BROOTAL's Log

Training Training Logs
321

Intersweat you were 100% correct. I had my first workout today with John and it was nuts how much stuff I learned in an hour.

I didn’t really think we were going to workout today because we planned on cleaning up the place and getting everything ready to go.

I didn’t have my workbook with me so I didn’t get a chance to record my weights but I’ll break down how it went anyway.

We worked out a lot like how CT’s HSS-100 goes. Today was chest day, and I started off with heavy bench for 5x8. We then moved on to a superset of incline bench. First with incline bar press, followed by immediate dumbbell press for 3 sets of 8. This was then followed by push-ups of 3 sets till failure.

Things I was taught about my bench press today.

-My numbers suck because my form sucks, and is made even worse because my forearms are weak (new this). I now have to carry around a tennis ball and do “reps” by squeezing it for as long as possible at a time. This is done throughout the day. The point is to help my grip.

-Although I thought I was bringing my shoulder blades together to form a firm base, I was doing it wrong. I now have this corrected but still have a lot of work to do to get it perfect.

-I dont stretch enough before lifting heavy and need more warm-ups.

-I also need to put a hell of a lot more effort into my all lifts related to my back. John agreed that I need to be doing a lot of shrugs, for both my back and my forearms.

-I need to work on the bottom portion of my rep (this has been discussed as well)

As far as my diet he said I am on my own because he doesn’t eat to look good, but that don’t plan on trying to lift with him while eating 2,000 calories a day. If I want to lose fat; clean up my foods and do more cardio.

Random take home point he told me:

-There is a big difference between someone who “lifts weights” and a weightlifter. One is an activity and one is a lifestyle.

I guess I will stop rambling on because its hard to make good points when I didn’t have a log with me. I obviously will have it with me next time.

Did my 30 minutes cardio in the morning, and 30 minutes post workout jogging.

322

Hmm I just gave you an arbitrary number, 2 weeks, since they should be more then enough time for your lower back to recover from those lifts… I see no point in continuing those 2 exercises for the next week or two if your performance is steadily dropping - either complete rest or re-addressing your weaknesses.

What you can work on is lunges, lower weight, double squats… hmm basically atg, come up to parallel and back down to atg, then up all the way = 1 rep do sets of 8-12 get used to this lift. Can do RDLs or Stiff Deads as well. Sumo Deads!

if you have never done good mornings time to learn :wink:

But sounds like you have someone that can gauge in person can be of more help so keep in mind I am making suggestions based on what you have posted. You can modify this with input of John as well.

323

I didn’t feel like typing so I found an article which described one of my methods for increase pull-ups. The interesting things is that with experimentation and a large knowledge base a lot of things that have worked through my own application I have found others have already worked out on their own as well in the past. But here is the goodies to chew on in your head.

From… an article elsewhere I’ll put the link link at the bottom for credit where its due.

2 sure-fire routines to pump up your pull-ups

By Nate Morrison - Special to the Times

Of all the exercises service members perform, the pull-up is one of the best – and one of the toughest to master. To help you get there, here are two methods for boosting your pull-up numbers.
The 50-rep method

This method comes from Arnold Schwarzenegger himself. He recommends doing 50 pull-ups in as few sets as possible. This means going to failure on every set because you want to do as many reps as possible per set. When you finally make it to 50, you’re done. In the beginning, it is quite likely that your sets will look like this: 10, eight, five, three, two, two, two, two, etc., until you finally hit 50. That will change as you progress. The key here is that even if you are doing single-rep sets, go to 50. Blasting your muscles this way is what makes them grow and makes it easier next time. Schwarzenegger recommends doing this twice a week.

A variation on this theme is a method legendary track star Steve Prefontaine used for running. Instead of running all-out, he started with a pace that would ensure a superior finish time.

The secret was that his pace never changed. As everyone else started fast, burned out and slowed down, Prefontaine held steady and passed them one by one, racking up race wins.

To apply this to pull-ups, choose a low number of reps – for this example, I’ll use five. If you do 10 sets of five, you will finish stronger and not be wrecked by the third set. Every third workout, try to add one more rep so you are doing just more than eight sets of six and so on.
Climb the ladder

The ladder method is the opposite of pyramid loading. A pyramid rep scheme takes the reps up and then down at the same interval. Not a bad idea for bodybuilding, but there is a better way.

A ladder rep scheme works best with a buddy. Start by doing just one rep. Your buddy then hops on the bar and does the same. Then you do two reps, and he does two reps. While he works, you rest and vice versa.

