Hypertophy Phase - Week 3, Day 13

60 seconds rest, 5 sets, 13-15 reps

Bench
235x14
225x8
185x10
135x15
135x13

Curl
65x20
65x15
65x14
65x13
65x21

Band Pull-Aparts
40
20
20
21

Notes
Skipped the gym last night because I had to go look at new apartments.  I have a wedding this week so everything is going to be compressed into the next 3 days. As such I'm dropping a lot of accessory work and I'm not going to worry about the weights I use for anything.  Just use the big lifts to get a decent workout in.

As I was walking home tonight, I reflected on the fact that I have literally come full circle and now believe that the bench/curl workout is fucking awesome.  But it is only awesome if you actually work hard and blast everything.  Jim Wendler has often talked about how you should only really expect to do 1-2 lifts really well every workout.  I think it drops down to one when you've been working out 6 days a week.  Either way, bench/curl is fucking awesome for the following reasons.

First, your upper body gets pumped to shit and you look and feel fucking awesome.  High rep bench + high rep curls = teh pump is teh cumming.  Second, it makes sense from a strength perspective.  We all know the antagonist, push/pull type approach is great for strength workouts.  In this case, you get to really hit your big lift hard for the day, but you still have enough juice left to hit the curls as hard as you can.  Curls aren't like rows or chins or other heavy compounds that are easily impacted from shit like heavy bench.  Though bench is an antagonist to the row, we are still talking about fucking strength training. If you are doing it right, you are using your whole body.   Benching heavy effects my row.  Not so with the curl.  Which brings me to my third and final point.  Heavy barbell curls are probably most "legit" isolation exercise I can think of.  They really aren't akin to shit like triceps pushdowns.  You can go fucking heavy in curls and use body momentum to heave that shit up.  That is how brutally strong guys power curl with barbells.  They don't sit there and squeeze their biceps constantly while getting buttfucked by their partner. Brutally strong guys go hard and heavy in the barbell curl and treat it like a fucking lift.

When I think of heavy barbell curls, I think of my old training partner, Chris Moore.  Chris could bang out 135x10 on the curl at will.  Was he strick?  Not even fucking close.  Are his arms huge?  I'd liken them to that of a silver back gorilla.  I would never, ever consider arm wrestling him because I have no doubt he would tear my shoulder out of its socket with little effort.  Point is, I'm really going to go hard and heavy in the barbell curl.  I think thats the way its supposed to be done.

Edit:  One final comment.  I think super high rep pull-aparts or facepulls make this workout perfectly balanced.  One heavy compound.  One heavy isolation.  One super high rep blood pumping/shoulder balancing isolation.

Hypertrophy Phase - Week 3, Day 12

60 seconds rest, 5 sets, 13-15 reps

Deadlifts
335x12
225x12
225x10
225x10
225x10

Notes
I was unable to perform the workout as prescribed tonight.  Just didn't have it in me.  The next 10 days includes: finishing my current job, starting a new job, moving across town, driving to wedding 8 hours away.  I'm trying to balance a ton of shit right now. Deadlifts at 9pm tonight, running on a 500 calorie noon lunch kinda sucked.

Anyways, over the next 5 days I'm going to try to get as much volume in as possible.  I'll probably drop most of the assistance work, and use the main lifts to keep the fatigue piled on going into next week.  That is all I'm doing right now - purposefully overreaching. With pussy ass weights haha.

I need to remember what I'm doing here.  Hypertophy.

Hypertrophy Phase - Week 2, Day 11

90 seconds rest, 4 sets, 8-10 reps

Bench
245x10
225x8
225x8
185x8

Cable Row
150x8
150x8
150x8
150x8

Seated DB Press
70x8
65x8
55x8

BB Curl
95x15 (pr)

Notes
Day 6 of week 2.  Felt a little beat-up and non-motivated this afternoon.  The fatigue I'm feeling right now is mostly muscular.  Just a dull feeling.  Its harder to get tight and to feel "poppy" on the bench.

Today the objective was to get a solid bench session in.  I subb'd cable rows for bent rows because I had no desire to pound my entire back yet again today.

BB curl was a mini highlight.  To put things in perspective, I would have been very hard pressed to get more than 7-8 reps with 95 pounds before starting this program (yes pathetic).  I've always wanted to work up to the point where I'm curling 135 on the straight bar for reps.  That just looks fucking awesome.  I never put the time/effort into curling, but I'm going to do it now.

Hypertrophy Phase - Week 2, Day 10

90 seconds rest, 4 sets, 8-10 reps

Deadlift
365x8
315x8
315x8
315x8

Leg Press
360x8
360x8
360x8
360x8

Split Squat
BWx8/8
BWx8/8
BWx8/8

Calves
5-6 sets of very high reps

Steep decline Abs
35x8
35x8

Band Pull Aparts
30
30
30

Notes
I was very close to calling it after deadlifts.  The short rest periods are really killing me with deads right now.  My upper back is constantly sore.  A lot of my body is constantly sore.  The key to this program is not giving a fuck if you are sore.  High volume with increasingly heavy weights and shortened rest periods is going to leave you sore.  You can't worry about the bar weight, or if this or that isn't fully recovered.   You are never fully recovered on a routine anyways.  If you are, it is doubtful you are consistently getting stronger.

It is worth mentioning, as this is a muscle building routine, that I am visibly building muscle already.  I'm definitely getting bigger.  Diet is decently clean.  I'm getting plenty of protein.  The only thing I need to improve on is wine.  I'm in a wine drinking phase... about a bottle a night haha.  I'll cut it out this weekend, but I just like wine.  I like to drink 4 glasses over a 3-4 hour period.  Its so fucking enjoyable as I read strength blogs, books, etc.  Anyways, I believe this 6 day a week routine is winning the war against the wine, because I'm definitely leaning out.

Tonight, pasty as hell, after legs.

Hypertrophy Phase - Week 2, Day 9

Chins
5; 5; 5; 5

Supersetted w/ 

Pushups
22; 22; 22; 22

Suspended Row
6; 6; 6; 6

Supersetted w/ 

Dips
9; 9; 9; 9

Band Pull Aparts
25; 25; 25

Poundstone Curls
Bar x 70 (PR)

Notes
Really flat tonight.  My whole body feels fatigued.  I'm not really sore anymore, I just don't have tons of pop since everything is getting hit every 48 hours.

No idea where the poundstone curls PR came from.  This is my 4th session with barbell curls in about 10 days. Its too early to tell, but I have a feeling all of the barbell movements are going to improve very rapidly.

Also felt good to get 88 total pushups.  Next week I'll hit 100, which is decent for a workout.  On another note, I don't know why my body hates doing more than 5 reps of chins.  I can add lots of weight and do 5 reps.  Or just do bodyweight and anything over 5 reps feels hard.  I do them super explosively from a deadhang and basically slam my chest into the bar.  I dunno maybe I need to tone it down a little.

Hypertrophy Phase - Week 2, Day 8

Double KB Clean
60/60 x 10
60/60 x 10
60/60 x 10
60/60 x 10

Waiter Walk
70 x 60 yds
70 x 60 yds
70 x 30 yds
70 x 30 yds
70 x 30 yds
70 x 30 yds

Band Pull-Aparts
70 rep series

Calves
90x10
90x10
70x10
70x10

Supersetted w/

Tibialis Anterior raises
4 sets

Notes
Mid-week light day.

I really really like the band pull apart series.  It feels great.  The behind the neck movement is particularly awesome.

Hypertrophy Phase: Week 2 - Day 7

90 seconds rest, 4 sets, 13-15 reps

Bench
275x1
225x14
205x8
185x13
135x15

Bent Row
205x13
185x13
135x15
135x10

DB Press
50x15
50x15
50x15

BB Curl
65x15
65x15
65x15
65x15

Band Pull-Aparts
70 reps: did this awesome series here - http://articles.elitefts.com/training-articles/band-pull-apart-super-series-for-healthy-shoulders-needs-formatted/

Notes
Short rest periods destroyed my press strength.  They also destroyed my pull strength. My back is pretty damn fatigued. Overall though a solid session.   I'm taking dat dere creatine mono, and I actually felt a marked difference tonight.  It is hard to tell whether I'm adjusting to the program, or whether its the creatine helping me bust out a couple extra reps.  I don't really measure, I just throw a lot in my protein shake.  I know supposedly creatine loading isn't needed, but fuck it. I have a lot.  I'm going to start throwing in a moderate single before my high rep stuff.  I have many reasons for this I will get into over the course of the next few weeks.

Now I'm going to tell a story about a person that almost killed themselves in the gym tonight. We will call him Bob.  Tonight Bob got entirely too amped up for his squats.  I don't mind yelling, swearing, or some of the regular shit to get pumped up, but when a person literally starts stomping on the platform (repeatedly) before approaching the bar, I think that might cross the line.  After barely squeaking out which was clearly a max attempt, Bob preceded to stomp some more and try for another.  He missed halfway up and sent 300 something pounds off his back sailing onto the platform.  No big deal.  Thats what bumpers are for...right?

Undeterred by the near stapling, and unaware of the fact he almost crushed a girl next to the chalk bucket, Bob preceded to the bench.  Bob was still fired up.  Its time to fucking bench.  Bob started with a huge arch, but as he reached up for the bar, he deflated like a beach balloon.  Something told me to watch. I didn't consciously think about what was about to happen, but after spending a long time in and around barbell lifting, the totality of the circumstances gives you a good sense for shit.

So I watched.  And Bob is lucky I did.  Bob unracked the bar, and almost immediately it fell with speed of gravity on his neck.  In the split second that followed a number of thoughts entered my mind, the first being, "holy shit I'm witnessing a person decapitate themselves."  To be clear, Bob didn't miss the lift on a heavy grinding rep.  The bar just fucking fell on his neck.

I was about 20 feet away, so I sprinted over and upright rowed the bar off his neck into his uprights.  Bob immediately grabbed his neck and gasped for air.  I thought I might have to call 911 because I wasn't sure if crushed his windpipe.  But Bob managed to squeak out "that wasn't supposed to happen. I was going for a triple."  Alrightythen.

After yelling at him for not asking for a spot, I explained to Bob that: 1) his failed squat attempt destroyed any chance of heavy lifting for the rest of the day; and 2) he lost all tightness and was too far from the bar to unrack it himself.  Bob thanked me for saving him.

So Bob lives to squat and bench another day.  What is the moral of this story?

There is no moral to this story. If I had to come up with one, I'd say "don't be a stupid jackass in the gym."