For the next three days I’m going in School to get my PTS. yay
July 23, 2012
Start time: 6:40 pm
Bench 5’s week
Main work- Was pumped. Spent the entire day talking about training and nutrition in a gym!
Bench
Ramped to
160x5
185x5
210x5
225x1
240x1
250x1 ← had a spot who held it, not sure if he helped. Judging from my own body I coud tell I was never in any real trouble of missing the lift so it counts in my books.
Assistance work
DB Bench
70x8
80x8
90x5
60xAMRAP Drop 45xAMRAP
60x5 (failure)
Straightbar pushdowns (8-10 reps)
80
100
120
140
160
180*
*4 reps
4 sets of Rope pushdowns
3 sets of lying DB Extensions
Glad to see that my Bench is still relatively ok…
For the next cycle I am planning on going back to the rep max variation of the 3/5/1, although I plan on doing it with a little twist.
Today is one of those days that kind bring both the best and worst of the fitness industry out. As a 18 year old, I am privileged enough to have the time and the money (given to me, not earned) to be able to train other people. On the one hand, being in the gym all the time and moving around gets me so fired up to train. On the other I see why people never get thin/lean/cut/big or strong from their personal trainers. The stuff that you learn is good, from a scientific point of view, but the application of is… Narrow. The best way to describe it is to tell a monkey, a rhino, a fish and a dog to climb a tree, because there is only a limited way to test people.
I dunno, I see people and pretty much everyone has put the cart before the horse. Everyone fucks themselves up, wants results and then decides to train. It doesn’t work that way. True people train, fall in love with the process and keep doing it even if they never gain another pound of muscle in their life. I know that I don’t have the greatest numbers in the gym, however, I do know that I will never stop progressing.
I remember the day when I used to train with people. All those people ever did was talk. I remember being that one kid, thinking “shit, one day I’m going to be like you”. And when I mean ‘like you’ I mean like the biggest, strongest guy in my gym.
To be honest I don’t really know why I wrote this, other than the fact that everyone is settling for mediocrity. Really, I look around and feel like asking people, “why do you exist; what is your purpose?” Most kids don’t know and the older people say its for the kids. When you step back and look at that fact, you realize that most people have nothing; no purpose. /rant
July 26, 2012
Felt like absolute shit the entire time.
Start time: 2:10 pm
Squat 5’s week
Main work
Squat
Ramp up to
195x5
225x5
245x5
Man I feel like I’m regressing on squats big time.
Assistance work
Leg Press
5 sets to failure
Calf Raises
4 or 5 sets to failure
Hamstring work
OK I went back to a different gym that is meant for the Olympic Lifts. A guy yesterday (ranked 5th in Canada) decided he would coach me for a session. It went something like this.
Air Squats
Back Squat with the bar
Front Squat with the bar
Push PRess with the bar
Back squat → Ramping to 135 for 3x8 (this was Hell BTW)
Take off the weight and overhead squat
Snatch work
“jump jump snatch”
“jump jump snatch” Overhead Squat
“Bend the hips back, bring the bar to the hips, snatch, overhead squat”
He recommended some mobility work, particularly in the hips and the ankles, and the wrists. And he said to have two days for squatting a week. One day for front squats, another for the back squats.
My Tibialis anterior, ankles, hips and traps have never been this sore.
Current Workout Routine (focusing on improving the olympic lifts)
Dead-lift 3/5/1
→ Back Squats and Back
Bench Press 3/5/1
→ Overhead Squats and Chest
Squats 3/5/1
→ Front Squats and Quads
OHP 3/5/1
→ Snatches and Shoulders
Traps, Arms and Calves no longer a priority, so I will try to hit them whenever I can.
July 27, 2012
Start time: 4:30 pm
Press 5’s week
Main work
OHP
115x5
135x5
145x5
Push Press
135x1x3
Assistance work
Snatch
3 sets of 3
DB Press
40x8
50x8
60x8
70x8
Biceps work
Deadlift Workout
This workout was slightly different. I was testing to see what my MTW is (3 rep max without grinding).
Warmup: Treadmill, snatches, OHS
Deads
135x3
185x3
225x3
255x3
275x3
305x3 ← Started grinding
325x1 ← No Straps
325x3 ← Straps
Lat pulldowns (8-15 reps)
5 total sets ramping to 150 and last set was a drop set
DB Rows
50x6
60x6
70x6
Cable rows
3 sets
Bench
Today was the same kind of thing as yesterday. There were a lot of people in here so I had a scavenger like workout.
Bench
45x3
95x3
135x3
165x3
190x3
210x3
230x3 ← Started grinding here
Solid; lot less rest needed between sets.
