I have not visited this place for far too long and I need this back up. I looked at the blog again and I realized that I need to tear this blog down and relaunch it anew. It about a couple weeks time, this will happen. I'll try to work on daily progresses and stuffs. And hopefully, some videos. But for now, ciao!
Tuesday, 17 September 2013
Friday, 8 February 2013
DTP, Weights & Walking Sticks
Confession: I hate legs’ day. If you tell me that if I can
avoid putting a bar behind my back and squat and I can still grow massive legs,
I will never do it. And apparently, Dorian Yates believes that is so. But I’m a
man who believes in stats and data and they are telling me that squat is an
exercise that is inevitable.
Luckily for our DTP session this time doesn’t involve
squats. Despite that, it didn’t make me hate legs’ days any less. So yes, DTP
legs involve working entirely on a leg press machine and in the past, that how
I did them too:
But this time as I was warming up on the treadmill, I didn’t
feel quite right with my right knee. So I mixed it up a little, as usual.
Like chest and backs day, I did supersets of isolation
exercise for quads and hamstrings with leg extensions and seated leg curls. Oh
God why? Halfway through the workout, I absolutely regretted that choice. But
what’s gonna be done has to be done so no bitchin’!
OK, so the first set was 50 reps of leg extensions,
supersetting with 50 reps of seated leg curls. I hate high repetitions on legs,
especially on quads. It burns so badly that I already started to think it was a
bad idea to approach this workout in such fashion.
Anyway, I continued to 40, 30, 20 then 10. By the time I
reached the 6th set, the second heaviest set, my legs were so pumped
up that I couldn’t even stand properly. Endured it all the way till the 9th
set and shit happened. My calves almost cramped up between the 30th-40th
rep, somewhere there so I had to stop. Why? Yeah, my toes were pointing
straight, causing immense stress on my calves. Idiot me. And by that time, I
was feeling a little sick so I knew I couldn’t go on anymore. This must have
been the effect of me taking too long of a break. My cardio was definitely down
and I couldn’t breathe well.
So I stopped during the 9th set and the workout
couldn’t be finished. But two days later, when the DOMS set in, it was still killing
me and it lasted quite a few days actually.
So, what did get from this failed session? I am never gonna
skip cardio again. Well, I’ll try not to skip. A lotta people think that when
it comes to bodybuilding, cardio is unnecessary and as a matter a fact, some
even think that doing cardio actually causes a hindrance towards their muscle
growth. But the thing is that everybody misunderstood the function of cardio
exercise here. And that, we can discuss about it in a whole new post. Yes, I
have a lotta posts to be created for discussion and I have A LOT of catching up
to do. As for now, adios!
DTP Arms Attack
So we took a day off and then continued our DTP journey with
an arms day. As usual, take a look at the video below to see how it is
supposedly done as designed by Big Kris:
For this arms workout session, Hector wasn’t around so I was
all alone to suffer. The session was almost like it shown in the video above.
The first 5 supersets were on cables, straight bar biceps curls supersetting
with triceps pushdown with rope extension. The choice for pushdowns over
overhead extensions is because I injured my infraspinatus a couple years back so
picking up the weight and place it over my head. Yeah, I know, it sucks.
Anyway, so then the next 5 sets were straight barbell biceps curls supersetting
with straight barbell skull crushers.
There isn’t much to talk about an arms workout actually.
Just the fact that a DTP arms session is absolutely tormenting. And honestly, I
really don’t know what more to write about.
Then, I went on to do some calves. I haven’t found anything
for calves on DTP but come on, it’s calves we are talking about. So yes,
nothing much. I just did calves raises on a leg press machine supersetting with
plyometric standing calves raises, ending with burn-out reps. For those who do
not know what burn-out reps are, it is basically short burst of a certain
movement and you just keep doing it until it burns so badly that you can’t
stand it anymore then you stop. It does sound like our normal reps and just
reach failure but there’s a slight difference. We’ll talk about it next time in
another post to describe the different kinds of sets and reps. If anyone out
there has some suggestions and wanna know more about a certain kind of workout
set and techniques regarding repetitions, please comment below so I know what I
have to write the next time.
As usual, last but not least, I finished up with my abs with
three tri-sets of crunches, raised-legged crunches and double crunches. So for
now, ciao!
Thursday, 7 February 2013
Pulverizing Shoulders with DTP
The past week had been hectic. Work was overloading me and I was suffocating, metaphorically of course. Having said that, despite the hectic schedule, we made no excuse to skip our workout sessions. When it's crunch time, it's crunch time.
So since the last update, I have worked on every other body parts. And since I haven't really introduce how the other body parts work on DTP, we shall break it down into different posts. Let's start of with shoulders.
In my last post, I said that the following day was supposed to be arms day, well, it wasn't. Due to the backs session on the day before, my biceps and forearm were cooked so arms were off the list. Instead, I went on to do delts. Let's see how Big Kris work on his delts DTP style:
What my partner, Hector and I did was exactly how this looks like. Trust me, it was brutal. One thing we have to very cautious about this is that the weights used in this training principle cannot be too heavy and especially when it comes to shoulders, loading too many plates may result to much higher exposure towards injuries on your supraspinatous fossa, very dangerous. But seriously, with this kind of workout that starts of with such high amount of repetitions, you really think anybody can go heavy? If there is one who can then he is either bullshitting you or he is on anabolic steroids.
So then 6 days later, it was the end of a full cycle and it was shoulders again. Since it is shoulders again, why am I mentioning it again? Wouldn't it be the same? Well, those who know me, I always like to change things up. I never liked sticking to the exact program of a training principle. There are many reasons why I do that and I shall talk about it next time in a separate post.
Anyway, so the second session of DTP shoulders started of the same as before. We did 5 sets of behind-the-back barbell military press on a smith machine. The choice of smith machine is because our triceps were still on DOMS from the pecs and backs workout the previous day. We didn't want to sacrifice the load and intensity so smith machine was the way to go. And it was clear that by isolating delts out using smith machine, the load was slightly but substantially higher than the previous workout and it definitely sucked the oxygen outta us.
For the later portion, we wanted to go on with dumbbell military presses but as soon as we picked up the weights, we realized that our strength has decreased for more than 30%, especially mine. I had no idea why but I just couldn't pick the weights up. Disheartened yet still determined to push through the session, we decided to sacrifice on the compound movement and went on with side lateral raises.
Sounds easy right? But as we slowly approach the final 2 sets, we had the fear of picking up the weights even when on the last set, it was only two 10 lbs dumbbells. Seriously, only 10 lbs. We literally had to slap each other on the back to get the other to pick up the dumbbells. It was so crazy that we had at least 2 rest-pause during the last set.
And finally, like the previous session and as shown in the video above, we finish our delts with upright rows. I went on to do 3 sets of dumbbell shrugs while Hector chickened out. Boo! Last but not least, we did abs. As usual, I did three tri-sets of crunches, raised-legged crunches and double crunches.
And that's about it! Stay tuned for the next post on our subsequent body part on DTP. Once we finish through all the body parts, I'll give everyone a recap and overview on how it has been fairing for me. So ciao for now!
So since the last update, I have worked on every other body parts. And since I haven't really introduce how the other body parts work on DTP, we shall break it down into different posts. Let's start of with shoulders.
In my last post, I said that the following day was supposed to be arms day, well, it wasn't. Due to the backs session on the day before, my biceps and forearm were cooked so arms were off the list. Instead, I went on to do delts. Let's see how Big Kris work on his delts DTP style:
What my partner, Hector and I did was exactly how this looks like. Trust me, it was brutal. One thing we have to very cautious about this is that the weights used in this training principle cannot be too heavy and especially when it comes to shoulders, loading too many plates may result to much higher exposure towards injuries on your supraspinatous fossa, very dangerous. But seriously, with this kind of workout that starts of with such high amount of repetitions, you really think anybody can go heavy? If there is one who can then he is either bullshitting you or he is on anabolic steroids.
So then 6 days later, it was the end of a full cycle and it was shoulders again. Since it is shoulders again, why am I mentioning it again? Wouldn't it be the same? Well, those who know me, I always like to change things up. I never liked sticking to the exact program of a training principle. There are many reasons why I do that and I shall talk about it next time in a separate post.
Anyway, so the second session of DTP shoulders started of the same as before. We did 5 sets of behind-the-back barbell military press on a smith machine. The choice of smith machine is because our triceps were still on DOMS from the pecs and backs workout the previous day. We didn't want to sacrifice the load and intensity so smith machine was the way to go. And it was clear that by isolating delts out using smith machine, the load was slightly but substantially higher than the previous workout and it definitely sucked the oxygen outta us.
For the later portion, we wanted to go on with dumbbell military presses but as soon as we picked up the weights, we realized that our strength has decreased for more than 30%, especially mine. I had no idea why but I just couldn't pick the weights up. Disheartened yet still determined to push through the session, we decided to sacrifice on the compound movement and went on with side lateral raises.
Sounds easy right? But as we slowly approach the final 2 sets, we had the fear of picking up the weights even when on the last set, it was only two 10 lbs dumbbells. Seriously, only 10 lbs. We literally had to slap each other on the back to get the other to pick up the dumbbells. It was so crazy that we had at least 2 rest-pause during the last set.
And finally, like the previous session and as shown in the video above, we finish our delts with upright rows. I went on to do 3 sets of dumbbell shrugs while Hector chickened out. Boo! Last but not least, we did abs. As usual, I did three tri-sets of crunches, raised-legged crunches and double crunches.
And that's about it! Stay tuned for the next post on our subsequent body part on DTP. Once we finish through all the body parts, I'll give everyone a recap and overview on how it has been fairing for me. So ciao for now!
Tuesday, 29 January 2013
Getting Back On Track: DTP Style
Alright, my personal life has been kind of a mess for the past 2 months and everything is kinda over now. But this isn't a blog where people come see me whine, that has been done a couple of times and I think most of you are fed up with it. So now, let's talk about something more serious. My road to recovery, DTP Style.
I have been going to the gym, not as regular but I'm getting there. The frequency is increasing and my motivation level is starting to get back up, bit by bit.
I do not know if it is a blessing in disguise or what but due to the lack of workout sessions and irregular diet (skipping meals and all), I lost like more or less 5lbs so I'm weighing at 170lbs flat but I look leaner, meaner and fuller than I have ever been. Weird...
Anyway, the sessions in the past 2 weeks haven't been very smooth. I didn't seem to lose a lotta strength but my muscle endurance dropped drastically, as well as my cardio. So I have decided, DTP is the way to go. I thought that by punishing myself, both physically and mentally in the gym should be able get my thoughts straight. True enough, it's starting to work.
I have worked on DTP before so I know how brutal it is. Torturing, yes yet very much effective. I kinda worked on my pecs and legs with DTP but kinda cheated with incorporation with other exercises to convince myself that I have done enough.
Today though, I decided that I must go through with the full thing whether I like it or not. OK, since my pecs are still in agony from the workout 3 days ago, I wasn't able to follow exactly how Kris Gethin designed for DTP pecs and backs day. So I added a little twist on my own. My backs have always been lacking, especially endurance. So what I did was agonist super sets standing double-armed dumbbell rows with lats pull down. So rather than doing 10 straight sets, my partner, Hector and I did 8 agonist super sets. So following the Dramatic Transformation Principle, the workout is in a pyramid fashion then invert pyramid sets.
We first warmed up with 3 sets of chin-ups. I know, Big Kris doesn't recommend to warm up since the first 2 sets are light weights with extremely high repetitions but that doesn't mean he isn't encouraging. Anyway, for the first set, we did 30 reps of standing double-armed dumbbell rows then super-setting with 30 reps of lats pull down. Then moved on to 20, 10 and finally 5. Unlike what was shown in the video in the link below, we didn't do 2 sets of 5's, we just did a single super set of 5's:
Kris Gethin's DTP Chest & Back Workout - Bodybuilding.com
After which, when it was time to work back on the invert pyramid portion of the workout, as advised by Kris, we did a slightly varied version of the dumbbell rows. As we pulled the weights up, we pointed our elbows slightly outwards at about 45 degrees to focus a little more on the rhomboids. Now, we have to be careful not to go too wide because that will involve the posterior deltoids. As for the lats pull down, we leaned back so that as we pulled, the bar was almost 90 degrees upwards. That way, the rhomboids are very much more involved as opposed to the usual lats pull down. If you don't get what I mean, check out this article on Flex Lewis on Bodybuilding.com:
Flex Lewis: Old-School Training With New-School Thinking
Scroll down to almost half the page where you see Flex leaning back on his close-grip lats pull down + variation. In our case, it is about the same but we stuck with the wide grip bar.
And as shown on the video in the link above, yes, the final two sets were the most excruciating, especially the last one. I felt like puking and it was so exhausting that I started cursing and yelling for the final 20 reps or so.
It has been like an hour and a half past the end of the session and my lats are already starting to feel the sore. As my lats usually have a DOMS of about 2 days, I don't think it will sore as much tomorrow but as for the day after, I have a feeling I will be handicapped. Serious, all jokes aside, I really do feel that I'm gonna suffer in the next two days.
So tomorrow will be arms day. We will be working in antagonist super set style on cables. I'll try to update my workout tomorrow if I do not have any urgent emails coming my way tomorrow night.
