The Beast's Training Journal!

WalkingBeast · Apr 6, 2016

Back and delts (trap focused laterals)

Second back session since the 6 week break (week 2) . Reintroducing more weight and reps and growing steadily. Strength is still way reduced all around but size is coming back quick, as well as strength.

225-226 lbs after 2 meals

Hammer Strength Lat Pullover (plate loaded)

no rest til line (holds and regular reps, mixed)

90x50
180x20
------

No rest til line (Mixed)

230x12
180x13
140x15
-------

Low Cable Rows (narrow handle, palms facing)

165x15 (long holds)
225x8 (long holds)
270x7 (regular reps)

No rest til line (Regular reps and long holds)

270x6
225x6
195x5
165x10
-------------

Cybex Lat Pull

205x12 (long holds)
305x10
305x13

Lat Pulldowns (narrow handle, palms facing)

195x6 (long holds)
240x3 (regular)

Dumbbell Laterals (trap focused version)

no rest til line

50x20
55x5
45x10
-----------

no rest til line

45x20
55x5
50x10
------------

no rest til line

60x15
45x10
50x5
------

no rest til line

60x10
55x5
50x5
-------------

no rest til line

60x10
55x5
45x10
--------

KILL THAT SHIT

WalkingBeast · Apr 8, 2016

Arms

Second arm session since the 6 week break. Triceps felt like they wanted to cramp up often during the tricep portion. Fatigued quick because of it. Ive had my triceps pop before but never any visible tears. They should strengthen and fill back out soon.

225 lbs after 2 meals

Straight Bar Pressdown (same range of motion as usual)

KILOGRAMS unless noted otherwise for pressdowns

No rest til line

35x50
65x20-25
95x5 (210 lb stack)
------------

no rest again

95x10
65x15
-------------

no rest again

95x10
65x15
-----------------

No rest again

255 lbs x 8 (45 lb plate pinned to stack)
95x7-8
65x10
-------------

no rest again

255 lbs x4
95x6
65x12 (triceps craming alot, fatiguing easily)
-------------

No rest again

95x10
80x8
65x8
--------

V bar pressdowns

KILOGRAMS again

No rest again

65x13
95x2
----

no rest again

95x5
65x10
----------

no rest again

95x5-10
65x15
-------------

Strict Alternating Dumbbell Curls (No twisting, palms facing forward entire time. SLOW with some holds at top)

30x20
45x10

No rest til line

55x5
35x8
-----------

No rest til line

Alternating Dumbbell Curl with reverse curl negative

65x4
35x5
------Slow----

No rest again

60x3
35x6
-----------

Incline Dumbbell Curls

45x9

Strict ALT DB CURLS again

45x5

Dumbbell Hammer curls

no rest again

55x5
45x5
----------

Incline Dumbbell Curls

35x17 (rest pause. Both arms and then one arm for 3 reps at a time)

KILL THAT SHIT

WalkingBeast · Apr 11, 2016

Chest and delts

Beginning of third week back from 6 week break. Strength is coming back a little each week. Next week maybe 275x15-20 and 315x10 on incline smith machine presses. Strength is still way down but it should come back quick.

Eating was low yesterday. Training and eating is in the background for now, but should get it back quickly. I started with smith inclines since Im aiming to break records on those and/or military smith machine presses once strength is back.

Started creatine again but will only take it on training days most likely, mixed in with my aminos intra workout.

224 lbs after meal

Incline Smith Machine Presses (Closer grip, down to about chin level and back up to lockout)

Bar x 70 warm
135x45 warm, adjusted bench 10 more
225x20 warm
275x11 (6 rep improvement from last week)
315x4 (once this gets back to 20+ strength will mostly be back)

No rest til line

315x4
225x10
--------------

Nautilus Overhead Press (plate loaded)(Seat set at line below "9") (mostly 3/4 reps with some full reps)

270x30 warm
450x9

No rest til line

500x4
450x4
360x5
270x10
-----------------

Hammer Strength Incline Press (constant tension style)

180x20 warm
270x17

No rest til line

360x6
270x6
180x10
------

Incline Dumbbell Presses (3/4 reps)

70x15-16
90x10

Dumbbell Laterals (trap focused version)

no rest til line

45x30
65x10
-----------------

No rest til line

75x10
60x10
45x10
------------

Shoulders and elbows still have some pain. Collarbone area as well with inclines. Nothing major. Should lessen as body re adapts to training.

KILL THAT SHIT

WalkingBeast · Apr 11, 2016

Chest and delts

Beginning of third week back from 6 week break. Strength is coming back a little each week. Next week maybe 275x15-20 and 315x10 on incline smith machine presses. Strength is still way down but it should come back quick.

Eating was low yesterday. Training and eating is in the background for now, but should get it back quickly. I started with smith inclines since Im aiming to break records on those and/or military smith machine presses once strength is back.

Started creatine again but will only take it on training days most likely, mixed in with my aminos intra workout.

224 lbs after meal

Incline Smith Machine Presses (Closer grip, down to about chin level and back up to lockout)

Bar x 70 warm
135x45 warm, adjusted bench 10 more
225x20 warm
275x11 (6 rep improvement from last week)
315x4 (once this gets back to 20+ strength will mostly be back)

No rest til line

315x4
225x10
--------------

Nautilus Overhead Press (plate loaded)(Seat set at line below "9") (mostly 3/4 reps with some full reps)

270x30 warm
450x9

No rest til line

500x4
450x4
360x5
270x10
-----------------

Hammer Strength Incline Press (constant tension style)

180x20 warm
270x17

No rest til line

360x6
270x6
180x10
------

Incline Dumbbell Presses (3/4 reps)

70x15-16
90x10

Dumbbell Laterals (trap focused version)

no rest til line

45x30
65x10
-----------------

No rest til line

75x10
60x10
45x10
------------

Shoulders and elbows still have some pain. Collarbone area as well with inclines. Nothing major. Should lessen as body re adapts to training.

KILL THAT SHIT

WalkingBeast · Apr 14, 2016

Back

Lats felt more pumped and fuller today. Slowly coming back from the 6 week break. Third week back.

Meals are mixed right now. Some days are enough to grow , others are low or below maintenance. Not rushing the process. Training is in the background for me now, but Ill get my lost size back eventually.

It shouldnt take too long to get back to where I was 2 months ago, size wise. Bodyweight and strength is still off by alot, but measurements are catching up. Weight is irrelevant as it can change with body composition and the fact that I havent trained legs yet. I can carry a decent amount of weight in the legs when trained.

Once Im back, then Ill increase everything when Im ready for a full growth phase. Most likely some time this year. No specific time in mind.

Largest arm back up to around 18 7/8 cold, down from 19 1/2 cold. Chest/back still hovering around 54 inches cold, down from 56.

223-224 lbs after 50 oz milk and 12 oz shrimp earlier in day

Hammer Strength Lat Pull Over (plate loaded. Lats starting to scrape the elbow supports again, so they are filling back out width wise)

No rest til line (Mostly holds and long holds, some regular reps, mixed)

90x50
180x25
230x5
--------

No rest til line (same style)

230x13
180x10
135x15
90x35
-------------

Low Cable Rows (Long curved lat bar with palms facing grip)

150x15 (holds, long holds)
225x5 (same)

No rest til line

Wider narrow grip handle, palms facing

225x5 (holds and long holds mixed with regular reps for all of these)
170x10
130x10
-------

Lat Pulldowns with Wider Narrow Grip handle

175x10 (long holds)

No rest til line (long holds)

235x5
175x5
-----------

Iso Low Row Hammer Strength (plate loaded)

No rest til line

180x25 (long holds)
270x5 (same)

--------------

270x12 (long holds)

No rest til line (Regular reps mostly)

360x8
270x10
180x10
---------

Acid coming up bad in throat. Nothing crazy needed at this point, just regaining lost size from 2 months ago.

Basically just doing the minimum to regain previous size and strength. The real training begins for me when my old size and strength is back. Everything prior is just a grind for me.

KILL THAT SHIT

WalkingBeast · Apr 16, 2016

Arms

Light and moderate volume

End of third week back from the 6 week break.

Experimented with close grip incline bench on the smith machine. Shoulder width grip. Caused alot of joint strain on the shoulders so didnt push it. Just sending the signal to get back to where I was before the 6 week break.

225 lbs before meals

Close Grip Incline Press On Smith Machine (shoulder width grip)

Bar x 30 warm
135x20 warm
185x9 Warm
135x30 (not to failure, just to warm up triceps)

This movement fucked with shoulders so didnt push it.

Straight Bar Pressdowns

KILOGRAMS unless noted for pressdowns

no rest til line

35x50
65x20
95x5 (210 lb stack)
35x15 Strict Alternating Dumbbell Curls (Palms face forward , no twisting)
------------

No rest til line

Strict Alternating Dumbbell Curls (palms forward, Slow and with holds on many reps)

60x5
40x5
-----

No rest til line

50x5
40x5
-------------

35x10

No rest til line

40x8
35x5
-----------

Straight Bar Pressdowns

KILOGRAMS unless noted

no rest til line

95x20
65x20
50x20
50x5 Alternating Dumbbell Curls with reverse curl negative
35x10 (same)
-----------------

No rest til line

255 lbs x 10
95(kilos again)x10
65x10
50x10
70x1 (Alternating Dumbbell Curls with reverse curl negative)
50x7 (same)
40x5 (same)
-------------------

Straight Bar Pressdowns

KILOGRAMS

no rest til line

95x10
65x20
50x10-15
----------

Incline Dumbbell Curls

Rest pause style (alternating arms one at a time)

45x5 (matched on each arm)
45x3 (same)
45x3 (same)
45x3 (same)
45x3 (same)

Alternating DB curls with reverse curl negative

45x10

KILL THAT SHIT

WalkingBeast · Apr 18, 2016

First day of my fourth week back from the 6 week break. Chest today. Ill aim for 275x15 plus and 315x10 plus on incline smith. See how my collarbone area feels. I dont want to fuck with that area too much if its still super tight. So Ill adjust volume and weight accordingly.

Once I get back to 315x20 or so, then I should be mostly back pressing strength wise. Dont know when Ill bring militaries back on the smith. I was doing militaries on a seperate shoulder focused day. Right now Im only training 3 days a week. So shoulders get hit once a week with chest, maybe twice if I hit them with back. Overhead pressing was getting hit 2 to 3 times a week when I was hitting it hard 6 weeks ago. That I may only hit once, twice at the most until I start training more and eating heavier(growth phase)

KILL THAT SHIT

WalkingBeast · Apr 18, 2016

Chest ,delts and rear delts

First day of fourth week back, from 6 week break. Having issues with right hand locking up bad. Pain during pressing. Had to use the thumb side of my right hand and put all the pressure on that edge of that hand. Fucked with my sets.

Still I increased 5 reps on my 275 and 2 reps on my 315 sets with the incline. Issue was real bad with the 315.

Not a big problem though. I can switch up to some hammer strength machines or hit some other movements and get the same size and strength gains, then come back to that movement later, if need be. Will feel shit out.

Im slowly re introducing volume, weight, reps, etc. Even food. Im just doing enough to get back for now. When Im ready for a focused growth phase Ill increase food intake, training days , volume, etc. Ill also hit strict side laterals and more rear delt work, traps. Im just focusing on the basics needed to get back. Not even training legs yet. Ill hit those when Im looking for overall mass again.

I may stay lighter until I hit legs again but I only care about upper body measurements and strength for now. So the weight doesnt matter.

For the growth phase Ill train atleast 4 times a week (training 3x now), possibly 5 again. Ill most likely bring back the dedicated overhead press day that I was hitting a few months ago. My delts really blew up and got stronger with all the volume (chest pressing and overheads, overheads only day, back and delts as well, trap focused laterals, strict side laterals, rear delts etc.)

Feeder routine will come back as well. 150 reps with the 15 lb dumbbells for 3 types of curls, nightly. And lastly legs training will return. Volume weight and reps will all increase, and food intake will be higher and more consistant. Mostly likely a 250 protein minimum and calories as needed.

Ive been eating around and over 200 pretty frequently now but I have days that are 80 grams of protein and 130, etc. So its not focused right now. It doesnt need to be to get back.

Kept volume low and just went for moving my strength up and getting some blood in the target parts.

226 lbs after previous nights meals

Incline Smith Machine Press with closer grip (mix of locked out reps and constant tension style)

Bar X test
135x30 warm
135x30 warm
225x20 warm

275x15 (5 reps up from last week, strength coming back weekly but still need to hit 315x20 to be back to around where I was)

315x6 (2 reps up from last week. See video. Major issues with right hand. Pressure from bar causing alot of pain. Had to use edge of hand which fucked up my power and reps, Same issue with 275, just more pronounced here. I was pressing with the part of the hand used to pound a surface on the right hand. Normally I press through the base of my palms. Grinded out a few more reps, despite)

No rest til line

315x3
225x10

----------

Same issues. Also trying to avoid tearing the right side of my chest. Has had cramping and tenderness ever since the two pops in that side.

Overhead Nautilus Press (plate loaded. Seat set to "9" line)

(mostly fast balllistics, 3/4 reps, some lockouts)

270x40 (brief rest pauses)
450x10 (same)
500x7 (same. Was up to 540x22 I believe. Slowly it will come back)

No rest til line

540x5
450x5
360x5
270x10
-----------

Incline Dumbbell Press

80x25 (bad hand issues with these too, didnt push it)

Dumbbell Laterals (trap focused version)

no rest til line

45x35
60x5
50x10
-------

No rest til line

60x25
55x10
45x10
------

no rest till line

50x25
65x5
45x10
-----

No rest til line

75x10
??x10
??x10
----------- Just grabbed what I saw, didnt look at the numbers on the dumbbells for the last two sets

No rest til line

75x10
50x10
45x10

---------

45x25 (brief rest pauses)

Seated Machine Fly

no rest til line

195x20
295x10
----------------

295x10 (long holds)

Reverse Machine Flies

135x20 (holds)

No rest til line (holds mixed with regular reps)

225x8
190x8
160x8
135x10
---------

See video below

KILL THAT SHIT

WalkingBeast · Apr 18, 2016

WalkingBeast · Apr 18, 2016

First time testing the new camera mount. Same product just a replacement. Works well. Other one broke. I had to use plates to hold it stable during the incline and military vids.

Its redundant, but Ill film some of the comeback training to show what Im doing. I use the footage to see how far along I am as well.

KILL THAT SHIT

WalkingBeast · Apr 18, 2016

This is the mount I use to film with

Amazon.com: Samsung Galaxy S III Cell Phone Tripod Small Flexible Gripster Tripod For Smartphones - Approx 9" H: Cell Phones & Accessories

Its one of the better ones I used. There is a plastic one that is half the price, but they break quicker and dont hold as strong onto objects. It will probably last me about a year. I end up breaking them from wrapping them too tight around poles to get good angles. The first one of these I got, I broke the first day. Wrapping it around my fridge to test it. Broke off one of the legs. So you cant be too agressive with the bending. It still worked, just less stable.

Its worth the 16 bucks for the amount of videos I get out of them. I used to lean my phone on bottles and shit like that. It fell alot and most of the videos were focused on the twig and berries. This makes it much fuckin easier. Filming has been a great way to document what Im doing and also give some life to the journals. Alot of times my range of motion may be different, so I can actually check back what I was doing a year ago, for example, and see maybe that I was doing full reps or partial reps with a certain lift, or a different seat adjustment, and that will give me a better comparison point for documenting strength gains. Thats why I film some of the same types of sets.

KILL THAT SHIT !!

WalkingBeast · Apr 20, 2016

Back, Delts and Rear Delts

Fourth week back from the 6 week break. Weight and strength coming back up. No real pain in inner elbows and very little inflammation in shoulder joints during chin ups and low cable rows, the two harshest movements on those areas. Even with the stack overloaded on low cable rows. Lats felt swollen with blood and are starting to come back. The break seem to have reduced the inflammation in the elbows especially.

Gradually adding more weight and reps weekly, working back up to where I was before the 6 week break.

229 lbs after previous nights meals, stayed up to train

Chin Ups (close palms facing grip)

no rest til line (warm ups, not failure)

150 lbs of assistance x 15 (holds and regular reps, mixed)
105 lbs assistance x10 (same)
----------

12 (bodyweight. Reps are still only at 50 percent with this movement, but atleast no elbow pain as usual. I was hitting 23 or 24 reps at around 240 lbs bodyweight. Tend to make massive strength gains with any bodyweight gains, so even my strength ratio, relative to size, increases usually.)

