Daily News Archives
November 2008
11/30/2008 - Weekly measurements; Big day tomorrow!
11/29/2008 - Much needed rest today; Four weeks to go.
11/28/2008 - Yesterday's workout; Thanksgiving photos.
11/27/2008 - Happy Thanksgiving!
11/26/2008 - A couple of new personal records yesterday; 3 new photos.
11/25/2008 - Excellent return to my leg workout!
11/24/2008 - Thanksgiving workout plans.
11/23/2008 - Weekly measurements.
11/22/2008 - Good workout; Leaning DB laterial; New traps progress picture.
11/21/2008 - Yesterday's back workout; New photo.
11/20/2008 - A few modifications to today's workout.
11/19/2008 - Back in the gym like nothing happened (almost!)
11/18/2008 - Thanks; Foam rollers; Today's workout!
11/17/2008 - Back injury not as bad as I thought.
11/16/2008 - Weekly stats; Back injury update.
11/15/2008 - Back injury returns; Great workout, new picture.
11/14/2008 - Life after 40; Yesterday's workout; New picture.
11/13/2008 - Taking the right attitude into the gym; Poor Loki.
11/12/2008 - Halfway through bulk; Yesterday's workout; New photo.
11/11/2008 - Yesterday's workout; Awesome moment; December "100 Challenge".
11/10/2008 - The holidays; AtLarge sale!
11/09/2008 - The week in review.
11/08/2008 - Delts/traps/calves workout; New picture; Today's plans.
11/07/2008 - Yesterday's workout (lightning strikes twice); Bragging? Huh?
11/06/2008 - The "secrets" to awesome workouts; New progress photos; Forum upgrade.
11/05/2008 - Incredible workout yesterday. Just incredible.
11/04/2008 - Gut check workout.
11/03/2008 - Ready for a week of killer workouts; Supplemental trap workout.
11/02/2008 - Weekly stats.
11/01/2008 - So sore; Monthly pictures; Beard?
November 30, 2008
It's Sunday, and time to take my weekly tape measurements and body fat reading...
My scale weight this morning is 210.8 pounds. That's a 2.4 pound gain over the past week. A 2.4 pound gain in one week may seem high, but it's an artificially inflated weight thanks to the water weight from the Thanksgiving day feast. I expect my weight to drop another pound or two over the next couple of days.
Nine weeks of this year's thirteen week bulk are in the books, and so far I've gained a total of 15.8 pounds for an average weekly gain of 1.76 pounds.
My body fat reading this morning is 13.0% (as measured by the Fat Track PRO Digital Body Fat Calipers). That's pretty much the same as last week's 12.9% reading. Considering that I started my bulk at 11.8% body fat, 13.0% after nine weeks is not bad. I'm very pleased with the relatively small amount of fat I've gained so far--certainly much better than my 2006 bulk!
This week's tape measurements (as measured by the MyoTape) indicate a good amount of growth in several areas. This week my quads, forearms and arms are all up a quarter of an inch. I almost added a quarter inch to my chest, but it was just shy of the mark. I was a little disappointed about that. For once my hips measurement didn't increase, but my waist is up a quarter of an inch. I blame Thanksgiving.
So, here's my overall measurement progress report: over the past nine weeks I've added three quarters of an inch to my forearms, just under 1.5 inches to my arms, 1.75 inches to my quads, a half inch to my calves and just shy of 2 inches to my chest.
All my stats, past and present, can always be found on the stats page.
Tomorrow's going to be a big day around here! I'll be posting my monthly progress pictures and we've got a new sponsor starting! I know you all are going to really like this new sponsor. Also, don't forget that today is your last day to register for December's "100 Challenge"! Details are immediately below...
November 29, 2008
I'm still bleeding off the four pounds of bloat I added just from Thanksgiving day. I shed half of that water weight yesterday, and hopefully the rest of it will be gone today. My finger and joints feel achy and stiff when I'm holding this much water. The Thanksgiving meal must have been quite a shock to my system after over 2 months of 100% clean, all-natural foods. Although, as cheat meals go, Thanksgiving dinner was far from horrible compared to some of the cheat meals I've had.
With the exception of a little traps work tomorrow afternoon, I've got the next couple of days off from training. I really need the rest--I'm feeling a little extra bruised and banged up after my bloody workout on Thanksgiving.
Speaking of Thanksgiving, if you missed yesterday's update I put a bunch of pictures with captions up in my 2008 Thanksgiving Photo Album.
I've now completed nine weeks of my thirteen week bulk. I've had some of the most incredible and intense workouts of my life on this bulk, and I can say with all honesty that I've put everything I have into my training and diet. There are just four weeks to go, and my goal is to make these last four weeks the best of all.
I've been putting some thought into my upcoming post-bulk cutting phase, and I'm thinking about starting my cut on February 1st instead of January 1st. I think it might be nice to give my body a chance to recover from the bulk by taking a month to sort of relax the intensity of my workouts a bit and eat at maintenance. We'll see.
Tomorrow I'll be back with my weekly tape measurements and body fat reading. See you then!
November 28, 2008
Yesterday's Thanksgiving workout was a bit of a mixed bag: I had a great workout, but I seemed hell-bent on killing myself...
The workout started off great! I did plenty of deadlift warm-up sets and felt no pain at all in my lower back. I added 10 pounds to my heavy working sets and banged out a set of eight with no problem. On the second set of deads, however, I felt a sharp pain in my lower back just as I was pulling the very last rep. I didn't even try to put the bar down gently: as soon as I felt the pain I just dropped it on the floor. Clearly I didn't give my pulled muscle enough time to heal. I really thought my back was at 100%, but obviously not. Anyway, my back was hurting but I was still able to complete the entire workout (minus the final set of deads, obviously). I also had to substitute bent over barbell rows for the cleans. Unfortunately I was just getting started with the self-injury...
A bit later in the workout I looked down and noticed blood all over my right hand. I started looking around the gym, and there was blood everywhere: on the plates, the bench, the floor, my shirt, my arms, the dumbbells. Sigh. I have no idea how I even cut my finger or how I didn't notice sooner. I ran and grabbed a Band-Aid and decided to wait until after my workout to clean all the blood up.
Oh, I'm not done yet...
Lisa was kind enough to retreat to her library so I could blast my music while I trained. She came downstairs for something while I was doing my low cable row/dumbbell pullover supersets, and started watching me lift because she wanted to know what a dumbbell pullover was (I'd described them to her before, noting how difficult it can be getting into position with a heavy dumbbell). Anyway, after performing a great set of low rows, I jumped up with the intention of quickly moving to the bench for the pullovers. The problem was that I forgot there was a loaded barbell in the gunrack above my head. I hit my head so hard that I fell straight on my ass (which didn't feel too good on my back, either) and was completely dazed. I'm telling you, I saw stars. It REALLY hurt. I sat there for about 10 seconds clearing the cobwebs, but then I got up and grabbed the dumbbell. Of course Lisa was freaking out and telling me to stop. Having never seen a dumbbell pullover, she really lost it when she saw me grab the 90-pound dumbbell in my sweaty hands, position my upper back across the bench and then hoist the DB directly over my still-dazed face. The whole time I'm doing the exercise she's like "Oh my god, be careful. Please stop! That looks dangerous! You could drop the dumbbell on your face! Are you still dizzy?" I love Lisa, but I'm glad she's not home for 99% of my workouts. About this time my finger started bleeding again.
