And unto this...RONIN

[morattigirl]

:poked:

Oi Ronin? Whats happening with you? Your worse than me in updating your journal lol

[Ronin]

All righty, been thinking I should really resurrect this journal, and the first day of the gym being open for the year seems like as good a time as any.

A bit of catch-up in case anyone's interested... I ended up pulling out of the NABBA show in September as I ran out of time to be stage-ready. Needed probably another 2-3 weeks. My biggest mistake was in trying to follow too many sources of information, I shoulda just stuck to what my trainer and the gym owner were telling me. Ah well, live and learn, right?

So following that I decided on a bit of a bulk, but kinda overdid it a bit :oops: Jumped from 78kg to 88kg in the space of about 2 weeks and was accused of having started on the gear. Then I gradually built up to mid-90s and fluctuated around that ever since.

So, the goal for this year is the NABBA show in Dunedin, Sept 15. The rough plan at this stage is for a wee cut til mid/late Feb, clean bulk from March to May, then cut aiming to be about ready at the end of Aug, allowing a bit of wiggle room in early Sept. I'm currently carrying more fat than I'm comfortable with, although there has definitely been muscle gain as well, so I'm happy with that aspect.

From Sept until the last few weeks my training was basically http://www.nzbodybuilding.co.nz/viewtopic.php?f=33&t=13396 apart from not doing any leg work for the last 6 weeks or so. I began getting some pretty serious pain in my right knee, so decided to take a break. My legs generally respond pretty well so it didn't bother me too much, although I've missed leg days Just for shits & giggles I had a couple of shots at deads recently and hit a new PB of 190kg, followed a week later by 210kg (ugly as shit, but it got there). As of today I've started easing back into light leg work, not rushing into it, taking it easy and seeing how it goes.

Diet-wise, I'm taking a more relaxed approach for now. Not exactly IIFYM, but not as anal as I was...I'll save that for the serious cut. And I've gone back to IF for the time being. Had to come off it while bulking...waaaay too uncomfortable trying to cram all that food into 8 hours :pfft:

So, on with the show.

95.35kg

Inc Fly

3 x 10 x 23kg

3 x 10 x 18kg

X-Over

5 x 12 x 60lb

Pec Deck

3 x 12 x 80lb

s/s

DB Bench

3 x 15 x 16kg

Hacks

3 x 10 x 40kg

Leg Ext

3 x 10 x 105lb

Rope Curl

5 x 12 x 110lb

Hammers

5 x 10 x 16kg

Dbl Bi Curl

20, 15, 11 x 70lb

Spin bike 15min

Like I said, really light re-introduction to having some tension on my leg. Knee seemed to stand up well enough, so full steam ahead.

Looking forward to sweating my ass off training in the HB sun next week.

[Phedder]

Welcome back mate, will be good to read your log again. Congrats on the new PBs too :nod: Must be looking a lot better at 95kgs than the last time you were at that weight?

And I've gone back to IF for the time being. Had to come off it while bulking...waaaay too uncomfortable trying to cram all that food into 8 hours :pfft:

Pussy Nothing beats 2000Cal post workout feast :grin: I've gone off it myself, I think if my parents saw me eat that much in one sitting they'd kick me out :pfft: Probably jump back on it in Dunedin again.

[Ronin]

Cheers Phed, looking forward to seeing you fly the friendly Sky

No training yesterday, bloody kids.

Today, felt a bit flat, even after 3 black coffees, so tried a sample of ON Amino Energy. Didn't seem to do jack diddly f*ck, so popped 60mg DMAA as well. That felt a bit better.

Just a quickie today.

Rack Pulls

5 x 10 x 150kg

CG Pulldowns

3 x 10 x 150lb

ss

WG T-Bar

3 x 10 x 50kg

Stiff Arm Pd

5 x 10 x 60lb

SLDL

3 x 10 x 80kg

Tri Pd

5 x 10 x 80lb

B/O Cable Ext

5 x 12 x 120lb

No time for cardio.

