As @SkyzykS said, week to week changes won’t be much. I take weekly progress pictures along with weight and measurements for biceps, waist at navel, and thighs. Having those pictures for long term comparison though, will be helpful and rewarding.
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God dammit, weight is still dropping, exactly the opposite direction of what my outcome goals were, I will up calories soon if this trend continues. I think 17,000 steps a day is burning far more calories than I’m thinking. That’s a 10 mile walk per day on top of 90 minute workout, but in any case.
1 December 2021 - General stuff:
- Weighed in at 78.1kg
- Slept 5h57m
- Calories still 2900, weight is dropping, will either cut down steps or move up calories soon.
1 December 2021 - Back Bis Workout:
- Underhand Lat pulldown - 3x8- 155 lbs, last rep a little swing
- Seated cable row - 2x8 - 180 lbs, 1x12 - 160 lbs
- Underhand seated row - 2x8 - 185 lbs, 1x12 - 170 lbs
- Rear delt flye - 3x12, 115 lbs
- Seated supinated dumbbell bicep curls - 2x12 with 35 lbs, 2x12 with 30 lbs
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bro you went down .2kg… you could have just drank less water or taken a big shit. this is nothing.
the part of this that matters, mostly, is if you are progressing with weights during your workouts. You need to be seeing improvements on weight, or intensity. I notice you didnt do Deadlifts today, and i see them in your leg day workout regimen… most people have these split up so they can focus on ONE big lift each training session. I do PPL and have one big lift each day; Incline press (5x5), Deadlift (5x5) and Squat (5x5). These are the 3 main lifts i try to improve on. If everything else stays the same - but my weight/reps/comfort improve during any of these lifts, then it was a good day.
Your goals being Bench, Squat, Deadlift, and DB Shoulder Press, you should be prioritizing those exercises. Everything else is ‘assistance work’, where progress is nice, but really not that important in regards to your goals. Plus, powerlifts are known to slap on mass more than other exercises.
You keep mentioning your step counter. Are you intentionally taking this many steps during the day, or is this just a byproduct of your day-to-day activity?
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This journal is the epitome of majoring in the minors.
I hope you achieve your goals man!
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Yeah I’m probably over-analyzing.
That’s great, according to this, I think I am improving, 155 bench was a big move up for me so maybe it is going fine.
A lot of it is just byproduct (walk to gym, commute, etc) and then maybe 4k is just walking for peace.
I’m overthinking it probably, gym is going fine, numbers tricking me a bit 
If you’re that concerned about your steps, get a 80lb weight vest and wear it while you’re walking. That being said, walking is known to be one of the best forms of LISS - particularly because it is so low impact that it has virtually no effect on muscle. you really gotta stop over-analyzing the scale; if you NEED to see your bodyweight increase, then just start eating whatever the fuck. but in reality, a controlled bulk has been - and will continue to be the best method to gain muscle.
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That’s right, I’m overtly anxious, I guess you can see the mathematician side now (with an attempt for precision in everything 
)
I’ll just keep going, lifts have been decent and you’re right, just need to focus on the strength gain overtime. Still pushing hard in the gym everyday, no quitting this time 
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2 December 2021 - General stuff:
- Weighed in at 78.4kg
- Slept 6h04m
- Calories: ~2900
2 December 2021 - Legs Abs Workout:
- Deadlift - 3x5 - 215 lbs , almost same as squat, I dont go very hard here just due to risk but I will look to improve this slowly with great form
- Leg press - 3x10 - 290 lbs
- Leg extension - 3x12 - 210 lbs
- Leg curl 3x12 - 175 lbs
- Machine seated hip abduction - 3x15 with 190 lbs on machine
- Standing calf raise - 3x15 - 310 lbs on the machine
- Abs - N/A, I still have the lower-ab pain from fucking up on Tuesday, I tried a plank for 15 seconds and noped out immediately the instant I felt it again. Luckily it is disappearing so I’m sure I can go hard on this Tuesday.
