Journal for Danmac75

RE: Journal for Danmac75 (danmac75)

Sun, 26 Aug 2007 11:50:34 GMT

I am about to post what I actually ended up lifting. Man, am I sore today. The total body workout sure is a workout! I also want to state my goals. Basically, without getting technical, the main goals I have are to attain a sleek muscular physique, and also achieve an elevated physical capability to be able to perform at my best in some of my favorite activities, to include basketball and general fitness as a competetive sport. In my career, we take an annual physical evaluation which judges us on running, push-ups, sit-ups, waist circumferance, and height vs. weight. Therefore, it's in my best interest to perform as well as I possibly can on the annual evalution. I also play guitar and am the lead singer/rhythm guitarist in a band. When we start performing, physical endurance will help me, especially having to sing. Performing takes a lot of energy, especially because of the elevated heart rate from the excitement you get out of it. I don't want to be running out of breath on stage, considering most people don't consider performing music a physical activity (except for drumming of course), but I assure you - it is.

On that note, here's what I actually lifted compared to what I wanted to lift.

Abdominals (Set 1): Crunches - 20 same
Abdominals (Set 2): Crunches - 18 " "
Abdominals (Set 3): Crunches - 15 " "

Arms (Biceps) (Set 1): Barbell Curl - 10 @ 55 lbs
Arms (Biceps) (Set 2): Barbell Curl - 8 @ 65 lbs _________7x55
Arms (Biceps) (Set 3): Barbell Curl - 6 @ 75 lbs ________5x55

Arms (Biceps) (Set 1): Chin-Up - 10 @ 75 lbs __________10x70 These refer to
Arms (Biceps) (Set 2): Chin-Up - 8 @ 65 lbs _____________7x70 the weights I used
Arms (Biceps) (Set 3): Chin-Up - 6 @ 55 lbs ____________6x80 on the gravity machine!

Chest (Set 1): Barbell Bench Press - 10 @ 95 lbs
Chest (Set 2): Barbell Bench Press - 8 @ 115 lbs
Chest (Set 3): Barbell Bench Press - 6 @ 135 lbs ________5x115

Chest (Set 1): Barbell Close Grip Bench Press - 10 @ 85 lbs ____10x65
Chest (Set 2): Barbell Close Grip Bench Press - 8 @ 95 lbs _____8x65
Chest (Set 3): Barbell Close Grip Bench Press - 6 @ 115 lbs ____6x70

Legs (Set 1): Standing Calf Raises - 20 @ 50 lbs __________20x50
Legs (Set 2): Standing Calf Raises - 15 @ 70 lbs ___________15x70
Legs (Set 3): Standing Calf Raises - 10 @ 90 lbs _____________10x90

Legs (Set 1): Stiff Legged Barbell Deadlift - 10 @ 65 lbs _______10x65
Legs (Set 2): Stiff Legged Barbell Deadlift - 10 @ 75 lbs ________10x75
Legs (Set 3): Stiff Legged Barbell Deadlift - 8 @ 85 lbs _________8x85
Legs (Set 4): Stiff Legged Barbell Deadlift - 6 @ 95 lbs _________Skipped, was taking too long

Legs (Set 1): Barbell Box Squat - 10 @ 85 lbs _______________10x85
Legs (Set 2): Barbell Box Squat - 10 @ 95 lbs _______________10x95
Legs (Set 3): Barbell Box Squat - 8 @ 105 lbs _______________8x105
Legs (Set 4): Barbell Box Squat - 6 @ 115 lbs _________Skipped, too sore!

Shoulders (Set 1): Seated Dumbbell Press - 10 @ 15 lbs same
Shoulders (Set 2): Seated Dumbbell Press - 8 @ 20 lbs ____8x15
Shoulders (Set 3): Seated Dumbbell Press - 6 @ 25 lbs _____6x15

I was just DONE at this point - so tired.

I did these in the following order (for some reason www.bodybuildingjournal.com asked for what order I'd do them in but it didn't show the routine in that order. Waste of time.) Squats, Deads, Standing Calf Raises, Pull Ups (What the hell's a wide grip chin up? It felt wierd so I did pull ups instead, wanted to hit the back anyways)., Bench, Barbell Curl, Close Bench, Seated Dumbell Presses, Crunches.

RE: Journal for Danmac75 (danmac75)

Sat, 25 Aug 2007 13:09:52 GMT

Just got back from the gym. This was so freaking tiring. I'll post actual results in a minute. Didn't lift as much as I projected. Cut out some sets, lifted lighter weights. It was just an energy issue!

