# Absolute Dedication



## M.J.H. (Oct 12, 2005)

I know I just started another journal a few days ago, if someone could delete it that would be great. The only reason being that I can't jump back into low-carb dieting when I know for sure it's not a lifetime type of diet.

I need to completely change my eating habits and get into eating clean on a regular basis no matter what. 

I started working out regularly with a few guys from my new 2nd job (at a night club) and let me tell you we are all getting 100% back into the bodybuilding lifestyle. I'm about to turn 22, one of the guys is 30, and the other is 24. They've all been HUGE (and no exaggeration) in the past and they're just getting back into the swing of things. 

I'm going to be changing up my split on a regular basis but I'm going to be doing a clean diet, and taking basic supplements like whey protein and creatine, etc.


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## soxmuscle (Oct 12, 2005)

About fucking time.


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## M.J.H. (Oct 12, 2005)

soxmuscle- As usual, thanks for your positive support, lol.


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## M.J.H. (Oct 12, 2005)

Monday; 10-10-2005​
Chest! 

Today I didn't really do much of a heavy workout at all in the gym, I ended up doing a ton of supersets. My workout partner and I are just getting back into eating clean and going heavy. 

Flat DB Presses SS w/ Flat DB Flyes: 

70's x 12 / 30's x 12
70's x 12 / 30's x 12
70's x 12 / 30's x 12

Pec-Deck Flyes SS w/ Dips:

110 x 8 / BW x 12 
110 x 8 / BW x 12 
110 x 8 / BW x 12 

Hammer Strength Bench Presses:

150 x 12
150 x 12
150 x 12

Push-Ups:

My workout partner showed me a new way of doing resistance push-ups, I'm going to try and explain. Basically you have someone push you down for 8-10 push-ups to give you resistance. And then after you hit failure, your partner pulls you up for the postive part of the push-up, and you do the negative as slow as possible until you can't do anymore negatives. Did 2 sets like this---OUCH! 

Finished up with 3 sets of hovers for abs, killed. Hovers are basically just holding yourself up in a push-up position, but you're on your elbows. Very very intense. 

Diet- For whatever reason today I ended up thinking I was going to continue a low-carb diet so I ate low-carb today. Had some cheese and nuts, etc. Stupid move on my part. Whatever. 

Sleep- 9 hours.


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## soxmuscle (Oct 12, 2005)

That is positive support.  I'm commending you for doing what you should have done a while ago.  Good luck.


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## M.J.H. (Oct 12, 2005)

soxmuscle- Now that I would say is actually positive support, thanks bro.


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## M.J.H. (Oct 12, 2005)

Tuesday; 10-11-2005​
Back day! 

Pretty hard workout today, although I'm sick as a dog.  

My partner pushed me pretty damn hard even though he was pretty much dragging my a*s the entire time, lol. I don't know how much of this workout I'm going to remember but as I remember it it was something like this. 

Bentover Rows SS w/ Cable Rows:

115 x 12 / 145 x 8
115 x 12 / 145 x 8
115 x 12 / 145 x 8

Going light getting back into the swing of things, lol.

Hammer Strength Iso-Rows SS w/ Hammer Strength Pulldowns: 

150 x 10 / 100 x 8
150 x 10 / 100 x 8
150 x 10 / 100 x 8

Cable Pullovers SS w/ Cable Pulldowns:

50 x 10 / 145 x 8
50 x 10 / 145 x 8

Again as you can see, I'm going very light to get back into working out on a low-carb diet. I'll be going heavy again in no time. 

Reverse Incline DB Rows:

40's x 10
40's x 10

Bentover DB Lateral Raises: 

15's x 10
15's x 10

Finished up today with 3 sets of hovers for abs and called it a day. Not too shabby overall I don't think. 

Diet- Pretty good today actually, after my workout I had some oatmeal and honey, and then at work I ate an MRP bar, chicken noodle soup, and a whole-wheat turkey sandwich. After work I ended up having some chicken and rice stir-fry and some sugar-free jello, and some coffee. 

Sleep- 8 hours.


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## M.J.H. (Oct 12, 2005)

Wednesday; 10-12-2005​
Rest day, today. 

Took a day off today, actually. Which I rarely ever do so its actually somewhat of a big surprise that I did in fact take a day off. Went to the Y anyway and ended up doing 45 minutes of incline walking on the treadmill, 3.5 MPH at a 15% incline. Not too shabby for not doing cardio in months and months. 

