7/3/17
Dumbbell row 6x91.5kg (~202lbs)
I think I’m quite done with this exercise. I’m running out of space to add plates to the adjustable dumbbell handle and I’m using all if the 10kg plates in our gym.
So I guess it’s time to say goodbye to the dumbbell row.
I’m thinking about trying T-Bar rows out next, but I’m not sure about this yet, I’ll have to think this trough. Meadows row is another possible option.
I’d pick meadows out of the too.More rom plus they feel amazing,especially when you don’t pause on the floor
I’ll probably go with meadows row. The feel factor is a real thing, especially when we consider the fact that I would probably need to start with 130-150 kg on the T-Bar row. (That’s not really too enjoyable or safe)
Things are changing
I got challenged by a friend to do a bodybuilding show in the next three years, and I accepted the challenge so I’ll be training mainly for that (still going to include the meadows row)
On other news, I might get hired as a full-time personal trainer in a gym near my home town, that would be cool. Only problem is this - I’m unable to work for half a year during this winter. Well, we’ll see how it goes.
Didn’t get the job for now, but they’ll hire me when I can work consistently. (It’s something)
My log has been quite monotonic for a while now, I’m terribly sorry about it. Let’s try to fix things, starting with this post.
My current training split (to give you some ideas about “new” ways to train)
I took some things from DC and some other things from John Meadows and combined them into this monstrosity.
NOW BEFORE YOU READ ANY FURTHER, I MUST SAY:
IF YOU HAVE NOT BEEN TRAINING FOR AT LEAST FOUR YEARS, DO NOT TRY THIS PROGRAM. THIS PROGRAM IS NOT FOR BEGINNERS NOR SHOULD IT BE USED FOR LONG DURATIONS WITHOUT GOOD UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT YOU BODY IS TRYING TO TELL YOU
sorry for the caps, just, try to understand that this will not be your best bet if you are a novice lifter.
Goal of current training: Bring up my work capacity (I’ve done really low volume training lately, under 10 sets per week), gain overall mass, begin increasing my metabolic rate for the upcoming contest prep (which is in 2-2.5 years, but I like to be early)
Limiting factors: My shoulder and a tendon in my right hamstring (apparently I pulled/ruptured it too when I fell, there was a black spot for a couple of days. It’s tight and I can’t do heavy leg curls because of it)
Because I’m upping the volume quite a lot I’m using a split routine (push/pull/legs), I’ll move back to 2 day split or 2+3 day split later on.
Training cycle:
Day - Muscles trained
1 - Push (Chest+Shoulders+Triceps)
2- Pull (Back+Biceps+Forearms)
3 - Off
4 - Legs (Quads+Hams+Calves)
5 - Push
6 - Off
7 - Pull
8 - Legs
9 - Off
Repeat
At the beginning of each training session I do one “pre-pump” - exercise at around RPE 9 (below is a video where John Meadows explains how he uses the RPE - scale at 6:35) This is done to get blood flowing and to protect your from injuries, I’ll go over my choices of pre-pump exercises later on. Pre-pump exercises are not the place to just toss around maximum weights, what you want is to feel the muscle work, get warm and get a pump.
After this preparatory exercise I do one strength move. Only one. And I make sure that it hits my weakest muscles (In terms of power output, not size. So, for example, my lower body exercises, it’s usually my quads that limit the amount of weight I can move, so I take a compound move that trashes the quads hard - like the front squat)
After the strength move I do two assisting supersets for push day, one assisting superset for legs (will add another one when the time is right) and two assisting moves for back with straight sets with one superset of biceps, and after those, one auxillary giant set.
So, the assistance or “bodybuilding” work goes like this:
1 superset for shoulders and 1 superset for triceps on push day
2 exercises with 1-2 straight sets each for back, 1 superset for biceps on pull day
1 superset for quads on leg day
The auxiliary giant sets consists of calves/forearms and abs
I have two ways of doing them:
1: Standing calf raise - Seated calf raise - Ab move
2: Wrist roller - Wrist curl - Ab move
0-15 seconds of rest between exercises
I do forearms on pull days and the second push day and calves on leg days and the first push day
Finally, after the auxiliary circuit I have a metabolic component.
