Hello anyone who’s reading this. I’m 26, 5’5 at 176 lbs, carrying about 11-12% bf. i’ve been lifting for 2 years now, pretty seriously for one, and am natural. This started at first to get in shape for rugby, but now it’s become a pursuit of strength and size, and a hobby that i enjoy a lot.
My goals are to train for overall strength and performance in the squat and deadlift, while bringing up my arms and calves for aesthetic purposes. i’ve never really enjoyed the bench press, as i feel something bad in my shoulders going heavy. i remember doing 235 for a triple and then my left supraspinatus and lateral bicep head became unhappy for three weeks. Also, i have narrow clavicles and little bones- my wrist circumference is 6.5 inches.
My current lifts:
Incline DBs: 80s for 6
Incline BB: 185 for 6
Narrow ATG squat: 260 for 4
Conventional DL: 335 for 4
Training split:
Monday: DL/Back
Tuesday: Arms and supplementary work (external rotation mostly)
Thursday: Squat/Legs
Friday: Upper body pushing
Off days i might do some cardio, 20 mins in the morning.
I’m posting this log to help me keep track of my training and also serve as motivation for my short term goal- get ready for my wedding in August- I want to be 180 at 9% bf.
I currently live in San Diego, but will be moving back to Singapore at the end of May.
EDIT:
it’s now march '09, about a year since that first post. i’ve shrank a little to 168-170, still about 10-12% BF.
Squat PR: 385 (meet)
Bench PR: 245 (gym)
DL PR: 425 (gym)
training is now a 5/3/1 split, with recovery on off days like dog walking, bit of training to do a planche push-up by the end of the year.
Okay here goes:
Friday, May 9th, Upper body pushing
Rope pushdowns:
20lbs X 15 X 3 (warm up)
Incline BB press:
Bar X 10
95 X 8
135 X 6 (end warm up)
160 X 5
165 X 5
170 X 5
175 X 5
185 X 5
Flat DB press:
70 X 8
75 X 6 ( couldn’t get 7)
Cable Fly:
60 X 12
70 X 10
Lateral raises:
20 X 20
25 X 20
25 X 20
Seated Military press:
135 X 8
155 X 5 (couldn’t get 6)
Push ups:
20 reps, to finish things up
Felt like a good pump, but didn’t push as much weight as i’d have liked and missed a couple of reps in my work sets. oh well, time to eat some food.
Saturday, May 10th, Cardio/GPP
Car push: Dodge Caliber (about 3000lbs curb weight)
1X 25yds
4X 50 yds
2X 100yds slight incline
felt good doing it, pretty tired. mostly feel it in the quads, glutes and calves.
Monday, May 12th, DL/Back
DL:
135lbs X 8 (warmup)
185 X 6
225 X 5
275 X 4 (end warmup)
315 X 4
315 X 4
325 X 4
325 X 4
330 X 3 (noticed drop in concentric velocity)
315 X 3
315 X 3
Pull ups to momentary failure:
BW X 12 (Pronated)
BW X 9 (Neutral)
BW X 6 (Supinated)
BB Row:
155 X 14
155 X 12
Seated Cable Row:
140 X 12
140 X 11
Overall felt pretty good, only thing was the drop in velocity from 325 to 330 on the DL. At 325 and below it was pretty explosive, but 330 was slow while maintaining a good arch. Most of the exercises were done with a general rep range in mind, hence the varying rep range.
Lower back feels a little sore/tight, but diminished as the day went on. Looks good for leg day on Thursday.
Tuesday, May 13th, Arms
Warm up:
Rope pushdowns:
20lbs X 20
30 X 15
40 X 15
Standing Alt DB curls:
30lbs X 10 (per side)
Biceps:
Preacher EZ curl:
65lbs X 12
65 X 8
65 X 6
Standing BB Curl:
70 X 9
70 X 8
Triceps:
Dips:
BW X 8
BW+35 X 13, BW X 7
BW+35 X 10, BW X 6
CGBP:
135 X 12
155 X 10
155 X 8
Supinated straight bar pushdown:
70 X 15
70 X 11
External rotation:
Face pulls: (slow and squeezy)
50lbs X 10
70 X 10
90 X10
90X 10
Forearms:
BB wrist curls behind back:
80 lbs X 20
80 X 20
plate-pinch shrug:
35lbs X 20 sec
35 X 12 sec
Lots of exercises, felt good, could probably up the poundages by 5 lbs for most next week. except the plate pinch shrugs, which were pretty killer. Leg day on Thursday, so i should eat up/sleep up before then.
