clfs's Journal

[clfs]

Here is my first post to this site (It contains my basic information):

http://www.wannabebig.com/forums/showthread.php?144286-Hello-(Spelled-HELP!)&p=2493958&highlight=#post2493958

Because the basic info is in the above post, I will jump right into it.

Pre-workout: Magnificent Mobility

Today's workout:

.5 Mile run and 1000m row machine warmup

Alternating grip between set pull ups:
Palms In Pullups: 6xbw, 4xbw
Neutral Grip Pull Ups: 3xbw, 2x25 lbs assistance
Palms Away Pull Ups: 2xbw, 3x 25lbs assistance

Deadlifts: 135x5, 225x5, 245x5, 245x5, 245x5, 245x5, 245x5, 315x2
My working sets are very light right now. I dropped by work set weight down to 225 last week to help work out some lower back issues. I am going to slowly increase the weight of my work sets until I am back to normal (5 sets of 5 reps at 315).

Hammer Strength Iso-Lateral Rows: 100lbs (per side) x 8, 100x8, 100x7 (could not complete last rep)

Cable Rows: 140x10, 140x10, 140x8 (failed to hit last two)

Barbel Curls: 70x15 (to failure w/ narrow grip), 70x10 (to failure w/ narrow grip), 70x8 (to failure w/ wide grip), 70x8 (to failure w/ wide grip). Will increase weight next session.

Post workout: Foam roller and light stretching

Overall: I hate lifting light weight on deadlifts. I just have to keep reminding myself that when I will be stronger (and safer for it), when I work back up to my "normal weight".

Post workout weight: 233 lbs

[clfs]

I should have mentioned in Monday's post that I switched from pure creatine to Results a few shortly after my first post to this forum.

Out of town for todays lift, so I was at a foreign gym (Life Fitness in Cary, NC). As a side note, this gym is HUGE, but their free weight section was lacking.

Overall I am very pleased with today's lifts:

Pre-workout: .5 mile on the treadmill. 10:00 min/mile pace at 3.0 incline

Barbell Bench:
Barx5
95x5
135x3
165x3
215x5
215x5
215x5 PR (Previous was 4 reps)
215x5 PR (Previous was 3 reps)
215x5 PR (Previous was 3 reps) (Really struggled with the last one but locked it out)
235x2 (had fingertip assistance with the third so it doesn't count)

Moving up weight next workout to 225. This is a HUGE mental milestone for me. Repping 2PPS!!! 30lbs up on my bench rep weight since joining the site!

Military Press:
Barx5
115x5
115x5
115x5
115x4
115x3
115x3

My military press seems to have stalled. I need to find a way to get past this plataeu. Any suggestions?

Skull Crushers
90x5 + 10 close grip presses
90x3 + 8 close grip presses
90x2 + 6 close gri presses
6 + close grip presses

Increased weight of skull crushers from last week. Really struggled with these.

Dips
Bwx4
Bwx3
25lbs assistx4
25lbs assistx3
25lbs assistx3

Triceps were destroyed at this point. Skipped cable press downs.

Weight: Couldn't find a scale at the gym :(

[clfs]

Had a meeting with my chiropractor yesterday to get my usual adjustments and so he could review a few of my lifts (He is also the owner and a trainer at a local Crossfit facility). I have been having problems with my lower back and I am working to resolve a hip imbalance.

Here is what he had me do:

OHP:
45x3
95x10
95x10
115x5
115x5
115x5
135x5
135x4
135x3

Deadlifts:

225x10
225x10
245x5
245x5
275x5
275x5
275x5

Squats:
95x10
95x8

Overall, he indicated that my form for OHP and deadlifts is solid. We are still working to increase my flexibility in my squat so that I stop leaning so far forward when I am in the hole. He gave me the go ahead to start squatting light. I am stoked! Also, it seems that my hip imbalance and shoulder issues are slowly ironing out as I am getting more flexible and increasing strength.

[clfs]

Diet has been horrible this week. My travel with work resulted in the consumption of some very unhealthy meals (that is the problem with having to eat at restaurants for every meal). Had a heavy drinking night Thursday too that didn't help (met my new boss for the first time).

