# FinalOpus training journal



## FinalOpus (Jan 5, 2022)

Let’s see if I can recall what I did today. First I’ll post some stats.

5’8” 154lbs 12-15% bodyfat (guessing) 36 years old

Today I trained legs.

- 12 minutes on stairmaster
- abs and stretching 

- barbell back squat: warmup, 135, 185lbs 5x5
- front squat: 12 reps for 5 sets. Bar, 10’s, then 20lbs each side (I use this as a glute stability exercise)
- Romanian deadlifts: 12 reps for 5 sets
- Jefferson squats: 12 reps for 4 sets

Onto machines and stuff…

- leg press machine: 
- single leg press 12 reps each side
- superset with straight leg calf raise 20 reps
- 5 sets total

- glute machine: 20 reps, 4 sets
- glute kickback machine: 12 reps, 3 sets each side

- Lying hamstring curl: 20, 20, 15, 12, 10, 8 (drop sets and rest pause til failure) 

- seated calf raise machine: 20 reps for 5 sets
- standing bodyweight calf raises: 20 reps for 5 sets

I skipped anterior tibialis raises because I had nowhere physically to do them

Then I stretched and left the gym without causing a scene, thankfully. I swear this old lady kept glaring at me and I got so triggered but thankfully nothing came of it lol. And I kinda lectured the kids sitting idly on the calf machine, which I didn’t have to do but it did allow me to do seated calf raises. I suppose next time I’ll just let it go if kids are chatting on the seated calf raise machine as it’s not worth the stress.


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## snake (Jan 5, 2022)

Well anyone that posts a workout that starts with legs is good in my book!

You doing that stairmaster as a warm up to just get the blood flowing? I wouldn't want you to tax yourself too much before squats. I get the stretching, I do a lot of it but any reason for the ab work that early in the workout?

You do you but that workout has more sets than I think you need. You pound the squats hard like they need it and the idea of all that other stuff will quickly leave your mind.

Oh watch out for the old ladies in th gym. They can be freaks and will put a hurting on your pp.


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## FinalOpus (Jan 5, 2022)

snake said:


> Well anyone that posts a workout that starts with legs is good in my book!
> 
> You doing that stairmaster as a warm up to just get the blood flowing? I wouldn't want you to tax yourself too much before squats. I get the stretching, I do a lot of it but any reason for the ab work that early in the workout?
> 
> ...


Thanks man I train legs twice a week and I usually put calves first. My calves have come a long way since where I started in the no calves club. 

I agree it is a lot of sets and I am in the gym for up to 2 hours. I think I am still learning and sometimes I feel like I trained til failure but then I’m like “no I can do another set” and so on and so on. 

I think you have a good point about hitting squats heavier. I will try that. I’ve been training this way stated above for a long time so I have gotten comfortable with it but I could see trying going heavier for fewer sets.


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## FinalOpus (Jan 5, 2022)

snake said:


> Well anyone that posts a workout that starts with legs is good in my book!
> 
> You doing that stairmaster as a warm up to just get the blood flowing? I wouldn't want you to tax yourself too much before squats. I get the stretching, I do a lot of it but any reason for the ab work that early in the workout?
> 
> ...


Reason I do abs first is because after my workout I don’t have the energy or motivation to train abs


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## snake (Jan 5, 2022)

FinalOpus said:


> Reason I do abs first is because after my workout I don’t have the energy or motivation to train abs


That's the reason most guys keep them for last so you're onto something there. 

My only concern for you is that you're compromising your core stability. But that may only come into play if your really pushing your limit. Just be safe my man, injuries=setbacks


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## CJ (Jan 5, 2022)

snake said:


> That's the reason most guys keep them for last so you're onto something there.
> 
> My only concern for you is that you're compromising your core stability. But that may only come into play if your really pushing your limit. Just be safe my man, injuries=setbacks


Maybe he should move ab training to a day where he's not squatting? Doing them before chest or whatever isn't an injury risk.


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## snake (Jan 5, 2022)

CJ275 said:


> Maybe he should move ab training to a day where he's not squatting? Doing them before chest or whatever isn't an injury risk.


That's good advice right there. Personally I only do abs once a week but most like to work them more.


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## FinalOpus (Jan 7, 2022)

Yesterday I trained back and biceps in my apartment complex’s gym which was basically pulley machines and dumbbells. Can’t be bothered to record what I did.

