# A log from the other side of the world



## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

After my quick intro earlier on and having read some of the inspiring logs from other members I thought I would start my own log - read along if you're interested.

The beginning -

Just to get you up to speed, I began my training in January after weighing myself and receiving the shock of my life - 111.3kgs or nearly 245 pounds. Enough was enough. I started training with a gym in Brisbane, my home town (I'm originally from Northants), initially a cyclic keto diet to drop some kgs quickly but also hitting the weights reasonably hard. Well after 12 weeks of very strict dieting I hit 92kg or 202 pounds - not bad going I thought.

I had paid for a 12 week body recomposition program and was very impressed with the outcome - so impressed that I immediately stumped up the cash for another 12 weeks.

Present day - I am now in week 5 of my second 12 week program, the emphasis is very much on controlled, natural growth with a very strict measured diet.

FYI - current diet is...

Brekkie - 5 whole eggs on two slices of whole grain toast

Mid morning - 2 scoops Dymatize Whey in water - Cafe Mocha (Yum)

Lunch - 350g Chicken, 50g Rice, 30g Almonds

Mid afternoon - 2 scoops Dymatize Whey in water

Dinner - 350g Steak, 50g Rice, 30g Almonds

Before bed - 2 scoop Dymatize Whey in water

ZERO Alcohol - none, zip - This is my biggest challenge, but I can honestly say that I have not cheated.

Supps -

Morning

1 scoop Xpand Creatine, 3 Metaburn, 2 Multi-vits, 1 High Vit C, 3 Digestive Enzyme Tablets, 2 Caltrate Calcium Tablets

Lunch

3 x Digestive Enzymes, 3 x Metaburn

Evening

3 x Digestive Enzymes (with Dinner)

1 scoop Xpand Creatine (before bed)

Training

The guys I train with are well known for their impressive results, all of which is achieved whilst training only twice per week, with no cardio, in fact cardio is banned.

So my weekly training is as follows:

Wednesday

Incline Bench - 3 sets of 12 plus warm up - all sets are completed to failure and then forced reps for minimum of 3 additional.

Lat Pulldowns - 3 sets of 12 plus warm up/or wide grip chins

Squats - 2 sets of 12 plus warm up - also completed to failure and then forced reps for minimum of 3 additional.

Calf raises - 100 reps of 70kgs - do as many sets as it takes to get to 100 reps - usually 30/20/20/15/15

Saturday

Flat Bench - 3 sets of 12 plus warm up, plus forced reps

Military press - 3 sets of 12 plus warm up, plus forced reps

Bicep Isolation Curls - 3 sets of 12; supersetted with

Tricep Skull Crushers - 3 sets of 12

Deadlifts - 2 sets of 8-10

Weight

The weight is actually projected each session by my coach, I will try and remember in the future and keep this updated. Every twelve weeks I complete a strength test to ensure that my one rep max is on target.

Current PB's

Deadlift - 200kgs

Bench - 145kgs

Squat - 160kgs

Goals

By the end of June I aim to be 96kg and 10% BF - my current weight is 94.7kgs and BF is 14%.

Phew - quite a long post but at least you're up to date (if you're interested) - I will keep the post up with each work-out and weights used.

The diet will remain the same - I know it's boring, but being very well organised helps.

Will post some photo's when I get home

CMinOZ


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## Tall (Aug 14, 2007)

Looking good mate - keep us informed.

circa 45lbs in 12 weeks is great going!

It looks as though you have a similar routine to me - but theres no way I would have the energy to dealift after all that.

You've got great numbers on the 3 main compunds mate.

Look forward to reading you log.


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

Well here's the second installment, which must begin with a slight correction on my PB's = I got my max bench wrong, it's 125kg - checked the records and found I had got it wrong, sorry about that - I suppose it gives me something to work towards!!!

So Saturdays session was the first in my new 4 week program -

Straight leg deadlifts - 3 sets of 15 plus warm ups with 140kgs

Lat Pull downs - 3 sets of 15 plus warm ups with 100kgs

Military presses - 3 sets of 15 plus warm ups - all reps with a pause at the bottom - 80kgs

Incline Bench - 2 sets of 15 plus warm ups - all reps with a pause at the bottom - 100kgs (final 3 reps in each set forced)

Bicep concentration curls - 3 sets of 15 - ultra slow*

* this exercise was completed lying face down on an incline bench with my upper chest at the top of the bench, upper arms vertical allowing absolutely no swing - completed with forced reps.

Not many exercises this session but still destroyed me.

Weight was 94.9kgs at 14.1% BF

Two days later and you could play a tune on my hamstrings they are that tight and doing my tie up this morning was a mission in itself.

All worth it in the long run.

CM in OZ


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

Big day on Wednesday - session went like this:

Flat bench - 3 sets supersetted with

Bent over rows - using seated leg extension machine* - 3 sets

Squats - 2 sets of 12 - 120kgs (getting better)

DB Curls - 2 sets 20 reps with 20Kg DB's - supersetted with

EZ bar skullcrushers - 20 reps 45kgs

100 calf raises

Having written this down it doesnt look that tough, but it sure felt it on Wednesday night.

Weight was 95.1kgs

Photo's are coming...

*This is a strange exercise but really effective - Technique is standing facing the leg extension machine (this uses free weights) and is performed in a squat postion using a pullback motion to contract lats - sounds strange, burns like nothing else


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

The latest installment (Photos still coming)-

Wednesday night

Flat Bench - 2 sets 12 (Rest/Pause to failure) - really pleased with this set as technique was spot on and really hit the chest hard - really getting somewhere with my bench now - Soon I will have a chest to be proud of.

Bent over rows - 2 sets - 1st set 15 reps - 2nd set 30 reps (Rest/Pause) - lower back really pumped (still feeling it 2 days later)

Squats - 1 set of 15 (135kgs) - had to stop at this set though after slight tear in right hamstring (better safe than sorry) - It feels much better today after some rest though.

D/B curls - 2 sets of 15 (22.5kg D/b's) - last 3 reps were forced, jeez did they burn.

Close, reverse grip bench - 2 sets of 15 - I have to give up on skull crushers as tendons in my left elbow have been giving me grief.

Weight is up to 95.4kgs and B/F % is now 13.8 - Things are going in the right direction and looking forward to the 24th June which is the next powerlifting grading at our gym. I am hoping to hit PB's in all lifts - targets are:

Bench - 150kgs

Squat - 170kgs

D/Lift - 210kgs

Will be well happy if I hit these goals - Pretty sure with the work I have done on the straight leg Deads and rows that the D/lift is there, Bench will be all in for one after warm ups rather than the 3 attempts and Squats are in the hands of the Gods but my coach is confident.

Diet is still same - looking forward to a cheat meal in 2 weeks time, sad bugger that I am, I have even planned the meal and where I will get it from in advance - Lamb vindaloo, rice and Naan bread - not too bad I know but been having some real cravings recently - not too bad since I have been hard dieting since January!!!

Next installment on Saturday...

CMinOZ


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

Saturday was pretty much the same as last Saturday, only as usual the weights were heavier.

Work out was:

Straight Leg Dead Lifts - 2 work sets of 12 reps

Military Presses supersetted with cable rows (wide grip) - 2 sets of 12 each

Hamstring curls - 2 sets - rest pause - 30 reps per set

A little light on this week as Wednesday is to be an impromptu strength test for bench and squat - let's see how much I've put on in 4 weeks.

Also, moving back to full deadlifts and rack deadlifts next week - so I will look forward to posting the results of the DL's having been working hard on the upper part of my DL with the Straight Leg DL's.

Photos still coming - when you see how fat I was you will know why it has taken so long.

(not sure if anyone is reading this but I will keep on just for my own sanity!!!)

CMinOZ


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## Tall (Aug 14, 2007)

I'm reading mate - sorry I haven't had much time to reply


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

Strength test results are in (and I'm well chuffed)

Squat 165kgs

Bench 135kgs

New workout from now on to focus on D/lift PB - looking for 230-240kgs - which will be a massive result.

Rest of the workout on Wednesday was similar to last week, only heavier. Looking forward to incorporating Deads back into the routine as I have just bought the new Linkin Park album!!!


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## Tall (Aug 14, 2007)

Well done mate - thats really good. I've just hit 160kg on squats but your bench and deads are way ahead of mine.

Keep up the good work.


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

Well, today I am in a whole world of pain

Last nights session was pretty brutal - we decided that, considering I'm going into a cycle of keto dieting in 2 weeks time, we should up the weights for reps - so yesterday was all at 90% of my 1rm.

Work out was

Chest - Flat Bench - 2 sets of 8 supersetted with

Wide Grip Chins - 2 sets of 15 - I am not very good at W/grip chins so my Trainer would assist only by pushing me forward, not upward, into the perfect position.

Squats - 2 sets of 8

Super Slow curls (EZ bar) - supersetted with...

Close, reverse grip bench - 2 sets each - each set was completed to failure then 3 forced reps.

I was buggered, my wife had to drive me home as the pump in my legs, back, chest and arms was unbelievable.

Diet is all still super clean - weight was 94.7kgs

The new diet is coming soon - I'm going for 5 days Keto, 2 days high protein plus minimal carbs. Will be on Keto diet for probably 3 weeks to strip away some fat. Currently at about 12% so hoping to get into single digits.

The keto diet I will follow is:

Brekkie

4 whole eggs

Mid-morning

Protein shake - 100% whey protein isolate (zero carb) plus 1 tbsp flax seed oil and 2 tbsp full cream

Lunch - 300g lean chicken with 30g of macadamia nuts

Mid afternoon

Protein shake as with Mid-morning

Dinner

As with lunch - adding 2 tbsp full cream

This should bring me up to about 90% of calories required and drop me well and truly into ketosis - my blood sugar will be well below what the atkins and south beach diets provide, which has the added bonus of not making me a right grumpy b*stard.

Supps will be mainly thermogenic fat burners and L-carnitine at breakfast.

Can't wait to melt some fat!!!

CMinOZ


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

Sorry the update is a bit late - I have moved jobs and whilst I now work for myself, the workload has increased!

Also, my arms have only just stopped hurting since my session on Saturday - This is the first session on our new 4 week plan, what joy there is to come...

So this was my Saturday session:

Military press - 2 sets of 12 - last 3 reps on second set were forced.

Military press - Holding - never done this before and felt kinda strange. The idea was to "hold" the weight - 20kgs up on my rep weight - for 30 secs to get used to holding a much heavier weight.

And then we went onto real pain:

3 sets of 15-20 "Monster" curls - not sure if this is the real name. Basically it's a big swingy curl and a very slow, controlled stretch back to rest position. Performed with an EZ curl bar and 60kgs in total. Supersetted with:

3 sets of 15-20 Close, reverse grip bench. All sets were completed to forced reps on curls and rgb.

So by now my arms were pumping and I could hardly lift my water bottle - now rest for the wicked though.

We then went onto:

Dumbell curls - 3 sets of 15-20 reps with 25kg each. supersetted with:

Dips - 3 sets of 15-20 reps.

Reading this 4 days on it doesn't seem that much, but rest assured that on Saturday my arms were gone. My wife had to drive me home from the gym and on MondayI could hardly bend at the elbow.

Training tonight is the second phase of our new plan so I am expecting serious DOMS on Friday.

CMinOZ


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## Tall (Aug 14, 2007)

Looking good still mate.

I still cant get in my head how the 'Bent over rows - using seated leg extension machine' work...?

Get your progress photos up


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

TH&S - I know it is a weird one. The leg extension machine we use uses plates not cables. I have just written an explanation and then realised it makes no sense at all - will draw you a diagram and post it here.

Last nights session:

Well the second session in the new 4 wk plan was as expected... Brutal.

First set -

Incline Bench - 2 sets of 15 - to fatigue and then 3 forced reps in final set

Flat bench - 1 set 15 partial reps

Flat Bench - 30 sec Hold - 10% over my 1 rep max.

Dead Lift - 1 set 15 reps - 90% of my 1 rep max (nearly puked)

Dead Lift - Racked - 1 set 10 reps

Shrugs - 1 set 10 reps

Calf Raises - 2 sets of 30 reps

Felt good when we had finished but I came real close to vomitting straight after the DL's.

What can I expect from Saturday....

CMinOZ


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

Sorry it's been so long since my last post, Saturdays session was a monster, high rep sets that ended in a tear in my lower back causing a shooting pain down my left leg. Thankfully, once the spasm had calmed down a bit the leg is back to normal though only squats will tell how good the back is.

So hear is the set:

Military press - 3 sets of 12 reps - final set included 3 forced reps

Partial Military press - 1 set of 12 reps

Military press Hold - as previous sets with hold reps, held much heavier weight for 30 seconds to get used to being under heavier weight.

Super slow B/Bell curls (EZ Bar) - 3 sets of 12 reps with forced reps

Partial curls - 1 set of 12

Squats - 1 set of 15 reps

Partial Squats - 1 set of 6 reps and then came the injury&#8230;

I tried to battle through thinking that it was my mind playing tricks on me, but sure enough it wasn't - Lesson learned.

So on Sunday I started on my cyclic ketogenic diet, I am now on day 4 and well and truly into ketosis, after the 2 days of lethargy I now have loads of energy despite only consuming 2195 calories per day.

Tonight will be the moment of truth, weight should have plummeted over the last few days, mainly due to no creatine and therefore a lot of excess water has been offloaded. When I've done this diet previously I have lost about 3kgs per week, though admittedly I was a fair bit fatter. I am hoping for about 1kg per week as I am only doing the diet for 2-3 weeks and this should take me close to 10-11% BF.

The end of this 12 week program is nearly here so I promise I will get y photos up - It will be good to see the progress from Day 0 - 12 weeks - 24 weeks

CMinOZ


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## Tall (Aug 14, 2007)

What will the impact of the Keto diet be like on your strength mate...?

How much weight are you looking to loose on the keto portion - and what split between BF and muscle are you expecting?

Sorry to hear about the muscle tear mate.


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

TH&S - expecting to get to about 10% BF during this diet at about 91kgs - This should be possible though the minute I get back on the creatine I will add a fair bit of water weight. Hope this answers your question.

CM in OZ


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

What a great work out last night - I thought that, considering the diet I am currently on, I would have no energy and my lifts would be down. Needless to say I was very surprised and there was very little difference.

My weight was down by 2.3kgs since Saturday, though this was expected as I have stopped my creatine during the ketogenic phase.

Quite a long work out last night though as I needed my rest more than normal:

Flat bench - 3 sets of 12 reps including forced reps on final 2 reps, supersetted on the final set with&#8230;

Deadlift - 1 set of 12

Flat bench - Partials - 1 set of 12 reps

Flat bench - Hold - 30 secs with 10kgs more than one rep max

Rack Deadlift - 1 set of 12

Incline Press - 3 sets of 10 including forced reps

Calf Raises - 2 sets of 20 reps

Hoping to be around 92kgs on Saturday which will be a loss of 1kg since yesterday. I am only doing the keto diet for 2 weeks, it is very effective though can be catabolic if not calculated correctly.

Only 10 more days of dieting until&#8230;.I start my new diet&#8230;

CMinOZ


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

"Today is shoulders and arms day" our trainer announced with a glint in his eye that said he would enjoy this and that we would be crying by the end. Well he was right, by the end of this workout I was pulling some of the biggest cheat reps seen by man whilst all the time trying not to cry out loud.

This was the punishment: (All sets are in addition to at least 4 warm up sets of varying reps)

3 sets Military press - 12 reps (including forced reps)

3 sets lateral DB raises - each set was 20 reps-rest-15 reps-rest-10 reps (rest-pause training)

3 sets Super slow EZ curls - again each set 20 reps-rest-15 reps-rest-10 reps (rest-pause) - supersetted with&#8230;

3 set Close, Reverse Grip Bench - 20 reps-rest-15 reps-rest-10 reps

3 sets DB curls - 20 reps-rest-15 reps-rest-10 reps - supersetted with

Dips - unassisted to failure then 3 forced reps

Needless to say the drive home from the Gym was fun. Today, two days later, my biceps are so sore and my shoulders just feel completely fatigued. To make matters worse, today is the first day of my second cycle of Keto dieting so I am also grumpy as hell because I have had zero carbs.


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## Tall (Aug 14, 2007)

How's the lower back mate...?


