Sorry about your back.
Though you do sound like you’d be a total blast to hang out with drunk.
[quote]Spock81 wrote:
Sorry about your back.
Though you do sound like you’d be a total blast to hang out with drunk. [/quote]
I’d like to think that I’m a fun drunk…I got hammered at the casino last weekend and played poker…was doing pretty well…so well in fact I had a ton of chips in front of me, so I started making shapes and designs with them…I ended up turning them into a spaceship with laser blasters on the front, and whenever it was my turn to call I would flip chips into the pot from the “lasers” and make laser sounds…the dealers were not happy about that at all.
7/3/12
Close Grip Bench: 315x3x5 (5 sets of 3)
Power Curl: 100x8, EZ+120x4, EZ+140x2, EZ+110x4, EZ+90x8
Cable Pull-Over: 42.5
Cable Curl: 42.5
Pull over Skull Crusher: 60, 70, 80
Hammer Curls: 30
Curl Machine: 80
This was my first time through the arms program I linked a couple posts ago. It was pretty challenging–mainly because it was so new.
All the triceps exercises were super setted with the biceps exercises, except for the last curl machine, which was done alone. After the first big exercises for each, the other stuff was 3 sets of 25 seconds. I had never done timed sets before so the stimulus was good.
I laid on my couch with my shirt soaking wet when I got home because I couldn’t lift my arms up over my head to take the shirt off…Pretty cool program…gonna hit it once a week for the next 8-10 weeks, with another day of less intense gun work.
Good news was that none of the exercises seemed to aggravate my back…so there’s that.
7/4/12
Got hammered drunk and watched the Nats beat up on the Giants at home, then went and did a bunch of other American shit…
7/5/12
Ton of foam/lax rolling to warm up
Leg Press (4x8): 3.5 pps
Walking DB Lunges: 45x8, 45x6, 35x9
GHR: 4x8 (sloppy reps)
Hanging Abs: 3x8
Back Mobility WOD
My girl put this workout together for me to see if I could train around my injury doing low body shit–it didn’t work out so hot. The leg press was embarassing not only because I wasn’t using man weight, but my ROM sucked. I just went down to the point that it almost started to hurt and pushed back up.
Walking lunges are hard as shit and very humbling.
GHR was assisted reps and was not pretty.
Hanging abs exacerbated my back pain but I did them anyway cause I wanna have hawt abzzz…
Going to move leg day to only one day per week. Not sure what I’m going to do on the other days…work in progress
Good news–I got a chiro appointment set up with an ART guy at a rehab center for Friday evening. Hopefully they can start to get to the bottom of whatever the fuck it is that’s wrong with me.
He cries a lot when he’s drunk.
Funny I was also at that Nats game, and I was also hammered. We shoulda had some communication.
Had my appointment with the Capitol Rehab/ART guy yesterday. The appointment started out a disaster. The dude stared at me blankly when I told him I competed in weightlifting, and asked what I meant by that. I figured he just meant “oly or power” so I told him powerlifting, and still got the thousand yard stare. I continued “you know, squat, bench, deadlift”…“ohhh so how much do you lift”, he interrupts. I told him my total, and was met with: “nah I mean how much do you bench”…FML
After explaining my issues to him, he told me not to lift for a couple weeks…this was not going well.
The nearly final straw was when he was telling me to squat on a bosu ball in the smith machine…I shit you not…I nearly got up and left right there, considering mugging the front desk lady for my copay refund on my way out the door…luckily he had enough time to explain that he was talking as an assessment tool in order to gauge how steady I was on my left leg. I asked him why not just do a lunge instead, and he agreed this was just as good…
So yeah, we were not getting along so great at this point…But then he started working on me…
I swear to god this man has magic hands (no homo)…he adjusted the shit out of my leg and lower back, which is exactly what I told my other chiro that I needed, and put me through the ringer…then he sat me down in a chair and adjusted my neck…things ended up going pretty well…I walked out of there feeling better than I had in weeks…
We are going to work together twice a week for the first few weeks then reassess…honestly Im so desperate for relief at this point that I would have come in every day if he told me to. 24 hours later and I’m still feeling pretty good, though I have tightened back up quite a bit. Its still not nearly as bad as it was…
So good in fact, I was able to lift today
7/7/12
OHP: 155x5, 180x5, 205x5
Bench: 180x10x5
Lat Pull Down: 5x10
Rope Pushdowns: 3x10
Face Pulls: 3x12
Curls: 3x8
This was the OHP/Bench portion of the Boring But Big Challenge. I’m going to be doing this as my second upper body day (first being the Gun Show day). I haven’t decided yet if I will be working out 3x/week or 4x/week. If I do 4x, I will do a day mainly for back/abs, along with another day for lower body/rehab type shit. Will probably end up settling on this.
