# AlexB18 the mission to become lean(ish)



## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

Right thought i would make a journal on here to track my progress and also so other people if they wish can follow it with me give me tips where they feel i need them etc etc.

*About Me*

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*Played rugby pretty much for as long as i can remember all the way up to University so ive always been a "big lad" when i was in my early teens my weight normally fluctuated between 15-16st never really went above that, i got diagnosed with epilepsy when i was 17 and one of the side effects of my meds was a bit of weight gain, though at the time i refused to blame anything other than the meds for becoming a fat cnut. So fast forward to 2012 dropped out of uni unemployed, lazy, went out drinking ate nothing but **** all the time stepped on the scales and to my disgust i was 25st, so finally decided its time to pull my thumb out my ****, joined my local gym started training with SL5x5 at the time.

Couple of years go by and i lose plenty of weight but i get into the bad habit of changing things that aint broken so i constantly fall on and off the wagon and probably take a few steps backwards rather than forwards. Ive tried every type of diet ive come across from standard carbs, fat and protein diets all the way to IF and keto, none of them felt like they were really working so i switched over to timed carbs and have since never looked back.

*Training*

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*Used to follow SL5x5 and then switched onto ICF, got bored of that and now ive left the world of full bodys and gone to a simple 3 day P/P/L split which i must be honest has reignited my love of training again, i even enjoy leg day beleive it or not. This is the training im currently following...

*Pull*

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*Deadlift - 5x5

Barbell Rows - 5x5

Wide Grip Pull Up's - 3xf

EZ Barbell Curls - 3x15

Rear Delt Raises - 3x10

*Push*

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*Bench Press - 5x5

Seated Barbell Shoulder Press - 5x5

Dips - 3xf

Skulls - 3x15

Side Lateral Raises - 3x10

*Legs*

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*Squats - 5x5

Luinges - 3x10(each leg)

SLDL - 3x10

Leg Extensions - 3x10

Calf Raises - 3x15

*Diet*

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*As i mentioned briefly before i tried a few diets in the past but all of them i found really tricky to stick with, IF for example i would go out of my mind thinking about food during my fasting window, Keto i would do nothing but think about carbs and standard carbs diet i was always more prone to cheating when i shouldnt ive no idea why. But with timed carbs ive found this so easy to stick to, so currently my diet looks like this and with my training and this ive been losing a steady 2.5-3lbs a week...

*Training*

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*Pre Workout: Strong Black Coffee

Intra Workout: 20g BCAA

Post Workout: Handful of fruit pastilles & 2 scoops of whey protein

Post Post Workout: 100g Oats & 30g Flaxseed

Dinner: 250g Chicken Breast, 400g Sprouts & 50g Mayonnaise

Afternoon Snack: 50g Walnuts 1 scoop of whey protein

Tea: 250g Chicken Breast, 50g Crunchy Peanut Butter, 200g Sprouts

Supper: 4 Large Whole Eggs & 50g Crunchy Peanut Butter

Rest days is exactly the same except for breakfast i have 5 whole eggs scrambled and remove any carbs.

*Refeeds*

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*Breakfast/Supper: 100g Oats & 500ml Chocolate Fudge Flavoured Milk

Meals 1,2 & 3: 250g Chicken Breast, 150g Long Grain Rice

*Goals*

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*Ive found as ive gone on my goals have changed somewhat, at first all i wanted to do was slim down a bit but now that ive shed off 7st over the last 2 and a bit years i keep wanting to push myself further so my current goal is to reach that 10% bf margin and be able to see my abs for the first time ever, from there on my long term ambition is to lean out pack on some quality muscle mass and hopefully one day compete in a few shows but thats a long way out for not so 10% is the goal at the moment. I put up a picture of me a few week ago asking for peoples opinion on my bodyfat % and i was given between 30-35% so ive a long way to go yet.

Thats it really il be updating this regulary most likely at the end of every week so i can post how i think ive got on and how much ive lost etc, il put some before (2012) and after (present) pics for people to see if they wish, Thanks to anyone who reads and gives any words of encouragement and/or advice and apologies if ive bored anyone by waffling on :lol:


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

Update from last week

Training went really well I left the end of each session feeling like I couldn't have given anything more legs particularly nearly killed me on Friday felt like every flight of stairs was everest I was climbing. Stepped on the scales yesterday morning and I Weighed in at 253.4lbs meaning I only lost a pound from the previous week, which il be honest I was a little disappointed with so I'm gonna lower the calories slightly for this next week see how I get on only by taking 10g from the mayonnaise I have with my chicken I take to work if that doesn't work il take another 10g off week after etc etc until my weight loss is stable again. Still trying to get the before and after pictures put on here but it's not letting me for some reason il keep at it though.


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## bartonz20let (Aug 13, 2010)

Easy mate, big up for starting a journal, just done the same myself 

You using myfitnesspal? Totally recommend it for tracking diet if your not


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

Nah mate don't use it anymore I used to when I first started training but I just track it all myself now on a spreadsheet instead find it much easier plus with my duet being same day in day our I'd just be putting the same stuff in every day haha


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

W/C 23rd June

Training wise I feel like I've had a really good week again, legs as per nearly killed me, forgot to mention last week though on leg day I've dropped the weight on my Squats down to 100kg to concentrate and im going ATG on Squats too, decided to make that change because I felt like I was losing touch with the mind to muscle connection side of things so I wanted to drop it to concentrate on form rather than just moving the weight.

Only thing training wise that's worrying me slightly is that whilst my Deadlift and Squats are gradually creeping up on the weight side of things my Bench and Barbell Rows are feeling like they are getting weaker, the rows I can understand because I do them straight after Deadlift so I'm not too concerned about them but my Bench has dropped 5kg in 2 weeks to 70kg it's probably not a problem but it's knowing I could lift more that's doing my nut in a bit.

Now diet wise as I mentioned last week I dropped the mayonnaise slightly down to 25g instead of 50g because I was disappointed with my weight loss the week before I've lost more but not much I lost 1.6lbs this week dropping me down to 151.8lbs so I think I'm going to remove the mayonnaise completely now instead. Il also tinker my diet on days I train I reckon I'm going to half the amount of oats I have PPWO to 50g instead of 100 I don't want the carbs getting too close to my fat levels on training days.

Anyway that's it really il make the changes I've mentioned and il see how I get on in the next week.


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

W/C 30th June

Feel like I absolutely smashed training last week after mentioning that I felt my Bench and Rows were getting weaker I actually felt stronger on them this week so the weight on both is going to take a little increase this coming week.

Stepped on the scales yesterday morning to see that 2lbs have dropped off bringing my current weight down to 249.8lbs however I'm still making a few changes all these changes are that I'm lowering my protein intake on re feeds but keeping carbs the sane which with the way I've worked it out will mean I'm eating roughly at maintenance on a Saturday and Sunday so this should hopefully help my fat loss even further.

Felt really good about the past weeks training so thus weekend I've had a bit of a break from the diet had a curry with the Mrs last night and went for a carvery this lunchtime I still ate 6 out of my 10 meals I'm supposed to if dieting so it wasn't a complete binge which I'm happy about but overall really looking forward to the next week and I'm getting more and more motivated by the day I think so onwards and upwards and bring on training


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## andyhuggins (Nov 21, 2008)

why are you re-feeding on timed carbs?


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

@andyhuggins Because that's how @Pscarbs said to do it in the guide he posted and to be honest it's been working brilliantly so far


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

Right now the uploading issue is sorted out I can finally do this, first picture is me from 2 and a half years ago before I started training and second one was taken just this morning, looking back I know I could have done better in terms of progress but I've learnt a lot of lessons last 2 years so can't just dismiss what progress I have made completely plus it's stood me in good stead for the fantastic progress I'm making each week now


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

W/C 7th July 2014

Another week another 1.6lbs off, but tbh i was expecting not a big loss this week, i did over indulge quite a bit the weekend before but really really happy with my progress in the gym, trying to get out of the habit of using my lifting straps on deadlifts by not using them in my warm up sets so hopefully i can work up to not using them at all during my work sets but we shall see how that goes over the coming weeks. Im not upping my squats anytime soon because doing 5 sets of ATG damn near killed me last friday haha, also whilst on the topic of legs ive taken the decision to drop the weight on the standing calf raises as i dont think im concentrating enough on the actual contracting of the muscle looking back so im probably going to drop it to say 50/60kg concentrating on the squeeze at the top of the movement so il see how i get on. Anyway a little update with how my lifts are so far...

*Deadlift* - 135kg - as ive said before i would like to start doing my working sets RAW with no straps so im going to try build up to that, not going to be increasing my weight anytime soon as i dont think i could keep to form if i did.

*Bench Press* - 72.5kg - as i said in my previous entry felt like i was a little stronger than normal last time i tried this so decided to up the weight just a little, managed to get to the 4th rep on the 5th set before failing but im going to stick with this weight see if i can grind out the full 5 sets if i cant by next weeks session il probably bump this back down to 70kg.

*Squats* - 102.5kg - As ive said im not going to be upping the weight on these anytime soon as this weight doing ATG is killing me at the moment but that being said im very happy with the progress i am making as i can really feel it all the way through my legs keeping it like this.

*Seated Smith Press* - 55kg - Originally i was doing this standing with a free weight barbell but i decided to change it to trying it on a smith machine, ive no idea why i just fancied a change i guess and if im honest i really enjoy doing this on a smith, i feel like i can really concentrate on the target muscles more so than if i do it when standing.

Diet wise as ive said i had a bit of a relax from the diet last weekend so wasnt expecting a massive loss in weight but considering how much i did indulge 1.6lbs im quite pleased with actually. Though im not expecting a massive loss this week either because some personal bits came up over the weekend so diet kinda went out the window but im back on the horse today and cracking on with it so onwards and upwards.

Thats all for my update for last week there is a progress photo above as this was taken friday i think and looking back to how i looked 2 and a half years ago i begin to realise just how far ive come, yeah i could have done better in the time but ive learnt a lot of lessons from it which are helping me with the progress im getting now.


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## xjx (Jul 11, 2014)

Great job good sir! Also do remember that going by the scale is not always the best idea. It's possible that at times you recomp, or could have lost fat but gained a bit of muscle. I find it a little better to go by mostly looks in the mirror.


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

xjx said:


> Great job good sir! Also do remember that going by the scale is not always the best idea. It's possible that at times you recomp, or could have lost fat but gained a bit of muscle. I find it a little better to go by mostly looks in the mirror.


Cheers mate much appreciated, yeah i do go by the mirror as well as i take regular progress pics as well, i dont go entirely by the scales but i find weighing myself every week helps me know if im on the right track as i find it harder to judge by the mirror week on week if that makes sense, i know im making great progress just by the way my clothes feel on me now, having to go out and buy a whole new wardrobe of work stuff next month because my current ones are like wearing bed sheets :lol:


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## xjx (Jul 11, 2014)

AlexB18 said:


> Cheers mate much appreciated, yeah i do go by the mirror as well as i take regular progress pics as well, i dont go entirely by the scales but i find weighing myself every week helps me know if im on the right track as i find it harder to judge by the mirror week on week if that makes sense, i know im making great progress just by the way my clothes feel on me now, having to go out and buy a whole new wardrobe of work stuff next month because my current ones are like wearing bed sheets :lol:


Yeah I know exactly how you feel. I also had to change my entire wardrobe. I went from 266lbs to 205lbs now. Don't give up, and keep your protein high is probably the only advice I can add, as it seems you're doing great so far.


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

W/C 14th July 2014

Weighed myself this morning to see 2.2lbs has dropped off since previous week, which i must say im shocked at if im honest, Friday and Saturday last week i did nothing but binge on **** so i wasn't expecting much of a loss but im pleasantly surprised if im honest, definitely starting to see the difference when i look in the mirror and even feeling the difference more than i was before, i now need a new collection of t shirts and jeans as my current collection are baggy as hell, the jeans especially look like ive **** myself they are that baggy round my **** now :lol:

Training this week im not gonna lie i feel like ive absolutely smashed it this week legs this morning had me nearly crawling out the gym but still loved it haha, just a few tinkers im going to make next week im decreasing the load on bench down to 65kg and im going to try build it back up again i failed on the 4th rep of the 4th set this time and only just ground out 4 reps on the 5th by which time i felt my form was going. Im also considering deloading on Deadlifts as well as im wanting to try and see how much i can lift raw but this is only a consideration at present im not sure if im actually going to go through with it but il see how i get on.

Only a few tinkers with regards to my diet coming up im dropping the protein just a little bit more on refeed days and upping the carbs slightly as i felt a bit drained mid way through the week so i was worried it might be burnout so increasing the carbs should help me push through the week. this will take my refeed macros to as follows...

P: 189

F: 36

C: 619

Calories wise this makes up 3551, i was considering keeping the protein how it was but im worried if i go too far over maintenance it will be detrimental rather than beneficial but again im gonna try it out and see how i get on.


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*Update W/C 21/07/2014*

Quick update in regards to training this morning, i lowered the weight on my deadlift to 120kg and tried it raw and im pleasantly surprised my grip is stronger than i thought it was, managed the 3 working sets at 120 with no problem, however my forearms are aching like **** afterwards :lol: so going forwards i definately will not be using straps anymore if needs be il get myself some chalk instead because i love the pump your forarms get lifting raw


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*W/C 21/07/2014*

So another week gone and another week of progress, this week has been a strange one if im honest I haven't lost anything this week ive actually gained as I stepped on the scales this morning to see my weight currently at 247.2lbs so an increase of 1.2lbs from last week, which if im honest I was expecting because last weekend diet just went out the window well and truly. However having not lost any weight I actually still feel like I have lost fat so motivation hasn't dropped, I know ive burned something off this week cos my favorite pair of jeans don't fit anymore and they did last week haha.

So yeah anyway diet wise with last sat and sun being the exceptions Ive stuck to my diet 100% this week so just got to try follow that through to this weekend, weekends I always find are hardest to stick to with regards to diet simply because...

1) its the weekend.

2) I have a tendancy to crave junk food more when I eat carbs.

So refeeds are definitely full of mental barriers which I need to overcome, it doesn't help that when shopping in aldi on a Saturday all their bags of haribo are like 65p :lol:

Now onto training, as I mentioned in my update this Monday ive ditched the lifting straps and decided to start lifting raw on everything, I was quite surprised how good my grip is actually as I managed to Deadlift 120kg with my grip giving even slightly which I was very pleased about, I dropped the weight on my bench this week to 65kg and I think I benefited more from dropping the weight to that than I have done over the past few weeks trying to increase it, I felt like I could concentrate a lot more on the mind to muscle connection with the drop in weight too. Everything else training wise is pretty much as you were really, I decided to not lock out completely when doing SLDL's this morning to make sure tension stayed on the hams throughout the whole set. Tbh not much else to update on really other than these bits so just got to look forward to another week.


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*W/C 28th July 2014 - Update*

Just a quick update really, not expecting to lose anything this week if im honest and il be surprised if i see any sort of a difference in the mirror, my diet friday night and the whole of saturday just went out the window completely as with it being pay weekend i just indulged in ****, so with that in mind ive made a promise to myself and set a little bit of a short term goal, on saturday 9th August me and the family go away for a week to Filey for the kids first birthday so ive made a goal of not cheating at all not even nibbling on the odd bit of chocolate or owt like that until we go away that day because that week im having a full week break from everything.

However the cheat weekend did seem to serve a purpose as my energy levels this morning were through the roof which was unusual for a monday :lol: but i feel guilty as fuark for cheating so hence why ive made the little short term goal i have so we shall see how mentally tough i really am in the coming weeks.


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*W/C 28th July 2014*

Motivation is through the roof this week, I can really start to see the difference in the mirror now and the scales this morning have reflected that as this morning I weighed in at 245.8lbs which is a loss of 1.4lbs (though I feel like ive lost more than that if that makes sense) im especially surprised given that last weekend I seemed to do nothing but indulge in ****. Anyway what im doing at the moment is definitely working diet wise so no need to change a thing at the moment. As well everyone else seems to be noticing the difference as well as people are constantly complimenting me on how much ive lost, I can even start to see some vascularity in my biceps which for me is a big thing as ive never ever been able to see that before so notiving all these changes is helping me keep on the right tracks 

Training wise again I feel like ive smashed everything this week and I don't feel like I could have physically given more than what I have done which just shows how hard ive worked, as with diet really training wont be changing anytime soon as what im doing seems to be working for now, only thing next week will be a few of my lifts will be getting cranked up, Deadlifts, Bench, Leg extensions to name but a few.

So plan for this weekend stick to my diet religiously and do not cheat, I will resist those bags of haribo near the checkouts at aldi :lol:Im especially looking forward to my reefeed this weekend as after training this week I feel like my refeeds will make this aching muscles feel so much better.

Anyway that me for this week thanks again to anyone who takes the time to read and is following my journey.


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*W/C 4th August 2014*

Well this is a strange feeling, gone from motivation being through the roof last week to struggling to get any this week, last night and the whole of yesterday all I could think about doing was just indulging in some **** food, no idea why nothing bad has happened or anything to derail me just had a bit of an off night last night, I did give in and indulged in a packet of fruit pastilles and a bit of chocolate but it seems to have done the trick, I don't crave a damn thing today  with regards to my motivation its probably a blessing in disguise im having a week off next week going on holiday to filey for the twins first birthday so I think a week off diet and training will do me the world of good as I haven't had any proper time off other than the odd day since Christmas and to be fair I have been smashing it lately so not gonna cry too much about eating some chocolate and sweets because I was craving a bit haha. Il update tomorrow after leg day and weigh in, not expecting a loss this week tbh because I ate crap all weekend at my mum (dads sunday roast was too good to turn down) but we shall see ive lost when ive not expected to so we shall see how I get on


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*W/C 4th August 2014*

Right this will be my final log update before I take a week out to go on holiday tomorrow for the kids first birthdays, if im honest ive had a bit of a **** week diet wise (I think in my head im already in holiday mode) r lass got a takeaway yesterday and I just couldn't resist so I indulged in some pizza, felt guilty as **** about it straight away but oh well cant do nowt now, weighed myself this morning and ive gained 2lbs this week but tbh I have a feeling that will all be water weight from last nights junk food so im not too bothered about it if im honest.

Training wise however has been a different story I feel like ive absolutely smashed training this week, legs this morning especially was just brutal I upped the weight on everything still going ATG on squats which I could really feel afterwards, after doing SLDL's this morning jesus I felt like I was about to throw up then I had lunges afterwards which was just torture, love it though I love that feeling leaving the gym knowing for a fact you couldn't have given any more than wha you did so time for a week off now spend some quality time with the family and just have a break from everything, will be good to come back feeling all refreshed and re motivated ready to attack the final straight before Christmas as I have set a little goal for myself to see if I can lose enough to be able to see my abs come Christmas but we shall see how I get on, if I can achieve that then that will leave me in a good place in which to start my first ever bulk next year but im just taking it a week at a time at the moment and seeing how I get on, at the moment these are my lifts as follows...

Bench - 67.5kg - I dropped the weight a few weeks back on this to really concentrate on getting that mind to muscle connection as I felt I was just moving the weight and it seems to be working so far, at the moment as well it seems my strength is slowly creeping back up on me with this one too.

Deadlift - 125kg - Dropped the weight from 140kg to this a few weeks ago to see if I can do this lift raw which I can, if anything now that im not relying on straps anymore I can really feel it working everything so much more now.

Barbell Rows - 65kg - Had these kept at the same weight for a while now but im not complaining as I can always feel it working my back quite well so no need to adjust the weight just yet.

Smith Press - 55kg - The weight I have this at currently absolutely ruins my shoulders im not training to failure but those last few reps are a struggle to push out.

Squats - 105kg - As with bench I lowered the weight on this to concentrate on achieving that mind to muscle connection and I feel its been working a treat so far, been going ATG as well which is just effort like ive never known with this lift, its not just the pushing back up that's a challenge its bringing the weight down controlled to get to that point as well without just dropping it into my hips if that makes sense really loving it so far.

So yeah that's me for this week wont be updating this until after my first full week back in training so very much looking forward to the jollies now


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*W/C 18th August 2014*

Right a bit of an update, my holiday last week went to pot we all came back 4 days early my little girl spent her first birthday in Scarborough hospital because she was ill so when r lass got back with her she literally said **** this lets just go home, however i do feel like ive benefited from having a week off and ive decided to take this week off too for 2 reasons...

1) Im not gonna lie i love training but im enjoying having a break spending time with the mrs and the kids without worrying about getting meals down my neck etc.

2) Im off to london on friday afternoon for the weekend to go to wembley to watch the rugby so if everything is just going to go to **** from friday onwards anyway i figured i may as well just give myself another week off.

Even though im having time off im not eating junk all the time ive without trealising it actually been eating quite well all things considered. Also ive had a bit of a restructure of my diet (mainly to try and bring down costs) so the way ive restructured it im going to be binning off the timed carbs approach for the time being mainly for money reasons with christmas etc coming up but also i was getting a bit bored of eating the same meals day in day out so as of next monday this is how my diet will look...

*Meal 1*

60g Oats

30g Impact Whey Protein

*Meal 2*

285g Frozen Chicken Breast

150g Long Grain Rice (125g when training)

200g Mixed Frozen Veg

*Meal 3*

60g Oats

30g Impact Whey Protein

*Meal 4*

100g Lean Diced Beef

150g Long Grain Rice

200g Mixed Frozen Veg

*Meal 5*

3 Large Eggs (Whole)

50g Crunchy Peanut Butter

Only differences will be that on training days il be lowering my overall carb intake during the rest of the day to make way for some fast acting carbs (25g Maltodextrin) after training same as i would have done on my timed carbs diet.

Gonna follow this for a few months and see how i get on, when i first started training i lost quite nicely with this sort of diet so i see no reason why i cant do the same now but i will keep this updated if anything changes etc.


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## xjx (Jul 11, 2014)

I don't know how badly you're trying to get results, but if you're anything like me, (and it sounds like you are) you can probably eat a lot of food in one sitting. The problem with "indulging" every now and then is the fact that it can actually set you back a lot. Maybe you should incorporate a proper re-feed day and not a cheat meal/cheat day.

Now if you indulge but in small amounts, then the damage won't be as I thought. I used to have those days too, where I would say "screw it, a little cheat day won't hurt". My problem was the amount of food I could eat. I easily put away 10,000+ plus calories a day if I let myself.


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

xjx said:


> I don't know how badly you're trying to get results, but if you're anything like me, (and it sounds like you are) you can probably eat a lot of food in one sitting. The problem with "indulging" every now and then is the fact that it can actually set you back a lot. Maybe you should incorporate a proper re-feed day and not a cheat meal/cheat day.
> 
> Now if you indulge but in small amounts, then the damage won't be as I thought. I used to have those days too, where I would say "screw it, a little cheat day won't hurt". My problem was the amount of food I could eat. I easily put away 10,000+ plus calories a day if I let myself.


Sorry for the late reply mate I didn't even realize someone had posted on my log apologies for that.

Well when I said cheat day I didn't actually mean cheat day I probably should have worded it a bit better if im honest, what I meant was il be following my diet if there is no offer on the table of anything else but if say for example r lass suggests cooking a meal for us both then il do that and meal after just stick to my diet (unless ive indulged a bit say for example a takeaway) in which case id just drop the diet for the rest of the day and leave it at that, so il be doing it sensibly mate  my main weakness is when my dad does a roast dinner, good god im pretty sure I can clear 5,000 cals just on my plate with how much I can pile on there, for me its all about being sensible with the portions you are right I can eat and eat and eat til the cows come home if I want but im a lot better at controlling that now because I don't miss the junk food as much as I thought I would.


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## xjx (Jul 11, 2014)

AlexB18 said:


> Sorry for the late reply mate I didn't even realize someone had posted on my log apologies for that.
> 
> Well when I said cheat day I didn't actually mean cheat day I probably should have worded it a bit better if im honest, what I meant was il be following my diet if there is no offer on the table of anything else but if say for example r lass suggests cooking a meal for us both then il do that and meal after just stick to my diet (unless ive indulged a bit say for example a takeaway) in which case id just drop the diet for the rest of the day and leave it at that, so il be doing it sensibly mate  my main weakness is when my dad does a roast dinner, good god im pretty sure I can clear 5,000 cals just on my plate with how much I can pile on there, for me its all about being sensible with the portions you are right I can eat and eat and eat til the cows come home if I want but im a lot better at controlling that now because I don't miss the junk food as much as I thought I would.


Ah gotcha! I had tought you were binging everynow and then, but being moderate with your portions isn't to bad at all. It sounds like you know what you're doing! Just keep up the good work mate!


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*W/C 25th August 2014*

Right this morning was my first day back training, after promising myself all weekend i would take it easy and be gentle on myself that went out the window as i upped the weight on my Deadlifts to 130kg so that went to pot haha, anyway had a brilliant session this morning so looking forward to smashing the rest of the week, because monday was a bank holiday which are normally saved for family time i decided to train today and im also training tomorrow and then as usual training legs on friday, motivation was a little hard to come by first thing this morning but now ive got the first training session out the way and im back on with the diet motivation has shot up and im buzzing now  only downside i can tell ive put on quite a bit in my two weeks off (though i literally have been eating whatever the hell i want when i want so its to be expected) but hopefully that will all come off as quickly as i put it on.

One last thing ive decided to change my outlook on things slightly and only weigh myself once a month on the last friday of every month starting this friday, reason being i feel ive become to obsessive with my weight rather than going by the mirror so im hoping making this change will allow me to become more reliant on progress via my appearance rather than my weight, im still going to weigh myself once a month though just to get a rough guideline at the end of the month as to how ive done.


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*W/C 1st September 2014*

Feels like its been ages since I updated this I have no idea why.

Anyway been hitting training hard this week and very happy with how ive done, diet is another story however ive had a few moments of weakness in which ive indulged in a few treats I shouldn't have but none the less im seeing improvements in the mirror so it doesn't appear as though this has held me back too much.

