The Beast's Training Journal!

[WalkingBeast]

Seems that the pinch has dissipated. Low back is still pretty strained but it doesnt seem like itll take too long to heal. May take rest of the week of but maybe by early next week Ill get in a pressing session. It will all be determined by feel and I wont rush the process.

KILL THAT SHIT

 

[WalkingBeast]

As mentioned the pinch in my lower and upper spine is gone. There is still some lower back strain that I can feel sometimes. I will try to train some back and lateral type work now and see how shit feels.

More maintenance shit. Ill probably start with chins and see where my reps are at. The bicep tenderness will probably still be an issue with rowing.

Ill see about hitting arms tommorrow as well. If there are no major issues then I should be on target to hit my pressing work early next week. Too soon to tell.

KILL THAT SHIT

 

[WalkingBeast]

Back, delts (trap focused laterals) and rear delts



Maintenance, Leaning phase.


Still some strain in back from the nerve impingement. Didnt feel it today during training but avoided low cable rows and anything that would put pressure on the lower back.

I experimented with very strict lat pulldowns , staying completely upright at 90 degree and pulling straight down to chin. Mixing in some holds with those. I never do them that way. Since I was training light today to work around strains I did them this way. I find I get new muscle stimulation by changing form in various ways.

Biceps are still extremely tender, especially during training. Rows specifically for back. So I kept the hammer strength rows extremely light but strict. I just wanted to get some blood in my back and traps for maintenance at this stage. Luckily the strains in my back are healed enough to train again.

Tommorrow I may hit arms. I hit 28 chin ups which is 4 off from my recent best when I was maybe 10 lbs heavier or more. Its gradually improving but still weak considering Im lighter now and it should be even easier to hit more reps.

I will just try and maintain as much as I can for now with the least amount of training and effort. When Im ready to grow again Ill focus on that.


224 lbs after protein bar and some milk



Chin Ups (Palms facing close grip)

160 lbs assistance x 20 warm up
120 lbs assistance x 10 warm
28 at 224 lbs bodyweight (See video. Recent best was 32 at 235 lbs)
10 with bodyweight


Strict Lat Pulldowns With Medium Length Curved Bar (palms facing)

Strict refers to remaining completely upright througout the movement. Something I almost never do. Bringing bar down to around chin level.

Holds mixed in with all reps today

160x15 warm
220x10
220x8

No rest til line

220x5
190x5
160x5
130x10
------

No rest til line

250x5
205x5
175x5
140x5
-------

Hammer Strength Iso Low Row (plate loaded)

180x20

No rest til line

230x20
180x20
-----

Lat Pullover hammer strength (plate loaded)

no rest til line

90x50
160x15
-----

These fuck with hiatal hernia so kept it light. Also had to watch out for my back strain, not to re aggravate the shit.


Dumbbell Laterals (trap focused version)


no rest til line

45x30
50x10
55x10
------

No rest til line

55x20
50x10
45x10
-----

Reverse Machine Flies

Long Holds

145x20

No rest til line

220x10
190x5
160x5
130x10
--------

Very light maintenance routine. Also a test to see if my back would hold up.

KILL THAT SHIT

Video below

 

[WalkingBeast]

 

[WalkingBeast]

About to hit some arms. I have 2 considerations for triceps. Either I will hit the tricep only flat bench dumbbell press that I recently started doing (pressing dumbbells on flat bench , palms facing, elbows tucked to sides), or Ill go for 30 plus reps with 300 lbs on curved bar tricep pressdowns.

Last week I hit 30 reps with 300 lbs so I may be good this week for more. Anything above 30 is a PR. I aim for strength records in ANY of the rep ranges I hit. The sets I I go to failure with. Some high rep sets are just warm ups. Its rare I aim for triceps PRs anymore, just as its rare with back work, aside from chin ups. With triceps they are strange. I didnt train arms for weeks, came back and matched my best of 30 reps with 300 lbs on the first arm session. That was last week. It seems elbow recovery may give that advantage even when I have more muscle and size on the arm. Many times I cant utilise my full potential due to things like that, I notice. There is also the issue of friction with loading plates on the tricep cables. Its luck often. Sometimes I get heavy friction which reduces reps, sometimes its smooth.

