Quagmire911 Lifting Journal

[Quagmire911]

Quite a common one is 3 weeks heavy, 1 week deload, repeat. This is advisable if you are training 3-4 times a week doing the big lifts.

On the deload week you can take the week off, cut the volume massively and keep the intensity up, or cut the intensity to say 80%, maybe less. You could also just cut out the big lifts and do some assistance that week. I've seen it done a lot of different ways, I suppose it is finding what works best for you. Doing everything at 80% works quite well for most I think, you don't challenge your body but there is still some weight on the bar and you can keep your lifts in the groove. As an example if you take a week off you may find some lifts might actually go down, this is a CNS issue. I get it with bench.

Some argue though that if you don't feel the need for a deload why bother? You train until your body says its time to deload. I think it's better to schdeule recovery though before it gets to that stage. You need to keep the adrenals in good shape, make sure cortisol isn't getting to high. This is why people start to get sleep issues, irratabilty, etc when they overtrain.

I actually like to take two weeks completley off the weights maybe twice a year or so, I just don't think it's a good idea to keep putting yourself in the ground week after week. Something will give.

Hope this helps,

Quagmire

 

[Quagmire911]

Thursday

That was two workouts off which was a week and a half. I was planning on waiting until Monday, however I'm feeling better. I also usually take off two weeks at the end of the year, so I I'm taking that into consideration. Did 20 minutes of cardio on Monday, apart from that I did nothing. Here is today's work:

Overhead press 50x5 57.5x5 65kgx5- Didn't want to go to my limit today, although this was pretty close. Only 2.5 off my PR.

Sumo deadlifts 125x5 135x5 150kgx5- Again I didn't want to go to heavy, first time in a month or so with deads. I've lost faith in the program for deads though and am now looking at other alternatives.

Chinups BW+5kgx8x4 PR- 8 reps was a PR at this bw. Bw is about 183lbs.

Kneeling rolloutsx5x5- These felt better today.

S.Bike Time 20 minutes- First 10mins HR around 150, last 10mins 140-145.

That was all. My thinking is that I will cocentrate on chins, gm's and leg press and try to progress to standing wheel of death. I'll do some speed work and singles to maintain the dead. I just think the dead at the start of the workout all the time is killing the assistance and if I reverse it then I can get stronger on the other stuff, improve my strength base, and then concentrate on deads again. It may even go up in the interim. But this isn't working.

For reference my current supps are: Zinc 30 mg, Magneisum 450mg, Fish oil 5g, Vitamin c 3g. I would be on 10-15g of fish oil if money permitted. I intend to get a multi when money permits and probably calcium. Once all that is covered I'll look at some fun stuff. I still have some rhodiola right enough, should have bought more of the basics with that cash though. Diet is 4 meals, first two carbs, last two no carbs except fruit/veggies.

Not much else to report, drinking less which is good. In tommorow for cardio...

Quagmire

 

[Quagmire911]

Friday

Cardio today:

S.Bike Time 40 minutes- First 25min HR 150-155, last 15min HR 135-140.

This felt very good today, I had a lot of energy. Haven't drank since last Saturday and intend to keep it going. My longest this year is a week off, that is getting beaten! It's lost it's appeal a bit to me. I don't really intend on getting pissed three times a week like I was, it actually seems stupid as fuc* now. Oh well, the only way is up. I actually woke up feeling refreshed today, that was strange.

I'm determined to get this fat off. I think I might really focus on the diet now, cause the training is in place. I think I'm cheating too frequently. I might just have a month of chocolate/ice cream. I remember doing this when I was 13 or something and I leaned out really fast doing chins and pressups.

Anyway that is all for today, until next time...

Quagmire

Ps- Ginger and lemon tea. The taste is growing and me. Had about 6 cups yesterday and I felt very invigorated.

 

[Cure]

Definatly keep it up with the not drinking mate, I've been on nothing but milk and water for ages now and it feels fantastic. Try going out as normal but just have a few diet sodas or fruit juice/water.
Ive found the desire to drink again peaked around the 1/2 week mark and hasn't got any worse since.

