TCam's Log - Get Strong(er)

Training Training Logs
521

ME Upper - Cycle 1, Week 3

(Note: This was after getting too drunk last night, then going to sleep at 6 or so, waking up at 8 hungover, not eating, then I took 300mg of caffeine and some noops, drove to Hoover, and then got to the gym by 10. I thought my heart was going to explode or I was going to throw up.)

Decline Bench:
Bar
10 @ 135
10 @ 225
5 @ 275
5 @ 315 (Add wraps)
3 @ 345
1 @ 375
1 @ 395 (Match PR)
1 @ 400 (5 lb. PR!)(This flew up. Very easy)
1 @ 405 (10 lb. PR!)
20 @ 225 (+3 rep PR)

Pull-Ups (Some sets were in between bench sets for activation):
5,3,3,5,5,5

45 Degree Bent Over Rows:
10 @ 135
5 @ 225
4x5 @ 275 (Straps)
10 @ 275 (Straps)

Mini Band Pull-Apart:
3x33

Interesting night. Did very bad things. Not proud of them. It was one of the reasons outside of the caffeine that was making my heart feel like exploding, because I was waiting for a response to what I did. Everything went better than expected though.

The 400 went up stupidly fast. I had perfect form and it just felt like nothing. I hit a sticking point with the 405, but I was able to get it up.

So, on 2 hours of bad sleep and being hungover, I entered the 4 plate club on a bench variation. Adrenaline is a weird, amazing thing. Afterwards, I had a really hard time calming myself down from it though.

Motivation: 4/4
Nutrition: 3/4 (Post-workout. Pre-workout was obviously 0/4)
Explosiveness: 4/4

522

ME Lower

Squat:
Bar
5 @ 135
5 @ 225
5 @ 315 (Add belt. Forgot my Converses, took off my shoes)
3 @ 365 (Wasn’t bad, but barefoot feels weird, shoes back on)
1 @ 405
1 @ 435 (Match PR from like a year ago)
1 @ 455 (+20 lb PR!)
1 @ 475 (+40 lb PR! FUCK YES)
20 @ 225 (Box squat)

Ghetto GHR w/ Mini Band Assistance:
5x5 (Hamstrings cramping the whole time)

Avg. Band Ab Pulldown/Narrow Grip Pull-Up Superset:
3x15/5

It’s about god damn time my squat blows up. I’m 100 lbs. over my flat bench now. That’s slightly more acceptable. The squat wasn’t all that difficult despite it definitely being a 1RM. I broke parallel according to a powerlifter, so I’m definitely counting it.

Next step, 500.

Time to deload after my speed days. Thank tha lawd.

Motivation: 4/4
Nutrition: 4/4
Explosiveness: 4/4

523

Geez, you’ve been killing it!

524

[quote]AquaCruzer wrote:
Geez, you’ve been killing it! [/quote]

Yessir! I’ve been eating a whole lot and it works like magic for my lifts. Gained about 7 clean lbs. so far, about 10-15 to go. Thanks for stoppin’ by!

525

DE Upper

Speed Bench:
Bar
10 @ 135
5 @ 225
9x3 @ 275

Pull-Ups:
5x5

Chest Supported T-Bar Row:
8 @ 100
5 @ 145
5x5 @ 190 (Straps. PR)

Mini Band Pull-Apart:
3x33

I wasn’t feeling great today on speed bench. My elbows were bothering me. I think it may have something to do with the squats actually, because of the position of my elbows and gripping the bar so hard.

Back was working just fine though. Pull ups were very explosive.

Motivation: 4/4
Nutrition: 1/4 so far. Didn’t eat pre-workout (morning workout), then had protein, ravioli, and white bread post-workout. lol
Explosiveness: 3/4

526

DE Lower

Banded Speed Squat (1 Avg. per side):
Bar
Bar+Bands
5 @ 135+Bands
3 @ 225+Bands
4x2 @ 285+Bands (Quads are killing me, too heavy)
5x2 @ 255+Bands

Power Clean:
5 @ 135
8x1 @ 185

Hanging Leg Raise:
5x10

Sprints:
1 lap warm-up
4 sprints @ 60m

First off, I strained my calf on the fourth sprint, which is why I didn’t do more. It hurts when I flex my leg right behind my knee. Thought it was my hamstring, but after feeling around, it’s definitely my calf. That’s better than a hamstring IMO.

