Skipped gym yesterday. No excuses, was just being lazy.
Back work:
Barbell Rows: 1x12 @ 235, 1x12 @ 250
DB Rows: 1x13 @ 100 per arm
Barbell Shrugs: 2x15 @ 235, finally found a way to do these to actually get contraction in my traps.
Face Pulls: 1x20, 1x16 @ 120
Finished up with my shoulder physio which is a workout in itself. My arms are exhausted after.
Back in the gym tommorow for secondary pressing day and hopefully some sled work after.
Secondary Pressing Day. Felt pretty good:
Incline DB Press: 1x30, 1x26 @ 45
Rolling Tri Ext.: 1x18, 1x13 @ 30
1 Arm Tri Ext. (Over): 2x25 @ 30 per arm
(Under): 2x25 @ 30 per arm
Band Pull Aparts: 3x30 with red mini band, 45 seconds rest
Plank: 1:30 hold
This day of the program is always fun. A nice break from the grind of the other lifts. Just lets me get all blown up and go home to eat.
Deadlifts tommorow.
Just about took another week off for some reason. Oh well, made it there today to finish off this microcycle. One more microcycle and its deload time.
Deadlift: 5x3 @420, these did not move well today. I think its due to sitting in my truck all day for work. If I deadlift after a day like that again I will put more time into opening my hips up.
Dimel Deadlift: 1x15@ 260, 1x15 @ 275
Pull Throughs: 1x12 @ 100, 2x12 @ 130
Capped the session here. I was very fatigued and the gym was packed. I will finish off back work tommorow and follow up with sled pulls. I WILL FOLLOW UP WITH SLED PULLS!!!
Bench and back.
Bench Press: 2x8 @ 225, almost pain free
Slingshot Dips: 4x10 @ BW
Fat Man Rows (over): 10/10/3
(under): 10/3
Hammer Curls: 1x13 @ 25, 1x13 @ 30
Lateral Raise: 2x10 @ 35
Rear Lateral: 2x12 @ 30
Finished up with some physio stuff. Been a bit inconsistent with physio but getting better. Shoulder felt good benching so its a small improvement. Take it one day at a time.
Then some sled pulls:
8 x 40 yards (alternate foward and backward) @ 135 in 7:15, quads burned like heck on the backward lengths, but felt very refreshed after I was done.
Probably gonna use the progression in 5/3/1 Forever for sled pushes and pulls based on BW test. Gotta keep consistent with the conditioning.
Great work badbombs, I’ll be along for the ride!!
Squats from yesterday:
Squat: 4x2, 1x4 @ 450
Hack Squat: 1x12 @ 90, 2x12 @ 120
Calf Raises: 5x10 @ 50
Squats have been very tough for whatever reason. I may have started with my training max too high, but next microcycle is a deload. Will see how stuff moves after some time to recover.
Back work from Wednesday:
Barbell Row: 1x12 @ 235, 1x12 @ 255
DB Row: 1x15 @ 100, per arm
Face Pulls: 2x20 @ 110
Juat realized I forgot to do shrugs. Oh well it’s the end of the cycle and the progression was off on them anyway.
Secondary pressing day:
Incline DB Bench: 1x30, 1x21 @ 45,
Rolling DB Tri Ext: 1x18, 1x13 @ 30
1 Arm Tri Ext over: 2x20 per arm
under: 2x13 per arm
Band Pull aparts: 3x25
Felt terrible today. Almost skipped again. But got there anyway. Feeling kinda beat up lately. One more training session than a well needed deload.
Lifting from Thursday:
Deadlift: 5x3 @ 425, Setup was very difficult again. I think I need to make sure I train before eating on deadlift days. I seem to get bloated and then have a hard time getting set. Much easier on an empty stomach.
Dimel Deadlift: 1x15 @ 260, 1x15 @ 275, these annihilated me. After the last set, I was wiped. I had a headache, felt lightheaded, and completely fatigued. Probably gonna drop these from my deadlift day for the next cycle.
