Alright, I’m very behind with my log updates and I guess that’s a reflection of my attitude towards training right now. The week in California was a lot of fun. I spend a few days in San Diego and San Jose. There was an engagement dinner, two marriage ceremonies and then a reception. I danced a lot and called it cardio. lol.
Continuing my trend of program hopping, I’m now doing 5/3/1 on Harry Selkow’s recommendations. My 90% training maxes are:
I’m starting very low. I’ll only hit the prescribed reps for the lower body lifts, but on upper body I’m going for 3/2/1 extra on my top set.
I’m pretty fat right now. All the carbs and the tiny amounts of protein hit me pretty hard. I’m sitting at a not-lean-at-all 200.1 lbs right now. By that, I mean no abs and a ‘full blown offseason’ look. However, I have no hanging fat and I don’t think I’ll have too much trouble getting my weight back down to 195. I’ll be adding in cardio on my off days and cutting the carbs a little bit.
Conventional Deadlift:
135 X 5
225 X 5 - I was going to do deadlifts, but when I warmed up my back felt off so I called it.
Military Press:
45 X 5
90 X 5 @ 65%
105 X 5 @ 75%
120 X 8 @ 85% - This is my first time seriously doing this exercise. My form was okay. I left a few in the tank.
Dips:
BW X 10
BW X 10
BW X 10
BW X 10
BW X 10 - Very easy.
Chin-ups:
BW X 50 - 5/5/3/3/2/2/2/2/2/2/2/2/2/2/2/2/2/2/2/2/2
Surprisingly, I’m better at pull-ups than chin-ups. I’m god awful at chin-ups. My abs, biceps and lats are still sore today, two days later. I just need to get stronger. Neglecting direct bicep work is definitely affecting me as I’m weak at the top but strong out of the bottom.
Rolling Dumbbell Extensions:
10’s X 10
20’s X 10
25’s X 10
35’s X 10
20’s X 15 - These were decent. The 35’s set was tough on the last two reps.
This was it. I sandwiched my extensions between 25 chin-ups to give myself a break. lol. My focus for the next few weeks is definitely going to be improving my chin-ups and pulling work.
Sumo Deadlift:
135 X 5
225 X 5
275 X 5 @ 65%
315 X 5 @ 75%
355 X 5 @ 85% - I switched back to sumo because it puts less strain on my lower back and glutes.
LifeFitness Leg Extension:
70 X 12
90 X 10
110 X 10
130 X 10
90 X 15 - I was getting a feel for the machine. My outer quads were working well.
Icarian Lying Leg Curl:
70 X 12
80 X 10
90 X 10
110 X 10
130 X 10 - I really couldn’t feel it until I got to the heavier weights. That’s something I’ll keep in mind.
Hyperextensions:
BW X 12
10+BW X 10
10+BW X 10
25+BW X 10 - I put the plate behind my head on my second 10 lb set. It was harder. I’m really taking it easy
45+BW X 10 here and just trying to get everything bulletproof.
Decline Bench Sit-ups:
BW X 12
10+BW X 10
10+BW X 10
25+BW X 10
25+BW X 10 - I put the plate behind my head for the 10 lbs sets. It was tough.
I postponed my pulling by a day because of how tights my biceps and forearms were. I’m glad I did. My pulls were easy, but a personal trainer forced me to put the bar on some mats to muffle the noise. The plates were a bit assymetrical anyway, so I think they ended up the same distance off the ground as regular plates would have. All the pulls were fast, and my low back didn’t feel so bad doing them, but sitting here typing this it doesn’t feel that great. It was fun getting a low back pump again after doing hyperextensions.
Bench:
45 X 5
135 X 5
160 X 5 @ 65%
185 X 5 @ 75%
210 X 5 @ 85% - I unracked on my own for everything but 210. It was all easy.
Incline Bench:
45 X 5
95 X 10
135 X 10
140 X 10
140 X 10
135 X 7 - My right pec was twinging a little so I just called it.
Dumbbell Rows:
55’s X 10
65’s X 10
75’s X 10
75’s X 10
55’s X 12 - I normally don’t go this high rep on rows. My low back was killing me on rows.
Overhead Rope Extension:
40 X 10
60 X 10
70 X 10
80 X 10
50 X 20 - Troponin Set on the last one…ten with hands apart and ten with hands together.
I didn’t really feel like pushing into higher reps for bench so I just called it at five. I was a bit of a spaz during inclines, switching between a false grip and regular. My elbows pop now when I use a regular grip. I can’t really tuck during incline either otherwise it takes the stress off my upper chest. I’d really like to try out a Hammer Strength Incline machine just to see how it works. My low back felt like crap through out today, even just while arching for bench. I’m squatting tomorrow and I’ll see how it holds up. I’ll either work up to a whopping 355 for 5 or stick with 135 for sets of ten to pump blood.
