Striking a Balance

Training Training Logs
281

March 21st

Warm-up: Jumping jacks, band pull-aparts, internal rotation stuff, external rotation routine

Pull-ups: 3,3,3
Pull-ups, band-assisted: 8,8,8

Overhead press: (C4W3)
8 x 5
18 x 5
28 x 5
59 x 5
62 x 3
66 x 3

Ok, this was a 3 week cycle done in a week and half. As I am not doing the full program, it was my experience that this was quite doable and perhaps even beneficial.
The 3 reps of 66kg was acceptable and gives me hope that I will see real progress still. (even if they were definitely not textbook form.)

Barbell row:
48 x 10
58 x 10
70 x 15
70 x 15
70 x 15
70 x 15
70 x 15

Push-ups: 25,25,25
SS with band chest cross-over: 12,12,12

Lateral dumbbell raise: 8.4 x 15,15,15,15,15
SS with Rear delt / high band rows: 10,10,10,10,10

2 Likes
282

March 22nd

Still trying to find my legs (he he) for legs day, now that I canā€™t center it around DLs.

Today my heart was not in it all, so just a short session, where I tried out nordics a bit more.
Came away with a conviction that bw exercises are designed by sadistic super skinny types.

Warm-up: Back/leg/hip stretches, air squats.

Band leg triple SS exercise (Hip/glute/quad): 15,15,15

Nordic curls, eccentrics: 8,8
Reverse nordic curls: 10,10

Even doing eccentrics were pretty hard to be honest. Still they feel beneficial and it would be cool to be able to do a few, so they are in for the time being.

Air squats: 15,15

1 Like
283

March 23rd

Warm-up: Internal rotation stuff, Band pull-apart, jumping jacks, Jane Fonda leg raises.

The leg raises was a test prescribed in an Athlean-X video I stumbled upon yesterday. I have had patellofemoral syndrome knee issue for close to a year now. After trying some therapy, where it seemed the guy was more or less guessing/trying things out, I kinda gave up on that. (Wave two sped up around the same time, so I figured to just do the exercises at home for a while and go back eventually.)

Anyway, the video more or less described whatā€™s going on with me and gave me a kick in the backside to go and do something about it. Doing a leg raise test was the first step - and I failed, which means I passed. Next step is to try some of the exercises and see if they do a difference.

Barbell floor press: (C2W2)
64 x 3
68 x 3
73 x 18

Totally forgot about wu sets.

Push-ups: 20,20,20,20,20,20
SS ABC with:
A Straight band flyes: 10,10
B One-arm band flyes - low to high: 10,10
C Cavalier crossover: 27x 5,5

Finishers:

Chin-ups, band assisted: 10,8,7
Standing incline band press: 10,10,10

2 Likes
284

You did better than me today. I too was planning to train legs, but I got home and realised Iā€™d prefer an hour log Epsom salt bath instead.

285

That sounds nice. I have never tried Epsom salts, does it make much difference?

1 Like
286

Iā€™m not sure, I think Wendler mentions them in one of his books as a way to aid recovery I donā€™t know if its any more relaxing than a soak in regular bath water. The packaging says you need 500g to 1kg per bath to be effective at soothing muscles, but this could just be a ruse to make you get through your bag quicker.

2 Likes
287

Wendler does, yes.

The evidence suggests that it has no physiological impact but placebo is a wonderful thing, so if it works for you, it works.

1 Like
288

Been using it since I was a kid. Really works for me.

1 Like
289

I donā€™t have a tub, but saw advice somewhere to soak your hands in a epsom bath before attacking your calluses.

2 Likes
290

March 25th

Warm-up: Internal rotation stuff, cubans, jumping jacks, band pull-aparts, x-walks, lazy hips

Pull-ups, band-assisted: 10,10,10

Overhead press:
8 x 3
18 x 3
28 x 3
50 x 3
53 x 3
60 x 3
65 x 3
70 x 2 PR
58 x 3
48 x 10

Ok with a weeks vacation coming up, and having just ended a cycle, I thought this would be a good time for a test. 70kg is a lifetime PR and a 2 kg improvement since Christmas.

Seems that perhaps that 5/3/1 method does work after all :no_mouth:
(And yeah, that second rep was like 9 on the Simo scale, but still.)

Ok, contributing factors is probably, that I have not been particularly dieting lately, doing longer rests than during cycles (3m instead of 2m) and going lightly on the pull-ups to be fresh. But still, am very satisfied and happy.

Dumbbell rows, kroc style:
27 x 22
27 x 22
27 x 25

Lateral dumbbell raise:
8.4 x 15
8.4 x 15
8.4 x 15

4 Likes
291

Thatā€™s an awesome Pr, big congrats!

