3 Big Days

Where I last left you was the monday after my last leg workout. During that workout I tweaked my back on the leg press. After I began thinking about everytime I had a "flare up", I've come to the conclusion that for the most part, leg press is the only thing that causes it. I was talking to Dr. Joe, and he pretty much told me that leg press is one of the worst things you can do with a herniation.....so my suspicion was confirmed.

So basically I rested monday, tuesday and weds to make sure that I was 100%..especially since this is a power week. My goal on thursday was to absolutely DESTROY my back...kill the lats and rhomboids. Even though it was a power week, I wanted to do a lot of sets after the main power movement. This week, for the first time in 6 months, I pulled deadlifts from the ground. I didn't go super heavy. I'm just getting back into the swing of things. I just wanted to get the form down. Oh....and I used the trap bar. Here's what I did:

Trap Bar Deads
45 x 20
95 x 10
95 x 12
115 x 10
115 x 12
135 x 10
135 x 10 (at this point, my lower back was starting to feel tired, so I didn't want to push it)

Then I did:

3 supersets of BB rows and chinups (about 20 reps per superset)

3 giant sets of pullovers/BB curls/pulldowns (about 40 reps per superset)

4 Abs supersets followed by some DB curls

3 giant sets with preachers/hyperextensions/cable rows

This was alot of work, but for some reason I wasn't even a little sore the next morning. That pissed me off.

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Friday was heavy chest. I was going to try to break my PR of the 105's x 2 on Incline DB press. 110 on the incline DB press was my goal for the entire offseason.

It started of pretty well:

40's x 10
50's x 10
65's x 8
75's x 8
85's x 5
95's x 5
100's x 5

Now was the moment of truth. I needed to get the 110's for 2.

110 x .......1................................2

But I was really shaking and I feel that the spotter was helping too much to count it as a PR. Plus he was holding me by the wrists, and it was weakining my grip. I was pretty dissappointed, so I decided to try the 105's, but at that point I was too tired mentally and physically to get them. I cam close to a PR, but not quite.

Did some ab/lower back and tricep shit then got out.


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Skipped saturday, alot going on..you know how it gets. So today was Heavy legs. I decided to give freeweight back squats a try for a change instead of smith fromt squats, just to see how I felt and how my back handled it. I was very pleased.

I did 12 sets. I wanted to go VERY slow so that I could sense when/if my back was getting too tired and reduce the chance of messing it up. I'm also not going as heavy as possible or doing the 2 rep set. I just wanted to get a feel for this exercise again.

Bar x 10
Bar x 10
95 x 15
95 x 15
115 x 15
115 x 15
135 x 10
135 x 10
155 x 10
185 x 8
195 x 5
195 x 5
135 x 20

Needless to say after this I was pretty exhausted. I felt light headed. My goal next time is to add another set of 5 on there and maybe bump it up 5 lbs. MAYBE.

then I did some abs/lower back and ham curls and I was out. Almost fell a couple times on the walk back home, almost threw up too..so I'd say this was a victory.

next day is heavy shoulders, then I restart the rotation.

Today was an off day. Back was really sore after leg press last night. Like I said, it's something that I have learned I will have to cut out for a while. Good riddance anyway, leg press isn't my favorite. But I can see the status of my back progress because when it does start to hurt, it's does not hurt as much or for as long as it used to. So that's progress. Sitting here right now it feels pretty good. Which is a good thing, because tomorrow looks like a power back day. I'm going to try and set a PR on partial deads (rack pulls).

ok, back to "The role of the pancreas in hormonal regulation and insulin response"

Man I love this stuff!

I feel like BLAH

Here's the update:

Friday and saturday were uneventful lifting wise. Friday I had to go to a meeting and after it I was too GD tired. Saturday I was busy all day.

So today I decided to combine shoulders and legs so I wouldn't be behind schedule. I normally don't do anything else on leg day except legs, but I made an exception tonight. I left the library at 9:45 so by the time I got to the gym, I had about 1 hour to lift. I didn't count sets really I just set it up like this.

1 Leg exercise
1 shoulder exercise
repeat

I started with leg press but with only 3 plates each side I soon felt the familiar, uncomfotable ache in my lower back. I really have to watch the cadence on this exercise, but it seems to be the only exercise giving me problems. I think I will probably cut it out from now on. Anyway, I did reps of 20-40 on the leg press for about 6 or 7 sets. Here a list of some of the other lifts I did. Legs were in the 10-20 range, shoulders in the 10-15.

Leg press
Leg extension
Single leg exetension
leg curl
calf raise

hammer strength press
DB laterals
DB front raises
hammer strength shrugs
Cybex rear delt fly

Overall this workout was mediocre. I was already pretty tired from studying, but when I felt the ache in my back, my intensity dropped. I know my back is getting stronger, but things take time. I have to learn to work with what I have and know the difference between intensity and too much.

After I left the gym I had a killer headache and felt like I was going to blow chunks. Now I just wanna hit the shower and go to bed. Work @ 8 am, then class, then work again, then class again...................and it goes on.

I'ma voodoo chilllle, voodoo chillle babay!

