Revenge of the Sith: AngryVader's Log

Training Training Logs
381

[quote]AngryVader wrote:
THE RED SHIRTS!

I’ve been meaning to post this, but right now is the best time to bring it up. I can’t stand the gym after New Years because of the influx of New Years resolution dorks taking up space and getting in everyone’s way.

My friend and I have often joked that we need to ‘red shirt’ every new person that starts coming to the gym. For their first 60 visits, not 60 days, they have to wear a bright red shirt that says, “I’m a Gym Noob.”

As long as they are wearing the red shirt, they have to defer to anyone not wearing a red shirt. This means if you need the squat rack and some red shirt is using it, the red shirt has to go do something else.

If the red shirt stops coming to the gym for more than 2 weeks, the counter rests back to zero and they have to start all over again.

Once they hit 60 real visits, they no longer have to wear the shirt and no longer have to give up equipment (but they should still defer to anyone bigger or stronger than them. That’s just common sense though.).

Mind you, these have to be 60 actual visits to work out with weights. If they just come in to do cardio and leave, then that doesn’t count towards their total.[/quote]

Brilliant.

382

I actually have not noticed resolutioners at my gym. Rather, I have not noticed an increase in gym goers.

I do get plenty of people who sit for a few minutes at a time at whatever station they are using, without regard for anyone waiting above them to get in a set.

I dig the two trainers who smile at me often, though.

383

[quote]pushmepullme wrote:
Brilliant.[/quote]

x2

384

Sunday 01/04 - Back, Rear Delts and a little Tris.

Okay, I didn’t feel good at all yesterday, so I skipped my workout. I wasn’t feeling all that great this morning either (the shit coming out my nose this morning was AMAZING), but I decided to try an get some work in.

Music for today’s workout: Asesino - “Corridos de Muerte”. I can’t speak a word of Spanish, but I liked it enough to put a song or two into the workout mix.

Chins: BW x 4,4, 10 x 4,4, 20 x 3, 15 x 4

BB Row: 185 x 6, 205 x 6, 225 x 6,6

Seated Row: 100 x 8, 120 x 8, 140 x 8

Incline DB Shrugs: 60 x 8,8,8 - A new addition to my workout in an attempt to get some simultaneous scap retraction and lower trap work. Felt pretty good.

Rear Delt Machine: 125 x 8,8,8,8
Wall Slides: 10,10,10,10 - Best these have ever felt, so I’m making progress there.

Reverse Grip Bench (in Smith Machine): 115 x 5, 5, 135 x 5, 155 x 5, 175 x 5 - I have never done these before, so I was experimenting with them. My shoulder felt weird after the first set, but it seemed to go away after that set. Looks like these are going to be a keeper for my arm day, but I’ll probably go higher on the reps.

I clearly dropped the weight back on the back exercises after the layoff, but I also wanted to ensure my form was good and keeping my scaps locked in place. That’s going to still be a work in process, but I think it made a big difference in how stuff like the Seated Rows felt.

Additionally, I bumped into my buddy at the gym who’s a chiro and he did a quick adjustment on my shoulder. It didn’t seem to do anything for my front delt issues, but the rear delt area felt really good after.

He doesn’t do ART, but said he didn’t see any reason why I shouldn’t just go ahead and call the number I have and see about setting something up, so I’ll probably just go ahead and do that tomorrow.

I heard from my regular doctor today as well and she wants to schedule x-rays and also put in a recommendation to the physical therapy department to be seen there.

I’m not confident they’ll be able to do anything for me, but the sooner I start going through that process, the sooner I can get the proper tests done. If any of you have Kaiser, then I’m sure you know how it takes forever to get to the right department and even get something as simple as an MRI.

385

I also decided that my split kind of had some weird overlap with the body parts, so I restructured it a bit to try and fix that up.

Mon - Quads/calves
Tues - Bis/Tris

Thurs - Hams/calves
Fri - Chest/side delts
Sat - Back/rear delts/calves

I now have Arms the day after Quads, so I’m basically following my most intense workout of the week with probably the least intense workout of the split.

I was sometimes having issues doing Back the day after Hams because of the RDLs, so I pushed that a day back to hopefully improve that as well.

386

[quote]AngryVader wrote:
I wasn’t feeling all that great this morning either (the shit coming out my nose this morning was AMAZING)[/quote]

Neti pot. Seriously.

387

Oh, another thing to note. I finally received my Glycine and Glutamine on Friday, so I added them to my PWO shake. Today’s shake looked like this:

2 scoops Grow! Whey
10 gm Creatine
5 gm Glutamine
2 gm Glycine

I clearly went low with the Glutamine and Glycine to start with since I’ve never used them before. I haven’t noticed any nausea since drinking the shake and it’s been well over an hour, so I’ll bump it to 10 gm of Glutamine and 4-5 gm of Glycine tomorrow. I plan on working up to 20-30 grams of Glutamine and 10 grams of Glycine.

