# MonStar's Journal: Time to Get Serious



## M.J.H. (Apr 8, 2004)

Okay. I am going to get VERY VERY serious. I am going to continue to have a social life, lol, but I am going to make sure that I get into the habit of not f*cking things up with absolutely no sleep, too much alcohol, etc. Really going to try hard not to f*ck things up this time around. Even though it might be a little difficult. 

I am today starting an prohoromone cycle. So I have attached a few before pictures. These are taken today, right around 1:00 in the afternoon. I weighed 220 lbs. this morning on my gym scale. Holding some water, and I am also feeling very soft in my midsection so I really just plan on tightening everything up in the next month with the help of Dermabolics S1+, etc. 

Basically going to be following a very simple push/pull/legs split. Throwing in some Westside style principles actually. Going to pick one exercise where I pyramid up in weight and shoot for failure on a few sets. And then I am going to follow that up with some assistance work overall. Going to change the first exercise pretty regularly so I am not doing the same old thing all the time.

Wish me luck guys! 

Attached a before PH pic, so I can make a decent comparison.


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## M.J.H. (Apr 8, 2004)

Tuesday, 4-6-2004

Diet:  
- orange juice 
- Powerade during workout, whey protein afterwards
- 2 Balance Gold bars 
- 1/2 turkey & cheese sandwich
- 1/2 turkey & cheese sandwich, mixed fruit
- cheeseburger
- mixed nuts
- 1/2 peanut butter sandwich

I would guess about 3,500 calories today. Give or take. 

Sleep: 9 hours. 

Weight: 220 lbs. 

*Back/Biceps* 

*CG Cable Pulldowns*
170x10, 185x10, 200x10, 215x8.5, 185x11

*T-Bar Rows*
270x5, 270x5, 270x5, 270x5, 270x5, 270x5 

*DB Shrugs* 
100x8, 100x8, 100x8, 100x8 

*Standing BB Curls* 
135x4, 135x4, 105x7, 105x7

*Hammer Curls* 
30x36

Good workout today! Really beat the f*ck out of my lats completely. I am definitely going to be trying to up my volume now that I have started S1+. We'll see what happens. Going to really try and change things up. Eat up big time, and really just focus on a lot of calories, a lot of volume, and a LOT of strength/size gains. This is my first PH cycle so I don't want to screw things up. T-bar rows today really beat the hell outta' my lats, ouch. 

S1+ application I kind of struggled with my first time. This morning I used it and sprayed it 5 times on my chest and let it set in. Then I read the prohoromone FAQ from Avant Labs and it says to use rubber gloves and rub it for a few minutes, and then let it dry for 10-15 minutes after that. It also says to scrub the area first with soap before applying it. This is all coming as news to me but I am glad that I read this when I did. So far I have noticed nothing, I am hot, but it's probably the usnic acid. Not really lethargic which is nice. I am really trying to focus on eating a lot more than I have been eating. Just because I don't want to cut my gains short on my first PH cycle. I think I made a good choice with S1+, the reviews are about 95% extremely positive, and the side effects seem minimal. I am really hoping for some serious strength gains. I would love to pull 600+ conventional style. Damn that would be insane. 

Want to note today that I feel extremely, extremely flabby. Cheated/binged the past 2 nights on my diet---so it's no surprise how flabby I feel. But I guess I just really didn't expect to feel THIS bad. It's amazing how much bodyfat you can put on in just a few days. I mean 3 nights ago, I felt so friggin' lean. Now tonight I just feel bloated, and bla. Anyway, I am hoping to make some serious progress on S1+. Both in hardening up some and my strength/size. My bodyfat % though is just honestly ridiculous, considering its April and warm weather is practically here already.


