EME's 2006 Log - The Road to Big, Ripped, and Shredded - Page 2

Lift · 04-10-2006, 03:16 PM

Best of luck EME im looking foward to seeing your progress..BUT...I cant believe u cut up an ironmass t!!! How could you???

**EME** · 04-10-2006, 03:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lift

Best of luck EME im looking foward to seeing your progress..BUT...I cant believe u cut up an ironmass t!!! How could you???

LOL. I only make my favortie shirts into workout shirts. :yes:

- EME

**Grunt76** · 04-10-2006, 04:43 PM

Just saw this thread EME. Looking very good, considering. I have no doubt whatsoever you'll come back stronger and better than ever. Your thighs are totally awesome, unsurprisingly. Now your dream can come true: You can become on of those "I don't train legs" guys... :crazy1:

**Trick D** · 04-10-2006, 05:12 PM

BTW, love the iron mass shirt!

**Fitnfirm** · 04-10-2006, 06:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trick D

BTW, love the iron mass shirt!

Ya, I want a wife beater with an iron mass logo!!!!!! Hear that admin

**EME** · 04-11-2006, 11:37 AM

Sunday night was shoulders and I made some good progress.

My shoulders really took a hit after the surgery. I think I actually lost as much or more mass there as I did on my chest.

Here was the workout.

Life Fitness Shoulder Press
4 Sets, 10-12 Reps - I'm up to about 60-70 pounds on this, which is a long way from the 15 lbs I started with 4 weeks ago.

Seated Dumbbell Press
3 Sets, 10 -12 Reps - I did this with the 20's this week, which is double what I used last week. I attempted the 20's last week and it was too much. This week I knocked out 3 sets of about 10.

SuperSet
Front Lateral Raises
Side Lateral Raises
Bent Over Rear Lateral Raises

I do each exercise for 8-12, then immediately go to the next exercise. I take a 2 minute break when I've finished all three and then do them again for a total of three SuperSets. This is a killer.

I did these with the 10's. I attempted the 20's, but it was just too much right now on the Front Lateral Raises.

Barbell Shrugs on the Smith Machine

This is a new exercise that I added in for the first time since the surgery.
I normally do these in the power rack with a regular barbell, but I wanted to be carefull at first so I decided to do them on the Smith Machine for safety.

I did three sets with 45's on each side for about 8-10 reps. It felt really good to do these. I plan to be doing these with the barbell again in a few weeks, but it's best to be safe for now.

That's it, overall a very good shoulder workout, although the weights are very light for now. Every day my shoulders are filling back out. It's amazing how fast your body can respond to training.

On another note, yesterday was my 16 week post surgery visit with my Orthopedic Surgeon.

He said he could not be happier with my progress and that everything looks great. He said 6 more weeks of machines only for chest and then, if all continues to go well, he's going to clear me to start free weight bench presses, dumbbell presses, etc!

Finally, cutting is going well.
I'm actually down to 175 this morning. That's down 15 pounds since March 7th, and I'm actually visibly gaining muscle. I'm down 2 inches on my waist in 4 weeks!!

I'm going to continue to cut until I reach the high single digits in bodyfat, and then I'll start cleanly putting on the mass again. By the time I reach my bodyfat goals I should be close to ready to begin training heavier, and that will definitely help when it comes to adding size again.

That's all for now! Thanks for following along! :nosthumbs

- EME

**skelooth** · 04-11-2006, 11:50 AM

I actually like shrugging on the smith once in a while as opposed to the rack. With the smith for some reason my grip is just a little bit better and I can get a pretty good squeeze at the top while going heavy. Obviously free weights are always superior!

I wouldn't be surprised if you're going to lose fat and gain muscle at the same time right now bro. This is that periodization thing that powerman advocates all the time. It has been a long time since you were doing these lifts!

