The Ultimate Journal 3.0

[Coke]

:withstupi - :D

..pullin off some good work pimp - ;)

[JuniorMint6669]

lol! Thanks guys, i think. ;) Realtor girl actually has a nice body, well, what little Ive seen of it. Flat stomach, round butt, 5'5", 130 lbs. She's pretty active, but I dont think she lifts. I asked her if she knew what a deadlift was, she didnt. Guess Ill just have to teach her :D Girl who deadlifts = :drooling:

[defcon]

Just getting caught up in your journal JM.. That Girl wants you!
My analogical breakdown:

"your as aggressive as a lamb" means: She wants to be more physically touched/played with by you, in other words, carry on a lot, she likes to be playful.

"ill figure you out myself" means: She is looking into the future, and you are included in it ;) Just be more spontaneous and playful with her! thas all she wants :P

[defcon]

Oh yeah.. When your gettin sum :hump: in the next lil while, think of mE!!! MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! and use those strong squat/DL legs n back to improve your :hump:'ing skills! oh yeah baby! :hump: :D

[JuniorMint6669]

November 26th
Legs

Deadlift 135x6 255 4x4
Holy **** this was hard. Very very difficult. But I locked out every rep. Good stuff.

Leg Press 460 4x4
Was not difficult actually, will increase weight next week.

Glue Ham Raise bw+2.5lbs 4x4
First time ive done this with added weight, and it was fairly easy. Not anymore difficult than BW reps. I will increase weight according to plate size increments.

Speed Work
Box Squats w/2 second pause 95 3x10
Touched box, hovered over for a 2 count, and exploded up. Fairly easy, got decent speed going, but definatly something I need to work on.

Dropsets
Standing Calf Raise 290x11 280x7 270x6 260x4 (28 reps)
Easy.

Hip Adductor

Hip Abductor skipped

Seated Leg Curl 70x10 90x9 100x5
2 Leg Extension 70x8 90x12 110x10 130x8
First time doing these excercises in a long time, so they really werent dropsets; I was just finding a weight that I will start on for next workout.

~36 minutes

I did abs a few hours later, and my legs were still trembling when I raised them in the air for crunches. Pretty trippy. Havent had such a good leg workout in a long time, Im guessing to the high volume of deads. As mentioned before, Ill be alternating squats and deads. I am very curious to see how this affects my progress. I was happy that I was able to get through the entire workout in such little time. One of my concerns of starting a 4x4 based routine was increase in workout times, but this is right in line or even quicker than some of my previous leg workouts.

[JuniorMint6669]

defcon: thanks, i think you're right. Honestly, I think this is the first time in my life that ive been with a girl that is more interested in me than i am in her. Not to say that im not interested in her, but she seems pretty into me. I interpreted the whole "future" thing same as you. And thanks(sarcastic). All I need is to think of you eating oatmeal next time im getting my :hump: on.

[chops]

Originally posted by JuniorMint6669
defcon: All I need is to think of younext time im getting my :hump: on.

i do not wish to know.

[JuniorMint6669]

lol then do not ask

[galileo]

Yes.

[JuniorMint6669]

:withstupi

Mass update coming tonight, after work. Quick preview: Diet is crap and im gaining weight, mostly the good kind. 4x4 is going great. Im still sick. Realtor girl is sick. Really busy at work.

[JuniorMint6669]

OK, so that didnt exactly go as planned. Workouts will be posted later, not sure when.

Yesterday realtor girl text messaged my cell asking if i wanted to meet for lunch. I didnt check my phone until the end of my lunch break. *doh* I called her and told her that I got her message late so it was too late for lunch. "There's always dinner," she said. Awww how nice.
So right after work we went out for japanese food at a restaurant that claimed it was chinese. It even had a japanese name, and the menu was in japanese/english. But sure as ****, right below the name of the restaraunt was the notation "chinese restaraunt". If it was a joke, which I assume it was, I got it and I think its very funny.
Then we were driving around and I was trying to figure out where to go and she said "BORDERS!" So we read books and looked at DVDs.
"Oh look at the time, its almost 10:00! Average joe is on" So we went back to her place to watch that. Anyone else see this episode with the fat suit? LOL I felt bad for them. Not sure I would have been much different if you stuck me in a room with three of my B-R-O's. But like the outkast song say "big girls need love too, no discrimination here". Realtor girl asked me if i'd ever date an overweight girl, and I said yes, I have, and it doesnt really matter. "Good answer." Doh, I forgot I was being quizzed. Despite the fact that she is "athletic and toned" she has obese friends, so its important to her.
Then we played Grand theft auto... which ive never played before. So much fun.
Like I said, she was sick. Im pretty sure I got her sick. She doesnt know that I was sick though. She said I made her feel better. Awwwww. I really like this girl. Damnit. Now that im all pseudo-hard-body, im supposed to be a playa. It's okay though. This girl is really 1 in a million.
Oh yea, I'm not sure she liked my tongue ring. I think she likes looking at it, but it kinda gets in the way in her mouth. She said it was different. I told her not to be afraid. She said she wasnt and proved it. *note taking time: want a competitive girl to do something, just tell her that she's afraid and she'll prove you wrong* At least she wasnt totally repulsed by it. Thats a plus.... right?.... guys?....
Seriously though, it was a really great THIRD DATE. She's good people and I like good people.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yesterday was my first rest day in about 7 days. My lowerback was starting to feel perpetual DOMS, which tells me I need some time off. I'll likely go back to the gym tonight, but we'll see how i feel after work.
Im making very nice gains so far on 4x4. I finally hit 4x4 of body weight chins, which is nice considering Im heavier than before. Ill start adding weight next workout. Speed work has really helped my squat, I can definatly tell a difference.
And... im late for class, gotta get going, my final exam is today.

[pruneman]

sounds like things are going your way JM :D

[galileo]

Now, get to the anal sex!

[Stephen Riddington]

I agree with pruneman.

As for Average Joe, I laughed at the guy who coined the term, "DUFF." He got freaking /pwned.

[JuniorMint6669]

November 27th
Pull
Chinup bwx4x4x4x3
1 rep better than previous workout.

BB Shrugs 290 4x4
Pretty easy. I notice I lower the weight quicker with my left arm. Im not sure if that matters, but in future workouts Ill try to lower the shoulders at the same speed.

Bent over DB Row 70 4x4
Easy, but getting harder.

Seated Cable Row 200 4x4
Felt very strong, maybe some slight cheating on the last rep. Maybe.

Cambered Bar Curl 80x4 80x4 80x4 80x2
Whew. Almost got it. Very tired biceps.

Speedwork
Chindown w/static hold at bottom 90 3x10
Basically trying to focus on the movement when arms are fully extended. After the static hold, I release, fully extend, and bounce back to hold. Something like plyometrics. 3 reps. 10 sets.

Dropsets
Wide grip pulldown 160x3 150x2 140x4 130x4 120x5 (18 reps)
My reps suffered significantly from the previous workout, im guessing to the additional sets of speedwork.

Hammer Strength Shrug 290x8 280x7 270x8 260x5 250x6 (34 reps)
Grip was still limiting me, so I did extra reps.

Seated Cable Row eliminated from this and future workouts
Too much volume on pull days, im trying to bring it down. By the time I get to this Im so worn already its hardly worth the effort.

DB Curl 30x2 25x3 20x3 15x5 (13 reps)
Despite not doing the dropset of cable rows, my biceps were still useless, as seen here.

Hammer Curl 15x11 (11 reps)

I cant read my own writing, either 43 or 48 minutes. When you're only taking 30 seconds between sets, and only 5 seconds on dropsets, thats a long ****ing time. Volume is too high and must be adjusted. Progress is still there. Pump is better here than in any previous workout. Im not sure it looks that way because of the higher intensity, my getting leaner, or my gaining LBM. Whatever.

[JuniorMint6669]

November 28th
Push: Push Press
Push Press 45x6 120 4x4
Felt pretty strong. I know I can get more weight up, but I have weak stabilizers. On one rep I nearly fell backwards while locking out. I will continue to progress slowly (+5 lbs per week) rather than attempt to make quicks jumps to maximum weights.

Incline Fly 60 4x4
Actually pretty easy. Im guessing because I do not use much chest on push press.

DB Flat Bench Press 55 4x4
I dropped the weight from last week, because of poor performance. However this was extremely easy. Perhaps due to the fact that I did not perform BB bench. I am going to have to monitor my progress on excercises more closely, now that I am alternating my first excercise.

Speedwork
Bench Press w/2 second pause at bottom 85 3x10
Really good speed off the bottom. I like this excercise.

Dropsets
Cable Crossover 70x15 65x8 60x9 55x6 50x9 (47 reps)
Still making very nice gains on this. I kind of went overboard on the reps. I have no idea why (this workout is being posted 4 days after it occured, and im forgetful). Im sure I had a good reason at the time.

Tricep Pushdown 75x9 70x5 65x6 60x4 55x5 (29 reps)
Better than last week, but still pretty low. I want to progress slowly though, to prevent form degrading terribly.

Lateral Raise Machine 110x8x8x8
I had to work in with someone, so rather than waste time trying to find a heavy enough weight for 4x4, i just did this. If I have the machine to myself next workout, ill do 4x4.
~35 minutes

Very good time. I find that when I keep the workouts quick, I can go to the gym more often without feeling worn. I like going to the gym, so this works well for me. As mentioned, I worry about getting mixed progress depending on whether my main excercise for the day is push press or bench press. This could also be a problem on leg day. If it does become a problem, I will just treat them as completely seperate workout days, and every excercise will progress independant of the other push day's progress. If that makes any sense. It does to me.

[JuniorMint6669]

November 29th
Legs: Squat

Squat 135x5 195 4x4
I got really ****ing good speed, especially on the early reps. Gave me good confidence. My speedwork seems to pay off. This is still well below my pre injury box squat weight, but this would be my highest recorded free squat weight. Im happy.

Leg Press 470 4x4
Seemed very easy. I have no idea why.

Glue Ham Raise bw+5lbs 4x4
+2.5lbs from last week. I could definatly tell a difference in the later reps of the later sets. Had to squeeze glutes and hams HARD to get up. Good stuff.

Speed Work
Deadlift w/2 second static hold 125 3x10
Much like the chindowns, plyometric. Deadlift weight up, static hold. Lower weight using a squat like drop, and bouncing up. Because the weight was 50% of my last weeks deadlift weight, I had to use 35's instead of 45s. This gave me an idea though. I was worried about clanging the weights on the ground after every rep because I was going so fast. But by using smaller plates, I can go deeper without actually touching the ground. If you wanted some variety, you could use a lot of 25 plates to go even deeper. You could also stand on an aerobic step, but ive never felt stable on them.

Dropsets
Standing Calf Raise 300x14 290x6 280x4 270x4 (28 reps)
Easy. Still making good gains on this.

Hip Adductor
Hip Abductor
im going to stop doing this from now on. Just a waste of time.

Seated Leg Curl 95x15 90x6 85x6 80x4 (31 reps)
2 Leg Extension 135x12 130x5 125x9 120x3 (29 reps)
First time doing these excercises as a dropset, and the failure on the first sets seemed to be from lactic acid accumilation rather than muscular fatigue. I expect to make quick gains on these excercises for a while.
~37 minutes

Very happy about my strength on all excercises. Making good progress.

[JuniorMint6669]

November 30th
Pull
Chinup bw 4x4
1 rep better than previous workout. Finally completed 4x4. Will start adding weight next week with dip belt.

BB Shrugs 295 4x4
Grip seemed to be going early. I held on for all reps, but it was noticable.

Bent over DB Row 70 4x4
Early reps seemed difficult. Got easier though. Thats weird.

Seated Cable Row 210x4 210x4 210x2 210x2
Very weak. Some of these reps were not even full ROM. I felt a lot of discomfort in my right shoulder while performing this. I will lower weight next workout.

Cambered Bar Curl eliminated from this and future workouts
As mentioned before, I was looking for a way to eliminate some of the volume on pull workouts. What better way than to get rid of an isolation movement, especially for strength.

Speedwork
Chindown w/static hold at bottom 100 3x10
Weight was too light last week, this was just perfect.

