Training Log 7/17/09-7/23/09

Here are my latest results. All in all I felt I had a great training week. I hit PRs on both my upper body lifts and I pushed my lower body lifts pretty hard pain-free and with more range of motion than last week and month.

This week I included a bit of commentary for each workout; taking notes (in addition to the log) helps better prepare you for the next week of lifting. Notes are very useful when planning the next phase of your workouts and can help shape your workouts from week to week. The more often you take notes, the easier you will notice trends and ultimately the better you will be able to adjust your training.

7/17/09
A1) Incline BB Press
205: 5
230: 3
255: 7 (max reps, last month = 250x6)

B1) Weighted Dips
50: 5x12

B2) Weighted Pull-ups
15: 3x6, 1x4, 2x3

C1) External Rotation 3/0/3/0
5 (cable): 3x12 arm against body, 1x12 arm abducted 30 degrees

C2) Scapular Retractions:
42.5: 4x20

Pretty strong day on the bench. I was happy to add 5 lbs and 1 rep to my incline press. However, I was not feeling as strong on the pull-ups. Since this is my highest volume week before my deload, I did an extra set of 3 on the pull-ups to increase the volume. As far as my intensity goes on my 2 major assistance lifts: I tend to go pretty easy on the dips; my hard pressing set is on the incline so any accessory pressing I do is just to foster increased connective tissue strength and a bit of hypertrophy. For pull-ups I go a bit harder, as they are the biggest focus of my assistance on this day.

7/19/09
A1) Trap Bar Deadlift
175: 5
200: 3
225: 25 (getting very close to max reps, still holding off just a bit - did 190x15 last month)

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

C1) Back Extension - 4/0/2/1
BW: 3x15, 1x10

C2) Plank, opposite arm and leg elevated
4x 12 seconds

C3) Seated T-Bar Row
180: 15 (just one set)

The trap bar deadlift felt pretty good today; I was able to push it pretty hard without any pain which was nice. I also added an extra set in of rowing on this day. I need to increase the strength of my upper back a bit to support my increasing pressing strength.

7/21/09

A1) BB Standing Military Press
120: 5
135: 3
150: 11 (145x10 last month)

B1) Bent-over DB Row
80s: 3x15
70s: 1x20

B2) Standing Neutral-Grip DB Press
40x2: 3x10
35x2: 1x20

C1) Tricep Pushdown
72.5: 3x17

C2) Face Pulls
50: 3x14

I had another good pressing today; again I am pleased with adding 5 lbs and a rep to my overhead press in a month. While these are not the most exciting numbers, adding 5 lbs a month to the overhead press would result in 60 lbs in a year, which is a substantial improvement to say the least. On the standing DB press I decided to bump up the weight and drop the reps. Normally I would wait until after my deload week to do this but I was feeling pretty burnt out by the end of this workout the prior week so I figured a volume reduction would do just fine (this is an example of how you can use workout notes to modify your workout week by week).

7/23/09

A1) Front Squat
120: 5
140: 3
155: 15 (not max reps, but felt pretty good, and ROM was much better than last week. Nice jump over 145x10 last month)

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

C1) Back Extension - 4/0/2/1
BW: 3x15, 1x12

C2) Side Plank, on arm
BW: 4x25 seconds/side

As you may have noticed, each day on my leg workouts I do mostly the same assistance work after my main lift. This is because on the whole, I need to focus on increasing the strength of my posterior chain while minimizing compressive and rotational force through the spine and sacroiliac joint area. These bodyweight exercises are quite challenging but since they are not loaded, do not cause spinal compression beyond my current capacity to recover. Once I am comfortable with the strength of my SI, I will begin incorporating single leg movements on a daily basis.

Additionally, I have not changed my volume on my Glute-Ham raise from week to week. However, each time I do the exercise, I increase the "load" by relying less and less on the push-up from the bottom of the lift to bring me to the top.

All in all, I had a great training month and I am going into my deload (light) week satisfied with my progress.