chris log 3

[chris]

07/15

upper #1

bent bar curl
40x50

flat barbell bench (half thumb from smooth)
bar x 40
95x10
135x8
185x7
225x5
250x3
275x1 (paused)
225x15
225x5 (60s rest)

supinated pull-up
5x5
30x3
50x1
5x15
5x4 (60s rest)

standing press (shoulder-width grip, all reps paused)
135x15

incline cable triceps extension (thick v-handle)
75x30 X 5 (60s rest periods)

[chris]

date for previous post should have been 7/14

7/15

small arms #1

barbell curl

45x100

....15 deep breaths

45x25

reverse-grip bent barbell curl (10kg ez curl bar)

52x26

52x21

52x17

ab wheel (kneeling)

20

[Nicholas Battista]

nice! glad to see ya posting again! maybe ill rekindle my old log as well...

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[chris]

On Monday, July 15, 2013 6:09:52 PM UTC-4, Nick "The Bicep" Battista wrote:

nice! glad to see ya posting again! maybe ill rekindle my old log as well...

thanks nick. I figured I'd let you all see what was going on with me since it's been a while and things have been pretty quiet on here lately.

[chris]

7/16

lower #1

bulgarian split squat

bw x 20

lateral lunge

bw x 20

full front squat

95x10

135x8

185x7

225x5

250x3

275x1 (paused)

185x15 (paused)

185x5 X 3 (paused)

stiff legged deadlift

275x15

275x10 (double-overhand)

leg extension (60s rest periods)

67.5x30 X 5

standing calf machine (60s rest periods)

37.5x15 X 6

walking lunge

bw x 25 X 3 (lunge down, walk back; repeat)

[chris]

7/17

small shoulders #1

barbell shrug (120s rest periods)

245x30

245x24

245x17

upright row (very short rest periods)

50x48

50x22

50x13

bent over dumbbell lateral (120s rest periods)

30x22

30x16

30x15

full ROM trunk curl

15

10 X 2

[chris]

7/18

upper #2

bent barbell curl

40x50

seated front press (3/4 thumb from smooth, seated on flat bench)

45x25

95x10

125x7

142.5x5

162.5x3

182.5x1

142.5x15 (paused)

142.5x4 (60s rest, paused)

barbell row (overhand grip, half thumb from smooth)

255x8 X 4

incline barbell bench press (3/4 thumb from smooth)

190x15

unilateral cable triceps extension (neutral grip, 60s rest periods)

26.25x15 X 6

[chris]

7/19

small arms #2

simultaneous dumbbell curl (60s rest periods)

27.5x10 X 8

behind-the-back barbell wrist curl

45x30 X 5

crunch, reverse crunch (alternate, no rest)

10, 10 X 3

[chris]

7/20

fasted morning bodyweight 190.4 (+3lbs)

weigh-in at the end of my first week in a calorie surplus. i assume that the large jump is due to increased glycogen and water storage; if I don't come down to ~1lbs/week within the next three weeks I'll have to pull the surplus back a bit.

7/21

lower #2

bulgarian split squat

bw x 20

lateral lunge

bw x 20

olympic squat

95x10

135x8

245x7

290x5

330x3

360x1 (paused)

290x15

290x5 (60s rest)

lying leg curl machine (120s rest, all reps paused)

145x8

leg extension (60s rest)

50x30 X 5

donkey calf raise machine (60s rest)

77.5x15 X 6

walking lunge (lunge down, walk back; repeat)

[Sereni]

Darn, I might have to start posting too.  Can't wait to see some poundstone curls in here ;^)

[Nicholas Battista]

Yeaaaa!

On Mon, Jul 22, 2013 at 6:09 PM, Sereni <glic...@gmail.com> wrote:

Darn, I might have to start posting too.  Can't wait to see some poundstone curls in here ;^)

--

[chris]

7/22

small shoulders #2

upright row

bar x 10

95x8

115x7

135x14

barbell shrug

335x29

dumbbell lateral raise (60s rest periods)

22.5x15 X 6

seated dumbbell clean (very short rest periods)

12.5x30 X 2

[chris]

7/23

upper #1

bent barbell curl

40x50

flat barbell bench (1/2 thumb from smooth)

45x40

95x10

135x8

185x7

225x5

250x3

275x1 (paused)

225x15

225x6 (60s rest)

not sure what the actual rest period between the sets with 225 was, but i'm guessing it was around 60. forgot to click my watch when i finished the first set.

supinated pull-up

bw x 5

30x3

50x1

5x15

5x5 (60s rest)

standing press (shoulder-width grip, all repetitions paused)

125x20

band pressdown

micro choked x 60

micro doubled x 100

rolling dumbbell extension

20x20

for those of you that are curious, half-thumb (knuckle) from smooth puts my grip at 20"; 3/4 thumb (fingernail) from smooth at ~21-21.5".

[Dan]

On Tuesday, July 23, 2013 8:47:01 AM UTC-4, chris wrote:

7/22

small shoulders #

 

I don't like the name of this workout.

 

Looks like your bench and squat are getting back up there.  Do you find keeping the reps on the bench (10-15+) allows you to rehab and progress slowly, or did you have to wait entirely until your shoulder pain is gone?

[Louie P]

Have you been able to stay injury free? and since you are no longer above 200 pounds, do you have a beard and strictly wear only flannel?

[chris]

 don't worry dan, I only use "small" to indicate that it is an accessory workout (wink)

when I came back from my shoulder injury, I alternated between 8 and 10 reps for my working sets between sessions (starting at 185 and 175 on the floor press, respectively), increasing 5lbs each session.  once i got back to 255x8 X 4, I moved back to the bench and dropped the 10 rep down from 245x10 X 4 to 205x12 X 4.  i kept progressing 5lbs per week on my 8-rep day, and moved to 10lbs every 3 weeks on my 12 rep day (three weeks at 205x12, 3 weeks at 215x12, etc.).  I was able to run this up to 300x8 and 275x12 before resetting (12 rep ran longer), and then made another 15lbs on my 8 rep day before i started dropping bodyweight and my elbows went south.

