Have been super busy, traveling/working/taking care of stuff at home. Hit the gym 6/7 days this past week but I really can’t be bothered to write down everything I did. I have a bunch of printed out spreadsheets that I use for my wife and I on this new routine and now that I write that stuff down it’s a bit more tedious to record it here as well, but I don’t want to get out of the habit of recording my progress so I’ll throw in my back day that I did today.
Back
Close grip pulldowns 5x8 15, 15, 14, 14, 14 on the stack
Straight arm pushdowns 4x15 8, 8, 8, 6 on the stack
Hammer strength chest supported row 5x8 2 plates
One arm DB row 4x10 80
Rack pulls below knee 5x10 275 gotta bring straps…my grip was dead doing these for the last exercise but I could easily have done 315 had I had straps.
Tomorrow is delts tris and bis, and then I’ll be doing leg day and will be doing @Frank_C 's tabata squats, but I think I’ll be doing them as front squats. The 5x10 heavy squats are really making my legs grow, and since the 5x15 leg press afterwards is kind of a quad finisher, I could just do front squats instead. Sounds scary. I think I’m gonna do it with 65 lbs to start and honestly can see myself having to rest during my work period like halfway through lol.
The load should be determined by the number of reps you want to hit on each set. I always go light and try to hit 12-13 per round. On the final round (set 8) I go all out and try to hit 15. If I succeed then I add weight the next time.
I recommend starting with the bar. Even if you hit 10 reps per set you’re getting 80 reps in 3:50. But you can try it with 65 lbs
Arms and calves Saturday, just a fluff day, and did Legs yesterday.
Single leg curl 4x8 80
Leg Ext 4x15 170
RDLs 4x8 135, 185, 225, 275, 315x5
Squats 185 5x10 wanted to do 205 but I haven’t done heavyish RDLs in a while and it gassed me
And then…the Tabata front squats. I got a second wind and loaded up 95 on the bar and did them with my heels on a 2x4. Nope. @Frank_C was right. After 2 rounds I had to rack it, strip the 25s and just put on 5s because I felt like I couldn’t stand. Finished the 6 rounds with 55 and wanted to die.
The 2 minute leg press was brutal but honestly so much more manageable, I think. Like pausing with legs almost locked on leg press sucks but not racking the bar is so much worse.
Still alive. Broke my foot and injured my neck badly and just got back into the gym for the first time today after 3 weeks for a chest session. Felt strong, was pain free until the tail end of the workout when my back and neck started to stiffen up.
My neck is doing SO much better. Foot coming along much more slowly, but I’d much rather have it this way than vice versa. Will do plenty of leg curls and extensions, and keep the push work to leg press, where I can drive solely through my heel, until I’m 100%. The toe split longways, like from the nail to the foot instead of the regular side to side break, so it’s particularly Painful if I accidentally shift my weight forward on that foot. The break in the foot is a hairline fracture that is most likely already mostly healed, but it’s amazing how much something as small as the fourth toe affects balance and comfort. Definitely appreciate the solidarity brother, felt great to be back.
Foot felt good today. Toe, not so much. So I wrapped up my toe and foot and did leg day.
Single Leg curl 80 4x8
Single leg extension 70 4x20
Tabata Front Squats, just the bar
Leg Press 4 plates a side 4x10
Leg extension 1.5’s 3x10
My legs were shaking a lot by the Leg Press and my bad foot started to hurt. Was going to do 5 sets of them but decided not to push it. Neck and back felt great, despite my whole upper body being sore from chest day. I think I’m outta the woods for the most part though. Fuckin miracle, I would have thought that falling on my neck like that would be game over given my history of back injuries.
Jeez. Have totally stopped logging in here. Need to hold myself more accountable. Since getting back into the gym after that 3 week hiatus from my fall I have missed maybe 1 day in the past 2.5 weeks. Not going to type out like 14 workouts but I’ll list a couple PR’s that I hit.
