Just got back from a siiick workout. Went to bed nice and early last night, got up nice and early this morning, feelin good.

Chest: B Workout
Bench Press 2 x 5 at 185, 1 x 5 at 175
DB Incline Bench 3 x 12 w/ 40 lb. DBs
Cable Crossovers 3 x 40 at 20 lbs. per

Biceps: B Workout
BB Drag Curl 3 x 5 at 65 lbs.
DB Curl 3 x 12 w/ 10 lb. DBs
Preacher Curl 3 x 40 at 10 lb.

Gonna clean up my room, make some breakfast, and get ready for the rest of the day!

I have to play catch up again since I was at home this weekend doing maintenance on my car, so here goes:

Sunday

AM

Chest: C Workout
Bench Press 5 reps at 185
DB Incline Bench Press 12 reps w/ 35 lb DBs
Bench Press 5 reps at 185
DB Incline Bench Press 12 reps w/ 35 lb DBs
Bench Press 5 reps at 175
Cable Crossovers 40 reps at 15 lbs. per
Bench Press 5 reps at 170
DB Incline Bench Press 12 reps w/ 30 lb DBs
Bench Press 5 reps at 165
Cable Crossovers 40 reps at 15 lbs. per
Bench Press 5 reps at 165

Biceps: C Workout
BB Drag Curl 5 reps at 55 lbs.
DB Curl 12 reps w/ 10 lb. DBs
BB Drag Curl 5 reps at 55 lbs.
DB Curl 12 reps w/ 10 lb. DBs
BB Drag Curl 5 reps at 55 lbs.
Preacher Curl 40 reps at 10 lbs.
BB Drag Curl 5 reps at 55 lbs.
DB Curl 12 reps w/ 10 lb. DBs
BB Drag Curl 5 reps at 55 lbs.
Preacher Curl 40 reps at 10 lbs.
BB Drag Curl 5 reps at 55 lbs.

Calves: B Workout
Standing Calf Machine 12 x 12 at 180 lbs.
Seated Calf Machine 12 x 12 at 100 lbs.

PM

Legs: B Workout
Squats 3 x 5 at 225
DB Lunges 3 x 12 w/ 30 lb DBs
DB Stiff Legged Deadlifts- 3 x 40 w/ 20 lb. DBs

Back: B Workout
Back Extensions 3 x 5
DB One Arm Row 3 x 12 w/ 40 lb. DBs
Lat Pull 3 x 40 at 30 lbs.

Abs: B Workout
Russian Twists 3 x 5 w/ 15 lb. Med Ball
Reverse Crunchers 3 x 12
Crunchers 3 x 40

Monday

rest day

Tuesday

AM

Shoulders: B Workout
DB Press 3 x 5 w/ 50 lb DBs
DB Shrug 3 x 12 w/ 65 lb. DBs
Upright Rows 3 x 40 at 10 lbs.

Triceps: B Workout
French Press 3 x 5 at 45 lbs.
Nose Crushers 3 x 12 at 25 lbs.
Tricep Pushdown 3 x 40 at 24 lbs.

Abs: A Workout
Russian Twists 5 x 8 w/ 12 lb. Med Ball

PM

Calves: A Workout
Standing Calf Machine 10 x 10 at 180 lbs.

Forearms: A Workout
Wrist Curls 10 x 10 at 45 lbs.

Stationary Bike- Interval Intensity 10 min.

all caught up!

Thursday was a rest day, came back after it today with a fairly easy isolation workout

Pre workout: 3 capsules IntraXcell 1 scoop N.O. Explode

Shoulders: C Workout
DB Shoulder Press 5 x 45 lb DBs
DB Shrugs- 12 x 70 lb DBs
DB Shoulder Press 5 x 45 lb DBs
DB Shrugs- 12 x 70 lb DBs
DB Shoulder Press 5 x 45 lb DBs
Upright Rows- 40 x 12 lbs
DB Shoulder Press 5 x 45 lb DBs
DB Shrugs- 12 x 70 lb DBs
DB Shoulder Press 5 x 45 lb DBs
Upright Rows- 40 x 12 lbs
DB Shoulder Press 5 x 45 lb DBs
No rest between sets

