Training Log 7/24/09-7/30/09

This is my deload week. For those unfamiliar, it is a time to back off on the weights a bit and recover for the next round of training. I will write about that a bit more in my next post.

7/24/09

A1) Incline BB Bench Press
110: 5
135: 5
160: 5

B1) Dips
BW: 4x10

B2) Pull-ups
BW: 4x5

C1) External Rotations
3x10 - used a band since I was in Denver and it was all that I could find

C2) Scapular Retractions
3x25 - used a seated row at a weight that felt challenging; the weight is irrelevant since I will not be back to that gym anytime soon. The actual "weight" on a machine stack varies from machine to machine.

7/26/09

A1) Trap Bar Deadlift
105: 5
120: 5
140: 5

Following my light trap bar deadlift work, I did about 30 minutes of z-health drills followed by around 100 or so body-weight squats with an emphasis on form and grooving the motor pattern.

7/28/09

A1) BB Military Press
65: 5
80: 5
95: 5

B1) Bent Over DB Row
70s: 3x10

B2) Standing Neutral Grip DB Press
30x2: 3x10

C1) TCPD
72.5: 3x11

C2) Face Pulls
50: 3x10

Ended with 50 shoulder dislocates, some static stretching, and a 10 minute z session.

7/29/09

A1) Front Squats
70: 5
85: 5
105: 5

B1) Back Extensions - 4/0/2/1
BW: 4x10

B2) Plank, Hand & opposite arm up
4x10 seconds/side

Finished with about 100 body-weight squats again, some static stretching, and a few z exercises.


Comments

As you can see, all of my work this week used a lot less volume and in some situations was a lot less intense as well. On my upper body days, I cut down on all pressing movements (dropped all the weight on weighted dips, for example) much more than my pulling movements. This is just to give my shoulders a bit of a break. I also axed GHRs entirely for the week, as my sacroiliac area is where my previous back injury was, so I wanted to give this area a break as well. The glutes attach directly on various parts of the sacrum. Although the hamstrings attach to the Ischial tuberosity, they are able to exert pretty significant force on the sacrum via fascial trains(Fascia ties muscles together; it is the white stuff in the picture below. You can trace a line, also known as a fascial train, from the hamstrings, to the ischial tuberosity, to the sacrotuberal ligament, to the sacrum).

Click to Enlarge

As you can see, deload weeks are highly variable in nature from person to person. I will write more about these later today.