For legs, it’s a quad blast (look at my older posts and you’ll see how it’s done)
On pull days I do intervals with the rowing ergometer
On push days I do a turkish get up to waiters walk complex (to help heal up the shoulder)
Now let’s put it all together, I use push day as an example:
Push:
Note: I do band pull-aparts between each warm-up set and also the work sets for close-grip bench
Preparatory (pre-pump) exercise:
Incline dumbbell bench press on a 30 degree bench
Sets: 1
Reps: 8-12
Strength exercise:
Close - grip bench press
Sets: 2
Reps: 4-6 on first set, 7-12 on second set
chest stretch
Assistance superset 1 (shoulders)
Standing shoulder press
Sets: 1 rest-pause set (one pause)
Reps: total of 11-15
Lateral raise
Sets: 1
Reps: 11-20
Shoulder stretch
Assistance superset 2 (triceps)
Dip
Sets: 1
Reps: 7-11
Overhead tricep extension
Sets: 1
Reps: 11-20
Tricep stretch
Auxiliary circuit:
Calves and abs or forearms and abs
Metabolic component:
Turkish get ups to waiters walk
Jesus Christ
I’m just going to say this:
I have found the best exercise for back development (okay, maybe it’s too early to say anything about whether or not it builds mass, but if nothing else, it really shows you what a TRUE back contraction feels like)
So what is it?
Meadows row.
That’s all?
Nope. With this simple trick you can make the row a hell of a lot better for your back (and reduce the amount of stress on your forearms/wrists that comes from using a pronated grip)
Attach a single-arm handle to the end of the barbell in a way that it can spin and row by grabbing it (I found semi-pronated grip best for this but you can go with anything because the handles spin)
So how exactly can you do this?
Step by step, here is how:
1 Stick a barbell in a corner
2 Load up the barbell (start with less than you think you need, use small plates)
3 (optional) put a lock there (not in contact with the plates but 2-3 inches from the end of the barbell)
4 Put a small chain there and attach the handle to the chain (not to the end of the chain but make sure the handle can spin)
5 Put another lock on there (so the chain is between the locks and stays there)
6 Grab the handle and proceed to row
How to row:
In the bottom position the bar should be under your shoulder
With a smooth movement, bring the handle to your waist and twist your body away from the working arm at the same time. (Feel free to alternate your wrist position even during the movement)
Squeeze that back for a moment, you could also include a 5 second squeeze every 5 reps during the set
Rowing this way, you should be able to get your back to cramp even without any resistance, you can give it a shot right now.
Make sure your shoulder blades move trough a great range of motion with this move
And yes, this is a perfect exercise tutorial (man I really suck with these, so feel free to ask any questions if you don’t understand)
Happy rowing!
Something that everyone should read, by DC (so not my text, alright?)
PAYING YOUR DUES
This post is for everyone in this forum–its very important to read over–VERY IMPORTANT. Want to know the average trainee that comes to me? He is 35-45 years old and after 10-15 years of lifting weighs 175 to 210lbs. He looks at me as the guy that somehow can pull a bunny out of a hat and make him that 250lb ripped bodybuilder walking the streets… where he couldnt even get close to that level by himself. He is scrambling around because he doesnt want to get to 50 years old never feeling what it was like to walk thru a crowd and people gawk, stare, and point because he is a damn good bodybuilder. Well what the hell have you been doing all these years!!! You should of put in your f*^&ing dues like the rest of us. These same guys think Im a miracle worker that can somehow add 80lbs of muscle mass on their frame while losing 30lbs of fat while keeping incredibly lean thruout the journey to get there. Well guess what? YOU FUCKED UP. Want to know the fastest way to walk around at 250 ripped–THE ABSOLUTELY G’DAMN FASTEST WAY TO GET THERE? TAKE 2 YEARS AND EAT HUGE AMOUNTS OF FOOD, AND TRAIN WITH BRUTALLY HEAVY WEIGHTS, AND BECOME A BIG FAT OFFENSIVE LINEMAN LOOKING GUY AT 330LBS…AND NO IT WONT BE PRETTY…AT ALL. MOST OF ALL DONT DO ANYTHING THAT COULD POSSIBLY EVEN IMPEDE THE SLIGHTEST IN MUSCLE MASS GAIN. Just eat copious amounts of food (up to 500-600 grams of protein) and bring your bodyweight up the charts which will allow you leverage and strength gains to allow you use the incredible weights you have to use in the gym to accomplish this. Then after being at that level for density reasons for awhile, you can slowly take it down and I mean slowly and most likely have the most muscle mass gain your genetics allowed in that time frame. That is the probably the fastest way in the shortest time to get there. But definitely not the most desirable but truth is truth. Am i recommending that approach–HELL NO, but if we are talking about getting this done as fast as humanly possible then I have to be blunt. Noone wants to look like a fat slob even if it means the end result will be much closer to their ideal. And these guys 35-45 years old want me to keep them pretty boy lean and wave the magic wand and make them into Milos Sarcev after they pretty much just wasted 10-15 years of training.