Dropsets
Wide grip pulldown 140x14 130x6 120x8 110x5(33 reps)
Lowered the weight 20lbs from last workout (see post for explanation). Reps here were much better than expected, maybe because of dropping curls. I will continue to progress on this next week.

Hammer Strength Shrug 290x14 280x8 270x9 260x9 (40 reps)
Grip was not a problem, which was nice. I was able to get a lot of reps out and I will increase next workout.

Cambered Bar Curl 65x11 60x4 55x4 50x3 (22 reps)
I switched this in in place of db curls, because I still want my biceps to grow and DBs are very difficult for my to progress in when I am in such a fatigued state. These felt pretty good, even though wimpy weights.
~39 minutes

Much better timing. Felt good. Muscles fatigued, but I am not mentally drained. My quickie math says: 4x4 + dropsets = good stuff.

[pruneman]

really nice looking couple of workouts JM. I like how you keep your sessions short and to the point.

[JuniorMint6669]

pruneman: I agree
gal: I agree
Homer: I agree

:nod:

[Stephen Riddington]

Nice workouts.

[JuniorMint6669]

pruneman/canadian homer: thanks! By keeping my workouts short I can workout more often. Plus Im not wasting time. Plus I dont get burned out from spending too much time at the gym.

[JuniorMint6669]

[November 28th
Push: Bench Press
Bench Press 45x6 135x4 175x4 175x4 175x3 175x3
I do this sans spotter, so I avoid failure (getting pinned). Im not sure if I could get the last reps on the last two sets, but Im guessing I couldnt. Despite missing on the third set, I will not lower the weight as I mentioned I would in my protocol description. Im not yet decided how I will judge progress, but there is no reason for me to repeat 170 at this point.

Incline Fly 65x4 65x4 65x4 65x1
Last reps were all hard. Form was probably bad. I need to get rid of this excercise and replace it with something I can have consistant form on. Im thinking about HS bench, or some other machine. I cant think of any other freeweight pushing movements that are different from what im doing.

DB Flat Bench Press 60 4x4
Not easy at all, but I pushed through sticking points and made it.

Speedwork
Push Press w/2 second pause at bottom 60 3x10
Nice speed. Amazing speed actually. This **** was flying. I wonder if it will carry over to heavier weights.

Dropsets
Cable Crossover 75x14 70x7 65x5 60x5 55x5 (36 reps)
+5lbs and -1 rep from last workout. Not bad. Good pump.

Tricep Pushdown 75x4 70x5 65x4 60x4 55x7 (24 reps)
Very weak! Damn. I will lower weight next workout. I want my first set of dropsets to fall in the 6-10 range.

Lateral Raise Machine 120x4 120x4 120x4
I thought this would be pretty easy. Guess not. Perhaps fatigue from speedwork. I will change this excercise to a dropset in future workouts.
~37 minutes

I felt very tired going into this, and I know it affected my lifts somewhat. I got 4 hours of sleep, then went to school, then went to work, then went to the gym. So my lackluster lifts are not all that disapointing. In the future, when I feel this way, Ill probably pop some caffeine and maybe some ephedra before working out. Though I dont like taking caffeine around my workouts or taking ephedra around bed time. It hardly matters though, when I think about it.

[Stephen Riddington]

Hello? are you ok??? did something bad happed between you and the realtor chick???:) Hope you're feeling better, getting thru your lack of energy.

[Coke]

...it is time to move up when you can do 4 sets like that on the flat bench - good session man.

[JuniorMint6669]

canadian: lol hey whats up. i caught her cold and im really really sick. of course i will be alright, but its hard to do much right now. ive been stuck in the house all day. yesterday was an off day and today was supposed to be "push" but ive just been feeling like crap. Popping vitamin C every few hours and eating a lot... I dont plan on hitting the gym for a few days. realtor girl and I are having some weirdness, but I dont really wanna talk about it till we take care of it.

CoCoa: thanks mang :-D I think as soon as im feeling better i will move up!

[Stephen Riddington]

That sucks man. Get well soon.

[galileo]

Feel better immediately.

[JuniorMint6669]

homer/gal: thanks, i am feeling better, though not 100% yet

I went to the gym tonight anyway. Did a mini push. Strength/endurance not there, but it felt good to be back in the gym working up a sweat. It was my first workout day since the 8th, my longest unscheduled layoff in recent memory.

Work was pretty brutal. I can't hear very well, which is difficult when I am talking to my clients all day long. I went in early, and left early too. Im still tearing up the calories, trying to feel better sooner. And im taking close to 10g of vitamin C a day. I wonder if that's bad for you o_0

[aka23]

And im taking close to 10g of vitamin C a day. I wonder if that's bad for you o_0

I am sorry to hear about your illness. I hope you feel better soon.

10 grams of Vitamin C is probably 17,000% of your RDA for Vitamin C. Athletes do need more Vitamin C than the average person, but I doubt that you would need anywhere near that much. Some studies suggest that an intake between 200 - 500 mg per day may be the most beneficial for healthy persons. A person can get this amount and many other useful micronutrients by increasing consumption of leafy green vegetables and fruits. I average approximately 500mg Vitamin C per day from diet alone.

Vitamin C is water soluble. Excess Vitamin C is excreted in the urine and not stored in the body. Toxic levels do not build up, so there are few side effects to large dosages. Some persons experience diarrhea, nausea or abdominal cramps at 600-1000mg, while others can tolerate 25,000mg without problems.

Some related links about the rumored benefits to Vitamin C megadosing are
http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/DSH/colds.html
http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/pauling.html

[JuniorMint6669]

aka: thanks for the well wishing
lol that looks like what ive read elsewhere, and the reason I was taking so much. I spread it throughout the day because of the water solubility. Looks like there is little point in doing so. Ah well, ill keep telling myself that it works! Placebo to the rescue!!!

Im gonna get ready for the gym, today is deadlift/leg day and Im looking forward to it. We'll see how my fragile little body holds up :)

[JuniorMint6669]

Went to the gym... decided I was gonna be a badass and didnt use gloves.
Now im not gonna tell you whether you should or shouldnt use gloves. But if you ever use them, and then stop, may I recommend not going cold turkey. The first set of 275x4 deadlifts stung pretty bad. Its okay though, im trying to be a badass, remember. The second set of 275x4 made those little lumps of skin. You know, the callouses as they start to form. After the third set of 275x4 I had a full on set of soft callouses. Damn, im a badass. The fourth and final set was quite difficult. Im sick, as you may recall, so this was no walk in the park for my posterior chain. After completing it, I felt quite proud of myself, took a look over at my hands and noticed that two of my new friends had been ripped off of my palms! Yes lying under the bar were two little pieces of flesh. I politely picked up what would have been some badass callouses and threw them away. I was kind of dissapointed that I was bleeding all over my towel, but hey, thats part of being a badass.
All in all, it was a good workout. I only did deadlift, leg press, ghr (all 4x4) and calf raise drop set (fewer reps than normal). I skipped the speed squats this week because of my illness.
Im feeling only slightly better. I can function normally, but I feel tired constantly. I havent been getting much sleep lately because ive been taking sudafed too late in the afternoon. I picked up some nyquil though, that should work better for me.

[Stephen Riddington]

Yeah, you're badass, HARCORE!!!! pfft I was badass when I first started working out, no gloves or ****. I get calluses when doing the dumbell shrugs, 70lbs dumbells can cause sick calluses and blisters, even after the first set. I love it when it hardens and crack under stress from too much gripping on the bb and other exercises. And peeling it off is like dessert to me. I'm know, I'm sick but I'm badass just like you. :)

[MixmasterNash]

Finally, you rip some skin, hand virgin.

Get some chalk. It replaces skin nicely.

[JuniorMint6669]

Well this entire "not having skin" thing is not working out so great for me... as you may know by now im a barber. When Im cutting someone's hair that is very course, its like needles running over my open sores (which probably isnt too sanitary now that I think about it). And if they have gel in their hair... oooh the alcohol burns. So ive bought super glue and I'll superglue over the entire wound. That should work until they heal properly.
I worked out last night, "pull". I did all the work sets, but skipped speed and dropsets. Im still feeling sick, and am actually starting to feel worse. I feel like im gonna throw up... does not feel good...

[JuniorMint6669]

Homer: You are one sick freak o.0 But definatly a badass :D

jammaster: Hand virgin? Pffft my hand lost its viriginity way back.... oh wait a second, you're not talking about that... Ill definatly look into some chalk, though we have a no chalk rule. I remember a discussion about some no mess chalk. Ill find that one.

[galileo]

So, did you have anal with that bitch or not?

[Stephen Riddington]

The reason I don't wear gloves is because Maki calls me a p***y if I dare wear it. So I had to suck it up. To be honest with you, you get used to it after a while. I like not wearing gloves, and my hands are already ugly, why not make it worse than getting my calluses and blisters.

[MixmasterNash]

You just have to suck it up and tear some skin. You'll get callouses soon enough and you won't have to worry about it. Get either a chalk ball, and eco ball, or an alcohol based drying solution to help your grip. They are all way less messy than loose chalk.

Using regular superglue isn't the best idea because it has some nasty toxic crap in it. Go to a drug store and get Dermabond, which is basically clean superglue used to repair skin.

[JuniorMint6669]

gal: wh00ps, I missed.

homer: but my hands are so pretty.... well they were were so pretty... they're ****ed now.

jammaster: superglue toxic? bah, if its good enough to sniff its good enough to go on my callouses!

[JuniorMint6669]

I did push last night, im still sick though. Lifts are down or holding. I did my entire routine last night, which was the first full workout ive done since becoming ill. Ill probably do my normal leg routine today, and if im feeling it, my normal pull routine tommorrow.

[JuniorMint6669]

Time to start this back up.... because why not? Im feeling much better since my last post. Completely healthy and my callouses have grown in under my ring fingers. The ones under my middle fingers need to grow in still. Im using gloves on Pull and Deadlift days until I get them. Today I did Squat day:

Squat:135x4 135x4 225x4(+10lbs PR) 225x4 225x3 225x4
Woooo this was nice. Last week I had some difficulty doing 215 4x4 so I wasnt sure how this was gonna go. I changed a few things though, which could explain it. First, I widened my stance a bit. My feet were nearly at the edges of the squat platform. Second, I lowered the height of the rack. To get it off of it, I did a very partial good morning. This made it so that I did not have to walk out at all. Just good morning up, and then squat. In the past ive had trouble walking out and getting into a wide enough (comfortable) stance. This helped a lot.

Leg Press 520(+10lbs PR) 4x4
Pretty easy. I wonder if my wider stance squats used less quads and saved more for this.

Glute Ham Raise BW 4x4
I do these on a decline bench and the bottom of the ROM is quite uncomfortable. Lowering my body to the point where it is parallel to the ground is quite easy, but after that I lose control and my body falls to the bench. I have a very hard time getting off the bench using my hamstrings, unless I push myself up to parallel. Ive also been suffering from chronic lower back pain (muscular not spinal). As such, Im trying to decrease lower back volume/intensity. I will not be increasing weight on GHR until I can get off the bench without assistance

Speed Deads 170 2x6
Good speed on some reps, nothing special on others. Ive been thinking about adding chains or bands to these, but im not sure. I was thinking I could chain dumbbells to the bar with enough chain that they do not get off the ground until my sticking point. I think this would help my get speed through my sticking point. This may not work for two reasons: First, I have a consistant sticking point, but it seems more grip related than muscular failure. Second, I have widened my stance quite a bit to reduce my ROM. Im deadlifting in just socks (not shoes). My feet face forward and touch the plates. My total ROM is probably 6-7 inches. It would be pretty difficult to set up the dumbbells to that they even get off the ground. I may get some bungee's and try that. Oh, I havent deadlifted heavy with this stance yet, so we will see how it works out on deadlift day. One of the regulars at the gym said my stance was "insane". You hear that guys? Im ****ing insane :D It is pretty damn wide. Im curious to see if its actually more effective than a slightly narrower stance.

Calf Raise Dropset 320x12 310x6 300x5 290x5
Nothing special, but more reps than Ive ever done at this weight. Ill increase my starting set next week.

