partials, or one double drop set of leg extensions in the 60 rep range. In addition, I occasionally throw in a few sets of leg presses (various stances (anywhere from 16-22 45 lb. plates), before shifting to hamstrings.

9. Hamstrings (also frequently called leg biceps) - I'd probably give these a 5. I neglected these for years and only recently started regularly hitting these with stiff legged deadlifts (my favorite), lying leg curls (I particularly like drop sets or one legged/two legged sets), and leg presses with wide/high stance. I could not see any obvious separation between the biceps femoris and the semimembranousus.

I work hamstrings and quads on the same day. Generally, the hamstring work consists of 4-6 sets of stiff legged deadlifts supersetted with leg curls, or 4 sets lunges (generally on a smith machine, and occasionally with dumbells) and leg curls (either drop set or 1 leg/2 leg)

10 Calves

a. gastrocnemus (the thick upper part of your calves) - At least from a size standpoint, this area is probably a 10 for me, though not because of intensive effort/training. (I measure about 18", which is proportionately large for me, at least compared to my upper arm/neck size. However, I don't have sharply defined separation between the inner and outer heads of this muscle.) I typically just hit these with seated calf raises with 145# or more, sometimes with drop sets. Recently, I have tried (and liked) standing raises on a smith machine, so I plan to work these in.

b. soleus (the lower part of your calves) - I'm not really sure what to look for here . . . ?????

c. tibialis anterior (the shin aspect of your lower leg) - I'm not sure exactly what to look for here, but I think this area may be fairly well developed, although I have never done anything to focus on them. (I have a small muscle that adds a slightly rounded look to the front of my shin (center-outer), from just below the knee to 4-5" above my ankle. Definitely visible when I flex my toe. Any subtle points hard to see due to fur. I guess I'd give these a 5.

I generally work calves once a week, often with quads/hams, sometimes on a "miscellaneous" day. Usually, I'll do 4-6 sets of seated calf raises (or 3 double drop sets) and/or 4-6 sets of standing calf raises on a smith machine.

11. Glutes - From a general development point of view, this area is probably a 9 or 10 - also more genetics than from brutal, carefully structured workouts. (I'm not sure I want it any bigger; however, it is not shredded or striated at all.) Bodyfat, especially in the love handle/ lower back area, probably obscures upper glute tie ins. I find that lunges hit them particularly well. Additionally, I just do stiff legged deadlifts, leg curls and squats.

Notes on overall body (If you have any brief notes, place them here.)

B]At some point during my recent bulk I added more bulk to my midsection than I'm confortable with. In the short run, I hope to improve my X frame by slowly reducing body fat (while trying to minimize lean tissue loss). At least initially, I'm planning to reduce bodyfat by changes to diet, rather than by incorporating cardio. Once I reduce bodyfat to a range I'm more comfortable with, I'll resume bulking, perhaps on a mini cycle (or a least with more frequent bodyfat measurements). Even while reducing bodyfat, I think I should be able to make some gains in strength and maybe size in some of the weaker/neglected areas (forearms, lats, rear delts and maybe outer quads). In a number of other areas including areas that are, for me, stubborn/hard to develop (e.g., upper arms), I hope to minimize lean tissue losses and lay a better foundation for my next bulking cycle.[/B]

Conclusion (I would suggest summing everything up with your own conclusion, to reaffirm exactly how you are going to design your program.)

[reserved – will work above commitments into various workout routines.]

[Got2HateGymMorons]

It sounds like you really gave yourself an honest look and are on your way to busting through barriers. Good job and good luck!

[mesomorphin']

From limited info since I started keeping a diet log again, I'm taking in around 3200 calories per day, about 40%P, 25%C and 35%F. This represents a drop of between 700-1000 cal./day compared to the caloric intake during the last couple of weeks of my bulk. (This is a more precipitous calorie drop than I intended. I will probably restore come carbs and/or increase fat, to make the change more gradual.) Although I am generally trying to eat clean foods, I get at least 100 g/day of protein from cottage cheese (which contains 32 total grams of sugars), and I have not started "washing" this yet. I have moved the cottage cheese to a breakfast meal and a meal around 11:00 a.m. (I do generally have flax and something fibrous -- apple or strawberries with the cottage cheese.) Except for bed time, I find the general feeling of mild hunger much easier to take than the "stuffed to the gills" feeling I lived with while bulking! graemlins/happyclap.gif

[mesomorphin']

Since working on the Personal Assessment, I have done a couple of leg workouts that emphasized narrow stance squats/hack squats/free weight hack squats.

Yesterday, did 4 DEEP sets of narrow stance squats pyramiding up to 245; followed by a 3/4 deep set @ 275; a 1/2 deep set @ 315 & a 1/4 - 1/8 deep set @ 365 -- 10 reps each. Then 6 sets of machine hack squats pyramiding from 180 (slow and very deep) to 540 (1/2 deep). Used to go to 700+, but pressure of shoulder pad is aggravates minor injury, causing nerve twinges around shoulder blade/center back, so will lighten up & concentrate more on going deep for now. Followed with variation of free weight hack squats on smith machine - 4-5 sets, pyramiding from 135 to 275. Followed by 5 sets of leg extensions -- one drop set, 2 sets with static contractions at end, 2 single rep sets (held for 45 and 60 seconds). The 5-6 sets of seated leg curls. Wimped out on stiff legged deadlifts (even though I love that exercise). 5 sets of smith machine standing calf raises (pyramid to 315). 4 sets of seated calf raises 2 at 145, 2 at 170.

Hit back once since doing Assessment Sheet. Focused mainly on wide grip pullups (on gravitron), with long slow negatives after failure. Still suck at them, but made myself stick to game plan. Followed up with 3 drop set dumbell lateral raises.

[mesomorphin']

At this point, I'm working on reducing the stupid back fat/love handles that I accumulated during my bulk. Right now, I'm trying a transition diet that comes in around 2700-2800 calories/day, with about 325P 131C 110F, spread over 6 or 7 meals/day. Main protein sources are egg whites, whole eggs, whey protein, Boca burgers (soy), cottage cheese. Main carb sources are slow cooked oatmeal, broccoli or leafy greens, strawberries. Main fat sources are flax oil, egg yolks, heavy cream, and cheese. Main supplements: glutamine, creatine, CLA, multivitamin, C.

I've been following this diet since about 12/20 (with excursions on 12/24 and 12/25). I've lost 3-4 pounds during this period. (Maybe. Based on today's weight, but things tend to jump up and down in a couple 2-3 pound increments.) Based on the mirror, I think I've lost some subcutaneous fat. Striations in my shoulders and pecs seem more pronounced. No noticeable change in back fat/love handles yet. Should get next caliper measurement end of this week or sometime next week, so won't know if measureable changes to composition until then.

Next week, I will make various changes to the diet, substituting more eggs and soy for the cottage cheese and increasing fat levels somewhat. (I may turn into an egg before this is over!)

Meantime, workouts have gone pretty well. I haven't noticed a drop in energy levels or strength and even hit a personal best on decline bench press last week. Have continued focus on outer quads, forearms, back width. Tried a few relatively light sets of DEEP below parallel squats (which I hadn't really tried before. Also focused on reducing rest time between sets for the last several workouts.

[Dr. Pain]

[mesomorphin']

Thanks for your input on the diet, DP. Even when I have a general idea where I want to go, I have a long way to go in figuring out what constitutes a proportionate nutritional response that will take ME there on a smooth glide path.

I am, however, beginning to appreciate the importance of more frequent monitoring for reality checks along the way. I managed to watch people doing reasonably frequent caliper tests during THE GAME without ever catching on that this might be an equally helpful thing to do while bulking. Go figure.

[EvoLuTioN]

Outstanding journal meso' i really like the level of thought involved and effort put forth graemlins/thumb.gif

[mesomorphin']

Hit bis/tris today. Energy levels good. After doing one of Animal's bicep routines, opened triceps with some drop sets of weighted bench dips. After warmup, I cranked out a set with 150 x 6, 100 x 3 and 50 x 4 -- my best to date. Finshed off with standing overhead presses and then close grip pressdowns. Upper arm measurements (pumped) are the same as they were at the end of my bulk -- about 13 pounds ago. Hope this means I'm retaining lean mass. (Trying to read the tea leaves until my next caliper test.)

[TheAnimal]

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by mesomorphin':
Hit bis/tris today. Energy levels good. After doing one of Animal's bicep routines, opened triceps with some drop sets of weighted bench dips. After warmup, I cranked out a set with 150 x 6, 100 x 3 and 50 x 4 -- my best to date. Finshed off with standing overhead presses and then close grip pressdowns. Upper arm measurements (pumped) are the same as they were at the end of my bulk -- about 13 pounds ago. Hope this means I'm retaining lean mass. (Trying to read the tea leaves until my next caliper test.)<hr></blockquote>AH good to hear your still taking the PAIN...lol

If you want to nearly pass out this time next week try this:
Do my Bicep routine but Superset it YES superset it with a Tri exercise after every Bicep one.
For Example after the EZ Bar Curls do some Cable Pushdowns for example etc.

Been there done that, nearly passed out, very nearly puked SORE for DAYS graemlins/images/icons/laugh.gif

Animal

[mesomorphin']

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by TheAnimal:
If you want to nearly pass out this time next week try this. . . <hr></blockquote>

Well, I'm always looking for new and exciting ways to reach unconsciousness, so I may just have to give this a try. Then again, I may have to go out to my local wolfbane-garlic-mirror-silver-bullet-
wooden-stake store and find something to keep the Animal at bay!

[mesomorphin']

This was a day of disruption and, I fear, bad choices on my part. Had breakfast around 4:30 - 5:00 a.m. as usual, but then took my wife for an early morning doctor's appointment in Baltimore. The appointment dragged on for many hours, plus I had to nail down an apartment for my son on the other end of the city. Anyway, even though I packed a couple of meals, circumstances kept me from getting at them, so my second meal wasn't until 1:30 p.m. (and that meal was carb-less). End result of long gap in eating is that I'll have a significant calorie deficit today. (Although I'm on a cut, I appear to be losing weight -- hopefully fat -- at my planned caloric intake, so I'm not sure this reduction is a good thing as I'm trying to preserve LBM.)

Anyway, on the drive home I was so sleepy I strongly considered taking a nap instead of going to the gym, but I relented, had a couple of caffeine capsules and went out for LEG DAY. Surprisingly, poor eating plus limited sleep = less than maximal energy. Go figure. Well, for better or worse, I flogged myself until I got a decent burn in quads, hams and calves, though not very efficiently. Hopefully, this won't prove totally catabolic/counterproductive. Don't you just hate it when the plan doesn't come together???

[TheAnimal]

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by mesomorphin':
Then again, I may have to go out to my local wolfbane-garlic-mirror-silver-bullet-
wooden-stake store and find something to keep the Animal at bay!<hr></blockquote>NO NO ARGH you've found my weakness....lol Now you knwo whay I always train hard better and for longer on full moons!!! Just wait till I finish my Shoulder routine you'll be wishing you'd never been born!!

Animal

[mesomorphin']

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by TheAnimal:
Just wait till I finish my Shoulder routine you'll be wishing you'd never been born!!
<hr></blockquote>

You're the devil!

[TheAnimal]

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by mesomorphin':


You're the devil!<hr></blockquote>I've been called worse things!!

Animal

[mesomorphin']

Shifted to new diet last week. Currently eating:

1. (5:00 a.m.) - 5 egg whites + 1 whole egg; 2 boca burgers (soy); 1/2 cup oatmeal; 1 TBS flax
2. (9:00 a.m. - post workout) - whey protein + 3 TBS heavy cream + 4-6 strawberries
3. (11:30) - 3 egg whites + 1 whole egg; 2 boca burgers; 1 baked sweet potato; 1 1/2 cup broccoli
4. (2:00 p.m.) - whey protein + 4 TBS cream + apple
5. (4:30 p.m.) - 12 egg whites + 2 cups broccoli + 1 TBS flax/safflower
6. (7:30 p.m.) - 4 egg whites + 2 whole eggs; 2 boca burgers; 1 1/2 cups green vegetable

Have continued creatine, glutamine, CLA (sometimes forget some), vitamin C & E; started chromium picolinate to try to increase insulin sensitivity.

Continued to lose some weight. Down to 192.5 lbs today. Should get caliper test tomorrow to see how body composition is coming along. Hopefully, it will show bodyfat reductions (otherwise graemlins/images/icons/shocked.gif ), with at least some reduction in the abdominal measurements. Regardless of tomorrow's numbers, the mirror makes clear that continued bodyfat reduction is in order.

Did a quick reconaissance of quads this morning. I have a very pronounced crease where the vastus medialis meets the knee. (It was there before, but definitely is more pronouced now.) Would still like to see more fullness in the vastus medialis.
Can also see some separation between the vastus lateralis and the rectus femoris, at the lower end. (Note: Although things may be a bit obscured by bodyfat, but I think the thicker part of my rectus femoris comes much lower (closer to the knee) than it appears on most anat. charts). Upper outer quad appears a little more developed, but I'm definitely continuing to pursue more lateral flare here. Not sure how much of above is attributable to workouts and how much is attributed to diet, but things seem to be moving a little bit in the right direction.

[mesomorphin']

Well, good news and bad news, I guess. Since 12/20, I've lost at least 5/8 in. from my waist images/icons/smile.gif (also 1/2 in. from my thighs and over 1 in. from my chest images/icons/frown.gif ). Over the same time, I held bicep losses to 1/8 in. or less. images/icons/smile.gif During my workout today, one of the women I don't know too well asked if I was losing weight. (Hopefully she meant "fat.") On the other hand, the body fat measurements were a little disappointing. Today's caliper test suggests a bodyfat reduction of only .6%, which would indicate a loss of 1.9 lbs. of F and 1.6 lbs. of LBM since 12/20.

However, I am a little suspicious of the caliper measurements. My ab and suprailiac measurements went down 5 mm over 2 1/2 weeks. (If accurate, I'd be happy with that; I don't know if this is consistent with the tape measure data or not.) My subscapular measurement went down 9 mm over same period, which seems like a lot to me (may indicate measurement error/inconsistency?) The worst part was that my thigh measurement went up 7 mm, at a time when the tape measure showed a 1/2 in. decrease in my thigh. This doesn't really make sense to me. (Thigh and axilla were my highest measurements, even though the largest apparent fat deposits are around lower back/abs.) A couple of other measurements went up in areas where I've lost some girth (though only by 1-3 mm). [Both sets of measurements were done by same person, but she's not very experienced with 7 point measurements. Also, today I only got a single mesurement at each point, since results were pretty consistent at each site.]

Those measurements do sound fishy meso and I've had some of the same strange things happen to me as well. Sometimes I wonder if water doesn't have something to do with it, like how much water you might be holding at the time. I'm wondering if sometimes it's possible to be pinching some extra water in with the skin folds. Don't know for sure but sometimes I think of that when my skin fold measurements come out funky.

If you did lose some muscle that sure is quick to lose muscle. I know some people, cause of their genetics, do lose muscle faster than others, not sure if that is the case with you or not.

Congrats on the quad progress! Sounds good! Oh, and your diet looks really good too. BTW, what the heck are boca burgers?

[mesomorphin']

Thanks, Krypto. I'm not really sure what to think/do about the measurements. I was hoping that they'd provide me with a helpful guide for montoring the impact of cutting on LBM, but right now I'm not so sure. It seems to me, increased quad definition, especially with decreased thigh girth, would almost certainly mean less fat. If my quad caliper measurement had held steady instead of going up, then I would have had reduced my bodyfat percentage by 1.9%, a loss of 4.3 lbs. F and my LBM would have increased by 1.1 lbs. (I could definitely live with that.) Still, I can't cherry pick certain measurements to question, while using the favorable ones. If the unfavorable ones are off, the favorable ones could be too (or the baseline measurements for that matter). images/icons/frown.gif

Boca Burgers are a brand of soy burger that DP suggested. They have fewer carbs an sugars than the brand I used for years (and they taste better! graemlins/happyclap.gif )

[TheAnimal]

I'm SURE you have TOO much time on your hand sor do TOO little work at, well work!! Cause your journel kicks ***!! I find it hard to find time to do mine in the grand scheme of things!!

Keep up the good work!!

The Devil

[mesomorphin']

Thanks, Devil-man. Although I don't have all eternity at my disposal (like some beasts), at least I don't have the demonic burden of perfecting a never ending stream of workouts designed to inflict maximal torment on hordes of unwary BBs.

Spent a couple of workout-free days in Chicago while travelling on business. Skipping a couple of workouts was probably a good thing, since I came down with a cold and was almost overcome with sleepiness at the end of the workday. I ate fairly clean foods (except for one small meal with 4 pieces of vegetarian sushi made with white rice). I brought a lot of food with me but couldn't pack all the food I needed, and I wound up getting fewer carbs and fats than my meal plan provides, so the balance of some meals was not as good as normal. Anyway, I'm back on track today....

Still have a cold, but I couldn't stand missing another day at the gym so I came in and did a pretty low intensity shoulder workout, with 6 sets each of military presses, front raises and lateral raises. I used the usual weight loads, but didn't worry about the duration of rest periods between sets. (In between several delt sets, I tried out a new leg adductor/abductor machine. I opened it up to the widest setting -- maybe 170 degrees -- and did the stack a few times. I'm betting I'll feel that later!)

[TheAnimal]

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by mesomorphin':
Thanks, Devil-man. Although I don't have all eternity at my disposal (like some beasts), at least I don't have the demonic burden of perfecting a never ending stream of workouts designed to inflict maximal torment on hordes of unwary BBs.<hr></blockquote>This is true...lol

It's the cold season alright as I have a sniffle as well. Not to mention my injured BACK DAMMIT!!

Keep up the good work!!

Animal

[mesomorphin']

I didn't trust last week's caliper test, so I had a reality check re-measurement today. Some of the numbers still bounced around a little bit, but nothing like the wild swings last week. Based on today's measurements, my bodyfat percentage has gone down by around 2.2% since 12/20. Using these numbers, I have lost around 5.7 lbs F and 1.8 lbs LBM since 12/20. Thus, about 76% of lost pounds are F. I was hoping to do a little better than this, especially at early stages of the cutting process, given that I still have quite a ways to go and I suspect preservation of LBM will only get harder as I proceed. Any suggestions for improving this ratio welcome.

Minor headcold lingering (or back-to-back colds). Worked out anyway, but less than maximum intensity. Yesterday, opened chest workout with smith machine declines: 225x10; 315x6; 365x1 (not clean; on a good day should get 380); 3 more sets @ 315x6; one set @ 335x3. Then, incline dumbell presses: 50s x 12; 55s x 10; 60s x 8; 65s x 7; 65s x 5. Then cable crossover (low pulley): 5 sets @ 62.5 (each side) x 10 [2 of these sets used static contraction 5 second pause each rep; two sets used a single static contraction of 20-30 seconds on final rep]. Then 4 sets of one-arm vertical flyes: 10 reps (each arm) @ 100, 112.5, 112.5 and 125 plates. Saved shoulder, back until later in week.

Today, did bis and tris (also less than maximum intensity, using lighter weights but slow/strict form). 6 sets standing barbell curls: 65x12; 75x10; 85x7; 85x6; 75x8; 65x8. Then 2 ascending sets alternating incline dumbell curls: 10 reps each @ 10/15/20/25/30; same @ 8 reps each. 1 set incline dumbell curls 10x25 (very slow). Then 4 3 sets of standing two arm cable curls: 4 plates/side x 8, w/5 sec. static contraction each rep; 3 sets w/ 3 1/2 plates per side x 10 (with 20 second static contraction on final rep.) Then 4 sets of hammer curls each 30x10. Then behind the back weighted bench dip drop sets: 150x7/100x3/
50x4; 150x7/50x8; 150x7/50x6; 150x4/50x6. Then pressdowns: 12x150; 8x175; 10x162.5; 10x162.5.

Tomorrow: Leg day (if cold is gone).

[mesomorphin']

Still have a bit of a cold so I did half a leg day yesterday, and half today. Yesterday was leg extensions/squats/hack squats/adductor work. I knew it was gonna be a little nasty when I felt kitten-weak on my first warm up set. I decided not to go too heavy, but stay in the very deep range on the squats. (At this point, I've had a few workouts in a row that left a lot to be desired from an intensity/focus standpoint, and I gave some thought to the "Go Hard or Go Home" motto, but I hate to miss days, since I can't catch up on weekends when my gym is closed. If I don't do better soon though I'll take a week off.)

Although I still didn't go all out today, I felt a little better about focus at least. I pretty much stuck with a game plan, instead of an ad hoc collection of sets. I opened with lying leg curls 12 reps right leg/12 reps left leg/12 reps both legs then supersetted with stiff legged deadlifts x 10. Three more similar supersets, with leg curls @ 9, 8 & 7 reps and deadlifts x 10. Superset deadlifts ranged from 155 - 225; these were too light, so I added 2 sets @ 275 and 315. Then 4 sets of smith machine lunges @ 135, 185, 225, and 250. (I wimped out and pulled a few punches here, because I have neglected these for a while and expect DOMS to set in about the time I'm moving my son into an apartment on Saturday.) Next, 4 sets of standing calf raises @ 10 x 225, 10 x 315, 10 x 365 and 5 x 405. Finally 3 sets on (new) abductor machine - 10 x 280; 10 x 320; 10 x 340; 6 x 380 (reduced range of motion on last set; a little too heavy for me).

Decided to add ALA to my current list of supplements, so at this point I'm taking C - at least 3 g; E 400 IU/day; 1 multivitamin; glutamine (5 g before workout, when I remember; 5 g after workout; 5 g mid afternoon); CLA 750's x 4; chromium picolinate 200 mg x 2; ALA 100 mg x 3.

[mesomorphin']

Still tinkering with my cutting diet. A couple of weeks ago I began gradually reducing carbs, and 5 days ago I went to the following meal plan:

Meal #1
2 boca burgers 28P
1 whole eggs + 3 egg whites -- 20P
1/2 grapefruit
1 TBS Flax Oil

Meal #2
Protein Drink: 2 Scoops Whey 12-oz water 4-6 frozen strawberries

Meal #3
2 boca burgers
1 whole egg + 3 egg whites
1 1/2 cup green beans or broccoli

Meal #4
2 Scoops Whey
4 TBS whipping cream or 1 TBS flax/safflower
12 oz water
4-6 strawberries

Meal #5
12 egg whites
2 cups vegetables (usually broccoli or green beans)
1 TBS Flax Oil or flax/safflower

Meal #6
2 whole eggs + 4 egg whites,
1 boca burger
1 cup green vegetables (or salad)
1 tbl PB

Actually, for a few days, I've followed a slightly reduced version of this, as I ran out of flax at home and missed some of the fats from meal 1 and I kept forgetting the PB in meal 6. For the past few days I've been getting about 278 g P, 80g F and 36g effective carbs. NOW I'm beginning to see how the GAMERS felt when they were clock watching, waiting for the next meal. I don't actually mind feeling hungry, but I have felt seriously spacey/dopey for the last several hours, which isn't so great. I wonder if that's how ketosis feels. Thursday, I get an initial carb up, which I plan to repeat 5 days later.

On the workout front, I was pretty satisfied with last week. I did one of my best back workouts for a while, pulling together suggestions from some posts last week. Started with one arm Hammer Strength seated rows 6 sets: 70 x 15; 90 x 12; 115 x 10; 125 x 8; 135 x 6 (x 2)for each arm. Then did 3 or 4 sets of Hammer Strength pulldowns @ 10 x 140 (I think). Then did 3 sets of wide grip pullups to failure on gravitron, followed by 3 sets of narrow grip pullups, followed by 50 more reps of wide grip pullups (spread over about 8 sets). Then 3 or 4 sets of light bent over barbell rows (@ 135 and 155). Then for the first time I did several sets of deadlifts (or really pseudo deadlifts at a Hammer Strength deadlift station). I only went as high as 6 45 pound plates.

Today, I hit bis/tris, opening with 2 sets of ascending/descending incline curls, which gave a pretty good pump. After that I did several sets of lying cable curls (low pulley) keeping elbows elevated. Then 3 sets of one arm preacher curls, with 3-5 extra slow negatives at the end of each set; then 3 sets of hammer curls. On these bi exercises I concentrated on slow reps and good form more than doing my maximum loads. When I moved on to triceps I started with behind the back weighted bench dips. I planned to do some heavy drop sets, but just didn't have it. Instead of 7 reps @ 150, I struggled to get out four, & didn't really make up for it with extra reps at the 100 and 50 pound loads. I finished with a few sets of standing overhead extensions, using pretty light loads, but just didn't seem to have much energy. Hopefully, this is just from carb depletion, and I'll do a little better after Thursday's carb up. (Unless I find a renewed burst of energy tomorrow, I may put off leg day until after carb up!)

[mesomorphin']

Did first carb up yesterday. May have screwed up a little by substituting an apple for the banana I intended to include (none available). Better prep next time. Have high hopes for caliper test next week. Pants seem a little looser, delts and arms (generally lower fat areas for me) are starting to look alot more sharply defined. Quads look somewhat tighter, though not ripped. Stubborn back fat/love handles will continue to need work, but I'm hopeful the measurements there will show progress. If not, I'm going to be one mean(er)/angry(ier) SOB next week!

[mesomorphin']

Tried the chest/back/delt/trap part of the 13 week fat burning workout. I found it excellent and challenging -- more supersets than I usually do in a single session. Plus, I'm on the last low carb day before a carb up, so it was an effort to summon up the energy to keep going. Saw a few small growths on my abdomen this morning: either I shouldn't have put off that cancer screening or I may have the early signs of re-emerging abs! Wonder if this portends 6 more weeks of winter? Still hoping for some good numbers tomorrow.

[mesomorphin']

Got caliper measurements today. Based on today's measurements, I have lost 4.5 lbs of fat and 2 lbs of lean body mass since 1/15, and my % bodyfat has decreased by 2%. Overall, since my initial measurement on 12/20, my % bodyfat has decreased 4.2%, with lean body mass loss of 3.8 lbs, and fat loss of 10.2 lbs. Time for a carb up meal, and then back to business.

[mesomorphin']

For some reason my gym was like a freakin' ant farm today. In a relatively small gym, this really can make it hard to keep moving through workouts that revolve around supersets. Today I tried to follow the 13 weeks fatburning bi/tri/ forearm routine for the first time, and I wanted to follow it to the letter. However, every time I turned around, one (or more) of the stations I needed was occupied. graemlins/frusty.gif graemlins/frusty.gif graemlins/frusty.gif I hat it when that happens. Too much down time!

[mesomorphin']

Little by little measurements continue to shrink as my cut continues. (**** whoever came up with that law against spot reduction!) Thank goodness for the mirror, where illusion is trying to conceal the cold, harsh numbers from the tape measure. Shoulders are looking a little wider (can't be). Lats are looking more developed, which is a great motivator, 'cause I've been working them regularly, but I know I can hit them harder, and since they're responding, I will. (No good deed goes unpunished.) For back, I plan to see what I can accomplish with continued emphasis on upper lat width for a while, though I can see I'm going to want to bring up lower lats a bit. Also, looks like its time to increase hit traps harder.

[TheAnimal]

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by mesomorphin':
Little by little measurements continue to shrink as my cut continues. (**** whoever came up with that law against spot reduction!) Thank goodness for the mirror, where illusion is trying to conceal the cold, harsh numbers from the tape measure. Shoulders are looking a little wider (can't be). Lats are looking more developed, which is a great motivator, 'cause I've been working them regularly, but I know I can hit them harder, and since they're responding, I will. (No good deed goes unpunished.) For back, I plan to see what I can accomplish with continued emphasis on upper lat width for a while, though I can see I'm going to want to bring up lower lats a bit. Also, looks like its time to increase hit traps harder.<hr></blockquote>Sounds like your got your work cut out!! Don't you just HATE cuts!! Yuo lose size but end up looking bigger which is only all very well if your not wearing much!!

ANYWAY I'll be in the cutting boat before I know it so then I'll be winging like a *****!! Keep up the good work Meso!!

Animal

[mesomorphin']

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by TheAnimal:
Don't you just HATE cuts!! Yuo lose size but end up looking bigger which is only all very well if your not wearing much!!

ANYWAY I'll be in the cutting boat before I know it so then I'll be winging like a *****!! <hr></blockquote>

Here's to successful cutting! graemlins/beerchug.gif (That's Crystal Lite, not beer. graemlins/images/icons/rolleyes.gif )

I hate to think what's gonna happen when you start cutting with Animal intensity. Before you know it, you'll get so tiny that you'll have to run around naked to get noticed at all. And when that happens, please -- and I'm begging you on this -- please run in another direction!

[mesomorphin']

Identified another asymmetry I need to work on. Long head of right tricep has noticeably less mass than left tricep. I can see medial head as a distinct entity on my right arm, and a fairly distinct line that runs from my deltoid almost to my elbow along the lower part of my upper arm. First, I just thought my right arm was more shredded for some reason, but now, I realize its because there is less fullness in the long & medial heads of my right tricep. This is confirmed by the fact my right arm is definitely weaker when performing one arm dumbbell extensions. More dumbbell work for me!

[mesomorphin']

Good week so far. Fried my legs Monday -- LOTS of leg extensions, moderate volume of squats and LOTS of killer hack squats, followed by legs curls, stiff leg deadlifts and calf raises. Still burning nicely! Today hit chest/back/shoulder. Felt great. Workout ran long, so I had to run to catch shuttle bus to office while still in gym clothes. Before I made it to the office 4 different people (including 2 total strangers) commented on my physique. Nice ego boost!

[mesomorphin']

Well, somehow I screwed my neck/upper back up! After Monday's chest/back/shoulder/trap workout everything seemed great until I got back to the office and sat down to the computer. Pretty suddenly, my neck began to stiffen up, and it got progressively worse all day. By evening everything was tight from the base of my skull down to my shoulders (front and back). By the end of the day, my range of motion was pretty limited (especially up and down), and it felt pretty NASTY no matter what position I tried. When I got home, I took a muscle relaxant and some Naproxen and used a heating pad. Couldn't sleep much, so I spent most of the night on the floor with a heating pad pressed against my neck and shoulders, trying to find arm positions that relieved stress in my neck. A couple of times I felt nerve impulses shoot down both arms, but nothing painful.

Tuesday was no better, so I spent the day immobile, flat on my back, with more muscle relaxant and Naproxen, thinking this would give things a chance to heal. (Probably should have used some ice, but the heat felt sooooo good.)

