JMBS's Journal - Contest Competition with Confidence

 Tue 8/4/09

Progress (or Not?!):  Original pics taken on June 18, so 6.5 weeks ago.  Will put in four different posts so I can put before/after side by side.  There is about a 10 lb increase in weight from 'before' to 'after'. Weights in pics:  before 192, after 203.

Measurements:      Before (a/o 6/8/09)  After (a/o 7/27/09)
Weight                   191.8                        198.6
Chest                      41                             42
Waist                      35                             36
Arms                        15.25                        15.25
Forearms                 13                             13
Hips                         40                             40.5
Thighs                      24.25                       24.5
Calves                     15.5                          16
Neck                        15.25                        15.5
Shoulders                not measured           48

First post will be Front Relaxed before and after:

Any comments/suggestions/bf% estimates welcome.  Thx!
 
Also, if anyone can help me embed images in the text instead of them being attachments, I'd be most grateful!  Thx!

Attached Image(s)

Tue 8/4/09
 
Relaxed back before and after:  (sorry it's only letting me attach a max of 3 pics so 1 before/after pair is all I can figure out how to do).

Attached Image(s)

Tue 8/4/09
 
Now Full Body before and after:

Attached Image(s)

Tue 8/4/09
 
Lastly, Legs before and after:

Attached Image(s)

doesn't look like you gained too much fat for ten pounds. How much did your strength increase? I posted new pics of myself in my journal too but my camera sucks and i couldn't find a way to get any leg pics by myself.

PK,
   I'll let you know about the strength increases in a couple weeks when I get to the 5 rep weeks of HST.  I'm trying to stay disciplined and progress gradually.  I have a hunch the gains will be there though.  I can feel it!!  ;)

Wed 8/5/09  5:15 A.M. Scenes from Testosterone Alley
HST (Hypertrophy Specific Training) program today
10 Rep Week 3 Day 2    (did same routine yesterday, because I'm a Wild and Crazy Guy!)

No straps used on any exercises today!
Warmup:  5 min Octane crosstrainer

(Warmup sets not recorded)

Back
WG Chins -40x10, -40x10 (thumbless grip, good!)
WG Cable Rows 168x10, 168x10 (controlled form, nice) No straps!
 
Legs
Squats 155x10 (Nice!, not hampered by knee injury, ATG baby!, very nice form, good!) Bar held low in valley between posterior delts and rhomboids, I believe, more leverage, awesome!!
SLDLs 195x10, 195x10 (stood on a step board to go deeper, good!)

Chest
Incline bench 135x10, 135x6+4 (controlled form, nice!!!, tough 2^nd set, but good) 
Dips (elbows next to torso, body vertical) -10x10 ( weak at end but okay)

Traps
BB Shrugs 205x10 (pretty good, held squeeze at end of set)  No straps!

Shoulders
Standing OH Press 90x10 (nice!, I love these!)
Lateral raises (machine) 55x10 (too easy!, can't wait to up weight)
Rear delt (machine) 100x10 (too easy!, can't wait to up weight)

Biceps 
EZ bar curls  90x10 wide, 90x10 narrow (very controlled, nice pump, surprisingly easy since I did 85 lb yesterday!)

Triceps
Skullcrushers 80x10, 80x10 (Whoa: tight and sore from yesterday!, awesome!)

Calves
Calf raises on leg sled 470x10, 470x10 (very nice!, 10 sec squeeze end of set 1, 30 sec squeeze end of set 2 = BURN!)

Abs
Cable crunches (back to stack) Will do at home (ran out of time). 

After w/o HIIT: 
9 min Oxygen crosstrainer 
   1 min warmup up Level 5   
   6 intervals 60 sec each
        30 sec Levels 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10   
        30 sec Levels 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15
2 min cooldown Levels 7 then 3   
 
Stretch:  Will do at home. 

Workout time:  1 hr. 20 min. 

Comments:  Left knee is still sore, but working out is not hampered by it, nor does the workout aggravate the knees. Good news. Walking is what I need to avoid to get better. Tough request! Have to point toes of left foot to the left on the ground when I get in the car or a world of hurt will ensue! It felt incredible to get back on the Mon Wed Fri track even if I had to do back to back w/o's. I feel tight and even somewhat sore, especially back, bi's, and tri's. I'm starting to bump up on some 10 rep PRs and I've got four 10-rep workouts to go. So it's going to be interesting! I guess I can always rest pause it, if necessary. From David Banner (?) to the Incredible Hulk! Ha!
 

