Starting May 7, 1999
For previous workouts go to:
Dec.19-30, 1998
Oct.30-Dec16, 1998
Aug. 26-Sept. 12, 1998
January 4 - February 12, 1999
February 16 - March 31, 1999
These are my actual workouts that I do on a day to day basis. After each workout I will write down here which body parts I did, the exercises and the actual poundages I used. I've never seen this done before so I'm going to do it, as I think people might be interested. In the future I hope to get pictures of me training but I might have to wait until I get a digital camera instead of the old Polaroid. I hope this section is useful to you, try doing the same workouts and adjust the poundage to your level. My schedule is a bit out of the ordinary and I often try new exercises so it may seem a bit weird at first (like doing the same body part 3 days in a row sometimes) but it is very effective. Anyone who trains with me tends to achieve personal bests on the first day and gains noticeable size in a couple of weeks. Here we go:
April 19, 1999
Chest, Triceps, Shoulders/Trap
April 20, 1999
Back, Biceps, Abs
Sorry about the gap here, I've still been going at it but haven't had the time to
post all the workouts but I'm BACK now!
May 7, 1999
Legs
May 9, 1999
Back, Chest
May 23, 1999
Chest, Biceps
June 1, 1999
Chest, Back, Shoulders,
Biceps, Triceps
June 5, 1999
Legs, Back, Chest, Biceps, Triceps, Calves
June 11, 1999
Chest, Back, Shoulders
April 19, 1999 Weight: 191
Trained: Chest, Triceps, Shoulders, Traps
Dumbbell Press: Started with 65 lbs. for 20 reps to warm up, then 75lbs. for 10 and the 90's for another 10. I jumped to the 110's and managed 6 reps so dropped down to 100 for 5 and back to 90 for 9. These last 3 sets were all to failure where I was just able to squeeze the last rep out using mind power ; ).
Dips: Did bodyweight for 20 then put 2 plates on and got 2 sets of 10 and 9. I didn't push it with these as my wrist still bothers me a bit and I want to work it back slowly.
Triceps:
The dips pumped up my triceps nicely so I continued with overhead rope pullovers
using 145 (the stack) and getting 3 sets of 15, 12 and 12. I followed this with rope
pressdowns, I could only get 3 with the stack so dropped it to 115 for 2 sets of 10.
Shoulders:
Upright Rows, using 145 on an Olympic bar. The first set I got 8 reps, 10 on
the second 12 on the third and back down to 10 for the fourth and last set. It
usually takes me one or two sets to get into the swing of things, especially when training
shoulders. I finished with barbell shrugs starting at 415 lbs. for an easy 15, then
505 for a more difficult 12 and 595 for a nearly impossible 3 reps which I made into a
dropset to 505 for 8 and 415 for 12.
April 20, 1999 Weight: 190--Started first dieting phase
Trained: Back, Biceps, Abs
I started this one with chins to warm up, doing sets of 20, 10, and 10 with an underhand grip. I then did bent-over rows warming up with 135 for 15 and going to 225 for 2 sets of 8 and down to 185 for 12. T-bar rows were next starting with 3 plates for 15, 4 for 12 and 5 for 5. This felt very heavy today so I decided my mind wasn't in it enough and went for a drink of water. On the way back I psyched up better, and did 4 plates for an intense 15 followed by 5 plates for 6! I finished with 4 plates for 12.
Biceps: Seated dumbbell curls using 50 lbs. getting 3 sets of 10, 8, and 6 reps. I then attempted concentration curls with 60 lbs. but could only get 1 rep so went down to 50 for 6 reps each arm. After back, that was enough for the biceps.
Abs: Just did 2 sets of roman chair decline sit-ups doing 20 and 15 reps.
May 7, 1999 Weight: 189 lbs.
Trained: Legs
I started with squats today warming up with 145 for 20 and 235 for 10
reps (I was using the 55 lb. heavy duty bar). I went to 325 and got 8 reps, I could
tell I've been sluffing on legs a bit lately as this felt quite difficult to do.
