Up the Iron Plates

Just When People Think PES C People Can't Do Squats...

2010-03-03T04:43:00.001-08:00

Day 5

Squat: 70kg x 5, 72.5kg x 5, 75kg x 5

Leg curls: 105lb x 10, 110lb x 10

Barbell row: 65kg x 6, 67.5kg x 6, 67.5kg x 6, 67.5kg x 6

Bar curls: 25kg x 8, 25kg x 8, 25kg x 8

Calf raise: 200lb x 15, 200lb x 15, 200lb x 15

Notes: using too much momentum on rows.
AAR: good workout, seems like going in the evening is a lot better than in the afternoon or morning. hmm, seems like that's how it's gonna be next time anyway, jurong sports complex ftw!

When You Put The 3 Of Them Together, You Get An Immovable Wall

2010-02-28T06:01:00.000-08:00

Day 4

Incline bench press: 57.5kg x 5, 60kg x 5, 60kg x 5

Dumbbell bench press: 2 x 22.5kg x 8, 2 x 22.5kg x 8, 2 x 22.5kg x 8, 2 x 22.5kg x 8

Seated dumbbell press: 2 x 15kg x 7, 2 x 15kg x 8, 2 x 15kg x 8

Rope pulldown: 90lb x 10, 80lb x 10, 80lb x 10

Reverse curls: 2 sets of 12 and 1 last set of 8

Notes: bench form needs more tweaking
AAR: quite a fruitful workout. not much comments here today

As A Matter Of Fact....

2010-02-25T20:43:00.001-08:00

no, i'm not going for some extreme physique shit if any of you are wondering. i'm just looking to train for a stronger, denser body rather than a buffed-up looking one. the reasons for such is rather personal and private, so i'd rather keep it to myself unless i actually blurt it out unknowingly. either way, no, i don't wanna get hyuuuuuge

That's Huge, But Ain't Nice.

2010-02-25T20:39:00.001-08:00

Day 3

Deadlift: 100kg x 5, 100kg x 5, 100kg x 5

Leg press: 280lb x 10, 280 x 10

Lat pulldown: 140lb x 6, 140lb x 6, 140lb x 6, 140lb x 6

Dumbbell curl: 2 x 12.5kg x 8, 2 x 12.5kg x 8, 2 x 12.5kg x 8

Calf raise: 200lb x 15, 200lb x 15, 200lb x 15

Notes: lack of grip strength for 3 consecutive sets of deadlift and 4 consecutive sets of pulldowns. left arm failed on last set last rep of curls
AAR: maybe deadlift was easier last time with only 1 set to beat, but considering there's 3 now... damn. it IS a lot better for training my grip though. i don't think i'll be going up to 105kg for 3 sets anytime soon. lat pulldowns had a lot of space for more weight to be put on. next time round i'd try 150lb. my grip failed me on my curls towards the end as well. seems like there's something i need to do about it

Yes I Can Lift Heavy Weights, No I Won't Help You Off Your Couch

2010-02-23T08:34:00.000-08:00

Day 2

Bench Press: 70kg x 5, 70kg x 5, 70kg x 5

Incline Dumbbell Press: 2 x 20kg x 8, 2 x 20kg x 8, 2 x 20kg x 8, 2 x 20kg x 8

Military Press: 30kg x 8, 30kg x 8, 30kg x 8

Skullcrusher: 17.5kg x 10, 15kg x 10, 15kg x 10

Reverse Curl: 3 x 12

Notes: Overhead press form needs tweaking
AAR: Bench press was a success. seems like my upper torso hasn't failed me. looking forward to the next session for deadlifts. and it's about time i did something about my shoulders - it's been bugging me since secondary school life.

Coming Out Of Tekong

2010-02-23T08:29:00.000-08:00

Into the iron hold.

Day 1

Weight: 69.9kg
Body Fat: 12.5%

Squat: 85kg x 5, 80kg x 5, 80kg x 5

Leg Curls: 100lb x 10, 100lb x 10, 100lb x 10

Bent Row: 65kg x 6, 65kg x 6, 60kg x 6, 60kg x 6

Bar Curl: 22.5kg x 8, 22.5kg x 8, 22.5kg x 8

Calf Raise: 200lb x 15, 200lb x 15, 200lb x 15

Notes: Lost quad strength, need to review form for squats.
AAR: My glutes, hams and quads are aching like hell now. can't even sit or climb up steps properly, thanks to the lack of lower leg training in NS. so much for RMJ. even my lower back got fucked from the squats. time to get my quads back to shape, though it'll be a lot bigger and out of proportion as usual

26/12/09

2009-12-26T18:44:00.000-08:00

Boxing day. and chest! not bad. i think my chest is slowly working it's way up back to standard.

