Making the Superman

[supermanjow]

I've been on the site for quite some time now. And I've done some product logs. But I've never had just a regular training log up on AM. So, time to get one started and keep it going.

Right now my training scheme is pretty unique. My wife started a new job about 35 miles away from our apartment and about 20 miles away from my office. Our 5 month old's daycare is close to her work b/c she's breast fed and momma goes to see her over lunch. My wife just started this job and they've been down a person for a while. So the backlog of work is pretty big and my wife has been putting in a lot of OT. As such, papa picks up baby after work and brings her home.

Having about an hour and a half of commute time everyday plus the rigors of taking care of an infant, making dinner, and helping keep the chores around the house done doesn't leave much time for training.

All is not lost though. I have reduced my workout schedule to a max of 30 minutes. I do one exercise per muscle group. I work up to my 5 rep max with sub failure sets. Then I do two drop sets at 75% and 50% of that 5 rep max weight. I'm focusing on bringing up my chest and back. So they get two hits a week. I rotate between 4 exercises for each muscle group.

Here's my split:
M: CHEST/BACK
T: CALVES/HAMS
W: BACK/CHEST (high rep)
TH: CALVES/QUADS
F: SHOULDERS/BIS/TRIS

Here's the exercises:
Chest: Incline Bench, Flat Bench, Dips, reverse Grip Bench
Back: Weighted Pull-ups, Barbell Rows, Tbar Rows, Rack Pulls
Hams: Romanian Deads, Glute Ham Raises, Lying Leg Curls, Seated Leg Curls
Quads: Leg Press, Squats, Front Squats, Hack Squats
Calves: Calf Raises, Seated Calf Raises, Donkey Calf Raises, Standing Calf Raises
Shoulders: Barbell Upright Rows, Barbell Presses, Facepulls, Rear Smith Shrugs
Biceps: Dumbbell Curls, Barbell Curls, Hammer Curls, Preacher Curls
Triceps: Overhead Extensions, Decline Extensions, Pressdowns, Machine Dips

Nothing too fancy, but hopefully effective. Regardless, it's all I have time for right now. So, I'm going to make it work!

 

[supermanjow]

Alright, Day One training is in the books. Workout took me 20 minutes. Wife was VERY happy I was home when I was. It was tough getting out of bed and out the door. I actually didn't get to the gym until 5:10. Oh well I was home by 5:35. Tomorrow I will be working harder at getting out the door sooner.

Today was chest and back. My exercises were incline bench and underhand barbell rows. Since I'm working out for such a short amount of time, I'm taking a few minutes to get a good warmup in. I may start doing some dynamic stretches as well. Anyways, here's what I did:

WU: 3 minutes of Biking level 10
IB: 135,5; 185,5; 225,5; 245,5; 185,10; 135,8
UHBR: 135,5; 185,5; 225,5; 275,5; 295,5; 225,10; 145,15

The sets in bold are to failure. I'm doing drops of 75% and 50% of the first working set. The only rest is what it takes to change out the weight. It seems to be a good scheme. I may switch things up from week to week in terms of set intensifiers, but for now I'm sticking to this double drop. On Thursday, I will be starting at 75% and then doing drops of 75% and 50% of that number. Should be a good high rep session.

Tomorrow is hams and calves. Both will get a nice blast! It's been a while since I've had a dedicate ham day, but I think it will be very good! We'll see where this workout takes me, but today felt pretty good. So, I'm feeling confident.

 

[supermanjow]

Day 2 - Calves & Hams

Warm-up: 3 minutes biking level 10
Dynamic Lower Back Stretches

Calf Raises on Leg Press
270,5; 450,5; 630,5; 720,5 540,8 360,8

Glute Ham Raises
8,8 (assisted); 5; 2+3a; 1+4a

Workout was 25 minutes long including warm-ups. Got to the gym right at 4:50 today and they were already open. So I was home nice and early. Calves really felt it today. Next leg hit is Thurs for calves and quads. I'll be hitting back and chest tomorrow. I'm liking the short intense hits. Can't wait to se if I continue to grow on it. At the very least, I'm certain it will help me hold onto my current levels of muscle.

Coming to the end of my IML Tri-stack. It definitely a great combo. Really looking forward to trying out Epi for the first time soon though. I hope the bottle gets here in a day to two before I run out.

 

[Nooshefx]

Good luck on the training and some of us have been through what you are doing. Having a baby at home and that work schedule makes things very tight. Nice to see people working through it rather than using the kids as an excuse to not stay fit/strong anymore. Even with a short window of time you are finding a way to get those lifts in.

