Arms:
Took it easy on triceps today. I’ve had some nagging pain in my right shoulder over the past few weeks, and it seems to flare up a little from pressing movements.
PJR pullovers (first time I’ve done these)
55x12
70x10
70x10
Pushdowns
3 sets of 10
BB curl
45x10
55x6
75x11
Spider curls (ez curl bar)
30x10
40x6
50x8 (down 2 reps - this is typical after BB curls. I seem to be more fatigued after bb curls than preachers)
Pinwheel curls
30x8
30x10 (same as last week)
Legs:
Front Squat
barx5
95x5
135x5
190x4 (up 5 lbs)
Trap bar deadlift
135x5
185x5
225x5
275x5 (lowered the weight here to concentrate on form. Had way too much rounding last week. This didn’t feel very heavy, but I got some good reps in)
Standing calf raise
90x10
135x10
155x10
Lying ham curl
90x8
110x6
150x8 (up 2 reps - was fresher here because of no leg press)
Leg press was not available (gym was packed) because a few groups were already waiting for it. So I did 2 sets of leg extensions (15 reps per set). no big deal.
Definitely had more gas in the tank than usual today when leaving the gym because I couldn’t leg press. I thought about subbing in another exercise, but I wanted to get the hell out of there.
Chest and Back:
Incline DB Press
45x10
55x6
65x5
80x8 (down 1 rep - really tried stricter form today and tried to keep my scapulae retracted)
T-bar row
95x10
120x8
145x6
185x8 (up 5 lbs)
HS Decline Press
90x12
140x6
180x6
240x9 (same as last week)
Wide Grip front pulldowns
96x10
120x6
144x7 (same as last week)
Nothing to write home about today. I’ve been getting a lot of comments from those around me lately about my physique. Interesting. My weight is yet again the same this week (that’s about a month of steady scale weight).
The comments further my suspicion that I’ve put on some muscle while losing fat, but I’m not putting too much faith in that. I do think I look noticeably leaner in my chest. My waist measurement is the same, though. These love handles are stubborn as hell.
Shoulders:
Light workout today. My shoulder was giving me trouble. I pushed machine laterals and pulley laterals but otherwise did “warm up” sets. This pisses me off because I’ve seen some great gains in my shoulders this year, and I don’t want to take it easy.
Seated DB overhead press
35x10
45x10
Machine laterals
50x10
70x10
100x10
One arm pulley side laterals
20x12
25x12
Face pulls
60x10
70x10
80x10
I’ll be doing lots of the “broomstick” exercise over the next few weeks in an effort to get this shoulder back on track.
Arms:
PJR Pullovers
45x12
60x6
70x12 (up 2 reps and better form)
Pushdowns
3x12
BB Curl
45x10
55x6
80x11 (up 5 lbs)
Spider curls (ez curl bar)
30x10
40x6
50x10 (up 2 reps)
Pinwheel curls
25x8
30x12 (up 2 reps)
Good increases today - I’m generally pleased.
Legs:
Front Squat
barx5
95x5
135x5
190x5 (up one rep)
Trap bar deadlift
135x5
185x5
225x5
280x5 (up 5 lbs)
Leg Press
3 plates per side x 12
4x6
5x6
5 and a quarter x 16 (up one rep)
leg press calf raises
3 plates x 12
4 plates x 9 (up 40 lbs)
Lying ham curl
90x8
110x6
150x8 (same as last week)
Pretty good workout today. Felt good all around.
Chest and Back:
Incline DB press
45x10
55x6
65x5
80x7 (down one rep again)
T-bar row
95x10
120x8
145x6
185x11 (up 3 reps)
HS Decline press
90x12
140x6
180x5
240x9 (same as last week)
Wide grip front pulldowns
96x10
120x6
144x9 (up 2 reps)
Two weeks in a row where I regressed on my primary chest movement (incline db press). Time to make some changes there - probably either swap out exercises or go back to the 75’s and work up again.
Arms:
PJR Pullovers
45x12
60x6
75x12 (up 5 lbs)
Pushdowns
2x12
BB Curls
45x10
65x6
85x9 (up 5 lbs)
Spider curls (w/ ez curl bar)
30x10
40x6
55x8 (up 5 lbs)
Pinwheel curls
25x8
35x9 (up 5 lbs)
Chest and Back - I’m going to be traveling tomorrow, so I decided to skip legs this week and do chest/back today.
Flat DB Bench
55x10
65x6
75x5
85x7 - weight here felt very light and it was going up very easy, but I was having a hard time with form. I think my form was a lot worse previously (e.g. before the last 2 weeks) than I had thought. I was having a hard time keeping my scapulae retracted the whole time. It felt like if I went loose with form, I could have easily banged out another 3 reps or so, but I’m trying to be careful with the shoulder. I can still definitely feel some discomfort on pressing exercises, though I’m feeling less discomfort on a day to day basis. I think the broomstick thing is working a little (thanks CC).
