Rob's strength journal - got 600kg now I'm hungry for more...

06/04/11
Current bodyweight 92kg, 206lbs
Slow progress over the last 12 months, had 10 weeks out starting early Dec due to lack of motivation.  Started a 6 week course of Dbol in March and got steady gains - mostly strength.
Current maxes:
Deadlift - 242.5kg x 1, 210kg x 5
Squat (Now ATG) 170kg x 1, 155kg x 5 - yes it's down but going much lower.
Bench - 135kg x 1, 120kg x 5
Strict shoulder press - 85kg x 1 75kg x 5
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27/02/10
Current bodyweight 94kg, 210lbs
Steady progress over the last year,
lifts at present:
Deadlift 227.5kg x 1,   12.5kg increase in 12 months
Squat 180kg x 1, 20kg increase in 12 months - really pleased with this.
Bench 127.5kg x 1 12.5kg increase in 12 months
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25/02/09 - Quick update
Current bodyweight is 91.5kg bodyfat same as before 14%
Stuggled to meet my ambitions that I previously laid out, but notheless I've made decent progress.
Current amibtions are for more strength, bulk as much as I can until end of April then cut to sub 12% BF

Current lifts are

Deadlift - 215kg for 1 and 187.5kg for 6.   By my cut i want that 220kg and 195kg for 6

Squat - 140kg for 6 (I reduced the weight to work on form hence hasnt increasd) 160kg for 1 - I want 175kg for 1 and 150 for 6.

Bench - 100kg for 6 115kg for one.  I would like 105 for 6 and 120kg for one.

I've set more realistic goals this time as things always come up which hinder my training so I'd see acheiving the above as good progress.

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18/08/2008
I currently weigh 195lbs (88.5KG) at 6"0' and around 14% BF
My ambition is to bulk upto around the 220lb (100kg) mark by around easter 2009 and keep my bodyfat below 20%
The aim then is to cut down to 96kg at around 12%BF for the summer.

My current lifts at this time are
Deadlift - 207.5kg x 1
Squat - 140kg x 6
bench - 87.5kg x 6

by new year I'm aiming for:
Deadlift - 220kg x 1
Squat - 155kg x 6
Bench 95kg x 6

By the end of my bulk I'll be aiming for:
Deadlift 127.5kg - 500lbs x 1
Squat - 166kg x 6
Bench - 100kg x 6

My diet is as follows:
Meal 1
40g whey in water
bowl of oats

Meal 2
Either chicken breast and 2 slices of wholegrain bread
Or
Tuna with 2 slices of bread
OR
Egg white and mayonaise with 2 slices of bread

Meal 3
Same as meal 2

Meal 4
Portion of steak (~6OZ)
bowl of oats

Train + 1 x CNP Pro recover

Meal 5
Bowl of wholegrain pasta and tin of tuna

Meal 6
60Z steak + bowl of oats

40g whey before bed along with omega 3 capsule and all-in-1 vitamin+mineral suppliment.

I'm aware of the lack of veg but I really cannot stomach the stuff.  I think I'm gonna buy a blender when I move house and make some veg shakes.  

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13/09/2007
Right I'm currently 6"0 and weigh about 190lbs. Just about to enter my 3rd year of uni (budjet tight!) and recovering from a broken elbow sustained in june.

Started back on weights a few weeks back doing full body workouts just to get used to lifing again.

This week I started following this routine:

Mon:
DB flat bench press 4 x 6
DB seated overhead press 4 x 6
Fly machine 4 x 6

Tue: Taekwondo

Wed:
Deadlift 4 x 6
WG chins 4 x 6
DB row 4 x 6

Thur: Taekwondo

Fri:
Squat 4 x 6 (have been using leg press machines so will be first week doing 'proper' squats)
Leg extension machine 4 x 6
Calf raises using leg press machine.

My diet isn't clean as I like my sandwiches and 'other' foods too much. But im trying to take in high quantities of protien and complex carbs.

Typical diet is as follows:

6.30 - 3 x weetabix plus 40g whey

8.30 bacon, egg, mushroom on a large wholemeal muffin

11.30 ham sandwiches on wholemeal bread with 4 slices of ham per sandwich, 2 sandwiches total (swap ham for chiken breast on some days)

4.00 tin of tuna mixed with light mayo on wholemeal sandwiches, 2 sandwiches total.

