Training Log: Entry 488

Neck harness front raise of 45
13,7

Notes: Shorter rest period and better form led to fewer reps.  Remember, position like a bent over row rather than standing straight up.

Neck crunches of 45
10,10

Notes: Same as above, focusing on form and short rest periods.  Abs still sore form ab wheel, so had to focus on isolating the neck on the movement.

CoC #1 RE work
40,40,30 per hand

Notes: This is just getting stupid.  I think I'm gonna deload a little bit, then maybe work the 2.5 and 2 together.

Training Log: Entry 487

ME lower day

Powerlifting squat
Barx3
135x3
225x3
295x1
345x1
375x1 (New PR)
397x1 (New PR)
400x0

Notes: Counting the clamps on the 397, wife weighed them in at 1lb a piece.  So damn close to 400.  Mind was all messed up.  Music kept skipping on my laptop and was driving me nuts, had no focus.  Was able to get the 397 out of anger, but the 400 was no go.  Abs are still destroyed from ab wheel, impossible to bend or move, made squats really suck.  3-4-5 is within reach.

Good Mornings of 165
2x10
2x8

Notes: Abs killed me here as well, but gutted out every last rep.  These sucked.

DB side bends of 70
4x8

Notes: Loaded up the wrong weight on the DB.  Way too light.  Rookie mistake.  Just an off night tonight.  Came into it in a bad mood.  Have to stop failing on ME day, or else I miss the point of the program.  I at least have an idea of my abilities now, and what to shoot for.

Training Log: Entry 486

DE upperbody

Speed bench of 170
8x3

Notes: Was doing a better job of staying tight and exploding up.  Shoulders weren't coming off the bench like usual in the middle reps.  Abs are killing me from ab wheel yesterday, so first few reps were murder to get the arch on.

CG bench of 215
7,7,7,5

Notes: Paid off not to increase the weight too much.  Nailed almost everything.  Might move up again next time.  Think I won't tuck my shoulders on this movement like regular bench.  Tends to tear more when I do the former over the latter.

DB overhead press of 55lbs
7,7,5,5

Notes: Time to change this lift I think.  Shoulders were dying and pressing was difficult.  Maybe an incline press instead, or even some raises.

Bent over BB rows of 145
10,10,8,7

Notes: Again, didn't increase weight much.  Form totally clicked on this, great pull in lats.  Burning out on the last set, but all in all, best performance I've had. 

EZ bar curls of 85
8,5,3*

Notes: Was totally fried when I tried this.  Last set was all cheat curls.  Couldn't even bend my arms, forearms were too inflated to move.  Maybe change these to a DB curl variant.

Happy Birthday to me.  Got some great gifts.  Powerlifting Basics, Texas Style by Paul Kelso, "Arnold" Education of a Bodybuilder, A Practical Approach to Powerlifting, Practical Programming for Strength Training by Mark Rippetoe, Personal Best: How to train for the sport of Strongman, and Kelso's Shrug Book, along with a strongman DVD and a Captains of Crush 2.5  Lots of great materal.  Broke out the 2.5 for grip work today.  Managed 1 full rep with the right hand, and almost have it with the left hand.  Did 3 sets of 3 reps, with forced reps where necessary for both hands.  Also used the ab wheel for 4x8.  First 3 sets were standing, last set from knees.  Had one of these when I was 17, they seem a lot more intense nowadays.

Lots of reading to take care of.

Training Log: Entry 485

DE lower day

Speed squats of 195
10x2

Notes: Get much better drive by driving on the outside blades of my feet rather than just the heels.  Better acceleration from the starting point, whereas I typically stall from the start and gain momentum as I go. 

Walking lunges w/75lbs per hand
10,10,3

Notes: I hate lunges, I hate high volume, I hate high reps.  Was able to do just fine on the first two sets, but on that first rep, my entire posterior chain was dying, and I managed 3 reps before I collapsed.  Great for my grip work as well.  Need to keep working on these.  Entire PC is fried.  Will hurt for days.

