Burien Top Team | Training Log

Training Training Logs
885

MONDAY

BW: 156.6 lbs
waist: 34"

Put on a little extra “VT Day” weight in celebration over the weekend (first cup of ice cream in months!). Hopefully it will melt off by this Wednesday.

Cardio
Incline treadmill walk
2.5 miles / 280 calories / 44:01 minutes

= several hours later =

Arms of Autumn 2.0, Week 1, Day 1

Standing alt curls
10s 2 sets of 20
25s 1 set of 10
35s (RP) 13 + 6 + 5 = 24 (+2)

Chins, supinated grip
BW sets of 5 / 4 / 3
+25 lbs (RP) 10 + 3 + 3 = 16 (-2)

Standing pinwheel curls
10s 2 sets of 20
25s 1 set of 10
35s (max reps) 17 (+1)

Banded scarecrows
Green band 3 sets of 20

Standing Arnold press
10s 2 sets of 20
25s 1 set of 10
35s (RP) 11 + 4 + 5 = 20 (-4)

These felt off from the beginning. The strategy is to warm up with Arnolds, but to do the rest pause with straight presses to keep the extra motion minimal. I think I wasn’t quite “ready” for the switch - though the initial RP set was solid. We’ll see what happens next Wednesday when I revisit this workout.

DB high pull
25s 3 sets of 10
35s (max reps) 10 left / 10 right (-10 / -10)

A real falling off here. I was being especially strict on form, making sure I wasn’t using too much body English. And this is what I got. Again, we’ll see what’s up a week from Wednesday.

Goblet squat
35lbs one set of 40 (broken twice)

For me “broken” is if I stop for more than two breaths during the set. If I move before taking the third breath, then it’s fine. If I take the third breath first, I consider the set broken.

Also, too, 12 reps HLRs between sets for a total of 60 reps.

Getting back on the horse with a second 6-8 weeks of Arms of Autumn. A little sluggish to get going today; likely because of the three pounds I’ve added in the past two days. But as long as the best path to leanness runs though resistance training, I’ll stick it out.

Right now the plan is to follow Protocols 1 and 3 from my weekend post: carbs under 75g, fasted cardio (I’m doing 45-60 minutes) + carbs under 50g on rest days (T/R). If I’m down under 153 lbs or so within the next 7-10 days, I’ll stick with it. Otherwise, I’ll add Protocol 2 - a second, post-training cardio session.

P.S. Just realized that my split is basically anterior major (shoulders, biceps, quads) + back / posterior major (triceps, back, hams/glutes) + chest. I like how it gives me a full body workout feeling and a body part split feeling at the same time.

Wrist aching a bit. Read some talk on Samul’s log about wrist wraps. May be in the market for a pair sooner than later.

886

TUESDAY

BW: 154.8 lbs
waist: 34"

Cardio
Incline treadmill walk
3.0 miles / 353 calories / 52:18 minutes

Heard earlier today that Dr. Fauci thinks we might have a generally-available COVID vaccine by April. That would move up my timeline considerably - though it doesn’t change anything in terms of goals. Caught a new John Meadows video this evening that only reinforced my desire to get really lean (for me, at least).

Right now, I’m shooting for <148 lbs by the first of the year, with a push under 142.5 lbs for the T-ransformation 2021 season. Ideally that’s a sub 32" waist and <13% BF.

887

WEDNESDAY

BW: 153.2 lbs
waist: 34"

Arms of Autumn 2.0, Week 1, Day 2

Banded pushups
Green band 3 sets of 20

DB flat bench
25s 2 sets of 20
35s 2 sets of 10
45s (RP) 24 + 10 + 7 = 41 reps (+2)

Dips, Triceps
BW sets of 5 / 4 / 3
+25 lbs (RP) 10 + 4 + 3 = 17 reps (-11)

Huge shortfall here. Will be interested in seeing what happens next time out (a week from this Friday). Kept form super strict, straight up and down, to ensure hitting the triceps.

