By: Derek Beast Charlebois

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.

Monday, June 27th, 2005

Exercise	Sets	Reps	Weight
Bench	3	5 4 3	275
Bent Row	3	5 4 3	275
Incline DB Press	3	4 3 5	115 100 100
Rev. Bent Row	3	5 4 3	275
Seated Machine Press	3	6 8 10	270 230 180
Machine Row	3	6 8 10	270 230 180
Decline Cable Fly	3	10 12 15	50 40 30
Seated Row	3	10 12 15	150 130 110

Click Here For A Printable Log Of Monday, June 27th, 2005.

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.

Tuesday, June 28th, 2005

Exercise	Sets	Reps	Weight
Military Press	3	5 4 3	195
BB Shrug	3	5 4 3	465
DB Lateral	3	6 8 10	55 45 35
DB Shrug	3	6 8 10	120 110 100
Cable Lateral	3	10 12 15	45 40 35
Machine Shrug	3	15 12 10	270
BB Curl	3	5 4 3	155
CG Bench	3	5 4 3	265
Preacher Curl	3	6 8 10	135 115 95
Machine Dip	3	6 8 10	270 230 180
Cable Curl	3	10 12 15	150 130 110
V-Bar Pressdown	3	12 12 15	80 70 60

Click Here For A Printable Log Of Tuesday, June 28th, 2005.

Everything went very smoothly today. I don't have much to say about this workout, except that everything is progressing.

Wednesday, June 29th, 2005

Exercise	Sets	Reps	Weight
Squats	3	3 4 3	445 425 405
SLD	3	5	325
Seated Calf	3	5	180
Leg Extension	3	6 8 10	180 160 140
Leg Curl	3	6 8 10	180 160 140
Smith Calf Raise	3	8	405
Abductor	3	15	70
Adductor	3	15	70
Donkey Calf Raise	3	15	400
Incline Crunch	3	10	25 45 45
Swiss Ball Crunch	3	10	10

Click Here For A Printable Log Of Wednesday, June 29th, 2005.

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.

Thursday, June 30th, 2005

Exercise	Sets	Reps	Weight
Incline Bench	3	5 4 3	255
Lat Pulldown	3	5 4 3	250
Flat DB Press	3	5 4 3	120
V-Bar Lat Pulldown	3	5 4 3	250
Flat Hammer Bench Press	3	6 8 10	280 240 290
Hammer Pulldown	3	6 8 10	280 240 290
Cable Crossover	3	10 12 15	70 60 50
X-Pulldown	3	10 12 15	120 110 100

Click Here For A Printable Log Of Thursday, June 30th, 2005.

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.

Friday, July 1st, 2005

Exercise	Sets	Reps	Weight
Shoulder DB Press	3	5	85 90 95
Chain Lateral	3	6 8 10	50 40 30
1-Arm DB Lateral	3	10 12 15	25 20 15
DB Curl	3	5	60 50 50
DB Preacher Curl	3	6 8 10	40 35 30
Concentric Curl	3	10 12 15	40 35 30
Rope Extension	3	5	70 80 70
1-Arm Rev. Pressdown	3	6 8 10	70 65 60
DB Kickback	3	10 12 15	30 25 20

Click Here For A Printable Log Of Friday, July 1st, 2005.

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.

Saturday, July 2nd, 2005

Exercise	Sets	Reps	Weight
Deadlift	3	5 4 3	515
Behind The Back Shrug	3	5	455
Smith Lunge	3	10	110 130 140
Smith Bar Calf Press	3	10	360
Hack Squat	3	15 12 10	180
Seated Leg Curl	3	15 12 10	180
Seated Calf Raise	3	10	135
Machine Crunch	3	30 25 20	80 90 100

Click Here For A Printable Log Of Saturday, July 2nd, 2005.

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.

Sunday, July 3rd, 2005

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:

Body Composition
Date	6/26	7/3
Pectoral	2	2
Abdomen	4	4
Quadricep	6	6
Total	12	12
Bodyweight	205.5	208
Weight Change From Previous	-	2.5
Weight Change From Beginning	-	2.5
Electronic Bodyfat Percentage	2.4	2.4
% Bodyfat (I Add 3% to reading)*	5.4	5.4
lbs Bodyfat	11.097	11.232
Fat Mass Change From Previous	-	0.135
Fat Mass Change From Beginning	-	0.135
% Lean Mass	94.6	94.6
lbs Lean Mass	194.403	196.768
Lean Mass Change From Previous	-	2.365
Lean Mass Change From Beginning	-	2.365

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.

derek@scivation.com

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