SP's on/off-season log

Weight 220

Well, I very rarely go below 8, or even 12 reps for legs but I did want to try for a PR on squats since it's the end of the year...I hit my deadlift goal (5x495) and squats were 5x405...didn't quite get that but I'm not really dissapointed to be honest, my focus has shifted almost 100% towards bodybuilding so the amount of weight I'm moving is not terribly important. Chest day tomorow so I may try for a PR bench if there's someone I trust to spot, I'm not concerned enough to line someone up ahead of time so that tells me it really doesn't matter that much to me anymore.

Tue - legs - 10-15 reps
Warmup - indoor track
back squat - warmup (15x225), two working sets (12 and 10x315), one PR warmup (5x365) and one PR attempt (wanted 5x405, got 3x405...no one I trusted to spot and really hate failing on squats)
front squat - two sets
one-leg/DB calf raise - two sets per leg
seated quad extension - three rest/pause sets
prone hamstring curl - three sets, end with dropset
standing calf raise - two sets
SLDL - three sets
DB lunge - one set (ran out of time here...took too long looking for a spotter for squats early on)
 
Snow, how far back do you want me to go when checking out your workouts man & is there anything specific I should be looking out for or just some general critique?

Probably about a month or so, I've been fairly consistent since coming back from mexico so if there are significant changes/improvements to make they would pertain to what I've been doing in december
 
Weight 221

So as I was saying, recently I remembered that I had set a few 'strength' goals at the end of 2013 and wanted to see how close I'd come...end result was 5x495 deadlift, 3x405 squat (maybe 4-5 if I'd had more confidence / spotter) and 4x315...I honestly can't remember if I was aiming for a 1MR or 5MR at those weights so if it's the former I easily got all three, if it's the latter I'll give myself 80% which is good enough in my books since I haven't been chasing heavy lifts for a year now :)

I think after this morning's workout I'm going to have to wait until next year to train again...

Wed - chest - 8-12 reps
Warmup - indoor track
internal/external shoulder rotation - one of each per arm
hanging leg raise - four sets
cable fly - warmup weight, slow and squeeze contraction to get blood in the muscle
flat BB press - warmup then 8x225, 8x275, 4x315 (PR, have never bothered putting three wheels on before) and back down to 10x225 for two more sets
lying leg raise - three or four sets
incline DB press - three sets, end with dropset
high cable flyes - three sets
superset incline DB flyes - two sets
bodyweight chest dip - two sets

Cooldown/cardio:
15min LISS - indoor track
 
Weight 222

Probably helped along by the get-together/house-party we had last night and this morning...guessing salt hit 10g minimum due to popcorn/salsa/pretzels etc. Last blowout of 2014 obviously haha...

Thu - back - 8-12 reps
Warmup - indoor track
DB pullover - warmup then three heavy sets
bodyweight pullup - three sets, various grips
superset narrow-grip pulldown - three dropsets
one-arm DB row - three or four sets, heavy but no straps
Life-fitness row machine - two sets but didn't like it so went looking for a....
HS lateral-row machine - two sets, slow and heavy
Deadlift - heavy, four sets of 405, reps ranged from 7-4 though (short rests)
supported/hanging leg raise - three or four sets

Bit of arms thrown in because I missed tricep burnout yesterday, and I want to grow these things during the offseason to catch my legs etc...

rope tricep pushdown - three sets with 1sec contraction
crossbody DB curl - three sets
one arm cable pushdown - three or four slow sets
EZbar curl - three sets with three second negatives

Not my favorite pictures but here's how things looked after the salt/food extravaganza this morning: winter bulk - jan1 2015 - Imgur
 
Weight 221

Almost took a snow day today; it's crazy outside...roads are ridiculous but the S4 kicked ass as usual. Just need to watch out for everyone else

Fri - delts - 10-12 reps
Warmup - indoor track
internal/external shoulder rotation - one set of each per arm
hanging leg raise - four sets
(very)wide grip OHP - two warmups, two moderate and one heavy-ish set...mostly getting blood into the shoulders
superset shoulder dislocation - between each OHP set
seated DB press - two dropsets
lateral DB raise - three dropsets
superset front DB raise - three sets, end with dropset
rear delt cable pull-apart - three dropsets
DB shrug - three sets, heavy with 2-3 sec hold at the top
seated behind-the-neck press - three sets, moderate to heavy weight to finish things off
 
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I totally get this too brother. I cut for so long that I didn't think my mind would allow me to ever bulk. To fucking hard to get below 10%. But 3J stayed in my ass to EAT, now I'm not near as lean, but damn I'm getting thick as fuck. And damn I love getting strength back. Keep killing brother, you are looking awesome
 
Weight 220

Had to get to work to supervise some underlings who fucked up on friday and then race to an engagement brunch but managed to fit a quick arm blast in first...