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## M.J.H. (Apr 8, 2004)

Wednesday, 4-7-2004

Diet:
- MRP + 2% milk + banana
- tuna sandwich
- 1/2 peanut butter sandwich
- 4 breaded chicken strips
- 1/2 banana, apple sauce
- Powerade during workout, whey protein postworkout
- 6" tuna salad & cheese sub, dry roasted peanuts 
- MRP + 2% milk + Cool Whip 

Way too much f*cking Cool Whip tonight, damnit. Pretty much ate a 1/2 container in all. Which comes out to like 500 f*cking calories. F*ck. Today I would estimate probably around 4,000 calories. Roughly. 

Sleep: 8 hours. 

Weight: 220 lbs. 

*Legs/Abs*

*Box Squats* 
135x10, 225x10, 315x6, 365x3, 405x1, *445x1!*, 275x8

*Leg Presses*
860x4, 860x4, 860x4, 860x4 

*Nautilus Lying Leg Curls*
140x20, 140x20

*Smith-Machine Calf Raises* 
180x20, 180x20, 270x8, 270x8

*Nautilus Crunches*
220x4, 220x4, 220x4, 220x4, 220x4, 220x4 

Wow. My workout today in the gym honestly kicked my f*cking a*s. I really am trying increase my volume now that I am on my 2nd day of S1+. I know its soon but I really want to push myself while I am on my first prohoromone cycle. Really hoping for some damn good results. Hit a huge box squat PR today, so I am probably going to hit box squats again when the cycle is almost over and see what I can do. We'll see what happens. 

Like I said, this workout kicked my a*s all over the place! I have never been so exhausted. Maybe the volume was a bit more, myself I am just not in that great of shape when it comes to leg workouts. Especially leg workouts that involve heavy squatting. Used box squats today as my main lift. The box is about 11-13" it's really hard for me to tell. Its right about what parallel is for me, or just a tad lower. Hit a really really nice PR today with 445. And damn 445 was friggin' intense. Halfway up with 445 I got a VERY strange feeling. Basically the feeling like you're going to sh*t and throw up at the same time. No exaggeration at all, I am not sure what causes that feeling either. Oh well, nice PR for me. 

All of my assistance work today I was just exhausted. Leg presses my friggin' quads were already drained. Leg curls I was f*ckin' exhausted there too. Decided to do 20-rep sets basically just for the hell of it. Calf raises were nothing special. Crunches, bla... they're crunches, boring. Overall workout was very good, though. 

Today overall I think that I feel good. But lethargy is starting to get to me. Whether it's from the usnic acid or the S1+ it's really starting to sink in. And cutting out the ephedrine all at the same time really kicked me in my balls I think. My S1+ application is getting better though, so that's good. I just wear a rubber glove on one hand and spray it into my cupped hand and then rub it on. I am so anal though I am always so afraid that I am going to lose some. Whatever. Still trying to get over this godd*mn cold/cough/flu thing I have. It's better today, but still not as good as I would like. Going to most likely take off tomorrow. Maybe do some cardio, I havn't decided yet.


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## greekblondechic (Apr 8, 2004)

Your back double bi... *DROOOOLLLLLL*

You will do fine sweetie, and the bloating is just water! Do some cardio to sweat it out!


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## ncgirl21 (Apr 8, 2004)

> _*Originally posted by greekblondechic *_
> Your back double bi... *DROOOOLLLLLL*




I agree    Looking awesome!!  Good Luck!!


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## M.J.H. (Apr 8, 2004)

greekblondechic- Yeah I really need to lay off the binging, haha. I have gotten in pretty good control of it lately. Not in complete control like I would like to have been. But my binges lately have not been at all extreme the way that they used to be. So I guess thats a step in the right direction. 

Andrea- Thanks, really appreciate it.


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## Cate (Apr 8, 2004)

Nice job! 

I'm w/you on the alcohol....its my downfall. I could drink red wine every night , but I'm only letting myself drink on Sat now.


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## myCATpowerlifts (Apr 8, 2004)

Your pretty strong bro
keep up the good work


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## Monolith (Apr 8, 2004)

Hey Mon, welcome back.  You were AWOL for a while. 

