That is a killer program you’ve got going on, but lots of COMPLETEDs. Nice focus, juniormint. That can’t be easy with all the um…distractions…of college life.
Haha, there are actually fewer “distractions” than I thought there would be; mostly due to the fact that I am attending a fairly small university.
Most of the time, it is quite dead on campus, so one has to head downtown or around Pitt or downtown to find distractions. When there isn’t much else to do, going to the gym and doing homework are quite high on the list of priorities.
September 10 (morning)–Energy systems work
Dynamic warmup:
high knees/butt kickers
leg swings
walking one-legged RDLs
walking lunges
lateral squats
shuffles
Sprints:
sprint from goal line to midfield;
walk to other goal line
5x
15 yard sprints from knees
6x
5 yard backpedal; turn and sprint 10 yards
6x
3 pushups; sprint 15 yards
6x
3 tuck jumps; sprint 15 yards
6x
Hand-eye coordination work–10 minutes
THOUGHTS: Afterwards, our coach put us through some mobility tests. I already have a general idea of my deficiencies, so the results weren’t really a surprise. My hip flexor and ankle mobility need some slight work, and my shoulder mobility needs major work.
I was aware of my shoulder issues before the test, as I spent pretty much all summer trying to get it diagnosed and rehabbed. I never got a clear diagnosis of what exactly is wrong with my shoulders–although tendinitis seemed to be the common thought.
So, I guess I’ll be using the most shoulder-friendly exercises I can now; along with more shoulder mobility things in warm-up.
So, due to my lingering shoulder issues, I’m going to be making slight changes to the programming to hopefully make my shoulder happy. That means I’ll be dropping overhead pressing, as well as barbell bench pressing, and anything else that seems to aggravate the issue. This means more chin ups, push ups, and the like.
As well, will be adding some prehab (well, rehab now I guess) things in before workouts. This includes wall slides, YTWLs, scap pushups, and anything else I come across that may benefit me. Any suggestions?
September 10 (evening)
A. Repetition Lift–3 sets of max reps; 90 seconds rest
DB floor press with 25 lb DBs
30 reps
27 reps
25 reps
Probably should have gone up to at least 30 or 35 lb DBs. Good to know for next time.
B. Lat/back superset–4 X 8
i. lat pulldowns–90, 100, 90, 90 lbs
ii. face pulls–40, 50, 50, 50 lbs
Had to drop back down to 90 lbs for third and fourth set of lat pulldowns because shoulder went funky with 100.
C. Medial Delt Exercises–did not do. These are the nasty ones for my shoulders right now. If I can get a shoulder-friendly replacement in, I’ll put on in.
D. Upper Arm Superset–4 X 12
i. hammer curls–15 lbs DBs across
ii.skull crushers–bar+5s, bar+10, bar+10, bar+10
E. Abdominal superset
i. pull-ins/reverse crunch X 15
ii. lateral bridge X 30 sec each side
3x
September 11
So, this was supposed to be a conditioning day, but guess I dropped the ball on the conditioning aspect. I did cleans and some ghetto glute ham raises.
Worked up to 115 lb squat cleans. These were alright; form is a bit shaky, but bit than what I thought it would be.
Did three sets of glute ham raises. Still getting the hang of them.
[quote]juniormint wrote:
As well, will be adding some prehab (well, rehab now I guess) things in before workouts. This includes wall slides, YTWLs, scap pushups, and anything else I come across that may benefit me. Any suggestions?
[/quote]
If you haven’t already, go sign up for Eric Cressey’s newsletter:
and stalk his blog and read his archives. He is the MAN when it comes to shoulder rehab.
Thanks for the advice! I read up some of Cressey’s articles on Thursday and Friday, and spent some of the weekend stalking his blog after you said so.
Had physicals over the weekend and am cleared to play for the season (not that I expected anything different). The doc checked out the shoulder and confirmed that I have a bit of bicep tendonitis, which means shoulder rehab exercises and no barbell bench or overhead pressing for a while. The good thing is that it felt much better compared to early summer, so it seems that I haven’t flared it up again.
Anyways, I was dying to head back to the gym after the weekend. It’s hard to take the weekends off when all your body wants to do is work out. I didn’t think I was bringing it hard enough to the gym for my last couple sessions, so I really put a lot of effort and concentration into my lifting tonight.
September 14
Lower Body Strength Training
A. Max-Effort Lift–deadlifts, working up to max set of 3 reps
5 X 115 lb
5 X 135 lb
3 X 165 lb
3 X 185 lb
3 X 205 lb
3 X 215 lb
3 X 225 lb
The only thing I really don’t like about WSFSB is that I can only deadlift or squat once per week. I missed deadlifting–haven’t pulled heavy for three or four weeks. And because I can only pull with a hook grip, my thumbs are a little sore from not pulling anything over 200 lbs for a while.
