Entry #348

ME Upper~body

I trained hungry. My blood sugar levels were low enough to the point that I was unable to keep my hands from shaking. Potential wasn't fully realized. My diet needs to be more methodical.

Bench press: 7 sets; 20, 20, 12, 8, 4, 3, 3 reps (45, 45, 135, 185, 225, 235, 245 lbs.)
The weight felt light over me, but I wasn't in my best condition, so I decided not to proceed.

Overhead dumbbell press: 3 sets; 15, 6, 6 reps (25, 75, 70 lb. dumbbells)
The first set is light to stimulate and warm-up deltoid involvement.

T~bar row: 5 sets; 12, 10, 10, 10, 10 reps (95, 95, 85, 70, 45 lbs.)
My muscular endurance utterly gives out on this under the alloted time of rest (two minutes). However, my form and ROM was impeccable.

Bent~over alternating lateral raises: 3 sets; 12, 15, 12 reps (35, 30, 30 lb. dumbbells)

Abdominal circuit

Entry #347

DE Upperbody

My shoulders hurt during incline bench. I lowered the weight too quickly, and stopping that sort of momentum focused the load all at once on them. I have to keep it more controlled next time.

I played basketball with Ryan afterwards. My cardio level was nothing short of impressive, but I'm wholly uncoordinated.

Entry #346

DE Lowerbody

The gym was closed for the holiday, so I utilized the limited equipment in my backyard.

I did dumbbell snatches instead of squats. The form was awkward, but I had it down by set 4.

Entry #345

ME Upperbody

I went into this session with painfully sore triceps lingering from Friday, and I still made gains.

Expectations weren't high, and I approached the bench press with caution, but I managed 245 lbs. for three reps with little difficulty. I could have gone for four or even five reps, or I could have gone back to 255 for three reps, but I'm training with a more cautious philosophy in mind. I believe that gradual progression on the load throughout the sets is key. Rather than jump from 225 to 255, I raised the weight in increments of 10 lbs., from 225 to 235 to 245, to become accustomed to the stress. Next week holds great potential.

Ryan was in the room, and he jovially yelled at me to "smack on the quarters" (275). A year ago, I would have listened to my ego. Instead, I told him that I'm not at 100%, so I'm being careful, and that I have no interest in maxing today.

I used the 70 lb. dumbbells for overhead press, and 8 reps posed no trouble for the first set. I made extra effort to ensure achieving a deep ROM, lowering the iron so that they were actually touching my shoulders on the eccentric portion of the lift. Subsequently thereafter, my arms started to feel like lead, and my reps drastically decreased; I heaved out 3 by the last set. I suspect this is a matter of sore arms. The weight felt light, but my muscles simply died.

My back is still stiff, but these relaxed stretches I've added to the usual routine that I've been doing in my room help some. My spine is arched a lot from the form that lifting entails, so anything that counters that and rounds my back feels beneficial. I kneel down on my knees on the floor in front of my bed, and rest my upper~half on the mattress, keeping myself occupied with a book or a Game Boy. Simple, but effective, at least in feeling.

Diet is going well. I started taking weightgainer today, for breakfast. Twelve eggs daily isn't feasible. I'll still consume those occasionally, though.

Entry #344

I'm going to be doing the latter half of Workout #1 off of trainforstrength.com for lower~body training, until my back is more capable.

Today's bodyweight session, however, suffered no dearth of intensity. I couldn't walk afterwards.

Endurance training is a foreign method for me. It sets my strength gains back about two years, to the point of them feeling negligible. I would be lying if I said that it discourages me, though. I'd like to work on this, not that I have much of a choice at this point.

Stretching is essential in these circumstances. My back was so stiff that touching my toes posed difficulty. I'll just have to keep this up.

Diet consistency is second~nature. I haven't wavered under six meals in months. However, portion sizing remains to be perfect.

Entry #343

End hiatus.

Today's session was productive, but discreet.

Incline bench was the choice for the RE lift, and I greatly overestimated my ability (which is a feat in and of itself). 135 lbs. posed difficulty for six reps. To be fair, I've done 215 lbs. with no issues for the same amount, with three minutes of recuperation between each set. The sixty second rest here makes a significant difference.

Disappointing, but that's the point of training in it.

I otherwise felt capable. I seem to be able to do no wrong with dumbbell lifts.

I started loading on creatine today. Water intake is through the roof.

Entry #342

Today's session was essentially a repeat of one week ago. My back went out mid~set on box squats. This time, I substituted with bodyweight ones.