Swami Vivekananda:
"Strength is Life. Weakness is Death."

The Workouts

Posted: November 4th, 2010 | Author: | Filed under: Body | Tags: , , , | No Comments »

Oh boy. Going to dump some workouts now. Actually managed to make my schedule for once.

And by schedule I mean something other than my vaguely-once-a-week sort of deal. Which thoroughly surprised me.

Workout for Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Pre-workout: 1 scoop Purple Wraath BCAAs, ephedrine/caffeine (25/200mg)

Body Weight: 167bls.
Body Fat Percentage: 18.8%

Start: 9:06AM
Stop: NOON

Round 1

Bench Press: 3 x 15 @ 45lbs.
Row: 3 x 15 @ 45lbs.
Lateral Raise: 3 x 15 @ 25lbs. (a little too heavy)

Round 2

Bench Press: 3 x 15 @ 45lbs.
Row: 3 x 15 @ 45lbs.
Lateral Raise: 3 x 15 @ 20lbs.

Round 3

Dumbbell Incline Bench: 3 x 15 @ 30lbs. (so 15/db)
Pulldown: 3 x 15 @ 30lbs.
Lateral Raise: 2 x 15 @ 20lbs.

Round 4

Dumbbell Incline Bench: 3 x 15 @ 30lbs.
Pulldown: 3 x 15 @ 30lbs.
Lateral Raise: 2 x 15 @ 20lbs.

Round 5 (because I had more time to waste but didn’t feel like doing cardio before I finished leg depletion)

Leg Press: 3 x 15 @ 50lbs.
Leg Curl: 3 x 15 @ 30lbs.
Calf Raise: 3 x 15 @ 30lbs.
Dumbbell Curl: 2 x 15 @ 8lbs.
Pushdown: 2 x 15 @ 22.5lbs.
Crunch: 2 2x 15 @ 35lbs.

Workout for Friday, October 9, 2010

Pre-workout: 2 fun-size Baby Ruth, ephedrine/caffeine (50/200mg)
Peri-workout: 2 scoops Purple Wraath BCAAs

Note to Self: Don’t let that shit get room-temperature if you value it staying in your stomach. Close call.

BW: 163.5lbs
BF%: 18.6%

Start: 9AM
Stop: 10:30AM

This was after a day of rest, which on low-intake really means a day of suffering. So I lowered the weights in expectation of just “not being able to do it,” and I was right. This was a lot tougher for me than it looked on paper.

Round 1

Leg Press: 3 x 15 @ 30lbs.
Leg Curl: 3 x 15 @ 25lbs.
Calf Raise: 3 x 15 @ 15lbs.
DB Curl: 2 x 15 @ 5lbs.
Pushdown: 2 x 15 @ 17.5lbs
Crunch: 2 x 15 @ 25lbs.

Round 2

Leg Press: 3 x 15 @ 30lbs.
Leg Curl: 3 x 15 @ 25lbs.
Calf Raise: 3 x 15 @ 15lbs.
DB Curl: 2 x 15 @ 5lbs.
Crunch: 2 x 15 @ 25lbs.
Pushdown: 2 x 15 @ 17.5lbs

Workout for Monday, November 1, 2010

Pre-workout: 2 scoops EAS premium protein + 200mg caffeine (1.5 hours pre)

BW: 164.5lbs.
BF%: 18.0%

Start: 9:16AM
Stop: 11:22AM

No rest within supersets, 2 minutes rest between each coupling. I did a warm-up set for each NEW muscle group (so no warm-up on leg extensions because I’d done leg presses, and no warm-up on curls because I’d done pulldowns, etc.) I really guesstimated a lot of the poundages here as well. I figured it was supposed to be muscularly-challenging but not to the point where it’d hurt my head like a max-effort might. So that’s what I looked out for.