Despite all these issues, I really did have a great workout. This morning my back is hurting a bit, but I will still be able to lift today with no problem. I'm going to have to nix the deads and squats for a while, I'm afraid.
We had a fantastic Thanksgiving feast yesterday! I put a bunch of pictures with captions up in my 2008 Thanksgiving Photo Album. I hope you like them. 
November 27, 2008
I'd like to start off today's update by wishing my fellow Americans a very safe and happy Thanksgiving holiday. I make an effort each and every day to take note of how incredibly blessed I am, but sometimes the grind of everyday life blurs that which is most sacred. Thanksgiving is day that allows us to refocus on what's important, and serves as a poignant reminder that we should never take anything for granted.
I'm healthy and happy. I have plenty of food to eat and a roof over my head. I have a wonderful circle of family and friends who are selfless and always lift me up when I'm feeling down. I have two awesome dogs that bring me joy on a daily basis. I feel extremely fortunate to have all of these things. No man could ask for more. For these things, I give my most sincere thanks.
I was originally going to do today's workout at my normal afternoon time, but I've decided to do it this morning between meal #1 and meal #2. I really don't want to juggle getting Thanksgiving dinner cooked and timed properly with my workout--getting all the many side dishes I'll be preparing to be ready at the same time is tricky enough without throwing a very tough workout into the mix! I feel good this morning, and I expect to have a fantastic workout. I'll spend the rest of the day eating whatever I like.
On a final note, I mentioned last week that a new sponsor is coming to JSF. I thought the announcement was going to be this week, but there were some last minute details that needed to be ironed out. You can expect the official announcement on Monday!
Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving!
November 26, 2008
I think the muscle I pulled in my back a couple of weeks ago may have actually helped me. When the injury first happened I was afraid that my bulk was over, or at least delayed several weeks. Thankfully that was not the case, and I only wound up missing one workout. The mere prospect of not being able to train, however, helped reaffirm just how much I love lifting. This little mid-bulk reminder to never take anything for granted came in the form of a rather minor "near miss" injury, and my training has actually benefited from this incident. Case in point: yesterday's chest/tricep workout...
...by the time I walked into the gym I was so amped up that I felt like I was coming out of my skin. I started off by adding 10 pounds to last week's bench press, and I did more reps than last week. Out of pure curiosity, after my workout I decided to look through my winter 2006 bulking logs. I couldn't believe when I saw that I'd just equaled my best bench press performance of my 2006 bulk. Why is this impressive? Because I was over 20 pounds heaver when I accomplished the same feat back in 2006. What a great feeling!
The rest of the workout was awesome: +5 pounds DB incline press (each drop), same reps as last week; +5 pounds (per dumbbell) flyes, same reps as last week (setting a PR) and more reps on the supersetted body weight chest dips; +5 pounds standing french curls, more reps than last week; + 5 pounds tricep pressdowns (each drop) more reps than last week; +5 pounds standing DB extensions, same reps as two weeks ago (I could not do these last week because of my back) and more reps on the supersetted bodyweight bench dips.
I posted three new pictures in my journal last night.
I've got the day off from training, and I need it: I am very sore this morning. Tomorrow's Thanksgiving workout is going to be ultra-tough, but I'll be well-rewarded when I'm done with enough food to feed a small army.
Train hard!
November 25, 2008
I was able to do my leg workout yesterday 100% as planned--and that includes squats and lunges! Looks like my minor back injury is more or less behind me.
I added 10 pounds to my last squat workout and did the same number of reps as last time (working sets). You may be wondering if I approached the squats with apprehension due to the muscle I pulled in my back a little over a week ago. Definitely not. There is no place for being squeamish when you are lifting. If you are tentative about what you are doing and are not 100% in the game mentally, then you are going to have a sub-par workout and you also stand a pretty good chance of getting re-injured. I'm not saying that after recovering from an injury you should charge into your workout like a rabid animal; you've got to be smart about it. Do plenty of warm-up sets and listen to what your body is telling you. That said, when you do make the decision to go heavy, then do it with 100% confidence. I did extra warm-up sets and three acclimation sets to gauge how my back felt. When I finished all those sets and my back still felt fine, I went into my working sets with total confidence and no reservations.
After my squats I added 5 pounds to my leg extensions and 10 pounds to my backyard barbell lunges (supersets). I almost got the same reps as last time, but I wasn't able to do quite as many reps on the barbell lunges. That extra weight was pushing me to my limits! Also, on the last two sets I started to feel some pain in my lower back on the left side when I lunged with my left leg. The pain wasn't horrible, so I lunged until my muscles failed and I had no choice but to drop the barbell behind me.
I added 5 pounds on lying leg curls (each drop) but I fell short equaling last week's reps on the final drop set.
So it was a very successful leg workout! I gave it everything I had. I'm very pleased that I was able to squat. I suspect that I'll be able to deadlift again on Thursday, too.
Later today I've got my chest and triceps workout, and I'm going to make it a great one. This is the last week I'll be doing these particular workouts (next week I change everything up), so I want to finish up strong!
November 24, 2008
So this weekend Lisa and I hashed out our Thanksgiving dinner menu, and we roughed out the schedule for Thanksgiving day. I mentioned that I would be performing my workout sometime after her parents arrive because I need to time Thanksgiving dinner so it is my PWO meal #2. Lisa said, "Wait, you're working out? On Thanksgiving?!" Well, yeah. Of course I'm working out on Thanksgiving. Why shouldn't I? Do you think I'm going to let all that great protein and all those carbs go to waste? Especially on back/bicep/trap day! I'm actually excited that Thanksgiving happens to fall on what is probably my toughest workout day. Yeah, I'm going to workout, and I'm going to workout hard. And when I'm done I'm going to drink my Results and my Nitrean shake. A couple hours later I'll sit down to Thanksgiving dinner and will gorge myself on anything and everything.
Thanksgiving dinner will be the first time on this bulk I've deviated from my planned diet. I've not had a single "cheat" meal or, for that matter, even missed a meal. I've earned a little indulgence.
One thing I will not be doing on Thanksgiving is drinking alcohol. It's been over two months since I've had a drink, and I don't miss it at all.
The thought of drinking right now sounds horrible to me. Anyway, the last thing I want to put in my body after a workout is poison. I'll
put my water in a wine glass for dinner.
Thanks for stopping by--have a great day!
November 23, 2008
It's Sunday and, as always, this morning I'll be taking a look at my weekly tape measurements and body fat reading.
My scale weight this morning is 208.4 pounds. That's a 1.2 pound gain over the past week. I'm happy with this number.
