Friday, October 14th
6:30 P.M.
A. Top Squats: 135x5, 225x5, 315x5, 405x3, 495x3 (15 sec hold on last), 455x3 (31 sec hold on last), 405x3 (45 sec hold on last)
B. Lunges: 180x7 ea leg, 160x7 ea leg
C. Clean & Press: 135x3, 195x3, 195x5 (nasty rep on #5)
My hip popped during squats last week. I didn’t notice it being really tender until I tried to do wide stance squats today. The decision was made to switch to top squats with a narrow stance to prevent an aggravation of the injury.
Wife’s Workout
A. Squats: 2x25x6, 35x5, 45x4, 70x7, 60x8, 55x9
B. Lunges: 1 chain x 7 ea leg, 2 chains x 7 ea leg
C. Clean & Press: 30x4, 40x7, 35x8
great log mate! wish i had space to walking lunges in my gym
Yeah, we have to find a little aisle to do walking lunges in and hope none of the CrossFitters come running through there with their variety of nonsense. I saw you’d quit IF’ing for bulking season. How’s that going?
Monday, October 17th
6:15 P.M.
A. Deadlift: 135x3, 225x3, 315x3, 385x5 (10lb PR), 335x5
B. Leg Extensions: 225x8, 270x8, 315x6
C. Weighted Chinups: BW+45 x 7, BW+45 x 6, BW+25 x 6
I thought deadlift was going to kick my ass with the way my back felt during warm-ups. But when 385 went up the first time, I did felt barely any pain. Needless to say, I pushed it to 5 reps and set a new 5RM for myself. Good day.
Wife’s Workout
A. Deadlift: 25x6, 45x6, 65x5, 85x4, 105x5 (5lb PR), 95x5, 90x5
B. Leg Extensions: 70x2->60x3, 60x6, 40x7 (some sharp pain in the quads close to the knees required a reduction in weight and overall volume)
C. Standing Supinated Lat Pull Downs: 70x5, 60x6, 60x7
She’s setting PR’s weekly. I’m so proud of my little 98 lb warrior. Pretty soon she’s going to be able to do a real chinup without any assistance. I’m gonna video that when it happens.
Tuesday, October 18th
8:00 P.M.
A. Bench Press: BARx3, 135x5, 185x5, 225x3, 265x3, 245x5, 235x5
B. Pullups: BW+25 x 7, BW+25 x 7, BW+25 x 6
That bench number doesn’t seem to be moving. I don’t know if there is a lack of recovery time between deadlift and bench or if I’m just not eating enough to support growth. The 2nd and 3rd work sets, however, are steadily increasing, so it’s not a total loss.
Wife’s Workout
A. Bench Press: 2x25x6, 35x6, 55x7 (PR), 50x8, 45x9
B. Pullups: 60x7 (PR), 2x50x8
Short and sweet.
Friday, October 21st
6:45 P.M.
A. ATG Squats: 2xBARx3, 135x3, 185x3, 245x5, 2x225x6
B. DB Walking Lunges: 90s x 7 ea leg, 90s x 6 ea leg
C. Clean and Press: 135x3, 200x2, 200x3, 135x11
With my hip joint still hurting, I decided to narrow the stance and go back to ATG. Not wanting to overdo my first day back on them, I opted for a safe 245lbs for top weight. Although I can feel the residual pain in my lower back, it felt good to do narrow stance again.
Wife’s Workout
A. Squats: 2x35x5, 45x5, 55x5, 75x7, 65x6
B. DB Walking Lunges: 20s x 7 ea leg, 20s x 7 ea leg
C. Clean & Press: 25x6, 45x3, 45x4
She was upset at only hitting 45 for 4. So i had to show her the estimated 1RM based on this week’s number compared to last week’s. It may only have been 1.333 lbs increase, but that was enough to calm her disappointment.
Lately, she’s been in a love/hate relationship with her drive to hit the maximum number each time. Feels good to hit 7 on squats, but she knows that means next week she’s going up 5 lbs. Vicious circle.
Monday, October 24th
6:00 P.M.
A1. Deadlift: 135x5, 225x5, 315x3, 395x5 (PR), 355x4
A2. Box Jumps - 25": 3x5
B. Leg Extensions: 3x270x8
C. Chinups: BW+55lbs x 5, BW+30lbs x 6, BW+20lbs x 7
Pain…little bit of pain. Top set of deadlifts was a thing of beauty. But I got cocky on the down set. Surely if 395 went up for all 5 reps, 355 will be nothing. 4th rep told me pretty quickly that my back was done. Lot’s of ibuprofen, icing and heating, and rest to follow. I want to be able to squat on Friday, afterall.
