Toro's quest for Strength and Shred

[Torobestia]

**NO MUSCLE MARINADE TODAY! IN FOR DISASTER**

FRIDAY 01/06/12

A1 SPLIT

INCLINED BENCH
245-3,2,1-6 rp
PHAT Negs plus long static at end
Wow awful lmao!!

**DC stretch on incline with dbs**

WIDE GRIP UPRIGHT ROWS
175-7,4,2
Good Negatives plus static at end

**DC stretch for delts**

DIPS
80-6,4,0-10 rp
negatives plus static at end
Rofl I ****ing hate not having muscle marinade

**DC stretch for triceps**

HAMMER STRENGTH ISO LATERAL HIGH ROW
430-8,3,2-13 rp
Great negs plus static at end
omg the pump on this is insane

RACK PULLS
555-1<-- seriously **** every preworkout ever made besides muscle marinade
495-12

**DC stretch for back**

FACE PULLS
140-17,8,5
Rest paused with negatives, had to make this workout quick

So today I was completely out of my normal preworkout powder, Muscle Marinade, and had to go to my samples baggie to get something I could use. I remember having had SuperpumpMaxx and liking it, so I gave it a shot, using 2 servings, alongside my bulk LCLT (even though SPMaxx has LCLT in it). Man, I might as well have poured salt in water and called it a day - it did NOTHING for me this workout. My workout was horrible, and I was supremely taxed doing anything. This preWO gets a 1/10 in my book. And it doesn't even give me any pumps - Muscle Marinade feels like it's tearing my skin open, and it's not even marketted as a pump product.

 

[Torobestia]

SUNDAY 01/08/12

B1 SPLIT

BARBELL CURLS
135-6,2,2-10 rp
PHAT negatives plus static at end

PINWHEEL CURLS
85-10
Everything sucked so hard on this, wtf

**DC stretches for biceps**
Bicep pump from hell

DC CALF PRESSES
+360-12
15 sec hold

SEATED HAMSTRING CURLS
???-8,4,2-14 rp
Negatives plus static at end
Diff machine, can't really tell what the weight is

HACK SQUATS (weight minus carriage) similar to old machine
370-5 <-- good depth
280-20

**DC stretches for hams and quads**

**GIANT SET**
HANGING AB RIPPER 12,10,10
LEG RAISES 20x3

Again, no Muscle Marinade today. I used 2 packs of Maniac and 4 pills of motivate. It was pretty ok. I definitely had motivation from the motivate, but I just don't have the drive to pummel my muscle into submission like I do with MM, except it did help me hit my goal on the hack squats. And really that's all that matters this workout

 

[Torobestia]

WEDNESDAY 01/11/12

A2 SPLIT

FLAT BENCH
265-6,2,1-9 rp + 1fr
PHAT Negatives plus static at end.
SO CLOSE to 10 rp. Weight felt much better but shoulder was bad

**DC stretch for chest**
Awesome stretch

STANDING MILITARY PRESS
155-6,2,1-9 rp
PHAT negatives plus static at enD
Much more accurate depiction

**DC stretches for delts**
Really great stretch for once.

SMITH JM PRESS
182-8,3,2-13 rp
4-5 sec Negatives, static at end
**** this pump hurts like hell

**DC stretch for triceps**

WIDE GRIP LAT PULLDOWNS
210-8,4,2-14 rp
PHAT Negatives plus static at end

DEADLIFTS
505-3 <--Naked reps, reset each time. Used hook grip making sure to envelop my thumb in my entire hand. Fckin perfect
435-6

**DC stretch for back**

Really awesome workout. Things were all great. I think that even though I didn't hit 10rp on the bench, I may still move up in weight just so I'm not stalling. If I don't hit the right rep range that's ok as I'll reset down after this blast is over, and at that point I should be able to nail it np. I've always had somewhat of an issue putting on reps on exercises - normally I solve this by going up in weight, lol. Plus, this set I used some nasty negatives, and I had my pecs constantly under tension - no break at the top. Man, everything was hit so well. And my deadlift, well, I had a little bit of of an extended pause during the first two reps as I had to work out a foot cramp mid set, but that didn't take more than 20 seconds so it's ok. The third rep was really clean anyways - woulda even been better had I had more in the tank for my grip. I gotta say, I am really loving the hook grip. I don't think I can go back to alternating grip after this.

 

[Torobestia]

Woops, let this log slide quite a bit as well. I had a bad case of bicep tendonitis 2 weeks ago and just started lifting again last week. Anyways, lets bring the log back again!

---------------

MONDAY 02/13/12

A1 SPLIT

INCLINED BENCH
215-10,3,1-14 rp
PHAT Negs plus long static at end
HAMMERED!!!

**DC stretch on incline with dbs**

WIDE GRIP UPRIGHT ROWS
135-10,5,3-18 rp
Good Negatives plus static at end

**DC stretch for delts**

DIPS
35-11,3,2-15 rp
Good negatives plus great static at end
Holy eff this hurts the triceps

**DC stretch for triceps**

HAMMER STRENGTH ISO LATERAL HIGH ROW
400-8,4,2-14 rp
Great negs plus static at end
I think I set chair too high bc I didn't get as much of a back pump as usual

SNATCH GRIP RACK PULLS
495-6 <-- wrist wraps
445-12 <-- wrist wraps

**DC stretch for back**

FACE PULLS
130-18,8,5-31 rp

------------

WEDNESDAY 02/15/12

B1 SPLIT

BARBELL CURLS
105-8,4,2-14 rp
PHAT negatives plus static at end

PINWHEEL CURLS
70-12

**DC stretches for biceps**
Bicep pump from hell

DC CALF PRESSES
+320-12
15 sec hold

LYING HAMSTRING CURLS
150-8,4,2-14 rp
Negatives plus static at end

HACK SQUATS (weight minus carriage)
350-5 <-- Rofl a little deep on some of these almost passed out
260-20

**DC stretches for hams and quads**

**SUPERSET THE BELOW**
HANGING AB RIPPER 12x3
HIP ABD 150-15x3
LEG RAISES 20x3

--------------

FRIDAY 02/17/12

A2 SPLIT

FLAT BENCH
245-8,3,2-13 rp
PHAT Negatives plus static at end.

