Thread: My journal...

^^^^Thanks a lot bro, just trying to get on your level!

I had Tuesday off. I hit my legs today and the workout went like this:

Squats-315x6, 335x6, 365x6, 375x4, 385x2
Leg curls-190x10, 190x10, 205x10, 210x10
Leg Press-1080x8, 1080x10, 1170x8, 1215x6, 1260x5, 1080x10. Superset with lunges (bodyweight)- 10 each leg
Hip adduction-170x20, 190x20, 190x20
Hp abduction-150x20, 150x20, 170x20
Calf raises
Stomach work and I was done!

I have a question for anyone reading this regarding squats. When it comes to those I'm very stiff and rigid... I'm not able to go down all the way even if there was nothing on the bar! What stretches can I do to loosen up for it? My legs are really strong (my quads in particular) but I know I'm not able to get the most out of the workout because of my lack of flexibility.

Today, I'm taking a break... I'm just going to spend a good 45 minutes or so stretching. I hit the dunes yesterday with a 20lb weight vest and the sandbags.

Hey guys, I've been keeping up with my progress, but I haven't logged it in on here. Well, here are some of my workouts that I got in after Dec 23.

12-24-11
I worked out at Sand Dune Park wearing a 40lb weight vest and carrying sandbags.

12-26-11: Felt pretty tired today. Probably because of of the holiday...
Deadlifts - 275x10, 315x7, 365x7, 405
Barbell rows - 185x8, 195x8, 205x8, 225x8
Lat pulldpwn machine - 115x10, 135x8, 135x8, 160x5, 145x7
T-Bar rows - 4 platesx10, 5 platesx10, 5 platesx8, 4 platesx10

Barbell curls - 90x10, 115x10, 135x6
Bicep Curl machine - 125x10, 140x10, 140x10, 155x8
Seated Hammer curls - 40x10, 40x10, 45x8, 45x7 superset w/upright db rows - 30x10, 30x10, 30x10, 30x12 (going to up the weight next time)
Shrugs - 80x20, 90x15, 90x17, 100x13

Forearm work and stomach work

12-28-11: Felt a little tired, but that was because I didn't get enough sleep.
DB Press - 90x7, 90x8, 100x6, 100x6
Incline DB Press - 85x8, 90x6, 90x6, 90x5
Decline DB Press - 70x8, 70x7, 75x6
Close-grip bench - 135x10, 185x8, 195x8, 205x10

Lateral DB raise - 27.5x12, 27.5x12, 27.5x10, 27.5x10 superset with front raise (45 plate) - 12, 12, 12, 12
Seated behind the neck press (Just trying it out) - 135x6, 135x6, 135x6
One-arm Side cable extentions (don't know how to explain it) - 40x10, 40x10, 50x10

I'm going to type the rest tomorrow

12-29-11
I worked my legs. I'm slowly trying to work my way up to doing more for squats and deadlifts. Found this workout on BOP and figured I would try it for the duration of my cycle...

Squats- 245x5, 270x4, 295x3, 320x2, 320x2, 345x1, 345x1
Deadlifts - 285x10 (paused reps)

(For this next group of exercises, I will be increasing the weight bit by bit and see where it goes from there. I'm not supposed to train until failure on these.)
Good mornings - 90x10, 90x10, 90x10
R. Deadlifts (Dumbbells) - 70x10, 70x10, 70x10
Leg Curls - 155x10, 155x10, 155x10
Leg Ext. - 170x10, 170x10, 170x10
(I did front squats too, but I was just going through the motions, working on form)

12-31-11
My usual workout at the dunes with a 40lb weight vest and sandbags.

