[quote]trivium wrote:
I am getting real busy here moving home and starting my next internship. I have to go back to college for 2 days to do a presentation and take two tests in between. I am not sure I am prepared how I want to be. Oh well…even if I fail at least my T-Nation friends won’t disown me…right?[/quote]
Consider yourself preemptively disowned mother trucker!
[quote]trivium wrote:
I am getting real busy here moving home and starting my next internship. I have to go back to college for 2 days to do a presentation and take two tests in between. I am not sure I am prepared how I want to be. Oh well…even if I fail at least my T-Nation friends won’t disown me…right?[/quote]
If all else fails, just whip out.
Real good feeling in my hamstrings, traps, and lower back today. I feel goooooo. Tomorrow is going to be upper body day.
Here are my unimpressive numbers for today.
Press
5x45
3x95
3x110
3x125
8x140 (TNG. I will only claim 8. No BS tonight. Left side felt heavier than the right. I ended up developing pain on my left later on.)
5x135 (paused)
3x125
12x110
5x110
Pull Up
10/5/5 (Loved the grippy pull up bar they had. New PR on the 10 reps. No failing at all today.)
Dips
10/10/5
Pull Up
5/5/5/5 (last set was trash)
Dips
10/8/1/5
I am glad to have the pull up PR. I wanted to re-do last times lifts when I was using 140, but I had no discipline once again to pause, and still didn’t get it. No big deal. I don’t care for some reason today. I know I got the required reps. Yes, I bitched out.
Chin ups
10/9/5/5
Preacher Type Curl
60x10
60x10
70x10
80x10 dropped to 60x7 dropped to 40x25
Reverse Grip Standing Straight Bar Curl
40x20
Chin ups
5/2
Face Pull (I didn’t feel like these were good today. May have had something to do with the amount of biceps I did.)
95 on stack for sets of 10/10/10
50 on stack for sets of 20/20
Rear Laterals
25 lb dumbbells for sets of 15/10 (Didn’t feel good.)
15 lb dumbbells for sets of 10/10 (Felt good.)
Great lift for me today. I think this might have been my best effort ever. I am not sure about some of my lifts though. I will explain as I go, like usual.
Squat
5xBW
5x45
5x135
3x225
3x255
3x290
1x325
(This rep felt real good…I mean really good. I slept awesome yesterday, and ate pretty well today. What happened is I banged the safety bars on 2 and lost balance terribly. I couldn’t recover. I was a bit upset at first, and then I collected myself quickly, and set it down, re-set, and took a break. I didn’t want to have a bad set, or have an emotional burnout. I also lowered the safety bars, and found a spotter.)
8x325 (Spotters hands rested on my ribs for a few reps. He said he didn’t help though. Ill take it, but I wont claim a PR. No fail. All deep.)
3x295
7x255
5x255
Leg Press
2 plates per side for 10
4 plates per side for 20
5 plates per side for 15
6 plates per side for 10
(I think I got the last set for 10. This was a terribly rough set. I just couldn’t hold my air in for a few of the last reps. My mind was not counting at that point haha. I am about 90% sure it was for 10.)
I think I did well today. If all the reps were mine, I would be very happy. We will see on next squat day. Either way, I gave my best. Tomorrow will probably be an off day. I feel good. My spotter said my reps on squat were the deepest he had ever seen someone squat. I will take it as a compliment. I didn’t fail any reps at all today.
I really feel like the goodmornings and hamstring work are helping a ton. My legs were still sore yesterday, and a bit this morning though. The Triumvirate is an awesome template, especially with the pyramid sets. I recommend it to anyone.
Have a good night everyone. Thanks for reading, as usual.
As per usual, I am taking my 2 days after leg day. I missed a day earlier this week, so I am having a hard time missing today. I hope all my lifts don’t disappear in 24 hours. Yes, I was feeling a bit lazy today too.
I am going to go early tomorrow and do the first workout. The second workout will be done a few hours later. I will do close grip bench press until I am sure I did enough work for triceps.
As a side note, I am not looking forward to the upcoming deadlift day with my gym’s shitty bars. The lack of grip takes a lot of weight off of my DL. I know I bitch and moan about this incessantly, but these things are smooth. You can tell they weren’t knurled very well when they were new 30 years ago. I am probably one bad lift from buying a Texas bar to bring with me every time.
I still have a bit of work to catch up on, and some studying to do.
Bench Press
5x45
5x135
3x185
3x200
9x225 (Paused until 5, TNG after. Failed 10. Spotter said he thought I had a few left in me after rep 9.)
3x200 (Only rested to change weights before this.)
10x185 (Same story as before.)
10x185 (30 seconds.)
Close Grip Bench Press (***Skull crushers at 50 lbs for 10 for pre-exhaust.)
135 lbs for sets of 10/7/10/*7/*10/*7 (I really tried to minimize rest here.)
Incline Dumbbell Bench Press
65 lb dumbbells for sets of 10/8/8/9/8
Kroc Row
110 lb dumbbells for sets of 10/10/10/10/5/5 (For the sets of 5, I focused on a nice squeeze at top.)
