# Rangers97's "Everyone Else Has a Journal" Journal



## rangers97 (Dec 9, 2004)

OK...here is my attempt at a journal.  I will post my workout routine and weights, I will not be recording what I eat because I really do not follow a strict calorie/protein counting diet.  I try to eat very healthy and get as much protein as I can, without worrying and stressing over details.  

My stats:
30 years old
5'10"
190 lbs

Supplements:
Myoplex shake (42g protein)  1 upon rising, 1 post workout
Nectar Whey Isolate (23g/scoop) 2 scoops before bed
Multivitamin, extra vitamin c and zinc before bed

Current workout routine:
Monday
Squats 3x8
Inc DB Press 3x8
db shoulder press 3x8
tri push downs 3x8
calf raise (sled) 3x8

Tuesday
BB Rows (With v-bar) 3x8
Neutral grip pull ups 3x8
bb curls 2x8
hammer curls 1x8
hamstring curls 3x8
weighted ab crunch 3x8

Thursday
Leg Press or hack squat 3x8
bench press 3x8
lateral raises 3x15
dips 3x8
calf raise (seated) 3x8

Friday
Deadlifts 3x8
BB Row (underhand grip) 3x8
Pullups 3x8
db curls 2x8
hammer curls 1x8
weighted ab work 3x8

 I try not to take the sets to failure, although, most of the time I wind up doing it anyway just because it's hard to stop when you know you got another rep in ya!! 


Monday 12/6
Squat 225x7,7
Inc DB Press 100x7,7
Military Press 135x6,6 (hurt shoulder so will switch to db presses from now on)
Tri PD 90x8,8
Calf Press (Sled) 270x8,8

*Only did 2 sets per exercise today since I was not feeling too great


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## rangers97 (Dec 9, 2004)

Tuesday 12/7

BB Row 185x5,5 (used overhand grip, know I can do more with underhand grip next time)
Pull ups Bodyweight x 6,6,6  used good form, overhand grip on these
BB Curl (e-z bar) 110x5,5  (might need to lower weight to get more reps)
hamstring curls (single leg, plate loaded) 90x6,6
Ab machine 140x8,8

Still not feeling too great, so I only did 2 or so sets per exercise, hopefully will be better by thursday


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## rangers97 (Dec 9, 2004)

Thursday 12/9

Leg press 410x8,7,7

Bench Press 225x8,7,8

lateral raise 25x10,10,8

dips - bodyweight+70x8,8,6

calf raise (seated) 135x8,8

Pretty good workout I think....have to see what happens in the long run since I got about 265x7,4 last time I did bench, but that was to failure and that was over 2 weeks ago (I sliced off a knuckle on my index finger so I could not grip a bar for 2 weeks  ) The 225 felt tough and I felt a twinge in my left shoulder...have to keep an eye on that

however, the dips and the leg press were a personal best!  go figure?


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## I'm Trying (Dec 9, 2004)

I'll be watching  We are about the same build. What are your goals?
I'm also confused on your split. It seems you do many different parts on the same day. What is the structure??
Good luck by the way...


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## simbh (Dec 9, 2004)

Same here , its a weird split , you might want to consider another kind of split if you want optimum results IMO.


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## rangers97 (Dec 10, 2004)

well, it's basically a 4 day push-pull split.  I looked at my old routine and felt I was reaching a plateau on certain exercises so I went for a change up.  I am not sold on having to wait a week to work bodyparts again, so I had to think of a way to get bodyparts done twice a week, without overtraining, and keeping my work days to 4.  So this is what I came up with.  I basically looked at how many sets per bodypart I was doing on my old routine and split it up into 2 days.  So where I used to do  3 sets of bench, 3 sets inc db press, 3 sets dips, and 3 sets tri pushdowns on the same day and then waited a week to do it again, now I split it up into 2 days.  Same with everything else, the exception being back, which I am doing a little bit more now, but I consider it a lagging part that needs it anyway...besides it is so complex I don't feel the extra sets will hurt me.

The jury is still out on this...I need to give it a few weeks, and then I can give you guys a better understanding on whether I am a genious or a complete idiot!  

But thanks for the encouragement, I think I am going to need it!


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## CowPimp (Dec 10, 2004)

rangers97 said:
			
		

> well, it's basically a 4 day push-pull split.  I looked at my old routine and felt I was reaching a plateau on certain exercises so I went for a change up.  I am not sold on having to wait a week to work bodyparts again, so I had to think of a way to get bodyparts done twice a week, without overtraining, and keeping my work days to 4.  So this is what I came up with.  I basically looked at how many sets per bodypart I was doing on my old routine and split it up into 2 days.  So where I used to do  3 sets of bench, 3 sets inc db press, 3 sets dips, and 3 sets tri pushdowns on the same day and then waited a week to do it again, now I split it up into 2 days.  Same with everything else, the exception being back, which I am doing a little bit more now, but I consider it a lagging part that needs it anyway...besides it is so complex I don't feel the extra sets will hurt me.
> 
> The jury is still out on this...I need to give it a few weeks, and then I can give you guys a better understanding on whether I am a genious or a complete idiot!
> 
> But thanks for the encouragement, I think I am going to need it!



That is a totally viable split you have chosen.  I feel that you have picked pretty good exercises for the most part.  Your volume looks pretty good, you don't neglect bodyparts, and the base of your routine is compound exercises.  I think you will definitely see some nice gains.