I'm still taking every rep to rock bottom which doesn't make it any easier, in fact
in my last leg workout I had 315 on and was in the power rack with the pins set about
4" lower than my lowest point. I got about 6 reps when the bar (which was a bit
bent) shifted on my back about halfway down causing me to lose it and lower the weight
right down onto the pins. I decided to make it my mission to lift it back up from
that point without reducing the weight. I scrunched up and got under it and put in a
good effort but only got the bar about an inch up and came away feeling dizzy. I
waited a couple of minutes, went for a drink of water and came back and tried
again--lifted it a whole 2 inches this time. This pissed me off a bit so I got right
back under and REALLY pushed and managed about 6 inches up before giving out. This
was encouraging so I took a 4 minute break, psyched up good, got under with the thought of
"do or die". The bar began to rise--1 inch, 2 inches, past the 6 inch
mark, I really poured it on at that point using every muscle in my body and finally
managed to straighten out and rack the weight. Needless to say, that was it for
squats that day.
Anyway, back to today: I put 375 on and got 4 with that then
went back to 325 for 7 good ones.
Next was leg press starting with 5 plates a side for 10 then 8
plates for another 10 reps and up to 10 plates for 2 sets of 8 and one set of 6 reps.
These felt hard today too, maybe because of the squats. I actually like the
feel of heavy leg press, there's nothing like pushing away a weight you know could crush
you like a bug. As I lower the weight, it seems to get heavier and heavier until at
the bottom it's a crushing force and I have to dig into my reserves and think of nothing
but pushing hard, and then harder, and slowly the weight begins to move, and I pour on
more pressure as the leverage gets better accelerating the weight as I push it up, then
it's back down for another one. Most people doing leg press only do half reps--I
make a point of dropping the weight all the way, then worrying about getting it up.
I rarely get stuck (there's always that reserve power to use when you have to if you can
tap into it) but on the odd occasion I do, I push my knees with my hands just enough to
get past the sticking point. If you try this, don't get into a habit of pushing with
your hands, many people do and they become dependant on it.
I then dropped the weight to 9 plates and did one more set of 8
then did calf raises with that weight for 3 sets of 10 reps. For the calf raises, I
lowered the weight slowly and pushed hard to full extension, held it there for a 1/2
second, then lowered again. After these I was done!
May 9, 1999 Weight: 188
Trained: Back, Chest
Back: I began with lat pulldowns starting at 180 lbs. for 12, then210 for 12, 240 for 8 and 260 (the stack) for a set of 5 and a set of 6 ending each set with a few burns. I dropped back down to 200 for one more set of 8. Next was underhand bent-over rows with 225 lbs. The first set I got 10 then 12, two sets of 8 and one of 6 reps.
Chest: I started with flat bench press at 135 for 15, 225 for 6 (arms felt funny so I stopped at 6 to regroup). The next set I got 12 then went up to 275 for a set of 4 and 2 sets of 3, then went back to 225 for a set of 13. After that I did incline dumbbell press using 75 lbs. for 3 sets of 12, 12 and 10 reps. I then went to machine press starting at 150 for 15 reps then 160 for 15. At this point I started supersetting with supported rows starting those at 150 for 15. I went to 170 in the press for 12 and 200 for 13 in the rows, then 180 X 12 and 200 X 10, and 190 X 10 and 200 X 10. I got good and pumped from doing this superset and for my final exercise I did machine flyes doing 3 sets of 10 with partial reps in all ranges. That was it!
May 16, 1999. --I have to apologize for not getting every workout posted these days, I've still been training but haven't had time to post every one. I will attempt to remedy this very soon. I've had the last 3 days off due to a cold but am going back today!
May 23, 1999 Weight: 186 Rest between sets: 1.5-2 minutes
Trained: Chest, Biceps
Wow, I haven't trained in four days now except for a couple of quickie workouts at home which can't really be counted. I finally got back in the gym today and it felt great! Nothing hurt and I got a great pump so I think the time off was a good thing. I'll be back in steadily now on a 5 day per week program with slightly higher reps than before, along with some kind of cardio 3 or 4 times a week (likely biking, rollerblading or running).
Chest: I said above that nothing hurt but unfortunately my
strength was a bit down today as well (could be from the lower bodyweight but I think I
can bring the strength back up). Nevertheless, it was still a great workout,
just with a bit lower reps.
I started with bench press warming up with 135 for 20 then straight to 225 for a hard
12. The next set I did with a slow steady motion lowering the weight, pausing for a
split second then slowly raising it--I only got 6 reps this way. I went up to 275
and managed 4 with that and back to 225 for a set of 8 and a set of 6.
I followed that with incline barbell press just using 135 lbs. and getting 3 sets of
15, 12, and 10 reps then finished with bodyweight dips for 3 sets of 25, 20 and 17 reps.
