ExRx.net

Tuesday
20100519

Warmup: 15-20 min Treadmill

Flat Bench: 2-3min rest work sets
45 x 5
65 x 5
85 x 3
95 x 9
95 x 7
95 x 6

Incline DB Bench - 1.5min rest
32.5 x 6
32.5 x 6
32.5 x 5
32.5 x 2

Tricep Cable Pushdowns - 1 min rest
30 x 12
30 x 12
30 x 12
30 x 12

Workout Notes:
Overall, a lousy workout... My Wife was ready to leave long before I would have normally finished my workout, and I caved and left. BUT, at least I made it back to the gym again after way to long.

I knew I would have lost some strength, but I didn't expect to be this week. Oh well, got lots of work to do again. Plan to get back in the gym at least 2 days a week. I hope this happens.

Weight: 179.2 dressed and walking out of the Gym. I've never been this heavy before and really don't like it.

Cliff

Tuesday
20100525

Warmup: 15-20 min Treadmill

Deadlift: rest-What felt good, but ~2min
95 x 10
145 x 3
165 x 1
175 x 1
195 x 1
215 x 1 ##

RDL's - 1min rest
135 x 6
135 x 6
135 x 8 **

Low Cable Row - 1 min rest
70 x 10
70 x 10
70 x 13

Overhead Press - 1min rest
45 x 10
45 x 10
45 x 12


Workout Notes:
## Deadlift Notes:
Was quite shocked at being able to pull 215 from the floor after not lifting for so long. I could likely have added 10# and kept going, maybe even 20#, but my last rep was slower than the previous. I'll have to check through my logs, but I think this might be a new PR, or at least a Matched PR. My goal was to get a good starting point/base for a 5/3/1 cycle of Deadlifts. I think I've done this now.

RDL Notes:
A little bummed on my last set. I think I could have pulled out a couple more reps, but one of the regular chicks was asking if she could have the other bar near where I was working out. Bottom line, a distraction to answer her and I lost focus. Oh well, at least it wasn't my main lift for the day.

Row Notes:
Now much to say, the all felt good, I just wish it was more weight. I used the close grip V Handle.

Overhead Notes:
Weakness is still in my tri's, but just need to continue working. These were about as weak as my Bench from the previous workout.

Overall:
Pretty good workout, Everything felt good and I was able to complete all planned exercises and reps. I should add some Ab work to the end though.

My Plan: And I'd love opinions of whether or not this is a decent plan currently.
Since have been having trouble getting to the gym lately, I don't really want to do a Upper/lower split. Therefore, I intend each workout to be a full body workout revolving around the big complex lifts. Each workout will have a main focus and heavy lift (Bench, Squat, DL, maybe Overhead Press). For the Main lifts, I plan to use the 5/3/1 schema and follow it up with a variation of the same lift with lower weight and more reps (aka BBB) and less rest time.

After the main lift, I will do a minimum of two more lifts to complete the full body. Using last nights workout as an example, main lift DL, then a Upper Body Pull and Push to complete the Full Body workout. These other lifts will vary based on the main lift, time I have left, equipment availability. Mainly, these lifts will be in the 6-12 rep range with short rest periods similar to a WS4SB template. I may even throw some complex routines in as the supplement to the main lift to round out the Full body workout.



Weight: 178 workout conditions

Cliff

Tuesday
20100601
Warmup: 5 min Elliptical

Leg Curl: 1 min Rest (both legs)
70 x 8
70 x 8
70 x 8
70 x 10

Flat Bench: 2-3min rest work sets ****
45 x 10
65 x 5
85 x 5
95 x 5
105 x 7


Incline DB Bench - 1min rest
32.5 x 7
32.5 x 6
32.5 x 6
32.5 x 6

Dumbell Bent over Row - 1 min rest
32.5 x 10
32.5 x 8
32.5 x 8

Knee Hip Raise: Rest (Short)
BW x 10
BW x 10

Workout Notes:
Overall, a good workout... The AC was not working well at the gym, therefore it was warm, which is not a bad thing. I arrived earlier than I normally would and it was BUSY.

Leg Curl Notes:
Basically did these as part of my active recovery for the strained muscle in my leg. I still don't like doing these, and did not feel any discomfort in my sore part of my leg. Normally, I would have done these last, but All the benches were full and thought this would get these out of the way while waiting on a Bar and Bench.

