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

[CarlitosWay]

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

Don't get why you don't use straps after your grip fails

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.

looks like a good work out though, but why no forearm work? The brachialis needs to get hit..so many muscles in the forearms !!!hammers, pin wheel curls, reverse cable curls

 

[ATP]

Been sick over the weekend and today is the first day I'm no longer ill.

You're right carlitos, I have really neglected the forearms but they are growing anyway so I don't feel it is necessary at this moment. I got a tendency for my forearms to grow very quickly. I don't use strap either, it was just a bad grip, should have used mixed grip.


Todays workout

Db bench 8x36.5 kg
Db bench 8x36.5 kg
Db bench 4x36.5 kg

Going for 3x8 then increasing to 39.1 kg (86 lbs). First set felt very strong, second ok, on the third I was pretty tired.

Bent over rows 7x90 kg same as last time
Bent over rows 6x90 kg
Bent over rows 8x80 kg

I've been sick so I haven't gotten stronger or weaker.

8 Pull ups (strict)
4 Pull ups (strict)
Pull downs in cable 5x80 kg

Military presses 7x45 kg
Military presses 8x40 kg

Ended workout here, I was exhausted and out of breath because I've been ill. Overall it felt very good, I haven't lost anything even though I had skyhigh fever. This was more of a "get back to the gym day" to get the body used to the weight again.

 

[ATP]

Great workout today

Squat 5x122.5 kg
Squat 5x127.5 kg
Squat 5x132.5 kg +2.5 kg

Hamstring curl 5xone plate less than max
Hamstring curl 5xone plate less than max

One legged leg press 90x10 +5 or 10 kg, not sure
One legged leg press 90x10

Tricep extensions 8x40 kg
Tricep extensions 5x42.5 kg (using another grip than usual, tad bit heavier but better tricep isolation)

Rotator cuff exercises /w 5 kg db, might increase to 6 next time, getting 12 reps pretty easy now.

Squats were great, illness seems to have had zero impact on my squat performance. Closing in on 3 plates.

 

[ATP]

Had a pretty ****ty workout last time and didn't bother writing it down. Went so bad I got pissed off. It's been a hell of a lot of work at uni and it's been very difficult to have a good diet. I also went out and partied like crazy which effected negative. Todays workout felt like it's getting better since I've nailed diet and rest the last few days. Today was a kick starter for the body.

Deadlifts 5x130 Kg
Deadlifts 3x140 Kg
Deadlifts 5x130 Kg

The 130s were pretty easy so I'll add upp 5 kg next time and then go for 140 again the time after that. Lost a hell of a lot of strength in this when I were sick. :/

Db bench presses 8x36.5 kg
Db bench presses 6x36.5 kg
Db bench presses 4x36.5 kg

Only lost a tad bit here

Military presses 8x40 kg
Military presses 6x40 kg

Biceps curls 8x16.5 kg dbs
Biceps curls 8x16.5 kg dbs
Biceps curls 5x16.5 kg (+3 cheated) dbs

meh, it'll get better. Damn exams.

 

[ATP]

Back again, I've been eating a lot lately and I can feel the extra strength in the gym. Today was a standard workout.

Db Bench press 8x36.5 kg
Db Bench press 8x39 kg +2.5 kg

Bench presses 6x75 kg
Bench presses 6x80 kg
Bench presses 5x85 kg +2.5 kg

Bent over rows 6x90 kg <-- gonna go down a bit for higher reps and build myself up again

8 Pull ups
Lat pulldown 6x85 kg
Lat pulldown 6x85 kg

Tricep extensions 8x40 kg, felt light even after benches
Tricep extensions 5x42.5 kg

Triceps pushdowns in cable 8x45 kg
Triceps pushdowns in cable 5(+3)x50 kg

8 dips

Was loads of people in the gym so I had to move around a lot since stuff was occupied. Very pleased with the workout, a solid 4/5. The only annoying part was that two people walked by me really close when I did my first db press and that made it a lot harder but I still got 8 reps.

 

[ATP]

Oh I forgot I did a short workout before as well. I was in a hurry so only had time to do a few sets.

Squats 5x125 kg
Squats 5x130 kg
Squats 3x135 kg +2.5 kg

I'll stay at this weight for now or maybe do a few lighter sets at maybe 115-120 kg. I think my squats are so weak because I don't use hip drive but I push with the legs a lot more which makes it heavier. I was pretty sore afterwards though which I usually do not get so I think the legs got worked well.

