ExRx.net

Monday, 8 December

Sleep 6 hr

Wt 174#

Worked until about 4:30--to gym with Judy.

DL/Rack Pull
185#x5
225#x5
From 2" 255#x3
From 6" 275#x3
From 10" 295x3

SS Chin/PU
Chin 5/5/5/5/3
Push Up 11/11/11/11/7

Wt. Switches
Supposed to be 4 11# weights 5 round trips, but the time makes me think it was only 4
57 seconds

Cuban Ratations 20#**
3 x 8

Left Gym at about 5:20.

* These are all PRs for each height
** New lift for me

Wednesday, 10 December

Sleep: 5 1/2 hr (on call)

Wt. didn't check

Afternoon "off". Thought I'd have to work because we're short handed, but one of the docs who wasn't going to be there today showed up. To the gym alone about 3:50. Judy didn't work out because we're taking care of the kids of a couple who is away for meetings.

Squat (front)
BW x a bunch
45# x 5
65# x 5
75# x 5
85# x 5
95# x 5

Press
45# x 10
65# x 5
85# 5 x 7

Face Pull
43# x 12
73# x 8
93# x 5 x 8

Side plank
3 sets 45 seconds each side

Cuban Rotations
30# 3x5

Experimented a little with plank variations, External rotations

Left gym at about 5:45. Too long, but it was a good session.

Front squats. I'm still not real happy with these. I think I'm getting the hang of holding the bar. I tried some alternatives, but I have gone back to a traditional grip, and I'm learning to rest the bar on my deltoids, not my hands. In fact the bar is nearly completely out of my hand by the time it's in position. I actually think my forearms are too long. If I keep the bar in my hands, it's too high. I can get it down on my deltoids only by letting it slip up to the tips of my fingers. At first I thought my wrists were inflexible, but they aren't really.

The problem is what to do with it when I'm done with the set. I can't really get my fingers around the bar again, so I sort of catch it with my elbows. However the bigger issue is that I'm so focused on holding the bar, that I'm not really thinking about good form, a tight core, etc.

Press--This is how they are supposed to be, not the crazy sets I did on Saturday (7/6/6/5/7).

Face Pulls--The hardest thing about these is keeping my head still, and not nodding forward to simulate full rom. If you can't pull the weight to your head, move your head to the weight. I didn't count some reps for this reason.

Cuban Rotations--I've become convinced that I need a little external rotation work for shoulder balance. In about 3 weeks I'm going back to bench press, and I'm hoping that these will help prep me for those. I'm just experimenting. Again, the long forearm thing. The things I read about these say to keep your upper arms parallel to the floor, and rotate the bar to almost touching your forehead. But if I keep my upper arms parallel, the bar won't go anywhere near my forehead, but up over my head.

I experimented a little with seated rows (i.e. how to do them with the goofy equipment I have available), and a few other things. I'm about a week and a half from the end of a 6-week cycle, so I'm thinking about what to include next cycle.

Saturday, 13 December

Wt.: Didn't check

Sleep: 3 hours (on call), napped a little during day

To gym at about 2:00 with Judy

Bulgarian split squats
BW x a bunch
2*25#DBs x 5 x 7

Super-set (sort of ) Chins & Push-ups
I rested 90 seconds after the first 2 sets, then untimed rest after 3rd and 4th.
Chin 5/5/5/5/6
PU 11/11/11/11/11

Pallof Press
33# x 12
53# x 12
73# x 2 x 12

Cuban Rotation
25# 3 x 8

Finished at about 4:00

I was really tired after being up a good part of the night. I took a lot more rest between sets than I usually do, so this made the whole workout longer than it should have been.

Bulgarians--by the 4th set or so, these are real work. But I'm much better for balance, going down until my knee either just touches or almost touches the floor. I think this is a great exercise, and I think I'll continue it for the next cycle.

Chins/Push-ups--I still can't do sets-across with strict rest. I knew that when I'm sleep-deprived the first thing to go is my endurance, so I just rested as much as I needed to to finish the sets. Only 1 more week in this cycle, and I don't want to do this the next time around, so only 2 more chances to make the sets with timed rest.

Pallofs--I was really tiring out, so I cut these short by a set. Also went lighter than I have been.

