Week12 – Day33B – Deload

Weight: 183 lbs
Duration:  10:55am – 11:55am ~ 1hr

My neck twinge and low back issues have gone away since they’ve cropped over the last 2 sessions.  I’m making sure to get a good warm-up in, jump-rope to start off, dynamic leg swings and Agile 8 as well as shoulder mobility work with the green band.

Squats:  3x5xBar + 5×115 + 3×135 + 2x155 + 1×175 + 3x5x195

These felt pretty heavy.  Definitely felt a lot of resistance trying to keep the arch in my low back and avoiding it from rounding.  Core strength plays a big part in preventing this.  Decided to knock down the top set scheme to 3×5 from 5×5.  I want to be able to continue progressing on the weight without killing myself.  With this, I can recover better, avoid injuries and technique breakdown.

Seated Plate Raises:  3x10x25
Seated Lateral Raise: 3x10x12
Seated DB Shrug + Clean + Half Press:  3x10x12

These felt a smidge easier than before.  No neck strain this time around.

Deadlift:  5×135 + 4×155 + 3×175 + 2×195 + 1×215 + 1×235 + 5×255

Pronated grip on the left, supinated, palm up, grip on the right.  Definitely felt pretty heavy today.  Of all lifts, I’ve never felt uneasy with the deadlift.

Accessories:
Preacher BB Curls:  10×50
Incline DB Press:  10×45
Standing EZ Bar Curls:  10×40
Dips:  11/4/3
Seated DB Curls:  10×25 (need to go up on these, pretty light now)
Pushups:  12/8/4

Bumped up the incline dumbbell press to 45 lbs.  Not bad, but did feel fairly heavy and struggled a bit on the last rep.  Dips were really strong, managed to crank out 11 reps on the first set, but was spent on the next two.

Core:
Elbow Planks 45 sec.

Week12 – Day31B – Tweaked

Weight: ??
Duration:  11:30am – 12:21pm ~ 1hr 10min.

And when things were going so well.

Squats:  5×135 + 5×155 + 3×175 + 5×195 + 3×195 + 5×185

Someone else was on the squat rack with 4 more sets so I decided to work in with him.  He was using high bar squat and had pretty impeccable form.  I didn’t want to inconvenience him so I decided to keep 1 45lb plate on and do a warm-up on that.  I proceeded to go completely off of my normal ramp sets.  It was at the point that I did my 3rd rep on the first work set that I felt something weird happen in the low back.  I’ve felt the same sensation before when I was doing plyometrics.  I got it checked out and X-rays didn’t show any problem and I was told to keep off activities with low back for a week and…it went away.  Bending over, currently, has a slight twinge that is very familiar, but not as aggravated compared to last time.  I may get it checked out again.  Suffice it to say I’ll probably warm-up considerably more to avoid this.  In addition, I need to work on more core to stabilize my torso and prevent it from falling forward.

Seated Plate Raises:  3x10x25
Seated Lateral Raise: 3x10x12
Seated DB Shrug + Clean + Half Press:  3x10x12

Instead of looking forward, I decided to, instead, look a bit down in order to put less strain on my neck.  These weren’t as bad as last time.

Deadlift:  5×145 + 3×165 + 2×185 + 1×205 + 1×225 + 5×245

Pretty easy.  Rested plenty between last 3 sets up to the work set.  The lower back tweak had subsided a bit more by this point.

Accessories:
Preacher BB Curls 10×50
Incline DB Press 2x10x40
Push-ups 10/10/6

Core:
Elbow Planks 45 sec.

Week11 – Day29B – Beat

Weight:  182.4 lbs
Duration:  11:20am – 12:30pm ~ 1hr 10min.

As promised, I went on the Internets to do a little research on some shoulder mobility exercises I could do.  I found the following, I’ll be adding it to my collection of videos.

I’ve already been doing the shoulder stretch-apart stretches throughout the day.  I’m using my green Theraband that was given to me from my physical therapist for the shoulder.  I’ve also been doing the second exercise, but only with my right arm.  The first exercise was new to me.  It was certainly very different, but I did feel a great deal of stretch on my shoulder.  The man in the video is Joe DeFranco.  I’ve also used his “Agile 8” exercises, a collection of 8 stretches/exercises that help with improving hip mobility and ROM.