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

Th&S - Back is much better thanks - Another reason for the Shoulders/Arms session on the W/end. We've got a powerlifting grading at our gym in 2 weeks so I am looking forward to that and hopefully some good PB's


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## Tall (Aug 14, 2007)

Hope the grading goes well for you mate.

When does the procrastination stop the the photo uploading begin...?


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

Yeag, yeah - Lack of photos is just down to laziness - I can write this log when I get to work but photo's are on my laptop at home. Will do it tonight...


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

Last week was a light week with the grading being the main focus on Saturday. So wednesday night was just arms and Chest - and it went a little something like this...

Flat bench - 3 x 12 reps to failure then forced reps

EZ concentration curls - Rest pause - 12 - 6 - 3 reps supersetted with...

Close, Reverse Grip Bench - Rest pause - 12 - 6 - 3 reps

Incline Smith Press - 2 x 12 reps to failure then forced

Dumbell curls - 2 x 12

Dumbell skull crushers - 2 x 12

So not too tough on Wednesday as the big one was on Saturday.

About 20 lifters attended and after having to learn the official lifts and calls it was all on - I was very happy with a really clean and powerful squat at 165kgs which was a PB. I could have gone heavier on this but rules are rules and 3 lifts is the max.

Second came a complete F*c*i*g nightmare bench, really screwed up, could not get my head around pausing on the chest and went into it without my head on - only managed 120kgs when I expected a fair bit more.

Finally came the deadlift and another strong lift but a poorly planned exercise. I finished on 200kgs because last time I attempted 200kg it was all over the place and would never have passed the judges eye. Needless to say I hammered it and was quite disappointed that I hadn't backed myself in for 210kgs or more.

All in all, not a bad day. A couple of lessons learned and now some serious work needed on my bench.


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

A week off was just what the body needed! After 12 hard weeks without a break I took this week off and just rested, ate a couple of dirty meals and had a couple of really good, hard deep tissue massages. Saturday was the first day back to the gym and unfortunately my training partner was nursing a bad back/neck so I knew that I was in for some punishment.

I usually take some Dymatize Xpand creatine before I train and Saturday was just the same, however my coach handed me some NOV tablets which are supposed to really enhance the pump (as if the Xpand wasn't enough).

The workout that followed was very hard and completed in just over one hour;

3 x 12 - Flat bench - with forced reps - supersetted with:

3 x 12 - Bent over rows

3 x 12 - DB Bench supersetted with:

3 x 12 - Wide grip chins

3 x 12 - Incline press supersetted with:

3 x 12 - Cable rows

We have signed up for another 12 weeks of training with a mapped out plan to achieve certain goals by the next grading which is in October. My goals are as follows:

Squat - 180kgs

Bench - 130kgs (with pause on chest)

Deadlift - 230kgs

Big goals, but they need to big if I want to get to natural maximum before March next year. Then we may see what we can do with some assistance&#8230;

Weight is still at 95kgs and my BF is 12% - I'm quite impatient about losing some more BF but my diet is up at around 120% of maintenance at the moment to pack on some mass.

This is my current diet including supplements:

Breakfast:

5 Eggs and two slices of toast

1 scoop of Dymatize Xpand

3 Metaburn tabs

1 Swisse Multivit

3 Digestive Enzyme tabs

2 Caltrate calcium tabs

1 Mega Vit C tab

Mid Morning;

2 scoops of Whey Protein with water

Lunch:

400g Chicken

50g Rice

40g Almonds

3 Metaburn tabs

3 Digestive Enzyme tabs

Mid Afternoon;

2 scoops Whey Protein with water

Dinner:

400g Steak

50g Rice

40g Almonds

3 Digestive Enzyme tabs

Before Bed;

2 Scoops Whey Protein with water

1 scoop Dymatize Xpand

I have been eating the same thing in varying quantities since January and I thought that I would be sick of chicken and steak by now but surprisingly I'm going ok. Every once in a while I feel like a cheat and may have something not necessarily on my diet but f*ck it, you've got live.

I'm still off the grog and this is much easier than I thought it would be so here we go with another 12 weeks. And yes, the photos are coming&#8230;


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## Tall (Aug 14, 2007)

Have you done the diet yourself or has the trainer done it?

Its interesting to see 6 scoops of whey in there, alot of trainers are against that and prefer whole foods. I use about that amount.

At 12% have your abs come through? Or is there still a layer of fat hiding them?


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

Morning TH&S

Trainer put together the diet for me - I know that many recommend more whole food but tbh with my work I have very little time to eat that much. It takes me up to an hour to just eat my lunch each day.

With regard to BF, I can see my top two abs but the lower ones are coming along.

CminOZ


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## Tall (Aug 14, 2007)

Morning mate.

My abs are sadly still hidden away 

Wasn't having a dig on the shakes point btw. Just interesting to see someone else who uses the same amount I do and is also making progress.


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

Absolutely no offence taken. I have no idea what anyone else recommends - I am totally in the hands of my trainer which is just the way I want it. He tells me what to eat and when and he makes sure that everything I eat is measured to the gram.

Do you do any cardio? I haven't done any in about 9 months and the results are coming - slowly, but also my appetite is managed very effectively and I have no cravings for carb-rich foods.


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## Tall (Aug 14, 2007)

The reason I asked was I was having a debate on whey usage on another forum, so it was interesting to see who was throwing the stuff down their neck.

I'm doing a bit of cardio. Not much. Just starting to ramp it up a bit with the HIIT stuff. Diet has been more for bulk really - gained 20lbs in weight and in total 27lbs of LBM in 4 months naturally. Body fat is hovering around 18%, plan is to get it below 15% this year while packing on the pounds, and then to get it to around 10% for summer next year. Slow progression - last time I did any fast body composition changes the results didnt stay...

I dont really have any cravings - apart from whey shakes randomly... Oh and cheese toasties if I've had a beer - which I dont really do these days.


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

I just noticed your signature - isn't the 1000lbs club a calculation of one rep max not your max rep range per exercise. Your sig says ###lbs x 5


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## Tall (Aug 14, 2007)

CMinOZ said:


> I just noticed your signature - isn't the 1000lbs club a calculation of one rep max not your max rep range per exercise. Your sig says ###lbs x 5


Yeah but I haven't maxed out on those two yet


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

I thought I had better get this latest update on here before the DOMS kicks in. Last nights session was the first on a 3 week program of Upper/Lower body splits and my second upper body workout in a row as my training partner was sick on the weekend.

So the session went like this:

3 sets 12 DB presses supersetted with:

3 sets 12 Bent over rows

3 sets 12 Military Presses

2 sets of rest pause BB curls - 15 - 8 - 6 reps - supersetted with

2 sets of close, reverse grip bench

Have changed my supps before upper body day and now wash down 2 NOV tablets with my Xpand creatine - very big pumps and my arms still feel "full".

Booked in for a deep tissue massage tonight so the pain will be exquisite tomorrow...


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

Saturday was the legs split of our new program and this was a killer -

2 x 15 Deadlifts - 150kgs

3 x 20 Leg presses - 340kgs

100 calf raises - 80kgs

Looking at it written down this doesn't appear very much, but believe me, my back and hamstrings would disagree.

I have decided to treat myself to a nice new lever powerlifting belt so will be checking the mail for the next week or so, dependent upon aussie customs...


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## Tall (Aug 14, 2007)

I wouldn't be able to walk after 100 calf raises...

Upto yesterday I still had DOMS from doing 25rep drops sets @ 150kg.

15s @ 150kg on deads is good going mate - thats some real core endurance and mental strength there. How was your grip and form on the last few? Both of those start to go for me after about 10 reps.

How come you are doing deads on leg day by the way?

Pikey loves 20reppers for anything on legs


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

TallHeavyAndSkinny said:


> How come you are doing deads on leg day by the way?


LMAO - you should try a couple of good heavy high rep sets of deadlifts and then tell me how your legs are the next day!!! Really freaks me out but once your lower back is done you really start to rely on your legs at the bottom of the lift.

With regard to grip, I use wraps, helps me lift more for more reps.


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## Tall (Aug 14, 2007)

My deadlifts smell worst that last weeks unwashed workout socks at the moment. I was hitting 115kg for reps last night, back is aching something chronic at that - I'm down 35kg from my previous best of 150kg for 5 

To make up for it I'm planning to hit 200kg for squats tomorrow.


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

Why don't you give deadlifts from the floor a break for about 4 weeks and fit this little set into your normal routine:

2 x 12 Rack Deadlifts

2 x 12 Shrugs

3 x 12 Hamstring Curls

2 x 12 Bent over rows

When I hit a plateau on my deadlifts this is what we do. There is no point in trying to pull dead heavy weights if your head is not in it. What you will find is that your Rack D/lifts will feel real strong up to about 160-170kgs (use straps if you've got them). This will get your head used to the fact that you can lift such heavy weights regularly.

The rest of the sets will strengthen up the mechanics of the deadlift allowing you in 4 weeks to smash your 1rm. Oh, and another thing, why do you measure your PB in 5 times multiple? If you really want to start lifting some much heavier weights then start counting a 1rm and set out a complete session for measuring your 1rm for Squat, Bench and Dead - don't do it as part of your normal work out.

I will guarantee that after 4 weeks off deadlifts you will be pulling some much heavier weights.

Oh, and don't forget to use wrist straps if you can - whilst I know that some people think that you should lift raw I disagree - Deadlifting is about getting the weight up, it is not a pretty exercise and your grip will still improve as you wont use straps for your warm ups.

Taking this time off will save you some money on a deadlift suit as well - save your money until you are lifting 250kgs+


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## Tall (Aug 14, 2007)

Hi mate.

Deadlifts were x 5 cos I went for my 1RM and hit 5 instead. But I've not been that close in ages. Bench and Squats are x2 cos I was doing a 3,2,1 trying to bump up my 1RMs, hit the 2 and missed the 1. As the 2's were hugely above my prev maxes I fired them up.

I do 1RM work every few weeks or as required. At the moment I'm finding its upping my strength (physical and mental) considerably - I wouldn't have had the bottle to try 200kgs a few months back.

I'll give your suggestion a go. I'm deloading for a few weeks after Saturday, but I'll add it in when I start back properly.

Cheers mate


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

I had to update this log today otherwise the DOMS in my arms is going to be so bad that I am incapable of anything.

Last night was shoulder/arms - it started off heavy and then just got heavier...

3 x 12 DB press - hit a PB here using 55kg db's - supersetted with...

3 x 15 bent over rows - using 120kgs (though performed on the leg extension machine as usual)

3 x 12 Military press - 90kg - this was a struggle as my lower back is still sore from Saturday and I am not very flexible when it comes to arching my back into the lift.

And then came the worst - I don't even know what these are called but it went something like this...

2 x 40 reps - like rest/pause but at each pause we removed 10kgs. Starting at 50kgs and finishing up on 10kgs plus bar.

The plan was to hit Tri's afterwards but the pump was so intense that I could hardly move my arms let alone go for some big pumping skullcrushers.

Home, Whey, Steak, Sleep.


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## Tall (Aug 14, 2007)

Good lifting mate!


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

Last week flew by and before I knew it Saturday was here again. I knew to expect legs and was also surprised by a new diet plan to enable me to reach my goals.

Goals:

Squat - 180kg

Bench - 145kg

Deadlift - 220kg

The new diet is set on 5 levels - giving me the option of either raising or lowering my calories on any given week dependent upon my gains for the previous week.

The beginning point, or level 2 (allowing for Level 1 if I gain too much) is:

6 Whole Eggs, 2 Slices of Toast

800 grams lean meat

100g Basmati rice

60 Almonds

300g Green Vegetables

6 scoops of Whey

The aim is to get to 98kg at 10% - currently I am 96kgs and 12% - This should be by December.

My session on Saturday was a pretty straight forward legs session like last week but I thought I would include my working weights for a change (because I actually paid attention this week):

2 x 12 Deadlifts @ 160kgs

Monster Set of Leg Presses:

1st Set - 20 x 300kgs = 340kgs

2nd Set - 15 x 320kgs = 360kgs

3rd set - 10 x 330kgs + My Wife = 385kgs (Limit of the machine is 18 plates)

100 Calf Raises - 100kgs

I am in absolute agony today and can only feel sorry for my missus, who after doing the same session on Saturday has put on high heels for the day today - her calves will be burning.

I will try and keep a more up to date weight log in the coming months as well. I'm sure there are some people out there that don't think my goals are possible but I'm confident that I do it.


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## Tall (Aug 14, 2007)

In the words of Paul George - "Nothing is impossible, it just takes longer than you think"

I always set tough goals mate - easy ones are fun


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

Agree on the goals - I'm just looking forward to the next grading to see my progress.

Trained chest, back, shoulders, arms yesterday - whole world of pain today.

My weight was also up by 300g - so the new diet is working...

DB Flat Bench - 3 sets of 15/13/11 - 55kg - supersetted with

Bent over rows - 3 sets of 15 - 120kg

Military Press - 3 sets of 12 - 90kg

Drop Set BBell Curls - 4 sets of 10 reps - starting at 60kg and dropping 10kgs with each set.

Enough was enough - time to go home.


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

Had a weekend away with my wife planned for the weekend just gone so had to train on Friday morning instead of Saturday. Weight gain has stalled a bit so I have added some cream to my diet and removed 10g of Almonds. Hopefully this will sort it out or I will have to increase my meat - which is a real pain as it as all weighed up in the freezer.

Friday was legs day, but our calves were still fried after last weeks set of 100 raises.

2 sets of 8 Deadlifts - 170kgs

Leg Press

20 x 360kg

15 x 380kg

10 x 380kg

DB Lunges

80m with 2x30kg DB's

Again, looking at this, it doesn't "look" like very much, however my glutes tell a different story after the lunges. Hopefully on Saturday we get to train to our 1RM so we can see some progress.


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

What an awful week it has been, I have been struck down with the flu for a few days which really wiped me out - It was all I could do to kee eating and training was completely out of the question. Very depressed on Saturday when my wife went to the gym and I couldn't.

My last work out was last Wednesday and was focussed on Shoulders/Arms.

Lateral Raises - 2 rest pause sets of 15/12/10 reps with 25kg DB's

Military press - 3 sets of 12 with 80kgs

EZ Curl Bar - Drop sets x 3 sets - 10 reps - starting at 60kg and dropping 10kgs with each set = Total of 120 reps

DB Curls - 3 sets of 12 reps - 22.5kgs each

Close Grip Bench - 3 sets of 15 reps with 120kgs

Dips to finish - 2 sets to failure

The pain in my arms masked the dull ache of the flu for a couple of days but I became a bit suspicious when my legs started to ache...

My new lever action belt arrived today - will have to start softening it up now...


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## Tall (Aug 14, 2007)

Is that the Inzer one? Bulldozers just got one... Time for me to join the club I think!


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

Yes mate, spent a fortune on Inzer gear this week - you can't get anything like it here in Australia


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## Tall (Aug 14, 2007)

Let me know how you get on with it - just been watching Britains strongest man and they were all using the double pin ones...


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

TH&S

I have used one before and found it to be awesome - absolutely perfect fit, far better than a standard belt - you "feel" stronger when you wear one.


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

Having missed training with the flu on Saturday I was hanging out to get back in the gym yesterday. I forgot that I had to go to the dentist before training though and turned up ready for a heavy Chest/arm/shoulders session with half of my face paralised. What ensued was a very hard set interspersed with laughing from me and my trainer at how funny my face was, if you imagine that half of my face was reflecting the effort I was putting in and the other half was expressionless and incontrollable.

Anyway, I think the drugs effected my intensity as well, I lifted the weights needed, it just felt a bit weak - maybe I'm just beating myself up too much.

Good news on the weight front - I've put on 500g of muscle in 1 1/2 weeks despite having the flu.

The work out was:

DB Flat Press - 3 sets - 50kgs for 12, 55kgs for 10 and 60kgs for 4

Wide Grip Chins - 3 sets - 20 reps with bodyweight, 15 reps with 10kg plate, 10 reps with 20kg plate.

Smith Military press - 3 sets - 90kgs for 12 reps supersetted with;

BB curl - 3 sets - rest/pause - 15/10/7 reps per set - 40kgs

Completely smashed, not sure if it is remnants of the flu, painkillers or just a hard set but I am in all sorts of pain.