**DC stretch for chest**
Awesome stretch

STANDING MILITARY PRESS
125-8,3,2-13 rp
PHAT negatives plus static at end


**DC stretches for delts**
Really great stretch again!

EZ BAR SKULLCRUSHERS
79.5-11,4,2-17 rp
4-5 sec Negatives, long static at end
**** this pump hurts like hell

**DC stretch for triceps**

WIDE GRIP LAT PULLDOWNS
200-8,4,2+1-14 rp plus fr
PHAT Negatives plus static at end

DEADLIFTS
495-3 <--- naked lift. 3rd rep I came forward waaayyy too much but finished without grinding
435-7 <-- naked reps. Pretty good form but last one some curving

**DC stretch for back**

----------------

MONDAY 02/19/12

B2 SPLIT

SEATED ALT DB CURLS
50-10,5,3-18 rp
PHAT negs plus hella long static

REVERSE GRIP CABLE CURLS
140-20

**DC stretch for biceps**
Pumps straight from hell

DC HACK SQUAT CALF PRESS
340-12
15 sec hold
Massive calf pump

GHR
BW-8,4,2-14 rp
PHAT negatives
Improved my form on these drastically. Straight throughout motion. Sick pkc pump

STANDING LEG PRESS
12+10-12<-- spaghetti!!
9+25-20

**DC stretch for quads and hams**
God...

STANDING AB CURLS
150-15,15,15

LEG LIFTS
20x3

 

[SweetLou321]

Holy crap I dont know what half that means lol static what? Good numbers none the less

 

[Torobestia]

Holy crap I dont know what half that means lol static what? Good numbers none the less

Thanks, bro! I just use static for short for static hold, where bring the weight a few inches down from full extension and hold it for as long as I can. Most of the time I can only do it for about 8 seconds. If it's longer I note it. Biceps I can usually do a static hold for a long time, like 15 seconds. And for the leg press (standing or seated) the numbers just represent the number of plates on there, and at some point I usually go back and edit in the actual weight. Rp means rest paused. Lastly, fr just means a forced rep. I think that's about it, lol.

 

[SweetLou321]

Gotcha, now i can understand what you doing better.

 

[Torobestia]

TUESDAY 02/21/12

A3 SPLIT

DECLINE BENCH
275-7+1,4,2-13 rp plus 1 fr
FAT negatives plus long static at end
Left arm flying everywhere, flaring too fast

**DC stretch for chest**

SEATED BB PRESS
135-10+1,3,2-15 rp
FAT Negatives and great static at end

**DC stretch for delts**

CLOSE GRIP BENCH
185-11,3,1-14 rp
Fat Negatives plus static at end
Tight form

**DC stretch for triceps**

BENT OVER ROWS
315-8 <-- naked reps. Pretty happy about my form on most of this
275-11 <-- second pause during full contraction

TBAR NARROW (weight on bar)
170-7,4,2-13 rp
PHAT negatives

**DC stretch for back hanging on lat pulldown**

 

[Torobestia]

FRIDAY 02/24/12

B3 SPLIT

SEATED EZ CURLS 19.5
89.5-11,4,2-17 rp
Fat Negatives. Long static. Ridiculous pump can't even wipe sweat off face

HAMMER CURLS
60-12
Forearms aching like ****!

**DC stretches for biceps**
Arms destroyed

DC SEATED CALF RAISES
135-12
15 sec holds and negatives

FULL SQUATS
365-5 <-- that there was max effort wtf
275-17 flew backwards on 18th lol

**DC stretches for hams, and quads*

STANDING ROPE AB CURL
150-15,15

LEG RAISES
20,20

I really don't know about this workout. Just 2 weeks ago I did 365 5x5 while cruising no problem, except for a grinder on the last rep of the last set. This was horribly hard. This was not a mind intensity problem - I was pushing hard with my muscles and it was rough. Not only did it feel rough that day, but this weekend I had horrible hamstring DOMS. It actually was very encouraging, but I just don't know what gives for the big drop in strength. I don't know if it was me dive-bombing the squats that wore my hammies out - I know that the faster you drop on the squat, the more you load the hamstrings, so it's possible this was the cause. When I box squat I do it much more slowly.

 

[Torobestia]

MONDAY 02/27/12

A1 SPLIT

INCLINED BENCH
225-7+1,3,2-12 rp + 1 fr
PHAT Negs plus long static at end
HAMMERED!!!

**DC stretch on incline with dbs**


WIDE GRIP UPRIGHT ROWS
145-9,4,3-16 rp
Good Negatives plus static at end

**DC stretch for delts**

DIPS
45-10,4,1-15 rp
Good negatives plus great static at end
Holy eff this hurts the triceps

**DC stretch for triceps**

HAMMER STRENGTH ISO LATERAL HIGH ROW
400-9,4,2-15 rp
Great negs plus static at end
At least one maybe 2 holes above chair. Felt much better. Loving the back pumps

SNATCH GRIP RACK PULLS
505-6 <-- wrist wraps
455-12 <-- wrist wraps

**DC stretch for back**

FACE PULLS
130-20,8,5-33 rp

 

[Torobestia]

Woops, I just came back and realized I never posted a link to where I was continuing to post progress on my workout log. Was logging a product and forgot to post the link here. Anyways, the product (Erase Pro) ended back in late March/very early April, but I also stopped logging my workouts after that point.

