DD's training for life...

[ddegroff]

I have a log over at WBB but I'm more into the S&C than BB.
Into:
My names Dusty and I'm currently 190lbs @ 16% BF. I follow a FB three day a week routine. My current stats are these:

Squat: 255x8, 295x1
Deadlift: 315x5, 375x1
Bench Press: 175x8, no max

I love squat and deads probably why my bench sucks so much:rolleyes:.

Background:

I've been lifting on and off since highschool. More off than on. The last three years I have been religous about working out. Mainly because I'm going to school for exercise science. I have one more semester and I'll be done. I'm taking my CSCS written exam in Oct. Had two broken ring fingers last fall so that set me back for three months. I've been making great progress since.

Current Routine:

BB Bench Press 5x5, Chinups 5x5, SLDL/Lunges 2x8

Squat 5x5, Rows 5x5, OH press 5x5

Power Cleans 6x3, CGBP 4x6, Curls 3x8

Any comments are always welcome!

[ddegroff]

Workout 7/23/07 @ 8am:

Squat: 255x5x4, 255x6
*Legs felt great.

One Arm Rows: 95x5x2, 100x5x3
*Love these, too bad next workout I wont have any more weight to add.

OH Press: 55x5x2, 60x5x3
*Gettin' close to a set PR. Set last summer...

Bike Ride: 30mins to workout, 30mins home

Notes:
Great workout. Finally made it in the AM. I knew it would really help my legs. I did the 6th rep on the last set because I didn't feel that worn out. One arm rows felt good too. But that's the heaviest db's at my school gym. And the new gym only goes to 90's. BB rows are coming shortly. OH press felt pretty good too, need to focus on the form. I had taped three sets of squats and two sets of rows. The problem was I've been using the same tape over and over again. This time the time code got messed up and that totally ****s with the edititing software. My squats looked good. No tuck under to be seen. I plan on working on my flexibility some more.

Diet:
2800 is the goal.

[ddegroff]

Workout, 7/25/07 @ 7:30am:

BB Bench Press: 175x5x2, 185x5x2, 185x6
*Felt nice and strong today. Had a spot on the last two sets. On the sixth rep he helped at the sticking point with one finger. No big deal.

Chinups: +10x5, +15x5x4
*These felt great.

SLDL SS w/ Lunges: 80x6x2
*Saving my legs.


Notes:
BB bench press felt great and so did chins. Had my last final today, it was a collage of magazine cutouts. Yes, it's a college course, lol.

Diet:
Who knows just ate some pizza with my girl. I had a lot of cals left anyway. BUt thats twice this week...

[Andrew Smith]

Nice benching and chins. You post over at WBB don't you?

[ddegroff]

Workout, 7/27/07 @ 2pm:

Power Cleans: 155x3x3, 165x3x3(PR)
*Getting better, still need to get better at making it one whole movement.

CGBP: 135x6, 135x8x3
*My chest was still a little sore so I didn't push the issue.

Bicep Curls: 45x6x3, 50x4
*LOL gotta love the curls for the gurls

50yd Farmers Walk: 80x3
*Killed my forearms.

Notes:
I taped all the sets of cleans and two sets of the CGBP. BUT the tape didn't work again. http://www.wannabebigforums.com/images/smilies/banghead.gif New tape next time. The cleans look good. I was shruging the hell out of the weight. The farmers walks paired with the bicep curls killed my forearms.

Diet:
Weighed in at 188.5(-2lbs) not too bad. My strength is up so its all good. Probably going to go down another three lbs and see where i'm at BF wise. I figure I'm at ~15% right now. I figured out that I would be at 10% at 177. But i'm not sure I want to cut down to that, we shall see. Shootin' for 2800 again today but ~30g or less of fat. Went a little over board yesterday (3 1/4lber's needed the cals but not the 30g plus of Sat fat, lol).

[ddegroff]

Workout, 8/1/07 @ 12pm:


BB Bench Press: 175x5, 185x5x3, 185x7(1 Rep PR)
*Felt good today. I'm really getting a feel for the PL style bench. The same guy was spotting me again. He touched the bar briefly on the 7th rep but then took his hands off as a finished.


Chinups: +15x6, +15x5x3, +15x6
*Was going to do 4x6, changed my mind to 5x5. Was really feeling it so pushed out one more on the last set. BW PR but not an actual PR, soon very soon.


SLDL/Lunge: 80x6x2
*No biggie.


Notes:
Felt great today. Except my road rash on my hand. Ripped it open a few times, oozed a bit. Spent way too long as usual. I learned tons of new core exercises at my new job today so I was sharing with the other trainers at my schools gym. I'm use to it now so no big deal. Obviously shorter the better but I doubt my chatting is really promoting Cortisol realease. So its not that big of a deal. Plus the more people I help, the more potential clients I will have down the road http://www.wannabebigforums.com/images/smilies/wazzup.gif .

Diet:
Sittin' at 1500cals as of right now (6pm). I'm going to my girls cousin's B-day, tons of food. So who knows how the night will end up.

Feedback:
Andrew:Thanks bro! Yeah bro I do. But I'm not big into the whole BB deal. PMDL was one of the guys that knows his **** over there. So once I heard he started this I jumped over here. Plus I'm more into the S&C anyway.

[Kyle]

Nice job on the training.

I look forward for you to stick around, this is a good forum for S&C topics and stuff.

Kyle

[ddegroff]

Workout, 8/3/07 @ 1pm:

One arm DB Snatch's 45x3x2, 40x3x4
*Form sucked with the 45's so I lowered the weight.

SS w/

Shoulder Work Wax On/Off, Front Lateral Raises, External/Internal

CGBP: 135x8, 145x8x2
*Felt good.

ss w/

Bicep Curls: 45x8x3

Bike ride: 10mins to new job, 20mins to workout, 30 mins home

*I have video of the snatch's and shoulder work. I'll post the link from youtube once it's up. Comments are always welcome!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V838OGaYJrU

Notes:
What a crazy day. Got to my campus gym at 12pm. Started warming up, my 1pm client showed up at 12:20 thinking we met at 12. So I trained her till 1pm. Worked out, 1:35pm my 2pm client showed up and talked with me through my CGBP and Curls. Atleast he's a cool guy. Got a message from my new boss that I have my first client at his studio on Monday and I'll start at his other studio on Tuesday and then Thursday. Things are going my way. I tried one set of Power cleans but it hurt my road rash from Monday's crash, thats why I did the snatch's (also why my left wrist is taped).

Diet:
Weighed in at 187.5(-1lb), right on track. I'm eating ~2600-2800. Usually the last 300cals or so have been beers :cool: .

Feedback:
Kyle: Thanks bro! Yeah I plan on sticking around. I know you and PMDL from WBB and there's too much BS over there sometimes. And I like the fact that I'm here on the ground level.

[Andrew Smith]

Workouts have been looking good man. I'll definitely stay on you. The biggest thing I like about this forum is that I feel like I'm learning new stuff again. WBB is good and all that, but I don't feel like there are any great threads anymore.

[ddegroff]

Workout, 8/6/07 @ 12pm:

Squats: 255x5x5(Set PR)
*These were tough. Probably sense I haven't squatted in two weeks.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=nMKuGQ8BaKc
All Comments welcome!

Ghetto T-Bar Rows: 145x5x2, 155x5x3
*These felt good. Spotted a kid doing 185x6x3. He pointed out that the weight I was doing was "pretty heavy". I dissagree. Lol.

OH Press: 55x5, 60x5x4
*Gettin' close to a PR, finally.

Notes:
This workout took over 1hr30mins. But there was a huge interval between set 2 of GTB and the rest of my workout. I was taking my time cause I wanted to lift with one of other trainers. Then we got into a conversation about lats/pecs strength ratio. Then I told him I wanted to finish and then he joined me for OH press. All in all it was a good workout, just took too long as usual.

Diet:
2800ish

Feedback:
Andrew: Yeah man I agree. Every once and a while theres a good one. But this place is geared towards what I want.

[Misanthrope]

Nice job on the squats, Dusty. Solid weight for 5x5 across. I'll keep an eye on this journal.

[Andrew Smith]

Nice squatting man. I'll take a look at the video in a bit.

[Andrew Smith]

Just got done looking at the vid. Just a couple of things:

Try to bring your elbows down a bit more. They aren't super high but their position is causing you to lean over a bit and "close" the chest. I had this problem until somebody point it out for me.

Work on kicking your knees out a bit. Even with a close stance, you can push the knees out.

