Darwin's Training Log

Training Training Logs
161

WEEK 7 - Friday 5-16-2008

Weight: 196

LIFTS:

SQUAT:
(warmup) 135x5, 155x5, 225x1
(working) 210x5, 210x5, 210x2
→ PR of 225 for 1RM! I lost steam on the 3rd set. I think I didn’t rest long enough.

MILITARY PRESS:
(warmup) 45x5, 55x3, 65x1
(working) 80x5, 80x5, 80x3
→ Nice. Up 2 reps from Monday.

DB ROWS:
(warmup) 40x5, 45x3, 50x1
(working) 70x5, 70x5, 70x3
→ I hate these things. But, up 1 rep from Monday. Not too shabby.

CHINS:
BWx1, BWx0
→ I got one! Better than my pull-ups were going, at least.

INCLINE SITUP:
BW+30 3x5

HYPEREXTENSIONS:
BW+30 3x5

Good day, given that I feel not so great.

Today I’m kinda blah, and I feel like I’m getting fatter, not stronger. It’s weird. I know it’s probably all in my head, but my stomach feels huge and bulky. It’s driving me mad, but I’m ignoring it as best I can.

162

[quote]darwin420 wrote:
WEEK 7 - Friday 5-16-2008

Weight: 196

LIFTS:

SQUAT:
(warmup) 135x5, 155x5, 225x1
(working) 210x5, 210x5, 210x2
→ PR of 225 for 1RM! I lost steam on the 3rd set. I think I didn’t rest long enough.

MILITARY PRESS:
(warmup) 45x5, 55x3, 65x1
(working) 80x5, 80x5, 80x3
→ Nice. Up 2 reps from Monday.

DB ROWS:
(warmup) 40x5, 45x3, 50x1
(working) 70x5, 70x5, 70x3
→ I hate these things. But, up 1 rep from Monday. Not too shabby.

CHINS:
BWx1, BWx0
→ I got one! Better than my pull-ups were going, at least.

INCLINE SITUP:
BW+30 3x5

HYPEREXTENSIONS:
BW+30 3x5

Good day, given that I feel not so great.

Today I’m kinda blah, and I feel like I’m getting fatter, not stronger. It’s weird. I know it’s probably all in my head, but my stomach feels huge and bulky. It’s driving me mad, but I’m ignoring it as best I can.[/quote]

Nice session!

As far as feeling fat, I get that too. Over the weekend indulgences in carbs & salty stuff put me up 4 lbs for the start of the week and I caught the bar on my belly doing cleans. Today though it all worked through the system and I’m back down to where I was.

163

Darwin, any reason why you do DB Rows instead of Barbell? Also, the weight you have listed is for one arm only, right?

(I apologize if you’ve already answered this question, but I probably forgot!)

164

[quote]soldog wrote:
Nice session!

As far as feeling fat, I get that too. Over the weekend indulgences in carbs & salty stuff put me up 4 lbs for the start of the week and I caught the bar on my belly doing cleans. Today though it all worked through the system and I’m back down to where I was.[/quote]

Thanks!

I’m holding 194-196 week-to-week, with my lifts progression, so it seems obvious that I’m gaining strength and likely losing fat. But, this week has just felt like I’ve been bloated and fat. Maybe it’s because I’m not feeling well, or maybe it’s the Creatine, or maybe it’s just all in my head. :slight_smile:

165

[quote]Tonino wrote:
Darwin, any reason why you do DB Rows instead of Barbell? Also, the weight you have listed is for one arm only, right?

(I apologize if you’ve already answered this question, but I probably forgot!)[/quote]

Initially, it was because my arms were imbalanced. Also partially because I’ve always done DB Rows, not BB rows. To my understanding, there isn’t too great a difference between DB and BB rowing (at least according to exrx).

I use the same weight on each arm, and only list the reps BOTH arms have done (so if my right arm did 5, but left did 4, I report 4). Trying to keep balance. :slight_smile:

166

[quote]darwin420 wrote:
Just got back to the gym. It was an okay session. Nowhere near as awesome as Wednesday was, but I’m not complaining.

