SP's on/off-season log

[snowpatrol123]

Squatting body weight for 3 minutes! How many reps did you get? You go all the way down. Good shit bro..

31...the first 20 were tough but I've done that quite a few times before...the next 5 were hard and then it was rep by rep...I was done by ~90s (not allowed to rack)

The winners were getting 61 & 65 reps, but weighed between 145 and 160lbs...still very impressive.

I can't imagine getting even 40x250lbs, let alone 60.


Weight 252

Not much to report...normal day and a decent workout, I'm afraid my 'normal' training partner is going to just take some time off though

Hard to blame him, my shoulder is bugging me not quite as badly as his knee but I can't imagine how frustrating it'd be to have to pull out of nats right now


Tue - back

wide grip pulldown - one warmup and three working sets

medium grip pulldown - borrowed a MAG bar for these, did three more sets

bent over one-arm DB row - four sets of 12, adding weight on each subsequent set

HSPL high row - three sets of 12, adding weight each time
+++
superset chest-supported row - 12 reps after each set on the hammer machine

rack pull - three sets of 8, 3/4/5 plates per side, respectively

 

[snowpatrol123]

Weight 253

One of my friends is the head trainer at a new gym in town and referred a men's physique IFBB pro to me to train legs with since he wants to 'grow a pair'

Guy is a tonne of fun, originally from somewhere in the caribbean with an accent to go along and a great work ethic

Met him after work at the gym and we had a pretty good, difficult leg session


Thu - legs/calves

warmup - 10mins on the stepper (not stair mill unfortunately)

seated hamstring curl - 6 sets, first two warmup then 4 working sets, pyramiding weight up w/ 15/12/10/8 reps per set, respectively

smith back squat - I rarely do these but they're interesting because you have a bit of added stability and safety so I went hard
12x 1 plate per side
12 x 1.5 plates
12 x 2 plates
10 x 2.5 plates
8 x 3 plates
8 x 3.5 plates
8 x 4 plates...after all the volume from the previous set this was extremely grindy and I decided to stop here

"half"-hack squat - the kind that sits on your butt/pelvis rather than over your shoulders...did four sets of 8-12 reps here with 1, 2, 3, then 4 plates per side

HSPL incline leg press - kept the reps higher and just did four working sets of 15 x 6 plates (per side), 15 x 8, 15 x 10 and 14 x 12

seated leg extension - six sets again, similar setup to the hamstring curls

seated calf raise - three sets of 16...hurt my ankle pretty badly when the catch bounced and the weight crashed down pushing my toes up towards my shin

 

[snowpatrol123]

Weight 255

Met my training partner after work, good to get him away from Zelda and training again...

Went to see lego batman afterwards with a friend...absolutely LOVED it, probably even more than the 5 and 7 year old that came with us


Fri - chest/delts

rear delt/reverse pec dec - four sets, pyramiding weight up

incline DB press - one warmup and four working sets, also pyramiding weight up to 12x130lbs

HSPL decline press - just did two heavy sets, one 10x4 plates/side and one 8x4.5

HSPL press-flye machine - three sets of 12
+++
superset pec dec (chest orientation) - 12 sets with a hard flex-squeeze at full contraction (11 and 1 oclock) on each rep

side lateral DB raise - three sets of 15/12/10 reps, tried to take it a bit easy so I didn't go ultra heavy...just focused on form

front DB raise - three sets, same reps as the side laterals

HSPL shoulder press - three sets of 2, 2.5 then 3 plates for 15/12/10 reps as well

 

[snowpatrol123]

Weight 251

Slept in a bit, kind of lazed around, had brunch and hit the gym for arms with my leg day training partner


Sat - arms/abs (workout 1)

unsupported hanging leg raise - three sets of 15 reps
+++
superset rope crunch - 15 reps after each set of leg raises

supinated DB curl - four sets of 25/20/15/10 reps per arm
+++
superset tricep rope pushdown - same reps/sets

CGBP - four sets, adding weight on each set but keeping reps at 10 (until the fourth when I only got 7 x 315)

preacher curl machine - did these one-armed, four sets of 12...adding a small amount of weight each set

overhead tricep rope extension - three sets of higher reps to burn out triceps


That was it for the first workout of the day, not too taxing so I ended up going back that night...