It's comforting to know that a lot of my workouts look similar to yours in volume and order. :bigthumbu (you're the competitor, i'm the newb)

Vegeto · 04-11-2006, 07:00 PM

No more pink dumbells for you huh? :gay:

I can't believe you are using 20's for overhead presses now when it seems like just a month or so ago you were happy to get full range of motion with the theropist. Maybe it was a little longer than that, but I am amazed anyway.

**EME** · 04-11-2006, 10:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vegeto

No more pink dumbells for you huh? :gay:

I can't believe you are using 20's for overhead presses now when it seems like just a month or so ago you were happy to get full range of motion with the theropist. Maybe it was a little longer than that, but I am amazed anyway.

It actually was just a little over a month ago.... end of February.
I can't believe it's been 16 weeks already since my surgery!

Wow... time flies.

- EME

**Viperspit** · 04-11-2006, 10:49 PM

great update on the progress EME, sounds like things are really starting to pick up. I've been down the shoulder surgery road, it's not fun.

Question for you on the Lateral supersets. Do you consistently use one set of dumbells for all (3) exercises even when your 100%? What I mean is that typicall you can do more with front laterals than sides, etc. That's one routine that confused me as I would typically use different dumbell ranges for all (3) exercises done individually (not supersetted). But I'd look like a jerk with (3) sets of DB's in front of me, being a weight hog

thanks for your time and keep up the speedy road to recovery. Congrats on the fat loss also, damn, that's great news :nosthumbs

**EME** · 04-11-2006, 11:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Viperspit

great update on the progress EME, sounds like things are really starting to pick up. I've been down the shoulder surgery road, it's not fun.

Question for you on the Lateral supersets. Do you consistently use one set of dumbells for all (3) exercises even when your 100%? What I mean is that typicall you can do more with front laterals than sides, etc. That's one routine that confused me as I would typically use different dumbell ranges for all (3) exercises done individually (not supersetted). But I'd look like a jerk with (3) sets of DB's in front of me, being a weight hog

thanks for your time and keep up the speedy road to recovery. Congrats on the fat loss also, damn, that's great news :nosthumbs

Thanks VS!

I use the same weight for all three. If you can do more on one.... use the weight that is the lowest of all three for all three exercises, concentrate on your form, and really burn them out on the exercises where you are a little stronger.

Eventually, the weaker exercise will catch up and you'll be able to do them all with the same weight.

Remember, that superset is really not meant to be done with heavy weight. I use about a 25 lb dumbbell ( normally, that is... now I'm using 10's ) and really concentrate on good form.. no swinging... contractions... etc....

- EME

**Viperspit** · 04-11-2006, 11:55 PM

thanks for the quick response. I'll be burining them tomorrow night

**EME** · 04-12-2006, 04:08 AM

Alrighty then... more nice progress.

Back and Bi's tonight.

Here was the workout.

Wide Grip pulldowns
4 Sets, 10-12 reps each.

I'm up to 75 on this now. Two workouts ago I was using about 35.
This is one that really scared me at first.
Fully extending my arms up over my head with that tendon fully extended, and then pulling down with it felt very scary the first time.

But it's become stronger and stronger each workout, and tonight I was knocking them out with 75. I'll move up at least another plate next week.

Seated Rows
4 Sets, 10-12 reps each

This just felt good. I was using about 75 on this also. This one was similar to pulldowns in the beginning, but it feels very strong now. No pain or discomfort at all on these. I'll be moving up next time on these also.

That's about all I can do for back at the moment.
I don't feel confident enough to do bent over rows, or T-Bars, or Chins, or even Dumbbell rows yet. That will come, but for now these two exercises are it. I get a good Back workout, all things considered.

Now.... was a momentous occassion.

My first free weight barbell exercise with the Olympic Bar since my tear.

Standing Barbell Curls
4 Sets, 10-12 reps

I did the first set with just the Olympic bar, and suprisingly, it was super easy. No pain at all.

