Thought I'd start a log of my very own. This will mostly be a depot for my random misguided musings and other crap that never really developes into much.

If I feel like posting some workouts - I might. If not - I'm not going to stress over it.

If you have requests on certain things let me know. I know I've heard Dash wonder out loud of my thoughts of skinny-fat ectomorphs and recovery and such. I think the first bit of my log will touch on this a bit.

I have couple of endevors on my plate right now. First off I'm on a cyclic diet based on my own bad habits mixed with my good ones. Right now it's two days at a deficit (at least 500, some times upwards to 800) and then one in a surplus (can vary from 500 to 2000, just depends). Mixed into this is a Westside barbell program I just started two weeks ago. I'm loving it BTW. I just got to where I found all my maxes and am now playing around with restricted ROM exercises. Incline and flat bench are higher than ever. Deadlift was tied where I was during my first round with powerlifting and squats sucks ass as usual.

Here is my template I originally based it off of:

The Standard Template

There is a great story from Dave about how the Standard Template originated. I've heard it 435 different times and it never gets old. But that's because Dave signs my checks and I have to nod and laugh whenever he says anything. All kidding aside, the Standard Template was really first introduced in Dave's article, The Periodization Bible, Part I and is gone over extensively in The Periodization Bible, Part II. This was a two part series that made things easier for me and really broke things down. Remember, that I was in your shoes not too long ago, so I understand your frustration with some of this stuff. This is probably the most used template that people follow. Here is the general breakdown of the Standard Template. For many of you this is review, so bear with me.

Sunday – Dynamic Effort Bench

Dynamic Bench Press
Triceps
Shoulders
Lats/Upper Back


Monday – Max Effort Squat/DL

Max Effort Exercise
Hamstrings
Low Back
Abs


Wednesday – Max Effort Bench Press

Max Effort Exercise
Triceps
Shoulders
Lats/Upper Back


Friday – Dynamic Squat/DL

Dynamic Squat
Hamstrings
Low Back
Abs


Review of the Standard Template

2 days devoted to the bench press
2 days devoted to the squat/deadlift
2 days devoted to dynamic training
2 days devoted to max effort training
4 days devoted to repetition training
Now let's review some of the training parameters within this template. For the sake of simplicity, I'm going to leave out chains and bands. Everything is going to be done with straight weight so there will be no confusion about percentages. Plus, I am going to leave out stance, grip changes, rest periods, etc. In reality, most of this stuff is inconsequential once you grasp the big picture.

Bench Press Parameters for the Standard Template (dynamic, max effort and repetition)

Dynamic bench press – 8 sets of 3 repetitions; all sets done are done with 55% of raw 1RM. Rest periods are approximately 60 seconds, but have never really seen the purpose of this, personally. The whole goal of speed day is to move the bar quickly on the concentric. If you need to take an extra minute to accomplish the goal of the day, then by all means, do so. Also, don't get too hung up on changing your grips. The only reason why I changed my grip on this day was to keep track of the number of sets I was doing. Again, remember why you are doing what you are doing.

Max effort bench press – this includes a variety of exercises, but the most por are the floor press, 2 board press, 3 board press, incline press and close grip bench press. On max effort bench press day, you pick one of these exercises and work to a 1RM. Most will switch to a different exercise every 1-2 weeks and simply try to break their record. On this day, based on your 1RM for THAT day, you will try to do 3 lifts at or above 90%. You can take as much rest as you want, but I would probably say around 3-5 minutes between your heaviest sets.

Triceps – one day is devoted to high intensity/low volume triceps work, the other is devoted to low intensity/high volume triceps. For example, high intensity triceps training would consist of 4 or 5 board presses or rack lockouts. The low intensity training will be geared to triceps extensions and pushdowns. On what day to put each of these is entirely up to you. In my experience, I've always had good results putting the high intensity day on dynamic bench day.

Shoulders – this is similar to the triceps in that there is a high intensity and low intensity day. The high intensity day is technically not high intensity, but high stress. In this category, I would put dumbbell bench press, dumbbell incline presses, military presses (with dumbbells or a straight bar) and dumbbell floor presses. In the low stress category, front raises, side raises and rear raises are good choices. Again, you can choose which day to put them on, but I liked putting the high stress shoulder training on dynamic bench day.

