21.1.4 - 1/1/14
OHP (5’s): 145, 170, 190 (8)
Lat Pulldown: 3x10
Chest Machine Flys: 3x12
Curls for the gurls: 3x10
Hit a fairly decent OHP today. Pretty sore now. Couldn’t shower without cramping up. Need more sodium in my Shelby diet. Abs cramped up bad today to the point I couldn’t stand for like 5 minutes earlier today from the Ab Wheel last night. Gnarly.
No cardio because I was feeling light headed from not eating for a while before this. Will make it up tomorrow. Diet is going well.
Ab wheel will assassinate you if you underestimate it lol. I feel you on the pressing. Seems to be the least affected by all my injuries on a consistent basis.
[quote]spar4tee wrote:
Ab wheel will assassinate you if you underestimate it lol. [/quote]
For real man. That damn thing is no joke. I really feel like it is good for my low back too, so I keep doing it
[quote]
I feel you on the pressing. Seems to be the least affected by all my injuries on a consistent basis.[/quote]
Which is weird since it gets a bad rap for “destroying the shoulders”. Mine have yet to be destroyed.
1/4/14
Cardio: 10 minutes of intervals on bike (15 on/45 off), 5 minute warmup, 10 minute cool down
1/5/14
Cardio: 12 minutes of intervals on bike (15 on/45 off), 5 minute warmup, 10 minute cool down
These were my two low carb days this weekend. Started at 10 and working my way up to 15 minutes as prescribed. I wanted to take it easy in case I had some residual tightness in the lower body due to the inactivity.
Will probably do 15 on Wednesday.
Went out and drank last night and got Taco Bell late night, but other than that the diet is still on point.
Medium carb day tomorrow with squats, followed by basketball practice. Will be switching my high carb day to bench day on Tuesday.
21.2.1 - 1/6/14
Squat (3’s): 175, 200, 225 (10)
Single Leg Press: 3x10
Ab Wheel: 3x10
Band Dorsiflexion: 4x12
Cardio: 25 minutes steady state on elliptical, 131 AVG HR
Easy workout. In and out in less than an hour and a quarter. Did 10 reps on my last set, and felt smooth and strong. I got a pint of blood pheltbotomized earlier in the evening and ate oreos and orange juice afterwards. If this is going to be a regular thing, I may start bringing diet-compliant food instead lol
Diet is good. Still on point, except for replacing one of my meals with oreos and O.J. Gym closed before I could get all my cardio in.
It is cold as balls here. I’m hoping work gets cancelled for cold tomorrow. Benchin and high carb day Tuesday.
21.2.2 - 1/7/14
Bench (3’s): 240, 275, 305 (6)
DB Rows (3x12): 65 65 65
OHP Machine: 3x12
Face Pulls: 4x15
High carb day so no cardio. Good diet day.
Session went well. Bench setup felt tight. I went to a different gym hoping they would have better benches–they didn’t. They were actually worse, with narrower bench and only slightly higher uprights. I kept falling sideways off it. So I got the good idea to pull a free bench into the squat rack and use that. It was actually nice and thick and wide and worked pretty well. Got the uprights set up to a good height. I am going to bench there going forward. It is closer to my house too.
My “core” during DB Rows was MUCH more stable tonight. I am going to stick with the same weights next week hoping for more stabilization before starting to increase the weight.
Low carb and HIIT day tomorrow. Got a PT appointment earlier in the day too.
Have to lift with you one of these days. Hopefully we’ll both be healthy by then since it’ll be summer lol.
[quote]spar4tee wrote:
Have to lift with you one of these days. Hopefully we’ll both be healthy by then since it’ll be summer lol.[/quote]
Definitely dude. Hit me up the next time you are gonna be in DC. As long as we can both survive, I’m down.
1/8/14
Cardio: 15 minutes intervals on bike (15 on/45 off)
1/9/14
Cardio: Basketball game
We barely lost our first bball game by 2. We were down by like 16 or something during the game, just couldn’t come back in time. My conditioning is garbage but I felt ok. Back is sore as fuck now though. I am hoping it holds up enough for me to play the rest of the year.
Also, I went to the PT yesterday and they did a “core assessment”. Basically measure how long you can hold a certain position. My results were not good, sub-40 year old status. That is embarrassing. Need to find a way to improve that. Ironically, it is the PT test that kinda shows me that my PT really isn’t working all that well. Decisions to be made.
Deadlifting Friday and going to a buddy’s birthday dinner so gonna eat some bad food. Its gonna be so tasty.
