Magwa's Log: I Will Eat Greyhair's Heart

Training Logs
1

Alright, here’s the deal. This is a very old log, I’m just transferring it over here to TMagnum, so I can get some fresh new ideas and perspectives, and most importantly, new people telling me how awesome I’m doing ;). So just wait for me to finish updating, this log took up about 14 pages so far on another website. What follows is a direct, word-for-word quoting of my previous training-related posts:

10-30-2007

This will be my first real intensive training regimen since about one year ago. After suffering a very crippling spiral fracture of my left humerus (upper arm) last January, my fitness went to shit. I barely ate for a month due to all the pain meds, and lost about 40 pounds (went from 227 to 186) in about a 3 month period. Then, as soon as I was able, I started an intensive bodyweight exercise program, which lasted about 4 months, and got back up to 202 @ 16.3% body fat. I now weigh 193, and am much stronger than I was due to the reinstatement of a lifting program, but am not sure about my current bfp.

Using Conjugated periodization, via a Westside 4 Skinny Bastards template, These are my projected goals for early April 2008, after which point I intend to cut as much as necessary, until I reach about 195 or 200 lbs, so I can fight at 185 lbs in June 2008:

Current Bench Max: 190lbs (est.)

Goal Bench Max: 275lbs

Current 5-rep Squat Max: 205lbs

Goal 5-rep Squat Max: 350lbs

Current Deadlift Max: UNKNOWN

Goal Deadlift Max: 1500lbs.?

Notes:
±-- All lifts are recorded in US pounds (lbs.)
±-- All Dumbbell (DB) lifts are recorded using the weight of each dumbbell (e.g. 5
reps on DB press, holding a 50 pound dumbbell in each hand will be recorded as
“5x 50”)
±-- Each set will be labeled with the letter “S” followed by the number of the set

Tuesday, October 30th

Workout time: approx. 3:00pm

A. Decline Bench Press

S1. 5x bar
S2. 5x 65
S3. 5x 95
S4. 5x 115
S5. 3x 135
S6. 3x 155
S7. 3x 175
S8. 1x 185, then failure

B. Flat Dumbbell Bench Press

S1. 8x 50
S2. 6x 55
S3. 6x 55

C. Bent-Over Barbell Row

S1. 10x 125
S2. 10x 125
S3. 10x 125
S4. 10x 125

D. Bent-Over Rear Delt DB Flyes

S1. 12x 25
S2. 12x 25

E. Russian Twists w/Plate

S1. 12x 25
S2. 12x 25
S3. 12x 25

F. Saxon Side Bends (w/Dumbbells)

S1. 12x 25

I’ll keep you posted on my progress, and simply post if you have any questions!

2

Saturday, November 3rd, 2007:

A. Flat Dumbbell Bench (Dynamic effort: for speed and max reps)

S1. 20x 35
S2. 15x 35
S3. 15x 35

B. DB Triceps Extension

S1. 10x 25
S2. 10x 25
S3. 10x 25

C. Lat Pulldown (stuck at shitty condo gym which doesn’t have a chin bar)

S1. 8x 150
S2. 8x 150
S3. 8x 150
S4. 5x 150 (failure)

D. Lateral DB Raises

S1. 12x 25
S2. 12x 25
S3. 15x 25

E. Isolated Bicep Curl (machine)

S1. 10x 65 (65 total weight)
S2. 10x 65
S3. 10x 65

F. Abdominal Circuit (no rest periods between exercises)
NOTE: Abdominal crunches are performed with arms folded behind head and hands on shoulder blades; TRY this as it gives greater neck support AND seems to increase the intensity of the crunch!)

