Jahidi's Workout Journal

[jahidi]

WEDNESDAY

I worked a 10 hour day today and was pretty tired afterward.

Squat 3 x 5
8 x 45 (bar)
5 x 95
3 x 135
1 x 175
5 x 205
5 x 205
5 x 205

Good to see I was able to maintain 205 seeing as I was on FIRE Saturday but not today.

Standing Military Press 3 x 5
8 x 45 (bar)
5 x 95
5 x 110
4 x 110
4 x 110

Back up to 110, hopefully I can at least not fail before 5 reps next time. This is gonna take some work before I get to 115.

Pendlay Rows 3 x 5
5 x 120
5 x 120
5 x 115

Lowered the weight down to 115 for the 3rd set because I didn't like my form on the first 2.

Chin ups 2 x 8

Decent workout, I'm just glad I was able to get my military press back to 110 and maintain the others, seeing as I didn't feel as energized as normal. Had I been more energized I probably would have set some PRs.

Back in the gym on Saturday...

 

[jahidi]

SUNDAY

Took care of business today...

Squat 3 x 5 PR
8 x 45 (bar)
5 x 95
3 x 135
1 x 185
5 x 210
5 x 210
5 x 210

After I did this, I realized I probably could have done 215.

Bench Press 3 x 5 PR
8 x 45 (bar)
5 x 95
5 x 150
5 x 150
5 x 150

YES!!! 150 lb bench! I failed at 145 last Saturday and somehow managed to increase the weight 5 lbs and complete all the reps.

Deadlift 1 x 5 PR
1 x 135
1 x 185
5 x 245

10 lb increase, brutal but I managed to do it and will go for 250 next time.

Weighted Dips 2 x 8
8 x 55
8 x 55

----------

Great day but unfortunately I've gained little if any weight so far this month. I'm eating the same as before so I'm not sure why. The only difference between what I'm doing now and what I did before is that I took creatine for May and June but now I'm cycled off of it so maybe that had an impact? I'm going to force down more food anyway though.

 

[jahidi]

double post, read below

 

[jahidi]

TUESDAY

I was tired after work but still had a solid workout.

Squat 3 x 5 PR
8 x 45 (bar)
5 x 95
3 x 135
1 x 185
5 x 215
5 x 215
5 x 215

Nice.

Standing Military Press 3 x 5 PR
5 x 115
5 x 115
5 x 115

Last time I failed at 110 and said it would take some time before I get to 115. Now I did 115 without failure.

Pendlay Rows 3 x 5
5 x 115
5 x 115
5 x 115

Working on my form...

Chin ups 2 x 8 PR
8 x 10 (as in, 8 reps with 10 lbs chained on to me)
8 x 10

These were getting easy at my bodyweight so I'm adding more weight, will go for at least 15 lbs next time.

Another great workout, but what gives? This has been by far my best month so far for strength gains but I weighed myself this morning and haven't gained a single pound this month. The only difference between now and what I did in the past is that I'm eating more now, and that I cycled off of creatine. The creatine couldn't be responsible for all my gains in the past, could it? I need advice on this...

 

[The Bat]

Newbie gains. Happens to EVERYBODY. For some it lasts couple of months. For others like you, they've lasted about a month.

It's consistent weight gain that you want. As long as you are gaining weight on a weekly or bi-weekly basis, you're good to go.

 

[I-tallionStallion]

Hey man...scales are $hit. Your body weight fluctuates a lot due to digestion, water, etc. so it's hard to tell exactly where you are at. Measurements are the way to go. All scales do is give you an estimate of your weight. If you have been consistently eating all your meals the muscle will come. It's a slow process. Don't worry man, it's only been two weeks since your reported weight gain

 

[Quagmire911]

Newbie gains. Happens to EVERYBODY. For some it lasts couple of months. For others like you, they've lasted about a month.

It's consistent weight gain that you want. As long as you are gaining weight on a weekly or bi-weekly basis, you're good to go.

What if you don't want to gain weight?

 

[jahidi]

Thanks guys. If it's okay that I'm not gaining, that's fine... it's just that when I see the scale I get worried that maybe I'm doing something wrong. If I know I'm doing everything right then I'm willing to be patient for the gains to come.

 

[jahidi]

MEASUREMENTS

I took lots of measurements first thing this morning so I can compare them every month. This is the site I used that explains how to measure: http://www.mm2k.com/muscle-measurements.html

The only difference was that I measured my waist where pants would sit, rather than around my belly button.

These were all taken almost two days after my last workout.

Neck: 14"
Upper Arms: 12 + 5/8"
Forearms: 10 + 1/4"
Chest: 35 + 3/4"
Waist: 29 + 3/4"
Hips: 35 + 1/2"
Thighs: 20 + 3/4"
Calves: 13 + 1/8"

Now I have something to compare every month other than just weight, arms and thighs.

 

[jahidi]

THURSDAY

I won't be able to work out this weekend so I went today instead. I called in sick from work (wasn't actually sick) so I wasn't tired like I normally would be on a week day.

Squat 3 x 5 PR
8 x 45 (bar)
5 x 95
3 x 135
1 x 185
5 x 220
5 x 220
5 x 220

Really hard, but I got it. My squat has been going up consistently which is awesome.

Bench Press 3 x 5
8 x 45 (bar)
5 x 95
3 x 155
2 x 150
8 x 135

Brutal. I tried to do 155 since I was feeling up to it, but I failed, and then failed again after lowering it to 150. Finally I just said f*ck it and just kept the 45's on and did 8 reps. Hoping to get back to 150 next time which should be attainable.

