TOPIC: 255lbs Box Squat EASY AF (Voodoo's Gym Log)

Hello,

I am going to use this portion of the forum as a public diary for the gym specifically. This is for me to record my thoughts and note little things here and there that I think will be helpful psychologically for anyone who is serious about their training. I will also be recording my training and diet for those who wanna take a peek into what REAL TRAINING looks like and what a good diet looks like that generates real world meaningful results.

I will not be asking for any advice or direction regarding training or nutrition, as I have all my ducks in a row and that's not the point of this log anyway.

The point of this log is to demonstrate what a drug free lifter can achieve with proper diet and training. It's to demonstrate and document what I am actually doing.

If this sounds pretentious or arrogant to anyone reading along, then just stay tuned. I'll show you what I can do.

I have attached screenshots of my DEXA scans, as you can see: I'm starting from a very modest point, most would say that I am quite out of shape. I would agree.

That is why I have deemed this to be the perfect opportunity to reopen a gym log.

Relevant Details:

I've never stopped training. I've been exercising since I was 14 in my room at home. I've been active for a very long time and I have a of of experience with the fitness world. I've fallen for ever scam and fad diet out there, and I have tried some legit stuff too.

I've used anabolics in the past and I am no longer on anything. I have experience with RAD140, MK677, and Ostarine. That's it.

I will be doing this completely natty. If I jump on anything whatsoever it will be MK677 @ 12.5mg Daily. This is for the health benefits rather than the gains. Anybody who knows anything about this kind of stuff knows that it's a VERY conservative dose. The point is that my enhancement is very minimal and I intend to keep it that way.

Also, the moment I go "on" I will acknowledge it here.

My goals is to reach a 405lbs Deadlift in 5 months. Basically before 2020 rolls around. (Today is 7/8/19, Starting DL: 265lbs)

CURRENT LIFTS:

Squat: 265lbs (Goal 315lbs)
Bench Press: 200lbs (Goal 225lbs)
Deadlift: 265lbs (Goal 405lbs)
Overhead Press: 115lbs (Goal 135lbs)


I think it's always better to look for humans who can predict what's gonna happen, rather than provide an explanation for what actually happened. It more useful to be able to predict the future

My goal for the end of this year is to be at 15% BF with my goal lifts achieved. I'm currently sitting at 25% BFwith my lifts laid out above and a screenshot has been attached of my last workout.

I've hired a coach who's knowledge I've screened and trust 100% in order to help me with this. I will not disclose who it is since I don't want to cheapen the thread or come off as a shill. This coach will be in charge of my training and I have 100% confidence in his abilities.

MISC DETAILS:

I run my family biz full-time and live a fast paced lifestyle M-F. That means my workouts will be very short during the week. On the weekends I will have more time to dedicate to the gym. I have a history of lower back/spinal erector weakness and cramping so my training will account for this. I am not going to be following a cookie cutter novice program like Strong Lifts or a 5X5 workout. (Those are great if you're a beginner and don't know what you're doing)


My routine is tailored and specific to me, DO NOT FOLLOW MY TRAINING.

My first training day will be this Wednesday (7/10/19)

Please feel free to follow and comment along my 5 month journey! Thank you!

Yo, this is cool. I'm doing a similar thing so I'll be following. I did stop working out though, so I'm currently still establishing 1RMs, ramping up intensity and figuring out realistic goals but I think I'll start documenting it in more detail like you're doing. I'm currently weaker than you but I'll be gaining weight, not cutting, so maybe we can get a little healthy competition going haha.

I'm psyched to see your progress man.

atlas_benched wrote: Yo, this is cool. I'm doing a similar thing so I'll be following. I did stop working out though, so I'm currently still establishing 1RMs, ramping up intensity and figuring out realistic goals but I think I'll start documenting it in more detail like you're doing. I'm currently weaker than you but I'll be gaining weight, not cutting, so maybe we can get a little healthy competition going haha.

I'm psyched to see your progress man.

Thank you!

Yeah, since I'm cutting/recomping my progress will be slower in terms of strength but my aesthetics will improve greatly!

I'm really excited to showcase what I'm about to do and hopefully going into 2020 I can bring my physique to 10% bodyfat so when the raves and music festivals roll around I'll be ho ready lol

Hello,

Today was my first day of training under my new coach. We've decided to run a concurrent periodization style program with a focus on building general size and strength. We're also going to substitute a few exercises in order to accommodate my lower back since I have a history of cramping in that area. During the week my workouts are short (45 mins) and my weekends are probably going to be longer. I gotta get in and out of the gym (showered and everything) in under an hour to get my ass to work. Thankfully, we programed within these parameters.

See attached documentation for my full workout. It took longer than expected because I was recording my form for my coach.

The Box Squats were a lot more difficult than I expected, but they weren't as hard as what I was doing before so it ended up feeling like an easy day for me. All of my exercises were easier than what I was doing previously actually, but we're going to be ramping up the weight every week so it's going to get tough very soon. I sent my coach videos during my actual workout and he gave me some feed back in real-time.

He told me that I need to spread my feet wider, especially on my concentric rep out of the bottom. (See attached videos for reference) My form got progressively better on my later sets. Next session I'll implement my coach's pointers and document here accordingly. He also said that I need to sit back with my butt more and turn the box so that the pointy part goes in between my legs.

