Log of a Tall Guy

Training Logs
1

So, I have been lurking and absorbing as much info as I can from this site and EliteFTS for the past year or so. I basically decided to just start a log so others who happen upon it can give me constructive criticism. It would especially be great if other tall guys gave me input.

Bit of info about me: I’m 6 feet 6 inches tall and weigh 220. I’m 23, just finished school, and looking for a software engineering position at a tech company. I have been lifting for 4 years now, but just in the past couple years decided to get more serious. I started as a freshman in college at 170 pounds. I looked pretty absurd back then.

Anyways, my goals are to get stronger while staying injury free. That is pretty much it. This last spring I messed my lower back up and was not able to deadlift for over a month, and just a month ago I strained my upper paraspinal muscles doing single arm over head dumbbell press. I was not able to move for a couple days, but they seem to be healing quite a bit. Shortly after that I did something weird to my left lat doing farmers walks, and since it has been giving me issues. So, in short I really want to not mess my body up more.

I will be posting my workouts 3 or 4 times a week.

2

Today’s back workout:

Dead lift:
135x5
225x5
275x3
315x2
365x1
395x1 PR (went up fast and felt really good)
All lifts done double overhand except for 395.

Face pulls:
60x10, 70x10, 80x10, 90x10

Dumbbell rows (done very strict with no leg drive)
60x10, 70x10, 80x5, 90x5
At this point my left lat was starting to feel strange.

Small complex with 70lb barbell, 40lb dumbbell:
BB hang cleans x 8
BB rows x 8
DB swings x 8
I planned on doing 4 sets as usual, but after set 2 my left lat was going to have no more of it.

Foam rolling and light stretching of pecs and lats done at start and end of workout. Over all I’m satisfied with my PR. I will go for 405 or 415 in a month or so.

3

Today’s squat and bench workout:
Front squat
135x3, 155x3, 175x1, 190x1
205x5 PR, never tried 205 before

Dumbbell bench
55x5, 65x3, 75x3, 85x8 PR, 65x6
I need to deload on bench next week.

Box Squats (box is 2 inches below parallel)
135x8, 155x8, 285x5, 205x3, 225x3, 255x2

Good mornings
135x5x2
I have not done these in a while, and I suspect my hamstrings will be very sore.

Incline DB bench (bench is at 45 degrees)
50x3, 60x3, 70x5
45x12 alternating arms

calf raises on the leg press 8 plates
3 sets of 10 with 30 seconds rest between

seated calf raises 3 plates
3 sets of 5

superset 27.5lb floor flys to pushups
4 sets of 5

I was tired very beat at this point. My nutrition was not so great this weekend because I was out of town, and I definitely felt it today.

4

I’m looking on Sprankton, and you’ve inspired me to start my own log. I’m also “tall”. Only ~ 6’1" but very long femurs/humeri(humeruses?).

5

Back deload, strict over head press, and 20 rep squat day

Rack pull from below knee cap
135x5, 225x5, 275x5, 315x5x2
All done double over hand.

Standing strict over head press
45x5, 65x5, 85x5, 105x5, 115x5 (115 done with belt)

20 rep squat
135x3, 155x3, 185x3, 145x20

Body weight pull ups
3 sets of 5
1 set of 4.5
1 set of 2.5

Close, neutral grip cable rows
120x10x4 (done as explosively as possible)

Since messing up my upper paraspinal muscles this is the first time in 6 weeks that I have pressed over 100 lbs over my head. It felt fine, so I guess I can start doing this regularly.
My legs were still sore from my leg day a couple days ago. The 20 rep squat was miserable, and I probably should not have done it. I hope my legs are not too sore for prowler stuff this weekend. Also, I’m trying to bring up my pullups. My arms are really long, and it is taking for ever, but they hit my lats pretty hard.

I have been feeling really nauseus randomly this past week, and after the 20 rep squat I felt extremely sick. I was not able to finish my entire intended workout, and I thought I might have to pull over and throw up as I was driving home.

Random side note 1: Norma Jean recently came out with a new album, Meridional. If you like metalesque stuff take a listen. This song is amazing: Norma Jean - Deathbed Atheist - YouTube

Random side note 2: The gym I go to was selling Brotosport Broscle Milk today for $20 for a 2.5 lb tub. I normally use something else that I order online, but I decided because it is so cheap I might as well tryout what every frat guy in the US takes after he does his bench, bicep, shrug, and 30 minute ab routine workout. I got chocolate and it is definitely the most delicious whey protein I have ever tasted. Probably not buying it again because the stuff I get I believe is better but still very tasty.

