Weight: 226, big jump today. Eat right, get some sleep, supplement, push the workouts and the weight goes up??? This is not rocket science.
WO: Rest day yesterday. Worked a lot on improving my thoracic mobility with stretches and foam roller.
Nutrition: 4425C 179F(36%),309C(27%),395P(37%)
Supplements: Fish Oil, creatine, green tea, protein shakes
Sleep: I got about 8 hours but they were broken up by issues with the kids…
Mood: I was glad to see the weight increase this morning. I am still fairly stiff in the upper body, but I think that is due to the max. effort work on Wednesday and all the thoracic work yesterday. I am looking forward to the WOs this weekend. I will try and post some videos this weekend and get new measurements for my one month update.
thanks eco, I think I am fairly consistent with the recovery work because I am almost always sore due to the new workouts and my inexperience with heavy weights. My joint/muscle pain almost makes me enjoy the recovery stuff (at least when it is over with).
[quote]mday wrote:
I would be interested to know if anyone else takes additional BCAA and if they notice a significant difference in recovery/performance?[/quote]
I started using the stuff this spring, Mday, (before and after training) but cannot really say anything for sure (belief or knowledge) about its training-related effectiveness. Yet I do have the sense that it staves off hunger-pangs in missed-meal situations, for what that might be worth.
WO: Lower Body Dynamic
A. Box Jumps
Worked up to a max jump on 8 sets
B. Box Step Ups
95/8, 95/8, 95/10
These were harder than I thought. The weight was light but the reps were tough
C. Glute/Ham Raises
5 sets of 8-12 reps
I am still getting used to these…
D. Hip Abductions
160/25, 160/28, 160/25
E. V-Handle Pulldowns
140/15, 150/12, 150/15, 150/12, 150/15
F. Band Ab Crunches
Lots of sets
Nutrition: 4,586C 160F(31%),363C(29%),422P(40%)
Supplements: Fish Oil, creatine, post workout drink, green tea
Sleep: A good 8 hours last night
Mood: I am feeling a little better each day. A little bit of joint pain but the recovery work seems to be working. I even got some additional foam roller work in late last night. I am trying to work my hams/hips/core so that my squat improves. The GHRs are very tough. Repitition upper body work tonight. My wife just started the EDT workouts last night. She was gassed at the end of the WO, but she really like it. It looked like way too much work to me…
Weight: 223, weight is dropping despite eating right
Workout: I got in my upper body repetition WO on Saturday and did some light strongman stuff on Sunday (tire throws, slosh pipe, farmers walks, light tire flips, sledgework)
My weight/reps have all stopped increasing on my accessory lifts.
Nutrition: I’ve been around the 4,500 calorie mark for the last couple days.
Supplements: I’ve been good about keeping up with my supplements (fish oil, creatine, protein powder, green tea).
Sleep: All this week, I got a good seven or more hours and even snuck in a few naps.
Mood: It is time for a deload week. It has been five weeks since I started the WS4SB program. I have been doing all the necessary recovery stuff and I still am having a lot of muscle/joint pain. My weights/reps have stopped increasing and my bodyweight is stagnant or dropping. I’ve also lost a bit of desire to make it to the gym. All these things point to a need for some time off. I will spend this week doing some high rep workouts and more recovery stuff. I am going to keep the calories fairly high and increase the fish oil and start taking a joint health formula. I am going to avoid any direct arm/shoulder stuff and focus on back/chest for my upper body. My lower body stuff is going to focus on the posterior chain and will also be high rep. We shall see…
Sounds like a well thought out plan mday. Your overall focus is really good. Years ago I trained with a tall strong guy like you. We were “Mutt and Jeff”. His approach was very similar, and it was ay before the WS4SB days.
I’ll be willing to bet after a week of deload you will be back in the game strong!
Weight: 223, weight is dropping despite eating right
Workout: I got in my upper body repetition WO on Saturday and did some light strongman stuff on Sunday (tire throws, slosh pipe, farmers walks, light tire flips, sledgework)
[/quote]
That in itself sounds like a bunch of weekend lifting to me. I wonder if you have been burning the candle at both ends without noticing it until now. All that renovation was not nothing, neither, I bet.
I do think I have been pushing it a little harder than I probably should have been. Training with experienced PLs has made me up the intensity a lot, but I think I am paying the price for not being as experienced as these guys.
I do think I have been pushing it a little harder than I probably should have been. Training with experienced PLs has made me up the intensity a lot, but I think I am paying the price for not being as experienced as these guys. [/quote]
Deload sounds like the best thing - especially when you consider that your growth happens when you rest not when you train. How your eating going? Are you going to try to keep it high during your deload or back it off some?
Soldog, I am planning on keeping the overall calories close to the 4,500 number since I will still be doing some lifting.
My routines for this week are going to focus on the accessory lifts for my posterior chain and my chest/back. I will be doing high rep/light weight work on lifts such as GHR, pull throughs, step-ups, hib abduction, back extensions, push-ups, seated rows, lat pulldowns, face pulls, dips, DB pullovers, and a lot of standing ab work.
