CK's Journal - The Road To Achieving a 1-Star Rating

Welcome to my Journal

Good luck mate, im sure you'll do it. Aslong as ya stick at it.

May as well put up my lifts from today:

Legs/Shoulders

Note: I'm currently under strict instruction from my physio to not squat for a month, due to my sh1tty knees. And this morning my knees felt quite sore so I decided to concentrate mainly on shoulders today. This decrease in volume allowed me to experiment a bit and try some new lifts:

DB Shoulder Press - 22kg - 10,9,8
Arnold Press - 18kg - 7,6,6
DB Single Armed Clean and Press - 20kg - 3x10
Military Press - 40kg - 10,7,6
Front Raise (Cable) - 3x10

My first time ever doing the Arnold press, but loved it so I'm going to keep it in my routine from now on. I did the Clean and Press with a dumbbell because all the olympic bars were being used. Great exercise, absolutely nackered after it!

Cheers Owen

good luck mate!  Love the title!

Good luck mate, i hope you do really well
 
Joe

http://www.ugm.org.uk/

the tren of forums
 

Cheers fellas!

Day off today, which will consist of:

Food
Tri-Nations (it will be nice to see an actual team play the Springboks)
Food x 17
Foam Roll for my sh1tty knees
Food again
Wank
Sleep

JOURNAL
 
"I went on to lift 128 kg for 1 rep with extremely poor form but I was lucky enough to survive" - Rob Reynolds

Sounds good rest days = mass food days.

Hello mate,
 
Will you be doing any cardio on non weights days aswell?

Mister Great Britain http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Mister-International-Great-Britain/268063629888541
 
Sponsored by Nutri1st http://direct.tesco.com/p/inc/specials/sports-nutrition/
 
 

Hey mate,
Hadn't really planned on it, you reckon I should?

JOURNAL
 
"I went on to lift 128 kg for 1 rep with extremely poor form but I was lucky enough to survive" - Rob Reynolds

CitizenKane


Hey mate,
Hadn't really planned on it, you reckon I should?

i personal think you should mate, your muscles arent just going to drop off if you do a bit of cardio mate and it will help keep your fat down.
 
just my 2 cents
 
Joe

http://www.ugm.org.uk/

the tren of forums
 

orite mate, i think your right carrying on bulking i decide to cut to soon and even though i was happy with my results i just didnt have enough muscle so im gonna start bulking around october time probably.

patrick bateman fcuking rules, i want his job and his body but dont want his psychotic side. have you read the American Psycho book? its so fcuked up its unbelievable, but if you liked the film you'll enjoy the book.

i may give a push/pull/legs routine a go, how have you found it?

jebus


orite mate, i think your right carrying on bulking i decide to cut to soon and even though i was happy with my results i just didnt have enough muscle so im gonna start bulking around october time probably.

patrick bateman fcuking rules, i want his job and his body but dont want his psychotic side. have you read the American Psycho book? its so fcuked up its unbelievable, but if you liked the film you'll enjoy the book.

i may give a push/pull/legs routine a go, how have you found it?

I've only been doing the P/P/L for about 3 weeks, before that I was doing a 4 day split which in retrospect wasn't really that good, I was training my arms the day after my back with no rest in between, meaning I was giving my biceps fcuk all time to recover. I'm finding the P/P/L a lot better, but only time will tell!

And yes I've read American Psycho, many times! It's fantastic! But I agree its fcuking twisted in some parts. The rat and the cheese? That part gave me nightmares!

And I don't want his job to be honest, I'm pretty sure anybody who works on wall street does not have the time to get a physique like that!!

JOURNAL
 
"I went on to lift 128 kg for 1 rep with extremely poor form but I was lucky enough to survive" - Rob Reynolds

CitizenKane

jebus


orite mate, i think your right carrying on bulking i decide to cut to soon and even though i was happy with my results i just didnt have enough muscle so im gonna start bulking around october time probably.

patrick bateman fcuking rules, i want his job and his body but dont want his psychotic side. have you read the American Psycho book? its so fcuked up its unbelievable, but if you liked the film you'll enjoy the book.

i may give a push/pull/legs routine a go, how have you found it?

I've only been doing the P/P/L for about 3 weeks, before that I was doing a 4 day split which in retrospect wasn't really that good, I was training my arms the day after my back with no rest in between, meaning I was giving my biceps fcuk all time to recover. I'm finding the P/P/L a lot better, but only time will tell!

