Lower 2, Week 25

Fall '07 - Lower 2, Week 25

Overall Impression:

diet has improved a lot. im eating plenty of good food. what i do need to eat more is fruits and veggies. my short term goal is to get to 10-12% bf.

Squats

free hand x 25
bar x 20
135x8
185x6
205x5
225x1
- i called it a day after 225. something didnt feel right and i didnt want to push myself unnecessarily.

Pull Throughs = 4 sets x 8 reps x 60 lbs

i strained my back again while doing these because my grip slipped and i yanked my torso up and strained my back. its a really sad accident. damnit. i dont think its very bad but i wont know for sure till i wake up tomorrow. if its hurt again im going to be really pissed.

Shoulder Rehab Stuff

i havent been doing this off late so i did some shoulder rehab exercises.

Ab Circuits

i did 2 supersets. one involved static ab work and the other involved a movement. i dont know what the names are though....

Leaving Thoughts:

i hope to god this hasnt re-injured me.

i hope y'all are having a good time. mondays always suck lol...

Upper 2, Week 24

Fall '07 - Upper 2, Week 24

Overall Impression:

ok i have some stuff i have to go over.

a few weeks before i left mumbai to come back to school here in the states. i weighed in at 185 lbs. this is around 8-10 weeks ago. so today i went and weighed myself again. and i measured myself in the morning.

here's what i used to be 8-10 weeks ago:
Arms = 15
Chest = 41.5
Waist = 37
Thighs = 24
Calves = 13.5

and right now this is where i am at:
Arms = 15
Chest = 43
Waist = 36
Thighs = 23
Calves = 15

but here's the shocking part: i used to weigh 185 before. now i weight a fucking 177! how the fuck does that happen? im trying to reach 200 and i just got set back by 10 lbs lol....i hate this....

the only plus point in all this is that i look soooo much better now than when i was at 185. im looking leaner and way more muscular. while thats cool im still trying to figure out how i lost so much weight. i have a few ideas:

1.) my diet went to crap in terms of volume of food consumed around 4 weeks ago. but i managed to get all my protein though.

2.) i fell sick and lost weight

3.) since i took my weight atleast 10 weeks ago, the regular cardio ive been doing 3x a week could be paying off.

4.) i just shed a shitload of muscle.

i dont know which it is but im gaining strength on most of my lifts. its just that i feel weak now that im at 177. its all mental i know...but fuck....going from 185 to 177 isnt funny.

anyways, enough whining...time to talk about lifts:

Military Press = many sets

i didnt feel very good doing presses today. i dunno why. a shitty start to a good workout though. here's what i did:
Set 1 = 6 reps x 130 lbs
Set 2 = 5 reps x 130 lbs *breathing incorrectly fucked up my form*
Set 3 = 5 reps x 130 lbs *breathed incorrectly again*
Set 4 = 3 reps x 135 lbs *got frustrated so decided to do some non-failure training for 1 set*
i wish i had just stuck to my required 130 for 4x6 volume but when the second and third sets went bad i got pissed. i was really breathing incorrectly. i completely lost my groove. and this lift is supposed to be my favourite!

Pull-ups = 6 sets x 4 reps x BW

these felt awesome!

Flat Dumbbell Unilateral Press = 3 sets x 12 reps x 45 lbs

this is a new PR i think. it felt great.

Dumbbell Rows = 2 sets x 3 reps x 70 lbs

i wanted to do some pulling movement and thought this might be good but then i got scared that ill tweak my back again so i went very conservative with the weight and i also did just 2 very very light sets. but the two sets felt pretty good

Leaving Thoughts:

im going to make it a point to eat more food. i know im getting all my protein per day and more or less my diet has been good so far. on the whole however i think this was a good workout.

anyways, i hope everyone had a good week. thanks for reading guys. i hope y'all have a good weekend and those of u who are my facebook friends are gonna see some sweet pics of this coming weekend

Lower 1, Week 24

Fall '07 - Lower 1, Week 24

Overall Impression:

yeah baby!! deadlift day finally lol.....

