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Body By Tweakle - a cutting journal.

Tweakle

Tweakle

New member
I was posting my workouts at another site but it's become a shadow of what it used to be so I figure I'll spam elite's training board with my log instead.. here's the last 2 workouts I did.

there might be vids in in the unlikely event of me setting any PR's while cutting, but it'll mostly be pages of pissing and moaning about how much I hate training on a diet, with the occasional vent at the people who dare to tie up my gym equipment :rainbow:


Mon 3rd april

Parallel Box squats, 455 x 9

vid - http://media.putfile.com/box455x9

couple of oly ATF pause squats with 405 (2 sec pause)

I have an annoying glute/back/sciatic problem that currently prevents me exploding through the midrage of a squat or pull which is making leg work a real chore.

Safety squat machine

405 x 5,5 495 x 5, 585 x 3

calfs, hams

-------

Wed 5th april


bench, 315 x 8 + 2 assisted, 335 x 6

pause bench 315 x 3, 335 x 1, 365 x 1 (my left shoulder is still troubling me on the bench, I'm not pushing bench workouts until it heals)

DB shoulder press 65's 3 x 10-8

Hammer Dip machine 4 plates/side 2 x 8, 4.5 plates/side 3 reps then a double dropset
 
Awesome video, that last rep was all guts, man.

Good to see you started a journal, I'll be following along.
 
Hell yes!! This will be fun to watch. Good to see you plan on spending some more time here. I'm interested to hear your approach to cutting. And the vids are a nice touch.
 
Cutting for me this time round is a lot slower than my attempt last year - I dropped to the 210's and while I was ripped to all shit the strength losses just weren't worth it so I went back to fattening :)

dietwise.. I'm on probably about 2500-3000 cals a day depending on my carb intake, I take 200-300gs carbs on training days and about 50gs on the other days. I'm using low intensity cardio to strip the fat (incline walking or eliptical @ 140 bpm for 45-60 mins 5 x weekly), no HIIT as I dont beleive it allows me to retain muscle when cal deprived

I was about 255 at the start of Feb with a 38" (at least) waist.. now I'm in the low-mid 230's with a 34" waist. Strength has taken a hit but I know I can get that back once I'm healed with a month of bigger eating.. I plan to cut until the end of this month then take a couple of weeks off to reset my metabolism then do another month before summer

my work plan's pretty much this, I alternate between 2 workouts but also change lifts or rep ranges on the fly depending on how my body feels. (first workout/second workout)

mon - box squat, safety squat, hams, calfs / free squat, leg press, hams,calfs

wed - bench, db shoulder, hammer machine dip / Dip, bb shoulder, high rep db incline

fri - Chin, tbar row, shrug, bb curl / Pullup, Rack pull, CG pulldown, DB hammer curl
 
Nice.

50g. carbs on off days is damn low for a guy your size. But that doesn't F up your lifting days? Sometimes its seemed like my carb intake the day before I lift has a big impact on gym performance. Sometimes not. LoL

You change up reps . . . so no hard and fast rule that you go by while cutting re: low reps or w/e? I've heard folks talk about sticking w/ lower reps (< 8) while cutting b/c you're low on carbs, etc. But then again, the heavier weights combined w/ low cals isn't always a great combination.

Fun stuff. Looking forward to checking in.
 
Thanks, it gets me around :) 365 is a good weight if its a parallel or lower box

Back workout on friday

Pullups
bw x 5
bw+ 45 x 6,5,5
bw+ 75 x 5 (last 2 weren't good)
bw+ 45 x 5 (not great.. lol) then dropped the belt to rep out with bw until I couldnt do 1/2 reps

Was going to do rack pulls but my back felt a little tired so I did tbar corner rows instead

5 plates x 10,10, 15 (little heave on the last set)

bb curls (my curl weights are pathetic so I wont mention them, the frat brothers could kick my ass in the curl and they let me know it.. I dont run things in my Health Club)
 
Awesome video. I didn't like what it looked like when you sat down, but I have never seen box squats. All I know is they were used to train for power lifting by some coach right? Is that "perfect form"? Is this movement dangerous for you back? ("dangerous" is kinda broad...)
 
Tweakle said:
I was posting my workouts at another site but it's become a shadow of what it used to be so I figure I'll spam elite's training board with my log instead.. here's the last 2 workouts I did.

there might be vids in in the unlikely event of me setting any PR's while cutting, but it'll mostly be pages of pissing and moaning about how much I hate training on a diet, with the occasional vent at the people who dare to tie up my gym equipment :rainbow:
Click to expand...

That's right fatty, slim down. :evil: You know I'll be cheerin' you on.
 
Just so long as you use the pink pom-poms

I'm switching to an upper/lower split for the next month for a change of pace.. if my shoulder holds up to being hit every 5 days I'm hoping this should help freshen things up a little.

Today - lower

Sumo deads

495 x 3 (paused), 545 x 3 (pause), 500 x 11 (touch n' go)

sumo pulling doesn't seem to hurt my glute as much as conventional, and it's nice not to look like Ebola boy after a set of deads for a change (conventional tear chunks from my shins when done for reps). Keeper! I'm looking to get to 545 x 10 this month, then hopefully 585 x 10 in the longer term.