Triceps: C Workout
French Press- 5 x 45 lbs.
Nose Crushers- 12 x 25 lbs.
French Press- 5 x 45 lbs
Nose Crushers- 12 x 25 lbs.
French Press- 5 x 45 lbs
Tricep Pushdown 40 x 24 lbs.
French Press- 5 x 45 lbs
Nose Crushers 12 x 25 lbs.
French Press- 5 x 45 lbs
Tricep Pushdown 40 x 24 lbs
French Press- 5 x 45 lbs
No rest between sets

Just got back from my morning workout, it's a beautiful day and I'm sore as ****. Woo

Pre workout: 3 capsules IntraXcell 1 scoop N.O. Explode

Jog to Rec Plex

Chest: B Workout
Bench Press- 3 x 5 at 185
DB Bench- 3 x 12 w/ 40 lb. DBs
Cable Crossovers (upper) - 3 x 40 at 10 lbs. per

Biceps: B Workout
BB Drag Curl - 3 x 5 at 65 lbs.
DB Curl- 3 x 12 w/ 15 lb. DBs
Preacher Curl- 3 x 40 at 10 lbs.

Jog home

pretty good workout today, I could really feel the tightness and pain in my last slow sets of 40 for both. Got some time now to relax, eat, and recover before my afternoon workout!

Two workouts, one morning, one afternoon. Had a long day of classes til 7 pm...

AM Workout

Legs: C workout
Squats 5 reps at 225
Stiff Legged Deadlift 12 reps at 95
Squats 5 x 225
SL DL 12 x 95
Squats 5 x 225
DB Lunges 40 x 20 lb. DBs
Squats 5 x 225
SL DL 12 x 95
Squats 5 x 225
DB Lunges 40 x 20 lb DBs
no rest between

Shoulders: B Workout
DB Press 3 x 5 with 50 lb. DBs
Shrugs 3 x 12 at 140 lbs.
Upright Rows 3 x 40 at 15 lbs.

PM Workout

Triceps: B workout
French Press 3 x 5 at 40 lbs.
Nose Crushers 3 x 12 at 25 lbs.
Tricep Pushdown 3 x 40 at 30 lbs.

Second workout of the day, ****ing gym was packed with freshman who walk around doing random machines...FFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUU

Biceps: A workout
warm up set 15 reps at 20 lbs.
5 x 10 at 45 lbs.
5 x 10 at 40 lbs.

Abs: B workout
Russian Twists- 3 x 5 at 15 lbs.
Reverse Crunchers- 3 x 12
Crunchers- 3 x 40

Day one of the new macrocycle! Workout kicked my ass this morning and I still have another one this afternoon...

Pre workout- 3 capsules Intra Xcell, 1 scoop N.O. Explode

Chest: A Workout

warm up set 15 x 95 lbs.
10 x 10 at 115 lbs.
1 min rest between sets

Back: C Workout

Back Extension 5 reps at 230
Deadlift 12 reps at 95
Back Extension 5 reps at 230
Deadlift 12 reps at 230
Back Extension 5 reps at 230
Lat Row 40 reps at 30
Back Extension 5 reps at 230
Deadlift 12 reps at 95
Back Extension 5 reps at 230
Lat Row 40 reps at 30
Back Extension 5 reps at 230
No rest between

Calves: A Workout
12 x 12 at 230
1 min rest between sets

The C workout was ridiculous! I was panting by the second round of deads and sweating bullets by the end

Just a light back workout today, continuing the deloading week.

Pre Workout- 3 capsules IntraXcell, 1 scoop N.O. Explode

Back Extension (machine)
warm up set 10 x 185
4 x 12 at 230

Row Machine (Elbows Out)
warm up sets 2 x 15 at 75
4 x 12 at 120

Short light workout today. I'm really anxious and excited to start the new cycle. I sat down today and planned out all my workouts for September, all I need to do now is split them between am and pm. I also planned out my meals and the zig-zag diet, which I'm excited to start as well, and now I'm going grocery shopping to get the first two weeks worth!

