29 January 2009

Another body weight workout tonight of the back variety. Here's how it went:

BW - 242lbs

Wide Grip Pull-Ups X 20

Narrow Grip Pull-Ups X 20

Narrow Grip Underhand BW Rows X 60

Wide Grip Overhand BW Rows X 60

Diesel Rows X 50

Scapula Dips X 20

Hyperextensions X 100

That's that.

Goody

27 January 2009

Chest workout - body weight style.

BW - 238lbs

Push-Ups X 150

Hindu Push-Ups X 25

Medicine Ball Push-Ups X 25

Dips X 50

That's it! (I wish it was as easy for me as it looks on paper.) My muscular endurance is terrible! I could barely manage one set of 50 push-ups (my unofficial best is 82 in one set, ~2 years ago). My workouts this week are an effort to make me stop saying my muscular endurance is shitty. I know it's shitty because I don't do enough endurance work! I have no idea how many sets it took me to reach these totals...I think workout volume is inversely proportional to my brain function.

Goody

26 January 2009

I woke up for work on, 16 January 2009, with an excruciating pain in my left hip. I was laying on my right side and couldn't lift my left leg to get out of bed. I've never had hip pain, let alone a hip pain that terrible. I was downright scared. After a shit-load of Advil and some rest, I'm good to go. Honestly, if not for the memory, it feels like it never happened. Hell if I know? I guess old age doesn't come alone. HAHA!

Today was my first day back - leg day style. I decided to do body weight workouts this week to switch it up. Here's how it went tonight.

BW - 239lbs

BW Squats X 250

BW Stiff-Leg Deads X 100

BW Lunges X 100

BW Calf Raises X 50 (L/R)

I have no idea how many sets it took me to get 250 BW Squats. I tried to get it done with 5 X 50, but that didn't workout...at all. When it was all said and done, I waddled out of the gym and around the corner to my place. BRUTAL! I moved my 239lb body for 500 reps in one workout. I need workouts like this more often.

Goody

15 January 2009

Shoulder Pre-hab (L/R)
-Rotator Cuff Work - 5lbs
-Front/Mid/Rear Delt Work - 5lbs

Warm-Up
-BW Good Mornings X 20
-BW Squats X 20
-Bar Stiff Leg Deadlift X 20

Sumo Deadlift
-Bar X 20
-135 X 15
-225 X 10
-315 X 8
-405 X 5
-405 X 5
-405 X 5
-405 X 5
-405 X 5

1-Arm Bent-Over Dumbbell Row (L/R)
-110 X 8
-110 X 8
-110 X 8

Yep...that's it. This might go down as my worst gym week ever. I'm not sick. I'm not overly tired. My body just wouldn't allow me to do anything else. I had to will myself to pull 5 X 5 with 405 last night. I could barely take the stress of the lift. After pondering this, "I feel like shit 10 minutes into my workout" issue, I can only attribute it to one thing - I'm not eating enough. I need more fuel in the tank throughout the day to get back on track. Work is nuts right now - but, I need to find time to eat more. I'm in a rut - I just have to push myself out.

On a positive note, the deads felt pretty solid. My shins are taking a terrible beating; but, the weight is coming off the floor so I'll deal. A few more weeks of Sumo and it's back to Conventional to see what it's actually doing for me.

Goody

14 January 2009

Shoulder Pre-hab (L/R)
-Rotator Cuff Work - 5lbs
-Front/Mid/Rear Delt Work - 5lbs

Tricep/Wrist Warm-Up (L/R)
-Overhead Tricep Extensions - 40lbs
-Wrist Flexion/Extension/Adduction/Abduction - 20lbs

Incline Dumbbell Bench Press
-65's X 12
-100's X 5
-100's X 5
-100's X 4
-100's X 4
-100's X 3

1-Arm Incline Dumbbell Bench Press (L/R)
-70 X 8
-70 X 5
-70 X 5
-70 X 5

Flat Bench Dumbbell Flies
-70 X 6
-70 X 5
-70 X 5

...and I was out of there. Again - I only had a short time for a workout tonight so it was quick and dirty. I'm not sure what's up with my incline dumbbell bench press these days - I've been struggling to get back to a solid, reliable 5 X 5 with the 100lb dumbbells. I don't think I'm hitting a plateau - maybe I'm slightly dehydrated and/or not carbs in the tank? I am officially frustrated with myself.

