Becoming a Bad-Ass Part I

First of all, I finally got internet at my apartment! So I can finally post more frequently. Before I get in to becoming a "Bad-Ass", I'll post last weeks workouts.

7/30 Cardio- 30+min (3.5-3.7)
7/31 Lower Body workout #1
Squats- 135x5, 185x4, 225x3, 275x2, 315x2, 335x2, 275x13
Leg extensions 145x10x5 sets (last set was 12 reps)
Some lunges in between
leg curls 125x10,x10,x10
shrugs 135x12, 185x12, 225x12, 275x8
calf raises- 135x15x3 sets
some ab work
08/02 Upper Body workout #1
Went okay, made progress on back/ regressed on bench....may be due to foot placement, will try feet flat from now on, especially for repping
Bench Press CG- 135x5, 165x4, 195x3, 225x2, 255x1, 225x7 ( sad face)
Incline Bench Press- 190x5, 140x11
DB Flat Press- 80x8
Isolateral machine- 6plates x16
Pull ups- 45x5, 50x4x4x4x4, 60x3, bwx15
Some heavy curling/triceps pushdowns
08/04 Lower Body workout #2
Front Squats- 135x5, 185x3, 225x1, 245x5, 255x4, 275x3,x3,x3
Hack Squats- 4platesx20,x20,x20 (will bump up by 25-50lbs next week and shoot for 15-20 reps)
Calf Seated- 90x15, 110x15,x15
Ab work (roman chair/machine crunches)
08/05-HIIT- on Bike
08/06 Upper Body workout #2
Behind Neck Press- 115x5, 125x5, 135x5,x3
Dips Bw- 20x20x20x16
Deadlifts- 380x2, 315x8x3 speed- worked up to 610x1!
Circuit
Kick Backs
DB curls 35








Now that workout shits is out of the way, I'll give you guys a little update on the diet. I have stabilized my diet (meaning I know how many calories I need to maintain my weight), so now its time to drop it like its hot.

Starting tomorrow I'll be doing something like this: 300g protein/200g carbs/80g fat. I'll refeed every 6th or 7th day by upping carbs and lowering protein/fats.


I don't know how this is going to go since its the first time I ever really decided to just cut and not worry too much about gaining muscle too.

Anyhow, back to the main topic of this post. Becoming a Bad Ass part 1

1. Obtain massive shoulders. Without a doubt, shoulders are the most important body part for anyone seeking to become a Bad-Ass-mofo....Reason being, you can't freakin hide that shit. Notice that even when you are wearing clothes, you can't hide your shoulders. You can hide your arms, abs, legs, chest, but a well developed set of shoulders cannot be hidden. You could say that traps would rank up there, and while they certainly are characteristic of bad-ass people, I still believe shoulders to be #1.

Notice the 3D shoulders

The main reason people have difficulty obtaining massive shoulders is due to the fact that the shoulders are a complex joint with 3! fucking heads. You have your front head, medial head (although its really more of a lateral head), and the rear head. Most guys have their front deltoid way too overdeveloped...mainly due to international bench day. You douches know exactly who you are. You go to the gym and bench on Monday, maybe Wednesday, and Friday too! That's if you are moderate as well! Over a long period of time you develop shoulder issues and attribute it to benching...Its mainly because you suck at benching and your form is causing you to break down your delicate shoulder joint. Anyhow, enough ranting. I'm going to go over how you get bad ass shoulders. Just to put this as a disclaimer, my shoulders are pathetic in their current state. I have really neglected them, but I'm putting some emphasis on them and I'll show you how I'm going to do this as well.

Rear Deltoids! If its your first time hearing that name, then I would simply just give up weight lifting and bodybuilding and pick up a new hobby. Rear deltoids are what most gym goers lack. No shoulders are complete without a pair of these. When you don't have them, its like trying to ride a bicycle without your back wheel. You will look ridiculous from all your back poses and you will fuck your shoulders up in the future as the stability of your joint will eventually give in.
So, how may your develop a set of awesome rear deltoids you may ask? I have one simple answer for you. ROW. The rear deltoids are a tiny freakin muscle (unless you are Dexter Jackson like in the above pic). You can spend your time doing isolation exercises, but no exercise will give you as much bang for your buck as a rowing exercise. You have a million variations to pick from. Machine rows, Horizontal rows, Vertical rows, BB rows, DB rows, row your gf, it does not matter. If you are pressing, than you should be rowing twice as much.

The other parts of developing a well set of shoulders you are probably already doing. These involve pressing (vertical mainly but horizontal as well) and maybe some side laterals. You could say upright rows...but notice how that's a row too. Rows are just fucking bomb...If people rowed as much as they pressed, the world would be a better place, just sayin.

2. The second most important part of being a Bad-Ass-MOFO involves lifting super heavy weights. Now, I'm not saying you can't build muscle without it, but who wants to be all show with no go!? There will come a time when you will need to put your muscle to use and it would suck if you looked big but threw your back out because your spinal erectors were weak and you were too much of a baby to deadlift. That's right, without a doubt, deadlifting massive weights is the best exercise in the world. It is by far the exercise in which you will have the most potential to move the most weight. Now, you could argue that the squat is up there as well, and for sure people have squatted massive weights, but then we can get into technique and I can smash your argument to shit. People usually fuck the squat up by doing quarter squats. They move 1/4 of an inch down and call that a squat. Now my friends might know me as a squat nazi because I go all the down until my ass is essentially on the ground (ATG), but with the deadlift you can't really cheat. You either get the weight up or you don't.

Franco could move some massive weight on the deadlift! No excuses if you are short and don't have super long arms

Notice how the deadlift will train your whole back and put mountains on your shoulders (if you are a guy and have butt loads of testosterone). Doesn't matter who you are, the deadlift is the ultimate test of brute strength. People can pick up cars, move all kinds of shit, and it all comes back to having a great deadlift. If your baby was stuck under a pile of rubble, you would have wished you had a great deadlift. 

If you are not deadlifting, you should start. It will bring out the best in you. Plus, there's nothing better like just moving massive weight off the ground. What could be manlier!?




In part II, I'll continue with the next 2 steps to being a BAMF.

Workouts from week 1

Week 1 workouts:

7/23 Lower Body workout #1
Squats- 135x5, 175x4, 225x3, 275x2, 315x1, 265x14- felt good, not super hard
Leg Ext- 130x10x5
Leg curls- 140x7, 70x10x2, problems with calves cramping
Calf raises- 120x15x3
Triceps Push-downs- 70x8-10 4 sets
Curls 35lb x10 3 sets
Abs
20min steady cardio
Sleep- 6.5 hours

7/24 Rest Day/but moving and lots of walking

7/25 Upper Body workout #1
Bench Press CG- barx15, 135x5, 165x4, 195x3, 225x2, 245x1, 225x8 (goal 12 reps)
Incline Press- 185x5, 135x14
Isolateral Row- 2platesx15, 4 platesx10, 6 platesx14 (goal 20 reps)
Pull ups- 5,4,4,2,1, 30x2, 45x5, bwx12
Cable curls ss with Triceps rope from ground overhead
70x12,x12,x12 and 70x12,x12,x11
20min cardio on 15 incline 3.2 speed
Sleep- 6 hours

7/26 Cardio (light 30min)+ 10lbsx20x4 lateral raises

7/27 Lower Body workout #2
Front Squats- w/up,  245x5, 265x4, 285x1, 265x3,x3 (next week try 275 for sets of 3)
Hack Squats- 4platesx20, x20,x18 (felt good, keep same weight and work to get 20-25 reps each set before moving up)
Calf Raises Seated- 90x15,x15,x15
Light Ab work

7/28- complete rest day

7/29 Upper Body workout #2

Behind the Neck Press (BNP)- 105x10, 125x7, 105x9,x7 (will stick with 105 next week)
Dips Bwx25,x19,x13x12 (goal is to get 25 on all 4 sets before adding weight)
Deadlifts- w/up sets and then working set at 360x2 (felt good)
Speed deadlifts- 8x3 @290
          Circuit, 3 rounds at 135lbs for all exercises, 8 reps for each exercise
Stiff deads
Bent over rows
Lat pull downs
Good mornings
        Finisher
Triceps pushdowns 70x12,x12,x11,x9,x8
DB curls 35x10,x10,x10,x8,x8 (last sets had bad form)
Sleep- 8 hours :D

*Overall I can say this was a good workout. I slept well the night before and I felt good coming out. Didn’t do cardio since this was a fairly high volume/long workout. Will do cardio tomorrow after work. 