I've now completed eight weeks of this year's thirteen week bulk, and so far I've gained a total of 13.4 pounds--an average gain of 1.68 pounds per week. Let's move on to this week's measurements and body fat reading...
My body fat reading this morning is 12.9% (as measured by the Fat Track PRO Digital Body Fat Calipers). That's identical to last week's reading. Very cool. Let's see how the tape measurements look...
This week's tape measurements (as measured by the MyoTape) show a small amount of progress in several areas; however (with the exception of my hip measurement), there was not a full quarter inch of growth on any single measurement. So, because I always round down, most of my "official" measurements remain unchanged this week. In contrast to my other measurements, my hip measurement shot up a half inch! I know that sounds crazy, but this happens on every bulk. My glutes just respond extremely well to training.
So, here's my overall measurement progress report: over the past eight weeks I've added a little over a half inch to my forearms, over an inch to my arms, 1.5 inches to my quads, a half inch to my calves and just over 1.75 inches to my chest.
All my stats, past and present, can always be found on the stats page.
My back is feeling much, much better. Yesterday I didn't take any Aleve or even need to ice it down. There's still a small amount of pain, so I know it's not 100% recovered, but I'm going to go ahead and give myself the green light to do my normal leg workout tomorrow (including squats). I'll take things slow and do plenty of warm-up and acclimation sets before I get into the working sets. If I feel like things are still not right, I'll back off.
Later today I'll be doing my supplemental Sunday traps workout. I've been encouraged by some recent visible growth in this very weak area, and I want that to continue.
In other news, JSF has a new sponsor coming aboard! You can expect the announcement tomorrow or the next day. This is a big one...
November 22, 2008
Yesterday was my delt/traps/calves workout. Thankfully I didn't need to make any modifications to yesterday's training as a result of the lower back muscle I pulled last Friday. The only part of the workout that put any real strain on my lower back was the standing overhead press/power shrug supersets. Yes--yesterday I was able to power shrug! My back seems to be recovering very quickly. I did feel some discomfort towards the end of each set of standing overhead presses, but nothing serious.
I was a little annoyed at myself after the first two overhead press/power shrug supersets. I performed significantly more reps than last week, and the weight felt light--too light. I looked at the bar and saw that I'd forgotten to slap a couple of 5-pound plates on there. I was so irritated at myself for making such a stupid error that I added 20 pounds and then did two more sets.
I'm really enjoying the leaning dumbbell lateral raises. I don't think I've done those before this bulk. I'm able to go very heavy on these, using about 1.75 times the weight I'd normally use for regular strict form DB laterals. This is not a strict movement like standard laterals done to the sides: it's more of a power move with some controlled momentum involved. Leaning DB laterals are a great way to overload the medial delts with more weight than you could normally handle. The trick to getting the most out of this exercise is to point your thumbs slightly downward at the top of the lift while holding the weight as long as possible with a good hard delt squeeze. Lower the weight as slow as you can, always under control.
After my usual delts/calves/traps workout, I decided to hit my traps a little more, and did four sets of close-grip barbell shrugs. This morning I'm paying for it--it hurts to turn my head! I took a traps progress photo at the conclusion of my workout and posted it in my journal.
I have the day off from training, so the plan is to relax and enjoy myself. I'll be back tomorrow with my weekly measurements and stats. Have a wonderful Saturday!
November 21, 2008
As I mentioned yesterday, I had to modify my current back/biceps/traps workout a bit thanks to the muscle I pulled last Friday. Not being able to deadlift or clean sucked, but I made the most of it. I decided to start off the workout by hitting my lower back directly with some good mornings. I warmed up slowly: 20 reps with the bar, 12 reps with 65 pounds and 10 reps with 95 pounds. I did three working sets of 12 reps using 135 pounds, which is about all I wanted to throw at my recovering lower back at this point. Considering I was lying on the gym floor in severe pain less than a week ago, I'm totally happy with my speedy recovery.
I wasn't able to do cleans, so I did barbell rows supersetted with close-grip shrugs. I was able to go very heavy here with no lower back discomfort. I did barbell rows for the first 4 weeks of my bulk, so I looked at my logs and added 10 pounds to what I used the last time I did them. My strength is up a lot, because I was able to do 5 or 6 more reps with the extra weight on every set. I went ahead and tossed in a fourth superset. Hopefully I'll be able to dead and clean by next Thursday, but if I can't I'll probably add another 10-15 pounds to the rows.
I was able to do the remainder of the workout with no changes. Here are the relative improvements over last week's back/biceps/traps workout: +5 pounds low rows/+5 pounds DB pullovers (supersets), same reps as last week; +5 pounds barbell curls, more reps than last week; +5 pounds hammer curls (each drop, quad drop sets), same reps as last week on some of the drops, a few less on others; +5 pounds concentration curls, less reps as last week.
I posted one new progress picture yesterday, a bicep/lat/delt shot. My arms are back up to 18" with a bicep pump, and my lats and rear delts have shown some widening/thickening over the past couple of months.
Today is my delts/calves/traps workout, and I expect to be able to do that workout with no modifications at all.
I need to get meal #1 going. Happy Friday--train hard!!
November 20, 2008
Looking over my planned workout for today (back/biceps/traps, here's the workout), aside from deadlifts and cleans I really don't see anything in there that should pose a problem for my recovering lower back.
Of course there's no direct replacement for deads, so I'm just going to have to figure something else out for now. I think I might try some good mornings with as much weight as I can comfortably handle, and maybe some barbell or DB rows.
The low rows/dumbbell pullover supersets should not be a problem.
I think I'll be able to manage some direct trap work, but I doubt my back is ready to handle power shrugs. I'm thinking some close-grip barbell shrugs, and then maybe some seated dumbbell shrugs.
The bicep portion of my workout won't be a problem at all.
As for my back, I didn't even have to take an Aleve yesterday until around mid-day. I was actually thinking at one point yesterday morning that I was going to be able to deadlift today, but around the middle of the day I started hurting again. While I'm definitely still healing, it's happening pretty quickly; for that I'm extremely thankful.
My breakfast is ready, so I'm going to wrap this up. Catch ya tomorrow!
November 19, 2008
I'm on top of the world this morning! With the exception of one exercise, I was able to do yesterday's chest/triceps workout (here's the actual workout) exactly as planned. Of course I was not content to just perform the workout; I needed to make it a great one, and I did.
My back was hurting a little, especially when loading plates and picking up dumbbells. Every time I needed to pick up a dumbbell or plate I focused on stabilizing my "core" before I even put my hands on it. I need to make sure I do this from now on, even once my back is feeling 100%. I suspect that when I picked up the two 50-pound dumbbells on Friday (when I injured my back), that I did so without any attempt to stabilize my body because the dumbbells were "light". Well, the dumbbells may have been fairly light, but they were obviously heavy enough to cause injury. Lesson learned.