Im gonna be keepin close tabs on this journal... im considering a cycle of S1+ this fall.


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## X Ring (Apr 8, 2004)

how do you deadlift now?  what style did you use when you did 615?  And conventional is just arms outside legs and legs are shoulder width or so.  Is that correct?


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## atherjen (Apr 8, 2004)

MIKEY!!!!!!  Glad to see you back here! and ready to buckle down.. (no more drinking heavy you crazyman!). 
Looking great as always!


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## M.J.H. (Apr 8, 2004)

Cate- Yeah, I know exactly what you're saying. I absolutely love wine as well, damn. Funny thing is that I never really was into drinking at all until recently. That's why this is all so new to me. Feeling extremely dehydrated, etc. Really need to get my sh*t together though and stop making excuses. Thanks for the post. 

myCATpowerlifts- Thanks man. 

Monolith- Yeah, I did go elsewhere for a while. But now I am back, and most likely back for good. Where I was posting I just completely lost interest. I will definitely keep everything up to date on S1+ though. It's my first PH cycle, so I am hoping for some good results. 

X Ring- My deadlifts have been confusing man, to say the least. I was deadlifting sumo style (feet very wide, hands shoulder-width apart) and making good progress. Then out of nowhere for some reason my sumo strength just went to sh*t. I hurt my lower back, and as I was recovering sumo style just felt so awkward, and weak. So then I moved onto conventional (feet and hands roughly shoulder-width), which is what I am doing now. I have been wearing a belt for my deadlifts and squats lately which I think is really helping. We'll see how things go. Thanks for the post man. 

Jen- Yeah it is definitely great to be back here at IM. I definitely missed this place. I am hoping that the site gets upgraded though to the new style vbulletin. It's so much more clear and easy to read IMO. Thanks for the welcome back.


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## M.J.H. (Apr 8, 2004)

Thursday, 4-8-2004

Diet:
- MRP + 2% milk + Cool Whip
- orange juice
- Gatorade during workout, whey protein postworkout
- Pure Protein bar 
- turkey & cheese sandwich, mixed fruit
- 6" tuna & cheese sub
- Balance Gold bar
- peanut butter & jelly sandwich 

Also drank a lot of diet sodas and I also had a coffee. I just needed something honestly to kill my appetite. That tuna sub must have been 1,000 calories---it was friggin' loaded with tuna salad, etc. Took in around 4,000 calories again today. 

Sleep: 8 hours. 

Weight: 220 lbs. 

*Shoulders* 

*Seated DB Presses* 
40x10, 50x10, 60x10, 70x10, *80x6!*, 50x13

*Upright Rows*
95x10, 135x10, *165x7!*, 115x15

*Nautilus Lateral Raises*
160x12, 180x12
Dropset: 170x10, 140x8, 110x8, 80x8

Friggin' incredible shoulder workout today. On the way to the gym I was thinking to myself, am I going to have a good workout? I kept telling myself I was but I still had this feeling that I needed a rest day, not sure why. Got to the gym though and felt great. Shoulder workout was one of the best that I have had in months and months. 

Started off with DB presses, which kicked my a*s because my overhead press strength is just awful. Hit 6 reps with the 80's which isn't so so bad I guess. Whatever. Upright rows were good. Tiny bit of body English with 165, but nothing too bad at all. Then onto one of my favorite exercises, Nautilus lateral raises. Dropset completely beat my shoulders into the f*cking ground. No complaints at all today. Everything is feeling damn good. 

This morning my application is S1+ kind of bothered me. I shook up the S1+ a little like it says, and sprayed one spray into my hand. Well barely anything came out. So of course I just didn't count that spray and redid it. It's so hard to get an accurate 5 sprays it's really driving me crazy. Half the time I never know how much I am actually applying. I read all about how much better transdermal PH's are than oral, but this is really getting to be a serious pain in my f*cking a*s. I guess I'll just have to suck it up and deal because I am on day 3 of 30 roughly, lol. 