So, there you have it. 1 week of full workouts. My goals for this coming week are to improve conditioning through cardio, stick to my diet, and get lots of sleep (8+hours). Hopefully this will lead to better results in the gym.

Getting Ripped MOFOS

So, I have not posted in a while, mainly because I work shit tons of hours and am super busy so I'm going to post once or twice a week. Mainly on the weekends. However, each of these post will be super detailed and fucking awesome. I finally have my own apt with my amazing gf and I will be able to actually cook most of my meals and get every calorie down. Like I said before I'm going to start in the 2900-3000ish range with calories and slowly taper down until I'm super ripped, and then add back in calories slowly. So far I have been good with doing cardio consistently and am feeling good about myself. Anyhow, I have a little surprise for everyone. I'm going to post these awesome pizza tacos that I will be eating through out the week. The list with all my workouts will come after I complete my last workout of the week today. So stay tuned.


Here is how you make Jeremy's Pizza Tacos

Ingredients:
Veggies (as much and whatever kind you like)
Low calories pizza sauce
2 Truly whole grain tortillas (can be found a costco )
6oz of chicken (not required)
1/4 cup fat free non dairy cheese


Here is how you make it

Cook your chicken (if you are using it)

Weigh your chicken

Get crust ready (I actually added more tomato sauce for the record)

Cut your veggies

Add everything

Final product

Fold and enjoy

Getting ready to resume training

Hey Guys,


I'm writing from Brazil currently. I have managed to train while I was here but not really that intensely. My diet here has really not been that good so I have leaned out a bit (lost both fat/muscle/and some strength). I'm really excited though to get back to the states next week and finally get back on my normal eating schedule and start training hardcore again. I will start slow and ease into it so I don't get injured or anything. I have already planned my split and training schedule along with my diet. My goals are to get back to my strength levels before I finished school while getting leaner and then do a clean bulk and get brutally strong.

Here is my layout for training. Notice how its very basic with no real specialization. I still consider myself an intermediate so there is no need to deviate from the very basic movements (push/pull/squat)

Upper/Lower Split with x3 steady state conditioning (will add in interval work after the first 2 weeks)

Upper Body 1:
Bench Press- 5,4,3,2,1- 1x8-12 back off set
Incline Press- 1x5, 1x8-12
T Bar Rows- 1x20
Weighted Chins- 5,4,3,2,1, 1x3-5, 1xmax reps with body weight
French Press- 4x15
DB Curls- 4x15
Off Day/Conditioning 30min
Lower Body/Abs 1:
Squats- 5,4,3,2,1, 1x12-20
Leg Extensions 5x10 or 1-legged squats 5x10 (if I can figure out how to do these lol)
Leg Curls- 1x10-10-10 strip set (go to failure, strip weight off/repeat)
Calf Raises Seated- 3x15
Abs- 3 sets of 10
Off Day/Conditioning 30min
Upper Body 2: 
Press Behind the Neck/Klokov Press (4x8-10) or Standing Press for 5,4,3,2,1, 1x3-5
Dips- Bwx4 x max reps
Deadlifts- 5,4,3,2,1,1,1, 1x3
Shrugs 1x5, 1x20
Push Downs- 5x10
BB Curls- 5x10 
Off Day/Conditioning 30min 
Lower Body/Abs 2: 
Front Squats, 5,4,3,3,3
Leg Press- 2x20-25
Calf Raises standing 3x15
Decline Sit Ups- 3xmax reps
Day Off

So, notice how the training days are not that high in volume and its very simple. I'm going to try this for a few weeks and see if doing less shit=faster progression= faster results.


Additionally I will be switching my regular bench press to a closer grip press because I think that flaring the elbows out during a normal bench press is just not that healthy for pec/shoulder health.

I will be following a semi-strict progression for Bench/Squats and Deadlifts.

Here are some numbers I will use for squats (starting off super light to be conservative) The reps achieved are just projections, not sure how it will really pan out. I have repped 315 for 15 reps before so If I see myself hitting more than 20 reps for the AMAP I will up the weight the following week

For Bench (Again, numbers are really low, but that is on purpose...I'm gonna start slow and if everything is easy I can simply adjust)

For Deadlifts I will follow the Coan Progression Method (a little higher volume on those days)

 For the first 4-6 weeks my diet will be as follows (On conditioning days I will drop carbs from the protein shake)

 Very very long post but I'm excited to begin the journey! I will start this training program on July 22/23.

Some more workouts

So, I'm off to Brazil tomorrow and probably wont be posting on the blog due to internet issues. I'm going to try and train DC style when I get there. Here are some workouts I managed to get in this week


Legs
Squats 135x10, 225x5, 275x4, 315x3, 335x2, 365x2, 325x8
Hack Squats- 90x8, 180x8, 270x6, 360x8, 180x13
Leg Curls- 120x15,x15,x15,x15
Some leg extension

Upper Body
Bench Press- 135x8, 185x5, 225x4, 245x3, 265x2, 285x1, 315x6, 245x8, x5
High Row Machine- 2 plates x15, 4 x10, 6x9,x8,x6
DB Decline Press 70x14, 80x12, 90x8,x7
Lat Pulldowns- 100x10, 175x10, 205x6,x6
Chest Fly Machine- 100x10, x7 80x8, 60x10
Low Row 160x15,x15x15,x12
Some curls and extensions


That's it for now. Wish me luck for Brazil!

Workouts, ehhh

So my workouts have all been crap. I think its the new gym along with low calories and really bad sleep. I'm really hoping things will get better in August when I move up and get settled into a new place. I find myself doing lots of random exercises and not really progressing on anything so I need to throw shit out and do something more basic.

Chest/Triceps-
Bench Ptress- barx15, 135x5, 185x4, 225x3, 255x2, 275x1, 295x1 (failed on second rep), 245x9.5, x3 (no progress whatsoever :/)
MTS incline Machine- 90x10, 180x8, 270x3
BB incline Press- 135x12, x11,x9
Flat flies- 40x10 for 5 sets
Press down- 30x20, 70,x12, 80x10, x10,x8
Rope Overhead- 40x11,x9+3cheat,x9+5 cheat
Dip Machine- 210x12, 255x12, 285x12, 310(stack)x10

Biceps-
barx15, 65x8, 95x4, 115x9x6x6  (ez curl)
Db Curls- 35x8,x8,x8
Preacher Curls (hate this exercise)- 65x10,x10,x10
Hammer curls- 20x12, 35x9, 35 x15 pin curls

Shoulders/Triceps-
Military Press- barx15, 95x10, 145x5, 165x4, 185x3, 195x1, 145x12 (+1 rep from last week)
Db Arnold Press- 50x12, 60x9x9
Face Pulls 50x15 for 5 sets
Rope Extensions with 50lbs
Incline BB Extensions

More workouts

So, I'm still recovering so to speak. My strength is a lot lower than it has been in the past and my workouts are still not awesome but I'm doing my best. I feel a little leaner which is nice but my goal right now is just to maintain and try to get stronger if possible



Evening Triceps workout (07/19 Tuesday)
CG Bench Press- 195x10, x10,x9
Skulls- 95x10, x10, 105x6
Db Extensions- 55x10, 70x7, 55x7
Overhead Rope Extensions- 42.5x8, x5,x6 (might need to do these earlier or go lighter, most likely move them earlier)



Morning Legs workout (07/20  Wednesday)
Squats- 135x10, 185x5, 225x4, 275x3, 315x2, 335x2, 355x1, 315x10
Hack Squats- 90x5, 180x5, 270x2, 320x10, x10,x9
Leg Extensions- 105x20, x13,x13,x17
Leg Curls- 90x10,x10,x10,x10,x10
Ab work

Evening Back/Biceps workout (07/21 Thursday)
Deadlifts (finally doing these again)- 135x10, 225x5, 315x5, 405x5, 465x3
Tbar Rows (new exercises so just getting used to it)- 45x10, 90x5, 135x3, 180x4, 135x5, 90x7, 45x7 (start at 135 next time)
Pull ups- bw only- 10, 7,7,10, 7- 41 reps total
BB curls-85x8, 95x10,x9,x7x7
Preacher Curls- 70x7,x7,x6
Machine Curls- 70x4, 45x10,x10

Few workouts and getting back into things

So, I essentially have been starved for the past 5 days. With graduation and my family coming up I have been eating around 1 meal a day and even working out fasted. Thankfully, I'm done with all that and can start eating well again. I'm hoping my workouts will start to improve with the increase in food and sleep. Also, I was planning on doing a shoulder/hamstring workout at the 24 fitness I just joined but midway through the alarms went off and I had to leave....so I'll throw in hamstrings tomorrow with quads.

