Masonmarin's First Training Log, IF / DC style Bulk!!

Yeah DC training is pretty interesting, Distilled Water is logging it himself atm too.. Btw cals today came in at 3105.
 
Did 30 mins of LISS/MISS cardio today with a 10 min ab session and 10 minutes in the sonna. Burn day today cals will be kept in the 2k-2200 range.

Edit: Total cals today were right around 2100.
 
Workout 3A
Incline DB Press 55lbs
20RP

Hammer Strength Shoulder Press 1 plate x 35 each side
12RP

Skull Crushers 55 lbs
17RP

Reverse Grip Late Pulldowns 120 lbs
27RP

Reverse Grip BB Row 115 lbs
12 reps straight set
30 second rest
6 reps straight set
 
I'd rest a little longer on your ss's. You want to be fresh. You also want to add weight. So say 115 for 12, then do 135-45 for 6-ish.
 
Frank Reynolds said:
I'd rest a little longer on your ss's. You want to be fresh. You also want to add weight. So say 115 for 12, then do 135-45 for 6-ish.
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Sounds good man, rest maybe 90-120 seconds second then? add 10 lbs and hit it hard. Thanks for the advice, appreciate it!
 
Sounds good guys, still learning how to tune it all, thanks.
 
Calories up to my last meal were at 2940 247p 305c, then I had a little bit of chicken, salad and some broccoli cheese soup my family was having. Totals probably came in somewhere around 3150.
 
Workout 3B

DB Alternating Curls 30lbs 21RP

Reverse Grip Ez Bar curls 40lbs 23RP

Seated Calf Raises 45lbs x10 DC

Standing Leg Curls 35lbs 18 RP

Hack Squats
230lbs x8
140lbs Widowmaker, had to take a few couple second rests to make it to 20 did 12 x 4 x 4 resting for 5-8 seconds in between will try to imrpove this next time.. but boy I could barely even walk after haha going nice and deep on these.

Excited for upcoming workouts now that I went through one round of DC. Excited to improve and beat previous lifts now that I am logging my lifts, should be alot of fun!!

Cals today will be around 3200.. Cooking pasta and chicken breast as we speak xD. Dads birthday too so I might sneak in a little cake :P.
 
Haha yeah I def had some cake, and brownie.. cals prob came in a little over then expected but its all good xD. Burn day tomorrow gonna wake up and do some fasted cardiooo.
 
Looking good, my man. From what I understand, I dont think you did anything wrong with the widowmakers with that hack squat. As long as you keep the weight unracked you're good to go. Honestly if you can knock out 20 reps piston style you're using a weight that's too low... or you're stacking meth and epo.
 
Torobestia said:
Looking good, my man. From what I understand, I dont think you did anything wrong with the widowmakers with that hack squat. As long as you keep the weight unracked you're good to go. Honestly if you can knock out 20 reps piston style you're using a weight that's too low... or you're stacking meth and epo.
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Haha thanks man, yeah next time I will prolly throw on a few more lbs.. giving everything you got to make 20 reps feels pretty rewarding when you finish.
 
masonmarin18 said:
Haha thanks man, yeah next time I will prolly throw on a few more lbs.. giving everything you got to make 20 reps feels pretty rewarding when you finish.
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Maybe jump up to 155 next time. The way you grinded them out is how a widow is supposed to be done so good job.
 
Hack squat was one of the worst exercises for me (in a good way). I think when I did free squats what got me was a lack of oxygen, and either weak points, or my will, breaking down (if I missed my 20). With hack squats, it's all about that pain and overcoming it.
 
Torobestia said:
Hack squat was one of the worst exercises for me (in a good way). I think when I did free squats what got me was a lack of oxygen, and either weak points, or my will, breaking down (if I missed my 20). With hack squats, it's all about that pain and overcoming it.
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Haha yeah free weight is def hard.. I ran out of breath real quick.. but anything that hard must be working right? :P

Frank Reynolds said:
Maybe jump up to 155 next time. The way you grinded them out is how a widow is supposed to be done so good job.
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Thanks! Just tryna to put some meat on my bones haha.
 