Squats:  3x5xBar + 5×115 + 3×135 + 1×155 + 5x5x185

The right shoulder was still pretty super tight when getting under the bar on the empty sets.  The tightness went away when I had heavier weights on the bar.  These got me breathing very heavily.  Used a little bit of lower back on the last set, but I think, at that point, the fatigue was really affecting my form.  I was happy to crank these out though.  I was really beat after these.

Seated Plate Raises:  3x10x25
Seated Lateral Raise: 3x8x12
Seated DB Shrug + Clean + Half Press:  3x8x12

Used 12 lb dumbbells and dropped the 35lb plate raise.  Still killed me.

Deadlift:  5×135 + 1×155 + 2x175 + 1×195 + 1×215 + 5×235

These weren’t bad.  Used the belt on the top set.

Accessories:
Preacher BB Curls 10×50
Standing EZ Bar Curls 10×40
Seated DB Curls 10×25
Incline DB Press 10×45
Dips 8/4/3
Push-ups 10/8/6

Core:
Elbow Planks 45 sec.

Week10 – Day27B – Rush

Weight:  181.4 lbs ??
Duration:  11:20am – 12:15:pm ~ 55min.

A million things racing through my head this morning.  I had to get back to work by 1:00pm for a meeting so things were very up tempo today.  Clocked back on the warm-ups did 5 rep leg swings instead of 10.  Jump rope for 15-20 seconds.  Static hip flexor stretch and fire hydrants.  No foam rollage.  Didn’t do any wall walks with my shoulder.  Forgot to do my planks at the very end.

Squats:  3x5xBar + 5×115 + 3×135 + 1×155 + 5x5x175

Didn’t get much stretch in on the shoulder so low bar position was pretty tight.  Not much pain except for a few reps when the bar was a little too low.  Surprisingly, I didn’t feel much in the low back and my left knee was feeling comfortable despite not having a knee brace on it.  I watched my left and right shins carefully to see if I was shifting my weight to my left or right legs.  Took about 1 minute rests between the last 2 sets.

Seated Plate Raises:  3x10x35
Seated Lateral Raise: 3x10x10
Seated DB Shrug + Clean + Half Press:  3x10x10

Brutal.  35 lb plate raises killed my shoulders.  Rested about 1.5 to 2 minutes between sets.  I sped up the transition from the clean to the half press, using my clean momentum to press upwards.

Deadlift:  5×145 + 3x165 + 2×185 + 1×205 + 5×225

Took some extra resting periods between the 3rd and 4th warm-up sets.  Used the belt on the top set.  Wore long socks along with sweatpants, so the skin on my shins took some rest, less bruising.  Banging up my shins sometimes makes me hesitant on the lift, messing with my form.  The 2 plates felt pretty light though.  Used a supinated grip on the left hand and regular pronated grip on the right.

Accessories:
Preacher BB Curls 10×50
Standing EZ Bar Curls 10×40
Seated DB Curls 10×25
Incline DB Press 10×40
DB Press 10×35
Dips 6/3.5/3

Did some more dipping today.  Cranked more on the first set, but pretty much dead by the second and third.  Not much strength endurance on these, especially after beating up the triceps with the incline dumbbell pressing.

Week10 – Day25B – Roundabout

Weight:  180.4 lbs ??
Duration:  1 hour??

Forgot gym shorts so…what did I do?  Buy a new one of course!  For $26!  At the gym! Woo!  Best money I’ve ever spent.

Squats:  3x5xBar + 5×105 + 3×125 + 1×145 + 5x5x165

Lower back did not feel great.  These are getting pretty heavy.

Seated Plate Raises:  2x10x25
Seated Lateral Raise: 2x10x10
Seated DB Shrug + Clean + Half Press:  2x10x10

Did these first since a couple was using the squat rack.  Tweaked something in the back of my neck during the first set of the lateral raises so I took a few extra breaths and massaged the area.

