Khaine's Road To 200... or How To Beat Your Genetics...

Khaine · 18-Apr-06, 08:05 AM

Yeeea, per request, I'm starting a journal, initially based on the one-lift-a-day plan...

Due to the fact that I just spent 5 days drinking more alcohol than I've done for the past 4 months put together and eating like an infant (one on the road to death by pizza, that is), I'll use this week to get back into the groove on my lifts and diet, then kick the program off on Monday 24th... I have some minor fractures in some knuckles that need to heal up too...

So, my current stats...

Height: 5'8" - 173cm
Weight: 175lbs - 80kg
Bodyfat: 11-13%

Bench: 270bs - 122.5kg
Squat: 300lbs - 135kg
Deadlift: 360 - 165kg

Long Term Goal: Reaching 200lbs at roughly the same bf%, hopefully by next spring...

First Short Term Goal: Reaching a total of 1000 on my big 3, currently 930...

The Plan:

Monday: Squats
Tuesday: BORs
Wednesday: Bench Press
Thursday: Deadlift
Friday: Shoulder Press

Basically, the big three and BORs, plus some additional work for my problem areas, shoulders and triceps... The Shoulder Press day might turn out to be overkill, but hopefully, it'll make me able to push through my 90s plateau...

**MostMuscle** · 18-Apr-06, 08:20 AM

Good to see your journal up. You have some nice lifting numbers already.

Lets see what happens!!

**.V.** · 18-Apr-06, 10:08 AM

Wow you are strong for your weight. This will be interesting to watch and see where you take it.

Khaine · 19-Apr-06, 12:12 PM

Appreciate the kind words... I've been lifting for a little over two years (-1 year on squats and deads), so I don't think my lifts are really that great... I definitely wanna see them soar anyway...

Tuesday...

Did Squats for the first time in '06 (been lazy all year, I'm embarassed) and definitely lost some strength... Worked up to a 280 single which almost killed me and decided to do 10 reppers at 200 and 220 instead... DOMS today were murder... Leg Presses can never compare... I'm going to tattoo that on my back...
Did BORs too... 180 single and 3x5 at 155... Not going all out, but I'll have to get this up...

Wednesday...

Benched today... Terrible... 3x5 at 210... Did 3x6 at 230 3 weeks ago... Given the slight incline on the bench and the physical decay of last week I guess it's not TOO shabby, but I'm far from satisfied...
Rounded off light wit Chins and Dips... Nothing massive, still getting back in the groove...

Khaine · 24-Apr-06, 05:39 PM

AAAND we're off!!!

Squat day today... Had school and work from 9AM till 8PM, so I didn't get to the gym till 9PM... 7 sets of heavy squats weren't exactly tempting but hey... I thought barbell curls in the squat cage was a forgotten chapter, but there were two dumb mahfackers doing just that when I arrived, and wit two perfectly available EZ bars 3 feet behind them... Had to chase em off... Didn't feel like lecturing em, so I refrained from it...

Warm up sets wit the bar and then 160... Feeling good...

5x220 - Lighter than expected... Could have opened harder... Form is good...

5x240 - Still fairly easy going... Form is perfect...

5x250 - Getting there... Still no trouble tho...

3x260 - Motherfff... Messed the first rep up completely... Came down way too fast and almost hit the security bars... Fought it back up... Second rep was easy... Then I tore my pants on the third... Racked the bar to check if my ass was being broadcasted... It wasn't... Just tore the outer seam...

4x260 - More like it... First 3 reps were good... Came up too fast wit my back on the 4th and stopped there... Legs are starting to jelly up...

5x240 - Legs didn't want to move after my last pause, so I dropped the weight... Felt light after the 3rd rep tho... Should've gone harder on this one...

5x240 - Finishing off... Had to dig deep for the last rep and it was slow going, but it came through alright...

Overall, I didn't feel like I went as hard as I could have... I feel like I should be even more fatigued... Some missteps along the way too... Still got quad and glute cramps tho, so I'm reasonably satisfied...

Tomorrow is BORs... Not strong enough on those to make it as exhausting as Squat or Deadlift day, but I'll try my best...

