GDB's Log

[gdb]

I need motivation!

As a long time lurker I've been content to sit back and watch while others on this board have made some amazing transformations. Following their lead (and hopefully results) I'm putting it all out there and I hope to make some positive changes in my physique.

Stats

Age: 29
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 221 lbs.
BF%: ? - I would guess 16 - 17%

Background

I've been lifting off and on for as long as I can remember. I started towards the end of high school curling a green plasic box of wildlife photos for a billion reps. If only I was born 10 years later. I then moved on to Bally's where I was an arms/chest weekend warrior for a few on and off years. Later I discovered the internet and the joys of squatting/deadlifts/leg press and all the other fun movements through the Max OT routine. Sadly, getting in on these core exercises as late as I have, my strength in these lifts leaves a lot to be desired.

Goals

I'm ultimately after size but the desire for strength comes in a very close second. I'm not very interested in cutting fat for the winter as I live in Ohio and I don't plan on walking around topless for the next 4-5 months. So you could say I'm bulking... By April I would like to cut down to around 10% bodyfat with a weight of 220. To do that I'm going to have to add a lot of muscle during the winter.

Routine

Routine changed from 4 day split to 3 day split due to time constraints. I'll probably not get HUGE with this workout, but I'm hoping I can cut some poundage with my diet and stay fit until I have more time to dedicate to weightlifting. Day 6 is deadlift and weak point day. It's the day where I take a look at myself and try to hit whatever looks smallest. The ab days are nothing taxing, just a set of reverse crunches, crunches, situps before I go to bed.

My routine is structured as follows:

Day 1 Lower body
Day 2 abs
Day 3 abs
Day 4 Upper body
Day 5 abs
Day 6 Weak spots
Day 7 abs

Set reps

Week 1 7-9 reps
Week 2 4-6 reps
REPEAT

Lower Body - Day 1

Squat (3)
Leg Press (2)
Romanian Deadlift (3)
Seated Calf Raise (3)

Upper Body - Day 4

Incline Barbell Bench (4)
Shoulder Dumbbell Press (3)
Bent Over Rows (3)
Weighted Dips (3)
Standing Barbell Curl (3)
Skullcrushers (3)

Upper Body - Day 6

Deadlift (3)
Shrugs (3)
Calf Machine (3)
Incline Dumbbell Press (3)
Leg Extension (2)
Lying Leg Curls (2)

Pics

I'll TRY to update these monthly (unless I get really fat). Criticism welcome.
Nov. 22, 2005

[marlin]

we are close to the same size, i probably have a bit more muscle and a bit more fat. but as far as your ruitine goes its similar to what i've been doing as of late. Take a look at my journal(start at the end of page 2) and see if you might like doing something similar to what i'm doing.

[gdb]

Looks good. Thanks for the reply, I'll definitely be taking some ideas from your log when I go to change things up. I'm going to give my routine a shot first and adjust from there. I'll keep an eye on your log.

[vassille]

Gdb, it looks like a good and balanced routine.
The one thing I had some trouble in the past was the incline db curls. It used to put a lot of pressure on my front delts. It might be something to watch out for. Good luck bro

[Lean_Machine]

i would estimate you at 18% bodyfat.... im pretty good with estimations as well.

[gdb]

Today was a little disappointing. It seemed like i fatigued quickly and towards the end of the workout it showed. Odd considering I felt pretty good at the beginning. Maybe I just need to get back into the swing of things.

Week: 1
Day: 1
Upper Body

Incline Barbell Press 165x8 165x7 155x6 145x6
Seated Row Machine 16x8 16x8 16x6
Assisted Pull-up Machine -60x8 -60x7 -70x6 (yeah, I'm ashamed, I can't pull my own weight. )
Military Press 135x8 135x5 115x5 (started to fatigue at this point)
Weighted Dips 25x6 25x5 (very disappointed in these)
Incline Dumbbell Curl 35x7 35x4 (these as well)

Looking forward to leg day. Going early Thanksgiving morning. Happy Turkey day!

[gdb]

I felt good today. Got in a little tiff with the missus before heading out so I got a little more motivation. Was also a day of figuring out my poundages in the 7-9 rep range. I think that's going to be par for the course these first 3 weeks.