388

The cut has begun!

My weight today was the same as last week: 203

I’m going to simply try to keep my carbs between 50-100 per day. I usually end up around 60 or so though. I don’t usually try to get ketogenic. I’m just not disciplined enough for that.

Anyway, I’m going to keep my calories between 2000-2400 per day (which works out to 10x-12x bodyweight).

I checked again over the weekend and I have enough HRX to last me a little over 5 weeks. This week, I will just use HRX and then add additional supps after this week. I’ll post once I add new things.

I’m hoping to lose about 15 lbs over the next 5 weeks and get around the 190 lb mark and then I’ll go into a maintenance/g-flux mode.

I’m not looking to get ripped here, just trying to get my body fat back down to a comfortable level as I get back into shape.

389

Monday 01/05 - Quads and Calves

Got up late this morning, so I didn’t have time for SMR or Yoga. I’ll try to do a little of both when I get home tonight.

Music of the day: Bujeria - “Brujerizmo”. Wasn’t bad. Seems like most of the songs weren’t very long. Was able to pretty much listen to the entire album twice during the workout.

Pin (Anderson) Front Squats: 155 x 4,4,4, 165 x 4,4,4 - I’m really starting to like this already.

Leg Press: 320 x 2:00 min x 33 reps, 320 x 2:00 x 40 reps

Leg Extension: 120 x 17,15,13

Leg Press Calf Raise: 440 x 6,6,6,6, 450 x 6,6

Seated Calf Raise: 90 x 28,22,23

I didn’t have time for the Garhammer Raises, so I’ll do them tomorrow.

I used 10 gm of Glutamine and 4 gm of Glycine in the PWO shake today. Still no nausea and it’s been over an hour since I had the shake, so I’ll bump it up a little bit more. Glutamine and Glycine do make the shake taste pretty terrible though.

390

[quote]AngryVader wrote:
Monday 01/05 - Quads and Calves

Pin (Anderson) Front Squats: 155 x 4,4,4, 165 x 4,4,4 - I’m really starting to like this already.
[/quote]

Aren’t they awesome :slight_smile: Very tough exercise, huh?

391

[quote]AngryVader wrote:
Monday 01/05 - Quads and Calves

Got up late this morning, so I didn’t have time for SMR or Yoga. I’ll try to do a little of both when I get home tonight.

Music of the day: Bujeria - “Brujerizmo”. Wasn’t bad. Seems like most of the songs weren’t very long. Was able to pretty much listen to the entire album twice during the workout.

Pin (Anderson) Front Squats: 155 x 4,4,4, 165 x 4,4,4 - I’m really starting to like this already.

Leg Press: 320 x 2:00 min x 33 reps, 320 x 2:00 x 40 reps

Leg Extension: 120 x 17,15,13

Leg Press Calf Raise: 440 x 6,6,6,6, 450 x 6,6

Seated Calf Raise: 90 x 28,22,23

I didn’t have time for the Garhammer Raises, so I’ll do them tomorrow.

I used 10 gm of Glutamine and 4 gm of Glycine in the PWO shake today. Still no nausea and it’s been over an hour since I had the shake, so I’ll bump it up a little bit more. Glutamine and Glycine do make the shake taste pretty terrible though.[/quote]

A good tip I picked up is to use sugar-free pudding mix in shakes, or sugar-free jello mix. For flavoring, I mean.

I will have to look up the Anderson squats. This is the second time I’ve seen them mentioned. Today is chest and back for me, though.

392

[quote]Flow wrote:
AngryVader wrote:
Monday 01/05 - Quads and Calves

Pin (Anderson) Front Squats: 155 x 4,4,4, 165 x 4,4,4 - I’m really starting to like this already.

Aren’t they awesome :slight_smile: Very tough exercise, huh?[/quote]

Totally! It’s funny how just pausing for a second or two makes it so much harder, even with a lighter weight. And like you said in your log, they are a lot harder if I’m not staying totally tight throughout the movement. Clearly, I think this is a good change of pace for me to correct a bunch of flaws I had with my front squat that I didn’t even realize I had until now. I see me alternating between the pin fronts and regular fronts every few weeks from here on out.

393

[quote]AngryVader wrote:
Flow wrote:
AngryVader wrote:
Monday 01/05 - Quads and Calves

Pin (Anderson) Front Squats: 155 x 4,4,4, 165 x 4,4,4 - I’m really starting to like this already.

Aren’t they awesome :slight_smile: Very tough exercise, huh?