All-in-all, not a bad workout for how tired I was starting out.

Monday, 15 December

Sleep 5 1/2 hr., no excuse.

Wt: 172#

Fairly busy afternoon. To gym alone at 4:25 (we still have a houseful of kids for the rest of the week).

Deadlift/Rack Pull
From the floor
135# x 5
225# x 5
255# x 3
From 6"
275# x 3
From 8"
285# x 3
From 10"
305#

Press
45# x 10
65# x 7
85# x 7
65# x 8

Face Pulls
33# x 10
53# x 8
73# x 3 x 8

Cuban Rotations
25# x 3 x 10

Left gym at 6:00

DL/RPs--Strange session. On the second rep at 255 my back hurt a little; I just think I lost focus and wasn't tight. Then I got to 275# planning to pull from 2" (I did 275 from 6" a week ago), but couldn't gudge it on 3 tries. Went up to 4" and still couldn't get it. Then to 6", and felt kinda psyched about it, but it went up just fine. I felt nervous about the rest, but they went OK, both PRs for these heights. I'm just 25# away from maxing out all the plates in the gym, until the new shipment arrives. I spent an hour at all of this, and felt really burned out by the time I was done.

Press--I felt really spent after the DLs, thought about quitting for the day, but decided to stay and lift light.

Face Pull--Turned this into a sort of active recovery day.

Wednesday, 17 December

Sleep: 6 1/2 hr.

Wt. 172#

Afternoon off. Ate, played, went to gym with Judy, and Emma, a 7 year-old that we're babysitting while her parents are in Singapore. Emma didn't lift, but she colored pictures, usually just where we neede to set up the next lift! To gym at 4:05.

Front Squats
BW x 10
45# x 5
100# x 3 x 5

Super set Chins/ Push-ups
Chins 5/5/5/5/5
PU 11/11/11/9/11

Weight switches
11# plates, 4 plates x 5 "round trips"
1 min, 26 sec.

Cuban Rotations
25# x 11/10/9

Done about 4:55. More like it, time-wise.

Squats--I still don't really like front squats, but I'm doing them because they are supposedly easier on the low back, and many people say it's a "great exercise". I'm getting more comfortable with the grip on the bar. I lifted in the rack today instead of cleaning the bar. It felt more controlled, and I didn't worry as much about whether I'd drop the bar. 100# isn't much weight to squat, but it felt heavy to me.

Still didn't really make sets-across with strict rest on the chin/push-up sets. I took extra rest before the last set. I'm going to do something different next cycle, but I'll come back to this eventually.

Cubans--this much be the right weight. I'm shooting for sets of 12. Don't know how long I'll keep these. Hope they'll help the bench in the next cycle.

Saturday, 20 December

Sleep: don't remember

Wt. 172# (I'm eating, I really am)

On back-up call with a new doctor. Morning helped with rounds, and then rest of day (before and after workout) spent backing-up and reformatting my hard drive. To the gym about 4 with Judy.

Bulgarian split squats
BW x 8
2*25# DBs x 8/8/8/8/8

Press
45# x 10
65# x 8
85# x 7/4/7/7/7

Face Pull
43# x 10
73# x 5
95.5# x 5/5/5/5/6

Side planks
45 sec per side, x 3

Cuban Rotations
10# x 10
25# x 12/12/14

Left at 5:40

Bulgarians are a lot of work, but seem like a needed exercise for me. I'll keep them in the routine for another cycle, at least.

Press--again, crazy rep numbers. Probably inconsistant rest explains this. I'm not sure why I'm not gaining better on this at the moment. I think I'll switch to incline DB BP next cycle, come back to these in 6 wk.

Face Pulls--good exercise, but I think I'll do another pull next cycle.

Side Planks--still improving!

Cubans--definately better than last time. I'll probably do these in rotation with one or two other assistance exercises (curls anybody?) in the next cycle.

Wednesday, 24 December

Sleep 5 1/2 hours. Stayed up late watching Rippetoe videos on press and deadlift.

Wt. 173#

Afternoon off. Judy has heel pain. To gym alone. Didn't notice the time.

