Phantasm

[Phantomb]

Today I decided to try something new (waste money) and bought some EAS Nitron 5.

Will review it in the Supplements thread, but for now....

I've been seriously neglecting my back so I thought I'd celebrate the Nitron purchase with a back workout.

BACK

B/O rows Over and Under hand (2 sets of each)

40 x 10

60 x 10

70 x 8

Deadlifts

80 x 10

100 x 8

120 x 4 (too big a jump but ah well)

Dumbell Rows

20 x 10

22.5 x 8

25 x 6

Back extension

10 straight

10 twists

[2guns]

ive used nitron 5.

i found it quite good actually,

although the niacin kicked in about 2mins after taking it, giving me red itchy legs and arms. and made me feel hot

at first i didnt know wat this was but soon learnt it was the niacin.

although when i got to the gym about 20mins later i found i got better pumps and became more vascular especially in my arms and shoulders

[Phantomb]

Alrite back into it after a long hiatus where I pondered my future, got a job and made up my mind.

Here's a current diet.

Meal 1 (42P/10F/71C)

5 egg whites

2 whole eggs

2 slices of toast

Meal 2 (58P/3F/61C)

Can of baked beans

Can of tuna

Meal 3 (60P/4F/58C)

300g mixed veg

80-100g chicken breast

Protein Shake

Meal 4 (60P/4F/58C)

300g mixed veg

80-100g chicken breast

Protein Shake

Meal 5 (35P/10F/30C)

Whatever the flat cooks, minus carbs...

So, say 100g of red meat

300g of veg.

[Pseudonym]

Hey man, good to see you back!

[Phantomb]

Thanks dude!

Yeah it's slowly does it this time round. Concentrating on form and motion.

Monday

Chest/Bi's

Bench Press

10 x 60

8 x 65

6 x 70

9 x 6/12 x 10 DD flys Superset.

BB Curls

12 x 10

10x 15

8 x 20

6 x 22.5

12 x 15/12 x 10 db curls Superset

[Phantomb]

Whoops

Tuesday - Legs

Squats

10 x 60

8 x 80

6 x 90

12 x 70/12 x 125 leg press Superset

Ham Curl

12 x 32

10 x 39

8 x 46

6 x 53

12 x 39/12 x 60 Deadlift Superset

Thursday - Back

Faux pull-ups

Can't do real pull-ups do any worthwhile number so I concentrate on letting myself down slowly.

Underhand

2 pull-ups

3 let-downs

Overhand

3 letdowns

Lat pulldown

10 x 48

7 x 54

6 x 54

10 x 42

Underhand BBrows

10 x 50

10 x 50

overhand

8 x 50

8 x 50

Single Db rows

10 x 17.5

8 x 20

Seated cable rows

8 x 84

10 x 78

[Phantomb]

Friday

Shoulders/Tris

Can't remember...but it was good.

Monday

Chest/Biceps

BB press

10 x 60

8 x 65

7 x 70

10x60/12 x 10 flies Superset

BB Curls

12 x 10

10 x 17.5

8 x 22.5

6 x 25

12 x 15/12 x 10 DB curls Superset

[deegee]

Good to see you back into things and posting in your log again !

[Phantomb]

Cheers Deegee, it's good to be back!

Tuesday - LEGS

Squats

12 x 60

8 x 80

7 x 87.5

6 x 92.5

12 x 70/15 x 125 Leg Press Superset

Leg Curl

12 x 39

10 x 46

8 x 53

6 x 60

12 x 39/12 x 60 Deadlift Superset

Wednesday

Indoor Netball :-)

Thursday - BACK

Faux pull-ups

Overhand x 4

Underhand x 5

30 sec hang x 2

Bent-over BB Rows

Overhand 8 x 50

Underhand 10 x 50

Overhand 8 x 52.5

Underhand 9 x 52.5

Single DB rows

10 x 17.5

8 x 20

6 x 22.5

Back Extension

10

8 x twists

Lat Pulldowns Overhand

10 x 42

8 x 48

7 x 54

5.5 x 60 ;-)

[Phantomb]

Monday Chest/Bi

Time was short so had to superset my BB Press with a BB curl.

10 x 60/12 x 12.5

8 x 65/10 x 20

7 x 70/8 x 22.5

6 x 72.5/7 x 25

9 x 62.5/7 x 20

Man those last couple of inches above the chest make all the difference. My strength is about what it was when I was lifting around 80 on the bench but adding in the full range of motion.....ouch.

Tuesday - Legs

Squat

12 x 60

8 x 82.5

7 x 90

6 x 95

12 x 80/12 x 135 Leg Press

Ham Curl

12 x 46

10 x 53

8 x 60

6 x 67

12 x 46/12 x 70 Deadlift

[Phantomb]

Thursday/Friday (Good friday? not when the gym's shut)

Basically I supersetted/mixed up the workout.