In regards to my diet ive switched back to timed carbs as I found the other approach harder to stick to ive no idea why but with the exception of Wednesday evening ive stuck to it nicely.

Today was legs day and I must say im funking ruined because of it my quads are twitching like mad and my hamstrings jesus don't get me started. Feeling good about the coming week and motivation seems to be back to 100% as I felt a bit off the burn yesterday but feeling ready to attack the weekend and training next week 

As I said in my previous update Im not weighing myself every Friday like I used to im going to just stick to weighing myself every last Friday, anyway il pop up a progress picture which was taken last Saturday evening and il be putting one of them up every month along with weigh in day as well to make sure im making the right sort of progress. Anyway that's me for this week enjoy your weekend anyone who takes the time out to read this.


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

This is me last Saturday evening put some fat back on round my hips after my two weeks off but hoping this is mostly water and will disappear nice and quickly


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*W/C 8th September 2014*

Yet another setback this week, just seems like one after the other at the moment  had a car crash on Saturday evening, thankfully thanks to r lass's quick reactions serious injury was avoided however she has quite a few bumps and bruises as a result. In light of this I have taken the week off to help her cope with the kids whilst she is recovering meaning the gym is taking a back seat for now, im hoping I can get back into it on Monday but im not holding out hope.


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## Goodfella (Jul 11, 2012)

Quick one, why no protein source in your post post workout meal?

I know flax has some but think you'd be better served with a solid meal of say potatoes and mince?


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

Goodfella said:


> Quick one, why no protein source in your post post workout meal?
> 
> I know flax has some but think you'd be better served with a solid meal of say potatoes and mince?


Ive always just stuck with a protein shake PWO mate tbh then just have the meal with medium carbs about an hour afterwards. Only reason ive done it like this is because I assumed the protein PWO would see me nicely up until lunchtime when I eat a load of chicken. Would I be better changing this you reckon?


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## Goodfella (Jul 11, 2012)

AlexB18 said:


> Ive always just stuck with a protein shake PWO mate tbh then just have the meal with medium carbs about an hour afterwards. Only reason ive done it like this is because I assumed the protein PWO would see me nicely up until lunchtime when I eat a load of chicken. Would I be better changing this you reckon?


Well I personally like to have a complete protein source with each meal, some may argue its more 24 hour overall macro hitting that counts but if it were me I'd have my whey pwo then about a hour later a reasonably quick digesting carb like white rice/potato and some mince/chicken!


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

Goodfella said:


> Well I personally like to have a complete protein source with each meal, some may argue its more 24 hour overall macro hitting that counts but if it were me I'd have my whey pwo then about a hour later a reasonably quick digesting carb like white rice/potato and some mince/chicken!


Fair enough mate yeah ive always read that so long as 24 hour macro values are met then it doesn't matter so id probably fall under that category you mentioned haha, il look into it though mate thanks for that


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

Right after a recommendation that @Goodfella made ive decided to make a few tweaks to my diet, il update this on the front page as well as here so anyone reading for the first time doesn't get confused haha.

*Training / Rest Days*

Pre - Strong Black Coffee

Inter - 20g BCAA

Post - 30g Impact Whey Protein

Meal 1 (Training) - 133g Lean Diced Beef, 75g Long Grain White Rice

Meal 1 (Rest) - 5 Whole Eggs

Meal 2 - 250g Frozen Chicken Breast, 400g Green Beans, 50g Crunchy Peanut Butter

Meal 3 - 50g Almonds, 30g Impact Whey Protein

Meal 4 - 250g Frozen Chicken Breast, 200g Green Beans, 50g Hellmans Mayonnaise

Meal 5 - 4 Whole Large Eggs, 50g Crunchy Peanut Butter.

*Refeeds (Sat & Sun)*

Meal 1 - 50g Oats, 15g Highlights Fudge Flavored Hot Chocolate

Meal 2 - 250g Frozen Chicken Breast, 200g Long Grain White Rice

Meal 3 - Packet of Haribo, 50g Oats, 15g Highlights Fudge Flavored Hot Chocolate

Meal 4 - 50g Oats, 15g Highlights Fudge Flavoured Hot Chocolate

Meal 5 - 250g Frozen Chicken Breast, 200g Long Grain White Rice

Meal 6 - 50g Oats, 15g Highlights Fudge Flavoured Hot Chocolate

For those who may be wondering reason why I stick to the same foods is for simplicity and it also cuts my prep time right down, having a young family I don't want to spend all of my evenings preparing food so I find eating the same things all the time helps with this quite a bit, and strangely enough I don't get bored of eating the same food day in day out lol.


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## Goodfella (Jul 11, 2012)

AlexB18 said:


> Right after a recommendation that @Goodfella made ive decided to make a few tweaks to my diet, il update this on the front page as well as here so anyone reading for the first time doesn't get confused haha.
> 
> *Training / Rest Days*
> 
> ...


Looks good buddy 

Only thing I'd look to change is add some carbs with your PWO shake like cream of rice or maltodextrin.

Also look to cut down slightly in your fat intake meals 2 through to 5. E.g instead of 50g of fat source 30g. Saying that if your losing using the above then wait until you plateau to drop them down!

Stick to this and weight will definitely shift!!

Would also make sure your getting some protein in all your meals on your refeed days!!

Fats are next to nothing on these days so dont worry about calories from the protein!


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

Goodfella said:


> Looks good buddy
> 
> Only thing I'd look to change is add some carbs with your PWO shake like cream of rice or maltodextrin.
> 
> ...


See the carbs PWO bit ive seen argument after argument that this doesn't matter half as much as its made out to be hence why I dropped it, haven't noticed any difference since I dropped it though if im honest. Ive tried with and tried without the PWO carbs and ive still been losing and lifts still been progressing so make of that what you will lol, being completely honest my heads blagged from reading all the for and against PWO arguments :lol:

Why the suggestion to drop the fat intake a bit just out of interest? only reason I ask is because I follow the timed carbs approach so hence the high fat intake, I have been losing nicely week on week with the following set up just interested why you suggested lowering the fat intake mate?


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## Goodfella (Jul 11, 2012)

AlexB18 said:


> See the carbs PWO bit ive seen argument after argument that this doesn't matter half as much as its made out to be hence why I dropped it, haven't noticed any difference since I dropped it though if im honest. Ive tried with and tried without the PWO carbs and ive still been losing and lifts still been progressing so make of that what you will lol, being completely honest my heads blagged from reading all the for and against PWO arguments :lol:
> 
> Why the suggestion to drop the fat intake a bit just out of interest? only reason I ask is because I follow the timed carbs approach so hence the high fat intake, I have been losing nicely week on week with the following set up just interested why you suggested lowering the fat intake mate?


Just seemed very high fat but I tend to do better on lower fat! but like I said if its working mate, keep at it!

That way you've got more to play with when you plateau


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

Goodfella said:


> Just seemed very high fat but I tend to do better on lower fat! but like I said if its working mate, keep at it!
> 
> That way you've got more to play with when you plateau


Yeah im the opposite I don't work well with carbs I get ridiculously tired on carbs, on reefed days I crave everything under the sun hence why ive squeezed a packet of haribo in there to help with the cravings, plus it helps me meet the carb requirements for the day so its a win win in my book


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## Goodfella (Jul 11, 2012)

AlexB18 said:


> Yeah im the opposite I don't work well with carbs I get ridiculously tired on carbs, on reefed days I crave everything under the sun hence why ive squeezed a packet of haribo in there to help with the cravings, plus it helps me meet the carb requirements for the day so its a win win in my book


It is indeed just monitor and adjust accordingly mate


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

Was back at the gym training this morning after the eventful week we all had last week, was a Pull session today so training looked like this...

*Deadlift* - 5x5 @ 130kg

*Barbell Rows* - 5x5 @ 65kg

*Close Grip Pulldowns* - 3x10 @55kg

*Rear Delt Raises (Smith Machine)* - 3x10 @ 45kg

*Barbell Curls* 3x15 @10kg

Went really well this morning left the gym feeling like i couldnt have given anything more than i did, deadlifts especially left my back killing (not in a bad way) the pump i got in my forearms doing them this morning too was just ridiculous they are still twitching now :lol: everything else as it were i feel i could go heavier on a couple of bits but im enjoying concentrating on the slow and steady reps rather than just 'moving the weight' all in all really good session this morning just not looking forward to the inevitable doms tomorrow haha.


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

Training again this morning today was Push day so training went well and my lifts were as follows...

*Flat Bench* - 5x5 @70kg

*Seated Smith Press* - 5x5 @ 55kg

*Chest Dips* - 3xf

*Skullcrushers* - 3x15 @ 17.5kg

*Dumbbell Side Raises* - 3x8 @ 12kg

Training was really good this morning i can really feel it in my pecs and delts today, i follow a bodybuilder on facebook who put up some tips for benching which i followed, amazing what simple changes can do really i felt it so much more in my chest when benching than i ever have done, the only change i made was a slightly narrower grip and being careful not to let my elbows flare out and benching to lower chest, felt like id taken the majority of the lift off my delts if that makes sense same with chest dips got an awesome pump in my chest after doing just those two exercises.

Seated smith press was good this morning too my delts feel like they have taken a battering after it, skullcrushers was a funny one this morning too in the past i managed that weight quite reasonably but coming up to the last few reps of the last set this morning i really struggled and had to really grind them out today but i got through them none the less. Side raises i had to up the weight but lower the reps as i normally do 10kg for 3x10 but they were being used but i did well with them could feel the muscle really working overtime in the last few reps of each set though. So another good day today up next is my favorite (believe it or not) leg day roll on friday


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

Well its Friday which means today was leg day, my quads, hams and calves felt like they were about to burst come the end of this session...fookin loved it  anyway this is how it went...

*Squats* 5x5 @ 105kg

*SLDL* 3x10 @ 70kg

*Barbell Lunges* 3x10 @ 22.5kg

*Standing Calf Raises* 3x15 @ 70kg

*Leg Extensions* 3x10 @ 52.5kg

Absolutely loved training this morning and I felt like I absolutely smashed it, everything felt reasonably easy weight wise though I have a feeling I know why which il come onto in a bit. SLDL's jesus Christ my hamstrings felt like they were going to pop on the last few reps of the last set managed to grind them out though none the less but I felt like I was about to collapse after those and squats so lunges just made that worse afterwards haha.

Now last night I had a bit of a night off the diet and indulged in some carbs had a bit of bad news so had a couple of bowls of cereal with lots of sugar on and some yoghurts and chocolate hence why I think this session felt easier than normal because of the increase in energy I probably got from the carbs yesterday. With that in mind im not going to play with the weight on anything but the lunges next week as I don't want to increase anything as normally that leg session is quite brutal after having low carbs for 5 days so im going to see how I get on next week and take it all from there.

So despite the fact that I came off my diet for a few meals yesterday tomorrow Is still reefed day which this weekend im keeping clean as a whistle and ive no reason to turn any of it into a cheat meal of any kind. So with that in mind to to recover this weekend and feel the imminent pain from today and get ready to attack training next week, its weighing time and progress photo time next Friday so il be putting up a picture of me last month compared with this month to see just how much ive lost, im not expecting a massive loss tbh because its been a very hit and miss month with the car crash and all that **** so any loss will be a plus in my eyes.


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*W/C 22nd September*

I have been updating this afeter every training day as I would have liked simply because ive been rushed off my **** at work this week its been absolutely mental. But anyway had an on/off week tbh ive been full of man flu all week but ive been dragging my **** to the gym regardless so hopefully that will help get rid of it, but anyway training this week has gone really well I have smashed every session ive done this week so im absolutely paggered, not really stuck to my diet religiously this week tbh but ive still seen a difference in the mirror, those fat flaps at the bottom of my traps/top of my hips don't look as obvious :lol: weighed myself this morning and I was 260.8lbs so put on .8lbs in the past month which tbh im not reading too much into I know ive lost judging my how my clothes feel and the mirror so im not too worried.

Diet wise anyway well ive had a pretty **** month overall really with regards to diet multiple things coming up which have set me back haven't seemed to have had much luck tbh but not going to let it get me down im going to crack on for the next month and get my **** in order.

So summing up the month **** month diet wise but good month training wise so positives to take out of it even if it has been a **** month tbh. Il update this again on Monday after training and how ive got on.


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*29th September 2014*

So training this morning was pull day which consisted of the following...

*Deadlift* - 5x5 @ 135kg

*Barbell Row*- 5x5 @ 65kg

*Close Grip Pulls* - 3x10 @ 55kg

*Rear Delt Raises* - 3x10 @ 45kg

*Barbell Curls* - 3x15 @ 12.5kg

Really enjoyed training this morning the pump I got in my back this morning doing DL's was just ridiculous it was difficult bending over to do rows straight after but I managed to grind my way through em :lol: everything else tbh is as you were the weights were still a nice amount for me to find them challenging but not so challenging that my form drops off so weight wont be getting cranked up any time soon tbh.

Made a few tweaks to my diet over the weekend only minor ones mind ive swapped out the almonds on an afternoon for a tin of mackerel in tomato sauce (which is bloody lovely too) mainly because the almonds just weren't keeping me full up but I had the mackerel yesterday afternoon and I didn't start to feel hungry again until after the kids were In bed  will also help with it being a nice oily fish too obviously.

Ive realized past few days training that I actually really enjoy cardio too (no I don't know whats wrong with me either) I think having kids and a nagging missus its nice to just have half an hour going through the motions as it were listening to some tunes  anyway push day next up tomorrow so bring it on!


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*1st October 2014*

Its wednesday which means its training and its push day this is how it went...

*Bench Press* - 5x5 @ 70kg

*Seated Smith Press* - 5x5 @ 55kg

*Chest Dips* - 3xf

*CGBP* - 3x15 @ 20kg

*Lateral Raises* - 3x10 @10kg

Training went really well this morning i flew through it actually which i was surprised about so i decided to do a little bit of extra cardio today, i did 45 minutes instead of 30 and i managed it quite well actually  Everything else about training went well im quite worried about my bench though because it feels like its gradually getting harder and harder to do (this is the only lift where this is happening) and as you may notice ive swapped out skulls for CGBP for a bit as a bit of a change as i was getting a little bored of doing skulls all the time. My triceps are absolutely funked for it though they are still twitching at the moment, as are my delts actually gotta love it :lol:

On a bit of a side note im pretty proud of myself r lass ordered a pizza hut last night and i turned it down and said no, given last week i craved everything under the sun i was happy with myself for this actually 

So good day and very good week so far roll on friday and leg day!


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*2nd October 2014*

So today has been a write off already got some **** news this morning so feeling sorry for myself got a subway, just gonna chalk today off (believe me ive eaten too much to claw it back in any way) and crack on tomorrow, suppose I should look at the bright side, all these carbs will mean il have plenty of energy for leg day tomorrow I guess haha.


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*3rd October 2014*

Friday is leg day, I feel a broken man after this morning lol.

*Squats* - 5x5 @ 105kg

*SLDL* - 3x10 @ 70kg

*Barbell Lunges* - 3x10 @ 22.5kg

*Calf Raises* - 3x15 @ 70kg

*Leg Extensions* - 3x10 @ 55kg

So as I said I feel like a broken man this morning my quads are still twitching like fuark after and my calves still feel like they are burning...oh well lol, anyway was a really good session this morning really felt like I was working the muscles to the max, squats I think im going to up them next time as the weight im currently at was quite comfortable this morning, and tbh it was same with SLDL too, I have been trying to keep my grip double overhand on these the past few weeks but last week I felt my grip failing last 5 reps of the last set so I completely lost my form so sticking with mixed grip allowed me to concentrate solely on hitting the target muscles which as with squats was quite comfortable so this will be going up next week, everything else I made sure I was getting that squeeze right at the top of the contraction especially with calf raises and leg extensions.

Weights this morning was followed up by 45 minutes of cardio which im completing with surprising ease lately and im actually enjoying cardio at the moment, like ive said its nice to just go through the motions and listen to some tunes which is something I very rarely get to do these days.

Anyway despite me falling off track with diet yesterday im going to refeed as I normally do this weekend, not going to try and pull it back or anything as its been done already so il just get back into the routine and get cracking next week. Speaking of diet made a few tweaks to it which will come into effect from tomorrow, this was mainly to do with cost but its also because I was getting a bit bored of eating chicken all the time so the changes ive made are just to have some minced beef for my tea instead of chicken, and ive decided to take out the packet of haribo from refeeds too and go back to having 3 portions of rice and lean beef on refeeds reason being because the sweets weren't satisfying any hunger so if anything I was more likely to cheat because of this so through the day il be having 600g of rice and 200g lean beef split into 3 meals with 100g oats for breakfast and supper.

Nice and simple but will also mean im keeping plenty of food in my system thus hopefully keeping hunger at bay. What ive found is that with carbs I get hungry a lot quicker than I do when I eat high fat low carbs so meal frequency is definitely an important factor for me during these days.


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

Just a little update I was making some tweaks to my diet and I was just wondering how I would get on if I decided to go full blown no carbs for the whole week until it got to reefed days so ive decided im gonna give it a go see how I get on with it, main reason for this is I was originally going to try a full blown keto diet last year but the kids decided to arrive 7 week early and my whole life in general just got turned upside down, I only really just got my **** together properly training and diet wise earlier this year so I never even went back to trying it.

Also because I don't do well on carbs even the carbs I have PWO make me feel really tired and lethargic so im interested to see how well/badly I cope on 5 full days without a direct source of carbs, so just made a few tweaks to it and this is how its gonna look, if I get on well with it and I make decent progress with it then I may well just stick with it tbh but we shall see what happens. Intra and PWO wise will still be the same 20g BCAA intra because I train fasted and 30g impact whey immediately post workout then have my breakfast when I get to work.

*Mon-Fri*

P: 320

F: 160

C: 11

*Sat & Sun*

P: 183

F: 29

C: 584

Food choices to make up these macros will be as follows...

Eggs

Impact Whey Protein

Frozen Chicken (no added water variety)

Beef mince

Green Beans

Peanut Butter

Tinned Mackerel

Lean Diced Beef

Long Grain White Rice

Oats

Cadburys Fudge Flavour Highlights (flavouring the oats)

Again this is just to see how I get on with it, ive always been curious how I would handle a diet such as this with me not agreeing with carbs as well as some people so depending on how this goes I may well just stick with it but il keep you all updated on here as often as I can. Actually excited to get this started now  god if im this excited about something as simple as this I dread to think what il be like if I ever get to a stage of taking gear :lol:


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*6th October 2014*

So pulling day this morning and this is how it all went...

*Deadlift* - 5x5 @ 135kg

*Barbell Rows* - 5x5 @ 65kg

*Close Grip Cable Pulls* - 3x10 @ 55kg

*Rear Delt Raises* - 3x10 @ 45kg

*Barbell Curls* - 3x15 @ 12.5kg

So training went really well this morning i was full of energy this morning and in a really good mood today which i think has been reflected on the fact that the lifts felt slightly easier than they normally do, especially deadlifts though i still felt fooked after doing them i could really feel every target muscle getting worked on all my lifts today. Today was the start of the new diet too which means no carbs until saturday for me so im not sure how im going to get on this week energy wise but im not going to give in to any carbs until the weekend no matter what so we shall see what happens, leg day in particular i am not looking forward to but oh well bring it all on, feeling really good for the week ahead.


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*8th October 2014*

Push day today heres how it all went...

*Bench Press* - 5x5 @ 70kg

*Seated Smith Press* - 5x5 @ 55kg

*Chest Dips* - 3xf

*Side Dumbbell Raises* - 3x10 @ 10kg

*Cable Pushowns* - 3x15 @ 20kg

Quite disappointed in myself this morning as I noticed a few things upon reflection, without realizing it ive let go of that mind to muscle connection on pretty much every lift today except for pushdowns which im quite disappointed in myself for doing. So as of next week im going to drop the weight on everything just a little bit to keep my form really strict and make sure I can hit the target muscle as best I can, with benching especially I noticed that I was just moving the weight rather than actually focusing on working the target muscle. However the 2 movements I was very happy with this morning were chest dips and pushdowns.

Chest dips especially I was very happy with because I only managed 4-5 reps each set but I could really feel the target muscle being worked and I really focused on keeping form strict letting my elbows flare out etc, same again with pushdowns, was a nice weight which meant I could really focus on slow controlled movements and getting that squeeze in at the bottom of the movement, my triceps are still funking killing me now because of this though :lol:

Diet wise im quite surprised with how well ive been coping with the no carbs approach, not had any cravings whatsoever (yet) and energy levels have been the same as normal if not a bit higher which obviously im happy about. So depending on how this week goes with this particular diet I might stick with it for the foreseeable future as I feel more alert following this, I am and I aren't looking forward to the weekend refeed I am because it will be nice to stuff my face with carbs but im not because I will be wanting to just go to bed all bloody weekend haha.

Anyway that's all from me for today overall feeling really good and positive, motivation is all there for a change which it hasn't been in recent weeks so onwards and upwards


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

Right just a little update, last night when I was home once the kids were in bed god knows what happened but my energy just completely crashed was a little tempted to get some carbs in my system a packet of haribo was staring at me begging to be opened but I didn't touch it I cooked my tea 300g of beef mince with a low salt beef oxo thrown in and some piri piri seasoning, absolutely bloody delicious it was  after that my energy shot back up so I think its safe to say I was just hungry haha.

Originally I wasn't going to use stock cubes in my mince at all tbh but I bought some low salt ones think the packet says there is 0.6g salt per cube which considering I don't have any other direct sources of salt in my diet im sure it cant hurt, I just find plain mince (even with stuff like garlic onions etc) just a bit boring so spent a tenner in sainsburys yesterday stocking up on a **** load of seasoning haha 

Leg day tomorrow don't really know whether to look forward to this or not after a full week of no carbs but **** it bring it on no doubt Saturday morning il be struggling to stand up to get out of bed though :lol:


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*10th October 2014*

I am officially a broken man after this mornings session, but god it feels good leaving the gym knowing you gave it everything 

*Squats* - 5x5 @ 107.5kg

*Barbell Lunges* - 3x10 @ 25kg

*SLDL* - 3x10 @ 70kg

*Standing Calf Raises* - 3x15 @ 75kg

*Leg Extensions* - 3x10 @ 57.5kg

I increased the weight on everything except SLDL's this morning and as a result im truly a broken man now, finished training almost an hour ago and my hamstrings and quads are still twitching, made sure I was really strict with form on absolutely everything and made sure I really squeezed every last bit of effort out this morning, squats this morning despite the weight increase still felt relatively easy so they may be going up again next week. SLDL is at a nice weight where im just on the verge of failing come the last few reps of the last set so no need to start playing with the weight on them just yet, Leg Extensions these were a real killer this morning I really got the squeeze in at the top of the movement and could barely walk afterwards as a result so really really happy with training this morning not looking forward to the inevitable doms tomorrow morning though but oh well :lol:

Now diet wise this is my last day of sticking to the no carbs approach and to be honest ive really liked it this week, energy is higher than normal, cravings are pretty much non existent so I reckon il be following this again next week see how I get on, lifts haven't been sacrificed in any way as the weights on some bits have gone up this week rather than down, I expected a slight drop to be honest because ive never gone this long without carbs since ive started training.

This weekend is refeed time and ive found out that r lass's nan is cooking a roast this sunday which im looking forward to, other than that the refeed this weekend will be clean and stuck to the foods I have, including fitting a packet of haribo into my macros, think I deserve a treat this week, so all in all really good week this week roll on the weekend, first time in months ive been feeling this much motivation and optimism about the road ahead


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*13th October 2014*

So little late with updating my journal this week but ive been ridiculously busy at work but heres how good old pull day went...

*Deadlift* 5x5 @ 135kg

*Barbell Rows* 5x5 @ 65kg

*Close Grip Cable Pulls* 3x10 @ 55kg

*Reverse Fly's* 3x10 @ 8kg

*Cable Curls* 3x15 @ 10kg

Really good session yesterday morning my back was burning like a mother funker after deadlifts this morning, Instead of doing it how I normally did it as one continuous movement and maintaining TUT I decided to pause when the weight was rested on the floor and this damn near killed me, it was so much harder than it is when doing it continuous movement, well it is in my opinion anyway but it was nice to change it up for once, I did the same with reverse flys the reason being with rear delt raises I was getting a tad bored of them so I decided to swap to something else and I really enjoyed doing these tbh, could really feel it in my rear delts and my traps today too so I reckon il be sticking with that for a bit now. Everything else was as you were tbh though I am considering de loading the weight on the rows and pulldowns because ive been at the same weight for a while now deload by say 10kg each lift and work my way back up see if I can break the plateu ive got with these at the moment, plus the decreased weight will allow me to concentrate on getting the target muscle a good squeeze instead of just going through the motions.

Diet wise, ive reverted back to the timed carbs approach, the whole no carbs thing for 5 days was good don't get me wrong just I prefer the timed carbs approach plus lets be honest no need to fix what aint broke, also ive had a little change on my reefed days just adding in 3 tins of tuna along with some lighter than light mayo just for a change as eating chicken with rice all day everyday across the whole weekend was getting a bit tedious :lol:

Looking forward to training tomorrow morning now so il update this again when I get chance off the back of how I get on tomorrow morning.


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*15th October 2014*

So another Wednesday another push day, heres how things went...

*Bench Press* 5x5 @ 70kg

*Seated Smith Press* 5x5 @ 40kg

*Side Lateral Raises* 3x10 @ 10kg

*Dumbbell Fly's* 3x10 @ 10kg

*Cable Pushdowns* 3x15 @ 15kg

So training this morning went really well this is the first push day in a few weeks where I feel really good about the session ive had, everything just seemed to click into place this morning thankfully, as you can see I made a few tweaks to training the main one being swapping chest dips out for dumbbell fly's reason being I was getting bored of chest dips and I didn't feel like it was the most beneficial thing for me to do tbh, the weight was a lot lighter than I can manage on fly's but I wanted to start off with a small weight and build myself up whilst ensuring the target muscle is worked properly instead of just going in all gung ho with the heaviest weight I can manage.