**maverick** · 24-Apr-06, 06:44 PM

Do you squat to parallel or ATG? Solid numbers either way, keep it up. Whatcha eatin' to facilitate your charge to 200?

Khaine · 24-Apr-06, 07:25 PM

Parallel... I aim to dip past parallel really, but wit the heavier weights, I seldom do...

Up to 3000 calories a day now, as clean as I'll ever eat... Might have to increase that, particularly wit this program, which from the looks of it will be completely kicking my ass...

Khaine · 26-Apr-06, 08:23 AM

Tuesday... BOR day...

Yeeea, two and a half hours of football wasn't exactly tempting wit the DOMS I had today... Did it anyway and it huuuurts... Ass and quad cramps are back in full effect... Breathing hurts my lower body... That's odd...

Got to the gym late again... Packed full... Got lucky and snatched an EZ bar ahead of some curlers, got into a relatively secluded corner (great lighting in that spot too, I looked like I had definition or suttin) and got to lifting...

10 rep warm-ups wit the bar and 100lbs...

5x150 - Easy going... Coulda skipped this...

5x160 - Felt this one... Still not particularly heavy tho...

5x170 - This feels like working weight... Got 5 good reps... Wanna keep going at this weight, but 180 is tempting...

3x180 - Yeeea, that's a little over the top... Got 4 really, but the last one was garbo... Started pulling my torso up to compensate for lacking power...

4x170 - 5th rep was trash, so I didn't count it... Gotta drop the weight again...

5x160 - 5 good reps... Feels like I coulda done 170, but I know that's not the case...

5x160 - 5 good reps... Held the negative on the final one for 10 seconds...

Can't say I'm too satisfied wit this... The BORs don't seem to be doing much damage to my back or biceps at all (rear delts hurt tho) and I'm not particularly tired... Could have to do wit the fact that I'm fairly weak at them still, but I dunno... Might have to reconsider Chins for my pulling exercise next cycle...

Wednesday is Bench day... I wanna get back up to 230... Damnit...

**.V.** · 26-Apr-06, 09:07 AM

You calling 160-180 BORs weak? From your description you are keeping your torso down while you do them. That's not weak in my book. Damn good work.

Chins definitely are a good choice though for the lats. Pulling your whole bodyweight + whatever you add far enough to get over a bar - tough work to do.

Khaine · 26-Apr-06, 12:44 PM

Yea, I get my torso down, close to parallel to the ground... Not quite, but almost... Gives me more ROM...

And yea, I'm not really familiar wit BORs so I don't really know what weight a typical lifter uses, but I feel weak when I'm doing them anyway... That, and I was using 100s for DB Rows, so I feel like I should be moving more weight on the BORs as well... Appreciate the compliment tho...

Alright, Bench day...

Not feeling very powerful at all when I got to the gym... In fact, I felt bloated and pale... Gym was next to empty today tho, and nobody benches on wednesday anyway, so I had the benches and all the plates in the world all to myself...

25 rep warm up wit the bar and 10 reps wit 140... Then 3 rep acclimation sets wit 180 and 200...

5x210 - Damn... Gut feeling was right... Not feeling strong today at all, and the weight felt heavy... Got 5 fairly easily, but this didn't feel right...

3x220 - Yea... This is terrible... Hit the pins on my way up on rep 2 and 3 and just parked it after that... Have to adjust the bench...

4x220 - Adjusted the bench to get me away from the pins... Still not feeling good about this and wit no spotter, a 5th rep didn't seem advisable...

4x220 - Got some kid to spot me... Good call, 5th rep wasn't good... Time to give up on 5x220 for today...

5x210 - Heavy, and almost didn't get it, but I forced the final rep wit some nice tricep work... Feeling good about that finish...

5x210 - Same as above, heavy last rep, but I got it...

4x210 - Had nothing left here...

8x120 - This is just some Mind/Muscle connection presses, Milos Sarcev style... I did them at the end of the day when I was doing full-body workouts and they seemed to work, so I wanna keep it up... They beat the living ish outta my chest anyway...