Triceps Pushdown
50 lbs on stack for 20
70 lbs on stack for sets of 10/10/7
50 lbs on stack for sets of 10/10/10/10
I wanted to do the sets of 20 like csulli, but I quickly found out that my triceps are weak as hell. This will be fixed in the future. Bodyweight of 202.
Tomorrow I will slay some back work.
T-Bar Row
50 lbs x 10
100 lbs x 10
125 lbs x 10
150 lbs x 10
175 lbs x 5
125 lbs x 10
125 lbs x 10
125 lbs x 10
125 lbs x 10
125 lbs x 10
(I used 25 lb plates for this to allow for a nice range of motion. I didn’t include the weight of the bar.)
Row Machine Thing
130 lbs x 10
175 lbs x 7
145 x 10
145 x 10
145 x 10
145 x 10
Nice time waster workout. Just kind of milled around and did some back work. I didn’t go for the pendlay rows, and they didn’t have a chest supported row, so this is what I came up with.
A note on the t-bar row form. I combined the pendlay row motion with the t-bar set up and grip.
Legs and triceps are sore. I have bruises all over from the dumbbell pressing yesterday. I really liked the incline DB press though. That is definitely staying.
I am ordering a texas power bar tomorrow to bring to my gym for deadlift days.
I am enjoying my lifts, even though it has been taking some coaxing to get me to the gym after work.
Yesterday’s lift…
Deadlift
5x135
5x185
3x225
3x290
3x330
5x370 (Spotter said 6, and that I failed 7, but I am only taking 5.)
3x330 (Made sure to hold for a bit at the top of each rep.)
1x330 (Held at the top.)
5x290 (Held at top of last rep.)
3x290 (Held at top of last rep.)
Goodmornings
4x10 @ 135
1x4@135 (Failed rep 5. I had to squat it up haha. It felt weird having to save a goodmorning with a squat lol.)
I am about to go and mess around for a bit in the weight room.
The bar at the gym I ended up going to was not terrible, but not great either, SO…I ordered a texas power bar that I will be bringing to the gyms on deadlift day.
Smith Machine Shrug
10x90
10x180
6x230
12x230
10x270
3x270
15x180
15x180
10x180
15x180
Leg Curl
10x40
10x60
10x80
10x90
5x100
10x80
10x80
10x80
I had to move between smiths because the one’s bar was bald. That was the set of 6. My gym sucks.
My hamstrings were real sore, so I tried to warm up a bit. I just wasn’t tolerating 100 lbs well today, so I opted to move down to 80 so I could get good reps.
For my assistance lately I have been working on contracting hard and having nice smooth form.
My hands were throbbing, and it hurt to hold on to the bar, so I wasn’t able to get any real grip work in. I wish I could get a hand massage. I have had one before, and it was awesome. Highly recommended.
Yesterday’s workout
Press
5x45
5x45
3x95
5x120
3x135 (Felt real easy.)
6x150 (No failed reps. Grabbed 30 seconds rest before next set.)
3x150 (Changed plates and started next set immediately.)
3x135 (Same story as before.)
7x120 (No failed reps. Took 30 seconds and started next set.)
4x120 (No failed reps.)
Pull Ups
10/6/5/5 (The first set was a set of 11, however I had to re-grip. The rep I re-gripped on was of questionable quality and wont count.)
Dips
10/10/10/9/1/6 (Last set was dead stop at the bottom for 3 seconds each rep. I did a few reps here and there in this manner as well.)
Pull Ups
5/5/4/4/3/5 (Last set was of questionable quality.)
Was battling some finger pain in my last sets of pull ups. The dead stop dips were really rough on my forearms. I was feeling that all day during my lift today.
Today’s lift.
Chin Ups
10/5/5/8/4
Preacher Type Curl
70 lbs for sets of 10/10 (Had tons of forearm pain on each rep. I couldn’t tough it out.)
50 lbs for sets of 10/10/10
Face pulls
50 lbs on stack x 10
70 lbs on stack for sets of 10/10/10/10/10/10/6/4 (Really focused on form here.)
Rear Lateral Raise
25 lb dumbbells for sets of 10/10/10/10
Rear Lateral Macine (Just found this thing. My gym is a big box gym and I don’t explore the machines often.)
20 lbs on stack x10
50 lbs on stack x10
70 lbs on stack x10
90 lbs on stack x10
100 lbs on stack for sets of 10/10/10 (The stack was not accurate at all with respect to weight. There is no way this was 100 lbs.)
Morning weight of 202.2 lbs. I am real nervous for tomorrow’s squat workout. I am eating a ton of pasta today and sleeping well tonight.
On a side note, I cannot wait for my bar to come in. I got an eliteFTS shaker in the mail that says “Driven” on the side. Awesome. I hope this thing is as badass as the other Texas power bars I have used.
Kelp it up dude
My workout from 2 days ago.
Squat
5xBW
5x45
5x135 (My reps suck when there is no weight pushing me down.)
5x225
5x275 (Reps started to take form here.)
3x305 (Felt awesome.)
3x340 (No failing. New rep PR at 340, my last actual max attempt from a few months ago. Spotter touched the bar only at rep 4.)
