The Miseducation of Jimbo Slice

Hanley

Here's my current supply of stuff...



There's
-Big whey strawberry
-CellX orange (pretty much all gone)
-XXX vanilla (all gone too)
-Universal BCAAs
-Xl-Glutaime
-CreatineX
-Xplode II berry blast (about 1/4 tub left)
-Olimp Profi Whey Mass (small bag)
-A can of Xyciene chocolate protein that I got free at a comp that I'm afraid to use...


And here's my new supply of stufff....


-Big Whey strawberry
-Twin Lab Super Gainer Fuel vainlla delight
-2 RAM orange & lemon and lime
-Xplode II orange
-Some Olimp IzoPlus cans
-Animal Snak Bars peanut crunch
-And... 2 new shakers to put it all in

Almost all of it is from ProNutrition!

walt0r

ownage

tribulus

Sorry to be hijacking but while we're at it....

And that was missing the MassX!

Hanley

Bench:
60kg x5
60kg +doubled up mini bands x5
70kg +doubled minis x5
80kg +doulbed mins x5
90kg +doubled minis 5x5

Seated shoulder press machine:
about 1/2 stack x15
+ 1 plate x12
+ 1 plate x10
+ 1 plate x8
+ 1 plate x6
+ 2 plates x12 (rep contest, lost by 1)
Full stack x6 (rep contest, won by 2)

Face Pulls:
3x12

Standing dumbbell curls:
10kg x15
15kg x12
20kg x8

The mini's added about 10-15kg per band at the top end, maybe more. Very strange feeling.

Hanley

Smolov begins...

Squat:
60kg x5
100kg x5
130kg x5
*loose briefs*
145kg 4x9

Speed Pulls:
150kg 8x1

Hypers:
w/ mini band across my neck 3x12

Hanging Leg Raises:
2x12

Squats were surprisingly easy and VERY fast. I'll get a vid of the last set up tomorrow probably.

Hanley

It's funny the things that you stumble across when you're not looking for them...

When I fininshed my first Sheiko cycle I weighed about 92kg (that was after a week in Greece). Sheiko had up until now undoubtedly been the hardest training I've put myself thru. It wasn't all that heavy, but the volume was from another planet. Surprisingly I didn't gain all that much weight. Maybe 2kg in the 4 weeks.

Since the start of July I've only been training 3x a week. Mostly working up to one to three heavy sets of 6 on squats, benches and deadlifs along with some assistance work for the areas in question.

I've basically been paying no attention to my diet in that time. Just eating what I want, when I want. Fast food almost daily, 5x a week at least. Chocolate every day, a tub of ben and jerries once a week, fcuk all veg, no healthy fat other than what I accidently came across...

And the result..? I sit here today pushing the scales a little over 95kg with the exact same bf % measurement that I had 5 weeks ago (11-12mm on my calipers). I didn't even bother weighing myself up until 2 weeks ago and I was a little shocked when I saw what it says. I guess if one is traning for size then maybe only 3 days and **** loads of food are actually needed. Shattering my own illusions... how ironic.

Now the battle begins to get back to a weight where I can compete at 90kg. I reckon 91-92kg should do it. So basically the goal is to get down to a 10mm reading on my calipers (lowest I've ever been was 9mm), I reckon if I can do that without losing any muscle then I'll have to lose about 3.5kg of fat.

I'd like to have this done in the next 4 weeks and since I'm training 4x a week again from now til the comp I sohuldn't gain too much weight so if all goes to plan I'll be tipping the scales mid way between 91 and 92kg on the 9th of September.

Hanley

Last set of 145kg yesterday. Right on the border of whites and reds...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3D4ys1-di0c

Frank Bullitt

Hanley wrote:

Here's my current supply of stuff...



There's
-Big whey strawberry
-CellX orange (pretty much all gone)
-XXX vanilla (all gone too)
-Universal BCAAs
-Xl-Glutaime
-CreatineX
-Xplode II berry blast (about 1/4 tub left)
-Olimp Profi Whey Mass (small bag)
-A can of Xyciene chocolate protein that I got free at a comp that I'm afraid to use...