Add one rep to each subsequent set, starting over at one when you get to within one or two reps of failure. The number of pull-ups you can accomplish before failure will drop as you progress through your sets. But using this scheme helps you rack up big overall numbers, giving you better volume than methods that rely on going to failure.

Beating weak points

One of the big problems people tend to have is a weak point in the pull-up movement. Get on the bar and pull up until your chest hits the bar. Then lower yourself into or just past your sticking point. Take a breath, pressurize your abs, squeeze your glutes, crush the bar and squeeze through the sticking point while exhaling under pressure (hissing).

Perform several partial reps through the sticking point each day.

Nate Morrison is an Air Force pararescueman staff sergeant. He is a military fitness expert and founder of the online fitness magazine www.milfitmag.com.

http://www.armytimes.com/offduty/health/ONLINE.MUSCLE.PULLUPS/

324

“Get on the bar and pull up until your chest hits the bar.”

That sucks… My chest does not touch the bar…ever. I will need to work on this as I continue to work on pull-ups in general.

Today was “back day” Started up with lots of warm-ups. We basically did all the lifts we were going to do for the day, but with light weights and high reps. Stretching was done throguht the war-up process.

Then we moved on to the workout:

Pull-ups: 8 sets of 5 reps.

Bent over single arm rows: 45lb bar plus 45lb plate. (used this when I did HSS-100) 1 minute rest.

  1. 6 reps
  2. 6 reps
  3. 6 reps
  4. 6 reps

Good mornings: AFTER MAJOR WARM-UPS (135lbs)

  1. 5 reps
  2. 5 reps
  3. 5 rep

Reverse grip pull-ups (palms facing towards me)
5 sets till failure on each set

Lying “swimmers” to help strengthen lower back 5

NOTE the reps ranges and lifts are random and were more to learn some new things, and so John could see how I do each lift (form, how much weight I should be using). This is NOT my new “routine”. I do want to make note that he makes it clear he is not my “trainer”. I am on my own to choose a routine and stick with it. He has no problem helping me along the way and show me new things.

30 minutes Incline treadmill walking after the workout (my apartment complex has a “gym” with treadmills and bikes and one of those cable weight system.

Diet for today:

5:45 30 minutes steady state cario on the stationary bike

7:00 3 scrambled egges, raw brocolli

10:00 JB’s pb shake, 1 sliced cucumber.

12:30 JB’s chili, 3 Flameout

3:00: Jb’s PB shake

6:00 Surge while working out

7:30 2 chicken breasts, mixed veggies

8:00 (still hungry as hell) slammed down a salad with cucumber.

9:30 3 Flameout, 2 scoops Metabolic Drive

Lately I have been HUNGRY AS F**K. I feel like eating 24/7 and I have no idea why. I try to work through it by drinking tons of water and eating veggies but this is starting to suck.

325

You do realize that… this is the part where I tell you to man up, grow a pair, and stand firm.

Maintain this and seek to improve on your training, get stronger, learn more control, learn more discipline, and break yourself of this weakness. It may feel like the suck but this is just the first step ~

CONSISTENT TRAINING EATING AND SLEEPING.

Constantly seek to improve your technique and mind muscle connection. Muscle stimulation and strength can go together. Push yourself to be more badass tomorrow then you were today.

Or else we may have to contemplate the squirrel and blender motivation tool.

326

A difficult time can be more readily endured if we retain the conviction that our existence holds a purpose - a cause to pursue, a person to love, a goal to achieve.
John Maxwell

A great pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do.
-Anonymous

You become a champion by fighting one more round. When things are tough, you fight one more round.
James J. Corbett

It doesn’t make any difference whether what you face is something that affects your work, your personal relationships, your sense of security, your appraisal of self-worth, or your appearance–the way you think about your situation largely determines whether you will do anything about it and what you will do.

Dr. Arthur Freeman & Rose DeWolf

I’m responding because I think if you can stick to it this time in this unique situation that you’ve been blessed with that you will see the fat start to slide.

I challenge you to push yourself harder in terms of cardio and hold yourself to a higher standard.

Oh and well done.

327

Excellent compilation of quotes!!

Today was another lifting day devoted strictly to learning. We went through some leg exercises to get the hang of new things and see how my form looked on the other lifts. On Sunday I will start HSS-100 again with the new lifts and techniques that I am learning, and start making posts that include better details about weights used.

Today was pretty intense. I asked to go through as many different leg exercises besides squats as possible. We did:

-Walking lunges (I can tell that all my little stabilizer muscles are weak because its harder to balance than it is to go down and up) I think another part of this just just getting the hang of it.