Squat press, 10 plates/side x 8, 8 plates/side x 15

this was really hard after the sumo pulling, and my glute was locking up on every rep

Assisted GHR's (using the swiss ball to lean on) 2 x 10

hanging leg raise 2 x 20

standing calf raise stack (395) x 22 (rest pause, DC style)

cardio about 20 mins.. was a fast paced workout and I was too gassed to do anything more then a simple warmdown and walk home
 
It's all in the roll of dice, neither should get you hurt if you do them right

Dips - 90 x 1, 135 x 1, 180 x 1, 225 x 1, 180 x 5, 135 x 9

http://media.putfile.com/dip225

Chins - 90 x 4, 45 x 5, bw x 12 (did a lot of volume on friday so held back)

Alternating seated DB shoulder press - 65 x 15, 75 x 10

'fat guy pullups' - bw 2 x 15

hammer curls - 100 x 4, 65 x 15 r/p
 
Tweakle said:
It's all in the roll of dice, neither should get you hurt if you do them right

Dips - 90 x 1, 135 x 1, 180 x 1, 225 x 1, 180 x 5, 135 x 9

http://media.putfile.com/dip225

Chins - 90 x 4, 45 x 5, bw x 12 (did a lot of volume on friday so held back)

Alternating seated DB shoulder press - 65 x 15, 75 x 10

'fat guy pullups' - bw 2 x 15

hammer curls - 100 x 4, 65 x 15 r/p
Click to expand...


Nice work.

As for the pull-ups, I'm with you. The more muscle I add to my legs the harder it is. I imagine your legs are pretty huge.
 
Tweakle said:
It's all in the roll of dice, neither should get you hurt if you do them right

Dips - 90 x 1, 135 x 1, 180 x 1, 225 x 1, 180 x 5, 135 x 9

http://media.putfile.com/dip225

Chins - 90 x 4, 45 x 5, bw x 12 (did a lot of volume on friday so held back)

Alternating seated DB shoulder press - 65 x 15, 75 x 10

'fat guy pullups' - bw 2 x 15

hammer curls - 100 x 4, 65 x 15 r/p
Click to expand...

Christ, you're a monster. That dip was real slow on the way down - any reason?

225 lbs. You're dipping more than I weigh. I hate you.
 
blow out both your shoulders and you'll lower everything very slowly too.

If it's any consolation the dip is one of the few exercises I've always been disproportionately strong in... no, didnt think so ;)

My gym refuses to get 100lb plates (someone could hurt themselves lifting them off the stands, apparently. :rainbow: ) so I'm pretty much stuck at 225 - any more on the belt and I cant fit into the dipping stands so short term I'm hoping to get 205 x 5, then eventually 225 for 5 .. somewhere over the rainbow.
 
Nice depth on the dips, crazy weight too. I see lots of guys doing weighted dips and they barely go down, like a scapular shrug or something of that ilk (maybe they are?)

I too go slow on the way down, mostly out of fear lol. That first rep is always a shocker.
 
Very nice to see your journal here.

Watched your vid and had a couple comments on your box squat. All looked good; below parallel, elbows down, chest up, legs fairly wide...I just saw a bit of a 'roll' in your low back as you sit down on the box. I think if you push your ass back farther with more of an arch and push through the floor (as if you were pressing the floor apart with your feet) - that may help you come off the box straight up as you came down without that roll.

I know others who rolled and have corrected it. I hope I explained that properly. :)

I was also somewhat terrified that you were squatting off of aerobic steps? Maybe you could build yourself a reinforced 13-15inch box? Those aerobic girlies will be bitchin when you flatten their steps, LOL.
 
Points taken and duely noted, will work on them next week!

Everything felt heavy today which is a sure sign I'm approaching burnout - after wed's deadlift session I'm throttling back and deloading for a week, I think the cardio and diet is countering the effect of my super sups so I need to be smarter about this.

BW is in the low 230's now, but I feel I could be way tighter at this weight and my waist still feels like I'm 9 months pregnant. Grr :)

Decline Bench 315 x 5, 365 x 5, 385 x 3 (was supposed to be 5 but the chode spotting me was grabby and ruined the set), 315 x 13

The decline was pretty high, so this wasnt that far from benching flat in terms of groove... much harder than the last bench I used which was near to 45 degrees.. I'm taking a flat bench hiatus until I finish cutting as the shoulder stress just isnt worth it.

Hammer high row, one arm a time - 4 plates (a side) x 5, 5 plates x 5, 6 plates x 10 (5 were rest/pause), 5 plates x 15 (rest pause)

Word's cannot describe how much I hate using this machine but it's the only torso supported row we have and I need to save my erectors for wed's pulling.

Swiss ball dumbbell bench 75's x 20, 15 (stabliser work)

Ez curls 90 3 x 10 (chicks dig it)

about 35 mins cardio total , moderate intensity (I suck)
 
That's some sick weight for bulking, it is ridiculous for cutting. Also, thanks for reminding me of the word 'chode', I haven't used it in a couple years, I kind of just forgot about it, and I will throw it back in my vocabulary now, lol.
 
