Monday, May 9th, 2011
Week 6, Day 1
Bench Day
Bench:
45 X 8
135 X 6
225 X 2 @ 85%
225 X 2 @ 85%
225 X 2 @ 85%
225 X 2 @ 85%
225 X 2 @ 85% - Good speed. Best sets were the third and fourth.
Bench with Two Stops/Band Row Superset:
170 X 3
180 X 3
190 X 3 - Paused on chest and two second pause two inches before sticking point.
Pull-ups:
BW X 5
BW X 5
BW X 5
BW X 5
BW X 5
Dumbbell Shrugs:
95’s X 10
95’s X 10
95’s X 10
95’s X 10 - Squeezed the contraction.
Seated Low Rows:
120 X 10
120 X 10
120 X 10
120 X 10 - One second pause at the top of the movement.
EZ Bar Skullcrushers:
55 X 20
60 X 15
65 X 12
70 X 10
80 X 4 - Elbows were killing me.
Lying External Rotations:
5 lbs X 3 X 10
Standing Goalposts:
7.5 lbs X 3 X 10
Standing 45’s:
7.5 lbs X 3 X 10
Mini Band Tricep Extensions:
5 X 10 - 10 second breaks.
Bodyweight was 194.2 lbs after my awesome Skipload yesterday. Man, it’s really the new trend across the Training Logs section. Presses were good today, except my right elbow popped at the bottom of a rep during Two-Stop Bench. That left it feeling pretty funky. I’m not too happy about that. This is Finals week so it’s going to be pretty stressful. We’ll see how I adapt.
Tuesday, May 10th, 2011
Week 6, Day 2
Deadlift Day
Sumo Deadlift:
135 X 5
225 X 5
355 X 3 @ 70%
405 X 3 @ 80%
455 X 3 @ 90% - Whoo! Great set. The song playing was Hypnotize and somehow it got me PUMPED!
5 Position Clean with Paused Front Squats:
155 X 5+3
155 X 5+3
155 X 5+3
155 X 5+3 - All sets had three squats at the end. Hip, above knee, below knee, mid-shin, floor.
Lying Leg Curls:
80 X 8
80 X 8
95 X 8
95 X 6 - Three count negatives the first set, then I just tried to get the reps in.
Decline Bench Sit-ups:
45+BW X 15
45+BW X 15
45+BW X 15
Standing Lat Pulldown Crunches:
110 X 10
110 X 10
110 X 10
110 X 10
Front and Overhead Band Pullapart Superset: 4 X 25
My weight was 193.2 lbs. I was super anxious getting into the gym today but my sets went very smoothly. The last rep on the 455 set drifted away from me a bit but I still pulled it cleanly. My form breaks down a bit after my second rep during sets because I try to hurry through it. I’ll have to slow it down. I made more friends today but unfortunately they’ll be graduating this semester. =/ It seems like all the meatheads are graduating.
Thursday, May 12th, 2011
Week 6, Day 3
Bench Day
Bench:
45 X 8
135 X 6
225 X 1
245 X 3 @ 93%
245 X 3 @ 93% - Bench to 2-board on last two sets.
Reverse Grip Bench Press/Band Row Superset:
165 X 6
175 X 6
185 X 6
195 X 5 - I didn’t attempt a sixth on the last set.
Pull-ups:
BW X 5
BW X 5
BW X 5
BW X 5
BW X 5 - Lats were working really well here.
Dumbbell Shrugs:
95’s X 10
95’s X 10
95’s X 10
95’s X 10 - Squeezed at the top.
Seated Low Rows:
120 X 10
120 X 10
130 X 8
130 X 8 - Held the contraction for a second.
EZ Bar Skullcrushers:
55 X 20
60 X 15
65 X 10
70 X 6
80 X 4 - I need a new rep scheme.
Lying External Rotations:
5 lbs X 3 X 12
Standing Goalposts:
7.5 lbs X 3 X 10
Standing 45’s:
7.5 lbs X 3 X 12
Mini Band Tricep Extensions:
5 X 10 - 10 second breaks.
Weight was 192.2 lbs. Today was awful. I went in feeling halfway decent and wound up wanting to quit halfway through. I think I can blame this one on getting two hours of sleep after studying for finals on Tuesday night and that just carried over to today. Bench was hard, honestly felt worse than full range of motion. I didn’t want to risk not getting the last reverse grip bench so I just didn’t try it. Skullcrushers were awful, I’ve been getting weaker on them since last Thursday. I either have to find a new exercise or a new rep scheme. Thankfully, this is the last week I’m doing board presses on Thursdays. All heavy pressing will be Mondays from now on.