OK, so about the actual workout. I started off with barbell bench press, and I added 5 pounds to last week's effort. I experienced essentially no back pain whatsoever, even when I arched my back before lifting off. I was able to do more reps than last week using the heavier weight, so next week I'll add more weight. This was exactly the start to the workout that I needed: I felt awesome!
I was concerned that I would not be able to do the triple drop set incline dumbbell presses--especially the starting lift--because kicking the very heavy dumbbells into place while getting into lifting position puts a fair amount of stress on the back. I solved that problem by using my Dumbbell Power Hooks for the initial (heaviest) lift, and then I kicked the other dumbbells into place for each drop with no problem. This worked out perfectly. I was able to do more reps than last week on each drop, and so next week I will be adding more weight.
As expected, the dumbbell flyes/chest dips supersets did not pose any sort of problem for my back. I added 5 pounds (per dumbbell) to my flyes and did more reps than last week, and I was able to do more reps than last week on the supersetted bodyweight "burnout" chest dips. Next week I'll add more weight to the flyes.
The first tricep exercise was standing ez-bar french curls. I didn't think I'd be able to clean and press the bar without hurting my back, and even if I could get the bar into position I figured the stress on my back while performing the lift would be too much. I decided to try anyway, and it turned out that my fears were unfounded. Very little back pain. I did more reps than last week using more weight (+5 pounds) than last week, so next week more weight!
The tricep pressdown triple drop sets were not a problem at all. I added 5 pounds to each drop, and did the same or more reps than last week.
The final part of my workout required a little modification. The workout called for standing dumbbell extensions supersetted with body weight "burnout" bench dips. When I picked up the heavy dumbbell for the standing DB extensions, I sort of knew that it was going to be a problem hoisting it over my head. As most of you know, when getting a heavy dumbbell into position for standing DB extensions there is a lot of force placed on the back as you counter the inertia that is generated while getting the DB overhead. I started to do it, and my back screamed, "Oh no you don't!" I didn't press my luck. I modified the workout by doing bench dips with plates on my lap, and after reaching failure I removed the plates and did body weight bench dips until failure.
After my workout my back was aching a bit more than normal, so I iced it down real good. This morning my back feels like it's improved over yesterday, so I obviously didn't do it any harm by working out. Whew.
I have today off from lifting, so I'll be continuing my ice/Aleve treatment and resting. Tomorrow is back/bicep day, and that's going definitely require some changes.
Unfortunately I will not be able to clean or deadlift. I'll figure something out.
I can't even describe how good it felt to be able to lift yesterday (but I'll try anyway): have you ever almost fallen from a height, but caught yourself just in time? Or maybe been driving and looked up and saw a car stopped in front of you and hit your brakes just in time to avoid a collision? That's kinda how I feel, like I just avoided disaster. I can practically taste the relief.
November 18, 2008
I want to thank everyone for their helpful suggestions and general words of encouragement regarding the relatively minor back strain/injury I sustained on Friday.
Christy ("J_W") mentioned my bedding as a possible contributing factor, but my new mattress is superb. For example, when I woke up this morning my back was practically pain free. Only now that I've been up and moving around has the pain started to return (but is much improved over yesterday--more on that in a minute). Christy is right, of course: a quality mattress is vital. The mattress I purchased late last year was very expensive but worth every last penny. I spent years sleeping on a crappy mattress, and that was a huge mistake. Only after investing in a good mattress did I realize just how badly my old mattress sucked.
"swedishchef" suggested that I purchase a foam roller. Well, I'd never even heard of such a thing, but did some research this morning. It seems many weight lifters and other athletes swear by these things, including several forum members. Because I believe that my problem is muscular, this inexpensive piece of equipment could be just what I need to avoid future lower back problems. I'll be purchasing one today, and am really looking forward to trying it out!
So this morning my back is feeling a little better than yesterday. I'm going to proceed with my chest and triceps workout today. I'll have to be very careful loading the plates onto the bar. Also, I may substitute barbell or smith machine incline press for the incline dumbbell press drop sets so I don't have to pick up very heavy dumbbells and then kick them into position. Also, I think I'll do my french curls and DB extensions seated instead of standing. Hopefully I won't have a problem getting the bar and DB into position.
I really hope I can do my full workout this afternoon; it would be a huge mental boost for me. Missing yesterday's leg workout was very tough, as that is the first workout I've missed on this bulk. Despite the pain in my back, around my usual workout time yesterday I found myself wandering into the gym and starting to rationalize why I should go ahead and lift. I had to force myself to leave the gym. Doing so was not easy.
November 17, 2008
If you missed Saturday's update, I screwed up my back on Friday. No, not while working out--while putting away dumbbells. 
At first I thought I'd blown my back out again, but now it seems clear this is not the case. Whew. It's only been a couple of days and the pain has already been reduced to a very dull ache. The pain intensifies slightly if I move in certain ways, but it's nothing like the last time this happened.
As Indy says, "It's not the years, it's the millage."
Anyway, I tried to do my supplemental traps workout yesterday afternoon, but the force on my back was causing the pain to increase enough that I thought it wise to stop, so I did. There's no way I can squat or lunge today, and I think even leg presses and lying leg curls would aggravate the injury, so I've decided that the wise thing to do is skip today's workout. I don't like doing it, but my gut tells me it's the right move. I'm pretty sure I'll be able to perform tomorrow's chest and tricep workout as planned. I hope so. I do not want to lose the incredible momentum I've built over the last 7 weeks.
Of course I'll continue to eat my regular bulking diet and work around the problem in the gym as best I can until I'm fully healed. I hope by this time next week I'm back to 100%.
Lots of work to do today, so I'm going to get at it. Thanks for stopping by!
November 16, 2008
It's "Measurement Sunday", and time to evaluate my progress over the past week. Let's get right to it!
My scale weight this morning is 207.2 pounds, which amounts to a 1 pound gain over the past week. That's the least amount of weight I've gained in one week since I started bulking, but just about what I'm looking for. After seven weeks of bulking I've gained a total of 12.2 pounds, which is an average gain of 1.74 pounds per week. Let's take a look at this week's measurements and body fat reading...
My body fat reading this morning is 12.9% (as measured by the Fat Track PRO Digital Body Fat Calipers). That's basically the same as last week--just a .1% increase. Good.
This week's measurements (as measured by the MyoTape) show solid progress over the past week. This week I gained a quarter inch on my chest, a quarter inch on my quads, a quarter inch on my forearms and a quarter inch on my arms. I also gained a quarter inch on my hips (it's the lunges--my butt is growing). My waist measurement remains unchanged from last week.
Overall progress? Over the past seven weeks I've added a half inch to my forearms, an inch to my arms, 1.5 inches to my quads, a half inch to my calves and 1.75 inches to my chest.
It feels good to finally have my arms back up to 17 inches (cold/unpumped). Also, adding almost 2 inches to my chest is something I'm very happy about because my chest was starting to look really weak before this bulk. My lats are looking much wider now, and my quads (which always grow quickly) have forced me to break out my "big boy" jeans (as Lisa calls them) even though my waist still fits just fine in my smaller jeans. Obviously my stubborn traps are not covered by these measurements, but I'm hitting them with everything I have, and I expect (please!!) to see some visible progress in next month's progress photos.