Incline Treadmill 8.5 minutes
Increased incline .5% every 15 seconds and speed .1mph every 60 seconds. Once I reached the maximum incline, I increased speed .1mph every 15 seconds until I was about to fall off. This was mostly so I could stand next to the ladies. We have a line of about 10 treadmills. 9 of them were occupied by hot chicks. I felt it was my obligation to occupy the loan empty one. It was, however, a good calf workout. Ill probably do this again on future leg days.

Good workout. The strongest Ive ever felt squatting. Yesterday was a great bench day too. Ive been having a lot of good workouts recently and im very happy about the progress ive been making using 4x4. Both strength and musle gains. In the past 6 weeks Ive gained 8 pounds (currently weighing in at 199, the heaviest ive been in about 11 months). I think ive put some weight on my waist line, but 2 people have commented that my stomach looks better than before. This may be because of my addition of ab work 2-3times a week (as opposed to none before). I will likely continue 4x4 for 1-3 more weeks, depending on my progress. After that I will do basically the same routine with 3x3. I excpect to do that for 1 month. Depending how my clothes fit at that time, I may begin a cut. At my current rate it may be the last cut I ever have to make... we'll see

[Stephen Riddington]

Nice workout, how was your Christmas, dude???

[aka23]

Nice session. I have found that I can squat with significantly heavier weights when using a wider stance and placing more emphasis on my hip.

[JuniorMint6669]

homer: thanks! My xmas was nice and quiet. Went to dad's girlfriend's house again. I got a digital camera! Its pretty nice. I plan on taking progress pics January 6th (3 months after my last pics).

aka: thanks! I agree. My leg's are better developed than most of my other body parts, so for squat/deadlift I just try to move the most weight, as opposed to lift in a way that would better bring about hypertrophy. In the future I'd like to compete in powerlifting competitions, though I realize I am a year or years away from being at that level

[Stephen Riddington]

I just got a digital camera on layway, took advantage of the Boxing Day sale. Looking forward to posting my pics up for the first time. I don't know when I can get the camera, depends on the paychecks I'm getting.

[JuniorMint6669]

Boxing day eh? You crazy canadians... ;)

Chinup: bw+10x4 bw+10x4 bw+10x3 bw+10x2
Got pretty decent speed on the first set. Had to squeeze out the last reps on the following two sets, and on the last set I failed on the 3rd rep. Doh. Whatever, will repeat or increment 2.5lbs next week.

Shrug: 310x4 310x2 310x2 310x2
This workout was my 4th day straight. 3 days ago I combined deadlifts with my pull day. This worked my grip way beyond anything I have done before. My forearms were still sore from that workout today, and I had very bad grip problems on this and other excercises. I will be taking tommorow off, and hopefully my grip will recover by next workout. This weight did not feel particularly heavy on my traps, but very heavy on my hands.

DB Row: 90x4 80x4 80x4
Same as above. It appears that my left arm is my weak link. I always start my reps out with my left arm (knowing its my weaker). I was able to get 1-3 reps out with my left arm. Then I would switch arms, get 4 reps, and go back to the left to finish my reps. Its a pain in the ass. Ive never had this problem in the past. I will bring my straps along next week, incase I cannot finish any sets. Again, this weight felt pretty light, especially once I lowered it to 80, on my back. But my left forearm could not handle it.

HS Row: 80 4x4
Only my second time doing this excercise. I like it a lot. Not sure how it will do for back development, but my biceps look pretty pumped while doing it, if that counts for anything... i know it doesnt....

Speed Pulldown: 120 3x6
Good speed. Really good. I will probably start alternating pulldown/chins in a week.

HS Shrug Dropset: 290x8 280x6 270x4 260x5 250x4
Grip was a problem again. It failed at least once, sometimes more, on each set. I just picked the weight back up and got a few more reps on. This is really ridiculous... I hope my grip recovers by next workout. If not, i will use straps for this too.

Camber Bar Curl Dropset: 70x6 65x4 60x6 55x4
I set up the weights wrong, I was supposed to start at 75, but didnt realize till I was halfway done. Oops. My biceps were fried either way. Ah well.

Static Holds on HS Shrug Machine: 320
There was 320 on there so I just held it for a while. First without gloves. Then with. Then without. I did some pretty good damage to my hands. Im trying to speed up the callouse process. It appears to be working. Hopefully soon I can give up gloves completely.

Treadmill: 5 minutes, walking fast
I know this sounds like highschool... but I want to be popular... I wanna be the most popular kid at school.. erm.. the gym. So I walk next to the hot chicks. Whatever. It gets me some looks. Im just trying to build some confidence that way.

This was a terrible workout because of my grip. Still got a decent workout for my muscles though. Grip grip grip **** grip **** grip. Pretty disapointing. Feels like a waste actually. Tommorow will be an off day. Im not sure what 24hrs hours are on new years eve/day, so Im not sure if one or both of those will be off days too. Im sure my grip would appreciate it, but my grip can suck it right now. Damnit.

[Coke]

...lol, everyone in this game has the grip dilemna so no biggie mang - :D ...nice back work regardless bro

[Stephen Riddington]

we're called Crazy Canucks for a reason. :)

[JuniorMint6669]

Thanks mang!

What is a canuck? Is it just someone from canada?

Today's an off day from working out. Work's been busy, so an off day is nice.

[Stephen Riddington]

yes, a Canuck means Canadian. Like a Yankee is American.

[JuniorMint6669]

Crazy Canucks ;)

[Dedicated]

It's 2004 bro and the summer is getting closer day by day! Where's the workouts!!

[Stephen Riddington]

He is getting workouts in... with the Realtor chick!!!!!! :hide:

[JuniorMint6669]

haha realtor chick is old news. "new years babe" is whats goin on right now. her body is quite the opposite of realtor chick, but i like it much better. realtor chick was tall and skinny. new years babe is short and hour glass figure. mmmmmmmm.

workouts have still been going, i just havent been updating. thanks for reminding me, ill do it now

[JuniorMint6669]

1-1-04
Push Press: 140 4x4
DB Bench: 60 4x4
HS Bench: 80 4x4
Speed Bench: 110 3x6
Crossover: 75x12 70x8 65x6 60x4
Tricep Pushdown: 75x12 70x8 65x8 60x6

This was a good workout. Its the first time I've worked out with my brother in a long time. I like working out alone, but he needs motivation and I dont mind for him. Because he was there, rest periods were slightly longer than normal, which is probably why every set was completed successfully and fairly easily.

[JuniorMint6669]

1-2-04
Deadlift: 285x4 285x3 285x2 285x2
Leg Press: 530 4x4
GHR: BW 4x4
Box Squat w/pause: 135 3x6
Calf Raise: 330x11 320x6 310x5 300x5

Damn, deadlifts sucked for the first time in a long time. There were probably a few reasons for this: 1) Stance was rediculously wide, I need to bring it in a bit. Toes touching the plates, just barely turned out. 2) I was not focused at all, likely because my brother was there. I really get into a zone when im working out normally.... but not when im talking and laughing with him in between sets. 3) The gym manager came down and told me to put my shoes back on. This made me angry and also made the lift more difficult. Ill have to buy some aqua socks or something.
Everything else went well though.

[JuniorMint6669]

1-3-04
Pullup: bw 4x4
Shrug: 295 4x4
DB Row: 35x4 50x4 60x4 70x4
HS Row: 90 4x4
Speed Chindown: 130 3x6
HS Shrug: 290x6 280x5 270x8
Camber Curl: 75x10 70x4 65x2 60x4
HS Static Hold: 340

This was the first time ive ever done a set of pullups, normally I do chins. They were not easy, but not near failure either, which surprised me. I will be alternating chins/pullups every workout. Grip still sucks, as seen on shrugs. I had to reset my grip several times over the course of the 4 sets. I was showing my bro how to do DB rows, which is why I used low weights and worked my way up. Same grip problems with HS Shrug. Static Hold was much easier than last week, even with more weight. I am basically holding on until the point right before my skin breaks. Im trying to develop callouses.

[Coke]

You have been putting in some nice work bro! ...I like those shrugs

[Stephen Riddington]

Nice workouts, man. The shrugs definately look kickass.

[JuniorMint6669]

Thanks guys! My traps are my strongest body part. Last workout, while doing my HS Shrug dropset veins were popping out of them. First time thats ever happened in my traps, cant wait till they're always there.

Hi-ho-hi-ho, off to the gym I go... will post results when i get back... yes its 10pm and im just now heading off to the gym...

[Stephen Riddington]

I can't imagine myself working out at 10pm. You Americans are ****ed up with 24hr gyms and ****.

[JuniorMint6669]

Got there at 1030, got home 1145. ****, im tired.

[JuniorMint6669]

yesterday's workout
1/5/04
BB Bench: 190x4 190x2 190x3 190x3
DB Bench: 65 4x4
HS Bench(per side): 85x2 85x2 85x1 85x1
Speed Push Press: 100 3x5
Crossover Dropset: 80x11 75x5 70x7 65x5
Tricep Pushdown Dropset: 80x10 75x7 70x5 65x5

I suppose this was a bad workout, on paper. But it felt good nonetheless. BB Bench I hit sticking points on the first and last set. I squeezed through both of them, which is good because I didnt have a spotter. But it was way painful. This probably ****ed me up for the rest of my workout, but just by the numbers. DB Bench was below maximum weight, im working my way back up because of poor form. HS Bench was very bad all around. Everything was tired. Triceps, shoulders, chest. I got good speed on push press. On my toes and fully extended shoulders. Dropsets were very good too. Did abs.

[JuniorMint6669]

1/6/03
Squat: 245x4 245x4 245x3 245x3
Leg Press: 540 4x4
GHR: BW 4x4
Snatch Grip Speed Deadlift: 195 3x5
Calf Raise Dropset: 330x6 320x**** that ****

Squats were deep, according to my brother. Leg press was strong, except the last rep. I almost hit failure. Was pretty scary. Ive never been that close to failure on leg press. GHR easy. This is the first time ive done snatch grip d/ls. They felt good. I needed to do something to switch up my speed deads and the extra depth seemed to work. Good speed on most reps. Calf raise was not gonna happen... my lower back was, and is now, very sore, ouch.

[Coke]

I am really starting to like your work, and maybe bro has something to do with it - :thumbup:

Keep it up man!

[galileo]

I'm lazy. Are you gaining, losing, what? What are your goals? Damnit!

[JuniorMint6669]

*edit to yesterday's workout: I accidently put on too much weight. I squatted 245 (+20lbs from last week) instead of 235(+10, my usual progression). I didnt realize until I woke up just now. Damn that makes me happy.

cocoa:thanks bro, its pretty cool having a workout partner. unfortunatly, we'll probably be doing different routines in the near future. he wants to do westside in preparation of the november powerlifting competition and I want to stick to what im doing because its working.

gal: Im "bulking" but not tracking my diet. Its not really working as well as I'd like, according to the scale. But the mirror doesnt lie... It looks like im putting on muscle without fat gain. Im focusing on just progressing each workout, rather than working on gaining/losing weight (ala aka23). Its working so far.

[JuniorMint6669]

1/7/04
Chinup: BW+10 4x4
BB Shrug: 300 4x4
DB Row: 75 4x4
HS Row: 95 4x4
Speed Pulldown: 140 3x5
HS Shrug: 270x15 270x15 270x10
BB Curl: forgot, damnit
Static Holds

Chins were good, near failure on last two sets though. Ill increase weight next week. Shrugs were strong. DB Row easy. HS Row included some light cheating, I will only increment 2.5lbs next week. Decent speed on pulldowns. My bro and I had to work in with someone for HS Shrugs, so I didnt do a dropset, just rep'd out for 3 sets of 270. I forgot to do BB Curl because I was distracted by...

the guy from average joe. Jason, the winner of the show, works out at my gym. I saw him while doing speed pulldowns and was like "holy **** thats the guy from average joe" and my brother was like "holy **** you're right". Then i finally got the nerve to ask him if it was him and yup, it was. He says he always works out at our gym, but he normally comes earlier in the day. I normally come later in the evening, which would explain why we've never seen eachother. Hey either way, it was pretty crazy. He says he's not dating the girl anymore, though they still hang out.