In reviewing my log, it looks like i tested out at 225x10 on the floor press the week before I started at 175/185, so I gave myself a nice 20+% buffer to train up through.  I am pretty sure I was still getting some mild symptoms at the time.  There was a lot of trial an error in there; I tried some 1- and 2-board pressing and incline, but that caused symptoms so it was dropped.  I ended up finding 2 movements in addition to my PT stuff that didn't cause symptoms and just slowly overloaded them, keeping it in that 8-12 rep range for submaximal work.  For some reason I could floor press fine, but the flat bench gave me issues.  When i felt I was ready to start training working loads I would go in, try 1 or 2 movements with circa working loads at moderate reps (8-12), do my PT and then see how I felt later that night/the next morning.  I quickly realized that it was better to just adhere to my short list of good movements and forget about everything else for the time being.

I do think that training in a moderate to high rep range with conservative loading and progression did allow me to rehab before the pain was 100% gone (and I'm not sure if the pain would have gone away without stimulating growth and building up strength).  all that being said, I did try to do some training in a similar fashion a couple of months earlier when my symptoms were worse (experienced shoulder pain trying to do some every day things) and I think at that point it was just slowing down the rehab process.  overhead pressing did not aggravate my shoulder like benching, so I was continuing to train it heavy and while my shoulder didn't get worse, it really wasn't getting any better.  I cut out the overhead out and ONLY did my PT work for a bit and things started improving.  after the PT was able to start doing its job with regards to feeding the injured tissues stimulus, improving ROM and strengthening imbalances, I think that the resistance training enhanced the healing process.  there were days that my shoulder got aggravated and I did take a lot of NSAIDs and contrast showers to control the inflammation, but the overall trend was improvement.

how do things seem to be going with your shoulder since I saw you?

[chris]

On Wednesday, July 24, 2013 12:06:12 PM UTC-4, Louie P wrote:

Have you been able to stay injury free? and since you are no longer above 200 pounds, do you have a beard and strictly wear only flannel?

I had a bad run with injuries a while back but everything is pretty good right now.  the areas that seemed to be pretty recurring are my elbows (triceps tendon) and hip flexors/adductors.  I had a real bad elbow tendinitis flare up in march 2012 that lasted through july and I decided to drop a bunch of weight because I didn't want to be injured AND fat.  I've spent the year since then building my push/press strength back up and trying to figure out how to train without getting injured and to fix the imbalances that are feeding these injuries.  I've felt pretty awesome for the past 5 months and I think I have stuff (mostly) figured out so now I'm going to start gaining weight back and get back in the fat man club.

I haven't had a beard since I dropped under 220 or so, but I'm hoping to be able to grow one back in another month or two.  I do still wear flannel, but now it's only to hide my emaciated self....

how's your training been going?

[chris]

On Monday, July 22, 2013 6:09:01 PM UTC-4, Sereni wrote:

Darn, I might have to start posting too.  Can't wait to see some poundstone curls in here ;^)

ask and ye shall receive.....

7/24

small arms #1

pound stone curls

45x100

.....15 deep breaths

45x25

reverse grip bent barbell curl (20kg bar, 120s rest)

52x28

52x24

52x17

ab wheel

25

[Louie P]

Training has been going good, working through some blood work / low test problems right now but still progressing.

As far as your working sets on the main movements. You set your working sets low enough so you could progress at 5lb increased each session? Then once you could no longer increase at that rate you would reset the weight and continue the same progression?

[chris]

On Thursday, July 25, 2013 11:24:09 AM UTC-4, Louie P wrote:

Training has been going good, working through some blood work / low test problems right now but still progressing.

that's tough with the test levels. are you trying to get them back up naturally or considering HRT? still doing more volume/bodybuilding oriented training?

 

As far as your working sets on the main movements. You set your working sets low enough so you could progress at 5lb increased each session? Then once you could no longer increase at that rate you would reset the weight and continue the same progression?

what you're describing is one of my favorite progressions when gaining weight.  I've tried a lot of different stuff over the years and this is a progression I always seem to gravitate back towards.  basically i'll take a rep or set/rep that would be close to my limit and back out the weight for 4-6 weeks of progression (so take off 20-30lbs). i'll then do a 5 pound overload each week and usually just run it until i can't make my target reps on my first working set or the other working sets have begun to trail off badly.  this gives me a solid 4 weeks at least of not missing any weights in training, and with a little bit of weight gain, can give enough momentum to run it for a solid 2-4 weeks after matching if not longer.  once i get to the point where i decide to stop overloading, i'll either reset (knock off 10% maybe and ramp back up 2.5% for 4 weeks) or just stay at that weight and try to pick up reps on the other sets.  I've found this approach to work relatively well in the 8-12 rep range, but not so much at 6 or under.  i've never really trained higher than 12 on any main movements before now.

right now I am running a flatter overload with a single increment every 4 weeks (7.5lbs overhead, 10lbs bench, 15lbs squat; averages 1.75lbs, 2.5lbs and 3.75lbs per week, respectively).

[Louie P]

I'm going to try to get them up naturally, my blood test showed my vitamin d levels were very low. My levels were 27 ng/ml and the scale is 30-100. The doctor said hes seen in a lot of cases low vitamin d levels causing low test levels so I'm supplement heavily and trying to get in the sun more. I'll go back in 3 weeks to get my levels retest. If my test levels don't come up from there, there is a couple other thing the doctor said we can try to try and jump start natural production then look at HRT if it is necessary. Have you ever had a blood panel done?

Training has still been high volume, I'm actually surprised by the low test levels. I've been feeling great, sleeping good and progressing good in the gym.

What have you found to work best for progression on rep ranges 6 and under?