Work on thinking about moving the bar and your chest up first. As it is right now, you tend to pick the hips up, causing you to lean forward. You fall out of the groove a bit and end up GMing it part of the way up.


Just a couple of things I observed. Nice job.

[Lifting N Tx]

Good effort on the squats, Dusty. Interesting comment by Andrew about the elbows. I've noticed that I pull down really hard on the bar without even thinking about it when trying to grind out a rep. I'm still using a high bar position, though, which is probably better for olympic style squats.

I did notice that it looked like you were stopping a bit above parallel. Do you feel the strain transfer from your quads to your hams and glutes at that depth? If not, I wonder if a little more depth might be a good idea.

Interesting that your upper body pulling strength seems pretty good relative to your pressing strength. Probably better that way in terms of shoulder health.

[Andrew Smith]

Good effort on the squats, Dusty. Interesting comment by Andrew about the elbows. I've noticed that I pull down really hard on the bar without even thinking about it when trying to grind out a rep. I'm still using a high bar position, though, which is probably better for olympic style squats.




Not sure if you ever frequent WBB but HomeYield from that forum worked with me quite a bit when I stayed with him a couple of weekends ago. I was keeping my elbows up high in an attempt to create a better shelf for the bar. In doing so, I was closing my chest, thus causing myself to lean over slightly. From there my hips would shift but the bar would get out in front of me causing me to GMing the squat. By bring my elbows forward under the bar, quite a bit, I was able to stand almost completely straight up, with my chest stuck out and up and maintained a much more upright position, even when squatting with a low bar placement.

[ddegroff]

Workout, 8/8/07 @ 3pm:

BB Bench Press: 185x5x4, 185x6(Set PR, 5x5)
*These felt good. Had a spot on the last four sets. The last rep on the fifth set I yelled at him to make it harder. So I counted the PR as 5x5.

Chinups: BW+20x5x5
*These felt good. The last rep of the last set was super tough, finally.

Bike Ride: 25mins on the way to work, 29mins on the way home

Notes:
Well my legs were super sore yesterday and somewhat sore today from the squats. I decided I would push it like crazy on the bike ride but no SLDL/lunges. I may throw them in on Friday. Bench press is feeling great. My spotter only touched the bar on the last two reps on the last set. The last rep was straight out of Pumping Iron "make it harder!!", lol. He only had two fingers helping but it felt to easy.

Diet:
2600-2800, we'll see what my weight is tomorrow. I usually have three days of riding in by now but its been raining so that might effect it, we'll see.

Feeback:
anthrope: Thanks!
Andrew: Thanks bro, those are the comments I'm looking for. People I work with are always, form looks awesome. But i know theres room for improvement. I noticed the leaning foreward on past squat videos, this time was as bad, but I'll take the advice. I've been working on using my hips more, I've got that down now on to the next:cool:.
LNTx: You know I was looking at that too. I'm surprised your the only one that pointed out that I was stopping above //. Two things and these are somewhat of excuses, lol. First the placement of the camera might play a roll in how my depth looks:D. Also to get that video on youtube I had to compress the crap out of it so that could play a roll also. With that said I think I could go deeper, I was watching the raw video and 80% of the reps I hit my mark. I've been working on my "tuck under" and the lower I go my lower back rounds a bit. So I try to go just above when that would start. I need to work on my hamstring flexibility so I can go deeper. Yesterday my glutes, hams, and quads were sore as hell, that tells me they were all working. So I feel the depth was good but could always be better. For a while all I did was chest, so now I work the hell out of my back. I was disscussing this exact point with some of the guys I know and they feel pressing should be a lot stronger than pulling. I like the idea of them being pretty close. Thanks for the comments!

[Lifting N Tx]

Andrew, interesting comments. I'll have to pay more attention to how elbow position affects the chest. I don't have much of a problem with holding the bar in a high bar position, but have never given the way it affects other things much thought.

Dusty, sounds like you have a good handle on why you're squatting as you are. I'd say that if your knees aren't bothering you and you're recruiting hams/glutes enough then you're probably using a good depth, at least until you become more flexible. Nice job on Wednesday's workout also.

[ddegroff]

Workout, 8/10/07 @ 3pm:

One arm DB snatchs: 40x3(R/L)x3, 45x3(R/L)x3
*Gettin' better really tryin' to dip underneath it. I have a video, just need to edit it and post it on youtube.

CGBP: 155x6, 135x8
*Chest was sore, took it easy.

SS/

Bicep Curls: 45x6, 50x6, 45x6
*I think the 50 is a PR but I'm sure, form was terrible. I'll count that once it get's better.

SS w/

Beaches: BWx12 per side
*Video on the way.

Bike Ride: 10mins to work, 15mins to other work, 30mins home

Notes:
Good workout, I'm really liking the OA snatchs. Although next week I'll probalby do PC with some OA snatchs.

Diet:
Weighed in at 186(-1.5lbs) losing quicker than I would like but I'm not really trying that hard to clean up my diet. Had beef and broccli and wontons tonight ~2800 tonight:D . Measured my waist yesterday also, 34in down from 36.5 @ 198. Plan on doing this each week.

LNT: Yeah, that's the main reason I take my workouts. Really evaluate how I did on film. It seems to be working so far.

[ddegroff]

For your viewing pleasure:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rq7gdS1c_24

As always, comments welcome!

[ddegroff]

Workout, 8/13/07 @ 12:30pm:

Squat: 255x5x5
*Worked in with another trainer. I was trying to much today. :windup:

Ghetto T-bar: 145x5, 155x5x4
*Felt good on these.

Shoulder Press: 55x5, 60x5x3, 60x4
*Wanted a PR today. Didn't happen...

Bike Ride: 10mins to first job, 15mins to second job, 30mins home
*My legs felt great all day on the bike, I think my pack was lighter than usual.


Notes:
Not totally happy with today's workout. Squats were harder than I expected them to be. I was trying to work on too many things. My last rep was pretty bad. It's cool more room to improve! Wanted more from my shoulder pressing but I was just ready to be done with my workout. Next time...

Diet:
Who knows, ate a lot of crap yesterday. Way too much so I cut it back today, kept cals low. Gonna down a protein shake then head off to bed.

Job Update:
Things are going good. I have three actual clients on Wednesday instead of just finding stuff todo for 2.5hrs everyday. The owner really wants to get me more clients so I don't get bored. Got a session at 6:45am tomorrow, 6am on wednesday. Guess summer is over:whip:

Feedback:
Nill...

[Andrew Smith]

Good job with the squatting man. Looking good. I'm not too keen on spotting the little things for a clean or squat. I posted links to Tommy K's Oly Vids in the Powerlifting section at WBB. It's been a couple of months ago. You ought to take a look at em for some good ideas.

[Heisman]

The biggest problem with your one armed dumbell snatches is the fact that your arm stays relatively straight, causing the dumbell to go way out in front. If you aren't doing that on purpose, then I would suggest you to just concentrate on pulling the dumbell straight up, so that your arm will bend and you will catch it at the top. You'll use a lot more weight that way, guaranteed.

[ddegroff]

Workout, 8/15/07 @ 2pm:

BB Bench Press: 155x8, 175x8, 160x8, 180x8**(PR)
*Tried some wave loading, just for fun.
**The eigth rep the spotter helped alot, so that really doesn't count. The PR is 180x7...

BW Chins: 8, 8, 6, 8
*Wanted 4x8, the third set was a bit of sand baggin'! lol

Bike Ride: 10mins to first job, 20mins to other job, 30mins home
*No leg work, pushin' it hard on the bike. I'm trying to push through my current anerobic threshold.

Notes:
I've been up since 5am, had a 6am client at my new job. Things are picking up forsure, which is always good. I'm just tired. I have one more client at 5pm then I'm done for the night. I wanted to try something new with the bench presses, instead of always going super heavy. Tried some wave loadiing just for fun, I like it a lot. I usually just do straight sets. I might try this with everything for the next few weeks.

Diet:
2800ish as usual. Gotta slow down the weight loss, hopin for just one pound tomorrow, we'll see. Spent $150 at Costco last night, 5lbs of chix, 5lbs of tilipia, 9lbs of oats and a bunch of other good stuff. This should feed me for the next few months. I'm testing out how much I'll need for my up coming bulk. I might drop all the way to 180lbs, we'll see.

Feedback:
Andrew: Thanks bro! I'll check it out when I get a chance.
Heisman: Huh, that's the way I thought to do them. I'll work on pulling hard and just keeping my arm straight at the top. Thanks for the comments!

[Misanthrope]

BB Bench Press: 155x8, 175x8, 160x8, 180x8**(PR)
*Tried some wave loading, just for fun.


