mrRuckus' journal o' liftin and stuff.

[mrRuckus]

Friday 8/26
Couldn't do legs because i hurt the one.


Seated Shoulder DB press
45 lbs x 10
45 x 8
45 x 8

There's not much room to farmer's walk in the gym but i just grabbed like 85 pound dbs and stood there a few times for 15-20 seconds to strengthen my grip.



Monday 8/29
Wide grip pullups
174 lbs bodyweight
I forgot a pen and paper and i don't remember what i did for these. Something like 8, 6, 6 for my sets with 30 lbs of assistance on the machine.


Close grip chinups
body weight (174 lbs) x 8
bw x 8
bw x 8

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

Did these with alternating grips. More reps than last week! Still, grip is the hardest part of these and there are no wrist straps available. I'm sure grip will come along soon enough though.

Chest/triceps this afternoon...

 

[mrRuckus]

Week 3
Wednesday 8/31
Incline BP
135lbs x 7
135 lbs x 6
130 lbs x 6

Flat DB Bench
55 x 7
55 x 6
55 x 6

Closegrip BP
115 x 8
115 x 7
115 x 7

Dips - tris
174 (bodyweight) x 5
174 x 5

Week 4
Monday 9/5
Skipped friday because my leg was still hurt. It hurts a bit still today at times but it's coming along well. I'm going on vacation this week until friday so i'm skipping back, chest, and tris this week. Not sure if i'll make it to the gym friday so maybe legs is out too.

It's no real big deal. It's been like 3 or 4 months total since i started lifting again so a week off is probably due.

I did do this today though in my living room instead of going all the way to the gym at work (todayborday is labor day!):

Hammer Curls
26 lbs (+ whatever little bar is) x 8
26 lbs x 8
26 lbs x 8

DB Curls
26 lbs (+ whatever little bar is) x 10
26 lbs x 10
26 lbs x 10

DB Squats (really light)
bodyweight + 26 lbs x 20
bodyweight + 26 lbs x 20
bodyweight + 26 lbs x 20

Dunno why i did this. Just wanted to since i couldn't squat at all for 2 weeks ... still left me a little sore.

Gonna go relax, do the gf repeatedly in another state, chill on the beach and eat whatever i want this week (will probably still force protein down my throat by habit and avoid most junk food though =p)

Really looking forward to settling back into a consistent schedule since by next week my leg should be perfect.

 

[mrRuckus]

Week 4
Friday 9/9

Totally forgot to take pen and paper, but i did shoot up in squats. Time off for legs paid off! Don't remember exactly but i was doing 175, 185, and 190 5-7 times each when before i was around 175 for 5.

Sumo leg press 3 sets x 5-7ish
Calves 3 sets of something x 15



Week 5
Monday 9/12
bw = 173 lbs

Got a notebook to take to gym with me. Let's hope i remember it.

Widegrip pullups
bw x 6, 50 assist x 4, 70 assist x 6
The first set of this always goes so well then the next sets just don't work nearly as well. Come on staminaaaa.

BB curls (assuming ez-curl bar is 15 lbs..?)
55x8
55x8
55x7

Deadlifts
175x6
175x6
175x5
20lb jump in weight for 2 less reps a set since 2 weeks ago..


CG chinups
bw x 5
bw x 5

 

[mrRuckus]

Don't worry; i haven't quit!

Weight are in pounds!
Body weight (bw) = 175.5

JUST finished up this week and while i wait for the whey and carbs to settle and sweat to dry up before a nice big meal of chicken and rice i thought i'd post an update.

Week 7

10/3/05
Ham Curls 190x8,190x10,190x10
Calf raises 170x15, 170x15, 170x12
Dumbbell Shoulder Press 50x9, 50x7
Squats 135x6, 155x6, 175x4.5, 175x4

Squats don't really seem to want to go up. I might try lowering weight and pumping out like 20 at like 135-145... or something. What i'm supposed to do set/rep/weight wise for squats really confuses me. I am going ATTG and ignoring guys who come in saying smith machine is just as good.

