A DC logbook

[deegee]

It takes a while to get over those big nights, my triaing will be shot for a good 24hrs at least after a big one. Its one thing I have had to look at if I want to train seriously

[Marcus]

I actually find I train harder on a Monday night if I have a big saturday night. I seem to punish myself more.

But yes depending on how serious you want to go it can be a hinderance.

[Marcus]

Wednesday 24/8

DB Flat LT 12 x 40.1 TT 11 x 40.1

Standing Military LT 16 x 55 TT 16 x 55

Dips LT 12 + 10kg TT 11 + 10kg

Chins LT 5 TT 7

BB Rows LT 12 x 100 TT 9 x 105

Overall a fairly crap workout. I didn't sleep very well on Tuesday night & I forced myself to train.

Flat benching movements feel so awkward to me. I'm naturally very broad & I really have to concentrate on tucking my shoulder blades back so i can work the chest. Otherwise my overpowering shoulders take all the weight. With flat though I always find my shouldr blades slide out all the time. It's almost like the bench isn't wide enough. I'm thinking about dropping this exercise. I'll give it another week & see how it feels. My chest is still very sore today.

Military press was good - I just didn't push myself hard enough.

Question for you guys about dips - do you keep hands as close to the body as poss or wider? Last night I brought them a lot closer than I usually would.

Ironically, on my worst exercise I progressed last night. The chins were good for once. The wider grip has worked & feels a lot more comfortable now.

Weight after my workout was 92.5kgs.

[jono]

i keep my hands about shoulder width on dips the main differnec in dips is, elbows in body straight works tris more. elbows out and leaning forward works chest more

[Marcus]

Thanks man, i'll give that a go. My hand placement seems to affect my rep range majorly.

[Growth]

Nice work on the flat bench mate, i have a similar problem on benches, i find it hard to get in a good position, sometimes one shoulder is right off the bench, or if i hit the middle then my shoulders are both a little off and roll back, it must be placing more stress on them!

Jonos right with the dips, the reason your reps/weight varies greatly is the same reason the weight/rep varies greatly on flat bb bench and cg bench, having a close grip and keeping your elbows in eliminates most of the chest being involved in the movement.

[Marcus]

Yeah the flat benching movements are really frustrating me. I know when my shoulders are tucked back my form is good. but it's keeping them back which is the problem, esp when i'm using a heavy weight & I'm close to failing.

Pain in the ass.

[Marcus]

Friday 26/8

INC DB CURLS LT 15 X 17.3 TT 17 X 17.3

PINWHEEL CURLS LT - TT 21 X 14.6 (NEW EXERCISE)

LEG PRESS CALF RAISE LT 8 X 4PPS TT 10 X 4PPS

SLDL LT 6 X 125 TT 6 X 130

LEG PRESS LT 8 X 6.5PPS, 17 X 4.5PPS TT 22 X 4.5PPS

Overall a good workout. I'm really happy with how my calves are coming along. DC's calf training is so painful but my calves are really filling out.

I can't believe how much hammering my hamstrings take on SLDL. I've gone up 30kg on this exercise since I started at the beginning of this year. Today my hammys are real sore.

Leg press was a bit of a disappointment. I went in to the gym early today & there was no one around who I would trust to spot me properly. I nearly said f*ck it & got stuck in but I take out the safety bars & go right down to the stops - if I fail basically I can't get out. So I just did my widowmaker & got out of there.

[jono]

looking good. thats a heavy sldl

[Ash]

Decent increases all round on the old exercises. Good work.

Heavy SLDLs! I was amazed at how well my hamstrings responded to them.

[Marcus]

Yeah its quite scary getting up in the weight on SLDL's because form has to be bang on. My lower back isn't tender at all today so that's a good sign.

On the down side my hamstrings take longer than normal to recover so they may affect my deadlifts on Monday.

[deegee]

Good to hear there was no back pain to me in 99% of cases it is an indication that technique in not quite right. I have heard of more injuries to the back from this ex than just about any other.

Nice weight all round

[Marcus]

The key for me performing SLDL correctly is making sure I push my ass out when i start the descent.

[Marcus]

Well, Monday I officially began my quest to slowly drop bodyfat. Since May I have put on 6kgs. Weight was 93.1kg after last nights workout.

I really want to start next year lean - the leanest I've ever been. I feel like I've learnt so much about my diet this year, but I want to be able to start with my bodyfat lower next year.

I'd appreciate any comments you all have, as I'm reasonably inexperienced when it comes to this. I dropped about 7kgs last year, but I feel like my fats were too low & I'm pretty sure I lost more muscle mass than I should have. My water intake was also way too low.

