ULMWarhawk's Way

[ULMWarhawk]

We'll see how this goes. If you see anything I'm doing that you can help me on, let me know. I appreciate any help.

I'm 28 years old, 6'-1"/220, and I've been lifting seriously since I was eighteen or so. I got into a bad situation and wound up taking eight and a half months off back in 2001, but that's been the only break. It actually wound up helping me out.

The only supplement I take is some protein from Optimum Nutrition. I took creatine off and on for a couple years, but haven't taken a supplement other than this protein since 2002 or so. I haven't ever taken steroids or anything. I eat like a damn horse, and I drink way to much milk. My diet leaves a lot to be desired, but I'm trying to get it cleaned up.

Enough of all that, today is Tuesday the 17th. I did legs yesterday for the first time in three weeks, so they're sore as hell today. I sprained my knee playing softball of all things, and took a little break from legs. Today I did chest/triceps, here's how it went down:

Incline DB's: warm up with 65's for 20, got the 90's for 10, 100's for 8, then 7, then 5 (last set sucked, I didn't get into the groove until #3, and then I was spent).
Flat Bench DB's: straight to 100's for 10, then 6, then 4 and a half or so. Got aggravated and grabbed the 75's and did 17 as strict as I could afterwards.
Decline DB's: 85's for 10, 90's for about 6, 90's again for 4.
Incline Flyes: 40's for 12, 45's for 12, 55's for eight.
Triceps
Overhead triceps ext.: 85 for 11 (was shooting for 15-20, weight was heavier than I expected), 90 for 9, then 90 for 8.
v-grip Push downs: 80 for 20, 90 for 15, 100 for 11.

My strength/bodyweight ratio for chest ain't the greatest, but I work at it. I haven't found a workout partner yet, hence the dumbbells. They only go up to 110's though, so I'm fixing to figure something else out. I'll do one day for arms on Friday, which is why I only did two exercises for triceps. Sorry this is so long, next posts will be short. Tomorrow's back day.

[ULMWarhawk]

Back day:

1.) Chins: 17, 12, then 10.
2.) V-grip rows with the bar jammed into a corner: 3 plates for 20, 4 for 15, 4 and a quarter for 12, 5 for 10.
3.) Bent over rows: 225 for 20, 245 for 15, 275 for 10.

4.) One-armed dumbbell rows: 90's for 15, 100's for 12, 110's for 10.
5.) V-grip pulldowns: 170 for 15, 190 for 11, 200 for 9.
6.) Legs were way too sore to do deadlifts, so just did 4 sets of 20 hyperextensions.
7.) Alternating dumbbell curls. Three sets of 10 on each arm. 35's, 40's, 45's.

I usually start the week off with back, then chest, legs, shoulders, arms. I wanted to get legs over with this week since it had been so long. Probably should have thought it through a little more, I'll know better next time.

[ULMWarhawk]

Shoulders today:

1.)OH Dumbbell Press: warmup 65's for 20, 85's for 12, 90's for 9, 90's for 7.
2.) Hammer OH Press: two plates each side for 15, that and the 10's for 11, added the 5's for 9. Immediately stripped it to one plate and a quarter for 13, then one plate for 15.
3.) 7's for Lateral Raise: Did 7 reps with the 25's, 30's, 35's, 30's, then 25's without resting. Did three sets like this. Kim Perez does these. They burn.
4.) Front raises with lateral raise: Sitting down, do a front raise with one arm, then the next, then a lateral raise. This counts as one rep. Did 3 sets of 10 reps with the 20's. Kim does these too. They burn.
5.) Shrugs: 85's for 50, 90's for 40, 100's for 30. I do these fast and get them over with. My traps are one bodypart of mine that I can honestly say grow real easy. I could probably stand to lay off them for awhile.

Felt fairly strong today. The next dumbbell after 90 are the 100's, and I'm going to give those a shot next week. I'll let you know how it goes. Got in and out in about 45 minutes. Tomorrow's arms.

[BCARR]

Try doing chest on the smith machine(flat,incline,decline) it allows you to go heavy without a spotter,if you get stuck just rack it on the hooks.

[ULMWarhawk]

I don't know why I always forget about the Smith machine. I'll use it next chest workout. Thanks man.

[Canuck_Muscle]

hey Warhawk. Your workouts look like they are coming along nicely. I have also found that smith machines are a life saver when u have no training partner. U can go very heavy and not have to worry about the weight crushing u lol. All the best man and keep up the great work.

[David Lees]

Good looking workouts so far...keep up the intensity!!

[ULMWarhawk]

Thanks for the help and motivation ya'll. I had to play in a golf tournament this afternoon (it was a charity deal, I suck at golf). Got through at 5:30, ate some protein, and just took it easy for an hour or so. Would've been an easy day to skip.

On to the gym for arms (which now have a real cool looking farmer's tan on them. Oh well).

1.) Barbell curls: warmed up with the bar for 20, then 65 for 15. Working sets were 95 for 12, 115 for 10, 125 for 8, then stripped to 95 for 10.
2.) Alternating dumbbell curls: 40's for 15, 45's for 12, 50's for 10, 50's for 6.
3.) One-armed preacher curls: 35's for 15, 40's for 12, 50's for 9.
4.) Skullcrushers superset w/ close grip(cambered bar): 35's for 20 on both, 35's and 5's for 15, 45's for 11.
5.) Overhead dumbbell triceps extension: 90's for 15 (felt stronger today than I did when I did them on chest day), 100's for 12, 110's for 9.
6.) Dips: Did 30, then 26, then 17 (concentrated on form a lot on the last set, and made it a lot harder. Tried to stay more upright).

Weighed 219 after the workout today. I felt strong considering I'd spent 6 hours out in the sun hacking at a golf ball. Steak and rice for supper tonight. Monday's back day.

