Today Was Pull Day:
Deadlifts: Barx5, 135x5, 155x5, 185x5, 225x5, 245x3, 265x2, 225x4, 225x1, 225x2, 225x1, 135x4, 135x3, 135x1
Bent Over Rows: 135x6, 135x6, 155x6, 155x5, 155x3
Pullups: Bwx3, Bwx3, Bwx3, Bwx3, Bwx3, Bwx1, Bwx1, Bwx1
DB Row: 50x8, 50x8, 50x6, 50x8
Cleans: Barx5, 95x5, 95x3
Overhead Power Hold: 95x30seconds, 95x20seconds
DB Curl: 20x5, 25x5, 35x5, 40x2, 40x2, 45x2, 45x1, 40x2
Isometric Pullup Holds: 15s at top, 15s at top, 15s halfway
Felt like GOLD today.
Push Day:
I did a pretty intensive warmup: bird dogs, lunges, body weight squats, hip flexor stretches, etc
Front Squats: Barx5, 95x5, 115x3, 135x3, 155x3, 165x3, 175x2, 195x2, 205xF
Barbell Overhead Press: Barx5, 65x5, 85x5, 105x5, 125x5, 135x3, 145x1 (New PR), 85x8
Barbell Bench Press: Barx5, 135x5, 155x5, 175x5, 195x5, 205x3, 215x3, 225x2, 235x2 (New PR), 135x10
Lateral Raises: 10x6, 15x6, 20x6, 25x6, 25x5, 25x5, 30x1, 15x8
Skullcrushers: Barx5, 45x8, 55x5, 65x5, 75x3, 45x8+8 OHP
Hanging Leg raises: BWx5, BWx5, BWx5
Hanging Leg Crunches: BWx5, BWx5
Squat Clean and Press: Barx5, 65x6x1, 85x3x1
Last night I went out to dinner with my two brothers and my brother’s wife. We split 3 appetizers, I got a sandwich, then helped them out by eating 3 slices of pizza, then ate an entire Chocolate chip bread pudding, along with a slice of fruit pizza. I also had 3 beers throughout the course of our meal. I read somewhere that there is a theory that your energy for the day may be related to what you ate the day before. Well, I had to drag myself out of the gym because I had a lot of extra energy and could have gone on for another hour, and I had a really high carb dinner last night. Coincidence? It makes me think that maybe that theory might have some substance to it. Anyway, 2 new strength PRs, a strict 145lbs OHP and a 235 Bench Press. I’m happy with today. Now time to eat right and sleep right to ensure I grow from this.
Went for a Run today. Same track as last time, but took me 3 more minutes. I ate pizza shortly beforehand, and almost puked at the end of my run. I ran out of energy pretty quickly, and my final time was 2.25 miles in 27:36 mins
4/23/12
Pull Day:
Did some band work and stretching at my apartment before walking to the gym. No Money Drills, band pull aparts, and some varied stretches of my hamstrings along with pec, tricep, quad, and lat stretches.
Deadlift: Barx5, 135x5, 135x5, 155x5, 175x3, 185x3, 205x3, 225x3, 245x3, 265x2, 285x1, 305x1, 325x1
Single Arm DB Row: 55x8
Barbell Bent Over Row: 135x5, 135x5, 155x5, 135x5, 155x4, 175x3, 155x3, 155x3, 135x5
Lat Pulldown to Sternum: 6x8, 8x8, 10x8
Lat Pulldown: 12x5, 13x5, 14x3, 15x3, 14x3, 10x5, 8x12
Hang Cleans: Barx5, 95x3, 115x3, 115x3, 135x3, 135x3
EZ Bar Curls: 45x5, 65x5, 75x5, 85x4, 85x3, 65x5
EZ Bar Suitcase Holds: 65x30s, 85x25s, 95x20s, 105x15s
Dumbell Suitcase Hold: 80x30s, 80x30s
I felt weak when I got to the curls, my forearms were very fatigued after the Lat Pulldowns, and I’m sure that the Cleans didn’t help. I am currently trying to correct my deadlift form and stay more upright, keeping my hips down. I have a problem of letting my hips get too high and it is more of a straight legged deadlift than a conventional.
4/24/12
Cardio:
I warmed up properly today, starting from a slow pace to a moderately fast paced walk before I started jogging.