Overhead DB triceps extensions
10s 2 sets of 20
25s (RP) 10 + 4 + 3 = 17 reps (-3)

DB row
25s 2 sets of 20
35s 2 sets of 10
45s (max reps) 30 L / 30 R

DB overhead pullover
10s 2 sets of 20
25s (RP) 12 + 6 + 6 = 24 reps (-8)

Work to do here, as well. As usual when these get tough, it’s my triceps that give out first.

DB RDLs
45s 3 sets of 15

also too, 25 reps ab crunches between exercises for a total of 125 reps.

Felt pretty good to be working in a cold garage once I’d warmed up some. I think there were some habituation issues with todays workout; some of the lifts felt a little unfamiliar after just a week off. I suspect there will be some good moves next time around.

I’m also dieting more seriously this week, which could have something to do with the dips, in particular. We’ll see.

888

THURSDAY

BW: 153.4 lbs
waist: 33 3/4"

Cardio
Incline treadmill walk
2.5 miles / 280 calories / 44:02 minutes

= hours later =

Cardio
Incline treadmill walk
3.0 miles / 353 calories / 52:31 minutes

889

FRIDAY

BW: 153.5 lbs
waist: 33 3/4"

Warm-up
Incline treadmill walk
0.75 miles / 80 calories / 14:01 minutes

Arms of Autumn 2.0, Week 1, Day 3

Concentration curls
10s 2 sets of 20
25s 2 sets of 10
35s (SS) 15 / 10 / 10

Hammer grip chins
BW sets of 5 / 4 / 3
+25 lbs (RP) 10 + 3 + 3 = 16 reps (-1)

Standing DB hammer curl
10s 3 sets of 20
25s (max reps) 20 reps (-3)

Banded scarecrows
Green band 3 sets of 20

DB side laterals
5s 3 sets of 20
10s (RP) 27 + 15 + 11 = 53 (+5)

Was a little surprised at how well these moved. King Kong, ain’t got nothin’ on … ah, never mind …

DB rear laterals
5s 3 sets of 20
10s (max reps) 25 reps

DB lunges
10s 2 sets of 18

also too, hanging leg raises (HLRs), 12 sets between exercises for a total of 60 reps

Cool down
Incline treadmill walk
1.25 miles / 154 calories / 22:01 minutes

890

SATURDAY

BW: 153.6 lbs
waist: 33 3/4"

Cardio
Incline treadmill walk
3.0 miles / 352 calories / 52:17 minutes

Average weekly BW: 154.35 lbs (+0.22)

891

SUNDAY

BW: 154.6 lbs
waist: 33 3/4"

Took the day off. Watched the Seahawks play a terrible game in the afternoon. Good grief …

= == ===

MONDAY

BW: 153.8 lbs
waist: 33 3/4"

Arms of Autumn 2.0, Week 2, Day 1

Banded pushups
Green band 3 sets of 20

Tate press
10s 3 sets of 20
25s (maxR) 17 L / 17 R (par)

Dips, chest
BW sets of 5 / 4 / 3
+25 lbs (RP) 15 + 7 + 4 = 26 (-5)

Felt a little twinge in my right shoulder about ten reps into the first RP set. Not sure I was going to get 20 (my previous number) there anyway, but stopped the set. Still a little sore after dinner. Will keep an eye on it. *Update: Looking at my notes, I’ve got my dips mixed up. These should have been triceps focused, with chest focused dips last Wednesday. Will course correct on Friday with chest dips.

Tricep pressdown
Green band 3 sets of 20

Bent over rows
Red band 3 sets of 20

Straight arm pulldowns
Green band 3 sets of 20

Hip thrusts
+25 lbs 3 sets of 20

also too, 25 reps ab crunches between exercises for a total of 125 reps

Cool down
Incline treadmill walk
2.5 miles / 305 calories / 43:02 minutes

I’ve been putting off tightening up my Power Tower. Need to get on that tomorrow (double cardio day). I wonder if my shoulder is the result of a little uncertainty in the stability of the tower.

