Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Training Log 9/29/09-10/5/09

After a long deload, back to work!

9/29/09
A1) BB Standing Military Press
115: 5
135: 5
155: 14 (150x15 last month)

B1) Bent Over DB Row

Changed the structure on this.. instead of doing sets of 10 I worked up to a 5 RM then followed it up shortly with the set of kroc rows.

60: 1x5
70: 1x5
80: 1x5
85: 1x5
90: 1x5
95: 1x5
100: 1x5
105: 1x5 (rep max, grip was not strong enough)
75: 1x26

I think this will work pretty well. I usually range from fine to very tired during this workout, and this structure will give me more flexibility to take it easy or push it hard on days I'm feeling not to great or days I am feeling "on". I'd rate my feeling this day average and I put on a couple extra reps on my set of kroc rows and handled more weight on the bent over row (last time used 90s for a few sets of 10) than I have before.

C1) DB Neutral Grip Press:
45x2: 4x12

D1) Face Pull
50: 3x16

D2) Cable Tricep Pushdown
87.5: 3x11

9/30/09

A1) Front Squat
145: 5
165: 5
185: 15 (165x15 last month)

B1) Bulgarian Squat
35x2: 4X8

C1) Standing Ab Pulldown w/ rope
70: 3x15

C2) 1-leg Leg Press
90: 1x10, 2x8

Added in the 1 leg leg press to try to build some strength in the bottom position of my squat. I am not a fan of heavy leg presses due to the way they load the spine, but as my hip mobility increases, I need some extra work to build strength and neural comfort at the end ranges of motion without completely trashing my legs. I was still sore for a week after this workout.

10/2/09

A1) Incline BB Bench Press
185: 5
215: 5
245: 12 (240x13 last month)

B1) Flat BB Bench Press
185: 8
205: 8
225: 8
245: 8

I am switching my incline press out for a flat bench press on next month's training cycle, so I am starting to warm up to the movement again here.

B2) Twitch Pull-Ups (top and mid-way)
BW: 5x5 in both positions

B3) Pull-Up (full ROM)
BW: 5x6

C1) DB Preacher Curls
35: 1x5
40s: 1x5
45s: 1x3, 1x5

D1) Scapular Retractions
60: 4x20

D2) External Rotation
10: 2x12, 1x10


10/4/09

A1) Trap Bar Deadlift
215: 5
245: 5
280: 27 (255x30 last month)

B1) Rack Pull on setting "3" (lowest) and standing on 1" of padding (pulling 3-4" from the ground
135: 6
175: 8
215: 8
245: 8
255: 6 (grip getting tired, double overhand)

C1) Step-Ups
30x2: 4x9

C2) Standing Ab Pulldown w/ rope
70: 4x15


And that's it for this training week. The leg workouts were great but the progress for my upper body movements are starting to slow a little bit. I did not get as many calories in as I would have liked to over the past few weeks (I rotated oatmeal out of my diet for those 2 weeks and I get a lot of calories from it normally).  I also think I need to bump my calorie intake overall. Since I've started this log I've put on about 25 lbs (went from 170-195), so it is most likely time to bump it up another 250 calories/day to keep the weight(s) (har har) moving up.

Training Log 9/19/09-9/28/09

Extra long deload week (5 workouts) again - moving my schedule a bit to match with my workout partner's schedule. Nothing too exciting, just a lot of mobility work and light weights. Last week was my first week using challenging weights for legs in awhile, so I want to make sure I give myself plenty of time to recover.

9/20/09

I did an inconsequential arms workout by feel. Did not write it down - just worked up to a heavy weight for a few exercises. Did a lot of recovery work, z-health, stretching, and EQIs.

9/23/09

Covered both Military Press and Front Squat in this deload workout.

A1) Front Squat
80: 5
95: 5
115: 5

B1) Bent Over DB Row
70: 3x10

B2) DB Neutral Grip Standing Press
35x2: 3x10

C1) Bulgarian Squat
BW: 3x10

D1) Face Pulls
50: 3x10

Finished with some EQIs, stretching, and dynamic joint mobility.

9/25/09

A1) BB Incline Press
115: 5
140: 5
170: 5

B1) Flat BB Bench Press
135: 3x10

C1) Pull-Ups
BW: 4x5

9/27/09

A1) Trap Bar Deadlift
155: 2x5
180: 1x5

..and that was about it for the weights. I spent about 45 minutes between two long bulgarian squat EQIs, a push-up eqi, plenty of z-health, and some PNF stretching.

