Sounds like things are looking up. Very happy for you Cav.
Yesterdays work looks like some good stuff Cav…and just the beginning.
Up, lots of FreeMotion machines here. Also a bunch of Hammer, which I like.
Lil, he can be cruel, he wouldn’t let me increase weight on DL, but I understand. have been pounding away on shoulder and lats, and already starting to feel the difference.
Gborlase, thanks. Wish the job paid better, but it’s good. If I can get 2 classes next quarter, will be much better.
Punnyguy, thanks for dropping by.
Led, I really hope things take off. Have never been strong in my life and time’s running out.
OK, did bench stuff today. Didn’t write things down, so going from memory.
Bench
95 x 8 . x 5
115 x 5 . x 5 . x 5 . x 5
nothing special with weight, BUT felt much better. Real control on the bar, felt solid. Lats, abs, everything tightened perfectly.
DB side raises
10 x 12 . x 12
15 x 5 . x 5 . x 5 . x 5
Rear delt on pec dec
Hammer pulldown
Dips
x 5 . x 5 . x 5 . x 5
Chins
x 4 . x 4 . god how I suck on these
OH Press
OK, now I just pounded the bejeezus out of my shoulders, so there should be nothing left, right?
85 x 5 . x 5 . x 5 . x 5
by my standards, that’s pretty good. Could I be getting stronger?
Got 2 more sessions with Toby. Next week, working on bench. The week after, we test maxes on the 3 lifts. Can’t wait!
Almost forgot…
Thanks for the welcome! Sounds like you have a great “full speed ahead” start! Keep up the great work and good luck in school! Ill be stopping by from time to time!
I like the Hammer Strength stuff for work after I’ve crushed myself with the big lifts.
Bulldog, that’s WONDERFUL. Thanks!! Love your new avi, BTW. Is that a real gym?
Hi Catgirl, drop by anytime. Still trying to figure out your avi . . . is that a woman being eaten by bagpipes?
Joe, they’ve got quite a bit of stuff here, Hammer, FreeMotion, whatever. No GHR dammit, but a lot else.
Got some good news from the boss, they’ve got a class for me next quarter, so I’ll keep working. Bear in mind that adjunct instructors means they can toss me under the bus anytime they like, so looks like I may have some job security.
Oh no! Dick Tufield, who did the voice of Robot on Lost In Space, just died. OK everyone, what are you favorite Robot lines from the show?
Dr Smith: Repeat after me, Dr Smith is incapable of telling a lie.
Robot: Dr Smith is incapable.
Dr Smith: How dare you! I order you to recite all my sterling virtues.
Robot: Does not compute.
Squats and legs day:
Squats
95 x 8
135 x 5
155 x 5
175 x 5
SUPERSETTED WITH:
Leg Press
230 x 10 . x 10 . x 10 . x 10
Stiff leg DL
30 x 15 . x 15 . x 15 . these sure stretch the hams
Leg Extension
110 x 10 . x 10
130 x 10
150 x 10
Leg Curl
90 x 10
110 x 10 . x 10 . x 10
Standing Calf
135 x 10
155 x 10
175 x 10 . x 10
Hi, saw your posting in a few threads. Nice work in here, bro.
[quote]cavalier wrote:
Squats and legs day:
Squats
95 x 8
135 x 5
155 x 5
175 x 5
SUPERSETTED WITH:
Leg Press
230 x 10 . x 10 . x 10 . x 10
Stiff leg DL
30 x 15 . x 15 . x 15 . these sure stretch the hams
Leg Extension
110 x 10 . x 10
130 x 10
150 x 10
Leg Curl
90 x 10
110 x 10 . x 10 . x 10
Standing Calf
135 x 10
155 x 10
175 x 10 . x 10
[/quote]
Nice work, Cav - keep it rollin’ brother. Good to have you back online.
[quote]DaCharmingAlbino wrote:
Good to have you back online.[/quote]
x2.
Favorite robot lines? You crack me up.
Hey Cav good to hear about the job. Hey have you seen my log laying around anywhere I seemed to have miss placed it.
Tyrfryer, just being friendly, thanks.
Albino, thanks for the compliment, although I certainly wouldn’t consider my lifting impressive.
Snap, come on, it’s a classic show.
Dude, I don’t follow your reference to your log, but I’ll concede you’re doing strong stuff.
WOULDN’T YOU KNOW IT THE MONITOR DIED AND I HAD TO GET ANOTHER AND REBOOT
This turned out to be the shit session from hell.
DL supersetted with cable row
135 x 8 . tried sumo, not bad
185 x 5 . WTF - could barely get the first one up, had to fight for the rest
235 x 5 - GAGG, I was straining, screaming, gasping
235 x 3 . crushing me
135 x 12
rows
100 x 11
110 x 10 . I lost it, yanked, shoved, yelled
110 x 10 . yanking so hard my abs cramped
110 x 10
OMG, why was all this so hard??? And then another guy sets up next to me and does trap bar DL - 200 easy, 300 easy, 400 easy, 500 EASY
What the hell is so goddamn wrong with me I CANT GROW??? This was what I was doing one full year ago - one whole year of straining and working hard and I got NOWHERE???