Is there any reason why you are taking your zinc and mag separatly? Rather than in a combined pill with calcium as well?

Also what do you mean fish oil? As in cod liver oil? Because 10-15 grams of that per day is less than a pint of beer a week, cost wise.

good luck stripping the fat away!

Cure

 

[Quagmire911]

Yea once I was past Tuesday (when I usually drink) it's been a lot better in my mind.

I take the zinc and mag at the same time, however they are seperate tablets. It is cheaper this way and you can control the doses better.

It's also best not to take calcium and magnesium at the same time as they can compete for absorbtion. So I currently take zinc/mag in the morning and at night, so when I get some calcium I'll maybe take it with dinner. Taking it an hour or so before the other too would work as well. I don't have any at the moment cause money is low, but it won't be long.

Yes fish oil, although I'm taking cod liver oil over the winter for the extra vitamin d cause the sun isn't up as much. You are right though, I should be able to afford more now that I am drinking less. Pretty sad really that I'd choose booze over basic supps. No more.

Quagmire

 

[kbear0101]

Good job on not drinking for a week! Now the only thing to fight is boredom...keep at it man.

 

[Quagmire911]

Monday

Ok workout. I never really set PR's first week after a week off. I was close, but I either didn't eat enough or my morning bread was missed before the workout. I think I didn't eat enough. Energy wasn't great. Didn't sleep great or long enough either. Here it is:

Dips +20x5 +22.5kgx8- Meant to put 25kg in the bad, oh well.

Squats 100x5 110x5 125kgx8- This equals my best with this weight. I wanted to go for 10 here, and I think 9/10 was there, but my form wasn't great towards the end of the set so I shut it down. I will PR in the coming weeks on squats.

Bench 80kgx9x10- The first set sucked. By this point I felt really shi*. I got pissed off and wanted to beat the first set. But really I focused on bringing the bar down as fast as possible and pressing as fast as possible and it made a big difference. This is part of my problem on bench sometimes. I probably need to focus on speed more on everything.

S.Bike 20 minutes HR 140-145

Well that was all. I'm going to be strict with the diet. I've cut grains to only pwo, but I might do them pre-workout based on today although I probably just didn't eat enough like I say. I should probably go to bed earlier and get up earlier too, I've slipped back to going to bed at 4 in the morning. Didn't drink over the weekend which is good, this is day 9 which is a PR for the year .

That is all for today, until next time...

Quagmire

 

[Quagmire911]

Tuesday

Fuc*ing tearing this shi* up. 45 minute brisk walk last night. Today:

S.Bike Time 30 minutes- First 20 HR 150-155, last 10 HR 135-145.

I've now got rid of the grains in the morning and am only eating them post workout, maybe pre. I've put myself on a sugar ban. My diet is basically meat/fruits/veggies most of the time. Coupled with the not drinking, I WILL be lean soon. I actually felt fit for the first time in a long long time today. I actually reasonably enjoyed my cheese omlette this morning, ham seemed to help.

Weight was 181-181.5 this morning, didn't take waste although it was just over 35" last time I checked. These number are going south. I'll be under 180 very soon.

Something has just come over me in the last few weeks. My motivation is huge and it has just made my will unshakable. I am getting this done. I'm actually kind of looking forward to cardio. I'm doing the weights twice a week and am actually going to do cardio mon-fri now. The days I am not at the gym I'll be going for 45 minute brisk walks, hell I might even do this some weekend days and maybe even after being to the gym during the week.

Feeling good,

Quagmire

 

[Quiksilver]

Something has just come over me in the last few weeks. My motivation is huge and it has just made my will unshakable. I am getting this done.

Good to hear man!

Don't get too caught up in it though, write down your schedule and stick to it. When I get really motivated, I can sometimes do too much or think about it too much, so it helps to stick to the basics.

