This is my first attempt at keeping an online training log. I have plenty of paper logs but figured I would try something new. Guess I should write a little bit about myself. I am 22, currently in Afghanistan sucking up dust. I have been training seriously for almost two years now. Started at 155lbs @ 5’10" (215 bench, 225 squat, 285 deadlift with horrible form).
The heaviest I have ever been was 183lbs with a 275 bench, 345 squat and 405 deadlift and this was about 6 months after I first started. Lost a lot of the progress I made because of laziness and spending months at a time in the field training. Right now I am 174lbs, not sure what my body fat percentage is but I am guessing around or under 10% (I can see some abs). I am in the 3rd week of Ed Coan’s Deadlift routine with the intention of pulling 500 (440 PR last time I maxed out). Hope that is enough information and was not too boring. Onto the training:
Friday April 16, 2010
-Deadlift: 135x8, 135x8, 245x5, 325x3, 375x1, 425x2
-Speed Deadlift: 6 sets of 350x3. The first rep was always more of a grinder and the last two went a lot smoother but I wouldn’t call them speed deadlifts considering how long this part lasted.
-Took an unintentional 5 minute break trying to find another bar and the weights I needed for the circuit part of today’s session.
Done in circuit fashion with 90secs - 2 min rest between exercises for 3 circuits
-Straight Leg Deadlift: 245x8
-Barbell Row (torso parallel to floor): 140x8. I dropped the weight from 165 in the last session so I could focus more on form and technique.
-Chin Ups: 10x8 (nothing impressive here, trying to work my chin up/pull up strength back to what it was)
-Good Mornings: 100x8 (These are always the worst for me, guess its because the pounding my lower back has been taking the whole session).
Today was definitely a lot harder than the previous workouts. Working all day does not help much either. I was pretty exhausted after everything was said and done. Drank my post workout shake, a quart of milk, and ate 2 1/2 clif bars. Had to stop because I felt like throwing up. Then I went back to work. That is it for the first log; any comments or suggestions appreciated.
P.S. I know my grammar and punctuation sucks, sorry.
Sunday April 18, 2010
Had to leave the gym early to go back to work so I focused on front squats and bench. Nothing complicated.
-Front Squat: 6 sets of 180x5
-Bench Press: 5 sets of 220x2
Tuesday April 20, 2010
-Bench Press: Aimed for 6 sets of 220x6 but only got 5 on the last two sets. Don’t feel too bad about it though, still feel pretty strong and its the first time I’ve repped out 220 like that. Still room for improvement though.
-JM Press: Not sure what happened here, I guess my triceps were still a fatigued from the bench because what is usually an moderate 3 sets of 8 turned into 105x6, 105x4, 105x2. Embarassing.
-Pull Ups: 10x8. Really weak on pull up strength so i’m trying to build this back up starting with light weights.
-One Arm DB Shoulder Press: 3 sets of 30x12 (both sides).
-Tate Press: I expected to fall short here but there was a rebound effect going on. Still didn’t get 3 sets of 16 though. 30x12, 30x14, 30x15
-Front Squat: 6 sets of 180x2. Just some light squats to work on form. Caught myself pushing up with the ball of my left foot.
I expected this session to turn out the way it did, I was sick all of last week and barely did any of my usual accessory work for my upper body. Plan on using the same weights for the exercises I failed on next week, should be able to handle it by then.
Thursday April 22, 2010
Great session, shitty, shitty day. High point was finally figuring out how to do back squats with the limited equipment we have but kinda pointless since I still want to reach my goal of a 250 front squat before I go back to back squats. Anyway, enough emo shit.
4th Deadlift Session
-Deadlift: Warmed up to 450x2. A PR, didn’t even feel light but being in upset the whole time kinda took the fun out of it. Oh well, at least I know I’m making progress.
-Speed Deadlifts: 5 sets of 375x3. Again, the first rep on each set wasn’t fast but the other two were decent enough.
I lowered the weight on some of the assistance exercises so I could concentrate more on form and technique. Still 3 circuits of 4 exercises with 2 minutes of rest between sets
-SLDL: 3 sets of 225x8
-Barbell Row: 2 sets of 145x8, only got 7 reps on the 3rd set
-Chin Ups: 3 sets of 15x8
-Good Morning: 3 sets of 80x8. Felt much better this time around.
All in all, it really was a great session. I think my body is getting used to it because I’m not sore or tight like I’ve been before (also remembered to stretch this time so that might also be the reason). We’ll see how I feel tomorrow though.
