Beginning Stats
Age - 30
Bodyweight - 166.0 lbs
Waist - 34.0"
Bicep (right/relaxed) - 12.0"
Bicep (right/flexed) - 13.75"
Bodyfat - 16.24%
Short term goal - get down to 10-12% bodyfat, then resume bulking
I have been bulking for about 8 months, and gained close to 20 lbs.
Monday, 2/7/11 (Chest/Back/Arms)
BB Incline Bench - warmup (65/10, 105/5) max sets (125/8, 125/6)
BB Decline Bench- warmup (65/10, 115/5) max sets (135/8, 135/8)
BB Rows- warmup (45/10, 75/5) max sets (95/10, 95/10)
Pullups- max sets (BW/8, BW/6)
BB Curls- warmup (30/10, 50/5) max sets (60/8, 60/8)
Skull crushers- warmup (20/10, 40/5) max sets (50/10, 50/10)
Wednesday, 2/9/11 (Legs/Shoulders)
Squat - warmup (65/10, 115/5) max (135/15, 135/15)
Calf Raises (on leg press machine) - max (375/25, 375/23)
Deadlift - 135/3, 145/3, 155/3, 165/3, 175/3, 185/3, 195/3, 205/3 (PR), 215/2 (another PR!)
Seated BB Press - warmup (45/10, 75/5) max (95/8, 95/7)
DB Lateral Raises - 15/15, 15/15
Thursday, 2/10/11 (Cardio session)
20 minutes of HIIT sprinting
Friday, 2/11/11 (Chest/Back/Arms)
BB Incline Bench - warmup (65/10, 115/5) max sets (130/7, 125/7) … (+5lbs on 1st set, +1rep on 2nd set)
BB Decline Bench- warmup (75/10, 125/5) max sets (145/5, 140/5)… (+10lbs on 1st set, +5lbs on 2nd set)
BB Rows- warmup (55/10, 85/5) max sets (105/10, 105/10) … (+10lbs on both sets, slight cheating on very last rep of last set)
Lat Pulldown (Nautilus machine) warmup (80/10, 130/5) max sets (160/8, 150/6) … (did this in place of Pullups…
BB Curls- warmup (40/10, 50/5) max sets (70/8, 70/6) … (+10lbs on both sets)
Skull crushers- warmup (30/10, 50/5) max sets (60/7, 60/5)… (+10lbs on both sets)
Saturday, 2/12/11 (Cardio session)
30 minutes of fasted morning cardio … 3MPH walk on 4 degree incline
Sunday, 2/13/11
Updated Stats (end of Week 1)
BW - 165.0 lbs (-1.0 from last week)
Waist - 34.0" (no change)
BF - 14.91% (-1.33% from last week)
Monday, 2/14/11 (Legs/Shoulders)
Squat - warmup (75/10, 125/5) max (145/12, 145/12) (PR/+10 lbs)
Calf Raises (on leg press machine) - max (400/25, 400/23) (PR/+25 lbs)
Deadlift - 135/3, 150/3, 165/3, 175/3, 185/3, 195/3, 215/3 (PR/+1 rep), 225/3 (PR/+10 lbs)
Seated BB Press - warmup (45/10, 75/5) max (95/10, 95/9) (+3 total reps)
DB Lateral Raises - 20/11 (+5 lbs), 15/17 (+2 reps)
Comments: Great session. Nailing all 3 reps of the deadlift with 2 plates was very satisfying!
Tuesday, 2/15/11 (Cardio session)
15 minutes of HIIT sprinting (outdoors) … 10 seconds on, 50 seconds off
Comments: This was my first time doing HIIT outdoors (in my driveway, which has a slight incline). There is no comparison between outdoors and on a treadmill. After today, I’ll be doing my HIIT always outdoors!