I dont like using myself for an example but I will here. I started training at about 20 at 137lbs and predominantly spent the next 15 years eating tremendous amounts of food, training with very heavy weights but keeping active so I am at a leaness I personally am satisfied with. I topped out at about 303lbs and but currently hang around 283-288 because thats what I like to be at. I put my dues in here. I might jump in a show if time allows but because of my schedule currently we will have to see how that works out. Mainly Im looking forward to the day I can kind of relax and not push the limits like I have all these years. The 6 meals a day every day, and the war with the logbook along with lugging around 285-300lbs sometimes becomes very tedious. I go to bed at nite thinking exactly what Im going to do and what all this hard work will easily allow myself to do when I decide to crank the dial downward. Cardio will be done 6 times a week for health and bodyfat reasons and that will take priority.
Back to the subject on hand here. So what will all this hard work for the past 15 years allow me to do? I’m in my mid 30’s now so for the rest of my 30’s and thru my 40’ and 50’s i can pretty much walk around at 250lbs hard as a rock at a very low bodyfat percentage. Ive set myself up so that will be very very easy. I actually have to do much less than everything I do now (except cardio) to be there. Ill use guys in this forum for examples, Inhuman and massive G are both around 5’9", 5’10" and are offseason 280 to 300. They have spent the time and food consumption and paid their dues to get there. Massive G I believe is mid 30’s and Inhuman is early 40’s I believe. Both these guys will be able to crank this down and enjoy walking around with full abs, hard as granite with veins everywhere at 240-260lbs. They have set themselves up and paid their dues in their 20’s and 30’s to do that. You guys that are 35-45 years old who want this but weigh 175-210lbs are playing catchup and are so behind the race its sad. My point of this post is to get guys in their early 20’s to think, to get guys who just blew 10 years of training who are in their 30’s to think, and to get guys who just blew 10-15 years of training who are in their 40’s to think. Am I advising bulking up? No that was a hypothetical example. Im advising you get your freaking head on straight if you want this so bad. That means extreme food intake pronto, with the heaviest weights in good form that you can use progressively, extreme stretching and enough cardio (and bodyfat protocols) that it keeps you at a leaness your satisfied with as you get dramatically larger. This sport isnt unlike a career. You have to set yourself up early so you can be right where you want to be late. Theres alot of you guys 35-45 years old in this forum, some that I even train, that think they want it but really dont have what it takes to go get it. I see it in their workouts they send me (they take the easy comfortable road never pushing the limits) and for those that I dont train I sometimes see it in your posts—you just dont have what it takes. I can only provide a guide to get there, I cant create an inner drive for you.
You have to start thinking in terms of point B from point A. Do you really think that eating 3000 calories with 225 grams of protein and doing the Weider “confusion training principle” to keep your body offguard will somehow magically make your 175lbs into 250lbs of rock granite monstrosity? Every year of training is so damn important. If you just trained for a whole year and only gained 2lbs of muscle mass, you just pretty much wasted a productive year of training–its gone–its lost and you arent getting that year back. Three weeks ago I was contacted by someone in his early 40’s who had been lifting for many years, weighed about 170lbs and showed me a picture of Geir Borgan Paulsen and said thats what he wanted to look like and can i get him there?!. Laughable. Geir Borgan Paulsen is 50 years old and looks freaking phenomenal. He is a tiny bit (and i mean every so slightly tiny bit smaller) than he was when he competed in his 30’s. Instead of wasting years and years of lifting getting absolutely nowhere, Geir spent his 20’s and 30’s eating huge amounts of food and training with heavy heavy weights so that he could walk around all thru his 30’s, 40’s and now 50 years old jacked to the hilt. Not many people have a better front double biceps than Geir no matter what age they are…here he is http://www.nutritionoutlet.nu/galler...02/borgan.html
What Im hoping to relay to you slackers and dreamers that are in this forum is that you have to put your time in and pay your dues in this sport. Your 2-3lbs gain a year arent going to get it done so unless you want to get to 55 years old and look back and think “wow besides the people I told and myself, noone even knew I was a bodybuilder and I never made it”…you better get your ass in gear and your head on right and get this done now. Gaining fat is easy but if you never lifted how long would it take for you to gain 80lbs of fat from 175 to 255lbs? Probably a year and you would have to forcefeed yourself to get there. Just think how long it takes to put on 80lbs of muscle mass which is an extremely “hard to come by” commodity. This sport is about extremes–using weights you havent used previously, taking in amounts of food to build greater muscle mass-in amounts you never have done previously, and GETTING THE CARDIO DONE to keep you at an acceptable offseason training bodyfat that keeps you happy. Get your act together and think this all out or quit your complaining and dreaming and take up tennis.
