My Road To BEASTNESS w/ Vids

Training Training Logs
841

Week 4 Day 5

A) Power Cleans (I added these for a good activation exercise. Wasn’t trying to go heavy, just a good warmup to get in the zone)

65 X 3, 85 X 3, 95 X 3, 105 X 3, 115 X 3, 125 X 3, 135 X 3, 145 X 3
Felt pretty good here so I quit and got into pressing

B1) Standing OH Press (started at 75 and did sets of 3 up to my working weight by adding 10-20 lbs each set)
155 X 3 X 7

B2) Push Press
155 X 3 X 7

C1) Push Press (heavier)
175 X 3 X 7

C2) Speed DB Press
30s X 20 reps as fast as possible X 7

D1) Flat BB (ramped up from 135 to working weight)
235 X 3 X 7
(last rep was a bit of a grinder)

D2) Plyo Pushups off Bench
5 X 7

E1) Decline BB
245 X 3 X 4 (reps got pretty slow and sloppy so I dropped the weight)
235 X 3 X 2 (got stuck under the catches on last rep of second set, wow, made that rep TOUGH)
225 X 3 last rep was paused and explosive

E2) Pushups (did as many as I could before they started slowing down)
12-20 X 7

NOTES: Overhead and push press weight was up from last week, bench was the same, but decline went down a bit. For some reason my grip strength wasn’t all there today. I figured the session wasn’t going to be great after traveling for 3 days and lack of sleep, but it was still a decent session. Rest periods for 60 seconds between all sets, for the most part. When I first started the program, I tried sticking to the suggested 60-90 seconds of rest after the first exercise, and 15-30 seconds after the 2nd exercise but my performance was terrible. I increased the rest periods to 90 seconds all around (as suggested by CT) and am working on decreasing them over time. I’m excited to have week 4 completed (with the exception of the 2nd session later today) as I get to increase the weight tomorrow and drop reps. Then for week 6, I will be doing a lot of singles up to most likely a LOT of PRs :slight_smile:

[quote]noah100 wrote:
I have no doubt you can get 225 soo!. You’re definetly strong enough. It’s all about technique. Anyway nice job man.[/quote]

Thanks, bud! I’ll definitely be going for it on week 5 or 6 of this program.

842

Wow - training is looking awesome!
Are you having fun with it?

Oh, what was the first 3 weeks plz? Or is it confidential - (it’s cool if it is)

843

Week 5 Day 1

Deadlift (started with this to get ready for the pulling for the session. It went something like this:)
Bar X some, 135 X 5, 185 X 3, 225 X 3, 275 X 3, 315 X 3, 345 X 3

A1) Rack Pulls (did 545 for a tough double, realized the pins were a bit lower than last time. reset it, then:)
545 X 3, 565 X 2, 585 X 1
555 X 3, 575 X 2, 605 X 1 PR

A2) Broad Jumps 6 sets of 10

B1) Deadlift
415 X 3, 440 X 2, 460 X 1
425 X 3, 445 X 1 (hit the catches on 2nd rep somehow and couldn’t finish the rep)
465 X 1

B2) Depth Jump for Distance
6 sets of 5

C1) Power Cleans
155 X 3, 175 X 2, 190 X 1
155 X 3, 175 X 2, 195 X miss
Cleans just weren’t there today. Felt like my skin was tearing off on each rep

C2) DB Good Morning Jumps
60 lb DB held on chest X 5 X 6

D1) Lying Leg Curls
3 plates 35 X 5, 4 plates X 4, 4 plates 10 X 3
3 plates 35 X 5, 4 plates X 4, 4 plates 10 X 3

D2) DB Swings
60 lb DB X 12, 15, 15, 18, 20, 20

NOTES: I started the session by ramping up on deadlifts to a comfortable set of 3 until I felt ready to go. I don’t like to just start with rack pulls because full deadlifts always feel much harder after. This was just one of those sessions where nothing felt right. It’s funny how sitting at a desk all day doing nothing physically can drain your energy. I went in, did my best to warm up my CNS, and then went through the session. I left some in the tank with the singles, since next week calls for a lot of singles, in which I plan on going f

[quote]undecimber wrote:
Wow - training is looking awesome!
Are you having fun with it?

Oh, what was the first 3 weeks plz? Or is it confidential - (it’s cool if it is)

[/quote]

This training is TOUGH, but I love it haha.