35 Minutes of fasted LISS today.. I think I need to up my cals a little bit I'm only up 1 pound in 2 weeks, even though my abs are slowing fading. Will probably try and hit minimum 3200 on build and up the cals / carbs on burn days a bit.
 
masonmarin18 said:
35 Minutes of fasted LISS today.. I think I need to up my cals a little bit I'm only up 1 pound in 2 weeks, even though my abs are slowing fading. Will probably try and hit minimum 3200 on build and up the cals / carbs on burn days a bit.
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Bro, 2lbs of muscle mass in one month is solid natural gains
 
Distilled Water said:
Bro, 2lbs of muscle mass in one month is solid natural gains
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Yeah I know but I want to make sure I gain another pound in this 2 weeks I have been up 1 pound since last week so if I just up cals by 1-200 I think that will be fine. I am only aiming for 2-3 lbs a month, not talking about upping the cals drastically but just a touch. I also need to invest in a digital scale or something to weigh in at home, I got to 2 diff gyms and the scales fluctuate about 2 lbs difference, would be a bit easier just to weigh in on the same scale when I wake up after taking a piss lol.
 
Distilled Water said:
I got to two gyms also. During prep, I weighed in for am cardio at like 185, went to the other for pm cardio and I was 172! I was like, wtf?!?!? Geniuses at the 2nd gym lol.
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Holy fck thats a bigg difference lmao! 13 pounds difference.. that must mess with alot of peoples heads who don't know that scale is off lmao.
 
Workout went very well today. I went up in weight and reps in every exercise. DC is starting to feel good, I get pissed that I only have 1 set (3 RP sets) to fatigue the muscle so I go as hard as I can.. people lookin at me while I am gruntin out 2 more reps when most people would quit 3-4 reps ago.. I'm like stuck there for awhile takes literally like 10 seconds to get it up sometimes with max effort.. but damn I feel good after.

Workout 1A
Flat DB Press - 55lbs(+5lbs) 25RP
Matched the same amount of reps but added 5 lbs.

Shoulder Smith Press - 115lbs(+10lbs) 22RP
Matched the same amount of reps again but added 10lbs. This was funny because I actually thought I loaded 105lbs and I was trying to increase my reps. Getting pissed off while doing my set I pushed out 22 total reps, to find out after I added 10 lbs.. so was pretty happy after that lol.

Wide Reverse Grip Smith Bench Press - 105lbs(+10lbs) 25RP
+3 reps and +10 lbs.

Hammer Strength Lat Pull downs - 2 plates(+20lbs each side) 26RP
Added 20lbs total reps were only down by 4.

Deadlifts
235x6 SS (+10lbs +2rep)
245x3 SS (+20lbs)

Happy with this workout, now time to eat like an animal :D.
 
Good job man. Remember this piece of advice. Once your form breaks down, the set is OVER. It is very easy to get sloppy(dangerous) when trying to beat the log book. We don't want to get an extra rep at the expense of injury.

Next time you hit Deads I might leave the weight alone and try to beat your reps. Or a VERY small increase(2.5lb/side) and try and beat them.
 
Frank Reynolds said:
Good job man. Remember this piece of advice. Once your form breaks down, the set is OVER. It is very easy to get sloppy(dangerous) when trying to beat the log book. We don't want to get an extra rep at the expense of injury.

Next time you hit Deads I might leave the weight alone and try to beat your reps. Or a VERY small increase(2.5lb/side) and try and beat them.
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Yeah, injury would be awful. I make sure to keep my posture / form steady but I fckin push hard lol. Deadlifts were pretty heavy. Will probably just try to beat reps next time. Everything else landed in the 20-30 RP range so I think I will add weight to those.
 
Workout 1B

Straight BB Curl - 75lbs(+20lbs) 20RP
(previous 55x30)

Hammer Curls - 35lbsx13 SS(+5lbs)
(previous 30x14)

Standing Calve Raises - 110lbsx10DC(+10lbs)
(previous 90x10)

Lying Leg Curls - 65lbsx19RP(+10lbs)
(previous 55x23)

Squats -
205lbs x 9 (previous 185x8) (+20lbs)
155x20 (previous 135x20) (+20lbs)

Workout went well, strength still going up.. had about 1700 cals post workout.. ended my eating tonight at 11:30pm which is really late but just the way it had to be today unless I ate more cals pre workout.. but I like saving them for post. Legs were still a little sore from mondays workout lol but when I was in the gym they were feelings just fine.
 
