Thursday 11/20/10:
Squats: 205 x 5,5,4
Bench: 205 x 5, 210 x 5,5
Power Cleans: 95 x 5,115 x 5, 95 x 5
So Wednesday was a stressful day; didn’t eat, sleep, or hydrate enough, mainly due to being stuck in a 6 hour seminar where I spoke 2nd to last. I did, however, finally get some chalk! It helped out tremendously. The cleans were a bit awkward, so I need to revise the form again.
Saturday 11/20/10:
Squats: 205 x 5,4,4
OH Press: 140 x 5,5,5
Deadlift: 305 x 3
Damn. I sucked today. Main problem: NOT eating enough. Also, my hips felt awful after squatting, so perhaps flexibility is bad (and my core is weak). Time to go eat…
Wednesday 11/24/10:
Squats: 210 x 5,5,5
Bench: 215 x 5,5,5
Power Cleans: 115 x 5,5, 125 x 5
Wow, so eating and sleeping plenty helped get past my struggle with 205 in the squat. It’s still sad that my bench is better than my squat though. Power cleans felt awkward again, so the weight is still light (especially since I don’t have access to bumper plates).
Keep it up and good luck with your goals!
[quote]Ben_VFR85 wrote:
Keep it up and good luck with your goals![/quote]
Thanks, Ben!
Looking through your log (the title of which I almost stole!) I noticed that big jump for 6 months. I hope you’re back on track with your goals in (and out) of the gym.
Friday 11/26/10:
Squats: 215 x 5, 5, 4
Press: 145 x 5, 5, 4
Pullups: BW = 200 x 8, 6
Pulldowns: 150 x 8, 140 x 6
Back Extensions: BW x 15,12
Squats felt good, and one (stupid) way to force PRs is to not use supports, which I had to do since the rack had them fixed a bit too high for me to go parallel. I am disappointed in regards to the TWO misses I had today. I definitely have weak abs (weak everything actually), since I feel them the most in the Press! Pullups are still shit, since I have not been doing much pulling (other than deadlifting). So some things need to be done (in list form, with my usual parenthesizing):
-strengthen abs (i.e. do more leg raises, side bends, decline crunches, ab roller)
-stretch on off days (hip flexors and hamstrings are extremely tight)
-figure out what mobility work is useful for hips and shoulders (posture is strange)
-take videos of 5 major lifts (for form correction, though form has improved tremendously)
-write down food intake
-add pre-workout nutrition (as of now, just sipping on 2.5 scoops SWO pre/peri/post)
-write down goal weights BEFORE each workout
Monday 11/29/10:
Squats: 215 x 5,5,5
Bench: 225 x 5,5,5
Deadlift: 315 x 4
Hanging Leg raises: BW x 10, 5 + 5 partials
Side Bends: 75 x 10, 85 x 9,8
Pulldowns: 145 x 8, 130 x 8
Had to fight for the last rep of sets 2-3 of Squats. The third set of Bench was easier than the second. Deadlift felt super easy at 295 x 1 right before work the set, but 315 x 4 felt heavy. Perhaps my traps and first half of the pull need some work. I am trying to make an effort to get some abs and pulling in each workout! Also, stretching will be done the night prior to a lifting session, and not during the warm-up the day of, which seems to be working.
Wednesday 12/1/10:
Squats: 225 x 5,5,4
OH Press: 150 x 5,4,4
Power Cleans: 115 x 5
Pullups: BW = 200 x 10
Back Extensions: BW x 12, +20 x 10, 8
So I brought the wife today, who finally signed up and is letting me treat her as a guinea pig for 4 weeks! This was a bit distracting, maybe for the good since I almost got all three sets with 225 on squat. But the Press felt weak, and everything else was cut short, mainly due to being in a super crowded gym. The wife seems promising, especially with the press (she was doing 30lbs no problem) though squats and deadlifts (didn’t make her do power cleans just yet, ha) are awkward and need a ton of work. Until Friday/Saturday…
Get her practicing at home with a broom stick for the squat, and hopefully the action of getting low with a straight back will also shorten the time it takes to sort the DL form out. That way she’ll feel more confident going into the gym so she’ll keep going.
