Samul's Training and Nutrition Log

Training Training Logs
1389

I don’t have much of anything interesting to post about training as of lately. I’m doing my best to get better at chin ups, push ups, and dips. This week I’d like to experiment with handstand push ups, as that’s a movement I could use to build my shoulders during this time of limited options.

I’ve never gotten into a handstand position, so I’m a git scared, but I’ll look up some guides. I hope I can avoid breaking myself.

When I do get back into the gym, I’m thinking about going back to 5/3/1. Maybe with a simple template like the triumvirate, or something similar. Maybe it’s the nostalgia of barbells, but the idea of focusing on heavy bench, squat, deadlifts, press, with a side of chins, dips, push ups, rdls, rows, and little else appeals me more than ever.

For now, I thought I’d post a throwback picture to when I was super lean last year.

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I can’t wait to get back to the gym and build more muscle. Eventually I want to get back to the condition, but with more muscle and I’m sure I’ll look great. It’s gonna take lots of work now. I really hope I can get back into the gym soon.

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1390

Check out FitnessFAQ’s on YouTube. I feel like I’ve been mentioning him a lot lately but I think he’s great. Definitely has good ideas for at home, bodyweight stuff.

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1391

so i might have convinced the owner of my gym to rent some of their equipment. he’ll let me know what he’s decided tomorrow, but i think he’s convinced. he probably realized that gyms will be staying closed for a long time still, so he’s better off doing something with all that unused equipment. if i can get a bench too, i only need to find something to use as a rack for squats and benches. other than that, with what i have i might very well set up a program like:

day one
barbell cleans (so i can finally learn to do them)
bent over row
pullups
db pullover
curls

day two
bench
incline bench
dips
pushups
skullcrushers

day three
squat
front squat
rdl

day four
deadlift
overhead press
lateral raises
curls

i’m so hyped up about it! i miss doing something that isn’t just bodyweight stuff and pink dumbbells

meanwhile, i’ve picked up @flappinit’s advice. i saw a post of his a few days ago in which he suggested doing a set of pullups every time you walk under your doorway. well, i don’t have a doorway pullup bar, but i do have a contraption i use to do bodyweight stuff on my balcony. so now, every few hours i get up from my desk (when i’m done with a class or something), i walk out to the balcony, and rep out 10 pullups. i started yesterday, and i did 4 sets throughout the day. eventually, i want to be doing 100 pullups a day.

the good news is i can already walk up to it and do 10 reps with reasonable ease. if i wanted to take it to failure, i could go up to 15-16 (that’s the number i usually reach on my first set when i’m actually training), but last year i went through periods where i struggled to get 10, especially with an overhand grip. so i’m off to a good start. maybe, in a couple of weeks, i can start doing sets of 12-13 instead of 10.

this is one set from today:

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1392

Nice back, cool back yard.

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1393

So, I’ll be getting a barbell and around 180 lbs in weight plates tomorrow from the owner of my gym. He said that was all he could give me. It’s not enough weight to deadlift at any significant percentage, but I can make do with squats (the barbell should be 45 lbs, putting me in the 220 lb range) and rdls. Everything else is fine. Bb rows, cleans, military presses, landmine presses… The only problem is I don’t have a bench or a rack.

I can probably find a way to build one. If nothing else, I’ll find some surface to lie on. The rack might be tougher. It’s not a must have. I can clean the barbell for overhead presses, and I can make up for a lack of benching with dips and pushups.

Speaking of which…

Tonight I attempted a “light” version of the workout @T3hPwnisher suggested. I aimed for 10 pushups EMOM for 50 minutes. I’d never done anything similar, and I only got to 30 minutes.

However, I could have kept going strength-wise, but something had me stop: my wrists.

I don’t know what I’m doing wrong, but there has to be something I’m doing wrong: my wrists got absolutely fucked. My right one in particular. As soon as I got into position to begin a set, after the first 10-15 maybe, I would feel a sharp pain in my ligaments, as if putting my bodyweight on the joint caused it to overstretch, or maybe to twist a little bit.

Every rep of a set would make it slightly worse, with fatigue setting in I could feel the pressure shifting slightly as if I was pushing unevenly. After a bit, I couldn’t extend completely because I would feel some ligament pop in the wrist joint and it would feel like I was about to snap something.

