Congratulations on your upcoming wedding!
You’re always pretty.
Thanks snap! Good seeing you again…and spartee…well, I dunno what to say…thanks? haha\
9/12/13
NEPA: 45 minutes treadmill walk @ 3mph & 2.5 incline
Hips are feeling good and opening up…no pulling here
9/13/13
NEPA: 30 minutes walk around the neighborhood with the dog
DOMS from Wednesday’s workout kicked in hardcore so I decided to push my Friday workout off to Satruday. I went and got blood drawn so had a bit less energy, but then went and got a deep tissue massage. Dude worked the shit out of my mid-back. When I went in, he had told me I need to start working my left side more since it was a lot smaller than the right. Turns out my right side was just so garbled up it was nearly double the size of the left from tight muscle tissue. He worked it out and I left there with equally sized lats. Weird. Probably from favoring that side from the back surgery.
The dude also is big into Jeeps and asked me if he could drive mine so he could figure out what kinda lift kit he wants to get, so we went for a quick drive. He told me next time he will bring his Lambo and I can take it for a spin (or his Ferrari…the dude has like 6 cars, including a Jeep). I’m pretty excited about that. Told him I would help him put his lift kit on too…might be able to score some free massage out of it.
We worked on my hips a little bit too. The IT bands and quads were pretty tight, and my calf was tight on one side (don’t remember which). Felt a lot more fluid after I left and it is better today too.
9/14/14
40 total reps of each, 45 seconds rest
Sumo DL (225): 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 5
Incline DB Bench Neutral Grip (50x2 lol): 9, 9, 9, 8, 5
Widegrip Lat Pulldown (#11): 9, 8, 7, 5, 6, 6
Planks : 30s, 27s, 23s
My muscles cramped during every exercise. Hammies for sumo DL, triceps for inclines, biceps for lat pulldowns (crazy to the point I had to take 2 minute rests between sets), and abs for planks (only after last set). After the last set of planks, when I cramped up, I considered just leaving all my shit at the gym because bending over to pick it up seemed too dangerous. It was crazy. I am going to add some more salt into my diet somehow to keep the cramping down.
Overall though, the workout went well. The weights were obviously very light, but were good for rehab purposes I think. I will go heavier next time on incline bench since those were ridiculously easy. Everything else was pretty straight though. I feel like I am slowly getting back into the swing of things, and know only big things are ahead…
Got my V-Burn challenge and my Healthy Solid Meal tomorrow…to say that I am dreading the former and excited for the latter would be a huge understatement.
lol
I hate it when I’m so fucking tight all over.
Did my V-Burn challenge this afternoon…finished in 32:00. I am doing the Beginner program, since I am rehabbing, so it is not the worst motions possible, but it is still pretty rough. The first time I did it in 2009 on my first V-Diet it took me something like 42 minutes, and I was 35 pounds lighter (skinny fat lol) and had been playing basketball and doing cardio for a few months leading up to it. So taking 10 minutes off of it, while starting out at a worst in-shape position, is pretty good IMO. I am satisfied with it.
I took a few different rest breaks of 2+ minutes, mostly after the third round of the circuit. The first two were smooth, third was a little rough, and fourth-fifth were slooooowwwww…I went from a 16 minute pace to double that. I think I ended up getting it under 20 minutes by my last one on the first V-Diet, so my goal is to beat that this time around. As for next week, I’d like to just complete it without stopping. Then improve on that in the third week and crush it in the 4th.
My HSM was Chipotle. It was godly. Double chicken bowl, all the trimmings, chips with hummus…I was going to have a spinach salad with almonds and italian dressing for appetier but i was fucking starving and seeing stars by the time we picked up the chipotle so I didnt bother making it. Maybe next week. Or maybe Outback…I dunno
Gonna have probably one more shake the rest of the day and finish recharging my batteries and motivation to get ready to hit it tomorrow for the next week. Day 5 down, 23 more to go…
I’m pretty sure there’s about 5 months left now.
Make that 4.
Got back into the swing of things today. The V-diet ended after about 8 days. I was so miserable and always had pukey coughs that i decided to shelve it this time around. It was much harder this time for some reason, maybe because i am a lot heavier. Who knows? Trying to eat a little better, but I am just not that hungry most of the time.