In other crappy news, I’ve noticed my entire left side is sort of ‘scrunched up’. The left trap and all the muscles around my clavicle are super tight. It’s even left my bicep feeling a little funky and I’ve been holding that side higher than the other. All of that tightness has left pretty much all of my left side muscle groups smaller than the right. So symmetry = gone. Good thing I’m not a bodybuilder! lol. I’ll be trying to fix it over the next few weeks and then hammer it after the meet and surgery.
Friday, May 13th, 2011
Week 6, Day 4
Squat Day
Squat:
135 X 6
195 X 5 @ 40%
245 X 5 @ 50%
295 X 5 @ 60% - I was very tight but they moved properly.
1-Legged Leg Press:
4plates X 6
4plates X 6
4plates X 6
4plates X 6
Hyperextensions:
45+BW X 10
45+BW X 10
45+BW X 10
Standing Lat Pulldown Crunches:
60 X 10
60 X 10
60 X 10
60 X 10
Steep Decline Bench Sit-ups:
BW X 10
BW X 10
BW X 10
BW X 10 - Plate held on face.
I didn’t have a chance to weigh myself today. It was my last day of school and I had to move everything out of my dorm room. Naturally the Huff was closed all day, so I had to scramble to find a place to lift at 9:30 PM. The only place was a key card gym but one of the members let me in so it worked out well. The low back was achy all of today but lifting was fine and I chased it with some Waffle House. I ate like crap all of today. Ah, abs are still here and it’s usually just a once a week thing so it’s cool. I can’t wait to get back home.
Monday, May 16th, 2011
Week 5, Day 1
Bench Day
Bench:
45 X 8
135 X 6
225 X 1
240 X 2 @ 90%
240 X 2 @ 90%
240 X 2 @ 90%
240 X 2 @ 90% - Good speed off the chest but my lockout was awful.
Bench with Two Stops/Band Row Superset:
175 X 3
185 X 3
195 X 3 - Paused on chest and two second pause two inches before sticking point.
Pull-ups:
BW X 5
BW X 5
BW X 5
BW X 5
BW X 5
Dumbbell Shrugs:
100’s X 10
100’s X 10
100’s X 10
100’s X 10 - Squeezed the contraction.
Single-arm Cable Rows:
90 X 10
90 X 10
90 X 10
90 X 10 - Squeezed the contraction.
Dumbbell Skullcrushers:
20’s X 8 X 15 - Josh Bryant recommends high volume on this exercise with short rest breaks. It hurts.
Lying External Rotations:
5 lbs X 3 X 12
Standing Goalposts:
5 lbs X 3 X 12
Standing 45’s:
5 lbs X 3 X 10
Mini Band Tricep Extensions:
5 X 10 - 10 second breaks.
Bodyweight was 190.7 lbs in the morning. I ate a lot and pretty crappy Friday and Saturday, then cleaned it up but still ate a lot on Sunday. Benching wasn’t very encouraging today. My lockout is very slow and the bars at my former high school felt weird. The two-stop bench was good though. Those dumbbell skullcrushers are a lot harder than they seem when you fully lockout and flex on each rep. I’ll be doing them again.
Tuesday, May 17th, 2011
Week 5, Day 2
Deadlift Day
Sumo Deadlift:
135 X 5
225 X 5
315 X 5
380 X 5 @ 75%
430 X 3 @ 85%
480 X 1 @ 95% - Barely got it. The base of my neck and upper traps were sore after this.
5 Position Clean with Paused Front Squats:
155 X 5+3
155 X 5+3 - All sets had three squats at the end. Hip, above knee, below knee, mid-shin, floor.
Standing Lat Pulldown Crunches:
80 X 10
80 X 10
100 X 10
100 X 10
Hanging Knee Raises:
BW X 10
BW X 10
BW X 10
BW X 10
Front and Overhead Band Pullapart Superset: 4 X 25
My weight was 189.7 lbs this morning. I suffered a setback in training today. 480 on deadlift is an all-time PR for me but it was slow and everything that came after was terrible. I hurt my lower back doing cleans and front squats. I had to improvise through the rest of training because most of my exercise choices left me in pain. It’s still bothering me about 3 hours after the injury. I can get into a squat and deadlift position but sitting, laying down and any time where the lower back isn’t arched and flexed is painful. I’ll hop in a contrast shower and then down some ibuprofen and foam roll. This is a big disappointment.