And yes I've read American Psycho, many times! It's fantastic! But I agree its fcuking twisted in some parts. The rat and the cheese? That part gave me nightmares!

And I don't want his job to be honest, I'm pretty sure anybody who works on wall street does not have the time to get a physique like that!!

to fcuked up for words, and the car battery bit - the image of fat sprayed on the blinds was very disturbing. id love a job similar to his, ive read CityBoy loads of times aswell and it just sounds class imo.
 
i think i will be trying a P/P/L routine next week.
 
most of my mates havent been training seriously for that long but they've all done atleast one cycle so their all fairly big and quite strong but im planning to do a cycle to end my bulk around spring next year so i cant wait tbh.

hi kane! looks like this could be an interesting journal! Im glad to see you do shoulders on leg day, Ive been doing it for a while but never seen anyone else do it! It makes perfect sense to me as leaves more energy for chest/tris on push day

you have a gr8 physic for someone only training a few months!

good luck with it all! 

my journal, come say hello - I need all the help I can get! 
http://www.muscletalk.co.uk/tm.aspx?high=&m=3731999&mpage=1#3731999

Good intro mate, good luck!

A nice base to start building upon.

Muscle Finesse & Maximuscle Board Rep

I'd consider dropping the volume down mate, at your stage of development i think you will benefit. Do you really think your chest requires 3 different exercises on the same training session? 9 sets of 8-10 reps? This imo is going to hold you back. Drop the volume and watch your strength climb and don't worry the mass will follow.

Hit chest with flat bench followed by incline dumbbells. Then move onto shoulders heavy standing or seated press. Then onto triceps close grip bench for 3 x 8. That's it, don't need more than that.

Same with biceps, hit them with heavy ez bar curls and follow up with hammer curls or pinwheel curls if desired but not essential.

Honestly, training less can often promote more growth. Give it a try. Have a search for 5x5 routines, great for the early years of training. Build up core strength so that you have a solid foundation. Get strong on the big lifts and worry about hitting chest, biceps, quads etc with different exercises once you start hitting walls in your strength progression. You want to focus on compound exercises and getting strong on them, not getting doing hitting muscle groups from all different angles, it really isn't necessary and is actually detrimental to growth a lot of people without them understanding or realising it.

When I log my training I'm just going to do it in the following format:

Exercise name - Exercise weight - Set 1 reps, Set 2 reps, Set 3 reps.
I will put a (+1) beside each set for every rep I have gone up in that set since the last time I trained, and a (-1) for every rep I've gone down (but hopefully you won't see too much of these!)

Push

Flat Bench - 75kg - 8,8,8
Decline DB Press - 32kg each - 7, 7 (+1), 5 (-1)
Incline DB Press - 24kg each - 10, 10 (+1), 10 (+2)
Tricep Cable Pulldowns - (Setting 12 of 15 on cable machine) - 14, 14 (+1), 14 (+4)

Decided to skip the Flys today because my rotator cuff (left) was quite sore. Normally I'd do Flys before Tricep Pulldowns, so this explains why I was able to go up so dramatically in the last set. Also on the Decline DB, I was just about able to squeeze out an extra rep on the second set, which must have just exhausted me for the last set.

As I said my rotator cuff was quite sore today, which is probably due to the uncharacteristically heavy shoulder workout I did on Friday. From now on I will decrease the volume of my shoulder workouts, and also take two rest days between training them and my chest, rather than just one like I've been doing.

Then did 3x25 weighted sit ups (15kg), followed by 30 mins low intensity cardio on a bike (roughly 130bpm). Then worked on some rotator cuff exercises with extremely light weight on the cable machine:

Front raises - 3x10 (each arm)
Lateral raises - 3x10 (each arm)
External rotations - 3x10 (each arm)
Internal rotations - 3x10 (each arm)

JOURNAL
 
"I went on to lift 128 kg for 1 rep with extremely poor form but I was lucky enough to survive" - Rob Reynolds

Imsimon and Iceman - cheers for the support lads!

All4n - I think you're right about dropping down the volume, particularly for shoulder/legs day. And I will consider taking out the Decline press on Push day, I have a feeling it's aggravating my rotator cuff anyway. You reckon I should train shoulders on push day rather than with legs?