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## rangers97 (Dec 10, 2004)

well thank you very much cowpimp, that's what I want to hear! 


While the basis for the split is pretty straightforward (splitting my old routine in half, etc), it was actually pretty hard to come up with a good split that wouldn't neglect bodyparts and still hit all the major groups with enough volume to work.


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## rangers97 (Dec 10, 2004)

here's Friday's workout:

Friday 12/10

bb rows (underhand grip)  205x7,6,6

neutral grip pullups  8,8,6

db curls 55x6,5

hammer curls 40x8

I cut the workout short here cause I was STARVING!! Needed to eat big time, lol., but overall ok I guess.  Keep making changes to my plan, minor changes here and there, like I think I may drop back to 2 sets per exercise but go to failure and lift in the 4-6 rep range.  Don't know yet, we'll see. 

Stay tuned........


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## I'm Trying (Dec 13, 2004)

Okay now I know what you are doing. I wish you would have posted this before so I knew that you know what you are doing. 
Thanks for setting me straight


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## rangers97 (Dec 13, 2004)

Well I'd like to think I know what I'm doing... Thanks for stopping by I'm Trying....I'm gonna have to check out your journal tomorrow when I have time at work, I'll give you my $.02  


Here is Monday 12/13 's workout:

Squats 235x8,7

Inc DB press 100x8,8

Military Press 140x7,7

Tri pushdowns 90x10 100x8

calf press (on leg press sled) 280x9,8

Had a good workout, went up in weight on every exercise, so I was pleased! 
Only bad thing is my current gym only goes up to 100 lb dumbbells and I would like to use more for the chest presses, but fortunately I am moving in a couple of weeks and I already scoped out the new gym in town and it is much better equipped than my current one so I am psyched...I really want to try to stay in the 6rep range, so I think I may need to go up to the 105s or even the 110s for the inc db presses.

The other exercises I may need to add even more weight next week to get the reps down to 4-6, nothing wrong with 7 or 8 but I am going for strength now, so I wanna fail at really no more than 6.  We'll see......but, so far so good.  I will make more opinions on my routine in a couple more weeks....


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## rangers97 (Dec 14, 2004)

tuesday 12/14

here goes:

deadlifts 225x6,6,6

chinups  bodyweight+25x6,5,5

db curls 55x6,6

db shrugs 100x9,8

Short but sweet workout!


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## rangers97 (Dec 17, 2004)

Thursday 12/16

Leg Press 430x8,6

Bench Press 245x6,6

db shoulder press 75x7,6

dips  bodyweight+75x8,8 (Personal Best!!!!)

Seated calf raise 145x8,8

Man do I love DIPS! They are without a doubt my favorite exercise ever.  I had no idea I would crank out 2 sets of 8 with the 75 pounds on the belt! Last week I had 70 on the belt and got two sets of 8, so I was pleasantly surprised with adding 5 pounds and still getting 2 sets of 8.  PLeased with the bench press too, my benching has been erratic lately ever since I cut one of my fingers a few weeks ago and couldn't bend my finger, so I am finally able to do these again and hope to get back to where I was, but I was pleased with the 2 sets of 6 without a spotter and I had no problems whatsoever.  DB presses were good too, felt easier than in the past with that weight, hopefully in maybe 2 more weeks I will go up to the 80s and that would be a personal record....we'll see

I like my new routine so far, after Friday's workout it will be 2 weeks so far and I have been improving every workout, so either my new routine is really working or I was seriously overtraining and the reduction of volume is working for me.   Keep you all posted

thanks


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## CowPimp (Dec 17, 2004)

Nice dips there Ranger.  How much do you weigh?


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## rangers97 (Dec 17, 2004)

CowPimp said:
			
		

> Nice dips there Ranger. How much do you weigh?


I am tipping the scales at around 190 or so.  

I honestly haven't been doing dips for that long, one day I just realized I was doing like 25 in a set so I needed to buy a dip belt, and I dunno, just threw some plates on there and the rest was history...I made huge jumps, like I didn't steadily add 5 pounds a week or anything, I think I just went from like one 25lb plate, to 2 25lb plates, then right to 2 35lb plates, and yesterday I added a little 5 lb plate in there just for fun  

Obviously, the jump to 2 45lb plates and higher is going to take some work, but at the rate I am going with these, I may be there before I know it....too bad my other exercises aren't progressing like this one, then we can talk


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## bracewater (Dec 17, 2004)

hey those are some good dip numbers there.

you are pretty close to me in terms of BW and weights you are lifting.    I'll have to check in from time to time.  How is your diet looking?


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## rangers97 (Dec 17, 2004)

bracewater said:
			
		

> hey those are some good dip numbers there.
> 
> you are pretty close to me in terms of BW and weights you are lifting.  I'll have to check in from time to time. How is your diet looking?


