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

Grow Phase, Tue., 1/13/15, Legs

verse of the day: Prov. 16:8, "Better is a little with righteousness than great income with injustice."

I was not my strongest today. For some people, this makes for a bad workout. For me: it makes me mad. And typically when I get mad a substantial pump follows from my response. I ended up with a great workout, just not all that I hoped to push. Here's the sequence:
6 sets of squats
4 sets of presses
4 sets of 1-leg curls
4 sets of calf presses
2 sets of seated calf raises
...not crazy on the volume, but the intensity was high and it was very focused... a great workout.

Grow Phase, Mon., 1/12/15, Back and Arms

verse of the day: John 8:12, "I am the light of the world; he who follows Me shall not walk in the darkness, but shall have the light of life."

I got in a good workout this morning. The volume was pretty low, and I put some good intensity in. Here's how it looked:

row: 45-25; 95-15; 135-10; 185-6; 225-6; 245-7
V-grip pulldown: 165-12; 210-10; 255-6
wide pulldown: 200-6 + drop set
machine high row: 145-7 + drop set
pushdown: 70-30; 120-15; 150-12; 200-10; 240-6
 s/s dumbbell curl: 15s-15; 25s-10; 35s-8; 45s-8
hammer curl: 45s-8; 35s-8
 s/s lying extension: 80-12; 110-6
1-arm machine curl: 95-8, 80-5
1-arm machine tri: 125-8,5
cable curl: 150-6
1-arm rope pushdown: 90-6

Grow Phase, Fri., 1/09/15, Chest/Shoulders

verse of the day: John 6:27, "Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which  the Son of Man shall give to you,"

I got in a good pump this morning. It was not the heaviest, but it was very focused and intense. It took about 35 minutes- fast paced. Here's how it looked:
incline dumbbell press: 25s-25; 40s-10; 60s-6; 80s-6; 100s-10 + 2 drop-sets
cable fly (for lower chest): 70-15; 90-5
   super-set with dips:                 8; 8
seated lateral raise: 15s-15; 25s-12; 35s-8
smith machine press: 50-15; 100-12; 150-6
1-arm cable lateral: 30-12; 50-6
dumbbell shrug: 75s-12; 110s-10

Grow Phase, Wed., 1/07/15, Legs

verse of the day: God is Spirit and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth. -John 4: 24

I got in a killer leg workout this morning. I did not have enough time to do every thing, so I did my calves later on. I feel like this is a good level of volume/ intensity for me. I seem to be recovering well at the same time stimulating muscle growth (as I am getting stronger each time I do it.) Here's how it went:

squat: 45-30; 95-6; 135-6; 225-6; 315-6; 385-9 + fail
leg press: 450-10; 630-8; 900-13
leg extension: 135-26
standing leg curl: 60-10; 90-8
lying 1-leg curl: 65-6, 50-6 (no rest)

calf press: 180-30; 360-20; 540-20; 720-12,8
seated calf raise: 90-40
smith calf raise: 350-16

Grow Phase, 1/06/15, Back and Arms

verse of the day: Col. 3:2, "Set your eyes on the things above, not on the things that are on earth."

I got an excellent pump today. The volume was a little higher than it has been for each muscle, but still pretty low (only 3-4 failure sets per muscle.) Here's how it looked:

row: 45-25; 95-15; 135-10; 185-6; 225-6; 275-4 + 225-5
1-arm Nautilus pulldown: 90-10; 135-8; 170-7
1-arm Hammer Strength pulldown: 90-10; 135-11
seated high row: 150-12
pushdown: 70-30; 120-15; 160-10; 200-10; 240-5
  s/s dumbbell curl: 15s-15; 25s-10; 35s-6; 45s-6 + 2
concentration curl: 55-5,7
1-arm reverse pushdown: 80-10,5
lying extension: 80-8; 110-6
  s/s hammer curl: 35s-8; spider curl: 70-6

Grow Phase,Mon., 1/09/15, Chest and Shoulders

verse of the day: Col. 3:23, Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.

My training split seems to be continually evolving as I instinctively feel out what to train with what and how often to train each muscle. So, today was chest and shoulders. I will save the tri's for tomorrow. I seem to get a better pump if I super-set bi's and tri's. I got in a killer workout this morning even though I'm still tip-toing around a serious tweak in the shoulder. Here's how it looked:

incline dumbbell press (these were really just feeling the motion out, and they felt alright so I kept going): 25s-25; 40s-15; 55s-12; 70s-10; 85s-10; 100s-6
bent-over cable fly (for upper chest): 80-10; 100-8
dip: 12; 45lb-11
lateral raise: 20s-15; 30s-12; 40s-8
smith machine shoulder press: 50-12; 100-12; 150-6
incline rear lateral: 25s-15; 35s-12; 45s-8
dumbbell shrug: 75s-10; 110s-8

Grow Phase, Fri., 1/02/15, Legs

verse of the day: John 1:12, But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name,

This morning I got one of the best leg workouts I've had in a while. It was very focused and controlled. The volume was fairly low, but the intensity was definitely there. Here's how it looked:

squat: 45-25; 95-8; 135-6; 225-6; 325-5; 385-7
leg press: 450-10; 720-20
standing leg curl: 40-10; 85-10
lying 1-leg curl: 65-10
smith machine calf raise: 180-15; 250-12; 320-10
seated calf raise: 90-15; 180-10+2