MRW173's 5x5 log

Training Training Logs
41

Arms and Calves this morning:

Standing Calf Raise
90x15
90x15
100x11

Close Grip Bench (Smith machine)
90x10
130x10
150x6

Lying Tricep Extensions (EZ curl bar)
70x8
70x8
80x8

Preacher Curls (Pulley)
50x10
75x10
100x11

Spider Curl (EZ curl bar on reverse side of preacher bench)
30x10
40x10
50x7 (failed on 8th rep)

I’m really liking these spider curls. The stretch at the bottom feels awesome. My chest is really sore from yesterday. Back? Not so much. It takes an awful lot for my back to get sore.

My weight has been in the low 190’s for a few weeks now. It peaked at 195 and then stabilized around 191-192. Since it’s been stable for a few weeks now, I’m going to drop cals a little bit this week. I absolutely hate “cutting” phases, but again, I’m unhappy with the amount of fat I’ve put on over the last few months. What’s worse is I know exactly why: I haven’t done enough cardio. I really have to fix that.

42

Shoulders this morning:

Standing BB Military Press:
65x10
95x10
115x9

BB Shrugs
135x8
185x8
225x8
275x6

DB Side Lateral Raises
20x12
20x12
20x11

Machine Laterals
50x12
60x12
80x10

A few increases from last week, so I’m pleased with that. Diet is going well so far. I haven’t made many changes other than replacing some of my carb sources with beans. The only way I’ve cut calories so far is to eliminate my pre-bed meal. I feel good so far, and I wasn’t tired in the gym at all. I’ll stick to this for a week or two, take a few waist measurements, and adjust as needed.

43

Arms and calves today:

Dips
BWx8
25x8
45x10

BB Curl
45x8
65x8
85x8

Lying Tricep Extension (EZ curl bar)
70x8
80x8
80x9

Spider Curls
30x10
40x10
50x9

Seated Calf Raise
50x15
70x10
70x10

44

Chest and Back:

DB Flat Bench
50x10
60x10
70x10
85x8 (failed on 9th rep)

T-bar Row
45x10
70x10
90x6

HS Row
125x10
145x10
170x8

HS Incline Press
90x6
140x6
180x6
Drop set of 230x3, 180x4

Close grip (v-handle) pulldowns
96x12
108x12
132x9

Was out really late and drinking last night (Halloween party). So I went into today’s workout not expecting much. I’m sure it affected me, but I was pleased to show small progression on a few exercises (moreso on chest - back stayed the same).

Despite not hitting legs and decreasing calories slightly over the past few weeks, my weight is the same. I think that’s a good sign. I’ve seen some noticeable upper body improvements physique-wise. I want to start hitting legs again soon, but I do think by resting them it’s given me a good opportunity to hit arms 2x per week.

45

Arms and Calves:

Close grip bench (Smith machine)
90x10
130x10
150x8

Lying Tricep Extension (EZ curl bar)
70x8
80x8
80x10

Preachers (pulley)
50x10
75x10
112.5x8

Spider Curls
30x10
40x10
50x10

Standing Calf Raises
90x15
100x13
100x12

Both chest and back are pretty sore today, which is a bit strange because yesterday’s workout wasn’t really any different than last Saturday’s workout. I thought that might get in the way of things like close grip bench today, but it didn’t, and I hit last week’s weight for 2 more reps.

46

Shoulders this morning:

BB Standing Military Press
65x10
95x10
120x8 (failed on 9th rep)

BB Shrugs
135x8
185x8
225x8
275x7

DB Side Laterals
20x12
20x12
20x12

Machine Laterals
50x12
60x12
80x12

Rear Delt Machine
90x12
110x12
120x12

Felt pretty good today. I’m seeing some nice progress on these lifts now that I have a separate shoulder day. The only bad thing I felt today was some pain in both of my arms near my elbows. I also felt this on Sunday after close grip bench and during tricep extensions. It’s not a sharp pain…more like a dull, throbbing pain that’s delocalized, sort of in the area between the bicep and tricep on the inside part of the arm close to the elbow. Nothing big - I wonder if close grip bench press on the Smith machine just put a little added stress there. That movement has always felt a little awkward to me.

47

Arms and calves this morning:

Dips
BWx8
25x8
45x10

BB Curl
45x8
65x8
85x8

One arm cable curls (low pulley)
30x12
40x10
40x10

Standing Calf Raises
90x15
100x15
100x15

Had some elbow pain again during dips, so I cut out my 2nd triceps exercise. Otherwise felt okay, but I didn’t really see any jumps in weight other than on calf raises.

