Natural Al's DC training Journal

[The Squadfather]

You don't feel like you can build a decent physique with minimal use of free  weights?!

i sure as shit couldn't, i'd be 138 pounds if i trained on machines gauranteed.

[thewickedtruth]

i sure as shit couldn't, i'd be 138 pounds if i trained on machines gauranteed.

He mixes it up in his log though. Taking advantage of what he has on hand in the gym that both falls into the DC style of training and works around his injuries and still puts up good weight. I see nothing to harp on him about. But I know where you're coming from. Curling 60lbs on a machine does not equate to a 60lb dumbbell what so ever. It's why the guys that scream about how much they can cable row can't do shit do shit on a barbell or t-bar row. Same with machine leg presses vs plated loaded or hell even squats! Brag about the 1k pounds or more you do on the leg press, then let's see you squat half that or even a 1/3rd of that. Most can't. Gotta mix it up!

[The Squadfather]

He mixes it up in his log though. Taking advantage of what he has on hand in the gym that both falls into the DC style of training and works around his injuries and still puts up good weight. I see nothing to harp on him about. But I know where you're coming from. Curling 60lbs on a machine does not equate to a 60lb dumbbell what so ever. It's why the guys that scream about how much they can cable row can't do shit do shit on a barbell or t-bar row. Same with machine leg presses vs plated loaded or hell even squats! Brag about the 1k pounds or more you do on the leg press, then let's see you squat half that or even a 1/3rd of that. Most can't. Gotta mix it up!

hahahaha, those clowns are a dime a dozen in my gym, young guys walking around with ILS after cable rowing 250, quarter rep leg pressing 8 plates, quarter hack squatting 4 plates per side, etc.

[thewickedtruth]

hahahaha, those clowns are a dime a dozen in my gym, young guys walking around with ILS after cable rowing 250, quarter rep leg pressing 8 plates, quarter hack squatting 4 plates per side, etc.

I'm not understanding these quarter rep trends lately either. All lambs and no lions in most gyms. They just follow the rest of the flock never questions why. Als got his shit figured out though. He's getting stronger and stronger each week regardless of how much of a gain he makes, he's still making them. I think he's not the typical dime a dozen gym goer if that's what you're getting at. Most of those you mentioned don't have a fucking clue.

[natural al]

i sure as shit couldn't, i'd be 138 pounds if i trained on machines gauranteed.

you're an idiot.  Working out is about progressive resistance, doesn't matter if it's a machine or free weights all that matters is if you progress, if you stagnate like 90% of the guys who work out then it don't matter what you do. 

trust me you couldn't wiegh less than 138lbs in you're dreams with the way you eat.

He mixes it up in his log though. Taking advantage of what he has on hand in the gym that both falls into the DC style of training and works around his injuries and still puts up good weight. I see nothing to harp on him about. But I know where you're coming from. Curling 60lbs on a machine does not equate to a 60lb dumbbell what so ever. It's why the guys that scream about how much they can cable row can't do shit do shit on a barbell or t-bar row. Same with machine leg presses vs plated loaded or hell even squats! Brag about the 1k pounds or more you do on the leg press, then let's see you squat half that or even a 1/3rd of that. Most can't. Gotta mix it up!

the thing is I honestly don't care what I lift as long as I lift more than I did last time or do more reps...if I cared I wouldn't say that I did the 25lbs db's for my forearm work yesturday, now next workout if I can't get a decent amount of reps with the 30's then I'll worry.  fuck, take the numbers off the plates for all I care, mark them with letters so I can keep track of what I used and I'll be fine.  Progression is what matters....I dont' ego lift and never have.

[The Squadfather]

you're an idiot.  Working out is about progressive resistance, doesn't matter if it's a machine or free weights all that matters is if you progress, if you stagnate like 90% of the guys who work out then it don't matter what you do. 

trust me you couldn't wiegh less than 138lbs in you're dreams with the way you eat.


the thing is I honestly don't care what I lift as long as I lift more than I did last time or do more reps...if I cared I wouldn't say that I did the 25lbs db's for my forearm work yesturday, now next workout if I can't get a decent amount of reps with the 30's then I'll worry.  fuck, take the numbers off the plates for all I care, mark them with letters so I can keep track of what I used and I'll be fine.  Progression is what matters....I dont' ego lift and never have.

hahahahaha, TOUCHE!!