Dead lift
135# x 5
225# x 3
245# x 1
265# off the floor but stuck x2
260# still sticks

Rack Pull, 10"
275# 1
295# 1
315# 1
325# 1
330# 1

Press
Practicing form with the bar, 45# x a bunch
85# x 5

Chins
10

Cuban rotations
30#
8/8/12

Home to a bowl of beef stew, and off to Christmas caroling on the hospital wards.

Deads/Rack Pulls
Testing for PR. Last week I did 255 for 3, but today I couldn't pull 260 for a single. No idea why not. But went ahead and tried on the rack pulls. Previous 3RM 305#. 315 wasn't too hard, so thought I'd go a little further. 225 went, so I put on the last little bit of weight available to make it 330# and it went up. So I know that's not a lot of weight for a lot of guys, but it's a big jump for me. I think the Rippetoe videos helped.

Lifting all the weight in our little gym has been a goal for me for quite a while so it was really fun to look around the floor and see no extra plates laying around and knowing that I'd just lifted them all.

Still, a little strange that I could take my RP up by 25# but couldn't do a single 5# heavier than my 3RM DL!

Chins--the most I've done in a single set.

3 January, 2009

Wt:

Forgot to weigh!

Sleep 8 hr. Nice.

Saturday--completely off from work responsibilities. Errands and chores. To gym late afternoon (not paying much attention to time) with Judy. It's been 10 days since my last workout, and this is the last workout of my 2-week deload. Goals for today were to test max in flat bench and Bulgarians, and to choose a pull-up variation for the next cycle, and to experiment with DL variations, keeping volume very low.

Bench
95# x 5
135# x 1
155# x 1
175 0
1650

Chins alternating neutral grip at a little more than shoulder width (constraints of the equipment) with wide pronated grip.

NG 6/3 but broke the grip in the thrid rep
WG 3/2

Bulgarian Split Squat
In each case the weight is for each of a pair of DBs
35 x 3
40 x 3
45 x 3
50 x 1

Snatch-grip DL
45 x 5
65 x 3

Lying Extermal Rotations
15# 5/4/3

I was there a long time, but didn't record times

Bench
I was hoping that I'd have one of those stories where people say that they left the bench alone for a time, worked related muscle groups and then came back to it stronger than ever. Nope. My previous 1RM is 185. I missed 175 (and my poor wife/spotter had to scramble to take weight off the bar before she chould help me rack the bar), then rested a lont time, but missed 165. I'm going to work this in the next cycle.

Chins
My dad used to tell me that when I used a tool for other than it's intended purpose (screwdriver used as chisel, crescent wrench used as hammer, etc.) I shouldn't be surprised if I damage the tool. I guess this is just one more lesson he tried to teach me that I didn't learn well. I tried the stirrup grips from the cables on the machine, hanging them not from their rings, but looping the strap over the ends of the chin bar. Tore out the stitching on the webbing. I'll sew it.

Wide-grip pronated will be my pull-up for at least the first half of the next cycle.

Bulgarians
I have a love-hate relationship with this lift! My current max was 8 sets of 5 reps with 25# DBs. I had previously done 5x5 at 30# but with shaky forms. Today I did triples up through 45 and singles with 50s. I might have had one more in me, but I wasn't sure. I just wanted to hit the pair of 50s (which is hard to achieve with plate-loaded DBs) so I could say I'd single leg squatted 100#.

Snatch-grip DL
I've never done these before, and wanted to see how they feel. They feel different. I'm still undecided about these in the next cycle.

ERs
Just an accessory lift to try to maintain some shoulder balance. These will be in the mix for a while.

Monday, 5 January, 2009

Sleep 7 hr.

Wt. forgot again!

Mod busy at work. Judy had a tiring trip to town, and lots of DOMS from Saturday, so I went alone to the gym. Bill was there for spotting and conversation. 4:30.

Dead Lift
135# x 5
225# x 3
265# x 3

Rack Pull (8")
285 x 3/3/3

Bench
125# x 3/3/6

DB Row
61# x 3/3/6

Ext Ab Brace
43# x 12
33# x 12/12

Chest Fly
13# 12/12/12

Left at 5:50 to make omelets for a very tired ans sore wife.