And here's my new supply of stufff....


-Big Whey strawberry
-Twin Lab Super Gainer Fuel vainlla delight
-2 RAM orange & lemon and lime
-Xplode II orange
-Some Olimp IzoPlus cans
-Animal Snak Bars peanut crunch
-And... 2 new shakers to put it all in

Almost all of it is from ProNutrition!

How much did the second batch cost you roughly man?

Hanley

Gintonious wrote:

How much did the second batch cost you roughly man?

Mid 200's the retail I think.

Big whey: 60
2 RAM: 60
Xplode II: 52
Gainers Fuel: 45
Animal Snak: 30

Hanley

Week 1, Day 2 of Smolov today.

Protyazhka (a snatch without and knee bend), Wide Grip Behind Neck Press, Squat (in one big long set):
20kg x5 (in one big long set)
30kg x5
40kg x3

Squat:
60kg x5
100kg x2
*briefs*
130kg x5
155kg 5x7

Bench w/ doubled minis:
60kg 2x3 (close grip)
70kg 3x3 (medium grip)
70kg 3x3 (pinky on rings)

Dumbbell Bench:
32.5kg x 12,10,8 blah....

Face Pulls:
52.5kg 3x12

Seated Dumbbell Powercleans:
10kg 3x12


I think I'm gonna have to drop some of the volume off.. I got thru the squats no problem, but they took a bit out of me when it came to the other sets. I'll be dropping the bands on the dynamic bench sets for certain and just using straight weight for the next 2 weeks.

I think I'll drop out face pulls in favour of the dumbbell powercleans too.

So far so good. I'm feeling very strong with the squat. Hopefully I'll still be saying that this time next week.

Hanley

Smolov, Week 1, Day 3

Protyazhka, Wide Grip Behind Neck Press, Squat (in one big long set):
20kg x5
30kg x5
40kg x5

Squat:
60kg x5
100kg x5
*briefs on*
130kg x3
150kg x3
165kg 7x5

Dumbbell Curls:
10kg x15
15kg x12
20kg x10

*supersetted with*

Pushdowns:
3x20

Cable Curls and Cable Extenstions: 2 sets

Squats were easy. Paused the last reps on the last 2 sets.

No pain anywhere as of yet. Thriving.

Hanley

Smolov, Week 1, Day 4

Squat:
60kg x5
80kg x3
100kg x3
*briefs*
140kg x3
160kg x3
175kg 10x3

Bench:
60kg x5
80kg x5
100kg x5
110kg 3x5

And I'm dead.

daveirl

This post has been deleted.

Hanley

daveirl wrote:

This post has been deleted.

I know. And remember the last session (165 7x5) was less than 24 hours ago!

walt0r

Who's this sheiko character, he must be good at de ould weights. Might give him a go sure

Hanley

walt0r wrote:

Who's this sheiko character, he must be good at de ould weights. Might give him a go sure

.

Hanley

Smolov, Week 2, Day 1.

Lots of hip mobility etc, my hips are REALLY beat up and tight as fcuk. Can't squat without rounding becaue of it. Spent about half an hour here.

Protyazhka, Wide Grip Behind Neck Press, Overhead Squat (in one big long set):
20kg x5
30kg x5
40kg x5

Squat:
60kg x5
100kg x3
*briefs*
135kg x5
155kg 4x9

Speed Pulls:
100kg x3
140kg 6x1

Hypers:
mini band 3x12

Hanging Leg Raises:
1x15

Smolov just got VERY hard.

Hanley

155kgx9, 4th set http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DS0rq9tZLD0

PeakOutput

Hanley wrote:

155kgx9, 4th set http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DS0rq9tZLD0

hahaha jesus tired much? impressive

Hanley

It really hit home today how little I care about all these petty little internet arguments. I really have no desire to be drawn into a debate about what's the best way to achieve mediocracy. I don't say this in a bad way, I'm quite happy to see people persue goals that are important to them. Be it looking good, building some more muscle or even getting a bit stronger.

