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The Beast's Training Journal!
- Thread starter WalkingBeast
- Start date
More videos coming but it will probably take about an hour for everything to upload
About to hit some back and delts. Dont really have a plan as Im real torn up, especially the arms and shoulder joints, tendons, etc. Main goal will just be to send growth signals during this phase. Id say right now its about 75 percent maintenance and 25 percent growth phase. Growth is starting to slow down but still occuring, however I am not pushing eating heavily just yet. When I do, training will mostly remain the same (aside from getting stronger and hitting more weight and reps), and diet will be the main thing that increases. At the very least Im maintaining a base size that is around the largest Ive ever been. So that is a very solid starting point for a growth phase when the time comes.
Training is mostly instinctual as always but I have a few routines within the routine, that have been more stable lately. Such as my lighter pressing day focusing on high rep incline dumbbell presses and my heavy pressing day focusing on hammer strength incline and nautilus overhead press (as a secondary movement). Alternating heavy and light weeks for chest and shoulders has been giving my joints alot more longetivity. Before I would do every session heavy, through the pain as well. You can see in some videos where I have a steel wrist brace on and am maxing out the hammer strength inclines. I only listen to pain now to extend my training life before any long breaks. Otherwise I can ignore anything when training. Thats how I ruptured six discs and alot of other damage.
I just want to feel some nice contractions today. I may mix fast rowing with some long holds. I dont think Ill be going over 450 today on the hammer strength rows but cant really say until I start throwing some shit around. Ill try to get something on video just to give the journal a little fire. I post videos of some of my lighter lifts now too, just to give some insight into the training and spread some fire for those that stop by.
Im no longer limited to just text, so I think its a valuable thing to add some animation and visuals to the journal regularly. Its also useful for me to see what I was doing from various time periods. A big reason Ive kept these online journals alive is because the organization is much better than my own. The videos and pictures are all together with the text. In my archives I have to match everything so its much easier to view this way. I always provide direct and honest feedback and that also helps me when viewing backlogs of my training journals.
Appreciate those who have supported the journal blindly, before the tech, and welcome all new comers to start discussions or post thier own stories and experiences about lifting
KILL THAT SHIT
Training is mostly instinctual as always but I have a few routines within the routine, that have been more stable lately. Such as my lighter pressing day focusing on high rep incline dumbbell presses and my heavy pressing day focusing on hammer strength incline and nautilus overhead press (as a secondary movement). Alternating heavy and light weeks for chest and shoulders has been giving my joints alot more longetivity. Before I would do every session heavy, through the pain as well. You can see in some videos where I have a steel wrist brace on and am maxing out the hammer strength inclines. I only listen to pain now to extend my training life before any long breaks. Otherwise I can ignore anything when training. Thats how I ruptured six discs and alot of other damage.
I just want to feel some nice contractions today. I may mix fast rowing with some long holds. I dont think Ill be going over 450 today on the hammer strength rows but cant really say until I start throwing some shit around. Ill try to get something on video just to give the journal a little fire. I post videos of some of my lighter lifts now too, just to give some insight into the training and spread some fire for those that stop by.
Im no longer limited to just text, so I think its a valuable thing to add some animation and visuals to the journal regularly. Its also useful for me to see what I was doing from various time periods. A big reason Ive kept these online journals alive is because the organization is much better than my own. The videos and pictures are all together with the text. In my archives I have to match everything so its much easier to view this way. I always provide direct and honest feedback and that also helps me when viewing backlogs of my training journals.
Appreciate those who have supported the journal blindly, before the tech, and welcome all new comers to start discussions or post thier own stories and experiences about lifting
KILL THAT SHIT
Back and delts
Light and low volume
Arms and shoulders pretty tore up prior. Zero fuckin energy prior. Once I got in there I was able to grind it out though. Got a great contraction in lats today and real swollen pump in them. I can feel that shit expanding. Was heavier today at 236 lbs. Only 6 lbs below my heaviest which was in 2012 and much sloppier. I was also bloated with food and liquid when I hit that weight, this time only one meal. Chest/back is a few inches larger though too and gut much smaller.
Havent used straps in years as my grip is beyond sufficient for any weight that I row, but starting to feel alot of tightness in wrists while gripping. Comes in phases. Not enough to cut any of my sets short though. I stopped using them because I felt that strapping over 730 lbs to my wrists during beast lifts in 2003 (at 185 lbs), and rows over the years with many hundreds of pounds for massive volume, was pulling my hands off the bone and causing the carpal tunnel and numbness I now have in both hands. One possible factor of many.