Since I hit 30 reps last week I may go with the pressdowns as my first movement today. Just to see if I can hit a record. I havent done the dumbbell tricep presses in a while since I just started hitting arms again last week and didnt hit that movement last week.

This is really just maintenance but I still like to hit records when I feel capable. I cannot predict until I try them though. Triceps are very unpredictable with pressdowns.

Biceps are becoming a big issue. Extremely tender the last few weeks. Ill keep training light and very strict, pump focused. This may derail my training for several weeks if it doesnt start to lessen. Will see. I will try to work around it. I would like to start a growth phase on the 21rst but if I feel that something is compromised I may take a break and hold off on that plan.

My shoulders actually feel way better after switching to machine presses for a few weeks. Back is mostly healed after 6 days off or so. I should be able to resume dumbbell shoulder presses and/or smith machine militaries at any time. I may still give them a break with the harsher movements since this is JUST maintenance and I dont need to over abuse joints during this phase.

KILL THAT SHIT

 

[WalkingBeast]

Arms


Basic Maintenance/Leaning phase. Very light , mid volume



I was going to aim for a record with the 300 lb curved bar pressdowns and exceed 30 reps, since I hit 30 last week. Curved bar is often not available at this gym. It seems very random when it appears. I went with the shorter straight bar which is harder so only hit 15 reps.

Nothing special. My biceps were torn up as fuck as they have been the last several weeks. Not in a good way. They get very tender. Its common for me, but its been bad the last few weeks.

I went super light with biceps because of that. My arms got pumped and swollen as fuck with just 20 and 15 lb strict dumbbell curls at the very end. I could barely curl the 15's by the end. Much more pump from that then with the strict 55 and 45 lb curls today. I didnt really have a choice but to train for pump since my biceps are demolished for now.

Aslong as I can train around this issue I may hit a growth phase starting on the 21rst. Will feel shit out. Right now is just maintenance and some leaning.

The leaning part is extremely slow and I am not aggressively leaning or maintaining right now. Bare minimum.

My waistline was lower today though. Waistline was 37.5 inches. Around the navel was 40-41. Normally when Im heavier my waistline is 40-41 and navel is over 43. Im also lower in bodyweight due to my legs being down 3 inches each. Legs are around 26 to 26 1/2 cold flexed right now. Normally they stay above 28 inches. Fully bloated they are at 29 sometimes. Despite that, I am gaining weight again by filling out my muscular measurements, minus legs. Havent trained legs in a while. If I start a growth phase then I most likely will add them in. Right now I dont give a fuck and am only training three times a week. I was training twice but now Ive added arms back in.

I still have to pick up karbolyn and the amino powder at my mailbox. For now Ive been taking 5 grams creatine again intra training with 2 grams beta alanine. I get several more grams from my pre workout so its enough. Ill start adding the beta into the intra with the karbolyn and amino powder soon.

My arms were painfully pumped and swollen at the very end with the super light curling with very little rest between sets, sometimes just brief rest pauses. Which may be the kind of stimulation they need to grow, since I always focus on heavier and moderate weights for high reps.

Acid was extreme in throat by the end. I was done anyway. I might have done some tricep dumbbell presses but not while choking on acid. Cant really lay down like that.

Weird sensation of having something stuck in throat. Goes into my mid spine. I get that feeling after back training too where its like something is stuck in throat. So the back strain ive been perceiving my be connected somehow. Can never tell but adapt to any changes.

