Magick's Training Log

Training Training Logs
61

Mon-3-31
Squat- 230lb, 4x3. Volume PR.
Went in planning to do 3x5. But the power rack was taken and I had to use a squat rack where I have to walk the weight out for an unimaginable distance. So I just decided to do 3x3 instead. Found it much easier than expected, so I tacked on another set.

OHP - 105lb, 3x3
The last rep sucked. Triceps on my left arm wanted to give out but I just muscled through.

Superset of DB row (80lb)/ DB curl (20lb)/ DB OHP (30). 3x5 for the row, 5x7 for the curl and the OHP.
DB protraction/retraction- 20lb, 3x12

Max incline treadmill runs, 8. 12 times.

62

Tues-4-1 (omg, April already)
TnG deadlift- 185lb, 5x5. 30 second rest each set.
DB power cleans- 60lb, 5x3

DB bench- 65lb, 3x5
Superset of BB bench (115lb) and chin-ups.
5x5 on the BB bench,6/5/5/5/5 on the chin-ups.
Face-pull- 50lb, 5x10

Bicep pain is going away, and it seems that I’m getting to know what “pull the bar apart” means better.

63

Weds-4-2
Almost forgot to log today’s workout.

Squat - 230lb, 5/3/3
OHP - 105lb, 1/2/failed.
Superset of DB row (80lb)/ DB curl (20lb)/ DB OHP (30). 3x5 for the row, 5x7 for the curl and the OHP.
DB protraction/retraction- 20lb, 3x12

Today sucked. Felt like I had no energy after the first set of the 230lb. Completely spent by the end of the squats, and it really showed on the OHP.

But I felt much better by the time I got to set 3ish of the curling and DB OHP.

I skipped my pre-workout drink of two cups of milk today. I normally lift 30min to an hour after eating breakfast, and in the goal of reducing liquid calories (I drink 4 cups of milk a day, 2 before and 2 after) I tried removing the pre-workout milk. I figured that the breakfast would act as a pre-workout meal.

I guess it didn’t work? I dunno, all I know is that I’ve never actually felt like I had no energy at all during a strength-training session before. I had shitty days before where I couldn’t make reps that I did before or weight that I moved previously feels awfully heavy today, but it was always more of a “muscle just says na today” rather than “the entire body says you’re being a fucking dumb-ass for trying to lift today”.

If I do remove liquid calories, it’ll be from my post-workout drink from now on. Though even that is something that I’m not certain of… If anything, shouldn’t you be aiming to eat a good amount of fast-digesting carbs after a strength session?

I just realized that I really know diddly squat about the science behind pre-workout and post-workout food. Probably should fix that.

On a bit of a brighter note, I decided to finally get off my ass and start training either BJJ or judo again. Probably will be judo, since I went to a BJJ school today and remembered why I stopped doing BJJ to begin with- I chose it as a second choice when I couldn’t find any judo schools and I don’t like BJJ much to begin with.

I say this probably because I am a beginner in BJJ, but I never quite understood why there is a lack of emphasis on aggression and power in BJJ. I find the whole premise of “technique is king” flawed. Yes. Technique is king, provided that it is within the sport and nothing but the sport.

That is like saying that technique is king in badminton. Of course it is. If you’re really damned good at hitting the birdie, then you’ll be able to smash them birdies into watermelons and split them in half (I saw a video of Korean world-champions do this a long time ago)

So, if people keep the “technique is king” to BJJ, and BJJ only, then I’m fine with that. But then people start taking it out of that context and make it seem as though BJJ is the end-all, be-all of combat sports (No, wresting is if you want to stay within grappling) and speak as though training BJJ will make you into a bad-ass who can take on anything and win.

Man, I regret not wrestling in high school. Probably wouldn’t have been a fattie then.

Edit- Wow, this is long.

64

Thurs-4-3
Deadlifts-
225/245/265/285x3
315x2. Wanted to do 3 but grip felt bad on the 2nd rep and decided to stop and go onto the next set using chalk.
335x1
355x1 15lb PR.

Woke up feeling good today, and felt even better after breakfast. So I decided I’ll do 355 on deadlifts today.
The pull felt good and there wasn’t any sticking points. I’m reasonably certain I could have pulled 360 or maybe even 365.
I’ll go for another PR next month. Would be grand if it was another 15lb jump.