Squat:
135 X 5
135 X 5
225 X 1
135 X 8
135 X 5 - I’m still getting pain at the bottom of the squat. I can’t really accelerate through the squat either.
Icarian Leg Press:
3pps X 10
4pps X 10
4pps X 10
25+4pps X 10
3pps X 20 - This is my first time doing this in years. It bothered my glute in the stretched position.
Hyperextensions:
BW X 15
25 X 10
45 X 10
45 X 10
45 X 10
Decline Bench Sit-ups:
BW X 15
25 X 10
25 X 10
25 X 10
25 X 10
The good news is my squat strength is still there. The bad news is I still can’t squat heavy and my flexibility in regard to full squatting is decreasing. The pain is really centered in my right glute/lower back and is worst when it’s stretched. It even flares up during leg press. I’ve done some thinking lately about my situation. Even if I can’t squat or deadlift heavy anymore, I’m just going to pull a Dizenzo and keep banging at my bench. I like lifting heavy, and even if I can’t do my favorite lift anymore, I’ll just build my least favorite. lol
Sumo Deadlift:
135 X 5
225 X 5
295 X 3 @ 70%
335 X 3 @ 80%
380 X 3 @ 90%
LifeFitness Leg Extension:
90 X 12
110 X 10
150 X 10
170 X 10
110 X 15 - I really got the lactic acid going. Felt great.
Icarian Lying Leg Curl:
90 X 12
110 X 10
130 X 10
130 X 8 - I tacked on two partials to the last 130 set and used 3 second negatives for the last set. I had an
80 X 15 insane hammy pump going.
Decline Bench Sit-ups:
BW X 12
10+BW X 10
10+BW X 10
10+BW X 10
25+BW X 15 - I put the plate behind my head for two 10 lb sets and 4 reps of the third.
Hyperextensions:
BW X 12
25+BW X 12
25+BW X 12
25+BW X 12
25+BW X 12 - I really felt this in my erectors.
I didn’t feel terrible pulling today. My back didn’t feel ‘strong’ but I wasn’t weak either. It’s funny with leg pumps…I can do leg extensions for hours but I’ll never get the pump that squats give me. Leg curls on the other hand are just insane. I’m the weakest I’ve been in months but I feel good.
Bench:
45 X 5
135 X 5
170 X 3 @ 70%
195 X 3 @ 80%
220 X 3 @ 90% - I unracked on my own. Everything was fast.
Incline Bench:
45 X 12
95 X 10
135 X 10
135 X 10
135 X 7
115 X 12 - I don’t like this movement. My right side takes all the stress. I have to switch to dumbbells.
Dumbbell Rows:
55’s X 10
60’s X 10
70’s X 10
75’s X 10
75’s X 10 - I had better total poundage than last week. My low back didn’t feel as bad.
Overhead Rope Extension:
50 X 10
60 X 10
70 X 10
80 X 10
70 X 15 - Last set…ten with hands apart, five with hands together.
Bench is going well. My speed is great and I’ve gotten the hang of unracking on my own. I’m going to take out incline barbell and switch in incline dumbbell. It’ll be easier to ramp. I also want to make my upper body days each have a back width and back thickness focus.
Bench:
45 X 5
135 X 5
170 X 5 @ 70%
195 X 5 @ 80%
220 X 5 @ 90% - I unracked on my own. Everything was fast.
Incline Bench:
45 X 12
95 X 10
135 X 10
135 X 10
135 X 7
115 X 12 - I don’t like this movement. My right side takes all the stress. I have to switch to dumbbells.
Dumbbell Rows:
55’s X 10
60’s X 10
70’s X 10
75’s X 10
75’s X 10 - I had better total poundage than last week. My low back didn’t feel as bad.
Overhead Rope Extension:
50 X 10
60 X 10
70 X 10
80 X 10
70 X 15 - Last set…ten with hands apart, five with hands together.
Bench is going well. My speed is great and I’ve gotten the hang of unracking on my own. I’m going to take out incline barbell and switch in incline dumbbell. It’ll be easier to ramp. I also want to make my upper body days each have a back width and back thickness focus.[/quote]
Seems like this was a good bench session compared to the last few…Keep it up…Didn’t get to glance at the last few pages…I see you taking percentages, what program are you following?