Goody

12 January 2009

Shoulder Pre-hab (L/R)
-Rotator Cuff Work- 5lbs
-Front/Mid/Rear Delt Work - 5lbs

Good Mornings
-BW X 20
-Bar X 15

Squats
-BW X 20
-Bar X 15
-135 X 12
-225 X 10
-315 X 8
-405 X 5
-405 X 5
-405 X 5
-405 X 5
-405 X 5

Leg Extensions
-250 X 8
-250 X 8
-250 X 8

I only had time for a quick workout last night. The squats are getting easier, so I'm going to go up in weight and/or sets for my next workout. Maybe I'll try to get 405 for 10 sets of 5 next week, per Zach's suggestion (?). We'll see...

Goody

7 January 2009

Shoulder Pre-hab (L/R)
-Rotator Cuff Work - 5lbs
-Front/Mid/Rear Delt Work - 5lbs

Tricep/Wrist Warm-Up (L/R)
-Overhead Tricep Extensions - 30lbs
-Wrist Flexion/Extension/Adduction/Abduction - 20lbs

Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press
-65's X 10
-85's X 5
-90's X 5
-90's X 5
-90's X 4
-90's X 4
-90's X 4

Weighted Dips
-45 X 8
-45 X 8
-45 X 6

Cable Tricep Extensions
-150 X 12
-150 X 12
-150 X 12

Thick Bar Bicep Curls (Shorty Power Systems Bar ~25lbs)
-115 X 10
-115 X 10
-115 X 10
-75 X Failure

Thick Bar Reverse Bicep Curls
-75 X 10
-75 X 10
-75 X 10

Thick Bar Thumbless Reverse Bicep Curls
-45 X 8
-45 X 8
-45 X 8

1-Arm Plate Pinch Curls (L/R)
-2 Dimes X 10
-2 Dimes X 10
-2 Dimes X 10

I just wanted to get some support movements in for my upper body. I felt really strong on the seated dumbbell shoulder press - but, again; my muscular endurance is still a bit lousy. I'd get 4 reps with no issue, and my triceps would just crap out and the 5th rep wasn't close. They thick bar curls are great - they kick my ass. All the curls are super strict and full range of motion. The thumbless reverse curls on the thick bar are AWESOME! I didn't bring any chalk to the gym, so they were even tougher than I expected. This gym has overly thick plates (http://www.cemcofitness.com/JadeOlympicPlates.htm) and I hate them. First off, they don't have a smooth side like the old style Olympic plates, so they suck for pinching. Secondly, they're much wider than the old standard plates. As such, they're really tough to keep together, so I can only manage 2 or 3 of them on the pinch curl. Maybe I need to find a new gym...maybe I just need to get stronger.

Goody

6 January 2009

Shoulder Pre-hab (L/R)
-Rotator Cuff Work - 5lbs
-Front/Mid/Rear Delt Work - 5lbs

Warm-Up
-BW Good Mornings X 20
-Empty Bar Good Mornings X 15

Sumo Deadlifts
-135 X 10
-225 X 8
-315 X 8
-405 X 5
-405 X 5
-405 X 5
-405 X 5
-405 X 5

Good Mornings
-135 X 10
-135 X 10
-135 X 10

1-Arm Bent Over Dumbbell Row (L/R)
-110 X 8
-110 X 8
-110 X 8

Seated Cable Row
-150 X 12
-150 X 12
-150 X 12

Diesel Pull-Ups
-3 X Failure

Sumo Deads! WHAT? I don't know why I did them. I never pulled more than 225lbs Sumo style. Ever. The form always felt awkward so I just stuck with conventional style. It definitely hit the top of my hams/bottom of my gluts hard. I think I'm going to stick with this stance for a little while and switch back to conventional to see if Sumo training will help my conventional pull. I'm not sure how long I should stick with this...a few weeks maybe. My strength is comparable in both stances. Everything else is what it is. The Diesel Pull-Ups are no joke. I'm a big fan - I just need a clever way to overload the movement.

