Just. Don't. Suck (Part 1)

Training Training Logs
2319

You might want to consider dropping the 6th exercise. As you saw, the second circuit is much tougher than the first and I know that the 2 exercises feel like 3 by that point. It’s not that you can’t do it, it’s just that after 5 days of doing it every week it could be a major factor in your fatigue. Plus, being that that extra exercise is hang cleans, that’s rough on your shoulder, and still even a bit stressful on your hip.

How do you feel about leg presses? Do they hurt your hips? Could you try it for a week instead of squats and see how you feel? They’re a great mass builder for legs, I just don’t know how your hip feels with them.

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2320

I definitely began to question adding the hang cleans when I got to Deadlift.

Leg press is out forever. It’s too much hip flexion. The starting position is about as deep as I need to go.

I need to find a squat machine.

1 Like
2321

I got you bro, leg gainz for lyfe below.

TrampoLean_STE4593
TrampoLean_STE45931400×885 405 KB

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2322

I think my mom has one of those. I’ll have to take it outside unless I want to put my head through the ceiling.

2323

Haha yeah, I hear ya. There’s so many I want to try. Like you said in my log a couple days ago, focused approach.

Maybe something like Bodybuild the Upper, Athlete the Lower would work well when you get healthy again.

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2324

7.11.18 B4B W1 D3

Woke at 237.0 lbs which was a surprise.

My hip still hurts. I did a couple sets of my band exercises this morning. I have a handful of tight muscles in the whole hip area. Sometimes tight muscles are weak. I’m wondering if sets of 15 with a band is going to do anything for me.

Training (Holy Crap - What a Day!)

2 LAP DYNAMIC WARM UP + CONDITIONING
4 laps of run the straightaway, walk the curve
11:29

AB CIRCUIT (2 rounds)
Back Extension x 15, Side Crunch x 10 ea, Hanging Knee Raise x 10

CIRCUIT #1
HANG CLEAN
115 x 3, 165 x 3 (warm up)
175 x 5, 185 x 4, 195 x 3, 210 x 4, 220 x 1

BOX SQUAT (24")
185 x 3, 225 x 3 (warm up)
230 x 5, 245 x 4, 260 x 3, 285 x 2, 295 x 1

OHP
115 x 3 x 2 sets (warm up)
120 x 5, 130 x 4, 140 x 3, 145 x 2, 150 x 1

Time: 25:01

CIRCUIT #2
DB BENCH
60 x 5 x 2 sets (warm up)
70 x 5, 70 x 4, 75 x 3, 80 x 2, 85 x 1

DEADLIFT
225 x 3, 275 x 3 (warm up)
295 x 5, 315 x 4, 335 x 3, 355 x 2, 375 x 1

UNDERHAND BENT OVER ROW
135 x 5, 185 x 3 (warm up)
195 x 5, 210 x 4, 220 x 3, 235 x 2, 250 x 1
Time: 24:38

CIRCUIT #3
DB INCLINE
50 x 10, 60 x 8, 75 x 6

DB BENT OVER ROW
50 x 10, 60 x 8, 75 x 6

RFESS
BW x 10, 25 x 8, 55 x 6 ea

DB RDL
60 x 10, 75 x 8, 90 x 6
Time: 16:34

I was at the gym for about two hours total. I’m spent. I started to feel nauseous during the first circuit so I got into the Starbursts. I ate three and by the time I finished the circuit I felt fine.

Box squats were easy because I used a huge box. Hang cleans hurt my hip on the catch. Deadlifts also started to hurt. FML.

The Swiss bar hurt without any weight on it. DBs started to hurt. DB incline hurt. I switched to a neutral grip and moved my arms like a close grip bench on DB Incline and that was better (which is odd because that’s the same movement pattern I tried on the Swiss bar).

That workout was a marathon and I feel great (except for the shoulder & hip problems). The rear foot elevated split squats (RFESS) are no joke. I might need a taller bench though. I think the CrossFit WODs had a positive impact of me. I didn’t feel like I was fading at all today. I basically did four mini workouts.

