Tuesday, April 30, 2019

Upper body

Tues, 30 Apr 19

DB Incline Bench: 65x4x10
Rope Triceps Press: 80x2x15
Lat Pulldown: 80x3x10
BB Curl: 70x3x10
Floor Press: 155x3x10
DB Row: 65x3x10
DB Side Raises: 15x3x10

The incline bench was good - managed to hit all my reps.  I'll increase that by 5 next session.  Rope triceps was good - I'll bump that up to 90, and same with the lat pulldown.  I'm really working hard on the mind muscle connection on the lats - and am feeling it much more now.  I sit on the floor just a little behind the bar and use a thumbless grip to try and reduce the bicep involvement with the movement.  BB Curl was pretty hard and I had trouble not cheating at the end, however it wasn't impossible - so I'm going to leave that and see if I can grow into it.  Floor press was hard - last rep was killer but I was supersetting all my exercises, so I'll leave that the way it is as well.  Lastly the DB row was hard, but not impossible - I'll leave that.  DB side raises worked very well at 15.  It seems like a small amount but it's crazy how much that tiny weight stresses the delts - they pop right out.  I'm very slow with the movement and am also really concentrating on my mind-muscle connection with pinning my lats back.

Monday, April 29, 2019

Lower body

Mon, 29 Apr 19

Barbell Glute Bridge: 135x3x5
Hip Thrust: 135x3x10
Barbell Front Squat: 95x3x20, 95x10, 135x8
RDL: 135x5x10

Well, I think I tried to add too much weight to the squats lol.  Butt work went great.  Added 20 lbs to both the glute bridge, hip thrust and RDL.  No problems moving the 135.  A little pain still in the groin area as I'm bony as hell across the area just above my junk - but I'm really working on pushing the weight onto my thighs, which helps immensely.  

The squats were a different story.  The 20 rep fronts killed me.  I think I will drop them back a bit. Since I was almost hitting 16 with 65 lbs I'll raise it to 75.  I'll also bring straps down because it's not so much my legs hurting as my wrists killing me.  So, needless to say trying to do 135x8 was utterly stupid.  I managed to squeeze out the 8 reps, then was toast.  Nothing left.

Friday, April 26, 2019

Upper body

Fri, 26 Apr 19


DB Incline Bench: 65x4x10
Rope Triceps Press: 80x3x10
Lat Pulldown: 110x3x10
BB Curl: 70x3x10
Floor Press: 135x3x10
DB Row: 65x3x10
DB Side Raises: 15x3x10

I added weight to the incline bench - went fine.  I kept the weight the same on the triceps press, but forgot that it was 2x15 as opposed to 3x10.  Someone was using the other side of the cable machine, so I just attached the rope to the other pulley, pinned the whole stack, and did my lat pulldowns like that.  I added weight to the BB Curls and that was fine.  I see I'm doing a little "cheating" on them, but I can definitely see them working, so I'm OK with that.  Floor press should be able to go up another 20 lbs - I'm pretty strong off the floor.  I added weight to the DB Row.  That was fine, required some effort, but no need to drop the DBs or anything else.  I lowered the weight on the DB side raises because I saw I wasn't doing them correctly.  When using proper form I had to drop the weight a touch.


Thursday, April 25, 2019

Lower body

Thurs, 25 Apr 19

Barbell Glute Bridge: 95x3x5
Hip Thrust: 95x3x10
Barbell Front Squat: 65x4x20, 95x4x8
RDL: 95x5x10

Much better today.  My work capacity is improving as is my form.

Glute bridges and hip thrusts are coming in nicely.  I'm figuring out how to place the bar correctly and think I am hitting my glutes properly.  I may rig up my phone to shoot some video as it's hard to tell if you are hitting your butt when it's behind you.  It shouldn't be long to add weight as I'm getting form dialled in, and will likely need a lot of weight to tax the glutes.

Front squat sets 1 - started to get difficult at 16, set 2 at 15, set 3 at 15, and set 4 at 10.  In sets one to three I just stood for a few seconds, without racking the bar, and then finished up the set.  In the last set I had to rack the bar at 15 reps, but then unracked it about 15-20 seconds later and SLOWLY finished the set.  I'll probably keep this weight until I can actually run through the entire 4x20 without stopping.

RDL went well.  Paused at the bottom without setting the bar down for stretch.  Because I'm a deep squatter it may actually be necessary for me to stand on a plate because I'm almost touching the floor at the bottom.

Wednesday, April 24, 2019

Upper body

DB Incline Bench: 60x4x10

Rope Triceps Press: 80x2x15
Lat Pulldown: 80x3x10
BB Curl: 65x2x10
Floor Press: 135x3x10
DB Row: 65x3x10
DB Side Raises: 20x3x10

Another nice heavy session.  I added some DB side raises to the routine as I'd like to work on bringing my delts up some more.  They look pretty decent already, but I really want the cannonball look.  I actually did my lat pulldowns seated on the floor, no thumbs.