Nice benching, Dusty. Not sure how this is wave loading, though? Looks like ramped sets to me. Either way, nice work.

[r_graz]

Hey Dusty, just checking in. Looking good in here, you've got a rock solid selection of exercises, and I like things like the one-armed dumbbell snatches. Always looking for new things to try.

Great squatting, BTW. Also really great to see some of the helpful comments people like Andrew Smith are making, those are things that will help me with my squatting as well.

[BobT]

Hey DD... great looking workouts...

Keep it heavy...

[ddegroff]

Nice benching, Dusty. Not sure how this is wave loading, though? Looks like ramped sets to me. Either way, nice work.

Wave Loading (http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=579577)
I'm not sure how many sets is as important as just doing lighter then higher sets. Maybe I missed the point. I've never really heard of ramped sets before. Tomato vs. Tamoto lol



Hey Dusty, just checking in. Looking good in here, you've got a rock solid selection of exercises, and I like things like the one-armed dumbbell snatches. Always looking for new things to try.

Great squatting, BTW. Also really great to see some of the helpful comments people like Andrew Smith are making, those are things that will help me with my squatting as well.

I've learned over my short term of heavy weightlifting that the basics work. Focus on those and build a good base. Plus I love working my body three times per week. I video my lifts for tips, the mirror lies sometimes. I'm glad that it's also helping others! Thanks for stopping by!


Hey DD... great looking workouts...

Keep it heavy...

Thanks bro, always heavy!

[ddegroff]

Workout, 8/7/07 @ 8am:

One Arm DB snatchs: 45x3x6
*Really working on pulling th weight straight up. These felt good. Form still needs some work on some of the reps.

CGBP: 145x6, 155x6, 150x6, 160x6
*Trying out more of this wave loading, I like it.

SS w/

DB curls: 40x6, 45x6, 45x6, 50x5
*These felt good.

Calf Raises: 180x12, 215x12x2

SS w/

Static Holds: 80x30sec x3

SS w/

Oblique Twists w/ side bends: 60x12x3

Treadmill: 20mins, walking hills

Bunch of Shoulder Mobility stuff sprikled along the way

Notes:
First workout at my new job. Had a client at 6am, next one was at 10:30, said why not just do the workout now. Still working on form for the snatchs, but really starting to like them. This is a day for weakpoint training.

Diet:
2800. Weighed in at 185(-1lb) from last week. Glad I slowed it down a bit. The weight loss is somewhat surprising, had a crazy diet all last weekend and really on tracked tuesday-friday. By doing some calculations that weight puts me @ ~13-14% BF.

Looking foreward:
Probably going to start UD2 on Monday. Even with some miscalculations of my bf I should be safe to start UD2. I've wanted to do it all summer long but really couldn't because no access to the gym on the weekends. Now I have access to a gym, when I want (whenever, I have a key:eek: ). Also, my new boss said it was cool if I video tape myself. So expect some more video's down the road.

I plan to lose those last 5lbs, to get to 180. At that weight I should be close to 11%, right where I wanted to start my bulk. Unless something happens to me (**Knock on wood**) I should start my fall bulk middle of Sept-Beginning of October. I'm using a range because last fall I was too percise and well that didn't work out so well. If you've been following my journal sense then you know what I'm talking about (broken fingers...).

I'm planning a long slow bulk. I'm tired of the word clean. Mainly because I eat perfect during the week and eat whatever on the weekends, :drooling: . My conclusion, calorie is the king. So I'll start off with a moddest 250-500 extra.

Feedback:
nil...

[Andrew Smith]

Nice looking session man. CGBPs looking strong.

[Heisman]

Yeah, I wouldn't worry about being super clean on a bulk. If you are gaining too much fat, then you'll have the option of eating cleaner.

[Lifting N Tx]

Those early starts must make for some long days.

I'll be interested to see how you do like UD2...have you done it before?

I've always hated the term "clean" as applied to diet. Honestly I just get my protein, try to eat a decent amount of healthy stuff, then don't really care how I get the rest of my calories. Don't know if that's optimal or not and individuals differ, but I do think that calorie levels are most of it for me at least. Not that I'm the expert or would swear that it makes no difference what you get the calories from, but I've been turned off by all the "bro-logic" and semi-religious zeal about diet.

[ddegroff]

Workout, 8/20/07 @ 7am:

Squat: 225x8, 235x8, 245x8(Rep PR), 255x4, 225x4
*Tried no show squats today (last three sets). I wasn't really happy with my squats today, just felt to heavy. I just now figured out it was a PR, so I'm not totally pissed any more.
FT Rows: 45x8, 50x8x2, 55x8
*These are pretty close to T-bar rows. Looking at the tape I could have bent over more.

Seated OH Press: 40x8, 45x8, 50x8, 55x6
*Not bad, wanted to be done working out at this point.

Shoulder Mobility Sprinkled throughout: Shoulder dislocates, ext/int rotation, OH shrugs.

Notes:
I had my training shoes on which have to much cushion (I liked no shoes!). I think if I plan on training at my new studio from now on I need my red pumas, best workout shoe I've had. My training shows push me foreward on my toes, not good for squats. I think it was the lack of sleep over the weekend, and eating like complete crap. I still feel like crap today, its the lack of sleep I know it. I still set a PR, so I feel better.

Video is on the way...

Diet:
Well no UD2. Figured it's worthless todo for a week then take a week off again (Birthday in two weeks). I could a carb load with alcohol but then I couldn't workout on Saturday (most important WO in UD2, imo). Plus I totally forgot that I was planning on doing it. So set back for two weeks. I want to mess with this wave training some more. So all in all diet will be around 2500 for today, tons of protein, not so much of the others (making up for all the beer sat night).

Feedback:
Andrew: Thanks man, they're really startin to grow on me forsure.
Heisman: Yeah, when I say clean it's 90% of the time. The other 10 is whatever, whenever (usually weekends).
LTN: Yeah, luckly I have 5-6hrs in the middle of my day when I can do whatever I want. I've done UD2 last summer for about 7wks. Saw some good results but I'm sure I can do better now. See above why I didn't start it today. I agree calorie is king, no doubt about it. Really when I say clean, I mean more healthy. Not much junk, really trying to control my sat fat levels and simple carbs. I want to eat as healthy as I can, (in my book clean=healthy). But as far as gaining, calories is all that matters.

[ddegroff]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tQpyHSab0I

Here was some stuff from yesterdays workout.

[r_graz]

I'll be interested to see how you do like UD2...have you done it before?
I'm interested too. I know I should be paying more attention to body recomposition instead of "bulk and cut". At any rate any bodyweight I add from here on in is going to be slow and careful, that's for sure.

Nice squatting Dusty. I'm nowhere near qualified to evaluate a squat, but the only thing I noticed was some knee buckle (not too bad), and you did seem to lose some depth as the sets progressed. Hard to tell though from that camera angle.

[Andrew Smith]

Nice squatting man. I'll be swinging by more often when I have a stable internet connection. Keep up the hardwork.

[ddegroff]

Workout, 8/22/07 @ 7am:

Bench Press: 175x5, 180x5, 185x4, 175x5x2
*Could have done 185 for one more, but I had no spotter:bang: . Was also planning on doing 180x5, 185x5 for two more sets but again no spotter.

Chinups: +15x5, +20x5, +25x5, +20x5, +25x5(PR)
*Finally got a PR. Both sets of +25 are PR's. I looked back in my journal and I did +35x4 last summer @ 174lbs. I'm 10lbs heavier now, so its the same weight!

Golf Twists (Functional Trainer): 15x12, 15x15, 15x10
*Pretty much wood chops, but I finish like I just finished a golf swing. Man these are awesome.

Jump Rope Side to Side: 1minx4
*I suck, I did some sets for warm up and then at the end. These are going to be great for ski season dry land.

Bike Ride: 20mins, then 30mins home

Notes:
Rolled around all night, didn't get much sleep. Not to mention had a 6am client. Had a lot of **** on my mind about graduating, new job, internship. Even with the caffiene I took didn't do much for this workout. Bench felt harder than it should have. But that's cause I had no spot, didn't feel like pushin it. Also I messed with the rack at my new work. It had one place that I could unrack at the usual height. But I couldn't get the lower one above my face. If i failed and racked it there, would have racked my face:bash: . It's all good tho the chinups saved this workout. All the things I did after was because I was pumped. I haven't hit a chin PR in a year! But thats also cause I gained 20lbs. Also I finally have a dip belt at my new job.

