Phlegms' Beginner Log

Training Training Logs
21

[quote]Oregand wrote:
Btw dude, check this out

Stalled out on the number of pull-ups you can get? Not surprising. Imagine what would happen to your bench press gains if you used the same weight for the same number of reps each workout. This is exactly what happens when people use bodyweight exercises. They are, in essence, using the same weight for the same number of reps each workout! The solution is simple, even without using a variety of exercises. Manipulate the loading. Just add weight to a belt. Manipulating this variable will ensure that you’ll alter the maximum number of reps possible at bodyweight, or whatever method you use to assess your progress.[/quote]

Yeah this is something I’ve been thinking about doing for a while now that you mention it. Will try doing maybe 3 sets of 10 pull ups with 5kg added. See how this works out and move on from there.

22

Sunday 20th February:

BB Complex (Performed twice):
BB clean, 8 reps
Military press(Over head press), 8 reps
Back Squat, 8 reps
Front squat, 8 reps
Dead lift, 8 reps
@ 34kg

A. Deadlift:
S1. 8 reps at 80kg
S2. 5 reps at 100kg
S3. 5 reps at 100kg
S4. 3 reps at 110kg
S5. 3 reps at 110kg

B. DB lunges:
S1. 8 reps (per leg) at 40kg
S2.
8 reps (per leg) at 45kg
S3.
8 reps (per leg) at 45kg
S4.
8 reps (per leg) at 45kg

C. Romanian Deadlift:
S1. 8 reps at 75kg
S2. 8 reps at 75kg
S3. 8 reps at 75kg

D. Goblet Squat:
S1. 8 reps at 35kg
S2. 8 reps at 35kg
S3. 8 reps at 35kg

E. Plate Pinch:
S1. 35 seconds at 20kg
S2. 32 seconds at 20kg
S3. 22 seconds at 20kg
S4. 26 seconds at 20kg

-Cool Down:
10 minute incline walk

-16 minute ab circuit

-Notes:
Good workout today, definitely shall be feeling it in the morning! Also have a nice bit of DOMS from yesterdays workout, good stuff all round!
Dead lifts felt good today, my grip was still giving out in the last few reps of each set but I just held out as long as I could and switched to a mixed grip when needed. Was able to
add on another 5kg to my rpm this week which I was happy with even though my DL is still pathetically weak! Also upped the weight on the Goblet squats and the DB lunges. These exercises killed me. Felt so fatigued by the final set.

23

Tuesday 22nd February:

BB Complex (Performed twice):
BB clean, 8 reps
Military press(Over head press), 8 reps
Back Squat, 8 reps
Front squat, 8 reps
Dead lift, 8 reps
@ 34kg

A. Push ups:
S1. 26
S2. 20
S3. 17
S4. 14
S5. 14
S6. 14
Total 105 reps

B. Pull Ups (With 8kg Dumbell):
S1. 8
S2. 8
S3. 8

C. Db Press:
S1. 8 reps at 16kg (x2)
S2. 7 reps at 16kg (x2)
S3. 6 reps at 16kg (x2)
S4. 7 reps at 16kg (x2)

D. DB Shrugs:
S1. 10 reps at 30kg (x2)
S2. 10 reps at 30kg (x2)
S3. 10 reps at 30kg (x2)

E. Ez Curls:
S1. 8 reps at 25kg
S2. 8 reps at 25kg
S3. 8 reps at 25kg
S4. 8 reps at 25kg

F. Skull Crushers:
S1. 8 reps at 22.5kg
S2. 8 reps at 22.5kg
S3. 8 reps at 22.5kg

G. Hammer Curls:
S1. 8 reps at 12kg (x2)
S2. 8 reps at 12kg (x2)
S3. 8 reps at 12kg (x2)

-Cool Down:
10 minute incline walk

-16 ab Minute circuit

Notes:
Nothing major to note here, slightly disappointed with the DB shoulder presses as I wanted to be able to do full sets of 8 but hey, you win some you lose some. My shoulders are my weakest area and will need a fair bit of training. Pull ups with an 8 kg DB felt good. Going to keep my weight pull-ups in the 8 rep range so next week I will up the weight to maybe 10-12kg and see how I get on.