What I want goes beyond that tho. I don't compare myself to the norm. The guys I'm chasing are the top in the world. This may sound big head or arrogant but I don't really care. That's what it's gonna take for me to join them. I fight with everything I have every training session to become the strongest motherfcuker I possibly can. It takes an extreme outlook and a very high belief in yourself and your methods. They may not be the healtiest (hell competitive lifting is downright unhealthy) and they may not be the most accepted, but to be honest it doesn't matter to me. What I'm doing is making me stronger each and every single day, so to that end it works. Nobody can deny that.

THe only people that TRULY matter to me are the guys (and girl!) I train with. Their the ones I care about, their the ones I'll bend over backwards to help. When one of us gets stronger the whole group prospers. It pushes everyone to the next level. There's strength in numbers.

Here's 2 quick examples of the most inspiring things I've seen in the gym recently. You'll know both people.

The first one was when I was benching with Tribulus last Sunday. He fell short by one rep of his target on the 3rd set. Got under the bar for the 4th and got stapled on the first rep, I had to pull it off him. I was sure he was done but he said fcuk it and got back on the bench and blasted out 5 easy reps with a weight that had nailed him only minutes before. There's not many people who'd come back like that and it takes a certain state of mind to even attempt it. THAT is what hardcore is all about.

Number two happened on Tuesday while I was training with Malteaser. Maybe 5 or 6 weeks ago she attempted 60kg on the leg press and couldn't even do a single rep. And the other day she came in 2 days after squatting and busted out 80,85,90,95 AND 100kg all for sets of 12. That's an absolutely unbelievable achievement in 6 weeks. You can see every session she works harder and is prepared to push for more. You simply can't go in and not care. If missing a rep doesn't mean the end of the world to you then you're never going to know what it means to be strong in my opinion.

I just wanted to give these 2 a shout out and let them know they've earned my upmost respect and I'm glad to call them my training partners.

Hanley

Smolov, Week 2, Day 2 (the half way mark)

About 15-20 mins of hip mobility work

Protyazhka, Wide Grip Behind Neck Press, Overhead Squat (in one big long set):
20kg x5
30kg x5
40kg x5

Squat:
60kg x5
100kg x3
*briefs*
130kg x3
150kg x3
165kg 5x7

Speed Bench:
60kg x5
70kg 2x3 (close grip)
75kg 2x3 (med. grip)
80kg 3x3 (pinky on rings)

Kroc Rows (aka no straps high rep one arm dumbbell rows):
30kg 'bell x15
45kg 'bell (100lb!) x25

Seated Dumbbell Powercleans:
10kg 3x15

I'm turning into a bit of a squatting machine. Today wasn't all that hard. It was brutal, but I had at least 1-2 reps left on each set. I think I've solved my depth problems by wearing my belt a little higher and lifting the front up slighty (I remember Jim Wendler saying he likes to do it on deadlifts so he can get a better postition. Looks like it works squatting too.)

My bar speed today was unreal. I'm faster than ever. The weight was WAY light. It's crazy what 2 weeks of band work can do...

The Kroc rows, they're just fun!!

And seated dumbbell powercleans are fast becoming one of my favourite upper back exercises. The pump and general feeling thru my rear delts and traps is savage. I can really feel my upper back strengthing now, especially with squats, I've started to lead up and back with my head and chest really hard and I can really feel the weight almost being picked up by my upper back alone.

I love this sh!t.

PeakOutput

do you stretch or do any warm ups cardio or otherwise before your sessions? and if not is there any particular reason you dont or you just dont see the need?

walt0r

Hanley, you're kickin ass, man. I'm gettin back into training tomorrow just got the exams finished. Considering starting sheiko on Monday, well my own variation of it for squats and deads, might give you a shout about it

Hanley

back on topic; do you stretch or do any warm ups cardio or otherwise before your sessions? and if not is there any particular reason you dont or you just dont see the need?