Bench press: 1 x 12 x 60 kgs, 1 x 8 x 62.5 kgs, 1 x 7 x 65 kgs
Incline bench: 1 x 12 x 50 kgs, 1 x 10 x 52.5 kgs, 1 x 8 x 55 kgs
Decline bench: 1 x 10 x 50 kgs, 1 x 8 x 55 kgs, 1 x 6 x 60 kgs
Flyes: 2 x 10 x 10 kgs, 1 x 6 x 10 kgs + 1 x 10 x 5 kgs
Pullover: 1 x 12 x 10 kgs

there was this 2 ns dudes, just enlisted i think, they looked pretty young, wasted 30 minutes of my time doing sets and sets of bench presses, say.... 6 sets per person? it was clear enough they were over training. and i had a feeling they were gonna use the incline, which was true enough. i moved quickly through my bench press and asked to share the incline with them. they were shocked that i could lift heavier than them though. if they hadn't overdo things, maybe they'd be better off than i was.

25/12/09

2009-12-24T21:40:00.000-08:00

it's Christmas! and back day!

Pullups: 1 x 10, 1 x 8, 1 x 10
Barbell Row: 2 x 12 x 60 kgs, 1 x 8 x 65 kgs
Lat pulldowns: 1 x 12 x 110 pounds, 2 x 10 x 120 pounds
Seated row: 2 x 12 x 120 pounds, 1 x 10 x 140 pounds
Reverse flye: 1 x 12 x 5 kgs, 2 x 10 x 7.5 kgs

not bad, finally my barbell row has gone up =D WOOO!!!!!

23/12/09

2009-12-23T06:48:00.001-08:00

shoulders! can't believe there was this guy, who was using the smith machine, who was... hmm i can't think of an actual word to describe him. you decide. i asked him how many more sets he had. he answered, "i don't know." okay. so i thought i heard wrongly, so i said, "sorry?" he replied," i really don't know." WTF is this?! you come to the gym and you don't know?

i wouldn't mind if he was some teenager or someone new who was trying out stuff. but the moment you use that goddamn smith machine to do squats in that kinda.... half-assed form, i'm pretty sure you understand the concept of 'sets and reps' within every workout. 'i-don't-know-what-i-should-do' just doesn't cut it. it's a lousy excuse for being too lazy to do some research. lack of time is another poor excuse to pair this up with. go hard, or go home. and as peter chao says, mudafuckaaaaaaaa!

Smith press: 1 x 12 x 35 kgs, 2 x 10 x 37.5 kgs
Upright row: 1 x 12 x 22.5 kgs, 2 x 10 x 25 kgs
Arnold press: 1 x 12 x 12.5 kgs, 1 x 10 x 15 kgs (finally go past plateau sia.), 1 x 9 x 15 kgs
Lateral raises: 1 x 12 x 7.5 kgs, 2 x 10 x 10 kgs

22/12/09

2009-12-23T06:46:00.001-08:00

yet another arms day. beginning to realise how my arms and shoulders tend to be... growing better than my chest or back recently. hmmm....

EZ bar curl: 1 x 12 x 20 kgs, 1 x 12 x 22.5 kgs, 1 x 10 x 25 kgs
Preacher curl: 1 x 12 x 70 pounds, 2 x 10 x 80 pounds
Hammer curl: 3 x 12 x 10 kgs
Skullcrusher: 1 x 12 x 15 kgs, 2 x 10 x 17.5 kgs
Rope pulldown: 1 x 12 x 80 pounds, 1 x 12 x 90 pounds, 1 x 10 x 100 pounds

19/12/09

2009-12-23T06:43:00.000-08:00

chest day again. i'm pretty upset with how my chest has weakened, but i dont really have much of a choice except to train it up to the point it was before it fell off it's peak condition.