Hamstring curls in machine 6xone plate less than max
Hamstring curls in machine 6xfull stack

lol maxed out the machine :/

Out of there. Need to do rotator cuff next time. Was supposed to do it today but there were no room at all in the gym.

 

[CarlitosWay]

Oh I forgot I did a short workout before as well. I was in a hurry so only had time to do a few sets.

Squats 5x125 kg
Squats 5x130 kg
Squats 3x135 kg +2.5 kg

I'll stay at this weight for now or maybe do a few lighter sets at maybe 115-120 kg. I think my squats are so weak because I don't use hip drive but I push with the legs a lot more which makes it heavier. I was pretty sore afterwards though which I usually do not get so I think the legs got worked well.

Hamstring curls in machine 6xone plate less than max
Hamstring curls in machine 6xfull stack

lol maxed out the machine :/

Out of there. Need to do rotator cuff next time. Was supposed to do it today but there were no room at all in the gym.

curious as to what you're using a low bar or high bar squat?...if high you might want to start putting 10 lb plates under each heal or get some oly shoes.

 

[Fuglydude]

... or just squat bare feet.

 

[ATP]

Bar stays just behind the delts, I used to have the bar lower. The reason I wondered about the squat is because apparantly I'm doing it wrong, I'm supposed to use the hip to lift more but legs get way more work the way it is now. It's not really a problem though, just a mental note so to speak. I'm squatting in socks ^^


Todays workout

Deadlifts 5x120 kg
Deadlifts 5x130 kg - last weeks working set felt like warm up set
Deadlifts 5x140 kg
Deadlifts 2x150 kg Just gave it a go, probably had one more in me if I'd really wanted but it's stupid to sacrifice form.

Strength is def back. Really annoying when the sickness is located in the lungs so I can hardly breathe. I was caughing up **** from my lungs for a long time afterwards.

Biceps curls 8x16.4 kg
Biceps curls 6x16.4 kg
Biceps curls in cable... 8xenough weight to make it hard
Biceps curls in cable... 8xenough weight to make it hard

Sit ups/crunches with barbell on chest, 20x22.5 kg
Sit ups/crunches with barbell on chest, 15x22.5 kg

Rotator cuff exercises

 

[ATP]

Todays workout

Squats 12x120kg
Squats 3x140 kg +5 kg

A training partner checked so I was at parallel or below on each rep. Was supposed to do 135 kg for the second set but I miscalculated the weights. Added 2x 25 kg plates together as 45 kg and not 50 kg :yes: Discovered my mistake just when I was about to do the first rep and thought "**** it". Anyways, 3 slow and agonizing reps at least.

Leg presses with one foot 10x95 kg +5kg
Leg presses with one foot 7x95 kg +5kg Leg died on this one

Hamstring curls 5xmax stacks

Leg died after this. I was feeling ****ed up after the deadlifts two days ago. Combining this with squats and my hams weren't up for more beating.

Tricep extensions with EZ 8x42.5 kg
Tricep extensions with EZ 8x42.5 kg

Improvement all across the board. 5/5 workout.

 

[ATP]

Another great workout

Db bench press 8x39 kg
Db bench press 7x39 kg
Db bench press 4x41.5 kg (91.4 lbs) +2.5 kg

Felt very strong today. The first set wasn't to failure which is the first time on 39 kg. I probably could do 10 reps.

Bent over rows 8x80 kg
Bent over rows 8x85 kg
Bent over rows 6x90 kg

Did them with no swing whatsoever. Felt very strong

Pulldowns 8x80 kg
Pull ups until failure

There weren't much more I could do today so I quit it here. Felt very strong overall. Gonna move up to 41.5 kg when I can do 2x8 at least on 39 kg.

 

[Fuglydude]

Nice bent over row... How many pull ups are you getting? If you're getting 20 or so, why not throw on a 10 or 20 kg weight around your waist and start doing weighed pull ups?

 

[ATP]

Cheers m8, I'm getting like 5-8... doing them by only pulling with lats with a stiff body. When I get over 10 I might add a few weights


Todays workout

5x135 kg
5x140 kg
4x145 kg

Tad bit stronger than last time, CNS might be overloading or some ****, thinking of going for 130 kg and doing 8-10 reps instead to chock the body.

Biceps curls EZ 8x37.5 kg easy, going for 40 next time
Biceps curls EZ (narrow grip, loads harder cause the bar rotates) 7x37.5 kg

Db curls 6x16.4 kg

Sit ups with weight behind head 2x12 /w 8 kg weight behind head.

