Brotherhood of Iron 2.0

Training Bodybuilding
1081

[quote]bugeishaAD wrote:
Saturday - Shoulders (and traps)

Standing barbell military press

bar x 20
95lbs x 15
115lbs x 10
135lbs x 8
155lbs x 6
185lbs x 3/3

Seated DB shoulder press

50’s x 8
70’s x 12
80’s x 8
90’s x 6 (no spot, light weight baby)
60’s x 12 (dropset)

DB lateral raises

25’s x 15
25’s x 15
30’s x 8
35’s x 8

Low-pulley lateral raise

3 plates x 15
3 plates x 15
4 plates x 12
5 plates x 8 / 4 plates x 6
5 plates x 8 / 4 plates x 6

Shrugs (my traps were pretty tight from the rack pulls)

315lbs x 20
405lbs x 12
405lbs x 15 (kinda RP’ed)

Facepulls (not too strenuous)

13 plates x 15
14 plates x 12
15 plates x 10 (a lot more control than usual since I got yelled at last week)

2 REALLY GOOD sets of calves… as I was flexing them after I can really start to see the outer head (on the outside of the calf) start to pop out a bit. I’ve never seen it before. Doing calves every day has been a really, really good decision.

Notes: 185 is still heavy on bb military which is sad, I thought I’d be back up to 205 no problem by now. Next week I’ll probably throw it on and see if I can get a few singles (and hopefully not turn it into a push-press).

DB shoulder presses went well. The first attempt to get the 90’s up failed… got really psyched up, cranked the music, and grinded them up. Once I’m out of that very bottom position I’m fine.

Everything else went fine.

CC, thanks for the comments. Yeah, it’s tough on the lower back to go about it the way I am. We’ll see how things go as time goes on. I would love to try DC one day but I’m no way advanced enough yet I don’t think to give it it’s fair shot (not even a year and a half of training).

Also, I didn’t really shrug… maybe the intent was there, but I didn’t really. I thought about it though! Maybe soon. :slight_smile:

And I took a Spike 30 min before working out. Intensity was good (like usual), so idk.

Cheers guys, have a good Sunday.
[/quote]

Not saying that you need to do DC, just that you might want to consider restructuring your workout a little in the near future. You wanna stay injury-free, after all.

Nice DB presses, brother.
Do you do 'em full ROM or like Ronnie?

1082

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Random pic from last weekend. People like you to hold them when you are larger than them put together haha.

But yeah, ceph,

Maybe soon. I wanna figure out this whole bodybuilding thing on the battlefield if you know what I mean!

And thanks, yes they are full ROM, I bring them a bit past where my arms make a 90 degree angle.

As a side note, one of my roommates is a drunken retarded douchebag and I’m going to beat his ass.

1083

Looks like everyone is doing good!
I’m cooking food for the week and watching the giants’ game.

Having a nice relaxing Sunday.

Everyone enjoy themselves this week!

1084

[quote]bugeishaAD wrote:
Random pic from last weekend. People like you to hold them when you are larger than them put together haha.

But yeah, ceph,

Maybe soon. I wanna figure out this whole bodybuilding thing on the battlefield if you know what I mean!

And thanks, yes they are full ROM, I bring them a bit past where my arms make a 90 degree angle.

As a side note, one of my roommates is a drunken retarded douchebag and I’m going to beat his ass.[/quote]

Ah, that’s the way nature intended it to be. Although I think our ancestors threw them over the shoulders. Your way looks kinda uncomfortable (for the girls, that is).

And yeah, just don’t forget that listening to your body is one thing, acting upon the information it gives you is another.

Btw you’re strength/reps look real good, how’s the physique coming along?

1085

I will keep that in mind. As always man, I sincerely appreciate your commments.

My physique… mmm, it’s somewhat of a love/hate relationship for me. I may not have the WORST genetics ever, but I think I’m probably in the bottom 25%.