I don’t know why, but I’ve started growing again, I’m now 192.5cm tall (that is just under 6’4")
So I’ve grown quite a bit from starting this log (which wasn’t too far back)
If this doesn’t stop soon I’m going to get myself checked in case it’s coming from a malfunction of some kind.
I’ve also gained half an inch on my wrists, which should have stopped growing years ago so I’m not too happy about this. (Now remember that I am natural, so it’s not from outside source growth hormone, but my own)
Most frustrating thing about this is that it’s even harder to get to a bodyweight of 3.5lbs per inch of height if I keep growing. (Now I would need to weight 265lbs (120kg) in order to achieve that. (Relatively lean of course)
Well, it’s always cool to be huge as shit, just think about it;
6’4", 265lbs
Dang
I haven’t been active in ages, as I have been busy, but I’ll try to write more (hopefully someone is interested in the things I have to say)
Moving onto the next block of training: a 6-8 week diet (extreme style)
For the last couple of weeks I’ve really let myself go, I’ve gained far too much body fat as I have been sloppy with my diet
So, just to punish myself I’m going to diet hard for next 6-8 weeks, (expecting to lose 10-15 pounds of fat, so the pace will be fast).
Now when I say that I have let myself go, it means that I have just lost the veins in my hip area, but (for example) my chest and lower back are still rather defined (both have visible lines, chest has a bit of striation left) but my abdominal area and “love handles” look horrible.
Now you may be confused
How can one have striated chest and a lot of abdominal fat?
Hormones dictate the places you store your fat to, for example, I never store fat in my legs, forearms or chest, but (as stated) my abdominal area is a mess.
I also never gain visceral fat, I have taken a few bodyfat tests and the results always come back the same; lowest possible amount of visceral fat.
I’d say I’m around 13-14% bodyfat, which is a far too much. So I’m undergoing this rather extreme diet (which I will soon reveal) to remind myself to not get so goddamn fat.
The diet:
(Meals indicated by numbers)
(During the night when I wake up to go to the toilet)
50g whey
5g glutamine
5g creatine
5 fish oil capsules
(If I don’t wake up during the night, I don’t have this meal)
(Breakfast)
6 eggs
200ish grams (1/2 pound) of vegetables (spinach, broccoli, a bit of bell pepper)
2 cups green tea
250g (bit over 1/2 pound) 96% lean steak
8g olive oil
250 g vegetables (spinach, broccoli, tomato, garlic etc.)
2 cups of green tea
If its a training day:
B
30mins before training:
40g whey
5g glutamine
5g maltodextrine
Cup of coffee
5mins before training:
5g creatine
5g glutamine
5g maltodextrine
One specific supplement with caffeine and vitamins (won’t explain here, not a booster)
During training:
15g amino acids
60g maltodextrine (if legs, 40 grams otherwise)
After training:
40 g Whey
20g maltodextrine
If it’s a rest day, I’ll eat none of that and won’t replace it with anything
(1 hour after training)
300g of lean chicken (2/3pouns)
300g sweet potato (on a rest day I eat ~150g of sweet potato here)
200g of vegetables (the usual)
Vitamins
2 spoonfulls of apple cider vinegar
(~3 hours before bed)
500g (a bit over a pound) fat free quark
5 fish oil capsules
200g vegetables
2 spoonfulls of apple cider vinegar
I drink a lot of water and tea between the meals and use a zink/magnesium supplement 3-4 times after training
Total calories are about (very rougly as I’m too lazy to check)
340p/170c/75f on a training day
and
260p/60c/75f on a rest day
I’ll refeed every 9 days. (Normally I must refeed every 4th day , but this is a punishment and won’t be too long of a diet)
Now keep in mind that my maintenance calories are about 4300, so im on a 1300-2300 deficit per day (+I do a lot more cardio at the moment so this number is even bigger)
Is this smart?
No
would I recommend this to anyone?
No
But it is just what I need.
