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This week marks the start of month two of my journal, which will hopefully run for a year. Last month went pretty much flawlessly. I was able to gain a solid amount of lean mass while losing a little bit of fat. I definitely feel that keeping my carbohydrate intake to my pre-workout and two post workout meals played a big part in this success. I do not plan on changing my diet at all at this point in time because it is accomplishing exactly what I want it to.
My bench press continues to climb and I am having no joint problems at all. This is a good sign. The first rep on incline DB press is always the hardest for me. But once I get the DB's to the top of the movement I am good to go. My chest has improved vastly in the past year. I still would like to add some mass to it, specifically to the clavicular head. This routine of heavy sets of compound exercises followed by "lighter" sets of isolation exercise has been working very well for me and I plan on sticking to it for a long time.
Everything went very smoothly today. I don't have much to say about this workout, except that everything is progressing.
Squats were very heavy today. My knees felt tight today and kind of unstable. Because of this, I only did one set with 445 lbs. I really like doing calf raises on the smith machine. My gym does not have a standard "standing calf raise" machine, so doing calf raise on the smith machine replicates the movement for me. I have done standing calf raises regularly in the past though when I lifted at my University's gym and I have to say I like doing them on the smith machine better.
I forgot if I pointed this out or not yet, but the Hammer Strength Chest Press I do on Monday's is done in the seated position and the one I do today is done lying on my back. The heaviest DB's my gym has is 120 pounds. Because of this, I will stick with the 120's until I can get 3 sets of 5 reps. At that time I will back down to the 100 lb. DB's and focus on my form while building back up to the 120's, which should take 4 weeks.
I did DB shoulder press for the first time in a while last week, so my strength should climb quickly then level off on this exercise. As mentioned on Monday, getting the DB's into position and completing the concentric phase of the first rep is the hardest for me and takes a lot of energy out of me. I'll go with the 100 pound DB's next week on shoulder DB Press. I was not satisfied with my form on DB curls with the 60 lb. DB's so I dropped down to the 50's. Everything else went well.
Deadlifts were brutal today. But you gotta do what you gotta do! Following up deadlifts with "behind the back" barbell shrugs which feel great and pounds the traps like nothing else. As I mentioned before, this is my "light" leg day. I am continuing to progress with Smith Lunges, mainly because my body is becoming more efficient at performing the movement. This exercise along with the hip adductions and abductions I have been doing is definitely increasing the detail of my legs, specifically the development of my sartorius muscle. I adjusted the seat down a notch and it made a big difference in my leverage during machine crunches. I got a much harder contraction while being able to use more weight. Some people do not like doing machine crunches, but when done right it is a very effective exercise for hitting the abdominals.
I sprained my ankle yesterday and can barely walk today (I am using crutches). This is upsetting because one it is painful, and two my training has been going so well lately it's a shame I have to deal with this now. I am not sure how this injury will affect my training, but I know I will not be able to do squats or deadlifts for a while. Here are my stats for this week:
I am still gaining lean mass without adding fat, which is my goal. We will see what happens next week with my injury and my progress.
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