Diet:
2800ish, never really cut back this week as much as I wanted, but I'm sure I'm still on target. Weigh in tomorrow.

Feedback:
r_graz: UD2 is bad ass. I'm only holding off cause my Bday is next friday. I've done a carb load with beer before, but no the best idea. Thanks, I noticed the knee too. Andrew told me to focus on pushing the knees out. I did lose some depth, but not more than an inch or so. I figure if my glutes are more sore than my quads then It was low enough.
Andrew: thanks bro!

[Kyle]

Workout, 8/22/07 @ 7am:

Bench Press: 175x5, 180x5, 185x4, 175x5x2
*Could have done 185 for one more, but I had no spotter:bang: . Was also planning on doing 180x5, 185x5 for two more sets but again no spotter.

Chinups: +15x5, +20x5, +25x5, +20x5, +25x5(PR)
*Finally got a PR. Both sets of +25 are PR's. I looked back in my journal and I did +35x4 last summer @ 174lbs. I'm 10lbs heavier now, so its the same weight!

Golf Twists (Functional Trainer): 15x12, 15x15, 15x10
*Pretty much wood chops, but I finish like I just finished a golf swing. Man these are awesome.

Jump Rope Side to Side: 1minx4
*I suck, I did some sets for warm up and then at the end. These are going to be great for ski season dry land.

Bike Ride: 20mins, then 30mins home

Notes:
Rolled around all night, didn't get much sleep. Not to mention had a 6am client. Had a lot of **** on my mind about graduating, new job, internship. Even with the caffiene I took didn't do much for this workout. Bench felt harder than it should have. But that's cause I had no spot, didn't feel like pushin it. Also I messed with the rack at my new work. It had one place that I could unrack at the usual height. But I couldn't get the lower one above my face. If i failed and racked it there, would have racked my face:bash: . It's all good tho the chinups saved this workout. All the things I did after was because I was pumped. I haven't hit a chin PR in a year! But thats also cause I gained 20lbs. Also I finally have a dip belt at my new job.

Diet:
2800ish, never really cut back this week as much as I wanted, but I'm sure I'm still on target. Weigh in tomorrow.

Feedback:
r_graz: UD2 is bad ass. I'm only holding off cause my Bday is next friday. I've done a carb load with beer before, but no the best idea. Thanks, I noticed the knee too. Andrew told me to focus on pushing the knees out. I did lose some depth, but not more than an inch or so. I figure if my glutes are more sore than my quads then It was low enough.
Andrew: thanks bro!


Nice Pr.

Kyle

[ddegroff]

Workout, 8/24/07 @ 7am:

Jump Rope (skier style): 3x1min

Snatch's: 45x3, 50x3, 45x3, 50x3, 45x3, 50x3
*Felt good, will work up to 55 next time.

CGBP: 135x8, 145x8, 140x8

SS w/

Curls (FT): 25x8, 30x8x3

SS w/

Towel Suitcase Deads: 90x6, 80x8x2

Notes:
Loved the towels around the DB while doing the those deads, staple in my routine from now on. I'm getting the form down for the snatch's the weight should be going up.

Workout, 8/27/07 @ 7am:

Squats: 250x5, 255x5, 250x3, 245x1

Notes:
Blah, way to tired, quit after this showing.

Workout, 8/29/07 @ 8am:

Squats: 225x20(8 Rep PR)
*I was pissed from monday, so I decided this was in order.

BP: 185x4, 175x7, 165x9, 155x11
*Just messin' around, felt like I was going to puke after the squats. Got a good workout forsure.

Chins: +25x6(1 Rep PR), +20x6, +15x6, +10x6
*Drop sets again, wanted more than six but I was wiped.

Shoulder Mobility: Shoulder dislocates, Cuban Presses, Front lateral raises.

Notes:
Redemtion is all I have to say. Felt great after those squats, well maybe 30mins after, lol. Feel great right now, I need to do those more often.

Diet:
New weigh in day, and its today. Weighed in at 183.5lbs, since its a new scale we'll see where were at next wednesday. UD2 is planned for next week.

Feedback:
Kyle: Thanks Bro!

[Andrew Smith]

Very nice 20 repper. Impressive.

[HomeYield]

You can do 20 reps with 225 but 8 is your PR with 245? I think you're holding out on us. You've got a lot more in you. I did notice that you tend to push through the insides of your feet when you squat. That might be forcing your knees in and you're losing some tightness in the hole. Maybe turn your feet out just a little more and push through those heels. And quit holding back! ;)

[ddegroff]

UD2:

Started it yesterday and quit it today. I forgot how much it ****s with your sleep and I can't have that. I got maybe two hours of sleep last night so screw UD2. Also I'm feeling small, which usually leads me to start bulking. I'm reformatting my routine from last bulk. It worked well I just need to keep my diet in check.

HY: Yeah I know, Probably going to do it with 235 tomorrow. I really just needed to complete something and 225x20 has been a goal for a while now.

Andrew: Thanks bro, gonna try to up the anty tomorrow.

[r_graz]

UD2:

Started it yesterday and quit it today. I forgot how much it ****s with your sleep and I can't have that. I got maybe two hours of sleep last night so screw UD2.
You're talking about the diet, right? How does it affect your sleep? Sounds like a strange side effect of a diet.

[ddegroff]

You're talking about the diet, right? How does it affect your sleep? Sounds like a strange side effect of a diet.

Mainly because your starving. It's the first night that is usually the worst, for me atleast. My stomach was grumbling like crazy. I can't sleep when I'm hungry and when I need to be up by 5am I need my sleep.

[r_graz]

Mainly because your starving. It's the first night that is usually the worst, for me atleast. My stomach was grumbling like crazy. I can't sleep when I'm hungry and when I need to be up by 5am I need my sleep.
Ahhh - starvation. Got it :)

Sounds like a fun diet ;)

[Lifting N Tx]

I've had times with this long period of dieting when I had a hard time sleeping, not due to hunger. Generally, not most of the time, though, but my dieting has been slow and not extreme. I think when you go really low on calories, possibly especially on carbs, it can mess with hormonal levels, and certainly with metabolism.

Being hungry enough would definitely do it for me as well.

So are you thinking controlled bulk, Dusty, or more of a recomp?

[ddegroff]

Ahhh - starvation. Got it :)

Sounds like a fun diet ;)

Oh yeah tons of fun. I could have downed a protein shake or something but I was at my girls house so no go. It's cool I've been losing weight for long enough anyway.


I've had times with this long period of dieting when I had a hard time sleeping, not due to hunger. Generally, not most of the time, though, but my dieting has been slow and not extreme. I think when you go really low on calories, possibly especially on carbs, it can mess with hormonal levels, and certainly with metabolism.

Being hungry enough would definitely do it for me as well.

So are you thinking controlled bulk, Dusty, or more of a recomp?

Yeah really the goal of UD2 is to kick start your body into ketosis. The first night is always the worst then the body gets use to it and it's not that bad. I just can't afford to lose sleep right now due to my job. And your right it has a lot to do with hormone flucuations.

I'm thinking a slow controlled bulk. Recomp would be too much work because I can't have my fat levels too high. Probably start out with an added 250-500cals and go from there. This time around I need to really control the weekends more than anything else.

Started 235x20 today but got interupted by my gf. She got confused on what time we were meeting. Since I told her I would meet her I stopped my workout. The plan looks like another week with my current routine with 20 rep squats on Monday. Here's what the basics of my routine for my bulk will be:

Workout A:
Squat
OH Press
Row
CGBP

Workout B:
Power Cleans/One Arm Snatchs
Bench Press
Chins/Pullups
Curl

A,B,A then B,A,B

Day One: 5x5 with exhaustion set
Day Two: 6x3
Day Three: 4x8(wk1-2), 4x10(wk3-4), 4x12(wk5-6)

[ddegroff]

Workout, 9/10/07 @ 7:30am:

Squat: 135x6, 185x3x2, 205x3x2, 225x3, 245x3, 265x1
*All the sets leading up to the 225 were low bar. I'm trying to mess around with it and see how I like it. I really like the feel but the 205 killed my wrists. Need to work on the flexibility.

Jump Rope: 4x1min

ss w/

Cleans: 135x3 (Hang Clean), 135x3x2 (Power Clean)

SS w/

Golf Twists: 20x15x3

Notes:
Just really working on form more than anything. I really like the low bar position but it kills me wrists. I just need to work on it more. This week is going to be a lot of form work. I'm also working on my foot placement also. The bulk should start next week.