Starting to approach the 200lb threshold for bodyweight. Oddly, I’m still setting PR’s on deadlift on a weekly basis. My bench is another story. I’m not setting PR’s, but I’m pretty sure if I measured my strength to weight ratio, I’d see a steady increase considering I’m handling the same weight for the same reps while decreasing bodyweight.
This week my schedule changed, allowing me to move my Tuesday workout to Wednesday. I’m hoping that the day of rest between deads and bench will have a positive effect on my attempts to get my bench strength back up again.
Wife’s Workout
A1. Deadlift: 25x5, 55x5, 85x3, 110x5 (PR), 100x5
A2. Box Jump - 12": 3x5
B. Leg Extensions: 4x45x8
C. Standing Lat Chinups: 70x6, 60x7, 50x8
She’s steadily approaching the 1-plate threshold. It’s a modest linear progression, which is to be expected with her being in the beginner phase. But to see her work her ass off every week is very encouraging. Her vocalization on her last chinup/pulldown with 70 was lunk alarm worthy. It was awesome.
Wednesday, October 26th
6:30 P.M.
A. Bench Press: BARx5, 135x5, 185x4, 225x3, 265x4, 245x5, 235x5
B. Pullups: BW+20 x 7, 2xBWx8
Finally beat 265x3. I’ve been stuck there for 3 weeks, now. Estimated 1RM is, once again, @ 300 lbs. Good to be climbing again. Not sure if the day off between deads and bench actually helped my bench that much. I know it certainly made pullups easier.
Back is still hurting from Monday. I don’t think I’m gonna make it to squats on Friday. Not sure what to do in its stead. I could try leg press, I suppose. But I’m not sure if that’d be any better. The gym has a hack squat machine, so I might try that to put emphasis on quads.
Wife’s Workout
A. Bench Press: 2x25x6, 40x4, 60x6 (PR), 55x7, 50x8
B. Standing Lat Pulldown: 70x3, 60x5, 60x5
Switching the wife over to SS principle for lat pulldowns and chinups. Her progress is steady on bench, though, so no need to change that up.
Friday, October 28th
6:00 P.M.
A. Squats: 2xBARx5, 135x5, 185x5, 225x5
B. Single-Leg Legpress: 225x7 ea leg, 225x7 ea leg, 275x7 ea leg, 275x7 ea leg
C. Seated OHP: 135x5, 185x5, 165x5, 155x5
Such a bad idea to squat. I broke my first rule of weight training: “Work around an injury, not through it.” I’m in so much pain. I went to a chiropractor on Saturday. I was pretty okay at that point. After the adjustment, I sat at the computer for about 45 minutes. Ever since then, I’ve been in immense amounts of pain. I tried to stay horizontal all weekend to keep pressure off my lower back. But, alas, it didn’t help. Driving to work was hell. Sitting at my desk is even worse. I think I’m gonna have to check into a hospital if it keeps up. The pain is starting to wear on my composure.
Wife’s Workout
A. Squats: 25x6, 45x5, 60x4, 80x6, 70x7, 60x8
B. Bulgarian Iso Squats: 4x7 ea leg
C. Clean & Press: 25x5, 45x3, 45x4
Since she had a gash on her foot, she couldn’t wear shoes while working out. So she lifted in her socks…like a champ. Walking lunges are out of the question when barefoot and the leg press machine weighed too much even empty to do single leg presses. Bulgarian Iso’s it was.
Muscle spasms, pinched nerves…I’m gonna be out for a while. What sucks is that me being out seems to mean to my wife that she’s out. So until I can stand for long periods of time without possibly going into spasm again, she’s not going to train either.
I’ll probably ease back into exercise with some swift walking, pushups, and horizontal pullups as soon as I can tolerate it. But squats and deadlifts are going to be out for at least a month! FML
Been out for a couple weeks now. It’s been hell. Sleeping on the couch to prevent rolling over in the middle of the night and causing a back spasm, being mostly horizontal save for my time at work and driving back and forth, and, of course, no exercise. Finally, after 2 weeks of hell, the spasms have subsided and I’m left with the achiness in the sacral-coccygeal region of my spine. This is pain I’m more familiar with, so I know it’s going to be a few months of chest and back supported exercise before I can return to the REAL stuff.