Well it’s basically the same as I’m doing now but with different loadings:

Week 1: 5 X 5
Week 2: 5 X 7
Week 3: 3 X 5
Week 4: 3 X 7
and now I’m in Week 5

844

Day 39

Training: Week 5 Day 2

A) Supinated Pulldown (squeeze at contraction for 2 seconds, 45-60 seconds rests)
195 X 6 X 6
165 X 8 X 2
135 X 10 X 2

B) Seated Row (2 second squeeze, 45-60 seconds rests)
150 X 6 X 6
135 X 8 X 2
105 X 10 X 2

C) Low Pulley Rope Row (2 second squeeze, 45-60 seconds rests)
120 X 6
90 X 6
110 X 6 X 2
90 X 6 X 2
80 X 8 X 2
70 X 10 X 2

D) HS Shrugs (supposed to do behind the nexk smith shrugs but grip was not having it)
3pps X 6 X 2
3pps 10s X 6 X 2
3pps 25s X 6 X 2
3pps X 8 X 2
3pps X 10 X 2 (had to set the weight down around 7 reps in these sets, due to grip)

E) Preacher Curls (2 second negative, 45-60 seconds rests)
95 X 6 X 6
85 X 8 X 2
75 X 10 X 2

F) DB Hammer Curls (2 second hold parallel to floor, 45-60 second rests)
40s X 6 X 5
45s X 6 couldn’t hold the last two reps, but still did them
35s X 8 X 2
30s X 10 X 2

G) Reverse Cable Curls (2 second hold at top, 45-60 seconds rests)
80 X 6 X 6
70 X 8 X 2
65 X 10 X 2

NOTES: Wow, great session. Honestly, I was so ready to take a nap when I got off of work instead of going to the gym. But, I knew that if I just got inside I would feel great. turns out I was right. Kept rest periods much shorter, and was able to knock off a solid 45 minutes I think. Weight was dropped only slightly to make sure I didn’t miss any reps, but even some exercises I was able to keep the same weight despite lest resting.

My grip is taking a serious beating though. Using straps doesn’t really help. I actually have a nice rash on both wrists from where the straps sit. It was because of that I wouldn’t do the behind-the-neck smith machine shrugs. My first rep at a decently heavy weight just tore into the skin.

845

Week 5 Day 3

Warmed up the shoulder a little bit, and then ramped up in weight alternating between push press and strict press from the empty bar to my working weights with sets of 3

A1) Push Press
155 X 3, 165 X 2, 175 X 1
155 X 3, 160 X 2, 170 X 1

A2) OH Press
155 X 3, 165 X 2, 175 X 1
155 X 3, 160 X 2, 170 X miss. Man my OH is terrible for some reason, never consistent. Form just never feels right

B1) Speed DB Shoulder Press
30s X 20 as fast as possible X 6

B2) Push Press (heavier)
175 X 3, 185 X 2, 195 miss. Again, form just doesn’t feel right ever
175 X 3, 185 X 2, 190 X 1 PR

C1) Plyo Pushups off Bench
5 X 6

C2) Bench
235 X 3, 250 X 2, 265 X 1 (paused)
235 X 3, 250 X 2, 265 X 1

D1) Pushups
15 X 6

D2) Decline Bench
235 X 3, 250 X 2, 265 X 1
245 X 3, 260 X 2, 275 X 1

NOTES: OH work just wasn’t happening today. I really need to work on my form. Bench felt awesome though, everything was pretty explosive. I think that was my most explosive triple with 235 ever.

846

b]Week 5 Day 4[/b]

Ramped up to 275 on squat to warmup, then proceeded ramping on top-half squats to working weight

A1) Top-Half Squat (may have started a little high, but the bar is an in or two below my nipples while standing)
565 x 3, 595 x 2 PR, 615 x 1 PR
565 x 3, 595 x 2, 615 x 1

A2) Vertical Jumps (rest 30 seconds after A1 and 90 seconds after A2)
10 x 6

B1) Squat (rest 30 seconds after B1)
315 x 3, 325 x 2, 345 x 1
315 x 3, 335 x 2, 355 x 1

B2) Depth Jump for Height (rest 90 seconds after B2)
5 x 6

C1) Power Cleans (rest 30 seconds after C1)
155 x 3, 175 x 2, 195 x 1
160 x 3, 180 x 2, 200 x 1 PR

C2) DB Loaded Jumps (rest 90 seconds after C2)
60 x 5 x 6

Notes: pretty good session. My left shoulder has been pretty tight lately, and it hurt like elk trying to get it into position with just the empty bar when I got there. I did a few sets of shoulder dislocates and I was good to go, still not perfect though. Squats felt pretty decent today. These power cleans always get me amped up when I get to them. I might see if CT can have me do them at the beginning of my workouts for my next program.

847

Out of curiosity. Have you noticed that the top half squat noticebly translating to your squats. Like are you stronger in the top part of a full squat now? Nice cleans too. You must be pretty gassed after all that jumping around, then try to clean.

848

I’ve read your logs on here as well as bodybuilding bro you’ve gotten hella strong over the past year n half. Keep it up man

849

Good luck over the next few days ashy, your logs have been inspirational as always!

850

[quote]ashylarryku wrote:
copied from my I3G log yesterday about my deadlift/hip-dominant session

NOTES: Reps went down today, weight went up. Was able to pull 415 for a few triples, without a belt. I used straps though: some a-hole came up to me and said “That platform over there is for what you’re doing. These floors weren’t made for that”. When first of all, I was NOT dropping the weight. Yeah, I was making some noise, but nothing crazy. Sorry I’m using a decent amount of weight and it’s not exactly fun to use a 5 second negative so that your “going through the motions” workout isn’t disturbed. Oh well, it was good motivation for the rest of the workout. It wasn’t the fact that he said that, but the way he said it was like nails on a chalk board. Other than that, a great session :slight_smile: reps were good, and I went through two sweat towels, and got on of them a bit bloody from shins bleeding from deadlifts lol. Oh, and I hit 535 for a few triples on rack pulls, which was definitely a PR.