Squats went fairly well. The 285+Bands was just too much for me today. The middle of my ROM was slow as hell because my quads were just not wanting to fire.

I’m deloading now though, so I’m going to be able to recover and heal for the next week.

Motivation: 4/4
Nutrition: 4/4
Explosiveness: 2/4

527

ME Upper - Deload

Bench:
Bar
10 @ 135
5 @ 225
5x5 @ 275

Weighted Pull-Ups:
5x5 @ BW+25

Single Arm Barbell in Corner Row (Grabbing End of Barbell, Emulating Fat Grip):
5x5 @ 100 L/R

Didn’t feel into this workout at all. I’m also deloading caffeine and nootropics each deload week, to get rid of tolerance. So, I attribute it to that.

I like the rows though, I need to get my grip strength up to par. Also, I’m not so sure that pull-ups aren’t the reason for my elbow pain. The pain had gone away when I switched to neutral grip, and today it hurt when I was using a pronated grip. Food for thought.

I did some very light hamstring curls to feel what’s goin on with my knee/calf. I’m fine with running, walking, and deadlift. When I get to about 110 degrees of knee flexion it starts hurting. I have almost no strength after that position. I can explode from full extension through full flexion, but just trying the last part of the motion by itself hurts like a bitch. I’m not too worried about it, that motion is nearly worthless other than for GHR. It’ll heal and I’ll get back to those.

Motivation: 1/4
Nutrition: 3/4
Explosiveness: 3/4

528

500×1084 339 KB

First off, here’s a couple meals I had today and how I’ve generally been eating:
-First one is a bowl of homemade chili, high-fiber english muffin, 2 eggs, 3 bacons, and cheese. Plus 3 cups of milk. Comes out to about 80g protein, 50g fat, 46g carbs, and 22g fiber. 954 calories.
-Second one is a chicken, bacon, and chili sandwich. Eat ALL the animals! Plus a shake with 2 cups milk, 2 scoops protein, peaches, raspberries, and 2 tablespoons peanut butter. Comes out to about 136g protein, 40g fat, and 60g carbs. 1,144 calories.

ME Lower - Deload

Squat:
Bar
5 @ 135
5 @ 225
5 @ 275 (Add belt)
5x5 @ 315 (Some of the easiest squats I’ve done. Wtf injury?)

Good Morning:
8 @ 135 (Seated, trying to feel calf working, didn’t work)
2x8 @ 135

Westside Avg. Band Abs:
3x15

Shrugs:
10 @ 225
10 @ 315 (Straps)
10 @ 405 (Straps)
10 @ 315 (Straps)
10 @ 225

Felt great today. I wore knee sleeves on both of my knees. Obviously they didn’t help my squat, but they kept my knees and calf insertion area warm which helped my squat.

Form was on point. Exploded out of the hole. Stayed upright. Woot.

Motivation: 4/4
Nutrition: 4/4
Explosiveness: 4/4

529

DE Upper - Deload

Banded Speed Bench (Doubled Mini Per Side):
Bar
Bar+Bands
10 @ 135+Bands
6x3 @ 225+Bands
2x3 @ 225 (My elbow is hurting a lot)

Neutral Grip Pull-Up:
4x5 (pain)

Triceps Pushdown:
3x10 @ “12”

Facepull:
3x15 @ “8”

Played flag football last night. I was quarterback, so my elbow took a beating. It felt absolutely horrible today actually. As a result, both of my shoulders are also sore from compensating. I’m trying to figure out what exactly is wrong with my elbow and I think it may have something to do with my brachioradialis. I actually hope that’s the case, instead of an actual joint problem.

Speaking of injuries, my calf/knee was sore as shit today after sprinting and dodging people last night. We have a game every week. I gotta start taking ice baths or something, otherwise I’m not going to be able heal my calf or elbow.

So, I can’t really judge my explosiveness today.

Motivation 4/4 at the beginning, dwindled as the pain got worse
Nutrition: 3/4

530

DE Lower - Deload

Speed Box Squat:
Bar
5 @ 135
9x3 @ 225 (Easy, fast)

Clean:
5 @ 135
4x1 @ 225

Leg Extension:
10 @ 100
10 @ 160 (These are just annoying)

Box Jumps:
5x5 @ ~36 inches

Wasn’t feeling it today other than feeling like I was in a fog. Everything was easy, just boring. I’m glad I’m done deloading now. Hopefully my elbow will agree with me.