[quote]austin_bicep wrote:
Seems like this was a good bench session compared to the last few…Keep it up…Didn’t get to glance at the last few pages…I see you taking percentages, what program are you following?[/quote]
Damn it, you quoting my workout clued me into the fact that I wrote my reps wrong. I did 3 for all of the percentage sets. They were easy 3s and I could have gotten more, but they were still 3s. I’m doing 5/3/1 right now, I’m only a week and a half into it. I like it so far. It’s higher intensity than what I was doing before but I started light. I’m probably going to follow it all through college and then do something else during the summer to peak for meets.
Also, keep in mind the percentages I’m using are based off of 90% of my max. Also, I’m dealing with a low back/glute injury so numbers are down for lower body.
I’ve been creeping you on Facebook haha. Nice deadlift. How far are you from your goal leanness right now? Or are you back bulking again?
[quote]austin_bicep wrote:
Seems like this was a good bench session compared to the last few…Keep it up…Didn’t get to glance at the last few pages…I see you taking percentages, what program are you following?[/quote]
Damn it, you quoting my workout clued me into the fact that I wrote my reps wrong. I did 3 for all of the percentage sets. They were easy 3s and I could have gotten more, but they were still 3s. I’m doing 5/3/1 right now, I’m only a week and a half into it. I like it so far. It’s higher intensity than what I was doing before but I started light. I’m probably going to follow it all through college and then do something else during the summer to peak for meets.
Also, keep in mind the percentages I’m using are based off of 90% of my max. Also, I’m dealing with a low back/glute injury so numbers are down for lower body.
I’ve been creeping you on Facebook haha. Nice deadlift. How far are you from your goal leanness right now? Or are you back bulking again?[/quote]
I’ve been hovering around 235 man, not changing much, just trying to get stronger at this weight, but just the past few days I’ve made the extra effort to continue to drop fat…After a few more weeks I’ll be cleanly bulking back up…
And that DL is embarrassing to me, I feel it is weak lol…I am hoping 6 pps comes up nicely this Monday.
Squat:
BW X 10
BW X 10
135 X 6
135 X 6
225 X 3
225 X 3 - I actually felt decent. More on this later.
Icarian Leg Press:
3pps X 10
4pps X 10
5pps X 10
25+5pps X 10
25+3pps X 15 - Very little glute pain. I took it easy on the last set.
Hyperextensions:
BW X 10
45 X 10
45 X 10
45 X 10
45 X 10 - I’m really concentrating on the mind-muscle connection here.
Decline Bench Sit-ups:
BW X 10
35 X 10
35 X 10
35 X 10
35 X 10
I’ve been doing Agile 8 almost every day and it’s seemed to help my glute issue. The best part has been the IT band rolling. When I rolled on my hips I realized they were really tight. Today, I did some extra rolling and really focused on the hips and I think that helped. My squatting was close to pain-free but I still took it easy. I think I’ll start back up next week. I won’t follow the 5/3/1 percentages though, instead I’ll just do linear progression each week. This should give me a good idea of where my strength is. I’ve also realized I’m sort of doing a subconscious DC thing with my assistance work. On the bigger lifts like incline and leg press I’ve been working up to a top set and then following with a ‘widowmaker’. I’m not straining like it’s a widowmaker, but it’s still interesting. Also, I’ve leaned out pretty well and I’m back down to a morning 195 with no cardio. My diet still isn’t perfect but I think the better food choices and increased frequency of training sessions have helped.
[quote]austin_bicep wrote:
Seems like this was a good bench session compared to the last few…Keep it up…Didn’t get to glance at the last few pages…I see you taking percentages, what program are you following?[/quote]
Damn it, you quoting my workout clued me into the fact that I wrote my reps wrong. I did 3 for all of the percentage sets. They were easy 3s and I could have gotten more, but they were still 3s. I’m doing 5/3/1 right now, I’m only a week and a half into it. I like it so far. It’s higher intensity than what I was doing before but I started light. I’m probably going to follow it all through college and then do something else during the summer to peak for meets.
Also, keep in mind the percentages I’m using are based off of 90% of my max. Also, I’m dealing with a low back/glute injury so numbers are down for lower body.
I’ve been creeping you on Facebook haha. Nice deadlift. How far are you from your goal leanness right now? Or are you back bulking again?[/quote]
I’ve been hovering around 235 man, not changing much, just trying to get stronger at this weight, but just the past few days I’ve made the extra effort to continue to drop fat…After a few more weeks I’ll be cleanly bulking back up…
And that DL is embarrassing to me, I feel it is weak lol…I am hoping 6 pps comes up nicely this Monday.[/quote]
I’m doing the same thing at 195, just trying to harden up and get stronger. The DL isn’t THAT bad, mainly because if it is then I’m a bitch. lol. You’ll get 585, your last pull was easy.
