Went to a gym today for my Shoulders/Arms session.. just to do the exact session I would’ve done at the garage gym, minus the reverse pec deck lol. The pump was absolutely nasty though and I got to see how I’m looking in really good lighting Gym lighting for the first time since March. Things are really starting to pop! Upper body striations and veins are coming in! Absolutely in my zone right now!
No gym access today, no problem. Was able to bust out this bodyweight workout in my bedroom in an hour. Honestly can’t believe how intense I was able to make this. I can seriously barely walk right now. This isn’t going to be my full time Leg workout going forward, as I feel it would lose its effectiveness over time, but holy hell this was a good way to make sure you don’t miss a session!
Thank you! I very much enjoy that superset. It’s challenging, especially to keep up the reps with full and focused range of motion with a full contraction at the top of each rep. Really making sure the scapula is fully pulled down at the top of each chin, and same for the dip. Getting that scapula pushed down, really recruits the pec minor. I like to do dips Gironda style, with a forward lean as I come down for a good pec stretch, knees in front and elbows a bit more out than back. It’s probably my favorite chest movement right now and the chins are certainly my favorite back movement!
Chest and back was really incredible today. Trained right after getting out of bed and just felt absolutely locked in. I thought I would be shorter on time, so I supersetted every movement today (except for pullovers which were done standalone as I put my weights away and cleaned up between sets). I wish for the years leading up to now, I trained with as clean of form as I use now, but I guess that’s the power of experience and the curse of youth. I really try to do everything with absolute precision now and an extreme focus on Mind muscle connection, rather than just moving weights from point a to point b with only a casual focus on mind muscle connection. This session is an absolute winner. I think these chest and back days have actually become my favorite training day!
Hit a few poses with the natural light coming in. I need to clean up the front double bicep a little bit. Just need to keep practicing. I pose between sets, but seeing the poses photographed gives me ideas about areas where I can improve.
Thank you so much man! It felt like I was basically just treading water in 2024, so it feels amazing to really be training with purpose and seeing improvements happening Week by week this year!
Shoulders/Arms today. High volume, short rest (30-45 seconds), insane pumpitude. My delts were screaming in agony by the last set of behind the neck press (delts, not shoulder joint). This high volume training has really had my muscles feeling extra full and makes me feel like I’m looking larger even at a lower bodyweight. It’ll be legs again tomorrow and then a Vince Gironda-inspired 8x8 Upper Body session Friday!
Another high volume Leg day! Definitely tired today but really wanted to demolish this session, so the desire won out. I may take a nap later to help myself out. Physical conditioning is definitely still improving, as I was much less exhausted between sets on the Zercher squats. Hopeful for a great night of sleep tonight and a high energy, balls to the wall Upper session tomorrow. Stay tuned!
Crazy huge Upper Body today. I went a little bit insane with it, but I am not taking it easy on myself! Really am committed to being in my best shape possible. This session was inspired by Vince Gironda’s 8x8. Rest periods were super short, about 15-30 seconds and on one arm stuff/arm work, I took no rest between sets.
Had my wife take some photos of me outside today. Wanted to get some Sun and see how I’m looking in natural light with no mirror to pose in front of. I’m going to make this a regular practice so I can monitor my physique improvements and continue improving my posing.
Thank you man! The posting practice has become a really big part of my routine. But now taking these initial photos, I realize I still have some tweaks I need to make to present myself better in these poses. Hopefully in the coming weeks my presentation (and tan) improve a lot!
Absolutely hammered chest and back today! Mixed things up a little bit today, including a very wide grip bench press. Evaluating my physique from my latest photos, I thought I could use more outer chest, so I referenced Arnold’s Encyclopedia (greatest chest ever) and wanted to read his strategy for building a massive outer chest and it really seems like wide grip bench (which no one does anymore), Deep Dumbbell flys and Gironda style dips are the kings for building that area up. So those are going to be big points of Emphasis for me, as well as continuing to focus on lay width. We’ll see how much I can improve in the remaining 5 and a half weeks!
Shoulders and arms today! Supersets abound! I saw a video on Rick Wayne’s Shoulders and Arms workout on Sal’s Classic Bodybuilding Channel and it was very cool to see that his Shoulder/Arm day is extremely similar to mine, even down to exercise selection and how he chooses exercises! I’m really getting the sense that I’m on the right track! I incorporated old school Bent Over Hanging Dumbbell Concentration curls today instead of Preacher curls and they felt amazing! It’s been a while since I’ve done these, but they will definitely once again become a staple! And thanks to Frank Zane’s Wonder Posing book, I’m finally understanding foot positioning in my poses, so I think the next photo updates that I pose should look a lot more polished!
Another superset leg day! This was a brutal session! First time hitting back squats in a couple months and they felt absolutely incredible!! They have been missed! This session is tough but in that difficulty, I find fun! My upper body is so thrashed that I wanted to avoid any lower body exercises that really involve my upper body, which Zerchers definitely do! Hoping for a great night’s sleep and feeling nice and refreshed for tomorrow’s Chest and Back session.
Chest and back have returned! Better than ever! Was able to push the weights up on all the lifts a little bit without sacrificing any rep quality, in fact, I dare say that my technique and mind muscle connection only continue to improve! It was hot in the garage today and I was sweaty as heck, but it just improved my perception of how much I was kicking my own butt. Obviously I’m not pushing sets to failure right now, so this is a different kind of intensity and hard work in the session. The sets are still very hard, especially the later sets, but not to failure. This training along with my whole food diet approach has been very successful thus far as I’m in the best shape of my life and improving by the week. Holding onto muscle extremely well and keeping a full look so far! Just need to keep pushing hard! Not concerned with “The finish line is in sight” or any of that crap, because I’m legitimately enjoying this process and loving focusing on doing the right things every day and always striving to get better.
Shoulders and Arms today. Watched some Serge Nubret training footage to get me fired up before the session. Truly one of the all time greats and certainly a big influence on me and my training. Went a touch lighter than usual today and I have to say, everything felt great and the pump was just fantastic! I think sometimes I go a little too heavy Training in this style and I start to feel it in my joints. That’s my cue to lighten the load and train with faster Pump style reps and a greater emphasis on Mind muscle connection. That really seems to lend itself well here and a lot of this stuff is auto regulatory and instinctive stuff that I wouldn’t advise for beginners because they would end up taking things to easy on themselves. I thought all of today’s exercises flowed super well together. Looking forward to legs tomorrow!
Legs today! Man, energy was definitely down a bit today. I haven’t really eaten but about 300 calories so far, which I think is a big contributor. Today’s plans were just thrown out the window a bit because my wife’s family came over so I just ate once around 11 and then snuck out to work out from about 2:30-4:00. I’ve got a big steak dinner planned though so I’m sure I’ll be feeling amazing after that. Lack of energy didn’t keep from absolutely busting my ass tough. This session was intense as always. Reintroducing barbell hanks was cool but a special kind of brutal. Did them on ramps and didn’t set the barbell down. Soon I want to try the Serge Nubret 300 free squats as part of the leg workout! Looking forward to chest and back tomorrow!