As for now, that's all I've got. Ciao!
I have been going to the gym, not as regular but I'm getting there. The frequency is increasing and my motivation level is starting to get back up, bit by bit.
I do not know if it is a blessing in disguise or what but due to the lack of workout sessions and irregular diet (skipping meals and all), I lost like more or less 5lbs so I'm weighing at 170lbs flat but I look leaner, meaner and fuller than I have ever been. Weird...
Anyway, the sessions in the past 2 weeks haven't been very smooth. I didn't seem to lose a lotta strength but my muscle endurance dropped drastically, as well as my cardio. So I have decided, DTP is the way to go. I thought that by punishing myself, both physically and mentally in the gym should be able get my thoughts straight. True enough, it's starting to work.
I have worked on DTP before so I know how brutal it is. Torturing, yes yet very much effective. I kinda worked on my pecs and legs with DTP but kinda cheated with incorporation with other exercises to convince myself that I have done enough.
Today though, I decided that I must go through with the full thing whether I like it or not. OK, since my pecs are still in agony from the workout 3 days ago, I wasn't able to follow exactly how Kris Gethin designed for DTP pecs and backs day. So I added a little twist on my own. My backs have always been lacking, especially endurance. So what I did was agonist super sets standing double-armed dumbbell rows with lats pull down. So rather than doing 10 straight sets, my partner, Hector and I did 8 agonist super sets. So following the Dramatic Transformation Principle, the workout is in a pyramid fashion then invert pyramid sets.
We first warmed up with 3 sets of chin-ups. I know, Big Kris doesn't recommend to warm up since the first 2 sets are light weights with extremely high repetitions but that doesn't mean he isn't encouraging. Anyway, for the first set, we did 30 reps of standing double-armed dumbbell rows then super-setting with 30 reps of lats pull down. Then moved on to 20, 10 and finally 5. Unlike what was shown in the video in the link below, we didn't do 2 sets of 5's, we just did a single super set of 5's:
Kris Gethin's DTP Chest & Back Workout - Bodybuilding.com
After which, when it was time to work back on the invert pyramid portion of the workout, as advised by Kris, we did a slightly varied version of the dumbbell rows. As we pulled the weights up, we pointed our elbows slightly outwards at about 45 degrees to focus a little more on the rhomboids. Now, we have to be careful not to go too wide because that will involve the posterior deltoids. As for the lats pull down, we leaned back so that as we pulled, the bar was almost 90 degrees upwards. That way, the rhomboids are very much more involved as opposed to the usual lats pull down. If you don't get what I mean, check out this article on Flex Lewis on Bodybuilding.com:
Flex Lewis: Old-School Training With New-School Thinking
Scroll down to almost half the page where you see Flex leaning back on his close-grip lats pull down + variation. In our case, it is about the same but we stuck with the wide grip bar.
And as shown on the video in the link above, yes, the final two sets were the most excruciating, especially the last one. I felt like puking and it was so exhausting that I started cursing and yelling for the final 20 reps or so.
It has been like an hour and a half past the end of the session and my lats are already starting to feel the sore. As my lats usually have a DOMS of about 2 days, I don't think it will sore as much tomorrow but as for the day after, I have a feeling I will be handicapped. Serious, all jokes aside, I really do feel that I'm gonna suffer in the next two days.
So tomorrow will be arms day. We will be working in antagonist super set style on cables. I'll try to update my workout tomorrow if I do not have any urgent emails coming my way tomorrow night.
As for now, that's all I've got. Ciao!
Wednesday, 2 January 2013
Confession
Happy new year everyone. Hope that everybody had a blast on Christmas eve and new years eve.
OK, before I start, I will like to apologize to everyone regarding my absence. For the past 2 weeks, my life was like a roller coaster and not in a very good way.
We Chinese say that if a man is in trouble, there are only 2 reasons: it either concerns money issues or it is about women. In my case, it was one woman. If there is one thing I'm good at, that will be screwing up relationships, or rather, opportunities of having a relationship.
And I am trippin' right now but why? I mean, life goes on right?
Alright, enough of this bullshit, let's get on to the actual topic I wanna get into, confessions of my crimes.
First: guilty pleasure. We who pursue the art of bodybuilding know that there are bound to be guilty pleasures and usually,they are cheat meals. Well, in my case, it is something much worse: alcohol and cigarettes. I know right? This is freaking unbelievable. See, I have never been much of a smoker but I like to burn a stick every now and then, especially while I'm drinking. I used to tell myself that I only smoke when I drink but seriously, everyone knows that that's not the case.
Whenever somebody hands me one, I take it and even without any hesitations. That is just wrong. Just because I told myself that it is just one stick, it's OK but as a matter of fact, it is not. Even if I'm drinking, it still isn't. Those who smokes know that cigarettes and booze go extremely well. But this is not an excuse for my actions.
Then comes the booze. I love to drink. Beer, single malt scotch, cognac, vodka, tequila, almost everything that's good. I do not see much of a problem if you take a sip every now and then but there is something very wrong with my approach: I make it a habit and almost every fortnight, I get trashed. I am a very emotional guy and I am not afraid to admit that. We all know alcohol amplifies emotions at that moment we drink and sometimes when we get agitated or encouraged by the situation, dumb things happen and that was exactly how I got into trouble. It is very clear that I am leading a life that is against the one certain thing I believe in: a healthy lifestyle. No matter the situation, these actions are just not acceptable.
People make new year resolutions and so I tagged along this time but rather than making new year resolutions, I'm making "new life" resolutions:
1. There will be no carbon monoxide getting into my system ever again, whether it is from cigarettes, cigar, shisha or whatever shit they are, they ain't getting anywhere near my system.
2. Never have more than 1 drink within an hour and never have more than 5 drinks in a session. And within 2 weeks, there can never be more than 5 drinking sessions. And this is a promise that in future,there will only be signs of reduction.
These are promises that I am making to myself, not to anyone in particular but to myself. If I can't even hold true to the promises I make to myself, then I don't see any reason why anybody will ever put their faith in me.
Second: drugs. Oh yes, you read that right, it is drugs but I'm not talking about cocaine or whatever that you might be thinking. I'm talking about prescribed drugs, the kind that psychiatrists give you when you're in deep mental bullshit. It was about 2 years ago when I was going through a really hard time in Scotland whilst in university. I got depressed and I found a way to get my hands onto some midazolam. Calling out to Prison Break fans, yeah, it is that same midazolam Mahone was taking. Everyday, I drowned myself into the feeling of sinking into the bottom of a pool while my mind goes blank. Then sometimes when I run outta midazolam, I'll get diazepam which its effect is at the other side of the spectrum. I get angry, insomnia and all that. Kinda like the roid rage we all talk about. And guess what, until a couple of days ago, I thought of getting my hands dirty with some midazolam. Man, WHAT THE FUCK was I thinking!?!?
Third: Lost motivation. I have not been going to the gym, in fact, while in the gym today, if it wasn't for my partner, I wouldn't have worked on my biceps. I'm writing this down but somewhere in me, I still do not have the power to muster enough motivation in me to do anything other then whine about it here. Something is very very wrong with me. I don't get jacked up as I used to, I skip meals to the state that I get severe gastric pains, I drowned myself in my work that I lose track of what I'm supposed to be doing, etc. My mind is just floating around and that's crazy. Every morning when I wake up, rather than the usual blank mind, this same face just pop right into my mind. I know, here comes the bitchin' but what else can I do? I ain't no believer of God, I don't go to church. There isn't any priest for me to confess to, so you guys have gotta be my ears. You're the best I got right now.
Last but not least, to the one person that erm, I mean you know who you are. Whatever I told you that evening, I meant them. I'm a nice guy and you know that. I mean, come on, look at me, I'm a nice. Anyway, yeah, you said apology accepted but I am not at all convinced. If you see this, I think we need to talk, in a cafeteria, drinking coffee or tea. If there is one thing I have learnt from all the mistakes I have made, it is that problems have to confronted and solved, not hang up the phone and run away from it. By no means that I am blaming you, it's just my view how we should've solved it because waiting for your call is seriously driving me mad.
Well, there you have it, all the crimes that I have done. Upon reading this, if you have doubts in even reading what I have or know about bodybuilding or fitness, please, reserve that benefit of doubt. I need it because I'm not perfect and there are so much more I have to learn and not just in the art of bodybuilding but also life. I am only 23 right now so what do I know about life? To be honest, nothing. My pain is probably like a mosquito sting to an 8 year African kid going through a war right now. Yeah, that sentence I just wrote there just made me feel like a pile of shit. How the hell do I even compare myself to people who are actually going through misery and pain. I talk about sacrifice and hard work whenever I go to the gym but apparently, I don't know what the hell I was talking about. I pride myself as being an honest man and people can always tell the difference when I lie. But there is someone I have been lying to this whole time and being very good at that: myself. There is no greater deception than that. If I see any changes in me in the future, I must start by being honest to myself and learn how to appreciate who I am. I hope this inspire you in some way and if there is anything anybody wanna say about the shit that I have done, please, shoot me down. I need to learn.
Thanks.
OK, before I start, I will like to apologize to everyone regarding my absence. For the past 2 weeks, my life was like a roller coaster and not in a very good way.
We Chinese say that if a man is in trouble, there are only 2 reasons: it either concerns money issues or it is about women. In my case, it was one woman. If there is one thing I'm good at, that will be screwing up relationships, or rather, opportunities of having a relationship.
And I am trippin' right now but why? I mean, life goes on right?
Alright, enough of this bullshit, let's get on to the actual topic I wanna get into, confessions of my crimes.
First: guilty pleasure. We who pursue the art of bodybuilding know that there are bound to be guilty pleasures and usually,they are cheat meals. Well, in my case, it is something much worse: alcohol and cigarettes. I know right? This is freaking unbelievable. See, I have never been much of a smoker but I like to burn a stick every now and then, especially while I'm drinking. I used to tell myself that I only smoke when I drink but seriously, everyone knows that that's not the case.
Whenever somebody hands me one, I take it and even without any hesitations. That is just wrong. Just because I told myself that it is just one stick, it's OK but as a matter of fact, it is not. Even if I'm drinking, it still isn't. Those who smokes know that cigarettes and booze go extremely well. But this is not an excuse for my actions.
Then comes the booze. I love to drink. Beer, single malt scotch, cognac, vodka, tequila, almost everything that's good. I do not see much of a problem if you take a sip every now and then but there is something very wrong with my approach: I make it a habit and almost every fortnight, I get trashed. I am a very emotional guy and I am not afraid to admit that. We all know alcohol amplifies emotions at that moment we drink and sometimes when we get agitated or encouraged by the situation, dumb things happen and that was exactly how I got into trouble. It is very clear that I am leading a life that is against the one certain thing I believe in: a healthy lifestyle. No matter the situation, these actions are just not acceptable.
People make new year resolutions and so I tagged along this time but rather than making new year resolutions, I'm making "new life" resolutions:
1. There will be no carbon monoxide getting into my system ever again, whether it is from cigarettes, cigar, shisha or whatever shit they are, they ain't getting anywhere near my system.
2. Never have more than 1 drink within an hour and never have more than 5 drinks in a session. And within 2 weeks, there can never be more than 5 drinking sessions. And this is a promise that in future,there will only be signs of reduction.
These are promises that I am making to myself, not to anyone in particular but to myself. If I can't even hold true to the promises I make to myself, then I don't see any reason why anybody will ever put their faith in me.
Second: drugs. Oh yes, you read that right, it is drugs but I'm not talking about cocaine or whatever that you might be thinking. I'm talking about prescribed drugs, the kind that psychiatrists give you when you're in deep mental bullshit. It was about 2 years ago when I was going through a really hard time in Scotland whilst in university. I got depressed and I found a way to get my hands onto some midazolam. Calling out to Prison Break fans, yeah, it is that same midazolam Mahone was taking. Everyday, I drowned myself into the feeling of sinking into the bottom of a pool while my mind goes blank. Then sometimes when I run outta midazolam, I'll get diazepam which its effect is at the other side of the spectrum. I get angry, insomnia and all that. Kinda like the roid rage we all talk about. And guess what, until a couple of days ago, I thought of getting my hands dirty with some midazolam. Man, WHAT THE FUCK was I thinking!?!?
Third: Lost motivation. I have not been going to the gym, in fact, while in the gym today, if it wasn't for my partner, I wouldn't have worked on my biceps. I'm writing this down but somewhere in me, I still do not have the power to muster enough motivation in me to do anything other then whine about it here. Something is very very wrong with me. I don't get jacked up as I used to, I skip meals to the state that I get severe gastric pains, I drowned myself in my work that I lose track of what I'm supposed to be doing, etc. My mind is just floating around and that's crazy. Every morning when I wake up, rather than the usual blank mind, this same face just pop right into my mind. I know, here comes the bitchin' but what else can I do? I ain't no believer of God, I don't go to church. There isn't any priest for me to confess to, so you guys have gotta be my ears. You're the best I got right now.