Anyways, most important thing worth noting is I hit 315 for 20 reps on the squat! That was very exciting. Reps 14-17 were actually the hardest this time. Once I grinded past those I just hit the last 3 and said done! I did 405 as well on the squat and got a solid 3 reps. I wanted a 4th, but I didn't go for it. I actually can't remember what happened, but no doubt it was a leaning forward problem.

My flat bench also progressed very nicely this blast. I believe I hit 275 for 9 reps rest paused (but with long negatives), which is pretty nice. Deadlifts were 525x2, very clean reps; didn't want to attempt a 3rd so far into my blast when I had to deload immediately after.

Anyways, now I'm on a cruise phase where I cycle off of DC. I'll be doing some regular bodybuilding work along the lines of what I used to do prior to doing DC.

 

[Torobestia]

TOROS CRUISE DAY#1 04/18/12

SHOULDERS

STANDING OHP
165-3x3

PULLUPS
4x8 (4 sets of 8)
Really ****ed up my shoulder doing these, will not touch pullups for maybe another solid year. I'm tired of this hurting my shoulder so much when I try them. Felt like a bone was getting grinded down in my rotator cuff

LATERAL RAISES
Double pyramid set, 45 seconds apart each set, minute and a half rest between set of 40 and set of 25
25-12
30-10
35-8
40-6

FACE PULLS superset with BAND PULL-APARTS
120-16,16,14 // 20,20,20

V-TRICEP PULLDOWNS
80-20,20

-------------

TOROS CRUISE DAY #2 04/19/12

LEGS (SQUAT)

SAFETY SQUAT BAR SQUATS
295-6,8,8,8
2 minute rest between sets, first set was without a belt (testing the waters, seeing what weight felt challenging but not too heavy on the intensity)

STEP UPS (hip crease parallel to knees at bottom of step up)
+60-8,10,10,10

UNILATERAL LYING HAMSTRING CURLS
70-10,8,8

FEET TO CEILING LEG RAISES 3x12

LEG RAISES 3x20

 

[Torobestia]

TOROS CRUISE DAY #4 04/21/12

CHEST AND BACK

CHINUPS
3x7
Minute between sets

FLAT BENCH
275-4,4,4
2 minutes 30 seconds between sets

INCLINE BENCH
225-5,5,5
3-4 minutes between sets

TBAR WIDE-GRIP ROWS (weight on bar)
180-8,8,8
2-3 minutes rest between sets

DB ROWS
110-18,18

DIPS
35-10,9,9

Yesterday was an off day, completely. Today I definitely had what I'd consider a great workout. Clearly nailed what weight to work with today since I did everything with as many reps as I wanted to. The exception was dips - I did want to hit 3x10 but settled for 9 on the last two sets. Did not push to failure on anything. I was going to do another set of triceps, but I decided they felt really worked, and I'm not gonna overwork myself during a cruise, so I stopped after dips.

 

[HardCore1]

TOROS CRUISE DAY#1 04/18/12

SHOULDERS

STANDING OHP
165-3x3

PULLUPS
4x8 (4 sets of 8)
Really ****ed up my shoulder doing these, will not touch pullups for maybe another solid year. I'm tired of this hurting my shoulder so much when I try them. Felt like a bone was getting grinded down in my rotator cuff

LATERAL RAISES
Double pyramid set, 45 seconds apart each set, minute and a half rest between set of 40 and set of 25
25-12
30-10
35-8
40-6

FACE PULLS superset with BAND PULL-APARTS
120-16,16,14 // 20,20,20

V-TRICEP PULLDOWNS
80-20,20

-------------

TOROS CRUISE DAY #2 04/19/12

LEGS (SQUAT)

SAFETY SQUAT BAR SQUATS
295-6,8,8,8
2 minute rest between sets, first set was without a belt (testing the waters, seeing what weight felt challenging but not too heavy on the intensity)

STEP UPS (hip crease parallel to knees at bottom of step up)
+60-8,10,10,10

UNILATERAL LYING HAMSTRING CURLS
70-10,8,8

FEET TO CEILING LEG RAISES 3x12

LEG RAISES 3x20

Solid log once again bro! Sorry to hear about your shoulder pain during pull ups. Did.you read that article.last week or so, about pull ups causing more delt pain for most lifters? It got me back on track to using iso lateral high tow machines. No delt pain doing those! Good luck.bro!

 

[Torobestia]

Solid log once again bro! Sorry to hear about your shoulder pain during pull ups. Did.you read that article.last week or so, about pull ups causing more delt pain for most lifters? It got me back on track to using iso lateral high tow machines. No delt pain doing those! Good luck.bro!

I did, actually! The author was talking about how the fixed position of the bar throughout the motion is pretty unnatural, and overtime can definitely cause some serious issues in lifters. He then also discussed a new attachment to lat pulldowns you can use to fix the issue and allow your hands to rotate as you pull the bar down. Interestingly, I can do pulldowns just fine, even with my bodyweight on the pins (240). But the movement is slightly different with it, and the way my lower body hangs on pullups I'm sure has a lot to do with the nagging pain, as well as a number of small other details. Anyways, thanks for the words. Gonna do some deadlifts today, leaving in about 20 mins.