Workout 2A

Decline BB Bench - 165 lbs same weight
165x15RP +2 reps

Shoulder DB Press - 55lbs same weight
55x17RP +1

Close Grip Smith bench- 135lbs same weight - a little note though I tryed to up this by 10 pounds and it just felt way to heavy, so I know it back down to 2-3 min rest to refresh and only hit the same amount of reps as last time ;x.
135x17RP

Rack Chins- I switched rack chins in for wide grip pullups, so this is my first time doing the exercise and they felt rly good!
BW+30lbsx22RP

Hammer Strength Rows- 2platesx10 +10lbs, 25RP
+10lbs +2 reps

Energy was pretty good today, but I feel like I didn't push it as hard as last time I did this workout.. maybe it was just an off day.. I beat all the exercises (barely) besides the close grip smith bench.. I guess if next time I don't do better I will have to switch up some exercises.. even though I believe its a little early for that so hopefully I won't have too.

Total calories for today were 3300, clean tons of protein around 50g fat rest carbs.
 
Workout 2B

Ez Bar Wide Grip Curls
60lbsx21 RP +2 reps +5 lbs

Pinwheel Curls
30sx12 SS +5 lbs

Seated Leg Curl
100lbsx22RP +10 lbs +2 reps

Leg Press Calve Extensions
4platesx20lbs +20lbs 12DC Reps

Leg Press
10platesx20 lbs 7 Reps SS +20lbs
6 platesx21 Widowmaker, last time I struggled to do these 20, had to rack the weight for a few seconds, this time I pushed them all out without racking weight just taking breaks in lockout position.

Overall workout went pretty well.. didn't have a gym buddy today so workout was fast and intense because I didn't have to wait on my gym partner to do his sets. Total cals for the day ended at 3300.
 
Workout 3A

Incline DB Press - 60lbs +5lbs - 18RP
previous:55x20RP

Hammer strength shoulder press - 1platex35lbs same weight - 13RP +1 Rep
previous:1platex35 12RP

Skullcrushers - 60lbs - +10lbs - 12RP
Previous: 50x17RP

Reverse Grip Lat Pulldowns - 130lbs +10lbs - 25RP
Previous 120lbs x 27RP

Reverse Grip BB Row -
Previous:115x12 115x8 no rest.

This time took rest to recover and added weight like I was supposed to.
115x18 +6 reps, 2 min rest, 135x10 SS

I don't know how much I should be progressing on some of these lifts.. the hammer strength shoulder press weight I started with is heavy, and just doing the full range of motion getting it up is rough.. I only went up 1 rep from last time.. incline dumbell press, lat pulldowns, and reverse bb rows seems like decent progression, I don't know if I should be expecting things like this every time? Doesn't really seem realistic. Skullcrushers I added 10lbs lost 5 reps and shoulder press I progressed 1 rep.

Any advice would be appreciated thanks guys.
 
On the hammer shoulder press, rather then sub it out what I personally would do is this. "reset it" Drop the weight so you are in the 20-25rp range. Then begin adding small jumps each time, trying to fight for reps. Over time the reps will come down. I find it easier to progress like that. Once you are down towards the bottom of the rep range(11-13) especially if you are natural, it becomes hard to dig out.

That said adding 1 rep to your shoulder press is decent progress.

So this might mean dropping it to 1plate on each side, maybe 1 and a 10. Just repping the **** out of it. Then depending on how many you get would dictate your jump next time.

Some movements 10lbs is a big jump. Adding 10lbs to a squat isn't ****, but adding 10lbs to a curl/skullcrusher in a week is a significant increase. Learn to use the 2.5s. With 17rp last week, if you used the 2.5's you might have eeeked out 16-17 or so this week, and that would have been a 5lb increase.

Sometimes making aggressive jumps is good, but they are more then likely going to be on squats, deads, etc. Lifts that are more about mental toughness than sheer failure.
 
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masonmarin18 said:
Any advice would be appreciated thanks guys.
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Hey man. Looks like you're finding that weight range that's really challenging now.

I think your incline and shoulder presses are going well. I think you're still fine if you drop the rep range on the incline bench as long as you're moving up in weight. I would keep it around 15-20, though, unless someone else has a differing opinion. Shoulder is right on point. And remember at any time, you can chase rep progression, or weight progression - key is just making progression.

