Training Log: Entry 714

RE upper

DB press of 85
20,7,5

Notes: Strength keeps going up here.  Just gonna let the first set be what matters at this point, and if I hit 20, just move up.

Dips w/80
4,3,3

Notes: Minor issues with weight swinging, but it happens when you start stacking so many plates.  I'd use a DB if I didn't have to haul them all over the place.

Double miniband flyes
4x15

Notes: Meh, don't really care about these. 

Lat pulldowns
3x10 of 160
2x10 of 140

Notes: Going to try to get more volume into my back training, as my back locking up on the pin presses showed me I could stand a little more training.  Using the straps to pull with my elbows.  Some rest pausing as needed.

Kelso shrugs of 70
15,12

Notes: Still working out form here.  Helps to really hike myself up on the bench, grab the DBs at the extreme end furthest away from me, and flex the elbows a little.

Training Log: Entry 713

RE lower

Squats of 285
15,9,9

Notes: Really killed myself on that last set.  Lowerback pump was nuts.  Did my best to keep spreading my knees as I pushed out.

45 degree hyperextensions
3x12

Hise shrugs of 285
20,17

Ab rollouts from knees
3x9

Training Log: Entry 712

ME upper

Pin Press off of chest
Barx10
95x5
135x3
185x3
225x3
275x4
275x3
275x2

Notes: Performed the pin presses straight off the chest from my arch.  I actually had to cut my arch back down a little bit to squeeze under the bar.  This really trained my power off of chest moreso than my lockout, and generated an insane degree of strain.  Upperback really tightened up on me on the 4th rep of the first set, something to watch for on heavier lifts.  Think this might really be of use.  However, it's time for a deload.  I'm dead.

Incline press of 155
10,10,7

Cable pulldowns of entire stack
4x8

Low pulley rows of 140
10,10,8,6

EZ bar curls of 80 w/band pull aparts
8/15, 6/10

Notes: I'm fried, and burned out.  Deload needs to come, and maybe some routine restructuring.

Training Log: Entry 711

ME lower

Box squats
Barx5
135x5
225x3
275x3
315x1
365x1
405x1
455x1
455x1
405x3

Notes:  Definitely time to deload though.  I'm fried.

Front squats of 225
3x4

Notes: Almost tore a bicep when the weight rolled down.  Watch out for that.

Good mornings of 245
6,5,4

Saxon Side bends w/30lb DBs
2x3

Notes: Was really too fried for any intense ab work.

Training Log: Entry 710

RE upper

DB press of 80
20,8,5

Notes: Figured while I'm still progressing on this movement, I might as well ride it out.  Really, at this point what I'm doing isn't so much a Westside Barbell template, but my own abomination of a routine with some influences from Westside and other sources.

Dips of 70
4,3,4

Notes: Think this might really be contributing to some good gains in my upperbody training.

Double miniband flyes
10,15,12,12

Lat pulldowns w/straps
3x10@160
1x10@140

Notes: Straps made it so that I pulled with the elbows instead of my hands.  Really blew away my lats here.  Maybe when I build the home gym, I'll look into getting a pulldown tower.

Kelso shrugs w/70lb DBs
2x12

Notes: Think the lighter weight helped me get the hang of things.  Pull with the middle back, rather than upper traps.

Training Log: Entry 709

RE lower

Squats of 285
15,7,7

Notes: Cold out today, depth might not have been right where I needed on the first set, but went plenty deep after that.  Might've had some more in me, but thanks to a wonderful pre-training meal of a double bacon cheeseburger, fries and mozerella sticks, I was trying to hold down my chow.

45 degree hyperextensions
3x11

Notes: Same as last time.  Focus on squeezing glutes, not just hyperextending lowerback.

Ab wheel from knees
3x8

Notes: Took it light, first time doing these in a while.

Training Log: Entry 708

ME upper

Weighted dips
Bodyweight x 4
25x3
45x3
65x2
90x1
135x4 (New PR)
135x2
135x3

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwyUT_4WO1A

Notes: Got challenged to see how many 135lb dips I could do, so let the form go a little for the sake of the strain.  Managed to pick that triple up in the 3rd set as well, didn't see that coming.  Great day for PRs.  The challenge really motivated me.