JOURNAL
 
"I went on to lift 128 kg for 1 rep with extremely poor form but I was lucky enough to survive" - Rob Reynolds

Just realised how good Green Tea is.

I also just realised that i haven't been getting any Omega 3 in my diet for about a week, I ran out of Fish Oils last week some time. Could this possibly be a contributing factor to the sudden return of my rotator cuff pain? Hmm...

JOURNAL
 
"I went on to lift 128 kg for 1 rep with extremely poor form but I was lucky enough to survive" - Rob Reynolds

CitizenKane


Just realised how good Green Tea is.

I also just realised that i haven't been getting any Omega 3 in my diet for about a week, I ran out of Fish Oils last week some time. Could this possibly be a contributing factor to the sudden return of my rotator cuff pain? Hmm...

it will help a lot, i get a pain in my right knee is i stop using fish oils i personal think it helps.
 
better get some more
 
Joe

http://www.ugm.org.uk/

the tren of forums
 

Whats wrong with your knee? I have a rotator cuff impingement, which is caused by inflammation, so I presume Fish Oils help because of their anti-inflammatory qualities.

JOURNAL
 
"I went on to lift 128 kg for 1 rep with extremely poor form but I was lucky enough to survive" - Rob Reynolds

Left shoulder still killing me today But I bought a giant tub of fish oils so hopefully this will help ease the inflammation in the coming weeks. I was going to buy some Ibuprofen today as well but the pharmacy in college is closed for some reason, so I'll have to pick some up on my way home if anywhere is still open.

There's something very funny going on with my shoulders, I always just thought (and physio agreed) that I had small rotator cuff impingements in both shoulders. But yesterday I discovered that my right shoulder gets aggravated by different movements to my left shoulder. It seems that heavy pressing movements hurt my left shoulder, whereas Front raises hurt my right shoulder. Will have to consult the physio once more I think!

I think one of the potential reasons for my shoulder pain coming back is because I only just jumped up to the 32kg dumbbells on the Decline press two sessions ago, and my gym doesn't have 30kg dumbbells so I had to make a big jump from 28s to 32s. While my pecs and tris, and stabilisers, appear to be strong enough now to press this weight, perhaps my rotator cuff is not yet strong enough to support it. I'll probably leave the decline out of my next Push workout and see how I feel after that.

JOURNAL
 
"I went on to lift 128 kg for 1 rep with extremely poor form but I was lucky enough to survive" - Rob Reynolds

Got some Ibuprofen, shoulder still killing me so I will most likely take another rest day tomorrow. Actually considering taking a week off, mightn't be the worst thing anyway because I'm entering the home stretch for my thesis and I really have to get the head down!

Still very annoying though.


Sound.

JOURNAL
 
"I went on to lift 128 kg for 1 rep with extremely poor form but I was lucky enough to survive" - Rob Reynolds

Right, shoulder's still sore so I'm taking a week off. In my experience taking a week off has meant I always come back to the gym stronger (and even make noticeable size gains if thats even possible) a whole week of recovery while eating truck loads of food does wonders it seems. And my shoulders thank me.

Going to do these everyday with a broom handle:



That stretch really helped my shoulder get better the last time this happened. And currently popping Ibuprofen like M&M's.

JOURNAL
 
"I went on to lift 128 kg for 1 rep with extremely poor form but I was lucky enough to survive" - Rob Reynolds

i think a week off should allow your shoulder to recover a bit so you can get back to it next week fresh. Are you going to keep doing cardio? 

i did my first push workout last night and it was really good, even though i got my weights mixed up on seated military press (havent trained for a few weeks) but still managed 3 sets of 6 reps. got major DOMS today aswell but looking forward to my pull workout on wednesday.

Yeah mate i week off will do you the world of good, just make sure you still eat correctly like. and do them streches aswell
 
have a good rest mate
 
all the best
 
Joe

http://www.ugm.org.uk/

the tren of forums
 

jebus - Don't think I'm gonna do any cardio to be honest, my shoulder was really killing me this morning and I think an all out week of doing absolutely nothing is what's in order.

And yeah the P/P/L is pretty sweet, you're going to love Pull day, usually after some 10-rep Deads, Rows and Chins, followed by some curls, my biceps are ready to explode, the pumps are immense!

skinnyjoe313 - Cheers man, I'll enjoy the rest but I'm already going insane from not being in the gym! Its also kinda ironic as soon as I start a training journal I have to stop training, lol

JOURNAL
 
"I went on to lift 128 kg for 1 rep with extremely poor form but I was lucky enough to survive" - Rob Reynolds

get well soon mate, i know how you feel! been there myself.