 

[snowpatrol123]

Sat - back (workout 2)

wide/neutral-grip pulldown - 4 sets, adding weight on each...approximately 20/16/12/8 reps respectively

narrow/neutral-grip pulldown - 3 sets, only added a slight amount of weight and kept reps at 10 per set

one-arm DB row - 4 sets of 12 per arm

HSPL high-row machine - 3 sets of 12
+++
superset chest-supported row machine - 12 reps with a pause on full contraction on each rep

wide-grip pullup - two bodyweight sets to failure (about 10 with good form and another few ugly ones)


That was it for the night!

 

[snowpatrol123]

Weight 250

Almost took a rest day but decided just to go putz around and do some more arms, abs and calves

Spent a good 30+ mins in the hottub afterwards, then went to my sister's place for dinner


Sun - arms/abs/calves

Rather than list all the reps/sets since it was a pretty laid back workout I'll just mention the exercises

unsupported hanging leg raise
DB preacher curl
overhead DB tricep extension
CGBP
hammer DB curl
rope pushdown
seated calf raise
hack machine calf raise

 

[snowpatrol123]

Weight 248

Long weekend so I had another day off, but couldn't sleep in unfortunately...

Met my friend who I've competed against and train with once in awhile at 6am for legs

His sister (who's a national WPD competitor) joined us for the workout and pancakes


Mon - legs/calves (workout 1)

seated leg extension machine - 5 sets, one warmup then 4 working sets, pyramiding weight up w/ 15/12/10/8 reps per set, respectively
+++
superset seated hamstring curl - 5 sets, same reps/weight as the leg extension

HSPL incline leg press - about 8 sets, the first 3 weren't bad then the next five were tough and got extremely heavy (fully loaded machine)
10 x 8 plates per side
10 x 10 plates per side
10 x 12 plates per side
8 x 14 plates per side
8 x 15 plates
8 x 16 plates
6 x 17 plates...the machine seems like it's only meant to take 8 per holder but you can kind of get a 9th on, which means don't stand too close...
5 x 18 plates...pretty limited ROM on this and the previous set as 36 plates total felt like more than I should've really tried to handle
+++
superset seated calf raise - five sets of 12-16...mostly to try and get my lower back to release

highbar ATG squat - four sets, felt much heavier than usual because of so much exertion on the leg press
10 x 225
10 x 315
5 x 405
5 x 455...almost died falling a little forwards on the fifth rep but my buddy kept me upright and I was able to push the weight myself


Everyone decided we hadn't eaten enough for this calibre of workout and rather than sucking wind we decided to go eat pancakes...

 

[snowpatrol123]

Mon - delts/hamstring (workout 2)

side lateral + front raise superset - three light sets of 20 each

side lateral DB raise - four sets, pyramiding weight up...16/12/10/8 reps respectively

front DB raise - one arm at a time, same weight/rep scheme as the side laterals

rear delt cable pull apart - three sets of 15 with a flex/squeeze at full contraction on each rep

unsupported hanging leg raise - three sets, 16/18/20 reps respectively

prone hamstring curl - four set of 20/16/12/8 reps

DB SLDL - three sets of 12


Hot tub, then dinner with a friend...got home too late but it was a good weekend nonetheless.

 

[snowpatrol123]

Weight 249

Very long day at work because of the holiday Monday, met my training partner afterwards for a back session


Tue - back

wide grip pulldown - five sets, pyramiding weight up...50/25/20/15/10 reps respectively
+++
superset straight-arm rope pulldown - same reps after the four last sets of pulldowns

HSPL chest-supported row - three sets of 8 per arm

HSPL high row/pulldown - three sets of 12, adding weight on each set
+++
superset chest-supported row - used a wide grip and did 12 reps after each set of pulldowns

rack pull - three sets of 8 with 3/4/5 plates per side

 

[snowpatrol123]

Weight 248-252

I may have to accept another year in the heavies as this heavy cycle is going to have to come to an end soon and my weight still isn't where I'd hoped it would be


Wed - off

Whole evening planned for a friend's birthday after a long day at work so I decided to take a rest day


Thu - chest/abs

rear delt/reverse pec dec - three sets of 12

incline DB press-flyes - six sets, pyramiding weight up

HSPL decline chest machine - four sets of 12, 2/3/3.5/4 plates per side, per set respectively

unsupported hanging leg raise - three sets of 15
+++
superset rope crunch - 15 reps after each set of leg raises

high cable flyes - four sets, adding weight and dropping reps til 8 on the final set


