Stallion's Fitness Journal

[Mad Manic]

Think you need some rows on your pull day mate to balance the benching. Put bicep curls at the end too.

MM

 

[I-tallionStallion]

you mean on friday MM? I used to be able to. But i only have so much time in the gym on friday. Its really lame. I used to be able to do them until i started bringing my bro to workout. Now its virtually impossible. And the gym has only three barbells (excluding the smith)...and its busy all the time cause the gym is like 15 bucks a month. But my schedule is going to be changing soon, so this will be fixed. The bicepts? Why change them?

Monday

Today was PR day. I broke all my records lol. here are my results:

SQUAT 3x5
1x5 285 lbs
1x5 290 lbs
1x5 300 lbs PR Wow...i was so scared (which got my adrenline pumping) to do it. I can't believe i finally hit my goal. My form was excellent with only the 4th rep i didn't go beyond slightly parallel...mistake on my part DOH!

Leg Press 1x15 375 lbs PR - somewhat hard...i could have done more weight. Will hopefully be upping this to 385 lbs next week.

Obliques on Hyperextension chair (now i know what it is thanks Quag) - 2x8 55 lbs PR

Good mornings 2x8
1x8 - 160 lbs
1x8 - 175 lbs PR - too fun...i can up it next week somewhat

Weighted decline situps 2x10
1x10 - 60 lbs
1x15 - 60 lbs PR -went back to sixties till i figure out a better way than plates, thinking about holding a weight over my head...i think i remember WBA saying that was good

Calve Raises - 2x10 435 lbs PR

***

So i finally hit my 300 squat for reps goal, and will be hitting my 400 lb deadlift for reps goal hopefully friday. So far, the incline has been my biggest problem. I will see how i preform this wednesday. I hope to see some good progress. Otherwise something will have to be done about it.

 

[Quagmire911]

Congrats, keep it up!

 

[I-tallionStallion]

Heya....been a few days. Last week got really f**ked up. And i've caught some kind of cold. Affecting my results...which i'm not too happy about. I still have to go to the gym later today, but here is fridays workout

Okay - Wed...ran into a problem and the workout had to be canceled much to my dismay. Not to mention all week i only walked one day, which is because of late nights with the ladies and my friend who got a drum set...equalling me with my guitar and us jamming till like 3 in the morning.

I tried to combine wed and friday - here we go

Friday

Deadlifts 3x5
1x5 390
1x5 395
1x2 400 PR - i was feeling quite sick at this point...i dropped the weight halfway thru the third rep causing a huge boom and many people looking mad at me lol. i didn't finish. I was too wiped out ha

Incline Bench - 2x5
set 1- 135 lbs 1x5
set 2 -145 lbs 1x8

Didn't want to overkill it...was feeling pretty $hitty anyways

Skull crushers 3x8
1x8 30
1x8 35
1x8 35

Bi curls - 3x8
35 lbs 1x8
40 lbs 1x8
45 lbs 1x8

Lateral raises 3x6
1x6 25 lbs
1x6 30 lbs
1x6 30 lbs

Pullups 1x8 weight assisted 1x5 non weight assisted

cardio 10 minutes

I believe that was all i did...not exactly sure if i did DB press or not. Oh well...i still feel a bit under the weather, hopefully i preform fine today.

 

[Mad Manic]

You can do seated rows they are a good exercise IMO. Pull-ups should come before bicep curls.

MM

 

[Quagmire911]

Not so good to hear!

Never play catch up and try and combine two days, not a good idea.

And if you are under the weather you should be either cutting the weights way down or taking a few days off.

Anyway, get better mate...

Quagmire

 

[I-tallionStallion]

I'll keep that in mind Quag...wasn't sure what to do so i just kinda guessed on what to do. Unforntunetly i still worked hard in the gym today...despite being sick..i kno, i'm dumb. But i took an easy on the squats.

MM - ill do the pullups before and I'll look into seated rows this week.