Left inner elbow tendon below bicep starting to flare up a little towards the end. With the lat pulldowns I switched over to holds at the bottom so that I would not need to go beyond the 300 lb stack. When I do long holds this makes the weight feel 4 to 5 times heavier rep wise as well. So its a great technique when trying to get the most out of lighter weights (for tendon breaks).
Beyond that I also will stack multiple beyond failure techniques together in one massive set sometimes. Knowing how to order them for maximum muscle torture just takes some thought and experimentation. There is static failure (holds), eccentric failure (negative part of movement done slow), concentric failure , and then theres dropsets, rest pause, supersets, partial ranges of motion and various other techniques that can be mixed together in one set. Figuring it out is the easy part, completing it takes some mental drive and pain tolerance. Fuck muscle confusion , KILL THAT SHIT every session unless you have injuries youre training around. Consistant, high volume, high intensity (to failure), and progressive training (look to add reps every set, even warm ups, every session, every fucking exercise) is the type of mentality and mindset ive always trained with. Of course after nearly 21 years its modified for my own preservation and longetivity. Instinctual. I dont really need progressive resistance anymore to grow, there is many ways to torture the muscle without super heavy weights. Embrace the fucking pain.
Mostly fast ballistics but making sure to get that deep stretch and cramping contraction on each rep. Going through the motions really is ineffective with back especially. When I started to feel my back contract and cramp is when my back started to blow up. I was doing long holds for a while but my back got used to it, so now im going back to my old style of ballistics , except this time much more controlled. Dont let the weight yank my shoulders out of the sockets anymore at the top. I perform a very quick tight lat contraction and stretch at the end of a row or pulldown and then feel it stretch while still fully contracted. Gives a cramping type sensation and pumps the fuck out of my lats. Slow or quick reps are effective for me either way with that mind connection to the muscle.
Also have been taking in 100 grams of MTS whey protein post workout. (4 scoops) This is an easy way to get it down and then eat shortly afterward. I mix 5 grams of creatine in it as well. So somedays I get 13 or so grams of creatine. Might be kicking in as weight is coming up. I have also started eating heavily last few days. Yesterday only 100 grams of protein but for the most part more food intake is bringing size back up again
236 lbs after meal (3 lbs added to scale weight to match other gym)
Hammerstrength Iso High Row
90x50 (warm up not to failure)
180x20
270x20
360x8
Most of these not to failure, just pump shit
Iso Low Row Hammer Strength
180x30
270x20
360x15
Same thing. I havent been dropsetting back much lately because it takes away from heavier straight sets, and heavier overall training that could be used. When possible I prefer straight sets for most body parts with longer rests between.
Low Cable Rows
195x20 warm up, not to failure
255x20 (see video)
300x12 (see video)
Lat Pulldowns with curved medium length bar (palms facing grip)
195x15 warm up
255x10 (brief holds, see video)
300x5 (brief holds see video)
Elbow inner tendon starting to flare up so decided to move onto mostly Dumbbell laterals (my version that hits mostly traps)
Dumbbell Laterals (hybrid movement, mostly traps these days)
No rest til line
40x40
60x10
40x10
50x10
-------
For dumbbell laterals I basically rested very little between all sets. I just kept fucking moving for the most part and pumped my traps to the point of having neck pain holding my head up. Very swollen and full pump.
75x10
60x20 (these werent dropsetted, straight sets, but very little rest between all of this)
No rest til line
60x10
50x10
---------------
No rest til line
75x10
60x10
50x10
--------------
no rest til line
75x20
60x10
50x10
------------------
Cybex Lat pull (pin loaded)
210x15 (long holds)
tendon irritated as mentioned so didnt hit any more row work
Db laterals
no rest til line
75x15
60x10
50x10
--------
KILL THAT SHIT
videos below
Light and low volume
Arms and shoulders pretty tore up prior. Zero fuckin energy prior. Once I got in there I was able to grind it out though. Got a great contraction in lats today and real swollen pump in them. I can feel that shit expanding. Was heavier today at 236 lbs. Only 6 lbs below my heaviest which was in 2012 and much sloppier. I was also bloated with food and liquid when I hit that weight, this time only one meal. Chest/back is a few inches larger though too and gut much smaller.