Last but not least, to the one person that erm, I mean you know who you are. Whatever I told you that evening, I meant them. I'm a nice guy and you know that. I mean, come on, look at me, I'm a nice. Anyway, yeah, you said apology accepted but I am not at all convinced. If you see this, I think we need to talk, in a cafeteria, drinking coffee or tea. If there is one thing I have learnt from all the mistakes I have made, it is that problems have to confronted and solved, not hang up the phone and run away from it. By no means that I am blaming you, it's just my view how we should've solved it because waiting for your call is seriously driving me mad.
Well, there you have it, all the crimes that I have done. Upon reading this, if you have doubts in even reading what I have or know about bodybuilding or fitness, please, reserve that benefit of doubt. I need it because I'm not perfect and there are so much more I have to learn and not just in the art of bodybuilding but also life. I am only 23 right now so what do I know about life? To be honest, nothing. My pain is probably like a mosquito sting to an 8 year African kid going through a war right now. Yeah, that sentence I just wrote there just made me feel like a pile of shit. How the hell do I even compare myself to people who are actually going through misery and pain. I talk about sacrifice and hard work whenever I go to the gym but apparently, I don't know what the hell I was talking about. I pride myself as being an honest man and people can always tell the difference when I lie. But there is someone I have been lying to this whole time and being very good at that: myself. There is no greater deception than that. If I see any changes in me in the future, I must start by being honest to myself and learn how to appreciate who I am. I hope this inspire you in some way and if there is anything anybody wanna say about the shit that I have done, please, shoot me down. I need to learn.
Thanks.
Wednesday, 19 December 2012
Dorian's HIT Day 1 - Pecs & Bi's
So after slacking off for so long, I've decided that mss is my main priority right now. So what better way than good old Dorian's HIT?
For those who do not know what HIT is, it is a bodybuilding principal that was first presented to the world by non other than Arnold Schwarzenegger's rival then, the late Mike Mentzer.
It is a training principal that focuses on stimulating muscle fibres by breaking them through short and concise but extremely heavy weights as opposed to Arnold's training philosophy that requires one to spend 5-6 hours a day in the gym for 5-6 days a week.
So the legenday 6 times Mr. Olympia, the Mr. Intensity himself, Dorain Yates believed in Mike Mentzer's training philosophy and trained with him. Dorain's HIT is a variation from the original sheet made by Mentzer. He focuses on a couple of warm-up sets, typically 1 to 2 sets and only 1 working set where that particular set goes very heavy weights. Depending on the nature of the exercise, we are looking at a rep range of 6-8 and 8-10 reps on each working set. Regardless of the exercise, there will be no more than 3 sets (warm-up sets & working sets) in each exercise. Anything more, Yates calls it "conventional bodybuilding"
And back, today was pecs and biceps day. As usual, you always pick the larger muscle group to work on first, so pecs it is. And I was joined by one of my best friend and training buddy, Hector whose photo will not be revealed as he is known to be cuter than me as accordance to the blind chicks around us. Oops! Just joking.
Anyway, after thoroughly warming up our rotator cuff, we head straight on to my personal favourite for pecs, decline barbell bench press:
Warm-up Sets:
10 x 145lbs
8 x 165 lbs
Working Set:
6 x 210 lbs
dropped - 3 x 165 lbs
I know, I know, that's way lighter than I should be lifting at my weight.
But hey, I just recovered so give me a little break here.
These numbers HAVE to improve and they WILL IMPROVE.
Then we head on to incline dumbell press at 30⁰:
Warm-up Set:
12 x 45 lbs (each hand)
Working Set:
9 x 60 lbs (each hand)
Third, we got to work on the pec deck flyes but this is the kind I do not like. The kind that is not from Hammer Strength but from Technogym. In fact, all equipments in my home gym are Technogym crap. What the hell?:
Warm-up Set:
12 x 70 lbs
Working Set:
10 x 100 lbs
Last but not least, we work on the ever popular high-pulley cable crossovers:
Warm-up sets:
10 x 20 lbs (each hand)
10 x 20 lbs (each hand)
Working Set:
10 x 30 lbs (each hand)
So, done with pecs, took about 3 minutes rest, we head on to biceps.
For biceps, we did only two exercises but we were spent after that.
First stop, seated concentration curls:
Warm-up Sets:
10 x 20 lbs (each hand)
10 x 20 lbs (each hand)
Working Set:
10 x 25 lbs (each hand)
Second and already the last exercise for biceps, standing straight barbell curls:
Warm-up Set:
10 x 65 lbs
Working Set:
10 x 100 lbs
negatives via cheat reps - 3 x 100 lbs.
Then we finished off our session with 3 sets of exercise for abs:
Tri-sets:
20 x crunches, 20 x raised-legged crunches & 20 x double crunches
We sat down for about ten seconds when I heard a dupstep remix of the new Avicii vs Nicky Romero song so I went dashing towards the front desk to find out source, only to be disappointed.
Anyway, we rested for a while till we stopped panting and I had my 1 serving of Cell-Tech and went back home for a serving of ON Caseine Protein. After bitching around Facebook, here I am.
So that's all for tonight, see you next time folks.
For those who do not know what HIT is, it is a bodybuilding principal that was first presented to the world by non other than Arnold Schwarzenegger's rival then, the late Mike Mentzer.
It is a training principal that focuses on stimulating muscle fibres by breaking them through short and concise but extremely heavy weights as opposed to Arnold's training philosophy that requires one to spend 5-6 hours a day in the gym for 5-6 days a week.
So the legenday 6 times Mr. Olympia, the Mr. Intensity himself, Dorain Yates believed in Mike Mentzer's training philosophy and trained with him. Dorain's HIT is a variation from the original sheet made by Mentzer. He focuses on a couple of warm-up sets, typically 1 to 2 sets and only 1 working set where that particular set goes very heavy weights. Depending on the nature of the exercise, we are looking at a rep range of 6-8 and 8-10 reps on each working set. Regardless of the exercise, there will be no more than 3 sets (warm-up sets & working sets) in each exercise. Anything more, Yates calls it "conventional bodybuilding"
And back, today was pecs and biceps day. As usual, you always pick the larger muscle group to work on first, so pecs it is. And I was joined by one of my best friend and training buddy, Hector whose photo will not be revealed as he is known to be cuter than me as accordance to the blind chicks around us. Oops! Just joking.
Anyway, after thoroughly warming up our rotator cuff, we head straight on to my personal favourite for pecs, decline barbell bench press:
Warm-up Sets:
10 x 145lbs
8 x 165 lbs
Working Set:
6 x 210 lbs
dropped - 3 x 165 lbs
I know, I know, that's way lighter than I should be lifting at my weight.
But hey, I just recovered so give me a little break here.
These numbers HAVE to improve and they WILL IMPROVE.
Then we head on to incline dumbell press at 30⁰:
Warm-up Set:
12 x 45 lbs (each hand)
Working Set:
9 x 60 lbs (each hand)
Third, we got to work on the pec deck flyes but this is the kind I do not like. The kind that is not from Hammer Strength but from Technogym. In fact, all equipments in my home gym are Technogym crap. What the hell?:
Warm-up Set:
12 x 70 lbs
Working Set:
10 x 100 lbs
Last but not least, we work on the ever popular high-pulley cable crossovers:
Warm-up sets:
10 x 20 lbs (each hand)
10 x 20 lbs (each hand)
Working Set:
10 x 30 lbs (each hand)
So, done with pecs, took about 3 minutes rest, we head on to biceps.
For biceps, we did only two exercises but we were spent after that.
First stop, seated concentration curls:
Warm-up Sets:
10 x 20 lbs (each hand)
10 x 20 lbs (each hand)
Working Set:
10 x 25 lbs (each hand)
Second and already the last exercise for biceps, standing straight barbell curls:
Warm-up Set:
10 x 65 lbs
Working Set:
10 x 100 lbs
negatives via cheat reps - 3 x 100 lbs.
Then we finished off our session with 3 sets of exercise for abs:
Tri-sets:
20 x crunches, 20 x raised-legged crunches & 20 x double crunches
We sat down for about ten seconds when I heard a dupstep remix of the new Avicii vs Nicky Romero song so I went dashing towards the front desk to find out source, only to be disappointed.
Anyway, we rested for a while till we stopped panting and I had my 1 serving of Cell-Tech and went back home for a serving of ON Caseine Protein. After bitching around Facebook, here I am.
So that's all for tonight, see you next time folks.
Monday, 26 November 2012
Back to Work
So today is the day I'm back in the gym again. Like I mentioned last time, I lost over 6lbs over the weekend due to a serious illness. I felt better so I went back to the gym today.
During the day, I kept pondering whether what I should do in the gym. Should I be lifting heavy? Should I be doing cardio or should I just do a full body workout? Then I realized, I should wait till I step into the gym and I'll know because my instincts have never lied to me.
So I decided to start of with some very light deadlifts to warm up my lower back and hamstrings:
2 x 10 @ 120lbs
Like I said, it was really light.
I maintained that weight and did some power cleans:
3 x 5 @ 120lbs
Wide-grip chin-ups:
3 x 6 @ body weight
Hyperextensions:
3 x 10 @ body weight (Super slow negatives)
Parallel-grip chin-ups:
3 x 6 @ body weight
Good mornings:
3 x 10 @ 40lbs (Bar only, super slow negatives)
Reverse-grip chin-ups:
3 x 6 @ body weight
I then went on to work on some abs:
Tri-sets (3 x 20 each):
1. Crunches
2. Raised-legged crunches
3. Double crunches
And I finished up with 3 x 15 of leg raises.
So that's about it. Like I said, this is just a light workout but because of not being fully recovered and trust me, with just these, they are already enough to suck the life outta me. But hey, when a man's gotta rest, a man's gotta rest.
Oh and yeah, I thought of rather than doing things randomly, I will begin to stick to certain plans like I used to do but this time, probably with a twist and I'll stay onto a single plan for a longer period. So the title will tell you what plan I'm roughly in with which week and day I'm into the plan.
So that's all for now. See ya next time.
During the day, I kept pondering whether what I should do in the gym. Should I be lifting heavy? Should I be doing cardio or should I just do a full body workout? Then I realized, I should wait till I step into the gym and I'll know because my instincts have never lied to me.
So I decided to start of with some very light deadlifts to warm up my lower back and hamstrings:
2 x 10 @ 120lbs
Like I said, it was really light.
I maintained that weight and did some power cleans:
3 x 5 @ 120lbs
Wide-grip chin-ups:
3 x 6 @ body weight
Hyperextensions:
3 x 10 @ body weight (Super slow negatives)
Parallel-grip chin-ups:
3 x 6 @ body weight
Good mornings:
3 x 10 @ 40lbs (Bar only, super slow negatives)
Reverse-grip chin-ups:
3 x 6 @ body weight
I then went on to work on some abs:
Tri-sets (3 x 20 each):
1. Crunches
2. Raised-legged crunches
3. Double crunches
And I finished up with 3 x 15 of leg raises.
So that's about it. Like I said, this is just a light workout but because of not being fully recovered and trust me, with just these, they are already enough to suck the life outta me. But hey, when a man's gotta rest, a man's gotta rest.
Oh and yeah, I thought of rather than doing things randomly, I will begin to stick to certain plans like I used to do but this time, probably with a twist and I'll stay onto a single plan for a longer period. So the title will tell you what plan I'm roughly in with which week and day I'm into the plan.
So that's all for now. See ya next time.
Friday, 23 November 2012
I'm Coming Back
I know, I know, I haven't posted anything for more than a year but
that doesn't mean I didn't do anything. I have gained quite a bit of
mass but recently, I find myself a little aimless as I go through the
workouts in the gym. It's not that I have no idea what I was doing, I
wasn't as determined as before.
So, as advised by one of my biggest inspirations in bodybuilding, Big Kris, I've decided to come back to this blog. Oh yeah!
I'm gonna stick with what I have been doing last time, write down as much details of my training, feelings and thoughts of every workout and also certain bodybuilding articles that draws my attention.
Today's a rest day and it is only because that I have been very sick for the past 2 days. I have lost over 6 lbs for that. But what made my day was that I received a signed autograph by my favourite bodybuilder and current Mr. Olympia, Phil "The Gift" Heath! Check it out!
Yeah man, get jealous people.
So this motivates me even more. I can't even describe that thrill in me. So fellows, be sure to stay tuned and I will update as much onto this blog as I possibly can. As for now, ciao!
So, as advised by one of my biggest inspirations in bodybuilding, Big Kris, I've decided to come back to this blog. Oh yeah!
I'm gonna stick with what I have been doing last time, write down as much details of my training, feelings and thoughts of every workout and also certain bodybuilding articles that draws my attention.
Today's a rest day and it is only because that I have been very sick for the past 2 days. I have lost over 6 lbs for that. But what made my day was that I received a signed autograph by my favourite bodybuilder and current Mr. Olympia, Phil "The Gift" Heath! Check it out!
Yeah man, get jealous people.
So this motivates me even more. I can't even describe that thrill in me. So fellows, be sure to stay tuned and I will update as much onto this blog as I possibly can. As for now, ciao!
Thursday, 9 June 2011
Traditional Cardio VS High Intensity Interval Training
Hi people, today, I decided to talk about the controversial way of losing fats, cardio against the more and more popular H.I.I.T. (High Intensity Interval Training). Why am I writing this article? Well, it's a tribute to my good friend in her preparation for her first stage appearance!