Today I trained lower body. Here’s more or less what I did

- 12 minute warmup on stairmaster
- abs and stretching
- Deadlifts: 135, 185, then 225lbs 5x3
- Jefferson squats 65lbs 12x4
- Front squats 65lbs 12x4
- Seated calf raise 35lbs 20x4
- Leg press calf raise 2 plates, 10 straight 10 out 10 in, 4 sets
- Leg press: worked up to around 8 plates, for 15 reps per set
- Leg extensions: 70lbs: 20, 15, 15, 15
- Hamstring curls: 50lbs: 20, 15, 15, 15
- Standing single leg calf raise: 15 per side
- Superset with anterior tibialis raises: 20 reps
- ~4 sets
- Hip adductor machine
- Stretching


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## FinalOpus (Jan 8, 2022)

Today I trained everybody’s favorite: chest! And triceps and shoulders.

12 minute warmup on stairmaster
Abs & stretching

Bench press: warmup, then 185lbs 5x5 - this was still difficult so I’ll stay at this weight a few weeks til it feels easy again
Incline bench press: 95lbs 12x5
Hammer strength chest press: 10x5
Hammer strength shoulder press: 10x5
Chest fly machine: 12x4
Rear delt flys: 15x4
Lateral raise machine: 12x5
Bodyweight dips: 8x4
Bodyweight Pull-ups: 5x4
Tricep cable pushdowns: 12x4


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## CJ (Jan 8, 2022)

FinalOpus said:


> Bench press: warmup, then 185lbs 5x5 - this was still difficult so I’ll stay at this weight a few weeks til it feels easy again


How about going up to 190 next week and pushing yourself?

Couldn't help but notice that you did 23 sets of chest exercises today. Ever think of doing less, but working harder? You also did 45 total sets today, after a certain point work just ceases being productive, and you start doing junk volume.


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## FinalOpus (Jan 8, 2022)

CJ275 said:


> How about going up to 190 next week and pushing yourself?
> 
> Couldn't help but notice that you did 23 sets of chest exercises today. Ever think of doing less, but working harder? You also did 45 total sets today, after a certain point work just ceases being productive, and you start doing junk volume.


I still feel like the sets are working later into my workout though. I feel the burning and chest expanding and can work til failure on many sets. Is it still bad to do so many? I learned to work out this way from watching Kai Greene workout videos and he does tons of sets in this way too, so this is how I learned to do it.


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## CJ (Jan 8, 2022)

FinalOpus said:


> I still feel like the sets are working later into my workout though. I feel the burning and chest expanding and can work til failure on many sets. Is it still bad to do so many? I learned to work out this way from watching Kai Greene workout videos and he does tons of sets in this way too, so this is how I learned to do it.


You should watch some Dorian Yates videos then. 😉


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## FinalOpus (Jan 8, 2022)

CJ275 said:


> You should watch some Dorian Yates videos then. 😉


Seems to me it’s just which bodybuilder we like better eh


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## Yano (Jan 8, 2022)

FinalOpus said:


> Seems to me it’s just which bodybuilder we like better eh


Dorian Yates learned the Heavy Duty system right from the man who invented it Mike Mentzer , he also trained Dorian. No offense but Kai Greene to me is the bodybuilding equivalent of Dan Marino ,, yeah he had some moments but he never won any of the big ones he had to. Placing 2nd more than any one else isn't really a notable prize.


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## FinalOpus (Jan 8, 2022)

Yano said:


> Dorian Yates learned the Heavy Duty system right from the man who invented it Mike Mentzer , he also trained Dorian. No offense but Kai Greene to me is the bodybuilding equivalent of Dan Marino ,, yeah he had some moments but he never won any of the big ones he had to. Placing 2nd more than any one else isn't really a notable prize.


I get that he never won Mr O but he’s my personal favorite bodybuilder. 

Anyway I’ll look into Heavy Duty and the other names you guys mentioned. Thanks for the input!


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## CJ (Jan 8, 2022)

FinalOpus said:


> Seems to me it’s just which bodybuilder we like better eh


It's not even that, it's just that there's more than one way. 

If what you're doing isn't working, maybe try something else. It might be much better for you. Only one way to find out. 

I still stand by..... When in doubt, work HARDER, not longer.


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## FinalOpus (Jan 8, 2022)

CJ275 said:


> It's not even that, it's just that there's more than one way.
> 
> If what you're doing isn't working, maybe try something else. It might be much better for you. Only one way to find out.
> 
> I still stand by..... When in doubt, work HARDER, not longer.