Pre-workout: Magnificent Mobility and some light foam rolling

Warm-up: .5 mile on treadmill and 1000 meters on rowing machine

ATG Squats:
Barx5
95x5
135x12
135x10
135x10
135x10
185x8
185x8
185x8
185x8

Back felt good for these. Probably could have gone heavier, but I definetally want to ease into these per the chiro's instructions.

SLDL:
135x8
Stopped here because I started to develop some significant lower back pain.

Calf Raises:
275x10
275x10
275x10

Planksx3 (Lower back pain was gone by the end of the planks. Thinking my back pain may be related to a weak core.)

Very happy to be doing squats again; however, I am having to resist the temptation to lift heavy.

Weight: 238 (booooo)

[clfs]

My lower back was hit hard by the stutter step workouts on Friday and Saturday. It has been almost a year since I have squatted and I definetally underestimated how much it would take out of my back to squat and deadlift on back to back days (especially since my lower back is my weak link right now). In an effort to let it have more time to recover, I flip-floped my back day with my chest day. Hopefully the extra day or two will help.

Pre-workout: .5 mile run and 1000 meters on the rowing machine.

Barbell Flat Bench:
Barx5
95x5
135x5
185x3
225x5
225x5
225x5
225x4 (was in the middle of completing the 5th but Mr. Random touched the bar *frustrated*)
225x3 (missed the 4th)

Racked and Unrack flat bench (not sure what the proper term for this is):
275x5
275x5

I am starting to see a trend when I miss on my bench. I am usually able to bring the weight down, pause, and start to press up; however, the bar feels like it hits a brick wall midway up the press. In the next one or two sessions, I might try to introduce some board presses.

Military Press:
Barx5
115x5
115x5
115x5
115x5
115x3
115x2

I still feel like my military press is stalling. Not sure what to do about it. Suggestions?

Skull Crushers
90x6 w/ 10 close grip presses
90x5 w/ 8 close grip presses
90x4 w/ 6 close grip presses

Wide grip cable tricep pressdowns
60x10
60x10
60x9 (missed the 10th)

Weight: 237

[superdonut]

trying lowering your military press weight 10-20lbs OR do less volume for a week or 2, then come back and try for some heavier weight.

i know for myself, after i hit a heavy rep pr on military press the following week ill usualy do lighter weight for 3x3 or something. i've been able to progress nicely on my press doing it this way. best of luck.

[clfs]

superdonut: That is a good recommendation. I may up the weight and go for less reps and sets for a week or two. We shall see how it goes.

Today's workout:

.5 Mile run and 1000m row machine warmup

Alternating grip between set pull ups:
Palms In Pullups: 8xbw, 4xbw
Neutral Grip Pull Ups: 3xbw, 1xbw
Palms Away Pull Ups: 2xbw, 3x 25lbs assistance

Deadlifts: 135x5, 275x5, 275x5, 275x5, 275x5, 275x5

Solid deadlifting day! Going to up weight again next session.

Hammer Strength Iso-Lateral Rows: 100lbs (per side) x 8, 100x8, 100x8

Cable Rows: 140x10, 140x10, 140x10 Increasing weight next session

Barbel Curls: 80x8 (to failure w/ narrow grip), 80x6 (to failure w/ narrow grip), 80x4 (to failure w/ wide grip), 80x4 (to failure w/ wide grip).

Weight: Forgot to weigh in...

Overall: My back was feeling a much better for todays lifts. I think it was a good call to give my back a few extra days rest. Looking forward to my second session back squatting!

[Bako Lifter]

Quit doing military press and try another overhead movement. Seated Barbell press, dumbell press, push press... Go for three weeks doing one of those instead and your mili will be stronger the next time you do it.

[clfs]

Thanks for the military press suggestions. I am thinking about switching to seated dumbell for a while.

Today was a short gym day because the childcare facility closed early.

Warm-up: .5 miles on treadmill and 1000m on rowing machine.

