Snewsome - Workout Journal

Last excercise group of the 4 day routine, so much for a 1 week routine due to so much stuff happening. Next time we work out we are back on routine 1 which means an increase to weight. That is where the true test begins. The workout last night was :

Front Squats
5 x 5 at 80kg
Dead Lifts
5 x 5 at 100kg
Seated Calf Raises
4 x 8 at 70kg
Lateral Dumbbell Raise
5 x 5 at 10kg
Preacher Curls (full extension)
5 x 5 at 20kg + ezy curl bar
Dumbbell Curls
3 x 10 at 15kg
Weighted Tricep Dips
5 x 5 at BW

Feeling good about this. I must say it was the first time I really felt like my form on the squat was ok. Bar didnt go to roll of my shoulders and I got nice and low. Had a guy at the gym correct my form on Dealifts, curving my back a little so correcting that now. Calorie counting still happening mentally just not written down here. sticking around my 2500 mark with a handful of almonds added to my standard weekday intake now for a bit more calories as I think I was a bit short before because I was over estimating.
 
Thursday 22/05/08

Back to the first day of the program...everything has increased.

Bench Press
5 x 5 x 72.5kg (I struggled with this weight and in sets 4 and 5 had to pause before the last rep. I need to make sure I am dropping the bar low enough for it to be effective.)
Seated Rows
5 x 5 at 72.5kg (No issues here)
Chest Press
5 x 5 at 20kg (This was still pretty easy, no worries about going up yet)
Seated Leg Curls
4 x 8 at 77.5kg (This really hurts, bloody hard to walk afterwards)
Cable Side-bends
2 x 10 at 25kg (No issues here)
Weighted Crunches
3 x 12 at 62.5kg (Difficult but doable, increasing weight should be good)
Shrugs
3 x 8 at 90kg (Bigger increase than most others, 80 was way too light.)

I dont know what i did / ate but felt fairly sick when I got home. Spent a while in the bathroom then woke up in the middle of the night and was forced there again. Not a pleasant feeling overall but seem to be slightly better now.

WARNING : Oversharing - If you don't want to know look away. I have noticed I have alot more gas these days and not pleasant smelling :S which is kinda of annoying and off putting. I read somewhere on the forums that excess protein can cause this but I don't know if the person was joking so anyone got any ideas?
 
Sunday 25/5/08

Front Squats
5 x 5 at 85kg
Not using a towel to buffer anymore as if was causing balance issues and the bar to roll off my arms. Getting a bit of soreness and bruising across the colarbone with no padding but solid attempts.
Dead-lifts
5 x 5 at 105kg
Feeling good on this. Correcting my form slightly and using the alternating grip now for better control.
Lunges
3 x 10 at 55kg
I really struggle with this, not a fan of lunges at all especially after the last 2 excercises.
Military Press
5 x 5 at 42.5kg
No problems, difficult towards the end of the last set by no stoppages.
Weighted Chin-ups
Someone has broken the assisted chin up machine so I considered skipping this because I cannot lift my weight but a guy I know there encouraged me to give it a go. I was so happy when I managed to get out 3 x 5 at bodyweight. If the assisted remains broken my aim will now be to get all 5 sets out at 5. So what I got out today was :
3 x 5 x bodyweight
2 x 3 x bodyweight
Dumbbell Curls
3 x 10 at 17.5kg
Swinging slightly to help myself up. Need to make sure I have correct form as I up the weights.
Closed Grip Bench Press
5 x 5 at 45kg
Fairly easy, need to make sure I don't flare my elbows on the way down.
 
Wednesday 28/05/08

Bench Press
5 x 5 at 72.5kg
Seated Rows
5 x 5 at 72.5kg
Decline Bench Press
5 x 5 at 72.5kg
Weighted Pull Ups
5 x 5 at -5kg
I struggled in a huge way with this and didn't really get them all out, needed a bit of a hand up. What can I do to improve this movement?
Sidebend
2 x 10 at 12.5kg
Decline Situps (45degrees)
3 x 12 at 10kg
We have a new bench at the gym that actually goes all the way to 45 degrees unlike the one we were using previously at about 30 degrees. This makes the situps a hell of a lot harder.
Shrugs
3 x 8 at 90kg
Slight twinge in my right Delt which has been sore for a few days, think I have strained it.
 