Did a few quick sets of abs with my workout partner and called it a day.  

Diet- Not so great today, lol. Shakes in the morning, in the afternoon I ended up having some peanuts, and then a grilled chicken sandwich with a salad. After work I had another salad with chicken, an apple with a ton of crunchy peanut butter, and then some chicken noodle soup and decaf coffee. And of course I had 1/2 a tuna sandwich. 

Sleep- 8.5 hours. 

Leg day tomorrow morning!


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## Cold Iron (Oct 13, 2005)

so you're done with the T3? ..if so, you're going to really have to keep this diet dialed in. Are you going to be counting your macro's?  I think you should.

(about time is right)

GL Mike


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## bludevil (Oct 13, 2005)

Yeah noticed their was no T3 in the supplements list for the 1st time in a long time.


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## M.J.H. (Oct 13, 2005)

Cold Iron- I'm not counting my macros and I'm not doing the T3 right now, either. I'm going to basically just follow a generally clean diet and be done with it. Without binging, I don't have a problem maintaining my weight or keeping my bodyfat % down at all. 

bludevil- But I am still doing ephedrine/caffeine before my workouts.


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## M.J.H. (Oct 13, 2005)

Thursday; 10-13-2005​
Leg day! 

Damn did I have a solid workout today. Neither of my workout partners showed up but regardless, I managed to have a hell of a leg session. Energy levels were great, and this time around I didn't puke, lol.

ATF Squats:

135 x 10
225 x 8
245 x 6
275 x 5

Taking it slow as I ease back into doing squats again, not going to go over 315 for a long time. I don't want to risk injuring myself.

Leg Presses:

8 Plates x 10
10 Plates x 8
12 Plates x 6

Nice sets here today, my quads were definitely shaking after these. I really think that my legs should respond nicely now that I'm training them again. 

SLDL:

225 x 8
315 x 6
*405 x 3!*

Damn good sets here today of stiff-legs, really impressed myself with my strength. I'm just doing deadlifts again for the first time in 6 months or so and I really feel strong doing them. Smashed 405 for a triple with no chalk. In this new gym heavy deadlifts seem to attract a lot of attention.

Leg Extensions:

155 x 12
185 x 10
215 x 8

Standing Calf Raises:

225 x 12
225 x 12
180 x 15

Pretty good sets today, finished up with a few sets of hovers for my abs and then called it a day. A pretty damn good workout overall, IMO.

Diet- Clean today, not bad at all. Started off with some whey protein shakes this morning and some oatmeal and honey postworkout. Then when I got to work I had a 1/2 whole-wheat turkey sandwich, a grilled chicken salad, a whole-wheat tuna sandwich, and some peanuts. 

Sleep- 8.5 hours.


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## bludevil (Oct 14, 2005)

Good looking work-out, and diet looks really good too.


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## M.J.H. (Oct 14, 2005)

bludevil- Thanks dude, appreciate the support.


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## M.J.H. (Oct 14, 2005)

Friday; 10-14-2005​
Arms, today.

Solid workout, trained with my regular workout partner and we really went all out today. I don't think I've ever trained my arms this hard in my life, lol. 

Standing BB Curls:

45 x 15
65 x 12
95 x 10
*115 x 9!*
135 x 3 (negatives)

Great PR today, I haven't thrown around 115 for 6 or more in a long time. Spotter helped me on the last 1-2 reps.

Skullcrushers, into CG Bench:

75 x 12 / 10 
95 x 10 / 10
85 x 10 / 12

OUCH. That's all I can really say about these. I would do skulls to failure and then go right in CG bench. 

Hammer Curls:

50's x 8
50's x 7
40's x 8

Nice sets of hammer curls today, went nice and slow.

Rope Pressdowns: 

70 x 12
90 x 10
110 x 10
80 x 8 (slow) 

For that last set I was going as slow as I could possibly handle. Really burnt the hell out of my triceps. 

Next, my biceps burnout........

Regular BB Curl pass between me and my partner: 

55 x 5
55 x 5
55 x 5
55 x 5 

Reverse BB Curl pass between me and my partner:

55 x 5
55 x 5 
55 x 5

Widest Possible Grip BB Curl pass between me and my partner:

55 x 5
55 x 5

Finally, my triceps burnout...........

