A Young Buck's Training Journal

[Hellawulf]

June 5, 2009
Week ended on a good note, kudos to Korin, I think he was right, it was new gym jitters on monday, I went in and focused on my workout and hit it hard, I changed up my form on squat a little by the way my head was positioned. I used to look up and focus on one object while I squatted, but I couldn't tell how my form was, I did this because I was told to in footbal (should have known better), today, instead, I looked at my self in the mirror, focused on keeping my chest out, which is what looking up is used for, and watched my squat, this caused dramatic improvements, I could focus on my form, which looked good and was confirmed as good by a nearby trainer, and that (pretty much) PR I got on squat felt a lot easier, especially after Monday's failure, and Wedensday's struggle.

Squat
5x125
5x155
5x185
5x215
3x250
8x185

Bench
5x105
5x130
5x155
5x185
3x215 (PR, but my spotter had to tap the bar on the third rep, I went for the gold even though on Monday I struggled to get 210 3x' when I was supposed to do 5, I don't know why I decided to do 215 but I did, and I think the results were fairly positive)
8x155

Row
5x90
5x110
5x135
5x155
3x175
8x135

Dips
3 sets 5 reps

Drag Curls
8x65
8x80
8x90

Good day at the gym, like a 95 overall, -5 due to tap on last rep of bench PR

 

[OneBreath]

June 5, 2009
Week ended on a good note, kudos to Korin, I think he was right, it was new gym jitters on monday, I went in and focused on my workout and hit it hard, I changed up my form on squat a little by the way my head was positioned. I used to look up and focus on one object while I squatted, but I couldn't tell how my form was, I did this because I was told to in footbal (should have known better), today, instead, I looked at my self in the mirror, focused on keeping my chest out, which is what looking up is used for, and watched my squat, this caused dramatic improvements, I could focus on my form, which looked good and was confirmed as good by a nearby trainer, and that (pretty much) PR I got on squat felt a lot easier, especially after Monday's failure, and Wedensday's struggle.

Squat
5x125
5x155
5x185
5x215
3x250
8x185

Bench
5x105
5x130
5x155
5x185
3x215 (PR, but my spotter had to tap the bar on the third rep, I went for the gold even though on Monday I struggled to get 210 3x' when I was supposed to do 5, I don't know why I decided to do 215 but I did, and I think the results were fairly positive)
8x155

Row
5x90
5x110
5x135
5x155
3x175
8x135

Dips
3 sets 5 reps

Drag Curls
8x65
8x80
8x90

Good day at the gym, like a 95 overall, -5 due to tap on last rep of bench PR

These numbers are looking damn good. Based on your row and dead numbers i would think your back is starting to thicken up.

 

[djeclipse]

Good to see you come back to the gym get to lifting again.

I would suggest you go for 210 x 5 for bench on monday as you have yet to lift that, instead fo being greedy and going for 215 and potentially failing.

When squatting and looking at yourself in the irror, just make sure you don't fall forward, as that is what a lot of people tend to do when looking at themselves in the mirror when lifting. You aren't a fixed object when squatting, so you may not notice that the object (you) has gotten closer indicating moving/ leaning forward. Focus on a fixed object and you can always tell if you are clower or farther away to it.

 

[Hellawulf]

Good to see you come back to the gym get to lifting again.

I would suggest you go for 210 x 5 for bench on monday as you have yet to lift that, instead fo being greedy and going for 215 and potentially failing.

When squatting and looking at yourself in the irror, just make sure you don't fall forward, as that is what a lot of people tend to do when looking at themselves in the mirror when lifting. You aren't a fixed object when squatting, so you may not notice that the object (you) has gotten closer indicating moving/ leaning forward. Focus on a fixed object and you can always tell if you are clower or farther away to it.

See I was focusing upwards which I would be moving farther and closer to in constantly, if not then I'm not moving, which would have been a problem, I think finding a fixed spot is a beginner's must, but now that I've got the form down pack I think I can get away from it, some people probably have to continue it but I think it was hindering me, I like looking in the mirror, and I can always tell how much I'm leaning forward by the pressure on my lower back. Looking in the mirror allows me to check my stance and make sure I'm going low enough and if anything actually helps keep my back straighter than looking up at a target.

And yes my back has def thickened, it and my forearms have grown faster than anything else, I just wish my arms and chest would grow quicker...

 

[OneBreath]

See I was focusing upwards which I would be moving farther and closer to in constantly, if not then I'm not moving, which would have been a problem, I think finding a fixed spot is a beginner's must, but now that I've got the form down pack I think I can get away from it, some people probably have to continue it but I think it was hindering me, I like looking in the mirror, and I can always tell how much I'm leaning forward by the pressure on my lower back. Looking in the mirror allows me to check my stance and make sure I'm going low enough and if anything actually helps keep my back straighter than looking up at a target.

And yes my back has def thickened, it and my forearms have grown faster than anything else, I just wish my arms and chest would grow quicker...

I look straight ahead into the mirror with i squat. Looking up when you are coming out of the hole actually takes away from the hip drive that should initiate the squat.

As far as falling forward goes i monitor my knees. They should go straight over your toes in the way your toes are pointing (slightly outward).

A good test is to take a block of wood that is knee high, put it right in front of one of your feet as you are in a squat stance, then squat down. Your knee should barely touch it. If your knee knocks it over then your went too far forward.

Hope that makes sense. Be patient with those arms and chest. You are building a foundation of legs and back. The decoration will fill in soon.

 

[Hellawulf]

Senior Week! I've been living off of beer and Capt n' Crunch. My workouts consist of walking the beach, playing in the bed, and occasional pong.

 

[Hellawulf]

I'm back from the beach, I went by the gym today and struggled, I got home around 4PM and got to the gym around 7:30PM, I figured I throw around a little weight to get the muscles back into it before next week, when I go back to hitting it hard.
It went something like this
Squat
5x135
5x185
4x225
Bench
5x95
5x135
5x155
3x185
Standing Barbell Press
5x65
5x80
5x95
4x110
Deadlift
5x185
5x235
3x285
Drag Curls
8x65
8x75
8x85
Weighted Sit up (Machine)
10x80
10x90
10x100

It sucked, but my stomach is still sick from the drinking I did this past week, not to mention I drove over 6 hours today, and had very little sleep last night and haven't had a full meal until today before I hit the gym since prob Monday. It was the best week of my life but I'm glad to be home, getting some food in my stomach, and actually getting rest (not that - I think I'm rested because I passed out on the beach for 4-5 hours rest).

 

[Hellawulf]

June 13, 2009 Cardio
40 minutes medium intensity biking
-that hurt a litte, def became more intense than I originaly planned for

 

[Hellawulf]

Crap, I'm back off to the beach today, until Tuesday night. These plans are last minute but should be the last interuption to my workout for the rest of the summer. Its time to buckle down big time after I get back.

 

[Hellawulf]

June 18, 2009 Cardio
I'm back for good this time, I start working this afternoon, which sucks, back to the real world, but I digress, my workout is changing drastically starting Monday as I begin cutting, I didn't reach my size goals but that was expected due to the interuptions. I did HIIT for the first time today, felt good. Tomorrow I'll do my last day of 5x5 (with light weights) and begin my new schedule, courtesy of OneBreath, on Monday. Thanks for the support now its time to see what I'm up for. The big thing now is getting my diet straight.
2 min. Warmup bike
7 min. of 20 sec. high intensity, 10 sec. low intensity repeat
8 min. of 2 min. high intesnity, 1 min. low intensity repeat
30 min. of low-medium intensity on treadmill - 4 mph 4.0 inlcine