A LIfter's Iron Log...

[JohnRobHolmes]

have you weighed yourself lately? have you broken 215 yet? i need to brush up on my cleans and presses. its something i havent done since highschool. i think that would round out an arm day really nicely. i really like your shoulder and arm day. hits everything but the lats and traps. do you notice your biceps getting a little overtrained doing them two excercise days in a row (workout, rest, workout)?

 

[ghettostudmuffin]

Good questions.

Haven't weighed myself in a few workouts. Not too concerned about it. I'm getting stronger and stronger and still eating alot so I'll keep gaining, but I'm past that just getting back into training period that usually for me lasts 2-3 months so the bodyweight gains have slowed, but the strength is right on pace. I don't want too gain TOO fast. I eat alot as it is and I don't want to turn into a total lard ass. Some chub, no problem, looking like Fat Albert, no way, no how.

Technically the traps get hit a little bit with the cleans, but since I don't do cleans every time it's fairly nominal. But I train lats and traps hard on back day.

I have no problems with over training the arms with my current schedule. Technically the tri's get hit 2 days a week pretty hard off this setup and they like it alot. The bi's don't like volume quite as much as the tri's do for me, but they like getting hit hard directly once a week with another indirectly day from heavy pulling(back day). So my schedule is perfect for now.

It seems hard to overtrain now to me since I eat alot of protein, take my vitamins/minerals, sleep 8 or more hours a night and moderate my efforts in the gym, ie., train hard, but not to failure and take as long as I need between sets to rest optimally.

10-29-04

LEG DAY BIATCH!

Squats-ascending singles to 255x6x1 solid.

Glute/ham raise-5,4,3,3,2. Learned how to really perform them properly by reading a good Dave Tate article. So, I wasn't able to crank out quite as many as last workout cuz I did the exercise completely correct, although not bad last time, just not quite right. Gonna switch to a 5x3 format instead of 3x5.

Reverse hyper-20lbs x1x12 reps. I know, 20lbs is lame, but I wanted to do good technique. Seems you have to swing the legs abit at the bottom or the belt goes limp. Have to investigate that more thoroughly next time I do it. Don't mind doing them a little ballistically if I have to. Use prolly 40lbs next time and a little more swing, unless that is, my investigation of the inner workings of this new fangled contraption prove my techique to be FAULTY. We shall see. Elementary my boy.

Calf Raise 330x5, 345x4, 375x4, 390x3, 405x8.

Hanging Leg raises- Getting damn near to touching my feet to the bar without using momentum every rep! Did like 8 high, 3-4 waist, and 7-8 knee ups. Good stuff.

Pimp juice is flowing freely NOW. Left the gym feeling STRONG. I am getting it down to a science as to how much work to do, how fast to do it and how hard to push it in my workouts and I am reaping the rewards baby! YAE YAH!

Btw, helped a guy get 135lbs off his chest on the barbell incline. I was pacing back and forth calmly in front of the squat rack when this little guy calls out "hey buddy, can you help me out". I see clearly that the weight is pinned to his chest and proceeded to rush over and pull it up quick like. I let him know it has happened to me too. Actually it never has because I role the bar down my stomach, then clean it and put it back on the rack, but that RAAARREELLYY happens. I just didn't want the guy to feel bad. At least he was pushing himself you know? Anyway, that's my good deed for the day.

 

[JohnRobHolmes]

i just about got some weight stuck on me yesterday, but it was enought that i could have rolled it down and just stood up like you said. there was this 14 year old in the gym yesterday that was working out, i gave him some pointers and told him to forget all the single joint stuff he was doing. he was about 100 pounds but looked like his arms were getting pretty swole for his size.

you can almost touch the bar with your feet? damn man!! thats hard stuff!! do you keep your knees locked out or do you bend the legs a bit?

 

[ghettostudmuffin]

I don't use any momentum when I do them. I start each rep from a deadhang. I bend my knees just slightly otherwise it seems to make your hips do more work than the abs, at least for me it does. I might be able to do 1 perfect straight leg raise to the bar, maybe. Within a couple months I'll be doing 10 raises to the bar with just slightly bend legs. Right now I'm about 10-12" away from the bar so that's still pretty damn high.

I work my abs hard and heavy with steep angles so they're getting real strong. I prolly don't look like I can do the stuff I do, but that's just cuz I don't have a 6 pack showing and I'm +200lbs.

It feels good having strong abs. Most of the guys smaller than me can't do them as high without cheating and swinging their legs. Just goes to show that hard work, progressive resistance, time and patience can do it all bro.

 

[JohnRobHolmes]

thats exactly what i was thinking. at your weight and structure getting your legs up is a HUGE feat. at my weight it is still damn hard. i have tried to do it multiple times, and its hella hard for me- i have never had the determination to get that strength yet. i still have to swing and bend my arms to lean back far enough and get it held.

its much harder for your body to do it with straight legs, and if your hammies arent flexable enough the hips have to take over the slack to raise the legs. have you tried them on your hands? (since you can get your legs up so high)

 

[ghettostudmuffin]

My hams are very flexible. I do stiff-legged dumbell deadlifts and touch the floor with the dumbells with slightly bent legs, just enough so the knees aren't locked. I just have to bend the legs slightly or it brings the hips into play unnecesarily with hanging leg raies. I have wide, powerful hips so it happens too easy.