I finished by doing static holds on the HS Shrug machine, the smith machine (good knurling to rip my hands up) and dumbbells. I hope to soon be completely rid of my gloves.

[rookiebldr]

Nice going on the progress. Dumbell row are looking strong. :)

[chops]

[b]1/7/04


the guy from average joe. Jason, the winner of the show, works out at my gym.

small world, eh? one of my friends was co workers with erin brody from "for love or money". that makes for 2 degrees of separation for both of us.

[Saint Patrick]

Gloves are for weenies :p

[JuniorMint6669]

rook: thanks! :thumbup:

chops: are you hitting on me? :nod:

st patty: i have nice little blisters on my hands that would not be there if i had gloves on.... i am no weenie. damnit. :)

[Mik]

*edit to yesterday's workout: I accidently put on too much weight. I squatted 245 (+20lbs from last week) instead of 235(+10, my usual progression). I didnt realize until I woke up just now. Damn that makes me happy.


Hey Junior, just thought I'd pop in and saw this. Hehe, good work. Those are the nice surprises!

[Max-Mex]

Getting very strong Daniel-San. How much you weighing these days?

[Stephen Riddington]

Junior, tell us about the "New Year" chick...

[chops]

Gloves are for weenies :p

what are you trying to say? huh!? :strong:

[chops]

chops: are you hitting on me? :nod:


Junior, tell us about the "New Year" chick...

WHAT NYE chick, mint? she better hide before i open a can of whup ass

:)

[aka23]

the guy from average joe. Jason, the winner of the show, works out at my gym. I saw him while doing speed pulldowns and was like "holy **** thats the guy from average joe" and my brother was like "holy **** you're right". Then i finally got the nerve to ask him if it was him and yup, it was. He says he always works out at our gym, but he normally comes earlier in the day. I normally come later in the evening, which would explain why we've never seen eachother. Hey either way, it was pretty crazy. He says he's not dating the girl anymore, though they still hang out.

Nice session. I believe that the show mentioned that Jason lived in Irvine. His house looked like it was away from the city, so they may have just listed the nearest large town. I know how you feel about seeing persons from television at the gym. The guy from Who Wants to Marry a Millionaire works out at my gym. When I was in college I saw Tiger Woods, Chelsea Clinton, and other well known persons in the gym on a regular basis.

[JuniorMint6669]

StevenEric: Yea, a little shy ;) Where do you work out at? I go to the 24 hour on adams, sometimes to the one on 19th street.

mik: Thanks for stopping in! Yes it was quite a pleasant surprise for me too. I like it when im bad at math ;)

sensei: im weighing 193-195. strength has been going up quite nicely since switch to 4x4 from 8x2. thanks for stoppin in!

chops: i think he's calling you a weenie, kick his ass ;)

homer/chops: i met some girl new years eve at work. after i cut her hair she gave me her number and told me to call her to go to her party. I did. She's pretty awesome, all the way around. Awesome body. Awesome personality. Awesome in other ways. :nod: I dont know her that well yet, but we're workin on that :nod:
Oh, and she outweighs you by quite a bit chop chop. I think she'd hurt ya ;) Not that it wouldnt be fun to watch. I'll provide the kiddie pool full of mud or jello, your choice. :nod:

aka: yea I remember it said he was from irvine, and I thought meh, thats close enough to workout at my gym. If i didnt know that, I probably wouldnt have approached him and asked. Plus the 24 hr fitness I go to is the least expensive one in the area, which makes sense because he's poor. Or at least thats how they portrayed him, i think. Oh and he is really TINY. Scrawny little legs. If that makes anyone happy, for whatever reason ;)

[chops]

about 3 episodes ago on elimidate, they wrestled in a pool or spaghetti. carb overload!

[Saint Patrick]

what are you trying to say? huh!? :strong:

okay, let me rephrase:


Gloves are for weenies and hot chicks :)

[chops]

ARE YOU CALLING ME A WEENIE?

:p

[JuniorMint6669]

Are you calling me a hot chick? :scratch:

[Saint Patrick]

:bang:

[galileo]

I'm calling you hot chicks with weenies!

[Max-Mex]

Lol!

[JuniorMint6669]

LOL@my hot chick weenie....


anyway, ya the adams 24 hr is not all that clean or nice, but its not very crowded 830-1100, the normal times that I workout. Plus the people who are there, are always there that time, so we're all cool with eachother. Its just an all around nice atmosphere. I head that new 24 hour is pretty nice though, but a little further away than adams.

[chops]

well if you guys are ever in the garden grove (garbage grove) area, the 24 on chapman/brookhurst is huge and nice. all the equipment there is pretty new and there's a lot of machines

[JuniorMint6669]

830-11PM, almost always. Once school starts again, I may start going right after class. It all depends how my work/school schedule works out for that particular day.
Chops: ill keep that in mind next time im over there! ill bet there's tons of asians :drooling:

of to the gym right now, ill post workout when i get back :nod:

[JuniorMint6669]

1/9/04
Push Press: 145 4x4
DB Bench: 70 4x4
HS Bench: 80 4x4
Bench with pause at bottom. 135x3 135x2 115x3*
Xover Dropset: **
Tricep Pushdown: skipped***
Saxon Bend: 15 4x4

Push Press is damn good. Nearing my previous 1RM, except for 4x4. DB Bench was difficult but all reps were clean. I think next week will be pretty hard. HS Bench was nice improvment over last workout's dismal results.
*I think i ****ed up the percentages or I was overly exerted from the previous sets. There was no speed at all and it was just bad. I hit failure on the second set. I was pinned by 135. It was ****ing hilarious. It was not heavy on my chest at all. My brother was just standing there and I calmly asked "can you please take this off my chest?" He asked "why?" and i responded "I dont know" It was pretty funny. I think 70% is too heavy for speed work that is done after 12 work sets. Next cycle I will go 50, 55, 60% as opposed to 50, 60, 70%.
**Was pretty bad, far below my last week numbers. I must have been over exerted from previous sets.
***I skipped this because it was obvious I was pretty worn.

So all in all, it was a very good first half and a very bad second half. Whatever, cant be on every night.

[JuniorMint6669]

1/10/04
Deadlift 135x4 135x4 285x2 275x1 365x0(inch off ground) 365x0 (inch above knees)
And it is with great sadness I remove Push Press from my routine!

OK, I was very tired today. Long day at work. Family gathering afterward. 11:30 PM workout. But this was pathetic. 2nd week in a row that I have regressed on deadlifts, and it is painfully(literally) obvious that pushpresses are detrimental to my routine. There is far too much lower back involvment and it takes me too long to recover. I am replacing it with close grip bench press. My rotation now looks like this:
Day 1 Wide Grip Bench Press plus "push"
Day 2 Deadlift plus "legs"
Day 3 Pullup plus "pull"
Day 4 rest
Day 5 Close Grip Bench Press plus "push"
Day 6 Squat plus "legs"
Day 7 Chinup plus "pull"
Day 8 rest

This should work much better for my lower back. Ive been getting sick, so depending on how I feel tommorow, I may take a few days off before starting new rotation.

I skipped the rest of my leg workout today out of sheer disguist. I bench pressed the bar using several different grips to get an idea of what I will use in the future. I focused on tucking the elbows in. Ill set my wide grip BP weight back a little bit so I can get used to it. I have been flaring my elbows in the past. I noticed tucking the elbows cuts back on the ROM. Once my triceps catch up, I assume this will be a stronger grip for me.

I also did a lot of bodyweight squats off a box to get a better feel for different widths of stances. It appears that if I am extremely wide, I dont have the flexibility to go deep enough. If I am too narrow, my lower back starts to fall forward before parallel is met. I worry that my depth is not competition worthy, but have no way of veryfing this. Ill have my brother record me next time we go together and you guys can tell me.

[Coke]

I think it is great that you are being flexible/adaptable and finding your way through it all...

Keep making the efforts, you are doing fine bro!

[JuniorMint6669]

Thanks, im sad to stop doing push press, but its really been wearing on my body. Perhaps in the future I can start doing them again.

[Stephen Riddington]

Junior, what's a push press??? Your journal is the only one I know of that talks about push press.

[JuniorMint6669]

It's a standing military press that uses some leg drive to get extra weight up. Uses a lot of abs and lowerback as stabilizers. I also hang clean the weight up to my chest, which uses a lot of lower back. Here's a clip: http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/OlympicLifts/PushPress.html

Ill probably be headed to the gym in a 30-60minutes, will post when i get back.

[Stephen Riddington]

Thanks. Looks interesting. Worth try for a bulking cycle like me???

[aka23]

I think 70% is too heavy for speed work that is done after 12 work sets. Next cycle I will go 50, 55, 60% as opposed to 50, 60, 70%.

I see 60% as a frequently quoted starting point for Westside type routines. I think the most important thing is speed/explosiveness, and such percents are just guidelines.

I like your new routine. I folllow a similar type of split, and I have also had trouble with overtraining my lower back.

[JuniorMint6669]

homer: i think its a great lift especially if your bulking. I'd have a hard time performing it if i was tired (in a caloric deficit). its very compound! including the clean, i think its probably the most compound movement.

aka:i originally got my percentages from westside, but im realizing they dont apply the same way. first, im using a % of my previous 4x4 rather than of my 1RM. second, im performing speed work after 12 working sets (48 reps). Westside does their speed work first on its own day. So my weight is lower, but so is my intensity. Im just experimenting right now. Trying to figure out what works best.
Thanks, I really like my routine also. It allows me to do all of the lifts that I enjoy doing, without overtraining them by trying to fit them in a more traditional split. Damn lower back *shakes fist violently*

[JuniorMint6669]

1/11/04
Pullup: BW+10 4x4
Shrug: 310 4x4
DB Row: 80 4x4
HS Row (per side): 97.5 4x4
Speed Chindown: 120 3x5
HS Shrug Dropset: 300x8 290x9 280x8 270x5
BB Curl Dropset: 80x10 75x4 70x3 65x2
Static Holds: various weights/grips

Very good workout, all sets done to completion. This only seems to happen on my "pull" days. Not sure why. I had to use straps for the last set of shrugs, and the last two sets of DB Row, but only on my left arm. For some reason it does not grip as well. Im normally against straps, but if my choices are a) not be able to lift anything or b) complete my set, i will choose b). My grip seems to be especially bad on pull days done after deadlift days, no surprise there.

Gym was surprisingly busy for a sunday at 830 PM. A lot of new faces, no doubt new year's resolutioners.

Speaking of new years, I went to church with new years girl. Or rather, I met her there. I have not gone to church in several years, and I can honestly say Ive never before gone to church on my own free will (parents forced me when i was young). And yet this girl got me to go simply by inviting me. Not even my grandmother crying made me want to go to church. Church wasnt as bad as I imagined it to be, and I may even go in the future, but purely for social reasons rather than religious. Me going to church made me realize I have it bad for this girl that I hardly know and have not even known for that long. I dont plan on calling her anymore. In my experience, once you realize you have a crush on someone, its best to get out of it. If she shows significant interest in me without me initiating, I may continue a relationship with her. If not, I dont care.

[Coke]

lol, why is it best to get out of ??...that girl might be real crazy for you - ;)

Nice work, being real consistent with it bro.

[chops]

[b] I have not gone to church in several years, and I can honestly say Ive never before gone to church on my own free will (parents forced me when i was young). And yet this girl got me to go simply by inviting me.

sucker.


Me going to church made me realize I have it bad for this girl that I hardly know and have not even known for that long. I dont plan on calling her anymore. In my experience, once you realize you have a crush on someone, its best to get out of it.
:scratch:

[JuniorMint6669]

sucker.



:withstupi

Thats why; i dont wanna be a sucker. :)

Im just gonna kick it back a knotch with her and see what happens

[JuniorMint6669]

Oh, the highlight of church was this:

I sat with NYE girl and three of her friends, whom ive never met before. After I met them and sat down, one of her friends whispered something that I didnt hear. NYE girl asked "what?" and I turned my head just in time to see her friend mouth "he's hot". haha, im hot.

