Citius Altius Fortius

Training Training Logs
1


I’ve kept a log offline for quite some time now to document my progress since coming home from the School of Infantry on November 1, 2008… I’ve decided to bring it online to interact more with the T-Nation community.

A compulsory segment about me: I’m a 21 year old college sophomore and I am a reservist Marine rifleman and scout with 4th LAR. I’ve been lifting since my junior year in high school, but I’ve only been really serious about it since December 2007.

On May 19, 2008 I shipped to boot camp and did my IADT training for a collective 5 months and 19 days and returned home on November 1, 2008.

Going into boot camp I weighed 160 lbs with a 1RM of 255 flat bench press, 1RM 375 deadlift, and a 1RM 305 back squat. I have a high PFT score running 3 miles in 19:30, easily getting 20 pullups and 100 crunches.

Leaving bootcamp I weighed 135 lbs and didn’t test my strength.

Upon coming home from SOI I weighed 145 lbs and had pretty much undone every lifting achievement I had ever made in the gym.

Since then I’ve gone from 145 to 172 lbs. Furthermore, I have only been dumbbell pressing and have a 2RM 100 lbs flat bench 8-10 sets, 235 1RM front squat, 1RM 405 deadlift. I’ve utilized a combination of powerlifting principles to boost my maxes and traditional bodybuilding style training for hypertrophy.

My diet consists of concentrating on getting good protein and fats and not worrying about my carbohydrate intake. I eat around 30-40 grams of protein at each meal and around 20-30 grams of healthy fats in from fish oil and olive oil daily.

In the short term next 8-12 weeks I would seriously like to boost my front squat max, 30 lbs at the least, maintain or add to my deadlift and gain mass in my chest.

However, as pictures show I have a muscular imbalance in my left and right pecs due to shoulder imbalances. I’m hoping to get some feedback on that issue with my log.

Overall, I will continue gaining lean mass; however, I’m going to reign in my carbohydrate intake and adjust my protein and fat intake to make up for the deficit.

I’ll post my next 3 weeks of training as well as a skeletal 8-12 week frame and my diet more in depth.

2

I’m having trouble posting my picture at the moment so please refer to my profile… notice the issues with my shoulders and chest.

3

For the next three weeks I’ll follow a template like this:

Mon AM- Max Pressing/corrective lifting
PM- Uppers Repetition

Tues AM- Lowers Repetition

Weds AM-Uppers Repetition
PM- Arms/Corrective lifting

Thurs AM- Max Squat/Repetition work

Fri AM- Uppers Repetition
PM- Arms/Corrective lifting

I’ve organized my week around class and work etc. In this three week phase I’m focusing on bringing up my max squat, arm size and strength specifically pulling and grip. I’m also playing with pressing volume to feel it out, though its not a main focus and if I’m reacting negatively to the training I’ll most certainly reduce it. Negative reactions include achy joints, loss of strength, size reduction etc.

A sample upper repetition session:
3 x 6-8 Incline 1:30 rest
3 x 6-8 Flat 1:30 rest
3 x 6-8 Decline 1:30 rest
4 x 6-8 T Bar Row 1:30 rest
4 x 6-8 Pull-up 1:30 rest
4 x 6-8 DB Row 1:00-1:30 rest

My repetition days follow a very traditional bodybuilding style training. Monday reps fall between 6-8, Wednesday 8-10, and Friday 10-12. I realize my pressing volume is high, but I’m doing a small 3 week chest spec. to see how I react to the volume.

A sample max squat day looks like:
-Work up to max single 1:00-3:00 rest as weight progresses
-5 x 12 Walking Lunges 1:30
-3 x 8 Hamstring Curl 1:00
Extra emphasis is on posterior chain development with repetition exercises following max effort work.

A sample arms session:
2x A1 Seated DB curl
A2 Seated unilateral DB curl
A3 Standing DB curl
(2:00 rest)
2x B1 Reserve Grip DB curl
B2 Regular Grip DB curl
B3 Hammer Curl
(2:00 rest)
2x C1 Close Grip curl
C2 Medium Grip curl
C3 Wide Grip Curl
(2:00 rest)
3x Weighted Dips 6-8
Weighted Dips -10% Failure
Weighted Dips -15% Failure
(2:00 rest)
3x Pulley Work (Pushdowns, extensions etc.) 1:00 rest

Total volume is 37 sets pressing, 36 sets pulling, 12 sets arms (biceps and triceps), 40 sets for lowers not including corrective lifting and core work