Came back into work today. I could tell working out would be a bad idea (should have been squat day), so I bagged it for the 2nd day in a row. graemlins/mecry.gif Things were tolerable today, but I can tell the problem has not gone away yet. I've had an occasional feeling of slight weakness in my hands and a sensation like fingers are just beginning to fall asleep, but that has been pretty momentary. Hopefully, this is not indicative of a disc problem. (Yikes!)

If things don't improve tomorrow, I may have to make an appointment to see my doc. Meantime, I have to pack all the stuff in my messy, cluttered office into boxes and get them out of my office so, guys can install new carpet on Friday. Normally, this would be a piece of cake, and I would be helping other folks with their heavy stuff, but it may not be too much fun tomorrow if my neck's still sore.

At the rate things are going, it looks like I may finally get that overdue week off from lifting. Sigh.....

[mesomorphin']

OK, now I'm starting to feel like I'm making progress with the cutting plan! Based on today's caliper test, my bodyfat % has decreased by somewhere between 2.42 and 2.85% since my last measurement on 2/5. Since then I have lost approximately 5.9# of fat while ADDING 2.4 lbs of LBM. (This is the first time on my cut that I've managed an increase in LBM. Hope I can stay in this zone for a while.)

Overall, since 12/20, my bodyfat % has decreased by somewhere between 6.62 and 7.05%, and I have lost 16.1 pounds of fat, and a net loss of 1.4.
pounds of LBM. Also, I've lost around 2" from my waist, while holding pretty steady on everything else except thighs, which have decrease about 1 inch.

Although I'm not done cutting, I'm pleased with my latest trend. MAJOR thanks are in order to DP and JWilson, whose info and guidance account for everything.

On the workout front, things suck due to the effects of a neck injury at the C-6/C-7 vertebrate. I had my first PT session yesteday, which involved cervical traction and electrical stimulation of neck/trap muscles. I can't believe how much this relieved stiffness/tension that has been knotting up my neck/trap/rear delt for the last two weeks. Unfortunately, I still get a lot of pain when I try to sleep, and have to rely on heavy duty pain killers to get any rest at all. Hopefully, this will improve with additional PT sessions; if not, I'll probably have to get an MRI and see if surgical intervention is in order.

For the last couple of weeks workouts have been pretty crappy. I've managed to go pretty heavy on legs, but I've been reluctant to do squats because bar would go right across one of the areas where a muscle spasm is causing pain. Moderate bench work on Monday provoked a pretty nasty response, but I'm hoping that next week will be better because of the PT relief. However, I still plan to take it slow/err on the side of caution until I'm convinced things are settling down.

[Systematic]

Sorry to hear about the neck injury. That really does kill a routine. Even worse during a cut. I would rather be injured bulking.

Worst I have managed is to screw up a shoulder, and was stupid enough to continue to work out on it. graemlins/doh.gif Finally got smart and took 2 weeks rest which managed to fix it.

If you are looking into surgurey to get that fixed, I do NOT envy your recoup time! Good luck.

[mesomorphin']

Thanks for the note, Systematic.

Some improvements on the neck front, I think. I still wake up in the night and have to move to a couch with a heating pad, but I have managed to get through the last two nights without needing a codeine-based pain killer. This could be the start of a welcome trend.

Workout today was OK, except I forgot to take my #$%@! BCAA's before working out. I can't get anywhere near my maximum loads for bench/back work without triggering too much discomfort in my trap/rear shoulder, but I definitely was able to do more than last week, so this seems good. (FYI -- The PT guy told me it was OK to work out, just so I don't put too much stress on my neck -- especially with my head leaning forward or looking down, so I'm not running afoul of any medical advice here.) I have 3 PT sessions this week, so I'm hoping for further progress/improvements as the week goes on.

[^^Yanick^^]

**** Meso, sorry to hear about your neck. One suggestion i could make, is try and find an acupuncturist in your area. When i had tendonitis in my shoulder i went to one and it totally kicks ***. Just some advice.

Also congrats on your cut, it seems like you are doing a great job. Keep it up.

[mesomorphin']

Thanks for the note, Yanick. For a while I was worried I might have a disk problem that would require surgical intervention, but I'm getting more optimistic. A single physical therapy session loosened up my trap & shoulder alot and brought a lot of relief to muscle tension/pain in the daytime. I still get pretty uncomfortable at night, but for the last two nights, I haven't had the really severe pain that I got the first 10 days or so. If I get through a third night without needing codeine based painkillers, I think this thing may be on the way to healing on its own. I don't suppose the bone spur won't go away, but the doc didn't seem very alarmed by it, and I suppose I'll find out more about that when I have a follow up visit in a few weeks. Meantime, I get several more physical therapy sessions, and if they help as much as the first one, I should be in good shape.

[mesomorphin']

Physical therapy seems to be going pretty well. (I love the part where they attach electrodes to your neck and run juice through you during cerival traction. Feels GREAT! I wonder if thats what those stupid ab toys feel like???) I still occasionally have to get up in the middle of the night and sit with a heating pad, but this is becoming less and less frequent -- and I probably could avoid it altogether if I didn't sometimes forget and miss doses of ibuprofen.

I'm in the midst of a short relaxation of my strict cutting diet. During this period, I've added an occasional bit of cheese or some almonds, an occasional Balance Bar, and a few extra grapefruit servings. Plus, one cheat meal at Mrs. Meso's birthday celebration. Next week, back to a stricter regimen.

So far this week, bodyweight is holding steady. This morning I noticed some increased vasularity in my arms. Large vein down left bicep is even more pronounced, and a couple of previously lateral branches are now evident. Beginning to see vein down length of right bicep, though much less pronounced than left side (vascular asymmetry images/icons/frown.gif ). Forearm vascularity is more evident, and a couple of previously hidden veins can be seen in my shoulders when flexing. Shoulders are looking pretty cut, abs are getting better but still have a ways to go. The accursed love handles have not disappeared, though hopefully the tape measure will show some progress next time I check it. Maybe if I shed another 6%....

[mesomorphin']

Still doing the physical therapy session a couple of days per week. Continuing to make progress I think. No episodes of bad pain, and I'm starting to cut back on prescription strength ibuprofin around the clock. Pronounced numbness in fingers yeaterday and simultaneous weakness in left arm and grip during arm/forearm workout. (Usually, the right arm is weaker; maybe this will balance things out a bit.)

I'm a week or so out from my next caliper test --maybe I'll try to synchronize with the Game II folks. Dropped below 180 today (sigh), but at this point, I'm optimistic that at least I'm continuing to lose fat. Shoulders are starting to look really shredded, and more striations separation evident in upper chest. Abs are continuing to improve, but they haven't heard the last from me. Also, even through all the body hair, I'm starting to see some previously hidden separation in my upper quads, so I expect to have a lower caliper meaurement on the thigh next time. Gastrocnemus also a little sharper, with some separation, although I never carried much fat there. Noticing a lot of separation along side of calves (soleus and ?). I'm not sure if its new or if I never really paid much attention to this area. What glimpses I can get of upper back looked pretty good to me. Which leaves lower back -- the bane of my existence. The stupid back fat/love handles are much smaller than when I started cutting, but these stubborn pockets of resistance are likely to be the last to accede to my demand for unconditional surrender.

[mesomorphin']

Couldn't get my caliper test this morning because some bozo at my gym misplaced the keys to the back room where they keep the calipers. Hopefully, I can get it done Friday or next week. I'm hoping for further decreases in BF %, while preserving LBM. Over the past 3 weeks, I've lost another another 1/2" from my waist and another 7 pounds. This is a little larger weight drop than the previous measurement period where I actually increased LBM, so it'll be interesting to see what happens.

Thought I was going to be released from physical therapy on my own recognizance today, with instructions for followup exercises, but it looks like I have at least one more visit.

On the way back from PT (still in tank top), I got 3 comments on physique -- two from acquaintences who commented on how "cut" I looked, and one from a stranger who approached me on a street corner and asked "what do you do for a living, work out?" and then added "looking good." Also got comments/questions from gym buds earlier in the morning. No motivation like having others notice the results of your efforts, huh? Still, I can't declare victory over abs and "stupid back fat" yet, though progress continues there too. (It amazes me how much fat I can carry while looking pretty cut over most of my body! Guess I shouldn't complain though: that's better than having every fat molecule show.)

[mesomorphin']

LEG DAY today. First time I've done squats since my neck problem (had been worried that these might aggravate neck or tensed trap). Happily, no problems. I played it conservative and went lighter, with numerous sets. Altogether, I did 9 sets, including a warmup @ 135, and working up gradually to 315. Then I did 4 sets of leg presses (feet together, heels hanging off bottom of platform), with 360 and 410 lbs of plates. Then 5 sets of leg extensions in the 150-175 range, with static contractions on a couple of sets. Then I supersetted lying leg curls with stiff legged deadlifts for 6 sets. Did not go too heavy on the deadlifts. Even so, I started getting some "warning signs" around the 200-225 range (involuntary tensing of trap and area at junction of delt, brachialis and tricep, as well as a little finger numbness.) I think this may have been from the combination of the weight load suspended from my arms and keep my head up. This seems like one I'm going to have to be careful of for a while. Ran out of time, so I saved calves for tomorrow. I'll throw in some standing/seated calf raises and some tibialis work after abs.

[mesomorphin']

Been cutting for a while you, and really beginning to see results. Today's data:

height: 5'8.5"
weight: 173 (35 lbs lighter than December peak; getting to be a tiny dude)

pec - 7, 6.5
ab - 7, 10
thigh - 11, 12
tri - 6, 7
subscapular - 8, 9
suprailiac - 5, 9
axilla - 7, 7
biceps - 3, 3
calf - 6*, 7*
lower back - 12, 12

* may not be strictly accurate; had trouble getting anything & had to hold the pinch in order to keep caliper from slipping off

BF % - 7 point = 10.2%; 9 point = 10.96%

These results are not really comparable to prior measurements because I used a different, more experienced measurer this time. If I did compare (treating all measurements as accurate), I gained another 2.3-2.4 pounds of LBM over last month, while dropping almost 12 lbs F. Overall, I would have lost 12.6% BF since 12/20, with a net gain of 1 lb. LBM. All without cardio. Since I still want sharper abs and less freaking lower back fat, I'm revising my goal to press lower -- maybe to 8%.

[mesomorphin']

LEG DAY again -- and I'm already starting to feel the afterglow of this morning's workout. Should be excellent, smouldering legs by tomorrow!
1. Narrow stance squats, heels elevated - 6 sets: 12x185; 10x225; 10x275; 10x315; 10x365 (1/2 rep); 12x225.
2. Hack squats free weight - 5 sets: 15x95; 12x115; 10x135; 10x135; 10x135. (I'm new to these and still suck at them. I have a very hard time keeping my balance if I keep my back upright, with my shoulders over my hips.)
3. leg extensions - 4 sets (slow): 135x11; 125x12; 112.5x15; 112.5x15.
4. leg curls supersetted with smith machine lunges curls 5 sets (light - curls up to 125; lunges up to 185)
5. stiff legged deadlifts - 4 sets: 10x 185; 205; 225; 8x245
6. seated calf raises - 4 sets: 10x145; 165; 185
drop set 7x185/5x165.
7. standing calf raises 4 sets: 13x275; 10x315; 8x365; 9x315

[mesomorphin']

Screwed up my carb up meal last night. Had the banana, had the sweet potato, made the oatmeal but then forgot all about it until I found it in the microwave this morning. Also forgot the PB last night, since I generally have it after the oatmeal. Memo to self: If can't learn to watch "24" and eat at the same time, may have to change carb up day.

This week I decided to shift back closer to single bodypart workouts for a while. Current split is:

Monday-Legs
Tuesday-Chest
Wednesday-Shoulder/traps
Thursday-Back/abs (deadlifts on back day)
Friday-Bi/Tri/Forearm
Saturday-rest
Sunday-rest

Since I'm prone to high volume workouts, I'll need to exercise more discipline to keep workouts shorter -- particularly while cutting. So far this week, however, I went long/high volume on Leg day. Showed more restraint Tuesday. Generally followed prescribed shoulder program today (but took too **** long; need to focus more on the clock). That leaves tomorrow and Friday to redeem myself.

Noticed some veins running from near my hip bones to my groin and some across lower abdomen. Hopefully signs of further progress on the fat burning front. Next caliper test is next week. I don't think I'm going to show much, if any, weight loss since my last measurement, but possibly my resumed use of creatine is keeping the weight up.

[mesomorphin']

5'8.5" 172.5 lbs

Pectoral - 6 (av)
Abdominal - 7 (av)
Thigh - 9.5 (av)
Tricep - 6.5 (av)
Subscapula - 9 (av)
Suprailiac - 8.5 (av)
Axilla - 6 (av)
Bicep - 4.5 av
Calf - 8.5 av
Lower back - 12 av
172.5

BF % (7 Point) 9.67% = 155.81 LBM/16.1F
BF % (9 Point) 11.19% = 153.29 LBM/19.3 F

Mixed results -- most individual measurements went down, but a few went up -- particularly the calf measurement, where they always have touble getting something to pinch. Even in the best case, though, it looks things have slowed to a crawl as far as the numbers go. I expected the rate of progress to slow at some point, but I was hoping to do a little better on the numbers. Although my weight loss was basically 0 during this period, I was hoping this was due to resuming creatine, and that my caliper measurements might show progress anyway.

I need to figure out some changes to get back on track, but not sure what right now.

I continue to be happier with the mirror, for now, though. My measurements continue to decrease, including waist, which is down about 1/2" since my last caliper test. Upper chest work combined with cutting has produced best defined inner chest line I can remember -- pretty plainly visible today even through the hair. Increasing appearance of upper/lower separation too. Shoulders are about the same -- pretty cut, maybe a LITTLE more vascular. Serratus becoming pretty sharp, and obliques pretty distinct (although lowermost somewhat less so -- a mark of work yet to do). In the right light, at the right angle, can see a striation or two in part of lower lats as well. 6 pack is visible, though bottom most line is a lot less shrap and disappears into hair. Quads seem about the same to me; didn't really check calves/tibilis today. Sometime next month (after Paris?), I will revisit the assessment sheet and try to take stock of progress decide if I need to shift priorities.

[mesomorphin']

Workouts have been good so far this week. Monday was LEG DAY. Increased weight some on my deepest squats and on stiff legged deadlifts. Still feel the lunges today. Tuesday hit chest with the dumbbell routine from the 8 weeks to bigger pecs. (I love that workout.) Wednesday, did shoulders and traps, using a slower rep tempo than normal. Had to adjust weight loads and/or number of reps a little, but it still felt like a pretty good workout. Today was back. Increased loads and reps on my deadlifts and on isolation incline rows. Got a great lat pump today, and lats were looking pretty good in the locker room post-workout. Definite improvement here since my self-assessment in December. I'm finally close to camera ready, though I don't see it actually happening.

[Big Pappa B]

Good job man. I must say, for a "little guy images/icons/laugh.gif " you have some strong legs. I'm thoroughly impressed. graemlins/thumb.gif

[mesomorphin']

Thanks, BPB. I used to do some pretty heavy leg presses -- around the 1000 pound mark. (I had to time those pretty carefully, because this used up pretty much all the 45 pound plates in our little office gym). However, since I took up squats last summer, I haven't done much with the leg press (and when I do use it now, I focus on particular foot placements that have me struggling at much lighter loads). As for squats, I still pretty much suck at them, load wise. I don't go all that heavy when I go to parallel or below. My heavier sets (315-405) are partial rep sets. However, I finally took up deadlifts in the last month or so, and I think its starting to help me increase my deep squat loads.

[mesomorphin']

5/30 Still working on cut. After getting input from MB, I decided to put tweak my meal plan to change my protein shakes. I had been having a couple of Optimum 100% Whey shakes (two 2 scoops) per day, usually with flax or flax/safflower oil. For the next 3 weeks, I'll switch to a whey/egg blend (Optimum ProComplex) for my post-workout shake and a 100% egg protein shake for the afternoon meal. I also tinkered with the meal plan generally. The new plan still has 2 days with carb up meals (Sunday and Wednesday) -- I'm getting about 2650 calories over 7 meals on those days. Two other days I'll get 2200 cal. over 6 meals. The remaining three days, I'll get around 2000 cal. over 5 meals.
After I see what results that produces, I will probably tweak again by stretching out the time between carb ups a little. After giving that a try for a few weeks, if I'm still not down to 8%, I'll probably add a couple of low intensity cardio sessions per week.
Although the numbers did not go down last caliper measurement, I still think I see little signs of progress. Vascularity continues to increase – very pronounced on forearms; single vein across right delt has become a lacey web of veins over entire front/side delt when flexed. Increased vascularity also evident on left arm/delt, but not as prominent as right side. Veins from lower abs to groin and around hip are also more evident.
Shoulders look shredded. Lots of separation visible in forearms (flexors and extensors). I could see very clean separations/striations across upper chest while doing lat pulldowns this morning. Obliques &amp; serratus are pretty sharply defined, as are calves. Quads separations are there, but don't seem as sharp to me (maybe they're harder to see due to the angle/the hair?). However, a Gold's staffer commented on my quad cuts Monday, so there must be something -- unless they say that to all the guys. The main area where I would like to see further improvement remains mid to lower abs. Lowermost band across abs is still not very distinct. (Probably could stand improvement in the lowermost back too, but that's harder to see.)
One downside of lower bodyfat is that the "divot"/deformity from my old bicep tear is much sharper, and you can clearly see how deep it is. (Width of uppermost bicep is about 50% of width of lower bicep on the torn side.) However, I don't think there's really anything to be done about that. (Mrs. Meso noticed it for the first time in Paris, said "what the hell is that?" and suggested I see a doctor. I don't see that doing any good for a two year old injury.)
Had a pretty good back workout today. Since legs definitely haven't recovered from LEG DAY on Monday, I skipped deadlifts today (sorry Lord Franco!), and threw in a few extra sets of other exercises instead.
Tried 100% egg protein today, with some flax/safflower oil. Pretty nasty compared to whey (kind of a sickening sweetness). Maybe I'll try heavy cream as a fat source for this shake next time, to make it more palatable. Going to order some Carbolite egg protein powder, which has zero carbs (as opposed to the 3g/serving in the current stuff).

6/1 - Hit the pool today and got a little sun. With tanning oil on quad separations are pretty visible – though it lacks then same impact without freaky size. Finally found a local outlet for Quorn, so now I have an additional source for protein. I got the Quorn Grounds, which is 88% protein product. Seems like it would be pretty good as an ingredient in other foods, but while I'm on the Spartan cut, I'm going to have it plain, with some cayenne pepper for flavor and a thermogenic boost.

6/5 - Despite some cheating the past week (unscheduled peanuts during party for summer law clerks, and unscheduled cheese cubes during reception at Mrs. Meso's arts facility), lowermost abdominal band is starting to appear more distinct (though still less sharp than the upper two bands). The 8 pack is beginning to emerge more clearly. My Carbolite egg protein powder tastes MUCH better than the sh!t I got at my local supplement store.

6/6 - Excellent back workout today, with exercises drawn from Adam's program. Intended to include Adam's forearm workout as well, but ran out of time, as had to get to a retreat at my boss' house. Incorporated extreme stretching after most sets, but forgot to include post stretch flex.

6/9 - Bi/tri/forearm workout this morning. Finally started Adam's forearm program. It was excellent, but I was already showing some signs of fatigue from the bi/tri portion of the workout by the time I got to forearms. I can see why Adam recommends setting aside a separate day for his forearm routine. I'm definitely going to try that at some point, but since my gym is only open 5 days/week, it will be pretty hard to come up with a split that allows regular, exclusive focus on forearms.

6/8 - In the right light, at the right angle, after laying in the sun with some tanning oil on, I could trace a couple of veins running from my armpits across the serratus and obliques and all the way down to the lower abs and hips. Never seen those before that I can recall. Also, more veins visible in upper pecs and across mid-lower pecs. Hopefully, these are signs of progress that will be confirmed on next caliper test.

[mesomorphin']

OK, so there's good news and bad news. The bad news is that yesterday I paid for a moment of inattention with an injury. While doing a double drop set of one and two half rep incline flies, I reached failure at the end of the first drop and let my arms drop rapidly all the way to the ground, at which point I crushed my fingers between the dumbbells I was holding and the dumbbells from phase one of the set. I broke two fingers, and put a pretty deep gash about half way around my middle finger somwhere beween last knuckle and the base of my finger nail, which was protruding from my digit. The part of the bone where the tendon attaches to my fingertip broke off from the rest of the bone, so the end of my finger just drooped down and I couldn't extend it. (This may turn out to be a good thing, because doctors think the tendon itself is intact, and its easier for bones to heal than tendons.)

So I spent much of yesterday in the ER getting a tetanus shot, IV antibiotics, nasty (but effective) numbing injections in my finger, having my fingernail cut off, removing skin that was too damaged to hold stiches, getting stitched up, including stitches through the finger nail bed, which was mashed in to the point that it separated from the surrounding area, and getting splints on my broken fingers.

I do not recommend that you try this at home, as you will surely waste a lot of time, and risk getting unpleasant surprises about how good your health insurance coverage really is for emergencies. Plus, if you're a wimp like me, your training log will permanently register an INCOMPLETE double drop set of incline flies....

Now I'm going to have to wear splits on two fingers for something like 3-6 weeks, which means (i) my typing is even worse than normal, and (ii) I won't be able to wrap my left hand around a bar for quite a while. I'll probably have to take it easy on upper body exercises for a couple of days until my fingers stop throbbing, but after that I'll be in the market for some routines that can be done with splinted fingers. All suggestions welcome!


On the good news side, I had a bodyfat measurement today. I'm now at 8.45% -- zeroing in on my 8% goal. Also, these measurements were taken by someone who says her results tend to be on the high side. (A lot of folks think I'm 6% or under; however, I think a lot of folks are are used to 3 point measurements and/or have a distorted notion about what a true 5 or 6% looks like!)

I'm pretty happy with the results at this point, and getting a lot of nice feedback, including remarks from strangers. (Last weekend, I overheard a kid at the grocery store saying, "Daddy, that man looks like a bodybuilder!" Made my morning...)

[mesomorphin']

While my mangled fingers are in splints, I can't do anything that requires me to wrap my hands around a bar. So for the time being, I'm going to have to focus on exercises I can do open-handed. This means I need to get re-acquainted with some of the machines I have been neglecting, and work on rep schemes that will be challenging without triggering a reflexive impulse to grip and squeeze the sh!t out of the bar. Today, for back, I tried some drop sets of straight arm pulldowns and some drop sets of machine pullovers. For shoulders, I tried some machine press drop sets and some machine lateral raises. My variety of exercises may be scaled back a little for a while, but it seems clear this injury will not be the end of decent workouts, at least for back and shoulders. Thanks to everyone who provided suggestions for things to try (or avoid).

Had my first dressing change today. Still a fair amount of bleeding when the bandages came off. Hopefully, this will stop soon, so later changes (that I'll have to do myself) will be easier. Next Thursday I'll see an orthopedic hand specialist and should learn more about what to expect re: possible need for surgery, healing time, etc.

Meantime, I'm totally psyched to try out some of the calf exercise tips from this month's Beyond Failure. Can't wait for LEG DAY Monday to get started, though I'll probably start splitting up different aspects of calf work on different days.

Wow Meso, you animal you! Talk about hardcore workouts and even breaking your fingers, geesh! I don't know if I could "hang" with you for a training session! ~eek!!~ Anyway, hope those fingers heal quickly for you and for goodness sakes, be MORE careful!

Sounds like you're making awesome progress! Nice detailed journal you keep, cool hearing about all the new cuts and veins, that's awesome. I'm absolutely beaming when I find a new cut! Sounds like you're ripped!

[ QUOTE ]
(A lot of folks think I'm 6% or under; however, I think a lot of folks are are used to 3 point measurements and/or have a distorted notion about what a true 5 or 6% looks like!)<hr /></blockquote>

Yeah, no kidding! I don't think any of the pt's who work at this gym are very good at taking body fat measurements. I've had women come in my store and tell me what they just got calipered (digital calipers) and they'll tell me they're 13% or some other number lower than mine and I'm sitting here with a 6 pack and I don't even see a lick of definition on them at all, go figure! I have to tell them something is fishy. They try and tell me they have no fat on their legs or something cause the pt couldn't pinch anything yet they don't have any quad separation. So then I'm like, well, you can't pinch my quads either cause they are so solid yet I know I have fat on them otherwise I'd have much more quad separation than I do. What makes a bodypart so solid even with fat on it, I don't know, it's one of mother nature's mysteries.

[mesomorphin']

Thanks, Kyrpto, but my accident had more to do with inattention/stupidity than intensity. (I think I'm in the running for dopey ADD member of the month -- again!) My attempt at "hardcore" is more in the effort to quickly rearrange my workouts to come up with things I can do with splinted fingers, and in coming back to the gym the next day for more! (Like I have something better to do????)

[mesomorphin']

Despite the finger/grip problem, I've had pretty good workouts so far this week. Yesterday was LEG day, and I did a few 20 rep squat sets, with a little bit lighter weight than usual. (Even so, I felt the last 5 reps of each set REAL good.) Also, did some very deep machine hack squats, some leg extensions (drop set and static hold), some lying leg curls and some calf work. (Have to bag the stiff legged deadlifts for now.)


Today was chest, shoulders and serratus on machines , with some fairly high rep drop sets. Excellent pump. I don't think the injury is going to be much of a problem here.

Yesterday, I ran into one of the evening lifters who I hadn't seen in a long time. Although he lifts mostly for power/strength (and sometimes competes in that area), he probably has the best physique in our gym -- just a mass of full, dense muscle. He started asking a lot of questions about my diet program, and this morning one of our gym staff told me that this guy later went on and on about how cut I have gotten. Got to cut for yourself, if you're going to stick with it, but its still nice to get some outside feedback from someone who knows what they're doing!

[Mama's Boy]

meso,

You're not just cut, you're an example of cut-ness! WTG! /forum/images/icons/laugh.gif

Too bad about the injury. All the more reason to slow down and take your time, now! No more injuries.

[mesomorphin']

Good advice, MB. I'll try to comply. I've been pretty careful, but I'm a tad "accident prone." It kinda goes with the territory!

Monday was the perfect day! Got up early and hit a gym at the beach. Had an excellent LEG DAY, with squats, some not-too-heavy-but-VERY-deep (way past parallel) machine hack squats, a few sets of finish-off leg extensions, followed by some standing calf raises (some inversion, some eversion and some flat), followed by 6 100-rep sets of seated smith machine tibialis raises. Then off to the beach, with nothing to do except soak up sun and eat my egg-white &amp; quorn omelets. (Its a tough life, but somebody's got to step up to the plate!)

Tuesday, I did a chest workout before heading to the doctor. Lots of work on the smith machine, where grip is not an issue, and lots of machine flies. The doctor removed the splint from one finger. Its a little stiff and doesn't have a complete range of motion yet, but I've been able to gently stretch it into a fully curled up position, so hopefully I'll get a normal range of motion fairly quickly.

Yesterday, I did back and bis. I continued to use mainly exercises I could do open-handed, but I did do a few exercises (machine rows, 2 arm cable curls) with four fingers wrapped around the bar.

Today, I did a soleus marathon and then hit side calf. I am so jazzed about the exercises in this month's Beyond Failure!!!! I opened with beefcake raises on the leg press. I adjusted the seat so that my quads pressed against my chest, heels to butt and calves pressed against hams. I did two enormous rest-pause sets of these. The first one cranked out 243 reps, with numerous 15-20 second rest intervals (generally 15-25 reps at a time). The second set I reduced the weight and cranked out 300 reps the same way. I was sweating like a pig and ready to beg for mercy at almost every pause interval. These were incredible. Then, in a little overkill, I tried a few sets of smith machine seated calf raises, just to get the feel of these (since I never tried them before). Then I followed up with a couple of sets of inverted calf raises, and a couple of sets of everted calf raises, before trying some plantar flexion with inversion and eversion using the theraband. I'm still getting used to these, but I feel the inversion/eversion more intensely with the bands.

[mesomorphin']

Yesterday was another LEG DAY. Ran through some squats, machine hack squats, leg extensions. Then some stiff leg deadlifts -- first time since my finger injury! Since I still don't have a five fingered grip on my left hand, I used straps on all my SLDLs, but it still felt great to be adding them back to the routine. Then a few sets of leg curls supersetted with standing calf raises. I mixed up the calf raises so a couple of sets were performed with toes pointed in; a couple of sets were eversion raises and a couple of sets were inversion raises. Then a few sets of leg press calf raises wirh toes pointed out, and finally, several sets of seated smith machine tibialis raises (with 15-20 second rest-pause) until I reached 300 reps. Next LEG DAY, time for more deep lunges.

Today was chest/serratus/shoulder day. Because of grip issues, I have stayed away from dumbbells lately, but I'm eager to get back to some dumbbell work.

Hopefully, tomorrow they'll take off my remaining splint and give me free reign! (I'm not sure exactly what to expect, but if the degree of stiffness is proportional to the severity of injury, then I expect some significant mobility limitations on the last finger for a while after the splint comes off. However, I think they will encourage as much movement as possible as early as possible, so hopefully I can take it for a test drive soon!)

[mesomorphin']

Last week, I got the splint off my remaining finger. It was pretty stiff, but I've been working at trying to stretch it out. If I use my other hand to slowly press it into position, I can close the finger up pretty much all the way. For a few minutes after this stretching I can close it by myself, although it gradually tightens up again when I'm not actively stretching it. Oh well, practice makes better, and eventually all this stretching is bound to help! I still have major numbness in the one finger, which drives me crazy when I touch things, but I've been through this before and I know this will either gradually improve or I'll get used to it.

Got in some pretty good workouts last week, but I'm still using straps for a while on some exercises, so I don't have to depend too much on the two healing fingers. If I press too much with/near my fingertips, it is still sometimes a little nasty/distracting, but its definitely coming along.

I felt like a gym ambassador this weekend. In the parking lot at the grocery store, some guy stopped to ask me if I competed, and then said I inspired him to get back to the gym more often. Later, when I went to our recycling/ transfer station, one of the workers there asked how often I worked out and said he could see all the muscles in my back rippling while I was throwing trash into the rolloff boxes. This guy said he used to work out more, and planned to get back to it. I guess you never know when you might be an example for someone else.

