Climbing Back Up to the Basics

Hey everyone,

I’m new to the forums but I have been an avid T-Nation reader for the past 5 years. I also have been involved in lifting to some degree for the past 5 years as well. Due to career complications, motivation, and a whole host of other excuses I have found little time to seriously dedicate myself to lifting.

Now that I am able to get back under the bar I will be maintaining this training log to track my progress as well as set some goals (as you all know this is an integral part of achieving results). With that being said I would like to share some of those goals with you all to see, critique or just plain mock…

First of all I am 136 lbs at 5’9. At my heaviest I would have been 167 lbs, about 2 years ago. My goal is to get up to around 160 by September. That seems like a lot of weight to put on in a short period of time but I don’t have much trouble gaining weight anymore. I plan to do this using the G-Flux diet concept with a heck of a lot of heavy lifting. Seems simple enough…

I should also add that I will be taking a number of supplements, including creatine monohydrate, whey protein, BCAA’s, ZMA, a multi-vitamin, and Superpump 250 (blue raspberry, mmmm). I am no stranger to the kitchen or the gym but I have struggled in the past with strategically planning my diet/training programs.

So this time around I will be taking it VERY seriously. Probably too seriously but that’s okay because I enjoy all aspects of training, well maybe not Bulgarian Squats, but I’ll do them anyway…

I welcome your encouragement or flaming, either way I am motivated. Thanks in advance for either.

Peace…

I am going to give the “One Lift Per Day” a shot again. It is simple and effective. Last year I had fantastic results from it. So week one is 7 x 5.

Day 1: Deadlifts.

  My favorite... It has been quite some time since I last performed this exercise but 'ol faithful never lets me down.  My goal was to hit 2.5 x my body weight, which would be a pretty good accomplishment.

Warm-up set - 120 x 8
Set 1 - 220 x 5
Set 2 - 235 x 5
Set 3 - 255 x 5
Set 4 - 280 x 4
Set 5 - 255 x 5
Set 6 - 270 x 3
Set 7 - 290 x 1

Like I said it has been a while so getting used to what I can lift takes a bit but I am happy to see that I still have some strength in this lift.  I will probably have a PM workout where I will focus more on higher reps and use a thicker bar.

Day 1 - PM Workout: Deadlifts on a 6" Platform/Thick Bar/Resistance Band.

I have never used a thicker bar for deads or done them from a platform or used a resistance band. I felt so queasy after the 2nd set… I am in love with all 3 of the additions.

Warm-up set - 180 x 5 on flat ground with the band and thicker bar (its actually the same bar but I wrapped ankle weights it it so my hands cant quite grip it all the way around).

Set 1 - 165 x 10
Set 2 - 165 x 10
Set 3 - 165 x 10
Set 4 - 165 x 10

I finished with neck curls.

Set 1 - 50 x 15
Set 2 - 50 x 20
Set 3 - 50 x 20

During my cool down I did some ‘serious’ stretching. Not quite the Dogg Crapp style stretching but I did 3 sets per muscle. 10 second resisted force x 2, then 30 seconds of resisted force x 1. It felt great, but I wonder how I will be feeling in the morning. . .

I tested my body fat percentage using a caliper that is accurate to 1.1%. 9.5% was the reading. My goal is to get it down to 8%.

Day 2: AM Workout.

Dips.

Warm-up set: 10 - BW
Set 1: 5 - 40
Set 2: 6 - 40
Set 3: 6 - 45
Set 4: 5 - 50
Set 5: 5 - 60
Set 6: 6 - 50
Set 7: 5 - 65

I was planning to do bench press today but upon further evaluation I came to the conclusion that dips would be more logical than bench press. Benching is cool but does not really carry over to other activities as much as dips would.

Day 2: PM Workout

Dips Round 2:

Set 1: 14 - BW
Set 2: 12 - BW
Set 3: 12 - BW
Set 4: 12 - BW
Set 5: 12 - BW

Finished the day doing some calf work. I would like to work calves 3 times per week to make 'em grow.

1 Legged Calf Raises

Set 1: 130 x 6
Set 2: 130 x 6
Set 3: 130 x 6
Set 4: 130 x 8

My back is well sore from the dead lifts. I am liking it though.

Day 3: Lats

Pull-ups:

Warm-up Set: 12 x BW
Set 1: 50 x 5
Set 2: 55 x 5
Set 3: 55 x 5
Set 4: 65 x 5
Set 5: 55 x 5
Set 6: 65 x 5
Set 7: 70 x 4

Day 3: PM

Lats Round 2.

