Apology Accepted Captain Needa

Training Training Logs
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23-December Squat Max attempt / Leg day

As I stated before, I am going to determine my 1RM on the major lifts. It is time to gauge where I am as well as calculate my maxes for my next training regime (more later on that). Today is Squat day. I used to think that I was hitting 315 for a few reps. However, that was in a gym with no power rack/safety. In addition I did not know what parallel meant.

Today I hit 295 full parallel (tapped the pins I setup for this purpose). Overall I am fairly happy with this. I have been weight training just a bit over a year and have been learning along the way.

Then,

Squat Clusters - 10 sets of 3 resp @ 225lbs. 5 min 37 seconds.
Romanian Deadlifts 245x8, 245x8, 245x8
Leg curls 60x8, 60x8, 60x8
Good mornings 135x10, 135x10, 135x10
Front Squats 115x10, 115x10, 115x10

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24-December Bench Press Max / chest

Hit a max 1RM bench press of 190. This definitely shows that I have work to do on my chest strength.

Skull crushers 85x8, 85x8, 85x8
Close grip bench 115x8, 115x8, 115x8
Standing Tri ext 65x5, 65x6 (tri’s were dead by now)
Push ups 10, 10, 9

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Christmas 2013 Press and Pull 1RM day

Hit a 1RM Press (strict) of 105. While I may have been a bit fatigued from yesterdays max bench work this still seems quite pathetic. Oh well - I know the truth of what I can do now and know where I need to work!

Also did a 1RM on weighted pull-up. Here I am a bit happier. Hit a 1RM of +90 pounds.

Pull-up cluster - 10 sets of 3 reps at bodyweight. About 4.5 minutes.
Press cluster - 10 sets of 3 reps at 65 lbs. 3 Min 48 seconds.

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26-December

SG High Pull Max - 190lb. Might have been able to go just a bit more but was concerned about technique breakdown/injury. This is a good number to work off of going forward.

Conditioning: Farmer walks with trap bar.
Set 1 - Out and back for total of 150 yards. 4% incline hill. 240 lb w/o straps. 4 1/2 mins with multiple stops. Limiting factor was grip and strength.

Set 2 - Same distance. This time with 130 lbs and straps for speed work. 2 min 10 seconds.

Set 3 - repeat of set 2. Same time.

So a year or two back I was commonly running a 5 mile run at an average of 6:45 to 7:15 mile pace. After these few farmer walks I felt just as spent as after my 5 mile runs. The only difference being that my feet, shins and knees don’t hurt after the farmer walks. My hands though…

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27 - December - New Program!

So I have been thinking about a new program for awhile now. I have been on Layne Norton’s PHAT routine for the past 4 months. Before that I had stalled out on Starting Strength. I loved the simplicity and heavy lifting of SS. After SS I chose PHAT as I wanted to incorporate some hypertrophy into my routine to build a bit more size and as a break from all the maximal lifting all the time yet still retain some of the strength days. During PHAT however, I also calorie restricted my diet as I went into my first ever cut phase in my life. I understood and accepted that PHAT and restricted calories don’t necessarily mix for optimal results.

The results of all this? I lost a total of 12 pounds (starting at 208 lbs - 6’2" height). More importantly to me, I went from a fat % of about 14 to 10%. My weight has actually ‘stalled’ at 194 lbs for the past month or so yet my bf% continued to drop to my current ~10%. So a bit of recomp was going on. I look ‘bigger’ visually.

My long term goal is a balance of strength and aesthetics. Think fitness category with a 1300 to 1400 lift score. So it does not sense to spend more time getting lean and then turn around and start focusing on strength gains. My goal was to hit 10% bf and I did it. Now I plan to reverse diet and then eventually go on a slight calorie surplus (~+200/day). My goal is to keep 11% bf as my max.