24

Wednesday 23rd February:

BB Complex (Performed twice):
BB clean, 8 reps
Military press(Over head press), 8 reps
Back Squat, 8 reps
Front squat, 8 reps
Dead lift, 8 reps
@ 34kg

A. Hack Squats:
S1. 10 reps at 80kg
S2. 8 reps at 80kg
S3. 6 reps at 85kg
S4. 4 reps at 95kg
S5. 5 reps at 100kg

B. DB Step Ups:
S1. 16 reps (8 per leg) at 40kg
S2. 16 reps (8 per leg) at 40kg
S3. 16 reps (8 per leg) at 45kg

C. Bulgarian Split Squat:
S1. 20 reps (10 per leg) at 40kg
S2. 20 reps (10 per leg) at 40kg
S3. 20 reps (10 per leg) at 40kg
S4. 20 reps (10 per leg) at 40kg

D. Snatch Grip Deadlift:
S1. 6 reps at 100kg
S2. 6 reps at 90kg
S3. 6 reps at 90kg
S4. 6 reps at 90kg

E. Plate Pinch:
S1. 30 seconds at 20kg
S2. 24 seconds at 20kg
S3. 27 seconds at 20kg
S4. 25 seconds at 20kg

-Cool Down
10 minute incline walk

-16 minute ab circuit

Notes:
Felt super strong on the hack squats, weirdly so. Grip didnt feel like giving out at all so I could go hook grip for nearly all of them. Then shit got fucked up. Some fucker was hogging the olympic bar to do some curling with. For what reason I dont know, but it set me back 5 minutes and had to fuck up the sequence of my exercises. Then when I went to do the snatch grip DLs I put too much weight on the bar so ended up struggling. Should of manned-the-fuck-up and dropped the weight by 5kg so I was able to squeeze the 8 reps out instead of 6. Bleh.

25

Thursday/Friday:
Taking these two days as rest days. Feeling rather bummed today, weighed myself this morning only to find out that I am at 10 stone 8 lbs. Meaning I have been making basically no progress. Deciding to up my calories from 3100 to 3300 and seeing what results I get from this increase. Will do another full week of training and then take 5 days off as a rest week.

26

Saturday 26th February:

BB Complex (Performed Once):
BB clean, 8 reps
Military press(Over head press), 8 reps
Back Squat, 8 reps
Front squat, 8 reps
Dead lift, 8 reps
@ 34kg

A. DB Bench Press:
S1. 10 reps at 40kg
S2. 8 reps at 45kg
S3. 6 reps at 45kg
S4. 4 reps at 50kg
S5. 3 reps at 55kg

B. Incline DB Benchpress:
S1. 8 reps at 40kg
S2. 7 reps at 45kg
S3. 7 reps at 45kg
S4. 8 reps at 45kg

C. Weighted Dips (With 10kg plate):
S1. 8 reps
S2. 7 reps
S3. 8 reps

D. Single Arm Rows:
S1. 8 reps (On both sides) at 27.5kg
S2. 8 reps (On both sides) at 27.5kg
S3. 8 reps (On both sides) at 27.5kg

E. Arnold Press:
S1. 10 reps at 14kg (x2)
S2. 10 reps at 14kg (x2)
S3. 10 reps at 14kg (x2)

F. Weighted Pull ups (With 10kg plate):
S1. 8 reps
S2. 7 reps
S3. 8 reps

Good workout today. Pushed myself fairly hard but surprisingly still felt somewhat fresh by the end of it. Very much liking the weighted dips and pull ups.

27

Good stuff man, sorry to gear your stalling out on the weight gain but as your doing just keep playing with the Kcals and you’ll be on your way.

Btw have you seen scoobys new vid? FFS I’ve lost so much faith in the guy after his little rant about squats.

28

[quote]Oregand wrote:
Good stuff man, sorry to gear your stalling out on the weight gain but as your doing just keep playing with the Kcals and you’ll be on your way.

Btw have you seen scoobys new vid? FFS I’ve lost so much faith in the guy after his little rant about squats.[/quote]

Thanks man. Yeah I saw it when it came out. I mean, I still have a lot of respect for the dude and what he does, but there were so many aspects of the squat he didn’t take into account. Kinda disappointing.