Yesterday was my first day back in the gym. Still staying minimalist, except that I can only really focus on upper body for at least another month before adding in anything like leg press, leg extension, hamstring curl, or calf raises. Reality sux sometimes, but permanent injury, I imagine, would suck even more! So here we go.
Down to 198 lbs from 206 thanks to a diet modification high in protein and vegetables and low in everything else. Strength has suffered, but is still there.
Monday, November 14th
6:30 P.M.
Floor Press: 135x5, 185x5, 225x5, 275x1, 245x5, 225x5
Chinups: BW+20 x 5, BW+25 x 5, BW+25 x 5
Planks: 3x60 seconds (surprisingly strong)
Probably splitting my time over upper body compound on Monday, Arms on Wednesday, and I’m at a loss for Friday as it would probably hurt to do shoulder pressing due to the vertical load on my spine. Perhaps I can stick with using my levers to my advantage and doing a whole series of lateral raises instead and pair it with lat pulldowns. Anyone reading is welcome to give suggestions.
Wednesday, November 16th
7:00 P.M.
A1. Close-grip Bench Press: 195 x 6,5,5,4,3,3,3,1
A2. DB Hammer Curls: 55’s x 6,5,5,4,3,3,3,1
B. Chinups: BW x 10,6,4
C. Dips: BW x 13,7
Short and sweet. I feel like such a fairy putting my feet up on the bench. But having them on the floor puts my back in an arch that is still rather uncomfortable. So be it. Have to work around the injury instead of through it.
Still not sure what to do on Friday. I may just do another round of Monday’s workout and keep alternating Mon & Wed as Workout 1 & Workout 2.
Friday, November 18th
7:00 P.M.
A. Floor Press: 135x5, 185x5, 225x5, 3x245x5
B. Chest Supported Rows: 180x7, 2x200x7
C. Planks: 3 x 60 seconds
Short and to the point. Guess that means I need to go up on floor press by 5 lbs.
My back seems to have stagnated in recovery. Maybe the repair is just too minor to actually notice. I really need to stop being lazy and schedule an MRI with an Orthopedic Specialist already. I might have slipped a disc for all I know.
Monday, November 21st
6:30 P.M.
A1. Close-grip Bench Press: 195 x 6, 6, 5, 4, 3, 3, 3
A2. DB Hammer Curls: 50’s x 6, 6, 5, 4, 3, 3, 3
B. Chin-ups: BW x 13, 7, 5
C. Dips: BW x 14, 11
Bench will go up by 5 lbs next time. Hammer Curls will probably need some substitution. They’re hurting my lower back a little. At this point, I’m doing my best to not do anything that causes the wrong kind of pain around that area. I realized this morning that I’m able to squat down flat footed now instead of on my toes with a perfectly upright back. Progress. That’s what I like to see.
Wednesday, November 23rd
6:00 P.M.
A. Bench Press: 3xBARx5, 135x5, 185x5, 225x3, 250x5, 2x225x5
B. Seated Chest Supported Rows: 3x200x7
C. Machine Flys: 3x10-15
D. Reverse Flys: 3x10
Someone had the squat cage and I was feeling lazy. So instead of finding another place to setup floor presses, I just went for bench. Not going to push it towards the limit I was hitting before the injury though. If it got anywhere remotely close to stuck, I’d be screwed. Considering I’ve dropped nearly 10 lbs since my injury, hitting 250 for 5 isn’t that bad.
Friday, November 25th
6:00 P.M.
A1. Close-grip Bench Press: 205 x 6, 5, 4, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3
A2. Hammer Curls: 50’s x 6, 5, 4, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3
B. Chinups: BW x 14, 7, 4
C. Dips: BW x 14, 11
Coming off a huge feast, it usually feels good to be in the gym. I’d like to stick with 205 on close-grip and get the 30 reps in fewer sets. As for hammer curls, there seems to be significantly less strain on my lower back to do them alternating. Maybe it’ll allow me to curl more weight in this rep range without the pain. We’ll see next Wednesday.
Monday, November 28th
6:00 P.M.