[chris]

7/25

lower #1

bulgarian split squat

bw x 20

lateral lunge

bw x 20

full front squat

95x10

135x8

185x7

225x5

250x3

275x1 (paused)

185x15 (paused)

185x5 X 3 (paused)

stiff-legged deadlift

275x15

275x12 (double-overhand)

leg extension (60s rest periods)

77.5x20 X 6

walking lunge (lunge down, walk back; repeat)

bw x 25 X 3

standing calf raise

bw x 65

wasn't able to get on the standing calf machine. did my bodyweight lunges instead of waiting and it was still in use by the time i got done.

[chris]

On Friday, July 26, 2013 8:25:20 AM UTC-4, Louie P wrote:

I'm going to try to get them up naturally, my blood test showed my vitamin d levels were very low. My levels were 27 ng/ml and the scale is 30-100. The doctor said hes seen in a lot of cases low vitamin d levels causing low test levels so I'm supplement heavily and trying to get in the sun more. I'll go back in 3 weeks to get my levels retest. If my test levels don't come up from there, there is a couple other thing the doctor said we can try to try and jump start natural production then look at HRT if it is necessary. Have you ever had a blood panel done?

i'd be interested in hearing what kind of effect the vitamin D and other conservative measures have on your levels (if the vitamin D doesn't do the trick). my PCP has been having my get blood work done every 6 months but I'm not sure if he's been including a hormone panel. i'm going to ask him about it when I see him in september or october and have it included in the next one if they haven't been getting measured.

 

Training has still been high volume, I'm actually surprised by the low test levels. I've been feeling great, sleeping good and progressing good in the gym.

good to hear.

What have you found to work best for progression on rep ranges 6 and under?

I really like the madcow 5x5 programs once you've run them a couple times and have the parameters tuned. I think it's the most solid all-around higher intensity program I've ever run. that being said, I do usually feel pretty beat up at the end.

[chris]

7/26

small shoulders #1

barbell shrug (120s rest periods)

245x33

245x27

245x19

upright row (very short rest periods)

50x50

50x18

50x15

bent over dumbbell lateral raise (120s rest periods)

30x28

30x20

30x15

sit-up

11

sit-ups are way tougher than I thought. probably easier if my feet are anchored...

[chris]

7/28

upper #2

bent barbell curl

40x50

seated front press (3/4 thumb from smooth, all repetitions paused on chest)

45x30

95x10

125x7

142.5x5

162.5x3

182.5x1

142.5x15

142.5x7 (60s rest)

bent-over barbell row (pronated grip, half thumb from smooth)

255x8 X 4

incline barbell bench press (3/4 thumb from smooth)

175x20

band pressdown

micro doubled x 100

micro doubled -> micro choked x 50, 50

[chris]

7/27

fasted morning bodyweight (190.4, +0)

[Nicholas Battista]

i believe they're actually called "seated green sweatshirt presses". 

are you more or less doing one high volume curl set each day? has that initiated a bit of growth?

On Mon, Jul 29, 2013 at 9:43 AM, chris <christophe...@gmail.com> wrote:

7/27

fasted morning bodyweight (190.4, +0)

[chris]

On Monday, July 29, 2013 10:27:36 AM UTC-4, Nick "The Bicep" Battista wrote:

i believe they're actually called "seated green sweatshirt presses". 

i'm actually going to start wearing my green sweatshirt again once it gets back to fat man weather ;-)

 

are you more or less doing one high volume curl set each day? has that initiated a bit of growth?

I do a high rep set of curls (usually 40 or 45 for 50) as part of my warm up for pressing. it seems to do a good job at getting my elbows warm and ready to work. not really sure if there's been any growth from it, but I've definitely gotten some new veins since I've started incorporating the really high rep stuff on a frequent basis.

[Bob Stevens]

Skinny guys aren't allowed to partake in celebration of "fat man weather". Although its so fucking cold in the gym I don't know how everyone isn't wearing sweatshirts. 

[Dan]

**Seated Green CUTOFF sweatshirt presses

 

Thanks for detailing your shoulder rehab and programming.  I've lowered my pressing %s significantly and working in the 10 rep range feels pretty good.  I think this is a good philosophy to get into, especially when injured.  Being used to working in the 5 rep range produced a certain mentality that was hard to get away from, but in reality any breakdown in technique I had was never addressed by doing heavy sets of 5 (in any movement).  Working in the higher range is a nice break, and a pump to boot.

 

Just hoping I don't need surgery.  I've done some reading about labrum/supraspinatus tears in the shoulder and thats an ugly surgery/recovery.

[chris]

On Monday, July 29, 2013 12:11:21 PM UTC-4, Bob wrote:

Skinny guys aren't allowed to partake in celebration of "fat man weather". Although its so fucking cold in the gym I don't know how everyone isn't wearing sweatshirts. 

my plan should have my on the cusp of fat-man by the end of the uncomfortable season, and hopefully full blown by christmas.

In addition to the lower percentages being easier on your joints and soft tissues, I definitely think the increased bloodflow from the volume has therapeutic value.  Let me know if you think of any questions or if you have any ideas you want to bounce off of me.

Hope you can avoid surgery too.

[chris]

7/29

small arms #2

simultaneous dumbbell curl (60s rest periods)

18.75x20 X 5

behind-the-back barbell wrist curl

45x30 X 5

sit-up

25

what a difference anchoring my feet with the dumbbells made...

[chris]

7/30

lower #2

lying leg curl machine

25x50

TKE (double-choked light band)

50

bulgarian split squat

bw x 20

lateral lunge

bw x 20

full squat (medium stance)

95x10

135x8

245x7

290x5

330x3

360x1 (paused)

290x15

290x7 (60s rest)

lying leg curl machine (120s rest)

145x8 X 4

leg extension (60s rest)

60x20 X 6

donkey calf machine (60s rest)

87.5x10 X 8

walking lunge

bw x 25 X 4

all racks were in use so I extended my warmup a bit with leg curls and TKEs.

weighed in this morning at 190.4 again so I'm adding an additional 500 calories per day since the scale hasn't moved in ~10 days.

[Tiny]

Leave it to Chris to revitalize the message board. I'll post some updates too.

Is your garage gym up and running now?