Thanks guys, I would like to get back to 405 x 5 for declines, although it will be a bit harder on this bench as it's only 15 degrees compared to the 35 degree one I was using at Bally :)

Deads, sumo style

545 x 8 touch n go - I really, really wanted to get 10 on this but I just didnt have it in me today. Next time hopefully.

http://media.putfile.com/sumo545x8

405 3 x 3 reset - Here I was forcing myself to lead with my shoulders and keep my hips down.. some very slow, very tough reps. I'm not a natural sumo puller and my body wants to use my back instead of my hips to initate the pull which isn't gonna happen until my glute heals.

Safety squat machine, 585 x 5, 675 x 3 - I like this thing, it seems to compliment the sumo pulling nicely in the way it works the PC and the quads a lot more than the leg press.

http://media.putfile.com/safetysquatmachine675x3

(in case anyone wondered what the machine was like :p))

Pullthrus x 2

Calfs, Abs

Rushed for time so did a HIIT cardio session, 5 x 30 sec intervals on the eliptical which almost killed me and reminded me why HIIT destroys my recovery ability :)

All in all, not a bad little workout
 
For what it's worth, my diet is pretty much the same everyday -

non training day, trace carbs, 40/60 fat-protien ratio with lots of veggies. Maybe 2600 cals

training day, 150-200g's carbs all from oats or brown rice... have a 500g tub of cottage cheese PWO as a treat. Otherwise it's either ground turkey or a protien shake and oats/rice and pretty much no veggies. Yummeh! Maybe 3000 cals
 
That squat machine must be nice to have - I sure can't think of a better alternative for working around your injury. Looks like there is some amount of stabilization that you have to provide.

BTW I think the old dude behind you in the deadlift video is checking out your ass :rainbow:

And you look like the meanest guy ever :evil: Maybe I'll take the next step and shave my head to the skin (it's only an eighth of an inch long anyway).
 
well, i shave my head but i dont lift like that! very impressive man. yea, you pull that first rep and i noticed quite a few heads turning. good luck on the injury recovery.
 
Tweakle said:
For what it's worth, my diet is pretty much the same everyday -

non training day, trace carbs, 40/60 fat-protien ratio with lots of veggies. Maybe 2600 cals

training day, 150-200g's carbs all from oats or brown rice... have a 500g tub of cottage cheese PWO as a treat. Otherwise it's either ground turkey or a protien shake and oats/rice and pretty much no veggies. Yummeh! Maybe 3000 cals
Click to expand...

For what its worth...I like to think diet equates to about 70% of what 'happens' with everything else. I wondered if you posted this up to get any feedback? Need any?? It says - A Cutting Journal and by the amount of calories, I thought a little low. You may already know what works best for you, but if curious about anything let me know. Glad to offer any assistance.
 
That would be great, you've had experience cutting for shows and I'd love to know what you think.. it would be very useful

I've tried cutting twice in the past and both times lost a lot of muscle with the bodyfat, this time I'm not losing so much strength but it is so damn slow to take the fat off

you think 3k is too low for me? I'm about 233ish as of this morning, I would LOVE nothing more than to get another 3" off my waist by summer.

edit - in a little more detail

on a non training day

meal 1 - whey shake 70g's 300 cals(ish) & 100-150 cals nuts
meal 2 - steak, 8 oz and veggies, olive oil
meal 3 - same as 1
meal 4 - chicken 8oz, veggies, olive oil
meal 5 - same as 1
meal 6 - ground meat 8oz, veggies, oil

training day

meal 1 - whey 70g's, about 50g's carbs from oats
meal 2 - ground turkey 8oz, rice about 50gs carbs
repeat for 6 meals

thanks in advance, the training part I'm starting to know my own body, but diet is unexplored terrain to me (apart from the bulking thing, I like that ;))
 
Have you heard of Lyle McDonald's Ultimate Diet 2.0 (UD2 for short)? A lot of guys have had great results (rapid fat loss, lean muscle retention) using it. Check out www.bodyrecomposition.com. You can buy the book and/or check out the forum where Lyle routinely answers questions and you can read some posts from others who are using/have used his diet. He's a no nonsense, no bullshit kind of guy. You'd like him. LoL
 
Training vids of members here are great for getting me movtivated. My off day is tomorrow and I want to go. :chomp:
 
Nice vid. You are not small, or friendly looking. It's a good thing your journal proves otherwise. ;)

Talk to me about the sumo deadlift. I feel approximately 1000 times more comfortable using conventional. To this point, I have NOT been successful with it. Got some pointers or links?
 
Tweakle said:
Thanks guys, I would like to get back to 405 x 5 for declines, although it will be a bit harder on this bench as it's only 15 degrees compared to the 35 degree one I was using at Bally :)

Deads, sumo style

545 x 8 touch n go - I really, really wanted to get 10 on this but I just didnt have it in me today. Next time hopefully.

http://media.putfile.com/sumo545x8

405 3 x 3 reset - Here I was forcing myself to lead with my shoulders and keep my hips down.. some very slow, very tough reps. I'm not a natural sumo puller and my body wants to use my back instead of my hips to initate the pull which isn't gonna happen until my glute heals.

