Rich's New Beginning: WNBF Pro Stage in 2009!

[rich55]

WOW those legs are getting stronger and stronger! Great job big RICH!

Thanks man! It's not just my legs.....


PUSHING SOME WEIGHT

Ah, good ole push day today and I had 315 and 105's in my sights. I'm approaching unchartered territories of strength and I love the adrenaline rush as approach each big challenge. Bigger and better, IT'S ON!!!

3-board press
Small unload on the boards and powering up.
45 x 10 w/o boards
135 x 3
185 x 3
225 x 3
275 x 3
315 x 3 ----> nailed it for another PR

Flat DB Press
Kinda figured I would rock the board press, so this was the real challenge.
65 x 8
85 x 8
105 x 8 ----> PR
110 x 5 ------> another PR
110 x 3

Cable Crossovers
70 x 10
75 x 10
80 x 7
- SUPERSET -
Incline Bench
135 x 10
155 x 8
155 x 6, 30-second rest pause and another 4 reps

Leaning DB Laterals
30 x 10
30 x 10
35 x 10 ---> last 2 were shallow
- SUPERSET -
Rope Pulldowns
90 x 10
100 x 10
110 x 10 ---> and another PR
110 x 7

Seated DB Shrugs to Lateral Push
45 x 10 each
45 x 10 each
- SUPERSET -
Shoulder-Width Pushup
BW x 18
BW x 16 ----> threw in some kickbacks here after to pummel the tris
BW x 13

Crazy strength today. 190 is coming soon. I can feel it. Saying my prayers tonight to thank God for my strength.

[rich55]

LOTS OF PULLING

Big Joe came to train with me on Saturday and I must admit I pulled all the stops on this one. He said the pace wore him down, but really this was just my typical pace. We took some little breaks here and there.

Barbell T-Bar Style Rows
2 plates x 10
3 plates x 8
3.5 plates x 8
4 plates x 6
4.5 plates x 6 ----> PR
5 plates x 3+1+1 ---> little breaths between 3, 4 & 5

Straight-Arm Pulldowns
130 x 15
140 x 15
150 x 11 ----> PR
150 x 10
- SUPERSET -
Bent-Over DB Rows
70's x 8
70's x 6
70's x 6
55's x 8

High Pulley Rope Face Pulls
140 x 10
150 x 10
150 x 10
150 x 10
- SUPERSET -
Standing DB Shrugs
85 x 10
95 x 10
105 x 8
105 x 7

Seated Cable Rows
180 x 8
190 x 8
200 x 8
200 x 8 ---> getting sloppy towards the end

Alternating Hammer Curls
35 x 8
45 x 8
50 x 8
55 x 5

Simultaneous Hammer Curls
35 x 10
40 x 8

Barbell Curls
65 x 10
75 x 8
85 x 6

Close Cable Curls
80 x 12
85 x 10
85 x 9

[rich55]

GRINDING THROUGH LEGS:

Yes, even I must grind through legs sometimes. Once I get the blood flowing it's on. I have experienced some of the most severe upper body and back soreness in a while these past few days. But, you grind through it.

Squats
135 x 10
225 x 8
275 x 5
315 x 5
365 x 5
405 x 2 ---> got 3 last week, but will do better next week

Alternating Barbell Lunges
95 x 10/leg
145 x 10
195 x 10 ---> 8-10 was a battle

1-Leg Machine Curls
70 x 10
75 x 10
75 x 10
- SUPERSET -
Hanging Leg Raises
BW x 10
BW x 10
BW x 10

Reverse Hypers
50 x 10
70 x 10
90 x 8
- SUPERSET -
Standing Calf Raises
200 x 13
200 x 11
200 x 10

[rich55]

LIGHT UPPER BODY

Tired late night workout at 9pm, but I got it done. It was cut a little short as our gym closed. I will hit my upper body hard on my heavy days this weekend.

Speed Bench with Bands
Doubled reds with 70 lbs of added tension at top varying normal, wide & close grips.
45 x 10
95 x 3
95 x 3
95 x 3
125 x 3
125 x 3
125 x 3
145 x 3

Weighted Wide-Grip Pullups
Assistance x 5 to warm-up
30 x 5
30 x 5
30 x 5
30 x 5
30 x 5 ----> little short on last rep

Close-Grip Incline Bench
First time doing these. Interesting tension throughout tris, front delt and upper chest.
95 x 10
135 x 10
165 x 10
175 x 9

Hammer Low Rows
Simultaneous with hands up to on handles.
45/side x 10
70/side x 10
90/side x 10
105/side x 7

JM Presses
Still terrible at these, but getting better.
65 x 10
75 x 10
80 x 7

Double Twist Seated DB Curls
Supinate, pronate and supinate all at top.
30 x 10
35 x 10
35 x 4 ----> only had a 30 second rest break and the lights were shut off in the gym

[bull.dogz]

How's your little cutie pie doing?