Goody

5 January 2009

Shoulder Pre-hab (L/R)
-Rotator Cuff Work - 10lbs
-Front/Mid/Rear Delts - 10lbs

Incline Dumbbell Bench Press
-65's X 10
-100's X 5
-100's X 5
-100's X 4
-100's X 3
-100's X 3

Flat Dumbbell Bench Press
-100's X Failure (~ 13)

1-Arm Incline Dumbbell Bench Press (L/R)
-65 X 8
-65 X 8
-65 X 8

Pec Deck
-140 X 10
-120 X 14
-100 X 17

Swiss Ball Incline Cable Press
-20's X Failure (~16)
-20's X Failure (~14)
-20's X Failure (~14)

I'm not sure what happened with the 100's last night. Maybe I didn't have enough fuel in the tank...I don't know. After my last set of incline I just dropped the bench and went to failure on the flat with the 100's. That felt solid - I think my triceps are the week link. No excuses...more training.

Goody

3 January 2009

Shoulder Pre-hab (L/R)
-Rotator Cuff Work - 10lbs
-Front/Mid/Rear Delt Work - 10lbs

Squat Warm-Up
-BW Good Mornings - 3 X 15
-BW Squats - 3 X 12

Squat
-Bar X 15
-135 X 12
-225 X 8
-315 X 5
-405 X 5
-405 X 5
-405 X 5
-405 X 5
-405 X 5

Sorinex Glute/Ham Bench
-100 X 8
-100 X 8
-100 X 8

Stiff Leg Deadlifts (25lb plates - off a box)
-195 X 12
-195 X 10
-195 X 8

Not much to report here. The squats felt pretty solid - I had my knees wrapped for the 405 sets. Everything else is what it is.

Goody

27, 29, 31 December 2008 Workouts

27 December 2008

Shoulder Pre-hab (L/R)
-Rotator Cuff Work - 10lbs
-Front/Mid/Rear Delt Work - 10lbs

Strongman Log Press (137.5lb log)
-Log X 10
-Log + 20lbs X 5
-Log + 50lbs X 5
-Log + 70lbs X 5
-Log + 90lbs X 4
-Log + 110lbs - MISS
-Log X 14

Standing 1-Arm Dumbbell Press (L/R)
-80 X 8
-85 X 6
-85 X 6
-85 X 5

29 December 2008

Shoulder Pre-hab (L/R)
-Rotator Cuff Work - 10lbs
-Front/Mid/Rear Delt Work - 10lbs

Strongman Log Cleans (137.5lb log)
-Log X 15
-Log + 50lbs X 8
-Log + 50lbs X 8
-Log + 50lbs X 8
-Log + 50lbs X 8
-Log +10lbs X 10
-Log +10lbs X 10

Sorinex Glute/Ham Bench
-50lbs X 10
-50lbs X 10
-50lbs X 10

Bent-Over Barbell Row
-225 X 8
-225 X 8
-225 X 8

Diesel Pull-Ups
-BW X 10
-BW X 10
-BW X 10

31 December 2008

Shoulder Pre-hab (L/R)
-Rotator Cuff Work - 10lbs
-Front/Mid/Rear Delt Work - 10lbs

Incline Dumbbell Bench Press
-65's X 10
-100's X 5
-100's X 5
-100's X 5
-100's X 5
-100's X 5

Incline 1-Arm Dumbbell Bench Press (L/R)
-70 X 8
-65 X 8
-65 X 8
-65 X 8
-60 X 8

Incline Dumbbell Flies
-70's X 5
-70's X 5
-70's X 5

Decline Dumbbell Flies
-70's X 8
-70's X 8
-70's X 8

Hammerstrength Chest Press (45lb plate on each side)
-3 sets to failure

Holiday workouts are brutal. The best part about the whole thing - I get to workout in a real gym. This was the first time I ever touched a strongman log...totally sweet. I wish I had regular access to one. The Diesel Pull-Ups are great - they really hit the back and support grip well. I look forward to incorporating them more often.

Goody