Rodja's "Block"buster Log

[Rulk]

Sounding like some hard and brutal work. Not for the weak of heart for sure.

[Rodja]

One thing that I added this week, which I probably should have been doing for awhile now, is to start having an intra-session drink of 1 scoop of Gatorade powder along with either 15g BCAA or 15g Peptopro. Recovery has already started feeling better as a result of this (shocking...) and I may increase the amounts slightly as the intensity of the blocks increases. Probably won't get back into gear until the realization phase, which is over a month away, but will be using briefs and a Titan Ram for the main lifts for support mainly to keep my hips and now my pec healthy.

PED right now is very basic: 500mg E. I did find a KILLER deal on some 1T cyp and will be adding that in once I feel I've recovered from this strain and the focus right now is to really increase my weight from about 210 to 225-230 by March. I might lower to E dose to 375mg/week once I add in the 1T into the mix (500mg/week) to lessen the amount of oil I need to shoot each week as I am starting to get some scar tissue buildup in my glutes and thighs. What I will NOT be adding into the mix until I am 4-6 weeks out from a meet is any orals. Got back some slightly alarming LFTs and also noticed that I was getting something similar to a hiccup, but it they got to the point where it felt like a crazy spasm in the area to where it would interfere with not only my ability to stay tight while lifting, but fucked up my digestion and sleep. Moral of the story: although the liver is resilient and can heal itself, don't do anything stupid. Stick to pinning except for very short periods of time 1-2x/year.

[Rodja]

11/23

Accumulation Week 2, Day 3

Neutral Pullups
BWx8x3
BW+25x6
BW+25x5
35 reps

Tate Press/Pressdowns (w/lat pulldown bar)
30x15x3/70x15x3
90 reps

T-Bar Rows
135x12x4
48 reps

DB Curls
40x12
45x12x3
48 reps

W/Band Pullaparts (mini)
17.5x8/12
17.5x8/12
17.5x8/12
60 reps

The plan today was floor press with my ring finger on the ring, but my pec was not ready. I attempted to give it a go and did a very thorough warmup on the pec/delt tie-in and then did a few sets of 125, which felt good, but 185 hurt. Instead of being stupid, I cut my losses and just go on with what I had planned for the day and subbed in the pressing volume with extra rowing volume.

[Eden]

One thing that I added this week, which I probably should have been doing for awhile now, is to start having an intra-session drink of 1 scoop of Gatorade powder along with either 15g BCAA or 15g Peptopro. Recovery has already started feeling better as a result of this (shocking...) and I may increase the amounts slightly as the intensity of the blocks increases. Probably won't get back into gear until the realization phase, which is over a month away, but will be using briefs and a Titan Ram for the main lifts for support mainly to keep my hips and now my pec healthy.

PED right now is very basic: 500mg E. I did find a KILLER deal on some 1T cyp and will be adding that in once I feel I've recovered from this strain and the focus right now is to really increase my weight from about 210 to 225-230 by March. I might lower to E dose to 375mg/week once I add in the 1T into the mix (500mg/week) to lessen the amount of oil I need to shoot each week as I am starting to get some scar tissue buildup in my glutes and thighs. What I will NOT be adding into the mix until I am 4-6 weeks out from a meet is any orals. Got back some slightly alarming LFTs and also noticed that I was getting something similar to a hiccup, but it they got to the point where it felt like a crazy spasm in the area to where it would interfere with not only my ability to stay tight while lifting, but fucked up my digestion and sleep. Moral of the story: although the liver is resilient and can heal itself, don't do anything stupid. Stick to pinning except for very short periods of time 1-2x/year.

Try Xtend and Gatorade during workouts, that's what I've done, and I find it works wonders for keeping you going during sets.

[Rodja]

Try Xtend and Gatorade during workouts, that's what I've done, and I find it works wonders for keeping you going during sets.

That's essentially what I added.

[Rodja]

11/25

Accumulation Week 2, Day 4

Squat
405x4
455x3x5
19 reps

Sumo Deads
405x5x4
20 reps

Hanging Leg Raises
48 reps

DB Shrugs
90x20x2
100x15
55 reps

Got in some really good work on this day. Went at a slower pace than usual because we had a big group with a couple of guys going full gear. Finally working out a kink in my technique that was messing up the last third of the my squat as I figured out I was driving my hips too far forward and it was throwing me off balance while returning the weigh to the hooks.

[Rodja]

11/27

Accumulation Week 3, Day 1

CG Incline
205x5x2
225x5
225x6
21 reps

DB Row
150x20 PR

OHP
135x6x3
18 reps

Facepulls/Rope Pressdowns
60x20/60x15
60x20/60x15
60x16/60x12
56 reps/42 reps

I was very, very diligent with warming up on this session even if it meant taking away some of my numbers. I usually don't take 10-20lb jumps while warming up, but I did just that to make sure the pec had plenty of bloodflow and was nice and warm. I usually only do 4-5 sets before I start everything , but I did 8 sets before I put 205 on the bar (bar, 95, 105, 135x2, 155, 165, 185) with 4-6 reps on each set. Once I got going, though, everything went very well. The bar was moving very fast and I didn't take any of my sets to failure to stay within my goals for the day. I did notice a slight dip in my lockout strength on OHP, which I attribute to my triceps being fatigued from the CG incline, but I anticipated something like that would happen and I also lightened my pressdown weigh to make sure to get a ton of bloodflow into the area and really stretch the muscle.

[Rodja]

11/28

Accumulation Week 3, Day 2 (w/ suit bottoms)

Speed Pulls (+120# chain)
345x2x10
20 reps

Cambered Box Squats (14")
315x5x4
20 reps

Hypers
BWx15
BWx15 (1 red band)
BWx15x2 (2 red bands)
60 reps

Ab Wheel
BWx10x5
50 reps

I am fairly confident that I have hit the overreaching phase as my power on speed pulls was not where it usually is. It is definitely not from a lack of food as I have increased my calories by 500-1000 per day to try to add some mass. Starting to notice some kinks and soreness in my back, hips, and delts as well even while using my suit. The plan for Friday is floor press, which I supposed to do last week, but couldn't and Sunday is still up in the air. I might do SSB box squats to a higher box, but that isn't set. One thing I will not be doing is pulling with a DL bar for awhile as my hands are killing me from the extra pulling volume that I've been doing for the past three weeks.

[h2s]

Everytime I read your logs, I am amazed at the understanding and application of the physics behind the body/exercise that you incorporate into every workout. Good stuff.

[Rodja]

Everytime I read your logs, I am amazed at the understanding and application of the physics behind the body/exercise that you incorporate into every workout. Good stuff.

I try to make my logs more than just documentation of reps, sets, and lifts, which is why I usually include a decent amount of commentary to each session.