I have a big-ass head (it just looks funny), sunken-in sternum that has made it hard to get my chest to be at all aesthetically pleasing (though I have made GREAT strides in this department)…

for my size, my arms are pitiful and I have shitty muscle bellies that are not full at all and zero peak on my biceps, and it doesn’t help that I neglected to train them from about January to June while I focused on strength (though in the long run that was a good decision)…

I’ve always been kind of awkwardly chubby, shitty leg development, bad calves… and my ass is huge, which makes my legs look even smaller. I’ve got good forearms, and a decent back. That’s about it.

Just put all together, I am not very pleasing to the eye, hence when I am so intense in the gym. I believe I can make it all work for me some day.

I’m also slightly annoyed by the extra fat I’m carrying now but I don’t want that to get in the way of putting on some more quality muscle before I diet in December. I think I will be more able to tell what I really look like without the extra fat because I think it kind of throws off the silhouette and all that fun stuff.

1086

And just for fun, this is a picture of me last summer, weighing around 180. HUGE.

1087

Wow bug, a lot of your complaints about your physique are the same as mine. I have shitty biceps - not peak to them at all, I hate my chest (going to be using dumbbells for chest for a while to see if this helps, as I’m very shoulder/tri dominant in BB pressing),

my back is by far my best feature, my quads and hams development sucks but my ass is huge - so much so that its developing stretch marks.

1088

Just got back from training at the rec.

Its even better then i remembered, its gonna be hard for me to ever leave the place.

gonna spend the next couple hours cooking, and then shopping for more food.

Be back later for a more detailed rundown of today, and ive also got a few questions for the group.

1089

Hey guys, I’ve finally got a few minutes to myself so I’ll post friday’s chest workout and the 5 minutes of rack-pulls I did yesterday.

Flat DB bench
30 x 8
45 x 6
60 x 3
75 x 1 (attempted a second one, but after my pause at the stretch position, it wasn’t gonna happen)
70 x 2,2,1
65 x 4

Incline DB bench
45 x 3
55 x 5,4,4,4

Decline DB bench
45 x 9,5,5

1-arm DB incline extension
50 x 8
55 x 5,5

Great workout, had to finish it up early though. I loved the Feb extensions at the end, the feeling in my triceps was good and they are still sore today, so it’s definately becoming my heavy tricep movement. Yesterday I did a bit of rack pulls for about 5 minutes (it was all the time that I had unfortunately).

Rack pulls
135 x 12
225 x 13
275 x 8

My only rest between sets was the time it took to add the plates to the bar, and I made sure to tense my back as much as possible before every rep (basically shrugging back as hard as possible) and keep it that way for the duration of the rep.

The feeling it gave me was awesome, and I’m gonna do those instead of deads for my back day, should keep my glutes a little fresher for my olympic lifting in the evening.

1090

todays session

Squats

70kgx5
90kgx5
105kgx5
115kgx5
120kgx3

front squat

60kgx5

  • struggling with the squats today, i believe its cause i didnt eat enough on friday after my session and threw the majority of it back up

incline smith

60kgx8
80kgx8
90kgx5
95kgx5x2

rack pulls

60kgx10
100kgx5
120kgx5
140kgx5
160kgx5
180kgx5x2
140kgx20(rest pause, had too stop twice)

seated rows

70kgx8
80kgx6x3
then did some drop sets
70kgx5,60kgx5,40kgx10

military press

50kgx6x4

barbel curls

40kgx8
50kgx5
55kgx5x3
40kgx8

1091

Back is finally almost pain free, I’ll be in the gym tonight. Can’t fukin’ wait.

1092

[quote]bugeishaAD wrote:
I will keep that in mind. As always man, I sincerely appreciate your commments.

My physique… mmm, it’s somewhat of a love/hate relationship for me. I may not have the WORST genetics ever, but I think I’m probably in the bottom 25%.

I have a big-ass head (it just looks funny), sunken-in sternum that has made it hard to get my chest to be at all aesthetically pleasing (though I have made GREAT strides in this department)…

for my size, my arms are pitiful and I have shitty muscle bellies that are not full at all and zero peak on my biceps, and it doesn’t help that I neglected to train them from about January to June while I focused on strength (though in the long run that was a good decision)…

I’ve always been kind of awkwardly chubby, shitty leg development, bad calves… and my ass is huge, which makes my legs look even smaller. I’ve got good forearms, and a decent back. That’s about it.