Tuesday, April 23, 2019

Lower Body

Tues, 23 Apr 19

Barbell Glute Bridge: 135x3x5
Hip Thrust: 135x3x10
Barbell Front Squat: 65x4x20, 95x4x8
RDL: 135x3x10, 115x10, 95x10
OMG.  This was brutal.  I'm switching it up a bit as my squat has been stalled with the dieting.  I thought I'd work on some hypertrophy and focus on my front quads and glutes.  

Glute bridge and hip thrust:  there is definitely a learning curve here.  Positioning that bar so that it's exactly in the right spot is critical.  I've got remarkably little fat in that spot, somehow, and boy - do you feel that bar.  The hip thrust was supposed to be at the end of the session, but since I was already down and had the bar loaded, I decided to do them next.  I dragged out a bench and went to town.

Front squats were torture.  I had big dreams of doing the 4x20 with 95 lol.  NOT A CHANCE.  At no point was I able to just hammer out 20 reps - I had to do like 10-12, pause (still holding the bar), do two sets of five to finish, etc.  Then I loaded up to 135 for the sets of 8.  Man, they were gassers after the sets of 20.

Lastly was RDL.  This actually wasn't too bad.  I really focused on form, and 135 was a little too heavy.  So I did three sets at 135 then dropped back 20 lbs for the last two sets.

Thursday, April 18, 2019

Upper body and cardio

Thurs, 18 Apr 19
DB Incline Bench: 55x4x10
Rope Triceps Press: 70x2x15
Lat Pulldown: 80x3x10
BB Curl: 55x2x10
Floor Press: 135x3x10
DB Row: 60x3x10

Rowing: 500m x 5 with 1 min rest

Crazy!  So, the other day I started a diet break because I was miserable and not losing any weight.  With birthdays coming and Easter it was the right time.  Today the weights were just flying up.  Effortless.  Added 10 lbs a side to the lat pull down, 5 lbs to the DB row, did a bunch of complexes and OHP, an extra set of curls....   Just nuts.  I spent the whole hour just pounding upper body work.  5 lbs back in two days just from not being depleted.  Veins popping out, muscles pumped.....  ahhhh.  I feel like I'm on drugs I'm so hyper.

Squats

Tues, 16 Apr 19

Squats: 135x5, 225x5, 315xF, 285x4x1, 265x5, 225x5
Rowing: 5x1 min on, 2 min rest, maximum effort.

Monday, April 15, 2019

Upper body and cardio

Mon, 15 Apr 19
DB Incline Bench: 55x4x10
Rope Triceps Press: 70x2x15
Lat Pulldown: 70x3x10
BB Curl: 55x2x10
Floor Press: 135x3x10
DB Row: 55x3x10

Rowing: 500m x 5 with 1 min rest

Today's incline session was prompted by Scott Herman fitness (https://youtu.be/o1RaO7eRnl8).  I used my DB hooks so my shoulder injury wasn't exacerbated.  Everything else went as expected.  The weight was good on the bench, requiring effort to get the top 3 reps out of each set.  Similarly for each exercise the weight was right at the level required to keep a rep or two in the tank. 

I have to tighten up the diet this week as I did not lose any weight last week.  I do feel my waist is smaller as I am now wearing smaller pants then a few weeks ago, but it really was in my mind, a wasted week.  Part of the issue was I was constipated and really STANK.  So, I loaded up the last half of the week on fiber, adding hundreds of calories to my diet, in order to have a few decent BMs to get rid of the smell.  It did work, and I can now sleep comfortably without worrying about stinking my wife out of the room.  I've changed up my diet accordingly as to avoid the high protein wraps and smoked turkey breast out of my diet for a bit.  I don't know if it was the wraps or not, as they are the only real new thing I added to my diet. (vegetable based protein, maybe causing issues?)

Friday, April 12, 2019

Deadlifts

Fri, 12 Apr 19

Deadlifts: 135x5, 225x5, 315x5x1 (fast), 335x2, 335x1, 355x1, 335x2, 315x3, 225x5
Shrugs: 135x10, 225x10, 315x2x5

No emergencies this week.  Managed to hit 355 for a single. One of the 335 sets was only a single as I thought I'd try it without straps.

Thursday, April 11, 2019

Upper body and cardio

Thurs, 11 Apr 19
DB Decline Bench: 55x4x10
Rope Triceps Press: 70x2x15
Lat Pulldown: 70x3x10
BB Curl: 55x2x10
Floor Press: 135x3x10
DB Row: 35x3x10

Rowing: 500m x 5 with 1 min rest

The decline bench was pretty easy - for the first two sets.  Set three was a little harder, requiring me to rack the DBs once at rep 8.  Set four was much harder.  I managed 6 reps before racking the DBs.  Then did singles as quickly as I could (say 15 secs rest or so).  I'll keep that weight for next session. They were probably a little harder because I supersetted the rope triceps press and curls, then the lat pulldown. 

