Jahidi's Workout Journal

[jahidi]

I would highly recommend getting a captains of crush gripper, I think they are $10 in the US although I am not sure. I am in the UK and they are still only £20. The "trainer" is a good gripper to start on. If you can't afford one, then look at this article:

Do something like farmers walk two sets, and then door grab for two sets. If you get a gripper you would do something like 2sets each hand on the gripper and then door grab for two sets.

Keep it up!

I looked up the captains of crush gripper and am definitely interested in getting one, looking at the difference between them I think the trainer is probably going to be enough of a challenge for me right now. I really want to improve my grip strength...

Where do you order them from online? I see Amazon.com has them for 20 bucks which sounds alright (plus $7 shipping to Canada), anyone know if there's another site that has them cheaper?

 

[The Bat]

http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/grip.htm

 

[jahidi]

Amazing day!

SATURDAY

I really didn't want to go to the gym today but I forced myself to go. Not that I don't like going, but I drank last night and only got a few hours of sleep because I had to get up early. I thought today was going to be a brutal day at the gym but I couldn't have been more wrong...

Squat 3 x 5 PR
8 x 45 (bar)
5 x 95
3 x 135
1 x 165
1 x 195
5 x 205
5 x 205
5 x 205

Hit 200!!! I was feeling really good in my warmup and thought I would PR. So I did 1 x 195 just to make sure that weight wasn't too heavy and then moved up to my PR of 200, or so I thought. When I took the weights off I realized that I had actually added 10 pounds instead of 5 (dumb me, switched a 5 for a 10 on each side, that's 10 pound increase)... I almost $hit my pants!

Bench Press 3 x 5 PR
8 x 45 (bar)
5 x 95
5 x 145
4 x 145
4 x 145

Moved up to 145, really tough though, gonna have to stick with 145 at least once more.

Deadlift 1 x 5
1 x 135
1 x 185
5 x 235

After reading Quag's deadlift thread and watching the video I realized my feet weren't far enough under the bar. I corrected my form and I think it's good now but maybe I'll get a video or something so you guys can see. My hands were killing me though, I'm ordering a CoC trainer gripper and that should help.

Weighted Dips 2 x 8 PR
8 x 55
8 x 55

All in all a great day! I should drink the night before a workout more often...

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BTW I guess size results are starting to get noticeable, I noticed only slight increases in my upper body but that's because I see myself every day. Yesterday one of my friends randomly told me I looked "chiseled" and another girl asked me when I got "jacked". I'm not bragging or anything, I know I'm far from chiseled or jacked, but it's nice to see that there may be more growth than I give myself credit for.

Sorry for the long reads guys, I like to make these long posts so I can look back later on and know what I was thinking and how I felt at this point in my training.

 

[Quagmire911]

Nice workout!

Get those videos!

 

[yungahdubz]

Nice lifts man, especially the dips.

 

[jahidi]

WEDNESDAY

I worked a 10 hour day today and was pretty tired afterward.

Squat 3 x 5
8 x 45 (bar)
5 x 95
3 x 135
1 x 175
5 x 205
5 x 205
5 x 205

Good to see I was able to maintain 205 seeing as I was on FIRE Saturday but not today.

Standing Military Press 3 x 5
8 x 45 (bar)
5 x 95
5 x 110
4 x 110
4 x 110

Back up to 110, hopefully I can at least not fail before 5 reps next time. This is gonna take some work before I get to 115.

Pendlay Rows 3 x 5
5 x 120
5 x 120
5 x 115

Lowered the weight down to 115 for the 3rd set because I didn't like my form on the first 2.

Chin ups 2 x 8

Decent workout, I'm just glad I was able to get my military press back to 110 and maintain the others, seeing as I didn't feel as energized as normal. Had I been more energized I probably would have set some PRs.

Back in the gym on Saturday...

 

[jahidi]

SUNDAY

Took care of business today...

Squat 3 x 5 PR
8 x 45 (bar)
5 x 95
3 x 135
1 x 185
5 x 210
5 x 210
5 x 210

After I did this, I realized I probably could have done 215.

Bench Press 3 x 5 PR
8 x 45 (bar)
5 x 95
5 x 150
5 x 150
5 x 150

YES!!! 150 lb bench! I failed at 145 last Saturday and somehow managed to increase the weight 5 lbs and complete all the reps.

Deadlift 1 x 5 PR
1 x 135
1 x 185
5 x 245

10 lb increase, brutal but I managed to do it and will go for 250 next time.

Weighted Dips 2 x 8
8 x 55
8 x 55

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Great day but unfortunately I've gained little if any weight so far this month. I'm eating the same as before so I'm not sure why. The only difference between what I'm doing now and what I did before is that I took creatine for May and June but now I'm cycled off of it so maybe that had an impact? I'm going to force down more food anyway though.

 

[jahidi]

double post, read below

 

[jahidi]

TUESDAY

I was tired after work but still had a solid workout.

