GodsGiftToFatBirds' Training Journal

[semag]

I am changing tomorrow's chest/shoulders/triceps session though - I'm gonna reduce it to incline bench, military press, weighted dips and rear delt raise. It suits me to lower the volume for this week in any case cos i've got football on the Wednesday so don't wanna do too much.

Perfect split. Awesome.

 

[GodsGiftToFatBirds]

Thanks.

I did that session today, quite liked having only 4 exercises to do rather than 6, like I was able to concentrate more on each one, rather than just wanting to get them out the way.

The session was as follows:

Chest/Shoulders/Triceps:

DB Incline Bench 3*6 33.5kg (2)
NT: Flat Bench next week, then 34.5kg on incline week after

Standing Military Press 3*8 47kg (2)
Managed 8,8,5
NT: Repeat

Weighted Dips w/22kg 3*8 (2) (was able to do more on this, having not done tricep extensions earlier in the session)
NT: 3*10

Bent over rear delt raise 3*8 8kg EH (2)
NT: 3*6 9.5kg EH


Any comments/opinions on what I said in my previous post about my idea of DC training?

 

[GodsGiftToFatBirds]

Any comments/opinions on what I said in my previous post about my idea of DC training?

Anybody?!?


This week's training has been fvcked up a bit by a hamstring injury i got playing football yesterday, i did my back and biceps session (without the deadlifts) today, but definately won't be able to do legs.

Anyway, this was back and biceps today (I decided to cut the volume on this too (any opinions on the exercises I've chosen/left out btw?) to 4 exercises, deadlifts will make 5 when i'm able to do them, i also intend to alternate hammer curls with concentration curls week by week.

Concentration Curls 3*6 27kg (2)
NT: hammer curls, then 3*7

Bent over barbell rows 3*6 62kg (2)
NT: 64.5kg

Close grip pull ups w/22kg w/u/hang grip 3*5 (2)
NT: 3*6

Wide grip pull ups w/o/hang grip 3*6 (1.5), then maxed out about a minute later (ie a 4th set) as I felt I hadn't pushed myself to the limit, i managed 7 and a half reps
NT: 3*7

 

[semag]

if you're making gains, don't change. With only a year of training, i'd say it's iffy.

You have to know your body and how it feels.... and tryin DC after even 2 or 3 years of training, where you know what you're doing, seems kinda iffy to me (i'm in that stage).

DOn't get me wrong, it is great and get you good gains, but I think it's easy to goof it up, or not go hard enough, and it's always a struggle to keep yourself going. I'd say to try some of the elements of it, rest-pause, log-book, stretches, with your current routine, and see if you can foray into the realm of designing things for your own body.

 

[GodsGiftToFatBirds]

Thanks for that.

Yeh, I am interested in incorporating some of the ideas into my routine, rest-pause especially as it seems to me the best way of guarenteeing that you're pushing yourself to the limit every session.
Was thinking how I could incorporate it though - I'm currently doing 3 sets for each exercise - would I do the first 2 sets as normal and then max out on rest-pause on the last one?
Or every set?
Or reduce the number of sets?

Guidance please!! - this obviously isn't a consideration with DC cos you just rest-pause the one set that you do.

 

[semag]

why don't you take 1 or two exercises... like flat bench on that day, and maybe curls or something on another day... and do 1 set of rest-pause... see how you like it.

1 set is 3 mini sets... so you'll still kinda be doing the same thing

and try to incorporate the widowmaker... 2 heavy sets of 6, then 80% of that weight and do 20.

 

[GodsGiftToFatBirds]

Yeh, I incorporated the rest-pause into my session today, did it on DB bench, felt quite good, my chest was fvcking pumped afterwards, did 9,3,1 with 35s, could have probably done more but been a bit knackered all day, had 2 successive nights with less sleep than normal. Though once I got into the session, my energy levels didn't feel too bad.

This was the session (chest, triceps and shoulders):

DB Bench 35kg EH Rest Pause (30 secs between each mini set) 9,3,1

Arnolds 3*8 18kg (2)
NT: 19.5kg

Weighted Dips w/22kg 3*8 (2) This was back home at my parents house, which makes a difference cos the 2 worksurfaces I use are too far apart really - I had a look on ebay see if there were any of those dip stations going, saw a good one that you can attach to the wall, seller was looking for sh!tload postage cost from the US tho, and had a dodgy feedback so decided to wait for summat better
NT: 3*6 32kg

Bent over rear delt raise 3*6 9.5kg (2)
NT: Repeat or find new exercise - I'm not that keen on this one


Couple more questions btw for Semag (or anyone else who knows their stuff):

Would you recommend keeping the rest pause on the same exercises or switching it about? (ie using it for DB bench again next week, or switch it to Arnolds for example)

And how important do you consider the really slow negatives (another DC feature) to be? Mine vary by exercise, probably like 2-3 secs on DB bench, but only 1 sec on some others (ie when not trying to make them deliberately slow). The DC guide goes on about 8 secs tho.....




