Pete's Quest for Mass

[Duality]

I support mass

 

[PistolPete]

as do I duality, as do i.

 

[Big_Guns_Lance]

Great workouts so far Pete

 

[PistolPete]

Took the day off yesterday to let my body recovery completely, and today I'll be at the gym working Shoulders and Traps.

I don't do a crazy amount for shoulders because they get worked so much indirectly during the week, so I keep it basic, compound, heavy, but somewhat brief. For traps, I don't do a lot either. One exercise to really focus directly on the traps, plus one of my shoulder exercises really hits it well too (up right rows). Other than that, I feel like my back work usually hits the traps enough, especially on deadlifts.

1. Military Press: 175: 8 185: 6x6 190: 6
I bring the bar right under my chin to get a good stretch, and then go up to the top right before locking out.

2. Upright Row (smith): 135: 8 145: 8x8 150: 8
I can't go real heavy on these because of a previous shoulder injury, but I get a good range of motion to from the bottom, to about middle chest. I keep my hands fairly wide to really exentuate my shoulders and not so much my traps.

3. Reverse Fly: 135: 12 142.5: 12 145: 12 147.5: 9
This is done on a machine. On the sets that I got 12 i did a rest pause. I usually got a round 10, then I would let the weights actually touch for a beat, giving myself a short rest and then I would squeeze out an extra rep or two.

4. Reverse Shrug: 245: 12 255: 10 260: 10x12
I do this on a smith, with the bar behind me, myself leaning forward and my elbows kept locked out and straight behind me. The Trapezius runs not only on your neck, but behind your neck and down part of the back. To hit the whole muscle I keep my shoulder blades together by keeping my elbows back and I shrug up while keeping my head forward and my traps backward.

I got the whole workout done in just 50 minutes! I got out just as they closed the gym hah. I hate being pressed for time, but I got it all done. Hopefully, with the extra time next time If I plan my schedule better, I can give myself a little more rest time inbetween sets and put some more pounds on the bar! Everything is going according to plan so far. My strength is going up, im giving myself enough recovery time, and my diet is right on par to hit 1-2 pounds of muscle a month!

 

[PistolPete]

LEG DAY!!

I started off the day wrong with only 6 hours of sleep. MY Dad woke me up to tell me we had a bunch of work to do, so that was unexpected. Luckily, my NO-Xplode really got me zoned in when I worked out today.

1. Front Squats: 225: 8 235: 8 240: 8 245: 7 160: 20
Those felt great, real smooth, got a bit below parallel on each one, so I was really happy with these.

2. SMITH narrow Leg Press: 315: 10 335: 12 355: 10 375: 10
Lying under the smith machine

3. Seated Leg Curl: 175: 10 185: 10 190: 10 195: 10
I really like lying leg curls better, but the gym I'm at now ( at Drexel) doesn't have this so this will have to do.

4. Stiff Deads: 205: 8,8,8
I change my feet each time. I start out narrow, and go a bit wider by 2-3 inches each set.

5. Smith Lunges: 165: 8,8 170: 8
These really toasted me, I hope my ham to glute tie in gets really developed from doing these!

That's all folks! I'm happy with the way the weights are moving up, and my form is still all there. My legs are growing slowly but surely, but my glutes and my hips are going up much at all which is exactly what I want.

 

[PistolPete]

No comments on the last leg day? Where's the love? Just messing, It's all good. Anyway Today was Chest/Calves/Abs Day. I got it all done in about an hour and 40 minutes. I would have gotten it done faster but there were just so many damn people there. I hate when my chest day happens to land on a Monday, because I think we can all relate to waiting for a bench on a Monday...

1. Incline Press: 215: 7 225: 5,5,5
I could have gotten 8 definitly on 215, but I knew I needed to conserve some energy if I wanted to hit 225 well today. It definitly paid off because I really hate to go under 5 reps for presses. The 225 felt awesome! Im really excited to see my bench keep going up.

2. Decline Press: 195: 8 200: 6 205: 7 210: 5.5
I almost had the 210 for 6!! I have a prior right shoulder injury, and this exercise usually gets affected, but for today, I brought the bar slightly under my solar plexus (on the very top Abdominal) instead of right below my pecs and it felt soooo much better. I was able to do it with nearly zero shoulder pain holding me back. The weights from this week compared to that week really show. I can't wait for my shoulder to be 100%.