Keep it up!
[quote]Ben_VFR85 wrote:
Get her practicing at home with a broom stick for the squat, and hopefully the action of getting low with a straight back will also shorten the time it takes to sort the DL form out. That way she’ll feel more confident going into the gym so she’ll keep going.
Keep it up!
[/quote]
Thanks for the tip! Confidence is definitely an issue, especially in a crowded gym, but it helps that I’m bigger/stronger than the average guy there (which isn’t saying much, ha)!
At the gym I have had her use the 12lb straight padded rod (ha) that I using for dislocates. She was good at keeping her back straight and chest up, but pushing the hips back is foreign. So I had her do body squats but while holding on to the squat rack. This helped get a feel for what she needs to do, since it over-exaggerated the need for keeping the shins as perpendicular to the floor as possible. The deadlift is another issue, mainly because the squat had her spinal erectors on fire.
Today we’ll be squatting, benching, and rowing followed by some ab work…
Saturday 12/4/10:
Squat: 225 x 5,4,3
Bench: 225 x 5,5,5
Rows: 215 x 5,5,5
A1. Hanging Leg Raises: BW x 12,10,8
A2. Side Bends: 85 x 10, 95 x 9,8
Lat Pulldowns: 145 x 10, 130 x 8
Weak! I wasn’t feeling the squats today. It may be time for a deload, as I probably shouldn’t be grinding reps out every session. Biceps felt strained during first lift on each set of benching. Once the wife gets the hang of these workouts, the 3 main lifts won’t take an hour +, and so we can add more assistance work (she especially needs core work). Also, once she is able to do 45+ lbs on each lift, it is going to be fun taking of the plates and reloading them each time!
Her 5RM on all lifts are about: Bench - 45-65, OH Press - 35-40, Row - 45-65, Squat - 25-45, and DL - 55-85. Again, the main issues are 1) weak lower back, 2) awkwardness due to new movements (and 3) possibly me not being the best teacher).
Monday 12/6/10:
Squats: 215 x 5,5,5
OH Press: 145 x 5,5,5
Pulldowns: 170 x 8,7,6
Planks/side planks: 2 x ?seconds each side
I decided to go back down a little with the squats and presses, and properly so since the last rep of each was tough, though not too slow. My pullup strength is awful, plus I know my wife can’t even do the static arm-hand, so we did some pulldowns. I still need to get my abdominal strength way up, and possibly my hamstrings, though the gym I’m at doesn’t have a GHR or a “proper” leg curl (the knee support moves!).
The wife didn’t do too bad. I started a log in my log book for her, so we’ll see proper progression. Today she finally got the hang of low-bar back squats and did 12lb x 5,5,5. The OH press was done with 30lb x 5,5,5, and this was just heavy enough, as I saw a struggle with the fifth rep on each set. Finally, her pulldown form had to be fixed, but I still don’t think she feels it in her lats. All in due time…
Measurements (as of 12/6/10, pre-workout):
Body Part: measurement in inches or pounds (unflexed), increase since 9/7/10
Bodyweight: 197, +8
Biceps: 13.5 (16 flexed), +.5 (+.75)
Shoulder: 50.5, ~+3
Chest: 44.25, ~+3.5
Navel: 36.5, +2
Waist: 35.5, +1.75
Glutes: 39.5, +.5
Thighs: 24.75, +1.5
Calves: 14.5, +.75
Ankles: 8.75, +.5
Wrists: 6.75, +.5
Not bad, but strength levels are not up to par with how “big” I am, I think. Also, measurements are averages over left and right, and my right thigh is smaller than my left.
Thursday 12/9/10:
Squats: 225 x 5,5,5
Bench: 230 x 5,5,5
DL: 315 x 5
Hanging Leg Raises: 8,8,8
Pullups: 8,6,5
Everything felt heavy, though I didn’t miss any planned lifts! One thing I really noticed was that my abs felt worked on all lifts, and were the first to fail on the deadlifts. There weakness is shown in the leg raise reps (which are to failure).
