Entry #1108

Swiss bar press:
135 x 3
155 x 3
175 x 6
175 x 8
> Had trouble concentrating. Felt sleepy and foggy, and my form was loose. Took a breather and tried again with better results. Still not the 9 I was shooting for, but a comeback is always badass and at least I equaled what I did before.

Swiss bar press with Fat Gripz:
135 x 10, 8, 7

Reg Park press:
55s x 6
25s x 4
> Shoulders felt dead by this point. I was short on time due to the gym closing. 

NG pull-ups:
11, 10, 10, 10, 10
> At the park.

So I'm employed...sort of. It's a contracting job so I work whenever I want at the store. Worked on Saturday and the lack of sleep definitely hit me today, despite crashing and getting 12 hours before the gym. People make PRs on no sleep, so I'm definitely hopeless, haha. 

Entry #1107

SSB box squats:
420 x 3, 1, 1
> Took video on the last rep to see how the depth was:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOILcO3468Y

Not fantastic, but I'm intentionally not sinking my full weight into the stool for the sake of my back, and I still have a plate to remove.

Squat holds:
560 x 20, 10 seconds

Barbell hip thrusts:
135 x 15, 15, 12
> Yeah, I went there. Wanna fight about it?

Partial squats with no lockout:
240 x 15, 15

Planks

Entry #1106

Swiss bar bench press:
185 x 5
210 x 5
240 x 11
> Last cycle I got 235 x 10...on floor press. So this felt good. Had another rep in me, but as always, I reserve myself for the third week.

Fat Gripz Swiss bar bench press:
160 x 5 x 10
> Pauses.

Dumbbell rows:
115 x 5 x 10
> Done between sets of benching, and with straps. Goddamn, straps bring in a whole 'nother degree of lat activation, thanks partly to the thumbless grip that's now possible. Never gotten a better lat stretch before.

Swiss bar curls with band:
55 x 10, 7, 6

Drinking a shake post-workout again, and have been on creatine for four days. 

Entry #1105

Deadlifts:
330 x 5
380 x 5
430 x 11
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qh01xV4uKDo
Using my crappy weightlifting belt. Helps a little. My back was arched the most consistently it's ever been. Not feeling much more ab activation than normal, but that's expected because of the taper. 

GHR:
25 x 8, 6
> Mystery solved as to why I was suddenly able to bust out sets of 25 last week: I didn't do them after max deadlifts.

Ab wheel rolling:
4 x 5 

Entry #1104

Missed recording two deloads. Nothing eventful.

Swiss bar press:
125 x 5
145 x 5
165 x 10
> Felt weak and shaky. I was going for 11 but last rep was hard.

Swiss bar press with Fat Gripz:
130 x 5 x 10
> Phew, also hard. Had to rest pause a little, but I don't care.

Neutral-grip pull-ups:
5 x 10
> Finally hit my rep goal.

External dumbbell rotations:
5 lbs x 20, 20

Need to eat when I wake up and not wait an hour and a half before breakfast. All this reading about carb backloading and intermittent fasting is making me feel more comfortable about going hungry. It would seem that a picture-perfect breakfast (steak, two slices wheat toast, milk, broccoli) isn't quite enough to completely negate glyco depletion pre-meal, at least in the immediate aftermath with a training session. I'm also off creatine.

Still, this is progress compared to the first week of last cycle. It's important to not expect too much too frequently.

Entry #1103

Back is actually feeling better a few hours later. Crazy. Deadlifts always seem to help with back pain.

The pool closed today. I'm glad I got in one last great session yesterday evening. 5 laps with more to spare. I'm going to miss swimming. 

Entry #1102

Deload

Deadlifts:
200 x 5 (FG)
250 x 5 (FG)
300 x 5 (overhand but no Fat Gripz) 

GHR:
25 x 20, 15, 15

Weighted crunches:
50 x 20, 15

Back is still hurting. 

Entry #1101

Deload

Swiss bar military:
75 x 5
95 x 5
115 x 5 

Javelin press:
45 x 5 x 10
Super-set with:
Lat pulldowns:
180 x 12, 10, 10, 10, 15

Swiss bar overhead extensions:
40 x 20, 15
Super-set with various curls

External rotations with bands

Done in about 50 minutes. Got a good pump.

I've been neglecting to record my swimming progress. I'm up to doing 5 laps now, which is big for me. 

Entry #1100

SSB box squats:

330 x 5

380 x 3

420 x 3
> Back twinged on the last rep. Might have had my belt too tight. I definitely would have gotten 5. 