3. Machine Fly: 180: 10 195: 9 210: 8
I'm not big on machines, but DB flys really havent been doing much for me. This machine gave me a great stretch and contraction, and I was still able to use a solid weight. I'm going to stick with this for a month or two and see if there are any results from it.

 

[PistolPete]

ABS
1. Rope Crunch: 190: 12 197.5: 9, 8
I'm going to lower this to 195 next time. The 7.5 pounds made it a little too much to have good form still.

2. Leg Lifts on Captains Chair: 10: 10, 10, 10
DB inbetween my feet, and brought to my chest. These felt a lot better than last week. I tried using 15 last time and i didn't have that mind muscle connection I was looking for.

CALVES

1. Neutral Stance Calf Raise Standing: 270: 10 275: 10 280: 10
Felt great!

2. Inward Stance Calf Raise Standing: 245: 10 255: 260: 10
For the outside of calfs.

This was a solid workout for me.. I really can't complain about anything. The weights are going up, so my diet and rest must be in order. I just have to make sure I don't get too excited and put too much weight on the bars and lose my form/mind muscle connection.

 

[Maxmonzter]

pretty solid workout, you looked pretty strong in there, keep it up

 

[PistolPete]

Thanks Montzer! Ive been really trying to bring my chest up so that means a lot. So, Today was BACK DAY! Going into the workout my legs were still real sore from sunday's workout. I tried to walk it out a bit before my workout, which really helped a lot.

1. Deadlifts: 385: 6 (tried to conserve NRG) 405: 6 410: 6 TOUGH!!
Did 3 warm ups before this. I was feeling really pumped about these today. That last set was grueling. The last two reps were hell to lock out my hips, but I got it done!

2. Underhand BB rows: 215: 8 225: 8 230: 8,8
Felt great. I had a good squeeze in my lower lats on each rep, and I was able to hold each rep for a beat at the top of the movement.

3. T Bar Row close grip: 115 (not including bar): 10 135: 10, 10 145:10
I did these with the bar on the ground, with my partner standing on the other side. This was one of my first times doing these, but im definitly going to keep it in my rotation.

4. Pulldowns: 210: 8 220: 8,8 225: 9
These were good. Im still contimplating underhand for it, but Im just going to be patient and see if I get growth from this.

5. Wide Grip Chins: BW: 8,8,9
I really focused on arching my back and squeezing my back on these. I try to not use my arms at all and just put all the weight on my back.

Good workout. All weights were up in good form. Can't ask for more. I'm taking the day off tomorrow, then I'll be hitting arms on Friday!

 

[Lionheart]

Awesome leg work and deads PP.Presses looking good also.

 

[PistolPete]

Thanks Lionheart! And thanks everybody else as well, the constant support really helps me get through the workouts and pushes me that much further.

ARM DAY!! Usually after a back day I don't do arms because my bis won't produce that well. But I must be isolating my back better, because my biceps weren't sore at all today.

Triceps
1. Smith Push Press: 185: 8 205: 8 210: 8 215: 5.5 Almost 6!
Basically like a shoulder press, but a shorter movement, and extenuated on the top half of the movement.

2. Tri Pushdown: 160: 10 167.5: 10 170: 10 172.5: 9
Felt nice. My mind muscle connection was really on here. My arms balooned after this one.

Biceps

1. EZ Bar curl: 110 (not including bar): 6, 5, 6
I got over 21 reps last workout, so i added five pounds this workout. IT was damn heavy. But after a month of doing this weight I bet it will go up again.

2. DB Alternating curl: 55's: 8,8,8
This was another PR for me. After I get 23+ reps I move up in weights. So next time Im going to use 60's! Im excited as hell

3. Reverse Curl: 107.5: 10, 10 110: 10
Great way to end the workout.

This past week has really showed me the importance of diet. I feel like it's near perfect for me right now. My strength is the best and most consistent it has ever been. I just hope it can stay like this for a while. Once it starts fading, Im going to add in 500 more calories from carbs and fat. That should do the trick.

 

[miamiracing]

good workouts, biceps strength looks fantastic !

 

[PistolPete]

Friday was Shoulder and Trap Day. It's a fairly short day, I like to keep it short, intense, compound, and heavy. Pretty basic overall, but covers everything I need.

