Journey to a State Title

Training Training Logs
361

[quote]165StateChamp wrote:

[quote]krazykoukides wrote:

[quote]165StateChamp wrote:

[quote]krazykoukides wrote:
You do a shit ton of sets.

Any specific reason? :)[/quote]

Well, it really depends. Up until this past summer, I was doing very few sets for everything. It was mostly three warmup sets for squats and deadlift followed by three to five work sets. Bench was only two warmup sets with three to five work sets. All the accessory work was done in three sets each. Once I did Sheiko for a large portion of the summer, I grew more accustomed to very high volume work.

I really don’t think what I’m doing right now can be classified as low or high volume, it’s more in the middle. The core exercises are all just three work sets each because I’m following 5/3/1. I guess you could say the accessory work is higher volume because I ramp for five sets, but that’s just me following Wendler’s guidance on the subject. If you look at things closely, aside from my Weak Point day, I’m really only doing four to five exercises each day, adding up to around twenty to twenty-five sets. I don’t that’s excessive at all.

This response definitely was though =)[/quote]

Well, to each his own!

If you can recover from it… than it’s not too much, eh? Keep it up:)

[/quote]

How much volume are you using?[/quote]

I was once advised by a large German to only do one ‘heavy’/‘work’ set.

After a year lay off… I had lost a quite a bit of weight. I’ve been at it 2 months again and I’m heavier/stronger than before. I followed the giant German’s guidelines for the first 6 weeks. Right now I moved to 2 heavy/work sets per exercise. I’ll see how it goes!

But I wasn’t trying to rain on your parade at all! I was just wondering if you had a specific reason why you used so many sets (like on the rolling db extensions, for example). I like learning what others do. I take bits and pieces of ideas from anybody that is willing to let me pick their brain a bit. :slight_smile:

362

Thursday, October 28th

Bench Day

Bench:
45 X 5
135 X 5
170 X 5 @ 65%
195 X 5 @ 75%
220 X 3 @ 85% - I pussed out. I could have ground out the last two. I didn’t have a spotter.

HS Plate Loaded Iso-Lateral Incline Press:
1pps X 10
25+1pps X 10
2pps X 10
5+2pps X 5
5+2pps X 3 - I’m thinking of switching to dumbbell inclines. These did give me a sick upper chest pump though.

Dizenzo Rows:
90 X 10
90 X 10
90 X 10
90 X 10
90 X 10 - Great as usual. It was hard keeping from being pulled all over though.

Dead-stop Barbell Skullcrushers:
55 X 10
55 X 10
65 X 10
65 X 10
75 X 10 - Great.

I weighed in at 188.9 lbs so I really have no excuse for my shitty bench performance. I’ll either repeat this week next week, or continue on with this cycle.

363

[quote]krazykoukides wrote:

I was once advised by a large German to only do one ‘heavy’/‘work’ set.

After a year lay off… I had lost a quite a bit of weight. I’ve been at it 2 months again and I’m heavier/stronger than before. I followed the giant German’s guidelines for the first 6 weeks. Right now I moved to 2 heavy/work sets per exercise. I’ll see how it goes!

But I wasn’t trying to rain on your parade at all! I was just wondering if you had a specific reason why you used so many sets (like on the rolling db extensions, for example). I like learning what others do. I take bits and pieces of ideas from anybody that is willing to let me pick their brain a bit. :)[/quote]

Who’s the large German? Cephalic_Carnage? That was actually the plan for the rolling dumbbell extensions, but I just couldn’t progress that way. I decided to switch to straight sets and when I can’t hit the necessary reps I just do them in as many sets as necessary. I do need a good program for my bench. Nothing but Sheiko seems to work, and it still wasn’t that great. I get bigger but my bench numbers still suck.

364

Mhm, Cephalic_Carnage advised me a long time ago. Still use what he taught me with a lot!

I moved from one set to two sets because I decided I just couldn’t bring the intensity needed for one heavy/work set. If I’m still not seeing progress how I want… I planned on switching to 3 heavy sets in about 4 weeks.

I feel your pain about benchpress. I suck at benchpress. Ever tried floor presses? I started doing them and I think they will help in the long run. They made it quite clear my weak link in a benchpress is my triceps!

365

Friday, October 29th

Squat Day

Squat:
135 X 6
225 X 6
315 X 4
355 X 4
355 X 4
355 X 4 - I added another warmup set. My wrists hurt squatting low bar and my forearms get a pump. I was a
355 X 4 little too bent over but I’m not too worried. Weights moved well.

