ATPs lifting journal or "Where did my phosphate group go?"

[ATP]

Hello all, long time lurker first time poster. Name's Steven and I've been lifting on and off for a while and had to lay off because of a few injuries but now I'm back and giving 100% again with some motivational help from reading here and watching some cool videos on youtube.

So since so many people have journals here I thought it would be a nice place to start writing down all the good, the bad and the ugly things with lifting. I've read through several journals during my time here and I can say without a doubt that some people are really motivated and it's great to see how much of a change a person can make by starting to lift.


So some basic stuff about me

About 89 kg on my 179 cm body around 12-13% body fat. Not the strongest but I try to keep very good form on exercises to avoid injury. I'm very careful with squats, deadlifts and bench presses.

My goals is to be about 95 kg around 10% body fat.



My routine

Day 1

Bench Presses 3x8
Dumbell bench presses 2x8
Bent over Rows 3x8
Lat Pull downs in cable machine 2x8
Biceps curls with dumbells 2x8
Biceps curls with cable machine 2x10
Calf raises 3x8


Day 2

Parallell Squats 5x5 (Adding 2.5 kg with each set, the last two I have to pause for several seconds between each rep to be able to lift)
Lying hamstring curls in cable machine 3x8
Leg Presses 2x10
Tricep extensions lying on a bench 2-3x8
Tricep pulldowns with a cable machine 2x10
crunches 3x12 with extra weight


Day 3

Deadlift 5x5 (usually adding 2.5-5kg between each set with the last set being very heavy without breaking good form. I make sure it is a dead lift so the bar is lying still on floor before I lift again)
Overhead presses with dumbells 3x8
Pulling a barbell to the collar bone for middle and back delt 2x8
Forearm exercise 3x8



Alternate thing

Day 1

Bench Presses 3x8
Dumbell bench presses 2x8
Lat Pull downs in cable machine 3x8
Seated rows in cable machine 3x8
Biceps curls with EZ bar 3x8
Biceps curls with cable machine 2x10
Calf raises 3x8


Day 2

Parallell Squats 3x5
Straight leg deadlift 3x8
Tricep extensions lying on a bench 2-3x8
Tricep pulldowns with a cable machine 2x10
crunches 3x12 with extra weight


Day 3

Deadlift 3x5
Deadlift standing on box 2x8
Overhead presses with barbell 3x8
Pulling a barbell to the collar bone for middle and back delt 2x8
Forearm exercise 3x8

I also try to add rotator cuff exercises now and again.



Diet

Since I'm at the university from 7 am to about 6-7 pm I have a hard time eating big meals there. It varies a lot and I go a with my gut feeling a lot about the amount of calories I need. I usually start off with a big meal in the morning, bring a protein shake or two to have 3 hours before lunch and 3 hours after. When I get home I eat a big meal and have something protein rich before I go to sleep. I try to not gain weight too quickly but eat enough to improve in the gym without adding too much fat. My philosophy is, if I am getting stronger I am getting more muscles.

 

[ATP]

Deadlift 5x130 kg
Deadlift 5x135 kg
Deadlift 5x142.5 kg

Deadlift standing on a box 8x100 kg
Deadlift standing on a box 8x110 kg

a guy at the gym did these and he recommended them to me to get stronger lifting the barbell off the floor. They feel pretty nice but I am not sure where my working weight is at the moment. 110 was a bit light. Maybe 120 kg is ok for next time.

Overhead press with barbell 8x40 kg
Overhead press with barbell 6x40 kg

Exhausted because of soreness in triceps and chest. Felt really weak and thought it best not to push it.

Pulling barbell up to chin 8x30 kg
Pulling barbell up to chin 8x35 kg
Pulling barbell up to chin 8x35 kg

Forearm exercise with a dumbell 14 kgx8
Forearm exercise with a dumbell 16 kgx8
Forearm exercise with a dumbell 16 kgx5

Shrugs 8x70 kg
Shrugs 8x70 kg
Shrugs 8x90 kg

Rotator cuff exercises with 4 kg dumbells 10-12 reps each.

 

[ATP]

Phew, pretty great workout today 4.5/5. Feeling a lot stronger yet I haven't gained weight in a while. That's right in the spot where I want to be, arms is getting some nice vascularity while I work out and I can hint several veins on my calves.

