Back On The Grind

sparks2012

sparks2012

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Hey all,

Fell off the wagon on here for a pretty long while. Things got hectic in life, some big changes, some good and some bad came up. Still kept up with training and all that jazz. I started a new "log" to get a fresh start and maybe attract some new followers. So far my training has gone back to: Chest/Back, Legs, Shoulders/Arms, Repeat with a rest day thrown in when I need it. Also, as of this past Monday, I have been having to PT one of the people I supervise so they can score better on their PT test. So, that means I'm doing a two-a-days essentially. I train before work in the mornings and then after work I have the supervised PT thing where it's calisthenics and cardio focused. Anyway, here's a few recent photos, sitting at around 200-202 with an estimated 13-ish% BF.
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Will attach some leg shots shortly, don't have any good photos at the moment.
FireTitan I'm back, would you mind doing the honors and tagging all our old friends?
 
Wimsicle

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I'm I'm. Prob don't know me as I'm newer but lookin solid man!
 
SFreed

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Yep, solid AF man. I'm in.
 
JDybya

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Still lookin strong brother. Glad to see you back.
 
sparks2012

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Alright no gym today, instead was out and did a 7-ish hour hike totaling 6 miles or so. Some was damn near straight vert surfaces, most of it was navigating through craggy river beds going up the mountain with a fair amount steep inclines. Extremely taxing on the legs. Especially since I hit them Friday night. If anyone is interested I can throw some pics up from the hike, but here is the lower body shot, no pump or anything whatsoever, just straight into my house before my shower.
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SFreed

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Hiking's just my game! Would love to see some pictures
 
Aleksandar37

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looking great! I'm following as well
 
sparks2012

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This morning had a pretty decent chest/back session. My legs and lower back were still wrecked from the hike, so deads were out of the picture just to minimize risk of injury. Should be good to squat tomorrow morning, I'm feeling better as the day progresses.

Recently, my training has been pretty compact. Most everything is superset, aside from big movements like squats and sometimes deads. And I'll do 3-4 super sets of 3-5 sets and maybe a few "isolation" moves for 2-4 sets at the most. I seem to be progressing fairly well. Not tracking anything diet wise right now either, I know what foods (mainly carbs) make me hold on to more weight and I've been keeping protein and fats higher for the most part. Right now I'm just trying to add some mass but not in a full bulk. Somewhere in between maintenance and bulk would be a good description.
 
sparks2012

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hairygrandpa smith_69 bighulksmash ya'll still here??
 
hairygrandpa

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Look who is back! Subbed!
 
hairygrandpa

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Yessir! Glad to have you in here bud. It's been awhile. How's your shoulder doing? Ever do another BPC run?
All healed up! BPC and PEG-MGF on hand if needed.
Doing all exercises again. Took me 8 month to fully heal it out -but could have done it in 4, if I would have used the BPC/PEG-MGF combo right from the beginning.
 
sparks2012

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All healed up! BPC and PEG-MGF on hand if needed.
Doing all exercises again. Took me 8 month to fully heal it out -but could have done it in 4, if I would have used the BPC/PEG-MGF combo right from the beginning.
Great to hear! At least you have the knowledge in case there's another unforeseen injury. Sorry it took 8 months to heal completely, but in the meantime it let you focus on different training methods and other body parts (legs!) haha
 
sparks2012

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Another compacted session this morning. Wasn't really feeling it when I got up this morning at all. The start was slow, but I feel I had a productive session. I've made a note to increase calories because of the extra expenditures for the whole PT thing that I have to run, and today was the real first day of that. Right now (quarter till 9 in the evening), I fell pretty good. Obviously tired from the day, but I don't feel overly drained or sore or anything. Also incorporated a generic multi+omega 3's and fish oils that I'm dosing twice daily, so I think that helps as well. I'm sure I was nutrient deficient somewhere. Tomorrow morning is chest/back, so we'll see where this diet revamp is putting me as far as training goes. Also started eating ~ 1 cup of oats pre workout, about 30-40 mins beforehand. So far, so good.
 
sparks2012

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Back is starting to get a lil' diced, and showing some decent development.
 
sparks2012

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Alright, so it's legs again. Wanting some opinions, or methods maybe, that have worked for you. Right now I'm starting off with 2-ish sets of lying hammie curls @ 25-35 reps then moving into squats. Squats are anywhere from 4-9 sets depending on how I'm feeling and how the weight is moving. After that I'm hit leg press, GHR, split squats, or a smith squat variation, and then I'm gassed after those 2 exercises. I push myself to do another exercise or two, usually superset together from 2-4 sets usually. Is that not enough work, or am I fatiguing my legs properly because they're so done by the time I'm hitting the 2nd exercise.
 
sparks2012

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Yesterday's leg session went well, started with leg curls to get the hams fired up then moved into box squats. Worked up to 2 sets of 405, one for 2 reps, and one for 1 rep. Dropped down to 315 and did 3 sets of regular squats immediately after the box work. Threw in some Bulgarian split squats and GHR's superset, then KB swings, then single leg RDL's on the smith machine. My legs are still feeling it today. In a good way though. We'll see what shoulders/arms has in store for me in a bit.
 
