ExRx.net

Monday, 15 September

Sleep 5 hr.

Wt. 176#

Hospital observed PNG Independence Day holiday (the real Ind Day is tomorrow), so rounds in AM, then the day off. Went for a walk with a friend. To gym with Judy at about 3:45.

Single-leg split squat, 60 sec rest*
14" box BW x 5
14" box 2*15# x 5
16" box 2*15# x 5

SS bench/face pull with ER, 60 sec rest between SSs**
Bench 140# x 4/3/1
120# x 5/8
Face pull 5 plates x 8/10
6 plates x 8/8
7 plates x 8

Pallof Press 60 sec rest
7 plates 12/12/12

Home about 4:45

*Balance much better today. I think the DBs help with balance. Also the higher box allows me to get down a bit further before my knee hits the floor.
**The SS got messed up when I put on the wrong weight, ended up changing things, and having to rest longer than 60 sec. Also, I was feeling my way with the FPs, to discover where I should really be, weight-wise.

Wednesday, 17 September

Sleep 6 hr (on call, but not many interruptions)

Wt. 177

Afternoon "off"--computer stuff, to gym with Judy about 4:00

Step-Ups
BWx15
15#x15
26#x15/15

SS Chins/Press, rest 60 sec, but this is breaking down--up to 90 sec on last rep*
Chins 6/6/5/4/4
Press 72# 5/5/5/4/4

Weight Switches
10# plates
4 plates, 5 "round trips"
brief rest after 3rd set

Home about 5:15

*I'm going to separate these next w/o to find out where I am with them, focus on form. I should probably be using a little more rest.

Saturday, 20 September

Sleep 2 hr. On call--terrible, stressful night.

To gym with Judy in afternoon, but didn't attempt a serious workout. A few random lifts.

Monday, 22 September

Sleep 7 hr.

Wt. 177

Steady but reasonable work day. To gym at 4:45. Bill came in to lift.

Rack Pull*
Knee-high
135#x5
185#x5
225#x5
275#x5
Knee-high minus 4"
135#x5
185#x5

Super-set flat bench/face pulls rest 60 sec after face pulls
Bench
125# 5x5
Face pulls 12 plates 5x5

Side bridges rest 45 sec between sets
30 sec per side x 3

Home at 5:30

*Felt really good. This is the heaviest I've gone. The weights felt really light as I went to the lower height.

Wednesday, 24 September

Wt. 177

Sleep 6 1/2 hr, on call, a few phone calls, no trips in

Afternoon off, just reading, computer work, then to gym with Judy at 3:30

SL Split Squat 16" box
2*15# 5/5/5/5/4*

SS Chin/Press, 90 sec rest after press
Chin 5/5/5/5/3
Press 75# 5/5/5/5/5

Pallof Press, rapidly, 60 sec rest between sets**
7 1/4 plates (about 40#)
12/12/12 (each side)

Heart rate 140

Left gym at about 4:14

*These are more challenging than I would have thought. I just barely got up with the left leg on the 4 rep of the last set.
**I've taken the weight up a little. It's challenging to keep my position at this weight. I'm using a wider stance. I'm also doing these faster, locking out for about a second, but not waiting at all between reps. Who says anaerobic exercise can't be cardio?

Saturday, 27 September

Sleep: 7 hr

Wt. 175#

Judy has pain in her arm, didn't lift. To gym alone at 11:30

Rack Pull
10 1/2" (bar about 2" below knee)
5x135, 5 x 225, 0 x 275*, 5 x 245
8" (bar about 4" below knees)
5 x 135, 5x185

Super set DB bench**, face pull with external rotation
Bench
2*35 5/5/5/5/5
FP (high pulley)***
6 1/4 plates 5/5/5/5/5

Plate Switches
4 x 10# plates, 5 "round trips" without rest, 1 sec 17 sec

Left gym about 12:40

*Since I pulled this weight 5x a few days ago, I thought I could get a few just 2" lower, but this was absolutely immovable to me today. The rest of the reps felt good.
** No spotter, so used DBs on flat bench. The 35s felt a little too easy, but that's OK.
*** There are only 3 pulleys on the machine: low, mid (about collar bone height for me) and high (about 10" above my head). The high gives 100% of the weight on the stack, and the mid gives 50%. Thus the different weights from previous w/o. I think the high pulley works better for this exercise. I'd love to have an adjustable-height pulley.

Monday, 29 September

Wt. 178#! Just water weight, right?

Sleep 6hr.

Steady but reasonable day at work. To gym at about 4:45, met Judy there.

Single-leg split squat*
2*18 DBs
5 x 5

SS Chins/Press
Chins BW 5/5/5/5/3
Press 80# 5/5/5/4/2 (edited: I didn't really press 180#!)

Captain's Chair**
3x12

Left gym about 5:45

*Still a struggle to balance, but I did full sets! I'm a little inconsistent in how deep I go. I want to go deep and be consistent, but I don't want to take tha back leg knee all the way to the floor. Maybe I'll try a piece of foam on the floor.
**I was supposed to do Pallof presses today, but I got thinking about the home-made captain's chair in our gym that's not been in use except for equipment storage, so I tried it out. Hard on my shoulders.

Wednesday, 1 October

Sleep 5 1/2 hr. (on call, phone calls, no trips in during night)

Wt. 177#

Afternoon off. Judy on errand, so didn't go to gym until 5:00

Step-ups
2*28#
5x5

SS Bench/Face Pull
Bench125# 5x5
FP 6 1/2 plates 4x5, 1x10

Wt. Switches
4 10# plates, 5 "round trips" 1min. 3 sec.