12 slow reps with a 45 hanging from me on chinups. I actually aggravated my elbow on this and am avoiding doing them with supinated palms now, though that’s the easiest way for me. No leg movement at all on this, and chin over the bar. Felt awesome, but I’m backing off weighted pulls for a while.
1x225 on incline BB bench. Not much, but I’ve never hit 2 plates on incline before and I did it slowly, and with a 1 second pause on my chest.
I think this was a PR as well, 9 reps of the 100s on DB incline. I don’t think I’ve ever done that, and I know hitting 100x10 has been a long term goal. Again, slow eccentrics and great control.
315x18 on trap bar deads. It was with the high handles, I just know I’ve never done that before.
That’s all I can remember. I think that 3 weeks, despite being in pain the whole time, was the deload I’ve needed for a while, because I came back energized as fuck. I also feel like I’ve turned a corner with regard to my MMC. I’m activating the muscles on the eccentric portion so much more and by the end of almost every set it feels like the target muscle is going to pop. Makes the workouts tougher, I can’t use quite as much weight for most things if I stay disciplined, but I leave the gym knowing I couldn’t have done anything more.
you’re one to talk, mr. I out-deadlift and squat you in my 40s.
god, i love dips. I’m wondering if I can go back to trying them because I always get shoulder pain, but I’m convinced it’s a form issue. I’ve seen like 30 different how-to videos on doing dips, and everyone has their own way it seems. I don’t think anything is better for chest development than dips.
Went for a 20 mile bike ride in the cold, then the gym, then the grocery store and home carrying too many bags on my handlebars.
Chest and Shoulders
Incline BB 185 5x8
Dips 4x10 trying to just get back into them. felt good, really pushed my shoulders back and down the whole time. bodyweight for now, will add weight but I can’t see myself ever doing more than +45 with them.
Cable Crossovers HTL 4x20
High incline DB 60s 4x10, 1x20 with 40s
Cable Crossovers LTH 4x15
Pushups 3 AMRAP 22, 12, 8 (was dead.)
Shoulders:
1 min super slow continuous front raise, 30 sec push press with 40s
30 sec rest
1 min lat raise, 30 sec push press with 35s
30 sec rest
1 min rear flys with 2 sec hold at top, 30 sec push press with 30s
x2
Been on an upper lower split for a couple weeks. The bro split volume was doing a number on my elbows.
Yesterday: Upper A
Cable Crossovers 3x20
Incline Bench 185 4x8
Pull-ups, 3 second negative wide grip 4x10 BW
Chest supported DB row 80s 4x12
High incline DB press 60s 4x12
Snatch grip rack pulls from shin 275 3x6 superset with pullover machine 90lbs 3x15
Lateral Raise 15s x100 lot of partial, grindy reps but it does the job
Pushups 3xAMAP don’t remember the numbers, but 20ishx2 and the last set was like 8, smoked.
Today, Legs
Leg curls 4 second negative 90 4x8
BB hip thrusts 275 4x10
Leg extension 130 3x15
Goblet squats with a 60 DB 3x20
Leg Press 2 100 plates and 2 45s 5x10
Standing Calf Raise 2 second pause at top, 3 second negative, 2 second stretch 6x10 at 80lbs
The goblet squats sucked so much but feel so much better than regular squats on my hips and back. I want to increase the weight by 5 lbs a week until I’m up to a 100lb DB for 3x20. I also do them with my heels on a 2x4 so my ass sits on my ankles at the bottom. The last set really had me questioning my motive and it was half of my goal. No lockouts, slow negative, slight pause.
Also my first time leg pressing again in a little while. Very light but I need to be careful of lumbar flexion when I go deep on them.
Today:
Upper B
Crossovers 1x50
Incline DB 90s 3x8, 70 1x8
Chest Supported DB Rows 60s 3x20
Lat Pulldowns 12 on the stack 4x10
High Incline Smith Bench 4x12 a plate and a 25 each side
Crossovers 6x10 Cables up high and dropping 2 notches every set until they were at my feet
Cable Laterals 2x25 each arm