Good workout. The DLs felt really good, and the 265 that I couldn't pull on Christmas eve came fairly easily. Rack pulls will now be just from 8" to keep it simple. 285 is the most I've pulled from this height.

It's strange to be down this low on bench, but I trust I'll come back up quickly.

Ab braces are strange. Enough weight to challenge you is enough to pull you over backwards from a standing position. I'll try them some more to see, but they were pretty clumsy today.

Wednesday, 7 January

Sleep 6hr, some disturbance (on call)

Wt. 169# I don't understand this at all. I've been trying to eat more, and have worried about numerous dietary indiscretions over the holidays.

Afternoon "off" but I spent it doing paperwork. Judy with plantar fasciitis didn't lift, so I went to the gym at about 3:15.

Back Squat--first time since my back injury.
BW x 10
45# x 10
65# x 5
85# x 5
105# x 5
125# x 10

Wide-grip pull-ups
BW 3
2nd set did 2 half-range pulls
3rd and 4th sets, did negatives (stood on a box, pulled on the bar and lowered myself.
5th set, 2 slow negatives

DB shoulder press
35# 5/3/3

Turkish Get-Up
13#, 2 per side

Latral Raise
13# x 8/8/8

Left at 4:45

Squats were fun. I tired out at this volume. I'll cut the sets down and get right to my working weight in the future.

WG pull-ups are tough for me. Maybe I didn't rest long enough, but I couldn't get a single on my second set!

TGUs are way harder than they look. My plan called for 5 per side, and I "only" use 13#. I was doing well to get 2 per side!

Monday, 12 January

Sleep: about 6 moderately-disturbed hours (on call). Not bad, though. Previous night only about 3 hr.

Wt. 169. Time to increase the number of eggs in the morning scramble.

Busy, stressful day at work. To the gym alone at about 5:00 (Judy had just got back from town with a volunteer team of university students from the US). When I went into our dusty, musty little gym, changed into my workout clothes, put on some loud music, the tension started melting away. Man, I love to lift.

Bulgarian split squats
BW x 10
2*35# x 3/3/3

Bench Press
(no spotter, so DB simultaneous flat bench)
2*35# x 5
2*40# x 5
2*45# x 9 (tried a few reps alternating)

DB bent-over row
70# 3/3/5

Russian Barbell Rotations
45# x 10/10/10

Cuban Rotations
35# x 5
32.5 x 8/6

Pull-Ups
Wide pronated x 3
Mid supinated x 5
Wide pronated 1
Mid supinated x 3
Narrow supinated x 2

Finished at about 6:30, went home to tacos.

Bulgarians--this is 70% of my 1rm. Leaves me a bit of room to go up, but close to what I can do for 3x3..

Bench--I didn't really realize how much more I can to for 3x3 than what I was doing a few weeks ago at higher reps. Started too light. I'll start with 50# next time

Barbell Twist
This: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3EeEQSTk ... re=related
Some of the videos on YouTube show a lot more trunk rotation, but I'm trying to keep my trunk straight through the whole movement. I'm trying this out for a place in my core routine. I'm not opposed to mid-cycle changes. This is another exercise that looks easier than it is. I'm gonna be sore!

Pull-Ups
It's been 5 days since my last work-out, which was a pull-up day, so I didn't think it could hurt anything (except the hurt of DOMS) to do some extra pull work, considering the challenge that I started. I was already tired, and done some pull earlier, and did some grips that are relatively new to me. The wide grip already shows progress, as last time I couldn't do a single for a second set after a first set of 3.

I felt that this was a really good work-out, especially considering coming off a relatively bad call weekend. The work-out is still longer than ideal, but I do enjoy my time in the weight room, and I don't usually leave feeling beat up, just pleasantly worn out. Maybe I worry too much about the time.

Wednesday, 14 January

Sleep 5 1/2 hours (my own fault)

Wt. ??

Afternoon off, worked on PowerPoint presentation for a talk on Friday, to gym alone at 4:00.

Dead Lift
135# x 5
225# x 5
265# x 3
275# x 1
Rack Pull, 8"
305# x 3/1

Pull-Ups
Wide grip pronated
2/1/2/2/3
Medium grip supinated
6/6

DB Presses
25# x 10
40# x 3/3/4

Woodchops
These won't work on our machine--the cable doesn't have enough range to do the full motion!