10/4/13
Deadlift: 135x3, 185x3, 225x3, 275x3, 315x1, 365x1, 410x1
Leg Curl: 3x15
Ab Machine: 3x12
I had planned to just work up to 315 for 3x5 or something but they put up a records board at our gym recently, and the guy that I’m pretty good friends with there had the DL at 405 (I think he did it for 5 reps, doesn’t understood the concept of 1RM lol) so I wanted to piss him off and barely beat him. This was my first time at over 315, I think, since I injured myself wayyy back in June 2010. It felt good. Somewhat tough, and the bar got out in front of me a little bit, but there was absolutely no pain which was very encouraging. Means I should be able to settle back into a DL routine.
Finished off with some light easy assistance and went home.
I go to the Dominican Republic for my buddy’s wedding here in a couple weeks so my goal is to just get in there 4 days a week and run the shell of 5-3-1 and get back into the swing of things, and start to program my routine after the DR. I will try to work on my form and get used to the weights again for a few weeks before testing my 1 RM and starting on the true 5-3-1 program.
I think this is really what I need right now, something with structure that will get me back into the swing of things and I can ease back into…
Expecting soreness tomorrow lol
Yes, finally. You just need to get consistent again.
[quote]spar4tee wrote:
Yes, finally. You just need to get consistent again.[/quote]
You’re right about that buddy…ain’t nuttin to it but to do it
10/7/13
Squat: Warmups, 275x3x5
Leg Extensions: 3x12
Did 3x5 of 275 tonight, which felt like a pretty decent weight. Pretty good starting point from there for when I start back on Starting Strength after my vacation to the Dominican next week.
Tried to do some ab wheel but the lower part of my quad’s tendons were real tight and pulled it hard. Gonna roll the shit out of my IT bands and psoas before next session to open them up.
Benchin’ Wednesday.
10/9/13
Benchin (all x3): 135, 165, 195, 225, 255
Row Machine: 3x10
Chest Press machine: 3x10
Face Pulls; 4x12
Bench felt pretty wobbly, which is to be expected after not benching in 6 (?) months. Middle few sets felt real good, and 255 felt real heavy, so stopped there for the night. I am satisfied with this for first night back. Hit some B.S. assistance work on the machines, crushed some face pulls for shoulder health, and got out.
Easy.
Gonna go deadlift Thursday night since I am heading outta town on Friday for the night, and OHP Saturday evening.
Less than a week to the Dominican…
Went to the Dominican and did some workouts prior to that, but didn’t log them and don’t remember what they were at this point. We went down for my buddy’s wedding. It was pretty tight. They had fire shows and dudes walking on stilts and a really large breasted dancer…i was a fan. Had an awesome time down there relaxing and chilling on the beach and at the pool, and eating good food. Got back into the gym tonight
10/28/13
Foam Roll: Back/Glutes/Pecs
Squat: 135x3, 185x3, 225x3, 275x3, 315x3, 365x1, 405x1
Leg Extensions: 3x10
Leg Curls: 3x10
Ab Wheel: 3x8
Tibalias Band Movement Thing: 3x10
Cardio: 20 minutes elliptical
Went to squat tonight and was feeling good and had a goal to work up to 365 for a single. Well that went well so I got a little crazy and hit the 4 plate mark, and took a video to prove it. I was a bit shaky on the descent and the initiation of my lift looks a little funny (though I can’t put my finger on it) but I figure that will come. The weight was easy enough and flew up out of the hole, which made me happy. I obviously have a VERY long way to go, but I was very pleased with this post-surgery PR. This was up there with the heaviest I have gone since I hurt myself in June 2012. Only way to go from here is up.
Hit some assistance afterwards, including using a band to try and strengthen my tibalias. This dorsi-flexion movement seems to be really weak on my left leg since my surgery/nerve impingement so I want to see if I can strengthen that movement a bit. I can’t even stomp or stand on the heel of that foot, which ain’t right. Can’t hurt to see if it gets better I reckon.
Benchin’ Tuesday…
Looks good to me, man. I’m still going to beat you though.
[quote]spar4tee wrote:
Looks good to me, man. I’m still going to beat you though.[/quote]
How far off are you?