Lats/Upper back – Both days are devoted to lats and upper back and both are done with low intensity, high volume. The way that I worked this is that on Sunday, I would do lat work (usually a row or a pull-up) and no upper back work. On Wednesday, I would do another lat workout (but with a different exercise) and my low stress shoulder work would consist of a rear raise, face pull or a seated dumbbell power clean. So essentially, on the low stress shoulder day, I would kill two birds with one stone: an upper back exercise with a low stress shoulder movement. I did this because I never did front raises or side raises and felt that I got enough stimulation from my other work. It's not gospel, but it's something to think about.

Squat and Deadlift Parameters for the Standard Template

Dynamic Squat – All sets done on a parallel box. A three week wave is used using the following sets and reps.

Week 1 – 10x2 @ 50%
Week 2 – 10x2 @ 55%
Week 3 – 10x2 @ 60%
Upon completion of the 3rd week, you simply start the wave over again. All %'s are based on your best squat. Let's disregard equipment at this point and say it's based on your best 1RM of your box squat wearing whatever you usually wear on this day. Again, refer to my commentary on dynamic bench training regarding rest periods. This is not conditioning, this is speed work. Save your conditioning for another time.

Max Effort Squat and Deadlift – Similar to the max effort bench press, one exercise is used per week and worked up to a 1RM. Because most people have eliminated good mornings as a max effort exercise, I will choose the following for your exercises. I understand that many do not have these bars that I list, but this is the list, nonetheless:

Safety squat bar squat
Cambered bar squat
Manta Ray squat
(All squats are done on a low (1-2" below parallel), parallel or high (1-2" above parallel) box. As you can tell, there is a great many variations with these three exercises.
Rack deadlifts (or pin pulls)
Deadlifts while standing on elevated platform
Reverse band deadlifts
Again, you want to hit around 3 lifts at or above 90% of your 1RM for that day. Most people switch exercises every week or every 2 weeks. Try to break your PR from your previous effort. To make things easier, simply switch between a squat movement and a deadlift movement. Rest 3-5 minutes between your heaviest sets.

Hamstrings – now here is where things get tricky. Unlike the shoulders/triceps routine of high intensity/low intensity, many people are weak at such exercises as the glute ham raise that they simply need to do the exercise and not worry so much about sets/reps. If you don't fall into this category, you can do bodyweight glute ham raises on one day, and on the other day, you can add a band or a plate for resistance.

Low Back – Again, we cannot really isolate the lower back without hitting the glutes and hamstrings. But you can pick from exercises such as back raises, 45 degree back raises, Reverse Hyperextensions, pull-throughs and good mornings. Depending on how you do some of these exercises (i.e. with a great amount of intensity) you can use ONE of these for your hamstring and low back exercise. For example, good mornings can be done for both. If you were to pick reverse hyperextensions or pull-throughs, then you can get away with doing an extra hamstring exercise. Some people can train their lower back twice a week, others cannot. A good way to do this is to pick one "easy" exercise (R.H., pull-throughs, un-weighted back raises or band good mornings) on one day and pick a heavier exercise on the second lower body training day.

Abdominals – These are usually trained heavy twice a week in the standard template. Some good exercises to choose from weighted sit ups, Roman Chair sit-ups, stability ball, hanging leg raises, side bends. This is not very complicated but you just need to do them; that's usually the hardest part.

So let's go over the pro's and con's of the standard template:

Pro's of the Standard Template:

Variation: Because you are doing a variety of exercises on max effort day, it helps keep things fresh and keeps you motivated. Plus most people have never done board presses, floor presses or box squats before trying the standard template, so there are a lot of new exercises being utilized.

Record Breaking – You are doing two max effort days a week, so you have the ability to break a lot of personal records. This can keep motivation high and give you tangible results NOW. This is one of the best things about this template.

Easy: I never thought I would say this but if you actually think about it, the standard template is pretty easy to follow IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT. You have one slow and heavy day and one fast and light day for the squat and bench press. After each of those days, you train the muscles that involve those lifts. You try to be fast on one day, try to lift heavy on the other day and get huge afterward.