I would definitely stop adding weight to the skullcrushers, though. They're somewhat of a special exercise that should be kept in the higher rep ranges. So, start trying to beat rep PRs with that, and when you add weight just add 5lbs (2.5lb per side).

You got tons of wiggle room on those lat pulldowns, so keep adding weight.

For BB rows, I know you were sort of playing around, but you kind of attacked the set wrong by doing it 3-4 times. Here's a suggestion. I would actually work up to your really balls-to-the-wall set first before hitting the lower rep set. When you get to that toughest, heaviest set, hit your reps, and keep most of the reps with great form. And when you just absolutely can't row 1 more rep with that form, maybe cheat a couple more reps (don't go performing cleans, though, lol), and then shut it down. Afterwards, rest 3-5 minutes, and hit a set with lower weight for more reps. I would keep this set pretty strict. And then that's it.
 
Frank Reynolds said:
On the hammer shoulder press, rather then sub it out what I personally would do is this. "reset it" Drop the weight so you are in the 20-25rp range. Then begin adding small jumps each time, trying to fight for reps. Over time the reps will come down. I find it easier to progress like that. Once you are down towards the bottom of the rep range(11-13) especially if you are natural, it becomes hard to dig out.

So this might mean dropping it to 1plate on each side, maybe 1 and a 10. Just repping the **** out of it. Then depending on how many you get would dictate your jump next time.

Some movements 10lbs is a big jump. Adding 10lbs to a squat isn't ****, but adding 10lbs to a curl/skullcrusher in a week is a significant increase. Learn to use the 2.5s. With 17rp last week, if you used the 2.5's you might have eeeked out 16-17 or so this week, and that would have been a 5lb increase.

Sometimes making aggressive jumps is good, but they are more then likely going to be on squats, deads, etc. Lifts that are more about mental toughness than sheer failure.
Click to expand...


That makes alot of sense frank thanks, I probably just started too heavy on the shoulder press and I shoulda been using the ez curl bar to load weight on, instead I was using the ones that have 10 lb incriments. I assume those bars are like 15lbs right?
 
Torobestia said:
Hey man. Looks like you're finding that weight range that's really challenging now.

I think your incline and shoulder presses are going well. I think you're still fine if you drop the rep range on the incline bench as long as you're moving up in weight. I would keep it around 15-20, though, unless someone else has a differing opinion. Shoulder is right on point. And remember at any time, you can chase rep progression, or weight progression - key is just making progression.

I would definitely stop adding weight to the skullcrushers, though. They're somewhat of a special exercise that should be kept in the higher rep ranges. So, start trying to beat rep PRs with that, and when you add weight just add 5lbs (2.5lb per side).

You got tons of wiggle room on those lat pulldowns, so keep adding weight.

For BB rows, I know you were sort of playing around, but you kind of attacked the set wrong by doing it 3-4 times. Here's a suggestion. I would actually work up to your really balls-to-the-wall set first before hitting the lower rep set. When you get to that toughest, heaviest set, hit your reps, and keep most of the reps with great form. And when you just absolutely can't row 1 more rep with that form, maybe cheat a couple more reps (don't go performing cleans, though, lol), and then shut it down. Afterwards, rest 3-5 minutes, and hit a set with lower weight for more reps. I would keep this set pretty strict. And then that's it.
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I think you read the way I did BB rows wrong, I started with my previous weight, added 5 reps, then rested for 2-3 mins added 20 lbs and went again. Both sets strict form, I never do a cheating rep I just try to squeeze the fck out of the reps lol. If I ever do a partial rep or spotted rep it doesn't go in the log book, thanks for all the advice tho!
 
masonmarin18 said:
That makes alot of sense frank thanks, I probably just started too heavy on the shoulder press and I shoulda been using the ez curl bar to load weight on, instead I was using the ones that have 10 lb incriments. I assume those bars are like 15lbs right?
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They're usually about 15-19lb. I've only ever seen 17s and 19s. The 19s are usually have pretty thick handles and very nice V angles, whereas the 17s are usually chrome-looking, thin handles. Probably wont make a difference, you could just track the weight on the bar. IT's like when I use machines, I dont measure the weight of hte sled/carriage/arms/etc., just what's on the machine.
 
