No Pain No Gain

Training Training Logs
181

8/22/11: PULL

Good to finally be back in the gym, even though I only have 2 days to work out this week. Decided to throw deads into pull day, and squats into tomorrow’s push day, so I can get push/pull/legs all done in 2 days.

(warmup) light hang cleans
A) Deads… switched from overhand to mixed at 335
225 x 3
275 x 3
295 x 3
315 x 3
325 x 3
335 x 3
345 x 3
315 x 7

B) T-Bar Rows
45 x 8
90 x 8
135 x 8
150 x 8
160 x 6
135 x 8

did Pullups sporadically between B) and C)…28 total

C) Blast Straps rear delt flyes
bw x 9ish x 3

D1) Preacher Curls
65 x 8
65 x 7
65 x 7

D2) Pullovers
160 x 9
175 x 5 (PR 15lb) - too heavy
160 x 7

E1) Alt DB Curls
35 x 8
35 x 8
35 x 8

E2) Kayak Rows
30 x 8
30 x 8
30 x 7

Might test OHP max tomorrow if strength is feeling good after my layoff.

182

hows the cleanse going? It sounds pretty gnarly

183

[quote]gregron wrote:
hows the cleanse going? It sounds pretty gnarly[/quote]

Well it’s done now, but it blew. I lost 10lbs in 3 days, couldn’t eat totally normal for 5 days, and spent a rather large amount of time Saturday sitting on the can. As far as I can tell I feel no different today either.

184

Guess I missed it, but why’d you do the cleanse?

185

[quote]scj119 wrote:

[quote]gregron wrote:
hows the cleanse going? It sounds pretty gnarly[/quote]

Well it’s done now, but it blew. I lost 10lbs in 3 days, couldn’t eat totally normal for 5 days, and spent a rather large amount of time Saturday sitting on the can. As far as I can tell I feel no different today either.[/quote]

Hahaha you dont? That blows. If you felt a ton better then it would probably be worth it but feeling the same? Lolz

Sorry

186

[quote]WhiteFlash wrote:
Guess I missed it, but why’d you do the cleanse?[/quote]

Long standing fatigue and indigestion problems…doc thought it might help one or both.

187

EARTHQUAKE!!! Fuck that was scary. On the 7th floor of a shaking building… can’t run anywhere just hope it stays upright.

188

[quote]scj119 wrote:
EARTHQUAKE!!! Fuck that was scary. On the 7th floor of a shaking building… can’t run anywhere just hope it stays upright.[/quote]

scared of an earthquake? rookie biotch lol

Earthquakes aint no thang out here… but I guess they’re scary for earthquake newbs on the east coast. Glad you didnt die :slight_smile:

189

[quote]gregron wrote:

[quote]scj119 wrote:
EARTHQUAKE!!! Fuck that was scary. On the 7th floor of a shaking building… can’t run anywhere just hope it stays upright.[/quote]

scared of an earthquake? rookie biotch lol

Earthquakes aint no thang out here… but I guess they’re scary for earthquake newbs on the east coast. Glad you didnt die :)[/quote]

To be honest, living in DC where we never get them, everyone first thought a terrorist bomb had gone off. The buliding was shaking… my concern was whether building designs out here even take earthquakes into account at all, and that even a small one might do some damage. You don’t think rationally when your floor starts shaking and swaying lol.

Buuuuut it gave me an adrenaline rush that helped me hit an OHP PR… will post later when I can upload vid

190

8/23/11: Squats/PUSH

Well, this will be my last training update till next week… blood test tomorrow (always feel dizzy afterwards) and LAS VEGAS thursday-sunday baby!!!

Today was a good day to end on… kept it brief as I wanted to make sure I got some squats in before break.

(warmup) light/explosive hang snatches, think I worked up to 115x3

A) Standing OHP
95 x 3
115 x 3
130 x 3
145 x 3
160 x 3
175 x 1
190 x 1 (PR 5lb) woo… apparently losing 10lbs didn’t impact my strength. I smoked 190 and can’t believe I failed on the 2nd rep. I think only going for 1 at 175 (trying to save strength) was a mistake, I had no feel for a second rep. This went up a lot cleaner than my 185 6 weeks ago IMO
action starts at 0:25

B) Bench
185 x 3
205 x 3
215 x 3
220 x 3
225 x 3
230 x 3
235 x 3
195 x 8

C) Back Squat
135 x 3
165 x 3
185 x 3
205 x 3
215 x 3
225 x 3
235 x 3 x 2

Honestly I feel like I have way more strength in me, but my form is nowhere near automatic yet from not squatting for so long. I think I had a different foot placement every single set, and I’m not comfortable exploding the whole way up without being afraid of losing my balance. Also, I did just do deads yesterday.