All my stats, past and present, can always be found on the stats page.
My back is feeling markedly improved this morning! There is still quite a bit of pain when I move in certain ways, but I think I'll be able to do most of my workouts next week. Deads, squats, lunges and cleans are out for at least another week or two, however. I think that I'll be able to do my supplemental trap workout this afternoon, but I'm going to have to play it safe and do traditional shrugs only; power shrugs would place too much strain on my injured lower back.
Enjoy your Sunday!
November 15, 2008
Bad news. Somehow I blew my back out again last night. The weird thing is I wasn't even working out when it happened. After yesterday's workout I
went back into the gym to put away all the plates and dumbbells. I picked up a couple of 50-pound dumbbells off the floor, stood up and
started walking over to the dumbbell rack. As I walked, there was a sharp, familiar pain in my left lower back, and then it felt like a clamp was being tightened.
I cried out, "No! Not this--not now!" as I slowly collapsed to the ground. While I was lying on the cold gym floor blankly staring up at the ceiling, the ramifications of what just happened
started sinking in. I almost felt like crying, but that's not allowed in my gym.
I forced myself to get up. I popped a couple of Aleve, took a quick shower and then started icing down my lower back. The pain is exactly the same, and in the same place, as it was the last time this happened.
This morning I'm still in a fair amount of pain, but I'm able to walk fully upright and move around. This is a good sign, because the last time this happened I was more or less immobilized for several days. I'm going to rest, Aleve and ice this weekend, and see how things are on Monday. These kinds of things can take weeks to heal, and that's a prospect that I find extremely difficult to accept right now. I'll consider myself very lucky if I'm back in the gym with only one week of missed workouts. I very well may extend my bulk as a result of this injury. No way I'm giving up: this is just another hurdle I need to leap. Setbacks are part of life; it's how we handle those obstacles that sets us apart. I'm more determend than ever.
On a brighter note, yesterday I had an absolutely incredible workout (delts/traps/calves, here's the actual workout). I added weight to all exercises, and on each exercise manged to match, or came very close to, the same number of reps as last week. I put one new picture in my journal last night: a delts progress photo from the side.
Tomorrow I'll be back with my usual weekly measurements and body fat reading, as well as an update on my injury. Have a great Saturday!
November 14, 2008
I can't believe it's already Friday. This week seemed to go by especially fast for some reason. My aching body is ready for a little rest, but first I've got one more tough workout to bang out later today (delts/traps/calves).
As many of you know, long, long ago I was a competitive swimmer. The way I'd feel immediately before a race was a mixture of excitement, adrenaline and anticipation. I feel that same brew of emotion each and every time I lift weights. It's wonderful. Yesterday I realized that perhaps one of the reasons I enjoy lifting so much is because all those feelings bring back memories of my youth. But it's more than just old memories: I actually feel like I'm still young. And that feeling of youthfulness doesn't disappear once I leave the gym. I honestly don't feel any different sitting here now than I did 20 years ago. In fact, I feel better because I'm more confident in myself and I am no longer saddled with teenage angst.
Anyone who says it's all downhill after 40 is doing it wrong. Life after 40 rocks.
Yesterday's workout (here's the actual workout) was a firestorm of intensity. Not only did I increase the weight on every exercise, I slightly shortened my rest intervals to further ratchet up the intensity level. Despite the added weight and (often) additional reps, I finished the workout a full five minutes faster than the same workout last week.
Here are the relative improvements over last week's back/biceps/traps workout: +10 pounds on my deads/shrugs, same reps as last week; +10 pounds on my cleans/shrugs, more reps than last week; +10 pounds on my low rows/+10 pounds on my DB pullovers (supersets), same reps as last week; +5 pounds on my barbell curls, more reps than last week; +5 pounds on hammer curls (each drop, quad drop sets), more reps than last week on some of the drops, a couple less on a few others; +5 pounds on concentration curls, same reps as last week.
I posted one new picture in my journal last night, something a bit different: BATTLE SCARS.
Happy Friday everyone. Train hard and eat well!
November 13, 2008
Today's workout is back/biceps/traps (here's the actual workout), and it marks the start of the second half of my 2008 bulk. This particular workout has proven to be one of the more challenging workouts I've come up with, and it's also been producing some very nice gains for me. The first time I performed this workout (October 30th) I was completely destroyed by the time I finished. Last week when I did the same workout, I rose to the occasion and blew my first performance out of the water (here's last week's back/biceps/traps post-workout musings). This week I'll be adding weight to every single exercise, and I'm going to walk into that gym pissed off and defiant. I'm not being melodramatic: I find that a healthy dose of anger helps quite a bit when I step up to a loaded barbell to deadlift. If you allow yourself to feel intimidated before you lift then it's already over.
I normally switch my exercises and training techniques around every 4 weeks. But, because this bulk is 13 weeks long, I've decided to extended the workouts I'm doing now to 5 weeks, and then finish up the last 4 weeks with all-new routines.
I've got to take Loki to the vet this morning because he's having his teeth cleaned. They have to put him under to do this, so he can't eat his breakfast this morning. He is absolutely despondent right now. Now he has to watch me eat. I feel so bad for him.
I'd better get my breakfast in me and hit the road. Have a great day!
November 12, 2008
Not counting the supplemental trap workouts that I've been doing on Sunday afternoon, there are a total of 52 workouts scheduled for this year's bulk. I completed my 26th workout yesterday, so I am now precisely at the halfway point of my 2008 bulk! Yesterday was my chest/triceps workout (here's the actual workout), and it was another incredible training session. I mean, I've been "in the zone" before, but this is ridiculous: 26 intense and brutal workouts, each and every one better than the last.
While I'm still not putting up the kind weight that I was throwing around in the second half of my 2006 bulk, I am at least approaching that ballpark. It feels good to be getting back to those kinds of numbers--especially considering that I'm around 30 pounds lighter right now.
So for yesterday's chest/tricep workout, here are the relative improvements over last week's workout: +5 pounds on flat bench press, more reps than last week; +10 pounds (per drop) incline dumbbell press (quad drop sets), a few less reps than last week on some of the later drops; +10 pounds dumbbell flyes/bodyweight chest dips (supersets), same reps as last week on flyes, more reps on dips; +5 pounds standing french curls, more reps than last week; +5 pounds (per drop) angled bar tricep pressdowns (quad drop sets), same or more reps than last week on each drop; +5 pounds standing dumbbell extensions/body weight tricep bench dips, more reps than last week on all.
The workouts that I'm doing right now are some of the toughest and most intense I've ever done, especially with the very short rest intervals, the quad drop sets and the supersets. My voice is slightly hoarse this morning because I tend to scream and yell to force out the last couple of reps. I workout alone, so I'm obviously not doing this for attention. I know many people find "screamers" annoying at the gym, and I can totally understand that. Just another reason that working out at home is the best choice for me, I guess.