Chest/Triceps

Bench- barx5, 135x5, 185x4, 225x3, 245x2, 265x1, 285x1, 305x2, 245x9/50% set x4
Incline DB Press- 80x10,x10,x6
Flys- 130x12, x10,x9
Overhead DB Ext- 60x12, x9, x7
CG Bench - 175x6,x6.x6
Pushdowns power style- 85x12,x7,x8

Back/Biceps
BB Rows- 285x10, 295x7, 315x7,
pull ups- bwx5, 25x5, 45x4, 65x3, 90x2, bwx12
Deadlifts- simply could not deadlift
Hammer Curls- 55x10, x9,x8
CG Curls- 95x10, x7, x5
db curls- 30x9,x9,x9

Shoulders
Military Press with clean- 95x10, 145x5, 165x4, 185x3, 205x1 (cheated big time), 145x11
db raises- 25x20,x20,x15,x14,x13
face pulls- 40x5 setsx15
Arnold Press (light)- 30lbsx5 setsx 10 reps

3 workouts

So I've been busy with school past few days but now I'm finally done with undergrad, so here are 3 workouts.

First was 9/10
Second was 10/10
Third was 7/10

My third workout was my leg workout but my back was still not recovered so it really had an impact on my back squats...it happens.

Cleans- 135x3, 185x3,x1, 175x3,x3,x3
Military Press- 135x14,155x9, 175x6 SS with face pulls at 30lbs- 6 sets or so
Stiff deadlifts- 275x10, 295x8, 315x10 (I will be taking these out and going back to normal deadlifts on my back day)


BB rows- 275x8, 285x8, 295x5
Pull ups- bwx5, 25x4, 45x3, 65x2, 90x2 (that's right, pull ups with 90lbs strapped to me, that puts me at over 300lbs), bwx12
Seated Rows- 160x15,x12,x12,x10
Hammer curls- 55x6,x6,x6
BB CG curls- 90x10,x6,x6
DB curls 20x11,x11,x11


Back Squats- 135x9, 225x5, 275x3, 315x3, 335x3, 355x2, 375x2, 315x8 (Back had given out)
Front Squats- 225x5, 245x4, 265x2, 285x1, 305x3, 315x1
Leg Extensions- 110x15 for 6 sets


Due to recovery issues I'm going to restructure my training split into the following

Shoulders/Hamstring
Back/Biceps
Rest
Chest/Triceps
Quads
Rest

I think this gives me enough recovery between muscles groups. Also I'm going to change the exercises around a bit

Shoulders- Cleans/Military Press/Face Pulls/Side Laterals
Hamstrings- Leg Curls/Good mornings (light)/Maybe light stiff leg deadlifts too
Back- Deadlifts/Pull ups/ BB Rows
Chest- Bench Press/ Incline DB/ Dips
Triceps- CG Bench/Overhead Rope/Skulls
Biceps- BB Curls/Hammer Curls/DB Curls


Everything is really basic but I truly believe that's the best way to get a classic physique.

Chest/Triceps/A little Biceps

So today's workout was very intense! I took a lot of sets to failure/past failure and threw some bicep work towards the end. I'm really trying to build a well developed symmetrical physique and my arms have always lagged behind. I did learn a few things from this workout.
1. If I take Bench press to true true NEGATIVE failure....everything else after will suck ass
2. I need to do more overhead extensions to hit the long head of my triceps more for a nice thick arm
3. I think I can hit triceps/biceps/calves more often without over training them

Bench Press- 135x6, 185x5, 225x3, 250x2, 275x1, 295x1, 305x1, 250x10,x2,x2 (30 sec rest and then 1 min rest)
Incline DB Press- 80x8, x6, x5
CG Bench- 135x5, 175x5, 195x6
Machine Fly- 125x15, x15,x15
Pushdowns Isolation style- 85x10, 95x8, 60x11 drop set
Overhead DB Extensions- 60x8, x7,x6 (will move these up next time)
Machine Curls- 60x10,x8,x6


Not a bad workout. I think I will keep a machine curl exercise towards the end. Maybe I'll just stick with 60lbs until it becomes light (12-15 reps for 3 sets)

Quads Destruction :D

So I just had one of those quad workouts where I destroyed my legs! I literally could barely walk out of the gym and by the end of the workout I was toast. I kind of like this switching between heavy/high rep/widow makers and RP sets. Widow makers are essentially where you go super heavy on your first working set (8 reps for example) and then drop pounds and attempt to do 20reps. Next week it will be RP I think.

Anyhow, I think I really only need to do front squats or Leg press, def not both. Its just way too demanding/I think I just get diminishing returns.

Back Squats- 135x10, 225x5, 275x3, 315x1, 255x1, 375x1, 395x1, 355x8, 275x15 (I attempted 20 reps but was out of breath lol)
Front Squats- 225x6 for 5 sets. 225 felt heavy so just did more sets for volume
Leg Extensions- 130x15,x10,10 1 min rest
Leg Press 8 platesx1 rep, felt too heavy, 4 plates x8 lol


As you can see the first 2 exercises completely destroyed me. I think one week I'll use the leg press and the other week the front squat but def not both. I forgot to take pics but I'm hoping these workouts will bring up my outer quad sweep.

Back/Biceps

So I did a Back/Biceps workout and added a bit more volume. No PRs were broken and it was an okay workout. My form/reps got a little sloppy at the end. I'm really trying to figure out how many sets are good enough for me. So I tried a bunch of exercises this workout. I think in the future I'll just stick to 3-4 exercises and do more sets of them.

BB Rows- 275x7,x5.x4 (almost 30-60 second rest in between)
Pull ups- 50x7,x6 (underhand), 25 (overhand)x6
DB curls-35x9 each, 40x8 each, x8 each
BB Curls with a little cheat- 120x7, 125x3 drop set 65x16
Pulldowns- 160x10, 180x8, 180x8 cg, x7 cg
DB rows- 85x15, 100x10
Cable Row- 140x20
Hammer Curls- 50x10 each, x9 each, x7 each
CG EZ bar curls- 60x10 (kind of pointless set lol)

So from this workout I think my biceps can take 9  sets with my Back muscles. By my 10th set it just was not worth it. I think next week I'll shoot for 9 or so. For my Back muscles I did 13 sets and that seems to be about right. I'm going to switch things up for next week and do something like the following:

1st exercise- Weighted pull ups. Warm up and then do a RP set 3 times
2nd exercise- BB Rows- straight set- shoot for 8-10 reps
3d exercise- Hammer Curls- 3 sets as heavy as possible 6-10 reps
4th exercise- DB rows- 4 sets 8-12 reps
5th exercise- BB curls, 8-10 reps, maybe start at 100lbs?
6th exercise- 1-2 set of high reps for back, whatever exercise I feel like.
7th exercise- Biceps exercise, probably DB curls- 6-10 reps


And here are some pics post workout

Shoulders/Hamstrings

So I had a good training session. My shoulder is starting to flare up again (reminds me of the bursitis I got 2 years ago) so I really need to incorporate some more rotator cuff work. I might try to do some tomorrow with my cardio.

Romanian Deadlifts- 315x9, 325x3+5 (was grinding against my leg)
Standing leg raises- 60x10, 90x12,100x8
Trap Shrugs- 325x10,x9,x6
Seated Leg Raises- 140x8,x6
Lateral Cable 15x8 (my right shoulder was in a lot of pain so stopped)
Seated Military Press- 135x12, 155x9, 175x6
Laterals DB 20x15 (still painful so couldn't do any more)
Rear Deltoids Row- 70x15, 90x12, 110x8
Rear Deltoids Machine- 70x15 for 4 sets


Since I'm focusing more on size I have added a bit more volume with a focus on the lateral/rear deltoid area. I still need to get stronger just in a higher rep range so I'm going to do an experiment.