My legs are bigger. A pair of jeans i bought three months ago got pretty tight in the quads area.

10/5/05
Incline DB 40x10, 50x10, 50x9, 50x9
Decline DB 50x8, 50x8, 50x7
Closegrip Bench 115x10, 120x9, 120x6
Wrist curls 20x10, 20x10

I had forgotten my notebook at home so i just used a piece of paper. Little did i remember that i'd been doing 55 lbs for my chest work for the 2 weeks before. I thought i was just having a good day with the extra reps. Grr, oh well, it was still rough going, and CG bench is getting better.


10/7/05
Widegrip pullups bw x 5, bw x 5, bw x 3
Seated rows 150x8, 140x8, 140x8
Deadlifts 135x6, 175x10, 180x8, 180x8
Close chins bw x 6, bw x 3.5

Deadlifts are coming along nicely. Damn you, squats, follow along. I'll add 5 or 10 lbs next week and see how goes. My grip is muuuuch better.

I think i've decided i don't care much about direct bicep work. Maybe i'll do it occasionally but i'd rather spend my limited time working my back harder. They feel worked out from all these exercises anyway.


My girlfriend says she really notices a difference in my chest, shoulders and triceps especially when my arms are above my head. Sweeeet.


Could my squats be held back by kickball on Mondays and softball on Sunday and Tuesday? I'm really really fast and run hard in the outfield and around the bases. I figure it's somewhat my HIIT since i haven't done any cardio otherwise.

 

[mrRuckus]

Week 17

Well i've been going hard and making good gains for a while now. My problem now is that my long term girlfriend just dumped me... what can i do to stay motivated?

Pride? (meh...)
Wanting to look good to get a new girl (to hell with them for a while)?

what?

 

[Warboss Alex]

I'm sorry to hear that man. Don't worry, if she dumped you it wasn't to be anyway. You'll find your soulmate eventually.

To stay motivated I'd say imagine yourself getting the physique of a greek god and having women all over you, then the ex'll come crawling back and you can turn her down. At least that's what I used to do.

Working out is a good distraction, concentrate on nutrition, cardio, weights and it'll take your mind off things. You've done superbly so far, you've been dedicated and your weights have gone up, results speak for themselves - don't give up now mate, you're only just getting warmed up!

I won't say go look for a girl because in my experience that doesn't work, things like that happen when you least expect it. Just don't sweat it, keep on track with your training and everything falls into place eventually.

Best of luck mate.

 

[mrRuckus]

Well i'm still here!

I think i'm doin ok but i could probably do better.

I'm doing DC sort of now. Not really full blown but i'm doing the stretches and almost exclusively doing compounds and its a 2 split.

I haven't been doing biceps since so many things hit them anyway and my right bicep is left worn out (a bit strained) by softball 2 days a week. I'll do some direct work again at the end of the season.

Weight now is about 181-182 lbs. I do softball on Tues and Thurs and sometimes treadmill/stationary bike those days too.

Week 33

Mon Apr 3
----------
Flat DB BP 75x(5,1) RP
CG Bench Smythe 180x(6,3,2) RP
Shoulder Press Smythe (back head) 140x(4,2,2) RP
Row Machine 185x(7,5,4) RP
Bent Over Rows 145x13 SS


Wed Apr 5
-----------
Calf Raise Machine 210x11 (real slow down, explosive up) SS
Sumo Leg Press 270x21 (275 or 280 next time)
Squats 205x6, 140x16 ( I just don't seem to have the endurance for widowmakers. Some days i can complete it others i can't even with the same weight regardless of how the heavy set goes.)