Second major change I made was lowering the weight on the seated smith press which I really felt the benefit from, allowed me to concentrate the lift throughout the full ROM and wasn't too heavy to stop me from keeping the target muscles under tension throughout the whole movement.

Cable pushdowns was another I loved this morning, the weight was heavy enough to have my triceps ****ing burning by the last few reps of each set so I was very happy with that. Moving on to next week I reckon I will be increasing the weight on a few things to keep up the progression but ensuring that form or TUT isn't sacrificed in the process.

As always with training this morning was finished up with cardio on the cross trainer, lately ive been increasing the effort level to 10 and just doing 30 minutes instead of the 45 I was before hand and Im finding this works just as well as the 45 minute sessions did judging by the way I feel coming away from training.

So all in all really good day today like I said was very happy with how it went this morning, diet wise is as you were tbh honestly it feels nice going back to what I know works and worked for me before so tbh ive no idea why I strayed away from it in all honesty but ah well another lesson learned an all that ey, motivation is still through the roof so bring on my favorite day...leg day


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*17th October 2014*

TFIF and leg day of course, legs are absolutely battered after this morning but heres what went on...

*Squats* 5x5 @ 107.5kg

*Barbell Lunges* 3x10 @ 27.5kg

*SLDL* 3x10 @ 70kg

*Standing Calf Raises* 3x15 @ 80kg

*Leg Extensions* 3x10 @ 57.5kg

Legs went really well this morning squats and SLDL especially the weight was high enough for me to be nearly hanging out my **** by the end of the working sets but the rest I think im going to knock up next week, leg extensions especially it was hard with the weight I had it at but I feel like I could have pushed further than what I did, it was the same story with the calf raises and lunges too tbh, I was huffing and puffing by the end but I feel like I could have gone heavier than what I did.

Weights this morning as always was finished up with 30 minutes on the elliptical trainer at level 10, I was absolutely funking starving come the end of cardio this morning so the PWO carbs I had have gone down a treat, I didn't eat them I inhaled them I was that hungry 

Diet wise ive been sticking with it 100% all week this week and today is going to be a tester too, 3 people have brought in tons of **** food for leaving, birthdays etc so ive got to stare at them all day, fingers crossed I can resist temptation. Ive realized when I come up against something like this all I do is think of where I want to be then ask myself the question "do I really want to hinder my progress for the sake of a bit of indulgence?" it takes a while sometimes but most of the time it works to convince myself out of eating ****e :lol:

Feel like ive made some really good progress this week I can tell im losing still because my clothes feel like they fit different, they feel tighter round my arms and shoulders but looser round my waist and fat **** haha so progress has been good though im not sure the tighter round my arms is actual growth or pump or if its all just in my head, either way its keeping me motivated so its all good, looking forward to a good refeed this weekend and spending time with the family ready to attack next week


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*W/C 20th October 2014 Update*

Right havent been training at all this week as ive had an allergic reaction to something over the weekend, well i think thats what it is but my doctor hasnt got a clue what it is, basically i woke up sunday morning to find a bit of a rash round my mouth, thought nothing of it and carried on, r lass slept in until half 1 she was out the night before and when she got up her reaction was "oh my god whats wrong with your face" the red areas of my face completely blew up and basically it looked like i had prickly heat all round my mouth and face, so so ****ing ****ed off been working from home all week ive been sticking with my diet to an extent but not been indulging in crap either so weight gain should be minimal.

Whatever it is its starting to subside now anyway thankfully but training has been put off for this week as my doctor isnt sure if its a fungal infection (which he said is contagious) and last thing id want to do is pass it on to some poor bugger at the gym so im giving it a miss this week letting whatever the hell this is clear up and then gonna smash the **** out of training next week.

So so frustrated but these things happen unfortunately so just got to get on with it unfortunately.


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

Right im bored at work as ive finished everything ive been given to do so ive been having a little tinker with my training, something ive noticed over the past month or so is that my anterior delts are quite far ahead of the rest of my delts and reading up on some bits @Mingster has said in another thread I do agree that heavy benching does hit these enough, for the time being anyway, so with that in mind ive made the following changes...

*Pull*

Deadlift - 5x5

Barbell Rows - 5x5

Close Grip Cable Pulldowns (neutral grip) - 3x10

Dumbbell Shrugs - 3x10

Cable Hammer Curls - 3x10

Cable Curls - 3x10

Reasons behind adding this in is so i work a different head of the bicep and really push the muscle as a whole towards failure and really get to feel that burn on it, my thinking is that by hitting it more than one way in the same session will increase the impact im making on the muscle Don't get me wrong I was working the muscle fine with just doing bicep curls but like I said my thinking is that by hitting it more than one way in the same session along with the fact that its getting worked on the compounds it will really get smashed to pieces come the end of the session.

Now with the shrugs, ive got to be honest only reason ive added these in is because I feel like they are a bit of unfinished business for me if that makes sense, when I used to do them I did them with a barbell and could never really feel the target muscle being hit as well as I would have liked so im going to assume this is down to form, so with dumbbells im not leaning in some awkward direction to try and get a decent grip on the bar and I can just concentrate on squeezing the target muscle.

*Push*

Bench Press - 5x5

Incline Dumbbell Press - 3x10

Dumbbell Flies - 3x10

Side Lateral Raises - 3x10

Reverse Flies - 3x10

Cable Pushdowns - 3x15

Incline Dumbbell Press, main reason for these is because I want to add in a touch more chest work but I don't like decline benching so I decided to opt for the incline dumbbell one, the rep range is at 10 so I can really concentrate on hitting the target muscle, given that it will already be slightly pre exhausted after benching should mean my pecs are getting smashed every session which may be a good thing it may not, if it turns out I don't respond to well to this then I will change back again.

Reverse flies ive added in here because I want all my delt work to be done on the same day, that really is the only reason behind this, and as ive already mentioned I feel my anterior delts are going to be worked just fine with the benching im doing.

*Legs*

Squats - 5x5

SLDL - 3x10

Barbell Lunges - 3x10

Standing Calf Raises - 3x15

Leg Press - 3x10

Leg Extensions - 3x10

Leg Press, now the reason behind me adding this in is as a final movement to really finish off my legs at the end of a session, my legs are knackered after every leg session as it is but ive plateaued a bit with the weight on some lifts so my thinking behind adding one last lift is to really top off the session and really push the muscles towards failure.

Just to note this is all experimentation for the time being, im going to give it a few weeks see how I respond to it see if I can handle the extra load and if its working out how I think it will in my head, this may not be the case and I may well just change back to how it was but we shall see.


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*27th October 2014*

Bit late updating this however works been mental this week so this is first chance ive had to give this an update, anyway Monday was pull day so this is how it went...

*Deadlift* 5x5 @ 120kg

*Barbell Rows* 5x5 @ 65kg

*Close Grip Pulldowns* 3x10 @ 55kg

*Wide Grip Pulldowns* 3x10 @ 30kg

*Dumbbell Shrugs* 3x10 @ 20kg

*Cable Curls* 3x15 @ 15kg

So training went really well this morning really enjoyed the new movements I added in especially with lat pulldowns was a good exercise to finish my lats off after hitting them with close grip pulls, rows and deadlifts I made sure I got that squeeze in right at the bottom of the movement too so I could really feel it burning by the end of it so all in all very good session.

You may notice also that I have lowered the weight on Deadlifts, this is because I want to concentrate lifting it from a dead start instead of bouncing it off the floor and lifting it that way like I used to, doing it like this I can really feel it so much more than I used to so gonna be sticking with this way of doing it and weight isn't going to go up until im comfortable with my form doing it this way.


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*29th October 2014*

So this morning was my first day training in the new gym ive joined, ive scrapped off virgin active which cost me £47pm for pure gym at top end of town which is only £14.99pm and in all honesty I was pleasantly surprised with it, the weight area was dead when I got there for 6 so I was straight on and off with no problem whatsoever my only gripe about this place is that the benches aren't very comfy as the ones at virgin were nice and padded haha, but saving myself £30pm its hard to give a **** :lol:

*Bench Press* 5x5 @ 70kg

*Incline Dumbbell Press* 3x10 @ 16kg

*Lat Raises* 3x10 @ 10kg

*Chest Fly's* 3x10 @ 25kg

*Reverse Fly's* 3x10 @ 25kg

*Cable Pushdowns* 3x15 @ 12.5kg

So training went really well this morning was really happy with how everything panned out in all honesty, the only thing I was a tad disappointed in myself for was not pushing the weight higher on the chest and reverse fly's as looking back I think I could have handled more weight than what I did, this was on a machine too not with dumbbells by the way hence the big jump in weight from last week.

Despite that gripe I can still really feel it now so it wasn't all so bad haha. And because where I train now is 24 hour gym I was out before 8am which is unusual, normally I don't get out the gym until after 8 so even got into work early, win win in my book.

Anyway leg day next bring on the pain


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*30th October 2014*

Just a quick update that's all...

So sat in work and all of a sudden my usual cravings begin to kick in, go to the canteen to get some coke zero and I find that they do oasis light!!! I never even knew this stuff existed and it tastes absolutely amazing 

But anyway more onto point, been having a think about training the structure of my training will mostly be remaining the same but given that I am now in a new taining environment I have access to things I didn't have access to before in virgin so had a slight tinker of things but only minor adjustments, im starting to get a little bored of doing the straight up 5x5 reps on the big compound moves so im going to incorporate a different style of training on these, ive taken this from what @Mingster states in his P/P/L routine by still having 5 sets but having high reps and low weight working up to low reps and high weight so this change will take place as of next week, im also going to be throwing in some negatives for one lift each session, ive never tried these before so im looking forward to the inevitable pain which awaits me the day after :lol: Also looking forward to the new style of training for the big compounds never tried this sort of training style before so I will be lowering the weight slightly on the top sets compared to what I have been doing just to make sure I don't overdo it or anything like that.


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*31st October 2014*

So it was leg day this morning and I decided to trial my new way of training this morning and safe to say im in bits after it as well haha...

Squats - reps of 10/10/8/6/4 worked up to a top set of 100kg

RDL - 3 sets of 10, first two were done at 60kg final set at 70kg

Leg Press (Negatives) - 3x10 @ 66kg

Leg Extensions - 3x10 @ 52kg

Calf Raises - 2x20 @ 66kg

As I said went really well this morning, new way of training was trialled out and I absolutely loved it, working the weight up and the reps down on squats I could really feel it in my legs afterwards and I was sweating like a bitch afterwards too. Really enjoyed moving the weight up progressively and I did the same for RDL too which again I could really really feel it today. Negatives on Leg press were fun (not) my quads were absolutely burning by the last few reps of the last set but I did enjoy it. Calf raises I upped the rep range but reduced the sets on this reason being that I thought I would trial it and see how it goes and I felt like I hit the muscle better than I would have done if id have used 3 sets of 15 like before.

So like I said very very happy with training this morning I think I can handle more on the weight for some bits so this will be going up next week, not looking forward to the inevitable pain through the weekend haha but oh well, looking forward to a decent reefed this weekend, off for a family day out sunday but il be sticking to my diet tomorrow so I can have a bit of a day off on Sunday.


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

Forgot one little thing, end of the month which meant it was weigh in day and it was just as I expected to be honest, ive gained 5lbs since last month, like I say I expected this simply because ive been crap with my diet the past few weeks but in all fairness judging by the picture I took this morning it does look like I have lost so im not going to read into the weight gain too much. Like I said just got to wait and see how things pan out over the coming weeks.


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*3rd November 2014 - Pull*

So first day of the new style of training this morning and I bloody loved it, absolutely smashed it and I left absolutely nothing there...

Deadlift - 5 sets starting at 10 reps working down to 4 top set was at 120kg

Barbell rows - 3x10 went 40/40/45

Barbell Shrugs - 3x10 20/20/20

Narrow Grip Cable Pulldowns (Negatives) - 3x10 top set was 60kg

Lat Pulls - 3x12 top set on these was 40kg

Cable curls - 3x15 all sets were at 10kg

Deadlifts damn near killed me this morning I haven't been that exhausted after doing deadlifts in far far too long but I absolutely loved it, it was nice to be working through some different rep ranges for a change if im honest so, I was successful with the weight on all of the lifts as well so next week these shall be going up, ive decided to keep on upping the weight so long as I complete all of the reps for each set whilst maintaining form of course. Everything else on this I was focusing on making sure I got that squeeze at the muscle, I didn't lock out on anything either I always maintained tension on the target muscles so my back is aching like a bastard at the moment 

As always session was finished off with 30 minutes on the cross trainer, felt really good about today had bundles of energy this morning and was really psyched up for training today, that might have something to do with watching generation iron last night though, cracking watch, I can see why people think kai greene is a tad strange watching that.

Anyway like I said top session this morning absolutely buzzing off it and I cant wait for Wednesday now


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*5th November 2014 - Push*

So training this morning and tbh I haven't enjoyed a push day that much in quite a while my chest, delts and tri's are absolutely battered haha...

Bench Press - 5 sets starting at 10 reps working down to 4 top set was done at 70kg

Incline Dumbbell Press - 3x8 went 20/20/24

Machine Fly's (Negatives) - 3x10 went 31/31/39

Reverse Machine Fly's - 3x10 went 31/31/39

Lat Raises - 3x12 @ 10kg

Skullcrushers - 3x15 @ 17.5kg

Handled the weight really well on everything so with the exception of lat raises the weight will be going up next week for the rest of them.

As I said above absolutely loved training this morning and absolutely smashed it too, I was surprised at how easy I found bench press if im honest especially the top set so as a result the weight of this will be going up next week, felt a really good mind to muscle connection completing the lift too.

Incline Dumbbell Press loved this movement this morning, the weight I could have handled more of like but this will steadily increase week on week so long as I keep completing the sets (form permitting of course) could really feel this in my upper chest.

Machine fly's I can picture this absolutely ruining me as the weight goes up, concentrating on a 4 second negative on the movement I could really feel the pectorals being worked but I could definitely have handled more weight but better to start off light and work up than hit an instant plateau ey. This was the same with reverse flys as well, I really made sure I concentrated on getting that squeeze on the rear delt at the top of the movement but as with chest flys I feel I could have handled more than what I did.

Lat raises the weight on these was a nice weight, not so much that I was sacrificing form but not too little so I couldn't feel the muscle working so the weight at present for these is perfect to be honest.

Skullcrushers, I forgot how much I loved these  3 sets of 15 and my triceps were fooking burning by the last few reps of the last set, the weight though I do feel like I could have managed more than what I did so as with the rest of them this will be going up.

As always training was topped off with 30 minutes on the cross triner, like I said earlier I haven't felt this good after a push session in god knows how long, next up my favorite day...leg day


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

Completely forgot to add this last week but this is how I'm looking at present...yup still a fat cnut :lol: getting there thoigh just gotta remain consistent


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*7th November 2014 - Legs*

TFILG - Thank **** Its Leg Day :lol:

Squats - 5 sets starting at 10 working down to 4 top set 100kg

RDL - 3x8 went 70/70/75

Leg Press - 3x10 went 86/86/93

Leg Extensions (Negatives) - 3x10 @ 52

Calf Raises - 3x15 went 66/66/73

Leg Curls - 3x12 went 45/45/52

Absolutely beasted training this morning, my only gripe this morning was I was a little disappointed with my squats as I felt I could have gone heavier on all sets but this will most certainly change next week, regardless of the weight I still got a decent pump in my quads and was dripping by the end of them but I know for a fact I could have pushed myself more than I did.

RDL's really good this morning could really feel that pull in my hams right at the bottom of the movement, as you can see ive added in some leg curls right at the end of the session, reason being for this is because I didn't feel like my hams were being hit quite as hard as my quads are so I added these in just to finish them off as it were, and it worked because my hamstrings are in bloody tatters now 

Decided to have a bit of a change up this morning in doing negatives on the leg extensions saw these in @Goodfella s journal so thought I would give them a bash, Christ alive the burn you get in your quads doing these was brutal I bloody loved it  Leg press really enjoyed doing these I had a wide stance on them and made sure I went through the whole ROM doing this lift and I could really feel it in the whole of my legs afterwards.

Calf raises as always made sure I got a really good squeeze right at the top of the movement and went through the full ROM heels right down and get them stretched etc these were burning like mad after these.

As always training was polished off by 30 minutes of cardio looking forward to the weekend now tbh with the exception of going out tomorrow night with the mrs im sticking with the diet so apart from the alcohol consumption im looking forward to a nice clean reefed


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## Goodfella (Jul 11, 2012)

AlexB18 said:


> *7th November 2014 - Legs*
> 
> TFILG - Thank **** Its Leg Day :lol:
> 
> ...


Dirty burn isnt it mate  make it worse by holding at top of rep and flex the quads as hard you can with toes pointing up to the ceiling!!

Refeed sounds goooooooood!!!!


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

Goodfella said:


> Dirty burn isnt it mate  make it worse by holding at top of rep and flex the quads as hard you can with toes pointing up to the ceiling!!
> 
> Refeed sounds goooooooood!!!!


It was horrific but awesome, im not usually one for grunting when pushing out reps but I ****ed someone off on the treadmill this morning doing it :lol: oooh yeah il give that a try next week mate cheers that just sounds cruel, but im sure il love it haha.


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## Goodfella (Jul 11, 2012)

AlexB18 said:


> It was horrific but awesome, im not usually one for grunting when pushing out reps but I ****ed someone off on the treadmill this morning doing it :lol: oooh yeah il give that a try next week mate cheers that just sounds cruel, but im sure il love it haha.


Want to add even more cruelty??? 

Once you've finished your set with the negatives and holds at the top do a triple drop set then go back to the orginal weight and do 20 partials..... BURNNNNNNN :thumb:


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

Goodfella said:


> Want to add even more cruelty???
> 
> Once you've finished your set with the negatives and holds at the top do a triple drop set then go back to the orginal weight and do 20 partials..... BURNNNNNNN :thumb:


Haha il keep it all in mind mate but that does sound cruel, I cant even imagine the pump in your quads from those haha, drop sets are something in the pipeline for when I get bored of negatives or fancy changing it up a bit, ive found a routine which I really love now so all that's going to change from time to time is the types of reps I do possibly the rep ranges the actual lifts aint going to change not in the long run anyway.

Got plenty of ideas to keep training ticking over now mate so all is good :thumb:


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*Monday 10th November - Pull*

Really good session this morning was really happy with how I progressed and I made sure I didn't leave anything in the gym, heres how it went...

Deadlifts - 5 sets first one was 10 working down to 4 top set was 122.5kg

Barbell Rows - 3x8 @ 40/40/45

Seated Cable Rows - 3x10 @ 39/39/41.3

Barbell Shrugs - 3x10 @ 20/20/20

Cable Curls - 3x15 @ 11.3/11.3/11.3

Wide Lat Pulldown - 3x12 @ 39/39/41.3

So like I said really good session this morning really feel like im smashing it in the gym at the moment, majority of lifts I do however feel I could have gone heavier the only exception being cable curls so the weights on all of these will be increasing. As always this was polished off with 30 mins of cardio.


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*Wednesday 12th November - Push*

Training was really good this morning am actually really really pleased with how I got on this morning...

Bench Press - 5 sets starting with 10 reps working down to 4 at 72.5kg

Incline Dumbbell Press - 3x8 @ 22/22/26

Dumbbell Fly's - 3x10 @ 12/12/14

Reverse Machine Fly's - 3x10 @ 31/31/39

Lat Raises - 3x12 @ 8/8/10

Skullcrushers - 3x15 @ 20/20/20

Like I said really good session this morning every muscle I hit this morning is still aching so I know ive pushed and not left anything in the gym this morning, the pump I got on my chest was immense as well, with regards to the dumbbell fly's I didn't concentrate on the negative so much I made sure I lowered the weight controlled but I didn't count it out or anything like that, things are really starting to click into place training wise at the moment I feel like Im smashing every session so motivation is sky high at the moment  as always this was topped off with 30 minutes of cardio, im still losing nicely at the moment with the calories im on too so no need to change anything up diet wise, only downside is I have a feeling im going to be seriously aching tomorrow


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

Bit of an update from yesterday, my chest tri's and delts are in fooking tatters after yesterday, looks like the rep ranges and increments in weights in the last sets are doing the trick at the moment, now tomorrow is leg day which I cannot wait for  Something ive realized past few days is that motivation is higher than I ever remember it being for a long time I had a treat last night, a whole 2 pieces of fudge that r lass made in the slow cooker last week, was absolutely delish too!

I think part of the renewed motivation is down to the change up in training ive made, as before I was just sticking with 5x5 or 3x10/15 now that my rep ranges are varied it means im enjoying training so much more than I was before :thumb:


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*14th November 2014 - Legs*

So the only way I can describe legs this morning is brutal, absolutely ****ing brutal, definitely couldn't have gone harder than I did this morning halfway through doing cardio my body was literally screaming for some food, only just inhaled my PWO carbs now and it was honestly awesome  but anyway heres how this mornings session gone...

Squats - 5 sets starting with 10 reps working down to 4 with top set being 105kg

RDL - 3x10 @ 65/65/70

Seated Calf Raises - 3x15 @ 66/66/73

Leg Press - 3x10 @ 86/86/93

Leg Extensions (Negative) - 3x10 @ 45/45/52

Leg Curls - 3x10 @ 45/45/52

So yeah like I said only way I can possibly think to describe this session is brutal beyond all belief, I was absolutely fooked after this and the thought of having to do cardio after was making me feel sick, still did it like at same resistance and same time too. Squats I was really happy with how these went this morning the sets of 10's really made my quads burn at the end of it and the top set was hard, made sure I didn't lock out though at the top of the movement on any sets though so as to keep the tension on the target muscles, safe to say it worked. Next onto RDL you could tell my hams were pre exhausted by the squats before these because these were a real slog, as with the squats I didn't lock out at the top of the movement so my hams were bloody burning come the end of the sets. Everything else I did topped the session off nicely tbh which I can tell because im struggling to get up from my chair at work my legs are fooked :lol:

As always session was topped off with 30 minutes of cardio which il be honest was a real slog to get through this morning but I got through it that's the main thing.

Also one last thing I weighed myself this morning and ive actually put on 0.6lbs from last week which I thought was strange, however that being said I feel like ive smashed it all week and despite what the scales tell me I do look and feel like ive lost so not going to read too much into that tbh. So the weekend is here and Im looking forward to nice big clean reefed ready to attack next week


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*17th November 2014 - Back & Bi's*

Right as you may have noticed from the title ive had a change this week to the way im training, the reason being is because ive just laid out a 4 day split for my eldest brother who has just gotten into lifting so im following the same as what hes doing this week to show him the ropes and have a bit of a changeup for myself too...

Deadlift - 5 sets starting at 10 working down to 4 top set was 122.5kg

Barbell Rows 3x8 @ 40/40/45

Wide Grip Pulldowns 3x10 @ 41.3/41.3/45

Cable Curls - 3x15 @ 11.3

Simple but effective training session this morning made sure i pushed just as hard as i always do this morning despite me having a training partner for a change, though if im honest im surprised at how effective this session was compared to what i normally do, the lack of volume compared to normal i was expecting to be able to notice the difference but im aching like mad now so really enjoyed a going back to basics sort of routine if im honest.

Diet wise ive had a really good weekend actually stuck to my diet 100% all weekend the only exception being that i had a line of r lasses galaxy chocolate on saturday night whilst we were watching a film but had a good clean refeed all weekend.

With the change up in routine im training again tomorrow morning which will be chest and tri's so il update this again tomorrow with how that session goes.


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*18th November 2014 - Chest & Tri's*

So was in the gym again this morning good old chest and tri's day heres how it went...

Flat Bench Press - 5 sets starting at 10 reps working down to 4 with top set at 75kg

Incline Dumbbell Press - 3x8 @ 24/24/28

Dumbbell Fly's - 3x10 @ 12/12/14

Skullcrushers - 3x15 @ 20/20/20

Training again went really well nice and short session but the same intensity was still there, my forearms are absolutely killing me from gripping dumbbells and barbell so much haha, on the plus side like I said yesterday its nice to change things up the way I have done this week and my brother seems to be enjoying it as well.

As always the session was finished off with 30 minutes of cardio did the same yesterday morning too, to account for the increase in volume throughout the week the calories have been upped ever so slightly just to ensure I don't burn out or anything, this only brings the cals up to 2700 roughly like but if it ensures I don't burn out then its all good. Next up is shoulders and calves on Thursday so il give you all an update on that once ive done it.


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*20th November 2014 - Shoulders and Calves*

So up again for training this morning and this is how it went...

OHP - 5 sets starting with 10 reps working down to 4 top set was 35kg

Lat Raises - 3x10 @ 10/10/10

Reverse Machine Fly's - 3x10 @ 39/39/45

Standing Calf Raises - 3x15 @ 40/40/40

Training went really well this morning though I forgot how **** poor my OHP press is lol, ah well aint all about the weight is it, I could definitely feel the burn in my delts after the full session so its served its purpose tbh, not really much else to tell tbh other than that It was a good session don't feel like I could have given it anymore than what I did so I am happy with it, the pump and burn in my delts afterwards was brutal though :lol:

As I always do training this morning was topped off with 30 minutes on the cross trainer, really pushed for it on the cardio without even realizing it this morning too my brother recommended me a Knife Party Mix to listen to on soundcloud and it was nice to have a change from the usual stuff I listen to tbh and it made me push harder than I normally do 

Leg day tomorrow morning so im looking forward to absolutely brutalizing my legs and struggling to walk afterwards :thumb:


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*21st November - Leg Day*

Finally it is Friday and its my favorite day, leg day, I didn't train the whole of legs as I hit calves quite comfortably yesterday so today was all about the hams and quads...