Squats (slightly below parallell) 5x110 kg
Squats 5x120 kg
Squats 5x125 kg

Did 5x117.5 kg last time which felt very heavy so nice improvement even though my back was sore after the deadlifts last time. Aiming for 117.5-> 127.5 kg next time I think, with 2.5 kg increments between each set.

straight leg deadlifts 8x95 kg
straight leg deadlifts 8x97.5 kg
Back was really tired after this so I let it be for now. Really slow reps that burned the hamstrings good.

Calf raises in hack squat machine 10x170 kg+sled
Calf raises in hack squat machine 10x190 kg+sled
Calf raises in hack squat machine 10x210 kg+sled

Triceps extensions (ez bar) 8x40kg
Triceps extensions (ez bar) 8x40kg

Triceps pushdown in cable 10x50 kg
Triceps pushdown in cable 8x60 kg
Triceps pushdown in cable 8x60 kg

 

[ATP]

Pretty decent workout today. I felt a tad bit weak in the chest from the triceps last time. I might need to up the calories a bit so I recover a little quicker.

Bench presses 8x70 kg
Bench presses 8x82.5 kg up 2.5 kg since last time.

Dumbell presses 8x28.5 kg
Dumbell presses 6x31.5 kg
Incline dumbell presses 6x26 kg

Bent over rows 8x90 kg (tad bit heavy, had to cheat a little during last reps)
Bent over rows 8x80 kg
Bent over rows 8x82.5 kg

Back was a bit tired from stiff leg deadlifts so I had trouble pushing 100% with good form. No belt in sight either.

Lat pulldowns 8x75 kg
Lat pulldowns 6x80 kg

EZ biceps curls 8x35 kg
EZ biceps curls 6x37.5 kg

(felt that my biceps had been worked out enough with the rows so I skipped the cable work)

12 Crunches with 22.5 kg bar on chest
12 Crunches with 22.5 kg bar on chest
20 Crunches with 22.5 kg bar on chest

Rotator cuff exercises with 5 kg dumbell 4 set on each cuff.


Edit:

Decided to cut as much dairy out of my diet as possible (including whey protein) and replace with vegetables, free amino acids, eggs and chicken. I just started eating dairy a lot a few weeks ago with 2 L milk a day and cottage cheese and it's having some bad effects. From now on no more than half a L of milk a day and whey only after training.

 

[Quiksilver]

If dairy is giving you unwanted side effects then I'd cut it out completely. You're lactose intolerant and the benefits of any milk you drink is negated by the inflammatory effects it has on your body.

 

[ATP]

If dairy is giving you unwanted side effects then I'd cut it out completely. You're lactose intolerant and the benefits of any milk you drink is negated by the inflammatory effects it has on your body.

Thanks for the response quiksilver. I seem to be one of the people who have no trouble ingesting any amount of lactose without feeling ill. The side effects are more the chemical responses of the body. I used to drink a lot of milk and eat dairy and while I did this I got some acne and I also stored a lot of fat. It seemed strange since the GI of milk products are pretty low. So I did a research on it and found milk products to have a very high insulin index value.

Milk triggers a higher insulin response than it should and high insulin spikes kinda gives acne and also promote fat storage among other things. The last week I've been spiking my dairy intake and I started to notice that I got some acne and also that I seemed to have gained some fat. I also feel a bit more sluggish than a week ago and I think it might have to do something with the dairy products as well. :/

 

[ATP]

It's been a chaos with all the snow lately so my bus didn't arrive on time and I had 25 minutes to work in the gym. So I chose the most important exercises, deadlift and the military press.

(warm ups, 60x8, 90x6, 110x4)
Deadlift 5x130 kg
Deadlift 5x135 kg
Deadlift 5x140 kg
Deadlift 5x145 kg +2.5 kg

Military press 8x40 kg
Military press 6x45 kg
Military press 6x45 kg (+2 push presses with slow negatives)

Gym closed...

Pretty nice workout anyway, I'll give it a 4/5. I'm very happy with the deadlifts, I didn't think I'd get 145 kg.