Deadlift 1 x 5
1 x 135
1 x 205
5 x 245

I was feeling down after the bad day on the bench so I just tried to maintain 245 which I was able to do. It was a lot harder than the last time I did 245 though.

Weighted Dips 2 x 8
8 x 55
8 x 55

I've done 55 pounds 3 times now and this one was the hardest.


Overall I started well but my horrible bench press just killed the rest of my workout, I wasn't feeling up to it after that. I struggled to do the same weight that I had done in the past for bench and dips. It seems like the kinda thing that you guys would say might just be a bad CNS day (what's CNS?).

I'll be back on Monday or Tuesday.

 

[Quagmire911]

Have you been training hard (ie.-no break/deload) for two months now?

Keep up the good work!

 

[eldafar]

Nice progress on weighted dips, although as you keep going up in weight, the bench press before the dips might start making you too tired. Might need to alternate or something at that point.

 

[jahidi]

Have you been training hard (ie.-no break/deload) for two months now?

Keep up the good work!

I was thinking about that the other day... I could definitely use some time off or a deload or something.

I'm going away on vacation from August 9th-16th though, and will have no access to a gym, so that will serve as my week off.

 

[Quagmire911]

That is still a good few weeks away. However it isn't a problem.

Unless you are feeling good again, do everything at 80% on your next workout day. This should give you a breather until your holiday. I would then continue as usual on your next deadlift day, however if the bench and deads are feeling heavy, go more in the 80% range with them too but try to PR on squats.

 

[jahidi]

That is still a good few weeks away. However it isn't a problem.

Unless you are feeling good again, do everything at 80% on your next workout day. This should give you a breather until your holiday. I would then continue as usual on your next deadlift day, however if the bench and deads are feeling heavy, go more in the 80% range with them too but try to PR on squats.

OK sounds good. Yeah it's bad timing... I could definitely use a break now.

 

[jahidi]

WEDNESDAY

Did everything at 80% today so there was nothing special to talk about.

Squat 3 x 5
8 x 45 (bar)
5 x 95
3 x 135
1 x 165
5 x 185
5 x 185
5 x 185

Standing Military Press 3 x 5
5 x 95
5 x 95
5 x 95

Pendlay Rows 3 x 5
5 x 95
5 x 95
5 x 95

Chin ups 2 x 8

Back again on Saturday...

 

[jahidi]

Would it be possible to add some ab work into this routine? My bf% is low but I only have a faint six-pack because I've never worked my abs before, so I assume they're small and weak. If this is okay, any ideas of what I could do?

Also, I think I'm starting to gain weight again, I guess it was just a matter of time after I upped the calories. However I'm looking more cut, so I'm thinking maybe I lost a few pounds of fat (not that I had much to lose, but there is some) and gained the usual few pounds of muscle which is why the scale stayed the same.

I've been really good with carb cut-offs and stuff, and also with the job I work, I think it's definitely possible I lost a little bit of fat. I should start taking monthly pictures; I only took one at the start of this routine which I'll post when I make big gains and do a "before/after" thing.

Anyway... please let me know if I can add abs into this. (Quagmire?)

 

[Quagmire911]

Adding in a couple of sets of ab work should be fine. If it is a weakpoint, neglecting it would be a mistake.

At the start or end of one workout you could do 2/3x10 ab rollouts, and on the other you could do 2/3x10 russian twists. Instead you could do them both on a seperate day at home if you wish.

This shows you ab rollouts:

http://www.rosstraining.com/articles/wheel.html

You can start them by kneeling. If you don't have access to a wheel you can just use a barbell with a plate either side and roll it along the floor.

This video shows russian twists, among other things:

http://www.rosstraining.com/articles/hardcore.html

Are you doing grip work yet?

 

[jahidi]

Thanks. I'll add those into my routine. My gym has an ab wheel, I've seen people doing rollouts on it before.

Haven't got the gripper yet. I got lazy and took a while to order it. I'll let you know when it's in, should be any day now.

 

[jahidi]

MONDAY

Felt really tired today, this was my most difficult workout ever. I've been going away on weekends with my family which means I missed a workout this weekend and will probably have to plan on doing both my workouts during the week so not to miss any more. :cuss:

Squat 3 x 5
8 x 45 (bar)
5 x 95
3 x 135
1 x 185
5 x 225
5 x 225
3 x 225

I won't call this a PR because I failed on the last set.

Bench Press 3 x 5
8 x 45 (bar)
5 x 95
6 x 150
5 x 150
5 x 150

Added a rep on from last time. After my last experience with bench (the horrible one where I eventually settled at 135) I'm pretty happy to be back at 150 with potential to hit 155 soon.

Deadlift 1 x 5 PR
1 x 135
1 x 185
1 x 225
5 x 250

F*** YEAH!!!!!! That felt so good! The countdown to when I hit 2 x bw deadlift is on...

Weighted Dips 2 x 8
8 x 55
8 x 45

I wasn't using full ROM on first set so I had to lower the weight for the second set.

Decent workout seeing as I was dead tired as usual. I can't wait until I quit this job and go back to school in September. I'll be able to sleep in past 6am every day and train 3x per week. I'm still making gains now but I think things will improve then, especially at the start when I'll have so much more energy from having just quit my job. I'll probably feel like I'm flying in the gym at the start of the month! Can't wait!

Anyway sorry for the long read, just venting because of how worn out my body is. That vacation in 2 weeks couldn't come any sooner.