So, I put 10's on both sides and did 3 more sets of about 10-12 reps each.
It was actually very easy. I could have done more weight, but I didn't want to push it. It's amazing how I can feel that joint area where the pec ties into the shoulder now. Anytime I hold weight in that arm, even a gallon of milk, I can feel the pec insertion point on my bone.

I was a bit nervous about doing a free weight barbell exercise, but I had no problems at all with this.

Finally, I finished up Bi's with

Hammer Strength Preacher curls
4 Sets, 10-12 Reps

I'm using a 25 lb plate for this now. I did 4 sets of about 10 easily. I'll be taking this up next week too.

Treadmill 30 Mins - 15 degree incline

I finished off my training day with 30 mins fast walking ( never running or jogging 0 on the treadmill at a 15 degree incline. I was up to 3.6 mph by
the 10 minute mark and stayed there for the remaining 20 minutes.

For those that run on the treadmill, 3.6 may not sound like much... but when you are big striding, but still walking, and doing the 15 degree incline... it's a killer hamstring worker.

Every workout a new milestone.

One final note.... even though I didn't do shoulders tonight, my shoulders were pumped up like they haven't been since before the tear. I always get a bit of an overall upper pump from pulldowns... but my shoulders actually surprised me tonight. The big brachial arteries were out in full force in both delts.... I even have spiderweb veins visible again all across my front delts and chest...... It's been a while since I've seen them, and it was nice to welcome them back.

Until next time!

- EME

**EME** · 04-15-2006, 04:40 AM

Workout tonight was Chest and Triceps plus Cardio

Life Fitness Seated Chest Press
4 sets, 8 - 12 reps

Life Fitness Seated Incline Press
4 sets, 8 -12 reps

Life Fitness Pec Dec
4 sets, 8-12 reps

Standing Low Cable Flyes ( Similar to a cable crossover, with no "crossover" )
4 sets, 8-12 reps

Cable Press Downs ( V handle )
4 sets, 8-12 reps

Life Fitness seated Tricep Extension
4 sets, 8-12 reps

30 Minutes Treadmill, 15 degree incline, 3.0 - 3.6 MPH Fast Walk

Notes:

Continuing to make good progress on the chest exercises. No weight increases this time, but continuing to feel stronger and more stable on the exercises.

There is always some apprehension on the pressing movements, even with light weight. At the low point of the movement when my elbows are at their lowest point and the tendon is being stretched the most, I definitely feel it.
:scared1:

The Pec Dec and the Cable Flyes feel great though. Funny, I was more worried about them when I first started doing them, but somehow the side extension movement actually feels really good on my chest.

The tricep exercises I'm doing now are easy and don't cause me any problem. I'm really looking forward to getting back to doing some real mass building tricep exercises, but it's going to be a while before I can do any of my standards......Close Grip Bench, Dips, Lying Tricep Extensions, etc....

I may add in light kickbacks next workout.

Cardio was good. I can now do 30 mins on the 15 degree incline without really feeling winded at all. I get a good workout, but I don't feel that heart pounding, oh crap I'm going to keel over, feeling I felt about half way through when I first started back on the cardio a couple weeks ago.

Now, I just jam right through it with my headphones on. I could probably step it back up to 45 minutes again now like I did during contest prep last summer. But, that isn't really needed right now. As long as the fat continues to fall off at the rate it's going now, I'll stay at 30 mins.

I have several people mention in the gym tonight how much better I'm looking. Funny, they said Wow, you look way better than the last time I saw you in..

That made me think...man, did I look that bad?

Seriously though, I know what they meant. Every day is getting a little better and the changes are coming pretty fast now.

I still have a long way to go to get my upper body mass back, but my veins are busting out more and striations are visible in my shoulders again during training. Everything is MUCH smaller than before.. but it's coming along.

I get lots of stares at my scar. As I mentioned in FnF's thread, I'm actually starting to like it now. It's kind of like a medal to me, a permanent reminder of my battle with the iron.