Week: 1
Day: 2
Lower Body

Squat 205x7 205x7 205x7
Leg Press 400x8 510x10 (trying to find proper weight)
Romanian Deadlift 225x9 255x8 255x9
Leg Extension 13x7 13x7 13x6 (been a long time since I've done these)
Seated Calf Raise 100x10 125x7 125x7 (these felt great! 2 second stretch/2 second squeeze)

Had quite a bit to eat at dinner. Tried to eat turkey but I didn't eat much. Hate it. Had a few too many sweets. That's not going to help my fat body. May hit the gym up for some cardio tomorrow on my off day.

[Lean_Machine]

you might want to go light on the leg extentions... IMO they suck because they wreck ur kness and they also suck because if u go light it does nothing for you... best do at start for warm up.. but go light

Originally Posted by Lean_Machine

you might want to go light on the leg extentions... IMO they suck because they wreck ur kness and they also suck because if u go light it does nothing for you... best do at start for warm up.. but go light

how would they mess up your knees? i never reallylike Leg extensions either but i dont know...theyre whatever...if i have some energy leftover at the end of my leg days, i'll do like 2 heavy sets....i dont know..

[Lean_Machine]

Originally Posted by dannyboy9

how would they mess up your knees? i never reallylike Leg extensions either but i dont know...theyre whatever...if i have some energy leftover at the end of my leg days, i'll do like 2 heavy sets....i dont know..

numorous times have i hoped on that leg extention and did a hevay set and flet something snap.. click ... rip in my knee.. these didnt do any damage but i get a slight annoying pain that last for a week.

its also an unnatural movement... matched with heavy weight = not good.

lol n/m fcuk that.

im scratching out those in my training log. im straight with squats anyways...i wish i had access to a leg press machine...maybe i can switch them with leg lunges.....ah? ah? yeeeah boy

[gdb]

Woke up with a bit of shoulder pain in my left shoulder. It's a dull throbbing ache that comes and goes. It didn't seem to effect my workout so I'm just hoping I slept on it wrong and it will "fix" itself overnight.

It was a Saturday night so the gym was practically barren. But I did get to see the often talked about but never seen (by me) 6" squatter. Guy loaded up the bar with 4 45's on each side and proceeded to stick out his ass dropping a whopping half a foot. I found it amusing.

Week: 1
Day: 4
Upper Body

Deadlift 225x9 245x6 245x8 245x7
Pull-Down 14x8 14x7 14x8
Incline Dumbbell Bench Press 60x9 70x9 80x8
Upright Rows 95x9 105x7 105x5
Curlbar curl 85x9 95x7
Skull Crusher 85x7 85x7

[gdb]

My shoulder was "fixed" this morning.

The workout today was a little tough to get through. Started out with SLD which was probably a bad choice right after Deadlifts yesterday. I felt a little nauseous and skipped one of my sets on the smith squats.

Week: 1
Day: 5
Lower Body

Stiff-Legged Deadlift 235x9 245x7 245x6
Smith Machine Squat 195x8 195x8
Dumbbell Lunge 30x7 30x6
Lying Hamstring Curls 10x8 10x8 10x7
Calf Machine 250x8 250x8 250x7

I ran out of ZMA a couple nights ago. Still didn't stop me from having some intense dreams. Love that stuff.

I'm flying to Orlando Wednesday for work. The hotel I'm staying at supposedly has a state of the art gym so hopefully I'll be able to follow my workouts. But I'm skeptical. I've never seen a hotel with a squat rack. We shall see. At the least I'll enjoy the nice 70 degree weather.

[gdb]

New year, new routine.

Worked lower body yesterday and felt GOOD. Odd considering I haven't been in the gym in a while and combined with legs usually is not good.

7-9 rep week

Day 1

Squats 205x8 205x8 205x7
Leg Press 540x9 560x7
Romanian Deadlift 265x8 265x7 265x6
Seated Calf Raise 125x8 125x7 125x7

I think I'll like this new workout even though I'm not getting the volume I would like. I really like the fact that I will be rotating in/out exercises every two weeks to keep the body guessing. And the 7-9 to 4-6 rep rotation should help me strengthwise.