But what I’ve been doing has been working and I do train really hard. I’m open to new information and doing things the best way that work for me as well. But I never said that things aren’t working for me or that I don’t train hard. I train really hard. Yes I do spend a long time in the gym but I put in all my effort and intensity and when I’m done I’m completely exhausted and all my clothes are soaked in sweat. I never said I go in the gym and snooze 😂


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## FinalOpus (Jan 8, 2022)

Doing research now on Heavy Duty and I am starting to understand what you guys were talking about when you say “intensity”. I didn’t know it is a technical term. I did Starting Strength a long time ago, and nowadays I guess I’m doing what you’d call high volume training. I appreciate the tips on checking out different kinds of programming and Heavy Duty is interesting. I will do more research…


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## Send0 (Jan 8, 2022)

FinalOpus said:


> Doing research now on Heavy Duty and I am starting to understand what you guys were talking about when you say “intensity”. I didn’t know it is a technical term. I did Starting Strength a long time ago, and nowadays I guess I’m doing what you’d call high volume training. I appreciate the tips on checking out different kinds of programming and Heavy Duty is interesting. I will do more research…


Yes, intensity refers to a number of techniques used to really stress the muscle being worked.

I'm glad to see you looked into this. So many other new guys to the forum jump straight to being offended and become defensive to the point of not being willing to hear feedback from others.

We have a lot of guys her who are brilliant when it comes to training programming. I'm still learning from everyone. When someone like CJ, Snake, or several others directly gives me feedback, I shut up and start taking notes 😁


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## FinalOpus (Jan 8, 2022)

Send0 said:


> Yes, intensity refers to a number of techniques used to really stress the muscle being worked.
> 
> I'm glad to see you looked into this. So many other new guys to the forum jump to being offended and become defensive to the point of not being willing to hear feedback from others.
> 
> We have a lot of guys her who are brilliant when it comes to training programming. I'm still learning from everyone. When someone like CJ or Snake directly gives me feedback, I shut up and start taking notes 😁


Yeah for sure I really put my foot in my mouth when I realized that “intensity” doesn’t mean “try real hard” lol. Uff. Here to learn thanks you guys 😂


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## CJ (Jan 8, 2022)

FinalOpus said:


> Yeah for sure I really put my foot in my mouth when I realized that “intensity” doesn’t mean “try real hard” lol. Uff. Here to learn thanks you guys 😂


Yeah, intensity is a weird term, means different things to different people. 

I knew what you meant, you meant intensity of effort.


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## FinalOpus (Jan 11, 2022)

Today I was inside most of the day drinking coffee and energy drinks, so I didn’t eat and felt completely terrible. By the time my workout time came around I felt like a complete wreck. I ended up getting some food in me and doing the stair master for an hour. I resolved to quit caffeine and to eat and wake up according to a schedule. I’ll be eating 6 times a day. If I keep just doing “whatever” I end up doing badly, I need a structure.  oh well tomorrows a new day.


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## CJ (Jan 11, 2022)

FinalOpus said:


> Today I was inside most of the day drinking coffee and energy drinks, so I didn’t eat and felt completely terrible. By the time my workout time came around I felt like a complete wreck. I ended up getting some food in me and doing the stair master for an hour. I resolved to quit caffeine and to eat and wake up according to a schedule. I’ll be eating 6 times a day. If I keep just doing “whatever” I end up doing badly, I need a structure.  oh well tomorrows a new day.


That's how the magic happens, you build good habits and follow them consistently over time.


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## FinalOpus (Jan 12, 2022)

I got sick with fever and stuff so no training today.


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## Trendkill (Jan 12, 2022)

with your struggles to gain weight I would cut the volume by 2/3 and increase the intensity. try working out 4 days/week, no more then 75 mins per session. Spend the extra time eating and sleeping. You might be surprised at the results.  Ditch the machines and isolation stuff. Do heavy compound lifts - squats, deads, presses and rows of all types.  keep reps in the 5-10 range. Eat like a starving, I dunno, lion or something.


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## FinalOpus (Jan 12, 2022)

Trained in the outdoor gym with a fever today. Felt good to train but felt light headed and my shoulder was hurting.


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## FinalOpus (Jan 13, 2022)

I did low volume high intensity today. The dumbbells only went up to 60lbs though so I had to make it work. 

