An Uncommon Pursuit

Training Over 35 Lifter
101

2008-5-21

Lower and shoulders

Deep Squats
135x5
185x5
225x5
275 2x5 (reps PR)

Partial Anderson Squats (pin 6 - 3")
385x4,4,3,3

Low Good Mornings (pin 5)
230 3x5 (weight PR)

1 arm BB Press
35x8
55x5
75x5(l) 1(r)
65 5x5
70 1x5

Pullups
BWx5,5,5,5,5 (10 sec rest)
BWx5,5 (15 sec rest)
BWx5,5,3 (20 sec rest)

edit:
Avg Band Face Pulls
2x15,1x12

DB Alternating Curls
55’s 2x8

Wouldn’t have done this today, but I don’t want to miss an extra day from traveling just after a deload.

1-Arm BB presses are reeeeallly bugging me. Right shoulder gets a sharp pain in the back when I do these. Seems to go away after a long warmup. The good news is the long head of the triceps is getting more involved, so the stress is getting spread around more. I’m pretty sure it’s the infraspinatus being too weak and/or possibly bound up.
Left shoulder I can go all day with that weight. Gonna roll a tennis ball over it while biting my lip to stifle the tears and see if that helps.

Pullups 5 sets with 10 sec rest between, rested 15 sec and then 2 sets @ 15sec rest then rested 20sec and did 3 sets @ 20 sec rest. Biceps got really pumped. No Curls today.

edit: Okay - i lied. I did curls.

102

Your consistancy and dedication to training are what I’m striving toward. Once again great workout.

103

Well…dedication may not be the word for it.

hmmm. Mania. Yup, that’s it: mania.

Which makes me a maniac!

Thanks for the good words Ecogenx,

I’m striving towards the poundages you move around as a matter of course.

You one strong dude.

104

3176 calories today - and I still haven’t had my peanut butter rice cakes yet .

I think for now, if I can get above 3000 calories, I’m doing good. I’ll make the jump to 3600 in about a week or two.

105

If you have not been eating so much recently, I bet with your training you will pack on good weight pretty quickly with the new diet. Just make sure you continue to spread it out through the day.

106

skid, I’ve tried good mornings and I hate them. Don’t they hurt your neck or upper traps? Do you wrap a towel around the bar? or do I go down to low so the bar pushes toward my head.

107

I put the bar way down my back. It’s pretty much laying on my rear deltoids, so I don’t get much pain at all. The trick for me is to push my rear out rather than to just bend over. If I do go too low the bar does roll towards my head - which is indeed unpleasant.

Depending on how much weight you are using I don’t think that GM need to be all that low. I just need the strength developed along the same joint angles as I do my squat and deadlift. but at a more horizontal inclination of my back relative to the floor, so I start the movement anywhere below the level of my upper hip bone.

There’s no real need for GM’s since SLDL’s and RDL’s do pretty much the same thing. I just like 'em because I get to have the bar on my back and I need the practice of that.

108

2008-5-22
Grip Work

Rotating D-Handle lift (3 sec hold)
100 1x3
150 1x3
175 1x3
200 1x3 (PR reps and hold time)

D Handle pickup
215x1,1,1(this last left only) PR weight and sets +5lbs

D handle hold for time
175x10 sec, 10 sec (Baseline PR)

Plate Pinch lift
90 3x6 (PR Reps)

1 hand plate pinch lift
50x3,5 (PR Reps)

Woohoo! Hands felt like mallets going into this. Plate pinches are going well, though they are tearing up the base of my thumbs. A little skin sacrifice to the Gods of Iron. Gotta rotate the hangs back in, they seem to work the wrist connectors more evenly than the D handle stuff.

Did this just before taking off for LA. Family was waiting for me as I kept saying ‘just one more set, only one’ because I really wanted to get some hand work in.

I need to find a gym down here in Santa Ana next so I can do my upper workout today and lower workout day after tomorrow.

I brought chalk.

109

[quote]skidmark wrote:
I need to find a gym down here in Santa Ana next so I can do my upper workout today and lower workout day after tomorrow.

I brought chalk.[/quote]

Hard core man!

110

2008-5-23

Bench
135x8
185x5
225x5
245x3 (PR reps)
255x1 (felt easy)
265x1 (easiest 265 I’ve done, but no spotters so…)
255x1,1
225x5

Incline DB press
75x8
85x5,5 (PR weight)
80x5,5

1 Arm DB Row
100x8
125x8,8 (this is as high as they went)

Close grip Decline Press
215x3,3,3 (badness in the shoulder. Stopped)

Neutral Grip Pullups
BWx5 (Ballistic)
BW+50x5
BW+75x4
BW+90x3,3

1-arm Cable press downs
60x8,8

1-arm cable press outs
60x8,8

Bench felt good and strong. Got a good arch and kept the bar even. Controlled descent and pressed with vigor. Good concentration. I actually thought the bars were light at the gym I went to, but compared with a 45 plate and they seemed the same…

Pleasantly surprised by DB presses. Was gonna go sets across at the same weight but 85 got too heavy on second set.