Today was LEG DAY -- one of my favorites -- but the gym was freaking HOT again. I think they don't air condition that part of the building over the weekend and sometimes forget to turn on the air conditioning in time to make the gym reasonable for the early morning folks. Today is going to be pretty hot here -- real temperature near 100 and heat index up to about 115, I think. That's pretty much what it felt like in the gym this morning. This tends to drain the energy out of you pretty quick. I probably drank 60 ounces of water during my workout, but still felt dehydrated, as the water seemed to seep out my pores just about as fast as I could take it in. Kind of forces you into a slow motion workout.

[mesomorphin']

Thinking about rearranging my split as follows, starting next week:

Monday: Back (w/deadlifts), soleus &amp; anterior calf
Tuesday: Chest, serratus, shoulders
Wednesday: Traps, abs
Thursday: Quads, hams, glutes, gastrocs and side calf
Friday: Bis, Tris, forearms
Saturday: off
Sunday: off

Although it would be preferable to separate the rest days, that is not really an option for me at this point, since my gym is only open Mon-Fri.

My thought was to allow as much recovery time as possible between back (with deads) and legs, and between upper arms and chest/back. Also wanted to avoid having forearms workout too close to back or legs (SLDLs), so my grip won't be shot. Also, I tend to be better rested at the beginning of the week, and its been quite a while since I did back early in the week. Might let me beat it up a little more effectively to move it up earlier.

I see the doctor tomorrow re: fingers. Things seem to be coming along pretty well. (At times I can close up both of the broken fingers completely, though I have to keep at it to keep things from tightening up a little. I don't seem to be able to make the one finger straighten out completely, though I'm pretty close.) The way my self-help is going, I doubt he'll see much need for occupational therapy.

Over the past 2 weeks, I have developed a pretty big (and tender) mystery bump (hard) just below a joint on the finger that wasn't broken too badly. I suspect its somehow related, but its pretty far from the site of the break, so maybe not. I'll ask tomorrow, since its somewhat tender, and I can tells its going to make it uncomfortable to grabbing brief cases and gym bags. Got to nip this thing in the bud before it interferes with important stuff like BARBELLS! Eek!

http://www.plauder-smilies.de/happy/xyxthumbs.gif Doin' great Meso!

<blockquote><font class="small">posted by mesomorphin':</font><hr />... In the parking lot at the grocery store, some guy stopped to ask me if I competed, and then said I inspired him to get back to the gym more often. Later, when I went to our recycling/ transfer station, one of the workers there asked how often I worked out and said he could see all the muscles in my back rippling while I was throwing trash into the rolloff boxes. This guy said he used to work out more, and planned to get back to it. I guess you never know when you might be an example for someone else.

Today was LEG DAY -- one of my favorites -- but the gym was freaking HOT again. I think they don't air condition that part of the building over the weekend and sometimes forget to turn on the air conditioning in time to make the gym reasonable for the early morning folks. Today is going to be pretty hot here -- real temperature near 100 and heat index up to about 115, I think. That's pretty much what it felt like in the gym this morning. This tends to drain the energy out of you pretty quick. I probably drank 60 ounces of water during my workout, but still felt dehydrated, as the water seemed to seep out my pores just about as fast as I could take it in. Kind of forces you into a slow motion workout.
<hr /></blockquote>

Yeah! http://www.plauder-smilies.de/happy/bigok.gif Comments like that seem to make all the hard work worthwhile, huh? That's awesome!

I know what you mean by hot gyms, this gym has A/C but when it's humid and 90 some degrees outside, it just never gets cool enough in here! It doesn't help that there are a lot of windows in the upstairs section, whew!

[mesomorphin']

OK, new plan. Today I decided to try out a new back workout (from DP) that I plan to use with variations over the next several weeks, and I found out that I won't have time or energy to do high-rep soleus and anterior calf work on back day. So now I'm thinking about something along the following lines

Monday: Back/Traps

Upper back
1. superset wide grip pulldowns and reverse grip pulldowns (also wide grip)-- 4 supersets: 8, 8, 7, 6
60 second rest interval between supersets
(or 1.a -- substitute wide grip chins and reverse wide grip pulldowns)

2. superset narrow parallel grip pulldowns with wide parallel grip pulldowns -- 4 supersets: 8, 8, 7, 6
with 60 second rest interval between supersets

Middle Back
3. giant set -- barbell TBar rows, reverse grip bent over rows, neutral grip machine rows, and one arm dumbbell rows -- 3 giant sets: 8, 8, 7
with 120 second rest interval between each giant set
(or 3.b substitute performing same exercises separately (no giant set), using 1/6 technique)

Lower back
4. tri-set: good mornings, swiss ball reverse hyperextensions, weighted machine hyperextensions -- 3 tri-sets: 12, 12, 12
with 60 second rest interval between tri-sets
(or 4.a substitute 3-4 sets deadlifts 12, 10, 8, 6 and 3 sets good mornings 12, 12, 12)

Traps
5. barbell shrugs* -- 5 sets: 12, 10, 8 rest/pause then to failure; 10 + partials to failure; 10 + static hold
[or substitute dumbell shrugs]
* alternate front shrugs/behind the back shrugs different weeks

Tuesday: Chest , Soleus, Anterior calf
1. decline press - 1, 6, 1, 8, 1, 8, drop - to failure, drop - to failure*
2. incline press - 1, 6, 1, 8, 1, 8, drop - to failure, drop - to failure*
3. flat bench - 12, 10, 8, 6 (each with static hold on final rep)
(or 3.b subsitute 100 reps in fewest sets able to complete, with 30-60 second rest intervals*)
4. flyes -- incline flyes 1 + 2 half reps: drop set 8, 8, 8
(or 4.b-c substitute machine flyes or cable crossovers)
* alternate weeks switch from barbells to dumbbells

Serratus
5. incline serratus raise: 12, 10, 8, 8
6. flat bench serratus raise: 12, 10, 8, 8

Soleus
7. beefcake raises on leg press machine -- rest pause to at least 200 (350 if time permits)
(or 7.b substitute seated smith machine raises, 1 leg or 2 leg)
Anterior calf
8. tibialis raises -- rest/pause to at least 200 reps
(or substitute seated plate raises) -- at least 250 reps
9. theraband resistance inversion - 2 sets 15-20 reps
10. dorsi flexion of foot and toes - 2 sets 15-20 reps
11. dorsi flexion and eversion - 2 sets 15-20 reps

Wednesday -- Delts, Forearms, Abs

Delts
week A heavy -
1. military press 4-6, 4-6, 4-6
(or substitute 1, 6, 1, 6, 1, 8+ partials)
2. upright row 4-6, 4-6, 4-6
3. dumbbell laterals 4-6, 4-6, 4-6
(or substitute machine lateral)
week B
1. one arm dumbbell press: 6-8, 6-8, 8-10
(or substitute 1, 6, 1, 6, 1, 6)
2. bent lateral raise (dumbbell or cable): 8-10, 8-10 + static hold, 8-10 drop to failure
3. cable side lateral: 10-12, 10-12, 10-12

week C
1. superset seated lateral raise and machine press -- 2 sets: 8-10, 8-10 drop, to failure, drop, to failure
2. superset rear delt raise with wide grip upright row -- 3 sets 8-10, 8-10 rest/pause to failure, 8-10 rest/pause to failure
3. front raise (cable or dumbbell) -- 1 double drop sets: 6-8, drop 6-8, drop, 6-8

Forearms

4. alternate between 8 Weeks to Bigger Forearms Routine A and Routine B

Abs
5. crunches 3x30
6. lying leg raises 3 x 30
(or substitute hanging leg raises)
7. oblique crunches 3 x 30
(or subsitute 3 tri sets of same exercises)

Thursday: Quads, Hams, Glutes, Calf (gstroc &amp; misc.)

1. Squats -- 4 sets: 20, 20, 15, 10 rest pause 5*
*alternate wide stance, narrow stance from week to week (or substitute front squat or hack squats; or superset with sissy squats)
2. Leg extensions: 12+ static hold; 10 + static hold; 10, drop, to failure, drop + static hold
(or substitute 1 + 2 half rep sissy squats)
3. Adductors - leg press with very wide stance, toes pointed out: 15, 15, 10 rest/pause 15
Glutes
4. Lunges (very deep) 15, 12, 10, 9
Hams
5. superset lying leg curl (one leg/two leg)with SLDL: 12, 10, 8, 6-8
(or substitute pull-throughs)
Gastrocs
6. standing calf raises,
toes in: 15, 12, 10
toes out: 15, 12, 10
toes straight, inversion: 15, 12*
toes straight, eversion: 15, 12*
(*or substitute theraband inversion/eversion exercises)

Friday: bis, tris
workout A
1. Riot bombing -- superset standing barbell curl and skullcrushers -- 20 supersets, with 30 second rest interval between supersets: 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 5, 5, 6, 8, 10, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 14, 13, 12 (rep numbers apply to both halfs of each superset)

(or substitute another combination -- incline dumbbell curls and overhead rope extensions; or preacher curls and lat pullover machine)

workout B

1. "superset" preacher curl pause rep sets with pressdown (rope or bar) pause rep sets 3 superset: 6, 6, 6, with 10 second rest interval between reps; two min rest between bi/tri exercises

2. "superset" incline dumbbell curl (offset grip) with incline skullcrushers -- 3 sets: 6-8, 6-8, 6-8; 2 minute rest interval between bi/tri

3. "superset" concentration curls with reverse grip pressdowns -- 3 sets: 6-8, 6-8, 6-8; 2 minute rest interval between bi/tri

4. 6-12-25 set for biceps -- 2 tri-sets: lying dumbbell curls-6/standing barbell curls-12/cable curls-25

5. 6-12-25 set for triceps -- 2 tri-sets: overhead low pulley extensions-6/parallel dips-12/decline dumbell extensions

6. "superset" narrow grip pullups (palms in) with standing reverse curl -- 4 sets: (i) 4-6 pullups, 10 second rest, 4 reverse curls; 3 minute rest; (ii) 4-6 pullups, 10 second rest, 6 reverse curls; 3 minute rest; (iii) 4-6 pullups, 10 second rest, 8 reverse curls; 3 minute rest; (iv) 4-6 pullups, 10 second rest, 8 reverse curls.

Workout C

Animals 8 weeks to bigger biceps - workout A;
(incline curls 1 set; standing EZ bar curls - 5 double drop sets; 2 arm cable curls - 5 sets with static hold; cable 21's - 3 sets)

Old School tricep routine
(lying barbell press - 4 sets 6-9 reps, one with rest/pause;
close grip cable pressdowns - 4 sets 6-9 reps including 1 triple drop set; superset cable kickbacks with one arm overhead dumbbell extension - 3 sets 8-10 reps)

http://www.plauder-smilies.de/eek2.gifhttp://www.plauder-smilies.de/eek2.gifhttp://www.plauder-smilies.de/eek2.gif

You plan on doing ALL that for each of those body parts?!! Or are those just the exercises you will be picking from? Just curious cause that is A LOT! Whoa!

And to think there is this guy I know who is juicing and you would think he would be doing some very hardcore workouts. Huh! Today I caught him only using 45 lbs on the lifecircuit machine for military press!! Geesh! I do that much weight! Then he tries to tell me he's going light. http://pages.prodigy.net/rogerlori1/emoticons/rolleyes1.gif Puhleeeease! I called him a wussy and told him he'd better put more weight on there or I'm gonna tell everyone he presses the same amount of weight as a GIRL!! LMAO! That fixed him right up! Hehehehehe.

[mesomorphin']

Well...yeah, Krypto -- at least I'm going to try. I generally do pretty high volume workouts, sometimes more than this, especially for legs, chest and arms. I haven't been doing this much for back, but I haven't prioritized back for a long time and thought I'd give DP's workout a try. As I work through this, I may need rearrange the split or cut back further on some of the high rep calf work in order to get everything done. We'll see.

During this split, I'm going to focus on cutting my rest intervals down, as I've been way too lax in that regard. At some point along the way, that might force me to reduce loads for some of the sets a little, but I still plan to complete the sets listed. Its possible that time could become a factor that might force me to rearrange the split or cut back further on some of the high rep calf work if I'm going to get everything in.

As for taunting your juicer acquaintance, have fun! Just be sure you're holding a bigger weight than he is when you do, so he'll think twice about giving in to 'roid rage!!!!

<blockquote><font class="small">posted by mesomorphin':</font><hr /> Well...yeah, Krypto -- at least I'm going to try...

As for taunting your juicer acquaintance, have fun! Just be sure you're holding a bigger weight than he is when you do, so he'll think twice about giving in to 'roid rage!!!!

<hr /></blockquote>

Wow! Well some people I know of need to take a workout lesson from you! http://www.plauder-smilies.de/happy/xyxthumbs.gif

Oh and I will, muahahahahahaha hehehehehe. http://www.plauder-smilies.de/devil/diablotin.gif He's always talking smack about me (and BPB) so he DESERVES it, bigtime!

[mesomorphin']

Today was bi/tri forearm day. I did arm workout C from exercise list above. The pace was not as brutal as the Riot Bombing routine I tried last arm day, but I hit my rest interval targets (1 minute or less, which for me is some improvement), except for one or two occasions when somebody asked to "work in."

Today was my first concerted forearm workout since I broke my fingers. I had forgotten how intense JW's 8 week forearm program is! (A bad memory can be a blessing on those occasions when its better not to see what's coming!) Got through it just fine, although when I let bar roll down as low as possible on the wrist curls, I still get a nasty feeling in one finger when I find myself pressing hard with the finger tip.

[mesomorphin']

New split is going well so far. Yesterday was back and traps. Followed the routine described above, but substituted wide grip pullups/wide grip chins instead of pulldowns for the initial superset. I kept the pace I wanted, holding rest intervals down to 60 seconds or less, except for the transition to the first giant set. (It took me a couple of minutes to get everything set up at all four stations used in that set.) I'm starting to get this routine down, as I found it just a bit easier than last week, even though I increased the weight on most exercises. Next week, I'll try increasing weight again or cutting rest interval more; after that, I'll change something up.

Today was chest/serratus, anterior calf and soleus. For chest, I used the 1/6 neural training technique. I did four 1/6 combinations on decline (including a final strip set), followed by 3 1/6 combinations on incline, followed by 3 sets of decline flyes. Compared to the prior week, I increased weight on both my one rep maxes and the 6-8 rep sets. Although I opened today with the highest one rep max values from the previous week, I may still be holding back just a little here, because I am able to increase the weight somewhat on my second and third maxes. (By the fourth max, I generally have to drop back to something in the ballpark of the first set.)

For tibilias, I did three 100 rep sets of smith machine raises with 135 pounds. Then I did 3 25-rep sets of resisted inversion &amp; plantar flexion with theraband and 3 25 rep sets of resisted eversion &amp; plantar flexion with theraband. By the time I got to soleus, I only had time for a 175 rep rest/pause set of beefcake raises on the leg press -- though I did have a little higher weight than last week.

[mesomorphin']

Did shoulder workout for Week B above. Added a fourth set to each of the listed exercises and also added four sets of dumbbell front raises. I'm really starting to like the one arm dumbbell presses, which are fairly new to me.

I finished with plenty of time on my hands, so I decided to tinker with the split again and add forearms to Wednesdays. Today I did 6 rest/pause sets of behind the back wrist curls, supersetted with holding heavy weights, and then a double drop rest/pause set reverse wrist curls. When I press against the tip of one of my recently broken fingers, I still get a nasty feeling deep in the fingertip. This was especially true as time wore on during the static holds and I was working harder to maintain a grip. Rather than dropping the static holds for now, I cheated, allowing the dumbells to droop into a partly vertical position that took some of the stress off my fingers. I'm sure this weakens the effectiveness of the exercise, but I think it was better than nothing.

Today I was very uneven about watching the pace. Some sets had shortened rest intervals, but did not maintain good focus during delt work and let too many intervals go long. Think I'm distracted by some potentially troubling medical test results my wife got in the mail last night. Once we get an explanation/interpretation, I'm sure things will be better. [edit: got clarification that the scary sounding part of my wife's test results is nothing to worry about. No brain tumors -- so no distractions tomorrow for LEG DAY!]

[mesomorphin']

Yesterday, was one of those days.... I sucked. Got out of the house late. Was pretty unfocused when I hit the gym, and just felt a little off (queasy stomach/sweating out of proportion to the level of exertion, etc.). Thought I was coming down with a cold, but nothing materialized, so there was really no good excuse for the lackluster workout I completed.

I opened with three sets of front squats, which I hadn't done for quite a while. Something on the bar made it slippery, so I didn't feel totally comfortable with them, and I wound up doing loads that were more than warm up sets, but less than what I would usually use for working sets. Well, THAT was totally unsatisfying, so I lingered at the squat rack to complete 4 real working sets of regular squats. I completed the sets, with the loads I wanted, but my reps fell a little below the range I planned. I could and should have toughed it out, but my mind was not fully engaged. (OK, I mean it was even LESS engaged than normal!)

Disgusted with my performance on the squats, I moved on to the leg extension machine and cranked out a few sets of one-leg extensions. I hadn't done those before, and I liked them, but I didn't feel like I really tapped into everything I had. Next came the leg press for some adductor work, with wide stance, toes pointed out presses. These seemed surprisingly easy, and I thought I was beginning to turn things around, until I discovered, about half way through this phase of the workout, that I had added wrong, and the weights on the machine didn't correspond to the numbers on my workout log. GRRR. I salvaged the last two sets, but since I was already off schedule, I had to keep moving without accomplishing what I had really intended to do.

I moved on to do 3 sets of smith machine lunges. They were better than the preceeding parts of the workout, but I kept having the feeling that I could have gone just a little bitter deeper with each rep. Given my lateness, I decided to save hamstrings for another day, so I finished up with calf raises first on the leg press machine and then some standing calf raises, both inverted and everted. That was basically the only part of the workout that was properly executed! I hit the showers disgusted and in total (self)defeat.

Today was better. I did a riot bombing routine for biceps and triceps, using preacher curls and pressdowns. By the time I was done with the twenty supersets, I was pretty much drenched with sweat all over, and felt like I had accomplished something. (I think I'm going to integrate a riot bomb routine every 3rd week or so for a while; if nothing else, I should sweat out a lot of toxins!)

In an effort to atone a little for yesterday, I did several sets of SLDLs and a few sets of one legged lying leg curls. Hopefully, the memory of yesterday's Workout of Shame will help me get my brain and a$$ in gear next week!

[mesomorphin']

Today did the back/trap workout described above. Kept the rest intervals down to 60 seconds or less, except for the transition to the 4 part giant set (which takes me longer to set up). Managed to increase weights a little on most exercises, while keeping the pace up. Been missing deadlifts, so next week I may vary the back routine a little.

Stopped in at a McDonald's this morning for my evil diet Coke caffeine infusion. (Give me a break, here. I have to sit through many hours of Continuing Legal Education videotapes today, and I don't want to embarass myself by falling asleep.) Anyway, I get up to the counter and ask for the diet Coke and the guy says, "you're not going to hit me are you?" This totally confused me, and it must have showed, so the guy starts staring at my biceps. And here I thought I was looking like my usual friendly self.

[mesomorphin']

Well, I'm not sure what to say about yesterday. I think I got a pretty good workout, but definitely not what I intended. The game plan was to do a few one rep/6 rep combinations for decline, incline and flat bench, followed by some serratus work, and some calf work (soleus, anterior and side).

I began with decline on a smith machine (the only station that accomodates decline bar work in my gym). I opened with 350 -- the highest one rep max achieved last week (though still well below a lifetime best, when I was heavier &amp; not cutting). For some reason, I had trouble rotating the bar/getting it to clear the peg, wasted a lot of energy, and failed. (On a couple of later sets I had similar trouble at the end of sets and wound up with the catch perched atop the peg instead of being rotated fully in place. Since I couldn't be sure in those cases what would happen if I let go of the bar, you can bet I struggled a good bit then, too!)

Anyway, I couldn't count the first set, so I removed a few pounds, pushed the bar back up to the starting positin, and began again 345. Failed again, so I repeated the process and started over at 340. I completed that with room to spare, so I tried going back up to 345. Another failure. So I went back to 340 and attempted another couple of sets at 340. First one was no problem, but I didn't make the second one even at THAT weight. Frustrated by falling short, and not feeling satisfied by the fairly small number of total reps to that point, I switched gears and cranked out a few regular sets in the 8-12 range on decline before moving on to incline and flat bench.

Next came 4 1-6 combinations for incline. These went a little better, though I didn't increase one rep or 6 weight loads above the previous week, probably because of the extra volume of decline work before getting to the inclines.

I decided to switch to dumbbells for flat bench. (I pretty much suck at flat bench, partly due to an old shoulder injury, and partly because I need to give it more priority.) I found that my strength tapers off pretty quickly here. I couldn't find a dumbbell for a real one-rep max -- I kept getting 2 reps or nothing. My two rep weight was only a small increment above the loads I have gotten 5-7 reps on some prior occasions, which just seem wrong. Next time out, I'll try flat bench first and see how that affects things.

I wrapped up my a.m. workout with a few quick serratus raises, since I had to get to a mandatory training course. Came back at the end of the day for the calf work. At least THAT part went as planned.

Despite the breakdown of my game plan, I feel like I got a pretty good chest workout yesterday. (Maybe I got some good from all those post-failure half reps, when I had to return the bar from chest level back to starting position!)

Today was shoulders and forearms -- both satisfactory. Still can't tell if a cold is going to materialize or not. Started getting a mild sore throat this morning, but took some zinc losenges and it seems to be gone/suppresed.

[mesomorphin']

LEG DAY today! I opened with squats. For now I'm concentrating less on maximal loads and more on going deep. For the lighter warmup sets, I did 1 + 1/2 rep squats, with the half rep at the bottom. I had never tried these before, but think they have some real potential. I did two sets of these 135x10 and 185x9. (The fatigue factor was greater than I expected so I didn't go for 20 rep sets this week.)
Next I did two sets of regular squats -- 225x11 and 225x10 (all the way to the bottom). Then, instead of increasing the load much, I decided to do 1 + 1/2 rep squats with the 1/2 rep at the top. 235 x 8 and 235 x 5. (I definitely should have squeezed out another rep or two on the last set, but I made the mistake of thinking ahead to the rest of the workout....) Next time out, I need to increase the deep squat loads by at least 10-20 pounds. Finally, since I hadn't done any heavier, partial rep squats for a long time, I decided to throw in 3 half rep sets at 315x10, 335x10 and 350x10, just to remember what they feel like.

After squats came leg extensions (toes pointed in). 150x12 + 30 sec static hold; 162.5x7; 175x4 (flagging here); 150x6 rest/pause 125x6

Next up was the adductor machine. (Yeah, that one that looks like it belongs in a gynecologist's office. "I'm not sure what that is, Meso, but its 8 cm dilated!" EEK!)
I did 3 sets with it opened as wide as it goes (maybe 170 degrees?) 300x20; 340x12; 400x10

Next, lunges on the smith machine -- fairly deep, brought back knee about 4-5 inches from floor. 225x12; 245x12; 265x10; 285x10

Next were lying leg curls (one leg/two leg) supersetted with SLDLs. I do this a lot but what can I say? I just like this combination. set 1 curl=50x12/12/12 SLDL=205x12; set 2 curl=50+ x11/11/11 SLDL=225x10; set 3 curl=50+ x8/7/8 SLDL=245x8; set 4 curl=50x9/9/9 SLDL=255x6
The one leg loads are pretty light, and I probably should boost them a little, but I seem to feel my hams a lot more with smooth, slow reps under lighter loads.

Finally, leg press calf raises. 540 (plates only)x20; 630x15; 720x10 Ranb out of time for standing leg curls (and the station was occupied anyway).

[mesomorphin']

Haven't updated this for too long. My wife's been pretty ill for a while and spent last week in the hospital. I got in some great workouts at a Gold's that is not too far from the hospital -- especially back, shoulder and leg workouts. (Iron has got to be the second best stress reliever ever invented!). Between hospital time and home remodeling projects, though, I spent next to no time on the computer.

Today was LEG DAY. I'm no heavy duty squatter, but I have been pleased with the gradual progress I've been making here. Today I pyramided up to 265 on narrow stance sets taken to parallel (or just below), and then I worked my way up to 445 on some half rep squats. I'm sure I can go higher on the half-rep sets, except time got to be a factor today. My squat numbers are obviously not huge, but they are significantly above what I could do last summer when I first started squatting, and a good 30-40 pounds higher than what I was doing a month or two ago. I guess practice makes better -- plus, I think taking up deadlifts helped my squats. Also, the squat work has enhanced my leg extension performance. Today, I did a 30 second static hold with 250 on the leg extension machine, and then followed up with reps @ 200. Before taking up squats, I struggled to crank out 2 or 3 reps @ 200, and I don't think I could even budge 225, let alone 250. Once I master reps at 250, I'll have to find a new leg extension machine or focus more on one leg extensions. Also pushed up the numbers a little today on SLDLs, getting in a couple of extra reps at 275.

I've been trying to focus a little better on shoulder work lately, so I have changed up the last couple of shoulder workouts to incorporate some one rep/6 rep sets of one-arm dumbbell presses and some pin presses. So far, I'm liking both techniques, but I've been amazed at how little difference there is between my six rep load and my one rep load (or complete failure). So far, I've been able to increase both one rep and six rep loads a bit with successive workouts. Hopefully, this will continue for a while....

Glad ta see ya back Meso! http://www.plauder-smilies.de/wave.gif I figured you were spending more time at another board or something like that. How's your wife doing now? Better I hope! Good to have you around again, I missed your humor especially the posts directed at Icon, LOL! http://www.plauder-smilies.de/biglaugh.gif

[mesomorphin']

Hi, Krypto! Things have been hoppin' at work lately, so I haven't had much time to post, but you can bet I'm here browsing whenever I get a chance. (I live too close to DONUT central to take the risk of letting the mouse go completely unwatched!)

Mrs. Meso's still pretty sick. This was the second time in less than a year that she spent an entire week in the hospital (once at Johns Hopkins) -- not to mention all the individual visits to the ER -- and I don't really have a sense that we're close to getting to the bottom of things. Because of something they saw in the hospital last week, there are supposed to be some followup tests relating to cancer detection, but at this point I'm not sure when. I really don't think they're going to find anything like that, but I have to admit I'll be glad when we have that behind us! Meantime, Mrs. Meso is at home. Her supervisor wants her to apply for medical leave and stay out until she's better. This sounds great, except there really is no end in sight. Its dragged on for more than 3 years so far, and nobody's found a silver bullet to make it go away yet.

Wow. Well I'll keep you and Mrs. Meso in my thoughts &amp; prayers! http://www.plauder-smilies.de/happy/xyxthumbs.gif

That's gotta be the worst, the not knowing part! http://www.plauder-smilies.de/sad/shakehead.gif

[mesomorphin']

Back day today. I started with continuous grip deadlifts -- 2 warmup sets &amp; 4 working sets. Pyramided up to 315 for single rep. (Haven't done deadlifts at my own gym for a while, and this was a sharp reminder that freeweight deadlifts are substantially harder for me than the Hammerstrength station deadlifts I've done during last couple of workouts at Golds.) Next, I did wide grip pullups, supersettted with a static rep pullup, supersetted with wide grip pulldowns -- 5 sets. Third, I did decline dumbell pullovers, 6 sets, pyramiding up to 80. At failure on each set, I immediately followed with light pullovers using 25s in each hand. Next I supersetted bentover barbell rows (underhand grip) with incline isolated dumbell rows -- 4 sets (or maybe 5). Stayed light here -- only 135 lbs for bentover rows and only 30's for incline db rows. Did a static hold on the final rep of each set of bentover bb rows and static reps (3-5 sec pause at top of each rep) on the incline db rows. I planned to finish with good mornings, but the station was in use so I ended up with hyperextensions -- 2 sets @ 200 &amp; 220. Should have gone higher, but ran out of time.

Although my back lifts are not very heavy, the appearance of my back has improved pretty dramatically (especially lats) since the assessment at the opening of this journal. I suspect that some of the folks who see me in the gym are scratching their heads, wondering when it is I do the heavy back work. Oh well, maybe someday....

I found out that Mrs. Meso has to taper off the prednisone she has been taking before they can run the PET scan on her, so it looks like it will be at least a couple of more weeks before any more tests (and any more information). Meantime, she gets by with some of her symptoms under control, but with some reliance on patches that dispense pain medication.

[mesomorphin']

Pretty good delt day today. I started with one-arm dumbbell presses, doing 1 rep/6 rep sets. For the second week in a row, I increased both my one rep max and my my six rep loads by 5 pounds. (My left shoulder is stronger than my right and is capable of squeezing out 3-4 reps where my right side can barely get one. This may be an artifact of the cervical disc injury I had last winter/spring. Since then, my left bicep (the one previously torn) has been a little dodgy, and I can sometimes feel my shoulder kick in to compensate for bicep failure.)

After 4 1/6 combinations of the dumbbell presses, I decided to do a smith machine version of pin presses. (We don't have a cage at my regular gym.) I did a bunch of single reps roughly from my hairline up, and another bunch of singles from about mouth up. At both of these positions I increased loads 5 pounds over my previous best. (Although I'm clearly getting better at these, I'm still somewhat erratic. Correct leverage seems to be everything on these, and sometimes I hit it, and sometimes I don't. I frequently fail at some load, come back a couple of minutes later and make it easily, and then go on to add another 10-25 pounds. Today, it was all or nothing: I either made lifts easily or I didn't budge the bar at all. Hopefully, I'll gradually get my technique down better and be more consistent with these. Still, since my peak numbers went up, I consider today a victory.

Following pin presses, I did 4 1/6 combinations of machine lateral raises, again increasing my one-rep and six rep loads over the previous week. (I love it when this happens!) Afterwards I did a few sets of straight arm pulldowns, and finished with some rear delt raises.

I think I've been seeing some general improvement lately in my delts (especially front delts). Pretty soon, I should probably devote increased priority to rear delts.

[mesomorphin']

Today was LEG DAY, and judging from the post workout tremors in my legs, I think I got the job done.

I realized today what a numbers junkie I've gotten to be, using numbers for verification of progress. (I think I may need a 12 rep program: "Hi, my name is Meso and I'm a numberholic.") Anyway, since I HATE going backwards, this has been influencing my leg workouts recently. For example, lately I have been making small but steady progress in increasing my squat loads, and I've been trying to "raise the bar" a little bit each workout. As a result, I've avoided some excellent workout variations that I knew would affect my squat performance. Today, I finally bit the bullet and mixed things up a little more, numbers be ****ed. (I found this surprisingly tough mentally.)