Left at about 5:55

Friday, 3 October

Sleep 7 hr.

Weight 174#

Moderately busy day at work, afternoon dragged out a bit. To gym alone at 5:00, Judy away taking volunteers for a tour of a coffee plantation.

Rack Pulls
10" 135 x 5, 225 x 5, 245 x 5, 255 x 3*
12" 273 x 3

SS Chin/Press 2 min rest after press
Chin BW 5/5/5/5/6
Press 80# (careful of my typing this time) 5 x 5

Side Plank
30 sec per side x 3
Front plank 30 x 1

Extended stretching session. Left about 6:10.

* the most I've pulled from this height. I'm getting anxious to go down lower, but I'll try to stick to the plan.

Monday, 6 October

Sleep 6 very broken-up hours (on call)

Wt. 175#

Moderate day at work. To gym alone at 4:30 (Judy had to go to town). Very tired.

SL Split Squats
2*20# 5/5/5/5/5*

SS DB Bench/Face Pull with ER
Bench 2*40, 5/5/5/5/7
FP 6 3/4 plates 5/5/5/5/10

Pallof Press
7 1/2 plates 12/12/12**

Stretching quads, ITB, shoulders

Home about 5:45

*I like these, believe it or not. I think I'll keep them, even after I resume back squats.
**The cable set-up gives a 2:1 mechanical disadvantage for the position I use, so at the cable they are twice as heavy, so equivalent to 15 plates from the high position.

Saturday, 11 October

Sleep 7 hr, that would have been undisturbed except for a confused nurse who thought I was on call.

Wt. 175#

No work responsibilities. Helped my wife assemble some donated equipment in the medical storeroom, spent an hour castrating one of our dogs, but otherwise sat around and drank coffee, etc. To the gym at about 4:45 with Judy.

Step-ups, rest ad lib.*
2*30#DBs 15/15/15

Chins, rest ad lib.**
BW x 6/6/6/6/8

Squats
BW, ATG x 10***

Press, rest ad lib.**
85# x 5/5/5/5/6

Plate Switches
11# (5kg) plates 4 plates, 4 "round trips" in 51 seconds****

Left at about 6:20

*These are getting hard. Form is getting harder to maintain, especially harder to maintain the long stride (stepping a long way from the box) that I've been using to try to emphasize glutes. Also, 15 sets is boring! I'm going to cut reps to 10 for now, and keep going up on the weight. I'm only a week away from a major rearrangement of the routine, and I'll probably leave these out to make room for squats, so I'll probably only do these 1 or 2 more workouts.

**NO SUPERSET this time, and rest intervals were as long as needed to feel "ready" for the next set. I just wanted to compare where I am with the supersets with what I did before in these exercises.

***Body weight squats just to test flexibility, and "how it feels". Will probably add these back in starting in a week.

****Confusion. I've previously done 5 "round trips" with the plates, and I only did 4, so the time is meaningless.

Monday, 13 October

Sleep, 5 1/2 hr.

Wt. 173# yesterday--I'm happy that it's still going down

Average work day. To wt. room with Judy at 4:45. Drank my protein shake just before starting to workout--should be sooner.

Rack pulls, 10"
95# 1x3
135# 1x3
225# 3x3

SS Bench, Face Pull with ext rot
Bench, 135# x 4, 130# 5/5/4/2*
Face Pull 7 1/2 plates 5/5/5/5/10**

Captain's Chair***
Unweighted 12
5.5# on feet, 3 x 12

Home at 5:45

*My bench stinks. I'll take the advice that I gave someone else recently and stop benching for a while when I shift the routine next week.
**Peter was right about 8 plates being where I need to be with this.
***Cause I didn't feel like side planks. Bad reason, but there it is.

Wednesday, 17 October

Didn't lift yesterday because I was just coming off a call night with only 2 1/2 sleep.

Sleep 6 hr.

Wt. 171.

Work average, but afternoon got dragged out a bit. To gym with Judy at 4:45.

Bulgarian SL squats
2*32.5# 5/5/5/5/6

Chins and press alternated, but not really super set. Ad lib rest between sets.*
Chins
BW x 6/6/6/6/8

Press
90#
5/3/3/3/5**

Pallof Press
7 3/4 plates
12/12/12

Home about 6:00

*I just felt too tired to do the super set today. Still sleep-deprived
**Didn't rest enough between first and second set.

Saturday, 18 October

No call, just odd jobs, computer, worked about an hour in the wood shop. To gym with Judy in afternoon.

Step-Ups
2*32.5# 1 x 15, 2 x 10

A rather loose super set, bench/face pulls
Bench 65#x10, 95#x10, 130# 5/5/5/3/5

Face pulls
8 plates, 5/5/5/5/10

Wt. Switches
11#, 4 plates, 5 "round trips" 59 sec.

Monday, 20 October

Sleep 5 1/2 hr.

Wt., 173.

Work seemed to be getting done early, but little things kept dragging it out. On call, but decided to lift anyway; they can always send someone for me. To gym with Judy at 4:50.

Rack Pulls
95# x 3
165# x 5
235# x 3/3/3

SS Chin-up/push-up*
Chin 7/6/3/5/6
Push-Up 18/9/8/9/10

Side Planks
3 x 35 sec each side

Didn't notice the time leaving--about 6:00. Home to a nice beef curry made by our friend Shamim. Authentic, but not too hot for us. And no work cooking.

*Hit it too fast at first. I'll pace a little.