Not really paying too much attention to diet. I do try to have a large amount of protein with every meal I eat and try to east frequent small meals each day. I am not training for a competition or anything, just for overall strength and whatnot, so I am not too particular, although I do stick to some kind of a daily plan, it looks something like this

meal 1:myoplex shake
meal 2:bagel
meal 3: Promax bar
meal 4:turkey and cheese sandwich
meal 5: Promax bar
post workout:myoplex shake
meal 6: DINNER! usually some kind of grilled chicken or lean chopped meat and whatever sides I make with it
meal 7:can of tuna
meal 8:2 scoops whey protein isolate

thats a typical day for me, comments/suggestions are welcome  

todays workout
friday 12/17

barbell rows with v-bar handle(straddling bar & adding weight to one end) 165+bar x 7,6

pullups bodyweight+10x6,5

db curls 55x6,6

upright rows 90x7,6

tried doing the rows with the v-bar, interesting rows, felt good, I will see if I like the results. Pullups were HARD! These were palms away and very tough for me. I can do so much more with palms towards, so I need to work this up a bit.
Starting to stagnate on the db curls a bit, seem to can't get past 6 reps in a set with the 55s. Any ideas to help get past this??


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## rangers97 (Dec 20, 2004)

monday 12/20

incline bench press 225x5,5

standing military press 145x5,6

incline db press 100x8,7

tri push down 100x9,7

Frustrated by my gym only having 100 lb dbs and nothing heavier, I went for the barbell incline presses and I really didn't like them.  Felt nothing in my chest, I really don't like any angle more than the first setting on the adjustable bench and I think the barbell press station was set at 30-40 degrees...too much shoulder...of course I could have wheeled a bench to the power rack, but thats too much trouble when the gym is packed.
So I went back and did my db presses after...went down in reps by 1 from last week on the second set, but I also usually do them first and without added barbell work, so I should be ok.

Left tricep near elbow is KILLING me, tendonitis is totally flaring up, gonna stop the tri pushdowns and replace with either close grip bench or maybe my favorite dips.....does anyone think 4 sets of dips spread out over the week is too much?  Military press went up, somehow got more reps on the second set???? think thats cause I had to wait like 10 minutes between sets while some big fat kid tried to deadlift 500 pounds...credit to him, he got it 3/4 the way up...pretty impressive actually


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## rangers97 (Dec 21, 2004)

tuesday 12/21

deadlifts 230x7,7

chinups  bodyweight+25 x 6,6

db curls 60x4,4  (Personal record!)

cable shoulder laterals 30x8,8

went nuts on the db curls and went for a record...got 2 sets of 4...gonna try for 5 reps next time.  Did cable laterals today since I noticed my front delts are getting disproportionate from my side delts///need to get the round look again


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## rangers97 (Dec 23, 2004)

Thursday 12/23


ok, closed on my new house yesterday with my wife, so I was forced to join a new gym and we went there today to try it out...needless to say it was an adventure! Talk about feeling out of place!  The weights were all different and definitely different than my old gym.  For instance, the 75 lb dumbbells seemed more like 85 here, so it's gonna take a while to adjust, so my numbers may be wierd for a couple of weeks....

leg press 435x6,6

bench press 250x5,5

db shoulder press 75x7,6

dips  bodyweight + 90 x 6,6  !!!! PR !!!!

seated calf raise  155x6,6


ok I can't believe I hit the dips with 2 45 plates hanging from my belt...boy did I feel great, but I am paying for it now, my elbow with the tendinitis is so sore, it is killing me   It was very hard to do this, the new gym has a dip station with very very wide handles, and I have small hands so this poses a problem for my wrists...the old gym had smaller handles, much easier to grip and hold on to, so I am pretty amazed that, a) I didnt kill my wrists to hell, and b) that I put up bw+90.  

I am definitely noticing some changes in my body....getting more defined and definitely a bit bigger.  I am going up pretty much on 95% of my exercises every workout, so it seems my new routine is working for the moment.  If I start to stall, I know it will be time for a change since I know for a fact it is working now, in fact I recommend my routine to anyone who is looking for a good strength routine, or to just get a change of pace    Go for it, I promise you'll like it!!!


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## CowPimp (Dec 23, 2004)

Sounds like things are coming along nicely.  Those are especially nice dips.


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## Egoatdoor (Dec 25, 2004)

rangers97 said:
			
		

> Not really paying too much attention to diet. I do try to have a large amount of protein with every meal I eat and try to east frequent small meals each day. I am not training for a competition or anything, just for overall strength and whatnot, so I am not too particular, although I do stick to some kind of a daily plan, it looks something like this
> 
> meal 1:myoplex shake
> meal 2:bagel
> ...


I just came across your Journal. I like that you are working on basic compound movements and that you constantly seeking to increase your weights in small increments by throwing 5s and 10s on top of the 45 pound plates.

The diet though looks pretty bad. No wonder you had to quit a workout because you were starving! I don't see how a 190 pounder can grow on what you wrote above. If you are gaining now, could it be newbie gains? I don't see this happening long term. As one gets more advanced, nutrition becomes much more important in continuing gains than the specifics of a training program.

There are too many shakes and bars and not enough "real food". Shakes and bars are SUPPLEMENTS, not substitutions for real food. The breakfast is inadequate. You've been sleeping for how many hours? Your body has been catabolising muscle. And you feed it with just a protein shake??? Then later a bagel and then a protein bar? A bagel IS NOT a meal.

I hope the Promax bar has some carbs if that is your pre workout nutrition. The body needs carbs to fuel the energy needed for your workout and also if your glycogen stores are not elevated, you risk the body burning muscle during the workout, not building it.