Still have a damn cold/cough/flu thing going on. Can't seem to get rid of it. The heavy training and tanning is sure as f*ck not helping but I just can't help myself. As long as I am eating and sleeping a lot, and hitting new PR's in the gym, no breaks for me. At least not anytime soon.


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## gwcaton (Apr 8, 2004)

hey , Welcome back !


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## PreMier (Apr 8, 2004)

This site is more addictive than crack, im not too suprised to see him again


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## Eggs (Apr 8, 2004)

Hey bro, looking good!  Keep tearing up the weights... hope the PH give you an extra kick!


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## I'm Trying (Apr 8, 2004)

Hey welcome back here Mike. Good luck!!!


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## M.J.H. (Apr 8, 2004)

gwcaton- Thanks man, it's definitely great to be back. 

PreMier- Yeah, I really like IM a lot. I strayed for a little bit, but now I am definitely back to stay. There are so many things about this forum that I absolutely love. The picture gallery, the layout of the posts/threads, etc. Of course, the members. 

Eggs- Hey thanks a lot man, appreciate it. Yeah I really hope that PH's give me that extra edge as well. I would like to tighten up my midsection some but maybe add some strength at the same time. We'll see what happens. 

I'm Trying- Thanks a lot man.


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## I'm Trying (Apr 8, 2004)

While you've been away have you still been lifting?? Youre just huge man. I'm just about your height (5'11.5) so I guess you have no problem packing on that muscle.It seem like you definatly look bigger then last time you were on here.
Thanks!!


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## GRIFF (Apr 9, 2004)

Nice work on the shoulders man, 80 x 6 is damn good seeing as how you got 3 out last shoulder workout. Just wondering, do you do traps w/ back?   Also, I'm sure you'll figure that damn spray bottle out before too long haha, good luck with that.


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## M.J.H. (Apr 9, 2004)

I'm Trying- Yeah man, when I say that I went away for a while, I definitely never stop training, lol. All I am really referring to is that I was not posting on IM for a while. That's all. Thanks for the comments though. I am not sure if I have added any real size or not. I hope so, of course, but who knows. 

GRIFF- Thanks man, appreciate it. Yeah I was fairly happy with the 80's for 6, I don't know. Overall though, honestly, I am very dissapointed in my overhead strength. For some reason that's always been a weakpoint for me. I am not sure why. At least compared to my chest presses, etc. Whatever.


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## GRIFF (Apr 9, 2004)

I'm with you on that one, my overheads suck bad, especially compared to my chest presses, but this is just something that we need to concentrate on more and really try to get it up, as long as you've identified it I think you can do something about it.


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## M.J.H. (Apr 9, 2004)

GRIFF- Yeah man, I hear you. My overhead presses have always been weak compared to my chest presses. Always frustrating. My upright rows were never that bad, though. I think it's just the movement I could never really increase my strength that much. We'll see if PH's help that any.


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## atherjen (Apr 9, 2004)

I dont think youll ever be really happy with you weights!  It all looks great to me! 
and your right the skullcrushers make it so much harder going to your forehead-I feel it so much more that way! 
thats cool that you and your brother worked out together! If only mine was a bit more interested! 

ok no more cool whip mister   from now on if you mention you ate some in your journal you get crap!  lol


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## GRIFF (Apr 9, 2004)

haha, who eats straight cool whip? honestly? haha amazing, workouts are lookin good though bro. I always feel the skull crushers way down towards my elbows, is that what should be happening? oh well. Did you decide to cycle the s1+ for 2 weeks or 4 weeks??


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## Saturday Fever (Apr 9, 2004)

> Yeah I was fairly happy with the 80's for 6, I don't know. Overall though, honestly, I am very dissapointed in my overhead strength.



You did 50 reps and THEN hit the 80s. I don't know what you were expecting to happen. Next time get to those 80s sooner . 