Safety squat machine, 585 x 5, 675 x 3 - I like this thing, it seems to compliment the sumo pulling nicely in the way it works the PC and the quads a lot more than the leg press.

http://media.putfile.com/safetysquatmachine675x3

(in case anyone wondered what the machine was like :p))

Pullthrus x 2

Calfs, Abs

Rushed for time so did a HIIT cardio session, 5 x 30 sec intervals on the eliptical which almost killed me and reminded me why HIIT destroys my recovery ability :)

All in all, not a bad little workout
Click to expand...
if the bench is not bolted to the floor, then you might try this:
in my first gym the decline bench was pretty steeply declined and was adjustable too. in the present gym it's adjustable but at it's lowest setting it's still only around 20 degrees. so i take one of those aerobics stepping thingys (not sure what they are called) and rest the foot of the bench on it... adds more angle.
 
PB I remember lyle from way back when and while I'm a little skeptical of a diet expert who's reccomended diet doesnt work for them I do agree with a lot of what he says

what I'm using is a slightly higher carb varient of Iron Addict's Timed Carb diet, with carbups on all 3 training days instead of just twice a week. I've gone from close on 260 at xmas to the low 230's .. strength has suffered a little of course but some of that is because of my Piriformis problem.

last time I cut I went down to 2200 cals a day which was brutal.. combined with HIIT three times a week & no natty test I became a ripped skeleton who struggled to squat 315 :o Awful.

Nelm, I'm not the one to ask on sumos = I dont like pulling this way but I cant currently pull with a close stance so I'm making do. And this is the 2nd time I've done sumos in maybe 2 years.. I think it lends itself to wide stance squatters who have the hip strength, with me it's all about the glutes and lower back when I pull. I would say keep the hips way down and the shoulders & head move up and back first, then the legs.. Quadsweeps Sister would know more than me, so would bfold
 
nelmsjer said:
Nice vid. You are not small, or friendly looking. It's a good thing your journal proves otherwise. ;)

Talk to me about the sumo deadlift. I feel approximately 1000 times more comfortable using conventional. To this point, I have NOT been successful with it. Got some pointers or links?
Click to expand...
if i remember correctly, illuminati does sumos. i'd be keen on reading what he has to say too.
 
wide stance deads always feel like I'm about to fall over at the bottom, my leverages suck for sumos.. I think you need to be a born sumo puller, or work it equipped . My man John Pinder went from 700 to 805 in a few months with a switch to sumo, so that's part of the reason I'm sticking with it even though it feels awkward.

Nelms, I'm actually really baby faced...as my gf tells me all the time I am the least mean looking shaved headed guy on the planet (I'd like to think maybe Moby looks less intimidating :)) must be the deadlift gurning making me look grumpy

Ok, wildcard day today - not a deload, more of a mixing things up session.. less load and intensity of effort and a little more volume to make up for it (counter it? :))

Seated db press 100's 4 x 6 (spot on last set)
chins + 25 2 x 10, bw 2 x 10

Incline bench 225 3 x 10 (I hate this lift! I can OHP more than I can incline)
Shrugs 405 x 5, 495 x 5 , 595 x 5 (jumped a little on the last one, still tender from deads)

Dips bw x 20
Hammer curls DC style RP 30 reps (20/5/5) 55lber's

Not a bad workout.. bf loss has stalled this last month so I'm wondering if I need to cut cals even more or try a pure CKD. Meh

http://x11.putfile.com/4/11020215839.jpg

pic from tonight that I sneaked in the restroom :o I would hope that I'm around 12% but I have no clue on measuring bf%
 
Solid bro. Great work. I see a correlation between your weak Inc Bench and you're upper chest though. Not everyone is perfect and good at every lift though.
 
thats true man, chest, especially upper chest has always been a real struggle for me to build. Arms too.

I need to suck it up and do more incline work, prioritize incline pressing with DBs maybe?
 
Holy crap. You look like a superhero.

Notice I didn't say super villain. With that picture, I retract my previous statement from the earlier post. ;)

What do you weigh, again?
 
LOL at you bitching and moaning never:D

Nice shirt in the squat video I got to show that to the team at Fitmass.

Remeber what happend last time you were dipping heavy? STOP IT!

P.S. I was a much better camera person.
 
Tweakle, you've juiced, yes?

That vein across your anterior delt is sick. In both a good and bad way. It certainly looks badass on you, but I wouldn't want that for myself.

Upper chest lacking? Really? I don't notice much of a problem. But yes, prioritize with incline pressing (no DBs needed, but it would help give you a better stretch) and cut down on the flat bench and dip stuff just a bit.

More OHP would be good, too.
 
Tweakle said:
thats true man, chest, especially upper chest has always been a real struggle for me to build. Arms too.

I need to suck it up and do more incline work, prioritize incline pressing with DBs maybe?
Click to expand...