Frank Reynolds said:
I think about that.

Do you do your skulls on a bench or the floor?
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I do them on a bench, with my butt off of it. So top half of my body on the bench, slowly bring to behind head, lightly touch the bench, and then back up.
 
Torobestia said:
They're usually about 15-19lb. I've only ever seen 17s and 19s. The 19s are usually have pretty thick handles and very nice V angles, whereas the 17s are usually chrome-looking, thin handles. Probably wont make a difference, you could just track the weight on the bar. IT's like when I use machines, I dont measure the weight of hte sled/carriage/arms/etc., just what's on the machine.
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Yeah but I go to 2 different gyms, and 1 gym has the thick handles you speak of and the other one has the thin lol.
 
masonmarin18 said:
I think you read the way I did BB rows wrong, I started with my previous weight, added 5 reps, then rested for 2-3 mins added 20 lbs and went again. Both sets strict form, I never do a cheating rep I just try to squeeze the fck out of the reps lol. If I ever do a partial rep or spotted rep it doesn't go in the log book, thanks for all the advice tho!
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I did read it wrong, my bad. I see you said "previous best."
 
masonmarin18 said:
Yeah but I go to 2 different gyms, and 1 gym has the thick handles you speak of and the other one has the thin lol.
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Well there you have it, 17 and 19lbs. You can also weigh yourself twice, once just you, the other with you holding the bar, then subtract (can also just put the bar on the scale, lol).
 
Workout 3B

DB Alternating Curls - 30lbs x29RP +8reps

Reverse Grip Ez Bar curls - 60lbs x14SS +10lbs

Seated Calf Raises - 55 lbs +10lbs 10 reps DC style

Standing Leg curls - 35lbs 28RP +10 reps

Hack Squats - 240lbs x8 SS +10lbs
145x20 +5lbs

End of 2nd cycle, gonna go for 1-2 more cycles then deload and might switch up routine, been fun so far though.
 
Some pretty good progress. +8-10 reps is a lot.

Stick to DC for a good 8-12 months MINIMUM. Don't be a routine jumper..heh It is a quick way to make slow progress. JMO.
 
Frank Reynolds said:
Some pretty good progress. +8-10 reps is a lot.

Stick to DC for a good 8-12 months MINIMUM. Don't be a routine jumper..heh It is a quick way to make slow progress. JMO.
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Thanks for the compliment frank! And yeah I am going to have to decide if I want to stay with this routine, but I am really thinking about switching to max OT training for the next 4 months. It just seems more my style, either way the one I choose I will be sticking with for awhile.. 4-6 months.

Btw I hit a set of chest today because I seen my friend at the gym, my shoulder is giving me problems now, and my elbows have been really sensitive lately, they hurt when I was resting them on the standing leg curl pads today and they hurt when I am resting them on my car door while driving.. Do you reccomend any good joint supps? If the shoulder isn't better by wednesday or workout 1A I think it may be time to deload.
 
No workout today, letting my shoulder heal up.
 
Alright guys I took a week off from gym totally so that was my deload, back to blasting! I increased on everything besides the wide grip smith bench.. tryed to up the weight was way to heavy, tryed to drop it back down still was too heavy idk what was going on.. looks like its time to switch out that workout.

Workout 1A
Flat DB Press - 60lbs x25RP +5lbs

Shoulder Smith Press - 120lbs x24RP +5lbs +2reps

Wide Grip reverse Smith Bench - did a set of 115 x7 for +10lbs too heavy, took a rest droped it back to 110+5lbs from last time where I did 105x25, only hit it 7 times and I was like fck it. Went over to the tricep pulldowns with a upside down V bar? Don't know what its called lol.

Tricep pulldowns
110x10 SS
130x10 SS
150x5 SS

Hammer Strength Lat Pulldowns - 2plates x5 lbs +5lbs each arm 27RP, +5lbs +2 reps.

Deadlifts
240x6 SS +5lbs same reps
245x4 SS same weight as 2nd set last time +1rep

Did 1 set of Smith Machine shrugs with 95lbs holding at the top for 10 seconds
95lbsx8 SS

Overall workout went well, not sure what happened with the wide grip reverse smith bench but oh well. Calories for today were around 34-3500.
 
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