Fri Apr 7
----------
BB Bench 175x6, 175x4 SS (first time i've done this in forever but had a spotter today and never do any other time so i thought i'd see)
Smythe Shoulder Press (front head) 150x7,2,2 RP
Reverse grip BP smythe 170x8,5,2 RP
Pullups BWx5,1 RP (suck at these. not sure what to do to get better.)
Back extensions (BW+45)x8, (BW+45)x6

Week 34

Mon Apr 10
------------
Calves on the Leg Press Mach. 295 x 14 SS (real slow downwards)
SLDL 145x6,165x6,185x6, 195x3 SS
Leg Press 345x12, 355x8, 280x13 SS

Leg press was kinda screwy today because i went out of my way to do like 4 warm up sets starting at like 100 and adding about 50 each time. These warmups REALLY sent my weights up compared to last time when i did 320x10. That's why my reps and the attempted widowmaker are all screwy. I had no idea what weights to use. I was shocked by the 345 and 355 lb weights. I always warmed up before but didn't start the warm up weights so low. I did the new warmup this way http://www.ironaddicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3404


Wed Apr 12
------------
Will do in a few hours:
Incline BB Press 140 x ? RP
DB Shoulders
Dips(tris) (BW+10) lbs x ? RP
Rack Chins (BW+20) x ? RP
Deadlift (not sure. did 225x7 and 250x4 last time) SS

 

[semag]

good stuff Ruckus, congrats my friend.

As far as your complaint on the widowmakers for reg squats, are you doing them on a week you have 2 leg days?? (like, will you do widowmaker squat on friday??) cause I would suggest not to, otherwise you won't complete the 20 reps... you wont' have enough juice.

Otherwise... you say you can't get 20.....

...do it anyway. if you hit the bottom... re rack the weight, take a few deep breaths and finish. You'll prolly need a spot for that, and use a belt so your form doesn't go to shyt, but finish it!

 

[mrRuckus]

good stuff Ruckus, congrats my friend.

As far as your complaint on the widowmakers for reg squats, are you doing them on a week you have 2 leg days?? (like, will you do widowmaker squat on friday??) cause I would suggest not to, otherwise you won't complete the 20 reps... you wont' have enough juice.

Otherwise... you say you can't get 20.....

...do it anyway. if you hit the bottom... re rack the weight, take a few deep breaths and finish. You'll prolly need a spot for that, and use a belt so your form doesn't go to shyt, but finish it!

Just a general question for everyone before i respond to this.

This week on both Monday and Wednesday I noticed that my inner forearms are bruised! It went away tuesday then when i did deadlifts wed it came back. Is this normal? I don't know if it ever happened before.. i only noticed because someone at work asked me what happened to my arm, so now i've been checking.

---

Yeah i do widowmakers on the 2 day weeks. Alright i won't do it both days and i'll rack and finish on the other days... hardly seems like a 20 rep set if you gotta rack. I tried just standing there and holding it on my shoulders with my knees locked but my back and abs are tired from balancing and start to hurt even just standing there. What it always seems is that i could go on forever... just not straight in a row. My max squat is going up by my widowmaker weight goes like no where. It's still hell to get out the 135er but i could conceivably get 21 or 22 every time so i moved up to 140 for it.

On deadlifts now when i put the bar down between reps just for a second i let loose my grip and just that tiny bit of "oh thank god the tension is gone" for that split second makes all the difference . I'm kind of mad at my grip strength, though... it's holding me back. I'm going to get and figure out how to use some straps. I wish there was chalk in my little gym.

thanks!

 

[semag]

good.. .that's a good way to incorporate the widowmakers, don't try to do 2 in one week.


As far as racking it... I don't want you to be a lazy aass and rack it when you're tired.... rack it when you know if you go down all the way it ain't comin up, and grab like 2 breaths... that's a last resort tho. But finish the set... don't let it sit at 14-16 reps just because your core got a little tired

 

[mrRuckus]

But finish the set... don't let it sit at 14-16 reps just because your core got a little tired

Well it's more like my back hurts because my form is going to hell... or umm.. my form has gone to hell so my back start to hurt. One of those.

I'm gonna go in next time and pay good close attention to holding my back in perfect position.

 

[mrRuckus]

5/8/2006
Did 220 lbs for 5 on squats

 

[mrRuckus]

Body weight (BW) is now 183-184. It's starting to climb a bit more now that i've been hardboiling a large batch of eggs and eating them periodically through the day. They're pretty easy to store at home and work and can eat them warm or cold.