1-1-12
I brought in the new year with a pull day. Today I focused on getting whatever muscle I happened to be working to contract by going through slow, controlled movements... I was very effective and I felt it several days afterwards!
Barbell Rows - 185x10, 185x10, 205x8, 225x7
Yates' Rows - 195x10, 195x10, 210x10
Close-grip Pulldown - 180x10, 180x10, 195x10, 210x7
T-Bar Rows - 2 plates + a 25x10, 3 platesx10, 4 platesx10, 4 plates + 25x7
Curl Machine - 110x10, 110x10, 120x8, 125x10
Seated Incline Curls - 25x10, 27.5x10, 27.5x9
Upright Rows - 35x12, 35x12, 40x12
Shrugs 90x15, 90x15, 100x15

Plus some stomach work at the end.

I'm behind on writing the logs, I'll catch you guys up soon.

Okay, I'm on my lunch break rt now so I'll log in some older workouts.

1-2-12 I just worked on slow, controlled movements like the previous exercise
Warmed up with 100 push ups and 50 dips
DB Press- 85x10, 95x6, 100x7, 105x6, 110x5 (110 for 5 reos is a first for me)
Incline bar press 135x10, 135x10, 145x10, 155x10, 165x8
Lateral press machine- 180x6, 180x6, 180x6
Cable cross - 130x10, 130x10, 140x10

Tricep ext. (seated)- 80x10, 80x10, 90x10
Rope pushdowns - 50x10, 50x10, 60x10, 60x9
Side cable ext. 40x10, 40x10, 50x10

I'll log the rest when I get home.

1-4-12 Working on increasing my squats and deads, so I'm trying out this workout that I saw on BOP for the duration of my cycle. I'm really starting to focus on using slow, controlled movements from now on... because I'm getting good results doing it!

Deadlifts - 245x5, 275x4, 305x3, 335x2, 335x2, 365x1, 365x1
Squats - 5x5 at 285
Good morning - 90x10, 90x10, 90x10
Romanian deads (DB)- 75x10, 75x10, 75x10
Leg Curl -160x10, 160x10, 160x10
Leg Extension - 190x10, 190x10, 190x10

1-6-12 Worked on delts and did tris for a sec

Warm up w/ 100 push ups and 40 dips
DB military press - 70x8, 75x8, 75x8, 80x7 (felt pretty good at this time. I'm going up next time I hit delts)
DB lateral raise - 30x12, 30x12, 32.5x12, 35x15 Superset with front raises (a 45 plate) - 15, 15, 15, 20

Rope Pushdowns - 50x15, 50x15, 50x15, 60x10
One arm tricep ext. (DB) - 25x12, 27.5x12, 30x10, 32.5x10

Stomach work and I was done

1-7-12
I worked out on the dune. One of my co-workers up there told me that there were these two women just staring at me the whole time, asking how often I came up there and such... Lol, he said that they kept saying I looked amazing! Just wait until the cycle is over in March! It feels good when people notice the gains you've made.

1-8-12
I went up to UCLA's student gym with my girl. I already graduated, but she's getting ready to this spring. I actually graduated from a different uni, but I used another person's card to get inside. Let me tell you guys this: I felt like a MAN amongst boys when I was there! It was a bit of a distraction though because everyone was looking at me when I was working out... I would turn to look at something and find people's eyes on me. Like I said, it was a nice ego boost, but it was distracting. I kept everything slow and controlled.

Warm up with 50 pull ups and some stretching
Seated close-grip rows - 220x10, 220x10, 230x10, 240x10 Superset with Romanian deadlifts - 35x25, 35x25, 37.5x25, 37.5x20
Pulldowns (Wide) - 140x10, 160x10, 180x10, 200x10 Superset with lawnmowers - 85x12, 85x12, 85x12, 85x10
Yates rows - 170x10, 180x10, 200x10 Superset with hammer curls 40x10, 40x10, 40x10
Bicep curl machine - 110x12, 125x12, 125x12
Upright rows (DB) - 40x10, 40x10, 45x10 Superset with 21s (40, 45, 45)
Shrugs - 85x10, 90x15, 90x15, 95x15 (I couldn't find the freaking 100s!)

Some stomach work and I was out of there.