 

[HardCore1]

I did, actually! The author was talking about how the fixed position of the bar throughout the motion is pretty unnatural, and overtime can definitely cause some serious issues in lifters. He then also discussed a new attachment to lat pulldowns you can use to fix the issue and allow your hands to rotate as you pull the bar down. Interestingly, I can do pulldowns just fine, even with my bodyweight on the pins (240). But the movement is slightly different with it, and the way my lower body hangs on pullups I'm sure has a lot to do with the nagging pain, as well as a number of small other details. Anyways, thanks for the words. Gonna do some deadlifts today, leaving in about 20 mins.

God loves deadlifts, and he favors people that do them. Doing deadlifts is like praying to God in a way. Im very happy for you and your faith.

 

[Torobestia]

God loves deadlifts, and he favors people that do them. Doing deadlifts is like praying to God in a way. Im very happy for you and your faith.

Heh, I hear that.

Well sadly, I got pretty stomped today doing deadlifts. I associate much of this to having a back workout yesterday as well as that back workout having taxed my grip somewhat. Anyways, I decided from now on out, during my cruises I will not go above 400lbs on the deadlift anymore. I'll just do speed work and that's it. I might do rack pulls right after, but no other form of deadlifts over 400lbs. I feel like my workout was almost waste tonight. Oh well.

 

[Torobestia]

Alright, well I forgot what an extreme pain a typical bodybuilder's arm workout gives in terms of the pump. It was so bad, and at one point I had this sweat dripping down into my eye that was burning a little, and I couldn't lift my arm up enough to wipe it out of my eye. I had to bend over and push my arm up with my knee to get it, lol. Good times.

I actually kind of am thinking about giving DC a break for a while and going on to my own program I used to be on. It worked really well for me, and considering I've been on DC since about Juneish, and looking at my progress since then, I feel like I could have done better on my own program. I have a week to decide which way I'll swing. I still think for squats DC is king, but for everything else ... dunno... I just have to figure out my programming a little better because deadlifting after a back day is straight up fail programming.

Anyways, here's the workout:

TOROS CRUISE DAY #5 04/23/12

**Superset every tricep exercise with biceps**

ARMS

CLOSE GRIP BENCH PRESS225-8,8,8

EZ BAR PREACHER CURLS
119.5-6,6,5

EZ BAR FRENCH PRESS
109.5-7,7,7 (literally, as I'm writing this I'm figuring out I threw up the wrong weight [too much!] meant to use 99.5)

HAMMER CURLS
40-10
55-10,12

ROPE TRICEP PULLDOWNS
70-12
80-18
90-14

SINGLE ARM IRON CROSS CABLE CURLS
50-15,13,12

 

[Torobestia]

WEDNESDAY 04/25/12

LEGS

SQUATS
405-2,1
Having a real problem with my form on these, I seem to be leaning forward too much. I'm hitting depth just fine, and getting out of the hole isn't huge, but as I get up I get jolted forward, sometimes so hard, I lose my footing and stumble around. Wish someone knowledgeable was watching me. At one point even practically sat my torso on what felt like my hip flexors, which doesn't seem right at all.

SPEED DEADLIFTS
315-8x3, each set on the minute (as opposed to a minute between sets)
Back feels totally fine, legs and glutes are fried, however

SINGLE LEG PRESS (weight minus carriage)
90-8,8,8
This doesn't seem right, hahaha

SINGLE LEG HAMSTRING CURL
70-??? Lost my log entry on this, was at least on par as last time I did this

LEGS TO CEILING 12,12,12
LEG RAISES 3x20

 

[Torobestia]

FRIDAY 04/27/12

CHEST, BACK, TRICEPS (BENCH DAY)

CHINUPS
3x7

FLAT BENCH
275-3,4,3
2 mins 30 secs between sets
Huge shoulder problem

INCLINE BENCH
225-5,5,7
3 mins between sets

TBAR ROWS (weight on bar)
180-8,8,10,8
2-3 mins rest

DB ROWS
110-20,20
2 mins rest
Destroyed LOL

DIPS
35-10,10,8

FACE PULLS
120-17,15,12

This was an ok workout. Did not like that flat bench, but hit that incline bench like it was nothing. Back workout went great. I think I might be bringing that arm in and down really too fast (left shoulder is the one hurting), but i don't know why I do that.

 

[Torobestia]

SUNDAY 04/29/12

SQUAT (VOLUME)

375-5,5,5,5,4
Gassed lol. 3-5 mins btwn sets
Really great form

RACK PULLS (2nd pin, inches below knee)
535-5
475-9

SINGLE LEG HAM CURLS
80-6 (too heavy)
70-8,8

STANDING AB CURLS
160-15,15,15

LEG RAISES
15,15,15

I think I have figured out what my pre-squatting warm up will be like (at least when not doing DC training). I noticed I had zero forward lean today, and I mean even on those sets I struggled with I never leaned forward or converted the movement to a good morning. It was a straight up squat. This is a vast improvement, and was perhaps my best squat form ever. I'll outline what I did:

-1 set of 30lb DB curls x 15 reps (get the elbows warmed up, blood pumping through that area, muscles loosened)
-1 set exterior rotator movement with 15lb DBs x 15 reps/side
-minute groin stretch below parallel
-foam rolled hip flexors x12
-1 set of light calf work
-hip flexor/glute stretch 8-10 times for 8 seconds.

I did this and I was completely set. The last stretch is basically I put my foot up on a surface such that my leg is at or below parallel (so the top of my knee is at the same level, or above, the top of my thigh). My body is completely straight in this position; my hips are not twisted or rotated/maligned posture. In this position, I begin to lean forward into my raised leg and hold the position for 8 seconds, making sure my heel is always on the surface. I then relax the hold by leaning back. That's 1 rep. Then I lean forward and repeat for a total of 8-10 reps.