This is what my diet was yesterday:

Meal one:

1 cup oats

3 scoops whey

400ml low fat milk

multi

Meal two:

3 scoops whey with water

1 x tin tuna

2 x Tbsps flax oil

Meal three:

350gms mince (rinsed )

0.5c rice

Meal four:

3 scoops whey with water

1 x tin tuna

1 x rice cake

Meal five (PWO):

Straight after workout:

2 x scoops Miada Carbo

Tsp x Glutamine

Tsp x Creatine

1 x banana

20mins later:

6 scoops whey with water

Meal six:

350gms mince

bowl fibrous veges

Meal seven:

3 scoops whey with water

Tsp glutamine

The changes I have made is drop down to 1 x cup of oats at meal one & only have 1 x rice cake before my workout. I didn't feel hungry during the day, but I felt like I only just had enough to keep going. And my workout weights suffered as you will see below.

Do you think this was the right thing to do? I know I am very carb sensitive. Is 10gms Carbs enough before a workout for fat loss goals?

My workout was as follows:

INC DB LT 14 X 37.1 TT 13 X 37.1

SEATED DB LT 14 X 32.1 TT 13 X 32.1

SKULLS STR BAR LT 22 X 35.9 TT 21 X 35.9

REV LAT PD LT 12 X 146 TT 15 X 146

DEADS LT 3 X 190, 8 X 170 TT 4 X 190, 5 X 170

As you can see the strength was there but my endurance was struggling. I put this down to my diet. I really had to dig deep each set. I wasn't hungry, but energy levels were definitely lower than normal.

[jono]

my advice is dont drop the carbs too low.

[Growth]

I just sent numerous diet ebooks to Varven, some of them are of popular diet regimes, some are just big lists of the amount of calories in food etc. Definitley worth a read, if you want them PM me your email.

[Marcus]

31/8

BB PREACHER LT 13 X 30 TT 13 X 30

DB HAMMER LT 22 X 19.5 TT 13 X 22

ST C RAISE LT 9 X 165 TT 8 X 165

SEATED LC LT 24 X 60 TT 26 X 60

HACKS LT 10 X 3PPS + 5KGPS, 21 X 2PPS TT 7 X 3.5PPS, 20 X 2PPS + 5KGPS

I've been pissed off ever since my log book beat me on Monday. The first time in so long. I know it was diet related but it still hurts. Today I upped my carb intake a little before my workout & I felt heaps better.

The preachers were the same, although this is only the third time I've done this exercise & I'm still finding my form.

Hammers felt heavy, first time on this weight & I could feel my wrists. Should be better next time.

Calf raises were crap really. I read Jono's post & I'm feeling the same thing. My lower back takes a hammering, esp when it hasn't fully recovered from deads on Monday. Our seated calf raise machine is crap. The leg press machine is the only one which feels right.

Seated leg curl & hacks were good. I was fired up by this stage because I never want to go backwards on legs.

On another note, I'm seriously thinking about changing gyms.

[Growth]

On another note, I'm seriously thinking about changing gyms.

Nice workout mate, why the need to change?

[Marcus]

I'm just getting frustrated with the gear. It's getting old & my exercise options seem to get more & more limited all the time.

I might for a look at a couple of other places next week.

[jono]

I'm just getting frustrated with the gear. It's getting old & my exercise options seem to get more & more limited all the time.

I might for a look at a couple of other places next week.

if you want to get the most ou of your training you need good equipment

[Marcus]

Definitely man. I've been training at this gym for ages too so would be good to have a change.

[Marcus]

Tuesday 6/9

BB CURL LT 14 X 45 TT 15 X 45 + 11 X 35 (GOING FOR 20 HERE)

REV EZI LT 22 X 30 TT 23 X 30

LEG PRESS CALF RAISE LT 10 X 4PPS TT 10 X 4PPS

LYING LC LT 14 X 60 TT 15 X 60

SQUATS LT 7 X 135, 17 X 90, TT 8 X 135, 20 X 90

Good workout overall considering I've adjusted my diet to shed some BF. Weight was 91.7kg - down a bit from a few weeks ago. However I have just gone off creatine so I'm not reading too much into it at this stage. It's when i go off it I realise how much water it makes you retain :shock:

[Growth]

Good looking workout there mate. How do you find the reverse curls, i used to do them quite a lot but they really worked my wrists too hard.

Also note, remember not to drop your calories to fast.

[Marcus]

I haven't dropped calories that much. I've replaced beef with chicken in one of my meals & just been a bit stricter.

I sorta drag the bar up my body for rev curls. Kinda like the start of a upright row but I just squeeze the weight up with my forearms. Useless description i know. I have the same problem as you doing it the traditional way.

[jono]

nice squatting