Okay, back from another hiatus due to messing up my shoulder again. I’ve given it a while to rest, and just started picking things back up again. My rule this time is no even remotely-heavy bench press, and we’ll see how that serves me. After more than 3 months of rest, my right shoulder still isn’t completely good, but my doctor doesn’t think it need surgery. Whatever, I’ll work within the limitations I have and see how things go.
Needless to say, the strongman competition in December was a no-go. I’ll be back to posting workouts in a week or so, after I finish my ramp-up to testing rep maxxes. Sorry for the radio silence to anyone who has been following my erratic work.
Thanks, guys! Starting a new 5/3/1 cycle next week. Just tested to get myself a conservative training max on all my lifts so I have a starting point. I’m still going to do whole body with squat/bench one day, deadlift/press the other day, plus accessories. One thing I’m doing different is keeping my bench training max the same as my press training max. Even though my actual max is quite a bit higher, bench is how I always hurt my shoulder, and it’s always once it starts getting heavy. So, I’ll keep it light, and always keep it light, just go for more reps. I don’t think I need to quit bench entirely, just not go heavy.
So, new training maxxes are:
Squat: 250#
Deadlift: 305#
Press and bench: 145#
This means I’ll be starting with less than a plate on press and less than 2 plates on squat, until the last sets anyway, but that’s okay. I will do my best to not hurt myself by being stupid…
So, it turns out that in the past few months I’ve apparently forgotten math, or at least brain dumped my formula for calculating 1rm. When I actually put it into my spreadsheet I realized I had divided by 3 an extra time. So, revised 1rm for lifts:
Dips: 15/15/15
Superset with Zercher squats 135# 5/5/5
EZ bar curls 35#: 12/12/12
superset with tricep extensions 35#: 15/15/15
Felt good for first official day back. Bench is super light, of course, but it’s going to stay that way. I’ll probably transition to weighted dips next cycle, but bench will stay light no matter how easy it feels. I’m telling myself that now, so I can look back and remember when I start feeling overconfident…
Deadlift:
5x45# + 2 power cleans
5x95# + 2 power cleans
5x135#
5x185#
5x215#
5x250#
10x280#
Superset with chinups 2/3/4/5/6/7/8
Press:
10x45#
5x65#
5x95#
5x105#
10x120#
Superset with front squats
3x45#
3x65#
3x95#
3x105#
3x120#
Accessory:
1 arm DB press 35# 15/15/15
Superset with bent over BB row 135# 12/12/12
Day 2 confirms that my calculated training maxxes are where I want them to be. Press and bench are a lot further from true max than deadlift and squat, but that’s the way I want it right now, so all is as it should be. I’ve also been walking/running with the dogs quite a bit, but haven’t been logging it yet. I’ll probably do one this evening or tomorrow and log it. I’m going to prioritize conditioning since I intend to do some more athletic stuff in the near future, starting with going snowboarding in Colorado next weekend, which will be my first time doing that in about 5 years, so that’s gonna be painful.
Also, a little personal celebratory note… I know not a lot of people were following my personal life, but I filed for Divorce from my now ex-wife back in April 2016. In the almost 6 years since then, I’ve gotten my divorce finalized, and gotten remarried to the person I should have married decades ago but we didn’t see it back then. Gotten all my kids graduated from high school, and gained a couple new granddaughters.
Finally, the most recent cause for celebration: My beginning of February paycheck was the first time in 5 years and 4 months that I didn’t give away $3,000 per month to my ex-wife! So, with this huge effective pay raise, I can actually afford to do things like go play on in the snow in Colorado! Of course, I still have some financial catching-up to do since I’ve been living in a deficit for 5 years, but still going to spend some money celebrating!
Okay, I had to take my truck in to get it serviced prior to taking an 8 hour trip next weekend, so I decided to take a mini-run home from the shop. Super short and super slow, just starting to remind my body that it will be required to run.
0.47 miles, in 5:44. Like I said, super slow and super short. Didn’t feel very tired afterward, but I was definitely breathing hard during. Conditioning will come back quickly.
Dips: 15/15/15
Superset with Zercher squats 135# 5/5/5
EZ bar curls 35#: 12/12/12
superset with tricep extensions 35#: 15/15/15
Another easy day, just trying to build the consistency to keep making progress. I’m not going to play with joker sets for a few cycles, and keeping my + sets to 10/8/5 max reps as well. Slow and easy.
Truly, although there have been ups and downs my life has really been good and rewarding overall, but I’m in a better place now than any time I can remember. Thanks, brother.
Haven’t logged in a few days, went on a short vacation with the family to Colorado. Didn’t hit the gym at all, but did do some snowboarding and a couple of ~2 mile high altitude mountain runs/walks. The trip was great, and even after 6 years I haven’t lost anything on the slopes, so that’s a good thing. Very expensive though, I paid for everything for everybody, this was sort of a celebratory trip for being out from under the financial burden of supporting my ex. So, fun was had, and now it’s time to buckle down and start paying off bills…
The trip also ended up being a little longer than expected, we were supposed to leave Monday morning, but my truck pulled up lame with a burned out ignition coil. It still ran, just short a cylinder, and while I would take the chance to drive home from work like that, no way was I driving over 600 miles like that. The kids and grandbaby went ahead and left since they were in a different vehicle, but the wife and I stayed an extra day and a half. Amazingly, there was an auto shop just about 2 miles down the mountain from the AirBnB cabin I was staying at, and the AirBnB host was kind enough to let us stay another night. The shop diagnosed the truck on Monday, ordered the parts, and fixed it on Tuesday. Trips to and from the shop to drop off on one day and pick up the next were also the source of my 2 run/walks. Also on the plus side, the wife and I really enjoyed having one vacation day where it was just the two of us.
Back out to the garage to pick up some weights again, now!
Deadlift:
5x45# + 2 power cleans
3x95# + 2 power cleans
3x135#
3x185#
3x230#
3x265#
8x295#
Superset with chinups 2/3/4/5/6/7/8
Press:
10x45#
3x65#
3x85#
3x100#
3x110#
8x125#
Superset with front squats
3x45#
3x65#
3x85#
3x100#
3x110#
3x125#
Accessory:
1 arm DB press 35# 15/15/15
Superset with bent over BB row 135# 12/12/12
That took a lot more out of me than I expected, but I really shouldn’t be surprised. I just had 4 consecutive days of high altitude conditioning training, followed by an almost 12 hour drive and then not enough sleep this morning. I should honestly be pretty happy that I made it through the session…
Dips: 15/15/15
Superset with Zercher squats 135# 5/5/5
EZ bar curls 35#: 12/12/12
superset with tricep extensions 35#: 15/15/15
I feel a lot more recovered from vacation than I did Wednesday, so this session went a lot smoother and more quickly. Feeling strong again, although I still have a ways to go before I get even back to where I was. Taking my time, not gonna get ahead of myself.
Took the dogs for a walk to the dog park, and then did sprints while they ran around.
8x100m, 1m rest between intervals. I’m feeling a lot better after having a couple nights of good sleep to recover from the weekend and the all-nighter drive.