Instead of opening with squats while I'm completely fresh, I opened with double drop set of leg extensions, using a 20/25/30 rep scheme. At the end of that set, my quads felt like they needed a trip to the burn unit of the nearest trauma center. After an intense stretch, I did a 1 rep/6rep combination of leg extensions, followed by a couple of sets of single leg leg extensions.

Then I stepped up to the squat rack. I knew I wasn't going to be able to handle the same loads as last week, when I opened with squats, so to avoid unflattering number comparisons, I decided to switch things up and do front squats. (I always need lighter loads on the front squats, and don't look at them as comparable to regular squats from a numbers point of view. Also I hadn't done front squats for quite a while, so I was overdue for these.) After four sets of front squats, I allowed myself a few sets of partial rep (regular) squats, and there I did manage to increase loads over last week for a new personal best. (OK, I didn't manage to go cold turkey, but this was just a little number junkie fix!)

Next I did lying one leg/two leg lying leg curls supersetted with stiff leg deadlifts. I love this combination, but I've been doing it for quite a while, and I probably need to shop around for some new ways to hit my hams.

Next I used the adductor machine, set to the widest extension. 3 sets at 250 x 15, 12 and 10.

Finally, I finished up with some calf work -- soleus and tibialis.

[mesomorphin']

Another back day. I'm starting to like this almost as much as LEG DAY. I blame JP for this.

First, deadlifts: warmup set plus 4 working sets @ 275, 295, 315, and 335. Got 5 or 6 reps at 315 and 1 at 335, so this was a little better than last back day. I'm relatively new to deadlifting, but if I want to lift more serious loads, I'll have to improve my form alot, getting my butt down much lower and getting a more leg/butt power into the movement. Although I currently graze the ground with the weights on each rep, I reach bottom well before I'm in a deep crouch, even when I stand on a platform. (Likely this is due to a combination of my relatively long monkey arms and bending forward too much at the waist). I feel like my lower back is doing a large part of the work on these. So far, this has seemed OK to me, since my initial focus here was to strengthen lower back. However, I think there are limits to what I'll be able to do with deadlifts, unless I recruit more leg/butt muscle.

Second, 4 supersets: wide grip pullups and reverse narrow grip pullups.

Third, 4 supersets: neutral grip pulldowns wide grip and narrow grip

Fourth, 3 giant sets: a) bentover barbell row, b) TBar row using barbell (narrow grip), c) machine row, and d) one arm db row

Fifth, 3 sets of good mornings, supersetted with weighted extensions (low back machine), supersetted with reverse hyperextensions

That's all for today.

[mesomorphin']

Had a pretty good LEG DAY yesterday. I decided to do explosive reps for squats, which I never tried before. Due to overcautious protectiveness for my lower back, I have always focused on slow descents so far when squatting. It was a pleasant surprise to discover that I could adopt another approach without feeling a loss of control.

I wound up doing 4 20 rep sets with a load a bit lighter than I use for sets in the 10-12 rep range. I followed with a few 10-15 rep sets using loads I normally use for 8-10 reps. After that I threw in a few heavier partial rep sets -- nothing explosive there! I didn't go higher than 455 on the partial rep sets, but I think I took them a slight bit lower than I did last week, and I eked out a couple of extra reps on each set. (Before the heavy partials, I also threw in one static rep, using my ordinary load for a 10-12 rep set. This proved too easy, and I quit out of boredom, rather than fatigue, after 45 seconds. Next time, I'll use a higher load for this.)

After squats, I supersetted leg presses (feet set way high for hams) and SLDLs. Then some calf raise on the leg press machine and some standing calf raises, and I called it quits for the day.

Today, I used a riot bombing routine for bis/tris. I supersetted lying cable curls, with seated cable rope extensions. Afterwords I threw in a 4 sets of hammer curls and some shoulder work (3 drop sets of one arm db presses; 4 sets of rear delt raises, and 3 sets of lateral raises. I normally do delts on a separate day, and I definitely had to reduce loads some after the riot bombing, but I was looking to do higher rep scheme for delts anyway for a few sessions.

I really like the riot bombing routine. I'm just beginning to feel my arms tightening up and I should be in for a couple of days of exquisite DOMS in my bis.

[mesomorphin']

Mediocre back day yesterday. Gym was like a sauna again. Used same deadlift loads as last week, but lost a rep or two on several sets. I found my form faltering on my one rep max deadlift (something I promised myself I would NOT let happen). Heat drained energy reserves more than normal during this workout. I planned to incorporate explosive reps for most exercises, so to compensate for the energy drain, I took a little more rest than normal during the workout.

Today's workout:

decline bench press (on smith machine -- our only decline station)

335 x 1, follow immediately with 8 clap-pushups (never tried before, on first set, felt impact near old cervical disc injury, but later sets were fine); short rest; 300 x 6;
345 x 1, " " " 10 " " ; flex 30 sec; short rest; 310 x 6 extreme stretch
355 x 1, " " " 12 " " ; short rest; 305 x 6 + 30 second static hold; flex 30 sec
365 x (fail), " " " 10 " " ; 300 x 6; flex 30 sec; extreme strecth
365 x (fail); short rest; 295 x 8; flex 30 sec; extreme stretch
315 x 5 + 20 second static hold

Its funny how small things make a difference. Recently, I had gone backwards on my 1 rep max, failing @ 340, after going as high as 350 on prior weeks. I blamed it partly on new gloves, which seem to make it difficult for me to rotate the bar after liftoff on heavy loads. Still, nothing shakes your confidence like going backward. Today I decided to do decline without gloves (callouses be ****ed). I started at 335, since I was getting tired of the string of F for fail on my workout log. 335 was a piece of cake, so I moved up on successive sets. 355 was not that difficult either, but I guess things caught up with me by the time I went for 365, because it just wasn't happening today. (Although I've always been pretty erratic at the high end, I used to hit 365 pretty routinely (and occasionally up to 380), back when I used to practice one rep maxs more frequently, so I should be able to hit this harder eventually

Incline press

205 x 1; short rest; 165 x 8; flex 30 sec
210 x 1; " " ; 185 x 4+;
210 x 1 (meant to go up); 215 x (fail); short rest; 175 x 7; flex 30 sec; extreme stretch
215 x fail; short rest; 175 x 5; flex 30 sec; extreme stretch
135 x 10 very slow reps

cross bench pullover

85 x 1; 65 x 8 (last week failed at 85)
85 x 1; 70 x 6; extreme stretch
90 x 1; 75 x 6 (last week got only 3 @ 75)
95 x 1 (poor rep); 80 x 5; extreme stretch

vertical fly machine

1 and 2 half drop sets 62.5 x8/50x8/37.5 x8 (too easy, so slowed them down, held for better squeeze, but next time should increase load)

cable crossover (high pulleys)

62.5 (each arm) x 9 slow reps; flex 30 sec
62.5 x 10 slow reps; flex 30 sec
62.5 x 10 slow reps; flex 30 sec
75 x 7 slow reps; flex 30 sec

plus several 30+ second flexes on shuttle bus back to office

[mesomorphin']

Just back from 3 days in Chicago. Got in two workouts at the Lakeshore Athletic Club while I was there. That place has got so many toys they don't have in my gym -- or even my local Golds. It was the first time I have had a LEG DAY or chest day there. They had way too many new things for me to try them all, but I did try out a different variation of a hack squat machine, and I finally got to try out a donkey calf raise machine -- very nice, except it only went to 400 pounds. I also got to try out a little Hammerstrength station just for dorsi flexion of the tibia. It wasn't designed to hold a lot of plates (or large plates for that matter), but the action was so targeted that it seemed very effective to me. Anyway, I had a great time, and got in a couple of good workouts. At one point, I must have replaced a dumbbell improperly, because after a delayed reaction, it started to fall. I lunged to catch it, nicked one of the fingers I shattered last summer, spooked myself and decided just to let it fall before I did any real damage.

Hope everybody played hard and had fun last week.

[mesomorphin']

Did bis and tris this morning. I just decided to mix things up a bit with some of the techniques in this month's Beyond Failure. First were heavy negative-only dumbbell concentration curls (4 sets), followed by explosive rep spider curls off the preacher bench (4 sets), followed by 2 arm cable curls with D handles (4 sets), with 30 sec static hold on the final rep of each set; then a 6/12/25 combination of pullups/standing barbell curls/2 arm cable curls (with bar). After that I tried another couple of sets of heavy negative concentration curls, but failed around 3-4 reps. Then for tris: 4 sets of pressdowns, followed by 4 sets of heavy negative only weighted parallel dips, followed by a 3 sets of one arm overhead dumbbell extensions, and finally 4 sets of explosive rep standing overhead barbell extensions.

My travel schedule left me short part of a workout this week, so I guess I'll head back to the gym for some delt demolition!

[mesomorphin']

Except for occasional riot bombing adventures, I hardly ever experience any muscle soreness after arm workouts. However, either the heavy negatives or the explosive rep spider curls seems to have done the trick. Nothing excruciating, but I can still feel the aftermath of Friday's workout. I think I'll emphasize these techniques for the next few workouts and see if I can scare a little growth into some stubborn Type II fibers.

[mesomorphin']

Delts today. Several one-rep and two rep sets of pin presses at two different starting positions. Then several sets of explosive rep arnold presses, using relatively light weight for 15 reps/set. Then upright rows -- 4 sets at 12, 10, 8, 7 reps, and a final set using pyramid rest-pause.
Then 3 sets of static rep laterals, for 30 - 40 seconds/set. Then three sets of plate raises about 8 reps/set. Finally 3 sets of rear delt dumbbell raises, with last two sets being drop sets.

[mesomorphin']

LEG DAY today, and everything just felt good.

I did a lot of narrow stance squats today. I started with two explosive reps sets @ 200x20; then one set @ 225 with 14 explosive reps and 2 slower reps.

Then I did three sets with heels elevated @ 250x10, 270x10 and 290x10. (This was good for me. I haven't pushed past 265 before on deep squats; the bad news is I obviously could have been doing more.)

Then I did two static rep sets (in a half squat position) @ 335. I only managed 45 and 40 seconds, respectively. It was kind of funny. I didn't feel a tremendous burn, but at some point in the static sets my legs started shaking pretty noticeably.

Finally, I did some partial rep squats @ 365x10; 405x10; 455x10; 475x10. On the first two partial rep sets, I went a little deeper for these loads than in previous workouts -- I'd guess at least a full half-squat position. For the last two sets I probably only went down 14-16 inches (a few inches below the lowest racking peg). That's probably a little better than I did with 455 in the past, and this was my first time @ 475. (The reps @ 475 were not too bad, but I should have had somebody watch me, 'cause I screwed up the racking at the end, and had to wonder for a moment if I was going to be able to get rid of the bar without incident.

After squats, I did some leg extensions. 1 rep @ 250 (as high as our machine goes) held for 15 seconds; then 6 reps at 200; then another single rep @ 250 held for 20 seconds, followed by 5 reps @ 200. Then one light drop set 15 reps @75, and 10 reps at 67.5. First part was easy, but since my quads were toast at this point, the 67.5 caught up with me.
Then a quad stretch -- usually easy for me, but things were pretty tight at this point, and I didn't hold it as long as I should have.

Following quad work, I did four sets of standing leg curls on the leg extension machine. Never tried these before, and I didn't work out a perfect adjustment, but I think I like them. I only used 50 pounds for 10, 7, 7, 8.

Next, I did 3 sets on the adductor machine, set to the widest extension, each @ 250x15. Those weren't really hard enough, but that's as high as that machine goes, so I'm either going to have to do more reps or hit the adductors on the leg press machine next time.

I finished with 4 sets of stiff leg deadlifts 225x12, 245x10, 265x10, 285x7. In recent workouts, I haven't gone higher than 265x5, so this was good for me.

All in all a good day for me.

[mesomorphin']

LEG DAY was disrupted, interrupted, corrupted today, and its my own d*mn fault!
I have spent months nagging this one bench monkey to start doing some leg work, and a couple of weeks ago he finally succumbed to my persuasion. Unfortunately, he chose MY leg day for his leg workouts (as if I couldn't "encourage" him with a cattle prod or whips on some other day!)
After I finished free weight hack squats/sissy squat supersets this morning, the guy arrives at the gym and I persuaded him to try some once we stripped off some weight to the point where he felt comfortable. This should have been fine. However, instead of completing a few sets of hack squats and moving on, the guy decides to make a circuit of practically every leg station in the gym, doing one set at each location, before coming back to his still loaded hack squat bar, which happened to be at our only squat rack. To make it worse, this guy frequently takes LONG rests between sets, chatting with gym staff, making phone calls, learning foreign languages, etc. Meantime, I'm grinding my teeth, 'cause I wanted to do some regular squats and/or some static squats and/or some heavy partial rep squats as a follow up to my hack squat/sissy squat supersets. (I should have been more aggressive about rearranging the weights, but at first I wasn't sure of his game plan, and I didn't want to discourage him from continuing.) Since the squat rack was tied up, I decided to use the leg press machine, which I hadn't done in quite a while. My bench monkey had been there, and left it set up with a load that was way too light for regular leg presses and a little heavy for one legged leg presses. Since I knew he was coming back, I opted for one legged leg presses and stripped a little off, did my set and replaced bench monkey's load for his next set. All morning was like this: I felt like I was playing musical chairs at every station. To top it off the gym was crowded this morning, with other patrons figuring that they had a right to work out too. Go figure! (One of these other patrons was a gym moron who picked up some 10 pound dumbbells, carried them half way across the gym so he could stand blocking the squat rack and proceed to do lateral raises with his back to the mirror. What was THAT all about?

Anyway, b!tching aside, the hack squats were good. (I don't do free weight hacks enough and was overdue for them.) Plus, I eventually lost patience, went back to the squat rack, removed bench monkey's weights and launched into some static rep squats and some heavy partial rep squats. I was surprised at how much pre-fatigue I felt in the lower quads from the hack squats, but I still managed to add another 10 pounds to my previous high for the partial reps. I'm slowly closing in on 500 for the partial reps, and should reap benefits in terms of ability to handle increase loads on my deep squats. Despite the crowding at the gym this morning, I squeezed in adductor work and some smith machine lunges. (Today may have been a pain in the @ss, but I definitely expect to feel those lunges tomorrow!)

[mesomorphin']

Yesterday's back workout was not as focused as it should have been, and lacked proper intensity. Should have squeezed out an extra rep or two on many sets. I took too much time between several of the sets, and I didn't effectively use time between sets for flexing/stretching. In short, I really needed to kick my own ***! (For some reason, I didn't have that little voice telling me this when it mattered!)

The only bright spot yesterday came on deadlifts, and even there I f*ked up. I pyramided up to 335, which has been my recent one-rep max for free weight deadlifts. So far, I have made 335 VERY slowly, almost stalling out half way up. For some reason, 335 was comparatively easy yesterday, so I did a second rep (also easy), and I realized I could get another one or two reps at least. Instead of just DOING the **** reps, I second guessed myself, thinking that it was just too easy, and that I must have left off a plate/loaded the bar wrong. So I racked the bar to check my mistake. (Stupid, stupid, stupid.) Next time, I'll have higher expectations....

Today was a little better. Bench day, with a major focus on incline work. I opened with several one/six combinations and pushed a little higher than on previous outings.
Then I did a series of incline pin presses -- one to 3 reps each time, with 15-20 seconds between attempts. Got a few pounds higher here than I have before. After that I decided to go lighter for 100 reps on incline. Normally, this would have taken anywhere from 3-6 sets, but I was already spent enough that it took me a huge number of mini-sets to get to 100. (Halfway through this, I reached a point where I was only cranking out about 5 reps at a time.) Got in some good flexing and stretching between almost all incline sets, and found myself dripping with sweat at the end of this phase of the workout.

Next came dumbbell flat bench work, but I was forced to use a little lighter weight than normal. Then I tried some one-arm cable crossovers on the floor. (I'm not sure I like those yet; every time I pushed for a hard contraction on these, I felt like I was twisting my back. I need to get the hang of these better.) Since I wasn't that happy with the one arm crossovers, I decided to add a few standing cable crossovers (low pulley). This was more familiar territory and definitely felt better, nice intense squeeze.
Finally, I finished off with a few sets of cross bench straight arm db pullovers. Here again, I used a little less weight than some days, but got a good stretch, felt a tight contraction and went to failure on 3 sets.

[mesomorphin']

For today's shoulder workout, I decided to incorporate a number of exercises I seldom use, and I reversed my normal order to start with rear delt work, then move to side delts, and finish with front delt work.

For rear delts, I started with one arm rear delt cable raises -- 6 x 10-12
Next were lying reverse dumbbell flyes -- 6 x 8-10

For side delts, I did lying dumbbell lateral raises, starting behind the back -- 6x10
Then I tried some lying cable lateral cross raises 6 drop sets 8-10 reps per drop most sets; last two sets were 6 rep/10 rep drops

For front delts, I did reverse incline alternating dumbbell raises -- 4 x 10-12
Then, 4 sets of plate raises -- 2 x 10 @ 35 lbs and 2 x 8@ 45 lbs.
Finished up with lying straight arm barbell raises. Never tried these before, and went a little light (just the bar), but performed very slow reps to get a nice burn started.

[mesomorphin']

Did EricG's Quad Destruction workout Thursday, and had a good bi-tri-forearm workout Friday. Saturday I rested and tried to keep my still-smouldering quads from spontaneously combusting. Today I had intended to do back, but I include deadlifts on back day, and my legs are not fully recovered from Thursday. (Still pulling myself up out of chairs and having some fun descending stairs.) So I decided to focus on chest today and put back off until tomorrow.

Chest workout was a variation of last week's routine.
Neural training 1/6 sets on the incline bench, followed by some incline pin presses (anywhere from 5 reps to singles). Got about 30 pounds higher than last week on the pin presses. Instead of flat bench dumbbell presses, I decided to use the Hammerstrength Iso Bench machine for a change, since I don't generally have access to one. Then some cable crossovers, 4 sets with low pulley (last set 1 1/2 rep method) and 3 (heavier) sets with high pulley. Then some cross bench straight arm pullovers -- was able to go heavier than last week, probably because I omitted an extra 100 reps of incline presses. I threw in 3 sets of decline presses to failure. Finished up with 3 sets of flat bench serratus raises and 3 sets of incline serratus raises. Lots and lots of intense flexing between sets today, which seems to intensify things alot. I'm betting I'll feel this tomorrow.

[mesomorphin']

Back day today.
A. Wide grip pulldowns supersetted with narrow grip pulldowns.
1. 130x15 WG, 130x15 NG
2. 150x10 WG, 150x10 NG
3. 160x6 WG, 160x6 NG
4. 150x7 WG, 150x8 NG

B. Neutral wide grip pulldowns supersetted with neutral narrow grip pulldowns
1. 130x11 WG, 130x8 NG
2. 140x10 WG, 140x7 NG
3. 150x9 WG, 130x8 NG
4. 160x8 WG, 130x8 NG

C. Hammerstrength Iso Pulldown
1. 90x11 (plates only)
2. 110x10
3. 130x8
4. 140x6

D. Giant Sets: bentover barbell row/long bar row with V grip/cable row/incline iso dumbbell rows
1. 115x10/100x6/150x6/20's x10 (5 sec hold at peak on incline iso db row
2. 125x8/85x8/130x8/25s x 8 (5 sec hold on 1st 5 reps of incline iso db rows)
3. 135x8/ 85x8/130x5[ridiculous mental lapse]/25s x 8 (5 sec hold on 1st 5 reps of incline iso db rows)
4. 135x8/85x8/130x8/30's x 9
5. 115 x 1 static rep 15 second hold/85 x 1 static rep 20 sec hold/130x 1 static rep 16 sec static hold/30s x 1 static rep 25 second hold

D. Tri set: Good mornings/reverse hyperextensions on ball/low back machine
1. 185x15/16 reps/220x10
2. 225x11/10 reps/250x9
3. 250x10/12 reps/250x10

Hammerstrength shrugs
1. 315x10
2. 405x10
3. 500x9 (felt a squeeze on each rep, but almost no vertical elevation at this weight)
4. 450x10

(Although I can go down stairs normally today, I can still feel last Thursday's leg workout, so I decided to skip deadlifts this week. Hopefully, I resume with a vengeance next week.)

This workout really got the endorphins flowing. I am feeling unbelievably GREAT!

[mesomorphin']

LEG DAY! (Did I mention I love LEG DAY?)

Since I had just barely recovered from last week's Quad Destruction workout, I went a little easier on quads this week.

squats: 185x20; 225x15; 245x10; 265x10
partial rep squats: 315x10; 365x10; 405x10; 455x10; 475x5. (Went reasonably deep on the 315, probably 3/4 squat. Progressively shallower on later sets, with final set being probably 1/4 -1/3 squat.)
hack squat was occupied, so moved on to leg extension: 105x17; 105x20; 105x20; 105x20; static rep 225x15 sec/145x10; static rep 240x20 sec/160x10; static rep 255x13 sec/175x8; static rep 270-fail; static rep 270x8 sec.
hack squat: 180 (plates only)x20; 270x19; 360x15; 450x10; 540x10. (Unlike last week, did not go below parallel and did not perform reps on toes. Although I used much heavier weights this week, these were much easier than last week's hacks.
lying leg curls: 100x20; 115x5 drop 85x10 drop 60x5; 115x5 drop 100x7 drop 85x8; 115x4 drop 85x6 drop 60x10 drop 50x5.
tried a couple of standing leg curls on leg extension machine, but couldn't do sh!t, so moved on to ...
lying leg curls: 80x20; 80x20; 95x20; 95x20; 110x10 drop 95x10. Went a little too easy on the first couple of sets of seated leg curls. Tried out a different machine, and underestimeated what I had left for 20 rep squats. /forum/images/graemlins/frown.gif

That's it for today. Tomorrow I'll pick up some miscellaneous stuff -- calves and maybe forearms.

[mesomorphin']

Slept in a little today, so only had time for calves this morning.
Did beefcake raises on the leg press machine for the first time in quite a while. Went light, but cranked out about 540 reps of these, in groups of 20-30 reps, with 30 second pause between groups of reps.
Then did 6 sets of standing calf raises, with 225, rep range from 10-15. Of these, two sets were eversion raises and 2 sets were inversion raises.
Next were 5 sets of leg press toe raises, with toes pointed in. 450x20; 450x20; 540x20; 540x20; 630x10.
Finished up with tibialis raises on smith machine. 2 sets @ 135x20; 1 set @ 135x50.
Next calf day, I think I'll play around some with therabands.

[mesomorphin']

Tried an arm workout that revolves around tri-sets for tris, bis and forearms.
First combination was close grip bench/preacher curls/reverse curls -- 4 sets, everything to failure
Next combination was overhead dumbbell extension/standing concentration curls/wrist curls 4 sets, everything to failure
Then rope pressdowns and one arm cable curls - 3 sets to failure
Everything performed with very strict form, concentrating on squeeze at peak contraction.

That's supposed to be it, but I wanted a little more, so I did a few sets of one arm dumbbell extensions, some two arm cable curls, and some weighted bench dips.
After I finished, it occurred to me I should have done some hammer curls and more forearm work. Next time.

[Latman]

Awesome journal - I just read the whole thing and I can't believe how quickly you shed the initial fat after the bulk. Any pics, measurements?

[mesomorphin']

I can't believe you waded through all these ramblings and were still awake enough to type! (The National Academy of Sciences or the Army should probably study you!)

Fat did come off very quickly, but I was VERY disciplined about diet at the time until I got down into the low 8's on a 9 point caliper test. Since then I have bulked once, and have been more lax with diet so I'm definitely higher in bodyfat right now. (Haven't done a measurement for a while, but I was thinking about another mini-bulk next month, so I really should get a measurement soon, to see if I'm still in a range where I'm willing to bulk.)

Never done pics. (Don't have a digital camera, plus Mrs. Meso's not much into BB, and I'd never hear the end of it!)

Measurements vary depending on whether bulking or cutting. I'm 5'9, currently close to 182, and fairly recent measurements are: chest 48.5; waist 33.5; thighs 24.5; calves 16.5; upper arms 16 1/8; forearms 12 5/8; neck 16.25.
Obviously, I have plenty of room for improvement. Still, from the remarks I get, I think I have a little bit of illusion going for me, because folks seem to think I'm a lot bigger than I actually am. (Might be the up side of small bone structure.)

[mesomorphin']

Back/traps today.

Warmed up on low back machine. Then deadlifts: 275x10; 295x10; 315x5; 335x2.
Looks like I'm going to start hitting a couple of reps @335 on a regular basis. Should/could have pushed a little harder on the 315 set.

Wide grip chins supersetted with machine pullovers: 10/170x8, 10/170x7, 8/155x9, 6/140x10, 7/140x8.
I expected that the machine pullovers might provide a great stretch after the pullups, but I did not make these as effective as I hoped. I'll have to try this again in the near future.

Dumbell bent arm pullovers -- I threw in a few sets of these to try finish off the lats. 50x15; 60x10; 65x10; 75x7

Long bar rows with V grip -- 75x10; 100x9; 100x7; 100x8; 100x6. Fewer reps than normal here, but nice and slow; nice squeeze at top.

Bentover barbell row -- 115x10; 135x9; 135x8; 135x6; 135x6. Nice and slow; short (5-10 sec) static hold at the end of each set

Good mornings -- 225x10; 247.5x10 (loading error); 270x10

Barbell shrugs: 225x10(front)/x10(back)/x5(front); 245x10(front)/x7(back); 245x10(front)/x7(back)

[mesomorphin']

Had a day off yesterday while on travel, so I did chest and shoulders today. I may stick with this for a while, since I've organized workouts around a single bodypart for a while, and its time to change things up.

Started with decline barbell presses - 3 1/6 combinations. I think these have helped raise my 6-8 rep loads some, but I've been a little stagnant on the one rep end. I may back off these for a while -- at least on decline -- and save this technique for something else. After decline presses, I did five sets of incline dumbbell presses to failure, with 20-30 second static hold at the end of each set.
Then 4 sets of flat bench barbell presses to failure, with partial reps at the end. Then decline cable flys -- hadn't done these for a long time. Nice.

For shoulders, I'm prioritizing rear delts for now. I opened with 3 sets of one arm cross body rear delt raises. Then three sets of seated bent over dumbbell raises. Then three sets of one arm dumbbell presses - one of my current favorites. Then 3 supersets of lying cable "upright" rows and machine laterals.

Tomorrow is LEG DAY.

[mesomorphin']

Well, today was LEG DAY, but I seemed to be mired in mediocrity today. For the most part, the numbers were OK, but I didn't really feel like I nailed anything except the stiff legged deadlifts, and I usually aware of a general fatigue. I didn't really maintain the appropriate mental edge. This was discouraging, since I don't really think I've been at the top of my game for the past few workouts. If I don't turn this around in the next couple of workouts, I may take a week off and see if a break would be useful.

Anyway, today's routine was something like:

squats: 225 x 12; 250 x 12; 275 x 10; 290 x 6 -- all slow reps, wide stance toes out
one static rep squat at 335 held for 40 seconds
partial rep squats: 365 x 10; 425 x 10; 475 x 10
leg extensions: 250 x 1 (10 second hold)/175 x 10; 250 x F (twice)/175 x 10; 250 x fail (twice), 237.5 x 1 (held 20 sec.)/175 x 8; 75 x 15, drop 50 x 20
stiff legged deadlifts: 225 x 10; 245 x 10; 265 x 10; 285 x 7 (should go up in bigger increments next time)
lying leg curls (one leg/two leg): 62.5 x 10; machine commandeered by personal trainer so moved on.
leg press very wide stance, toes pointed all the way out: 140 x 20; 160 x 15; 180 x 12; 180 x 12. (Perfect example of mental lapse here. These were all too light.)
standing leg curl: 50 x 10; 50 x 10; 40? x 10

[mesomorphin']

Early morning meeting today, so I confined morning workout to just bi's and forearms. Hope to hit tri's this evening.
Warmed up with one set of incline dumbbell curls, performed slowly, for fifteen reps. Then 30 second flex.
Then 3 sets of standing concentration curls. (I like these much better than the seated version. I feel a much better squeeze at the top, plus when I'm standing I don't have to worry that my long forearms will have me hitting the ground at the bottom of the motion.) 30 second flex after each set.
I followed this with 3 sets of heavy negative seated concentration curls. On previous workouts, I found the negative concentration curls really destroyed my bi's; however, the other times I used these, I did the heavy negatives first, while I was fresh. Today, I used slightly lighter weight on the negatives and still wound up in the 4-5 range, instead of the intended 6. Time will tell, but I think it worked better for me the other way.
Next I did three sets of standing alternating dumbbell curls 8-10 reps each set. 30 second flex after each set.
Then 3 pause rep sets of preacher curls, where you pause anywhere from 3 - 10 seconds at the bottom of each rep, depending on what you're targeting. I used a three second pause on the first set, about 6 seconds on the second set and around 10 seconds on the third set. 30 second flex after each set.
Next were three sets of hammer curls at 8-10 reps per set.
Then supersetted wrist curls and behind the back wrist curls for 3 sets
Then supersetted reverse curls and holding heavy dumbbells for 3 sets.

Tonight I need to get back for a tri workout.

[mesomorphin']

Made it back to the gym Friday p.m. for tricep work.

Close grip bench - 4 sets 12, 10, 8, 8
Reverse grip bench 2 sets 12, 8 (just experimentation; never tried these; didn't really feel them in triceps)
Decline bench extensions - 4 sets 8, 10, 8, 6
Incline bench pressdowns - 4 sets 10, 8, 8, 6 (most excellent exercise!)
One arm cable reverse pressdown - 3 sets 8, 8, 6
Standing overhead extensions - 2 sets 8, 5
Some tri flexing (4 or 5 times during workout)

[mesomorphin']

Today was back day.

1. wide chinups supersetted with narrow underhand grip chinups - 6 supersets, all to failure. Final set added 5 slow negatives on the wide grip pullups.
2. neutral narrow grip pulldowns supersetted with neutral wide grip pulldowns - 5 supersets, all to failure.
3. giant set: bentover barbell rows/BB "T-bar" row/machine seated row/one arm dumbbell row - 4 giant sets, followed by one extra set of bentover rows
4. tri set: good mornings/reverse hyperextensions on ball/low back machine - 3 sets.

Tried some flexing between sets, which I haven't really done much for back. Lat flaring is easy enough, but I really DON'T have much feel for hitting individual parts of upper back, and its next to impossible to see what you're doing in my gym. I can see this is going to require considerably more practice.