- EME

animalfan · 04-15-2006, 05:30 AM

hey mike, happy to hear you are doing so great! i'd be proud of that scar too, especially since you're not letting the injury keep you from getting back so quickly.

anyways, i hope your progress keeps up at this rate!

lol, i just noticed this smilie: :wedgie:, it's awesome!

**Sixpack** · 04-15-2006, 02:15 PM

Doing great Mike keep it up big man

04-10-2006, 03:16 PM	#31
Lift I Love IronMass.Com Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 825 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 11	Best of luck EME im looking foward to seeing your progress..BUT...I cant believe u cut up an ironmass t!!! How could you??? __________________ MrLiftALot@hotmail.com "King Kong Ain't Got Sh*t On Me..."

04-11-2006, 11:37 AM	#36
EME Super Moderator Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 3,265 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 51	Sunday night was shoulders and I made some good progress. My shoulders really took a hit after the surgery. I think I actually lost as much or more mass there as I did on my chest. Here was the workout. Life Fitness Shoulder Press 4 Sets, 10-12 Reps - I'm up to about 60-70 pounds on this, which is a long way from the 15 lbs I started with 4 weeks ago. Seated Dumbbell Press 3 Sets, 10 -12 Reps - I did this with the 20's this week, which is double what I used last week. I attempted the 20's last week and it was too much. This week I knocked out 3 sets of about 10. SuperSet Front Lateral Raises Side Lateral Raises Bent Over Rear Lateral Raises I do each exercise for 8-12, then immediately go to the next exercise. I take a 2 minute break when I've finished all three and then do them again for a total of three SuperSets. This is a killer. I did these with the 10's. I attempted the 20's, but it was just too much right now on the Front Lateral Raises. Barbell Shrugs on the Smith Machine This is a new exercise that I added in for the first time since the surgery. I normally do these in the power rack with a regular barbell, but I wanted to be carefull at first so I decided to do them on the Smith Machine for safety. I did three sets with 45's on each side for about 8-10 reps. It felt really good to do these. I plan to be doing these with the barbell again in a few weeks, but it's best to be safe for now. That's it, overall a very good shoulder workout, although the weights are very light for now. Every day my shoulders are filling back out. It's amazing how fast your body can respond to training. On another note, yesterday was my 16 week post surgery visit with my Orthopedic Surgeon. He said he could not be happier with my progress and that everything looks great. He said 6 more weeks of machines only for chest and then, if all continues to go well, he's going to clear me to start free weight bench presses, dumbbell presses, etc! Finally, cutting is going well. I'm actually down to 175 this morning. That's down 15 pounds since March 7th, and I'm actually visibly gaining muscle. I'm down 2 inches on my waist in 4 weeks!! I'm going to continue to cut until I reach the high single digits in bodyfat, and then I'll start cleanly putting on the mass again. By the time I reach my bodyfat goals I should be close to ready to begin training heavier, and that will definitely help when it comes to adding size again. That's all for now! Thanks for following along! :nosthumbs - EME __________________ PhysiqueFXonline - Online Nutrition and Training with Michael and Kendra Elias: www.MichaelandKendra.com Team Molecular Nutrition Creative Director FAME Media Group / World Natural Sports Organization Editor-In-Chief FAME Magazine www.FAMEWorldTour.com Last edited by EME : 04-11-2006 at 12:26 PM.

04-11-2006, 11:50 AM	#37
skelooth eh heh heh Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Behind you Posts: 7,203 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 158	I actually like shrugging on the smith once in a while as opposed to the rack. With the smith for some reason my grip is just a little bit better and I can get a pretty good squeeze at the top while going heavy. Obviously free weights are always superior! I wouldn't be surprised if you're going to lose fat and gain muscle at the same time right now bro. This is that periodization thing that powerman advocates all the time. It has been a long time since you were doing these lifts! It's comforting to know that a lot of my workouts look similar to yours in volume and order. :bigthumbu (you're the competitor, i'm the newb) __________________ http://loseover100lbs.com/misc-f7.html