[conda]

LIGHT UPPER BODY

Tired late night workout at 9pm, but I got it done. It was cut a little short as our gym closed. I will hit my upper body hard on my heavy days this weekend.

Speed Bench with Bands
Doubled reds with 70 lbs of added tension at top varying normal, wide & close grips.
45 x 10
95 x 3
95 x 3
95 x 3
125 x 3
125 x 3
125 x 3
145 x 3

Weighted Wide-Grip Pullups
Assistance x 5 to warm-up
30 x 5
30 x 5
30 x 5
30 x 5
30 x 5 ----> little short on last rep

Close-Grip Incline Bench
First time doing these. Interesting tension throughout tris, front delt and upper chest.
95 x 10
135 x 10
165 x 10
175 x 9

Hammer Low Rows
Simultaneous with hands up to on handles.
45/side x 10
70/side x 10
90/side x 10
105/side x 7

JM Presses
Still terrible at these, but getting better.
65 x 10
75 x 10
80 x 7

Double Twist Seated DB Curls
Supinate, pronate and supinate all at top.
30 x 10
35 x 10
35 x 4 ----> only had a 30 second rest break and the lights were shut off in the gym

Nice! Haven't said hello in a while. Hope you and your fam are doing great!

[rich55]

DYNAMIC EFFORT LEG DAY
Speed, speed and more speed.

Low/Narrow Speed Box Squats
Below parallel for speed at 50%.
45 x 10
95 x 5
135 x 2
135 x 2
185 x 2
185 x 2
225 x 2
225 x 2

Speed Deads
Roughly 60% or so.
135 x 2
135 x 2
225 x 2
225 x 2
275 x 2
275 x 2 ----> very pleased with my explosion at this weight

Low Shoulder Width Stance Leg Press Throws
Dared by Stolz and Joe. Really dig these. Kept it light to get real deep and throw as hard as possible. On the Nebula 45 degree I got maybe 6 inches of air haha. Rough stuff and put some good blood in the quads. Whenever you jump or throw as hard as possible on each one, you can count on a winding movement.
180 x 10
270 x 10
270 x 10
270 x 10

Lying Leg Curls
105 x 10
115 x 10
125 x 7

Angled Calf Raises
360 x 12
380 x 8
380 x 7

Hyperextensions
BW x 10
10 lbs x 10

Situps
BW x 10
10 lbs x 10

[rich55]

How's your little cutie pie doing?

Ava is awesome! Too cute.

Nice! Haven't said hello in a while. Hope you and your fam are doing great!

Hey man! How's it going? The fam is awesome. Baby girl is getting big and we're getting ready for our one year anniversary next week.

[bull.dogz]

OMG!! So cute!!

[conda]

Ava is awesome! Too cute.





Hey man! How's it going? The fam is awesome. Baby girl is getting big and we're getting ready for our one year anniversary next week.

Pretty good man! Just on a major bulking mission at the dinner table & the gym Nice Picture! She's growing fast.

[rich55]

OMG!! So cute!!

Thank you, thank you!

Pretty good man! Just on a major bulking mission at the dinner table & the gym Nice Picture! She's growing fast.

Haha, me too!!! Thanks!



-----------------------------

HEAVY PUSH

Overall a very good workout. 325 is now on my list for next week with a miss today. I'm definitely feeling thicker through the tris and also the chest.

3-Board Press
James was overhead with board spot from a client. The bad board spot jacked me up. I did better with no board spot at all last week. No excuses. I'm getting this next week.
45 x 10 w/o board
135 x 3
185 x 3
225 x 3
275 x 4
325 x 1 ---> missed on #1, got #2 and needed help on #3

Flat DB Press
70 x 8
90 x 8 ---> digging how light these feel
110 x 7 ---> took a little tap on #8. That's a miss.
115 x 4 -----> matched Stolz
115 x 3

Cable Crossovers
70 x 10
80 x 10
85 x 9
- SUPERSET -
Incline Bench
135 x 10
155 x 10
165 x 5 + 4 after 30-second rest pause

Standing DB Laterals
Bringing DB's in front for some power. Little isometric hold at top and controlled negatives.
30 x 10
35 x 10
40 x 8
40 x 8

Rope Pulldowns
110 x 10
110 x 10
120 x 8
120 x 8

DB Kickbacks
30 x 15
35 x 15
- SUPERSET -
Shoulder-Width Pushups
BW x 20
45 lbs on back x 9, drop weight + 3

[jiritt0]

Liking the westside?