 

[Torobestia]

MONDAY 04/30/12

ARMS

MILITARY PRESS
160-5,3,4
125-10

**SUPERSET EVERY 2 EXERCISES BELOW**

CGBP
225-8,7,7

DEEP EZ CURLS
109.5-7,7,7

EZ BAR FRENCH PRESS
99.5-8,8,7

HAMMER CURLS
40-10
55-10,10

ROPE TRICEP PULLDOWN
80-15,15,15

REVERSE FLYS ON PEC DEC
80-15,15,13

God, doing military presses and arms is such a bad idea in the same workout, especially since this is day 4 of not being on omega-3s. I felt like hell and like everything was going to break apart. Thankfully I did hit up something from my local foodstore, which was horribly overpriced, and immediately took 15 pills.

EDIT: I tried using a suicide grip for the second time for overhead presses. I am declaring it a no-go for me. When I use it, I start getting forearm splints, and my grip goes completely numb about an inch from my chest. Once the splints developed, they lasted throughout the entire workout. Seeing how absolutely essential a strong grip is for an arms workout, you can imagine what a pain in the ass this workout was.

 

[HardCore1]

Alright, well I forgot what an extreme pain a typical bodybuilder's arm workout gives in terms of the pump. It was so bad, and at one point I had this sweat dripping down into my eye that was burning a little, and I couldn't lift my arm up enough to wipe it out of my eye. I had to bend over and push my arm up with my knee to get it, lol. Good times.

I actually kind of am thinking about giving DC a break for a while and going on to my own program I used to be on. It worked really well for me, and considering I've been on DC since about Juneish, and looking at my progress since then, I feel like I could have done better on my own program. I have a week to decide which way I'll swing. I still think for squats DC is king, but for everything else ... dunno... I just have to figure out my programming a little better because deadlifting after a back day is straight up fail programming.

Anyways, here's the workout:

TOROS CRUISE DAY #5 04/23/12

**Superset every tricep exercise with biceps**

ARMS

CLOSE GRIP BENCH PRESS225-8,8,8

EZ BAR PREACHER CURLS
119.5-6,6,5

EZ BAR FRENCH PRESS
109.5-7,7,7 (literally, as I'm writing this I'm figuring out I threw up the wrong weight [too much!] meant to use 99.5)

HAMMER CURLS
40-10
55-10,12

ROPE TRICEP PULLDOWNS
70-12
80-18
90-14

SINGLE ARM IRON CROSS CABLE CURLS
50-15,13,12

This is why you shouod always wear a head band! I agree to dc TRAINING is awesome for legs strength and growth. When you do close grip, have you ever tried doing them reverse grip? Just curious!

 

[HardCore1]

FRIDAY 04/27/12

CHEST, BACK, TRICEPS (BENCH DAY)

CHINUPS
3x7

FLAT BENCH
275-3,4,3
2 mins 30 secs between sets
Huge shoulder problem

INCLINE BENCH
225-5,5,7
3 mins between sets

TBAR ROWS (weight on bar)
180-8,8,10,8
2-3 mins rest

DB ROWS
110-20,20
2 mins rest
Destroyed LOL

DIPS
35-10,10,8

FACE PULLS
120-17,15,12

This was an ok workout. Did not like that flat bench, but hit that incline bench like it was nothing. Back workout went great. I think I might be bringing that arm in and down really too fast (left shoulder is the one hurting), but i don't know why I do that.

This is a damn good chest back and tri wrkt! Im gonna snag this 1 from ya. Hope delt gets better!

 

[HardCore1]

SUNDAY 04/29/12

SQUAT (VOLUME)

375-5,5,5,5,4
Gassed lol. 3-5 mins btwn sets
Really great form

RACK PULLS (2nd pin, inches below knee)
535-5
475-9

SINGLE LEG HAM CURLS
80-6 (too heavy)
70-8,8

STANDING AB CURLS
160-15,15,15

LEG RAISES
15,15,15

I think I have figured out what my pre-squatting warm up will be like (at least when not doing DC training). I noticed I had zero forward lean today, and I mean even on those sets I struggled with I never leaned forward or converted the movement to a good morning. It was a straight up squat. This is a vast improvement, and was perhaps my best squat form ever. I'll outline what I did:

-1 set of 30lb DB curls x 15 reps (get the elbows warmed up, blood pumping through that area, muscles loosened)
-1 set exterior rotator movement with 15lb DBs x 15 reps/side
-minute groin stretch below parallel
-foam rolled hip flexors x12
-1 set of light calf work
-hip flexor/glute stretch 8-10 times for 8 seconds.

I did this and I was completely set. The last stretch is basically I put my foot up on a surface such that my leg is at or below parallel (so the top of my knee is at the same level, or above, the top of my thigh). My body is completely straight in this position; my hips are not twisted or rotated/maligned posture. In this position, I begin to lean forward into my raised leg and hold the position for 8 seconds, making sure my heel is always on the surface. I then relax the hold by leaning back. That's 1 rep. Then I lean forward and repeat for a total of 8-10 reps.

I think im going to start doing some stretching before squats from here on out. I used to do it years ago and never had any sort of hip or groin pain like I do now.

 

[Torobestia]

This is why you shouod always wear a head band! I agree to dc TRAINING is awesome for legs strength and growth. When you do close grip, have you ever tried doing them reverse grip? Just curious!

Haha @ head band. I don't know man, I think I'm good with leaning against my arm to wipe myself if it comes to it =p

As for reverse grip, I have but I really don't like it on my wrists/forearms/shoulders. I bet the form needs tweaking, but for now I just stick with close grip but with a suicide grip. Works very well.