Thursday, May 19th, 2011
Week 5, Day 3
Bench Day
Bench:
45 X 8
135 X 6
210 X 3 @ 80%
210 X 3 @ 80%
210 X 3 @ 80%
210 X 3 @ 80%
210 X 3 @ 80% - Felt pretty fast.
Reverse Grip Bench Press/Band Row Superset:
165 X 6
175 X 6
185 X 6
195 X 6 - Improvement.
Pull-ups:
BW X 5
BW X 5
BW X 5
BW X 5
BW X 5
Snatch-grip Shrugs:
135 X 10
185 X 10
185 X 10
185 X 10 - Kept it light to protect my low back. These absolutely mashed my junk though.
Single-arm Cable Rows:
90 X 10
90 X 10
100 X 10
100 X 10 - Squeezed the contraction.
Dumbbell Skullcrushers:
20’s X 8 X 15 - Went a bit better than last workout.
Lying External Rotations:
5 lbs X 3 X 15
Standing Goalposts:
7.5 lbs X 3 X 10
Standing 45’s:
7.5 lbs X 3 X 12
Mini Band Tricep Extensions:
5 X 10 - 10 second breaks.
Weight was 188.9 lbs in the morning. Today’s workout was average. It was pretty painful arching on bench and getting up off the bench was pretty bad as well. It’s definitely improved though. The pain seems to have shifted from being an instability and ache in my upper spinal erectors to being mostly in my left upper glute. On the plus side, it’s usually the right upper glute that is an issue. On the downside, I’m injured. Physically, I feel in great shape. I’m leaning out and my bodyweight is very good compared to my weight class. My food sources are pretty clean and I’m cheating twice a week on Tuesday night and Sunday night. Unfortunately, I have this issue. Depending on how I feel tomorrow I’ll either deload squat again or do the programmed 420 X 5. I think either option will work. Thankfully, Tuesday is deload deadlift so I’ll be able to rest then.
Gotta find a cambered bar for those shrugs lol.
Friday, May 20th, 2011
Week 5, Day 4
Squat Day
Squat:
135 X 8 X 8
Hyperextensions:
BW X 8 X 10
Hanging Knee Raises:
BW X 5 X 10
Band Goodmornings:
Green band X 5 X 10
Weight was 189.4 lbs this morning. I really wanted to squat heavy today but I just knew it wasn’t a good idea. I’m proud that I finally have the maturity to take it easy instead of pushing into an injury. A year ago, I trashed my body for months by working through an injury like this. I think I may be able to get back to normal by this upcoming Tuesday. The back and glute was feeling better after I got blood into it. My fingers are crossed.
[quote]grettiron wrote:
Gotta find a cambered bar for those shrugs lol. [/quote]
Haha that or a cup. Thanks for stopping by, man.
Monday, May 23rd, 2011
Week 4, Day 1
Bench Day
Bench:
45 X 8
135 X 6
200 X 2 @ 75%
200 X 2 @ 75%
200 X 2 @ 75%
200 X 2 @ 75% - Good.
Bench with Two Stops/Band Row Superset:
175 X 3
185 X 3
195 X 3 - Paused on chest and two second pause two inches before sticking point.
Pull-ups:
BW X 5
BW X 5
BW X 5
BW X 5
BW X 5
Single-arm Cable Pulldowns:
90 X 10
90 X 10
90 X 10
90 X 10 - Squeezed the contraction.
Dumbbell Skullcrushers:
20’s X 8 X 15 - I will move up.
Lying External Rotations:
5 lbs X 3 X 12
Standing Goalposts:
5 lbs X 3 X 12
Standing 45’s:
5 lbs X 3 X 10
Mini Band Tricep Extensions:
5 X 10 - 10 second breaks.
Bodyweight was 193.2 lbs in the morning. Diet was junk all through the weekend. I was feeling pretty good all the way through Sunday and today until I trained. Bench was fine, lower back ached a little bit from arching but nothing terrible. My big mistake was attempting barbell shrugs. Three reps had my back screaming uncle and now I feel like I’m back to where I was Tuesday. Pain is entirely back in the lower back, not in the glute medius anymore. I don’t really know what to do. I’ll bench with my feet up on Thursday and maybe for the rest of the cycle. We’ll see how deadlifts are tomorrow. Pulling out of the meet is looking like a possibility.
Best of luck with the back injury, I feel your pain.