SLDLs of 295
8,8,4,4

Notes: After lunges, was really fried.  Was ready to puke with every rep.  First two sets were very easy, then once again, whole body was locked up.  Mother-in-law suggests more potassium.  Maybe I need it.  Either way, great lowerback pump.

Neck harnass side work
2x15 w/35lbs

Notes: Got a great pull on this, next time, lean like a DB side bend to reduce drag/resistance

 

Got an ab-wheel at a garage sale today for $3.  Will be using it tomorrow for my ab work.  Back was too fried to effectively do anything.

 

Made this photo.  The one on the left is the day of my 17th Birthday.  I turn 22 tomorrow.  5 years of work, only 2 of it was hard.  Wish I learned how to train smart early in life, but just making up for lost time.  More food, more squats, more deadlifts.

 

 

Training Log: Entry 484

ME lower day

2 board press
3xbar
3x135
3x185
3x225
1x315
1x345
0X365
1x350
1x350

Notes: Feel crappy about failing on one set.  Next time, no shirt while on bench.  The t-shirt made me slick, and I was sliding off the bench when I should have been sticking.  Lost my arch and everything.  Hopefully failing won't affect me.

Pull-ups of bodyweight
4x6

Notes: Much better than last week.  Gonna try for more reps while keeping the form tight.

Rear delt flies of 17lbs
15,13,10,10

Curls of 75lbs
3x8

Notes: Didn't feel the usual burn and gas here.  Need to check form and make sure I'm not using front delts here.

Intensity was real lacking today, don't know what's up.  Need to find a replacement for pull-downs until I can get access to them.

 

Got some photos of me in uniform.  I'm getting a little bigger.  Gonna call these "Family Vacation at Area 51"

Training Log: Entry 483

ME lowerbody

Deadlifts
3x135
3x225
3x295
1x400
1x455 (new PR)
1x475 (new PR)
1x480 (new PR)
1x455

Notes: Good day for PRs.  Pulled straight legged for the heavy stuff.  Seems to be how I pull when it gets heavy.  Real tough time breaking the weight off the ground for the last 3 sets.  Want to pull 500 before the end of the year.  45lbs more than my last deadlift attempt in Mid June.  Grip was solid, bar was going nowhere.

Good Mornings
4x8 of 165

Notes: Felt like I was gonna die on the last 2 sets.  Lots of heavy breathing to get through.  Take short steps in the powercage.

DB side bends of 75
4x10

Notes: Form was much better.  Freehand needs to be on head.  Move up.

Neck harness front raise of 45
13,11

Notes: Snagged on shirt a little, lost a few reps.  More forward lean next time.

Neck crunches of 45
15,11

Notes: Forgot about this exercise.  Good way to train moving the head forward instead of backward.  Burns the abs too. 

Training Log: Entry 482

DE upper

Speed bench of 170
8x3

Notes: Got a much better arch than before.  Doing a better job of bringing my shoulders close to my hips and being on my neck.  Squeezing the bejesus out of the bar.  First few sets were slow, middle sets were best, last sets shoulders were coming off the bench.

Close grip bench of 205
4x7

Notes: Felt incredibly strong until very last rep of last set.  Vast improvement over last time.  Always nice to improve the movement.  Little strain on shoulders, need to watch for that.

Standing DB overhead press of 55
7,6,6,6

Notes: Remembered to look up instead of forward.  Massive improvement.  I hate this movement so much because of my shoulder injury, but I know its best in the long run for stablizer work.

Bent over barbell rows of 135
10,9,8,8

Notes: Much better job compared to last time.  Grip in between bench and close grip bench to really hit lats.  Need better discpline on the bend.

Curls of 65
3x8

Notes: Cleared this crap.  Supposed I'll move up.  I hate curls.

 

Want proof that I own?  Here it is.

