KB squeeze carry:
1 min on/1 min off with the 70lb KB. Also almost full length walks to and from the shed.
Good day. I’m really just trying to cover all the basics so I have more time to do things like play basketball, which I did yesterday. This day came about because I want to bring back some explosive lifts and I added on the SLDLs because I want strong hamstrings.
DB OH Carries:
5 sets with the 25 lb DBs. Middle three sets were done using my normal distance that ends up being about 1 minute in duration. Had to take a break about 2/3-3/4 of the way through each of these where I dropped the weights and help them at my sides for a few seconds.
I suck so hard at overhead work. My technique is definitely garbage. All good, I’ll keep workin this lift until it becomes respectable.
Then some front rack carries with a 135 lb barbell.
This was a good day. I felt good about my form. 285 for a triple is definitely a PR, so I’m happy about that. Last rep of this set I fell forward some but overall form and strength were good. Strangely not much to say about good days haha.
7/3/2014 - Pullups
(Weight listed is that added to the belt, I weigh something like 175 give or take)
403
503
603
702 (PR)
553
602 (i think)
Farmers carries with 90lb KBs.
PR with the 70lb KB was kind of cheap because I had never tried pullups with that much weight before. I really like the weighted pullups. Farmers are really hard on this day, my upperback and lats feel like they are crushed by the weight. Still makes sense to have them on this day. I’m just making them harder through ways other than simply adding weight.
BB front rack/back carry:
Felt really heavy today in the front rack position, so did some of this with the bar on my traps. This was still hard. I just got my heart rate up and called it at this point.
Pretty happy about the PR double with 295. 195 ties the most I’ve power cleaned before, 205 was not happening though. Looking forward to a recovery day tomorrow with maybe some prowler pushes.
The people at the gym were pissed off about people leaving their weights lying around, so they closed the gym for like 30 minutes right when I got there in order to pick things up. This was weak, so my brother and I worked on muscle-ups and pullup stuff for a while. We each managed one ugly looking muscle up a piece haha. I need to get better at kipping. Then I went down to the park by my house and walked a little bit, bit some more pullups, and did an eight minute crawl, which is the longest I’ve managed so far.
Doin some BW stuff, partially because this week is supposed to be a deload, and partially because I recently have been getting into this stuff again. I should be more goal oriented, but I workout for myself, so why not do the things I like? The exercises and mobility stuff I am doing on these days is intended to develop skills like front/back levers, mannas, planches, handstands, etc. Obviously these skills take years to develop.
7/15/2014 - Lower
Squats:
22510
22510
225*10
Snatches:
worked up to a single with 125
OH BB Carries:
3 carries of around a minute with 65 lbs. I need to add weight to these, but I have to say they feel awesome. I have never been more aware of my lower traps.
So basically I will be working BW progressions and doing carries for my upper body work in the foreseeable future. I am planning on doing lower body work a couple of times a week. To be honest, I am not concerned about my upper body strength in the gym whatsoever. I took a similar approach a couple of years ago (although I will be doing things slightly differently this time), and managed to get a double with my previous bench press PR.
I’ve decided to bring my log back. I stopped logging for a number of unimportant reasons. I definitely didn’t stop working out during that time. My squat has been progressing decently. Did a couple workouts of 5*5 with 265 (only getting four reps on the last set) using the double progression method. I was typically adding in paused squats after that.
As far as upper body goes, I was doing well and enjoying my bodyweight workouts. I actually managed to get an inconsistent 5 second handstand or so. However, I underestimated how much work my forearms would get and were getting, and ended up with some elbow tendinosis. Sucks. I was training handstands every day on top of my other bodyweight work, and it just creeped up on me. Obviously, I ignored the initial symptoms and kept pushing. It took me a while to accept that I needed to cease all upper body training, at which point I took about 10 weeks off of upper work. A few weeks ago I tried to ease back into it, but it’s still a little too soon.
All of that stuff has brought me to where I am now. Yesterday, I started the Greyskull program. I still plan on getting back into handstand work and some of the other bodyweight stuff, but for now I am focusing exclusively on weight training. Lifting has never bothered my elbows in any way whatsoever, so my thinking is that I will be able to lift while I let my elbows heal. My program is as follows:
Push Press - 25, 111 with 135.
