This was a huge day for me in so many ways: the final chest/tris day of my THT 2.0 Refix cycle. My first chance to seriously crack benching 200lbs for reps. My last week to wrap up training before a business trip.
So, needless to say, I was excited! Sadly, I was also still sick. I ended up with one of those colds that lives in your throat (and makes it raw), but just as of Wednesday it turns into a sinus cold and sat behind my nose. Ugh. Still, I was determined to hit the gym.
Once there, I ran into a couple of buddies who have recently taken up MuscleHacking. I'm not sure if they're following the plans 100%, but they at least have the rep range and work invovled down! That also lifted my spirits some.
So, I loaded the bar, warmed up and then set out for what was my last chest day of the cycle. I ended up with 200lbs x 9 reps. And then followed that with 180lbs x 8. Incline bench was another success story, with full progressions there in reps and weight. Finally, pec deck was a standstill but that didn't deter me after what I had already done.
The triceps part of the day was most impressive - rep gains on overhead dumbell extensions (95lbs x 10, 90lbs x 12, 85lbs x 10) and tricep pushdowns (175lbs x 10, 160lbs x 10, 145lbs x 10). An interesting note that shows the progression in my trceps, besides a noticeable change in size over the last 10 weeks, is that my start-out pushdown weight is almost where I was before I started THT 2.0. Obviously my chest work and overhead extensions exhaust the muscle in a way that THT HIT won't. So, to have come that far (from about 140lbs to start at the beginning of the cycle) is quite remarkable indeed.
So, I'm behind. Again. I'll be doing biceps and abs today, possibly some shoulders and hopefully my back tomorrow morning. Once the cycle is done, I'm taking a week off of lifting, followed by a week of HIT-style maintenance lifting (for gains, but only one set of everything) and then a decision on what cycle to start in May.
Have a great weekend folks! I know I will! Oh, by the way. There may be a progress picture update on the progress page. ;)
Adam
Excellent work Adam! You're benching 200 pounds? Jesus, that's like twice what I can bench. You must be the size of a monster by now.
ReplyDeleteThanks Leigh! I hope your return to lifting is going well for you! There's a pic on the progres page. :) Have a great weekend!
ReplyDeleteI am a very recent Musclehacker (THT 3.1) after a year on a different plan that had no losses but no gains. If you don't mind indulging me a couple of questions: I'm gathering from reading through your blog entries, Adam, that you love the program. Do you stick closely to Mark's recommended sets (i.e., 2 sets of this, 3 of that)? And I'm considering purchasing the Arms Blast book. Is it worth it, or am I okay sticking with Mark's regular arm workouts? Thanks a ton for any input.
ReplyDeleteHi Sammy! Thanks for the feedback! I do indeed love doing Mark's programs - the one that worked the most for me thus far was a round of THT 2.0 "Refix", where he changed a few sets and such from the "old" 2.0. I've also done THT HIT and THT Mass, with success under both. I'd recommend that you 1) ensure that your diet is good, and even adopt either MANS or GLAD from Mark's site to start. 2) Ensure that you get enough rest. 3) Ensure that you're NOT doing very much cardio each week, if at all. I do no cardio in the gym and let my occasional sports events handle that. 4) Make sure you log your workouts to ensure that you're constantly progressing.
ReplyDeleteI believe if you follow these steps, you'll progress as you're aiming to. I've purchased the arms blast experiment, but I've yet to take the time to perform the workout. It's VERY intense, I can tell you that much. I'd go for a round of THT Mass or THT 2.0 Refix (10 weeks), eating correctly and all and see how you do. :)
Good luck!
Cool. Thanks a ton. I have already re-configured my logs for 3.1 and started, so I am going to stick with that and maybe after this Volume round (10 weeks) and 10 of HIT/Mass, I might look at the 2.0 Refix. I have a great diet, but do plan on checking out MANS and GLAD, because I think you can never learn too much. And my cardio is mostly brisk walks with my dog.
ReplyDeleteI've bookmarked your blog and I'll follow your progress.