In other news, woke up this morning with a fucking awful head-cold. I usually have a pretty good immune system so it shouldn’t be here too long. Chugged down some Vitamin C tablets and immune boosters this morning but I’m still feeling shit. Just annoyed it happened on my favourite workout of the week, deadlifts. Think I’m going to struggle through my workout today and then take my rest week a few days early to give both my muscles a chance to recover and to get over the cold. Will take 5 days off from lifting and maybe just throw in a couple of cardio sessions during the week if I’m feeling better.

29

Sunday 27th February:

A. Deadlift:
S1. 8 reps at 85kg
S2. 5 reps at 105kg
S3. 5 reps at 105kg
S4. 3 reps at 115kg
S5. 3 reps at 115kg

B. DB Lunges:
S1. 16 reps at 45kg
S2. 16 reps at 45kg
S3. 16 reps at 45kg

C. Romanian Deadlift:
S1. 8 reps at 80kg
S2. 8 reps at 80kg
S3. 8 reps at 80kg

D. Goblet Squats:
S1. 8 reps at 35kg
S2. 8 reps at 35kg
S3. 10 reps at 35kg

E. Plate Pinch:
S1. 35 seconds at 20kg
S2. 31 seconds at 20kg
S3. 30 seconds at 20kg
S4. 29 seconds at 20kg

Notes:
Despite feeling fairly sick managed to quite enjoy this workout! Didn’t push it too hard as my energy levels just werent there. But I did manage to up the weight on my Deadlifts and Romanian deadlifts which was nice. Also, my grip was feeling a good bit stronger, on the deadlifts I was maintaining a hook grip for the majority of them with out it giving way. Kept the weight on the lunges and goblet squats the same as I didn’t have the strength to really push myself.
In other news, I have decided to take my rest week (Well 5 days rather than a week) this week. I’m still fairly sick at the moment so I think this is the perfect time to rest and give my muscles a chance to repair. In terms of nutrition for this week I won’t go as high in calories as I would when I’m training so I’ll drop down to 2,900 or there abouts. Not going to be too strict about this, just going to let my body dictate how much food I need basically.

30

Monday/Tuesday/Wednesday:

Delicious Rest. Taking it as easy as I can, haven’t done a tap. Feels refreshing but am definitely looking forward to hitting the gym again in a couple of days. Have dropped my calories to around 2,700 during the rest week so I don’t over-consume. Having a well earned cheat meal later tonight of pizza. Haven’t had a proper cheat meal in a few months now, very much looking forward to it.

31

Just a quick update to point out that cheat meals are freaking awesome! Devoured the guts two 20 inch pizzas with a couple of friends. It was delicious. Having said that, my body isn’t used to consuming that much carbs and fat in one sitting so now I am feeling pretty bloated and sorry for myself… But hey, thats what cheat meals are for. Looking forward to getting back on the wagon and to the familiar realms of steamed fish, grilled chicken and plenty of veggies!

32

Saturday 5th of February:

A. DB Bench Press:
S1. 10 reps at 40kg
S2. 8 reps at 40kg
S3. 6 reps at 45kg
S4. 4 reps at 50kg
S5. 3 reps at 50kg

B. Incline DB bench press:
S1. 6 reps at 45kg
S2. 8 reps at 40kg
S3. 8 reps at 40kg
S4. 8 reps at 40kg

C. Weighted Dips:
S1. 8 reps with 10kg plate
S2. 8 reps with 10kg plate
S3. 8 reps with 10kg plate

D. Single Arm Rows:
S1. 8 reps at 25kg
S2. 8 reps at 30kg
S3. 8 reps at 30kg

E. Arnold Press:
S1. 8 reps at 14kg (x2)
S2. 8 reps at 14kg (x2)
S3. 8 reps at 14kg (x2)

F. Pull Ups:
S1. 8 with 10kg plate
S2. 8 with 10kg plate
S3. 6 with 10kg plate

Notes:
First day back at it today after 5 days of immensely boring rest. Numbers stayed pretty much the same or dropped slightly as expected, except on the single arm rows where I felt weirdly strong!
Good workout over all, bench press still depressingly weak…

Sunday 6th February:

Warm Up:
Ab Circuit:
-Reach sit ups (with 10kg plate) 3 sets at 15 reps
-Knee in Crunch 3 sets at 15 reps
-Hanging Leg raises 3 sets of 8-10 reps
-Russian twists with 5kg plate 3 sets at 20 reps
-Reach sit ups (with 10kg plate) 3 sets at 15 reps