I ran farther than I’ve ever ran consecutively today, but my speed was considerably lower. I ended up running from the end of the Commons all the way to the large staircase near the school of public health without stopping, and in about 6.5 mins. I walked to the stadium and then did stair sprints. At the top of the staircase is a straightaway and I would sprint as fast as I could at the top straightaway. I then jogged back, this time taking 2 walk breaks. Any stairs I encountered on the way back made my legs feel like jello. My total cardio time was 35 minutes.
I played soccer yesterday and worked a little on my dribbling skills and ball control.
4/26/12
Push Day:
Squat Clean to Front Squats: Barx3, 95x3, 95x3, 115x3, 115x3, 135x3, 135x3, 135x3
OHP: 65x5, 85x5, 105x5, 125x5, 135x5, 145x1, 145xF, 105x6
Floor Press: Barx5, 95x5, 135x5, 155x5, 175x4, 175x3, 185x2, 135x6
Side Raise: 20x5, 20x5, 20x5, 20x5
Side cable Raise: 20x5, 10x8, 10x8
Side raise: 15x8, 15x8
Skull Crushers: Barx5, 45x5, 55x5, 65x5, 75x3, 75x2, 55x5
Standing Overhead Tri Ext: Barx8
Single arm standing Tri Ext: 15x8, 15x8
Hanging Leg Raises: BWx5, BWx5, BWx5
Hanging Crunches: BWx5, BWx5
Power holds: Barx20s, 65x30s, 85x30s, 105x30s
Sprained wrist skateboarding on 4/28/12. It’s a minor sprain but enough to keep me from wanting to lift, I don’t want to aggravate the injury and make it worse. So, while my wrist heals, I am going to fill in the gaps with sprinting, jogging and other similiar forms of cardio.
Today I jogged to the stadium in about 9 mins. Then I did stair sprints, varying my steps from my feet touching every step, to every other step, to just getting up as fast as I could. I jogged back from the north campus quad to the entrance to the gate near the south campus commons. I wouldn’t let myself take a walk break, but would only allow to slow down slightly to catch my breath.
I had to move a bunch of heavy objects at work over the past two days so I figured I would do push again today.
Push:
Squats: Barx5, Barx5, 95x5, 135x5, 135x5, 155x5, 155x5, 175x5, 195x5, 235x1, 235x1
OHP: Barx5, 65x5, 85x5, 105x5, 125x5, 135x3
Close grip Bench Press: 95x5, 135x5, 155x5
Bench Press: 175x5
DB Bench: 70x5
DB Lateral Raises: 15x5, 20x5, 25x5, 25x5, 25x5, 30x5, 25x5 then did 4-5 sets of a single rep per arm holding at the top
Dips: BWx5
Rope Pulldowns: 6x5, 7x5, 8x5, 9x5, 6x5
Push Press: 135x5+30s HOLD, 135x3+30s HOLD, 135x3+30s HOLD
Ab Wheel: 3 sets of 5
My wrist is getting much better, only slight discomfort at most during the lifts. I can still feel the injury, but my lifts were not affected. My right shoulder was clicking during bench pressing however, and I decided to go easy as this is not normal. It was even clicking during DB Press, hence why I stopped my pressing early.
Today was pull day:
I did a pretty thorough warm up.
Deadlifts: Barx5, 135x5, 135x5, 155x5, 175x5, 185x5, 225x4, 245x1
Cleans: 95x8, 135x3, 135x8x2
Curls: 25x8, 25x8, 35x3, 25x8
I really lacked motivation today, I was about a 2/10. I have eaten about 1,000 less calories the past two days and drank 2 glasses of wine last night. I also am under a lot of stress (finals), and haven’t gotten good sleep. I didn’t run this week, nor did I play soccer. The combination of all of these I believe was to blame for my lack of motivation. Oh well, I am going to eat correctly and get back at it after finals are done. I think I’ll start my workout next time with Pull again to make up for today.
Pull Day today:
Deadlift: Barx5, 135x5, 185x5, 205x5, 225x5, 245x2, 265x1, 285x1, 305x1
Pullups: BWx5, BWx4, BWx3, BWx2, BWx2, BWx1
Cleans from Pins: Barx5, 95x5, 95x5
Cleans from Ground: 135x5, 135x5, 135x5, 155x2, 155x2
Standing EZ Bar Curl: Barx5, 45x5, 55x5, 65x5, 75x5, 85x5, 95x2, 105x1, 45x8
Lat Pulldown: 8x12, 8x12
Been smoking cigarettes recently so I would get out of breath quickly. I felt pretty strong however, just not in good condition. I used double overhand grip for deadlifts until 305. I was really ripping the bar off the ground for cleans.