21.2.3 - 1/10/14
Foam Rolling/Lax Ball work (getting some good movement/pops in the thoracic area lately)
Deadlift (3’s): 195, 225, 250 (10)
Cardio: 30 minutes on elliptical @ 135 BPM average HR
Didn’t have a lot of time tonight. Went to the gym during after-work hour and it was packed. Everybody was occupying the 4 squat racks, squatting quarter of the way down if they were lucky. That cost me some time and I had no time for assistance. Got my main movement in. Lifts felt strong and easy. My back was pretty sore going in after bball last night but the foam roller/lax work helped out a ton.
Hit my cardio and went to Japanese steakhouse to my buddy’s birthday and ate a shitload of food. It was pretty damn delicious. THere was also cake. Then we went to a bar and I got into a fight with the parking lot attendants. Cops came and told the attendants they were dumb and needed to give me my money back. Ripoff scam artist pieces of shit.
21.2.4 - 1/11/14
OHP (3’s): 160, 185, 205 (5…I think)
Today sucked. Had a headache and went to the gym closest to me not realizing their ceilings are super low and I can’t overhead press there. I did these sitting down which was surprisingly harder than standing, and I felt weak as fuck. I got 5 reps or so. Don’t really remember. I left after this since I felt like shit.
[quote]VTBalla34 wrote:
21.2.4 - 1/11/14
OHP (3’s): 160, 185, 205 (5…I think)
Today sucked. Had a headache and went to the gym closest to me not realizing their ceilings are super low and I can’t overhead press there. I did these sitting down which was surprisingly harder than standing, and I felt weak as fuck. I got 5 reps or so. Don’t really remember. I left after this since I felt like shit.
[/quote]
It’s funny. Seated warriors try to press standing realizing that dem dere stabilizer muscles dress up like princesses and sip tea. People going from standing to seated lack the pure vanity in the kinetic chain and sometimes move less weight. Being strong is easy. Getting strong(er) ain’t easy lol.
[quote]spar4tee wrote:
It’s funny. Seated warriors try to press standing realizing that dem dere stabilizer muscles dress up like princesses and sip tea. People going from standing to seated lack the pure vanity in the kinetic chain and sometimes move less weight. Being strong is easy. Getting strong(er) ain’t easy lol.[/quote]
haha yeah man…I hadnt done it sitting down since like 2009 or something when I first started working out. It was surprising.
1/12/14
Skipped cardio this day and didn’t follow diet very strictly. Went to eat some Korean BBQ wings with some friends and also to outback with the little lady. Pretty good day though.
Woke up today at 294, which is about 10 pounds lost in about 2 weeks.
21.3.1 - 1/13/14
Foam Roll: Thoracic, Glutes, IT Band
Stretch: Groin
Squat (531): 190, 215, 240 (10)
Ab Wheel: 3x10
Single Leg Press: 3x10
Cardio: Basketball practice
Easy squat day tonight. This was one of the better squat sessions I’ve had in a long time. Weights felt light and quick, and my hips and back felt loose and strong. The gym had the fans going too so I also didn’t sweat my ass off, which was a nice bonus.
This workout was quick as I didn’t rest too much, mostly because I got there late and needed to hustle to make it to bball practice. In and out in under an hour and made it to bball for about an hour and a quarter’s worth of hooping. My game is still pretty off but getting better. Need to get better touch on my jumpshot, as I have completely lost that. Back is pretty sore right now but should be fine tomorrow. Might go sit in the hottub after tomorrow’s session.
I have a PT appointment and more phlebotomizing before working out tomorrow. Should be nice and loose and blood drained lol.
21.3.2 - 1/14/14
Benchin (531): 255, 290, 325 (9)
DB Rows (3x12): 65
Overhead Press Machine: 3x10
Face Pulls: 4x15
Pretty damn close to a PR tonight, which is amazing to me considering the long lay off. I’m sure the increased bodyweight contributes to that, but I haven’t benched seriously in over 8 months, and only for bodybuilding training then. Last time I was going heavy was October 2012. I really had to squeeze that last rep out and probably shouldn’t have, but I ended up muscling it up. Pretty stoked.
Hit my assistance and got out. No cardio since it is a high carb day.
Low carb day and HIIT tomorrow.
Also got some good news at my phlebotomy appointment. My Doc wants my hemoglobin down below 16 and it was like 17.2 last time I went in, dropping about half a point each time we take a pint out. For some reason it was only 15.4 today when I went in so we didnt’ have to do a draw. This was pretty inexplicable to both me and the phlebotomist but is an encouraging sign. My next appointment is 2 weeks from now where we will retest and see where its at again.