892

TUESDAY

BW: 153.1 lbs
waist: 33 3/4"

Cardio
Incline treadmill walk
3.0 miles / 377 calories / 51:03 minutes

= a few hours later =

Cardio
Incline treadmill walk
2.5 miles / 280 calories / 44:02 minutes

893

WEDNESDAY

BW: 152.3 lbs
waist: 33 3/4"

Cardio
Incline treadmill walk
2.5 miles / 280 calories / 44:02 minutes

= hours later =

Arms of Autumn 2.0, Week 2, Day 2

Warmup
Incline treadmill walk
0.75 miles / 80 calories / 14:04 minutes

Standing alt curls
10s 2 sets of 20
25s 1 set of 10
35s (RP) 10 + 5 + 5 = 20 reps (-4)

If there were any doubt before about front delt recruitment during curls … Definitely felt limited on the initial set.

Chins, supinated grip
BW sets of 5 / 4 / 3
+25 lbs (RP) 10 + 3 + 3 = 16 reps (par)

Standing pinwheel curls
10s 2 sets of 20
25s 1 set of 10
35s (maxR) 12 L / 12 R (-5)

Same issue here with the front delts. Hopefully the shoulder will heal soon. Did manage to finish the shoulder work, but jeez …

Banded scarecrows
Green band 3 sets of 20

On the right side with the bum shoulder, I just did a 20-second iso hold.

Standing Arnold/DB press
10s 2 sets of 20
25s 1 set of 10
35s (RP) 12 + 6 + 4 = 22 reps (+2)

Had to clean the 35s to get them into place. Good grief. All the same, not a bad outing compared to last time.

DB high pull
25s 3 sets of 10
35s (maxR) 12 L / 12 R (+2 both arms)

Was a little surprised at the outperformance here, given the shoulder. I’ll take it.

Back squat
35s (70 lbs total) one set of 40

Unbroken. Had to do back squats instead of goblet squats because, due to my shoulder, I couldn’t hold the dumbbell in position for any length of time.

Shoulder continues to ache. I’ve been avoiding Ibuprofen and even curcumin on lifting days. I’m going to keep doing that, but load up on the curcumin on non-lifting days. All the same, I liked what I was able to do today.

894

THURSDAY

BW: 152.0 lbs
waist: 33 3/4"

Weight coming off at a nice clip. Have tightened up the diet and increased the cardio over the past several days to good effect.

Goal is to get under 150 lbs by year’s end, and then use the Transformation to get LEAN (<142.5 lbs). Ideally, by the time the Transformation is over (early June), the gyms will be back open and I can try and put on 5-6 lbs quality weight from a much leaner base.

Cardio
Incline treadmill walk
3.0 miles / 352 calories / 52:19 minutes

895

FRIDAY

BW: 152.4 lbs
waist: 33 3/4"

Cardio
Incline treadmill walk
2.5 miles / 287 calories / 44:01 minutes

= several hours later =

Arms of Autumn 2.0, Week 2, Day 3

Banded pushups
Green band 3 sets of 20

DB flat bench
25s 2 sets of 20
35s 2 sets of 10
25s 3 sets of 24

45s felt a little too heavy on my shoulder. I might have been able to handle it later in the session. But as my first exercise, I figured I’d take it slow.

Dips, Triceps

No way on these. Wasn’t even able to do negatives. I think the issue might be less shoulder and more high up on the biceps.

Overhead triceps extensions
10s 2 sets of 20
25s (RP) 11 + 5 + 4 = 20 reps (+33)
Plus back-off 10s 1 set of 20 immediately afterwards

Triceps pressdowns
Green band 3 sets of 20

Added these in since I wasn’t able to do the tricep dips.