To work around these stupid problems I can switch to the power version of Built for Battle. I can do muscle snatch, box squat, snatch grip high pull, close grip Incline (or OHP if it hurts), and a row. There’s also a chance I could do all five of these in one circuit.

I guess it’s good training given my circumstances. I’m not happy dropping the big 3 after getting so close to my goals.

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2325

I forgot to mention that my rest for the circuits was 45 seconds. That puts me in the highest category of conditioning according to CT’s article. With that in mind, I think I’ll drop the running on Wednesdays. I’ll try to get something done on Fridays after the circuit but that’s the heaviest day. It might just be some Tabata AirDyne work after the workout. I’m sure that will nearly kill me.

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2326

I hear you, Bulgarian split squats are really tough.

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2327

I have to think about just dropping the back knee down when doing split squats. If I think front legs I’m all over the place wabbling around and such

2328

It’s mostly just cause nobody does them enough. After 3 or 4 BSS workouts the balancing gets real easy, but there’s never a ton of progression to be had - I know really strong people that can only do them with the 40s.

1 Like
2329

I learned that I’ve always done them wrong when I looked at this last night. I always put my toe on the bench.

2330

In the article from which I pulled that video he talked about athletes doing 225 lbs on it. I guess that could be a goal?

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2331

Fuck. That.

(but yeah that’s a badass goal)

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2332

7.12.18

Woke at 236.8 lbs!!!

I must’ve found a new diet. I skip breakfast, drink a double protein shake and eat a banana around 1015 (my pre-workout meal), and then train my ass off for 90-120 minutes. Lunch ends up being around 1330-1400 hours and then I’m snacking again by 1500 hours because my body is burning through fuel like a furnace.

I finish the day by drinking :smile: Two nights ago it was four light beers. Last night I had two beers and about 8 ounces of red wine. The scale weight yesterday (237.0) and today were both surprises given my nutrition choices.

I’d have to attribute the surprise on the scale to these workouts. Although I start eating later in the day I feel like I’ve been putting the food away after my workouts and making up the difference. Yesterday I actually elevated my body temperature. I felt hot like I had a fever without any of the other fever symptoms. My body was just in overdrive from the workout I did.

I’m going to find a way to stick to these circuits. I hate early mornings but I’ll be getting up early tomorrow or Saturday to train. Today is rest day (thank goodness). I was planning to lift after work tomorrow but we have a wedding to attend.

Saturday is a typical Saturday—work and more work (baseball game). If I wasn’t working the game then I’d be going to church right after work. Saturday workouts are limited to early morning or during my measly 30 minute lunch break. My goal is to get in one more session this week and I’ll be running the B4B circuits, but it’ll be a trial run with the new exercises I listed yesterday. I’m supposed to work up to a single with 110% of my 3RM tomorrow so I’ll probably just treat it like an old fashioned ladder workout and finish on a heavy single even though I don’t know the percentages.

3 Likes
2333

If I was you I’d try new angles of pressing; you’ve trained for a long time and you probably have some overuse injuries. If your incline bench has always been either 30 or 45 degrees, try doing 20 degrees for a change. On flat bench put a plate under one side to make it a very slight incline (or decline) bench.

The point being that doing stuff in angles you haven’t used a whole lot could help with the pain. This also applies to the angle your wrists, shoulders and elbows are in. If you’ve always done 45 degree incline dumbbell bench with elbows flared out, try 20 degree incline with elbows semi-tucked and a reverse grip. (Incline DB with a reverse grip is awesome, by the way)

Hopefully this gave you some ideas, keep up the good work!

1 Like
2334

I experienced a little of this Wednesday. I was surprised to find that neutral grip Incline DB press was relatively pain free but neutral grip flat bench with the Swiss bar hurt like hell.

I’m going to try close grip Incline tonight or tomorrow. If that doesn’t work then I might just hit chest with push ups and cables.

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2335

Interesting. I’ve found you have to really get your trap super tight (and almost under you) to sorta opening up the chest (if that makes sense) to get the shoulders out of flat bench as much as possible (with a swiss bar). Just food for thought. It took me a while to get used to the difference.

