Entry #241
Been a lack of updates due to my internet connection being off and on
all this week. My lower back is still feeling it from deadlifts from
the prior week, so I took lifting off today for another day of
recovery. The load was an unprecedented amount of weight for me last
week and it feels like it's taking longer to recuperate.

Entry #240
Deadlifts today were at 365 lbs for singles, although I did it twice on
the first set. I wanted to do an even 405 lbs with four plates on each
side, but I don't want to go faster than what my body can cope with.
I'm taking it in slowly.
Weight is more or less the same, in the 205 range. Must make sure not to slack off.
I'm really hoping to get in the boxing gym tomorrow.

Entry #239
Was my birthday today, so I decided to do something special: go to the
gym. I was repping 345lbs on deadlifts when, sure enough, my mouth
started bleeding. At least I finished all my sets before it happened.
It felt like my gums had popped. Damn, I'll be paying for that later.
Last two weightgainer cases before I start cutting. That makes it about 2 weeks.

Entry #238
More bodybuilding stuff today. Real basic. I'm going for heavy deadlifts tomorrow to make up for it.
Glutamine is disgusting. More powders to stuff down my throat. Joy. Anyways, here's my bedtime stack:
2 1/2 scoops of casein powder with 16 oz. milk
wheat bagel
three tablespoons of flax seed oil
5g of glutamine

Entry #237
Today was just some bicep curls and various forearm exercises. Got a good pump off it.
Started taking the supplement glutamine. My cabinets are stacked with supplement powders.
Still haven't taken any pain medication for my teeth (I didn't even
bother picking up the prescription anesthetic that the dentist
prescribed for me). Everything's fine. Seriously, I've had more painful
leg days. Looks like squats are on for tomorrow. I think I can resume
strength training now.

Entry #236
I just attempted a set of push-ups, and sure enough, my mouth was
bloody by the tenth rep. The involuntary tension that the jaw is placed
under is what's causing the problem with exercising. Solution for
tomorrow: bodybuilding day. Nothing too heavy, no compound movements,
nothing where I'll be under and supporting anything, and no pushing
exercises; all isolation stuff. I think I'll
do a super-set day of triceps and biceps with forearms at the end.
Obviously the tricep portion will be various extensions rather than
push sequences. It'll A. give my problematic
shoulder joints a chance to recover from all the unprecedented heavy
benching I've been doing lately (maybe I've been doing too much too
soon? I've increased the poundages every week), B. be easy on my mouth,
and C. just be
a fun change of pace.
Obviously real fight training is out for now, but I plan on doing some
form practices at the very least. Next week should go as scheduled. I'm
also feeling pretty lightheaded, maybe from all the blood loss. I think
my multivitamin pack will be a life-saver for bedtime.

I just got my wisdom teeth removed and it was awesome. My blood was
convulsively shooting out of my mouth. I talked to the doctor about my
situation and she said I can still eat steak and good food, but I can't
eat popcorn and candy for a while. Which I never do anyways. I'm also
refusing pain medication. Gym should still be up for tomorrow. The only
downside is that I can't eat anything until the bleeding stops, so
this'll make it about 5 hours or so going without a meal.

UPDATE: Five hours later, and the numbness has worn off. I don't really
care about the pain, but my gums are still bleeding and I can't eat
until they stop. I'm glad I stuffed my face in the morning. Five meals
at most today.

Entry #235
Shoulders have been hurting when I bench press. It gets better after a
few sets, though. It's actually the joint, not the delt muscle. Hasn't
affected lifting ability at all. Hopefully
these two days of rest from lifting, coupled with stretching routines,
will solve the problem. I suspect it's a result of less-extensive
warm-up sets that this program calls for. Perhaps it would do me good
to add in some high rep sets at the beginning next time. Or I can
increase my jogging length. I usually jog on the treadmill for three
minutes prior to lifting, just to raise my body temperature. The
swinging motion of my arms probably does more good for warm-up than
running itself, though. I plan on
getting a lot of bagwork done these following days.
Ideally I'll get a ride to BJJ and muay thai class.
Additional notes: the other day, rather than "Oblique work" as listed
on the routine, I opted for crunches, and instead of "Neck work" I
worked my traps with heavy shrugs. Just a couple of alterations I made
to it. I used to swear by oblique exercises (back in my bodybuilder days, strangely enough) and I hate them now.

Entry #234
I'm digging my new meal plan. Upon wake-up I take the weightgainer, and
have a solid meal a few hours later before the gym. Shoving eggs down
my gullet wasn't nearly as beneficial as 1200 calories from Serious
MASS before 7:30am.
Initial attempt at box squats today at the gym. I had to be creative.
Too many people were using the plastic blocks for a boost up to reach
the pull-up bar, so I used the wooden deadlift box with four plates
stacked up on one another. The recommendation is to start at about
parallel, but I was surprised at how deep I was able to go. Blame it on
a habit of good squat form in general.
Didn't get any striking done; I crashed after the gym. Meal plan was insane, though. Also started loading phase on creatine.

Entry #233
Man, I lost my creatine scooper. Measurements were probably a little
off today on shakes. If anyone's seen it, please return it to me.
Lost 2 lbs since going off creatine a week ago, but as long as my
strength is the same, I'm fine with it. I'm thinking after this
creatine phase I should start cutting. I'm really anxious for some hard
sprinting sessions. As it stands I gas out pretty early during sparring.
I'm only going to record lifting numbers on the big ones, if there's a
substantial enough increase. For today I managed squats at 325lbs for
singles.

Entry #232
Took a few days off due to pain in shoulder area. It felt more serious
than normal muscle soreness, but I'm hitting the gym tomorrow. Also got
my braces out today. This helps a lot in boxing without a mouthpiece.
'Course, I shouldn't be boxing without a mouthpiece in the first place.
I plan on recording my calorie intake for tomorrow as well.

Entry #231
Today I tried a new max for bench press (no spotter) but it ended up
falling back down on me half-way up. Because my pecs were flexed it
bounced off and into a position that allowed me to grab it mid-angle
and push it over and down onto the floor. I deadlifted it up onto the
bench and re-racked the weights before trying again. It was the most
successful failure ever.

Bench press: 5 sets; 15, 8, 3, 3, 3 reps (45lbs, 135lbs, 185lbs, 225lbs, 235lbs)
4 sets; 1 rep (275lbs {failed}, 255lbs for the rest)
Weighted dips: 4 sets; 8 reps (45lb plate attached to waist)
Cable pushdowns: 4 sets; 8 reps (90lbs)
Front raises: 4 sets; 10 reps (25lb dumbbells)
Wide-grip pulldowns: 4 sets; 8 reps (145lbs)
Preacher curls: 4 sets; 8  reps (75lbs)

Only managed 5 meals. Must wake up earlier.