The wife hit
Squats: 20 x 5,5,5
Bench: 45 x 5,5, 50 x 4
DL: 75 x 5
Squat form looked much better, though she claims her leg-fat feels in the way/tight. Bench was ok. On the DL she kinda gave up because by this point it had been over an hour and fifteen minutes spent in the gym, so she did some planks while I finished. All in all, she has strength potential, which will start to evolve after a few weeks…
Sunday 12/12/10:
Squats: 225 x 5,4,4
Press: 150 x 5,4,4
Rows: 225 x 5,5,5
Back Raises: +30 x 8,8,8
Side Bends: 95 x 8,8,8
I wasn’t feeling this session. My core is still holding me back, so I went heavy on side bends and back raises (back was cramping pretty bad on the drive home!). I noticed that my biceps are now hindering progress, as I feel them straining on bench (last session) and rows. Perhaps it is time to add a fourth day and do a two lower, two upper body day split. This might have to wait until my guinea pig session with my wife is done (Jan 1st).
The wife did well, though her hips/low back bother her during the squat, so that may be a combination of a weak low back and poor hip mobility? Anyway she did: Squat - 30 x 5,5,5; Press - 30 x 5,5,5; Rows: 55 x 5,5,5.
Make sure she’s bracing her core and working her legs, not relying on her back. I used to have that habbit, still slip into it sometimes - applies to both rows and squats.
[quote]Ben_VFR85 wrote:
Make sure she’s bracing her core and working her legs, not relying on her back. I used to have that habbit, still slip into it sometimes - applies to both rows and squats.[/quote]
Thanks. I guess this should work, as I didn’t realize that this is probably why I am not progressing much as well (weak core).
Note that we are doing low bar squats. So in order for her to get parallel with her short legs, she needs a lot of forward lean and hence low back strength, no? “Hips back, chest up.”
Tuesday 12/14/10:
Power Cleans: 115-135 x whatever
RDLs: 225 x 6, 255 x 6,5,4
Rack Pulls (1in below knee): 315 x 3, 345 x 3, 375 x 2
A1. BB Curls: 75 x 6, 85 x 6, 95 x 6, 5, 5
A2. Hanging Leg Raises: 10,10,8
Chins: 6,6,5
This was supposed to be a day to work on weak points, such as hamstrings and biceps. I really want to find a way to do a similar exercise to GHRs, which I have done on lat pulldown stations. I believe the two stations we have only have about 6 inch wide seats, and the last time I did these, it hurt my knees (I’ve seen these done with a towel, so I’ll try that if the seat is wide enough)! Biceps are weak and wear down quickly…
Wednesday 12/15/10:
Squats: 185 x 5,5,5
Bench: 185 x 5,5,5
Face Pulls: 90 x 8, 105 x 8,7
RDL and Rack Pulls: light x whatever
This was such a refreshing workout, everything was explosive (though the squats were a bit slower than the bench). I was feeling the DOMS from the day before, but wanted to teach RDLs and Rack Pulls to the wife since she wasn’t with me on Tuesday.
She did Squat: 30 x 5,5,5 (worked on bar/hand placement, form was really good), Bench: 45 x 5,5,5, and the rest were new things so…
Friday 12/18/10:
Edit: Hang Cleans: 115 x 4,4,4
Squats: 225 x 5,5,5
Pullups/Dips: 8,7,6,5/9,9,9,9
Planks: 1 x alap
So my wife bailed on me today, which was good for my workout since I could focus on me. However, it was too crowded. Waiting for the squat rack was fine, hence the cleans. But waiting for a bar to press wasn’t happening, so I just did as many (dead-hang) pullups and (bodyweight) dips as I felt like. Apparently, deviating from the plan leads to me giving up quickly, hence the single set of planks! Whatever, the squats felt great, I guess because of Wednesday being a lighter day.