Diet:
No clue, not counting just eating. I need to go food shopping to prepare for the bulk. I also need to get into the mind set to bulk, :burger: :burger:

Feedback:
nil...

[Andrew Smith]

Nice squatting DD. Try taking a video of your low bar squatting. My wrists were hurting me for the longest time but after learning to get my elbows more under the bar, I've had less pain.

[Misanthrope]

Jump rope supersetted with cleans? I'd be coughing and wheezing after a round of that. :)

...that is, if I could actually jump rope. :(

[ddegroff]

Workout, 9/12/07 @ 8:30am:

Squat: 135x3x2, 185x3, 205x3, 225x3, 245x3
*All low bar. I figured out how to make it so it doesn't kill my wrists.

BB BP: 135x3, 155x3, 175x3, 185x3x2
*Just working on form, getting better.

Chins: BWx3, +10x3, +15x3, +20x3x2, +25x3
*Just getting a feel for it.

Shoulder Mobility: Int/ext rotation, Front Lateral Raises, Face Pulls, Shoulder dislocates

Boss Crunchs: 10kgx15x2

Notes:
Just form work, you could call this a deload. I figured out the low bar position much better. I think the bar was too low on monday. I did a lot of shoulder flexibilty and wrist flexibility think it helped a lot.

Diet:
Weighed in at 181.5 today. Way to light. My girl says I look skinny so it's time to bulk. Got tons of food yesterday so bulk is starting on Monday. Going to start at 3000-3250/day.

Feedback:
Andrew:Yeah I was trying that but felt like it was going to roll off. I think the bar was to low and my hands were too wide. I forgot my camera today but the wrists felt better. I just need to keep working on flexibility.
anthrope: yeah they were really light cleans. I'm doing the jump rope for skiing training.

[ddegroff]

Workout, 9/17/07 @ 11:45am (Day 1, 5x5):

Seated Shoulder Press: 50x5, 55x5x3, 55x4
*Nothing special.

Exhaustion set of Lateral Raises: 15x15

Squat: 245x5, 245x5, 245x5, 245x5, 245x5
*The dark green is low bar. Thought I fixed the problem guess not.

Exhaustion set of Bosu Squats: 55x15

BO Row: 115x5, 135x5, 145x5x3
*Keeping form strict. Good starting place.

Functional Trainer Pulldowns: 30x15

Notes:
Good day one overall. Squats were lower than I wanted, lost more strength then I thought. Also, messin around with low bar. Need to figure out the whole wrist pain thing (guess I didn't figure it out last week). The more I do it the better I'll get at it. I don't want to give up cause it feels so natural.

Diet:
Lookin' like 3200ish today. right where I want to be.

Feeback:
nil...

[Andrew Smith]

What's up with the wrists?

[ddegroff]

What's up with the wrists?

Man they kill me on the posterior side of my wrists. I'll have to shoot some video to see if you can give me some tips. Cause damn this sucks. I'm also going to try and play with it see if I can find the groove.

[Lifting N Tx]

Are you using a thumbless grip with the low bar squats? For me it's my shoulders that have a fairly hard time with low bar squatting.

[ddegroff]

Workout, 9/19/07 @ 7:30am:

Power Clean: 145x3x3, 155x1, 155x1, 155x1
*Tryin' to work on the shelf portion. Really working on form.

BB Bench Press: 185x3x3, 190x1, 195x1, 200x1
*Felt good. The first few sets felt heavy then the singles felt great.

Chins: +25x3x3, +30x1, +35x1, +45x2(PR)
*These felt good.

Calf Raises: 180x12, 205x12, 215x12
*Gonna do these when I feel like it.

Bike HIIT: 8 intervals, 15sec (first three intervals), 20sec (last five intervals)
*Next time all eight intervals at 20sec


Notes:
This workout was good took way too long. My boss chatted with me for 20mins in the middle. Day 2 workouts are up in the air right now. I like the format I did today. Really focusing on speed on the cleans and power etc on the chins and BP. So Day 2 will be 3,3,3,1,1,1. And I'll mess with speed reps and 1RM's depending on how I feel.

Diet:
3200ish the last few days. Weighed in at 183lbs(+1.5) not bad for the first week increasing cals. Should slow down next week, if not I'll lower the cals a bit.

Feedback:
LNTx: I think my shoulder mobility is the real issue. Tight shoulders = pain in the wrists. I'll just keep working on it.

[Misanthrope]

Nice work, Dusty. For the powercleans, are you using a good weight for working on form?

[ddegroff]

Nice work, Dusty. For the powercleans, are you using a good weight for working on form?

It's challanging. I was doing hang cleans last fall at 195x1. But I've done those all my life. I just recently started doing power cleans. So I'm trying to figure out the whole motion (mainly from the floor to the hang position). Also I just started doing them without straps. Finally, I'm doing it with out bumper plates so it's as much form work as it is feeling comfertable with where I'm doing them.

Next time around I will most likely add some weight.

[ddegroff]

Workout 9/21/07 @ 8:30am:

Squat: 225x8, 235x8x2, 225x8 (plus one negitive on the)
*Not the weight I wanted.

Shoulder Press: 40x8, 45x8x2, 40x8 (plus one negitive on the)
*Weight could have been better.

Ghetto T-Bar Rows: 105x8x2, 100x8x2 (plus one negitive on the)
*Really working on full range of motion, strict form.

CGBP: 135x8x2
*I was totally wiped, wanted 4sets. Next time...

Rope Curls: 85x12x3
*Finally found a tough way to do these. Too bad its the whole stack.

Notes:
Not even the weight I wanted but still kicked my ass. I'll probably go heavy next time. Slowly working back to what I was doing.

Diet:
3200ish.

Feedback:
nil...

[Andrew Smith]

Working out in the morning blows. Pretty nice session man, even though you didn't hit what you wanted. What exactly are your current goals?

[ddegroff]

Working out in the morning blows. Pretty nice session man, even though you didn't hit what you wanted. What exactly are your current goals?

To have it all! LOL

Get stronger and get bigger. I used this same routine last bulk and it worked well. Each day I do different reps, 5x5, 6x3, 4x8. Specific goals, would be:

Squat 315x1 (current 295x1 in May)
Dead 405x1 (current 375x1 in May)
Bench 245x1 (current, who knows)

I need to get some of my strength back. Losing 15lbs killed me.

[Lifting N Tx]

It's challanging. I was doing hang cleans last fall at 195x1. But I've done those all my life. I just recently started doing power cleans. So I'm trying to figure out the whole motion (mainly from the floor to the hang position). Also I just started doing them without straps. Finally, I'm doing it with out bumper plates so it's as much form work as it is feeling comfertable with where I'm doing them.

Next time around I will most likely add some weight.

Doing hang cleans with 195 is pretty decent. There seem to be 2 schools of thought. Some like to pull hard from the floor, some accelerate more slowly. Whichever way you go, I'd start out doing the latter. Too many people rush things off the floor and have poor form. You've already learned that the main power is from the hang position, which is good.

Besides not rushing things off the floor and not bending the elbows, I think the key thing is that from the floor to knee level it's all knee flexion, not hip flexion. The back angle should stay the same. Then at the knees it shifts to hip flexion in the part that you are more familiar with from doing hang cleans.

Of course the whole things is like describing a golf swing. Easy to talk about, hard to get the feel for doing everything right all in a very short amount of time.

[ddegroff]

Doing hang cleans with 195 is pretty decent. There seem to be 2 schools of thought. Some like to pull hard from the floor, some accelerate more slowly. Whichever way you go, I'd start out doing the latter. Too many people rush things off the floor and have poor form. You've already learned that the main power is from the hang position, which is good.

Besides not rushing things off the floor and not bending the elbows, I think the key thing is that from the floor to knee level it's all knee flexion, not hip flexion. The back angle should stay the same. Then at the knees it shifts to hip flexion in the part that you are more familiar with from doing hang cleans.

Of course the whole things is like describing a golf swing. Easy to talk about, hard to get the feel for doing everything right all in a very short amount of time.


Sounds good I'll work on that. Thanks for the input!

[ddegroff]

Workout, 9/4/07 @ 8:30am:

Deads: 275x5, 295x5x3, 275x5
*Haven't done conventional deads in a long time. My lower back was whinning so I kept it somewhat light.

Exhaustion set of DB squats + shrug: 60x15

BB Bench Press: 175x5x5
*Felt good, need to up the weight. Also need a spotter.

Exhaustion set of single arm cable crossover: 30x15

1hr30min break (two clients)

Chinups: +20x5x3, +15x5x2
*Whew I was still wiped. These were tough.

