Training log for J Wol

Training Logs
1

Hi. I’m an 18 year old beginning lifter, just recently started taking it seriously.

Workout for 7/06/09

Benchpress 3x8

1x8x135lbs
1x8x145lbs
1x8x145lbs

Volume: 3320lbs

Squats

4x5x165lbs
1x5x185lbs (felt the burn here!!)

Volume: 5150lbs

Deadlift

4x5x145lbs
1x5x155lbs

Volume: 4500

Dips

Four sets at bodyweight of 180lbs

5,6,6,4

Volume: 3960

A jump over my last workout session to be sure. Weeks ago before taking whey and not being a fucking idiot, I was doing more on the deadlift and squat but I stopped cheating myself because I had bad form, and on my squats I wasn’t finishing my motions.

Going to try and shoot for a few extra reps inbetween sets on all compound lifts wednesday. I’ll be doing chinups and will shoot for 4x6.

2

7/08/09

Benchpress

1x8x135lbs
4x6x145lbs.

4560lbs. That’s up 1240lbs from saturday. I think it helped that I had more sleep and that I had a spotter, but I am really happy with this gain.

Squats

Squats was different today by far…The dude that spotted me helped critique me on my squat and he had me do box squats. I really felt like I was doing them right with these (my thighs were just about to hit below parallel) so I had to go down in weight, basically ten pounds above my bench. But i’m going to suck it up.

2x8x115lbs
3x5x135lbs
2x8x145lbs

Really weird workout, but I was experimenting with weights since my form is tweaked.

volume: 6185. It’s up, but my weights were down, but all I care about is doing it right or not at all.

Deadlift:

1x5x135
4x8x155lbs

Volume: 5635

Pullups:

5,5,5,3 at 180lbs

Volume: 3240

Overall, i’m happy with today’s progress.

Some shots so far. Sorry about not having any leg pics. It was taken on a shitty phone with bad lighting. I’ll try to get a hold of a good camera soon.

3

7/09/09

Felt a bit naseous today but I decided to go anyway. I don’t think it helps that I took my protein straight in the morning, because I was being stupid and forgot that I was going to work-out today, so my post-workout protein became my early morning protein! Doh! Oh well.

Calf raises

1x15x115lbs
3x10x90lbs

Haha, wow, once you start doing things with the right form you suddenly realize…you gotta drop some weight!

Incline hammer curls

1x10x15lbs
1x10x20lbs
1x10x25lbs

Dumbbell butterflies

1x8x10lbs
3x10x15lbs

Ab-circuit (30 seconds each movements with 2 sets)

Medicine oblique twists
“Dying cockroach” with medicine ball
Side planks (both sides)
Straight plank

Wide-grip curls

2x10x45lbs

4

July 11th 2009

Benchpress

1x8x135
3x6x145lbs
1x6x150lbs < yay! progress.

MP: 1x1x45, 1x8x85lbs…that didn’t work out well.

Deadlift:

1x8x135
1x3x155
3x8x175lbs

DB Rows:

1x8x35lbs
2x8x40lbs
1x5x45lbs

DB Military

3x8x30lbs
1x4x40lbs

Time to rest the next two days!

5

Redid my workout routine thanks to the great advice of a fellow TNationer. I feel more worn out than my previous workouts thanks to not overworking every muscle group simultaneously.

Bench:

90x8, 110x7, 145x5,7,6,5.

Cable Rows: 90x10, 105x10, 4x120x6

Squats: 1x45x10, 1x135x6, 1x155x6, 1x165x6,7 1x175x7

Dips: 6,6,6

Calf Raise: 1x90x8, 1x90x10, 1x105x10.

Ab Circuit

I’m feeling hurt after todays workout. I’m thinking I should go up 10 pounds each set on the squats because while it was hard, it was do-able. But we’ll see how I feel next week when I try it again. I’m going to shoot for 6,7,6,6 with 145 and then push myself up to 5x5 with 150lbs.

6

July 15th

Chin-ups: 5x5. Got five on the first three sets, four the on the fourth and three on the fifth. Gah. Probably didn’t help that it was the “assisted” pull-up with the assistance off, but the machine is such a pain in the ass, and it fucks up my form.

BB Military Press:

1x45x10
1x65x8
1x75x6
5x85x5

SLDL:

1x115x10
2x135x7
1x145x6
4x175x5
1x185x5
1x195x3

God, I did a lot with the DL. I wasn’t sure how much I could handle and I think about 180 is a good work weight for me. 175 felt painful, but still too weak. On 195 I was getting awfully close to rounding my back (not looking at the mirror does wonders!) and my grip almost gave out on the third rep, but I felt great afterwards!

