MonStar's Journal: Dedication

[Underdog]

Hey man, have you ever considered doing single leg presses?

I used to get sick and tired of having to load the thing with so much weight, so I just switched to the unilateral version of the exercise. I also feel that each legs gets a better workout that way.

the chocie is yours of course, just thought I'd share a thought.

good work though, just stay strong and you'll kick anything that's keeping you down.

[MonStar]

S. Fever- Yeah, I have to admit, they tear up my midback and lats. Definitely a great exercise. It's just kinda' rigged looking, that's all. Oh well, whatever works I guess.

Jen- Hey thanks for chiming in. Yeah, my leg session was definitely extremely intense. Really went nuts in that session, lol. Went very very heavy on leg presses, and I really wanted to set that new PR on deadlifts. So far everything is going pretty damn well.

gdawg- Yeah man, I do get a damn good working just loading up the leg press. It drives me friggin' crazy walking 45's to it from all over the gym. Oh well, you do what 'ya gotta' do. Thanks for the post man.

Underdog- I have tried them before, and I am not crazy about them at all. Just personal preference I guess. I never really liked any unilateral leg movement though, I don't know why. Thanks for the suggestion, though.

Anyway, another workout today...

Chest day!

Focused on my bench primarily in this workout. Really felt strong in bench somehow---which is pretty crazy for me because my bench is always awful. I really wish I would have gone straight up to my max attempt instead of d*cking around with 3 sets of 3, etc. I really think that I could have hit three and a quarter or even 330. Whatever. Strength definitely came out of nowhere too.

Bench Presses:

135 x 8
185 x 8
225 x 8
275 x 3
275 x 3
275 x 3
305 x 1
320 x 1
225 x 7

No new PR's here, but 320 flew up. Nice and smooth, no hesitation anywhere really. So that's a good sign. Going to hit flat DB presses my next chest day and give my right shoulder a break. I can tell it's starting to get irritated.

Flat DB Flyes:

50's x 10
60's x 10
70's x 7
70's x 6

Skullcrushers: (to neck)

125 x 10
155 x 3
155 x 3
155 x 3

Eh, did some 3x3 here today for skullcrushers. Nothing too bad at all. Going to shoot for 160-165 next chest day for 3x3, see how I can handle that. We'll see what happens.

Can't decide if I should train tomorrow or not. I have been training an awful lot lately, but why not? I am getting a lot of sleep, and a lot of calories, so why stop? I am thinking about just doing maybe some calves tomorrow, and maybe a few other things.

Diet- So far today it's okay I guess. Ate some peanut butter toast, skim milk, tuna sandwich, fruit, and my usual Gatorade and whey protein so far. Nothing too exciting here today.

Sleep- 7.5 hours.

[Arith]

Hi Monstar, those lifts are great, a lot of weight. Its impressive that you were able to hit 275 for 3 on 3 consecutive sets and then increase the weight for a few singles. Question, what are skullcrushers? Glad to see your diets been good....

[atherjen]

everyone asks me what skullcrushers are too! guess its not a familiar term!

Great sets on bench today Mike! :
if you feel fine tomarrow then sure I dont see a prob with working out. you could always just do some cardio, abs and calves like you said, depending how you felt!

[whitelion]

Your legs are monster dude! I haven't heard or seen routines like that since I was in a body buidling gym. I still remember the guys wrapping up their knees .. loading up the hip sled to it's max and screaming out rep after rep.

If you guys that are reading this post have never been to a competiors gym. I suggest it. It is a very humbling experience.

Eating disorders can be a bitch. The best thing you could have ever done was get help. It takes a alot of courage to do that.

[SurfinAmy]

Originally Posted by MonStar

Really felt strong in bench somehow---which is pretty crazy for me because my bench is always awful.
Bench Presses:
135 x 8, 185 x 8, 225 x 8, 275 x 3, 275 x 3, 275 x 3, 305 x 1, 320 x 1, 225 x 7

Sorry, but....can't imagine your bench pressing always being awful!!!
-Amy
P.S. that's a hell of a lot of weight on flys too!

[MonStar]

Arith- Thanks man, yeah I couldn't believe that I had the energy to hit 275 for 3 sets of 3 and then work up to some heavy singles. My diet hasn't been so good lately, it's okay I guess.

BTW, skullcrushers are basically where you lie back on a flat bench, take a close-grip on an EZ-curl bar, and lower the back to your forehead. They hit your triceps. I do them lowering the bar to my neck/upper chest though so I can use a bit more weight.

Jen- Yeah I had a hell of a good workout today. I definitely enjoy training very frequently. I just have to be careful not to overtrain, etc. Although I definitely think that overtraining is far too exaggerated. To really honestly overtrain I think it takes a lot more than people think. Speaking of calves I havn't hit them in forever! Need to get to work because it's almost time to wear shorts.

whitelion- Hey man, I have never tried wrapping up my knees although it doesn't sound like a bad idea to be completely honest. I don't know, we'll see what happens. I think that my next step is going to be buying a belt. Because I really need to be careful with extremely heavy deadlifting without wearing a belt.

