Grunt11's Training Log

grunt11 said:
About the only thing it might be was having Friday-Sunday off work which might have let me recuperate better.
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Does anyone know how much using M-Time screws up the RM calculators.
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Since my goal at the end of this cycle is to push for strength gains I may change my workout schedule a bit to test if 2 days off between each body part helps keep my progression going longer. Initially I will still plan to workout each day but probably switch to a Legs/Pull/Push scheme. I may even toy with taking full days off between workouts to see how I respond to that.
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Sorry, but M-time lifts don't compute. To find your new Rep Maxes you'll need to test for them separately. Of course, if you do another cycle of Max-Stim, you'd just add five or ten lbs or some percentage to your final workout.

Regarding rest time: I am of the view that increased rest gives increased growth and increased strength. I concur that your extra time off may have made the difference in your workout experience. Recuperation is a good thing.

Some studies have shown that workouts twice a week produce pretty much the same results as three times per week. Food is the fuel, and workouts pull the trigger, but your body grows while you are resting. It doesn't hurt to take an extra day (or two) between workouts, especially when things start to get heavy.
 
Ok changed things up a little bit based on what I’ve been reading and TRs comments about time off. I’m switching to a 3 day split more or less doing Legs/Pull/Push.

Close Grip Chin Ups BW(157 lbs) +35 x 10 M-Time (very hard but made w/o cheating)

Shrugs 285 lbs x 20 straight set (did a 10% reset due to grip failure)

Hammer Curls 30 lbs x 10 +4 +4 +3

Supported Dumbbell Rows 80 lbs x 10 M-Time

Incline Curls 30 lbs x 10 +4 +2 (failed at 3)

Really feel like I’m reaching the limit on the Chin Ups. I’m hoping the extra day between Chins will help keep the gains going a little longer.

I reset the weight on the Shrugs by 10% because I didn’t want to use straps for my grip yet. One plus is that this time I did 20 straight reps at 285 where last time I had to split it into 2 sets of 10.

I’ve only got 2 more 5 lbs increments left on my power blocks and it feels like that will be just about right for my Dumbbell Rows.

Still trying to get the feel for the Curls and using Myo-reps.

Also trying to hammer out exactly how I want to organize my split to get the exercises I want w/o compromising my primary lifts and giving time for each body part to recover. As of now the new schedule will look like the following subject to some changes based on how things feel.

A
Dead Lift/Squat (alternated so each is done once per week)
DB Pullovers
Upright Row or Reverse Grip Shoulder Presses (haven’t decided, may even alternate)
BB Calf Raises
Leaning Lateral Raises

B
Pull Ups or Chin Ups (some form may alternate)
BB Shrug
Hammer Curls
Supported DB Row
Incline DB Curls

C
Flat Bench (may alternate w/ Incline Bench)
DB Preacher Curls
Dips
Flyes (may alternate flat and incline)
Overhead Triceps Extension

This isn’t set in stone. My goal was to find a routine using these exercises which ensured at least one if not two full days off hitting a body part in a major way. Some that are hit two days in a row like grip and traps should handle that easily. The one sticking point is the curls. I wanted to include them all on one day but trying that today proved counter productive so I swapped around the DB Preacher Curls and the DB Rows. I will also force myself to take one full day off each week something I haven’t done even once this cycle (yes it’s and addiction I know ;) ).

Also my average weekly weight is up another pound to 157.
 
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Interesting

Funny how those dumbbell curls catch up with you after a while...

Nice to see you still gaining weight, even if only just a bit.
 
TunnelRat said:
Interesting

Funny how those dumbbell curls catch up with you after a while...

Nice to see you still gaining weight, even if only just a bit.
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I’m pretty pleased with my weight gain so far 17 lbs since I started my first cycle and I still haven‘t finished my second. I’ve been shooting for 1 pound a week and that’s what I’ve been getting. At some point I will have to cut but the way it’s looking I can probably make another complete cycle before I’ll want to do that.
 
Thursday:

Took the day off because I felt like I was getting the flu. Must have been some 24 hour thing or because I got the flu vaccine my body fought it off because I woke up Friday feeling fine.

Friday:

Flat Bench Press 175 lbs x 10 M-Time

DB Preacher Curls 25 lbs x 10 +3 +3 +3 +2

Dips BW (157 lbs) +35 lbs M-Time

Flat Bench Flyes 25 lbs x 10 +4 +4 +3

DB Overhead Triceps Extensions 20 lbs x 10 +3 +3 +2


Well the extra time off sure helped my Bench and Dips. Both felt easier than the previous workout both of which were 5 lbs lighter.
 