[Bob Stevens]

Speaking of garage gyms, EFS monolifts are on sale.....just sayin'.... ;)

[chris]

On Wednesday, July 31, 2013 11:38:02 AM UTC-4, Tiny wrote:

Leave it to Chris to revitalize the message board. I'll post some updates too.

Things had started getting a little too quiet on here.  Look forward to hearing about how you've been doing.

 

Is your garage gym up and running now?

not yet. my rack should be shipping in the next couple of weeks. I've been doing all of my accessory sessions in the garage for the past couple of months.  I'm chomping at the bit.

[chris]

On Wednesday, July 31, 2013 11:59:00 AM UTC-4, Bob wrote:

Speaking of garage gyms, EFS monolifts are on sale.....just sayin'.... ;)

yeah i saw that...

I've also been looking at this: http://www.1500lb.com/safetypowerhooks.html 

[Tiny]

In all seriousness, monolifts are cool, but you don't really need one unless you're thinking of going multiply.

[chris]

On Wednesday, July 31, 2013 12:28:50 PM UTC-4, Tiny wrote:

In all seriousness, monolifts are cool, but you don't really need one unless you're thinking of going multiply.

Yeah I know....  I've been reading vincent dizenzo's log on wannabebig.com and saw he picked up the crepinsek unit for training bench at home without a lift off so I was intrigued.  I've been looking at a lot of equimpment too try to fight off the impatience while I'm waiting...in hindsight it seems like this plan is only making the wait worse.

7/31

small shoulders #2

upright row

45x15

95x8

115x7

135x15

barbell shrug

335x30

dumbbell lateral raise (60s rest periods)

27.5x10 X 8

seated dumbbell clean

12.5x30 X 2 (very short rest period)

[chris]

8/01
upper #1

bent barbell curl
40x50

flat barbell bench (half thumb from smooth)
45x40

95x10
135x8
185x7
225x5
250x3
275x1 (paused)

225x15
225x7 (60s rest)

supinated grip pull up
5x5
30x3
50x1
5x15
5x5 (60s rest)

standing press (shoulder-width grip, all reps paused on chest)
145x12

band press down
micro doubled x 100
micro doubled, micro choked x 55, 50 (drop set)

[Chad]

That is really interesting I never thought about vitamin D causing low test.. my doc. tested by D levels (he tests all his patients in the winter)  and it was literally in single digits and he gave me very high dose D pills to get it back up and told me to get the hell outside. I never tested test levels.. now I am wondering how much of an impact that could of had. Did you just ask to get your test lvls checked or did the Dr. recommend it?

[chris]

8/02

small arms #1

barbell curl

45x100

....15 deep breaths

45x25

reverse grip bent barbell curl (120s rest periods)

52x27

52x23

52x11

sit-up

35

8/03

fasted morning bodyweight 194.6 (+4.2)

there is no way I gained 4 pounds in 3 days so I'm not sure if the last 2 weigh-ins were light or this one was heavy.  I'm going to keep adjustment I made on Wednesday for at least 2 weeks and hopefully the trend will emerge.

[chris]

8/04

lower #1

lying leg curl machine

25x50

TKE

double choked light band x 50

bulgarian split squat

bw x 20

lateral lunge

bw x 20

full front squat

95x10

135x8

185x7

225x5

250x3

275x1 (paused)

185x15 (paused)

185x5 X 3 (paused)

stiff legged deadlift

275x15

275x15 (double overhand)

leg extension (60s rest periods)

87.5x10 X 8

standing calf machine (60s rest periods)

40x20 X 5

walking lunge

bw x 25 X 3

[chris]

8/05

upper #2

bent barbell curl

40x50

seated front press (seated on flat bench, all repetitions paused on chest, 3/4 thumb from smooth)

45x30

95x10

125x7

142.5x5

162.5x3

182.5x1

142.5x15

142.5x8 (60s rest)

bent-over barbell row (pronated grip, half-thumb from smooth)

255x8 X 4

incline barbell bench (3/4 thumb from smooth)

205x12

band pressdown

micro doubled x 100

micro doubled, micro choked x 60, 50

trained upper #2 tonight instead of tuesday as SLC is closed for the remainder of the week.

[chris]

8/06

small shoulders #1

barbell shrug (120s rest)

245x30

245x27

245x20

upright row (very short rest periods)

50x50

50x22

50x15

bent-over dumbbell lateral (120s rest periods)

30x25

30x20

30x15

sit-up

30

8/07

small arms #1

dumbbell curl (60s rest periods, simultaneous)

23.75x15 X 6

[chris]

8/08

lower #2

plate-loaded leg curl machine

25x50

TKE

light double choked x 50

olympic squat

95x10

135x8

250x7

290x5

330x3

360x1 (paused)

290x15

290x6 (60s rest)

plate-loaded leg curl machine (120s rest, each rep paused)

100x8 X 4

TKE

light choked x 75

standing calf raise

70

15 (15s rest)

split squat (alternate leg each 5 reps)

bw x 50 (each leg)

bodyweight squat

50

first training session in the garage.  I was a little apprehensive but the weight felt pretty light.  Feeling out the assistance work as my options are a little limited.

[Nicholas Battista]

Pics???

[chris]

So here's some pictures of my set up.  I'm planning on doing the whole floor with stall mats and building a 8' x 12' platform for the rack.  The rack, utility bench and texas power bar were all newly purchased, everything else I've acquired over the years or picked up this summer on craigslist when I've come across a good deal.  After the first big training session tonight tonight I am definitely happy I decided to take the plunge.

[Tiny]

That's an awesome start chris! You've got plenty of stuff to get some good quality work in.

[Bob Stevens]

Nice chris, I'll have to stop by and train sometime, wish you were closer to me than RIT and not farther! 

In case you didn't know, tractor supply will occasionally put the horse stall mats on sale for like 29.99 for a 4'x6', but they don't put that price online. 

[chris]

On Friday, August 9, 2013 9:53:36 AM UTC-4, Bob wrote:

Nice chris, I'll have to stop by and train sometime, wish you were closer to me than RIT and not farther! 