Squats - 5 sets starting with 10 reps working down to 4 top set was 105kg

RDL - 3x8 @ 60/60/70

Incline Leg Press - 3x10 @ 80/80/130

Leg Extensions - 3x10 @ 52/52/59

As always smashed legs this morning, noticed the gym had a few new toys too which included the incline plate loaded leg press which I much prefer to the normal leg presses, in case anyone is wondering the reason for the sudden jump in weight on this is because I wasn't sure how much I could handle so first two sets took it nice and easy and increased it to 130 on the last set which I was surprised because it was actually quite a comfortable weight.

Squats especially this morning I made sure I really concentrated on getting the muscle working as much as possible and it really worked my quads were burning come the final set of these haha.

RDL's the weight was good enough to feel a good stretch in the target muscle but I do feel I could have gone heavier whilst maintaining form so I reckon this will probably get taken up a notch next week. Finally leg extensions this morning instead of doing negatives I decided on just concentrating on getting a real squeeze on the quads right at the top of the movement which safe to say worked as I was struggling to get off the ****ing machine come the end of this :lol:

As always this was topped off with 30 minutes of cardio on the cross trainer, looking at myself in the mirror this morning and you can really tell the weight is starting to come off I didn't even weigh myself this morning didn't feel the need to because I can really start to notice it, the fold of fat at the bottom of my back/top of my hips isn't as big as it was last week so its coming off.

Now with me teaching my brother with weight lifting this week he still isn't totally comfortable going it alone quite yet so next week im going to be doing the same 4 day split as I have this week which tbh im not complaining about as ive actually really enjoyed it, so with that in mind looking forward to the weekend ahead, nice clean refeed and then ready to smash the weeks training ahead!


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*24th November - Back and Biceps*

So Start of a new week of training, ive been good all weekend stuck to my diet 100% so feeling in a good place at present to push on and continue to make some good progress this week heres how this morning went...

Deadlift - 5 sets starting with 10 reps working down to 4 top set was 127.5kg

Barbell Rows - 4x8 @ 40/45/50/55

Wide Grip Pulldowns - 3x12 @ 41.3/41.3/45

Cable Curls - 3x15 @ 15/15/15

Training was really good this morning could really feel the target muscle working on all my lifts this morning, i do feel i could have gone heavier than i did on rows and DL's however i think my form would have taken too much of a hit for it to be truly beneficial tbh. Pulldowns and cable curls however i feel i could have gone heavier than i did so im expecting to be increasing the weight on these next week.

As i said ive had a really good weekend stuck to my diet 100% this weekend so feeling like im in a good place at present to push on with training and diet this week, again as with last week i know for a fact i have lost simply by looking in the mirror so we shall see how much ive lost over the month when it comes to friday and weigh in day.

On a side note ordered MyProtein's salted caramel flavour impact whey and its absolutely lush  so @Goodfella i remember you saying you wanted to try it so get on it mate :thumb:

Thats all for today really laregly a very uneventful update tbh but still making good progress so feeling ready to push on through the rest of the week.


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## Goodfella (Jul 11, 2012)

AlexB18 said:


> *24th November - Back and Biceps*
> 
> So Start of a new week of training, ive been good all weekend stuck to my diet 100% so feeling in a good place at present to push on and continue to make some good progress this week heres how this morning went...
> 
> ...


Mate I've gone through 2.5kg of it 

Love it!!!!!

Good work on Deads aswell buddy.


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

Goodfella said:


> Mate I've gone through 2.5kg of it
> 
> Love it!!!!!
> 
> Good work on Deads aswell buddy.


Im not surprised mate drinking it at work and it honestly feels like a cheat it tastes so good haha.

Thanks mate things are starting to click into place nicely now training wise definitely seeing the benefits in the mirror, like I said could probably have gone heavier but not 100% confident form would have survived.

Hows your training going fella? you look like your doing plenty of growing judging by your pictures mate.


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## Goodfella (Jul 11, 2012)

AlexB18 said:


> Im not surprised mate drinking it at work and it honestly feels like a cheat it tastes so good haha.
> 
> Thanks mate things are starting to click into place nicely now training wise definitely seeing the benefits in the mirror, like I said could probably have gone heavier but not 100% confident form would have survived.
> 
> Hows your training going fella? you look like your doing plenty of growing judging by your pictures mate.


Trainings going great thanks mate 

Had abit of a epiphany regarding training lately especially legs.... Improved my ability to actually contract the target muscle and it's making training soooo much better!!


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

Goodfella said:


> Trainings going great thanks mate
> 
> Had abit of a epiphany regarding training lately especially legs.... Improved my ability to actually contract the target muscle and it's making training soooo much better!!


Yeah I read you've dropped the weight to target the muscle more mate certainly sounds like it's working anyway, how did you manage to do that then just lower the weight, concentrate on the negative and all that jazz?


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## Goodfella (Jul 11, 2012)

AlexB18 said:


> Yeah I read you've dropped the weight to target the muscle more mate certainly sounds like it's working anyway, how did you manage to do that then just lower the weight, concentrate on the negative and all that jazz?


To be honest mate it's only legs I've only really lowered the weights with. Upper body wise I don't struggle to get s good mind muscle connection so haven't had to worry too much about other than arms.

Yeah slowing negative and keeping muscle loaded during negative has helped. So not just slowing it down but keeping muscle engaged if that makes sense... More of a feeling hard to describe lol. Other than that with legs just thinking about shortening the muscle rather than moving limbs


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

Goodfella said:


> To be honest mate it's only legs I've only really lowered the weights with. Upper body wise I don't struggle to get s good mind muscle connection so haven't had to worry too much about other than arms.
> 
> Yeah slowing negative and keeping muscle loaded during negative has helped. So not just slowing it down but keeping muscle engaged if that makes sense... More of a feeling hard to describe lol. Other than that with legs just thinking about shortening the muscle rather than moving limbs


Yeah I get what you mean mate best to lower the weight and work the muscle properly aint it especially if its a body part where you struggle to get that mind to muscle connection too. You found that they have spurted into growth since changing it up to be like this?


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*25th November 2014 - Chest & Tri's*

Really really good session this morning heres how it went...

Bench Press - 5 sets starting with 10 reps working down to 4 top set was 75kg

Incline Dumbbell Press - 4x8 @ 22/24/26/28

Dumbbell Fly's - 3x12 @ 10/10/12

Seated Skullcrushers - 3x15 @ 20

As I said really good session this morning the increased volume sets wise especially on my chest really is doing the trick as my chest was battered come the end of this session and the pump I had come the end of it was just ridiculous too. Definitely didn't leave anything in there this morning either as I couldn't manage the last rep on the last set of the bench press and incline dumbbell press, I don't think im going to be dropping the weight just yet though however I shall see how I get on next week when it comes to it rather than panicking and dropping the weight, despite the fact that I went to failure on these two as well I got a really good mind to muscle connection in there so its all gravy baby.

As always finished up with 30 minutes on the x trainer, like yesterday largely uneventful update today haha, feel like im in a really good place at present with training and diet so motivation is sky high at the moment just hope it doesn't suddenly plummet in the near future.


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## Goodfella (Jul 11, 2012)

AlexB18 said:


> Yeah I get what you mean mate best to lower the weight and work the muscle properly aint it especially if its a body part where you struggle to get that mind to muscle connection too. You found that they have spurted into growth since changing it up to be like this?


Yes legs have responded very well indeed as they are a weaker muscle group for me and I struggle to get a mind muscle connection with me.

Giving my knees a rest too as the heavy pound ages weren't being transferred through the quads but my knees instead as I previously didn't think as much about connecting with the muscle. Mainly because my upper body I don't have to think about it I get a very good mind muscle connection with it!


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

Goodfella said:


> Yes legs have responded very well indeed as they are a weaker muscle group for me and I struggle to get a mind muscle connection with me.
> 
> Giving my knees a rest too as the heavy pound ages weren't being transferred through the quads but my knees instead as I previously didn't think as much about connecting with the muscle. Mainly because my upper body I don't have to think about it I get a very good mind muscle connection with it!


Im like that with my back mate, don't struggle to get a mind to muscle connection with anything except my back, ive found changing up the weights/rep ranges is helping massively though.


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*27th November 2014 - Shoulders and Calves*

So another day another training session, training went really well this morning got a really good pump in my delts from everything so heres how it all went...

Overhead Press - 5 sets starting with 10 working down to 4 top set was 35kg

Side Lat Raises - 4x8 @ 10/10/12/12

Reverse Machine Fly's - 3x12 @ 45/45/51

Standing Calf Raises - 3x15 @ 50kg

Like I said really good session this morning, my delts are absolutely killing me after the session today, actually got a really good mind to muscle connection with everything as well so the weights were quite comfortable, the weights on OHP were perhaps a little too comfortable so I actually feel I could have gone slightly heavier on those tbh but despite that im not disappointed because I had a good pump in my shoulders after completing all the sets. So yet again a largely uninteresting log today haha, but regardless im still making progression, weigh in and progress photo day tomorrow so il upload those tomorrow when I get chance.

Finished off the session with 30 minutes on the cross trainer this morning, it was a real slog was cardio this morning but I got through it regardless as I always do.

Looking forward to polishing off the week tomorrow with my favorite day leg day


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*28th November 2014 - Leg Day*

Favorite day of the week today, 1) because its Friday and 2) its leg day  heres how training went...

Squats - 5 sets starting at 10 reps working down to 4 top set was 110

SLDL - 4x8 @ 60/62.5/65/67.5

Plate Loaded Decline Leg Press - 3x12 @ 100/110/120

Leg Extensions - 3x15 @ 39/45/52

Absolutely loved training this morning got a really good mind to muscle connection with everything I did on legs this morning so the pump and aches were insane afterwards, im particularly happy with my squats this morning as that's the heaviest ive gone in a while and I was very happy with my form and even on the top set managed to maintain a really good mind to muscle connection with my legs.

Now with SLDL as you may notice I lowered the weight quite significantly compared to what I have been doing and just stuck to the small increments, reason behind this is because I felt as the jumps in weight got higher (70+) I felt my form was lacking and I lost that mind to muscle connection so by keeping the weights small but challenging I felt it made a massive improvement, and 67.5 was heavy enough for me for it to be a strain the last few reps but also maintain that connection with the muscle.

Plate loaded leg press again I made sure my form was extremely strict on these and the weight was nice and heavy to make sure the muscle was worked properly, in all honesty I reckon I could have handled more than what I did so this will most likely increase a little bit next week, leg extensions were same as leg press really, nice and heavy to maintain the connection with the muscle but I do feel I could have gone slightly heavier.

Little bit of a change today than normal I was in the gym quite early this morning so I did an hours cardio instead of half an hour, it was a lot easier than I thought it would be actually I was surprised, but I burnt off an extra 350 cals compared to what I normally do and I don't want my calories to be dropping too low for the day so treated myself to a couple of small packets of fruit pastilles to make up for it to go with what I already have as my PWO carbs.

Ive had a really good month this month stepped on the scales this morning and ive lost 8.8lbs since last month and by the progress picture im about to put up comparing with last month you can really tell, so after seeing that motivation is through the roof will probably treat myself to a nice cheeky treat over the weekend since me and the mrs are off to the cinema to see the new hunger games tomorrow but given how well ive done this month I think I deserve it tbh


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

So this is my progress picture for this month compared to last month and like I said I personally can really see the difference so I know what I'm doing is working


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*1st December 2014 - Back & Biceps*

So had a good weekend chilling out with the family and went to watch the new Hunger Games (belting film would recommend going to see if anyone liked the first two) but was itching to get back training so was really looking forward to this morning, heres how it went...

Deadlift - 5 sets starting at 10 reps working down to 4 top set was 130kg

Barbell Rows - 4x8 @ 35/40/45/50

Wide Grip Pulldowns - 3x12 @ 44/46.3/52

Cable Curls - 3x15 @ 14/14/14

Felt really really strong this morning full of energy so looks like the coconut oil in my morning coffee worked, felt like i could have gone heavier on everything except rows actually and still maintained good form so see how next week goes and it might go up might not but we shall see. Like i said feeling really strong today managed to get a really good mind to muscle connection on everything today which i dont normally manage on back so was a win all round today.

Like ive said a few times motivation is higher than its ever been at present im sticking to diet and training 100% all the time at the moment so long may it continue, especially whilst im making visual improvements like i did last month, back end of this month will be a challenge though keeping up with training and diet through the 2 weeks surrounding xmas and new year ive got off work but im going to stick with it all best i can, in my head got it planned out that the only days im going to stray from the diet is xmas eve, day and boxing day and NYE and day other than that im planning on sticking with the diet as im seeing those days as my cheats for the month tbh.

Anyway roll on chest and tri's tomorrow


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*2nd December 2014 - Chest & Triceps*

Well my chest and tris are absolutely cnuted after this morning, my forearms especially still feel like jelly from gripping bars and dumbbells...

Bench Press - 5 sets starting at 10 reps working down to 4 top set was 75kg

Incline Dumbbell Press - 4x8 @ 22/24/26/28

Dumbbell Fly's - 3x12 @ 10/12/14

Skullcrushers - 3x15 @ 22.5

As i said my body is ruined after this morning, session was really good really enjoyed it, i failed the last rep on the bench press again not going to deload just yet though going to give the top set one more push next week see if i can crack it if i cant budge it next week then il deload. Everything else in all honesty i feel like i could have gone heavier on so i reckon the numbers will creep up next week, got a really good mind to muscle connection on everything this morning can still feel it even now :lol:

On a side note @Keeks just thought id let you know youve successfully converted another person onto the quark hype, tried it with some toffee flavdrops last night and it tasted like a bloody cheat meal 

Anyway as much as i do love training im looking forward to a rest tomorrow ready to smash my final two workouts of the week, strength and energy is really good at the moment and i think this is definately down to the coconut oil im putting in my morning coffee's, didnt realise something so small and simple would make such a big difference


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## Keeks (Oct 22, 2010)

Yay for another convert!!! :beer: Fantastic isn't it?! The flavdrops are ace and if you mix the toffee with banana drops, bannoffee quark, lovely.

Hope you're playing around with it too as there's so much you can do with it. :thumbup1:


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

Keeks said:


> Yay for another convert!!! :beer: Fantastic isn't it?! The flavdrops are ace and if you mix the toffee with banana drops, bannoffee quark, lovely.
> 
> Hope you're playing around with it too as there's so much you can do with it. :thumbup1:


Oh yeah its fantastic, tastes nice on its own as well tastes like greek yoghurt to me, im not a very inventive person when it comes to food so il be popping into your quark recipe thread soon to steal some ideas don't worry!


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## Keeks (Oct 22, 2010)

AlexB18 said:


> Oh yeah its fantastic, tastes nice on its own as well tastes like greek yoghurt to me, im not a very inventive person when it comes to food so il be popping into your quark recipe thread soon to steal some ideas don't worry!


So many things you can use it for, using in cooking sauces etc, using instead of mayo.

It's lovely if you make a sugar free jelly up with it too, quark jelly. And I see you use coconut oil, wicked thing to do is make pancakes using coconut oil in the pan, then mix the quark with whey for the topping, awesome. :beer:

If you want any ideas though, give me a shout as these are only a few.


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

Keeks said:


> So many things you can use it for, using in cooking sauces etc, using instead of mayo.
> 
> It's lovely if you make a sugar free jelly up with it too, quark jelly. And I see you use coconut oil, wicked thing to do is make pancakes using coconut oil in the pan, then mix the quark with whey for the topping, awesome. :beer:
> 
> If you want any ideas though, give me a shout as these are only a few.


That pancakes one sounds delish! Sounds like im going to have to treat myself when its my next pay day 

Yeah if I want any suggestions il definitely be coming to you cheers :thumb:


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*4th December 2014 - Shoulders and Calves*

So nice rest day yesterday which in all honesty after Monday and Tuesday I bloody well needed, session went like this...

OHP - 5 sets starting at 10 reps working down to 4 top set was 35kg

Side Lat Raises - 4x8 @ 10/12/14/14

Reverse Flies - 3x12 @ 51/59/66

Standing Calf Raises - 3x15 @55

I know for a fact I could have handled more weight on the OHP this morning but since I have only been back doing them a few weeks I don't want to go all gung ho on them and plateau within a few weeks so the weight on this will definitely be going up next week but il just be sticking with steady increments instead of just blasting the weight straight up to what I think I could manage.

In all honesty looking back on the session I could have handled more weight on everything except the lat raises so this will definitely be getting changed up next week when I train them again.

Despite the weight levels overall im happy with how training went this morning I made sure I got a good mind to muscle connection with everything although saying that I seem to struggle getting this with reverse flies so I may change these for face pulls next week because I don't feel im hitting them as well as I am the rest of my deltoids.

As always polished off the session with 30 mins of cardio, this seems to be getting a little too easy at the moment im not comfortable with upping the time just yet so il probably up the resistance on the cross trainer to make it that little bit harder, I know I say I enjoy just going through the motions with cardio but I don't want it to be too easy if that makes sense.

Anyway that's all for today shoulders feel a bit wobbly so I know ive trained them well  leg day tomorrow really looking forward to it too


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*5th December 2014 - Leg Day*

So training was utterly ****ing brutal this morning, the pump I got in my quads was insane and them and my hamstrings are still twitching now 

Squats - 5 sets starting with 10 reps working down to 4 top set was 110kg

RDL - 4x8 @ 60/62.5/65/67.5

Incline Plate Loaded Leg Press - 3x12 @ 102.5/112.5/122.5

Leg Extensions - 3x15 @ 41.3/47.3/54.3

Like I said this session was brutal this morning absolutely loved it, felt really strong on the squats and leg press too so the weights on these will be going up next week, RDL's I do feel I could have gone heavier however I think if I went heavier I maybe sacrificing form so im going to leave that how it is for now and concentrate on hitting the target muscle and keeping good form because my hamstrings were bloody burning afterwards.

Leg press increased the weights slightly from last week the weight was a challenge but still maintained a good mind to muscle connection but I definitely could have gone heavier and maintained form so this will creep up next week too, always made sure I pushed just shy of locking out to gain maximum tension on the quads and hamstrings, could feel this in my hamstrings nicely as well.

Leg extensions were good got a good mind to muscle connection with the quads on these and last few reps of the last set were bloody painful, not in a bad way though of course just the burn was brutal 

So as always polished off with 30 mins of cardio, looking forward to the weekend and a good clean refeed now ready to attack next weeks training, moving from strength to strength with everything at the moment and it feels like everything is clicking into place nicely after years of tinkering and changing so motivation is sky high at the moment :thumb:


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

Cheeky little quad shot this morning whilst they were nice and pumped, legs are probably my best bodypart so don't mind uploading pictures of em haha


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

@Goodfella **** all on your leg sessions mate but my legs feel broken after this morning :lol:


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## Goodfella (Jul 11, 2012)

AlexB18 said:


> @Goodfella **** all on your leg sessions mate but my legs feel broken after this morning :lol:


You put the intensity in mate and that's what makes a brutal workout 

Pyramiding squats is a b4stard. Them pins will be growing!!!


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

Goodfella said:


> You put the intensity in mate and that's what makes a brutal workout
> 
> Pyramiding squats is a b4stard. Them pins will be growing!!!


Aye pyramiding them is just cruel but awesome at the same time, doing the 10 reps ****ing ruins me but ironically I find the top sets easier :lol: aye mate any growth I can get out of any bodypart whilst im cutting will be a massive bonus to me!


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## Goodfella (Jul 11, 2012)

AlexB18 said:


> Aye pyramiding them is just cruel but awesome at the same time, doing the 10 reps ****ing ruins me but ironically I find the top sets easier :lol: aye mate any growth I can get out of any bodypart whilst im cutting will be a massive bonus to me!


Ten reps is fcuk all when it comes to legs.. Get some 20 rep sets in


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

Goodfella said:


> Ten reps is fcuk all when it comes to legs.. Get some 20 rep sets in


Lol with the weight im doing 10 reps with mate 10 reps feel like its 20 already, the thought of actually doing 20 rep squats scares me haha


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## Goodfella (Jul 11, 2012)

AlexB18 said:


> Lol with the weight im doing 10 reps with mate 10 reps feel like its 20 already, the thought of actually doing 20 rep squats scares me haha


20 rep sets of squats are like torture mate


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## BestBefore1989 (Oct 21, 2008)

Just worked my way through your journal, your doing great.

You have some good genetics mate, some people train hard all their lives and never get calves the size of yours.

keep up the hard work

Reps sent for achievements todate


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

BestBefore1989 said:


> Just worked my way through your journal, your doing great.
> 
> You have some good genetics mate, some people train hard all their lives and never get calves the size of yours.
> 
> ...


Nice one mate thanks a lot for that really appreciate it 

I seem to have been blessed(cursed when buying jeans) with good legs tbh all them years of playing rugby I think haha.

Keep up the good work on yours too mate your making really good progress too :thumbup1:

Reps sent back to you too mate.


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

Goodfella said:


> 20 rep sets of squats are like torture mate


I can only imagine mate, think I might give them a go in the near future, for now just wanna concentrate on improving on the good base I personally think ive got for legs, might even leave that level of cruelty out until I finally get round to doing my first bulk


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## Goodfella (Jul 11, 2012)

AlexB18 said:


> I can only imagine mate, think I might give them a go in the near future, for now just wanna concentrate on improving on the good base I personally think ive got for legs, might even leave that level of cruelty out until I finally get round to doing my first bulk


Smart thinking mate. Focus on keeping strength up in a cut. However higher rep squats would get some serious growth going and burn ALOT of kcals.


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

Goodfella said:


> Smart thinking mate. Focus on keeping strength up in a cut. However higher rep squats would get some serious growth going and burn ALOT of kcals.


Aye true that might add it in to give the system a bit of a shock when I plateau, ive seen people do 20 rep squats and literally throw up afterwards, how would you structure aiming to hit that sort of rep range would you still do pyramiding but structure it the other way, i.e. start with medium weight medium reps and move it up or would you do say 2 warm up sets with a decent weight then go straight onto attempting the 20 rep set?


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## Goodfella (Jul 11, 2012)

AlexB18 said:


> Aye true that might add it in to give the system a bit of a shock when I plateau, ive seen people do 20 rep squats and literally throw up afterwards, how would you structure aiming to hit that sort of rep range would you still do pyramiding but structure it the other way, i.e. start with medium weight medium reps and move it up or would you do say 2 warm up sets with a decent weight then go straight onto attempting the 20 rep set?


Id warm up as normal then. Pyramid as follows.

20,15,10,5 drop set to 20.


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

Goodfella said:


> Id warm up as normal then. Pyramid as follows.
> 
> 20,15,10,5 drop set to 20.


Jesus H Christ that sounds brutal :lol:


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## Goodfella (Jul 11, 2012)

AlexB18 said:


> Jesus H Christ that sounds brutal :lol:


Yeah buddy


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*8th December 2014 - Back & Biceps*

So another weekend done and dusted, diet wise i had a really good weekend, with the exception of a small box of maltesers and a few biscuits and a few sugary cups of tea i stuck with my diet 100%, so back to training this morning heres how it went...

Deadlift - 5 sets starting with 10 reps working down to 4 top set was 132.5kg

Barbell Rows - 4x8 @ 35/40/45/50

Diverging Lat Pulldown - 3x12 @ 45/52/59

Cable Curls - 3x15 @ 14

Training was really good this morning feeling really strong on the deadlifts and the weight on the rows was a nice comfortable weight but not too comfortable obviously, now with the lat pull i decided to opt for the diverging lat pull machine as opposed to the traditional lat pull machine i normally use and tbh i much preferred it felt like it hit my lats a lot better than traditional lat pulls would and it didnt feel like it affected my arms as much as much as traditional ones did either, cable curls i feel i could have gone heavier on so the weight on these will be going up next week.

Only complaint about this morning is i noticed getting ready for work after my lower back was a bit sore, i didnt pull anything or tweak anything when training and my form was just as strict as it normally is so ive no idea why, im going to monitor it and see how it develops, if it does, if it continues to be sore next week i might drop the weights down on deadlifts especially but il monitor it and see how it goes through the week.

As always polished off the session with half an hour on the cross trainer this morning, upped the resistance level to 14 as i felt 12 was getting too easy and the difference was noticeable, so was nice for it to be a bit more challenging than it normally it.

Anyway feeling really good and ready to crack on with the rest of the week, chest and tri's tomorrow so looking forward to the beasting my chest and tri's are going to get :thumb:


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*9th December 2014 - Chest & Tri's*

Really really good session this morning, it was absolutely ****ing baltic stood waiting for the bus this morning though so was happy to get in there and get lifting haha, heres how it went...

Bench Press - 5 sets starting with 10 reps working down to 4 top set was 75kg

Incline Dumbbell Press - 4x8 @ 22/24/26/28

Dumbbell Fly's - 3x12 @ 10/12/14

Rope Pulls - 3x15 @ 20.3

Really really good session this morning, feeling really strong on everything this morning and managed to grind out every rep on the top set of my bench press so really happy with that, felt really strong on the incline dumbbell press this morning and was with good form too so il be increasing the weight on this next week to keep stress on the target muscle maximum.

Dumbbell Fly's were as with dumbbell press really well the weights were good but i do feel i could have handled more so as with dumbbell press this will also be going up next week. Been getting a little bored with skullcrushers as well so decided to opt for a change and bring in rope pulls instead and i actually felt like these hit my triceps better than what skulls did actually haha, so will be sticking with these for the forseeable future.

As always 30 minutes of cardio was done afterwards to polish off the session still seeing improvements in the mirror what feels like every single day so what im doing if definately working 

Also @Goodfella sorry to drag you in here bud but i saw in your journal youve tried doing barbell rows with an EZ bar before (i think it was your journal anyway mate lol) whats your opinion on them do you find you work the muscle better using these instead of a traditional barbell? only reason i ask is because my back is only place i really struggle to get a mind to muscle connection with ive tackled every other lift on a back session, deads and diverging lat pulls but i can never feel it with rows that much so looking for a new way to change it up.