Biceps: For biceps, I did straight bar curls using 100 lbs. for 3 sets of 12, 10 and 6 reps using VERY strict form. Biceps were burning after these! Next I did hammer curls starting at 55 lb. dumbbells for 10 then 65's for 8 and down to 50's for a slow 10. I finished with preacher curls just using 65 lbs. for 3 sets of 15, 15 and 12 reps. Biceps were toast after that, I could hardly flex them anymore.
June 1, 1999 Weight: 185
Trained: Chest, Back, Shoulders, Biceps, Triceps
Unfortunately I haven't been able to make it to the gym all week so I decided to do one exercise for 4 sets/12+ reps of each upper bodypart to get back into it. I did incline dumbbell press for chest, seated cable rows for back, dumbbell side lateral raises for shoulders, preacher curls for biceps and bodyweight dips for triceps. This turned out to be quite a good workout and each part I trained is sore today (the day after).
June 5, 1999 Weight: 185 lbs.
Trained: Legs, Back, Chest, Biceps, Triceps, Calves
Today I trained each bodypart listed for 4 light to moderate weight sets of 12 reps taking about one to one and a half minutes between each set. I did the reps in the continuous tension fashion and most sets were not quite to failure. I feel I'm ready for a major gain and am going to train in this fashion (4-6 sets of 8-15 and at least 3 bodyparts per workout) and slowly increase the intensity. Today's workout felt excellent and I got a great pump.
Started with squats at 135 for 2 sets of 12 then to 225 for 3 sets of 12 then went to back doing supported rows using 150 lbs. for warm-up and then 200 lbs. for 3 sets of 12 .(First set was easy and the last two were barely completed, taking one minute between causes a cumulative effect throughout all the sets). I finished back with 2 sets of lat pulldowns to behind the neck pulling the bar with a firm steady pressure, squeezing at the bottom and letting it up under control.
I did bench press for chest doing 2 warm-ups with 135 and then 4 sets of 12 with 185 lbs. doing about 4 burns at the bottom of the last rep of each set. The weight felt easy but my chest was on fire after the third set, and I rarely get a burn in my chest!
For biceps it was incline curls starting at 40 lbs. for a hard 12 then 35's for 10 and 30's for 2 sets of 12. I did these on about a 60 degree incline and started the motion in the upper position curling with both arms at the same time--down to full extension and up under control all the way.
For triceps I did overhead rope pullovers doing a warm-up set with 150 lbs. for 20 reps and then the stack for 2 sets of 20 and 13. Next was reverse-grip pressdowns with a straight bar for 3 sets of 12. These really got the tri's pumped, they felt ready to explode. (the first two sets felt so good I decided to do one more).
The final exercise was calves and I just did 3 sets of seated calf raises.
Trained: Chest, Back, Shoulders
I haven't been able to make it to the gym all this week although I've been doing some home workouts to maintain. Currently I have lost a bit of strength but I have a feeling it will all come back, and then some! Toady's workout went very well and felt great.
Chest: Bench Press: 2 warm-ups with 135 for 15 reps each
then my first working set was 225 for 15 (actually 14 with a 5 second pause before the
15th). About 1 1/2 minutes later I tried 275 and managed 3 reps so I immediately
dropped the weight to 185 and repped out 12 more. I did the same on the next set
getting 2 with 275 and 8 with 185.
For the second exercise I did cable crossovers starting with 110 lbs. a side and
getting 10 hard reps. The next set I used 120 lbs. and managed 8 and I finished with
90 lbs. for 10. That was it for chest.
Back: I did rows last time so today I did lat pulldowns starting with 180 lbs. for 12 strict reps, then went to 220 for 8 strict reps and 230 for 7 getting 4 strict and 3 with a slight cheat. I finished at 190 for 2 sets of 8 underhand grip reps. After that I did 2 sets of extra wide grip pulldowns to behind the neck using 160 lbs. and really concentrating on working the lats. I was so pumped by this time people were starting to stare *g*.
Shoulders: I've decided to try to get back to doing behind the neck press (they usually hurt my shoulders). I'm starting out light and am going to slowly work the weight up. I started with the bar for 20 then 95 lbs. for 12. I went to 145 lbs. for 2 sets of 8 and 6 then back to 95 for a set of 8. These were all pretty well pain free so I thought I would quit while I was ahead and do some upright rows for the rear delts. I used 100 lbs. and did 2 sets of 15 and 12 reps using a wide grip and lifting in such a way that my elbows stayed higher then my hands at the top of the movement.
I finished the workout with a set of dips surprising myself and setting a new PR of 55 consecutive dips! I did 2 sets of sit-ups after that and that was it!
