TweetTuesday

Squat (safety squat bar) 6 sets
Lat pulldown 3 sets
Hammer Strength low row 3 sets
Straight bar cable curl laid back 3 sets
Double high cable curl 3 sets

Leg press superset with underhand lat pulldown 3 sets

Holy pumps, the pumps I had on my working muscles were incredible. I felt my quad tweak a bit during warm ups and felt odd while squatting but I was able to go super heavy and built an awesome pump in my legs that lasted the whole workout. I went on to work back which I didn't feel a huge pump until later on. However I did a cable curl when you lean back on the floor and do the curls. It helped build a really solid bicep pump. The leg extensions and underhand pulldowns really topped everything off for me. I then noticed while walking on the treadmill that my lats were pumps when I started trying to stretch. My legs also felt like I couldn't bend them. I felt like Forest Gump with the metal thing on his leg and felt like my steps were really pounding on the treadmill probably because I wasn't able to bend my leg the right way and it was just throwing one foot in front of the other.

Other than recovery what I've also noticed the last week is I get hungry faster. So if I have a meal scheduled at like 11:00a.m., I'm hungry by 10:15 and after my last meal of the night I get hungry right before bed again. More recently I'm noticing dry mouth as well. Usually at night when I'm sitting around before bed I'm super thirsty with a dry crappy taste in my mouth.

TweetWednesday

10 minutes HIIT cardio
Leg Raises 3 sets
5 minutes LISS cardio
Crunches 3 sets
5 minutes LISS cardio
Leg raises 1 set

Cardio on a treadmill, not my favorite way of doing things but I did it. Sprinting felt easy at the beginning, like I'm getting better at it so I ramped up the speed and by the end my head was hanging and I was barely keeping up with the belt and with the rest periods. Regardless if it burns more fat doing cardio/abs this way, it makes things more fun and interesting. Three weeks now I can't help but think I'm constantly moving this way and I'm staying heated the whole time. Usually I do my HIIT and I'm dying but by the end of abs I'm good. Now I'm breathing heavy basically the whole time.

Nothing really to report other than I was super hungry again last night. I was laying in bed and couldn't sleep, not sure if it was due to hunger but none the less I was hungry so I had a scoop of natty pb and a scoop of protein since my macros were pretty much met for the day. My bottle of Laxacrine looks to be about finished, I might have tonights dose, tomorrow, and hopefully a dose for Saturday.

TweetThursday

Flat Bench superset with reverse peck deck 3 sets
Incline DB press superset with side lateral raise 3 sets
Hammer strength decline superset with cable side raise 3 sets
Hammer strength decline superset with rope extensions 3 sets
Straight bar underhand extension 3 sets
Reverse straight bar overhead extension 3 sets

I had to meet a contractor at my house so I did a really fast workout. As you see I got a normal amount of sets and exercises in however my rest periods between sets were super short. So my strength wasn't top notch but I was surprised that it wasn't half bad for moving fairly quickly. I had an intense pump from moving quickly which was nice and as you see I did some extra decline work.

Yesterday after lunch I got pretty bloated again. Not sure how or why because it's usually after my post workout meal or in the morning. But I was walking next to my buddy who asks for exercise advice at work and he looked at me and rubbed his stomach because my stomach was like bulging. It wasn't super uncomfortable but noticeable. I don't know why this is happening, my guess is a digestion problem. I'm going to do a colon cleanse this weekend and grab some Evomuse Gut Health to hopefully take care of the problem.

Other than that I feel bigger and thicker. I feel like I take up more space as I'm walking around the halls at work. It feels pretty good, my shoulders and chest feel like they have come up a lot through the course of this log.

TweetSaturday

Leg extension superset with seated leg curl superset with weighted lower back extension 3 sets
Leg press superset with good morning bar pulldown 3 sets
Vertical leg press superset with reverse incline DB row 3 sets
Close grip ez curl preacher curl 3 sets
Wide grip ez curl preacher curl 3 sets
Rope hammer curl 3 sets

Woke up pretty groggy Saturday. Even with the preworkout, it was tough to wake up. I did start going ok half way through the workout but it wasn't a great workout. It wasn't bad either but I wish I had picked better back exercises. I had a good sweat going and a great pump in my biceps. I really loved using the bar I did for pulldown, it had a bend in the middle and really allows you to get your elbows back further on the movement than normal. I also like the vertical leg press except for it's old so when I really loaded the weight I felt like the thing was going to break. However the back extensions I was feeling the target muscles very. I felt it mostly in my hams and glutes.

It was my last workout with Laxacrine. It's been a fun ride and I'll get a review up once I go over my notes.