Also, I have progress picture up in my I3G log.[/quote]

I know what you mean about people saying stuff at the gym… sometimes anger is very motivating!

851

Looking jacked in the indigo vids ashy, congrats!

852

STOP BEING SO PERFECT </3

853

Hey Adam - thanks for answering my previous question :slight_smile:

How are you holding up after the Boot Camp of Awesome? - Did it inspire you for future goal/endeavours?

854

@noah100: I don’t think the top-half squat has much of a carryover to the full squat. It gives you much more confidence, definitely, but my squat progress has been very slow lately.

@BuildingUP: Thanks, bud! I’m going to continue to get as strong as possible until my body will allow me though, so stick around :wink:

@phlegms: Thanks! CO was a blast. I hope I’m fortunate enough to make it out there again in the future. I already knew Biotest was hands down the best supplement company on the market, but now I just think “How the hell does anyone else even compete?”

@Efuchs7: Very true, man. Usually it’s just the dumb things people do in the gym that annoy me lol, but for someone who doesn’t even work there to come up and bother me for no good reason when I’m clearly busting ass and dripping sweat on the floor trying to do my own work? Come on . . . . lol.

@xdsho: Stop being so secksi!!!

@undecimber: Hey! Thanks again for the videos man, they are awesome! I’m doing great now that I’m back home. I hit a PR on decline bench with 285 the day after I got home, and then hit 300 on decline just a few days ago. I went for 305 yesterday but missed it about halfway lol. The trip definitely got me even more motivated to continue my training and push even harder from now on. Being around those guys has really inspired me to finally step onstage and do a contest sometime. I know I still need a lot more overall mass to even have a decent physique, though, so it won’t be anytime soon. I’m hoping within two years (summer of 2013) I’ll be ready.

855

Sorry for being MIA everyone. I have been without a laptop for a while now and could only post from my phone and occasionally my roommate’s laptop so I’ve kept all of my posts to my Indigo log. I’ll be back to posting in here, as well as the BOI though so no worries :slight_smile:

I’ve got a new MacBook Pro which I was told has a decent movie editor (haven’t looked for it or checked it out yet) so I’ll be posting more videos from my sessions from now on. I finished my last day of my first 6 weeks of CT’s program yesterday and I loved it! He sent me another 6 weeks program that is more aimed at strength gains, which is what I’m REALLY after (I want to be the guy everyone stops to get a good look at when I’m benching lol). I’m taking the day off today since I’ve been going at it pretty hard for probably 10 weeks now, and tomorrow is my little niece’s birthday so I won’t be able to train tomorrow either (my gyms are only open from 12-6 and the party is at 2 an hour away so I’m out of luck) but I will most likely be back at it on Monday. not sure if I should take a few more days off before starting this program but we’ll see how I feel when the time comes. Most likely, I won’t be able to keep myself out of the gym haha.

856

What are your future plans for taking i3? Will you be on it permanently or just do it in cycles (ie. doing a pre-summer cut etc.)? For me, it looks like a really powerful tool and I would love to try it out in the future, but I feel I definitely could do with a few more years under my belt before I turn to the next level stuff like this.

857

[quote]phlegms wrote:
What are your future plans for taking i3? Will you be on it permanently or just do it in cycles (ie. doing a pre-summer cut etc.)? For me, it looks like a really powerful tool and I would love to try it out in the future, but I feel I definitely could do with a few more years under my belt before I turn to the next level stuff like this. [/quote]

I’m signed up for auto-ship right now, so I will be getting at least another 6 bottles and doing 6 caps a day pre-training. This will last 6 months, plus the 30 days worth of full dosing that I still have to do.

I completely agree with waiting a couple of years before getting something like Indigo. I’ve made pretty decent progress in the past two years that I’ve been training, so I know I’m already doing what I need to do to make good gains. I used that as justification for Indigo since I’m fortunate enough to be able to afford it. I am not mentioning names, but I see a few people that have ordered Indigo that definitely did not need it. I’m not saying I do need it (lol) but I think I’ve earned it so far.

You are working hard, though, and hitting some solid PRs. Keep it up! Bodybuilding/powerlifting/strongman or whatever it is you’re into, is not a sprint . . . . it’s a marathon. As long as you enjoy doing what you do (i LOVE it!) then you will stay consistent and reach any goals you want to achieve as long as you work hard.

858

I played around on my Mac this morning and made a movie from yesterday’s pressing (only took a few videos so not much today). I’ll be doing this much more often, now.

Contrast sets with 155, 170, and my push press PR of 195

I can tell I lost my tightness on my set of 195 but I still got the rep. I need to focus on keeping my chest really puffed out on these.

859

Great…now you’ll be killin my OHPing. 195 looked like cake.

860

Nice push press Adam, think you got me beat in that one too…catching up quickly… you already got in DL and PP…I will not let you catch me in bench lol.