Squat 3 x 5 PR
8 x 45 (bar)
5 x 95
3 x 135
1 x 185
5 x 215
5 x 215
5 x 215

Nice.

Standing Military Press 3 x 5 PR
5 x 115
5 x 115
5 x 115

Last time I failed at 110 and said it would take some time before I get to 115. Now I did 115 without failure.

Pendlay Rows 3 x 5
5 x 115
5 x 115
5 x 115

Working on my form...

Chin ups 2 x 8 PR
8 x 10 (as in, 8 reps with 10 lbs chained on to me)
8 x 10

These were getting easy at my bodyweight so I'm adding more weight, will go for at least 15 lbs next time.

Another great workout, but what gives? This has been by far my best month so far for strength gains but I weighed myself this morning and haven't gained a single pound this month. The only difference between now and what I did in the past is that I'm eating more now, and that I cycled off of creatine. The creatine couldn't be responsible for all my gains in the past, could it? I need advice on this...

 

[The Bat]

Newbie gains. Happens to EVERYBODY. For some it lasts couple of months. For others like you, they've lasted about a month.

It's consistent weight gain that you want. As long as you are gaining weight on a weekly or bi-weekly basis, you're good to go.

 

[I-tallionStallion]

Hey man...scales are $hit. Your body weight fluctuates a lot due to digestion, water, etc. so it's hard to tell exactly where you are at. Measurements are the way to go. All scales do is give you an estimate of your weight. If you have been consistently eating all your meals the muscle will come. It's a slow process. Don't worry man, it's only been two weeks since your reported weight gain

 

[Quagmire911]

Newbie gains. Happens to EVERYBODY. For some it lasts couple of months. For others like you, they've lasted about a month.

It's consistent weight gain that you want. As long as you are gaining weight on a weekly or bi-weekly basis, you're good to go.

What if you don't want to gain weight?

 

[jahidi]

Thanks guys. If it's okay that I'm not gaining, that's fine... it's just that when I see the scale I get worried that maybe I'm doing something wrong. If I know I'm doing everything right then I'm willing to be patient for the gains to come.

 

[jahidi]

MEASUREMENTS

I took lots of measurements first thing this morning so I can compare them every month. This is the site I used that explains how to measure: http://www.mm2k.com/muscle-measurements.html

The only difference was that I measured my waist where pants would sit, rather than around my belly button.

These were all taken almost two days after my last workout.

Neck: 14"
Upper Arms: 12 + 5/8"
Forearms: 10 + 1/4"
Chest: 35 + 3/4"
Waist: 29 + 3/4"
Hips: 35 + 1/2"
Thighs: 20 + 3/4"
Calves: 13 + 1/8"

Now I have something to compare every month other than just weight, arms and thighs.

 

[jahidi]

THURSDAY

I won't be able to work out this weekend so I went today instead. I called in sick from work (wasn't actually sick) so I wasn't tired like I normally would be on a week day.

Squat 3 x 5 PR
8 x 45 (bar)
5 x 95
3 x 135
1 x 185
5 x 220
5 x 220
5 x 220

Really hard, but I got it. My squat has been going up consistently which is awesome.

Bench Press 3 x 5
8 x 45 (bar)
5 x 95
3 x 155
2 x 150
8 x 135

Brutal. I tried to do 155 since I was feeling up to it, but I failed, and then failed again after lowering it to 150. Finally I just said f*ck it and just kept the 45's on and did 8 reps. Hoping to get back to 150 next time which should be attainable.

Deadlift 1 x 5
1 x 135
1 x 205
5 x 245

I was feeling down after the bad day on the bench so I just tried to maintain 245 which I was able to do. It was a lot harder than the last time I did 245 though.

Weighted Dips 2 x 8
8 x 55
8 x 55

I've done 55 pounds 3 times now and this one was the hardest.


Overall I started well but my horrible bench press just killed the rest of my workout, I wasn't feeling up to it after that. I struggled to do the same weight that I had done in the past for bench and dips. It seems like the kinda thing that you guys would say might just be a bad CNS day (what's CNS?).

I'll be back on Monday or Tuesday.

 

[Quagmire911]

Have you been training hard (ie.-no break/deload) for two months now?

Keep up the good work!

 

[eldafar]

Nice progress on weighted dips, although as you keep going up in weight, the bench press before the dips might start making you too tired. Might need to alternate or something at that point.

 

[Kerpal]

CNS = central nervous system.

 

[jahidi]

Have you been training hard (ie.-no break/deload) for two months now?

Keep up the good work!

I was thinking about that the other day... I could definitely use some time off or a deload or something.

I'm going away on vacation from August 9th-16th though, and will have no access to a gym, so that will serve as my week off.

 

[Quagmire911]

That is still a good few weeks away. However it isn't a problem.

Unless you are feeling good again, do everything at 80% on your next workout day. This should give you a breather until your holiday. I would then continue as usual on your next deadlift day, however if the bench and deads are feeling heavy, go more in the 80% range with them too but try to PR on squats.