> I always feel the skull crushers way down towards my elbows, is that what should be happening?



Are your elbows out or in? Generally, if you keep your elbows in, you'll feel it around the elbows. Plus, I can generally move more weight with my elbows out.


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## ncgirl21 (Apr 9, 2004)

Your workout looks awesome!    And judging by your picture, I didn't see anything flabby!! I guess we're our own worst critic though  !!

Keep it up


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## HomeYield (Apr 9, 2004)

There is some fat free and low calorie Cool Whip if you look around.  I tossed it on a few things while I was cutting.  LOL, that plus some sugar free Jello hits the spot when you are having that sweet craving.  

You worry too much about being flabby.  If anything, from one day to the next its just water retention.  Look at how much sodium you get one day and how you feel the next.  You'll see that it probably is just that.  

Like SF mentioned on the shoulder presses, do a different style of warm up.  You really don't need that many reps to warm up.  Think of it as acclimation sets instead of warm ups.  After the first 20 you really don't need to go above 4 reps.  If I'm warming up to do shoulder presses it'll look like this:
65x6
85x2
95x2
105x8
I've probably already done a set or 2 of bw dips for just around 4-6 reps.  The sets before 105 are just to get used to the weight, not really to get warmed up, per se.  You just need to get the blood flowing a little bit.  No need to beat the crap out of your shoulders before you actually get to your working sets.  What do you think will work better, doing a couple of sets at lower weight or actually getting up to your working sets and doing more sets there?

As always though, dude, nice work!  You've got a ton of potential, and I'll be interested in seeing how this S1+ treats you.


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## M.J.H. (Apr 9, 2004)

Jen- Yeah I really don't think that I will ever really be pleased with my strength either. I am really not sure why. The only exercise where I can say that I am somewhat satisfied is deadlifts. Just because seeing the bar bend with 600+ lbs. is one of the greatest feelings in the world. But I definitely do need to lay off the Cool Whip. It's not even the fat or sugar-free kind, its regular ol' Cool Whip. 25 calories per 2 tbsp. I think it is. I can literally sit down and eat and entire container, which is just ridiculous. 

GRIFF- Hey man, yeah I didn't realize I guess it's pretty strange to be able to eat an entire container of Cool Whip. I always think that everyone loves it. To me it just tastes like ice-cream, I don't know why. And the nutritional facts on it are so misleading. It says 25 calories and 2g of fat and 2g of carbs or something. But that's per 2 tbsp.! Of course I am going to eat a lot more than that. I put a 1/2 container in my MRP the other night, which was like 500 calories, lol.  

SF- Yeah I think I am going to start with a few easy warmup sets and then jump right into my heaviest sets. I was doing that for a while, Dorian Yates style, low-volume with extreme weight, etc. I just really like pyramidding up and then doing a burnout type of set at the end. Maybe next time for DB presses I'll do something like, 50x8, 50x8, 80x6, 80x6, 60x10. This way I should be fairly warmed up with 2 warmup sets and then right to my heaviest weight. And maybe even go heavier the 2nd set, depending on how it feels. 

Andrea- Thanks so much, I really appreciate it. I hope to tighten up some throughout my midsection. For some reason everywhere else I am pretty confident but my midsection and my love handles just... make me crazy. I guess like you said though we are our worst critic. 

Will- Nice to see a familiar face man! Thanks for stopping by.  I am going to try a different kind of warmup from now on because honestly, like you said, my first couple of sets really exhaust whatever bodypart I am training so I never really hit anything completely fresh. I am thinking maybe do a few light sets and then jump right into my heavy sets. Well, maybe. Because I like pyramidding in some ways, but in some ways I don't. Maybe something like this for rows lets say: 135x10, 135x10, 225xfailure, 250xfailure, 270xfailure. Or something along those lines. I just can't be overcomplicating things, that's the bottom line, lol. 