Wednesday, 2/16/11 (Chest/Back/Arms)
BB Incline Bench - warmup (65/10, 115/5) max sets (130/8, 130/7) … (+1 rep on 1st set, +5 lbs on 2nd set)
BB Decline Bench- warmup (75/10, 125/5) max sets (145/6, 140/6)… (+1 rep on 1st set, +1 rep on 2nd set)
BB Rows- warmup (65/10, 95/5) max sets (115/8, 115/8) … (PR- +10 lbs on both sets, cheated slightly on last rep of last set)
Lat Pulldown (Nautilus machine) warmup (80/10, 130/5) max sets (150/10, 150/8)
BB Curls- warmup (40/10, 50/5) max sets (80/3, 70/8) … (+10lbs on 1st set, +2 reps on 2nd set)
Skull crushers- warmup (30/10, 50/5) max sets (60/4, 50/10)
Comments-
Only dissappointing part of this workout was SkullCrushers. I got 3 less reps on my 1st work set. This could be due in part to exercise sequence. Last week, Skull Crushers were last in my routine. Today, due to equipment availability, I moved it up ahead of Lat Pulldowns and BB Curls. Nonetheless, I’ll continue with 60lbs and improve from 4 reps.
With BB Curls, last week I hit 8 reps with 70 lbs, so I wanted to try for 80 (my gym only has 10 lb increments on curl bars). 80 felt heavy, but I still managed 3 reps. Again, I’ll use 80 again next week, and look to get more than 3 reps.
Good news on the cardio!
I find that with exercises where I you have no other option but to jump quite a bit in load, it’s better to do slightly more reps/set.
So say for example the barbel curls (10lb jumps), if you did say 12 reps as the top range, then increase the load and do 8-10 reps, then that’s a smoother progression.
To illustrate the difference mathematically (lol…not that it needs to be rocket science);
2% load progression for barbel curls = 1.5lbs (2% of 70lbs)
2% load progression for deadlifts = 4.5lbs (2% of 225lbs)
You’ll recall, it’s recommended to try and get 2% more each time. As you can see, adding 5-10lbs to the deadlift and getting the same reps or near is no problem (you may just get a rep less the higher the load increase)…but for smaller exercises 10lbs is equivalent to a 15% increase in load.
So the way around it is to compensate with reps. Increase reps, so that when you fail with the new load, you’re still managing a decent amount of reps. e.g. fail at 12, increase load next time and fail at 8 or whatever.
Or you could just use dumbbells if the weight increments aren’t too high 
Friday, 2/18/11 (Legs/Shoulders)
Squat - warmup (75/10, 125/5) max (155/12, 155/9) (PR/+10 lbs… I’ll focus on more reps next week)
Calf Raises (on leg press machine) - max (425/25, 425/22) (PR/+25 lbs)
Deadlift - 135/3, 155/3, 175/3, 185/3, 205/3, 235/3 (PR/+10 lbs), 245/2 (PR/+10 lbs)
Seated BB Press - warmup (45/10, 75/5) max (100/10, 100/7) (PR/+5 lbs)
DB Lateral Raises - 20/12 (+1 rep), 15/20 (+3 reps)
Comments: Another good session. Only finished with 7 sets of deadlifts, but I hit 2 PRs (235 and 245).
Saturday, 2/19/11 (Cardio session)
15 minutes of HIIT sprinting (outdoors) … 10 seconds on, 50 seconds off
Sunday, 2/20/11
Updated Stats (end of Week 2)
BW - 164.0 lbs (-1.0 from last week)
Waist - 33.75" (-0.25" from last week)
BF - 14.18% (-0.73% from last week)
Bicep (right/relaxed) - 12.25" (+0.25" from 2 weeks ago)
Bicep (right/flexed) - 13.75" (no change)
Monday, 2/21/11 (Chest/Back/Arms)
BB Incline Bench - warmup (70/10, 120/5) max sets (135/7, 135/4) … (PR +5 lbs on both sets)
BB Decline Bench- warmup (75/10, 125/5) max sets (145/8, 145/5)… (+2 reps on 1st set, +5 lbs on 2nd set)
BB Rows- warmup (65/10, 95/5) max sets (115/10, 115/8) … (+2 reps on 1st set)
Lat Pulldown (Nautilus machine) warmup (85/10, 135/5) max sets (155/10, 155/9) … (+5 lbs on both sets)
BB Curls- warmup (40/10, 50/5) max sets (70/9, 70/5) … (see comments below)
Skull crushers- warmup (30/10, 50/5) max sets (60/8, 50/12)… (+4 reps on 1st set, +2 reps on 2nd set)
Comments
All around good session. Last week, with BB Curls, I attempted 80 lbs and only got 3 reps. So this week, I decided to stick with 70 lbs, but go for more than usual rep range (6-8). I ended up getting 9… but then my 2nd set I only got 5. Next week, I’ll shoot for more reps with same weight. With Skull Crushers, last week 60 lbs felt very heavy, but this week it felt much more manageable.