DB Russian Twist

S1. 15x 25

Staggered Leg Crunches (left knee raised 90°, right leg elevated 6 inches above ground)

S2. 12x bodyweight
(reverse leg positions: right knee raised 90°, left leg elevated 6 inches above ground)
S3. 12x bodyweight

Turtle Sit-Ups (bottoms of feet pressed together, knees spread widely apart, like the butterfly position)

S1. 12x bodyweight

G. DB Swings/Litinovs

35 lb Dumbbell…

S1. 20 secs for max reps
rest 10 secs
S2. 20 secs for max reps
rest 10 secs
S3. 20 secs for max reps
rest 10 secs
S4. 20 secs for max reps
rest 10 secs
S5. 20 secs for max reps
rest 10 secs
S6. 20 secs for max reps
rest 10 secs
S7. 20 secs for max reps
rest 10 secs
S8. 20 secs for max reps
rest 10 secs

Followed by 25 mph Sprint w/o rest for 10 miles

3

Sunday, November 4, 2007:

A. Pull-ups (for fun)

S1. 8x bw
S2. 8x bw

B. Chin-ups (for fun)

S1. 5x bw

C. Tabata-style Back Squats

w/ 45 lb Straight Bar only…

S1. 20 secs for max reps
rest 10 secs
S2. 20 secs for max reps
rest 10 secs
S3. 20 secs for max reps
rest 10 secs
S4. 20 secs for max reps
rest 10 secs
S5. 20 secs for max reps
rest 10 secs
S6. 20 secs for max reps
rest 10 secs
S7. 20 secs for max reps
rest 10 secs
S8. 20 secs for max reps
rest 10 secs

followed by internal bleeding and death.

4

Tuesday, November 6th, 2007:

NOTE: Starting today, this is also a rough dietary log.

Felt like shit waking up today. Insomnia keeps getting worse; 3 nights ago I couldn’t sleep 'til 3:30 a.m., two nights ago 4:30 a.m., last night was 7:00 a.m., and the sun actually beat me.

I saw the sun rise before I could get to sleep. Woke up sneezing and hacking up bright green mucus. I missed a workout last week…my grandmother’s funeral was on Wednesday…so I couldn’t allow myself to miss any workouts this week. My day is going as follows:

1:30ish p.m.: Woke up to a phone call from a lifting buddy

Breakfast (2:00 p.m.)

1.75 scoops SportPharma�?� Vanilla Whey Protein Blend
8 fl. oz. Welch’s�?� 100% White Grape Cherry Juice
2.5 slices Arnold�?� Whole Wheat Bread

Totals:
Protein: 59.75g
Carbs: 85g
Fat: 2.5g

3:00 p.m.: At the gym

A. Flat Barbell Bench Press

S1. 5x bar
S2. 5x 95
S3. 5x 115
S4. 5x 135
S5. 3x 155 (slight shock when I unracked the weight, it felt unusually heavy)
S6. 0x 175 (I couldn’t move this stupid shit)

NOTE: Worth mentioning is that I changed from my usual grip for the previous sets, having placed my middle finger on the outer ring, instead of my index finger about 4 inches from the smooth part of the bar (this is my usual grip).

a few minutes later…changing back to my usual, narrower grip…
S7. 2x 175 (third rep with assistance)

B. Incline DB Bench Press

S1. 10x 45
S2. 8x 50
S3. 6x 50
S4. 5x 50

C. Bent-Over Row

S1. 12x 115
S2. 10x 125
S3. 10x 125

D. Bent-Over Rear Delt DB Flyes

S1. 12x 25
S2. 12x 25
S3. 12x 25
S4. 12x 25

E. Russian Twists w/ DB

S1. 15x 30
S2. 15x 30
S3. 15x 30

F. Saxon Side Bends (w/Dumbbells)

S1. 8x 25

And starting today, this is also going to be somewhat of dietary log as well

Post-workout smoothie/meal (5:00p.m.):

2 cups Barber’s�?� skim milk +
8 tbsp Ovaltine�?� Chocolate malt mix (PACKED with B vitamins and calcium) +
1 scoop SportPharma�?� Vanilla Whey Protein

followed by

1 scoop Gatorade�?� Orange powder in 2 cups water

followed by

2.5 slices Arnold�?� Whole Wheat Bread

TOTAL Protein, Carb, Fat Contents:
Protein: 57.5g
Carbs: �??172.5g
Fat: 4.5g

(6:45 p.m.):
Some sort of Marinated Chicken Wrap with vegetables from Pita Pit

(9:00 p.m.):
Juicy Steak with worcestershire sauce and mesquite rub (maybe 6-8 oz.)
Sweet Butter Lettuce Salad with 2 tbsp. Newman’s Own Light Raspberry Walnut Vinaigrette