No training, just feel like bragging.

Home gym is under way.  Purchased another bar and another 170lbs of weight, bringing my total up to 560, which should hopefully be enough for rack pulls.  I think another 40lbs should be more than enough to get me by for a while.  Powercage is supposed to arrive tomorrow.  Got 1lb of chalk and a plate rack from my wife as a gift (what can I say, she knows me), and I got a 2 board and 3 board set up today at Home Depot for a whopping $8. 

Have put on 3lbs without even trying, and my bodyfat is at an all time low.

Life is good.

Training Log: Entry 481

Just some accessory work that I didn't do on speed day.

CoC RE #1
Right hand
40,30,25

Left hand
35,28,28

Notes: Prolly time to switch to more grinding work.  Maybe some overgripping like I read on elitefts and some negatives.  I think I'm about as far as I can get with the high rep/volume stuff.  I'm also tired of my forearms looking like Popeye after all the work.

Weighted sit-ups w/25lb plate
4x10

Notes: Doing sit-ups the right way via contracting the abs is always so much harder than when I just mimic the motion with my hip flexors.  Can't wait to get the powercage so I can do some hanging leg raises.

 

Taught my wife how to full squat.  My knoweldge in it is limited, but she took to it like a duck to water.  Guess it helps that she's korean.

Training Log: Entry 480

DE lower day
Speed squats of 185
10x2

Notes: Man I'm slow.  No box made these suck.  Need to work on exploding out of the bottom.

SLDLs of 275
4x8

Notes: Some rest pause and touch and go on the last set.  These high reps are killing me.  Axed out the unilateral stuff for these week, just to ease me in.

Neck work w/35lbs
2x15 front and back
2x13 side to side

Notes: Need to wear a full shirt next time.  Neck harnass tore up my back on the back sets.

Training Log: Entry 479

ME upper day

Bench
Barx3
135x3
185x3
225x3
275x1
305x1
325x1
335x1 (new PR)
335x1

Notes: Hit a new PR, and had enough in me for some more weight.  Didn't want to try to up it for that last set though.  Training, not testing.  Still need to improve my arch, but my elbows were doing great.  Sticking point seems to be about 3-4 inches off of chest.  Maybe some board work next time.

Pull-ups w/bodyweight
8,6,4,3

Notes: Went in with a gameplan and screwed it up.  Next time, sets of 6.  Always manage to burn myself out too much on the first set.  So nice to have a regular straight bar instead of that wonky crap from the gym.

Rear delt flies w/12lbs
15,15,12

Notes: Never really know a good weight to use here.  Seemed to hit my triceps more than my rear delts.  Need to perfect form.

EZ bar curls w/55lbs
8,8,10

Notes: Think I might just drop weight on last set of curls.  I have enough strength to kill the first two sets, it's just the third that burns me out.  No point in using such low weights just for the sake of the last set.

Training Log: Entry 478

ME lower

Good mornings
3xbar
3x95
3x135
3x185
2x225
1x245
1x265
1x275

Notes: Never performed GMs for Max Effort before, but didn't have enough weight to really ME anything else.  Could have gone heavier, but wanted to keep form sharp here.  Had wife check to make sure I wasn't going half of my ROM.

SLDLs of 275
3x8, 1x5

Notes: High volume and short rest times are killing me.  Decided to ease into it here, and keep the weight relatively light.  Keep form tight, even on light weight.  Too much rounding.

Side bends w/75lbs
3x8, 1x4

Notes: Same as above, don't want to fry myself in the first week.  Entire core is destroyed.

Captains of Crush #2
10x3 per hand

Notes: Nothing really spectacular here.  New knurling on bar is shredding my hands, but after the first set I felt fine.