Combo of Max Effort, Dynamic Effort and Repetition Training: If done correctly, this combo is incredible. You can get fast, big and strong. These are three qualities that most people really want.

Flexibility with Supplemental/Accessory lifts – If you are doing the correct loading on max effort and dynamic day, then you can really play around with the volume with your training on these lifts. Let me explain: With the dynamic training, you are almost always operating within 50-60% and no matter what max effort exercise you choose, you are still operating around 90-100%. Now your volume can be raised and lowered by your assistance lifts. This can give you a lot of room to play around with and allow you to pick and choose exercises and volume based on how you feel that day.

Con's of the Standard Template:

Variation: Now stay with me on this one. Training for a big squat, bench and deadlift is not easy. But if you don't have good form on these three lifts, then things can start to go down hill. You can counter me and say, "Your form is trained on dynamic day." And to you I respond, "Fool! It's easy to lift correctly with light weight." While a safety squat bar can help increase your squat and deadlift, it won't teach you correct form. This is because the variation of the bar will throw your form off. Then you throw this nugget at me, "Well, I will work up on dynamic day to 90%" and to you I respond, "Are you now doing two max effort workouts a week?" Remember that if you are going to throw in a new wrinkle, then you are going to have to smooth something else out. You can't just add without taking away. (And this will be discussed in a future article).

Record Breaking: Now I've got two of the same things for pro and con. While record breaking is a good thing, it can also lead to a mentality of "testing" versus "training". Too many people try to break a record and will not fall within the 3-5 lifts at or above 90% of their max. All of their focus is devoted to breaking a PR rather than training to get stronger.

Too Heavy on Dynamic – I would say that the vast majority of questions about the squat revolve around dynamic squat day. Now if you take a step back and look, the PURPOSE of dynamic day (and again, I fall victim to trying to make things too simple) is to basically move the weight from point A to point B as fast as possible. Now for the bench, that is to move the bar from your chest to lockout; in the squat (or box squat) that is to move from off the box to standing. So now that we've established that, the problem that I've seen is that most people, when you add up the band tension and bar weight (and factor in that they are basing the percentages on a full-meet squat with equipment and they are doing an un suited box squat (different lifts!)): they are actually not even close to doing a dynamic workout. This is not so much a con of the program, but a con of the interpretation of the program. This wouldn't be a horrible thing if the max effort work and supplemental work was cut back, but 99% of the time, it's not. This was really driven home a couple of weeks ago in a conversation with Mark McLaughlin. To quote Mark, "The reason I think people some times bash DE work is because they do not execute it properly."

For the Standard Template to work properly here is a list of things that must be done:


All dynamic work must be as DYNAMIC. Focus on speed, not weight. If you are slow, then you are missing the purpose of this day. If the bar % is not exactly 55% or whatever, don't worry. Because you are doing a standard max effort day, I would rather have you focus on erring on the side of too light. Remember that bench shirts can skew percentages quite a bit, so if you are going to use %'s as guidelines, use your raw bench press as a guide.

Max effort work must fall within 3-5 lifts at or above 90% of that day. If you go below this, you are not getting the benefit of max effort training. If you go above this, then you are going to compromise other areas of your training.

Because you need form work on the main lifts, it would be advisable to work up on dynamic effort day. When you do this, the max effort workout must be tailored as such. For example, if you were going to work up on Sunday and hit 3 lifts at or above 90% on the bench press, the max effort workout on Wednesday would consist of accessory and supplemental work only. But you need to do the appropriate amount of max training on DE day. So instead of doing 8x3 on dynamic day, you can cut that to 5 sets and start working up. There is no set guideline for the amount of sets, but 5 seems about right. Now if you are going to work up on dynamic squat day, cut out the Monday max effort work PRIOR to that session. So that would be on Monday before the Friday squatting session. The Monday after the Friday session (I'm starting to get confused now) you can still do max effort work, but you may want to cut some of the assistance work. You don't have to, but it may help.

So when do you do all of this? For the bench training, it's a bit easier. This is because you don't have to pre-plan it. If you are feeling unusually strong on Sunday, then let it out and see what happens. A good estimate would be to try to do this every 3rd workout. For squatting, it may require a little more work and would stick to the every 3rd workout guideline. But (you knew it was coming) if you do feel a bug up your ass to go heavy on dynamic squat day, even if it wasn't planned, then the Monday workout after should be nothing but assistance and supplemental work. Just make sure that your heavy is "heavy". If you are going to do it, then commit and do it.