Exhaustion set of cable bent over rows: 45x15

Notes:
Good workout. I need to be careful of my lower back. Need to break it in again. 315x5 is in my near future. I forgot how much I love deads! Didn't get my workout started when I wanted too so I did two lifts downed a shake. Trained two clients and finished out. The chins were still hard after the rest.

Diet:
3200ish.

Feedback:
nil...

[HomeYield]

Do you do half half or hour training sessions for your clients? I guess not a full hour or you would have had a 2 hour break but just wondering. I typically only do half hours.

I've never like doing deadlifts for anything over 3 or at least even semi-heavy, but then again, I hate doing any exercise for more than 5 reps. :p Do you like the higher reps for deads?

[Isaac Wilkins]

Do you do half half or hour training sessions for your clients? I guess not a full hour or you would have had a 2 hour break but just wondering. I typically only do half hours.

I've never like doing deadlifts for anything over 3 or at least even semi-heavy, but then again, I hate doing any exercise for more than 5 reps. :p Do you like the higher reps for deads?

It cracks me up that you consider five to be high reps on the deads. You've seen my 20-rep sets, hippy.

;)

[ddegroff]

Workout, 9/26/07 @ 9am:

Box Squat: 255x3, 265x3x2, 275x1, 275x1, 275x2
*Better than I was expecting. Three months ago it would have been 275x3x3, 285x1x2, 295x1

Push Press (DB): 60x3x3, 70x1 (fail), 60x2, 60x3
*All I have is 60's and 70's, 65 would have been perfect.

Rows: Didn't happen, back is fried from monday.

Notes:
All the sets on squats are "low bar", wrists still hurt but not that bad. I took video so once I get that up, all comments welcome. Haven't had 275 on back for a while. Went up pretty good but I think that was due to the box more than anything. The push presses are good, wish the db's went up by five and not 10lbs.

Diet:
Forgot to weigh myself today. I'll check it on friday just to see and go from there. 3200ish is still the mark to hit.

Feeback:
HY: 45min sessions at my am training job, 1hr at my night training job. 30mins seems short, but you mostly train athletes right? Haha, 5reps is high. I like doing deads with 6 or less even tho I usually stick to 5x5 with deads.
Isaac: Thanks for stopping by.

[HomeYield]

A few athletes but it's mostly just general populace. I teach them the warm up and cool down that they do on their own. That way I'm not standing over them wasting any time, they come in early and can finish up as I make my way over to the next client. More clients in less the time. I do have a few clients that come in for an hour, so those that need more time can get it.

The problem I get with doing low bar is that I don't tighten my wrists and act like I'm trying to push the bar up. When I get set right, my wrists are in line with my elbows and not bent over backwards trying to support the weight. I've reverted to wearing wrist wraps for my heavier squats just because it's easier to keep the wrists in line that way.

[ddegroff]

Workout, 9/28/07 @ 10:30am:

One Arm DB Snatchs: 40x8, 45x8x3
*Damn these kicked my ass.

Incline DB BP: 55x8, 60x8, 60x10
*Don't have 65's at my gym so probably will just jump to 70's.

Chinups: BWx8x3, BWx6
*Thought I was going to pull it out, just totally died on the last set.

Wrist Curls: 45x8x3

ss w/

EZ-bar curls: 75x8, 65x8x2

ss w/

Rope Ab Curls: 85x8, 80x12, 80x11
*My grip failed on the last rep.

Notes:
Good workout, I was tired as hell. Drank the coffee too early in the AM. Had an incredible pump in the bi's today:cool:

Diet:
3200ish, weighed in at 184(+1). Different day, different time, no changes till next week. Didn't eat enough yesterday, going to eat like a mad man all weekend. :burger:

Feedback:
HY: Huh, never heard of that before but it makes perfect sense. Do you charge a normal hour rate? Or do you cut in half and see them more often? I had the same idea about the wrists. I think the problem actually lies in my chest flexibility. I'm working on both the wrists and chest. I've also thought about the straps idea, but want to work on the flexibility first (i've pretty much dropped the straps for everything else). Thanks for all the input!

[HomeYield]

We charge about two-thirds of the hourly rate. It works out real well and probably 85-90% of my clients are half-hours.

When squatting, I started out with a wide grip and over the course of a couple weeks moved my grip in. This way the flexibilty in my chest loosened up a little. You don't really need flexibility in the wrists. My wrists are as straight up as if I were pressing the bar. That's why I cast my wrists with the wraps for extra support.

[ddegroff]

Workout, 10/1/07 @ 8:45am:

Squats: 245x5x2, 255x5x2, 245x5
*Improved from last time around, getting my strength back. All low bar.

Exhaustion Set of Bosu squats: 60x15

Seated OH Press: 50x5, 55x5x4
*Strength is coming back.

ss w/

Ghetto T-Bar Rows: 120x5, 130x5x2, 125x5x2
*Keeping these strict. Smaller plates = more ROM

Exhaustion Set of Lateral Raises: 20x15

ss w/

Exhaustion Set of Pulldowns: 30x15

Notes:
Wanted more time but just didnt happen. Did all of this in about 45mins. My squat sessions usually take 45mins with warmup etc. I did two quick warm up sets and got to work. I used my straps for extra support for the wrists. It really helped. I was able to focus on the squatting and not how much my wrists hurting. This is a temperary fix, need to work on flexibility. Then I supersetted rows/OH press which is something I never do on strength days, worked out well. Slammed a shake and went back to training my clients.

Diet:
3200ish, will adjust accordingly on wednesday. Didn't eat too crazy this weekend, but I still need to count cals on the weekends. It'll happen eventually, lol.

Feeback:
HY: Ah makes sense. That sounds like a great idea. I started out at hr sessions, which i thought was too long. Then 45mins seemed perfect. I can see why the 30mins work so well.

I tried the wrist straps today, worked great. I tried to get my wrists and elbows in-line but i just dont have the flexbility in my chest. I'm going to keep working on that with using the straps. Cause damn, low bar much more effective and feels more natural.

[Andrew Smith]

Ya likin the low bar placement?

[ddegroff]

Workout, 10/3/07 @ 10am:

BB Bench Press: 185x3x3, 195x1, 205x1, 215x1
*All but 215 flew up, struggled a bit but didn't need any help with 215.

Power Cleans: 155x3x3, 165x1, 175x1x2(PR)
*Still working on the shelfing portion. But the pR was nice.

Chinups: +20x3, +25x3, +35, +45x3(PR), +45x2, +45x1.5
*Feeling good on these. The 1.5 is because my girl said I didn't get two.

HIIT: Tomorrow...

Notes:
Overall good workout, need to work on the power clean form just a bit. BP is coming along.

Diet:
184lbs today, right where I wanted to be. New plan is, 3200 on WO days, 3000 on non WO days (unless HIIT is done), then 3400 on Sat/Sun.

Feedback:
Andrew: Love it, the straps help the wrist problem. It feels so much better.

[t-p-c]

Nice workout man! Strong chinups. We are the exact same BW and have similar numbers. keep up the good work.

[ddegroff]

Workout, 10/5/07 @ 11:15am (4x8):

Squat: 225x8, 235x8, 245x8x2
*All low bar. 225 was going to be a warm up set but decided to test the legs.

Shoulder Press: 45x8, 50x8x3
*Getting some strength back.

Ghetto T-bar Rows: 95x8, 105x8, 115x8x2
*Greater ROM, really working on keeping it strict.

Tricep Press Downs: 40x8, 45x8x3
*Should have been CGBP but I was done, exhausted.


Notes:
Good workout. First time at my new job that I have had 6 clients in a row, starting at 6am. Hadn't had much to eat, slammed a shake/ice coffee right before my workout. The 4th rep on the last set of squats, friend pukey came around. Had it the rest of the workout. If it weren't for that I would have done CGBP.

Diet:
3200 today, my gf is roasting at citrus chicken right now. mmmm...

CSCS:
I'm taking the Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist test tomorrow. It should take all day. Two sections 4hrs of total testings. Should be good times.

Feedback:
TPC: I stopped by your journal it looks like we do. I feel motivated to try 315 to match your numbers,:cool:.

[ddegroff]

Update:
Was supposed to worktout today but had 7 clients then needed to run errands for work. Then had 3 more clients. I'm exhausted, planning on doing deads tomorrow.

[Matt]

Are you close to Denver?

[Andrew Smith]

Those chins were lookin good man. Nice job.

[ddegroff]

Are you close to Denver?

Yeah, I'm in Denver.


Andrew: Thanks Bro!