Incline press of 155
10,9,6

Notes: Since I strained so much on the ME today, kept this one light.

Tricep pushdowns of 80
10,8,8,8

Low pulley rows of 140
4x8

Notes: Broke out the straps to get more of a pull with my lats.  Focused on good form, back arched, shoulders pinched, pulling with the lats.  Gonna keep things light and up the volume here.

EZ bar curls of 80
1x6

Notes: Biceps were done, and I really don't care about them.

Training Log: Entry 707

ME lower

Box squats
Barx5
135x3
225x3
315x1
365x1
405x4
425x2

Notes: I felt weak walking into the gym, and thought this was gonna be a deload, but when I hit 365 in the warm-up, it went up so easily I felt like going for something new.  The 405 was a good effort.  I might've been able to hit a 5th, but it would been ugly.

For some feedback on my RE lower experiment, my form was the best it's been...well...ever.  I pushed my knees out the whole time and really called my PC into it.  I didn't stall out of the hole like I normally do, and knees only buckled on the second rep of the 425 set, after a fair degree of fatigue.  I'm thinking of keeping the box squat as the ME movement and the squats as an RE for a while.

Front squats of 225
3x3

Notes: Didn't really like the zerchers, might give them a go later in life, but the front squats went well today.  Did them cross armed.

Good mornings of 235
6,5,5

Notes: These kicked my ass.  Focused on keeping the arch.

Training Log: Entry 706

RE upper

Bench press of 225
12,5,4,3

Notes: Just did this to get a feel for the bench again.  However, the benches in the base gym suck.  They're too low to the ground, retarding my leg drive, and slippery as hell, retarding my ability to arch and drive.  I'm faced with a few options.  I can go back to the DB pressing, or I might actually try to work in some speed work.  I originally started the RE work to rebuild the lost muscle around my shoulders and pecs to maintain stability on heavy benches, and from what I can tell, that mission has been accomplished.  Meanwhile, I've noticed I'm plateuaing on my RE work with the babell, getting to the same weight and just petering out.  Some speed work might be good just get a break.

Maybe 3 week waves, DB pressing and speed benching.

Dips w/60lbs
4,4,3

Miniband front raises
4x15

Notes: Noticing my traps are tight after this movement.  Need to relax the upperback on the raises to get the front delts in.  That being said, done with this for a while.

Angled handle pull-ups
10,10,5,5

Lat pulldowns of 140
3x10

Notes: Had to work in with someone on the pull-ups, decided to abandon them and go for the lat pulldowns.  I feel like an idiot for not using these the entire time, as it's one of the few cable movements I really like.  Got a ton of lat activation, and minimal strain on my joints/tendons.  Use straps next time to prevent my forearms from burning out.

Kelso shrugs of 105
2x10

Notes: These are still really awkward for me.  I'm gonna use a lighter weight next time and do a billion reps to figure out form.

Training Log: Entry 705

RE lower

Squats of 285
15,5,5

Notes: Upped the weight.  Think I'm just gonna do 3 week waves, rather than trying for specific rep numbers.  Form was outstanding.  Pushed out with my knees rather than letting them buckle.

45 degree hyperextension
3x10

Notes: Focused on squeezing with my glutes rather than just extending my back to get there.

Hise shrugs of 285
20,15

Ab pulldowns w/65
2x10

Training Log: Entry 704

ME upper

Dips
Bodyweight x 5
25x3
45x3
65x2
90x1
135x3
135x2
135x2

Notes: Minimal elbow pain.  Second rep of second set I ended up supermanning.  Need to stop doing that, but better than failing a rep.

Incline bench of 155
10,8,5

Notes: I die out on these so easy.  Hit a pause with a wider grip.  Don't wanna turn this into a second RE day, so I might hit more weight.

Tricep pulldowns w/70
15,10,10,8

Notes: No idea what 70 means, but it's more than last week.

DB rows of 140
8,7,5,5

Notes: Think it's time to move to something else.  These are getting nice and heavy, but my form is a little lax.  Think some pulley work might be good, or maybe some t-bar rows.