DB row
25s 2 sets of 20
35s 2 sets of 10
45s 30 L / 30 R (par)

DB overhead pullover
10s 2 sets of 20
25s (RP) 14 + 7 + 6 = 27 reps (+3)

DB RDLs
45s 3 sets of 18

also too 25 reps abs crunch between exercises for a total of 125 reps.

896

SATURDAY

BW: 153.2 lbs
waist: 34"

Cardio
Incline treadmill walk
3.0 miles / 353 calories / 52.19 minutes

= == ===

SUNDAY

BW: 153.1 lbs
waist: 34"

Day off today. Thrilled that I didn’t blow up like a Zeppelin after last night’s Pizza and a Movie Night. (Knives Out: two thumbs up!)

I’d stopped eating pizza because of the carbs, and had adopted the habit of only eating the toppings whenever my wife wanted pizza. Some good advice from Paul Carter got me thinking better. Still won’t do it often. But every other month or two, I think I can handle two slices.

Reading some other good ideas about body fat. There’s so much talk that isn’t specific and it’s hard to know when it’s applicable to and when it’s not. Short version: when guys talk about “smart bulking” they are talking about getting up to 14% BF max and then cutting back down to single digits.

This reminds me that fat loss has to be #1 priority right now. I’m probably at 18% BF. I have to think of resistance training as a muscle-maintaining endeavor while I’m losing a significant amount of fat.

Conference first few days of the week. May screw with my training a bit, especially tomorrow.

897

MONDAY

BW: 153.6 lbs
waist: 34"

Cardio
Incline treadmill walk
2.0 miles / 227 calories / 36:02 minutes

= several hours later =

Cardio
Incline treadmill walk
2.0 miles / 236 calories / 35:02 minutes

=

I was right about day one of the conference. Too worn out to do resistance training today, so I did a double cardio session and made it a low calorie day. I’ll have another one tomorrow and then get back to lifting on Wednesday when the conference’s final day ends shortly after noon.

One thing I’ll say: after doing these digital conferences, in-person events are going to be a BREEZE …

1 Like
898

I was correct. Conference week played hell with my workout schedule, but it did wonders for my bodyweight! I dropped down to a low of 150.2 lbs by Thanksgiving morning and was back where I was at the beginning of the week 24 hours afterwards.

No training Tuesday - Thursday.

Tuesday
BW: 151.4 lbs
waist: 33 3/4"

Wednesday
BW: 151.0 lbs
waist: 33 3/4"

Thursday
BW: 150.2 lbs
waist: 33 1/2"

Friday
BW: 153.2 lbs
waist: 33 1/2"

Cardio
Soos Creek walk
5.25 miles / 353 calories / 80 minutes

Saturday

BW: 152.0 lbs
waist: 33 3/4"

Sunday

BW: 152.4 lbs
waist: 33 3/4"

Cardio
Incline treadmill walk
3.0 miles / 353 calories / 52:21 minutes

Starting on Monday with Arms of Autumn 2.1. I’ve had to make some adjustments to deal with a jacked up rotator cuff on my right shoulder. Mostly I’m avoiding chest and shoulder work, though I’ll do one-arm incline presses on my “B” day. But arms will still be the focus into the new year.

899

MONDAY

BW: 152.4 lbs
waist: 33 3/4"

Cardio
Incline treadmill walk
2.25 miles / 255 calories / 40:02 minutes

= several hours later =

Arms of Autumn 2.1, Week 1, Day 1

Tricep pressdowns
Green band 3 sets of 20
10 reps top / 10 reps bottom / 10 reps full range
1 set of 20

Tate press
10s 3 sets of 20
25s 3 sets of 10

Overhead triceps extension
10s 3 sets of 20
25s 3 sets of 8

Triceps stretch: one minute each side

DB rows
25s 2 sets of 20
35s 2 sets of 10
45s 1 set of 30

RDLs
45s 3 sets of 15

also too, 25 reps abs crunch between exercises for a total of 125 reps

Back on the horse with a revised Arms of Autumn. No pressing, but I’m getting some good work on my triceps all the same. Will continue to tweak as necessary to make sure the right parts are getting the necessary work.