Weighted Chins - 18, 17 with 25 lbs added
Squat - 25, 19 with 235
Rear delt raises - 120, 124 with 15s
Neck harness - did 4*25 with manual resistance from a towel around my head
Going to order a neck harness to start doing them weighted. I’ve never really considered training my neck, but it sounds badass so I’m going to give it a shot. If I can add an inch or so on my neck in a few months because I’ve never trained it before, well then why wouldn’t I do it?
Played about an hour and a half of basketball yesterday (3/25)
Today’s workout:
Bench - 25, 19 with 185
One arm BB rows - 210 with 3 25’s, each arm
EZ Bar curls - 112, 111 with 70 lbs
Deads - Did a few doubles and singles while warming up, then 17 with 315
Came home and did some neck work with a towel, because I’m waiting for my neck harness to arrive. Finished with 20 burpees in 1 minute, rested about a minute, then 10 in 30 seconds. I’ve always hated burpees but the greyskull creator and community seem to love them, so I’m throwing them in there.
Workout was fun. I like busting my ass on one or two sets of a given movement, then moving on. I have definitely let my bench and dead strength slip a bit since I haven’t been doing these movements for a while. It probably wouldn’t have been a bad idea to start a little lighter on deads, but it’s all good. This lift progresses slower in the program than the squat, so I’m not worried about it.
I’m also doing sub-max sets of chins (6 reps) and pushups (20) throughout the day. Doing these nowhere close to failure, and gradually introducing them, due to my elbow issues.
Thursday, March 26 - ran some sprints, then did a couple rounds of prowler pushes plus burpees
Friday, March 27 -
Push press: 25, 110 at 140
Weighted NG chins: 18, 19 with +25 pounds
Rear Delt DB raise: 130, 124 with 15s
Squat: 25, 18 at 240
Pretty happy with this one, especially because I had about five hours of sleep and took a pt test this morning. 74 push-ups, 90 sit-ups, and ran a 1330. I also max the run, which means 13 flat or faster, but I was pacing another guy for the first mile, then picked it up the second mile since it was only a diagnostic. Split 730/600 miles.
Did some various conditioning work on Saturday and Sunday.
Monday 3/30
Bench: 25, 18 with 190
One Arm BB Row: 18, 19 with 3 25’s and a 5
EZ Bar curl: 112, 113 with 70 lbs
Squat: 25, 17 with 245
This was a tough workout. I was very tired from drill this weekend. I powered through the workout anyways. My neck harness just arrived in the mail today. I may try it out today or wait until my next lifting session, which is tomorrow.
Tuesday, 3/31 - ran some sprints, did some burpees and broad jumps to finish
Wednesday, 4/1
Push Press - 15, 17 at 145
Weighted Chins - 18, 17 with 30 lbs added
DB rear delt raise - 130, 126 with 15s
Deads - 1*6 with 320
Did a couple powercleans as I warmed up far deads. Rough workout, but not terrible. My sleep has been awful and my stress is extremely high due to some personal life events. I will keep moving forward.
Forgot to say about workout on 4/1 that I used my neck harness for 4*30 with 10 lbs added when I got home. Also, after I was done lifting at the gym, I went outside to the track and did 3 circuits of farmers walks with 90lb kettlebells and burpees.
Did some sprints, broad jumps, burpees, and a few bear crawls on Thursday and Saturday. I do something along these lines if I am not lifting or playing tennis/basketball.
Friday, 4/3/15
Bench: 25, 18 at 195
one arm BB row: 29 with 85 lbs added on the bar
DB rear delt raise: 230 with 15s
Squats: 25, 16 with 250
Neck harness when I got home: 4*25 with 20 lbs added
Bench felt really strong, possibly as a result of the frequent pushups and pullups I have added in on most days. I definitely got 8 this time, because I like to live dangerously and didn’t use a spotter. Rows felt pretty heavy, but I still added one rep. I just realized as I was writing this up that I also added weight, which I did not mean to do. Nice.