Wednesday, 2/23/11 (Legs/Shoulders)
Squat - warmup (75/10, 125/5) max (155/15, 165/10) (PR/+3 reps on 1st set, +10 lbs on 2nd set)
Calf Raises (on leg press machine) - max (445/25, 445/25) (PR/+20 lbs) … I’m now maxing out the machine, so I’ll switch to Standing Calf Raises in the Smith machine next session
Deadlift - 135/3, 155/3, 175/3, 185/3, 205/3, 225/3, 245/3 (PR/+1 rep), 255/2 (PR/+10 lbs)
Seated BB Press - warmup (45/10, 75/5) max (105/6, 105/6) (PR/+5 lbs)
DB Lateral Raises - 20/14 (+2 reps), 20/11 (+5 lbs)
Comments:
Great feeling after completing the squats and deadlifts. The only issue with today’s session was that the Smith Machine was occupied when I wanted to do Shoulder Presses, so I ended up using a Flat Bench, but with no back support. Not sure if this variable affected my numbers or not, but next week I’ll look to get all 10 reps at 105 lbs on the Smith Machine.
Thursday, 2/24/11 (Cardio session)
15 minutes of HIIT sprinting (outdoors) … 10 seconds on, 50 seconds off
Friday, 2/25/11 (Chest/Back/Arms)
BB Incline Bench - warmup (70/10, 120/5) max sets (140/7, 135/6) … (PR +5 lbs on 1st set, +2 reps on 2nd set)
BB Decline Bench- warmup (75/10, 125/5) max sets (150/6, 145/6)… (PR +5 lbs on 1st set, +1 rep on 2nd set)
BB Rows- warmup (65/10, 95/5) max sets (120/10, 120/9) … (PR +5 lbs on both sets)
Lat Pulldown (Nautilus machine) warmup (80/10, 135/5) max sets (160/10, 160/10) … (PR +5 lbs on both sets)
BB Curls- warmup (40/10, 50/5) max sets (70/8, 60/10) … (see comments below)
Skull crushers- warmup (30/10, 50/5) max sets (60/10, 60/6)… (+2 reps on 1st set, +5 lbs on 2nd set)
Comments-
Only exercise where I didn’t see any progress was BB Curls. Apparently 70 is causing me issues. Next week, I’ll aim for more reps with 60, and then earn my way back to 70.
With BB Rows, this week I set the pins in the Smith Machine to the lowest setting as opposed to rowing from the floor. My arms still fully extended, but my torse was at more of a 45 degree angle as opposed to a 90 degree angle. Is there anything wrong with this? Or should I always be rowing from the floor?
Saturday, 2/26/11 (Cardio session)
15 minutes of HIIT sprinting (outdoors) … 10 seconds on, 50 seconds off
[quote]Tonino wrote:
With BB Rows, this week I set the pins in the Smith Machine to the lowest setting as opposed to rowing from the floor. My arms still fully extended, but my torse was at more of a 45 degree angle as opposed to a 90 degree angle. Is there anything wrong with this? Or should I always be rowing from the floor?
[/quote]
No that’s good - that’s a better position than 90 degs (better on lower back)