This will be my first log in my fitness journey.Yesterday i made a post seeking for an advice and i got a lot of great ones and learned new things,one of them being to start a log here.
Today leg day:
Leg extension:2x warmup sets with 55kg and 85kg for 6 reps.Working set was done with 105 for 9 reps,thats 2 plus reps from previous workout.
Today i switched from leg press to hacksquat and same as previous exercise warmed up 2 sets and 3rd working set 30kg a side for 7 very clean reps full ROM.(watched video from platz and yates for this one).I maybe had one more rep,which left me angry cause i always give more than 100%,but its my furst time on hacksquats in months.
Then one leg hamstring curls:working set 35kg per leg for 9 reps(+2) from previous workout.
Leg press calf raises:This one helped my calves a lot,and i get compliments about them how quickly i have grown my calves.Today working set was 110kg for 17 reps with pause at the bottom part.Thats +3 reps from previous workout.
Back extensions:I do this regularly now to not neglect the lower back.BW for 30 reps 2 sets.I want to try weighted but i am skeptical.
Weight today morning 61.2kg,height 181cm.Today aiming for 3000kcal,cause i have 16k steps done also.
Thank you all who encouraged me to start this log,and of course every critic is welcomed for the better.
Note:On all exercise i do 2 warmup sets with 50% and 75% of working set.
Incline bench,superset with peck deck flies.Per advice i switched doing first the incline and got 11 clean reps with 110lbs(+2 from previous workout) and 8 reps on the peck deck with 210lbs(+1 from previous workout).
Lat pulldowns:165lbs x 7 reps(one more from previous workout) and form was very good squeeze at bottom and controled negative.
One arm supported dumbbell row:This i was doing first time in my life.I have managed the 70lbs dumbbell per hand for 5 reps.Form was okay no momentum used.
Hammer rows machine(chest supported):115lbs per hand for 7 reps (one more from previous workout and better form.Watched videos to lean a bit and not let my chest come off the pad,which i was doing last workout.)
Finished of with cable pullovers,cause i love the stretch and pump for the lats i get for this.I got 90lbs for 9 reps.
All in all great intensity,could improve form on rows a little bit and i am doing more exercises for back because back i a lot bigger than chest and supports your posture along with hams..
Today was a rest day,and i have encountered an issue,that is i have not so much intense pain in the lower back,and i think its from the chest supported rows i have done yesterday and its making me nervous cause i dont want to have sciatica attack again and pause the fitness.Tomorrow is my training day and if i have even a slight pain should i workout or pause one more day.The pain is from 1-10 on a scale 3,i can train around it for sure but im scared as hell cause sciatica is nasty one.Any info from lifters with herniated disc is welcomed,how are you managing it by lifting and your experiences.
Mild lower back pain today weight is up currently 61,7kg morning after 61,1 week ago.
Lateral raises:12,5kg x 18 rest pause 7,5kg x 9 PR on this exercise
Cable rear delt pulls:These are done with 40kg x 20 reps today.PR
Weighted chin ups 20kg x 5(again 5 reps im pissed i didnt get 6 its very hard to get that 6 rep second workout in a row,going to try adding 1,25kg instead a rep)
Alternating dumbbell curls 17,5kg x 4 reps and 15 x 8 with very very good form controlling the ecentric part perfectly.first time doing these
Weighted dips 40kg x 3 reps.PR again and very good form controlling the ecentric part also.
Triceps pushdowns 60kg x 9 reps
Leg press calf raises 110kgx17reps new PR.
All in all very high intensity,disappointing the weighted chin ups i only got 5 again,everythijg else was PR.
Back pain is still there just not too intese,scared to train legs in couple of days,although i love training legs
Today was the leg day,as i wrote previously i had some low back discomfort,started with hack squats and on the 4th rep of my working set i felt sharp pain in the lower back and hamstring and calf in the right leg.That was the sciatica again,and i stopped my workout and most likely this is the end.I know im going to be sidelined for months,and i have no more willpower to fight with sciatica again.I have a small sciatica pan rn but i think tomorrow like always will get worse.It is what it is,i really love the gym a lot but cannot continue anymore due to health reasons and will most likely start calisthenics again.
During this workout remove one exercise then return it. You should be able to pin point which movement is the culprit. Then just remove it permanently.