Bench and Lat Pull downs were supersetted, as were pushdowns/FP’s/curls
Haven’t left my couch at all this weekend except for the gym session. On a Breaking Bad marathon to get caught up before the new season begins next week…I don’t plan to leave it for the rest of the weekend either…its hot as fuck outside, and my air conditioning is working fine…so why would I do anything else? Peace
7/10/12
WELCOME TO THE GUN SHOW!
Close Grip Bench (5x4): 315
Power Curl (10, 5, 3, 5, 10): EZ+100, +120, +140, +110, +90
Incline Cable Pullover (3x35 seconds): 42.5
Cable Curl (3x35 seconds): 42.5
Pullover Skull Crusher (3x35 seconds): 80
DB Hammer Curls (3x35 seconds): 30’s
Machine Curls (3x35 seconds): 80, 80 (x), 60
Second week on the arm spec program and it was fucking murder…the 35 second sets are just way more than I’m used to, in the 15 rep range…got a massive pump going
My Power Curls are suffering because the ez curl bar at my gym is the worst designed piece of shit in the world…the curves on it are off center from the middle of the plates, so the center of mass is all fucked up and it torques the shit out of my elbows…Im going to see if the other gym has a better one, otherwise I may have to drop this movement, or go down in weight considerably (probably the better plan)
Everything went well, except the machine curls where I had to stop the second set short and then drop the weight considerably…had too much of a pump to finish…
Decided my new split for the next little bit is going to be:
Sunday - Arms
Monday - Back/Abs
Wednesday - Bench/OHP Challenge
Friday - Legs (whatever I can do)
damn I am moving further and further into the bodybuilding realm…somebody pull me back from the light
one way ticket for the gain train brah
EFFF First Dixiesfinest and now you! NOoOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
I can’t take this…
7/12/12
OHP: Warmups, 170x3, 190x3, 215x3
Bench: 180x10x5
Face Pulls: 3x15
Triceps Pushdown: 3x12
Curls: 80x8x3
Hit part 2 of the BBB challenge for OHP/Bench tonight…was real easy…the first month isn’t going to be challenging at all I dont think…we’ll see what it feels like come month 3
I’ve moved pullups/rows out of this workout to put on backday so I can keep it separated…I like the idea of focusing on only one muscle group in a workout (oh jesus I can’t believe I just said that)…i figure since I have one whole day dedicated to that, I might as well…
I still need to figure out what to actually do on back day. Any input is welcome…
Life News
This seems to be popular in Spock’s log so I figure I’ll throw it into mine every now and again.
I wrecked my car on Monday driving home from work. Bumper to bumper traffic in rush hour and this bitch in front of me rear ended the bitch in front of her, and I couldn’t stop in time and in turn rear ended both of them. Of course I’m at fault, even though they were the ones driving like shit…
Everyone was ok but the car was fucked up…it dented in my entire front, broke the hood and my side mirror, and jammed the passenger side door so bad you can’t even open it. The air conditioner condenser also exploded back into my cabin.
The adjuster came today to look at it and somehow it was not totaled. I have no idea how this is possible, and was a little disappointed since I had been wanting to sell it anyway and figured this is just as easy. So they are towing it instead to the repair shop to be fixed. Hoping they start tearing it apart and figure that there was more damage than they thought and its totaled, and they cut me a big fat check that I can go spend on hookers and blow.
They have also agreed to pay for my chiropractor treatment for a little bit since I got a bit of whiplash from it…so that is pretty cool. Chiro is still going well.
Peace bitches.
you seem quite savvy at this life thing
Back when I used a 4-day split, I liked T-Bar rows as my main back movement, because it hits em all at once… then I would move onto some form of BB rows, then chins/pulldowns/cable rows/etc.
Edit: I know your low back feels like shit, but that T-Bar thing you have by the leg press might take stress of the low back, since there is less balancing to be done.
EXCELLENT IDEA adding a life news section! I hope everyone follows suit.
Remember to add positive life news stories as well! Or even dumb random things that most people wouldn’t give two shits about LOl.
Last Sunday I went into the gym to do my arms routine and I just wasn’t feeling it…did my warmups on CGBP and Power Curls and by the time I got to my working sets I was completely unmotivated to do anything…just attempted a bit of foam rolling and left…
Took the rest of the week off from the gym too (until Thursday).
Back is still fucked up, body is sore, and neck is tight…I really have no idea whats going on I feel like Im falling apart. This is miserable.
7/19/12
OHP: 180x5, 205x3, 230x2
Lat Pulldowns: 5x10
Bench (5x10): 180
Was only supposed to hit it for a single, but it was easy so doubled it…nowhere near a PR and my lat cramped up so bad on the second rep that I barely managed to bring it down without dropping it…maybe Im just dehydrated as shit and thats whats been messing with my body?