6

2592×1936 952 KB

Random stuff and prowler day
At Gym:
Hang Cleans sets of 3 reps
65, 95, 105, 115, 125, 135, 145

Neutral grip chins
4 sets of 5 reps

Barbell push press
50x3, 70x1, 80x8, 90x8, 100x8

Face pulls
70x10, 80x10, 90x10, 100x10

At home:
various warm ups for sprinting
1 40m prowler sprint with no weight added.
4 40mm prowler sprints with 50 lbs added.

I am working on learning how to do power cleans properly so I am starting with getting form for hang cleans down. They felt really good, and I have a feeling that I will probably add 30 pounds to the bar in the next couple months.

A friend and I built a prowler earlier this summer. It weighs about 100 pounds, is 3 feet wide by 4 feet long, and the metal runners provide a lot of friction. I hesitate to call it a prowler because EliteFTS has that trade marked I would imagine. Not sure what else to call it though. It never ceases to amaze me over how much this device will kill me.

Here is a pic of our prowler:

7

Yesterday’s bench workout
DB bench
50x5, 60x5, 70x3, 80x10, 60x6

Incline DB bench at 45 degrees
50x3, 60x3, 70x6

Close grip BB bench
135x3, 145x3, 155x3, 165x3, 175x3, 185x5

3 Pullups to 5 pushups
10 sets with 1 minute rest in between.

I’m going back to a regular split instead of the stuff I have been doing.
My days will be: squat, bench, day off, dead lift/shoulder press, cleans/prowler, day off
It’s more frequency than what I have been doing for the past 2 months so hopefully I won’t injure myself.

8

Today’s back workout:
Dead lift
135x5, 225x5, 285x3, 325x2, 365x4, 365x1 (all but 365s done double overhand)
My 365x4 was the same I did a while ago, but when I weighed 232ish and I was belted. I am currently 218 and anti-belt for the moment on dead lifts. I think using the belt is what messed my back up a while ago.

Hang cleans
65x3, 95x3, 115x3, 130x3, 145x1, 155x1
I need to keep working on getting under the bar faster…obviously.

Strict dumbbell rows
70x3, 80x3, 90x3, 100x10 (used straps on 100s)

Wide grip over hand cable rows (done explosively as possible)
120x10, 135x10x3

Now I must go outside and dig up 4 rose bushes. Should be interesting after this workout…

9

Shoulders/random stuff and prowler
At gym:
Standing strict over head press
45x5, 65x5, 95x5, 110x3, 125x3 (last 2 sets done with belt)

Body weight neutral grip chins
4 sets of 6

Standing strict over head press
80x10, 90x10, 100x7

Face pulls
70x10, 80x10, 90x10, 100x10

At home:
Light sprinting warm up

Prowler ~50 meters
just prowler x 2
prowler and 50lbs x 4

I’m still being pretty careful with my overhead pressing.
Prowler sprints made me tired as usual.

10

Legs:
Box squats
135x5, 155x5, 185x3, 215x3, 245x1, 265x1, 285x1 PR, 225x6
285 went up fast. Probably could have done 300.

Front squats
135x3, 155x3
I was going to do triples up to about 195, but I almost failed on the last rep of 155 so I stopped. Apparently maxing took more out of me than I thought.

Leg extensions to seated leg curls
entire stack on extensions to 3/4 stack on curls
3 sets of 10

seated calf raises (waiting for leg press to open)
2 plates 10 reps for 2 sets

leg press
6 plates x 5
8 plates x 5
10 plates x 10

leg press calf raise
6 plates 2 sets of 12

Kind of a strange leg day. Next time I’m going to do some higher rep squats with like 205 or 225.

11

Bench day:
Dumbbell bench
45x5, 55x5, 65x3, 75x3, 85x7
Wanted to get 8 reps on the 85s, but sadly my bench seems to be stalling.

Incline bench alternating arms
55x10x4 (5 each arm)

Dumbbell triceps extensions
30x8, 35x5, 40x5

3 Pull ups to 5 push ups
10 sets done in about 11 minutes. Going to keep working on this for time.

Hanging leg raises
10, 7, 8, 5
I don’t normally do direct ab work, so this was hard for me.