Decline DB Extensions:

30's x 12
30's x 9 into 20's x 7
30's x 6 
20's x 10

By this time my arms were completely toasted, they had absolutely nothing left. I'm almost dreading tomorrow's shoulder workout. 

Wrist Roller:

15 x all the way up and down, twice

After this I finished up with 2 sets of pikes for my abs and called it a day. 

Diet- Last night I ended up having a grilled chicken salad and then a bite of pudding. I also had an MRP bar and some decaf coffee before bed. Today so far I have had 2 whey protein shakes, oatmeal and honey postworkout, a few handfuls of peanuts, and 1/2 a whole-wheat tuna sandwich. I'm probably going to have another sandwich in an hour or so. 

Worked tonight at my night club job, had some sips of a lot of different drinks, lol. Not too much, though. Went out to eat after I got off at 2:00 AM and had a grilled chicken wrap, some grilled chicken quesadilas and some salad. Keepin' it healthy. 

Sleep- 8 hours.


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## M.J.H. (Oct 15, 2005)

Saturday; 10-15-2005​
Legs! 

Pretty good workout today considering that my legs were still a little sore from my last leg workout. I'm really focusing on changing my routine up regularly. 

Hack Squats:

140 x 12
230 x 10
320 x 7
280 x 8

Ouch, good sets of hacks today. Nice ROM, too. Worked up to 3 plates on each side for 7. 

Platform SLDL: (off a 4-5" Reebok platform) 

135 x 8
225 x 6
315 x 5
*455 x 1!*

OUCH! Decided to pull from the platform today for an extended ROM and damn, 455 felt like a million pounds, lol. Good sets, nothing too intense. Trying to stay away from singles. 

Leg Extensions:

170 x 12
170 x 10
170 x 10

Finished up with a few sets of standing calf raises, and then some abs, and called it a day. Not a bad workout overall I don't think, could have used a little more volume but whatever. 

Diet- Pretty damn good today so far... ended up having some oatmeal for breakfast then my regular whey shakes, and then went to Subway after the gym. Got an oven-roasted chicken breast with olive oil on a whole-wheat toasted roll, YUM. Not sure yet what I'm going to be eating tonight. 

Sleep- 7 hours.


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## PreMier (Oct 15, 2005)

Keep at it Mike, and best of luck.


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## M.J.H. (Oct 16, 2005)

Jake- Woah there pimp, if that's you in your avatar you're really blowin' up bro. Lookin' solid as ever, keep it up dude! Thanks for the support.


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## M.J.H. (Oct 16, 2005)

Sunday; 10-16-2005​
Did some chest/shoulders today.

My workout partner had to drag my a*s outta' bed this morning for this damn workout. I wanted to sleep, but I figured what the hell. A great workout as a matter of fact, had a sugar-free Red Bull during the whole thing. 

Incline DB Presses SS w/ Incline DB Flyes:

50's x 12 / 25's x 10
60's x 12 / 25's x 10
70's x 12 / 25's x 8

Decline Bench Presses:

135 x 12
185 x 10
225 x 5 dropped to 135 x 4

Ouch, by the time my chest was blown up, big time. 

Seated Cable Crossovers:

40 x 10
40 x 8
30 x 12

Pec-Deck Flyes: (very slow reps)

110 x 8 
95 x 7

Then I moved onto some shoulders, and by the time my front delts were already toasted. 

Military Lateral Raises:

3 sets of 4-5 with the 10's 

Wow, lol. I've never done these before. Basically you do a side-lateral raise, hold it to the sides, bring your hands together in the front touch the DB's, then back out to the sides, then up top above your head touch the DB's, then back to the sides, then back to the front, then back to the sides, and then down. That's ONE rep, lol. 

One-Arm BTB Leaning Cable Laterals: 

30 x 10
30 x 9
20 x 11

OUCH, another new exercise that beat the hell outta' my shoulders. Completely leaning holding onto the cable station with my resting arm, did behind-the-back laterals. 

Straight-Bar Cable Front Raises: (straddling the cable)

50 x 10
50 x 9

Dips: 

BW x 20 

By the time my pecs/delts are absolutely smashed so we repped out a set of dips and finished with some push-ups.

Push-Ups: 

1 set of resisted followed by negatives to failure  

Like we did last chest day parnter pushes you down for 7-8 push-ups then for the next 7-8 he pulls you up for the positive and you do the negative nice and slow. 

Finished up with a set of pikes for the good ol' abs and called it a day. 

