mrRuckus' journal o' liftin and stuff.

[mrRuckus]

I guess I'll follow the crowd and make one of these too. As of Monday 8/17/05 I was 5'11 174 lbs. I've been lifting again for 2 months after lifting for a year and then moving and not lifting for a year. I'd consider myself a newbie still especially since before i ate like crap and never did squats or deadlifts or a decent workout plan.

I have no partner so i avoid barbells as much as possible.

Supplements:
Glutamine
Stopped taking creatine after about 5 weeks of it. Not sure if i'll start it again. It's been 3 weeks without.
Flaxseed pills (can never seem to find the actual seeds or plain old oil to buy)

Typical food day:
7:50am wake up
8:10am 2 scoops whey (hate eating first thing in morning)
Go to work
9am bowl of oatmeal
10am orange and/or banana
11:15am can of tuna
12:30pm peanut butter sandwich
3pm whole wheat spaghetti (some days)
4:30-5 workout (M - W - F)
5:00 3 scoops whey + apple
5:30 2 big hamburger patties + scoop or 2 of whey + veggies
6:30 whole wheat spaghetti + whey
10pm 4 extra large eggs (7g protein each)
btw 11 and 12am. Peanut butter, 2 scoops whey, tbl spoon olive oil, capsule of flaxseed oil. Bed.

Throw random 2 or 3 glasses of skim milk in there too. I should probably count just how much protein and calories that really is but that sounds annoying.

Times are very approximate and the order switches and stuff. I tend to nibble a lot instead of eating like 6 meals at 3 hour intervals. I just eat little by little nonstop all day.

Week 1.
Monday
Flat DB press
Incline DB press
Flys (is 3 chests too much?)
Dips (concentration on triceps)
Skullcrushers (too hard on elbows gonna stick with close grips)

I don't know the weights or reps because I didn't keep track then.

I'll start start keeping track with leg day today and post it tomorrow.

 

[vanwilder]

do you mind if i change stuff up to what you have on that workout

give your incline top priority of your chest lifts. your upper is goign to be lagging, no questions asked as no one, or hardly anyone gives it priority. plus regular bench does not, DOES NOT stimulate as much growth as incline or dips.

change it to

incline (hardest to perform)
flat (middle)
dips (easiest) (lean forward while doing dips to hit chest and you still work your tris)
flyes (you dont really need these unless you want a ripped inner chest, rather i suggest you hold a flye position to stretch your pecs, and it will fill them out as well)
then do your close grip, as while holding those flyes it will give you a temp relief of stress from your triceps, making sure you will hit them harder rather than doing it right after dips which is more of a chest exercise compared to tris and shoulders.
and if you want add a couple sets of press downs but you dont need it, i dont know your set number either


besides the changing up of the order if you like it you have a very solid workout plan

good luck

 

[mrRuckus]

Originally posted by vanwilder


besides the changing up of the order if you like it you have a very solid workout plan

Hmm when i listed those exercises i never meant to imply what order i did them, but still what you said sounds reasonable. Thanks.

I lowered my weights a bit to do more reps. Weight in pounds.


Week 1
Wednesday
Seated DB press
40 lbs x 12
40 x 7
40 x 8

Squats
(for some reason my legs were sore before i even started. musta been the sex with gf in the morning =p )
135 lbs x 6 warm up
155 x 7 warm up
175 x 5
175 x 5
175 x 5
Should i do less weight to get more reps with squats too?

Sumo Leg Press (press machine)
7x250 lbs
Didn't really feel it in hamstrings. Mostly in quads so said to hell with it and moved to:

Hamstring Curls
210lbs x 10
210 x 10
210 x 10

Legs are pretty sore today. Have a softball makeup game surprised on me tonight immediately after work so i can't do back/biceps today or tomorrow (and i never lift on the weekend). It's a bit convenient because i want to change from chest/legs/back on MWF to back/chest/legs to separate back and leg day a bit more AND leg day sucks midweek since i play softball midweek and have to run around. So i'll just do back/biceps on Monday and push everything back a day.


Forgot to list my supplements so i edited the first post.

 

[Warboss Alex]

Squats
Should i do less weight to get more reps with squats too?

You might get away with lower reps for squats, keep it as it is for the moment and see how you go. Try to get 6 next time.

Sumo Leg Press (press machine)
7x250 lbs
Didn't really feel it in hamstrings. Mostly in quads so said to hell with it and moved to:

Put your feet on the top two corners of the leg press, your toes off the press and pointing diagonally out-wards, keep your hands off your stomach/chest (but not holding anything else), bring your knees back as close to your chest as possible, make the negative part of the exercise a good 3-4 seconds so that you're gritting your teeth more on the down than the up (and the positive is a moment of joy because you can stretch your legs out and it doesn't seem to hurt anymore) and THEN tell me you didn't feel it in your hamstrings.

There's not enough protein in your diet mate, and 3 chests is too much I'd say, especially if you're doing dips as well.

