My Final Semester of Grad School

[Rodja]

9/6: Repetition Upper

Foam Roll
Shoulder Pre-hab

Flat DB Press: 75x12, 75x11, 75x9
Neutral Pullups/Facepulls: BWx8/160x12, BWx8/175x12, BWx8/175x12
DB Shoulder Press: 60x12, 65x10, 65x10
Overhead DB Ex/DB Shrugs: 100x12/110x12, 100x12/120x12, 100x11/130x10

I felt really, really good during this session and advanced my lifts on DB shoulder press and facepulls. The thing I like most about this template is the emphasis on the rear delt/trap area to strengthen the rotator cuff muscles and to avoid strength/posture imbalances. My left AC is still not 100%, but I feel it getting stronger every week.

[Rodja]

9/7: ME Lower, Core, Cardio

Box Squats: 225x5, 245x5, 275x3, 295x3
Walking DB Lunges: 75x12, 75x12, 75x12
Hypers: BW+90x12, BW+135x10 (PR)
Standing Cable Crunches: 70x15, 85x15, 85x15

30 mins cardio

I'm really getting the groove in box squats. I could have gone a tad heavier, but my form was getting loose. By that, I mean that I was not driving forward with my hips and was mainly using my quads. I continue to move up in the supporting lifts and I know this is helping to increase the hip drive. One thing I did notice was that my hamstrings started to get very tired by the end of cardio. Not a cramp, but just general fatigue within the muscle group.

[Rodja]

9/9: ME Upper, Core, Cardio

Piriformis Release
Foam Roll
Shoulder Pre-Hab

Neutral Pullups: BWx8, BW+10x5, BW+25x5, BW+35x3, BW+45x3 (PR)
Incline DB Press: 65x15, 70x15
Supinated BB Rows/Side Laterals: 245x12/35x12, 255x12/35x12, 275x12/35x12
Hammer Curls/DB Shrugs: 50x10/120x12, 50x12/130x10, 50x12
Hanging Leg Raises: BWx15, BWx15, BWx15

20 min treadmill

BY the end of this session, I was extremely gassed, but I still set a PR on pullups and am seeing improvement in my presses. My lumbar tends to get cranky towards the end of the week because of the crappy chairs at work and I did some piriformis release to try to loosen it up, but to no avail. One of the PL guys I've befriended has a GF that's a chiro and am going to see her next week to work on it.

[JudoJosh]

subbed brutha!!! Nice to see you using the foam roller and doing rehab stuff pre workout. You don't see to many guys even doing warm up sets let alone foam rolling or shoulder/glute activating/mobility. May I ask, is your warmup routine something you put together yourself or are you following an already laid out one. Personally I pick and choose movements from Jim Smiths ACS manual but I sometimes feel I could be choosing better effective movements for the days workout.

[Rodja]

subbed brutha!!! Nice to see you using the foam roller and doing rehab stuff pre workout. You don't see to many guys even doing warm up sets let alone foam rolling or shoulder/glute activating/mobility. May I ask, is your warmup routine something you put together yourself or are you following an already laid out one. Personally I pick and choose movements from Jim Smiths ACS manual but I sometimes feel I could be choosing better effective movements for the days workout.

It's partially based off of DeFranco's agility/flexibility routines with some other foam roll movements and rotator cuff work. I had an overly internally rotated right humerus and have worked on correcting it for about 4 months now.

[Rodja]

9/13: ME Lowe, Core

Foam Roll
Pirifomis Roll
Agility Warm-Up

Box Squats: 245x5, 275x5, 295x5, 315x5 (PR)
Walking DB Lunges: 80x10, 80x10, 80x10
Standing Cable Crunches: 70x15, 85x15, 100x15
Hypers: BW+45x12, BW+90x12, BW+135x12

DC Stretches

I had to switch up my week due to some unforeseen events and I didn't even want to attempt to try to do upper at about 6 PM on a Monday. That would have taken far too long and been very frustrating. My strength on Box Squats is climbing every week as I really master the technique and start to drive through my heels and focus on my hips. I haven't really devoted too much time to squats over the past few years, but I'm really enjoying these and will definitely make them a staple.

[Rodja]

9/14: Rep Upper

Foam Roll
Shoulder Pre-Hab
Piriformis Roll

Incline DB Press: 70x12, 75x12, 80x8 (PR)
Pullups/Facepulls: BWx5+5/160x15, BWx5+5/175x15, BWx5+5/175x15
DB Shoulder Press:60x12, 65x10, 70x8
Overhead DB Ex/DB Shrugs: 95x12/120x12, 100x12/120x12, 105x10 (PR)/130x12

This was a fantastic session and hit two PRs while getting a great pump with solid endurance and focus. The pullups where done in a split method: the first 5 were wide, pronated and the second 5 were wide, neutral. I liked it a lot and was able to focus on the lat contraction much better. So far, my body is feeling great, but I plan to deload in about 4 weeks to avoid the injury bug

[Rodja]

9/16: Dynamic Lower, Cardi

Foam Roll
Piriformis Roll
Dynamic/Static Stretching

General Warm-Up

Box Jumps: 39"x2, 40.5"x1, 42"x1
Bulgarian Split Squats: 110x8, 120x8, 120x8
Pull Throughs: 100x10, 130x10, 145x10

Cardio

5, 5-minute rounds on heavy bag
Sprints:
10MPH, 0%
10.5MPH, 0%
11MPH, 0%
11.5MPH, 0%
11.7MPH, 1%
12MPH, 1%
12.2MPH, 1%

After this session, I was extremely gassed as I have not done anything will that kind of energy demand in quite some time. I honestly thought I was going to vomit a few minutes after I was done and then had an AWFUL crash afterwards. Everything was fuzzy, I could barely breathe, and I was slightly cold despite being outside in 90 degree weather. It faded after a few minutes, but I went home and immediately ate some fruit to get some glucose into my system.