 

[Quagmire911]

Thursday

Went for a 45 minute walk again last night. Good day today, here it is:

Overhead press 50x5 60x5 67.5kgx3- My form was off on the last set, my best is 5. I'm struggling to steady the weight the last week or so, my feet are moving. Need to sort it out.

Downset 60kgx8

Chins Bwx5 +10kgx7 PR- The first set was very explosive, bw is becoming a lot better. Going to concentrate on these for a while.
Bwx10- I'd be interested to see what I could do all out fresh.

Sumo deads 160x1 182.5kgx1 (402lbs)- I decided I wanted to pull 400 again, its been a few months. This is 2.5kg of my best sumo, 5kg of my best all time. I need to get these numbers beat, it has been ridiculously long. This rep was very hard.

Speed s.deads 100kg 2x3

Kneeling rolloutsx8x8- This fried my abs. I might regret it tommorow.

Leg press 240kgx5 PR (528lbs) 200x10- Pretty happy with this.

Grip- Held lockout on chinup bar for a while.

That was all. Kind of ran out of time to do the 20 mins cardio and wanted to get the next bus. I'm not bothered though, I did a reasonable amount of volume today and I've done a lot of cardio this week. I might go for a walk tonight, and I'll be in the gym tommorow.

My bw was 179lbs this morning, the first time I have been under 180 this year. Some of it will be water, some fat. My waist was bang on 35". Breafast this morning was a 4egg omlette, slice of ham, tablespoon olive oil and half a bananna. I mention this, because it got me through the workout fine. I must not have ate enough on Monday before the workout. For some reason the omlettes aren't bothering me anymore, so I'm pretty much following a timed carb diet, with carbs only pwo, apart from some fruit. I think I'm going out for dinner on Saturday so I'll probably have a cheat/carb meal. This shi* is getting done though, I'm going to have my abs back soon. Still haven't had a drink, 12 days now. Time to carb up.

That is all for today, until next time...

Quagmire

 

[Quagmire911]

Friday

Cardio:

S.Bike Time 40 minutes- First 20 min HR 150-155, last 20 min HR 135-145.

I actually feel fit. I've not felt like this in a long time. It's ace. Being 10-15lbs overweight sucks, I can't believe I let it happen. Not long to go now.

Until next week...

Quagmire

 

[Quagmire911]

Monday

Not happy with the diet at the weekend. It didn't go completley in the shi*ter but I had a few too many carbs. I had a carb cheat on Friday night and then went out for dinner sat/sun, but I limited the carbs on those days. Made up for it a little by doing a 30 minute brisk walk last night. Probably just slowed me down a little, but hopefully it helped my metabolism a little. Anyway here is today's:

Bench 85kgx10x10 (187lbs) PR- Seeing definite improvement with what I've been doing in the last month. I think my best here was 8 in the past. I have a suspicion that reps in the 8-10 range are better for my bench then 3-5. I've done 90x6, looking to beat that next week. This is with legit form of course, I can do 5-10kg more with a** of the bench but I'm not counting that. Don't want to upset Kerpal

Squats 100x3 115x5 130kgx8 (286lbs) PR- This was very hard. I probably shouldn't have done this without a spotter, but I was determined to get 8. Next week 137.5kg/303lbs and I WILL get at least 5 reps. I'm going to set up my pseudo-rack and get videos. Something at the top of my right leg was close to tearing this week I think, it feels very slightly pulled- but I think I'm alright. Pretty pleased with squats at the moment.

Dips BWx20x15- I decided to do bench first today and do this last, cause I wanted bench to be fresh.

S.Bike Time 20 minutes HR 140-145- Pretty easy.

That was all. Noticeable changes in the mirror over the last week. I will take weight/waist measurements over the next few days. When I do things right fat seems to fly off me, and it takes a long time too put it on. Lucky me. Haven't drank for 16 days now.