[Matt]

Yeah, I'm in Denver.



Cool, we have an office in Denver. I travel there a couple times per year.

[ddegroff]

Workout, 10/10/07 @ 9am:

Box Squats: 265x3x2, 275x3, 285x1, 295x1, 305x2(PR)
*Finally hit a PR on squats. Legs felt great.

Push Press (DB): 60x3x3, 70xFail, 60x3x2
*Not sure what the issue is with the 70's. I'll get it next time

ss w/

Ghetto T-Bar Rows: 120x3, 140x3x3, 145x1, 150x1, 155x1
*Still working on full ROM, strict form.



Bike, HIIT: 30sec/30sec, 8reps

Notes:
The box squats felt great!

Diet:
Since I added the HIIT I added more cals, 3400. Forgot to weigh myself again so we'll see what it is tomorrow.

Feedback:
Matt: Nice, what company do you work for?

[Matt]

nice box squatting

The company I work for is called Triple-S Steel Supply, but the branch in Denver is another company called R&S Steel Supply that we own as well.

[t-p-c]

Workout, 10/10/07 @ 9am:

Box Squats: 265x3x2, 275x3, 285x1, 295x1, 305x2(PR)
*Finally hit a PR on squats. Legs felt great.

Push Press (DB): 60x3x3, 70xFail, 60x3x2
*Not sure what the issue is with the 70's. I'll get it next time

ss w/

Ghetto T-Bar Rows: 120x3, 140x3x3, 145x1, 150x1, 155x1
*Still working on full ROM, strict form.



Bike, HIIT: 30sec/30sec, 8reps

Notes:
The box squats felt great!

Diet:
Since I added the HIIT I added more cals, 3400. Forgot to weigh myself again so we'll see what it is tomorrow.

Feedback:
Matt: Nice, what company do you work for?

Nice workout man. How high is the box? Also, what is the reasoning for such low reps on the rows?

[Lifting N Tx]

Ditto on the nice squatting.

I've never thought of doing push presses with dumbells. Is there anything in particular that you like about them?

[ddegroff]

Workout, 10/12/07 @ 10:30

Deads: 225x, 245x8x3
*Haven't ever done deads above 6reps. I could have gone heavier but I wanted to ease into it.

DB BP: 70x8x3, 70x7
*Felt good, gonna be sore tomorrow.

Pullups: BWx8x2

THEN

Pulldowns: 70x8x2
*Bi's failed me on pullups...

Curls: 35x8, 40x8, 45x8, 50x8

ss w/

Cable Crunchs: 85x10, 85x12x3



Notes:
Good workout.

Diet:
Weighed in at 184(-), need to up the cals a bit. 3400 everyday

Feedback:
Matt: Thanks, ah I see. hows the steel business?
tpc: Box is right below paralell, not sure the inches. It's my low rep day, everything is that low. I just like the feel. And I messing with some theories that I have.
LNTX: Thanks, they felt great. I get this weird pinch in my left trap everytime I lower a BB with any weight on it. I've had it sence HS. So I do all my OH pressing DB. It's interesting forsure.

[ddegroff]

Workout, 10/15/07 @ 2pm:

Squat: 245x5, 255x5x2, 265x5x2(PR)
*Should have started higher. The PR was unexpected.

Ghetto T-Bar Row: 135x5, 160x5x4
*Little english.

Shoulder Press: 50x5, 55x5x3, 55x8
*Started two light also.

Notes:
I trained at my campus gym. Spent most of the time BS'in with some guys. I miss working out in this gym. The studio is nice, no one gets in my way. But I pushed it hard today, especially on squats. An lifting buddy was given' me **** for the 245x5 (because I do the same to him,lol) so i went for it with the 265. It was still pretty easy. Good workout all around. No exahuations sets cause of the talking, and I was starving.

Diet:
3200 right now, probably eat a bit more. Didnt eat much this weekend, oh well. It's a slow bulk anyway.

Feedback:
nil...

[ddegroff]

My New Baby:

2002 GTI 1.8T

[t-p-c]

Sweeet GTI man!

Nice squat PR. Do u do ghetto t-bars with the end of the bar in a corner and use a close grip attachment as the handle?

[ddegroff]

Workout, 10/17/07 @ 1pm:

Power Cleans: 155x3, 175x3x2, 195x1, 205x1, 215(fail), 215x1(PR)
*Was really feeling these today. Didn't have my head right for the first try of 215. Then I nailed it.

BB Bench Press: 185x3, 195x3, 205x3, 215x1, 215x1, 205x2
*The 215 felt heavy today.

Chins: BWx12, BWx7
*Totally exhausted at this point, and I had no weight belt.

Notes:
I'm happy with the benching and Power Cleans. Need to keep good form in mind. I need to get more sleep, cause I'm dead tired.

Diet:
3400ish

Feedback:
tpc: Yeah I do them the same way. Thanks the ride is so fast, its awesome to drive. The squat PR was a long time coming.

[Lifting N Tx]

I'll return the compliment about the power cleans, only yours are better than mine. Did you see Rippetoe's comments about PC/DL ratio?


I'd like to see an athlete clean at least half his deadlift, preferably 60%. For people who have been training long enough to have a strong deadlift, greater efficiencies than this indicate an aptitude for Olympic weightlifting.


I don't recall if you've posted any pulling at close to your 1RM, but 60% would imply a DL max of ~360 for a 215 PC. Right now I'm in the low-mid 50%s for my best power clean. Not that I'm an athlete or aspiring OLer, but I hope that with continued work on form I can get closer to that 60%.

[t-p-c]

nice mouth watering cleans

[ddegroff]

Workout, 10/19/07 @ 10:30am:

Squat: 245x8x4(PR)
*Felt great today, pushed hard. I lost count on the last set, might have been 10 but I'm counting at as 8.

OH Press: 50x8, 55x8, 50x8, 50x7+1N
*Need to push these shoulders, they need to grow.

Seated Row (free motion): 65x8, 70x8, 75x8, 85x8
*85lbs is all its got. I'm sure I'll feel it tomorrow.

Tricep Press Down: 35x8, 45x8x3

Abs

Notes:
Great workout! I'm gonna feel the squats tomorrow. I need to keep pushing. I'm going to switch up my routine after next week. I've done 3/wk fullbody for a year now. It's working great but I'm bored. I'm going to switch to something like this:

Monday: 5x5 for powerclean/front squats, pullups, Bench Press
Tuesday: OFF
Wednesday: 4x8 Squat, OH Press; 3x8 RDL/Lunges, Lateral Raise
Thursday: 4x8 Row, Pullups; 3x8 Pulldowns, Curls
Friday: 4x8 Bench Press, Incline BP; 3x8 Flys, Pressdowns
Saturday: OFF
Sunday: OFF

I may take a week off after next week. If I feel good I'll keep up on it.

Diet:
183(-1), not good. I've been trying to keep my weekends under control, just haven't been eating enough. I'm going to eat what I can the next week and really dial in the routine the following week.

Feedback:
LNTx: My DL best was 375x1 last spring. I need to figure out the second pull and squating under to shelf. Thats why with the new routine I'll focus on PC w/ a front squat. Thanks!
TPC: Thanks bro!

[Andrew Smith]

Nice squatting DD. Things seem to be going pretty well.

[ddegroff]

Workout, 10/22/07@ 10:30am:

Deads: 295x5x2, 315x3, 295x5

HIIT: Bike 30sec/30sec

Notes:
Blah... Time for a new routine. I'm totally bored. Probably squat on Wednesday, Bench on Friday, new routine Monday. This shouldn't be a week off but boredum is getting the best of me.

Feedback:
Andrew: They are. The routine is great but I'm just bored. Time for a change for a bit. I'll be back on this in 3months or so.

[Andrew Smith]

Nice triple with the pulling man.

[ddegroff]

Workout, 10/26/07 @ 9:30am:

Free motion BP: 3x8

SS w/

Pronated Pullups: 3x8

SS w/

Shoulder Mobility: 3x12

Freemotion Seated Rows: 3x8

SS w/

BOSU inverted Pushups: 20x3

SS w/

BOSU Squats: 3x8


Notes:
Just picked a mucle group/weight and lifted it. I made sure to make it heavier each time. Just messed around. Pretty good workout.

Diet:
185(+2), who knows what my weight is doing. Either way continue to bulk next week.

Feedback:
Andrew: Thanks bro! It should be higher. but thats the third time I've deadlifted in 6months.