Bring on tomorrow

Clinton


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

It really amazes me what sh1tty food the general population eat -I had to go to a wedding on Saturday from early afternoon through to the evening and was told in no uncertain terms by my missus that it would be "rude" to take my own food or shakes. So imagine my disgust when I find out that not only is it "finger food" the lions share of this is fried and mainly carbohydrate. GREAT. So I am faced with the dilemma of no food or eating fried carbohydrates to at least maintain my calorific intake for the day. I decided that it is easier to diet off a bit of fat than train on lost muscle - felling awful on Sunday when we trained though had not increased my weight (we will see on Wednesday...)

With the wedding on Saturday we trained on Sunday and it was the last session in our four week split (new workout to come next week):

Deadlifts - 2 sets of 5 reps with 190kgs

Drop set leg presses - 3 x 40 reps - dropping 20kg every 10 reps. Starting weight 360kgs

Calf Raises - 2 sets of 12 reps (not sure of the weight as the Drop sets had absolutely killed me)

My legs are in absolute agony today, which doesn't bode well for tomorrow...


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

Big upper body day yesterday, felt very pumped and can only think that this would be done to either my awful food day on Saturday or my new creatine - have swapped to Max's x3 creatine.

Session went like this:

Dumbell Bench - 10x50kgs - 8x55kgs - 2+2x60kgs - supersetted with

Chins - 20xBodyweight, 15x BW+5kgs, 10x BW+10kgs

Push Presses - 2 sets of 12 with 60kgs (This was my first time doing this exercise, once I have technique right weight will go up)

DB Curls - 50 rep drop sets starting at 25kgs and dropping down every 10 reps. 22.5 - 20 - 17.5 - 15

Tricep pushdowns -50 rep drop sets - So smashed that I don't even know what my starting weight was.

Went home absolutely fried and could only just cook my steak.


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

I have never been as much pain after a legs workout as I am now - some 3 days later... All went a bit pear-shaped when I brought up with my coach that I wanted to change my goals - now focused on 8% BF by December. So after a "discussion" about changing diets etc we went on to do the following workout - try it if you think it sounds easy...

Leg press - after warm up 10 x 100, 180, 240

15 reps - 320kgs

15 reps - 340kgs

15 reps - 360kgs

15 reps - 380kgs

Squats

2 sets - 15 x 100kgs

Calves

2 sets - 20 x 80kgs

Walking lunges with DB's

30kgs DB's in each hand - lunges to failure


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## Tall (Aug 14, 2007)

"Lunges to failure" -- did you need the sick bin???


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

very close to it - I actually fell over


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

So, the new workout split is killing me - my legs have now just recovered from Friday night and last night it was Chest and Back. I am getting an additional training partner now as well, I will still train with my missus twice and now once a week with another guy from our gym who is at a similar level to me, in fact probably a bit stronger - this will help because I am a competitive f*cker.

Anyway, here is the work out from yesterday.

Dumbbell Bench

10 x 20kgs (each db)

10 x 25kgs

10 x 30kgs - All warm up sets

15 x 35kgs

15 x 40kgs

15 x 45kgs these were supersetted with;

3 x 15 Wide Grip Chins with 10kgs added

Incline Bench

15 x 40kgs

15 x 60kgs

15 x 80kgs supersetted with

Seated rows (wide grip)

3 x 15 reps


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

After 1 week off I was really looking forward to getting back into the gym yesterday. Weighed in and had lost 300g, which is what we had planned for, though will now start really reigning the diet in and being super strict with my measurements and timing.

The new diet and times are:

Brekkie

6am - 4 eggs with two toast plus vegemite

8.30am - Protein shake on water

10am - Chicken Patty

11.30am - Chicken Patty

1pm - Chicken Patty

2.30pm - Chicken Patty

4pm - Protein Shake on water

5.30pm -Chicken Patty

7pm - Chicken Patty

8.30pm - Chicken Patty

10pm - Protein Shake on water

My chicken patty diet sounds pretty bland, but here is the recipe:

800g Chicken Breast mince

100g Basmati Rice

300g frozen peas

Paprika

Mixed herbs

Garlic Salt

1 egg to bind

I cook these on the BBQ in the evening and jsut keep them on my desk just eat throughout the day. Hopefully with the constant refuelling I may lean out a little.

On the training side, last night was Chest, Back, Shoulders:

Dumbbell Bench

10 x 20kgs (each db)

10 x 25kgs

10 x 30kgs - All warm up sets

10 x 40kgs

10 x 45kgs

5+5 x 55kgs these were supersetted with;

3 x 15 Wide Grip Chins with 15kgs added

Incline Bench

15 x 40kgs

15 x 60kgs

15 x 80kgs supersetted with

Seated rows (wide grip)

3 x 15 reps

DB flyes - 20 reps with 15kgs


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## Tall (Aug 14, 2007)

You low carbing CM...? Are you going to be refeeding...?

Good going on the DB bench mate.


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

Hello Sir

Not sure about low carbs to be honest, as you know my diet is all planned out for me by my trainer so I dont have a clue what measurements are. I am still on same amount of rice, toast etc

Just coming the end of my first work day with the patties and it has made life so much easier, just kept a lunch box on my desk and ate one every hour and a half - hopefully we will see some results. I am at that stage where my body fat is reducing but leaving what "appears" to be flabbier, watery skin on the old love handles - It's quite depresssing, but then I was a fat b*stard for a very long time!!!

How's the low carbs going with you - are you dreaming of bread and pastries yet...


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## Tall (Aug 14, 2007)

I did have two 'steak bakes' from Greggs bakery (Steak filled pasties) on Tuesday - but to be honest I don't miss it too much.

I've just posted my new diet in the diet section if you fancy a read.


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

Mmmm - Steak Bakes, sounds very good and very bad at the same time!!!

First official day of the new diet so I have a box full of chiken rissoles to plought through today. I am having to keep the box close by though as I can't walk very far after legs day on Saturday.

Program went like this:

2 x Drop sets of Leg presses - 40 reps each starting at 380kgs for 10, then reducing by 20kgs with each 10 reps - Super setted with;

2 x 20 Hamstring curls - not sure of the weight here as I hate this exercise and just get it done and walk away

Box Squats

15 x 80kgs

10 x 100kgs

8 x 120kgs

4 x 140kgs (intended to do 6 but failed on fifth rep)

EZ Bar Curls

2 x 20 reps - 52kgs supersetted with

2 x 20 tricep pulldowns


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

Another Wednesday gone, another log in the journal. Weight was good, I have dropped about 300g in 4 days and the calipers are showing that this is a reduction in Body Fat so I am pleased.

Last night was a decent chest and back split, very similar to last weeks but I will include it for my own sanity and record keeping (as I am sure no-one reads this apart from TH&S):

DB Presses - warm ups, 25kg, 30kg, 35kg - 10 reps each

Work sets -

5 x 40kgs

5 x 45kgs

5 x 50kgs

5 x 55kgs

5 x 60kgs

Supersetted with:

Wide grip chins (Lat pull downs used for warm up)

10 x Body Weight (97kgs)

10 x BW + 5kg

10 x BW + 10kg

10 x BW + 15kg

Incline Bench

Warm ups 40kg, 60kg, 75kg

5 x 85kg

5 x 90kg

5 x 95kg

5 x 100kg

Cable Rows - Wide grip

5 x 70kg

5 x 75kg

5 x 80kg

5 x 85kg

5 x 90kg


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## Tall (Aug 14, 2007)

I hate chins... I can only get about 5 out at a push...


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

I don't like chins either, but at least now I have got a better technique. Which has helped, I no longer try to rush the exercise and have found that much slower drop down to a stretch keeps the tension and makes it easier on the upward phase. Also pointing my chest skyward and head back makes the lats work harder.


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## Tall (Aug 14, 2007)

I'll try that.

I like to keep my hand in on chins (as it were) as you never know when after a few beers your ability to do a few chins will need to be demonstrated


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## Tall (Aug 14, 2007)

CMinOZ said:


> Last night was a decent chest and back split, very similar to last weeks but I will include it for my own sanity and record keeping (as I am sure no-one reads this apart from TH&S)


I think they do read it mate - just alot of people won't reply to your log unless your asking a question.

Me? I'm just 'gobby'


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## Pikey1466867920 (Apr 24, 2004)

I read it fella. I do know what you mean though as I wonder the same myself at times. Most people don't post unless you ask for an opinion - hey not always then.

Keep at it sounds like you are making good progress.


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

Thanks boys, I appreciate you dropping in.

Saturday as you will know is "Legs Day" and this week our coach was in a sh*t of a mood having had some of his "less committed" clients whinging about how much they "hurt" after each session and about how much they feel like a bit of chocolate cake or a couple of drinks when they are out. So needless to say our session was going to be pretty tough...

*Leg Press*

Warm ups 20 x 100kgs, 15 x 160kg, 10 x 240kgs

Work sets

10 x 320kg

10 x 340kg

10 x 360kg

10 x 380kg

10 x 400kg (PB)

Supersetted with;

*Hamstring Curls*

3 sets - 20 reps - Weight, no idea, still hate the exercise...

*Box Squats*

This is where things got evil; we decided to go to our 4 rep max after frying our quads on the leg presses.

Warm ups

10 x 60kgs, 8 x 80kgs, 6 x 100kgs

4 x 120kgs

4 x 130kgs

4 x 140kgs

4 x 150kgs

4 x 160kgs

Then...

*Walking lunges*

30kgs DB's - not sure how many steps I managed but needless to say that this exercise was completed to failure and just shy of vomitting.

Legs are killing me today but obviously getting stronger. I can't wait to squat with fresh legs as I am hoping to hit a massive PB.


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## Tall (Aug 14, 2007)

I think I like your coach.


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## Pikey1466867920 (Apr 24, 2004)

Nice leg day, my kinda leg session. Walking lunges after that lot shows a certain attitude - Good one mate!


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## Tall (Aug 14, 2007)

Pikey said:


> Nice leg day, my kinda leg session. Walking lunges after that lot shows a certain attitude - Good one mate!


Err... don't be getting any ideas Pikey...


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## Pikey1466867920 (Apr 24, 2004)

me evil grin - hey I'm gonna intoduce you to leg press matrix superset with triple drop extensions and walking lunges are a must....


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## Tall (Aug 14, 2007)

Pikey said:


> me evil grin - hey I'm gonna intoduce you to leg press matrix superset with triple drop extensions and walking lunges are a must....


I'll bring a sick bucket.

Ahhh Pain is fun really


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

Thanks Guys,

You're right, I do have a have good coach, I think my wife and I are his little project. We do exactly what he says without any questions - apart from hamstring curls, and we are getting the result (Blows his own trumpet).

I know I have been talking about it for a while but I am thinking that I should get some more photos done and post up a quarterly update. Will wait till next week and you never know, I may finally have summoned up the courage to post them.

CMinOZ


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

So, here we go - here is the picture that inspired by new found love for weight training and dieting!!! I can't believe I'm doing this but you should really get an idea of where I have come from. I know it looks like some body for life thing with the newspaper, it was the wifes idea so I could prove how quickly I had transformed by body shape. So here goes, me in my pants at 113kgs - not pretty...

The second photo is after 12 weeks of training, so this was back in March/April - I will post a more recent pic soon, when I have one.

Quite a change I reckon


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## Tall (Aug 14, 2007)

Mate you've certainly leaned up in those 12 weeks.

What weight were you in Pic 1 and 2? And what weight are you now?

How come everyone always holds something? I've seem loads of posts on T-Nation with people holding shoes...


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

first pic 113kg second pic about 93kg now I am 96.5kg but leaner still at 12.8% - target is 8% by December


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## Tall (Aug 14, 2007)

20kg drop is HUGE mate. So well done.

What do you estimate your BF% to be in each pic?

Is that about a 6in waist reduction from photo 1 to photo 2?


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

Hello mate

Yes, it was at least a 6inch decrease in my waist measurement. In terms of Bodyfat, when you are as large as I was it is quite difficult to take a decent reading as there is just so much. As you can see, I store a lot of my fat around my waist making it really tough to get a decent reading. Considering the measurements taken at weeks 2, 4, 6 , 8 etc we believe the BF% at the beginning was in the region of 28-30% - real heart attack territory.

In the second photo I am at about 15% if I recall correctly. I really must put up a recent photo so that you can hopefully see the difference.


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## Tall (Aug 14, 2007)

Mate thats a huge drop in only 3 months - did you loose much strength in that time?

Can't have been much muscle as it looks as though the loss was nearly all BF (bit of water, tiny bit of muscle)


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

The big benefit of the way that we train is that it is all planned out, diet, training, weight loss and muscle gains. I know that my main gains were resulting from improved form during this time but I still managed to put an extra 20kgs on my deadlift, 30kgs on my squat and 10kgs on bench.

If only gains like that would come every 3 months!!! You're right, main loss was body fat and I actually increased my lean mass by about 3-4kgs.

The diet as you know was a ketogenic diet, but very strict, more so than a typical atkins style that allows you to eat as much as you like providing it's not carbs. The result was a much lower blood sugar level that would ensure we missed out on the mood swings associated with most keto diets.


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

Last night was my last session for a week as I am off on my motorbike for a bit of rest and ride long weekend. So of course the smart option for training was always going to be Shoulders/Arms

Just a quick note, this workout was completed in 1 hour with two of us training so you will see that there was very little rest time between sets...

*Lateral Raises*

15 x 12.5kgs

12 x 15kgs (Warm ups)

12 x 17.5kgs

12 x 20kgs

12 x 22.5kgs

7 x 25kgs

*Military Press*

12 x 40kgs (warm up)

10 x 60kgs

10 x 70kgs

10 x 80kgs

10 x 90kgs

6 x 100kgs

*BB Curls*

10 x 20kgs (warm up)

12 x 30kgs

12 x 35kgs

12 x 40kgs

12 x 50kgs

8 x 60kgs

6 x 65kgs

Supersetted with

*Drop set Cable Pulldowns*

Beginning at 60kgs and reducing 5 kgs at a time - to 30kgs - Yes that is 60 reps and we did this twice.

*DB Curls *

10 x 12.5kgs

10 x 15kgs

10 x 17.5kgs

10 x 20kgs

10 x 22.5kgs

Supersetted with;

*Close, Reverse Grip Bench Press*

8 x 60kgs

8 x 80kgs

8 x 100kgs

6 x 100kgs


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## Tall (Aug 14, 2007)

CRGBP??? Thats just crazy!!!


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

I've got dodgy elbows and the CGRBP doesn't hurt them as much - for safety I do them on the Smith Machine - Do you like the new avatar, thought it was about time I got one.


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## Tall (Aug 14, 2007)

RGBP just hurts my wrists. Its banned in Powerlifting too so that was another reason why I never bothered carrying it on 

Ha ha I like the avi


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

Forgot to mention earlier, I have revised my choice of fat burners and gone for the incredibly expensive ALRI Venom - took the first one this morning and I am flying, temp is up, concentration is better and no anxiousness that I normally get when I double dose my normal FB's.

So, whilst they are expensive it seems that the recommended dose might actually be correct. I will keep my weight updated on the log - was 96.7 yesterday.


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

Last night was shoulders/arms again - and it went like this...

*Military Press*

Warm ups - 10 x 40kgs, 10 x 60kgs

10 x 70kgs

10 x 80kgs

10 x 90kgs

10 x 100kgs (4 more than last week)

*Lateral Raises*

15 x 12.5kgs

12 x 15kgs

12 x 20kgs

12 x 22.5kgs

10 x 25kgs

*Bicep Curls (EZ bar)*

10 x 40kgs (warm up)

10 x 50kgs (warm up)

Then 10 rep drop sets beginning at 70kgs and reducing 10kgs with each 10 reps. We completed 2 sets of this so 100 reps in total. Vomitting became a real option...

However, I toughened up and moved on...

to *Dumbell Curls*

10 x 20kgs

10 x 22.5kgs

10 x 20kgs

Supersetted with

*Dropset, over head tricep pulld*owns. Not sure of the weight here as I was completely gone here, but it started nice and heavy and obviously reduced by each 10 reps. We did 2 sets and 100 reps in total.

Absolutely done in...