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## Goodfella (Jul 11, 2012)

AlexB18 said:


> *9th December 2014 - Chest & Tri's*
> 
> Really really good session this morning, it was absolutely ****ing baltic stood waiting for the bus this morning though so was happy to get in there and get lifting haha, heres how it went...
> 
> ...


Yes matey I used it as a part of a giant set. Main reason for using the EZ bar was so I can go underhand grip and not put pressure on my wrists... Traditional overhand grip I use a normal bar.

If you struggling with rows make sure to slow it right down... Stretch past your knees then drive back with elbows and squeeze your lats 

EZ bar underhand I find hits the lower lats very nicely indeed plus you can drive further back with your elbows due to the concave of the bar making for a bigger contraction!!!


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

Goodfella said:


> Yes matey I used it as a part of a giant set. Main reason for using the EZ bar was so I can go underhand grip and not put pressure on my wrists... Traditional overhand grip I use a normal bar.
> 
> If you struggling with rows make sure to slow it right down... Stretch past your knees then drive back with elbows and squeeze your lats
> 
> EZ bar underhand I find hits the lower lats very nicely indeed plus you can drive further back with your elbows due to the concave of the bar making for a bigger contraction!!!


I do mate i have always slowed it right down but could never really get that connection like i can with other lifts, like i said ive cracked it with every other lift on back day just rows that seem to be the problem, obviously i know they are getting worked but ive always felt i could do more with them if that makes sense? il give it a bash and see how i get on ive always done rows how you mentioned above but like i said ive just always seemed to struggle to get that connection properly, ive got the same problem with back as you do with legs you see haha. Thanks though buddy il give it a whirl next monday and see how i get on, will try it with underhand grip too see if that makes a difference.


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## Goodfella (Jul 11, 2012)

AlexB18 said:


> I do mate i have always slowed it right down but could never really get that connection like i can with other lifts, like i said ive cracked it with every other lift on back day just rows that seem to be the problem, obviously i know they are getting worked but ive always felt i could do more with them if that makes sense? il give it a bash and see how i get on ive always done rows how you mentioned above but like i said ive just always seemed to struggle to get that connection properly, ive got the same problem with back as you do with legs you see haha. Thanks though buddy il give it a whirl next monday and see how i get on, will try it with underhand grip too see if that makes a difference.


Haha I don't get that problem with legs anymore . Let me know how you get on!!!!


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

Just thought id pop up a little bit of an update, I mentioned on Monday I had a little bit of backache, after doing some reading I think I may have found out what the reason behind this is, basically ive always done the dorian yates style of rowing so back not completely bent right down, like I said after doing some reading the past few days ive found a lot of people share the opinion that this causes lower back problems which would explain it tbh if this is the case, so in light of this il be going back to traditional method of rowing, back at a 90 degree angle and seeing how I get on with that.

One thing I forgot to mention the other day the diverging lat pull definitely worked as well because my lats are still killing me even today, I haven't felt doms in my lats properly for a long time so its a nice feeling haha.

Final update too is that my chest is absolutely battered after yesterday, cant imagine how the doms are going to be next week when some of the weights go up


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*11th December 2014 - Shoulders & Calves*

Soooo had a bit of a disastrous start to the day, slept in until half 5 so didn't get in the gym until 6 an hour later than normal but thankfully the gym was dead when I got there so was on/off stuff pretty much straight away, anyway heres how it all went...

OHP - 5 sets starting with 10 reps working down to 4 to set was 42.5kg

Side Lat Raises - 4x8 @ 10/12/14/14

Face Pulls - 3x12 @ 23/25.2/27

Calf Raises - 3x15 @ 60kg

Despite the panis that I would be late this morning for training was still a really good session as it always is, was very happy with OHP this morning the weight on all sets was quite comfortable so will be creeping this up a bit more next week, side lat raises on the last set I could barely get the dumbbell up without adding momentum in via my back and legs so this will be getting dropped down next week as form was definitely sacrificed.

As I mentioned last week I didn't feel like reverse fly's was hitting my rear delts quite as much as I would have liked so I decided to give face pulls a go and they have done the trick perfectly, my rear delts were burning like mad by the end of the 3rd set, having said that the weight was quite comfortable so im confident I could manage more whilst maintaining form.

Calf Raises went up from last week and as I have said with a few other bits im reasonably confident I could have handled more than I did so this too will be going up next week.

Hopefully I don't sleep in tomorrow morning as I want to be in the gym bright and early for leg day


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

Forgot to mention as well, were having a lunch gathering at work today at a local restaurant so because its Christmas themed, lots of turkey, spuds etc etc so this will be the first proper planned cheat meal ive had in a few weeks actually, quite looking forward to it in all honesty but il be jumping straight back on the diet this afternoon and for tea tonight so im not going to be indulging to ridiculous levels the rest of the day still going to be keeping it as strict as I always do once ive had the works meal, in all fairness the carbs might have a better effect on leg day tomorrow haha, we shall see though.


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*12th December 2014 - Legs*

Leg day woohoo, ironically even though I had a bit of an indulgence in carbs yesterday at works Christmas lunch I felt quite tired and lethargic today, despite this still had a really good session, heres how it went...

Squats - 5 sets starting with 10 reps working down to 4 top set was 112.5

RDL - 4x8 @ 60/62.5/65/67.5

Plate loaded Leg Press - 3x12 @ 105/115/125

Leg Extensions - 3x15 @ 41.3/47.3/54.3

As I said really good session this morning despite the slight lethargy was feeling really strong on the squats especially, weight was up on all sets from last week and im confident I could have handled more than I did so safe to say this will be going up next week. RDL's the weight was a nice weight if im honest so I cant imagine this will be going up any time soon, the weight was heavy enough for me to hit the muscle properly but not too heavy that form was sacrificed.

Leg press again as with squats felt really strong on these today so expect these to go up next week, over the past few weeks ive adopted a slightly wider stance when doing leg press in order to bring my hamstrings and the inside part of my quads into it more and its really working at the moment as I can really feel it when pressing in this way.

Leg extensions were bloody painful this morning (not in a bad way like) made sure I got a really good squeeze at the top of the movement on every rep so my quads were on fire at the end of them, again as with RDL's the weight was a good weight so these wont be going up, final 3 reps of the last set I had to pause at the bottom and bring it back up again my legs were just killing me haha.

Decided to top the session off with an hour of cardio this morning instead of the usual 30 minutes, reason for this is because I indulged quite a bit yesterday so I wanted to squeeze in a little extra cardio just to make up for it, could probably have been ok with just sticking to it like I normally do however it was more for my peace of mind than anything else and in all honesty I feel a lot better for it too.

Looking forward to this weekend off to the cinema with the mrs tomorrow to see the hobbit so will probably work a few bags of haribo into my macros for tomorrow which I will be taking into the cinema so im not intending on going overboard on the macros or overall calories, next week will be my last week training before having a week off for Christmas so want to go full on with training next week and make sure I don't leave anything there before I have a rest for a week.


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*15th December 2014 - Back & Biceps*

So had a really good weekend had a day off the diet completely on Saturday me and the mrs went to see the hobbit, absolutely brilliant film id recommend going to see it if anyone is interested, anyway heres how training went today...

Rack Pulls - 5 sets starting at 10 reps working down to 4 top set was 135kg

Barbell Rows - 4x8 @ 35/40/45/50

Diverging Lat Pulls - 3x12 @ 45/52/59

Cable Curls - 3x15 @ 16.3

So training went really well this morning, I decided to swap out deadlifts for rack pulls and honestly I really enjoyed them a lot more than I thought I would, could definitely have managed more weight than I did with good form so il be increasing this steadily until the weight gets to a point where im really pushing myself, barbell rows I changed my style of doing them slightly to bending right down instead of standing upright and doing yates style rowing and I found it hit my back so so much better doing it like this and I didn't have any lower back ache after this mornings training either so winner winner chicken dinner 

Lat pulls went really well the weight was a decent enough weight for me to really push myself but not too heavy I was just moving the weight per se, finished off weight training with the usual cable curls and these absolutely ****ing burned this morning, made sure I was getting a good squeeze at the top of the movement and it bloody worked :lol:

As always polished off training with 30 minutes on the cross trainer was very happy with how training went this morning and im happy with how the changes ive made went too.


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*16th December 2014 - Chest & Triceps*

Tuesday is chest day, bloody hard slog this morning but really enjoyed it  heres how it went...

Bench Press - 5 sets starting with 10 reps coming down to 4 top set was 77.5kg

Incline Dumbbell Press - 4x8 @ 24/26/28/30

Dumbbell Fly's - 3x12 @ 12/14/16

Rope Pulls - 3x15 @ 23

As I said real tough slog this morning the weight went up on everything today compared with last week and the difference was ridiculous, I failed my last rep on the bench but im not too worried about that, going to stick with the weight for one more week then if I cant manage it again the next time I attempt it il drop the weight back down and work back up again, Incline Dumbbell press, Christ alive my chest was burning after these, pressing with 30kg dumbbells was the most ive ever done and the pump on my upper chest was just ridiculous, bloody should have been too as the burn was just as bad 

As I said because of how much the pressing burned doing fly's straight after these two was just insane, weight went up with these also and the top set I really had to grind out the last 6 reps but managed to maintain good form throughout so the target muscle got bloody smashed! Finished off the session with rope pulls, again upped the weight from last week and as with Fly's the last 5 reps of the last set I really had to grind out my triceps felt like they were going to pop afterwards.

Like I said at the start really really good training session this morning I can feel some DOMS setting in already on my chest, looking forward to a days rest now before I finish off the week with shoulders and calves and legs, after yesterday and today I think I need the days rest :lol:


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*18th December 2014 - Shoulders & Calves*

Training went really well this morning despite the fact ive only had about 3 hours sleep, daughter isn't very well and took me bloody ages to get her off to sleep properly last night...

OHP - 5 sets starting with 10 reps working down to 4 top set was 37.5kg

Side Lat Raises - 3x8 @ 8/10/12/14

Face Pulls - 3x12 @ 23/25.2/27

Standing Calf Raises - 3x15 @ 70

As I said training was good this morning kept a good level of intensity throughout, despite this I do feel I could have gone heavier on everything but lat raises, wont up the weights too much so the weights will slowly creep up on everything until it is at a comfortable level.

At the moment im feeling as though this day is the only one which is currently lagging behind in terms of intensity when compared with the other days however like ive said this will slowly change as the weights creep up on the lifts.

Session was polished off with 30 minutes on the cross trainer, this was a real slog this morning ive no idea why but that 30 minutes seemed like it was actually a few hours lol.

Looking forward to leg day tomorrow, tomorrow will be my final training session before I have a week off for Christmas, the week after next though I will be back on with the diet and training and the only days I will have off completely will be NYE (evening) NYD and 2nd Jan but after that its back to the grind, I want to stick to my diet as many days as possible but still enjoy the holidays don't want to push myself too far back given all the hard work ive been putting in so far.


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## BestBefore1989 (Oct 21, 2008)

Doing great mate :thumb:

Hope your daughter feels better soon


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

BestBefore1989 said:


> Doing great mate :thumb:
> 
> Hope your daughter feels better soon


Cheers buddy, yeah hope she feels better soon to cant be doing with many more of these late nights I don't get enough sleep as it is :lol:


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

Progress pictures from this morning one comparison front and some others.


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*19th December 2014 - Legs*

So I decided to take my progress photos and take my weight a week early because of the fact that next week will just be spent indulging in Christmas festivities, so anyway heres how training went this morning...

Squats - 5 sets starting with 10 reps working down to 4 top set was 115kg

RDL - 4x8 @ 60/62.5/65/67.5

Incline Leg Press - 3x12 @ 110/120/130

Leg Extensions - 3x15 @ 41.3/47.3/54.3

So my legs are in absolute tatters after this morning absolutely loved training this morning really pushed hard and upped the weight on everything except for RDL's, Squats my strength seems to be going up every week with these so really happy with how im progressing so far, RDL's again as with last week my hamstrings were burning like mad after doing these and im not 100% confident I could keep strict form if I upped the weight so il be keeping it as it is for now.

Leg press, these really really burned especially the last few reps of the last set, but despite that I know I could go heavier and maintain TUT I have been doing so this wil also be going up next time I train legs. Leg Extensions finished off the session and like last week I made sure I really got that squeeze at the top of the movement which absolutely destroyed my quads to the point I was struggling to walk when I stood up :lol:

Anyway it was weigh in/progress photo day today a week earlier than it should have been but I didn't want to be taking progress photos day after having Christmas dinner haha, I weighed myself and in all honesty I was a little surprised, the scales say ive only lost 1.2lbs but looking at myself in the mirror it feels like ive lost more than that so im not going to worry about it too much, now with my photos, I personally still think ive made decent progress in the last 3 weeks since my last ones but if anyone else thinks im talking bollocks feel free to tell me :lol:

So that's about it really for today looking forward to having a week off next week il be back in the gym a week on sunday and every day including NYE then il be breaking off until the following Monday when it will be back to business as normal.


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

Feels like an eternity since ive updated this but happy new year peeps hope you all had a good un, I know I did 

Anyway apologies for not updating this in a while ive just been stupidly busy with work and family etc ive barely had time to scratch my **** let alone log on here and update this :lol:

Anyway glad to be back this week after having two weeks off.

*5th January 2015 - Back & Biceps*

Rack Pulls - 5 sets starting with 10 reps working down to 4 top set was 135kg

Barbell Rows - 4x8 @ 35/40/45/50

Diverging Lat Pull - 3x12 @ 45/52/59

Cable Curls - 3x15 @ 16.3

So first session back after the new year and my back was destroyed, felt very good  only area of concern at present is with my grip when it comes to rack pulls, I had to re adjust my grip halfway through the set as I was losing it so I think I might have to invest in some chalk soon to take care of that. Other than that no other real issues, as always session was topped off with some cardio at the end however ive sacked off the LISS for a while as it was getting a bit tedious changed it up for some HIIT on the cross trainer instead this was 15 minutes and I was blowing by the end of it.

*6th January 2015 - Chest & Triceps*

Bench Press - 5 sets starting with 10 reps working down to 4 top set was 77.5kg

Incline Dumbbell Press - 4x8 @ 24/26/28/30

Dumbbell Fly's - 3x12 @ 12/14/16

Rope Pulls - 3x15 @ 23

Session was really really hard this morning, just the way I like it, I didn't manage the final rep on the top set on bench press but im not going to worry about it as I expected a slight loss in strength on some things after the Christmas break so I wont be de loading it or anything unless I really cant push it up in the next few weeks. Incline dumbbell press was a really tough slog for me this morning but I managed to grind out every single rep with good form so very happy with that, my chest was absolutely ruined after this session.

*8th January 2015 - Delts & Calves*

Standing OHP - 5 sets starting with 10 reps working down to 4 top set was 40kg

Lat Raises - 4x8 @ 8/10/12/12

Face Pulls - 3x12 @ 26.1/28.4/30.6

Calf Raises - 3x15 @ 75kg

So brings me to this mornings session, my delts are twitching in pain as we speak after this morning calves as well for that matter, energy was really good this morning and tbh nothing much more to say on the matter so quite a boring log update for today haha, as I said earlier on finished it off with 15 minutes of HIIT on the cross trainer.


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## BestBefore1989 (Oct 21, 2008)

Good work :thumb:


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

BestBefore1989 said:


> Good work :thumb:


Honestly mate the DOMS ive had all week are just brutal, looking forward to the pain in my legs tomorrow though


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*9th January 2015 - Quads and Hamstrings*

Squats - 5 sets starting with 10 reps working down to 4 top set was 115kg

RDL - 4x8 @ 60/62.5/65/67.5

Plate Loaded Incline Leg Press - 3x12 @ 110/120/130

Leg Extensions - 3x15 @ 41.3/47.3/54.3

Brilliant session this morning feeling really strong on everything this morning, squats especially I was expecting the weight to be a lot harder on me than it actually was especially after having two weeks off, definitely feel I could have gone heavier on all sets and kept form strict so expect this to go up next week. With RDL's my hamstrings felt like they were going to pop come the last two sets the burn was ridiculous but managed it all with good form too, one thing I will mention is that I had to use my lifting straps on the final two sets as I could feel my grip going and it was getting to the point where I was concentrating on keeping hold of the bar rather than the movement as a whole, not going to worry about it though using my straps on one or two lifts and lifting everything else raw isn't going to do me any harm.

Leg press was really same as squats tbh I definitely could have gone heavier than I did and maintained good form so as with squats expect to see these bumped up next week, leg extensions finished off the weights side of training this morning and after these I could barely walk up the stairs to the changing rooms so I think its safe to say they did the trick of finishing off my quads 

As with previous days training was topped off with 15 mins of HIIT on the cross trainer, tbh I dunno how the hell I managed to get through this after how much my quads were burning after the weights but regardless not gonna complaint.

That's all for this week looking forward to the weekend now, I bloody need it had a **** week at work tbh so cant wait to get out of here at 4 today, peace out and have a good weekend everyone


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*12th January 2015 - Back and Biceps*

So start of a new week and had a really good session this morning as with Friday felt really strong on everything this morning, heres how it went...

Rack Pulls - 5 sets starting at 10 reps working down to 4 top set was 140kg

Barbell Rows - 4x8 @ 40/42.5/45/47.5

Diverging Lat Pull - 3x12 @ 32/36/41

Seated Bicep Curls - 3x15 @ 23

As I said really good session this morning feeling full of energy and really strong, Rack pulls ive had to start using my lifting straps again reluctantly as I cant manage the weight im currently doing without them as at the moment I find I lose concentration on the target muscle and focus more on the grip which is not what I want. Anyway with the help from the straps I definitely could have gone heavier than I did on these so the weight on this will be going up next week.

With regards to rows you may notice that the weight increments have changed slightly, the reason for this is in short to make it harder, the top weight is hard enough for me to work the muscle adequately but the weight on the start and second sets were too light so I thought changing the starting weight to be higher would be better.

Same sort of story with lat pull tbh you may notice that the weight has dropped, reason as similar with rows I was using momentum from leaning back too much for my liking and not getting a decent squeeze at the bottom of the movement for me to be happy with how im working the muscle but I made sure I kept the pressure on the target muscle this morning and it worked very nicely.

I decided to swap cable curls out for the bicep curl machine just to change things up a bit that's all no other reason behind that really if im honest. As always training was polished off with 15 minutes of HIIT on the cross trainer which finished everything off very nicely, absolutely fooked after it all this morning haha, roll on chest and triceps tomorrow though


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

Right first off apologies for not updating this, this week has been a complete write off right from the start, ive still been training but my diet has completely gone out the window, I cooked all my weeks food on sunday night and was all prepped ready for the week, only for the fridge/freezer to pack in, so the £100 worth of shopping I did on Saturday majority has been wasted, to add to this the oven packed in Monday night too so I cant really cook owt anyway, so like I said still been training and drinking my shakes but essentially this week ive been eating whatever the hell I want.

Anyway now I have that rant out my system heres how the past two days have been...

*13th January 2015 - Chest & Triceps*

Bench Press - 5 sets starting with 10 reps working down to 4 top set was 77.5kg

Decline Dumbbell Press - 4x8 @ 18/20/22/24

Incline Dumbbell Flies - 3x12 @ 12/14/16

Rope Pulls - 3x15 @ 23

so chest was really really good this morning as you can see ive made a few minor changes just swapped incline dumbbell press for decline instead and doing flies on an incline instead, reason for this really was 1) fancied a change up and 2) wanted to start hitting lower chest as well as upper so that in the session the whole of my chest will be hit nicely, well that's my thinking anyway.

Bench Press I failed on my last two reps again, going to give it one more week then if I cant hack it again next week then il deload the following week, considering my diet has been appalling the past week im not going to dwell on it too much. With decline dumbbell press I really enjoyed this I could really feel it in the lower chest and there was barely any strain put on my delts as a result so win win all around, ironically with the incline flies these felt easier than they do when im laid flat, still worked the muscle just as hard like but they felt easier/more comfortable for some reason.

*15th January 2015 - Delts & Calves*

Standing Overhead Press - 5 sets starting with 10 reps working down to 4 top set was 37.5kg

Cable Side Raises - 3x8 @ 9/11.3/13.3/15.3

Face Pulls - 3x12 @ 40/45/50

Standing Calf Raises - 3x15 @ 75kg

Shoulders and calves this morning session was really really good despite the crap diet all week feeling full of energy and it showed as the weight on everything was quite comfortable, wouldn't say it was easy as I was still happy with how I worked the target muscle but I definitely could have gone heavier than I did on everything so the numbers will most likely go up next time I train these.

As always training at the end of both sessions was topped off with 15 minutes of HIIT on the cross trainer.

So all in all despite having a bit of a **** week im still happy with my training as im still putting 100% in every session, next week I wont be training as im taking the week off work because r lass is in London all week seeing her best mate so ive got the kids for the week, I will however be sticking with my diet through the week, not having another week like this ive made far too many excuses now to not get back to it as of next week, and to be honest I actually miss eating cleanly, who would have thought it eh :lol:


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## BestBefore1989 (Oct 21, 2008)

Its strange how that happens, nothing ever packs in on its own. They say these things happen in threes but for your sake I hope that's wrong.

well done for keeping up the training.

Enjoy your time with the kids next week.

:lol: spoil them while shes away


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

BestBefore1989 said:


> Its strange how that happens, nothing ever packs in on its own. They say these things happen in threes but for your sake I hope that's wrong.
> 
> well done for keeping up the training.
> 
> ...


Aye im currently waiting the third thing to go mate but like you said, I hope in my case its a load of old tosh haha, the training has been the only thing that's been keeping my sanity intact all week mate so was never going to scrap it off, yeah mate looking forward to a week with em both really even if they are hard work :lol: be stressed out come the end of next week but for a whole different reason haha.


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*16th January 2015 - Quads and Hamstrings*

So leg day was brutal this week, all weights were up from the week before leg press being the exception so my legs are in absolute tatters today, love it 

Squats - 5 sets starting with 10 reps working down to 4 top set was 117.5kg

RDL - 4x8 @ 60/62.5/65/67.5

Incline Leg Press - 3x12 @ 110/120/130

Leg Extensions 3x15 @ 45/49/53

As I said earlier my legs are ****ing ruined, I could feel my legs aching right after the first set of squats, still very happy with strength and form on the squats though so I may up this next time I train legs in 2 weeks time I haven't made my mind up yet. RDLs were just pain, that's about it really pain pain pain not in a bad way like, I slowed the reps right down and made sure I got a really good stretch at the bottom of the movement and didn't lock out at the top to maintain tension on the hamstrings so they were burning like mad all the way through my final set :lol:

Leg press I see no reason to adjust the weight really as the weight is good enough for me to get the muscles working well on this, plus a fact the week before when I did up the weight I could feel my **** lifting off the seat as I brought the weight down so don't want to be injuring myself simply because I want to go heavier. Leg extensions were absolutely brutal, the burn on my quads after these was just stupid tbh, could barely walk up the stairs to the changing rooms after either :lol:

With that in mind I was dreading doing 15 minutes of HIIT on the cross trainer but I managed to get through it which I was surprised at, so nice week off next week with the kids still going to be sticking with my diet though but just having a week from the gym.


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*26th January 2015 - Back & Biceps*

So back to the grind this week after having a week off, had a good week off with the kids but happy to be back in the gym slogging it out heres how it went...

Rack Pulls - 5 sets starting with 10 reps working down to 4 top set was 165kg

Cable Rows - 4x8 @ 45/52/59/66

Diverging Lat Pull - 3x12 @ 36/41/45

Seated Bicep Curls - 3x15 @ 27

So hit a new overall best for weight in total shifted on anything with rack pulls which in all honesty still felt a bit too comfortable so il definitely be upping the numbers next week on these, loving the big numbers going up on rack pulls though  well to me they are big numbers anyway haha. Decided to swap barbell rows out for seated cable ones instead and I could definitely feel the benefit, made sure I got a good squeeze on the target muscles all the way through the movement and I don't think my back liked me very much afterwards :lol:

Lat pulls as with cable rows, made sure I kept a good squeeze on the target muscle and didn't let the tension leave target muscles so can feel it a lot more than I normally can today which is only a good thing in my book. Seated machine curls polished off the weight training and I feel I could have also gone heavier on these too.

As always polished off the session with some HIIT I dropped it down to 10 minutes today as I was absolutely ****ed after 8 minutes no way could I have managed another 5 minutes of it lol. chest day tomorrow looking forward to it in all honesty


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*2nd February 2015 - Back & Biceps*

Right first off to the people who follow this regularly, apologies for not updating this at all last week, had some personal issues going on so gym and diet went out the window due to everything going on, back to the grind this week here's how it all went...

Rack Pulls - 5 sets starting with 10 reps working down to 4 top set was 170kg

Seated Cable Rows - 4x8 @ 38/45/52/59

Diverging Lat Pull - 3x12 @ 36/41/45

Seated Curls - 3x15 @ 34

Really good return session this morning feeling really strong on everything today the last few sets on rack pulls were really hard but still feel I could have pushed the weight up further without sacrificing form so this is what I will be doing next week. Cable rows I dropped the weight on all sets compared with last week because I don't want to be leaning forward when doing these and using the swing back motion to be helping me with the weight I want it to be all in my back and its worked nicely cos my upper back is in bits :lol:

Diverging lat pull I felt no need to be increasing the weight in this as I still feel it hits the muscle very nicely with the weight im managing at the moment so don't expect this to be increasing or anything over the next week or so. Seated Curls the weight on these was very nice this morning, nice in the sense that I managed all reps and my biceps were fooking burning afterwards :lol:

Polished off the session this morning with 30mins on the cross trainer.

After everything that happened last week my motivation really isn't in a good place at present but im going to push through this week regardless in the hope that training and sticking to my dieting will see my mojo for training come back as ive put far too much weight on over the past month or so.