(10:00 p.m.):

Tabata-style wankin’ session
20 secs beatin it
10 secs rest
etc…

(11:30 p.m.):
bout 6-8 more oz. of steak
salad w/vinaigrette

(1:30 p.m.):
Steak

5

Thursday, November 8th, 2007:

Today is the first time I have performed a deadlift of any sort in about a year. The one time I performed a deadlift last year I had no idea about powerlifting or form, and didn’t know exactly what I was doing, and abandoned it completely.

Today I found the two strongest guys in the gym (one had a Powerlifting shirt on and the other a BB.com shirt and they were both raw benching in the 400s, so I asked one of them for tips on form. The info was vague and he indicated I had the right idea. That being said, I’m ready to become a pulling machine. Work to be done!

A. Straight Bar Deadlift

S1. 5x 135
S2. 5x 135
S3. 5x 155
S4. 5x 185
S5. 5x 205
S6. 5x 225
S7. 5x 245

It felt a little heavy, but I decided to give it a rest for the day, just until I feel a little more familiar with this lift. If anyone has some useful tips I might not know, please post them.

B. DB Step-Ups

S1. 8x 50 (8 reps with each leg/50 pound DB in each hand)
S2. 8x 50
S3. 8x 50

C. Leg Curls

8x 112.5
8x 112.5
8x 112.5

D. Heavy DB Holds (Timed)

S1. 50x 30s
S2. 50x 30s
S3. 50x 30s
S4. 50x 30s
S5. 50x 30s
S6. 50x 30s

E. Mental Levitation (Timed)

S1. 6ft off ground for 30s
S2. 8ft off ground for 30s
S3. 9ft off ground for 30s

Post-Workout Shake (8:00 p.m.):

4 scoops Endurox R4
1 Honey Wheat Bagel
2 slices whole wheat bread

45g protein
202g carbs

6

Tuesday, November 13th, 2007:

Workout Start Time: 4:15 p.m.

Certain members of my party couldn’t be reached and put off their shit for the day which pushed our work out time back. Upon arrival at the gym, we find that the secret haven of heavy iron is becoming more and more well-known with time. Curl monkeys were there who I had never seen before.

One tribe of monkeys actually performed their rhythmic bicep pumping ritual for the entire duration of our, and their, session! This was followed, of course, by mutual stroking of each other’s bicep veins. In summation, all future workouts MUST begin by 12:00 p.m.

A. Decline Barbell Bench Press

S1. 5x 95
S2. 5x 115
S3. 5x 135
S4. 5x 155
S5. 3x 175
S6. 3x 185
S7. 2x 195 (I was fairly certain this was the last full rep I had in the tank, and so decided to quit)(PR +10 lbs!)

B. Flat DB Bench Press

S1. 6x 55
S2. 8x 55
S3. 8x 55

C. Bent-Over Barbell Row

S1. 10x 135
S2. 10x 135
S3. 10x 135
S4. 10x 135

D. Bent-Over Rear Delt DB Flyes

S1. 12x 30
S2. 12x 25
S2. 12x 25

E. Russian Twists w/DB

S1. 15x 40
S2. 15x 40
S3. 15x 40

F. Saxon Side Bends

S1. 8x 30

Breakfast (9:00 a.m.):

a few slices of Nature’s Own Whole Wheat Bread

(11:00 a.m.): Subway 6" Whole Wheat Double Stacked Sweet Onion Chicken Teriyaki Sub

(2:00 a.m.) Jason’s Deli California Club w/ steamed broccoli, cauliflower, carrots

Post-workout smoothie/meal: (5:55 p.m.)