MONDAY

Squats 3x5
1x5 265 lbs
1x5 270 lbs
1x5 275 lbs very hard...being sick sucks. I'm hoping it will go away tomorrow. I would like to have a good wednesday for once

leg press - 1x15 375 lbs PR

not too bad...i hate doing it tho cause everytime i get off the machine i go somewhat deaf for a couple minutes lol...maybe not breathing enough?

Weighted decline situps 2x10 - 60 lbs

Calve Raises - 2x10 430 lbs

Good mornings - 2x8
1x8 165 lbs
1x8 170 lbs - working on form mostly. Probably could add a little weight

Cardio 15 minutes

Last week was pretty sucky for morning cardio. I only did it twice and diet was only good 3 of the 7 days. Probably the worst week I've had. I'm looking to bounce back this week. I weighed myself...i've lost about 2-3 lbs this month. I was at 203ish now i'm hitting just a slight bit above 200. My body is starting to look pretty good and i've been getting compliments from my GF and a couple dudes at the gym (although i'm surprised they would notice lol) Got a slight 4 pack in the morning but look like a bloated beast before hitting the gym at night hahaha.

Hopefully my gains will continue as well as my weightloss. I've taken some pics...but i feel that a month's amount of work would not be as dramatic looking as two ..so youll have to wait til the end of april haha

 

[I-tallionStallion]

Still feeling a slight bit under the weather...mostly nose stuff tho. Can't stop friggin sneezing. But i worked out anyways

I walked 40 minutes this morning...I'm trying to get back on track with that after last weeks horrendous attempt

WED

Incline bench 3x5
1x5 - 160 - did this with some ease...felt good
1x5 - 165 - Struggled slightly with the last rep...but still felt good, after i got an urge to go more
1x4 - 175 - first three reps were good, but on the fourth i just got stuck 3 inches above me. My friend had to step in somewhat...very disappointing...sigh...

Dips 3x6 unassisted - never really done these before with just my bodyweight...pretty killer. Now i want to get a belt...this is fun

DB Press - 3x8 60 lbs - after the dips i felt pretty winded...or was it the incline press?

lateral raise- 3x6
1x6 25 lbs - this is a joke...I'm not doing 25 anymore
1x6 30 lbs
1x9 35 lbs PR - tried 40 lbs for a rep...OUCH! couldn't do it

Cardio 10 minutes

--okay some self reflection on my incline bench here...I've been stuck around 170ish for awhile now. A month or so ago i punched out 180lbsx3...I know i said 2weeks ago that i would wait till today to make a decision but due to a dumba$$ problems last week, and being sick this week, i'm not sure if the problem lies there. I could be stronger, i could be weaker, but all i know is since Jan. I've been stuck at 175 lbs...I've decided that if next week, i can not punch out 180lbsx5 or 185lbsx5...no exceptions...I am going to switch to standard bench or decline for a month or two. Quag or anybody else have any thoughts?

 

[Quagmire911]

If you have been at 175 since January, something isn't right, even taking last week into consideration.

I don't see you magically jumping to 180x5 next week if it has been stuck for so long, would be sweet if it did.

I think I mentioned trying a different format like the one I was doing. I am of course bias because it worked so well for me, might not do the same for you but you won't know until you try.

So you could change the lift to flat/decline/close grip, or change the format and see how that works. I think it may be useful to see if the format works for you or not though and it is a change from the regular 3x5. If you have been hitting 3x5 for a long while like I had done, this is probably what has caused the stalling. Even when I switched from incline to flat I found it difficult to progress. Of course that was me. I am interested to see if the new template would work for you though.

So either switch the lift or try this with the incline:

Barx8
75x5
105x3
135x1
160x1
180x...(Go for as many as you can get, you may get five since you are working up to one set).

Wait two minutes, (adjust weight during two minutes). I have been lead to believe that the two minutes is reasonably important. Drop the weight 15-20%. If you get 5 drop it 15%, 3 drop it 20%.

