yesterday
Bulgarian split squats 37.5x5x4 (these were surprisingly difficult to balance, which makes sense)
db goblet squats 50x5, 70x5, 90x5, 100x5, 110x5x5
seated leg curls 135x8, 150x8x2, 135x8x2
today
bench deload 95x5, 135x5, 155x5
inverted rows 8x3
dips 10x3
db hammer curls to press 30x6x5
Started physical therapy. Guy seems surprisingly knowledgeable compared to horror stories I have heard about incompetent physical therapists. Keeping “heavy” loads off my back for the time being.
pull ups 6,5,4
chin ups 6,5,4
bb shrugs 135x8, 185x8x4
face pulls various angles 70x12x6
Dead lifting the bar off the ground for the shrugs was not a good idea. Back is so messed up. I worry it will by months and months before I can dead lift again.
Sucks about your back. Hope it gets well soon.
And tall people unite! I’m 6’8" so I know what you’re saying about the back as it’s my weak point as well. It’s the reason I’m going up slow in DL and not maxing.
A good warm up/cool down and mobility work + foam rolling especially with the hips will go a long way in keeping you healthy.
I just started my first log (tall skinny bastard) if you want to follow it.
goblet squat 55x5, 70x5, 85x5, 100x5, 115x6x5
body weight Bulgarian split squats 8x5
seated leg curl 130x10x4, 110x10
Really trying to keep from loading my spine too much and aggravating my back so it can heal. I think while it may be months before I can deadlift again, I might be able to start squatting light again in a few weeks. I’m really frustrated all the time over this injury.
talldude: I wouldn’t say my back was a weak point compared to the rest of my lifts. I was pulling 425 from the ground pretty fast, and power cleaning 235 just fine. I’m still not sure what messed my back up, but I think it was from a lack of flexibility in lumbar flexion. When I hurt it doing leg press I just went on and did 295lb singles on squats the next week which I think sent it over the edge. I’m constantly training too hard and not listening to my body enough. I foam roll quite a bit and stretch my hamstrings and glutes after most workouts as well. Been doing that for about a year now. I read over your log. You have a giant frame to put mass on. Keep eating everything in sight, and your lifts will go up.
bench 45x5, 95x5, 155x3, 185x1, 200x5x2
inverted rows 8x4
dips 7x5
inverted rows 8, 7, 6, 5
straight bar tricep pressdowns 120x10x5
db hammer curls 27.5x10,8,7,6
Felt crappy today. Not eating enough as of late. Must eat more.
yesterday
squat 45x5, 95x5, 135x5, 155x5, 185x5x4
swiss ball leg curls 20 (something my pt wants me to do for some reason)
seated leg extensions 10x5
seated leg curls 10x5
hanging leg raises 10, 8
today
bench 45x5, 95x5, 135x5, 155x3, 185x2, 200x1, 215x3x2
close, neutral grip cable rows 10x5
dips 8x5
inverted rows 8, 6, 5, 5
straight bar tricep pushdowns 10x5
bb ez curls 8x3
db hammer curls 6x3
Low back is slowly getting better. I can start squatting again, although the weight is really light because I have not squatted in like 6 weeks. Trying some higher volume stuff for upper body in the mean time. Not sure if PT was actually useful and worth it. I have a list of silly exercises to do that I don’t really think are too useful.
from 2 days ago:
(pull ups x 5, push ups x 10) x 3
(chin ups x 5, push ups x 10) x 3
face pulls various angles 10x10
shrugs with bench machine 10x5 (keeps strain off my lower back)
from today:
squat 45x5x2, 95x5, 135x5, 155x5, 185x3, 205x3x3
goblet squats 60x10, 80x10x4
body weight Bulgarian split squats 5x3
I was going to do more, but my left glute start feeling really strange. I’m really trying to “listen to my body” as my yoga practicing girlfriend tells me to, so I stopped at that point. Low back is feeling better, but my squat is still sucking. Everything just feels shitty and weak. I get so pissed off not being able to dead lift. After I fully recover months from now my main goal is staying injury free and even more slowly increasing weight and gaining strength. If I could just get the mentality that slowly adding weight will amount to a huge gain in three years on my lifts I would finally be able to actually compete and stop being Captain Injury.
from 2 days ago:
bench 45x5, 95x5, 135x5, 155x3, 185x2, 210x1, 230x1x3
close, neutral grip cable rows 10x5
dips 8x4, 12
inverted rows 6x5
tricep pushdowns 10x5
bb ez curls 8x3
db hammer curls 6x3
today:
(pull ups x 5, pushups x 10) x 3
(chin ups x 5, pushups x 10) x 3
face pulls various angles 10x10
bb ez curls 8x3
db hammer curls 6x3
bench deload 45x5, 95x5, 135x5, 155x5
swiss ball leg curl things 60 total
cable rows 10x3
dips 8x3
bb ez curls 8x2
db hammer curls 6x2
squat 45x5x2, 95x5, 135x5, 175x3, 205x5, 215x5
db goblet squats 80x10x4
good mornings 45x5x2, 65x5, 95x5
swiss ball leg curls 10x3
hanging leg raises 8x2
Took a week off instead of a typical deload. I felt a lot better doing this, and my back felt a lot better all week. Tried good mornings for the first time in like 3 months. They felt okay. Taking things nice and slow…
bench 45x5x2, 95x5, 135x5, 170x3, 195x1, 210x5x2
inverted rows 8x3, 6
dips 8x3
seated cable rows 10x4
tricep pushdowns 10x5
bicepzzzzzzzz 8x4
(pull ups x 5, 40lb jav press x 7) x 3
(chin ups x 5, 40lb jav press x 6) x 3
face pulls 10x5
(face pulls x 10, Pallof press 2 second hold x 5) x 5
Just doing some easy stuff before my squat day. Hoping my low back feels good tomorrow. Next time I do Pallof presses I need to hold longer as that is the point of them.