48

Chest and Back:

DB Flat Press
50x10
60x10
70x10
85x9

T-bar Row
45x10
70x10
90x8

HS Incline Press
90x6
140x6
180x6
Drop set of 230x3, 180x4, 90x8

HS Row
125x10
145x10
170x10

Fly machine
90x12
110x12
150x10

One-arm bent over rows (DB)
65x10
85x8

Put in a little more volume today because I’ll be out of town for a conference in Orlando from Thursday through Sunday of this week. So, I’ll probably miss next Saturday’s chest and back workout.

49

Arms and calves:

Reverse grip bench press (Smith machine)
90x12
120x10
140x12

Lying Tricep Extensions (EZ curl bar)
70x8
80x8
85x7

Preacher curl (pulley)
50x10
75x10
112.5x9

Spider Curls
30x10
40x10
55x8

Seated calf raise
70x15
70x15
70x13

50

Alright, I’m back after a business trip.

Shoulders/traps today:

Standing BB Military Press
65x10
95x10
120x7 (failed on 8th rep)

Rack Pulls (from about 2 inches above the knee)
225x10
315x8
365x8
405x6

DB Side Laterals
20x12
20x12
20x8

Machine Laterals
50x12
65x12
85x7

Rear Delt Machine
90x12
105x12
125x10

I attribute getting one less rep on military press compared to 2 weeks ago to poor eating on my trip and not hitting shoulders for 2 weeks. I expect that to go up in the next few weeks.

Rack Pulls hit my traps really hard. They are much more fatigued than when I hit them with shrugs.

On DB side laterals today, I kept my form more strict. I only kept a very slight bend in my arms, as opposed to close to a 90 degree bend before, and I could feel it hit my delts a lot harder as a result.

My hip flexor is finally feeling pretty good, so I’m going to start adding in legs again. I have to give my program some thought. Not hitting my legs has allowed me to hit some weak points on my upper body more intensely, like hitting arms 2x per week and having a shoulder only day. I’ve seen some nice benefits by doing that. One option is to keep everything the same and just add a leg day, which would mean going to the gym 5x per week. That would be ideal, but I just don’t have the time to do that right now, unfortunately. I think I’ll have to stick with a 4-day, which means hitting arms only once per week, or making a change elsewhere.

51

So, now that my hip flexor feels healed enough to add legs, I have to restructure my program a bit. Here’s what I’ve decided to do:

Saturday: Chest and Back
Sunday: Legs
Tuesday: Shoulders
Thursday: Arms and Calves

I don’t get to hit arms 2x per week, but at least I get to isolate shoulders this way. I have no problems hitting chest and back in the same session. They are my two strongest bodyparts, so I’m okay with hitting them with less volume than other parts, at least for now.

Plus, I’m in a “cutting” phase (hate that word), so when I start bulking again, I may switch things up.

On to today’s workout: arms and calves.

Lying Tricep Extensions (EZ curl bar)
70x8
80x8
90x6

Reverse Grip Bench (Smith)
90x12
120x12
140x8

BB Curl
45x8
65x8
85x8 (pretty bad cheat rep on last rep, but emphasized a brutally slow negative)

Preacher Curl (pulley)
50x10
75x10
87.5x10

Standing Calf Raise
90x15
100x15
100x15

Reversed the typical order today just because of machine availability at the gym. That made a huge difference in my numbers. I’m usually able to do a lot more weight on preachers (did 112.5x9 last time) and RGBP (did 140x12 last time).

Nevertheless, I feel like I got a good workout. Hitting preachers pre-fatigued seemed to work a little better (at least as far as how the movement felt).

Weight is around 187-188 right now after stabilizing at 192 for a few weeks.

52

Decided to switch up chest/back and leg day. So I’ll be doing legs on saturday, and chest/back on sunday. That’s because some of the tricep stuff I hit on thursday also hits my chest (in particular RGBP’s and dips if I add them).

Today’s workout was legs. I haven’t done legs in a few months now because of a hip flexor problem, so my goal today was to just go in and get some good reps in and focus on form. Then next week I’ll start piling the real weight on.

Squats: did 5-6 sets of 135 for about 5 reps each set. Even messed around with box squats for a while, since I’ve never done them. The box felt way too high. Sadly, it was about parallel (probably 2 inches above).

Romanian Deads
135x10
155x10

Bulgarian Split Squats (weight per 1db)
BWx10
20x10

Lying Leg Curl
90x8
110x8

Then did some cardio (incline treadmill walking)

Wow, it felt like I was relearning how to ride a bike again today. I did a few squats with just the bar to see how it felt and everything was off. I didn’t get comfortable until the last set or so, and even then, things felt awful. My right hip flexor still feels strange. I’m going to try to hit some mobility exercises this week, and also do some foam rolling. The weight itself wasn’t heavy at all - it felt like I wasn’t really squatting any weight. The movement just felt totally off to me.