10 (same)

Low Cable Rows (Narrow grip handle, palms facing)

no rest til line

135x15 (long holds)
240x5 (same)
------------------

No rest til line

285x9
220x8
180x5
160x5 (long holds on this set, and maybe several others from this dropset)

---------------

No rest til line (See video. These usually fuck with elbows as well. No noticable pain today in that area)

330x5 (regular reps)
225x8 (long holds)
165x12 (long holds)

-------------------

Lat Pullover Hammer Strength (plate loaded)

no rest til line

(Regular reps and holds, mixed)

90x50
180x10-20
-------------

180x20 (mixed)
180x20 (same)

Iso Low Row Hammer Strength (plate loaded)

180x25 (long holds)
270x20

Alternating One Side at a time

No rest til line (One side finishes, next side starts, etc)

360x5 (matched for left and right sides. Weight is the total weight loaded on both sides)
360x5 (matched for left and right sides.)
-----------------

No rest til line

Both sides at same time again

450x5
360x5
270x10
180x15
---------- Possibly some holds mixed in --------

Lat Pulldowns With Narrow Grip handle, palms facing (some handle used for low cable rows)

160x8 (long holds)
220x5 (same)

Dumbbell Laterals (trap focused version)

no rest til line

45x25
60x5
50x5
-----------

No rest again

70x10
55x10
--------------

Strict Dumbbell Laterals with Long Holds at the top, Slow (More of a standard lateral)

30x12
30x12
30x12

Reverse Machine Flies

145x10 (long holds)
220x8 (mixed)
190x12 (long holds)
190x8 (long holds)

Video below

KILL THAT SHIT

WalkingBeast · Apr 20, 2016

WalkingBeast · Apr 20, 2016

Chest/back flexed cold measurement back up to 55 inches. Still have an inch left to regain. Not bad though after 4 weeks back from the 6 week break.

Arms are the slowest to regain and also to gain new size with. Largest arm hovering around 18 3/4 to 18 7/8 cold flexed. 19 1/2 is where i was at pre-break.

Legs still have not been trained at all. So the weight im carrying now is going to be mostly upper body mass. If i hit 240 and am still not training legs, then either i got fatter or gained new muscle in my upper body. No real plans there. As mentioned, this is in the background for me now. When i aim for a dedicated growth phase everything will be adjusted accordingly. Body fat stays around the same lately, so the back/chest area should continue to grow regardless. Arms is the only area that has been stagnant for years.

Sometime within the next 3 or 4 weeks i may be able to hit some strength prs , but still have to regain some of what i lost before that happens. The strength records sometimes come before all size is regained, but im in a better position to hit them with the extra muscle and mass.

Back strength will probably return quicker than pressing strength. The new camera mount works well, so there shouldnt be any collapses during videos now.

Supplement regimin is very basic. I added in pro biotics twice a day. Pro bcaa aminos during training (2 scoops) and a scoop of creatine mix during training. Only training 3x a week for now. I dont take supps on off days. Atleast not now. Mr hyde is the pre workout ive been using. 3/4 of a scoop. 300 mgs caffeine is a good sweet spot for me. Im also on my hrt dose of test which is year round.

Kill that shit

WalkingBeast · Apr 22, 2016

Arms

End of fourth week back from 6 week break. In week four I am feeling most of my strength coming back and within the next 2 weeks I should be mostly back. May still not be back but it will depend on food intake. Not busting my ass right now with food , just training what I feel like and when. Three times a week is all Ive been training for now. Upper body only.

Hit 230 today. I should be back around 240 lbs soon. If I hit it without training legs then I should be carrying more muscle in my upper body. So either way its new mass. Chest/back is around 55 inches cold flexed now. Still an inch off from biggest. Arms are still only 18 7/8 cold flexed at most, down from 19 1/2. Those take longer always to get back.

Good pump today. That was the focus. Low rest times and very controlled contractions. Focused on muscle contraction over weight used. Volume was closer to what I normally do, didnt count sets but I normally do around 50 sets for arms.

I added vitamin d12 at 50,000 IU a week today. I find that helps with test levels. Thats the only vitamin Im taking now. Normally I dont use any vitamins. Ill do that for atleast 3 months. My vitamin D was low in blood levels, so the doc prescribed it. I would stay on all the time if I had the script. Im on HRT but I feel like the vitamin D has a synergistic effect with the test. That warmth in my blood that I associate with testosterone seems amplifed when I take that. I perceive that as more anabolic. Might be in my head. Any edge helps at this stage.

Close grip incline presses were better today on the smith. Still not taking them to failure. They are hard on my shoulders. Not as bad on joints today though, and I added more weight and reps. So I should be able to work them up. I liked them as a pre exhaust before hitting the 300 lb pressdown dropsets/supersets. I just call em No Rest Til Line sets. Since I drop down the stack then hit various sets of curls immediately after. Ive also dropsetted and reverse dropsetted in the same set (up the stack then back down, then into curls, etc). So thats why I list them under that title. Ive had some of these no rest sets last in excess of 10 minutes straight. Brief rest pauses only (a few seconds to catch breath only). Goal is to maximise the pain and burn when I train like that.

I didnt want to go beyond 245 today with the close grip presses. I have used 315 for reps with free weight bench, close grip in the past, but I rarely ever use freeweight benches anymore. Its much better not needing spotters and lift offs, and its better on my joints, the smith.

I did something new with the close grip presses. I tried to bend the bar when pressing basically. Meaning I tucked my elbows in completely. Normally I press with elbows flared out, regardless of grip width. Really I only do wide grip bench, same grip always. Its just recently I added in closer grip pressing and also close grip for triceps. I did it this way because thats how I felt it almost PURELY in my triceps. Now I understand how powerlifters bench. I could do this type of tuck with a wide grip too, and I see how it would be mostly tricep and delt. Never really tried it before. Since I benched to build chest and with a wide grip its more for moving weight. With the close grip it was mostly all triceps though. So I will do them like that. Maybe Ill make a video of the movement just to show the style. I am just experimenting now and is only my second week doing em. It shouldnt be a problem to push past 315 though. Just got to feel out my joints on the movement. I only ever do cable pressdowns these days for triceps and my triceps are extremely resiliant to those by now. No matter what I do to them.

Strict alternating dumbbell curls again. Palms facing forward , no twisting. These stimulate the biceps with an almost pure tension. When I wanted to keep the tension nonstop I would stop before full extention at the bottom and curl up to about upper chest level. Once the dumbbell travels beyond that point shoulders take over and the biceps get rest.

I asume this type of training will benefit me because my back blew up when I focused on held contractions and trying to feel like I was hanging the weights off my lats, like my arms didnt exist. Feeling that cramp and tenderness in the lats and trying to really amplify that, and hold it in the most painful zones. Thats the best way I can explain it. Its not always holding it at full contraction that is the most painful. Getting that full stretch without hyper extending my elbows or flinging the weight is also essential to how ive been training back lately.

I used to row way more weight with my back. I was basically exploding and throwing the weight through the range of motion. I got very strong explosively but its a different type of strength to actually force the weight through movement with enduring power rather then throwing the shit with explosiveness. Holds are also something that requires the muscle to adapt. Especially to use the same type of weight I was flinging around, or close to it. With the explosive reps, the muscle contracts once very forcefully at the beginning of the rep but then the muscle just rides the momentum and doesnt get that concentrated contraction. Ballistics had thier place for me, definately and gave me alot of explosive power but what Im doing now is another level. Much lighter but much harder on the muscle overall.

My grip also got much stronger when I ditched straps. I stopped using them because of my hand numbness issues. I assumed the straps were pulling the hands in a very bad way with all the weight ive strapped to my wrist (up to 945 lbs barbell in the past). Initially my grip wasnt strong enough to keep up with my back strength. Now I have no issues losing grip during sets. I dont train as heavy but I do use long holds so it works out in a similiar way.

230 lbs after previous nights meals, stayed up to train

Incline Smith Machine Close Grip Press (Shoulder width grip, Elbows tucked in , New method for me)

(3/4 reps mostly , with some lockouts, mostly toward the end. These were tough on shoulder joints and elbows so I didnt want to do more damage with lockouts)

Not to failure mostly, just wanted to get some good pre exhaustion

Bar x 50
135x50 (Possible PR)
185x20 (Possible PR.)
225x15 (PR)
245x10 (PR by default)
245x10 (same)

This is a brand new exercise for me, so PRs are free in the beginning. Mostly just a note for me, since I need some starting point to work off of. I generally try to push strength in every lift I do. Its reduced now, but its still something I implement when it makes sense for me. Ive done close grip with 315 on free weight flat bench, this is just PRs because its different style, machine, incline, etc.

Curved Bar Pressdowns

KILOGRAMS for pressdowns unless otherwise noted

no rest til line (not to failure on triceps)

35x50
65x40
95x5 (210 lb stack)
-------------

300 lbs x 6 (two 45's loaded onto stack)
255 lbs x10
95 kilos again x10
65x15-20
50x20
40x15 Strict Alternating Dumbbell Curls, Palms facing entire time, no twist, Slow
35x10 (same)
----------------

No rest til line

300 lbs x10
255 lbs x10
95 kilos x10
65x10-15
50x20
55x5 Strict Alt Db curls again
45x5 same
--------------

No rest til line

300 lbs x10 (have done 30 reps, but not bad for coming back a few weeks ago and being pre exhausted)
255 lbs x10
95 kilos x10
65x10-15
50x20
55x5 strict alt db curls
45x10 same
------------------

No rest til line

300 lbs x 6
255 lbs x 8
95 kilos x10
65x3 strict alt db curl
45x10 same
-----------

Strict Alternating Dumbbell Curls (palms facing as mentioned, alot of holds mixed in too and slow)

No rest til line

65x3 (with slow negatives)
50x5
-------------

No rest til line

50x4
40x5-10
25x10
-----------------

With this movement I sometimes do one arm at a time and sometimes both simultaneously.

No rest til line

30x15
40x5-10
-------------

Sometimes I dont remember my reps on some sets exactly, even though I list it immediately, because I am zoned out and focused on increasing pain. So thats why that occurs. These sets are only really important in how much pain they cause, not rep numbers. This is more size oriented training for me, on arms day. On most days. I incorporate strength record attempts rarely on back day and regularly on chest and shoulder presses lately. I follow them up with alot of pain focused sets to pump blood into the muscle and tear it up though, for growth. I just lead with some strength records or record attempts. In the past nearly everything including warm ups were record attempts, and I did massive volume to failure as well.

Alternating Dumbbell Curls with reverse curl negative

no rest til line

60x4
45x5
25x10
----------------

No rest again

45x8
40x5
-----------

no rest again

55x5
40x5
---------------

45x6

Preacher Curl Machine Rep Out Attempt

One arm at a time

30 lbs x ??

I stopped these very early. Fucked with shoulder joints. Right shoulder joint was a little inflamed today. Elbows were feeling some pain too by this point. I got enough done. I am just regaining lost size for now

KILL THAT SHIT

WalkingBeast · Apr 22, 2016

Arms

End of fourth week back from 6 week break. In week four I am feeling most of my strength coming back and within the next 2 weeks I should be mostly back. May still not be back but it will depend on food intake. Not busting my ass right now with food , just training what I feel like and when. Three times a week is all Ive been training for now. Upper body only.

Hit 230 today. I should be back around 240 lbs soon. If I hit it without training legs then I should be carrying more muscle in my upper body. So either way its new mass. Chest/back is around 55 inches cold flexed now. Still an inch off from biggest. Arms are still only 18 7/8 cold flexed at most, down from 19 1/2. Those take longer always to get back.

Good pump today. That was the focus. Low rest times and very controlled contractions. Focused on muscle contraction over weight used. Volume was closer to what I normally do, didnt count sets but I normally do around 50 sets for arms.

I added vitamin d12 at 50,000 IU a week today. I find that helps with test levels. Thats the only vitamin Im taking now. Normally I dont use any vitamins. Ill do that for atleast 3 months. My vitamin D was low in blood levels, so the doc prescribed it. I would stay on all the time if I had the script. Im on HRT but I feel like the vitamin D has a synergistic effect with the test. That warmth in my blood that I associate with testosterone seems amplifed when I take that. I perceive that as more anabolic. Might be in my head. Any edge helps at this stage.

Close grip incline presses were better today on the smith. Still not taking them to failure. They are hard on my shoulders. Not as bad on joints today though, and I added more weight and reps. So I should be able to work them up. I liked them as a pre exhaust before hitting the 300 lb pressdown dropsets/supersets. I just call em No Rest Til Line sets. Since I drop down the stack then hit various sets of curls immediately after. Ive also dropsetted and reverse dropsetted in the same set (up the stack then back down, then into curls, etc). So thats why I list them under that title. Ive had some of these no rest sets last in excess of 10 minutes straight. Brief rest pauses only (a few seconds to catch breath only). Goal is to maximise the pain and burn when I train like that.

I didnt want to go beyond 245 today with the close grip presses. I have used 315 for reps with free weight bench, close grip in the past, but I rarely ever use freeweight benches anymore. Its much better not needing spotters and lift offs, and its better on my joints, the smith.

I did something new with the close grip presses. I tried to bend the bar when pressing basically. Meaning I tucked my elbows in completely. Normally I press with elbows flared out, regardless of grip width. Really I only do wide grip bench, same grip always. Its just recently I added in closer grip pressing and also close grip for triceps. I did it this way because thats how I felt it almost PURELY in my triceps. Now I understand how powerlifters bench. I could do this type of tuck with a wide grip too, and I see how it would be mostly tricep and delt. Never really tried it before. Since I benched to build chest and with a wide grip its more for moving weight. With the close grip it was mostly all triceps though. So I will do them like that. Maybe Ill make a video of the movement just to show the style. I am just experimenting now and is only my second week doing em. It shouldnt be a problem to push past 315 though. Just got to feel out my joints on the movement. I only ever do cable pressdowns these days for triceps and my triceps are extremely resiliant to those by now. No matter what I do to them.

Strict alternating dumbbell curls again. Palms facing forward , no twisting. These stimulate the biceps with an almost pure tension. When I wanted to keep the tension nonstop I would stop before full extention at the bottom and curl up to about upper chest level. Once the dumbbell travels beyond that point shoulders take over and the biceps get rest.

I asume this type of training will benefit me because my back blew up when I focused on held contractions and trying to feel like I was hanging the weights off my lats, like my arms didnt exist. Feeling that cramp and tenderness in the lats and trying to really amplify that, and hold it in the most painful zones. Thats the best way I can explain it. Its not always holding it at full contraction that is the most painful. Getting that full stretch without hyper extending my elbows or flinging the weight is also essential to how ive been training back lately.

I used to row way more weight with my back. I was basically exploding and throwing the weight through the range of motion. I got very strong explosively but its a different type of strength to actually force the weight through movement with enduring power rather then throwing the shit with explosiveness. Holds are also something that requires the muscle to adapt. Especially to use the same type of weight I was flinging around, or close to it. With the explosive reps, the muscle contracts once very forcefully at the beginning of the rep but then the muscle just rides the momentum and doesnt get that concentrated contraction. Ballistics had thier place for me, definately and gave me alot of explosive power but what Im doing now is another level. Much lighter but much harder on the muscle overall.

My grip also got much stronger when I ditched straps. I stopped using them because of my hand numbness issues. I assumed the straps were pulling the hands in a very bad way with all the weight ive strapped to my wrist (up to 945 lbs barbell in the past). Initially my grip wasnt strong enough to keep up with my back strength. Now I have no issues losing grip during sets. I dont train as heavy but I do use long holds so it works out in a similiar way.

230 lbs after previous nights meals, stayed up to train

Incline Smith Machine Close Grip Press (Shoulder width grip, Elbows tucked in , New method for me)

(3/4 reps mostly , with some lockouts, mostly toward the end. These were tough on shoulder joints and elbows so I didnt want to do more damage with lockouts)

Not to failure mostly, just wanted to get some good pre exhaustion

Bar x 50
135x50 (Possible PR)
185x20 (Possible PR.)
225x15 (PR)
245x10 (PR by default)
245x10 (same)

This is a brand new exercise for me, so PRs are free in the beginning. Mostly just a note for me, since I need some starting point to work off of. I generally try to push strength in every lift I do. Its reduced now, but its still something I implement when it makes sense for me. Ive done close grip with 315 on free weight flat bench, this is just PRs because its different style, machine, incline, etc.

Curved Bar Pressdowns

KILOGRAMS for pressdowns unless otherwise noted

no rest til line (not to failure on triceps)

35x50
65x40
95x5 (210 lb stack)
-------------

300 lbs x 6 (two 45's loaded onto stack)
255 lbs x10
95 kilos again x10
65x15-20
50x20
40x15 Strict Alternating Dumbbell Curls, Palms facing entire time, no twist, Slow
35x10 (same)
----------------

No rest til line

300 lbs x10
255 lbs x10
95 kilos x10
65x10-15
50x20
55x5 Strict Alt Db curls again
45x5 same
--------------

No rest til line

300 lbs x10 (have done 30 reps, but not bad for coming back a few weeks ago and being pre exhausted)
255 lbs x10
95 kilos x10
65x10-15
50x20
55x5 strict alt db curls
45x10 same
------------------

No rest til line

300 lbs x 6
255 lbs x 8
95 kilos x10
65x3 strict alt db curl
45x10 same
-----------

Strict Alternating Dumbbell Curls (palms facing as mentioned, alot of holds mixed in too and slow)

No rest til line

65x3 (with slow negatives)
50x5
-------------

No rest til line

50x4
40x5-10
25x10
-----------------

With this movement I sometimes do one arm at a time and sometimes both simultaneously.