Thursday, May 15th, Legs
Calves:
Seated Calf Raises:
90lbs X 10
90 X 10
90 X 10
Squats:
Bar X 10
95 X 8
135 X 7
185 X 7 (end warm up)
230 X 7
230 X 7
230 X 5 (missed last 2)
Leg presses:
Feet low on platform, inside shoulder width, full ROM
270 X 20
270 X 20
290 X 20
Leg Extensions:
170 X 15
190 X 12, 130 X 9, 90 X 7 (drop set)
Lying Leg Curls:
80 X 10 (toes pointed down)
125 X 12
140 X 10
125 X 11, 80 X 9, 50 X 9 (drop set)
RDL:
185 X 10
195 X 8
Walking Lunges, 45 lb DBs
30 yds X 2
Lower back gave way on the squats despite good focus. Suspect this is due to DLs on Monday. Immediately went to leg presses, pushed hard till i got the elvis dog leg shake. Lower back felt fine on the RDLs. I wore a belt on the lunges, which wiped me out. Good workout, i’m tired.
Just been reading some of the other guys and gal’s logs on here… it’s good to know that other people like me are out there lifting and improving their bodies. it’s motivation to push on- almost like a team sport, this sharing of knowledge and experience.
as a side note, i weighed myself tonight and either the scale was funny or i’m dehydrated, but i weighed 171, which is 5 pounds less than a week ago. not part of the plan.
[quote]bearshark wrote:
Just been reading some of the other guys and gal’s logs on here… it’s good to know that other people like me are out there lifting and improving their bodies. it’s motivation to push on- almost like a team sport, this sharing of knowledge and experience.
[/quote]
It definitely helps with the motivation when you see others transforming themselves. We’re all in this for pretty much the same reason (to lift and get healthier), although individual goals can be quite different.
[quote]
as a side note, i weighed myself tonight and either the scale was funny or i’m dehydrated, but i weighed 171, which is 5 pounds less than a week ago. not part of the plan.[/quote]
I wouldn’t worry about it unless the trend continues for another week or two. If you changed your diet a bit, it could just be an adjustment in water weight, or what not.
Thanks for the post, darwin420. I guess my weight drop might also be due to the “stress” of moving- as you well understand, i have orders and so am moving on base for a bit, then on to singapore.
Friday, May 16th, Upper body pushing
Warm up:
Rope pushdowns:
20 lbs X 15
27.5 X 15
35 X 15
Flat DB Press:
40 X 8
65 X 7 (end warm up)
80 X 5
85 X 5
85 X 5
85 X 4 (missed 5th)
75 X 6
Incline BB:
135 X 12
155 X 8
Lateral Raises:
20 X 20
25 X 15
Seated Arnold Press:
35 X 10
30 X 10
(Gym close, shift to parking lot)
Pushups, feet elevated 24 inches
Close "grip"X 15
Inside shoulder width X 15
Pushups, standard
BW X 12
BW X12
Workoutus interruptus, guess i didn’t foresee this gym closing at 10pm. While i didn’t feel like i did a lot today, i did feel a real good pump and got most of what i wanted to get done done. Having said that, I dislike being interrupted, so i’ll keep that frustration in a box for use on Monday, which is deadlift and back.
Meanwhile, more moving and packing this weekend. Also, eating and enjoying the san diego sunshine.
Happy Saturday!
No training today, just eating lots of good clean food. tomorrow i’ll be doing deadlift/back vice monday. everything will shift forward a day this week- i’m flying on friday. should reach singapore on sunday morning, and we’ll see how i feel, but the plan is to reach singapore and stay up till at least 2230 on the 25th. whether or not back training happens that day is yet to be decided.
Sunday, May 18th, DL/Back
DL:
135 X 8
185 X 6
225 X 5
275 X 4 (end warm up)
315 X 4 (felt heavy)
315 X 4 (felt better)
315 X 4
315 X 4
315 X 4
315 X 4
Pulls ups/chinups (BW):
Pronated X 11
Neutral X 9
Supinated X 8
Hammer strength high row:
2 X 45s + 10 per side X 12
2 X 45s + 10 per side X 11
BB row:
155 X 11
155 X 14 (11+3, rest pause)
Seated Cable row:
140 X 13
160 X 10
Definitely felt weak on the first work set of DLs, could be complacence? second set onwards- felt much more explosive. overall, i felt pretty good, despite it being hot as shit in the gym. I’ll miss training here, where the chalk is free and there’s a platform to do lifts on. time to eat and rest up.
Lower back is very tight. have been stretching.
Monday, May 19th, Arms
Warmup:
Rope pushdowns:
25 X 20
40 X 15
Rope curls:
40 X 15
Biceps:
Alternate DB curls:
20 X 8
30 X 6 (end warm up)
35 X 8
35 X 7
Preacher Curls:
60 X 12 (EZ bar)
60 X 10 (straight bar)
Triceps:
CGBP:
135 X 10
145 X 12
145 X 11
Dips:
BW+35 X 10, BW X 8
BW+35 X 8, BW X 6
Overhead rope extensions:
70 X 15
70 X 13
Ext. rotation:
Face Pulls
85 X 15
85 X 12
Felt terrible today, low energy, generally crappy. Strength levels were lower, so that was reflected in weight selection. somehow, i still got a really good pump though. I shall cut back on all weight selections this week, and I am still feeling some slight tightness in the back. Back squats are out of the next leg day, will do front squats instead depending on how it feels. mean while, fifteen minutes of stretching twice a day, eating lots of good food.