Cardio, no need imo. It just takes away energy.

I do alot of dynamic stuff tho. Torso twist, arm cirlces etc, then of course the hip mobility stuff.

Actually the first exercise you see there is russian for a "long pull" which is basically a power snatch. Lots of bar travel means, imo, lots of muscles getting ready for action, and since it's light it's not too taxing. Just enough to get the blood pumping. The 2 exercise that follow, the wide grip press and OH squat are great for flexability and take care of pretty much the whole body too.

So yes, I do do warmups, but not in the traditional 5 minute run and 10 minute stretch. I like to keep them specific to what I'm doing and they seem to be doing the job so far!

Hanley

walt0r wrote:

whats all this **** about? Hanley, you're kickin ass, man. I'm gettin back into training tomorrow just got the exams finished. Considering starting sheiko on Monday, well my own variation of it for squats and deads, might give you a shout about it

I would say if you're gonna do a Sheiko program then don't attempt to put "a twist" on it. His stuff is some of the most highly researched, documents and time tested stuff out there. EVERYTHING is there for a reason, and the percentages are set for specific purposes too. It's an awesome program and will work wonders for your strenght levels if you can resist thinkering. I know it's hard but you've just got to trust the cycle.

If you're gonna go thru with it drop me a PM and I'll try to help.

walt0r

The one thing I have a problem with is no lat/bi specific exercises. If I'm doing it I'd wanna throw in chins and rows or something, but I'd be too wasted I'd imagine to even attempt them if I did the routine as it is

tribulus

Thanks dude /\ and for not mentioning what weight it was lol!

Hanley

OK so firstly a quick update. I have the beginnings of what could lead to a stomach ulcer, amongst other things, so I'm on a cocktail of anti-biotics and the likes. One of which is flagyl. It one of the most hard hitting things I've ever taken. If anyone has ever taken morphine they'd know what I'm going thru now. Within 1-2 hours of taking it i feel so violently ill and nauses that I can't move for about 3 or 4 hours, it's the type of feeling you think you'll never get over. It really is that bad.

I took it at 8pm last night and I was still dying at 1am and I STILL didn't feel right when I woke up Needless to say I wasn't looking forward to training today.

Everything felt heavy. I got to 155x3 and was like ugh.... this sucks.

Loaded the bar to 175kg and it was like this wave of complete and utter rage washed over me. I usually only get like that before lifts in the 2-3 weeks before comps and on the day itself but I knew it was going t otake everything I had today.

Don't thinkg I've ever acted like that in a commercial gym so I'd say Iwas some sight.... OH and some how I ended up with one of my fingers burst open and covered in blood. Don't know WTF happened..

Smolov, Week 2, Day 3

Protyazhka, Wide Grip Behind Neck Press, Overhead Squat (in one big long set):
20kg x5
30kg x5
40kg x5

Squat:
60kg x3
100kg x3
*briefs*
135kg x3
155kg x3
175kg 7x5

Dumbbell Curls:
10kg x15
15kg x12
20kg x10
22.5kg x6
12.5kg x20

*super setted wth*

Cable tricep work (over head extenstions for the first 4 sets and pushdowns for the last):
1x15
1x12
1x10
1x8
1x50 (pushdowns)

Today was just one of those days that is as hard on your minds as your body. And coming thru it makes me feeling fcuking invincible.

Hanley

Smolov, Week 2, Day 4

Squat:
60kg x5
100kg x5
*loose briefs*
140kg x3
165kg x3
185kg 10x3 (410lbs)

Bench:
60kg x6
90kg x6
110kg x6
115kg x6

Killer.

Hanley

Royyysh... bit of a disaster lads.

My rib started to hurt a hell of a lot on Sunday night. And then I thought back to training and realised "****, my belt kept hitting my ribs cos I was wearing it higher than normal". Then I rememberd stories about how people fractured and bruised their ribs cos of this (especially witht he belt I use, Inzer 13mm lever).