Well, I ain't no expert but I do know a thing or two when it comes to fat loss. It requires one to change one's entire lifestyle and not just the workout methodology. It also involves diet (the most important of all) and many other things. But we're now focusing only on the training methods here.
Before we start comparing both methods, let's first take a look at what is cardio all about. So what is cardio? Well, cardio is a form of low intensity aerobic exercise which is performed for a long period of time in one single session.
And when we talk about cardio exercises, usually the first few things that pops in our minds are running 40 minutes on a treadmill, a bike or on an elliptical machine. Hmm...This sounds pretty gruesome...Who would wanna run on a treadmill looking at the sweaty face of a 65 years old man for 40 minutes? Well, tell you something you already know, the mass public actually force their own body to do that everyday in order to help reduce the fats within their body.
So we're saying that cardio is the best way to reduce fats within the body huh...Is it? Let's take a look at the pros and cons of extensive cardiovascular exercises:
Pros:
It is widely assumed that low intensity exercise (cardio in this case) emphasizes on fat usage while high intensity (H.I.I.T. in particular over here) exercises emphasizes on carbs usage. Well, I can safely tell you that this assumption is very wrong. Think about it, how many aerobics instructors have you seen actually have really lean, muscular bodies?
Now let's take a look into H.I.I.T.
Assuming no fats were spent during a H.I.I.T. session, our bodies' glycogen level drops, forcing our body to focus on the fats that we have in our body for energy to function for the rest of the day.
Now what if we replenish our with carbs right after the training session? Will that cause our glycogen level to rise and result in deficiency to burn fats? The answer is no, let me tell you why.
Studies have shown that even after replenishing carbs into the body after an H.I.I.T. session, due to the fact that our bodies still need to function properly while glycogen is being replenished, our bodies will continue to burn fats.
During an H.I.I.T. session, our bodies induces metabolic acidosis which results in depleting our first two energy systems which are the ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate) and the Glycolytic systems. And during our rest intervals, our bodies become very active in burning those fats at a high rate. And even when that period is over, energy is still being used but the glycolytic system picks up.
And when you're doing H.I.I.T., muscle fibres are broken down to build more lean mass in your body. Now think about it, simple logic. When your body is packed with muscles, your body is constantly hungry for energy to feed those muscle fibres. And if your body has an abundant amount of fats, what's gonna happen? It's obvious isn't it?
I don't think there's a need to go on any further. After that much being said, I believe you'll be able to decide for yourself, which method is a better way to burn those stubborn fats that you've been longing to shed off all these while.
Well, I ain't no expert but I do know a thing or two when it comes to fat loss. It requires one to change one's entire lifestyle and not just the workout methodology. It also involves diet (the most important of all) and many other things. But we're now focusing only on the training methods here.
Before we start comparing both methods, let's first take a look at what is cardio all about. So what is cardio? Well, cardio is a form of low intensity aerobic exercise which is performed for a long period of time in one single session.
And when we talk about cardio exercises, usually the first few things that pops in our minds are running 40 minutes on a treadmill, a bike or on an elliptical machine. Hmm...This sounds pretty gruesome...Who would wanna run on a treadmill looking at the sweaty face of a 65 years old man for 40 minutes? Well, tell you something you already know, the mass public actually force their own body to do that everyday in order to help reduce the fats within their body.
So we're saying that cardio is the best way to reduce fats within the body huh...Is it? Let's take a look at the pros and cons of extensive cardiovascular exercises:
Pros:
- Improved cardiovascular functioning
- Increased maximal cardiac output
- Increased stroke volume
- Reduced resting heart rate
- Reduced heart rate during submaximal activity/exercise
- Reduced blood pressure
- Increased capillary density and circulation (increases oxygen and nutrient delivery to cells)
- Increased mitochondrial density
- Increased cardiovascular endurance
- Improved aerobic performance
It is widely assumed that low intensity exercise (cardio in this case) emphasizes on fat usage while high intensity (H.I.I.T. in particular over here) exercises emphasizes on carbs usage. Well, I can safely tell you that this assumption is very wrong. Think about it, how many aerobics instructors have you seen actually have really lean, muscular bodies?
Now let's take a look into H.I.I.T.
Assuming no fats were spent during a H.I.I.T. session, our bodies' glycogen level drops, forcing our body to focus on the fats that we have in our body for energy to function for the rest of the day.
Now what if we replenish our with carbs right after the training session? Will that cause our glycogen level to rise and result in deficiency to burn fats? The answer is no, let me tell you why.
Studies have shown that even after replenishing carbs into the body after an H.I.I.T. session, due to the fact that our bodies still need to function properly while glycogen is being replenished, our bodies will continue to burn fats.
During an H.I.I.T. session, our bodies induces metabolic acidosis which results in depleting our first two energy systems which are the ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate) and the Glycolytic systems. And during our rest intervals, our bodies become very active in burning those fats at a high rate. And even when that period is over, energy is still being used but the glycolytic system picks up.
And when you're doing H.I.I.T., muscle fibres are broken down to build more lean mass in your body. Now think about it, simple logic. When your body is packed with muscles, your body is constantly hungry for energy to feed those muscle fibres. And if your body has an abundant amount of fats, what's gonna happen? It's obvious isn't it?
I don't think there's a need to go on any further. After that much being said, I believe you'll be able to decide for yourself, which method is a better way to burn those stubborn fats that you've been longing to shed off all these while.
Thursday, 5 May 2011
FST-7: Officially The Favourite
Like I said, I won't be blogging about everything now due to my exams. However, I still hit the gym hard despite the busy schedule (actually there isn't a schedule, the plan was just to hide my face under books).
Tell you guys something really shitty, my cell phone and a whole lotta cash were stolen from the bag I left in the gym locker. DAMN! I should've gotten myself a padlock or something to lock it up. GOD DAMN IT!!!
Alright, I've been using the FST-7 program for almost 2 weeks now and it is by far, the best program I've used. Yes, you heard me, THE BEST!
With only 45~60 seconds rest in between sets, the rest time is minimum and while I was hitting 3~4 working sets, I wasn't able to go as heavy as I did with Dorian's HIT. Though not as heavy, I reached multiple failures for quite a number of exercises.
For most parts, I roughly follow what's on the sample workout designed by Hany Rambod but there are some parts where I just do it according to my own liking. As far as I'm concerned, as long as I understand the concept and idea behind the program, I can alter the exercises to suit my liking as long as I follow the same principle. So the important pointers in this program are:
1st exercise (F-portion) is usually a compound exercise that helps promote blood flow to the fascia of the muscles and break up the muscle fibre with heavy weight, i.e., barbell bench press, barbell military press, etc.
2nd exercise (S-portion) is a stretching exercises which allows the fascia of the muscles to stretch and allow more room for the blood to flow in and also elongating the muscles, i.e., dumbbell flyes, leg extensions, etc.
3rd exercise (T-portion) is also a compound exercise but the movement of this exercise requires the lifter to squeeze at full contraction and usually have a better ROM than the exercise in the F-portion, i.e., dumbbell bench press, bench dips, etc.
4th exercise (7-portion) is an isolation exercise. Isolation exercises are usually much more difficult to execute but much safer in more occasion. Sometimes compound exercises that hits the targeted muscles a lot are also accepted for this portion, such as leg presses, barbell curls, etc. The high sets, low repetitions exercises push the muscles to failure with mid-heavy weight and promote blood flow into the muscles, creating an incredible pump to the muscles at the same time, i.e., cable crossovers, cable pullovers, etc.
I've written a lot and I don't I wanna bore you guys by going through every single detail of my workouts like I usually do (I don't remember them anyway). However, I'll be updating the blog soon with a sample workout I use for my FST-7 training. I'll also write down some of the obstacles I faced while doing them, etc. Don't worry, I'll definitely gonna change my blogging style to make sure not to bore you guys.
So for now, CIAOS!
Tell you guys something really shitty, my cell phone and a whole lotta cash were stolen from the bag I left in the gym locker. DAMN! I should've gotten myself a padlock or something to lock it up. GOD DAMN IT!!!
Alright, I've been using the FST-7 program for almost 2 weeks now and it is by far, the best program I've used. Yes, you heard me, THE BEST!
With only 45~60 seconds rest in between sets, the rest time is minimum and while I was hitting 3~4 working sets, I wasn't able to go as heavy as I did with Dorian's HIT. Though not as heavy, I reached multiple failures for quite a number of exercises.
For most parts, I roughly follow what's on the sample workout designed by Hany Rambod but there are some parts where I just do it according to my own liking. As far as I'm concerned, as long as I understand the concept and idea behind the program, I can alter the exercises to suit my liking as long as I follow the same principle. So the important pointers in this program are:
1st exercise (F-portion) is usually a compound exercise that helps promote blood flow to the fascia of the muscles and break up the muscle fibre with heavy weight, i.e., barbell bench press, barbell military press, etc.
2nd exercise (S-portion) is a stretching exercises which allows the fascia of the muscles to stretch and allow more room for the blood to flow in and also elongating the muscles, i.e., dumbbell flyes, leg extensions, etc.
3rd exercise (T-portion) is also a compound exercise but the movement of this exercise requires the lifter to squeeze at full contraction and usually have a better ROM than the exercise in the F-portion, i.e., dumbbell bench press, bench dips, etc.
4th exercise (7-portion) is an isolation exercise. Isolation exercises are usually much more difficult to execute but much safer in more occasion. Sometimes compound exercises that hits the targeted muscles a lot are also accepted for this portion, such as leg presses, barbell curls, etc. The high sets, low repetitions exercises push the muscles to failure with mid-heavy weight and promote blood flow into the muscles, creating an incredible pump to the muscles at the same time, i.e., cable crossovers, cable pullovers, etc.
And do note that biceps do not have a T-portion, as if it is included, it'll lead to overtraining. Small muscle groups such as rear delts and calves do not have both T & S-portion too.
I've written a lot and I don't I wanna bore you guys by going through every single detail of my workouts like I usually do (I don't remember them anyway). However, I'll be updating the blog soon with a sample workout I use for my FST-7 training. I'll also write down some of the obstacles I faced while doing them, etc. Don't worry, I'll definitely gonna change my blogging style to make sure not to bore you guys.
So for now, CIAOS!
Thursday, 21 April 2011
FST-7: The Beginning
OK, I haven't been updating my blog for more than a week now. If you're wondering, yes, I didn't update my final session of DTP on chest & backs. And please don't ask me to do it because I forgot almost every single detail of the workout. What I can tell you is that I wasn't able to complete the whole routine. I cheated a couple of sets for my pecs and I did only the first couple of sets for my backs. I literally did not sleep the previous night but no excuses! SUPER DUPER FAIL!!! I did make it up the next day by doing some backs exercise though. My backs felt sore after that day so what the heck!
Another thing is that because I have to dedicated much more time on my studies for my exams, I may have to slow down on this bodybuilding blog thing and update after every 2~3 workouts. I'm not sure what I'll do though. Muahahaha!!!
I took a full week off after 3 weeks of grueling workouts with DTP. I was supposed to start off with legs on Sunday but after 3 nights of insufficient sleep, bringing my friends from York to run around Edinburgh, I was spent. I slept day and night for 2 freaking days and with my reports deadlines due on Monday AND Tuesday (with my kind of working habit, DUH! Of course), I wasn't able to find time to workout at all. So TODAY, I finally found the time and energy to tear the gym down. Though last minute, I decided to head on with the infamous FST-7 for arms.
I started off with tri's rather than bi's. Thought of switching things up a little.
I started with some messed up tri-set of v-bar pushdown then warmed up with triceps dips, 3 x 10, body-only. Just to get a decent pump in the beginning.
F-portion -- Close-grip bench press. It's because it's such a compound movement that hits all 3 heads of the tri's and promotes blood flow into the tri's.
12 x 40kg (88lbs)
10 x 45kg (99lbs)
11 x 40kg (88lbs)
10 x 40kg (88lbs)
S-portion -- Skull crushers. Since it's all about stretching the muscles, what better way to fully stretch the tri's than skull crushers?
12 x 20kg (44lbs)
12 x 20kg (44lbs)
11 x 25kg (55lbs)
10 x 25kg (55lbs)
T-portion -- Bench dips. Usually there isn't any T portion for arms but I decided to do a little more today since my body became pretty good at handling high stress now. But I figured a compound movement will be good.
12 x body only
12 x 10kg (22lbs)
10 x 20kg (44lbs)
10 x 20kg (44lbs)
7-portion -- Rope pushdown. Here comes the gruesome one. The weight isn't the point here, it's holding at full contraction while trying the best to forced the knuckles down and bring the hands as far apart as possible.
12 x 20.4kg (45lbs)
12 x 22.8kg (50lbs)
10 x 27.2kg (60lbs)
12 x 22.8kg (50lbs)
11 x 22.8kg (50lbs)
10 x 22.8kg (50lbs)
10 x 22.8kg (50lbs).
Now bi's. I didn't warm up and went straight into it.
F-portion -- Seated dumbbell curls. A compound movement like this is always good to be done first for bi's. I did simultaneous curls instead of alternating except for the last 3 reps of the last set. My bi's were really failing at that time.