Atg squats:

Barx5
95x5
135x8
155x8
185x8
205x8
225x8

Overall, the workout was solid. I still do not feel like I am taxing myself but I guess I will get there with time. Lower back felt great! I think I found the cause of my previous injury. When the weight started to get above 185 I noticed that I was shifting my weight heavily to my right leg at the bottom of the movement. My right leg is much stronger so that makes sense. With a little focus I was able to eliminate that weight shift in today's lifts.

Calf raises:
360x12
360x12
360x12

I wanted to hit the hammies but I ran out of time.

Weight: 237.5

I have decided that once I hit 250(ish) I am going to go on a long cut. Hopefully back down to the 220 range.

[clfs]

Yesterday I had a long day drinking on the lake, so I was less than motivated to go to the gym today.

Warmup: .5 mile run (could not do the usual 1000m row because someone was on the machine)

Flat bench:
barx5
95x5
135x5
155x5
185x3
230x5
230x5
230x5
230x4
230x3

Rack/Un-Rack
280x5

Max Effort Bench:
245x1
255x1

Seated Dumbell Press:
50x8
55x8
60x5
60x5
60x4
60x3
60x1

Trying to find a good rep weight. I may drop the weight next session.


Skull Crushers:
90x6 + 8 close grip press
90x4 + 6 close grip press
90x4 + 6 close grip press

Wide Grip Cable Press Downs
70x8
70x8
70x7

Close Grip Cable Press Downs
70x8
70x7
70x6

Dips
-25x5
-25x4

[clfs]

Pull Ups:
Palms In: 7xbw (could not lock out the 8th) 4xbw, 5x-25
Neutral Grip: 3xbw, 1xbw
Palms Away: 2xbw, 2x-25

Pull ups were disappointing. I'm not sure why my performance decreased since my last session. Hopefully next session will be better.

Deadlifts:
135x5
225x5
315x5
315x5
315x5
315x4 (almost locked out the 5th but grip failed)
315x4 (grip failed on 5th)

Strong deadlift day! I have finally worked back up to my true work sets. I forgot how much these hurt (I started seeing stars between lifts)! My wife was laughing at me afterwards because I was walking like an old man. haha!

Ommitted rows due to time constrains. Had to leave the gym at this point.

At home:
Close grip ez curls
85x12
85x10
85x6
Wide grip ez curls
85x4
85x2

[clfs]

Broke from my routine today (it's my b-day, so sue me). Really wanted to workout but my lower back was still fried from deadlifts yesterday (that means no squatting), so I ended up benching.

Bench: barx5, 95x5, 135x5, 185x3, 235x5, 235x5, 235x4, 235x3, 235x3, 235x2, 235x1, 235x1 (these hurt)

Seated Dumbell Press: 55x8, 60x5, 60x5, 60x5, 60x5, 60x4

Skull Crushers ( + close grip press superset): 90x8 (+8 presses), 90x6 (+6 presses), 90x5 (+5 presses)

Cable Pressdowns (dual rope attachment): 55x7, 55x6, 55x5

Edit: Forgot to mention 2xplanks

Not a bad session. Looking forward to squats on Saturday!

[clfs]

Diet has been fair over the last few days. Getting plenty of protein and eating fairly clean. The primary exception to all of this is my alcohol consumption. It was my b-day Thursday and my brother-in-laws engagement celebration last night, so those didn't help much. I really need to focus on cutting out the alcohol over the next week.

Warmup: .5 mile run and 1000m row machine

16" Box Squats: Barx8, 135x8, 185x5, 225x8, 245x8, 245x8, 245x7
Broke out in a cold sweat on these and started feeling sick to my stomach. I think this was due to my McDonald's breakfast. Not going to do that again before a workout.

SLDL: 135x8, 185x8, 185x8, 185x8
This is the first time that my lower back was in a good enough shape to perform these after squats! Making progress here...

Calf Raises on Leg Press: 450x12, 450x12, 450x12

I am still not full volume on my lower body days; however, I am slowing becoming able to handle more and more. My conditioning has a long way to go...

Side note: Ran into a few friends I haven't seen in months. Completely unsolicited, they mentioned that I am starting to look really strong (especially in my arms and back). It's always good to get feedback like that. :) I must be on the right track!