sparks2012

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Alright fellas sorry for the delay, been busy with work. Anyway, I ended up taking Saturday and Sunday off. I think it paid off because I had a great shoulders/arms session Monday morning. Pump was great and Strength went up a little bit. I'm consistently able to get 100's up for 4-6 with no assist or spot so that's looking good for me. Today's chest/back session was alright, I snoozed my alarm and overslept so I didn't have much time. I had a good pump going but I don't think I truly fatigued anything aside from shoulders. Bench numbers are getting better too though. Consistently hitting 225 for 12-15 reps no spot on decline and flat, and incline I can probably get around 205 for 10. So not too bad in my opinion.
 
sparks2012

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Snap from post shoudlers/arms on Thursday. Quick lunch workout, the added in calisthenics and cardio is paying off, and I'm able to be less stringent with my diet. Carbs are being used up instead of stored and whatnot. Today we had Sq PT so I had to get my chest/back lift in before hand. It was only 2 exercises of each group, but went to failure. Flat DB bench, neutral grip pulldowns, decline bench, and barbell rows. Sq PT was a bunch of calisthenics but I'm feeling good. Feeling more athletic, and balanced.
 
sparks2012

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Took the weekend off, took a trip to Merano right on the border of Austria and Italy and just drank by the pool with a couple buddies and caught some rays. The time off was nice, hit legs Monday morning and squatted 405 raw. Shoulder was feeling a bit weird yesterday so I took the day off aside from doing the cardio/calisthenics with my troop. Today was shoulders and arms, got the 100's for 8 solid reps and had a solid pump going. Work got in the way of having a full session again, but something is better than nothing. Tomorrow morning I've got an early chest/back session. Will be tough, I've gotta be there about 2 hours before I normally do because I'm taking a few people to the airport at 0530. Upping intake a slight bit to help offset the extra work, right now it's just adding an extra egg per meal (total up to 8 eggs per day) and adding in a whole avocado. Still not counting cals/macros, eating slightly more than what feels comfortable but definitely not to the point where I'm force feeding.
 
sparks2012

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Workout was eh today. Only had one meal beforehand. Wasn't able to train due to airport shenanigans in the morning. Working all day and only had time for one meal. Felt flat and dehydrated but strength felt fine. Haven't pulled in a while but still managed 425 for a single. Weight is down to 199.2, I'm not even trying to cut so I messed with cals today and I was barely eating 2,000. So I counted out everything for a basic template to get me around 3,000.
 
BEAST73

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I see you Sparks2012.. Looking Good Brother!
 
sparks2012

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Alright guys, little late at getting back into the log. I was in training this past week, so my rhythm was all kinds of messed up. Anyway, I stepped out of my comfort zone and started some OLY lifting this past week. A couple dudes from work are into it, and I figured I might as well try it too. So, I'm currently trying to find a balance between OLY lifting/conditioning/"traditional" training. I like it, it's a different challenge and lights my back and traps up like no other. The mobility aspect is nice too...more or less it's kinda crossfit. But I'm still focusing on building muscle/strength. I am enjoying the process once again and my motivation is higher than ever. Once I get the technique down, I should be able to start moving serious weight. First day trying it I cleaned 215 with sh1t form, in respect to OLY standards anyway. So getting footwork and the hinge/"pop" points down will allow me to push even more weight. Should help with deads and shoulder health as well. Looking forward to seeing where this will take me.
 
sparks2012

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Snapshot from last night's chest and back session. Probably sitting at over 205 right now, I've had the good ol' McDonald's like 3 times in the last four days. Anyway, felt good, pump was pretty nice and contractions in the back were pretty strong. Don't get those that often so I'll take it.

This morning I was dead, only had about 4 hours of sleep but went in the gym with a cup of coffee/half scoop of Hyde in me. Messed around on front squats and hit a 5lb PR. 305 and it came up pretty smoothly. I don't front squat often so this could be a game changer for me. Finally able to hold to hold the bar in a sh1tty "front rack" position. My pinkies always slide out and I'm left holding the bar with 3 fingertips. Progress is progress though.
 
sparks2012

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Another long(er) break from the forums, but this time it's due to me being home with family back in the states for a bit! I got in on the 1st and have just been relaxing and training, lol that's about it. Started a run of Gaspari's Halodrol when I got here so the gym has been crazy good recently. Last time I weighed in I was at 207, probably a little more now, close to 210-212 maybe. Thinking of running a log for the gaspari stuff, not sure yet. I'm about 10 days in so it would be a good place to start and get some initial and close to mid-cycle feedback put up. Here's a few shots from a few minutes ago, still maintaining some definition but my diet hasn't been super clean. Being overseas, I tend to indulge on all the American food I've missed. Daily, haha.
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sparks2012

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Sparkss2012, You Looking Huge Brother!
Thanks man!! I'm up to 216 and some change as of yesterday, post legs. For that weight and how much "junk" I've been eating, I'm pretty pleased with how I look.
 

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