Thursday 29/05/08

Last day of this round then back to day 1 of the routine and increase the weight again.

Front Squats
5 x 5 at 85kg
Dead Lifts
5 x 5 at 105kg
Seated Calf Raises
4 x 8 at 75kg
Lateral Dumbbell Raise
5 x 5 at 10kg
Did one set at 12.5kg but dropped back down to 10 as I was getting a twinge in my alreadys ore shoulder.
Preacher Curls (half extension)
5 x 5 at 30kg + ezy curl bar
Dumbbell Curls
3 x 10 at 17.5kg
Weighted Tricep Dips
5 x 5 at BW + 2.5kg
 
Monday 2/6/08

Bench Press
5 x 5 x 75kg (I really struggled with this weight. I think it is a combination of the weights getting harder and the fact that my body had not yet recovered from a huge night of drinking on Saturday.)
Seated Rows
5 x 5 at 75kg (No issues here)
Chest Press
5 x 5 at 22.5kg (aside from the very last rep in set 3 which I could not get up to save my life I got these out fine.)
Lat Pull Downs
These are to replace the leg curls as after reading NROL I realise how pointless that excercise was and also this fits much better in the chest / back theme of this workout.
5 x 5 at 68kg (not too bad, need to get up to my body weight so I can do the pull ups easier)
Cable Side-bends
2 x 10 at 26.5kg (No issues here)
Hanging leg hip raise
These are to replace the weighted crunchs on the machine as again I realise how pointless that excercise is.
3 x 10 at bodyweight
Shrugs
3 x 9 at 100kg
 
Wednesday 4/6/08

Front Squats
5 x 5 at 90kg
Dead-lifts
5 x 5 at 110kg
Lunges with dumbells
3 x 10 at 2 x 25kg dumbells
Military Press
5 x 5 at 45kg
Weighted Chin-ups
5 x 5 at BW
I start struggling towards the nd of the third set and need a little help from my spotter. Could not get the very last one in the fifth set out to save my life.
Dumbbell Curls
Missed this as we ran out of time before the gym closed.
Closed Grip Bench Press
5 x 5 at 50kg
 
Saturday 07/06/08

Bench Press
5 x 5 at 75kg
Seated Rows
5 x 5 at 75kg
Decline Bench Press
5 x 5 at 75kg
Pullups
5 x 5 at -12kg
Sidebend
2 x 10 at 15kg
Situps (45 degree)
3 x 12 at bodyweight
Shrugs
3 x 8 at 100kg

Monday 9/6/08

Front Squats
5 x 5 at 90kg
Deadlifts
5 x 5 at 110kg
Lateral Raises
5 x 5 at 12.5kg
Chin ups
5 x 5 at bodyweight
Weighted Tricep Dips
5 x 5 at bodyweight+5kg

Removed calf raises as Skinner's ankle is buggered plus they are a fairly useless excercise. Switched bicep isolation excercises for chin ups which are so much better and I enjoy them now I can do some.
 
Bit of a delay in posting which I usually do at work but have been distracted. Last week of the strength building routine then moving onto NROL hyper 2 and bulking. Started to struggle especially in bench this week so coming to the first road block in my strength routine but overall satisfied with my progress. We have made some changes to the excercises in this last week due to what we have picked up from NROL and reading elsewhere so for those keeping track you will notice some changes. Anyhow, I have missed 3 routines now so here they are :

Workout 1/4 in last week :

Bench Press
5 x 5 at 77.5kg (really only made it to 4 each time)
Seated Rows (wide grip)
5 x 5 at 67.5kg (much harder with wide grip)
Chest Press
5 x 5 at 22.5kg (weight of dumbell in each hand)
Lat Pulldowns
5 x 5 at 70.5kg
Woodchops
3 x 10(each side) at 35kg (with poor form not using correct muscles as first time we tried it)
Swiss Ball Crunches
3 x 20