Motivation: 1/4
Nutrition: 1/4 (Hmm…)
Explosiveness: 4/4

531

ME Upper - Cycle 2, Week 1

Reverse Band Bench (Avg. Bands take off about 80 at the bottom and 0 at the top as opposed to 95 and 45 at home):
10 @ 135
5 @ 225
5 @ 275
5 @ 315
3 @ 365
3 @ 405 (PR, given the change in band tension)

Neutral Grip Pull-Up:
10x5

4-Inch Deficit Plyo Push-Up:
4x10

Facepull:
3x15 @ “10”

Average Band Low Row w/ Hold (1 Band Per Hand):
3x10

Felt good today. I’m happy with my bench performance and lack of elbow pain. I think the reverse bands help me avoid the pain since it only hurt at the bottom last week. My written goal today was 410x3, but since I didn’t know how much the tensions would differ, I’m happy with 405x3.

Everything else went well too, especially pull-ups and push-ups.

I have 445x3 scheduled for box squats on Thursday morning, then that night I’ll be playing flag football (as quarterback) and I’m pretty sure my legs will explode and/or lock up horribly.

Motivation: 4/4
Nutrition: 4/4
Explosiveness: 4/4

532

ME Lower

Box Squat:
Bar
5 @ 135
5 @ 225
5 @ 315 (Add belt)
3 @ 405
3 @ 445 (PR, Goal Achieved.)

Speed Deadlift:
3 @ 225
3 @ 315
5x1 @ 405 (These were very fast and easy, surprisingly)

Pull-Ups:
5x5

I didn’t want to hit it too hard today because of flag football tonight. The 445x3 wasn’t easy, but it wasn’t a grind either. I’m happy with the difficulty I felt. I thought it was going to be hell.

I did have a hard time sitting back though, so I ended up just sitting almost straight down to the box.

Scheduled for 470x2 next week.

So, I’m sitting at about 221 as of this morning. I need to eat more, I accidentally lost 6 pounds on my deload week. Why isn’t cutting that easy?

Motivation: 4/4
Nutrition: 4/4 (For bulking purposes at least. Pounds of Chinese food after the gym)
Explosiveness: 4/4

533

DE Upper

Speed Bench:
Bar
10 @ 135
5 @ 225
3x3 @ 245 (Elbow hurts)
2x3 @ 245 (Fat Gripz, still hurts)

Inverted Row:
10 @ BW
3x8 @ BW+45
10 @ BW

Cable Low Row:
8 @ “160”
4x8 @ “180”

Shrugs (to pass time):
15 @ 135
15 @ 185

I wasn’t weak today, my back worked perfectly, but my elbow is still bothering me at the bottom of my bench. Hopefully just taking it easy on speed days will help, because I’m not holding back on ME days.

Beat the shit out of our opponents in flag football on Thursday. Don’t know how my legs worked after box squats, but I did a whole lot of sprints right past the defense.

Motivation: 3/4
Nutrition: 3/4
Explosiveness: 3/4

534

DE Lower

Banded Speed Box Squat (1 Avg. Per Side):
Bar
Bar+Bands
5 @ 135+Bands
3 @ 225+Bands
9x3 @ 275+Bands (Belt)

Standing One-Arm Row (Straps):
2x20 @ 120 L/R

DB Shrugs (Straps):
2x15 @ 120s

Hyperextension:
2x10 @ BW+45

Squats were great today. I was strong and explosive. After the squats, my lower back got a ridiculous pump. That’s why I only did two sets of each exercise. I realized that I pretty much stopped doing lower back work when I started focusing on my upper back. Time to get that back in the mix.

Motivation: 4/4
Nutrition: 4/4
Explosiveness: 4/4

535

ME Upper - Cycle 2, Week 2

Reverse Band Bench (0 off top, ~80 off bottom):
Bar
10 @ 135 (Add bands)
5 @ 225
5 @ 275
5 @ 315 (Add wraps)
3 @ 365
2 @ 405
2 @ 425 (PR! Goal achieved. Super easy, could have gotten a triple.)
1 @ 455 (This was my “stupid set” as Westside calls it. This was next week’s goal, so new goal will be set)Edit: Actually, this is a 10 lb. PR not including band differences. Didn’t realize that. Awesome.