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I’ll tell you that before doing deadlifts I had more back and hip pain. I started deadlifting, and that went away. Now, it could be it just got better on it’s own, but it had been bothering me for a year or two prior. Get the brace down well, and that goes a long way. Keep working on form. They aren’t that dangerous.
There was a study looking at the risk of injury for different activities. Powerlifting was lower on the list than activities like basketball. You wouldn’t really be afraid of basketball (probably), so keep things in perspective.
I think you are on the road to progress. You seem to be focusing on progressive overload, which is the most important variable.
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Yeah man, I am really focusing on form for this exercise but I am sure overtime i will get to the 315 level, its just my 5th time deadlifting, I will try 225 again next week with great form as I had today.
The main goal is yeah progressive overload on as much as possible esp on the compound lifts. That is why I am insistent on the 225 bench, 315 squat, 315 deadlift goals (for 5 reps) within a year or faster if all goes well!
On a lot of isolations, I am focusing heavily on the movement, controlling it, controlling the eccentric (for instance in curls) and these progress slowly overtime but the big teller is going to be the bench, db shoulder press, squat, dl.
3 December 2021 - General stuff:
- Weighed in at 78.4kg (same as yesterday)
- Slept 6h11m
- Calories: ~2900 still
3 December 2021 - Arms Shoulders Workout:
-
Dumbbell shoulder press - 1x11, 1x10, 1x9 RPE 9/10/10 with 50 lbs dumbbells, I included the rep to lift the dumbbell initially which seems to be the hardest. I should have recorded a video but I would like to get a form check done, I’m using the double progression method here to get all the sets to 12 reps and then move up to 55 lbs dumbbells, slow progress here but better than nothing; I think this lift is very weak, I’ve seen kids do 65s for reps
- Dumbbell lateral raises - 4 x 12-15 with 30 lb dumbbells
- Rear delt flye machine - 3x12 with 150 lb on the machine
- Two arm dumbbell behind the neck tricep extensions - 4x11-12 controlled stretch with one 60 lb dumbbell
- Seated dumbbell curl supinated - 2x12 with 35 lb dumbbells controlled, 2x12 with 30 lb dumbbells
Not bad, could be better, but progress is progress. Calories still at 2900, steps still roughly 16,000 -18,500 per day, no additional cardio yet
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Are you doing this training session once or twice per week?
Just once per week (Fridays).
Also, what is generally considered a strong dumbbell shoulder press for 8-10 reps?
This is a massively subjective question.
I do DB shoulder press with 75s because I do 3 second negatives. But I could hit 105 or 110 with shit form just fine. OR I could do 60s with 5s negatives…
Form/technique > weight
If you think you can do more, do more, if not, then whats the rush?
Youre only doing a few sets per body part per week. IMO you should be doing 8-10 sets per body part per week, unless you are doing HIT programming (i don’t think you are).
Damn, 100s is next level for reps. I will record a form video next time.
The main problem for me is getting the dumbbells up holy shit.
I think I could do 55s for 6-8 if I can get the DBs up.
In the routine I am following they suggest this, in this routine, but for chest its around 12 sets per week roughly, arms maybe 8 sets, shoulders around 11 sets, I can always add some sets if needed.
If within a year I could get:
75lb db shoulder press for 8-10 that’d be great, thats equivalent to upping 5 lbs every 2 months.
I think you missed the part where i said “with shit form” 
you’re setting strength goals improperly IMO. I’ve been hitting the gym, killing myself with volume for about 5 years, but the 7 years i was lifting prior to that were similar in result to your last 7 years too. You can gain strength, but prescribing yourself a plan to increase weights based on time rather than ability to perform proper reps is going to see you out of the gym sooner than later. this isn’t a race, its’ a marathon
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Yeah I guess I am setting somewhat aggressive goals? I guess I am thinking even if I dont hit them, I will land somewhere good at least. Let’s see though, really pushing myself hard this time around so time will tell what happens
BTW do you have a log or physique pics or anything?
Also,
Do you guys keep calories the same on rest days or drop them a bit?
I try to reduce mine a bit. I don’t usually succeed in this effort, but i still try to lol.
Why would you drop them?
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