Oh, and do squats last. The fact you could do hamstrings AND change the exercise because you didn't feel it enough means that your squats weren't nearly as intense as they should've been. Forget the earlier thing I said, do 3x8, 3x10, anything until you're gasping for breath and thanking God that you survived the ordeal!

 

[mrRuckus]

Originally posted by Warboss Alex
You might get away with lower reps for squats, keep it as it is for the moment and see how you go. Try to get 6 next time.


Oh, and do squats last. The fact you could do hamstrings AND change the exercise because you didn't feel it enough means that your squats weren't nearly as intense as they should've been. Forget the earlier thing I said, do 3x8, 3x10, anything until you're gasping for breath and thanking God that you survived the ordeal!

I don't much feel hamstrings during squats at all. My quads are on fire though. I don't know how to make them more intense if i'm already going down pretty much as far as possible and i already feel like i'm going to gonna collapse.

I should do hams before squats???

ugghhh i'm already stuffed and can barely move all day how can i eat moorrrrrrreee protein?

 

[Warboss Alex]

ugghhh i'm already stuffed and can barely move all day how can i eat moorrrrrrreee protein?

.. you just do. Like those last 3 reps of a widowmaker when you've already heard the last rites, you don't know how the hell you do them, you just do.

Protein drinks maybe?

 

[mrRuckus]

Originally posted by Warboss Alex
.. you just do. Like those last 3 reps of a widowmaker when you've already heard the last rites, you don't know how the hell you do them, you just do.

Protein drinks maybe?

*shakes fist at you*







I'll just do more random whey drinks during the day. I sip water all day anyway so i might as well add some more whey into it. Oh, and i went and bought a huge family pack of ground beef. My burgers before were turkey. Beef is a bit cheaper anyway.

 

[vanwilder]

Originally posted by Warboss Alex
and 3 chests is too much I'd say, especially if you're doing dips as well.

Oh, and do squats last. The fact you could do hamstrings AND change the exercise because you didn't feel it enough means that your squats weren't nearly as intense as they should've been. Forget the earlier thing I said, do 3x8, 3x10, anything until you're gasping for breath and thanking God that you survived the ordeal!

erm 3 chest exercises is not 2 much

why do squats last, do it first, its hte harder of the leg exercises you can do. if you want to feel it in your hams a bit, go below parallel, id say tonns of peopel do squats wrong, like 75%+ of people at the gym from what i see at least. its more meant for your quads anyways. if you want to hit your hams to some sldl.

 

[vanwilder]

ok and another thing, for your reps, try each way out for a month and see what you get best results from. do low reps once and high the other time. dont sacrifice form on squats. on other things i wouldnt mind as much but deads and squats are a no no

 

[Warboss Alex]

Originally posted by vanwilder
erm 3 chest exercises is not 2 much

There is no way in hell I could do 3 multi-set chest exercises at peak efficiency and then do triceps and possibly even shoulders too, not the way I train.

It's all a matter of opinion of course, and different things work for different people BUT consider that it's better to undertrain and gain slowly rather than overtrain and not gain at all.

But yes, the key is experimentation and how you 'feel' ..

MR RUCKUS I AM TAKING ARSE-TO-GRASS SQUATS AS A GIVEN, ARE YOU GOING BELOW PARALLEL!?

why do squats last, do it first, its hte harder of the leg exercises you can do. if you want to feel it in your hams a bit, go below parallel, id say tonns of peopel do squats wrong, like 75%+ of people at the gym from what i see at least. its more meant for your quads anyways. if you want to hit your hams to some sldl.

Vanwilder, I don't know how you train or the weights you push, but if you can do 200kgs+ of a squat for 6-10 (with a controlled 3-4 second negative, no bounce on the bottom) and then a widowmaker (150-160kg for 20), all arse-to-grass, and THEN be able to do anything else at all be it calves, hams, biceps, whatever, then you're either an android or not training your squats hard enough.

It's on these big lifts that you should really push yourself to your absolute limit, because THESE are what'll give you the best return for your sweat and blood.

Honestly, it just seems nonsensical than anyone can do squats, deadlifts or stiff-leg deadlifts first in a workout..

No wait, it does make sense. IT MEANS THEY PUSSIED OUT ON THE WEIGHT, THAT'S WHAT.

 

[mrRuckus]

Originally posted by Warboss Alex


MR RUCKUS I AM TAKING ARSE-TO-GRASS SQUATS AS A GIVEN, ARE YOU GOING BELOW PARALLEL!?

Yeah i already said this:

" i'm already going down pretty much as far as possible and i already feel like i'm going to gonna collapse. "

Going down that far is kinda hard to balance but i'm doing it. Once i get that down i'll be a hell of a lot more comfortable doing a lot more weight.