Nice.
Good to see you’ve been back at it! Stay strong!
Thanks guys…I’m just excited to be back into a routine again. I know that as long as I am putting in the work, the strength will come as it always has. Just gotta stay focused and injury free
21.3.3 - 1/16/14
Foam Roll: Back, glutes, quads, IT bands
Lax: Glutes, shoulders, hips
Stretch: Groin
Deadlift (531): 205, 235, 260 (10)
Single Leg Curls: 3x12
Hanging abs: 10, 10, 8
Cardio: 30 minutes steady state on elliptical [132 BPM Heart Rate]
Pretty decent session. Warm-ups for the deadlift felt like ass and the gym was hot and I was sweating like shit. The other gym I squatted at last Monday was way better temperature wise. My back and knees were achy and the first work sets did not feel stellar. Put the belt on for the last set and knocked out an easy 10 reps, which was fine in the end. Hit some assistance and did my cardio.
Low Carb day plus basketball game tomorrow.
1/17/14
Cardio: Basketball Game
I played a little less than half the game. We have a deep bench this year and the team we were playing wasn’t very good so my services weren’t needed for the majority of the game. I ended up with 11 points and 10 boards or so. Not a bad night. I can’t make a jump shot to save my life yet as my touch is still WAY off (too strong haha) but that will come as the season moves along. Got some good open looks just couldn’t sink them. Inside game was dominant as there aren’t any big guys in this league, and even the ones that are really aren’t all that big. That is fine on Offense but then it makes me play out on the wing on defense which is not my forte and cuts into my defensive rebounds.
Gonna go OHP later today.
21.3.4 - 1/18/14
OHP (531): 170, 190, 215 (5)
Lat Pulldowns: 3x12
Fly Machine: 3x10
Curl machine: 3x10
OHP seems to be struggling a bit but I’m not too concerned given the layoff. It was the only lift that was actually maintained decently while I was injured so it’s a bit surprising to see that it’s given me problems now though. Still got it for 5 which is fine. Hit some assistance and called it a night.
Got my weigh-in and pic updates tomorrow, along with bodyfat.
Done with deload week. It was boring and nothing to talk about. I was also on travel for work so I missed some cardio sessions and didn’t eat very well on the diet. Got another work trip this coming week so I will be doing a better job of planning and sticking to it.
I think I’m going to add 15 pounds to my lower body lifts and 5 to upper body for this next cycle. I will probably do this until I can no longer get 10 reps on each of my squat/deadlift AMRAP sets for all 3 of the weeks. This should allow me to get plenty of reps in while not pushing the weak muscles too badly. Once that slows I can get back to the regular 10 pound increments.
22.1.1 - 1/27/14
Squat (5s): 170, 200, 225 (10)
Ab Machine: 4x12 or something
Back Extensions: 4x15 or something
22.1.2 - 1/28/14
Bench (5s): 225, 260, 295 (8)
DB Rows (3x12): 70 70 70
Cardio: 30 minutes steady steady on elliptical (139 BPM heart rate)
I was on travel in Seattle for work the first part of this week, which really fucked up my schedule going to the west coast. All 3 of my flights were delayed (2 out, 1 back) and I spent entirely too much time on flights and in airports. I skipped deadlifts tonight because I think Im getting a little sick and slept instead even though I got 10 hours last night. My girl and I go up to BUffalo tomorrow to finalize things for the wedding and then I fly to San Diego on Monday for yet another week of travel. Fun Fun.
I’m still eating pretty well but not in accordance with teh Shleby diet. 6 weeks straight of travel was not conducive to that. Not sure how my progress is going but I am still getting into the gym and eating ok…
Will try to make up deadlifts tomorrow or saturday with OHP if I get a chance depending on our schedule.
22.2.1 - 2/3/14
Squats (3’s): 185, 210, 240 (10)
Single Leg Press: 3x10
Crunch Machine: 4x12
Back Extensions 4x15
Sat on a plate all day flying back to the West Coast after a weekend in Buffalo. San Diego is way better. In the past 3 weeks I have been to all 4 corners of the US and will be travelling to the heartland (Rock Island, Illionis, ugh) next week and flying out of Des Moines. Ridiculous travel schedule.
I ended up not getting my DL and OHP sessions in last week but starting anew this week with Skwats. My belt was uncomfortable when I put it on for the last set and I felt uncomfortable in the hole but the weight felt light and easy. My dorsi-flexion in that left foot is improving too as I can almost walk on the heel. Abs and low back were super pumped after this workout…I nearly had to crawl to get to my car. Fun stuff.
benching tomorrow