[JuniorMint6669]

I was trying to keep my personal life out of my journal, which obviously i ****ed up again (i blame canadian homer for asking about her;)). But since im already in, i may as well continue.

Right after I posted, NYE girl IM's me thanking me. Thanking me? For what? Going to church. She says it shows a lot that i'd go to church for her. Remember she is really into religion and im very anti religion (for myself, not others). So meh, whatever. She "now sees me in a completely different way". I think that means she now believes I want her for more than just her ass, which is true, I guess. Either way, im sticking with my plan of backing off, her turn to pursue me, if she's serious.

[Shane]

In my experience, once you realize you have a crush on someone, its best to get out of it. If she shows significant interest in me without me initiating, I may continue a relationship with her. If not, I dont care.

Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaa?

Dude, it's thinking like that that makes girls think were arseholes. Bottom line is: Do you like her? You say you have a crush on her. If you do then show her you're interested (which going to church showed her). And she should do the same. It's when people deviate from that simple rule that things get all jacked up. But you've got a pretty girl there that may actually have her head on straight that likes you and all you gotta do is show her your interested too. If that's being a sucker then sign me up.

Nice workout by the way. ;)

[Stephen Riddington]

Oh sorry :( I'm just a nosey mother****er. :D But you didn't have to when I asked. I was just curious, that's all.

[Mik]

:withstupi

[JuniorMint6669]

lol you guys are kinda funny. i dont think you fully understand the situation.

What I meant about getting out of the crush is if its a one way crush. Ive shown a lot more interest in her than she has in me. I would prefer to be in a relationship with someone where we are on equal grounds. Now perhaps she is more interested than she is letting on. Perhaps not. The only way I will know for sure is if I give her a chance to show it.

So I will back off rather than coming on so strong. If she is interested, she will show it, and things will be fine. If she's not, she won't, and that will be the end of it.

Im not gonna be a dick about it like playing games and ****. This is just a gut feeling and im generally very intuitive about this kinda thing. Its pretty simple really, im sure everything will be settled by the end of the week.

homer: dont be sorry about it, its cool. I dont mind really, but I kinda worry what it would be like if one of these girls found my journal and started reading... know what I mean? I use JuniorMint6669 as my SN for most everything, so a google of JuniorMint6669 would lead to wbb. I also feel like im sometimes whining or bragging when I talk about my relationships. And I dont wanna be a whiner or a bragger. But oh well, you asked for it, so you got it ;)

[chops]

i was kidding about the sucker part. i think you're interpreting the situation wrong if you've decided it's one way. she INVITED you to church. that's some interest on her part, yes?



I use JuniorMint6669 as my SN for most everything, so a google of JuniorMint6669 would lead to wbb.

now we all know how to stalk you on other sites *evil laugh*

[Stephen Riddington]

Dude, how did you come up with the name??? from your avatar you must be a fanatic of the candy, eh?

[fuzz]

I know where you are coming from on the backing off part. Nothing is worse then a one-sided relationship. If she calls you or invities you to do things again, I think that would be a good sign.

[Dedicated]

What I meant about getting out of the crush is if its a one way crush. Ive shown a lot more interest in her than she has in me. I would prefer to be in a relationship with someone where we are on equal grounds. Now perhaps she is more interested than she is letting on. Perhaps not. The only way I will know for sure is if I give her a chance to show it.

So I will back off rather than coming on so strong. If she is interested, she will show it, and things will be fine. If she's not, she won't, and that will be the end of it.

Sounds like you've got it all figured out. I've made the mistake in the past of showing way too much interest and looking like a dork so I think you are doing the right thing by backing off. I know guys who have also made the mistake of showing way to much interest, often times they come off as being creepy or obsessive to girls. The sad thing is that it's not that these guys are creepy or obsessive, but it's that they are blind to the fact that there crush is one-sided like you say. So yea I think it's good that you are backing off.

At the same time though you have to know when to act, and when to move in, but I think you have that part figured out pretty well:).

I think the key to knowing when to go for it is to set all feelings you have for a girl aside and ask yourself, "does she really like me?" Again I think often times many guys have a problem with this, myself included in the past.


This is just a gut feeling and im generally very intuitive about this kinda thing. Its pretty simple really, im sure everything will be settled by the end of the week.

That's the attitude to have I would say:). Anyways enough of my rambling lol, goodluck man:).

[JuniorMint6669]

chops: i was thinking "damn, im such a sucker" even before you posted it ;) And yes, you can see what other boards I visit by googling me. It doesnt show all of them, but some.

homer:I originally had the name Zapdos6669 back in the day (google that to see what a nerd was when younger). 6669 is just 666 and 69 squished together. I wanted to seperate myself from pokemon, so I picked juniormint, which was my favorite candy at the time. In the months following i overdosed on juniormints, so now i rarely eat them. But as I mentioned before, it was my SN for everything, so it was just easier to keep it.

fuzz/dedicated: FINALLY! some support! Thanks for the rambling ;)

[Shane]

Cool. Watch out for chops, she'll stalk you to no end. I've had to move 5 times. Keep us posted on the chick.

[MixmasterNash]

No no no! Keep it up! It's like the O.C. or something.

[JuniorMint6669]

Shiet.... if chops was stalking me i wouldnt even bother with NYE Girl.

Oh, ill keep it up alright :hump: Wait, what are we talking about? I live in the OC and that show is nothing like my life.

[chops]

damn, google only shows wbb.

hey, do you also wish to share your cc number with moi?

[JuniorMint6669]

4279 8120 3574 4900

Good luck figuring out the expiration date :p

[JuniorMint6669]

New pics up: http://www.wannabebigforums.com/showthread.php?p=698625#post698625

[JuniorMint6669]

1/13/04
CG BP: 45x6 95x4 135x4 135x4 145x4 155x4
DB BP: 75x4 75x4 75x4 75x2
HS BP(per side): 80x4 80x4 80x3 80x3
BP With Pause: 115 3x5
Cable X-over Dropset: 75x15 70x10 65x5 60x6
Tricep Pushdown Dropset: 75x9 70x6 65x5 60x5

Really good workout. I did it alone, so finished quickly about 30 minutes. The gym was pretty packed, but only had to work in on a few sets. Mostly women, which is good because they're hot, but also good because they dont use freeweights.

This was my first time doing CGBP, it is replacing push press. Im not sure how heavy I can go, but I will attempt 155 4x4 next week. These felt good, but I felt some discomfort in my wrists. If it doesnt go away soon, i may look into getting some wrist wraps. DB Bench was strong, though I did hit failure on my last set. HS Bench was not great. I used less weight because I was working in with someone, and still performed less than I thought I could. Form is an issue. From now on, i will be using an "elbows flared" position on this, and "elbows tucked" on any BB Bench. Got surprisingly good speed on pause bench. Might be because of tucking the elbows. Dropsets were strong.

My brother chose to go smoking instead of working out with me, which makes me question his dedication. If he wants to seriously compete, he should probably stick to a routine.

[JuniorMint6669]

I only weighed 193 this morning. Meaning ive gained no weight in 3 months. Kinda dissapointing. Im eating like an animal right now. We'll see where this takes me.

[JuniorMint6669]

1/14/04
Deadlift: 275x4 275x3 275x3 275x3
Leg Press: 540 4x4
GHR: bw 4x4
Box Squat w/Pause: 145x3 145x3 145x2 145x2 145x2
Calf Raise Dropset: 320x10 310x8 300x6 290x5

Awesome workout. I was very happy. I dropped the weight back a bit on deads to see where Im at. My lowerback still needs to fully recover, but this was a good performance. I hit sticking points three times but fought through all of them. I ripped a callous off. It was beautiful. Leg press was easy. GHR was easy as always, but i got really good speed on them and really focused on the hams. I was kinda speeding through the workout and was pretty tired by the time I got to box squats. The weight was easy, but the speed wasnt on the third rep. For the final sets, I only did 2 reps per, which solved the problem. I wasnt really taking much rest between these sets, and im sure that would have helped too. Calf raise dropset = easy.

[Coke]

Stay serious like this and you will be over 200 shortly...tell your bro I said better get to it because you guys were doing real good together!

Nice work and perseverance bro - :thumbup:

[JuniorMint6669]

Thanks cocoa! Ill let him know you said so, that'll definatly get him to the gym ;)

Which is where im off to right now... ill post workout when i get back :)

[JuniorMint6669]

1/15/04
chinup: bw+15x4 bw+15x4 bw+15x3 bw+15x2
shrug: 315 4x4
DB Row: 85 4x4
HS Row (per side): 90 4x4
Speed Pulldown: 120 3x5
HS Shrug Dropset: Skipped
BB Curl Dropset: 80x8 75x3 70x3 65x3
Static Holds: Left hand dumbbell

Because of my callousless right hand, i had to use gloves today. I also had to use straps on the shrugs and DB rows. Chins were not as strong as I'd like, but next workout should be no problem. Im having issues with shrugs at the moment. My goal was to get rid of all isolation movements for regular sets, and push them to the end of my workout as dropsets. I kept shrugs as my only isolation move in my routine that is done as a 4x4, but my trap strength is exceeding my grip. Ill be removing BB shrugs from my routine and forcing myself to do real static holds for grip work at the very end of my workout. This should work well for the rest of my routine, as my grip strength has become an issue on DB rows. DB Rows were good otherwise. HS Row was easy. Speed pulldowns were not as fast i'd like, but that may be because I missed a wave on my %. Static Holds were only done on my left hand becase my right palm is in a lot of pain, plus my left hand is my weaker one, and it needs more work.

NYE Girl called me, so we're going out tommorow. Ill let ya'll know how that goes, because some of you are just so damned nosey ;)

edit: I just realized this, but I was actually over her, I dont even know why I asked her out. Damnit. I blame all you guys. Peer pressure. PEER ****ING PRESSURE! Now im gonna go out with some church girl who's gonna tell me to praise jesus and etc. I better get some ass outta this deal or you guys are gonna get messed up!

[Manveet]

I only weighed 193 this morning. Meaning ive gained no weight in 3 months. Kinda dissapointing. Im eating like an animal right now. We'll see where this takes me.

I know the feeling (about 192lbs myself).

Love the 3x3 and 4x4. I wouldn't mind giving something like that a whirl in the near future. I've also been reading about Polquin's 1-6-1. All good methods imo.

[Coke]

Peer pressure my a$$ bro, you know you like that chick -:D...nice work on everything!

[Max-Mex]

[b]1/15/04
Im having issues with shrugs at the moment. My goal was to get rid of all isolation movements for regular sets, and push them to the end of my workout as dropsets. I kept shrugs as my only isolation move in my routine that is done as a 4x4, but my trap strength is exceeding my grip.

Use straps. I don't think using straps for one lift isn't going to deteriorate your grip strength. Are you using Dumbells?

Also, you could use a trap bar or a machine where the handles attached together (no isolation between left and right). I find these easier to grip than just doing dumbells.

Either way, I wouldn't worry about it too much. Heavy deadlifts do more for my traps than shrugs anyways.

[MixmasterNash]

Yeah, definately use straps when your grip fails. It's only dumb to use straps long before your grip fails.

I've been doing these along with a few sets of light shrugs:
http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/OlympicLifts/HangJumpShrug.html

[JuniorMint6669]

veet: whoa just looked into the 1-6-1 and it looks pretty crazy/scary/intimidating. If i grow some (bigger) balls, i may give that a shot some day.

cocoa: lol i was thinking maybe i wont call her tonight, and only go out with her if she calls me up and is like "where the **** are you, asshole!?!" Thanks for stoppin in bro, your support is much appreciated!

Max-mex: Im using a BB. The only reason I justified keeping shrugs in was because it was a grip/trap excercise. By taking out the grip factor, I cant justify doing them at such high intensity. It just drains me for the rest of my workout. I will keep my shrug machine dropset in though.

Mixmaster: my grip < your grip. i used to do power shrugs too, but with the same problem, my strength quickly exceeded my grip. though with straps, i doubt that'd be a problem

[MixmasterNash]

Oh, I don't do one set of power shrugs without straps. No grip works that well at holding on to a 315+lb, fast moving bar for multiple reps. :D

[aka23]

veet: whoa just looked into the 1-6-1 and it looks pretty crazy/scary/intimidating. If i grow some (bigger) balls, i may give that a shot some day.