I was supposed to do curls after rows, but I forgot and did rear delts instead. Oh well, I reached my rep/set goal anyways so it’s time to move up in weight for DB raises.
Squats actually kind of sucked. That sixth rep on the AMRAP set was ugly. I have been trying to think ‘chest’ when squatting because my upper back tends to collapse when my form breaks down. I think I have a mental block when it comes to squatting. When I first started lifting, my squat blew up, but at some point it came to a halt and I really haven’t been able to move it much at all for a couple of years. Overall, I need to work on my technique, and stay aggressive within the confines of a well designed program. I am enjoying the Greyskull training methods, and am excited to see where it takes me.
Finally, neck harness work is badass. Sure my neck is a little stiff at times, but I just want a strong neck haha.
Push Press: 25, 16 with 150
Weighted NG Chins: 28 with 30 lbs added
Rear Delt DB raise: 125, 123 with 20s
Squats: 25, 1*7 with 255
Neck harness for 30, 25, 25, and 26 with 20 lbs added when I got home plus finishing frequency method pushups and pullups
I strongly prefer the push press to the strict press because I can feel myself engaging more of my upper back, and it doesn’t irritate my shoulders. That being said, it is much more technical, and I am not as consistent on each rep as I would like to be. Still managed to get an extra rep on the AMRAP set. I am hoping to at least hit the minimum 3*5 for another couple of sessions. This list more than any other makes me think I should suck it up and get some fractional plates/weights.
Managed to add a rep on chins and, therefore, reach my rep range goal. Ready to move up to +35lbs on Friday. I may just do the DB rear delt raises every day. I really want to focus on my upper back size/strength as well as shoulder health, and I feel like the weighted chins plus frequent pullups every day is providing enough stimulus for my arms to grow at this time. I will monitor this and adjust based on how I am feeling and responding.
Squats were improved. Managed to get an extra rep at 5lbs heavier than my last session. Form fell apart some towards the end, but was also improved from last Friday. The only real difference was I wore shoes with a firm sole for this workout instead of my squishy Nike athletic shoes, which I wore on Friday. Either way, I was happy with this.
This week I am doing 7 sets of 6 pullups and 20 pushups throughout each day.
Bench: 25, 18 at 200
One Arm BB Row: 110, 19 with 85 lbs added
Rear delt DB Raise: 126, 124 with 20s
Deads: warmed up with power until a hit a couple singles with 185, then 325*6 for the work set of deads
Ran a couple errands after the gym, then came home and finished up my last couple sets of pullups and pushups in between Neck Harness: 4*30 with 20 lbs
I’m happy with this workout. Really had to push to get that last rep on bench. I could probably have squeezed out another rep on deads but it’s just not worth it when my form would have deteriorated horribly. Gotta keep up the intensity every single set. I’m really enjoying this new routine, but I can’t let myself start slacking.
Gonna play some tennis tonight because we managed to get four of us to commit, which means epic doubles matches. Plus, I have to go pick up my new car after work tomorrow, so I may not have time to get a great workout in. Just kidding I’ll get some sprints in most likely but still.
Push Press: 25, 16 with 155
Weighted chins: 28 with 35 lbs
Rear delt DB raise: 128, 126 with 20s
Squats: 25, 16 with 260
Neck Harness 435 with 20lbs and finished my FM pushups and pullups at home
Pretty happy about the push press AMRAP set. Second set was pretty damn tough but I got fired up for the last one. Last rep on the second set of chins was a grinder but I just kept pulling and somehow cleared the bar. Rear delts are slowly but surely moving in the right direction.
I would’ve liked to have gotten another rep on the AMRAP set of squats, but I’m honestly still happy with this. My form was strangely good on the last set, except for the last rep which got a little ugly. But I focused on engaging my glutes, which kept my knees pushed out rather than caving in slightly, which they tend to do when I squat. This kept my chest from collapsing so dramatically. I dunno but I think I stumbled upon something here. People always say to force your knees out to engage the glutes, but I have fairly well developed glutes and can engage them pretty well. So, for me, the inverse seems to be true: focusing on engaging my glutes keeps my knees out. Nice.