Back/Shoulders/Tris

60 second bar hang x 2

Dips

3 sets of 8

DB shoulder press/Single DB row

12 x 15/10 x 17.5

10 x 17.5/ 10 x 20

7 x 20/8 x 22.5

Cable pushdowns/Side raises

12 x 50/8 x 11

0 x 56/6 x 14

8 x 60/8 x 14

Lat pulldown/BB underhand rows

12 x 42

10 x 48/8 x 60

6 x 60

12 x 48/8 x 60

[poos_n_wees]

Wednesday

Indoor Netball :-)

Love indoor netball! Its almost like HIIT

[Phantomb]

After the easter break (gym closed) I'm condensing some of my workouts for the week.

Chest/Shoulders/Tris

BB Press

10 x 60

8 x 65

7 x 70

4 x 72.5

7 x 60

Dips

8 x 1

7 x 1

Upright Rows/O/head tri single db

10 x 27/8 x 10

9 x 32/8 x 10

8 x 34.5/8 x 10

8 x 37/9 x 10

OK question.

Why the hell is my bench suffering? It feels as tough as it did a month ago whilst the other exercises seem to be gaining as per expected in the first couple of weeks after a break. There seems to be no strength gain at all, despite better diet and obviously training.

Should I try a cycle of Creatine?

Should I try some different chest exercises?

I see the bench as a base and the rest as garnishes - it's never been this tough in the past.

Help!

[Phantomb]

Did a good workout of flexed arm hangs on Friday. It's the beginning of the Road to Pull-ups.

But for this week...

Monday - Chest/Bi

Bench

12 x 60

10 x 65

8 x 70

6 x 72.5

4 x 75

6 x 70

BB Bicep curl/Incline DB press

12 x 12.5/10 x 20

10 x 20/8 x 22.5

8 x 25/8 x 25

6 x 27.5/6 x 27.5

[Phantomb]

Tuesday - Legs

Squats

12 x 60

8 x 87.5

7 x 92.5

6 x 97.5 - yay almost back to 100 :-)

12 x 82.5

Ham curls

12 x 46

10 x 53

8 x 60

6 x 67

12 x 53/12 x 85 Dead Lift

Thursday - Back

Pull-ups are my weakest link so I'm on a failure routine to try and force the body into them.

2 x 2reps

3 x 6sec controlled drop

4 x 5sec controlled drop

Lat pulldowns (standing)

6 x 66

5 x 72

5 x 72

Underhand

6 x 72

5 x 78

5 x 78

10 x 60

BB rows

10 x 40 overhand

10 x 40 underhand

8 x 45 overhand

8 x 45 underhand

[Phantomb]

Friday last week

Shoulder/Triceps

Dips

10 x 1

10 x 1

7 x 1

6 x 1

DB press

15 x 10

17.5 x 6

17.5 x 6

15 x 8

Tri db o/head extension SS vertical BB rows

10 x 10/27 x 10

12.5 x 6/32 x 10

10 x 10/34.5 x 10

12.5 x 6/37 x 8

Ezibar skullcrusher SS side raise/front raise

17 x 12/10 x 10/10 x 8

20 x 10/10 x 10/10 x 8

MONDAY - Chest/Biceps

BB press

70 x 8

80 x 3

75 x 4

72.5 x 5

70 x 6

BB Ezi Curl (21's, 18's, 15's)

15 x 21 (3 x 7)

20 x 18 (3 x 6)

20 x 15 (3 x 5) 3 cheats/negatives

20 x 12 (3 x 5) 4 cheats/negatives

DB Incline Press

27.5 x 6

20 x 10

22.5 x 9

25 x 6

TUESDAY - Legs

Seated Leg press

125 x 12

135 x 10

155 x 8

165 x 6

Squats

90 x 8

95 x 7

100 x 6 SS 165 x 12 leg press

Ham curls

46 x 12

53 x 10

60 x 8

67 x 6

74 x 6 SS 90 x 12 DL

[Phantomb]

Thursday - BACK

Pullups

2.5 x 1

4 negatives

Chins

2.5 x 1

4 negatives

Lat pulldowns

54 x 6

66 x 6

72 x 5

78 x 3

Underhand

78 x 3

66 x 3

Single DB Rows

20 x 6

20 x 6

22.5 x 6

BB Rows

Underhand

60 x 6

60 x 7

Overhand

40 x 8

Friday - SHOULDERS/TRIS

Dips

10 x 1

8 x 1

6 x 1

BB Press (behind head)

27 x 8

27 x 10

27 x 10

Single Tri Xtension (behind head)

10 x 10

10 x 9

10 x 9

Side/Front raises

7 x 10/7 x 10

7 x 9/7 x 8

Upright Rows

27 x 8

27 x 8

Last Saturday I weighed 83.7kg.