I'll sign off with a new progress photo that I posted yesterday. Have a great day!
November 11, 2008
I love working my legs on Monday. Leg day is always tough, so it's nice to do it after a couple of days of rest. I was feeling exceptionally good all day yesterday (it's hard not to feel good when the weather is this incredible), and I was completely fired up by workout time.
The workout went extremely well (here's the actual workout): +10 pounds on squats, same reps as last week; +5 pounds on leg extensions/+10 pounds on backyard barbell lunges (supersets), same reps as last week; +10 pounds on lying leg curls (each drop), same reps as last week except the final drop set (-1, -1, -2, -1). Adding 10 pounds to the lying leg curls was a last minute choice. I normally would add in 5-pound increments for that exercise, but I was feeling so good yesterday I thought I could handle a bigger jump in weight. I was right, and it was a great way to end the workout.
As I mentioned in the first paragraph, the weather has been phenomenal here. Yesterday while I was doing backyard lunges in the crisp, clean air under a cloudless blue sky I felt... well, I just wore out my backspace key trying find the appropriate words. I can't do it. Even now as I think back to yesterday I feel peaceful and almost euphoric. I know it sounds a little silly talking about lunges in residential backyard like I was standing at the top of a mountain or something, but sometimes the most memorable moments happen at the most surprising times.
I've got a ton of work to do today, so I'd better wrap up and get going on it. I've opened the December "100 Challenge" for entry. Details are immediately below.
Registration for the December 2008 "100 Challenge" is now underway! Your Official Challenge post must be made by 7:00 AM (EST) on December 1, 2008 if you plan to participate--NO EXCEPTIONS! To participate, you must be a member of the forum. If you are not a member, simply create a free account. It can take up to 24 hours for your account to be activated, so don't wait until the last minute to register! For all the details, official rules and sample entry data, just head over to the December 2008 "100 Challenge" thread on the forum. If you are ready to work hard and want to challenge yourself in a fun and competitive environment, then please take part!
November 10, 2008
I hope everyone had a nice weekend! Other than some light projects around the house and a brief (but intense) supplemental traps workout yesterday afternoon, I spent the weekend resting and relaxing. This morning I feel fully recharged, and I am more than ready for another week of grueling workouts. Today is leg day, and the weather is perfect for lunging around the backyard while screaming, spitting and yelling. My neighbors must enjoy my leg day a lot.
One of the challenges facing people like me who utilize an "all or nothing" approach for cutting and bulking is the social aspect--especially around the holidays. For example, my company is having a holiday get-together in early December. Normally these holiday get-togethers are just a dinner somewhere, and easy to attend without breaking my self-imposed restrictions. This year, however, it looks like the gathering will be at a restaurant/bar with a live band. The band doesn't even hit the stage until 8:30, so it promises to be a late night of food and booze. This scenario presents a problem for several reasons: I don't want to go off my diet, I'm not drinking and don't want to be hassled about it, Lisa will be out of town that weekend so I'd have to go alone and, most importantly, I really, REALLY hate staying up late. It takes me several days to recover from a late night because I wake up at 5:30-6:00 AM every morning no matter how late I stay up. So anyway, I declined to attend. I know, I know... some of the people I work with won't understand, and perhaps some of you reading this don't even understand. All I can say is that right now, for these 13 weeks, training is a top priority in my life. I normally balance my social life with my training quite well; right now, after over a year of distractions, what I need is 100% commitment to my bulking training program.
Guess what? AtLarge is having a 10% off sale, and it's going on right now! Details are immediately below this update. Don't miss out on what is likely the last AtLarge sale of 2008!
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AtLarge Nutrition - 10% Off Sale! It's the Thanksgiving season and, as always, we at AtLarge Nutrition, LLC have a lot to be thankful for, none the least of which are our fantastic customers! Without you, we are nothing, and we truly give thanks each and every day for the fact that you choose to buy your nutritional supplements from us and refer your acquaintances, friends, and family to do the same. As just a small token of our appreciation, and in the spirit of the season, we will be running our Gaggle of Gobble Savings event from Monday, 11/10/2008 through Sunday, 11/16/2008. Simply enter the code "turkey" (without the quotes) in the discount coupon code section during checkout and save 10% off your order total. This code IS valid with all of our everyday discount offers such as our multi-unit and stack savings. So, from all of us at AtLarge Nutrition to you and yours, have a great holiday season and THANK YOU for your patronage!
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November 9, 2008
As I mentioned in yesterday's update, yesterday we had family over for dinner and a movie. I'm happy to report that I had no trouble resisting the temptation to break my clean diet or drink alcohol. Everyone was drinking but me, and everyone else had popcorn, cheeseburgers and chips. There were flashes of temptation, but I'm so into my training right now that it didn't require much effort at all to shrug off the desire to stray.
It's Sunday, and that means it's time for me to evaluate my progress over the past week. Let's take a look at the data...
My scale weight this morning is 206.2 pounds, which amounts to a 1.4 pound gain over the past week. That's a total of 11.2 pounds gained here at the six week mark. Each week when computing my average weekly weight gain I've subtracted 3 pounds from the total to account for the initial water weight gain from the creatine. I've decided to stop doing that (that practice seemed rather arbitrary and was starting to bug me; when looking at total scale weight then weight should be weight). So, without the 3 pound subtraction, I've been averaging a gain of 1.87 pounds per week. Now let's look at this week's measurements and body fat reading...
My body fat reading this morning is 12.8% (as measured by the Fat Track PRO Digital Body Fat Calipers). I was actually glad to see an increase in body fat this morning: I was starting to wonder why my body fat percentage was not going up, and was beginning to question my caliper skills. I suppose my initial reading might have been a tad high. I don't know for sure. Anyway, my readings have been very consistent, so I think we're definitely in the ballpark. Based on how I look in the mirror, I'd say 12.8% body fat is about right.
Moving on to the tale of the tape, this week's measurements (as measured by the MyoTape) show continued solid progress. Over the past week I've gained another quarter inch on my chest, a quarter inch on my quads and a quarter inch on my arms. My calves and forearms showed some growth, but not quite a quarter of an inch. I also gained a quarter inch on my hips and waist.
So, over the past six weeks I've added a quarter inch to my forearms, three quarters of an inch to my arms, 1.25 inches to my quads, a half inch to my calves and 1.5 inches to my chest.
Based on my body fat readings so far on this bulk I've put on 7.82 pounds of lean mass and 3.38 pounds of fat. I'm happy with those numbers. If I subtract ~4 pounds from the lean mass figure to account for water weight gain (this is appropriate when attempting to separate actual muscle from lean mass), then that means I've gained approximately ~4 pounds of actual new muscle over the past six weeks. If I continue to gain muscle at that rate for the final 7 weeks of my bulk, then I can expect to wind up with a total of 8-9 pounds of new muscle. If I can hold onto most of that muscle through my cut, then I'll consider this a very successful bulk. Adding ~8 pounds of good, solid muscle is not easy for a 40 year-old natural who's already been training for six years. Muscle memory is also helping me out here. I suspect that future muscle gains in the years to come will be even more difficult. As a final note, keep in mind that these are all estimates done to the best of my abilities using the tools I have available to me. The key word here is "estimates"; this is not an exact science.