In regards to picking supplemental and accessory work – to make things simple:

Choose one high intensity/low volume triceps (lockout) movement per week.


Choose one low intensity/high volume triceps movement per week; remember this – if you are doing a lot of dumbbell work (which is essentially a close grip movement) you may not need a lot of volume on this exercise.


Choose one high stress shoulder movement per week.


Choose one low stress shoulder movement per week. Remember my example in the beginning of the article – I used this movement as an upper back exercise on my max effort bench press day.


Choose two lat movements a week; preferably one horizontal row and one vertical pull.


Choose one high stress low back/hamstring movement per week: good mornings, Romanian deadlifts, weighted back raises, weighted 45 degree back raises, glute ham raises with added resistance (band or weight plate).


Choose one low stress low back/hamstring movement per week: band good mornings, Reverse Hyperextensions, body weight back raises and 45 degree back raises.

Choose two abdominal exercises per week.


This is not in the template, but I would also choose some kind of quad movement per week. You can do it on either day, but I would probably pick dynamic effort squat day. Or you can do it the scientific way; flip a coin.



This week I'll be cutting up a shopping cart to use as a weght sled with I'll brag behind me for 200yards a go with some kind of rope or leather strap. Cardio is done in the morning and is low intensity and sustained. Workouts are at night. Explosiveness has developed in a huge way and I go from tired to pumped extremely fast which suggests greater recovery of the CNS.

Skinny Fat asses...

Now, I'll say this: if your skinny fat kid your gonna be able to get fat. You just can't gain LBM. This is me. I've had 160-165lbs of lean body mass for over two years. But I fluctuate from 165-200lbs given the time of year.

First thing is first - your HAVE to chill out. I don't give a flying fuck WHAT it is that's causing your stress (mine was an unstable Eclipz type of relationship that lasted 2.5 years) get fucking rid of it. It wont go away and it really is cancer. If you can't do this - for god's sake go to a coucilor. Next - investigate into nootropics.

Second HUGE thing is physical stress - Doing sprints inbetween your HST training isn't going to give you enough rest. I'd HIGHLY recommend a low volume type of regimen. See HIT or any powerlifting program. I don't see a true skinny fat improving their LBM with a high volume/high frequency workload.

Third - rest. Literally meaning sleep. If I don't get 7-8 hours I'm fucked. I've never been able to do this all nighter BS on the weekends and continuously drink alcohol during this time just to wake up monday and continue to chug along. Sleep is a serious issue. I've ALWAYS had a fucking killer time trying to sleep. Once i get to sleep I'm fine, but getting there is ridiculously difficult. Key here is to control cortisol in the evenings. I've never been one to dable into the 5-HTPs and serotonins and yadda yadda. If you'd like to - go ahead. Just make sure you do your research. DHEA has always helped settle me down at night. ZMA almost always gives me morning wood. I'd include it.

Diet - you should be bulking like an endo/meso. Very conservative surplus of cals. I'd also suggest carb cycling for this. It's personally difficult for me to cycle, but in theory it's very good. Cutting should be modest as well. 500 deficit is pushing it. In this aspect I'd do as I say not as I do. I'm in a weird place personally right now. Not bad... in fact very good... but just different.

Goals - I personally think goals for an ecto should involve strength (even for reps) oriented goals and NOT LBM or bf%s. Focus on the sun for too long and you'll go blind. This is just personal preference here, but I'd take feeling fat over feeling weak any day. Again, that's just me.

Testosterone - I can only guess... but i think the natural steroid profiles are all fucked up for this pheno type. Test is probably on the lower end of the spectrum and cortisol is more likely than not higher. Immune response is probably lower because of this and if your like me you don't get sick horribly sick too often, but usually come down with a cold or maybe the flue 3-5 times a year. Anything you can do to correct this imbalance will be incredible beneficial in so many different ways. Most are listed above.

Stimulants - stay away for the love of god. Especially around workouts. I allow myself one cup of coffee now and then because I love it, but it's always in the morning. The original version of HEAT is about all the stim you want in your fat burners if you choose to use them.