 

[supermanjow]

Good luck on the training and some of us have been through what you are doing. Having a baby at home and that work schedule makes things very tight. Nice to see people working through it rather than using the kids as an excuse to not stay fit/strong anymore. Even with a short window of time you are finding a way to get those lifts in.

That's right! And thanks for the comment! I was planning in updating the log regardless, but it's always more fun to have participation.

 

[Nooshefx]

I'm sure a few people will be popping in here eventually

 

[Bigcountry08]

I'm in, I have two kids a third on the way. My normal routine takes me about an hour, looking to either break it down like yours or do two a days.

By the way Epi is the **** have fun.

 

[supermanjow]

I'm in, I have two kids a third on the way. My normal routine takes me about an hour, looking to either break it down like yours or do two a days.

By the way Epi is the **** have fun.

Glad to have you following! This should be productive. It's been a while since I've done a purer Hit routine.

 

[supermanjow]

Day 3 - Light Back & Chest

Warm-Up: 3 minutes bike level 15
Barbell Rows - 135,15; 185,15; ***235,17; 175,20; 115,20***
Flat Bench - 95,20; 145,20; ***195,20; 145,15, 95,18***

Well, just realized now why I was able to get so many reps on my bench compared to my rows. I was supposed to be doing incline. Oh well, it was occupied anyways. Maybe I'll hit it next week during my like flat bench day. Regardless, today was brutal. I was sucking so much wind doing these high rep sets. It was tough making myself complete the drop-sets in a timely fashion. I think this is going to be a fun workout! I'm beginning to think that I should repeat leg and shoulder workouts from week to week with the heavy lights scheme. That way those muscles get different types of stimulation as well, which I'm a firm believer in for maximizing muscle size.

Now that I have an idea where my strength is at, I've decided that I will use the drop set weights as my two warm-up weights prior to my first working set. I've been trying to figure out how I'm going to handle increasing my weights from round to round. I think what I'm going to do is start at 5% increases. This may or may not be the right amount, but I think it's a good starting point.

Today's workout took 30 minutes (sucking wind!). I still got back home at a decent time. I'm loving the new schedule. Even though I relish in having my gym time, it's a LOT of fun getting in and out and having the rest of the morning getting ready and playing with my daughter.

I've decided to do a modified intermittent fasting diet for the month of August. I just read a synopsis of a very interesting study on IF diets. Basically two sets of rats were fed the same diet which was the rat equivalency of ice cream, beer, and pizza. One group was given their calories throughout the day. The other group was given their food all at once. The metabolic health factors of the first group were a complete mess. The metabolic factors of the second group were perfectly healthy and normal and their body composition was 28% leaner than the first group. So, I'm not changing what I'm eating and how much, but I'm going to eat all my first round of calories in the metabolic window of 3 hours post workout. The second set will be with supper which has been somewhere around 7-8 pm lately. I'm really interested to see how this goes. It may or may not help me lean up over the next month. We shall see.

 

[Nooshefx]

Are you going to take any measurements before this IF diet?

 

[supermanjow]

Good idea. I'll do it tonight.

 

[Sean1332]

Hey bud

 

[supermanjow]

Sup mang?!

 

[supermanjow]

Day 4 (Thurs 7/25) - Calves & Quads

Warm-up: 3 minutes bike, level 15

Calf Raises on Leg Press
270,15; 410,10; ***590,17; 320,21***

Leg Press
270,15; 410,5; 590,5; 720,5; ***900,5; 450,22***

Today was a great workout. Tiring, but great! I should be pushing well over 1000lbs for multiple reps in no time. In fact, the sled weighs a little over 100lbs. So, I'm doing that already anyways, but I only count the weight of the plates. Next week is going to be pretty killer with me lightening the weight. I'm going to REALLY be sucking wind then!

The diet is going really well. I wasn't really hungry until 7PM last night and it was around 7:30 that we ate next. Here's what I've eaten so far this morning:

6:30am-9:30am (Had some big work interruptions in between)
6 Whole Eggs
1/2 cup Shredded Cheese
1 TSP Coconut Oil
5 oz Chicken Breast
12 Red Cherries
1.5 cups Oatmeal
1 cup 1% Milk
1 Strawberry Greek Yogart Cup
1 tsp Raw Sugar
1/2 cup Sliced Almonds
1.5 cups Raw Power Greens Mix
***Fat-102g, Pro-97g, Cho-86, Cal-1650***

Won't be eating again until 7:30 PM. I'll be taking body measurements this evening as well.

