I Have the Fever... (and it's more potent than ever)
 

So this is the start of my journal because I want somewhere to come and write to every day.

Over the next... well, until I say stop... I will be attempting to become a 195-lb lean, mean, fighting machine. I am somewhere between 185-190 now, and I have some fat to lose and some muscle to gain. I think in the end, I will be gaining more muscle than fat, that's where my 5-pound increase is coming from. I'm increasing my calories and also increasing my cardio. I started loading on creatine on Thursday so my loading period is over, and now I am on maintenance.

http://www.abcbodybuilding.com/forums/showthread.php?t=90042

GOALS:

Increase overall skeletal musculature:
-Fill-out my large-boned frame; create a larger shoulder-to-waist ratio; widen/thicken back and chest specifically

Lean out:
-lose last bit of stubborn fat in midsection (rear obliques/lower back, mainly)
-become comfortable with my midsection

Increase sports performance:
-Increase standing vertical jump from 24 to 28 inches
-Increase 3-step-approach veritcal jump from 28 to 32 inches
-Increase shoulder flexibility/ROM
-Increase running ability (muscle-fatigue-wise, not cardiovascular)

I wanted to add...

The reason for the title being what it is is this: I've been lifting/training for over 5 years. I can't remember the last time I was so excited about hitting the gym.

I have the fever again! I'm sitting at work drooling over the thought of getting into the gym lol.

For the past 6 months or so I haven't been training Bis very hard; same with my back. For some reason, I felt like these were becoming out of proportion. And I didn't want to be the guy at the gym with huge guns and nothing else.

Last night I hit arms and back really hard. I did back on Sunday opposite Chest, but I did mainly lower back and I felt I had recovered enough to hit it again last night. I can definitely feel the biceps this morning!

Wide-grip pull-ups: 10,8,6,6
Kneeling/bent over one-arm DB Rows: 80x10, 80x8, 80x8
HammerStrength upright row: 180x10, 230x7, 230x6
Close-grip pull-ups SS with DB curls: 6 SS 35x6; 4 SS 30x6; 4 SS 25x8
reverse flys SS hammer curls: 15x10 SS 15x20; 25x8 SS 25x12; 30x6 SS 30x8

10 Min on the Jacobs Ladder

New progress pics: http://www.abcbodybuilding.com/forum...t=90042&page=3

last night I had a shoulder workout, and this morning I did abs/cardio.

Last night:
--BB mil press: 95x14 ; 135x10; 145x6; 150x4; 155x3
--Standing overhead press triple dropset: 105 to failure, drop to 85 to failure, drop to 65 to failure... repeat for weights of: 125,105,85... again with 125,105,85
--Lateral Cable Raises: 20x10; 20x10; 22.5x8 nice and slow... feel the burrrrn :)
--DB Shrugs SS DB lateral static holds: 65x12 SS 10x10sec; 75x10 SS 10x6sec; 80x10 SS 7.5x8sec
--BB Shrugs: 135x15; 185x8; 205x6

This morning:
Weighted ab exercises for ~30 min
30 min on elliptical

Now eating meal 2: 4oz chicken + 2 cups steamed brocc

Dang, abs for 30 minutes, that's brutal. New pics look good.

why that much ab work?

Check out #2 in this article for an idea of where I'm going with this question. If you aren't familiar with Dan john, I'd highly suggest reading his other articles, very solid stuff.

I like to do mediun-weight with perfect form and as much ROM as I can for my abs.

For instance, this morning I did this circuit 4 times:
-kneeling cable crunches 60x40reps (left side, middle, right side, middle, left side, repeat, etc)
-hanging leg raises to failure
-weighted stability ball crunches x 20
-reverse crunches x 12
-oblique weighted side-crunches
2 minutes rest, repeat

the stuff takes time to do!

yeah, but why that much?

I dunno... abs are like any other muscle. Mine don't get fatigued easily, so I do a medium-weight circuit and concentrate on contracting only my abs in an attempt to isolate, instead of bobbing/swaying/whatever and using momentum.

I wish I had a better answer for you lol.

Saturday was leg day, Sunday was Chest/Back.
Sat:

Box squats: 225x8; 275x6; 315x5; 315x4; 275x6
Bulgarian split squats: 40x8 each leg; 50x6; 60x6
Weighted box jumps: 50lbs dropset to 0lbs, 6 reps each; 3 sets.
Calf raises on smith machine: 270x12; 320x10; 340x8
Clean & Press: 135x4; 145x2; 155x2; 160x2

Sunday, Chest/Back:
DB Flat Bench: 65x12; 75x10; 80x8; 85x6; 90x5
BB Incline: 135x10; 155x8; 175x6; 185x4
Cable flyes Superset DB Pullovers: 40x12 SS 80x10; 50x8 SS 80x10; 52.5x6 SS 80x8
Deadlift: 135x10; 225x8; 315x4; 335x2; 345x2; 355x1
Wide-grip pull-ups Superset BB reverse-grip rows: 8 SS 110x10; 7 SS 110x8; 6 SS 110x8
Close-grip pull-downs Superset One-arm DB Rows: 160x8 SS 90x6; 165x8 SS 90x4; 170x6 SS 90x4
Close-grip incline-row (PowerTech Machine) Superset behind-the-head wide-grip-pulldowns: 180x8 SS 100x6; 230x8 SS 100x6; 230x8 SS 100x6