5.00 train

6.15 40g whey

7.30 200g chicken with chips (i know i know but i love my chips) OR 200g steak and chips OR Jacket potatoe with tin of tuna, sweetcorn and cheese.

9.30 - 10.00 3 x weetabix and 40g whey.

I think I'm relying quite heavilly on the whey but it's a very cheap source of protien with me being a skint student, and its not that filling so it allows me to eat more..

Any querys or criticisms / suggestions are warmly welcomed :D

Monday 10/09/2007

DB bench press: 4 x 5 75LB per arm
DB OH press: 4 x 5 55LB per arm
Can't for the life of me remember what the flyes where.. i should have written it down but I forgot!

Was a decent session, just gradually building up to strength.

Wed 12/09/2007

Deadlift 4 x 6 115kg - Felt great to be doing deads again!
WG chins 4 x 6 with 2.5kg plate
DB row 4 x 6 80LB

Fri 14/09/2007

First session on squats.. I'm finding that the bar really hurts the back of my neck! is this normal and will the pain go away as I get more used to them??

Squat
warmup 60kg x 10
70kg x 8
80kg x 6 x 3
Glutes were feeling hammered so I stopped at 3 sets.

Decided to do 45 deg leg press
200kg x 6 x 3
220kg x 6

Hi fella,

welcome to MT.

how do you find doing shoulders and chest together?

I personally dont reccomend it.


Id move shoulder press with legs and add in some shrugs or lateral raises, then add in incline dumbell press to chest day.

I also see you dont do any extra armwork, is there a reason for this?

diet doesnt look too bad, you dont use any supplements?

Scotty

Hi, thanks for the warm welcome,

I'm following Frankie's mass building routine.. just trying to stick to compound movements for now with push, pull and leg days... don't seem to have a problem doing shoulders and chest together to be honest!
I was under the impression that less = more?? as I've been worn out after each session today and im frightend of overtraining!
So you think i should add more to this routine if i'm looking to bulk?

I do take supplements, I take 1 tsp of creatine monohydrate and 1tsp of glutamine. I also take a vitamin / mineral capsule.

My main problem is i don't like any veg or fruit! although I like fresh orange juice! hopefully the vitamain supp helps with this!

Rob

Mmmm not really,your gonna have to chow down I'm afraid to mass up effectively or else 6 months down the line you might be hitting a brick wall.

Its mainly that your shoulder get hit quite alot during pressing and would be worn out by time to work them directly.

Less can indeed be more, but not working arms at all is a different story.

If the intensity is right then yes less is more can rule the day, if your a beginner and finding your feet i would get everything nailed and understand intensity and what "less" actually means.

Ok,
How does this routine sound.. Not sure whether shrugs should be on mon or fri and what would be better out of dips and flyes?

Mon:
Flat DB bench 4 x 6
Incline DB bench 4 x 6
Dips OR flyes 4 x 6
Shrugs 4 x 6

Wed:
Deadlifts 4 x 6
WG chins 4 x 6
Rows 4 x 6
BB curls 4 x 6

Fri:
Squat 4 x 6
45 deg leg press: 4 x 6
leg extension machine 4 x 6
Shoulder press 4 x 6

Rob

Mon 17/09/07
______________

Flat DB bench press 1 x 6 32.5kg 3 x 6 35kg

Incline DB bench press 1 x 6 30kg - struggled on last weight so went down: 3 x 6 27.5kg

Fly machine 4 x 6 90kg

Dip machine 1 x 6 112kg 3 x 6 119kg - These felt good my triceps were wasted after these

Good session today, Deadlifts feeling great

4 x 6 120kg - struggled with the last rep on the fourth set. 125k next week
4 x 6 bodyweight wide grip chins
4 x 6 35kg dumbell row
4 x 6 30kg barbell curl - my wrist was hurting on 40kg due to breaking my arm in june. Gonna go light on these for now.

hey man if the squat hurts your kneck, the bar maybe too high up your back. you should be able to feel your spine sticking out at the top of your back, bar should be below that i believe. thats how i play it anyway.
for shrugs i was advised to put them on back and bi day

ORIGINAL: Rob.S

Ok,
How does this routine sound.. Not sure whether shrugs should be on mon or fri and what would be better out of dips and flyes?