Nutrient timing - my body reacts very well to keeping carbs around workout times. It also loves to be fed often. I'm not sure if these have to do with the phenotype of justme.. As it states these are my random ramblings.

Box Squat - just above parallel - 335 admittedly the most weight I've ever held on my back.. god my squat is pathtic... but climbing.

Was able to perform about 5 (3 sets of 2, last set had one full and one partial) honest to got ham/glute raises tonight for the first time ever. Very impressed with that.

Nothing else of significance to report. Stay tuned and ask questions often if there are any.

?

cortisol will already be high no need to make it worse. Also CNS over action could prove very hindering to gains. A skinny fat would lose and may APPEAR to get bigger but LBM would likely stay around base line.

Outline a low cal day with all meals included if you please...just curious to see how you break things down and handle macro combos

If I were serious about it it'd be different. Right now I'm just living le vida loca but I will comply.

upon raising-

8 egg whites
4g fish oils

11:00ish -

3-4oz chicken breast
Hand full of broccoli

3:30ish

3-4oz chicken breast

5:30ish -

workout - sip on some whey (30g)

7:30ish -

cup-1 1/2 cups low fat cottage cheese
handfull of peanuts x1-3
choice of egg (2 whole and 6 whites), lean ground beef (5-7oz), or 7% ground turkey (usually around 6oz.)

10:30ish -

3 tbspns nature pb
one slice regular swiss cheese

this usually lasts 2-3 some times four days. Not usually more than that. I cut up quickly then depending on my mood I hit the sweets hard. I make pastries my bitch, for fun. I tend to be a binge eater. So when I do cheat it's in a huge way. Bezofibrate in low doses has been incorporated lately and it's ok. I'm not making any claims but after the bloats gone it seems to "help". Also been experimenting with captopril and I think the theory behin ARBs being the way to go is correct. I haven't seen much and I've gotten up to 200mg a day. I also picked up some micardis plus and was waiting to get my diet under control before running since cap was 7 bucks for over a month in contrast micardis is around 45.


EDIT: I take 4 fish oil liquid gels with each major meal. Totaling an average of 12g a day. Some times it gets up to 16g. Not a huge deal. They are nutraplanet bulks which was a helluva deal and I really notice the anxiolytic effects. It COULD be helping recomp on my cut days... but i wont go as far to say it is. My diet has just been to haphazard to really correlate much from it's addition.

Nice log, mate!

Does your gym have a true GHR machine? None around me do. I bought myself one for Christmas, it has yet to arrive though.

nah, I do them on an elevated bench (where my knees rest) and stick my feet under our cheap ass squat rack (not a power rack with adjustable bars but the god awful ones that most high schools have).

highlight tonight was my first time with floor presses. maxed out at 285. I read an atricle that said on max out days you need to hit your 5rm and 3rm before your single... I tried it with box squats and felt ok but with the floor presses i really felt like they unnecessarily fatigued me. Any thoughts? Kimbo my man?

other things of note - 6x4 lateral raises with 2-1-4 TUT
supinated pull down 4x6 with 210

missed most of my morning cardio. I fucked up my alarm and i had a client. Sleep was ridiculous horrible last night. I had a HUGE binge with two beers and i think it fucked me up in ways i can't explain. I was also pumped up from all the research break throughs yesterday. It was a good day. Today was great until someone talked to me about the ex and how great her body is. Which is a pretty common accurance. People just don't get that I don't want to hear about it any more.

Max DL

The stars aligned and I fucking rocked out tonight

Rack DL (slightly below knee): PR 525 +75 to previous max. Felt like a could impregnate women just with a look. It was awesome.

low stress day. I was in a very good mood for no particular reason all damn day and when I got to the gym I just plain felt like deadlifting. Luckily it was my max DL day and I fucked some weights up. They never saw me coming.

Nice deadlift.

Have you started with CLA yet?

No I haven't I'm waiting to make a bulk order of other things needed for up coming agendas if you will. So I'm compiling a list... on yeah.. and I had to pay car insurance for the next six months. That hurts.

complete month away from the ex.. it's liberating. I'm extremely happy with an under lying sense of loneliness. It's been a good month, but i think og her often. Mostly bad things of coarse.

hey not sure if you guys knew this or not but hooters has all you eat wings on wednesdays.... god help me..