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*3rd February 2015 - Chest & Triceps*

After this morning Im pretty sure my chest hates me 

Bench Press - 5 sets starting with 10 reps working down to 4 top set was 77.5kg

Decline Dumbbell Press - 4x8 @ 20/22/24/26

Incline Dumbbell Flys - 3x12 @ 12/14/16

Rope Pulls - 3x15 @ 23

So as I said, my chest hates me, its still aching like a ****er now, really really pushed hard on everything this morning and didn't sack off on the weight because I was getting tired either so as a result my chest is still burning hours after training :lol:

Bench press I was really happy with in all honesty, managed to get all 4 reps done on 77.5kg at long bloody last  wont be putting the weight up next week though want to make sure it wasn't a one off and push too much too quickly. Decline dumbbell press although I could really feel it in my lower pecs im quite confident I could have handled more weight than what I did so this will be going up next week.

Incline flys, same old really, lately from doing these ive felt these hit my upper chest better than incline pressing does so its nice to be able to feel the pump and burn all over my chest not just the middle and top. Rope pulls I really had to push through the pain barrier on the last 4 reps of the last set this morning my triceps felt like they were going to pop but managed to grind out all 15 reps on every set so am very happy.

As always training was polished off with some cardio on the cross trainer, just got to await the inevitable pain that awaits me tomorrow :lol:


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*5th February 2015 - Shoulders & Calves*

Made a little change in the way I train shoulders this morning so il go into more detail when im breaking it down...

Seated Shoulder Press - 5 sets starting with 10 reps going down to 4 top set was 50kg

Side Lat Cable Raises - 4x8 @ 9/11.3/14/16.3

Face Pulls - 3x12 @ 32/38/41

Standing Calf Raises - 3x15 @ 80

Havent felt my shoulders aching this much in a long time, really really enjoyed training this morning, now I decided to swap out the OHP for the seated shoulder press the plate loaded one which the gym have, reason being is I didn't feel OHP was working my shoulders to the level that I wished and I could really tell the difference this morning, swapping to the seated press really allowed me to focus on keeping the tension on the delts the whole time and not worry so much about keeping my balance etc so it was a good change and one il be sticking with.

Side lat raises ive started doing these on a cable machine lately and personally I feel this works my side delts better than the ones with dumbbells did, I could be wrong but I feel I get a better mind to muscle connection using cables rather than dumbbells. Face pulls were a real burner this morning I haven't felt my rear delts working like they were this morning ever so I think im getting close to that weight where im really smashing the muscle rather than just 'working' it like I have done in the past.

Standing calf raises I upped this from last week as I felt the weight was getting a little too comfortable and I could really tell the difference, my calves felt like they were going to pop so it definitely did the trick 

As always session was polished off with some cardio, for some reason post cardio this week my quads are absolutely killing me never had this before, not worrying about it too much just means leg day tomorrow will be even more brutal if my legs are already pre exhausted 

Having a really good week so far been sticking with the diet 100% and I can feel the motivation coming back slowly but surely, its taking its sweet time though after the few weeks ive had but im happy the fact that despite how crap im feeling sometimes im still getting up, training and hitting the diet spot on.


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## BestBefore1989 (Oct 21, 2008)

sounds like your in the groove :thumb:


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

BestBefore1989 said:


> sounds like your in the groove :thumb:


Bloody needs to be mate motivation took a complete nosedive last week so its good to feel its starting to come back


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*9th February 2015 - Pull*

Right as you can see ive scrapped the 4 day split and gone back to the P/P/L split i was doing before, reasons being is because getting up at 4am 4 times a week was killing me so going to go back to something which i know for a fact works and all that, anyway was a good session but heres how it went...

Deadlift - 5x5 @ 135kg

Barbell Rows - 5x5 @ 55kg

Diverging Lat Pull - 3x10 @ 45kg

Face Pulls - 3x10 @ 45kg

Seated Curls - 3x12 @ 32kg

So yeah like i said swapped back to this and only going to be training 3 times a week from now on, first time deadlifting in a few months, ive missed it a lot actually, felt a lot stronger on the deadlifts than i did before the break so it must have done me some good. Though i do feel i could have gone heavier than the 135kg i was pulling so il be popping this up next week most likely.

Barbell Rows again feeling really strong on these this morning was able to maintain really good form and make sure i got the good squeeze at the top of the movement, was the first time i can remember being able to feel the movement more in my back than i could in my arms so i think ive finally cracked it after only 2 and a bit years of trying :lol:

Lat pulls as with rows made sure i got a good squeeze at the bottom of the movement dont feel like i could have gone heavier whilst maintaining the form i had so i wont be adjusting the weight on this next week. Face pulls the weight was a nice one with these could really feel it hitting my rear delts and i actually feel i could still have gone heavier than i did so il be doing just that next week. Finished off weights with seated machine curls and the weight was a nice enough level to leave my biceps burning and ridiculously pumped at the end, i made sure i really squeezed at the top of the movement which probably explains the deep burn 

As always finished off training this morning with 30 minutes of cardio, will be wierd not training tomorrow but will be nice having a rest day again and keeping focus ready for wednesday.


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*11th February 2015 - Push*

Had a really good session this morning, my triceps, chest and delts are all killing me, always a sign of a good session 

Bench Press - 3x5 @ 75kg

Seated Shoulder Press - 3x5 @ 55kg

Seated Lat Raises - 3x10 @ 10kg

Assisted Chest Dips - 3x10 @ 41kg

Tricep Pushdowns - 3x12 @ 23kg

So like i said really enjoyed training this morning, with the exception of bench and shoulder press i felt the weight on everything else was at a perfect weight tbh so no need to adjust anything other than those two next week, with regards to bench press i think i tried for too much as i failed on the 4th rep of the last set so il probably knock this down to 70kg next week and work my way back up.

Seated shoulder press is the other one which will be adjusted next week as i definately could have handled a higher weight than what i did but will increase this slowly as i always do and go from there and see how i get on.

As always training was finished off with 30 minutes on the cross trainer, next up on friday is my favorite day, leg day


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*13th February 2015 - Legs*

Leg day today and my legs were brutalized is the only phrase i can think of outlining how much they hurt at the moment haha.

Squats - 3x5 @ 120kg

SLDL - 3x8 @ 65kg

Incline Leg Press - 3x10 @ 140kg

Standing Calf Raises - 3x20 @ 65kg

Leg Extensions 3x12 @ 52kg

Add to this the 30 minutes on the cross trainer i did this morning and my legs are absolutely t totalled haha, absolutely loved training this morning though, was very happy with how i got on with squats was happy with my form and i actually think i could have gone heavier so il up that next week and see how i get on. SLDL my hamstrings were burning to a point ive never felt before after these it was ridiculous, last few reps on the last set were a real grind to get through them but i did it so no need to change the weight next week imo.

Incline leg press now i definately feel i could have gone heavier on this so as with squats this will also go up, i reckon i might jump it up to 150 next week see how i get on, was happy with form on this too so i feel im good to go with upping the weight. Standing calf raises as you can see ive upped the reps for this from 15 to 20 and sweet jesus couldnt half notice the difference they burned like fuark afterwards, reason behind changing it up to 20 rather than 15 is because i didnt feel 15 was hitting them with the intensity i would have liked but i was very happy with the intensity i hit them with when using 20 reps instead 

Lastly was leg extensions, my quads were already buggered by this time so each and every single rep on this was a real grind, just the way i like it 

As mentioned earlier session was polished off with 30 minutes on the cross trainer had AVB's a state of trance powering me through that which i really needed i could barely move my legs afterwards :lol:


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*16th February 2015 - Pull*

So today was a bit of a **** day if im honest but il explain why in a bit, heres how training went this morning...

Deadlift - 3x5 @ 140kg

Barbell Rows - 3x5 @ 60kg

Diverging Lat Pull - 3x10 @ 45kg

Face Pulls - 3x10 @ 50kg

Seated Curls - 3x12 @ 32kg

So with the exception of Lat pulls and curls everything else felt quite comfortable weight wise this morning so the weight on the majority will be going up next week, i was especially surprised with how comfortable deads felt as thats the heaviest ive gone on these in quite a while and i was very happy with my form too but the last rep jesus christ it was a struggle haha.

Anyway thats about it training wise which i can update on really, anyway the past few weeks ive been cheating my diet far too much and just generally been down in the dumps and as it turns out ive had a relapse of depression which i didnt truly realise until yesterday at work when i had a complete breakdown in the middle of work, ive been to see the doctor and its in the process of being sorted but im worried things have been damaged beyond repair with me and the mrs but hopefully things will improve with the counselling il be getting in the future, just trying to stay positive and keep myself as busy as possible at the moment. So yeah bit down in the dumps at the moment but hopefully things will improve in time.


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## BestBefore1989 (Oct 21, 2008)

Sorry to hear that mate, hope you get yourself sorted


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

BestBefore1989 said:


> Sorry to hear that mate, hope you get yourself sorted


Cheers mate, as with anything its going to take time but like ive said trying to stay positive for my own sanity more than anything else.

Ive been through it once before and come out ok i can sure as hell do it again just at the point at the moment where its hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel, its there somewhere though


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*18th February 2015 - Push*

Lots of positivity flowing through me today, i think the beasting at the gym certainly helped as well, anyway heres how it went...

Bench Press - 3x5 @ 70kg

Seated Hammer Press - 3x5 @ 60kg

Seated Lat Raises - 3x10 @ 10kg

Assisted Chest Dips - 3x10 @ 41kg

Tricep Pushdowns - 3x12 @ 23kg

Brilliant training session this morning, the weight on bench was a little bit too light for my liking so il be knocking this up by 2.5kg next week and seeing how i get on, felt a lot easier than i thought it would in all honesty, was happy with my form as well. Seated hammer press this was increased by 5kg from last week and i still feel i had a lot more in the tank than what i was lifting so again as with bench will be knocking this up next week also.

Seated lat raises i was happy with the weight on these got a decent pump on the target muscle ensuring i got a good squeeze at the top of the movement, the same was with assisted chest dips made sure i got a good squeeze right at the top and a good stretch at the bottom on every rep but made sure i didnt lock out to ensure tension was kept on the chest and my chest was fooking killing me afterwards haha. Finally weights wise was polished off with tricep pushdowns the weight was a decent enough weight for me to near failure at the end of each set so wont be toying with the weight next week as i think its fine as it is.

As always cardio finished off this mornings session, decided to change it up this morning though and went on the rolling stairs for 20 minutes instead, holy hell i was dying by the end of it just getting to 20 minutes was a grind and my calves and glutes were funking burning at the end, will be looking forward to this on friday after training legs :lol:

On a personal level i feel like a bit of a weight has been lifted now that im in the process of getting my head sorted, i feel like talking to the doctor has helped massively already and i have a counselling appointment at 2pm tomorrow so hopefully in the long run the counselling will teach me how to open up a bit more rather than bottle things up, for now anyway im feeling very positive about things so long may that continue


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## BestBefore1989 (Oct 21, 2008)

AlexB18 said:


> *18th February 2015 - Push*
> 
> Lots of positivity flowing through me today, i think the beasting at the gym certainly helped as well, anyway heres how it went...
> 
> ...


 :thumb:


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*20th February 2015 - Leg Day*

Got that friday feeling, leg day this morning and the rugby tonight should be a good day, i can hear my sofa calling me though after that leg session jeysus christ im a broken man :lol:

Squats - 3x5 @ 122.5kg

SLDL - 3x10 @ 65kg

Incline Leg Press - 3x10 @ 150kg

Standing Calf Raises - 3x20 @ 65kg

Leg Extensions - 3x12 @ 54.3kg

So leg day was absolutely brutal but i bloody loved it this morning, starting off with squats upped the weight by 2.5kg from last week and the last few reps of each set were hard i had to proper grunt out the last reps but im confident i could still go heavier and still maintain good form so challenge accepted lets see if i can push out 125kg next week. SLDL kept the weight the same as i did last week as im happy that the weight ive currently got it at is hitting the hamstrings well, plus they are bloody killing regardless to i dont see any need to tinker with the weight just yet.

Incline leg press upped this by 10kg from last week, as with squats im very confident i could have handled more than i was pushing on this so il bump it up by another 10kg next week and see how i get on, standing calf raises i see no need to up the weight on these at present as im happy with how they are getting hit at this weight anyway. So weight wise was polished off with leg extensions which despite the fact they burned like a mother ****er again im very confident i could still have managed more weight on these so il bump it up by 1 plate and see how i get on next week.

As always cardio finished off the session, swapped cardio onto the rolling stairs weve got, level 5 for 20 minutes and i was absolutely dying by the end of that but i really enjoyed cardio on that at the same time, anyway thats all from me for this week, looking forward to a good refeed this weekend, chicken stir frys and currys are the choices for this weekend. Have a good weekend anyone who reads this.


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*23rd February 2015 - Pull*

So really good session this morning, really really enjoyed it, ive decided to add in 1 extra lift in each of my training days just to polish it off if you get me, not going to be sacrificing intensity because of the extra lift though still going to be going hard at it every single time, anyway heres how this morning went...

Deadlift - 3x5 @ 145kg

Barbell Rows - 3x5 @ 60kg

Wide Grip Cable Rows - 3x10 @ 39kg

Diverging Lat Pull - 3x10 @ 45kg

Face Pulls - 3x10 @ 54kg

Seated Curls - 3x12 @ 23kg

So deadlift went up by 5kg from last week and i can certainly feel it thats for sure, despite this i still reckon i can go heavier as i was happy with my form throughout the sets so il see if i can smash 150kg next week, the fact that im lifting heavier and heavier each week and maintaining good form is making my motivation shoot up so buzzing for wednesday's session already 

Barbell rows kept this at the same weight as last week and ensured that i got a good squeeze at the top of the movement, im happy with the weight ive got it at present so i see no need in increasing this for the time being. Now as i said i added in a new lift for this session which was wide grip cable rows, i felt they just finished off working my back if that makes any sense at all and i got a really good pump from doing these as well, as with the barbell rows ensured i got a tight squeeze at the top of the movement, weight wise i felt it was fine however i might drop it back down to load it back up again and see how much i can push my muscles with that lift.

Diverging lat pull was next up, as with everything else back related i ensured i got a really good squeeze at the bottom of the movement and could really feel it afterwards especially with the bit of added back work ive put in, might increase the weight on this next week and see how i get on as i reckon i could have handled more than what i did. Face pulls in all honesty was a little disappointed with these this morning i upped the weight thinking i could handle it and i lost the mind to muscle connection a bit so il be dropping these back down to 49kg next week as im not confident i hit the muscle as best i could.

Seated curls finished off the weight side of training this morning and as you will see ive dropped the weight down a fair bit from last week, reasoning behind this was my arms were already worked to an extent with all the back work id done so i wanted to ensure i maintained the squeeze at the top and the mind to muscle connection rather than just aimlessly moving the weight and it worked because my arms were absolutely killing at the end of this.

Half an hour on the rolling stairs polished off the session this morning, my quads and glutes were burning like a bastard after doing these :lol: believe it or not trying something different cardio wise has made me really enjoy it again, well unless its leg day anyway haha, anyway feeling good about things at present, had a **** weekend in all honesty but training this morning has kept my spirits up.


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## BestBefore1989 (Oct 21, 2008)

I like dead lifts too

Dead-lift is IMO the best lift you can do for overall strength.

A max weight deadlift destroys everything, legs, back, traps, abs, lungs - everything

After a max deadlift I have to sit down for 5 min :lol:


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

BestBefore1989 said:


> I like dead lifts too
> 
> Dead-lift is IMO the best lift you can do for overall strength.
> 
> ...


I absolutely love them but like you said mate they ruin you in every way possible, my back is still aching from them now haha.


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*25th February 2015 - Push*

You know that feeling you get sometimes after a really hard training session where no matter what you cant seem to get sat in a comfy position without one part of your body crying in pain? yep thats how i feel this morning :lol:

Bench Press - 3x5 @ 70kg

Seated Hammer Press - 3x5 @ 65kg

Incline Hammer Press - 3x8 @ 40kg

Assisted Chest Dips - 3x10 @ 41kg

Seated Lat Raises - 3x10 @ 8kg

Cable Pushdowns - 3x12 @ 23kg

As i said earlier i think im broken in nearly every way possible after this morning, even bench press ruined me today so kinda set the tone for the rest of the session  I was happy with my form on the bench press but i dont think il be upping it next week or owt as the weight i had it at was a comfortable one for me to get a decent mind muscle connection. Seated hammer press, the weight i had it at this morning was good enough but i feel i definately had more in the tank on this one so will be pushing that up to 70kg next week for definite.

Incline hammer press is the new lift ive decided to include into training at the moment, reason being this means my chest is getting hit on every angle now and i could tell the difference thats for sure, i started with a relatively easy weight to gauge where i was strength wise with this im confident i could easily push 50kg for those reps so again this will also be going up. Assisted chest dips damn near killed me this morning, must have been because my chest was already pre exhausted from the earlier stuff but fuark me my chest was burning like mad after these.

Seated lat raises i lowered the weight slightly as i wasnt happy i was working the muscle well enough with the 10kg dumbbells so lowered it to 8 and it seems to have done the trick, got a very good mind to muscle connection and my side delts were ****ing burning :lol:

Weights wise session was polished off with cable pushdowns, made sure i got a good contraction at the bottom of the movement and the buggers are still twitching now so i can tell ive worked them well today.

As always session was finished off with cardio, bumped the level on the rolling stairs up to 6 but i could only manage 20 minutes before my quads felt like they were going to seize up haha, was a good cardio workout though was absolutely ****ed at the end of it 

Looking forward to finishing off the week with legs on friday, not so much the cardio though :lol:


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*2nd March 2015 - Pull*

Right first off apologies for the lack of updates missed leg day last week as i caught some bloody bug off my brother and thurs/fri/sat i felt like i was dying, anyway back to it this week feeling fresh as a daisy this morning so heres how it went...

Deadlift - 3x5 @ 145kg

Ez Barbell Rows (Underhand) - 3x8 @ 40kg

Wide Grip Cable Rows - 3x8 @ 39kg

Diverging Lat Pull - 3x8 @ 45kg

Face Pulls - 3x8 @ 54kg

Machine Preacher Curls - 3x12 @ 23kg

Right absolutely smashed it this morning, my back it wondering what the **** has just happened :lol: dunno whats happening lately but my strength on deadlifts just seems to be going up and up, 145kg felt reasonably comfortable this morning so will have a crack at the old 150kg next week see how i get on, think it might be them creatine gainz in my PWO shake :lol:

Decided to change a few things up a bit, dunno why but me and the 10 rep range dont seem to get on very well, dont find it hits the muscle how i want it to and i tried 8 and it hit it very nicely indeed, as you can see on the barbell rows i did it with an EZ bar and underhand grip instead and the squeeze at the top of the movement was great got a brilliant mind to muscle connection completing this lift like this and im happy i could manage more weight so this also will be going up next week.

Wide grip cable rows i felt this hit my back so so much better in the 8 rep range rather than the 10 and the weight was hard enough as it was so no need to put this up next week in my opinion. Diverging lat pull again as with the wide grip rows i felt the 8 rep range hit my lats so much better and the weight was a decent one too so no need to adjust this either. Session was polished off with face pulls and machine preacher curls both of which the weight and rep range was comfortable on so no need to adjust either of these.

Session was polished off with 20 minutes on the stair machine at level 6, i was ****ing dying after doing these though lol, right thats all for me, might train tomorrow instead of wednesday as im off out for a meal for my birthday which will most likely mean indulging in carbs so i might train tomorrow morning rather than wednesday, will decide tonight how im feeling.


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*March 4th 2015 - Push*

So after an eventful day yesterday (i wont bore you with the details) had an extra umph about my training this morning, essentially i was lifting angry haha, still maintaining good form like obviously.

Bench Press - 3x5 @ 70kg

Seated Hammer Press - 3x8 @ 70kg

Incline Hammer Press - 3x8 @ 60kg

Seated Lat Raises - 3x8 @ 10kg

Assisted Chest Dips - 3x8 @ 41kg

Cable Pushdowns - 3x12 @ 23kg

So after the session this morning my delts and chest hurt like they have never funking hurt before  bench press was quite easy this morning so il be upping the weight on this next week, read up on form because i was sick of my anterior delts hurting more than my chest after benching and tried keeping my scapula pulled back all the way throughout the lift until i got to the top and it really took the emphasis off my delts and onto my chest, weirdly i found it easier to bench like this as well which is a plus. Seated hammer press i was originally going to knock the weight down to 60 with the increased reps but i was feeling confident and rightly so, last few reps were a struggling dont get me wrong but i managed all reps on all sets so was very happy with this.

Incline hammer press, again i was originally going to only increase this slightly but i knew i could handle a lot more than the 40kg i pushed last week and even 60kg felt reasonably comfortable so il be putting this up next week but this will only be a slight increment to see how i get on. Seated lat raises i dropped the reps but upped the weight on these and i much preferred them this way, could feel the muscle working much more than i normally could so i think il be sticking with this weight and rep range for a bit.

Assisted chest dips again as with everything else nearly i lowered the reps slightly and i much preferred it this way if im honest, the pump i got in my chest after doing these after all the other pressing movements was stupid but i reckon i could have managed a higher weight than what i did with good form so il probably knock this up next week. Weights was polished off with cable pushdowns, weight was easier than i remember it but still got a good pump on the old triceps after but il definitely be upping the weight on this next week.

Whole session was polished off with 20 minutes on the stairs machine at level 6, i was ****ing knackered after this :lol: looking forward to a rest tomorrow though i must admit before legs on friday


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

Right thought id come on here and give an explanation to why i havent updated this in a while, me and the mrs have split and to say i havent taken it very well is an understatement, havent trained all week and my heads been up my **** with depression now this, as a result im ashamed to say i tried taking my own life on thursday via an overdose, somehow despite how many pills i took i survived with no adverse health effects (someone upstairs must like me) however having said this i think me doing that was a bit of a blessing in disguise, i realized that theirs no point wasting tears and emotions on someone who clearly doesnt give a toss about me and hasnt for months so its given me that stepping stone to move on with my life. Thats about it im getting back on the gym on monday and gonna smash the **** out of it, got goals i want to achieve by the end of the year the big one getting my god damn abs visible.


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## BestBefore1989 (Oct 21, 2008)

I'm sorry to hear that mate, life can be tough but time is a great healer.

throw yourself into your training, it will give you something else to concentrate on and you'll feel good about yourself when you achieve your goals.


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*16th March 2015 - Pull*

So first day back at training this week after the mess that was last week, god ive missed it, but absolutely smashed it 

Deadlift - 3x5 @ 145kg

EZ Bar Rows (Underhand) - 4x8 @ 40kg

Diverging Lat Pull - 4x8 @ 41kg

Close Grip Cable Rows - 4x8 @ 39kg

Face Pulls - 4x8 @ 54kg

Seated Machine Curls - 4x12 @ 27kg

So deadlift was a brutal re introuction into training this morning my back is ****ing killing after that this morning, despite this ive put a note on my training to increase the weight next week as i reckon i could handle more (i must be mad haha) as you can see ive played about with the sets rather than the reps for a change and i felt it so much more, though on a few things i know i could have gone heavier i went low to accommodate for the additional set i was doing so going to be putting the weights up on pretty much everything next week i reckon.

As always session was polished off on the rolling stairs, 20 minutes at level 5 got a nice sweat on, feeling really good about life at the moment despite what i tried to do last week its given me a new lease of life almost, ive moved on from my mrs already as i realised she doesnt give a toss about me so why should i give one about her, anyway buzzing for next training session already, dont really want to have a rest day but i know i need one so i shall resist the temptation to smash the gym as often as i can haha.


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## BestBefore1989 (Oct 21, 2008)

nice workout and Im glad your feeling good :thumb:


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*18th March 2015 - Push*

Ouch my chest and delts hurt, so so much 

Bench Press - 3x5 @ 72.5kg

Seated Hammer Press - 4x8 @ 65kg

Incline Hammer Press - 4x8 @ 60kg

Assisted Chest Dips - 4x8 @ -36kg

Seated Lat raises - 4x8 @ 10kg

Cable Pushdowns - 4x12 @ 23kg

Right my chest and delts are in absolute tatters after this morning, tbh thats all their really is to say on training this morning, pushed everything to the max this morning when training the only thing i thought was i should be going lighter on the seated hammer press as i struggled too much with the last set so will probably knock this down to 60 next week, the weight on everything else was comfortable enough for me to get near failure and push past on some but still complete all the reps in all the sets hence why im funking ruined today.

Went to do cardio this morning and the rolling stairs were being used, the bastards, haha so had to settle with the cross trainer but put the resistance level right up on it to make it as hard as they normally are, ****ing worked a treat too i was shattered at the end of that, roll on leg day on friday


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*20th March 2015 - Legs*

Well all i can say is my legs are completely ****ing ruined lol

Squats - 3x5 @ 125kg

SLDL - 4x8 @ 65kg

Standing Calf Raises - 4x20 @ 65kg

Incline Leg Press - 4x8 @ 160kg

Seated Leg Curls - 4x12 @ 52kg

Leg Extensions - 4x12 @ 52kg

Well after 2/3 weeks of not training legs i can safely say my legs are in complete tatters, im struggling to walk up stairs for gods sake haha, sitting in my chair at work was like heaven haha, Squats i was happy with the weight not going to be putting it up next week as my form was a bit rusty on the last few reps of the last set but il assess how that is next week and if its still a bit rusty il drop it back down. SLDL the weight again was nice but not too easy, christ my hamstrings felt like they were going to burst on the last set. Standing calf raises absolutely destroyed them this morning, never done this many sets for this many reps and the pump through my calves was ridiculous but i couldnt tense them up for **** after the final set haha.