B. Unilateral Movement
Bulgarian Split Squats
8 X 35 lb DBs
8 X 40 lb DBs
12 X 40 lb DBs
Bulgarian split squats are becoming one of my many bitches. So, I guess I’ll switch to some variation of lunges next week. I had a pounding headache at the back of my head after these–don’t think I was breathing properly.
C. Hip Extension Exercise
Swiss ball hip extension + leg curl
3 X 12
D. i. 40 lb DB shrubs (15 reps)
ii. plate pinch gripping (three 10 lb plates)
3 sets
And–just for something to do–played squash with a teammate for awhile afterwards. Of course, it was some horribly bastardized, no-rules, untalented, utterly exhausted version of squash.
[quote]juniormint wrote:
I didn’t think I was bringing it hard enough to the gym for my last couple sessions, so I really put a lot of effort and concentration into my lifting tonight.
[/quote]
Well, that is some seriously good attitude. I’ll have to ask myself that same question - could I put more effort and concentration into my lifting?
September 15th (morning)
Energy Systems Training
Dynamic Warmup
Sprints:
Sprint from goal line to yellow line and back 2x
rest 30 seconds, repeat
5x
Hurdle hops into sprints
5x, forward hops
5x, lateral hops
Cone drills (can’t really remember the drills!)
3 different drills (5 x ea)
Oops, forgot to post my workouts from the last two days:
September 15th (evening):
Max-effort upper body lifting
A. Max effort lift–weighted chin ups
-work up to max set of 3
7 X bodyweight
3 X 5 lb
3 X 10 lb
3 X 12.5 lb
3 x 15 lb
3 X 17.5 lb
2 X 20 lb
Just couldn’t pull myself up for the 20 lb set. Still, an improvement on the last time I did weighted chins.
B. DB floor press (palms in)–4 sets (and a work up set)
10 X 25 lb
2 X 10 X 45 lb
2 X 6 X 50 lb
C. Superset–4 sets
i. lat pulldowns @ 90 lb, 12 reps
ii.rear delt flyes @ 5 lb DBs, 8 reps, 10 reps, 8 reps, 8 reps
So, rear delt flyes make me feel really weak.
D. Zottman curls
8 X 20 lb DBs
8 X 20 lb DBs
8 X 20 lb DBs
E. Ab circuit–Front plank/sprinter situps/lateral bridge/ skater situps
For whatever reason, I really have to motivate working abs. Some people are absolutely ab crazy, but I really hae to force myself to do it.
September 16
Active rest day–squash and rock climbing
I’ll post yesterday’s workout later today–I have to head to class now!
Whoa, so university does have its busy, distracted times. Got pulled away from the log, but–fear not–I did not stop training.
Here’s the days I was supposed to post a while back.
September 17
(morning)
Tempo runs
rest
shuttle sprints
6x
jump rope
5 minutes
triangle drill
(pylons in a triangle; teammate calls out number, runs to pylon of that number)
30 seconds on, 60 seconds rest
4X
September 17
(morning)
A. 3 sets, max reps–push ups with fairly strict form
24, 21, 17
So, my form wasn’t too good last time I did pushups for reps, and my numbers show that different. For these ones, I wanted my chest to touch the floor on every rep–instead of cheating a couple and going to only halfway when I got tired.
B. Superset
i. Bent over DB rows @ 40 lbs, 10 reps
ii. Face pulls @ 50 lbs, 12 reps
4 sets
C. Cannot do, due to shoulder issues. Oh, I did do wall slides, scap pushups and YTWLs before the workout those.
D. i. hammer curls–20 lb
ii. DB tricep extensions–40 lbs
3 X 12
E. Ab superset
i. knees-to-elbows (15 reps)
ii. lateral bridges (up to a count of 35 seconds)
2x
September 18
Rest day–> Penguins game!
September 19
Rest day
September 20
Squash
3 X 3 Box jumps
Depth drops
Conditioning–broad jump burpee lap
Don’t know exactly how long the track is; somewhere between 100-150m I think.
Time: 6:45-ish
So, all-in-all, the weekend was a pretty eventful one. Got to know the city a little better and have a bit of fun. Can’t wait to hit the gym tonight though. A day without the gym just doesn’t feel right; however I know I need my rest days.
September 21
So, it’s becoming some sort of routine to play squash with one of my teammates before we workout. It’s still a bastardized version of squash; nevertheless, it’s a good warmup.