Today’s workout was:

Dead Lift 275 lbs x 10 M-Time

DB Pullovers 35 lbs x 15

Upright Row 100 lbs x 9

BB Calf Raises 285 lbs x 9 + 11

Leaning Lateral DB Raises 15 x 15 +5 +5 +4


275 lbs on the Dead Lift is 25 lbs more than I managed last cycle so I’m already up by 10% and still think I have some room to go.

I stopped at 9 on the Upright Rows because my left arm is still giving me problems. I think I’ll switch to dumbbells next time since locking my arm into a BB range of motion seems to make it worse.

Did the odd split on the Calf Raises because when I got to 9 I realized that the rack was sliding forward with each rep and I was developing far to much of a lean, so I stopped and reset.
 
grunt11 said:
275 lbs on the Dead Lift is 25 lbs more than I managed last cycle so I’m already up by 10% and still think I have some room to go.
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Yeah, I tend to measure my strength increases by my deadlift. If I can get the bar off the floor, all is right with the world.
275x10 is a lotta iron (ain't M-time great?).
 
Got off work early so I worked out again today.

Close Grip Chin Ups BW(157 lbs) +20 x 10 M-Time

Shrug 295 lbs x 20

Incline DB Curls 30 x 10 +4 +4 +3

Supported DB Row 85 lbs x 10 M-Time

Hammer Curls 30 lbs x 10 +4 +4 +3

I was suppose to move up to +40 lbs on the Chin Ups today but failed miserably on the first two attempts so I reset by 10 %. I think the extra biceps isolation exercises are taking their toll but I want to keep them included on the next cycle to I’m going to try to stick with them through the end of this one to get the rhythm of doing them down.

Hammer Curls felt much better this time even though I didn’t improve on the number of reps there was no pain in my left arm at all which I can’t seem to avoid when the weight goes up on the BB Curls.
 
Today’s workout:

Flat Bench Press 180 lbs x 1, 185 lbs x 1, 180 lbs x 8 all M-Time

DB Preacher Curls 25 x 15 +5

Dips BW(157 lbs) +40 x 2, +20 x 8 M-Time

Flat Bench Flyes 30 lbs x 8 +3 +3 +2

DB Overhead Triceps Extensions 25 x 2, 20 x 9 +3 +1

The first rep on the Bench felt really good so I thought I’d bump it up another 5 lbs. The next rep sucked so I dropped back down. I got a third rep pushing off the safety bars and then failed on the 4th so I reset the bar on the hooks for a normal Bench Press, starting with the eccentric, and finished out the reps. This really gave me a perspective on how much the stretch reflex helps in starting the bar moving back up. From now on this cycle I will be doing a standard Bench Press since I think I’ve reached the limit on how much I can push off from a dead stop.

Failed on the 3rd rep of the Dips with +40 so I reset by 10% and finished the set. After failing finishing the set was really hard even though I dropped the weight by 20 lbs.

Same thing on the DB Overhead Triceps Extensions. Failed on the 3rd rep so I dropped it down one increment and finished. Still just trying to get the feel for these isolation exercises and using Myo-reps for the next cycle.
 
Today’s workout:

Full Squat 235 lbs x 5 M-Time

DB Pullovers 30 lbs x 15

BB Upright Rows 100 lbs x 8, 90 lbs x 14 +5 +4 +3

BB Calf Raises 295 lbs x 20

Leaning DB Lateral Raises 20 x 10 +5 +3

I stopped at 5 reps on the Squats today for two reasons. First I slightly strained something in my lower left back/butt last night at work and could feel it a little while squatting. I mostly felt it while bending so I switched from low bar to high bar Squats today and it didn’t bother me as much. The other reason is that I barely got back up on the 5th rep. It felt like I took 5 seconds to push through the sticking point. No I’m sure it wasn’t actually that long but it felt like forever.

I repeated 100 lbs on the BB Upright Rows because last time my left arm hurt. Same thing again so I reset by 10% and everything felt fine. I think I’ll stick to doing lower weight and using Myo-reps on this one.

My average weekly weight is up another pound to 158 lbs now. I vowed not to stop this cycle until I hit 160 lbs so if I keep progressing at 1 lb a week I have 2 more weeks to go. I’ve already reset a couple of the lifts by 10% and planned to do that for each once if they stall but I might change that to doing Partial Squats and Rack Pulls instead of resetting those lifts.