No more assistance as I was supposed to meet my g/f’s sister at the ferry terminal out in Seattle since I was out there for work and she was out for a conference. We ended up going to the casino (she won like $300 on a slot machine) and then to the free happy hour at my hotel and proceeded to get shit faced. Good times.
7/22/12
CGBP (5x3): 315
Power Curls: EZ+70x8, +90x4, +110x2, +80x4, +60x8
Incline Cable Pullover (3x25 seconds): 60
Cable Rows (3x25 seconds): 45
Pullover Skull Crusher (3x25 seconds): EZ+60
DB Hammer Curl (3x25 seconds): 25
Machine Curl (3x25 seconds): 70
I decided I set the weights too high for a lot of the exercises last time through. Since I plan to do this routine for a while, and it calls to increase the weights each 3 week cycle, I figured it would be a good idea to not maximize my ceiling and give me room to progress. Plus that whole bodybuilding mind muscle connection thing, feel the pump, etc. etc. So backed off the weights on a lot of the exercises, or at least kept them the same. I think I increased on a couple, but I dunno as it is different equipment at the good gym.
I know my arms are sore as fuck right now though…dat pump brah
Gonna hit Back tomorrow, OHP/Bench on Wednesday, and Legs on Friday.
7/23/12
T-Bar Row: 2.5 platesx8, 2.5 platesx8, 2 platesx8
Ab machine: 3x10
Pullups: 8, 5, 5, 3, 5
Ab Wheel: 3x10
High Row machine: 5x8
Leg Raises: 3x8
Face Pull: 3x15
My first back day ever! I got in there with no real game plan, and decided just to start out with a compound movement and go from there. Got some horizontal pulling in with some incline pulling, so I guess I hit it from the right angles. Also worked abs, obviously.
Back is pretty sore (muscularly) right now so I guess that’s a good thing.
Chiropractor went well today too. Really loosened me up. Hope it stays.
Ever try ladders for the pull-ups? 2, 3, 5, 2, 3, 5, 2, 3, 5…
It really gets the volume in without you realizing it. I also think it helps build up to doing more reps per set.
I’m tellin ya, subbing in weighted chins once every couple weeks really helped my bodyweight rep totals. 45lb on a belt for 3x3 is my goal.
Good suggestions, both of you. Just doing straight sets is boring so I will throw in some ladders and weighted chins.
Although right now, my chins are kinda weighted compared to what I was doing. I’m sitting at about 290 in the mornings right now, so a bit higher by the time I work out. This is about 30 pounds over where I was a few months ago and 15-20 over my normal weight…Maybe I should do more cardio haha
[quote]VTBalla34 wrote:
Good suggestions, both of you. Just doing straight sets is boring so I will throw in some ladders and weighted chins.
Although right now, my chins are kinda weighted compared to what I was doing. I’m sitting at about 290 in the mornings right now, so a bit higher by the time I work out. This is about 30 pounds over where I was a few months ago and 15-20 over my normal weight…Maybe I should do more cardio haha[/quote]
Two birds one stone… A buddy of mine would just add weight as he lost weight and keep doing the pull-ups…
7/25/12
OHP: 95x5, 120x5, 145x5
Bench (5x10): 180
Pullups: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2
Triceps Pushdown: 3x10
Face Pulls: 3x12
Curls: 80x8, 90x8, 100x8
Foam roller: made me its bitch
Officially a deload week, but since the only routine I’m actually following is the 5-3-1 OHP BBB Challenge, this is the only deload I’m doing for the week…so I deloaded the OHP and kept the BBB Challenge for Bench the same.
Next cycle the weight bumps up to 220 for 5x10 (culminating at 260 for 5x10 the following 4 weeks)…the 180 wasn’t challenging at all…the last couple reps slowed a bit on the last couple sets, but with a bit of extra rest time I don’t think the 220 will be challenging either…260 may be a different story, but by the time I worked up to that it shouldn’t be too awful.
A bit of good news regarding the back, I may have isolated the major problem area to the left lat. I had been thinking the problem is on the right side, due to my trap sitting higher on that side, the right scapula issue, and the right lumbar disc pain (which have actually moved to the left)…but after doing some exercises and stretches the chiro gave me, it became pretty clear that my left lat is very tight and inhibiting a lot of that movement. I dug into it tonight with the foam roller and had a ton of pressure points that weren’t on the right side…gonna smash the shit out of it the next couple weeks and see what progress that brings…hoping to be able to squat and DL pain free again by the first week of August…wish me luck
I think a Lacrosse Ball works better for getting into the last and upper back. I had this problem a few months back from doing alot of upper back work. I wouldn’t be able to get the foam roller/PVC into the proper position I needed to get into the “hot Spots” I used a lacrosse ball and literally just layed on in on the floor and rolled around on it. I thought it seemed to work better just a thought for yah
In real late but damn that Meet vid was impressive…you made everything look real fucking easy great job brother.