Diet- Last night wasn't so good. I ended up having an MRP bar and a few diet Red Bulls, and then I had a Bacardi-O last night and smoked 'till I fell into a deep sleep. Other than that I had a grilled chicken salad sandwich and some oatmeal and whey. Not bad, at all. 

Sleep- 5 hours. But I do plan on going back to sleep anytime now.


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## bludevil (Oct 17, 2005)

good job, I see your still on track and workouts are at the very least, intense.


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## M.J.H. (Oct 17, 2005)

bluedevil- Thanks for the support man, I appreciate it. It feels great to be back into the swing of things. I'm really just trying to get used the whole lifestyle again. Eating clean, lifting hard, getting a good amount of sleep each night, keeping my fluid intake up, etc.


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## M.J.H. (Oct 17, 2005)

Monday; 10-17-2005​
Rest day.

Took a rest day today and went to the gym to do some cardio. Ended up doing 40 minutes of incline walking on the treadmill, 3.5 MPH @ a 15% incline. Ended up walking over 2 miles so that's not too bad for being at the highest incline. After this I did some supersets of abs and then called it a day. Tomorrow I'm probably going to smash back, and maybe arms on Wednesday. 

Diet- Last night wasn't so bad afterall. I had an MRP bar, then a bag of cashews, and then a 1/2 turkey sandwich and some peanut butter before bed. So far today I've had some whey protein, and then a 1/2 chicken salad sandwich and a bag of cashews. In an hour or so I'll have a turkey sandwich.

Sleep- 7 hours.


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## soxmuscle (Oct 17, 2005)

your impressing me so far, but its only been a week.  come on buddy, get er' done.


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## M.J.H. (Oct 17, 2005)

soxmuscle- Thanks for the support bud, trust me on this one. This journal isn't going anywhere, because now I have a serious workout partner who asks me everyday what I ate, etc.


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## M.J.H. (Oct 18, 2005)

Tuesday; 10-18-2005​
Back/biceps today!

Really great workout today, very intense. My workout partner really pushed me to go all out. Even though lately I have been feeling a little sick. Typical flu symptoms, etc.

Pull-Ups:

BW x 9
BW x 8 + 2 (assisted)
BW x 7 + 2 (assisted)

Good sets today, these were done with a wide overhand grip, and had my spotter assist me on a few of the reps.

One-Arm Machine Rows:

145 x 8
145 x 8
160 x 7

Hammer Strength Pull-Downs: 

100 x 12
150 x 10
190 x 8 + 1 (assisted)

Wide Parallel-Grip Cable Rows:

145 x 12
145 x 10
175 x 8

At this point my back was completely toasted. Really back the hell out of my lats completely. After doing the one-arm machine rows and Hammer Strength pulldowns my lats were gone.

Bentover DB Lateral Raises:

15's x 12
15's x 12

One-Arm DB Preacher Curls:

30's x 10
35's x 8

Crossbody DB Hammer Curls:

30's x 10
30's x 9

Finished up today with a set of hovers for my abs, and called it a day. My lats and biceps were trashed. Tomorrow I'm probably going to end up doing hams/calves, then on Thursday some chest/delts.

Diet- Last night was pretty good, been eating a lot lately. Keeping it clean, for the most part. Lots of peanut butter, chicken/turkey sandwiches, peanuts, etc.

Sleep- 7 hours.


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## bludevil (Oct 18, 2005)

workouts looking good, make sure pb is natural and if you eat nuts, try to eat almonds or sunflower seeds as they have the most health benefits. Cashews (albeit good) are one of the worst nuts you can eat. FYI - almond butter is really good


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## M.J.H. (Oct 18, 2005)

bludevil- Thanks for the support man, I appreciate it. I had never heard before that cashews were the worst of all the nuts? That's good to know I'll stop eating them, I eat them all the time, lol. I also eat a ton of peanut buter, and no not the nasty natural stuff either. I'm going to have to start trying to get almond butter at the store.


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## M.J.H. (Oct 19, 2005)

Wednesday; 10-19-2005​
Hams/calves today. 

Pretty solid workout today, I've decided to split up hamstrings and quads to put a little more emphasis on each when I train them. Hopefully I'll see good results by doing this. 

SLDL:

135 x 8
225 x 6
315 x 4
405 x 3
*425 x 3!*

Great sets today, ended up pulling 425 for a triple, really nice considering that I'm just getting back into pulling heavy again. 