12 x 8kg (18lbs)
12 x 10kg (22lbs)
10 x 12kg (26lbs)
10 x 12kg (26lbs)
S-portion -- Standing barbell curls. Yes, a little weird to choose this one for the S-portion but I did. My reason behind was that barbell curls allows me to go down to full extension because of the weight loaded on the bar, forcing my bi's to stretch in a way.
12 x 30kg (66lbs)
11 x 30kg (66lbs)
10 x 30kg (66lbs)
10 x 30kg (66lbs)
T-portion -- Dumbbell preacher curls. Instead of a compound movement like what I did for my tri's earlier on, I tried on something with a little more isolation. Just wanted to feel the difference at this stage. And since bi's is a much smaller muscle than tri's, I reckoned 3 sets was enough.
10 x 10kg (22lbs)
10 x 8kg (18lbs)
10 x 8kg (18lbs)
7-portion -- Dumbbell spider curls. I've always liked spider curls as an isolation exercise for my bi's. It never fails to give me the pump I love.I usually keep my hands supinated at all times, but because I was pounding so many sets with previous exercises bringing my bi's to near failure so many times, I had to pronate my hands a little on full extensions during the last 2 sets.
12 x 8kg (18lbs)
10 x 8kg (18lbs)
10 x 8kg (18lbs)
11 x 8kg (18lbs)
10 x 10kg (22lbs)
10 x 10kg (22lbs)
10 x 10kg (22lbs)
My most prized possession after 3 weeks of grueling & breathtaking (I know it's not used in these kinda situation) DTP sessions.
After FST-7 on my arms. I took pictures and posed a little. The CRAZIEST pumps since a very long time ago.
Another thing is that because I have to dedicated much more time on my studies for my exams, I may have to slow down on this bodybuilding blog thing and update after every 2~3 workouts. I'm not sure what I'll do though. Muahahaha!!!
I took a full week off after 3 weeks of grueling workouts with DTP. I was supposed to start off with legs on Sunday but after 3 nights of insufficient sleep, bringing my friends from York to run around Edinburgh, I was spent. I slept day and night for 2 freaking days and with my reports deadlines due on Monday AND Tuesday (with my kind of working habit, DUH! Of course), I wasn't able to find time to workout at all. So TODAY, I finally found the time and energy to tear the gym down. Though last minute, I decided to head on with the infamous FST-7 for arms.
I started off with tri's rather than bi's. Thought of switching things up a little.
I started with some messed up tri-set of v-bar pushdown then warmed up with triceps dips, 3 x 10, body-only. Just to get a decent pump in the beginning.
F-portion -- Close-grip bench press. It's because it's such a compound movement that hits all 3 heads of the tri's and promotes blood flow into the tri's.
12 x 40kg (88lbs)
10 x 45kg (99lbs)
11 x 40kg (88lbs)
10 x 40kg (88lbs)
S-portion -- Skull crushers. Since it's all about stretching the muscles, what better way to fully stretch the tri's than skull crushers?
12 x 20kg (44lbs)
12 x 20kg (44lbs)
11 x 25kg (55lbs)
10 x 25kg (55lbs)
T-portion -- Bench dips. Usually there isn't any T portion for arms but I decided to do a little more today since my body became pretty good at handling high stress now. But I figured a compound movement will be good.
12 x body only
12 x 10kg (22lbs)
10 x 20kg (44lbs)
10 x 20kg (44lbs)
7-portion -- Rope pushdown. Here comes the gruesome one. The weight isn't the point here, it's holding at full contraction while trying the best to forced the knuckles down and bring the hands as far apart as possible.
12 x 20.4kg (45lbs)
12 x 22.8kg (50lbs)
10 x 27.2kg (60lbs)
12 x 22.8kg (50lbs)
11 x 22.8kg (50lbs)
10 x 22.8kg (50lbs)
10 x 22.8kg (50lbs).
Now bi's. I didn't warm up and went straight into it.
F-portion -- Seated dumbbell curls. A compound movement like this is always good to be done first for bi's. I did simultaneous curls instead of alternating except for the last 3 reps of the last set. My bi's were really failing at that time.
12 x 8kg (18lbs)
12 x 10kg (22lbs)
10 x 12kg (26lbs)
10 x 12kg (26lbs)
S-portion -- Standing barbell curls. Yes, a little weird to choose this one for the S-portion but I did. My reason behind was that barbell curls allows me to go down to full extension because of the weight loaded on the bar, forcing my bi's to stretch in a way.
12 x 30kg (66lbs)
11 x 30kg (66lbs)
10 x 30kg (66lbs)
10 x 30kg (66lbs)
T-portion -- Dumbbell preacher curls. Instead of a compound movement like what I did for my tri's earlier on, I tried on something with a little more isolation. Just wanted to feel the difference at this stage. And since bi's is a much smaller muscle than tri's, I reckoned 3 sets was enough.
10 x 10kg (22lbs)
10 x 8kg (18lbs)
10 x 8kg (18lbs)
7-portion -- Dumbbell spider curls. I've always liked spider curls as an isolation exercise for my bi's. It never fails to give me the pump I love.I usually keep my hands supinated at all times, but because I was pounding so many sets with previous exercises bringing my bi's to near failure so many times, I had to pronate my hands a little on full extensions during the last 2 sets.
12 x 8kg (18lbs)
10 x 8kg (18lbs)
10 x 8kg (18lbs)
11 x 8kg (18lbs)
10 x 10kg (22lbs)
10 x 10kg (22lbs)
10 x 10kg (22lbs)
My most prized possession after 3 weeks of grueling & breathtaking (I know it's not used in these kinda situation) DTP sessions.
After FST-7 on my arms. I took pictures and posed a little. The CRAZIEST pumps since a very long time ago.
Friday, 8 April 2011
DTP Week 3 Day 3 -- Shoulders, calves & abs
Dumped in the API Rocked into my system before my workout again. Yes, the N.O. does kick in within 5~10 minutes which is pretty amazing BUT it wears off really quickly too. So if you're looking for a fast acting N.O. product with limited budget and you're not the kind that goes hardcore with every minute you have in the gym, then you can consider this SHIT! Yes, it's BULLSHIT!
OK, enough with all the shit. Back to my delts.
Feeling energized (I was fooled by API Rocked at that time), I went to do some machine side lateral raises with 3 x 15 on 18kg (40lbs). And then the most important warm up exercise before any delts workout, the rotator cuff movement exercise. I used 6kg (13lbs) dumbbell for 3 x 12, alternating between each hands, resting only when the other hand is moving. After that I did a quick tri-set on dumbbell side lateral raises, front raises and reverse flyes with the same weight for 20 reps each.
For my DTP on delts, I did the identical same stuffs as last week and the week before. The only difference was that I felt much stronger and I had significantly less rest-pauses and the best thing was that I had NO rest-pauses on my last set of 50!!! And for your information (for those who did not follow my blog or didn't read the last post on my delts workout for the past few weeks), I was doing dumbbell side lateral raises for my DTP this week, again:
1st set: 1st set: 50 x 5kg (11lbs)
2nd set: 40 x 6kg (13lbs)
3rd set: 30 x 8kg (18lbs)
4th set: 20 x 10kg (22lbs)
5th set: 10 x 12.5kg (28lbs)
6th set: 10 x 12.5kg (28lbs)
7th set: 20 x 10kg (22lbs)
8th set: 30 x 8kg (18lbs)
9th set: 40 x 6kg (13lbs)
10th set: 50 x 5kg (11lbs)
Like last week, I finished off my delts with barbell upright rows. Since I felt that the weights I used last week were a little light, hence I stuck with the same weight at 25kg (55lbs) for 3 x 10.
I took a 5 minutes break and continued with my calves. This time, rather than hammering a ton of weights, I focused more on holding on the peak contraction and concentrating more on the negatives with my seated calves raises:
1st set: 50 x 50kg (110lbs)
2nd set: 40 x 70kg (154lbs)
3rd set: 30 x 90kg (198lbs)
4th set: 20 x 110kg (243lbs)
5th set: 10 x 150kg (331lbs)
6th set: 10 x 150kg (331lbs)
7th set: 20 x 110kg (243lbs)
8th set: 30 x 90kg (198lbs)
9th set: 40 x 70kg (154lbs)
10th set: 50 x 50kg (110lbs)
And I swear to...Whatever higher being up there that my calves were about to cramp. Fortunately, they didn't. Thank goodness.
Last but not least, obviously, my abs and I did what I did last week as well but I really punished my abs with increased rep ranges. I supersetted crunches and raised-legged crunches for my abs, yes, again too:
1st set: 25 x body-only + 25 x body-only
2nd set: 20 x 5kg (11lbs) + 20 x 5kg (11lbs)
3rd set: 15 x 10kg (22lbs) + 15 x 10kg (22lbs)
4th set: 15 x 10kg (22lbs) + 15 x 10kg (22lbs)
5th set: 20 x 5kg (11lbs) + 20 x 5kg (11lbs)
6th set: 25 x body-only + 25 x body-only
Seriously, at the end of my abs workout, not only did my abs felt pumped and sore, my neck was pretty tight too...LOL!
Thursday, 7 April 2011
DTP Week 3 Day 2 -- Arms
Few days ago, I received this sample N.O. product, API Rocked so I thought that since it's free, I should just try it. Tasted OK, not great and the effect was fairly good I would say. HOWEVER, it was not as good as naNo Vapor, not even close. But it did it's job so no complaints.
So with my pre-workout protein and N.O. kicked in, I warmed-up with machine preacher curls. I wanted to do a tri-set of 20 reps with 3 different variations of the grip. But when I was doing the 3rd part of the set, I stopped at 5 because my biceps were decently pumped and I figured that it was already 45 reps, no point going any further since I was gonna do DTP. For other routines, yes, I would've forced myself to finish it but hey...It's DTP after that, you can't blame me right?
And thank goodness that I reminded myself to go to the gym a little later today to avoid any classes in the circuit gym. With all the pre-fixed barbell there, free to use, I headed on with standing barbell curls,
I started with closed-grip to target my outter head of my bi's, since it has always been pretty weak:
1st set: 50 x 10kg (22lbs)
2nd set: 40 x 12.5kg (28lbs)
3rd set: 30 x 15kg (33lbs)
4th set: 20 x 17.5kg (39lbs)
5th set: 10 x 25kg (55lbs)
I felt strong and I wanted to do an extra 2 sets but the heaviest pre-fixed barbell we have was the 25kg (55lbs) barbell. Too bad...The only way to increase intensity in this case was to shorten the rest time and force myself to take shorter and significantly less rest-pauses in between reps.
After the first 5 sets, I changed my grip to shoulder-width apart:
6th set: 10 x 25kg (55lbs)
7th set: 20 x 17.5kg (39lbs)
8th set: 30 x 15kg (33lbs)
9th set: 40 x 12.5kg (28lbs)
10th set: 50 x 10kg (22lbs)
My forearm was seriously tight and I felt as if I flex for too long, my whole arm could've cramped. Hahaha!!!
5 minutes rest, sitting on the stepper on the pull-up/dips machine, I looked up to the TV and there it was...Rooney scored the first and only goal for Manchester United against Chelsea...LOL! The only 5 minutes on TV and I saw the moment of the goal. Hahaha!
OK, back to business, jokes aside. 3 x 12 dips, body-only to get my tri's going and all fired up. I thought of keeping the momentum going so I decided to do machine dips for my DTP:
1st set: 50 x 39kg (85lbs)
2nd set: 40 x 45kg (100lbs)
3rd set: 30 x 52kg (115lbs)
4th set: 20 x 59kg (130lbs)
5th set: 10 x 66kg (145lbs)
I had a hunch that it would be a bad idea to do machine dips and it really was. No doubt, my tri's were insanely pumped but I wasn't able to keep good form to do the reps unless I limit my ROM and that was not a good sign. Therefore I decided to change my exercise to straight bar cable pushdown to finish off the sets:
6th set: 10 x 50kg (110lbs)
7th set: 20 x 41kg (90lbs)
8th set: 30 x 32kg (70lbs)
9th set: 40 x 27kg (60lbs)
10th set: 50 x 25kg (55lbs)
So there you have it! The last arms workout for my DTP so far. IT IS the 3rd week now...
Oh yeah, I had a problem with food cravings recently, especially at night. But now, it's no longer a problem because I've got these!:
By the way, it's also my first time trying Cookies & Cream flavour for my Nitro-Tech. Pretty excited to taste it. Hope MuscleTech won't disappoint me. LOL!
So with my pre-workout protein and N.O. kicked in, I warmed-up with machine preacher curls. I wanted to do a tri-set of 20 reps with 3 different variations of the grip. But when I was doing the 3rd part of the set, I stopped at 5 because my biceps were decently pumped and I figured that it was already 45 reps, no point going any further since I was gonna do DTP. For other routines, yes, I would've forced myself to finish it but hey...It's DTP after that, you can't blame me right?