This is a damn good chest back and tri wrkt! Im gonna snag this 1 from ya. Hope delt gets better!

Good luck with it! Love it. The shoulder thing was just that something was wrong with my form and it aggravated my shoulder joint. As I said at the end I think I was lowering the bar too much with my left arm and tucking too hard, which created a strange angle between my arm and shoulder and put undue stress on the joint. The week before it was totally fine. I think if I learned to "spread the bar" better this wouldn't be an issue ... just need to find some bands lying around, now...

I think im going to start doing some stretching before squats from here on out. I used to do it years ago and never had any sort of hip or groin pain like I do now.

It's awesome, man. Kind of a pain but totally worth it.

 

[Torobestia]

WEDNESDAY 05/02/12

LEGS (Intensity)

Forgot to warm up exterior rotators and hip flexors. Paid for this today...

UNI HAM CURLS
80-7,7,7,7

SQUATS
405-3,2 <-- cut this short as my elbows felt like they were gonna break. Started seeing stars after first set, lol. Too much leaning forward again because I didn't stretch my hip flexors after rolling them.

DEADLIFT
515-2 <-- elbows really flaring up with pain, but the set was still legit

HACK SQUAT (weight minus sled)
270-18

**Superset the 2 below**

HANGING AB RAISES
12,12,12

LEG RAISES
15,15,15

 

[HardCore1]

Sorry to hear about your elbow pain. Is it just because of the pressure from holding the bar or another injury?

 

[Torobestia]

FRIDAY 05/04/12

CHEST, BACK, TRICEPS (BENCH)

CHINUPS
3x7

BENCH
275-3,4,3
2 mins 30 secs between sets

INCLINE BENCH
225-5,5,5,5
3-4 mins between sets

TBAR ROWS (weight on bar)
200-8,7,6
2-3 mins rest

DB ROWS
110-20,20
2 mins rest

DIPS
35-10,10,7,7

FACEPULLS
130-18,15,13

So, I don't really want to discuss why benching today sucked. I may have put on some capsaicin cream upon reading something about it and helping out my bicep tendonitis *cough*rodja*cough,* but ... didn't plan on doing it 3 hours before lifting, more like 45 minutes before. It was a bad idea on my part. Anyways, so I walked around with ice packs icing my shoulders and lats (it went into my lats) between sets, so that was a bit of a hassle (and probably a joke to everyone else). I might try for heavier triples next lifting session, we'll see. Still tba.

 

[Torobestia]

SATURDAY 04/29/12

LEGS (Volume)

SQUATS
375-5,5,5,4
3-5 mins btwn sets
Elbow pain so great dumped bar on 5th rep of 4th set. Gotta figure out WTF is the matter.

RACK PULLS (2nd pin, inches below knee)
545-4
485-9

Had to leave after this. Elbows were absolutely killing me, plus I had plans later. Legs felt pretty fried. Also did some prehab stuff before, which helped my form immensely but not my damn elbow. Did some single leg ham curls again before squatting. Oh well, we'll work out legs eventually.

 

[Torobestia]

MONDAY 05/07/12

SHOULDERS + ARMS

STANDING MILITARY PRESS
160-4,4 <-- second set bad form
105-11,10,8
2 mins btwn sets

**SUPERSET THE BELOW**
CGBP
235-6,6,5

EZ CURLS
109.5-8,8,7

**SUPERSET THE BELOW**
EZ BAR FRENCH PRESS
99.5-8,8,7

HAMMER CURLS
45-12
55-10,10

**SUPERSET THE BELOW**
RIPE TRICEP PULLDOWN
90-15,12,12

ONE ARM CABLE CURL
50-15,12,10

REVERSE FLYS ON PEC DEC
80-15,15,13

So, I found out today I need to reincorporate shoulder dislocations. Supposedly, this is 90% of what could be causing my elbow pain squatting (and actually somewhat doing military presses). I'm also gonna start back down at 105/110 on military presses with strict form. Since I quit DC almost a month ago my military pressing form and strength has plummeted, I dont quite know why, so I gotta start back down. I'll be working at a high rep range, too, around 8-12 a set.

 

[Torobestia]

WEDNESDAY 05/09/12

LEGS (Intensity)

UNI LEG CURLS
80-7,7,7

SQUATS
405-3 <-- very fast, great form
415-2,2

DEADLIFT
525-1+0,1
Damnit lol

DEEP LEG PRESS (weight minus sled)
540-20 <-- legs were annihilated, felt a strong pump and had to force myself to walk right for the remainder of my time at the gym. Ridiculous!

LEGS TO CEILING and LEG RAISES
12+20,12+20,12+20

I did shoulder dislocations today before anything else. And it worked! Felt no pain whatsoever. These things really are a godsend. Will do them before benching tomorrow, too. I know they work for pressing movements. Also did all the other stuff for hip mobility. I did skimp out on foam rolling my hip flexors, and as soon as I began warming up on squats I felt serious resistance and tightness there. So I took a moment, went to foam roll it out, and I lied down for about 2 minutes really stretching my legs. Even did the DC stretch for my right quad for 10 seconds. Looks like it did the trick, because my next squat set was painless and pretty smooth. No elbow pain except the last set of squats, but by then it was only the onset so no worries. Tried to hit a double on 525 on deadlift, looks like I aimed too high, especially considering the squat set. Oh well.

 

[SweetLou321]

your deadlift is abnormally higher then your squat

 

[Torobestia]

your deadlift is abnormally higher then your squat

Painfully aware, haha. You should have seen my log about a year ago. Back then my max deadlift was 520 whereas my max squat was 360 ... it was also a pretty ugly and high squat (deepest I could go was parallel).