Hyperextensions:

45 x 12
60 x 10
75 x 9

Honestly the biggest pain in the a*s is walking the DB's from the rack to the hyperextension apparatus, lol.

Lying Leg Curls:

125 x 9
125 x 8
95 x 10

Standing Calf Raises:

225 x 12
255 x 10
285 x 8
315 x 7

Good sets today, ended up doing a few sets of hovers for my abs and then called it a day. Not a bad workout at all. Energy levels were pretty constant throughout. 

Diet- Pretty damn clean, I haven't really slipped up at all lately. Last night I had some peanut butter, peanuts, and some grilled chicken and rice. Then today so far some whey protein, and some oatmeal and honey after my workout. This afternoon I'll have a whole-wheat tuna sandwich, 1/2 turkey sandwich, and probably a grilled chicken something or another, lol. 

Sleep- 8 hours. Needed it, trying to get over some cold symptoms.


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## Rocco32 (Oct 19, 2005)

Hey there Mike. I've been following along and just wanted to say your doing great!! Having someone to w/o with and keep you accountable really helps. When I did the more traditional BB'ing style w/o's I liked seperating Hams and Quads  And awesome SLDL!!!


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## bludevil (Oct 19, 2005)

Awesome leg workout mike. Agree, sldl #'s are awesome. 

FYI - info on cashews
They have a much higher carbohydrate count per 100g than other nuts (about 35g, with only 3g fibre), are higher in saturated fats (~10g per 100g) and are lower in polyunsaturated fats (the good fats).


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## Triple Threat (Oct 19, 2005)

MJH said:
			
		

> SLDL:
> 
> 405 x 3
> *425 x 3!*



My back hurts just reading that.    Nice work.    Are you walking funny today?


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## M.J.H. (Oct 19, 2005)

Rocco- Hey man, nice to see that you're still reading and keeping up with my journal. Lately I've been doing well and its pretty much becoming a habit. I don't even think twice about taking the cheese off of sandwiches, etc. Its really becoming an entire lifestyle change.  

bludevil- Thanks for the support dude, and wow I can't get over how much worse cashews are than almonds! I never thought twice about eating them, no wonder why they taste so damn good. 

CaptainDeadlift- LOL, thanks man. And no, believe it or not I'm walking fine right now. But later on tonight I know I'll feel it. My lats have never been so sore, ever! From right under my armpit all the way down to my waist, ha.


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## M.J.H. (Oct 20, 2005)

Thursday; 10-20-2005​
Chest and light triceps today.

My workout partner thinks this is a good idea, I'm not sure yet what I think of it. Doing chest and light triceps today and then taking tomorrow off, then hitting arms on Saturday. 

Incline Bench SS w/ Incline CG DB Presses:

135 x 12 / 25's x 8
185 x 9 / 25's x 8
225 x 4 + 1 (assisted) / 25's x 8

Decline Bench SS w/ Decline CG DB Presses:

135 x 12 / 25's x 8
185 x 8 / 25's x 8
225 x 6 + 1 (assisted) / 25's x 8

Ouch! These are a new way of hitting chest that my partner showed me today. Ended up doing a set of incline presses followed up with a CG set of DB presses, with the DB's together the entire time. Supposed to hit the "inner pecs" more, lol. Did the same with decline presses. 

Cable Flyes:

40 x 12
50 x 10

Crossbench DB Pullovers:

55's x 13
55's x 12
55's x 12

Great stretch today on these! Really smashed the hell outta' my chest and serratus. Good sets, for sure. 

Pec-Deck Flyes:

95 x 11
95 x 9 

Diamond Push-Ups SS w/ Dips:

BW x 9 / BW x 6

By this time my chest/triceps was completely burnt out. I had nothing left. 

Rope Cable Pressdowns:

80 x 12
60 x 12

Triceps were completely trashed. I have no clue how I'm going to do arms on Saturday, lol. 

Diet- Still hanging in there with eating clean. Last night I had some peanut butter and another tuna sandwich, lol. Today so far some whey protein then oatmeal and honey postworkout, and then when I got to work a 1/2 turkey sandwich, a turkey wrap, and then a whole-wheat tuna sandwich. 

Sleep- 8.5 hours.


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## PreMier (Oct 20, 2005)

"Inner pecs" 

Get a training partner thats somewhat smart lol


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