All my stats, past and present, can always be found on the stats page.
Today I'll be doing my supplemental traps workout: power shrugs and some traditional barbell shrugs. Hopefully all the TLC I've been giving my traps lately will result in some growth in this very weak area!
November 8, 2008
I've got today off from training, and my body will certainly appreciate the rest. Yesterday's workout (delts/traps/calves) was very good, but I just realized that I never posted the actual workout last week! Sorry about that. Here it is:
DELTS/TRAPS
- 3 x 10-12/15 Standing overhead barbell press/power shrugs (supersets)
- 4 x 10-12 Leaning dumbbell laterals
- 3 x failure seated bent-over dumbbell laterals (triple drop sets)
Calves
- 4 x 15-20 Dumbbell single leg calf raises
- 3 x failure Seated calf press
I took one new picture yesterday during my final set of seated bent-over dumbbell laterals. I look kind of insane (more so than usual).
Today we're having family over for movies and dinner. Everyone but me will be drinking and eating popcorn, so I'll have a bit of a test. Actually not drinking won't be hard at all--I have no desire to drink at all right now. Avoiding the popcorn will be a real challenge, however. Tonight I'll be making burgers for everyone. I'll be eating my usual meal #5 (96% lean burger patty, 12 oz roasted red potatoes and salad w/ olive oil), which I absolutely love. I started my bulk almost six weeks ago, and so far I've had absolutely no desire to have a "cheat" meal. I really love the foods I'm eating.
I've got to go eat, clean the house and get a haircut. Have a great Saturday!
November 7, 2008
Yesterday I talked a bit about how the things I do outside of the gym play a critical role in my actual workouts. When I stepped into the gym for yesterday's workout (back/biceps/traps, here's the actual workout), I had a significant challenge ahead of me: last week's back/biceps/traps workout was one of my best ever, and I knew I had to do even better this week. When I walked into the gym I felt confident, amped-up and powerful. I felt this way because I knew in my heart that for the past six weeks I've been doing everything in my power to support my training. Most of us only spend around 5 hours per week in the gym. While working your butt off for those ~5 hours is obviously very important, what you do with the 163 hours of the week is just as important.
My memory of yesterday's workout is mostly an angry, reddish blur. I walked into that gym ready to go to war, and that's just what I did: +10 pounds on my deads/shrugs, same reps as last week; +10 pounds on my cleans/shrugs, same reps as last week; +10 pounds on my low rows/+10 pounds on my DB pullovers (supersets), more reps than last week; +5 pounds on my barbell curls, more reps than last week; +5 pounds on hammer curls (each drop, quad drop sets), same reps as last week. The final exercise--concentration curls--is the only exercise where I did not improve on weight. In fact, I purposely reduced the weight by 5 pounds because last week I didn't take into account how fatigued my biceps would be at that point in the workout, overshot a bit and used too much weight. This week, however, I was able to do far more reps with good tight form and a hard squeeze at the top of the movement.
Next week I'll be adding weight to every one of those exercises. I will walk into the gym, as I always do, knowing that my training support system (mental attitude, diet, rest/recovery) is going to give me everything I need to pull it off.
Someone emailed me yesterday and said I sound like I'm bragging about my recent workouts. You know what, dude? Go away--my updates and this site are not for people like you. If you are mistaking my raw enthusiasm for bragging, then you are either trolling or an overly-negative couch potato. Anyone who has ever trained hard knows exactly how I feel right now. I write these updates with the goal of getting those who read them fired up and inspired. I try to convey my love for training and living healthy in these updates. When I sit down and write, the things I say are honest and pure reflections of how I'm feeling. Now, I admit that I may not be the best writer in the world, but I don't see how anyone could confuse my genuine passion for this sport as boasting.
November 6, 2008
As tough as Tuesday's chest/triceps workout was, I know today's workout (back/biceps/traps, here's the actual workout) is going to be even more difficult. Last week after performing my new back/biceps/traps workout for the first time, I made the comment that it was the longest and most grueling workout so far on this bulk. Well, you know what that means: today's workout has to be even better than last week's workout, and that's going to be no small task. I'm going to be adding weight to every single exercise, and stepping up the intensity levels another notch.
This Sunday will mark the completion of the first six weeks of my 2008 bulk. So far I've not had a single bad workout; in fact, I've not had anything even close to a mediocre workout. I think there are quite a few reasons why my workouts have been so good...
First of all, I'm extremely fired up about this bulk. Mentally, I'm very on top of my game right now. After over a year of distractions, backsliding and excuses, I knew in my heart that I had to get back in the action 100%. When it comes to success at anything in life, being mentally prepared is critical--that's why it tops this list. If you lack the sincere desire to make your goals a reality, then you're doomed from the start.
Next on the list? Diet. My bulking diet is very "clean". I'm eating plenty of healthy, unprocessed foods every couple of hours. My diet gives my body the fuel it needs to power through these tough workouts, and to recover and rebuild once I leave the gym. Right now I'm not putting anything in my body that I feel is sub-optimal: that means absolutely no alcohol and no cheat meals.
Finally, I'm getting plenty of rest. I can really feel it when I don't get my eight hours. Some people need more sleep, and some people need less, but for me eight hours seems to be about perfect. Sleep is critical for recovery and growth. If you are not getting enough sleep, then your results are not going to be optimal. I'm working way too hard in the gym to allow something as simple as not getting to bed on time to minimize those efforts.
Of course all these things don't guarantee a never-ending stream of awesome workouts. In fact no matter what you do sometimes you're going to have a bad workout, but I believe in doing everything in my power to stack the deck in my favor.
I posted a new progress picture last night in my journal.
I'll be upgrading the forums to the latest version this morning. This is a fairly minor upgrade (just a few bug fixes), and shouldn't take too long. The forums will be temporarily shut down while the upgrade is performed. I expect the upgrade to be completed some time before 9:00 AM (EST). I'll update this page once the upgrades have been completed. 8:24 AM (EST) EDIT: Upgrades completed successfully.
November 5, 2008
I knew going into yesterday's workout (chest/triceps, here's the actual workout) that I had a significant challenge in front of me. For starters, the workout is flat-out tough; it's an hour of non-stop, very intense, brutal lifting. Added to that, last week's chest/tricep workout was one of my best 2008 bulk training sessions yet, but my goal yesterday (as always) was to step it up another notch and increase the weight and/or number of reps on every single exercise.
I got the workout off to a fantastic start, managing to increase weight and reps on flat barbell bench press. Man, I had to really dig deep to get those last couple of reps out. When I racked the bar after the last set of bench presses I knew I was about to have an incredible workout. I felt electric.