But yeah I need to invest in some sugar-free or fat-free Cool Whip, just because it's honestly the best thing I have found to satisfy my cravings. Has that creamy ice-cream taste that I love so much, lol. I am definitely trying to stop feeling flabby. Half the time I think it's all in my head. And considering my diet yesterday, I ate a LOT, its no surprise. I am definitely not going to be taking it easy on calories today. I am on 1-test and 4-AD now, so I am going to stay above 3.5K calories probably no matter what. Thanks again for stopping by, though.

BTW, wanted to add, that your workouts have been phenomenal lately Will. I can't post in your journal on WBB, so I figured I would tell you here, lol. ATF squat strength is crazy, your bench 1RM now is great, and of course your dips and rows are always sick.


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## M.J.H. (Apr 9, 2004)

Friday, 4-9-2004

Diet:
- orange juice, apple
- Gatorade during workout, whey protein postworkout
- Detour bar, skim milk
- turkey & cheese sandwich 
- grilled chicken wrap, pineapple
- Balance Gold bar
- MRP + 2% milk + Cool Whip 

Need to get my sh*t together from here on out with my diet. Today and yesterday especially I have been feeling extremely flabby. I know that I cut out ephedrine, which accounts for some of it, but there's no excuse. S1+ or no S1+ I should not be eating Cool Whip, etc.  

Sleep: 8 hours. 

Weight: 223 lbs. 

Wanted to add that I ended up going to the gym around 9:00 tonight so I am thinking/hoping that this has something to do with my weight. Really bothered me that I weighed this much. Whatever though. I feel extremely flabby. I mean more than I have in a long time. The worst part about this feeling is that I havn't binged the past few days. That's just telling me that it's because of me stopping ephedrine, etc. I am going to move my usnic acid to preworkout instead of before bed. I don't think it's doing it's job before bed, lol. 

Worked out with my brother today in my basement. So no access to a scale unfortunately. I am feeling soft too so I can't even imagine what I weigh right now. Need to tighten up some, definitely. No more f*cking around. 

*Arms* 

*Skullcrushers*
75x10, 95x10, 115x9.5, 135x2+1, 95x16

*CG EZ-Bar Curls* 
75x10, 95x10, 115x10, *135x5!*, 95x12

*1-Arm DB Extensions*
30x12, 40x8
Dropset: 40x6, 30x6, 20x4

*Reverse Curls*
85x12, 105x8
Dropset: 85x8, 65x8, 45x8

Overall GREAT workout today. No complaints at all. My skullcrusher strength really is not up to where I would like to be. Not even close to be completely honest. For years I did skullcrushers to the top of my chest, and just recently I started doing them again to my forehead. Definitely a huge difference in the amount of weight that I can handle. Used 135 for a double, and had my brother help me finish the 3rd rep. Damnit. Little dissapointed. 

Decided to give CG cambered-bar curls a shot. I absolutely love them! I remember always seeing pics of Skip LaCour or whatever his name was doing them, and I always figured I should try them out. Definitely a good exercise. Feel a bit different than regular barbell curls, that's for sure. Hit 135 for 5! Which is definitely a PR for me for this exercise. Moved onto single arm DB French presses, nice sets there. Dropset completely drained my friggin' triceps, holy sh*t. Finished up with some reverse curls, again, dropset f*cked my biceps and forearms over completely. 

Decided to head back to the gym tonight! Not sure what the hell I was thinking but for whatever reason I decided to back to the gym... just wanted to hit up some calves and whatever else. No real reason, just because I felt like it to be completely honest. 

*Calves/Abs* 

*Smith-Machine Calf Raises* 
180x20, 180x20, 270x12, 270x12, 320x8, 320x8, 180x20, 180x20

*Nautilus Crunches*
160x20, 160x20
Dropset: 160x12, 130x10, 100x10

Nice workout tonight to be honest. Considering it was from 9:15-10:00 PM. Hit up 8 sets of standing calf raises. Tried to really hit them hard but for some reason after 4-5 sets my calves just went numb. I couldn't really feel the rest of the sets at all. I am not sure what happened. Whatever. Sets of crunches tore my midsection up, big time. Really hit my abs hard. No complaints there at all. Dropset was good, and the 2 sets of 20 were painful. 

