my new and improved "I WILL BENCH 300" journal

[Firehawk]

Originally Posted by rangers97

Always gotta bust my ass eh???

Someone's gotta stay on people .

[gcs118]

lol Dave no doubt is the man to get on your case

[rangers97]

happy 4th of july everyone!!! Being the freak that I am, lol, my gym was open today, but only till 1:00, so I left a party at my friend's house last night at 11:30 so I could get to bed to wake up by 9 to get to the gym by 12. Is that warped? I wish it wouldn't bother me so much if I missed a day, but I can't help it. So I went at 11:30 and at least for having to leave the party early, I put in a great workout. it was leg day, and I am not used to working out at 11:30 in the morning, but it worked out quite well

squats to parallel 275 x 7
280 x 6, 6

went back to regular squats after smith machine squats last week....these felt good...felt strong, got to parallel easily and almost puked after the 2nd and 3rd sets, so I know I was working hard!


leg press 445 x 6, 6

made a huge jump on these, I couldn't find a 25lb plate at the time, so I just added a 45 instead to the 4 100lb plates i loaded already

leg press calf presses 315 x 8
340 x 8, 8

hamstring curl machine 150 x 6, 6

overall a great workout, went up on everything and I am very pleased. It was nice to finally squat more than i bench press for once! lol but thats my own fault, only started leg training last fall, but I've been benching for 10 years....typical right?

[.V.]

Nice work - lifting is definitely better than partying. Those hamstring curls look especially good. I can't even get past 85 with those.

[threenorns]

couldn't find a quarter, so you used a 45 instead.... i suspicion your legs are capable of a lot more than you think

[rangers97]

Originally Posted by threenorns

couldn't find a quarter, so you used a 45 instead.... i suspicion your legs are capable of a lot more than you think

hehe, good point....

i do try to take it easy with certain movements though for fear of injury...last november while playing hockey i severely tore a muscle in my groin area and to this day I still feel it sometimes, so I tend to take a lot of precautions and not strain myself too much

same with things like bench...i have bad elbows, tendinitis and such, so while there is the possibility I can lift more, I am just working up from what I have so far

[rangers97]

Originally Posted by a_welch503

Nice work - lifting is definitely better than partying. Those hamstring curls look especially good. I can't even get past 85 with those.

I don't know if it's necessarily better, it's just the choices I am making now always sway toward the lifting end of it. Maybe I should have hung out with my friends later than I did and what would the consequence of that have been? No gym today. Its a can't win situation almost, especially since most all of my friends do not work out and do not care what they eat or drink, for the most part.Only 1 other friend of mine works out regularly, and we think he is on roids...he won't admit it, but it is kinda obvious, so that don't count, cause he gets wasted at least 4 times every week and still looks ripped to shreds. But whatever, I can lift more than him anyway

The problem I have with myself is where to draw the line between making good choices to live a healthy lifestyle, or falling into making working out and everything that goes with it an obsession. I see myself becoming obsessed almost, stressing out if I miss a day at the gym, freaking out if I can't have a protein drink when I am supposed to, and like yesterday, leaving a party early to get to bed to get a good night's sleep to hit the gym early today. I love working out and being strong, but I really dont need this to control my life.

How does everyone else around here balance out their lives with their structured work out regimens?

[threenorns]

easy:

if i'm too tired, stressed out, or hungover, i can't work out = not good.

if working out intereferes with opportunities to make money, i can't work out any more = not good.

if i can't get to the gym (ie, no truck), then i substitute - i go swimming, i drag a tire (which has inexplicably vanished), push a truck, whatever, and if i can't substitute, i count it as a rest day.

[gcs118]

I was gonna leave my party around 1 or 2am to get some sleep and work out in the morning. I left at 7am. lol oops...it just isn't a big deal to me to push lifting back a day. I gotta have fun while I still can Eating and drinking bad stuff one night won't kill ya.

[.V.]

Originally Posted by rangers97

How does everyone else around here balance out their lives with their structured work out regimens?

Easy - lifting comes first.

Naah not really, my family and my job come before lifting. I just make sure that eating and lifting are the first things that I do each day. If something more important comes up, I do that instead. It just has to actually be something important.

Because I do it this way, I've been accused of being obsessed - I take that as a compliment. That means that I have the dedication to do what it takes to accomplish my goals. Unlike your friend however, I'll never be accused or suspected of juicing. Too little. The day someone accuses me of that my reply will be to hug them and say thanks.

It is likely better to be addicted to lifting than to say, for example, heroin. Or eating, or sex, or alcohol.... well at least better than drugs and alcohol.

[rangers97]

Originally Posted by a_welch503

Because I do it this way, I've been accused of being obsessed - I take that as a compliment. That means that I have the dedication to do what it takes to accomplish my goals. Unlike your friend however, I'll never be accused or suspected of juicing. Too little. The day someone accuses me of that my reply will be to hug them and say thanks.

It's funny cause only to the people who don't work out and eat right, we seem "obsessed". To other people like us on here who do this stuff regularly and routinely, it is quite normal. I think what it boils down to is that people are jealous of us! lol....but seriously, my friends rip me all the time about carrying around a shaker bottle with protein powder in it so I can take it when I need to, they just don't get it. I reply in the typical defensive fashion, "the day you can bench press 275 lbs, then you can say something to me about it", when I really don't need to be defending myself.

I really don;t care anymore--the only person I don't want to upset with this stuff is my wife, she understands for the most part, sometimes she thinks I may be a little "obsessed" (like leaving that party early the other night), but she is the one who defends me half the time. I guess it helps that she compliments me in that we both like to eat very healthy and work out all the time, so she can relate, although she wouldn't leave a party early to go to bed to get up early to work out the next day, she isnt as bad as me In fact, she is the one that usually packs my protein drinks and bars when we have to go out for a while! She says that if we ever have kids, it will be easy cause she is getting a LOT of practice with me!

[rangers97]

Originally Posted by a_welch503

Unlike your friend however, I'll never be accused or suspected of juicing. Too little. The day someone accuses me of that my reply will be to hug them and say thanks.

it is really quite amazing what juicing can do...He is a pretty small guy, like 5'5" maybe on a good day with big soled shoes on and maybe normally should be 150-160lbs. He now probably weighs 180-190 and it's funny cause one day you see him, he looks like a normal guy, then fast forward a month, you see him again, he is all ripped. Hmmmm. But he smokes like 1-2 packs a day, drinks all the time, and still manages to look the way he does---very unfair. But I do know, come winter when he is "off cycle" and comes back down to puny status that I will hopefully still be gaining, even if it is a pound here and a pound there.

My wife jokes with me and wants me to try a cycle, and the major thing that is stopping me is the fact that once you stop, you lose what you gained on them, and psychologically, that would crush me. She just jokes and wants to see how big I would get on them, considering what I lift now without. It would be fun, but not worth it.

[threenorns]

if you want something real fun, fast-forward ten years when the effect of smoking and drinking while juicing hits him.

[rangers97]

Originally Posted by threenorns

if you want something real fun, fast-forward ten years when the effect of smoking and drinking while juicing hits him.

the sad thing is, he's the type of guy that will outlive all of us--he has literally escaped death on many occassions and should be dead now, but he's still plugging away, I wouldnt doubt if he outlives most of us

[Firehawk]

He might not return to puny status. Now you can keep most of your gains if you come off the juice properly. If he doesn't try to keep anything, then yah he'll be puny .