DJ_Muscle’s BodyBlog

I haven’t gone heavy on bench in quite some time.  I goofed up my shoulder last time I did one of those "increase your bench" programs (see previous post) but things were feeling pretty good, so I decided to try heavy sets last night.  FINALLY got 315 up.  I know 315 ain’t that big a deal to a lot of the dudes on this site.  I mean, come on, there’s guys on here benching in the 500s and probably higher, but I’ve been aiming for 3 plates for a long time, so I felt pretty good about it.  There was just some psychological block about throwing that third plate on there that threw me for some reason.  And to tell you the truth, it went up pretty easy.  I couldn’t believe it.  I’ll wait awhile I think and throw on 325 and see what happens. 

Bulking is coming along ok so far.  Speaking of which, I should probably go eat again. 

Well, summer is over and ’tis the time for muscle bulking.  (Get your mind out of the gutter, Tom) 

Hoping to add some quality mass now that the cold weather is setting in.  Most of my injuries that have been holding me back have calmed down, though the back is still iffy, so I’m going to up my calories and try to start hitting the heavy weights again. 

One thing I know I need to do is keep a better eye on my diet.  Last weekend I actually charted my calories, protein intake, fat, carbs, which is something I never do, and it looks like I’m at about 3200 calories a day now.  Going to try to bump it up about 500 calories for starters.  I don’t want to ramp up too fast and just get a big gut, though some fat gain is inevitable. 

Also will have to look into some supps to help me out along the way, a T-booster in particular.  I tried Novodex on the advice of Jimif a few months back.  He said it would boost my mood, more energy, huge muscle gains, the usual.  Didn’t really notice any of that, but I did put on some lbs while I was taking it.  Whether that was because of my diet or if it really did help, I’m not sure.  I don’t put too much stock in anything he says anyway.  (LOL…j/k Jim)

If anybody’s got any suggestions for bulking and in particular what supplements actually work for adding mass, let me know.  I know different things work for different people, but I can use all the help I can get.

I’ve been fighting injuries all summer, primarily my low back, but my last four or five workouts have been pretty good.  I’ve had virtually no pain with the exception of some discomfort in my wrist from the tendonitis which is still hanging around.  That bothers me mainly on bench and shoulder press, but I’ve found I can work around it by using machines instead of the bar and using a neutral grip (like fonzi giving the thumbs up….ehhhhhhh!).  It was awkward to do it that way at first, but I think I’m getting the hang of it and it is hitting the muscles differently than normal and giving a nice burn, so I’m kind of liking it.  I’m gonna stay with that until things heal up some more.

I’ve also been taking Superpump 250, and normally I think supplements are a bunch of overblown hype that don’t really do much of anything, but I have to tell you, I’ve had a lot more energy in my workouts the last couple weeks and kind of that feel-good feeling that the gym, and I know a lot of it has to do with the fact that I’m not hurting much and I feel like I can actually get a good workout in, but I think this stuff actually does help.  It’s not like I’m noticing huge gains in strength or muscle right away, but it’s picking me up while I’m working out and I’ll take that any day.

If anybody has any other supplement advice that they want to pass on, let me know.  I’ve tried a few things in the past but feel like it was mostly wasted money, so I’d be interested in hearing what works for other peeps.

Man, my workouts have sucked lately.  My back has been hurting for about a month and it’s really slowing me down.  I’ve pretty much eliminated legs, because squats, deadlifts and presses aggravate it, and ab workouts are limited for the same reason.  Chest doesn’t really bother it, but my shoulder is still a little iffy, so I’ve been going light with that.  It was actually getting a little better, but I took my daughter to the pool on Monday and was doing backflips and junk off the diving boards with her and now it’s flared back up again.  Stupid, I know, but that’s the price you pay for being the cool dad.  lol.  I’m gonna try and get back in the swing of things here and not let it hold me back too much.  Remain focused and positive, right?  Right.