Push Day today:
Did a pretty thorough warm up with lots of stretching
Explosive Pushups: BWx3
Squats: Barx5, Barx5, 135x5, 165x5, 185x5, 205x5, 225x2, 225x2, 245x1, 265xF
OHP: Barx5, 65x5, 85x5, 105x5, 125x5
Push Press: 145x2, 145x2
DB Bench: 50x5, 60x5
Incline DB: 60x5, 70x5
DB Bench: 70x5, 80x3
Standing Behind Neck Tricep Ext: Barx5, 45x5, 55x5
Clean Extensions*: 45x5, 45x5
Delt Triad: 15x8, 15x8, 15x8
Hanging Crunches: BWx5, BWx5, BWx5
*Clean Extensions are an exercise I just made up. You begin with the barbell resting on your clavicles, like in the catching position of a clean. With this, your elbows are pointing straight ahead of you, parallel to the ground. From this position you extend your triceps, while simultaneously pressing the weight above you. This works the triceps a bit more than a standard over head press.
The Delt Triad is an experiment I am doing to get better growth in my medial deltoids, as they lag significantly behind my anterior delts. I will try this for several weeks and see if any noticeable growth has taken place, if not, I will ditch it for heavier lateral raises as I was doing before.
My right shoulder still clicks during flat pressing movements, which keeps me from wanting to do a lot of bench pressing. It is not painful, but it is very noticeable, and I am worried that if I ignore it, it may lead to damage. I am currently investigating how to fix this issue.
Today was Pull Day:
Deadlifts: Barx5, 135x5, 185x5, 205x5, 225x2, 245x2, 265x1, 285x1, 285x1, 305x1, 325xF
Lat Pulldown: 6x5, 10x5
Pullups: BWx5
Chin Ups: BWx4, BWx3, BWx3, BWx3, BWx2, BWx3, BWx2, BWx1
Speed Cleans: Barx3x3, 95x5, 95x5, 95x5, 115x1, 115x1, 115x1
Barbell Curl: 95x1, 95x2, 115x1
Dumbell Hammer Curl: 50x2, 50x1, 50x1
EZ Bar Curl: 55x15, 55x10
Dumbell Curl: 20x10
Deadlift Holds: 135x20s, 135x20s, 225x10s, 225x10s, 225x5s
The second half of my workout was sporradic, and I did all of the exercises, but in random orders. At one point I did a 30 second overhead power hold with 95lbs. I didn’t feel motivated, but wanted to get a good workout, so instead of following a plan (doing rows, cleans, curls, then grip work), I flipped through exercises in an almost circuit like fashion. I felt lazy going into this workout, and I am happy that I got this much accomplished, because mentally I was not prepared, and was considering leaving after the deadlift portion.
Push Day:
Front Squats: Barx5, 65x5, 95x5, 115x5, 135x5, 155x3, 175x3, 195x5x1 (45 second rest between singles)
Thick Bar OHP: Barx5, 65x5, 85x5, 105x5, 125x2, 125x2
OHP (Regular Bar): 115x2
Push Press: 115x2
DB Bench: 25x8, 45x5, 65x8, 65x8
DB Kickbacks with Squeeze At Top: 20x8, 20x8
Delt Triad: 15x8x8x8, 10x8x8x8, 10x8x8x3
My shoulders didn’t click at all during the bench press portion, I am hoping the delt triad is helping to fix some imbalance between my front delt and my rear/lateral delts. I was in a hurry so I didn’t get to do all I wanted to but got a pretty solid workout with good intensity. On the Kickbacks I was trying to squeeze at the top of the movement to try and get an isometric hold with my rear delt/triceps.