Then:

- 75g Oats, 30g PP

- Shake

- 2 x Ham & Cheese Sandwiches

- 3 x Chicken thighs

- Sludge

Lookin forward to sweatin my ass off (literally) for 2 weeks in heat & humidity. Good times \:D/

[Android]

Yeah know what u mean about ON Amino Energy, missing the mental stim so it's hard to "feel" anything.

Keen to see progress towards your new goal mate, good luck!

[Ronin]

Yeah know what u mean about ON Amino Energy, missing the mental stim so it's hard to "feel" anything.

Keen to see progress towards your new goal mate, good luck!

Cheers dude, lookin for a BIG year ahead.

[Ronin]

Okay let me just start by saying that I MISS Sky Fitness :cry:

On holiday in the Bay this week, so I've been training at Aspyre cos I could get a cheap 10-session deal. Gotta say... not overly impressed. Gym ettiquette is practically non-existent...plates and DBs are left where they fall, you can't move without having to step over or around gear and bars don't get unloaded. There are hardly any collars for the bars, and those that they do have don't inspire much confidence. The weights area is pretty cramped and not well laid out, and there isn't much in the way of free benches. On the plus side, it's not shiny, so I do feel like I belong lol. Oh yeah, and it's pretty well populated with Zyzz-abees.

Diet has been pretty good considering it's holiday time...lots of BBQ meat and salads. Although I did take the kids to the movies yesterday (for the AirCon) and had some popcorn. Weight doesn't seem to have moved, but then I've started creatine this week as well, and am drinking a shitload of water, so that may account for some of it.

Training has also been ok, considering it's holiday, and I feel like I'm training in a fucking oven. Have been feeling drained pretty much constantly, so I'm not unhappy with training to date.

Monday

Flat Fly

3 x 10 x 22kg

3 x 10 x 17.5kg

Pec Deck

3 x 12 x 80lb

X Over

3 x 12 x 60lb

Leg Press

5 x 10 x 200kg

Leg Ext

5 x 10 x 110lb

Rope Curl

5 x 12 x 100lb (stack only goes to 100)

Hammers

5 x 10 x 16kg

Tuesday

Rack Pulls

5 X 10 x 150kg

WG T-Bar

5 x 10 x 50kg

WG Pd

3 x 10 x 135lb

Tri Pd

5 x 10 x 120lb (the magic of an extra pulley :pfft: )

Skulls

5 x 10 x 30kg

B/O Cable Ext

5 x 12 x 100lb (full stack again)

Wednesday

DB Press

5 x 10 x 17.5kg

U Row

5 x 10 x 40kg

Inc Rear Raise

5 x 10 x 10kg

Front Raise

2 x 10 x 20kg (thought the DB was gonna fall apart :shock: so...)

3 x 10 x 18kg

BB Shrug

5 x 10 x 160kg

No cardio thus far. Fuckit, just walking to the fridge and I break out in a sweat . Recovery's been a bit slow this week, and cos of all the babysitters I can train on the weekend, so today's a rest day.

[Ronin]

Ok, back in Dunners, back to a real gym, and journalling will now be full steam ahead.

All up, managed about 6 trains over the 2 weeks I was away, and only gained 0.3kg, so that wasn't too bad.

Yesterday was a light chest & bis session to get back into it.

Today, back, hams & tris

- shake

- 60g oats & PP

- 1/2 cup (cooked) brown rice & can tuna

- 200g chicken breast, 100g kumara, salad

- 60g PP, 100g yoghurt

Rack Pulls

5 x 10 x 160kg

WG Pd

3 x 10 x 135lb

ss

CG TBar

3 x 10 x 50kg

CG Pd

2 x 10 x 135lb

10 x 120lb

ss

WG TBar

2 x 10 x 50kg

10 x 45kg

SLDL

5 x 10 x 80kg

Tri Pd

5 x 10 x 80lb

B/O Cable Ext

3 x 12 x 120lb

One of the guys from the gym is making video docos of all the team getting ready for the NABBA show, so had him taping me today. It's somewhat disconcerting having a camera in your face mid-set All good in the name of shits'n'giggles :grin:

[Ronin]

Just a quickie today, and eats were the same apart from the addition of a few naughty carbs :pfft:

