Fri., 03/29/13, Chest and Back- 2 weeks out

Awesome pump today. I did 5 super-sets of incline Hammer Strength press and V-pulldowns; 4 super-sets of flat dumbell press and seated rows (varying the grip each set); 3 super-sets dip and wide-pull-ups; and 3 sets of pullovers. Not too much volume- just an excellent pump.

Thur., 03/28/13, Legs

I got an awesome leg workout today! It was the best I've had in a while. In keeping with Lee Haney's moto- Stimulate, Not Annialate- it was an excellent pump, and I put in some intensity, but did not go over-board. The muscle was full and hard, and the legs were shaking by the end. Here's what it looked like set by set:
stretch
squat: 45-20; 95-15; 135-15; 225-12; 315-10; 405-5 + fail
leg press: 450-15; 660-19
1-leg step-up: 95-10; 115-10; 135-10
leg curl: 90-15; 105-8, 8  super-set with 1 leg extension: 30-15,15
standing leg curl: 75-12,8; 60-12
seated calf raise: 90-20, 15
calf press: 270-20; 360-15; 450-?, ?

 

Wed., 03/27/13, Shoulders

Today's shoulder workout:
lateral raise: 10's-12; 15's-12; 20's-12; 25's-12; 30's-7+2
machine rear lateral raise: 120-15; 140-15; 160-12
seated dumbell press: 50's-15; 60's-12; 70's-8
shrug: 135-20; 225-15; 315-11

Mon., 03/25/13, Diet Update

I have been eating between 2500 and 2800 calories the last few weeks, this seems to be where the fat loss is. The break down looks something like this: 270g protein, 300g carbohydrate and 40g fat. This is what I ate Saturday:
meal 1:  chicken (always breast); oatmeal; apple
meal 2 (pre-workout):  chicken
(post-workout):  whey protein; branch-chained amino acids
meal 3:  chicken; sweet potato; orange
meal 4:  chicken; oatmeal
meal 5:  chicken; brown rice; peas
meal 6:  chicken
As you can see, I eat a lot of chicken breast, oatmeal and sweet potatoes.

3 Weeks Out, 03/23/13, status update

This morning my waist was 29 1/4" and my weight  was 173 3/4 lb. At 3 weeks out I'm happy with this- looking sharper day by day.

Fri., 03/22/13, Chest and Back

Today was the Pump day- not crazy on the intensity, just really feeling the muscles, going back and forth between chest and back pumping blood. It was a good workout, everything was full of blood. Here it is:
incline Hammer Strength press: 20-20; 50-15; 90-15; 140-12; 180-12; 230-10; 270-5 + 2
super-set V-grip pulldown:                  80-15; 100-12; 120-12; 140-12; 170-10; 180-7

straight-arm-rope-pulldown: 120-12, 10, 10
super-set cable fly:                80-12, ?; last set was machine fly: 200-8

wide pull-up: 12,12,12
super-set dip: 15,15,?

cross-bench-pullover: 60-12; 70-10

Thur., 3/21/13, Legs

I prioritized the hamstrings today, meaning I did them first and quads second. It was a great workout. I managed to avoid bad pain and got a good dose of good pain. Here's what it looked like:
seated leg curl: 50-20; 80-15; 110-12; 140-13
lying leg curl: 90-10; 105-9
squat: 45-20; 95-10; 135-6; 225-6; 315-6; 365-11
1-leg step-up: 95-12; 115-10, 10
leg press: 450-10; 660-10+2
calf press: 450-15,11,10,10

Wed., 3/20/13, Shoulders

Basic stuff today. Good pump. Here it is:
seated dumbell press: 20's-20; 35's-15; 50's-12; 60's-10; 70's-10
laterals: 20's-12; 30's-12; 40's-8
incline rears: 30's-12; 40's-10; 50's-6
dumbell front raise: 20's- 1 set: 8 overhand, 8 hammer, 8 underhand
shrug: 135-15; 225-12,? (just feel)

Tue., 3/19/13, Chest/calves/abs

Today's workout was a little broken up, because I had a couple small holes between clients today. So I did chest, 20 minutes cardio and abs in one hole and calves and 10 minutes cardio in another time slot. It all went great- incredible pump in chest and calves:

incline dumbell press: 8 total sets only the last to total failure
cable cross-over: 3 sets of 8-10 each really working on all sets
1 failure set of flat dumbell press
1 failure set of cross-bench-pullover
1 failure set of machine flyes
1 set of dips with rest-pause reps
....and the pecs were PUMPED
20 minutes treadmill
machine crunch: 125-20,20,20 + vacuums

8 sets of seated calf raise
5 sets of smith machine calf raise
10 minutes treadmill

Monday, 03/18/13, Back

I got in a good back workout this morning. The lats were super-pumped at the end. The volume was fairly low, just a couple sets per exercise. And the exercises were all very basic. Here's what it looked like:
row: 45-15; 95-12; 135-12; 185-10; 225-10; 275-6
close-grip-pulldown: 180-12; 225-10
Free- Motion pulldown: 170-10; 200-7
1-arm dumbell row: 100-15,8 (not to failure, just to feel)