-Step ups (another one where my balance sucks)

-Box squats (Really glad that we went over this because John pointed out that the way I had been doing them could potentially hurt my back A LOT)

-Calf raises

-Regular squats so I could check my form. (turns out I lean too far forward and dont drive through my heels)

I also learned just how weak my hamstrings are. No matter what program I pick he wants me to add extra hamstring related lifts.

Between each set I had to do reps with the wrist roller. This will now be the case at every workout other than arm and chest day. It was emphasised that “rest periods” are a great time to work on little things like the wrist roller.

At the end of all this I did some of the rear delt work that was in the video Kinein sent me. This is another area like my forearms that needs special attention.

My diet was typical of the other days I posted but again a round 2 o clock I was starving so I slammed down 2 apples.I also had a cheat meal for dinner. I am going to keep this as my only cheat for the week rather than the 90% rule (4 meals) that I had been following.

7:00 3 scrambled eggs

10:00 JB’s PB shake

12:30 JB’s chili with some extra celery sticks

2:00 2 apples

3:30 JB’s PB shake

6:00 Pizza

9:00 (planned) 2 scoop MD shake.

I did 30 minutes of steady state on the bike this morning and I am leaving right after I finishing typing this to do sprints on the treadmill.

328

Back into the HSS-100 and I’m loving it.

Workout:
Back squats: 1 minute rest between each set.

  1. bar x 6 reps
  2. 95lbs x 6 reps
  3. 115lbs x 6 reps
  4. 165lbs x 6 reps
  5. 165lbs x 6 reps
  6. 165lbs x 6 reps
  7. 165lbs x 6 reps
  8. 165lbs x 6 reps

Super sets:
B1: Leg extension: 10 reps @ 90lbs
B2: Lunges: 8 reps @ 45lbs
2 minute rest

Leg extension: 10 reps @ 90lbs
Lunges: 8 reps @ 45lbs
2 minute rest

Leg extension: 10 reps @90lbs
Lunges: 8 reps @ 45lbs
2 minute rest

Front Squats:
3 sets of 115lbs.

100 leg extensions @ 10 lbs (per leg)

At each rest period during squats I did sets with the wrist roller.

At the end of the workout I did three sets on each arm of lying rear delt raises.

20 minutes of incline treadmill walking + 20 minutes hauling ass on the elliptical.

Notes on todays workout:
Kinein- John agrees that in the situation of my squats slowly deteriorating that they should be dropped. However he thinks I should keep them for the following reasons: He thinks that the reason why I am having trouble is because of my form. He suggested that I drop the weight way down, use perfect form and slowly add weight back on.

He explained that I basically have two choices:

  1. Keep slowly adding weight and making shitty progress using improper form, and risk hurting myself bad in the future (i lean too far forward and push through my toes).

or

  1. Check my ego at the door, drop the weight back down, learn to properly squat, and then start adding weight after I have it corrected.

A question:

-I always drink half my Surge and then slam the other half right after my last set. After this I go do cardio. Is my Surge being used for fuel to do cardio instead of building muscle? How can I fix this?

329

Nice ~ I agree with John. That is actually something I would have considered advocating with eyes on the ground information.

I’m in full support of John on this.

I personally just take my PWO after cardio.

330

Pull-ups: 1 minute rest periods

  1. 8 reps
  2. 7 reps
  3. 6 reps
  4. 6 reps
  5. 6 reps
  6. 5 reps

Supersets:
B1) Heavy shrugs(185 lbs) dumbbells x 10 reps
B2) Bent over barbell rows with reverse grip (95lbs) x 8 reps

1 minute rest

B1) Heavy shrugs(185 lbs) dumbbells x 10 reps
B2) Bent over barbell rows with reverse grip (95lbs) x 8 reps

1 minute rest

B1) Heavy shrugs(185 lbs) dumbbells x 10 reps
B2) Bent over barbell rows with reverse grip (95lbs) x 8 reps

C) One arm Barbell rows

  1. (45lb bar + 35lb plate) 3x8 each arm 1 minute rest
  2. (45lb bar + 35lb plate) 3x8 each arm 1 minute rest
  3. (45lb bar + 35lb plate) 3x8 each arm 1 minute rest

100 bent over rows (45lb bar) I had to complete this over 3 sets.

Diet:

3 eggs scrambled

JB’s PB shake

JB’s chili (i hvae been just keeping big batches of this handy at all times)

Jb’s PB shake

2 talapia filets cooked in olive oil, asparagus (Andersons had suggested getting in lots of protien from fish so Im givinng this a good run)

45 minutes of a mix of incline treadmill jogging/ then some elliptical running.

legs are FUC**NG killing me today, even worse now that I finished doing cardio.