Shoulders

BTN Press

5 x 10 x 50kg

Upright Row

5 x 10 x 42.5kg

Rev Inc DB Flies

3 x 10 x 11kg

Front Raise

3 x 10 x 21kg

BB Shrug

5 x 10 x 140kg

[Ronin]

Today was Quads, Chest & Bis

Leg Press

5 x 10 x 280kg

Leg Extension

5 x 10 x 135lb

Inc Fly

3 x 10 x 21kg

X-Over

3 x 12 x 50lb

ss

Pec Deck

3 x 12 x 70lb

Rope Curl

3 x 12 x 110lb

Rev Cable Curl

3 x 10 x 90lb

Hammer 30s

3 @ 8kg

Man my legs are weak these days. But at least my knee's holding up.

No childcare tomorrow = no training :x FFS, roll on next Monday \:D/

[Ronin]

It's Monday, woohoooooooooooo. I'd just like to take this opportunity to thank the teachers of NZ for getting off their asses and taking my kids off my hands again

Chest/Quads/Bis today

- Shake

- 60g oats, 30g PP

- 1/2 cup cooked brown rice, can tuna

- couple of vegemite sammies

- 200g washed mince, salad

Inc Fly

5 x 10 x 21kg

Pec Deck

5 x 20 x 70lb

Iron X

10 x 40lb

4 x 10 x 50lb

1-Arm Cable Press

5 x 10 x 70lb

Leg Press

5 x 10 x 280kb

Leg Ext

5 x 10 x 135lb

Rev Cable Curl

5 x 10 x 90lb

Inc Hammers

10 x 11kg

4 x 10 x 13kg

Dbl Bi Curl

5 x 12 x 60lb

10min spin bike

[Phedder]

Leg Press

5 x 10 x 280kb

Can't imagine 280 Kilobytes weighing much, slacker :pfft:

[Ronin]

Leg Press

5 x 10 x 280kb

Can't imagine 280 Kilobytes weighing much, slacker :pfft:

Shit, need more carbs :grin: Good on ya for spotting my deliberate mistake, just checking to see if anyone was reading it :shifty:

[Ronin]

Okay so yesterday I got roped into helping a mate shift house, so didn't get to the gym. However, all day carrying furniture and shit = a full day of cardio...that's my story and I'm sticking to it :pfft:

Today, Back/Hams/Tris

- Shake

- 60g Oats & 30g PP

- 4 eggs & 50g bacon

- 200g washed mince, salad

- crackers & vegemit, shake

Rack Pulls

3 x 10 x 180kg

WG Pd

3 x 10 x 150lb

ss

DB Row

3 x 10 x 38kg

CG Pd

3 x 10 x 135lb

ss

WGTBar

3 x 10 x 50kg

Stiff-arm Pd

5 x 10 x 60lb

SLDL

3 x 10 x 80kg

ss

Walking Lunges (DB)

3 x 10 x 16kg

Tri Pd

5 x 10 x 80lb

B/O Cable Ext

5 x 12 x 120lb

Haven't done lunges for a while, so supersetting them with SLDLs had me feeling them pretty nicely.

[Ronin]

94.8kg today and in for a bit of shoulders & calves. Haven't trained calves for months, as they seem to respond to the slightest bit of attention.

- Shake

- 60g Oats, 30g PP

- 1/2 cup cooked brown rice, can of ChopChop chook

- crackers & vegemite, ham&cheese sammie

- 200g washed mince, salad

- Shake

BTN Press

10 x 40kg

10 x 45kg

10 x 50kg

8, 7, 7 x 55kg

20 x 40kg

Upright Row

5 x 10 x 45kg

21 x 35kg

Front Raise

5 x 10 x 21kg

Lat Raise

5 x 10 x 16kg

Inc Reverse Fly

5 x 10 x 11kg

BB Shrug

10 x 150kg

4 x 10 x 160kg

35 x 100kg

Calf Raise

15, 12, 10, 10, 9 x 390lb

And that was that. Absolutely shagged today, could be time for a refeed tomorrw. Maybe.

[Ronin]

Had some extra carbs today so feeling a bit better.