Well, except for the guy who was curling in the squat rack…

ME: Hey, are you almost done, or can I work in some squats?
DOUCHEBAG: What? You need to squat?
ME: Yeah, you know, in the SQUAT RACK.
DOUCHEBAG: (Scowls, scampers off to curl and admire himself in the mirror)

… I thought my gym might possibly be an exception, but, nope, we have our own squat rack curler. Damn.[/quote]

Its an unwritten rule/law of mainstream gyms. Learn to accept it as the norm in the land of the sissy boy squat rack curlers:(

167

milk makes my stomach bigger :wink:

oh and i pretty much slowly gain weight. sometimes i eat 500 grams of spaghetti, 2 pounds of meat and other stuff and still not gain way all that fast(considering that aside from the gym im kinda inactive lately)

168

[quote]BigKDawg wrote:
darwin420 wrote:
Just got back to the gym. It was an okay session. Nowhere near as awesome as Wednesday was, but I’m not complaining.

Well, except for the guy who was curling in the squat rack…

ME: Hey, are you almost done, or can I work in some squats?
DOUCHEBAG: What? You need to squat?
ME: Yeah, you know, in the SQUAT RACK.
DOUCHEBAG: (Scowls, scampers off to curl and admire himself in the mirror)

… I thought my gym might possibly be an exception, but, nope, we have our own squat rack curler. Damn.

Its an unwritten rule/law of mainstream gyms. Learn to accept it as the norm in the land of the sissy boy squat rack curlers:(
[/quote]

I couldn’t tell if he was shocked that someone wanted to use the rack forits intended purpose, or confused as to what a squat was, lol

169

[quote]lordstorm88 wrote:
I’m holding 194-196 week-to-week, with my lifts progression, so it seems obvious that I’m gaining strength and likely losing fat. But, this week has just felt like I’ve been bloated and fat. Maybe it’s because I’m not feeling well, or maybe it’s the Creatine, or maybe it’s just all in my head. :slight_smile:

milk makes my stomach bigger :wink:

oh and i pretty much slowly gain weight. sometimes i eat 500 grams of spaghetti, 2 pounds of meat and other stuff and still not gain way all that fast(considering that aside from the gym im kinda inactive lately)[/quote]

It’s funny, I moved up to a new notch on my belt, yet the scale says I’ve gained 10 lbs since Friday morning. It’s enough to drive a person mad, lol

170

hahah well with me i have to get jeans that are pretty big… they still fit 4-5 more inches on my waist but they are tight on my butt and legs… and hurt my knees.

hence i always go out with shorts. who cares if girls prefer jeans

171

I took yesterday off, for multiple reasons. 1) It was my son’s birthday; 2) my knees were killing me. But, I DID remain active.

I spent much of the day working on my yard. I built a playground-esque area for my son, which involved a lot of digging (to level the yard), hauling heavy pieces of wood (for the area’s frame), carrying huge bags of mulch, and generally a lot of bending, pulling, pushing, and what-have-you. It was a half-day’s worth of full body workout. I’m good and sore this morning, lol.

I still can’t find my tape measure, so I’m going to buy one today or tomorrow. I really want to compare my measurements (probably so I won’t feel so insane by looking at the scale, haha).

Question for you HOT-ROX people: I’ve read alternating opinions on whether or not to cycle use… I’m nearing the bottom of my pill bottle, and am contemplating ordering more, but am interested in what other people find works for them. If I don’t continue with HOT-ROX, I was thinking maybe doing a bottle’s run of Alpha Male, but I’m not sure if that would be beneficial to me at this time.

So, what say you, Oh Readers of My Training Log?

172

If my BB Bench is 120, what would be the equivalent DBs to use? I know not how to convert, and I don’t think it would be 60 in each hand… (but I could be wrong)

173

[quote]darwin420 wrote:
If my BB Bench is 120, what would be the equivalent DBs to use? I know not how to convert, and I don’t think it would be 60 in each hand… (but I could be wrong)[/quote]

I seem to recall that going the other way it is 1.25 * DB = bench

But that could just be phantoms in my fading brain…;-}

EDIT:

3/4 the way thru this article they suggest
“Dumbbell weight = 80% of bar weight divided in half”

http://www.T-Nation.com/readArticle.do?id=1876162

174

Soldog: interesting article. Doing the math, I should be able to DB Bench 50.