Just put all together, I am not very pleasing to the eye, hence when I am so intense in the gym. I believe I can make it all work for me some day.

I’m also slightly annoyed by the extra fat I’m carrying now but I don’t want that to get in the way of putting on some more quality muscle before I diet in December. I think I will be more able to tell what I really look like without the extra fat because I think it kind of throws off the silhouette and all that fun stuff.

[/quote]

Mh, I never understood why people stop training arms directly when focusing on strength… I mean, the standard bb/EZ/alt.db curl and decline-close-grip bench (well, I’d actually add some long head movement like PJR’s) aren’t that much extra-work…

If you don’t mind, take a pic of a front double-bi (90 degree elbow-bend) and a back double-bi of yours… If you don’t mind some muscle-insertion analysis :wink: You can add a few other poses as well, if you want to.

Btw, my triceps used to suck so badly (my long head doesn’t deserve the name…), but due to long lateral heads and heavily developed medial heads (thanks to In-Human’s CGP variant), they looks good now… PJR’s really helped, too.

Between 11 and 16 inches I thought I had thin biceps (looked good flexed, but weren’t full at all when relaxed), and as I’ve mentioned, flat, crappy tris.

But once I reached 17 (being just shy of 5’10 in height), things really improved… I think I managed to fill the fascia out properly then, dunno (also added weighted stretches in around that time… DC came later).

I still have the basic shape which I had at 17 inches, except that the long head pops out way more (thanks, PJR).

What I’m trying to say here is: Don’t worry too much about your insertions and all… Once you’ve settled on a routine/exercises/style that works best for you, it’s just a matter of time (well, a matter of strength increase in the moderate rep-ranges, really) until you get to a size where insertions don’t matter much anymore (unless you want to diet down and compete, of course).

If you can get those pictures up, maybe I can help you out with a few exercises or something… Not that you can change your insertions, but there are a few tricks here and there for lagging areas…

1093

[quote]Cephalic_Carnage wrote:
bugeishaAD wrote:
I will keep that in mind. As always man, I sincerely appreciate your commments.

My physique… mmm, it’s somewhat of a love/hate relationship for me. I may not have the WORST genetics ever, but I think I’m probably in the bottom 25%.

I have a big-ass head (it just looks funny), sunken-in sternum that has made it hard to get my chest to be at all aesthetically pleasing (though I have made GREAT strides in this department)…

for my size, my arms are pitiful and I have shitty muscle bellies that are not full at all and zero peak on my biceps, and it doesn’t help that I neglected to train them from about January to June while I focused on strength (though in the long run that was a good decision)…

I’ve always been kind of awkwardly chubby, shitty leg development, bad calves… and my ass is huge, which makes my legs look even smaller. I’ve got good forearms, and a decent back. That’s about it.

Just put all together, I am not very pleasing to the eye, hence when I am so intense in the gym. I believe I can make it all work for me some day.

I’m also slightly annoyed by the extra fat I’m carrying now but I don’t want that to get in the way of putting on some more quality muscle before I diet in December. I think I will be more able to tell what I really look like without the extra fat because I think it kind of throws off the silhouette and all that fun stuff.

Mh, I never understood why people stop training arms directly when focusing on strength… I mean, the standard bb/EZ/alt.db curl and decline-close-grip bench (well, I’d actually add some long head movement like PJR’s) aren’t that much extra-work…

If you don’t mind, take a pic of a front double-bi (90 degree elbow-bend) and a back double-bi of yours… If you don’t mind some muscle-insertion analysis :wink: You can add a few other poses as well, if you want to.

Btw, my triceps used to suck so badly (my long head doesn’t deserve the name…), but due to long lateral heads and heavily developed medial heads (thanks to In-Human’s CGP variant), they looks good now… PJR’s really helped, too.

Between 11 and 16 inches I thought I had thin biceps (looked good flexed, but weren’t full at all when relaxed), and as I’ve mentioned, flat, crappy tris.

But once I reached 17 (being just shy of 5’10 in height), things really improved… I think I managed to fill the fascia out properly then, dunno (also added weighted stretches in around that time… DC came later).