[ddegroff]

Workout, 10/29/07 @ 8am:

Powerclean/Front Squat: 135x5, 145x5x4
*I know that most PC's involve a front squat. But I dont have the form for it. So I'm doing a PC, then a front squat till I get it down. Awesome stuff today.

Exahustion Set of DB squat then shrug: 60x15

BB Bench: 175x5, 185x5x4
*Ah these felt good. Thought I was going to need a spot, but I finished all of them.

Exhaustion set of One arm flys: 30x15

Chins: +20x5x4, +20x4
*Felt good. I was beat, glad I powered thru these.

Exhasution set of DB one arm rows: 60x15


Notes:
First day of my new routine. Felt great. I'm exhausted, but i'm excited for the rest of the week. I didn't really plan what I was going to do. Just knew the rep range, picked some lifts and did it.

Diet:
3400ish on workout days, 3000 on day 2 (off day), 3200 over the weekend

Feedback:
nil...

[Andrew Smith]

Nice powercleans. I suck at em.

[ddegroff]

Workout 10/31/07 @ 9am:

Squats: 245x8x4
*Tied PR, after the eigth rep on the last set I did a slow negative to the pins.

Shoulder Press: 50x8x3
*My chest/delts were tired from monday's workout.

DB SLDL followed by Lunges (same weight for both): 60x8x3

Lateral Raises: 20x8, 25x8x3

SS w/

Calf raises: 225x8x3

Notes:
Good workout. I was still a little tired from Monday's workout. Mainly my traps and pecs. I'll see how the rest of the week goes. If my body feels like its getting enough rest then I'll still do one day of rest. If I need to I'll push it back a day.

Diet:
3400. I started weighing myself each workout. Really just seeing how my weight flucuates. Friday will be the day that I adjust cals from if needed.

Feedback:
Andrew: Haha, I love them. More than deads currently.

[ddegroff]

Workout, 11/1/07 @ 2pm:

Pullups: BWx8 (PRO), BWx8 (SUP), BWx5(P)3(S), BWx8(S)
*Just mixing up the grips. I'm working on 4x8, then Ill add weight.

Ghetto T-Bar Rows: 125x8, 135x8x3
*Nothing special.

DB Pullovers: 55x8, 60x8x3
*Not bad, haven't done these in a while.

Seated DB Curls: 40x8x3

Standing Concentration Curls: 25x8x3

Notes:
First back/bi workout in a while. Felt good. Spent way too much time talking with the other gym rats.

Diet:
No clue just eatin' when I'm hungry. I'll track my weight for the next few weeks and see how it goes.

Feedback:
nil...

[ddegroff]

Workout, 11/2/07 @ 10am:

DB Bench Press: 80x8, 80x7, 70x8x2
*Wanted 80 on all sets but oh well. Wish I had 75's but oh well.

DB Incline BP: 60x12, 60x9, 60x7, 55x7
*Almost failure on the last three sets.

Cable Crossover: 25x8, 30x8, 35x8

Tricep Pressdowns: 40x8, 45x8x2

ss w/

Tricep Kickbacks (band): 3x8

Notes:
Good workout, my tri's failed more than my chest did on the pressing. So I killed my tri's. The kickbacks with the band were so much better than doing it with db's.

Diet:
Eatin'. Grubbed down on some sushi right after this workout. Gotta' love havin your gym samwiched between sushi and coffee shop.

Feedback:
nil...

[Andrew Smith]

Nice pressing DD. Strong session.

[ddegroff]

Workout, 11/5/07 @ 9am:

Power Clean/Front Squat: 135x5, 155x5x2

Hang Clean: 155x5, 165x5
*My legs were sore from saturday, so I dropped most of the leg work.

Exhaustion set of shrugs: 60x15

BB Bench Press: 175x6x4
*Felt good, wanted more.

Exhastion set of One arm Flys: 30x15

Chins: +20x5, +10x6x3
*Started too heavy.

Exhaustion set of one arm rows: 55x15

Notes:
Played paintball on Saturday with my coworkers. My legs were sore from all the sprinting. Didn't think it was a big deal but the soreness didn't go away, so I went easy on them. Switched it up to 4x6 instead of 5x5. We'll see how that goes.

Diet:
Again, just eating. We'll see what my weight is tomorrow and adjust from there.

Feedback:
Andrew: Thanks bro!

[ddegroff]

Update:

Got my letter from NSCA today, passed both sections. Now all I have to do is graduate and I'll be C.S.C.S. certified.

[t-p-c]

Nice chinning man.

Congrats on the letter. What does that mean exactly?

[ddegroff]

Workout, 11/8/07 @ 2pm:

Squats: 255x8x3, 255x7+Negitive (all sets/reps PR)
*Thought one set of 255 was all I was gonna get, surprised myself.

Supersetted SLDL and Lunges: 60x8x3
*Move up next week.

Notes:
Plan to do shoulder press instead of inclines tomorrow. The plan is for back late morning, chest tomorrow night.

Diet:
Mmmmm foood.

Feedback:
TPC: THanks bro. To become C.S.C.S. certified you need to have a BA. But in your senior semester you can take the test. So thats the stage im at. Graduating in Dec. and I passed the test so once Graduation happens I'll be reconized as a sports conditioning coach. I means I know to train ahtletes.

[t-p-c]

Nice. What is your plan for after graduation?

[ddegroff]

Workout 1, 11/9/07 @ 10:30am:

Pullups: BWx8x3, BWx6..x2
*Switched grip each set. I'm getting closer to 4x8.

Ghetto T-Bar Row: 105x8, 115x8x2, 120x8
*All strict, felt good.

Straight Arm Pulldown (One Arm): 20x8, 25x8x2
*I like these, never done them before.

DB Curls: 40x8x2, 35x8
*Didn't want to lower the weight, but wanted good form.

Beach curls: 25x8x2, 20x8

Notes:
Good workout. Had a great pump. I'm gonna hit chest up tonight and if not tomorrow. I'm gonna eat and take a nap.

Diet:
186.0lbs up a lb from two weeks ago. Just eating is working better than tracking cals at the moment.

Feedback:
TPC: Keep working at the studio. There is a chance I can coach some hockey players. But if the money isn't as good then I'll just stay at the studio.

[ddegroff]

Workout 2, 11/9/07 @ 8pm:

DB Bench Press: 80x8x2, 80x6, 70x8
*Felt good, making progress.

Shoulder Press: 50x8x2, 50x5, 45x6
*I was dead after the BP.

Cable Crossover: 30x8, 35x8, 30x8

Tricep Pulldowns: 45x8x3

SS w/

Tricep Band Kickbacks: 3x10

SS w/

Wrist Curls: 3x15

SS w/

Face Pulls: band 3x15

Notes:
I liked the shoulder press but I'm gonna keep it with legs on wednesday. Powered through this with no problems. It was cool working out this late. Only turned on half the lights so it was semi dark, chose my ipod over the stereo. Also, I'm having trouble getting into position with db bench, need to keep working on it.

Diet:
Pretty good, went to my gf's house and had some good food.


Workout, 11/12/07 @ 8am:

Power Cleans: 145x6, 155x6x3
*Forgot to do the front squat on all but the last set.

Exhaustion sets of Squat shrugs: 70x15

BB Bench Press: 185x6(Rep PR), 185x5, 175x6x2
*Making decent progress. Need a spotter tho.

Exhaustion sets of pushups: 20

Chins: +20x6x2, +20x5, +15x6
*Not too bad.

Exhaustion sets of inverted Rows: BWx15

Notes:
Good workout. Debating the front squat. I'll keep it in for a few more weeks, see how I feel. I forgot how hard the inverted rows really are.

Diet:
Just eating again.

Feedback:
nil...

[ddegroff]

Workout, 11/14/07 @ 7:30am:

Squat: 255x8x4(Set/Rep PR)
*Felt good, I think I might have missed depth on a few. Still would have got this tho.

DB SLDL: 70x8x4

DB alternating Lunges: 60x8x2

then switched too

Bulgarian Split Squats: 60x8x2
*These are going to stay in the routine.

Notes:
Going to move OH press to the chest workout again, see how it goes. I like only doing legs. I like the split squats over the lunges.

Diet:
186.5 we'll see what i'm at on Friday. Just eating still. If my weight goes above this on friday, I'll start tracking again on monday.

Feedback:
nil...

[Andrew Smith]

Hey nice squatting bro. Looking good.

[ddegroff]

I've been super busy trying to graduate. I took last week off just because I was so busy. I'm putting the bulk on hold till after I graduate Dec. 16th. I'm just gonna mess around with some CF stuff that I feel like doing.

Thanks for the support Andrew~!