This morning I weighed 85.7 kg.

I've added 3 cups of rice, 2L milk and daily pre-workout protein to my weekly diet and some Red 8 Tribulus.

Starting some ZMA next week and will probably add Kre-Alkalyn too.

[Phantomb]

MONDAY - Chest/Biceps

Bench

60 x 10

65 x 9

70 x 8

72.5 x 6

65 x 8

BB Curl

15 x 21

17.5 x 18

20 x 15

22.5 x 12

15 x 8

Flyes

20 x 8

22.5 x 6

20 x 8 press

20 x 7

25 x 6 press

27.5 x 6 press

TUESDAY - Legs

Leg press

125 x 10

155 x 8

165 x 7

175 x 6

Squats

92.5 x 8

97.5 x 7

102.5 x 6

Leg Press 175 x 8

Ham Curl

53 x 12

60 x 10

67 x 8

74 x 6

Straight-legged Deadlift

90 x 8

100 x 7

105 x 6

[Phantomb]

THURSDAY - Back

Did some exercises.

Can't remember what I wrote down but it was a good solid workout I think.

FRIDAY - Shoulders/Tris

BB Press

22 x 10

27 x 10

32 x 8

37 x 8

37 x 8

DB single o/head ext

7 x 8

10 x 8

12.5 x 6

DB Press/Front Raise

17.5 x 8/7 x8

20 x 7/10 x 6

Upright Rows

32 x 8

34.5 x 7

37 x 6

Dips

10

9

6

[Phantomb]

MONDAY - Chest/Bi's

Bench

60 x 10

70 x 8

72.5 x 6

75 x 6 (2 assists)

60 x 10

BB Curl

15 x 21

20 x 17

22.5 x 15

20 x 8

Flyes

17.5 x 8 (bad form)

7 x 10

10 x 10

12.5 x 10

TUESDAY - Legs

Squat

60 x 12

80 x 8

90 x 6

90 x 7/165 x 8 leg press

Ham curl

53 x 12

67 x 8

74 x 7

81 x 6

Deadlift (stiffleg)

100 x 10.

If any of you are following, you'll probably notice that my weights aren't getting much higher, in fact in some cases they've gone right down. Reason for this is I've decided to really concentrate on slowing the weight down rather than letting it drop on the negative like myself and 90% of gymbums tend to do. So while I'm getting potted on 75 on the bench after benching 90 last year, the difference is between taking it down over 5 seconds, pausing on the chest and (attempting to) explode back up. And boy has it made a difference. The extra intensity of slowing down the negative is phenomenal. I've hurt more than I've ever hurt before.

On a lighter note, I hopped on the scales first thing this morning and was shocked to see 86.9kg. Had a shower, had a piss.....and dropped the .9!

[Mike Zero]

I'm not a follower of that sort of temple. Sure you should avoid freefall, or anything too close to it but 5 seconds on the negative is way too much imo. It's been proven that TUT (time under tension) doesn't affect growth crap all when comparing a slow pace negative with a medium pace negative. Once again, in my opinion, you are just restricting potential growth. Your body reacts and grows more to a heavier weight than a lighter weight, so if you're doing 75kg and you could be doing 90kg, you could potentially grow a lot more.

[Phantomb]

Aye - I hear you.

My decision was based on the recognition that the form last year was not warranting a 90kg claim. I was lowering the bar in almost freefall, but stopping it a good 5-6 inches from my chest. Full range of motion it was not.

The slow-down of the negative was a desire to fully control the weight - I like the Mentzer HIT approach and certainly it's worked for a number of builders.

[Phantomb]

Thursday - BACK

Pull-ups

4!

3 negatives

2.5 underhand

3 negatives.

BB Rows

50 x 7 over

50 x 7 under

50 x 6 over

50 x 6 under

DB Single rows

22.5 x 8

20 x 8

15 x 10

Lat pulldowns

42 x 6

48 x 6

54 x 5

Friday - SHOULDERS/TRIS

Dips

10

9

10

BB Press (behind head)

34.5 x 10

37 x 10

40 x 8

42.5 x 6

Tri single overheads

7 x 10

12.5 x 8

15 x 6

12.5 x 6

Upright Rows

32 x 10

37 x 8

39.5 x 7

DB raises

7 x 10 Front

7 x 10 side

10 x 10 front

10 x 10 side

I'm bloody stoked.

The pull-ups are actually coming along when they were non existent a month ago.

[deegee]

Nice work on the pull-ups . I am sure there is still plenty more improvement you will get over the coming weeks.

[poos_n_wees]

Pull-ups

4!

3 negatives

2.5 underhand

3 negatives.

Yay! Nice job 8)