DB DL supersetted with pulldown
45 x 10 . x 10 . x 10 . this just couldn’t be hard and yet it was
pulldown
100 x 10 . x 10 . x 10
Suicidal.
Freemotion pulldown
70 x 15
80 x 15 . x 15
Crunch
x 25 . x 25 . x 25
Face pull
60 x 12
70 x 8 . x 8
some chins, or what passed for chins - couldn’t even do one properly.
Left the gym, got in the car, and just burst into tears.
Hi Cav…question…do you deload every 4 weeks in your cycle? This may help your grow session. Another trick is to take a week off on the sixth or eight week off your cycle too.
Try it and watch how your body will restart its growth.
P.S. How long are your workouts? If you are pounding away for more than 45 minutes, cortisol will start to flare up and eat away at your gains.
Kairiki, I took off a couple of weeks at the beginning of the year for moving. Did a lot of packing & unpacking, which I’m sure didn’t stress me as hard as lifting . . . unless I’m totally ignorant on my strength and the moving did hit me.
Anyway, I generally take deload at intervals.
Workouts are at least an hour. Last year did a couple of Sheiko cycles, enjoyed them, might have increased strength a tiny bit, but nothing’s ever produced any strength surge.
Anyway, the crap started 5 minutes into the workout, doubt cortisol was the problem. I looked at the bar, thought “surely I can handle 235 for 5, I’ve done it before”, but my body had other ideas. All downhill from there.
I absolutely hate it, but it seems that I have no choice but do baby weights.
Cavalier,
First and foremost, hang in there and don’t give up. From the short time following your log, it looks like you’ve had a lot of stress, between jobs, moving, etc, which physiologically will hurt gains. A couple of thoughts, running down some culprits:
-
Have you had a physical in the last year, with a full bloodwork to test testosterone, etc? You may want to make sure that’s all good.
-
Diet. Do you have a log of exactly everything you have eaten in the last week, with breakdown of calories, macronutrient percentages for protein, carbs, fat? I would post it in the nutrition section if you have one, get some feedback on diet. I started a food log and was disappointed/shocked that my diet was cr@p, very inconsistent and too many carbs from processed foods when I thought I was doing pretty well. There is a pretty large body of knowledge in the diet section, and I admittedly only know enough to know that this seems to drive a LOT of progress and gains. A wise person once said “You can’t outtrain a poor diet.” You may not be eating enough to fuel muscle growth?
-
Coming in recently, I missed the training program you’re on now. But if you’ve done it long enough (6 months?) and aren’t happy with it, maybe it’s time to pick a new one to concentrate on for six months? Maybe something that’s back to basics, like Stronglifts 5x5. May help keep you from overthinking the training aspect?
Hang in there - it’s a long plateau but you don’t sound anywhere near yet having to resign yourself to packing in the barbells and going to baby weights. You did come back from the dead, after all…
[quote]gborlase wrote:
Cavalier,
First and foremost, hang in there and don’t give up. From the short time following your log, it looks like you’ve had a lot of stress, between jobs, moving, etc, which physiologically will hurt gains. A couple of thoughts, running down some culprits:
- Have you had a physical in the last year, with a full bloodwork to test testosterone, etc? You may want to make sure that’s all good. [/quote]
I had physical and checkups a year and half ago. Everything looks fine - test, thyroid, etc. Cholesterol was lousy, as usual, weird since my diet should take care of that. I’ve had physicals through the years and nobody’s found anything out of place.
[quote]
2. Diet. Do you have a log of exactly everything you have eaten in the last week, with breakdown of calories, macronutrient percentages for protein, carbs, fat? I would post it in the nutrition section if you have one, get some feedback on diet. I started a food log and was disappointed/shocked that my diet was cr@p, very inconsistent and too many carbs from processed foods when I thought I was doing pretty well. There is a pretty large body of knowledge in the diet section, and I admittedly only know enough to know that this seems to drive a LOT of progress and gains. A wise person once said “You can’t outtrain a poor diet.” You may not be eating enough to fuel muscle growth?[/quote]
I was raised eating crappy and nobody saw that. Fifteen years went Paleo and felt great. Today modified with more protein and some more carbs. Eating around 3000 calories/day. It’s helped my lifting some.
[quote]
3. Coming in recently, I missed the training program you’re on now. But if you’ve done it long enough (6 months?) and aren’t happy with it, maybe it’s time to pick a new one to concentrate on for six months? Maybe something that’s back to basics, like Stronglifts 5x5. May help keep you from overthinking the training aspect? [/quote]
My old log is Hard Work, it details my training for the past year.
I’ve been pumping iron for 30 years now. From the beginning my goal was to become a freak of muscle and strength. You name the program, I’ve done it. Overthinking? I marvel at the people who just play with the weights and grow. That’s the problem, that people get big and strong without knowing what they’re doing. How does that help me?
[quote]
Hang in there - it’s a long plateau but you don’t sound anywhere near yet having to resign yourself to packing in the barbells and going to baby weights. You did come back from the dead, after all…[/quote]
When I say baby weights, I mean 100 lb bench, 135 DL, and so on. By my standards, that’s lousy. But that’s all my body can handle. Unless you know something I don’t . . .