Growths Journal

[Growth]

do you do laterals with bent arms or with a straight arm with a slight bend. 1 at a time also eh. i like doing both at once cos it cuts down on the cheating, after all your trying to work your shoulders you should try both arms, and seated. see how you like that :grin:

I do my laterals with a straight arm, no bend at all. Doing 2 at a time definitely cuts down on the cheating, and its pretty hard to keep a good balance doing heavy 1 armers. My form isnt dead strict obviously, but i do make a concious effort every rep to keep as strict as i can. I tend to concentrate on the eccentric movement of the lateral, that is definiately very strict.

I wouldnt be able to use 28s with both arms at a time...perhaps only 25s.

I see some extremely bad lateral raise form in my gym though, people using 10s, 2 arms, bending right over forward and then swinging back throwing the weights up 45 degrees from straight out :pfft: combining deadlifts and raises perhaps :pfft:

Ill have to give 2 arm seated a try though, i might just throw a set in with my leg workout to see the difference.

[jono]

do you do laterals with bent arms or with a straight arm with a slight bend. 1 at a time also eh. i like doing both at once cos it cuts down on the cheating, after all your trying to work your shoulders you should try both arms, and seated. see how you like that :grin:

I do my laterals with a straight arm, no bend at all. Doing 2 at a time definitely cuts down on the cheating, and its pretty hard to keep a good balance doing heavy 1 armers. My form isnt dead strict obviously, but i do make a concious effort every rep to keep as strict as i can. I tend to concentrate on the eccentric movement of the lateral, that is definiately very strict.

I wouldnt be able to use 28s with both arms at a time...perhaps only 25s.

I see some extremely bad lateral raise form in my gym though, people using 10s, 2 arms, bending right over forward and then swinging back throwing the weights up 45 degrees from straight out :pfft: combining deadlifts and raises perhaps :pfft:

Ill have to give 2 arm seated a try though, i might just throw a set in with my leg workout to see the difference.

yeah i see bad form often in the gym. i think ive seen it on every ex. invented as well :pfft:

[deegee]

got say I saw your post on those lateral raises and had to go to the gym and try it. I do them both arms at once (yes seated is better for form) I could do 2 at that weight. (note: about your height and bf but I am 103kg)

I read back over your whole journal and can only say I am exteemly impressed with what you have achieved in such a short time at this rate you will hit 140kg lift in April! Are you getting the size coming along as well?

post up your diet or a link to it please, it would be good to see I am going to have to make some adjustments to mine! Great going though well done

[Growth]

got say I saw your post on those lateral raises and had to go to the gym and try it. I do them both arms at once (yes seated is better for form) I could do 2 at that weight. (note: about your height and bf but I am 103kg)

It really isnt as hard as people first think. Its all about progression. Personally i think one of the biggest mistakes BBrs make is that they dont concentrate on progression enough. Time and time again when i go to the gym i see people lifting the exact amount of weight they were lifting 6 months ago, or even only slight increases over a whole year.

I remember when i could only press around 90~95 kgs on the bench, and i just couldnt seem to crack 100. Id try doing 20 reps of 80, 1 or two reps of 100, but i couldnt consistently do 100. So then i decided to go for 110, i got a spotter to help me and basically did eccentrics for 5 or so reps because the weight was so damn heavy, sure i couldnt have lifted it by myself, but it was enough to shock the mucsle into some new growth. When i could finally do 100 for 5 or so reps by myself my form wasnt 100% but at least my muscles had progressed. Now look at my bench, 120 for 3, and although form at 100kgs way back then wasnt 100%, now it is. I can lower the weight over a 5 second period, pause it a mm of my chest for 5 seconds and push it up with ease.

To me progressing in weight is the key, and a SLIGHT sacrificing of form is okay in order to give your muscles some new stimulation.

[Marcus]

If you're not progressing, you're not growing.

[Growth]

I read back over your whole journal and can only say I am exteemly impressed with what you have achieved in such a short time at this rate you will hit 140kg lift in April! Are you getting the size coming along as well?

Thanks alot deegee. In regards to the 140kg lift, im going to end this bulk cycle soon, probley at the end of next week. I had planned to bulk through till i reached it but its time for a switch in routine. I will probley do an equal length cut, around 6 weeks and either which to high reps or try to maintain the strength i gained. Size is starting to emerge now, especially in the shoulders, traps and back.

post up your diet or a link to it please, it would be good to see I am going to have to make some adjustments to mine! Great going though well done

Without going into specifics it consists of a 60P 20C 20F split. If the day goes to planned it will be around 2500cals as i like to do slow bulks. The amount of each macro is close to 350g protein, 125g carbs, and 50g fat. I usually have a cheat on the weekend, okay maybe 2 :oops:

Protein is made up largely of tuna :pfft: and shakes, as well as a large portion of chicken or beef for diner. Carbs arent the best of quality, comming from potatoes, pasta, white rice :oops: and a small amount of simple carbs. Fats come largely from oil used in cooking, or based on what the fat content of the food stated. If for that day its too low then ill have a shot of some extra virgin olive oil (which burns really bad and is absolutely VILE).

Thanks for all the encouragement deegee :grin:

[Growth]

:nod:

If you're not progressing, you're not growing.

:nod:

[jono]

if your getting bogged down, try increasing the amount of beef in your diet., and have shakes etc.

