Entry #253

Lifted on 5 hours of sleep, maybe less.

Bench press:
215 x 3
245 x 3
275 x 8
> 15 pound increase in a week. What'd I say about it being all in the form? One thing I feel like I'm not doing enough of is pulling the bar apart hard enough to engage the lats. 

Neutral-grip dumbbell press:
120s x 6, 5, 5, 5, 5

Band pressdowns:
x 25

Supinated cable rows:
165 x 12, 12, 10, 10, 10

Seated dumbbell curls with Fat Gripz:
37.5s x 16 

Got a heating pad and it's working wonders for my back. I don't have back pain or anything, it just feels damn good and relieves stiffness after deadlifts.

Ate a big dinner and about to go for seconds at Cheesecake Factory now. I'll be the guy with the tiger carcass.

Entry #952

Deadlifts:
315 x 3
365 x 3
405 x 10

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYsM6ma5cYc

I feel like I wasn't ripping the weight off the floor like I've been aiming to do lately. My lockout was the stronger portion of the ROM. It's probably a result of so many high rep sets and not enough maximal pulls. It's been ages since I've done anything less than a 5RM. My plan is to let the routine sort me out and get me there eventually as I continue to up the weight, but I'm a little cautious about the increased chance of injury in the meantime.

Good mornings:
205 x 8, 8, 8, 8
135 x 12

Jackknives on exercise ball:
8, 8, 8, 6, 8
> Pretty decent exercise. Not as good as planks but they help heal my back.

Entry #951

Got a digital scale to record my weight more accurately at home. In the morning on an empty stomach with no clothes I weigh 216. Lots lighter than I was expecting. Think I might go all the way down to 200.

Back was massively sore all the way up until yesterday, but still did squats. Took it easy and did 330 x 6. My right fibula has been hurting for a few weeks during squats, right below the knee. Not sure what's up with that, but it might be from sitting on my knees too much. Also did high step-ups with just the bar, an exercise I picked up from reading Angel Spassov.

Today:

Overhead press:
140 x 3
160 x 3
180 x 8
> 1 rep improvement at a lighter bodyweight. Swell.

Arnold press:
80s x 8, 8, 6, 5, 5

NG pull-ups:
45 x 8, 8, 6, 5, 5 

Bilateral dumbbell curls with Fat Gripz:
50s x 8, 8, 8 

950

Lifted at a different gym today, the one I plan on moving over to.

Bench press:
200 x 5
230 x 5
260 x 8
> Was aiming for at least 10, but my back is sore from Tuesday to the point that it's extremely debilitating; I can hardly bend over. It was all arm power because I couldn't get a strong arch. I'm not sweating this.

Neutral-grip dumbbell press:
112s x 8, 5, 5
80s x 8
60s x 12
> It's the only way to get a full ROM with my dumbbell handles, since I have to use big 25s for plates. I like the grip, though. Makes me feel like I have a Swiss bar.

Cable rows:
135 x 15, 12, 10, 10, 10
> These machines are all over the place. 200 on one is the equivalent of 90 on another.

Turkish get-ups:
12 kg x 3
> This place has kettlebells. Still doesn't make up for the lack of a power rack, though. 

Deadlifts:
295 x 5
337.5 x 5
385 x 12

Good mornings:
205 x 8, 8, 8
135 x 12

Leg raises:
35 x 12, 10, 8
Weightless x 15, 12
> Worthless exercise. Ditching these for something else next week. 

Deadlifts went fine, but good mornings made my back ridiculously sore. Haven't done them in a long time.

Entry #948

Did five hill sprints last night. I'm not doing them in rapid succession anymore, but instead resting and going at it again when I feel rested. I'm doing this so every run is at max performance.

I also did, and am planning on to start doing regularly, yoga. Shit's pretty hard.

I'm also going to no longer relegate Turkish get-ups to an afterthought and will start doing them at the end of every workout except squat day. I already do a lot of prehab movements as warm-ups, so this should work even more effectively for injury prevention. Gonna start with 3 sets of 3 reps.

Overhead press:
130 x 5
150 x 5
170 x 9
> Same amount as about three weeks ago, but the fact that I did 5 reps instead of 3 in the build-up sets, that I'm no longer on creatine, and that I've been losing even more weight leads me to be happy with this.

Arnold press:
75 x 10, 8, 7
(Standing)
60 x 3 and 50 x 3 (one set)
35 x 10
> Tired out fast. Shoulder felt prime, though.