Havent used straps in years as my grip is beyond sufficient for any weight that I row, but starting to feel alot of tightness in wrists while gripping. Comes in phases. Not enough to cut any of my sets short though. I stopped using them because I felt that strapping over 730 lbs to my wrists during beast lifts in 2003 (at 185 lbs), and rows over the years with many hundreds of pounds for massive volume, was pulling my hands off the bone and causing the carpal tunnel and numbness I now have in both hands. One possible factor of many.
Left inner elbow tendon below bicep starting to flare up a little towards the end. With the lat pulldowns I switched over to holds at the bottom so that I would not need to go beyond the 300 lb stack. When I do long holds this makes the weight feel 4 to 5 times heavier rep wise as well. So its a great technique when trying to get the most out of lighter weights (for tendon breaks).
Beyond that I also will stack multiple beyond failure techniques together in one massive set sometimes. Knowing how to order them for maximum muscle torture just takes some thought and experimentation. There is static failure (holds), eccentric failure (negative part of movement done slow), concentric failure , and then theres dropsets, rest pause, supersets, partial ranges of motion and various other techniques that can be mixed together in one set. Figuring it out is the easy part, completing it takes some mental drive and pain tolerance. Fuck muscle confusion , KILL THAT SHIT every session unless you have injuries youre training around. Consistant, high volume, high intensity (to failure), and progressive training (look to add reps every set, even warm ups, every session, every fucking exercise) is the type of mentality and mindset ive always trained with. Of course after nearly 21 years its modified for my own preservation and longetivity. Instinctual. I dont really need progressive resistance anymore to grow, there is many ways to torture the muscle without super heavy weights. Embrace the fucking pain.
Mostly fast ballistics but making sure to get that deep stretch and cramping contraction on each rep. Going through the motions really is ineffective with back especially. When I started to feel my back contract and cramp is when my back started to blow up. I was doing long holds for a while but my back got used to it, so now im going back to my old style of ballistics , except this time much more controlled. Dont let the weight yank my shoulders out of the sockets anymore at the top. I perform a very quick tight lat contraction and stretch at the end of a row or pulldown and then feel it stretch while still fully contracted. Gives a cramping type sensation and pumps the fuck out of my lats. Slow or quick reps are effective for me either way with that mind connection to the muscle.
Also have been taking in 100 grams of MTS whey protein post workout. (4 scoops) This is an easy way to get it down and then eat shortly afterward. I mix 5 grams of creatine in it as well. So somedays I get 13 or so grams of creatine. Might be kicking in as weight is coming up. I have also started eating heavily last few days. Yesterday only 100 grams of protein but for the most part more food intake is bringing size back up again
236 lbs after meal (3 lbs added to scale weight to match other gym)
Hammerstrength Iso High Row
90x50 (warm up not to failure)
180x20
270x20
360x8
Most of these not to failure, just pump shit
Iso Low Row Hammer Strength
180x30
270x20
360x15
Same thing. I havent been dropsetting back much lately because it takes away from heavier straight sets, and heavier overall training that could be used. When possible I prefer straight sets for most body parts with longer rests between.
Low Cable Rows
195x20 warm up, not to failure
255x20 (see video)
300x12 (see video)
Lat Pulldowns with curved medium length bar (palms facing grip)
195x15 warm up
255x10 (brief holds, see video)
300x5 (brief holds see video)
Elbow inner tendon starting to flare up so decided to move onto mostly Dumbbell laterals (my version that hits mostly traps)
Dumbbell Laterals (hybrid movement, mostly traps these days)
No rest til line
40x40
60x10
40x10
50x10
-------
For dumbbell laterals I basically rested very little between all sets. I just kept fucking moving for the most part and pumped my traps to the point of having neck pain holding my head up. Very swollen and full pump.
75x10
60x20 (these werent dropsetted, straight sets, but very little rest between all of this)
No rest til line
60x10
50x10
---------------
No rest til line
75x10
60x10
50x10
--------------
no rest til line
75x20
60x10
50x10
------------------
Cybex Lat pull (pin loaded)
210x15 (long holds)
tendon irritated as mentioned so didnt hit any more row work
Db laterals
no rest til line
75x15
60x10
50x10
--------
KILL THAT SHIT
videos below