In case you didn't know, tractor supply will occasionally put the horse stall mats on sale for like 29.99 for a 4'x6', but they don't put that price online. 

On Fri, Aug 9, 2013 at 9:49 AM, Tiny <timoth...@gmail.com> wrote:

That's an awesome start chris! You've got plenty of stuff to get some good quality work in.

 thanks guys. it's not a huge space but you're all welcome to train whenever you'd like.

8/9

small shoulders #2

upright row

45x15

95x8

115x7

135x15

barbell shrug

335x26

dumbbell lateral raise

18.75x20 X 5

seated dumbbell clean (very short rest periods)

12.5x25 X 3

sit-up

40

8/10

fasted morning bodyweight 192.6 (-2.0).

8/11

upper #1

barbell curl

45x50

flat bench press (half-thumb from smooth)

45x50

95x10

135x8

190x7

235x5

260x3

285x1 (paused)

235x15

235x4 (60s rest)

supinated grip pull-up

10x5

35x3

55x1

10x15

10x5 (60s rest)

standing press (shoulder-width grip, all repetitions paused on chest)

135x15

band pressdown

micro doubled x 100

micro doubled, micro choked x 65, 50 (drop-set)

weighed in again sunday morning and was at 194.8. saturday morning's weight (192.6) still has me around 1lbs/week (starting weight was 187.4 four weeks ago). going to leave my calories here for another week and see what happens.

[Louie P]

Home setup looks awesome Chris. Any other equipment on order?

[chris]

On Monday, August 12, 2013 8:52:49 PM UTC-4, Louie P wrote:

Home setup looks awesome Chris. Any other equipment on order?

Thanks, Louie.  The only thing I'm probably going to order in the short term are some pro-dumbbell handles so I can make some dumbbells.

[chris]

8/12

small arms #1

barbell curl

45x100

............15 deep breaths

45x25

reverse-grip bent barbell curl (10kg barbell, 120s rest periods)

52x16

52x12

52x10

sit-up

45

went much stricter on the reverse grip barbell curls. think I'm going to start doing barbell wrist curls in this session since I have my utility bench.

[Sereni]

Dayummmmmmmm, I'll count that as 112.5 ;^)

[chris]

8/13

lower #1

plate-loaded leg curl

25x50

bulgarian split squat

bw x 20

lateral lunge

bw x 20

full front squat

95x10

135x8

190x7

235x5

260x3

285x1 (paused)

195x15 (paused)

195x5 X 3 (paused)

stiff-legged deadlift

285x15

285x10 (double-overhand)

TKE

light band double-choked x 30 X 4 (alternating non-stop)

standing calf raise (60s rest periods)

25x20 X 5

donkey calf raise

bw x 25

bodyweight squat

50 X 2

8/15

small shoulders #1

barbell shrug (120s rest periods)

135x15

225x15

275x26

275x21

275x3

upright row (very short rest periods)

65x33

65x16

65x12

bent over dumbbell lateral raise (60s rest periods)

15x20 X 5

ab pulldown

50x20 X 3

going to start pushing the upper back assistance work a bit. i'm supposed to be targeting 50 total reps for working sets for the movements with 120s rest periods; if I can make it, i'm increasing the load.

[chris]

8/15

upper #2

barbell curl

45x50

seated front press (3/4 thumb from smooth, all repetitions paused on chest)

45x30

95x8

130x7

150x5

170x3

190x1

150x15

150x4 (60s rest)

bent-over barbell row (half-thumb from smooth)

265x8 X 4

incline barbell bench (3/4 thumb from smooth)

190x15

rolling dumbbell extension (60s rest periods)

12.5x20 X 5

8/16

small arms #2

simultaneous dumbbell curl (60s rest periods)

28.75x10 X 8

barbell curl

135x10

behind-the-back barbell wrist curl

45x30 X 5

sit-up

50

8/18

lower #2

plate-loaded leg curl machine

25x50

bulgarian split squat

bw x 20

lateral lunge

bw x 20

full squat

95x10

135x8

205x7

255x7

305x5

345x3

375x1 (paused)

305x15

305x4 (60s rest)

plate-loaded leg curl machine (120s rest, all repetitions paused, slow eccentric)

75x8 X 4

TKE (alternate non-stop)

average choked x 20 X 5

standing calf raise

bw x 75

bw x 25 (60s rest)

[chris]

8/17

fasted morning bodyweight 193.0 (-1.8)

8/18

fasted morning bodyweight 194.0 (-0.8)

increased another 500 calories per day on 8/18.

[chris]

8/19

small shoulders #2

upright row

45x15

95x10

115x7

135x12

barbell shrug

365x18

365x12

dumbbell lateral (60s rest periods)

23.75x15 X 6

seated dumbbell clean (very short rest periods)

12.5x25 X 3

standing ab pulldown

light choked x 25 X 3

right shoulder has been feeling a little tight since saturday so I didn't push the upright rows.  probably slept on it friday night.

[chris]

8/20

upper #1

barbell curl

45x50

flat barbell bench (half-thumb from smooth)

45x40

95x10

135x8

195x7

235x5

260x3

285x1 (paused)

235x15

235x5 (60s rest)

pull-up

10x5

35x3

55x1

10x15

10x5 (60s rest)

standing press (shoulder-width grip, all repetitions paused on chest)

145x12

blast-strap push-up

10 X 4

[Louie P]

What has your dieting/gaining weight approach looked like? Are you trying to hit specific maros everyday?

[chris]

On Wednesday, August 21, 2013 8:21:34 AM UTC-4, Louie P wrote:

What has your dieting/gaining weight approach looked like? Are you trying to hit specific maros everyday?