Couldn’t resist anymore and decide to max out on my squat instead of doing my usual front squat routine. Obviously my lower back was still sore and fatigued from the deadlifts but I feel like it was a decent effort.
-Back Squat: 315x1
-Bench Press: 6 sets of 220x2
-Decline DB Tricep Extensions: 3 sets of 25x12
-Face Pull: 3 sets of 85x10
-Lateral Raise: 3 sets of 15x12
-Hammer Curl: 2 sets of 40x12. On the 3rd set I got all 12 reps with my right arm but only 10 with the left.
Deadlift is coming along well mate! Im going to run C/P after my comp, hopeing to add a few kg’s to my dead and some mass to my lower body
Thanks. Seems to be really working although those speed deadlifts, followed by SLDLs are killer.
Tuesday April 27, 2010
-Bench: 5 sets of 230x5. Barely got the last rep on the last two sets; had trouble locking out. Guess my tricep strenght needs more work.
-JM Press: 2 sets of 105x8 and 3rd set only got 7 reps. Going to drop the weight by 10 pounds and see if that helps.
-Pull Ups: 3 hard sets of 15x8.
-One Arm DB Shoulder Press: 3 sets of 35x12. I’m going to use 40lbs. next week but I can tell I won’t get it. Good exercise though.
-Tate Press: 3 sets of 30x16
Skipped Front Squats because I had to go back to work. Not too bothered about it though. We’ll see how it turns out come Saturday.
Friday April 30, 2010 (I was too busy Thursday)
-Deadlift: 3 sets of 400x3. I had a feeling this was going to suck and it did. Main thing was my grip (trying to stick to double overhand for as long as possible).
-Speed Deadlifts: 3 sets of 325x3. Not much to say, decent sets.
-Power Shrug: 3 sets of 265x5. This felt very light but that’s because I’m used to doing more.
-SLDL: 3 sets of 235x5
-Barbell Row: 3 sets of 155x5
-Chin Ups: 3 sets of 25x5
-Good Mornings: 3 sets of 90x5
With the exception of the first heavy sets of deadlifts, I rested 2 minutes in between all sets. The best thing about this session is that I was done in under 90 minutes which is great compared to the 2 hours I normally spend in the gym on deadlift days.
Sunday May 2, 2010
-Front Squat-
5x5x195… Was a little worried about these since I haven’t been doing them as often as I’d like but these sets were not that bad. Today was also the first time I did squats without shoes on. Felt pretty good, think I’ll try it with deadlifts and see how that goes.
-Bench Press-
6x220x2
-Decline DB Extensions-
30x12
30x10
30x8
-Face Pull-
3x90x10
-Lateral Raise-
3x20x12
Going to stay at the same weight for a while; noticed a weird feeling in my right shoulder and had to cheat a little (leg drive) on the last few reps for the 2nd and 3rd sets.
-Hammer Curl-
3x40x12
Tuesday May 4, 2010
-Bench-
4x245x4. Again, these were harder than expected. I keep thinking as the sets decrease it’ll get easier but I guess not.
-JM Press-
3x95x8
-Pull Ups-
20x8
20x8
20x6
-One Arm DB Shoulder Press-
40x12
40x12
40x6
-Tate Press-
3x35x16 For some reason I feel like I shouldn’t be going up so high in weight with this exercise.
-Front Squats-
4x180x2. Didn’t get all 6 sets but at least I actually did some this session.
Looking good! It is a great program. I am currently running the program and just finished the 4th week. I can’t wait to get back in the gym for my next DL session.
Thursday May 6, 2010
-Deadlift-
Warmed up to 425x2. Felt easy I expected.
-Speed Deadlift-
3x350x3 Still not feeling very fast on these sets. Kinda slow from the floor but I try to pull as hard and fast as I can once I get past the knees.
-Power Shrugs-
3x285x5 Look forward to adding more weight to these, I like this exercise.
-SLDL-
3x245x5
-Barbell Row
3x160x5
-Chin-ups-
3x30x5
Good Mornings-
3x95x5 These not enjoying so much though. Could and probably should use more weight but meh.
So I decided to sit down and actually count how many calories I’ve been eating over the weeks because 1) I’m bored and 2) it might make this log a little less boring. I haven’t been eating to gain mass because that wasn’t my focus and ate what I thought was a enough to maintain my weight.
