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.

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.