Bench press: 1 x 10 x 60 kgs, 1 x 8 x 65 kgs, 1 x 8+2 x 60kgs
Incline bench: 1 x 10 x 50 kgs, 2 x 8 x 52.5 kgs
Flyes: 2 x 10 x 12.5 kgs, 1 x 8 x 15 kgs
Pullover: 2 x 12 x 10 kgs, 1 x 12 x 12.5 kgs

very upset with performance today. 2 more sessions before enlistment. gotta make it worth

18/12/09

2009-12-23T06:41:00.000-08:00

Back day. very much satisfied with my level of competence with the use of weights recently.

Pullups: 1 x 10, 2 x 8
Barbell row: 1 x 12 x 55 kgs, 2 x 10 x 60 kgs
Lat pulldown: 1 x 12 x 110 pounds, 2 x 10 x 120 pounds
Seated row: 2 x 10 x 120 pounds, 1 x 10 x 140 pounds
Reverse flyes: 2 x 12 x 5 kgs, 2 x 10 x 7.5 kgs

16/12/09

2009-12-17T05:49:00.001-08:00

SHOULDERS! yet another successful attempt at progressing through the plates.

Smith press: 2 x 10 x 35 kgs, 1 x 7 + 3 (rest-paused) x 37.5 kgs
Upright row: 1 x 12 x 20 kgs, 1 x 12 x 22.5 kgs, 1 x 10 x 25 kgs
Arnold press: 1 x 12 x 12.5 kgs, 2 x 8 x 15 kgs
Lateral raises: 1 x 12 x 7.5 kgs, 2 x 10 x 10 kgs (YEAH MAN AFTER SO LONG I'VE FINALLY DONE IT!!!)
Dumbbell bicep curls: 2 x 10 x 10 kgs
21s: 1 x 10 kgs

did the curls after my shoulder workout cause my bicep wasn't sore even after yesterday. thus, i decided to put some strain on my biceps to make sure it suffers a slight microtrauma

15/12/09

2009-12-17T05:46:00.000-08:00

Arms again. felt fruitful today. managed to break through a lot of plateaus.

EZ bar curl: 1 x 12 x 20 kgs, 1 x 12 x 22.5 kgs, 1 x 12 x 25 kgs
Preacher curl: 1 x 12 x 70 pounds, 2 x 10 x 80 pounds
Hammer curl: 3 x 12 x 10 kgs (WOOOOOT!!!!)
Skullcrusher: 1 x 12 x 15 kgs, 2 x 10 x 17.5 kgs
Rope pulldown: 2 x 12 x 80 pounds, 1 x 12 x 90 pounds

nice. maybe this might somehow explain me overtraining my arms so that they can't support my back and chest exercises. shoulders too perhaps.

13/12/09

2009-12-17T05:42:00.000-08:00

shit. i think my chest atrophied. it has definitely grown weaker. maybe it's time to prioritise stuff

Bench press: 1 x 8 x 65 kgs, 1 x 7 x 60 kgs, 1 x 10 x 60 kgs
Incline bench: 1 x 50 x 10 kgs, 2 x 10 x 55 kgs (this is damn weird, i wonder why my upper chest still remains this recruited even after the flat bench... hmm something IS wrong.)
Decline bench: 1 x 10 x 55 kgs, 1 x 8 x 60 kgs, 1 x 6 x 65 kgs
Flyes: 2 x 10 x 12.5 kgs, 1 x 6 x 12.5 kgs
Pullover: 1 x 10 x 10 kgs

something's very wrong about my chest. it looks so much smaller compared to the rest of my body, exclusive of my upper chest of course. i've put too much attention to the clavicular portion, now it's time to return back to the basics.

12/12/09

2009-12-12T06:12:00.000-08:00

back. damn. today was fierce, albeit no pain felt in my back still...

Pullups: 3 x 10
Barbell row: 2 x 12 x 55 kgs, 1 x 10 x 60 kgs
Lat pulldown: 2 x 10 x 120 pounds, 1 x 10 x 130 pounds
Seated row: 1 x 10 x 120 pounds, 2 x 10 x 140 pounds
Reverse flyes: 2 x 12 x 5 kgs, 2 x 10 x 7.5 kgs

11/12/09

2009-12-12T06:09:00.000-08:00

Shoulders day. wooooooooooooo!!!!