For my main mass exercises (Military/DB Presses) I'm going to do the following:

Start at 135 for 1st set and go from 12-15, once I hit 15 I will up the weight
155 and go for 8-10, once I hit 10 up the weight
175 and go for 6-8, again up the weight at 8

So if I hit for example, 135x15, 155x8, 175x6, next week only 135 would go up to 140 and the rest stay the same. Idk how this will work but I believe it will allow me to incorporate progression while still getting a lot of reps in.

Anyhow here are some shoulder pics for you guys

A+ Chest/Triceps workout with unintentianal Deltoid workout

So today was a milestone in my training. I have been hitting the weights with a lot of hard work these past few weeks with a focus on becoming a strong mofo. However, the heavy weights can really take a toll on your joints/body so I decided I would still lift heavy but focus more on a little more volume/bodybuilding to build up those connective tissues and just try something new. Well I did a 225 bench press test and hit 16 reps. It was a true struggle to get that 16th rep (It literally took me like 6 seconds to get to the lockout and thought I might even fail lol). I have not been training my bench press for high reps at all so to hit 16 was unbelievable. Last time I did this I think i might have gotten 11 or 12. Now, I know this is not the strongest/best 225 rep out but just over a year ago I struggled with getting 245x2 or 225x5. For 225 to feel light for me is almost a dream come true. For all those that are starting out/thinking you can never be jacked and muscular, don't give up hope. When I started training I could not get 135 and struggled after a year of training to get 155 for 5. I used to go into the gym and see guys (who I thought were huge at the time) put up 225 for a few reps and thought to myself, man I wish I could do that. There were times where I had doubts as to where my genetics could take me but you CAN DO IT. It takes time and patience and hard work. Training is not an exact science but you should experiment and see what works FOR YOU. This is what I have been doing and so far the results have been great.

Anyhow, enough rambling, here is my workout

Bench Press- barx20, 135x5, 160x4, 195x3, 225x2, 260x1, 225x16
Incline DB Press- 85x9,x8 ( had to drop the weight because 225x16 was true failure for me)
CG Bench Press- 205x6,x6,215x5
Dips- bw+45x10
Pushdowns- 100x10,x5,x3 (all done with 30seconds rest in between)
Skulls at 60x10x5 (10 reps for 5 sets, last set was super super super slow)

A+ workout....except my front deltoids were smashed. My right shoulder even started to ache a bit in the workout, so I guess its good I didn't go so heavy. I was planning on hitting shoulders tomorrow so I think I might throw out all front deltoid movements for tomorrow and focus on rear/lateral and more upright row movements to hit shoulders/traps.


Since I woke up feeling pretty good I took some photos pre workout and post. I didn't weigh myself, well mainly cuz I forgot.

Pre-workout pic

Post workout pics

The diet is still at around 3500Kcals. Will do 3500 for next week and then drop to somewhere between 3000-3300Kcals. As you can see I'm not really that lean but that's okay. It's extremely hard to build muscle without any fat (at least for me), and I like to focus on 1 goal at a time and do it really well. I'm sort of afraid of losing mass/muscle in Brazil so I may up the calories there but either which way I'm going to get really ripped :D

Finally! Awesome Quad session

So after struggling for a few weeks to have a good quad session I finally had one :D I didn't break any amazing PRs but I did something different and got an extra rep at 335lb squats.

Squats- 135x10, 185x5, 225x4, 275x3, 315x2, 365x1, 335x10, x5 (Yay lol)
Front Squats Olympic style- 225x6, 235x6, 245x6, 255x6, 265x6
Leg Press- 8 platesx18,x14
Leg Extensions giant set- 70x12,x8
Calf Raises- 170x20,x14

A good session overall. I started using straps for the front squats and OMFG, that shit was easy! I kind of kept all those sets to lower reps because I read somewhere it just wasn't economical from a safety standpoint to do more and it made sense to me. Anyhow, the straps with wrist wraps=golden (pain free). I included some higher rep work towards the end to help with the connective tissue (I have been having some aches lately). I really enjoyed this workout, I was sweating like a pig and it felt good lol.

Very excited to just do cardio tomorrow (intensity will depend on how burnt my legs are). We have a Korean BBQ event going on tomorrow and my diet has been so good so I might just skip a meal and get extra protein from the meat at the BBQ.

Can't wait to drop calories and get those feathered quads!

Evening Cardio/Reflecitons/Video

So I just finished my evening cardio session. I will be doing these every other day to improve conditioning/lose a little fat/help partition nutrients. It was a mix of intervals at the beginning and then steady state at the end for a total of 25-30min. My weight is around 208 right now and I hope to get down to 195-200 before I lean bulk again.


Also, after today's workouts my biceps/lats were cramping like crazy. I could not move my biceps without them cramping and I even had some tendon pain :/ I think I'm going to drop a few heavy movements in favor of high rep movements to build up the connective tissue a bit more. I will def be including this in all my body parts.

Diet for today (pretty good rough estimate)

Back/Biceps/Abs

Had a +/- okay workout. Did not break any real PRs, but just gave it my all. I was kind of slow moving through everything so I need to be a little bit focused next time. Anyhow, here it is

Pull ups- bw+50x8,x6,x6 (dropped weight from last week but got more reps out)
BB Rows- 275x8, x5+2, x6 (the 5+2 is because on the 5th rep the bar ripped my headphones out so I had to restart)
BB curls- 120x7,x5
Lat pulldowns- 200x10, 220x5,x5
Cable Rows- 140x25 (threw this in just for fun)
DB curls- 55x12,x12 (or 6 each arm)
Hammer Curls- 50x16 (or 8 each arm)
3 sets of Roman Chair with 35lbs


Excited for Quads/Calves tomorrow. Next week I think I will change some of the ordering of my exercises. I will put BB rows first, then Pull ups, then throw out pulldowns and swith to a rowing motion like low row and might throw in a high rep lat pulldown. I will also do DB curls before BB curls.

Calories have been very clean for the past 2 days lol. Yesterday I got in 3200 (off day) and today I will probably get in close to 3500.

Macros will be something like this most liklely

Carbs 430grams , Protein 315grams , Fat 55grams (maybe slightly higher in fat)

Hopefully I will be able to maintain my muscle on this amount and also  lean out a bit for summer.

Hamstrings/Shoulders/Deadlifts

Did Hamstrings yesterday but I'm not going to even bother posting it cuz it was so bad. I could not feel my hamstrings at all and it just sucked. Anyhow today I did a short shoulder workout and some deadlifts with my friend Jake just for shits and giggles.

Military Press- 180x6, 185x4,x3
DB Shoulder Press- 90x6, x5
Deadlifts- 555x1, I don't remember the warm up weights but they were all singles after 405

Anyhow, felt good to know that even though I have not trained it directly for weeks I still have it in me.

I think I have hit my max in the 4-6 rep range so I'm going to lighten the load and move to 6-8 rep range until I stall there.

Might take tomorrow off as a cardio/rest day and then start Back/Biceps with 6-8 rep range.

Chest/Triceps....I'm kicking ASS

So I just had a kick ass workout! Very very good news. I hope this continues for the rest of the week. I had PRs on almost every major exercise and I got a huge pump in my chest/triceps.

Here you go

Bench Press- 285x6 (Easy!), 290x4, 295x4 (probably try and start at 290 next week)
CG Bench Press- 205x6, 215x6, 220x6 (I can't wait to go for 225)
Incline DB Press-100x6 (easy), 105x5 (This might be an issue lol, never thought I would say this but the biggest DBs in the gym are 110....I might get too strong for the DBs lol)
Dips- bw+90x7, (Fuck ya, can finally move up on these)
Pushdowns- 115x7,x6 (there is no intermediate between 130 and 115 so I'll need to be creative next week)
Skull Crushers- 105x6

Legs/well mainly quads

So today was an okay workout. Not excellent by any means but I lowered the weight and went for slightly more reps. Considering only 7hours of sleep the last two days it was not so bad. I also realized that it's just really hard to hit both hamstring and quads effectively in one workout so i will be most likely be splitting them up in the future.

Squats- 335x9, 340x8, 345x5
Front Squats- 225x4,230x4 (managed to do these olympic style without hurting the wrist too much
Leg Press- 6platesx20,x19
Siff Deads- 275x8 (my lower back was so tight I simply could not do these)

Overall, I would have liked to have added more volume but I did what I could manage.