Superset of BB bench (125lb) and chin-ups.
5x5 on the BB bench, 5/5/5/5/3 on the chin-ups.

The benches tired my arms out, and so I couldn’t do a whole lot of chin-ups.

Incline DB Retraction-20lb
Prone “Y’s”-5lb
Prone internal rotation- 5lb

Today was a great session. I loved today.

65

[quote]magick wrote:
355x1 15lb PR.
[…]
Today was a great session. I loved today.[/quote]

Nicely done. I couldn’t do 355 yesterday. Tried 3 times, but no go.

66

Thank you!

Do you use chalk? Or just hook grip?

I find chalk really makes a huge difference

67

[quote]magick wrote:
Thank you!

Do you use chalk? Or just hook grip?

I find chalk really makes a huge difference
[/quote]

Just hook grip. I failed due to being weak, grip was fine.

68

Maybe, but if your grip isn’t right, then your body won’t even bother to lift the weight.

69

Fri-4-4
Squat-95/115/135/155/175/195/215x3
225 3x3.
Everything from 95-195 were under 45 sec of rest (didn’t count them). 215-225 had min rest.
OHP - 65/75/85
95 7x3
Under a minute rest on each.

Superset of DB row (80lb) and DB curl (20lb). 3x5 for the rows, 5x7 for the curls.

So, today’s session is based on the following article by CT-
http://www.T-Nation.com/free_online_article/most_recent/look_like_a_bodybuilder_perform_like_an_athlete

More specifically, I tried to apply the neural ramping method that CT talks about. I normally don’t do a lot of warm-up sets; for squat I just do 2-3 sets of 5 body squats, then 2-3 sets with the bar, and then just go 95/135/185/work sets.

Instead of finding my work set, I just went with doing 3s of a weight that I know that I can hit 5 reps without much trouble.

I’ll be honest - neural ramping feels good. Particularly for the OHP. 6 of those 95lb OHP sets felt damn near effortless. The last set felt like my normal first set. The squat could have been 10-20lb lighter for the max weights, but even the 225lb felt much lighter than usual.

I also like the premise behind his training method- High volume with low rest. I know he says don’t count rest time, but that is hard to do the first time =(

I might continue following this method instead of doing 3x5 for a while. It’s certainly a nice change of pace.

70

Sat-4-5
TnG deadlifts - 235lb, 5x5. 45 second rest each set.

Superset of BB bench (125lb) and chin-ups
5x5 on BB bench and chin-ups.

Left bicep hurt again, but every other bicep-related work is completely fine… I’m getting really tired of this.

71

Mon-4-7
Squats -
95/105/115/135/155/175 (something like that, I don’t remember well actually)x3
205lb, 8x3

OHP-
65/70/75/80/85/90x3
95lb, 5x3

Superset of DB row (80lb), DB curl (20lb), and DB front raises (10lb)
3x5 for the row, 5x7 for curl, 5x5 for the front raises.

DB protraction/retraction- 20lb, 3x12

Max incline treadmill runs, 8. 14 times.
This is much easier now.

72

Tues-4-8
Deadlift- 185/205/225/245/265x3
285, 3x3

Deadlifts didn’t go all that well. Wanted to get to 315 but 285 felt heavy enough that I decided to stop there. Felt sleepy and the movement wasn’t easy as it should be. I didn’t get a lot of sleep today, so I’m guessing that’s why.

Superset of BB bench (125lb) and chin-ups
5x5 on BB bench and chin-ups.

And biceps don’t hurt again. I did have the bar touch much lower than normal though, just slightly below the sternum. I normally have it touch somewhere between the sternum and the nipples. Maybe that difference in angle placed less strain on the biceps?

Face-pulls- 5x10

73

Weds-4-9
Squat-
95/115/135/155/175/195x3
225, 5x3 and another set with 2 reps. Stopped because no longer fast.

OHP-
65/75/85x3
95, 6x3
Had to clean these up because I vacated the power rack for the about 3-4 other people who wanted to squat. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that many people wait for the power rack before.