I’ll be sure to come back with some great Vegas stories for teh log.

191

So I measured my pythons this morning for shits and giggles… 16". Going by the standard 20lbs/inch guideline I’ll only have to weigh 260 for 18" arms. fml.

Also I gave 10 vials of blood to labcorp today. I’m a mosquito bite away from fainting.

192

Also, I am beginning to feel like I’m plateauing with my working sets. I’m thinking about switching to an actual written program, I feel like I may be a little past the point where my completely unscientific way of progressing is working. My bench, deads and OHP haven’t seen a working set increase in a while, I don’t know if it’s because of my volume (too many reps by the time I get near top working weight) or what. But going from a max of 275x2 to 290x1 in 6 weeks on bench feels less than impressive. Top working set has been 230-235 for quite some time.

Might try 5/3/1 for squatting from that recent Wendler livespill (squat needs to come up)… or might try some Westside stuff. If anyone has suggestions I’m all ears. Goal is size/strength, I’m not at the level yet where I need to differentiate between the two.

193

[quote]scj119 wrote:
Might try 5/3/1 for squatting from that recent Wendler livespill (squat needs to come up)… or might try some Westside stuff. If anyone has suggestions I’m all ears. Goal is size/strength, I’m not at the level yet where I need to differentiate between the two.[/quote]

you should hop on the 531 train. You can tailor your assistance work to fit your goals, but a planned % based progression program will most definitely help you get your squat, bench, dl and OHP numbers to shoot up. I’d definitely check that out if you’re #'s are stalling.

congrats on the 190 OHP. You almost got that second one

194

[quote]gregron wrote:

[quote]scj119 wrote:
Might try 5/3/1 for squatting from that recent Wendler livespill (squat needs to come up)… or might try some Westside stuff. If anyone has suggestions I’m all ears. Goal is size/strength, I’m not at the level yet where I need to differentiate between the two.[/quote]

you should hop on the 531 train. You can tailor your assistance work to fit your goals, but a planned % based progression program will most definitely help you get your squat, bench, dl and OHP numbers to shoot up. I’d definitely check that out if you’re #'s are stalling.

congrats on the 190 OHP. You almost got that second one[/quote]

Actually I just read through it in greater detail… there is more room for assistance work than I thought, so I might just hop that bandwagon even if it is a bit late.

Also it fits with my fall schedule, since I’ll be taking up softball wednesday nights. Thanks for the comment.

195

Vegas was awesome… made out with a midget, went to my first ever famous club, won $400 in blackjack the first night (lost it all later but whatevs), met a girl, got my buddy into gambling and even learned how to dougie. Maybe I’ll elaborate later but I’m dying to get back in the gym and start up my first day of 5/3/1.

Best of all is I perfectly timed the trip to miss the hurricane, which is insanely lucky. I have no idea how bad it was here but there are lots of tree branches all over the sidewalks still. I did have to suffer a 5-hour flight delay on the way out, but we got back in right on time. Still nursing a bit of a hangover despite not having drank since Saturday night, but it’s nothing some benching won’t fix.

196

8/29/11: Chest (week 1, day 1)

First day of 5/3/1… workout was about as good as you’d expect from someone who just got back from Vegas. Despite 3 days of being sleep deprived, undernourished and overalcoholed, I cobbled together a decent workout.

Also, my workout drink gave me jitters like I’ve never had before. I wonder if barely eating for 4 days increased my sensitivity to carbs temporarily? I dunno, but it was weird.

A1) Bench…I hate this bench apparatus, the bench is too soft and is not a stable base to push off. Also this is the first time I’ve gone above 3 reps on bench in a couple years, it took some getting used to.
105 x 5
130 x 5
155 x 5
…working sets…
170 x 5
195 x 5
220 x 7… not bad considering the circumstances (shitty bench, vegas trip)

A2) BB Rows, close grip, squeeze contraction 2secs, strict form
130 x 10
145 x 9
155 x 7

B) DB Bench - first time doing this in literally years… had trouble balancing myself but felt strong enough to push the weight more.
75 x 12
80 x 8
80 x 9

C) Close Grip Bench
135 x 10
135 x 10
135 x 10

D) Chins - 4sets/22ish reps

E) Kroc Rows…first time trying these, liked em a lot. Will keep.
65 x 12
75 x 19

All in all, I liked the first day of 5/3/1, definitely doing way more reps on assistance work than I was before. We’ll see how it pans out these next few weeks.