Also, I think squats suits and bench shirts are horseshi*. Just thought I'd add that in. "Hey, I can really squat 340 a2g and bench 230, but with a shirt and suit I can bench 330 and squat 500 to parallel, look at me!" Heh. "It's nothing to do with ego, honest!, it's for injury prevention" It's the same as that new swimming suit they brought out. Michael Phelps didn't wear one and most people did and he didn't get past the heats.

In for cardio tommorow, until then...

Quagmire

 

[Cure]

Haven't drank for 16 days now.

Quagmire

good stuff, also, you did one hundred reps of 85kg bench? seriously? thats impressive!
I can do 10x10 press ups.. does that count?

Cure.

 

[Quagmire911]

Tuesday

Cardio:

S.Bike 35 minutes- HR 150-155 first 20min, last 15min HR 135-145

Didn't quite get the full 40mins today, ran out of time.

I realized today that the first time I did squats at the gym I did 65kgx5. Yesterday was 130kgx8. Double plus reps, cool.

Anyway, will probably be going for a walk tommorow. Will put it in on Thursday if I do, until then...

Quagmire

 

[Quagmire911]

Thursday

Yehhhh buddy

Didn't walk last night, was doing a lot of buisness stuff. Excellent day today, here it is:

Overhead press 60kgx8x8- My overhead press is down a bit. It seemed to happen when I added dips in on bench day, maybe too much tri work or something. I'll figure it out.

Chinups BWx5 Bw+15kgx5 PR (33lbs)- Very pleased with this. Bw was 179.4lbs this morning. Need to get these up a lot, but they are going in the right direciton.

Deadlifts 190kgx1 (418lbs) PR- Didn't even plan on this today. Whenever I max out and PR I never really intend to. Warmed up to 160kg and it felt great so I decided fuc* it. Hard slow rep, but form felt good. Shame I didn't have the camera with me. Psyched. Raw, no belt.

130kgx8x8- I was really feeling the deads in my lats and abs today which is odd, I don't usually. But I have been working those areas hard the last few weeks, I guess this is a good thing. Maybe they are engaging more. Also felt it in the hammies and lower back.

Kneeling rolloutsx10x10- Making definite progress here, but it was hard after the deads. Need to get up to standing rollouts. This is two sets of 10.

Grip- Just held the chinup bar for a long time.

S.Bike Time 20 minutes HR 145- Feeling fit.

And that was all. Very happy with the deadlift, it has been far too long. Part of the strategy to increase it is to get my chins way up, and progress to standing rollouts. My squat and leg press are up a lot so that should help as well.

Bw was 179.4lbs this morning as I said above. Waist was 34.75-35". I reckon there has been slight improvement over the last week, but the mishaps at the weekend slowed me down somewhat. I am considering doing pwo carbs only and not bothering with with a carb meal at all over the weekend. I reckon two heavy carbs meals after the two weight sessions will be enough. Fat loss is the priority. After that I will hopefully put on some weight, but money is low at the moment so it might have to wait. It has now been 19 days without drinking as well.

Not much else to report. Cardio tommorow, until then...

Quagmire

 

[frenchbeauty]

Quag nice PR bro 418lbs that's heavyyyy !
1000th post great dedication keep it up

 

[Quagmire911]

Thanks FB, I'm happy with 418 but I know I can go higher. 500 will be mine, then I will decide if 600+ is worth it.

I realized just now that the first time in the gym I deadlifted 95kgx5 and yesterday was double that at 190kgx1. Hopefully it will be for 5 not to far down the line.

Of to the gym now for cardio...

 

[Fuglydude]

Good progress bro... especially on the squats!

You're approaching the 2.5x BW mark for the deadlift, and that's a good place to be! I want to see heavier chin ups. Try doing 5 x 5 w/ a 20 kg plate next time. How wide is your stance for your deadlift?

 

[Quagmire911]

Thanks fugly.