from 2 days ago:
squat 45x5x2, 95x5, 135x5, 170x3, 195x5, 215x5, 245x5
good mornings 45x5x2, 95x5x3
goblet squats 80x10x3
swiss ball leg curls 10x3
hanging leg raises 8x2
today:
bench 45x5, 95x5, 125x5, 145x4x2, 170x3x2, 185x3x5
squat 45x5, 95x5, 135x5, 160x5x2, 185x5x5
bench 125x5, 135x5, 170x4x4
dips 8x3
db flies 20x10x2
good mornings 45x5, 95x5x4
So against my best judgement I’m going to do Sheiko 29 for a month unless I see injury is immanent. If anything my squat will go up some, and I wanted to do a little more volume and less sets in my 90%+ max range on bench. This first day was hard. I guess I will see what happens. I am going to do the deadlifts, but I’m going to do them extremely light so I don’t mess my back up.
Sheiko was a bad idea. It’s not that I can’t handle the squat and bench volume, but that the deadlifting is still too painful on my low back. If I have to change several things about the program then it is not worth doing. I tried doing the rack pulls at 135 a couple days ago and I have been regretting it since. I am going back to what I was doing before because it was working, and I should not be changing what is working.
From today:
(pull ups x 5, 45lb jav presses x 8) x 3
(chin ups x 5, 45lb jav presses x 8) x 3
push ups 15x2
(face pulls 10, Pallof press with 3 second hold x3) x 5
swiss ball jack knives 8x3
From two days ago:
squat 45x5x2, 95x5, 135x5, 155x3, 185x2, 205x1, 225x5, 225x4, 235x3
good mornings 45x5, 65x5, 95x5x3
sumo dead lifts 135x3, 185x3, 225x3, 275x3
hills x 6
today:
bench 45x5, 95x5, 135x5, 165x3, 190x3, 210x3x3, 135x10x3
inverted rows 8x4
dips 10x3
close grip cable rows 8x5
hills x 6
Sumo dead lifts seem to not bother my low back very much, which makes sense. Going to start doing them. Also started running hills again. Lower body feels beat up. Hips and glutes not doing so well. Pretty sure it is from the back injury.
pull ups 5x3
chin ups 5x3
clean to push press 95x8x4
(10 face pulls to 3 Pallof presses 3 sec hold) x 5
I feel like there is a fiber of muscle in my left glute that is detached. Something is strange. Going to deload on legs this week.
All I saw was link to Norma Jean video on first page so I am definitely going to follow the log of someone who is into metalcore. Although I must admit Bless the Martyr and Kiss the Child was their best and everything else failed to live up to that album. How often do you lift a week. If your gonna keep a log man be prompt with your updates bro. Soo what are your lifts/stats right now you tall guy you.
squat 5/3/1
45x5, 95x5, 135x5, 155x5, 195x3, 215x3, 235x1, 215x3x2, 135x10x2, 135x5x2
hanging leg raises 10x3
seated leg curls 10x4
foam rolling
So I’m going to pull my head out of my ass and just do 5/3/1 with a few modifications. If I just stop being an idiot and follow the program for a year I will be way ahead of where I was before I fucked my lower back. To answer your questions joutmez: yes Norma Jean is awesome. I have also really been into Underoath and I The Breather lately, especially I The Breather. Before I messed my back up I was lifting 4 days a week. My best lifts were 295/225/435 and a 245 pound power clean. At that time I’m pretty sure I could have pulled 455 or 465. Anyways, I messed my lower back up really, really bad because I’m an idiot. So now my best bench is at 240 and my squat, dead lift and power clean are no where near where they used to be. I’m pathetically weak for someone who weighs 240, even if I am 6’6". I’m going to do 5/3/1 with a focus on hypertrophy for a few months and then adjust 5/3/1 accordingly. Also, I usually update this regularly. I got food poisoning this last weekend which is why I did not update for a while…because my stomach was hating me.
bench 5/3/1 (kind of)
45x5, 95x5, 135x5, 155x3, 185x2, 195x1, 225x3 PR, 195x3x2
dips 10x2
inverted rows 8x2, 6
I did not have much time today so I went for a PR instead of doing 5/3/1 strictly and doing the extra hypertrophy stuff. Also, my last squat workout apparently was too much volume. I have almost been unable to walk today. Good times.
sumo dead lift 135x5, 185x5, 225x3, 275x2x2
conventional dead lift 135x5, 185x5, 225x5, 275x5
close, neutral grip cable rows 10x5
face pulls various angles 10x10
I wanted to see what felt best on my low back, and strangely conventional dead lifts did not bother it today. The sumo pulling left my left glute feeling bad again, but I have always disliked sumo. So, I think for the next couple months I’m just going to add 5 pounds each week to my last set and see where things end up. Maybe in a year I will be able to pull 425+ again.