The rest of the workout was fine. I didn’t push the weight at all, and just wanted to get some reps in. They were basically all warmup sets today.

53

Chest and Back this morning:

DB Flat Bench:
50x10
60x10
70x10
85x7 (failed on 8th rep)

T-bar Rows
45x10
70x10
90x7

HS Incline Press
90x10
140x10
Drop set of 180x8, 90x8

HS Row
125x10
145x10
170x8

Then did some incline treadmill walking. My chest felt pretty weak today. The time off definitely didn’t help in that regard. I’m going to give this routine another few weeks, and if I’m not making good progress, I’ll switch exercises up.

Despite the very easy leg work yesterday, my legs are sore as shit today, especially in the back right where the hamstrings and glutes join.

54

Thanksgiving week craziness necessitated that I do a shoulders/traps/arms session all in one today:

Standing BB Military Press
65x10
95x10
120x7 (failed on 8th rep)

Rack Pulls (from about 2 inches above the knee)
225x8
315x8
365x6
425x5

Preacher Curls (pulley)
50x10
72.5x10
112.5x10

Dips
BWx8
25x8
45x8

Spider Curls
30x10
40x10
50x8

Then did incline treadmill walking.

55

Legs this morning

Box Squats
135x8
185x8
225x6
275x4

RDL
135x10
185x10
205x10

Bulgarian Split Squat (weight per 1db)
BWx10
20x10
30x12

Lying Ham Curl
110x8
130x8

Standing Calf Raise
90x12
110x12
120x12

Went to do regular squats and my right hip flexor was still killing me, but just at the bottom of the hole. So, I did box squats instead, which didn’t hurt, because the box is just above parallel. I really don’t know what’s going on with my hip.

The rest of the workout felt pretty good.

56

Chest and Back:

Flat DB Bench
50x10
60x10
70x10
85x9 (failed on 10th rep)

T-bar machine row
45x10
70x10
90x7

HS Incline Press
90x10
140x10
Drop set of 180x8, 90x8

HS Row
125x10
145x10
170x10

Then did some incline treadmill walking. Hopefully that’ll help cut down on some leg soreness. My glutes are sore as hell today. So is my groin. I think box squats hit them pretty hard.

57

Shoulders and Calves:

Seated DB overhead press
35x10
45x10
55x8

DB Side Laterals
20x12 (too much body english)
17.5x12
17.5x9

Machine Laterals
50x10
65x10
80x10

Rear Delt Machine
90x12
110x12
130x10

Standing Calf Raise
90x12
110x12
120x13

Then did incline treadmill walking.

Didn’t do rack deads today because my hip is still sore as shit, and my glutes are beyond sore. Box squats did a number on me. My groin is awfully sore, too. I’ve been walking around like a 90 year old man. I also did seated DB presses today because my progress has pretty much stalled out on the standing barbell military press.

58

Had to miss this morning’s workout. Caught a wicked stomach virus. What sucks is that I got it right after Tuesday’s workout, so I doubt I got any nutrition from Tuesday on, making Tuesday’s shoulder workout kinda pointless.

Not surprisingly, as a result, my shoulders are still sore 2 days later. That’s the first time in a long time my shoulders have been sore for this long.

I should be ready to go by Saturday.

59

Damn virus kept me out of the gym til today.

Chest and Back with a little arm work:

Flat DB Bench
50x10
60x10
70x10
85x9 (failed on 10th rep)

T-bar Machine Row
45x10
70x10
90x7

HS Incline Press
90x10
140x10
Drop set of 180x8, 90x9

HS Row
125x10
145x10
175x8

Dips
2 BW sets

Preachers (pulley)
50x10
75x10
100x7

60

Shoulders and Calves this morning:

Seated DB overhead press:
35x10
45x10
55x8

DB Side Laterals
17.5x12
17.5x12
17.5x10

Machine Laterals
50x10
65x10
85x9

Rear Delt Machine
90x12
110x12
135x10

Standing Calf Raise
90x15
110x12
125x14

Thought I had a rep or two more in me for presses today, but apparently not. I’m ready to hit arms hard tomorrow. I’ve dropped about 10 pounds on this “cut” and my arm size has gone down a little in the last week or two, which is pissing me off. I’m also pissed off because the weight isn’t coming off as fast as I thought. I need to find time to do more cardio. It’s that simple.