Superset 1

Leg Press: 1 x 12 @ 50lbs.;  2 x 12 @ 70lbs. (increase)
Leg Curl: 1 x 12 @ 30lbs.; 1 x 12, 1 x 9 @ 60lbs. (stay)

Superset 2

Leg Extension: 1 x 10; 1 x 2 @ 60lbs. (stay)
Seated Leg Curl: 2 x 12 @ 50lbs. (stay, it was HARD)

Set 3

Calf Raises: 4 x 12 @ 60lbs. (increase)

-5 minute BREAK to 10AM-

Superset 4

Incline Bench Press: 1 x 6 @ 45lbs.; 2 x 12 @ 60lbs. (good; MAYBE increase)
Pulldown: 1 x 6 @ 45lbs.; 2 x 12 @ 70lbs. (stay)

Set 5

Lateral Raise: 12, 11, 6 @ 45lbs. (stay)

-5 minute BREAK to 10:55AM-

Superset 6

DB Hammer Curl: 2 x 15 @ 10lbs. (increase)
Pushdown: 12x 9 @ 32.5lbs. (stay)

Set 7

Crunch: 1 x 12 @25lbs.;  3 x 12 @ 50lbs. (increase)

Workout for Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Pre-workout: 2 scoops EAS premium protein, 2 Hershey’s walnut cookies, ephedrine/caffeine (25/200mg)

BW: 166.5lbs (yay!)
BF%: 17.8%

Start: 9AM
Stop: 12:26PM

Deadlift

  1. 135lbs. x 5 (double-overhand)
  2. 155 x 3 (d-0)
  3. 220 x 1 (left-over)
  4. 260 x failed twice (left-under)
  5. 240 x 1 (l-u) ~ managed it, but can probably do more. I couldn’t find my most recent deadlift record so I’m not that surprised I jumped too high up. Going to go for 250 next week.
  6. 215 x 2 (l-0)

Met Xavier, college quarterback doing olympic lifts with the squat rack to my left. Cool cat.

Incline Bench

  1. 45lbs. x 5
  2. 60 x 5
  3. 80 x 3
  4. 105 x 2
  5. 120 x FAIL ~ same story.
  6. 100 x 3
  7. 85 x 7

Chin Assist weighed at 173lbs.

  1. 103lbs. x 2
  2. 118 x 5
  3. 98 x 8

NOTE: the weights listed are lifted, not the offset (first set offset was 70lbs., for example.)

Lateral Raise

  1. 45lbs. x 5
  2. 85 x 2
  3. 105 x 1
  4. 80 x 4
  5. 60 x 7

Crunch

  1. 45lbs. x 5
  2. 60 x 5
  3. 85 x 3
  4. 110 x 2
  5. 125 x 3
  6. 115 x 3

I really didn’t like having the numbers ready for this workout. This is easily the most important workout of the week. Not knowing what I wanted to accomplish with each exercise really left me in the lurch on this day and… just pissed me off.

Top Set Rep Goals

Deadlift – Singles

Incline Bench – Sixes

Chin Assits – Triples

Laterals – Sixes

Crunch – Triples

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Lats Are Like Your Back (P3C4P1)

Posted: July 11th, 2010 | Author: | Filed under: Body | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | No Comments »

Really, all I remember from yesterday that I didn’t note down was the “I’m such an exercise geek” broski next to me when I was working delts.

Bro1: Nah man I don’t do direct ab shit, that’s all about fat loss y’know?
(I’m quiet.)
Bro2: Yeah I guess, but once the fat’s gone there has to be something under it to show off right?
(I nod to myself, I might have smiled but my shoulders were screaming.)
Bro1: I’ve been cuttin’ up for a while. I’mma hit some lats in a minute next to mah man here. My arms’ been leaning up real nice.
(Do what? Whose man? He sits in the lateral raise machine next to me and pounds out a set, lots of reps. I’m moderate reps so, even though he started his set before me, I still finish sooner.)
Bro1: Damn man, you liftin’ pretty light huh?
Me: (I actually didn’t say anything, but I mistakenly managed to acknowledge him.)
Bro1: You trying to build up your lats?
Me: Not at the moment.
Bro1: What are you doing then?
Me: My… shoulders.
Bro1: You should lift more if you wanna build ‘em up.
Me: (I look over at his stack. He really did a lot of reps. I didn’t count him, but he wasn’t lifting anywhere near as much as me. I still ask.) How much do you lift?
Bro1: Every day. (err’day?)
Me: I don’t see you here every day.
Bro1: That’s cuz you ain’t here every day.
Me: …Yet you are?
Bro1: Yeup.
Me: Do you work your lats every day?
Bro1: Sometimes.
(Head explodes.)
Me: You do rows or chins?
Bro1: For my lats or my back?
Me: Silly question, where are your lats?
Bro1: (he taps his shoulder)
Me: Oh.
Bro1: They compound exercises (ezzrsizes?) though. Hits my back and my lats. AND MY ABS. (Bro2 flips him off.)
Me: They… sure do…
Bro1: I’m kinda an exercise geek, you know?
Me: Oh, I know man. I got you. I also got a set, hang on.