1 Like
292

Congrats on the PR!

1 Like
293

A PR. Well done.

1 Like
294

March 29th

On a week long stay in holiday home to celebrate mums 70th. Using it as a ā€œdeloadā€ week, but want to keep my oar in and do a little.

15 min youtube ab/step workout
Push-ups: 150 over 8 sets
SS with sets of situps, band press, band rows

2 Likes
295

April 1st

Still on vacation, so just some light stuff to feel that I have somewhat earned all the food and alcohol. (Not even remotely, ha ha)

Jumping jacks: 50

Push-ups: 5x20
Band goodmornings: 3x20
Band rows: 4x10
Band press: 3x10
Standing crunches: 3x10
Band squats 3x15

Loosely supersetted & mixed in an unstructured mess :grinning:

3 Likes
296

April 5th - back in the saddle

With Easter break more or less over, it is time to get serious again. Starting to the light side though, to ease into things.

Warm-up:
Jumping jacks, internal rotation stuff, band pull-aparts, cubans, lazy hip

Pull-ups, band-assisted: 6,6,6,6,6

I had expected a break would ease the various lifting induced ailments, sbtrangely enough, elbow/forearm seemed worse, not better.

Overhead press:
8 x 5
18 x 5
28 x 5
48 x 10
48 x 10
48 x 10
48 x 6
48 x 8

Barbell row:
48 x 10
68 x 10
78 x 10
88 x 10
78 x 10
68 x 15
68 x 15

Lateral dumbbell raise:
8.4 x 15
8.4 x 15
8.4 x 15
8.4 x 15

2 Likes
297

April 7th

Warm-up: Jumping jacks, Internal rotation set, Band pull-aparts, cubans, v-crunches

Barbell Floor press: (C2W3 + FSL)
73 x 5
78 x 3
81 x 12
73 x 5
73 x 5
73 x 5
73 x 5
73 x 5

FSL SSā€™ed with straight band flyes: 10,10,10,10

Standing incline band press: 12,12,12
SS with Cavalier crossover: 27x 5,5,5

3 Likes
298

April 9th

Warm-up: External shoulder stuff, Band pull-aparts, lazy hips, cubans, air squats, x-walks

Pull-ups, band-assisted: 10,8,8,8,7

Overhead press: (C5W1)
8 x 5
18 x 5
28 x 5
46 x 5
50 x 5
53 x 10

Dumbbell rows, kroc style:
27 x 22
27 x 22
27 x 22

Lateral dumbbell raise: 8.4x 12,12,15
SS with band rear delt / high row: 10,10,10

3 Likes
299

April 11th

Warm-up: Internal rotation shoulder stuff, Band pull-aparts, lazy hips, jumping jacks cubans, sit-ups, band good mornings, sideplank w/twist

Overhead press: (C5W1+SSL)
8 x 5
28 x 5
38 x 5
46 x 5
50 x 5
53 x 7
50 x 5
50 x 5
50 x 5
50 x 5

Pull-ups, band assisted: 8,8,8,5,5,5

Barbell rows:
28 x 5
48 x 5
68 x 10
78 x 10
88 x 10
88 x 10
78 x 10
78 x 10
78 x 10

Push-ups: 20,20,20,20,20
SS with Band flye low to high: 10,10,10,10,10

Lateral dumbbell raise: 8.4x 15,15,15
SS with Band face pulls: 10,10,10

Air Squat: 10,10,10
SS with ā€œLazy hipā€: 20,15,15,15

I have researched a bit and learned that my bad knee and hip most likely stems from a really weak gluteus medius on the left side. And according to an Athlean-X video I have found on youtube, the ā€œLazy hipā€ exercise is an effective way of strengthening it. So I will do this at least every second day (or daily) for a period, to see it it can help getting me back to deadlifting and squatting in a small way.

Sitting here writing this, I can really feel the medius burning, so seems to have hit the right spot at least.

4 Likes
300

April 12th

Time to throw in some regular hip/leg/glute work. I have tended to skip legs, preferring to walk/bike etc instead. But even hip/knee aside, it is painfully obvious that I am weaker than I would like in that department, so this is me getting back to doing a leg/hip session once a week.

Warm-up: Hip/ back stretches, external rotation set, sit-ups, reverse hypers, sideplanks w/twist.

Band leg triple exercise (Hip/glute/quad): 15,15,15
SS with Lazy hip for glutes medius: 15,15,15

Glutes bridges - one leg: 10,10,15
SS with glutes bridge march: 20,20,20

Weighted glutes bridges: 20
Clamshell - band: 3x20 es

Lunges: 16

When writing it out, it does not seem like much, but still took an hour or so. And the medius have a nice burn here a couple of hours later, so hit the right spot it seems.

2 Likes