See Monkfish grow....

[Monkfish]

Hello!

Well, after many failed attempts at filling in an excel sheet or written log book of my gym progress I've decided I'm going to start a journal here That way I can get some feedback on what I'm doing, and everyone can call me out if im not making good progress.

My pictures can be seen here:
http://forum.myprotein.co.uk/members...e-my-fins.html

My goal is to compete as a natural bodybuilder next summer. Breaking this down I believe that I need as much more overall mass as possible, focussing on bringing up chest thickness and lat width.

The goals for each of those are as follows:

• Combined powerlifting total of at least 500kg (plus, I've wanted a 200kg deadlift for AGES!)
• More than 10 wide-grip pullups with a 10kg weight on the belt
• More than 6 reps on an incline bench press using 40kg dumbells

I will be hitting these by the end of September, and will then post up new pics to make sure I'm getting the right changes.

My training follows a push/pull/legs split, and I arrange each session with two or three core lifts, followed by different supporting exercises each time to keep things interesting.

Any comments would be greatly appreciated!

Starting stats are:
Squat - 140kg x 5
Deadlift - 170kg x 5
Bench - 110kg x 2
Weight - 92kg

[Monkfish]

First training session back was yesterday but as I can remember what i did I may as well post it.

Its only been five days since I cycled the south coast (414 miles) and my energy levels are still really low. I've got nerve damage in my hands from 32hrs of gripping the bars, and my legs are about as strong as Rick Waller's will-power. That in mind, I grabbed my lifting straps and took my sorry self to the gym to see how bad the damage was!

Deadlifts
60kg x 10
100kg x 8
140kg x 6
140kg x 6

Wide grip pullups
no weight x 10 reps
no weight x 8 reps
no weight x 8 reps

Finished with two sets of compound rows on the cable pull and went home! Whole session was a lot less than I usually do, but I'm still really feeling the aftermath of the cycling and want to ease back into weights without injury.

Next session - chest

[- DJT -]

Good luck

Quote

My pictures can be seen here:
http://forum.myprotein.co.uk/members...e-my-fins.html

Weight - 92kg

What's your goal weight for next summer then matey?

[stronglikewood]

Just a suggestion Monkfish: You want to do a natural comp next year, but then you also have powerlifting goals on your list. I wouldn't overly worry about hitting or not hitting that strength goal if you are serious about the bodybuilding show as you could well hit a 200kg deadlift etc and get a 500kg total, but if you want as much mass as possible, you'd be better off trying to nail more reps on top of your current pb's, not a new one rep max in the powerlifting lifts. You know what I mean? Aim to get stronger but not in the wrong rep range.

[Monkfish]

Cheers Stronglikewood

I know it seems at odds to have powerlifting goals but my aim is to get my lifts up high over the next few months and then, as you've said, focus on adding reps to these higher weights that I am able to lift. I thought that over the course of a year this would give me the best gains? For example, hit a 200kg lift over the next two months, and then focus on getting this up to 200kg x 6 as the next target. I agree that 1rm's right through the year wont get me where i need to be, but I'm worried I'm not lifting heavy enough weights yet so wanted to jack these up first... sense or stupidity?!!

I do higher rep ' traditional' hytrophy training on the other lifts in my sessions, do you think i should be working in this range all of the time?


DJT, I've not thought about weight too much to be honest. However ideally I guess Id like to be at least 95kg at competition weight - for my height I think I need at least this or I'll look a bit skinny

[suj]

hey mate, good luck

like SLW said, don't do strength training, i was doing it to better my lifts (which is fine) and now on hypertrophy training, and have seen my best gains, so i would do strength for like a month or 2, then go all out on hypertrophy (maybe try HST)

good luck nonetheless

[Monkfish]

Just did my first chest/tri's session and my strength levels felt better than yesterday seems to be coming back... slowly.

45 degree incline dumbell press
17.5kg x 10
22.5kg x 10
30kg x 9
30kg x 8

45 degree incline fly
17.5kg x 12
17.5kg x 12

Skullcrushers
25kg x 10
25kg x 8

Finished the session with:

Machine chest presses
Underhand tricep pulldowns
Weighted plank

I've decided that whenever I repeat an exercise and the reps or weight go up I'm going to highlight them, so the brighter the session the more successful it was!

[cheef]

think you should do the inclines on a 15 degree(lowest incline) nonetheless good stuff

[stronglikewood]

Quote

I do higher rep ' traditional' hytrophy training on the other lifts in my sessions, do you think i should be working in this range all of the time?

You can go about it the way you intend and you will gain mass. As long as you're hitting the higher rep volume stuff aswell, all should be well. I was just warning against getting side tracked!

[Monkfish]

Thanks SLW Know what you mean too, its easy to get caught up chasing bigger numbers all the time.

Cheef, can I ask why you'd change the incline angle? I use a 45 degree angle from watching the james llewellyn DVD. He says he struggled with chest mass (particularly upper) and so used a higher incline, and this sounded like a simillar problem to mine.

Saw all the products he uses too, is he one of MP's sponsored athlete?