I'm assuming being my log I can put in here anything I want to, so I'm going to add in notes on Leptin as I read the articles. I'll of coarse be starting with I. Edits to this specific post will ensue for as long as my attention span allows.

it just deleted my whole freak post full of notes.... I'll give this a second try soon.

What, seriously? God, I love keto diets...

WRT floor presses and other max exercises, I think it's more important to go by feel. Maxing out on different exercises has a neurological effect, but it's mostly a test to see where you need work. If your maxes are improving on your max effort exercises then good - if not then you need to change up your assistance work.

thanks for getting back to me on that Kimbo. I actually had decided to take this approach I just didn't know if it was the right one or not.

On dynamic days - do I always do speed work with my original lift (ie - the 3 PL lifts) or do I do them with the restricted range of motion exercise I'm using on my max day?

On a note - I just got done making note on Leptin article one (good ones too) and when I clicked submit it told me I exceeded my number of blocks (or something) and deleted everything I had written. Fuck me running.

Either/or. It depends on where you perceive there to be a problem. Also, you don't always have to do speed work - if speed work isn't helping out a lift then you should try something else (e.g. more repetition work). Speed work usually doesn't help folks out until their maxes are somewhere in the intermediate level.


That sucks. Well, do give them a good read. I'll probably do so again myself, as it's been a while.

personally I find it stimulating WRT explosiveness and I slightly increase the weight (by 5lbs) each dynamic session if i can keep the speed constant. I feel like it also make me hungry for weight days. More of a personal psychological preference than anything else I suppose. Either way - it's good business.

Again, thanks for the insight.

Leptin Article I

Birth of the setpoint and leptin



The basics



Obesity





Briefly touching on limiting factors of leptin

So... Why is it that we can't inject Leptin?



hmm... so what about decreases in leptin while dieting?



maybe the thing with injecting leptin is timing...



this is what Matt fell into, a suicide/crash dieting scheme which will NEVER work






THE REFEED


Glucose people! We want the insulin response



The lower your total leptin determines your refeed (duration/severity of calories restriction)



Read this three times... s.l.o.w.l.y.






FED




Refeeds not just good for cutting!?!?



large impact on the whole scheme of things

Note worthy for sexual issues



Brief mention of nutrients to support leptin release




END NOTES OF ARTICLE I

cookies for breakfast give me gas.

for me:

WRT fed state, note that being in a FED state doesn't necessarily mean refeeds. Being in a FED state can be accomplished simply by eating an excess of calories (not necessarily eating a large amount at once - i.e. refeed), and it can also be affected by various supps.

If you can find it, look up info on the old Leptigen formula. It was meant to simulate a FED state while underfed.

Jake,the effects of Leptigen can be simulated with SyntheSIZE along with 6-10 grams of glucosamine per day.

That would be equivalent to Leptigen Mass. The original LG, LG Basic and LG Rebirth have different ingredients and/or ratios of ingredients and different purposes. But yeah, home brewed LG Mass is good stuff for guys who want to put on lean mass with less calories.

I hear ya Avant boys. I've done some fishing around when i first started trolling WRT LMass and was very interested. Wish the other gems would either be rereleased or their actives revealed(and dosages for that matter).

Bi work tonight along with my favorite- power cleans

Sat - was speed legs... Felt VERY slow coming out of the hole. I don't feel good about it all. I'll be doing rack squats tomorrow night to work on explosion off my heels (not literally, but at a very low position). HGR where pretty awesome, fried my hamstrings. Weekend diet was god awful. I'm back on track today. 30 minutes slow sustained cardio this morning. I ate late last night (a lot of bad things) so I didn't eat brakfast. I know JD likes his fasted cardio so i decided to give it a shot. Obviously it's not going to make a difference once, but I'll go the whole week with it and see where it gets me.

The puffy nips are really starting to bother me. As bf acrews the more pronounced they are obviously. I'll be ordering some things today.

busy day today. Working on a huge project - 1.2 million sq.ft. warehouse. Didn't egt to do any leptin research... aticle II is coming soon.

lifts: Felt slow on my first 5 sets of bench, dropped 10lbs and it was like I took the heels off.. amazing. I'd been pushing the issue with the weight and it looks like it was hindering my explosion. I can only imagine this is wha happened on speed leg day.