[natural al]

hahahahaha, TOUCHE!!

all in fun, all in fun.  Realistically if I had someone who I could train with I might do more free weight movements but I think I've condensed everything to the point where I dont' have any "problems" when doing a movement, kicking the 120lbs DB's up into position for inline DB Press' was a "problem" for me cause my left arm dragged for some reason so I dropped it, same with squats...my back just can't handle them...now am I a pussy for not doing them?  Maybe, but sooner or later I'm gonna have to limit myself in what I can do with that movement either subconciously or by choice and it wont' be as effective as it could be...get what I'm saying?

anyway here's what I did today:

Declines-240*27RP...yes it was on a smith, did a 30 second static at the end.

Icarian Shoulder Press-90*24, got more reps than last time-weight stayed the same, did a static with a couple of DB's...kinda like a partial lateral raise and I hold it as long as I can, got 45 seconds with the 35's.

I had to switch up tri movements cause I hit the wall on close grips so I did assisted dips since I'm looking at the high rep range, I used 70lbs of assistance and got 40 reps RP'd, now I know the reps are waaay high but I've never, ever done these so I didn't know where to start...next time I'll use 50lbs, a 20lbs increase and see if I can still get 30ish.

90 second stretches, a few sets of abs and that was it.

[The Squadfather]

all in fun, all in fun.  Realistically if I had someone who I could train with I might do more free weight movements but I think I've condensed everything to the point where I dont' have any "problems" when doing a movement, kicking the 120lbs DB's up into position for inline DB Press' was a "problem" for me cause my left arm dragged for some reason so I dropped it, same with squats...my back just can't handle them...now am I a pussy for not doing them?  Maybe, but sooner or later I'm gonna have to limit myself in what I can do with that movement either subconciously or by choice and it wont' be as effective as it could be...get what I'm saying?

anyway here's what I did today:

Declines-240*27RP...yes it was on a smith, did a 30 second static at the end.

Icarian Shoulder Press-90*24, got more reps than last time-weight stayed the same, did a static with a couple of DB's...kinda like a partial lateral raise and I hold it as long as I can, got 45 seconds with the 35's.

I had to switch up tri movements cause I hit the wall on close grips so I did assisted dips since I'm looking at the high rep range, I used 70lbs of assistance and got 40 reps RP'd, now I know the reps are waaay high but I've never, ever done these so I didn't know where to start...next time I'll use 50lbs, a 20lbs increase and see if I can still get 30ish.

90 second stretches, a few sets of abs and that was it.

hahahha, i hear ya man, it's tough training alone sometimes, you'd be a good training partner in all honesty you seem to take it pretty seriously.

[thewickedtruth]

hahahha, i hear ya man, it's tough training alone sometimes, you'd be a good training partner in all honesty you seem to take it pretty seriously.

I think hell just froze over. 

[natural al]

hahahha, i hear ya man, it's tough training alone sometimes, you'd be a good training partner in all honesty you seem to take it pretty seriously.

I don't know....I haven't trained with anyone in at least 12 years and no one trains DC that I know of where I train, it'd be interesting.  I was thinking last night it might be cool to have someone come with me and just count my reps for me, what I used to do was when i would start a set I'd just start running through random numbers in my head like 26, 45, 98, 69, 42, and sooner or later I'd loose track this way I had no mental limits....you know if you think you can only get 10 reps with a weight chances are you're only gonna get 10 so it'd be neat to do that again but have someone keep track of my reps so I could see if I was progressing.....I don't know maybe that sounds geeky but DC is very focused on rep count so I always have a number in my head.  I'd love to remove that mental block if I could.

[natural al]

legs today, it's hot as fuck and humid as hell...no air conditioning where I train

calfs-toe press-535*12, dc style...25 partials afterwards.

sumo leg press-545*15SS, I did partials afterwards but lost count, went to failure.

leg press-925*6, with 20 partial reps, on my 2nd full rep the weight came down and I honestly didn't think I was gonna get it back up, don't know if it was the heat or what but it felt way heavier than the 1st one for some reason.

I did my widowmaker 270*21, totally failed, thought I was gonna puke but did a set of hanging leg raises anyway....

added 10lbs on calves, hams and got 2 more reps on leg press, added 10lbs to my widowmaker weight, did 60 second stretches for both hamstrings and a 70 second stretch for quads.

[thewickedtruth]

legs today, it's hot as fuck and humid as hell...no air conditioning where I train

calfs-toe press-535*12, dc style...25 partials afterwards.

sumo leg press-545*15SS, I did partials afterwards but lost count, went to failure.

leg press-925*6, with 20 partial reps, on my 2nd full rep the weight came down and I honestly didn't think I was gonna get it back up, don't know if it was the heat or what but it felt way heavier than the 1st one for some reason.

