# MonStar's Journal



## M.J.H. (Jul 4, 2003)

I have decided to start a journal here at IronMagazine. I posted here a while back, but not so much recently. After looking around here I really like the environment and everything like that. Looks like a good group of people if you ask me. 

I have posted on a lot of different forums, Elitefitness, Musclemag, WannaBeBig, FortifiedIron, etc. Going to give IronMagazine a shot and see what I think. 

First of all, some info about me. I am 19 years old, 5'11", and around 224-226 lbs. Decent size and strength I think, although I want more. Strength I especially want more of. Size, I obviously would not mind more, but I am very concerned with my bodyfat right now. Too high! Want to harden up and be a lean, strong, 205-215 lbs. 

The split that I am going to be doing is the following:

Monday: Back, biceps
Wednesday: Deadlifts, shoulders
Friday: Chest, triceps
Saturday: Legs

I am going to try and do deadlifts and squats in the same week and see how it goes. Really want to shoot up my deadlift and bench especially. All of the other days, are obviously rest days. I am going to try my hardest to get by without doing any cardio. Obviously its going to be kinda tough. 

Here are my current PRs:

Bench- 305 x 1
Squat- 475 x 1
Deadlift- 615 x 1 (sumo)
Bentover Row- 360 x 2

So my strength as of now really isnt too bad I dont think, just would not mind it being a good bit higher. Would love a 400 bench, 550 squat, and 700 deadlift.


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## P-funk (Jul 4, 2003)

Strength looks great.

Post your diet so we can help you out a bit more.

Oh yeah and about the cardio, do worry about it.  Keep a good diet and you wont need any cardio, that is unless you want to throw some in for basic heart and cardiovascular health....not for weight loss.


do you have an extimate on your bf% or how many cals you are consuming per day??


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## M.J.H. (Jul 4, 2003)

Funk- Thanks man. I am not going to post each of my meals like I have done in the past because honestly, its too annoying to try and remember everything that I ate all damn day. I generally try and not eat too much crap like sweets, etc. Sugar intake needs to be lower though, along with upping my protein intake some. I posted a link to my pics in the Members Pics forum, so you can check it out if you want. Estimate on my bodyfat would probably be around 15-18%. Can barely see my abs, at this point.


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## J'Bo (Jul 4, 2003)

you are only 19 years old and are over 200 lbs and only 5'10?  thats crazy....do you or have you used before?


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## M.J.H. (Jul 4, 2003)

J'Bo- I am 19 years old yes, and well over 200 lbs. I am 5'10.5" so I generally just say that I am 5'11". I have never used any anabolics at all, or prohormones, or anything of the sort. I have used a lot of proteins, creatines, and things like that that can be found at your typical healthfood store, though.


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## P-funk (Jul 4, 2003)

Also, if you are at 15-18% body fat and weighing 225 that is believable.  I knew football players when I was in high school that were that big.....some bigger.

Now if you said you were 5'11", 225lbs, 7%bf, at age 19 I would say that you were using shit.  But your numbers right now are not that far fetched.


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## J'Bo (Jul 4, 2003)

well that is pretty damn impressive....keep up the good work and be sure to post more pics


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## M.J.H. (Jul 4, 2003)

Funk- lol.. I am definitely far from 7% bodyfat. I would love to get in the 10-12% range just so I would have a hard midsection. I am honestly not into the lean washboard abs look, though. 

I played football and wrestled in highschool, and honestly was leaner then than I am now. Just a rough estimate---if I got down to 210 lbs., without losing any muscle, I would be right around ~10-11% bodyfat I think. 

J'Bo- Thanks, really appreciate it.  

I will get more pics up when I lean out some.



Anyway, my first journal entry! 

First of all, happy 4th of July! Here in Delaware its beautiful day, not too humid at all. Really looking forward to seeing some fireworks tonight. 