[clfs]

Warmup: .5 mile run

BB Flat Bench: barx8, 95x8, 135x8, 185x4, 235x5, 235x5, 235x4, 235x4, 235x4 <--Last rep was grueling and form fell apart, 235x2

Military Press: 120x5, 120x5, 120x5, 120x5, 120x4, 120x3

Skull Crushers (+ close grip press superset): 90x7 + 8 cgp, 90x7 + 7 cgp, 90x7 + 4 cgp

Cable Press down: 55x10, 65x7, 65x7, 65x7

Overall: Making grueling slow progress on my bench now, but progress is progress. Broke through the plateau on military press. It looks like switching to a different lift for a few sessions made the difference!

[clfs]

Warmup: .5 mile run and 1000m on rowing machine

Pull Ups:
Palms In: 8xbw, 3xbw, 4x-25
Neutral Grip: 4xbw, 1xbw, 2x-25
Palms Away: 2xbw, 2x-25, 1x-25

Deadlifts: 135x5, 225x5, 315x5, 335x5, (switched to an over-under grip here) 335x5, 335x5, 335x5

Rows: 135x8, 135x8, 135x8, 135x8 Increasing weight next session

Close grip ez curls: 85x7, 85x6, 85x5 (These are worse due to the introduction of rows?)
Wide grip ez curls: 85x4, 85x2

Interesting point of note: My sweat is starting to smell like pure ammonia. Is this normal? What causes this?

I am also looking for input regarding my routines. Are there any gaps? Is the frequency decent? Let me know what you think!

[tom183]

Interesting point of note: My sweat is starting to smell like pure ammonia. Is this normal? What causes this?

http://forums.lylemcdonald.com/showthread.php?t=6530&highlight=ammonia

[clfs]

http://forums.lylemcdonald.com/showthread.php?t=6530&highlight=ammonia

Sounds like I need to drink more water and eat a larger pre-workout snack... Thanks for the link!

[clfs]

bump, and...

Light 2 mile jog around my hilly neighborhood to help work out the stiffness in my lower back.

[clfs]

Not too much to say today. There was weight, so I lifted it. meh...

Warmup: .5 mile run

Squats: Barx85, 135x5, 185x5, 225x5, 245x5, 255x5, 255x5, 255x5, 255x5, 255x5

SLDL: 135x8, 185x8, 205x5, 205x8, 205x8, 205x8, 205x8

Calf Raises on Leg Press: 480x12, 480x12, 480x12

[clfs]

Yesterday: 2 mile run

Today:

Warmup: .5 mile run and 1000m on rowing machine

BB Flat Bench: barx8, 95x8, 155x8, 185x5, 240x5, 240x5, 240x4, 240x4, 240x3

Military Press: 125x5, 125x5, 125x5, 125x5, 125x3

Skull Crushers (+ close grip press superset): 95x8 + 12 cgp, 95x6 + 10 cgp, 95x4 + 10 cgp, 95x3 + 10 cgp

[clfs]

This past week was hectic. As a result, I was not able to make my Wednesday gym session.

I was able to go for a two mile jog around my neighborhood on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday.

To keep everything on track, I just shifted my deadlift day to Saturday, squat day to Monday, and bench day to Wednesday. This will probably work a little better because the last few weeks I have had to wait for an open barbell bench on Mondays (National Bench Day). Avoiding that chaos will be nice.

Today's Workout:

Pre-workout: .5 mile run and 1000m on row machine

Pull Ups:
Palms In: 8xbw, 3xbw, 6x-20
Neutral Grip: 3xbw, 1xbw, 4x-20
Palms Away: 2xbw, 2x-25, 4x-20

Deadlifts: 135x5, 225x5, 315x3, 365x5, 365x5, 365x5, 365x5, 365x4 (grip failed on the 5th pull when the bar was mid thigh)
The deadlifts really kicked my trash. After these, I felt completely drained for the rest of my workout. I was still able to hit some decent weight in my following lifts. Good stuff.