BB Curls: Haha, don’t worry. Didn’t do it in the squat rack!

1x35x10
1x45x6
5x55x5

I was surprised how even though it feels like I cannot do another rep, I can. A little persistence goes a long way.

DB Tricep extensions

1x30x10, 1x40x7, 1x55x6, 1x50x6, 4x45x5

Yeah, weird weight difference. I hadn’t done these in a long time and wasn’t sure what I could handle. Looks like 45 is the key weight for right now.

Ab Circuit: 20-30 seconds each movement with a 5kg ball.

7

July 17th

Incline BP: 1x65x10, 1x85x8, 1x95x6, 5x105x5, 1x115x6

Leg Press: 1x90x7, 1x140x7, 1x180x5, 5x190x5

RDL: 1x125x8, 1x145x7, 1x1654, 3x195x5, 2x205x5

DB Rows: 1x35x8, 2x40x8, 5x45x5.

Ab Circuit

My rows are up from two weeks ago in terms of volume, I might switch to 3x8 next time and do 4x6 with 50 pounders in two weeks. We’ll see what happens!

Romanian Deadlifts were killer!! My god, I always get a rush of blood to the head when I do deadlifts. It’s like i’m intoxicated. Everything just kind of slows down, and my head is just moving everywhere like a bobblehead. I love it! Next week i’m going to switch to 5x5 with 205. I think I can handle it! Same with the stiff-legged deadlifts. :slight_smile:

Monday I plan to get in 5x5 with 150 on the bench. Wish me luck!

8

July 20th

Benchpress

1x90x8
1x135x6
4x155x5
1x155x3 (to failure)

Rows

1x90x8
1x105x6
5x120x5

Squats:

1x45x10
1x145x8
1x165x7
5x175x5

Dips

5x5

Calf Raise

1x45x8
4x100x8

So i’m up 10 pounds in the calf raise, up six reps in dips, up ten pounds in benchpress, and I can now do a full 5x5 175 lbs in the squat, in under two weeks.

I’m happy with this progress. :slight_smile:

9

July 22nd

Chin-ups: 5x5. Actually got 5x5 this week. Last week I was stuck with a total of 18 reps, but I squeezed out the other 7 today. :slight_smile:

BB Military Press:

1x65x10
1x85x7
5x90x5 (did seven reps on the last set)

Up 5 pounds in my 5x5 on the military, so I am pretty confident!

SLD:

1x135x10
1x175x3
5x195x5

My volume isn’t as high as it was last session, but I actually did five full sets of 195 instead of 1 set. My grip was very close to letting out on the last set! Felt proud when I finished it.

BB Curl:

1x35x8
1x45x6
5x60x5

Was doing fine till the fourth set. I only got three reps. On the fifth set I had to cheat the last rep, but with my height I don’t sweat it.

Skull Crushers

1x35x10
2x45x8
1x50x4
2x45x8

Ab Circuit (added 15 seconds to each exercise)
15 minutes cardio & 85% THR

Okay, I know this is weird, but I haven’t done skull crushers before so did not know how much an extra five pounds would feel. Once I went back down to 45, I was already drained and couldn’t do more can two sets. So now I know: Next week, I will do 5x45x5 and suck it up.

All in all, a good workout. I felt dissapointed with my skull crushers, to be honest. But i’ll just take today as a lesson to drop some of the load.

10

July 24th

Incline BP:

1x65x10
1x90x8
5x115x5

+10lb increase from last week. Last rep was to failure.

RDL:

1x135x8
1x155x7
1x195x3
5x205x5

I have already done 205 before, but never 5x5 (last week you can see I did one set of seven reps, but 3x5 with 195.) So it’s not an increase in weight, but a respectable improvement nonetheless?

Leg Press:

1x100x7
1x160x7
4x200x5
1x210x5

Leg Press was great. Probably could have done 210 the whole set, but I don’t like to go up more than ten pounds on the leg press a week for a whole 5x5 if I can help it unless I really feel comfortable.

Bent-over raises:

1x8x40
3x8x45

Decided after the 1x8 that I was actually going to switch to 3x8 for rows from now on. Doing 5x5 with 55 was tiring, but I could not get that speed I was wanting, so I hopped down to 45 for more reps and I felt a bigger impact that I would have with 55 pounds.