I am not gonna bother catching up on the back work. Just gonna move on. At some point I have to stop kicking the can down the road and just get the work done.
Time for a deload, and it is welcomed. A chance to rest up and refocus (again) on getting more consistent in my training. I am trying to figure out what it is that makes me so resistant to getting to the gym even though I enjoy it once I get up an going. I honestly think I just really dislike the gym I train at. It stinks like bleach, its small and crowded, I hate the paint and lighting, and the music is trash. Its actually pretty decently equipped, just that there is no room to move if its busy. Not saying these are all good excuses, but maybe its time I really considered getting my own setup for my basement. Oh well, we will see what happens.
Back to training and it felt great. I skipped all my deload workouts becuase I just couldn’t stand going in to the gym. Was burnt out. I think this is more a function of not doing adequate recovery/poor diet, rather than being at it too long. Regardless I feel refreshed.
Bench Day:
Bench: 4x2, 1x5 @ 255, Shoulder felt surprisingly good and I had a couple realizations. More on this later.
Squat Pad Bench Press: 2x15 @ 150, these hurt my shoulder. Going to switch back to slingshot dips for rep targets.
Lateral Raise: 2x10 @ 30, realized I have been doing these wrong. May drop weight even more to work on technique.
Rear Lateral: 2x12 @ 25
Hanging Knee Raises: 2x10
I have been reviewing my bench technique quite a bit lately to try figure out what I need to do to get my bar path straighter, and my wrists aligned with my forearms. I have a sneaky suspicion that my injury was partially due to benching with a bit of wrist extension. This is because my bench grip is so narrow. I have always felt like I have had hard time benching, almost like I am fighting myself, which I think have been. I hated using a wide grip as it felt incredibly unstable and I had a heck of a time keeping my elbows from flaring when the load got heavy. I now see that the physio work I am doing is strengthening the muscles that are responsible for adduction when your arm and forearm are at 90 degrees. The muscles that keep your elbows from flaring.
I unracked 255 with a grip about 4-5 inches wider in an attempt to get my wrist lined up with my forearm and realized it felt like 185. Way more stable. Its too early to tell, but I think this may be a big breakthrough on my bench. I am going to hammer the physio like there is no tommorow.
Squats today.
Back Squat: 4x2, 1x4 @ 440, these are getting pretty grindy. But I am just concentrating on inching forward, trusting the process, and working on recovery.
Front Squat: 2x10, 1x8 @ 185, havent done these in a while. Is a nice change up.
Calf Raises: 5x10 @ 50
Hamstring Curls (single leg): 2x15 per side @ 15, never really programmed these in before. Interested in if I notice a different in the big lifts as I focus on strengthening my hamstrings.
Back work tommorow with sled pushes to finish. I think I may start breaking out my rowing the day after squats permanently. Its very time consuming getting it all done in one day.
Caught up on back work today:
Barbell Row: 2x12 @ 245
Kroc Row: 1x29 @ 80 per arm, excited to have these back in my training. Goal is to be able to do half my bodyweight for 30 reps.
Trap Bar Shrug: 2x15 @ 170
Face Pull: 2x20 @ 105
Felt extremely good today in the gym. Has been a long time since I have had this much energy. I started a new diet protocol and left no stone unturned to do my best to ensure compliance. Only been a couple days so I am wary of the placebo effect. I might elaborate and start tracking food intake on here as well.
Secondary Pressing Day on Tuesday:
Incline DB Press: 1x30, 1x19 @ 45, regression here was expected since I didn’t deload properly.
Rolling Tri Ext.: 1x18, 1x9 @ 35
1 Arm Tri Ext (over): 25 reps all sets @ 30
(under): 23/14/16/9 @ 30
Band Pull Aparts: 3x30 with red band and 45 seconds rest
Pank: BW for 1 minute
Deadlifts today:
Deadlift: 5x3 @ 405, still playing with setup. I need to remember to adopt a fairly narrow stance and grip. This seems to allow to me brace and not put so much strain through my lower back. Starting to lose weight, so I am hoping these will improve as my setup gets easier and bloating goes way down.
