a_welch503 WORKOUT JOURNAL

[.V.]

I use the US naval circumference method for BF% calculations. The other measurements are just another way of keeping track of my progress - or lack of it to help me keep moving in the right direction.

After a long 24 hour shift yesterday and another long one on call - kept getting called in I'm going to have to move chest/abs to tomorrow. I was just going to do them this evening, but when I got ready to hit the gym I got called in again. I'll just try to rest tonight so I can get a good workout tomorrow.

I did go ahead and eat pretty big today, although not the cleanest - I felt like I need the extra to store up for my next workout. We'll see how it turns out.

M1.....Peanut butter on whole wheat
M2.....Tuna on whole wheat
M3.....Steak, 4 egg whites
M4.....chciken breast, rice
M5.....Peanut butter with jelly on wheat
M6.....hamburger on bun/lettuce/tomato/ketchup/mayo, baked beans.
Water - 5 liters

The protein shake that I made for after the workout that I'm missing will be a bedtime meal. Don't want it to go to waste.

Oh, thanks for the kind birthday wishes. That was back on the 25th - the day I cheated and ate cake along with skipping cardio to spend some time with my kid.

[maverick]

Dude, whatever. Its your birthday. Cake on your birthday is not cheating. I declare it and I don't care who disagrees.

[gcs118]

Cake and beer are perfectly acceptable, and even encouraged, on your birthday. By all means...indulge.

[.V.]

05-28-2005

Chest
Flat Bench.................150x3x4
Incline Bench..............150x3x4
Decline Bench..............150x3x4

Abs
Crunch(decline+weight).....65x3x10
Cable Crunch..............100x3x10

Cardio
Burpee/pushup drill......2 minutes
Punch out drill..........2 minutes
Hook punchout drill......2 minutes
Mixed heavy bag work....10 minutes

Diet
M1.....PB on Wheat
M2.....4 egg whites, steak, oatmeal
M3.....Weider ass mix with skim milk
M4.....Chicken on wheat
M5.....Chicken breast, salad
M6.....Will be another weider ass mix with skim milk sometime before bed
Totals: P-261g, C-417g, F-74g, Cal-3310

Comments
Re-evaluation of weights continues. I've been doing the PL setup on the bench to do my bench work - especially the flat - kind of hard to do it for inclines and declines - but doing it as best I could. I noticed as I walked by a mirror that my abs (which I can see again) have gotten bigger than my chest (rectus abdominus not down around the navel). It looks pretty odd. So I'm working on making the chest bigger. I feel that by doing the PL setup to get bigger weights that most of the work is being done by other muscles than the chest, therefore the pectorals themselves are lagging behind. I've started today doing the bench work just lying flat on the bench, I'm squeezing the shoulders together and doing the wide grip, but trying NOT to recruit the legs, the belly full of air, all that stuff into the lifts. It may help, becuase the chest is pretty sore already. I noticed that doing it this way, I could still get 160 up, but NOT if I touch my chest with the bar - I would have to stop 2-3 inches above the chest to get the weight to go back up. I had to drop all the way back to 150 to get good clean reps touching the bar to my chest.

Cardio was OK today - nothing really to say there except for stamina getting a bit better.

Diet - Kind of heavy on the fat today. The big peanut butter sandwich at 0600 when I first got up, followed by the steak with breakfast put me a bit more than I should have had. Tomorrow is leg day, I hope all these calories will help it be a good one.

[Lift2Live]

Originally Posted by a_welch503

M3.....Weider ass mix with skim milk

Great job on getting the calories up Andy. The extra cals will pay off. Just one question, what's an "ass" mix? lol

[.V.]

Weider brand mass builder. When mixed with 2.5 cups of skim milk, it gives 54g protein, 176g carb, and only 4g fat. But, it tastes the way a fart smells. Smells like a dirty butt. Therefore, I call it ass mix. It is pretty hard to get down, but I was out and it was all I could get that day.

[Firehawk]

You got questions about the PL exercises or whatever Andy?

[.V.]

Originally Posted by Firehawk

You got questions about the PL exercises or whatever Andy?

Yeah, just trying to figure out the differences between making more strength and making more size. If working for example to get a big bench - obviously big strength has to go along with it. But, by using the PL bench setup and incorporating more muscles and muscle groups into it, does that not lead to the chest not being worked as well?

This is what I was wondering about yesterday. I posted my thoughts and things I've noticed with yesterday's workout. If you have any ideas I'm open to listen and learn.

[Firehawk]

The powerlifter setup is for shorter ROM, to push more weight. But that's fine because what you're going to do is load even more weight on the bar. You're pecs are used at the bottom of the lift. What powerlifters do is work all the muscles with other accessory exercises.