Fri., 3/15/13, Chest and Back

Killer pump- I got in a good super-set workout, everything tight. I'm really enjoying this weekly secondary workout combining chest and back (I do back by itself on Monday and chest by itself on Tuesday, and do more volume and intensity there, this workout is totally focussed on the pump... and it works.) Here is the chest / back super-set workout of the week:

flat dumbell press:                    25's-20; 40's-15; 55's-15; 65's-15; 75's-12; 85's-12; 100's-10
super-set with seated cable row: 60-15;   80-12;  100-12; 120-12; 140-12; 160-12; 180-8

incline dumbell press:          65's-12; 75's-12; 85's-8
super-set with dumbell row:   "           "            "

wide pull-up:          12, 12, 7
super-set with dip: 15, 15, 13

cross-bench-pullover: 50-12; 60-12; 70-10

Thur., 03/14/13, Legs

I got in a great leg workout today. I'm still playing with close stance squats- slow and focussed. Here is what it looked like:
squats (medium foot stance with toes straight on): 45-20; 95-10; 135-6; 225-6; 315-6; 405-6+fail
leg press: 270-20; 450-20; 590-10
leg extension: 90-20; 135-10
1-leg step up: 95-12; 115-15
standing leg curl: 60-15; 75-12; 90-8
leg curl: 90-10, 8 + 3
calf press: 270-20; 360-15; 450-15,?
smith machine calf: 180-15; 230-12,12

Wed., 03/13/13, Shoulders

I got in a great shoulder workout this morning. It was all basic stuff- just focussed intense work, it always gets the job done:

seated dumbell press: 25's-15; 40's-15; 50's-12; 60's-10; 70's-8
lateral raise: 10's-10,20's-12; 30's-7,20's-6,15's-6 (no rest) ;                                                    
                     15's-10,20's-10,25's-6,30's-3,25's-3,20's-? (no rest)
incline rear laterals: 35's-15; 50's-10
shrugs: 135-15; 225-10; 275-8; 225-11 (very focussed)

Mon., 03/11/13, Back

Well, I got in a great workout this morning. It was nothing exciting, just basic stuff. But every rep was focussed and I really visualized the back muscles working, growning and becoming more defined- new etches, new detail. Here is what it looked like:

row: 45-30; 95-12; 135-12; 185-8; 225-10; 245-10; 265-6
V-grip pulldown: 180-12; 210-10,7
wide pulldown: 180-10,9,8

...and that's it, boom! 30 minutes your done. Excellent pump.

Sat., 03/09/13, Progress Report- 5 Weeks Out

Measurements this morning: waist- 29 5/8"   weight- 175 3/4 lb.
At 5 weeks out I'm more than happy with this, as I will be right where I want to be in about 3 weeks- perfect!
I got in a great arm workout this morning- not too much volume, but very focussed, controlled and intense. Here's what it looked like:

super-set seated dumbell curls with french presses for 5 progressively heavier sets with the last 1 to total failure
concentration curls for 3 sets starting heavy and getting lighter each set, to failure, alternating arms with no rest
1-arm reverse grip pushdowns for 3 sets with the same weight decreasing reps each set, to failure, alternating arms with no rest
super-set hammer curls and 1-arm overhead extensions for 2 sets back and forth with no rest
cable curl  super-set with pushdowns 2 sets back and forth with no rest, just a good finishing pump

Fri., 03/08/13, Chest and Back

I got an incredible pump today! It was nuts. I wished I had a camera, but I'd left it at home. Here is the workout that got it:

cable cross over:                                                       30-20;   50-15;   70-10;   80-10;   90-10; 100-?
super set with medium under hand grip pull down: 70-15; 100-12; 140-12; 180-10; 200-10; 220-6

wide pull up:         12, 10, 9
super set with dip: 15, 15, 10

incline dumbell press:                75's-12;  85's-10 / (flat bench ) 85's-9
super set with seated cable row: 160-10; 180-10, 10

pullover: 70-12,9

Tue., 3/05/13, Chest

The workout of the day:
Incline dumbell press: 25's-25; 40's-15; 55's-12; 70's-10; 80's-10; 90's-10; 100's-11
incline hammer strength: 90-12; 180-12; 270-6
flat dumbell press: 65's-12; 75's-10,12
pullover: 60-12,12 
   super set with crossover: 70-?,?
....great pump!

Mon., 03/04/13, Back

Killer pump this morning! I did abs, lats and cardio. Here's what it looked like:
bosu crunch: 30, 20 + 10 twists each side/ kneeling rope crunch: 150-20; 170-12 + vacuums
wide grip pull-ups: 12,12,12,12
row: 135-12; 185-10; 225-8; 245-8
close grip pulldown: 180-10; 210-8; 240-6
1-arm dumbell row: 100-9
20 minutes treadmill: speed-3.3mph/ incline-11