NG pull-ups:
35 x 8, 8, 7, 5, 5

Bilateral hammer curls with Fat Gripz:
42.5 x 10, 10, 10 

Going to go out and sprint later tonight. 

Entry #946

I have DSL again. Updates should be more frequent.

Deload went great. There were actually a lot of things I wanted to record but didn't have the means of doing because of shitty internet.

Maxes I will be operating with this time:

Overhead press: 220
Deadlift: 500
Bench press: 340
Squat: 430

945

Had the day before yesterday recorded but Xanga ate it up. Did band-handle squats, 365 for 3. Today and the rest of thebweek is a deload, and I don't think it's worth recording.

944

Success. No shoulder pain. In fact, my shoulder felt better after lifting.

Bench press:
225 x 5
255 x 3
285 x 6
> Wanted to get 7, but oh well. Shoulder felt great but I feel mentally held back, like I can't really power it up as explosively as I should be vying for. Better to be careful, though.

Crazy plates:
175 x 8, 8, 8, 8, 8
> Whoa. Used the 10 lb plates instead of 25s. Despite going way heavier it's so much easier when the plates don't hit the floor.

Dumbbell rows:
142 x 5, 5, 5, 5, 5
> Never pulled this heavy with one arm at a time before. Used my own dumbbell handles.

Preacher curls:
85 x 12

943

At the gym right now benching, the weight feels like air. About to try my heaviest set. Hopefully my shoulder holds.

942

Deadlifts yesterday: 417.5 for either 7 or 8 reps. Lost count. If it was 7 then I did less than last week, 8 and I did more. Oh well, I'm only going to stress my week 4 maxes compared to the next cycle.

Been doing lots and lots of hour-long walks, and so far have done hill sprints twice this week. Decided to move these onto the same days as lifting so that the day after can be a more complete restorative day, with just walking as exercise.

Yesterday I did something stupid. I stretched my shoulder quite extensively to make it more flexible for powerlifting squats. Today it kept clicking as result. I didn't even realize what it stemmed from at first. No pain at all, I can just feel it click when I move the arm above my head. It did it a bit on my walk, too. I violated the utmost important principle I learned from Stuart McGill: stability before flexibility. I'm not going to worry about doing low-bar squats right now. I can bench and overhead press, and that's pretty damn miraculous. Just going to keep doing band-handle or Olympic squats for the foreseeable future.

When I was doing the stretches my shoulder hurt for the duration of them, but I felt it was productive pain. Not going to accept that anymore. I'll work on flexibility when there's no pain from pulling it way back.

Not sure if I'm going to barbell bench tomorrow, just out of safety. Might do dumbbells.

941

Overhead press:
140 x 5
160 x 3
180 x 7
> Shoulder hurt a little bit. Not sure if it's just that I'm reaching my weight limit for the state that it's still in or if I need to focus on keeping tighter.

Dips:
45 x 5, 5, 5, 5, 5

Pull-ups:
45 x 5, 5, 5, 5, 5

Mediocre session; felt shaky and hungry during OHP. Eat more carbs pre-workout, even on low carb days.

940

Squats:
265 x 3
305 x 3
Band-handle squats:
345 x 6
> Figured out the source of my hand pain: low bar squats from last week. As a result of poor shoulder flexibility I was supporting too much of the weight in my hands. Hurt much more this time so I changed the exercise to use bands. Weight suffered as a result of the stance difference.

Front squats:
225 x 6, 6, 7

Planks

940

Squats:
265 x 3
305 x 3
Band-handle squats:
345 x 6
> Figured out the source of my hand pain: low bar squats from last week. As a result of poor shoulder flexibility I was supporting too much of the weight in my hands. Hurt much more this time so I changed the exercise to use bands. Weight suffered as a result of the stance difference.

Front squats:
225 x 6, 6, 7

Planks

Entry #939

Bench press:
210 x 3
240 x 3
270 x 8
> This is actually considered 5 lbs less than doing 255 x 10 last week, according to my rep calculator. Oh well. Considering this is my first time going this high after my shoulder injury I'm happy with my performance.

Crazy plates:
155 x 8, 8, 7, 6, 6
> Plates kept hitting the floor. Use 10 lb plates next time.

Dumbbell rows:
125s x 8, 8, 8, 7, 5

Preacher curls:
70 x 8, 8, 6
> Just guessing the weight of the EZ bar, they vary.

Drinking more red wine after reading about the anti-estrogenic factors.