That was it, hit the hot tub for a good amount of time and surprisingly (happily) my shoulder is doing better


Fri - off

This wasn't really a voluntary rest day, I had hoped to train but ran out of time before heading to a 3-4hr evening review class for a fitness certification exam the next morning


Sat - back/abs/calves

wide/pronated grip pulldown - five sets, 25/20/15/10/5 reps per set approximately

one-arm DB row - four sets of 12 per arm
+++
superset seated calf raise - four sets of 15-16 reps

HSPL chest-supported row - four sets, getting pretty heavy with 5 plates per side on the last set (for 6 or 7 reps)

nautilus pullover machine - three sets, adding a plate each time (2/3/4 x 12 reps per set)
+++
superset standing calf raise - three sets of 15

unsupported hanging leg raise - three sets of 15
+++
superset rope crunch - 15 reps after each set of leg raises


That was that, had some DQ afterwards then headed to the Garth Brooks concert with one of my training partners...amazing show


Sun - legs/calves

Early for me on a Sunday, at least...8:30am leg workout

prone hamstring curl - four sets with one leg at a time then a fifth heavy set with both legs beyond failure (forced reps)

front BB squat - six sets, started with 25lbs per side to get the feel then finished with 315 x 6, deep of course
+++
superset seated calf raise - heavy, but mostly to help release my tight lower back (erectors/QL)

v-squat machine - three sets of 12 facing away super set with 12 facing towards the back pad...these were absolutely killer

one-legged leg press - three sets of 10-12 reps, all to failure with help from a spotter

seated leg extension - three sets of 10-12
+++
superset seated hamstring curl - 10-12 reps after each set of leg extensions

 

[snowpatrol123]

Weight 248-252

I may have to accept another year in the heavies as this heavy cycle is going to have to come to an end soon and my weight still isn't where I'd hoped it would be


Wed - off

Whole evening planned for a friend's birthday after a long day at work so I decided to take a rest day


Thu - chest/abs

rear delt/reverse pec dec - three sets of 12

incline DB press-flyes - six sets, pyramiding weight up

HSPL decline chest machine - four sets of 12, 2/3/3.5/4 plates per side, per set respectively

unsupported hanging leg raise - three sets of 15
+++
superset rope crunch - 15 reps after each set of leg raises

high cable flyes - four sets, adding weight and dropping reps til 8 on the final set


That was it, hit the hot tub for a good amount of time and surprisingly (happily) my shoulder is doing better


Fri - off

This wasn't really a voluntary rest day, I had hoped to train but ran out of time before heading to a 3-4hr evening review class for a fitness certification exam the next morning


Sat - back/abs/calves

wide/pronated grip pulldown - five sets, 25/20/15/10/5 reps per set approximately

one-arm DB row - four sets of 12 per arm
+++
superset seated calf raise - four sets of 15-16 reps

HSPL chest-supported row - four sets, getting pretty heavy with 5 plates per side on the last set (for 6 or 7 reps)

nautilus pullover machine - three sets, adding a plate each time (2/3/4 x 12 reps per set)
+++
superset standing calf raise - three sets of 15

unsupported hanging leg raise - three sets of 15
+++
superset rope crunch - 15 reps after each set of leg raises


That was that, had some DQ afterwards then headed to the Garth Brooks concert with one of my training partners...amazing show


Sun - legs/calves

Early for me on a Sunday, at least...8:30am leg workout

prone hamstring curl - four sets with one leg at a time then a fifth heavy set with both legs beyond failure (forced reps)

front BB squat - six sets, started with 25lbs per side to get the feel then finished with 315 x 6, deep of course
+++
superset seated calf raise - heavy, but mostly to help release my tight lower back (erectors/QL)

v-squat machine - three sets of 12 facing away super set with 12 facing towards the back pad...these were absolutely killer

one-legged leg press - three sets of 10-12 reps, all to failure with help from a spotter

seated leg extension - three sets of 10-12
+++
superset seated hamstring curl - 10-12 reps after each set of leg extensions

 

[snowpatrol123]