04-11-2006, 07:00 PM	#38
Vegeto blameless sinner Join Date: May 2005 Location: Minnesota Posts: 803 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 15	No more pink dumbells for you huh? :gay: I can't believe you are using 20's for overhead presses now when it seems like just a month or so ago you were happy to get full range of motion with the theropist. Maybe it was a little longer than that, but I am amazed anyway. __________________ ______________ ________________ ......Busy Training...... __________________ ________________ __________________

04-12-2006, 04:08 AM	#43
EME Super Moderator Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 3,265 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 51	Alrighty then... more nice progress. Back and Bi's tonight. Here was the workout. Wide Grip pulldowns 4 Sets, 10-12 reps each. I'm up to 75 on this now. Two workouts ago I was using about 35. This is one that really scared me at first. Fully extending my arms up over my head with that tendon fully extended, and then pulling down with it felt very scary the first time. But it's become stronger and stronger each workout, and tonight I was knocking them out with 75. I'll move up at least another plate next week. Seated Rows 4 Sets, 10-12 reps each This just felt good. I was using about 75 on this also. This one was similar to pulldowns in the beginning, but it feels very strong now. No pain or discomfort at all on these. I'll be moving up next time on these also. That's about all I can do for back at the moment. I don't feel confident enough to do bent over rows, or T-Bars, or Chins, or even Dumbbell rows yet. That will come, but for now these two exercises are it. I get a good Back workout, all things considered. Now.... was a momentous occassion. My first free weight barbell exercise with the Olympic Bar since my tear. Standing Barbell Curls 4 Sets, 10-12 reps I did the first set with just the Olympic bar, and suprisingly, it was super easy. No pain at all. So, I put 10's on both sides and did 3 more sets of about 10-12 reps each. It was actually very easy. I could have done more weight, but I didn't want to push it. It's amazing how I can feel that joint area where the pec ties into the shoulder now. Anytime I hold weight in that arm, even a gallon of milk, I can feel the pec insertion point on my bone. I was a bit nervous about doing a free weight barbell exercise, but I had no problems at all with this. Finally, I finished up Bi's with Hammer Strength Preacher curls 4 Sets, 10-12 Reps I'm using a 25 lb plate for this now. I did 4 sets of about 10 easily. I'll be taking this up next week too. Treadmill 30 Mins - 15 degree incline I finished off my training day with 30 mins fast walking ( never running or jogging 0 on the treadmill at a 15 degree incline. I was up to 3.6 mph by the 10 minute mark and stayed there for the remaining 20 minutes. For those that run on the treadmill, 3.6 may not sound like much... but when you are big striding, but still walking, and doing the 15 degree incline... it's a killer hamstring worker. Every workout a new milestone. One final note.... even though I didn't do shoulders tonight, my shoulders were pumped up like they haven't been since before the tear. I always get a bit of an overall upper pump from pulldowns... but my shoulders actually surprised me tonight. The big brachial arteries were out in full force in both delts.... I even have spiderweb veins visible again all across my front delts and chest...... It's been a while since I've seen them, and it was nice to welcome them back. Until next time! - EME __________________ PhysiqueFXonline - Online Nutrition and Training with Michael and Kendra Elias: www.MichaelandKendra.com Team Molecular Nutrition Creative Director FAME Media Group / World Natural Sports Organization Editor-In-Chief FAME Magazine www.FAMEWorldTour.com

04-11-2006, 10:49 PM	#40
Viperspit Incognito Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 680 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 14	great update on the progress EME, sounds like things are really starting to pick up. I've been down the shoulder surgery road, it's not fun. Question for you on the Lateral supersets. Do you consistently use one set of dumbells for all (3) exercises even when your 100%? What I mean is that typicall you can do more with front laterals than sides, etc. That's one routine that confused me as I would typically use different dumbell ranges for all (3) exercises done individually (not supersetted). But I'd look like a jerk with (3) sets of DB's in front of me, being a weight hog thanks for your time and keep up the speedy road to recovery. Congrats on the fat loss also, damn, that's great news :nosthumbs