 

[SweetLou321]

do you power squat or high bar closer stance squat?

 

[Torobestia]

do you power squat or high bar closer stance squat?

Always low bar squats. I used to alternate between wide/sumo stance and close stance with elevated heels to help break the plateau I reached at 305 (it helped!), but now I use something in between.

 

[SweetLou321]

Im assuming you deadlift conventional? You prob need stronger hips and hamstrings up near your glute.

 

[Torobestia]

Im assuming you deadlift conventional? You prob need stronger hips and hamstrings up near your glute.

I do deadlift conventional. That's an interesting thought. I probably do have an issue with my hips which is why I try to work on it. So you think that having weaker hamstrings up near my glute would explain the difference between my deadlift and squat, or what makes you think that my hamstrings near my glute are a problem area?

 

[SweetLou321]

Idk I see a good amount of leg curls and the such in your training, which is dc so I understand. However goodmorning, rdls, ect that hit the area higher have more carryover to the squat and even deadlift. You may use a good amount of upper back for pulls so I cant comment on it exactly. But to squat you deff need stronger hips. Id focus on wide stance pull throughs, kettle bell swings, light goodmornings where you sit back as hard as you can (dave tate used 135 for 3-5 sets of 10 after squats until he got to about 700 for squat, he would just sit back futher).

 

[Torobestia]

Idk I see a good amount of leg curls and the such in your training, which is dc so I understand. However goodmorning, rdls, ect that hit the area higher have more carryover to the squat and even deadlift. You may use a good amount of upper back for pulls so I cant comment on it exactly. But to squat you deff need stronger hips. Id focus on wide stance pull throughs, kettle bell swings, light goodmornings where you sit back as hard as you can (dave tate used 135 for 3-5 sets of 10 after squats until he got to about 700 for squat, he would just sit back futher).

I'm currently off DC so I have a lot of leeway with what I do. I even did GHRs for a time even in DC but I haven't done them in a while .. still made good gains from it. I'll be incorporating more stuff like good mornings, which historically have helped me. Good eye on that. I hate doing RDLs, and my deadlift is a lot like an RDL/SLDL anyways lol. I'll definitely look into incorporating GMs and the such into my routine.

BTW, a funny aside I just remembered. A friend of mine came up with a great term the other day - I was doing squats with 405 a couple weeks ago, and my last rep with it I basically good morning'ed the weight up. I told him about my good morning/squat hybrid (jokingly of course), and he said "that's what I call a shìtty morning." Probably appropriate

 

[SweetLou321]

I'm currently off DC so I have a lot of leeway with what I do. I even did GHRs for a time even in DC but I haven't done them in a while .. still made good gains from it. I'll be incorporating more stuff like good mornings, which historically have helped me. Good eye on that. I hate doing RDLs, and my deadlift is a lot like an RDL/SLDL anyways lol. I'll definitely look into incorporating GMs and the such into my routine.

BTW, a funny aside I just remembered. A friend of mine came up with a great term the other day - I was doing squats with 405 a couple weeks ago, and my last rep with it I basically good morning'ed the weight up. I told him about my good morning/squat hybrid (jokingly of course), and he said "that's what I call a shìtty morning." Probably appropriate

The goodmornings will help with your hip groove for both squats and deadlifts. Im going to guess you have some technique issues in your squat and maybe deadlift. Take some vids from the side of deadlift and try to get your medial head of the shoulder behind the bar. Oh squats pay attention to your wrist, arm position, and upper back tightness. You prob need someone to yell commands at you like chest up, neck into the bar, pull the bar around you, elbows under the bar. As all these actions would fix the "****ty morning" effect.

 

[Torobestia]

Oh squats pay attention to your wrist, arm position, and upper back tightness. You prob need someone to yell commands at you like chest up, neck into the bar, pull the bar around you, elbows under the bar. As all these actions would fix the "****ty morning" effect.

I definitely do. In fact funny thing about this coming up when I post my workout log from today.

 

[Torobestia]

FRIDAY 05/11/12
BENCH DAY

CHINUPS
3x7

BENCH
275-3,3,3
Tried warming up doing shoulder dislocations, still didn't do the trick. Resetting weight next week

INCLINE BENCH
230-5,5,4
2-3 minutes between sets

PAUSE PRESS
225-5,4,4
Thoroughly destroyed chest and tris from this, also back

TBAR ROWS <-- different machine
200-6,6,5
2-3 minutes between sets

DB ROWS
110-20,20
2-3 minutes between sets

Had pretty disgusting back pumps by now

DIPS
35-10,10,7
2 minutes exactly between sets

**DC stretch for chest**

 

[Torobestia]

SATURDAY 05/12/12

LEGS (VOLUME)

GHR
7,6,5 <--Lol, so weak on this now, but these were done with 1-2 minutes between sets

SQUATS
385-5,5,5,4
3-5 mins btwn sets

RACK PULLS (2nd pin, inches below knee)
545-1,5 <-- lol
485-12

SINGLE LEG EXT
70-10,9,9,9
Each leg done immediately after the other, each set immediately after the next

SINGLE LEG SEATED HAM CURLS
80-10,7,4
As above

LEG RAISES
3x20

STANDING ROPE AB CURLS
160-15,15,15

Well today was a pretty awesome day, dont even care about this elbow/bicep tendonitis. It flared up big time, but it was only during my last 2 squat sets. Don't get me wrong, this **** is debilitating in terms of the pain, but since it wasn't at the elbow I could handle it better than normal. Anyways, one of the cues Lou had mentioned that I haven't thought about in forever are elbows forward. So I told myself that before each set, and holy crap! The smoothest squats of my life. 385 felt like 135, it was ridiculous. I almost feel I undershot my working weight (though I originally was going for 5 sets, thanks elbow). So I'll repeat this next time, and if Iget 5 sets go up. If I stick with 4 sets then I'll also go up the following week. Still cool

 

[SweetLou321]

Nice man, pulling your elbows under makes your chest rise and your back stays tight and arched. Good stuff.