While waiting for shuttle bus back to office, cranked out a few sets of one legged standing calf raises off the curb.

[mesomorphin']

Chest and shoulders today. Emphasis on fast twitch exercises for chest.

1. Incline barbell press - 5 sets of explosive reps: 135x15; 145x12; 155x10; 155x10; 145x11
Kept these fairly light so I could really get the feel of these. I let the weight down extremely fast, catching/halting the bar suddenly just before it touched my chest and then very rapid ascent. Even at this light weight, I felt a little slower on the second set at 155, so I removed a little weight for the final set.
After the first two sets, I went straight into clap pushups, although I was pretty sluggish on the second set of those, so I abandoned those on subsequent sets, and did a static hold after the final rep of each set. After each set I flexed as hard as I could for 30+ seconds, and after the final set I held a light set of dumbells (20's or 25's) in an extreme stretch position on the incline bench for 30 seconds.
Also threw in a few slow negs - 5 reps @ 155, using about a 10-15 second descent on each rep.

2. Flat bench dumbbell press - 4 "neural training" sets.
Failed twice with 80's on the first single-rep set. Got them half way up and just sort of stalled into a static rep. Have done 80's before, but I guess the explosive rep sets and flexing must have taken their toll. After failing with 80's, I did: 75's x 1/70's x 5; 75's x 2/65's x 8; 75's x 3/65's x 8; 75's x 2/65 x 7.
After each set, flexed as hard as I could for 30 seconds; after final set, used light dumbbells for a 30 second extreme stretch.

3. Decline barbell press - 4 sets of explosive reps: 225 x 10, 12, 10, 9.
30 second flex after each set; extreme stretch with light dumbbells after last set.

4. Incline dumbbell fly - 3 drop sets: 35x8/30x4/20x8; 35x7/25x7/20x7; 35x6/25x9/20x7
All sets taken to extreme stretch position (way below parallel). 30 second flex after each set; and extreme stretch with light dumbbells after final set.
These felt great, but clearly showing signs of fatigue at this point. These loads should have been a piece of cake, but weren't.

For shoulders, I did:

1. Seated bent over rear delt raise - 3 sets 25's x 10 each set, with slow rep speed.
Got an ab cramp near the end of the first set, but just the uppermost segment on one side only. Weird.

2. Bentover cross cable laterals - 3 sets 50's x 6; 37.5's x 10; 37.5 x 8 rest-pause 3, rest-pause 2
3. Plate raises - 4 sets 45x6; 35 x 8; 35x7; 35x6
[ran out of time -- may try to finish up tonight with upright rows, lying side delt raise and military presses]

Tomorrow, I'm getting my first caliper test in a long while. Depending on the results, I'll decide whether to embark on a mini-bulk for the next 3-4 weeks or whether I need to focus on reducing bodyfat a little.
I'd rather do the mini-bulk, but my last waist measurement really showed the effects of my schizophrenic eating habits of late. (Beening eating clean all day, indulging in crap on some evenings and weekends. Whichever way I go after the caliper test, THAT has got to stop.)

In the hopes of embarassing myself into regaining some discipline, I'm going to post my actual food intake for a while.

Monday:
meal 1
7 egg whites, 2 yolks-265 cal., 36P 2C 12F
boca (veg) - 80 cal., 13P 1C 1F
flax 130 cal., 0P 0C 14F
multi vitamin, vitamin C (1g), vitamin E, calcium, chromium pic.

10 g glutamine pre-workout; 10 g glutamine post workout

meal 2 (post workout)
ProComplex shake 260 cal., 55P 4C 2F
heavy cream 100 cal., 0P 0C 10F
vitamin C (3g), calcium

meal 3
7 egg whites 105 cal., 28P 2C 0F
boca (veg) - 80 cal., 13P 1C 1F
broccoli (2 cups) 50 cal. --P 4C 0F
1 oz. cheese 115 cal., 7P 0C 9F

meal 4
7 egg whites 105 cal., 28P 2C 0F
boca (veg) - 80 cal., 13P 1C 1F
broccoli (2 cups) 50 cal. --P 4C 0F
almonds (1/4 cup) 170 cal. 6P 2C 15F

meal 5
7 egg whites 105 cal., 28P 2C 0F
boca (classic) 120 cal., 14P 2C 4F

snack - 1 handful of cashews at office party
165 cal. 4P 9C 13F

10 g glutamine early evening

meal 6
7 egg whites 105 cal., 28P 2C 0F
boca (veg) 80 cal., 13P 1C 1F
flax (1 TBS) 130 cal., 0P 0C 14F
Total: 2295 cal. 286P, 39C 97F

Today (will edit if deviate)

meal 1
7 egg whites 105 cal., 28P 2C 0F
boca (veg) 80 cal., 13P 1C 1F
flax (1 TBS) 130 cal., 0P 0C 14F
multi vitamin, vitamin C (1g), vitamin E, calcium, chromium pic.

10 g glutamine pre-workout; 10 g glutamine post workout

meal 2 (post workout)
whey shake 220 cal., 44P 4C 4F
vitamin C (3g), calcium

meal 3
7 egg whites 105 cal., 28P 2C 0F
boca (veg) - 80 cal., 13P 1C 1F
broccoli (2 cups) 50 cal. --P 4C 0F
1 oz. cheese 115 cal., 7P 0C 9F

meal 4
7 egg whites 105 cal., 28P 2C 0F
boca (veg) - 80 cal., 13P 1C 1F
broccoli (2 cups) 50 cal. --P 4C 0F
almonds (1/4 cup) 170 cal. 6P 2C 15F

meal 5
7 egg whites 105 cal., 28P 2C 0F
boca (classic) 120 cal., 14P 2C 4F

meal 6
7 egg whites 105 cal., 28P 2C 0F
boca veg 80 cal., 13P 1C 1F

10 g glutamine early evening

meal 7
7 egg whites 105 cal., 28P 2C 0F
Pro-complex shake 130 cal., 27P 2C 2F
flax (1 TBS) 130 cal., 0P 0C 14F

late snack: 1 TBS peanut butter 95 cal., 4P 3C 8F

Totals: 2158 cal., 322 P 38C 74F

Need to get some more Quorn to reduce reliance on Boca; maybe take some flax to work so could cut back on almonds/cheese.

[Didn't find time to pick up some almonds during the day, so no fat sources in meals 5 and 6. /forum/images/graemlins/frown.gif]

[mesomorphin']

Had a caliper test this morning and now I'm totally confused. This morning's measurements would indicate a bodyfat of 6.09% using a 7 point test and 8.4% using a 9 point test. This would mean a LBM gain between 13.5 and 16.5 pounds since last July, and a fat loss between 1/2 pound and 3 pounds during the same period. If these were valid numbers, I'd be happy to proceed with a mini-bulk, but unfortunately, they are not. Last summer, when I measured between 8.4 and 9% bodyfat, I looked shredded and much more vascular than I do now. Plus my waistline was a good bit smaller. I'm pretty suspicious of a couple of the caliper measurements this time, especially lower back and thigh, which went down, even though the majority of went up a little or stayed the same. I think my tester may have been out of practice with the 7 and 9 point test and unintentionally moved a couple of measurement sites in ways that skewed the results in my favor. Since I don't trust these measurements, I may try for a retest next week before committing to any plan of action.

Today's meals:

meal 1
7 egg whites 105 cal., 28P 2C 0F
flax (1 TBS) 130 cal., 0P 0C 14F
(forgot to eat my boca burger /forum/images/graemlins/frown.gif )

multi vitamin, vitamin C (1g), vitamin E, calcium, chromium pic.

10 g glutamine pre-workout; 10 g glutamine post workout

meal 2 (post workout)
whey shake 260 cal., 55P 4C 4F
vitamin C (3g), calcium

meal 3
7 egg whites 105 cal., 28P 2C 0F
2 boca (veg/
classic) - 200 cal., 27P 3C 5F
broccoli (2 cups) 50 cal., --P 4C 0F
1 oz. cheese 115 cal., 7P 0C 9F
calcium

meal 4
14 egg whites 210 cal., 56P 4C 0F
gr. beans (2 cups) 50?cal., --P 4C 0F
almonds (1/4 cup) 170 cal., 6P 2C 15F
calcium

meal 5
7 egg whites 105 cal., 28P 2C 0F
2 boca (veg/
classic) 200 cal., 27P 3C 5F
flax (1 TSP) 130 cal., 0P 0C 14F

cheat snacks: 1 oz. cheese 115 cal., 7P 0C 9F
1 TBS peanut butter 95 cal., 4P OC 8F


Totals: 2040 cal., 273P 34C 74F

[mesomorphin']

Off work until next Monday, so break from workouts until then at least. (Still haven't decided about full week break.)

Thursday meals:

meal 1
7 egg whites - 105 cal., 28P 2C 0F
boca (veg) - 80 cal., 13P 1C 1F
flax 130 cal., 0P 0C 14F
multi vitamin, vitamin C (1g), vitamin E, calcium, chromium pic.

meal 2
7 egg whites - 105 cal., 28P 2C 0F
boca (veg) - 80 cal., 13P 1C 1F
flax/safflower 130 cal., 0P 0C 14F

meal 3
7 egg whites 105 cal., 28P 2C 0F
boca classic 80 cal., 13P 1C 1F
broccoli (2 cups) 50 cal. --P 4C 0F
2 TBS peanut butter 190 cal., 8P OC 16F
calcium

meal 4
7 egg whites 105 cal., 28P 2C 0F
boca (veg) - 80 cal., 13P 1C 1F
broccoli (2 cups) 50 cal. --P 4C 0F
cheese 1 oz. 115 cal., 7P 0C 9F

meal 5
10 egg whites 170 cal., 40P 3C 0F
broccoli 2 cu 50 cal., --P 4C 0F
flax 1 TBS 130 cal., 0P 0C 14F

meal 6
ProComplex shake 260 cal., 55P 4C 2F
heavy cream 2 TBS 100 cal., 0P 0C 10F

Totals 2105 cal., 274P 31C 83F

Daughter coming down from New York tonight, so going to do Thanksgiving tomorrow. Will have carb up meal then!

[mesomorphin']

OK, confession time first. I didn't keep a daily log of food intake over the holiday/weekend. Mostly, I had the same old same old, but I did eat some crap: a couple of cinnamon rolls, a couple of pieces of pumpkin pie (with whipped cream) and some hershey's kisses.

Today's meals:

[mesomorphin']

OK, confession time first. I didn't keep a daily log of food intake over the holiday/weekend. Mostly, I had the same old same old, but I did eat some crap: a couple of cinnamon rolls, a couple of pieces of pumpkin pie (with whipped cream) and some hershey's kisses.

Today's meals:

meal 1
7 egg whites - 105 cal., 28P 2C 0F
flax 1 TBS 130 cal., 0P 0C 14F
multi vitamin, vitamin C (1g), vitamin E, calcium, chromium pic.
[ordinarily would have had a boca burger, but I found (and ate) an eggwhite omelet of unknown vintage in the fridge, and I decided see if that was a mistake before eating more]


meal 2
7 egg whites - 105 cal., 28P 2C 0F
cheese 1 oz. 115 cal., 7P 0C 9F

meal 3
7 egg whites 105 cal., 28P 2C 0F
ProComplex 130 cal., 27P 2C 1F*
broccoli (2 cu) 50 cal., --P 4C 0F
calcium

meal 4
7 egg whites 105 cal., 28P 2C 0F
ProComplex 130 cal., 27P 2C 1F*
broccoli (2 cu) 50 cal., --P 4C 0F


meal 5
7 egg whites 105 cal., 28P 2C 0F
ProComplex 130 cal., 27P 2C 1F*
almonds

meal 6
7 egg whites - 105 cal., 28P 2C 0F
boca veg 160 cal., 26P
flax 1 TBS 130 cal., 0P 0C 14F


Totals 2105 cal., 274P 31C 83F

[mesomorphin']

OK, confession time first. I didn't keep a daily log of food intake over the holiday/weekend. Mostly, I had the same old same old, but I did eat some crap: a couple of cinnamon rolls, a couple of pieces of pumpkin pie (with whipped cream) and some hershey's kisses.

Today's meals:

meal 1
7 egg whites - 105 cal., 28P 2C 0F
flax 1 TBS 130 cal., 0P 0C 14F
multi vitamin, vitamin C (1g), vitamin E, calcium, chromium pic.
[ordinarily would have had a boca burger, but I found (and ate) an eggwhite omelet of unknown vintage in the fridge, and I decided see if that was a mistake before eating more]


meal 2
7 egg whites - 105 cal., 28P 2C 0F
cheese 1 oz. 115 cal., 7P 0C 9F

meal 3
7 egg whites 105 cal., 28P 2C 0F
ProComplex 130 cal., 27P 2C 1F*
broccoli (2 cu) 50 cal., --P 4C 0F
calcium

meal 4
7 egg whites 105 cal., 28P 2C 0F
ProComplex 130 cal., 27P 2C 1F*
broccoli (2 cu) 50 cal., --P 4C 0F


meal 5
7 egg whites 105 cal., 28P 2C 0F
ProComplex 130 cal., 27P 2C 1F*
almonds

meal 6
7 egg whites - 105 cal., 28P 2C 0F
boca (veg) - 160 cal., 26P 2C 2F
flax 1 TBS 130 cal., 0P 0C 14F

*forgot to pack boca today, so more reliance on shakes.

Totals:

[mesomorphin']

OK, confession time first. I didn't keep a daily log of food intake over the holiday/weekend. Mostly, I had the same old same old, but I did eat some crap: a couple of cinnamon rolls, a couple of pieces of pumpkin pie (with whipped cream) and some hershey's kisses.

Today's meals:

meal 1
7 egg whites - 105 cal., 28P 2C 0F
flax 1 TBS 130 cal., 0P 0C 14F
multi vitamin, vitamin C (1g), vitamin E, calcium, chromium pic.
[ordinarily would have had a boca burger, but I found (and ate) an eggwhite omelet of unknown vintage in the fridge, and I decided see if that was a mistake before eating more]


meal 2
7 egg whites - 105 cal., 28P 2C 0F
cheese 1 oz. 115 cal., 7P 0C 9F
calcium

meal 3
7 egg whites 105 cal., 28P 2C 0F
ProComplex 130 cal., 27P 2C 1F*
broccoli (2 cu) 50 cal., --P 4C 0F
almonds (1/4 cu)170 cal., 6P 2C 15F
calcium, B12

meal 4
7 egg whites 105 cal., 28P 2C 0F
ProComplex 130 cal., 27P 2C 1F*
broccoli (2 cu) 50 cal., --P 4C 0F
almonds (1/4 cu)170 cal., 6P 2C 15F
calcium

meal 5
7 egg whites 105 cal., 28P 2C 0F
ProComplex 130 cal., 27P 2C 1F*
almonds (1/4 cu)170 cal., 6P 2C 15F

meal 6
7 egg whites - 105 cal., 28P 2C 0F
boca (veg) - 160 cal., 26P 2C 2F
flax 1 TBS 130 cal., 0P 0C 14F

*forgot to pack boca today, so more reliance on shakes.

Totals: 1165 cal., 300P 34C 87F

[mesomorphin']

OK, confession time first. I didn't keep a daily log of food intake over the holiday/weekend. Mostly, I had the same old same old, but I did eat some crap: a couple of cinnamon rolls, a couple of pieces of pumpkin pie (with whipped cream) and some hershey's kisses.

Today's meals:

meal 1
7 egg whites - 105 cal., 28P 2C 0F
flax 1 TBS 130 cal., 0P 0C 14F
multi vitamin, vitamin C (1g), vitamin E, calcium, chromium pic.
[ordinarily would have had a boca burger, but I found (and ate) an eggwhite omelet of unknown vintage in the fridge, and I decided see if that was a mistake before eating more]


meal 2
7 egg whites - 105 cal., 28P 2C 0F
cheese 1 oz. 115 cal., 7P 0C 9F
calcium

meal 3
7 egg whites 105 cal., 28P 2C 0F
broccoli (2 cu) 50 cal., --P 4C 0F
almonds (1/4 cu)170 cal., 6P 2C 15F
calcium, B12

meal 4
7 egg whites 105 cal., 28P 2C 0F
broccoli (2 cu) 50 cal., --P 4C 0F
almonds (1/4 cu)170 cal., 6P 2C 15F
calcium

meal 5
7 egg whites 105 cal., 28P 2C 0F
almonds (1/4 cu)170 cal., 6P 2C 15F

meal 6
7 egg whites - 105 cal., 28P 2C 0F
boca (veg) - 160 cal., 26P 2C 2F
flax 1 TBS 130 cal., 0P 0C 14F
pumpkin pie ????

*forgot to pack boca today; intended to incorporate some 1/2 shakes, but I'm such a creature of habit I forgot to mix them up. That omission left me with an unacceptable calorie deficit, which accounts for the cheat dessert in meal 6

Totals: 1685+ cal., 219P 26+C 68+F

Back/traps -- did reduced volume

wide grip chins -- 4 sets: 8, 7 , 6 + 5 slow negatives, 8 + 5 slow negatives
bentover rows underhand grip -- 4 sets: 135x10, 135x8, 155x7, 135x8
long bar row with narrow "v" grip -- 75x10, 100x8, 100x7, 75x8 -- slow tempo all sets. Last set hold at top for 5 secs on each rep.
machine pullover -- 3 sets
shrugs 6 sets: 3 behind back/3 in front: 275x10 for all except final set 225x10 with 5 second hold at top of each rep.

[mesomorphin']

Chest and shoulders today. Had to reduce workout time today, so I limited rest between sets to 30-60 seconds.

1. Flat bench barbell press-- 4 drops sets: 12/8, 6/5, 7/6, 10/7
Due to an old shoulder injury I have tended to favor decline presses and incline presses, so I suck at flat bench, especially with the barbell. However, its not going to get any better through avoidance, so I need to increase the focus on these a little more.
flexed after sets 3&amp;4; extreme stretch with light dumbbells after final set.

2. Decline dumbbell presses -- 3 neural training sets: 80x2/65x8; 85x1/65x6 (very slow descent on the single rep); 85x1/65x6 (forced rep on the 85: needed a little assistance at sticking point, but it was a perfect spot, leaving me with an agonizing slow climb to the top. This was the money rep.)
flex after each set; extreme stretch with light dumbbells after final set.

3. Cross bench straight arm pullover -- 3 sets: 65x8; 65x7; 65x6. Extended back almost to the floor and nice slow reps. Usually, get quite a few more reps in this weight range; maybe seeing the effects of reduced rest times.
flex after each set; extreme stretch with light dumbbells after final set.

4. Incline dumbbell presses -- planned to do 100 rep set with barbell but station was occupied, so switched to dumbbell. Chose a reasonably light weight (50's). Thought this would be good, since I easily cranked out 20 reps with these last time out (at an earlier stage of the workout). I pretty quickly discovered it was going to take a long time to complete 100 reps with these today, since I was hitting the 6-8 rep range each time. Since time was a factor today I settled for 4 sets of these.
Did no flexing/stretching here today.

5. Vertical fly machine -- 1 plus 2 1/2 reps double drop set 75x8/67.5x8/50x8 slow reps with good squeeze on each peak contraction.
One arm vertical flyes -- 2 sets: 100x10; 112.5x10 (should have gone heavier here).

For Delts:

1. Prone reverse fly -- 3 sets: 20's x10; 25's x10; 25's x 10
Haven't tried these before. Liked them ALOT.
2. Cross body cable raise -- 3 sets 37.5 x 10; 50x5/37.5x5; 50x7(right)/50x5 (left)
3. Lying lateral raise -- 3 sets: 20x9; 20x6; 15x10.
Never tried these before either. Found them much harder than standing lateral raises and was forced to use baby weights.

Ran out of time. Going to try to get back tonight to complete intended workout
3 sets of lying cable laterals; 3 sets of reverse incline bench front raises; 3 sets of lying barbell raises.

[mesomorphin']

Chest and shoulders today. Had to reduce workout time today, so I limited rest between sets to 30-60 seconds.

1. Flat bench barbell press-- 4 drops sets: 12/8, 6/5, 7/6, 10/7
Due to an old shoulder injury I have tended to favor decline presses and incline presses, so I suck at flat bench, especially with the barbell. However, its not going to get any better through avoidance, so I need to increase the focus on these a little more.
flexed after sets 3&amp;4; extreme stretch with light dumbbells after final set.

2. Decline dumbbell presses -- 3 neural training sets: 80x2/65x8; 85x1/65x6 (very slow descent on the single rep); 85x1/65x6 (forced rep on the 85: needed a little assistance at sticking point, but it was a perfect spot, leaving me with an agonizing slow climb to the top. This was the money rep.)
flex after each set; extreme stretch with light dumbbells after final set.

3. Cross bench straight arm pullover -- 3 sets: 65x8; 65x7; 65x6. Extended back almost to the floor and nice slow reps. Usually, get quite a few more reps in this weight range; maybe seeing the effects of reduced rest times.
flex after each set; extreme stretch with light dumbbells after final set.

4. Incline dumbbell presses -- planned to do 100 rep set with barbell but station was occupied, so switched to dumbbell. Chose a reasonably light weight (50's). Thought this would be good, since I easily cranked out 20 reps with these last time out (at an earlier stage of the workout). I pretty quickly discovered it was going to take a long time to complete 100 reps with these today, since I was hitting the 6-8 rep range each time. Since time was a factor today I settled for 4 sets of these.
Did no flexing/stretching here today.

5. Vertical fly machine -- 1 plus 2 1/2 reps double drop set 75x8/67.5x8/50x8 slow reps with good squeeze on each peak contraction.
One arm vertical flyes -- 2 sets: 100x10; 112.5x10 (should have gone heavier here).

For Delts:

1. Prone reverse fly -- 3 sets: 20's x10; 25's x10; 25's x 10
Haven't tried these before. Liked them ALOT.
2. Cross body cable raise -- 3 sets 37.5 x 10; 50x5/37.5x5; 50x7(right)/50x5 (left)
3. Lying lateral raise -- 3 sets: 20x9; 20x6; 15x10.
Never tried these before either. Found them much harder than standing lateral raises and was forced to use baby weights.

Ran out of time. Going to try to get back tonight to complete intended workout
3 sets of lying cable laterals; 3 sets of reverse incline bench front raises; 3 sets of lying barbell raises.

Todays meals:

1. 7 egg whites
1 boca (veg)
1 TBS flax

2. ProComplex shake
2 TBS heavy cream

3. 7 egg whites
1 boca (veg)
broccoli 2 cu
cheese 1 oz.

4. 7 egg whites
1 boca (veg)
broccoli 2 cu
almonds 1/4 cu

5. 7 egg whites
1 boca (veg)
almonds 1/4 cu

6. 7 egg whites
1 boca (veg)
1 TBS flax

Tomorrow, I should be able to repeat the caliper test and see if I can get a better handle on bodyfat numbers.

[mesomorphin']

Had another caliper test today for a reality check. Numbers were higher than last week's suspect numbers, but they were still better than I expected. According to today's data, my bodyfat is somewhere between 9.8 and 10.4%, depending on whether I use 7 point or 9 point data. If so, then I gained somewhere between 10 and 12 lbs of LBM and between 2.5 and 4.5 lbs of fat since last summer. (When I look in the mirror it appears to me that every molecule of the additional fat went to the midsection/lower back area.) Well, enough whining. I'm going to assume that these numbers are close enough, and will attempt a CLEAN mini bulk for the next 3-4 weeks. I think I'll be able to gain with just modest adjustments to my meal plan -- maybe some pre-workout breakfast carbs or maybe a post-workout insulin spike (which I have not been doing for quite a while).

Todays meals:

meal 1
7 egg whites
2 boca (veg)
1 TBS flax

meal 2
ProComplex shake
heavy cream 2 TBS

meal 3
7 egg whites
2 boca (veg/classic)
broccoli - 2 cups
cheese - 1 oz.

meal 4
7 egg whites
2 boca (veg/classic)
almonds 1/4 cup

meal 5
7 egg whites
2 boca (veg)
flax 1 TBS

[mesomorphin']

Had another caliper test today for a reality check. Numbers were higher than last week's suspect numbers, but they were still better than I expected. According to today's data, my bodyfat is somewhere between 9.8 and 10.4%, depending on whether I use 7 point or 9 point data. If so, then I gained somewhere between 10 and 12 lbs of LBM and between 2.5 and 4.5 lbs of fat since last summer. (When I look in the mirror it appears to me that every molecule of the additional fat went to the midsection/lower back area.) Well, enough whining. I'm going to assume that these numbers are close enough, and will attempt a CLEAN mini bulk for the next 3-4 weeks. I think I'll be able to gain with just modest adjustments to my meal plan -- maybe some pre-workout breakfast carbs or maybe a post-workout insulin spike (which I have not been doing for quite a while).

Todays meals:

meal 1
7 egg whites 105 cal. 28P 2C 0F
2 boca (veg) 160 cal. 26P 2C 2F
1 TBS flax 130 cal. 0P 0C 14F

meal 2
ProComplex shake 260 cal. 55P 4C 0F
heavy cream 2 TBS 100 cal. 0P 0C 10F

meal 3
7 egg whites 105 cal. 28P 2C 0F
2 boca (veg/classic) 200 cal. 27P 3C 5F
broccoli - 2 cups 50 cal. --P 4C 0F
cheese - 1 oz. 115 cal. 7P 0C 9F

meal 4
7 egg whites 105 cal. 28P 2C 0F
2 boca (veg/classic) 200 cal. 27P 3C 5F
almonds 1/4 cup 170 cal. 6P 2C 15F

meal 5
7 egg whites 105 cal. 28P 2C 0F
2 boca (veg) 160 cal. 26P 2C 2F
1 TBS flax 130 cal. 0P 0C 14F
Totals: 2095 cal. 276P 28C 76F
Tomorrow -- some increased carbs

very imited calf workout today --
1. tibia raises -- 135x100; 135x50; 135x50
2. theraband toe raises -- 3 sets x 25
3. theraband inversion -- 3 sets x 20
4. theraband eversion -- 3 sets x 20

[mesomorphin']

Snowed in on LEG DAY! /forum/images/graemlins/frown.gif If they get around to plowing my street in time, I'll try to get to my local Gold's....

[mesomorphin']

Didn't get out to the gym yesterday, but got a lot of snow shoveling out of the way.

Today, I did a riot bombing routine for bicep/tricep, followed by some forearm work.

For the riot bombing, I supersetted spider curls and incline bench pressdowns. As always, this left me tired and sweat drenched.
Afterwards I did 4 sets of seated alternating hammer curls; 6 sets of reverse curls on a preacher bench; 3 supersets of wrist curls and reverse wrist curls with dumbbells, and 3 sets of holding heavy dumbbells for 30 seconds.

Today's meals

[mesomorphin']

Didn't get out to the gym yesterday, but got a lot of snow shoveling out of the way.

Today, I did a riot bombing routine for bicep/tricep, followed by some forearm work.

For the riot bombing, I supersetted spider curls and incline bench pressdowns. As always, this left me tired and sweat drenched.
Afterwards I did 4 sets of seated alternating hammer curls; 6 sets of reverse curls on a preacher bench; 3 supersets of wrist curls and reverse wrist curls with dumbbells, and 3 sets of holding heavy dumbbells for 30 seconds.

Today's meals/supps

creatine 5 g

meal 1
7 egg whites - 105 cal., 28P 2C 0F
boca (classic) - 80 cal., 14P 1C 1F
flax 130 cal., 0P 0C 14F
oatmeal 1/2 cu
multi vitamin, vitamin C (1g), vitamin E, calcium, ALA.

meal 2 (post workout)
ProComplex shake 260 cal., 55P 4C 2F
gatorade 50 cal.,
creatine 5 g

meal 3
7 egg whites +
1 1/2 yolks - 215 cal., 34P 2C 9F
boca (classic) - 80 cal., 14P 1C 1F
green beans
calcium

meal 4
7 egg whites +
1 1/2 yolks - 215 cal., 34P 2C 9F
boca (classic) - 80 cal., 14P 1C 1F
green beans
calcium

meal 5
7 egg whites - 105 cal., 28P 2C 0F
boca (classic) - 80 cal., 14P 1C 1F
almonds 1/4 cu 170 cal.,

meal 6
7 egg whites - 105 cal., 28P 2C 0F
boca (classic) - 80 cal., 14P 1C 1F
almonds 1/4 cu 170 cal.,

[mesomorphin']

Didn't get out to the gym yesterday, but got a lot of snow shoveling out of the way.

Today, I did a riot bombing routine for bicep/tricep, followed by some forearm work.

For the riot bombing, I supersetted spider curls and incline bench pressdowns. As always, this left me tired and sweat drenched.
Afterwards I did 4 sets of seated alternating hammer curls; 6 sets of reverse curls on a preacher bench; 3 supersets of wrist curls and reverse wrist curls with dumbbells, and 3 sets of holding heavy dumbbells for 30 seconds.

Today's meals/supps

creatine 5 g

meal 1
7 egg whites - 105 cal., 28P 2C 0F
boca (classic) - 80 cal., 14P 1C 1F
flax 130 cal., 0P 0C 14F
oatmeal 1/2 cu 150 cal., 5P 27C 3F
multi vitamin, vitamin C (1g), vitamin E, calcium, ALA.

meal 2 (post workout)
ProComplex shake 260 cal., 55P 4C 2F
sugary drink 190 cal., 0P 53C 0F
creatine 5 g

chromium picolinate

meal 3
7 egg whites +
1 1/2 yolks - 215 cal., 34P 2C 9F
boca (classic) - 80 cal., 14P 1C 1F
green beans 50 cal., --P 4C 0F
calcium

meal 4
7 egg whites +
1 1/2 yolks - 215 cal., 34P 2C 9F
boca (classic) - 80 cal., 14P 1C 1F
green beans 50 cal., --P 4C 0F
calcium

creatine 5 g

meal 5
7 egg whites - 105 cal., 28P 2C 0F
boca (classic) - 80 cal., 14P 1C 1F
almonds 1/4 cu 170 cal., 6P 2C 15F

chromium picolinate


meal 6
7 egg whites - 105 cal., 28P 2C 0F
boca (classic) - 80 cal., 14P 1C 1F
flax 1 TSP 130 cal., 0P 0C 15F
calcium
ALA

creatine 5 g
Totals: 2315 cal. 288P 111C 72F

[mesomorphin']

Seem to be coming down with something. Achy all over, slight sinus headache, though not badly congested. Small fever (100.4). This is bad timing, since I just donated platelets (and plasma) yesterday. Since they often use this stuff on patients with compromised immune systems, they probably won't want to use my stuff. Going to start taking some zinc lozenges today, and see if this helps. Would like to avoid disruption to workouts for at least another week or so, but we'll see....