04-11-2006, 11:55 PM	#42
Viperspit Incognito Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 680 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 14	thanks for the quick response. I'll be burining them tomorrow night

04-15-2006, 04:40 AM	#44
EME Super Moderator Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 3,265 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 51	Workout tonight was Chest and Triceps plus Cardio Life Fitness Seated Chest Press 4 sets, 8 - 12 reps Life Fitness Seated Incline Press 4 sets, 8 -12 reps Life Fitness Pec Dec 4 sets, 8-12 reps Standing Low Cable Flyes ( Similar to a cable crossover, with no "crossover" ) 4 sets, 8-12 reps Cable Press Downs ( V handle ) 4 sets, 8-12 reps Life Fitness seated Tricep Extension 4 sets, 8-12 reps 30 Minutes Treadmill, 15 degree incline, 3.0 - 3.6 MPH Fast Walk Notes: Continuing to make good progress on the chest exercises. No weight increases this time, but continuing to feel stronger and more stable on the exercises. There is always some apprehension on the pressing movements, even with light weight. At the low point of the movement when my elbows are at their lowest point and the tendon is being stretched the most, I definitely feel it. :scared1: The Pec Dec and the Cable Flyes feel great though. Funny, I was more worried about them when I first started doing them, but somehow the side extension movement actually feels really good on my chest. The tricep exercises I'm doing now are easy and don't cause me any problem. I'm really looking forward to getting back to doing some real mass building tricep exercises, but it's going to be a while before I can do any of my standards......Close Grip Bench, Dips, Lying Tricep Extensions, etc.... I may add in light kickbacks next workout. Cardio was good. I can now do 30 mins on the 15 degree incline without really feeling winded at all. I get a good workout, but I don't feel that heart pounding, oh crap I'm going to keel over, feeling I felt about half way through when I first started back on the cardio a couple weeks ago. Now, I just jam right through it with my headphones on. I could probably step it back up to 45 minutes again now like I did during contest prep last summer. But, that isn't really needed right now. As long as the fat continues to fall off at the rate it's going now, I'll stay at 30 mins. I have several people mention in the gym tonight how much better I'm looking. Funny, they said Wow, you look way better than the last time I saw you in.. That made me think...man, did I look that bad? Seriously though, I know what they meant. Every day is getting a little better and the changes are coming pretty fast now. I still have a long way to go to get my upper body mass back, but my veins are busting out more and striations are visible in my shoulders again during training. Everything is MUCH smaller than before.. but it's coming along. I get lots of stares at my scar. As I mentioned in FnF's thread, I'm actually starting to like it now. It's kind of like a medal to me, a permanent reminder of my battle with the iron. - EME __________________ PhysiqueFXonline - Online Nutrition and Training with Michael and Kendra Elias: www.MichaelandKendra.com Team Molecular Nutrition Creative Director FAME Media Group / World Natural Sports Organization Editor-In-Chief FAME Magazine www.FAMEWorldTour.com

04-15-2006, 05:30 AM	#45
animalfan Pro Stature Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: michigan Posts: 217 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 14	hey mike, happy to hear you are doing so great! i'd be proud of that scar too, especially since you're not letting the injury keep you from getting back so quickly. anyways, i hope your progress keeps up at this rate! lol, i just noticed this smilie: :wedgie:, it's awesome!

04-15-2006, 02:15 PM	#46
Sixpack Optimum Sponsored athlete Join Date: May 2005 Location: Arizona Posts: 867 Recipes: 0 Rep Power: 15	Doing great Mike keep it up big man __________________ ["Tough Times Don't Last But Tough People Do" My Pops RIP http://www.optimumnutrition.com/ "Fueling your desire for success" www.rippedacadamy.com Mod-massmonsterz.com ISSA certified