Man, did I have a crappy workout yesterday.  Everything hurts.  My back is out of place a little (going to the masso in 2 hrs), and my wrist tendonitis has been acting up for about a week.  I needed to do my bench routine though to stay on the program, so I put a brace on and went to it.  As soon as I started I knew it wasn’t going to be good.  I warmed up with some rotator cuff exercises, but even with 135 my shoulder was bothering me.  I kept warming up, 185, 225, still hurting.  I was supposed to do 260 x 5, 260 x 6, 280 x 3, 280 x 3 and then 290 for as many as I could, but on my first set of 260 I knew I was toast.  I only did three and I knew I’d better not do any more.  I tried one more set and did three again before I stopped from the pain.  I said I would stop doing this program if my shoulder started to hurt, so I’m going to lay off for a week or two and see what happens.  I feel like maybe I was making some gains, but going heavy twice a week is just too much for my banged up shoulder to take, I think.  Sucks getting old. 

So I’m probably going to have to switch focus here.  My joints are telling me to take a little break, so maybe I’ll concentrate on cutting for a while to get my midsection back where it should be.  if anybody has good suggestions on cutting without losing size and strength along with the bodyfat, let me know.

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continuing on in the program.  I haven’t really been sticking to the time schedule since I’ve been so busy with work, but I’m following the workout schedule.  Will try to stick to the correct days better in the future.  (mon, wed, fri, sat)

Anyway….the workout was warmups, then 270 x 3, 270 x 3, 290 x 2, 290 x 2, then a negative with 320.  Got it with no problem.  Have a feeling it’s gonna get a lot harder from here on out though.

I only had about 40 minutes to spare on Monday night, but I wanted to stick to the schedule as much as possible, so I squeezed a chest routine.  It was number 3 on the new program.  It was basically the same as the first one, just five pounds heavier on each set.  245 x 6, 260 x 5, 260 x 5, 270 x 4 and 270 x 4.  I did pretty well.  The last rep on the final set the guy spotting me gave it a little tap at the end, but I THINK I could have gotten it up by myself.  Might have had to arch some, which isn’t good, so it worked out ok.  After that did three sets of dumbbell press, nothing too strenuous, then I had to skee-dattle out of there.

Crazy busy at work right now, working about 14-16 hr days, so I’m not sure where I’m gonna squeeze in the rest of my workouts this week.  We’ll see how things play out. 

Did workout #2 in the program on Wednesday.  It was easier than workout #1.  Warmup sets, then 265 x 3, 265 x 3, 285 x 2, 285 x 2, then a negative with 315.  Piece o’cake.  Looking forward to the next one. meanwhile, today is leg day.       

So that’s the name of the bench program I’m starting.  Add 50 lbs to your bench in 50 days.  I’ve tried a couple of these programs before and I’ve never come close to that.  I’ll try it and see how it goes.  I think the hardest part will be sticking to the workout schedule.  It’s basically every other day (4x a week).  I squeeze my workouts in when I have time.  Sometimes I go 4 days in a row and then can’t make it in for almost a week.  It’s messed up.  I’ll do my best though.

I did the first workout on Saturday, which was breaking the program already because you were supposed to start on a monday.  Don’t turn me in.  The plan called for a few quick warmup sets, then 240 for 6, 255 for 5, 255 for 5, 265 for 4 and 265 for 4 again.  I totally crapped out on the last set and only got 2.  There was a guy working in with me that was kind of rushing me, so I’m hoping that was the reason (not enough rest between sets) and not that I’m just weak.  We’ll see how things go.   

Normally I don’t do chest twice a week like this calls for, cuz my shoulders can’t take the abuse, but the workout cuts out shoulder press and inclines altogether, so maybe my shoulders will survive.  if I start getting pain, I’ll stop.  If I get the results it promises, I’ll be benching 360 in no time.  Wish me luck.  If i can hit 325 I’ll be thrilled.

I’ve been trying to bulk the last couple months and have had some decent success, I guess.  I’ve probably gone up 15 lbs or so in the last 3 or 4 months, but……the abs are not looking so great.  I want to cut up some so I can get my abs back to looking more defined, but I don’t want to lose muscle mass and strength in the process.  Anybody got some good ideas on how to best accomplish this?