For isntance, after the bench press, DB Flat press is used to get more of a ROM. Then you can hit 2-3 tricep exercises, and then hit each deltoid for 1-2 sets.

I just found out yesterday that the guys i train with rarely even deadlift. They said they hit all the important muscle groups hard with other exercises, but deadlift only once in a while so as to not overtrain. Pretty interesting. I think for people that are advanced, that's probably fine. But for beginners or even intermediate, probably best to do it until the weight gets way up there.

Just ask Threenorns about switching to a powerlifting setup for bench. She's a new believer. It only took me a few months of harping on her lol

Mostmuscle does it half way. He moves the bar like a powerlifter and gets an arch, but he doesn't plant his feet like a powerlifter would and thus he creates more ROM for himself doing that because he can't get his belly up in the air high enough without planting his feet under his butt.

You're going to gain muscle training like a powerlifter dude. If powerlifters didn't gain muscle, then everyone would have skinny bodies but be benching 500 and 600. That's not the case if you look around at my gym.

Sure some of them probably aren't clean, but if doing low reps and higher rep accesssory work didn't build muscle, it wouldnt matter how high their testosterone levels were.\

I aint trying to convert you, but you shoudl be aware that strength is in fact the key to muscle growth. You're better off getting strong first, and then if you want to go pure hypertrophy, then fine, you have something to refine at that point. But for people benching in the 100s and 200s, they are better off trying to get as strong as possible first and foremost.

Just my 2 centies.

[threenorns]

i saw the Light! i saw the Light!

seriously: i don't use the massively high arch they show, but i found that by doing the rest of the setup and especially by squeezing my shoulderblades together and keeping them planted on the bench and by holding my abs tight, there was no load at all on my lower back (which was a really big problem before - scared the willies outta me because the standard bodybuilding form cause a very painful pinch in my lower spine so i always benched feet up on the bench) and by using plates on the floor to get my feet well under me, i was able to eliminate the sticking problem i had.

it took a session or two to work out the biomechanics, but once i did, that 125 bench press was EASY and i anticipate going up to 135 this week or next!

[gcs118]

Originally Posted by Firehawk

Just ask Threenorns about switching to a powerlifting setup for bench. She's a new believer. It only took me a few months of harping on her lol

After that huge argument she changed her ways?

Edit: Speak of the devil lol

[threenorns]

yah, i did!

but hey: if you knew that ****ing up your lower back would result in being unable to even crawl and needing to call someone to carry you to the toilet and hold you up while you're on it, i think maybe you'd be a little resistant too, lol.

[.V.]

Yeah, that is the setup I have been using. It was definitely letting me put up more weight. The problem was, other muscles were getting way bigger than my chest and it was looking funny. Then when I tried it lying flat with the bar on my chest, I couldn't move it. If I stopped the bar a couple of inches above my chest, I could move it easily. I saw it as time to make sure there is no ego for getting bigger numbers and make the chest itself stronger. When it catches up to the rest, I'll probably go back to that setup. I'm trying to find the balance between PL and BB - Max OT seems to be that balance - at least it is making me stronger. But, I find that sometimes I have to take longer rest periods than reccomended - especially on leg or back day. Sometimes 3 min is the minimum for the breathing to slow down to normal. I try to do the max ot workout with longer rest if needed and set up like a PL when I can. If I find something lagging, I work on it more specifically.

I remember back in HS, the coach told us we were powerlifting, but alas - we weren't. We were just doing 3x10 full body workouts. Therefore, I just don't know that much about PL. I guess it is less reps, less sets, heavier weights - kind of like max ot but less reps and more weight.

EDIT: and no arm or shoulder day for PL?

[threenorns]

the "two minutes" is not recommended - it's the *minimum* recommended. says in there somewhere to take as long as needed to return to a fully normal, rested state. for me, that's usually less than two minutes, but sometimes on back or leg day, i've needed as long as five minutes. some powerlifters take ten minutes or longer between sets.

[Firehawk]

Threenorns has it right, Max OT says to wait at least 2 mins. But again, you can wait as long as needed. Fresher muscles move more weight.

Triceps are trained on chest day, and Biceps on back day. SHoulders also done on chest day. Makes sense becasue you use your shoulders alot to bench. Here's what i do now and this is pretty common at my gym for heavy bench day.

BB Flat Press
DB flat press
Cable Pushdowns
lateral raises
front raises
face pulls (rear delt exercise)
ab work

You aren't going to be able to do the same weight if you go back to a bodybuilder setup because the ROM is greater. But that's where you have to decide, do you want a big chest or a big bench? You can have both as the guys i train with have huge chests. Like i said, the accessory work covers everything. The point in powerlifting is to get all the weak links caught up so that your big 3 gets bigger.