End of day totals:

Calories: 3417.3
Protein: 225.13g
Carbs: 372.16g
Fat: 84.11g

JOURNAL
 
"I went on to lift 128 kg for 1 rep with extremely poor form but I was lucky enough to survive" - Rob Reynolds

Cheers Owen!

JOURNAL
 
"I went on to lift 128 kg for 1 rep with extremely poor form but I was lucky enough to survive" - Rob Reynolds

Had the best whey shake ever created this morning:

1 scoop Optimum Nutrition Chocolate Mint flavour + 1 scoop TMU Coconut flavour + 50g Oats.
So basically was a Chocolate, Mint and Coconut flavour shake, bizarre combination that actually tasted lovely! But then again I think battered sausage and chocolate ice-cream is a good combination.

In other news, shoulder is feeling a lot better even after only 2 days all out rest. The pain seems to be receding a lot faster than it did last time, most likely due to the amount of anti-inflammatories I've been taking: 1200mg Ibuprofen, 6000mg Fish Oils, and lots of Green Tea.

JOURNAL
 
"I went on to lift 128 kg for 1 rep with extremely poor form but I was lucky enough to survive" - Rob Reynolds

ill gonna be doing the pull workout later, i cant wait to do some deadlifting, havent done it for a while. good to hear your shoulders already feeling better after two days should be much better next week.

your getting in a good amount of food there mate well done, that'll be about the same im hoping to aim for.

that shake dont sound to bad, just like a mint flavoured bounty, however battered sausage with ice cream sounds groteque lol.

Best of luck with the shoulder injury lad, nothing worse than fcuking injuries especially when you have some momentum going.

My Journal 

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End of day totals:

Calories: 3497.88
Protein: 299.25g
Carbs: 417.45g
Fat: 70.12g

Cheers for the support lads, shoulder is feeling better by the minute thank god!

JOURNAL
 
"I went on to lift 128 kg for 1 rep with extremely poor form but I was lucky enough to survive" - Rob Reynolds

just did my first pull workout tonight mate and it went fcuking awesome. my old PB for deadlifting was 3 sets of 8 reps at 80kg and i threw it up easily so next week im going for 3 sets of 8 reps at 90kg. its couldnt have been a better workout tbh

Glad to hear it man! Yep pull day is awesome. Chin ups/Pulldowns followed by any sort of isolation will get your biceps pumping so hard, I love it. By the way if you're pulling 80kg for 3 sets of 8, I'd say you could get a one rep max of at least 120kg. The last time I tried a one rep max for deads about 2 months ago I got 120kg and I was repping 3x8 at 80kg at the time. I know one rep PB's don't necessarily have anything to do with a person weightlifting solely for hypertrophy, but it's always good fun and you feel really good about yourself after getting a big fat PB that shows your stronger than most of your mates! Give it a go next time maybe!

JOURNAL
 
"I went on to lift 128 kg for 1 rep with extremely poor form but I was lucky enough to survive" - Rob Reynolds

im hoping to join the gym in september so im gonna get all my PB's done then. yeh my biceps and traps were well and truely pumped. ive decided to start my bulk now as i was going to cut in september and start bulking in october, but if i bulk from now to ~may next year i should put a fair bit of mass on.

hows your shoulder now mate?

Shoulder's a lot better cheers! I was just going to post an update about it.

Basically my left shoulder pain has receded quite a lot, in fact it's virtually gone, but I am going to keep resting for the full week just so that I'm sure it's back to 100% strength when I next hit the gym.  Funnily enough I have been consciously avoiding sleeping on my left side to avoid discomfort to my shoulder, but this morning I woke up and my other shoulder was actually quite sore from sleeping on it so much! As Bart Simpson would say, the ironing is delicious

JOURNAL
 
"I went on to lift 128 kg for 1 rep with extremely poor form but I was lucky enough to survive" - Rob Reynolds

having the same problems with my shoulders ffs, i stop training them for a while and just back now but same problem , i see you took fish oil for these ,i might give them a try myself , what sort of food are u eating to consume 3500 cals ,

  Martin O'Neil: "Why am I in the second team, boss??" Brian Clough: "Because you're too good for the third"