Week 5: Legs

Phase 2 of this twelve week program takes place weeks 5-8, and though it is by and large the exact same routine, one slight tweak makes all the difference, especially in the case of leg day. The working set changes from 5 sets of 4 reps, to 5 sets of 3, which I happily accept on my mission to increase the load by ten pounds a week.

In other news, I have attempted to mass produce my mid day meals, by making a trip to BJ's and stocking up on $30 worth of chicken breasts and frozen veggies. Baked both in the oven with a teriyaki marinade, then zipped them up into portions, eating two bags a day.. It's going to be tricky coming up with some creative ways to change the flavor or trick myself into eating them all before I get sick of the taste.. anyways, here is the breakdown for today's lifts:

Barbell squats:

• 135 x 10
• 135 x 10
• 135 x 10
• 295 x 3
• 315 x 3
• 335 x 3
• 355 x 3 +10lbs from last week
• 355 x 3

Machine leg press (assuming a 45lb carriage):

• 315 x 10
• 405 x 10
• 495 x 10
• 585 x 10
• 635 x 10 (last 3 assisted)

Machine leg curl:

• 100 x 8
• 100 x 8
• 100 x 8

Abs:

75 crunches

Final thoughts: It has become pretty clear that I have abandoned my cardio, which will probably cause me to stall sooner than I should.. with each of these workouts already taking around 90 minutes, I shirk it to compensate and not be stuck at the gym for over two hours. If anything I will use the weekends I rest as a time to do a quick 20-30 minute circuit, maybe twice a day.