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2336

I don’t think the Swiss bar is for me. The widest handles are only about shoulder width (at least on the one that’s at my gym). In the past I’ve felt that moving my elbows wider has helped alleviate some pain in my shoulder but I can’t do that with that particular bar. I thought about trying wide grip bench too. However, my middle finger is usually on the rings when I bench regularly (and sometimes my index finger); there’s not much room to go wider.

I also have to ask myself why I’m going these things. The reason I bench is because I want to bench 3 plates. Getting away from bench doesn’t help me achieve that goal (I’ve done it in the past). If I’m forced to do other things including bench variations then my goal will switch to aesthetics. If that’s the priority then all I need to worry about is muscle fatigue and time under tension. I can achieve those with non-benching movements and hopefully give my shoulder a break.

For now I plan to try to close grip incline bench for the sake of simplicity. It’s next to the power rack where I hope to do the muscle snatch and snatch grip high pulls. It’s also right next to the cable row and other plate loaded rowing options. If the incline variation doesn’t pan out then I’ll try push ups. I won’t be doing the 5/4/3/2/1 rep scheme (obviously) but I think it’d still be beneficial to do them. I’m pretty sure doing push ups has never been labeled a poor choice for chest development. And I think push ups would pack a punch in a circuit since they involve the whole body.

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2337

I hear you. I’ve found doing close-grip bench with the swiss bar the least taxing on my shoulder, but admittedly I have not pushed the weight since my shoulder injury. I don’t think I’ve gone over about 180 since then.

2338

7.13.18 B4Battle W1 D4 (hopefully)

Woke at 236.4 lbs.

I’ve been doing a horribly butchered version of intermittent fasting this week. Mon-Wed I held out on eating until about 1020. I had a banana and double protein shake mixed with about 1 cup of unsweetened almond milk. That has proven to be a good pre-workout mix. I don’t get sick and I don’t feel too low on energy. The past two days (work days) I’ve had the double protein shake in the morning before work because I wake up hungry. I still try to wait til about 11 to eat anything at work.

I say all that because my weight keeps dropping. I think the combination of this delayed breakfast approach and these circuits is burning fast. I look leaner in the mirror. Once I workout (Mon-Wed) I eat everything in sight. I have a full meal of about 800-1000 calories and then I’m hungry again in an hour, so I eat again (usually 500-600 more calories). After that I usually eat dinner. I guess the short window to eat 3500-4000 calories isn’t enough. I’ve been eating what I want without restriction and still falling short. It’s kind of nice. The only downside is the hunger in the morning.

I was kind of hoping (but not trying too hard) to drop to 235 before starting GSS&S again and bulking. That’s only a 6ish pound drop from where I was. I didn’t see much movement on the scale during the CrossFit Experiment, but throw in a short period of fasting and these Build for Battle circuits and my body is changing. As I mentioned, I’m going to stick with these circuits and just change the exercises to work around my nagging joint injuries.

I went to my chiropractor who does dry needling yesterday. She stabbed my hip flexor a couple of times (not enjoyable) as well as a couple spots in my back on the left side. She also did some manual massage on some of my tight spots and there were a lot. The result was that my hip didn’t hurt yesterday. I’m tight and achy today but I’m beginning to think it’s all a muscle issue. That’s good news. The next step is to figure out how the hell to fix it.

Anyone know how to settle down chronically tight muscles?

On a training related note, I’m not sure if I’ll train tonight. We have a wedding to attend at 5pm but the reception is at a second location and we’ll probably just go home. We’ll have the kids and it won’t be fun with them. The transition from one venue to the next makes a great opportunity to call it a night. I’m guessing I’ll have time to train after the wedding if I want. And I hate getting up early in the morning so I’ll probably want to train after the wedding.

I have to admit that I’m a bit disappointed that I don’t get to attend the reception. It’s going to be fun. My wife’s cousin is the one getting married. Her husband is an NFL player (3rd season coming off a couple injuries, no superstar, but still). They don’t seem to save their money so I’m sure it’s going to be a good spread and a good time.