Weight 249

Met a friend after work for an awesome shoulder/chest workout


Mon - chest/delts

incline DB press -

HS pin-loaded chest press machine - wide/neutral grip on the supports, about five sets, first was a warmup

wide DB flye - four sets of 10-12, slow with moderate DBs
+++
superset narrow DB 'hex' press - to failure immediately after the DB flyes

side lateral DB raise - four sets of 16/12/10/8
+++
superset front DB raise - same reps with smaller DBs

rear delt cable pull-apart - three sets of 10-15, adding weight on each set

seated DB press - three sets of 8, strict form

smith behind-the-neck press - three sets, 15/12/8 reps per set with increasingly heavy weight

 

[snowpatrol123]

Weight 250

Met up with my (usually-leg-day) training partner for a mid afternoon back session, felt good to get out of work for a few hours


Tue - back/abs

wide-grip pullup - bodyweight, four sets of 10 as slow/controlled as possible

wide/neutral-grip pulldown - four sets, pyramiding weight up...roughly 12/10/8/6 reps (really heavy on the last set)
+++
superset straight-arm rope pulldown - same reps with increasing weight after each set of pulldowns

HSPL chest-supported horizontal row machine - three sets, one arm at a time for 10 reps with increasing weight (2/3/4 plates per side)

meadows' row - haven't done these in a long time, did four sets of 10 with 5x25lbs plates on the BB

HSPL v-sit ab machine - four sets of 30


That was it...time for a quick swolfie then back to work

 

[snowpatrol123]

Weight 249

Took the orals out of my regimen last week so a few pounds of weight loss is to be expected

Relatively ok with the current situation, I wish I was 5-8lbs heavier with the same body composition but it's been a tough offseason so I'm not going to beat myself up too badly

On the plus side, my urine is no longer nuclear yellow and I have been sleeping more than 2hrs per night


Wed - arms/abs/calves

rope tricep pushdown - one warmup then immediately into heavy/failure sets of 15/12/10 reps
+++
superset HSPL seated iso-lateral curl - this machine forces a bit of an external-emphasized motion, not my favourite but I do it once in awhile for a change

rope curl - three sets of 12/10/8 with increasing weight

CGBP - three sets, 2/2.5/3 plates for 12/8/6 reps, respectively

unsupported hanging leg raise - three sets of 15
+++
superset rope crunch - 15 reps after each set of leg raises

rope pushdown - moderate weight here to burn out arms for the superset with
+++
overhead rope tricep extension - 12/10/8 reps after the same # of rope pushdown reps

HSPL preacher curl - one arm at a time, three sets of 12/10/8 reps
+++
superset 'donkey' calf machine - 20 heavy reps for three sets total

 

[snowpatrol123]

Weight 251

Trained legs alone as my sister was busy and my other leg training partner & I managed to de-sync our cycles...

Afterwards I went to see the new Logan movie - fuck, yes...long but awesome


Thu - legs/calves

seated hamstring curl - one warmup and four working sets, 16/12/10/10 reps respectively
+++
superset adductor machine - four sets of 15 reps with the full stack

highbar ATG squat - these felt good until my second last (planned) rep on the heaviest set...my BP felt so high I thought my eyes were going to pop out so I racked it with some gas left in my legs
20 x 135
15 x 225
12 x 315
7 x 405

cybex incline leg press - five sets, went extremely heavy here because I was a bit pissed off about not getting at least 8 reps on the four plate squat
20 x 12 plates (total)
16 x 16 plates
12 x 20
10 x 24
8 x 28...this was heavy and today my knees are kind of sore, I'm guessing that's why...
+++
superset toe press - did these on the first four sets immediately after finishing the leg pressing

prone hamstring curl - one legged, four working sets with increasing weight for 16/12/10/8 reps per leg, respectively

seated leg extension - two legs at a time, three sets of 10 with a 3 sec flex/hold at the top of each rep

 

[snowpatrol123]

Weight 250

Took Friday off, had a busy week and wanted to catch up on some sleep so it was an early night, then a very early morning to train back on Saturday


Sat - back

warmup - incline treadmill

wide grip lat pulldown - two warmup and four working sets, very heavy on the 3rd and 4th + a dropset to finish things off
+++
superset straight-arm rope pulldown - 10-15 reps with perfect form (moderate weight) after each set of pulldowns

medium/neutral grip pulldown - four working sets, fairly heavy here too but focusing more on form/contraction than maxing out the machine

rack pull - four sets, adding a plate each side until the top set of 6 reps x 5 plates...I honestly could've done more but I was using shitty straps