Incline DB Flye's while an isolational movement, IMO are great for your upper chest. You could try DB's.

But from what I see, you should be doing Incline presses before you do shoulder DB presses.
 
I'm upfront about it, I'm on all the time as I have stupidly low natty test.. my natural test is 100 points below the absolute minimum value for men and you can't really change your genetic inheritence with a few clomid and some herbs from GNC. HRT between cycles when I feel the sides are getting to me

Weighed in at 225 today after a couple of days of no carbing, which was kinda scarey..not been in the 220's for a year now :o

14" box Squat

505 x 2 x 2
525 x 1

Oly pause squat

405 x 3, 425 x 1 (was supposed to be 3 but my ass screamed at me to stop)

Switched to SS machine, 675 x 5

Hammer leg press, unilateral, al legs 4 plates/side x 10 (this machine isnt for me)

Abs, calfs

Going for a 60 min brisk walk once my PWO meal's digested.. all in all not a bad workout, the numbers are far from PR's but it's good to be getting back about 500lbs on the squat especially at this bodyweight
 
Tweakle said:
I'm upfront about it, I'm on all the time as I have stupidly low natty test.. my natural test is 100 points below the absolute minimum value for men and you can't really change your genetic inheritence with a few clomid and some herbs from GNC. HRT between cycles when I feel the sides are getting to me

Weighed in at 225 today after a couple of days of no carbing, which was kinda scarey..not been in the 220's for a year now :o

14" box Squat

505 x 2 x 2
525 x 1

Oly pause squat

405 x 3, 425 x 1 (was supposed to be 3 but my ass screamed at me to stop)

Switched to SS machine, 675 x 5

Hammer leg press, unilateral, al legs 4 plates/side x 10 (this machine isnt for me)

Abs, calfs

Going for a 60 min brisk walk once my PWO meal's digested.. all in all not a bad workout, the numbers are far from PR's but it's good to be getting back about 500lbs on the squat especially at this bodyweight
Click to expand...


Fuck I'm fat. I weigh more than you and I'm definitely not as strong.
 
Just finished catching up on the journal. Looking great, Tweakle. Like everybody else, I'm really impressed by your combination of strength and low bodyfat.
 
What are your thoughts on doing forearm work? Do you ever do direct forearm stuff? If not, have you noticed 'em growing just from getting progressively stronger on deads & rows, etc., or what?
 
Nice workout, Tweakle....Again, freaky stuff, just downright disgusting considering you're cutting....real strong box squatting.
 
thanks :) pb no forearm work but then my arms are another weak point, my grip is pretty strong and I only use straps on top sets of deads (overhand) but I was not blessed in the arm department!

Decline

worked up to 385 x 4 but FUCKS SAKE the guy grabbed it despite me explaining to him several times not to touch. I todl him hands off on the first rep and he kept holding so I YELLED at him to take his fucking hands off the bar and he got the hint, but it ruined the set. He grabbed at it on the last rep too

Beyond pissed

405 x ''3'' - Again, my dumbass asked the same guy assuming he had got the hint. No, every rep was touched so I just rolled with it. I hate my gym

225 x 25, no spot just me getting pissed and wanting to do some fast reps

225 x 18, ditto

Tbar 6 plates x 12, 15

Incline bench 275 x 2, shoulder hurt so switched to hammer incline machine for 2 high rep low weight sets.

Rack pullups (pronated) 45lb on lap x 15, 90lb on lap x 10

not sure about the groove on these or if I was doing them right

laterals, seated db curls, light for da pump
 
I did, that's the problem.. bally wasnt the best in the world but there was a small group of people who I could always count on for a good spot. This new gym is more of a Health Club and is 95% college kids doing bi's and older people sweating on the stairmaster.

part of the reason my training slid this year was the move, all of a sudden the camaraderie and the few strong guys I knew were gone, replaced by little dorks in A&F, sun visors and string tanks curling furiously in the rack and acting like they want to kick everyone's ass. I wish weight rooms had a no under 21's policy :o

I shit you not, I had a kid who looked like Kevin Covais off American Idol try to stare me down when I was chillin on the bench after the last set I did
 
Tweakle said:
Not a bad workout.. bf loss has stalled this last month so I'm wondering if I need to cut cals even more or try a pure CKD. Meh

http://x11.putfile.com/4/11020215839.jpg

pic from tonight that I sneaked in the restroom :o I would hope that I'm around 12% but I have no clue on measuring bf%
Click to expand...

How much more body fat are you looking to loose, are you prepairing for a body building competation/fitness show?

In my opinion you're f'n riped dude. Just about everyone on the board would love to be that cut and at the same time making the lifts you are making.

For the deadlifts, what's the reason for the touch and go? Also do you hold that last rep for as long as you can? Maybe I will try that next time and see how long before my grip gives out.
 
I want to get down to true single digits, with a 32" waist. I do really well for 6 days straight living on broccoli, ground turkey and flax but have a bad habit of pissing everything away with pizza gorge-fests at the weekend. I'll be restarting 3 x moderate/intense cardio this week rather than cutting cals any more.

Felt sluggish and unfocused last night.