No rest til line

30x15
40x5-10
-------------

Sometimes I dont remember my reps on some sets exactly, even though I list it immediately, because I am zoned out and focused on increasing pain. So thats why that occurs. These sets are only really important in how much pain they cause, not rep numbers. This is more size oriented training for me, on arms day. On most days. I incorporate strength record attempts rarely on back day and regularly on chest and shoulder presses lately. I follow them up with alot of pain focused sets to pump blood into the muscle and tear it up though, for growth. I just lead with some strength records or record attempts. In the past nearly everything including warm ups were record attempts, and I did massive volume to failure as well.

Alternating Dumbbell Curls with reverse curl negative

no rest til line

60x4
45x5
25x10
----------------

No rest again

45x8
40x5
-----------

no rest again

55x5
40x5
---------------

45x6

Preacher Curl Machine Rep Out Attempt

One arm at a time

30 lbs x ??

I stopped these very early. Fucked with shoulder joints. Right shoulder joint was a little inflamed today. Elbows were feeling some pain too by this point. I got enough done. I am just regaining lost size for now

KILL THAT SHIT

WalkingBeast · Apr 22, 2016

Largest arm up to 19 inches cold flexed. Still 1/2 an inch left to be back to full size on arms.

Kill that shit

WalkingBeast · Apr 25, 2016

About to hit some chest and delts. First day of fifth week back from 6th week break.

I may start incorporating a lighter chest day every other week. This is something I did recently and it really allowed my shoulder joints to last. I was using incline dumbbell presses every other week as my main movement. This is lighter by default due to being limited to 125 lb dumbbells which I was hitting for 20 reps and the 100s for around 50 reps. I never do alot of sets because they beat the shit out of my joints just carrying them around and throwing them up into position. It was a good way to mix things up though. Then id move onto lighter machine style, pump training.

Though my joints got strong recently and my shoulder pain stabilised recently. Meaning it was there, but it wasnt getting worse. I was hitting presses twice a week atleast. I think hitting rear delts and side delts directly again may have helped stabilise the joints. Something I hadnt done in years. Cant confirm though.

Still working my way back up from the break. Some possible targets today may be 275x20 plus and 315x10 plus on the smitch machine incline press. It may come down to how bad my hand locks up under the bar. An issue ive been having bad since I came back. Often these things adapt and work themselves out,but I have to work with whats in front of me at the moment.

KILL THAT SHIT !!

WalkingBeast · Apr 25, 2016

About to hit some chest and delts. First day of fifth week back from 6th week break.

I may start incorporating a lighter chest day every other week. This is something I did recently and it really allowed my shoulder joints to last. I was using incline dumbbell presses every other week as my main movement. This is lighter by default due to being limited to 125 lb dumbbells which I was hitting for 20 reps and the 100s for around 50 reps. I never do alot of sets because they beat the shit out of my joints just carrying them around and throwing them up into position. It was a good way to mix things up though. Then id move onto lighter machine style, pump training.

Though my joints got strong recently and my shoulder pain stabilised recently. Meaning it was there, but it wasnt getting worse. I was hitting presses twice a week atleast. I think hitting rear delts and side delts directly again may have helped stabilise the joints. Something I hadnt done in years. Cant confirm though.

Still working my way back up from the break. Some possible targets today may be 275x20 plus and 315x10 plus on the smitch machine incline press. It may come down to how bad my hand locks up under the bar. An issue ive been having bad since I came back. Often these things adapt and work themselves out,but I have to work with whats in front of me at the moment.

Forcing records and failure training through a high level of pain is comparable to driving a vehicle on fucked up axles. The machine gets the job done but you do accelerated damage to it. So I wont always push to failure or within my full capability, since Im more tactical at this stage. Will try to atleast edge out some more reps from last week, to move back up the ladder to where I was.

KILL THAT SHIT !!

WalkingBeast · Apr 25, 2016

Chest , Delts, Rear Delts

First day of 5th week back from 6 week break. More strength increases today but dealing with hand issues during training. Right hand locking up bad under bar pressure, on smith machine presses. I turned an old glove inside out and had another right hand glove, doubled them up and put them on the right hand. This allowed me to press 335 without a major issue. I didnt want to risk straining the right side of my chest though by going too heavy on my way back up. The rep work is what builds muscle and strength anyway so theres no point at this stage.

May switch to dumbbell inclines or something easier on the shoulders, hand. Left shoulder had some inflammation too. Will see how shit feels. After popping the right side of my chest twice , I may end up pushing my strength on military smith machine presses as I had the strength to rep 405 before the 6 week break. I can still hit those kind of numbers without using my chest if need be.

5 rep increase with 275 and 4 rep increase with 315. Nothing major, but steady increases every week. May be several weeks before Im back to where I was but Im not in a rush. The routine is in the background for now.

Collarbone tightness has lessened. Body is adapting to lifting again. Only big issue was my right hand. By wearing double gloves I was able to take off enough pressure though. Some of that pain went into my right bicep though during flies, so its not the best solution

227 lbs after 1 meal I believe

Incline Smith Machine Press , Closer Grip, Constant tension style mostly this time

Bar x ?? warm up
135x40 warm
225x20 same
275x20 (5 rep improvement over last week. 315x20 and Ill be close to back)
315x8 (4 rep improvement over last week)
335x3
225x20 (not to failure)

Incline Hammer Strength press (constant tension style)

90x50 warm
180x20 warm
270x20 warm
360x20

No rest til line

450x5
360x4-5
270x8
180x15
------

Incline Dumbbell Press

75x27
80x20

Seated Machine Fly

225x16
225x15
295x10 Long Holds
295x10 Same
295x10 same

Felt some tightness and pain in right bicep during these. Likely from the pressure on my right hand during pressing.

Reverse Machine Flies

Long holds

130x15
195x10

No rest til line

220x10
160x10
------------------

Dumbbell Laterals (trap focused version)

no rest til line

45x25
55x10
-------------

no rest again

60x15
45x10
------

no rest again

60x20
55x5
45x10
---------------

No rest again

60x15
55x10
45x5
------------------------

NO rest again

75x10
60x10
45x10
-----------

Nautilus Overhead Press (plate loaded, Deeper reps, seat set at 7)

270x20
360x8 (full range)
360x8 (same)

KILL THAT SHIT

WalkingBeast · Apr 27, 2016

WalkingBeast · Apr 27, 2016

WalkingBeast · Apr 27, 2016

WalkingBeast · Apr 27, 2016

WalkingBeast · Apr 27, 2016

Largest arm still at 19 inches cold flexed. Still 1/2 an inch off from where i was. Chest at 55 cold flexed. An inch from largest prior to 6 week break.

Legs are 27 1/2 cold flexed for some reason. Havent trained them at all since ive been back. Probably just holding some more water, nutrients from the extra eating , now that im back. Im on trt again as well, so im sure that im holding some extra fluid. When i train them again it shouldnt take long to hit 29 again. Not really a focus but when im stronger i like to be heavier for the mental edge it gives me. Just a psycological thing. Doesnt serve me any other purpose, but to get in an extra vent and training day when upper body is torn up. Dont even use leg drive when i press, as my feet are usually not even planted solid on the ground with any press.

About to hit back and delts. I may add in some more overhead pressing today. So i can get the shoulder presses in twice a week again. Thats what was bringing me up to my strongest and largest in those areas before the 6 week break.

I am heavily considering going into a building focused mode for a while. Which means only focusing on pure pain and contraction, no rest between sets type of shit. Amplifying pain to maximum. Much harder training but better on joints and probably more beneficial for size for me, after 21 years training.

I have a very high muscle endurance, so for me to push past pain barriers and hit failure can take 10-20 minutes straight, with the only rest being switching weights. Maybe even longer but when i train like this i will sometimes hit sets over 10 minutes long. Depending on my tenacity that day, im sure i could find ways to prolong the torture. I have done 1100 reps on leg extentions with brief rest pauses only. So it depends where im at mentally for that type of pain focused training. Much harder than lifting heavy.

"no mind training" as my uncle called it. He didnt write anything down. Just kept moving nonstop. When we trained, he would hit a set, then id hit mine, and we would alternate nonstop, and often we would set up multiple stations whenever possible and hit sets at the same time, to further cut rest. These were 45 minutes to an hour of nonstop training and at one point followed by 45 mins cardio. I didnt need cardio , especially back then, but as a teen i followed his routine when we trained. Metabolism was super fast back then. He was already 285 lbs at his largest, with torn biceps, and didnt need massive weight anymore. He put in that time already.

Now that im around his age, 35, i understand why he trained that way. Best way to train around injuries.

If i do make that transition fully, then i may not list routines for a while. It really interferes with the pace when you write shit down. Normally i take longer rests and focus on power and reps so its not a problem. I may just summarise at that point.

Just a consideration for now. Most likely do a mix now. I get bigger and stronger either way. So it doesnt slow me down either way

kill that shit

WalkingBeast · Apr 27, 2016

Back,Delts,Rear Delts

Second session of 5th week back from 6 week break. Back strength is basically returned, it seems. Pressing strength may still take a few more weeks to return fully. Its always the last thing to come back. If I was eating heavier and more consistantly and training like usual, I could come back sooner, but Im not in a rush.

Im aiming for May 8th or 10th to start a growth focused phase. That gives me about another 2 weeks to get most of my size and strength back. Then Ill amplify everything. Add in the daily feeder routine for arms again most likely, and possibly go back to two overhead pressing days and train legs again.

So it should be 4-5 days training , instead of the 3 ive been doing to come back. Eating will also be heavier and more consistant. There will likely be new strength records again during that time, but the main focus will be growth.

Inner elbows have very little pain after the 6 week break. These breaks can help alot with shit like that. Low cable rows are usually one of the harshest movements on my inner elbows, but went up to 340 lbs without an issues. Im still restraining myself more than I would in the past. More focused on balancing shit and longetivity this time around.

Back session was starting to look like a proper session though. Mostly focus on those holds these days, as that has really allowed my back to blow up the last few years.

Chest/back cold measurement still at 55 inches flexed, down from 56. Not too far off though. The last inch may be in the chest as well, or a mix. Legs are at 27 1/2 cold flexed despite no training since Ive come back. When I train them that should add some more bodyweight. Maybe soon.

My neck got real tight on the left side, towards the end. So I decided against overhead pressing a second time today. Not really needed. I was doing overheads twice a week with my chest work and got my strongest and largest during that phase, but Ill feel shit out. Havent started the growth phase yet. Just coming back.

Ill probably give myself atleast 2 days to recover and maybe hit arms on saturday.

229 lbs pre workout and 230-231 when I left the gym (243 lbs is where I was at before the break. Measurements are a better guage of size though)

Low Cable Rows with Narrow Handle, Palms facing

No rest til line

130x20 (long holds)
220x10 (Same)
------------------

No rest til line (See video)

285x20
210x5 (Long holds)
---------------

340x6 (See video.Inner elbows felt good today. No real issue. Shoulder joints have been pretty tight though. So Ill switch things up as needed)

No rest til line (see video)

330x7
225x10 (long holds)
195x8 (long holds)
165x5 (long holds)
-----------------

No rest til line (see video)

All Long holds

285x6
225x6
195x6
-------

Lat Pulldowns With Narrow Grip , Palms facing

190x8 (long holds)

No rest til line

250x5 (long holds)
190x5 (same)
-------------

Dual Dumbbell Rows on incline bench (Both arms row dumbbells at same time, incline bench used as a chest support)

no rest til line

80s x15 (long holds)
40x20 (Trap focused dumbbell laterals)
---------

No rest til line

125x8-10
60x15 (Dumbbell laterals, trap focused)
-------------

Dumbbell Laterals (trap focused version)

no rest til line

55x25
45x10
---------

No rest til line

60x25
55x5
45x10
---------------

Iso Low Row Hammer Strength (plate loaded)

180x17 (long holds)

No rest til line (long holds)

270x8
180x10
---------- (Low rows fatigued my lats quickly today)

Reverse Machine Flies

145x15 (long holds)
205x10 (same)
250x10 (Normal)

No rest til line

295x8
190x8
160x10
-------------

Lat Pullovers Hammer Strength (plate loaded)

140x25 (long holds)

Strict Standard Dumbbell Laterals With Long Holds at top

(side delt focused)

no rest til line

15x30
25x10 (illegible)
------------

No rest til line

30x12
15x15
--------

no rest til line

25x10
25x8
-------

Some regular holds towards the end of those

KILL THAT SHIT

Videos below

WalkingBeast · Apr 27, 2016

WalkingBeast · Apr 27, 2016

WalkingBeast · Apr 27, 2016

WalkingBeast · Apr 27, 2016

WalkingBeast · Apr 29, 2016

Still stiff as fuck from my last back session. Got overzealous with the low cable rows and volume. Neck somewhat pulled out, but more in the ruptured discs. Compression it seems. Those are the types of strains I usually get. Into the nerves. My vehicle will be in the shop tommorrow, so its possible Ill train arms on sunday , if my strains feel decent, or ill just reset next week.

I may do some type of growth phase around the 8-10th of next month. Probably not all out in all areas, but atleast 1 more training day, making it 4 days a week training. Bringing legs back into the mix. Possibly bring back the feeder routine for arms daily. Eating will also be more consistant and increased if I do. If I do it, itll be enough to get results.

As far as pushing strength, I may save that more for my 50 plus rep sets and other high rep sets. Like the dumbbell incline press with 100s for 50 plus, etc. I may switch some things up to give my joints a break. It makes a difference.

KILL THAT SHIT

WalkingBeast · Apr 30, 2016

Started growth phase. So I should get back to where I was sooner and hopefully see some new growth in the next several weeks. Not sure if I will do feeder routine daily for biceps, but did it tonight. Main additions will be legs training and more consistant, heavier eating.

Feeder Routine (very brief rest pauses only for the 150 reps)

Strict Alternating Dumbbell Curls (no twist at top, palms facing forward)

15x50

Dumbbell Hammer curls

15x50

Alternating Dumbbell Curls with reverse curl negative

15x50

KILL THAT SHIT

WalkingBeast · May 1, 2016

Arms today. About to hit em. Had some chest tightness and pain since yesterday. Could be the muscles and rib cage , or maybe my heart will explode today. The low rest between sets , of arm day will be a good test.

Im thinking for the feeder routine I may do it every other day or only a few times a week. When I did it daily I was not noticing any extra results with arms. It may be overkill for the recovery. Just something to experiment with.

My only progressive movement today may be close grip bench press on smith machine, incline. Thats a new movement for me. See how my joints and hand feel. My right hand was giving alot of issues on barbell presses. Can double up a glove on my right hand and should be ok. Maybe hit some reps with 275 today. 225x20, 245x15 are some other possible targets, since this style is new. Im doign them with elbows tucked in as well. Its very different then pressing with elbow flare.

Maybe see what I can do with strict alternating db curls too. Palms facing entire time , no twisting. I was hitting 60x10 slow in this style before the break. These are also a new movement, so hitting PRs is easier at this stage.

Mostly just gonna move fast and pump the shit out of em

KILL THAT SHIT

WalkingBeast · May 1, 2016

Arms

Slight pop in left side of chest into delt during the 275x8 on close grip incline presses on smith machine. First time Ive felt that side pop, that I can remember.Right side popped twice but those were more severe. Never a full tear but it was bad enough to have some pain for some days afterward.

This time I felt the pop on the eighth rep but locked it out anyway, then re racked it. Could be because this is a strange angle with tucking elbows in. Also the barbell presses are the most high risk for my chest strains.

There was some slight soreness during tricep pressdowns , so I didnt push shit too hard. It shouldnt be too much of an issue but it may be time to switch to pure bodybuilding style for chest. I can probably still hit some records with shoulder pressing, atleast on machines, overloading those. Will see how shit feels.

May be time for a more growth focused phase. Over strength. The last two pops, I felt alot of tenderness immediately afterward and it lasted days. I dont really feel this one unless I put weight directly on it. I can grow my chest with light weight though and high reps, so I can adapt if need be.

I will likely not hit close grip pressing again anytime soon and maybe avoid smith machine presses of any type for a while. I did not feel pressure on my right hand today, so it may have strengthened. May also be because of the closer grip. Difficult to say.

Its double edged with getting both stronger and having compromised tendons after years of abuse. The trade off is that I have the capability to push much more weight, but one compromised tendon and joint can lead to tearing the muscle off the bone. Its always a high risk. Even with my lighter sets which are never that light. Comes with the territory.