Not at all happy wit this... I wanted to hit 230 today and wasn't even close... My lockout strength seems decent, but overall, I can't say I'm satisifed... It appears the slight incline on the bench has more of an impact on my lift than I first thought...
On the bright side, I convinced the kid I got to spot me to try some heavier weights in place of his 15 rep sets and he loved it... Conversion has started...

Deadlift tomorrow... My glutes and quads are still tremendously sore and need some serious recuperation if I'm to move any weight at all tomorrow...

Khaine · 27-Apr-06, 02:38 PM

Let me explain why my body's in pain...

40 minutes of Deads... I knew this would be painful but damn... Legs and ass were still insanely sore when I got to the gym, but I still felt good...

3 rep warm-up/acclimation sets at 110, 180 and 220...

5x260 - Easy... Come on, this was pointless...

5x290 - Still easy...

5x300 - Heavy, but still in full control...

4x310 - Can't count the 5th here... Form was disgusting...

5x300 - Perfect... Heavy as hell, but I held the form throughout... I don't wanna keep going after this one... I'm in pain...

5x290 - Form remains, but I wanna go hoooooome...

4x290 - Nothing left... Grip and back are both collapsing... Can't wait to go home and get some grub...

Great workout... My grip hasn't deteriorated as much as I feared and overall I felt strong today... The leg soreness didn't hold me back much at all... I'm in insane pain tho and I'm glad I only have one workout day left this week...

**.V.** · 27-Apr-06, 03:25 PM

I feel your pain. That's some serious deadlifting.

Khaine · 28-Apr-06, 05:31 PM

AGGGHHHHH!!!! My middle back, traps and rear delts are KILLING me... Lower back is surprisingly healthy, but DOMS are in place there as well...

Alright... Shoulder day... I know I intended on doing Seated BD Presses, but I've been doing those for too long and hit a plateau wit the 90s months ago, so I decided to do Seated BB Presses instead... I've actually NEVER done these before, wit the exception of a few 15 reppers behind the neck in the Smith machine like 2 years ago... So I really had no idea what to expect...

On a side note, what's the optimal grip width for this exercise...? I held my hands about 3 inches in from the rings on either side and that felt iight, but it might demand too much from my shoulders in the starting phase... Either way, just curious...

Warm-up wit the bar, then wit 100lbs... I can already feel this is a new exercise... Not at all experienced...

5x130 - Yea, I can feel the weight already... Full control and good form tho...

5x140 - A little heavier, but I'm still in control...

1x150 - What? Spent 15 seconds and all I had gettin the first rep up and had no chance on the second... Of course, I noticed afterwards that I had left a 5er on the left side which threw me the hell off and ruined the set...

5x140 - Again, I find a sudden plateau on a shoulder exercise... Just like 6 reps wit 90s and no chance on 95s, 150 looks to become my new shoulder nemesis... This set went ok tho...

4x140 - 5th rep killed me without gettin it off my clavicle...

5x130 - Heavy, but I feel comfortable...

5x130 - 15 second negative on the last rep to kill me off...

Damnit... I thought I'd move more weight here... My grip might have been a deciding factor, as the top portion of the lift that involves my triceps is babycakes... It's the first 6 inches off my clavicle that poses most of the problem... A wider grip might make the initial lift-off easier...

Conclusions after the first week... The first word that comes to mind is 'pain'... Wit the exception of my calves and biceps, I have DOMS in my entire body... Which is nice... If I can keep my diet through the weekend, I see great potential for next week and this program as a whole...

**.V.** · 28-Apr-06, 05:46 PM

Grip is wherever most comfortable, Best for me is slightly wider than shoulder width. And bring it down in front, not behind the neck...or you are asking for injury. You don't have to bring the bar all the way to your chest, just below the chin is sufficient - don't want to strain those rotators.

BTW the seated BB press, much like the Military press is reputed to be a serious mass and strength builder.

Khaine · 28-Apr-06, 06:01 PM

I do bring it down in front... I used to do it behind the neck 2 years ago... And I take it down till it touches my clavicle at the base of my neck... It felt alright, and eventhough the lower part of the lift is heavy, it didn't feel awkward or painful at all...