Rack Pulls: skipped these. Some dude go to the power rack just before me and then proceeded to talk on the phone while the barbell was loaded. I can’t get too mad since my gym only has one rack and I hog it pretty bad when I squat, but at least I focus when I am in there. Some peoples kids…
Cable Pull Throughs: 3x12 @ 100
Lat Pull Downs: 1x15 @ 100, 1x12 @ 130
Pullups: 5x5 use BW and green band assist
Hammer Curls: 1x15 @ 25, 1x15 @ 30
Standing Cable Crunch: 2x10 @ 10
Bench Press Day:
Competition Bench: 4x2, 1x7 @ 260, wider grip is feeling good. Mostly pain free bench, but I did notice I was shifting to the left to compensate a bit. Will continue physio and monitor progress.
Floor Press: 2x15 @ 150, was supposed to do slingshot dips but forgot my slingshot. THese felt good so gonna stick with them.
Standing OH Press: 1x7 @ 135, threw these in but gonna maybe try them next cycle not this one.
Lateral Raise: 2x10 @ 30
Rear Lateral 2x12 @ 30
Ended with some physio work.
Squats day:
Squat: 4x2, 1x4 @ 445, I was playing around with grip width with these. But they felt terrible until the last set. I stopped at 4 but I probably could have done more. Was expecting to barely get four so I wasn’t gonna push it. Just keep inching foward.
Front Squat: 3x10 @ 185, these irritated my groin. Not pulled but I will have to watch them.
Single Leg Hamstring Curl: 2x15 @ 30
Calf Raises: 5x10 @ 60
Ended with more physio stuff.
Back work:
Barbell Row: 1x12 @ 245, 1x12 @ 250
Kroc Row: 1x25 per arm @ 90
Trap Bar Deadlift: 1x15 @ 170, 1x15 @ 175
Face Pulls: 1x20 @ 105, 1x20 @ 110
Secondary pressing day from Thursday:
Incline DB Bench Press: 1x30, 1x13 @ 45
Rolling Tricep Extensions: 1x18, 1x13 @ 35
1 Arm Tricep Extension (overhand): 2x25 per arm @ 30
(underhand: 13,12,12,11 @ 30
Band Pull Aparts: 3x30 with red band with 45 seconds rest
Plank: hold for 1:15 with BW
FIgured I would start posting some diet stuff. I bought the Vertical Diet, and started playing around with it. Not being super strict over the last couple weeks. My weight topped out at 275 but today I weighed in at 269. First time in my life I have really actively lost weight.
Doing more food prep is big for me, and having everything planned out down to the portion size and every meal is finally what it takes for me to stick to something. This has been a big lesson. I can’t leave anything up to me to figure out later. Luckily in the ebook the quick start guide has a meal plan based on caloric requirements, all I needed to do was pick the one closest to my requirements and figured out how much food I needed a week. Then just eat whats prepped. Super simple, no magic.
I know Efferding isn’t big on protein shakes, but I am still gonna have a couple each day. One in the afternoon with some fruit before I train and some casein before bed. Just more convenient than hauling around tupperware when I am on the road. I just purchased some thermoses so I will see how the old Monster Mash thing works.
Now to focus on developing consistency. I found that after about 3 days I started getting a lot of junk food cravings. I think it might be because I miss certain things on the meal plan so maybe the hunger grows over time from that.
In any case, I just have to keep consistent and I think good things will happen. Lucky for me I like beef and rice.
Deadlift day:
Deadlifts: 5x3 @ 410, I think cleaning up my diet has made an improvement here. Less bloating and shaving off a few pounds is making setup a lot easier. Hoping to see how things move as my weight comes down.
Rack Pull: 3x3 @ 410
Pull Throughs: 3x12 @ 105
FInished up with some physio.