Now the next question is routine. I am quite certain that if I remain on PHAT with increased calories that I can continue to make gains in both strength and size. However, I have been wanting to do more heavy lifting. And change is always good to keep things fresh. Therefore here is what I intend:

I will run a program based strongly on CT’s strength circuits: Built for Bad: Strength Circuits

I love the heavy yet sub-maximal lifting of this routine. It has many of the benefits of a 5/3/1 strength progression but also includes just a bit of conditioning due to the low rest times. My modifications to the program: I will run the ‘A’ program (heavier) every other day. In between I will alternate some light hypertrophy and/or conditioning. If I feel like I need a day off I will use these days for that as well. I will use these exercises:
1 - DL or Squat (alternate every other session)
2 - Bench Press
3 - Snatch Grip High Pull
4 - Press - strict
5 - Weighted Pull Ups

In CT’s program he calls for adding 5 lbs to all the lifts each week. I will modify by adding 5 lbs after every 4 sessions to Deadlift and Squat. But will only add 2.5 lbs to the rest as they don’t progress as quickly.

CT calls for his program to be run for 6 weeks or until you stop making gains. I would like to think that with my modifications (including alternating DL and Squat) that I can run this program longer. I would like to go for 3 months. Time will tell.

Now that I have all my 1RM for the lifts I am using, here is how I am calculating my starting weights:

Exercise 1RM 95%
Deadlift 365 347
Squat 295 280
Bench Press 190 181
SGHP 190 181
Press 105 100
Pull-Up 285 271 (bw +90 for 1RM)

Basing all my ‘training maxes’ off of 95% of my 1RM, my program looks like this to start (I rounded the weights up or down to make even numbers):

‘A’ Day

Exercise C1 - 5R 85% C2 - 4R 87.5% C3 - 3R 90% C4 - 2R 95% C5 - 1R 100%

Deadlift 295 305 315 330 350
Bench Press 155 160 165 170 180
SGHP 155 160 165 170 180
Press 85 87.5 90 95 100
Pull-Up +35 +45 +50 +65 +75

‘B’ Day
Squat 235 245 250 265 280
remainder same as ‘A’ day

Looking forward to trying this out!

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27 December. Strength Circuit ‘A’

First day with strength circuits. Did the A variation of my program - dead lift not squats. (See previous post)

I aimed to take the proscribed rests: 20-60 seconds between sets and 2 min between circuits. This first time through took me 35 minutes. Of course I had 10 minutes of setup and warm up an another 5 minutes of cleanup. One thing about these circuits : you cannot do them at a commercial gym - period. I used all three of my barbells and almost all my plates to get these circuits done in the allotted time frame. It took me a bit over a minute between some of the sets due to setup time. Others I was able to movie in between with almost no rest. I think it will take longer with the ‘B’ program as I will have to change up between squats and bench within my power rack.

It is far to soon to make any conclusions about this program. I will share more of my thoughts as I progress further.

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28-December Leg Hypertrophy

As stated in my previous post, I am interleaving light hypertrophy days in between my strength circuit days. Today for the first one I did legs. My thought at this time is to find a percentage of 1RM that I can use for 4 sets of 10-15 reps each. The goal being not to ever go to failure but to find something that gets me relatively close on the last set. The ever desired ‘pump’ if you will.

For most of my leg reps I ended up using around 60-65% of my 1RM.

Romanian dead lifts 155 4sets 15 Reps
Front Squats 95 4sets 15 reps (lower than 60% - still practicing f squats)
Hamstring Curls 35 4sets 15 reps (12 reps on last set)
Leg Extensions 60 4sets 15 reps
Good Mornings 85 4sets 15 reps

That was it: 20 sets, 10 front and 10 rear. I felt a bit tight but not sore (even into the next day).

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29-December Strength Circuit ‘B’

Today I did my ‘B’ circuit for the first time. The difference is that ‘B’ has back Squat instead of Deadlifts. With this rotation I am squatting every 4 days and doing DL every 4 days as well. Heavy. What is not to like?