 

[supermanjow]

THINGS ARE GOING TO GET A BIT MORE INTERESTING STARTING TOMORROW:

 

[Bigcountry08]

THINGS ARE GOING TO GET A BIT MORE INTERESTING STARTING TOMORROW:

That stuffs crap, mail it to me and I will properly dispose of it for you....

 

[Nooshefx]

That stuffs crap, mail it to me and I will properly dispose of it for you....

That was kinda funny

 

[supermanjow]

Sorry guys. This ****s mine!

Day 5 - Shoulders, Bis, Tris - 20 min.

Today's workout had to get cut a little short, but it was still productive!

WU: 3 minutes biking, level 15
SHOULDERS: Barbell Upright Rows 95x5, 115x5, 135x5, ***145x5, 105x10, 75x20***
TRIS: Overhead Barbell Extensions 75x5, 85x5, 105x5, ***125x5***
BIS: Barbell Curls 75x5, 85x5, ***105x5, 125x1***

I didn't get my dimensions up last night, but I got them done and recorded this morning. However, I left my phone at the house. So, I'll have to post them tonight. I'm really happy with where I'm at though. It will be really interesting to see where things are at come Sept.

 

[supermanjow]

Ok. So here's this morning's measurements:

Neck:18.5
Shoulders:56
Waist:38.5
Chest:49
Hips:43
Thigh (R):26
Thigh (L):26
Calf (R):17
Calf (L):17
Upper Arm (R):17
Upper Arm (L):17
Forearm (R):13.5
Forearm (L):13.25

Body Weight:234.6

The reason I'm so happy with these measurements is that the last time I was this heavy, I had a 42" waist. 3.5" less is definitely something I can live with!

As for the IF diet, it's a little rough right now. When it gets to be good time, I'm so ravenous!! Being Friday and a payday, I pigged out a bit. But if there is any credence to the article, it shouldn't matter. We shall see. Here's what happens though when you gorge on Italian food when absolutely starving:

However, the vascularity from all those carbs was pretty sweet!

 

[Nooshefx]

Hilarious pictures. I almost spit my coffee out

 

[Bigcountry08]

You got to love the vascularity, there's just something so gratifying about veins popping.

 

[hvactech]

Your first workout lasted 20min?

 

[supermanjow]

Hilarious pictures. I almost spit my coffee out

I thought they were pretty funny too! I'm not planning on stuffing myself silly the rest of the month. I'm going to eat until full and if my calories get a little low of well.

You got to love the vascularity, there's just something so gratifying about veins popping.

I could feel more than the veins swelling. My muscles were literally getting pumped from the food alone. I was getting so much water going into my muscles that I was getting cotton mouth.

Your first workout lasted 20min?

All my workouts are 20-30 minutes long right now.

 

[supermanjow]

Day 6 - 7/29 - Back Chest

Alternating Sets
Neutral Grip Pullups (BW 226)
BW-70x10, BWx5, BW+25x5, BW+45x5, ***BW+55x5, BWx12***
Bench Press
135x10, 185x5, 225x5, 275x5, 315x5, ***325x3, 165x20***

Felt so good benching 315 for reps again! I was really impressed with the weighted pull-ups as well. It's nice knowing that if I didn't put on another lb of muscle, but did add another 55 lbs of fat I would still be able to hammer out 5 pull-ups. Not that I want to be that big. I'd look pretty silly at my height with that much weight in my frame.

Anyways, as far as the diet, this was a typical family get together weekend, so I ate what I wanted when I wanted. Wasn't a pig out fest, but they weren't diet days either. I'm tightening things up this week though. Today's food windows are only going to be an hour long. This morning's was from 730am to 830am. This is what I had:

1.25 cup Old Fashioned Oats
1 tbsp Demerara sugar
1/4 cup crushed walnuts
1/4 cup sliced almonds
13 raw dark cherries
1 cup 1% milk
5 soft boiled eggs

63g Protein
106g Carbs
66g Fat
1250 Calories

 

[supermanjow]

This morning's workout was short and sweet. Got in got it done and got out. Today's ham and calf routine was a repeat of last week's but the first working set was with 80% of last week's. this made for higher reps. Now, since I'm still building strength on my special brand of glute ham raises I wasn't able to follow my template for weight. I did them German volume style assisted at the bottom by doing push-ups. I'd take just enough of the weight off from my hams that I'd fail at ten reps. I had so much blood going to my hams that my quads were pumped.

