Hey jo3 I’ve made a journal keep up the good work…
[quote]SmallToBig wrote:
Today won’t be “that” bad just 3 excercises just hope i don’t get buried in the bottom of my squat ! [/quote]
Wait, what exercise are you not doing? There should be 4 every day!
[quote]SSC wrote:
Just wanted to put it in perspective. Use this knowledge to your advantage. Anyone can feel free to correct me if I’m wrong, but I think you should start focusing your chest rep ranges to the slightly lower side. I’m not saying keep it 1-3 or anything like that, haha, but I know with a few exercises I like to make my rep range slightly lower, just because my muscles handle heavier weights/lower reps easier, or vice-versa.[/quote]
Don’t worry, I’ll be doing heavy benching on Friday. BBB does a good job forcing you to improve on your endurance, strength, and power. As of now, my endurance sucks, but hopefully by week 18, I’ll be an endurance machine (as well as a strength and power machine).
Exercise selection:
DB Seated press
Med-grip dips
Angled leg press
Swiss ball leg curls
Captain’s chair leg raise
4 sets of 13-15 reps each. I did a much better job choosing the weight needed to get my desired reps. I had originally planned on doing back squats for my leg exercise, but while doing my final set of dips, two people took up the squat rack and power cage. Instead of waiting, I went with leg presses.
While doing the leg presses, I made sure to keep my back straight and my ass on the seat. I also planted my feet high up on the pad so I wouldn’t hurt my knees and wide enough so that I could get a good range of motion. As soon as my butt lifted off the seat, I pushed the weight back up. My goal wasn’t really to lift as heavy as possible but rather to make sure I wasn’t rounding my lower back. Good form now = less injuries later. (Don’t worry… I still went to near-failure on all my sets.)
I also realized that I have extremely tight hamstrings. It’s so bad that my hamstrings started cramping up while doing dips (I don’t know how/why). When doing the swiss ball leg curls, that’s when I really felt the tightness in my hamstrings. I couldn’t raise my back high enough during the reps due to the tightness. I also had to stop after my 3rd set because my hamstrings cramped up.
I think my hamstring tightness has to do with the fact that I’ve neglected my hamstrings for most of my life. I never really did leg curls because they made my hamstrings tight, so now I guess I’m paying for it. Hopefully, by continuously working the muscles, this issue will fade away.
Dynamic movements during your warmup will alleviate some of the hamstring tightness. Bodyweight squats, lunges, and toe touches will all get the hamstrings loosened up.
Forgot abouts abs LOL
Dont have them on my program online but have it on my sheet.
And by the way (they suck) !
[quote]jo3 wrote:
I also realized that I have extremely tight hamstrings. It’s so bad that my hamstrings started cramping up while doing dips (I don’t know how/why). When doing the swiss ball leg curls, that’s when I really felt the tightness in my hamstrings. I couldn’t raise my back high enough during the reps due to the tightness. I also had to stop after my 3rd set because my hamstrings cramped up.
I think my hamstring tightness has to do with the fact that I’ve neglected my hamstrings for most of my life. I never really did leg curls because they made my hamstrings tight, so now I guess I’m paying for it. Hopefully, by continuously working the muscles, this issue will fade away.[/quote]
You should check out the Magnificent Mobility DVD in the store by Eric Cressy and Mike Robertson. It’s really helped me out mobility wise (when I do it).
Other then that, how’s everything else going? Enjoying the program? And noticeable changes?
LR
[quote]phatkins187 wrote:
Dynamic movements during your warmup will alleviate some of the hamstring tightness. Bodyweight squats, lunges, and toe touches will all get the hamstrings loosened up.[/quote]
Thanks man. Since tomorrow’s leg day, I’ll be sure to do some dynamic stretching before lifting.
[quote]London Runner wrote:
You should check out the Magnificent Mobility DVD in the store by Eric Cressy and Mike Robertson. It’s really helped me out mobility wise (when I do it).
Other then that, how’s everything else going? Enjoying the program? And noticeable changes? [/quote]
I’ve been wanting to get MM for a while, but it’s a bit too expensive for my liking (for now). Hopefully I’ll have the cash later this month to get it. Can never take my body for granted.
Re: the program, I’m loving it. Going to the gym every day keeps me motivated. The day I feel least motivated is on Monday since Sunday is my day off. It’s kind of like how HSMs killed your motivation the following day!