And finally, yeh I've heard about the widowmaker before, but only in relation to squats. Anyone tell us why this is? And does anyone use it for other exercises too?

 

[semag]

Would you recommend keeping the rest pause on the same exercises or switching it about? (ie using it for DB bench again next week, or switch it to Arnolds for example)

I'd say keep it the same for a couple weeks, try to beat your previous week, and do that for like 3. Then go back to straight sets like ya had before and see where you're at... be like "i'm stronger now... so I'm gonna go heavier." You might be surprised at your gains.

And how important do you consider the really slow negatives (another DC feature) to be? Mine vary by exercise, probably like 2-3 secs on DB bench, but only 1 sec on some others (ie when not trying to make them deliberately slow). The DC guide goes on about 8 secs tho.....

Negatives on the slow side are practical, but eh... I wouldn't worry about it too much. Control your weights, don't throw them around, and make sure it's something you can handle, that should do ya fine.

And finally, yeh I've heard about the widowmaker before, but only in relation to squats. Anyone tell us why this is? And does anyone use it for other exercises too?

I've seen it talked about for a few others, but not really. Deadlifts and stuff would be easy to hurt yourself on with a widowmaker set, and you can push your upper body to failure already, where as your lower body is hard to push to it's limit. That's what the widowmaker's for.

 

[GodsGiftToFatBirds]

Cool, they're good answers i reckon, pretty much what i was thinking but not 100% sure about.

Not got long so just gonna post today's session and let that be that, done a sh!tload of calculations and stuff on food and diet and stuff today but i'll post those tomorrow.

Today's session was legs, changed it cos i left an attachment off my weights bench at my old place so can't do leg curl and lying legf curl till i go pick it up, if i decide to do those exercise anyway, i'm not sure about them, how beneficial they really are.

DB Hack Squats 2*6 82kg, 1*20 67kg (2) Yep, the widowmaker, this was fvcking tough, haha
NT: Bit more weight, another kilo or 2 on each set i reckon

DB Walking Lunges 3*12 35kg (2)
NT: Same, maybe alternate v short and v long strides

Iron Cross 3*10 7.5kg EH (2) This was an exercise i got off bodybuilding.com, not that impressed with it for legs, oyu can't use enough weight to test your legs, its more of a full body exercise, i probably won't use it next week

 

[GodsGiftToFatBirds]

Alright, I've got a new eating plan which I drew up the other day, not got much time now though so I'll just post yesterday's session in this post, and then go into detail on my meal plan later today if i get the chance to use the net.


Yesterday's session was biceps and back, i changed the order a bit and decided to go rest-pause on the close grip pull ups:

Deadlift 1*4 107kg
2*4 140kg (2) - I wasn't gonna do this much but i really wanted to test myself, see if i could rep with 140. I'm not 100% sure about my technique though - I made a video clip of the final set on my phone, and from looking at it, i'm not sure if my back's as straight as it should be. I tend to straighten my legs first, then my back after that, rather than using one smooth motion. I'll see if i can get it on here so some of yous can have a look at it, see what you think. Anyone know how to get a video clip into a post? - I'm sh!t with I.T.

Close grip pull ups w/u/hang grip, Rest-pause: Did 8,2,1
NT: Repeat

Bent Over Barbell Rows 3*6 62kg (2)
NT: 63kg

Hammer Curls 3*7 24.5kg EH Alt (2)
NT: Concentration Curls next week, then 3*8 on hammers week after

Wide grip pull ups w/o/hang grip 3*7 (1.5)
Managed: 7,7,6
NT: Repeat

 

[GodsGiftToFatBirds]

Ok, bit later than promised but here it is, this is my new diet plan, have a look, see what you think.

Meal 1:

2 Peanut Butter Sandwiches
2 Eggs
1 Pint Milk

1030 cal, 58.5g Protein, 70.4g Carbs, 57.5g Fat

Meal 2:

500g Baked Potatoes w/cheese
Half Tin Baked Beans
1 Pint Milk

1350 cal, 62.5g Protein, 219.4g Carbs, 29.3g Fat

Meal 3:

2 Scoops of Whey, Each in Milk
2 Eggs
1 Chicken Breast
1 Pint Milk

945 cal, 107.3g Protein, 52.9g Carbs, 29.4g Fat

Meal 4:

100g Pasta
100g Salmon
1 Pint Milk

805 cal, 50.8g Protein, 101.9g Carbs, 21.5g Fat

Snacks:

2 Bananas
1 Apple
1 Orange

302 cal, 4.4g Protein, 66.5g Carbs, 0.9g Fat



TOTAL: 4432 cal, 284g Protein, 511g Carbs, 139g Fat

RATIOS: 25.6% Protein, 46.1% Carbs, 28.2% Fat

As I say, this is the minimum of what I'm eating each day, cos sometimes, my mum or gran cooks summat for me , but this isn't included.
And it isn't always in 4 meals, for example, I might eat the potatoes and the beans separately (ie 2 smaller meals) if I'm not feeling up to them both at once.