Lockouts are getting respectable - 245 6 sets of 4 - minute rest.

db flat bench 4 sets of 6 at 100lbs

BB bentover row - lifter with a real controlled pull (which is the whole point of the exercise mind you) 4 sets of 6 at 225. Supinated grip.

Felt very good overall. Did my morning fasted cardio which felt good as well.

I dedicate this workout/good attitude to H.G. for the smiles.

another busy day yesterday... president of the company and i went on our own field trip.

Max legs- Rack squats

Height - on #12 i this is 3 inches BELOW my hip bone. About where my balls cling to my taint on a cold day. I set the bar down for a 1 count then push.

315 - 1 New PR. My regular squat isn't even this good. Let alone my ass bouncing off my heels (not literally) and losing some muscle elasticity. Westside is turning out to be fucking awesome.

Easy version of H/G raises.

light pull throughs.

High incline situp with a 60lb db at neck level, against skin 4 sets of 6 reps.

Congrats on the PR!

thanks Jinx, I've never been a great squatter due to my long legs and until now weak back. In fact I failed on the first attempt because my back gave out at my stick point (which I should note to myself that it's not at the bottom like I thought it was, It's about 3/4 of the way down). The second attempt was clean as I kept my shoulders from rounding.

Anyhow, where I was going with that was I've NEVER squatted 315 (the dreaded six plates!!) ever... So this was quit the victory for me.

For a celebration I treated myself to looking at your pic you have of your abs in your profile. That's motivation if I've ever seen it.

On a cardio/diet note I did fasted cardio this morning then just ate 8oz ground turkey (my favorite) and 5 grams fishoil. Been very good this week (some might call it perfect). On max days (tuesday and thursday) I'm adding in 1/2 oatmeal with breakfast and 1/2 before go time (around 1-1.5 hours before hand). Anecdotely speaking - I really feel like I can activate my CNS better with carbs in me. Cardio yesterday was NOT fasted but still got 20 minutes in.

A point of interest - this kind of training has allowed me to really train myself to release adrenaline in short and very intense bursts. I freaking love it. I put my music on pause, and wear my hat until it's go time then I strap myself up or buckle my belt, toss the hat Mary Tyler Moore style, and turn the tunes on. For about 30 seconds I'm an alpha wolf tearing the throat out of innocent bunny rabbits for fun and impregnating all the local cocker spaniels. Then when I'm done lifting I turn my music off and revert back to mild mannered jake. Very cool feeling. Wish I was lifting tonight now.

LOL, you tramp you.

Good job on keeping your diet clean this week. And on eating enough, and not being terrified of carbs surrounding a workout. Berardi talks about g-flux, basically the concept of eating more to fuel better workouts and ultimately improve your physique even if the 'numbers' (wrt 'on paper' caloric/energy balance) don't seem to add up differently (than if you're eating less and doing less). I've found it to be true, personally. And it sure feels great to be a ball of energy in the gym, instead of dragging your ass around the place. That killer instinct kicks in!

completely agree 100%.

EDIT: on an unrelated note i may have to "ignore" some board sponsors as I can't deal with the capital letters in every fucking post + the constant pimping of products with sensationalistic claims which are broad, general, and in some cases inappropraitely flagrant. Jeebus crisscross. Don't turn my f'ing board into self indulging spam central... May all mods and admins read this and ponder.

no idea WTF the video is about, but this song has been inspirational to me this past month +. Just open it and bring up a new window... no need to to wathc. I didn't.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=z3rrsXB82Ps

I'll tolerate them for now since there's free stuff to be had .

Anyway, had to stop over and see how Westside was treating you; clearly - quite well. Your deadlift is very impressive. How much do you weigh?

Why before bed and not Pre-WO?

go time = workout... I'm not sure what the question is Grass.... Sorry if I'm missing it.