My plan was to add 500 calories per day over baseline, retaining the same macro ratios approximately, to effect a 1lbs per week weight gain.  On training days, all of the calories were added post-workout and on non-training days they were spread evenly over the meals.  I dropped protein powder back in May so everything is whole food (I was only using whey with breakfast and for post-workout so it wasn't a very big change).  I've done 2 additional 500 calorie per day bumps as my weight gain has not been consistent.  I've been seeing jumps of a couple of pounds immediately after increasing my calories, but no subsequent increases after that.  At this point, I'm going to have to let it play out for a bit as eating more is going to start becoming very unpleasant.  In all reality, I know this level is way over what I should need but until objective measures line up with my subjective experience I'm going to stick with the numbers.  I'm really hoping that I see ~2lbs a week for the next 2 weeks and can pull back a bit.

I'm doing ~40:40:20 on my macros.  Carbs may be a little higher and fat a little lower.  I'm eating ~250-300 calories more on my training days versus non-training (or accessory only) days.

[Louie P]

how many calories are you up to now?

[chris]

On Wednesday, August 21, 2013 11:50:15 AM UTC-4, Louie P wrote:

how many calories are you up to now?

I'm at about 5000 a day.

 

[Louie P]

That's quite a bit of calories. Have you noticed a difference with removing shakes with such high calories? I've noticed a difference but my calories are a lot lower. Are all your calories clean? Deffiantly sounds like a lot of food and would be a challenge getting down.

[chris]

On Wednesday, August 21, 2013 12:44:07 PM UTC-4, Louie P wrote:

That's quite a bit of calories. Have you noticed a difference with removing shakes with such high calories? I've noticed a difference but my calories are a lot lower. Are all your calories clean? Deffiantly sounds like a lot of food and would be a challenge getting down.

My maintenance baseline was ~3350.  I stayed at maintenance for about 2 months after dropping the shakes and really didn't notice any difference.  Liquid calories are obviously easier to get down, but I don't really feel like I'm missing anything having moved away from shakes.  I figure lots of guys got big, strong and lean before protein powders were around so I probably don't really need it.

The calories are all clean.  I might do a bit of a cheat meal for my post-workout a couple of times a month, but I crave real food more than junk most of the time.  It's a lot of food but it's still pretty manageable as I can get down all of my meals in 10 to 20 minutes.  I really wasn't expecting (nor did I have any desire) to have to go over the 4K mark; I'm really hoping to be able to scale it back.

[chris]

8/21

small arms #1

barbell curl

45x100

......15 deep breaths

45x25

reverse grip bent barbell curl (120s rest periods)

52x18

52x14

52x8

sit up

40

8/22

lower #1

plate-loaded leg curl machine

25x50

bulgarian split squat

bw x 20

lateral lunge

bw x 20

full front squat

95x10

135x8

195x7

235x5

260x3

285x1 (paused)

195x15 (paused)

195x5 X 3 (paused)

stiff-legged deadlift

285x15

285x12 (double-overhand)

bulgarian split squat (alternate no rest)

bw x 10 X 3

front rack dumbbell standing calf raise (60s rest)

17.5x15 X 6

standing calf

bw x 35

8/23

small shoulders #1

barbell shrug (120s rest periods)

135x15

225x15

295x24

295x20

295x6

upright row (very short rest periods)

65x35

65x17

65x12

bent over dumbbell lateral (60s rest periods)

20x15 X 6

8/24

fasted morning bodyweight 200.0 (+6)

again, big bump in bodyweight following the calorie increase.  I'm not increasing again so we'll see what happens over the next few weeks.

8/25

small arms #2

simultaneous dumbbell curl (60s rest periods)

20x20 X 5

behind-the-back barbell wrist curl

50x30 X 5

8/26

upper #2

barbell curl

45x50

seated front press (seated on flat bench, 3/4 thumb from smooth, all repetitions paused on chest)

45x30

95x10

130x7

150x5

170x3

190x1

150x15

150x5 (60s rest)

barbell row (half thumb from smooth)

265x8 X 4

incline barbell bench press (3/4 thumb from smooth)

205x12

rolling dumbbell extension (60s rest periods)

17.5x15 X 6

swapped upper #2 and small arms #2 as I was out of town over the weekend.

[Bob Stevens]

Damn, you did all 100 reps in 1 set? I'm still stuck at like 65-70 before I have to put the bar down. 

[chris]

On Tuesday, August 27, 2013 3:52:00 PM UTC-4, Bob wrote:

Damn, you did all 100 reps in 1 set? I'm still stuck at like 65-70 before I have to put the bar down. 

yup all 100 in 1 set.  The first time I did them, I think I got like 60; I kept trying to get 5 more reps each week until I got to 100.  Forearms still throb every time.

8/27

lower #2

plate-loaded leg curl machine

25x50

bulgarian split squat

bw x 20

lateral lunge

bw x 20

olympic full squat

95x10

135x8

205x7

255x7

305x5

345x3

375x1 (paused)

305x15

305x7 (60s rest)

plate-loaded leg curl machine (120s rest periods, paused with exaggerated eccentrics)

75x8 X 4

bulgarian split squat (alternate without rest)

bw x 10 X 3

standing calf raise

bw x 80

bw x 20 X 2

[chris]

8/28

small shoulders #2

upright row

45x15

95x8

115x7

135x17

barbell shrug

365x20

265x15

dumbbell lateral raise (60s rest periods)

28.75x10 X 8

seated dumbbell clean (very short rest periods)

17.5x30

17.5x25

sit-up

50

 

[chris]

8/29

upper #1

barbell curl

45x50

flat barbell bench (half-thumb from smooth)

45x40

95x10

135x8

195x7

235x5

260x3

285x1 (paused)

235x15

235x8 (60s rest)

supinated grip pull-up

10x5

35x3

55x1

10x15

10x4 (60s rest)

standing barbell press (shoulder-width grip, all repetitions paused on chest)

135x15

blast-strap pushup (+ micro)

10 X 4

[chris]

8/30

small arms #1

barbell curl

45x100

......15 deep breaths

45x25

dumbbell hammer curl (120s rest periods, simultaneous)

30x9

30x8

30x7

sit-up

55

went to RIT today for one last training session with nicky-pooh.  dumbbells were too heavy for hammer curls but all the 20s and 25s were in use.