[Lights Out]

Excellent journal. Keep it up!

[ULMWarhawk]

Caught a stomach bug on Saturday after umping a softball tournament in the heat all day, and took yesterday off. I probably could have struggled through a back day yesterday, but its probably better that I didn't. I was ready to break some shit tonight though. Here's how back day went down:

1.) Chins: 19, 12, and 10
2.) V-Grip Pulldowns: 170 for 15, 200 for 12, 210 for 10, 220 for 9
3.) Barbell Rows: 135 for 20, 225 for 20, 255 for 15, 275 for 12, 275 again for 10 (I didn't bring any chalk, and my hands were getting slick, or I might have added a little for the last set).
4.) Seated Rows: 170 for 15, 210 for 12, 230 for 10, 240 for 8
5.) Reverse Grip Pulldowns superset with high pulley ??? (I would do the pulldowns and then immediately stand up and grab the bar, then keeping my arms straight, pull it down to my waist for the same amount of reps as the pulldowns. I can't remember what they're called, they hit lats pretty hard.): 160 then 60 for 15, 170 then 60 for 12, 180 then 60 for 12 again.
6.) Deadlifts: 225 for 3 sets of 15. I hadn't done these in about three weeks, so I didn't go heavy. Just wanted to find the groove again. The weight was light, but doing 15 reps at a time took the wind out of me. It sounded like a good idea at the time though.
7.) Hyperextensions: 3 sets of 20.
8.) Incline Dumbell curls: 35's for 15, 40's for 10, 45's for 8.

I ate a ton of food today, trying to get ready for the workout. I still only weighed 218.5 when I got there. This workout took about an hour and fifteen minutes, but I ate it up. Back day is usually my favorite. Tomorrow night will be chest, which is probably my weakest link, but I'm looking forward to it.

[David Lees]

Solid workout there... always tough coming back after being sick for a few days.

[ULMWarhawk]

Thanks, the stomach bug's been going around down here lately. I know a lot of people who've had it. I'm just glad its over with.
I ate good today, getting ready for chest tonight. I was ready to get underneath the Smith Machine and see where I was at. The results ain't pretty, but I'm gonna be sore tomorrow. Here we go:

1.) Incline Smith Machine: Warm up with 135 (assuming the bar weighs 45 lbs, which it doesn't, but you know what I mean), working sets were 225 for 9, 245 for 6, 255 for 5, 255 for 3 and a half.
2.) Flat Bench Dumbbells: 100's for 9, 110's for 6, 110's for 3, 85's for 10, 85's for 8.
3.) Hammer Strength Iso Wide Chest: 225 for 15 (again, assuming the handles weigh 45, which they don't), 275 for 12, 315 for 9, 315 for 7.
That was a new machine for me. If anyone has any experience on it, let me know. I kept my hands as close to the top of the handles as I could. If I went wide, my shoulder sockets were under too much stress.
4.) Incline flyes: 35's for 14, 40's for 12, 45's for 9. Tried to watch my form on these, and they got pretty hard at the end.
5.) Overhand triceps extension, superset with underhand: 70 for 12 on both, 80 for 10 on both, 90 for 9 overhand then 7 underhand.

Workout took right at an hour, and I felt relatively strong considering my chest is pretty weak. I weighed 220.5 when I left, which is right about where I normally am. I really ought to be about 205 - 210 or so though. Tomorrow is leg day, which is always my favorite. Knee feels great and I'm already getting amped up about it.

[David Lees]

Hey Warhwak...what are your specific goals right now with your training? Are you going for strength or more for bodybuilding?

[UkrainianGuy]

Post ur diet/meals - Let's see carb/ protein intake.

[ULMWarhawk]

Bodybuilding is the direction I go in, but after more than 10 years, I still find myself getting caught up in numbers. I've never done a show, but I have dieted along with a couple of my old workout partners who've done shows. I got really lean, and I probably could've done one, but I never had the nerve. I'd like to do one in the future, and I think I could pull it off.

As far as diet goes, today was a pretty typical day, so I'll let you know what I ate. Keep in mind, I don't really monitor carb/protein intake except for making sure I get at least 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight, and I stay away from most junk food. I'm trying to eat cleaner though, which is really why I'm here. I learn a lot reading what you guys do. Here it is:

6:15AM - 3 whole eggs, scrambled. 2 packets of instant grits mixed in. Drank milk with it. Been eating this breakfast for years now.
10:00AM - Optimum Nutrition Protein - 2 scoops mixed with water. About 40 grams of protein or so.
Noon - Lunch is always a tossup. I work in a construction office, half the time I go out with the rest of the guys, the other half I bring chicken and rice. Today we had a fish fry at a suppliers warehouse. I had 3 pieces of fried catfish, red beans, and turnip greens, I wasn't really hungry from the protein earlier. I turned down the fries, hushpuppies, and banana pudding. Drank water.
4:00PM - Optimum Nutrition Protein. I took this a little too late. Today was leg day and I usually try to get it down by 3:00 or so, so I don't puke.
7:30PM - Post Workout - Don't laugh, I probably drank a quart of skim milk. I'd like to say I don't do this a lot, but I drink a ton of milk, have since I was a kid.
8:15PM - Had a bowl of jambalaya. Its pretty good, and I use a ton of chicken. I can make a huge pot of it on Sunday and it'll last me for awhile. Its got a lot of white rice in it though, and its probably not good to eat it so late. Drank water with it.

Don't tear me up too bad. I'm a pretty bad hardgainer, so a lot of this gets burnt up. I've noticed over the past couple years though, that I'm not having as much trouble keeping the weight on as I used to. I know I didn't give any nutritional content of the food, but I figure you get the picture. Any comments, suggestions, etc, are welcome.