[Growth]

Todays Workout

Seated Cable Row

96 x 10

102 x 8

108 x 8

108 x 6

Lat Pulldowns

94 x 8

100 x 6

106 x 5

106 x 3

Bent Over DB Rows

57.0 x 8

57.0 x 8

57.0 x 8

BB Bicep Curls

50 x 6

55 x 5

55 x 3

Incline DB Curls

26.5 x 6

28.0 x 6

30.0 x 6

Hammer Curls

18.5 x 6

18.5 x 6

13.0 x 10, 8.5 x 6

13.0 x 10, 8.5 x 6

Shrugs

140 x 12

180 x 10

200 x 8

Good workout. Good progression from the last workout and some new PR's. Have a feeling that a plateu is approaching.

[Growth]

if your getting bogged down, try increasing the amount of beef in your diet., and have shakes etc.

:-s

[jono]

nice work man, btw i meant to say have LESS shakes and more beef lol

[Growth]

nice work man, btw i meant to say have LESS shakes and more beef lol

ahhhhhhh :grin: now im with ya. Yeah i tend to skimp a bit on the real food and just have a shake. Like you said, real food is much better.

[Marcus]

Haha I would say if you're bogged down have more shakes AND more beef :pfft:

[Growth]

Haha I would say if you're bogged down have more shakes AND more beef :pfft:

:pfft: LOL :pfft:

[Growth]

Todays Workout

Leg Press

1pps x 12

2pps x 12

7pps x 10

8pps x 8

9pps x 8

9.5pps x 2

Deadlifts

140 x 6

160 x 6

180 x 1

Standing Calf Raises (1L)

110 x 12

116 x 12

122 x 12

Seated Calf Raises

70 x 7

70 x 6

70 x 6

Swiss Ball Crunches

12

12

12

Roman Chair Leg Lifts

12

12

12

Solid workout. Improvements on leg press and deadlifts. Was dissapointed with 180 x 1 considering i got 160 x 6. Rest of the workout was pretty much norm. Dont really like leg day.

[jono]

very nice legpress work man

[Growth]

very nice legpress work man

Thanks jono. Tried to get the 9.5pps but only managed 2 before i had to pull in the safetys :pfft:

[Growth]

Todays Workout

Flat Bench Press

60 x 8 WUS (Warm Up Set)

60 x 6 WUS

100 x 4 WUS

120 x 4

125 x 1

Flat DB Press

47.0 x 4

47.0 x 7

52.5 x 4

Flat DB Flyes

28.0 x 8

31.0 x 8

33.5 x 6

Seated Military press

70 x 6

75 x 4

80 x 3

Arnold Press

33.5 x 3

33.5 x 3

33.5 x 4

Lateral Raises (1 Arm)

26.5 x 8

28.0 x 8

28.0 x 6, 13.0 x 4

8.5 x 12

SkullCrushers

45 x 6

55 x 2

55 x 2

Tricep Puchdowns SS Dips

86 x 8, BW x 6

91 x 7, BW x 6

91 x 6, various dropsets

Yeah got 125 on the bench :grin: Was pretty pleased with that. Felt very heavy on the way down but went up surprising easy with no hessitation. Was very temped to try for another rep but with no spotter i decided to flag it. Also surprised with the DB's. The first set of 47s felt very heavy and i was having pain in the left shoulder since the start of the workout. Second set was very wierd, it felt so light compared with the first set. So i decided to give the 52s a crack and was subsequently surprised at how easy they were too.

Dissapoited with the shoulder workouts, even though there is a sligh improvemen. Mil press is of concern, havent made much progress for a while. Tris showed little improvement also.

[jono]

nice bench man! hmm i duno lack of progress for me is normally diet related i think

[Growth]

nice bench man! hmm i duno lack of progress for me is normally diet related i think

Indeed most things in BBing always come back to diet. For me personally i think i may to to sip on something during the workout becuase its so long. I actually was feeling very hungry by the end of the workout which is never good. Even though i have both pre and pst shakes i think i need a simple carb energy drink to sip on, gatorade or similar.

[Growth]

Todays Workout

Lat Pulldowns

94 x 8

100 x 6

106 x 5

109 x 4

Bent Over DB Rows

57.0 x 10

57.0 x 8

57.0 x 8

BB Bicep Curls

50 x 6

55 x 5

57.5 x 3

Incline DB Curls

28.0 x 6

30.0 x 6

31.0 x 6

Shrugs

140 x 12

180 x 10

200 x 6

210 x 6

A much abbreviated back/bi workout. Couldnt really be bothered doing seated rows and hammer curl. My bicep tendons have been a bit aggrivated lately so the decrease in volume may help. PBs all round however. Good workout to end the week. Wrists are really damaged from all the strap work,the skin looks yuck :? Ill start to wind down next week, then maybe have a week off before a short 'cut'.

[jono]

nice to see prs man

[deegee]

when will we be seeing some pics of thse gains? looking forward to them!

[Growth]

when will we be seeing some pics of thse gains? looking forward to them!

:pale: To be honest i dont actually have a digi camera. If i did then yeah id say id probabley pics. Not to keen on using a disposable and scanning them. Ill see if i can get a hold of a digi cam.

[jono]

when will we be seeing some pics of thse gains? looking forward to them!

:pale: To be honest i dont actually have a digi camera. If i did then yeah id say id probabley pics. Not to keen on using a disposable and scanning them. Ill see if i can get a hold of a digi cam.

we're all waiting for the pics man :grin: heh dont worry just black out the face all you'll be fine.