Nice session. Is the 1-6-1 routine that you and Manveet mentioned the same one that is discussed in the article at http://www.t-mag.com/html/body_58princ.html ? It sounds interesting. I have heard some negative things about the routine due to fatigue from the singles interfering with the reps of 6. I imagine the success of such a routine would vary a great deal depending on training history and genetics.

[JuniorMint6669]

jammaster/aka: :nod: I agree with both of you

[galileo]

Post your workout, whore.

[JuniorMint6669]

My workout rocked, not nearly as much as gal's workout, but it was good. Im supposedly going out with NYE girl in a few minutes, so ill post my workout in a few hours or if im lucky tommorow

[JuniorMint6669]

1/16/04
BP: 190 4x4
DB BP: 80x4 80x2 80x2 80x2
HS BP (Per side): 80 4x4
Speed CGBP:75 3x7
High Pulley Crossover: 40x10 50x10 60x12 65x8 75x10 85x7 65x10
Tricep Pushdown: 70x12 65x12 60x12 55x7
Saxon Bend: 20 4x4
Weighted Crunch
Leg Raise

Good workout. Bench was strong, I was trying to focus on keeping the elbows tucked, though they werent always. DB's felt wobbly. Amazing how much more difficult 5 lbs is. HS Bench was pretty easy. Speed CGBP is at 50%, so incredibly light. Im doing straight speed as opposed to paused. These went up really really fast. Probably faster than ive ever benched anything before. Of course it was only 75lbs, but whatever. I was trying to do crossover's from a high pulley, but couldnt really get into a groove. Ill return to my normal midlevel pulley next week. Tricep pushdowns were feeling good, though I couldnt get 12 reps on the last set. Saxon Bends felt much easier than last time I did them at 20 lbs. Next week ill go up to 25s. If anyone hasnt done these, and thinks they're a badass, i'd highly recommend them to set yourself straight.

[JuniorMint6669]

Yes, I went out with NYE girl. Yes, I had a good time. Yes, I am happy you guys harass me constantly. No, I will not bitch about it anymore.

[clvmike19]

WTF is a Saxson bend?

Anything to do with William the Conqueror or the Glorious Revolution? Thatd be cool.

[aka23]

Nice session. Saxon bends are described at http://www.t-mag.com/nation_articles/218exer.html . They were named after strongman and circus performer Arthur Saxon. Saxon performed in Europe in the 1890s, was billed as the strongest man in the world, and wrote "The Textbook of Weightlifting." More information/pictures are at http://www.sandowplus.co.uk/Competition/Saxon/saxon.htm

[JuniorMint6669]

Yea, what he said ;)

They are hard as **** too. Really works your core.

Off to the gym now, will post workout when i get home

[rookiebldr]

:spam:

[JuniorMint6669]

rookie: someone at work was telling me she is allergic to spam. She used to love it as a kid, but developed an allergic reaction to the preservatives. She can no longer eat processed meats of any kind without getting a migrane headache.




That said...



thanks for the spam ;)

[JuniorMint6669]

1/17/04
Squat: 255 4x4
Leg Press: 550 4x4
GHR: BW 4x4
Speed Snatch Grip Straight Leg Deadlift: 135 3x7
Calf Raise Dropset: 250x12 240x9 230x7 220x8

My squats are rarely strong, and often wobbly. True to form, many reps were close to falling forward. But no worries, every rep was deep and done to completion, though a lot of them felt like good mornings superset with squats, or maybe the other way around. Either way, im impressed by my own lower back strength.
Leg press was strong, but during the last set I felt some discomfort in my knee. I rubbed the area and it actually felt like pain in my lower quad rather than the joint, but I will monitor this.
GHR was strong and fast. Ill likely start adding weight again soon.
SSGSLDL (Speed Snatch Grip Straight Leg Deadlift). HAH! Variant of a variant of a variant. Beat that suckas. First time Ive done these, and they were done explosive. Very strong. Very fast. Very good. I like these.
I lowered the weight 70 pounds on calf raise, but the reps stayed very similar. Ill increase next workout.

[Saint Patrick]

Nice leg pressing

[JuniorMint6669]

Thanks patty. I was more impressed with my moving plates on to the machine than the actual pressing. 2 plates at a time wears you out, and gets tons of stares :cool:

Off to work right now. Then to church. Then to gym. Then I will post workout, cuz i know you guys just cant wait for my next update ;)

[Coke]

You know it bro, we be waiting on your stuff - ;) ...Nice leg work, you handling it in the gym!

[JuniorMint6669]

Thanks bro, i appreciate it!

[JuniorMint6669]

1/18/04
Pullup: BW+17.5x4 BW+17.5x3 BW+17.5x3 BW+17.5x3
DB Row: 80 4x4
HS Row (per side): 95 4x4
Speed Chin: 110 3x7
HS Shrug Dropset: 300x8 290x7 280x7 270x5 270x24
BB Curl Dropset: 80x6 75x4 70x2 65x3
Static Holds


These were hard, +7.5lbs from last week. Good speed on all early reps. Bad speed on last reps of each set. Ill only increment 2.5lbs next week.
Easy. 85 should be the same next week.
Mostly easy, a few of the last reps were difficult. Ill make a small increment next week on this too. I always have form issues on rowing motions. I really need to focus on keeping my lower back stationary.
TOO Fast. Yes, thats possible. I may have to use different (higher) percentages for speed work than I do for pause work. Ill monitor this and adjust accordingly
Good dropset. This is my first workout not doing BB shrugs and I sort of expected this to be much stronger than it was. But i was not dissapointed. underlined set was using straps to work the traps without worrying about grip. As you can see, my traps can handle a lot more than my grip can.
Im weak by now, bite me.
First did static holds on HS Shrug machine, then did static DB holds. Im not sure how my hand is going to heal if i keep tearing the skin off.

[fuzz]

If your callouses are causing you issues, you need to keep them sanded down. Get some 100 grit sandpaper and go at it (once the tear is healed, of course). Also, I find using chalk helps keep them from getting to large.

[galileo]

I love chalk.

[JuniorMint6669]

The callouses havent been a problem, but the tear is. What problems can a callous cause? They are new to me... i just stopped using gloves a few weeks ago.

I keep forgetting to find some chalk, thanks for reminding me. Once I get a day off of work ill get a chalk ball.

[MixmasterNash]

Callouses lead to tears; sand them down, like fuzzy said.

[Saint Patrick]

I love chalk.


:withstupi

[JuniorMint6669]

Callouses lead to tears; sand them down, like fuzzy said.
Oh really? I thought callouses were a good thing. Damn, im so confused :( I wonder if i have any sand paper laying around...

[rookiebldr]

Callouses are a good thing. I have nurtured mine for 3 years hoping to see them larger and larger. They peel and ripe but I've never sanded them.

Chalk is good too, I wish I had some. :(

[Stephen Riddington]

I agree that callouses are a good thing, I get to pick on the dead skin instead of my nose. :rolleyes:

[JuniorMint6669]

I sanded mine down a little. I see how this can be beneficial. They are back to scar tissue, as opposed to scar tissue with a mound of skin on top of them. Thanks for the advice guys!

[JuniorMint6669]

BTW, I am doing the junk food bulk. We'll see if I get fat or buff. If I can cast my early vote, im guessing im going to get buff. I seem to be getting thicker around the waist (love handles), though my abs looks like they getting more well defined. My boxer briefs are fitting tighter, but my thighs are a lot firmer than flabby.
Im only guessing, but I think my calorie intake is in mid high 4000's. This seems like a **** lot to me, but we'll see. Workouts have been high intensity, weights increasing steadily. Ive worked out the last 7 days straight, with no noticeable signs of fatigue.
Im happy about this bulk so far... ill weigh myself in a few days

[galileo]

Be careful. My last (not-so-clean) bulk I kept thinking, "Boy, I'm getting thicker, but not much fat gain." Then, when it was all said and done I was way fatter than I wanted to be and had to cut a really long time. It sucked.

[Mik]

I agree with Gal. Be careful. I did the same thing and like Gal said ended up having to cut wayyyyyy to much. Good luck.

[JuniorMint6669]

Thanks for the warning. The only reason Ive gone this route is because 2 months of eating whatever I want clean foods yielded me +2 lbs. A little too slow for me. But Ill definatly be careful if weight gain seems to be coming on too fast.

[JuniorMint6669]

1/19/04
Close Grip BP: 155x4 155x4 175x4 175x4
DB BP: 75x4 75x4 75x4 75x3
HS BP (per side): 90x4 90x3 90x3 90x2
Speed BP: 95 3x7
Cable Crossover: skipped
Tricep Pushdown: 75x12 65x12 60x9 55x6


CG pretty easy. I only meant to increment to 165 for the latter two sets, but im retarded when it comes to gym math. 175 went up pretty easy. Perhaps my triceps were stronger than I had previously thought.
I really felt these in my chest, like I never have before. Perhaps it was fatigued triceps allowing more tricep involvment? Who knows.
I worked in with someone, and this was the weight he was using so I used it, even though it was heavier than I wanted. Early reps were strong, but I couldnt finish the 4x4.
Really fast. Again, I think 50% may be too light for speed work.
skipped. Im going to take a week off from dropsets, an "unloading" of sorts. I was thinking about eliminating these from my workout because its compound. Compound dropsets fatigue me to hell. I may replace them with cable flys when they return to the lineup.
I didnt skip this, because im retarded. Ill skip it next time.


Overall really good workout. My chest is still pretty pumped. I love bulking. Im really just throwing all my fears of getting fat out the window. Chalking it up to life experiance right now. Ive got my old 36 inch waist dickies, just incase things get out of hand. But I really need to do this. I need to get bigger. Then I need to get ripped. Im very happy with the improvment in my chest mostly, and im feeling confident when it comes to cutting time I will have nice chest development, which I felt was the major lacking point in my physique.

[Max-Mex]

The callouses havent been a problem, but the tear is. What problems can a callous cause? They are new to me... i just stopped using gloves a few weeks ago.

I keep forgetting to find some chalk, thanks for reminding me. Once I get a day off of work ill get a chalk ball.

Mixmaster hooked me on some really good chalk. Went to the local REI and got a chalk ball. Love it. I forgot which brand but when I get home I'll post the name up for you.


As far as the junk food diet, I'd try to stay away from it. You don't get enough nutrition from that stuff to use it as you main source of bulking. Meats (lean cuts if possible), poultry, pasta (whole grain kind), whole grain breads, oats, milk, veggies and eggs. I eat more junk food during this time of the year, but I try to keep it to a minimum. We have a sub shop down the street from where I work where they make a really good chicken salad. Grilled chicken breast with iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, feta cheese, onions, cucumbers, and some kind of oil/vinegar dressing and pita bread. The only real bad part from a bulking point of view is the dressing. Might want to try looking for things that give you non fried foods because the saturated fats are just going to make you fatter faster.

[JuniorMint6669]

max mex: yea i definatly need to get the chalk ball. lemme know which brand.
as for the junk food diet, i wouldnt say its JUNK food. i refuse to eat fast food. I dont eat candy. I dont like fried foods. But im not being nearly as strict as before. For example, last night I had 2 skinless chicken breasts and a bowl of ice cream. I know ice cream isnt "good", but carbs are carbs and calories are calories. I have a hard time getting in anything above 3000 calories by eating PURELY clean foods.
i know everyone thinks im going to get fat, and you're probably right, so you can just tell me "i told ya so" when i post my finish bulk pics (coming march 1st).

pooh p: Snickers huh? I think chocolate candy is even worse for me than cookies! im still waiting for those, btw.

[chops]

what do you mean? snickers -that's a quality choice for EFAs

4000 and only 2 lbs? no need to gloat :)

[Stephen Riddington]

I have the same problem, Junior. I find it difficult to bulk cleanly, The reason for me not eating much is because I rarely eat junk food. I try to stay away from those, I'll have some from time to time. But the main reason is because of the difficultly of getting rid of the fat when I begin my cutting cycle.