ok so i skipped monday's workout because i was too lazy. yes, ive become lazy. HOWEVER, i made up for it because i did the lower 1 workout today instead and i also did cardio yesterday and on sunday. both days i did some GPP work and i ran 2 miles. you have no idea how difficult it is to run 2 miles straight (for me that is). and i ran the 2 miles AFTER the GRPP work lol.

so today was deadlift day. my first day doing deads in over a month. the workout was ok and went as planned. im just trying to wonder how im going to feel tomorrow. the thing with these injuries is that after the workout u think ur fine but then u wake up the next day and then u realize that u've re-injured urself. i hope to god that hasnt happened. i was damn conservative today so even if i do wake up in pain the pain will go in a short while. either way, it felt good to do deads and stuff.

Deadlifts = 2 sets x 7 reps x 135 lbs

these were easy as fuck. i could've done 20 reps straight with this. but, i made sure my form was spot on and i am trying very hard to be patient. it is a let down from doing 300+ but i have finally accepted that it is pointless for me to chase the golden ring of 315.....im just going to approach deads like im doing them for the first time in my life - which is exactly why i will be doing very basic low volume workouts on these for a while.

Bulgarian Squats = 2 sets x 6 reps x 20 lbs db's in each hand

i think i hurt my lower back a little bit when i reached down to grab the dumbbells on set 1. but, i learnt my lesson and i kept the dumbbells in my hands for set 2. i just hope its not a serious injury....it doesnt feel like it...right now that is.

Glute Ham Raises = 3 sets x 6 reps x BW

i got a fucking catch on my left ass-ham. fuck. it hurt. but i stretched it and now its fine lol.

Barbell Curls = 1 set x 3 reps x 90 lbs

so i decided to do some bicep work. and i used a bodybuilding pyramid scheme which i had used last around 2 years ago when i did Arnold Schwarzenegger's beginner 1 training program:
Set 1 = 15 reps x 50 lbs
Set 2 = 12 reps x 60 lbs
Set 3 = 10 reps x 70 lbs
Set 4 = 5 reps x 80 lbs
Set 5 = 3 reps x 90 lbs --->>> i called this the work set.
my forearms are fucking pumped lol....im very desperate to increase the size of my forearms. i want really massive forearms.

Leaving Thoughts:

diet wise ive been in good shape. im finally eating a lot of food.

supplement wise i have news. because ive noticed that my weightgainer is giving me a huge bloat, i have shifted to using simple whey protein for the time being. trueprotein's Hydrolyzed Whey Protein High Grade is what im using. lets see how it works. i mixed it with my powerade and i sipped it before, during and after my workout. im going to make this into a habit.

i just hope i dont wake up with a huge pain in my lower back tomorrow. maybe i should have done some back extensions. fuck.

anyways, i hope everyone is having a good week. only 2 more days before the weekend everyone

thanks for reading everyone!

Upper 2, Week 23

Fall '07 - Upper 2, Week 23

Overall Impression:

ok so the fever went away tuesday night. i probably have some residue fever and a few side effects like food not tasting right, etc which will go in 2-3 days. my strength levels are fine and i feel pretty good. thankfully. im happy the weekend has come

Military Press = 3 sets x 6 reps x 130 lbs, 1 set x 5 reps x 95 lbs

a new PR once again. Single Progression: added 1 rep to every set. Next week the goal is to nail 4x6x130.

Pull-ups = 6 + 4 + 4 + 4 + 4 = 22 reps

felt great!

Dips = 3 sets x 8 reps x BW

i was supposed to do dumbbell presses but all the benches and the 45's had been taken by people. yes, the gym was crowded. so i decided to do dips instead. i havent done these since my DC Training days. they felt ok but i have to comment on 2 things. im not sure if they're ok for my shoulders. (2) when i do these i feel my triceps hurting because they're being squooshed maybe right at the top. i wonder if this is normal for when u first start out doing dips?