Another deloaded workout today. It's hard to sit there in the gym and physically cut back when you want to just explode through everything but the important thing is to remember how your body work and remember what it needs in order to get to where you want to be. Pre workout- 3 capsules IntraXcell, 1 scoop N.O. Explode Warm Up Tricep Bench Press 2 x 10 at 135 French Press 3 x 5 w/ 20 lb. DBs Nose Crushers 3 x 12 at 35 lbs. Tricep Pushdown 3 x 20 at 40 lbs. Russian Twists 5 x 8 w/ 6 lb. Med Ball

All right its Monday, last 4 workouts of my current macrocycle, really starting to see and feel some good results, which is key in the finish of this macrocycle.

Pre Workout- 3 capsules IntraXcell 1 scoop N.O. Explode

Bench
2 warm up sets 12 reps at 95 lbs.
3 x 5 at 175

Squat
2 warm ups 12 x 135
3 x 5 at 225

DB Bench
3 x 12 w/ 40 lb DBs
Leg Extension
3 x 12 at 150

Cable Crossovers (upper)
3 x 20 at 15 lbs. per

Leg Curl
3 x 20 at 30 lbs.

BB Drag Curl
5 x 10 at 35 lbs.

DB Shoulder Press
5 x 12 w/ 35 lb DBs

Calve Raises (standing)
5 x 12 at 235

Lets talk overtraining. You can see here I have diminished some of the weight/sets I include in my workouts. This is because I am taking this week to deload. Deloading is an extremely important principle in weight or any training. You may notice after a certain period of time training yor workouts seem more taxing or you might feel more tired during parts where you normally have energy. For someone who has been training regularly and is continually training regularly, this may occur as often as every 3 or 4 weeks. For someone who is relatively new to training this occurs more likely around ever 6-8 weeks. The reason for this slump has to do with something called CNS fatigue. Many people confuse this with "plateauing" which is where you reach a certain point in your lifts that you cannot increase weight or reps. The two are closely related, yet different beasts. CNS fatigue can make or break your workout, it is the difference between being able to complete your last set or failing miserably. When you train, you become fatigued and deplete your energy stores. Consequently, when you recover you restore them, however not to their fullest extent. The more frequently you train, the more you deplete your energy. Eventually, you reach a point where your recovery is insufficient to restore the energy needed to complete your workouts to their fullest extent, causing a lag (ex. tiring during sets, not being able to finish, etc.) The more you know your body the easier it is for you to determine when your CNS is depleted and when to do something about it. If you continue to train the way you normally do, you will only further deplete your energy and after a while can actually cause injury or regress. In order to restore you CNS fatigue and improve it, you need to deload. This means that you either decrease weight or sets in your workout, so that you aren't quite using so much energy. This will allow your body to recover better and restore your CNS fatigue. As you can see, I chose to slightly drop some weight but decrease sets almost as much as half. This keeps the intensity and focus on the lifts, while still providing the necessary easing off in order to recover fully.

I chose this week for a couplel reasons:

1. I know my body, and I found myself  beginning to struggle with parts of my workouts last week, an early indicator that I need to deload. While I could feel myself getting stronger and improving upon my lifts, I felt myself becoming more fatigued at a faster rate.

2. This week marks the end of a 31 day macrocycle, and by deloading during this week I am allowing my body ample time and rest to recover before the start of the next, much more intense macrocycle.

So there you have it, a short breakdown of CNS fatigue, overtraining, and deloading. If you have been having trouble with your workouts this could be the reason, so remember to listen to your body and follow the appropriate steps that will lead you to continuous improvement

I haven't put my last two workouts in so I thought I'd lump them all in this post.

Tuesday

French Press
3 x 5 w/ 20 lb. DBs

Nose Crushers
3 x 12 at 35 lbs.

Tricep Pushdown
3 x 40 at 20 lbs.

Wrist Curl
10 x 12 w/ 30 lb. DBs

Russian Twists
5 x 8 w/ 10 lb. med ball

Wednesday

Back Extension
8 x 12 w/ 25 lb. plate

Biangular Lat Pull
8 x 12 at 100 lbs.