I was going to do floor presses at 145 but only managed 2 reps.  So I dialled it back to 135.  My last set of 3 required me to rack it around rep 6, and do singles to the end.  I supersetted these with the last lat pulldown set, and the DB rows.

I decided just to do the DB rows because I had already got some good activation from the triceps press, the lat pulldown, and the floor press.  I decided the DB row (inclined) would be a good move for my back.  I can easily up the weight on that one to probably about 50 lbs per hand next time.

Rowing was rowing.  It's hard, but it seems to be working as a form of cardio.  My heart rate definitely goes up, but I'm less short of breath than I have been.

Wednesday, April 10, 2019

Squats and cardio

Weds, 10 Apr 19

Squats: 135x5, 225x3x5, 275x1, 295x1
Rowing: 5x500 w 1 min rest

Tried to get a bit more work in on the squat today and managed the 225x3x5 without any major difficulty.  Decided to do a couple of heavy singles just to see how they felt.  I couldn't quite make 315 comfortably, so I decided not to risk it.

Tuesday, April 9, 2019

Upper body and cardio

Tues, 9 Apr 19
DB Decline Bench: 50x4x10
Floor Press: 135x3x10
BB Row: 135x3x10
Lat Pulldown: 60x3x10
BB Curl: 55x2x10
Rope Triceps Press: 60x2x15

Rowing: 500m x 5 with 1 min rest

Went well.  I used my hooks for the decline bench.  

Monday, April 8, 2019

Squats

Mon, 8 Apr 19

Rowing: 500m x 5 w 1 min rest
Squats: 45x5, 135x5, 225x5, 275x4, 225x3x5

I've been getting weaker and weaker.  No weight loss last week.  Could only manage 4 reps at 275 lbs.  I'm adding whey powder (+52 grams a day) and creatine to my diet to see if I can't improve a bit because my performance is just crap.  I've lost an inch off of my upper arm, and squat performance is completely in the toilet.

Friday, April 5, 2019

Full body

Fri, 5 Apr 19

Squats: 135x5, 225x5, 315x3x1, 275x3x2, 225x5
Floor Presses: 135x8, 155x5, 175x4, 155x5, 135x10
Deadlift: 135x5, 225x5, 315x3x1
Chest flyes: 30x6x10
Curls: 45x2x10

I thought today would be a good workout, since I had a bunch of carbs yesterday, but my strength is still considerably down.  I'm not giving up though.  This is usually the time where I give up cutting and get fat again in pursuit of strength.  I'm doing it different this time.  I don't care if end up only squatting 135x5 at the end, as long as I'm leaner than I've been since my late teens I don't care.  I've got plenty of time to pack on some lean muscle and get some strength back.

Wednesday, April 3, 2019

Rowing and upper body

Weds, 3 Apr 19

DB Decline Bench: 50x4x8
DB OHP: 30X8,35X3X8

Working towards:
DB Incline Bench: x4x10
BB Row: 3x10
OHP: 3x10
Lat Pulldown: 3x10
Incline DB Curls: 2x12
Rope Triceps Press: 2x15

Rowing: 500m x 5 with 1 min rest

Tired today.  Tried OHP but just didn't have it in me.  I switched the bench back to decline - I simply wasn't feeling the pec activation that I was before.  Incline felt more like a tricep/delt/shoulder exercise.  That's not necessarily a bad thing, but not what I'm doing the movement for.

I tried out some floor presses, which might be an interesting variable that doesn't expose my shoulder like bench pressing.  I used to do these when my shoulder was acting up.

Squats

Tues, 2 Apr 19

Squats: 45x5, 135x5, 225x5, 245x3, 265x2, 285x2, 295

Ran out of steam.  I got a few reps in, just was tired when it came time to try 3 plates.

Monday, April 1, 2019

Rowing and Upper body

Mon, 1 Apr 19

DB Incline Bench: 50x4x7
BB Row: 95x3x9
OHP: 95x3x6
Lat Pulldown:50x3x9
Seated DB Curl: 25x3x9
Rope Triceps Press: 50x3x11

Working towards:
DB Incline Bench: x4x10
BB Row: 3x10
OHP: 3x10
Lat Pulldown: 3x10
Incline DB Curls: 2x12
Rope Triceps Press: 2x15

Rowing: 500m x 5 with 1 min rest

The session went well, except I couldn't get the stacks for the lat pulldown.  I had no trouble adding reps, and will add more next session.


Deadlifts

Fri, 26 Mar 19

Deadlifts: 135x5, 225x5, 315x5, 335x1

My wife called and I had to rush home due to family illness right in the middle of the session.