Saturday week is our next powerlifting grading, which I am lookign forward to but also dreading. I have not deadlifted in weeks or flat benched so I am concerned that my numbers will not go forward as much as I had hoped. On the plus, side the new fatburners are awesome, dropped down to 96.1kg last night so fingers crossed I will be lifting at the same weight as the last grading, though obviously much leaner.


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## Tall (Aug 14, 2007)

Good going on the lateral raises. Pikey has me doing those until I can't lift my arms over my head.

Bicep drop sets starting at 70kg?? Madness!! Your trainer is evil. I like it.


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

Saturday was the first day of our new 4 week micro-cycle with a completely revised session. This week, to determine our progress we went to our max for 3 reps.

Flat Bench

Warm ups (10 x 60kgs, 6 x 80kgs)

3 x 90kgs

3 x 100kgs

3 x 110kgs

3 x 120kgs

Cable Rows

3 sets of 15 reps

Deadlifts

Warm ups (15 x 60kgs)

3 x 100kgs

3 x 140kgs

3 x 180kgs

1 x 190kgs

With such a p!ss poor performance on the deadlifts I spat the dummy, threw all of my toys out of the pram and generally chucked a major hissy fit full of swearing and foot stamping - all in all, very embarrassing.

In hindsight, my head wasn't in it, my form was f*cked and I need to get it together for next weekend. For some reason I expected it to move quicker than it did and then like a newby I kept looking down to "check that it was still there" - of course it was still bl00dy there.

This is not quite how imagined my preparation for this saturday would go - I know my poor performance was down to not doing deadlifts for the past 4 weeks but I need a good performance on saturday, so I have started visualising a really slow, hard lift for my max on saturday. As I am sure you will understand that at this point in time I am not a happy chap.

Targets for Saturday are:

Squat - 180kg

Bench - 130kg (with pause at bottom)

Deadlift - 210/220kg


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

Ok, much more positive mindset now. Training last night was awesome, felt strong and focused. With our little comp on the weekend we took it easy-ish...

We began with squats because my wife has not done free squats before and she will be competing on the weekend - we gradually built up to a 3 rep max - I nailed 160 with loose knee sleeves, which I was quite happy about.

Then we went on to a Shoulders/Arms set which went as follows:

Military presses - Try this one at home.

One set consisted of 10 full reps, 4 partial reps and then 4 x 5reps as a drop set with 10 second rest between drops.

This was then supersetted with Drop set BB curls, beginning at 80kgs for eight (big swinging) reps, and decreasing by 10kgs each time to just the bar. Form technique became much more focused once we got 60kgs and gradually more so until I was crying like a girl and only able to curl the bar, just.

Lateral Raises -

10 x 20kg

10 x 22.5kg

BB Curls as above.

Doesn't look like much, but the idea was not to fatigue the main muscles before the lifting on Saturday (with the exception of squats).

Bring on Saturday...


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## Tall (Aug 14, 2007)

Quality.

I like how he mixes it up. I'm not a big fan of doing the exact same thing week after week.


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

For some reason my last post didn't work  Needless to say I'm not going to go into so much detail as now I have no time.

So, grading was rubbish - couldnt get my head together and only marginally improved on last time...

Just had a week off training so this weeks session was always gonna hurt:

Flat Bench - Full Reps, Partial Reps, Drop Set (Sounds as bad as it was)

Consists of 15 full reps, then 5 partials then 10 seconds rest followed by 4 full reps with a weight reduced by 20kgs.

First set with 90kgs

Second set with 100kgs

Chins x 45 in total 15x12x10x8

Incline Bench

4 sets of 6 reps - 50, 60, 70, 80kgs

Deadlifts

3 reps - 160-170-180kgs

Looking at it now it doesnt seem much, but it almost killed me yesterday


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## crazycal1 (Sep 21, 2005)

really think you`d be better off doing deads first thing when youre fresh mate!



> I'm not a big fan of doing the exact same thing week after week.


i am!

cos if you dont you lose sight of true progress....


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

> really think you`d be better off doing deads first thing when youre fresh mate!


Cal, Yes, in normal circumstances I would agree, the reason behind doing deadlifts last is obviously not to hit a one rep max, but more to get me mentally right for lifting heavy even when fatigued, you see I have a habit of just giving up if I'm f*cked rather than trusting my muscles to just lift the weight.

With regard to doing the same this week after week, we are following a Micro-Cycle Powerbuilding routine that sees us training to failure at almost every workout and with each "cycle" lasting just 4 weeks.

This weekend our workout was like this...

Leg Press

Warm ups

15 x 80kg, 15 x 160kg, 15 x 240kg, 10 x 320kg, 8 x 400kg, 8 x 440kg

The drop sets from 440kg, 10 reps each weight, dropping 20kgs per interval - so 40 reps in total - 440, 420, 400, 380. We did this twice, but whilst resting we did...

Bicep curls (EZ Bar)

Warm ups

15 x 35kgs, 12 x 40kgs, 10 x 50kgs

12 x 65kgs

12 x 60kgs

12 x 60kgs

Squats

(Please bear in mind that after more than 150 leg presses my legs were pretty shot to pieces and I had already vomitted twice)

Warms ups - 6 x 80kgs, 6 x 100kgs, 6 x 120kgs

6 x 140kgs

6 x 130kgs

3 x 130kgs (failure, home, eat, sleep)


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

> really think you`d be better off doing deads first thing when youre fresh mate!


Cal, Yes, in normal circumstances I would agree, the reason behind doing deadlifts last is obviously not to hit a one rep max, but more to get me mentally right for lifting heavy even when fatigued, you see I have a habit of just giving up if I'm f*cked rather than trusting my muscles to just lift the weight.

With regard to doing the same this week after week, we are following a Micro-Cycle Powerbuilding routine that sees us training to failure at almost every workout and with each "cycle" lasting just 4 weeks.

This weekend our workout was like this...

Leg Press

Warm ups

15 x 80kg, 15 x 160kg, 15 x 240kg, 10 x 320kg, 8 x 400kg, 8 x 440kg

The drop sets from 440kg, 10 reps each weight, dropping 20kgs per interval - so 40 reps in total - 440, 420, 400, 380. We did this twice, but whilst resting we did...

Bicep curls (EZ Bar)

Warm ups

15 x 35kgs, 12 x 40kgs, 10 x 50kgs

12 x 65kgs

12 x 60kgs

12 x 60kgs

Squats

(Please bear in mind that after more than 150 leg presses my legs were pretty shot to pieces and I had already vomitted twice)

Warms ups - 6 x 80kgs, 6 x 100kgs, 6 x 120kgs

6 x 140kgs

6 x 130kgs

3 x 130kgs (failure, home, eat, sleep)


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

As those of you that read this log will know, my missus is my training partner and when she is crook that means only one thing where training is concerned - Our coach throws in a heavy shoulders arms session...

Unfortunately, last night she was sick...

*Military presses - Full Reps, Partials, Drops*

After warm ups...

15 x 95kg then 5 partials - 10 seconds rest, then 6 x 85kg

12 x 100kg then 4 partials - 10 seconds rest, then 4 x 90kg

8 x 105kg then 3 partials - 10 seconds rest, then, then, then nothing

Between each set of Military presses we did

*BB Curls using the EZ Bar:*

10 reps, 5 seconds rest, 5 reps, 10 seconds rest, 5 reps, 15 seconds rest, 5 reps.

First set with 55kgs

Second set with 60kgs

Third set with 65kgs (this looked more like limbo dancing than curling)

Then...

*Side Raises*

3 sets of 10 reps -12.5kg, 15kg, 17.5kg

supersetted with;

*DB Curls*

3 sets of 10 reps - 20kg, 22.5kg, 25kg

*Close, Reverse Grip, Bench Press*

6 x 60kg

6 x 70kg

6 x 80kg

As I'm typing this I can feel the numbness that I know means a whole world of DOM Pain is coming my way - I hope my wife is feeling better by the weekend...


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

Saturdays session was a very strange one - I am quite used to knowing what our routine will be and as such went to the gym prepared for heavy leg presses followed by squats - I don't like surprises...

Saturdays session...

Deadlifts

All sets were 8 reps - including warm ups - warm up weights 60/100/120/140

Work sets - 3 x 160kgs

Leg Press

All sets were 15 reps - including warm ups - warm up weights 40/80/160/240/320

Work sets - 3 x 400

Squats

All sets were 5 reps including warm ups - warm up weights 60/80/100/120

Work sets - 3 x 130

Despite the surprise, I actually enjoyed this work out, gave my legs a real pump which took about 24 hours to subside. I am feeling it today...


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## crazycal1 (Sep 21, 2005)

> (Please bear in mind that after more than 150 leg presses my legs were pretty shot to pieces and I had already vomitted twice)


lol here i go again mate-

youre either pushing yourself too hard or being pushed too hard OR you aint eating enuff preworkout.

i seem to remember arnie puking cos he trained so hard,but to me common sense dictates its a fcuking awful thing to have happen midworkout-

and you carried on!!!!!!!!!

most peeps dont have arnies genes/whatever you want to call it-

its great that youre prepared to push yourself so hard,but if i puked midworkout-

i`d go home and have a rest...

youre trying to stimulate youre body into growth bud-not beat the crap out of it and scare it into growth heh heh heh!



> Cal, Yes, in normal circumstances I would agree, the reason behind doing deadlifts last is obviously not to hit a one rep max, but more to get me mentally right for lifting heavy even when fatigued, you see I have a habit of just giving up if I'm f*cked rather than trusting my muscles to just lift the weight.


i` never do 1 rep maxes mate (altho i`d guestimate that all my deads are within 95+% of my 1 rep max)

deads/squats cause more growth than any other exercise (causing your body to produce more natural test/gh than any other)

i understand what youre saying,but i`d rather do `em first and simply use less poundage on subsequent exercises...

i bet you`ve got a real highly qualified coach and eminently more qualified in real life coaching than me,but it sounds like he`s got you training like a top athlete rather than the stage youre at(no offence like)



> we are following a Micro-Cycle Powerbuilding routine


ok fair do`s-

but i wouldnt say theres a place for leg press in said routine.

leg press then bicep curls!!! then squats....

done properly you should be dead after a few decent sets of squats

maybe - maybe leg press directly before or after(i`d rather body weight squat to failure after working sets of squats)

not many powerlifting routines have bicep curls tho(lol i think)

touch wood i`m still off the weed mate


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

Thanks for the response Cal, it is nice to hear the opinions of others. I certainly agree with most of your points and will respond quickly to those that I don't:



> its great that youre prepared to push yourself so hard,but if i puked midworkout - i`d go home and have a rest


I agree, if I felt that bad, I would go home, but once you puke (if due to lactic acid build up) you actually feel better and able to carry on.



> maybe - maybe leg press directly before or after(i`d rather body weight squat to failure after working sets of squats)
> 
> not many powerlifting routines have bicep curls tho(lol i think)


LOL - Bicep curls are purely for my own vanity!!! With regard to leg presses and curls - I do a set of curls in between leg presses to have more of a rest - following on from last set of presses into squats.

The program we are following is working just nicely for us, though of course each person is different - remember we only train twice a week, not the 3-4 times that others on here seem to recommend, this seems to give us enough time to recover and (touch wood) I've had no injuries and my performance continues to improve.

Also, we never do any cardio work which I personally think helps with recovery - although the diet has to be strict to ensure fat loss...


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## crazycal1 (Sep 21, 2005)

didnt realise you were training 2x a week-lol cool!

we agree there at least lol 

as regards no cardio-and relying on diet-i reckon youre making things hard for yaself.

walking the day after the day after training would not hinder you at all...

i believe lots of dog walking is one of the keys to my leaness!


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

We also agree on light cardio being of benefit, however I honestly don't have time to do it. I started my own company earlier this year and as a result have little or no time other than twice a week for training.

Also, the gym I go to has a "no cardio" policy and as our diets and workouts are strictly controlled it would f*ck with my muscle growth/calorie consumption. Seems to be working though - I've dropped from 113kg to 95kg without cardio and have reduced BF from well over 20% (probably over 30% - I was so fat it was difficult to measure) to just under 12%.

I just saw the video of your deadlifts - well impressive, I've not seen them done with a trap before, and no straps even with that many reps!!! I've read threads before where you mention your work on grip strength, it's obviously paid off.


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

It's that time of the week again where I sit at my desk with a dull ache growing in my chest, back and arms whilst trying to remember what we actually did last night...

Having hit legs hard on Saturday, last night was always going to be a full on upper body work out...

Flat Bench

Warm ups - 15x20kg, 12x40kg, 12x60kg, 8x70kg, 6x 80kg

Full/Partial/Drop Set

15 reps 100kg - then 10 seconds rest - then 3 partials - then 15 seconds rest - then 4 full reps with 80kgs

This was paired with rest pause sets of cable rows - 90kgs - 15 reps, then 10 seconds rest, then 10 reps,then 15 seconds rest, then 6 reps.

In total we did 3 sets of the above.

We then moved on to Incline Bench with 3 sets of 10 reps - 70, 80, 90kgs

Paired with EZ bar curls - 10reps, 5 seconds rest, 5 reps, 10 seconds rest, 5 reps, 15 seconds rest, 5 reps. Weight was 60kgs.

Nice quick work out last night, felt pretty good.


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## crazycal1 (Sep 21, 2005)

lol sounds complicated bud

but then i`m a bit simple-

i mean i like to keep it simple


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

Thankfully after the hectic session on Wednesday our session was nice and simple -

Deadlifts

After warm ups we did 2 sets of 5 reps - my weight was 185kg

Leg Presses

After warm ups we did 3 sets of 10 reps - weight was 400, 420, 440kg

Safety Squats

Not sure if you have seen these before - the bar is a rather strange affair - check it out here SAFETY SQUAT BAR

after warm ups we did 3 x 6 reps of 130kgs

Nice and simple, not easy but got a real pump in my legs and lower back.

CMinOZ


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

Last night was a great night - We have been playing around with my calories and carb intake over that last week or so - adding 100g of dry roasted chick peas for 4 days then removing them again. This has seen my weight go up to 98kg from 95.8 and then back down to 95.0 last night. What really suprised me is that my BF has dropped to 11.5% from 12.6% 4 weeks ago. This BF test was done over 9 points.

So I was well happy before training, which was good because our session was the same as last week - it seemed even harder yesterday because I had been in meetings all day from 7am until 5pm (and the weight was heavier).

Flat Bench

Warm ups - 15x20kg, 12x40kg, 12x60kg, 8x70kg, 6x 80kg

Full/Partial/Drop Set

10 reps 105kg - then 10 seconds rest - then 3 partials - then 15 seconds rest - then 4 full reps with 80kgs

This was paired with rest pause sets of cable rows - 90kgs - 20 reps, then 10 seconds rest, then 15 reps,then 15 seconds rest, then 8 reps.

Then back to the bench for 6 reps of 115kgs and then 2 sets of DB presses with 50kg DB's. Each set still paired with rest/pause cable rows

In total we did 3 sets of the above.

We then moved on to Incline Bench with 3 sets of 10 reps - 70, 80, 90kgs

Paired with EZ bar curls - 10reps, 5 seconds rest, 5 reps, 10 seconds rest, 5 reps, 15 seconds rest, 5 reps. Weight was 60kgs.

My arms are hurting now, I hate to think how they will feel later...


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## crazycal1 (Sep 21, 2005)

i`ve always liked the look of those bars-

if it want for my back i`d love to try one!


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## Pikey1466867920 (Apr 24, 2004)

Sounds like you're making good progress there mate, 11.5% should be seeing some seperation?


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

> if it want for my back i`d love to try one


You're right Cal, it's possibly the most hated piece of equipment in our gym for that very reason - it just curls you over during the squat, it's like half squat, half good morning.

Thanks for the support Pikey - I'm getting there, it's only been 11 months so I'm pretty pleased to have got this far without boring myself stupid with cardio. We'll see how the refeeding with carbs goes for the next month - hoping for some more ab definition come christmas time when the sun is shining


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## Guest (Nov 22, 2007)

Good log mate, sounds like your well busy. Cant be easy starting a new business and keeping the weights up... Respect 2u. Sometimes if ive had a really stressfull day at work i get home and i have to sleep before training, just way to tired.


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

> Sometimes if ive had a really stressfull day at work i get home and i have to sleep before training


Yeah, I know what you mean - My schedule means that I don't finish work until at least 6 and my training is booked for 7pm so no option to sleep unfortunately.