- Shake

- 80g Oats, 30g whey

- can of Chop Chook, 1/2 cup cooked brown rice

- Chicken thighs, PB sandwhich

- Can of creamed rice, 60g whey

Quads/Chest/Bis

Leg Press

10 x 200kg

5 x 10 x 320kg

56 x 160kg

Leg Extension

4 x 10 x 140lb

d/s 10 x 140/ 7 x 120/ 6 x 100/ 6 x 80/ 11 x 60lb

Inc Fly

5 x 10 x 18kg

Iron X

3 x 10 x 50lb

Pec Deck

5 x 12 x 70lb

1 Arm Cable Press

10 x 80lb

4 x 10 x 90lb

Rev Cable Curl

12 x 90lb

4 x 12 x 100lb

Inc Hammers

5 x 10 x 13kg

Dbl Bi Curls

12, 12, 12, 10, 10 x 70lb

Doneski.

[Ronin]

Bonus kid-free Saturday, so shot in for a bit of Back & Tri therapy :grin:

Rack Pulls

3 x 10 x 180kg

CGPd

3 x 10 x 150lb

ss

DB Row

3 x 10 x 38kg

WGPd

3 x 12 x 135lb

ss

Stiff Arm Pd

3 x 10 x 50lb

Tri Pd

5 x 10 x 80lb

Android Skulls

5 x 8 x 30kg

BO Cable Extension

5 x 12 x 120lb

After reading Android's variation on the skull-crusher, I decided to give them a crack instead of the usual. Felt really good in the long head, but I think I should have dropped the weight for this variation...was quite a strain on the shoulders as well. Will definitely try them again with a slightly lower weight and see how they go.

Gotta say, pretty happy with repping 180 for rack pulls too. Looking forward to working back up to 5 x 10 on that, then pushing the weight higher.

[Ronin]

Gave back & tris another shot today. Nothing remarkable about eats, just the usual.

Rack Pulls

4 x 10 x 180kg

WGPd

3 x 10 x 150lb

ss

DB Row

3 x 10 x 38kg

CGPd

3 x 10 x 150lb

ss

CG T-Bar

3 x 10 x 45kg

Stiff-Arm Pd

5 x 10 x 60lb

Leg Ext

5 x 10 x 150lb

Tri Pd

5 x 10 x 80lb

Android Skulls

5 x 12 x 20kg

BO Cable Ext

5 x 12 x 120lb

Last few reps of Racks were pretty damn ugly, but I'll take them. Android Skulls felt a lot more do-able having dropped the weight a bit...possibly dropped it a bit further than needed, so I'll go a bit heavier next time and find that sweet spot. Tried a much wider grip today on Stiff-arm pulldowns and it really made a difference on hitting the lats.

[Ronin]

Just shoulders today

Hang C&P

3 x 10 x 40kg

Front Raise

3 x 10 x 21kg

Lat Raise

3 x 10 x 16kg

Inc Rev Raise

3 x 10 x 11kg

And then called to pick up a vomiting child from school....ah, good times :pfft:

Eats were pretty basic again

- Shake

- 60g Oats, 30g whey

- 1/2cup cooked brown rice, can Chop Chook

- Chicken thighs & salad

- 100g yoghurt, 60g whey

Hmmm, I think I feel a bulk coming on :nod:

[Ronin]

Shit sleep last night, and was feeling pretty flat this morning. However, training felt fricking great, so I guess I can't complain.

Leg Press

5 x 10 x 320kg

62 x 160kg

Leg Ext

5 x 10 x 150lb

Hacks

5 x 10 x 40kg

Inc Fly

5 x 10 x 21kg

Iron X

5 x 10 x 50lb

ss

Pec Deck

5 x 10 x 70lb

Chest Press

5 x 10 x 90lb

Inc Hammers

5 x 10 x 13kg

Rev Cable Curl

5 x 10 x 45lb

Dbl Bi Curl

5 x failure x 70lb

Reverse curls today were on the cable row machine cos the crossover station was busy. Different setup = lower weight.

Starting to slowly increase cals \:D/

[Ronin]

Another night of crappy broken sleep. Meh.