Neutral Grip Pull-Up:
6x5

4-Inch Deficit Plyo Push-Up:
3x10

Avg. Band Row w/ Hold (1 per hand):
4x10

Mini-Band Pull-Apart/Hanging Leg Raise Superset:
3x33/15

Elbow felt fine today, until I started doing pull-ups. Nothing excruciating though. I’m super happy about the level of ease that came with the 425x2. When I did the 455, my ass lifted a bit and my back from my pelvis to my scapulae lit up like a mother fucker. I could barely move.

I wasn’t planning on doing any more than 425, but Mason threw on 455, so I figured I’d go for it. Since I got next week’s single goal, let’s just set the new goal at 465x1.

Also, I’d like to point out that the last time I did 425x2 (this summer), it was literally the hardest thing I’ve ever done in the gym. This time, it was lightening, plus it was more weight considering the band set up difference.

Tomorrow morning is box squats. 470x2 is the goal. Then flag football at night. Kill me.

Motivation: 4/4
Nutrition: 3/4
Explosiveness: 4/4

536

ME Lower

Box Squat:
Bar
5 @ 135
5 @ 225
3 @ 315 (Add belt)
3 @ 405
2 @ 455
2 @ 475 (Goal Achieved, PR!)

Speed Deadlift:
3 @ 225
1 @ 315
8x1 @ 405

Avg. Band Ab Pulldown (Supersetted with last 3 speed pulls):
3x10

Fuck yeah. I’m liking this program more and more every day. This was another huge PR for me considering the new box depth. There was a bit of a grind in the middle of the second rep, but then it shot up. Next week’s goal that I had written down several weeks ago was 495x1, I want to break 500 though now. It shouldn’t be a problem. 500 on a squat variation would make me jizz my pants.

Very happy with how speed pulls went as well. I was going to do five, but the fifth rep was the fastest, so I finished out the eight singles.

Time for some flag football (sprints) tonight.

Motivation: 4/4
Nutrition: 1/4 (Chinese food after the gym, then almost nothing, I blame Biology studying and ephedrine)
Explosiveness: 4/4

537

Man, cant believe I havent been in here for so long. You are still doing work setting some sick PR’s man! Whats your BW at these days? Are you just running a westside setup?

538

Hey, PB! I weighed 223 this morning. My plan is (was?) to get up to about 235-240 for strength’s sake, but I’m really just eating to enough to get stronger. Whether or not that includes me gaining, I don’t know or care, really.

I set up a program about six weeks ago that has me running through 3 cycles of 4 weeks each. It’s still on the ME/DE template, but I’ve set it up so that I’m doing a triple on the first week, a double on the second, and then a single on the third. I keep the ME exercises the same within each cycle (1st cycle was decline bench and free squat, now I’m on reverse band bench and box squat for this cycle).

So far, I’ve PR’d every week, so something is clicking with this setup. I say I have 3 cycles to do, but that’s just because this was a test that passed, I’ll probably keep doing the same thing until it doesn’t work. DE work is still about the same as ever.

539

“DE” Upper…not really. More like RE.

DB Bench:
10 @ 80s
3x10 @ 100s
8 @ 100s (Wraps on this set and previous set)

One-Arm DB Row (Straps):
3x10 @ 120 L/R

Reverse Preacher Cable Curls (for elbow):
3x10 @ “40”

JM Press/Close Grip Bench Superset (for elbow still):
3x5/5 @ 135 (Wraps)

I was essentially brain dead when I went to the gym from studying last night and today and not eating or drinking anything but caffeine up until 3:30pm. Also caffeine, ephedrine, and nootropics yesterday. Oh, and box squats and flag football. Wasn’t a great set up for working out today.

The DB bench (edited from “rows”, told you I was brain dead) wasn’t bad, I can’t exactly do triples for speed with DBs though. That’s why I just did 10s. My elbow and shoulder were both kind of aching. Neither were terrible though.

Motivation: 0/4
Nutrition: 2/4
Explosiveness: 3/4

540

Yo what bands do you use? and what time do you go to the aquatic center. Id say ive never seen you but only a pic of your back ha. good shit any ways.