Even though I'm only working out for such short bursts, I really think that I'm getting some good growth stimulation out of these workouts. The mix of heavy and light with three sets pushed as hard I as can push them is definitely doing something.

As for the diet, my body is adjusting. Last week, by the time it was time to eat I was feeling so weak that I'd get winded just caring my daughter in her car seat to and from the car. Now I'm feeling pretty steady through and through. There have been a couple of side effects that have hung on though. My water intake especially after meals has gone up considerably. I think that the depletion from fasting coupled with a massive influx of carbs and subsequent glycogen back into the muscle is pulling a ton of water into said muscles. I start feeling severe dry mouth. I'm also sweating more, but this could also be contributed to the fat burner I'm taking. I had to start my day with 64 oz of water prior to my workout followed by another 32 oz immediately after. Since then I've had another 112 oz during the day, which means I've already drank over 1.5 gal and today is the first day since starting this diet that I've actually felt hydrated. I imagine I'll have another almost gallon put down before the end of the day.

As for the supps, I'm liking the epi-tren!!! I'm feeling more pumped throughout the day, and I can tell that my strength is up because of it as well. I've never taken Epi before and I like it. I'm planning on getting my hands on some raws and running it with my inject trest in the near future. An idea I got from Polo. He says it makes a good compound even better!

 

[supermanjow]

Had a great session.

Bench - 135x10, 185x5, 225x5, ***225x23,9,8***
Pull-ups (bw) - ***223x17,7,6***

http://youtu.be/bUh0eu-fugc

http://youtu.be/RVD269CUeDI

 

[Nooshefx]

What program are you using to journal your training? That looks interesting

 

[supermanjow]

Gym hero on iPhone. I then take screen shots of its output and trim them with a photo editor.

 

[supermanjow]

In Laramie, WY all week and the gym is closed for maintenance all week. Oh well. The park has 13 exercise stations positioned 40-60 yards apart right by the jogging path. I'll hit them in the morning.

Did a light jogging workout this morning that quickly turned into walking.

2 1/2 sprints @ ~100 yds and a pulled right hammie forced me to call it good this evening.

 

[supermanjow]

Finally back at it. I believe today is officially DAY 9. Workout took 20 minutes to complete.

Dips (BW=230)
-100x10, -50x10, BWx5, +25x5, +50x5, ***+75x5***

TBar Rows (includes bar weight)
90x10, 135x10, 180x5, 225x5, 270x5, ***295x5***

Nice short blast. Will be hitting my first round of 335 to failure tomorrow on back squats. Should be fun!

 

[Nooshefx]

I was wondering if you would be coming back. In those 20 mins you get alot done.

 

[supermanjow]

Pushing hard! It's kinda fun doing HIT style workouts again.

 

[Bigcountry08]

Pushing hard! It's kinda fun doing HIT style workouts again.

I've dropped my routines down to 45-60 min each again. To me it's far more effective especially with a busy schedule, because you can't use the excuse of I don't have time cause it takes me 90- 120 min to do today's full routine.

 

[supermanjow]

I've dropped my routines down to 45-60 min each again. To me it's far more effective especially with a busy schedule, because you can't use the excuse of I don't have time cause it takes me 90- 120 min to do today's full routine.

If anything, my routines definitely show that there should be no excuse. What person can't find 30 minutes to hit it? I'm there done and back in 30. It's so easy! And I'm growing! Kind of hard to debate that.

 

[Bigcountry08]

If anything, my routines definitely show that there should be no excuse. What person can't find 30 minutes to hit it? I'm there done and back in 30. It's so easy! And I'm growing! Kind of hard to debate that.

I agree completely, I have always thought HIT training sounded interesting just could never get over the bodybuilding mentality of the more the better.

 

[supermanjow]

I agree completely, I have always thought HIT training sounded interesting just could never get over the bodybuilding mentality of the more the better.

Don't get me wrong, I'm the same way. I live training and I'd love to be able to put 2-3 hrs a day in the gym like I used to back in college. But when there is a necessity for shorter workouts, HIT is very effective!

Sick morning today. Woke up in the middle of the night with a VERY sore throat. Pounded some water, pseudophed, and Advil. Feeling better today. Throat's still a little scratchy and my nose is still a little stuffy, but worlds apart from yesterday and last night!