Was getting tired by the time rows and pullups came around. I may rearrange and give back work it’s own day. DB’s only went to 125 so I tried to more reps. Strangely, my grip was giving out and I couldn’t get the balance of the DB’s

Decline bench was feeling funky. Not hurting, but not feeling secure so I shortened it, since no spotter.

Did extra tricep work to make up for what I didn’t do on close grip bench.

Good session, but pushing outdid pulling and that’s bad news for the shoulder.

All in all a good session and pleased with the pushing today. Light on calories today, but I’ll make up for it tomorrow.

111

Good pressing, Skidmark: also a tribute to your focus – I usually do worse in everything in an unfamiliar gym.

It was probably just the previous day’s grip work that got to you.

112

2008-2-25

Shoulders, back and legs
Standing Overhead press
barx15
95x8
115x5
135x5
155x3
175x1,1,1,2 (PR reps)

Eye level start OHP (sticking point)
185x1,0,0
155x5

Front Squat
135x5
185x5
225x3
255x2
275x1 (PR weight)

Partial Anderson Squat
(5th pin if I was in my rack, pin 11 here)
365x6
385x5
405x4 (Pr reps)
425x3 (PR reps)

Rack Pulls, bottom of knee/top of shin (sticking point)
405x5
455x3
505x2 PR reps

Full DL overhand grip
365x10 (10 sec rest between reps)

Pullups
BWx8
+70x5,5,4

Barbell Curls
95x5
115x5
125x3
135x3,3
95x8

Seated DB Cleans
25’sx10
30’sx8,8

Face pulls
120x10
80x20,20

L.A. Fitness - home of the two hour curl sessions and generally clueless trainees. I realized today that most of the people in the place have no idea why they are doing what they are doing. They aren’t stupid, they’ve just never really inquired into the meaning of their activity.

It’s a beautiful facility, excellent equipment and spacious. I’d become a member if there were one in my area and I didn’t have a good gym in my garage…

Good session today. Felt really strong and decided to go for a bunch of different stuff. Still trying OHP’s on lower day but put 'em in ffront this time. I figure the relative weight is so low that it wouldn’t affect squats and DL’s at all. Broke some adhesion in the shoulder/pec junction doing decline presses last session, so I was able to fire the weight off my shoulders with the upper pecs and anterior delts.

Threw front squats in and did better than expected. Hard to hold my air at 275, but nailed the VMO which I use quite a bit in back squats as I don’t take a super wide stance.

Can’t wait to get back to my garage and see if any of this is real gains or foreign gym gains.

113

Looks very strong – you got your money’s worth at that gym. I will have to take back my remark about the grip work having gotten to you after seeing those overhand DLs in the middle of your session!

114

Great goin’ Skid! Congrats on the PR’s

115

Thanks Soldog. I gotta start videoing this stuff, so someone can call me on form. I’d hate to find out that these are all mental PR’s only…

Tried to work bench today, but was still beat from the overdone lower session and the 8-hour drive home the day after.

Incline Bench (45 degrees)
barx20
135x5
155x5
175x3
195x3
215x1
230x0
205x3,3
135x15

That’s it. I know if I had waited one more day I would have gotten the 230, because I had it halfway to lockout as it was. C’est la vie. Back is still tight from rack and face pulls, so I’ll hold off till tomorrow for anything more.

edit:

I’m such an addict.

Went back and did

DB bench
75’sx10
100’sx4,4 (PR reps +3)
80’sx11

BB triceps extensions
135x5,5,7

Dropped weight on tri-x to make sure form was good. 'Twas. May do rows later for a treat “fix.”

116

[quote]1Geech wrote:
Looks very strong – you got your money’s worth at that gym. I will have to take back my remark about the grip work having gotten to you after seeing those overhand DLs in the middle of your session![/quote]

No, I think you were right on that. My grip was still funky on the DL’s. The last few were precarious. I may move grip work to squat/dl day after the major work is done.

My training program is going through a rewrite right now. here’s how it looks for the moment:

Day 1:
ME Bench variation
Supplemental Bench variation submax + RE
triceps variation

Day 2
abs/forearms/off

Day 3:
ME shoulders
RE shoulders
Row variation
Pullup variation (optional)
biceps
prehab shoulders

Day 3
abs/off

Day 4 or 5:
ME squat variation
RE DL variation
Supplemental Lower movement
or
ME DL variation
RE squat variation
Supplemental Lower movement
(the above alternated weekly)
grip

Day 6/7
abs/prehab shoulders/off

I’ll probably end up changing it, but this is how it stands for now.

117

Skid - your new avatar almost made me puke my dinner. That’s just so wrong… LOL

118

I’m not sure, but doesn’t it look like he has breasts?

119

Yes - It does have breasts. Been messin’ 'round wid those 'roids too much.

120

skid,

I noticed your new routine looks a lot like the WS4SB routine. Do you have any specific short and long-term goals or are you just working to get stronger?

mday