 

[ATP]

Another good workout

Squats 5x117.5 kg
Squats 5x120 kg
Squats 5x122.5 kg
Squats 5x127.5 kg +2.5 kg

Leg curls 5xtwo less blocks than max
Leg curls 5xtwo less blocks than max

Leg presses (one leg, max on machine is like 160 kg o.0) 10xhalf stack
Leg presses (one leg, max on machine is like 160 kg o.0) 10xhalf stack

Biceps curls 8x37.5 kg +2.5 kg (gonna stay on this weight next time and try to get 3x8.)
Biceps curls 6x37.5 kg (+2 assisted reps)

Biceps curls with cable 10x don't know the weight
Biceps curls with cable 10x don't know the weight+1 block

Rotator cuff exercises 4 sets per cuff.

Damn supposed to be triceps, mixed up the days. Still a pretty nice workout. Lower back was really tired after squats for some reason. Didn't good morning up the weight at all. Kept good form all the time. They really need to get a F%#"¤ 45° leg press like I've asked them.

 

[CarlitosWay]

Another good workout

Squats 5x117.5 kg
Squats 5x120 kg
Squats 5x122.5 kg
Squats 5x127.5 kg +2.5 kg

Leg curls 5xtwo less blocks than max
Leg curls 5xtwo less blocks than max

Leg presses (one leg, max on machine is like 160 kg o.0) 10xhalf stack
Leg presses (one leg, max on machine is like 160 kg o.0) 10xhalf stack

Biceps curls 8x37.5 kg +2.5 kg (gonna stay on this weight next time and try to get 3x8.)
Biceps curls 6x37.5 kg (+2 assisted reps)

Biceps curls with cable 10x don't know the weight
Biceps curls with cable 10x don't know the weight+1 block

Rotator cuff exercises 4 sets per cuff.

Damn supposed to be triceps, mixed up the days. Still a pretty nice workout. Lower back was really tired after squats for some reason. Didn't good morning up the weight at all. Kept good form all the time. They really need to get a F%#"¤ 45° leg press like I've asked them.

omfg you're doing curls and used the leg curl machine after you did squats!!!? what are you doing?!?!?! You know you can't do a lot isolation stuff until you're like MEGA strong dude. Talking 400 lb bench, 500lb squat and 600 lb deadlift!!=)

 

[ATP]

omfg you're doing curls and used the leg curl machine after you did squats!!!? what are you doing?!?!?! You know you can't do a lot isolation stuff until you're like MEGA strong dude. Talking 400 lb bench, 500lb squat and 600 lb deadlift!!=)

:trouble: I think you just short circuited my irony meter.

 

[ATP]

Db presses Xx34 kg
Db presses 8x36.5 kg +2.5 kg
Db presses 6x36.5 kg

Bench presses 8x70 kg

Bent over rows 7x90 kg
Bent over rows 6x90 kg
Bent over rows 6x85 kg

Felt a lot stronger in both bench and back, didnt have to cheat on the 90 kgs this time at all.

Lat pulldowns 8x80 kg +2 rep
Lat pulldowns 6x80 kg

12+ Crunches with 22.5 kg bar on chest
12+ Crunches with 22.5 kg bar on chest
19 Crunches with 22.5 kg bar on chest

Gonna up the weights on these next time, the bar I wanted to use was allready taken so I had to settle for the one I used last time.

Calf raises in hack squat machine 10x215 kg+sled
Calf raises in hack squat machine 8x215 kg+sled
Calf raises in hack squat machine 6x215 kg+sled +5 kg


I felt very strong overall today. Bought a new supplement to have along with my multi vitamine, whey protein, creatine and NO-explode. Fairings amino rush after a friend of mine gave it an outstanding review. I'll try it out for now and see if it helps anything. NO-explode have turned out to be one of the best supplements I've ever used.

Oh yeah I forgot I weighed myself a few days ago. I was 89 kg with a lot of clothes on me so I imagine about 87.5 kg without. (192ish lbs).

 

[CarlitosWay]

Db presses Xx34 kg
Db presses 8x36.5 kg +2.5 kg
Db presses 6x36.5 kg

Bench presses 8x70 kg

Bent over rows 7x90 kg
Bent over rows 6x90 kg
Bent over rows 6x85 kg

Felt a lot stronger in both bench and back, didnt have to cheat on the 90 kgs this time at all.

