Arms and Calves 10-13-13

Biceps-
Alternating Dumbbell Curls 4 x 8 reps
Supersetted with
Cable Hammer Curls 4 x 8 reps
Barbell Curls- 4 x 8 reps
Cable Curls to Forehead- 4 x 8 reps

Triceps-
Gall Presses- 4 x 8 reps
Dumbbell Skullcrushers- 4 x 8 reps
Rope Pressdowns- 4 x 8 reps*
*last set was a quadruple drop set

Calves-
Seated Calf Raises- 4 x 8 reps
Standing Calf Raises- 4 x 8 reps

Cardio- 45 on stationary bike

Notes- Nothing makes my triceps "pop-out" more than rope pressdowns. The last drop set especially really hits  them hard. I feel for overall triceps width this is one of the best movements. On the other hand because of a metal plate and screws in my right hand barbell curls are proving to be very ineffective for me. To use any real weight it ends up hitting my upper forearms more than my biceps. Dumbbell Curls on the other hand are very effective because I can control the movement of my wrist and use heavier weights comparatively.

Delts 10-12-13

Note-We were slated to train our calves with our delts but Missy has suffered a back injury so she could not train her shoulders so I decided to hold off on calves until the following day when we train our arms.

Military Press- 4 x 8 reps then I worked up until I hit a 2 rep max pr.
Dumbbell Side Lateral Raises- 4 x 8 reps
One Arm Side Lateral Raises- 4 x 8 reps
Bent Over Rear Lateral Raises- 4 x 8 reps
Barbell Shrugs- 4 x 8 reps


The military press pr was pretty awesome because I hit 2 reps with 20 MORE pounds than my previous best 1 rep max. I haven't been performing much heavy overhead pressing work as I have been focusing primarily on side and rear deltoid development. This was quite dumb thing for me to do honestly because while side and rear lateral work is good  nothing beats heavy overhead pressing. It makes up one what I consider the 5 fundamental lifts in weight training (the others being squat, bench press, deadlift, and bent over barbell row).

It is a good thing Missy skipped this training session. I tweaked my mid back slightly during the session. It feels fine now but it would have really aggravated her existing injury if she had done the same.

Leg Training 10-9-13

When we train our legs we are referring to primarily the quads and hamstrings. While it is almost impossible to train the upper legs without indirectly working the calves, we do our actual calf training when we train our shoulders. We do this because generally we are so "drained" after training our legs that calves were being done as an after thought. We would end either just doing a couple of lazy sets or not doing them at all. By training them on a separate day we can really work them hard which is a necessity when it comes to calves. Everyday every step we take hits the the calves directly so they are used to high volume stimulus with a relatively heavy weight (bodyweight). Doing a few lazy sets of calf work on a seated calf machine will do not a damn thing for them. Instead you have to really push the heavy weights with big lifts like standing calf raise machine and calf raises on a leg press machine.

But enough about calves, last night was all about building big upper legs.

DEEP Squats- 4 x 6-8 reps
Hack Squats- 4 x 8 reps*
Leg Presses- 4 x 8 reps
Leg Curls- 4 x 8 reps
Lunges**

*The last set was a triple drop set. This was super intense and really smoked my legs.

**I am including this lift in here even though we did not perform it. We both went VERY heavy this session after having not gone (too) heavy for the past month. Both of our legs were like noodles by the end. Trying to do lunges would of been damn near impossible because of balancing issues with our legs so fatigued after the three big compound lifts.

This serves to prove a point that doing an endless amount of lifts is not necessary. As you notice I did not perform leg extensions. While leg extensions are a nice isolation exercise for the quadriceps, what really builds big quads is squats and leg presses. Sometimes you need to drop the small stuff and really focus on moving some heavy ass weight on the big stuff. Trust me if you are really pushing the poundages and doing a drop set or two, a few compound leg exercises is all you need to think you are on the stairway to heaven (or the highway to hell).

Back Training 10-8-13

Last night we trained our backs along with hitting our biceps for a couple sets. We train our arms on a separate day but like to hit them with a few sets earlier in the week (Triceps with Chest and Biceps with Back as they already play a big role in training those bodyparts).

Warmup
Wide Grip Pulldowns/Chins - 3 x 8 reps

Close Grip Underhand Pulldowns - 4 x 8 reps
Seated Rows with V-Grip-  4 x 8 reps
One Arm Rows- 2 x 8 reps*
Barbell Bent Over Rows- 4 x 8 reps
T-Bar Rows- 4 x 8 reps
Dumbbell Pullovers- 4 x 8 reps
Cable Curls to Forehead- 4 x 8 reps

*I tried a new setup on these and I simply did not like it. I could not get a good contraction in my lats so I decided to just move on to the barbell rows.

Missy did the same minus the bent rows and tbar rows because she has been fighting a back injury the past week. Instead of the barbell rows she did a pulldown where you place an incline bench away from the pulldown machine and lay back on it to perform the lift. I will look up the name later.

Special Note- I rotate deadlifts in our training. Week 1 is no deadlifts at all but heavy barbell rows and tbar rows. Week 2 we do deadlifts for 4 x 5-8 reps and go lighter on the barbell rows and tbar rows. On Week 3 we max out on deadlifts and drop the barbell and tbar rows altogether but instead perform back raises. 