Done at 5:30

DL--I thought I had set up for 275 from the floor--did my set and started to set up for the rack-pull when I realized that I'd only had 265 on the bar! So I backed up, put on 275 and did a single just to be able to say that I had. 305# from 8 inches was heavy, but I made it with my grip starting to slip on the last rep. I got out the straps for the next set, but really felt that I should quit after the first rep. Listening to my body, don't you know.

Skipped the core and accessory work as I needed to get home for dinner guests. Good workout.

Saturday, 17 January

Sleep 10 hours!

Wt., 171 late in the day

Completely off work. Vegetating slug all day, the most vigorous thing I did was walk from the computer to the coffee maker for more coffee. To gym at 5:00 with my colleague Jim, who needs to be inspired to work out more, and somehow taught or encouraged to do a more balanced program. Judy is in the "deep bush."

Back Squats
BW x a bunch
95# x 5
135# x 3x3

Bench
45# x 5
95# x 5
135# x 3/3/4

DB Row
25# x 10
72# x 3x3

TGU
9#
4 per side

Fly
13# x 12/12/15

Pull-ups
6
Lat Pull-downs (mid grip supinated)
73# x 20/20/20

Home about 6:30

Squats are feeling good, and I'm starting to feel confident about taking the weight up. I'll still go gradually.

Jim showed an interest in squatting. Wanted to try the 95# as his first try. I encouraged him to do BW for a few. I coached him a bit on form, and he did a few respectable-form reps to a box. Wanted to try some weight, so did a few goblet squats with a 25# plate. Still looked OK. He did some bench and some machine push work and lat PDs. I'll bring up rows sometime later.

Monday, 19 January

Wt. didn't check

Sleep 5 hr.

Work surprisingly light, don't know why. I guess we have them all cured. To gym at 3:30, alone.

Bulgarians
BW x 8
2*37.5# 3/3/3

WGP pull-ups
2/2/2/2/2

DB Press
2*42.5# 3/3/3

Pallof Press
53# with full second lock-out, 5 sec on last rep
x 12/12/12

MGS chins
7/7/5

Lat raises
13# x 10/10/10

Left about 5:15

Bulgarians--Pretty challenging at this wt. I didn't have more than a half-rep left on the last set.

Pullups--Something feels funny in my right shoulder on the WGs. Can't tell if it's bicipital tendon or delt. Hmmm.

DB press--Total weight of the DBs is about what I was pressing (for higher reps, though) with a bar just a few weeks ago. Progress?

Pallofs--This time I was careful to really lock out for a full second on each rep, and longer at the end of the set. This is lighter weight than I have used, but I felt that it was doing more. This is a great exercise--Why doesn't everybody do them?

Side raises--again, the L shoulder feels a little odd, like a tendon is catching on something then slipping off. An orthopedist friend will be here in a few weeks--I'll make him come to the gym and palpate my shoulder while I'm doing these and see what he says. Unfortunately, he's a knee specialist, not a shoulder specialist. Well, not unfortunately, since he did my knee surgery and helped me a lot.

Wednesday, 21 January

Sleep 5 hr.

Afternoon off, and I really took it off. Spent the afternoon reading Eric Creasey, Bill Hartman and Mike Robertson on shoulders. Some minor changes in the routine. Tried to get Jim to come deadlift, but he had a long day and plans for the evening. To gym alone at about 4:30.

Dead Lift
135# x 5
225# x 3
270# x 3

Rack Pull, 8"
305# x 3/3

Bench DB, flat
2*50# x 3 x 3

DB rows
75# x 3 x 3

TGUs
13#, 5 per side

Straight-arm pull-downs
63# x 12
83# x 12
103# x 12

Left at nearly 6:00 to go to supper at Jim and Kathy's.

Bench--Don't people usually say that you can press less than half with DBs what you do with BBs? So why can I press 2 50# DBs, but I can't come close to 200# with a bar? Form on early reps worse (shaky, inconsistent bar path) than later reps. ?not enough warm-up?

TGUs
I think I'm getting the hang of this. I'm ready to progress to the big weights, like 15#.

Straight-Arm Pull Downs
A little shoulder pre-hab.