[Rodja]

9/17: ME Upper, Cardio

Foam Roll
Shoulder Pre-hab

Pullups: BW+10x5, BW+25x5, BW+35x3, BW+45x3+3 neg
JM Press: 135x15, 145x15
Cable Rows/Seated DB Cleans: 200x12/20x10, 220x10/20x10, 220x10/20x10
Hammer Curls/Side Laterals: 50x12/35x12, 55x8/40x10, 55x8/40x10

Cardio
3, 5-minutes rounds heavy bag

My timing of this session was completely off, but I still had a great session. I didn't quite set any PRs, but I got a hell of a pump and I can definitely see some extra mass forming in my trap/delt area from the extra volume. The one down note was that my right anterior delt was giving me fits, so I didn't go as heavy as I possibly could on some lifts. This was also the first time I have done the DB cleans and I have to say they have given me some great mid-trap soreness. I'm also hoping that they help to strengthen the rotators some more and to alleviate this battle I've had with my rotators.

[Rodja]

I saw them live about a month ago for the second time and they were even better.

New Supplements/Protocol:
MAP: 2x/day (immediately upon waking and post-training)
WMS: 45g post-training (with MAP)
2 Erase
3 AT2
6 ArginoCarn/4.5g GPLC ~60 minutes prior to training
2 Scoops VasoCharge (as needed)

I'm cruising right around 210 first thing in the morning and have been killing the weights lately. Hopefully, this allows me to continue this and advance even further.

[JudoJosh]

I have been reading alot if good reviews on erase and was considering picking up a bottle before the sale is done. Interested to see how you like it.. Also the WMS isn't paleo friendly is it?

[Rodja]

9/20: ME Lower, Cardio

Box Squats: 225x5, 245x5, 275x5, 315x5, 335x5 (PR)
Reverse BB Lunges: 95x16, 135x16, 155x16
Hypers: BW+45x15, BW+90x15, BW+135x12

Cardio

1, 10-minute round bag drills
1, 5-minute round bag drills
1, 3-minute round bag drills

Still going strong and gaining strength. I haven't been eating to gain excessive mass, but I have been consuming enough calories to pack on some quality LBM. However, I've also been kicking up the cardio and trying to get some level of conditioning back.

[Rodja]

I have been Seinfeld alot if good reviews on erase and was considering picking up a bottle before the sale is done. Interested to see how you like it.. Also the WMS isn't paleo friendly is it?

WMS is about as non-Paleo as it gets. It is a corn derivative afterall.

[JudoJosh]

WMS is about as non-Paleo as it gets. It is a corn derivative afterall.

That's what I had though.. Are you just using it around your workout?

[stxnas]

You guys and your crazy diets

I've never heard of 3/4 of these diets that I come across on the boards.

[Rodja]

That's what I had though.. Are you just using it around your workout?

Just immediately post.

You guys and your crazy diets

I've never heard of 3/4 of these diets that I come across on the boards.

I learned about it from my BJJ instructor and he swears by it for allergy reduction, which is 90% of the reason I follow it.

[stxnas]

Thanks for sharing that. I might have to look into it. I didn't have allergies until I moved to Central Florida. They've been awful ever since.

[Rodja]

Thanks for sharing that. I might have to look into it. I didn't have allergies until I moved to Central Florida. They've been awful ever since.

I don't follow it 100% as I include tubers and rice, but I don't eat gluten or oats, corn, and little dairy.

[Rodja]

9/21: Rep Upper, Core, Cardio

Foam Roll
Shoulder Pre-hab

Incline DB Press: 75x12, 80x10, 85x8 (PR)
Pullups/Seated DB Cleans: 6+6/25x10, 6+6/25x10, 6+4+2/25x10
DB Shoulder Press: 60x12, 70x10, 75x8 (PR)
Pressdowns/DB Shrugs: 190x12/120x12, 195x12/130x12, 195x12/130x12
Standing Crunches: 85x15, 100x15, 100x15

Cardio
4,5-minute rounds heavy bag

Long, tough session, but I felt great throughout the entire time thanks to some ArginoCarn and GPLC. I just kept humming along through my lifts and cardio, but ran out of time. Plus, I started to get a bit of a hip flexor issue from kicking drills. Overall, my cardio and strength have really started to kick up a notch lately while I have an eye on competing some time in the Spring. I do know that I'm a ways off from that in terms of weight and conditioning, but I have plenty of time to get there.

[Rodja]

9/23: Dynamic Leg, Core, Cardio

Lower Pre-Hab
Piriformis Roll

Hassock Box Jumps: 33"x2, 35"x1, 37"x1
Dynamic Squats: 135x3x8 (30s rest)
Pull Throughs: 130x10, 145x10, 160x10
Trunk Rotations: 70x12, 70x12, 70x12

4, 5-minute rounds heavy bag

9/24: Max Upper, Cardio

Foam Roll
Shoulder Pre-Hab

Pull-Ups/Dips: BWx6/BWx12, BW+10x5, BWx12, BW+25x5/BW+25x12, BW+35x3/BW+35x10, BW+45x3/BW+45x10, BW+50x3 (PR)/BW+50x10
JM Press (w/ Fat Gripz): 135x15, 155x15, 165x15
BB Rows/Side Laterals: 275x10/40x10, 275x10/40x10, 275x10/40x10
Hammer Curls/DB Shrugs: 55x10/120x12, 55x10/130x12, 55x10/140x10 (PR)

DC Stretches

5, 5-minute rounds heavy bag