I played around with slightly rotating my hands, and the only thing I found relief with was putting my hands further in front of me relative to my body, thus decreasing the degree of extension at the wrist.

Afterwards, a weird feeling of numbness kicked in in the low part of the palm of my right hand, right above the wrist. It feels weird when I touch that spot and it hasn’t gone away in a few hours yet.

I have always had wrists that complained about virtually every exercise I did at the gym, but today’s episode showed me there is probably something I’m doing wrong with my positioning/mechanics.

Anybody had a similar problem?

1394

No experience but would doing them on your knuckles help? I very very infrequently get a pain my wrists, for no apparent reason, and this always helps me.

EDIT: I also built these. Maybe this would help?

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1395

I had a similar problem recently when I started doing press ups during lockdown. I found using a lot of cushioning under the effected arm helped a bit. I had to rest several days, probably nearly a week, after the first time and then each time after that hurt less than before. Another thing which helped was spreading my fingers as wide as possible. Now, a few weeks later, I’m fine doing them on concrete. Hopefully it’s the same for you.

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1396

that is an option. a really uncomfortable one, but it’s an option. i did try that and it worked. but i consider that a last resort thing, as i want to be able to have normally functioning joints and if there’s a problem i’ll try to fix that first

i have been doing them on a mat and i actually suspect that having some cushioning is what allows me to push unevenly and cause twisting on my wrist. tomorrow i’ll try them on concrete, but that’s just a hypothesis. i’ll try your advice of spearding the fingers wide, though, thank you

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1397

absolutely. in fact, i have been thinking about getting some kind of thing i can use as a pushup bar

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1398

Bb row 3x12x60 kg
Pullups x 13, 7, 9
Wide grip Upright row into lateral raises 3 sets
Barbell curl 3 sets

Finally back to having a barbell

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1399

Bb rdl 100kg x 4 sets

Until I get something that I can use as a rack (I’m working on it), that’s pretty much what I can do for legs

1400

What about cleaning the weight up and knocking out a shitload of lunges? Not ideal but it’d be effective.

1401

Or front squats?

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1402

The only problem (to answer @dagill2 as well) is that I have problems holding the weight in the clean position. The first thing I tried to do yesterday before rdls was front squats, but on every rep when I was at the bottom I felt my back stretching in a “wrong” way, and I stopped because I thought I’d hurt myself before I could get a training effect from them.

I don’t know if it’s a matter of flexibility or what. I have had issues with my right trap in the past and I still do sometimes, getting a sharp tearing sensation when I move my arm (it happens at random, I can’t really find a pattern). So I need to be able to get the bar on my back.

1403

Press 40 kg x 4 x 9-12 plus dropset on the final set
Landmine press 2 sets with 30 kg on the bar
Pushups 3 sets
Lateral raises 3 sets

1404

Clean it then push press onto your back?

Zercher lunges?

Split squats with a plate in each hand?

Hack squats with the 100kg would pair nicely with the Romanian deadlifts too.

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1405

i thought about it, but the amount of weight i can safely clean is really low, probably too low for the squats to do any damage at that weight. i’m still learning the clean

those are two good options. split squats in particular. maybe i can even get a barbell on my back with these, seeing as i can probably do with less weight doing them one leg at a time.

you mean the version where you hold the barbell behind you, under your legs? i hadn’t thought of that. that’d be a nice way of actually using all the weight i’ve got.

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1406

These are so weird (when done with a barbell). I just hit my butt and end up in this weird half squat stance while my shorts get hiked up lol

1407

My phone isn’t cooperating dude. I’ll edit this tomorrow.

@samul At a computer now, thankfully haha. Idk why but when the battery gets low on my phone it makes the keyboard all screwy when I try and post.

Anyway, I mentioned doing a bunch of lunges rather than front squats because it would make the clean less of a factor in being able to use a decent enough weight to train with. Basically just muscle it up and then pop it over your head onto your traps. Can definitely get a hell of a lunge workout in with 95 or 115lbs and I’m confident you’d be able to “clean” that up even if it’s just a power reverse curl.

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1408

For hack squats, I put a pad on the barbell otherwise by calves get trashed, but the pad helps quite a bit with all that. But these are awesome for quads and if you elevate your heels it really gets them. I just have to be careful cause these can mess with my knees.