Lat pulldowns 8x80 kg +2 rep
Lat pulldowns 6x80 kg

12+ Crunches with 22.5 kg bar on chest
12+ Crunches with 22.5 kg bar on chest
19 Crunches with 22.5 kg bar on chest

Gonna up the weights on these next time, the bar I wanted to use was allready taken so I had to settle for the one I used last time.

Calf raises in hack squat machine 10x215 kg+sled
Calf raises in hack squat machine 8x215 kg+sled
Calf raises in hack squat machine 6x215 kg+sled +5 kg


I felt very strong overall today. Bought a new supplement to have along with my multi vitamine, whey protein, creatine and NO-explode. Fairings amino rush after a friend of mine gave it an outstanding review. I'll try it out for now and see if it helps anything. NO-explode have turned out to be one of the best supplements I've ever used.

Oh yeah I forgot I weighed myself a few days ago. I was 89 kg with a lot of clothes on me so I imagine about 87.5 kg without. (192ish lbs).

nice how tall are you? My short term goal for this year is to end up around 190....with my frame and everything I think I just need to eat clean and dirty within reason as with my job (labor intensive lots of heavy lifting/moving) I burn so many ****in' cals it's ridiculous.

 

[ATP]

179 cm here. 190 lbs sounds good, if you're lean at that weight you'll look great. Just keep at it, reading your journal is pretty fun since it's so different from most other peoples. You do your own thing and stick with it.



Todays workout

Surprised at how good it went. I got 30 minutes of sleep before the gym session and I felt like a wreck while taking the bus there. Thought I'd be pulling 120kg in the deadlift or something.

Deadlifts 5x140 kg
Deadlifts 5x140 kg
Deadlifts 5x140 kg

Focused on repping out on the same weight to get the body used for the little bit extra load. Gonna take one extra day off until legs and get really nice sleep for once and good food. For once I'm free an entire day in the middle of the week.

Military presses 8x45 kg
Military presses 7x45 kg

Going for 3x8 at 45 next time then 47.5 kg.

Bar pulled up to chin 8x37.5 kgs +2.5 kg
Bar pulled up to chin 8x40 kgs +5 kg o.0
Bar pulled up to chin 7x40 kgs

Going for 3x8 here as well.

Triceps extensions 8x41 kg +1 kg
Triceps extensions 6x41 kg

Triceps pushdown full stackx8
Triceps pushdown full stackx8

An extra treat was meeting two of the bullies from grade school. One have been training at the gym for 12 years and he was benching 65 kg and doing some sissy leg work with pathetic weights. Another was very small I'm guessing 70 kg in body weight. Haha, both were considered big when I was in grade school. It was nice doing 140 kg deadlifts next to one of them when he did lunges with 19 kgs dumbells. Hahaha, I'm still laughing inside. I gave them some condescending glares and smiled at my own awesomeness. Oh yeah... I almost forgot... they were wearing lifting gloves Hahahhaahaha... omfg hahahahahaha.... hahahha.... those callouses from those heavy 11 kg curls sure can kill you hahhaa.

 

[ATP]

I need to laugh some more... hahahaha..... it's so great to see that all my old bullies are pathetic losers... I dwarf them in strength and I am generally more successful... payback is such a *****. I long for the day when they will serve my children their food or wash my car after I get my Ph.D.

 

[CarlitosWay]

179 cm here. 190 lbs sounds good, if you're lean at that weight you'll look great. Just keep at it, reading your journal is pretty fun since it's so different from most other peoples. You do your own thing and stick with it.



Todays workout

Surprised at how good it went. I got 30 minutes of sleep before the gym session and I felt like a wreck while taking the bus there. Thought I'd be pulling 120kg in the deadlift or something.

Deadlifts 5x140 kg
Deadlifts 5x140 kg
Deadlifts 5x140 kg

Focused on repping out on the same weight to get the body used for the little bit extra load. Gonna take one extra day off until legs and get really nice sleep for once and good food. For once I'm free an entire day in the middle of the week.