[mesomorphin']

Fever seems to be gone, and while cold/virus isn't completely over, I think the worst is past. This morning I got up early as usual, made daily meals and got ready to go to my workout, but Mrs. Meso woke up, and I was enticed into some extracurricular early morning activities. Hopefully, I'll get a chance to hit the gym after work tonight to play a little catch up.

[mesomorphin']

Spent a week in New York for the holidays and had a great time. Saw a few shows, went to a couple of comedy clubs, went to the natural history museum and planetarium, took my son on the NBC tour and up the Empire State Building at night, took a short cruise around the harbor, AND hit the gym 5 times -- at 5:30 a.m. I burned the candle a bit at both ends last week, but I was still pretty happy with the workouts -- especially back day and leg day. Sometime this coming week I hope to get a caliper test to see how I did on my mini-bulk.

[mesomorphin']

Back day today.

1. flexorless adduction -- 3 sets 20, 16, 12
2a. wide grip pullups -- 1 1/2 rep x 5; 8, 8, 6+4 slow negatives
b. wide grip pulldowns -- 10, 10, 9, 8
3a. 2 arm long bar row (V grip) 11, 11, 10, 10
b. narrow grip pulldowns -- 10, 10, 9, 8
c. machine row, narrow grip -- 8, 10, 10, 10
4a. bentover barbell row -- 10, 10, 8, 7
b. horizontal shrugs (machine row) -- 8, 9, 9, 10
c. prone reverse flyes -- 10, 10, 10, 8
5. Hise breathing shrugs -- 6, 8, 8, 8
6. Neck extensions -- 20, 16
Got to the gym late, so ran out of time for lower back (good mornings or hyperextensions). Have to pick them up later.

Got a nice pump in the upper lats and upper traps today. I think I'm beginning to get the hang of the Hise shrugs. Today I went up to 600 lbs on those, and could probably have pressed a little higher. (When I first tried them a couple of weeks ago, I stopped short of 500, but I'm starting to feel them better.)
Next back day, I'll probably open with deadlifts and then do rhomboids/middle traps before lats, so I can hit them a little more intensely.

Tomorrow should be chest and shoulders, if I can get to the gym on time. (The power steering on my car went out while I was in New York, and I have to drop it off for some repair work tomorrow. Hopefully, I can figure out how to get that done without cutting into workout time.)

[mesomorphin']

Had caliper tests this morning. I currently weigh in at 195, which represents an increase of about 13.5 lbs over the past 30 days. (Over this 30 day period I have been on a mini bulk, and I did a cycle of 1-Test and am in the middle of a creatine cycle). Depending on whether I use the 7 point or 9 point measurements, my bodyfat computes at 8.16-9.23%. My LBM ranges between 177-179 and my bodyfat ranges from 16-18 pounds. This would represent a LBM increase of 13-15 pounds over 30 days, and a fat decrease of 1-2 pounds. I'm not sure I wholly trust these numbers; some of the weight gain is likely to be water. Still, I'm confident things are moving in the right direction, and I'm pretty satisfied with the mini-bulk. Before I did the calculations this morning, I expressed hope that my efforts would be rewarded with at least some LBM increases -- unlike last year's poorly-executed bulk. One of my gym buddies told me he thought there were obvious increases in my upper body mass especially in shoulders and traps. (Hopefully, some of my increased thigh girth is also LBM, but I generally wear long pants in the gym and he had no way to assess that.)

Today's workout was chest and shoulders. It went pretty well, though I had to deviate from my planned routine, because the decline bench was out of commission.
1. Incline dumbbell presses-- 3 neural training sets. I was able to increase loads for both one rep max sets and my 6-8 rep sets by about 10-15 pounds (per arm) over previous workouts.
2. Flat bench -- 100 reps, performed fairly explosively for the 1rst 50 reps or so.
3. Cable crossover (high pulley)-- 4 sets: 10, 10, 6, 10 (static reps on last set)
4. Cable crossover (low pulley) -- 4 sets: 10, 10, 8, 6 (static reps on last set)
5. Cross bench straight arm pullover 1 set: 5 reps
6. Seated rear delt raises -- 3 sets: 10, 10, 10
7. Lying one arm cross body shoulder raises -- 3 sets: 10, 10, 10 (increased loads beyond previous best)
8. Upright rows -- 4 sets: 10, 10, 9, 7
9. L laterals -- 3 sets: 10, 8, 8
10. Plate raise -- 3 sets: 10, 9, 8

For some reason, the shoulder workout seemed more intense/effective today than normal. For a good 5-10 minutes after I finished, I felt like I HAD to shake out the aching muscles, but nothing I did would give them any relief. For a couple of minutes there, I would have gladly removed my arms to lose the feeling.

[mesomorphin']

LEG DAY!. I had one of those good workouts -- the kind I'll be paying for the next few days.

1. narrow stance squats -- all the way to the bottom --
185x20; 225x15; 250x12; 275x8 (don't think I've gone this deep at 275 before).
2. Partial rep squats -- 315x8 (3/4 reps); 365x8 (1/2 reps); 405x9 (1/3 reps); 465x9 (1/3 reps); 500x6 (1/3 reps)
3. Hack squats -- light weight, slow tempo, all the way to the bottom, push up with toes, no lock out.
90x20; 100x13rest/pause4; 90x20; 90x20 (probably should have done a little higher but got a good burn anyway)
4. One legged leg extensions -- 60x9 rest/pause 7 rest/pause 4; 45x10 rest/pause 5 rest/pause 4 rest/pause 3;
30x15 rest/pause 5
5. Stiff Legged deadlifts supersetted with seated leg curls-- 225x15/70x12; 250x10/70x10; 275x10/70x12; 315x5/70x11
6. smith machine calf raises -- 225x20; 225x15; 225x12; 315x9; 405x7
7. seated calf raise -- 90x 45 seconds; 90x45 seconds; 90x30 seconds.

Did some quad stretching between sets. Some quad flexing after workout. After 20-30 seconds of flexing quads began to cramp, especially vastus lateralis.

Afterwards, my legs were shaking so badly that the urinal suddenly began to look like a small target!:)

[mesomorphin']

Bi/Tri this morning.

Didn't keep a log today, but felt pretty strong.
1. standing alternating db curls -- 4 sets -- went a little higher than normal today.
2. preacher curls w/ EZ bar -- 4 sets -- did these nice and slow, great stretch, and long static rep at the end of each set. (These were not too comfortable today, as I slipped on some ice and fell down some stairs this morning, landing partly on one elbow.)
3. standing concentration curl -- 3 sets
4. incline alternating db curls -- 3 sets
5. hammer curls w/ bar -- 4 sets (squeezed a little more out of these than normal, I think -- more by slow tempo and good peak contraction than by heavier loads.
6. weighted parallel dips -- I intended to just do heavy negatives on these, but I easily cranked out 5-6 full reps with the same weight I used last week for negatives. (I haven't done these regularly for a long time, and its easy for me to misjudge what I can do at this point.) I pyramided up to 70 pounds with full reps, and then went to 90 for a few sets of 5 slow negatives. This is WAY more than I ever used to do on these, so I think I may push the envelope with these for a few weeks and see what I can do while I'm on a "re-learning" curve.
7. skullcrushers -- 4 sets
8. one arm dumbbell extensions - 3 sets.

[mesomorphin']

Trying out a new split that lets me divide back into two separate days. Also lets me try out a chest/bi combination (per Old School's suggestion) -- something I haven't done in a long time, if ever.
Split will look like:
Mon. -- Back (except for lats)
Tues. -- Shoulder/Tri
Wed. -- Lats, forearms, abs
Thurs. -- Legs
Fri. -- Chest/Bi

So today's workout:
1. deadlifts-- 185x10; 225x10; 275x10; 315x6; 335x5
(I was still feeling a little stiff from last week's leg workout, and the first warmup set seemed pretty tough today. Luckily, things loosened up and the next couple sets were easier, even at increased loads.
2.a. face pulls with rope
b. incline dumbbell row
c. venom row to chest
d. prone reverse fly
set 1 - a. 100x12(too light); b. 30's x10; c. 45x12 (too light); d. 25's x12
set 2 - a. 125x12 (still pretty light); b. 30's x8; c. 60x10; d. 25's x8
set 3 - a. 150x12; b. 30's x10; c. 65x10; d. 25's x8
set 4 - a. 175 x 10 (a little too heavy. slight reduction in range of motion); b. 30's x10; c. 75x6 (grip became issue); d. 20's x10

3.a. bentover row
b. bentover lateral (top 1/3)
c. horizontal shrug (on rowing machine)
set 1 - a. 135x6; b. 25's x5/20's x6 (came closer to full range of motion); 250x10
set 2 - a. 135x7; b. 20's x7; c. 250x7
set 3 - a. 135x6; b. 20's x7 drop 15's x 6; c. 250x7

4. infraspinatous rows -- 15's x10; 20's x14; 25's x10; 25's x10 drop 20's x6
5. two arm lateral extension -- 15x10; 15x8; 10x10 (I don't think I really got the feel of this exercise. I may work on some more basic rotator movements before coming back to this.
6. Hise shrugs-- 405x10; 495x8; 600x7; 600x6; 620x7; 635x6
7.a. behind the back barbell shrugs
b. front barbell shrugs
c. front barbell shrug singles w/ 1 second rest/pause
set 1 - a. 315x10; b. 315x8; c. 365x6
set 2 - a. 365x8; b. 365x8; c. 365x6
set 3 - a. 365x6; b. 365x4; c. 365x5
8. front barbell shrugs -- 225x14; 225x16
9. weighted hyperextensions -- 220x17; 240x11; 250x10

[mesomorphin']

Today was delts and tris. I decided to throw in a couple of delt exercises I hadn't done before, so I did a bit more for delt than usual. I think this affected my tri work a little, on the close grip bench and weighted dips anyway. Next time, I'll cut back a little on the delt work and see what happens. If I think tri loads are suffering under this new split, I'll start alternately which part I do first on delt/tri day.

1. 2 arm dumbbell press -- 30's x 10; 45's x 11; 55's x 5; 55's x 5; 50's x 8 (fairly "wide" grip, near end of motion raise little finger so dumbells come together in a V and squeeze)
2. dumbbell laterals (one arm) -- 25x9; 25x10; 30x7R/5L; 25x9 (thumbless grip on right hand, but seemed to bother elbow joint on left -- a "tennis elbow" sensation; I probably should start doing some of the tennis elbow rehabilitation exercises if this keeps up.)
3. behind the neck presses on smith machine -- 115x10; 135x10; 155x8; 165x5
4. incline lateral raises -- 20x10R/9L; 20x9R/7L; 20x7
5. decline lateral raises -- 20x10R/8L; 20x9R/7L; 25x8
(The incline and decline laterals were new to me; I think I like them, but will probably select one next time out, and alternate at some point.)
6. rear delt raise -- 25's x 12; 30's x 10; 30's x 10 (somewhat reduced range of motion on last 3 reps).
I had been prioritizing rear delts (doing them first) for a few weeks, and I think I've made some progress here (although admittedly starting from a pretty low point, weight-wise).
7. plate front raise -- 45x10; 45x10; 45x8. Definitely gotten a little better on these too.
8. (very) close grip bench -- 95x20; 135x10; 155x6; 155x5 drop 135x6
9. weighted dips -- 70x4 slow negatives; 70x5 slow negatives; 70x5 slow negatives. (I felt myself sliding around in my gloves (which are a tad too big) some on these. Next time I may remove the gloves for these, to avoid the distraction.
10. incline pressdowns -- 87.5x20; 112.5x16; 137.5x9; 150x7; 150x7
11. overhead dumbbell extensions -- 25x6 drop 20x6; 20x6R/8L; 20x8

[mesomorphin']

Lats and forearms this morning.
1.a. Wide grip pullups supersetted with
b. Narrow underhand grip pulldowns
set 1 a. 8; b. 137.5x10
set 2 a. 7; b. 150x7
set 3 a. 6; b. 137.5x9
set 4 a. 5; b. 150x7
set 5 a. 3; b. 150x6
set 6 a. 1; b. 150x5

2.a. flexorless adduction supersetted with
b. striation rows
set 1 a. 75x7 drop 67.5x7 drop 50x7; b. 20's x 10
set 2 a. 75x10 drop 67.5x7 drop 50x10; b. 20's x 10
set 3 a. 87.5x10 drop 75x9 drop 67.5x7; b. 20's x 12
(don't quite have the feel of the striation rows yet--probably should increase a little)

3.a. machine pullovers supersetted with
b. bentover row (narrow, underhand grip)
set 1 a. 125x12; b. 135x7
set 2 a. 137.5x10; b. 135x7
set 3 a. 150x5; b. 135x8
set 4 a. 137.5x8; b. 145x6

4.a. wide grip pulldowns supersetted with
b. reverse shrugs
set 1 a. 125x6; b. 187.5x25
set 2 a. 100x12; b. 207.5x12 (bored?)
set 3 a. 112.5x10; b. 207.5x18
set 4 a. 112.5x8; b. 207.5x20
(I tried to do the reverse shrugs on the cable crossover machine, but there really is not enough weight. Next time I may try the pulldown station, while standing on a separate bench. The pulldown seat is too far to use as a stool for reverse shrugs.)

5.a. cable wrist curls supersetted with
b. cable reverse wrist curls
set 1 a. 37.5x60 seconds; b. 37.5x60 seconds
set 2 a. 37.5x60 seconds; b. 37.5x60 seconds
set 3 a. 50x60 seconds; b. 37.5x60 seconds
(All of the wrist curls were too easy, but my forearm extensors suck, so the 37.5 was enough there.)

6. reverse barbell curls -- 1 1/2 reps: 45x7; 45x7; 45x5
(I never tried these before so I used less weight than for regular reps. Good thing, since I barely got 7 as it was. Nice burn.

7.a. behind the back wrist curls supersetted with
b. static hold
set 1 a. 95x12; b. 90 x 30 seconds
set 2 a. 115x8; b. 90 x 30 seconds
set 3 a. 115x7; b. 90 x 30 seconds

Abs tonight.

[mesomorphin']

LEG DAY today. For some reason, I was a little stiff on my opening set of squats, and this affected my confidence a little. Anyway, I stuck with the planned loads, but increased the rest interval between sets. As a result, I ran out of time on the back end of the workout and slighted hams.

1. squats (parallel or below): 180x20; 225x15; 250x10; 275x8
2. partial rep squats: 315x10 (>3/4 rep); 365x10 (3/4 rep); 405x10 (>1/2 rep); 455x10 (almost 1/2 rep); 500x6 (1/3 rep)
On each of these, I'm trying to get a LITTLE deeper each week, though I'm judging partly by feel.
3. free weight hack squats: 195x10; 245x10; 275x8; 295x4
Hadn't gone above 275 before on these.
4. walking lunges: 50x70 yards; 50x70 yards. I never do these. I suck at them (and therefore hate them). Need to do them more often. Enough said.
5. leg adductor - machine (widest setting): 250x13; 250x12; 250x10 -- all performed slowly with 4-5 second negatives
6. leg abductor - machine: 250x10; 250x9; 250x10 -- hardly ever do these and find them much more difficult than the adduction. Should do them more often too.
7. stiff legged deadlifts: 225x10; 245x6 [out of time; have to do better about watching the clock next time]

[mesomorphin']

Today was chest and biceps (a new combination for me).

For chest, I tried a variation of week 1 of the routine laid out in Old School's article this month's Betond Failure.
1. flat bench dumbbell presses: 60's x12+10 partial reps, plus static hold for 15 seconds; 65's x7; 70's x6; 70's x6+ 15 partial reps, plus static hold for 20 seconds.
2. lying low incline cable flyes: 50's x 12, then extreme stretch; 55's x 8, then extreme stretch; 62.5's x 7, then extreme stretch.
3. decline dumbell press (at my gym can do decline with dumbbells or with smith machine, but no good place to do them with barbell, so I opted for dumbbells): 75's x 5; 70's x 7; 65's x 10; 80's x3
Then biceps, before final chest set.
4. standing alternating dumbbell curls: 35's x13; 40's x 10; 45's x 9; 50's x 4
5. dumbbell spider curls (started with preacher curls, but elbow joint is still sore from fall last week, so I switched to spider curls to avoid contact between the joint and the bench. Maybe I'll have to wait til the bruise disappears before resuming preacher curls): 35x10; 35x9R/7L; 35x9
6. standing concentration curls: 35x10R/7L; 35x8; 35x8
7. hammer curls (with bar): 65x12; 70x9; 75x9
(Was more focused on new chest routine than biceps today, and kind of selected exercises at random on the fly. Next time out, I'll select a better combination of exercises for the bi interlude.)
Final chest set: seated machine presses: 187.5x8; 187.5x7; 200x6 (next time I hit this routine, I'll probably use the smith for the machine presses, since I think its easier to go heavy there)

At this point, I'm carrying more bodyfat (especially around the waist/lower back) than at my low point last summer, and my vasularity has softened in some areas (especially highly vascular areas like forearms). So I was surprised, and a little relieved today to see that I've actually increased vascularity in some areas. During some post-workout flexing in the shower, I could definitely see more and larger looking veins across my delts and chest (including one I could trace in a continuous line from my neck across the upper chest and down my entire arm. Also, some freaky-looking veins across the traps, which I don't remember seeing before. Maybe those heavy Hise shrugs are forcing some changes in that area.
Also in addition to the normal separations/striations in the chest I saw a series of nice striations along the outermost edge of pecs when in a deep stretch position.

[mesomorphin']

Today's workout. Gym was crowded. I had to bounce around a bit to get things in.

Rhomboids/Middle Traps
1.a. Bentover barbell rows
b. Horizontal shrugs
c. Bentover lateral (top 1/3)
set 1: a. 135x10; b. 135x7; c. 15x12
set 2: a. 155x11; b. 255x8 (switched to machine); 20x10
set 3: a. 165x9; b. 255x10; c. 20x10
set 4: a. 175x8; b. 255x12; c. 20x10 drop 15x9

2. Venom rows to chest: 80x10; 90x8; 100x12 (100 lb dumbbell is made up of flat plates that form better gripping surface for me. Next time out, I'll just use the 100 lb dumbbells.)

Upper Traps/Levator scapula:
3. Hise breathing shrugs: 405x12; 495x10; 605x8; 625x8; 645x6; 665x5

Rotators:
4. Lying one arm external rotation: 15x13; 20x10; 20x10
5. bodybuilding deadlifts: bar x10; 95x10; 145x12; 175x12; 195x12; 205x10
(never did these before, so not really sure how much weight to apply. Seems like something where it would be possible to pack on considerable weight; I went down to a point a couple of inches below the knee, but for the external rotation focus, I'm not sure there's much advantage to going that low.(???) While doing these I notice a really sharp separation across the front of the upper trap area (I think it was medial edge of the levator scapula), and a fainter separation that I think was the line between the levator and the upper traps. I'm sure this could not have developed overnight, so it just goes to show that I haven't been watching the mirror intently enough during certain movements. (While I haven't done bodybuilding shrugs before, the same feature was readily visible during regular shrugs, which I do all the time. 5 demerits for zoning out in front of the mirror!

Upper Traps/Levator scapula:
6. Shrugs -- lighter weight, greater range of motion and higher reps (slow with full second pause at peak): 135x24; 185x20; 185x18

Lower back:
7. Good mornings: 185x10; 225x9; 275x10

[mesomorphin']

Time to review and take stock a little. First, the good news. Looking back over the last year, I think I made significant improvements in overall symmetry. Although chest used to stand out as my most developed bodypart (by quite a bit), I think I made considerable gains with back development -- both upper lats/back width and in upper back thickness. (Its harder to get a good view of the upper back, but I can FEEL extra thickness in the outer-upper back area.) In the last month or two, I have increased attention on the upper trap/levator area, and have also made some good progress there. Rear delts represent another area with good progress. Last year, rear delts were lagging quite a bit behind side and front delts. Although I will still prioritize rear delts for now, I'm much closer to equal development of all three heads. (At the same time, its easier to see I would benefit from some increased fullness in the side delts (especially upper) and front delts (to sharpen separation between delts and pecs). Another area where I feel I made good progress last year was quads. The overall size of my quads has not increased. In fact, my measurements are smaller than there were at the end of my bulk last year, but I think there have been significant improvements in the shape of my quads -- particularly the outer flare, and to a lesser extent the tear drop area. Aesthetics aside, I also made slow but steady gains in my squat loads, so hopefully I have a foundation to stimulate further development. Finally, I think I made some improvements to chest, especially upper chest, filling in shallower areas below the clavicle, and increasing separation/striation throughout the entire chest area.

On the down side, probably my biggest failure last year was forearms. I'm pretty much at the same point there I was last year. I hit forearms pretty well on occasion, but not consistently enough to reap real results in either strength or size. Clearly, I'll have to to better in this area.

Current assessment:

Goal: Achieve 200 lbs at 10% bodyfat or less.
Currently around 190 @ around 10%
I expect to implement a series of mini bulks, followed by periods of mini-cuts or maintenance (depending on body composition at the end of bulks)

Evaluation:

1. forearm -- I have relatively good development of forearm flexors, and good separation of forearm extensors (but weak extensors); need to increase size of elbow flexors
This is the same as last year, and I just need to FOLLOW THROUGH with a game plan that puts extra emphasisis on reverse curls and reverse wrist curls.
2. lats -- I am pleased with last year's progress and no longer consider these to be a lagging bodypart aesthetically (though I really haven't increased strength much). I am currently giving back substantial priority (everything but lats on Mondays; upper and lower lat exercises with forearms on Thursdays. I hope this split will allow me to make continued progress with lat development, and keep me from shortchanging forearms. I will make a concerted effort to increase working loads on lats as a way to stimulate continued development here.
3. quads -- I would like to further development of outer sweep, so I expect to continue with regular narrow stance squats, and leg extensions with toes pointed in; I also think, I will incorporate hip abduction work more often to see if this will help upper portion of outer sweep.
I want more growth in tear drop area and will try to increase use of free weight hack squats and sissy squats for this purpose.
4. upper arm -- I have some illusion of more size than I really have, but want more mass overall. Bicep peaks are reasonably good (shape of one bicep remains effected by past bicep tear); will make sure to prioritize movements to stimulate lower biceps. My bicep routines have been pretty varied, but I need to make sure to use a variety of grip widths. During part of last year, I did not give enough emphasis to brahialis exercises, so I need to watch that more closely.
triceps -- need to continue to work on imbalance between right arm and left arm. The lower end of the long head of my left tricep is significantly more developed than on right. On right arm, the long head kind of tapers down--almost like 3 progressively smaller segments as you get closer to the elbow. On the right arm the long head does not have a segmented appearance. I'm not sure about the best way to address this. I will continue dumbbell work to address this, with extra emphasis on the right arm. I also plan to increase use of weighted parallel dips, including some heavy negatives. Overall, I suspect my best strategy for upper arm growth will be to continue increase loads on heavy compound movements (squats and deadlifts) to stimulate overall growth, some of which should trickle down to arms.
5. delts -- beginning to see more even development of all 3 heads. Front and side heads highly striated and vascular, but still need some increased emphasis on rear delt. Would also like some growth of side delt -- especially upper portion -- and some increase in front delt to sharpen pec/delt separation.

X factor
Foundation is currently better than 1 year ago, but need to trim a couple of inches off waist. Some side delt growth would be beneficial. Will continue working on back width, and outer quad sweep; going to incorporate more hip abduction

Lagging parts:
delts -- rate 5/10. rear delts still a little behind other two heads; side delts could be a little fuller at the top to give a little rounder appearance to delts. Front delt growth would sharpen tie in with pecs.
bi -- rate 5/10. increase overall mass; should also emphasize lower bicep growth.
tri -- rate 6/10. lowest part of tricep on right arm needs work
forearm flexors -- rate 6/10.
forearm extensors -- rate 2/10
elbow flexors -- rate 3/10
chest -- rate 7/10. continue upper chest focus; also focus on middle/inner chest
lats -- rate 7/10
rhomboid/middle trap density -- rate 7/10
upper traps -- 6/10. Size increasing, but can use more mass to increase appearance of thickness of (long) neck. Nice separation between traps/levator and neck muscles starting to emerge.
quads -- 5/10. Shape improvement, but need more mass.
hams -- 5/10. OK, but could work on increasing peak.
calves -- 8/10. good gastrocnemius size for my body; well defined soleus; tibialis anterior sharply defined, but small. Could emphasize more.

glutes -- 8/10.

[mesomorphin']

Triceps and delts today. Went with triceps first. Plan to alternate from week to week.

1. weighted parallel dips -- 35x8; 45x5; 45x6; 45x6;
negatives only; slow 5 second descent: 70x6; 95x5; 100x5
(At 90 and above, the belt "digs in" a bit; hopefully this is something you get used to; otherwise, I may want to resort to a little padding when I'm ready to go higher.)

2. overhead reverse grip dumbell extensions -- 25x10; 25x9; 25x9; 25x7 drop 20x3. Two additional sets for lagging right arm (only): 25x7 drop 20x2; 25x6 drop 20x1

3. Old School extensions with dumbbell -- 25's x10; 30's x 7; 30's x6 drop 20's x4

4. Wide grip pressdowns -- 125x10; 137.5x7 rest-pause 4; 137.5 x7 rest-pause 4 drop 100x4

5. Behind the back presses (down only to point where upper arms parallel to floor) -- 135x10; 155x10; 165x7; 175x7; 185x7; 200x2

6. Rear delt dumbbell raises -- 30's x10; 30's x10; 30's x10

7. Two arm dumbbell laterals -- 30's x6* drop 20's x8; 25's x9; 25's x8; 25's x7

8. Incline dumbbell lateral -- 20x8R/5 rest-pause 2L; 20x8R/7L; 20x7

9. Plate raise -- 45x9; 45x8; 45x9

[mesomorphin']

Addendum to 1/13 updated assessment:

Finally got a better view of my back, so I can refine the evaluation a little.
Upper traps seem relatively well developed, with sharp separation from rear delts and pretty good separation from middle traps in certain poses. Although it is not a relative weak point, I will continue to work on adding mass here, to try to increase trap height and shorten appearance of neck.
Middle traps/rhomboids are not as developed as upper traps. Need to work on adding thickness in this area to make the diamond stand out more easily. (In many positions, lateral edges of the middle traps tend to fade away, instead of standing out sharply. I will continue to use a variety of wide overhand grip rowing movements and horizontal shrugs to stimulate this area. I need to concentrate on getting a complete range of motion/full scapula retraction, even if it means lightening the load on some sets. I probably should mix up use of shocking techniques for this area. (Lately I have used mostly tri sets, but I should also consider more static reps/holds, and maybe some drops sets.
Infraspinatous is not huge, but is very sharply defined and easily stands out in many positions.
Teres minor/Teres major. I feel I have some definite thickness in this area, but it took me a while to find a position where I could make these muscles appear as a distinct unit. I could see this group most distinctly when my arm was partially abducted. Hopefully, with additional development of this area, it will appear more distinct from wider a variety of angles.

Today's workout:

1. wide grip pullups -- 4 sets, plus 4 sets of slow negatives
2. wide grip pulldows -- 1 regular set; 3 drop sets; 2 static holds
3. bent arm barbell pullover -- 4 sets (haven't been doing these too frequently; tend to prefer cross bench dumbbell pullovers)
4. flexorless adduction -- 3 double drop sets. I think I feel these more with higher rep schemes.
5. narrow grip pullup -- 3 sets
6. narrow grip pulldown -- 3 sets
7. one arm long bar row -- 3 sets
8. reverse shrugs -- 4 sets (still trying to get the feel of these). On a couple of sets, I was working with loads that were just shy of lifting me off the ground, and used much of my (limited) concentration maintaining my footing. I think maybe the trick is to use lighter loads and concentrate almost entirely on the squeeze at the bottom of the motion. (That's about the only place I felt it in my lats.)
9. reverse curls -- 5 sets.
10. reverse wrist curls -- 3 triple drop sets. (I have definitely gone backwards here, as a result of my neglect, so I need to spend some time getting reacquainted with these bad boys.

[mesomorphin']

LEG DAY. Changed things up with some different exercises this week.
1. free weight hack squats (behind the back) -- 225x10; 275x6; 275x7. I've only done these a couple of times, and that was quite a while ago. I found the first working set pretty clumsy, but got better as I went along. Pound for pound, I find these harder than when the bar is positioned in front.
2. free weight hack squats (front) -- 275x10; 295x10; 315x5
3. leg extensions -- 250x1 (30 second static rep); 250x1 (30 second static rep); 250x2; 250x1 (20 second static rep); 200x5; 175x5
4. sissy squats -- 10; 10; 10; 8; 10; 10. I wanted to put more emphasis on vastus medialis, so I shifted my weight forward more and experimented with different angles (much more toward the vertical than I've done in the past). I think I succeeded in giving the vastus medialis a good pump. I was seeing some nice quad separation by the time I finished these today.
5. hip adductor (machine set to widest setting; very slow reps) -- 250x15; 260x12; 260x14
6. hip abductor -- 260x10; 260x10; 260x10. I think there may be a problem with the machine in our gym. Even when you set the machine in as close as it can go, the machine is loose enough that it doesn't really engage the weights immediately. Since my range of motion on this exercise is not enormous anyway, I found this distracting/disappointing. I tried stuffing some weight plates between my legs and the pads to try to make it angage quicker. It helped a little, but not as much as I would have liked. Since the effective range of motion was pretty limited, I just tried to hold each rep for a 3-5 count to see if I could get more out of it. This helped, but I could feel it quite a bit more on one side than the other, which does not seem like a good thing.
7. walking lunges -- 60x70 yards; 60x60 yards. I still hate these, especially compared to smith machine lunges, where I can pile on some weight. However, I am going to do these more frequently, to see if I can get better at them/develop a little better balance.

Tonight: hams.

