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Training Training Logs
1624

2/21/22, Monday, Squats

Warm-up - 5:00 exercise bike

Lying leg curls

  • 70 x 10
  • 85 x 8
  • 100 x 6
  • 75 x 10

Squats

  • 45 x 10
  • 95 x 5
  • 125 x 4
  • 155 x 3
  • 185 x 2
  • 205 x 1
  • 225 x 3
  • 185 x 5
  • 155 x 10

Single leg press, rocker machine

  • 40, 60, 80, 100, 120 x 12
    What I’ve been needing

Plate-loaded single leg extensions

  • 25 x 2 x 15, supersetted with

Goblet squats

  • 50 x 2 x 15

Farmer walks + DB RDLs (walking deads)

  • 6 rounds, 70lb DBs - 5 RDLs → 50 ft walk
4 Likes
1625

Ha! My super-slow brain finally realized my typo and your joke. Yeah, 1,000 km would be an amazing distance for an evening’s swim :joy:

2 Likes
1626

LOL I figured the penny would drop eventually

2 Likes
1627

Me: noticed squats are getting weaker.
Also me: didn’t squat for two weeks.
Also, also me: doesn’t have a dedicated leg day in the training week.

Problem identified. How to fix? An ABCD routine, Upper-Lower body, lifting every-other day, would be ideal. However, the Simple Deadlift Plan calls for weekly deadlifting. I know I can push deadlift day out two days each cycle, but I want to test the program as written.

What say ye all, will bumping deadlifts by two days kill or substantially alter progress?

1 Like
1628

Remember programming templates, are just templates. They are definitely a dynamic thing, or should be.

I’d bet on bumping them a day or two making zero difference at your strength level, at this stage.

I tend to need 3-4 days after squatting to allow a good deadlift session to take place - but the opposite isnt true for me. i’m way stronger in deadlift than i am squat, but more importantly more efficient, and as a result i recover much faster from them.

Your issue is likely just a setup issue.

Can you move other days around to create a more favourable lead in moving forward? I see you do alot of stuff, and my brain is foggy tonight and not picking up on a pattern. :stuck_out_tongue:
(i just tired - and hungry. imma go eat).

1 Like
1629

This is a very good point. I tend to have training ADD, changing routines every four weeks or so, which is why

The only pattern I have right now is deadlifting once a week and swimming the day after deadlifting. I try to do specific lifts AND cardio AND conditioning each week, but the lack of a program is showing.

Interesting! I’m proportionately stronger at deadlifts too but have noticed the opposite pattern - deadlifts drain me for a couple day, whereas I’m ready to deadlift just two days after squatting. I’ve noticed I have to rest the day after lifting, regardless of whether I did an upper or lower body session.

I agree, the setup is my issue, and I can definitely move days around.

My current goals are to increase strength in the deadlift and push press, build pec mass, maintain muscular strength balance, and improve my cardiovascular health. My four training days are an upper-lower split, each revolving around a main barbell lift - deadlifts, push press, squats, and bench press - and each followed by antagonist and accessory work.

I’m uncertain what progression model to use for the main lifts (other than the deadlift) and how to arrange the conditioning work (rower, sled, farmer walks) and LISS (swimming, walking, and stepmill). If I do the ABCD, every-other day routine, I can condition at the end of each lifting day and add in two or three LISS sessions between lifting days. It’ll make for longer lifting sessions, but I have the time right now and recover easier from volume than frequency.

Does that seem reasonably organized?

1630

Back when @wiseman83 had me squatting three days a week, I used to have tempo paused squats after deadlifts in the same session. The load is a lot lower because of the 3 sec negative and 1 sec pause. Do you have time to add 3 sets to deadlift day ?

1 Like
1631

Yep, I have time for three sets of tempo squats after deadlifts. In fact, I was doing six or seven sets of front squats after deadlifts, until my knee and lower back ached.

1632

Looks like there is an option there, obviously assuming your knee and back are OK.

1 Like
1633

Yep, that’s a good idea. Front squats were too much after deadlifts, but paused tempo squats are necessarily lighter, which should work well. Thanks for the suggestion. Thanks to @wiseman83 for your help, too.