I also just started to add some calcium caseinate protein to a before bed shake.

Wed Apr 26
Decline DB Bench 75x8,2,2 RP
DB Shoulders 50x6,3,1
Dips BW+15x7,4,1 RP
Rack Chins BW+25 x 7,4,3
Deadlift 240x7, 265x3


Apr 28 Fri
Calf Raise machine 200 x 6 reallll slow (gonna lower weight to be able to do 12 reallll slow)
Sumo Leg Press 290x10,300x8
Hack squat 210x10, 140x17 (collapse onto floor after )

May 1 Monday
1. Incline DB Press 65x7,3,3 Rest Pause (RP)
2. CG Bench Smith 185x6,1,2
3. Row Machine 195x8,4,4
4. Bent over row 150x12,3


May 3 Wednesday
SLDL 150x6,170x6,190x6,210x4 SS
Leg Press 365x7 SS
Not much time today. Had to run and no


May 5 Friday
Incline Press 147.5x5,2,1 RP
Smythe Shoulder Press (front head) 155x5,2,3 RP
Reverse Grip BP 180x9,4,2 RP
Pullups BW+5 x 5,3,2 RP
Back Extension BW+45 x 10, BW+45 x 9

May 8 Mon
Ham Curls 230x15,7,4 RP
BB Curls 75x7,3,1 RP (bicep has been holding up well from softball so i think i'll start back up on direct bicep work a bit)
Squats 220x5 (only doin widowmakers once a week. will do friday)


May 10 Wed
Flat DB Bench 75x6,3,1 RP
Shoulder DB Press 50x8,3,1 RP
Dips (tris) (BW+20)x8,3,2 RP
Rack Chins (BW+25) x 8,5,3 RP
Bent over row 155x11,3
I was supposed to do deadlifts today but since I did squats monday i did bent over row and will do deadlifts monday instead. I'm not quite sure how i got them on back to back sessions this time around.

 

[mrRuckus]

Mon May 15 2006

Incline DB Press 70x7,3,1 RP
CG Bench Smith 185x7,2,2 RP
Row Machine 200x7,4,3 RP
Deadlifts 240x7, 265x4 SS

Damn man i could barely breathe doing deadlifts yesterday.

 

[mrRuckus]

Took the rest of last week off. I was dirt tired and softball had some rain makeup days so I just relaxed and healed up a bit.

Monday May 23 2006

Calf Press Machine ????? trying to change this to a lighter weight and real slow reps and keep choosing a too heavy weight i can't do 12 reps of.

Ham Curls 235x(16,8,5)=29 RP

Squats
225x3 (four 45 pounders!! ) Thought I could get 4
155x20 (haha meant to do 145 and put 2 10s on instead of 2 5s and didn't notice until the end. I did it though!)

 

[Lifeforce]

great going man! it's good to see you are doing widowmakers too =) Lol @ the 10 pounds heavier without noticing thing! Don't know how you manage that. Let us see a grinding 20x160 next time

Do you have any before/after pictures btw? I think there are a few people who'd like to see the progress. I mena if you look at your lifts you've made quite a progress. And getting two plates a side.. it's a wonderful feeling to finally get those 45ers on the bar.

 

[mrRuckus]

great going man! it's good to see you are doing widowmakers too =) Lol @ the 10 pounds heavier without noticing thing! Don't know how you manage that. Let us see a grinding 20x160 next time

Do you have any before/after pictures btw? I think there are a few people who'd like to see the progress. I mena if you look at your lifts you've made quite a progress. And getting two plates a side.. it's a wonderful feeling to finally get those 45ers on the bar.

I just now saw this post. I did this yesterday for squats.

225 x 4
155 x 20


I tried to do something different on the leg press for hamstrings before i did squats but i think it hit the quads too much... otherwise i coulda gotten 5 or 6 i think. It felt easier than the last time i did 225.

The worst part of widowmakers is that i have to stop to catch my breath... and while i'm doing that just standing there with the bar my back starts to hurt. Very much wish i could breath better doing them.