Lower Body Lifting
A. Max-Effort Lift
Back squat; working up to max set of 3 reps
10 X bar
5 X 95 lb
5 X 115 lb
5 X 135 lb
3 X 165 lb
3 X 185 lb
3 X 195 lb
First things first–I love back squats. These came pretty easily today. Almost got stuck at the bottom of my last rep, but managed to grind it out. Happy to hit 195–200+ for reps is just around the corner!
I wasn’t happy with my sets leading up to my last one; just couldn’t get the bar to sit right. It was fine for 195, so I was able to sort out whatever was giving me grief.
B. Unilateral Exercise
Alternating Reverse Lunges
10 X 30 lb DBs
10 X 40 lb DBs
10 X 40 lb DBs
So, I don’t love lunges as much as I love back squats or split squats, but it had to be done. My hamstrings already were feeling a bit destroyed from the squats–I think I was dropping down into the squat way too fast; gotta be a little more controlled. 30 lb was far too easy, so I jumped up to the 40 lb-er and toughed it out. I still don’t have any love for lunges though.
C. Swiss ball hip extension + leg curl
4 X 12
I think I should really switch the swiss ball hip extension + leg curl; probably for some ghetto glute ham raises, or ghetto hyperextensions. I’ll see what I can work out. These did actually feel harder than before; I think those lunges took a lot out of me.
D. Neck/grip superset
i. 50 lb DB shrugs (15 reps)
ii. three 10 lb plate pinch gripping (as long as possible)
3X
That is some impressive squatting. Nice job!
Lunges aren’t my favorite either. My balance still sucks on them sometimes.
Beast back squats
So, once I again, I managed to fall off the face of the earth for a bit.
September 22
Energy systems work
ladder work for 10-15 minutes
~25 m sprints X 5, 30 seconds rest between sprints
break
~25 m sprint from lying position X 5, 30 seconds rest between
break
~25 m sprint from pushup position X 5, 30 seconds rest between
Max Effort Upper Body Lifting (pm)
A. Weighted chin ups
7 X bodyweight only
3 X 5 lb
3 X 10 lb
3 X 12.5 lb
3 X 15 lb
3 X 20 lb
Weighted chin ups are always fun. After the last set, I tried to do wide grip pullups and got 2.5…was so close on the third.
B. DB floor press (palms in)
50 lb X 6
45 lb X 8
45 lb X 8
45 lb X 8
Was a little too optimistic on the weight–was shooting for 50 lb X 8 across the board.
C. i. bent over rows–40, 45, 45, 45 (8 reps all)
ii. face pulls–60, 40, 50, 60 (8 reps all)
I’m still iffy on what’s a good weight for face pulls.
D. BB (EZ bar) curls
bar + 30 lb X 8
bar + 30 lb X 8
bar + 25 lb X 8
To clarify, that’s not 30 lb on both sides, just altogether. Not sure how much the bar weighs. I went down in weight on the last set because I don’t really feel any work with the heavier weight. I really don’t like BB curls that much, but decided to throw them in for some variation.
September 23
In all actuality, this was supposed to be a rest day. However, I was kind of stressed and really needed to hit the gym; so I threw in a dynamic effort lower body day.
Dynamic effort Lower Body
A. Box jumps
8 X 2 jumps
I have a confidence issue with box jumps. I know I can jump high enough with the box I use, but I’m always afraid of hitting the edge and wiping hard. I just have to clear my mind and focus–everything will be alright.
B. Bulgarian split squats with elevated front leg
10 X 30 lb
10 X 30 lb
That extra ROM makes split squats that much more challenging…but fun.
C. Romanian deadlifts
10 X 105 lb
10 X 115 lb
10 X 125 lb
Finisher: Handball! Just as I was doing the last of my RDLs, one of my teammates came into the room and convinced me to play handball. It was one hell of a workout after a good leg workout.
September 24
Repetition Upper Body Lifting
A. Chinups–3 sets max reps; ~90 seconds rest
10
5 1/2
5
Flamed out a bit after the first set, but was still happy with the numbers I put up.
B. Superset–4 X 10
i. Chest-supported rows (25 lb across the board)
ii. Seated DB power cleans (10, 15, 15, 15 lb)
C. Superset–2 X 8
i. hammer curls–20 lbs
ii.DB tricep ext–50 lbs
D. Ab superset X 3
i. low band pull ins X 12
ii. lateral bridge (to a count of 45)
Now, this is where things get interesting. We had a flag football tournament on Sunday, and on the FIRST play I fuck up my index finger trying to catch a kickoff.