How many grams of carbs are there? Where are the healthy fats? The body needs carbs and healthy fats, not just protein, to grow, regardless of the what you may have heard.

This diet looks like the starvation diet of a pro bodybuilder or lady fitness competitor three days before a competition, not for an ordinary guy of 190 pounds looking to grow.


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## CowPimp (Dec 25, 2004)

I agree with Egoatdoor's assessment of your diet.  Stop by the diet & nutrition forum.  Read the stickies.  Don't skim; read every word.


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## rangers97 (Dec 28, 2004)

well it;s been a few days since I've gotten to the gym...Christmas time is hectic enough as it is, plus I just moved into a new house yesterday, so I have been moving shit back and forth from my apartment to my house for the past 4 days, I've been exhausted!

However, I got back today and still managed a good workout...here goes

tuesday 12/28

deadlifts 235x6,6 PR

pullups  bodyweight+10 x6,6

db curls 60x5,4

cable side laterals 40x6,6

I have to comment on what was said about the diet.  I appreciate the input, like I said I really don't pay attention to it, and I know there are things that I am not doint that I should be doing, but I am getting over 200g of protein every day and I think the calories come in at around 2500-3000.  I am not really looking to bulk, I am more in a looking to get stronger phase, not necessarily caring if I get bigger.  I know I eat a lot less than I used to and I never curled 60lb dbs before and never dipped with 90 lbs on the belt, so something must be working.  I am not a newbie, have been working out seriously for about 6 years now.  I am sure with the weight I am throwing around if I ate more I might get huge, but that is not a goal right now, I am looking to get as strong as I can while being as cut as I can at the same time.  So far I like my routine, I am going up in reps and/or weight every workout, so I will keep this up until it stops .  Thank you though for stopping by, I will definitely remember your words when the gains stop coming


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## rangers97 (Dec 29, 2004)

ok..I broke down....due to some nagging injuries to my shoulder and elbow, I decided to go back to once a week per body part with a new split as follows:
m-back
t-chest/tri
w-off
th-legs
f-shoulders/bi
s-off
su-off

only thing is I will keep my 2 sets per exercise and do no more than 10 sets total for large bodyparts and no more than 5 for smaller parts....with some exceptions, we'll see how it goes

wednesday 12/28
catch up day...did chest, normally this would be a tuesday, but due to the move and christmas I needed today to do it

bench press 255x6,5

incline smith press 225x7 245x4 (jumped up in weight too much too fast I think!)

dips  bodyweight +90 x7,7  PR!  My favorites  

close grip bp 205x5,5


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## rangers97 (Jan 4, 2005)

ok pulled a 180 and switched up the routine totally...need to do something for my aching shoulder and elbow, so i am going to be doing some sub-maximal training, with more volume than before, to hopefully still be able to make gains, but also to ease the pain I am experiencing....I did my first "new" workout yesterday and it kicked my ass! I was so exhausted afterwards, I fell asleep at about 7pm and I am still tired....not too sore, but just tired.  This workout uses shorter rest periods and lots of switching between exercises, so it was pretty intense cardiovascular wise.  I am used to doing my heavy set and waiting 3-5 minutes to do the next set, but now I am doing 1 minute rests and it makes a huge difference.......

monday 1/3

squats--8 sets of 3 reps, 225

weighted dips/barbell row superset (resting 1 minute between exercises)
dips--4 sets of 6, bodyweight+70
bb rows--4 sets of 6, 185

tri pushdown/barbell curl superset (same rest as above)
tri--4 sets of 6, 90
bb curls--4 sets of 6, 95

loads more volume than I am used to, shorter rest periods=kicked my ass!  The good thing is that I didn't drop too much in weight from what I was doing on my other routine.  Squats I was doing about 235, dips I had worked up to bodyweight+90, bb rows maybe 205, tri pushdowns 110 and curls about 110-115 so for the added volume, it wasnt too much of a drop and since I didnt hit failure on any sets, I should be ok in the recovery department.  next workout is wednesday, I will post my progress...


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## rangers97 (Jan 4, 2005)

so much for that 180 I said I turned yesterday.  I cant make up my mind on a routine, so now i am going to go with the 5x5 method for a week and see how I like that one.  The routine will be as follows:

monday
bench press 5x5
incline smith press 2x8-10
flies 2x8-10
dips 5x5
tri pushdown 2x8-10
close grip bp 2x8-10

tuesday
deads 5x5
chins 2x8-10
rows 2x8-10
shrugs 2x8-10
sled calf extensions 5x15

wednesday
off

thursday
squats 5x5
hack squats 2x8-10
leg curls 2x8-10
calf raises 5x15

friday
db shoulder press 5x5
military press 2x8-10
side laterals 2x8-10
bb curls 5x5
incline curls 2x8-10
preacher curls 2x8-10

weekend
off or cardio

tuesday 1/4

modified monday workout since I had no idea i would switch to this routine today!!
bench press 225  5x5

incline smith press 205x10,8

flies (machine) 150x7,7

comments:  will switch to db flies next week since the flies machine at my new gym sucks ass and is so not smooth it almost hurts

maybe I will actually give this routine a chance...we'll see

anyone else switch routines almost weekly like I do??


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## CowPimp (Jan 4, 2005)

rangers97 said:
			
		

> anyone else switch routines almost weekly like I do??