I also want to put in more effort/dedication to quads/hamstring/calves/abs from now on.

Back/Biceps workout

So unfortunately I had to workout during the gym busy hours so I had to change the order of my exercises so I wouldn't lose my rack

Pulls ups- bw+60x6,x6, 65x4! (Hell ya, going to start start at 65 next week)
BB Rows- 285x5,x5,x4 (keep weight the same)
BB curls- 120x6,x7 (Awesome pump from just 2 heavy sets, going to 125 next week!)
Db curls- 55x5,x5 (keep same weight)
Lat Pulldowns- 235x4 (didn't feel right), 220x8,x7 (not sure what I will do with this next week)
Cable Curls- 87.5x4 (getting rid of this movement, will be replaced with hammer curls)


Very good workout :D I feel like I'm adding good thickness to my back which really just makes you look bad-ass.

Shoulders/Traps

Made some gains from last week! :D

Military Press- 175x6, 180x5,180x5 (I got an extra rep at 175 and an extra rep at 180 and even added another set)
DB Shoulder Press- 85x6 (+5 gain from last week, will go up to 90s next week)
Laterals- 50x8,x8
Shrugs- 355x12, 375x8, 395x6 (decided to do more reps instead of adding more weight)

My shoulder that I messed up last week has almost healed completely so I might be able to do weighted pull ups again without fucking things up!

Chest/Triceps from Saturday

Forgot to post my workout from yesterday but here it is.


Bench Press- 280x5,x6, 285x4 (start at 285 next week)
Incline DB Press- 95x6, 100x6
CG Bench Press- 190x6, 195x6, 200x5
Pushdowns- 130x5, x3 (fail)
Skulls 105x6
Dips- bw+90x6

My goal is to keep adding weight to my lifts in the 4-6 rep range. Once my strength gains stop I'll use the same weights I used at the beginning but lift in the 6-8 rep range.

Leg Workout....sucked

So, this is the second leg workout that sucked which is really odd because my legs have always been a strong point.

I'm not completely sure why but here are some theories I have concocted

1. I have been pounding too heavy for too long
2. Inadequate rest
3. Not enough frequency
4.Need more reps
5. Need additional rest days

So, I'll try to wait 6-7 days and I'll start at 245 or so and see how that feels...if its good I'll go heavier.


Squats- 375x4 fml, 380x2...form was shitty too. Dropped to 315x10
Horizontal leg press 310x13,x12
Leg extensions 170x12,x11,x9

Also I might do some additional quad work on my hamstrings day since today blowed.

Back/Biceps

Did another session of a high intensity low volume workout. No pumps like a volume workout but I feel as though it was effective.

Back
Weighted pull ups- bw+55x6, bw+60x5,x5 (will start at 60lbs next week, my end goal would be to do this with 100lbs)
BB rows- 275x7, 280x5 (will start at 280 next week)
Pull downs- 220x7, 240x5, 260(whole stack) x4 (last set was awkward because it was so heavy I could not really sit down/lock myself in the seat and there is the jump in weights is like 240,260, so I'll start at 240 next week and see if i can get higher reps before going to 260)
Seated Row- 200x10 too light (will go heavier next week)
Biceps
DB curls- 50x6 (each arm),55x5 (I like this exercise a lot more now....will start at 55 next week)
BB Straight bar curls- 115x6, 120x5 (start at 120 next week)
Cable Curls- 95 (whole stack)x4 (will go for more reps next time


Overall a good workout. Very low volume but I think this style of training will work out well if I keep adding weight to the bar every week.

Cardio (Monday)/Shoulders/Hamstrings(Tuesday)

So yesterday I did some cardio on the rowing machine. Not gonna lie, It was hard but I really liked it.

5min warm up and then 16min on rowing machine= 4360meters total


I have not done direct shoulder work in a while (at least military presses) so it was a good change

Military Press- 175x5,180x4 (start at 180 next week)
DB Press- 70x6,75x6,80x6 (start at 80 next week)
Laterals- 40x8,50x6
Straight Deads- 315x6,335x6 (had major problems actually feeling it in my hamstrings :/)
Shrugs- 335x8,355x8,405x5 (start at 405 next week)
Seated leg curls- 125x8,140x6, 155x5 (start at 155 next week)
Standing leg curls- 60x6,80x6 (very easy),110x7 (start at 110+ next week)


Overall, a good workout. I want to try and max out my strength in the 4-6 range and then up to the 6-8 range once I plateau.


Very very excited to work back/biceps tomorrow.

Chest/Triceps (low volume/High intensity)

So I'm transitioning to a low volume split. The main reason is to increase the quality of my reps/sets and really focus on the mind muscle connection. Its kinda like MAX-OT (maximum overload training) but I'm not going to follow it to exact T if I don't feel like it. Jeff Rodriguez reminded me that everyone is built slightly different and so you have to learn what works for YOU.

Anyhow, the workout was not too bad. I made some good progress and because the gym was pretty empty I managed to finish the workout in a timely manner.


Chest/Triceps
Bench Press- 275x6, 280x4,280x3 (next week I'll use 280)
Incline DB press- 85x6 (not failure), 95x6 (will use 95s next week)
Dips- Bw+90x5,x6 (will use 90 next week)
Close Grip Bench- 185x6, 190x5 (will use 190 next week, this was done with a very controlled negative)
Power Pushdowns- 130x4,x4 (I do these like Jeff taught me, 1 foot back to get good leverage and just use your whole body to get it down but then control the negative very slowly) (stay at 130)
Skulls from the floor- 105x5 (keep same weight)

Very productive workout. I remember when I did Max-OT a year ago I had great gains (lots of strength). This time around,however, my control and execution is much better and so hopefully that will translate to better results.

Tomorrow is cardio. I plan to do a 10min warm up and then 15-20min of hard ass cardio.

Oh, and like I promised, here is my diet so far for the day. Its short 200-300 calories which will probably come from protein and veggies, maybe chicken breast and something else.


The stuff in red has been consumed already lol. The stuff in black will be eaten this evening

Quad workout and I'm fat and weak :/

So I had taken a few days to recoup because I was feeling under the weather lately. I had like 6 hours of sleep last night and I just wanted to workout. But first I must say that I'm kinda fat right now....well maybe not by normal standards but my abs are all blurry and I just don't feel like myself. I really don't want to cut right now because I don't have a very consistant diet and don't want to risk losing all the muscle I worked so hard to build up. Instead I'll try to recomp or just maintain what I have without gaining any additional fat lol. I will start a good cut once I get back from Brazil. Even If I get a bit fatter I know that I can lose it all and come back ripped to the bone once I start working and can eat a very meticulous diet.

My workout was pretty shitty but I'll list it anyway (only real sets)
Squats- 385x5,405x1, 335x9,355x4 (next week I'll start at 355)
MTS hammer Squats- 310x10,390x10,x9 (390 is the whole stack so I need to find a new exercises, its just too easy)
Leg Press- 585lbs x10, 810 x6


Was going to do abs but the gym was way too packed :/

I'll post pics of the body parts I workout, even though I'm fat and disgusting now. I hope in a few months you will really be able to see the progress when all the fat comes off :D

My current split is something like this

Day 1- Quads/Abs

Day 2- Chest/Triceps

Day 3- Cardio

Day 4- Hamstrings/Shoulders

Day 5- Back/Biceps

Day 6- Cardio/Calves

Day 7- Rest or repeat

Total sets anywhere from 9-12 for big muscles and 4-7 for smaller ones. Rep ranges are 4-10 with occasional power movements of 1 rep. 

Finally diet- Since my diet has been so shitty the past few weeks I'm going to be posting everything I eat to be accountable and to make sure I eat just enough to maintain. 

3700 is my estimated total for workout days. Non workout days or cardio days will be around 3500. Oh, forgot to add...water...water...water. I will be drinking at least 4L every day...I piss a lot already but this is going to take it to a whole new level. 

So here is what I ate today/what I plan to eat lol

Notice how its short around 600 calories. Well, I'll probably get dinner with my girlfriend and I'll make it up there. Most likely a heavy protein meal with a little carbohydrates and fats. 