Rack Pulls

10 x 180kg

10 x 190kg PB

4 x 200kg PB

1 x 210kg PB

0 x 220kg :x

WG Pd

3 x 10 x 150lb

ss

CG Pd

3 x 10 x 150lb

Krocs

5 x 10 x 51kg

Stiff-arm Pd

5 x 10 x 60lb

Tri Pd

5 x 10 x 80lb

Android Skulls

3 x 10 x 25kg

12 x 25kg

20 x 25kg

Pretty sure I actually heard something go ping on that 220 rack pull. Dropped it back to 180 for a set, got 1 rep out and crashed halfway up on number 2.

Intended to finish with another tricep exercise, but after spotting someone else I ended up getting into a protracted discussion of training, dieting, competing etc. Nek minute, I'm completely cooled down, the sweat has dried and I've totally lost the groove...so called it a day.

Eats have been typical. Bring on the bulking.

[Ronin]

Felt quite a bit better today, extra food seems to be helping.

Inc Fly

10 x 10 x 21kg

Iron X

5 x 10 x 60lb

ss

Pec Deck

5 x 12 x 70lb

Hacks

10 x 40kg

10 x 60kg

5 x 10 x 80kg

Leg Ext

5 x 10 x 150lb

Rev Cable Curl

5 x 10 x 45lb

Hammer 30s

4 sets @ 11kg

1 set @ 8kg

Ibuprofen was required to get through hacks today, lower back started fucken killing me. So took a couple of pills, walked a few laps of the gym then back into it. Then on the hammers, had to drop to baby-weights for the final set, as my left forearm was cramping up so bad I couldn't even hold the 11 :oops:

[Ronin]

Back and Tris today. Was meant to be Hams as well, but lower back was still a bit off after yesterday's hacks, and the rack pulls today pretty much finished it off.

- 1/2 cup Oats, 30g PP

- Shake

- 200g creamed rice, 30g PP

- 1 cup Oats, 30g PP

- 250g chicken breast

- 6 egg omelette, with salami & a bit of cheese

Might need to add something else later.

Rack Pulls

5 x 10 x 160kg

WG Pd

5 x 10 x 150lb

ss

CG Pd

10, 10, 12, 12, 13 x 150lb

Krocs

3 x 12 x 51kg

Stiff-Arm Pd

5 x 10 x 60lb

Tri Pd

5 x 10 x 80lb

B/O Cable Ext

5 x 12 x 130lb

[Ronin]

Bit of fun with shoulders today.

- Shake

- 100g oats, 30g PP, 100g yoghurt, sultanas

- 220g Chicken breast

- vegemite sandwhiches

- 400g washed mince, Baked Beans, 6 Wholegrain Toast

BTN Press

2 x 10 x 50kg

2 x 10 x 55kg

12 x 55kg

Upright Row

10 x 10 x 50kg

Front Raise

5 x 10 x 23kg PB

Lat Raise

5 x 10 x 16kg

Inc Rev Fly

5 x 10 x 11kg

BB Shrug

5 x 10 x 160kg

[Ronin]

Chest/quads/bis today. Haven't squatted in several months due to knee/back niggles, so figured I should ease back into them and see how they went. Sadly, they didn't go well. Even just 1pps was enough to leave me in agony. Deads and rackpulls were ok until I introduced hacks to the mix, so I'm thinking it has to be something specific to squats. I'm not keen on leaving squats out altogether, but I also don't relish living with this for much longer. Have to admit though, there's a wee voice just telling me to stick to leg presses and extensions for my quads :oops:

- Shake

- Shake

- 1 cup oats, 100g yoghurt, 30g PP, sultanas

- 220g Breast

- 230g breast, 1 cup cooked brown rice, 1 cup mixed veg

- 1 can creamed rice, 30g PP

Squats

5 x 10 x 60kg :x

Sissy Squats

5 x 10 x BW

ss

Single Leg Extension

5 x 10 x 80lb

Inc Fly

5 x 10 x 21kg

DB Pullover

2 x 10 x 21kg

3 x 10 x 26kg

Iron X

5 x 10 x 60lb

ss

Pec Deck

5 x 10 x 70lb

Inc Hammers

5 x 10 x 13kg

Rev Cable Curls

5 x 10 x 60lb

Dbl Bi Curls

15, 14, 15, 15, 15 x 70lb