Rack Chins
BWx12
25x10
Wow, I liked these a lot. It’s my first time doing them. I was swinging around like a monkey on my work set trying to get the 25 lb plate up and stabilized. Having a training partner here would help. My lats were burning like mad by the end of the set, which is not something I’m used to “feeling.” Typically, I’m only able to feel my lats like that on high rep (e.g. 18 reps or more) of lat pulldowns. These are going to take a little tinkering with positioning, etc. but I like them a lot.
Smith Incline presses (wide grip - bar counted as 0)
70x12
110x6
130x7
Again, felt like I could have banged out a few more reps on these but didn’t. I may go lighter next time for higher reps. I liked being able to concentrate on the stretch at the bottom on these, though, I still hate my gym’s Smith.
T-bar rows
95x10
120x8
145x6
190x9 (up 5 lbs) - these felt heavy as shit today
Face pulls - just for shoulder health, etc.
3x10
This shoulder thing is frustrating because I feel like I’m just not getting in good workouts when it comes to my pressing movements because I’m too concerned about form - e.g., the set ends and I know I could have banged out a few more reps. Oh well, hopefully I get my shoulder back on track and it won’t be an issue.
Arms:
PJR pullovers
50x10
60x6
80x10 (up 5 lbs)
Pushdowns
2x12
BB Curl
45x10
65x6
85x10 (up one rep)
Spider curls
30x10
40x6
55x9 (up one rep)
Pinwheel curls
25x8
35x10 (up one rep)
Felt good to get back into the gym today. Took off my shoulder day again. I’ll give it a go next week to see how it is.
Legs:
Front Squat
barx5
95x5
135x6
165x2
195x4 (up 5 lbs)
Trap bar deadlift
135x5
185x5
225x5
285x5 (up 5 lbs)
Leg press
3 plates per side x 10
4x8
5x6
6x12 (up 40 lbs)
Calf raises on leg press
3 plates per side x 10
4 plates per side x 11 (up 2 reps)
Lying ham curl
90x8
110x6
150x8 (same)
Very exhausting workout. I’m gonna sleep well tonight.
Shoulders:
Seated overhead db press
35x10
45x6
55x8
Haney shrugs (in smith, as 0 lbs)
50x12
90x8
140x8
Machine laterals
50x10
70x6
100x10
Pulley laterals (one arm)
20x12
22.5x12
This was my first shoulder workout in a few weeks, so I didn’t push it too hard. My right shoulder still feels a little funky when pressing (or actually more during the negative portion of the rep when pressing), but it felt better today than it did a few weeks ago. I’m still doing the broomstick thing on a daily basis.
Arms:
PJR pullovers
50x12
65x6
85x8 (up 5 lbs - the 80 was taken so I just did 85)
Rope pushdowns
1 set of 12
1 set of 14
BB Curl
45x10
65x6
90x8 (up 5 lbs)
Spider curl (w/ ez curl bar)
30x10
40x6
60x7 (up 5 lbs)
Pinwheel curls
25x8
35x10 (same as last week)
Chest/back today:
Flat DB Bench
55x10
65x6
75x6
85x7
Rack Chins
BWx10
10x6
25x10
Smith Incline press (wide grip)
70x10
90x6
110x12
HS row
90x10
140x6
160x12
Shoulder felt awful today. That side just felt weak and tight while pressing. It’s strange, because I’m experiencing less discomfort day-to-day, but in the gym, things haven’t improved and have actually gotten slightly worse. Might have to go get it checked out soon.
Alright, I haven’t dropped off the face of the earth. I had a nightmare of a training session over the weekend while out of town traveling. If you’ve been reading, I’ve been having some shoulder issues - likely seems like a rotator cuff issue if I had to guess. Well, I haven’t necessarily been “struggling” in the gym, but I’ve been having regular pain in the area. This weekend, however, I struggled mightily through my workout. I was having trouble with the 55lb dumbbells on flat bench. That’s usually my first warmup set.
So, I’ve been taking off this entire week. I need a fresh start. Time to start rehabbing this thing. In the mean time, I’ve been hitting cardio pretty hard in an effort to accelerate fat loss. I’m still “cutting,” though things have been at a stand still for the past month or so. I’m sitting at around 180, and I wanted to get down to 170 before sitting at maintainence for a few weeks.
Throughout this process, I’ve come to the conclusion that keto diets are not for me. I’ve been taking in about 1600 cals on non-training days and 2000 cals on training days, for about 3 months. Now, because of my job/school, I’m not the most active person on earth - most of my time is spent in front of the computer churning out papers. But this should be low enough to lose weight. But I completely stalled when I hit 185.
My schedule has been pretty chaotic over the last week. Because of convenience, I went off the keto diet. Kept calories the same, but because of lack of prep time, I resorted to easy carbs, etc. I step on the scale 5 days later, and my weight is down 4 pounds. A few days later I’m down another pound, and noticeably leaner. I know that things like fat loss and muscle gain are not linear, and maybe I’m over-reacting here, but this mirrors previous experiences I’ve had as well. I guess I should consider myself lucky that it’s beneficial for me to keep carbs in my diet. It certainly makes things a lot easier.
So, another few days off, more cardio, and then back in the gym next week.