And thank goodness that I reminded myself to go to the gym a little later today to avoid any classes in the circuit gym. With all the pre-fixed barbell there, free to use, I headed on with standing barbell curls,
I started with closed-grip to target my outter head of my bi's, since it has always been pretty weak:
1st set: 50 x 10kg (22lbs)
2nd set: 40 x 12.5kg (28lbs)
3rd set: 30 x 15kg (33lbs)
4th set: 20 x 17.5kg (39lbs)
5th set: 10 x 25kg (55lbs)
I felt strong and I wanted to do an extra 2 sets but the heaviest pre-fixed barbell we have was the 25kg (55lbs) barbell. Too bad...The only way to increase intensity in this case was to shorten the rest time and force myself to take shorter and significantly less rest-pauses in between reps.
After the first 5 sets, I changed my grip to shoulder-width apart:
6th set: 10 x 25kg (55lbs)
7th set: 20 x 17.5kg (39lbs)
8th set: 30 x 15kg (33lbs)
9th set: 40 x 12.5kg (28lbs)
10th set: 50 x 10kg (22lbs)
My forearm was seriously tight and I felt as if I flex for too long, my whole arm could've cramped. Hahaha!!!
5 minutes rest, sitting on the stepper on the pull-up/dips machine, I looked up to the TV and there it was...Rooney scored the first and only goal for Manchester United against Chelsea...LOL! The only 5 minutes on TV and I saw the moment of the goal. Hahaha!
OK, back to business, jokes aside. 3 x 12 dips, body-only to get my tri's going and all fired up. I thought of keeping the momentum going so I decided to do machine dips for my DTP:
1st set: 50 x 39kg (85lbs)
2nd set: 40 x 45kg (100lbs)
3rd set: 30 x 52kg (115lbs)
4th set: 20 x 59kg (130lbs)
5th set: 10 x 66kg (145lbs)
I had a hunch that it would be a bad idea to do machine dips and it really was. No doubt, my tri's were insanely pumped but I wasn't able to keep good form to do the reps unless I limit my ROM and that was not a good sign. Therefore I decided to change my exercise to straight bar cable pushdown to finish off the sets:
6th set: 10 x 50kg (110lbs)
7th set: 20 x 41kg (90lbs)
8th set: 30 x 32kg (70lbs)
9th set: 40 x 27kg (60lbs)
10th set: 50 x 25kg (55lbs)
So there you have it! The last arms workout for my DTP so far. IT IS the 3rd week now...
Oh yeah, I had a problem with food cravings recently, especially at night. But now, it's no longer a problem because I've got these!:
DTP Week 3 Day 1 -- Legs
This has got to my best day in weeks! I was so pumped in the gym that nothing was stopping me from lifting heavy.
Warm up and pre-exhaustion exercise was as usual, supersetting leg extensions and seated hamstring curls.
1st set: 20 x 45kg (100lbs) + 20 x 45kg (100lbs)
2nd set: 20 x 45kg (100lbs) + 20 x 45kg (100lbs)
3rd set: 20 x 45kg (100lbs) + 20 x 45kg (100lbs)
4th set: 15 x 52kg (115lbs) + 15 x 52kg (115lbs)
5th set: 15 x 59kg (130lbs) + 15 x 59kg (130lbs)
I had a decent pump on my quads and hamstring then so I wasted no time and headed straight to the leg press machine,
I started off with narrow stance:
1st set: 50 x 50kg (110lbs)
2nd set: 40 x 90kg (198 lbs)
3rd set: 30 x 110kg (242lbs)
4th set:20 x 130kg (287lbs)
5th set: 10 x 190kg (418.9lbs)
6th set: 5 x 220kg (485lbs)
The reason I went for 12 sets was because I didn't any help at all to finish my 5th set and after I finished the set, I was still feeling fairly strong. So I thought of taking my legs to the next level and really punish my legs.
From here on, I switched my stance to the common wider stance:
7th set: 5 x 220kg (485lbs)
8th set: 10 x 190kg (418.9lbs)
9th set: 20 x 130kg (287lbs)
10th set: 30 x 110kg (242lbs)
11th set: 40 x 90kg (198 lbs)
12th set: 50 x 50kg (110lbs)
I felt extremely happy and excited after the workout, though I felt really sick after that. Nonetheless, it was really good and I could feel my legs being totally obliterated.
Oh yeah, I have this new babe reached my door step. Yeap! My new training "buddy"!
Warm up and pre-exhaustion exercise was as usual, supersetting leg extensions and seated hamstring curls.
1st set: 20 x 45kg (100lbs) + 20 x 45kg (100lbs)
2nd set: 20 x 45kg (100lbs) + 20 x 45kg (100lbs)
3rd set: 20 x 45kg (100lbs) + 20 x 45kg (100lbs)
4th set: 15 x 52kg (115lbs) + 15 x 52kg (115lbs)
5th set: 15 x 59kg (130lbs) + 15 x 59kg (130lbs)
I had a decent pump on my quads and hamstring then so I wasted no time and headed straight to the leg press machine,
I started off with narrow stance:
1st set: 50 x 50kg (110lbs)
2nd set: 40 x 90kg (198 lbs)
3rd set: 30 x 110kg (242lbs)
4th set:20 x 130kg (287lbs)
5th set: 10 x 190kg (418.9lbs)
6th set: 5 x 220kg (485lbs)
The reason I went for 12 sets was because I didn't any help at all to finish my 5th set and after I finished the set, I was still feeling fairly strong. So I thought of taking my legs to the next level and really punish my legs.
From here on, I switched my stance to the common wider stance:
7th set: 5 x 220kg (485lbs)
8th set: 10 x 190kg (418.9lbs)
9th set: 20 x 130kg (287lbs)
10th set: 30 x 110kg (242lbs)
11th set: 40 x 90kg (198 lbs)
12th set: 50 x 50kg (110lbs)
I felt extremely happy and excited after the workout, though I felt really sick after that. Nonetheless, it was really good and I could feel my legs being totally obliterated.
Oh yeah, I have this new babe reached my door step. Yeap! My new training "buddy"!
Sunday, 3 April 2011
DTP Week 2 Day 4 -- Chest & Backs
Again, late post. It was Saturday's workout but who cares anyway?
Since my left wrist was feeling a little weird after the previous delts workout, I figured I should stick to machines for the day and especially after I failed to perform my exercises correctly last week, it would be easier for me to work towards the end with machine aid should I reach failure. So the followings are the 10 sets of machine bench press:
1st set: 50 x 25kg (55lbs)
2nd set: 40 x 32kg (70lbs)
3rd set: 30 x 39kg (85lbs)
4th set: 20 x 52kg (115lbs)
5th set: 10 x 66kg (145lbs)
6th set: 10 x 66kg (145lbs)
7th set: 20 x 52kg (115lbs)
8th set: 30 x 39kg (85lbs)
9th set: 40 x 32kg (70lbs)
10th set: 50 x 25kg (55lbs)
I was so glad that I decided to use the machine because I failed multiple times between set 4~7. Imagine if it was a barbell...PHEW~
After some 10 minutes rest or so, I hopped onto the cable rows machine and started off with my backs:
1st set: 50 x 23kg (50lbs)
2nd set: 40 x 27kg (60lbs)
3rd set: 30 x 32kg (70lbs)
4th set: 20 x 41kg (90lbs)
5th set: 10 x 54kg (120lbs)
6th set: 10 x 54kg (120lbs)
7th set: 20 x 41kg (90lbs)
8th set: 30 x 32kg (70lbs)
9th set: 40 x 27kg (60lbs)
10th set: 50 x 23kg (50lbs)
For the first few sets, it was bi's that were feeling tight. But after a while when I went into the heavier sets, all I could felt was my lats. BOOM!
So now this is a picture of me which I just took just now. It's just a small peek of my progress so far, a very small one.
Since my left wrist was feeling a little weird after the previous delts workout, I figured I should stick to machines for the day and especially after I failed to perform my exercises correctly last week, it would be easier for me to work towards the end with machine aid should I reach failure. So the followings are the 10 sets of machine bench press:
1st set: 50 x 25kg (55lbs)
2nd set: 40 x 32kg (70lbs)
3rd set: 30 x 39kg (85lbs)
4th set: 20 x 52kg (115lbs)
5th set: 10 x 66kg (145lbs)
6th set: 10 x 66kg (145lbs)
7th set: 20 x 52kg (115lbs)
8th set: 30 x 39kg (85lbs)
9th set: 40 x 32kg (70lbs)
10th set: 50 x 25kg (55lbs)
I was so glad that I decided to use the machine because I failed multiple times between set 4~7. Imagine if it was a barbell...PHEW~
After some 10 minutes rest or so, I hopped onto the cable rows machine and started off with my backs:
1st set: 50 x 23kg (50lbs)
2nd set: 40 x 27kg (60lbs)
3rd set: 30 x 32kg (70lbs)
4th set: 20 x 41kg (90lbs)
5th set: 10 x 54kg (120lbs)
6th set: 10 x 54kg (120lbs)
7th set: 20 x 41kg (90lbs)
8th set: 30 x 32kg (70lbs)
9th set: 40 x 27kg (60lbs)
10th set: 50 x 23kg (50lbs)
For the first few sets, it was bi's that were feeling tight. But after a while when I went into the heavier sets, all I could felt was my lats. BOOM!
So now this is a picture of me which I just took just now. It's just a small peek of my progress so far, a very small one.
DTP Week 2 Day 3 -- Shoulders, calves & abs
I've been a little too lazy to post anything on my blog few nights ago so for your information, this workout was on last Thursday.
As per usual, to prevent injuries, I went on to do some rotator cuff movements. Alternating hands for 3 x 10 with 6kg (13.2lbs), no rests in between. I also did a quick tri-set of side-lateral raises, front raises and standing reverse flye with the same weight.
So like last week, I proceeded with seated dumbbell side lateral raises:
1st set: 1st set: 50 x 5kg (11lbs)
2nd set: 40 x 6kg (13lbs)
3rd set: 30 x 8kg (18lbs)
4th set: 20 x 10kg (22lbs)
5th set: 10 x 12.5kg (28lbs)
6th set: 10 x 12.5kg (28lbs)
7th set: 20 x 10kg (22lbs)
8th set: 30 x 8kg (18lbs)
9th set: 40 x 6kg (13lbs)
10th set: 50 x 5kg (11lbs)
As I was doing my sets, I felt as if the weights seems a little lighter than last week. And so I blasted off the reps all in one go, forcing myself not to apply rest-pauses on my last set, and man...Right out the set, my delts burn like I was in hell. And the sore kept on for like more than a minute or so. IT WAS HELL!
I also realized that my traps' peaks need to be higher but my straps weren't with me so I went on to do 3 sets of upright rows. 12 [17.5kg (38.6lbs)], 10 [22.5kg (49.6lbs)] & 10 [25kg (55.1lbs)] reps each.
Now to calves. Yes, I know, DTP isn't designed for calves, but after trying it out with a mini version last week, my calves have great improvements and I thought, why not? So blast off with seated calves raises:
1st set: 50 x 50kg (110lbs)
2nd set: 40 x 70kg (154lbs)
3rd set: 30 x 90kg (198lbs)
4th set: 20 x 110kg (243lbs)
5th set: 10 x 150kg (331lbs)
6th set: 10 x 150kg (331lbs)
7th set: 20 x 110kg (243lbs)
8th set: 30 x 90kg (198lbs)
9th set: 40 x 70kg (154lbs)
10th set: 50 x 50kg (110lbs)
My calves were so swollen! Incredible feeling. If I hadn't sit down to rest, I swear that my calves would've cramped. They were so tight.
OK, last muscle group of the day, abs. I did it almost identical to last week with only an extra set in between:
6 x 15, supersets of crunches and raised-legged crunches, no rests in between. 1st & 6th set, body-only; 2nd & 5th set, 5kg (11lbs) dumbbell; 3rd & 4th set, 10kg (22lbs) dumbbell.
So that's it for the day.
As per usual, to prevent injuries, I went on to do some rotator cuff movements. Alternating hands for 3 x 10 with 6kg (13.2lbs), no rests in between. I also did a quick tri-set of side-lateral raises, front raises and standing reverse flye with the same weight.
So like last week, I proceeded with seated dumbbell side lateral raises:
1st set: 1st set: 50 x 5kg (11lbs)
2nd set: 40 x 6kg (13lbs)
3rd set: 30 x 8kg (18lbs)
4th set: 20 x 10kg (22lbs)
5th set: 10 x 12.5kg (28lbs)
6th set: 10 x 12.5kg (28lbs)
7th set: 20 x 10kg (22lbs)
8th set: 30 x 8kg (18lbs)
9th set: 40 x 6kg (13lbs)
10th set: 50 x 5kg (11lbs)
As I was doing my sets, I felt as if the weights seems a little lighter than last week. And so I blasted off the reps all in one go, forcing myself not to apply rest-pauses on my last set, and man...Right out the set, my delts burn like I was in hell. And the sore kept on for like more than a minute or so. IT WAS HELL!
I also realized that my traps' peaks need to be higher but my straps weren't with me so I went on to do 3 sets of upright rows. 12 [17.5kg (38.6lbs)], 10 [22.5kg (49.6lbs)] & 10 [25kg (55.1lbs)] reps each.