145x...(Assuming a 20% drop)-Go for as many reps as you can get until technical failure. Ie a break in form. You could maybe cheat another rep but just rack the weight.

I got this from:

http://www.ironaddicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14524

I think there was another thread too. I wouldn't bother with the grip stuff for the moment or the pausing, just give the template a try if you want. I went from 82.5kgx2 to 90kx2 in a matter of weeks having seen no progress for months.

You gotta try it

Would suck if it did nothing for you though. Btw when did you last do some overhead stuff? Like setead dumbbell press, OH press?

 

[I-tallionStallion]

I like that that format you gave me...sounds interesting. I think i want to give it a shot. Thanks very much Quag.

I have been doing the same workout for basically a year now. With minor changes and just trying other exercises out a little. I guess no overhead stuff really

 

[Quagmire911]

I like that that format you gave me...sounds interesting. I think i want to give it a shot. Thanks very much Quag.

I have been doing the same workout for basically a year now. With minor changes and just trying other exercises out a little. I guess no overhead stuff really

Some changes here and there should get things flying then. If you haven't done any overhead work I would definitely put some in. Something like:

Incline work
Seated D.b press or OHpress 2x8-10
Dips 2/3x6-8
Skull crushers 2/3x...(Keep the rep range you have if you are progressing in it, if not switch to another rep range or a new tri exercise).

If you progress poorly then probably the first change would be switching to flat or decline as you have done incline for a while. If you choose to do the new template with working up to a max set of 3/5 and then the downset though that may be enough.

Just an idea of what you could do. Alex used to say that you need to be learning what works for you a lot in the beginning so unfortunately at our stage you don't know until you try.

There are still a huge amount of things that could be changed. Bands, chanis, TUT, speed work, different grips, sets and reps (which is the new template with incline, also changes TUT), other exercises etc. It is pretty exciting at this stage because there is still a huge number of variations and untapped resource for us to try. You'll be over 300 in no time .

You're actually hitting solid intermediate territory right about now, so some of the above stuff will need to be looked at when things slow down. I think once I am there I will be going on to a WSB upper/lower with ME/DE days.

Anyway enough talking, good day.

 

[I-tallionStallion]

That all looks pretty interesting. I am ready to start trying some new techniques. It took me a year to get these stats up to this level, and i really appreciate the compliment. If you help me hit 300 lbs, i'll be in your debt haha. So i guess we can figure out the new template this week. Everything else has been increasing other than most of wednesday's workout. I've been doing skulls for 3x8 at 35,40,45lbs, and 50 is just incredibly hard. I can only hit 2 reps. But i can't curl more than 45 lbs either for 8 reps. I exchanged it for dips...which will be weighted this week...good or bad idea?

Friday

Deadlifts 3x5
1x5 390
1x5 395
1x5 400 PR ---HARDEST SET IN MY LIFE...just wanted to note that haha

Pullups 2x8

Bi curls 3x8
1x8 35 lbs
1x8 40 lbs
1x8 40 lbs ---the pullups being first for once affected my curls for sure...

Rows - 3x6 ---been awhile since i've done these...pretty tough after deadlifts but here are my results

1x6 165 lbs
1x6 175 lbs
1x6 175 lbs PR

 

[Quagmire911]

I can't really make out what you are asking, either it is because it is late or I am a tool .

What do you think of trying:

Incline work (If new template doesn't work try flat or decline).
Seated D.b press or OHpress 2x8-10 (If you feel DB flat press has stalled, and to take the place of lateral raises).
Dips 2/3x6-8
Skull crushers 2/3x...(Keep the rep range you have if you are progressing in it, if not switch to another rep range or a new tri exercise).


I would definitely put bi curls in if they around that level. Mine are really low as well, at the point where it can only benefit me adding them in. Bi's play a role in bench too and for all you know that is what is holding it back . They are surprisingly low considering 400x5, just to point it out.