Thursday

Bench Press
2 warm up sets 10 x 95
3 x 5 at 175

Squat
2 warm up sets 10 x 135
3 x 5 at 225

DB Bench
3 x 12 w/ 40 lb. DBs

Leg Extension
3 x 12 at 170 lbs.

Cable Crossover (lower)
3 x 40 at 20 lbs. per side

Shoulder Press
3 x 5 w/ 55 lb. DBs

Standing Calf Press (superset w/ shoulders)
12  x 12 at 230 lbs.

Shrugs
3 x 12 at 140 lbs.

Upright Rows
3 x 40 at 15 lbs.

BB Drag Curl
3 x 5 at 65 lbs.

Russian Twists
3 x 5 w/ 6 lb. med ball

DB Drag Curl
3 x 12 w/ 15 lb. DBs

Reverse Crunchers
3 x 12

Preacher Curl
1 x 40 at 20 lbs.

Crunchers
1 x 40 w/ 15 lb. Med ball

couldn't finish out my Preachers, my biceps felt like they were about to tear, even 3 min. after the first set, so I called it a day and went home. I'll prob finish out the crunchers later this evening but I'm done with the cliveceps for now lol

I haven't been very religious about updating this, but today was a pretty tough workout. I had a taxing weekend that left me exhausted yesterday, and today I really felt it in the gym.

Pre Workout: 3 capsules IntraXcell, 1 scoop N.O. Explode

Bike to Rec Plex

Bench Press
Warm up- 10 x 115

3 x 5 at 175

Squat
Warm Up- 10 x 135
3 x 5 at 225

DB Bench
3 x 12 w/ 40 lb. DBs

Leg Extension
3 x 12 at 165

Cable Crossovers (upper)
3 x 40 at 15 lbs.

Straight Leg DB Deadlift
3 x 40 w/ 30 lb. DBs

DB Shoulder Press
8 x 12 w/ 40 lb. DBs

BB Drag Curl
10 x 10 at 35 lbs.

Standing Calf Raises
12 x 12 at 230 lbs.

Not a very long workout, just under 2 hours, so I didn't need a mid workout shake, but my body was tired from the long weekend and I found myself struggling with some of the sets. Still pushed through, and looking forward to a good workout tomorrow!

Another awesome epic workout today. 3 hours of sweat and pain fueled by nothing more than an unquenchable desire to get bigger and stronger. I live for this ****.

Pre Workout: 3 capsules IntraXcell 1 scoop N.O. Explode

Bench Press

Warm up set- 15 reps at 115

3 sets x 5 reps at 175 lbs.

Squat

Warm up set- 15 reps at 135

3 sets x 5 reps at  205 lbs.

DB Bench Press

3 sets x 12 reps w/ 40 lb. DBs

Leg Extension

3 sets x 12 reps at 165 lbs.

Cable Crossover

3 sets x 40 reps at 20 lbs. per

Leg Curl

3 sets x 40 reps at 30 lbs.

DB Shoulder Press

3 sets x 5 reps w/ 50 lb. DBs

BB Drag Curl

3 sets x 5 reps at 65 lbs.

DB Shrugs

3 sets x 12 reps w/ 60 lb. DBs

DB Drag Curl

3 sets x 12 reps w/ 15 lb. DBs

Upright Rows

3 sets x 40 reps w/ 10 lb. bar

Preacher Curl

3 sets x 40 reps (1st set at 20 lbs., 2nd at 15, 3rd at 10)

Russian Twists

3 sets x 5 reps w/ 6 lb. Med Ball

Reverse Crunchers

3 sets x 12 reps

Crunchers

3 sets x 40 reps w/ 10 lb. Med Ball

Standing Calf Machine

12 sets x 12 reps at 180 lbs.