12

Back workout from yesterday
Dead lift
135x5, 225x5, 275x3, 315x2, 365x1, 405x1 PR

Hang Cleans
65x3, 95x3, 115x3, 135x3, 145x3, 155x3, 160x3 PR, 165x3 PR

Dumbbell Rows
70x3, 80x3, 90x3, 100x8

Complex with 80lb barbell and 40lb dumbbell
8 reps per lift, 3 sets
bb hang cleans
bb rows
db swings

My grip was failing at this point so I called it quits

No time for prowler.

I have been working nonstop these past few days on a web application for a job interview so I have been neglecting my eating and sleep and such. So was surprised I pulled the 405. Overall I’m happy. I will do some higher rep dead lifts on my next back day. I have about another 5 days of work on this test. I may or may not work out during that time.

13

Shoulders and random stuff:

Strict standing barbell shoulder press
45x6, 65x5, 95x5, 115x3, 125x1, 135x3
Last 3 sets with belt.

Neutral grip body weight chins
2 sets of 6
1 set of 5
1 set of 3
At this point I knew something was wrong, and I was feeling pretty crappy. None the less I went on with my workout.

Complex with 100 lb barbell
push press
zercher squat
rows
set 1, 8 reps
set 2, 6 reps
At this point I was almost going to throw up. I was light headed and was shaking. I called it quits at this point.

The last 6 days I have been working on a project for a prospective software company. My nutrition and sleep has been awful. I blame this terrible workout on that. Fortunately I decided to not continue with the interview process (I don’t like web design, and the Struts2 framework they wanted me to learn was insane). So everything will return back to normal, and I should feel great in a few days.

14

Leg workout from 2 days ago:
Had another terrible day. I had no strength in my legs at all for squatting, and I squatted like I used to 2 years ago. I am not eating enough or lifting at a consistent time. My solution is going to be to eat more and workout at a consistent time. Additionally, I need to not screw around on my leg days and just squat. No more front squats or box squats first. Regular back squats need to be my priority. They are the most important lift I can be doing.

Squats
135x5
155x5
185x3
205x3x2
205x1
I almost failed at this point.

Superset seated leg extensions with seated leg curls
3 sets of 10 reps

At this point I felt awful and went home. My nutrition is just to crappy this past week and it’s entirely my fault.

15

Today’s bench day

Dumbbell bench
50x5, 60x5, 70x3, 80x2, 90x6

Close grip bench (index fingers are about 14 inches apart)
135x3, 155x3, 165x3, 175x1, 185x1, 195x1 PR, 205x1 PR

3 pull ups to 5 push ups
10 sets

5 db floor flys to 5 db triceps extensions using 27.5 lbs
3 sets

I feel a lot better now that I have had a successful workout. I will continue to eat everything in sight this week to ensure that I continue have good workouts.

16

Great job on posting up a tall guy work log. I’m 6’2" at 170 and eat as much as I can afford to (healthily that is). Your post 2 up says you feel like you should be doing squats first then other leg exercises after. I’m totally like that too. I do squats, dead lifts, and bench press 1st as I feel those exercise are the building blocks of my foundation.

17

Yeah, I always do my most important lifts first. My problem with squats lately is that I am screwing around with them too much. I have been doing front squats and box squats, but neglecting regular squats which is making me suck at them. Squats have always been incredibly hard for me along with bench press. My height makes me move the bar a lot further than someone who is 5’10" and built to lift. My other problem is I am just too skinny at the moment. I should weigh like 240. So as soon as I get a real job I need to invest in enormous amounts of food and go on a 20 lb bulk.

Thanks for checking out my log.

18

You’re not trying to steal my thunder are you?! - I also have a tall log - the more the merrier.

Have you ever tried 5-3-1 - I think you might like it.

19

ros1816 you are 3" taller than me, so I think you still get to keep the title of tallest lifter on this site. But yes, more power to us tall guys…though compared to you I am small.

20

Forgot to mention that I did 5/3/1 for 3 months last winter. I saw great gains, but the frequency of the constant heavy lifting took its toll on my lower back. I have been considering going back to it for squats though. My lifting is still centered around low reps and heavy weight, but I like the freedom of choosing what I do instead of having the numbers for me to hit set in stone.