I did my widowmaker 270*21, totally failed, thought I was gonna puke but did a set of hanging leg raises anyway....

added 10lbs on calves, hams and got 2 more reps on leg press, added 10lbs to my widowmaker weight, did 60 second stretches for both hamstrings and a 70 second stretch for quads.

Sounds like someone is moving up a little higher on the totem pole! 

[natural al]

Incline Press-240*27RP, no static I totally failed at 27 reps, kept everything nice and smooth and I really concentrated on my chest, very good set.

PBN-1st time in along time, 135*30RP, 22 second static...on the smith but still really good.

overhead Tri extention with a rope, 50*31RP, just getting used to these but I like em alot.

I did my stretches and a WM for my chest, it's different than anything I've ever done before so I want to see how I like it before I go into specifics.

[thewickedtruth]

240 for 27 reps!? You been slackin buddy!?

[natural al]

240 for 27 reps!? You been slackin buddy!?

rest paused and on a smith machine it's soooo much easier that way.  it's funny cause technically this blast started a few weeks ago but I'm still working the kinks out so I don't know if it's an official blast or not, I'm training hard but not 110% yet

[thewickedtruth]

rest paused and on a smith machine it's soooo much easier that way.  it's funny cause technically this blast started a few weeks ago but I'm still working the kinks out so I don't know if it's an official blast or not, I'm training hard but not 110% yet

Smith or not man, that pump is probably ridiculous! What's holding you back from busting ass?  What are your goals? Strength endurance wise that you can sustain for longer periods of time? Or wanting to move BIG weight? How's that back?

[natural al]

Smith or not man, that pump is probably ridiculous! What's holding you back from busting ass?  What are your goals? Strength endurance wise that you can sustain for longer periods of time? Or wanting to move BIG weight? How's that back?

one at a time:

don't know what's up...I work hard in the gym but since I changed things up I seem to always be wondering "is this working" or stuff like that, not really during my set but afterwards I'm always thinking "did doing 30 reps on this movement really accomplish what I wanted to".  I guess I'm still trying to convince myself that I'm doing what's best.


goals?  I'd like to compete sometime in the future in a natty show, short term goal is to bring up my chest, increase the thickness of my lower lats, bring in my abs and drop a little BF.  I'd also like to shore up my diet which I think I'm on the way to doing.

the term "big weight" is really irrelevent to me, I know it doesn't seem that way sometimes by what I say but if I could look like shawn ray at his best and only bench 225 that would be fine with me, I'm more interested in the end result than walking around knowing I can bench x amount of weight.  I look at heavy training as a means to an end and a tool I have to use to get from point a to point b.  I don't know if that goes againts what DC is all about or not.  When I was doing 295 on the smith incline I wasn't proud of myself, I was more worried if I got the most out of the movement and if what I was doing was best longterm and mostly could I beat it next time.  I hope that makes sense.

my back is my back, it's ok right now but I'm doing legs today and the v-squat awaits so who knows? 

[thewickedtruth]

one at a time:

don't know what's up...I work hard in the gym but since I changed things up I seem to always be wondering "is this working" or stuff like that, not really during my set but afterwards I'm always thinking "did doing 30 reps on this movement really accomplish what I wanted to".  I guess I'm still trying to convince myself that I'm doing what's best.


goals?  I'd like to compete sometime in the future in a natty show, short term goal is to bring up my chest, increase the thickness of my lower lats, bring in my abs and drop a little BF.  I'd also like to shore up my diet which I think I'm on the way to doing.

the term "big weight" is really irrelevent to me, I know it doesn't seem that way sometimes by what I say but if I could look like shawn ray at his best and only bench 225 that would be fine with me, I'm more interested in the end result than walking around knowing I can bench x amount of weight.  I look at heavy training as a means to an end and a tool I have to use to get from point a to point b.  I don't know if that goes againts what DC is all about or not.  When I was doing 295 on the smith incline I wasn't proud of myself, I was more worried if I got the most out of the movement and if what I was doing was best longterm and mostly could I beat it next time.  I hope that makes sense.

my back is my back, it's ok right now but I'm doing legs today and the v-squat awaits so who knows? 