9/02

lower #1

seated plate-loaded leg curl

25x50

bulgarian split squat

bw x 20

lateral lunge

bw x 20

full front squat

95x10

135x8

195x7

235x5

260x3

285x1 (paused)

195x15 (paused)

195x3 X 5 (paused)

stiff-legged deadlift

225x5 (double-overhand)

285x15

285x15 (double-overhand)

bulgarian split squat (alternate non-stop)

bw x 10 X 3

front-racked dumbbell standing calf raise (60s rest)

22.5x10 X 8

standing calf raise

bw x 25 X 3

was out of town for labor day weekend so training has shifted to big movements on MWF, at least temporarily.

[chris]

8/31

fasted morning bodyweight 202.8 (+2.8)

went to the distillery on friday night so I probably had a bit of a sodium bloat.  at least I've finally seen some week-to-week movement without having to increase calories.....

[chris]

9/03

small shoulders #1

barbell shrug (120s rest periods)

135x15 (double-overhand)

225x15 (double-overhand)

315x24

315x20

315x6

upright row (very short rest periods)

65x38

65x20

65x12

bent-over dumbbell lateral raise (60s rest periods)

25x10 X 8

full ROM trunk curl across bench

20

[chris]

9/04

upper #2

barbell curl

45x50

seated front press (3/4 thumb from smooth, all repetitions paused on chest)

45x30

95x10

130x7

150x5

170x3

190x1

150x15

150x3 (60s rest)

barbell row (half-thumb from smooth)

265x8 X 4

incline barbell bench press (3/4 thumb from smooth)

190x15

rolling dumbbell extension (60s rest periods)

22.5x10 X 8

[Nicholas Battista]

did you just do one set on incline?

[chris]

On Thursday, September 5, 2013 1:59:57 PM UTC-4, Nick "The Bicep" Battista wrote:

did you just do one set on incline?

just one...

I've only been doing one set of 12 or 15 (it alternates every workout) for my assistance pressing movement.

[Nicholas Battista]

cool. btw nice OH pressing. have you employed the green sweatshirt yet?

[chris]

On Thursday, September 5, 2013 2:08:19 PM UTC-4, Nick "The Bicep" Battista wrote:

cool. btw nice OH pressing. have you employed the green sweatshirt yet?

thanks. it's been coming along pretty good.

I was actually eyeballing my green sweatshirt earlier this afternoon.  I've got to wait a couple more weeks for it to get cooler before I can start wearing it.  I have started growing an appropriate beard in the meantime.

[Nicholas Battista]

splendid!

[chris]

9/05

small arms #1

simultaneous dumbbell curl (60s rest periods)

25x15 X 6

behind-the-back barbell wrist curl

50x30 X 5

lying leg raise

30

9/06

lower #2

bulgarian split squat

bw x 20

lateral lunge

bw x 20

full olympic squat

95x10

135x8

205x7

255x7

305x5

345x3

375x1 (paused)

305x15

305x8 (60s rest)

plate-loaded seated leg curl (120s rest periods; all reps paused, exaggerated eccentrics)
75x8 X 4

bulgarian split squat (alternate legs, no rest)

bw x 10 X 3

standing calf raise

bw x 80

bw x 25

bw x 25

9/07

fasted morning bodyweight 203 (+0.2)

[Sereni]

Bodyweight moving up better?

[chris]

On Saturday, September 7, 2013 5:51:15 PM UTC-4, Sereni wrote:

Bodyweight moving up better?

not really sure yet.  Should be able to tell after next week but I'm not planning on adjusting my calories up again regardless.  What I'll probably do is shift back to maintenance in the next few weeks, hold for a few weeks, then move back into a surplus.  I'm up ~15.5lbs over the past 8 weeks.

9/06

small shoulders #2

upright row

45x15

 95x8

115x7

135x15

barbell shrug

365x20

365x17

dumbbell lateral raise (60s rest periods)

20x20 X 5

kneeling band ab pulldown

light x 50

[chris]

9/09

upper #1

barbell curl

45x50

flat barbell bench (half-thumb from smooth)

45x40

135x10

205x7

245x5

275x3

300x1 (paused)

245x15

245x4 (60s rest)

supinated-grip pull-up

bw x 5

15x5

40x3

60x1

15x15

15x4 (60s rest)

standing press (shoulder-width grip, pause each repetition on chest)

145x12

blast-strap push-up (+mini)

10 X 4

 

[Nicholas Battista]

it appears your template has you cruising pretty well since we trained together.

[chris]

9/10

small arms #1

barbell curl

45x100

65x10

reverse grip bent barbell curl (120s rest periods, 10kg bar)

52x12

52x10

52x9

9/11

lower #1

plated-loaded seated leg curl

25x50

bulgarian split squat

bw x 20

lateral lunge

bw x 20

full front squat (all repetitions paused)

95x10

135x8

205x7

245x5

270x3

295x1

205x15

205x5 X 3

stiff-legged deadlift

225x7 (double-overhand)

295x15

295x15 (double-overhand)

front-racked dumbbell split squat

10x20 X 2

10x11

10x15 X 2

front-racked dumbbell standing calf raise (60s rest periods)

13.75x20 X 5

tried to do the split squats with 60s rest periods (starting after I finished the first leg) but it was just too much.

the last two days have been extremely hot and humid.

[chris]

On Thursday, September 12, 2013 9:12:58 AM UTC-4, chris wrote:

9/11

lower #1

stiff-legged deadlift

225x7 (double-overhand)

295x15

295x15 (double-overhand)

double-overhand set with 295 was for 10 reps; 15 isn't for 2 more weeks.... 

[Nicholas Battista]

whoopsie.