228 lbs after possible meal earlier, ate very little yesterday

Close Grip Smith Machine Incline Press (Shoulder width and elbows tucked)

Bar x40 warm
135x35 warm
225x25 (PR due to this being a new movement)
275x8 (Slight pop in left side of chest into delt. PR by default, being a new movement. I usually pay for trying new movements at this stage.)

See video of 275 set

Curved Bar Pressdowns (Limited myself to 255 lbs since there was some pain in chest during these. Didnt push failure completely)

No rest til line

KILOGRAMS unless noted

35x50
65x30
95x10 (210 lb stack)
-----------------

No rest til line

95x30
72x20
57x15
35x20 Slow Strict Alternating Dumbbell Curls , Palms facing entire time, no twist, some holds
----------------

No rest til line

95x20
72x20
57x10
35x20 Strict Alt DB curls again, same style
------------------

No rest til line

255 lbs x20 (some pain in left chest strain. Minor but didnt push it)
95x15
72x10
57x20
35x20 Strict Alt DB curls, same style
-----------------

V bar pressdowns (Didnt write these down right away, memory hazy)

no rest til line

65x20-30
95x??
------------

No rest til line

95x20-30 (these may all be off for v bars)
72x??
65x??
35x20 Alt db curls, same style
--------

Strict Alternating Dumbbell Curls (palms facing entire time again, slow with some holds)

no rest til line

60x4
40x4
35x5
------------

No rest again

35x15-20
35x10 Incline db curls
--------

Alt db curls with reverse curl negative (zottman curl)

no rest til line

50x8
40x5
------------

Tried some cable curls seated but felt some strain in left side of chest right away. Decided against pushing farther today

KILL THAT SHIT

Video below

WalkingBeast · May 1, 2016

WalkingBeast · May 1, 2016

Largest arm up to 19 1/4 flexed cold (right arm). Left arm at 18 6/8 inches flexed cold. Only 1/4 inch away now from where i was (19 1/2). So most of the size is back.

Chest still hovering around 55 inches flexed cold. Down from 56. Should come back soon though. Legs still have not been trained but are staying at 27 1/2 flexed cold. That should add some body weight, most likely next week when i start hitting them again

since im starting a growth phase now , i think ill focus on more bodybuilding overall, as much as it bores the fuck out of me. I mostly train for the rush of moving as much weight as possible , reps, etc. That progression is really what drives me in the gym. Bodybuilding will just be more painful training as ill take it to extremes with the no rest sets, some lasting over 10 minutes straight. Itll be effective for size though.

Ill try to get in some strength shit with the shoulder pressing. Shouldnt fuck with my chest too bad. Close grip press strength came up very quick on the smith incline press. Unfortunately the left side of chest popped a little. Thats enough for me to avoid them for a long time. I went from 245x10 to 275x8 in a week. Niether was to failure but it felt much smoother and easier, and thats how i strengthen. I would have been hitting 315x8-10 by next week and continued to progress like that for a while, but i cant ignore structural issues. When tendons are damaged i have to switch shit up, even if the muscle can lift much more.

Hopefully see some new size if i can keep this growth phase going for 3 months. The key is to balance shit more now and not grind the fuck out of myself. Im still doing this with a lax attitude and doing other shit. Not my pure focus anymore. Its been working well.

Kill that shit

WalkingBeast · May 1, 2016

Ill see about filming some of the size focused training. its not as interesting to watch, I dont think, and its a fuckin nussance to film sometimes. Its more about pain endurance and seeing how much pain I can take, without ripping tendons.

So the sets can last over 10 minutes. The annoyance with filming is when Im jumping into multiple machines or movements at different areas of the gym.

I can set up filming easily enough in some areas though. I bring dumbbells to the tricep pressdown area for curls, so that is one way to show some of it.

Ive filmed some of those long sets in my 500 plus videos that I have online. There is not much progression to be seen and the sets are very long to watch. Ill film some of them though to give some life to the journal and for my own refferance.

KILL THAT SHIT

WalkingBeast · May 3, 2016

Full legs minus calves

First leg session in months. Maybe over 3 months since I had a real leg session, but atleast 2. There was the 6 week training break and having some issues with knees, where I cut out leg training for some weeks. Im only starting leg training again now to add some overall body mass and give myself an extra training day , for the vent, since my upperbody can use recovery days.

Light low volume. Didnt push anything to failure. Just sending a signal so that the legs adapt to being trained again. I was 228 before meals, so now with leg training, weight should start to move back up into the 240s within the next few weeks.

228 lbs before meals

NOTHING TO FAILURE

Seated Leg Curl Nautilus (This machine felt very unstable and awkward, so I moved on after a few sets)

100x20
100x20
100x20
100x20

Lying Leg Curl (This was better but hamstrings very tight, and untrained for months)

no rest til line

95x15
140x10
---------

No rest til line

170x5
125x5
95x5
------------

Nautilus Nitro Leg Extention

Brief rest pauses mostly. No lengthy rests, even between sets. I would stop briefly when the muscle fatigued but not when I switched to the next weight.

110x100
150x100
215x15 (Irritating knee joints, but knees felt good overall. Just want to be able to train legs for atleast 3 months without interruptions.)
185x40
150x100
150x100
----------------

Seated Leg Press

(Had to be careful with left side of chest that I popped the day before yesterday. Both sides had mild cramping. Normally I contract my chest and lats as hard as possible during leg presses, for extra power and to stimulate those areas isometrically. I kept my chest relaxed today. Still I felt some light cramping so I didnt go too heavy or high rep)

300x50
500x50
800x25
700x41
700x40
---------------

Hip Adduction

no rest til line

100x50
145x5
--------

Same

145x15
115x15
100x10
-------------

Same

???x25
85x15
-------------

Hip Abduction

no rest til line

70x50
115x10
145x10
-----------

No rest til line

190x10
160x10
145x10
115x20
-------

Low intensity and volume but enough to re introduce training again for legs

KILL THAT SHIT

WalkingBeast · May 4, 2016

Just a heads up to the lurkers of this journal. Walmart is selling the Big100 Met RX protein bars that I stocked up on, on amazon. They sell them in 4 packs. It comes out to around 1.50-1.75 a bar. Single bars often sell for 2.50 a bar or more, and even online they are high priced.

I like these bars due to the high calorie count. 400 plus calories. The usual amount of protein 30-32 grams. I usually take them post workout while driving back from the gym. This basically allows me to get in a free meal and by the time I get home I can easily eat again. They work very well for me when I am in a growth focused phase. Any extra calories push size gain in the right direction during those phases.

Two a day was ideal for me, as they easily fit between meals and with all the extra milk I consume daily, and other between meal feedings, which are consistant.

At that price it may be worth stocking up on them. Definately a better deal then what Ive been finding online recently.

Amazon.com: MET-Rx Big 100 Colossal Super Cookie Crunch, 100 gram, 9 count: Health & Personal Care

Around 2.50 a bar here, though maybe more with shipping included.

KILL THAT SHIT

WalkingBeast · May 5, 2016

About to train chest and delts. I dont have a solid plan yet, due to the left side chest strain a few days ago. As mentioned, there was not much pain at all afterward and I cant really feel it at all right now. Still, Id rather not tear my chest by getting overzealous.

I may try starting with incline dumbbell presses, with extra warm up sets. Maybe aim for the 100's for 50 reps. I hit 48 before the break. I do not really know yet where my strength is at overall. Im assuming its not fully back yet, but I may be on the higher end. Will see, but not push shit too far with chest.

Chest training is not going to be as progressive, I dont think, for now. Just want to tear it up and grow the shit for now. The shoulder pressing portion I think I can hit hard. So Ill see about going heavy on the plate loaded machines. Above 540 lbs maybe on the nautilus overhead. Dont know about 630 lbs. My neck just recovered from being very stiff, so Ill feel shit out. Im more size focused during this growth phase.

I can also start with shoulder pressing work and end with chest. The pre exhaustion may be good for growth. I havent decided yet but it should be a good growth session regardless

KILL THAT SHIT

WalkingBeast · May 5, 2016

Attempted chest and delts, rear delts

Extremely light and low volume

More like a rehabilitation session for my chest. I slightly popped the left side earlier in the week. I was feeling some pain and tightness on the insertion, left side, with the 70 lb dumbbells on the incline presses. So I only did a few sets and backed off of chest training. It would probably be better not to train chest for a few weeks, but Ill see. I started a growth phase so I will either work around it or avoid it and train everything else.

I made up for the super light training with higher intensity and more pain focused training. Including an 805 rep set with the overhead nautilus presses. Normally I dont train that high rep, but Ill do what it takes to adapt and still grow. Heavier training would be more effective for me but I can still generate the same intensity by enduring more painful sets.

Im continuing to gain my size back , from the break, so I should be able to continue to grow again regardless. Will likely be a more size focused phase. Chest and shoulder presses I may scale back so that my chest can heal somewhat. For me that type of training is much more mundane and painful and I get restless after 800 reps, but I can focus on the end result when need be.

If an injury becomes more severe then I find full breaks to be best. I have trained one side of my body before , for weeks, but it ends up causing more issues down the line.

It looks like Ill be able to train around it and grow though. Shoulder and chest pressing movements will be most effected. Everything else may not be too compromised. I dont plan to focus on breaking strength records during this phase anyway. So I can compensate with high intensity and extreme sets, as I did today.

232 lbs after meal

Incline Dumbbell Presses (constant tension style)

This was a test for the left side of my chest.

50x75
70x40
50x40

These werent to failure but I was feeling a pull on my left chest tendon during the 70s. I didnt want to push that too far today. Ended chest training here.

Nautilus Overhead Press (plate loaded, constant tension style reps mostly, seat set at "9")

No rest til line

90x40
180x30

None of these to failure, just getting blood in shoulders
------------

270x60
270x50 (some brief rest pauses used on these)

No rest til line

Brief rest pauses only. This was the main work today for front delts.

180x805 (PR since I dont usually do 800 reps on one movement. I get restless during this type of shit, so I moved on at that point. Prefer the heavy shit but I can adapt to make continued progress)

Dumbbell Laterals (trap focused version)

no rest til line

45x30-40
10x20 Strict dumbbell laterals with long holds at top (side delt focus)
--------------

No rest til line

60x25
45x10
--------------

No rest til line

70x25
45x10
25x10 Strict laterals again with long holds at the top, side delt
----------------

No rest til line

80x15
45x15
25x10 Strict laterals again with long holds, side delt
--------------------

No rest til line

80x15
65x10
45x10
---------------

No rest til line

90x10
80x8
70x5
45x10
--------------

No rest til line

45x30
30x8 Standard laterals again with long holds at top
----------------

Reverse Machine Flies

130x20 (Long holds)
220x10 (long holds)
265x10
295x10

No rest til line

295x5
190x10 long holds
160x10 long holds

--------------------

KILL THAT SHIT

WalkingBeast · May 6, 2016

About to hit back and maybe some more delt work. I will try to keep everything light, since Im training around the left pec strain. Hard to say until I start training though. Maybe a few heavy sets on low cable rows. Have to see how the pec feels though. Ill base it on how my warm ups feel.

In worst case, minus tearing the pec, I will focus on high rep growth type training. Maybe even half the weight Id normally use for very long sets. I hit the 805 rep set yesterday for shoulder presses, and may do some similiar style training today with brief rest pauses. If I am unable to train heavy, then that will basically be neccesary to get a similiar type of stimulation.

Maybe Ill film a long set today. They are not that exciting to watch as its just very long pain endurance, basically. Those sets can last over 10 minutes. I didnt really have a plan yesterday and the same applies for today, with this strain, so Ill see what I do.

KILL THAT SHIT

WalkingBeast · May 6, 2016

Back, Delts and rear delts

Very light and low volume

Left bicep had some tightness today during the hammer strength rows. Now seems like a good time to switch over to pure size training as mentioned. Will give my tendons some time to restrengthen, including the left chest strain.

I can aim for some strength records in a month or a few months when Ive added some new size. I should by then. The lighter training gives my joints and tendons time to heal.

Real good contractions today and low rest between sets. Back was feeling full again. Back/chest measurement is still an inch off from where I was, at 56 inches, but should be back soon. Chest may be part of that as well.

Size is coming back up as well.

234 lbs after meal

Low Cable Rows with narrow grip handle, palms facing

No rest til line

130x20 (long holds)
210x10 (same)
165x10 (same)
---------

No rest til line

165x15 (long holds)
210x5 (same)
-----------

No rest til line (see video)

210x15 long holds
165x10 same
120x10 same
----------------

Lat Pulldowns with narrow close grip handle, palms facing

160x10 long holds

No rest til line

205x8 (long holds)
160x8 (same)
145x5 (same)

----------------

No rest til line

250x5 (long holds I believe)
205x5 (long holds)
160x5 (same)
140x5 (same)
------------

Iso Low Row Hammer Strength (plate loaded)

No rest til line (Mix of long holds and regular reps)

180x30
270x20
360x5
----------------

No rest til line (One arm at a time until the 180 lb set. Brief rest pauses used)

450x4 (left bicep felt tight during these, stopped them early)
360x5 (same issue)
270x25 (brief rest pauses used til 25)
180x30 (both sides simultaneously)

-----------

Dual Dumbbell Rows with incline bench used as chest support

70's x15(long holds)
100x10
100x10

Dumbbell Laterals (trap focused version)

no rest til line

40x40
60x5
------------

No rest til line

75x10
65x10
40x10
-----------

No rest til line

75x10
55x10
40x10-20
-------------

Strict Dumbbell Laterals (standard style but with long holds at the top. For side delts)

15x30
15x20
15x20

Reverse Machine Flies

130x20 (long holds)
220x10 (long holds)
220x10 (long holds)

No rest til line

295x5 (regular reps)
220x5 (long holds)
190x5 (long holds)
160x5 (long holds)
130x10-20 (long holds)

--------

KILL THAT SHIT

video below

WalkingBeast · May 6, 2016

WalkingBeast · May 7, 2016

Added a few new supplements to the arsenal, during this growth phase

GEAR is the only one that ive used before, years ago. I used it around the time I was taking the Superdrol product , Beastdrol. Also made by the same company. NeedToBuildMuscle. Ive moderated for them before, and as such, recieved alot of thier products to not only try, but they ended up being the main supplements that I used. Very solid company with supplements that dont use wasted ingredients or filler.

With the GEAR I got very good results at the time, using the pills throughout the entire day. It comes with 200 tablets, and for 4 tabs you get 4200 mgs of aminos, including 900 mg of leucine and 800 mg of L-Iso Leucine. This was a very easy way to keep aminos in my bloodstream constantly. They are amino acid pills.

The ingredient lists on the other products look very solid, and can be viewed on the website. The Joint RX product really goes above and beyond the typical joint pills with MSM, CISSIS as well as the usual glucosamine, chrondoitin cocktail and some vitamins. I never stayed on glucosamine products long enough to notice results, but they recieve alot of positive feedback. So Ill ride it out. MSM makes my nails grow quickly but never used it long enough to say more.

Krill oil has 3 omega sources. Omega-3,Omega-6 and Omenga 9 plus. Its 1000 mg krill oil per 2 caps. As some will know, I dont usually use health supplements or many supplements at all. Usually only a few. A pre workout and some intra workout aminos is all ive been using lately. Im looking to push things farther always, so any small edge will be helpful at this point.

D-Aspartic acid is supposed to raise testosterone. Im on HRT most of the time, but it may help keep levels more stable, at the very least. Ill continue to test and document the effects of the supplements, as I notice them.

KILL THAT SHIT

WalkingBeast · May 8, 2016

Chest measurement back up in the 56 range. 55 1/2 cold flexed to 56. Its difficult to get a consistant measurement when self measuring, but its back in that range. I should be able to start adding new size soon. Legs about the same, 27 1/2 to 27 3/4 . Only trained them once so far. Largest arm still around 19 1/4 cold flexed. Nothing else new. Most of my size is back now though.

Should be gaining some new size in the coming weeks, if there are no interruptions.

Kill that shit

WalkingBeast · May 8, 2016

About to hit arms. Taking all these fucking pills has definately been keeping me heavier, as Im ALOT more hydrated. It basically takes a 32 oz container of powerade for me to wash down all the pills Im taking now, since NeedToBuildMuscle sent me the supps I mentioned above. This is definately not a bad thing. My joints can use the extra hydration as well as other bodily functions. The krill oil and joint rx will hopefully lubricate my joints and help heal some of my tendon strains. Any edge is massive at this stage in my training.

I look to push shit farther each year. Size mainly but strength comes with the way I train. I will definately be heavier today, so Im mostly back in size. This is not a plug, but I do appreciate the treatment Ive gotten from the company and therefore am glad to highlight the positive points of thier supplement line. The stand out feature of this company's product line is that each supplement usually contains several bottles worth of ingredients from other supplements that support what the product is about. For example. The joint RX is not just glucosamine and chrondoitin like most of the other products out there. You have cissus and MSM in good doses as well. So you can really save some money if you are already taking this kind of shit.