Had a flat out crazy morning on Saturday, went out to "look at" houses with my wife and ended up buying a house - which was nice. So all in all I ended up 10 minutes late to the gym and went straight into a deadlift session -

Warm ups

15 x 60

12 x 100

8 x 140

4 x 160

3 x 180

2 x 200 (PB)

I was well chuffed with this as it felt really strong, came up pretty easy and no hitching...

Then a quick set of leg presses

Warm ups - 15 x 80, 12 x 160, 10 x 240, 8 x 320, 6 x 400

Work sets- 10 x 420kg - 10 x 440kg

Then a quick set of calves (we were running late)

30 x 80kgs

25 x 90kgs

Calves are killing me today and I am distracted due to waiting on the real estate agent...


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## crazycal1 (Sep 21, 2005)

what job/business do you do mate?


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

I'm a Director of a recruitment firm


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

Last night was not a good night - it all started off fine, until we go to the 55kg dumbell benches when all went tits up. Twisted my shoulder, pinched nerve - no more for me...

Not happy, shoulder is sore today and hurting more using a mouse and typing all day.


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

Back in the gym for the first time since I bunged my shoulder. My missus has just had laser surgery on her eyes so no deadlifts or legpresses which left us with a rather limited work out as we needed to look after my shoulder also. I have a feeling that I'm gonna hurt after this...

Wide grip cable rows - Drop Sets (increasing reps)

180 x 10

170 x 12

160 x 14

150 x 16

140 x 18

10 seconds rest in between, so all up 70 reps per set and we did 2 sets. I have never felt my lats burn as much as they were after this.

Next was Wide Grip Pulldowns... Drop sets

130 x 8

120 x 8

110 x 8

100 x 8

Two sets of this and I was in all sorts of trouble, my shoulder was fine, lats and by this point bi's were very pumped. (Yes, I know strict form would suggest little bicep involvement, but try the set before you judge).

Then, just in case we needed any more pain they included a set of curls. Not just any curls though as remember my shoulder is stuffed. No, it was decided that we should do a set of 60 curls in a style that has no name that I know of. Picture this, set up the incline bench at 45 degrees and lie face down on it with the top of the bench at about the base of your solar plexus, arms hanging down vertically to the floor.

The aim was to complete 60 reps in as many sets as it took. I managed it in 4 sets - 2 sets of 20 then 2 sets of 10.

Shoulder feels fine, back is gonna be sore - Driving home was fun...


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## Tall (Aug 14, 2007)

Once again - I like the workout


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## Guest (Dec 6, 2007)

CMinOZ said:


> Twisted my shoulder, pinched nerve - no more for me...
> 
> Not happy, shoulder is sore today and hurting more using a mouse and typing all day.


Shame mate, you seemed to be doing so well too.


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

Thanks Gents - The shoulder is still sore so I'm off to the physio on Monday - hopefully we will get it right again.

Last night we hit legs hard - THS you WILL like this one...

Leg Press

Warm ups

15 x 80kg

15 x 160kg

15 x 240kg

15 x 320kg

8 x 360kg

Work Sets

Leg Press Drop Sets...

400kg x 15 - 15 seconds rest

380kgs x 15 - 15 seconds rest

360kgs x 15 - 15 seconds rest

340kgs x 15 - 15 seconds rest

320kgs x 15 quick fire partials

OMG - my legs were on fire

Next up were Rest Pause Hamstring Curls holding a dumbbell between our feet.

Reps were 20, rest, 10, rest, 5 rest...

Then back to the leg presses for the same set as above but with 10 reps.. Now it's starting to hurt 

Then back to hamstring curls for our final set - really starting to feel it now.

Top things off nicely we then went on to Safety Squats.

4 x 65kgs

4 x 85kgs

4 x 105kgs

4 x 125kgs

2 x 145kgs (failure)

Then to finish of on a "high note" we got into some calf raises.

100kgs x 50 (made up of 3 sets, 20, 20 , 10)

I have a feeling my legs will be sore later today...


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## Tall (Aug 14, 2007)

ha ha love it.

When I trained legs with Pikey he had me do:

Leg Extension WarmUp x Forever

Leg Extension Triple Drop Supersetted with Leg Press x 3

Ham Curl Triple Drop

Was really intense - took us maybe 30mins?

I was fine driving home, but then I started to fall over whilest walking to the dentist... Struggled to climb the stairs at the dentist... Fell down the dentist stairs... Fell over on the way to the car... Couldn't get out of the car unassisted...

Struggled to walk for a few days after wards and my legs were pumped for days.

Since the leg routine switch I'd started to see more of the bumps coming out in my legs (cant think of the proper name for the different part of the quads!)

CM - are you training for strength or growth at the moment?


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## Pikey1466867920 (Apr 24, 2004)

Ah proper leg workout


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

TallHeavyAndSkinny said:


> CM - are you training for strength or growth at the moment?


Both - I'm never happy unless my compound lifts are improving - I have some big goals that I want to hit by the end of next year. In addition to the strength side I am not ashamed to admit that I am also motivated by the mirror. Considering what I have achieved in the past 11 months I am excited by what I can do in another 12 months.

I aim to lift the following in the next 12 months:

Deadlift - 250kgs (w/straps) - 230kgs raw (Current PB 200)

Bench - 150kgs (Current PB 120)

Squat - 200kgs (Current PB 160)

My goal weight will be 98kg at 8%BF -

Big goals, but if I dont put them out there I will never achieve them...


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## Pikey1466867920 (Apr 24, 2004)

Aim high mate; I think the weights should be very achievable, if you junk the straps on the deadlift you'll be surprised how fast your grip improves , if you can hold 230K you can hold 250K, try pausing each lift not for long just a discernable stop on the floor to stop the bounce, you'll find grip and overall strength will come on a mile.

Not sure of your current BF but whatever it is within reason 8% with a good diet is achievable.

Good luck with the goals; you never know what you can achieve until you fully apply yourself!

Pikey


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

Thanks Pikey - I think they are very achievable and you're right, it's just about applying myself.

Got some good news on the shoulder today - it seems that I have pinched my bicep tendon and one of my rotator cuff tendons - with a bit of manipulation and some lighter weight higher rep work for a few weeks I should be right


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

With my shoulder still sore and inflamed bicep tendons there was little option for us last night but to hit legs again for the second time in 5 days - so you would expect that our coach would take it easy on us, wouldn't you...

Leg Press

Warm ups 15 x 80, 15 x 160, 15 x 240, 12 x 320, 8 x 360, 4 x 380

Work sets - Rest/Pause Reps 15 then 10 then 5 (20 second rest in between)

Set 1 - 400kg

Set 2 - 420kg

Set 3 - 440 kg

Hamstring curls (Machine) - Reps of 10 increasing by 10llbs each set, beginning at 20llbs and finishing at 130llbs.

Safety Squats

Warms ups - 15 x 65kgs (Bar weighs 25kg), 15 x 85kgs

Work sets

6 x 105

6 x 105

4 x 105

I know the squats aren't heavy but it was a hellish task after the leg presses. I can't wait to squat fresh as I'm expecting a big increase on my PB.


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## Tall (Aug 14, 2007)

CMinOZ said:


> With my shoulder still sore and inflamed bicep tendons there was little option for us last night but to hit legs again for the second time in 5 days - so you would expect that our coach would take it easy on us, wouldn't you...


ha ha ha that would be a no 

Given your ability to leg press (As in thats some serious tonnage being shifted on the work sets - 10tonnes + per work set I think?) I expected your hammy curls to be much much higher than that - was that just due to them being fatigued?

Keep up the hard work though mate - you're flying through the numbers!


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

I know, hamstrings take longer to recover than quads though so had to take it easy, especially as the last workout used a dumbell between the feet which seems to produce much greater DOMs


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

Another trip to the physio and we have got down to the real issue of my shoulder pain - MY T4 vertebrae, WTF? Anyway, lots of manipulation and massage later and I am almost back to normal (shoulder feels stronger).

Saturday was a test anyway...

*Rack Deadlifts*

Warm up 60kg, 100kg, 140kgs (all 15 reps), 160 x 10, 170 x 8, 180 x 4, 190 x 2

*Work sets*

200 x 10

220 x 8

*Military Press*

Warm up 45kg x 20, 65 x 15, 85 x 8, 95 x 6

Shoulder feeling quite good...

*Work sets*

105 x 10

110 x 8

115 x 4

*Hammer Curls (Super Slow)*

Warm ups - 12.5kg x 20, 15 x 10

*Work sets*

15kgs x 60

17.5 x 60

20 x 30

This was more than enough for me on Saturday, the DL's really took it out of me and thankfully the shoulder held out.

One more session then 2 weeks of recovery... Bring it on


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## Tall (Aug 14, 2007)

My shoulder popped out during Hammer Curls yesterday lol

Best get to the Osteo I think.

Thats some serious Shoulder Pressing mate - are you planning on taking on Mariusz? The fit show interface ver 2


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

The last training session for the year as we are off on holidays on Sunday...

*BB Curls -*

Warm ups - 20 x 15kg, 15 x 25kg, 10 x 35kg, 10 x 45kg

Work sets - 15 x 55kg; 10 x 65kg

*CGRB -*

Warm ups - 20 x 40kg, 15 x 60kg, 12 x 80kgs

Work sets - 15 x 105kgs; 10 x 115kgs

Leg Presses -

Warm ups - 20 x 80kg, 15 x 160kg, 15 x 240kg, 10 x 320kg, 8 x 380kg

Work sets - REST PAUSE 15 x 10 x 5 with 15 seconds rest in between...

1st Set - 400kgs

2nd Set - 420kgs

3rd Set - 440kgs (these weights are just plates, not including weight of the machine)

That was it, short and sweet (nice and heavy).

Merry Christmas all, thanks for your advice and support throughout the year.

CMinOZ


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

It's amazing what 3 weeks off over Christmas can do for your body, I was back at the gym last night feeling refreshed and over the aches and pains that were getting me down before Christmas. The past 3 weeks had been spent "off diet" but ensuring I got in my protein each day. Needless to say at the moment I feel like a fat b*stard but the break was needed.

I stepped on the scales and for the first time in ages saw 100kgs displayed, needless to say that is gonna change, quickley. Then to add to my embarrassment, I had to adjust my lever belt as it didn't fit.

Obviously I knew that I had porked up a bit so I am more than aware of what needs to be done, so I sorted my head out and we got on with it.

Rack Deadlifts (Welcome back...)

20 x 60kgs warm up

15 x 100kg

15 x 140kg

15 x 180kg

8 x 200kg

5 x 220kg

Military Press

20 x 40kg warm up

30 x 60kg

20 x 80kg

15 x 90kg

Hammer Curls

50 x 15kg (25 per arm)

38 x 20kg

30 x 22.5kg

CGRB (Smith)

30 x 60kg

20 x 80kg

15 x 90kg

This was harder than it looks but it felt great to be back.

As many of you know, my wife is my training partner and a few people have commented that maybe you don't push your self hard enough if you train with your spouse (not here but on other boards). To set this straight, last night my missus completed the same reps and same exercises as me (obviously with less weight) as she does every single week, no complaining just plain hard work. Unfortunately she injured herself last night, completing her last rack deadlift with 120kg - a massive weight for someone weighing in at just 54kg and after 11 months of training. I'm very proud.


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## Tall (Aug 14, 2007)

Wow - good going from your missus - shame on the injury though.

Good Mili pressing mate


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

Thanks TH&S - Shoulder is feeling much better


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

This new higher rep training is alot harder than I thought it would be. On Saturday it was about 35 degrees when we hit the gym and our training went like this...

Leg presses

Warm ups - 20 x 80kg, 15 x 160kg, 15 x 240kg, 12 x 320kg

Work sets

30 x 360kg

25 x 380kg

25 x 400kg

(I reckon I could have got 15-20 at 420kg but my trainer said save it till next week)

EZ Curls

Warm ups

20 x 20kg, 15 x 30kgs, 12 x 40kgs

Work Sets

30 x 45kgs

25 x 50kgs

20 x 55kgs

Leg Extensions

First time I have done these so not too heavy as concentrating on form, and legs were knackered from presses.

Warm ups

20 x 10kg* (Plus machine), 20 x 20kg, 15 x 40kg

Work sets

30 x 50kgs

30 x 60kgs

20 x 70kgs

10 x 80kgs

Close, Reverse Grip Bench (Smith)

Warm ups

20 x 20kg, 20 x 40kg, 20 x 60kg

Work sets

30 x 70kg

20 x 80kg

10 x 90kg

5 x 100kg


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

With my wife out injured, my coach promised a pretty brutal session and this is what I got last night - It felt great afterwards, but I thought I was gonna throw at a couple of points...

Military presses

Warms ups then

30 x 70kg

25 x 80kg

20 x 90kg

10 x 95kg

DB Curls (Seated and super strict)

Warm up forever then

30 x 15kg (Reps are for each arm)

25 x 17.5kg

20 x 20kg

10 x 22.5kg

CGRB

Warm up forever

30 x 70kg

25 x 80kg

15 x 90kg

10 x 95kg

Rack Deadlifts

Warm ups forever

20 x 180

15 x 190

10 x 205

5 x 225

The best bit of the evening was getting home to find my missus cooking up 3 steaks for my dinner, about 800g all up, and then sleeeeeeppppp.


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## Abbs (Oct 30, 2007)

Have had a look through this and found it really imformative...

I am in a similar situation to when you started so its been really good to follow your progress and with the gains you have made it gives me some motivation!

Keep it up!!

Simon


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

Thanks Simon

It can be hard at times but well worth it in the end (at least I'm hoping)


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## Abbs (Oct 30, 2007)

Out of interest have you found that doing the journal has helped you stay motivated??


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

Simon,

Yes, keeping the journal has kept me motivated, I know only a couple of people read it but it keeps me going.

With that in mind, here's the log for Saturday:

Bicep Curls (EZ curl)

Warm ups forever...

30 x 40kgs

20 x 50kgs

15 x 55kg

Close Grip Reverse Bench (Smith machine)

Warm ups then...

30 x 90kgs

25 x 110kgs

10 x 130kgs

5 x 145 kgs

1 x 155kgs (well impressed with that :high5

Leg Press

Warm ups forever then

50 x 320kg

50 x 340kg

30 x 360kg

20 x 380kg

10 x 360kg

Because we are working arms hard at the moment we finished with seated isolation curls...

30 x 17.5kg

20 x 20kg

10 x 22.5kg

5 x 25kg

I really enjoyed this session, legs were nicely pumped and my arms are hurting in all the right places today...


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

Been a bit slack with the updates as I have just moved house and got a new dog which has kept me busy.

So, we begin with our session from last Wednesday, the day before we moved house...

Flat Bench

Warm ups

30 x 70kgs

20 x 80kgs

10 x 100kgs

2 x 110kgs

Lat Pulldowns - Wide grip

Not sure of weight TBH

Reps were 30, 20, 10 going up in weight with each set

Close grip, reverse bench (Smith machine)

Warm ups

30 x 100kgs

20 x 120kgs

10 x 130kgs

Seated DB Curls

30 x 17.5kgs

20 x 20kgs

10 x 22.5kgs

4 x 25kgs

The DOMS from this workout made moving house fun, especially as it was 30 degrees...

Fast forward to Monday as Saturday was Australia Day therefore most people spend the day by the BBQ...

Ez Curls

Warm ups

30 x 42kgs

20 x 52kgs

10 x 62kgs

Close Grip Bench (Smith)

Warm ups

30 x 60kgs

20 x 80kgs

10 x 100kgs

Leg Press

Warm ups

30 x 360kgs

20 x 380kgs

10 x 400kgs

Squats

Warm ups

6 x 90kgs

6 x 100kgs

6 x 120kgs

6 x 140kgs

That last set of squats, whilst not very heavy was bloody hard work considering the leg presses before hand. Thank god we moved last week...


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

This week is flying by... Last nights session was a good one, nice and heavy, not too long and drawn out and finished up with 3 nice juicy steaks for dinner - I love post work out meals...

