Military Press Day - Cycle 1

Military Press Day
Cycle 1

Overall Impression:

weird day...im not very happy with the military press work but i think everything else went off pretty well. im trying to narrow down what could've lead to this weird workout and im pretty sure its something to do with diet...i ate some rice and fish before my workout. i cant think of anything else.

The Workout:

Military Press
- 132 lbs (60 kgs) x 5 reps x 3 sets
something was wrong right from the start. it just didnt feel right to me. my elbows wouldnt come out far enough, my grip was all wrong, the bar was uneven, one of elbows refused to lockout....really weird stuff. this is the second military press workout which hasnt been as per plan. i was supposed to do 3x6x132 today.

High Cable V-Bar Rows on the Lat Pull Down machine
- 135 lbs x 12 reps x 3 sets
this exercise actually felt good. i think the pressing work was the problem.

Flat Dumbbell Bench Press
- 55 lbs x 12 reps x 3 sets
this was better than the military press session. i dunno whats up with me...

Floor Skull Crushers
- 60 lbs x 12 reps x 2 sets

Ab Work
- Lat Pull Down Sit-ups 60 lbs x 15 reps x 2 sets
- Over Head Side Bends w/ Plate 7.5 kgs x 10 reps x 2 sets
I will be doing more ab work with time...next workout volume will increase

Deadlift Day - Cycle 1

Deadlift Day
Cycle 1

Overall Impression:

So today was Day 1 of the Upper-Lower program My back is going to be sore as hell tomorrow. Along with my glutes and hammies. I am planning on doing some cardio tomorrow. Lets see if I wake up early enough to go to the gym...today's workout was good

The Workout:

Deadlifts
- 265 lbs x 6 reps x 3 sets
- 175 lbs x 10 reps x 1 set
This was tremendously difficult. On set number 3 i lost my grip on the last rep right at the top just a second before lockout so i repeated the rep after deweighting the bar for 30 seconds. my calluses hurt so badly right now lol..

Bulgarian Squats
- 40 lbs x 10 reps x 2 sets
i'm finally falling in love with this exercise

Hyper Extensions
- BW x 10 reps x 2 sets
as per the program i'm supposed to be doing glute ham raises but my gym doesnt have a GHR machine...so ill have to wait for another 10 days before i can do GHRs at my school gym.

Grip Work
- Alternate Arm Dumbbell Hammer Curls 45 lbs x 8 reps x 2 sets
- Static Holds

Ab Work
- Hanging Leg Raises BW x 10 reps
- Over Head Side Bends w/ Plate 5 kgs x 10 reps x 2 sets
I will be doing more ab work with time...

Changes....

Hey everyone

I'm gonna be switching programs again.

The main reason I switched from the upper-lower to this full body program was because I couldnt manage the upper-lower in respect to my schedule at school. But, I've finalized my schedule and I can go back to the upper-lower. So that is what I will be doing. Starting from tomorrow I go back to the upper-lower concept but its gonna be slightly different this time.

The layout is 3 workouts per week which means that my upper-lower is rotating 4 workouts in 3 sessions per week...i.e.

Week 1:
Lower 1
Upper 1
Lower 2

Week 2:
Upper 2
Lower 1
Upper 1

Week 3:
Lower 2
Upper 2
Lower 1

etc etc

The four workouts are:

Lower 1 - Deadlift
Upper 1 - Military Press
Lower 2 - Squat
Upper 2 - Bench Press

My goals have not changed at all:
1.) Get my BF% down to 10-12%
2.) Pull a respectable amount off the floor.
3.) Get my military press to 185 lbs.

So, the exercise selection is as follows:

Deadlift Day
- Deadlifts
- Bulgarian Squats 2x6-8
- Glute Ham Raises 2-3 sets
- Grip Work

Military Press Day
- Military Press
- Row Variant (Currently dumbbell rows)
- Press Variant (i rotate between flat db presses and uni shoulder presses)
- Tricep Exercise

Squat Day
- Squats 5x5 or 3x5, 2x8 or something. since we're not in any hurry for this i dont need anything set in stone
- Unilateral RDLs 2x6-12
- Regular RDLs 2-3x8-12
- Grip Work

Bench Press Day
- Bench Press maintenance work; Speed-Strength work @ 70-80% or 1,2,3,4,5RM testing
- Pull-ups Density Training
- Row Variant (barbell rows probably)

I look forward to tomorrow's Deadlift Day

Thanks to Eric once again for the new program!

B - Week 3

Full Body Training - Workout B - Week 3

Overall Impression:

the first workout of the new year happy new year to one and all!!!

workout was good. i think ive figured out how to go back to my upper-lower split. i might be doing that sometime soon. lets see....

Workout:

Squats
245 lbs x 5 reps x 3 sets
205 lbs x 8 reps x 2 sets
ok so 245 for 5x5 was my goal but set 3 was really really difficult. i wanted to leave some in the tank because next week the goal's gonna be to nail 245 for 4x5. the high rep sets killed me.

Pull-Ups
Density Training = 8 sets x 5 reps in 10 minutes
I cant believe i got this but it was so difficult. im gonna be stuck on this for a while im sure. it was REALLY difficult to nail this. jeez..the squats really tired me out lol.

