Entry #1082

Loaded squat walkout:
440 x 10 seconds
> I dig these a lot. Instant squat performance improvement + ab work.

Safety bar squat:
385 x 5
> Quad is STILL sore, making it well over a week. Should I count it as an injury? Still squatted strong.

GHR:
17, 12

Calf raises

One-arm dumbbell press:
140 x 5, 5, 5

Dumbbell row:
185 x 5/1
> 5 in left arm. When doing the other I felt a twinge in my back so I stopped.

Weighted chin-ups:
45 x 10, 10, 6

Dumbbell pec squeezes:
40s x 5, 5, 4

Back pain is persisting. Nothing serious, it should go away in a day or two. Between squatting, the GHR (which always stiffens my back), barbell calf raises, and finally, 3 sets of having to manhandle a 140 lb dumbbell off of the floor and into my lap, my back is getting stupidly pumped by the end. I might need to look into belting up.

While I'm at it, I should use straps for things like rows, too. The way this routine is peppered with unilateral things I'm taxing my grip a ton, to the point where I barely even use my Fat Gripz anymore. It's time to go full-on puss mode with belts and straps, I'd say.

So in a strange turn of events, my CNS is healthy and I still feel fresh, but my body is a little beat up. Lots of healing for the next two days, and maybe just box squatting next week if my quad isn't back to normal.

Entry #1081

Goofy session yesterday.

Deadlift:
340 x 3
390 x 3
440 x 5
500 x 0
> Equipment failure. Basically, the barbell fell apart, and it took me until the middle of putting the plates back to realize what had happened. I was doing 440 for 9 but felt the weight start to shift to the left, and by the 5th rep it was completely lopsided. I thought my grip was just uneven but I didn't want to go for high reps again, so I loaded up 500, pulled it off the floor and again felt the barbell tilt on its end. Eventually I found out that the screw had fallen out and the plates were gradually pushing against the collars, migrating to the end of the bar.

Unilateral overhead press:
75 x 12/5, 10/5, 10/5
> Right and left arm, respectively. Looks like one-handed is definitely the way to go for isolating problem areas. Doing two hands with the 80s meant I was forcing reps on my left when it couldn't extend all the way and underworking my right. I'll keep doing this until both sides are even. Oh, and there was less (read: none) pain than usual this way, thanks to being able to devote 100% focus to each side at a time. Guess I'm no longer in any hurry to get a Swiss bar.

NG pull-ups:
12, 12, 10

SSB squat:
255 x 5, 5, 5

Fasted walk today. Weighed in at 216.

Entry #1080

Been taking it easy for two days, doing nothing but fasted walks and foam rolling. Took an extra day off to really get prepped for deadlifts tomorrow. Today's training consisted of massive Canyon Grill burgers, gyro feasts at Grapevine with the girlfriend and her sister, and Vietnamese beef pho with steak.

I'm starting to really hone in on some key details for cutting weight. Saturated fat and sodium can actually spike insulin levels quite a bit even in the absence of carbs, so I'm not eating immediately before bed anymore in order to allow a growth hormone spurt during sleep. I'm also looking to bring back cottage cheese more instead of saltier cheddar.

Shoulder has been a little achy. Weighted dips last week were extremely disagreeable. It's less of a painful sensation and more a feeling of it just being stiff. I can press fine, though, as evident by the 140 lb dumbbell press day before yesterday.

Entry #1079

SSB squat:
380 x 5, 5, 5
> Almost did box squats today because my leg is still sore. Rather than DOMS I think I pulled the quad stretching a week ago. Still, crushed this. Very happy.

GHR:
10 x 12, 10

SSB calf raises:
135 x 12

One-arm dumbbell press:
80 x 5
110 x 5
140 x 5

Dumbbell row:
180 x 5, 5, 5
> Chalk helps. Pull to the side, not in front.

Band pressdowns super-set with hammer curls:
20, 12, 12          60s x 14, 14
                         40s x 16

Great day.

Entry #1078

Had a case of DOMS in my quads during warm-up Hindu squats, so I decided to change things up today and avoid squatting deep.

SSB box squat:
400 lbs x 3, 4, 3
> Could have hit 4 on all sets but kind of wanted to hold back today. Never squatted 400 for reps before. Clearly I'm proficient with the stretch-reflex from squatting ATG so much because I had terrible pop coming off the stool. It felt like I was trying to rip my legs out of being super-glued. Once I actually moved off the rest of the rep was easy.

GHR:
10 lb plate x 15, 12

Floor press:
295 lbs x 5, 5
> No struggle, had a couple more reps in me.

With 2-second pauses:
275 lbs x 5

Dumbbell row:
180 lb dumbbell x 5, 5, 5
> Done standing with the power rack for support.

Dips:
25 lbs x 10, 10
> Taking it easy for my shoulder.

Alternating hammer curls with Fat Gripz:
60s x 14, 12

I didn't even want to train today but it ended up being fun as hell. Hit some solid numbers while still cruising on easy. I'll be ready to get back to business on Saturday.

Entry #1077

Haven't been updating lately.

Deadlift:
330 x 5
370 x 5
415 x 12

Dumbbell military press:
80s x 6, 6, 6
> Last set was sans Fat Gripz. I hate to admit it, but for my situation, this movement seems better without. The dumbbells + the overhead balancing + the Fat Gripz makes it too unstable to get great mileage out of it. As a result, my troublesome shoulder has difficulty locking out unless I take them off.

Overhead band shrugs (x 12) + external rotation machine (100 lbs x 12)

NG pull-ups:
15, 10, 8

SSB squat:
255 x 5, 5, 5

Been suffering from "weightlifters' headaches" ever since the start of my deload. It began with a set of 25-rep good mornings, and persisted the next time I tried those. Always at rep 20. Today, it reared its head again on deadlifts, although not nearly as severe.

Last night I managed to finally get good sleep (10 hours) after probably a week and a half of only 5-6 hours a night. Need to keep that up or else I'll be forced to take time off so I can recover.

Entry #1076

Ran 5 miles yesterday in 50 minutes. Wasn't even out of breath by the end of it, but stopped for my joints. This is, hands down, the best my cardio has ever been at. A combination of HIIT and swimming can be attributed to this.

Deload

SSB squat:
260 x 5, 5, 5

Good morning:
150 x 20

One-arm dumbbell press:
85 x 5, 5, 5

Hang clean:
135 x 5, 5, 5

Push-ups super-set with dumbbell rows:
25, 15                           100 x 25, 12, 10

Curls

Finished in 45 minutes, Good time.

Went jogging with le girlfriend at night. Probably netted some good growth hormone release from it.

Entry #1075

Deadlifted 455 x 5 in a weak showing on Saturday. Haven't had a great week...until now.

SSB loaded walkout:
440 x 10 seconds
> A trick I learned from Pavel to fire up the proprioceptors before a big effort.

SSB squat:
380 x 5
> Blew this out of the water.

One-arm dumbbell press:
137.5 x 3/5, 5, 5
> Only got 3 on my right arm for the first set. Guess I need to warm-up better.

Dumbbell row:
137.5 x 15, 12, 10

Dips super-set with dumbbell curls:
16             40s x 10