First Day Back on Legs

It's been about 2 weeks since I've had a squat session, and a whole week since I've done anything whatsoever as far as lower body goes. My legs were feeling good and fresh.

Got the gym at 3 and warmed up. Then got in a good workout. *Remember, I'm deloading, so weights are about 20% lighter than usual*

Squats
275x6
250x8
225x10

No belt, and my form was nice and deep. I'm using this deloading period as a great chance to clean up my form and work on the fundamentals. They're SO important.

Leg Extensions
250x15

Leg Curls
120x10

Weighted Chin-Ups
+45x6
+25x7
+0x8

Close-Grip Pulldowns
135x8

Barbell Curls
60x12

Done.

I don't know why, but despite the fact that the weights were much lighter than I was working with last week, they still felt HEAVY. I got a weird feeling in my legs. Almost how I felt back when I ran track. They burned and were all tingly. I haven't felt that way after lifting in a long time! I think the time off made my CNS a little lazy, and my muscles forgot how it felt to use that fuel in 'em ^_^

Either way, it feels good to deload!

The Ramp-Up Commences...

Yesterday, after 5 days away from the gym (lots of rest, sleep, baths, and movies ^_^), I went and had a work out. It was the first workout of my "ramp-up/deload" phase before I kick-start this bulk. My sternum was feeling much better, and I felt up for a work out. I hit Upper Push/Calves, fasted, at about 10:30AM. Now, since it was a deload, my weights were about 20% lighter than usual. Nothing strenuous. Just enough to keep my muscles firing; think of it as active recovery as I build up to my heavy weights.

Bench Press
190lbs x 6
175lbs x 8
160lbs x 10

Piece of cake!

Military DB Press
60s x 8
55s x 10

Easy as pie...

Tricep Straight Bar Extensions
72.5x12

Calf Extensions
270x12
250x15

Really easy workout. It's strange; after the short layoff, lifting weights actually felt funny. I felt a burn in my muscles and was all twitchy which usually doesn't happen. I was lifting light weights, too, which is even weirder. I think my CNS was reawakened ^_^.

A Minor Set-Back

Well, I woke up Wednesday morning with a dull ache in my sternum. I believe it came about after heavy deadlifting the night before.

It's nothing incredibly painful, though it is something to keep an eye on. I have been taking hot baths, resting plenty, and taking some anti-inflammatory medication (Motrin) to let it heal up. I originally had a workout lined up yesterday, but I decided to skip it and just rest. Safety takes priority over everything, and I couldn't rightfully have a good workout knowing I wasn't 100%. In fact, I may be taking the rest of the week off. I'll just move right into my pre-bulk deloading phase starting next week. No harm done.

My only guess is that my form wasn't spot on for my heavy set of deadlifts. Though my fundamental motion is great, my shoulders need to be pulled back and braced tighter for the top part of the lift. This has never been in an issue in the past, however I am glad I made note of this now before a more serious injury occurred. I'm quite stubborn, and it isn't easy for me to admit that my form wasn't perfect, but I will swallow my pride here.

After extensive searching, it seems I've developed a mild case of Costochondritis, swelling of the connective tissue and cartelige between the ribs and sternum. When my shoulders weren't completely tensed back at the top of the lift, it allowed my upper torso to droop slightly forward, placing undue stress on that area.

As I've said, I'll be taking it easy for the next few days to give the area a chance to recooperate. I am thankful it wasn't something more serious, and it came before my deloading phase, so I don't need to worry about pushing heavy loads for a couple weeks.

On the bright side...this will give me more time to play my new game I picked up on Tuesday.

Arkham City!

Extended Bulk Outline

I've just come off a short cut to get me lean, and my plan is to move onto a long, slow gaining phase from Winter to Spring or even further if possible. This is how I plan on setting things up to make that happen:

Training

Lower/Pull (More hamstring dominant)

RPT Deadlifts-3 sets: 3,4,5 (Increase at 5,6,7)

Leg Extensions-1 set (easy)

Leg Curls-2 sets (hard)

RPT Weighted Chins-3 sets: 4,6,8 (Increase at 6,8,10)

Lat Pulldowns: 2 sets

Bicep Curls: 2 sets of 12-15

Upper Push/Calves

RPT Bench Press-3 sets: 6,8,10 (Increase at 8,10,12)

DB Bench Press-2 sets of 12-15

Military DB Press-2 sets of 8,10 (Increase at 10,12)

Side laterals-1 easy set of 15

Tricep Pushdowns-2 sets of 12-15

Calf raises: 3 sets

Calf Extensions: 1 set

Lower/Pull 2 (More Quad dominant)

RPT Squats-3 sets: 6,8,10 (Increase at 8,10,12)

Leg Extensions-2 sets (hard)

Leg Curls-1 set (easy)

RPT Weighted Chins-3 sets: 4,6,8 (Increase at 6,8,10)

Lat Pulldowns: 2 sets

Bicep Curls: 2 sets of 12-15

I'll be in the gym roughly every other day, hitting each group every 5th day or so. This has worked wonders in the past, and it really allows me to recover properly and maintain high intensity in the weight room. The program has a base of Reverse Pyramid training for compound movements coupled with more typical hypertrophy programs for size and volume. Consider it a power/hypertrophy mix. It is also built around the concept of double progression, where you increase weight after completing the reps at the top of a range.