Mon:
Flat DB bench 4 x 6
Incline DB bench 4 x 6
Dips OR flyes 4 x 6
Shrugs 4 x 6

Wed:
Deadlifts 4 x 6
WG chins 4 x 6
Rows 4 x 6
BB curls 4 x 6

Fri:
Squat 4 x 6
45 deg leg press: 4 x 6
leg extension machine 4 x 6
Shoulder press 4 x 6

Rob

TBH mate when starting out it takes a while to see how you body reacts to certain things e.g. higher reps, lower reps, over training etc etc

I find my traps get hit when training shoulders and plus they grow well from over training so i add them on back day too. This all comes with time.

I train shoulders after training chest and i see it as an advantage. Train your shoulders on Monday, legs on Wednesday and back on Friday doing it this way then gives your shouders a good 3 days of recovery before training back when your shoulders will be used again slightly and with all this reducing the risk of over training your shoulders thus injuries

Everyone is different though but for me it is a good idea

All the best

I can't really train my legs on the wednesday because I have taekwondo on the thursday and i'd strugglw with that if my legs are nuked!! thanks all the same though

Fri 21/09/07

LEGS / Shoulders

Good session today, I moved the bar further down onto my back and i doesnt hurt nearly as much

Squat 1 x 10 60kg warmup 4 x 6 85kg
Quad exension machine 1 x 119kg 1 x 126.5kg 2 x 134kg. Might have to substitute this for another exercise because the weights dont go any heavier on this.. any ideas guys??
Seated DB overhead press 2 x 6 25kg, 1 x 5 25kg, 1 x 6 25kg Didn't manage all my reps on the third set for some reason. hopefully I'll make all the sets next week

ORIGINAL: Rob.S
Quad exension machine 1 x 119kg 1 x 126.5kg 2 x 134kg. Might have to substitute this for another exercise because the weights dont go any heavier on this.. any ideas guys??

Welcome to mt
easy solution is to drop the weight and train each leg seperately, that way you can also do some forced/negative reps...

Leg extensions are a brilliant finisher mate and they will give you good detail in the quads

If i was you i would drop the weight and up the reps

thanks for the info.. I'll increase the reps to 10. and once that gets too easy then ill start with 1 leg.

Sun 23/09/07 - 1 day early because i'm tied up on monday.

DB Bench Press 22.5kg warmup x 10 35kg 4 x 6 - 37.5kg next week
Incline DB Bench ress 30kg 4 x 6 - only just managed the last rep.
flye machine 1 x 6 77kg 3 x 6 82kg.
Dip machine 1 x 6 112kg 3 x 6 119kg

Wed 26/09/07

Deadlifts 1 x 8 80kg warmup 4 x 6 125kg. PB Was struggling with grip big time using double reverse grip so i flipped my left hand over for the final set and it made it so much easier
WG chins +2.5kg 4 x 6. fairly easy I'll try 5kg next week
DB rows 4 x 6 35kg. 37.5kg next week
BB curls 4 x 6 35kg. 37.5kg next week.

Fri 28/09/07

Squats: 1 x 8 60kg warmup 3 x 6 90kg 1 x 6 95kg. Upped the weight on the last set as I wasn't finding these quite challanging enough! 100kg soon
Seated quad extensions 2 x 10 119kg. 1 x 8 119kg
Seated oh dumbell press 1 x 6 27.5kg 3 x 5 27.5kg
shrugs 2 x 8 100kg 1 x 8 110kg

Good session today, increased my flat DB bench

Flat DB bench: 1 x 8 25k, 2 x 6 37.5k, 1 x 5 37.5k, 1 x 6 35k - gonna aim for 4 x 6 on 37.5k next week. BTW should I be going below parallel on these lifts? as im going down untill the dumbell is shoulder level.
Incline DB bench: 4 x 6 30kg. stuggled on last rep. I'll try the 32.5's next week
pec dec: 3 x 6 87kg 1 x 5 92kg
seated dips: 3 x 6 112kg 1 x 6 119kg - forgot what weight I was on with this so lifts are down

ORIGINAL: Rob.S
4 x 6 30kg barbell curl - my wrist was hurting on 40kg due to breaking my arm in june. Gonna go light on these for now.

you could try using an ez-bar they are supposed to be easier on the wrist...