I will also reward myself for every 7 days that I hit my targets. I'm guessing my estimated macros will be something close to 40/40/20 (protein/carbs/fat) 

Upper Body workout/Arm workout with Jeff Rodriguez/Reflections

Sorry I have been MIA for a bit. Here is my condensed upper body workout

Bench Press- 275x5,x5,x3
Pull ups- bw+50x6,x6,x5, bwx11
DB Presses- 100x9, 110x7
BB Rows- 225x5, 245x5, 265x4
Machine Shoulder Press- 100x10, 120x8,140x5

I had the chance to train today with natural bodybuilder, Jeff Rodriguez. We did Hamstrings/Arms (my weak body parts) and I learned a lot. We focused mainly on slow negatives and explosive positive portion. It made me think that I don't really train a super negative and that I should be. His development is insane! I don't know If I will ever get to that level but It made me really think that I could be training with more intensity if I train this way. I did not keep track of my exact weights/reps during this workout but here is it.

Stiff Deadlifts- worked up to 315
Lying Leg Curls- 130
Standing leg curls-50

DB curls- 50s
Floor Triceps Extensions-105s
Cable Curls- 120s
Leaning Triceps Pushdowns- 120 (like a power movement)

I'm also going to try a new split. It might be something like this depending on Jeff's input

Day 1- Chest/Triceps
Day 2- Back/Biceps
Day 3- Quadriceps/Abs
Day 4-rest
Day 5- Hamstrings/Shoulders
Day 6-rest
Day 7-repeat

Light legs/Thoughts and the torture begins

Light legs

Back Squats- 285x3,x3,x3,x3,x3,x3
Close stance leg press- 540lbx 14,x13,x12
Leg Extensions- 50x20, 60x15, 70x14
DB Straight leg deadlifts- 100x12, 110x14,110x11
Leg curls RP- 125x10,x4,x2

So I have not really been making too much progress on my light/heavy days. So I'm going to switch things up. On my lighter days I will use a rep range of 8-10reps and on my heavier days I will use a rep range of 4-8reps. I'm planning on sticking to this for 4 weeks and see what happens. Really hoping my arms and shoulders will respond to the much heavier weight.

The outline is still PHAT but will look something like this.

Heavy Upper

Push
Bench Press- will stick to 275lbs (3 sets)
Flat DB Press- use 100-110lbs most likely (2 sets)
Seated Military Press- 135 and work from there (3 sets)
Pull
BB Rows- 250lbs (3 sets)
Weighted chins- use 50lbs (2 sets)
Rack Chins- 50lbs (2 sets)

Assistance (AKA GUNZ)
Super heavy cheat BB curls- maybe 120-135 pounds- focus on negative (3 sets)
Super heavy Triceps Extensions- no idea how much weight, but I'll try 135 (3sets)



Heavy Lower
Back Squats- 385-395 (3 sets)
Leg Press- maybe 600lbs+ (2 sets)
Leg Extensions- 150lbs (2 sets)
Stiff deadlifts- 315lbs (3 sets)
Leg curls- unsure about weight (2 sets)
Calves

I'm still deciding what to do on hypertrophy days.

Pull and Push workouts

Pull
Deadlifts- 135x10, 185x5,225x3,275x3,335x3,385x3,430x7(with straps)...next week I'm deloading for sure
Hammer MTS Lat machine- 100/side x15,x10,x10
CG Pulldown- 140x15,x15,x15
Lying curls- 70x7, then RP, x7,x4,x2
Seated curls- 35x10,x10,x9
Hammer Curls- 45x20,50x20 (next week will go heavier)

Push
Bench Press light (speed)- 215x3,x3,x3,x3,x3,x3
Incline Bench Press- 135x15,155x12,175x8
DB Flat flys- 50x10,60x10,70x10 (next week start at 60)
CG bench press-155x12, 175x12, 185x9
Rope pulldown- 40x12,x12,x12 (last one a bit of cheating)
Skulls to forehead + cg bench- 70x15,x9,x10
Tricep press down RP style- 100x30,x12

Funny gifs

Here are a few funny ones I thought some might enjoy




GIFSoup


One of my favorites of Ronnie Coleman





GIFSoup

How to gain muscle! Recipe included

For those that are interested. I have been making this pudding every night to gain weight and it has been working well. Taste amazing as well!

Another version that I think works even better is:

3 scoops ON casein, 1.5 cups liquid egg whites, 1tbsp Hershey's 100% cocao, and 3 packets splenda


Enjoy! 

HEAVY ass Legs/Gummy bears and thoughts

So as I write this I'm about 20min post my 1.5 hour leg workout munching on tons of gummy bears and sipping my protein shake. I had the opportunity to train with my friends Eric and Mirek and got some heavy weights up. This whole workout just reminded how around 2.5 years ago I was squatting with 135lbs and thinking it was cool to have a plate on each side, then 225, then 315. Its really great to look back and see how far you have come. Anyhow, enough reminiscing. Here was my workout


Back Squats- bar x20, 135x5, 175x5, 225x5, 275x3, 315x5, 355x5, 375x4, 385x5 (Yes, that's right. Look back in a few weeks/months to see 405x15 :D)
Leg Press- 540lbsx10, x12
Leg Extensions- 70x10, 80x10,90x10
Leg Curls 125x10,x10,x10
Heavy Ab Roman chair-35x10,50x10,70x7

Squats took up most of the time but that's okay. They will always be the most taxing and I always find that its important to move up in weight slowly and not just jump to 385. I can't ever imagine just coming in and doing 405. You just have to warm up and add weight slowly.


Tomorrow will be cardio/calves. Thinking about deloading next week but still unsure.

Taking applications for good spotters and photos!

Okay, so first thing first. I want to plan my DC training cycle and due to the intensity of the Dog Crappe training I need a good spotter. Every movement is literally taken to failure 3 times in a rest/pause fashion and it is very draining/can be dangerous. So if you would like to be a spotter leave a comment or shoot me an email. I will most likely just be training MWF. Cardio will be done on the off days.

Secondly, I'm getting a camera that can take high quality photos! So I can get some progress pics up :D Hopefully the camera comes in this week!

PHAT Legs....pain and agony

So glad to have tomorrow off for cardio/rest. My workout took about 1.5 hours, which lately has been taking a toll on me. I usually like to get in and out of the gym within an hour but because of the increase volume this has been difficult.

I think it comes out to about 7.5+ hours in the gym. That's not including cardio :/ Anyhow, I really want to be able to push my limits and see if my body can adopt. I can always go on a low volume/high intensity routine If I get completely burnt out. My objective right now is to eat as much as I can to recover and see where my strength/size goes. I promise I will do my best to get some photos up soon.

Leg workout

Speed Squats (light)- 280x3,x3x3x3x3x3
Front Squats close stance- 185x10,x10,x10
Leg extensions- 50x15,x14,x14,x14
Straight Leg deadlifts- 135x8, 225x15, 275x10
Leg curls- 95x15,x14,x12,x11

I think it might have been a mistake to do deadlifts because my lower back is so burnt out and I really want to hit a good PR next week on regular deadlifts. Anyhow, I wanted a good hamstring exercise and they truly are the best for that.

Chest/Triceps...shoulders not so much lol

So I wanted today to be a push day or a chest/shoulders/triceps day. My shoulder however were pretty weak and so I just did 2 sets of military press lol. Triceps however were pretty pumped and are slowly improving :D

Bench Press light- 210x3 for 6 sets
Pec Deck- 115x19,x13,x11
Incline DB Press- 60x15,x13,x11
Cable Cross over- 20x15, 25x15, 30x13
CG Bench Press- 135x15, 155x12, 175x7
Military Press FAIL- 135x8, 95x8
Reverse Curls- 42.5x20, 50x12, x10
Skull crushers 65x12,x10,x10
Rope push down- 20x15,x11

Back/Biceps/Rear Deltoids

So I had an okay workout. Unfortunately my deadlift regressed a bit. I'm guessing this is because of my 6 hours of sleep last night or possibly my lower back not being totally recovered from my lower body day. Anyhow, I got a good pump in my back. Even though my biceps get direct work towards the end of my workout, fatiguing them before hand is actually helping me feel them more (although I can't use as much weight). I'll stick with this for a while and see how it works out....got nothing to lose.