Barbell press 8x40 kg
Barbell press 8x45 kg
Push press 5x50 kg
Push press 5x55 kg
Push press 5x60 kg

 

[ATP]

Decent/good workout, I had gases from eating ****loads of tacos yesterday so it was hard to squat with 100% strength. Had to hold back a little so my ass didn't explode and filled the room with gases.

Anyways I'm pretty satisfied.

Squats 5x130 kg
Squats 5x135 kg haven't done 5 here before
Squats 4x140 kg +1 rep

Gonna do the same weights next time and get a 5er on 140.

Hamstring curls 6xfull stack
Hamstring curls 4xfull stack

Calf raises 8x230 kg (+20 kg)
Calf raises 8x230 kg
Calf raises 7x230 kg

Db bench press 9x41.5 +5 reps, just had to try. Gonna go on that weight next time. Feeling very strong in the chest atm, it's an area which have been lacking before.

 

[ATP]

Yay, great workout today

Bench press 6x80 kg
Bench press 6x85 kg +2.5 kg
Bench press 2x100 kg (was gonna max)
Bench press 1x110 kg (242 lbs) PR! +10 kg
Bench press 4x90 kg +7.5 kg

If I hadn't done my maxing as the fourth set I bet I could get maybe 115 kg :yes:

Db bench press 6x36.5 kg

Bent over rows 8x82.5 kg
Bent over rows 6x87.5 kg

Lat pulldown 8x80 kg
Lat pulldown 8x80 kg

Triceps extensions 7x42.5 kg
Triceps were dead after all the benches

Rotator cuff exercises

Really happy, my bench have been lagging but now it seems to increase pretty quickly. I think it's due to the db presses. The bad thing is that I'm up to the 2nd heaviest dbs in the gym.


Edit:

Forgot I weighed myself. 87.8 kg is my current weight which is a loss of 1.2 kg since january. This was after having eating a bunch and with clothes. So about 86.5-87 kg without clothes. Seems like I've found the good spot between muscle gain and fat loss.

 

[CaptainJ]

Bar stays just behind the delts, I used to have the bar lower. The reason I wondered about the squat is because apparantly I'm doing it wrong, I'm supposed to use the hip to lift more but legs get way more work the way it is now. It's not really a problem though, just a mental note so to speak.

You really should focus on hip drive, as it is the essence of the squat. When you don't you hip drive, several things happen: Your centre of balances shifts forward onto your toes, you end up doing good mornings out of the squat, your glutes and hamstrings get neglected as the squat becomes a predominantly lower back and quadriceps exercise. The problem with this is that you'll be developing an imbalance in your hamstrings-quad ratio, which can cause knee problems and your lower back will have a higher chance of injury from having you good morning such a heavy weight. Not to mention that the squat just becomes an overall harder exercise with less gains.

Really focus on feeling the hip drive, imagine keeping the weight on your heels, this will make you position the weight right in the middle of your feet. Imagine a rope attached to the top of your glutes pulling your ass up out of the squat. It's better to get this sorted out early, before you condition your CNS to squat with incorrect form, which is hard to unlearn.

Keep soldering on.

 

[ATP]

You really should focus on hip drive, as it is the essence of the squat. When you don't you hip drive, several things happen: Your centre of balances shifts forward onto your toes, you end up doing good mornings out of the squat, your glutes and hamstrings get neglected as the squat becomes a predominantly lower back and quadriceps exercise. The problem with this is that you'll be developing an imbalance in your hamstrings-quad ratio, which can cause knee problems and your lower back will have a higher chance of injury from having you good morning such a heavy weight. Not to mention that the squat just becomes an overall harder exercise with less gains.

Really focus on feeling the hip drive, imagine keeping the weight on your heels, this will make you position the weight right in the middle of your feet. Imagine a rope attached to the top of your glutes pulling your ass up out of the squat. It's better to get this sorted out early, before you condition your CNS to squat with incorrect form, which is hard to unlearn.

Keep soldering on.

Thanks for the feedback capt'n.

You assume that I keep the weights on my toes and that I good morning the weight though which I don't, I just press with my quads and not with my hip keeping an arched back at all times. I do focus on making squats a quadriceps exercise since the deadlift and other exercises work the hamstrings. If I however do good mornings in my squat then my hamstrings are worked pretty hard no since it is one of the major muscles involved in the good morning? Actually pushing with the hip as rippetoe suggests seem to put more strain on the back (more good morning style squat) than if I push with the quads which makes the squat a lot more pleasant.