Military presses (Smith) -

Warm ups - forever

30 x 80kgs

20 x 90kgs

10 x 100kgs

Rack Deadlifts

Warm ups - 15 x 60kg, 12 x 100kg, 8 x 140kg, 6 x 180kg

10 x 200kg

8 x 210kg

6 x 220kg

4 x 230kg

Flat Bench

20 x 80kg

10 x 90kg

5 x 100kg

4 x 110kg

2 x 120kg

Wide grip pull downs

30 x 72.5kg

20 x 80kg

10 x 85kg

8 x 90kg

Really nice work out and already feeling the DOMs this morning, I'm hoping the rack deadlifts will help me out with my full DL's during our next cycle of training...


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## Tall (Aug 14, 2007)

What height do you do your rack DLs from CM?


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

Hey Tall

Rack Deadlifts are from about 3 inches below knee height. I have a video from last week that I will post up to show you, but haven't got the cable at work...

CM


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## Tall (Aug 14, 2007)

CMinOZ said:


> Hey Tall
> 
> Rack Deadlifts are from about 3 inches below knee height. I have a video from last week that I will post up to show you, but haven't got the cable at work...
> 
> CM


Sounds like the pin setting is the same for most people of normal height.

I have a mid shin and a knee height option


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

Pin setting? I use the safety bars in a power cage, much more adjustable, especially for someone of your stature...


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## Tall (Aug 14, 2007)

CMinOZ said:


> Pin setting? I use the safety bars in a power cage, much more adjustable, especially for someone of your stature...


Lol we're talking the same thing


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

Saturday was goal setting day with the trainer - after 1/2 hour of getting my head out of the clouds we have come up with the following 6 month target - 101kg at 10% BF. This means adding about 5kg of lean mass plus losing 3kg of BF at the same time. Needless to say our weights are getting heavier, and this started on Saturday.

Leg press...

Warm ups forever

30 x 360

30 x 380

20 x 440

10 x 480 (PB)

Ez Curls (Super strict)

Warm ups

30 x 40kg

20 x 45kg

10 50kg

CG Bench

Warm ups

30 x 70kg

20 x 85kg

10 x 100kg

Squats

Warm ups

6 x 100kg

6 x 120kg

6 x 140kg

Phew, bring on some muscle


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

Last nighted started off pretty well with a session that would run like this - Deadlift, Military Press, Lat pull downs and finally bench.

Deads started as usual with some high rep warms up at 60, 100 and 140 and then the belt came out and we started to bang out some medium reps with 160 for 20 and then 185 for 10. All was going well until rep number 8 at 185, when my back went, or to be more precise (after seeing physio today) my SI joint locked which twisted me all sorts of ways. End of deadlift for the night, which sucked because we were going upto 205kg.

Never mind, on to military presses and again warm ups before hitting 30 reps of 80kg then 15 reps of 90kg and 10 reps of 100kg. Shoulders and tri's were pumped and the last reps were forced.

Due to the SI join issue we did an under hand grip for the pulldowns which put less pressure on the lower back and caused a massive pump on the bi's - which was nice. Went up to about 160 pounds on these for 20 reps.

So my tri's are pumped, shoulders are fatigued and biceps are exploding - all coupled with a sore lower back, I was well up for bench...

Surprisingly with an alteration to my foot placement there was less pressure on my lower back and I was able to complete the programmed set. After warm ups we did 30 at 80kg, 15 at 90kg and 5 at 100kg.

Driving home it felt like the powersteering had gone kaputt.

Back is feeling better after physio and full range is back so bring on next wednesday with some heavier deads


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## Tall (Aug 14, 2007)

20 Reps @ 160kg with more in the tank still...? Heck...


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

Lower back still giving me a bit of pain so had to change the routine this week to release a bit of pressure.

Sumo Deadlifts - :clap2:

Warm ups then...

20 x 100kg

15 x 120kg

10 x 140kg

Flat Bench

Warm ups then...

30 x 75kg

20 x 85kg

10 x 95kg

Hamstring Curls

15 x 100llbs

15 x 110llbs

15 x 120llbs

Isolated DB Rows (face down on an incline bench)

30 x 20kgs

30 x 22.5kgs

20 x 25kgs

20 x 30kgs

This was a nice change and hopefully my lower back will be right soon, though I think we will keep on with Sumo's as my hamstrings are lagging which is causing me to use too much back in my deadlifts.


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## Tall (Aug 14, 2007)

CMinOZ said:


> Isolated DB Rows (face down on an incline bench)


I like these. Luckily for me my arms are so long they can pick the weight from the floor unassisted


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

Mine are just about long enough too - back is in pieces today though:clap2:


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## Tall (Aug 14, 2007)

Whats your current Big 3 lifts CM...?

I know you are ahead of me in deads and bench. I'm still trying to tempt that 200kg deadlift out from where its hiding within me.

Oh and many thanks for those details you sent over


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

Squat - 170

Bench - 130

Deadlift - 210

I'm gonna have to work on my hamstrings more for my deadlifts as their is too much back in them at the moment. Bench is getting better as I get to trust my triceps more and squat is still improving. I'm sitting at about 98kg at the moment and 13% with an aim of 100 at 10% by June.

I've got a new diet coming in the next week that I will post up soon enough.

No worries on the info mate, if you or your friend need any advice let me know.

how are your big 3 coming along?


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

Trained this morning as our coach is away for a week and my diet has changed so this may be a long post...

Saturday -

Squats

Warm ups then...

6 x 100

6 x 120

6 x 130

6 x 140

Pull downs

Warm ups then...

Not sure of weight but reps were 30, 20 and 10.

Leg Extensions

Warm ups then...

30 x 40kg

20 x 60 kg

10 x 70kg

Military Press (seated)

Warm ups then...

30 x 75kg

20 x 90kg

10 x 105kg

So that was Saturday, my back held out well on the squats though on Sunday the quads were feeling the brunt of the squat/extensions combo... Hopefully they will grow.

New diet has been developed for a bit more growth focus but ideally not adding too much fat. Diet is split into Training and Non-training days and goes like this:

Training

Brekkie - 4 XL eggs, 2 toast

Mid-morning - 2 Scoops Whey protein

Lunch - 400g meat plus 100g white rice

Mid-afternoon - 2 scoops Whey protein

Dinner - 400g meat plus 100g white rice

Before Bed - 2 scoops of Whey protein

Non Training

Brekkie - 5 XL eggs and 2 toast

Mid-morning - 2 scoops of Mega-Gain ( plus 2 tbsp of Flax Seed oil)

Lunch - 400g Meat with 50g brown rice

Mid-afternoon - as mid morning

Dinners - as lunch

Before bed - As mid morning plus 1 XL egg

Pre-work out

1 scoop of Whey Protein plus 2 scoops of Pure Carbs

Post-work out

100g white rice with 2 scoops of whey protein powder in water (this tastes awful)

So, on to todays workout - being so close to Squat day we held off Deads and instead it went like this...

EZ Curls -

Warm ups then...

30 x 42.5kg

20 x 45kg

10 x 47.5kg

10 x 50kg

Flat Bench

Warm ups then...

30 x 82.5kg

20 x 87.5kg

10 x 95kg

Ham String Curls

Warm ups then the following reps, no idea of the weight - I hate this exercise and just grit my teeth and get it done.

30, 20, 20 - weight increasing each set.

Isolated DB Rows (face down on an incline bench)

No warm ups here as my bi's couldn't handle it.

30 x 25kg

20 x 30kgs

20 x 35kgs

20 x 35kgs

This was the first time I have trained before work, I don't like it and will be sticking to my evening sessions!!!


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## BigAndyJ (Mar 26, 2009)

CMinOZ said:


> ...my back held out well on the squats...


Do you have a back injury?


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## crazycal1 (Sep 21, 2005)

bugger that early morning training i couldnt either.

as ever mate i think your doing intriguing sets and weights,but long as its working for ya....

good one!


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

BigAndyJ said:


> Do you have a back injury?


Yes mate, more a niggle than anything - my SI joint keeps locking up, but touch wood it's getting a bit better.

Cal, I here ya, morning training sucks - as for the weights and sets, it seems to be working and also, as I pay someone else to think about it, I just go in the gym and get on with it.

How's your back holding up?


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## crazycal1 (Sep 21, 2005)

i`m coping with it-it`s allowing me to lift but thats about all.

still have zero stamina in it.

i`m going to see the specialist for a final pre op chat on friday-then it`s just a wait for the date.

sh!tting it mate...


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## crazycal1 (Sep 21, 2005)

just had a look at your pics mate-

youve dropped alot of BF!

i`m still gonna stick my neck out and say you`d grow more muscle on less volume tho heh heh heh!

(and have lost BF)

good one!


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## Tall (Aug 14, 2007)

crazycal1 said:


> just had a look at your pics mate-
> 
> youve dropped alot of BF!
> 
> ...


He's only doing 4 to 5 lifts twice a week....


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## crazycal1 (Sep 21, 2005)

lol ok this time i mean volume to mean the crazy amount of reps...

(sure he was doing more a while back,but then i have the memory of a peanut  )


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## Tall (Aug 14, 2007)

crazycal1 said:


> lol ok this time i mean volume to mean the crazy amount of reps...
> 
> (sure he was doing more a while back,but then i have the memory of a peanut  )


Fair play - 30-20-10 is a fair amount of volume...


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

Tall said:


> Fair play - 30-20-10 is a fair amount of volume...


Boys, I agree, these reps kill me but to be honest I am seeing the results at the top end of my lifting. This high rep stuff is actually quite a nice change and has seen my lifts improving and also my technique on exercises like the bench when fatigued yet still completing the last reps.

It's not something to do long term but for now its getting results.



> just had a look at your pics mate-
> 
> youve dropped alot of BF!


Thanks mate, those pics were taken a while ago, I think I have leaned out a bit more since and added a fair bit of weight - in those pics I think I was at about 93kg and about 13-14% - I am sitting on about 13% now but at 98kg.

The new diet seems quite good, though to be honest, it's nice to have a bit of variety - LOL variety = brown rice instead of white :becky:

Cal - Good luck with the specialist, fingers are crossed.

CM


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

Well its been a little while so I thought an update was in order. In the last week or so we have been training without our coach in a new gym. I am not a big fan of change suffice to say and this new gym gave me the sh1ts.

Anyway, we went on Friday and did the following workout -

Bench (machine, i hate machines)

Warm ups then

20 x 100

15 x 110

10 x 120

Leg Extensions

Whole stack x 30 (not sure of the weight and neither was th muppet working there)

Whole stack x 30

Whole stack x 30

Lat pull downs (again not sure of weight)

30 x 7 plates (70kg?)

20 x 8 plates

10 x 9 plates

Then isolated DB rows

30 x 30kgs

20 x 35kgs

10 x 40kgs

I will never go back to this gym again -thankfully it was a free trial:becky:

Anyway, last night we got back into training with our coach, what a difference...

Squats - Sixes (6 reps each weight)

80kg

100kg

120kg

140kg

3 x 150kg

Concentration curls

30 x 35kg

25 x 45kg

20 x 55kg (this was 10 strict and 10 big swinging cheats)

Military presses

20 x 90kg

15 x 100kg

12 x 110kg

Pull-Downs

Bi's were fried at this point and I took no notice of the weight...

30 reps

20 reps

10 reps... home

The new diet is going well, my strength is still increasing and yet I lost 1.3kg in the past week (though I had been eating dirty for a few days before last weigh in). I will have to get used to the pre-work out meal though as the sugar rush wears off half way through training and lethargy sets in.

Whinge, whinge...


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

Ok, Saturday was deadlift day and I was looking forward to some good heavy lifting, only to find that, "Yes" it was deadlift day, but no, we were doing higher reps:suspicious:

So this is how Saturday went...

Deadlifts

Warm ups - 15 x 60, 15 x 100

Work Sets

20 x 140

15 x 150

10 x 160

Flat Bench

Warm ups... then

20 x 90kg

15 x 100kg

10 x 110kg

5 x 120kg (Actually 3+2)

Ham string curls

Warm ups then...

30 x 100lbs

20 x 100lbs

20 x 100lbs

Isolated DB rows

30 x 25kgs

20 x 30kgs

10 x 35kgs

This was a great work out, pleased with the deadlifts though wish we could just stick to heavy low rep stuff...


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## Tall (Aug 14, 2007)

Do you get mad lower back pumps on high rep deadlift work?


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

No mate, TBH, this week we started on a different technique, trying to channel all the power through the heels and taking the weight off the lower back and into the hamstrings. It worked really well, though felt a bit off balance to begin with


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

I had to take Wednesday off training due to a tradie inadvertently drilling through my main water pipe whilst installing a new wardrobe, so Saturday was the day for our Squat-focussed session.

Also we did skin-folds which saw me weighing in at 98.4kg and 13% bang on. I was a little disappointed with the weight as I had hoped for about 99.5 - though this was done at 7am in the morning after just one meal where as normally I train at 7pm - so hopefully weight is closer to target.

We started with EZ Bar Curls

Warm ups forever...

30 x 42.5kg (first 20 very strict form, last 10 a bit cheaty)

20 x 47.5kg (first 15 strict, big swingers for last 5)

15 x 52.5kg (first 8 were strict, the rest were like limbo dancing:becky

Military presses

20 x 85kg

15 x 95kg

10 x 105kg

4 x 115kg

Lat Pull-downs

Still not sure of the weight here... Though it was increasing with each set.

Reps were 30, 25, 20, 15

Squats (Doubles)

Warm ups then

120kg, 140kg, 160kg, 170kg (PB)

Well happy with the squats, though still not where I want them to be...

All in all I was pretty happy with the work out, expecially as the early hour really threw my energy levels.


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## Tall (Aug 14, 2007)

Thats a very very strong Mili Press mate. Well done.


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

Thanks Mate, Felt a bit heavy!!!


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

Decent session last night, my weight was down to 97.3kg and the numbers hit were bang on target.

Began with Deadlifts

After warm ups

8 x 130kg (Easy does it)

8 x 150kg (A little harder but still a bit of a breeze)

8 x 170kg (First 6 were alright though fatigued a fair bit toward the end)

Bench

Warm ups then...

8 x 95kg

8 x 105kg

6 x 115kg

Isolated DB rows

20 x 30kgs

20 x 35kgs

10 x 40kgs

Short and sweet


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## Tall (Aug 14, 2007)

Good lifting. You're still way ahead of me strength wise


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

Tall said:


> Good lifting. You're still way ahead of me strength wise


You seem to be catching me up on the deadlifts! I think your squat is heavier than mine though?


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

On Saturday I was without my training partner so the following set was done pretty quickly and unfortunately ended abruptly due to injury :axe: .

All began well with Squats:

W/ups then:

5 x 135

5 x 145

5 x 155

1 x 165

Then

EZ Curls (Concentration)

20 x 42kg

15 x 52kg

10 x 57kg

Military Press

Warm ups then...

Injury, same as last shoulder injury (brought on this time by carrying slabs of beer earlier in the morning - not for me either)

So we gave up on miltary presses and tried inclince DB curls, still hurt the shoulder. So then we went for cable rows, which hurt also so we gave up.

As I said, short session, good squats and curls though pretty sh!thouse after...

Not happy


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

after a couple of weeks filled with injury and easter I finally made it back into the gym yesterday for a wicked session, which began with my coach standing all across my back to free up ther joint that is causing me problems in the shoulder - all sorted it was time for deads, bench, close grip rows and my favourite - hamstring curls:behindsofa:

So deads started of with some easy warm ups, felt really good and was looking forward to a set of sixes.

140kg

160kg

180kg - this was surprisingly easy and I reckon I could have a couple more up my sleeve, though this is not programmed until two weeks time so I will be patient.

Bench

This week we going for triples after warm ups, really just to test out the should/back issue.

Work weights were 90kg for 6, 100kg for 6, 110kg for 3 and 120kg for 3 - all felt pretty good, though last rep at 120 was pretty slow and messy (though unassisted). These reps were all to the chest and pressed from the bottom, makes a big difference.

Close grip rows - I quite like these, and despite my back issues, this seems to actually help because of the stretch. Weight range was 60, 70 and then 80kg for 30, 20 then 10 reps. Burned a bit, though not as much as it does today...

Finally hamstring curls - hate em, just get em done and leave...

Today I am feeling nicely tight and looking forward to squats on wednesday.

This week my weight was 98.5kg so we are slowly getting towards the goal...:lift:


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## Tall (Aug 14, 2007)

Are your workouts all planned on a Spreadsheet Mr M...?