I still have the basic shape which I had at 17 inches, except that the long head pops out way more (thanks, PJR).

What I’m trying to say here is: Don’t worry too much about your insertions and all… Once you’ve settled on a routine/exercises/style that works best for you, it’s just a matter of time (well, a matter of strength increase in the moderate rep-ranges, really) until you get to a size where insertions don’t matter much anymore (unless you want to diet down and compete, of course).

If you can get those pictures up, maybe I can help you out with a few exercises or something… Not that you can change your insertions, but there are a few tricks here and there for lagging areas…

[/quote]

“PJR”? I suck at acronyms. :frowning:

1094

yeah, i don’t know either.

partial ___ reps?

pause ___ reps?

1095

PJR is a poster over at IM.
PJR’s refer to PJR Pullovers, one of the best tricep exercises ever (heavy long-head emphasis). Not the same as tricep-pullovers, however.

They have the advantage of not bothering the elbows at all… My elbows kill me when I go above the 70’s on 2DB Extensions, EZ Extensions/Skullcrushers do the same…
PJR’s were a real godsend for me.

1096

[quote]Cephalic_Carnage wrote:
PJR is a poster over at IM.
PJR’s refer to PJR Pullovers, one of the best tricep exercises ever (heavy long-head emphasis). Not the same as tricep-pullovers, however.

They have the advantage of not bothering the elbows at all… My elbows kill me when I go above the 70’s on 2DB Extensions, EZ Extensions/Skullcrushers do the same…
PJR’s were a real godsend for me.
[/quote]

How do you perform them?

1097

[quote]Qaash wrote:
Cephalic_Carnage wrote:
PJR is a poster over at IM.
PJR’s refer to PJR Pullovers, one of the best tricep exercises ever (heavy long-head emphasis). Not the same as tricep-pullovers, however.

They have the advantage of not bothering the elbows at all… My elbows kill me when I go above the 70’s on 2DB Extensions, EZ Extensions/Skullcrushers do the same…
PJR’s were a real godsend for me.

How do you perform them?[/quote]

I’ll find the thread for you, it’s a little hard to explain (for me, at least).

They’re kind of an easy/natural movement once you get the idea.

Edit:

I would suggest not going all the way to perpendicular (stop when your hands are over your forehead or so), as well as not going all the way to lockout on the extension part.

You’ll likely have to start lighter than you think, but don’t worry… Those are easy to progress on.
If you do them right, then you won’t feel much in your tris during the exercise… And the next day (and for several days after that) your long head will be abysmally sore…

Might want to keep the body-english out of it, for now at least, as well as slowing the eccentric down some.

1098

I’m gunna have to remember to check these out when I get home (can’t go on youtube at work) because as you mentioned skullcrushers are wicked on the elbows. I’m developing tendonitis in my left elbow and even my right, which is my strong almost bulletproof side is starting to ache during skullcrushers.

1099

[quote]josh86 wrote:
I’m gunna have to remember to check these out when I get home (can’t go on youtube at work) because as you mentioned skullcrushers are wicked on the elbows. I’m developing tendonitis in my left elbow and even my right, which is my strong almost bulletproof side is starting to ache during skullcrushers.[/quote]

Do yourself a favor and stop doing any of those movements that bother your elbows…
I, btw, don’t have any tendonitis (my elbows hurt on extensions from the beginning, but other than that, I’m completely free of injuries…), and I attribute that to not locking out on presses… You can hurt your elbows on PJR’s if you lock out, btw, so don’t.

Just in case that your tendonitis gets worse, try the not-locking out route… You just have to flex your tris maximally anyway (not all that hard).

Edit: You could also use APT neoprenes, love 'em.

1100

That PJR Pullover definitely seems more natural than the DB pullovers I have done in the past. I’ll definitely give those a try at some point.

I started my 4th week of the strength program Nate sent me today. It went like this:

[b]Squat
6x2 @235

Bench
6x6 @185[/b]

6x6 on the bench was def not “easy”, but I definitely could have done more. I’m looking forward to adding weight each week from here out. I think my bench strength is really moving up now.

Hopefully 6x6 @315 deadlifts on Wednesday go as well as bench did today.