Military presses 8x45 kg
Military presses 7x45 kg

Going for 3x8 at 45 next time then 47.5 kg.

Bar pulled up to chin 8x37.5 kgs +2.5 kg
Bar pulled up to chin 8x40 kgs +5 kg o.0
Bar pulled up to chin 7x40 kgs

Going for 3x8 here as well.

Triceps extensions 8x41 kg +1 kg
Triceps extensions 6x41 kg

Triceps pushdown full stackx8
Triceps pushdown full stackx8

An extra treat was meeting two of the bullies from grade school. One have been training at the gym for 12 years and he was benching 65 kg and doing some sissy leg work with pathetic weights. Another was very small I'm guessing 70 kg in body weight. Haha, both were considered big when I was in grade school. It was nice doing 140 kg deadlifts next to one of them when he did lunges with 19 kgs dumbells. Hahaha, I'm still laughing inside. I gave them some condescending glares and smiled at my own awesomeness. Oh yeah... I almost forgot... they were wearing lifting gloves Hahahhaahaha... omfg hahahahahaha.... hahahha.... those callouses from those heavy 11 kg curls sure can kill you hahhaa.

Thanks yeah I like to experiment a lot find what works best..
Nice lol...why straight sets on dead lifts man?!! Ramp that **** up....to some big weight =)

lol @ the bullies that's some funny ****.

 

[ATP]

Yeah, only way to learn. The shake and bake routines just work so long, then you got to listen to what your body responds to.

Up the weights!! 145 kg felt very heavy last time so I thought pulling a few sets at 140 might improve the strength a bit more instead of increasing too fast, Gonna try to go for 147.5 next time starting at 132.5, 137.5, 142.5 and then 147.5. I also want to make sure I don't degrade my form to lift heavier and get my back injured again. Im not bulking atm but trying to increase weights while not adding too much body weight thus making me leaner.

Haha yeah, it feels so awesome that the tables have turned

 

[CarlitosWay]

Yeah, only way to learn. The shake and bake routines just work so long, then you got to listen to what your body responds to.

Up the weights!! 145 kg felt very heavy last time so I thought pulling a few sets at 140 might improve the strength a bit more instead of increasing too fast, Gonna try to go for 147.5 next time starting at 132.5, 137.5, 142.5 and then 147.5. I also want to make sure I don't degrade my form to lift heavier and get my back injured again. Im not bulking atm but trying to increase weights while not adding too much body weight thus making me leaner.

Haha yeah, it feels so awesome that the tables have turned

Yeah I've done 159kg X 5 but I think my form got horrendous after the first 2. I did touch and go and oh boy was my back annihilated. I don't pull off the floor much. I love rack deadlifts though

 

[mrRuckus]

omfg you're doing curls and used the leg curl machine after you did squats!!!? what are you doing?!?!?! You know you can't do a lot isolation stuff until you're like MEGA strong dude. Talking 400 lb bench, 500lb squat and 600 lb deadlift!!=)

Has anyone actually said you can't use accessory and supplemental exercises?

 

[ATP]

Yeah I've done 159kg X 5 but I think my form got horrendous after the first 2. I did touch and go and oh boy was my back annihilated. I don't pull off the floor much. I love rack deadlifts though

That's pretty solid weight. :rockon: But doing it that way is the exact reason why I'm taking it slow. Back injuries are a major downer. You literally feel handicapped walking around and having pain all the time. DEAD lifts for me each time, full reset and standing up and regripping each rep, hence the low weights

 

[ATP]

Good workout today.

Squats 5x120 kg
Squats 5x125 kg
Squats 5x130 kg +2.5 kg

Felt very light today. While 127.5 felt very heavy last time I even felt I had more reps in me than 5 at 130. As usual I am doing the squats slowly, about 4-5 seconds in the negative part.

Stiff leg deads 6x100 kg (grip died :cuss
Stiff leg deads 8x100 kg (used mixed grip this time) +2.5 kg

Biceps curls 8x16.5 kg dbs
Biceps curls 6(+2 cheated)x16.5 kg dbs
Biceps curls 4x16.5 kg dbs

Biceps curls with EZ 6x35 kg

Rotator cuff work, only 3 sets per cuff this time. 5 kg dbs.