A. Deadlift:
S1. 8 reps at 85kg
S2. 5 reps at 105kg
S3. 5 reps at 105kg
S4. 3 reps at 115kg
S5. 3 reps at 117.5kg

B. DB Lunges:
S1. 16 reps at 50kg
S2. 16 reps at 50kg
S3. 16 reps at 50kg

C. Romanian Deadlift:
S1. 8 reps at 80kg
S2. 8 reps at 80kg
S3. 8 reps at 80kg

D. Goblet Squat:
S1. 8 reps at 35kg
S2. 8 reps at 35kg
S3. 8 reps at 35kg

E. Plate Pinch:
S1. 24 seconds
S2. 27 seconds
S3. 29 seconds
S4. 28 seconds

Notes:
Tough workout today. Didn’t up my numbers hugely, although this was to be expected. Grip felt a bit weak on the deadlifts. Happy I managed to up the 3rm by 2.5kg, even though its only 2.5kg. Still, rome wasnt built in a day… My form was quite poor on the last set though, so next week I need to keep my form in check. Romanian Deadlifts killed me as usual. My form still seems a bit of on these, definitely need to remedy this next week. Goblet squats killed as per fucking usual. This is such a great exercise. Really focused on getting deep and wide in the goblet squat and I was completely out of breath by the end of every set!

33

Tuesday 8th February:

Warm Up:
Ab Circuit:
-Reach sit ups (with 10kg plate) 3 sets at 15 reps
-Knee in Crunch 3 sets at 15 reps
-Hanging Leg raises 3 sets of 8-10 reps
-Russian twists with 5kg plate 3 sets at 20 reps
-Reach sit ups (with 10kg plate) 3 sets at 15 reps

A. Push Ups:
S1. 27
S2. 19
S3. 16
S4. 14
S5. 13
S6. 12

B.Pull Ups:
S1. 9 reps (10kg added)
S2. 8 reps (10kg added)
S3. 7 reps (10kg added)

C. DB Press:
S1. 8 reps at 16kg (x2)
S2. 7 reps at 16kg (x2)
S3. 7 reps at 16kg (x2)

D. DB Shrugs:
S1. 10 reps at 30kg (x2)
S2. 10 reps at 30kg (x2)
S3. 10 reps at 30kg (x2)
S3. 10 reps at 30kg (x2)

E. EZ Curls:
S1. 8 reps at 27.5kg
S2. 7 reps at 27.5kg
S3. 8 reps at 27.5kg

F. Skull Crushers:
S1. 8 reps at 25kg
S2. 8 reps at 25kg
S3. 7 reps at 25kg

G. Hammer Curls:
S1. 8 reps at 14kg
S2. 7 reps at 14kg
S3. 6 reps at 14kg

Notes:
Grand workout I guess, felt very weak on the pull ups and DB press as usual. Still crap at push-ups.
Thinking I need to re-think this workout in general. It just seems too cluttered and like I’m trying to hit too much in one workout. It only ever lasts about 50 minutes, but still always seems to drag.

34

Wednesday 9th February:

A. Hack Squat:
S1. 10 reps at 85kg
S2. 8 reps at 85kg
S3. 6 reps at 90kg
S4. 4 reps at 100kg
S5 3 reps at 105kg

B. DB Step ups:
S1. 14 reps at 50kg
S2. 14 reps at 50kg
S3. 16 reps at 45kg

C. Snatch Grip Deadlifts:
S1. 8 reps at 70kg
S2. 8 reps at 70kg
S3. 8 reps at 70kg
S4. 8 reps at 70kg

D. Bulgarian Split Squats:
S1. 16 reps at 40kg
S2. 16 reps at 45kg
S3. 16 reps at 45kg

E. Plate Pinch:
S1. 25 seconds at 20kg
S2. 21 seconds at 20kg
S3. 24 seconds at 20kg
S4. 26 seconds at 20kg

Notes:
Got very lazy again and didn’t bother doing an incline walk after, need to cut this shit out as it keeps happening far too often. Using the fact I cycle to the gym as an excuse…
Hack squats felt good. Dropped weight on the Snatch Grip DLs as I just felt in previous weeks I had been doing the usual shit of upping weight that was too much for me and letting the form suffer.
Today I just really focused on the form and forgot about weight and it felt really good. DB step ups were a bit of a disaster, felt super weak doing them. For the Bulgarian squats I switched to using a Barbell and it mixed things up nicely. Might do this every couple of weeks so I can add more weight on than I might necessarily be able to hold with Dumbbells. Also need to re think my grip training, the plate pinches just don’t seem to be building me an endurance. Might switch to Dumbbell holds instead. Could seriously use some input for a new grip exercise!