3x305
5x275
5x275 (I just didn’t have it in me to rep out haha.)
Leg press
2ppsx10
4ppsx20
5ppsx15
6ppsx5 (5 reps short of last week, but I don’t care. I hit already hit a PR in this workout and I didn’t want to push anymore. I was beat.)
Really happy with my form. Taking a HUGE breath is probably what I found most helpful today. I now understand. I had no trouble with leading up to my main set, and I handled a previous 1rm for damn close to 4 reps. The spotter only touched the bar. Lots of friendly words from him and a few other guys on progress I have made here and there, and for doing “full squats.” I have known this guy since 2004 when I was playing JV football.
I was mentally stuck whenever 3 plates were on the bar. My calculated maxes are much higher than what I think I can actually make on a few lifts. I am hoping that 5/3/1 will transition me well from previously training in the 10 rep range to the 3 to 8 range, which I am hoping will help move my lifts, both calculated and actual.
A note on cues that work for me so I don’t have to sift through my log for them. Toes out to 45. Feet at shoulder width. Head angled down at the floor. Large breath of air. Bounce at the bottom a little bit to know I make depth.
Today I am still really sore.
I am still waiting on my Texas bar. =]
Bench Press
5x45
5x135
5x190 (Didn’t feel tight through rep.)
3x215 (Felt heavy.)
6x240 (No failing. Tied PR at 240. Felt real good. Nice long pauses at bottom of rep. Very happy with this.)
3x250 (No failing. Extra set here. I felt that good. All nicely paused.)
3x215 (Didn’t feel like great reps, just like before.)
5x190
5x190 (Didn’t want to rep out. I was beat from the other lifts.)
Incline DB Bench Press
65 lb dumbbells for sets of 10/12/12/14
Dumbbell Rows
120 lb dumbbell x 10/5/5
100 lb dumbbell x 10/5/5/5 (Really focused on form here.)
So a few notes here. I was having a tiny bit of elbow/wrist/forearm discomfort late in my benching. I seriously underestimated the value of squeezing as hard as I can with the rows (I am not sure what the fuck I was doing before that, but due to the pain, this was the only option to make it not hurt until the end of the set.). It really made me feel a ton stronger. I am still in love with the DB incline bench.
Still waiting on my Texas Bar.
[quote]trivium wrote:
Bench Press
5x45
5x135
5x190 (Didn’t feel tight through rep.)
3x215 (Felt heavy.)
6x240 (No failing. Tied PR at 240. Felt real good. Nice long pauses at bottom of rep. Very happy with this.)
3x250 (No failing. Extra set here. I felt that good. All nicely paused.)
3x215 (Didn’t feel like great reps, just like before.)
5x190
5x190 (Didn’t want to rep out. I was beat from the other lifts.)
Incline DB Bench Press
65 lb dumbbells for sets of 10/12/12/14
Dumbbell Rows
120 lb dumbbell x 10/5/5
100 lb dumbbell x 10/5/5/5 (Really focused on form here.)
[/quote]
That’s a damn good training day.
[quote]csulli wrote:
[quote]trivium wrote:
Bench Press
5x45
5x135
5x190 (Didn’t feel tight through rep.)
3x215 (Felt heavy.)
6x240 (No failing. Tied PR at 240. Felt real good. Nice long pauses at bottom of rep. Very happy with this.)
3x250 (No failing. Extra set here. I felt that good. All nicely paused.)
3x215 (Didn’t feel like great reps, just like before.)
5x190
5x190 (Didn’t want to rep out. I was beat from the other lifts.)
Incline DB Bench Press
65 lb dumbbells for sets of 10/12/12/14
Dumbbell Rows
120 lb dumbbell x 10/5/5
100 lb dumbbell x 10/5/5/5 (Really focused on form here.)
[/quote]
That’s a damn good training day.[/quote]
Thanks man. I feel good. Like I could easily make my training maxes for this cycle. I am just starting to be comfortable with training to make my 90% stronger.
Yesterday’s lift.
Pendlay Style T bar Row
10x50
10x75
10x100
10x125 (Felt awesome. Next week’s workouts will have more reps at this weight.)
10x150 (Felt like I had to use too much momentum to make the reps here.)
10x150 (Better reps.)
10x150 (Poor reps again.)
10x100 (Focused on form from here on out.)
10x100
10x100
Straight Bar Triceps Pressdown
10x50 lbs on stack
10x70 lbs on stack
10x70 lbs on stack
10x70 lbs on stack (Had a bit of a pump here.)
10x55 lbs on stack
10x55 lbs on stack
10x55 lbs on stack (Feelin real nice here.)
10x50 lbs on stack
10x50 lbs on stack
10x50 lbs on stack
I decided to not bother with traps today because my bar was supposed to be here, and today was supposed to be deadlift day. I am a little pissed about it not being here. I ordered it 10 days ago, and I only live 3 hours away from Columbus. I mean, I would have just fucking drove down there and got it at this point if I would have known they would have taken their grand old time to deliver it. Damn.
My legs/back are no longer sore from my squat workout.