1 Like
1634

I like it.

Start them lighter than you think…and auto-regulate them to find a good load to use as you progress them.

@simo74 became a better squatter during that period. Not necessarily stronger outright, but just better at doing them. Which leads to better gains in itself anyway through greater levels of efficiency.

2 Likes
1635

2/24/22, Thursday, Bench press

Warm-up

  • Horizontal cable shoulder abduction - 20 x 10, 10 x 20
  • Horizontal cable shoulder adduction - 20 x 2 x 20

Bench press

  • 45 x 15
  • 95 x 8
  • 125 x 4
  • 155 x 3
  • 175 x 2
  • 190 x 1
  • 205 x 2
  • 185 x 3 x 5
  • 165 x 8
    Removed tiles and subflooring for hours today so expectedly had little energy while lifting.

High-handle isolateral rows (lbs/ side)

  • 55 x 8
  • 80 x 4
  • 100 x 6
  • 90 x 8
  • 80 x 12
  • 55 x 15

Pec deck

  • 100 x 10
  • 110 x 10
  • 120 x 10, supersetted with

Dips

  • bw x 2 x 10

C/S rear delt flyes - 15 x 13, 14, 15
DB curls - 30 x 3 x 13
Behind back wrist curls - 80 x 3 x 18

Conditioning - rower

  • 10:02, 2,000m
    Two adjustments to the foot straps notwithstanding, I was at least a minute slower tonight.
3 Likes
1636

2/25/22, Friday

Treadmill

  • 35:00, 2.12 mi, 0 - 5.0 incl
3 Likes
1637

2/26/22, Saturday
Simple Deadlift Plan Wk. 7

Rower - 8:39, 2,000 m.

Deadlifts

  • 135 x 8
  • 185 x 5
  • 225 x 4
  • 265 x 3
  • 295 x 2
  • 325 x 1 (conventional, DOH)
  • 325 x 1 (conventional, DOH)
  • 325 x 1 (conventional, DOH)
  • 325 x 1 (conventional, mixed grip)
  • 325 x 1 (conventional, mixed grip)
  • 325 x 1 (conventional, DOH)
  • 325 x 1 (conventional, DOH)
  • 245 x 12 (sumo)
    Felt great today, so I added 2 singles and the burnout.

V-Squat machine

  • 110 x 5
  • 160 x 5
  • 200 x 3 x 8
  • 140 x 12

Sled pushing

  • 135 + sled x 14 pushes/ 770 ft.
7 Likes
1638

2/27/22, Sunday

Swimming

  • 25:38, 1,000 m/ 0.62 mi, 1:1 freestyle : breaststroke

Using birthday money, I bought a new watch to replace the one I lost. A watch seems a fitting birthday present because, like birthdays, it reminds me time is finite. It also helps me track progress!

Swimming felt slow as molasses today; how quickly I decondition. However, I think the ABCD lifting routine, paired with LISS every-other day, is going to work well. I’m energized for lifting days, have zero exercise stress on LISS days, and will swim 50 percent more every two-week period. #winning

2 Likes
1639

Grrrr. My middle back seized up the day after swimming, which is weird in itself, because swimming has always relaxed my muscles. Fortunately, this week is a deadlifting deload, so I’ll deload everything and hopefully be fresh for next week. I foresee machines replacing free weights for the next few days.

2 Likes
1640

3/2/22, Wednesday, Upper body

Plate-loaded decline press, lbs/side

  • 25 x 10
  • 45 x 10
  • 70 x 8
  • 90 x 8
  • 115 x 2 x 8
  • 90 x 10

Strict OHP + bent-arm lateral raises

  • 80 x 4 x 8
  • 30 x 4 x 8

Rower

  • 2,000 m, 9:29?

Machine chest press

  • 115, 130, 145 x 10
  • 115 x 12

Plate-loaded pulldowns

  • 55 x 5
  • 80 x 5
  • 100 x 2 x 6
  • 80 x 8
  • 65 x 12
    Going nowhere with these.