Normally I dont take care of my health , joint health, any of that shit. However I have benefited from taking the supplements that they have sent me. Ive worked with them in the past, some years back. GEAR was the main supplement that I really got results off of, so its good to be using that again. Its mainly aminos but it has some bromelain in it as well, which is a good digestive enzyme. Most all of thier product line has multiple benefits and ingredients, which is worth looking into if you take alot of different pills.

For arms today, I think training will be fairly light. Probably some 255 lb or 300 lb pressdowns, overloading the stack, but this is still relatively light. Ive done 300 for 30 reps on strict pressdowns. I cant really add anymore weight anyway. So I just move fast now, litle rest, pump the shit out of triceps and biceps by alternating biceps with triceps sets. No rest sets. I also end up getting two things trained at once. It makes it easy to blast out 50 sets within 2 hours without even realizing it. I dont count but I usually end at around 50 sets for some strange reason. Just something I noticed. Instinctual probably. I know when the training feels worthless at this stage. When it just feels like the muscle is contracting but no real pump or feeling anymore.

Arms has been the most bodybuilding style of all my training, so it fits in good with this growth phase. Arms is the area where I havent seen any real measurable improvements since 2012. Very bizarre. It shows that we all have structural limitations as my back and chest expand several inches yearly. I will get through that, but it is definately an obstacle. My arms have grown about an inch in the relaxed straight arm position, but have not gotten larger than 19 1/2 cold in the flexed cold measurement. I dont even know how the fuck to interpret that result, but I dont over think shit anymore. Just

KILL THAT SHIT

WalkingBeast · May 8, 2016

Arms

Low volume and light weight

46 sets in an hour and a half. On average I hit around 50 sets in 2 hour sessions. So I cut the rest down by 30 minutes overall today. I dont time it or count sets, but my body just feels done by that point. I count later and find that to be my normal arm session (2 hours, 50 sets).

Size is coming back quickly. I was probably 238 lbs after post gym meal, but prior to training 236 lbs. Not too far off from my previous weight of 243 lbs. Most of my muscular measurements are nearly back now.

Ive been taking in atleast 32 oz of powerade just to wash down these new supplements Ive been taking. All the pills. Large pills and alot of them. Along with the 64 oz or so I get during training by dilutting the aminos and creatine in water. Plus any milk I drink at home. So I am alot more hydrated now with the pills. Hopefully the krill oil and joint RX supps help my joints. I know the GEAR pills work for adding size. Ive used them years ago with success. At the time it was very unusual for my arms to be at 19 inches cold off of hormones, and with the GEAR I hit that mark. Now I tend to stay around 19 1/4 to 19 1/2 but this was several years back.

Pump was great by alternating between tricep and bicep movements. Moving fast between sets and alot of no rest sets. Growth focus for now. Should be adding some new size within the next month possibly.

I decided against loading up 255 lbs and 300 lbs on pressdowns due to my left pec strain. That would definately irritate it.

236 lbs after meal and alot of liquid

Strict Dumbbell Curls (Most of these were done both arms at same time)

(Strict means palms facing front , no twist, and most of the reps slow and with alot of holds at top)

No rest til line

35x20
30x10
--------

V Bar Pressdowns

KILOGRAMS for all pressdowns today

No rest til line

35x50
65x30
95x10 (210 lb stack)
65x10 Straight bar pressdown
95x10 Straight bar pressdown
------------------

Straight Bar Pressdowns

KILOGRAMS

No rest til line

95x20
72x20
57x20
95x5 V Bar Pressdowns
65x10 (same)
57x10-20 (same)
---------

Strict Dumbbell Curls (same style)

no rest til line

45x10
35x10
---------------

V bar pressdowns

No rest til line

95x20
65x20
57x10
35x15 Strict DB curls
------------

Straight Bar Pressdowns

no rest til line

95x20
65x20
57x20

V bar pressdowns (still no rest)

95x3-4
65x5
57x10

Strict Dumbbell Curls (Still no rest)

55x4 (alternated arms for this set, one at a time)
35x10

------------------ 8 sets straight ------

No rest til line

v bar pressdowns

95x10
80x10
72x10
65x10
57x20
35x20 Strict DB curls again
------------------

Alternating Dumbbell Curls with reverse curl negative

no rest til line

55x5
45x5
35x5
------------------

Incline Dumbbell Curls

no rest til line

40x14 (brief rest pauses only for this set, one arm at a time)
40x3-4 Alternating DB curl with reverse curl negative
------------------

Alternating DB curl with reverse curl negative

No rest til line

60x5
45x6
35x6
----------------
40x10

Seated Cable Curls (these were super light but burned the most, by this point)

Plate # 9 x30
Plate 9 x30
Plate 10 x30
Plate 11 x15

Never released handles during each set, but did rest pause briefly.

About an hour and a half session, 46 sets

KILL THAT SHIT

WalkingBeast · May 9, 2016

Delts and Rear delts

Moderate weight and low volume

Shoulder pressing stength seems back basically. I couldve pushed out more reps but I avoided rest pause on some sets, as well as explosive ballistic pressing, like when I hit 540x22 on the nautilus overhead press. I also didnt go above 590 (have done 630 for reps).

I approached my set with 540 with very slow reps initially. I just strained my left side of chest last week. So I had fear that it would pop again. Its mostly all shoulder, but even if I accidentally involve some upper chest with that weight, it could fuck up the healing and tear something.

Once I had some confidence I went a little heavier. I never went into explosive fast reps though. I couldve rest paused more reps as well as banged out more with the explosive style, but this was good enough for today. I should break some strength records on this machine within a week or two just training normally.

This was still mostly bodybuilding style. I did a 152 rep dropset. I didnt need 805 reps today because I started much heavier. Last time I was being careful with the strain.

I am probably close to being able to move 405 again on the smith militaries but those are even riskier with upper chest involvement. Ill stick with this and the hammer strength shoulder presses for now. I considered dumbbell shoulder presses on a slight incline , however throwing those up into position is high risk on a strain.

I do not really feel the strain now, but I feel it when I put weight on it for chest presses. Maybe next week Ill start back with light chest work, but this week I dont want to fuck with it. Im really just focused on growth for the next few months.

Size is coming up at a good rate so I should add some new size soon.

237 lbs after some milk and filler food (no actual meal)

No one set was really to failure today. Though I trained beyond failure using dropsets. I didnt want to get sloppy with my reps at any point, due to the strain.

Nautilus Overhead Press (plate loaded) (Seat set to line below "9")

No rest til line

90x50
180x50
270x25
360x5
----------------

450x10 (Warm up and test for my chest strain. Cautiously moving up)
540x15 (Not to failure but I may be good for 25-30 strength wise now, didnt get ballistic with form though or use much rest pause. See video)

No rest til line (see video)

590x5
540x6
450x6
360x20
270x20
180x100

157 rep total, brief rest pauses only. Individual sets not to failure.

---------

180x100 (brief rest pauses used, seat set to line below "7". A little deeper)

Restrained myself after this point. Didnt go heavier and didnt do anything for chest today.

Iso Lateral Hammer Strength press

These are not to failure either, just getting blood in delts. Growth focus

180x30
270x20
320x10 (full lockout reps. Feeling a neck strain coming on, so did not go heavier or higher rep with these weights)

Dumbbell Laterals (trap focused version)

50x40 (brief rest pauses only)

No rest til line

65x15
45x15
-----------

No rest til line

65x20
40x20
--------------

no rest til line

45x20
40x20
------------

Still not to failure, just flooding traps with blood

Reverse Machine Fly (very light with very long holds. Shoulder joints had some inflammation)

130x20 (very long holds)
130x20 (same)
130x20 (same)
130x10 (same)

There was very little rest between these sets as well

Videos below

KILL THAT SHIT

WalkingBeast · May 9, 2016

WalkingBeast · May 9, 2016

WalkingBeast · May 12, 2016

Full legs , minus calves, and some delts and rear delts

Very light and low volume

Only my second or third week back training legs again. Just reintroducing them to more weight and reps.

Left knee was giving some issues with extentions and both knees on the leg presses. Didnt push too hard.

Did a few sets of delts, trap focused laterals and rear delts. Ive already trained full delts, so this is just a second session of some sets. I will likely hit them a third time, a real session, with back again.

Since this is a growth phase im adding more frequency to delts again. Maybe soon Ill do two pressing sessions weekly for delts. Chest I may attempt next week and see how the strain feels.

I should still hit some records with once a week shoulder pressing, within the next week or so. Main focus is growth during this phase and not getting re injured.

235 lbs after 2 meals and some milk. This scale usually has me a few pounds lighter, but I was a little lighter on my digital scale so that may not be too far off. Maybe 236-237 on the other scale.

Leg Extentions (this machine is harsher on knees so it was temporary)

Brief rest pauses only (continuous pace throughout the entire movement)

110x100
110x100
110x60 (switched to the other machine)

Other Leg Extention

165x100
200x100

Better on knees but still an issue.

Seated Leg Curl

No rest til line

90x30
130x10
-----------

170x8
150x10
130x20-25

Leg Press (plate loaded)

None of these to failure

400x50
600x60
700x50
500x50

Knee issues flaring up.

Hip Abductor

No rest til line

115x50
175x25
250x5
------------

No rest til line

250x10
145x50
130x50
----------------

Hip Adduction

no rest til line

100x50
160x20
250x10
------------

No rest til line

250x20
190x20
160x20
130x20
-------------

Dumbbell Laterals (trap focused version)

no rest til line

40x20-30
50x10
-------------

again

50x30
45x10
----------

again

65x20
45x20
---------------

Strict Dumbbell Laterals (standard style, side delt focused. Not many holds today, mostly continuous)

20x44 (brief rest pauses)
20x40 (same)

Reverse Machine Flies (Time constraints)

120x100 (brief rest pauses only)

KILL THAT SHIT

WalkingBeast · May 12, 2016

Legs back up around 28 inches cold flexed. Still an inch short of my largest but coming back. Back/chest is back to around 56 inches cold flexed and largest arm still at 19 1/4 flexed cold. (1/4 inch off from largest)

KILL THAT SHIT

WalkingBeast · May 14, 2016

About to train some back and delts (possibly). Left shoulder may be somewhat an issue. Its the strict side laterals that burn the fuck out of the joints that seem to really irritate the area, strangely enough. Not so much the heavy pressing.

Ate all "junk food" the last two days or so. Thats what happens when I hit the dollar store for my filler food. The first few days get sloppy. Ive been taking the GEAR amino pills and the Joint Rx when possible, as well as the Krill oil. I have to budget my use of GEAR and Joint RX around my acid issues. Sometimes I cant get away with taking large pills on some days.

Accidentally picked up Dr. Jekyll pre workout product. I always get Mr. Hyde. Jekyll is more pump focused with low stimulants, Hyde is heavily stimulant focused.
I think Im going to experiment with stacking the two and see if it gives me a different effect. Im so accustomed to the Mr.Hyde. I take only 3/4 a scoop of the Hyde for 300 mgs caffiene. So Ill divide it to get a similiar caffiene dose. The benefit of some of the Jekyll ingredients may help a little with growth and endurance during this phase. Worth a try. Hyde is a great stimulant product so Im willing to try out the other product.

KILL THAT SHIT

WalkingBeast · May 14, 2016

Back and delts, rear delts

Light and low volume.

I decided to hit another pressing session for shoulders, as I was doing before the 6 week break. This was my second pressing session of the week for shoulders, and after a full back routine, yet I still broke a record from before the break, with 27 reps with 540. I could have rest paused into the 30s easily, however I was feeling my left chest strain cramp up, and didnt want to push it farther today. Same with the 590.

I kept the back portion especially light , as Im training more for growth now. My left shoulder was aching the past few days, from the strict dumbbell laterals. They take a toll on my shoulder joint more than the heavy shit.

I accidentally picked up Dr.Jekyll instead of Mr. Hyde (pre workout supplements). The Dr.Jekyll is very low stimulant and more pump focused. The Mr. Hyde is a heavy stimulant focused mix. I decided to run both of them. Im going to try stacking them together and see what kind of effect I get. I only want 300 mgs of caffiene so I will do half a scoop of mr hyde and a full scoop of jekyll to start with, pre workout. I took 2 scoops of the jekyll today and alot of it ran through me. So I will try 1 scoop next time, and after a meal. I took my stims on an empty stomach today, so I was dizzy.

Weight is coming up though. I was 236 before meals. I ate junk food almost exclusively for the past 2 days. Though I hit the buffet yesterday so it helped maintain my size.

I will try stacking these two supplements unless the jekyll fucks with digestion, then Ill stick with mr hyde only. This is mainly a growth phase for me, so any edge will help. There are some extra ingredients in the jekyll which may be useful for muscle growth and endurance.

I was still careful today , with this left chest strain. I felt my chest cramping up somewhat on both sides during the shoulder presses, so did not get as explosive as normal or bang out as many rest pause reps. I will continue to break records weekly for a while though I estimate. Unless I decide to cut back on those types of lifts and focus more on growth. Depends how shit feels.

236 lbs before meals

Low Cable Row with Close Grip handle (palms facing)

No rest til line

130x20 (long holds)
210x8 (same)
--------------
Some tightness in biceps so didnt go above the stack today.

No rest til line (mix of holds and regular reps)(see video)

285x10
225x8
195x8
165x10
-------

Lat Pulldowns With Close grip handle (palms facing)

No rest til line

190x10 (long holds)
235x8 (long holds)

----------

Made a video of this next dropset but the angle was set too high. My tripod broke again. These are shit quality. Theres a plastic version that worked better, so Ill order that soon.

No rest til line

305x4
235x5 (long holds)
175x10 (same)
----------------

Iso Low Row Hammer Strength

(see video)

No rest til line (Mix of holds, long holds and regular reps)

180x30
270x10
360x5 (being cautious with bicep tightness)
--------------

No rest til line

360x10
270x10
180x20
---------------

Nautilus Overhead Press (plate loaded) (Seat set at line on the "9", 3/4 ballistic reps mostly today)

90x50 warm
180x30 warm
360x10 warm
450x10 warm
540x27 (5 reps PR. Did not push too many rest pause reps because of feeling chest strain cramping slightly. See video)
590x8 (This was becoming dangerous with chest strain, so did not push to failure. See video)

I did mostly warm up sets for this movement today, because it was more of a strength attempt to break a record. I did more focused growth work for my previous shoulder pressing session a few days ago.

Dumbbell Laterals (trap focused version)

no rest til line

40x30
65x10
--------

Again

65x30
55x10
40x10
------

Again

85x20
45x10
----------

Again

65x20
40x10
-----------------

Reverse Machine Flies (Extremely light. Didnt want to irritate shoulder joint inflammation anymore today)

130x20 (long holds)
130x20 (same)
130x20 (same)
130x20 (same)
130x20 (same)

KILL THAT SHIT

Videos below

WalkingBeast · May 14, 2016

WalkingBeast · May 14, 2016

WalkingBeast · May 14, 2016

WalkingBeast · May 14, 2016

Psyca FUCKIN Delic Dudes

WalkingBeast · May 15, 2016

The doc jekyll pre workout is still running through me. All day since I took it. Not even worth cutting the dose back to 1 scoop. Ill return it and use the credit twoards some aminos or some shit I can actually use. Mr Hyde works great for me though. I really only want the stims, and hyde gives you a shitload of stim for the price. I only use 3/4 scoop. 300 mgs caffiene is my sweet spot.

KILL THAT SHIT

WalkingBeast · May 15, 2016

About to train arms. I decided to try Dr.Jekyll supp ONE more time. I know its going to run through me again, but I cut it back to one scoop just to get one more use out of it. I will likely get rid of it after today. Having my insides liquified doesnt go well with training.

This will be another pump focused growth type of session. Depending on which gym I hit, I may load up to 255 or 300 on the pressdowns. I dont want to cause issue with chest strain now either, so ill see how shit feels and take it from there.

KILL THAT SHIT

WalkingBeast · May 15, 2016

Arms

Time constraints, very light and low volume

Only had about 45 minutes to train.

The biggest issue today was shin splint type pain in the bones of my left arm. Forearm area. Left side. Could be from heavy pressing and other wear. Shoulder presses on the machine are approaching the 600s again (540 for 27 reps yesterday), and even though I dont feel it during, the pressure adds up over time.

The bone pain interrupted my bicep work a few sets in. So only a few sets were done. The pain got intense on that side by that point. Its better to work around it, so I can continue this growth phase.

I was about to trash the Dr.Jekyll pre workout mix. I tried it one more time today. No digestive issues this time. Last time I took it on an empty stomach so that may have been an issue with that supplement for me. I used 1 scoop of jekyll and half a scoop of mr.hyde pre workout. That puts caffiene at around 300 which is my sweet spot.

Jekyll has DMAA in it, I believe, which seems similiar to the focus ingredients in hemo rage and jacked. Its gives a good tunnel vision type of effect, and goes well with a high enough caffiene dosage. Most products that contain it have very low caffiene. So the 300 mg caffiene with the DMAA was a very good combo. Pump may have been enhanced too. It stacks well with the hyde. I needed to spice shit up because 300 mg of caffiene does very little for me at this stage. The DMAA and pump ingredients are a nice added effect.