Bench Notes:
Overall good, but planned work sets of 80,90,100 but couldn't find any of the 2.5# plates. I should have erred on the cautious side and done work sets of 75,85,95 but didn't. I think this might have hurt my overall performance, especially on the final set.

DB Incline Notes:
Just pushed through these. Gonna add reps, then weight.

DB Bent Row:
Hadn't done these in a LONG while. Fun and interesting, but hard. Should have done less weight and more reps.

Knee Hip Raise:
More of my Active recovery work, they are what they are. The Added benefit is the AB work they provide. Was running low on time so pushed through a couple of sets of these and left.

Cliff

Thursday, 20100604

Scheduled Gym day, but ended up playing softball instead. I am a reserve player for a Thursday night Team.

Quite a bit of stretching Pre-game, legs and back mainly.

Jogging to warmup

A few in game sprints..

Overall, a very hot and humid night, burned a few calories, but gained them back with the after game meal..

Didn't make it to the gym, hopefully tonight..

Cliff

Thursday, 20100605

Warmup: Some BW Squats, See Deadlift

Deadlift: rest ~2-3min Work Sets
45 x 10 End of warmups (RDL)
95 x 5
125 x 5
145 x 5
165 x 5

RDL's:
No Time didn't do

Lat Pulldown: Wide Overhand Grip 1.5min Rest
120 x 5
120 x 5
120 x 5
120 x 5

Overhead Press: Standing 1min rest
45 x 10
45 x 10
45 x 10
45 x 10

Overall Notes:
Walked into the gym at 8:15 thinking, they closed at 10:00.. BUT read the sign on the door which stated they closed at 9:00... UhOh.. Rushed to change and stretch way to quickly. Then rushed through my warmups and Deadlifts to ensure I finished my main lift. After that, it was almost a HIIT session moving from LAT Pulldowns to Overhead Presses with not much rest in between them.

DL Notes:
Overall, rushed, but I finished all 3 sets of 5, but not any extra. Should have been able to do more, but being rushed, I wasn't really focused. Also, the Bar I was using was not a "Thick" Bar, but was not a "Normal" bar either. Somewhere in between, and this messed with my grip. Won't make that mistake again.

Pulldown notes:
Oddly, I don't normally feel these in my back when doing them, but I do now. I tried to focus on using my upper back and not my arms to pull the bar down. I really want to be able to do Wide Grip pullups soon, therefore, I need to focus more on my upper back and shoulders.

Overhead Notes:
Just pushed through these, the last set was rough. I have trouble breathing and staying tight.

Sunday 20100606

Warmup: 10min Treadmill

Bench Press:
45 x 10
65 x 3
85 x 3
95 x 3
105 x 6 (Should have been 110)

Bench Reps: ~70% 1rpm 1.5min rest
75 x 12
75 x 12
75 x 12
75 x 8

Squats: 1min rest work sets
45 x 10
95 x 7
95 x 7
95 x 8

Low Cable Row: rest 1.5min
70 x 10
70 x 10
70 x 10
70 x 15

Overall Notes:
Not the workout I had planned for today. I had intended to do heavy squats, but someone was camped out in the squat rack so I decided to do my Bench workout today and move the squats to the next workout.

Bench Notes:
Still can't find the 2.5# plates which kept my last set at 105# instead of 110#. Also, didn't complete as many reps as I expected, but it will be ok.

Bench Rep Notes:
Normally I wouldn't do these again, but my luck today was not good. I wanted to do Incline DB Press, but all incline benches were again full and in use. So, I dropped the weight and went for reps. Again, not as good as expected, but I really noticed my Tri's getting hammered and showed my weakness. This is likely due to HOW I Bench, which is more of a PL style trying to keep my arms in pretty close and my grip is more neutral.

Squat Notes:
Again, not what I wanted to do today, but it worked and I felt it in the Hamstrings.

Cable Row Notes:
Obviously should have used more weight from the beginning. They felt pretty good though.