Finally completed a workout where I used the right weights. Overall, the workout went very well.
Exercise selection:
Decline DB bench (neutral)
Bent-over BB row
DB Hammer curls
Angled leg press (calves)
4 sets of 10-12 reps each. I went slow on the eccentric portion of the calf raises and stopped for a few seconds at the very bottom. These absolutely killed me. Probably some of the worst discomfort I’ve felt in my calves (apart from when they cramp). Other than that, there really isn’t much to say about the workout. Good workout.
Injury/Soreness Update
IT band/TFL area around right hip is still sore. I did some foam roller stretching before working out. I’ll also continue to do various hip flexor and IT band stretches throughout the evening. Gotta fix this!
I still notice my right knee, but I didn’t feel any pain in it today. That’s a good sign. I’m hoping to do front squats tomorrow, but if my gluteus medius is still tight and/or my knee isn’t ready for it, I’ll be doing leg presses again.
Miscellaneous Notes
I’m breaking out like I’m 16! I know the whole “creatine leads to acne” thing is just a theory, but can it be true? I’ve been taking 10g of creatine a day (5g in the morning, and 5g post-workout) since starting the program, and that’s when the acne problem started. I really don’t mind though. Hopefully the acne cream I bought helps out a little.
Also, I’ve noticed that even though I’m getting about the same amount of sleep that I’ve always gotten, I’m becoming more and more tired during the day. That’s good news because that means this program is working. What I need to do to combat it: Eat more and sleep more.
[quote]jo3 wrote:
Re: the program, I’m loving it. Going to the gym every day keeps me motivated. The day I feel least motivated is on Monday since Sunday is my day off. It’s kind of like how HSMs killed your motivation the following day!
[/quote]
I know what you mean man. I feel so bored on off days, I just want to get to the gym and lift, but I know my body needs the rest.
LR
Hmmm I’ve never heard of creatine manifesting acne. I have a feeling its the surplus of testosterone/GH you’re producing from the excess calories combined with all of the sweating in the weight room.
Creatine is the only supplement I’ll probably never drop. Like Rick James said about coke, “Creatine is a hell of a drug.”
[quote]phatkins187 wrote:
I have a feeling its the surplus of testosterone/GH you’re producing from the excess calories combined with all of the sweating in the weight room.[/quote]
You’re probably right. I am eating more and lifting more than I have in a long time. More test and GH won’t bother me!
Good workout, except for my hamstrings. I’ll explain below.
BB upright row
- Used a bit of momentum during the last few reps of my last set.
Elbows out DB extensions
- This was a new exercise for me. I randomly stumbled upon it on EliteFTS. Basically, it’s a tricep movement that hits the area right above your elbow, which over time will help with your bench press lockout. This area of my arms is embarrassingly small (and my bench sucks), so I figured that I add this in place of the DB decline extensions I had planned on doing.
Back squat
- I started out with front squats, but my form was giving me problems as I was upping the weight. My main problem is that as I’m getting fatigued, my elbows begin to point down, which causes the bar to roll down my arms, putting a lot of stress on my biceps. Once I realized that this wasn’t going to work out, I switched to back squats. It felt really good doing squats again after not doing them for about a week (remember I was squatting 3x a week last month on Starting Strength).
Lying leg curl
- Same thing happened today! My warm-up sets were fine, but after my first work set, my hamstrings began cramping up. Specifically, I think my right hamstring is the issue (seems like my entire right side sucks). I noticed that when I curled the weight up, my left hamstring was lifting the weight at the very top. When I relaxed my left hamstring to force my right hamstring to work, that’s when the cramping would begin. I think I’ll have to switch to unilateral movements so I can be sure that I hit each hamstring effectively.
Kneeling cable crunch
- I used to think these were a joke, but I really focused on tightening my abs and rolling my head into my stomach rather than towards the ground. Pretty painful towards the end.
Injury/Soreness Update
I think I know why I had rounding issues with my lower back when squatting. I checked out my form in the mirror while doing body weight squats, and I noticed that when I force my knees forward and my butt back, I can keep my lower back tight and my back straight. It’s when I focus too much on pushing my butt back that my lower back begins to round because rather than squatting down to push my butt back, I’ve been doing more of a Romanian deadlift-type movement (keeping my knees above my feet rather than a bit in front of my feet). Once I have heavy weight on my back, I seem to compensate by rounding my back to keep myself balanced. Sounds a bit confusing, but I think I’ve gotten it under control. Nevertheless, I still plan on doing some gluteus medius stretching every day.