[quote]VTBalla34 wrote:
Went to the Dominican and did some workouts prior to that, but didn’t log them and don’t remember what they were at this point. We went down for my buddy’s wedding. It was pretty tight. They had fire shows and dudes walking on stilts and a really large breasted dancer…i was a fan. Had an awesome time down there relaxing and chilling on the beach and at the pool, and eating good food. Got back into the gym tonight
10/28/13
Foam Roll: Back/Glutes/Pecs
Squat: 135x3, 185x3, 225x3, 275x3, 315x3, 365x1, 405x1
Leg Extensions: 3x10
Leg Curls: 3x10
Ab Wheel: 3x8
Tibalias Band Movement Thing: 3x10
Cardio: 20 minutes elliptical
Went to squat tonight and was feeling good and had a goal to work up to 365 for a single. Well that went well so I got a little crazy and hit the 4 plate mark, and took a video to prove it. I was a bit shaky on the descent and the initiation of my lift looks a little funny (though I can’t put my finger on it) but I figure that will come. The weight was easy enough and flew up out of the hole, which made me happy. I obviously have a VERY long way to go, but I was very pleased with this post-surgery PR. This was up there with the heaviest I have gone since I hurt myself in June 2012. Only way to go from here is up.
Hit some assistance afterwards, including using a band to try and strengthen my tibalias. This dorsi-flexion movement seems to be really weak on my left leg since my surgery/nerve impingement so I want to see if I can strengthen that movement a bit. I can’t even stomp or stand on the heel of that foot, which ain’t right. Can’t hurt to see if it gets better I reckon.
Benchin’ Tuesday…[/quote]
What up son!? Sorry to hear about all your injuries, glad you’re getting back. That looked like you were squatting an empty bar. That’s fucking crazy that you can take over a year off and smoke 405. Hope all is well brother.
[quote]VTBalla34 wrote:
[quote]spar4tee wrote:
Looks good to me, man. I’m still going to beat you though.[/quote]
How far off are you?[/quote]
I’ll let you know when it’s not shit.
[quote]WhiteFlash wrote:
What up son!? Sorry to hear about all your injuries, glad you’re getting back. That looked like you were squatting an empty bar. That’s fucking crazy that you can take over a year off and smoke 405. Hope all is well brother.
[/quote]
It definitely sucked ass not being able to work out at all, then not being able to do waht I wanted, but that just makes me appreciate it a bit more now. Gotta really try to stay injury free from here on out and look at training as a gift that I don’t wanan give back…I’m a greedy mothafuka like that!
Good hearing from you bro.
[quote]spar4tee wrote:
I’ll let you know when it’s not shit.[/quote]
Well alrighty then
10/29/13
Benchin: Worked up to something like 265x3, then 295x1, 315x1
Lat Pulldowns: 3x10
Chest Press Machine: 3x10
Curl Machine: 3x10
Face Pulls; 3x12
The barbell feels really heavy in my hands, but I guess that is to be expected after the layoff I’ve had. Back in March I hurt my right elbow doing dumbass side laterals with momentum, but that seems to be perfectly fine now. My right shoulder is still a bit garbled up, but I think it will become more mobile as I start to get back into the swing of things.
Worked up to a 3 plate single, which wasn’t too difficult. The benches at the Gold’s near where I moved to are the worst in the world though–I can’t lift there heavy without a handoff since they are so low, it’s basically a pin press which I suck at.
Hit some accessory, and called it a night without cardio.
Debating hitting the gym to deadlift tonight on Halloween, or putting on a costume and going to get some discounted Chipotle for 'dem gainz and deadlifting tomorrow. Game time decision.
10/31/13
Foam Roll: Glutes, Quads, Hammies, IT Band, Back
Deadlift: 135x3, 185x3, 225x3, 275x3, 315x3
Leg curl: 3x12
Ab Wheel: 2x8
Tibialis Band Curl: 4x15 (with 10 second pause on last rep)
Cardio: 22 minutes elliptical
Decided to hit the gym instead of trying to get Chipotle. Good decision on my part because they were apparently packed with 50+ teenagers trying to score discounted goodness. Ain’t nobody got time for that.