Dips 205 x 2 +3/4 (could not lock out the last one even with a 5 second grind)
180 x 5 (wanted more)
90 x 15

Chins 90 x 4, drop to bw and rep out
70 x 5, drop to bw and rep out

Incline 275 x 5 (touch on last rep)
245 x 5
265 x 5

I'm still not comfortable with the incline but at least it's going up slowly

Hammer high row 5.5 plates/side x 10, 5 plates side x 20 (DC style R/P 14,4,2 reps)

felt destroyed after this, totally tanked
 
As an aside, I saw something cool last night - I'm training another lil guy from my office (who is suprisingly strong for a total beginner who eats less than my gf - he knocked off weighted dips with a 45 for 18 reps followed by weighted chins with a 25 for a good set of 10 last night) and inbetween sets I point out someone's loaded the bench up to 315 and that he wont see that often in our gym.

A set later I look up and they have 405 on it, very impressive. Then 455, then 495, then all the way up to 545 for a single. It was a shirted belly-bench, but all respect to the guy because that was a fuck-ton of weight to be lifting in a commerical gym and unlike most belly benchers he actually looked like he spent more time in the gym than propping up the bar or truckstop diner. Very cool to see, and hopefully he'll be coming back in future :)
 
Good stuff.....The inclines will move upward, you're a good bench presser, and I always say a strong presser is a strong presser, it is just a question of training the movements more suited to overhead lifting. The inclines carry over much, much better to flat benching than vice versa too.

I hear ya on the weekend gorging. Whenever I diet, after a week of being miserable, I go crazy and binge on something.
 
Tweakle said:
As an aside, I saw something cool last night - I'm training another lil guy from my office (who is suprisingly strong for a total beginner who eats less than my gf - he knocked off weighted dips with a 45 for 18 reps followed by weighted chins with a 25 for a good set of 10 last night) and inbetween sets I point out someone's loaded the bench up to 315 and that he wont see that often in our gym.
Click to expand...
Is it the little french dude? Or the guy who was trying to explain to me what an internet forum was?
 
Little french matt, the pushup king.. small but he's a wirey little monkey. If I could get him a feeding tube I think he could have a lot of potential as he eats maybe 1200 cals a day and usually all in sugary carbs.

He was inclining 135 for 10, which was a hell of a lot more than I was doing when I started lifting... but best of all he does everything I tell him to :D (unlike the other guy I tried to help who wanted to do cable flyes and one arm kickbacks to ''bring out the detail'' in his jacked up 10" guns)

BigT the crazy thing is I don't gorge that much, maybe 4 slices of medium pizza in one meal but the next day my waist will be up nearly 2 inches. Gotta drop my carbups down too
 
Tweakle said:
Little french matt, the pushup king.. small but he's a wirey little monkey. If I could get him a feeding tube I think he could have a lot of potential as he eats maybe 1200 cals a day and usually all in sugary carbs.

He was inclining 135 for 10, which was a hell of a lot more than I was doing when I started lifting... but best of all he does everything I tell him to :D (unlike the other guy I tried to help who wanted to do cable flyes and one arm kickbacks to ''bring out the detail'' in his jacked up 10" guns)
Click to expand...
Dam that incline is impressive does dude even weight 135? Glad you have someone that listens to you at least partly. Get him to eat dude tell him he will be jacked like Brad Pitt if he eats what you tell him too.
 
strong as a mofo.....great journal...vids are great! motivating alot of people in here to work harder
 
Terrible workout yesterday, I have to post the bad ones to remind me where I'm going wrong but there's nothing more depressing that deadlifts right now :(

tried conventional pulling, very distracted and could not focus worth shit. Along with the fear I have now for pulling (the pain in my ass is exquisite on every rep so when I go down the little voice in my head tells me THIS WILL HURT, YOU WILL HURT YOURSELF) ... some assbag was bouncing around on a bosu to my left, to my immediate right an obese PT was taking her client through a series of jumping jacks and behind me a little man was squeeling like a stuck pig on the leg press. Did I mention I hate my fucking gym?

worked up to 495 x 5 (reset) and every rep felt like 600lbs :(

my strongest lift has become my weakest & after efforts like this I feel like the last 2.5 years of training were wasted.. might as well have stayed home and ate pizza. Off cycle and dieted down I have pulled more than this

rack deads from above the knee (doesnt count, ROM was tiny) 595 x 20, 685 x 17

tried to box squat but my ass was on fire, leg press ditto

a pitiful set of front squats, 315 x 4 before I accepted it wasn't happening

calfs,
ez curl & hammer curl DC style

This has been a truely horrible 4 months and I'm kinda reaching the point where I don't know what I can do about my piriformis pain... I feel there's nothing I can do except get weaker every workout :(
 
silver_shadow said:
if i remember correctly, illuminati does sumos. i'd be keen on reading what he has to say too.
Click to expand...


No no no. Illuminati does not deadlift sumo style. tried before, but just can't get the hang of the lift. sumo is a lot more technique than the conventional and it seems like once you get the hang of sumo, most people end up pulling more due to the considerably shorter distance that the bar has to travel.
 