Fri 8/7/09  5:15 A.M.
HST (Hypertrophy Specific Training) program today
10 Rep Week 3 Day 3 

Warmup:  4 min Octane crosstrainer

(Warmup sets not recorded)

Back
WG Chins -34x10, -34x10 (thumbless grip, good!, end of 2nd set form suffered )
WG Cable Rows 173x10, 173x10 (controlled form, nice)
 
Legs
Squats 165x10 (Pretty good!, down to level legs, some rest pauses, lots of torso lean, low back spasm, touch toes stretch helped)
SLDLs 205x10, 205x10 (pretty good!, 10 reps are becoming more difficult)

Chest
Incline bench 145x10, 145x6+2+2 (controlled form, nice!!!, tough 2^nd set, but good)  PR!
Dips (elbows next to torso, body vertical) BWx10 ( weak at end but okay, didn't go as deep as I'd like to call them "good")

Traps
BB Shrugs 210x10 (pretty good, held squeeze at end of set) PR

Shoulders
Standing OH Press 95x10 (nice!, I love these!)  PR!
Lateral raises (machine) 65x10 (too easy!, can't wait to up weight)
Rear delt (machine) 110x10 (good, sore back there=awesome!)

Biceps 
EZ bar curls  95x10 wide, 95x10 narrow (very controlled, nice pump, surprisingly easy!)

Triceps
Skullcrushers 85x10, 85x10 (Whoa!, reaching max, awesome!)  PR!

Calves
Calf raises on leg sled 500x10, 500x10 (very nice!, 10 sec squeeze end of set 1, 30 sec squeeze end of set 2 = BURN!)  PR

Abs
Cable crunches (back to stack) Will do at home (ran out of time). 

After w/o HIIT:  
No time.  Had to leave at 6:45 so wife could get to work early.   
 
Stretch:  Will do at home. 

Workout time:  1 hr. 15 min. 

Comments:  Well setting PRs feels great!  I'm feeling like I'm maxing out on some of the weights and have three 10-rep w/o's to go.  Need to slow increments from 10 to 5 lb, etc. probably.  The 5 rep w/o's are going to be interesting.  Worried a little about failing and not having a spotter around.  I made an appointment with a sports doc/orthopedist next Friday to look at my knees.  My back, delts (especially posterior), and triceps (whoa!) feel tight and sore.  My whole body feels worked over.  This is good!  Now I just need to remember to eat, eat, eat!  It'll be good to have two rest days before the next w/o!

Wow, 4 PR's in one workout. Looks good. But make sure you can get the reps, since thats alot more important than weight in HST. But getting stronger at the same time is always good. Do you lift in a squat rack? If you do just put the safety bars up higher and you can dump the weight on there if you can't get it. But if you don't, just try and get a spotter if possible, and if that can't happen I would say just use your best judgement when squatting.

Goals by end of 2009:
Bench 205
Squat 255 ATG
Squat Clean 185

"There is no elevator to success, you must take the stairs."

C,
   Thanks man!  It is more impressive that those PRs were all for 10 reps.  The PR weights they bested were for lower reps.  I'm always doing 10 rep sets, but sometimes I will, as you can see by the '+'s, throw in a rest pause or two on occasion.  Do you think that's okay or should I stay at a weight that I can do 10 reps for w/o pausing?  Thx!

Doing Good!

W,
   Thx man!  Good workin' out!  :)

Im going to start week 3 tonight myself. I had a zig zag going in my calculated weights from 15 to 10. I wondered if I might want to decrease the increments and still zig zag, but not as much. I noticed you are hitting tough spots at the end of week 3 with your setup. Makes me want to keep a zig zag pattern going in my routine, but decrease the increment jumps so I can get to the weight I used at max 15 quicker than the 2nd week of 10s that my origional increment would have allowed. I really dont want to have to do rest pause untill late in the 4th week if at all.

Still nice work. 

W,
   Are you saying you dropped your weights from your final 15-rep w/o to your first 10-rep w/o?  Is that what a zig zag is?  If so, I didn't know you could do that.  I thought the idea was to keep upping the weight but I guess you're working toward your 15-rep max your 1st 2 wks and then your 10-rep max the next 2 wks so I guess I could see how a drop would occur if your 15-rep and 10-rep maxes are less than 30 lb different, let's say, and you're doing 5 lb increments.  Interesting if that's the case.  Perhaps I'll do that from 10-rep wks to 5-rep weeks if that's allowed.

Yea, thats what it is. I read on the HST site that its ok to do that. I need to read more on that site to make sure Im keeping the principles intact.