Step-ups (High box):
70’s X 5
70’s X 5
70’s X 5
70’s X 5 - Grip was a little less of a problem, but still an issue.

Hyperextensions:
45+BW X 10
45+BW X 10
45+BW X 10

Decline Bench Sit-ups:
45+BW X 10
45+BW X 10
45+BW X 10

I weighed in at 189.0 lbs. Everything felt great. My knees are a bit sore, but that’s the name of the game. I can’t wait to squat again.

366

[quote]krazykoukides wrote:
Mhm, Cephalic_Carnage advised me a long time ago. Still use what he taught me with a lot!

I moved from one set to two sets because I decided I just couldn’t bring the intensity needed for one heavy/work set. If I’m still not seeing progress how I want… I planned on switching to 3 heavy sets in about 4 weeks.

I feel your pain about benchpress. I suck at benchpress. Ever tried floor presses? I started doing them and I think they will help in the long run. They made it quite clear my weak link in a benchpress is my triceps![/quote]

Floor presses are great. I like them a lot but I haven’t found a way to work them into 5/3/1 to my preference.

367

I’m not familiar with 5/3/1!

But hey, great workout today! Keep it up! :slight_smile:

368

Saturday, October 30th

Shoulders/Arms Day

Dumbbell Lateral Raises:
20’s X 10
25’s X 10
30’s X 10
30’s X 10
35’s X 4 - I was horsing the weight up. I didn’t feel good today.

Nautilus Lateral Raise:
50 X 10
65 X 10
80 X 10
95 X 10
110 X 4 - 10 second negative on the last rep. Same story as with the dumbbells.

Dumbbell Shrugs:
70’s X 10
85’s X 10
90’s X 10
95’s X 10
100’s X 10 - The 80’s were taken. These were easy.

Bent-over Dumbbell Lateral Raises:
30’s X 10
35’s X 10
40’s X 10
45’s X 10
45’s X 10 - Form was a little sloppy.

Face Pulls:
70 X 10
90 X 10
110 X 10
110 X 10
120 X 10 - Sloppy form.

EZ Bar French Press:
45 X 10
55 X 10
65 X 10
70 X 3 - Uncomfortable pop right above my left elbow so I called it.

Single Arm Reverse Pushdown:
30 X 10
40 X 10
40 X 10
50 X 10
50 X 10 - No rest. Back to back to back to back to back.

Dumbbell Preacher Curl:
25’s X 10
25’s X 10
25’s X 10 - No rest. Decent pump.

KPipe Cable Curls:
40 X 10
40 X 10
40 X 10

I had a four hour Psychology experiment to go to this morning so that cut into my lifting time. I only had 50 minutes to get everything done. To compound things, I got about 4 and a half hours of sleep last night so I had no energy. I’m tired as shit and going to nap now. Happy Halloween weekend folks.

369

Monday, November 1st

Military Press Day

Military Press:
45 X 5
110 X 3 @ 70%
125 X 5 @ 80%
140 X 3 @ 90% - I may have had one left.

Dips:
BW X 15
BW X 15
BW X 15
BW X 12
BW X 5
BW X 8

Nautilus XPLOAD Lat Pulldown:
10+1pps X 10
25+1pps X 10
35+1pps X 10
2pps X 10
2pps X 10 - Really felt this in my rear delts for some reason.

Rolling Dumbbell Extensions:
35’s X 10
35’s X 10
35’s X 9
35’s X 5
35’s X 5
35’s X 5

Overall, it wasn’t as bad a day as it could have been considering all the things I botched. I was about an hour late on a meal and I didn’t get as much sleep as I wanted. I’m going to make sure to nap as often as I should. I weighed in at 189.0 lbs today.

370

Tuesday, November 2nd

Deadlift Day

Sumo Deadlift:
133 X 5
223 X 5
313 X 3 @ 70%
358 X 3 @ 80%
403 X 3 @ 90% - The warmup sets were double overhand. Left glute pain in the top set, but the reps were easy.

Dumbbell Lunges:
50’s X 10
50’s X 10
50’s X 10
50’s X 10
50’s X 10 - 4 sets with 55’s next week.

Physioball Leg Curl:
BW X 10
BW X 10
BW X 10
BW X 10
BW X 10 - One of the coaches wants me to switch to slideboard leg curls because these are too easy.

Hyperextensions:
45+BW X 10
45+BW X 10
45+BW X 10

Decline Bench Sit-ups:
45+BW X 10
45+BW X 10
45+BW X 10

I weighed in at 188.0 lbs today. I got a little better sleep than usual because work was later than usual in the morning. I still randomly woke up at 1:30 AM and started trying to get ready. I’m starting to think that might be turning into a sleep disorder. I really hope not.