So needless to say I can't really support any weight on my shoulders.I could have ploughed thru the last week of Smolov regardless but since I'm 12 weeks away from the WDFPF world championships I decided for once to listen to my body and kill Smolov. Hardest descision I've had to take in a while cos I was going great on it but thaknfully my brilliant girlfriend managed to talk some sense in to me.

It was only when I sat down today and read back over my logs that I realised I haven't deloaded my squat in over 7 weeks. Basically I've squatted 13 times in 47 days, that's an average of just over every 3 days. Been above 80% for all but 2 of them. The average intenstity was about 83% and I was up over 90% 3 times in that period. Almost every day has been over 5 reps with that percentage too so as you can imagine I've been consistently wokring VERY hard. No wonder my hips are so beat up.

If I had ploughed ahead I would have had a week off, then tested my max, week off, 4 weeks of sheiko and then into my suit and wraps. I woulda crashed SOMEWHERE along there if I wasn't made realise what I was going to myself (i was still thriving up until I busted my rib tho so I dunno...)

Anyway, I had to take it easy today.

Speed Bench:
60kg x5
75kg 2x3 (close)
80kg 2x3 (medium)
85kg 4x3 (pinky on rings)

STRICT military press:
60kg 3x8 (one clean off the floor per set)

Tate Presses:
15kg x5
20kg 5x5 (my extenstion strength sucks right now)

"Noses": (no straps)
bodyweight x15,12,10,9,8

Seated Dumbbell Powercleans:
12.5kg 3x12

Lots of hip mobility work then...

sumo pull:
60kg 2x5


My sumo form's all screwed up. I'm way too far forwards (probably due to all the squatting). I'm gonna keep the bar weight below 100kg for the next 3 weeks before I go into the Sheiko cycle and just work on getting my hips back to 100%.

Bar speed on the bench was sick. Really happy with it.

Strict MP's are fun. Bar was rocketing off my shoulders but dying near lockout. Which is strange...

I'm gunning for 5 sets of 15 with the kroc pull ups. Could really feel my back working, and needless to say it fried my grip (which is in need of improvement anyway).

The Tate's were pitifully weak. It's a starting point tho. I want to do them with 30kg bells for 5x5 before the world championships.

So yeah... working on things I've neglected for the next 3 weeks. Try to build up some extra strength in the muscles and then convert that to bigger lifts via Sheiko.

Time will tell if I get it right...

tribulus

Uggh broken rib? My mere 11mm lever has been quite awkard to use lately too.

Prilepin would be turning in his grave etc., still *loads* of time to heal up and ace your comp cycle.

Hanley

tribulus wrote:

Uggh broken rib? My mere 11mm lever has been quite awkard to use lately too.

Yeh, who have thought it. You're gonna have to watch out for that one too now


Anyways today was a bit of a trial session to see what I could actually do pain free. I wanted to do some deadlift work but obviously full ROM and my belt were out and since my grip and lockout are whats lagging I decided to train them as best I could.

Rack Pull from below my knees (no belt):
60kg 2x5
100kg x5
140kg x5
160kg x5
180kg x5
200kg x5

RDL's:
140kg x6
160kg x6

Fat man rows: (http://www.personalfitnessprogram.com/pages/diagrams/supinebodyrow.gif)
bodyweight x8, 8, 7, 6

Face Pulls:
3x15

Farmers walks w/dumbbells: (no straps)
'50kg bells 2 lengths x3 sets

I decided to do something a little different with the farmers walks. They're not something I've ever really done more than once every six weeks. So I'm gonna keep them in for 4 weeks and see if they do anything for my grip. A "length" was the distance between 2 lines on the gym floor, I'd then turn and walk back to where I started. Each Length is 13 normal paces. Don't know how it measures out, don't really care either.

I was super stoked with the rack pulls. My best ever from that height was 200x3 and that was with a sharp bar, loadsa chalk and a belt. None of which I had today. I was a bit surprised how strong I was on them actually.

The RDLs... something felt off. Lets face it, who wants to do them after heavy rack pulls anyway? My PR's 170x8 so I'm not too far away from that.