Today was chest and triceps, a very good workout I might add. YMCA was closed so I had to workout in my basement which definitely was not a bad thing. In my basement I can get very very intense and focused. Unfortunately, equipment was not up to par. Bench I have is strange, I only have pins that set halfway up so just unracking the bar is 1/2 a rep, lol. Making things very tough. 

BB Bench:

135 x 10, 185 x 8, 225 x 5, 255 x 1

Ouch, these were tough! Unracking like I said from halfway up really changes things. 255 felt strangely heavy, for some reason. Not too bad though. 

Paused BB Bench: (~3-second pause at chest)

185 x 5, 135 x 10

Good exercise for really hitting my weakpoint---which is right against or a little above my chest. Two hard sets.

DB Flyes:

*80 x 6 (!)*, 70 x 10, 70 x 8

Some nice sets of flyes today. I am not totally confident that this is a PR, but I am pretty sure. The 80s were TOUGH! Good stretch at the bottom of each rep, and nice squeeze at the top. Pecs were fried.

Pec-deck Flyes:

150 x 10, 135 x 12

These were done a Paramount machine in my basement, so the weight was low. The Paramount machine has legit weight. In other words on a Nautilus machine 100 lbs. is probably 50-60 lbs. in reality. But here 100 lbs. is 100 lbs. Pecs were done.

French Presses:

110 x 6, 90 x 7

First set of these was done standing and the second set was done seated. Like both to be honest, really enjoy BTN movements for my triceps. Toasts them nicely.

One-arm Pressdowns:

50 x 8/8, 40 x 10/10

Nice sets of pressdowns here today---again using the Paramount machine. At the YMCA (where I normally train) I could easily use 100+ lbs. on each arm. Triceps were completely gone. 

Paused Dips: (~3-second pause at the bottom) 

BW x 7

OUCH! These finished up my pecs and triceps completely. Nice finisher. 

Diet- So far, so good, nothing too bad. Hopefully tonight I wont eat bad. 

Sleep- 7.5 hours, not bad at all. 

Weight- Didnt work today or go to the gym, so didnt have a decent scale to weigh myself on.


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## Robboe (Jul 4, 2003)

> _*Originally posted by MonStar *_
> Here are my current PRs:
> 
> Bench- 305 x 1
> ...



How many of these did you hit in your meet, Mike?


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## M.J.H. (Jul 4, 2003)

Robboe- Never done a meet, unfortunately. Hope to do one though sometime in the future. Not really sure yet what I want to do. I am completely positive that I want to do a DL meet, but bench and squat I am still questioning my form and everything like that. Thanks for the post man.


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## Robboe (Jul 5, 2003)

What happend to your planned meet a month or two ago?


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## M.J.H. (Jul 5, 2003)

Robboe- Registered late, sucks, I know. Ill do another one though, so I am not worried about it at all. 



Leg day! Felt good today I think, altough I am not sure how its going to work out with squats and DLs in the same week, just because my lower back really takes a beating with squats. Who knows, we'll see what happens. 

Squats:

135 x 8, 225 x 8, 315 x 4, 405 x 1 + 1 (assisted) 

Paused Squats: (~3-second pause at bottom) 

275 x 5 

Some NICE sets of squats today, damn. Havnt done squats in a good 2 months or so. Just been focusing a lot on my deadlifts and really havnt been paying enough attention to them. Anyway---WOW, what a shock it was getting back into them. Hit 405 for a single, not really that hard at all, spotter grabbed it. But 2nd rep just wasnt there. Hit up a good paused set after that, really hit my lower body very very hard. 

Leg Presses:

*24 Plates x 5 (!)*, 22 Plates x 6, 20 Plates x 6

Nice sets of leg presses today! Really pleased here with my strength, especially after squats. Blasted the hell outta my friggin' quads and all that. Good overall sets I think. I was outta gas at this point. 

Leg Extensions: 

Stack x 8, Stack x 8 

OUCH! Basically just to finish off my quads here today---and damn. Talk about my legs being more exhausted than ever before. Squats are a killer! My Nautilus stack btw is 259 lbs.