A. Bench Press: 3xBARx5, 135x5, 185x5, 225x5, 255x4, 230x5, 230x5
B. Weighted Chinups: BW+45 x 7, BW+20 x 8, BW x 9
C. Machine Fly: Setting 11 - 3 x 15
D. Cable Reverse Flys: 40lbs - 3 x 10
E. Plate Pinching: 25’s - 3 x max time
F. Planks: 1 x 65 seconds
A little disappointed about not hitting 5 with 255. I might’ve actually been able to do it. But without a spotter, I’d rather not put myself in that kind of danger while still suffering a back injury. I’ll get it on Friday, hopefully. I’ll even ask for a spot from one of the regular brosefs if necessary.
In an 8 day span, I managed to have 4 meals that I would consider re-feeds or cheats. It feels good to be back to my normal diet. It feels even better to know that weight gain was minimal due to intermittent fasting.
Wednesday, November 30th
6:00 P.M.
A1. Close-grip Bench Press: 205lbs x 6, 4, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 2
A2. Pinwheel Curls: 60’s x 6, 4, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 2
B. Chinups: 16, 7, 4
C. Dips: 20, 7
D. Reverse Cable Flys: 20 lbs - 3 x 10
E. Plank: 1 x 60 seconds
Drop in strength on the CGBP! What the hell?! Must…eat…moar! Chinups, on the other hand, are coming along nicely. In a few more sessions, I may be able to do 21 straight with good form.
Friday, December 2nd
6:30 P.M.
A. Bench Press: 2xBARx7, 135x5, 185x5, 205x3, 255x4, 235x5, 235x5
B. Weighted Chinups: BW+50 x 7, BW+25 x 8, BW x 9
C. Machine Flys: 3x15
D. Cable Reverse Flys: 40 lbs - 3x10
E. Shrugs: 135x10, 3x205x8
F. Plate Pinching: 25’s - 2 x max time
G. Plank: 1 x 70 seconds
Although I have to be a little more careful, it’s good to see that i can hold a vertical load of 200 lbs without any pain. A good sign of progress. In another couple of weeks, I’m going to try and add back in leg extensions, hamstring curls, and lunges (no extra weight). A month or so after that, it’ll hopefully be back to light squats and deadlifts–and starting the long process of working back up to where I was pre-injury.
Tuesday, December 6th
6:30 P.M.
A. Bench Press: 100x5, 155x5, 205x5, 255x5, 235x5, 235x5
B. Weighted Chinups: BW+55 x 6, BW+30 x 8, BW x 9
C. Machine Flys: 3 x 15
D. Cable Reverse Flys: 50x10, 2x40x10
E. Shrugs: 4x225x8
F. Plate Pinching: 35’s - 2 x Max Time
G. Plank: 1 x 75 seconds
Feeling good. Getting stronger. Getting leaner.
With the Cheat Mode approach to IF, it’s literally a post-workout binge. I ate a little sliced turkey deli meat to fill a protein gap, and then chowed down on an entire box of Golden Grahams, followed by a pint of Arctic Zero ice cream. If you haven’t tried Arctic Zero, each pint is 150 calories, it’s primary ingredient is whey protein, and it has zero fat. Doesn’t taste exactly like ice cream…but it’s certainly a nice frozen treat.
You hear it a lot as a gimmick, but I’ve literally never had such an easy time losing body fat, while still maintaining (and gaining a little) strength while still having a shit ton of carbohydrates. Takes some getting used to, but once you get the hang of it, fat loss is so easy. I haven’t tried a bulk under the same principles, but I imagine it’d be a much leaner gain…and so a bit slower. Maybe after I’ve had my fun maintaining single digit body fat for a while, I’ll hit a 4-6 month bulk.
Thursday, December 8th
6:30 P.M.
A1. Close-Grip Bench Press: 205 lbs x 6, 6, 5, 5, 4, 4
A2. Pinwheel Curls: 55’s x 6, 6, 5, 5, 4, 4
B1. Chinups: BW x 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
B2. Dips: BW x 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
C. Shrugs: 4x8 @ 225lbs
Look at that! I went from 9 sets to 6 sets. Nice improvement thanks to post-workout, carbohydrate-rich binging!
Next week, it’s time to add back in some isolation exercises for my legs. Leg extensions, leg curls, calf raises…and maybe a very light attempt at reverse hypers.
Check this shit out, by the way: Intermittent, low-carbohydrate diets more successful than standard dieting, study finds -- ScienceDaily
Apparently, carb cycling 2 days a week is superior to a 24/7 caloric restrictive diet.