Notes:
You’ll see a total absence of anything in the C exercises that involves the lower back. Chalk that up to my deadlift two days ago; my lower back is still sore.
Pressed for time, so I didn’t do calves today.
Started 4-AD-EC today, which I plan to cycle on and off for the next month or two.
Notes:
A: The box squats this time are at 55% 1RM.
B: Lest anyone get the wrong idea, I used the bands to help myself, not provide additional resistance.
A: Rack lockouts (11th hole): Bar x 5, 40 x 5, 60x3, 80x3, 100x1, 110x1, 115x1
B: JM press: 3x8; 40kgs
1st C: Power pulls: 3x7, 100kgs
2nd C: T-bar rows: 4x6, 16 plates
3rd C: Lateral Raises: 4x7, 35lb triangle DBs
D: Pushdowns: 2x12, 7 pl + 4 PMs
Notes:
A: At this position, this is about like doing a 1- or 2-board press. I did these with a pause at the bottom.
B: First time I’ve tried this exercise. JMs are kinda cool. I lowered the bar approximately to my chin.
C: Power pulls, the last two sets were with straps. T-bar rows, the last set was 5 reps.
I can feel the 4-AD kicking in. Everything felt lighter today.
A: Rack Lock-outs (#5 hole): bar x 5, 60kgs x 5, 100x5, 140x3, 160x3, 180x3, 200x1, 210x1, 220xM
B: Hyper-extensions (done for the hams, rather than the lower back): 4x6; 30kgs
1st C: Leg extensions: 3x8; 8pl, 10pl, 10pl
2nd C: Twisting cable crunches: Stack + 10 x 8, Stack + 15 x 7, Stack + 15 x 7
Notes:
The close grip bench presses were supposed to be 3 sets of 5 at 85kgs, but somehow I loaded the bar incorrectly (got confused between 85kgs and 185 lbs… sigh…), so I threw in an extra set instead.
Damn it.
Today was the last day of 4-AD-EC, so I’ll be starting Tribex tomorrow for two weeks, then back on the 4-AD.
Notes:
A: 117.5 was a new PR, and went up very easily. I probably could have gotten 120 if I had attempted it. When I actually tried 120, it was a hair’s-breadth miss. But a great strain. I’m sure I’ll get it next time.
C: The power pulls are coming along well. I’m pulling them much higher lately, well up to the sternum area.
C: The pulldowns (as opposed to pull-ups of some sort) were chosen because I wanted to get a little more volume in. But I wasn’t happy with them. Unlike other exercises, I seem not to recover as well from set to set with a limited rest time on vertical pulling motions. If anyone has any insight into this problem and how to solve it, I’m all ears.
16 Nov 03 DE Squat
When I got to the gym a guy had just started using the power rack, so I was forced to alter my usual progression. I did the workout almost backwards, starting with calves.
Next week I’m going to give my CNS a bit of a rest and use the high-rep method for ME days, use less volume on the other exercises those days, and skip the speed work entirely. I’ll run or something else on the DE days.
No, it just seems like there wasn’t much interest in the log here, so I quit posting it. I’m still hittin’ the iron, though… Getting ready to start an OVT cycle soon.
Char-dog…you are doing a shit load of work. I started Westside style three years ago and made pretty good gains for the 1st two. This past year I have constantly been fighting off nagging muscle pulls, front delt soreness, etc… I started training with a the freaks at Nazareth Barbell using the Metal Militia (Bill Crawford / Mike Miller) style of training. The volume of work is much less, less stress on the joints and muscles, and the gains are popping as of late. Check out the “metal militia” post in this forum. I am not knocking Westside one bit…but, some of the Westside guys are incorporating some of the Metal Militia routines into thier training.