Training Log: Entry 477

Got tired of putting up with my gym's crap.  Today was the last straw.  The closed down the gym for a week with no warning for construction.  I went out and bought a 7ft Olympic bar and 390lbs of plates.  Already had an olympic bench, adjustable dumbbells, an EZ bar, and a ton of standard plates from a past life.  Much love to my wife for driving around with me for 2 hours and running into Play it Again Sports 3 mintues before closing and getting a great deal.

Set everything up in my garage and completed a DE upper body workout in a decent amount of time.  As I get the hang of all the plate changing, should be even faster.  Reminds me of when I devised my old "no machine routine" for the WS4SB template.

 

Today's workout
Speed bench of 165
8x3

Notes: Too much weight on first set (185).  Haven't actually lost much speed on my bench, despite lack of speed training.  Form is decent, bench is a little slippery though, so hard to keep myself planted into it.  Tuck elbows into side on way down.

Close grip bench of 205
4x6

Notes: Always have trouble pulling the bar apart on this movement, but otherwise, things went well. 

DB shoulder press w/50lb DBs
6,6,5,4

Notes: Haven't done DB work in a long time.  Stablizers need to be brought up, especially with my bum shoulder.  Lots of clicks and crunches on my joints.

Bent over BB rows of 135
8,6,6,6

Notes: Finally found out why I have such trouble with this movement.  I've been spacing my hands way too far apart.  Closer spacing=much better form, much better pull on my back.  Must remember this for the future.  Kept weight light to perfect form.

EZ bar curls of 75lbs
8,8,5

Notes: Hello, my name is Jared, and I suck at curls.  I have no range of motion on these.  My forearms get pumped way before my biceps, and then the two run into each other on the curl, and I get the motion about halfway up.  Biceps always fry early on these too.  Gonna drop the weight. 

Not a training update, just going to post my new workout for reference.  Been doing a lot more reading over at elitefts.com, and feel like I have a much better grasp of the westside method.

Monday – Dynamic Effort Bench

Dynamic Bench Press 8x3/55%
Triceps-Lockouts/board presses 4x5-10         
Shoulders- Overhead presses 4x5-10
Lats/Upper Back-Rows4x8-10
Biceps-3x8-10

Tuesday – Max Effort Squat/DL

Max Effort Exercise
Hamstrings (low intensity/high volume) 3-4x8-15
Low Back 4x8-10
Abs- Crunch oriented 4x10-12

Thursday – Max Effort Bench Press

Max Effort Exercise
Triceps-Pulldowns 4x8-12
Shoulders-Raises 4x10-12
Lats/Upper Back-Pull ups/pull-downs  4x8-10

Saturday – Dynamic Squat/DL

Dynamic Squat

Week 1: 12x2/50%
            Week 2: 12x2/55%
            Week 3: 10x2/60%

Hamstrings/Quad Movement (low volume/high intensity) 3-4x5-10
Low Back 4x8-10
Abs-Oblique oriented 4x10-12

 

Have access to chains in my new gym, so that'll be nice.  No bands as of yet, but oh well.  Going to get some boards next week, so it's just rack lockouts for now.

Will be throwing in some grip and neck work.  Most likely on lower body day.

Training Log: Entry 476

Deloads on deadlifts, overhead presses and seated pulley rows.  Feeling great after this deload.  Lots of rest and lots of food. Noticed on deadlifts that I was pulling very straight legged today. Had nothing left in me for leg drive.  If this continues to be a problem, I should try pulling from a platform.

More neck harnass work.

Front raise w/30lbs
2x15

Side raise w/30lbs
2x10 per side.

 

Note: Remember to recruit the neck and not to oliques into this.   Need to find a better way for the side stuff.

Training Log: Entry 475

RE work with the CoC #1

1x35
2x25

Notes: Volume is getting absurd.  Hand strength is actually equaling out here.  Really need to pick up that 2.5 soon so I can just get back to grinding reps out.

Training Log: Entry 474

Ran 1.5 miles with the Air Force today.  Nothing really noteworthy, just felt like putting that in.