W,
   Thx!  I'll have to read more on the site too.  Good workin' out!  :)

Mon 8/10/09  5:15 A.M.  (Had a birthday yesterday:  I'm 46 now!) 
HST (Hypertrophy Specific Training) program today
10 Rep Week 4 Day 1 

Warmup:  4 min Octane crosstrainer

(Warmup sets not recorded)

Back
Chins -28x10 (wide grip), -28x10 (narrow, neutral grip) (alright, strength plummets end of set, form suffers)
Cable Rows 180x10 (wide grip), 180x10 (narrow, reverse grip) (controlled form, nice)
 
Legs
Squats 175x7+3 (Pretty good!, down to level legs, rest pause, trunk lean controlled, wider than hips stance, toes/knees out, form pretty good, no knee pain!)
SLDLs 215x10, 215x10 (okay, some rest pauses in there, reaching 10rep max, these are not fun!)

Chest
Incline bench 150x8+2, 150x6+2+2 (controlled form, nice!!!, tough 2^nd set, but good)  PR!
Dips (elbows next to torso, trunk lean) +5x10( nice, went pretty deep!)

Traps
BB Shrugs 215x5+5 (mixed grip changed mid thru set)  (ROM is terrible!, weight too high, will reset lower next wk for 5 rep weeks) (bad form PR )

Shoulders
Standing OH Press 100x10 (whoa!,  now we're talkin'!)  PR!
Lateral raises (machine) 75x10 (good, want more weight!)
Rear delt (machine) 120x10 (good, want more weight!)

Biceps 
EZ bar curls  100x10 wide, 100x7+3 narrow (lots of trunk lean elbows fwd cheat end of sets, 2nd set on preacher, shoulders came off pad, weight too high, will reset lower for 5 rep weeks starting next Monday)

Triceps
Skullcrushers 90x10, 90x10 (Probably my decent form max for now, was difficult, dangerous?, wouldn't want this exercise to live up to its name!)  PR!

Calves
Calf raises on leg sled 520x10, 520x10 (very nice!, 10 sec squeeze end of set 1, 30 sec squeeze end of set 2 = BURN!)  PR

Abs
Cable crunches (back to stack) Pilates later will address this.

After w/o HIIT:  
No time.  Pilates later.   
 
Stretch:  Will do in Pilates.. 

Workout time:  1 hr. 15 min. 

Pilates:  Pretty good!  Knees weren't an issue.  Ab work was awesome.  Stretching helped a lot.  I'm still not quite as flexible as I was before I started hitting legs hard with weights.  Yoga on Tuesday should help too.
 
Comments:  This workout was a little bit of a letdown after Friday's incredible session.  But the good news is I seem to be on a slow and steady weight-gaining pace and I don't see too much of it coming on as fat.  Don't exactly know where muscle weight is but I notice improvement in anterior deltoids and hamstrings.  I think triceps too.  Perhaps traps a little.  Maybe back thickness and width.  I am so exhausted in the afternoons of these early morning w/o's.  An hour (or two!) nap is a beautiful thing!  Sleeping well with that entire body worked over feeling!  So training is hard enough and I'm figuring out how to get calories in, even if the diet isn't as healthy as it should be.  Knees are on the mend but I'm keeping my Fri. orthopedist appt.  Hoping to finnagle an MRI to get a look at what's going on in there.  Things look promising, and I'm having fun!  :)

Tue 8/11/09

Yoga class:  Rubber band man is back!  :)  Adductor flexibility still not where it was prior to hitting legs hard w/weights, but it's getting there.  "Lunge" and "chair" depth very nice!  Torso twists great!  Balance is hit and miss (mostly miss, ha ha!).  "Wheel" was impressive.  Strength and flexibility awesome.  Balance not so much.  Love my yoga!  I hate missing it.

HIIT:  Swimming
Front crawl
Warmup 2 laps (probably a minute per 50m lap is regular intensity for me)
8 Intervals 1 lap each
    High intensity 1/2 lap
    Regular intensity 1/2 lap
Cooldown 2 laps
Time:  about 15 min including short drink/rest breaks after some intervals.
Comments:  Very promising!  Was definately winded after each interval!  Good stuff!
Whirlpool and sauna after were great!