Ex) 

For a 6-8 rep range

Workout 1: 225x6, Workout 2: 225x8, Workout 3: 230x6

Reverse pyramid training is a great system in my opinion. For anyone wondering how a sample would look for a 6-10 rep range:

Squats

Set 1: 350x6

Take off 10% before set 2, and do...

Set 2: 315x8

Another 10%, and do...

Set 3: 285x10

Basically you take off weight but add reps. Now as for how a typical weekly/biweekly set up looks for the above workouts:

Sample Set-Up

Mon-Lower 1

Tues-Rest

Wed-Upper

Thurs-Rest

Fri-Lower 2

Sat-Rest

Sun-Rest

Mon-Upper

Tues-Rest

Wed-Lower 1

..and so on and so forth. As you can see each area is being hit every fourth to fifth day. Research points towards twice a week training each bodypart to be optimal. I'll try and dig up the studies. I've run this in the past, and it has worked remarkably well. 

I am still contemplating whether or not to specialize certain bodyparts, in which case, I'll be training one muscle group at maintenance while focusing on another as to avoid a burnout. As I get more advanced, it is becoming increasingly difficult to advance everything at once.

Deloads

As I've stated, as I get more advanced, lifting heavy weight for a long stretch of time will eventually take it's toll on my CNS and cause me to burn out and/or plateau in my lifts. To avoid this, I'll be incorporating periodic deloads. One step back to take 2 steps forward essentially. The idea came from Lyle McDonald and his articles.

2 week ramp up, 6 week hard training (over 2 month blocks). During deload, drop heavy weights by 15-20% for same specified reps. Following week increase 7.5-10% until working with previous top weights or just below on week 3. Continue loading phase from there on out to finish the block. Basically, you will be able to build back up to beat your previous bests from the previous cycle.

Example Deload:

Last week of hard training: 350x6

First week of deload: 285x6 (-20%)

Second week of deload: 315x6 (-10%)

First week of next hard training cycle: 350x6 or thereabouts. A tad below is acceptable, as long as progression past the previous best is achieved over the course of the cycle.

Nutrition

Lifting Days (3x/week)

Maintenance + 600

High Carb, Mod. Protein, Low fat

Immediate Rest Days (3x/week)

Maintenance +0

Moderate P/C/F

Consecutive Rest Day (1x/week)

Maintenance – 200-500

Moderate P/C/F (Protein + fat emphasis: ~1.5g/lb bw Pro)

Total Weekly Surplus: ~1/2lb (1300-1800cals)

Well, those are the basics! If I need to add in/edit anything for the plan, I will. That's all for now. Very excited to get the ball rolling. I'll be moving into my ramp up period next week.

Thursday, Oct. 18-Getting Deadly

Workout

Got to the gym at 3:30 and did a solid 25 minutes of warming up/stretching.

Reverse Pyramid Training (RPT) Deadlifts

370lbs x 3

335lbs x 4

Leg Extensions

285lbs x 15

Lying Leg Curls

150lbs x 10

Weighted Chin-Ups

+62.5lbs x 4

+50lbs x 5

+25lbs x 8

Close Grip Lat Pulldowns

165lbs x 8

Barbell Bicep Curls

70lbs x 12

Good workout; however, I can definitely tell that a deload is in order pronto. After dieting down for the past 12 weeks, my body is pretty beat, and it is finally starting to show through in my training. Deadlifts were brutal today, and though I got the reps I wanted, it wasn't easy. I just felt "sluggish" and dead. I needed longer rest between sets throughout the workout, and this session took more of a toll on me than usual. 

Nutrition

~2650cal: 200/400/25

*Need to up the fat a bit on WO days I suppose.

Pretty good day overall. I got the new Batman game this morning, so that'll keep me busy for a while. ^_^ Arkham City! Also, I'll be posting my extended bulk outline either tomorrow or Thursday. Right now, I'm in "maintenance mode". Still alternating between slight surplus on lifting days with slight deficit on rest days. 

Let's Get the Ball Rolling

My name is Joseph. I'm 18 & a student at the University of Houston. This is my lifting log. You can check out my informational blog here. The purpose of starting this blog is to keep track of my progress while also serving as a learning tool for others who are interested. It keeps me grounded and focused, and hopefully it will inspire you to be also.

Current stats:

5"7
152lbs

Estimated 1RM as of today:

Bench Press: 265lbs
Squat: 375lbs
Deadlift: 390lbs
Overhead Press:195lbs
Weighted Chinsups: 65lbs x 4

A little background:

I've been pretty active all of my life. Throughout elementary school, I played in youth soccer and baseball leagues. I was a 'husky' kid in grade school, meaning I wasn't fat per se, but I did carry some extra weight. In middle school, I got heavily into skateboarding which really leaned me out. I started running track in 7th grade and loved it. In high school, I made the varsity cross country team as a freshman, and if I recall correctly, my best 5k was 18:47 or so. I got into football sophomore year and helped our team achieve the district title as a receiver/cornerback/special teams player. That spring, I had a nasty injury occur during practice where I snapped my elbow going up for a pass. That effectively ended my football career, and afterwards, I directed my attention towards track. After a great offseason, I was running great 400m times in the real of 52-53 seconds as a 16 year old. Unfortunately, at a winter practice, I tore my hamstring, and there went my hopes of running collegiately. With no real sports to train for anymore, I set my sights on lifting weights. Fast forward to now, and I'm still lifting and seeking improvement!