Amy- Thanks. Yeah my bench strength was not too bad yesterday, I was definitely a bit surprised to be honest. Because generally my bench strength sucks.

Back day!

GREAT workout today! :

Really intense workout today, and considering how pathetic my sleep and diet have been, I am definitely pretty much in shock. I was not expecting an absolutely bad workout, but this was definitely a nice surprise. A lot of strength came out of nowhere.

T-Bar Rows:

2 Plates x 10
3 Plates x 10
4 Plates x 10
5 Plates x 10!
5 Plates + 25 lbs. x 8!

NICE. Again, strength out of nowhere. Last time I did these I hit 5 plates for 6 and 6 plates for 4. Today I hit 5 plates for 10 and then a bit less than 6 plates for 8. Want to eventually hit 6 plates for 10. Form was really good. Honestly, my ROM is not the greatest on these because the 45's end up shortening my ROM some, but whatever.

BTW, these are done on one side of an Olympic bar with a v-bar attachment, just so there is no confusion.

CG Pulldowns:

185 x 10
200 x 10
215 x 7

Dropset-
200 x 6
170 x 5
140 x 5

Standing BB Curls:

135 x 4
115 x 8

Alternating DB Hammer Curls:

50's x 13/13!

I am not really sure if this is a PR or not for standing hammers, but it was definitely an EXTREMELY intense set. So it's a PR for me. I am really starting to cut my arm training volume to pretty much nothing. I really don't think that I need to sit around and do set after set of curls or skullcrushers to get my arms to grow. I am finally getting to know my body some.

DB Static Holds:

100's x 1:03

OUCH! Painful set of static holds with the 100's here today. After that set to failure of DB hammers this set just f*cking smoked my forearms and hands like crazy. They were on FIRE. Vascularity in my forearms and arms was looking awesome.

Diet- Sh*tty. Beer, beer, and more beer. Didn't eat sh*t last night, only drank beer and chewed gum. Then woke up today after not falling asleep until friggin' 7-8 this morning and went to a Chinese buffet and just pigged the f*ck out. Sweet & sour chicken, general tsoa's chicken, pork fried rice, etc. Also ate some frozen yogurt and a few pastries, I couldn't help it! Since then I havn't eaten anything except my Powerade with creatine in my workout and whey protein. I am not that hungry today... f*ck. After my workout sh*t I had an MRP and later on a grilled chicken sandwich.

---Want to add that I am dehydrated as f*ck, and my sodium intake at the Chinese buffet today must have been insane.

Sleep- 3 + 2 hours. F*ck, f*ck, f*ck, f*ck, f*ck.

Today at the gym I weighed 221 lbs. Definitely retaining water, abs are pretty much lost somewhere. Damnit.

[MonStar]

Did some miscellaneous stuff in the gym today that I havn't trained in a while. Side delts, calves, and abs. My front delts take a beating with my chest and my rear delts get enough stimulation with my back workout---but my side delts rarely get touched at all. Decided to change that today.

Nautilus Lateral Raises:

140 x 10
170 x 10
200 x 10

Dropset-
180 x 10
140 x 8
100 x 10

Nice sets. 200 for 10 was very near failure.

Smith-Machine Calf Raises:

4 Plates x 20
6 Plates x 15
8 Plates x 10
10 Plates x 5
6 Plates x 18

Nice sets today of calf raises, my calves were beat to f*cking sh*t after these sets. Set with 10 plates (5 per side) my ROM was not all that great. Whatever.

Nautilus Crunches:

160 x 10
180 x 10
200 x 10

Dropset-
170 x 10
140 x 10
110 x 10

Abs were f*cked.

Diet- So far so good. Yesterday I took in WAY too many calories, lol. Today I am going to cut it back some. I need to really tighten up my midsection. Beer is not helping, even if it is light. Going to really watch my carbs and sugar intake today and try and keep my protein intake soaring.

Sleep- 8 hours.

[wahlb]

Dang, man. . .workouts look really good.

-Brian

[Underdog]

keep this up man. it's good to see that you keep working out, even if it's just to hit a couple small things and keep moving the iron... I know how therapeutic and calming lifting can be for me, it seems to be good in keeping you together as well.

good stuff

tolga

[atherjen]

*ahyem*.. chinese...beer mister?! someone needs their butt kicked!
Im glad you got more sleep last nite to make up for the loss the nite before. ouch.
otherwise, GREAT workouts. I dont know how you get so many plates on the tbar rows! way to go!
50's for db hammers are awesome! esp at 13 reps! crazy! :

[MonStar]

wahlb- Thanks for the support.

Underdog- Yeah right now there is so much more going on than just working out, which is kinda' crazy that I can keep making gains. Today my slacking off really caught up with me though. Lack of sleep, too much alcohol, etc. Need to get back on track and stop f*cking around.