My IT band/TFL area is still quite sore. I’m still using the foam roller before my work out, but I can’t tell if it’s helping. I guess only time will tell.
My right knee feels much better. As a matter of fact, I think doing the front and back squats is why my knee feels better. While warming up, my knee popped a few times, but during the work sets, everything seemed to be fine.
I’m DOMS’ing like a bitch. My upper back is still sore from the HS high rows on Monday. My calves are sore from Monday and Wednesday. This program must be working.
My hamstring issue is beginning to bother me. On Saturday, I think I’m going to spend most of my leg time focusing on loosening up and strengthening the hamstrings. If I neglect them, I’m going to hurt myself.
Miscellaneous
I feel like things aren’t as structured as I’d like them to be, given all the changes I’ve made this week, but they were made for good reasons (injuries). Let’s just finish this week strong and get back on track next week.
Double update:
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Deadlift
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Incline bench
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Seated calf raise
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EZ bar curl (normal)
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My lower back was still a bit tight/sore from my squats yesterday. (For some reason, squats really kill my lower back, especially during the final reps where I’m stuck near the bottom for a second or two. This started during last month when I was did Starting Strength and sometimes had to squat and deadlift on the same day). As a result, I had to drop the weight a bit. I also switched from conventional to sumo on set 3 due to back soreness.
I’ll comment on my injuries and soreness below.
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Standing BB press
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Close-grip bench
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DB Romanian deadlift
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Angled leg press
5a) Captain’s chair leg raise
5b) Ab roller
5c) Reverse crunch -
Looking back, I probably shouldn’t have done these since I had issues with my lower back the day before. The first 2 sets went well, but after that my lower back was killing me. Couldn’t finish my 3rd set and didn’t do my 4th set.
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Legs were fine, but lower back hurt a lot.
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Had planned on doing hanging pikes, but the cable stations were crowded (where our pull-up bars are). Replaced it with a short ab circuit consisting of the three exercises above. 3 sets of 10-15 reps (minimal rest between exercises).
Injury/Soreness Update
My right knee seems to be a little tender. There’s really no pain or discomfort, but it pops more than it used to. It was quite sore Friday morning from squatting on Thursday, but as of now, it seems to be doing fine.
The foam rolling is helping my IT band/TFL slightly. There’s still some discomfort when doing squats or leg presses, but it’s not unbearable. I don’t know if I should cut out these types of movements completely until I heal, but I’m afraid that I’ll stall on gains if I do so.
My lower back has been killing me the past few days. The deadlifts from Friday made my back pretty sore on Saturday (DOMS). I was stupid to do Romanian deadlifts on Saturday. Even though RDLs seem to focus more on the hamstrings, the lower back still takes a beating. Following the RDLs with leg presses was torture. It was difficult for me to lift my feet up to the pad due to the lower back tightness, and performing the movement was even more uncomfortable. I don’t know if it was a bad idea to force myself to finish out the sets with the pain.
Miscellaneous
Week 2 is done, but I’ll have to make a few adjustments going forward to lighten the load on my lower back. This means changing up my quad/hamstring pairings and figuring out the best day to deadlift so it doesn’t interfere with any other exercise that uses my lower back (or vice versa).
Revised Workout Schedule
Monday - 13-15 reps
HS high row
Incline bench
DB standing curls
Seated calf raises
Tuesday - 13-15 reps
DB seated press
Med-grip dips
Angled leg press
Swiss ball leg curls
Captain’s chair leg raise
Wednesday - 10-12 reps
DB decline bench (neutral)
Bent-over BB row
DB hammer curls
Angled leg press (calves)
Thursday - 10-12 reps
BB upright row
Elbows out DB extensions
DB Romanian deadlift
Seated leg extension
Kneeling cable crunch
Friday - 8-10 reps
T-bar row
Incline bench
Seated calf raises
EZ bar curl
Saturday - 8-10 reps
BB standing press
Close-grip bench
Back squat
Lying leg curls
Hanging pike
Changes:
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No heavy deadlifts. I’ll be doing DB Romanian deadlifts once a week to work the hamstrings, but I will not be doing any deadlifts for the purpose of working my lower back. If my back is up for it starting ramp 2 (in 4 weeks), I may throw in conventional floor deads once a week.