The fat man rows were there because I wanted to do some row that wasn't going to put a load on my lower back. First time I did them and they were surprisingly hard. The rep only counted if my chest touched the bar.

Nice little session. It's always fun to do new things and come back to old ones.

Hanley

I'm gonna work the hell out of my bench now for the next 3 weeks since I'll some extra recovery time with the lack of squatting. Think lots of of heavy weight, low reps and board work.

Bench:
60kg x6
80kg x6
100kg x6
110kg x6
117.5kg x5 (and a half, barely missed the 6th lockout)
110kg x5

2 Board Bench:
110kg x3
120kg x3
130kg x3

4 Board Bench:
135kg x1
140kg x1
145kg x1
150kg x1
155kg x1
150kg x1
140kg x5

Lateral Raises:
10kg x15
15kg 3x12

Pulldowns (palms facing me):
6x12 (worked up to 3/4 of the stack for 12)

Band Pull aparts:
2 mini bands, 3x15

External Rotations w/ choked mini:
3x15

Raw full range bench is pretty much as strong as ever.

2 board strength's a bit down but I put alot of energy into the attempted 6th rep with 117.5kg so I'm not too surprised.

155kg is a 5kg PR off 4 boards. They're usually a good indicator of my shirted bench. I can usually get 10-15kg over what I can do off them as soon as put my shirt on and 15-20kg when I get the groove dialed in after a few weeks.

Hanley

I've a bit of time on my hands at the moment since I'm not squatting so I've decided the most effiecent thing that I could be doing is bringing up my grip and abs.

Kroc Rows:
27.5kg x12
37.5kg x12
45kg x27

Farmers Walks: (1 Length = distace between 2 specific points in the gym, about 13 normal steps, 2 lengths = 1 Length, turn, walk back to start.... etc)
50kg 'bells 4 Lenghts per set, 3 sets
50kg 'bells 3 Lengths per set, 1 set

Dumbbell Curls:
12.5kg x15
17.5kg x12
22.5kg x6

Decline Sit ups:
BW x12
10kg plate behind my head 5x6

Stretches, Glute work, IT band rolling on a 3kg med ball.

Previous PR on the Kroc's was 25 so I guess I'm doing ok. I wanna do 35 reps before I move up in weight. Grip was what went on them.

The Farmers Walks saw an immediate improvement from last week. I doubled the lenght I could carry them and did as many sets. The last length on the last 3 sets were literally with my left hand wide open holding on by the tips of my fingers. If this doesnt help me to hold onto max pulls beter then I don;t know what will!

Abs are sore already. Ugh. As always the stronger I am thru my core, the more I'm gonna get outta my suit when I put it on so this is a big thing that I need to work hard.

For the last 6 weeks my hips have been feeling really bad. I reckon it's mostly down to a tight pirformis so I've been stretching it multiple times per day so hopefully it'll come around when I start squatting again in about 2 weeks.

If you wanna get funny looks in a commercial gym, charge around the place with 50kg in each hand. Gets them every time!!

Hanley

I've been doing ALOT of upper back work recently. 3/4x a week with one or 2 exercises per day.

Looks like it's having the desired effect

Esse85

Very impressive back, great stuff.

Quick question.

Do you have mild back acne? Or maybe the camera is playing tricks.

I notice acne seems to be very common with people training with weights, is this down to a high protein diet or all that testosterone?
Have you any ideas?

Hanley

Thanks man!

you're correct. I do have mild (b)acne.

I'm not too sure what caused it. It was actually at it's worst when I was about 14-18. It's eased off in recent years. I actually never had it bad on my face at all.

I've had a couple of people say to me that young people with higher than average levels of test are more prone to it, and considering how easily I tend to put on muscle I would imagine I do have a fairly high level of natural test.

Also when you think abou it, one of the signs of AAS (and particularly Test) use is (b)acne so it would appear that there is some correlation.

One thing I am sure of tho, it has nothing to do with a high protein diet!!