Today I was pretty tired and I was procrastinating going to the gym. But I knew I had to go. The gym closes at 11 so at 9:50 I decided to make it up there. Only having an hour really pumped me up because I knew I had to get alot of work done in a short amount of time. I put some D'angelo on and went to WORK baby.

So I did a monster set for chest. It's basically 4 exercises back to back. It went like this:

Decline DB press
Hammer strength bench (plate loaded)
Dips
Cable crosses

Basically I did 4 or these monster sets, and tried to get 12 reps each exercise. By the 3rd set, I was just going to failure. The weight was light, but I was so tired. Since this is a hypertrophy week, I don't care about the weight too much. So that's a total of 16 sets for chest.

Next onto tris. They were already pre-fatigued from all the chest work, so I killed them easily with a superset. I supersetted:

Rope pushdown
Close Grip Bench

for 3 sets of 10-15 and I felt like my arms were going to pop like baloons.

Next, I worked on some abs. I did 2 Tri-sets:

Hanging leg raises
cable crunches
reverse crunches

I did those for 10 reps each, twice.

Then I decided to kill the tris off with 3 sets of DB kickbacks. 10 reps each.

That was ALOT of work, and I got it all done in 50 minutes. 31 sets total. That's about 1 set every minute and a half, so I didn't get alot of rest between sets.

It was a very good workout. Legs are tomorrow.

Nothing important to report today. Back is mildly sore. I got about 4 hrs sleep last night so thats not good. Shoulder is 100%, so that is good!

time to study psych.

Bringin' Sexy Back

Today was an interesting day. I am on a 2 week cycle of power lifts and hypertrophy. So this week is stictly intense, ball busting workouts. Increasing the weights aren't that important. Back and Bi's. Shoulder was feeling great, which it weird because it hasn't even been 48 hrs. I did a bunch of stuff today. I won't bore you with the exact details, and I also don't feel like getting my log outta my bag.

I did 3 sets of bodyweight chins (they bothered my front delt a little)

then I did cable rows/cybex pulldown machine for 3 supersets

next I did some regular pulldowns, and then I went onto DB rows.

I finished with a new exercise: BB rows! It's honestly the best back workout I've ever felt. I used a supinated underhand grip and squeezed the back together. I had always stayed away from these because I felt it would compromise my lower back injury, but I am getting stronger and it doesn't bother me at all.

All these were for 8-12 reps. I think a total of about 12-15 sets. I stopped counting.

Biceps I basically just burnt them out with all different types of curls. Maybe for about 10 sets. Like I said before, on hypertrophy specific days, the numbers aren't as important.


On a side note, I was going over the pre-reqs for the med program...and honestly, I'm f*ing scared. It's obvious why not many people take that road. It's a lot harder than it looks, and you have to want it bad.

Speaking of all that...I should probably study something.

I think next time is chest...we'll see.

Today was a recovery day from yesterdays slight shoulder mishap. I'm following my standard injury procedure and its working like a charm. I take anti-inflammatories for the first 48 hrs, and ice the area every 1-2 hrs for 15 minutes. I feel great. There is about a 40% decrease in pain from this morning alone and overall, I feel like I'm at about 70% strength. I feel great.

So when you get hurt, nip it in the bud right away. Don't play Mr. Tough Guy. It never works.

I'm at the LIB right now studying for a pysch test, so let me get back to that.

HI VOLUME/INTENSITY Back workout tomorrow.

Can't wait!

Aches and Pains

Today was shoulders/traps- Power workout. Short and to the point. I haven't done shoulders in a good while now...for some reason, I keep missing them on my rotation. I know, I know...excuses.

Anyway..I found this supplement sample packet in my pantry called "Aramaggedon"..it has B-vitamins, a little carbs and tons on caffiene. Within 3o minutes of taking it I felt juiced. I felt like I could literally run up a wall and do a backflip. I am very sensitive to even small amounts of caffiene. So by the time I got into the gym and the creatine had also set in, I was so focused it was scary. I started attacking the DB press.

Warm up sets:
35's x 10
45's x 10
60's x 10
70's x 8

At this point, I was psyched. 70's felt easy and my intensity was still off the wall. So I hit the work sets. For all my heavy lifts I go in a traditional power lift pattern. 4 Sets of 5,5,5 and a max of 2 reps.

80's x 5- Easy....no lift up
85's x 5- A little shaky on the first one, but still no lift up and no need for a spot. At this point I was pumped and I was thinking I would be able to get 95's for at least 2 by the end. But I still had one more set of 5 to go.

90 x 5- Got it off the knees, I couldn't get it up. I was determined though. So I went for a second lift, and even with a lift up...it was just too much. On the second attempt, I even tweaked my rear delt a little. I have done this before when I am trying to stabilize a weight over my head that is too heavy. I just put it down.

I didn't want to try again and risk turning a mere "tweak" into an injury. I don't play around with bad pain in the gym. You have to be intense, but there is a line that has to be drawn. After DB press I usually do another delt movement, but I did not to strain my delts any more. So I went straight to DB shrugs. 5 sets:

70's x 10
80's x 10
85's x 10
90's x 8
95's x 8

I know, light weight..but I didn't want to risk anything. I suspersetted those shrugs with some hyperextensions for the lower back and I was out.