Dumbbell incline bench press 60lbs: 3 sets til failure each
Dumbbell rows 60lbs til failure, 50lbs dropset til failure again 
Dumbbell standing presses 35lbs: 1 set til failure, 25lbs drop set til failure
Dumbbell curls 20lbs 1 set til failure
Dumbbell tricep kickbacks 15lbs 2 sets

At this point my shoulder injury started bugging me so I stopped but had a pretty good workout. I can see the merit of lower volume and will continue experimenting with it.


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## CJ (Jan 13, 2022)

FinalOpus said:


> I did low volume high intensity today. The dumbbells only went up to 60lbs though so I had to make it work.
> 
> Dumbbell incline bench press 60lbs: 3 sets til failure each
> Dumbbell rows 60lbs til failure, 50lbs dropset til failure again
> ...


Be careful with the shoulder, listen to your body.


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## FinalOpus (Jan 13, 2022)

CJ said:


> Be careful with the shoulder, listen to your body.


Yeah I’m in PT for it and thanks yeah it sucks to stop but when something starts to give it’s not fun to train any more


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## FinalOpus (Feb 5, 2022)

I got the Rona and took a few weeks off to recover. Back to training. Also back to jiujitsu and now dance classes as well. I started doing the low volume “high intensity” thing as well. My understanding of it is basically warm up and then do one all-out set to failure and then drop set til failure etc etc. I think it works well sometimes. I can see why it’s more efficient than high volume. Once I’ve completely blasted a muscle group it doesn’t make sense to keep doing more exercises and sets. Like I had chest yesterday. I trained til absolute failure on the hammer strength press. But then chest flys didn’t feel too good. Probably because I had already trained til failure. Anyway it’s cool to experiment. I still like bodybuilding the most out of my 3 hobbies. I’ve just been really busy with work too which has been sapping my strength and energy in the gym. Also taking a few weeks off due to the Rona seems to take a few more weeks back in the gym to get back up to speed again. But I’m glad and grateful to be healthy again, to have work, and to be able to train again.


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## FinalOpus (Feb 7, 2022)

Did an outdoor workout with dumbbells and my shoulders are popping out. Idk why but I look bigger when I look at myself in the mirror than in the photos lol


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## FinalOpus (Feb 7, 2022)

I want to ask @Valdosta if I look natty still


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## FinalOpus (Feb 7, 2022)

I used the high contrast filter to give myself a tan.


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## Valdosta (Feb 8, 2022)

FinalOpus said:


> I used the high contrast filter to give myself a tan.


you look like someone that knows what they're doing


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## FinalOpus (Feb 8, 2022)

Valdosta said:


> you look like someone that knows what they're doing


Valdosta speak for “yes you look natty” 😂


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## FinalOpus (Feb 8, 2022)

Had a good leg day last night. I did 215 for 5 reps on squat. I don’t think I’ve ever squatted 225 before but I’m certain that if I had tried I could’ve done it for 3 reps. Next week I will try that.


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## Valdosta (Feb 8, 2022)

FinalOpus said:


> Valdosta speak for “yes you look natty” 😂


nearing peak natty status, u just dont have overblown proportions than make u seem roided. wonder what those traps are gunna look like if you sauce up though. those high ass inserts are gunna make u look like a cartoon character if they blow up lol


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## FinalOpus (Feb 9, 2022)

I’m up to 157.9lbs in the morning, looking bigger and growing. I’m feeling good about my progress and feel like I’m breaking a plateau. Thank you guys for encouraging me to eat more and lift heavier, even though it sounds obvious I was too focused on staying lean and keeping my abs and shit. I still have my abs but I’m getting bigger. I want to get up to 170 by the end of the year so that I don’t bulk too fast and then next year I can get up to 180 before cutting back down.


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## FinalOpus (Nov 16, 2022)

I stopped training and gained weight - bad weight. Lol. I’m back now training. What’s up guys - good to be back. I spent a lot of time job hunting because I needed a new job. Finally got a new job just a month ago. Then started working out again. I was tunnel visioning into job hunting and then work and didn’t work out consistently for a long time. Definitely gained some fat. But I’m all signed up for the gym and jiujitsu again and now I’m going to the gym consistently after work. Although just on a streak of two days so far but there’s nothing stopping me from training anymore. I remember you guys giving me advice to look into Dorian’s style of training with lower volume. I might do some blended program with a lower volume and high weight plus a higher volume with low weight because I like how it conditions my endurance for jiujitsu. Anyway just wanted to post that I’m back I’ll be watching and reading threads again.


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## CohibaRobusto (Nov 16, 2022)

Welcome back man!


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