Moving on to the four Incline DB press triple drop sets, I used the same weights as last week, but increased the number of reps by 2-5 on each and every lift. Next week I'm going to increase the weight for each drop by 5 pounds.
This week I increased the weight for my DB Flyes by 10 pounds per dumbbell (last week I made a note in my workout log that I could handle more weight). Moving up in weight like that was the right call. I still managed 10-12 reps per set, but the increased weight clearly fatigued my muscles quite a bit more than last week; that's probably why I was unable to do as many supersetted body weight dips as I did last week (on each set I reached complete muscular failure 1-2 reps before I did last week).
I added 10 pounds to my standing French Curls and also increased reps. Next week I'll add more weight to these.
On the four tricep pressdown triple drop sets, I used the same weight as last week but increased reps by up to SEVEN on some of the sets! I had to double-check the plates and last week's logs to make sure I wasn't accidentally stripping off too much as I dropped. Nope--just good, solid improvement. Next week I'll increase the weight for each drop.
Finally, I added 10 pounds to my standing DB extensions, but unlike the flyes/dips supersets, I was able to increase reps by 3-5 on all the supersetted triceps bench dip sets.
When I finished this workout I felt indescribable. Workouts like this are a big part of why I love weight training so much. It's a high like no other...
November 4, 2008
Yesterday's training session was a real "gut check" workout. I was very tired yesterday because I was up until around 1:00 AM that morning (thanks to the network outage that affected all of JSF). Even after the routing issue was resolved and I felt comfortable going to bed I had trouble falling asleep. Also, Lisa accidentally turned the alarm clock on while she was dusting in the bedroom on Sunday, and the alarm was set for 4:30 AM. That sucked. Finally, my internal clock is still an hour ahead thanks to the time change, so I never really was able to fall back asleep after the alarm went off since I normally get up between 5:30 and 6:00 AM.
So by mid-afternoon I felt like a zombie, and thoughts of skipping my workout were running through my mind. I decided that skipping the workout because I was tired would be a lame excuse. I challenged myself to not only get in the gym and do the workout, but to push through the fatigue and have a GREAT workout!
The hardest part was the beginning of the training session. I had to power through the first few sets and jump around between sets to help get fired up and shake the cobwebs off. I had the music turned up so loud that the walls were shaking. By the time I finished my squats, I was feeling pretty good--especially because I added weight to every set and was still able to do the same number of reps as last week. I started my leg extension/backyard lunge supersets, and while I was lunging around the backyard on the first set it was like a light came on. The endorphin rush kicked in and the energy burst was incredible. I tore through the rest of my workout like a runaway freight train. Bottom line: I added weight to every single exercise and did equal, or more, reps than last week. Considering how tired I was (and how darn good last week's workout was), I was very proud of myself for not just doing the workout, but making it a great one.
Of course about 2 hours after my workout I became so tired that I felt like I'd been drugged. I was in bed by 9:00 PM, and I slept like a rock. This morning I'm feeling like myself again, and I'm not going to be satisfied with anything less than an amazing pecs/triceps workout this afternoon.
November 3, 2008
This week is the second week using the grueling new workouts I came up with last week (check last week's Daily news Archive
starting here for the actual workouts). The positive is at least now I know what to expect; the flip
side to that coin is... now I know what to expect. 
Seriously, the workouts are difficult--very difficult--and that's why right now I'm feeling a mix of excitement and nervousness. I know I have to step it up another notch and improve over last week's performances (all of which I felt were very solid efforts). I'm going to take it one rep at a time, and do each rep like it's my last. Actually, that may not be far from the truth, as last week's workouts damn near killed me.
Yesterday afternoon I did a very short (about 15 minutes) supplemental trap workout. I performed the workout just before meal #4, which is my normal workout time. First I did 3 sets of traditional close-grip barbell shrugs to failure, and I followed that with 3 sets of 15 power shrugs using 130% of my power clean working set weight. My traps feel pretty roasted this morning, but that's OK as I won't be working them again until Thursday.
My breakfast is ready, so I'm going to sign off. Train hard and never give up!
November 2, 2008
It's Sunday and, as always, today I'll be evaluating my progress over the past week...
My scale weight this morning is 204.8 pounds, which is a 1.4 pound gain over the past week. That's a total of 9.8 pounds gained in 5 weeks. Subtracting 3 pounds to account for water weight from the creatine, that's an average of 1.36 pounds gained per week--no change there. Let's check out my measurements and body fat reading...
My body fat reading this morning is 12% (as measured by the Fat Track PRO Digital Body Fat Calipers). That's identical to last week's measurement. I dunno, I expected it to be higher. We took the measurements 3 times and got 11.8%, 12% and 12%. Let's see what the tape says...
This week's tape measurements (as measured by the MyoTape) show continued progress. Over the past week I've gained another quarter inch on my chest, a quarter inch on my quads, and a quarter inch on my hips. My arm, waist, forearm and calf measurements all increased slightly, but not quite a full quarter of an inch.
I'm very happy that my chest measurement is continuing to go up every week because I feel my chest needs a lot of work. Part of the chest measurement increases can be attributed to my lats growing wider, but hopefully my chest is growing, too. My right side has always lagged behind my left side in size (but not strength); my right pec in particular is noticeably smaller than my left pec. Lately I've been focusing on the right side of my body when forming the mind-muscle connection as I lift. I hope this helps even things out a bit.
My waist measurement is still below 33.25", so no increase there. I'm happy about that. I'm pretty sure the reason my hip measurement keeps going up
is because my butt is growing bigger and stronger from all those heavy lunges!
All my stats, past and present, can always be found on the stats page.
Later today I'll be doing a brief supplemental workout--just some extra traps work to try and bring up this very weak area. I'll be doing power shrugs and some traditional barbell shrugs. Thankfully the soreness I was feeling in my traps yesterday is mostly gone, so I think I'm good to go.
Well, I'd better sign off and go clean the house. I wanted to get it done and out of the way yesterday, but Lisa was not having it. So now we get to do it this morning. Joy.
November 1, 2008
Owwwwwwwwwww! My back and traps are so sore that moving around is very painful, and turning my head is about as much fun as running full speed into a wall. This past week has proven to be the most difficult, grueling and intense set of workouts I think I've ever come up with. The best part is I'll be doing these workouts for the next 3-4 weeks!
My monthly pictures are up (sorry about the graininess, the ambient lighting was poor). I'm very pleased with the lean mass gains I've made so far on this bulk. The added size is especially visible in my profile shot: my shoulders, arms, back, quads and hamstrings all show improvements over last month's photos. Of course at around 12% body fat I can kiss my abs goodbye--at least for the next few months! Also, I took these picture literally minutes after eating a huge breakfast, so I was bloated as hell. Right now the only thing I'm concerned with is eating a lot of healthy food and lifting insane amounts of weight. I've still got a lot of ground to make up.
Some of you may be wondering about the beard. The explanation is here.
I think I'm going to go soak my aching muscles in the whirlpool. Have a wonderful Saturday!
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