Set 1: 12 x BW
Set 2: 12 x BW
Set 3: 14 x BW
Set 4: 10 x BW
Set 5: 15 x BW

Day 4: AM

Abs; Single Leg Hanging Leg Raises

Set 1: 12 x 10
Set 2: 10 x 15
Set 3: 10 x 15
Set 4: 10 x 20
Set 5: 10 x 25
Set 6: 10 x 15
Set 7: 8 x 25

Day 4: PM

Abs; Circuit

Hanging Leg Raises / Leg Raises on Bench / Crunches

Set 1: 12/12/12
Set 2: 12/12/12
Set 3: 12/12/12

Day 5: AM

Shoulder Blitz; Military Press

Set 1: 120 x 5
Set 2: 120 x 5
Set 3: 130 x 5
Set 4: 140 x 5
Set 5: 120 x 5
Set 6: 130 x 5
Set 7: 140 x 5

On a side note I am up 4 pounds. Current weight: 140 lbs.

Day 5: PM

Circuit; Bent-over Row / High Pulls / Military Press / Clean & Press from Hang

Set 1: 85 - 8/8/8
Set 2: 85 - 8/8/8
Set 3: 85 - 8/8/8

Day 6: AM

Squats

Set 1: 180 x 5
Set 2: 190 x 5
Set 3: 200 x 5
Set 4: 180 x 5
Set 5: 190 x 5
Set 6: 200 x 5
Set 7: 210 x 5

It has been a while since I last cranked out any squats (at least 6 months) so I felt really weak doing them. I usually try to go ‘ass-to-grass’ but man it was a struggle even with that weight. I managed to get to the bottom only on the 180 lb sets and for a few reps on a couple of the other sets. Over all it was great to get back under the bar even if my performance was sub par…

Day 6: PM

Squats

2 minutes, 30 seconds x 140 lbs

Pain.

Actually my back was really giving out during the last 60 seconds (I swear that it was 20 minutes but we will go by what the watch said). When I racked the bar my legs were noodles… I got this “3 minute” squat idea from an article I read on here some 18 months ago. An Olympic wrestler in an Eastern European country did squats for 3 minutes and apparently had legs like Mike Platz. Anyway, I believe in them but after today’s workouts I am wondering how I am going to move my legs from my bed to the floor when I attempt to wake up.

Day 7: AM

Biceps - Close Grip Chins

Set 1: 60 x 5
Set 2: 65 x 5
Set 3: 70 x 5
Set 4: 60 x 5
Set 5: 65 x 5
Set 6: 70 x 5
Set 7: 80 x 5

Day 7: PM

Biceps - 21’s

Set 1: 70 x 21
Set 2: 70 x 21
Set 3: 70 x 21
Set 4: 70 x 21

I can hardly walk let alone climb up or down stairs…

Day 8: Active Recovery

Soooo sore today. I was expecting it but wow it was a chore to walk down 2 flights of stairs. My brother said that it looked like I just got out of prison the way I was hobbling around… So today I decided to do some active recovery stuff, but when I got to the Dungeon (a home gym in my brother’s garage) I felt like making the most of it.

Shadow Boxing

Set 1: 3:00 minutes
Set 2: 3:00 minutes
Set 3: 3:00 minutes

Shadow Boxing with weights.

Set 1: 3:00 minutes x 10 lbs
Set 2: 3:00 minutes x 7.5 lbs
Set 3: 3:00 minutes x 5 lbs

Neck Curls

Set 1: 15 x 50
Set 2: 20 x 50
Set 3: 20 x 50

It was actually really difficult to hold the weights up with any weight. My biceps were destroyed from yesterday and my shoulders had not quite recovered yet. It was a good workout and I managed to break a sweat which was the game plan for today. Now I guess I can look forward to dead lifts tomorrow morning. *Groan.

Day 9: AM

Deadlifts

Warm-up Set: 135 x 10
Set 1: 270 x 3
Set 2: 280 x 3
Set 3: 290 x 3
Set 4: 270 x 3
Set 5: 290 x 3
Set 6: 300 x 3

I felt that I could have pumped out more reps for each set, even the last 1 I probably could have squeezed 1 more out with form. Good to know for next week. That 2.5 x BW deadlift is looking more and more attainable.

I should also add that I am up about 5 pounds from last week. Bringing me to a whopping 140 lbs. I feel strong and fast at this weight though. Lets see if I can keep up this pace and hit 145 next week while maintaining a single digit body fat percentage.

Day 9: PM

Dealifts Part 2

18" raise / resistance band (on a squat rack from the bottom post so its 18" off of the floor).

Set 1: 240 x 8
Set 2: 260 x 8
Set 3: 280 x 8
Set 4: 280 x 8
Set 5: 280 x 4

I decided to switch it up a bit, you know keep the body guessing. I have done this one before but with lower reps. This exercise is a good way to get you used to holding a lot more weight for your deads. You can really rack the bar because the hardest part is pulling the weight out of ‘the hole’. It is also good for higher reps with a moderate weight like I did today. My forearms were murdered. On the last set my grip gave out after 2 reps, then I managed to get two more, but the last time I tried it was no use.

Day 10: AM

Dips

Warm-up Set: 14 x Body Weight

Set 1: 65 x 3
Set 2: 75 x 3
Set 3: 85 x 3
Set 4: 65 x 3
Set 5: 85 x 3
Set 6: 95 x 3

Day 10: PM

Pushups

Set 1: 50 x BW
Set 2: 50 x BW