Smith press: 2 x 10 x 35 kgs, 1 x 6 x 40 kgs, 1 x 2 x 40 kgs
Upright row: 1 x 12 x 20 kgs, 2 x 10 x 22.5 kgs
Arnold press: 1 x 12 x 12.5 kgs, 2 x 8 x 15 kgs
Lateral raises: 1 x 12 x 5 kgs, 2 x 10 x 7.5 kgs

9/12/09

2009-12-09T21:35:00.000-08:00

Arms today. was a good workout, could feel my biceps burning and almost tearing apart. come to think of it. my chest day gave way cause of a sore left tricep... hmmmmm... anyway.

EZ bar curl: 2 x 12 x 20 kgs, 2 x 10 x 22.5 kgs
Preacher curl: 3 x 10 x 70 pounds
Hammer curl: 3 x 12 x 7.5 kgs
Skullcrusher: 2 x 12 x 15 kgs, 1 x 10 x 17.5 kgs
Rope pulldown: 2 x 12 x 80 pounds, 1 x 13 x 90 pounds

7/12/09

2009-12-09T21:30:00.000-08:00

Chest day! back from malaysia. so was kinda worn out from the trip, didn't really have much energy to do nuts but still managed a decent workout this day - my chest was sore the day after

Incline bench: 2 x 10 x 55 kgs, 1 x 5 x 55 kgs, 1 x 4 x 55 kgs
Flat bench: 1 x 10 x 55 kgs, 1 x 8 x 60 kgs, 1 x 10 x 60 kgs
Decline bench: 3 x 8 x 55 kgs
Flyes: 2 x 10 x 10 kgs, 1 x 6 x 10 kgs

didn't do pullovers, cause i could feel the fricken drain.

need to sleep more...

5/12/09

2009-12-09T21:28:00.000-08:00

haven't been writing for some time, cause my monitor kinda died on me... sooooo i couldnt really use my computer. ANYWAY. back day

Pullups: 3 x 6
Barbell row: 3 x 10 x 55 kgs
Lat pulldown: 1 x 12 x 110 pounds, 2 x 10 x 120 pounds
Seated row: 3 x 10 x 120 pounds
Reverse flyes: 3 x 10 x 7.5 kgs

3/12/09

2009-12-03T04:32:00.001-08:00

shoulders....!!!! very fulfilling day, had so much of a blast it was almost criminal. WOOO!!!! well anyway, it felt fruitful (very) to me, since i've never got my delts to fatigue this badly during a shoulder workout before. kinda cool actually, never expected stuff to work better after adding a compound push exercise to my shoulder routine. :D until now i still dunno what weight is the smith bar... oh well, lets leave it at 5 kg rounded down then. weak i be.

Smith press: 1 x 8 x 40 kgs, 2 x 10 x 35 kgs
Upright row: 1 x 12 x 20 kgs, 2 x 10 x 12.5 kgs
Arnold press: 1 x 10 x 12.5 kgs, 2 x 8 x 15 kgs
Lateral raises: 3 x 10 x 7.5 kgs
Side bends: 2 x 10 x 17.5 kgs

2/12/09

2009-12-03T04:29:00.001-08:00

ARMS DAY! i've been waiting for this. seemingly, my arms pretty much strengthened a lot within the week.... guess it's time to make things tougher than they already are for my guns! negatives on preacher was killer, and i kinda found out the... CORRECT... form for it's use. damn, we're supposed to keep our upper arms on the bloody cushion, not just our elbows!

EZ bar curl: 2 x 12 x 20 kgs, 1 x 10 x 22.5 kgs
Preacher curl: 3 x 10 x 70 pounds
Hammer curl: 3 x 12 x 7.5 kgs
Skull crusher: 2 x 12 x 15 kgs, 1 x 10 x 17.5 kgs
Rope pulldown: 3 x 10 x 80 pounds

hmmm... gotta do something about the pulldowns.... it's been stagnating for some time now...