 

[supermanjow]

If there's anything you learn from my journal, it's that I've learned how to roll with the punches over the years. Some guys dictate their lives by their training schedule. I’ve learned how to let my life dictate my training and still make good gains. What this means is that I have tried TONS of different training schemes over the years both out of the box one’s from the top trainers as well as my own creations based upon what I’ve learned from them. I’ve learned that periodization doesn’t have to be something that’s forced, but something that happens naturally as you live life. If that means I can only get in one to two full body workouts a week, then that’s what I’ll take. If that means I can do a full hour volume workout, then that’s what I’ll take. Right now, I get 30 minutes a day 3-5 days a week. That’s it. But guess what, I’m still growing. In order to be successful in training AND the other aspects of life, you need to make sacrifices and smart compromises. Like Bruce Lee said, “Be water.” That’s my main training philosophy.

As I said above, my current training schedule is 30 minutes, 3-5 days a week. Somedays, that includes drive time. So, I hit my muscle HIT style using 531 to determine my poundages and progression. I then do two auxiliary exercises in a rest pause fashion. My workout usually takes 20 minutes to complete. This week I’m maxing out. Today was Overhead Press and Bench Press.

Overhead Press - 135x10, 155x1, 175x1, 195x1, ***215x1***
Bench Press - 315x1, 335x1, 355x1, 365x1(super easy), ***385x1*** PR!!!

I can’t believe how easy 365 was. 355 actually went up harder. 365 was like feather weight. I bet I could have repped 3-4 times with how easy it went up. So, I put on my big girl panties and REALLY went for it. 385 was a struggle, but I got it locked out! Things are going to be fun!

 

[Sean1332]

Bench PR after heavy ass shoulder pressing?

You are Superman!

 

[Nooshefx]

Bench PR after heavy ass shoulder pressing?

You are Superman!

Congratulations! Your getting stronger fast!

 

[supermanjow]

Bench PR after heavy ass shoulder pressing?

You are Superman!

I read a research article a while back that attempted to determine how certain muscle groups effect each other in terms of strength. Like does working back first weaken pressing, etc. It came out this way:

Shoulders -> Chest -> Back -> Arms
Quads -> Hams -> Calves

So, if you reverse the order, the weakening of that muscle group negatively effects the strength in exercises for the other groups. In other words, lifting chest then back shouldn't effect your weights, but lifting back then chest will negatively impact pressing strength.

This may not be true for everyone, but I've tried it out and sure enough it was true for me. In other words, shoulder pressing has never seemed to impact my bench much if at all.

Congratulations! Your getting stronger fast!

That's what happens everytime I start training HIT style. I get strong real quick. It feels REALLY good.

 

[supermanjow]

Got my new maxes in place.

YESTERDAY
Standing Overhead Press - 215x1
Bench Press - 385x1

TODAY
Squats - 495x1
Deadlift - 545x1

Next week the program continues.

 

[Sean1332]

Strong ass lifts

 

[supermanjow]

Strong ass lifts

Thanks bud! It's been a good week. Goals (just a little outside of realistic, but aim high!!!) 435 bench, 600 squat, and 650 dead by Christmas.

 

[supermanjow]

 

[Nooshefx]

Strong ass lifts

Exactly! Those numbers are very impressive.

 

[supermanjow]

Exactly! Those numbers are very impressive.

Thanks man!!!

 

[supermanjow]

Never fails that I get towards the end of a cycle and things get crazy at home or work. I'll post a more complete update tomorrow. Here's the cliff notes rundown:

Diet - bulking week 2
Training - 531 W2 D1 - Overhead Press 175x9, Bench Press 310x8
Supps - killer even at a low dose!!!

 

[supermanjow]

Squats - 400x9
Felt a little shaky at first, but things smoothed out as the set progressed. I could definitely tell it had been over a week since my last leg workout.
http://youtu.be/ih99moe_ey4

Deads - 440x8
I could have pulled 9, but my back was feeling pretty tight from the squats. I forgot my chalk at home so I opted for straps instead. I'm going to be doing these strapless from here on out.
http://youtu.be/v6iPznxvOTE

 

[Nooshefx]

You are looking a lot different now compared to those pics you posted 2 months ago after you went carb crazy. Fun to follow along

 

[supermanjow]

You are looking a lot different now compared to those pics you posted 2 months ago after you went carb crazy. Fun to follow along

Filling in and filling out in a good way. I'm not too terribly concerned about bodyfat right now though. I'm gonna just get as huge as possible. As long as the too abs are still visible, I'll be happy.