Aero51's Log, Goal: Consistency, Records, Health

I am creating this log after losing my 3rd workout notebook. It is hard to track your progress when you lose your stuff. I am breaking the habit of being disorganized and inconsistent. This is a habit that I feel is my biggest weakness at the moment and upon improving will help me in all areas of my life. My long term weightlifting goals are to avoid injury, deadlift 500lbs, strict press 225lbs, and reverse row 10 reps at bw. My weight is 257lbs as of last Tuesday, I would ideally like to be 240. My lower back has been bothering me, and while I would like to get stronger faster, I would not like to incur and injuries that may compromise my health. Hence, my goal is to get stronger slowly. As of last week I have begun lifting in the morning due to excessive fatigue after work. The fatigue has compromised the quality of my lifts and the consistency of my lifting schedule. The second post will follow up with todays performance.

My current comprehensive statistics are as follows:

BW: 257
Deadlift - 385x5 (last taken in November '15), Current TM = 385 ~ 430 1rm.
Squat - Still cant find good form, struggling to beat a max of 300lbs
Bench Press - 215x5, this was not a max and felt light, could probably do 225x5. I have not been training this directly
Dumbell Press - 120 per hand for a single, was tough but I think 5 more pounds per hand could have been done.
Overhead Press - Strict Press is about 190lbs
Incline Press - using neutral grip, was about 185 for 3.
Farmers Walk - 500lbs for 50 feet done roughly two weeks ago. Have not gotten a true max on this lift in months
Keg Carry - last carried a 260lb keg for 50 feet. Current working set is 200lbs.
Yoke Walk - have not trained this recently, working set was 370 to 390 for50 feet.
Zercher Squat - 3 months ago got 300 for 6.
Atlas stones - 240 was easy, missed 260 due to arm sweat. Max is probably 250.
Reverse row - bodyweight for 7. The goal is 10.

Until my departure to graduate school, my main lifting metrics will be:
Deadlift
Strict Overhead Press
Atlas Stone
Reverse Row
I would like to include a horizontal pressing, but bench press bothers my shoulders and the dumbells in my gym are out of commission. I will omit this lift in particular.

I am excited for this log. Always good to have more strongman presence on the forum.

Hey man I will be following along aswell! You will get used to training in the morning. I like it by far better than training in the evening.

Stones Today
TM = 220
Atlas Stones: 100x5,117x3,130x3,150x3,170x3,200x5
Front Squat: Barx10,95x5,145x5,165x5,185x5,205x1,225x1,245x1,265x1

Notes:
I was pretty tired today when I woke up. The CPAP machine isn’t working as expected. Got to the gym at about 7:20 and starting lifting by 7:30 - a little behind schedule. The 200lb stone felt a little heavier than usual, but I think this is due to adapting to morning training. I decided to estimate my 1 RM for front squats after doing atlas stones to gauge where I should be training for working sets. I also changed my form up slightly with the front squats, gripping the bar right at the edge of the inner knurling. My hands ended up just touching my shoulders. The 260 didn’t feel too bad, but I know I couldn’t have gotten 280, so Ill stick with this for now.

Estimated Bench 1 RM today since I have not done that lift in many months.

Bench: 135x5,155x5,175x3,195x1,215x1,235x2
Reverse Rows: BW x 8,5,4,3
Push Up Twist: BWx 8,7,6,6

Notes:
Bench was lower than expected considering that I dumbell pressed 240lbs a month ago. Im happy that I got another rep on my row. Progress has been slow but im definately getting stronger on that lift. When I can get 10 Ill start adding weight. I have a good feeling about this log.

Tuesday Morning Deadlift! Start off the training week right!
TM = 385

Axle DL: 135x10,185x5,235x3,255x1,265x3,305x3,345x3

Notes:
After the second 345, I lost my grip. After taking a minute, I grabbed the bar again and pulled a third one no problem. I did not use chalk for any of these sets. This confirms my first observation that my grip strength is less than normal in the morning. Warming up more did lead to me having less back pain, but it still bothered me a bit. I need to work on keeping my hands closer to my legs as well to avoid bending over too much. I did not do any additional lifts today as waking up late (7:15) and the snow compressed my schedule.

No chalk on an axle is pretty nuts. Good showing. You going without straps I take it as well?

What kind of axle you got? I remember you were talking about the Ironmind one a bit back, and I’d be super envious if that’s your answer, haha.

Thanks. Too tell you the truth when I do use chalk it is only on my last sets. I never use straps for deadlift. My gym is pretty badass for strongman equipment. We have two bars, one I think is the Iron Mind. It is only 17lbs and made out of a titanium alloy (it has to be given it is rated to over 600lbs). The other one is made out of unfinished steel and is about 35lbs. Both are about 2"dia.

