Just. Don't. Suck (Part 1)

Hey man I’m natty

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Yes it does! That’s why I allocate more of my carbs and calories at breakfast. It’s the only Ivan make it through a workout. Today I ended up using resistance bands mostly. The dumbbells and cables felt twice as heavy. I made it through a few sets of shoulder press and Arnold’s at least though. I’m ready for some carbs!

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I had planned to go to the gym at about 11:30 but I decided to wait so I could go to the tattoo shop with my wife. They open at noon and my daughter was with her grandma so we had a decent chance to go together. I wouldn’t take my daughter in there; she’s too observant. My son just kept pointing at the taxidermy and ceiling fans lol

I’m not getting anything yet but my wife scheduled her first tattoo. She was able to talk to the guy who did my shoulder piece about the design and location. I knew it would go better if I went with her since she’s never been in a shop.

That delayed my trip to the gym and I arrived hungry. That did not go well with leg day. It wasn’t a bad workout but I was on empty when I left.

If I were you then I would have skipped legs these last few weeks.

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Jackie Moon has been benched so it was time for a log name change.

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Yas. Time to become juicy brohemoth

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I expect some swolfies asap brah

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Hopefully Jackie can be back once your knee and hip are sorted. Meanwhile, get swole, bro!

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Welcome to the gains game J!

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So excited to see your new log name. Going to be watching those gainz.

3.14.19

Woke at 219.8 lbs. I slept horribly. I’m pretty sure I just drifted in and out of the first stage of sleep all night. I was pleasantly surprised to see 219 on the scale again. I typically don’t see low numbers unless I get a good night off sleep.


I’m enjoying this new training split. It’s actually quite refreshing to only train each area once a week. It might even feel better on my joints. I’m probably going to have to up my leg game because my volume is kind of low for one session a week. But on the other hand, the workout template says to pick 3-4 exercises and do 3-4 sets. I guess yesterday was quads only so I can add tomorrow’s hamstrings workout to that and it looks better.

Today is rest day which will make me feel lazy but I think the day after legs is a good place for it. I have PT tonight after work and my hip and knee are feeling good on the stairs.

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Great log name J :slight_smile:
And I’m really excited that you could train legs almost without pain.
Now you just don’t get cocky you hear.
I’m almost ready for that bro split as well… but I’m a bit reluctant about only training one bodypart a day a week

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There’s no chance that I’ll get cocky. I thought I’d turned a corner a few weeks ago and then my knee pain came back worse. I won’t get healed up overnight.

In regards to the bro split. It’s different, but I’m enjoying it. The added volume leaves me quite sore, so I don’t really have a desire to train the muscles again during the week.

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Did you make your own bro split or are you following a specific one? How many days per week do you plan for home workouts vs workouts at the public gym with access to more equip? Just curious.

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I wouldn’t call it my own. I’m following the Tried & True Bodybuilding Template that @robstein shared in @isdatnutty’s log a couple weeks ago. It gives options/examples of exercises and has a suggested breakdown of the week. I just kind of followed the advice in the article and put together my own split.

I’m planning to train five days a week: Mon, Tues, Wed, Fri, Sat. I selected my exercises based on the gym I will be using. I’m off work Mon-Wed so I can do just about anything on those days. Fridays will be shoulders & hamstrings. I will go to the Y or use my work gym because I don’t have leg curl machines or cables at home. I’ve planned to do lying and seated leg curls and cable pull thru’s for my hamstring work. Saturdays are just arm days and I can get that workout done during my 30 minute lunch break at the work gym. I could also do it at home if necessary. The exercises aren’t set in stone since this isn’t performance based, but I’ll probably go at least four weeks of doing the same exercises and reps unless my circumstances prohibit it.

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YESSSS! Love the new thread name. Be sure to keep us updated on your progress and thoughts on the new plan!

One point to emphasize - I noticed with myself, and clients of mine, that significant gains really start to show when the MMC is very strong, you’re training for maximum tension, and you’re completely mentally engaged throughout the entire exercise. Some tips, which may or may not apply to you, just throwing them out there as this is your first bodybuilding style split routine:

-Don’t ever “lock out” your legs or arms. For example, if you’re chest pressing, don’t lock out your elbows at the top. Go about 95% of the way but stop before lock-out, to ensure you’re keeping tension on the muscle throughout. This can be applied for pretty much any exercise, like leg press, shoulder lateral work, etc.

-Maintain control on the negative, don’t let the weight fall. You should still be pushing against the weight and flexing the muscle, just not enough to move it in the opposite direction. Example would be let’s say bicep curls, keep a 2-3 second negative if you’re not used to thinking about negatives, and keep tension throughout. Most people focus on the exploding concentric movement, but the muscle damage that is the catalyst for growth will occur more on the negative, so milk that bad boy and keep your mind engaged in the working muscle.

-Increase your pain threshold, if that’s something you need to work on. You get used to it after a while, but if you’re not used to the rep scheme and start feeling the “pump” or “burn”, keep it going, that’s where the magic happens.

Of course any questions and thoughts please feel free to tag me anytime.

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Hey Rob I might tag you in my log, if I decide to go the BB way.

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I followed that for a short time 2 years ago!

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I looked back at that and started reading down and saw the back and forth with Bots. How long did you end up running it and did it do what you wanted?

Does this apply to the strength movements where I’m doing 4-5 sets of 4-6 reps?

Same question here. I control the negative on all lifts but it’s not a 2-3 sec negative. It’s not a problem on the medium and high rep sets, but what about the “heavy” sets?

And this is really going to make leg day suck even worse. I can’t move fast enough on RFESS and the Hack Squat Machine.

I only ended up running it for 1 month and it was during my T-ransformation 2017, so it was in a cut. I ended up signing up for a Strongman Competition and sliding out of it into Brian Alsrue’s training.
There will come a time when I gravitate back towards a bodybuilding split though!

Anytime, please do!

Yes, all the time, with few exceptions. Like squats for example, you’re going to stand straight up and not keep your knees bent. A good example, if I’m doing 5x5 dumbbell press, I will not lock out at the top. A slight pause just short of lockout to keep the tension in the pecs, then a controlled negative.

You should try it sometime, it’ll bring a soreness you didn’t know could exist. You don’t always want to be doing 3 second negatives, but if you never have, you should. For the lower rep sets, I wouldn’t focus on counting to 3, but do you, above all, want control and tension on the negative, don’t let the weight fall.

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