Is it possible you are loading too much weight in the beginning? You have indicated chest supported rows have been a catalyst for sciatica. Now I read hack squats. You might just have too much load. Why don’t you list exercises in order with resistance, and there are some smart folks here that might give you some suggestions.
I dont think its too much weight,since i am doing a set of 10 clean reps with that weight,its more i think my old injury is bothering me and will forever i think.I love the gym and im very sad and frustrated i had to put it on hold maybe even for months.Chest support rows maybe i went too far,but with the hacksquats i think no,cause i had strength for a lot more weight to put.Its sad really sad,currently i am recovering still in pain not so much but the pain is still there.I only wish someday i get the chance to start working out again and have the ability to push myself hard.
Last week resumed training after long break,i left my ego back in the past,completely changed the form,started breathing properly and focusing on mind-muscle link.
Split also changed this is how it looks now
Day 1:Chest and Biceps
Day 2:Back and Triceps
Day 3:Rest
Day4:Legs
Day 5:Shoulders and arms
Day 6,7 Rest
Upped the volume and added a lot more exercises,focusing on pure form and technique,and lowered the weight on all exercises by 20,30%.
Lower back pain no but sciatica welcome back,its not too intense atm,from squats only bulgarian split squats and leg press(they feel bad sometimes when i extend the legs).
Just a quick question:Anyone experience with sciatica and working around it,i avoid dl,squats and bb bent over rows(substituting it with supported t bar rows and seated cable rows).
Have it had it going on about 8-9ish years after a back injury.
There’s really no “main thing” I do. I like to hit it from all sides and grab at as many things as I can and keep them in rotation.
I can make somewhat of a list for you though:
Deep Tissue- you essentially want to increase the pressure slowly. I have sciatica flare ups to the point where I just dive into my hips with whatever because the pain from the pressure work feels 10x better than the pain from the flare up.
TENS/electro stims- same concept for deep tissue work. I have a beastly tens unit from Hinge Health, and crank that thing UP. 30-45 mins is a good spot.
Heat/Ice- heat is usually my preferred choice. Be careful choosing the ice or cooling methods because you can compound the pain if the ice/cooling items causes stiffness.
Gait/Posture- try to pinpoint where the overcompensation is happening because one or both legs, the back, and knees are more than likely doing something to combat the flare ups. Especially if it’s chronic.
AQKC- adductors, quads, knees, and calves. Whatever work you do towards the actual flare up spot, do equal work to strengthen these areas. Of course have the glutes and hips as the initial focus since that where the sciatica tends to start for most people. With adductors you really can’t over-do it.
Salts/electrolytes- on occasion sometimes a flare up is started from lacking these.
If I know I want to do something that’s gonna awaken a flare up, I rotate it every 3 weeks give or take. Dead’s are the worst, so I tend to rotate between higher volume or higher intensity. I don’t stack within the week usually, so I pick either or. I’d say do your usual substitutes regularly, and plug in the other movements where it seems it best suits you.
Lastly, use anti-inflames, and pain meds as sparingly as you possibly can.
Wishing you sciatica relief in the near future.Thank you for you information and i suppose you avoid squats and dl like i do also.I do legs and back seated or supported.I just dont want the pain to intesify or make it worse like in the case of Coleman.Where he destroyed the back and could barely walk now.Or in best case the pain to subside which im pretty sure its not going to happen.Thank you again for your shared details and i hope you heal very soon because this pain sucks big time.
Back to the log,today was back and triceps,yesterday chest and biceps.
Progress visible on all lifts,bodyweight up to 62,3 which is almost 1kg in last month.
Chest i stick mostly to compounds incline bench press,incline dumbbell press,chest press machine and incline flyes,for biceps i did alternating dumbbell curls with squeeze at the top and cable curls.
My chest was really sore,but my biceps no and i know i pushed to maximum on the 2 last sets of both exercises.Ironically my biceps suck so i dont know what to so about that.
Today back day and it has become mu favorite,after watching haney and yates i simply cant wait to train back.Included t bar rows supported and seated cable rows along with proper wide grip pull ups(very wide) and pulldowns with text book form.for triceps today tried the JM press and it kinda felt awkward,maybe because its my first time(tips are always welcomed) and pushdowns and finished with overhead dumbbell extension.