331

Now we are rolling ~

332

Off day from weights today.

Diet went as planned, pretty much the same as the other days. Keeping it real simple keeps me on track:

3 eggs scrambled

JB’s PB shake

JB’s chili

Jb’s PB shake

Salmon filet, broccoli with some butter and salt.

20 minutes of incline treadmill walking. My legs were hurting baddddd.

Is it ever bad to work out when you are really sore?

333

change your incline to flat ~ you can tone down on the difficulty or even the speed a little.

Going to just dip into another persons article on another website because its already all pretyped!

Stretch. After you work out. The more time you can spend doing extra stretching at the end of your workout the better you’ll recover. Don’t stretch your muscles when cold, as you’ll risk injuring them further. An extra 10 minutes after you work out, however, can do wonders. Also, easy movements and stretches both at night before bed and first thing in the morning helps your blood circulate better and will also improve your recovery time.

Massage. You don’t have to go to a masseuse; self-massage is a great tool to aid recovery. The only time you don’t want to massage your muscles is right after you work out because you will interfere with the natural recovery process. But at any other time, just five minutes of self-massage can do wonders.

Ice. More on the circulation themenothing moves blood around like ice. If you’ve ever watched a locker interview after a sporting event, you probably noticed that a lot of the athletes were icing parts of their body. That’s because it’s one of the greatest recovery aids we have. Almost all injuries heal quicker if we apply ice. And soreness is “microtrauma,” or slight tears in your muscle tissue. These are necessary in order to get stronger, and they will heal faster if you ice them. You can ice any sore body part up to 20 minutes at a time, a few times throughout the day (if you can stand it).

Work out. Often the last thing you feel like doing when you’re sore but it gets back to the circulation thing. Working out promotes circulation. Sitting around while you’re sore is worse than working out, even though you probably feel like exercise is the last thing you should do. What you should do is not work out too hard. It’s a good excuse to be slightly lazy, since you are doing what’s called a “recovery workout,” which is aimed at not breaking down too much muscle tissue. However, if your legs are sore, you don’t have to go easy on your upper body, and vice versa.

334

Thanks for the article, that def clears up the working out while sore questions.

I am traveling for work again through sunday morning. So these workouts are hotel based.

Dips(between two end tables with duffle bag for extra weight)

5x8 with 1 minute rest periods

Pushups (i was sweating my ass off by the last set)

4 x 25 : 30 second rest periods

Military Press: (duffle bag filled with everything I brought (laptp included)

4 x 15 :30 second rests

Hooked my feet under the bed for crunches

4 x 20: 1 minute rests

Diet:

3 scrambled eggs

MD shake in a bottle of dasani water

Large salad with chicken, bag of airplane cashew (unsalted surprisingly)

MD shake in another bottle of water

6 oz steak, steamed veggies,

They almost didn’t let me on the plane with the MD but I got lucky that it was still sealed. I am going to have to have the rest of it mailed back to me so it doesnt go to waste.

335

Just randomly was thinking or meditating on exercising.

You see countless people train. I think for the most part all people that go to the gym have good intentions; but how many actually are aware enough, can stay focused from start to finish and can make sure that everything that occurs during their training period is actually contributing to future growth.

Also how many take their eating habits as seriously. With eating it is about when you eat and how you eat those moments that determine future growth as well or lack thereof, be it muscle, fat or none of the above.

Every rep, every lift, every muscle regardless whether it is 5 minutes in or 45 minutes in; is the quality of training increasing or decreasing. Is focus lapsing or being honed into a razor sharp state of concentration.

Something to chew on.

336

Back after a CRAPTACULAR weekend. I ended up getting bumped off of two flights coming home, and got back a day late.

I missed my leg workout yesterday, but just moved on anyway and did back today. We split the cost of a pulley system from the gym that is selling off some of its equipment. Its nothing amazing but has a high pulley and low pulley (uses plate weights).

Pull-ups: 1 minute rests

  1. 8 reps
  2. 8 reps
  3. 6 reps
  4. 6 reps
  5. 5 reps (followed up with pulldowns @ 115 lbs)
  6. 5 reps (followed up with pulldowns @ 115 lbs)

Supersets:
B1) Heavy shrugs(185 lbs) dumbbells x 10 reps
B2) Seated rows (115lbs) x 8 reps

1 minute rest

B1) Heavy shrugs(185 lbs) dumbbells x 10 reps
B2) Seated rows (115lbs) x 8 reps

1 minute rest

B1) Heavy shrugs(185 lbs) dumbbells x 10 reps
B2) Seated rows (115lbs) x 8 reps

C) Pulldowns witha rope attatchemnt (this thing is awesome)

  1. 115 lbs 8 reps (1 minute rest)
  2. 115 lbs 8 reps (1 minute rest)
  3. 115 lbs 8 reps (1 minute rest)

100 bent over rows (45lb bar) I had to complete this over 3 sets.