Training Log 9/12/09-9/18/09

I have not posted in awhile, but I have been keeping my log:

9/13/09

A1) Trap Bar Deadlift
225: 5
255: 3
285: 22 (250x27 last month)

B1) Rack Pull - setting "4", standing on 2" of mats (to make the pin lower without lowering the rack setting

165: 1x10
205: 1x10
235: 2x8

C1) Step-Ups
25x2: 4x9

C2) Hanging Leg Raise
BW: 4x17

9/15/09

A1) Standing BB Military Press
125:5
150:3
165: 10 (155x10 last month)

B1) DB Bent-over Row
90s: 4x10

B2) DB Neutral Grip Standing Press
45x2: 4x11

C1) Face Pulls
50: 3x16

C2) Cable Tricep Pushdown
87.5: 3x10

C3) BB Curl
65: 3x12

D1) Cable External Rotation, arm flexed 80 degrees
10: 3x8

9/16/09

A1) Front Squat

145: 5
165: 5
185: 14 (165x18 last month)

B1) Bulgarian Squat
30x2: 3x10

C1) Standing Ab Pulldown w/ rope
57.5: 4x10

9/18/09

A1) BB Incline Bench Press
215: 5
240: 3
270: 7 (260x7 last month) - I only meant to do 265 here, miscalculated.. but a good set nontheless

B1) Close-grip BB Bench Press
195: 10
205: 10
210: 2x10, 1x8

B2) Twitch (near top and midway) Pull-Ups
BW: 5 reps each x 5 sets

B3) Pull-Ups, full ROM
BW: 5x5

C1) Twitch Preacher Curls
35: 2x5
40s: 2x4

C2) DB Preacher Curl
35s: 2x8
40s: 2x6

D1) Scapular Retractions
50: 4x25

D2) External Rotation, arm flexed to 80 degrees
10: 4x10


Not too much to say. Pretty solid training week all around, hit PRs on pretty much everything.

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Training Log 9/5/09 - 9/11/09

Hit some big PRs this week again. At this rate, I'll be testing out 225 on the overhead military press in October rather than December!

9/5/09

A1) Trap Bar Deadlift
210: 3
240: 3
270: 25 (240x25 last month)

B1) Rack Pull - "4" setting on the squat rack, standing on 1" platform
145: 10
195: 10
215: 10
225: 10

C1) Step-Ups
20x2: 3x12

C2) Hanging Leg Raise
BW: 3x16

For progression on the rack pull, I wanted to lower the bar closer to the ground, but the rack was already on its lowest setting, so I stood on a 1" platform. Since the bar is resting on a rack, this is just like lowering the pins an inch. Next week, I'll stack 2 1" rubber platforms.


9/7/09

A1) BB Military Press
125:3
140:3
160: 13 (Last month 150x13)

B1) Bent Over DB Row
85s: 3x14 70s: 1x30

B2) Standing DB Neutral Grip Press
45x2: 4x10

C1) Cable Tricep Pushdown
80: 3x15

C2) Barbell Curl
65: 3x11

D1) Face Pulls
50: 15, 14, 10

10 lb PR over last month for the same amount of reps was huge in my book, especially since this is my first time working with 160 lbs on this exercise.

9/8/09

A1) Front Squat
135: 3
155: 3
175: 15 (last month 155x22)

B1) DB Bulgarian Squat
25x2: 4x10

C1) Left Leg Externally Rotated Calf Raise - 2/2/X/2
BW; 4x11

C2) Side Plank
5 lbs: 4x25 seconds per side

Working at a lot more depth this month than last month. Still, I definitely see a 15% weight increase and only dropping to 15 reps as definite progress.

9/10/09

A1) Incline BB Bench Press
195: 3
225: 3
250: 11 (245x10 last month)

Let me preface this next part by saying I was trying out some of the things Christian Thibaudeau was experimenting with in this video. From what I understand, some of the dropping and catching the weights acts to increase neural recruitment during the subsequent exercise, and the twitch reps can help increase neural activation and improve the mind-muscle connection. For me, two areas I have had trouble activating in the past are my "outer" lats and my left bicep, so for the Pull-Ups, I did two sets of 5 "catches" - that is starting at the top of the Pull-up, letting the muscles completely relax, free-falling about halfway down the movement, and then trying to catch myself, much like a typical jumping oriented plyometric drill. I then proceeded to superset twitch reps and normal full ROM pull-ups.

