The 1-Rep Muscle Building Journal

Training Training Logs
305

Reflection-

I’m like totally starting over in this lifting weights thing.

My first 3-years was strictly bodybuilding stuff, then I deadlifted 315, within about 6-months I deadlifted 405. Then I did 425 in which all the lower back strains began.

About this time I watched a Worlds Strongest Man marathon, one of the events was car deadlift pulling from the sides, these were partial ROM, guys hitting 15, 16 or more reps. I fell in love with the farmers walk and yoke and tire flip.

I scraped the gym lifts and did that stuff and partials. I also competed in strongman for 5-years, doing 2-3 contests a year.

This built a lot of tendon strength and lockout strength and some muscle endurance.

But this did nothing really for real lower back development and conditioning.

I only deadlifted 455 in those days and yup, strained the lower back. I also never wore belts.

In 25+ years of lifting, only about 6 of these years were actually gym lifting and building.

So, I’m learning a lot now, I’m finally discovering how to strengthen my back and understanding the value of assistance work.

I once lifted 1100 pounds with my yoke and held it for 30seconds without a belt in my late twenties.

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306

Wednesday

Blasted 116 rep squat with 96# superset with SLDL 230 x15

My butt cheeks was smoking. I’m liking this!

Can anyone do a true superset of 100+ rep squat and go right away to SLDL? I’m guessing a big fat NO.

With the squats the goal was 110reps but to totally burn out and go further! It’s gonna be my new thing now.

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307

Some more things to point out-

I’ve eaten a portion of Lasagna every night this week. How am I managing this?

Well, I don’t weigh it. I take a nice sized chunk, eat it slowly, so I’m not hungry in the moment, but I’m not full at all. This is one thing that takes discipline. What motivates me to do this? The thought of tubby looking pecs and lats, that’s what.

I haven’t touched a bagel or cliff bar in weeks, well I did have 1-bagel in the last 2.5 weeks.

I’m actually discovering how useless these carbs sources are, but, but, but I’m still eating bananas and plenty of grapes (I just got some apples too). Those are carbs and they are working very well. I’m staying thick while slowly getting harder.

I froze the rest of the Lasagna, so now it’s pure meat for dinner!

I’m actually very happy with my pecs. I still need to loose some flab in the Lower mid back. I also need more lats and spinal erectors so it’s gonna be a lot of barbell row volume, more Jefferson’s, SLDLs. To really make that lower trunk area “pop”.

We’ll see…..

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308

Happy cake day

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309

I was listening to an interview with Greg Valentino, he was showing pictures and talking about his natty days, wow, he was absolutely jacked when he was natty!!!

He looked better natty and looked better than these guys today who aren’t natty.

He did crazy high volume stuff, in fact he even said he found that’s what he responded to and doesn’t even recommend it. I find I respond better to high volume myself. Dude had a 26 inch waist, sick!!!

I only knew about him from the arm exploding thing, but I gotta a new found respect for this guy, really knows some training info.

310

Friday

I’m only logging this as a baseline for back volume-

I was completely exhausted today from this weeks lifting, volume is up, calories are down, I don’t own a scale but I feel so light. My front stomach is slimmer than ever, I just got the damn flab in the back sides.

I even had a headache, I couldn’t keep my eyes open all day.

Quick workout-

100# plate BOR superset with SLDL

4-sets total ended with-

sLDL 240 x12 DOH no straps and 120# BOR x10

I will increase volume from here, but the point is, this was an EASY workout like too easy, I’m dying for more but my headache went away and I don’t want to destroy myself. It’s good this was easy. I don’t think 240 on any deads have felt like child’s play like this before.

It was enough for a nice little pump and heart rate elevation!

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311

Sat

Triceps-

Tricep extension pushups superset with EZ overhead extensions-

4-sets finished with extension pushups 15# x16

Maxed out on the EZ extension 145 x1

SLDL 240 x12 x2-sets

I love the SLDL! Doing this daily just the nice pump should eventually build bullet proof trunk.

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312

Went out last night, wore a super tight short sleeve shirt, I was mogged by no one!

Everywhere you go, you can be mogged by someone, no doubt.

Made me see that my lower back flab is ok for the real world. It just means I gotta keep building those back muscles.

I coulda been mogged by many others bigger in stature than me, but they all had slop belly’s and no muscles.

I watched Daddy’s Home also, Marky was looking looking built, he was not jacked, he was too smooth, but still……

Then Cena shows up at the end and completely mogs him so hard.

Yeah, you need carbs baby if you don’t want to get mogged in real life. No one cares what you do on the mat, but function is still so very important. Cena got that look from tough conditioning.

Am I a pathetic middle aged guy or what, yes this is what I care about.

This brings me to something else, I saw a recent pic of the Ruby Classic, Dale looked so damn small because he gets so lean for these shows. WTH would someone want to get that way? He looked like nothing with a shirt on, just a lean hungry face. This is one reason I think bodybuilding is stupid and subjective. Prince Andrew was more jacked than Sam S. Andrew mogged him. Dale is also way too fat in the off season, when he was younger, just a fat tub of muscles.

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313

Monday-

Annual checkup -BW 188# BP 118 over 60 normal and Lowest I’ve ever seen it! I only started going to the Drs about 3-years ago.

I’m almost 48.

I ate lasagna 3-nights last week too.

1-arm barbell press-

Up to 85# x1 strict no push press at all on right, slight push on left.