I don't think I could do it on the floor. That would be really hard at my size and build. MY abs may be strogn enough if I was lighter, like when I weighed 156lbs, but even then I had thick muscled heavy legs so maybe not. Maybe in 6 months when they are hella strong I may try it just cuz.

You can build the strength to do it, it just takes time. I guess I've been training my abs consistently for about 5 months. I started training them in the summer before I started lifting and it has really paid off. Even though I have a smooth stomach with some chub, if I flex my abs they are rock hard and you can feel the lumps. But I'm not worried about the abs showing. Not for a long time. I just want them strong and functional for my heavy squats and lifting in general. I have noticed I rarely get even minor back discomfort nowadays and I attribute it to the abs work more than anything. Also my squat for mis better than ever and so is my deadlifting ability. Strong abs are truly the key to real power overall. I knew this for along time, but never truly realized how important they are.

When I started training abs at 195lbs I could barely lift my legs to horizontal from a dead hang lol. I had to do knee ups and they were wimpy ones because I couldn't get my hips to rotate up on the movement. Also I struggled to do even 15 decent crunches and lying leg raises or 20 situps HAHA. Once I could do those then I worked at holding my legs horizontal for as long as I could and then burn out on knee ups. Then when I got to the gym I started doing leg raises to horizontal on the leg raise machine where you have hand grips for help. Once I could do 12 straight reps then I started dong them higher than horizontal. Once I could 12 of those then I did them with a 2.5lbs weight held by my feet for 10 reps above horizontal. Then I moved to the bar and did them as high as I could until my abs fatigue and then they get lower until I can't do them parallel and then I do knee ups to burn out. I attribute incling weighted situp/crunches to building the strength too as I do situp/crunchs on an incline board set at about 45 degrees now with 25lbs for 8 reps, whereas I started at about a 15-20 degree angle with 10lbs. I also switched from stability ball crunches where I built up to 25lbs for 25 reps to cable crunches which give a superior contraction imo.

So you see, it's been a gradual progression in the last 5 months or so.

You can do it if you want. Abs can get VERY strong just like any other muscle and you can build them to get bigger as well. Bagillions of lying leg raises and crunches are not the way to go for a 6 pack and powerful abs. Heavy weights and tough angles are imo.

My goal is to do 10 perfect leg raises to the bar with 25lbs attached to my feet. 6-10 perfect 45 degree incline situp/crunches with 75lbs and 10+ cable crunches wit hthe whole stack.

Believe in yourself John and you can too. Just always remember, it's hard to really shine in any one thing when you spread yourself across so many different activities. Eventually you will probably narrow down the list of things you do to those you truly love the most and want to see the greatest results in.

 

[JohnRobHolmes]

Believe in yourself John and you can too. Just always remember, it's hard to really shine in any one thing when you spread yourself across so many different activities. Eventually you will probably narrow down the list of things you do to those you truly love the most and want to see the greatest results in.

so true. so true. i know you have been saying that for the past few weeks, and it's something i have dealt with most of my life. jack of all trades and master of none. if lifting is a hobby then i have five major hobbies right now, and then school. fortunatly all of the hobbies are physical with the exception to remote control cars. i am getting burned out on the dancing and breakdancing though. just not fun anymore, and its not going to help me stay in shape in the long run. specializing and cutting the extranious is on my plate. first goal- get my abs strong as yours!

 

[ghettostudmuffin]

11-1-04

Chest Day

Barbell Bench 175x9x3, 10th set by 4
Dumbell bench 70's x1x10
Barbell Incline 135x1x13
cable flyes different machine 60x1x10
Incline situp/crunch-highest setting now BW+25x1x6-7
cable crunch 110x1x20+

Technically a good workout. My elbows on the sides were bothering me a little on the BB bench. The brachialis muscle I think. I'm gonna quit the hammer curls as rows seems to hit it very hard anyway.

I couldn't go up to 67.5's because they go up in 10lbs increments from here on up. No problem though as I got 10 reps solid with the 70's haha. Gonna stay with them for 4 workouts before I move up to the 75's.

Felt fairly strong overall besides the elbows buggin a little. Nothing a good night's sleep can't take care of. Gonna go to 180lbs next workout on the bench as well as bring my grip in slightly. Go up to 140lbs on incline.

So, all in all a good workout. Feel good right now physically, relaxed.

 

[JohnRobHolmes]

on the inside of the elbows or outside? hammer curls would target the brachialis a bit extra.

looks like an awesome workout man. is that the 45 degree incline you press on? hehe, you could press me for your weight instead of a barbell.

 

[JohnRobHolmes]

p.s. i KNOW if you sat on the floor, and got your ass off the floor, that you could at least keep your feet off the floor for a few seconds. just try it once and see how you like it for abs and tris.