'All Glory to the Hypnotoad...'

ok, no more the futurama references, i promise.

a little background, i worked out religiously in my early 20’s, looked good, totally neglected squats, deadlifts, benches. it was a typical machine/dumbell beach workout. did nt eat enough. have basically dicked around as far as training goes for about 8 years.no progress, obviously.

i decided i wanted to get back into it. and do it right, this time. i spent some of my ‘stimulus’ check on protein powders, and some TRIBEX (figured it couldnt hurt). started working out at home, and i figured i’d start completely from scratch, as if i were a true beginner - focus on form first (finally do ass to ground squats, no doing a back bridge while benching, etc.,).

this past week i decided to try out the old west side for skinny bastards of read so much about. so here goes, week one of ws4sb.i have gained 10 pounds the past 2 months on my own program, hoping a ‘real’ program will provide for more more consistent long term progression (and results).

*i started on monday aug. 11, but was hesitant to start a log. so the first post will be mondays workout, the second will be aug 13’s workout.

**and yes, the numbers are going to be pathetically low, but like i said im intentionally starting from complete scratch.

heres what i did monday:

benchpress: 210x4 (after warmups)

incline dumbell press:55x10, 65x8, 65x8, 65x6

cable row:120x13, 140x12, 140x12, 140x12
reverse cable flyes: 30x12, 20x14, 20x14

*these are home workouts, the cable work is done on a ‘body craft’ universal type machine.

todays workout (aug. 13)

front squats: 175x2 (realized after the fact i was supposed to go up to 5reps here, ill get it next time)

barbell step-ups:75x10, 75x10, 125x10, 125x10

lying legcurls: 50x10, 75x10, 100x6, 100x6

*first time in my life ive ever done front squats or step ups. have to say, front squats felt much more natural (or comfortable) than regular squats ever have.

*also skipped grip work for now, get plenty of grip work usually at my construction job. but ill add it in next time.

overall workout, felt good doing neglected movements. a lot (A LOT) of room for improvement…looking forward to it.

forgot a few things in my first post:

height: 5’7

weight: 168 (as of monday morning aug 11, the day i started ws4sb)

bodyfat: according to my measurement with calipurs, 12%. dont really trust it, but im not really concerned with it either.

arm: 14.5
chest: 42
thigh: 23

these were taken by me with a tailors tape, so accuracy is an issue. however , as long as im always innacurate the same way, i guess ill be able to judge any progress, hehe.

diet:

breakfast: muscle milk shake, with whole milk
2 waffles

lunch: a chicken or tuna sandwich, with mayo (im going to start bringing some kind of bar to work for snacks, as well.)

3rd meal: 8 oz fruit juice, muscle milk shake with whole milk (this is also the postworkout meal on workout days, other wise i do this when i get hom,e from work)

dinner: 10-12 oz of beef, fish, or chicken, plus about 80-100 grams of carbohydrate, usually rice, lentels, or pasta and a vegetable(<—need to eat more of these)

snack: either a chicken sandwich, or a smaller portion of what ihad for dinner, about half the amount.(usually i make extra of my dinner, for this reason)

before bed:another muscle milk shake with whole milk.

this is the guideline, im not against an occasional dessert, or big ‘dirty’ meal at a restaurant. i need calories…ive been lean my whole life, and i can always clean it up gradually as i become more accustomed to eating more food, or if i start to look too sloppy. (ive gained several pounds already, without getting soft in the belly, so i figure i can keep adding more calories for a good long while).

[quote]hypnotoad wrote:
front squats: 175x2 (realized after the fact i was supposed to go up to 5reps here, ill get it next time)

barbell step-ups:75x10, 75x10, 125x10, 125x10

lying legcurls: 50x10, 75x10, 100x6, 100x6

*first time in my life ive ever done front squats or step ups. have to say, front squats felt much more natural (or comfortable) than regular squats ever have.
[/quote]

Lol, for a second there I thought your title said “GloryHole”. Man I need to get away from the computer.

Seriously though, congrats on getting back into training and keep on improving. Got a quick question- You wrote you’re new to step-ups, but that is some good weight to be moving at your size. Are you pushing off with the back leg at all? If so, you should try to keep that at a minimum and focus on using that lead leg. Drive through that heel and lock out hard at the top. Keep your abs braced too. And if you’re already doing that, awesome!

[quote]Doug Adams wrote:
hypnotoad wrote:
front squats: 175x2 (realized after the fact i was supposed to go up to 5reps here, ill get it next time)

barbell step-ups:75x10, 75x10, 125x10, 125x10

lying legcurls: 50x10, 75x10, 100x6, 100x6

*first time in my life ive ever done front squats or step ups. have to say, front squats felt much more natural (or comfortable) than regular squats ever have.

Lol, for a second there I thought your title said “GloryHole”. Man I need to get away from the computer.