So the ‘A’ program took me 35 minutes. Today’s ‘B’ program took 40 minutes. What accounts for the full 5 minute difference? Re-setting between Squats and bench. Took forever. I think that what I need to do is to buy a new pair of ‘J’ hooks and mount the squat bar to the inside of the front pillars of the rack, leaving room to keep the bench and high pull bar setup on the back pillars.

Here is the ‘B’ program:

Exercise C1 - 5R 85% C2 - 4R 87.5% C3 - 3R 90% C4 - 2R 95% C5 - 1R 100%

Squat 235 245 250 265 280
Bench Press 155 160 165 170 180
SGHP 155 160 165 170 180
Press 85 87.5 90 95 100
Pull-Up +35 +45 +50 +65 +75

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29-December Strength Circuit B continued…

So I thought I would give folks an idea of the ‘mayhem’ that ensues doing strength circuits… And why you cannot do them in a commercial gym (at least without earning a ‘lunk’ alarm)!

So here is what my gym is supposed to look like:

[photo]39624[/photo]

And here is what it looks like after a strength circuit session:

[photo]39623[/photo]

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30-December Chest/Tri Hypertrophy

Bench press 120x12 for 4 sets
Incline bench 95x10 for 4 sets
Dips BWx6 for 4 sets
CGBP 75x15 for 4 sets
Skull crushers 40x15 for 4 sets

What can I say… my chest remains my weakest link…

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31-December Strength Circuit ‘A’

Did the A strength circuit today - the one with Deadlifts. Though it is only the first week I feel that alternating DL’s and Squats is going to work out nicely. It gives me 2x per week for both movements with some decent recovery in between. Yet it retains the higher frequency of these big compound movements.

Today I completed in 34:30 which is 30 seconds faster than the first time.

72

1-Januaray

Happy New Year to all. I posted in the O35 lifter section my next set of goals:
Press - 1 plate per side; 30 lbs away
Bench - 2 plates per side; 35 lbs away
Squat - 3 plates per side; 20 lbs away
DL - 4 plates per side; 40 lbs away

I feel like I am ‘closet’ to these goals on deadlift and squat. If I ramp the strength circuits as called for I am 6 weeks away for Press and 7 for bench. We will see. In any event these are my NEXT goals, not necessarily 2014 goals.

Today I did a light back workout:
Rack Pulls BW 4 sets 15 reps
BB rows 90 4 sets 15 reps
T-Bar row 70 4 sets 12 reps
Lateral raise 10 4 sets 15 reps
Reverse Fly 10 4 sets 15 reps
Face Pulls Bands 4 sets 15 reps

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2-January Strength Circuit B

Today was the last day of the first cycle (which is 8 days).

I measured to see if I could have a back squat barbell and a bench press barbell within the rack at the same time. Unfortunately it is not to be… so I am relegated to switching plates around. On the bright side it gives me somthing to do with with my ‘rest’ time.

Exercise C1 - 5R 85% C2 - 4R 87.5% C3 - 3R 90% C4 - 2R 95% C5 - 1R 100%

Squat 235 245 250 265 280
Bench Press 155 160 165 170 180
SGHP 155 160 165 170 180
Press 85 87.5 90 95 100
Pull-Up +35 +45 +50 +65 +75

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3-January - Rest day. Enjoyed the San Diego Auto show with my son and our exchange student that is living with us.

4-January Strength Circuit ‘A’ Today was the first day of the second cycle. CT’s program calls for adding 5 lbs to all the lifts. I did so with the exception of weighted pull-ups as I was barely hitting the weights on the first cycle.

Here are the new weights for this second cycle for the A day

Deadlift 300 310 320 335 355
Bench Press 160 165 170 175 185
SGHP 160 165 170 175 185
Press 90 95 100 105 105 (went to 5lb increments to avoid micro-plates)
Pull-Up +35 +45 +50 +65 +75 (left these unchanged)

Interestingly my time was 32:30 - 2 minutes faster than my best. With three barbells this particular circuit can be done quite efficiently.