Leaving Thoughts:

looking forward to the weekend

next week im going to ease back into lower body work. starting with deadlifts. slowly and steadily.

i wish everyone a smashing weekend

Upper 1, Week 23

Fall '07 - Upper 1, Week 23

Overall Impression:

i fell very ill on sunday night. i had a very high fever and then yesterday i was weak and i threw up twice. and i had fever too. i also had the chills. i have no idea why this happened. but, i worked out inspite of all of this. i figured that if i workout ill be able to generate enough heat to beat the chills. my room temperature was @ 80 and i was still shivering. fuck. yesterday was painful. but then i worked out and had a long hot shower and i felt much better.

im pretty unwell today as well but i feel much better than i did yesterday. however i havent recovered completely and i am still feeling a little weak. i guess in 1-2 days ill be fine.

Bench Press = 5 sets x 3 reps x 185 lbs

so i was going to do 10x3 with 185 today (repeat of last week) but the bar was moving so slowly that i called it quits after set 5. my techinique was good though: its just that the bar was moving VERY slowly. i could have easily done 5 more sets but decided against it. something just didnt feel right. the bar has never moved this slowly for me.

Flat Dumbbell Bench Press = 3 sets x 12 reps x 45 lbs

worked up to a nice sweat here.

Cable Rows = 3 sets x 12 reps x 90 lbs

felt pretty good. called it a day after this.

Leaving Thoughts:

i got dizzy during my workout many many times. i didnt faint or anything but i did get dizzy. good news is that the fever broke last night. so im going to be good to go in 1-2 days max.

thanks for reading everyone. i hope y'all are having a better week than me

Upper 2, Week 22

Fall '07 - Upper 2, Week 22

Overall Impression:

so fall break is finally here!!!

went for a frat party last night - superhero/superho dressed up like Master Windu

anyways, i slept in till like 12:30 pm today and i just got back from the gym...it was a good workout. new PR on militaries. i made this workout short because of my lower back pain. i dont want to push things. and my back is improving but very little at a time.

diet has been great off late....except on wednesday...i didnt feel like eating anything. wierd.

Military Press = 3 sets x 5 reps x 130 lbs, 1 set x 10 reps x 95 lbs

yup: new PR!!! 130 felt ok. i wore a belt because i was afraid i might fuck my back up. i didnt fuck it up though. i have a vid of set 2. will post in 1-2 days. next week ill be nailing 3x6x130. atleast thats the plan.

Pull-ups = 6 sets x 4 reps

new PR here too. i did not go to failure. the 4th rep on every set was 1 rep short of failure which means that if i had attempted a 5th rep i would have failed.

Leaving Thoughts:

im all ready for the weekend now....i plan on relaxing and having some fun... just got done with 5 tests in 4 days so i defintiely wont be studying lol....

regarding my progress: i think im doing pretty ok. im not as dedicated to the gym anymore but i am aware of that and i am purposely not that dedicated - in the sense that i am conscious of me not being dedicated but im not doing anything to get determined again. im just letting myself go for now....which is why im not going to complain about everything. the way i see it, im no longer obsessed about my progress, but at the same time i am eating healthy food and i am also sticking to my rough plan on progression on my upper body lifts. until my lower back heals there is very little else i can do.

i hope everyone is having a good friday. thanks for reading guys and i hope y'all have a good weekend

Upper 1, Week 22

Fall '07 - Upper 1, Week 22

Overall Impression:

ok so i havent worked out in a week. i did not even do cardio last week. last week was actually spent having the time of my life with this girl....

so anyways, this week is plagued by exams (3) and lucky for me fall break is this weekend so that means im going to austin to party

onto more serious things...

1.) diet has been great for the most part. although i havent worked out or done any cardio (cardio = running ) over the last week i have made sure my diet is good.

2.) last week i injured my lower back again playing american football with a bunch of 220 lbers.....that tackle was nasty lol....so this means im not going to do ANY lower body work for a while. i want to give this time to heal. i tried the approach of lifting light weights but that didnt help. so im trying a new approach.