Tuesday, May 24th, 2011
Week 4, Day 2
Deadlift Day
Sumo Deadlift:
135 X 5
225 X 5
315 X 5
200 X 5 @ 40%
255 X 5 @ 50%
305 X 5 @ 60% - Felt heavy. Breaking it off the ground is the tough part. I’m very apprehensive doing it.
Glute Ham Raises:
BW X 8
BW X 8
BW X 8
BW X 8
Physioball Glute Bridge/Leg Curl Superset:
BW X 10
BW X 10
BW X 10
BW X 10
Hyperextensions:
BW X 10
BW X 10
BW X 10
BW X 10
BW X 10
Hanging Knee Raises:
BW X 8
BW X 8
BW X 8
BW X 8
BW X 8
Standing Lat Pulldown Crunches:
70 X 10
70 X 10
100 X 10
100 X 10
Front and Overhead Band Pullapart Superset: 4 X 25
My weight was 190.7 lbs this morning. Today went surprisingly well. I had my scheduled deload on deadlifts and it wasn’t awful. There was a little pain in the right glute but the lower back and left glute didn’t feel awful. The toughest part is breaking it off the ground because I have zero confidence right now. I’ll go ahead and do my benches feet up for the rest of the cycle. I only have two more squat workouts and I may just make them 5/3/1 deloads or actually hit the weights I’m supposed to. We’ll see. Things are sort of touch and go right now.
[quote]mrodock wrote:
Best of luck with the back injury, I feel your pain.[/quote]
Thanks man. I’m really hoping I don’t have to pull out. Meets are freaking expensive. lol
Thursday, May 26th, 2011
Week 4, Day 3
Bench Day
Bench:
45 X 8
135 X 6
205 X 2 @ 77%
205 X 2 @ 77%
205 X 2 @ 77%
205 X 2 @ 77% - Should have been 200 at 75%. Feet up on bench.
Reverse Grip Bench Press/Band Row Superset:
155 X 6
155 X 6
155 X 6
155 X 10 - Feet up on bench. The last set was all I had. These were so much harder this way.
Lying Dumbbell Rows:
40’s X 8 X 8 - Held it at the contraction.
Dumbbell Skullcrushers:
25’s X 8 X 12
Lying External Rotations:
5 lbs X 3 X 12
Standing Goalposts:
5 lbs X 3 X 12
Standing 45’s:
5 lbs X 3 X 12
Mini Band Tricep Extensions:
5 X 10 - 10 second breaks.
Weight was 190.4 lbs in the morning. I had to lift at home today so the plate selection as well as exercise selection was limited. I tried to minimize lower back involvement by not arching at all. The best way to do that was with my feet on the bench. Lying rows were good. I’ve been eating pretty crappy lately, mostly because I’m depressed from my injury. I need to get it in my head that teen numbers don’t matter. I can’t wait for this meet to come so I can finally take some time off lifting and heal up. I’ll be experimenting with Martin Berkhan’s Leangains principles and maybe even an IfItFitsYourMacros type approach to nutrition. It should be pretty cool.
Friday, May 27th, 2011
Week 4, Day 4
Squat Day
Squat:
135 X 6 X 6
185 X 1 X 6
185 X 1 X 2 - The last set was too much. I had to rack it.
Hanging Knee Raises:
BW X 5 X 10
Hyperextensions:
BW X 5 X 10 - 10 second breaks
Standing Lat Pulldown Crunches:
some X 5 X 10 - 10 second breaks
Front and Overhead Band Pullapart Superset: 4 X 25
Weight was 190.9 in the morning. I actually felt pretty good today. I woke up with shooting pains in my left side but eventually all the pain was just in my right glute and hip. Squatting wasn’t awful. I still can’t go heavy and even 185 resulted in my pain through my right side but the fact that the pain isn’t just in one area is good. I had a lot of shooting pain in my right side through the workout but I just dealt with it. I’m really hoping for some good progress over the weekend.
Best of luck with the back injury, I have had to deal with a tweak here and there and they are no fun. I hope you can still make the meet.
Do you do soft tissue work with the LAX ball? Maybe try rolling the glutes from all different directions and up around the muscles just under the Illiac crest. Maybe hip flexors too but glutes and hips are probably the most important. Could also try rolling the quadratus lumborum but that’s apparently unlikely to be the problem (tho it has helped me in the past). An hour doing this might loosen you up enough… good luck!
[quote]VikingsAD28 wrote:
Best of luck with the back injury, I have had to deal with a tweak here and there and they are no fun. I hope you can still make the meet.[/quote]
Thanks man. These past few weeks of training have been pretty crappy but I’m 90 percent sure I’ll force myself to be there.
[quote]grettiron wrote:
Do you do soft tissue work with the LAX ball? Maybe try rolling the glutes from all different directions and up around the muscles just under the Illiac crest. Maybe hip flexors too but glutes and hips are probably the most important. Could also try rolling the quadratus lumborum but that’s apparently unlikely to be the problem (tho it has helped me in the past). An hour doing this might loosen you up enough… good luck! [/quote]
I’ve been foam rolling my glutes and hip flexors two to three times a day. It’s been pretty painful so I know it’s working. I misplaced my lax ball though. I’m actually trying to book a sports massage as they’re just 49 bucks for a first-time customer. I think that should be helpful too.