Yet Another Start at Training

Ate Chinese food yesterday late at night. Fuuuh… the theme so far, according to my logs, is I can stick to whatever diet I have set for myself as long as I don’t go too long between meals. Fast for too long and the diet goes to shit. Something to remember.

Workout today: Between the crap food last night and a bit of sleep deprivation, I felt pretty shitty for the workout and had to quit before I hit my goals due to headache and dizziness.

stairmaster 4 minutes

Squat
8x135lb warmup
8x185lb
8x205lb
8x205lb
8x225lb

Pulldowns: (treadmill at 2.5mph, 0 incline for 1 minute between all sets)
close grip (hands in front of shoulders)
8x110lb
8x120lb

wide grip (hands on the curves on the bar)
8x120lb

Missed Wednesday’s workout due to the road to the gym being flooded and closed. I’ll be back in there today!

So, it’s been a while since I posted here. I hurt myself in the gym a few weeks ago. After that missed Wednesday, I got back to the gym after work one day, and felt fatigued for some reason as soon as I’d showed up. Actually, it had been all day… maybe lack of sleep or something. I determined to go hard anyway, and did my usual warmup, hit the bench press and then did squats. In my last set, I heard/felt a POP and had pretty bad pain over my left hip on my back. I know a muscle pull/strain when I feel it, and while it hurt, I thought it was just a strain. Turned out to be the case.

I took the week and didn’t do anything more than walking in the morning. The next week, I could barely feel it, by my bro told me for back injuries and strained muscles in particular I should take it easy for a couple more weeks, so I did. I hit the gym again this past Friday and was in piss poor form. Struggled through 4 minutes on the stair master, tried for 3x5 at 50lb dumbbells on bench and could only get 4 out of the last set. Went to the squat rack and did a warmup set, after which I felt like puking. Tried to cool down on the treadmill and almost fell off. LOL Disaster. I’d been eating crap and sleeping like a college student so that was no help.

After that, I fixed my diet up and I’ve been getting back into regular sleep and the routine of walking before breakfast every day, which I’d been skipping about 4 times a week, and I feel a lot better.

DOMS after that first trip to the gym last week felt like I was starting all over. Hit the gym again on Tuesday this week, banged out 3x5 with the 50lb dumb bells easily this time on bench press, and did 3x5 deeeeep squats with 185lbs after which I was pretty wrecked, but not overdoing it. Didn’t feel very nauseous or feint, although I was having some troubles with heat. DOMS for the arms isn’t bad, but it’s been 2 days now since I squatted and my legs are actually worse than yesterday. Although I was squatting 225 without much problem before, I’m going to ease back into this with more of a beginner progression after my DOMS stops being such a bitch. My weight should still go up really fast, but at slightly reduced volume and more attention to what my body is telling me, I hope to avoid pointless injuries in the future.

I think if I go back to the gym tonight, which was my plan until I woke up sore as hell, I’ll do bench and RDLs, since I don’t think I’m ready to squat. Hopefully doing Romanian deadlifts will allow me to pull heavy weight (for me) and get a good workout, while targeting the glutes more than the hams, which are still very sore from squats.

Getting back to regular posting and regular workouts. Doing starting strength, pretty much. DOMS kicked the crap out of me last week after this workout

6 minutes stairmaster lvl 5

DB bench
10x 25lb
5x50
5x50
4x50
1x50

Squats
10x135
5x185
5x185
5x185

2 min stairmaster, 2 min treadmill

Went back today after taking too much time off (6 days).

5 min stair master lvl 5

DB bench
10x35
5x55
5x55
7x55

Squat
10x135
5x195
5x195
5x225

2 min stairmaster, 3 min treadmill

I felt MUCH better leaving the gym today than last week. I expect DOMS to be less of a bitch, hopefully, and get back on Thursday, take the weekend off and hit MWF next week. Will add 10lbs overall to the bench but I’m gonna jump to 3x5x215 on squat cuz I think the weight was too light today. 225 felt really good on my last set.

Went in today feeling not so great. Still got a good workout.

stairmaster 4min @ 52spm

DB bench
10x30lb warmup
5x60lb
5x60lb
5x60lb

One armed DB row (did sets in between and immediately following each set on bench)
5x30lb warmup
5x40lb
5x40lb
5x40lb

Squat
5x135lb warmup
5x215lb
5x215lb
5x235lb

2 min stairmaster, 2 min treadmill to cool down

Huge rush today, almost didn’t have time to go.

stairmaster, 3 min @ level 7

DB bench
10x35
5x65
5x65
4x65 (failed on last rep… probably too little rest between sets)

squat
5x145
5x225
5x225
5x225

I guess I was right about 225lb being the beginning of my real squat workouts. The last set was pretty hard on Monday, but I banged it out ok. Wanted to hit the gym yesterday to keep a MWF thing going, but I found soreness in new muscles from the squats! I was still sore today but didn’t want to take another day off, so I dedicated today to pulling motions.

Did my normal 20 min walk when I got up, took another 15 min walk in the park when I arrived early to a client’s house, and focused on pulling motions in the gym since I’m still sore from the squats. Got some advice on my DLs since I haven’t done them since high school. Of course I didn’t think to ask til my last set. Trainer said my form was very solid, my pulls were good, but to keep the bar closer. Will do for next time.

Stairmaster lvl 7 4min

Lat pull downs
10x100
5x120
5x120
5x140

Deadlift
10x135
5x185
5x185
5x185

treadmill incline 15, 2.5mph for 4 min to cool down

Hit the gym last week and felt terrible. Lik emy heart was ready to jump out of my chest after 3 minutes on the stair master at level 7. It wouldn’t stop beating hard for a while, so I just went home. Was too much of a bitch to go back. I think I’d been drinking too much. Anyway, haven’t had much alcohol since them, went back today (9 days later) and tried to get back into the swing of things. Had a little trouble on bench, but it all worked out.

warm-up
Stair master lvl 5, 5 min

DB bench
10x30
5x65
4x65
1x65
1x60

Squat
7x135
5x225
5x225
5x225

DB bench
6x65

Stairmaster 2 min lvl 5