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I did some measurements again today to see if I’ve made any more progress since the beginning of this second cycle:

Measurement / change / off from theoretical “ideal” based on calculator at 169LBM, 8%BF (Body Weight would = 182 lbs) / % off theoretical max

Weight: 158 lbs +9 lbs
BF%: 12 +4%
Chest: 40” +3.5” (-3 = -7%)
Upper Arms: 12”/12” +.75” (-3.3 = -22%)
Forearms: 10.75”/10.75” no change (-1.5 = -13%)
Neck: 15.5” +1” (-.4 = -3%)
Thighs: 22”/22” +1” (-.4 = -5%)
Calves: 13.5”/14” no change (-1.75/-1.25 = -12%)
Hips: 36.5” +.5”
Shoulders: 46” +1.5”
Waist: 31” +2”

I also calculated the % off each body part is from the theoretical “ideal” to get a general idea of what I should focus on most, not that I couldn’t tell by looking in the mirror. Clearly my Upper Arms are lagging way behind everything else followed by Forearms and Calves.

I’m pretty sure most of the increase in chest measurement is from my Upper Back. There is a noticeable change in my Pec size but from what I see and a comment my boss made last night that my upper back, Rhomboids and Traps, look much bigger.
 
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Today’s workout:

Pull Ups/Chin Ups BW(158 lbs) +25 x 15 M-Time

BB Shrugs 305 lbs x 20 straight set

DB Incline Curls 30 x 10 +4 +2

Supported DB Rows 90 lbs x 10 M-Time superset L/R

Hammer Curls 30 lbs x 12 +4 +4


I tried something a little different for the Chin Ups today. I started with Wide Grip Pull Ups until I figured I couldn’t do another, came to 5, then switched to Medium Grip Chin Ups for 5 and then Close Grip Chin Ups for 5.

Curls sucked today because my left arm hurt right from the first rep. Once I got past the first rep is wasn’t as bad if I kept going but each time I paused it hurt again when I restarted. I think it hurt more on the DB curls today because I’d done the Wide Grip Pull Ups earlier. I’ll skip them next time and see how it feels. If this keeps up I’ll just have to keep the weights lower and do more reps seeing if I can slowly increase to push through it.

Maxed out my Power Block Dumbbells on the DB Rows today. The local store still hasn’t gotten in the 130 lbs extensions yet. If they don’t get them within a week I’ll probably just order them from Amazon. I don’t really think I need them since to get the 90lbs my form wasn’t he best but I got some good negative reps out of it.

My lower back started to hurt again last night after doing Squats in the morning. I might have to skip doing Dead Lifts on Saturday if I can still feel it. I’m hoping the extra day off on Friday will help clear it up, but based on how it feels right now I doubt it.

I’m still looking to tweak my routine for the next cycle. I really want to add Shoulder Presses and or Incline Bench back in but then I don’t want to drop Flat Bench or Dips. However, I just think 4 compound pushing movements is just going to be to much for me based on how things felt already. I still might alternate doing two the first day and the other two the second workout of the week. I’m also considering starting with the Incline Bench and Maxing it out quickly and switching over to Flat Bench. Then maybe even switching from there to Decline Bench thus progressively taking the strain off my shoulders as things get heavier.
 
BB Shrugs 305 lbs x 20 straight set = BEASTLY! :-)

Ever try wide grip chin ups? I was challenged recently after bragging about my 20 rep pullups. I thought for sure I'd get at least 5. I didn't make it to 3. Granted, neither did the other guy - so I don't feel too wimpy.
 
grunt11 said:
My lower back started to hurt again last night after doing Squats in the morning. I might have to skip doing Dead Lifts on Saturday if I can still feel it. I’m hoping the extra day off on Friday will help clear it up, but based on how it feels right now I doubt it.
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We were snowed in here on Monday. I spent much of the day shoveling snow and digging cars out of the ice. I had planned to lift on Tuesday, but my back was quite sore from Mondays's snow work. I took an extra day off and it helped.

Sometmes a little extra rest is good. Especially when you are in the heavy portion of your cycle.
 
whistledixie said:
BB Shrugs 305 lbs x 20 straight set = BEASTLY! :-)

Ever try wide grip chin ups? I was challenged recently after bragging about my 20 rep pullups. I thought for sure I'd get at least 5. I didn't make it to 3. Granted, neither did the other guy - so I don't feel too wimpy.
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Never tried Wide Grip Chin Ups. I’m planning to skip Wide Grip next time to see if that was what made my arm hurt worse yesterday. If it wasn’t then I’ll give them a try on the next session.

My legs and upper back have always been the strongest part of my body. When I was in the Marine Corps, despite being the smallest on my Rugby team I had the best leg press of everyone, and was considered a little crazy, so I always played #2.
 