I thought I was taking in 350g protein, 350g carbs and 150g fat on my off days with an extra 100g of carbs after my work outs. However, it would seem that I seriously underestimated how much I eat. I will admit that I don’t have the best diet but I blame this on lack of food as opposed to lack of discipline.
I eat the same thing everyday (because I’m lazy): milk, whey protein, beef jerky, clif bars and olive oil. My cheat meals are basically 2 to 4 times a week depending on how hungry I am and if I feel like I need some real food; so far I’ve eaten: steaks, hamburgers, hot dog, chicken breasts, rice and veggies. Yea, that’s my idea of a cheat meal.
Anyway, like I said, I underestimated how much I ate, did some calculations and really surprised myself. 349g protein, 500g carbs (28g fiber), and 237g fat for about 5530 calories on my off days. Jumps up to 357g protein, 594g carbs (38g fiber), and 251g fat at 6060 calories.
In six weeks, I’ve gone from 171 to 180, haven’t noticed any real fat gains except for some on my waist. I can still see my an outline of my abs but I figure to be on the safe side and because I haven’t done it a few months, I’m going to start training my core again.
Nothing complicated just 4 or 5 exercises 3 times a week on my off days. I’m going to keep eating the same amount but once I finish (about 4 more weeks) I’m going to try to eat a little less just to make it easy on my grocery bill when I get back home.
Saturday May 8, 2010
-Front Squat-
4x205x4 These are definitely not getting easier but still getting them done. Had to increase my rest time to make sure I get all my sets.
-Bench Press-
6x220x2
-DB Triceps Extension-
3x30x12
-Face Pull-
3x95x10 Noticed a little something in my left shoulder not sure how to explain it. Think I’ll keep the weight the same for next week.
-Lateral Raise-
20x8
20x12
20x12
Definitely felt it my shoulder that time, stopped the set short on purpose, rested a little longer and finished the exercise.
-Hammer Curl-
3x45x12 Actually felt my shoulder doing some work at the top part of the curl and made me think about switching to drag curls when I get done with this deadlift routine.
Saturday May 8, 2010
-Front Squat-
4x205x4 These are definitely not getting easier. Oh well.
-Bench Press-
6x220x2
-DB Triceps Extensions-
3x30x12 The decline bench was occupied and I was in rush to take a shower so I used the flat bench.
-Face Pull-
3x95x10 Had the same weird feeling again but in my left shoulder this time. I’ll keep the same weight for the next few weeks and see if it isn’t my form or something that I’m doing wrong.
-Lateral Raise-
20x8
20x12
20x12
-Hammer Curl-
3x45x12 Felt my shoulders taking over at the top of the movement (guess my anterior delts like to take over for everything) so I’ll probably switch to drag curl when I’m done with this deadlift routine.
Monday May 10, 2010
Had a massive headache as soon as I walked into the gym so I did what I could and left to go lay down.
-Bench-
3x260x3.
-Tate Press-
3x40x16
-Pull Ups-
20x8
20x8
20x8
-One Arm DB Shoulder Press-
40x10
40x10
40x10 At this point my head was starting to feel like it was about to split in half. Probably could have gotten 12 reps on all sets but I decided to stop short.
-Dips (Gironda variation)-
Someone was using the bench and I didn’t have the patience to wait.
3xBWx10
After that, said fuck the front squats, went back to my tent and took a little nap.
Thursday May 13, 2010
Been thinking about doing some more core work lately since I’ve been neglecting it for the past few months. For some stupid reason though, I decided to start Tuesday and ended up being so sore that I couldn’t even pull 405 off the ground yesterday (today’s workout was supposed to be done yesterday). I knew I shouldn’t do anything extra because these deadlifts sessions need a lot of recovery time but guess I just have to learn things the hard way.
-Deadlift-
Warmed up to 450x2. Didn’t think I’d make it after yesterday (would be so pissed right now) but I got it. Barely. Saw stars for a few seconds and my skin felt like it was on fire/itching so that was fun.
-Speed Deadlift-
3x375x3 These got easier as I kept going.
-Power Shrugs-
2x310x5
-SLDL-
2x255x5
-Barbell Row
2x165x5
-Chin-ups-
2x35x5
Good Mornings-
2x100x5 I’ve come to realize that I hate doing these. Either it’s because I don’t have enough flexibility or I’m doing them wrong but these never feel right and I’m pretty sure I could be using more weight than this. I’ll have to upload a video when I finally get home (12 more days!).