197

8/30/11: 5/3/1 Squats (Week 1, Day 2)

Forgot a cool story from yesterday… I was wearing a Washington Capitals shirt and some guy asked me if I played for them haha. I feel so tiny, I guess because I judge myself by T-Nation standards, but the amount of comments I’ve gotten since about the time I hit a 215bodyweight have been crazy - way more than I’d expect from looking in the mirror.

Side note… I’m liking this higher rep assistance stuff. My chest and Lats are more sore than they’ve been in a year from yesterday’s DB presses and Kroc Rows.

warmups: Jump Squat w/ bar, 4x4

A) Skwatt
100 x 5
125 x 5
150 x 3
working sets
160 x 5
185 x 5
210 x 8…recorded vid but the angle was off and I’m mostly out of the pic (can kinda see me in mirror), not sure if I’ll upload later or not

B) Leg Press
4pps x 15
4.5pps x 12 x 3
5pps x 11…gassed

C) Lying Leg Curl
130 x 8
115 x 9
100 x 10

D1) Hanging Leg Raise
bw x 8-10 x 3

D2) DB Shrugs
90 x 11
90 x 10
90 x 6 (grip gave out)

198

vegas sounds awesome man. lets hear more stories! glad your place wasnt wrecked by the hurricane.

199

[quote]gregron wrote:
vegas sounds awesome man. lets hear more stories! glad your place wasnt wrecked by the hurricane.[/quote]

Alright then, let’s recount the text convo I had with the midget after I got her number and we parted ways.

Me 11:31pm - How’s your night going?
Charla 11:32pm - How is ur night going
Me 11:46pm - Good how are you
Charla 11:46pm - Good how r u?
Me 11:47pm - Is there an echo in here?
Charla 11:56pm - Why?
Me 11:58pm - Because you keep repeating me haha… you want to meet up?
Charla 12:00am - What’s up?
Me 12:03am - Do you want to meet up?
Charla 12:04am - Where?
Me 12:10am - We’re heading back to harrahs, do you want to join me?
Charla 12:13am - I will be right there…
Me 12:16am - Let’s meet at that bar outside
Charla 12:24am - Who. U with
Me 12:28am - My friends who you met before
Charla 12:35am - I would go, but I’m not on the strip anymore…
Me 12:42am - I want to hang out, can we do that?
Charla 12:44am - Do u like me?

Me - bang my head off a wall, hit on someone else

200

9/1/11: 5/3/1 Week 1, Day 3: Military Press

FUCK, yesterday was horrible. Off day from lifting, I have never been so fatigued in my life. I’m fatigued every day but yesterday was unbearable… plus I got trapped in a 4-hour telecon till 6:30pm (was supposed to end at 4:30, and be divided into two 1-hour segments instead of one long one).

I can’t wait till I get my hormones or virus or whatever sorted out. I am making progress against a stacked deck and I can’t wait to break out from this fucking shit. Will have a doc appt in a couple weeks to review latest bloodwork.

Anyway, onto the training. Was so tired I almost didn’t even go to the gym, and that NEVER happens. The only thing I am consistently motivated to do is train. Convinced myself to at least go for my main exercise and leave… but once I hit it, I felt alright.

A) Standing OHP
70 x 5
85 x 5
100 x 3
-working sets-
110 x 3 (forgot was supposed to hit 5)
130 x 5
140 x 9…wanted 10 today but I’ll take that given my mental state. Action starts at 0:30

B) Seated DB OHP
50 x 10
55 x 9
55 x 9

C) T-Bar Row
(warmup) 2p x 8
3p x 8
3p,15lb x 8
3p, 25lb x 8 <— think this is 2rep PR, too lazy to hit back button

D1) Kayak Rows
32.5 x 7
32.5 x 5
30 x 7

D2) Lateral Raises
30 x 10 rep PR
30 x 9
30 x 11 uggggly

D3) Rear Delt Raise
20 x 12
20 x 11
20 x 14

E) Pullovers… the pulldown station, pullup bar, and chest-supported t-bar were all taken wtf
160 x 7
160 x 7

Need to move shoulder assistance… too much volume…woulda done more for lats but need em for DLs tomorrow. Still figuring out the right assistance for me for 5/3/1.

Starting to get pissed I bought a $150 round of shots with my blackjack winnings in Vegas…considering I ended up gambling away everything I won after that. Gonna drop a random vegas story in each workout post.

peace out homies.