Ab circuit again. Decided to go back to the one my track coach made for me, and did it for two sets.

Leg kickouts
Knee touches
Side planks
Leg Flutters
V-Situp
Straight plank

All for 30 seconds.

Got my Mass XXX today, and i’m taking three scoops (.75 of a serving.) Now I am using my whey before workouts and Mass XXX post workout for the high amount of carbs.

11

July 27th

Okay, today overall felt weird, and i wasn’t in the groove, but I decided to push through it anyway. At 7 AM, I was surprised how many fucking tools are still at this 24 hour fitness. I REALLY get annoyed by the curl jockey’s. Sure, I can ignore them, or use music, but I can’t stand music when I am listening, and I can’t tolerate “COME ON BRO YOU GOT IT JUST FIVE MORE” when they are CURLING 25 POUNDS!

Ugh, sorry.

Anyways!

Benchpress:

1x90x8
1x110x7
1x135x9
1x160x4
1x155x4,3,4,4,2,4,3.

Okay, the work set was so fucking weird, and that is when my day was just off. I was able to do 4x155x5 and one set to three with 155 last week, but today I just felt…slow! I was still surprised I had the strength to get sets six and seven after doing only TWO on my fifth… But I think it’s partly to blame on the 160 pounder, which last I checked is 97% of my 1RM! So maybe my 1RM is around the 175 mark now? I will have to check next week! I’m still proud of my work. I lifted hard. :slight_smile:

Rows:

1x90x7
1x105x4
5x135x5

Rows felt a bit weird too. I had to lean back a tad to get my full range of motion, but I still felt like I had to apply effort to finish off the sets. I think I will stick with this weight and go for 3x8 next week and see how I feel.

Squats:

1x135x8
1x155x5
4x175x5
1x185x5

The 175 pound felt painful around the third rep onward with every set, so I decided I should shoot for 185 on my last set. I had a man spot me just in case (you can never be too careful!) and I felt like he was helping too much. It was just his fingers, but it did not feel very natural to me, it was too controlled to say the least. Getting out of the box still took considerable amount of effort, so next week I will TRY for a work set of 185. I may decided on doing 3x8 to really push my limits.

Dips:

1x5 (Bodyweight)
4x4 (Bodyweight + 10 lb weight)

Cannot believe how much ten pounds effects this workout. My triceps felt like they were about to just start screaming in agony when I was coming up on every fourth rep. I’m going to keep this up and hopefully reach 5x5 with ten pounds.

Calf Raise:

4x8x115

Decided to drop warm up sets with calf raises because they were already warmed up with the treadmill and bike, aswell as squats. I did do just three sets, but decided that I needed more volume with the calf raise to really get the benefits. I think I will push for 5 sets of 8 reps or even five sets of ten to really pound my calves. (Which is what I am going to start doing with squats aswell.)

Did a 3x8 with weighted situp circuit. On my third set at the fifth rep, my abs had this strange spasm, I can’t explain it. But I went for another rep and got the same feeling. It wasn’t unbearable, but it felt like I hurt them enough (the second set left me breathing steadily to say the least.) I think I will feel the pain in the morning.

Also, post workout shakes are disgusting! They taste like rotten bread, but oh well. I never was really good at handling my liquor.

12

July 29th

Chin-ups: 5,5,5,5,4,5.

BB Military Press:

1x65lbx10
1x85lbx7
5x95lbx5

SLDL:

1x135lbx10
1x185lbx6
5x215lbx5

Curls:

1x35lbx5
3x50lbx10

Skull Crushers

3x50lbx10

I think today was one of my best workouts ever. The chin-ups felt a little shady, I had to use my legs a bit to assist in the later sets, but still had a full ROM with intensity. My forearms felt fucked. Deadlifts were a bit too much for me. I tried my hardest to keep strict form. However, my left forearm was being tricky and was getting VERY tight. On the fourth rep of every set, my fingers were slipping so I had to slowly drop the weight so I wouldn’t end up rounding my back to get the weight up. I was still able to finish each set. However, I would have to restart my form after the third rep. I felt like I was doing the exercise a disservice, but I wasn’t about to just stop altogether. I really wanted to beat my forearms in and just get used to it. Next week and this friday I will stick with 5x3 and a heavier weight and see what happens.

Since moving to 3x10 with skull crushers and curls, I have for the first time had to grunt hard as hell to get myself to shove that weight in, and it felt good.