226 lbs after meal and some milk


Strict Straight Bar Pressdowns

KILOGRAMS for all tricep work unless noted

No rest til line (warm up)


35x100
65x30
95x10 (210 lb stack)
45x15 Strict Dumbbell Curls (Palms facing entire time, no twisting)
--------

No rest til line (see 2 part video)

300 lbs x 15 (Could not find curved bar today. two 45s pinned to stack)
255 lbs x 10
95 KILOS again x 10
80x10
65x10
57x20
55x8 Strict DB curls again, Biceps tender as fuck, stayed light
------------

Strict V Bar Pressdowns

KILOGRAMS for pressdowns

no rest til line

65x50
95x10
45x15 strict db curls again
-------

Not everything to failure, just pump shit. Dropsets push shit beyond failure anyway with no rest, even when each set is not failure.


No rest til line

95x20
80x10
65x20
45x15 strict db curls again
-------


One Arm Pressdowns

KILOS

No rest til line (Only rest is alternating each arm)

30x10 (Matched on both sides for each set)
30x10
30x10
30x10
45x15 strict db curls
-------


Steep Incline Dumbbell Curls With Holds on each rep

35x30 (brief rest pauses)
30x65 (Same. This set the course for the light work that came next. Since biceps are compromised right now)

Standing Strict Dumbbell Curls (Palms facing no twist)

Very little rest between sets and Holds

20x20
15x20
20x20
20x15

No rest til line

35x10
20x15
-----

The 20s were painful at this point. Biceps were swollen with blood. It doesnt take alot now that they are damaged.

KILL THAT SHIT

Videos below

 

[WalkingBeast]

 

[WalkingBeast]

 

[WalkingBeast]

About to hit chest and delts. Ill be staying with the recent style of pressing on hammerstrength inclines that Ive been using. Full range but without making contact with the bottom stoppers on the machine. Keeps the tension more constant without over stretching the chest (which I am rehabbing) and allows me to hit failure with less reps since the range is higher. Also much stricter since there is no bang off the stoppers at the bottom.

Main target today will probably be 360 for 20-25 in that style on the HS inclines. For 410 maybe 15 or so. It would be better to avoid 410 and 450 for now while rehabbing but I will see how the area feels and judge at the time.

For shoulders I may just focus purely on pump. Maybe Ill go up to 540 on the nautilus overhead press machine but that will probably be done in a dropset to keep the pump.

I still want to give shoulder joints a break so I can fuck up some good numbers on some of my other shoulder pressing movements. The harsher ones like dumbbell shoulder press and smith machine militaries. Id like to be recovered enough by the 21rst to start moving in that direction. I will possibly hit a growth phase starting then.

Ive been intentionally avoiding db shoulder presses, smith militaries and hammerstrength iso lateral shoulder press since those are harder on my joints. I often cycle harsher movements off and on to keep joints recovered to break records, which is always a big part of how I train.

Right now Im still a good deal lighter and carrying less muscle too most likely, but muscles are beginning to fill back out and Im a little leaner. I should really start to fill out during the possible growth phase soon. My target is more along the lines of hitting my peak muscular measurements while retaining my current waist size or even reducing it. There wont be a focus on new muscular measurements for a while, but there doesnt need to be. Its still new muscle growth if I can match those numbers and do it while being leaner.

KILL THAT SHIT

 

[WalkingBeast]

Chest Rehab ,Delts and Rear Delts (trap focused laterals and overhead pressing machine)

Light, Low volume, Maintenance and leaning phase



Chest felt stronger and less compromised today. I didnt get that usual tenderness that I get in the starting position on presses. Its not gone but it subsided enough to where 450 wasnt a problem today. Using this full range style, without hitting the bottom stoppers, I should be able to work the 450 up to 20-30 reps soon. Ive already done many reps in the past with various styles. Going up to 580 for reps.

This style is good though because I dont get any inertia by banging off the bottom stoppers. Its pure muscle contraction. Which makes it harder than hitting the bottom. I still cant contract my chest muscles isometrically to full force without causing issues so its more about banging out the reps now, in strict form.