1 scoop SportPharma�?� Vanilla Whey Protein +
2 scoop EAS�?� 100% Whey Chocolate Flavor Protein +
2 cups Dairy Fresh�?� 2% milkfat milk
AND
5 slices Nature’s Own�?� 100% Whole Wheat Bread

(6:45 p.m.)
3 scoops Gatorade orange powder (my brain was dead so I added way too much) in water

TOTAL Protein, Carb, and Fat Contents:
Protein: 91g
Carbs: �??258g
Fat: 10g

(8:55 p.m.):

1 scoop SportPharma�?� Vanilla Whey Protein +
2 cups water
AND
�?? 12 fl. oz. V8 Low Sodium Vegetable Juice

TOTAL Protein, Carb, and Fat Contents:
Protein: 27g
Carbs: �??2g
Fat: 0g

(10:55 p.m.):
1 scoop SportPharma�?� Vanilla Whey Protein +
2 cups water
AND
�?? 12 fl. oz. V8 Low Sodium Vegetable Juice

TOTAL Protein, Carb, and Fat Contents:
Protein: 27g
Carbs: �??2g
Fat: 0g

(12:00 a.m.)
1.25 scoop SportPharma�?� Vanilla Whey Protein +
1 cups 2% milk
AND
�?? 12 fl. oz. V8 Low Sodium Vegetable Juice

(1:10 a.m.):
�?? 12 fl. oz. V8 Low Sodium Vegetable Juice

…will take 3 Nature’s Plus ZMA capsules shortly before retiring, hopefully ca. 2:00 a.m.

7

HIIT

On Cybex treadmill (it was raining pretty hard and time was wasting):

Incline: 5

Jog/Rest speed: 5.5 mph

Sprint Speed: 10 mph (I couldn’t get it to go any faster

Stretch

Warm-up:

2 min - Walk 3.0 mph
2 min - Jog 5.5 mph

HIIT:

30s - Sprint
60s - Jog
30s - Sprint
60s - Jog
30s - Sprint
60s - Jog
30s - Sprint
60s - Jog
30s - Sprint
60s - Jog
30s - Sprint
60s - Jog
30s - Sprint
4 min - Jog

Finished

8

Thursday, November 15th, 2007

A. Back Squats

S1. 5x 135
S2. 5x 135
S3. 5x 185
S4. 5x 205
S5. 5x 225
S6. 3x 235
S7. 3x 225 ATG (I had a friend film me so I could see my form, which was acceptable, but my ass wasn’t anywhere near the grass on the previous sets, so I stepped down the weight)

B. Dumbbell Step-ups

S1. 8x 50
S2. 8x 50
S3. 8x 50

C. Leg Curl

S1. 10x 125
S2. 10x 125
S3. 10x 125

D. Heavy DB Holds

S1. 30s x 80
S2. 30s x 80
S3. 30s x 80

9

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

A. Decline Barbbell Bench Press

S1. 5x 45
S2. 5x 65
S3. 5x 95
S4. 5x 115
S5. 5x 135
S6. 5x 155
S7. 3x 175
S8. 3x 185
S9. 3x 195

B. Flat DB Bench Press

S1. 6x 60
S2. 6x 60
S3. 6x 60

C. Bent-over Barbell Row

S1. 10x 135
S2. 10x 135
S3. 10x 135

skipped rear delt db flyes, time was short

D. Russian Twists w/DB

S1. 15x 40
S2. 15x 40
S3. 15x 40

10

Monday, November 26, 2007

HIIT

Incline: 7

Jog: 4.5mph

Sprint 10mph

60s - Jog
30s - Sprint
60s - Jog
30s - Sprint
60s - Jog
30s - Sprint
60s - Jog
30s - Sprint