BEGIN CREATINE LOADING
Pull Day:
Pullups: BWx5, BWx5, BWx4, BWx3
Pullups from Half Position: Bwx2, BWx2, BWx1
Bent Barbell Rows: Barx5, 55x5, 95x5, 135x5, 155x5, 175x3, 195x3, 205x2, 205x1
Cleans From Floor: Barx5, 95x5, 95x3, 135x3, 135x3, 155x3, 155x3, 175x2, 195x2, 195x2, 205xF
EZ Bar Curl: 60x5, 70x5, 80x5, 90x5, 110x1, 100x1
Hammer DB Curl: 30x5, 15x8
Did prehab shoulder work today:
Band pullaparts
Isometric door presses for rear and medial delts
Wall slides
Band po-boys
Band dislocations
Isometric Band holds (both arms extended at sides like a T)
Shoulder circles, no weight lateral and front raises
Band cuban press
I wont be able to workout for a few days, and a little shoulder prehab never hurts anybody 
Push Day:
Front Squat: Barx6, 85x3, 105x3, 135x3, 155x3, 175x3, 175x3, 195x1, 215xF
Push Press: Barx5, 65x5, 85x5, 105x5, 115x5, 135x5, 155x1, 155x1, 155x2
DB Bench: 65x5, 70x5, 75x5, 80x5, 85x5, 90x1, 90x1, 90x1
DB Tricep Extensions: 10x8, 15x8, 20x8, 25x8, 30x5
Delt Triad: 20x8, 20x8, 15x8
Hanging Leg Crunches: BWx5, BWx5, BWx5, BWx5, BWx5
Roman Chair Straight Leg Lifts: BWx15
Felt pretty good, barely any shoulder discomfort during benching. I think doing the delt triad is helping with my shoulders. Still ingesting about 15g a day of creatine, and cutting back on my carb intake. I was getting a little tummy from the past few weeks so I am trying to get less.
Pull Day:
Did a dynamic warmup, some bodyweight squats, birddogs, and then did hit and catch drills for the snatch with an empty barbell.
Deadlift: Barx5, 135x5, 135x5, 185x5, 225x5, 275x4, 315x1, 225x5
Hang Cleans: 135x5, 135x5, 155x3, 155x3, 175x2, 175x1, 195x1
Bent Over rows: 135x6, 155x5, 175x4, 195x1, 135x5
Lat Pulldowns: 8x12, 8x12, 8x12
EZ Bar Curl: Barx5, 45x5, 65x5, 85x3, 105x3x1
Reverse EZ Bar Curl: 65x5, 65x4+1F
I felt pretty good and strong today, my cleans are really getting sharper and more explosive. My deadlifts were pretty solid, and I did the earlier reps for speed.
I am now down to a maintenance dosage of creatine, using ~5g a day
My physique is really coming along. I would still like more size in all areas, but I am happy with my progress thus far.
It was 96 degrees outside today, so I decided to go for a run. I jogged until the space building. Then at the wooden bridge I jogged again up to the stairs and did my first stair sprint. At the top I was gassed, and I walked down. I knew because of the higher temperatures that I needed some breaks to catch my breath/keep from overheating. I took 1 minute breaks in between stair sprints, alternating from speed to making sure I touched every step. I did 5 total stair sprints then walked back. I probably sweat out 2L of sweat during this whole thing.
I’m glad I did it
Push Day:
Warmed up with some hit and catch drills using just the bar.
Snatch: Barx5, Barx5, 65x5, 65x5, 75x3
Front Squats: 65x5, 135x5, 155x5, 175x3, 195x2
OHP: 45x5, 65x5, 85x5, 105x5, 125x5, 145x2, 145x1, 145x1
Push Press: 145x4
Barbell Bench Press: 65x5, 135x5
DB Bench Press: 70x5
Floor DB Flys: 25x5, 30x5, 30x5, 30x5, 30x5
Dips: BWx10, BWx10, BWx10
Delt Triad: 20x8x8x8, 20x8x8x8, 20x8x8x5
Hanging Leg Raises: BWx5, BWx5, BWx5
Roman Chair Leg Raises: BWx20
I made sure to do strict hanging leg raises, with a hard squeeze at the top. In the last set of the delt triad, I was using very liberal body english. When it came time to do the front raises portion, I was more or less swinging the dumbells forward, and then each press was a push press. 20 lbs has never felt so heavy!
I chose to do the floor flys because I feel like I need a small break from horizontal pressing movements. My shoulder was clicking slightly during the barbell bench. So I switched over to DB Bench, and it was still clicking. As I said earlier, I am trying to keep my shoulders healthy, so I decided to hit my pecs in a different way.