Heavy - I'm 180lbs - 5'11

thanks for stopping by guys

Well I'm pretty buzzed right now, but will try to elaborate. You say that on max days you have .5 cup oats w/ breakfast and .5 at bedtime, why not carbs around workout vs at breakfast and at bed? I was under the assumption that as a skinny fat ecto eating carbs at breakfast might not be your best idea and carbs pre-or post would be the best time for those if that's all the carbs your eating. I can't really tell what the macro's of your diet are, other than some days are 500 below and others 500-2000 above.

Also to quote Loki WRT to your (our) phenotype


* Dont train to failure, don't train with high volume
* Steroids (although your saying "kids my age" leads me to believe you may be a bit "wee" for AAS)
* Focus the majority of your carb intake pre-workout
* Exercise 4 times/week max - 2 upper body/1 lower body/1 sprint session split
* Deadlift like your life depends on it
* Ideally you need some kind of cyclical diet to maximize nutrient partitioning; a low-calorie/low-carb period followed by a high(er) carb period, a la the Lyle McDonald UD 2.0

I've found all these work for me, except UD 2.0 and less the sprints just because I don't like running. I am in the process of UD 2.0 and will give my thoughts after a thorough few months.

read that post again. I do eat them pre workout. I said "go time" not bed time. Your right I do keep my carbs around workouts. Macros are to unimportant to keep track of at this point as long as I get enough fat in each day my own eating habits pretty much guarantee that I'm where I should be unless I'm binging.

Groovy. Have seen this log but I'm prone to laziness and it was too big to read. Just read most of it now. Love the lepin article refresher, can't wait for number 2. Lazy fat meso signing up.

good to know some one besides me will be using it. I'll get to work on #2 as soon as I get some time to procrastinate at work. Been busy this week. Stupid work and having to do stuff for a living...

Last night was the first Wed. in about two months I didn't binge eat. Feel damn good. Carbs before cardio this morning was like sex. I felt like I could tackle the world. I have another serving of oats ready to rock for preworkout tonight. Should be a good max bench day. I think i'll go for rack presses (off the bottom)

I'm doing every single thing you just listed grass(other than AAS). Read for yourself. BTW I'm 23 if I chose to do some AAS I think I'd be within the appropriate age, and training experience parameters.

Max bench today

Rack presses (inch off my chest)

300 for a single all time PR Never benched 300. Very huge accomplishment for me.

Tri pushdowns weren't anything very special. Neither were laterial raises.

Pull ups (supinated grip) - no swing, 1 second rest at the bottom.

bw+ 70lbs - 6 set of 4 all time PR

eating habits were very good today. Ate a little more 90% lean hamburger (8oz) before workout. Had the oat meal before the workout - just one serving. Wanted about 5x's that though. I love oatmeal. Dinner was turkey breast (actual turkey breast) with some mustard, plus half a serving of almonds. I plan on having more almonds before bed.

tomorrow - powercleans for speed, heavy preacher curls.

soon I'll be adding a log for zsupps - our board sponsor. Be sure to check it out.

Congrats on the bench PR, that's kickass

I do it just to impress you I really couldn't get 135 off the steel. I figure I'll convince you I'm a sexy hunk man beast of love swelling with semen and you'll move to the US. The joke will be when you step off the plane to see me in all my 135lb glory waiting for you to sweep me off my feet (literally). We can drive off into the sunset in my Yugo. That'd be shhhweeeeet!

(I really do appreciate the kind words though. Makes my day)

Fasted cardio this morning. Had to hit a cup of coffee this morning. Good call. Cardio was intense with it and I felt awesome. I'm leaning up fucking quick. As usual. I'm gonna be shooting to keep my bw within 3 pounds of 180. I was 179 this morning. Visual - Monday morning none of my abs are visible (that's where I carry my man fat as well as my chest). This morning 6 pack was apparent. Generally I don't settle for less than a full 8 when dieting for the summer though. Obviously this isn't the summer so this weekend will most likely be a refeed deluxe.

I'm jealous as hell of your dieting abilities, and the fast results. I just don't have that same anal retentiveness with food that I used to have. And hours of cardio - crap I did so much cardio to get lean, and I can't freakin handle that shit anymore. Being ripped to shreds is great, but for me there's that fine line of when it's just not worth it anymore. Maybe I'd be more willing to maintain at that point if getting there were as easy for me as it is for you... DAMN YOU. Oh and if being 12-14% didn't fry my hormones of course. Stupid femality.