Sumo Deadlifts weren't difficult, just awkward since I've never done them before.

Chin ups were super easy. The only issue I ran into was on my last set. I was required by my coach to do 2x3 and on my final 3rd set to do AMRAP but, I started to get light headed around rep 8/9 so by rep 13 I had to stop going even though I felt like I had more reps in the tank. I could've probably repped out 20 if I wasn't starting to get dizzy.

I'll be training tomorrow again, this time it will be upper body focused.

(Videos)

1st Box Squat Ever


Last Set

Yeah boiiiii, those are solid goals. Definitely doable with w good coach.

I just want to wish you that your gym has a good reverse hyper machine and you can mix it into your program somewhere.
this machine is just a god-send when it comes to any lower back problems/weaknesses and so on.

Hello,

Today was pretty great. I am feeling some hamstring soreness from yesterday's workout which is somewhat surprising. Today I completed my first upper body power day in my new program.

All my exercises were completed without any issues at all except for my Pendlay Rows. I accidentally rowed 155lbs instead of 115lbs so we'll have to adjust my programming to account for this error.

All exercises performed today were familiar to me unlike yesterday so my form was pretty good. Nonetheless, I sent form check videos to my coach but unfortunately I have yet to hear back from him. Hopefully he'll confirm that my form is good and doesn't need any work.

My next workouts will be on Saturday & Sunday. These are going to be volume days, which I hate. I love speed and power work, but volume is such a fucking drag lol, still it has to be done in order to stimulate the growth that I need. The good news is that I'll get to enjoy a nice pump on Sunday lol, which I'll post a gym selfie of so you can see my progression through the weeks.

Let me know what you think about my physique that I've attached. Like I said, I'm at 25% BF @ 175lbs BW however, I think I carry fat pretty well. I don't think I look that fat. I look more "built-fat" v. "Pillsbury Dough-boy fat".

See my next post on Saturday, because I won't be in the gym tomorrow.

Thank you for reading!

breakthechains wrote: I just want to wish you that your gym has a good reverse hyper machine and you can mix it into your program somewhere.
this machine is just a god-send when it comes to any lower back problems/weaknesses and so on.

Yes!

My gym does have a reverse hyper, thanks for bringing this up. My coach and I have already discussed this and we'll start using the Reverse Hyper very soon along with my gym's Glute Ham Raise machine.

These 2 pieces of equipment will definitely be used by me in the near future. Stay posted to look at my rep/set scheme and how they're programmed into what I'm doing. There isn't much info on this exercise on the web, other than the fact that Louie Simmons made it and that it's great for lower back issues.

Nobody is showcasing (to my knowledge) how to actually program and progress on this exercise, but I'll be showing that here when we implement it.

Is it me or you are already looking leaner than in your first pic? You look less than 25%! Good job

Gabo wrote: Is it me or you are already looking leaner than in your first pic? You look less than 25%! Good job

Gym lighting is OP lol, I promise you I haven't made any significant amount of progress between those two pics lol.

Although to be fair I look closer to the gym lighting irl versus the first photo I posted. I look really bad there.

yep, this last photo is just such a great example why dexa scans are king if one really wants to work on body composition.

never ever would i put you on 24% bf based on that last pic. you clearly are not flexing too, so i would have said you are 15-19& or so.

crazy rly. i have to find dexa scan places in europe that are affordable.

Hello,

This Sunday marked my first week completed of training under my new coach. I video chatted with him on Sunday and we reviewed all of my form and technique. There were a couple issues that he pointed out but what stuck out the most to me was my Bench Press form. I thought that it was pretty good, and he agreed. It's not horrific by any means, but it could use a ton of improvement. My main issue is that I'm not tight enough according to him and it's costing me approximately 20lbs of weight which would put me 5lbs short of my goal for this year. (225lbs)

According to him I need to dig my heels into the ground HARD with the only (2) points of contact on the bench itself being my traps and my glutes. I'll link and upload footage of my current form below.

Other than the bench press everything looked solid. There were some minor critiques of my box squat and sumo deadlift which I'll discuss at another time. The main focus of our discussion revolved around the bench.

Unlike Wednesday & Thursday, my weekends are volume focused. I've attached my logs below so you can take a look into what I am doing. As you can see my program calls for a TON of Squatting and Bench Pressing. We're going to load up my Incline Bench up for this upcoming week since 115lbs is way too light for me. I really enjoyed Sunday because I looked mega jacked after my upper body volume day lol, I didn't take a pic though.

On Wednesday, I'll start loading up the same exercises I did in the past. That way we can start increasing tension on my muscles. I'll also be jumping on the reverse hyper for my lower back pre-hab work. For those of you who have access to one, I would highly recommend usage. I've used them in the past and it's a fantastic piece of equipment designed by Louie Simmons.

Louie Simmons is the owner and coach for Westside Barbell, the most famous and elite power lifting gym. Invite only and the most decorated gym in the sport. Nobody has more titles than Westside. Louie Simmons actually invented this machine for the purpose of healing his broken back, after breaking his back/world record in competition. (I believe)