DB Bench
5 or so sets
Machine Bench
2 sets
Cable crossover
1 set
Decline DB Bench
2 sets
Bench
1 set
That was fun.
Did some of dat dere cardio.
Basically as a side note, when I started the summer I basically lost 15-20lbs and a lot of strength. Then I started CBL and am starting to gain some strength back, maintaining at around 185lbs. These past couple workouts have been refreshing in the sense that I am starting to train i the way that I used to train; low reps, no grinding, high volume. It’s more fun to me. I’m going to just experiment with my workouts until I find a plan that will work and also be fun like it once was.
Today was a an arm workout with traps as well.
BB curl, swiss bar, db curl, DB shrug circuit, rope pushdowns blah blah blah
Squats
Lately I’ve been trying to ATG with basically the best form I can possibly do. Also, I’ve been stretching the shit out of my body.
Squat- Still a little forward lean, but getting better, and no plates on the heels which is a good sign
45x8
65x8
95x8
115x8
135x8
155x8
155x8
185x3
205x3
225x3 ← easy, all the way down, extremely fast on the way up.
I played around with some front squats; have the depth and the lower body good, I just can’t maintain the upper body posture.
Leg press
4 sets of 20
Leg curls
4 sets of 6 TUT
Shoulders
Press
45x8
65x8
95x3
95x3
95x3
115x3
115x3
135x3
145x2
Behind the neck PRess
45x8
65x8
85x8
95x8
100x8
105x8
Hm… I like the feel of the behind the neck press a lot better than the regular press. Gonna make it my main movement for the time being.
DB Press
30x8
40x8
50x8
60x8
70x8
80x5 drop 50x5
Press from pins
135x3
155x3
185x3
205x3
Alright session. Actually it wasn’t that bad I’m just readjusting to not having a pump while pressing. I think these past few months I deviated and started jusdging the workout based on the pump I get, which was not what build my mass in the first place.
Cardio session
Squats
Ramped to 225 for 3 sets of 2
30 mins on the treadmill.
Deadlifts
Wamups
DL- using too much back; not generating enough tension in the hips. Strong though.
135x3
185x3
205x3
235x3
235x3
235x3
255x3
255x3
255x3
275x3
275x3
275x3
Aaaah low reps high volume… love it.
Pullups
50 total reps
DB Rows
50x20 LR
50x20 LR
My body was bugging me so I called it there. Good Workout.
My back is killing me
Bench
95x5
135x5
155x5
175x5
175x3
175x3
195x3
195x3
195x3
210x3
210x3
210x3
DB Bench
75x5
90x5
100x4
100x3
80x7
70x7
60x12
Smith incline
negligible
Floor Press
135x5
155x5
185x5
205x2 <— last rep was the biggest grinder I have ever done. Came out of nowhere.
PRessing strength seems down.
Calves: Standing and seated calve raises
Biceps: Medley of curls
Traps: 3 dropsets of shrugs
EVALUATING MY PROGRESS
Basically I’m trying to objectively look at what I’ve done (using this log) and critique what I’ve done and what I need to work on.
The biggest thing right now is squats. On paper I started at 300 when I started this log and have since had to stop and have now restarted. The main thing was regaining depth, as well as not killing my lower back. I believe that even though 225 is a legitimate work weight at this point, I will be able to start making FAST Progress since I am now addressing the issues that are hindering me.
As far as pressing goes, I feel like I’m losing too much strength. I believe this is because I deviated from my original low rep mentality that made pressing fun for me.
Overall, I think I got way too caught up in trying to make the “perfect” program, that I stopped listening to my body, and ultimately stopped having fun. I set mental barriers for myself for no reason. Now that I have at least begun to deal with these barriers I believe progress shall come much faster.
CURRENT STATS
Height: 5’8
Weight: 185
Bench: 250x1
Squat: 225x2
Dead: 345x1
OHP: 165x1
Goals (by the time I turn 19)
Bench: 315x1
Squat: 405x1
Dead: 500x1
OHP: 225x1
Squats
185x3x3
205x3x3
225x3x3
My right hip was killing my on these sets
Leg Extensions
200x5x10
Leg Press
3plate x15x4
Aug 10
Today I walked in with nothing except my cell phone. No ipod, bag, straps, bands, etc. I didn’t even plan what I was gonna do today. It ended up being a great workout.
A) DB shoulder press:
Ramped up
60x4
60x4
60x4
60x4
60x4
60x4
60x4
60x4
60x8
60x8
60x8
60x8
B) BTN Press (ss with shrugs)
75x6
95x6
105x5
110x4
115x3
95x4
C1) Smith Shrugs
C2) KB Shrugs
C3) Rope curls
C4) DB triceps extension
4 rounds
Good workout