Heavy chins are definitely a must, and I am now emphasizing them by doing them before deads. There's no chance on 5x5 with a 20 plate right now, but it will be possible soon. I want to get them up to bw+100lbsx5 in the not to distant future. That will be hard. But it will help in attaining/surpassing a 500 deadlift. It's always been a goal of mine to do one arm chins, and I also want to do a bw+bw chin.

My conventional deadlift stance is less then shoulder width. My sumo stance isn't too wide, my feet are in the area the rings are on the bar.


Friday

Cardio:

S.Bike 40 minutes- First 20mins HR 150-155, last 20 mins HR 140-145- It is ridiculous how much fitter I am in the last month. I actually had a hard time staying in the 140-145 range, I kept unconciously trying to go faster. This isn't hard at all now, pretty comfortable most of the time.

That's all for this week, until next time...

Quagmire

 

[Quagmire911]

Monday

Yehhhhh buddyyyy

Carbed up on Saturday night, it was a good idea psychologically. Stuck to everything else 100%. Burger and chips + a shi* ton of ice cream, but this was inplace of other calories not on top of.

Today went well. I had a slight niggle in my back from deads or maybe from sitting funny who knows. It wasn't bad and I decided it was time to get this squat shi* done. Here it is:

Squats 100x5 120x3 137.5kgx5 (303lbs) PR- - Very happy with this, a good milestone. The last rep was very hard, this was probably a 5 rep max. Maybe 140kgx5, who knows. That will be soon. My form wasn't the best I have to say, the old problem of falling forward and using my back more becomes more and more apparent throughout the set. The strength is there and I did it and that is great, but I need to get this sorted. I should be good for more weight if I do. Depth was good although I don't think the angle shows it well. Definitely below parallel, it doesn't really look a2g but I don't feel I can go any lower in the set so maybe it is the angle. Anyway here is the video as promised:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eek_S5pPuDc


Bench 90kgx8x8 (198lbs) PR- Very happy with this as well. My previous PR was 90x6. Working in the 8-12 range is making a difference, and this is going up again. I got a video of the first set where I am using a pseudo-rack. Unfortunately the bar hit on reps 4 and 7 throwing my form off, I reckon I was good for 10 on the first set otherwise. The second set I moved over to the actual bench rack and got a spot. The fact I equalled the first set tells me I had more on the first set as well. Pleased though, it shouldn't be too long before I get 100kgx5. I am around that, if not very close. Note I am using quite a close grip, I find this more comfortable. Feet move about during the set as well which means I'm not comfortable with my setup (the rack was throwing me off). I also think my right side is marginally stronger. I think my form is actually pretty good here, just the funny setup throwing me of a bit as I said. Here is the video of the first set:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqCo73c8Dlg


Dips Bwx20x12- Died on the second set.

S.Bike 20 minute HR 145-150

And that was all. Very happy with surpassing 300 for reps on the squat. Now that I've done it I have to say that I only want to keep going. I've been in that gym for around 2 and a half years and I have to say it is fun in a way to be blowing past everyone. "Stong" is a relative term I suppose. Compared with the best I am weak, but compared with these guys I see day in day out I am now strong. I get a certain amount of happiness from that, simply because of the fact that they are ignorant and stubborn in there ways. They have taken no time to educate themselves on lifting, and until they do (unlikley) they are doomed to stagnate year after year. I would actually like to see it different, I enjoy it simply because they think they are the shi* when it is far from the truth. I don't really think anyone is "the shi*", I think everyone is at a different level and as long as they are progressing on some level that is what matters. These guys don't do that and it is nuts.

Body weight was 178.6lbs on Saturday and waist was 34.5-34.75". The fat is coming off, just need to be patient. I want it to take 3-4 weeks, but giving it 6 (8?) would be far better. Patience. Down from an all time high of 188.5lbs and 37-37.5" waist. That was awful. I can wear 32" jeans again, this was impossible a few months ago. Cool. I've said it before, I don't know how I let it happen. An extra 15lbs is better than an extra 50, at least I am setting it right now.

Not much else to say, in for cardio tomorrow, until then...

Quagmire