Chest Training 10-8-13

We are starting a new 12 week training cycle so I thought I might post up some sample training sessions. For myself it means training 6 days a week (each week I hit one bodypart twice a week) and 6 days of cardio as well. Yesterday was chest training. We also usually hit one or two triceps exercises with chest.

Bench Press- 5 sets of 5-10 reps plus a final drop set.
Incline Bench Press- 4 sets of 8 reps
Dumbbell Flys- 4 sets of 8 reps
Cable Crossovers- 4 sets of 8 reps
Rope Pressdowns- 4 sets of 8 reps*

*last set was a drop set.

Missy performed the same training but did Gall Presses instead of the rope pressdowns.

I then did 30 minutes of cardio on stationary bike.

On bench presses I worked up to a new 5 rep max so I was pretty happy. I actually almost got it for 6 reps. It was so close. I had it maybe 3 inches from lockout and held it there for what felt like an entirety. I still think if I had been a little tighter on my setup I could of made that 6th rep easily.

Tonight's training is back with one or two bicep lifts as well. I can't wait.

QFS Healthy Recipe Series- Eggs and Grits

This recipe is a personal favorite of mine. It is my go-to meal because of its versatility. It is both easy to make (10-15 minutes tops) and quick and easy to eat. The ingredients can easily be modified to fit your goals whether they be to shed some body fat or to pack on some quality mass.

Ingredients-

Large Eggs
100% Liquid Egg Whites

Grits

*Optional (but highly recommended)
Spices

I am going to post up how I prepare them. Keep in mind I am on a cutting phase. Depending on your current goals you can adjust the ratios of each ingredient.


1 Cup of Liquid Egg Whites
2 Whole Eggs
1/4 Cup Dry Measurement of Grits
Spices to Taste*

*Just a fair warning. A (VERY) little bit of the California seasoning goes a long way. If you plan on wanting sex for the next three days limit the use.

I start by spraying a non-stick pan with no-stick cooking spray. I then set the stove to just over medium heat and let it heat up.

I then measure out the grits and place it into a medium sized microwave safe bowl like the one below-

I mix in the three spices above at this point (I also use them later as well). I then add water. How much you use is up to you but I tend to use more than they recommend on the carton. For 1/4 cup of dry grits they recommend 3/4 cup of water but I use twice that. This may be because I microwave it rather than prepare it on the stove.

I stir the mixture together and then place it in the microwave for 4 minutes, then I stir it again and place it in there for another 2-3 minutes. Sometimes it cooks faster than others for whatever reason.

While the grits are cooking I break two whole eggs into a bowl and whisk them. I then pour in the liquid egg whites and add some the spices to this mixture as well. I whisk again.

This is about how it looks. Again do not use too much of the California seasoning unless you want bitched at for how much it stinks up the house. Trust me.

When the pan is nice and hot I pour in the egg mixture. I like for mine to cook fast. I am not going to explain how I cook the eggs because I fucking suck at it and usually burn them so don't listen to me. Missy does a fantastic job but I try to do them myself since she prepares so many of our other meals.

So shortly after the grits are done the eggs should be done as well. I will take the eggs and place them directly in the bowl of grits.

Next comes the very complicated step of mixing the eggs and grits together. At this point I take a taste and decide if I need to add more spices. If I feel like making people really uncomfortable I add more California seasoning so that my breath proceeds me by about 15 feet.

After it is all said and done it looks like this.

The way that I prepare it has the following nutritional profile.

Calories-     395
Carbs-        29g
Protein-      40g
Fats-          11g

As I said depending on your goals you can easily adjust the amount of eggs, egg whites, and/or grits to get the desired nutritional profile. For instance if I wanted to maintain weight I might utilize the following.

1/2 cup of grits
2 whole eggs
2 cups of egg whites

Which would yield

Calories-   650
carbs-       58g
Protein-    68g
fats-         11g


The possibilities are endless.

My favorite Back Routine

This is my personal favorite back routine. Sometimes the sets and reps will change but I like this group of lifts. Tend to hit the entire back very well.

Deadlifts- 6 sets x 1-8 reps
Bent Over Barbell Rows- 5 sets x 6-10 reps
Close Grip Pulldowns- 5 x 8-15 reps
Seated Rows- 5 x 10-15 reps
One Arm Pulldowns- 5 x 8-12 reps

I usually cycle the deadlifts on a 4 week wave.

Week 1- Moderate weight for rep ranges of 5-8.
Week 2- Perform singles working up to a one rep max.
Week 3 and 4- No deadlifts. Instead I go heavier on the bent over rows.I will then do heavy bent over dumbbell rows as well.

If I do deadlifts I might only go up to 225 or 255 on bent over rows. On weeks 3 and 4 I will work up to 315 or more. Then for the bent over dumbbell rows I will go very heavy on week 3 to say 180 to 200 and then on week 4 I will do then with very strict form two arms at once with a lighter weight.

I am a big believer in the one arm pulldowns. They are a great finisher for the back.