You sound like me. Always trying to figure your shit out. Sounds like you at least know where you want to end up in all this. I applaud! I'm a firm believer that you have to move GOOD weight for a decent rep scheme to grow big and thick. You're still making gains and yous ay you look and feel pretty good so it pretty much answers your question doesn't it.?

[natural al]

You sound like me. Always trying to figure your shit out. Sounds like you at least know where you want to end up in all this. I applaud! I'm a firm believer that you have to move GOOD weight for a decent rep scheme to grow big and thick. You're still making gains and yous ay you look and feel pretty good so it pretty much answers your question doesn't it.?

the general philoshpy of dC is you have to move big weights for a certain rep range and always try to beat it.  I think on alot of movements I'm hitting 30 reps and moving "decent" weights but I always wonder what's best 295*12RP or 245*30RP? that's what I'm struggling with right now.

[thewickedtruth]

the general philoshpy of dC is you have to move big weights for a certain rep range and always try to beat it.  I think on alot of movements I'm hitting 30 reps and moving "decent" weights but I always wonder what's best 295*12RP or 245*30RP? that's what I'm struggling with right now.

You've been doing that high rep shit now for awhile and have constantly wondered if it's working. Why not stop wondering and go for a good month or so doing "heavier" weights between 15-20 reps? It still gives you what most consider HIGH reps but you're moving more iron in the process.

[natural al]

You've been doing that high rep shit now for awhile and have constantly wondered if it's working. Why not stop wondering and go for a good month or so doing "heavier" weights between 15-20 reps? It still gives you what most consider HIGH reps but you're moving more iron in the process.

well I did 12-15 for along time, I just want to change things up.  I guess starting today I'm just gonna put my head down and barrel forward with everything I've got and see what happens...I'm keeping some things like legs pretty damn heavy for lower reps but from this point on I'm going for it ...eye of the tiger baby!!!!

_in my mind I've got apollo creed screaming at rocky "there is no tomorrow" over and over again...lol.

[thewickedtruth]

well I did 12-15 for along time, I just want to change things up.  I guess starting today I'm just gonna put my head down and barrel forward with everything I've got and see what happens...I'm keeping some things like legs pretty damn heavy for lower reps but from this point on I'm going for it ...eye of the tiger baby!!!!

_in my mind I've got apollo creed screaming at rocky "there is no tomorrow" over and over again...lol.

HAHA! Each day you wish you'd have done better is a day you lost and wont' ever get back in the gym bro! Get aggressive!

[natural al]

Legs Baby!!!!!

calves-sled:  380*12, I took I short RP at 10 reps, only about 2 seconds to shake my calves out....did 20 partials at the end.

Hamstrings-Lying Leg Curl:145*28RP, 20 second static.  5lbs increase but I lost one rep

V-Squat-here's where things get nuts, last workout I got 6 reps with 565lbs so I write down in my book that I'm gonna go for 575 and I "hope" I can get 4-6 reps, I set the machine up and I actually lowballed myself by only putting on 570lbs, I guess I pussed out but I took my time and said fuck it let's just go all out..I got 12 f'n reps, thought I was gonna puck and my HR was waay up there but it was awsome the last rep took forever to complete and my legs were shaking like a son of a bitch, I unracked it rested for a few and pounded out 21 reps with 275lbs on the precor leg press, I think I lost 2lbs of sweat...it was hot as fuck but I have great workouts when it's hot.

[thewickedtruth]

Legs Baby!!!!!

calves-sled:  380*12, I took I short RP at 10 reps, only about 2 seconds to shake my calves out....did 20 partials at the end.

Hamstrings-Lying Leg Curl:145*28RP, 20 second static.  5lbs increase but I lost one rep

V-Squat-here's where things get nuts, last workout I got 6 reps with 565lbs so I write down in my book that I'm gonna go for 575 and I "hope" I can get 4-6 reps, I set the machine up and I actually lowballed myself by only putting on 570lbs, I guess I pussed out but I took my time and said fuck it let's just go all out..I got 12 f'n reps, thought I was gonna puck and my HR was waay up there but it was awsome the last rep took forever to complete and my legs were shaking like a son of a bitch, I unracked it rested for a few and pounded out 21 reps with 275lbs on the precor leg press, I think I lost 2lbs of sweat...it was hot as fuck but I have great workouts when it's hot.

now THAT'S what i'm talking about!

[Honour]

I think I lost 2lbs of sweat...it was hot as fuck but I have great workouts when it's hot.

lol it was so cold here today my nuts neally froze in the car on the way to gym.......send some of the heat down under will ya  .

Keep it up mate