One thing I need to address is my back soreness in the morning. 345x3 isn’t that big of a deal considering in competition I hit 330 for 15. I feel like my lower back is especially sensitive. I might have to do some good mornings before hand and take the weight down a notch. This has been an ongoing problem with my lifting. If you have any suggestions let me know.

Morning back soreness is pretty rare for me. When it does happen, I tend to just cut the weight down and really hammer the volume for that session. My psychotic mind believes that I can train my body to not experience fatigue by “punishing” it for weakness by throwing a lot of volume at it whenever it is sore. If nothing else, it’s a good way to turn a lackluster session into something somewhat productive. No real experience with chronic back soreness. Might be helpful to start off in full sweats and really get the body warm and loose. I have the Rehband warm-up pants, which go a long way in keeping my lower body warm, you might consider getting one of their belts for a similar reason.

I will have to look into those. Ill play around with sets reps and order of the lifting too and see where it goes. My back is not sore at all today so I know it is an acute case rather than a real injury. Maybe singles with 30 seconds between each rep are in order.

On with todays workout:

OH Press: 45x10,95x5,105x5,120x3,135x3,155x6,135x5,95x5
DB Clean+Press: 65x20,65x16,65x10
Assisted Pull Up: -80lbs x 5,5,5

Notes:
Late night last night. Decided to hit the gym inthe evening. I used the gym at my job since I needed a change of pace and did not want to drive. 155x6 isnt bad considering last week I only got 135x7. I noticed for the first time today that my physique is changing for the better. I also forgot what it is like to be in a “normal” gym, man the average lifter is tiny haha. Not a bad day but Ive felt particularly anti social and it reflected in the gym. I notice too as I am lifting less I have more energy overall. I am still hitting the main lifts but reducing the intensity on my supplemental work.

Today was cardio day since I lifted the last 2 days.

Cardio
Air Squats: 5,10,15,20,25,20,15,10,5 all with no more than 10 seconds rest between each set. This lasted about 7 minutes and got damn tiring by the end

Lunges: 1 set of 50 with no added weight

Notes:
Nothing special other than I did this in my living room.

Been seeing you on the forums quite often. Can’t wait to see how this training log goes!

Thanks!

Forgot to update this on Saturday:

2/13/16

TM=250
Stones: 117x5,135x3,155x1,170x5,180x3,220x1
Front Squat: 45x5,145x5,165,3,195x6
Farmers Walks: 150x40,250x80,290x80,290x80

TM=216
Bench: 45x5,135x5,155x5,175x5,175x5,175x5,175x3,175x3
Rev. Row: BWx7,4,4,3

Notes:
Combined training session this time. The stones felt really good. I am always amused how the front squat takes a hit after doing a session with stones. 195 was a struggle… My goal for the next few months will be 195x10, after which I will add 10 to 20lbs to the weight and try to make 10 reps again. Back was sore but I did plenty of foam rolling and it seemed to be better later. My legs were still stiff from the cardio squat session I did on Thursday. Still, I did really well on the stones, keeping in mind that I should leave some fuel in the tank rather than going balls to the wall. I also opted to do very light farmers walks as I did not want to incur more inflammation with my back. I may train this as with light weight + long distance rather than heavy and short given I am doing stones and squats in the same session.

Tuesday Morning Deadlift

TM=385
Deadlift: Barx15,125x5,175x7,225x3,245x3,265x1,285x5,330x3,365xMISS :frowning:
Full Zercher Cycle: 125x5,125x5,125x5

Notes:
Back felt really good today. Unfortunately I missed the 365x1. I am not sure why given my max is much higher than this, but again I suspect that the extended warm up and training in the morning limits the weight that my back wants to put on itself. I practiced a new technique I read about on this site where I closed my eyes while lifting. Closing my eyes did help me figure out my weak points as I could “feel” where the load was straining my body the most. This was clearly in the lumbar region. Though the good news is that I have no back pain this morning, I do need to build up my strength in this area. This is why I opted to do the full zercher cycle. The full zercher is a real lower back killer. I will keep my training max at this weight for another cycle, if I miss it again I will go down and try again.

Edit:
This was with the axle with no chalk except the last 2 sets.

Overhead Press today

Cardio Bike: (10,20,30,40,50,60,70)x3 RPMS (I don’t know what the metric is called
Axle OHP: Barx10, 105x5,125x1,130x5,145x3,160x3
DB R+P: 65lbs x 3x10

Notes:
Missed yesterday due to sleep apnea even though I got a lot a sleep - I still felt like crap when I woke up. Today I felt like crap too but went anyway because I didn’t feel as much like crap. I did some cardio before lifting while wearing my winter jacket and that did help me feel warmed up much faster. I will have to try something on leg days that wont compromise leg strength as much. Other than that the workout went pretty smooth today.