S1+ is going fairly well I guess. It's hard to believe that I am on my 4th day now. It feels like I just started. I have been having nonstop good workouts which is obviously a good sign. But what is really getting to me is my diet. I need to completely cut ouf the Cool Whip, and all that crap. I need to focus more on eating a lot of CLEAN calories, and not bullsh*t like Cool Whip, etc. The simple sugars really gotta' go. Other than that I am feeling pretty good. I feel like I am starting to get over this damn flu bullsh*t. Which will definitely be nice.


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## PreMier (Apr 9, 2004)

You know you can say bullshit? haha  I love cool whip too man.  Its way better than ANY icecream.  Evil shit...


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## M.J.H. (Apr 10, 2004)

PreMier- That's okay man. I always put my curse words with (*) I really don't know why, lol. Just an old habit I guess. Yeah I am definitely a sucker for Cool Whip, you have no idea. I can eat a tub it like it's nothing at all. That's definitely a problem for me, lol.


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## M.J.H. (Apr 10, 2004)

Saturday, 4-10-2004

Diet:
- 3 buttermilk pancakes & maple syrup, turkey & cheese omlette, whole-wheat toast, hash browns 
- Gatorade during workout, whey protein postworkout
- grilled chicken fajitas
- 2 breaded chicken breasts, fettucini alfedo pasta 

drinks: 
- Sex on the Beach, Amaretto Sour, Melon Ball, 2 choclate Martinis, White Russian, Mudslide

LOL. Went to the Dave & Buster's in Philly tonight and definitely drank a lot. Tried about every single mixed drink that they had. Not the best idea in the world, but DAMN some of them were excellent. Their Mudslides are excellent, and so are their choclate Martinis. Great night overall, had a really good time. 

Damnit, went to Perkin's for breakfast this morning! Couldn't help myself. Tonight I am going out to Philly to go to Dave & Buster's so I am going to try my hardest to keep my alcohol consumption down and hopefully eat pretty damn clean. I'll do the best that I can... 

Sleep: 5 hours? Godd*mnit. 

Weight: 219.5 lbs.  

*Back* 

*T-Bar Rows*
135x12, 180x12, *270x12!*, *315x8!*, *340x4!*, 225x12

*Nautilus Pullovers*
180x12, 220x12, *240x8!*
Dropset: 200x10, 170x8, 140x8

*DB Shrugs* 
100x10, 100x10, 100x10

*CG Cable Rows* (to neck) 
80x12, 80x12

Absolutely wonderful back workout today! Running on pretty much sh*tty sleep. But managed to pull through and have a terrific workout. Most likely not going to train tomorrow because it's Easter and because my gym is closed. So I had to squeeze a good workout in today, no matter what. Started off with my ghetto t-bar rows and hit 3 new PR's! Definitely happy with my strength here. Used some body English, but not too much at all. Used a little with 315 and a bit more with 340. But all 3 heavy sets were just friggin' awesome. 270 for 12 was absolutely exhausting. My midback was just screaming at the end of that set. Very nice. 

Moved onto pullovers where I beat the f*ck outta' my lats. Hit a new PR here today, which doesn't really matter because its a machine but it's still more than I have ever handled. I really need to get some tips on how to feel this exercise more in my lats. I feel it in my lats and serratus now, but I still feel it some in my triceps, I am not sure what I am doing wrong. Triple drop was intense here today. Decided to hit some traps also today. Shrugs beat up my traps. Nothing too exciting there though. Then I did an exercise that I havn't done for years! Basically its seated cable rows, with a v-bar, but you flare your elbows and pull the v-bar to your neck. This puts a crazy amount of stress on your middle traps. Nice sets. 