Now to calves. Yes, I know, DTP isn't designed for calves, but after trying it out with a mini version last week, my calves have great improvements and I thought, why not? So blast off with seated calves raises:
1st set: 50 x 50kg (110lbs)
2nd set: 40 x 70kg (154lbs)
3rd set: 30 x 90kg (198lbs)
4th set: 20 x 110kg (243lbs)
5th set: 10 x 150kg (331lbs)
6th set: 10 x 150kg (331lbs)
7th set: 20 x 110kg (243lbs)
8th set: 30 x 90kg (198lbs)
9th set: 40 x 70kg (154lbs)
10th set: 50 x 50kg (110lbs)
My calves were so swollen! Incredible feeling. If I hadn't sit down to rest, I swear that my calves would've cramped. They were so tight.
OK, last muscle group of the day, abs. I did it almost identical to last week with only an extra set in between:
6 x 15, supersets of crunches and raised-legged crunches, no rests in between. 1st & 6th set, body-only; 2nd & 5th set, 5kg (11lbs) dumbbell; 3rd & 4th set, 10kg (22lbs) dumbbell.
So that's it for the day.
Thursday, 31 March 2011
DTP Week 2 Day 2 -- Arms
OK! Verdict! I will NEVER EVER use machines or in this particular case, cables for my DTP bi's ever again! It was so bad that I couldn't even describe how ineffective it was to get the pump surging in my bi's. And before I felt the burn, my shoulders wear off due to the strain of holding the cable bar in which the force was acting slightly in front of me, not directly downwards! If not for that stupid gymnastic class in the cardio gym, I wouldn't even wanna do the sets with anything other than barbells. SHIT!
Alright, chill. So the workout schedule of the day. I warmed up with some parallel-grip chin-ups: 7, 7, 9; body only. Pretty good, I'm starting to feel that my chin-up strength is starting to come back rather rapidly.
I moved on to machine preacher curls tri-set, 15 x 18.1kg (40lbs) of different grips; closed, shoulder-width and wide. My bi's were decently pumped then so I jumped right to standing cable curls:
1st set: 50 x 11.3kg (25lbs)
Did I say it was burning already? One hell of a set I say but the pump, not quite.
2nd set: 40 x 13.6kg (30lbs)
Like the last set, the reps were painful but the pump was just not quite good. There was a pump there though, but not as pumped as I would like it to be.
3rd set: 30 x 15.9kg (35lbs)
OK, this is really killing my front delts which were holding the weights and that was all wrong! It was supposed to be my bi's soring!
4th set: 20 x 20.4kg (45lbs)
This set was pretty OK I guess. My bi's were feeling the majority of the weight and it was burning. My forearms were starting to feel the tightness too.
5th set: 10 x 27.2kg (60lbs)
Alright, this set was too easy. My bi's were NOWHERE near failure. Didn't really struggled.
6th set: 10 x 31.8kg (70lbs)
Since the last set felt too light, I figured that I should increase the weight on this set and man, was I glad to do that. Failing real badly but again, my bi's were not as pumped as they were supposed to be in the state of failure, compared to barbell curls.
7th set: 20 x 22.7kg (50lbs)
From this set onwards, I leaned a little to the front and limited my ROM a little. Vuala! That was the solution! My delts were not stressing so much as before and the pump was slightly better, still not enough though. Wasn't an easy set at all.
8th set: 30 x 20.4kg (45lbs)
One word: "BURNOUT!"
9th set: 40 x 15.9kg (35lbs)
Thank goodness for leaning forward. My bi's were really pumped and my forearms, pretty decent.
10th set: 50 x 13.6kg (30lbs)
Pretty decent set and I was so hoping that it could get over quicker. My delts were burning...Hey, wasn't I supposed to feel that on my bi's?
So my conclusions here is, while doing compound exercises with high repetitions, DO NOT use cables or machines which will cause unnecessary stress on other muscle groups.
3 x 10 body-only dips and I was good to go. V-bar cable pushdown! Man, I was so off on my estimations...Zzz...:
1st set: 50 x 15.9kg (35lbs)
What the hell!?!? I felt as if there wasn't any weights there at all! LOL!
2nd set: 40 x 20.4kg (45lbs)
Again, I felt nothing...Too easy.
3rd set: 30 x 27.2kg (60lbs)
Still fairly easy for a third set but I was starting to feel the pump here.
4th set: 20 x 36.3kg (80lbs)
This set was pretty good and the pump, fairly good.
5th set: 10 x 45.4kg (100lbs)
Though but no failure. Pretty good pump then. I was thinking that if I estimated the weights better for the previous sets, I believe I should be failing in this set.
6th set: 10 x 49.9kg (110 lbs)
I figured that since I didn't bring my tri's to failure on the previous one, I increase weight here. And it was the right decision. The last 3 reps literally took me a second each.
7th set: 20 x 40.8kg (90lbs)
I switched to a T-bar extension on this one for better contraction. I wanted to do so in the previous set but the bar was occupied. I was practically rest-pausing in every other rep once I hit the 10 reps mark. Tough shit!
8th set: 30 x 31.8kg (70lbs)
Like the previous set, it took me ages to get over this set. Not easy and my tri's were literally blown up.
9th set: 40 x 27.2kg (60lbs)
Oh boy...It was so taxing on my tri's that before I know it, I was no longer looking into the mirror, rather, looking at the floor. So focused on my tri's that I knew, if I took a split second away from my tri's, I was gonna bail outta the set.
10th set: 50 x 22.7kg (50lbs)
It was so bad that I was grunting, basically almost every rep after I finished half the set. I bet the people around me were laughing at me, grunting at this weight. But who cares!?!?
And since my first sets were basically bullshit, I figured that I would do a set of double drop set of machine dips to finish off my tri's at 15 x 38.6kg (85lbs), 15 x 27.2kg (60lbs) & 15 x 20.4kg (45lbs).
So there goes!
Alright, chill. So the workout schedule of the day. I warmed up with some parallel-grip chin-ups: 7, 7, 9; body only. Pretty good, I'm starting to feel that my chin-up strength is starting to come back rather rapidly.
I moved on to machine preacher curls tri-set, 15 x 18.1kg (40lbs) of different grips; closed, shoulder-width and wide. My bi's were decently pumped then so I jumped right to standing cable curls:
1st set: 50 x 11.3kg (25lbs)
Did I say it was burning already? One hell of a set I say but the pump, not quite.
2nd set: 40 x 13.6kg (30lbs)
Like the last set, the reps were painful but the pump was just not quite good. There was a pump there though, but not as pumped as I would like it to be.
3rd set: 30 x 15.9kg (35lbs)
OK, this is really killing my front delts which were holding the weights and that was all wrong! It was supposed to be my bi's soring!
4th set: 20 x 20.4kg (45lbs)
This set was pretty OK I guess. My bi's were feeling the majority of the weight and it was burning. My forearms were starting to feel the tightness too.
5th set: 10 x 27.2kg (60lbs)
Alright, this set was too easy. My bi's were NOWHERE near failure. Didn't really struggled.
6th set: 10 x 31.8kg (70lbs)
Since the last set felt too light, I figured that I should increase the weight on this set and man, was I glad to do that. Failing real badly but again, my bi's were not as pumped as they were supposed to be in the state of failure, compared to barbell curls.
7th set: 20 x 22.7kg (50lbs)
From this set onwards, I leaned a little to the front and limited my ROM a little. Vuala! That was the solution! My delts were not stressing so much as before and the pump was slightly better, still not enough though. Wasn't an easy set at all.
8th set: 30 x 20.4kg (45lbs)
One word: "BURNOUT!"
9th set: 40 x 15.9kg (35lbs)
Thank goodness for leaning forward. My bi's were really pumped and my forearms, pretty decent.
10th set: 50 x 13.6kg (30lbs)
Pretty decent set and I was so hoping that it could get over quicker. My delts were burning...Hey, wasn't I supposed to feel that on my bi's?
So my conclusions here is, while doing compound exercises with high repetitions, DO NOT use cables or machines which will cause unnecessary stress on other muscle groups.
3 x 10 body-only dips and I was good to go. V-bar cable pushdown! Man, I was so off on my estimations...Zzz...:
1st set: 50 x 15.9kg (35lbs)
What the hell!?!? I felt as if there wasn't any weights there at all! LOL!
2nd set: 40 x 20.4kg (45lbs)
Again, I felt nothing...Too easy.
3rd set: 30 x 27.2kg (60lbs)
Still fairly easy for a third set but I was starting to feel the pump here.
4th set: 20 x 36.3kg (80lbs)
This set was pretty good and the pump, fairly good.
5th set: 10 x 45.4kg (100lbs)
Though but no failure. Pretty good pump then. I was thinking that if I estimated the weights better for the previous sets, I believe I should be failing in this set.
6th set: 10 x 49.9kg (110 lbs)
I figured that since I didn't bring my tri's to failure on the previous one, I increase weight here. And it was the right decision. The last 3 reps literally took me a second each.
7th set: 20 x 40.8kg (90lbs)
I switched to a T-bar extension on this one for better contraction. I wanted to do so in the previous set but the bar was occupied. I was practically rest-pausing in every other rep once I hit the 10 reps mark. Tough shit!
8th set: 30 x 31.8kg (70lbs)
Like the previous set, it took me ages to get over this set. Not easy and my tri's were literally blown up.
9th set: 40 x 27.2kg (60lbs)
Oh boy...It was so taxing on my tri's that before I know it, I was no longer looking into the mirror, rather, looking at the floor. So focused on my tri's that I knew, if I took a split second away from my tri's, I was gonna bail outta the set.
10th set: 50 x 22.7kg (50lbs)
It was so bad that I was grunting, basically almost every rep after I finished half the set. I bet the people around me were laughing at me, grunting at this weight. But who cares!?!?
And since my first sets were basically bullshit, I figured that I would do a set of double drop set of machine dips to finish off my tri's at 15 x 38.6kg (85lbs), 15 x 27.2kg (60lbs) & 15 x 20.4kg (45lbs).
So there goes!
Tuesday, 29 March 2011
DTP Week 2 Day 1 -- Legs
Seriously, MuscleTech's Nanovapor Fruit Punch flavour is by far the most disgusting drink I've ever drunk. It tasted like fruit punch (of course!) but with cough syrup in it. I HATE cough syrups! But who cares anyway, I'm looking for the effect of the supplement, not the taste. Oh well!
OK, so like last time, I started pre-exhausting my legs with 5 supersets of leg extensions and hamstring curls. 3 sets of 20+20 x 45.4kg (100lbs), 15+15 x 52.2kg (115lbs) and 15+15 x 59kg (130lbs).
And here goes my 10 sets of leg presses:
1st set: 50 x 40kg (88.2lbs)
I felt the pump right away and man it felt so good.
2nd set: 40 x 80kg (176.4lbs)
Fire! WOOTS! Love it on my quads. Oddly, I was doing lighter than last week but I felt my quads more than last week. Nanovapor kicking in? Hmm...
3rd set: 30 x 100kg (220.4lbs)
No rest pauses like last week! OK, maybe a little but it was seriously minimal. My legs were feeling the pump.
4th set: 20 x 120kg (264.6lbs)
During this set, I was definitely feeling very strong and I knew that the next set is gonna be much heavier than last week.
5th set: 10 x 190kg (418.9lbs)
Though I had a spotter, I seriously felt that that guy was totally redundant. I blasted all 10 reps without his help at all! But after the set, my legs were starting to get wobbly.
6th set: 10 x 190kg (418.9lbs)
Yeap! Nanovapor was seriouly doing it's job for giving me the extra power. Like the last set, no help was needed.
7th set: 20 x 140kg (308.6lbs)
I thought to myself, since I feel so strong now, I should probably keep it a little heavier. And so the pump was starting to become a burn. And as much as I liked it, the sight of seeing the guy in front of me puking was starting to make me feel sick.
8th set: 30 x 120kg (264.6lbs)
OK, though I was a hero then, I felt like I was a midget when doing this set. The burn was crazy!
9th set: 40 x 100kg (220.4lbs)
I stood up after the set, feeling a little deprived of oxygen and that was never a good sign. But who cares?
10th set: 50 x 80kg (176.4lbs)
Rest-paused for a few times but somehow, I managed though I really felt like puking. It was a good set and I thought that if I felt sick, that means I pushed myself pretty hard! And that's a good thing!
Trying to be a hero, I went to the leg extensions machine, trying to finish off my quads once and for all with some partials, and so I did. A single set with a double drop set of 15+15+15 with 79.4kg (175lbs), 65.8kg (145lbs) and 52.2kg (115lbs).
Now I felt really sick...LOL!!!
OK, so like last time, I started pre-exhausting my legs with 5 supersets of leg extensions and hamstring curls. 3 sets of 20+20 x 45.4kg (100lbs), 15+15 x 52.2kg (115lbs) and 15+15 x 59kg (130lbs).
And here goes my 10 sets of leg presses:
1st set: 50 x 40kg (88.2lbs)
I felt the pump right away and man it felt so good.
2nd set: 40 x 80kg (176.4lbs)
Fire! WOOTS! Love it on my quads. Oddly, I was doing lighter than last week but I felt my quads more than last week. Nanovapor kicking in? Hmm...
3rd set: 30 x 100kg (220.4lbs)
No rest pauses like last week! OK, maybe a little but it was seriously minimal. My legs were feeling the pump.