I gotta make a vid with me squatting sometime. It doesn't look as bad as you might imagine ^^


Todays workout

Deadlifts 5x140 kg
Deadlifts 5x145 kg
Deadlifts 3x150 kg PR I think

Deadlift standing on 3x plates 6x110 kg
Deadlift standing on 2x plates 6x110 kg

Military press 7x50 kg +5 kg
Push press 6x60 kg

Went home after this, was gonna do sit ups but there was a line to it.

 

[CaptainJ]

Thanks for the feedback capt'n.

You assume that I keep the weights on my toes and that I good morning the weight though which I don't, I just press with my quads and not with my hip keeping an arched back at all times. I do focus on making squats a quadriceps exercise since the deadlift and other exercises work the hamstrings. If I however do good mornings in my squat then my hamstrings are worked pretty hard no since it is one of the major muscles involved in the good morning? Actually pushing with the hip as rippetoe suggests seem to put more strain on the back (more good morning style squat) than if I push with the quads which makes the squat a lot more pleasant.

I gotta make a vid with me squatting sometime. It doesn't look as bad as you might imagine ^^


Todays workout

Deadlifts 5x140 kg
Deadlifts 5x145 kg
Deadlifts 3x150 kg PR I think

Deadlift standing on 3x plates 6x110 kg
Deadlift standing on 2x plates 6x110 kg

Military press 7x50 kg +5 kg
Push press 6x60 kg

Went home after this, was gonna do sit ups but there was a line to it.

Heh, yeah I was just stating an extreme, I didn't actually expect you to squat like that.

I would imagine doing a good morning, and a Good morning out of a squat are totally different exercises in the the types of muscles they activate. The good morning out of the squat is often caused by not maintaining or losing hamstring tension when coming out of the hole. This then causes the hamstrings to not participate in the exercise, and you body compensates by shifting the weight forward to your toes and onto the quads.

If you want to make the squat a predominantly quads exercises (Which is not really something i advise), then I suggest you do either high bar squats or front squats, as low bar squats are about 60:40 glutes/hams:quads ratio, whereas high bar and front squats are 50:50. You won't run the risk of developing bad form due to improper muscle balance for the exercise.

Ofcourse you may even be doing hip drive and not noticing it, it would be great to see a technique video.

 

[ATP]

Heh, yeah I was just stating an extreme, I didn't actually expect you to squat like that.

I would imagine doing a good morning, and a Good morning out of a squat are totally different exercises in the the types of muscles they activate. The good morning out of the squat is often caused by not maintaining or losing hamstring tension when coming out of the hole. This then causes the hamstrings to not participate in the exercise, and you body compensates by shifting the weight forward to your toes and onto the quads.

If you want to make the squat a predominantly quads exercises (Which is not really something i advise), then I suggest you do either high bar squats or front squats, as low bar squats are about 60:40 glutes/hams:quads ratio, whereas high bar and front squats are 50:50. You won't run the risk of developing bad form due to improper muscle balance for the exercise.

Ofcourse you may even be doing hip drive and not noticing it, it would be great to see a technique video.

Aye might be true as you say that I use hip drive without even knowing it. My squat form feels very good and natural. I can press very hard without ever feeling pain or shifting the weights forward. I really appreciate the concern though and I don't think there is much muscle imbalance atm.

I don't have a cam atm to film myself squatting but I'll try to get someone with a phone capable of filming and get a squat vid up. Maybe I'll break my movie virginity when I hit 4 plates :rockon:


What a ****ing insane workout!


Squats 2x160 kg +20 kg (352 lbs) supposed to max out my weights but I got it easy and did two reps instead. 3.5 plates, omw to four big ones.
Squats 13x120 kg +1 rep, first 8 reps felt like baby weights

Really tired after the second set. Did 12 reps last time but then I did it as the first set and not the second.

One leg leg presses 10x100 kg
One leg leg presses 10/9x105 kg only got 9 reps on my left leg.

Leg curls 6xfull stack
Stiff leg deadlifts 8x102.5 kg +2.5 kg
Stiff leg deadlifts 10x105 kg +5 kg

Biceps curls /EZ bar 8x40 kg
Biceps curls /EZ bar 6x40 kg

 

[Fuglydude]

Nice squat numbers! Definitely get a vid up when you hit the 4 plates!

Your squats and deads are pretty close to each other. Do you think you can pull more than you're giving yourself credit for? My 1RM on squats is around 345 x 1, but my 1RM on deads is 465... so DL's around 1/3 greater than squats. Your heavy squats will undoubtedly help your deadlifts.

How wide of stance are you using? High bar or low bar?