TweetMonday

Squat 5 sets (last set was a drop set)
Lat Pulldown 3 sets
T Bar Row 3 sets
BB Curl 3 sets
Seated DB Curl 3 sets

Underhand close grip lat pulldown 3 sets

Had a really good workout. I went heavy on just about all of the movements and really drained myself. However as you can see I didn't get the volume in that I usually do. I don't know why but the workout flew by and before I knew it, it was time for cardio. It's not a huge deal since I went heavy everywhere and did the main lifts. I usually do 6 sets of squats but I went pretty heavy and only got 1 rep so I decided to pull some weight and go right back in. After cardio however my whole leg and calves were really pumped, I thought I was going to have trouble walking last night but it went away fairly quickly.

TweetDrop set of squats?&*#! Awesome brutha

TweetTuesday

Flat bench 4 sets
Incline bench 3 sets
Shoulder press 3 sets
Side lateral raise 3 sets
Skull crushers 3 sets
Underhand straight bar extension 3 sets

Facepull superset with Overhand straight bar extension 3 sets

Again I didn't get to fit in a ton of volume but still had a really solid workout. I matched my PR on bench, but this time without a lift off and without a spotter. I probably could of went heavier but didn't want to push myself without anyone to spot me. I felt good benching and the weight was moving pretty well. I went on to match my PR for incline press but I've hit that same number for awhile and can't seem to break an extra rep. Either way I still went pretty heavy and was happy. The rest of the workout I went heavy as well. Usually in skullcrushers I go into doing close grip presses when I fail or my form gets sloppy on skullcrushers but this time I upp'd the weight and really pushed myself during the skullcrusher movement. I don't know why I'm not getting the extra time this week to do more work, I don't feel like I'm taking more time between sets but maybe I am.

Pump again was solid and motivation is definitely in a good spot. The next few weeks I may miss or have to rush at the gym a few days but I probably need it, it's been about 3 months since I took a break or a deload so I'll be happy to have an extra day off or go lighter for a day or two if need be.

Tweet

Originally Posted by IRON-GAME

Drop set of squats?&*#! Awesome brutha

haha thanks, its not fun but I decided a few years ago that if I'm not thrilled with the specific set, I'll do a drop set to increase intensity or "punish" myself

TweetWednesday

10 minutes HIIT cardio
Crunches
5 minutes LISS cardio
crunches
bathroom break
5 minutes liss cardio
crunches
5 minutes liss cardio
crunches

If you notice what I did in the middle of the workout. I was dealing with a bloated feeling that I couldn't put my finger on so I grabbed some pysllium husk and have been taking it in the a.m. since Monday. Lets just say it's been an interesting ride so far. I was going to the gym and my stomach did not feel right yesterday, I also felt tired and worn out but figured I'd muscle through the HIIT part of my cardio and then it would be smooth sailing from there. After that second set of crunches, it all came to a head. Once it was over though I felt a lot better. That's how it's been all week. As you see I did the same ab exercise the whole time. I read the article that gave me the idea to do cardio this way again and it says do ab's for 60 seconds and then go back to cardio. You want to drive blood into the ab region so I decided crunches probably do this better than some of the exercises.

I continue to improve on me leanness day by day, not a huge difference from one day to the next but making improvements.

TweetThursday

Leg press super set with t bar row 3sets
Weighted Bulgarian split squat superset with close grip lat pulldown 3 sets
Tire flip
DB Curl 3 sets
Leg extension 3 sets
Rope pulldown 3 sets
Standing Calve Raise 3 sets

So I was tired all day, I didn't really feel to hot either. My stomach was bothering me and I've had some minor sleeping issues lately so I've been using two pillows to sleep and my neck was super tight. Either way I got to the gym and was wondering if I should of even be there. I felt like I was milking the workout. Weight was still decent but I wasn't into it mentally. Anyway one of the guys asked me to go outside and flip some tires. I don't know if they were dumped back there or the owner had them delivered but ever since I started going to my gym we've had huge 18 wheeler tires out back on a hill behind the gym. Anyway we went out there and did a bunch of tire flip. I'm not tall but the tire was almost as big as I was. It got me to wake up a bit and feel better. I wasn't going to let him out work me. He weights a good 100lbs more than me so I wanted to keep up with him.

I figured the tire flipping was sort of like a dead lift/snatch movement so I was still working the muscle groups I was supposed to anyway. Half way through I felt my forearms pumped. By the time we were done my forearms were supper pumped. I went back in the gym to do some light work to really extend the pump of my back/legs/and biceps. As soon as I started doing curls my biceps got nice and round.

Driving home I could barely grip the steering wheel because my forearms were so pumped up. Ate then showered and went over my buddies, forearms were still feeling sore. If I squeezed the wheel it almost hurt. Even this morning, it was still a struggle to grip the steering wheel and it was tough to open a jar this morning haha. My biceps are also sore, in a way I haven't felt in a long time. Its like when I started working out years ago and did a ton of bicep exercises.

I'm going to take the next 3 days off from the gym. Usually when sleep issues creep up it's time to get out of the gym for a few. I was also picked to log a product for Controlled Labs so I want to be fresh before taking on the next chapter of cutting with a new product.