11

Tuesday, November 27th, 2007

A. Incline Barbell Bench Press

S1. 5x 45
S2. 5x 95
S3. 5x 115
S4. 5x 135
S5. 2x 155
S6. 1x 160

B. Flat DB Bench Press

S1. 6x 60
S2. 6x 60
S3. 6x 60
S4. 8x R:60 L:50

C. Bent-Over DB Row
(improved form today [went parallel to ground instead of incline] and dropped weight)

S1. 12x 50
S2. 12x 50
S3. 12x 50
S4. 12x 50

D. Bent-Over Rear Delt DB Flyes
(improved form today [went parallel to ground instead of incline] and dropped weight)

S1. 12x 15
S2. 12x 10
S3. 12x 15

E. Russian Twists w/DB

S1. 15x 45
S2. 15x 45
S3. 15x 45

12

Thursday, November 29, 2007

A. Back Squats
(decided to improve form today, and went slightly past parallel on all reps)

S1. 5x 45
S2. 5x 95
S3. 5x 135
S4. 5x 155
S5. 5x 175
S6. 5x 195
S7. 3x 225 then failure

B. Barbell Step-Ups

S1. 8x 105
S2. 8x 105
S3. 8x 115

C. Leg Curl Machine

S1. 8x 137.5
S2. 8x 137.5
S3. 8x 137.5

D. Heavy DB Holds

S1. 30 secs x 85
S2. 30 secs x 95
S3. 30 secs x 95

E. Tabata Zercher/Back Squats

Using 45 lb. bar:

4 mins total

20 sec work interval for max reps followed by 10 sec rest interval, switching from Zerchers to back squats half-way through

13

Surgery done. I got a bunch of heavy lifting days in before I went under the knife to try and preserve some strength. So far, the pain seems to be dulling to a point where it’s more comfortable than before. Thank God.

Nearly a year of lifting in pain is finally done. Doc says I’m back in the gym at full steam in three weeks (two and a half now), so the logs will resume then, hopefully with some big numbers.

14

Update: elbow pain has returned , and has been identified as severe tendonitis caused by an impinging washer (now removed) on the left triceps tendon, with risk of tendon rupture. The temporary lapse in pain was probably due to hospital administered anti-inflammatory meds and local anaesthetics.

Instructed not to exacerbate it with lifting for another two weeks MINIMUM, in order to let inflammation recede.

In order to preserve the most muscle mass (since compound movements such as bench and cleans are forbidden, fuck) I’m throwing some BB type isolation workouts in to my schedule [pec flyes, lateral raises, rows are still okay, heavy squatting isn’t affected, pullups, right arm triceps extension, standing face pulls] so I can avoid putting the affected tendon under tension, in addition to Tabata squats with DB(25 lb each) every other day, to keep the fat off.

As soon as I can lift without risk of further injury, you’ll know.

15

First squat day in awhile was yesterday. It went as follows.

A. Back Squats

S1. 95x 5
S2. 115x 5
S3. 135x 5
S4. 175x 5
S5. 195x 5
S6. 205x 5
S7. 205x 5
S8. 205x 3 (my partner made me laugh when I was at rock bottom, and I almost broke my back)
S9. 205x 4 (not failure, just left one in the tank)

B. DB Step-Ups

S1. 50x 8
S2. 50x 8
S3. 50x 8

C. Heavy DB Holds

S1. 95x 30secs
S2. 95x 30secs
S3. 95x 30secs

I forgot my peri-workout mix, and so was in a rush to leave the gym to get some nutrition. Thus, I neglected to do Good Mornings. I’ll hit 'em hard next week.

In other IMPORTANT news: I’m dying to try my first heavy bench since the radial screw, washer, and wires were removed from my arm (these were the source of my tendinitis). My doc said I can do whatever I please now.

However, with enough exertion, there is still a slight pinch (in place of what was previously excruciating pain) at the insertion point of the (lateral?) triceps. It will have been three weeks and a couple days since the hardware was removed, but since I have limited experience with this condition, and don’t want to re-exacerbate this condition into another full blown case of tendinitis.

So if anyone has any personal experience with this kind of thing, is 3 weeks and change enough time to assume tendinitis is gone, or should I grit my teeth and neglect exercising the left triceps for yet another week? Preesh.