Wed 8/12/09  5:15 A.M. 
HST (Hypertrophy Specific Training) program today
10 Rep Week 4 Day 2 

Warmup:  4 min Octane crosstrainer

(Warmup sets not recorded)

Back
Chins -22x10 (wide grip), -22x10 (narrow, reverse grip) (alright, strength plummets end of set, form suffers) PR, sort of! (BW-assist=200-22=178=PR)
Cable Rows 185x10 (wide grip), 185x10 (narrow, reverse grip) (controlled form, okay, wondering if machine rows w/chest pad wouldn't be better)
 
Legs
Squats 180x8+1+1 (Pretty good!, down to level legs, rest pause, trunk lean controlled, wider than hips stance, toes/knees out, form pretty good, no knee pain!)
SLDLs 220x10, 220x10 (okay, no rest pauses)

Chest
Incline bench 155x6+2+2, 155x4+2+3+1 (controlled form, some reps ony got to about 2 inches above chest)  PR!
Dips (elbows next to torso, trunk lean) +10x9+1( nice, went deeper)

Traps
DB Shrugs 90x5, 130x5, 150x10 (much better form and ROM than with the heavier weight BB shrugs, feel much better about these!)

Shoulders
Standing OH Press 105x8+2 (last reps had a little leg assist) PR!
Lateral raises (machine) 85x10 (good, end of set tough!)
Rear delt (machine) 130x10 (good, feelin' it now!)

Biceps 
EZ bar curls  105x10 wide, 105x5+5 wide again (a little trunk lean end of 1st set , 2nd set using narrow grip was undoable at 105 lb, so I did another wide grip set)

Triceps
Skullcrushers 95x10, 85x10 (First set at 95 lb was weak, only 1/2 way down, can't call that PR material, 2nd set dropped to 85 lb, much better form!)

Calves
Calf raises on leg sled 540x10, 540x10 (very nice!, 10 sec squeeze end of set 1, 30 sec squeeze end of set 2 = BURN!)  PR

Abs
Cable crunches (back to stack) No time! 

After w/o HIIT:  
No time.    
 
Stretch:  Will do at home, hopefully! 

Workout time:  1 hr. 40 min.  Lots of resting between sets going on!

Comments:  I'm really enjoying the squats and stiff-legged deadlifts.  They're not necessarily fun but they sure are effective!  The wider stance I'm using for the squat seems to be great at reducing stress on my knees for some reason.  It also keeps my trunk more upright.  When doing SLDLs today, I really felt it in my shoulders and upper back.  Awesome feeling!  My hamstrings (biceps femoris) and what I've learned are the semitendinosus and semimembranosus (also part of hamstrings?) are really developing thanks to the deadlifts!  Friday will be my last 10-rep workout.  Next Monday starts 5-rep sessions.  Yay!  ;)

How far do your dumbells go? Ours only go to 120 and I am already there on rows. I lose.

Perrynaytor


How far do your dumbells go? Ours only go to 120 and I am already there on rows. I lose.

P,
   Pretty sure 130s.  My biggest gripe about the DBs at my Y is that I wish they went in 2.5 lb steps instead of 5, at least up to say 30 lb.  Up to 40 lb I think, my gym has 2 pairs of each.  Wish they would have gotten 1 pair each at every 2.5 lb.  This of course assumes they even make them in those odd weights.  Good workin' out!

Fri 8/14/09  5:15 A.M. 

GREAT NEWS!  :  Went to orthopaedic doc today about my knees.  He took x-rays and my knees are great!  Apparently I just did the running HIIT too hard and fast before my knees were conditioned to it.  Even after all those years of running, he says he can't see any damage!  He says, "Squat away!"  He did say, as many of you guys have, to stay away from leg extensions.  He says gyms should remove those machines! 
 
 
HST (Hypertrophy Specific Training) program today
10 Rep Week 4 Day 3  (Last day of 10-reps) 

Warmup:  4 min Octane crosstrainer

(Warmup sets not recorded)

Back
Chins -16x10 (wide grip), -16x10 (narrow, reverse grip) (headache, ouch!, these were really lame, bad form)   I can't call this a PR w/a straight face  :(
Cable Rows 192x10 (wide grip), 192x10 (narrow, reverse grip) (controlled form, okay)
 
Legs
Squats 185x5+2+2+1 (Pretty good!, down to level legs, rest pause, no knee pain!)
SLDLs 225x10, 225x4 (good, 2nd set cut short for fear of running out of time) PR!

Chest
Incline bench 160x5+2+1+1+1, 160x3+2+2+1+2 (controlled form, some reps lame)  PR!
Dips (elbows next to torso, trunk lean) +15x5+3+2( nice, went deeper)

Traps
DB Shrugs 160x10 (pretty good)

Shoulders
Standing OH Press 110x6+4 (last reps had a little leg assist) PR!
Lateral raises (machine) 90x10 (good, end of set tough!) PR!
Rear delt (machine) 135x10 (good, feelin' it now!)