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## Tall (Aug 14, 2007)

CMinOZ said:


> You seem to be catching me up on the deadlifts! I think your squat is heavier than mine though?


I think your doing more reps than me - I'm just bumping my numbers up at the moment - so from a strength perspective, you are definately ahead.

I'm managed to knacker my shoulder so I'll just be training legs for a while :becky:


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

Tall said:


> Are your workouts all planned on a Spreadsheet Mr M...?


Yes mate, all workouts are planned out well in advance - we sit down every 12 weeks and set goals and then the program is adjusted to achieve the goal.


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

So last night was squat night and I was ready for it - or at least I thought I was...

Just an update on the diet - all is still current as per previous diet log though I will be changing things up next week for a 10 week trial. We will begin with 40%P, 40%F, 20%C and the following week change to will drop my Fats by 10% and spread the 10% across C & P - keeping cals the same though increasing volume of food to hopefully keep growing but leaning out some more - I am about 13% still though gaining weight slowly but surely - I weighed in at 98.5kg last night.

I am also changing up my supps and gonna add some GABA before bed - has anyone used this - is it just BS?

Anyway, onto the workout...

Squats - Warm ups - Oly bar for 20, 60kg for 15kg, 100kg for 10

Work sets - Sixes

120kg

130kg

140kg

150kg

then the fun began - I was programmed to do 2 reps at 160kg - I know I can do this but it is at the upper limits. Anyway, first one was OK, not great form but I got it up. The second was totally f*cked and I bottled it at the bottom and my spotter helped me up.

After a good 10 minutes reviewing my form with my coach and the gym owner, a champion powerlifter we ascertained that two issues were stopping me from getting these reps - neither of which was strength.

The first was my set up - belt needed tightening a bit more so I could press my stomach against it, so out came the screwdrivers. Next was the positioning of my hips at the top of the movement, I was bracing the weight through a straight back and therefore my hipsand torso were folding at the bottom, which is of course the weakest point.

Secondly, due to being a bit of scaredy cat I was not going low enough, I would get to paralell though needed another inch or so at the bottom to use the natural rebound - though I was stopping at paralell and then trying to drop the extra inch which is nigh on impossible.

So, we went back to the set - First rep felt brilliant, straight down and straight up - good agression and positivity.

Next rep, I was too confident, not agressive enough and forgot everything that I had done in the rep before, which saw me fold in the pocket and collapse, thank goodness for safety bars... next week?

On we went to Military presses,

Warm ups then

95kg for 15

105kg for 10

115 for 5

Wide Grip BB Curls - I have been having problems with my shoulders and the wider grip on the EZ Curl bar reduces the pressure on the shoulders.

Had to go lighter because of the reduced leverage though.

Warm ups then

35kg x 30

40 kg x 20

45 kg x 15

50 kg x 10

We had to leave it there for the night as the squat session had taken us past time.

I will get that squat next week


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

Do you know those days when training just knocks the stuffing out of you? Well Saturday was one of those days - not that it wasn't enjoyable, I just felt hollow - like I needed more food inside me. I know it sounds like I am whining but I thought I would outline how I felt on Saturday.

On the upside, I hit a PB on my deadlifts and bench so I can't have been that bad, I just think I could have been better.

Saturdays session went like this:

Deadlifts - warm ups then

12 x 130kg

8 x 140kg

17 x 150kg

Flat Bench - warm ups then

12 x 100kg

8 x 110kg

3 x 120kg

1 x 125kg

0 x 130kg (tried and failed)

Close Grip Rows - Warm ups then

20 x 60kg

15 x 70kg

12 x 80kg

DB Skullcrushers

15 x 12.5kg

12 x 15kg

10 x 17.5kg

My shoulder is still giving me grief so I am trying to protect it a bit still. Got a good massage booked tomorrow night so looking forward to that&#8230;


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

Well talk about a rubbish week - torn rotator cuff from Saturday has meant lots of painful massage and physio and resulted in a revised program that looked like this:

Reclining Cable Curls -

20 x 20kg

15 x 25kg

15 x 30kg

Leg Extensions

50 x 60kg

40 x 80 kg

20 x 100kg

Wide Stance Leg Press

30 x 280

20 x 320

20 x 340

Calf Presses

50 x 80kg

40 x 100kg

30 x 120kg

This was boring - I'm gonna take a week off and allow myself to repair.

CM


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

Well I'm backl:clap2: my shoulder is much better after a lot of very painful massage and some workouts designed to isolate the shoulder and allow me to keep training, though to be honest a bit of depression has sank in and my normally strict diet has been rubbish - I am now weighing in at 100kg and 13.4% so this week has seen the start of a 12 week diet to get myself down to 8% (just for fun).

The diet is designed to begin at 105% of maintenance and gradually drop out the carbs and increase the protein and volume of food to trick my metabolism into shedding more fat.

I am super motivated to achieve this as I have a bet on with my masseur, if I don't beat her (she is dieting down to 17%) then I pay double for a month of massage, if I win I get a month FOC.

On the plus side, I've added 1kg of muscle in the last 5 weeks so all is not that bad, let's see how we go then...


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## cellaratt (Jul 16, 2008)

Sounds great ...keep updating...Cheers...


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

Well a clean day on my diet and a good session out of the way at the gym, with no injuries.

Workout went like this:

Safety Squats

Warm ups forever then

15 x 125

12 x 135

4 x 145 (by this point I was shattered)

Floor Presses

Warm ups forever then

15 x 80kg

12 x 90kg

10 x 100kg

Leg Presses

Warm ups then

20 x 260kg

20 x 300kg

20 x 340kg (this one was hard&#8230

Tricep pushdowns (with rope)

Not sure of weight,

3 sets of 20

Diet for this week is:

5 XL eggs and two toast

2 scoops of mega gain in water with 2 tbl spoons of pure cream

350g Chicken with 100g rice

2 scoops of mega gain in water with 2 tbl spoons of pure cream

350g Steak with 300g vegetables

2 scoops of mega gain in water before bed


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## Guest (May 8, 2008)

CMinOZ said:


> Diet for this week is:
> 
> 5 XL eggs and two toast
> 
> ...


what makes you choose pure cream?


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

Thanks for reading my journal. The reason I choose cream is that it is an easy, liquid form to get my fat into a shake, its 40g of fat and only 3g of carb


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

Well it has been some time since I logged my progress, so without boring you too much I will just give you the stats.

Weight - 98.9kg (last night after my meals)

Bench - 140kg

Squat - 185kg

Deadlift - 220kg

I have just come to the end of a high volume cycle which saw me puffing and panting like a pansy, much prefer heavier weights but without the volume I wont hit my goals.

My diet has been amended again to reduce cals to about 95% of maintenance still with a bias to protein and fats. All in all, the fat is coming off in time for my holiday to Lord Howe Island in September.

I am hoping for a 150 bench by the end of the year (shoulders staying well!) - Squats have come along nicely with some adjustment to technique and a focus on safety squats strengthening the middle portion of the motion. Deads are good, I am happy at 220 (for now) though my revised target has to be 260 as only full plates count - cant wait to do 6 plates :clap2: - Anyway, thanks for reading, will try and post more but far too busy at work for now.

CM


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## Tall (Aug 14, 2007)

Bump..........


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## BigBoi (Jul 20, 2008)

Nice lifts! Keep up the hard work.


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

sorry boys and girls, this update has been a long time coming, very busy at work and training has got me down a bit with more than my fair share of injuries over the past few months, to list just a few, tears to both rotator cuffs, torn ab, neural damage in back causing tricep and neck issues, hip flexor issues and a switched off right glute. After many thousands of dollars in massage, physio and doctors I finally found a powerlifting chirpopracter who has traced my problems (all of them) back to my Ilia (spelling), so after a number of adjustments and very specific massage and manipulation I am back on track.

To bring you up to speed, after being a bit depressed and eating my way through it I am back on a super clean diet and training regime which I will bore you with now.

Diet:

breakfast

4 whole eggs, two toast.

Meals 2, 3, 4, 5

700g Meat, 100g (uncooked weight) brown rice, 500g of fibrous green veg

Meal 6 (before bed)

1 slice dark rye toast with 100g Cottage cheese and tbsp macadamia butter

Training (still a two day split)

day 1 (weds)

Deadlift - working set reps reducing each week as max weight goes up i.e

10 x 160 week 1

8 x 180 week 2

6 x 200 week 3 (I am currently here)

4 x 210 week 4

2 x 220 week 5

2 x 230 week 6

1 x 240 week 7 (goal)

Military press

Target = 120kg x 4 (I did 100kg for 6 this week)

Oly Bar Curls

Target = 65 x 15 (this week I 55kg for 15)

Tricep kick backs

17.5kg for 15 (two sets) not sure of a target here, just keep doing em and increasing the weight :becky:

Day 2 (Saturday)

Bench - Same reps as Deads - this week I got 4 at 135kg

Bent over rows - 8 x 140kg this week (target 160kg)

Leg Extensions - I hate these and pay no attention to the weight - always 20 reps though

Full stretch machine rows

You'll notice no squats at the moment, this is whilst my hips and SI joint get right as I roll at the bottom of the squat.

So anyways that's me, still natural, getting stronger, though in the next sixth months who knows what will change in my supplementation.

My weight is 98kg.

CMinOZ - over and out in the land of sunshine...


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## Tall (Aug 14, 2007)

You can BOR (with good form...) more than you can bench? Nice work.

You can't do Tricep Kickbacks as a PL Mr CM... Tis the law of the Iron Game


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

Tricep KB's help my bench!!! As for BOR being heavier than bench, my shoulders have been the issue holding back my bench but no issues with rows...


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

So the year is coming to a close and I'm close to going off on my holidays so I thought I would post my progress against my rather ambitious targets from this time last year (oh if only I had a crystal ball).

My targets were

Deadlift - 250kgs (w/straps) - 230kgs raw (Current PB 200) - I achieved 230kg, not bad and a better reflection on a year that has been hampered by injury.

Bench - 150kgs (Current PB 120) - Done it, 150kg in the bag.

Squat - 200kgs (Current PB 160) - Up to 180kg though this has been affected by dodgy hips and also shoulders preventing me from holding the bar.

This year the targets will be a bit more realistic, so here goes:

Deadlift - 245kg

Bench - 165kg

Squat - 200kg

Fingers crossed for an injury free year - Good luck to all, have a great Christmas.

CMin(warm and sunny)OZ


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

It's been a long time between posts though I'm glad to report that I am injury free and enjoying my training is going well.

Next week I will begin my first cycle, which I am excited and apprehensive about. I've done my research, I've got my diet sorted (and it has been for a long time) and I think I'm ready. Some may disagree, nevermind.

So my cycle is 10 weeks of Test Prop - nice and easy. I will be running Nolvadex alongside this from day one (I have plenty). The aim is to add lean mass whilst I am dieting (long story). I will keep my log updated throughout this cycle as I hope it might be of interest to some and I will need somewhere to record my gains.

This weekend I will take some photo's for comparison, I will also post up my diet and training.


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## FAT BOY (Dec 19, 2005)

hello m8

what dosage are you runnng the prop at ?


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

500 per week, pinning EOD with a 10mg Nolva chaser! Did the first one on Saturday and my ass is still sore - just need to toughen up as there are 34 more to go!!!

Weight on Saturday morning was 98.4kg


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

First training session whilst "on" - very sore glutes so double deadlifts was just what I needed. My weight was 101.4kg - quite a hike since saturday though taken at the end of the day not mid-morning, still quite a bit of water weight despite running nolva from day 1.

Anyway, work out was

Deadlift

Warm ups then:

190 x 8

205 x 6

210 x 4

220 x 1

Bench - Flat

Warm ups then:

100 x 15

110 x 12

120 x 6 (triceps were fried from the reps:becky

130 x 4

Machine Deadlift

200 x 12

220 x 8

230 x 6

240 x 3

Military Press (Machine)

Warm ups then:

80 x 15

90 x 12

100 x 8

110 x 6

120 x 3

No super human strength gains expected or seen, diet still super clean and all I can report at the moment are two very sore glutes and after last nights shot, a very sore outer quad. As they say out here "Toughen the f*ck up".

More next week as I will be away from a computer after my next session.

CM


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## FAT BOY (Dec 19, 2005)

hello m8 why did you go for 500mg of prop why not just use a longer acting test and just shoot once or twice a week


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

Hey Fat Boy

In all honesty it comes down to availability, it can be tricky to get hold of gear here and you take what you can get. I am happy with Prop though, apart from the frequency of pinning.

CM


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

Well the weekend has been and gone and training on Friday was strong, though no stronger than usual - me and my great expectations! My weight has shot up to 103.4kg which surprised me a litte considering my diet is not exactly excessive on the calories front, though I do "feel" leaner.

Anyway, training was like this:

Squats -

Warm ups then&#8230;

120 x 12

130 x 8

140 x 4

German Volume Leg Press

280kg x 30, then 9 sets of 10 reps with 30 seconds rest in between.

Barbell Arm Curls

50kg x 30

50kg x 25

50kg x 20

Supersetted with Tricep pulldowns

65kg x 30

65kg x 25

65kg x 20

Now doing cardio twice per week as well, HIIT for 20 minutes.

Pinned front thigh last night, bit sore today but nothing I can't handle&#8230;


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## Tall (Aug 14, 2007)

How are you structuring your jabs around training CM?


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

As I'm doing EOD and kinda freaked by doing delts, it is proving to just be a case of "toughen the f*ck up" - mostly jab in the evening so after training. While it might be a bit painful when training, its really not that bad and hasn't put me off.


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## Youngling (Feb 14, 2009)

Good lifts there mate! 9 heavy sets on the leg press with short recovery... Bet that takes it out of you. Keep it up!


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## FAT BOY (Dec 19, 2005)

CMinOZ said:


> Hey Fat Boy
> 
> In all honesty it comes down to availability, it can be tricky to get hold of gear here and you take what you can get. I am happy with Prop though, apart from the frequency of pinning.
> 
> CM


fair enough m8

i like prop myself but i dont run it for that long

fb


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

Thanks Youngling - I know leg press isn't most peoples favourite, but it sure does the trick after squats.

FB - I hear ya, I will be like a pincushion in 9 weeks!!!


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

Weighed in last night at 102.00kg with skinfolds down 7mm over 9 sites, which is keeping me on target - I was quite happy with that.

Session was our double deadlifts again, my favourite...

Deadlift - from floor

Warm ups then...

180 x 4

190 x 4

200 x 4

200 x 4

Machine Bench (like dumbell bench)

Warm ups then...

100 x 8

110 x 8

120 x 8

130 x 8

140 x 3

Flat bench partials (lower range)

90 x 10

100 x 10

110 x 10

120 x 7

Machine Deadlifts

Warms ups then...

180 x 4

190 x 4

200 x 4

210 x 4

220 x 4

230 x 4

240 x 4

Military Press

Warm ups then...

80kg x 8

90kg x 8

100kg x 8

110 x 8

120 x 6 (triceps were fried, still had it in the shoulders but couldn't lock out)

All in all a good session, I would have liked to go heavier on the floor deads but I have another 8 weeks to go heavier, no point getting injured now.


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

On Friday night my weight was up to 103.4kg - a pretty decent jump considering it had been only 2 days since my last weigh in. My diet remains 100% at 2400 calories per day, so I have no answers as to why the jump.

Anyway, my training went like this:

Squat

Warm ups then&#8230;

130 x 12

140 x 8

150 x 8

Leg Press - German Volume

Weight at 280kg

1st set 30 reps

Sets 2-7 15reps

Sets 8-9 8 10 reps

Set 10 15 reps

All sets with 30 seconds rest

Biceps - Drop sets

50kg - 25reps, 20 seconds rest, 15 reps, 20 seconds rest, 10 reps

Supersetted with Tricep pushdowns

Weight 60kg - same reps as biceps

Did two sets of both Bi's and Tri's


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## Tall (Aug 14, 2007)

Could be an increase in Hematocrit


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

Weight was down to 102.7kg

My favourite workout of the week last night, double deadlifts&#8230;

Deadlifts -

Warm ups then&#8230;

180kg x 4

190kg x 4

200kg x 4

210kg x 4 (this was nice and clean and left me wanting more&#8230

Bench - lower partials (no lock outs)

Warm ups then&#8230;

90kg x 15

100kg x 15

110kg x 10

120kg x 8

Machine Deadlifts -

Warm ups then&#8230;

200 x 10

220 x 10

230 x 8

240 x 8

Concentration DB curls

Warms up then&#8230;

15kg x 20 for 3 sets

That's all folks&#8230;


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

Big day on Friday with some interesting changes to my workout&#8230;

Giant sets

Squat, Leg Press, Leg extensions - 3 sets alternating exercises, i.e Squat, Leg Press, Leg extension equals one set.