[JuniorMint6669]

chops: i know, i really do like snickers, but i cant give kim a reason not to bake me cookies :drooling:

canadiansteve: since deciding to get healthy about a year ago, it is very rare for me to eat anything unhealthy. but as much as I wanted to lose the fat, I want to gain muscle. and so if i have to force myself to eat some ice cream, so be it. damnit.

[JuniorMint6669]

1/20/04
Deadlift: 275x4 275x4 275x3 275x3
Leg Press: 560 4x4
(Real) Glute Ham Raise: BWx4 +5x4 +10x4 +10x3
Speed Box Squat: 130 3x7


Not by any means easy, but I felt real strong on them. Its about damn time I get my required amount of reps in to progress on this.
Easy.
First time doing working sets on a real GHR bench. Also first time ive ever failed on glute ham raise. I notice these work lowerback a lot more than my fake GHR did before
These were deep. I had to bring my stance in to get to powerlifting depth (hip joint parallel with knee is it?). So even though the weight is light, these were somewhat difficult on the descent. Easy going up though.


Good workout. Very happy with my deadlifting. Very happy to be doing real GHR. Very happy to be getting deep on squats. Very happy to be having an easy time with leg press. No room for complaints.

[Saint Patrick]

Damn I wish my gym had a real GHR. Not to brag, but I remember doing sets of 8-10 w/ +25 at my old gym. That's one of the things I miss about the YMCA.

And why have Ice cream or snickers when you can have SNICKERS ICE CREAM!

[aka23]

I had to bring my stance in to get to powerlifting depth (hip joint parallel with knee is it?).

Legal depth varies depending in which federation you compete. Top surface of legs at hip joint lower than knees is a common rule. More information with pictures is at http://www.adfpa.com/newsletter/06/novice/novice.html .


what do you mean? snickers -that's a quality choice for EFAs?).
A Snickers bar also contains peanuts and skim milk; so there is a small amount of protein, fiber, calcium, etc.

[Max-Mex]

If your gym doesn't allow the use of chalk, there are discreet alternatives. There is a product called "Eco-ball" by Metolius. It's a chalk alternative that absorbs moisture quite well apparently.

Or, get a normal chalk ball (instead of powder or brick chalk) and use that. It's much less messy, and a lot less gets on your hand so you leave little behind. It does dry quite effectively though.

Just shop at any climbing store.


Tada! Great stuff.

Back to the food thing, I'd pick pasta over ice cream. Too bad you didn't post a food journal as well. Maybe someone could've helped. 4000 cals a day for 2 months and only 2lb gain?? I hate you and your metbolsim. :p

[chops]

oh la la http://www.snickers.com/marathon_info.asp

i wouldn't be surprised if they come out with a protein bar and capitalize on the "snickers on steroids" detour thing that started

go eat your ice cream now (calcium and protein as well)

reminds me of Kfc lo carb , just dont mention the rest shhh

[JuniorMint6669]

st patty: wow those are nice GHR's. 10lbs was significantly heavier than I thought, though I sort of expect to make good gains on this in the near future, as it is a somewhat new excercise. sort of. im reaching here ;)

snickers ice cream:drooling: i think i ate an entire cartoon in ONE NIGHT before.

aka:thanks for the link! very helpful. My brother thought "parallel" was when the bottom of the leg was 90 degrees , which was helpful for him because his legs are pretty fat and sag low. he's having a hard time adjusting to the new depth too.

snickers:drooling:

maxmex: eco ball! im on it! Thanks (assist goes to mixmaster too).

What do you mean "someone could've helped"? I know full well what I am doing is not OK with the weightlifting, nutrition conscious community. But I also know that it may be the only way I can gain weight. Ill accept some fat gain right now if that happens. I honestly do not believe 500 calories from a snickers (which i dont even eat, btw) is going to be that much different than 500 calories from pasta/oatmeal/ww bread. I feel nutrient timing is a more important factor, and I try to get a decent spread of protein+calories throughout the day, and a lot more immediatly after training. again, i could be completely wrong about this, but we'll see. :D im still learning

as for my "fast metabolism" i havent always been that way. I used to be very over weight and considered myself to have a slow metabolism. but now i have a job where im on my feet for 8 hours a day, plus go lift 5-7 days a week. Not to mention about 20 extra pounds of LBM. It lets me eat more :D

chops: ok are you people TRYING to make me fat?
snickers marathon:drooling:
ice cream:drooling:
kfc:drooling:
BTW, i find that kfc commercial to be the most offensive spit ive ever heard. The fact that they try to pass that off as healthy makes me very angry on the inside. Honestly though, I dont even like KFC. Greasy foods dont appeal to me much.

[Max-Mex]

[b]as for my "fast metabolism" i havent always been that way. I used to be very over weight and considered myself to have a slow metabolism. but now i have a job where im on my feet for 8 hours a day, plus go lift 5-7 days a week. Not to mention about 20 extra pounds of LBM. It lets me eat more :D.

Well shiiit...no wonder you didnt gain any weight. Depending on what are doing during those 8 hours, I can see why you didn't gain. BTW, what the hell are you doing at work? Work for UPS or something like that? You should be eating like 2-3 whole chickens a day.

[JuniorMint6669]

maxmex: lol ok so i dont exactly do hard labor... im a barber/hairstylist. i know nobody can probably imagine how that can be hard on your body but stand up for 8 hours with your hands in the air and you'll find out. its pretty intense on the shoulders, traps, lowerback and etc. about whole chickens... thats not a bad idea. i'd imagine i could get those fairly inexpensive frozen, and just cook two at a time. it should last me a few days and not be too expensive.

kim p: i know what you meant. but obviously you didnt catch my sarcasm. who's the doofus now? huh? huh? drrr drrr :p still waiting for the cookies :D

[Stephen Riddington]

what cookies???? can I have some???? :D

What the heck is this obsession with Snickers??? man, maybe it's time for you to change your name from JuniorMint6669 to Snickers6669.

[JuniorMint6669]

kimpy's making me cookies cuz she loves me :D

as for snickers.... i dunno what you guys are talking about, i havent had a snickers in several months. and quite honestly, i havent had juniormints in even longer than that!

some appropriate name changes for me may be... DietCoke6669, CottageCheese6669, LunchMeat6669 and more recently IceCream6669 or Cookie6669 (once kimpy gets on it!)

[galileo]

Lunch Meat!!

[JuniorMint6669]

Panderer6669

[Max-Mex]

WholeChickens6669

[fuzz]

maxmex: lol ok so i dont exactly do hard labor... im a barber/hairstylist.

So, basically you are one of those homo-gays?

[JuniorMint6669]

maxmex: yes
kimpy: yes
fuzz: are you hitting on me... ;) no im not gay.

I used to be a receptionist for supercuts when I was in highschool. I started dating one of the stylists there and when I decided I was too poor to make it through college with the same job, she suggested I become a stylist. Probably the smartest thing Ive ever done. 9 months of schooling. Its commision/tip based, but when you average it out, im making about $18 an hour. Not bad for a 19 year old who only has 4 months experience. Im still going to school, but the potential money I can make here is pretty insane...

[Stephen Riddington]

I bet you got a lotta grannys trying to hook you up with the grandaughters, eh.

[galileo]

Do you talk with a lisp?

[Mik]

Lmao!!!!!!

[JuniorMint6669]

CAhomer: i get a lot of grandmas that try to hook me up with them!

gal/mik: Stop hating on my speech impediment, yo :cool: the chicks dig it

[JuniorMint6669]

guess I should post some workouts to get this journal back on track....
1/21/04
Chinup: +15x4 +15x4 +15x4 +15x3
DB Row: 85 4x4
HS Row (per side): 97.5x4 97.5x4 97.5x3 97.5x3
Speed Pulldown: 110 3x7
Static Holds


Hard.
Easy.
Easy, then hard.
Fast
I went quite a bit heavier on these because my grip wasnt worn out (taking a break from dropsets). Felt good. My right hand was the weak link this time around, because the wound is still healing.

[JuniorMint6669]

1/22/04
Bench: 195x3 195x3 195x3 195x2
DB Bench: 80x4 80x4 80x4 80x3
HS Bench (per side): 90x2 90x2 80x3 80x3
Speed CG Bench: 105 3x6


Felt heavy from lift off. Very strange. My warm ups were lighter than normal, that may have had something to do with it. I have no idea why +5 lbs would feel so much different. Either way, Ill repeat this weight next week, making my warm ups heavier. In fact, I plan on making all of my warm ups, accross the board, slightly heavier. Somewhere around 60-70% of my working set.
Good strength, failed on last rep though.
Awful. Was a repeat of last weeks weight (90) and failed. This may have to do with the fact that I have gone to the gym 10 days straight.
Very poor speed.


OK so im allowed to have on ****ty workout after 9 straight good ones. I dont like the format of my push routine though. As you can see, i have 18 "bench press" movements that all work the same muscle groups. Then when you add my crossover dropsets... well i think its too much. As mentioned before, I will be replacing crossover dropsets with cable fly dropsets. I will also be replacing HS BP with some form of seated shoulder movement. Probably just seated BB Shoulder Press.

[Coke]

Doing fine regardless bro...close to 200 on the flat bench = :thumbup:

[Alke]

yep, I agree. keep those reps low and youll be hitting double plates soon on bench.

also dont forget to try board presses or partials to get some strngth increases on bench, specially if youve never done them, you would be amazed at how a few powerlifting moves can get your strength up. Then go back to BB type reps and use the bigger wieght to get bigger mucles :D

[JuniorMint6669]

cocoa/kenn: thanks for the support guys. 200 and 225 are both landmarks id like to hit on bench. im fairly confident if I were to attempt a 1RM I could do it, but to do it for reps would be even sweeter. Ive thought about board presses in my routine as one of my main movements, perhaps in place of CGBP.

[clvmike19]

Im up late. Nice benching. not drunk

w00t.

[JuniorMint6669]

mike: not drunk? tuttut im very dissapointed in you.

[JuniorMint6669]

1/23/04
Squat: 265x4 265x3 265x2 265x2
Leg Press: 570x4 570x3 570x3 570x2
Glute Ham Raise: bw+10 4x4
Speed Snatch Grip Straight Leg Deadlift: 165 3x6


Whoa. I brought my stance in a little bit. Ive found my most flexible stance, and im using that. These were very deep, probably deeper than ive ever gone while maintaining good form. Even though I did not perform a 4x4, i am very pleased with the amount of reps I got. I good morning'ed a few of these at the bottom, which im happy about not falling forward on. The last rep I failed. I hit a good morning at the bottom, but could not stand up from there. I lowered myself to the pins and just sat down and started laughing. A guy nearby looked at me like I was crazy. LOL I suppose I am ;)
HEAVY. A quick flip through the workout book, and I cant find any time that I was not able to complete a 4x4 of leg press. My legs were wobbly most of these reps. Perhaps extreme fatigue from squatting.
FAST! Very fast. Surprisingly easy. I got amazing speed off the bottom. Really impressed myself. I felt these in my calves too. Im trying to figure out how to minimize calf involvment.
Fast. Easy. Very similar explosiveness as GHR. Perhaps I got some carryover to GHR from these.


Great workout, even though the numbers dont reflect that. Squatting was deeper than before. GHR was faster than before. Leg press was actually difficult. I used the "ecoball, chalk substitue" for the first time tonight. I really like the way it dries out my hands. Even though SSGSLDL weight is light, no new callouses were formed and it didnt even appear to cause any sort of damage to my hands. That makes me happy.

[Stephen Riddington]

Nice leg workout!!! Leg Press looks amazing.

[JuniorMint6669]

Thanks :D

[Coke]

Well now ain't you an mf dude!- :D ...good leg session, bro you are definitely on the rise.

[JuniorMint6669]

Thanka cocoa, im definatly seeing constant progress, so i cant complain!


Yesterday was my first day off from the gym in 11 days. As you guys may recall, I was tapering off the volume by not doing dropsets the past few workouts. I may take today off also, depending on how I feel by this evening. Im not working, so I suspect I will be getting antsy to do something (like workout). We'll see.