 

[semag]

take a vid

make sure it looks at least like this:

http://www.ironaddicts.com/video/squat2 kyle405x10.avi

or this

http://www.ironaddicts.com/video/squat 2 500x10.avi

 

[vanwilder]

"Vanwilder, I don't know how you train or the weights you push, but if you can do 200kgs+ of a squat for 6-10 (with a controlled 3-4 second negative, no bounce on the bottom) and then a widowmaker (150-160kg for 20), all arse-to-grass, and THEN be able to do anything else at all be it calves, hams, biceps, whatever, then you're either an android or not training your squats hard enough."

all i said was do squats before anything else? i dont get you lol

when i do my workout i switch is up, leg press for a while, squats at another time single leg leg press at another time. i never do more than 1 of the 3.

im not religous with working out my legs, tehy are already big in proportion to my body. i sort of go off and on.

btw what is a widowmaker, havent heard that one before, or is it jsut a term used for somethin else?

if you do legs you can do something else, i jsut dont reccomend standing up while doing it . i do my legs on its own. look at my log if you want.

and i cant squat that much, ive got 405 lbs for 1 once, i jsut dont work my legs out enough to get to thta point yet.

 

[mrRuckus]

Originally posted by semag
take a vid

make sure it looks at least like this:

http://www.ironaddicts.com/video/squat2 kyle405x10.avi

or this

http://www.ironaddicts.com/video/squat 2 500x10.avi

Thanks but i know for a fact i go down really low because i'm staring directly into a mirror while i do it. I sure make funny faces.

Doesn't seem like those 2 vids the guy is going down all that far.

 

[Warboss Alex]

I make sure the back of my legs touch my calves when going down low.

 

[mrRuckus]

Week 2
Monday

The good news is I was up to 176 lbs. Started this thread at 174 lbs and was 162 lbs when i started lifting again a few months back. 176 is the heaviest i've been in my life.


Pullups
176lbs (bodyweight) x 4
(then moved to the assistance machine)
30 lbs assistance x 8
30 lbs assistance x 8

Damn those are hard without help. And gaining more weight doesn't help!


Hammer Curl
25lbs x 8
25 x 8
25 x 8

Standing Barbell Curl
I don't know what the curl bar weighs. 25 lbs?
40+bar x 8
40+bar x 8
40+bar x 8

Deadlifts
155lbs x 8
155lbs x 6
155lbs x 6

I had posted before in some other thread about my back really aching a lot during deadlifts, but it doesn't now. Maybe it was just a newbie thing with getting my back used to doing this exercise since i never had before? I could have done more than 6 the second 2 sets except for my grip endurance. It didn't occur to me till later that night that i could have tried the alternating grip thing. Next week. I could probably add more weight if my grip holds out too.


--

Squats: hardest part of squats for me is just the initial change in directions. oomph i get down so low then my body is like "hey, let's just stay here; i like the view."

 

[semag]

my suggestion for deads: wrist straps and grip work separate.

 

[mrRuckus]

I've been trying to up my reps to like 8-12 instead of 4-8 so the weights i've been using are my best guesses for what will get me into that range. Well, mostly i'm going for 8 or 9.



Week 2
Wednesday

Incline BB Bench
115lbs x 12
130 x 9
135 x 7

I haven't done incline bench in a while so i wasn't sure what weight to use. I'd been doing incline dbs.


Flat DB bench
55lbs x 6
55 x 6
55 x 5

I'd been doing 65 for like 6 reps but I wanted to up the number of reps i do. I also had been doing this as my first chest instead of second so i couldn't get to 8+ even at the lower weight. Maybe i'll just do 50lbs next week.

Close Grip Bench
115lbs x 9
115 x 7
115 x 7

Perfect!


Dips (tris)
164.8 lbs x 5 (today's bodyweight)
164.8 lbs x 4
164.8 lbs x 3

Ugh really hard. Maybe i'll use 10 lbs or so of the helper weight next week to get more reps in next week.

Maybe i should alternate between doing close grip and dips?

Getting even more protein into my diet to make Warboss Alex happy. Also getting more simple carbs into me immediately after my workout. I drink 3 scoops of whey and an apple and a banana in the car on the way home. I'm trying to come up with a cheaper/better/mostly cheaper way than drinking gatorade or whatever after the workout. Gotta research more sources...

 

[mrRuckus]

Dammit i hurt my lower leg playing softball last Thursday by running into the leg of a 300 lb first baseman. I think the bone that makes up the shin is seriously bruised (doesn't show externally though). I walked it off at first but then i was running around on it on Monday and suddenly it started to really hurt. THEN the next day I started limping and it's hard to sleep because if i hold it at any position except a normal standing position (an L) it starts to really ache. What's weird is that as time went on after the initial incident it got worse... at least it's getting a tiny bit better now.

By my amateur probing it doesn't look or feel broken at all.

So i guess i can't do leg day today. I'm going to go and do my shoulders and see what i can manage for legs but squats are out of the question ... but what the hell can i do for legs that wouldn't require too much load bearing on my lower left leg? Maybe just machines like hamstring curl...

 

[Jariel]

I may get flamed for this, but I use painkillers before workouts if I have a minor (non-muscle) injury.

However, a week or two of rest would probably be more advisable. You shouldn't lose any mass permanently.