Totally! It’s funny how just pausing for a second or two makes it so much harder, even with a lighter weight. And like you said in your log, they are a lot harder if I’m not staying totally tight throughout the movement. Clearly, I think this is a good change of pace for me to correct a bunch of flaws I had with my front squat that I didn’t even realize I had until now. I see me alternating between the pin fronts and regular fronts every few weeks from here on out. [/quote]

I’ll probably rotate them in and out as well. I found that they helped me get my hips through the movement from that bottom position- something I still have room for improvement on.

Good stuff

394

[quote]Flow wrote:
AngryVader wrote:
Flow wrote:
AngryVader wrote:
Monday 01/05 - Quads and Calves

Pin (Anderson) Front Squats: 155 x 4,4,4, 165 x 4,4,4 - I’m really starting to like this already.

Aren’t they awesome :slight_smile: Very tough exercise, huh?

Totally! It’s funny how just pausing for a second or two makes it so much harder, even with a lighter weight. And like you said in your log, they are a lot harder if I’m not staying totally tight throughout the movement. Clearly, I think this is a good change of pace for me to correct a bunch of flaws I had with my front squat that I didn’t even realize I had until now. I see me alternating between the pin fronts and regular fronts every few weeks from here on out.

I’ll probably rotate them in and out as well. I found that they helped me get my hips through the movement from that bottom position- something I still have room for improvement on.

Good stuff[/quote]

Same here. I had gotten better at using my hips when doing front squats, but it looks like I need to work on that even further with the Andersons.

Also, this week I experimented with starting at the top and then just pausing on the pins for each rep rather than starting at the bottom. It didn’t seem to change the difficulty except for getting into position on the first rep.

How low do you normally set your pins? My squat racks have the pins pretty far apart, so my options are either the top of my thighs slightly above parallel or almost rock bottom. I think I preferred the rock bottom position.

395

[quote]AngryVader wrote:
Flow wrote:
AngryVader wrote:
Flow wrote:
AngryVader wrote:
Monday 01/05 - Quads and Calves

Pin (Anderson) Front Squats: 155 x 4,4,4, 165 x 4,4,4 - I’m really starting to like this already.

Aren’t they awesome :slight_smile: Very tough exercise, huh?

Totally! It’s funny how just pausing for a second or two makes it so much harder, even with a lighter weight. And like you said in your log, they are a lot harder if I’m not staying totally tight throughout the movement. Clearly, I think this is a good change of pace for me to correct a bunch of flaws I had with my front squat that I didn’t even realize I had until now. I see me alternating between the pin fronts and regular fronts every few weeks from here on out.

I’ll probably rotate them in and out as well. I found that they helped me get my hips through the movement from that bottom position- something I still have room for improvement on.

Good stuff

Same here. I had gotten better at using my hips when doing front squats, but it looks like I need to work on that even further with the Andersons.

Also, this week I experimented with starting at the top and then just pausing on the pins for each rep rather than starting at the bottom. It didn’t seem to change the difficulty except for getting into position on the first rep.

How low do you normally set your pins? My squat racks have the pins pretty far apart, so my options are either the top of my thighs slightly above parallel or almost rock bottom. I think I preferred the rock bottom position.
[/quote]

I set my pins so that I’m just below parallel. Just about where I take my free front squats to (if you recall from the vids in my log). I think it’d help me more to concentrate on the position you’re in at the bottom of your normal free front squats. Maybe it’d have better carryover that way, but I’m just guessing.

I would pause for a 1 second count or more. A few times I’d basically set up again to do the next rep, but that was only when I felt like I didn’t set up well enough the first go.

396

[quote]Flow wrote:
AngryVader wrote:
Flow wrote:
AngryVader wrote:
Flow wrote:
AngryVader wrote:
Monday 01/05 - Quads and Calves

Pin (Anderson) Front Squats: 155 x 4,4,4, 165 x 4,4,4 - I’m really starting to like this already.

Aren’t they awesome :slight_smile: Very tough exercise, huh?

Totally! It’s funny how just pausing for a second or two makes it so much harder, even with a lighter weight. And like you said in your log, they are a lot harder if I’m not staying totally tight throughout the movement. Clearly, I think this is a good change of pace for me to correct a bunch of flaws I had with my front squat that I didn’t even realize I had until now. I see me alternating between the pin fronts and regular fronts every few weeks from here on out.

I’ll probably rotate them in and out as well. I found that they helped me get my hips through the movement from that bottom position- something I still have room for improvement on.

Good stuff

Same here. I had gotten better at using my hips when doing front squats, but it looks like I need to work on that even further with the Andersons.