[quote]mday wrote:
My routines for this week are going to focus on the accessory lifts for my posterior chain and my chest/back. I will be doing high rep/light weight work on lifts such as GHR, pull throughs, step-ups, hib abduction, back extensions, push-ups, seated rows, lat pulldowns, face pulls, dips, DB pullovers, and a lot of standing ab work.
We will see how I feel…[/quote]
I guess I will be kind of doing the same thing in many regards over the next few weeks for a change of pace. Only started standing ab work (cable crunch) this weekend and really like it. I don’t think I will ever go back to the crunch machine.
Never liked, by contrast, lat pulldowns, as I found them to be awkward; but I can’t put my finger on why. Maybe like some other things I was doing them wrong; certainly recall hitting my head more than once with the bar!
Weight: 226, I am hoping that this deload week will allow my body to recover a little and I will be able to put on a clean pound or two.
WO: Deload Lower Body
A. Prowler warm-up
Light weight/40 yards/8 trips/high&low handles
B. Box Step Ups (box just above knee)
0/15 each leg, 0/15, 0/15
C. 45 Degree Back Extensions
0/20, 0/20
D. GHR
no weight, 5 sets of 10-15 reps
E. Hip Abductions
120/25, 140/25
F. Rope Crunches and DB Side Bends
3 sets each/a lot of reps (lost count)
This was my first deload WO. I went really light and a lot of reps, but I was spent at the end. Trying to improve my squat without getting under the bar.
Nutrition: 4,703C, (32%F,33%C,35%P)
A little high with the calories but we will see if this helps with recovery
Supplements: Post WO Drink, Creatine, Fish Oil (X2), green tea
Sleep: about 8 hours
Stretching: I continue to work on my thoracic mobility to try and help the shoulders. I also started doing wall squats to try and improve squat technique.
Mood: A deload week is very hard for me to accept. I am a “more is better” kind of guy. I can feel myself getting “healthier” each day, so this makes it easier. I also think getting into the gym and doing a lot of accessory work at light weight/high reps helps keep me motivated. I will be very interested to see what kind of results I see in my next four week session.
Mday, Does working the strength/endurance aspect, as you are doing in the above workout, really constitute a deload. Especially if you are “spent” at the end of the workout? I’m no authority on the subject but it seems to me that maybe stopping before the “spent” stage might allow more recovery.
I agree that I probably need to back-off a little for the rest of the week. I was planning on taking it a little easier last night and then a friend of mine showed up at the gym and it got a little competitive with the GHRs and the ab work.
The lower body has felt good the first five weeks of the program. The area that has not recovered is the upper body (shoulders/elbows). So, I am going to be extra careful to not push it too much on the upper body stuff tonight and this weekend.
I like the way you register your mood with the weight moved, Mday, and am glad you concur with Soldog.
I first saw that ‘how did I feel after the session’ question on an o-lift log, and did not quite know what to make of it then; but in recent months I have begun appreciate that when I am feeling more upbeat after a session instead of physically and mentally whipped (and not just as a function of successful lifts), it is an indication that things are going well – and vice versa.
I think Chad Waterbury has done the most work on the subject of the CNS in training. Especially with PL and OL, we all need to pay attention to when the CNS is telling us to back-off. A lack of motivation/enthusiasm is certainly one sign for someone like me.
I am really trying to learn a lot from this deload week. One thing I am finally recognizing is that in addition to feeling better physically, my mental attitude toward training is improving each day.
The mental aspect is pretty interesting mday. While not doing an active dload this week of reduced training seems to have increased my desire to be in the gym and work harder.
Never gave this much thought in my younger training days…what do the say about being young, dumb and full of ???
WO: Upper Body Deload (morning)
A. DB Rows
B. V-Handle Pulldowns
C. BB Shrugs
D. Rope Pushdowns
E. DB Bench Press
All of the lifts were done for 3-5 sets at 15-25 reps with moderate weight.
Nutrition: 3,900C (35%F,30%C,35%P)
I was a little low on the calories becuase I didn’t have my post workout drink last night (no WO yesterday).
Supplements: Fish oil (2X), creatine, green tea, protein powder
Sleep: 7 hours last night
Recovery: I am still working on stretching the shoulder and upper back. My thoracic mobility is improving a little.
Mood: The WO felt good this morning. I took everyone’s advice and backed off a little bit in order to improve on recovery. I still pushed some of the sets, but I kept the weight lower and really focused on shortening the range of motion on some of the lifts. I think I have a tendency to do a bit of hyperextending on my upper body lifts. This puts too much stress on my joints (especially elbows/shoulders). I continue to feel the desire building again. I hope everyone has a good 4th of July!!
You’re really doing great mday! Getting some great advice and using it wisely. I enjoyed the discussion about the mental aspect of what we’re doing. It’s such a huge part of our success. Gotta have your head in the game.