Incline leg press was happy with how hard this was and the effect it had on the target muscle but i do feel like i had more in the tank so il probably knock this up to 170 next week and see how i get on. Seated leg curls i havent used this machine in a while so it took me a while to adjust it to the point where i was happy with the effort on my muscles but once i got there i could feel it hitting them nicely, weight was good too so i see no need to up this next week. Finally weight was polished off with leg extensions and these truly finished my quads off, had to really grind out the last few reps of the last set and it burned like a mother****er lol.

Whole session was polished off with 20 minutes on the rolling stairs which was a grind in itself after all the leg work but i came through it fine, looking forward to a hard earned rest now and a good refeed over the weekend, got my kids for the weekend this weekend so looking forward to seeing em


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*23rd March 2015 - Back & Biceps*

Right over the weekend ive been doing a lot of reading up on Y3T training and i rather enjoyed the look of it so thought **** it why not give it a go, its something different as ive never really put much emphasis on the negative side of training in the past and it was a nice change this morning, was bloody hard like anyway heres how it went...

Rack Pulls - 4x6 @ 140kg

Barbell Rows - 4x6 @ 40kg

Lat Pulls - 4x6 @ 52kg

Narrow Cable Rows - 4x6 @ 39kg

Machine Curls - 4x6 @ 41kg

So as this is week 1 its all about targeting the fast twitch muscle fibers, i decided to go with the lower end of the recommended rep range as i felt i would get more benefit out of this, so this was all about an aggressive powerful positive part of the movement but a slow 3 sec negative of the lift.

As i said earlier was a nice change to the way i train this and i really enjoyed it, could reall feel it all over my back due to the emphasis on the negative parts come the end of the session, i do think i could have handled more weight on a few things but il up the weight on this the next time i come round to training within this rep range.

Overall i was very happy with how training went this morning so tomorrow will be chest and triceps so il update you all as to how i get on once ive done this, session was polished off with 15 minutes on the rolling stairs, i lowered the time on this as il be doing this end of every workout so dont want to be doing too much cardio to start off with especially given the increase in volume when it comes to the training.


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## BestBefore1989 (Oct 21, 2008)

Great that you're enjoying the workout, always good to challenge yourself :thumb:


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

BestBefore1989 said:


> Great that you're enjoying the workout, always good to challenge yourself :thumb:


Exactly mate ive never really focused on TUT that much in training before and its nice to change it up really, though the higher rep ranges in weeks 2 and 3 (12 & 20) are gonna be such a shock to the system :lol:


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*24th March 2015 - Chest & Triceps*

Loved training this morning never really hit my chest like i have today and i can definately feel the difference 

Bench Press - 4x6 @ 60kg

Incline Hammer Press - 4x6 @ 40kg

Assisted Chest Dips - 4x6 @ -27kg

Cable Fly's - 4x6 @ 23kg

V Bar Pushdowns - 4x6 @ 32kg

Like i said absolutely loved this morning and my chest is bloody ruined, funny one really i know i could have gone heavier on a lot of things but i think the reduced weight was compensated by the TUT which i was doing on the negative part of each movement so i still got a good pump in my chest come the end of it. The only lift where i think i went too heavy was the bench press but i'm going to see how i get on with that one as i reckon i could do that weight comfortably when i come to this phase of training again in week 4.

Polished training off with 15 minutes on the rolling stairs at level 6 i was ****ing knackered by the end of this and i don't think i could have gone for longer than what i did, happy with the progress i'm making so far being two weeks back into training i don't know about seeing the difference but i'm definitely feeling the difference i just generally feel better, happier etc etc, got a rest day tomorrow and smashing shoulders and calves is on the agenda for Thursday so looking forward to that


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*26th March 2015 - Shoulders & Calves*

I dont think my shoulders have ever ached as much as they do now lol

OHP - 4x6 @ 30kg

Seated Lat Raises - 4x6 @ 10kg

Barbell Front Raises - 4x6 @ 15kg

Face Pulls - 4x6 @ 64kg

Seated Calf Raises - 4x6 @ 86kg

Really enjoyed training this morning and although the weights dont look like much believe me my delts are ****ing ruined after that, this is the thing im loving about Y3T training the emphasis on the negative part of the movement means your muscles are being ruined even if the weight is considerably lower than what you would normally lift so in that respect im loving it so far.

The only thing thats going to frustrate me over the next few weeks is tinkering with the weights as ive never done this sort of training before im unsure as to what weights will allow me to hit the muscles adequately, OHP for example i started with 35kg but after the first set realised that i wouldnt be able to do all 4 so knocked it down to 30, but next time i reckon i could push for 32.5 and complete all sets.

It was the same story with everything else though i started with lighter weights on the first set to gauge what i could handle and because of which i got it right on the second set onwards.

Cant wait for the gym to get the new plate loaded calf raise in because the machine they have them to do them on at the moment if funking ****, its one of those machines where you have to lock out your knees to use it comfortably but after a while my knees start to hurt so hopefully they have all this new kit they are getting in my next week when my volume on the sets is due to go up.

As always training was polished off with 15 minutes on the rolling stairs at level 6, felt like i got through this quicker than i actually did but that might have something to do with the fact i had metallica blaring in my ears the whole time :lol:

Looking forward to training legs tomorrow especially its my favorite muscle group to train and its going to be a real shock to the system training them this way, bring on the pain


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*27th March 2015 - Legs*

So legs didnt hurt as much as i thought it would this morning, that being said they are still aching like **** 

Squats - 4x6 @ 100kg

SLDL - 4x6 @ 60kg

Incline Leg Press - 4x6 @ 160kg

Leg Curls - 4x6 @ 66kg

Leg Extensions - 4x6 @ 66kg

So like i said this wasnt as bad as i thought it would be though having said that my quads and hams are still bloody in tatters, i do know i could have gone heavier on everything but with the change up in the training i thought it would be best to keep it reasonably light and move on up from there so next time i come to this rep range i shall indeed be putting the weights up again.

Looking forward to the increase in volume next week even though it will be a bit of a shock to the system. As always training was topped off with 15 minutes on the stair machine, absolutely paggered after this but looking forward to the weekend and the refeed


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*7th April 2015 - Back & Biceps*

Right so moved onto the next stage of Y3T training this morning, lots of time under tension throughout each rep with a 3 second negative on each lift, sweet jesus im aching after that, i knew it would be a massive shock to the system but it took me a little by surprise in all honesty.

Rack Pulls - 3x12 @ 80kg

Barbell Rows - 3x12 @ 30kg

Diverging Lat Pull - 3x12 @ 27kg

Narrow Grip Cable Rows - 3x12 @ 27.3kg

Machine Curls - 3x12 @ 23kg

I can feel it all in my back and arms today bloody hell it hurt haha, right really good session this morning my only gripe is that i went too heavy on the barbell rows believe it or not so i reckon il knock that down to about 25kg next time i come round to this phase of training, with the exception of that im happy that with everything else i could have gone heavier but like i said at the start of the last week im not going to go all guns blazing with the weights straight up so il increase the weights next time.

As always session was polished off with 15 minutes of cardio, the stairs machines were all taken up so just went for a brisk walk on the treadmill and it made a nice change to be fair.

Looking forward to tomorrow now, will be interesting to see what weights i can/cant handle tomorrow really given that my chest is a bit of a weak area as it is :lol:


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*8th April 2015 - Chest & Triceps*

Oh my days my chest has never experienced pain and pump like this before, absolutely loving it, can still feel my pecs ****ing twitching now an hour after finishing lifting 

Bench Press - 3x12 @ 45kg

Decline Smith Press - 3x12 @ 35kg

Incline Hammer Press - 3x12 @ 35kg

Cable Fly's - 3x12 @ 14kg

V bar Pushdowns - 3x12 @ 23kg

So like i said loved every second of training this morning and truth be told i was pleasantly surprised with how much weight i could manage on everything (will be sod all to some of you lot still like lol) but my chest is probably my weakest point in my opinion so i was expecting the weights to be so much lower than they were but i was very happy with it all in the end. A few things i feel i could have gone heavier on such as decline press and cable fly's but overall i was very happy with this morning, only downside is i normally have a break between chest and shoulders days but with me not being able to get to the gym monday im having to do 4 days ont trot so im expecting strength on my anterior delts especially to take a hit tomorrow morning but we shall see how i get on.

As always polished off the session with some cardio 20 mins brisk walking on the treadmill again on an incline as i actually enjoyed it yesterday and cardio is one of those things where i get quite bored of it very quickly so changing it up more often will keep my interest in it.

Looking forward to training shoulders and calves tomorrow like i said im expecting a bit of a hit on the delts weight wise anyway due to them being pre exhausted slightly with me training chest the day before but never the less im still gonna smash the **** out of them


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*9th April 2015 - Shoulders & Calves*

Again brilliant training session this morning feel like im really smashing it at the moment  

OHP - 3x12 @ 20kg

Side Lat Raises - 3x12 @ 8kg

Front Barbell Raises - 3x12 @ 10kg

Face Pulls - 3x12 @ 50kg

Seated Calf Raises - 3x12 @ 73kg

So yeah as ive already mentioned i feel like i really smashed training this morning my delt are sore as **** after all the work i put them through, for a change i feel like i actually got the weights spot on with every lift, got really close to the point of failure come the past few reps and even had to push past on one lift (front raises) so i know for a fact ive not left anything in the tank which im very happy with, the only two things i do feel i could have gone slightly heavier on is the face pulls and the seated calf raises to ive stuck a note on my training log on my phone to pop the weight up on these next time i train.

As always polished training off with 20 minutes of cardio on the treadmill, brisk walking on a bit of an incline, now tomorrow is a bit mixed feelings for me i absolutely love leg day but im actually a little bit nervous about it as ive never done such high volume on my legs before, ah well **** it bring on the pain train


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*10th April 2015 - Quads & Hamstrings*

So today wasnt as bad as i expected, dont get me wrong my legs are ****ed but by no means was it as bad as i thought it would be, having said that im genuinely terrified at the concept of doing 20 rep squats next friday :lol:

Squats - 3x12 @ 60kg

SLDL - 3x12 @ 40kg

Incline Leg Press - 3x12 @ 120kg

Leg Extensions - 3x12 @ 45kg

Leg Curls - 3x12 @ 45kg

Really good session felt like i really smashed it tbh and it bloody shows in the fact that i can feel my legs hurting already, weight wise with everything i was fine only thing i was concerned about was SLDL as i felt it more in my back than i did my hams after the first set so i reckon i need to drop the weight a bit and build back up from there really but il come to that next time i come round to working within these rep ranges, everything else i genuinely felt like i could have gone heavier than i did, you could tell im not used to squatting for this many reps though half way through the second set my quads felt like they were going to pop, powered on through though even if i could barely walk after the ****ers :lol:

Like i said i do think i could have gona heavier on the majority of things this morning but having said that im not going to start off to heavy too quickly it is a marathon not a sprint afterall.

As always polished off the session with 20 minutes of cardio which was a bloody struggle my legs just barely wanted to move on that treadmill but i gritted my teeth and just powered on through it.

Next week will come the biggest shock to my system ive ever experienced, 20 reps on every lift really slow and controlled, jesus im gonna hurt this time next week


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*13th April 2015 - Back & Biceps*

So were onto the third and final week of the Y3T training before it gets reset which means sets of 20 reps all with big emphasis on both parts of the movement and lots of TUT, heres how it went...

Rack Pulls - 2x20 @ 60kg

Barbell Rows - 2x20 @ 10kg

Diverging Lat Pull - 2x20 @ 18kg

Narrow Grip Cable Rows - 2x20 @ 18kg

Machine Curls - 2x20 @ 14kg

So session this morning truly was a shock to the system but i really enjoyed the change and having to push myself through more than 15 reps. Couple of things to change up for next time such as going underhand with the grip on the barbell rows, reason being was i felt this in my forearms a bit too much for my liking so im going to change the grip to try and take the emphasis off this next time around.

Apart from that i do feel like i could have definately gone heavier on everything but with this rep range being new to me i didnt want to go too heavy too quick i am afterall in this for the long haul so il increase the weights slowly. One thing i will say though is the pump i got on my back was just ridiculous i actually quite like working in this rep range as it makes a nice change (wait til friday leg day and il regret saying that)

As always session was polished off with 20 minutes of cardio, feeling really good about everything in life at the moment if im honest including training so looking forward to tomorrow and smashing chest and triceps


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*14th April 2015 - Chest & Triceps*

So very very good session this morning had an insane pump all over my chest come the end of this session and whilst i feel i could have gone heavier on a couple of things overall im very happy with how i got on...

Bench Press - 2x20 @ 25kg

Decline Smith Press - 2x20 @ 20kg

Incline Hammer Press - 2x20 @ 20kg

Cable Fly's - 2x20 @ 9kg

V Bar Pushdowns - 2x20 @ 14kg

So like i said really good session this morning could really feel it all over my chest come the end of the session, like i said at the start the only things i feel i could have gone heavier on are all my presses, the weight was nice enough for me to concentrate enough to get a good mind to muscle connection (which is something i really struggle with for chest) but i do feel i could have gone heavier and maintained the same form.

Made a bit of a tweak to my benching this morning, the change i made was to have a slightly wider grip on it to really stretch the pec when bringing it down and back up again and it worked like a charm if im honest, ive always felt that benching with a narrower grip puts too much emphasis on my delts rather than my chest but switching it up like this had the opposite effect so definately going to be sticking with this from now on, it was nice to get a decent pump on my pecs from flat benching which in the past is something ive struggled to get.

As always session was finished with 20 minutes of cardio, again feeling like im doing really well training and diet wise at the moment havent broken my diet now in over a week which considering all the **** thats been going on in my life for me personally is a bit of an achievement, going to be breaking it a bit tonight but its still going to be something similar to what i would have going to nandos with a mate for a catch up tonight so going to be having lots of chicken and some spicy rice and some sweet potato mash to go with it so not cheating exactly but will be nice to break the routine just for once


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*16th April - Shoulders & Calves*

After some stuff that happened yesterday and messed with my head a bit (my ex coming and telling me she still loves me etc etc etc, errrm no **** off love) i had a lot of anger and stress built up so training this morning was the perfect tonic...

OHP - 2x20 @ 10kg

Seated Lat Raises - 2x20 @ 6kg

Front Cable Raises - 2x20 @ 4.5kg

Face Pulls - 2x20 @ 32kg

Seated Calf Raises - 2x20 @ 59kg

My shoulders are absolutely ****ing ruined after this, i got some funny looks this morning using baby weights but not a chance i could have gone heavier on a lot of things i wouldnt have finished the sets otherwise, OHP, Lat Raises and Front Cable Raises especially the weight was just right for me to be nearing failure on the last few reps but still be able to push on, the only two where i feel i could have gone heavier are the final two i did face pulls and calf raises but as with everything else il adjust this next time i come around to phase 3 of this training, once again feel like i smashed it i had a bit of a cheat evening on tuesday a friend i havent seen in a year or so since she moved to lanzarote was over so had a meal and catch up with a few drinks with her which was good but was straight back on the diet yesterday.

As always polished off the training with 20 minutes of cardio, im tempted to up the cardio a bit but im going to resist doing so until i plateau with my fat loss as im still making decent progress keeping things how they are so no need to adjust anything just yet.

Got legs tomorrow to finish off the week, im in two minds about this, im looking forward to it because i love training legs but at the same time the prospect of doing 20 reps on everything with legs is a little terrifying :lol: ah well **** it bring it on i say


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## 31205 (Jan 16, 2013)

Ex wants you back now she's seeing those changes!!


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

sen said:


> Ex wants you back now she's seeing those changes!!


She can **** off im happier without her :lol:


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*17th April 2015 - Quads & Hams*

Few words which adequately describe training this morning, brutal, painful being a few of them but despite that i ****ing loved it 

Squats - 2x20 @ 50kg

SLDL - 2x20 @ 20kg

Incline Leg Press - 2x20 @ 100kg

Leg Curls - 2x20 @ 32kg

Leg Extensions - 2x20 @ 32kg

@Goodfella sorry to drag you in here bud tried 20 rep squats for the first time and christ almighty the pump was absolutely brutal 

Anyway brilliant session this morning i had trivium blaring in my ears keeping me pushing through the pain barrier this morning, never known a session as tough as this so to say it was a shock to the system would be an understatement, the only lift where i felt the weight was perfect and didnt need a change was SLDL other than that i felt i had more in the tank to go heavier next time around (i must be mad :lol: )

Theres not really much else to say on the session this morning though, i was very happy with how i kept my form very strict on everything though as i was worried the fatigue would affect this but i had a bit of a pause throughout sets if needs be just to reset myself and get back on with it and i was happy with how i got on, been sticking to my diet 100% the past few weeks the only times i broke it was a meal with an old friend tuesday and i had a few squares of my mums chocolate whilst watching the rugby last night and a bowl of home made granola thats it so im really starting to see the difference when looking in the mirror.

As always session was polished off with 20 minutes brisk walking on an incline on the treadmill which actually helped my legs a lot, after the leg extensions i was literally struggling to walk i must have looked a right **** :lol:

Anyway got my kids this weekend so looking forward to the weekend with them and relaxing a bit i feel like ive really pushed myself this week and so i feel like ive earned the rest, even if i cant wait to get back in the gym monday haha.


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*20th April 2015 - Back & Biceps*

Right back to phase 1 of the Y3T training which means explosive positive on everything and slow 3 second negative bringing the weight back down, really enjoyed this mornings session and feel like everything is slowly falling into place nicely if im honest.

Rack Pulls - 4x6 @ 150kg

EZ Barbell Rows - 4x6 @ 42.5kg

Assisted Pull Up's - 4x6 @ -54kg

Narrow Cable Rows - 4x6 @ 45kg

Machine Curls - 4x6 @ 45kg

As i mentioned really enjoyed training this morning, definately loving the constant changing of the rep ranges every week, given that progressive overload has always been my goal when lifting this fits right in with what i want to achieve when im training. I upped the weights on everything compared to the last time i worked within this rep range and it was definately doing the trick thats for sure. Having said that i do feel like there was more in the tank so a lot of the lifts above will be getting an increase in weight next time.

As you may notice i decided to swap out lat pulls for traditional pull ups, dont get me wrong i do feel it in my lats when im doing pull downs but i just didnt feel like it was hitting my lats as much as i would have liked to i decided to give these a try, and i could really feel my lats working overtime doing these so these are definately in my training to stay thats for sure.

Training was finished with 20 minutes of cardio this morning, looking forward to smashing chest and triceps tomorrow morning, im training 4 days in a row this week as im off to london for the weekend on friday so going to smash training monday to thursday then get my **** down to london friday.


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*21st April 2015 - Chest & Triceps*

So had an absolutely terrible nights sleep last night so energy was a bit hard to come by this morning, until i had my coffee anyway, heres how training went...

Bench Press - 4x6 @ 62.5kg

Decline Smith Press - 4x6 @ 42.5kg

Incline Hammer Press - 4x6 @ 42.5kg

Pec Deck - 4x6 @ 36kg

Tricep Pushdowns - 4x6 @ 45kg

Despite being so tired had a really good session this morning, got a really good mind to muscle connection with my chest and the pump on it at the end was ace, for me this is a big thing as my chest has always been an area where i struggle to really get that mind to muscle connection so now that ive started to get it on every training session i feel like im really starting to benefit from it. One thing i did notice this morning was that i felt considerably stronger on everything compared to the last time i worked within this rep range, which in all honesty im surprised at because this rep range and at slightly lower weights it was still quite hard on everything but this morning everything felt quite comfortable, with that in mind ive made a note to increase everything next time i come to phase one of this style of training.

Training wise i just generally feel like everything is really starting to fall into place now so im definately in a good place at the moment  anyway finished off the session with 20 minutes walking on an incline on the treadmill, looking forward to training shoulders tomorrow.

Lately i have been doing a lot of reading up around cycles too but im not going to be touching AAS until ive significantly lowered my bodyfat but i figured getting it right in my head sooner rather than later and preparing for when i do will be a better way to go about it so if anyone who follows my journal has any advice or anything like that in general feel free to share


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*22nd April 2015 - Shoulders & Calves*

Really enjoyed this session actually, shoulders has never been an area ive enjoyed training that much but as time goes on im actually learning to like it a lot more...

OHP - 4x6 @ 30kg

Seated Lat Raises - 4x6 @ 10kg

Barbell Front Raises - 4x6 @ 17.5kg

Cable Face Pulls - 4x6 @ 68kg

Seated Calf Raises - 4x6 @ 93kg

As i said earlier i really enjoyed this session and looking back throughout it i reckon i had more in the tank to go heavier on everything i did this morning so the weight will definately be getting a cheeky increase next time around, the only thing that bugged me slightly was doing barbell front raises i could feel my left shoulder twinging as i brought the weight down slowly so might have to think about replacing these with something else to hit the front delts, they have a hammer shoulder press with a grip that allows you to hold it on the front if that makes any sense so i might try that and see how i get on.

Apart from that little niggling issue as i said very happy with training this morning i can feel my delts hurting already  really looking forward to leg day tomorrow now to finish the week off then its finally time to get to London, cant wait 

Finished off with 20 minutes of cardio this morning, felt like the speed i was doing it at was getting a little too easy so i upped the speed to 6 rather than five just to get me sweating a little more


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*23rd April 2015 - Quads & Hams*

So favorite day today and my legs are punished from this morning thats for sure 

Squats - 4x6 @ 102.5kg

SLDL - 4x6 @ 62.5kg

Incline Leg Press - 4x6 @ 170kg

Leg Curls - 4x6 @ 69.4kg

Leg Extensions - 4x6 @ 69.4kg

So really good session this morning actually feeling a lot stronger than i was the last time around when i was working within these rep ranges so i definately could have gone heavier on everything, that said i still worked as hard as i normally do and as a result my quads and hams are absolutely fooked.

Thats training done for this week now looking forward to a nice long weekend in london with my mate this weekend, havent over indulged in a while so looking forward to having a bit of a break from the diet and the training.

As always finished the session off with 20 minutes on the treadmill walking so looking forward to the weekend ahead like i said and cracking on with training again next week when i get back.


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## BestBefore1989 (Oct 21, 2008)

Have a good weekend mate, a little of what you fancy does you good


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*5th May 2015 - Back & Biceps*

So back to grind now finally after a week of feeling like crap, seems i caught a bug whilst i was down in london so last week was a write off diet and training wise but got back on the diet yesterday and was back in training this morning, picking up where i left off so phase two of the Y3T training method and heres how it went...

Rack Pulls - 3x12 @ 85kg

EZ Barbell Rows - 3x12 @ 25kg

Assisted Wide Grip Pullups - 3x12 @ -73kg

Narrow Cable Rows - 3x12 @ 27.3kg

Machine Preacher Curls - 3x12 @ 23kg

Really good session this morning feel so much better about myself now ive jumped back into training, pretty much everything except the pull ups i think i could have gone heavier on however im going to have to switch the assisted pull ups for pulldowns next week when the rep range goes up as this is the max weight on it and i was struggling at this lol, christ i really need to improve my strength on these its pitiful :lol:

Finished the session off with 20 minutes on the stair climber, i was borderline dying when i did this like but it was good ive actually missed this machine believe it or not haha, anyway looking forward to chest and tri's tomorrow need to give them a good smashing, however for now my back and biceps are quite literally in tatters


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*6th May 2015 - Chest & Triceps*

So i had an absolutely ****ing terrible nights sleep last night however despite this still got up to train (struggled though) and once the coffee took effect i was ready to smash the gym which is exactly what i did 

Bench Press - 3x12 @ 45kg

Decline Smith Press - 3x12 @ 35kg

Incline Hammer Press - 3x12 @ 37.5kg

Pec Fly's - 3x12 @ 39kg

Skullcrushers - 3x12 @ 15kg

So really good session this morning i actually managed to get a really good mind to muscle connection with my pecs this morning which resulted in a lovely pump 

As you might notice swapped out a few things changed the pec deck from last week (i didnt like it at all) to the alternative one where your arms are at stretch (no idea if that makes any bloody sense but its a plate machine) and decided to pop good ol skullcrushers in there again which in all honesty ive bloody missed these, nothing seems to get my triceps as pumped and as burning as these do so glad to have them back.

All in all i feel like i could have gone heavier on everything so little note in my training diary to say to increase the weights next time around but again like i said overall very happy with how im progressing at the moment and after the inevitable weight gain from my week off last week i can start to see differences in the mirror again, albeit small ones but progress is a sign of progress as they say. Next up shoulders and calves tomorrow 

Finished off training with 20 minutes on the stair climber this morning which really did finish me off as i was absolutely shattered by the end of that haha.


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*7th May 2015 - Shoulders & Calves*

Brilliant session this morning my delts are aching like fuark because of it 

OHP - 3x12 @ 20kg

Seated Lat Raises - 3x12 @ 8kg

Seated Hammer Press - 3x12 @ 15kg

Face Pulls - 3x12 @ 32kg

Seated Calf Raises - 3x12 @ 79kg

So as i said brilliant session this morning really feeling it in my delts now im struggling to lift my coffee up at the moment haha, as you may have noticed ive scrapped front barbell raises now the reason for this was because bringing the weight down controlled in the way i was aggravates my left shoulder (which is ****ed from years of running into people with it playing rugby) so tried the hammer press but used the grip which is palms facing and directly in front of your anterior delts so used this instead and it worked very well better than the front raises actually.

Apart from OHP and Lat Raises i felt i had more in the tank to go heavier on the final 3 lifts so il do just that when i come round to this phase again in a few weeks time. Finished session off with 20 minutes on the stair climber at level 4, feeling nice and achey now after all that  roll on leg day tomorrow!