Training Log: Entry 473

Deloaded on squats, bench and pull-ups.

Thinking I'm gonna nix my next 3 week cycle of the 3-5 and just jump back in to the Westside Barbell template.  I don't think I can realistically reach my goals in 3 more workouts, and my body is really starting to get racked up.  I think an extra day of rest after my deload will be ideal, and then I can get to work fixing some imbalances and strengthening some weak points.

Tried to cheat on my clean living and eat pizza tonight.  Managed 4 medium slices before I was too full to go on.  So much for packing in the calories.

Did some work with my new neck harness.  Loaded up a 25lb plate, did 2x15 for front raise and both side raise.  Technique needs a little work, but damn is it effective.  Keeping reps high for sake of safety.

Training Log: Entry 472

Finally managed those seated pulley rows of 160, still had to wait for different idiots to finish whatever the hell they were doing.

Haven't been documenting my grip training as well as I should, but I've cycled back from 3 days of training low reps to one day of ME one day of RE. 

RE with #1
30,25,20

Something like that at least, don't really remember, but the reps were absurdly high compared to where they usually fell.

ME with #2
10,3,3,3,3,3,3,3,3

Notes: Meant to do a 10x3, but spaced out on the first set and kinda messed things up.  I can't wait to get the 2.5 so I can just get back to grinding towards the 3.

 

My wife says she can see my abs now.  Eating clean has been a blessing, thanks to her cooking for me.  Gonna start bulking soon.  Thinking one more 3 week cycle on the 3-5 and get to my goals of benching 295, Oveheading 195, and squatting 365 for my sets of 5 before moving back to Westside.  Already met my deadlift goal of 415x5.

Training Log: Entry 471

Deadlifts of 415
5,2,2,2,2

Notes: Got some chalk, totally changed everything.  That bar was going nowhere, coulda held it all day.  Lets me know that it wasn't a grip strength issue but just a slipping issue.  This is going to change how I pull.

Overhead press of 185
5,4,3,3,3

Notes: Rest times were short, but still progressed here.  Made sure not to use leg drive, despite the great temptation.

 

No chance for rows tonight.  Some hyperdouche was occuping every part of the cable station doing stupid crap.  Just gonna go in tomorrow and KO some quick sets before I deload.

 

Have neglected the mention that I received my shipment of pure dextrose and maltodextrin 3 lifting sessions ago, and have been making better PWO shakes as of said time.  No more sweetarts for me.

Training Log: Entry 470

Squats of 345
5,4,3,3,3

Notes: Ran a 5k yesterday for the Air Force, so legs were out of juice on a lot of these.  Wife told me that my stance was narrower than usual.  Heard a couple of creeks and pops on my knees, but no pain at least.

Bench of 285
5,4,3,3,2

Notes: Felt that "water on the elbow" feeling on my last rep of my last set, so decided to rack the weight rather than tear something.  I've been feeling that a lot on my tricep heavy movements as of recently.  Maybe I need to start supping more glutamine.

Pull-ups w/30lbs
5,5,4,3,2

Notes: Was rushing to get out of the gym at this point, so rest times weren't nearly long enough.  Got a pump for my troubles.

Training Log: Entry 469

Deadlifts of 395
5,5,5,3,3

Notes: Grip was slipping.  Need to stop doing gripper work the day before deadlifts.  Need to also buy chalk.  Might move the weight up.  I can blast the early sets just fine, grip is the only thing holding me back.

Overhead press of 185
5,3,3,2,3

Notes: Little too far back lean on these sets.  Was pretty blasted from deadlifts, and fatigued carried over here.  Next time should be fine.

Low pulley rows of 140
5,5,5,5,5

Notes: As usual, I'm starting a new cycle on my back work.  Form was sacraficed for weight, and have been doing a little more reading on proper form for rows.  Pinching shoulder blades together really helped, as did visualization.  Really felt the pull in my lats.