Deadlifts- 135x10, 185x5, 225x5. 275x3. 315x3, 365x3, 405x7, rest 30 seconds and x2 more
Close Grip pull downs- 140x15, x12, x10
Low row with a straight bar- 160x14, x14, x13
Pull ups- 9 wide and then 8 close grip
Machine curls- 20x12, 30x12, 40x8, 50x7
CG easy curls- 60x10,x10
reverse grip cable curls with straight bar (not a good movement lol...will not do again)- 42.5x15,x11
Upright cable rows- 72.5x13,x12,x11 (not really progressing on these so I will switch to a bb movement I think)
Rear deltoid machine- 70x30, x15


Next week I will go for deadlifts at 430 and then de-load the following week and see how many pull ups I can knock out. Hopefully it will be a lot :D

Heavy Legs

Man was I tired! So glad tomorrow is an off/cardio/abs day. It was a very tough workout that seemed like it would never end, but I pushed through. My knees were bugging me lately, but they felt solid during my workout and I could squat deep with no pain. My squat numbers may not be super high but I only squat olympic style. ATG=Ass to Grass all the way down. This style comes naturally to me and with no disrespect to power lifting squats...that shit is not as good for your quads and is more of a back/good morning hyperextension. Anyhow, enough ranting. Here is my workout

Squats- warm up, then 335x5, 345x5, 355x5-->goal
Leg Press- 8plates x10, 12 plates x10
Leg Extensions (both legs)- 130x12, 150x12
Glute curl- 125x10, 155x6
Lunges- 135x10, 155x9, 175x8 (all cleaned from ground and placed on back)
Some calf work


That was it. Did not keep track of time, but I think maybe only 1hour. I spent some time stretching afterwards.

Breakthrough thoughts!

So, I'm obviously addicted to training....I love it so much for so many reasons and really hope I can keep lifting for the rest of my life. Anyhow, back to my breakthrough. I am always thinking about ways to improve my methods of training. So I have been thinking about an idea of selecting a few exercises per body part and using those exercises until I plateau and then switching them out for others. Its a very simple idea but I think it could work extremely well on my hypertrophy days. Before even switching them out I will first change the order and if that doesn't work to improve my lifts, I will simply exchange it for another.

Here are my selection of exercises per body part  (note these are only for hypertrophy days/non power lifts)

Biceps- Preacher curls, Zottman curls, Reverse BB Curls, BB curls, Cable Curls, Seated DB Curls
Triceps- Reverse Cable Curls, Pushdowns (rope)/(bar), Kickbacks with a BB, CG Bench, Overhead DB/Rope Extension
Shoulders- Machine Press/DB Press/Arnold Press/Medium grip upright Row/Lateral raises/Machine Reverse
Chest- DB/BB Press Incline/Cable Press/Pec Deck/Dips/Machine Decline Machine/
Back- Chins (all variations)/Low Row/BB Rows/ CG Pulldowns/DB Rows
Legs-CG Front squats/Romanian Deadlifts/Leg Press/ Leg Ext/Leg Curls/Lunges


For my hypertrophy workouts this week this is what it will look like

Back/Biceps/Rear Deltoids-
Power work- deadlifts
Hypertrophy work:
Wide pull ups (3)
CG Pulldowns ((3)maybe 130+lbs)
Low Row ((3)160+lbs)
DB Rows (3)
Preacher Curls (2)
Seated DB Curls (2)
Cable Curls (2)
Rear Deltoid Machine (3)
Upright Cable Row ((3) 70+lbs)




Chest/Triceps/Front Deltoids
Power work- Bench Press (light)
Hypertrophy work:
DB Incline Low Press- ((3) 60lbs 15-20 hopefully)
Cable Flys ((3) 30+lbs )
Dips (3)
Pec Deck (2)
CG Bench Press (3)
Reverse Curls (2)
Overhead DB Extension (2)




Legs/Abs
Power work- Squats (light)
Hypertrophy work:
Close Stance Front Squats (3)
Leg Press Close Stance(3)
Leg Glute Curls (3)
Leg Extensions (3)
Lunges (3)

Heavy Upper Body!

Wow! It has been some time since I last lifted super heavy. My body definitely will have to do some adjusting. My workout lasted about 1.5 hours (a little on the long side for this type of workout). Rest periods were slightly longer and it looks like I lost a bit of strength but not too much.

Here it is:

Bench Press- 255x5, 265x5, 275x4 (This was actually 3.5 reps but I did not have a competent spotter and he literally took the weight away from me...I'm 100% I was going to get it since I was basically at lockout) -->Next week I might switch to straight sets at 260 or 265
Flat DB Press- 85x10, 95x9 (straight sets at 90 next week)
Shoulder DB Press- 70x7,x7,x6 (my shoulders were pretty tired by this point so really not that bad-->Might switch to progressive sets starting at 60 and going to 75)
BB Rows- 235x5, 245x5, 255x5 (Next week I'll do straight sets at 245)
V Bar chin- epic fail....I simply can't do these at the Stanford gym :/
Pull ups wide- bw+45x6,x5. (I'll drop the weight to 40 next week)
Shrugs- 235x10, 285x10 (I'll use 285+ next week)
JM Press- I'm still figuring these out but I'm sure once I do, my triceps will explode. I can already feel they work even though I still need to master the form- 135x10, x10, 95x10 (I'll start at 95 and work up next week)
BB EZ bar curls- 80x10, x9, x8 (arms were tired by this point) I'll stick with this weight next week.

I know! This is a shit ton of volume but I'm hoping I can adapt to it. In the meantime I might have to go a little lower volume on my hypertrophy days. I'll just be playing it by feel


I also really like this song

HIIT Cardio/Calves/Abs

So today was pretty simple. Just a 5min warm up and 12min of HIIT cardio on the stair stepper. I would like to keep adding 1min to my HIIT sessions until I hit 20min and then switch it up again. I'm excited for heavy upper body tomorrow :D

Short term goals

So I have been thinking about actually committing myself to a few short term goals and thought It would be a good idea to write them out. 

Short term (4-6 weeks)- I'm adding back in some heavy days so here are my goals for the next 6 weeks

Bench Press Flat (all for 3-5+ reps)

(1) 255,265,275

(2) 260, 270, 280 

(3) 265,275,285

(4) 270, 280, 290

(5) 275, 285, 295

(6) 280, 290, 300

Back Squats (3-6+ reps)

(1) 335, 345, 355

(2) 340, 350, 360 

(3) 345, 355, 365

(4) 350, 360, 370

(5) 355, 365, 375

(6) 360, 370, 380

Deadlifts- I'll still be going lighter on these

(1) 185, 225, 275, 295, 335, 385x10 (already completed this week

(2) 185, 225, 275, 315, 360, 405xAMAP (beat 8 reps)

(3) 185, 225, 275, 340, 385, 430xAMAP

(4) deload, 185, 225, 275

(5)Recalculate based on above

JM Press- This is a completely new exercise for me. It will be replacing skull crushers but I would like to get really strong on it. I hear its great for triceps development.  (I will probably suck and be really weak at it so I might start at 185 and work my way up, Maybe get to 205 for a good amount of rep in 6 weeks?)

Last exercise I want to track will be V bar Pull ups with weight. I unfortunately have never done these because our damn gym does not have them! But I will make an effort to attach the v bar thingy to one of the straight pull up bars by the squat rack- My goal is to hit 20 at bodyweight and bw+60 for 10 reps

I think that it is really difficult and unrealistic to try and get really strong on everything so these will be the main exercises I will emphasis. I did not include close grip bench presses but I'm trying to bring those up as well but I will be doing them for higher reps so I'm guessing it will be slow to progress. 

PHAT Legs workout

I was planning on doing legs/abs/calves but I didn't feel like I had enough time so I'll just do those tomorrow with cardio on my off day.

Anyhow, here was my workout.

Squats (light) - 275x3 for 6 sets
Front Squats- 185x12, 205x10, 225x8
Leg Extensions- 70x12,x11,x12
Leg Glut curls- 95x13,x12,x11
Lunges- 115x20 (10 each leg)
Cardio on the bike for 15min

PHAT Chest/Triceps workout (Saturday 04/21)

Here is my workout from yesterday. Just getting back into the flow of light weight speed reps.

Bench Press- 6 sets at 205x3
CG Bench Press- 185x10,x10,x10
Incline DB Press (low incline)- 60x12, x10,x9
Cable Flys (high)- 30x15,x15,x15
Press Downs- 50x20, 72.5x10,x10
Reverse Curls 42.5x10x3 (3 sets of 10 reps)

I'll post my leg workout later today.

PHAT workout (Back/Biceps/Delts) +Brutally Strong Shirts!