Seated Calf Raises:

6 Plates x 20, 6 Plates x 15, 6 Plates x 15

Nice sets of calf raises here today, hit my calves extremely hard with all 3 sets. Lactic acid buildup in my calves was really really excellent. Hope to balloon up my calves in the next few months---that would be great. 

Diet- Eh, so so I guess. Not too bad or too good. Need more good food. And I have a feeling that my grandad's homemade key lime pie is going to get the best of me tonight... And it did get the best of me for a slice, lol. Also chugged down a few bowls of homemade beef stew! 

Sleep- 6.5 hours, not enough. 

Weight- 224 lbs., gym scale.


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## M.J.H. (Jul 7, 2003)

Back day. A good overall workout today I think, really got sweaty today in the gym, damn! Anyway, exhausting workout today I think. Really seemed to hit my lats and my biceps extremely hard with all of the exercises. Not going to be doing any chins, I honestly dont feel them enough in my lats. 

Bentover Rows:

110 x 10, 200 x 8, 250 x 6, 290 x 5, 200 x 11

Some damn good sets here of bentover rows. Do these with an underhand grip and a cambered-bar. Really pounded my lats here with all 5 sets. 290 for 5 was very very intense. Nice contractions in my lats and everything like that. I was happy. 

Support Rows:

4 Plates x 8, 4 Plates x 7, 3 Plates x 10

Eh, this exercise seems to get harder and harder and harder for some reason. 4 plates for 8 and then 7 reps was friggin' hard as f*ck. Then 3 plates for 10, ouch! 

CG Pulldowns:

185 x 8, 170 x 8

NICE lat contractions here today. Good slow reps. Really seemed to hit my lats hard. Good slow reps here today. Enjoy doing these a lot they definitely seem to finish off my lats completely. 

Concentration Curls: 

*50 x 6/6 (!)*, 40 x 7/7

Some nice sets of concentration curls. Used a 50 lbs. DB for my first set for 6 reps on each arm, new PR! Dropped down to a 40 lbs. DB for 7 reps on each arm. 

Crossbody Hammer Curls:

75 x 5/5, 65 x 6/6

Wow, sets of hammers today were friggin' exhausting. Really finished up my arms completely. Using the 75s is just friggin' torture, lol. Good sets though. 

Cable Curls:

*Stack x 6 (!)* 

Nice set here today to finish off my biceps completely. Used the entire stack for 6 reps which was really good I think. Little bit of body English, not too bad at all though. New PR! 

Diet- Eh, sh*tty yesterday, better today. Yesterday it was too few in calories and too high in key lime pie and Gatorade, lol. Today it was pretty good I think. One too many fruit popsicles though! 

Sleep- 7.5 hours last night, 4 + 6 hours tonight. So overall, sleep isnt bad at all. 

Weight- 227 lbs. today at the gym. F*ck, too much, need to cut back my food intake.


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## P-funk (Jul 7, 2003)

What are support rows??

Dude, you are driving me f*ckin' crazy!!!!  You have all this strength and see all these gains if you would just get your diet on track your results would be even more impressive.


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## M.J.H. (Jul 7, 2003)

Funk- Support rows are just rows with your chest against a support. Great exercise for your lats, I love them! I am going to attach a pic of the exact machine that I use. Paramount makes it. Works great. I know that I need to clean my diet up and that will come with time I think. Usually dont pig out on key lime pie like I did yesterday, lol. Anyway man, thanks for chiming in.


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## Robboe (Jul 8, 2003)

> _*Originally posted by MonStar *_
> Robboe- Registered late, sucks, I know. Ill do another one though, so I am not worried about it at all.



Registered late? With what org?

Every meet i'm aware of allows entries on the day.

Did you just not show up or something?


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## P-funk (Jul 9, 2003)

Oh, support rows.  I call them spider rows.


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