Weights were:

Squat - 100 x 30, 110 x 20, 120 x 12

Leg Press - 200 x 30, 220, 20, 240 x 12

Leg Extension - not sure of weight TBH, though increased with each set

I've not done giant sets before and could not get over the massive pump, in all honesty I have never felt much fatigue on leg extensions, but after the squat and leg press they nearly ruined me&#8230;

Then on to arms&#8230;

Concentration DB curls

30 reps with 12.5kg then supersetted with barbell curls of 40kg for 25 reps - one set.

The next two sets were same weights but reducing reps by 5, in total did 3 sets

Then on to shoulders&#8230;

Lateral Raises

30 reps with 15kg DB then military presses with 80kg for 15 reps then

25 reps with 15kgs and 90kg for 12

20 reps with 15kg and 100kg for 10

My weight is down to 102.1kg and my skin folds were down another 7mm. Having taken 200 caolories out of my diet this should see my weight dropping by about 6-700g per week from now on.

Cardio is now 3 days per week at 20 minutes per session.


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

Wow, last night was hard! Weight was up at 102.9kg but skin folds down 2mm despite the gain, a little behind target but the weight increase was unexpected, will need to review calories in the diet.

Last nights workout went like this&#8230;

Deadlifts - Doubles

Warms ups then&#8230;

180kg

190kg

200kg

210kg

220kg very happy with this as there was more left in the tank here, 230kg next week?

Bench, lower range partials - sets of 15

Warm ups then&#8230;

80kg

90kg

100kg

Back - Giant set of Lat Pulldowns, Cable Rows and Bent Over Rows - 3 sets, 30reps, 20reps, 15 reps

Lat Pulldown - 100kg

Cable Row - 100kg

Bent Over rows - 70kg

This last giant set absolutely killed me, my whole back was on fire, which surpises me when I look at the lighter weight, but the sheer volume after deadlifts wiped me out.

Will increase cardio again next week, still 3 sessions but 30 minutes instead of 20.

We're getting there&#8230;


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

Sorry, a little bit behind with my log.

I will start with Monday - 30 mins of Cardio on skiier followed by

Seated Calf Raises - 4 sets of 15 @ 60kg

Tuesday

BB Curls, warm ups then, 10 sets of 10 at 40kg - 30 seconds rest between sets.

Supersetted with

Tricep pushdowns, 10 sets of 10 at 60kg

Lateral Raises

10 sets of 10 with 15kg DB's

Wednesday

Deadlift

Warm ups then

5 x 180

5 x 190

5 x 200

5 x 210

3 x 220 PB

Chest Giant Set

Partial (lower range) Bench - 30 reps at 80kg

DB Bench - 15 reps at 22.5kg DB's

DB Flies - 15 reps at 12.5kg DB's

Repeat set twice more with reps to failure on second and third exercise

Back Giant Set

Lat Pull downs - 30 reps at 80kg

Cable Rows - 15 reps at ?? no idea of the rate

Bent Over Rows - 15 reps at 62.5kg

Repeat set twice more with reduced weight for BOR on last set, reason, because I was fooked! For such a light weight, these BOR destroyed me.

Weight was up at 103.1kg and skin folds down by 6mm - Funny because my calories were supposed to be at 85% of maintenance??? Have now adjusted diet to 73% of maintenance, lets see how this goes:

Brekkie

1 whole egg, 5 whites

200g mixed vegetables

Mid-morn

2 scoops WPC

4 Vitawheat biscuits with vegemite

Lunch 1

200g Chicken

½ cup Brown Rice

150 Green Vegetables

Lunch 2

150g Chicken

150g Green Vegetables

Mid-arvo

2 scoops WPC

4 Vitawheat biscuits with vegemite

Dinner

300g Steak/Chicken

200g Green Vegetables

Supper (before bed)

4 Egg whites

100g Green Vegetables

Total of 1805 calories; P53.5% C31.3% F15.3%

Long post today, thanks for reading

CM


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## Tall (Aug 14, 2007)

Why are you lowering kcals if your skin folds are down C?


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

Afternoon Tall!

Dropping calories because, whilst down, my skin folds are not down enough. I am away on holidays on the 9th May and my target is 6.5% BF, so dropping cals steadily whilst increasing cardio is the name of the game from now on, thanks to my "supplements" I won't be losing any muscle...

CM


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## Tall (Aug 14, 2007)

CMinOZ said:


> Afternoon Tall!
> 
> Dropping calories because, whilst down, my skin folds are not down enough. I am away on holidays on the 9th May and my target is 6.5% BF, so dropping cals steadily whilst increasing cardio is the name of the game from now on, thanks to my "supplements" I won't be losing any muscle...
> 
> CM


6.5% ? You stepping on stage?


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## crazycal1 (Sep 21, 2005)

jesus 6.5%!!!!

dont bother matey


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

6.5% is the number projected by my diet - I want to be lean for once in my life and my missus and I decided that we would see how well we could adjust to a diet like this before deciding on whether to compete in the future. Also, my wife has booked a photo shoot as an end goal (punishment) just to ensure that we are committed and have a definitive goal.

Training is getting harder and the cardio has stepped up a few notches so I am starting to see some differences in definition, which is nice, needless to say it is the fat around the midsection that is being more resilient!!!

Saturdays session was like this:

Giant set legs - Squat, Leg Press, Leg Extension. Reps were 20, 20 and 20 for the first and second sets with the third 20, 15 and 20.

Weight was:

Squat - 140kg, 140kg, 140kg

Leg Press - 260 kg, 280kg, 280kg

Leg Extension - still got no idea, but it burned like hell.

This set was a killer, with no rest between exercises the leg extensions just destroy me.

Then on to arms:

Biceps - 21's with 30kg, then 35kg, then 40kg

DB Skull crushers - 3 sets of 20 reps with 20kg DB's

Supersetted with Barbell curls (Cable) - 3 sets of 30 reps with 40kg

That was it and it was enough, I went home, ate and slept.

Sunday was cardio followed by a quick set of calves, 4 sets of 15 reps with 40, 50, 60 and 70kg on seated calf raises.


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

A funny week this week with the gym closed for Good Friday and Easter Sunday so have changed the training split seeing us train tue/wed back to back.

Last night was Chest/Back giant sets:

BB Bench @ 105kg x 30

DB Bench @ 22.5kg x 15

DB Flies @ 15kg x 20

Each set consisted of the above with no rest between exercises, this really pumps my chest and despite the light weights for the DB Bench, these really get me due to need for stabilisation. 3 sets were completed in total with the last set being a little messy due to fatigue.

Back, giant sets

Lat Pulldown @ 80kg

Cable Rows @ 70kg

Bent over rows @ 42.5kg

Reps were same as for chest, man, I feel weak when it gets to BOR's, the last couple of reps on the final set were almost like comedy shrugs...

Weight was down to 101.9kg and I am noticeably leaner, though the fat in my midsection has reached the "watery" stage, where the skin feels a bit loose, though pinches are down (using my "finger calipers") - will have to see what the real calipers say???

Starting on some OTC fatburners next week to speed things up a bit - it's now the "big push" and thankfully I am starting to notice some changes...


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

Last night was a good session and ,unbelievably, completed in 50 minutes. Weight down to 101.3kg - heading the right direction...

Giant Sets Legs

Squats, Leg Press, Leg Extension

Squat - Set 1, 130 x 20; Set 2, 140 x 14; Set 3, 150 x 8

Leg Press - Set 1, 280 x 20; Set 2, 300 x 20; Set 3, 300 x 20

Leg Extension - Set 1, 80 x 20; Set 2, 80 x 20; Set 3, 80 x 20

Arms

BB 21's - 3 sets at 35kg, 40kg, 45kg

DB skull crushers - 3 sets of 20 with 20kg DB's

CMinOZ


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

Felt flat and lacking energy last night at the gym, my weight was 101.3kg. Session went like this:

Deadlift

Warms ups then doubles:

180 x 2

190 x 2

200 x 2

210 x 2

220 x 2

230 x 0 (attempted twice, got it off the floor but couldn't get it past the knees - gutted, just had no power)

Chest Giant sets

Set1

Flat bench - 30 x 105kg

DB bench - 15 x 20kg

DB Flies - 20 x 15kg

Set2

Flat bench - 20 x 110kg

DB bench - 15 x 20kg

DB Flies - 20 x 15kg

Set3

Flat bench - 12 x 120kg

DB bench - 15 x 20kg

DB Flies - 20 x 15kg

Lat Pulldowns - Drop sets x 3

80kg x 20, 60kg x 15, 40kg x 15

We were due to finish with cable row drop sets as well, but tbh I was not in the right head space to continue and we called it a night. Not sure if it was the failure on deadlift, the reduced calories or the huge amounts of stress at work that got to me...

Anyway, onward...

CMinOZ


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

Saturday saw my weight at 101.00 and I am looking leaner and the skin folds are still dropping. With my holiday in 4 weeks it is now time to drop my calories again to 62% of maintenance at 1519 calories. I am in my second day of this change and it's not been too bad, I get a decent volume of food and my supplementation is keeping my appetitie abated.

Diet consists of

Brekkie - 6 egg whites & 200g mixed vege's

Mid-morn - 50g meat & 4 crispbread

Lunch - 200g Chicken, ½ cup brown rice & 150g green vege's

Mid-arvo - 90g light natural yoghurt with 30g whey protein isolate

Mid-arvo (2) - 50g meat & 4 crisp bread

Dinner - 200g Meat & 300g green vege's

Supper - 4 egg whites & 100g green vege's

Training on Saturday was like this:

Giant Set Legs - Squat, Leg Press, Leg Extension, BW Lunges

Weight for squats was 20 x 140kg, 15 x 150kg, 12 x 160kg

Leg Press - 300kg x 20 reps

Leg Extension - 40kg x 20

BW Lunges x 20

3 sets of each.

Biceps - 21's

3 sets at 40kg

Sunday

Side raises - 10 sets of 12 reps with 18kg DB's - supersetted with 6 sets of DB shoulder presses, same weight, for 12 reps.

DB skullcrushers - 5 sets of 15 with 18kg DB's - nice and slow, no lock-outs.

Cardio is now every day with the exception of Wednesday and Saturday for ½ on the elliptical machine.


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## Wolverine1466867962 (Apr 17, 2009)

great journal this mate ... keep up the hard work


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

After a very stressful day in the office I was ready to get rid of some pent up aggression on the deadlift. After weighing in at 100.3kg we went through the program to find that we would be having a break from "proper" deadlift and doing machine deadlifts, otherwise the routine stayed the same.

Machine Deadlift

220 x 12

260 X 10

300 x 6 (very please with this, I know its not proper deadlift, but its still the first time that I have lifted a weight beginning with a "3" apart from on leg press)

Chest - Giant sets

Flat Bench - 20 reps - weights 110kg, 120kg, 130kg

DB Bench - 10-15 reps - 20kg DB's

DB Flies - 20 reps with 12.5kg DB's

Push ups - to failure, rest 15 seconds, then to failure again. (Felt such a weakling only managing 10 push ups in the first set)

Lat Pulldown - Drop sets

Weight - 90kg, 70kg, 50kg - 20 reps, 15 reps then about 8 reps.

3 sets of these.

Felt good after all this, stress had lifted (for now). Neeless to say, I'm back at my desk now and the stress is still here.


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## webadmin1466867919 (Dec 1, 2006)

Your pushing some heavy sets there my friend and for a lot of reps so sounds like your doing really well, perhaps you should post some pics up if you have any


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

Thanks mate, will have some photo's up in mid-May just before my holidays and at the end of my cycle.


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## Wolverine1466867962 (Apr 17, 2009)

very good lifting there mate ... look forward to seeing your progress pics =]


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

Been slack with updating this week, diet is still perfect though TBH I have slacked off on the cardio a bit this week as I have been VERY stressed this week. So all in all, super low calories and lots of stress are not conducive to motivating me to get in the gym for cardio. Work out on Saturday was hampered by a tight adducter (spelling) from Deadlifts on Wednesday, so beasted arms and shoulders with BB curls, Super slow curls and skullcrushers. Lateral raises and push presses for shoulders - got a wicked pump and all in all was pretty pleased with my session.

Back in the gym tonight so looking forward to going heavy...

Weight was 99.6kg - with 2 weeks left I think my goal BF % is unattainable but I will give it my best shot...

CMinOZ


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

Well, well, well - it's been a long time between posts... As you can see in the previous posts, business was getting pretty stressful and has remained so (increasingly so) since the time of my last post and getting the motivation to post when all hell is breaking loose has been quite difficult (got my priorities right). However, it seems things are on the up and my training is continuing on, as close to the best it's been.

Since my last posting, I have decided that I want to compete and set myself a 1000 day goal. This has helped me formulate a plan with my trainer that is not interupted by petty vanities like holidays etc and I am loving training 5 days per week. Also, new diet is awesome and I am not craving any cheat foods.

Training split looks like this:

Monday - Calves

Tuesday - Off

Weds - Chest & back

Thursday - Shoulders

Friday - off

Saturday - Legs

Sunday - Bi's and Tri's

After my 1st cycle and PCT, I am holding weight at 98kg which was a gain of about 3.5kg - not what I was looking for.

However, I am off to see an anti-aging doctor next week because my "test levels are low" and fully expect to be "prescribed" a course of sustanon :clap2:, which coupled with my diet will hopefully see me add some decent mass.

I will try and keep you posted.

CMinOZ


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

Got my blood results back and a only one area for concern, my test levels are "low" so I will need a course of supplementation with Sustanon 250:clap2:. On the plus side, my natural IGF-1 levels are higher than the doctor has seen in more than 6 months and all other potential issues, cancer markers, cholesterol etc are fine. So I get my prescription on Monday and need to endure 12-weeks of GP approved testosterone therapy.

I will post my stats etc closer to the time


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

Ok, so last week, 15th Sept I pinned myself for the first time (this time) - weight before was 98.7kg. Diet = clean and 3250 cals per day. I am following the following split:

Monday - Calves

Tuesday - Off

Wednesday - Back and Chest (with Trainer)

Thursday - Shoulders

Friday - Off

Saturday - Legs (With Trainer)

Sunday - Arms

I will weigh myself tonight, though obviously expect very little change other than the predicatable 800g-1kg which I have been adding each week on my current diet.


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

So much for the good intentions back in September, work has been hectic so I have not had the time to post. One week left on my cycle and my progress has been very good, despite my being on a relative low dose cycle to most that you see posted.

Weight - Has gone up from 98.7kg to 108kg

Training is going really well and I am pushing more weight than ever:

Bench - 160kg

Squat - 220kg - I have put 70kg on my squat in the past 6 months (mainly technique)

Deadlift - ??? Tomorrow night is the big night, aiming for 250kg

Update on deadlift to come...


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## Hard Trainer (Apr 29, 2009)

Nice work. Lifting very heavy on deads. Are you an assisted trainer?


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

No - I do all my lifting by myself:becky: - Oh, sorry, do you mean "do you take drugs" - well yes, I am on a restorative course of Sustanon at 1 amp per week, which is designed to bring up my test levels to a normal level, not supraphysiological. I hope that you're not suggesting that my lifts would just be the result of taking drugs...


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

250kg deadlift done last night - felt good, a bit heavy, but good. Next step 260kg by end of March:clap2:


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## CMinOZ (Apr 13, 2007)

Evening all, it's been a while. A quick look around and update of my log from over this side of the water. Training has been going well, have decided to compete next year so have been focusing on mass for the past 6 months or more. I will be doing the novice at the IFBB but with my frame will need to step on stage at around 93-94kg. I am currently 112kg and about 12% so have a fair bit more to add. Currently eating 5000cals per day and aiming for 6000 by the end of September. Lifts have come on nicely as well - 270kg deadlift, 240kg squat - bench still sucks at 160kg.

Will pop my head in again soon to say G'Day

CMinOZ


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