Atlas Stones today - 5/3/1 day

Atlas Stones: 117x5,135x5,155x3,170x5,200x3,220x2
Front Squat: Barx5,95x5,145x5,195x6
Frame Carry: 150x40’,250x40’,130x40’

Notes:
Stones felt good today, though the second attempt at 220 I probably shouldn’t have done given I got minor back pain after words. It went away quickly though. I still need to keep in mind that my back needs more careful warm up in the morning when doing big lifts. Again I went light on the frame carry for the same reason. The front squat was difficult today; the stones zapped my stamina. My goal is to still get to 10. I am finding that morning training, while I have to dial down the intensity, allows me to train up to 5 days a week and recover. I also feel like I have more energy overall.

Didn’t update this on Saturday. This week is rest week.

Bench Day
Barx5,95x5,145x5,165x5,185x5,205x5x5,2225x1,225x3,225x1
Rev. Row: BWx10, BWx8,BWx5,BWx4
Exercise Bike: (20,30,40,50,60)x1x2x3

Car deadlift = not sure, I messed around a lot trying to make my own. It felt good surprisingly.

Given some things that happened this weekend, between my back being more sore than usual, and generally feeling like crap, I am going to switch my weightlifting style towards weight loss. I haven’t decided on my scheme yet.

2 weeks ago was my rest week. This past week unfortunately I got sick and that put me out of commission until this Saturday. Since I am trying to lose weight I changed up the reps and sets. Saturday (3/5/16) was leg day:

Sumo deadlift with axle: 215x3,265x3,315x3,335x1,315x3,265x3
Atlas Stones: 100x3,135x3,155x3,170x3,200x3,220x1
Paused SLDL: 135x5x5
FunnySquatIInvented = 100lb bag x goofing around.
Back Extension = BWx10,8,6,6

Notes:
Since this was my first day back and I had been sick I felt under the weather. Overall I think I did ok given that I had a hacking cough, a headache, and felt light headed, on top of a calorie deficit.

  1. The sumo deadlift was much more comfortable on my lower back. With some practice I think I can get my form down and pull some serious weight. The axle as usual made it a real challenge. At 265 I was still using double overhand. I cant remember if I got to 315 with double overhand.

  2. Even though the atlas stones feel really good when I lift, after words my back is killing me. Im not sure why this is the case, but I will be using front squats for now to give my back a break.

3)The paused SLDL was really cool. At the bottom of the lift (just below the knees when my back stays arched) I hold the position for about 3 seconds and come up. My hamstrings are still sore 2 days later.

4)The funny squats I invented are something I thought of awhile ago but did not bother to try seriously until today. These are hard to explain and require a lot of flexibility in the lower body. Basically you start at the bottom on your knees and tip toes bear hugging a weight to your chest. You then stand up from your toes onto your feet. It is very demanding on the quads. I will make a video illustrating the exercise.

3/7/16
Metabolic training day.

I did the following complex with 60 seconds of rest between circuits:

DB Bench Press
DB Row
Step Up

Each exercise was done for 10 reps with no rest while switching each workout, for a total of 5 circuits. I used 40lbs dumbbells.

Afterword’s I did a cardio version of farmers walks:
10 lengths along the gym, only rest to drop the frame and rotate my body so I can continue to walk.

Notes:
I initially started with 65lb dumbbells and found out quickly that it was too heavy for the short rest periods. 40lbs was a good starting weight to get a feel for the complex. I was pretty gassed after the session but was surprised on how quickly I recovered. The farmers walks could have used more weight as they were taxing from a cardiovascular standpoint only on the last 2 sets. I walked about 400 feet total.

3/10/16: heavy upper body day

Bench Press: 135x3,155x3,175x3,195x3,215x2,195x3
Rev Row: BWx3,+10x3,+10x3,+10x3,+10x3
OH Press: 95x3,115x3,135x3,155x1,135x3,135x3
LAT PD: 10x10

Notes:
The level of intensity was perfect for the Rev. Rows. I could do lots of sets of three which allowed me to keep the volume and intensity up without gassing out. Lifting while dieting is funny, I feel like I run out of gas much faster, but at the same time can recover. I think it will be a good idea to use 195 for the bench and 140 for the overhead press. These were weights that were heavy, but not overly taxing on my joints, that I could do for 3 to 5 sets of 3. This correlates to about 80% of my max on all lifts.