371

Thursday, November 4th

Bench Day

Bench:
45 X 5
135 X 5
170 X 5 @ 65%
195 X 5 @ 75%
220 X 5 @ 85% - I got them all. I didn’t pause as long as I could have, but the reps still came.

Dumbbell Incline Bench Press:
50’s X 10
60’s X 10
65’s X 10
70’s X 9
70’s X 8 - The rear delt of my right shoulder didn’t feel very good doing this. My stabilizers are weak.

Dizenzo Rows:
90 X 10
90 X 10
90 X 10
90 X 10
90 X 10 - I kept a little bit more stable.

Dead-stop Barbell Skullcrushers:
55 X 10
55 X 10
65 X 10
65 X 10
75 X 5 - Triceps were shot from earlier.

I weighed in at 189.9 lbs. I’m a little ahead of my water schedule, but weight gain is good. I’m hoping the weight sticks around for squatting tomorrow.

372

Friday, November 5th

Squat Day

Squat:
135 X 6
225 X 6
315 X 4
365 X 4
365 X 4
365 X 4
365 X 4 - My first two sets were a little awkward, but I really hit the groove on the last two. Light weight.

Step-ups (High box):
70’s X 5
70’s X 5
70’s X 4
70’s X 4 - My grip was slipping and I didn’t want to push it too hard.

Hyperextensions:
45+BW X 10
45+BW X 10
45+BW X 10

Decline Bench Sit-ups:
45+BW X 10
45+BW X 10
45+BW X 10 - Plate held on face.

I weighed in at 189.5 lbs. I really felt my squats in my lats which was awesome. I forgot to foam roll so I have a feeling I’ll be unable to move around tomorrow. This is going to suck.

373

Saturday, November 6th

Shoulders/Arms Day

Dumbbell Lateral Raises:
20’s X 10
25’s X 10
30’s X 10
30’s X 10
35’s X 7 - A little bit of body english with the 35’s. I’ll build on this next week.

Nautilus Lateral Raise:
50 X 10
65 X 10
80 X 10
95 X 7
95 X 5 - 10 second negative on the last rep. No idea why I sucked so bad on these.

Dumbbell Shrugs:
70’s X 10
80’s X 10
90’s X 10
95’s X 10
100’s X 10

Bent-over Dumbbell Lateral Raises:
30’s X 10
35’s X 10
40’s X 10
45’s X 10
50’s X 10 - A little body english. I’ll keep the weight the same next week.

Face Pulls:
70 X 10
90 X 10
100 X 10
110 X 10
120 X 10 - Great feeling in my lower trap.

Decline Bench EZ Bar Skullcrusher:
55 X 10
65 X 10
70 X 10
70 X 10
70 X 5 - Pretty good. I had a different type of soreness in my triceps.

Tricep Rope Pushdown:
70 X 10
80 X 10
90 X 10
100 X 10
100 X 10 - I actually felt this in my lateral head.

Single Arm Reverse Pushdown:
40 X 10
40 X 10
50 X 10
50 X 10
50 X 10 - I felt nothing. I will be switching this out for another ‘feel’ type exercise.

Dumbbell Preacher Curl:
25’s X 10
25’s X 10
25’s X 10
25’s X 7

KPipe Cable Curls:
40 X 10
40 X 10
50 X 10
50 X 10
60 X 10

I weighed in at 188.2 lbs. I am growing =) I spent an hour after stretching walking and talking to this girl who works at the facility. She’s cute. Smart girls are the shit. I was a bit late on my post-workout nutrition though =( lol.

374

Monday, November 8th

Military Press Day

Military Press:
45 X 5
115 X 5 @ 75%
130 X 3 @ 85%
145 X 2 @ 95% - The first rep was awful. The second was much better.

Dips:
BW X 15
BW X 15
BW X 15
BW X 15
BW X 10
BW X 5 - My left elbow was killing me during the last three sets.

Nautilus XPLOAD Lat Pulldown:
10+1pps X 10
25+1pps X 10
35+1pps X 10
2pps X 10
2pps X 5 - I stopped when I couldn’t squeeze my lats anymore.

Rolling Dumbbell Extensions:
35’s X 10
35’s X 8
35’s X 5
35’s X 5
35’s X 5
35’s X 5 - Disappointing. I PR’d on dips to take steps back here.

I weighed in at 188.0 lbs today. I’m down one pound from last week, but it’s probably not a big deal. I’d like to put more pictures up, but I don’t want to put anymore in my hub. How do I just post them here in the log?