 

GHR super-set with leg press:
25, 15, 10
15, 15, 15 

 

Planks

 

No squat holds today because I didn't want to risk my back, even though it mostly felt fine after racking. Shame, I can tell they've been doing a LOT of good. Core felt rock-solid on squats. I almost felt like I was using a Smith machine.

Entry #1099

Swiss bar bench:
210 x 5
235 x 3
265 x 6 
> I have to come to terms with the Swiss bar bench press being harder and that it should be seen as a separate movement. This felt good. Accomplished what I wanted to do, and according to my 1RM calculator it's a 7 lb improvement over last week. 

Swiss bar bench with Fat Gripz:
145 x 3 x 10
155 x 3 x 10
> Made a mistake and forgot to account for the bar being 10 lbs lighter than a normal one, so only started with 145. Added an extra 155 to make up for it. Lots of pause reps. This might actually be too light, but whatever, I'll just keep ascending until I hit a roadblock.

Dumbbell rows:
112.5 x 4 x 10

Pull-ups:
5, 10
> First was done at the gym before they closed, and second at the park after driving over.

Band curls with dumbbell handle:
15, 12

Short run thereafter to stimulate growth hormone. Currently taking no supplements except spoons of dry whey dissolving in my mouth when I'm hungry from waking up but want to go back to sleep.

Entry #1098

Swiss bar military press:

140 x 5
160 x 3
180 x 7
> Underwhelming. I was shooting for 8. Back was unstable. I found out today that it really pays off to tuck back the scapulae ala a bench press. It helps keep the bar close. Remember to do that.

Swiss bar military with Fat Gripz:
125 x 5 x 10
> This was actually hard. Took my time between sets. 

 

Neutral-grip pull-ups:
10, 10, 10, 10, 5, 5
> Done at a park. 

 

Kettlebell curls with band 

Entry #1097

SSB box squats:
330 x 5
380 x 3
415 x 5

Squat holds:
545 x 20 seconds, 10 seconds

Leg press super-set with calf raises

Planks

Bad night again. Thanks for being there, iron. 

Entry #1096

Gonna stop editing the time of entry from now on, just to keep things accurate for future viewings. Sometimes I do that if I log early in the morning and I want to indicate the day prior.

Finally got to bench press for the first time since the last incident. A little bit of a weak sensation in my left pec, but no actual pain. 

Swiss bar bench press:
195 x 3
220 x 3
250 x 7
> Again, halting before the bar speed starts to really slow down. I have no interest in straining right now.

Swiss bar bench press + Fat Gripz:
150 x 5 x 10

Dumbbell rows:
110 x 5 x 10

Assorted curls 

Pretty rough night, on personal fronts. Gonna go out to a park right now and practice some martial arts in the dark. Training keeps me sane.

Entry #1095

Deadlifts:
350 x 3
400 x 3
450 x 8
> Had another one or two in me, but I remember how my back hurt last time I rep-grinded. I think it's probably smart to keep the bar speed fast when doing high reps, out of safety. I've never hurt anything doing a 1 rep max, but I have getting fatigued from multiple reps. Using my belt, too.

Good mornings:
170 x 10, 4
> Tweaked my back. The sensation lasted scarily long, like 2 seconds (basically as long as it took to dip under the bar and squat it back up), but the severity didn't feel too terrible. I think I'm not conditioned enough to be adding good morning in to ME deadlift day after doing no assist work for so long. Rest longer next time. I was feeling rushed because the gym was closing soon and I wanted to get 5 x 10 in.

Entry #1093

Today was boring. Boring...but big. Yeah, gonna stop doing that now. It's getting out of hand.

I'm off creatine as of yesterday.

Swiss bar military press:
130 x 5
150 x 3
170 x 9
> Awesome, I'm as strong as I was before when using a regular barbell. Had another rep in me, but I'm not truly going to push it until the third week. I was worried that doing dumbbells for so long meant that I'd detrain from pressing weight heavier than 160, but nope. This was a morale-booster. Make sure to keep the bar close to my body at all times. A couple of instances there was outward drift and it made my shoulder feel it. I'm also holding up the last rep of every overhead set to build structural integrity.

Swiss bar press + Fat Gripz:
120 x 5 x 10

V-handle pull-ups:
10, 10, 8, 8, 7, 7

Swiss bar curls + bands:
> Messed around with a couple of set-ups here to get maximum tension from the band and less from the bar. Think I found a good one by standing on a bench with the band anchored to the floor.

External band rotations:
12, 15

Rests were a little longer this time. Ended up a 90 minute session.