EZ bar curls w/80 superset with average band pull aparts
8/10, 8/10, 5

Notes: Can't stand curls.  Gonna just do 1 day a week, and do more upper back work in place of here.  Need to remember to do Kelso shrugs while I have access to an adjustable bench.

 

So I weighed myself at 203.5  Not too bad all things considered.  My appetite is through the roof, and nothing I eat is enough.  My cals are way up.  I think this is a result of all the non-lifting activity I'm doing.  Everyday I'm moving furniture and old weights and stuff, and it's really getting me a workout.  It's also not impacting my recovery much.  When all is said and done, I need to start getting some more GPP.  My body composition is improving, and I can eat more while improving my conditioning.

Training Log: Entry 703

ME lower

Deficit deadlifts off of 25lb plates
Barx10
135x5
225x3
315x1
405x1
455x2
455x1

Notes: Form was great on these. Good leg drive and then hamstring recruitment, rather than making it all lower back. Feel a little pull in my tail bone, hopefully no disc trauma. Heaviest I've pulled off the floor in a while. No chalk or straps.

Zercher squats of 225
3,3,7

Notes: Getting a feel for these. On the 12 pin, try for one lower next time. Beat up the forearms pretty good.

Good mornings of 225
8,8,7

Notes: Need to start back up on the creatine, as my recovery was shot.

Saxon side bends of 20
3x6

Training Log: Entry 702

 

Had an events day on Friday, day after RE lower.  Had to move over 1,000lbs (between weight plates, bars, and other junk) up 16 steps.  Managed in prolly half an hour or so.  Legs are fried as a result.

For today

RE upper

DB press of 75
20,8,6

Notes: Might cycle back to a straight bar soon.  This is doing great for chest strength, but I fear a loss of specificity.

Parallel bar dips w/50
3,4,4

Miniband front raises
3x15, 1x12

Angled bar pull-ups of bodyweight
10,10,10,5,5,5,5

Notes: Cut the rest pausing down here, as I don't wanna spend much time in the base gym

EZ bar curls of 70 superset with band pull aparts
12/10,6/10,6/10

Notes: My arms are getting puny, and I can't really find myself motivated to fix this.  I hate curls, so so much.

Training Log: Entry 701

RE lower

Squats of 265
15,9,7

Notes: Recovery is better now that I'm not training in raw sewage.  Less dry heaving.  Right knee is buckling.

Hyperextensions
3x8

Notes: This is a great movement post RE lower, need to use it more.  It's not as taxing, so I can perform despite being fatigued.

Cable ab pull-downs of 57.5
3x12

Notes: No idea what "57.5" means, but this sucked.  Next time, maybe some saxon side bends.

Training Log: Entry 700

ME upper

Dips
Bodyweightx10
25x5
45x3
65x3
90x3
135x2
145x2
155x1
Bodyweightx5

Notes: I love dips, and thankfully I haven't lost much strength on them.  With a bodyweight of 200 or so, that's a 355 dip.  Not too shabby.  Elbows were taking some abuse here, be watchful of that.

Overhead press of 135
7,5,4

Notes: Dips took a lot out of me, so cut down the weight here and just went for higher reps.  Had to cheat on that last set with some leg drive.

Straight bar push downs of 60
20,10,10,10

Notes: Pulley station sucked, inconssistant resistance.

DB rows of 140
8,6,6

Notes: Decided to scale the volume back a bit just because it was my first heavy training day in a few weeks.  Row came easily.  On my left side, I'm angling my chest down to meet the row, reducing my ROM. Need to watch out for that.

Band pull aparts and neck work.

 

I'm without internet access regularly, so updates will be slow.

Training Log: Entry 699

ME lower

Rack pulls slightly below the knee
Barxinfinity
135x5
225x3
315x3
405X1
495x1
515x1
535x1
495x1

Notes: I keep miscalculating my work, thought I was pulling 545. Tried a closer stance to get more leg drive. Didn't feel any strain on my back. Pulled with a belt, but not straps or chalk. First ME work in like 2 weeks.

Good Mornings of 185
10,12,10

Notes: Used a wider stance and bent knees. Really hammered the lowerback and hamstrings.


My basement flooded with sewage, yet again. I should hopefully be moving soon. This time the victim was my wife's elliptical and my weight plate trees.