16

For reference, this is my left humerus, minus the long screw and washer and wires that have been in it for a year. The hardware seen in the x-ray is in there permanently.

the arm:
http://img300.imageshack.us/img300/5993/p1110608sz9.jpg

the screw, with washer:
http://img166.imageshack.us/img166/3906/p1110610gf4.jpg

17

Today I tried out my left triceps…still hurts like a bitch, only slightly less than before I think. Pain seemed to diminish as training went on, but it didn’t vanish. Looks like this is something I’ll have to work through.

A. DB Bench

S1. 45x 15
S2. 50x 12
S3. 60x 10
S4. L: 60x 4 R: 60x 8
S5. L: 60x 3 R: 60x 8

Perhaps I should cease to increase the weight on my right arm until my left side catches up.

I read that the body will utilize a stronger muscle group over a weaker one when possible, in the completion of a lift. I’ll balance my dumbbell bench until my left and right unilateral strengths are about equal, so that my right doesn’t continue to advance faster than my left.

B. Skull Crushers
(these are when I realized the pain was alive and well)

S1. 75x 8 (far too taxing to be done at high volume, so I dropped a little weight)
S2. 65x 8
S3. 65x 8
S4. 65x 8

C. Pull-ups

S1. 10x bw
S2. 8x bw
S3. 8x bw
S4. 6x bw

(given that my bodyweight has not significantly changed since training began, these have visibly improved)

D. Laterals

S1. 30x 12
S2. 30x 12
S3. 30x 10

E. Weighted Decline Sit-Ups

S1. 35lbsx 15
S2. 45lbsx 12
S3. 45lbsx 12

NOTE: I consider today to be a moderate success given that it was the first training of any real intensity since I’ve gotten back in it.

I think my recent creatine use has mildly improved my explosiveness in most exercises, particularly DB Bench, reps felt easier (at least with right arm) and were performed more explosively. Could be placebo effect. And does anyone have any useful experience with tendinitis?

18

Saw my first, real-life arterial blood spurt today. I DEEPLY stabbed my left hand with a kitchen knife, and an arc of blood shot out so high that my roommate had time to limbo under it and avoid the spray. Kept pumping for a few minutes, too.

This might impede my lifting, but there’s no fucking way it’ll stop me from trying. Also, I’m going to check out either Novadex or longjack extract for test boosting this week. I’m also ordering Madmick’s Biotest Surge mimicker from trueprotein.com as I recently learned the beauty that is peri-workout nutrition. I’m out of brussel sprouts at the moment.

19

Yesterday:

A. Bench Press

S1. 5x 95
S2. 5x 115
S3. 5x 135
S4. 5x 155
S5. 3x 175
S6. 1x 185
S7. 1x 185
S8. 1x 185
S9. 1x 185

B. Seated DB Overhead Press

S1. 15x 30
S2. 8x 40
S3. 8x 40
S4. L: 4x 40 R: 8x40 (I’m just going to stick at this weight until my left arm completely matches my right’s abilities

C. Bent-Over Row

S1. 14x 135
S2. 10x 155
S3. 8x 165

D. Seated DB “Power Cleans”

S1. 12x 25
S2. 12x 25
S3. 12x 25

I dumped the abdominal exercise and I’m gonna start doing overhead squats on lower body DE day.

Today:

A. Back Squats (ATG baby!)

S1. 5x 95
S2. 5x 115
S3. 5x 135
S4. 5x 155
S5. 5x 185
S6. 5x 205
S7. 5x 225
S8. 5x 225
S9. 5x 225
S10. 5x 225

B. DB Lunges

S1. 8x 35
S2. 8x 35
S3. 8x 35

C. Heavy DB Holds (Timed)

S1. 30secs x 95
S2. 30secs x 95
S3. 30secs x 95

D. Good Mornings

S1. 8x 135
S2. 8x 135
S3. 8x 135

plus a SHITLOAD of cycling to and from class and around campus BEFORE squatting today.

20

Bought new cold gear. Hill Sprinted. Lungs froze. Suppressed vomit.