Hanley

I was really eager to get into the gym today. I had planned on pushing the weights to a level I haven't done before (not in that they're maxes, but I was I guess you could say working up to get an idea of how things were going).

Speed Bench:
60kg x5
70kg x5
80kg 2x3 (close)
85kg 2x3 (medium)
90kg 4x3 (pinky on rings)

STRICT Military Press: (each set cleaned from the floor)
60kg x5
70kg 3x5

Tate Press:
20kg x5
22.5kg x5
25kg 4x5

"Noses": (no straps)
bodyweight 3x12

Seated Dumbbell Powercleans:
12.5kg 4x12

Scap Retractions/face pull sorta things:
5x15

Then some piriformis and hip flexor stretching, glute work, I rolled each IT band twice for about 2 minutes per side and tried to get at my piriformis on each side for a couple of minutes too.

My speed was good today. 90kg's about 65% so I'm probably reaching the upper limits of true dynamic effort work. I think I'll drop the bar weight back to 70 or 75kg next week and add in doubled mini bands.

The MP's were fun. I had a rep or 2 in the tank on each one. My standing strength has always been about 10kg behind my seated strength so I can assume that's about 15-20kg better than it was when I last did them about 4-5 months ago.

I was literally pushing the bar THRU the roof. The ceiling in TF were I was doing em was kinda low.... They had thos really light ceiling tiles and I ended up knocking the **** outta one of them.Ooops...

Tates... Extenstion strength's coming along. Tried to do a couple of reps of regular tricep extenstions at the end and my left elbow just sorta went "what the hell are you thinking?? Do you not remeber tearing me 4 weeks ago doing this???"

The DB PC's took care of my upper back so I just did some scap pulls to make sure everything stays healthy in that region.

Hips are feeling a bit better too.

I can't wait to get started on Sheiko again....

Esse85

Hanley wrote:

Thanks man!

you're correct. I do have mild (b)acne.

I'm not too sure what caused it. It was actually at it's worst when I was about 14-18. It's eased off in recent years. I actually never had it bad on my face at all.

I've had a couple of people say to me that young people with higher than average levels of test are more prone to it, and considering how easily I tend to put on muscle I would imagine I do have a fairly high level of natural test.

Also when you think abou it, one of the signs of AAS (and particularly Test) use is (b)acne so it would appear that there is some correlation.

One thing I am sure of tho, it has nothing to do with a high protein diet!!

Just the reason i said it was that i suffer from mild back acne myself, i hardly ever get a spot on my face but my back and shoulders are effected since i started weigh lifting 3 years ago when i was 18, i started taking protein shakes and creatine around this time too so i was just wondering if there was any relationship between the two.

I have been to a derm on numerous occasions but no joy, i guess ill just have to deal with it.

Impressive journal by the way, best of luck with it.

Hanley

Cheers....

The only thing that I've seen that REALLY effects it to any noticable extent is my showering habits. If I don't shower as soon as I'm done in the gym (before the sweat drys in) then I'll have a load of spots the next day.

Even if I shower as soon as I get home from the gym it doesn't matter. The damage is done by then...

Hanley

Rack Pulls: (no belt, no straps)
60kg x5
100kg x3
140kg x3
170kg x3
190kg x3
210kg x5

RDL's:
100kg x6
140kg x6
170kg x12

Fat Man Rows:
bodyweight 6x8

Face Pulls: (elbows HIGH)
Don't know what weight, don't really care 4x15

Scap Pulldowns:
4, 5 or maybe 8 plates, I don't know 3x20

Standing Dumbbell Curls:
15kg 'bells 2x20


The rack pulls were a major PR. Before last week my best was 200x3 with a belt and really sharp bar. The last rep today was junk, pretty rounded. Screw it tho, it would have counted in comp. My grip seems to be coming along nicely too.

12 with 170 on the RDL's is about 4 reps more than I've EVER hit with that weight before, so again, serious PR. I ws gunning for 6 reps, and if it went well MAYBE equal my PR of 8 and was like nah, I'll do 10.... "Hey I've done 10, may as well do 12..."

