Big Mike's Journal

[Big Mike]

i will be following a simple 3-day routine. i will be taking 1-2 days off inbetween each training day. this will be judged on how i feel each day. no more than 2 consecutive days off will be taken between each training day. i will be doing moderate cardio 3-4 days a week. this routine will be followed for 4 weeks followed by 1 deload week and repeated. after the second deload week, i will be switching up routines.

Stats-

Height- 6'2''
Weight- 205
Body fat %- 15

Long-term Goals-

Weight- 220-230
Body fat %- 8-10
Max Bench- 300 x 5
Max Squat- 500 x 5
Max Dead- 500 x 5

Routine-

Day One:

Dips or Bench Press 3 x 4-6

Incline Press, or incline Fly 2 x 4-6

Military Press, Or Hammer Shoulder Press 2 x 6-8

Tricep (skull crushers) Extensions or Tricep Pushdowns 2 x 10-12


Day Two:

Squats ATG 2 x 4-6

Deadlifts, or Stiff-Legged Deadlift 2 x 4-6

Pull-Troughs, Glute/Ham Raises, Reverse Hypers, or GM's


Day Three:

Pull-Up 3 sets to failure

Barbell Row 2 x 6-8

EZ-Bar Or Dumbell Curl 1 x 6-8

Heavy Abs 3 x 10

Supplements-

-Multivitamin
-Vitamin C
-Fish oil
-Creatine Ethyl Ester (i have never tried CEE before, this should be interesting)
-Taurine
-Glutamine
-Protein shake pre- & post- workout
-BCAA’s during workout
-Green Tea, 1/2 gallons a day
-Water, 1 1/2 - 2 gallons a day

Focus-

- my lower back, abs, and glutes are my weak points for squat.
- grip work needs to be done for deads.
- work on shoulders (especially the left) and wrists for bench.

my number 1 goal is to stay healthy. injuries have set me back alot over the past 2 years and have my numbers not to go up.

Welcome to the Online Journal section.

You've began with some good structure, now you just need to do the work.

[Big Mike]

i've been feeling like crap lately. i feel sluggish, lethargic, and drained. i will be cutting down to about 10% body fat to see if this helps. i'm not going to do an all out cut cycle, as i do not prefer these. i am aiming to lose about 1/2 a pound of fat a week without losing any muscle (or as minimal as possible) in this "cut". hopefully at the end of the 10 weeks i will be ~200 lbs with 10% bf.

[Big Mike]

just got back from my workout. my only real complain for todays workout is that i had to keep adding weight to get within my rep range. all reps were slow, controlled, and with strict form.

Dips- 3x6

Incline Press- 55 lbs 2x6 (need to go to 60 lbs.)

DB Military Press- 40 lbs 2x8 (need to go to 45 lbs.)

Tricep Pushdowns- 120 lbs 2x12, 130 1x10 (need to go to 130, maybe 140 lbs.)

taking the last two weeks off has really helped my strength gains. looking forward to more progress next week.

[Big Mike]

i swapped day 3 and day 2. today was all about form. i had some nasty bad habits that have crept in in the last few months. my buddy and i corrected my form today. while it was an ego killer; it will help in the long run.

Squats ATG- 225 lbs. 2x4

Deadlifts- 225 lbs. 2x4

Good Mornings- 105 lbs. 1x8 1x6

[Big Mike]

workout was not that great today. very tired and drained after pull-ups. here is today's workout:

Pull-Ups- 3x6

Barbell Row- 155 lbs. 2x6

EZ-Bar Or Dumbell Curl- 60 lbs. 1x7

Hanging Knee Lifts- 3x10

[Big Mike]

i feel alot better now. i've been "cleaning" myself out for the last week. i'm about 7-8 pounds lighter now too.

time to do a slow, clean bulk up to 220.

[trainerty]

Man...your diet sounds pretty scary. I imagine it was some extreme type of diet.

Lower back and glutes considered your weak point for hip dominant movement... is it your technique? How flexible are your dorsi and plantar flexors (ankle muscle complex)? Low back is usually referred from low mobility and quality of movement in hips....is this the case?

All movements are in sagital plane....perhaps in your warmup you should include other planes
This is what I mean by this The Fitness Road (excuse the link mods)

You lost a good deal of weight. The pullups should be easier on you this time around.

Hit it hard

[Big Mike]

trainerty, thanks for the advice. most of my squat problems were fixed last week. i'm still going to apply your advice in my training.

as far as the weight loss, i took some advice on another board and did a colon cleanse. stuff i haven't had in awhile showed up. good stuff. it dehyrated the hell out of me though. other than the dehydration, i feel 100x better.

[Big Mike]

chest day...

Dips- 3x8

DB Press- 60 lbs 2x6 (time to go to 65 lbs.)

DB Military Press- 45 lbs 1x8 1x6

Tricep Pushdowns- 130 lbs 1x12, 140 1x12 (140 next time)

pretty good for being tired.

[Big Mike]

Squats- 255 1x6, 275 1x4

Deadlifts- 255 2x4, 275 x2, 315 x1/2

no goodmornings today; ran out of time.

i felt suprisingly good today. i was hungry as hell when i got to the gym today. felt pretty strong. i changed my grip on deadlifts and they jumped in weight. i would have nailed 315 if i would have been fresh.

[trainerty]

Funny how that grip change up works wonders.

[Big Mike]

I know. I went from having both hands in an overhand grip to having one hand underhand and one overhand. Huge difference!

[Big Mike]

Alright... I tweaked my back last Wednesday and took the rest of the week off. Today was my first day back into the gym and I messed up my wrist on my second set of dips. Life sucks! Just kidding. But I'm definitely dissappointed. My wrist doesn't hurt too bad, just feels really sore. It is the same feeling as if I slept on it all night. Hopefully I will be ready to go on Wednesday or Thursday.

Quick note: I went ahead and tried to press with 65 lb. DB's and I put them up easily. I stopped at 4 reps but I could have gotten 7 or 8 easily. I might be ready to step it up to 70's next week.

[Big Mike]

After having time to think last week after my back injury, I've decided to change my routine. My back has always been my weak point, and this routine will allow me to bring up my back rather quickly. I have used this routine before and made great gains on it. This routine was written by IA of ironaddicts.com. I will not be posting the complete routine due to the fact that he has a "no post" policy. I can, however, post portions or highlights of my workouts.

This is what the routine will look like:
Monday- Upper back/bi's/legs
Wednesday- Chest/shoulders/tri's
Friday- Upper back/bi's/legs
Monday- Chest/shoulders/tri's
Wednesday- Upper back/bi's/legs
Friday- Chest/shoulders/tri's
repeat

I would like to start this tomorrow. We'll see what happens.