35

Lol, Im doing the same thing with the cardio.

Meh Im cycling to the gym wtf do I need more cardio for?

Btw tried your creation, mohter fuck my balls that is some tasty stuff.

Now I got one for ya,

2 sccops Whey,
4 egg whites,
.25 cup of oats
3 sccops PB
1 scoop coca powder
.5 cup of cocnut milk.

Blend, then frezze that mother fucker and boom! Choclate, cocnut ice cream with more protein than a mother fucker.

36

Friday 11th February:

A. DB Bench Press:
S1. 10 reps at 40kg
S2. 8 reps at 40kg
S3. 6 reps at 45kg
S4. 5 reps at 50kg
S5. 3 reps at 57kg

B. DB Incline Bench Press:
S1. 8 reps at 45kg
S2. 8 reps at 46kg
S3. 8 reps at 46kg
S4. 6 reps at 46kg

C. Dips body weight + 12.5kg:
S1. 8 reps
S2. 8 reps
S3. 7 reps

D.Single Arm DB Rows:
S1. 8 reps (x2) at 30kg
S2. 8 reps (x2) at 30kg
S3. 8 reps (x2) at 30kg

E. Pull ups body weight + 12.5kg:
S1. 7 reps
S2. 6 reps
S3. 6 reps

F. Arnold Press:
S1. 9 reps at 16kg (x2)
S2. 8 reps at 16kg (x2)
S3. 8 reps at 16kg (x2)

Ab Circuit:
A1. Reach crunches + 12kg DB (3 sets at 15 reps)
A2. Knee in Crunches (3 sets at 15 reps)
B. Hanging Leg/Knee raises (3 sets at 8 reps)
C1. Reach crunches + 12kg DB (3 sets at 15 reps)
C2. Russian Twists +12kg DB (3 sets at 15 reps)

Notes:
Good workout today, upped my weight on all my exercises, felt very strong on the Arnold press which I usually suck at. Shoulders must be improving!
Ab circuit was good and I finalized the new routine I’ll be trying out for a while. Basically I superset A1/A2 rest 20/30 seconds, repeat 3 times and go straight into hanging knee or leg raises (depends what I can manage…), after that I then superset C1/C2 resting 20/30 seconds after each superset and repeating 3 times.

37

Saturday 12th February:

A. Deadlift:
S1. 8 reps at 90kg
S2. 5 reps at 110kg
S3. 5 reps at 110kg
S4. 3 reps at 120kg
S5. 3 reps at 120kg

B. DB Lunges:
S1. 16 reps at 52kg
S2. 16 reps at 52kg
S3. 16 reps at 52kg

C. Romanian Deadlift:
S1. 8 reps at 80kg
S2. 8 reps at 70kg
S3. 8 reps at 70kg

D. Goblet Squat:
S1. 8 reps at 35kg
S2. 8 reps at 35kg
S3. 8 reps at 35kg
S4. 8 reps at 35kg

E. Dumbbell Holds:
S1. 44 seconds at 25kg (x2)
S2. 35 seconds at 25kg (x2)
S3. 31 seconds at 25kg (x2)
S4. 25 seconds at 25kg (x2)

Ab Circuit:
A1. Reach crunches + 12kg DB (3 sets at 15 reps)
A2. Knee in Crunches (3 sets at 15 reps)
B. Hanging Leg/Knee raises (3 sets at 8 reps)
C1. Reach crunches + 12kg DB (3 sets at 15 reps)
C2. Russian Twists +5kg plate (3 sets at 15 reps)

Notes:
Good workout, pleased with my deadlifts. Felt good having four 25kg plates on the bar! Dumbell lunges and Goblet squats felt tough as usual.
Switched from plate pinching to Dumbbell holds for my grip strength, seems like it will strengthen my grip in a more functional way for my lifts.

