My work gym reopened. Turns out someone who used it tested positive for Covid so they closed it to disinfect it. I decided to try real OHP since I had the chance. It didn’t go as well as I’d hoped.
Super Set
*OHP
bar x 10
95 x 5
105 x 5
120 x 5
135 x 6 + 1 drop to:
115 x 6 PULL UPS
BW x 10, 10, 10 + 3.5 I set up 5/3/1 with 75 as my dumbbell TM since I was doing 75s for triples last week. I thought I’d just double the weight for barbell OHP. It didn’t work out too well. It’s a different movement and the lack of a back support was a factor. I also learned that I don’t like OHP if I’m completely upright like I am when standing. Even with the back support all the way to 90 degrees, I’m able to arch a bit and change the angle of my pressing. My shoulder likes that better.
Super Set
DB OHP
40 x 10 too heavy
30 x 10 x 4 sets PULL DOWN
120 x 10
130 x 10, 10
140 x 10, 10
Giant Set
CABLE FLY
60 x 10, 12 CABLE LAT RAISE
20 x 10, 15 CABLE REAR DELT FLY
40 x 10
40 x 10 + 30 x 10
Total Time: 31 minutes. I cut abs because I didn’t want to do them. If these workouts continue to be short then I’ll probably move arms back to upper body day instead of doing them with squats and deads. I moved quick and my rest was walking back and forth between stations. My heart rate was up and I was breathing somewhat hard. I’m not sure if that counts as conditioning but it’ll have to do.
Well, I failed again. My food was good until I got home. I had kung pao chicken from Trader Joe’s which was fine. It was the half cheese pizza I ate that was a failure.
I’m planning to do my deadlift workout tomorrow which is a day early. I told myself I needed the carbs.
Total Time: 38 minutes. Once again, I scrapped all the extra stuff. I planned to do RFESS, curls, triceps, and abs, but I don’t have time for that. This particular session is tough enough the way it is. I don’t really think abs and arms are a priority during this phase. I might throw arms on to my upper body days if there’s time, but I like keeping these work day workouts as close to 30 minutes as possible.
I only rest for 60-75 seconds between sets. Deadlifts take a lot of out of me on the days where I do five sets. I just can’t force myself to do stuff like curls and abs afterwards when I’m crunched for time. I’d just be going through the motions anyway. I did 13 legit working sets plus eight warm up sets in 38 minutes. It sure felt like a lot of work in a short session.
True enough. I remember there being maybe 3 lengths and 3 widths? Then there were all the different extra ones you could slip on the sides, etc., depending on which theater you were in.
Mine fits in terms of top to bottom and left to right. The problem with them is that they don’t taper. The velcro is attached to the back plate and you pull it forward. For those of us with a tapered torso, The bottom of the panel ends up being “too long”. It’s like shirts. The chest and shoulders might fit great but there’s tons of extra material at the bottom around your waist.
Vests are fit in a seated position. I have some exposed flesh on my stomach because my torso folds up in a strange manner when I sit. The bottom of my plates touch the top of my duty belt. Any longer and it gets pushed up.
If you’re referring to the exposed flesh around my shoulders… I got nothin for that. The panels are cut like tank tops at the top.
Yep, today was a 2 for 1 training special. I’m trying to get my training week set up so that squat day is Friday. It’s been making me plenty sore and going to work like that sucks.
Warm Up
ELLIPTICAL
10 min, 0.77 miles
Giant Set
INCLINE (5/3/1 R/P)
95 x 10
130 x 3
150 x 3
170 x 12+3 RFESS
3 x 10 ea UNDERHAND ROW (5/3/1 R/P)
135 x 10
160 x 3
180 x 3
205 x 10+4
Super Set
INCLINE (BBB)
95 x 10 x 5 sets DEADLIFT (SGSS)
275 x 3
345 x 2
385 x 1
435 x 3 x 3 Wore my belt for the rest of the workout because it felt like it was holding me together and keeping me upright.
Super Set
SQUAT ™
135 x 5
165 x 5
195 x 5
225 x 3
255 x 1 felt great
285 x 1
305 x 1 slow UNDERHAND ROW (BBB)
135 x 10
135 x 15 x 3 Just wanted to get the suck over.
I’ve reached the point where deadlifts intimidate me a bit. I didn’t want to try them after squats since it’s only been two days since my deadlift session. Squats sucked and I wanted to stop after 285x1 but I pressed on…er squatted on.
Crushed a big lunch consisting of a chicken sandwich, veggies and spicy hummus, and strawberries. Tonight is date night and I’m hoping to find a table at my favorite burger place. I’m looking forward to the egg burger and a basket of truffle fries.
They’re actually day one of my program, but I’ve finally broke free from matching my training week to the calendar week.
I learned to program hard leg days so that the fatigue and soreness occurs on days off from work. From a work performance perspective, this is worth doing. My legs were hurting on Monday and that particular type of leg DOMs drains my energy. I just want to sleep. That’s not good for work.
I also prefer to do more on less rest instead of skipping a session to reset my training schedule.