I’m thinking of switching just because it’s not always easy to find a spotter. Plus, wouldn’t it help ensure that I’m correcting any imbalance between my arms?

175

[quote]darwin420 wrote:
Soldog: interesting article. Doing the math, I should be able to DB Bench 50.

I’m thinking of switching just because it’s not always easy to find a spotter. Plus, wouldn’t it help ensure that I’m correcting any imbalance between my arms?[/quote]

It should - I notice my left has to work harder and it is slowly coming up to the right. I’ve only been doing DB benches and you definitely work many other stabilizer muscles.

176

start with even lower. when starting something new your CNS always needs to adapt a bit.

thats why when i started with front squats i could only do 80 kgs, and it flew up to 100 in a week or two.

go for it if you want. though rippetoe suggests against using dumbbells for a start

177

I’m considering it, if only because I can’t always find a spotter at my gym, and no one I know on base wants to train with me. I know I lift better with a spotter, so alleviating that mental concern might enable better progress.

Just something I was thinking about, and it made me realize that I didn’t know how to convert from BB to DB (and vice versa).

178

Roughly 3 1/2 hours to training time. I’m antsy after not lifting on Monday. My knees feel a lot better, though, with that extra day of (relative) rest. I think I really needed it.

I’m confident today, and yesterday was rough, so I’ve got some fire in my soul, and some aggression that needs to be released. I’m really feeling like I can conquer 210 on my squats and 80 on my mil press. That would really make my day!

(rant)
I was once again feeling like I haven’t been making any progress (despite the fact that the physical changes are obvious, and I feel better). I don’t know why I’m getting so hung up on all this; it’s like a war between my mind and my stomach flub, and until that tire is gone, I won’t feel like I’ve really accomplished anything. Weird. But, it does give me a definitive goal, I guess. I’m just glad my wife is so supportive, as no one else in my off-line life is. Ugh
(/rant)

On a positive note, my brother received his birthday present of Mark Rippetoe’s “Starting Strength” book, and he was very appreciative! I think it will help him understand lifting a lot better, and maybe help keep him motivated. I know he wants to get more fit, but it still remains to be seen if he can stick with a good program for any length of time.

179


I took this picture yesterday. My son’s seesaw broke, so now he’s using the seat bar to “lift weights like Daddy.”

Here, he is attempting a Squat. I’m still working on teaching him proper form, but he gets a kick out of it. He scrunches his face and gets all intense when he’s moving his “weight” (the bar) around. It’s great!

180

WEEK 8 - 5/21/2008

Although it wasn’t a bad day at the gym, it FELT like a bad day. I split my skivies during my squats, which marks the second pair of ripped. At least I know I’m going deep.

LIFTS:

BACK SQUAT:
(warm up) 135x5, 155x3, 225x1
(working) 210 3x5 !!!
→ I conquered these! My hip wobbled a bit on the last couple reps. I think I’m going to do this weight again on Friday, just to ensure I don’t sacrifice form.

MILPRESS:
(warm up) 45x5, 55x3, 65x1
(working) 80x5, 80x5, 80x3
→ No change. I was really hoping to conquer this weight today.

DB ROW:
(warm up) 40x5, 45x3, 50x1
(working) 70x5, 70x5, 70x4
→ I got one more rep in. Form was shaky on last set, but I don’t think it was compromised.

DIPS:
BWx7, BWx5
→ I didn’t do chins today, as there were a bunch of idiots working in that area and they wouldn’t let me jump in. So I did dips, and holy shit am I surprised. Maybe I’ll keep dips on these days, and move chins to my other days.

HYPEREXTENSIONS:
BW+35 3x5

INCLINE SITUPS:
BW+35 3x5

→ I’m shocked that I’m capable of doing this with this much added weight. It really shows how strong my core has gotten since starting Rippetoes.

All in all, I guess I can’t complain. I still can’t shake the feeling that I’m not progressing fast enough, but maybe I’m just suffering from the high standards of a newbie.

On a side note, I must say that I really enjoy drinking my PWO shake in the sauna. It really helps increase that zen state after lifting. :slight_smile: