Grow Phase, Fri., 1/30/15, Upper Body

verse of the day: Mat 6:12, "Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors."

Today was yet another jacked up upper-body workout. I tried to super-set everything today. This cut the time down significantly, but left me very burnt out about half way through. I did finish, but it was tough. I will most likely return to straight sets next week. I did get an incredible pump today! Here's how it went:

5 super-sets of incline Hammer Strength press with neutral grip pulldown
3 super-sets of incline dumbbell press with bent over row
2 super-sets of dips and seated row
2 tri-sets of seated dumbbell press, lateral raise and bent over laterals + cable laterals and rears
4 super-sets of rope pushdown and dumbbell curl
3 sets 1-arm concentration curl
4 sets 1-arm lying triceps extension
1 set each: reverse crunch, bench crunch, swiss ball crunch

...It took just under 1 hour.  

Grow Phase, Wed., 1/28/15, Legs

verse of the day: Mat 6:10, "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven."

I got in a great leg workout this morning. I changed it up a little bit again. I put lunges first. The reasoning behind this was to nail the glutes a little harder, and work the muscles differently than usual. Here's how it went:

reverse lunges: 10; 20s-10; 50s-10; 75s-10; 100s-10
squat: 135-10; 225-10; 275-10; 325-10
lying 1-leg curl: 50-15,6,5
standing 1-leg curl: 85-6; 55-9
1-leg extension: 55-25,13
calf press: 360-20; 540-20; 720-12
1-calf press: 180-20,10
seated calf press: 70-15; 140-15; 210-7+5

Grow Phase Week 11, Mon., 1/26/15, Upper body

verse of the day: Mat 6:9, "Our Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name."

Today was another GIANT upper-body workout. It was great. After the last one I didn't think I'd do it again. But, over the next few days everything was sore in all the right places. And, I really feel that my body is able to recover and grow with the extra rest day. So, I found myself doing a very similar workout to last weeks' upper-body. Including stretching and ab training, it took right at an hour and a half to complete. And, with abs and warm-ups, it was a total of 55 sets. Here's how it looked:

rotator cuff warm-ups (internal and external) + light pull downs
incline dumbbell press: 5 x 25, 15, 10, 10,10
flat db press: 3 x 10,10,8
dip: 3 x 12, 12, 9
neutral grip pull down: 5 x 10,10,10,9,9
row: 3 x 10,10,7
1-arm row: 2 x 10
bent lateral: 4 x 10
lateral: 4 x 10
lying triceps: 5 x 12,12,12,5,11
1-arm rope pushdown: 4 x 10,6,8,12
seated dumbbell curl: 4 x 12,12,12,10
concentration curl: 3 x 10,10,6
ab circuit

Grow Phase, Fri., 1/23/15, Legs

This week has been a little crazy.... But I'm getting stronger!
The leg workout this morning was short, intense and focused. I got in, nailed it and wrapped it up. Here's how it went:

squat: 45-30; 135-10; 225-8; 315-6; 385-11
leg press: 540-10; 820-8
standing leg curl: 40-12; 55-10; 70-10,5
calf press: 500-35; 540-22; 630-?

Grow Phase, Wed., 1/21/15, Upper Body

verse of the day: Dan. 7:14b, "...His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will no pass away..."

I did a very long upper body workout this morning. It took about an hour and a half. It was a great pump, but I'm not sure it would be sustainable to do that on a regular basis. The idea is to have more recovery time. Hit everything in 1 workout and rest more. This week I will probably only do 3 workouts: Mon- legs, Wed- upper, Fri- legs. Here's how it looked:

incline hammer strength press: 50-25; 90-15; 180-10; 230-10; 270-10,6
flat dumbbell press: 65s-10; 80s-10,8
decline hammer strength press: 180-10,10
dip: 12
pulldown: 165-10,10; 180-10,10; 195-7
row: 135-10; 185-10; 205-8
1-arm row (to chest for upper back): 65-10; 90-10
bent over lateral raise:30s-10; 35s-10; 40s-10; 45s-10
lateral: 25s-10; 30s-10; 35s-10
hammer strength shoulder press: 140-20,18
lying triceps extension: 50-10; 70-10; 90-12,6; 70-12
pushdown: 120-12; 130-12; 140-12; 150-7
dumbbell curl: 20s-12, 25s-12; 30s-12,12
seated concentration curl: 25-10,8,7

Grow Phase, Mon., 1/19/15, Legs

I got in a great leg workout this morning. I did not have a lot of time, so it was a little rushed, but it was on point. Here's how it looked:

reverse lunge: 10; 15s-10; 50s-10; 75s-10
squat: 45-10; 95-10; 135-10; 225-10; 275-10; 315-20
lying 1-leg curl: 50-20
standing leg curl: 55-13
1-leg extension: 55-25,12,8 (no rest)
1-calf press: 180-20,12,12; 90-25,20,15,15

Grow Phase, Thur., 1/15/15, FOOD

verse of the day: John 10:14, "I am the good shepherd; and I know My own, and My own know Me."

I got in a great chest and shoulder workout yesterday. Today is a rest day. Thought I would give a brief diet update: My calories are typically around 3500- sometimes closer to 3000 and sometimes more than 4000. I'm trying to build muscle without getting too fat. Here's what I ate Monday (this is fairly typical except I usually have 1 or 2 more meals):
meal 1: chicken; oatmeal; apple
meal 2: chicken; oatmeal
post workout: 40g whey protein isolate; sweet potato
meal 3: chicken; sweet potato
meal 4: chicken; oatmeal
meal 5: chicken; rice; brussel sprouts (baked in olive oil)
meal 6: shake w/ peanut butter