Still taking the GEAR pills, Krill oil and Joint RX as well, when I can get them down. Depends on acid levels. During training I take 1 scoop of a creatine mix along with 2 scoops of Pro BCAAs. I dilute in about 60-90 oz of water. Keeps me more hydrated since I dont usually drink water alone. Taking the GEAR and other pills has also increased hydration. Its alot of pills to take down, so I end up drinking atleast 32 oz of powerade to wash them down, on the days I take them all.

237 lbs after meal

Short Straight Bar Pressdowns (strict as always lately)

KILOGRAMS for pressdowns unless noted otherwise

No rest til line

35x100
65x30
95x10 (210 lb stack)
45x20 (Strict Alternating Dumbbell Curls. Mix of one arm at a time and both simultaneous. Palms facing forward the whole time, no twisting)
--------------

No rest til line

300 lbs x 5 (more friction on this particular stack. Was limited to this bar today)
255 lbs x 10
95x15 (kilograms again)
72x20
57x10-20
60x10 Strict Alternating Dumbbell Curls again. Same style
--------

No rest til line

95x35
72x20
65x10-20
57x10
------------

Incline Dumbbell Curls

35x15

Alternating Dumbbell Curls with reverse curl negative

No rest til line

60x4
45x5
--------

Very bad bone pain in left arm. Limited my power today, and I didnt push the volume today.

35x4 (too much bone pain. Not worth continuing)

One Arm Machine Preacher Curl (pin loaded)

Right arm only

Brief rest pauses only

40x40
60x10
60x10
60x10
-------

Just to get a little more blood in the arm that wasnt fucked up. Very light because this movement hurts my shoulder joints , elbows, etc.

KILL THAT SHIT

WalkingBeast · May 15, 2016

Normally I never used alot of supplements. It has been adding up though lately. Especially now during this growth phase, I want any edge I can get. Ill cut back on some of them during phases that are slow growth/maintenance. Most of these are supplements Ive used that work and that I believe in. As mentioned, there are only a few supplments that I believe do anything. Amino acids is a newer supp that I added into my regimen. I can only say that Ive been bigger and stronger since Ive been using them, but I also started HRT around the time I started intraworkout aminos. So I cannot say for certain that they helped. They do however get me to consume 60-90 oz of water during training, something I never did before.

The liquid aminos I havent used in a while, but will probably add back in soon. They can give alot of acid. The health related items are just shit Im experimenting with. NeedToBuildMuscle hooked me up with some supps again, so I will definately continue to implement them into the regimen and see what happens.

GEAR is a supp I used by them years ago, and seemed to get great results from. The idea is that it allows you to make any protein meal into a complete protein meal. Since it has leucine and other aminos you may not get from all protein sources. I take them throughout the day just to keep a good supply of leucine and other aminos in my bloodstream. Cant hurt at this stage. It also has bromelain which seems to be great for protein digestion. Which is another reason why they may be good before meals. As always, the supplements from this company are multifaceted.

The Big100 Met Rx bars ive been using on my drives back from the gym, to get an extra feeding in, where I normally would not. I also eat as soon as I get home, since it doesnt fill me up. Its 410 calories a bar. I use them sometimes before sleep, since I may not eat again at that point either, otherwise. Shakes I cant really use because of my acid issues. These are more costly but it gets the job done. I get them at walmart which comes to about 1.50 a bar, if you get them in the 4 packs.

I added the Jekyll to spice up my Hyde pre workout. Really I got the wrong one. Picked up jekyll instead of hyde accidentally. Figured fuck it ill stack them. This is my growth phase , so its the best time to add more supps to the regimen. Cant hurt, as I said. Any healing to joints, extra hydration, aminos, muscle endurance from beta alanine and creatine, all good things for me now. It gets harder the bigger and stronger I get, for sure. Especially with more pain and strains.

Here is all that I am using at the moment:

As mentioned, what really stands out about NeedTo's supplements is the sheer volume of ingredients in each formula. I never run joint supplements or health shit, but I can definately appreciate all the shit they cram into the products. Its often like 3 products worth of ingredients in one supplement, sometimes more. Not weak doses either. Of course I will use them, because the company is hooking me up again, but I only give straight and honest feedback about my results, always. I appreciate that the company sent me more health related items, then just shit for me to blow up on, like creatine, prohormones,etc. Health is the thing I dont take care of, and the company had more to gain by sending me shit that would blow me up. For better feedback , etc. So it shows integrity there, I believe.

KILL THAT SHIT !!

WalkingBeast · May 16, 2016

CHest rehab and Delts

Tried to train chest but the strain is still there in the left side. Kept it very high rep and super light. Will either continue training it light and increase the reps and possibly weight gradually, or stop training chest for a while. Undecided yet. The strain felt tight with 270.

My left arm had severe bone pain today. My arm was shaking with alot of pain, just holding up my drink. Though I continued through the dumbbell presses and up to 320 with the hammer strength shoulder press. I had 360 loaded up but decided against it. Hurts to straighten it right now. Feels like shin splint type of pain but on my inner forearm and forearm bone. Could be related to the left side chest strain or shoulder strain which is also on that side.

My left arm is also the arm that has the most hand numbness. Both hands have had permanent partial numbness for probably 6 years now. Nerve damage. Six ruptured discs, just from training, carpal tunnel in both arms, bone spurs in elbows, etc. Probably more shit now.

Im considering taking the rest of this week off for upper body training and maybe only training legs this week. Ill see how shit feels. A week may be enough recovery, but cant say yet. It would be worthless to train through this type of pain now. Ill probably take some naproxen as well to try and reduce swelling. I wont lose any size taking a week off, or 6 days.

236 lbs after meal

Incline Hammer Strength Press (constant tension style)

Chest rehab, havent had a real training session for chest in weeks.

Some brief rest pauses used on some sets. Didnt push the rest pause reps hard though. Connecting tendon in left side of chest was getting very tight.

90x100
140x75
180x100
230x50
270x55

Didnt trust the tendons in left side of chest enough to go beyond this today.

Dumbbell Shoulder Press

(Very slight incline to alleviate some spinal pressure. Left arm was fucked up. In the video youll see I struggled to kick up the 100s on my left side. Bone pain was getting bad at this stage)

50x50 not to failure
70x35
85x22
100x10 (See video. Bone pain bad by this point. Notice left arm struggling to kick up the 100 lb dumbbell)

Iso Lateral Hammer Strength Shoulder Press

Mix of full reps and 3/4 reps.

90x30 warm
180x25 same
270x20 same
320x13 (See video. Bone pain severe by this stage. Didnt go up to 4 plates a side today.)

Couldnt even hold drink without left arm shaking and in alot of pain. It may be time to take the rest of the week off for some recovery.

Dumbbell Laterals (trap focused version. I avoided rear delt work because of arm. Strict side laterals fuck with shoulder joints and the left shoulder joint is inflamed now too)

no rest til line

40x30
50x10
-------------

No rest til line

40x20
50x20
----------

Short day but my left arm was done for today

KILL THAT SHIT !!

Videos below

WalkingBeast · May 16, 2016

WalkingBeast · May 16, 2016

WalkingBeast · May 16, 2016

The Jekyll and hyde stack actually worked great. I felt that rush of stims that I havent felt in a long fucking time. Training was shitty due to all the strains and pain. The DMAA gives an extra focus and tunnel vision along with the stims. So it should be a good stack.

KILL THAT SHIT

WalkingBeast · May 18, 2016

This was the last few days food and supplement wise:

5-16-16 monday (1 scoop dr.jekyll,1/2 scoop mr hyde) 40 mg pantaprozole (440 mg naproxen)
(50 mg tramadol,50,50)50,000 IU vitamin D2(2 caps Krill oil)(4 caps GEAR)(5 caps Joint
RX)(2 scoops pro bcaa and 1 scoop creatine intraworkout)

ate

(20 oz choc milk)(30)XXX burrito for first meal, (52)Big100 MET RX protein bar for second
meal, (84)(crackers)(87)17 oz tilapia for third meal, (177)(ice cream)(179)(chips)(185)(20
oz choc milk)

215 grams protein

5-17-16 Tuesday (40 mg pantaprozole (50 mg tramadol,50,50 (440 mg naproxen)

ate

(crackers,granola)(4)12 oz shrimp for first meal, (82)(crackers)(84) 2 XXL Burritos for
second meal, (126)(20 oz choc milk)(156)Big100 MET RX protein bar for third meal,(188)
(crackers)(189) 16.5 ounces tilapia for fourth meal, (275)(20 oz choc milk)

305 grams protein

Notice on the day with less pills, I consumed much more food. Its just an issue with capacity. So I have to balance that out sometimes. I have major acid issues so I cant always take alot of pills without sacrificing food intake, which is way more critical during a growth phase.

Also it was an off day. Since most of this week will be a break from training to heal, I can utilise that to consume more food than usual. Training takes many hours, as does the preparation and driving to and from. Appetite is much worse but I hate to eat anyway and fish is easy. I just have to get back into the habit of eating again. As Im doing.

I notice with protein only meals I get hungry frequently (physically hungry, not mentally). That may be because they take more energy to process then other nutrients. So it may speed up metabolism. This is good for getting in more overall calories throughout the day. Lately ive been taking in carbs through carb heavy filler meals or just throughout the day eating anything with carbs in it. I keep stocked on a variety of foods, whether they be considered junk or not, they fill in the gaps. I also drink milk continuously throughout the day.

Just starting to ramp up overall food and protein intake. Up until now Ive just been eating enough to regain my previous size from before the 6 week break, since that was all that was needed.

Now Ill start adding more food consistantly to try and break some new size records, and some strength records. Mostly size for now.

Ill need more food at this point, as my weight has been stagnant for some days, which is a good indicator that I need more food to continue growth at a steady pace during this growth phase.

Might train legs shortly or later today. I may also train back using lat pullovers only. Thats about the only thing I can do to give my bone pain in left forearm a break. The rest of the week will likely be off.

If my arm heals then I should be able to train around that. The one area that Im limited now is my chest training. I got my back/chest measurement back up to 56 without even trianing chest the last few weeks. Due to the strains. So I think I can increase my growth by hitting a few sets of super high rep chest training. 270x100 on incline hammer strength maybe, and shit like that. I have to be careful not to overstrain the area so it will be a balancing act. My lats grow quickest , so that measurement should grow regardless, but it would only help to keep chest fuller and maybe grow it if possible during the injury.

I dont lose any size with a week off and usually come back stronger. Its when I go beyond that that some losses begin. So training 3 days puts me over maintenance still. The main thing is that I heal up enough to continue training and complete the growth phase. So I will try to adapt and do higher rep shit and switch movements as needed to keep shit rollin

KILL THAT SHIT

WalkingBeast · May 19, 2016

Full legs minus calves

Light and low volume

Focused on maximum depth today on the leg presses, as well as brief pauses at the bottom of many reps. I did this to get the most out of the lighter weight. I will try to preserve my knees throughout the full growth phase this time and just do whats needed for growth. Too much volume and too much weight can also lead to having to lay off leg training for some weeks.

I did leg presses first this time. Normally I do extentions and leg curls first. I did this to switch it up, and also to get the most effective movement done fresh. Leg presses being a compound movement, and doing them deep with pauses, they hit the entire leg.

I would have done a few more sets of leg press, but with the deep reps, my legs were pushing against my gut and organs and pushing all the acid back up into my throat. It was getting bad after the 600 lb set. I decided to go through with the 700 even with the acid in throat, but it was real bad after that.

Its much worse than vomitting or dry heaving during training, which I used to do weekly. With the acid it stays in the throat for many hours afterwards, and can fuck up breathing if its too severe. Ontop of missing meals, etc. So its better to avoid when possible. The sets were better quality than usual though so they got the job done, I believe.

After the presses acid was bad, but it calmed down enough to finish the rest of the routine. I didnt go crazy with volume or weight, just pumped the fuck out of the legs to finish off.

238 lbs estimated weight after previous night's meals, stayed up to train. (This scale has been broken for weeks, gym scale. I train at 3 gyms.) Estimate is based off of digital scale and pretty consistant.

Cybex Squat Press (Maximum depth was the focus today, with many pauses at the bottom of reps)

180x100 warm, not to failure
400x80
500x50
600x30 (Legs were pushing against gut and organs, pushing acid up into throat bad by this point)
700x40 (Acid was about maxed before I was about to be gurgling it)

Focus on maximum pain, depth, burn.

Nautilus Nitro Leg Extention

Brief rest pauses used throughout all sets.

90x100
??x80 (labels are fucked up on this machine, didnt matter anyway, not going for PR's just pain. This may have been over 200 or so, but unsure)
??x40
??x50

Seated Leg Curl

95x30 warm
130x20
170x10 (hamstrings tight, couldnt get a good adjustment on the machine, screw was in tight)
150x10

Hip Adductor

No rest til line (holds and regular reps)

90x50
150x10
190x5
-------------

No rest again

205x10
165x15
125x30
------------

Hip Abductor

no rest til line, same style

70x50
130x10
150x10
--------

No rest again

150x20
130x20
110x20
90x20
----------

Will probably take the rest of the week off to let my left arm heal. It feels ok, but I havent put weight on it yet. Dont want to risk it. I want to complete this growth phase and get some new size before another break. I just got my size and strength back from the 6 week break, which took over 6 weeks to get back. So I am not looking to take a break just when I got back. One week isnt a problem, wont lose size and will probably come back stronger. Plus I trained legs, chest and delts, and ill do a rowless back routine within the next few days. Pullovers only. That allows me to get some stimulation and not fuck up my arm further.

The 440 mg naproxen was not a good mix with the pre workout drink before training legs. That made the acid bad.

KILL THAT SHIT

WalkingBeast · May 19, 2016

Been stubborn as hell and have not gotten into cooking yet. My main protein sources now are fairlife milk (40-60 oz a day), tilapia (I boil it in the mini bags they come in, super easy). And pre cooked shrimp (just take the tails off). The tilapia is the best value. The fairlife milk is lactose free and has 50 percent more protein.

For the lurkers out there looking to gain overall mass and muscle, heres a recipe to consider

https://munchies.vice.com/en/recipes/chanko-nabe

Sumo wrestler soup. (can add sumo wrestler meat into it too). This is a calorie dense soup. You can add more meat to fit muscle building needs, but you get the idea. Its used to add alot of body mass.

Fat is not the enemy as people believe. Gaining fat will increase your strength with better leverage for lifts. Thats why powerlifters do it. It protects your joints. It slows your metabolism thus allowing you to add more muscle and fat, you still add new muscle though. You wont become a fucking sumo wrestler over night so dont fucking worry about that. If you are concerned with maintaining the pretty look then dont even try it. Just something to consider.

To anyone who tries it, let me know how it works out.

Beef heart. Extremely cheap meat you can get at a butcher. Ultra tender. 200 grams of protein per bull or cow heart. Super easy to eat. Just boil and eat. Havent done it in a while, just providing some more uncommon options.

If you have cholesterol issues than it may be problematic for you, but check that shit out

Tongue is ultra tender and cheap too.

The 4 lb bags of sewer raised tilapia at walmart are only 11 fucking bucks as well.

Huge bags of rice, cheap.

Hamburger helper with a shitload of chopmeat. A cheap favorite of strongmen competitors.

No fucking excuses if you want to get it done. Its not that expensive to do.

KILL THAT SHIT !!

WalkingBeast · May 21, 2016

Legs up to 28 1/2 cold flexed. Significant increases with each leg session. Only 2 training sessions so far, for legs, since the 6 week break. Largest arm hovering between 19 1/4 and 19 3/8 cold flexed. Chest is back at 56 inches cold flexed.

29 is where my legs were at , peak size, not in a while. For arms 19 1/2 cold flexed was peak. Chest/back is basically at peak measurement.

Eating hasnt been what it could be, but ive increased it alot and its more consistant now, since i got most of my size back. Prior to that i was eating just enough to get back.

Kill that shit

WalkingBeast · May 21, 2016

About to hit back. Mostly rowless routine most likely. Ill see about some light rowing. The idea was to give my left arm a break this week. Shit was in alot of pain last upper body session. Bone splint type pain in forearm.

Ill feel shit out. Will be hard to resist hitting heavy rows.

KILL THAT SHIT

WalkingBeast · May 21, 2016

Back

Extremely light and low volume

This is basically my week off. I trained legs and a light chest and delt session on monday. I trained back today but super light. I started with lat pullovers. I did this to avoid using my left arm. I had bad bone pain earlier in the week on monday in that arm.

I wasnt going to row at all today. I started off light to test the arm. Felt no real issues, so I went up to 270 but stuck to reps and quality contractions. Pullovers can be risky with my chest strain as well, so I kept those light as well.