Deadlift:  5×125 + 3x145 + 2×165 + 1×185 + 5×215

Used the belt on the top set.  Low back was getting killed.

Accessories:
Preacher BB Curls 10×50
Standing BB Curls 10×40
Seated DB Curls 10×25
Incline DB Press 10×35
DB Press 2x10x35

Core:
Pushup-Position Planks 40sec.

Week9 – Day23B – New Year

Weight:  179.6 lbs
Duration:  11:40 to 12:35 = 55 min.

The duration doesn’t include warm-up.  I officially got to the gym at 11:20ish.  The warm-up was a bit longer today as I incorporated some Agile 8 into the mix to get my legs prepped better.  More warm-ups = more time spent outside of office soooo I’ll have to be super efficient with my core lifts and try not to rest for too long.

Squats:  3x5xBar + 5×95 + 3×115 + 1×135 + 5x5x155

My shoulder is still cooperating!  I was able to get the bar off the right traps and on the top of the posterior delts.  There was definitely still a bit of resistance, but I once it was placed the bar was pretty much locked in.  The “shelf” that Mr. Rippetoe was talking about in his bar position video felt super solid and super stable.  The squats definitely felt heavy today.  I felt like my knees were travelling forward a bit.  Felt a little lower back engagement on a few reps when this happened.  This reminds me…I need to start video recording myself again!!  Also, I noticed that my right quads were a bit more worked than my left.

Seated Plate Raises:  3x8x35
Seated Lateral Raise:  3x8x10
Seated DB Shrug + Clean + Half Press:  3x8x10

Jumped up to 35 lbs on the plate raises.  These drained the life right out of my shoulders as I went from set to set.  I could barely get through the first 2 reps of the third set on the plate raises.  I think I have to stagger the weight on each start of the plate raise sets.  The fatigue just builds up way too quickly for me to recover and do honest reps with good form.

Deadlift:  5×125 + 3x145 + 2×165 + 1×185 + 5×205

Progressively increased resting time between warm-up sets as I worked my way up to the top set.  I used an alternate grip on the last set and it felt very solid.  The left hand was supinated while the right hand was using regular pronated grip.

Accessories:
Preacher BB Curls 10×50
Standing BB Curls 10×50
Seated DB Curls 8×25
Incline DB Press 10×35
DB Bench 10×35
Tricep Extensions 15×40

Did some tricep extensions to hit the triceps a bit more and give the chest a bit of rest.

Core:
Pushup-Position Planks 3x30sec.

Was browsing through imgur and found one of the 30 day get more fit things and saw one for planks.  This motivated me to start doing some regular core training.  I did 3 sets of 30 sec. planks using the top pushup position instead of the more popular elbow planks.  I’ll see if I can do these daily and increase the length of time by 5 seconds each day.

Week8 – Day21B – Bang Bang

Weight:  180.0 lbs
Duration:  ~1 hour

Drove out 40 minutes just to get into the gym.  2nd session for the week was on Thursday since it was Christmas on Wednesday, so decided to get my 3rd session in today.

Squats:  3x5xBar + 5×105 + 3×125 + 5x5x145

Pretty good today!  I think I’ve settled on a slightly higher than low bar position.  Forcing my shoulder into a painful position isn’t going to allow me to rack up the poundages.  I’ll cross that bridge once I get there, but for now…I’ll stick to what I’m doing and keep it consistent.

Seated Plate Raises:  3x10x25
Seated Lateral Raise:  3x8x10
Seated DB Shrug + Clean + Half Press:  3x8x10

I’m going to increase the plate raises to 35 lbs moving forward from here.  There’s no doubt that my shoulders have become stronger, but I need to increase poundages on these to continue milking the gains.

Deadlift:  5x135 + 3×155 + 1×175 + 5×195

Heavaaaay.  Banged up the shins real good on these.  I’m thinking I was probably rounding the back pretty hard on the last few reps or so.

Accessories:
Preacher BB Curls 10×40
Standing BB Curls 10×40
Seated DB Curls 8×30
Incline DB Press 10×30 + 5×35
DB Bench 10×30
Push-ups 10/5/4

Added some good ‘ole push-ups.