1/12/09

2009-12-03T04:26:00.001-08:00

Leg day, quite tiring. i managed to pull it off without my legs aching for once in my lifetime. rather fulfilling today

Squats: 1 x 13 x 65 kgs, 1 x 6 x 85 kgs
Deadlift: 1 x 12 x 60 kgs, 1 x 5 x 80 kgs, 1 x 3 x 90 kgs, 1 x 5 x 100 kgs
Leg extension: 3 x 10 x 125 pounds
Leg curl: 3 x 10 x 110 pounds
Calf raises: 3 x 12 x 200 pounds

29/11/09

2009-11-29T06:29:00.000-08:00

Chest day. had an awesome pump today. fricken hiong 'smore. we went pretty hardcore on the lifts and we were pretty much satisfied with what we accomplished

Incline bench: 3 x 10 x 55 kgs
Flat: 1 x 10 x 60 kgs, 1 x 8 x 65 kgs, 1 x 6 x 70 kgs
Decline: 1 x 10 x 60 kgs, 1 x 10 x 65 kgs, 1 x 6 x 70 kgs
Flyes: 2 x 10 x 10 kgs, 1 x 6 x 10 kgs ( burned out on the last set )
Pullover: 1 x 12 x 10 kgs, 1 x 10 x 15 kgs, 1 x 8 x 17.5 kgs

Good workout indeed, hope the rest of this week turns out as well or even better!

28/11/09

2009-11-27T20:28:00.001-08:00

First day of the new routine. back.

Pullups 3 x 6
Barbell row 1 x 10 x 50 kgs, 2 x 10 x 55 kgs
Lat pulldown 3 x 10 x 120 pounds
Seated row 1 x 10 x 110 pounds, 2 x 120 pounds
Reverse flyes 3 x 10 x 5 kgs

almost caved in on the pulldowns. my lats were drained from the pullups. haven't done barbell rows in a while, now my lower back actually strains from doing it. DAYUM. otherwise, it was quite a good day and also a good start to this week's regime.

studied about physiological response recently. i'm supposed to tune my load according to how my body's feeling. in other words, instinctive training. but if i actually did this... i have a feeling i might not go any heavier on my load.... hmmmmm. time to experiment!

Chest tomorrow. can't wait!

Revelation

2009-11-26T20:21:00.001-08:00

after 3 days of fucking my mind over all the worrying for changing my routines and what not, i finally came up with a solid decision about what to do - whoever is reading this, feel free to beat the crap out of me if i decide to switch routines again. after stuffing my brain with all the articles and information it can contain, i, not 'kinda' anymore or 'somewhat', fo-sho figured out what i should be doing for the next 4 weeks of my life before i go into... well, serving the nation. this calls for a great overhaul of what i do in the gym, and sure as hell what i eat, albeit i dont like the greens, i WILL stuff them in my mouth if i have to, but definitely not when i don't NEED to.
here goes. it starts tomorrow

Saturday: Back
Sunday: Chest
Monday: Rest
Tuesday: Legs
Wednesday: Shoulders
Thursday: Arms
Friday: Rest
now, i need to have an AIM. so here it is.
1 - to cut down fat percentage until it's 10% by the end of December
2 - expand the size of my rib-cage
3 - add at least half an inch to my guns by end of December
4 - breaking through my shoulder plateaus and adding on mass to them.

So how am i gonna do them? tweaking my current program.
1 - add pullovers to stretch the rib-cage
2 - do breathing squats (1 set of 20 squats with deep breaths in b/w each rep) to expand rib cross section
3 - start doing barbell presses for my shoulders, whether if it's smith machine, free weight or what not, i need to add overall mass and strength to these lagging parts.
4 - cardio-after-workouts. sure 'nuff

so here we go. time to continue setting up the workout. HUZZAH!

Reflections Week 1

2009-11-25T07:18:00.001-08:00

apparently, it may be a whole lot better if i went ahead with 5 day splits... considering how BORED i am at home most of the time and how much more effective it would be this way. but one thing's for sure, i HAVE to include PULLOVERS if i wanna expand my rib cage. i gotta wack the delts harder than i do my traps, since peeps like louis tell me my traps are... oversized, for me, making my torso look small. oh well. AS OF TODAY.....

Body Weight: 71.7 kg
Fat Percentage: 13.8%
Lean Mass: 61.8 kg

WOOT. i definitely put on quite some mass since the start of the year. wait, that's not the point. *Ahem*

now just to wait out the weekends for the next workout to start

25/11/09

2009-11-25T00:48:00.000-08:00

shoulders day at last. did add in a few things though.... i added in dumbbell presses and pullovers. my legs hurt so bad i couldn't really focus much, though i managed to pull through anyway. i could see the striations on my delts. it was AWESOME! sure it didnt grow big that fast, but at least it got ripped and shredded, especially when i did wide grip upright rows.
as for abs work... it turned out fine, cept when i hit my obliques, i could see how messed up it was to do side bends with a spine that ain't perfect. i wonder how many other people actually face this problem....