I will follow through with this protocol over the next 6 weeks. I won't use it during my deload periods, so I will get in 5 total training sessions. Since I was doing Pull-Ups regularly prior to this point, I will retest my strength on those movements after this period to see how it has improved.


B1) Pull-Ups
BW: 3 twitch top / 5 twitch bottom for 5 sets, alternated every other set for normal Pull-Ups, which I hit 3 sets of 5 and 2 sets of 4.

I supersetted this with the close-grip bench press - I did one twitch set, rested 30-45 seconds, then did one full pull-up set, then did a set of close-grip bench press. This gave me about 2 minutes between each paired set of pull-ups to rest.

B2) Close Grip Bench Press - 3 second pause at sticking point on last rep

165: 1x10
185: 1x10
205: 3x10

On this exercise, on my last rep of each set, I paused about 1" off my chest and held the bar steady for about 3 seconds before finishing the rep. My max effort bench press fails just off the chest, so this isometric should help a bit with the sticking point.

Before my curls, I did the same pattern as with the pull-ups. I did 2 sets of 5 drop and catch curls with 50 pounds, taking about 45 seconds between each set. I then supersetted preacher DB twitch curls, hitting reps at the top and bottom, with full preacher db curls.

C1) Drop Curls
50 lbs: 2x5

D1) Twitch DB Preacher  Curls
30 lbs: 2 sets of 5 reps at the top and bottom
35 lbs: 2 sets of 4 reps at the top and bottom

D2) DB Preacher Curls
30 lbs: 1x8, 1x7
35 lbs: 1x6, 1x6

And that is it for the week.

Saturday, September 5, 2009

Training Log 8/29/09-9/4/09

Beginning of a new 4-week training cycle. I added in some curls this week and moved the weights around a bit. I bumped up the deadlift by 30 pounds, squat by 20, military press by 10, and bench press by 5. I also switched out quite a bit of my assistance movements.


8/30/09:

A1) Trap Bar Deadlift
195: 5
225: 5
255: 30 (225x30 last month)

B1) Rack Pull
135: 1x10
185: 1x10
205: 2x10

C1) Step-Ups
20x2: 3x10

C2) Hanging Leg Raise (knees bent)
3x15

This week I started to work in some more traditional assistance work. All of it is a bit light for now, but I'm still getting back into the swing of things. It all felt good though and was very easy, so it doesn't seem like I've lost much (if any) strength in the lower body department.

9/1/09

A1) BB Standing Military Press
115: 5
130: 5
150: 15 (140x14 last month)

B1) Bent Over DB Row
85s: 3x13 70s: 1x26

B2) Standing DB Neutral Grip Press
40x2: 4x14

C1) BB Curl
65: 3x10

C2) Tricep Pushdown
80: 3x14

D1) Face Pulls
50: 15, 10, 7 (was pretty burnt out by this point)

Great workout today. It was nice to hit 15 reps on the military press even though I went up 10 pounds this week.

9/2/09

A1) Front Squat
125: 5
145: 5
165: 15 (150x20 last month)

Actually went close to failure on the Front Squat for once. I hit a lot more depth this week then I have previously, which is why the numbers did not change much.

B1) Bulgarian Squat
20x2: 3x10

C1) Side Plank
5 lbs: 4 sets of holding a 5 lb weight 20 seconds per side

C2) Calf Raise - Left Leg, Foot Externally Rotated - 2/2/1/2
BW: 4x10

Also started adding some more traditional assistance work in this week. I took it a lot easier today because I was still sore from Sunday! As far as the calf raise goes, for whatever reason, the medial head of my left gastroc is way less developed (both size and strength) than it is on the right leg. While I'm training strength rather than aesthetics, there's no harm in fixing imbalances.

9/4/09

A1) BB Incline Press
180: 5
210: 5
240: 13 (235 x 10 last month)

B1) Pull-Ups
BW: 5x6, 2x5, 1x4, 1x6, 1x5

B2) Close-grip Bench Press (about 16"-18" grip)
145: 1x10
165: 1x10
185: 1x10
195: 2x10

C1) Scapular Retractions (on seated row)
50: 4x22

C2) Preacher DB Curl
30s: 4x10

D1) Shoulder Flexed External Rotations - 2/0/2/0
5: 4x10

Took it easy on the flat close-grip bench since the movement was new. Was really shocked to put up 240 for 13 reps on the BB Incline Press, that is a huge PR for me.