Went and deadlifted and worked up to just 315x3. I forgot my belt (amateur) and didn’t want to push the DL without it. The 315 was a bit slow and felt a bit heavy, but was fine for a working set.
Hit some accessory after my main lift. Hammies started cramping up bad on the leg curls and my abs are still sore from Monday so backed off a bit on the ab wheel here. Finished with some sets with the band to try and strengthen my tibialis.
Speaking of which, this is a weird exercise and people are probably wondering WTF I am doing it. While my disc was herniated (or maybe even before, I really don’t know) my left L5 nerve was impinged (confirmed by electronic nerve/stim testing) and this nerve controls the tibialis muscle, or so I am told. Basically, any sort of curl in my lower leg is weak as fuck now.
One of the diagnostic tests the surgeon and DO docs wanted me to do was walk on my heels with my toes pointed up. Right leg was fine, but left leg instantly collapsed when I put weight on it. It has gotten better since surgery but is still noticeably weaker, and affects my gait and ability to use that leg/foot properly. I can’t stomp or march, and it is hard to not just flat foot wihle walking, especially in boots. So I want to strengthen it and see if that helps my gait. It ought to.
Finished off with some easy cardio watching the Bengals/Dolphins game. I had the Bengals as my D on Fantasy this week and those fuckers gave up 22 points. Well, they really only gave up 16 but the O gave up a Pick 6 and a Safety in overtime, and ESPN’s stupid fantasy league counts those offensive SNAFU’s against the D so I lost points on D because of their inept offense. Pretty ghey. Fuck the Dolfins…
OHP’ing tomorrow for the first time in a pretty long while. Pretty excited, since that is my favorite lift.
11/2/13
Foam Roll: Glutes, Lats, Thoracic, Quads
OHP: Worked up to 185x3 (from clean)
Row Machine: 3x12
Lateral Raise: 3x12
Bicep Curls: 3x10
Face Pulls: 4x12
Cardio: 20 minutes elliptical
Went to another gym for this one and found out they don’t have a power rack with hooks on the outside (I am too tall to OHP in a standard rack). that sucked. Sucked even more I waited for the rack for 15 minutes before finding that out. Ghey. So I did OHP at a bench instead, and just cleaned the weight up. Not too difficult for this low of weight, but obviously am going to have to 86 that gym for my real OHP workouts once I get back into the swing of things.
Finisihed up with some b.s. assistance and a bit of cardio and went and hit Chipotle.
Hips/Back are feeling pretty good after this week, which is encouraging. I am also eating a lot cleaner and gained a hole on my beltloop as of this morning, so that looks like it is heading in the right direction. Sitting at about 295 in the mornings right now. Got a ways to go there, but my primary concern is my health. My last bloodwork was TERRIBLE so need to lose a bit of weight and get some more activity in and stop eating like shit. So far so good.
11/4/13
Foam Roll: Thoracic, Lats, Glutes, Quads
Squats (3x5): 265, 295, 325
Leg Press Machine: 4x10
Ab Wheel: 3x10
Tibialis Stick Lifts: 4x10-12
Cardio: 20 minutes elliptical
Got some good rolling in on my thoracic spine, with a lot of popping. Felt nice and loose coming out of that. Had been having a bit of mobility pain getting into squat position on the bar, but this seems to have helped a bit.
Squats were fine. Felt somewhat heavyish, but a good weight to get back into the swing of things. Just did 3x5, basically like the 5’s week on 531.
Hit some leg press machine and ab wheels for assistance. Nothing exciting there.
Found a new way to try and strengthen my tibialis (found out it is the tibialis anterior I am looking for–the dorsiflexion muscle) by using a weighted stick and whilst sitting, putting it on my foot and curling my toes and foot upwards towards my shin. They have different weights, all the way up to like 30 pounds, but I just used the lightest one tonight and modulated the weight by pressing down on it with my hands. gonna try the 9 pound one next workout and see how that works out. It seems to be getting a bit stronger, but left is noticeably WAY weaker than the right still. I think this is going to be a good rehab movement for me though.
Finished off with 20 minutes of cardio on the elliptical. Had planned to shoot for 25 or so, but it was miserably hot in the gym tonight so I stopped at 20 and called it a night.
Onwards…
This pleases me.