The area seems to be re inforcing though. 450 may not be a good idea every week but Ill see how shit feels. I couldve easily loaded 540 on the machine but I decided against it. I would rather focus on high reps for now to avoid popping my chest for the fourth time.

450 felt very light, but the endurance is still compromised. The reps will increase very quickly though. I adapt to changes very fast when it comes to strength.

For shoulders I started with deeper range on the nautilus overhead presses. Strength is way down on those but I also havent been banging off the bottom and stopping before hitting the bottom, which takes more control. Regardless my strength is way down on these for whatever reason. I am still 16 lbs lighter and not fully back muscle wise. A little leaner though.

I just did some pump work with dropsets on shoulder presses. Then my style of db laterals to get blood into the traps.

Chest hit 55 inches cold flexed. An inch off from peak, but leaner. It fluctuates from 54 1/2 to 55 now. Legs are down to 26 range. 2-3 inches down from peak. No leg training in a while. Ill bring it back if I decide to start a growth phase on the 21rst though most likely.

Ill bring up my strength weekly on the incline hs presses with the same form for now.

227 lbs after meal and protein bar


CHEST REHAB

Flat Barbell Bench Press (Used for warm up and stretching only)

Bar x 200 (Plus barbell stretches to each side)

Iso Lateral Incline Hammer Strength Press (Full range reps just short of bottoming out, unless noted)

Some reps are also paused at the bottom

No rest til line (Warm up only. Mix of 3/4 and full reps)

90x50
180x20
270x10
-----

320x10 (Full reps again. Just a test to see how chest strains feel)
360x20 (Full reps. See video)
410x12 (Same. See video)


No rest til line (See video, Mix of full and 3/4 reps)

450x8
360x7
270x8
180x8
--------

Nautilus Horizontal Chest Press (plate loaded again)

Full range reps for all of these

no rest til line (Some holds)

90x50
180x10
------

no rest til line (Holds on these)

230x10
270x5
-----

No rest til line

270x8
180x10
----

Not pushing shit too hard with holds and reps here. Just want to get the main work in for my chest and some pump work for now. To rehabilitate without tearing the shit. I couldve rest paused alot more reps but not worth the risk.


Nautilus Overhead Press (plate loaded)

(Seat set to line below 7 for deeper reps. Full range reps here)

No rest til line

180x15
270x10 (Just warm ups)
------

360x10
450x6 (Weak, but not banging off the bottom lately. Strength is still way down on these)

Seat set at line below 9 for these (Arms about paralell to ground like a standard military press)

No rest til line (These were 3/4 reps mostly. Fast ballistic style but not banging off the bottom. Stopping right before hitting the stoppers)

(See video)


540x4
450x5
360x5
270x12
180x50 (Brief rest pauses used often for this machine)

--------


Dumbbell Laterals (trap focused version)

No rest til line

45x50
75x5
------

Again

45x30
60x10
-----

no rest again

65x25
55x10
45x10
-----

No rest again

75x15
55x10
45x10
----

No rest til line again

80x10
55x10
45x10
------

Strength and endurance was up in traps and shoulder joints for these. Usually joints burn like hell before I get to 30 reps with the 45s. I can do more reps than 50 but dont push to failure with these.

Beta alanine may be helping with muscle endurance. Been taking 2-5 grams extra in my intraworkout drink with 5 grams creatine. I get 2 grams just from my pre workout as well.

Still waiting on my amino and carb powder for intratraining as well.


Reverse Machine Flies

Long holds on each rep

no rest til line

115x20
190x10
-----
no rest til line

235x10
295x10
190x10
160x10
130x10
-----

Long holds means keeping arms completely straight at the peak of the contraction for maybe 1-2 seconds. Dont time it. They vary on each rep. I make sure to get a good hold with each rep.

KILL THAT SHIT

videos below