Great training week all in all. I hit 2 big PRs on both upper body lifts and I was able to add some bigger movement as assistance work on my lower body lifts. I'll be looking to hit some all-time PRs on some lower body stuff within the next few months!

Training Log 8/22/09-8/28/09

Deload week this week. Only thing that changed was that my deloading schedule shifted a day over because I maxed out on my incline bench last week.

8/23/09

A1) Trap Bar Deadlift
145: 2x5
165: 1x5

B1) Natural Glute-ham Raise
BW: 3x6

C1) Back Extension - 4/0/2/1
BW: 3x8

C2) Side Plank
3 sets of 30 seconds per side

8/25/09

A1) BB Military Press
65: 5
85: 5
100: 5

B1) DB Bent Over Row
75s: 3x10

B2) DB Standing Neutral Grip Press
35x2: 3x10

C1) Tricep Pushdown
72.5: 3x10

C2) Face Pulls
50: 3x12

8/26/09:

A1) Front Squat
70: 5
90: 5
105: 5

And that's about it for this day, just did a lot of body weight squats, dynamic joint mobility, and stretching.

8/28/09:

A1) Incline BB Bench Press
110: 5
135: 5
165: 5

B1) Dips
BW: 4x10

B2) Pull-Ups
BW: 4x7

C1) Scapular Retractions (on seated row)
50: 4x21

C2) Shoulder Flexed External Rotations - 2/0/2/0
5: 3x10, 1x8


That is it for this week. Other than that, I did a lot of dynamic joint mobility and walking to help recover this week.

Friday, August 21, 2009

Training Log 8/14/09 - 8/21/09

Extra two days this week; moving my schedule over to match with my training partner's schedule.

8/14/09

A1) Incline BB Bench Press
205: 5
235: 3
260: 7 (last month 255x7)

B1) Dips
50: 5x15

B2) Pull-Ups
BW: 5x8

C1) External Rotation - 3/0/3/0
5: 4x15

C2) Scapular Retractions
42.5: 4x25

8/16/09

A1) Trap Bar Deadlift
200: 5
225: 3
250: 27 (225x25 last month)

B1) Natural Glute-Ham Raise with Push-Up
BW: 4x8

C1) Back Extension - 4/2/0/1
10: 3x11

C2) Side Plank
BW: 3x30 seconds per side

Had to knock a set off the back extensions and planks because my erectors were cramping up.

8/18/09

A1) BB Standing Military Press
125: 5
140: 3
155: 12 (150x11 last month)

B1) Bent Over DB Row
85s: 3x11
70s: 1x25

B2) Standing DB Military Neutral Grip Press
40x2: 4x13

C1) Tricep Pushdown
80: 3x13

C2) Face Pulls
50: 3x17

8/19/09

A1) Front Squat
130: 5
150: 3
165: 18 (155x15 last month)

B1) Glute-Ham Raise w/ Push-Up
BW: 4x8

C1) Back Extension - 4/0/2/1
10: 3x12

C2) Plank - Arm & Leg Up
3x19 seconds per side

D1) DB Rotating Curl
35x2: 3x10


8/21/09


A1) BB Incline Press
45: 10
95: 10
135: 8
185: 5
225: 3
265: 1
295: 1
315: 1 (PR, old PR 295 from around April '09)
320: Miss

B1) Pull-Ups
BW: 10x5

B2) Dips
60: 5x10

C1) Scapular Retractions
50: 4x20

C2) External Rotations, Flexion - 2/0/2/0
5: 4x9

I will start deloading tomorrow and do so for one week. The extra workout is just because I am moving my training schedule to match my partner's. The incline press miss @ 320 was a little disappointing. 315 felt quite easy and I thought 320 was a sure-fire hit, but on the way down I tapped against the rack which sent the weight off-course and broke my concentration. Just goes to show how practice plays a role in lifting maximal loads. I have not done work at 1RM loads in the past 3 months and I forgot what it was like to hold that much weight! I won't be satisfied, but I can't complain about the 20 pound PR on the Incline.