Conversation doesn’t resume as I make my way through the drop sets. I fortunately don’t have to explain the concept to him.

Power Workout for July 9, 2010

These are all straight sets. I have tiiiime~

Romanian Deadlift

  1. 75lbs x 5 (hook grip)
  2. 110 x 3 (hg)

Deadlift

  1. 145lbs x 2 (hook grip is slipping now)
  2. 185 x 3 (right / left) ~ Increasing.
  3. 165 x 2 (left / right) ~ Questioned my form on the top set but the red flag didn’t shoot up until this set. Staying this weight.

I think I might eliminate RDL and do solely DL. I need more practice, and I’ll put more warm-up sets in if I have to in order to get that.

Incline Bench

  1. 45lbs x 5
  2. 55 x 3
  3. 75 x 2
  4. 95 x 3 ~ increase
  5. 85 x 4 ~ increase
  6. 75 x 6 ~ increase
  7. 65 x 8 ~ increase

The range for the top set is 3-5, adding one rep to the range each drop set at least. This exercise went surprisingly well.

Lateral Raise

  1. 55lbs x 3
  2. 75 x 2
  3. 95 x 2 ~ stay
  4. 85 x 3 ~ stay (I almost forgot that Always was playing during this set. I make a note of it whenever I get HARMONY’d or RickRoll’d….)
  5. 75 x 5 ~ increase
  6. 65 x 7 ~ increase

I just don’t have it in me to do pulldowns after deadlifts on the same day, I guess. So I skipped working my lats.

Or did I?

Pushdown

  1. 32.5lbs x 3
  2. 42.5 x 2
  3. 52.5 x 2 ~ stay. I’m officially past halfway to pushing the entire stack, haha!
  4. 42.5 x 7 ~ stay.

I almost was going to increase the drop set, but then I realized that the range for the triceps-isolation work is 5-7 not 3-5. Which means the top of the drop set is 6-8. One more rep!

I decided on this exercise that if the drop-10% is not exactly 5lbs or less, I won’t round it to 5lbs. I’ll round it to the next highest increment and try to make it to the top of the rep range first.

Dumbbell Curl

  1. 5lbs x 5
  2. 10 x 5
  3. 15 x 5
  4. 20 x 1
  5. 15 x 5

I wanted to have a fifth movement in for the workout but I didn’t know what to do. I did a 5 rep ceiling and just went along to see where I’d end up. Turns out I have really weak biceps. Who knew? Well, I guess that’s a good sign for my lats, I know my arms aren’t pulling THAT MUCH weight, hahaha…

Oh well.

I just felt really nauseated about the prospect of doing chins (I really pull my abs in hard when I do them) so hopefully on my next carb load I’ll have enough time to digest more of the food before the power workout. It’ll be at least a 24-hour refeed this week.

I don’t really know if I want to do creatine for all my loads now or not. It seemed to have really help me put water in the right places in such a short span. I remember reading that one day of creatine loading is like two days of carb loading, which convinced me to try it given my time limitation. I might try this next refeed without, though, just to see if I have similar results with two-day-carb vs. one-day-carb-with-creatine.

Weight: 169lbs
BF%: 16.6%

I thought it was pretty amusing that the bodyfat % was largely unchanged despite the fact that weight went up so much. Goes to show the accuracy of bio-impedance. I’ll use it as indicative of a successful carb load.

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