DB row-
80lb, 3x5

74

Thurs-
TnG Deadlift- 185, 5x5

Superset of BB bench (125lb) and chin-ups.
5x5 on the BB bench and chin-ups.

I think I may have been doing bench-presses wrong the entire time. They feel a lot more natural and easier now that I touch lower on the chest.

Incline DB Retraction-20lb
Prone “Y’s”-5lb
Prone internal rotation- 5lb

75

Fri-
Squat-
95/115/135/155/175/195/215x3
235, 2x3. Last rep became a bit of a grinder, and so stopped.

OHP-
55/65/75/85/95x3
105, 4x2

Superset of DB row (80lb) and DB curl (20lb).
3x5 for DB row, 5x5 for curl.

Today felt awesome.

76

Sat-
Deadlift-
135/185/225/245/265/275/295x3
315-2/2/1/1… Grip died.

Should have brought chalk. Body was fine but my grip said “no” today.

Superset of BB bench (125lb) and chin-ups.
5x5 on the BB bench and chin-ups.
Bicep pain back again. It comes in the first rep or two, and then goes away as I start to retract the scapula and do all those things better. Need to figure out a way to start with all those things on the first rep.

Face-pulls- 50lb, 5x10

Max incline treadmill runs, 8. 16 times.
And as a bonus, my heart-rate dropped down to 156 a minute after the last run, from a max of around 180-186. So cardio is finally getting back to form.

77

Mon-
Squat-
95/115/135/155/165/185x3
205, 4x5, 1x3
Wanted to do 5x5., each ideally with under a minute. But then I took about a minute and a half rest for set 3 and 4, and reps started to get a bit grindy on the last set of 5. Probably could have gotten the last 2 reps, but they would definitely have been hard reps. So I stopped. I’ll try again next week.

OHP-
55/65/75/85x3
95, 5x3
65, 3x5
Decided to see what would happen if I took a wider grip after my last set of 95. So I had my hands about a fist’s width outside of my shoulders (best way to describe it) and tried it first with 95. It felt like all the weight went into anterior head of the delts, which happen to be absolutely tiny in comparison to the rest of my shoulders. Did 3 reps, then brought the weight down to 65 and did 3x5.

I learned to do the OHP with the grip at about shoulder width, but I’m thinking that doing them with a wider grip might be beneficial. It doesn’t make sense to me that my OHP would stall like this when bench is improving with me just doing lots of reps. Maybe I should have been taking the time to develop all of my shoulders evenly.

So, ya, wider grip OHP for the time being. Maybe it’ll help me break the plateau.

Superset of DB row (80lb)/ DB curl (20lb)/ DB OHP (30). 3x5 for the row, 5x7 for the curl 5x6 for the OHP.
And now the DB row is easy. Of all my bodyparts, my back is growing the most by far. I dunno why the row is improving so easily over everything else.

DB protraction/retraction- 20lb, 3x12

Max incline treadmill runs, 8.0. 16 times.

78

Tues-4-15
TnG deadlift - 185lb, 5x5.
Hang power cleans- 95lb, 5x3
I never bothered to actually learn how to do this, and so I figured I might as well start now. Not really explosive, probably have to get used to the movement and the weight.

Superset of BB bench (125lb) and chin-ups.
5x5 on the BB bench, 6/5/5/5/5 on chin-ups.
No bicep pains today. Took care to really get my back positioned “well”. Allowed me to actually do proper benches instead of the almost bouncing off chest/TnG style that I did when I had pain. Made the session feel extra productive.

Face-pulls- 50lb, 5x10

79

Weds-4-16
Squat-
95/115/135/155/175/195/215x3
225, 2x3

Went to sleep late, woke up late, felt crummy and tired. So I decided to just do a bit more on the ramp-up and less on the last set.

OHP-
75lb, 3x5

DB row-
80lb, 3x5

Just a quick session today.

80

Thurs-4-17
TnG Deadlift- 235lb, 5x5

Superset of BB bench (125lb) and chin-ups.
5x5 on the BB bench, 6/5/5/5/4 on chin-ups.
No bicep pain. Paused benches. Yay.

Incline DB Retraction-20lb
Prone “Y’s”-5lb
Prone internal rotation- 5lb