25 minutes of sprints on the elliptical

Diet: Not sure if eating the same thing everyday is bad, but it sure makes things easier.

Breakfast: 3 scrambled eggs

Shake: JB PB shake

Lunch: JB’s chili

Shake: JB PB shake

Dinner: 1/2 lb turkey burger, broccoli

Before bed shake: 1 scoop Metabolic Drive in 8oz carb countdown milk.

Today was ON for my back workouts. I really had a good “fee” for exactly what muscles I was working. I find that its easier to target muscles when using a row instead of bent barbell row. Because of this I had a really good workout today and felt accomplished.

Notes: Need to keep my elbows locked when doing shrugs. John says I tend to bend them halfway up and get a false sense of how far I am really lifting the weight.

337

“Also how many take their eating habits as seriously. With eating it is about when you eat and how you eat those moments that determine future growth as well or lack thereof, be it muscle, fat or none of the above.”

This statement has got me thinking. I have been a lot more strict with my diet lately (no more cheats and “handfuls” that I wasn’t counting)

Kinein- My diet is kept simple so that I can easily track what I am taking in and make sure that the food is quality. Most of my recipies comes straight from PN, but I am worried that eating the same thing all the time might hinder progress. I have been losing fat from my chest, arms, legs, and upper abs but can’t get it to budge around my waist. I know this it the last part to go, and we have beaten this to death. THe fat is still moving so I am confident what I am doing right now is working.

My questions is this: Is there a good way to tell if it is my diet thats helping me lose the chub, or is it my extra cardio. In this case I DO want to burn both ends of the candle ie: great diet, great workouts. Sometimes I feel that maybe my diet isn’t that great, but I am making progress because I have been pushing myself harder in the gym.

338

I think both ends are going well for you ~ Repeat for another 6-8 weeks and revisit this later, have you been taking progress pics? Take them then put them away and review every 2-3 weeks then just keep at it. I see you amping up your cardoi and your training has gotten respectable. I think your eating is great as it is you just have to keep pushing yourself in the gym and cardio wise to take advantage of these good habits. Keep laying down these tracks so the Brootal train keeps chugging.

I think I want you to keep doing everything your doing and keep the momentum going. Your doing good. Keep at it.

339

How goes it dude? I noticed your old workouts like this…

Back squats: 2 minutes rest between each set.

  1. bar x 6 reps
  2. 95lbs x 6 reps
  3. 115lbs x 6 reps
  4. 210lbs x 6 reps
  5. 210lbs x 6 reps
  6. 210lbs x 6 reps
  7. 210lbs x 6 reps
  8. 210lbs x 6 reps

…

and your weights have definitely gone down a bunch. Just don’t try to perfect your form and fool yourself that you aren’t capable of more.

What are your stats right now?

340

Kinein- I will def keep up with the diet and keep pushing myself as hard as possible to be sure progress is being made each day.

Ace- My back squats, and deads have gone down significantly since I hurt my back. I am working hard now to correct my form, to help prevent anything from happening in the future. You are 100% correct in that I can let myself be fooled. I need to get things back on track with these two lifts. It’s almost like I have developed a fear of getting under a heavy bar now.

Workout today:

Romanian deads (set the rack on the lowest position about 6" off the ground and pulled from there)

  1. 135 x 8
  2. 155 x 6
  3. 165 x 5
  4. 185 x 5
  5. 185 x 5
  6. 185 x 5
  7. 185 x 5
  8. 185 x 5

A) Leg curls x 10 (55lbs)
B) Good mornings x 8 (75lbs)

A) Leg curls x 10 (55lbs)
B) Good mornings x 8 (75lbs)

A) Leg curls x 10 (55lbs)
B) Good mornings x 8 (75lbs)

Calf Raises (John says my calfs are starting to look weak compared to my upper legs)

215 X 8

** these calf raises are standing with my toes on cinder block and a heavy barbell on my back, with a spotter to help keep balance if I start waving back and forth.

100 leg curls with 15 lbs

15 minutes sprints on the bike (2 minutes steady, 30 seconds sprint)

15 minutes steady state on the elliptical

Diet:

3 eggs scrambled, 3 Flameout

PB shake

JB’s CHili

PB shake

1/2 lb burger (no bun), ketchup, broccoli (same as yesterday)

1 scoop Metabolic Drive in 8oz carb countdown.