Holy Frick! That’s a 4-pound increase for not jerking over 80#. The goal was 81# and felt so good, I went for 85. Last time I did 85# it was a jerk.

Finished with 1-arm thick handle thumbless curls 3-sets up to 23reps.

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314

Tuesday-

Frick Yeah!!!

Jefferson Dead/squat-

Up to 380 x5!

That’s an all time rep PR! Goal was 3 hoping I might get 4.

HUGE difference in performance and feeling strong here, huge. 360 in this lift has always been when it starts feeling hard. Last week 7days ago compared to today was night and day.

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315

Upping the weight and volume on SLDLs 3-sets of 12. Looking to continue doing more.

Saturday

Standing incline leaning on my ladder. It goes like this- continental clean, lean back on ladder against the wall, take a wide grip and press for reps-

Up to

120 x15 PR

141 x11 (new baseline)

151 x9 PR

Last set was not as wide and lesser ROM, anything to get 9.

Thumbless barbell shrugs 2-sets of 30

1-arm barbell curls up to 50.5 x13, 56 x1 strict.

Lunges 2-sets of 5 ea leg

Only ate 1-Cliff bar and 1-half a bagel this week! Don’t need that stuff, I just ate them cause I will throw away food.

Only thing I’ve eaten today was-

2-bananas

1-sammich with small slice of ham steak and cheese with 3-fried eggs on Arnold’s oat bread.

Grapes during lifting and raw garlic and honey pre lifting

That’s it, but I’m living life tonight.

I’m having some olives and cheese crackers with wife for happy hour, then I’m making a creamy scampi linguine with sauté shrimp, chopped lobster tail and jumbo lump crabmeat.

That will last till Thanksgiving, small portions only and staying away from other carbs.

I believe in living life, I don’t care about a little muffin top as long as I’m getting more muscles, bodybuilding is subjective who am I taking my shirt off for, my wife loves the way I look, she keeps grabbing me. I don’t care what another man thinks.

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316

Update on build

Goal is bigger back all around and thicker spinal erectors and of course arms

@Andrewgen_Receptors ive requested to post this in the contest and another at the end. I don’t know if they will allow it. I’m not interested in bodybuilding at all, I don’t care about ab striation, width and strength and better back without getting fatter. I only care about wide pecs, not pretty pecs.

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317

Sunday-

Jefferson dead/squats

Up to

380 x2 left leg in lead

400x4 right leg PR for reps

I had 6 reps here but you see on the 4th I almost put it back down, I felt a pinch in my hammy.

This is why with these heavy weights I like 1-rep. I always get hurt on 4 and 5 reps. It can still happen on 1-rep but with reps, there’s fatigue.

Tricep extension push-up 25# 3-sets 10+ reps

More shrugs and lunges. My hammy just feels like a cha wa wa nipped it, lol

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318

Monday-

Squats 118 reps 1-set (getting close to the most I’ve ever done in a set, I think 120-125).

Heavy side bends 3-sets 10-12reps

Hammer curls

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319

Tuesday-

Floor press wide grip / barbell BOR superset- over 150reps in 4-sets

Wednesday-

SLDL more volume and EZ curls

Kitchen is closed, we got some Salmon for dinner but that’s it for kitchen due to the holiday work wife wants to do.

Do I had to eat me a Cliff bar and suck down some PB, gotta do what you gotta do, gotta fuel the lifting.

In regards to Salmon, I’ve always hated Salmon and stuck with COD but my muscles are craving the Sslmon fats, this an example of what I say about “doing the work first before going all in on diet” as the muscle develops it tells you what it needs. Here I am eating something I’ve always hated and actually looking forward to eating it cause my craving will devour it and the body will utilize it. I was asked “do you want COD, I said, NO, I want Salmon!

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320

Thanksgiving-

Snuck in some standing behind the neck presses and tricep extension pushups, all PRs

Eat mostly dark turkey meat. Not 1-dessert was eaten, I don’t care for them.

The breast meat, just like chicken breast isn’t as craving to the body, it doesn’t seem to do much. I really don’t eat boneless skin-less chicken breast much at all, I prefer to get the full chicken.

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321

Friday

Calve raises - 3-sets of 110reps, sets 2-3 were with 25#

100# plate SLDL, doing this to see how the hamstring is holding up-

Up to

300 x1

310 x2

Not bad, I was feeling pain in the hammie but quickly subsided. 350 is my estimated max on this lift. I’m gripping 2-100# plates sitting on a 10# plate and there’s a loading pin to add more weight.

I doubt many others are doing this lift. It’s why I don’t make any progress, I suppose, as I don’t know what I’m doing and I don’t make any progress.

Lunges 2-sets 5reps ea.

Barbell curls- 105reps

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322

Saturday

1-arm barbell press overhead-

Up to 86# x1 ea strict PR for being strict, I even got strict with the left.

118 rep squat set super set with hammer bar front squat

Finished with lying thick bell JM presses. 2-sets 15 reps back to back. Got 18 reps with the right on last set.

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323

Sunday-

Did something totally unexpected and on the fly did heavy block pulls. Haven’t done these in many months.

Warmup was SLDL up to 260x 10 full ROM

This was exactly 13.25” off the floor-

Up to

420 x1

450 x2 (10# PR)!

I totally needed this, this felt so damn good. In the past my mistake was doing this too often and trying to max out the reps along with thinking I need to eat and get fat.

Finished with heavy EZ curls

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324

Are you counting the plates on the ground? Trying to figure out how you get to 450lbs, with a 1” bar.