needsize's training journal

[SAGAT]

alright, a few notes.
about the barbell row thing, i tend to be able to use more weight underhand, but definitely feel more tension in the lats and traps when i use overhand. seeing as you stated you prefer to be big instead of strong, i'd suggest overhand grip in your case.
now, i have a question about your bis. you are way stronger than me in just about any exercise, i mean WAY stronger. but after seeing your close grip weights and deads weights, your barbell curl and preacher curl weights really surprise me. now, i'm not trying to show off believe me, it's all meant as constructive criticism but i can handle just as much weight as you can on the barbell curl, and quite a bit more on the preacher curl. as i said, not showing off/acting like a tough guy, but maybe your bis should be a point of focus. anyways, keep it up!

 

[bigdelt69]

Needsize, you body looks great ( dont think I am gay!)

Your numbers are terrific, also.

cant understand why your bench is not up more. Not like it matters any way, judging from the way your chest and shoulder look.

 

[louden_swain]

alright, a few notes.
about the barbell row thing, i tend to be able to use more weight underhand, but definitely feel more tension in the lats and traps when i use overhand. seeing as you stated you prefer to be big instead of strong, i'd suggest overhand grip in your case.
now, i have a question about your bis. you are way stronger than me in just about any exercise, i mean WAY stronger. but after seeing your close grip weights and deads weights, your barbell curl and preacher curl weights really surprise me. now, i'm not trying to show off believe me, it's all meant as constructive criticism but i can handle just as much weight as you can on the barbell curl, and quite a bit more on the preacher curl. as i said, not showing off/acting like a tough guy, but maybe your bis should be a point of focus. anyways, keep it up!

Just because Needsize uses less weight than you on bicep exercises does not mean that he needs to emphasize the area. I think you are confused. His arms are big and strong, as he focuses on the quality of the exercise in good form. Remember, arms are small weaker muscles compared to the rest of the body. As he said before, he is looking for bodybuilding quality. Using sloppy form with heavy weights is not the answer to building big guns. Maybe its you that needs to emphasize the weaker areas. It makes no sense to have strong biceps, but a weak back. These are things to think about.

 

[SAGAT]

Just because Needsize uses less weight than you on bicep exercises does not mean that he needs to emphasize the area. I think you are confused. His arms are big and strong, as he focuses on the quality of the exercise in good form. Remember, arms are small weaker muscles compared to the rest of the body. As he said before, he is looking for bodybuilding quality. Using sloppy form with heavy weights is not the answer to building big guns. Maybe its you that needs to emphasize the weaker areas. It makes no sense to have strong biceps, but a weak back. These are things to think about.

i know his arms are big and strong, and that he is looking for bodybuilding quality. i also know i need to bring up my own weaker areas, that's one of the reasons i visit these boards.
the weights just struck me as low, in comparison to the rest of the weights he uses. i of course agree with you that using sloppy form is not going to produce big arms. but from the tone of your post i think you're suggesting that i myself am not using good form (i always use strict form). plz correct me if i'm wrong, i'm not too keen on starting internet "arguements". anyway i understand where you're coming from, but i thought needsize posted his training journal to show us (and himself) his progress and to get feedback. and that's just what i did, give feedback. peace

 

[needsize]

I did post my training as a means of starting constructive debates anyway, so no worries...

The funny thing is, my tris are way stronger than my bis, but my bis are way big compared to my tris, I really need to bring up the size of my tris. I find that as heavy as I train my bi's, it still causes forearm pain (kinda like shin splints), and I damaged a bicep tendon a few years back pulling up 110lb dumbells for shoulder press, so too be honest I really dont want to go heavier on them. One thing has stuck with me for a long time, a competitive bodybuilder that I used to train with had the same sort of physique as me, but his arms were a good inch bigger than what mine are now. But the funny thing is I never saw him curl over a 35lb dumbell (but I watched him squat 500lbs for a set of 5, ass to the floor), so he must have been on to something. His arms were way bigger than mine but his tendons didnt ache like a bastard after every workout.

Some bodyparts, ie legs, I think have to be trained really heavy to make them grow, I'm just not sure bis are the same. Dont get me wrong, if I could curl a few plates per side for good reps without any pain, fuck, I'd be all over that, but it's not in the cards for me.

Bigdelt, thanks, after over 10 years of training it's nice to know I'm doing a few things right. As for my bench, I've always had a crappy bench. Part could be that I have long arms, plus a bad rotator cuff. I'd say there are a ton of guys in my gym that can out bench me, but maybe one of them may have a bigger chest. So I cant bench as much due to the long arms, but the increased range of motion allows me to develop a thick chest, I just take what I'm given...

 

[needsize]

27/09/2002 Quads/Hams/Calves/Abs

Today was a personal best on the squats and it went up easy as hell, I want to curl up under a rock and die now but it felt good at the time

Squats (ass to the floor, no belt)
415lbs 3x5 reps
315lbs 1x8 reps

Hack squat (60 degree)
3 plates plus 5lbs per side
10,8,8 reps with a drop set

Seated calf raises
6x15 reps
Standing raises
3x15 reps

Lying Hamstring curls
4x10 reps

Abs 5 second static holds on decline bench with 45lb plate
5x8 reps

 

[SAGAT]

glad i didn't offend you needsize. so it's because of tendon pain? that must be a bitch. anyways you've got good quality guns so it seems to me you solved that problem pretty well. but the whole thing is clear to me now, so i'll leave it at that. keep it up!

 

[needsize]

29/09/2002 Chest/calves

Despite my rotator cuff hurting like a bastard, my strength was great today and my flat bench was a personal record

Flat Bench
320lbs 3x5 reps

Incline dumbell press
115's 8,6 reps 110's 6 reps

Incline dumbell flyes
80's x 8 reps, 75's x 8 reps, 65's x 10 reps

Hammer strength chest press thingy
2x10 reps with a drop set

Standing calf raises
6x15 reps

Seated calf raises
4x15 reps

Finished with some light fast tricep work

 

[needsize]

30/09/2002 Back/Shoulders

Rotator cuff hurt like hell but still hit a personal best on military press.

Military Press
240lbs 3x5 reps, 205lbs 1x8 reps

Deads (decided I wanted to try something new so I dropped 70lbs from my working weight and went for 8's instead of 5's)
455lbs 2x8 reps

Laterals
45's x8, 40's x11,10,9,8 with a drop set

Pullups (bodyweight)
2x8 reps

Wide grip pulldowns
3x8 reps

Shrugs (smith machine)
205lbs 10,10,9,8,8 reps

T Bar rows
110lbs 4x10 reps

Bent over laterals
35's x 8 reps, 30's x 10,8 reps

Finished up with some light fast bicep work

 

[needsize]

03/10/2002 Bi's/Tris

My bicep tendons have been causing me some serious pain for the past week (I damaged them years ago pulling up heavy dumbells for shoulder press) so I decided to drop the weights and go for higher reps on some of the exercises.

Close grip bench
300lbs 3x5 reps

Standing barbell curl
115lbs 3x8 reps

Weighted dips
BW+130lbs 7 reps, 125lbs 7,6 reps

Incline dumbell curls
55's x 6, 50's x 6, 45's x 7

Skull crushers
145lbsx7 reps, 140lbs x 7 reps, 135lbs x 8 reps

Preacher curls (EZ curl bar)
105lbs x 7 reps, 100lbs x 7 reps, 95lbs x 8 reps, 80lbs x 8 reps with drop set

Overhead extensions (EZ curl bar)
110lbs 12,10 reps with a drop set