900

TUESDAY

BW: 152.2 lbs
waist: 33 1/2"

Cardio
Incline treadmill walk
3.0 miles / 353 calories / 52:20 minutes

Film study: Gordon Ryan’s The Sport of Kings: High Performance Mindset For Grappling

Part of my Return to the Mat program involves twice weekly film study during my LSD cardio. Starting off with this big picture stuff from the King, figuring out new habits to forge …

Checking out Fouad Abiad’s podcast with Guy Cisternino and Nick Walker. Interesting point about how TONS of volume early in their careers was key to their current arm size. Feeling a pretty good response to the triceps volume on Monday - plus the extreme stretching, which I’m committing to this time around.

Tomorrow is biceps, chest/shoulder on my good side, and quads. Looking at my current slate, I think I’ll add another back exercise to the “A” day and a unilateral lateral raise to the “B” day. That will give me three exercises per session on the focus muscle (triceps or biceps), two exercises per session for the secondary body part (back or chest/shoulders), and one exercise per session for lower body (quads, hams, glutes),

901

WEDNESDAY

BW: 151.4 lbs
waist: 33 1/2"

Cardio
Incline treadmill walk
2.25 miles / 255 calories / 40:01 minutes

= several hours later =

Arms of Autumn 2.1, Week 1, Day 2

Standing bicep curls
Big red band 3 sets of 20
10 reps top / 10 reps bottom / 10 reps full range
1 set of 20

Standing alt curl
10s 3 sets of 20
25s 3 sets of 10

Pinwheel curl
10s 3 sets of 20
25s 3 sets of 10

Bent arm hang 50 seconds
Dogg Crapp biceps stretch 30 seconds

One-arm incline press (left only)
25s 2 sets of 20
35s 2 sets of 10
45s 3 sets of 10

Lunges
10s 3 sets of 18

also too, hanging leg raises 12 reps between exercises for a total of 60 reps

Thinking about progression. Will probably just double tap then increase by a couple reps. Sets of 10, 12, 15, 18, and 20 … Super focus on form and MMC … O to speake of the woe that is a dumbbell-based home gyme …

902

THURSDAY

BW: 151.6 lbs
waist: 33 1/2"

Cardio
Incline treadmill walk
3.0 miles / 353 calories / 52:18 minutes

Low calorie day. On track for < 1000 net. Back to posterior routine (triceps/back/hams) tomorrow. Adding 100 band pull aparts a day (sets of 25) as part of my shoulder rehab.

903

FRIDAY

BW: 152.7 lbs
waist: 33 3/4"

Cardio
Incline treadmill walk
2.5 miles / 287 calories / 44:02 minutes

= several hours later =

Arms of Autumn 2.1, Week 1, Day 3

Tricep pressdowns
Green band 3 sets of 20
10 reps top / 10 reps bottom / 10 reps full range
1 set of 20

Tate press
10s 3 sets of 20
25s 3 sets of 10

Overhead triceps extension
10s 3 sets of 20
25s 3 sets of 8

Triceps stretch: one minute each side

Bent over rows
Red band 3 sets of 20
10 reps top / 10 reps bottom / 10 reps full range
1 set of 20

Hip thrust
45 lbs 3 sets of 15

also too, sets of 25 reps between exercises for a total of 125 reps.

So far so good with the “A” program (triceps, back, glutes). Will add a few reps for the next session on Wednesday.

904

SATURDAY

BW: 150.1 lbs
waist: 33 1/2"

Tagged my BW target for 2020 about three weeks early. Going to push for a sub-148 lb weekly average by year’s end ahead of Transformation 2021. This week’s average was 151.83 lbs.

Cardio
Incline treadmill walk
3.0 miles / 387 calories / 51:03 minutes