[JuniorMint6669]

Today was an off day too. Ill hit the gym tommorow going back to 3 days on 1 day off. Bulking has been going fun, i feel bigger. Heres what last night and tonights dinner looked like:

[Stephen Riddington]

LOL, posting pics of what you ate. Glad to know that I'm not the only one thinking of posting food that I ate on my journal.

[JuniorMint6669]

Oh man I cant believe I ate so much food. All that sushi sat night. All but two peices of pizza sunday night. This is how we bulk, OrAnGe CoUnTy StYlE

[Mik]

You can keep the sushi but 'll take the leftover pizza. Mmmmmmmmmmmmm.......

[JuniorMint6669]

Hah! What left over pizza? I went back to finish the mofo off only to find my brother had gotten to it first :(

[Mik]

Serves ya right for not sharing! :)

[JuniorMint6669]

Completely revamped push workout!
1/26/04
Close Grip Bench: 185x4 185x4 185x3 185x3
DB Bench: 85x4 85x0 *new form: 55x4 65x4 65x4
Seated Military Press: 70x6 95 4x4
Speed Bench: 110 3x6
Cable Fly (per side): 25x8 35x8 40x8 Dropset: 45x7 40x4 35x4 30x5
Tricep Pushdown Dropset: 70x8 65x8 60x8 55x6


Oooh these felt good. Ive been reading a lot of westside stuff trying to get my form down. Ive got a mean arch going and have been doing a good job keep the elbows close to the body. I noticed my arch starts to fall apart by the end of the sets, mostly due to me letting my butt slide down. Ill try to focus on this in the future.
First set felt weak. Second set got stuck midway. I figured since Im redoing my workout, i might as well make the change to this ive wanted to. Westside recommends doing these palms facing, so thats how I do them now (new form). It keeps the elbows in and allows me to go deeper. Felt very good.
Weight is light on these. Ill progress slowly to allow everything to catch up. Felt pretty good though.
In future workouts I will be doing speed work right after my primary lift, so that I have more energy for them. Even this late in the workout, they felt strong and i got real good speed on them.
First time attempting a dropset of fly's. Ill have to work on form to make sure I feel it in my chest. Some reps I felt a strong contraction, others I felt nothing. Weird
Strong, easy.


I really liked the feel of this workout. Just flowed pretty damn nice. We'll see how I progress.

[Dedicated]

Nice close grips.

[Stephen Riddington]

:withstupi

[Alke]

nice session, I did Db presses like that for a while and liked em that way.

close grip is gettting stronger, thats a lot of sets

[JuniorMint6669]

Thanks guys, ive only been doing close grip for 3 weeks, so im making quick gains on it! Hopefully it will keep up and carry over to my wide grip! If not, my close grip will soon be higher than wide grip, scary huh?

[JustinF]

Haven't been in here for a while! Things look to be going well, keep up the good work Jr.

[Coke]

Nice work bro, looks like you switch things up and did them tri's before chest.

[Mik]

I agree, close grips look great JM!

[aka23]

I agree with the others about the CGBP. Nice work. I have similar issues with my close grips being as high as my wide grips. That is interesting about Westside recommending DB presses with palms facing and elbows in.

[JuniorMint6669]

justin: thanks for stoppin in! everything's been progressin well for me, cant complain!

cocoa/mik/aka: thanks guys. Now that Ive got form down, my CG feels stronger and I no longer feel pain in my wrist. I love them!

aka: the reason westside recommends doing db presses with palms facing is becuase it puts your elbows in a tucked position, just like they recommend for BB bench press.

[clvmike19]

CGBP looks strong man....mine is catching up to my reg bench too.

[galileo]

<insert random exercise compliment>

Wait, am I in the right journal?

[JuniorMint6669]

mike: thanks! we must be doing something wrong, though, because powerlifters use wide grip :scratch:

gal: you must be in the wrong journal, you're not berating me

[Saint Patrick]

Good work on the CGBP.

[JuniorMint6669]

Thanks. Man ive got so many compliments on CG, i didnt even think it was a big deal ;)

[JuniorMint6669]

1/27/04
Deadlift: 280x3 280x3 280x3 280x3
Speed Box Squat: 160 3x6
Leg Press 570 4x4
Glute Ham Raise: +10x4 +10x4 +25x4 +15x4


So I was setting up for my set, just about ready to pull and the gym's resident "big guy" makes fun of my 2.5lbs plates for the 3rd time in the past few weeks. We were cool before, but now hes startin to piss me off. For some reason, he thinks i should increment with 45's only. ah well. so i was pissed, kinda lost my concentration, but I pulled heavy anyway. these felt strong, i didnt push myself to near failure, except on the last set. i was tired from a long day of work and no caffeine, so i am very happy with the reps. also, i used the ecoball "chalk replacement". freaking awesome stuff. no skin ripping or even huge callouses forming. awesome stuff.
I moved speed squat to my second excercise. I wasnt really impressed by the speed. Going so deep is still slightly awkward to me. I may need to use slightly lower percentages to get used to it. Or who knows, after a few more weeks of deep heavy squatting it may be easier.
Easier than last week. Legs were shaky, but still locked em out.
I experimented with some heavier weight. 25 was not easy. I didnt think I could get another set out. So I tried 15. Was easy. Ill either do +15 or +20 next workout.


Very good workout. Not as good as St. Patty's, but who's is?

[Saint Patrick]

Very good workout. Not as good as St. Patty's, but who's is?

Aww sh!t that's going in the sig.


Just ignore the other jerkoffs in the gym. They're nothing but a distraction.

[JustinF]

**** the other dude. Ignore him. Or give him a 45lb plate upside the dome! :evillaugh

[Budiak]

You know I've been trying to think of something relevent to say in this journal but its not going to happen. So I'll just stain the thread with a hearty **** YOU.


God, that felt good.

[aka23]

That guy sounds like he could be very irritating. Perhaps he would stop making such suggestions, if you explained your reasons for using smaller increments.

[Mik]

I agree with everyone else. Tell the guy to **** off then give him his 45. What's this ecoball? I've never heard of them.

[Coke]

Keep doing your own thing...one day he will be asking if he can work in with you - ;)

[Stephen Riddington]

Keep doing your own thing...one day he will be asking if he can work in with you - ;)

:withstupi

[MixmasterNash]

Hey, you've convinced me to buy an eco-ball! ;)

[galileo]

Eco ball, eh?


*********.

[JuniorMint6669]

Thanks for the support guys. He thinks he's hot ****, but everyone likes him because hes the biggest guy in our gym. I would very much like to slap him over the head with a plate. I can normally take razzing from anyone without it bothering me, and I havent mentioned it before in my journal, but because he did it literally seconds before i was ready to pull, it just irritated and pissed me off beyond belief. I dont think he realizes it bugs me, if he does it again maybe ill say something.

budiak: I often feel the same way about your journal. Perhaps ill drop a "**** you" or "die mother ****er" in your journal. ;) Thanks for stoppin in.

mik: eco ball!!! http://www.interactile.com/finder/details/Eco-Ball/4338.html
Its a chalk ball, without the chalk. It puts a clear substance on your hands that keeps them dry like chalk does, but it does not leave any mess. So my "no chalk" gym doesnt even know. And if they did, I doubt they would care. I got it for $3.99 at sport chalet.

[chops]

freud would say he has a small *

[Max-Mex]

**** the other dude. Ignore him. Or give him a 45lb plate upside the dome! :evillaugh

:withstupi

Ecoballs rule. Also, if that guy pisses you off next time, just chuck it at him...right at the eyes so it blinds him.

EDIT: Wait..the stuff is non-toxic..nevermind. Chuck the 45.

[JuniorMint6669]

chop chop: he has a small asterik? again, you never cease to confuse me.

maxmex: it would be more ironic if i threw the same 2.5lbs plate that he makes fun of. it would be like david throwing a stone at goliath. hah! stupid giant!

[Max-Mex]

LOL! yea the 2 pounder would be much better.

[JuniorMint6669]

Big guy wasnt at the gym yesterday... lucky him... unfortunatly for me. Ill just start carrying a 2.5 in my back pocket...

[JuniorMint6669]

1/28/04
Pullup: +20x3 +20x3 +20x3 +20x2
Speed Chindown: 130 3x6
DB Row: 85 4x4
HS Row (per side): 95 4x4
HS Shrug Dropset: 300x8 290x8 280x8
DB Curl: 25x8 25x8 30x8 35x8


Got decent speed on all early reps, just couldnt get the 4th out.
I did these on a different pulldown machine than normal, and these felt extremely heavy. I think this machine is closer to actual weight than the pulldown machine I have used in the past. Speed was still there though. Good stuff.
I was working next to a guy that ive known since 5th grade. We're not friends, just know eachother. Everytime he sees me he's like "damn devon, you got huge". I get that a lot *flex. haha... these were easy. 90's next time.
No problem.
Felt good to do some trap work after taking some time off from it.
Doing DB to hopefully balance out my biceps. I havent done curls in a while either, so these were fun :)


Im looking to vary the rep ranges in some upcoming workouts. First, Im going to replace the dropsets with 2 sets of 8 for a while. Second, im gonna reduce everything else to 3 sets of 4 (as opposed to 4 sets of 4). Finally, I am going to do 4 singles at the end of my primary movement (3 sets of 4 reps, 4 sets of 1 reps, all at the same weight). Why? I dont know. Sounds like fun though.

[Coke]

I think it is great that you are getting loads of compliments - keep up the good works!

[Dedicated]

Next time that guy makes fun of you tell him to **** off. If he gets in your face just tell him to go **** himself. Then wait for him to do something, cause you know what, 95% chance the little **** won't! He's obviously got some sort of complex if he has to make fun of smaller guys in the gym.

[JuniorMint6669]

cocoa: thanks man

dedicated: yea lol. funny thing is, i wont be smaller than him for much longer *flex


Here's pics of my hands after yesterday's session, pretty bad, but thank god for ecoball. Im guessing I would have no skin right now otherwise.

[Max-Mex]

Looks like something decided to make it's home in your palms.

[JuniorMint6669]

LOL yea it looked nasty, but is looking a lot better today. Trust me, its better than having 8 fleshy wounds lol.

[JustinF]

What is a speed chindown?

[Mik]

Those hands look familiar. I get those after deadlift sessions. lol.

[JuniorMint6669]

justin: like a lat pulldown, but with a close, palms facing grip. done as quickly as possible for 3 reps, 5-7 sets, 50, 55, or 60% of my current working set.

mik: that was actually after a pull day! No deadlifting involved! Guess it must mean im weak and not deadlifting enough :( or maybe it means im strong and im doing good on pullups :cool: yea lets choose that one.


yesterday was my off day, today ill hit "push", after work. Which im going to be late to.. see ya guys later...

[Alke]

the hands of a lifter, yep.

[JuniorMint6669]

1/30/04
Bench Press: 205x2 205x2 205x2
Pause CGBP: 100 7x3
DB BP: 70 3x5
Seated Military: 95 3x5
Cable Fly: 40x8 50x8 55x8 60x8
Tricep Pushdown: 70x8 70x8 75x8


Very damn heavy. I need to bring my grip in. Too much pressure on shoulders. Next week I will bring it in a little.
Good speed, bad form.
Felt strong.
Easy, but wobley.
Easy, too light.
Good stuff.


I switched up the rep/set counts quite a bit. Its definatly a nice change. Primary movements 3x3, secondary movements 3x5, hypertrophy movements 3x8.

[MixmasterNash]

Here's pics of my hands after yesterday's session, pretty bad, but thank god for ecoball. Im guessing I would have no skin right now otherwise.

Welcome to my world. I recommend lots and lots of moisturizer. Wow, that sounds, er, odd. Still, lube up.

[JuniorMint6669]

pooh: so that must mean your name is wait... lemme get a piece of paper.... K-I-M, kiM... aww what a pretty name

kenn/mixmaster: my hands are actually in pretty good shape after the initial ****ing up of them, because my hands are in water and conditioner most of the day. that was actually part of the problem, pre chalk, my hands were too soft and were getting torn up easily.

[Stephen Riddington]

Kim is a pretty name. Kimberly is better! :) Even though that Kim is abbreviation for Kimberly, but I like the full name.