TeenBodybuilding.com - Derek Charlebois - Bulking

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Although your bones are hard, inside they are, in fact, light and spongy. They are about three-fourths water.

I did something to my wrist over the weekend. It hurts when I put pressure down onto it. I could still workout. It only bothered me on a few chest exercises.

By: Derek Charlebois

Bulking - Week #5

NOTICE: This is article #5 of this series. Click HERE for the front page.

I did something to my wrist over the weekend. It hurts when I put pressure down onto it. I could still workout. It only bothered me on a few chest exercises.

Monday, September 30th

Bench Press (2 X 4-6) 225 X 4, 135 X 10
Incline DB press (3 X 4-6) 80 X 4, 3
Machine Press (3 X 4-6) 160 X 8, 6
Incline cable Flies (2 X 8-10) 40 X 12, 10, 8
Dips (2 X Failure) 6, 10 @ 50, 10 @ 100
Leg Raises (3 X Failure)
Ab Machine (3 X 12-15)

I wrapped up my wrist before I started lifting. This helped some, but it still hurt when pressing. So I dropped the weight from 225 to 135 to see what I could do. Incline Cable Flies felt like crap. I won't be doing those again. All in all, this workout sucked!

Tuesday, October 1st

Chin Ups (3 X Failure) 12, 4, 4
Bent Over Row (3 X 4-6) 185 X 5, 5, 4
T-Bar Row (3 X 4-6) 130 X 5, 5, 4
Pull Down (3 X 4-6) 140 X 6, 5, 4
Standing calf (1 X 20, 1 X 6-8) 200 X 30, 300 X 10. 400 X 6
Seated Calf (1 X 20, 1 X 6-8) 90 X 30, 135 X 16, 8
Leg Press Calf (1 X 20, 1 X 6-8) 90 X 50

Wrist didn't bother me at all. My back strength continues to climb. The execution of each other feels great. I love working calves! The burn and pain is what it's all about.

Wednesday, October 2nd

DB Press (3 X 4-6) 75 X 5, 3 65 X 5
Bent Over Cable Lateral (3 X 8-10) 40 X 8, 6 30 X 6
Side Lateral (3 X 4-6) 25 X 19, 8, 6
Upright Row (3 X 4-6) 100 X 9, 6
Shrugs (4 X 4-6) 225 X 6, 6, 6
DB Shrug (2 X 4-6) 105 X 6

I haven't been feeling the trap exercises lately. I'm gonna try a lighter weight to increase my range of motion and number of reps.

Thursday, October 3rd

Barbell Curl * Skull Crusher (4 X 4-6) 125 X 5, 4, 5, 4/125 X 8, 6, 4, 4
Reverse Curl * Reverse Press Down (4 X 4-6) 75 X 6,6,6,6/140 X 6,6,6,4
Tricep Dip 210 X 12,8
Grip Work

This setup continues to work well. I am going to try using the double hammer curl bar for the last two sets of reverse curls to see how it feels.

Friday, October 4th

Squats (2 X 4-6) 275 X 6, 4
Stiff Leg Deadlift (3 X 4-6) 185 X 12, 8, 4
Leg Curl (2 X 4-6) 160 X 8, 6
Leg Press (3 X 4-6) 200 X 12, 6, 6
Leg extensions (2 X 4-6) 140 X 12, 10
Seated Leg Press (2 X 4-6) 210 X 15, 10
Lower back (2 X 10-12) 210 X 15, 12

Squats have not felt right since I started lifting in this gym. My strength on this exercise has dropped and it feels like crap! I'm going to switch to 20 reps squats next week. When I used the 20 rep range for squats, my strength as well as size went up.

Weekly Reflections

This week started off bad because of my hurt wrist. I can never get a break. Some good things do come out of misfortune though. I continue to learn which exercises I like and what rep range works for me. By keeping this journal, it is easy to recall what I liked and what worked.

Measurements

Start Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5

Weight 194 195.5 196 199 201

Waist 33 33 33 33.5 ??

Chest 43 7/8 45 45 1/4 45 1/2 46

Shoulders 49 49 3/4 49 49 3/4 50 1/2

Lats 45 7/8 48 1/4 47 1/2 47 1/4 47 3/8

Neck 17 17 17 17 ??

Biceps unflexed 14 3/8 14 9/16 14 3/4 14 7/8 15 1/4

Biceps flexed 16 16 1/8 16 1/4 16 1/2 16 5/8

Calves 16 3/4 17 17 1/4 17 1/2 17 1/2

Thighs 24 1/2 24 1/2 25 1/4 25 1/4 24 1/4

Weekly Topic

I decided to add a weekly topic to add more flavor to this series. This week's topic: Weight vs Range of Motion.

One aspect of exercise execution that I always stress to range of motion. One reason is, the more a muscle is stretched, the harder it can contract. Time after time I see people throwing 500 lbs. on the leg press, then only moving the stack an inch at most. THAT IS RIDICULOUS! What are they working... their hip flexors maybe. I guess it makes them feel strong, but what's the point if you are not stimulating the muscle you are trying to target. By choosing a weight that you can actually work with, your results will be much better.

There are also the people who choose a weight they can handle, but still limit their ROM. The example I see most often is with barbell curls. The person will curl the bar all the up then only lower the bar half way down. By doing this, you are not getting the stimulation that you could be. It is important to always choose a weight you can handle while still going through the full range of motion of the exercise.

P.S. I will have pics for next week.

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