Wednesday, May 21st, Leg day
Warm up:
Front Squats:
Bar X 8
95 X 8
95 X 8
135 X 8 (end warm up)
155 X 8
165 X 8
165 X 8
Leg press:
270 X 20
360 X 14
450 X 11
500 X 9
540 X 8 + 1(rest pause)
Leg extensions:
140 X 12
160 X 11
160 X 10, 100 X 5, 55 X 6 (drop set)
Lying leg curls:
80 X 10 (warm up)
125 X 12
140 X 12
145 X 10
RDL:
135 X 20
135 X 15
BW squats:
2 X 15 reps
Definitely a back off week here, lower back didn’t feel 100%, so no back squats today. nonetheless, it felt pretty good, energy levels were good throughout. tomorrow is upper body pushing, last workout before the move back to singapore. overall, i felt great, which should set me up nicely for some recovery time and a nice transition home… hit it hard next week.
Thursday, May 22nd, Upper body pushing
Warm up:
Rope pushdowns:
20 X 20
30 X 20
40 X 15
Flat DB Press:
40 X 8
65 X 6 (end warm up)
80 X 8
80 X 8
80 X 8
Incline BB Press:
135 X 10
155 X 8
155 X 7
Incline DB Flye:
35 X 10
45 X 10
Cable Crossover:
55 X 10
65 X 10
Lateral DB Raise:
15 X 20
25 X 15
25 X 15
Seated DB Military Press:
30 X 10
40 X 10
50 X 6
Overhead Rope extensions:
70 X 12
80 X 10
Hammer strength shrugs:
90 X 15 reps (per side)
90 X 15
90 X 15
Like before, it was a back off week, but the flat DB presses were, in fact, a PR. Hooray! now to do laundry and pack stuff up, heading home tomorrow.
Sunday, May 25th, Back/DL
DL:
135 X 8
185 X 8
225 X 7
275 X 6 (end warm up)
315 X 4
315 X 4
325 X 4
335 X 4
Pull ups:
pronated: BW X 10
Neutral: BW X 9
Supinated: BW X 8
Close grip pulldown:
125 X 12
125 X 10
Bent BB Row:
155 X 14
165 X 13
Low Cable Row:
105 X 12
125 X 11
Felt good, despite shifting 15 time zones in one go… decided to do a fairly light day (volume) for DLs. eating much better food here in singapore (beef is grass fed, everything is less greasy). also, these weight stacks are different than the ones back stateside, first of all, they’re labelled in kilos mostly, and they feel much heavier. so, we’ll see.
Wednesday, May 28th, Leg day
Warm up:
Standing Calf raises:
80 X 15
160 X 12
200 X 10
200 X 8
Squats:
Bar X 10
95 X 10
135 X 8
185 X 6
225 X 4 (end warm up)
230 X 8
230 X 8
230 X 8
Leg Press:
270 X 15
360 X 12
450 X 10
540 X 8
610 X 8
Leg extensions:
190 X 15
Lying leg curl:
80 X 12 (warm up)
140 X 8
125 X 10
125 X 10
RDL:
185 X 8
225 X 7
Energy levels were high today, could have gone higher on the squat load. 230 X 8 is a new PR, so we’ll see what happens next week.
Thursday, May 29th, Upper body pushing
Warm up:
Rope pushdowns:
11 X 20
22 X 20
33 X 20
Flat DB press:
40 X 10
65 X 8
65 X 4 (end warm up)
80 X 9
85 X 8
85 X 8
Incline BB press:
155 X 10
155 X 8 +1
Decline Hammer Press:
90 per side (feel set)
135 per side
Cable Cross:
60 X 12
70 X 9
Lateral DB raises:
15 X 15
25 X 15
30 X 15
Smith Military press:
Bar + 45 (per) X 12
Bar + 55 (per) X 6
Tricep Pushdowns:
27.5 X 20
38.5 X 20
49.5 X 15
Overall felt pretty good today, i felt like i would PR on flat DB presses. It’s nice to be back and getting new PRs. i will be doing some yoga tomorrow, and resting and we’ll see what happens during back day.
Sunday, June 1st, DL/Back
DL:
135 X 8
185 X 8
225 X 6
275 X 4 (end warm up)
325 X 4
335 X 4
335 X 4
345 X 2
Chinups:
Pronated BW X 14
Neutral BW X 12
Neutral BW X 11
Supinated BW X 9
Bent BB Row:
155 X 15
175 X 13
Seated Cable Row:
125 X 16
147 X 13
Felt great today, lots of PRs. also, felt great on the pull ups- easy. Arms tomorrow, so we’ll see about those PRs.