As far as pictures... i don't have any where you could tell size from before. What i mostly notice as bigger are my quads, tris and shoulders. My gf says my back is getting nice but i never really see it. We saw this dude with a really ripped back jogging the other day and she was like drooool so that's a nice motivator to kick the sh1t out of my back =p

I'll get some current pictures though. Wish i could shed some body fat before i post them though . I'd be looking pretty nice i think if i'd do that.

 

[mrRuckus]

How the hell do you do these things properly? It says keep your back straight in the description but the animation shows the guy's back as anything but.

http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/Hamstrings/BBStraightLegDeadlift.html

 

[mrRuckus]

Tues May 30

Flat DB Bench 75x6,2,1
Smith Shoulder (back of head) 145x9,3,2
Reverse grip bp smith 185 x 8,3,1


Wed May 31 (already posted this day)
Calf Raise smith 140x9 (realllll slow and 15 sec stretch at bottom)
Sumo Leg Press 315x17 (could have done more and feet close together. going to move feet back out to the outside and make it more sumo again. it hit the quads too much)
Squats 225 x 4, 155x20

Fri Jun 2 BW = 184 lbs
Incline DB Press 70x6 (sucked but tired and had sore throat)
Rack Chins (BW + 30) x 8,3,2
Deadlift 240x8, 270x3

Got a friend to watch deadlifts and he said im not really squatting down enough on the really heavy deadlifts so i end up lifting too much through the whole thing with my lower back. I blame this on compensating for doing squats the workout before like a dumbass (since quads sore). I just sat down and wrote out my next 5-6 workouts since holidays (memorial day) and my dumbness have started to jumble my workouts and exercises around like crazy.

I am also consistently going no where with DB Presses or incline bb bench so im going to take out these things and replace them with either incline and decline bb smith press for a while. You would think these things would go up too since everything else goes up. Maybe I respond at higher rep ranges for chest? (15-20 instead of 11-15 RP) Who knows? Either I go to the smith presses (have no spotter) or higher reps at 5 less lbs for db press ... recommendations? I really don't want to be one of the worry worts who overanalyzes but my db presses have gone next to no where for several months.

 

[mrRuckus]

I started this thread at 174 lbs. I'm 184 now. That's 8 months and only 10 lbs gained :/ Is that bad? I have a feeling it's not so great. I wish i could do my body fat % somehow. I do get comments about how my upper body has gotten bigger...


Wed June 7
Incline Smith Press 175x7,3,2 RP
Smith Shoulder behind neck 150x7,2,2 RP
CGBP smith 190x8,3,1 RP
Row machine 200x7,4,4 RP
Bent over row 160x8 yeah i'm not doing the row machine anymore. by the time i got to this my back was done

Fri June 9
Sumo Leg Press 320x12
Squats 225x5


Mon June 12 BW=184 lbs
Military Press 105x5, 105x5 --- Some 'friend' of mine tried spotting me here by helping me get passed a sticking point and screwed up my whole rest pause.
Decline Smith BP 185x15 (first time to do this and picked a too light weight. gonna try 195 next time)
Dips (BW+30)x9,4,2 RP i love tris. i spank them over the previous every time no question!!
Behind Neck Rack Chins (BW+30)x7,4,2 RP
Deadlift 245x6, 270x3

I'm having trouble with deadlift I think. I think i'm trying to go up in weight too fast and losing focus on form. I re-read over the form stuff and i got a good piece of advice that's helping me refocus and think of it better: "When viewed from the side, your hips and shoulders should ascend together."

I get people asking me or trying to tell me **** when they can barely lift anything and they get me all confused and questioning myself so it helps every now and then to go and re-read how to do some exercises.


Today i had a guy giving me **** that i need to do 4 chest exercises and crap. Then he wanted to help me in the middle of reps (like a slight sticking point in like the 3rd rep into a set) without me asking and when i was like please don't do that he'd go into some big diatribe about how that's really good blah blah and how i'll be able to do more reps. Yeah more reps because i didn't do them myself!!