Sat - arms - 8-12 reps
Quick warmup - 10min indoor track
crossbody DB curl - two warmup and three working sets
superset supported/hanging leg raise - four sets
rope tricep pushdown - four sets with one second pause at the bottom (contraction)
preacher DB curl - three sets with one second hold @ full contraction
EZ bar curl - three sets with three second descent, really finishes off the biceps...
decline leg raise - two sets
weighted bench dip - bodyweight then two sets with 2x45lb plates
low-incline skull crusher - three sets
 
Hows the weather treating you Snow. -39 with wind chill here today lol!!!

It was -25 on my dash temp gauge today...not sure how much wind but there was some and it was fucking chilly indeed.

All seasons are not that great at this temp, definitely going to swap the winters on when I change the oil...accidentally took an on ramp without ESP, 350hp is too much on these roads with traction control turned off...glad I played a lot of gran turismo growing up :P
 
It was -25 on my dash temp gauge today...not sure how much wind but there was some and it was fucking chilly indeed.

All seasons are not that great at this temp, definitely going to swap the winters on when I change the oil...accidentally took an on ramp without ESP, 350hp is too much on these roads with traction control turned off...glad I played a lot of gran turismo growing up :P

I used to run all seasons all the time then I switched to winters, like night and day man, especially if theyre studded.
 
I was in upstate NY for 30 months. Man fuck them winners:( I'm a southern boy, those were some hard times. Things outside were always in moderation!!!!! Brother Schred , hell I wasn't but an hour from Montreal. Cold as shit. Lol
 
not sure if I'd prefer your kind of weather right now. Was 41' celcius today which is 106 farenheit. Hot as a mofo.
 
Just letting you know Snow that I will take a look at your routine once I get enough time, didn't want to post some half-assed response in a hurry - so don't worry I haven't forgotten :)
 
not sure if I'd prefer your kind of weather right now. Was 41' celcius today which is 106 farenheit. Hot as a mofo.

-42 celcius with windchill today. >80 degree difference!

Weight 223

Interesting, didn't do anything particularly different but ~2lb fluctuations aren't anything I get excited about...need to keep pushing the scale though, 240+ lean is still the goal. Grow my pretties....

Sun - legs - 10-15 reps
Warmup - indoor track/LISS...little longer than usual waiting for my prey (I mean workout partner) to show up
seated quad extension - warmup then three rest/pause sets
prone hamstring curl - four sets, end with dropset
standing calf raise - heavy, three sets
highbar ATG squat - light then two moderate (15x225 then 12 & 10x315)
front squat - two high-rep sets 'for the pump' (in antoine vaillant's voice lol)
walking DB lunge - four sets, haven't done these in a long time...like them more than BB lunges tbh (got the idea from evan centopani)
SLDL - just two moderate sets, lower back was cramping/pumped to hell from the squats for some reason
superset seated calf raise - three rest/pause sets
incline leg press - two sets then finish with widowmaker (25 rep) set...800 or 900lbs I can't remember but killed it pretty hard
superset leg press calf raise - two sets, high reps with the eight or nine hundred pounds
 
You like to mix things up quite a bit with your sessions so I tried to make suggestions based on the patterns coming out of your workouts in general.


Overall split-
In terms of the overall split, I'm not a fan of the 1 bodypart per session style training - its simply not optimal for maximum growth.
I wasn't keeping track of the exact days that you trained so maybe you still worked each bodypart twice a week? But even then its still not ideal.

It would be more optimal if, for example, your current leg day stays the same, pair chest & back together (lots of superset opportunities with this) & pair shoulders with arms.
Or you could do biceps, rear delts & back with triceps, front/side delts & chest or any other types of split combos that allow you to easily hit everything twice per week (your weakest parts 3 times if you so wish).