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Only one day of squats to reduce the load on the lower back. May add in another day if my lower back gets better (starting ramp 2).
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Better quad/hamstring pairings, also to reduce the load on the lower back.
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HS high row
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Incline bench
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One-arm standing DB curls
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Seated calf raises
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60-75 reps of anything is a lot! My chest became so fatigued that on my 5th set, I used the same weight that I used to warm up.
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I’ve never really paid too much attention to my arms, so doing 5 sets of 13-15 reps of DB curls gave me a really nice pump. My biceps are dead now.
Overall, great workout. I’ve never felt so exhausted after a workout, and my Monday workouts are supposed to be one of the easier workouts. Guess that means I have an exciting week ahead of me.
I’ll be playing some sand volleyball tonight. Nothing too intense, so my workout tomorrow shouldn’t be compromised.
Sounds like it’s going well man.
LR
DB seated press
Med-grip dips
Angled leg press
Swiss ball leg curls
Captain’s chair leg raise
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My quads started to cramp up after set #4 on the leg press, so I had to take a few minutes of rest before doing my 5th set. I also lowered the weight a bit.
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Hamstrings didn’t cramp up this time while doing Swiss ball leg curls! But they were still tight.
No other updates, really. Today was another good workout.
- DB decline bench (neutral)
- Bent-over BB row
- DB hammer curls
- Angled leg press (calves)
Not much to say about today. Great workout once again. The hammer curls were rough because my forearms were already fried from the decline bench (strange) and bent-over BB row (not strange). I also used much less body English than I had last week.
Other than feeling fatigued at work from lack of sleep (getting around 6 hours a night), I’m feeling pretty good. I still don’t feel burnt out by the workouts. Maybe that’ll all change come Sunday.
First time I’m actually bummed out about a celebrity’s death. Michael Jackson had his share of problems this past decade, but he changed the world with his music.
[quote]jo3 wrote:
First time I’m actually bummed out about a celebrity’s death. Michael Jackson had his share of problems this past decade, but he changed the world with his music.[/quote]
Yeah, it was a shame about the direction his life took towards the end, but his music will still live on forever!
LR
Double update:
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BB upright row
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Elbows out DB extensions
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DB Romanian deadlift
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Seated leg extension
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Kneeling cable crunch
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Even after not doing any major back work this past week, my lower back still got fried during my RDLs. I had to drop the weight after 3 sets because by then, I could only feel the exercise hitting my lower back, not my hamstrings.
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These destroyed me more than they ever have before. I could barely walk after them, and the kneeling cable crunches afterwards sucked because my quads felt so uncomfortable being in that stretched position.
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T-bar row
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Incline bench
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Seated calf raises
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EZ bar curl
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The rows worked my lower back more than I had thought. My lower back didn’t hurt or anything, but I definitely felt a little bit of tightness. No where near the tightness I felt yesterday while doing the RDLs.
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Initial weight went up, but after that I felt so weak. I struggled getting my 8-10 reps in on most of the sets, so I threw in an extra set to “make up” for my missed reps.
One more day till I’m back to doing 3 sets per exercise. I think I might also throw in a few extra calories since next week’s the start of my 3-week supergrowth phase. Gotta eat to Grow!
Something I recently ate has made me feel quite shitty (pun intended), so hopefully I can do today’s workout early tomorrow.
[quote]jo3 wrote:
Something I recently ate has made me feel quite shitty (pun intended), so hopefully I can do today’s workout early tomorrow.[/quote]
OMG IM TELLING you skipped a day ;p
Hope you feel better soon and no more skipping !!!
Have fun with the 3 sets lol must look like HEAVEN compared to the week just past 
Apparently the 2nd Growth Week your weights should absolutely EXPLODE upwards as your body really super compensates so push the weights even harder to make up for lack of sets.
Even if you think its not possible try it on the 1st set, you never know till you try !
What im trying is what CT reccomended, 20 mins before each meal have 1 scoop of Whey just to get your body filled with aminos (which is good apparently)
Especially for the next 3 weeks more protein the better !
As you can tell i have taken to weightlifting like a fish to water LOL