Now let’s overview the training:
The split has not changed, but I have added cardio to the mix. Now a training cycle of mine looks like this: (days indicated by numbers)
So as you see, I’m doing cardio everyday except leg days.
That is a lot.
After this diet is over I’m going to keep on doing cardio on my rest days but drop it from my push and pull days.
So, 10-15 pounds is not unrealistic at all, I may drop even more than that (I lose fat rather easily and hypocaloric diets like this one work well for me)
If all goes well, I may drop as low as 6-7% (this will require a bit longer diet though)
We will see
To end this: if you want willpower, try this, if you want gains, you are probably better off doing something smarter.
If you have anything to ask (apart from why) feel free to do so.
Well i know i do aha!
Hah, yeah
Honestly speaking, I just visited the site again after being away for a couple of days and noticed that you liked several posts in this log, and that “inspired” me to write again
Thanks dude
No problem 
And how old are you if i may ask?
The growing thing you posted before is interesting because My nanna is growing a third set of teeth. (Entirely different ) because its not height etc . Im just weirded out by it.
I’m just 19, so technically speaking I could still grow due to my age but there are a couple of reasons that this is unlikely;
Another reason for me to be worried about this is the fact that I have sings of going blind in one of my eyes and I have memory issues
So you may get why I’m a bit superstitious about this.
I have not discussed my age on the log because it could drive people away, but now that this has been revealed let me just say; I’ve been training with veteran bodybuilders and national level competitors (both bodybuilding and powerlifting) since I was 15. They have taught me about effective lifting methods and rather unusual ways of improving your physique and strength. (As a testament of this, look at my lifts I posted very early on this log, they were done when I was 16/17 years old. (And I couldn’t bench the bar when I started lifting))
I’m not saying this to lift myself on a podium, I’m saying this to prevent the “he’s young don’t listen to him” effect.
But a third set of teeth?
If something is rather unusual, it’s that.
You nearly db row 100 kilos! Id say thats pretty damn impressive at 19.
Also im 15 and my max db row is 35kg ×3 so your strength is ×3 of mine! And im 5ft 7 so i have less rom because im a dwarf. So you’re insanely strong
And you have so much knowledge at 19 i think you’re going places and will be very successful!
Could just be a late growth spurt even though you’re tall already haha!
Oh, stop it you, you are making me blush!
Thanks for the kind words
I seem to have made a typo, I’m 18, but I’m turning 19 very soon so it doesn’t really matter. (Let’s say I’m 19 just to look a bit more professional)
Just keep working with it, when I was 15 I could barely db row 15kg dumbbells
I hope not, as it is hard to avoid being lanky if you are too tall (and even now I would need to weight ~100kg on stage in order to be competitive in natural bodybuilding)
If you ask me, 5’10"-6’1" is quite perfect for bodybuilding if you are not gifted with very broad shoulders and great muscle-gaining genes.
(I think you may land within this area if you have any luck)
My dads 6ft4 and my mums 5ft2 so i think il end up at 5ft 10 maybe.
But my growing seems to have slowed down alot so i dont think il grow much taller.
I have largish hips so thats not good either but i have been told im broad shouldered so thats good.
And in regards to muscle gaining genes i think i just need to eat alot more and find what suits me in terms of gaining muscle. But i do gain strength at a decent rate so i was thinking if i cant bodybuild (which is likely because i have a slight curvature in my spine and one part of my neck is joined differently and my trap are f#cked up so i have alot of muscle imbalances there not hugely noticeable but they do annoy me)and say when i lift i get doms in my right erector spinae more then my left etc. il do strongman or powerlifting probably
Here is a picture of my neck. And my left side i think is different somehow int terms of where my shoulder is because its further from my neck so my bodies f#cked up
That is good thinking, just don’t overdo the eating part (or you’ll end up fat and the following diet will take away months of progress)
I’m quite sure this can be fixed (or at least the curvature can be reduced) by physiotherapy/surgery, but I’m not a doctor so I can’t promise anything.
Find something you enjoy, do it and stay healthy. Don’t get jealous of other people who have it better than you, you just have to play with the cards you were given.
By the way, height is a dominant trait, so you may end up quite tall.
Regarding the picture, your imbalances don’t seem to be too big so don’t worry about it too much, I’ve seen much worse and as you are young, these things could possibly be fixed
(it is quite hard to judge imbalances with a picture that is not taken from straight ahead or straight back (and far enough))
Of course you cannot change your muscle/tendon attachments, but postural things and a couple of others can be altered