[rich55]

Liking the westside?

Very much. I put my own little blend with bodybuilding. Strength is going through the roof and the size is coming. How is your training and studying going?


--------------------

BIG BACK & BI'S

Yesterday James and I had a great back day. Lightened the volume just a touch, so that I can deadlift on Monday. Afterwards we finished off a Donato's works pizza add chicken while watching the Buckeye's beat Iowa to win the Big 10.

Barbell Corner T-Bar Rows
90 x 10
135 x 8
160 x 6
180 x 6
225 x 3 + 2 after a few breaths

Straight-Arm Pulldowns
130 x 15
140 x 15
150 x 12 ----> feeling better
150 x 11
- SUPERSET -
Bent-Over DB Rows
70 x 8
70 x 8
70 x 7
70 x 6 ----> better

Rope Face Pulls
140 x 10
150 x 10
160 x 10
160 x 10
- SUPERSET -
Standing DB Shrugs
90 x 10
100 x 10
110 x 10
110 x 8

Seated Cable Rows
180 x 8
200 x 8
220 x 6

Barbell Curls
Threw is in to battle Stolz. That's right buddy.
65 x 10
85 x 8
105 x 6
115 x 4 ---> took a spot on #5

Alternating Hammer Curls
35 x 8
45 x 8
55 x 6
60 x 2 ----> 55's killed em

1-Arm Cable Curls
Nice and strict.
45 x 10
40 x 12

[rich55]

DEADLIFT DAY!!!

I have decided to deadlift heavy every 3 weeks. Today was that day and despite some lower back discomfort located more on the right side....it went well! Hit 405 for 3 a couple weeks ago just getting back into it.

Deadlifts 3RM
Sumo style. Returning to my roots where I'm strongest.
135 x 10 ----> really felt good, so I went for it
225 x 5
315 x 3
375 x 3
425 x 3 ------> very pleased with form and speed. Strength is climbing!

V-Squat with Bands
A front squat style machine with about 60-70 lbs of extra band tension at top.
100 x 8
200 x 8
290 x 8
380 x 8

1-Leg Curl Machine
70 x 10
75 x 10
80 x 7
- SUPERSET -
Hanging Knee Raises
BW x 12
BW x 12
BW x 12

STRENGTH ASSESSMENT

Today was definitely a soft-feeling day, but I don't really care too much with my strength continuing to climb as it is. In reviewing some exercises I had targeted for PR's to improve my physique, I noted 17 on just that list including several others not on my initial list. It's safe to assume I'd PR any lift right now with some practice. That's awesome!

I did this review out of curious and then decided to encouragement to myself. Sometimes, I think we focus too much on how much weight we are not lifting or how much we need to improve to live up to our own expectations. I just had that feeling myself and here I am kicking my own previous self's butt! 3 months down and 22 months to go to keep the gains going!!!

[rich55]

Haha, very nice fellas. The greater motivation the better! And vids it is.


Light Upper Body

Light means speed bench and lower on the volume. Training to failure on all the rest, but no forced reps.

Speed Bench
Explosive as possible varying grips.
45 x 10
95 x 10
135 x 3
135 x 3
135 x 3
185 x 3
185 x 3
185 x 3

Weighted Wide-Grip Pullups
Full stretch and static hold at top. Aiming by 5 x 5 time under tension.
Assistance x 5 to warm-up
35 x 5
35 x 5 ---> little shallow on #5
35 x 5 -----> little shallow again
35 x 4 -------> rough but PR weight

Close-Grip Incline Bench
Digging these. Different, but good on tris, anterior delt and upper chest.
135 x 8
165 x 8
195 x 7
- SUPERSET -
Simultaneous Hammer Low Rows
Hands overhand on top of handle for different pull through mid-back.
70/side x 8
90/side x 8
115/side x 7

JM Presses
This are brutal, but getting better. Need to warm-up lighter to loosen up elbows more.
65 x 10
80 x 10
85 x 10
- SUPERSET -
Seated Double Twist Curls
Squeeze supinating, pronate, supinate and back down.
30 x 10
35 x 10
40 x 7

Lying Front Raises
Both moves on slight incline. Tough at end. Need to make sure to hit these next week.
25 x 10
25 x 10
- SUPERSET -
Lying Bent-Over Laterals
25 x 7
25 x 5