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*8th May 2015 - Quads & Hams*

Absolutely brutal session this morning, weights were up on everything from the last time i trained legs so my legs are most likely going to be sore as **** tomorrow 

Squats - 3x12 @ 62.5kg

SLDL - 3x12 @ 40kg

Incline Leg Press - 3x12 @ 130kg

Seated Leg Curls- 3x12 @ 52kg

Leg Extensions - 3x12 @ 52kg

So as i said really good session pump on my legs was brutal this morning and i really had to grit my teeth to get through the last reps of every set so really had to work hard to get through the session which is how i like it, despite this i reckon i could still go heavier on a few things, those things being squats and leg press so put a little note on my phone to increase these next time, feeling like after everything thats gone on past few months everything is really starting to fall into place training wise again so very happy with progress at present, can see changes happening in the mirror too which is spurring me on at the moment, havent weighed myself in ages though so i literally have no idea what progress it like weight wise.

Finished the session off with 20 minutes on the stair climber this morning, considering my legs were already battered from the weights this just really topped it off, had to really push to get through cardio but like hell im going to miss any cardio sessions, not happening 

Looking forward to next week now, second time ive done the sets of 20 and it wasnt as bad as i anticipated last time so im actually looking forward to it rather than being nervous this time


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

Just a quick update this morning decided to take my weight and some progress photos, weight is currently at 270.4lbs which given how much I went off the rails a few mobths ago I expected it not to make for nice reading Haha and here's the photos so basically I'm still a fat cnut  il get there though the discipline is back so just got to stick with it and put the graft in and the results will come


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## BestBefore1989 (Oct 21, 2008)

AlexB18 said:


> Just a quick update this morning decided to take my weight and some progress photos, weight is currently at 270.4lbs which given how much I went off the rails a few mobths ago I expected it not to make for nice reading Haha and here's the photos
> View attachment 171401
> so basically I'm still a fat cnut  il get there though the discipline is back so just got to stick with it and put the graft in and the results will come


you will get there if you want it enough, just remember you cant out exercise a bad diet.

Kcals are the most important thing to work on.


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

BestBefore1989 said:


> you will get there if you want it enough, just remember you cant out exercise a bad diet.
> 
> Kcals are the most important thing to work on.


Oh believe me mate i want it enough thats for damn sure, im sticking with it now just ive fallen off the wagon a lot over the past few months given all the **** thats gone on so just need to be consistent now and the results will come


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*11th May 2015 - Back & Biceps Y3T Phase 3*

So Monday again, ****ing hate mondays but who doesnt, only good thing about mondays is training 

Rack Pulls - 2x20 @ 70kg

EZ Barbell Rows - 2x20 @ 12.5kg

Lat Pull - 2x20 @ 25kg

Narrow Grip Cable Rows - 2x20 @ 25kg

Machine Preacher Curls - 2x20 @ 14kg

So brilliant session this morning as back always is, the pump across the whole of my back was brilliant but i do reckon i could have gone heavier on everything, rack pulls not so much maybe could have managed another 5kg but everything else im quite confident i could have managed quite a bit more than what i did so notes are next to every lift in my training diary to up the weight next time i come round to phase 3 training.

Diet wise i made a few tweaks over the weekend, it was nothing major just lowering fat intake and increasing carb intake but like i said nothing major kept the kcals the same however.

Same **** different day as they say, session was finished off with 20 minutes on the stair climber though i upped the level to 5 as i felt at level 4 it was getting a little too easy. Looking forward to training chest tomorrow as i love the pump i get on my chest doing 20 reps 

Thats all anyway, not a very exciting log update but still the fact that everything seems to be going smoothly at present can only be a good thing in my eyes.


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*12th May 2015 - Chest & Triceps*

Another day another training session, really good session this morning, the pump all over my chest and tris was absolutely brutal...

Bench Press - 2x20 @ 27.5kg

Decline Smith Press - 2x20 @ 25kg

Incline Hammer Press - 2x20 @ 25kg

Pec Fly's - 2x20 @ 25kg

Skullcrushers - 2x20 @ 10kg

So as i said session was really good this morning and the pump afterwards was brutal, with regards to flat bench, pec flys and skulls im confident i could have gone heavier than i did however on the decline and incline presses i dont think i could have gone heavier than what i did for the time being anyway, despite the fact i could have gone heavier on the majority of the lifts this morning i still feel like i smashed my chest as its aching like fuark as my triceps are 

Got my rest day tomorrow as its back to normal this week (whatever that is) since there is no bank holiday, il miss training tomorrow wont lie but i think i need it before shoulders and then the big one of legs on friday, forgot how brutal 20 rep squats were last time so looking forward to the reminder haha.

Finished off the session with 20 minutes on the stair climber same level (5) as yesterday and i was well and truly paggered after this.


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*14th May 2015 - Shoulders & Calves Y3T week3*

So after a good rest day yesterday i was so ready for training this morning and as a result my delts are absolutely killing because of it 

OHP - 2x20 @ 10kg

Seated Lat Raises - 2x20 @ 6kg

Seated Hammer Press - 2x20 @ 10kg

Face Pulls - 2x20 @ 18kg

Seated Calf Raises - 2x20 @ 66kg

So as i said really good session this morning pump across the whole of my delts was awesome never felt anything like it if im honest and given how knackered i was come the end of training i know i gave it my all so very very happy this morning, because my shoulders are what i consider to be a bit of a weak point for me im still struggling to see how i can increase the weights on the OHP and lat raises however given that the current weights are working them just fine for the time being im not going to worry about it too much, i just wish it didnt look like i was lifting baby weights so much :lol:

Having said that i know there was more in the tank for the seated hammer press as i wasnt quite at a point of failure and the same goes for the face pulls and seated calf raises so a note has been put next to these for next time to increase them 

Finished off training with 20 minutes on the stair climber as i always do, leg day next tomorrow, im not so worried about the actual training tomorrow im more worried about the prospect of 20 minutes on the stair climber when my quads will just want to seize up tbh


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*15th May 2015 - Quads & Hams Y3T Week 3*

So two things to feel good about today 1) its friday and 2) its leg day, my quads and hamstrings dont like me very much after this morning...

Squats - 2x20 @ 52.5kg

SLDL - 2x20 @ 20kg

Incline Leg Press - 2x20 @ 110kg

Seated Leg Curls - 2x20 @ 35.4kg

Leg Extensions - 2x20 @ 35.4kg

Today went just as i expected tbh, it was utterly brutal and my quads and hams are in tatters as a result, that said strangely i do think i could have gone heavier on everything except SLDL's so im actually quite surprised with my strength levels in this rep range because i didnt think i would be able to handle much more than what i was originally, but im surprised at myself in all honesty 

One thing to mention though is i might have to find an alternative for SLDL's as everytime i do them my lower back is in pain after a while, it eases off almost straight away after doing it but ive no idea why it hurts, ive lowered the weight on every week to concentrate on form etc but each time it carries on hurting, im sure its not my form because its never happened before so ive no idea what it could be tbh anyway il have a look into alternatives and give them a try and give it a rest for a bit and in the future i may come back to it, truth be told ive never been a huge fan of SLDL's anyway.

Anyway after all that battering my legs took i somehow still managed 20 minutes on the stair climber, the first 5 minutes felt horrible though because my quads just wanted to seize up and stop working so i really had to grit my teeth and push through it but glad i did.

Back to week 1 of Y3T training next week looking forward to it  this is one of the things i love about this style of training the rep ranges are ever changing and my body never feels like it has any sort of chance to get used to it and i love the fact that im having to push myself every week.


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*18th May 2015 - Back & Biceps Y3T Week 1*

So back onto the first phase of the Y3T training style, absolutely smashed training this morning and my back is aching already 

Rack Pulls - 4x6 @ 155kg

EZ Bar Rows - 4x6 @ 45kg

Lat Pulldown - 4x6 @ 45kg

Narrow Grip Cable Rows - 4x6 @ 52kg

Seated Machine Curls - 4x6 @ 50kg

As i said really good session this morning despite the **** nights sleep i had last night, was really pleased with how i got on, few lifts i still feel i had more in the tank weight wise those being everything but rack pulls haha, im pleasently surprised at how my strength is holding out on some things given the fact that im on a cut tbh but im still working my **** off thats for sure.

Largely uneventful log update today as everything went smoothly, changed up cardio a bit, wouldnt mind getting back into running as i used to love doing it when i was younger so downloaded one of those couch to 5k apps on my phone to get me started so did that on the treadmill this morning which i really enjoyed, lasted half an hour in total but it only felt like 10 minutes 

Looking forward to training tomorrow and cracking on with chest and tri's


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*19th May 2015 - Chest & Triceps Y3T Week 1*

So chest and triceps this morning and for some reason the gym was absolutely fooking rammed even at half 5 when i got in, so had to swap out a few lifts for other bits as there were some bits of equipment i couldnt get on...

Bench Press - 4x6 @ 65kg

Incline Hammer Press - 4x6 @ 45kg

Decline Dumbbell Press - 4x6 @ 20kg

Machine Fly's - 4x6 @ 66kg

Seated Dip Machine - 4x6 @ 68kg

Really good session this morning if im honest, the weight on everything but bench press i reckon i could have easily handled a bit more, chest has always been one of them grey areas where i find it hard to gauge what weights i can comfortably manage but im getting there week by week just going to take time to make adjustments so im getting the most i can out of it, dont get me wrong if the weight is really really easy il up it there and then but apart from that il just make gradual increments each week.

Despite me saying the above, my chest is aching quite a bit actually so im happy with how i worked this morning regardless of if i had more in the tank or not, finished off the session with 30 minutes of running on the treadmill using the app i mentioned yesterday, again cardio seemed to fly by i was enjoying it so much.

Looking forward to a good rest tomorrow before smashing shoulders and calves on thursday.


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*21st May 2015 - Shoulders & Calves Y3T Week 1*

Sooo didnt have the best start today as i bloody slept in, still got to the gym though just a little later than normal (6am) and the free weights areas was rammed, think more and more people are starting to clock onto the fact that its a lot better to go early rather than later, anyway down to business...

Seated Smith Press - 4x6 @ 40kg

Seated Lat Raises - 4x6 @ 12kg

Seated Hammer Press (Front Grip) - 4x6 @ 40kg

Cable Face Pulls - 4x6 @ 45kg

Seated Calf Raises - 4x6 @ 100kg

So bit of a funny one this morning if im honest, last time i trained shoulders i felt like i couldnt budge much more weight on anything and as a result only put a note on to increase a few bits wheras this morning i felt like i could have gone quite a bit heavier on pretty much everything, even seated lat raises which is normally what writes my delts off haha, must be that creatine 

Due to how busy the gym was i had to swap out OHP for Seated Smith Press, which truth be told i actually preferred, was nice not having an achey lower back after doing shoulders and the load i can manage is more than what i can manage on OHP, however i wont stay on the smith il do it seated in the squat racks i think next time.

So finished off the session with half an hour on the treadmill still doing that couch to 5k app which im really enjoying, going to be back on the stair climber for tomorrows cardio though as ive finished week 1 of it now and dont want to get ahead of myself with it. My favorite day tomorrow, friday and leg day so buzzing for tomorrow morning


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*22nd May 2015 - Quads & Hams Y3T Week 1*

I seem to have absolutely destroyed my quads and hams this morning, sitting down at my desk at work felt absolutely bloody amazing, getting up is going to be a challenge later on haha...

Squats - 4x6 @ 105kg

Good Mornings - 4x6 @ 40kg

Incline Leg Press - 4x6 @ 180kg

Seated Leg Curls - 4x6 @ 73kg

Seated Leg Extentions - 4x6 @ 73kg

So first thing to note is ive dropped SLDL's completely now as the backache whilst doing them was getting too much, ive no idea if its my form, too much weight or what ive tried lowering the weight but nothing seems to work my lower back seems to ache quite painfully afterwards regardless, so i tried using good mornings instead and i have to say i prefer them so much more, all the stress was on my hamstrings absolutely no back ache afterwards whatsoever so i think il be sticking with these for the time being.

Apart from that everything was the same minus obviously the weights on everything as these have gone up since last time, and despite that i still feel like i could have handled more, squats and leg press especially i felt really strong on this morning which i was please with, dare i say i reckon i can up the leg press to 200kg but we shall see over the next few months if i can hit that or not.

Now because ive finished week one of the couch to 5k thing ive downloaded on my phone had to do something different for cardio this morning so it was back to the stair climber for me, which in all fairness may have contributed to the fact that my quads are ruined at the moment haha, but i upped the level to 6 and stayed on for 20 minutes and i was shattered come the end of it so was happy with how that went too.

All in all brilliant session this morning felt like everything went nice and smoothly so roll on next week now


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

*26th May 2015 - Back & Biceps Y3T Week 2*

Had a good weekend but was looking forward to training this morning and heres how it went...

Rack Pulls - 3x12 @ 90kg

EZ Barbell Rows - 3x12 @ 30kg

Lat Pull - 3x12 @ 39kg

Narrow Grip Cable Rows - 3x12 @ 32kg

Machine Curls - 3x12 @ 27kg

So really good session this morning and i could really feel it all over my back and biceps come the end of it but surprise surprise despite this i still reckon i could have handled more weight on everything so ive put a note on to increase this next time i come to week 2.

Cardio this morning was doing the couch to 5k training which lasted half an hour in total, pretty much a very uneventful update this morning tbh as there isnt really anything in particular to report on.

Looking forward to hitting chest tomorrow though


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

1st June 2015 - Back & Biceps Y3T Week 3

So first off apologies for the lack of updates lately work was stupidly busy and so was home life so didn't get chance to update my journal, still trained though so it's all good.

Rack Pulls 2x20 @ 75kg

Barbell Rows 2x20 @ 10kg

Lat Pull 2x20 @ 32kg

Close Grip Cable Rows 2x20 @ 32kg

Seated Curls 2x20 @ 14kg

So training this morning went really well actually had a bit of lower back pain over the weekend (think it's my sciatica again) so had to be really careful not to put too much strain on it to aggravate it, anyway regardless of that still felt really strong on everything this morning so I'm very happy with that especially.

As always finished up the session with half an hour of cardio so rest for the rest of today before smashing chest and Triceps tomorrow morning, again largely a very boring journal update really haha.


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## Bgpine (Oct 13, 2014)

Keep up the good work pal


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

Bgpine said:


> Keep up the good work pal


Cheers buddy!


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

2nd June 2015 - Chest & Triceps Y3T Week 3

So work was a tad busy yesterday so didn't get chance to update this so this is obviously for yesterday's training.

Bench Press - 2x20 @ 30kg

Decline Smith Press - 2x20 @ 25kg

Incline Hammer Press - 2x20 @ 25kg

Pec Flys - 2x20 @ 32kg

Seated Machine Dips - 2x20 @ 41kg

Really good session yesterday the pump I got on my chest afterwards was brutal and some of the final reps on the last sets were a real grind, having said that I definitely reckon I could have handled more weight on everything, I'm shocked I haven't woken up today with doms really.

Session was topped off with cardio 30 minutes on the treadmill so rest day for me today before smashing shoulders tomorrow.


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

4th June 2015 - Shoulders and Calves Y3T Week 3

So really good training session this morning but as always I could have gone heavier on everything...

Seated Smith Press - 2x20 @ 15kg

Seated Lat Raises - 2x20 @ 6kg

Seated Hammer Press (front grip) - 2x20 @ 12.5kg

Face Pulls - 2x20 @ 23kg

Seated Calf Raises - 2x20 @ 73kg

So like I said really good session this morning really enjoyed it and my shoulders are knackered because of it but I reckon I could have gone heavier weight wise so put a note next to everything to increase it so let's see how knackered they are after this in a few weeks haha.

As always session was topped off with some cardio on the treadmill the couch to 5k thing is starting to get really hard now so that's helping a lot too, that's it really largely very uneventful update again as things seem to be going smoothly for now anyway haha. Leg day tomorrow despite I know it's going to seriously hurt I'm really looking forward to it


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

5th June 2015 - Quads and Hams Y3T Week 3

Absolutely brilliant session this morning though I'm not sure my legs thought so ha!

Squats 2x20 @ 55kg

RDL 2x20 @ 15kg

Incline Leg Press 2x20 @ 120kg

Leg Curls 2x20 @ 39kg

Leg Extensions 2x20 @ 39kg

So like I said brilliant session this morning my Quads and Hams are still burning now an hour after leaving the weights area haha, as you can see I've re introduced RDL into training despite me moaning about back pain but I lowered the weight right down and focused on form and not a tweak or anything from my lower back so going to stick with these but just keep the weight low and focus on TUT all the time, only other thing to mention is I could have gone heavier on everything so definitely increasing the weights next time, I want to be struggling to walk after the next session ha!

Finished off training with 30 minutes on the stair climber but lowered the difficulty to make sure I could last the full 30 haha.

One last thing to add they have installed **** loads of new kit in the gym so plenty of new toys to play with if I fancy mixing up any of my training 

Looking forward to a relaxing weekend now having a poker night with the lads tonight and having a new tattoo on Sunday, which reminds me because of where the tattoo is (up my forearm) I'm taking next week off the gym to give It time to heal as the constant stretching of the skin can mess with the ink apparently, will be sticking with my diet 100% though I've worked too hard lately to just have a **** week food wise, I might be back in the gym doing fasted cardio yet I'm not sure if I will or not, anyway that's all for now.


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

15th June 2015 - Back & Biceps Y3T Week 1

So finally back in training after a week off, don't get me wrong the week off did me world of good but I felt lost not training lol

Rack Pulls - 4x6 @ 155kg

Barbell Rows - 4x6 @ 45kg

Lat Pull - 4x6 @ 52kg

Wide Grip Hammer Rows - 4x6 @ 40kg

Machine Curls - 4x6 @ 54kg

16th June 2015 - Chest & Triceps Y3T Week 1

Bench press - 4x6 @ 65kg

Decline Smith Press - 4x6 @ 47.5kg

Incline Hammer Press - 4x6 @ 47.5kg

Pec Flys - 4x6 @ 73kg

Machine Dips - 4x6 @ 68kg

So brilliant first two sessions back I'm aching like mad after those but feeling really good and really strong at the moment, I stuck to my diet all the time during my week off too for the first time ever so still lost weight even though I wasn't training, happy with how everything is going at the moment so just got to crack on now 

Largely uneventful update really haha.


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

18th June 2015 - Shoulders & Calves

So really good session this morning and heres how it went...

OHP - 4x6 @ 35kg

Seated Lat Raises - 4x6 @ 12kg

Face Pulls - 4x6 @ 45kg

Reverse Flys - 4x6 @ 50kg

Seated Calf Raises - 4x6 @ 100kg

As i said really good session this morning really enjoyed it too, as you may notice ive taken the seated hammer press out of it and added in some extra rear delt work because having thought about it my front delts are getting worked enough already through chest work and then with the OHP as well so im happy with how thats going and i feel the added rear delt work will give benefit me more.

Apart from that everything went well this morning cardio wise ive dropped the jogging on the treadmill and gone back to using the stair climber because past few times ive been jogging on the treadmill my shin splints have flared up and been stupidly painful.


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

19th June 2015 - Quads and Hams Y3T Week 1

Squats - 4x6 @ 107.5kg

RDL - 4x6 @ 50kg

Incline Leg Press - 4x6 @ 190kg

Leg Curls - 4x6 @ 73kg

Leg Extensions - 4x6 @ 75.3kg

Late update from Fridays training, went brilliantly this morning after my week off feeling really strong on everything and as a result put a note on to up the weight on everything next time around, doms in my legs through the weekend were just brutal after this.

Cardio was half an hour on the stair climber after which I was knackered lol, had a good weekend of rest and ready to smash back this morning.


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

22nd June 2015 - Back and Biceps Y3T Week 2

Another Monday another back session in the bag, smashed training this morning and the pump I got all over was brilliant got a really good mind to muscle connection with everything.

Rack Pulls - 3x12 @ 95kg

Barbell Rows - 3x12 @ 32.5kg

Lat Pull - 3x12 @ 41.3kg

Wide Grip Hammer Rows - 3x12 @ 30kg

Machine Curls - 3x12 @ 32kg

As I said really good session this morning and I'm aching already leaving the gym, there were a few bits I reckon I could have gone heavier on and still kept good form on so still plenty of room for improvement.

As always finished session off with 30 minutes of cardio on the stair climber, all done and dusted for today now so looking forward to chest and Triceps tomorrow.


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

23rd June 2015 - Chest & Triceps Y3T Week 2

Bit late updating this so apologies but work was mental yesterday so only just getting chance.

Bench Press - 3x12 @ 50kg*

Incline Hammer Press - 3x12 @ 40kg

Decline Smith Press - 3x12 @ 40kg

Pec Flys - 3x12 @ 50kg

Single Arm Cable Pulldown - 3x12 @ 14kg

So really good training session this morning chest was absolutely brutalised and the pump (and DOMS) were unbelievable lol, nothing much really to add to it apart from that as everything of late has been going quite smoothly so everything is in place for now lol.

Only thing I did change is the Tricep exercise which I swapped for single arm cable pull downs which isolated the muscle really well and the burn I got from it was fantastic 

Cardio was 30 minutes ont stair climber at level 4 which has me sweating buckets at that level.

As I said not much else to add apart from that so my journal is going rather boring at the moment haha.


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

Right two training sessions to update you on, shoulders on Thursday and legs on Friday...

Shoulders & Calves

OHP - 3x12 @ 22.5kg

Seated Lat Raises - 3x12 @ 8kg

Rear Delt Raises - 3x12 @ 30kg

Reverse Flys - 3x12 @ 39kg

Calf Raises - 3x12 @ 70kg

Quads & Hamstrings

Squats - 3x12 @ 67.5kg

RDL - 3x12 @ 30kg

Incline Leg Press - 3x12 @ 150kg

Leg Extensions - 3x12 @ 52kg

Leg Curls - 3x12 @ 52kg

Apologies yet again for late updates for anyone who is reading but my spare time seems to be getting less and less each day at the moment, both training sessions went really well nothing to report really apart from a few exercises changed, decided to give face Pulls a break and changed them for rear delt raises on the smith machine, was nice to have a bit of a change if I'm honest.

And on leg day managed to. Successfully do RDL with no lower back pain, I think reason why I was getting this was because I was putting the bar too far down and losing form as a result so I only go down far enough to just feel the hamstrings stretching so still got a good pump and good doms the day after as a result.


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

29th June 2015 Y3T Week 3 - Back and Biceps

So I royally felt like **** this morning, terrible nights sleep thanks to my hayfever, sore throat, watery eyes, still got in there and got the job done though.

Rack Pulls - 2x20 @ 77.5kg

Barbell Rows - 2x20 @ 12.5kg

Lat Pull - 2x20 @ -*32kg

Wide Grip Hammer Rows - 2x20 @ 20kg

Machine Curls - 2x20 @ - 14kg

Very good session this morning back is killing me as a result kept the reps really slow and controlled and gave the target muscles a good squeeze at the top of each movement, as a result my backs buggered now haha, as per cardio was half an hour on the stair climber, hopefully my hayfever doesn't bother me too much for the rest of today it's really doing my head in now 

Anyway looking forward to smashing chest and Triceps tomorrow.


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

1st July 2015 - Y3T Week 3 Chest and Triceps

Bench Press - 2x20 @ 32.5kg

Incline Hammer Press - 2x20 @ 27.5kg

Decline Smith Press - 2x20 @ 27.5kg

Pec Flys - 2x20 @ 39kg

Cable push down - 2x20 @ 23kg

Right so little late on updating this seems I was so tired yesterday I slept through both my bloody alarms which was nice haha, back on it today though and had a brilliant session got a really good mind to muscle connection with my chest and as a result really good pump too.

Nothing really to update apart from the fact I still feel I could have gone heavier on everything so the constant progress on each of the rep ranges is keeping me really motivated at the moment, that and the fact that I'm really starting to see the difference when I'm looking in the mirror at the moment.

As always finished off with half an hour on the stair climber which could be a bad idea as I have first day of rugby pre season tonight haha, ah well sod it this is gonna be interesting I guess  delts and Calves tomorrow which I'm looking forward to.


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

Right just a quick update i thought I'd provide anyone who's interested with, sacked training off this week as my sciatica has flared up with a vengeance meaning I've been barely able to walk all week let alone train, to say I'm gutted is an understatement, however I've been sticking with my 100% so shouldn't gain and excess weight but it's still bloody frustrating having to give the gym an unexpected miss


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## Frandeman (Mar 24, 2014)

Sad news mate
Hope you get better soon


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

> Sad news mate
> Hope you get better soon


Thanks mate fingers crossed it eases up soon I'm applying heat to it and stretching it all the time so I'm hoping it's better come training next week.


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

20th July 2015 - Legs

Right finally got back to training yesterday after my back issues and my legs are sore as f**k as a result, now that I'm back rugby training and playing as well I've knocked training down to a simple 3 day P/P/L split because going 4x a week plus rugby training was killing me, following the split that @Mingster has recommended many times for people so we shall see how we get on...

Squats - 10/10/8/6/4 @ 60/70/90/105/115

RDL - 3x10 @ 45kg

Calf Raises - 3x25 @ 40kg

Definitely could have gone heavier on everything so this will be going up next Monday, doms in my legs are still brutal though haha, finished off with half an hour on the stair climber as I always do, goal is still the same even though I'm back playing rugby to burn the fat then bulk slowly.


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## AlexB18 (Dec 10, 2013)

22nd July 2015 - Pull

So really good session this morning intensity was there In abundance so and going through as many reps and sets of Deadlifts as I did really had me blowing by the end of it all but I really enjoyed it

Deadlifts - 10/10/8/6/4 @ 90/95/110/120/130

Assisted Chins - 3x10 -45kg

Barbell Curls - 3x15 @ 12.5kg

Despite how heavy I did go, for me anyway, I do feel like I had more in the tank when it comes to the Deadlifts and the Barbell Curls so they shall be going up next week, on the assisted Chins I used a narrow neutral grip and could really feel it in my lats when I finished, as always polished off the session with half an hour on the stair climber, got rugby training tonight so I'm gonna be blowing again this evening haha oh well f**k it


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