3.) my lower back right now is SO much better. its much better than where it was 3-5 weeks ago. im very happy about this. i want to rest for another week or two and then get back into the game slowly and steadily.

regarding today's workout: it was pretty good. im very happy with it.

Bench Press = 10 sets x 3 reps x 185 lbs

new PR!!! whoooo-hooooo

fuck i cant believe my old 3x3 max 5 weeks ago was 185 and now my 10x3 max is 185....thats fucking amazing! but next week im going to carry forward this 185.....i took a few extra seconds on the last 2-3 sets....no biggie though.

Lat Pull Downs = 3 sets x 12 reps x 160 lbs

Unilateral Dumbbell Seated Shoulder Press = 3 sets x 9 reps x 45 lbs

increased 1 rep per set from last time. thats good. shoulders feel strong.

Ab Circuit = 2 circuits x 10 reps per exercise x 4 exercises

the four exercises i did were:
1.) lying leg raises + reverse crunches combo
2.) ab pistons
3.) standing overhead plate side bends with 10 lbs
4.) standing plate side bends with 25 lbs
my abs are getting stronger and harder......i hope

Leaving Thoughts:

the plan for this week is pretty simple. i will be doing cardio (here cardio = running) on tuesday (tomorrow), wednesday and thursday. then friday ill do upper 2. hopefully. its fall break so i might go partying instead...

u know...its very strange. i like weightlifting and i still believe im lifting smart but im balancing my lifting with more of a social life. not in the sense that if i lifted more regularly i would not have a social life but more as in i am lifting irregularly because i know i can get away with it for a while. once it catches up to me i will be more regular. and since my lower back is hurt its probably a good idea for me to just back off, let my body heal and then pound the weights again....i know when i get back to squatting and deadlifting i will have lost a LOT of strength but im fine with that. it does not upset me. life is like this. its much better to accept these set backs as set backs and learn to work around them rather than through them.

i will update my journal everyday regarding the cardio....so far my bodyfat has reduced visibly but i think ive gained a few pounds my biggest fear is that in the hopes of losing some belly fat i will end up losing muscle around my shoulders, thighs, chest, back, etc....i dont want that to happen lol...but if it does, the cure is simple: stop cardio and increase food intake.

sorry for making this so long but its been a week since my last update lol....

i hope y'all are all having a good week so far....today was just monday

cheers and thanks for reading

Upper 1, Week 21

Fall '07 - Upper 1, Week 21

Overall Impression:

very cool workout. my bench press has improved a lot in the last 4-5 weeks.

diet over the weekend was REALLY bad. i think my diet on EVERY weekend is just getting worse. on saturday all i ate the whole day and night was 2 slices of cheese pizza. thats it. and on sunday i ate some sushi. but today i hogged on over 18oz of meat. well...that should help a bit...

Bench Press = 10 sets x 3 reps x 180 lbs

new PR yet again! ok i have a few things to talk about regarding this.
1.) before i began the 10x3 set-rep scheme 5-6 weeks ago, my MAX on the bench press for 3x3 was 185. and now my 10x3 is at 180. thats pretty decent progress IMO. and 180 was not all that difficult. infact it was easier than 175.
2.) my form on the bench press has changed. i dont know if its for the good or bad but my grip has become more narrower. i just realized this today on my last 2-3 sets actually. before i used to place my ring finger on the ring on the oly bar. now my little pinky finger is behind that. its not completely narrow grip but its quite close. i dont know whether its wise to change grips because im progressing quite well at the moment.

Cable Rows = 2 sets x 10 reps x 120 lbs

Unilateral Dumbbell Seated Shoulder Press = 3 sets x 8 reps x 45 lbs

this was pretty easy. next time ill be able to knock out 3x10x45.

Leaving Thoughts:

i think it was a pretty good workout. im looking a little leaner. ill try and squeeze in cardio this week but i dont think i have the time. lets see.

i hope everyone has had a good weekend. thanks for reading guys!