[chris]

9/12

small shoulders #1

barbell shrug (120s rest)

135x15

225x15

335x26

335x18

335x6

upright row (very short rest periods)

65x38

65x14

65x10

bent-over dumbbell lateral (60s rest periods)

11.25x20 X 5

lying leg raise

25

9/13

upper #2

barbell curl

45x50

seated front press (seated on flat bench, 3/4 thumb from smooth, all repetitions paused on chest)

45x30

95x10

117.5x8

137.5x7

157.5x5

177.5x3

197.5x1

157.5x15

157.5x4 (60s rest)

bent-over barbell row (half-thumb from smooth)

157.5x15

275x8 X 4

incline barbell bench (3/4 thumb from smooth)

205x12

seated overhead work felt pretty difficult the past 2 sessions.  pull-ups have also been feeling much more difficult.  this conveniently coincides with getting more aggressive with the shrug work so I'm going to pull that back.  smashing my big movements is what's important right now, not doing shrugs.

9/14

fasted morning bodyweight 205.6 (+2.6)

small arms #2

simultaneous dumbbell curl (60s rest)

30x10 X 8

behind-the-back barbell wrist curl

55x30 X 4

band pressdown (4s eccentrics)

light x 10 X 4

experimenting with moving my direct tricep assistance into the arm session.

I'm going to be taking next week off from training as I will be out of town monday through thursday for work.  I am also pulling back to maintenance calories for a few weeks (or there about, dropping 1K calories/day).  My original plan had me running surplus calories through the end of next week, but considering I won't be training, it's going to be hard to be precise with my intake and that I'm up ~18lbs over 9 weeks, I think it's a good time to pull back.  I plan to stay at maintenance for probably 4-6 weeks and then gain another 10+lbs.  Based on the last 4 weeks, I'm guessing my surplus was somewhere around 1000-1250 calories.

[chris]

9/22

upper #2

plate-loaded seated hamstring curl

25x50

bulgarian split squat

bw x 20

lateral lunge

bw x 20

olympic squat

95x10

135x8

225x7

275x7

320x5

360x3

395x1 (paused)

320x15

320x4 (60s rest)

plate-loaded seated hamstring curl (120s rest, all reps paused, exaggerated eccentrics)

85x8 X 4

sissy squat

bw x 10 X 4

donkey calf raise (60s rest)

45x20 X 5

bodyweight squat

25 X 3

weights felt heavy as they always do after being a slug for a week.  everything moved though.

[Louie P]

How have you liked training in the garage compared to rit?

[chris]

On Monday, September 23, 2013 7:51:44 PM UTC-4, Louie P wrote:

How have you liked training in the garage compared to rit?

I like it.  Training is stress free and I don't get in a bad mood.

9/23

small shoulders #2

upright row

45x10

95x8

115x5

135x8 X 4 

dumbbell lateral raise (60s rest periods)

25x15 X 6

band pull-apart

mini x 27

lying leg raise

25

9/24

upper #1

barbell curl

45x50

flat barbell bench (half-thumb from smooth)

45x40

95x10

135x8

205x7

245x5

275x3

300x1 (paused)

245x15

245x4 (60s rest)

supinated grip pull-up

bw x 5

15x5

40x3

60x1

15x15

15x5 (60s rest)

standing press (shoulder-width grip, all repetitions paused on chest)

135x15

blast-strap push-up (+ 1 micro, 1 mini band)

10 X 4

again, weights felt heavy after having a one week complete deload but everything got done.  on a side note, my legs have been stupid sore.  this always happens when i take a week or more off from squatting....

[chris]

9/25

small arms #1

barbell curl (60s rest)

50x20 X 5

dumbbell hammer curl (60s rest)

20x10 X 8

hanging bent leg raise

30

dropping the poundstone curls for a while. they've served their purpose and I've been kind of dreading them for the past few weeks.

9/26

lower #1

plate-loaded seated leg curl

25x50

bulgarian split squat

bw x 20

lateral lunge

bw x 20

full front squat (all reps paused)

95x10

135x8

205x7

245x5

275x3

295x1

205x15

205x5 X 3

stiff legged deadlift

225x7 (double-overhand)

295x15

295x12 (double-overhand)

front-racked dumbbell standing calf raise (60s rest periods)

18.75x15 X 6

standing calf raise

bw x 25 X 4

dropped the extensor accessory work as my quads still weren't full recovered from Sunday.  I can't believe I get so deconditioned after 1 week off.

[chris]

9/27

small shoulders #1

upright row (very short rest periods)

65x43

65x21

65x13

bent over dumbbell lateral (60s rest periods)

16.25x15 X 6

full ROM trunk curl

20

9/29

fasted morning bodyweight 201.8 (-3.8)

bodyweight had dropped down to just below 200 two weeks ago when I got back home on Thursday and has crept up a couple pounds since then.  I expected to lose a few pounds between having poor nutrition while out of town and also pulling my calories back (I'm eating about 2.5lbs less of food per day right now).  Calories are set right around 3675.  Took my previous maintenance calories and divided that by my bodyweight at that time (187) and then multiplied that against 205 to get a new maintenance figure.  I'm planning on staying here for an 3-4 more weeks before gaining an additional 10-15 lbs.  I may stay longer if the weights are moving well.  More importantly, I am going to start growing my beard next monday.

[Nicholas Battista]

Shirtless pics, pre- and during- beard phase, please ;)

[Dan]

Weather's getting cooler (comfortabler), weight is a gainin', and beard is a growin'.  What a splendid time it is.

[Sereni]

So...much...envy.

[chris]

On Sunday, September 29, 2013 10:56:06 AM UTC-4, Dan wrote:

Weather's getting cooler (comfortabler), weight is a gainin', and beard is a growin'.  What a splendid time it is.

couldn't have said it any better myself dan....

9/29

upper #2

barbell curl

45x50

seated front press (seated on flat bench, 3/4 thumb from smooth, all repetitions paused on chest)

45x30

95x10

135x7

157.5x5

177.5x3

197.5x1

157.5x15

157.5x3 (60s rest)

barbell row (pronated grip, half thumb from smooth)

157.5x10

275x8 X 4

incline barbell bench (3/4 thumb from smooth)

190x15

warm-ups on overhead felt better than the past few sessions, but the working sets were difficult than I would have liked.