1. Shoulder Press: 185: 7 195: 7 200: 6 205: 6
Brought down to below chin and to almost a lockout. Sometimes on the first set or two, I feel like I can do another rep or two, but I usually opt not to because I like to save a bit of energy on the heavy sets. I generally have good endurance strength and less powerfully heavy strength, I think this method helps me go heavy as much as possible.

2. Upright row: 145: 10 155: 8 160: 8 165: 8
Little wider than shoulder width, and brought to middle chest.

3. Reverse Fly: 145: 10 150: 10 152.5: 10, 10
I always try to hold the back of the movement for a solid second before I do the negative.

4. Reverse Smith Shrug: 260: 10, 10 265: 10, 10
The bar is behind me, elbows are locked back. And I shrug not just straight up, but I try to bring my traps together and away from my head.

Solid workout. Can't complain about anything. The Shoulder Press felt awesome, I can't wait to load two plates on each side. haha

 

[PistolPete]

Today was LEG DAY! It's weird, I get all excited for it during the day because I know its going to be tough as hell, then when Im actually doing the workout all I can think is, why was I so phyched to do this?? I came pretty close to throwing up once during the workout. It's not that its an excruciating workout or anything, but after 7 sets of squats (including warmups) I feel a little queezy.

1. Front Squat: 240: 8 250: 8 250: 8,6 165: 20
These were good, but I have to make sure my mind muscle connection is there. Just because I can keep good form, and increase the weight doesn't necessarily mean Im taxing my muscle the way I want to. I felt like I was compensating a bit with my glutes, which is really not what I want. I'm only going to increase a tiny bit next time and reall focus on blowing up my quads.

2. SMITH narrow Leg Press: 345: 10 370: 10 390: 10 410: 10
Lying on the floor. Bring knees to chest and come close to lockout at top.

3. seated Leg curl: 190: 10 200: 10 210: 9 215: 10

4. Stiff Deads: 215: 8,8,8
Change the foot position every set.

5. Smith Lunges: 175: 8,8,8
One leg at a time, with a deep stretch and really focusing on the front leg with the hamstring glute tie in.

 

[miamiracing]

good workouts man, your delts are fucking strong !!!

 

[PistolPete]

thanks miamiracing! I need them to grow! lol
CHEST/CALVES/ABS Day.

1. Incline Press: 225: 7 230: 5,5,5
Its going up slowly but surely. Really can't ask for anything more, but being consistant and patient.

2. Decling Press: 205: 7,6 210: 6,7
Felt pretty good. My shoulder held up nicely.

3. Machine Fly: 195: 10 210: 8 212.5: 8,7

CALVES
1. Calf raise: 275: 10 280: 10 285: 10

2. Calf raise for outside of calf: 260: 10 265: 10, 10
Toes pointed in.

1. Rope Crunch: 190: 12 197.5: 10,10

2. Leg raises on captains chair: 10: 12, 10, 10

3. Side crunch superset with trunk twist: 3 sets total for 12 on each side

 

[Bulkboy]

great log u got going in here pete, strenght looks solid all over. looking good in that avatar pic as well. keep posting bro

 

[PistolPete]

Thanks Bulkboy I'm definitly going to keep this going! Hope the bulk is going well (no pun intended)

Yesterday was BACK DAY! To start off, I slept terribly the night before, I really don't know why. I only got about 6.5 maybe. I really need my 7.5-8 to perform well. Fortunately, I squeezed out a respectable workout. I try to just forget everything that holds me back like lack of sleep and pretend like it won't affect me. The mind truely is a powerful tool.

1. Deadlifts: 405: 6 415: 4, 5
These were tough, but I got through them. I'm not going to raise the weight too much next time, I really want to make sure I'm contracting all the muscles in my back at the top of the movement.

 

[PistolPete]

2. Underhand BB rows: 225: 8 230: 8,8,8
I was pretty tired here, so I feel like I didn't contract my lower lats as well as I should have.

3. T Bar rows: 145: 9 165: 9 175: 9 180: 9
I don't know why I kept doing 9 reps, but it felt pretty alright haha.

4. Pulldowns: 220: 9 225: 8 230: 8, 8
Felt good. I managed to get quality reps on all sets.

5. Wide grip Chins: BW: 10,9,8
I'm going to add 5lb's next week to increase the intensity.

 

[miamiracing]

thats a solid workout man ! your pulldowns look good