Long hard workout today. I love the 40 rep sets, you can really feel your muscles screaming at you to quit with each rep, but it just makes you that much more determined to finish the set out. Drank a protein shake at about an hour and a half in to refuel my body with whey and carbs, really helped me finish the workout strong. I'm loving the routine I'm in and I am looking forward to seeing some siiiiick gains

Another great workout today. Monday, starting off the week right. Here's how I hit it

Pre Workout- 3 capsules IntraXcell 1 scoop N.O. Explode

Bench Press

Warm Up- 15 reps at 115

3 sets x 5 reps at 175

Squat

Warm Up- 15 reps at 115

3 sets x 5 reps at 205

DB Bench

3 sets x 12 reps w/ 40 lb. DBs

Leg Extension

3 sets x 12 reps at 165 lbs.

Incline Bench

3 sets x 40 reps at 35 lbs.

Leg Curl

3 sets x 40 reps at 30 lbs.

DB Shoulder Press

8 sets x 12 reps w/ 30s through 4 sets, 25s 5-7, 20s on 8

Standing Calf Machine

12 sets x 12 reps at 180 lbs.

BB Drag Curls

10 sets x 10 reps at 30 lbs.

Heavy Bag- 3 min round (cut my knuckle open since I'm bare hand, had to stop, gym policy)

Pretty good workout, I had a shake about halfway though to feed me carbs and whey, and overall left the gym pretty pleased. Feels good man.

Today was my first day REALLY coming back and hitting the workout hard. I had been doing a couple weeks of maintenance lifting due to the fact that my 21st birthday and my good friends 21st were within a week of each other, and after that I found my monetary sources for buying food and supps was insufficient, so I toned it down and decided to plan out the month of August so I could start boosting gains again. Today was a good hard workout. 2 and a half hours solid in the gym, made sure I brought my gallon jug of diluted Gatorade (powder) and a protein shake for some mid workout whey and carbs (took it about an hour and a half into my workout). I also had some pretty good pumps and energy going by the end so I hit the heavy bag bare knuckle for a five minute round, surprisingly, it was a great final touch, I think I might do it more often. My workout currently consists of a program outlined in Frederick C. Hatfield's Hardcore Bodybuilding A Scientific Approach. It utilizes the principles of interval training as well as variable speed training to maximize your muscle engagement. The book is fantastic, it tells you specifically how much rest you will need per muscle group per workout, and makes it easy for you to cater your program to your own schedule and weaknesses.

Here is what I did today: 

Pre Workout: 3 Capsules IntraXcell, 1 scoop N.O. Explode

Bench
Warm Up Set- 15 reps x 95 lbs.
3 sets x 5 reps at 175 lbs.

Deadlift
Warm Up Set- 15 reps x 55 lbs.
3 sets x 5 reps at 115 lbs.

DB Bench
3 sets x 12 reps (1st set 35 lb., 2nd 40 lb., 3rd 45 lb.) 

Leg Extension
3 sets x 12 reps at 160 lbs.

Cable Crossovers
3 sets x 40 reps (1st and 2nd set at 15 lbs. each arm, 3rd set at 20 lbs.)

DB Presses
3 sets x 5 reps w/ 45 lb. DBs

<strong />BB Drag Curls
3 sets x 5 reps at 65 lbs.

DB Shrugs
3 sets x 12 reps w/ 70 lb DBs

DB Drag Curls
3 sets x 12 reps w/ 20 lb. DBs

Upright Rows
3 sets x 40 reps w/ 10lb. bar

Preacher Curls
3 sets x 40 reps at 15 lbs.

Wrist Curl
3 sets x 5 reps w/ 45 lb. DBs

Reverse Wrist Curl
3 sets x 12 reps w/ 20 lb. DBs

Wrist Curl
3 sets x 40 reps w/ 5 lb. DBs

Russian Twists
5 sets x 8 reps w/ 6lb. Med Ball

Heavy Bag
5 min. round

Whew, long ass workout. Drank the shake around the first set of 40 preacher curls/upright rows. I superset my legs and chest, shoulders and biceps, and abs and forearms to help save some time, but as you can imagine those 40 rep sets take a while. The way you are supposed to perform the reps follows this pattern:
3 x 5 = explosive
3 x 12 = rhythmic
3 x 40 = SLOW!

I am feeling extremely sore, but I am also proud of myself and excited for the next workout on saturday!