Also, this week I experimented with starting at the top and then just pausing on the pins for each rep rather than starting at the bottom. It didn’t seem to change the difficulty except for getting into position on the first rep.

How low do you normally set your pins? My squat racks have the pins pretty far apart, so my options are either the top of my thighs slightly above parallel or almost rock bottom. I think I preferred the rock bottom position.

I set my pins so that I’m just below parallel. Just about where I take my free front squats to (if you recall from the vids in my log). I think it’d help me more to concentrate on the position you’re in at the bottom of your normal free front squats. Maybe it’d have better carryover that way, but I’m just guessing.

I would pause for a 1 second count or more. A few times I’d basically set up again to do the next rep, but that was only when I felt like I didn’t set up well enough the first go.[/quote]

Okay, the lower pin position sounds about right then. I think I prefer that one anyway, as I felt like it was forcing me to stretch a bit more to get in to the proper position. Whereas with the higher pin position, I could fake it a little bit.

I try to pause for 1-2 seconds at the bottom. I think one of the reasons why I preferred to rack it from the top today is because I noticed that I would have to reset more often when I’d start from the bottom. It’s sometimes hard to get the bar and your body in the right groove for that first rep.

397

[quote]AngryVader wrote:
I think one of the reasons why I preferred to rack it from the top today is because I noticed that I would have to reset more often when I’d start from the bottom. It’s sometimes hard to get the bar and your body in the right groove for that first rep.

[/quote]

For that reason, I’m going to have to try starting the movement standing up. Thanks, Vader :smiley:

398

Tuesday 01/06 - Bis and Tris

This morning I did some various SMR and about 20 minutes of yoga. Still kind of feeling a little sick, so I’m really dragging butt in the morning.

Supplement wise, I also started using some Guggulsterones today, Guggulbolic specifically. So I’ll be taking 30mg of E & Z 3 times a day. I got a surprise in the mail yesterday, so I now have enough to last me about two months, so I figured I might as well start using it now.

On to the workout.

Reverse Grip Bench (Smith): 165 x 8, 185 x 7, 195 x 6, 6, 205 x 8 - I’m really liking these.

PJR Pullover: 65 x 11, 70 x 10, 10, 80 x 10 - I don’t think I did these right. I think I’m supposed to pause in the stretched position based on the video I just watched.

Reverse/Regular Pushdown: 75 x 8/6, 8/5, 8/4

DB Preacher Curl: 35 x 8,8,6,6

Hammer Curl: 35 x 8, 37.5 x 8,8

Reverse EZ Curl: 65 x 8, 55 x 10,10

That’s it. I’m sure I’ll play around with the exercises on this day in the future though. I seem to always get bored with doing the same arm exercises after a few weeks.

399

On another note, I have a physical therapy appointment scheduled for tomorrow morning to have my shoulder looked at. Depending on what they say, I will likely call the ART guy as soon as I get back.

I also found out that one of the guys at the gym is a licensed ART guy and was given his number to call as well. I’ve known this guy for a while, but for some reason this had never come up in conversation (and I haven’t seen him at the gym since my shoulder issues started).

The guy that told me he did ART said he didn’t understand why he doesn’t just walk around the gym handing out his card, but I guess he’s a pretty low key guy and I guess didn’t feel comfortable with doing that.

Anyway, I’ll probably call him tomorrow.

400

[quote]AngryVader wrote:
Tuesday 01/06 - Bis and Tris

This morning I did some various SMR and about 20 minutes of yoga. Still kind of feeling a little sick, so I’m really dragging butt in the morning.

Supplement wise, I also started using some Guggulsterones today, Guggulbolic specifically. So I’ll be taking 30mg of E & Z 3 times a day. I got a surprise in the mail yesterday, so I now have enough to last me about two months, so I figured I might as well start using it now.

On to the workout.

Reverse Grip Bench (Smith): 165 x 8, 185 x 7, 195 x 6, 6, 205 x 8 - I’m really liking these.

PJR Pullover: 65 x 11, 70 x 10, 10, 80 x 10 - I don’t think I did these right. I think I’m supposed to pause in the stretched position based on the video I just watched.

Reverse/Regular Pushdown: 75 x 8/6, 8/5, 8/4

DB Preacher Curl: 35 x 8,8,6,6

Hammer Curl: 35 x 8, 37.5 x 8,8

Reverse EZ Curl: 65 x 8, 55 x 10,10

That’s it. I’m sure I’ll play around with the exercises on this day in the future though. I seem to always get bored with doing the same arm exercises after a few weeks.[/quote]

Do you find the reverse grip bench hurts your wrist at all?
How far do you space your hands?

I’ve tried it a few times, always had huge amounts of pain in my wrists and never bothered doing it again after that.