TunnelRat said:
We were snowed in here on Monday. I spent much of the day shoveling snow and digging cars out of the ice. I had planned to lift on Tuesday, but my back was quite sore from Mondays's snow work. I took an extra day off and it helped.

Sometmes a little extra rest is good. Especially when you are in the heavy portion of your cycle.
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Yes I’m starting to realize (accept?) that as I age discretion may be the better part of valour.
 
Today’s workout:

Flat Bench Press 185 lbs x 1, 190 x 1, 200 fail, 185 x 7 all M-Time

Preacher Curls 25 lbs x 15 +4 +3

Dips BW +25 lbs x 4 (failed horribly on 5), BW x 6 straight set

Flat Bench Flyes 25 lbs x 15 +5 +4

Overhead Triceps Extension 20 lbs x 10 +3 +2

I felt pretty strong on the 190 lbs Bench so I thought I try a shot at 200 lbs and got so close. I could have locked out my right arm but my left just wouldn’t cooperate. Next week I will get it though.

My Triceps never recovered from the bench so my Dips sucked. Couldn’t even control the eccentric on the 5th rep.

No matter what I will take tomorrow off and maybe the 3 day routine after that pushing for some new highs on each major lift in the second half of the week. I will likely SD the following week or do a deload depending on exactly how I decide to proceed during the next cycle. The week after next is perfect for an SD since I’m only scheduled to work Tue-Thur so I could actually have 10 straight days off work for the cost of 3 days leave . . . tempting.

As much as I want to push for strength gains right now my body, especially my arms are screaming for a break. Plus I think doing the isolations for my arms and chest are already showing progress so I’d like to give them an honest try starting from the 15s. Though I think I might restart my compound lifts with the equivalent of the 10s depending on how my arms feel.
 
Today’s workout:

Dead Lift 265 lbs x 1, 285 x 1, 300 x 1, 315 x 1 :D

BB Upright Row 95 lbs x 15 +3 +3 +3 +3 +2

BB Calf Raises 305 lbs x 20 straight set

DB Leaning Lateral Raise 20 x 15 lbs +4 +4 +3

Well if I SD next week this will be my last Dead Lift session for this cycle so despite still having some pain in my left butt I decided to go for it and am sure glad that I did. I also have no doubt that having a little more time off between Dead Lifts made a huge difference. Another plus is the pain feels better now that I lifted. I’m giving myself two rewards for making 315 lbs. First I get to go out and buy another 45 lbs plate and second I get to do Rack Pulls after doing Squats on this Tuesday.

Now I just need to make 200 on my Bench, two sessions left for that, and 250 on my Full Squat and I will have made my strength goals for this cycle.

Not much pain in my left arm doing Upright Rows so I hope backing off a bit helped. May have also been the endorphins I was feeling from doing so well on my Dead Lifts.
 
Yesterday:

Close Grip Chin Ups BW(158 lbs) +35 x 10 M-Time

BB Shrugs 315 lbs x 17

Incline DB Curls 20 lbs x 25 +5 +5 +4

Supported DB Row 55 lbs x 15 +5 +5 +4

Hammer Curls 20 lbs x 6

My grip held on 315 lbs Shrugs this time but my traps failed instead.

I switched to trying Myo-reps for the DB Row instead of using M-Time. I figure all the rest of my back movements are using M-Time so it might be a good idea to use Myo-reps for the Row instead.

My left arm hurt like hell when I tried to curl today. No problem doing the Chin Ups but I just had to stop on the Hammer Curls even though I was only using light weight.

Today:

Flat Bench Press 175 lbs x 1, 200 x 1, 190 x 4 M-Time

DB Preacher Curl 25 lbs x 4

Dips (skipped)

Flat Bench Flyes 25 lbs x 10 +4 +4 +2

DB Overhead Triceps Extensions 20 lbs x 15 +5 +3

I made my goal of 200 lbs on the Bench Press today. Although I have one more push day, Thursday, I figured I would be freshest today with the extra day off on Friday. I skipped doing Dips today and will push for a max Dip on Thursday while skipping the Bench.

Had to stop at 4 reps on the Preacher Curls because my left arm hurt so bad. I think I’m done doing Curls this cycle and just need to let my arm rest.
 
Nice Deadlift! Three big 45 lb wheels on each end of the bar. Makes you feel like a man! Have somebody take a picture of you with the bar up. You'll want to put it on your mantle. [Here's mine again]

Terrific bench press, too. That's my weakest lift as yet.

Go for the Hat Trick: Get that 250 lb squat.
 
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