Current stats:
Dumbbell press: 20 kg
Pullover: 17.5 kg
Arnold press: 15 kg
Row: 22.5 kg
Rear delt: 5 kg
Lateral raise: 7.5 kg
Side bend: 20 kg
Shrugs: 22.5 kg

gonna hit the gym again tomorrow with louis. maybe i need to hit my body parts more often... oh well. CHEST TOMORROW

24/11/09

2009-11-24T06:20:00.000-08:00

leg day... grueling shit.
i did realise however that after that 2 week break even my deadlift weakened, even though i could still do 100 kg for 5 reps. after much observation i noticed my rib cage was.... unimpressively small. and that was one of the main reasons why i couldn't get my shoulders to grow broader. now, i'm facing the same problem i did back then - should i change my routine? for the better? i DO have a lot of spare time on my hands, but should this be how i'ma deal with it? well... i guess we'll leave that for next year. MEANWHILE, put mah mind on what i intend to do, and keep going at it. so....

Current stats:
Squats: 80 kg
Deadlift: 100 kg
Leg extension: 125 pound
Leg curl: 100 pound
Calf raise: 260 pound

can't drop my focus any time soon, i gotta keep going!

23/11/09

2009-11-23T05:46:00.000-08:00

Rest day! Last paper today as well... END OF A LEVELS WOOOOO

Rest s'mores now, tomorrow's gonna be a grueling day.

Let's get shredded!

22/11/09

2009-11-22T01:01:00.000-08:00

finally, chest and triceps day!

Incline bench presses made me realise how much weaker i was after those 2 weeks. as much as i pushed myself, could only hit 1 set for a full 10 reps, the rest deteriorated so bad to 7-9 reps...
bench press wise, those partial reps totally stretched my pecs from their resting state from the 2 weeks, felt totally awesome! though i could only go for a max of 8 reps... followed by a last 1 to rack it back up
went on to do dips, and kinda felt that they were near pointless, maybe decline presses were a better option afterall...
went on to do my skull crushers, totally forgot about my chest flyes. felt an intense burn in my triceps
FLYES! damn. after all those chest exercises, i could only go 8 reps!
triceps rope pushdown.... i had to cheat throughout the reps, since my 'ceps were burnt out. damn i feel so guilty :(

current stats:
incline = 20 + 17.5 + 17.5 = 55 kg
flat = 20 + 20 + 20 = 60 kg
flye = 5+5+1.25+1.25 = 12.5 kg per side
skull crusher = 5 + 5 + 2.5 + 2.5 = 15 kg
ropes = 80 pounds

GOTTA GO FURTHER THAN THAT YEAH

21/11/09

2009-11-22T00:54:00.000-08:00

'Bout this blog....
This, is my workout journal/blog. It'll be about my journey to become stronger and perhaps bigger. This is, Up The Iron Plates. Cheers!

So.........
First day of gym after a break of 2 weeks. tried out a new 4-day split that goes like this:
Saturday: Back and biceps
Sunday: Chest and triceps
Tuesday: Thighs and calves
Wednesday: Shoulders and trunk

so.... as for today!
Back:
wide lat pulldowns
seated rows
pull-ups, goddamn, i realised how fucking difficult they are when you do them after all that back stuff
biceps bar curl, i could totally feel the burn in my 'ceps with these!
preacher curl
hammer curls made me realise that when my back was swelling up, i couldnt keep my arms straight... sucks to have narrow shoulders
finally, wrist curls

all that pent-up energy from those 2 weeks are finally gonna be made use of! time for me to work towards those massive guns and boulder-like shoulders! not forgetting armour plated PECS

P/S: must add an inch to my arms!

Current stats:
Pulldowns: 120 pounds
Rows: 110 pounds
Pullups: damn 6 reps
Curls: 10 + 10 = 20 kg
Preacher: 50/60 pounds, gotta go further...
Hammer: 2.5 + 2.5 + 1.25 + 1.25 = 7.5 kg... gotta go further than that man.

GOTTA GO FURTHER THAN THAT