I'm starting to really like the fat man rows. I can really feel it in my lats and there's no stress on my back.

Elbows high on the face pulls seems to make a big difference and involves my upper back and traps alot more...

Feeling really good at the moment. Time for a down week next week before I kick it up again for comp prep with a 4 weeks Sheiko cycle.

Roll on November.

tribulus

Nice work on the rack pulls, below the knee?

Have you tried the facepulls with a neutral grip? I've found they really make it easy to squeeze the blades together and they helped out my shoulder too.

justsomebloke

man the upper back is looking huge and some excellent work as per usual

Hanley

Thanks guys. I'm actually surprised at how well it's responding to the workload I'm putting on it. Adapt or die and all that....

Trib, I've been doing my face puls with a tricep rope so i guess you could say they were neutral??

And yup, below my knees on the pulls.

Hanley

Just got these pics of a 220kg squat and 155kg bench from the IPO nationals earlier this up so I decided to stick em here too.

Hanley

Anybody who knows Hercs will understand what I mean when I say today was a day for big lifts.

Bench: (full range)
60kg x10
80kg x5
100kg x5
110kg x5
120kg x5

2 Board Press:
120kg x3
130kg x3
140kg x3

4 Board Press:
145kg x1
150kg x1
155kg x1
160kg x1

Lateral Raises:
10kg x15
15kg 3x12

Pulldowns: (palms facing me)
worked up to one plate more than last week over 5 sets, 12 reps
drop back to half the stack, 1x20

Doubled Miniband Pull Aparts:
3x15

The full ROM 120 was SO easy for the first 3 reps. I felt spring loaded. The upper back strength is making a huge difference.

140x3 off 2 boards equals my PR so I'm delighted with that...

160 is ANOTHER 5kg PR off 4 boards. The bar came about an inch off them and stalled for a split second before I muscled it up. I was told afterwards it looked like I "hit the pause button" mid rep. Lolz... Anyway, shirt goes on next week. It'll be interesting to see what I can throw up.

Nothing else special to add really. A nice brutal high volume and high intensity session.

Sheiko starts in 10 days... No more big lifting til then (except for my shirt test next week).

tribulus

Tricep is fine by the looks of it!

Does the F6 give much at the top? I'm assuming it gives a bit if you've done 165.....looking good for some records.

I haven't been in there in nearly a week

Hanley

Hmmm I'm not too sure how much I get the top end. To be honest I don't concern myself with it. I either press it or I don't. If I don't press it, I need to be stronger or hit the groove better.

I've only been in there like 9 times in the past 8 weeks. Serious

Anyways...

Kroc Rows:
20kg x15
35kg x15
45kg x30

Farmers Walks:
50kg 4 lengths, 6 sets

Dumbbell Curls:
10kg x15
20kg 3x10

Scap face pulls:
5x15

Incline Sit Ups:
BW x8
10kg x1
5kg x1 (my abs are SO not recovered yet)

Stretching, rolling, other stuff.

Happy with that. Grip's coming along well.

Hanley

Holy crap. I've lost weight. I'm 1kg down. WTF is going on. I need a pizza.

Hanley

I was running all over the shop today tryna sort out stuff so the workout suffered a bit... Shoulders wern't feeling great either. Deload time me thinks.

Speed Bench: (all sets w/ doubled mini bands)
60kg x5
70kg 2x3 (close)
75kg 2x3 (medium)
77.5kg 3x3 (pinky on rings)

Military Press (all sets cleaned from the floor):
40kg x5
60kg x5
70kg x5 (all SUPER strict)
80kg x5 (tiny amount of leg drive, jsut to get it to abotu chin level)
90kg x3 (bit of a push press)

Fat Man Rows:
BW 3x12

Kroc chins:
1x15

Pushdowns with curl bar:
3x20

*supersetted with*

Hammer Curls
10kg 'bells 3x20

Tidy enough. Shoulder strength it WAY up. My bench seems to be following it.