Im looking to keep shit rollin so I wanted to minimise damage to my left arm this week. It may be ok by next week. Maybe even now. I took 440 mg naproxen for 3 days and that seemed to reduce the swelling. Also the Joint RX and krill oil pills may have helped.

The GEAR pills may be helping me fill out more too. Legs hit 28 1/2 and arms still 19 1/4 (largest arm), and chest back to 56. Legs and arms only slightly off from where I was. Starting with leg press and hitting legs again should bring up my weight some more as well.

I would like to build my reps high with the dumbbell shoulder presses but having to stabilise the dumbbells puts alot more pressure on the bones than a machine. So maybe the following week, but Ill see how shit feels.

I may start incorporating a week off every 6 weeks or 2 months. I wont set a date but I may start doing it more frequently. I dont lose any size and usually come back stronger since joints are slightly less inflamed. Good for the mind too.

Contractions in lats were real good today, even with light weight. With the lat pullovers my lats were causing alot of friction again with the handles, which means Im wider again. I think most of my chest/back size is in my lats now. My chest may be down in size slightly because of these strains.

I will try a high rep chest routine possibly on tuesday when I train again. May wait til tuesday to get in again. Itll only be a few sets again for the chest portion. Minimal training since its strained. Delts will be the main thing I hit next.

238 lbs after may 2 meals. Slept heavily, but still hit 200 protein yesterday. I try not to go below that amount during growth phases. I find the more protein I eat the more appetite I have to eat more carbs and overall food. Thats why I only count my protein these days. Never run super high protein though. If I overeat too much Ill be too bloated the following days, so there is a trade off for over eating. Theres a limit. I could probably blow up on a high carb low protein diet, but never tried it. Seem to respond better to carbs always.

Hammer Strength Lat Pullover (plate loaded)

No rest til line

90x100
180x30-35
230x10

Mixed with regular reps and holds for all of these

-------------------- (This may be a PR for reps in a lat pullover dropset but I dont keep track of these type of sets)

No rest til line

270x15
180x20-25
-------------

180x20

Iso Low Row Hammer Strength (plate loaded. Testing my left arm)

No rest til line

90x70
180x20-30
270x10
------------

270x30

No rest til line

270x20
180x20
-----------

Iso High Row Hammer Strength (plate loaded)

No rest til line

180x30
270x10
-------- Mix of regular and holds on all of these sets today

No rest til line (see video)

270x25 (5 reps at a time, alternating arms, no rest except for when one arm is rowing)
180x17 (both arms at same time)
------------

Lat Pullover (pin loaded version)

245x5 (Machine felt awkward so didnt continue)

Low Cable Row with Wider narrow grip handle (palms facing)

130x20 (long holds)
130x20 (same)
130x20 (same)

Didnt push it today. Just want to be recovered so I can continue to grow. If I need to do 1000 rep sets to grow I will. Will try to keep this growth phase moving forward.

KILL THAT SHIT

Video below

WalkingBeast · May 21, 2016

WalkingBeast · May 23, 2016

About to hit delts and chest. Will probably hit the delt portion first with attempted smith machine militaries. These are risky with my left chest strain. Even though its almost all delt, theres still the risk of one wrong movement popping the shit again. Already had 3 pops in my chest, 1 in left side , 2 in right, since Ive been back from the 10 month break (that was over a year ago).

Strength wise I may be on track to break records. I did on the machine last week with 540x27 on the nautilus overhead press. So it shouldnt be a strength issue. Ill see about a 315 PR, maybe 15 reps, and maybe 365 for 5 plus, 385x5. Its more about strains than strength right now. 405 is pushing that risk high, but well see. I probably have the strength to hit a few reps with 405 , as I did prior to my recent 6 week break. Im basically back now strength and size wise.

Chest is going to have to be super high rep and low volume. Maybe 270x100 with rest pauses on hammer strength incline. Just to get something in. Shit is still tender when trained.

KILL THAT SHIT

WalkingBeast · May 23, 2016

Delts, Chest Rehab and Rear Delts

Broke some more records today. No pain in left arm this time. Had bad bone pain, shin splint type pain, in left arm last week. Basically took last week off (trained 3 times but low intensity compared to my normal training, except legs which was sufficient for growth). I took 440 mg naproxen 3 days last week, and took 440 mg prior to my training today. May have took down some of the inflammation.

Still have to work around these chest strains. Its high risk with smith machine military presses especially. So I do not put full speed and power into that movement. Contracting my chest during the movement could mean a tear at this point. I focus on pure shoulder contraction. I cant get too explosive as I normally would.

Still 315x12 was a small PR for the movement. I didnt push it with 350 and then decided to back off from that movement. I hit a PR with 540x28 and 630x6 on the nautilus overhead next. After the 630 I went into a no rest dropset to fill the muscles with blood.

Afterwards I hit another PR with 450x4 on the iso lateral hammer strength Press. Its a PR because I never hit 450 on this movement. Ive done high reps with 360 and maybe 410 but never went heavier. Mainly because the lift off is hard on my spine. Some compression on that movement but managable. Only some nerve pain afterwards, but minor.

I focused more on strength today. I was fucking anxious after not training for a week (didnt really count what I did last week as training). Strength is more gratifying as its quicker and its one of my main motivations with training. So I also break records to keep my fire strong. I only do it on a select few lifts now though. Not nearly every movement and set as in the past. Too damaging at my strength level and with all my strains.

Would have liked to hit a full chest routine as well, but my chest is still very tender. I had alot of tightness with 180 after all the shoulder pressing. So I did not push alot of reps even with 180 and did not go up to 270 today on incline hammer strength. Chest may even end up not being trained during this growth phase, but will see.

Eating was not that heavy as it was somewhat of a break last week. Enough to maintain though.

I didnt fuck with the dumbbell presses today for shoulders. All the stabilization needed can be tough on the bones, and my left forearm bone was fucked up last week. Wanted to heal it. Though I lack restraint and still didnt train light. If Im going to train I fucking train. Otherwise I just take full breaks until Im ready to train properly (heavy and high volume).

May take a few days off to recover and hit back next. Legs I can hit next as well. Will see what I feel. Overall I was satisfied that I didnt fuck up my chest and came out of it with some decent KILLS, considering the circumstances.

Strength gains should continue weekly, as usual, but I will have to make more of an effort to force feed. I havent hit that as hard as I could be. The Dr. Jekyll , Mr.Hyde pre workout combo is working very well so far. The DMAA gives me a tunnel vision effect and the caffiene from the hyde gives me some good energy when combined. Im still using 1/2 scoop mr hyde, 1 scoop dr. jekyll pre workout. 2 scoops Bcaa Pro aminos during training, 1 scoop creatine mix, and I dillute that in 60-90 oz of water throughout the session. On the ride back I take a 410 calorie protein bar and eat immediately when I get back usually. Big100 Met RX protein bars. Training is the first thing I do or the last thing I do for the day. Either I stay up and train or I do it as soon as I wake (usually). If I do it when I wake, then I have 3 meals done by the time I get done with training. Meal prior to training, protein bar on drive back, meal after gym. Then I drink alot of milk and fill in the rest throughout the day.

238 lbs after meal

Smith Machine Military Press

Bar x 75 warm
135x40 warm
225x20 warm
275x24 (Possible PR and warm up)
315x12 (PR. Didnt go full explosive or full effort today. Have to focus on not contracting my chest since I have strains in both sides)
350x5 (Same issue. Didnt push more reps and didnt go heavier today. Not worth the risk of tearing a pec)

See videos for 315 and 350 sets

Nautilus Overhead Press

270x20 warm
450x10 warm
540x28 (PR. See video. Rest pauses used on many of the machine presses today. Didnt push rest pause as far as I could have. These are risky on neck strains)
590x9 (see video)

Neck wasnt as tight as usual but want to grow for this phase above all else. Strains can get in the way of that.

No rest til line

630x6 (PR, see video)
540x10
450x11
360x10
270x12
180x100
-------

Hammer Strength Iso Lateral Shoulder Press

180x20 warm
270x10 warm
360x16
410x6
450x4 (PR,See video, never did 5 plates a side on this machine. Puts alot of compression on spine, so usually dont do it)

CHEST REHABILITATION

Incline Hammer Strength Machine (Chest strains were tight after the shoulder pressing, it may be best to lay off chest completely for a while, but went super light for today)

180x30
180x40
180x35
180x35
180x35
180x30

This was just minimal pressing to get some blood in the tendons and muscle. Havent decided what to do about chest strains yet. I plan to continue breaking pressing records weekly with my shoulders though.

Dumbbell Laterals (trap focused version)

no rest til line

45x40
60x10
-------------

no rest til line

45x30
60x10
-------------
no rest til line

45x30
60x10
---------------

Reverse Machine Flies

130x20 (long holds)
160x20 (long holds)
205x20 (Long holds and regular reps)
235x10
235x30

KILL THAT SHIT

Videos below

WalkingBeast · May 23, 2016

WalkingBeast · May 23, 2016

WalkingBeast · May 23, 2016

WalkingBeast · May 23, 2016

WalkingBeast · May 23, 2016

WalkingBeast · May 23, 2016

WalkingBeast · May 23, 2016

WalkingBeast · May 23, 2016

WalkingBeast · May 24, 2016

As mentioned, my arms have not grown in flexed measurement since 2012. 19 1/2 cold flexed was my max cold measurement then, and now. My relaxed straight arm measurement increased an inch, but that still didnt effect my flexed measurement. It shouldnt be fat because when I hit 19 1/2 the first time , it was at a very sloppy 242. My waist and navel measurements were MUCH larger than now. It may even be related to the fact that I am on HRT and have stayed on consistantly. Hard to say why that occured.

Ive tried 100 sets a week to failure for arms, and my normal routines are 50 sets on average. Ive alternated tris with bis in supersets and dropsets, done heavier straight sets with more rest, etc.

Im thinking of two things I may try to force a new adaption. If anyone has tried these, let me know, Id be interested in your results. The first is this:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005FIS14...TF8&colid=2Y8EVYOLN1ZA6&coliid=I1K5TY02TJAI99

It makes the bar fatter on just about any movement. I could see this hitting my biceps and forearms in a new way, possibly getting more stimulation out of the weights I use, even with lighter weight during injuries. Something like that long term, I could see forcing adaption over time. Similiar to when I ditched straps and my forearms seemed to get stronger grip wise and possibly larger. Id probably use them mainly for curling movements.

The second thing that looked interesting was occlusion training:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0140B50F...UTF8&colid=2Y8EVYOLN1ZA6&coliid=IZW9M2UXDO2S0

Im always plotting ideas and trying to find different angles. Even when I hit a brick wall with progress (which ive overcome many of these types of plateaus), I dont focus on my lack of progress. Im constantly seeking ideas for what I can do to change the situation.

The occlusion may not do anything, no idea. It sounds interesting on paper, but so does alot of bullshit that doesnt work. Its all about trying shit for yourself. The fat grips actually seem like they would illicit some new response. Either in the forearms or the biceps.

The occlusion training sounded interesting because it allows you to train lighter by trapping blood in the muscle. Which would be great for injury recovery periods (which is basically every training day for me these days).

If anyone wants to share ANY experiences with ANY methods, or just some inspirational shit in general, I welcome all of that

KILL THAT SHIT

WalkingBeast · May 25, 2016

Legs , Minus calves

Light and low volume.

Started with leg presses again. They are much less damaging to my knees than extentions and more efficient overall. Extentions have been causing alot of knee pain lately, so they are optional at this point. Id need many more reps to get the same result and they dont hit the whole leg.

Ive been going for maximum depth and pausing at the botton briefly on most of my reps now, for leg presses. I can feel the difference in the leg pumps after each set.

The supplements were running through me today and fucked up my routine. I barely made it through the 800 lb set before having issues. I believe I know what the issue was. The Doctor jekyll can do that on an empty stomach, but the creatine I accidentally mixed into my pre workout. Normally I mix it into the pro bcaas that I take intratraining. That way I can dillute it with 60-90 oz of water. I switched over to pure creatine mono powder today because the creatine mix I have left has turned into a solid brick.

The seated leg curl here is fucked up as it doesnt hold my leg in place properly, and the lying version fucks with my hiatal hernia and acid sometimes. I tried leg extentions but didnt feel good on knees. Dont need em at this stage though.

Back in the 240's officially now. Hit 240 today. 242 was my heaviest gym weight on a scale and possibly 243 at home. So Im close to breaking a bodyweight record. Though I dont put alot of emphasis on bodyweight anymore, since my metabolism slowed. Im more interested in muscle mass. I just want to increase my muscular measurements.

Ill try to complete the growth phase while either rehabbing my chest or not training it at all. It wont be optimal but I can still grow everything else. Then maybe itll be time for a 2 or 3 month break. Im not sure if Ill have a choice with these chest strains. If I want to train chest again. Its possible I can rehab my chest with light training, slowly adding more, but its very tender lately. It gets super sore from the 180x35 on the incline hammer strength press. I was doing 540x20 as ONE of my sets , of maybe 30 sets, and not getting this sore. So that shoes how torn up my chest is right now. I would like to complete what I started though. This growth phase. Im making good progress aside from that one area I cant train properly. When my back/chest measurement does increase it will be all back muscle. Im at 56 inches cold now. If my chest was healed and I was training it I would probably have an extra inch or two. I can see that my chest is looking smaller now. Ill resolve it eventually.

240 lbs after 2 meals (Also after milk and taking my GEAR pills, Joint RX pills, Krill oil. Takes about 32 oz fluid to wash those down)

Leg Press (Mostly brief pauses at the bottom of each rep and aiming for maximum depth, much more taxing on the muscle)

180x100 warm
400x100 warm
600x51
700x40
800x40

Supplements were running through me at this point. Felt it bad after the 700 lb set, barely made it through the 800 lb set.

Seated Leg Curl (This machine doesnt hold my upper thigh in place properly and feels awkward)

No rest til line

110x20
145x5
--------------
145x10
145x10
130x15
130x17

Hip Abductor

No rest til line

70x50
130x20
175x10
--------

No rest til line

220x5
175x15
145x25
115x20
-----------------

Hip Adductor

no rest til line

70x50
150x20
225x5
-------

No rest til line

225x10
180x10
150x10
125x10
115x10-20
--------
Weights and reps may not be 100 percent accurate with adductor and abductor exercises since I wasnt focused on the weight and reps

KILL THAT SHIT

WalkingBeast · May 26, 2016

Im considering forcing a break for a few weeks. With the weight im moving on overhead presses, my chest will never really have time to recover. Everything puts pressure on those strains, mainly left pec. I never took a break when i popped the left side again on the close grip smith machine inclines with 275.

With some healing time i should be able to press heavy again with chest. Ive already done it twice already with the last two strains. Light presses shouldnt be painful. If anything i should just have decreased power but not pain , since it happened about a month ago. I just never rested the shit.

If i only take 2 weeks off i wont lose much and itll come back fast. Even a few months break doesnt take that long to get back. Its better than a chest tear. It may not be that serious but i have no way to tell until something happens.

My mind was still in a fucking killing mode. Having just got back from my last 6 week break and back at peak strength and size. Even just breaking a few records the other day.

Thats part of adapting and continuing to keep shit rolling though. Patience. It all comes back anyway. Will see what exactly i decide to do.

Kill that shit

WalkingBeast · May 27, 2016

About to hit some back. Still undecided on what my next move will be. Im at peak size now overall and breaking records with my overhead press work. Just cant do any real training for chest yet. I dont have any pain really, when not training it. When I flex it , its just a little tender but its very slight. Around the insertions.

Ill feel shit out and see. Id like to avoid taking a break and see this growth phase through, but in worst case Ill resume it after my chest heals some more. Though the first week I strained it was probably the time to rest it, not a month later. Wouldnt hurt though.

Mostly growth focused today.

KILL THAT SHIT

WalkingBeast · May 27, 2016

Attempted Back training and rear delts

Chest was decent enough during the chin ups. Hit 241 lbs today so I was just about to break into new size territory overall. Strength records already came this week. Unfortunately Ive been putting off a break since the left chest strain a month ago. Trying to train around and through it.

Theres still some tenderness there that is effecting rows now. So I can see its only going to work against me at this point. I will try to stay out of the gym for a few weeks , maybe even a month or more. Itll come back quick. I just got back my size from the 6 week break, but this is part of the process. In the long term I end up larger and stronger each year. Its just part of adapting at this stage. Nothing new

241 lbs after meal and some milk

Chin Ups (Close grip, palms facing)

135 lbs assistance x 20 (warm up)
90 lbs assistance x ?? (warm up)
21 chin ups at bodyweight (PR for this bodyweight. See video)
12 chin ups at bodyweight

At this stage my pec strains were getting more tender. Something felt off and my power wasnt like usual. Everything should return much stronger and larger but its time to force a break I think.