Conditioning - Trap bar carries with 230lbs. 60 ft. 3 times.

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5-January Chest/Tri Hypertrophy

Conditioning - nice family hike on steep terrain. Pushed the jogging stroller up multiple 25% grade hills. Stroller included free 35lb weight :slight_smile:

Bench Press - 115lb x12 - 4 sets
Incline Press - 95 x 10 - 4 sets
DB Fly (incline) - 25 x15 - 4 sets
CG Bench Press - 75 x 15 - 4 sets
Skull Crushers - 40 x 15 - 4 sets
One hand tri ext - 20 x 10 - 4 sets

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6-January

So today was supposed to be strength circuit ‘B’ (squats). However my lower back has been in intense DOMS for two days. I am not certain what the cause is. There are two culprits that I suspect:

  1. Trap bar carries. I have done these before at this weight and number of reps so I feel this is the less likely scenario.

  2. During my last strength circuit with dead lifts I tried a different technique. Reading a recent post from T3hPwnisher ( 635x4 TnG Deadlift Video - Bigger Stronger Leaner - Forums - T Nation ) he indicates how he keeps his stance more narrow. Watch the video about two-thirds of the way down the first page for details. So I tried this two days ago. I felt fine during the pulls but I suspect this put more strain on my lower back. Though I was very careful to keep a flat back I certainly could have done them wrong. And even if I did them correctly lifting maximal weight with a new technique is not one of the smartest things that I have ever done.

In any event I am taking the day off to recover. As this is my first day back to work after the Christmas break it was nice to just get used to waking up early without having to train. I may do some light conditioning tonight whilst training Mrs. Needa (keep you minds out of the trash compactor troops - I mean in the gym)!

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7-January

So my lower back is recovering but was not 100% this morning. Did not want to immediately jump back into heavy squatting. So I did a hypertrophy leg day and skipped the good mornings:

        lbs reps sets

Leg Exten. 60 15 4
Leg Curl 35 15 4
front squat 95 12 4
RDL 135 15 4

If all goes well I will be back to strength circuits tomorrow.

Diet Update: For the past week I have added about 300 calories to my daily diet. The scale has not budged an ounce (194 lbs). I will keep this for another week or so and if I don’t gain I will increase another 200 kcals.

New diet is:

2987 Calories
248.50 Grams Protein
273.90 Grams Carbs
99.73 Grams Fat

roughly speaking anyway…

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8-January Strength Circuit B

So did I mention that it was stupid to try a new dead lift technique with maximal weight? Let me just say again how dumb that was. My lower back has been really sore for days. That said, after copious foam rolling and warm up I was able to get in a strength circuit again today.

Reps 5 4 3 2 1

Squat 240 250 255 270 285
Bench Press 160 165 170 175 185
SGHP 160 165 170 175 185
Press 90 95 100 105 110
Pull-Up +35 +45 +50 +65 +75

Time was around 39-40 minutes I believe. I forgot to check as I had to run off to one of my kids school play (he was a stunning success of course!).

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9-January Back/Shoulder Hypertrophy

Barbell rows 90x15 4sets
superset with:
Band Face pulls 15 4 sets

Rack Pulls BWx12 4 sets
superset with:
Reverse Fly 10x15 4 sets

T-Bar row 70x15 4 sets
superset with:
Lateral raise 10x15 4 sets

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10-January Strength Circuit A (Cycle 2, Day 3of4)

So today I returned to training in the morning (545) after the glory of working out mid-day over the Holiday break. When I train in the morning I do it fasted as I don’t have time to eat before. Well either I was feeling the lack of sustenance or just plain tired but the weights were ‘heavy’ today. Duration was a slow 38 min 45 seconds and I missed the last deadlift (got it on my second try).

Deadlift 300 310 320 335 355
Bench Press 160 165 170 175 185
SGHP 160 165 170 175 185
Press 90 95 100 105 110
Pull-Up +35 +45 +50 +65 +75