4th set: 20 x 120kg (264.6lbs)
During this set, I was definitely feeling very strong and I knew that the next set is gonna be much heavier than last week.
5th set: 10 x 190kg (418.9lbs)
Though I had a spotter, I seriously felt that that guy was totally redundant. I blasted all 10 reps without his help at all! But after the set, my legs were starting to get wobbly.
6th set: 10 x 190kg (418.9lbs)
Yeap! Nanovapor was seriouly doing it's job for giving me the extra power. Like the last set, no help was needed.
7th set: 20 x 140kg (308.6lbs)
I thought to myself, since I feel so strong now, I should probably keep it a little heavier. And so the pump was starting to become a burn. And as much as I liked it, the sight of seeing the guy in front of me puking was starting to make me feel sick.
8th set: 30 x 120kg (264.6lbs)
OK, though I was a hero then, I felt like I was a midget when doing this set. The burn was crazy!
9th set: 40 x 100kg (220.4lbs)
I stood up after the set, feeling a little deprived of oxygen and that was never a good sign. But who cares?
10th set: 50 x 80kg (176.4lbs)
Rest-paused for a few times but somehow, I managed though I really felt like puking. It was a good set and I thought that if I felt sick, that means I pushed myself pretty hard! And that's a good thing!
Trying to be a hero, I went to the leg extensions machine, trying to finish off my quads once and for all with some partials, and so I did. A single set with a double drop set of 15+15+15 with 79.4kg (175lbs), 65.8kg (145lbs) and 52.2kg (115lbs).
Now I felt really sick...LOL!!!
DTP Week 1 Day 4 -- Chest & Backs
I know I know, this is supposed to be updated last Friday but I just totally forgot about it. Hey, at least I'm doing it right now right?
So, today is my first time pairing these 2 major muscle groups together for the first time, EVER! Initially, I was thinking of supersetting the two, but I thought about it, if I can't get it right with arms, how in the hell am I gonna get these 2 done together? Besides, my pecs has always been the weakest when it comes to high repetition workouts. And my bi's & tri's were still soring like hell from the previous arms' day workout earlier that week.
So I started of with pecs. I warmed up and pre-exhausted it with 2 exercises: machine bench press and pec deck flye. Trust me, you should never ever do what I did as it was a mistake. You'll see why. On machine bench press, it was 3 x 20 with 38.5kg (85lbs), 45.4kg (100lbs) and 52.2kg (115lbs). With a decent pump already kicking in, I moved on to the pec deck machine. 3 sets altogether is 15 x 31.8kg (70lbs), 12 x 38.5kg (85lbs) and 10 x 45.4kg (100lbs).
Right after I pre-exhausted my pecs, I can already sense that I've made a huge mistake by pre-exhausting my pecs to that state but I was thinking, maybe I could handle it.
Now for the main course, I chose to do incline dumbbell presses to improve my weak upper pecs:
1st set: 40 x 12kg (26.5lbs) + 10 x 8kg (17.6lbs)
I was already feeling the burn right into this set and I was seriously going crazy that time. Can you believe that I dropped on the first set? How the hell was I not able to blast off this set with such light weight? I blamed the pre-exhaustion but I stayed optimistic. By the way, I dropped to this set because there wasn't any 10's (22lbs') left on the racks.
2nd set: 30 x 12kg (26.5lbs) + 10 x 8kg (17.6lbs)
Pathetic, absolutely pathetic. That's it! I was so frustrated with myself then. ARGH! The only thing I can say about this set is: "What the hell!?!?"
3rd set: 17 x 14kg (30.9lbs) + 4 x 8kg (17.6lbs) + 9 x 6kg (13.2lbs)
Seriously, I was regretting for taking my pecs so far without thinking twice before the actual workout. My pecs burned and more importantly, my tri's were not functioning well. They were burning, more than my pecs. I believe it was due to the DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness) of my tri's from the previous workout.
4th set: 9 x 16kg (35.3lbs) + 11 x 12kg (26.5lbs)
This is already the best I could do. I was struggling really badly for my last rep and I could feel that my triceps are dead.
Without my tri's to support my presses, I figured that this would be my last set, at least for incline bench press. So I went on to another exercises to kill my pecs off while not putting as much stress on my tri's as I've already did.
High-pulley Cable Crossovers:
5th set: 10 x 27.2kg (60lbs)
Usually, I'm able to do this for 10 reps and fail only on my last rep but this time, apparently I have to cheat much earlier, around 3 reps earlier. This shows how weak my pecs have become.
6th set: 10 x 27.2kg (60lbs)
Cheating crazily but I still remembered to control my negatives but on my last rep, I totally lost control of my pecs. Crazy ass PUMP!
7th set: 20 x 20.4kg (45lbs)
I'd never realized that this weight can kill my pecs off so easily. Enough said.
8th set: 30 x 15.9kg (35lbs)
Not easy at all. My body was basically swinging throughout the last 10 reps and I wasn't able to hold the contractions very well.
9th set: 40 x 11.3kg (25lbs)
The first 20 reps felt easy, but the next, not so. I felt as if my pecs were no longer mine and my hands were just moving because some force is moving my pecs rather than myself. But once I finished the set, I felt as if my pecs came back to me, with all the blood in my body in there.
10th set: 50 x 6.8 kg (15lbs)
By far the easiest set, and so I thought. I could literally see my face go twisted when doing the set. NUTS!
So now you see why I told you not to do what I did earlier on? DTP is such a high intensity workout with such high repetitions that too much pre-exhausting can only cause problems.
I then moved on to backs after 5 minutes break with Cable Rows and if you think pecs was my only problem that day, think again:
1st set: 50 x 22.7kg (50lbs)
Unsurprisingly, my bi's were getting tight instead of my lats and that was totally wrong. My DOMS on my arms were really getting in my way.
2nd set: 40 x 27.2kg (60lbs)
I used a little res-pause here already, not because of my lats, but my bi's.
3rd set: 30 x 31.8kg (70lbs)
Oh man, this time, my lats were feeling the punishment, alongside my bi's. I didn't care about my bi's and just went on focusing on my lats and man, it felt tiring.
4th set: 20 x 40.8kg (90lbs)
Insane pump on my lats then and it felt absolutely awesome. The only downside is that my bi's were burning like hell and that's not supposed to happen.
5th set: 10 x 54.4kg (120lbs)
My lats were feeling most of the reps on this one and so I thought maybe my bi's is getting used to it now. By the way, my lats felt incredible.
6th set: 10 x 54.4kg (120lbs)
OK, I was wrong, my bi's just snapped, not literally but metaphorically. Fortunately, not before I finished the set and punish my lats.
So to relieve some of the stress from my bi's, I decided to do lats pulldown, thinking that a slightly different movement may be able to reduce the stress on my bi's:
7th set: 20 x 36.3kg (80lbs)
Still OK for my bi's but I can still feel the stress on it. More importantly, my lats were still feeling the stress and pump, so it was good. Really tough to finish the set though.
8th set: 30 x 31.8kg (70lbs)
I was really worried because though I still feel my lats were doing the majority of the exercise, I felt that my bi's couldn't hold on any longer after my set.
9th set: 20 x 27.2kg (60lbs) [FAIL by 20 REPS!]
After exactly 20 reps, my bi's gave in and I wasn't able to finish the exercise anymore. FAIL!
So ladies and gentlemen, this concludes my workout of the day and I admit, this is my most miserable workout since a long while. But never mind, I'll learn from my mistakes and it's only gonna get better!
So, today is my first time pairing these 2 major muscle groups together for the first time, EVER! Initially, I was thinking of supersetting the two, but I thought about it, if I can't get it right with arms, how in the hell am I gonna get these 2 done together? Besides, my pecs has always been the weakest when it comes to high repetition workouts. And my bi's & tri's were still soring like hell from the previous arms' day workout earlier that week.
So I started of with pecs. I warmed up and pre-exhausted it with 2 exercises: machine bench press and pec deck flye. Trust me, you should never ever do what I did as it was a mistake. You'll see why. On machine bench press, it was 3 x 20 with 38.5kg (85lbs), 45.4kg (100lbs) and 52.2kg (115lbs). With a decent pump already kicking in, I moved on to the pec deck machine. 3 sets altogether is 15 x 31.8kg (70lbs), 12 x 38.5kg (85lbs) and 10 x 45.4kg (100lbs).
Right after I pre-exhausted my pecs, I can already sense that I've made a huge mistake by pre-exhausting my pecs to that state but I was thinking, maybe I could handle it.
Now for the main course, I chose to do incline dumbbell presses to improve my weak upper pecs:
1st set: 40 x 12kg (26.5lbs) + 10 x 8kg (17.6lbs)
I was already feeling the burn right into this set and I was seriously going crazy that time. Can you believe that I dropped on the first set? How the hell was I not able to blast off this set with such light weight? I blamed the pre-exhaustion but I stayed optimistic. By the way, I dropped to this set because there wasn't any 10's (22lbs') left on the racks.
2nd set: 30 x 12kg (26.5lbs) + 10 x 8kg (17.6lbs)
Pathetic, absolutely pathetic. That's it! I was so frustrated with myself then. ARGH! The only thing I can say about this set is: "What the hell!?!?"
3rd set: 17 x 14kg (30.9lbs) + 4 x 8kg (17.6lbs) + 9 x 6kg (13.2lbs)
Seriously, I was regretting for taking my pecs so far without thinking twice before the actual workout. My pecs burned and more importantly, my tri's were not functioning well. They were burning, more than my pecs. I believe it was due to the DOMS (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness) of my tri's from the previous workout.
4th set: 9 x 16kg (35.3lbs) + 11 x 12kg (26.5lbs)
This is already the best I could do. I was struggling really badly for my last rep and I could feel that my triceps are dead.
Without my tri's to support my presses, I figured that this would be my last set, at least for incline bench press. So I went on to another exercises to kill my pecs off while not putting as much stress on my tri's as I've already did.
High-pulley Cable Crossovers:
5th set: 10 x 27.2kg (60lbs)
Usually, I'm able to do this for 10 reps and fail only on my last rep but this time, apparently I have to cheat much earlier, around 3 reps earlier. This shows how weak my pecs have become.
6th set: 10 x 27.2kg (60lbs)
Cheating crazily but I still remembered to control my negatives but on my last rep, I totally lost control of my pecs. Crazy ass PUMP!
7th set: 20 x 20.4kg (45lbs)
I'd never realized that this weight can kill my pecs off so easily. Enough said.
8th set: 30 x 15.9kg (35lbs)
Not easy at all. My body was basically swinging throughout the last 10 reps and I wasn't able to hold the contractions very well.
9th set: 40 x 11.3kg (25lbs)
The first 20 reps felt easy, but the next, not so. I felt as if my pecs were no longer mine and my hands were just moving because some force is moving my pecs rather than myself. But once I finished the set, I felt as if my pecs came back to me, with all the blood in my body in there.
10th set: 50 x 6.8 kg (15lbs)
By far the easiest set, and so I thought. I could literally see my face go twisted when doing the set. NUTS!
So now you see why I told you not to do what I did earlier on? DTP is such a high intensity workout with such high repetitions that too much pre-exhausting can only cause problems.
I then moved on to backs after 5 minutes break with Cable Rows and if you think pecs was my only problem that day, think again:
1st set: 50 x 22.7kg (50lbs)
Unsurprisingly, my bi's were getting tight instead of my lats and that was totally wrong. My DOMS on my arms were really getting in my way.
2nd set: 40 x 27.2kg (60lbs)
I used a little res-pause here already, not because of my lats, but my bi's.
3rd set: 30 x 31.8kg (70lbs)
Oh man, this time, my lats were feeling the punishment, alongside my bi's. I didn't care about my bi's and just went on focusing on my lats and man, it felt tiring.
4th set: 20 x 40.8kg (90lbs)
Insane pump on my lats then and it felt absolutely awesome. The only downside is that my bi's were burning like hell and that's not supposed to happen.
5th set: 10 x 54.4kg (120lbs)
My lats were feeling most of the reps on this one and so I thought maybe my bi's is getting used to it now. By the way, my lats felt incredible.
6th set: 10 x 54.4kg (120lbs)
OK, I was wrong, my bi's just snapped, not literally but metaphorically. Fortunately, not before I finished the set and punish my lats.
So to relieve some of the stress from my bi's, I decided to do lats pulldown, thinking that a slightly different movement may be able to reduce the stress on my bi's:
7th set: 20 x 36.3kg (80lbs)
Still OK for my bi's but I can still feel the stress on it. More importantly, my lats were still feeling the stress and pump, so it was good. Really tough to finish the set though.
8th set: 30 x 31.8kg (70lbs)
I was really worried because though I still feel my lats were doing the majority of the exercise, I felt that my bi's couldn't hold on any longer after my set.
9th set: 20 x 27.2kg (60lbs) [FAIL by 20 REPS!]
After exactly 20 reps, my bi's gave in and I wasn't able to finish the exercise anymore. FAIL!
So ladies and gentlemen, this concludes my workout of the day and I admit, this is my most miserable workout since a long while. But never mind, I'll learn from my mistakes and it's only gonna get better!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