Go to advanced search.  Look for posts started by Monstar.  He has changed routines and journals more times than I can count.  He still makes good progress though.


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## rangers97 (Jan 5, 2005)

CowPimp said:
			
		

> Go to advanced search. Look for posts started by Monstar. He has changed routines and journals more times than I can count. He still makes good progress though.


I have noticed that he has quite a few journals in here although I haven't really read them too much.....

So Mr. CowPimp, I know you are doing Westside, but what are your opinions of the 5x5 routine? just curious....


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## CowPimp (Jan 5, 2005)

I think the volume is high in certain places, but I have heard some decent things about 5x5.  Although, I have never tried it myself.


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## rangers97 (Jan 10, 2005)

I should really name my journal my "I don't know what the hell to do" journal, since I seem to be switching routines daily as of late.  I really don't know what to call what I did today, was it MAx-OT, was it HIT, I dunno, but here goes anyway:

monday 1/10

bench press 265x5,5

incline smith press 245x6,5

dips  bodyweight+80 x 6,6

close grip bp 205x5,4

So what the hell do you call that?? Was that even enough volume?  I only did 4 sets for chest, well if you count the dips as chest then 6 and 2 for tris...I did do the sets to failure, is this enough???????


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## rangers97 (Jan 11, 2005)

tuesday 1/11


messed around with some high intensity techniques today, namely rest pausing, which I did on all my exercises.  I did basically one set rest paused twice, so I did my reps, racked the weight, took about 15-20 breaths and then went at it again, 15-20 more breaths and then one last time.  Needless to say it was a shock to a)finish the workout so quickly, and b)do it with such short rest, not used to it and I was definitely huffing and puffing.  So we'll see how this goes

Got some nagging pain in my right shoulder which I forsee will cause some problems very soon....hopefully not, but we'll see

barbell rows (yates style) 205x8,5,4=17 RP

close grip pull downs 170x10,6,4=20 RP

bb curls 105x7,5,3=15 RP

shrugs (with shrug bar) 180+bar (anyone know what those things weigh?) x10,8,7=25 RP (definitely up the weight next time)

lateral raises 25x9,7,5=21 RP (inc weight next time)

so yes, like I said workout kicked my ass,,,,we'll see if it works


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## rangers97 (Jan 14, 2005)

oh well, starting yet another routine, lol....here it goes:

monday
bench press
bb rows
inc bench press
cable rows
shoulder rear laterals
close grip bp

wednesday
deadlift/squat (alternate each week)
leg press
leg curls
calf raises

friday
db shoulder press
weighted pull ups
weighted dips
weighted close grip chins
db side laterals
db curls

tuesday, thursday, sat will be cardio and abs days
the premise of this routine is monday is all horizontal movements, wednesday is legs and friday is all vertical movements.  Hopefully this will be a more effective routine, or more anatomically correct for my body...who the hell knows but I'm giving it a shot

heres todats workout

Friday 1/14

db shoulder press 80x6,5  PR

pull ups  bodyweight +10 x 6,6,5

dips  bodyweight + 75 x 6,6

close grip chins  bodyweight + 25 x6,6

side laterals 30x7,8,7

db curls 60x4,3  ---too much weight, stupid, should have went lower, got way ahead of myself.......oh well


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## rangers97 (Jan 17, 2005)

monday jan 17

starting today, I decided to work out in the 6-8 rep range as opposed to the 4-6 rep range to see if it will help with my aching joints lately.  Let's see, my right shoulder hurts, left pec tendon hurts, right forearm hurts, but we press on....

bench press 245x7,7

bb row 205x7,6

inc smith bench press 190+bar x8,8

cable row 180x10 190x9 200x8

reverse pec dec 60x8,8

db curls 55x7,6

a little sore afterwards, but definitely better than my last big chest workout as far as my shoulder goes and stuff.  We'll see how I feel tomorrow though


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## rangers97 (Jan 27, 2005)

ok been a while since I posted, I have been taking it easy lately, trying to get my joints back in order, especially my elbow.  I have been supplementing with about 6 grams of MSM and glucosamine/chondroitin pills from AST (I dont know how much is in them, but I take 3) per day.  It really seems to be working, my elbow has been sore during the actual working out, but later on it seems to go away faster than it used to.  I am encouraged by this so far, we'll see if it continues......

anyway, I've decided to try a 10x3 for big body parts, 8x3 for medium and 6x3 for small routine where I don't go to failure.  when i hit all 3 reps for all the prescribed reps, I will up the weight.  If I cant get to 3 in a set, I will not force it, I will just try it again the next week.  No failure! I think I just need to stay away from failure for a while, until my joints say it's ok!  But I honestly really dont care anymore, I am 30, I am married, and now my goals have changed, I just want to stay in shape and better my overall health, which means more cardio if I can get myself to do it!  

here is todays workout:
1/27

dips--bodyweight+70  10x3

chinups--bodyweight+25  10x3

tri pushdowns--140  6x3

hammer curls--45  6x3


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## rangers97 (Jan 27, 2005)

here is the routine by the way:

monday

bench press 10x3
bb rows (palms down) 10x3
close grip bench (for tris) 6x3
bb curls 6x3

wednesday

squats 10x3
seated calf raise 8x3
db shoulder press 8x3
weighted crunches 10x3

thursday

dips 10x3
chinups (palms up) 10x3
tri pushdowns 6x3
hammer curls 6x3

saturday

deadlifts 10x3
sled calf raise 8x3
upright rows 8x3
crunches 10x3


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## rangers97 (Feb 1, 2005)