At first, people thought it was jammed because it swelled up right away; so, three of them try to pop it out again. After the third person, we decided it probably wasn’t jammed, so I sat out most of the rest of the game (we were knocked out after losing) and then iced it after.
Coach tells me I HAVE to see a trainer, so I go see a trainer today, after writing an exam (fun to do with a buddy-taped hand). Trainer tells me I may have fractured it; now I have to splint it until it’s healed. They know I love hitting the, so they told me I can keep going; just have to be careful (which is a lot to ask of me).
I think the biggest negative so far is that I’m having trouble flipping the bird–hard to do with the index finger buddy-taped to the middle one.
Anywho, I’ll be modifying my workouts for the next little while to accommodate for my un-functioning digit.
September 28
Lower Body Lifting
A. Back squat–work up to max set of 5 reps
45 lb X 10 and 65 lb X 8 DB goblet squat to warm up
5 X 95 lb
5 X 135 lb
5 X 155 lb
5 X 165 lb
5 X 175 lb
Thought it was time to change up the rep scheme a little bit, so I switched to 5s for this week. Back squats were interesting; had to position the bar in a way that it was comfortable on my back and so that I could have my index finger sticking out.
B. Barbell reverse lunge–4 X 6 reps each leg
6 X 95 lb
6 X 105 lb
6 X 105 lb
6 X 115 lb
I really haven’t done reverse lunges with a barbell before, so this was fun. Weight was good; program calls for only 3 sets, but pushed it to four and added more weight because it really didn’t feel like I’d done enough.
C. DB Romanian deadlifts
10 X 40 lb
10 X 45 lb
10 X 50 lb
DBs were a challenge, but I decided to try it; just to see. They were pretty precarious (using one less finger on the one hand), but went smoother than I would have thought.
D. Ab superset
Swiss ball rollouts X 12
swimmers X 50
V-sit hold–20 seconds
Swiss ball rollouts X 12
Bummer on the finger injury! That is some pretty darn bad-ass lifting with one finger splinted.
Question on the Bulgarian split squats – if your front leg is elevated, is your back leg up on a bench too?
Yes. Front leg was on some sort of step thingy, back leg was on a bench.
Like this, except my front foot was raised a little higher:
[quote]juniormint wrote:
Yes. Front leg was on some sort of step thingy, back leg was on a bench.
Like this, except my front foot was raised a little higher:
[/quote]
That is sick and twisted. I’d try that if I wasn’t (justifiably) scared shitless of falling over. Heck, I fall over sometimes just on a regular Bulgarian split squat!
Nice job busting those out.
Thanks! I too had some concerns about falling over; although mostly just at the start of the lift, when I was trying to get step up. Once I got set up and started cranking out the reps it seemed fine.
They felt insanely hard–after the first set my legs were already completely fried. My next twisted ‘experiment’ with bulgarian split squats will be speed skater squats–one and a half rep bulgarian split squats.
September 29
Energy Systems Work
~1.5 mile run
The last half of the run was the toughest part, it was all uphill for the last bit.
Max Effort Upper Body Lifting
Warmup–two supersets of:
wall slides X 12
YTWLs X 10 each letter
A. One-armed DB snatches–max set of 3
5 X 25 lb
3 X 35 lb
3 X 40 lb
3 X 45 lb
3 X 50 lb
3 X 55 lb
Right arm only; I stayed away from left arm work to ensure that my finger doesn’t swell up anymore. I was pretty happy to hit 55 lb with these–haven’t done them for a couple of months.
B. One-arm DB bench press (right arm)
10 X 25 lb
8 X 30 lb
6 X 40 lb
6 X 40 lb
8 X 40 lb
6 X 40 lb
These were alright, however my right shoulder was a little testy on the last two sets. For the most part, I was able to keep balanced, so that was good.
C. Superset 4 X 10
i. DB rows (right arm only) 40, 40, 45, 45
ii.One arm lat pulls–50 lbs across
D. Zottman curls
8 X 15 lb
8 X 20 lb
8 X 20 lb
E. One-handed plate grip
two 10 plates for one set
25 lb plate for two set
I see that one-hand stuff. Bummer. Way to go working through it!
October 1
Energy systems training
Accelerate (walk to jog to sprint) to midfield; decelerate (sprint to jog to walk) to goal line
10x
Suicides
-Sprint to first marking, backpedal to goal line, karaoke to second marking, shuffle back to goal line, sprint to third marking
6x
Cone drills:
square drill, 2x each side
X drill, 2x each side
backpedalling, 2x each side