For the skullcrushers look at what I posted in Johnny's log about going up to 12 reps and then upping the weight. Not sure if you tried that already or not.

Btw, once you start slowing up on deads and squats, it would probably be time to look at Westside perhaps. As I mentioned above this is what I am aiming to do, although I am not 100% sure on the logistics yet . There are other options though.

Congrats on the dead btw.

Edit-I see what you were saying, wondering if dips would be ok to replace skulls. I think what I lay out above would work well, but you can always just skip the skulls if you feel your tri's are toasted by that point.

 

[Mad Manic]

I can't really make out what you are asking, either it is because it is late or I am a tool .

What do you think of trying:

Incline work
Seated D.b press or OHpress 2x8-10
Dips 2/3x6-8
Skull crushers 2/3x...(Keep the rep range you have if you are progressing in it, if not switch to another rep range or a new tri exercise).


I would definitely put bi curls in if they around that level. Mine are really low as well, at the point where it can only benefit me adding them in. Bi's play a role in bench too and for all you know that is what is holding it back . They are surprisingly low considering 400x5, just to point it out.

For the skullcrushers look at what I posted in Johnny's log about going up to 12 reps and then upping the weight. Not sure if you tried that already or not.

Btw, once you start slowing up on deads and squats, it would probably be time to look at Westside perhaps. As I mentioned above this is what I am aiming to do, although I am not 100% sure on the logistics yet .

Congrats on the dead btw.

He means dumbell bicep curls.

MM

 

[Quagmire911]

He means dumbell bicep curls.

MM

I don't think he meant dumbbell bi curls although I may be wrong. He was referring to barbell curls I think.

The part I didn't understand was about the skulls and dips, but I changed that.

Stallion you could do:

Incline work
DB press
Dips
Lateral raises

There are a few changes you could try. Although the above is only if you haven't stalled with flat DB press for example. However I think doing overhead work would definitely be beneficial, so I prefer the first choice. Although maybe your shoulders are really strong already .

 

[I-tallionStallion]

sorry about the confusion heh......i meant the skulls for dips....nothing about curls, i was just saying how i can curl the same as i can do for skull crushers.

I am going to give your layout a try Quag. Why not.

I've realized my curls and skulls are mediocre. I thought they were decent for the amount of time i've been training tho. i've got 15.2 flexed arms at 202 lbs...mediocre i know compared to many...but eh i haven't trained that long.

I really hope my squats and deads don't slow down

 

[I-tallionStallion]

I've stalled with DB press cause they ran out of weights...they don't go higher than 60

 

[Fuglydude]

Dude those are crazy numbers for someone who's only been training around one year...your numbers are close to mine are I've been working out a lot longer than you have! Congrats!!!

Your diet is amazing...it sounds like you have pretty much everything in place. One thing I will suggest if you wanna get to your strength goals is to do more olympic lifting. At your stats, once you get into it, I know you could powerclean 225 or so.

The amount of actual power you generate from doing olympic lifts is insane, and it really trains your nervous system to be able to handle big weights well. Just make sure you get trained by someone who knows what they're doing, and you'll be fine.

Good luck and keep up the great work!

 

[Quagmire911]

This one:

Incline work
Seated D.b press 2x8-10
Dips 2/3x6-8
Skull crushers 2/3x8-12

???

And is it barbell curls where you are doing 45lbsx8? Or is it dumbbell curls?

 

[I-tallionStallion]

Thank you very much Fugly dude! heh i hope it didn't seem like i wanted a compliment...i didn't but who doesn't love getting one As far as being trained by someone, i don't plan on it...i rather wait and see how everything plays out if i want to pursue this. Powercleans in the future seem like fun idea as well as getting into Olympic lifts later on.

Quag- dumbell curls...not barbell...never tried barbell before.

I will be doing that layout for wednesday...thanks very much. Hopefully it will get my wednedays moving again, because monday and friday are the only ones that progress.