Low Cable Rows (close grip , palms facing handle, narrow)

None of this to failure today

150x20 long holds
225x10

Iso Low Row Hammer Strength (attempted to switch movements to continue training. Didnt work out)

no rest til line

180x30
270x10
------------

No rest til line

320x20 (done one arm at a time, first in a set of 10 reps, then in sets of 5. Only rest being while other arm rows)
270x20 (similiar style)
180x30 (both arms at same time)
-------------------

Dual Dumbbell Rows using incline bench as chest support (another attempt to switch shit up, unsuccessful)

80x20 (long holds)
80x15 (same, didnt push it)

Reverse Machine Flies (didnt push this either)

130x20 (long holds)
130x15 (same)
130x15(same)
130x15(same)
130x15 (same)

Just stayed at warm up weight for these. Was done for today.

Video below

KILL THAT SHIT

WalkingBeast · May 27, 2016

WalkingBeast · May 28, 2016

My camera tripod for phone is broken, thats why the angles have been fucked up and camera keeps collapsing. I have a new tripod in my mailbox. Gotta pick the shit up. I should have it whenever the next time I film is. This break could be anywhere from a few weeks to 6 months plus. I dont set any rules. I would like to make sure that Im properly healed so that I can make the most of my training. Im not a light trainer. Ill either train the way I see fit or not at all. Its primarily a vent for me. I often list my routines with "Light" or "Low volume", I really just mean relative to what Ive done and my capabilities. Not actually light. I refer back to my journals, so its more of a note for me. If I were to list something as heavy weight and high volume it would be a pretty extreme session by my standard. At most youll probably see me list routines as moderate weight. Volume is also more controlled these days.

This is the tripod I got

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00CR74FM8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Id reccomend this version because its the cheapest and its more durable then the 18 dollar ones I got the last two times. So Im going back to this plastic one. These break too, but the more expensive ones break in a few days. This plastic one can last a year sometimes.

AVOID this tripod

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00Q5BKXR8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

This version ranges in price. The first time I got this one I broke one of the legs off immediately trying to wrap it around something. Aside from the the legs completely break after being bent a few times and become completetely unbendable. Its basically a disposable product. Ive had two of these, with the same exact issues.

KILL THAT SHIT

WalkingBeast · Jul 6, 2016

Shoulders And Chest Rehab (overhead presses and trap focused laterals)

Break return.

First day back in about 5 1/2 weeks. This was a test day. Ill see about training atleast 3 days a week for now. Just upper body.

Ill increase eating overall. Eat very little when on breaks, most of the time.

I really only need 3 days of training minimum and 150 protein or less to get most of my previous size back.

Undecided for how long Ill be back training yet. I attempted the incline press machine with no weight. The upper chest still feels extremely tight.

I noticed that all my muscles basically cramp now when contracted hard. I had 3 pops with my chest during pressing in the last year or so. Two on right side and one on left. Its possible it was from some type of cramping during the presses. Not neccesarily a tear, but I have no way to determine that. I can only push my limits and test shit to see what happens.

I think Ill drop all incline work for a while. I noticed when I pressed on the horizontal chest press machine I had less issue and tightness. Flat bench press movements may be better for a while. Maybe after a few months that area will heal. 5 1/2 weeks should have been enough time to heal it. I noticed no difference in the tightness.

I trained for a month straight after the last pop in the left side. So my time to take a break was most likely passed.

Ill see how I can strengthen the area and just do some lighter , low rest type of training to rehab the area.

Hopefully the chest tightness wont interfere with rowing or shoulder pressing again. If it does I may take a longer break next time.

224 lbs after being up from the previous night

Nautilus Overhead Press (plate loaded) (Seat at line below 7)

no rest til line

90x100
180x20
270x10
--------

The individual sets used some rest pause but I didnt push to failure. Collarbone into trap and neck is very tight when first coming back. Its re-adjusts after a few weeks but its a strain risk initially.

Seat setting at line below the 9

(re-adjusted since the deeper reps can put more stress on collarbone area. This is the setting I usually use, which has my elbows a little below 90 degrees.)

360x15 (no failure today)

No rest til line

450x10
360x10
270x20
180x15
-------------

(Neck was getting very tight. Just needs to re adjust to training)

No rest til line

450x9
360x12
270x10
180x20
-------

Mix of full reps and constant tension style today with all pressing movements

Chest Rehab

Incline Hammer Strength Press (feeling it out)

No weight x 80

Upper chest still very tight. I can make it cramp just by flexing it hard. Though right now all my muscles cramp with hard contractions. May be another issue causing it. Probably some tearing too.

Nautilus Horizontal Chest Press (plate loaded) (Barbell style grip)

50x60 (test sets)
140x30
190x15

Extremely light but my chest doesnt feel near as much tightness with this movement. Ill find the few movements I can hit and push the limits with them, gradually.

Palms facing grip

190x19

Barbell style grip

no rest til line

240x8
190x10
140x8
---------------

140x20 (unsure of grip)

No rest til line (alternated grips ever other set)

(estimating reps here. More or less reps)

140x16
140x5
140x5
140x5

---------

Dumbbell Laterals (trap focused version)

40x50 (brief rest pauses only)
40x50 (same)

No rest til line

50x20
40x10
---------

Didnt push shit hard today. More of a test day. Will see what I feel like doing.

KILL THAT SHIT

WalkingBeast · Jul 6, 2016

Here are my current size stats after the 5 1/2 week break

53 1/2 cold flexed chest circumference

18 1/4 cold flexed right arm (largest arm)

27 cold flexed legs

SHOULD COME BACK WITHIN THE NEXT MONTH OR SO. PEAK SIZE IS 56 INCH CHEST, 19 1/2 ARMS, 29 INCH LEGS.

DEPENDS ON IF I CONTINUE WITH THE ROUTINE. I THINK THAT I WILL SEE WHAT I CAN ABOUT REBABBING MY CHEST. MORE TIME OFF DOESNT SEEM TO BE THE SOLUTION RIGHT NOW.

I THINK SWITCHING TO FLAT BENCH TYPE MACHINES WILL ALLOW ME TO TRAIN CHEST AGAIN. GRADUALLY.

MORE BODYBUILDING STYLE TRAINING FOR CHEST ESPECIALLY. PUMP, LOW REST, CONSTANT TENSION, ETC.

SOMETHING INTERESTING TO NOTE. WHEN I SNEEZE I OFTEN GET INTENSE RADIATING PAIN DOWN FROM THE BACK OF MY SHOULDER JOINTS INTO MY ELBOWS AND HANDS. ITS INTENSE FOR MAYBE 30 SECONDS OR LONGER.

THIS PAIN HAS NOW EXTENDED TO MY CHEST. THAT MAY BE BECAUSE I JUST TRAINED IT FOR THE FIRST TIME IN ALMOST 2 MONTHS, BUT THERE IS DEFINATELY SOMETHING UP WITH THE NERVES. I HAVE 6 DISC RUPTURES, BONE SPURS, CARPAL TUNNEL, ALL FROM TRAINING. SO ITS NOT SURPRISE. IT MAY HAVE SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE TIGHTNESS IN MY CHEST AND THE CRAMPING ON ALL MY MUSCLES LATELY. HARD TO SAY.

KILL THAT SHIT !!

WalkingBeast · Jul 7, 2016

Arms

Break return. First arm session after 5 1/2 weeks off from training.

The first 1 or 2 weeks are mostly about sending a signal for the muscles to regain prior size and adapt to training again.

Once size is mostly back I may increase set volume and food intake. For now it will be very lax.

Very light and low volume.

This gym maxes at 160 lbs on the pressdown stacks. I didnt need heavy weight today, so no need to load 300 plus on the stacks like usual.

(Scale is broken at this location. Probably over 225 today after meal)

Strict Curved Bar Pressdowns

no rest til line

90x40
120x15
140x10
160x5
-----------

Again

160x15
140x10
120x10
100x10
100x10 Straight Bar Pressdowns
120x8 same
140x8-10 same
------------------

No rest til line again

Curved Bar pressdowns

160x12
140x10
120x10
100x10
100x10 Straight bar again
120x5-10
140x5-10
------------

Straight bar pressdowns

no rest

160x10
140x10
120x10
100x10
100x5-10 Curved bar
120x8-10 same
140x? (Maybe 1, illegible. Triceps have a tendancy to cramp when first coming back)
--------------

Strict Alternating Dumbbell Curls

(No twisting. Palms face forward entire time. Mostly slow with some brief holds at the top)

35x16
40x10

No rest til line

50x5
40x5
-----------

no rest

55x4
35x7
---------------

Alternating DB curls with reverse curl negative

no rest til line

55x3
45x3
35x5
--------------

Again

35x12
50x1
35x5
----------

KILL THAT SHIT

WalkingBeast · Jul 8, 2016

20 Minutes Cardio

224 lbs after meal and 60 oz milk

Decided to drown out the voices in my head and just fucking lean out. Ive always had excuses. I always told myself Ill get my muscle back then lean out. Once I get back to peak size I just want to get bigger and break new size records. Its been an endless cycle.

Ive been consistantly adding new muscle every year and getting much stronger but Ive also never cleaned up all the excess fat from various injury breaks over the years.

Im basically drowning in acid lately. Its gotten pretty severe. The last thing to try will be cleaner eating and losing gut mass. Ive tried just about everything else.

Its become too much of an issue to even train and eat enough for size.

I may not list everything but my plan now is 20 minutes of cardio daily. Plus 3 or 4 weight training days.

It was tough to complete the 20 minutes today since I havent trained in 5 1/2 weeks and havent done cario in a much longer time.

Im also gonna change my diet to basically protein from fish, meats and milk. Vegetables, which I almost never eat. I will likely replace my carbs with vegetables. Carbs Im going to try and keep to a minimum.

Ill also try switching to diet soda. I usually drink some regular soda to wash down my meals only.

Ill try to consume more overall liquids too. I think Ill take 1 scoop of my amino acids during cardio training days. 2 scoops as usual on weight training days. 1/2 scoop of the mr hyde stimulant on cardio days. Speeds up metabolism as well.

Also the protein only eating has made me hungrier and is speeding up my metabolism as well. I had 200 grams protein so far today and am still hungry. Ill likely get in another large fish meal and maybe another 30 oz of chocolate milk. Ive been drinking fairlife chocolate milk. I had 60 ounces today. Ill try to hit 60-90 ounces of that and eat the rest in fish and protein sources. No shakes. Too much acid. It has 50 percent more protein than normal milk, lactose free as well.

This was my first day doing this, but I plan to try it out for a while and see what happens. Tweak as needed.

I can easily lose 8 inches around my navel measurement. I figure all that pressure on my stomach is pushing the acid up into my throat bad. Since I have a hiatal hernia. Cleaner foods also dont cause alot of acid for me.

I wont be cutting out caffiene yet, I may even be increasing it to speed metabolism. Once Im leaner I can experiment with other tweaks.

My first goal is to get lean so I can start building muscle from a clean base again. Then see how my acid issues change.

I should fill out more anyway, since I just got off a six week break and will be running higher protein daily. So the training and protien should atleast fill out most of my muscle memory mass.

Even when I had less muscle in 2009, my arms were 18 1/2 at a much leaner 202 lbs. My chest was 49. It gets up to 56 now, so I should atleast be somewhere inbetween. Arms get up to 19 1/2 cold.

My other motivation is that I preffered training when I could see what the fuck I was building. I like to train in tank tops and see the muscle and pump. I havent done that in years.

Id like to see what I built in the last 7 years. Ive gained alot of new muscle so it would be more motivational to see where Im at. Once Ive done that Ill try to build muscle on a cleaner diet possibly. I dont think it would be beneficial to get sloppy again with diet. So I want to experiment with these things and see what I can do.

If I hit any record lifts itll be at a deficit in calories and overall mass. It may or may not happen but for now Ill be focused on this goal. A few months should give some large changes. It may not take super long but Ill see what happens.

Lastly Ill add some ancillary work on some of my cardio days. Rear delts and maybe some of my trap focused dumbbell laterals or even standard laterals. Burns more calories and reminds the muscle to stay full.

KILL THAT SHIT

WalkingBeast · Jul 9, 2016

20 mins cardio

Still massive acid lately. The basic idea will be to keep my diet low carb and lower calorie. Cardio may not be every day but ill see how shit feels. Leg was giving me some pain after the first session of cardio but feels decent enough today.

KILL THAT SHIT

tony nico · Jul 9, 2016

WalkingBeast said:
20 mins cardio

Still massive acid lately. The basic idea will be to keep my diet low carb and lower calorie. Cardio may not be every day but ill see how shit feels. Leg was giving me some pain after the first session of cardio but feels decent enough today.

KILL THAT SHIT

Sick journal sir

WalkingBeast · Jul 9, 2016

tony nico said:
Sick journal sir

Appreciate that shit brother

Feel free to post your thoughts anytime. Feeds the fire to see like minded individuals

KILLIN THAT SHIT !!

WalkingBeast · Jul 10, 2016

Size up a little already. Cold flexed arms 18 1/2 inches, chest 54, and legs still at 27. Legs probably wont get trained until i get leaner, but will see. A few reasons for that. One is that my legs have alot of pain already. I want to make sure i can complete the cardio to accelerate the leaning process. I really dont want to do it longer than needed, but i will until its done. Its just undesirable. I like to build muscle and power. Not the other way around.

Im doing it mainly to see if i can alleviate this fucking acid which has been a nightmare lately. Even by my standard. There are other benefits too of course. Seeing the muscle i worked for is always a plus. I was just willing to sacrifice looking "pretty" to reach my goals of becoming as massive and powerful as possible. So it was not something i needed to concern myself with. Had i really wanted to lean out i wouldve done it much sooner, but now im backed into a corner with my health. Building the muscle is the real work. This is just eating less basically. Eating is what i hate to do anyway. This is only harder mentally in the sense that i dont enjoy training when im smaller or weaker. Eating is more like a vacation when leaning. Not something i ever really did.

I started with a super fast metabolism and as a skeleton. So it wasnt something i ever concerned myself with. I had way too much fucking work to do with doubling my starting bodyweight and beyond, and still a long fucking way to go after that.

The size increases should stop when i get back to my peak size or a little under. Since my calories and carbs are way reduced. If i gain new muscle it will be unexpected during this phase. Strength records are a larger possibility. It is possible with my slow metabolism and alot of protein that i will grow some muscle slowly as i get leaner. I am not concerned with that however right now. I just want to get this over with and lean out for now. Muscle memory brings back my old muscle quickly when the diet is in place. It doesnt really matter what i lose for now. Its never truly lost.

Improvements in this fucking acid will then open up more opportunities to gain new muscle. As it is now its a very painful process to be drowning and choking in acid while trying to force feed and train. Acid in the throat severely constricts breathing and theres only so much i can do under those circumstances.

Kill that shit !!

WalkingBeast · Jul 10, 2016

Back and delts (trap focused laterals) (10 mins cardio)

Break return. Leaning phase.

Time constraints today. Didnt matter since I was just looking to send the signal to the muscles and keep my heart rate up to lean out. First week back from 5 1/2 week break.

The combination of the stims on a pretty empty stomach and the faster moving between sets, the carb depletion the last few days, kept my heart rate up. Also was very light headed, especially during cardio. 10 minutes was enough though for today. Main thing is the diet mods Ive made.

Since Ill only be training 3 days a week, maybe 4 max, I may add in some carbs in my pre workout meal. Ive been substituting carbs for veggies. Can of spinach last 2 days. Easy to get down, cheap. May add some clean carbs like oatmeal pre workout. Depends how energy holds up.

Main focus is just to lean out for now. The muscle is filling out more as well since this is my first week back. Arms at 18 1/2 cold, chest 54 inches cold. Slight increases but should continue to fill out as I get leaner.

Protein has been 240-275 last few days since I started training again. Keeping the protein higher to make up for the lower carb and calorie intake for now.

Might even be able to grow muscle slowly as I get leaner, but for now I just want to get leaner first, before I focus on a real growth phase.

224 lbs after meal

Hammer Strength Iso Low Row

(plate loaded. Didnt keep detailed records of this movement. limited time and just focusing on keeping up heart rate and sending signal to the muscle to fill them back out, after the break.)

No rest til line

90x50
180x20
270x10
--------
(Lots of holds, not to failure)

No rest til line

270 x ?? (alternating sides. One arm rows for 5-10 reps, other side goes, etc, for several sets, didnt count)
----
270x?? (same alternating sides technique)
180x20
------

Lat Pulldowns (close grip. palms facing)

160x10 (long holds)

No rest til line

220x5
175x5 (long holds on these)
--------------------

175x7 (long holds. Extremely lightheaded today)

Low Cable Rows (palms facing , close grip handle)

no rest til line

160x15 (long holds mostly)
210x5 (same)
-------------------

Dumbbell Laterals (trap focused version)

no rest til line

45x25
60x5
-----
45x30 (brief rest pauses on these)

no rest til line

60x12
45x10
----------------

10 mins cardio. Light headed as fuck

KILL THAT SHIT

The Beast's Training Journal!

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