Beast Mode Activated - My Journal

[uamaverick]

TUESDAY, JUNE 2: LEGS

I decided to redo my lift days to 5 lift days a week, very similary to MAX OT. It's what I did 3 years ago and I feel ready for it.

Squats

1 warm up set 10 reps : 135 lbs
1 acclimation set 3 reps : 175 lbs
2 heavy sets 4-6 reps : 200 lbs

Leg Press

1 acclimation set 6 reps : 370 lbs
3 heavy sets 4-6 reps : 460 lbs

Standing Calf Raises

1 acclimation set 6 reps : 225 lbs
2 heavy sets 4-6 reps : 250 lbs



Overall it was an awesome workout. Only lasted 30 minutes, but was intense. My legs seem to have finally adjusted to squatting again and leg press was good. Tomorrow will be arms and abs, even though I did tris yesterday I'm already feeling 100% again. The AMP 02 must be working hard to give me that kind of recovery.

 

[uamaverick]

I've been away from computers for a week because my summer classes started (I don't have cable or internet). I've been lifting every day. Things are going well. I measured last Thursday:

5'8"
163 lbs
12% BF
Waist 32"
Hips 33"
Legs 24"
Arms 15"
Chest 42"


I'm real happy with my progress. Going from 155 to 163 lbs and 18% to 11% BF in 5 weeks is awesome. It seems my muscle memory has kicked in from 3 years prior. An interesting experiment, considering I've always heard about these things happening but I've never been in a position to test it out for myself. Anyway, today's workout:

Flat Bench Press

1 warm up set 6 reps : 135 lbs
1 acclimation set 6 reps : 185 lbs
2 heavy sets 4-6 reps : 225 lbs

went to failure at sticking point 5th rep 2nd set.

Dumbbell Flat Bench Press

1 acclimation set 6 reps : 65 lbs dumbbells
2 heavy sets 4-6 reps : 70 lbs dumbbells

I didn't quite go to failure in the 4-6 range but I probably would have on the 7th rep.

Dips

2 sets 10 reps

barely got through the 2nd set.


That's it. Short and sweet, but effective. I can't believe my bench press went up so much in a week. I was stuck around 185-195 a week ago. I knew after doing my 185 set that I was ready to test 225.

Tomorrow is leg day. Looking forward to that except for the fact that I tweaked my left knee last week doing leg press as I was locking out a little too much. It doesn't hurt, but we'll see how that goes tomorrow.


P.S. I'm about to run out of AMP 02 and RawMCC. I don't really have the money to buy any more so we'll see if my progress slows down any. I tweaked my diet a bit. My macros are something like 48/32/20 now. Started around 50/40/10. I needed more fat and less carbs as I have more of a mesomorphic than ectomorphic body type.

 

[iggy]

Mav, im in bro!

 

[uamaverick]

TUESDAY, JUNE 9

Today was leg day. I laid off the squats and deadlifts today because my left knee is acting up a little bit. It doesn't hurt at all, it just feels a little loose. Lame, I know.

(I warmed up with leg extensions for a few reps prior)

Leg Press

1 set 6 reps : 405 lbs
2 sets 6 reps : 495 lbs

I made sure I was not locking out and I was going deep enough for my legs to touch my chest. I felt like my eyeballs were going to pop out of my head on the last rep. It was awesome.

hack Squat Machine

2 sets 6 reps : 250 lbs

Leg Extension

2 sets 10 reps : 180 lbs

Leg Curls

2 sets 10 reps : 130 lbs

Barbell Calf Raises w/ step incline

2 sets 8 reps : 225


Great workout overall, which was surprising considering I left out deads and squats. I certainly had the jello leg syndrome leaving the gym, and 6 hours later I still do to an extent. Not looking forward to walking like an old lady tomorrow.

 

[uamaverick]

LOL, I knew I'd never stick with updating this at all, but it's interesting to go back and look at where I was back in the summer.

Since the last update, I've tried to focus on staying within a certain weight class while trying to completely maximize my strength at a certain weight. I stayed around 170-175 lbs for most of the fall. Around December I was around 185 lbs.

Here are my stats as of today:

height : 5'8"
weight: 193 lbs
body fat % : 10%
waist : 30 1/4"
hips : 32"
legs: 26 1/3"
arms : 16 3/4"
chest: 46 5/8"

I don't really know where all my 1RM's are at this point. I feel good though. I'm not near my PRs from 4 years ago, but I'm getting relatively close. Then again, I was at 204 lbs with 7% bf at my peak, so I have to keep plugging away at it.

Today I did leg press and hack squats. What, no squats? Yes, I'm a wuss. I had to get today's session in very early in the morning and then hoof it across campus.

I felt pretty good today. Got about 6 sets total on leg press and 4 sets total on hack squats. 10 sets total for body part, and I was out of there.

I did 765 lbs today (8 plates per side + sled weight at 135) on leg press at 4 reps for 2 sets, and 5 plates per side plus whatever the sled weight is for hack squats 4 reps 2 sets. 4 hours later and I still feel like I'm about to throw up.

Well, I'm off to eat a meal. Happy lifting everybody.

 

[lweaver]

Very nice progress...

Just keep in mind that if your knee is acting up and you opt to warm up with leg extensions, to use a very light weight and/or only complete the last 30 degrees of the range of motion, as open chain movements actually put much more stress on the knee than closed chain movements. A few minutes on an exercise bike or some body weight squats might do a little better to circulate the synovial fluid in your knee joint and loosen things up a bit.

 

[uamaverick]

I haven't had any joint problems at all except for the first week or so. My body feels good. I've made sure to take care of my joints after the problems I had with my shoulder 4 years ago that eventually made me quit lifting.

 

[uamaverick]

Today I started muscle hypertrophic training. I was doing 6 reps for everything all the way back to August, and I finally hit a plateau. This change was exactly what I needed. I start at whatever weight I can lift for 12 reps to near failure on the first set, then keep that weight and do three more sets per lift, usually getting 11,10,and 8 reps. It works well for me after doing 4-6 reps for a while.

I felt like I was going to throw up by the end of it, ad I was sweating buckets. My HR was 183 BPM right after finishing my last set for the day.

 

[imafuturebodybuilder]

Not to rain on your parade, but you are doing just about everything wrong.

Cutting while bulking is paradoxical. It doesn't work. The only way your body fat % will decrease is if you increase lean muscle mass thus decreasing the proportion of fat relative to body weight. You won't lose fat.

Pick what you want to do, lose fat or build muscle, and commit to it.

Second, making your own split doesn't work unless you know what your body needs. Stick with a standard routine until you know enough about your body to tell you what works for you. (you will be benching significantly more then 185 before you reach this level of understanding.) I haven't done a tricep/bicep specific exercise in years and my arms are more defined then 99% of curl enthusiasts.

This is where you are wrong. It is possible. I've seen so many do it. My friend Steve for example, was a fat kid 24-27%BF, started going to the gym with the intent of bulking and cutting. One year later he has 17 inch arms, buff as hell, 7-8%BF, and still doing both, cutting and bulking. Anything is possible my friend.

Anyways, great log, subbed. Keep up the good work.

 

[uamaverick]

So I did something for the first time yesterday. I was kinda pissed at how quickly I got gassed from switching up my reps, so I went back in the afternoon to finish what I started. I worked back yesterday morning, and hit bis/tris in the afternoon, still going in the 12 rep failure routine. I had an even better workout. I had a feeling I was going to dominate, but I didn't think I was going to have an uncontrollable rage in there like I did. I felt awesome.

I feel great this morning, I have that unmeasurable feeling of being a little sore with a thick feeling in my back and arms.