Tuesday 20100608

Warmup: 10min Treadmill

Squats: ~3min rest work sets (180 1rm)
BW x 10
45 x 6
85 x 3
95 x 1
105 x 5
115 x 5 (Should have been 120)
135 x 5
3min rest
85 x 7 1min
85 x 7 1min
85 x 7 1min

Low Cable Row: rest 1.5min
85 x 9
85 x 10
85 x 9
85 x 12

DB Bench Press: (Flat) rest 1min
30 x 10
30 x 10
30 x 10
30 x 12

Overall Notes:
Felt like a pretty good workout. Hammered out some weight, not as much as easy as I expected. I have less soreness this morning than expected also, which is good.

The 2.5# plates are completely MIA at the gym, therefore, there won't be any even numbered lifting in my near future. This shouldn't be a problem with the Squats and DL, but my presses could use the 5# jump.

Squat Notes:
Used my logs and calculated 1rm of 180 from last November, which I had thought was higher to start my calculated lifts. Due not being in the gym, even this workout was tough.

Rep Squats:
I should have waited and finished my workout with the these, but I had the squat rack and didn't want to give it up and not get it back. This is the first time I have ever tried to squat more than 5 reps, and I'm definitely not used to it. I have to really push myself more and get to my desired 10 reps. Dropping down to 85# didn't seem to help much.

Cable Row Notes:
Added more weight and planned for sets of 9 across. Got carried away with the second set and was at 10 before I knew it. Need to decide, Add more weight, or more reps. I'm thinking more weight at this point.

DB Flat Bench Notes:
I should have upped the weight, but stuck with it and tried for more speed. My Legs were very tight at this point and I was having a hard time getting my feet down and back to keep myself tight on the bench. The last set was a little slower, but not bad.

Thursday 20100610

Warmup:
Couple trips around the track - Brisk Walk Followed by
BW Squats 10ish
Pushups 10ish
BW Squats 10ish
RDL 45 x 5

Deadlift:
95 x 5
115 x 2
135 x 3
155 x 3
175 x 6

Lat Pulldowns: Wide Overhand - 1.5min rest
140 x 2, 120 x 3
120 x 5
120 x 5
120 x 6

Overhead Press: Standing 1.5min Rest
55 x 9
55 x 9
55 x 9
55 x 8

RDL: ~2min rest
135 x 10
135 x 10
135 x 10

Overall Notes:
Moved RDL's to the end to give more energy/strength for the other lifts. Worked pretty good. Having trouble breathing in all lifts, meaning, I am not breathing at the right times.

RDL Notes:
Planned on sets of 8 across, but the first set felt pretty good, so continued to 10. The third set I had to push pretty hard to complete 10.

Deadlift Notes:
I need to work on getting properly setup for consecutive reps. The first rep at each weight feels good, but the following reps aren't as good. Pretty sure it's just a routine thing, not a strength problem.

Sunday: 20100613

Warmup:
Squats, Pushups

Tricep Pushdowns: 1min rest
35 x 10
35 x 10
35 x 10
35 x 10

Low Cable Row superset w/ Face Pulls: 1.5 min rest
85 x 10 , 30 x 10
85 x 10 , 30 x 10
85 x 10 , 30 x 10
85 x 10 , 30 x 10

DB Overhead Press: Seated 1.5 min rest
20 x 10
20 x 10
20 x 10
20 x 10

DB Curls : 1 min rest
20 x 10
20 x 10
20 x 9
20 x 7

Overall Notes: Focused more on the Upper Back Pull and Tricep work. Should have added another Push and a Low Back/ leg something. This is what happens when I don't come in with a plan. I forget things.

Tuesday 20100615

Warmup:
~10min Treadmill Cardio Setting ~150 Heartrate
~5min brisk walk around track (waiting on a Bench or Squat rack to open up)

Bench Press:
45 x 10
65 x 5
75 x 3
95 x 5
105 x 3
115 x 5

DB Incline Press: 1.5min rest
32.5 x 7
32.5 x 7
32.5 x 7
32.5 x 12

Squat:
BW x 10
45 x 5
95 x 2
115 x 3
125 x 3
145 x 6

Low Cable Row: 1.5 min rest
100 x 9
100 x 9
100 x 9
100 x 9

Bench Notes:
All Felt pretty good and I think I was a little conservative and could/should of squeaked at least 1 more rep. Took at least 1 breathe at the top, which worked pretty well.