When I got home, I immediatley took some Advil to relieve any possible swelling in the joint and iced it. Like I said, I don't fool around with injuries. It feels ok now and luckily on my workout scheme I wont have to lift power again for about 2 weeks. So everything should be gravvvy baby.

Homework time.

Ohh yeah.... GOOO COLTS!

TIRED MESS

I'm so tired right now. Metabolically speaking, I just shot myself in the foot. Last night (well this morning I guess) Mark, Will and I stayed up until 4 walking around with the R.A. busting underage drinking. That was fun, but now I'm paying the price. I woke up at 7:45 to go to Stampede of Service, which was pretty fun I must say. I ended up getting split up from all my friends, so I made a bunch of new ones.

But let me repeat...I am so tired. I actually would go do shoulders today, but the gym closes in let me see.....56 mins and I'd still have to get up there. So tomorrow then. You know what, I'm kinda liking the whole "one day on-one day off program". I might just stick with it.

Oh, on a side note, I went to Andros, one of the dining halls, last night with everybody (Mark swiped me in). It SUCKED. I totally understand the Freshman 15 now....and overall, why america is obese. Yeah, they have a salad bar, but everything else is a salty carb, buttered and fried. I couldn't even find any meat that hadn't been breaded and fried. I asked for a tuna sandwhich, and the man covered the thing in oild and threw THAT on in the pan. It tasted ok...but everyday? Hell no, gimme so chicken and rice. I know for a FACT I couldn't have made the gains I have this year if I had a meal plan. There is no question.

that's all...gotta study.

LEGS anybody?

Today I was finally able to get into a long postponed heavy leg day. I went to the YMCA instead of the USF gym, which was a nice change of pace. I also got to lift with Esteban, which was good. Never underestimate the power of a good workout partner. On to the workout.

I did front smith machine squats. I am able to do back squats again, but they still make me nervous and I'm still making gains on the smith machine, so I see no problem. The smith machine allows me to take most of my lower back out of the equation and focus on keeping the form right, while also stressing my quads.

That being said I did 8 sets. The weight on here is the raw weight (just the plates) not including the smith bar (I think it weighs 15-20-not sure).

Warm up
50 x 15
90 x 10
90 x 10
140 x 8

Working sets
160 x 5
170 x 5
180 x 5
190 x 2 (PR!- last workout was 180x2)

Then onto the Ham-curls for a couple heavy sets, and 3 ab supersets. Of course, as usual, I neglected calves. Which is the reason they suck.

Just remember, while 190 might not seem like alot, the actual number is over 200. Thats 4 big plates and a couple 10's on there. I've learned the hard way never to sacrifice form for weight.

Tomorrow is Delts/Traps. That's all for now.

An Inspirational Day

I'm sitting here cooking my chicken, and I'm reflecting on the words that Rev. Jesse Jackson said tonight. He said that if your house is burning down, you can't just save the "black room", you have to save the whole house. Meaning we as a community must save ourselves....not cater to our own selfish group interests. Great speech, USF keeps getting better and better.

On the bodybuilding tip, Rev. Jackson made it a little hard to get to the gym today, so I postponed until tomorrow...which is ok because my back gets one more day to rest. I plan on killing those front squats. Today was definitley a day of reflection. As I look at the progress I have made and success I've had in changing my body in such a short time it motivates me. I am my own motivation. I got that fire within!

The Journey Begins

Alright, so I'm finally going to do this thing. I'd been telling myself I was going to blog my contest prep for the longest, but I finally got around to it.

I finally got back into the gym after a somewhat long 3+ week hiatus on winter break. Break means break, and I just didn't feel like going in. So after some sporadic lifts the first week back, I finally got back into the program on Saturday.

Saturday was a heavy back day, but I didn't want to go crazy as it was my first day back. And with my low back issues, deads are out of the question right now. So I did rack pulls from slightly below the knee. 9 sets- 5 "feel sets" 4 "working sets". I think I ended at 205 x 4. Then it was on to 6 sets of chins, some heavy bar curls and I was out.





Yesterday I was a heavy chest day. On Incline DB press I did 8 sets and set a new PR.

warm up sets
40's x 10
55's x 10
65's x 10
75's x 8

working sets
85's x 5 (this felt really heavy for some reason)
90's x 5 (a little better)
95's x 5 (got into the grove)
105's x 2 (BOOM BABY!)


Finished up with some weighted dips, ended with bodyweight+70 for 4.

On a side note, when I was stretching out, I tweaked my back a little bit. It's still kind of tight today, so I'll rest it. Looks like legs tomorrow. Hope I haven't lost too much strength. Judging by my chest day, I think not!

I think I will start dieting for the season mid Feb, early march. I have 3 shows lined up. 1 in August and 2 in Sept. However, I am in far better condition this year than last year, so the prep should be easier.

I will be working with nutrition guru Dr. Joe Klemczeski. He's the man! I'm gonna be shredded!

3% bodyfat here I come!