Workout 2/4

Front Squats
5 x 5 at 95kg (very happy with this as my max at the start of this routine was 100 before I felt like I couldnt keep balance. Have to keep my elbows up so bar doesn't roll)
Deadlifts
5 x 5 at 115kg (very difficult but I got it out all with good form. again my previous max was 120kg so 5x5 at this weight is awesome.)
Military Press
3 x 5 at 47.5kg and 2 x 5 at 52.5kg (realised I wasn't struggling enough with the weight so upped it halfway through. Happy that I am still military pressing this with good form and not needing to push press yet using my legs.)
Weighted Chin Ups
5 x 5 at bodyweight (I am loving chin ups now that I can do them at bodyweight. failed on the last one in the fourth set as opposed to the third set this week.)
Closed Grip Bench Press
5 x 5 at 55kg
Woodchops
3 x 10(each side) at 25kg (Got the technique down good and really felt the burn)

Workout 3/4

Bench Press
1 x 5 at 77.5kg
2 x 5 at 70kg
2 x 5 at 60kg (really struggled today had to drop the weights a bit)
Pullups
5 x at bodyweight -12kg
Decline Bench
3 x 5 at 65kg
2 x 5 at 70kg
Woodchops
3 x 10(each side) at 25kg

Superset
Chinups
5 x 5 at bodyweight
with
Swiss Ball Crunches
4 x 20
After already doing woodchoppers aswell this was very stressing on the old abs.

So here I am up to date now. One more routine to go on Thursday for legs in the strength building routine. Then we are going to test our maxes on Sunday and take a week off to let the body recover. After this I plan to do the 2 week warmup routine in NROL as they recommend and then move into Hyper 2 at the same time as eating for a bulk as opposed to the defecit I am currently in. I plan to take photos and measurements before my bulk so I can see the results better as I wish I had my details from before I started working out now, as I am sure I have changed but I find gradual changes hard to see.

Would love to hear from the forum since I haven't got much feedback yet, but I find it is helpful for me to keep track here so I will continue to post anyway. Going to Canada for a working holiday on the Ski fields at the end of this year so gotta look good and be healthy for it. My goal is still to get rid of my man boobs so I don't feel ashamed to take my shirt off at a beach or whatever and to make a good Aussie impression on the Canadians I am to meet.
 
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Thursday 20/6/08

Last workout of the strength routine, really pushed myself, felt absolutely ****ed when i was done which was good.

Front Squats
5 x 5 at 100kg (My previous 1RM max, very happy. Didnt feel like I was going that low but my gym partner assured me I had good range of motion.)
Deadlifts
5 x 5 at 120kg (This absolutely killed me. I was struggling by the end of this even with full rest. Form slipping ever so slightly towards the last reps)
Push Press
5 x 5 at 55kg (Since I got out 52.5 the other day no issue without the added push I figured I would try 60 but failed miserably. Only just got out these 55 ones cause I was tired.)
Chin ups
5 x 5 at bodyweight (Loving these at the moment. Still needing help on the last couple to get the last bit up.)
Weighted Tricep Dips
3 x failure (10 reps) at bodyweight

Great workout to finish off the strength building section. Moving onto NORL soon. Hope to test my maxes this week and also take measurements for before my bulk.
 
This is the week off from workout before I do the warm up routine in NROL which is good because I spent all day Tuesday and most of Wednesday moving to my new house which was a workout in itself and also managed to give myself a cold so not feeling the best.

I did go into the gym Thursday night as we were going to test our maxes to see how much we have increased and also for the challenge set forth by Tony. Didn't get to BB rows or squats but I know I can beat my previous 100kg on front squats since I did 5x5 at 100kg during the last routine in the strength building plan. Bench didn't improve in weight but my technique has improved dramatically and in doing so my weight has probably dropped now since I am doing the full range of motion with no help. The thing I am most happy with however is my Deadlift which was at 120kg max at the start of this routine and now with perfect form, a better grip and obviously stronger I managed to punch out a 160KG. This increase of 40kg alone almost meets the challenge requirements so I am content that I have met it with 10kg on front quats minimum (hopefully I can test that at some point).

As of Monday I will be on the NROL 2 week warmup then Hyper 2 and bulking followed by a cut. That is the plan for now so let's see how it goes.
 
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