 

[Torobestia]

Nice man, pulling your elbows under makes your chest rise and your back stays tight and arched. Good stuff.

What I would always make sure is that my wrists were aligned well, but at some point in the last year I must have forgotten the elbow thing even if I tell others about it. Funny

 

[Torobestia]

MONDAY 05/07/12

ARMS

STANDING MILITARY PRESS
135-8,7,6 drop set to 95x6
2 mins btwn sets

**SUPERSET THE BELOW 2**
CGBP
235-6,6,5

EZ CURLS
114.5-7,7,6

**SUPERSET THE BELOW 2**

EZ BAR FRENCH PRESS
99.5-8,8,8,7

HAMMER CURLS
50-12,12,12

**SUPERSET THE BELOW 3**

ONE ARM CABLE CURL
50-15,15,11

ROPE TRICEP PULLDOWN
90-15,14,12

FACEPULLS
130-12,12,10

 

[Torobestia]

TUESDAY 05/15/12

LEGS (INTENSITY)

UNI SEATED LEG CURLS
100-8,8,8

SQUATS
415-3,3,2+0

DEADLIFTS
525-2
Nice

STEPUPS
+40-9,8,4-21 rp
Rest paused set

HANGING AB RIPPER (LEGS TO CEILING)
10,10,10

LEG RAISES
3x20

My elbows tolerated the squats much better, but I still had to break after squats and my first set of deadlifts before continuing on because of the pain. Also, they absolutely could not tolerate the bottom "swing" portion of the hanging ab raises (I'm talking about when you're back to just hanging upright), so I instead did only 10 instead of 12 reps but used negatives basically on the way down. I had 0 sleep the night before, so my performance today was really nice and met my goals I had set had I slept well. Step-ups were ok, not truly to failure, but then my legs are feeling very raw today so that's good. That squat feels so nice now. Almost had 3x3 but that last rep of the last set, I lost my form and leaned forward too much or something. I had inches to lockout but it would not go up, and with my lack of sleep I had no fight. Overall, I'd still give this session an A-.

One thing I want to note is that I have ascertained with absolute certainty that my left hamstring is much stronger than my right hamstring. Very weird. Hopefully this unilateral work will go a ways to balancing that out.

 

[Torobestia]

THURSDAY 05/17/12

BENCH DAY

BENCH
275-3,3,2
Woops, didn't see my notes about this last week. Anyways moved grip in about a finger on each hand and felt amazing. But I had no explosive strength whatsoever. Every rep was slow and hard. ****.

INCLINE BENCH
230-4,4+1,4
Gave myself liftoff, hit the upright on 5th rep of 1st set. Head wasn't happy with this.

WIDE GRIP UPRIGHT ROWS
135-10,10,10

TBAR ROWS <-- different machine
200-6
180-8,8,6

DB ROWS
110-20,20

TATE PRESSES
35-12
40-10,8

REVERSE FLYS ON PEC DEC
85-15
100-12,9

I've been neglecting my lateral delts for a long time, now. I think my decrease in bench power is likely associated with this weak spot. I know my close grip bench press is where it should be to hit 295 for three triples, and my military press, while it sucks, is about the same, too, actually a little higher. And my back strength is higher than it's ever been, so really have to blame it on that. Will be regularly performing wide grip upright rows from now on out. I like them because I force myself to not cheat on them, whereas on lateral raises, who knows how much you shift the weight to the traps? I know I could stick to those, but I'm just taking a little from DC here. Anyways, after this week of lifts I will be taking 5 days off to go to a big, 3-day concert, to see some of my favorite bands. While their last few albums sucked horribly, one of which is probably the worst album in music ever recorded, my favorite band Morbid Angel will be performing, as will some other awesome death metal bands. When I return, I am considering incorporating some things from DC training into my workout for upper body, but performing my lower body exercises as is. Still tinkering with this idea. I'd have to reset pretty low, like 205-215 for bench, and so on, but I think it'd be worth it.

 

[Torobestia]

MONDAY 05/21/12

LEGS (VOLUME)

GHR
8,7,7

SQUATS
385-5,5,5,5
3-5 mins btwn sets

RACK PULLS (2nd pin, inches below knee)
555-6
495-12

SINGLE LEG EXT
75-10,8,6,4
Each leg done immediately after the other, each set immediately after the next
**** this quad pump/burn

SINGLE LEG SEATED HAM CURLS
80-13,6,3
As above

STANDING ROPE AB CURLS
160-15,15,15

LEG RAISES
3x20

Easiest set of squats ever. The first set was actually my hardest, meaning my warmups were suboptimal. But the next 5 sets each rep flew up so fast with a lot of power. I know this is also thanks to my very strong hamstrings actually finally playing a role in my squat thanks to my fixed form. This was a great finding considering my weekend cabin trip with some friends out in the country. I did keep my protein intake very high, having brought tons of fish, eggs, and other assorted meats for the trip. Also had tons of fun chopping wood, playing football and tennis, and hiking around the area, among the plethora of other activities I simply can't remember. Rest of the workout went well. Will go up in weight depending on how my max day goes after the concert.