TweetMonday

Flat Bench 4 sets
Incline Bench 3 sets
Shoulder press 3 sets last set was drop set
DB Side Lateral Raise 3 sets
Reverse underhand overhead extension 3 sets
Rope Extension 3 sets

Decline Hammer strength superset with close grip extensions 3 sets

So I took Fri, Sat, and Sun off from the gym to prepare to really start the cut. I slept in Sat. and Sun. morning later than I normally would. My body usually wakes itself up on the weekends but even this weekend it was an hour or so later than normal. Sunday I decided to try my first dose of Red Ghost. I like to take my first dose of a fat burner on Sundays because if it makes me feel like crap like some fat burners do at least I'm not at work and could relax. I wanted to take a second dose but I was with my family all day and didn't get a chance to go back home for a second dose.

Monday is when I started Red Ghost completely. My dosing protocol for right now is 2 caps in the a.m. and 2 caps in the afternoon. I work out at after work, around 5:45pm so I wanted to have a dose in the afternoon to give me energy during my workout. The profile of Red Ghost doesn't seem to stim heavy except for caffeine but in the morning after the first dose I felt a way that I get from a heavier stim fat burner. I had the fuzzy head feeling. A bit hard to concentrate at points and just off. It went away towards lunch time and I felt a bit better but it came back with my second dose. This feeling happens to me with a lot of stimulants however I've been taking a full 300mg of caffeine pre workout for a month or so now. This just hit me differently. It usually goes away as I continue use which is a good thing.

As far as training. I had a good training session. I hit a PR on flat bench. I wanted to hit it last week but had no spotter so yesterday I didn't feel as good but went for it anyway and got it. I then thought I could go for a shoulder press PR and even though I got it, I felt like the range of motion sucked so I turned it into a drop set. The rest of the workout was pretty good and I had a nice a pump going on without any type of pump product.

Usually I do HIIT cardio on an elliptical but the elliptical at my gym that I use is broke. I've been doing sprints on a treadmill even though I hate the pounding. Yesterday I tried with a stationary bike and it worked fairly well. So I might use the bike more often going forward.

TweetTuesday

Squat 6 sets
Lat pulldown 3 sets
T bar rows 3 sets
DB single arm preacher curl 3 sets
DB seated hammer curl 3 sets

Close grip pulldown superset with preacher curl machine 3 sets
Standing Calve raise 3 sets

Rough day yesterday. I took my first dose of Red Ghost in the morning and off to work. Once it kicked in I felt that fuzzy feeling again, hard to concentrate and a dull headache. I found myself a couple times starring at the computer monitor and had to remind myself what I was doing. I also felt like I had energy but the energy was also draining me. So in the afternoon I split the second dose into 2 to hopefully limit the effects I've been feeling from 2 caps at a time. This seemed to help a bit but I got to the gym and just had no energy to workout. I felt awake yet tired with a dull headache. Then the night time came, I struggled to fall asleep a bit but not to bad, but after an hour I rolled over and woke up a bit. I heard a noise and it was one of my carbon monoxide detectors beeping. But it was beep that the thing needed to be replaced. After that I could fall back to sleep. I was awake yet tired, hungry, and hot all as I was tossing and turning. I'm running on very little sleep today.

So I forced myself to keep my squat reps between 8-15 reps. I've been finding it too easy to go really heavy and bang out 3 reps. I find it harder to do more reps with less weight than less reps with more weight. I was breathing really heavy between sets and I don't take much time between sets. The sweat came on quick and my heart was racing. I also went heavy for t bar rows which was nice and the DB preacher curls were a nice change. I haven't done them in awhile so it was nice to switch things up.

Today I'm breaking my Red Ghost doses into 4 separate dosages. Part of me hopes that 1 pill will give me enough energy to wake up a bit but another part of me hopes I feel normal because I want to pass out tonight.

TweetWednesday

10 minutes HIIT cardio
60 sit ups
5 minutes LISS cardio
60 sit ups
5 minutes LISS cardio
60 sit ups
5 minutes LISS cardio
60 sit ups

So I split the doses yesterday of Red Ghost and felt somewhat better. For bits and pieces I felt like myself for the first time this week. But other times I still had the brain fog feeling and just run down. I was excited that I didn't feel as bad but on my way to the gym I did feel tired. I still had a dull headache most of the day and even as I type this after I took my first dose about an our ago I feel a bit of fog building and the headache coming on. I will say the thermo effect from the product has been excellent. Working a day job and having an extra thermo effect from just doing my day job is something I usually look for in a fat burner. I also noticed I'm not getting hungry but when food is in front of me I'm ravenous. I did sleep well last night but after the gym I felt like an old man, it was a struggle or hard to catch my breath from just doing household chores.

The gym was good I did my cardio on a treadmill with intervals of abs thrown in. Felt pretty warm but I was tired and had to grind my way through it.