Biceps 
EZ bar curls  110x10 wide, 95x10 wide again (a little trunk lean end of 1st set, but the 110s were not that hard!) PR!

Triceps
Skullcrushers 100x10, 85x10 (First set at 100 lb was weak, only 1/2 way down, can't call that PR material, 2nd set dropped to 85 lb, much better form!)

Calves
Calf raises on leg sled 560x10, 560x10 (very nice!, 10 sec squeeze end of set 1, 30 sec squeeze end of set 2 = BURN!)  PR

Abs
Cable crunches (back to stack) No time! 

After w/o HIIT:  
No time.    
 
Stretch:  Will do at home, hopefully! 

Workout time:  1 hr. 30 min.  Lots of resting between sets going on!

Comments:  Got 6 out of 8 PR attempts this workout.  Not bad at all!  I'm getting stronger!  Now I need to plan for 5-rep workouts starting on Monday.  But the best news of all was when the doc told me my knees look good!  He said I could even run again with the proper conditioning.  Think I'll stay away from running for awhile.  But I'm really jazzed to start squatting like a mad man!!!!

Wow a doctor that recommended squatting? Sounds like you actually have a good one.

PumaKrieg


Wow a doctor that recommended squatting? Sounds like you actually have a good one.

He said squats and leg presses good, leg extensions bad.
He did also say the SLDLs should be all I need for hams, but leg curls would be okay too.

Your doctor actually knows what SLDLs are?!??! I wrote before somewhere on here that the trainers at my YMCA don't know what that is.

No he didn't know, and I had to demonstrate it for him.  And he works with the local high school athletic departments.  ;)

Mon 8/17/09  5:15 A.M. 

HST (Hypertrophy Specific Training) program today 
5 Rep Week 5 Day 1  (First day of 5 reps) 

Warmup:  6 min treadmill (knees okay) 

Back Chins -22x5 (wide grip), -22x5 (narrow, reverse grip) (slight headache, I'm just no good at these)
Cable Rows 197x5 (wide grip), 197x5 (narrow, reverse grip) (controlled form, okay)
 
Legs Squats 190x5 (Pretty good, level quads, slight pressure in knees)
SLDLs 230x5, 230x5 (good) PR!

Chest Incline bench 145x5, 145x5 (controlled form) 
Dips (elbows next to torso, trunk lean) +5x5 ( nice, went deeper)

Traps DB Shrugs 150x5 (good)

Shoulders Standing OH Press 95x5 (easy)
Lateral raises (machine) 85x5 (good)
Rear delt (machine) 155x5 (okay, big jump in weight to reach PR by HST cycle end)

Biceps  EZ bar curls  95x5 wide, 95x5 narrow (good form, easy)

Triceps Skullcrushers 75x5, 75x5 (good)

Calves Calf raises on leg sled 590x5, 590x5 (good, 10 sec squeeze burn end of set 1; 30 sec end of 2)  PR!

Abs Cable crunches (Will do lots of abs in Pilates)

Stretch:  Will do in Pilates! 

Workout time:  1 hr. 10 min.

Pilates (11:00):  Very nice workout!
 
NMoney's DBB challenge:  1/2 BW benches and rows longest sets w/3 min rest between exercises
105 lb
bench: 28 reps
rows: 17 reps
I'll try to see if I can beat this another day.
 
After Pilates HIIT:   14 min Octance crosstrainer
Warmup:  2min Level (L) 5
12 intervals of 60 sec:
   High intensity (30 sec) L 11 to 20 in steps
   Reg intensity (30 sec) L 6 to 15 in steps
Cooldown:  2min L7 then L3
This was an awesome HIIT.  Was dripping sweat!  Very nice!     
 

Comments:  This was a pretty nice, short, workout.  Will be nice to bump weights up over the next 5 w/o's.  Today was a little easy on several of the exercises.

Tue 8/18/09

Yoga:  Said, "Hey Jill, take note of the majority!"  There were five guys and only four girls in the studio at the time!  Girls were ahead 8 to 5 after the stragglers showed up.  Very stretchy today!  Nice!

HIIT:  Swimming:  15 minutes.  2min warmup.  11 intervals 1/2 lap regular, 1/2 lap fast. 2min cooldown.  Very good workout!  The Speedo is harder to put on now due to my MONSTER QUADS, BABY!

Good job J!

Workin' hard man. :)

Red PittBull's Log.

what's the yoga for