S1+ is going pretty well. Didn't take my first dose today until this afternoon. I didn't sleep at my house last night so that made it kinda' tough. Oh well. So far I am feeling pretty damn good on the stuff. We'll see what happens. Other things to note, I am back on ephedrine, lol, popped 25 mg. with 200 mg. caffeine I believe it was 30 minutes before my workout today. Taking my usnic acid preworkout now. That's about it! Taking a shower and then heading to Philly!


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## Monolith (Apr 10, 2004)

Hey, thats a neat idea with the cable rows to the neck.  It must really nail your biceps too, though, right?


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## HomeYield (Apr 10, 2004)

Have you thought about getting a pair of calipers and actually just testing this flabby from day to day feeling?  Testing yourself a specific time each day could help you understand more specifically exactly what is causing the feeling.  Granted by the weight fluctuation from 223 to 219 that its all water, but just measuring over the course of a month or something would really help your piece of mind if nothing else.  

Thanks for the compliments too!  Everything has been going good so that's translated over to my training.  Hopefully it can continue to go that way and I can compete in at least 2 shows this year.  

As far as the warm up and sets and reps go, I'd rather do a reverse pyramid or heavy weights first.  That way I'm getting the most reps out of my heaviest weight then going back down to finish off whatever that heavy set didn't get.  But through it all, its all about how you want to train and how you feel comfortable.  That's where you'll make the most gains because you are happy doing it that way.  I've tried several different methods and the one I've made the most gains on probably isn't the best but because I enjoy it, I'm more apt to work harder and that's where the gains come from.  Working hard.  You're doing just that so keep it up!


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## atherjen (Apr 10, 2004)

gosh, thats some crazy weight on the Tbar rows! way to go on the PR's!
ummmm whats body English???  
back on the EC eh?? just couldnt give it up?  

Have fun in Philly!


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## M.J.H. (Apr 11, 2004)

Monolith- Yeah man, and it does nail your biceps hard you're absolutely right. But it really tears up your middle traps and that's why I love doing them. You can't go heavy at all though, or you'll feel it in the wrong place. 

Will- Eh, I have tried bodyfat calipers before, and for some reason I never really liked them. I never felt like I was getting an accurate reading. Progress pictures are always much more effective IMO because I can see exactly how my body differs, etc. I might honestly start taking weekly progress pictures. Just to monitor my definition, how much water I am retaining, etc. 

I'll definitely be keeping up with your journal on WBB, though. And 2 contests is awesome man, really wish you the best of luck. 

I honestly change things up so much it's hard for me to say what I am going to stick with in terms of my sets and reps. I definitely like pyramidding up and then burning out with a lighter weight. That's about all I know. I am thinking a few light sets though and then jumping right into the heavy stuff (like how I did my t-bar rows yesterday) is what I might start doing. A few warmups, then 3 worksets pyramidding up in weight. We'll see. I think I am going to do some cardio or something tonight---went out last night and drank way too much! Need sleep, and food, and rest. 

Jen- Body English I just mean letting my form slip some. Like when you're doing standing BB curls you might use a little body English (as I call it) on the last few reps to get the weight up. Just leaning a little, etc. Make sense? Yeah I couldn't give up the ephedrine. Going to keep it strictly preworkout only from here on out though. Which I think is a good idea. Had a great time in Philly, wow, terrific night overall. I listed my drinks if you look at my journal entry, lol, damnit.


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## atherjen (Apr 11, 2004)

ahhhhhhhhh now I understand - the way you used the term before I figured it sorta was a lil cheat on the lifts!  
Glad to hear you had a great time in Philly! I dont know what any of those drinks are.. but "Sex on the Beach" sounds yummy!


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## Cate (Apr 11, 2004)

hummmmm sex on the beach


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## GRIFF (Apr 11, 2004)

Good to see you were suckin' down the drinks last night, workouts lookin good man, next time you go out you gotta have yourself a "red headed slut" for me, its a shot and you wont regret it....


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