Still trying to work on my 10x3 routine, however, I think I may amend it now to starting week #1 at 10x3, then next week instead of increasing the weight a small percentage, I will add a rep, so week 2 will be 10x4 and then week 3 will be 10x5.  I am using challenging, yet attainable weights still stopping short of failure.  Failure would be a very bad thing with this workout in mind!  I may have overestimated some poundages though, especially on some of the smaller body parts...for instance, yesterday I did 5x3 for bb curls with 125 and by the 5th set I think one more rep might have brought me to failure.  The test will be next week, when I gotta hit 5x4 and we'll see if I overestimated....Anyway, after the third week, I will increase the weights by 5 or so pounds and start the cycle again at 10x3.


I have to say that I have done the 10x3 thing for a week now and I don't know if it is psychological, but I think I am noticing a difference in the shape of my muscles...they actually do look a little more solid and defined, which is the goal of the program, hypertrophy!  I will keep posting if I see more results, or if it is just my imagination, lol.  I also decided to do bb rows with palms down, i have been doing them palms up, i wanted to try it the other way since it is more difficult, so my weight dropped a bit, but it's all good...I will continue to do chinups with palms up however, since they will be countered by the palms down bb rows

monday 1/31

bench press 245  10x3

bb rows (palms down)  185  10x3

close grip bp  190  5x3

bb curls  125  5x3


notice small bodyparts get 5x3 (i may switch to 6x3, we'll see), medium bodyparts (shoulders/calves) will get 8x3 and large compound exercises will get the 10x3

i like it so far...you dont leave the gym exhausted since you do not go to failure, but you still feel like you did something.  10 sets is a lot though and the waiting can get very boring, but if you stick with it, you will be surprised that it works well.


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## rangers97 (Feb 3, 2005)

wednesday 2/2

deadlifts  10x3  245

leg press calf raises  8x3  250

upright rows  8x3  105

crunches  8x3

still trying to stick to my modified 10x3 routine, hopefully I will stick with it until at least the third week when I go to 10x5 for the big exercises.  I have a feeling the 10x5 may be tough though.  The deadlifts were actually a PR for me, I never did that much weight before, so that was pretty cool, it was only 3 reps but by the end it was getting tough, I wonder if I will be able to do the 4 reps next week....we'll see


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## rangers97 (Feb 7, 2005)

this journal is going no where fast....i keep changing my mind basically every day on what routine i want to do.  Not a motivation problem, I just think in this case, it hurts to read this board! I mean all the different theories and all, it's hard to pick one and stick with it and when you finally do, you just read about something new and want to try that...ughh

anyway, went back to a more semi HIT style workout today (SHIT as it has been so aptly named) for chest and tris.  Obviously this goes back to the once per week per bodypart, but I'm going to try to stick with it, for a week at least.

todays workout kicked the shit out of me! I almost puked when I got home...definitely not used to the heavy heavy weights, but I think it was a pretty good workout...really short too, a little over a 1/2 hour. Went to dumbbells for chest press and was glad to see I was able to do a set with the 110s which I haven't done with dbs in like 5 years.  Also used a leverage incline chest press machine (plate loaded) since I tried regular incline bench and my shoulder just hurt too much to continue on it...but the leverage machine was actually pretty tough and felt good.  The rest is the rest, solid and hopefully will keep improving....

2/7/05

db chest press  100x8, 110x6  (no 105 dbs in my gym...goes up to 100, then goes up by 10 to like 200...wierd who the hell uses 200 lb dbs???)

incline leverage machine  180x7,5

dips 90+bodyweight x6,5  (back up to bodyweight+90 was a little tough but I managed to actually do it more upright, so i think i got more tri than chest)

close grip bench press 195x7,6  (really should be higher, but I am being careful of my recurring elbow tendonitis, so I am doing these more carefully, but the 195 felt good today, really felt the tris work and not *too* much pain in the elbow)


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## rangers97 (Feb 8, 2005)

ok here is the new routine of the week, let's see how this one goes....

day 1
db press
incline leverage press
weighted dips
close grip bp
db shoulder press

day 2
bb rows
weighted pullups
db curls
weighted close grip chins
upright rows

day 3
deadlifts
hack squats
sled calf raises
assorted ab work

I think I will rotate the days so that each group will be worked out 4 times in 3 weeks, ie each week one group will be done on monday and friday, and wednesdays and the weekends will be cardio or off days.  Want to stick with low reps, I think I may do it, where if I can hit at least 6 reps on the second set then I will bump the weight up next time, and for the hack squats I may try using high rep, going to 20 and all and for calves as well.


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## CowPimp (Feb 8, 2005)

Good luck this time.  Hopefully you've found something you can work with.


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## rangers97 (Feb 9, 2005)

CowPimp said:
			
		

> Good luck this time. Hopefully you've found something you can work with.