Seriously though, congrats on getting back into training and keep on improving. Got a quick question- You wrote you’re new to step-ups, but that is some good weight to be moving at your size. Are you pushing off with the back leg at all? If so, you should try to keep that at a minimum and focus on using that lead leg. Drive through that heel and lock out hard at the top. Keep your abs braced too. And if you’re already doing that, awesome!
[/quote]

thanks for checking out my training log. yea, i was using some back leg push on step-ups for the last two sets (more of a bit of a push with the calf than a full push, id say). thanks for the tip, ill work to clean up my form on that. next leg day, ill try the same weight, if i still use a back leg push, ill immediately lower the weight.

edit* went back out to the garage to check out my form, definately a bit of knee bend and a quick push to get started on the 125lbs. thanks for the tip again, this log is already paying dividends lol

no workout today, kinda chomping at the bit for tommorow.

heard this quote in a videogame of all places…“when a man doesnt know what port he’s sailing to, no wind is favorable”

seems quite applicable to what we all do here.

I hope you succeed in reaching your goa-ALL GLORY TO THE HYPNOTOAD!

[quote]hypnotoad wrote:

no doing a back bridge while benching, etc.,).[/quote]

On a side note, that is not necessarily “bad form.” Different goals call for different styles of lifting. The same could be said for standard vs. wide-stance squats. But if your goal is not some form of powerlifting, then keep doing what you’re doing. Congratulations on the new effort!

[quote]LiftSmart wrote:
I hope you succeed in reaching your goa-ALL GLORY TO THE HYPNOTOAD![/quote]

lol

[quote]JSmith23 wrote:
hypnotoad wrote:

no doing a back bridge while benching, etc.,).

On a side note, that is not necessarily “bad form.” Different goals call for different styles of lifting. The same could be said for standard vs. wide-stance squats. But if your goal is not some form of powerlifting, then keep doing what you’re doing. Congratulations on the new effort!

[/quote]

i get what you’re saying, and its a good point. i suppose im more worried about counting a rep done in different form. meaning, 3 ‘strict’ reps than a rep with a fully arched back…and thinking i had made ‘progress’.

although if i did 4 strict then 1 arched rep next workout, i guess that would be progress lol. thanks for the input, definately food for thought.

thanks for checking out the log.

AUG 15

repetition upperbody:

bodyweight dips: 21, 17, 12
*got pretty gassed on last set, 60 second rest between sets shorter than im used to. felt good though.

rope pressdowns: 50x6, 50x7, 50x6, 50x6

  • very strict, arms felt super tight after these

wide grip lat pulldowns: 130x10, 130x10, 130x9, 140x8
*felt good, back was pumped, moreso than when i try chinups

bradford press: 95x10, 95x10, 105x7
*first time doing these, hope i did em right (one rep is back-to-front-to-back, so two presses per rep?)

EZ bar curls:75x10, 85x10, 95x8

  • tried to keep reps very strict

all in all a good workout. i plan on making saturdays a deadlift day. nothing crazy, a few warmups and a max effort 3-5 rep set, maybe some high rep shrugs after. that way i can keep wednesday as a squat day (the westside template i was using says its a lower body movement choice, squats or deadlift variation).

off topic*

wow, no more mike and the maddog. honestly i never liked russo, but together they were great. be interesting to see if francesca stays solo for a while, permanently, or if they get him a sidekick immediately.

on a training note,weight seems to be going up. 2 pounds heavier than i was monday morning (weighed myself today after i woke up, and had just used the bathroom).

AUG 16:

deadlifts:275x2
sumo stance:275x2

might swap out rack pulls for the sumo’s next week.

barbell shrugs:175x12, 175x12, 225x8, 225x12*

*used straps on this last set, grip starting giving out on third set.

short workout, that was the plan. would have liked to have gotten more reps in the deadlifts.

was looking at a site today that had the ‘proper’ way to take body measurements. my initial measurements may have been a bit off lol.

new ones as of aug 16 (hopefully more accurate)

arms:15 (flexed)

chest:44.25 (expanded)

leg:24.5 (standing, flexed)

AUG 18
ME upperbody

bench press: 220x4

incline dumbell press:55x10, 65x10, 65x10, 70x7

cable row:120x15, 150x15, 150x13, 150x11

reverse cable flyes: 30x 12, 30x11, 30x11

overall, a great workout, i think. weight and/or reps up in every set of every exercise.

also seem to be gaining weight quickly, and not much of it fat.

another pretty cool quote, i think:

“few men are born brave - many become so through training and force of discipline”

AUG 19:

moved up tomorrows workout to today, feeling very energetic (hopefully this wasnt too bad an idea)
max effort
front squats: 175x4

barbell step-ups:75x12, 75x12, 95x8, 95x8
*lowered the weight on these, as last time i used too much rear leg push. much better form here, felt em a lot better.

leg curls:60x10, 75x10, 100x8, 100x8

good workout all in all. will probably swap front squats for a box squat next week. will stick to these two suplemental moves for one more week.

AUG 21

repetiton upperbody:

body weight dips: 24, 18, 12

rope pressdowns: 50x8, 50x8, 50x8, 50x8

lat pulldowns: 130x12, 130x10, 130x10, 140x10

bradford press: 95x12, 105x9, 105x9

ez bar curls: 85x10, 95x10, 105x6

good workout, will switch out dips next week. may change a couple others as well, but i’ll wait until the day of the workout to decide.