Unilateral RDLs
45 lbs x 8 reps x 2 sets

Grip Work
one set of wrist curls and one set of reverse wrist curls

Ab Work
- Hanging Leg Raises = 2 sets x 19 reps x 8 kgs dumbbell (17.6 lbs)
- Over Head Plate Side Bends = 2 sets x 19 reps x 5 kgs plate (11 lbs)

Shoulder Prehab Work
Did some scapular protraction work and a few very light overhead shrug sets. very light and easy.

i hope everyone's having a good week. happy new year once again, everyone

A - Week 3

Full Body Training - Workout A - Week 3

Overall Impression:

Happy New Year (in advance) everyone so i weighed myself today. i weigh 81 kgs = 178 lbs. nice. thats a 5 lbs gain roughly. i need to increase carb intake. im kinda happy. not that the scale matters much. for me, its the mirror that counts.

Workout:

Deadlifts
255 lbs x 8 reps
265 lbs x 4 reps
185 lbs x 10 reps (back off set)
taken very very close to failure. i liked this. im happy.

Bench Press
185 lbs x 3 reps
90% of 1RM
i think ive found my bench groove back. my problem was gripping the bar. i havent been able to grip it correctly where the weight is distributed down the forearm.

Bulgarian Squats
40 lbs x 8 reps x 2 sets

Ab Work
- Hanging Leg Raises = 2 sets x 17 reps x 8 kgs dumbbell (17.6 lbs)
- Over Head Plate Side Bends = 2 sets x 17 reps x 5 kgs plate (11 lbs)
added 2 reps per set per exercise from friday's workout. nice. im happy. on friday, ill be focusing on some heavy negs.

Shoulder Prehab
Dip Shrugs and Scapular Retractions

I hope everyone has great plans for this new years eve happy new year in advance guys and gals

C - Week 2

Full Body Training - Workout C - Week 2

Overall Impression:

Im somewhat happy about this workout. it isnt the best ive had but its far from the worst. my diet off late has been good and i think the ab work that i am finally doing after so many months is slowly paying off.

Workout:

Military Press
132 lbs (60 kgs) x 5 reps
121 lbs (50 kgs) x 5 reps x 5 sets
I was going to try and nail 132x5x4 but something felt odd in that first set so i decided to reduce the weight. surprisingly, the remaining 5 sets werent as difficult as expected. i reckon i could've stuck to my plan if i hadnt panicked. i should've just rested for a bit and then gone back to it. ill try to get 132x5x4 next week.

Dumbbell Rows
75 lbs x 6 reps x 3 sets
smooth and easy

Seated Unilateral Dumbbell Military Press
45 lbs x 8 reps x 2 sets
i will try to progress on these next time round. i will either aim for 9 reps or increase the sets to 3.

Flat Dumbbell Bench Press
55 lbs x 12 reps x 2 sets
i did these in a Strength Speed fashion. reps were controlled but very fast.

Ab Work
- Hanging Leg Raises 8 kgs x 15 reps x 2 sets
- Over Head Side Bends 5 kgs x 15 reps x 2 sets
So i progressed on these two...i upped the reps by 2 on HLR and by 5 on OHSB. my goal with ab work is to keep increasing volume steadily for 2-3 weeks on any 2 exercises, then switching them out for another 2 exercises and then coming back to these after i apply similar progression techniques on the new exercises. i still have 1 or 2 weeks left of these 2 though. im happy im finally doing some direct ab work. i can feel my abs getting tighter and i like it. somehow though (and perhaps this is a stretch of my imagination), i feel like my waist size is increasing. is that normal? or am i just imagining this? i hope its just my imagination.

Alternate Hand Dumbbell Hammer Curls
45 lbs x 12 reps x 1 set
this was taken to failure.

Facepulls
80 lbs x 10 reps
120 lbs x 10 reps
145 lbs x 4 reps

Shoulder Prehab Work
some scapular retractions...

3 more days till 31st hope y'all have exciting new year's eve plans

B - Week 2

Full Body Training - Workout B - Week 2

Overall Impression:

i need to weigh myself. i have this feeling that my weight's increased. also, either its the effect of all the ab work or the bloat ive brought on with the carbs im consuming, but my stomach is becoming bigger and bigger and im not liking it - although i am developing some pretty hard feeling abzz..

Workout:

Squats
225 lbs x 5 reps x 5 sets
I cannot believe how I was able to do these. My form was spot on correct and the weight felt good. The last set was really tough and I had to take 2-3 breaths before the final rep. When i was on the texas method, my 5x5 max had been 245 lbs. i plan on shattering that record soon.
My form was spot on. i compared it to last week's squat session - i had walked into the gym on an empty stomach and when i worked out, i had spread my feet too far apart, etc. but today everything just sunk in right. everything was exactly as it should be. perhaps next time i will take a video.
i am thinking of either doing 235x5x5 or 200x8x3 next week. lets see.

Pull-Ups
Density Training = 10 sets x 4 reps in 10 minutes
I cannot believe i nailed this!!!

Unilateral RDLs
45 lbs x 7 reps x 2 sets

Grip Work
one set of wrist curls and one set of reverse wrist curls

Ab Work
- Hanging Leg Raises = 2 sets x 13 reps x 8 kgs dumbbell (17.6 lbs)
- Over Head Plate Side Bends = 2 sets x 11 reps x 5 kgs plate (11 lbs)

Shoulder Prehab Work
Did some scapular retraction work. very light and easy.

only a few more days left for the new year. i hope all is well with all of y'all