I would love to stick with it, we'll see what happens

tuesday 2/8

bb row (palms down) 185 x8,7

pull ups (palms away) bodyweight x 6,6,6

db curls 55x5,4

close grip chinups   bodyweight+25 x 6,6

upright rows 115x6,6

damn pullups are so tough....always seem to get stuck at 6 no matter how hard I try.  I will see what happens, if I can't improve on them too much I may go back to regular weighted chinups, since I know I can move some weight with those, I was trying to work on a weak point though, but it does get annoying...like the rows...if I do them palms up, I can do like 215 for reps, but palms down is a whole different ballgame.  I guess I have pretty strong biceps


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## rangers97 (Feb 10, 2005)

thursday 2/10


ok kicked the shit out of myself today, I am sitting here, 3 hours post workout and I am in pain, lol....exhausted, stiff, sore, you name it.  But I am very happy as I set a personal record on deadlifts today for me, and I am pretty psyched about that...my original plan was to rotate working one of my days twice per week but man, I am scared to think I need to do this workout twice in a week and actually IMPROVE on the next day...we'll see, I may need to just stick to a once per week thing, who knows...ok anyway, now to the workout

deadlifts (sumo style) 245x7,6

leg press 300x8,8

sled calf raise 250x10,10

weighted crunches ???x10,10   (just set the pin and went! )

the deadlifts destroyed me...not so much muscular wise, but I am just shot now.  I couldn't believe I did it, my back felt good, legs feel good, form was great.  Surprised myself a little I guess


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## soxmuscle (Feb 10, 2005)

I hear you, deadlifts are the single most excruciating excercise other than the squat.  Looks like your getting on a routine that your going to be building with, thats the way to go.


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## rangers97 (Feb 14, 2005)

ok, felt weaker today, so I went kind of lighter today.  man, i didnt realize how out of shape I am on higher reps! I have been used to doing 3-6 reps, but when you bump it up to 7-10, it makes a huge difference...I was quite tired after the workout, plus it was weird to actually have a pump from a workout, not used to that either


barbell rows (palms up)  185x9,8,7

pullups  bodyweight x 6,6,6

standing preacher db curls  40x10,10

db curls 55x7,6

neutral grip cable rows 160x10,10

db upright rows 35x8,7,7


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## rangers97 (Feb 16, 2005)

Wednesday 2/16


Ok went back to one of my old favorite routines that I stopped a while ago due to joint pain.  I have been relatively pain free for a couple of weeks now , so i decided to try it again and see how it goes  

squats  225x8,7

incline bench press 205x7,6

dips  bodyweight+90 x 8,7 PR

reverse pec dec  90x9,9

seated calf raises 115x8,8

the dips were really a surprise to me, last time I did that much weight I only hit sets of 6 and 5 so the 8 and 7 really surprised me...felt good on them too, strong, didnt' eek them out, got them strong, and I was pretty straight up too, so I guess my tris are getting pretty strong!


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## rangers97 (Feb 22, 2005)

another week, another change in routine, when will it end...? Well I guess it's good if you believe what people say about keeping the body guessing, cause God knows my body doesn't know what the hell is coming next!! 

ok, went back to my good old 10x3 routine.  I just like being able to use heavy weights, but I don't like the extreme exhaustion I was feeling when I would go to failure, so the 10x3 is great since you don't go near failure and you can use pretty heavy weights.  Like I always say, we'll see what happens...

monday 2/21

bench press  10 sets of 3 reps  245

bb row 10x3  205

close grip bp  5x3  195

close grip chinups  5x3  bodyweight+30


It's 10 sets for big muscle groups, 5 sets for small, shoulders will probably fall in between say 7 or 8.  Will workout m, w, f take the weekends off and rotate between 4 different workouts so in the end each muscle group will be hit directly every 4 or 5 days.  After the first 4 workouts, I will go to a 10x4 for the next 4 workouts, then finally a 10x5 for the last 4.  Then depending on how I feel either a 1 week break or right into next cycle, back to 10x3 but up the weights by 5 pounds or so.  My thinking was if I am able to keep this routine and not change my mind that by going to 4 and 5 reps instead of upping the weight right away it will be a more steady climb up and hopefully that will prevent a plateau.  I would think adding 5 pounds each week would be too much too soon as in about 10 weeks my bench would be at 300 and I think adding 55 pounds to your bench in 10 weeks may be a little too much too soon.  My way it will take 35-40 weeks to get to 300.  A long way off, but probably more realistic given the stresses of life like work and all......

day 1
bench press 10x3
bb rows 10x3
close grip bench 5x3
close grip chins 5x3

day 2
squats 10x3
seated calf raises 5x3
upright rows 7x3
weighted crunches 5x3

day 3
incline bench press 10x3
weighted pull ups 10x3
weighted dips 5x3
db curls 5x3

day 4
deadlifts 10x3
sled calf raises 5x3
rear laterals 7x3
ab work 5x3


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## rangers97 (Mar 2, 2005)

ok, trying something new yet again....to spare a long winded post, basically I am gonna do 3 sets per exercise and shoot for 30 total reps in the three sets, once I hit 30, then I increase the weight next time.  For instance, if I do 10,10,10 I move up or if I do 15, 10, 5 I move up, the total is 30, and I will take each set as far as I can before stopping.  Each bodypart once per week, I think that will be plenty...also going to keep the rest periods to 60 seconds between sets to make it a little harder 


3/2/05  -- first day of new routine

Quads and calves

squats 185x 15, 9, 9 = 33 -->increase weight next week

leg press 290x 9, 5, 6 =20 -->weight stays the same next week

calf press(on leg press) 200x 11, 9, 8 = 28 -->weight stays the same next week

All I';ve got to say is OOOOUUUUUCCCCHHHHHH!!!  Finally got a leg workout where I can't walk right!  The 60 second rest periods are killer especially on big exercises like squats and press.  The workout was short, but very intense...the weights are a lot lower than I have been using, but the rest period made the difference.  15 reps on the first set of squats was amazing for me, I've never done that many at once, even though it was only 185 lbs...gonna have to go to at least 200 next week, but they felt great, went slightly below parallel...

great workout, hope the other days are like this one!!