DB Incline Notes:
Obviously should have either increased weight or reps. Likely will be reps. These actually felt amazingly light.

Squat Notes:
Overall, they all felt pretty light (as they should). Just gotta work on Pushing on through 6+ reps, which is amazingly hard. This tells me my muscle endurance is pretty low for my legs. Need to work on that.

Additionally, In some previous log postings, I had thought my Squats were fairly balanced, but after taking a break for a while and coming back, I'm now of the opinion my squats are Hamstring dominant and the quads don't work as hard. If I continue to move up in weight, sometime down the road, I would likely need to add back step ups of lunges to hit the quads a bit more.

Low Cable Row Notes:
I'm pretty sure this is a PR for possibly weight or reps, I would have to look back to be sure. Otherwise, these are really starting to feel pretty good and I am really focusing on pulling the shoulder blades together instead of just pulling with the arms (Biceps). I keep thinking I want to try and switch my rowing to an inverted row or Pendlay Row, but feel like I am making good progress with the cable machine currently.

Overall Notes:
Everything felt good. Had to wait longer than I wanted for both the Bench and Squat racks. The Curl Monkeys were out in force, using the Squat rack, and nearly all the benches, even though most of them were using the fixed weight EZ Curl bars. Thankfully, halfway through my Bench Presses, the Gym cleared out, which made it much more enjoyable. The Time in the Gym was way to long.

Wednesday 20100616

Stretching

Yardwork

Overall: Felt pretty good today, Not nearly as sore as I have been.

Thursday 20100618

Warmup:
Bike: Warmup setting 7min

Deadlift:
45 x 10 (RDL)
95 x 5 (RDL)
115 x 3
135 x 1
145 x 5
155 x 3 (Mis counted plates, should have been 165)
185 x 7 **Goal New PR estimated

RDL: ~1.5min rest
135 x 10
135 x 10
135 x 10
135 x 10

Lat Pulldowns: Wide Overhand - 1.5min rest
120 x 5
120 x 5
120 x 5
120 x 8

Overhead Press: Standing 1.5min Rest
55 x 9
55 x 9
55 x 9
55 x 11



Overall Notes:
Great workout, felt great and totally wasted at the end. Nearly laughed out loud at one of the trainers at the gym and her student. Was wither laugh or cry, because they kept crowding my space while I was Deadlifting


Deadlift Notes:
Really focused on setup and finding a routine that worked for me. By the end, I think I found out what will work. Basically sit down bar, release, and regrip, take deep breathe and pull myself back to the bar and lift again. Pulled out a new estimated 1rm, which was my goal. Potentially could have done another rep, but completed my goal for the day.

RDL Notes:
Added a full set of 10 to make it 4 x 10. This combined with my previousl DL's, really hammered my grip and forarms. I might have been able to squeeze a couple more rep with my back and legs, but would likely have dropped the bar due to grip.

Pulldown notes:
Not as good as I had hoped, but it was hard to hold onto the bar.

Overhead notes:
Didn't think, just pushed. Not bad really, but not as many "Extra" reps as I had hoped. Need to decide if I want to maintain my weight and reps for these, or drop reps and add weight. If I add more weight and less reps, I would likely add rest time also, which would increase the time in the gym.

20100625 - Friday

Actually used some of this strength I have been building.

Lots of Tugging, Pifting, Pulling/Dragging, and moving of Water heaters. All Bent over and in odd positions under my house in the crawl space (max heigth <36").

Empty weight 115#
Old one still had some water in it.. Unknown weight

My lower back is feeling it due to the less than optimal positions and likely back rounding..

Also this week I've had a couple tournament softball games. It should have been a Deload week for everything but squats.

Monday has potential to be a triple header for softball to finish up the city tournament.

Saturday 20100626

Cardio: Took the girls to the pool, stayed about 3 hrs

Not the greatest workout, but was fun for all involved.

Sunday 20100627

Unplanned Softball game to help some friends out. Then home and played ball with the girls.

It's Hot and Humid just like a normal Summer... Therefore, I sweat like a stuck pig.

Had a blast playing with my two girls ages 5 and 2.5. Keeping up with them and general health and fitness are my main goals, which make it all worth it. Even though it was way to hot....