375

Tuesday, November 9th

Deadlift Day

Sumo Deadlift:
133 X 5
223 X 5
338 X 5 @ 75%
383 X 3 @ 85%
428 X 1 @ 95% - Belted for the last set. It came up fast. My right shin is scraped to hell.

Dumbbell Lunges:
55’s X 10
55’s X 10
55’s X 10
55’s X 10 - Ouch! These had me sweating.

Physioball Leg Curl:
BW X 10
BW X 10
BW X 10
BW X 10
BW X 10 - Good pump in the hamstrings. I’ll work to sets of 12 next week.

Hyperextensions:
45+BW X 12
45+BW X 12
45+BW X 12

Decline Bench Sit-ups:
45+BW X 10
45+BW X 10
45+BW X 10 - Plate on face.

Hanging Knee Raises:
BW X 10
BW X 10
BW X 10 - I really focused on the squeeze here and used a slow negative.

I weighed in at 187.5 lbs. I’m down a little bit of weight. I’ll see if I can’t sleep in this weekend and see if that helps the situation. I also added in some lower ab work because that area has been cramping whenever I stretch out fully.

376

[quote]165StateChamp wrote:
Monday, November 8th

I’d like to put more pictures up, but I don’t want to put anymore in my hub. How do I just post them here in the log?[/quote]

Just press “go advanced” right below where you press submit. Then it gives you the option to upload video or picture… then press submit.

377

Thursday, November 11th

Bench Day

Bench:
45 X 5
135 X 5
180 X 3 @ 70%
210 X 3 @ 80%
235 X 2 @ 90% - I might have been able to get the last one. I didn’t want to risk it.

Dumbbell Incline Bench Press:
50’s X 10
60’s X 10
65’s X 10
70’s X 8
70’s X 5 - This is embarrassing.

Dizenzo Rows:
100 X 10
100 X 10
100 X 10
100 X 10
100 X 10 - Pretty decent.

Dead-stop Barbell Skullcrushers:
55 X 10
55 X 10
65 X 10
65 X 10
75 X 7

I weighed in at 188.5 lbs. I stayed up until 12:15 AM last night with a girl, so I got about 4 hours of total sleep. I managed to nap twice for about an hour during the day, but I still think that had an effect. I’ve said it before: girls are the worst thing ever for lifting weights.

378

[quote]BlackLabel wrote:

[quote]165StateChamp wrote:
Monday, November 8th

I’d like to put more pictures up, but I don’t want to put anymore in my hub. How do I just post them here in the log?[/quote]

Just press “go advanced” right below where you press submit. Then it gives you the option to upload video or picture… then press submit.
[/quote]

It never seems to show up when I do that though. Does the file type matter? I have pictures saved as jpegs.

379

Friday, November 12th

Squat Day

Squat:
135 X 6
225 X 6
315 X 4
375 X 4
375 X 4
375 X 4
375 X 4 - My knees were a little wobbly and I took too many steps on the walkout.

Step-ups (High box):
70’s X 5
70’s X 5
70’s X 4
70’s X 4

Hyperextensions:
45+BW X 12
45+BW X 12
45+BW X 12

Decline Bench Sit-ups:
45+BW X 10
45+BW X 10
45+BW X 10 - Plate held on face.

I weighed in at 187 lbs. This is a 2.5 lb drop from last week. This probably explains why this week was harder. My knees felt like crap coming in and they felt worse leaving. My left knee is killing me. Luckily, the weights moved decently. They weren’t ‘super fast’ though. The Huff is closed tomorrow so now Weak Points Day.

380

Monday, November 15th

Military Press Day

Military Press:
45 X 5
60 X 5 @ 40%
80 X 3 @ 50%
95 X 2 @ 60% - Felt heavier than they should have.

Dips:
BW X 15
BW X 15
BW X 15 - Deloaded the volume because it felt harder than it should have.

Pull-ups:
BW X 5
BW X 5
BW X 5 - Felt easy. I could feel these in my lats.

Rolling Dumbbell Extensions:
35’s X 10
35’s X 7
35’s X 6
35’s X 5
35’s X 5
35’s X 5 - These really hurt the back of my right shoulder. I will drop these.

I weighed in at 186.6 lbs today. That’s a major drop. I had a stressful weekend, but there’s no reason for that much weight loss. I think it’s because I haven’t been cheating as often as I should. I’ll bump it up to one cheat meal a week instead of one every so often (read as one in the past 8 or so weeks)like it has been. I also didn’t get very much sleep last night because I was up studying. I’ll try to improve on things throughout this week.