Nutrition today from 6 AM-12 PM

6:30 AM

3 large eggs
Cup of oatmeal w/ tbps of natural honey
3 scoops Whey protein and 12 oz milk

Pre-Workout (7:30 AM)
Scoop of creatine 20 minutes before workout

Post-workout (9:30 AM)

Four scoops Mass XXX w/ 14 oz milk.

11:30 AM

Can of tuna

12:30 AM

Half cup of oats plain

Nutritional breakdown:

40/40/20 protein, carbs & fat

2,308 kcal. 54g fat 242g protein 242g carbs

The rest of the day I am opting for 3,500 kcal with close to 110g of fat and 350g of protein.

13

July 31st

Incline BP:

1x65x12
1x90x10
5x120x5

RDL:

1x135x6
1x185x7
5x225x3

Leg Press:

1x120x10
1x170x8
3x200x10

Bent-over Rows:

1x40x15
3x50x8

Nutrition:

6:30-7:00 AM

Whey protein, 12 oz milk
3 eggs scrambled
2 packets oats

9:00-12:00 PM

Post workout shake w/ 16 oz milk

2 PM

Three eggs scrambled
3oz lean chicken breast diced
1/4 cup of cheese

14

07/08

Front:


Back:


08/02

Front:


Back:


Strength on 07/08 in 5x5

Flat/Incline/Military Benchpress: 145lbs, 105lbs, 85 lbs
Squat: 165lbs
Deadlift: 195lbs
Dips: 5,6,6,4

Strength as of now:

Flat/Incline/Military: 155lbs, 120lbs, 105lbs
Squat: 185lbs
Deadlift: 215lbs
Dips: 5x4 w/ 10lb + bw

15

Benchpress:

1x190x8
1x135x7
1x165x2
5x3x155: 4,3,3,3,4,2
1x2x175

Squat:

1x135x10
1x165x7
5x185x5

Row:

1x90x10
1x105x7
2x120x10
1x120x4
1x105x3

Yeaaah. Haha, going to stick with 105 with this for a bit.

Dips:

bw+10lbs

5,3

Calf Raise:

3x10x125

Today felt awesome. The benchpress was very high volume, and I was trying to shoot for a 1RM max, succeeded, and so set a PR, but I did it twice, so I probably should have shot for around 180. But, my dips suffered. My arms felt like they were on the verge of tearing, so after the second set I stopped.

Kicked the squats ass. It was brutal, but I came out strong. Calf raise felt amazing aswell. Overall happy with the workout

Todays diet in no particular order:

42oz milk
2 protein shakes
1 post-workout shake
14oz chicken
Lettuce, tomatoes, onions, olives, nuts.
2oz blue cheese
Tuna salad

3400 calories, 350g protein, 120g fat, 201g carbs.

16

August 5th

Chinups

5,5,5,5,5

BB Military Press:

1x70x6
1x90x5
5x100x5

5,3,3,3,5

SLDL:

1x135x7
1x185x4
5x225x5
5,3,3,3,5

Curls:

3x55x8

Skull Crushers:

1x50x10
4x60x6
6,6,6,7

17

August 7th

Incline BP:

1x65x12
1x90x10
5x125x5

RDL:

1x135x6
1x185x7
5x225x5

5,5,5,3,1

Leg Press:

1x120x10
1x170x8
3x215x10

Rows:

3x12x50

18

Benchpress

90x8
135x7
5x3x160

Squat

1x135x7
1x165x5
5x195x5

BB Row

4x90x6

Calf Raise

3x12x140

Dips

8,8,6,6

19

Chin-ups

8,7,4,3,3

BB Military:

1x50x10
1x75x5
5x110x1 (don’t ask…didn’t add right.)
105x5

4,3,3,4,5

SLDL:

1x135x10
1x185x5
3x225x4
2x205
5,3

Curls:

3x55x8

8,8,5,3

Skull Crushers:

5x65x5

Farmers Walk:

30 steps & slow tempo /65 lb each/6 sets

Having problems progressing in deadlifts thanks to my grip strength. I am going to isolate my wrists for awhile and drop the weight down to 210 with deadlifts and experiment with high volume, and keep that going for a week or two at most and see how my wrist strength does

20

Another option for getting your grip strength up to speed is heavy rack pulls, particularly if you hold onto the weight at lockout for a few seconds. Also, if you have access to a gripper machine like this one -
weighttrainersunited.com - This website is for sale! - Personal trainer Resources and Information. - try closing and holding it for time with a heavy weight. I know these two exercises helped me get past grip issues in the past better than standard wrist exercises like wrist curls and wrist roller.