HSPL chest-supported horizontal row - three sets of 10 reps per arm, focusing on lat contraction
+++
superset bent-over BB row (supinated grip) - supinated always hurts my forearms but we stayed light on these (2 plates a side)

overhead reverse cable pulls (un-crossovers?) - mostly for lats, with some posterior delt involved, four sets of 12-15 reps
+++
superset rope face-pull - 10-12 reps after each set on the cables


Bit of posing then we hit the road, I went to my parents' place for family breakfast then had a bunch of errands to do

 

[snowpatrol123]

Weight 248

Lazy start to the day, napped then eventually met a friend for what turned out to be a good workout


Sun - chest/arms/abs

warmup - stair mill

rear delt/reverse pec dec - four or five sets, neutral grip as always...pyramiding weight up

decline BB press - four sets
12 x 135
12 x 225
12 x 275
8 x 315...felt like I should've had a few more reps here but haven't barbell benched in a bit

incline DB press - four sets as well, DBs stopped at 120 so I was doing higher reps

medium-height cable flye - four sets
+++
EZ-bar curl - 21s, four sets increasing by 10lbs each set

rope pushdown - three sets of 10-12
+++
superset overhead rope tricep extension - 10 reps after each set of rope pushdowns

hanging leg raise - three sets of 15 reps
+++
superset rope crunch - 15 reps after each set of rope crunches

 

[snowpatrol123]

Weight 230

Well...that's a reminder not to let my guard down and spend a week away from the gym

Life caught up to me, got sick/dehydrated and spent a night in the hospital getting IV fluids

I'm down ~15+lbs, weak and frustrated but I'm not giving up yet...

As disheartening as that is, I know technically it can't be more than a couple pounds of lost muscle


Mon - full body (minus back/bis)

warmup - 15mins incline treadmill

rear delt/reverse pec dec - three sets, pyramiding weight...I did basically 20/15/10-12 reps on most exercises, close to failure
+++
superset seated hamstring curl - three sets as well

hack squat - three sets, these were fucking grinders...managed 20 on the first, then only 12 on the second and 8 or 9 on the third
+++
superset seated side lateral machine - three sets here

HSPL incline chest press - three sets, heavy-ish with 2/3/3.5 plates a side
+++
superset donkey-calf raise machine - three sets of 16 each

unsupported hanging leg raise - three sets of 15
+++
superset rope tricep pushdown - three sets, pyramiding weight with the 20/15/10 rep scheme


Plan for Tuesday is back/biceps/abs...

 

[snowpatrol123]

Weight 233

Tuesday went as planned, busy/long day at work but I managed to get my workout done before my other evening commitments


Tue - back/arms/abs

warmup - 15mins LISS (still incline treadmill - won't bother repeating that unless it changes)

wide/neutral-grip pulldown - two warmup sets and four working sets, really focusing on getting every rep I can (including some cheaters)

narrow/neutral-grip pulldown - three working sets, a bit more focused on form

HSPL horizontal chest-supported row - three working sets here using the wide/neutral grips (I've never used them before), all to failure

HSPL high row/pulldown - three working sets as well, I always grip the supports (not the handles) on this machine

unsupported hanging leg raise - three sets of 15
+++
superset rope crunch - 15 reps after each set of leg raises

tricep pushdown on the assisted pullup/dip machine - three sets, higher reps but to failure for a good pump
+++
superset HSPL preacher curl - one arm at a time, three sets as well


That was it for my workout window and energy level right at the same time so I called it there

 

[snowpatrol123]

Weight 232

Trained in the morning with a friend, even though I used to do that all the time it was tough to get up and get going but the treadmill warmup helped


Wed - chest/delts/biceps

warmup - 10mins LISS

rear delt/reverse pec dec - four sets, pyramiding weight up

incline DB press - two warmup and four working sets, all targetting 10 full reps + 5 partials from the stretch **********..killer

incline smith - four sets of 10 with a triple drop set on the last

flat DB flye - four sets of 15, last set was a triple dropset

Giant/tri-set - did three rounds of this
1. cable flye - 12 reps
2. wide grip pushup to failure - was getting about 15 lol
3. front plate raise/twist-thing - this is an anterior/medial delt (mostly ant) exercise...12 reps each round

one-arm supinated DB curl - four sets of 12, though I lost reps on subsequent sets
+++
superset EZ-bar spider-curl - 8 reps after each set of DB curls, with some mean forced reps on the last two sets


cardio - actually did 20mins more LISS on the treadmill