Striking a Balance

That is definitely some MacGyver shit you got going on there. Used to have to tie DB on mine too. Pain in the ass! Did youbdo the assistance stuff Kroc listed with the plan?

So was this a PR?

No, just did the 5 singles each time I trained. Don’t think this is a Kroc programme. Read about it in an article by a guy called Derek Miller.

Well, yes, my previous best was 158, so yeah.

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My bad I thought you were doing the simple deadlift program you’re doing the daily dose.

Still, congrats on the PR!

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Pr is a Pr, nice work!

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Many years ago, 1980-81, I was stationed on a very small island at the end of the Aleutian chain. Lived in a hanger and some weight lifting equipment . For the one oly bar we could only get it up to 305#s. I would hang/tie dumbbells on it to get higher. Your setup reminds of it.

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September 23rd


Warm-up: Airsquats

Band leg triple exercise (Hip/glute/quad): 25,25,25
SS Lazy hips: 25,25,25

Lunges: 20,20,20

Deadlift: 78x5, 120x1x5

Just a little bit of exercise for the knee/hip today - oh and start of new daily dose cycle.

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September 24th


Warm-up: Internal rotation, frog crunches, sideplank w/twist, band corkscrews

Chin-ups: 5,5,5,5
SS pull-aparts: 25,30,35,40

Dumbbell overhead press: 22x 8,8,8

Dumbbell rows, kroc style: 32x 22,22,22,22

Band good mornings: 25,25,25
SS band straight arm pulldowns: 12,12,12

Deadlift: 78x5, 126x1x5

Dumbbell hammer curls: 8x 30,30

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September 26th


Warm-up: Pull-aparts, internal rotation, plate raises

Overhead press (C9W3)
22 x 5
32 x 5
58 x 5
60 x 3
63 x4

I have notbeen paying much attention to the press lately, which is probably why I feel weaker than usual. Think I will repeat this cycle without changing the weight, and add in some more supplemental work.

Barbell rows
60 x 8
80 x 8
90 x 8
100 x 8
105 x 8
110 x 5 (PR)
115 x 4 (PR)
100 x 8

For some reason I could not tell the difference between a 2,5kg and a 5kg plate today, making my pyramid 10kg steps. When I realized that my 90kg set was really 100 and it felt good, I decided to continue upwards a bit.

Floor press (C6W3)
60 x 5
77 x 5
82 x 3
86 x 10

Chin-ups: 5,5,4

Push-ups: 35, 35, 30, 30

Deadlift: 80x5, 126x1x5

Lateral dumbbell raise: 12x 10,10,15

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Well
 look who’s having a PR party! Congrats!

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2 prs? Show off! Good going.

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September 28th


Warm-up: Hip/leg/back stretching, pull-aparts, air squats, internal rotation

Band leg triple exercise (Hip/glute/quad): 25,25,25
SS Lazy hips: 25,25,25

Dumbbell Floor press: 22x 18,18,18
SS Straight band flyes: 15,15,15

Lunges: 30,30,30
SS Push-ups: 30,35,35

Deadlift: 80x5, 126x1x5

Triceps pull-downs, band: 20,20,20

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September 30th


Warm-up: Internal rotation, external rotation, plate raises

Chin-ups: 6,6,6,5,5
SS pull-aparts: 25,25,25,25,25

Dumbbell overhead press: 22x 8,8,8

Dumbbell rows, kroc style: 32x 23,23,23,23

Band good mornings: 25,25,25
SS band straight arm pulldowns: 15,15,15

Deadlift: 80x5, 126x1x5

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October 3rd


Warm-up: Internal rotation, plate raise, pull-aparts

Frog-crunches: 25,30,35,40
Sideplank w/twist: 20,25
Band corkscrews: 15,15
Reverse hypers: 25,25,25,25

Overhead press: (C10W2+FSL)
22 x 5
44 x 5
47 x 5
51 x 10
47 x 5 x 5

Barbell rows
60 x 8
80 x 8
90 x 8
100 x 6 x 5

Barbell floor press (C8W1)
60 x 5
65 x 5
70 x 20

Chin-ups: 5,5,5

Push-ups: 30,30,30,30,30

Deadlift: 80x5, 126x1x5

Lateral dumbbell raise: 12 x 10,10,10
SS Rear lat hitch up: 12 x 10,10,10

@hel320 Tried these both upright and half-squatting. Seems the squat version provides a better balance and somehow a more bit more ROM, so it makes sense to squat a bit when doing them. Seems to be a decent add-on giving the lats that last bit of fry at the end


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Training from home with just a bar, a couple of barbells and a pull-up bar has worked really well for me. It has made me focus on simple, effective exercises and the convenience has ensured that I kept at it consistently. Along the way, I have decided that training from home is my thing and that I have no rush going back to a gym.