Rear delt flyes - 15 x 3 x 15
Single triceps DB ext. - 27.5 x 12, 12, 10
Behind back wrist curls - 80 x 3 x 20
DB curls - 30 x 3 x 14

4 Likes
1641

3/3/22, Thursday, Squats

Warm-up - exercycle, 5:00

Squats

  • 45 x 15
  • 95 x 5 (slow negative + pause)
  • 125 x 5 (slow negative + pause)
  • 145 x 5 (slow negative + pause)
  • 165 x 5
  • 185 x 5
  • 205 x 3 x 5
  • 165 x 8 (slow negative + pause)
    Lightening the weights and slowing down felt good.

Single leg press

  • 70 x 3 x 13
    This machine was much harder than last week’s.

Lying leg curls

  • 70, 85, 100 x 8 (pause + slow negatives)
  • 75 x 12

Leg extensions

  • 70, 85, 100 x 15
    Feel the burn!

DB RDLs + farmer walks

  • 75 lb. DBs, 5 RDLs → 50 ft. walk x 6

Treadmill

  • 25:00, 1.5 mi, 0 - 4.5 incl
4 Likes
1642

3/5/22, Saturday

Warm-up (cables)

  • Horizontal external shoulder rotation - 15 x 12, 9
  • Horizontal internal shoulder rotation - 25 x 2 x 15

Push press

  • 45 x 15
  • 95 x 5
  • 115 x 1
  • 135 x 1
  • 155 x 1
  • 170 x 4
  • 170 x 4
  • 170 x 3

T-bar rows (25lb plates)

  • 60 x 6
  • 85 x 6
  • 110 x 4 x 7
  • 85 x 15, supersetted with

Incline DB press

  • 55 x 5
  • 65 x 5
  • 75 x 3 x 9
  • 65 x 11

A brief sesh, but it felt good. And now, some training observations.

  • T-bar rows are consistently improving, so maybe the plate-loaded pulldowns are having a positive effect, after all.
  • Even though I was sore from Wednesday’s workout, I did two more push presses than two weeks ago. Perhaps Wednesday’s light OHP and lateral raises fed tonight’s effort. I like the idea of keeping Saturday’s workout short, only adding the rower at the end, and doing the full upper body workout mid-week.
  • I didn’t do an expressly deadlift-deload workout per the Simple Deadlift Plan. Rather, I did a few sets of “walking deads” to finish my legs and skipped deadlifting. I’ve no idea how crucial monthly sets of 10-rep hinge movements are to the overall plan, but I’m not concerned about it. It works for me, not vice versa.
  • I’m halfway through the Deadlift Plan. For the next eight weeks, I’ll continue to focus on strengthening the deadlift and push press; increasing pec mass; and doing at least two LISS and three-plus conditioning workouts each week.
  • Upper body Wednesday and legs Thursday went very well, so I’m inclined to continue them, which means deadlifting will return to the start of the week. Or not. Other than the deadlifting program, swimming the day after, and a push press workout, I have no set program. I don’t know whether I prefer this open-ended style of exercising to strict program adherence, but I keep returning to it, so…
  • With the warmer weather, my thoughts have returned to fat loss. I totally fell off the wagon, and I kind of regret it. Kind of. Now, I’m dialing in my diet and have an eye towards summertime slimness.

Hope y’all’s weekend is going well!

3 Likes
1643

3/10/22, Thursday

Rower - 9:17, 2,000m

Clean-to-strict press

  • 45 x 10
  • 95 x 5
  • 115 x 2
  • 135 x 5
  • 135 x 5
  • 135 x 5 (last 2 were push presses)
    I cleaned only the first rep of the working sets.

Incline bench

  • 45 x 15
  • 135 x 8
  • 155 x 2 x 8
  • 135 x 10
    Ouch. Only did them because literally every other piece of free weight chest equipment was taken.

Seated chest press machine

  • 130 x 10, 10, 10, 10, supersetted with

Triceps extensions machine

  • 100 x 10
  • 120 x 3 x 10
    This machine is surprisingly comfortable.

T-bar rows

  • 60 x 8
  • 85 x 8
  • 110 x 8, 8, 7, 7
  • 85 x 15

Standing rear delt flyes - 19 x 3 x 12
DB curls - 35 x 3 x 8
Behind-back wrist curls - 90 x 3 x 15

4 Likes