I had a much better workout tonight, my focus could be better but at least the sciatic pain I've been getting isn't going all the way down into my foot anymore - this means it's on the mend as it's only isolated in my glute now and the numbness isn't as pronounced at all. Fingers crossed things will be back to normal this month or next.. losing half a years training blows :)

T-bar rows

6 plates x 5, 7 plates x 6, 7.5 plates x 5, 6.5 plates x 12

I pulled a bit of a Diesel Weasle ont he last heavy set, too much hunch and heave and not enough control. I'm going to switch to using 35's next time, and try standing on an elevated platform of some kind as this is almost a partial lift for me (BB rows are still out for the time being)

Incline BB

225 x 3, 275 x 5, 295 x 3, 225 x 15 (rest paused the last 4 reps)

the weights are slowly coming up on the incline and I'm looking forward to getting 3 plates for 5 sometime not so far in the future.. looking at an old log at one point I was doing 385 x 4 on the smith incline (I know there's no real corrolation between the lifts, but still)

Rack pullups, 1 plate x 12, 2 plates x 10, 3 plates x 8 then a couple BW reps

still not sure if I'm doing these correctly so I'll video them next session

Hammer front military press, 2 plates/side x 10 then 2.5 x 6.. taking this easy as it aggrivates my shoulder if I go too hard (and even with the seat set at rock bottom the handles are still about 3" too low for me)

Curls, pushdowns (50 reps in 3 sets.. light weight for my joints)

Squats on monday :)
 
Good workout....I hope the injury goes away completely for you in the next few weeks....but, you did an excellent job working around it.
 
no booty rubs until next weekend, unless I can make a new friend in the locker room :o

thanks man, the ass pain is slowly diminishing and as a concession I'm (argh) dropping heavy squats until it's completely gone. I'll still do 8 x 3 on my deadlift day , but they'll be low box squats done with 90 seconds rest between sets for a cumulative effect.

Safety squat machine

725 x 4
765 x 1

http://media.putfile.com/765ssquat (guy spotting me is a 500+ bencher, a rarity in any gym never mind a fitness centre like mine)


585 x 11 (this was feckin horrid!)

I am really loving this machine, I 'cheat' by using my arms to stay more upright but that takes the pressure off my piriformis to a degree that I can actually hammer my legs without wanting to puke on every rep. Far superior to a leg press imo, although I would like some more direct quad work.. that isnt going to happen as the only leg press we have at that gym places a lot of stress on the glutes.

GM's 135 3 x 10 (more to stretch it out than anything)

Leg curls, lying, light weight slow squeeze reps (again for a stretch)

calf raises, abs (heavy)

short & sweet :)
 
I think I've said this before, but that machine has got to be the best 'non-squat' movement I've seen. At least it doesn't lock you into a fixed path - you can adjust for your own weaknesses and it appears that you can't lean into it like with a Smith. I wonder what that thing cost? Probably a bundle.
 
It really is a great piece of equipment, I'm not sure who makes it but if you ever get the chance to play with one I reccomend it. The yoke is free moving so there's no restriction and you can use whatever groove you like... sadly it gathers dust in the corner of the gym, only ever getting used by the Abercrombies to do half squats with 225 :o

I'm switching up a little bit, nothing to dramatic but it's an 'almost' DC routine, here's the planned format... I'm using a log book instead of posting WO's to keep me consistant

1 Dip, parallel grip chin, hammer shoulder press, Rack pull, incline DB press


2 db Hammer curl, Leg press 1 x 4-6 & 1 x 20, Ham curls, calfs, abs


3 incline bench, BB T-Bar row, DB shoulder, Rack Pullup, Hammer Dip machine


4 DB curl, safety squat machine 1 x 4-6 & 1 x 20, Stiff leg dead, calfs, abs


5 Smith decline, chin, BB shoulder, hammer high row, BB close grip


6 Ez curl, 14" box Squat 1 x 4-6, leg press 1 x 20, lying leg curl, calfs, abs
 
Tweakle said:
It really is a great piece of equipment, I'm not sure who makes it but if you ever get the chance to play with one I reccomend it. The yoke is free moving so there's no restriction and you can use whatever groove you like... sadly it gathers dust in the corner of the gym, only ever getting used by the Abercrombies to do half squats with 225 :o

I'm switching up a little bit, nothing to dramatic but it's an 'almost' DC routine, here's the planned format... I'm using a log book instead of posting WO's to keep me consistant

1 Dip, parallel grip chin, hammer shoulder press, Rack pull, incline DB press


2 db Hammer curl, Leg press 1 x 4-6 & 1 x 20, Ham curls, calfs, abs


3 incline bench, BB T-Bar row, DB shoulder, Rack Pullup, Hammer Dip machine


4 DB curl, safety squat machine 1 x 4-6 & 1 x 20, Stiff leg dead, calfs, abs


5 Smith decline, chin, BB shoulder, hammer high row, BB close grip


6 Ez curl, 14" box Squat 1 x 4-6, leg press 1 x 20, lying leg curl, calfs, abs
Click to expand...


You better be hitting incline first on day three. :evil:
 