There's a bit too much emphasis on pre-exhaust style training as well, especially on legs day.
I understand the need if you have lagging bodyparts - for example pre-exhausting your chest because your triceps fail first when benching - but otherwise its not the best route for building overall mass.
Compounds over isolation moves is still the preferred route.


Now for some more specific tips:

Legs -
As I said about pre-exhaust style training, place the squats, SLDLs (switch to barbell version) & lunges to the start of the workout - with sufficient volume on squats & SLDLs I see no need for the lunges as well but that's up to you.

Lower reps (8-12) for the hamstring movements, specifically SLDLs and hamstring curls.

Your overall calf training is very, very impressive compared to 99% of the other routines I've seen :)
Standing, seated & single leg calf raise varieties are all awesome movements to stick to, you just need to vary the reps a little bit. Go low for standing (5-8 reps), and high (15+) for the seated calf raises.


Abs -
I'm interested to hear why the leg raises/ab work before chest day lol, not something I see too much.
I normally don't recommend training your core before compound chest lifts for obvious reasons but if its more of a warm up type thing then its fine.

The lying leg raise sucks, swap it out for some weighted crunches + hanging leg raises = all you will ever need for maximum ab development.
AVOID ALL CRUNCH MACHINES! - They cause a lot of unnecessary tension to the lumbar spine through flexion & lead to a lot of lower back problems that can be completely avoided with standard crunches.


Chest-
A little bit too much dropset action going on in some of your chest sessions - keep it to the weakest exercise for the day otherwise its not really effective.
Stuff like dropsets, training to failure, pause sets, etc should be used sparingly in order to be effective for bodybuilding purposes.

I also wouldn't do both db & cable flyes on the same day (unless one is standard and the other incline/decline) so pick the better of the two and stick with that.

I like the fact that your constantly swapping the exercises around in the routine - something I do myself depending on what's my weakest lift in the previous session, etc. As long as its not completely random, I'm all for it.


Back -
I see the DB pullovers as a complete waste of time unless you have access to the actual pullover machine (very rare to find). If your absolutely determined to keep it in then at least switch to a decline version to get more tension.
If your willing to replace it, then some weighted chin ups done consistently will fit your routines nicely.

You do the deadlifts last quite a lot and that can cause a lot of problems unless you go extra light but then what's the point of doing the move?
The deadlift also only works the back in an isometric fashion so it really belongs early on for leg day, however I think its a terrible choice for any bodybuilder beyond the beginner level so I would drop it completely (I know you love going heavy on the big 3 lol).

WHERE IS THE LOWER BACK WORK?
Got to look after your low back health man, especially considering you train abs an do deadlifts, squats and other lower-back intense movements.
Some good form back extensions for 2-3 sets, 12-15 reps twice a week will do.


Delts-
IMO, there is simply way too much volume on these days - another reason I think its unnecessary to have a shoulder day in general.

I love the emphasis on drop sets for the lateral & rear heads, people rarely focus enough on these as you do.

On the other side, there is WAY too much front delt work going on dude.
I saw a few sessions involving behind-the-neck press, front db raise & front bb raise - 3 movements all targeting the front delt is overkill. Then you add the static holds and drop sets on top of this and your asking for major shoulder imbalances & injuries.
Keep the front delt work limited to one exercise only for 2-3 sets, they get hit enough on pushing movements anyway and plenty of guys get more than enough growth in this department with no front delt work whatsoever.

I would personally drop the behind neck press completely - you can only progress so far with this move and the injury risk to your shoulders is pretty high, but I accept that you may have the shoulder flexibility to get around this.


Arms -
Overall your best sessions IMO.

If I was being really picky then switch from wide to narrow grip versions for all the bicep curl exercises to emphasis different parts of the bicep.
Also, I occasionally saw some sessions with more volume for biceps than triceps when it should really be the other way round considering the size and growth potential differences.



I know its a lot of stuff to be changing but if you were to apply anything that I said, I would pay attention to my view on pre-exhaust training, the overall split structure, adding some lower back work and reducing the volume on the front delts for shoulder day.
 
MRZ - thanks for the feedback, it's fantastic - I read through it but will re-read it a few times tomorrow to digest and make sure I can apply it.

Hit chest late today/tonight, I'll post the workout tomorrow at work when I have some time...for now I just finished scarfing down some rice/xLGB/veggies so it's beddybye time for this guy

Peace!
 
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