38

Monday 15th February:

A. Push Ups:
S1. 28
S2. 20
S3. 15
S4. 15
S5. 13
S6. 11

B. Pull Ups:
S1. 8 reps (+12.5kg)
S2. 7 reps (+12.5kg)
S3. 6 reps (+12.5kg)

C. DB Press:
S1. 8 reps at 16kg(x2)
S2. 9 reps at 16kg(x2)
S3. 8 reps at 16kg(x2)

D. BB Shrugs:
S1. 10 reps at 60kg
S2. 10 reps at 60kg
S3. 10 reps at 60kg
S4. 10 reps at 60kg

E. Ez Curls:
S1. 8 reps at 27.5kg
S2. 8 reps at 27.5kg
S3. 8 reps at 27.5kg

F. Skull Crushers:
S1. 8 reps at 27.5kg
S2. 8 reps at 25kg
S3. 6 reps at 26kg

G. Hammer Curls:
S1. 8 reps at 14kg
S2. 8 reps at 14kg
S3. 8 reps at 14kg

AB Circuit:
A1. Reach crunches + 12kg DB (3 sets at 15 reps)
A2. Knee in Crunches (3 sets at 15 reps)
B. Hanging Leg/Knee raises (3 sets at 8 reps)
C1. Reach crunches + 12kg DB (3 sets at 15 reps)
C2. Russian Twists +8kg DB (3 sets at 15 reps)

39

Quick Update here!
Have decide to shake up my training routine. I was enjoying the routine I was doing, but having done a bit of reading I came to the conclusion that I wasn’t doing a workout that would maximise my results. I had started off grand, but was adding more exercises each week to hit every muscle so it was becoming more of a Body building split than anything else. This isn’t what I needed as I needed to build a good base of strength first and then evaluate where I am at. For this I am doing a slightly modified version of the classic 5/3/1.

I am having to modify it slightly as I won’t be able to squat for another few months (current small gym has only a smith machine…) so until I move gym in a few months I’ll be doing hack squats and maybe Zercher Squats as somewhat of a substitute. It’s not ideal. but its the best I can do for the time being.
Anyway, heres what my routine will look like roughly:

Day 1:
-Military Press (5/3/1)
-Dips (5x10)
-DB Rows (5x10)
-Tri Push downs (5x10)

(off)

Day 2:
-Deadlift (5/3/1)
-Stiff Legged Deadlifts (5x10)
-Db Lunges (5x10)
-Hanging Leg Raises (5x10)

(off)

Day 3:
-Bench Press (5/3/1)
-Db Incline Press (5x10)
-Pull Ups (5x10)
-Standing Ez Bar Curls (5x10)

(off)

Day 4:
-Zercher Squats (5/3/1)
-BB Good Mornings (5x10)
-Goblet Squats (5x10)
-Hanging Leg Raises (5x10)

I might add some long slow cardio in (cycling or running most likely) a couple of times a week for conditioning purposes, staying away from HIIT type stuff for the time being as I’m trying to build mass. Will start up the HIIT when I decide to cut down a little bit sometime during the summer.

In terms of diet I’m very much going towards a lean bulk approach. This means 3,000 to 3,100 calories on lifting days (made up of a 40/40/20 split) and then on non-lifting days I will be hitting around 2,700 (this will comprise of 300g of protein and lower carbs of around 150g).

So yeah thats pretty much it. Looking forward to getting stuck into the new plan, hoping I can not mess around with it too much and see some results.

40

First day of 5/3/1, here it goes!

Warm Up:
BB cmplex (x2)

A. Military Press:
65%-30kg x 5 reps
75%-35kg x 5 reps
85%-38kg x 7 reps

B. Dips (Body Weight):
5 sets of 10reps

C. DB Rows:
5 sets of 10reps (at 25kg)

D. Tricep Cable Pushdowns:
5 sets of 10 reps (at 20kg, last set at 22.5kg)

Cool Down:
15 minute incline walk

So overall, good workout. Very much like the simplicity of it. The first week is very much testing the waters so I my weights will most likely be fluctuating a bit until I settle down. Also, funnily enough I pinched a nerve or muscle in my neck/shoulder leaving the gym so right now I’m fairly uncomfortable. Hopefully this won’t fuck up my first week too much…