I'm acclimatising to the low volume, all out stuff.. its hard after spending so long pushing 'just' to failure

I worry a little about overreliance on machines but I quite frankly cannot be explaining the concept of 15 rep RP to the average gym dork so machines it is (mostly)


yesterday's highlights

Safety squat, misloaded this to just 655 and thought I was The Man when I cranked out an easy 5.. unfortunately I was 90lbs off what I was supposed to be lifting.

waited 10 mins to recoup (and while a husky female PT removed her plump arse from the machine, I suspect she was saving some valuable calories leaning up against it while she spotted her client on smith squats.. in the end she deigned to move her behind off the weight horn she was leaning on so I could do my set)

745 x 4 - this is getting heavy as shit, in terms of effort required I would compare this to maybe 585 x 4 on the parallel squat but that's academic as they're different lifts

495 x 15 & 5 - supposed to be a constant 20 rep set but my piriformis was screaming at me so badly I almost passed out at 15 and had to rerack for a 15 second breather.

arms and calfs/hams/abs not worth posting about
 
I'm pretty unfamiliar with DC training, other than the basic idea of it, so it'll be interesting to see how you do your version.
 
It makes a lot of sense to me and gets around all the traditional failings of HIT.. there's deloading, exercise rotation, basic periodization and the stretches are in there too

The only thing I'm doing differently is exercise order within the workouts, just to get me in and out the gym faster.. there's no cumulative fatigue in the system so I don't see a problem with reordering it to a push/pull/push/pull/push order


I think the majority of people completely miss the point of the system - ie get brutally strong on the basic lifts in the 11-15RP rep range .. instead they focus on the little stuff, obsessing over doing the 'right' lifts or the correct rep speed and other tiny tiny stuff that ultimately doesnt mean shit.

the stretches are brutal, especially the back hang - I was wide gripping the chinning bar with 225 swinging in the breeze for 45 seconds last week and I still have huge red marks on my wrists from the straps.
 
Tweakle said:
It makes a lot of sense to me and gets around all the traditional failings of HIT.. there's deloading, exercise rotation, basic periodization and the stretches are in there too

The only thing I'm doing differently is exercise order within the workouts, just to get me in and out the gym faster.. there's no cumulative fatigue in the system so I don't see a problem with reordering it to a push/pull/push/pull/push order


I think the majority of people completely miss the point of the system - ie get brutally strong on the basic lifts in the 11-15RP rep range .. instead they focus on the little stuff, obsessing over doing the 'right' lifts or the correct rep speed and other tiny tiny stuff that ultimately doesnt mean shit.

the stretches are brutal, especially the back hang - I was wide gripping the chinning bar with 225 swinging in the breeze for 45 seconds last week and I still have huge red marks on my wrists from the straps.
Click to expand...
the stretches are something i've tried in the past, yes, they almost brought tears to my eyes... they were so painful.
 
It's going ok - I've been logging my workouts, not posting anything as I'm still acclimatising to the new training.. the higher reps and R/P kill me & I find that after chest and shoulders I barely have anything left for triceps. Tough way to train :) I've maxxed out all the hammer machines in my gym already (using my dipping belt to hang extra 45's on the movement arm and doing the pulling one arm at a time)

I'm doing mostly machine based work because it's just too much of a pain in the arse to explain to a spotter the 3 rest pause concept and I can't afford to go into a set wondering if he got it or if he's a typical idiot who'll grab the bar on the first rep or worse still, walk away when I take my first RP
 
LMAO! Why do you even bother? LoL Unless he’s a superhero, he would be absolutely NO help if things went south. Although he looked . . . eager. LoL

Nice depth.
 
There's something about the way you strain, Tweakle, that always makes it look like you're packing a lot of raw power. That spotter was awesome. He should hire out for videos.
 
Are you still doing all the cardio? What's the bf and weight right now? If you don't mind me asking. Thanks
 
cardio about 3 x a week at a moderate intensity, and I'm walking every day for an hour or so. I'm around 230ish but have no clue my bf%, there are veins on my abs and quads but I have very female bodyfat storage patterns (my arms look soft even when all 8 abs are there)

probably need to drop another 20-30lbs to be ripped but I'm good to go for the time being, I'll be enjoying heavy training for a few months before I make another assault on single digits bf
 
Good to hear, 8 abs with veins is lean enough, lol....plus you seem to still been able to hang on to your strength.
 
I agree with Biggt on that. I've been skinny as a rail (still am next to y'all) and never been able to see 8 abs. And my veins are pathetic in my whole body. I don't even have the one that every other person on this planet has. The 'bicep' vein, the one that gives the arms that separation, know what I'm talkin about? It's like I was born without it. What the hell, is it behind my bicep? I appreciate these journals from the big guys with big numbers, it's gives me motivation, whereas the big guys I've met at the gym are total opposites. Good work Tweakle.
 
LOL at your spotter, good stuff.

Reminds me of me when I was asked to spot Big Rich at my old gym years ago. He was doing 565 close grip bench (that was just his normal grip, BTW) and I was quivering just like that guy in your vid.
 
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