Journal for Danmac75 (danmac75)

Sat, 25 Aug 2007 09:00:16 GMT

Hey everyone, great to be back. Just want to take this opportunity on my first journal entry here to give a little background about myself and sort of re-introduce myself, if you will.

I've been a member of this site for a long time, and can credit many amazing people who are active in this site with providing me with 90% of what I know on fitness and health. Over the winter, I tried to live a healthy and active lifestyle, but did not apply what I had learned.

I lifted weights in way-too-long 2 hour sessions 3 days a week, all the while eating way-too-few calories. I ended up getting weaker and weaker each week, to the point where I ended up getting a slight hernia. I ended up stopping working out for fear of injury and became quite depressed.

Lifting was such an amazing release at the end of almost each day that once it was out of my life, I had all this pent up frustration with nowhere to put it. At the time, my job required a lot of travelling and intensive teamwork, so clashes and stress were part of the norm. I ended up ballooning up to 210lbs. at 5'10".

I've recently got my act together and mustered up the energy to lose 35lbs. Although I did not do it the right way, and lost weight rather fast (over about 2 1/2 Months), I did end up losing a good decent amount of body fat in the process.

Now that I'm down to 177lbs. as of yesterday, I can justify telling myself and others that I'm starting a clean bulk. Using meal plans and workouts found at www.bodybuildingrevealed.com (check out MD's video review!), I plan to gain about 1-1.5lbs. weekly.

I'm starting with a "True Beginners" workout, 3x weekly full body workout. Here it is! I would post my meals but it's too much work. I'm a very busy man who just happens to care about fitness. I'm not obsessed though! If I have time and if I run into any issues with weight control, I'll certainly post my diet. For now, here's the physical part.

Abdominals (Set 1): Crunches - 20
Abdominals (Set 2): Crunches - 18
Abdominals (Set 3): Crunches - 15

Arms (Biceps) (Set 1): Barbell Curl - 10 @ 55 lbs
Arms (Biceps) (Set 2): Barbell Curl - 8 @ 65 lbs
Arms (Biceps) (Set 3): Barbell Curl - 6 @ 75 lbs

Arms (Biceps) (Set 1): Chin-Up - 10 @ 75 lbs
Arms (Biceps) (Set 2): Chin-Up - 8 @ 65 lbs
Arms (Biceps) (Set 3): Chin-Up - 6 @ 55 lbs

Chest (Set 1): Barbell Bench Press - 10 @ 95 lbs
Chest (Set 2): Barbell Bench Press - 8 @ 115 lbs
Chest (Set 3): Barbell Bench Press - 6 @ 135 lbs

Chest (Set 1): Barbell Close Grip Bench Press - 10 @ 85 lbs
Chest (Set 2): Barbell Close Grip Bench Press - 8 @ 95 lbs
Chest (Set 3): Barbell Close Grip Bench Press - 6 @ 115 lbs

Legs (Set 1): Standing Calf Raises - 20 @ 50 lbs
Legs (Set 2): Standing Calf Raises - 15 @ 70 lbs
Legs (Set 3): Standing Calf Raises - 10 @ 90 lbs

Legs (Set 1): Stiff Legged Barbell Deadlift - 10 @ 65 lbs
Legs (Set 2): Stiff Legged Barbell Deadlift - 10 @ 75 lbs
Legs (Set 3): Stiff Legged Barbell Deadlift - 8 @ 85 lbs
Legs (Set 4): Stiff Legged Barbell Deadlift - 6 @ 95 lbs

Legs (Set 1): Barbell Box Squat - 10 @ 85 lbs
Legs (Set 2): Barbell Box Squat - 10 @ 95 lbs
Legs (Set 3): Barbell Box Squat - 8 @ 105 lbs
Legs (Set 4): Barbell Box Squat - 6 @ 115 lbs

Shoulders (Set 1): Seated Dumbbell Press - 10 @ 15 lbs
Shoulders (Set 2): Seated Dumbbell Press - 8 @ 20 lbs
Shoulders (Set 3): Seated Dumbbell Press - 6 @ 25 lbs

I used www.bodybuildingjournal.com to track this. Now, I'd like to tweak this, so far as how much weight I put up. I want to increase muscle size, so a Hypertrophy Specific Workout is what I'm shooting for.

This would require me to figure out my maxes, though. Can anyone give me advice on how to do that? Should I try and max out one one exercise each day I go to the gym, until I've figured out the maxes for each one?

My basic understanding of hypertrophy training is that the change in the weight is just as important as the actual amount of weight. In other words, increasing your weight in each workout and hitting your max weight on the last workout of a 3 week cycle would be better than just working til muscle failure each time (www.hypertrophy-specific.com). Am I misunderstanding this?

Look forward to some valuable insight from you all. Bye for now!