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## rangers97 (Mar 8, 2005)

ok forgot to post for a couple of days, rather then backtrack, will just pick up where I left off...

mon 3/7/05

chest/tri

rest intervals=60 sec between sets, 2min between exercises

db bench press 105x10,6,5=21 --> keep same weight

incline bench press 185x8,6,4=18 --> keep same weight

dips  bodyweight+25x10,7,5=22 --> keep same weight

close grip bp 135x10,8 missed last set, had to leave...-->keep same weight

this workout routine is crazy...on my strength routine, I had worked my way up to 225 on close grip bench, so to use 135 is a bit of an ego bruiser, but man, I just could not lift even this light weight...the short rest periods just fry your muscles, to the point they dont even work right anymore! I did bis and hamstrings on last friday (4 days ago) and my hammies are still sore, and I really didn't use too heavy a weight....definitely a tough workout, but very cool and as a side benefit, very quick...under a half hour and you're outta there.

I think I might have went too heavy on the inclines, 18 is far short of my goal for 30 reps in 3 sets, we'll see what happens next week, if I can improve significantly or not...the db press just destroyed me though, try doing a set of 10 with 105 dbs and then do it 2 more times in 2 minutes...tell me how you feel!  chest is very sore today, tris feel ok, good workout, today is my first back workout on the new routine, looking forward to it


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## rangers97 (May 2, 2005)

UPDATE

May 1 2005

ok completely slacking on the journal...well I change my routine so often it doesnt really pay to keep the journal, but I decided to try out a new routine based on some of the ideas that P-Funk uses...thanks man!  I like his split of lower/upper horizontal/off/lower/upper vertical and will try to use that for a while.  I did my first workout like this last friday and it went well, so I will try to stick with it for a while.

updated weight...198

It seems I have gained some weight in the past month...I was stuck around 190-195, now when I get up in the morning the scale says 198ish and at night it goes over 200! Very happy about that, it was a goal of mine to hit 200 lbs (muscularly of course) and I am doing good getting there.  I see a little more size in my waist area then I'd like, so I am altering my diet to try to help that, so my weight may drop a bit, but who cares it's summer time anyway coming up!

updated goal...functional strength ...ok what does that mean? well, I know I will not be competing in any powerlifting or bodybuilding competition, so I am just trying to get stronger in general, with no plan really, just do my exercises and see how that coorelates to real world situations.  That being said I am reintroducing deadlifts into my routine, and will be adding new things like step-ups and overhead pressing while standing (as opposed to sitting) to help develop core strength.  Need to also focus a bit more on the abs as I tend to neglect them, even if I am not dieting for the sixpack, I need to get them stronger for core stability, etc....

friday april 29
upper-vertical

weighted dips  bodyweight+90 x 6,5,5

weighted chinups  bodyweight+25 x 6,5,6

standing db press 65x6,6,6

upright rows 95x8,8,8

neutral grip lat pulldowns 180x8,7

went light on the uprights cause I haven't done them in a while and I wanted to see how it would feel.  I may stay in the higher rep range for that exercise, we'll see...felt good on the dips, haven't done 90 in a while, but managed pretty decently.  the db presses were tough standing up! I can normally do 80-85 sitting down, but standing is a whole new beast, wow....


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## rangers97 (May 2, 2005)

monday 5/2

deadlifts 245x6 255x5,5

step-ups with 50lb db in each hand 6,6,6

sled calf press 290x8,8

ab machine  plate#8 x 6,5

short workout, but very painful....got a bad feeling in my groin muscle again, I pulled something in there playing hockey in november and I thought it was getting better, but something aggrivated it today.  it was either the deadlifts or the stepups, i dont know, i havent done either in a while so I dont know, but the inside groin muscle in my left leg is killing me right now


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## rangers97 (May 3, 2005)

tuesday 5/3

incline bench press 225x4,4,3 WTF??

bb rows (underhand grip) 205x6,5,5

close grip bench press (pinky about 2 1/2 inches from ring) 205x8 225x6,5

v-bar cable rows 210x7,6,5

bb curls 115x5,5

exhausted by the end so only 2 sets of curls, if I went for 3 I may have puked, lol... I say WTF on the inclines cause last week when I did chest (a different routine than now, but whatever) I did inclines AFTER 3 sets of heavy flat benches and I managed 3 sets of 5,5,4 with 225, so today I STARTED with inclines and went down a couple of reps.  Could be cause I was more warmed up for the inclines last time after the flat? Who knows...

I tried a new hand position on the close grips today and I loved it! They felt great, felt it right in the tris and surprisingly in wierd parts of my chest as well, so thats a good thing 

tomorrow is an off day YAY!


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