Sciatica is still there bugging me little but i simply fell in love with the process and ignore the pain.
Next training i am uploading a pictures and its leg day(second favorite to back day).And i dont know why but my arms suck,but im 62kg at almost 6ft so i dont know what doesnt suck
Leg day today.Awesome leg day i love training legs.I do regret not being able to do squats or hack squats but i found new favorite bulgarian split squats.
Morning weight jumped to 63kg which is weird(0,7kg gain in 2 weeks)
Workout was:
Started with leg extensions 4 x 10-15 reps very controlled form and squeeze and increased the weight on the working set by 5 kg for same reps as previous weight.
Then moved to bulgarian split squats and did 3 sets for 8-12 reps.First time doing these didn’t want to push too far and did working set with 30kg per leg for 8 reps.Form was okay could have been better,will push next time for more and better form.
Then leg press I did for 4 sets(horizontal) for 10-15 reps.
Then lying hamstring curls 3 sets for 10-12 reps.
Finished of with calves standing variation and back hypertensions
And question,why did my weight suddenly jumped from 62,3 to 63kg?
For shoulders i did 4 sets of lateral raises and 4 sets of machine rear delt work,awesome pump and moved on to arms.
Triceps:
4 sets of close grip bench.Working set was the 4th set with highest intensity,managed to hit PR 50 kg x 10 (+2 from previous workout).Then i did dumbbell skullcrushers on incline 30 degree bench for 3 sets and this exercise made my triceps sore for 2 days now.Finished it of with pushdowns 4 sets and managed to+2 reps with same weight from previous workout.
Biceps,i started with alternating dumbbell curls for 3 sets.managed to pr again 15 kg per hand for 7 reps.
Preacher curls,this is very interesting,i am doing them one arm at a time and with the left i did 5 reps,with the right i did 8,which is very very uneven and im working on it to fix it.
After that finished with concentration curls and had good pump and feel for the biceps.
Yesterday and today is rest,still feeling sore in the legs(bulgarian split squats are love/hate due to the crazy dooms) and triceps really sore.I kinda upset my biceps was just a little sore not that much i am feeling like i did not do a good job .
Weight is now 62,5kg(fluctuates a lot this days 63 then 63,2 now 62,5).
So this whole week went awesome,hitting pr’s on all exercises and weight is up now to 63,7kg.
Legs got noticeably bigger and arms also,although i am skeptical about my biceps because they do not get sore like all body parts even though i work them to complete failure.incline bench and close grip bench is very strangely but surprisingly good,going up by a lot.Incline this week i did 50kg for 10 which is 6 reps increase from previous workout,and CG bench went up by 5kg,did 55 kg for 9 reps(last workout was 50kg for 10 reps).I know it will hit a wall but i dont want it to.
Workour started with incline bench.Got little upset here(maybe someone can share their opinion on this)Last workout i did 50kg x 10 with proper form,touching chest and slight pause,this workout i upped the weight to 55kg and managed only 7 reps,which is less than the minimum 8 I expected.
Incline dumbbell bench,upped the weight to 22,5kg dumbbell per hand and got 10 reps(last workour was 20kg dumbbell per hand x 10 reps).Form is very good going very deep feeling the stretch and then squeezing at the top.
Incline dumbbell flyes aka Charles Glass style.Omg this hit my pecs like no other exercise.
Finished of chest with machine press and working set was with 50kg x 19 reps(last workout was 50kg x 15),almost past out due to the intensity.
Biceps started with alternating dumbbell curls and did working set with 15kg x 10 reps (15kg per hand),last workout was same weight just x 8 reps.Then did cable swoop curls and did 35kg x 17 reps(last workout was 35kg x 11 reps).Finished of with hammer curls(Charles glass style) and did manage again to PR 10kg per hand with very hard squeeze for 7 reps.(Last workout was 7,5kg per hand for 8 reps).
All in all very big improvement in reps,except on my favorite chest exercise,incline bench.That kinda made be mad but i went all in,the spotter helped me on my 8th rep which is sign that i reach failure.
I watch a lot of dorian yates and charles glass videos lately which i find very educating and helpful.Im still far away from my goal which makes me a bit upset why i didnt start working out earlier.