Any opinions/feedback/comments?


And this was today's workout:

Chest, Shoulders and Triceps:

DB Bench w/35s Rest Pause: Did 10,3,1
NT: Repeat

Standing Military Press w/47kg 3*8 (2)
Managed 8,7,1
This was completely sh!te, think it was cos i'd pushed myself to the limit 3 times only 5 mins before, but whatever, i'm going to stick to Arnolds for a few weeks, then come back to militaries, cos i've got stuck in a rut with them recently.
NT: Arnolds

Weighted Dips w/32kg 3*6 (2)
NT: 3*7

Bent over rear delt raise (decided to stick with it) 3*6 9.5kg (2)
NT: Repeat but rest head on chair for all 3 sets - I did this for the final 2 sets today and it worked well, cos it stopped me jerking my body up as i lifted.

Any opinions on the diet pls??

 

[semag]

I think you should eat more protein. If you're gaining weight and it doesn't look like that weight is fat, then you look good. If not, then I'd watch the pairings of fat w/ carbs... like pb sandwhich w/ whole eggs. Carbs + fat will spike insulin and increase fat absorbtion which is bad. Other than that??? get your protein up to like 300 g's... although you're really close, and from your weight, that's good.

 

[GodsGiftToFatBirds]

Oh yeh, I have read somewhere before that you should try not to combine high carbs with high fat in the same meal, I'll have a look at the plan, see if I can tweek a couple of things about.

Though i have been gaining weight - I was 77kg last night (started at 73kg 2 months ago) though I normally weight myself 1st thing in the morning, so I'll weigh myself tomorrow morning, keep it consistent - and I don't think too much of that is fat, I'll put another pic up soon.

And yeh, I'll get the protein up past 300g, another pint or 2 of milk should do it.

 

[GodsGiftToFatBirds]

Ok, weighed myself this morning, was a touch over 76kg, thought i would be different to yesterday's weight taken at a different time, still an improvement tho.

Today's session was legs, my main exercise (the widowmaker on the hack squats) was quite poor cos I had a scab on the back of my right calf from doing it last week, from the bar rubbing against it. And after 3 or 4 reps of the 20 rep set, the scab came off and my leg started bleeding. Tried to adjust my technique to avoid touching the wound with bar, this made it awkward, my grip went and I only managed 16 reps. Oh well, here's the session anyway:

Legs:

Barbell Hack Squats 2*6 83kg (2)
1*20 68kg Managed 16
NT: Repeat

DB Walking Lunges 3*12 35kg EH (did 3 long strides, 3 short strides alternately to emphasise both hamstrings and quads) (2)
NT: Repeat

Lying Leg Curl (decided to bring this back in, as I thought without it, the emphasis was too much on quads and not enough on hamstrings) 3*10 Level 8 (2)
NT: Maybe widowmaker on this too, reckon it might be better

 

[GodsGiftToFatBirds]

Ok, to update, today's session was back and biceps:

Deadlift 1*4 107kg
2*4 140kg (2)
NT: 142kg (or maybe test 1 rep max instead - I'm keen to find out where I'm at for deadlifts)

Close grip Pull Ups w/u/hang grip w/22kg Rest Pause: Did 9,2,1 (was agonisingly close to 2 reps on the final mini-set - I had half my head over the bar but couldn't make it the final few inches to get my chin over too!!)
NT: Repeat

Bent Over Barbell Rows 3*6 63kg (2)
NT: 64.5kg

Concentration Curls 3*6 25kg (2) (went back to a lower weight with it being the 2nd biceps exercise in the session - previously I had been doing 27s but as the 1st bicep exercise)
NT: Hammer Curls next week, then 3*8 w/25.5kg week after

Wide grip Pull Ups w/o/hang grip 3*7 (1.5)
NT: Try 3*6 w/7kg DB between feet


I've been trying to keep up with my diet plan, I've found an excellent way to do it is to have a tick-sheet of all the food I have to eat throughout the day - means I can see at a glance what I still have to eat to reach the right amount of cals/protein etc, find things can easily get forgotten about otherwise.

 

[GodsGiftToFatBirds]

Ok, and this was today's session: chest, shoulders and triceps:

DB Bench w/35's Rest Pause: 11,1,1 (2nd set was worse probably because I got distracted by someone walking through the room and almost dropped the weights)
NT: 37.5kg - I reckon I'm ready for a step up now I'm doing 11 reps on the 1st set

Arnolds 3*8 19.5kg (2)
Managed 8,5,5
This was sh!te, I fully expected to complete this exercise too. Think its probably down to having gone all out on the bench immediately before, I probably need to change the order of my exercises if I'm to get the best out of my shoulders. But at the same time, I don't wanna have to use lower weights on bench by doing that after a tough exercise. Any suggestions?
The only one I can think of to satisfy both chest and shoulders is to randomly stick the Arnolds on leg day.
Opinions??

Weighted Dips w/32kg 3*7 (2)
NT: 3*8

Bent over rear delt raise w/head on chair 3*6 9.5kg
NT: 3*8


Anyone reading this, pls have a look at what I've written about the Arnolds and tell us what you think.

Cheers

 

[semag]

i think what you wrote on the arnolds was spot on, about going all out on bench at least.

however, you forget that flat bench throws in some front delt work, so your delts are already getting hit by that. I'd say don't worry, you're really close to a set of 6/6/6, so just shoot for that, maybe try 6/6/6 on the next time instead of 8/5/5... see if that's good.

 

[GodsGiftToFatBirds]

Yeh I reckon you might well be right, I don't especially wanna stick a shoulders exercise randomly onto leg day (which was my original idea), so I'll go for 3*6 on Arnolds next time I do that session.

Today's session was legs. I decided to change the order of the exercises round - to put the widowmaker (on BB hack squats) at the end of the session rather than at the start. Doing that exercise always makes me feel like I'm gonna be sick for about 20 minutes, so I figured it would be better to feel ill after my workout than halfway through, with 2 exercises still to go!

DB Walking Lunges 3*12 35kg EH (3 long strides, 3 short strides alternate) (2)
NT: (1.5)

Lying Leg Curl 3*10 Level 9
NT: Repeat - I prob didn't quite get the last couple of reps up fully

BB Hack Squat 2*6 83kg
1*20 68kg (2)
This was much better than last week, mainly cos my leg didn't start bleeding this week. The widowmaker was tough and I was roaring and shouting for each of about the last 10 reps, with eyes shut and pretty much all out for about the last 5! Though if my life had depended on me reaching 25 reps, I might have just about been able to make it. Which is why I'm putting the weights up for next week.
NT: 87kg and 72kg


I also weighed myself on Wednesday at the normal time in the day, I'm up to 77kg now.
So this is my week by week progress in terms of bodyweight (with a couple of weeks missing):

Start: 73kg
1 week: 74kg
2 weeks: 74kg
3 weeks: 74.5kg
4 weeks: 75kg
5 weeks: 75kg
6 weeks: 75.5kg
.
.
9 weeks: 76.25kg
10 weeks: 77kg

I'm sure that my progress over the last couple of weeks has been down to following my meal plan absolutely religiously, save for one day. Whereas before, I had a plan laid out but got into the habit of skipping a meal here or not eating summat there if i was a bit short of time or not hungry or summat. I've drawn up a daily tick list of everything to eat in a day and i make sure that before i go to bed, everything on the list is ticked off!

 

[GodsGiftToFatBirds]

Alright, to update, I had to take a week off - been ill the last few days with heavy cold, headache, asthma etc, and my weight's dropped by a kilo and a half down to 75.5.

But I haven't felt too bad today so got back on with it.

Was back and biceps day, i was determined to test my one rep max for deadlifts, as I'd been meaning too for ages. Although it probably wasn't the best day to get an accurate result, given the week off and the weight loss.

Anyway, this is today's session:

Deadlift: Test of 1 Rep Max: 162kg (357lb) - roughly what i was expecting given i wasn't 100%, i was initially reasonably happy with this. Then purely out of interest this evening, i decided to look up the British Powerlifting Records. And discovered that a 52kg (8 stone 2lb) woman had infact deadlifted more than me!! This kind of took away any kind of good feeling i had about my own effort!!
NT: Back to reps, 142.5kg

Close grip pull ups w/u/hang grip w/22kg Rest Pause: 9,2,1 (v close to 3 on 2nd set)
NT: Repeat

Bent Over Barbell Rows w/64.5kg 3*6 (2)
NT: Repeat

Hammer Curls 3*8 24.5kg EH Alt (2)
NT: Repeat

Wide grip pull ups w/o/hang grip w/7kg 3*6 (1.5)
Managed: 6,6,4
NT: (2)

 

[al77]

Originally posted by GodsGiftToFatBirds
i was determined to test my one rep max for deadlifts, as I'd been meaning too for ages. Although it probably wasn't the best day to get an accurate result, given the week off and the weight loss.

I guess you can predict 1 rep max using this estimation:
http://www.timinvermont.com/fitness/orm.htm

or here, they use 3 different equations:
http://www.changingshape.com/resources/calculators/onerepmaxcalculator.asp