But missing equipment (rack, bench etc) is beginning to be a bit annoying and I had toyed with the idea of finding a real cheap gym, where I could drop by once in a while.

Fast forward to the other day, where I went for a walk and on the back leg, came by a new gym that is just opening. The guys manning the reception (one of them the owner I think), was bored and offered me a tour, which I accepted.

Boy did it look good. A row of nice barbell platform/rack setups, plenty of benches and dumbbells and only one machine in the whole gym (A leg press). They did mention that they would get some cable towers as well, but that is it it. This gym is focussed entirely on functional training with weights and bodyweight. And their concept is to have a coach on the floor at all times - for advice, tips, programme help and even spotting. (The owner even mentioned that they have experience / are trained in correcting imbalances, recovering from injuries and pains etc.)

I came away pretty darn impressed. Seems like a real serious place for training - without all the fluff. And it is really close to where I live. (15 min walk at most.) Man, am I ever tempted.

Lots of pros, the cons mostly being that

  • I am really happy training from home
  • I am not sure I really need them to make a program (At least I am not sold on the idea,even though I would probably learn a lot.)
  • And that it is pretty expensive. ($88 a month, around double what I paid when I last frequented a gym. I can afford that - but if I pay that much, I need to use it often to justify the spend - and then my home training would probably go by the wayside.)

Anyway, they have offered a free trial session, which I have booked for Thursday.
So I will do a trial run, and then I have a decision to make. To be continued.

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October 5th


Warm-up: Internal rotation, pull-aparts, leg/back/hip stretches, air squats

Band leg triple exercise (Hip/glute/quad): 25,25,25
SS Lazy hips: 25,25,25

Dumbbell Floor press: 22 x 15,17,20,20
Straight flyes: 20,20,20

Lunges: 30,30,30

Push-ups: 35,35,30,25

Deadlift: 80x5 134x1x5

Triceps pull-downs, band: 25,25,25

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Went to the gym trial today and ended up signing up.

The head coach had me go through a number of exercises to gauge my imbalances etc.

But he started out doing various voodoo on my bad leg with the result that it felt better and more limber than it have done in the past 18 months since I got the injury (or inflammation or whatever it really is.)

I have a good feeling he can fix the leg and a few other problems I have, so I just have to give it a shot and see what happens. And I will let them make a programme for me. It will focus heavily on fixing stuff at the outset and then later scale that part a bit back. He was big on functional training, where many exercises have multiple purposes. (Like one arm dumbbell press, where the core has to work to counter the weight imbalance.)

I am a little worried that I will loose some of the results I have have gotten lately, but I think that this will be a more balanced and ultimately healthier way of training.

I have thought a lot of what @dagill2 recently wrote in his blog about why we do this and what we really want to achieve. My long term overall goal at the outset was to be somewhat strong and capable as I move into the last third of my life.
Reading and interacting here at the T-nation forum has somewhat sucked me into the rabbit hole and my focus the past year has shifted to more be about become stronger at certain lifts, than becoming fitter overall. I think this is a change in the right direction and a help to force me to realign a bit back towards my original goal.

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Thanks for this, this was a useful reminder about the things I say I should be doing but am still not commiting whole heartedly to.

No man, thanks from me - your post reminded me of something important.

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October 9th


Just a quick core session today.

Supersets of an ab, oblique, back & rotator cuff set:

Sit-ups: 20,20,20
Frog crunches: 20,20,20,50
Sideplank w/twist: 20,20
Band corkscrews: 15,15
Reverse hypers: 25,25,25,25
External rotation: Various exercises

Lazy hips: 20
X-walks: 20

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October 10th


Am more than a bit hungover today after a fun night of beers & death metal yesterday.

Was ever so tempted to skip training today, but as is often the case, a good workout helped and I now almost feel human again.

Warm-up: Internal rotation, air squats, pull-aparts, plate raise.

Overhead press (C10W2+SSL)
51 x 3
53 x 3
57 x 9
53 x 5
53 x 5
53 x 5

Chin-ups: 5,5,5,3

Barbell floor press: ( C7W2+FSL)
70 x 3
74 x 3
79 x 12
70 x 5
70 x 5
70 x 5
70 x 5
70 x 5

Dumbbell rows, kroc style:
32 x 25
32 x 25
32 x 30

Push-ups: 30,30,30

Deadlift 78x5, 126x1x3

Lateral dumbbell raise: 12x 10,10,10
SS Rear lat hitch up: 12x 10,10,10

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