Jen- Yeah, I know---I need to get my a*s kicked back into shape, lol. I am honestly not looking awfully bad considering how my diet has been. Vascularity really seems to be coming out, maybe because I dehydrated, who knows? Yeah t-bar rows are my new favorite back exercise. I am going to start doing them with a belt though. I just bought a belt and damn, what a major difference. The part of my lower back that used to give me a lot of trouble is completely pain free when I wear a belt.

Deadlifts today. I SUCKED.

Deadlifts:

135 x 8
225 x 6
315 x 4
405 x 2
495 x 1
625 x Miss
585 x Miss

Conventional Deadlifts:

585 x Miss
585 x Miss
585 x F*CK



Today I was pissed. Definitely pissed. Lack of sleep combined with a sh*tty diet though, this really should have been no surprise. Started off sumo style which I feel EXTREMELY weak in now for some reason. Wore my wrestling shoes, chalked up my hands, got pissed off, wore a lifting belt for the first time (which felt good) and couldn't even friggin' budge 625 off the ground! Then I stripped off the two 10's on each side and tried to pull 585 a few minutes later. Wouldn't even f*cking budge! WTF?

Decided to go conventional and see if I would have any luck there. First attempt at 585 conventional I didn't wear a belt, and it didn't budge at all. 2nd attempt it budge maybe a couple of inches but nothing to be proud of. Finally I got extremely pissed off... I wanted to hit 585 conventional. That's a HUGE PR for my conventional, I think my PR is 555-565 or something along those lines. Pulled it about halfway up hit a total sticking point---and THREW 585 down to the ground, LOL. I thought I was going to get kicked out of the gym I threw it down so hard.

What did I learn from all this? I need more sleep, a better diet, and definitely am going to start wearing a belt. Lower back pain = zero.

Diet- Beer, beer, a couple Long Island's, a couple of vodka shots. This was all last night. And then today I tried to slam down something quick before the gym, ate a 6" turkey sub, an apple, and a Balance Gold bar. Whatever.

Sleep- 4 + 2 hours.

At the gym I weighed 215 lbs.! Damn, where did my weight go? I had just eaten too so I expected to be a tad heavy. I think I am extremely dehydrated, damnit.

[sbert]

eh monstar, dont worry about the drinks everyone needs to wind down sometimes.
i drink socialy almost every weekend, its what alot of people do. drinking beer and watching the hockey game is popular activity where i am from. yes i could make faster/better gains if i was to drop the alcohol but it is not what i am prepared to do i enjoy a good party and so do all of my friends. just try to do your best at the gym and at your diet. good luck

[Arith]

Hey Monstar, you cant be perfect all the time just do the best that you can. Your lifts are unreal and your doing your best with your diet, dont be too hard on yourself i wish i had half the muscle you do (hell, based on my lifts it actually looks like i do have half the muscle you do ).

[MonStar]

sbert- Thanks for the support man, it really means a lot. Yeah, the funny thing is that I am so friggin' new to this whole drinking thing---it takes so little to get my completely trashed, lol. I mean as long as I am having a good time, drinking responsibly, not driving obviously, and not having drinks that are all sugar, I am not too worried about it. Lately I have been looking more vascular than ever, no complaints!

Arith- Thanks a lot man, I appreciate it. My lifts are pretty decent I think for a natural, but I don't know. I am always looking to improve of course. Thanks for the post.

Was going to do chest today, but my front delts were killing me, so:

Back day!

Support Rows:

2 Plates x 10
3 Plates x 10
4 Plates x 10
5 Plates x 8.5
3 Plates x 16

For those of you who are wondering, these are basically just plate loaded chest-supported rows, its a Paramount machine. These are similar to the t-bar, but I can't cheat at all, and I use an underhand grip rather than a parallel-grip like I do on freeweight t-bar rows. The reason I did these is because I hit my lower back hard with deadlifts yesterday and didn't want to put any further strain on it with standard t-bar rows. Nice sets though, I am thinking 5 plates for 8.5 is a PR but I don't know.

Nautilus Pullovers:

160 x 10
190 x 10
220 x 10!

Dropset-
200 x 8
170 x 8
140 x 8

Alternating DB Curls:

60's x 9/9!
50's x 8/8

Reverse Curls:

85 x 12

DB Static Holds:

100's x 1:01---OUCH!

Pullovers were awesome, great lat contractions. DB curls hit a new PR, definitely an intense set. Reverse BB curls, very nice. Static holds---F*CK. Felt something pinch in my midback area, not sure what it was, but it was VERY painful. Not going to do these again, might replace them with static hangs from a chin-up bar.

Diet- Eh, okay I guess. Last night packed in a lotta' calories, whole-wheat tuna subs from Subway are my new favorite sandwich. Had a Balance Gold bar last night, some peanut butter, a beer, a shot, and that's about it. Today I am going to try and take it easy on the calories. Still have some fat I wanna' lose.

Sleep- 6.5 hours, sh*t, not enough.

At the gym I weighed 217 lbs. Up a little bit from yesterday. But yesterday I felt so damn dehydrated it was ridiculous. F*ckin' alcohol.