I took the past 2 days off from strength training to rest and recover and today I felt so good and pumped! Just shows you how much rest makes a difference.

Anyhow, I had a good workout. It took about 1.5 hours with a focus on back.

Deadlifts 135x10, 185x5, 225x5, 275x3, 295x5, 335x5, 385x10
Pull ups- BWx10,x10,x7 (back was pretty tired by this point)
CG Seated Row- 160x15,x13,12
CG pulldowns- 130x12,x12,x13
Seated DB curls- 25lbs lol x22,x22,x20,x20 (each hand....biceps were dead by this point)
Shoulder Machine Press- 90x15, x14,x12
Upright Cable Rows- 72.5x15,x12,x12


Oh, and the Brutally Strong shirts are here! Let me know if you want to buy one. I'll be selling them for just 10 dollars right now. So leave a comment or shoot me an email with your size (goodman.jeremy00@gmail.com)

(Design credits to my brother Michael :D)

Thoughts about training.

So I have been thinking lately about a few interesting ways to approach training to make the most progress. This is all theoretical but I would like to actually see how this works out.

My main goals right now are split between strength and size. I care slightly more about strength because I believe at my level of development, a higher baseline of strength will lead to better future gains. So I will split my training into 4 parts.

Part 1-Strength/Power
In this phase I will do a Layne norton inspired split which is composed of Power Days and hypertrophy days. The key emphasis is the frequency. Everything gets hit x2 a week with a good amount of volume too. I will do this routine until I plateau on strength.

Part 2- Strength/Size
In this phase I will do 5/3/1 type workouts where the key is mainly strength (putting 10lbs on a lift within 4 weeks). The frequency is reduced to once a week but with the extra accessory work the volume should be similar to the above. I would complete 2 cycles of this. So 8 weeks total.

Part 3-Size/frequency/volume
In this routine I will switch back to a higher frequency workout. Maybe something like a 4 day split 1-2 days off and then repeating. I will do this for 12 weeks! The focus will be 6-8reps and 8-12 reps.

Part 4-Size/Intensity/Frequency
In this part I will try a new training method that I have never tried before. It's called DC training or Dog Crapp training and its centered around using low volume/higher frequency. It looks interesting to me but is supposedly for more advanced trainees. Anyhow, I would like to try it out eventually and I think it would be a good shock after a longer period of higher volume.


I will be logging all my workouts as usual but would like to emphasis which phase I'm in as well

Chest/Back workout from Monday and Legs Tuesday

Hey guys!

Past 2 days I have been feeling pretty down in terms of training. No new PRs :/ Here are my workouts from Monday and today.


Chest/Back (Chest Emphasis)
Bench Press- 115x5, 145x5, 175x3, 190x5, 215x5, 245x8
Pull ups in between sets- 10, 10, 10,10
BB Rows- 135x10, 185x11,x11,11
DB flys in between- 60x10,11,10
Dips 60x9
Machine Flys 130x12,x11,x8
Decline MTS 60x15,x10

Legs- totally did this workout based on instinct lol
Squats- 135x5, 225x5, 315x1, 335x1, 355x1, 375x1, 395x1, 415x1, 315x7,225x8, 135x15 (last lighter sets had zero rest while singles had a lot of rest)
Leg Curls individual- 50x20,x20,x20
Leg Abducter exercises
Ab exercises (3 sets)
Calf work.

Tomorrow I will do some higher intensity cardio and then take the following day off/do light cardio

Arms/Delts/7min cardio

After taking 2 complete days off I decided to workout. I did a more hypertrophy oriented workout and had great pumps!

Preacher Curls 70x15,x13,x11,x9 (1min rest between sets)
Straight Pushdowns 70x15,x15,x11,x9 (1min rest between sets)
Seated Lateral raises- 20x15,x13,x12,x8 (1min rest between sets)
Rope Cable Hammer Curls- 42.5x15,x13,x11 (1min rest between sets)
Rope Extensions Overhead- 42.5x12,x9,x8 (1min rest between sets)
Rear Deltoid Raises- 20x20x17,x17 (1min rest between sets)
Overhead Db Extension- 60x12, 75x7 (1min rest between sets)
Clean/Military Press- 135x12, x6 (1min rest between sets)

Next arm/deltoids workout will be an 8-12 rep range with heavier weights. 

Crappy workout Legs

Def had one of my worst workouts in a long time. Everything felt heavy and I felt weak

135x5, 185x3. 225x5. 275x3, 315x3, 335x2, 355x2, 375x1
I just did singles because I could not muster the strength to do anymore...either its over training or possibly just lack of sleep. Really hoping its the latter.

Small workout #2 Arms

Very quick workout- felt a good pump by the end of it.

Seated Alternating curls with a focus on squeeze- 30x15,x15,13,x10,x10-->was aiming for 15 reps with 60seconds rest in between. I'll keep at this weight.
Overhead DB Extension- 60x15, x12,x12,x10,x9- 60seconds rest. Stay at this weight until I can get 15reps with 60sec rest.

Going for a small walk now for cardio

Pressing/Pulling workout

Press/Pull workout:

Bench Press- 115x5, 145x5, 175x3, 185x5, 215x5, 245x1, 265x1, 245x9, rest 60 sec, 245x4!
*Chin ups- bw+45x8,rest 60sec, x4
*Military Press- 135x16, rest 60sec, x7, WTF! had no idea I could do this :D
*Deadlifts- 315x17, very easy, 405x10, I'm coming for you
*Working sets only

A good workout. I felt dead by the time I got to deadlifts but a descent workout. I know its very low volume but those 60second max sets are brutal.

Small Workout (Deltoids/Traps/20min cardio)

Hey everyone!

Could not be more excited to be training and logging again. I did a small workout today, nothing too crazy. Light weight with high reps and low rest periods.

Upright Cable Rows- 72.5lbsx15, x13, x13, x14,x12
Bent laterals- 15lbsx15,15,15,15,15
Shrugs- 50lbsx15x15x15x15x15

Only 45sec-70sec rest between sets and 2min between exercises. My rear/lateral deltoids were pumped. Shrugs were way too light so I should def have upped the weight.

On a funny note...I really want to see this movie

High Rep Goals

So I think its fun to set challenges. For many people its usually something like, I want to bench 135, 225, 315, 405 etc. or I want to pull 600lb, squat 500, blah blah blah. So instead of doing that I'm going to set up a few high rep goals I would like to achieve (all with good form of course)

Here they are:

Bench Press: Current 225x12, goal 225x20+
Squats: 295x12, goal 315x20+
Deadlift- 405x8, for now 315x30 would suffice lol or 405x20
Front Squats (just added these back in recently) 175x22, goal 225x20+

Over the next 10 weeks lets see If I can hit these goals. I'll try to add 1-2 reps at every workout, going heavier sometimes and then backing back down to the above weights.


My number programming will look something like this, although I will definitely improvise and change weights based on how I feel that day
1st cycle
Bench Press- 115x5, 145x5, 175x3, 185x5, 215x5, 245xAMAP (as many as possible) rest 60 seconds, repeat
Back Squats- 150x5, 190x5, 225x3, 245x5, 280x5, 320xAMAP, rest 60 seconds repeat
Deadlifts- 185x5, 235x5, 280x3, 305x5, 350x5, 395x1, 365xAMAP rest 60 seconds repeat
Military Press- 75x5, 95x5, 110x3, 135x5, 155x1, 135xAMAP rest 60 seconds repeat

2nd/3d cycle (Same layout as above)
Bench Press (2)- 115x5, 145x5, 175x3, 200x3, 230x3, 260x1-3, 230 AMAP then 50% set
Bench Press (3)- 115x5, 145x5. 175x3, 215x5, 245x3, 270x1, 245 AMAP then 50% set
Back Squat (2)-150x5, 190x5, 225x3, 265x3, 300x3, 335x3, 295 AMAP then 50% set
Back Squat (3)- 150x5, 190x5, 225x3, 280x5, 320x3, 355x1, 315 AMAP then 50% set
Deadlifts (2)-185x5, 235x5, 280x3, 325x3, 370x3, 420x3, 370x AMAP then 50% set
Deadlifts (3)- 185x5, 235x5, 280x3, 350x5, 395x3, 440x1, 395x AMAP then 50% set
Military and Front squats will be decided later.
 

I'm freakin excited!