[mesomorphin']

Chest and bis this morning.
1. Non peak flyes -- 25's x15; 30's x 12; 35's x10
30 second flex and extreme stretch after each set
2. Weighted Dips -- 10x8, plus 3 slow negatives; 20x7 plus 2 slow negatives; 25x6 plus 3 slow negatives; 30x5 plus 3 slow negatives
3. 30 second flex and extreme stretch after 1st, 3rd and 4th sets
4. Smith machine flat bench -- 225x7; 235x4; 245x3
5. Concentration curl negatives -- 50x5; 45x6; 45x6L/5R; 45x3 (right only)
6. Lying dumbbell curls -- 25x9; 30x5; 25x9
7. Spider curls -- 30x20; 45x9; 45x8 (slow tempo)
8. Hammer curls (dumbbell) -- 40's x8; 40's x6; 35's x9
9. Incline barbell press -- 95x20; 135x8; 145x5

On an unrelated note, while showering I think I noticed some increased thickness in the upper-inner thighs. I think the adductor work is starting to show a bit.

[mesomorphin']

Back (except for lats)

1. deadlifts (Hammerstrength): 315x12; 405x6; 455x (fail); 405x6; 425x 2;
2. Rack pulls: 315; 335; 355; 385; 405 (fail)
3. Hise shrugs (smith machine): 405x10; 495x10; 495x10; 545x12; 585x8; 635x5; 675x4. This smith machine is different from the one I usually use, and the pegs are at a little different heights than i'm used to. As a result, I had a little difficulty re-racking the weight on my second set, and I strained my lower back a little (I pay for that later, I suspect). For subsequent sets, I used a platform, which solved the "reach" problem, and I was very careful on the liftoffs to avoid straining my back further.
4.a. Behind the back shrugs
b. Front shrugs
c. singles (with one second rest)
set 1: a. 315x6; b. 315x8; c. 335x8
set 2: a. 335x8; b. 335x10; c. 350x8
set 3: a. 350x10; b. 350x10; c. 365x7
set 4 (c. only): 405x8

5. neck extensions: 15x15; 20x10; 20x11
(lateral): 15x11; 20x15
6.a. bentover barbell row
b. horizontal shrug (on Hammerstrength row machine)
c. prone flyes
set 1: a. 135x10; b. 315x7; c. 20x12
set 2: a. 135x9; b. 275x7; c. 20x14
set 3: a. 135x9; 245x7; 20x12
(Didn't like the feel of the horizontal shrug on the Hammerstrength machine; never got the feel of it.)

7.a. Face pulls
b. Venom rows to chest
c. incline dumbbell flyes
set 1: a. 100x10; b. 100x10; c. 25's x10
set 2: a. 100x12; b. 120x7; 30's x7
set 3: a. 110x7; b. 120x5; c. 30's x 7

8. Lying dumbbell external rotation: 20x11R/8L; 20X7L/9R; 20x10L/10R; 15x11 (left only)
9. Infraspinatous row: 20's x15; 25's x12; 30's x11; 35's x 7
10. Cable deadlifts (1/3 rep with focus on external rotation): 200x10; 250x10; 280x7; 300x7

[mesomorphin']

Delts and tris today.

1. Military press behind the neck (down only to point where upper arm is parallel to ground): 135x10; 185x7; 200x7; 210x4; 220x3
2. Dumbbell press (2 arm, dumbbells held in V position at top): 45's x10; 50's x6; 50's x6; 50's x 5
3. Rear delt raise (dumbbell): 30's x 10; 35's x10; 35's x6 drop 30's x6; 35's x8 drop 30's x 5
4.a. Upright row (cable):
b. Macine laterals:
Set 1: a. 137.5x15; b. 87.5x7
Set 2: a. 150x10; b. 100x6
Set 3: a. 175x9; b. 100x6
set 4: a. 187.5x7; b. 100x6
5. Decline lateral raises: 20x10; 20x9; 20x8 drop 15x5
6. Plate raise: 45x11; 45x10; 45x10; 45x5
7. Close grip bench: 135x10; 145x7; 135x8
8. Press downs: 100x20; 125x15; 150x11; 167.5x9; 175x7; 187.5x7
9. Kickbacks (cable): 37.5x6drop 25x5; 37.5x8 drop 25x6; 37.5x10 drop 25x7
10. Old School extensions: 45x11; 55x6; 55x8; 55x8; 45x9
Plus a few sets of overhead dumbbell extensions for right arm only.

[GetPsycho]

<blockquote><font class="small">Posted by: mesomorphin':</font><hr> Delts and tris today.

1. Military press behind the neck (down only to point where upper arm is parallel to ground): 135x10; 185x7; 200x7; 210x4; 220x3
<hr /></blockquote>

strong!

[mesomorphin']

Thanks, but its not as good as it looks. I should have noted that I did the behind-the-neck presses on a smith machine, so this wasn't comparable to a free weight exercise. (We have a fairly crappy military press station at my gym. It wobbles, plus the bar is positioned back pretty far, so its hard to get a decent lift off without a spotter.) When I do free weights and a complete range of motion, I definitely go lighter, but sometimes I like to do some heavier partials.

[mesomorphin']

Lats and forearms this morning. I only got about 3 1/2 hours sleep last night, which definitely had an impact on this workout. I considered sleeping in, but it would have thrown off workout plan, since I can't make up missed workouts on weekends.
Extra sleep tonight!

1.a wide grip pullups
b. wide grip pulldowns
set 1: a. 7; b. 125x10
set 2: a. 5; b. 125x10
set 3: a. 4; b. 150x5
set 4: a. 5; b. 137.5x8
set 5: a. 2; b. 137.5x6 + 10 second static rep
set 6: a. 5; b. 137.5x6

2. flexorless adduction: 75x10 drop 62.5x10 drop 50x10; 87.5x10 drop 75x5 drop 62.5x6; 75x10 drop 62.5x10 drop 50x9
3.a. machine row (narrow neutral grip)
b. narrow grip pulldown
set 1: a. 150x10; b. 137.5x8
set 2: a. 175x11; b. 150x5 + 15 second static rep
set 3: a. 200x8; b. 137.5x4 /forum/images/graemlins/frown.gif (ridiculous mental lapse)
4. striation row: 20's x10; 25's x10; 25's x10; 25's x10. I'm getting a little better at these. However, I may need to proceed a little carefully here. When I have the dumbbells back as far as I can go, I feel a tensing on one side that reminds me a lot of some of the involuntary muscle contraction I got last year when I was going through a cervical disc problem. Probably just need to pay close attention to what I'm doing with my neck as the arm extends backward to the limit.
5. decline pullover: 45x20; 65x15; 85x10; 85x10. Started too light on these. Next time I'll know better.
6. reverse curls: 55x11; 60x10; 65x6; 65x7. Numbers are a little better here than last week, I think. I plan to continue to work on this movement over the coming weeks.
7. reverse wrist curls: 25x15; 30x9 + 5 second static hold; 30x8; 30x6 drop 25x4; 30x6 + 15 second static rep. These remain pathetic, but I plan to stick with these also for a while and should see some improvement over the next few weeks.
8. wrist curls: 65x10; 65x10; 65x8 (very slow reps)

[mesomorphin']

Almost decided to postpone LEG DAY this morning :eek: because I'm still experiencing some lower back from Monday, and I thought it might get in the way of a decent workout (i.e., become an excuse for dogging it). I decided to try see how things went with a warmup set of squats, and since that went OK, I decided to go ahead. No personal records today, but I got in a decent workout without aggravating back, so I'm satisfied.
Focused on quads this morning; hams and calves tonight.

1. squats: 180x20; 225x15; 250x12; 275x10
2. partial rep squats: 315x10; 365x10; 405x10; 455x10; 500x10. (I may have gone a LITTLE less deep on some of these than last week, but I went down far enough to tax my glutes pretty hard.)
3. Priest lunges: 50x10; 60x10; 70x10; 80x10. I rarely do these, and don't have much feel for them yet. I definitely need to be using heavier loads, but I'll probably need to increase fairly gradually, as maintaining balance likely will become an issue for me somewhere in the 100-120 range.
4. Sissy squats: 7, 9, 7, 5, 5, 5. Unimpressive numbers here, but at least reps were performed nice and slow.
5. Bike sprints: 5x30 seconds at high resistance. Totally new to me and kind of fun, but I need some practice. One of the sets, I guaged the resistance wrong, and while it started out as a sprint, the last 5 seconds were more like a death march. Also, I was attempting to target the vastus medialis with these, but when I hopped off the bike, I generally felt the glutes more than anything. Either I'm doing them wrong, or maybe I just pre-fatigued the glutes with the squat work.
6. Hip adductor: 250x10; 250x10; 250x10. I went slightly lighter here than last week, but I used a slower tempo (10 count negatives on each rep), and it more than made up for the load difference. Ouch!
7. Hip abductor: 260x10; 260x8; 260x10. On the first and second sets I held the weights for a 3 count at peak contraction; on the third set, I fell back to a 2 count hold.
8. Leg extension: 75x15 drop 50x5. I should have pushed these a little farther, but I was clock watching at this point. Although I didn't get the intense burn that comes with 70 rep sets, for some reason I got an incredible tightness -- almost like edge of a cramp. Only lasted for about 5 minutes, though, since I wimped out and quit. /forum/images/graemlins/frown.gif

Anyway, my back felt at least as good at the end of the workout as at the beginning, so if I don't do anything stupid tonight with the SLDLs, I should be in good shape for next week. After tonight, I can pretty much rest my back until Monday.


p.m. session

1.a. leg curls (1 leg/2 leg)
b. stiff leg deadlifts
set 1: a. 62.5x10/10/10; b. 135x15
set 2: a. 75x4/4/10; b. 185x10
set 3: a. 70x8R/5L/10; b. 225x10
set 4: a. 62.5x8R/6L/10; b. 245x10
set 5: a. 50x7R/6L/9; 275x5

2. seated calf raises: 70x60 seconds; 70x45 seconds; 70x30 seconds

3. Standing calf raises: 225x15; 275x12; 315x10; 365x8; 225x17

4. Tibia raises: 135x40 rest-pause 135x33 rest pause 135 x30

[GetPsycho]

<blockquote><font class="small">Posted by: mesomorphin':</font><hr>Bike Sprints: I was attempting to target the vastus medialis with these<hr /></blockquote>

you must have read the post by jacob on targeting the vastus medialis /forum/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[mesomorphin']

Got that right! That was a great post. Up to this point, I've pretty much relied on sissy squats and hack squats for this area. I made some definite improvements over the past year, but I'd like to make a lot more. 24 3/4" quads are a long way from freaky on a 5'8.5" frame.

[mesomorphin']

Chest and bis today. Based chest on Old School's routine, but guessed wrong frequently about rep ranges I would achieve -- partly due to using different combinations than I'm used to and partly due to poor sleep habits this week.

1. a. incline dumbbell press
b. incline barbell press
set 1: a. 70x7; b. 135x5 /forum/images/graemlins/frown.gif
set 2. a. 75x5; b. 95x11
set 3: a. 80x2(forced reps) drop 60x4; b. 115x8

2.a. decline cable fly
b. flat bench -- smith machine
set 1: a. 62.5's x10; b. 180x6 then 30 second flex and 30 second extreme stretch
set 2: a. 70's x7; b. 190x5 then 30 second flex and 30 second extreme stretch
set 3: a. 75's x4; b. 180x6 then 30 second flex and extreme stretch

3.a. decline barbell press
b. incline barbell press
set 1: a. 275x6; b. 115x8 then 30 second flex and extreme stretch
set 2: a. 255x8; b. 115x7
set 3: a. 245x11; b. 115x5

4. standing barbell curl: 65x12; 75x10; 85x7; 95x6
5. one arm cable curl: 50x8; 50x8; 50x6; 50x6 left only (left arm limiting factor; just doesn't work as well, possibly due to old tear and residual effects of old cervical disc problem)
6. preacher curl: 55x5* (kept hitting uprights; needed to adjust apparatus); 55x7 plus static holds at 3 points along final negative; 55x8 plus static holds during final negative; 55x6 plus single static hold on final rep.
7. hammer curls: 65x9; 65x8; 65x6
8. cable 21's -- 75x21; 87.5x21

9.a. pause rep dumbbell press
b. neutral grip non-peak flyes
set 1: a. 50's x10; b. 30's x 2 then 30 second flex and extreme stretch (on slight incline)
set 2: a. 55's x 6; b. 30's x3
set 3: a. 60's x 4; b. 30's x 2 then 30 second flex and extreme stretch (on slight incline)

Hopefully, I'll catch up on sleep this weekend and come back refreshed on Monday.

[GetPsycho]

[ QUOTE ]
preacher curl: 55x5*; 55x7 plus static holds at 3 points along final negative; 55x8 plus static holds during final negative; 55x6 plus single static hold on final rep.<hr /></blockquote>

absolutley brutal!!!

here is a another thing to try on those. you want to do these dead last in a bicep routine. and it requires a partner or a friend in the gym. you want your bis to be pre-fatigued and thoroughly warmed up.
it looks like you are doing 55 pounds on your preacher curls. for these you would want to grab the 80. this exercise emphasizes the negative ONLY, your partner will lift the weight back to starting position when you hit the bottom of the motion. i call these forced negatives. the rep starts at peak contraction at the top of the motion. your partner will push the weight down as you try to curl it up. each rep should last around 10-12 seconds. your partner should apply steady pressure to push the weight, no jerking. do 3 reps. the # of sets is up to you. i generally only last 2 sets.

[mesomorphin']

That's a great suggestion GP. I have been trying to incorporate some heavy negative work in my arm training, but since I work without a partner, the only exercise I've been able to manage on my own so far is is concentration curls. However, I frequently give spots to a couple of guys when I'm between sets, and one of these days, I may prevail on one of them to work with me on these.

[mesomorphin']

I thought my lower back problem was easing, but I had a fair amount of discomfort Friday afternoon and Saturday. (Spent some time with a heating pad this weekend.) Nothing excruciating, and ibuprofen works pretty well to ease discomfort, but I can sure tell everytime the ibuprofen wears off. So.....

I decided to skip back day (which would have included deadlifts and bentover rowing movements). Did a tri/delt workout today instead.

Tris
1. weighted parallel dips: 35x8; 45x5; 45x6; 45x6;
2. weighted parallel dips (negative only): 70x7; 90x6; 110x4; 110x5; 110x4; 110x4; tried to focus on slow negatives, but the reps were a little faster on the last couple of sets.
3. Old School extensions: 45x12; 55x10; 60x7; 65x6; 70x4
4. Close grip bench: 135x10; 155x7; 155x5; 135x9
5. Reverse grip overhead dumbbell extensions (one arm): 20x7; 20x8; 25x7R/6L; 25x9R/6L; 25x6
6. Reverse pressdown: 100x9; 112.5x5; 100x7
Delts
1. dumbbell press (two arm): 45's x8; 50's x6; 50's x4; 50's x 5
2. military press behind the neck (on smith): 165x6; 185x2
3. seated rear delt dumbbell raise: 30's x 10; 35's x10; 35's x10; 35's x 6 drop 25's x 5; 35's x7 drop 25's x 4
4. dumbbell laterals: 25's x10; 25's x10; 25'sx7 drop 20's x5; 25's x7 drop 20's x5
5. incline side laterals (dumbbell): 20x5; 20x7 drop 15x4; 20x7 drop 15x4; 15x12R/10L
6. front plate raise: 45x9; 45x8; 45x8; 45x8

I'll see how things progress with the back before deciding on tomorrow's routine.

[mesomorphin']

Early morning meeting today, so I had to limit workout time. Did some lats only, and will do forearms tomorrow. I'm still giving my lower back time to get back to normal so I omitted rowing movements today. For most exercises, did somewhat lighter weight and/or fewer reps this morning, but slowed down tempo.

1. wide grip pullups -- varied grips: 4; 7; 5; 4; 5; 4; 3; 2; 1
2. wide grip pullups -- negative only: 3; 5; 3; 4
3. wide grip pulldowns: 125x9; 112.5x12; 112.5x10; 125x6; 125x8; 125x11
4. flexorless adduction: 75x10 drop 62.5x8 drop 50x10
5. narrow (underhand) grip pulldowns: 137.5x9; 137.5x10; 150x7 + static hold; 150x6 + static hold; 150x6; 150x5 + static hold
6. striation row: 25's x 10

Back discomfort is pretty manageable right now. I can't take aspirin/ibuprofen after Wednesday because of platelet donation this weekend, so hopefully I won't aggravate things on LEG DAY this week. If I have any doubts, I may omit SLDL this week.

[mesomorphin']

Traps and forearms today. Continuing to watch back.

1. dumbbell shrugs - seated: 100's x10; 100's x10; 100's x10; 100's x10
2. Hise breathing shrugs: 405x15; 495x11; 585x10; 675x6; 675x9; 675x8; 675x4 drop 585x7 drop 485x7 drop 405x7 drop 315 x4
3. behind the back barbell shrugs: 225x17; 225x16; 225x18; 225x20
4. reverse curls - preacher (EZ curl bar): 35x15; 45x10; 55x6; 55x4
5. reverse curls - barbell: 55x14; 60x10; 65x7; 70x6; 75x4
6. wrist curl - behind the back: 95x13; 107x7; 105x10; 115x5; 115x7
7. reverse wrist curl: 30x13; 35x7; 35x5; 30x6; 30x6

[GetPsycho]

what does your split look like?

[mesomorphin']

Well, I change it up fairly frequently, but my current split is supposed to be:

Monday -- back, except for lats (deadlifts here)
Tuesday-- shoulder &amp; triceps
Wednesday -- lats and forearms
Thursday -- legs (SLDL here)
Friday -- chest and biceps
Saturday -- rest
Sunday -- rest

However, this week only (I hope), I've been deviating from my split to accomodate a lower back strain I got last Monday. Just when I thought it was getting better, it started acting up again on Fraiday and over the weekend. As a result, I decided to skip back work on Monday (mainly to avoid the deadlifts and some of the bent over rowing movements). So, I did delts/tris on Monday. Lats on Tuesday. Traps and forearms today. Legs tomorrow, possibly without SLDLs, and Chest/bi on Friday.

[mesomorphin']

Got up late yesterday, so I decided to move LEG DAY to Friday and do chest in the a.m. and bis in the p.m on Thursday.

chest:

1. cross bench dumbbell pullovers: 65x11; 70x9; 75x6; 80x3; 85x3; 90x2; 95x1; 100x1
2. incline press (smith): 165x8; 170x6; 175x4; 185x3; 205xF. Numbers here were pretty low. Must be prefatigue from the pullovers.
3. supinating fly: 20's x20; 25's x12; 30's x10; 35's x6; 40's x 6; 45 x3. First 4 sets, I went for a big stretch, with dumbbells just above the floor; the stretch was good, but with the weight in this range I had a hard time feeling the peak contraction at the top. On the last two sets, I lowered the dumbbells only to bench level; I felt the peak contraction much better on these -- which seems to be the main point of this exercise.
4. decline dumbbell press: 65's x7; 60's x8; 65's x6; 70's x4; 75's x3; 80's x1. These numbers were also a bit lower than normal. I think the rest of the workout worked.
5. Serratus raise: 275x10


biceps:
1. standing alternate dumbbell curl: 35'sx13; 40's x10; 45's x9; 45's x7; 50's xF; 40's x7; 35's x8. 30 second hard flex and 30 second stretch after each set.
2. preacher curl (SLOW): 45x11; 50x6 + 20 second static rep; 55 x 5 rest/pause 1; 55x5 = 10 second static rep; 45x4 + 5 second static rep. 30 second hard flex and 30 second stretch after each set.
3. incline dumbbell curl: 30's x6
4. lying cable curl (elbows kept elevated): 100x8; 100x10; 112.5x7; 125x10.
5. hammer curl (with bar) 65x10; 70x8; 75x7; 80x5; 80x5. Numbers for most exercise (except hammer curls) were low for me. I think all the flexing had an impact.

[mesomorphin']

LEG DAY this morning. I'm still trying to go easy on my back, so I skipped SLDL, and I focused more on front squats with lighter loads. The good news is: I think the back is getting better. By Monday, I hope to be ready for deadlifts again.

1. leg extensions (2 preexhaustion sets): 87.5x15 drop 75x24 drop 50x11; 75x15 drop 62.5x15. Extreme quad stretch after each set.
2. squats: 135x6; 135x10; 155x10; 175x10; 195x10; 205x10
3.a. partial rep squats
b. sissy squats
set 1: a. 315x10; b. 10
set 2: a. 365x10; b. 7
set 3: a. 405x10; b. 8
set 4: a. 455x6; b. 7 (interrupted partials because did not step back far enough and kept almost hitting rack pegs on way up.
set 5: a. 455x10; b. 7
(Decided not to go up on partials to make sure not to aggravate back.)
4. 5 30 second bike sprints at high resistance.
5. standing leg curls (on leg extension machine): 37.5x12; 50x10L7R; 50x10; 50x10
6. hip adductior: 250x10; 250x12; 250x12
7. 260x10; 260x10; 260x7 (3 second hold on all reps)

[mesomorphin']

Back (minus lats) today.

warmup weighted hyperextensions: 160x10; 160x15; 160x20

1. deadlifts: 185x10; 225x10 275x10; 315x2. From the outset, I could tell that my lower back strain was not completely gone, but the discomfort seemed pretty much in the backgound, so I decided to go ahead. Things felt a little harder than they should have for the loads I was using, but since I got 10 at 275, I decided to go up to 315. That turned out to be a mistake, as I really started feeling the strain again. I discontinued that set early, and did not go any higher on deadlifts.

2.a. T-Bar Row
b. Bentover Row
c. Horizontal shrug on seated row machine
set 1: a. 45x13; b. 135x5; c. 250x10
set 2: a. 70x10; b. 135x5; c. 250x9
set 3: a. 90x10; b. 135x5; c. 250x8
set 4: a. 90x9; b. 135x4; c. 250x5
set 5: a. 90x9; b. 115x6; c. 250x6
set 6: a. 90x8; b. 115x6; c. 250x8

3. bodybuilder deadlifts: 185x10; 205x10; 225x9; 245x10; 265x8

4. lying external rotation: 20x12; 20x12; 20x12

5. infraspinatous row: 25's x12; 30' x9; 30's x10; 30's x10

6. Hise shrugs: 495x10; 585x10; 675x7; 695x6; 700x4

[mesomorphin']

Dropped a week of entries.
Back minus lats (and neck) today.

1.a. Bentover barbell rows
b. Venom rows to chest
c. prone reverse flyes
set 1: a. 115x12; b. 100x10; c. 20's x10
set 2: a. 125x10; b. 100x10; c. 20's x10
set 3: a. 135x8; b. 100x10; c. 20's x8
set 4: a. 135x7; b. 100x10; c. 15's x12
set 5: a. 135x10; b. 100x9; c. 15's x15
set 6: a. 135x8; b. 100x9; c. 15's x11

2. seated machine rows (*ascending sets):
100x10 add 112.5x10 add 125x5;*
125x10 add 137.5x7;*
125x10 add 137.5x10 add 150x4;*
125x10 add 137.5x7;*
187.5x8
187.5x7

3. horizontal shrug on seatedrowing machine: 250x8; 250x8; 250x8

4. Hise breathing shrugs: 450x14; 195x12; 585x10; 675x9; 700x5; 710x4

5. barbell shrugs (front): 225x15; 150x15; 275x9; 315x11; 335x9; 365x7

6. bodybuilders deadlift: 135x10; 185x10; 225x12; 250x8; 265x5

7. neck raise: 25x20; 25x12; 25x10

8. cable external rotations: 25x12; 25x14; 25x14

9. weighted hyperextensions: 150x20; 150x20

[mesomorphin']

Yesterday was trip to Chicago and no time for a workout. Got back late so only time for 3 hours of sleep. Will try to gather up some energy for delts and triceps today.

[mesomorphin']

Have been working out on schedule, but totally neglecting the journal lately. Lets see if I can get back on track.

Starting a new split.

Mon. - Back (except for rhomboids, middle traps, rotators)
Tues. - Chest and abs
Wed. - Legs
Thur. - Delts, rhomboids, middle traps, and rotators
Fri. - Bi, tri, forearm
Sat. - rest
Sun. - rest

So today:

1. deadlifts: 185x15; 225x15; 275x10; 315x3; 315x4
I'm still feeling a little lower back strain -- probably taking so long to go away because I neglected my abs shamefully. Anyway, I decided to be very conservative. Last time I did deadlifts, I thought my lower back was almost back to normal, and I wound up relapsing back to square one. I was going to stop at 275 today, but it was going well, so I cautiously went up to 315, but only for a limited number of reps. I didn't seem to aggravate anything today, so next week I should be able to increase reps at 315, and if that proves easy, then I'll jump back up to 335.

2.a. Wide grip pullups, supersetted with
b. Wide grip pulldowns
set 1: a. 9; b. 100x12
set 2: a. 9; b. 125x7
set 3: a. 6; b. 125x6
set 4: a. 6; b. 137.5x5

3a. narrow grip pullups, supersetted with
b. narrow grip pulldowns
set 1: a. 10; b. 125x6
set 2: a. 10; b. 100x12
set 3: a. 9; b. 112.5x9
set 4: a. 6; b. 125x8

4. flexorless adduction drop set 75x10 drop 62.5x8 drop 50x8

5. Hise shrugs: 405x10; 495x9; 585x8; 675x7; 710x4
I also took it easy on these. These haven't bothered me much over the past couple of weeks, even when my lower back was acting up more than today, but for some reason, I started to really feel the lift of phase of these today, so I slacked off to make sure I don't drag this strain on much longer.

6. neck: 25x20; 35x15; 35x10

7. Good mornings: 135x10; 185x10; 225x10; 275x8

[mesomorphin']

Chest, serratus and abs today.

1. Cross bench pullover: 70x10; 75x9; 80x6; 85x4; 95x1; 100xF
2. Incline press (smith): 135x15; 155x12; 185x4; 165x8; 175x6; 175x6
3. supinating fly-flat bench: 30's x15; 35's x10; 40's x8; 45's x6
4. 65's x9; 70's x4; 70's x6; 65's x6 +1 very slow negative; 65's x7; 65's x6 + 1 static hold (15 seconds)
5. serratus raise-incline (smith): 225x10; 275x10; 295x10; 315x8; 315x10
6. cable crossover-low pulley: 50's x12; 62.5's x6 + 1 pause rep; 62.5's x 5 pause reps; 62.5's x1 static hold (30 seconds); 62.5's x1 static hold (25 seconds); 62.5's 9; 75's x5
7. ab machine 90x20; 100x18; 110x15; 120x12

[mesomorphin']

Got a late start this morning -- thanks to more snow. /forum/images/graemlins/frown.gif
Had to shorten my leg workout to quads. Hoped to get back to the gym tonight, but my schedule didn't permit, so I'll have to pick up hams, glutes, etc. tomorrow night or Friday night.

1. Squats: 185x20; 225x10; 250x10; 275x10
Partial rep squats: 315 x10; 365x10; 405x10; 455x10; 500x10

Felt pretty good considering I had laid off squats for a couple of weeks in effort to avoid aggravating low back strain. Didn't push the envelope too much with regard to the depth of all of the partial rep squats -- at this point, I think better safe than sorry.

2. Leg extensions: 112.5x10; 112.5x10; 125x10; 125x9; 137.5x8; 150x7 I sometimes go much heavier on these, but I did them nice and slow, with a good squeeze, and got a pretty good workout out of them.

3. 7 - 30 second sprints on spin bike (set at high resistance)

[mesomorphin']

Today was delts and rhomboids/middle traps

1.a. dumbbell press supersetted with
b. upright row (dumbbell)
set 1: a. 55's x6; b. 40's x8
set 2: a. 50's x7; b. 35's x12
set 3: a. 50's x6; b. 35's x11
set 4: a. 50's x6; b. 35's x11

could feel tennis elbow-like pain during dumbbell upright rows -- going to have to start exercises for that.

2. push presses: 95x9; 95x10; 105x6; 105x3
never tried these before, and went light to get used to the feel. I think I like them.

3.a. dumbbell circles supersetted with
b. dumbbell L laterals
set 1: a. 20's x7; b. 20's x 10
set 2: a. 20's x 7; b. 25's x10
set 3: a. 20's x 8; b. 25's x7
set 4: a. 20's x 9; b. 25's x7

never tried the dumbbell circles before and it took me a couple of sets to get used to the feel of these. Should be able to increase a little next time.

4. machine press: 100x10; 100x3 (double negatives); 75x10 double negatives; 75x10 double negatives

5.a. cross cable lateral raise, supersetted with
b. kneeling cable lateral raise, supersetted with
c. cable front raise
set 1: a. 37.5x10; b. 25x10; c. 25x9
set 2: a. 50x10; b. 37.5x8; c. 25x7
set 3: a. 50x8; b. 37.5x7; c. 25x6

6. decline lateral: 25x10

7.a. machine row, supersetted with
b. machine horizontal shrug, supersetted with
c. prone flyes
set 1: a. 125x12; b. 250x8; c. 20's x10
set 2: a. 125x10; b. 250x8; c. 20's x10
set 3: a. 125X10; b. 250X7; c. 20'S X10
set 4: a. 125x10; b. 250x10; c. 20's x10

8.a. bentover barbell rows (overhand wide grip), supersetted with
b. incline dumbbell rows
set 1: a. 115x10; b. 25's x8
set 2: a. 125x9; b. 30's x7
set 3: a. 135x8; b. 30's x8

[mesomorphin']

Today was biceps, triceps and forearms.

1.a. standing barbell curl, supersetted with
b. close grip bench press
set 1: a. 75x11; b. 135x12
set 2: a. 85x9; b. 145x10
set 3: a. 95x7; b. 155x8
set 4: a. 105x3; b. 155x7
set 5: a. 95x6; b. 165x6

2.a. incline dumbbell curl, supersetted with
b. incline bench pressdowns
set 1: a. 25's x12; b. 125x14
set 2: a. 30's x10; b. 150x14
set 3: a. 35's x11; b. 162.5x10
set 4: a. 35's x10; b. 175x7
set 5: a.40's x 6; b. 187.5x7

3.a. spider curls, supersetted with
b. overhead dumbbell extension
set 1: a. 45x15; b. 25's x12
set 2: a. 55x10; b. 30's x8
set 3: a. 65x6; b. 30's x6
set 4: a. 65x6; b. 25's 8
set 5: a. 65x5; b. 25's x7
set 6: a. 65x5; b. 25's x11

4.a. Animal cable curls, supersetted with
b. Seated overhead cable extension (low pulley)
set 1: a. 100x15; b. 100x12
set 2: a. 125x12; b. 112.5x9
set 3: a. 150x8; b. 112.5x7
set 4: a. 162.5 x6; b. 125x6
set 5: a. 175x6; b. 137.5x4
set 6: a. 175x6; b. 125x7

5.a. reverse curls, supersetted with
b. hammer curls
set 1: a. 60x10; b. 65x9
set 2: a. 65x10; b. 75x7
set 3: a. 70x10; b. 80x6
set 4: a. 75x3; b. 80x6

6. behind the back wrist curls: 95x15; 105x11; 115x7; 115x9; 115x7; 115x9

During the reverse curls, I felt considerable discomfort in my left elbow. I think this is going to be a problem. I've had tennis elbow (or something alot like it) for a while; it hasn't been terrible, and I've sort of been ignoring it until recently, when I started doing exercises an orthopedic guy gave me a long time ago. They haven't had time to help yet, and when I exercised today, the "bad kind of pain" was enough to cause me to limit both weight and sets. Usually I have no more than minor discomfort as soon as I'm done lifting, but today it remained worse than normal all day. I hope this doesn't put a big dent in my resolution NOT to neglect forearms this year (like I did last year). /forum/images/graemlins/frown.gif

Its always something, I guess. On the brighter side, though, my lower back strain seems to be coming along very well, and I'm really looking forward to next week!

