Chest Training

Bench Press for speed- 180x3 for 6 sets
Incline BB Bench Press- 175x10, 185x8, 205x5, drop set to 135x8
DB Flat Press- 50x15, 60x12, 70x12, 80x10
Cable Cross Over
Did some curls and triceps extensions afterwards.

Back workout from hell

Back/Shoulder workout- 60 seconds rest between each set, intense!!!

BB Rows- 135x3 for 6 sets
Rack Pulls- 335x12, 335x10, 315x10
Lat Pulldown- 145x15, x13, x10
Hammer Strength Rows- 120x12, x15, 140x14
Low Rows- 140x15, 160x15, 180x15
Shoulder Press- 60x12, x10x7

Conditioning work taken to a new level!

So today was my off/rest day from lifting. For the past few weeks I have been taking these off days to just be lazy, eat tons of calories to recover and watch TV. Well, today I felt like I had some extra energy so I said WTH, lets do some conditioning work. Now for those of you who know me, I hate hate hate normal steady state cardio.

Reasons I hate steady state cardio

1. Boring as hell. I mean, okay, maybe its not so bad if I'm listening to music/reading or watching a movie but damn, its not challenging at all. I like to really push myself to feel that pain of training. With steady state cardio that just doesn't happen. I don't even feel like I'm working.

2. Absolutely no carry over to weight lifting. I don't even think it has helped my 20rep squats which are very aerobic.

3. Its just a waste of calories. LOL. I'm sure some of you are thinking, hey! but I burn off those calories so I can eat cake and shit. Well, the truth is you are wasting your time. If you want to get ripped abs and bulging muscles or any physique that is well sculpted and defined, look at your diet, not your beloved elliptical machine.

For conditioning work I like to do HIIT. High intensity interval training. Its hard as hell, only takes 15-30min, and helps speed up your metabolism. In addition I truly believe it can help give you that tight look after you have perfected your diet. 

Lower Body Strength Workout and Pushing the Limits

Squats- 135x10, 225x5, 275x1, 315x5, 335x5, 355x5! 
MTS Squats- 250x10,x10
Leg Press super slow negative- 8platesx12,x12, 10 platesx10
Stiff Deadlifts- 225x10, 315x6
Leg Curls- 110x10, 125x8,x6

Today I hit 355x5 for full ATG (ass to grass-super low) squats.  When I first started training I would do squats with the bar (45lbs) and 2 quarter plates for a total of 95lbs! I never thought that I would ever be able to work up to putting 355lbs on my back and be able to squat down to the ground and get back up. It feels great to look back and see what progress one can make when you always push yourself. Even adding just 2.5-5lbs every week makes a difference over months to a year.

Front Squats for quad development!

If you have never done front squats before you should definitely give them a try. They are great for quadriceps development!

Upper Body workout

This is my upper body workout that I did this morning. Should have taken some video footage :/ Guess I'll have to do it next time.

BB Bench Press- 135x5, 185x5, 225x1, 245x5, 255x5, 265x3
Dips- body weight x10, bw+50x10,x10,x10
Shoulder Press- 60x10, 70x6
BB Rows- 225x5,185x5,185x5 all the way to ground
Weighted Pulls up- bw+25x7,x7
BB Curls- 85x10,x10
Triceps Extensions- 85x10,x10  


For those of you that don't know, there are some exercises that are better than others for strength. These exercises are usually compound exercises. They require you to recruit a lot of muscle fibers. The main staples in my workout routines are compound exercises. Everything else is secondary.


For the Chest/Front Deltoids/Triceps muscles

Bench Press

For the Upper Back/Rear Deltoids/Biceps

Barbell Rows

For the Quadriceps/Hamstrings


BB Squats

The fun thing about working out is that you are not limited to the above exercises. Each exercise ,however, is generally categorized based what direction the muscle groups are working. For example, in the Bench Press Exercise, the Chest/Shoulders and Triceps all help push the weight or resistance away from the body. In the BB rows, the back rear deltoids and biceps all help pull the weight towards the body. For the BB squat exercise the hamstrings help lower the weight while the quadriceps help the knee extend and bring the weight back up. I have left out the deadlift exercise, but that is a pulling exercise that involves much of the lower back/middle back/ and lower body as well.

Some popular variations of the Bench Press

DB Presses

 Incline BB Bench Press

Variation of the BB Row

Variation of the squat

Front Squat

Overtraining and Pushing the volume!

So I have doing  a little experiment on myself when It come to frequency and volume of training. I think I have come to the realization that a frequency of at least x2 week is what I need! This x1 week 5 day split thing is real crap. It may work for top end potential Mr. Olympia bodybuilders that are just looking for touch ups but for those that are not yet even close to their max potential its just not that efficient. So, I'm going to up the frequency and volume over time. I will train through the pain and hope that my Biology will adapt. My split will look something like this:

Chest/Arms/Front Deltoids
Quads/Hamstrings/Calves
Back/Rear & Lateral Deltoids/Abs
Rest
Upper Body
Lower Body
Rest
Repeat

So I'll be hitting Chest/Triceps/Front Deltoids today and maybe Biceps. I'll post my workout later today along with my complete nutrition.

Back Training!

Man, this workout was very hard. Not in the sense that I pulled magical weight or anything but I just could not stand the lower back pumps. The heavy squats really spilled into my workout so I will have to adjust my workouts some how for my next training cycle. Keep legs and back away from each other or work them the same day.

Workout


Pull ups- Bwx12,x8,x8...same as last week 
Deadlift- 135x10,225x5,315x5...could not stand lower back pump so switched to rack pulls
Rack Pulls- 385x5,x5,x5,x5
BB Smith Machine Row- 185x10,x10, 205x10
Lat Pulldown- 150x15, 180x10, 210x6
Machine Row- 2platesx15, 4 platesx10
DB Curl- 20x10,25x10,30x10,30x10...arms were smoked so even the light weight felt heavy.


I really want to bring up the pullups. I use full contraction with a pause at the bottom. Kind of sad I could not deadlift properly :/ 




Video of my postworkout meal!
Whole wheat crust
Vegetarian Cheese! Kosher :)
Chicken with BBQ sauce 

What is Brutally Strong

This blog is dedicated to all those who simply want to become brutally strong. I don't believe there is a set of rules or guidelines that one can follow to become brutally strong. There is also no one definition to what brutally strong is! For me becoming brutally strong is squatting 405 lbs x1, pulling a deadlift of 500 lbs, bench pressing 315 lbs x5, and overhead pressing 225 lbs x3. If I can complete all these lifts at a weight between 185-190 I would call myself brutally strong. Now, in absolute terms I don't think any of these lifts are "insanely" strong. I'm not going to even go on trying to define insanely strong because that's not my goal, at least not right now :D

I will do my best to document my journey towards hitting these goals with videos and photos.


Here is some video footage of me squatting 315 for some reps

 Typical Muscle Building Meal

Anyhow, there is more to come! Follow me on my goal of becoming brutally strong!