[mesomorphin']

Pretty lackluster workout today. Today was back except for Rhomboids/Middle Traps. At this point I'm not sure what's the best way to proceed in light of the tennis elbow problem. I get some short term relief from icing, and I'm going to do that twice daily as long as it seems to help. Today, I relied on straps to take forearms/grip out of movements as much as possible, but I'm not quite sure how far to push things right now, and I definitely let it affect my workout today. (Basically, I lightened up or stopped whenever I felt much stress in the elbow.)

1. deadlifts: 185x15; 225x15; 275x7; 275x5
2. wide grip pullups; 7, 8, 8, 6 plus two sets of 4 slow negatives.
3. wide grip pulldowns: 125x11; 137.5x8; 150x6; 162.5x3; 137.5x8; 137.5x7
4. striation rows: 25's x12; 30's x11; 35's x10; 40's x10
5. long bar one arm row: 75x10; 75x10; 85x10; 95x7
6. close grip pulldowns: 125x13; 137.5x10; 150x7; 150x7
7. smith machine shrugs: 225x17 (behind back); 250x13(front); 275x8 (behind back); 315x8 (front); 365x8 (behind back); 405x7
8. good mornings: 185x13; 225x12; 275x10; 315x7
neck: 35x20; 35x12; 35x12

[mesomorphin']

Another crappy workout today. Partly, I'm still trying to figure out how far I can push things without aggravating the tennis elbow, and partly I guess I'm a little discouraged by bouncing from one injury to another. Anyway, I should have done better today, and hopefully am adjusting my attitude so I will do better tomorrow. If I have continuing concerns about elbow problems in the next several workouts, I may adopt a strategy of trying to use lighter weight to avoid joint stress, while fatiguing the muscle with slow reps, partials, etc.

1. decline barbell press: 225x15; 275x8; 315x2; 275x7; 275x9; 275x7
2. incline barbell press: 135x10; 145x5; 145x6; 135x7 + 8 partials; 135x5 + 10 partials; 135x5 + 8 partials
3. cross bench pullover: 75x6; 75x5; 65x7; 65x6; 65x7; 65x5 (light weights here too, but at least they were very slow reps with elbows kept tightly in)
4. incline flyes: 30's x12; 35's x11; 40's x8; 40's x5; 40's x6; 35's x8
5. serratus raise (incline smith) 225x10; 275x12; 315x10; 350x10; 365x9

Plus ab work.

[mesomorphin']

Leg day today.

1. squats: 185x20; 225x15; 250x10; 275x6;
partial rep sets: 315x10; 405x10; 455x10; 505x10
2.a. hack squats, supersetted with
b. sissy squats
set 1: a. 225x12; b. 10
set 2: a. 250x10; b. 8
set 3: a. 275x8; b. 9

3. leg extensions: 250x1 (held for 15 seconds); 250x1 (held for 20 seconds). Found the grip on these heavy static holds started bothering my elbow, so did some progressively lighter sets. 200x4; 150x8; 150x7; 75x10 drop 62.5x10

4.a. standing leg curls, supersetted with
b. stiff leg deadlifts
set 1: a. 37.5x15; b. 185x10
set 2: a. 50x10; b. 225x10
set 3: a. 57.5x12; b. 245x8
set 4: a. 57.5x8; b. 275x6

This was first time doing stiff leg deadlifts since before lower back strain. Could have pushed a little harder, but this felt pretty good.

5. lunges (on smith machine): 185x10; 205x10; 225x10; 245x10

This was also first time doing smith machine lunges in a while, so I was getting reacquainted with them a little. Plus, for some reason the smith machine was moving/rocking quite a bit while I was doing them, so I did not push these too far. Last week, a gym buddy had an accident on the smith machine when the machine shifted position completely, mid rep, causing him to lose control of the weights. I think the machine has gradually migrated to a point where the floor is uneven, and now is a little unstable. We'll have to take care of that tomorrow.

6. standing calf raises: 225x14; 250x12; 250x14; 275x10; 315x9

[mesomorphin']

Today was delts.

1 military press: 95x12; 115x10; 135x4; 155x3 slow negatives
2. rope front raises: 50x10; 62.5x10 I felt elbow discomfort during these, even though the weight was to light to be taxing for the shoulder, so I decided to try something else instead.
3. plate raise: 45x10; 45x10; 45x10; 45x10; 45x8; 45x10. Much better. Felt NO elbow strain during these. Maybe its the neutral grip?
4. neutral grip dumbbell press with twist: 55's x4; 50's x4; 45's x10; 45's x10; 50's x5; 50's x5
5. machine press -- half reps only (bottom half): 75x15; 100x8; 100x7; 100x7; 87.5x6 75x6
6. rear delt raise: 25's x12; 30's x12; 35's x8; 35's x10; 35's x9 35's x9
Started to do some lying dumbell external rotations, but as soon as I got to my left arm it was immediately clear this was going to aggravate the tennis elbow, so I stopped.

Ended with some bodybuilding deadlifts: 185x15; 225x13; 250x10; 275x9; 285x8

[mesomorphin']

today was back, except for rhomboids/middle traps and rotators

1. deadlifts: 185x20; 225x15; 275x10; 315x6; 335x2
2.a. wide grip pullups, supersetted with
b. wide grip pulldowns
set 1: a. 6; b. 125x11;
set 2: a. 4; b. 137.5x7
set 3: a. 5; b. 150x4
set 4: a. 6; b. 137.5x6 + static hold (10 seconds)
set 5: a. 6; b. 125x7 + static hold (10 seconds)
3. flexorless adduction: 50x15; 62.5x12; 75x12; 87.5x7
4.a. bentover row, supersetted with
b. close grip pulldowns
set 1: a. 115x10; b. 125x8
set 2: a. 125x10; b. 125x9
set 3: a. 135x8; b. 137.5x8
set 4: a. 145x6; b. 150x7
set 5: a. 145x6; b. 150x6
5. long bar row with V grip: 100x10; 100x10; 100x10
6. dumbbell shrugs:
1) 100's x10 drop 55's x12 100's x static hold (10 seconds);
2) 100's x10 drop 60's x12 75's x1 static hold (30 seconds);
3) 100's x10 drop 65's x10 80's x1 static hold (30 seconds)
7. good mornings: 185x15; 225x12; 275x9; 315x6

[mesomorphin']

Today was chest.

1. incline barbell press:
135x12 +10 second static hold; 30 second extreme stretch
145x12 + 30 second static hold; 30 second extreme stretch
155x8 + 15 second static hold;
165x4 + 30 second static hold; 30 second extreme stretch
155x6 + 30 second static hold; 30 second extreme stretch
135x6 (close grip) + 20 second static hold

2. flat bench barbell press:
135x12 + 20 second static hold; 30 second extreme stretch
145x10 + 30 second static hold; 30 second extreme stretch + 30 second flex
155x8; 165x3 strip 155x5 + 20 second static hold; 30 second extreme stretch + 30 second flex
135x9; 30 second extreme stretch + 30 second flex
135x6 close grip; 30 second extreme stretch + 30 second flex

3. machine fly drop sets (all reps are 1+ 2 half reps)
75x8 drop 62.5x8 drop 50x8;
87.5x8; 62.5x8; 50x8

4. cross bench pullover: 80x3; 75x7; 75x6; 70x7
30 second flex after each set

5. cable crossover (low pulley):
50's x10;
62.5x6
50's x7 pause reps (2 second pause at each peak contraction)
50's x6 pause reps (5 second pause at each peak contraction)
50's x3 pause reps (10 second pause at each peak contraction)
50's x10

[mesomorphin']

Today was supposed to be LEG DAY, but I had to cut my workout short this morning, so it was more like quad day. Hopefully, I can pick up the hams/glutes tomorrow night.

1. leg extension drop set:
-87.5x15 drop 75x25 drop 62.5x3 drop 50x4 drop 36.5x7
-75x15 drop 62.5x20 drop 50x30
2. leg extension static reps:
-250x1 (20 seconds)
-250x1 (20 seconds)
3.a. leg extensions, supersetted with
b. sissy squats
set 1: a. 175x10; b. 7
set 2: a. 200x8; b. 9
set 3: a. 175x7; b. 6
set 4: a. 175x5; b. 6

4. hack squats (free weight): 225x10; 250x9; 275x6; 295x2
5. bike sprints @ high resistance: 6x30 seconds
6. seated calf raises:
-55 x 60 seconds
-65x60 seconds
-75x60 seconds
-85x60 seconds
-95x60 seconds

Plus some ab work.

Changed things up from my typical leg day, which opens up with lots of squats. Decided to do some pre-exhaustion leg extensions, and to focus more on vastus medialis today.
The leg extensions, especially the 54 and 65 rep drop sets, took their toll on me before I got to the hack squats, so my numbers on those looked pretty bad today. Even so, I feel like I beat the hell out my vastus medialis today. Mission half accomplished; tomorrow night I have to squeeze in the rest of my leg workout.

[mesomorphin']

Today was delts, rhomboids/middle traps and rotators. Intended to do a make up session for hams/glutes in the p.m., but legs are still too stiff from last LEG DAY, so I did triceps (originally slated for tomorrow instead). Hopefully, I can pick up the rest of legs tomorrow.

1.a dumbbell press, supersetted with
b. upright rows
set 1: a. 45's x11; b. 95x10
set 2: a. 50's x6; b. 95x10
set 3: a. 50's x6; b. 105x9
set 4: a. 50's x6; b. 115x5
set 5: a. 45's x8; b. 105x9
set 6: a. 45's x10; b. 105x9

2. machine laterals: 100x13; 125x8; 137.5x4; 125x6; 112.5x7; 100x6
3. rack press: 135x10; 155x7 + 1 partial rep; 175x8; 155x4 + 4 partial reps; 235x7; 135 x7
4. push press: 95x5; 95x5; 95x5; 95x7; 95x5; 95x5
5. bodybuilder deadlifts: 225x10; 275x10; 275x10; 315x6; 315x10
6. bentover lateral raise (top 1/3 of range of motion): 15'2 x10; 15's x10; 20's x10; 20's x10; 20's x 10; 20's x10
7.a. machine rows, supersetted with
b. machine horizontal shrugs
set 1: a. 150x10; b. 200x9
set 2: a. 150x9; b. 200x9
set 3: a. 150x10; b. 200x8
set 4: a. 150x10; b. 200x10
p.m.
1. seated hammer press: 35x14; 45x10; 55x7; 55x6; 55x9; 55x9
2. close grip decline bench press (hands 4-6" apart): 135x15; 185x5; 185x6; 185x5; 185x5+3 partial reps; 30 second flex and stretch; 185x4; 30 second flex and stretch;
3. Old School dumbbell extensions: 45x10; 45x8; 40x10; 40x9; 40x10; 40x10
4. incline rope extensions: 62.5x10; 75x7; 30 second flex; 87.5x6 drop 75x1; 30 second flex; 87.5x5 drop 62.5x4 drop 50x3; 100x6drop 75x2 drop 50x4; 100x5 drop 75x4 drop 50x8

During the a.m. workout I used a tennis elbow brace around the forearm. Pulled it tight enough it pinched a little and irritated the skin. May have helped on marginal movements, but when I tried something like dumbbell lateral raises, it was bad immediately, so I moved on to other things. Meantime, the **** strap, which I used ONCE apparently fell out of my gym bag in the locker room and is probably lost already.

I haven't quite figured out the pattern to what really bothers the elbow and what I can get away with. Dumbbell raises, both front and lateral, seem to be bad, but plate raises are no problem, and machine laterals were fine (probably due to the fact that they don't require a grip). Dumbbell upright rows are bad, but barbell on a smith machine seems OK. Lying dumbbell external rotations were nasty, and infraspinatus rows were pretty bad, but bodybuilder deadlifts are OK. Rope pressdowns while splaying the rope were pretty bad, as were front delt raises with the rope, but overhead tricep extensions with the rope seemed OK -- as did the other tricep stuff I tried today. For some exercises, I don't experience serious elbow discomfort until the load goes up, so I just have to experiment with various exercises and find out if the reduced load is sufficient to provide a decent workout if I slow down rep speeds etc.

[mesomorphin']

Friday was biceps

1. EZ curl bar with armblaster: 55x17; 65x8; 75x8; 80x7; 80x5; 80x6
2. dumbbell curl 35's x10; 35's x8; 40'sx5; 35's x11; 40's x5; 35's x10. (With 40 lb. dumbbells, I began feeling stress on the tennis elbow a lot more, so I eased up.)
3. two arm high cable curl: 62.5's x9; 62.5's x10;
75's x6; 75's x7; 87.5's x5; 87.5's x5 drop 62.5's x3
4. 3/4 chinups: 7; 7; 6; 5; 6; 6; 30 second flex after each set
5. hammer curls: 65x8; 65x8; 65x8; 65x6 (slow resps); 65x7; 65x6; 65x8

[mesomorphin']

Today was back (minus rhomboids/middle traps and rotators)

1.a. wide grip pullups, supersetted with
b. wide grip pulldowns
set 1: a. 8; b. 125x13
set 2: a. 7; b. 125x8
set 3: a. 3; b. 125x7
set 4: a. 6; b. 125x9
set 5: a. 4; b. 150x6
set 6: a. 4; b. 150x5 drop 125x6

2.a. narrow grip pullups, supersetted with
b. bentover row (narrow underhand grip)
set 1: a. 8; b. 135x10
set 2: a. 8; b. 145x8
set 3: a. 7; b. 155x7
set 4: a. 4 (slow); b. 165x8

3.a. flexorless adduction, supersetted with
b. striation row
set 1: a. 62.5x15; b. 20's x15
set 2: a. 75x15; b. 25's x12
set 3: a. 87.5x10; b. 30's x10
set 4: a. 87.5x12; b. 30's x12

4. Hise shrugs: 405x13; 495x10; 585x10; 675x8; 700x6; 720x5; 725x5

5. smith machine shrugs: 225x15; 245x13; 275x12; 315x10; 365x10

6. good mornings: 225x15; 250x12; 275x12; 315x10

[mesomorphin']

Chest/serratus today:

1. incline barbell press: 135x9 (close grip); 135x12 + 30 second static hold; 145x8 + 8 partial reps + 20 second static hold; 155x4 + 8 partial reps + 30 second static hold; 165x3 + 6 partial reps + 10 second static hold; 145x8 + 10 partial reps + 30 second static hold; 30 second flex and 30 second extreme stretch after sets 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

2. flat barbell press: 135 x12+2 partial reps; 145 x10+2partial reps + 30 second static hold; 155x9+2 partial reps + 30 second static hold; 165x6+2 partial reps; 175x5+ 20 second static hold; 185x2 + 1 forced rep; 30 second flex and 30 second extreme stretch after sets 1, 3, 4

3. machine fly drop sets (1+ 2/2 reps):
87.5x8 drop75x8 drop 62.5x8
87.5x8 drop 75x4 drop 62.5x8; 50x8

4. cross bench pullover: 80x3; 80x5; 85x3 + 1 slow negative; 85x4; 90x3 + 1 slow negative; 95x1; 30 second flex after each set

5. serratus raise - incline bench: 225x14; 275x13; 315x12; 365x10; 385x7; 385x8

6. cable crossover (high pulley): 62.5's x10; 75's x5; 62.5's x7 (slow reps); 70's x8; 50's x10; 50's x6 pause reps (3 second pause each rep)

[mesomorphin']

quads/hams today

1.a. hack squats (free weight), supersetted with
b. sissy squats
set 1: a. 225x18; b. 10
set 2: a. 275x12; b. 12
set 3: a. 295x10; b. 10
set 4: a. 315x6; b. 8
set 5: a. 335x3; b. 10

2. leg extensions:
257x1 static rep (15 seconds)
257x1 static rep (20 seconds)
150x10
175x5 + 10 second static hold
175x5
162.5x6

Gripping during the heavy static reps causes some elbow discomfort, but nothing terrible. Will have to evaluate whether its worth it here, since I can get through a leg workout with NO elbow strain, and there are some other bodyparts where a certain amount of stress is almost inevitable.

3. spin bike sprints 7 30 second sprints

4. swiss ball hamstring curls: 10; 12; 10;10; 11

5. stiff leg deadlifts: 185x12; 225x10; 250x10; 275x8; 295x5; 315x3

Tomorrow should be shoulders and rhomboids/middle traps, and maybe triceps, but I'll be heading up to NYC for a few days before I have time to update this.

[mesomorphin']

Did some leg work today. I thought it was going to be a little dicey, because I had a mild pull in my glute, and the right side of my butt felt a little sore even at the beginning of the workout. I just took the reps nice and slow, and found that after the first rep of each set, things were fine.

1. squats: 185x20; 225x16; 250x10; 275x10 (to parallel)
partial rep squats: 315x10; 315x 45 second static hold; 405x10; 455x9; 505x5. I went a little deeper on each of the partial rep sets than I have done in the past, and generally felt good. However, on the last set, things seemed to be going fine, but I did something wrong (I'm still not sure what, but I think maybe my hips came forward). Anyway, I just went down like a ton of bricks, crashing into the horizontal part of the rack and making an enormous racket. Everything turned out fine, but as I'm falling I was scared that the bar might bounce off the rack and hit someone. (For some reason that is unclear to me, one of the trainers at the gym had positioned a bench very close behind the squat rack and had someone doing leg raises very close to the end of the rack.)

2. one leg leg extensions: 75x10; 75x10; 82x6; 75x7. I don't do these enough; I think they're really good.

3. sissy squats: 12; 12; 10; 10; 10

4. stiff leg deadlifts: 185x12; 225x12; 250x10; 275x10; 315x6. This is one of my favorite hamstring exercises, but I laid off them when my lower back was strained and this was my third time doing them since resuming. Did a little better than the first couple of times out.

5. lying leg curls (1 leg/2 leg): 57x12/12/12; 57x7/7/7; 50x6/6/6

I wanted to get back in the evening for some adductor work/ lunges/calf work, but something came up. /forum/images/graemlins/frown.gif

[mesomorphin']

Had to go to an early meeting today, so a shortened workout this morning. Miscellaneous back (rhomboids, middle traps, rotators, and lower back). Postponed shoulder work.

1. bentover rows (wide overhand grip): 115x12; 135x8; 135x9; 135x9

2. Venom rows (to chest): 100x15; 100x11; 100x10; 100x11
(We need some bigger dumbbells in my gym.)

3. a. T Bar row, supersetted with
b. incline dumbbell row
set 1: a. 45x10; b. 25's x8
set 2: a. 70x10; b. 25's x7
set 3: a. 90x9; b. 30's x10
set 4: a. 100x9; b. 35's x6

Kept weight very light on these and focused on long squeeze at top of each rep.

4. horizontal shrug (seated row machine): 175x10 pause reps (3 seconds); 175x7 pause reps (5 seconds); 200x6 pause reps (4 seconds); 175x9 pause reps (5 seconds)

5. bentover lateral raise (top 1/3): 20's x10; 20's x10; 20's x10; 20's x10 (I was pleasantly surprised that these didn't bother my tennis elbow, as many other dumbbell raise exercises seem to irritate it.)

6. bodybuilder deadlifts: 225x10; 275x10; 315x7; 315x6

7. machine hyperextensions: 200x12; 220x8; 250x8; 250x9

[mesomorphin']

Catchup on some missing entries this week.

Mon: Lats/Traps/Low Back

1. a. wide grip pullup, supersetted with
b. wide grip pulldown
set 1: a. 8; b. 125x13
set 2: a. 7; b. 125x8
set 3: a. 3; b. 125x7
set 4: a. 6; b. 125x9
set 5: a. 4; b. 150x6
set 6: a. 4; b. 150x5 drop 125x6

2. a. narrow grip pullup, supersetted with
b. bentover row (narrow, underhand grip)
set 1: a. 8; 125x10
set 2: a. 8; b. 145x8
set 3: a. 7; b. 155x7
set 4: a. 4 (s l o w); b. 165x8

3. a. flexorless adduction, supersetted with
b. flexorless row
set 1: a. 62.5x15; b. 20's x15
set 2: a. 75x15; b. 25's x12
set 3: a. 87.5x10L/9R; b. 30's x10
set 4: a. 87.5x12; 30's x12

4. Hise shrugs: 405x13; 495x10; 585x10; 675x8; 700x6; 720x5; 725x5

5. Shrugs (smith machine): 225x15; 250x12; 275x12; 315x10

6. Good mornings: 225x15; 250x122; 275x12; 315 x10

Tues. Chest/serratus

1. incline press - dumbbell:
60's x10 + 30 second static hold + 10 partial reps
70's x6 + 30 second static hold + 4 partial reps
60's x9 + 30 second static hold
65's x7 + 30 second static hold + 10 partial reps
75's x2 + 8 partial reps
75's x2

2. flat press - dumbbell
60's x 8 + 30 second static hold
60's x7 + 30 second static hold + 4 partial reps
60's x 7 + 30 second static hold + 4 partial reps
65's x 6 + 30 second static hold
70's x 4 + 30 second static hold
75's x1

3. incline fly (1 + 2/2 reps):
30's x8 drop 25's x8 drop 20's x8
35's x4
35's x4

4. reverse incline cable crossover:
62.5's x8; 75's x5; 62.5's x10; 50's x10; 50's x 7 pause reps (2 second pause); 50's x8

5. serratus raise -- flat bench: 225x15; 275x15; 315x15; 365x7; 385x4; 385x4

Wed. - Thurs. -- already covered

Fri. a.m. tri/bi; p.m. delts

1. a. standing overhead press (EZ bar), supersetted with
b. parallel dips
set 1: a. 55x9; b. 7
set 2: a. 65x8; b. 5
set 3: a. 70x5; b. 3
set 4: a. 70x4; b. 3
(incredible how much the dips suffered after the presses)

2. a. pushdowns v grip, supersetted with
b. decline bench pushups
set 1: a. 187.5x8; b. 11
set 2: b. 22
set 3: a. 175x5; b. 12
set 4: a. 187.5x5; b. 8 + 4 partial reps
set 5: a. 175x5 drop 162.5x1; b. 8 (bottom half of rep only)
set 6: a. 150x8; 9 + 4 partial reps
set 7: a. 150 x6; b. 8 + 1 partial rep

3. a. overhead extension (cable), supersetted with
b. pressdowns
set 1: a. 112.5x15; b. 112.5x8
set 2: a. 125x10; b. 125x4
set 3: a. 125x8; b. 125x6
set 4: a. 112.5x12; b. 112.5x5

4. a. seated barbell press, supersetted with
b. close grip incline press (both very close grip)
set 1: a. 55x10; b. 20
set 2: a. 55x8; b. 11
set 3: a. 55x10; b. 12
set 4: a. ?; b. ? (forgot to note)

5. preacher curls (slow reps -- 6-7 seconds per rep; limited range of motion at top to prevent release of tension): 45x100 reps w/ 30 second rest intervals at failure points

6. seated barbell press (no back support): 95x15; 115x10; 135x2; 125x5; 125x6; 115x6

7. upright row: 115x7; 115x10; 115x8; 115x8; 115x8; 115x7

8. cable front raise with rope: 87.5x7; bothered tennis elbow, so moved on to plate raises instead.

9. plate raise: 45x10; 45x10; 45x10; 45x7; 35x10; 35x6

10. dumbbell press (slight incline): 45's x 5; 40's x8; 40's x7; 40's x9; 40's x6; 40's x8

11. barbell front raise: 25x10 (bothered tennis elbow, so switched to barbell with U bend to allow close neutral grip, which seems to be easier on elbow); 25x9; 30x9; 35x9; 40x8; 45x7; 50x6

All in all, a pretty lackluster week. Did not sustain warrior mentality throughout most workout this week. Will try to do better next week.

[mesomorphin']

Although I did not experience serious hamstring DOMS after LEG DAY last Wednesday, for some reason I started experiencing some hamstring aching at bedtime the last couple of nights. Not terrible, but enough to make me toss and turn and have a hard time getting to sleep. After laying in the same position for a few minute, the ache would get more and more noticeable and make me feel like I needed to move/shake it out. I'd move, feel better for a few seconds, and the cycle would start over. This was a new one for me. Pretty weird.

Today was deadlifts, lats, traps

1. deadlifts: 185x20; 225x18; 275x10; 315x6; 335x4

2. a. wide grip pullups, supersetted with
b. narrow (underhand) grip pulldowns
set 1: a. 8; b. 125x12
set 2: a. 6; b. 150x9
set 3: a. 7; b. 162.5x4
set 4: a. 7; b. 150x8
set 5: a. 4; b. 125x4

3. a. flexorless adduction, supersetted with
b. striation row
set 1: a. 62.5x17; b. 25's x12
set 2: a. 75x10; b. 30's x10
set 3: a. 75x10; b. 30's x10
set 4: a. 87.5x7; b. 30's x10

4. a. wide grip pulldowns, supersetted with
b. narrow (underhand) grip pullups
set 1: a. 125x12; b. 6
set 2: a. 137.5x8; b. 5
set 3: a. 137.5x6; b. 8
set 4: a. 125x6; b. 5
set 5: a. 125x6; b. 6

5. shrugs:
225x20(front)+10 (behind back)
275x15(front)+10 (behind back)
315x10(front)+10 (behind back)
365x7(front)+4 (behind back)
365x5 (behind back)
365x9 (front)

Hi Meso! http://www.handykult.de/plaudersmilies.de/wavey.gif I see you're still as hardcore as ever! http://www.handykult.de/plaudersmilies.de/happy/xyxthumbs.gif

[mesomorphin']

Hey, Krypto! Hope everything is going well with you and BPB. Been having my ups and downs with little injuries. Currently working around tennis elbow, which has temporarily sidetracked my plans to hit forearms a lot harder. Meantime....

Yesterday was chest. Decided to focus primarily on upper.

1. dumbbell incline press:
65's x 9;
70's x4;
75's x2 +4 partial reps;
60's x7 + 30 second static hold;
55's x8 + 30 second static hold;
50's x 8 + 30 second static hold;
50's x10 + 30 second static hold

After each set 30 second flex followed by 30 second extreme stretch

2. close grip incline barbell press:
135x8 + 8 partial reps + 30 second flex/30 second stretch
135x7 + 8 partial reps + 30 second flex
135x6 + 7 partial reps + 30 second flex
135x6 + 14 partial reps + 30 second flex
135x6 + 10 partial reps + 30 second flex

3. cable crossover - low pulley (1 + 2/2 reps):
50's x 5
37.5's x8 drop 25's x6 drop 12.5 x6

4. cross bench pullover: 65 x12


Today was LEG DAY, and I was pretty happy with how things went today.

1. squats:
185x20
235x10
260x9
285x10

Increased load by 10 pounds on sets 2-4; reduced reps on set 2 to conserve a little energy for later sets

partial rep squats:
315x10 (very close to full reps)- highest I've gone that deep.
365x10 - 3/4 rep
405x10 - 1/2 rep
455x10 - 1/3 rep
505x10 - 1/4+ rep

I used a spotter today for the partial reps, although I didn't want to rely too much on it at the heavier end. I went a little deeper on most of these than usual for me, and felt good. Much better than last week when I went down mid set with 505!

3. a. one leg/2 leg lying leg curls, supersetted with
b. stiff leg deadlifts
set 1: a. 57.5x12/12/12; b. 185x10
set 2: a. 62.5x10/10/10; b. 225x7
set 3: a. 62.5x6/4/10; b. 225x7
set 4: a. 57.5x8/8/8; b. 225x9

I kept the weight down on the SLDLs this week, but stood on a platform so I could bend lower without hitting bottom, and performed slow reps because I really wanted to concentrate on maintaining an arch in the lower back as I went down farther.

4. hip adductor: 250x10; 250x10; 250x5

I don't know what was up with these. I hadn't done them for a little while but sometimes I can crank out many more reps at this weight.

5. hip abductor: 250x10; 250 x10; 250 x10

[mesomorphin']

Delts and miscellaneous back today.

1. machine lateral raise: 100x12; 125x9; 137.5x6; 150x3; 162.5x1 (very slow); 125x7
2. rack presses: 135x9; 135x10; 145x6; 155x4 rest pause 1; 155x5; 155x4; 175x2; 135x10+ 2 partial reps
3. upright row: 115x9; 115x8; 115x7; 115x8; 115x7; 115x5
Upright rows seem to place a little stress on the tennis elbow so I keep them fairly light
4. machine press (double negatives): 50x16; 75x8; 75x8; 75x8; 75x7; 75x8)
5. a. bentover barbell rows, trisetted with
b. barbell horizontal shrugs, and
c. bentover lateral raises (top 1/3)
set 1: a. 135x10; b. 135x7; c. 20's x10
set 2: a. 135x10; b. 135x6; c. 20's x10
set 3: a. 135x10; b. 135x9; b. 20's x8
set 4: a. 135x9; b. 135x8; c. 20's x4
6. a. machine row, trisetted with
b. machine horizontal shrug, and
c. venom rows (to chest)
set 1: a. 150x10 drop 125x10 drop 100x10; b. 225x7; c. 100x10
set 2: a. 175x10 drop 137.5x8 drop 112.5x10; b. 200x6; c. 100x7
set 3: a. 175x10 drop 137.5x10 drop 112.5x10; b. 200x8; c. 100x9
7. long bar row (V grip): 100x10' 115x8; 125x7; 125x8
8. bodybuilder deadlifts: 225x10; 275x10; 315x6; 315x8; 335x6

plus abs