Rows: 155x7, 145x7, 145x7, 145x7

Lat Pull downs: 80x7, 70x7, 70x7, 60x8 (hopefully these will help with my pull ups)

Cable Rows: 140x8, 140x8, 140x8

Close grip ez curls: 75x10, 75x8, 75x6

Overall, this felt like a solid gym day.

Post workout weight: 242

[clfs]

Warmup: .5 mile run

Squats: Barx5, 135x5, 185x5, 225x5, 275x5, 275x5, 275x5, 275x5, 275x5

SLDL: 225x8, 225x8, 225x8

Calf Raises on Leg Press: 500x12, 500x12, 500x12

[tom183]

Solid lower session.

[clfs]

Solid lower session.

Thanks! I am trying to keep my workouts simple and heavy. Hopefully it will pay off!

[clfs]

Warmup: .5 mile run and 1000m on rowing machine

BB Flat Bench: barx8, 95x8, 135x8, 185x5, 245x5, 245x3, 245x3, 245x3, 245x3, 245x2, 245x1, 245x1
I think I got a little too aggressive and increased the weight here too soon. It looks like I will be playing catch-up with this same weight for a few more sessions.

Military Press: 135x5, 135x5, 135x4, 135x5, 135x3, 135x3, 135x2, 135x1

Skull Crushers (+ close grip press superset): 90x10 + 10 cgp, 90x8 + 8 cgp, 90x6 + 6 cgp, 90x6 + 6 cgp

Cable Crunches: 35x8, 75x12, 75x12, 75x12, 75x12
This was the first time that I have tried these. I am going to have to increase the weight until I can barely complete three sets of 8 in my future workouts.

Dips: bwx8, bwx8, bwx6
I need to buy a belt that will allow me to do weighted dips.

[clfs]

After typing up my workout, it looks like today's session got a little volume heavy. I think am going to have to tighten down the number of sets on my accessory work...

[clfs]

Pre-workout: .5 mile run and 1000m on row machine

Pull Ups:
Palms In: 8xbw, 4xbw, 7x-20
Neutral Grip: 3xbw, 1xbw, 4x-20
Palms Away: 3xbw, 3x-20, 3x-20

I was really dreading deadlifting heavy with high volume (5x5), so instead doing that I decided to do some 1RM testing.

Deadlifts: 135x5, 225x5, 315x3, 385x4, 405x2, 455x1 PR

The good: 455 is a huge PR for me. I don't think I have ever lifted anything above 400 lbs before this. I am stoked!

The ugly: A callus that was on my right hand tore almost completely off. I hate the fact that my gym does not allow baby powder or chalk.

http://i1092.photobucket.com/albums/i416/slyskamps/2011-10-01_13-21-09_704.jpg

My workout had to be cut short because it became impossible to lift anything without significant pain. No bueno.

[clfs]

Warmup: .5 mile run and 1000m on rowing machine

Squats: Barx5, 135x5, 185x5, 225x3, 285x5, 285x5, 285x5, 285x5, 285x5

SLDL: 245x8, 245x8, 245x8

Calf Raises on Leg Press: 515x12, 515x12, 515x12

[clfs]

Missed my Wednesday and Saturday workout's last week due to being sick. I got hit hard with a bug after the recent temperature change. It looks like my lifts suffered a bit due to the time off and sickness.

Warmup: .5 mile run and 1000m on rowing machine

BB Flat Bench: barx8, 95x8, 135x8, 185x5, 245x4, 245x4, 245x3, 245x3, 245x2, 245x2, 245x1

Military Press: 135x5, 135x5, 135x4, 135x3, 135x3, 135x2

Cable Crunches: 75x15, 75x15, 75x15

Dips: bwx10, bwx8, bwx7

I am thinking about dropping weight on my bench next week and building back up.

[clfs]

Pre-workout: .5 mile run

Pull Ups:
Palms In: 9xbw, 4xbw, 7x-20
Neutral Grip: 3xbw, 2xbw, 4x-20
Palms Away: 3xbw, 2xbw, 3x-20

Deadlifts: 135x5, 225x5, 315x3, 385x2, 385x2, 385x2, 385x2, 385x2, 385x2, 385x2

Rows: 155x8, 155x8, 155x8

Close grip ez curls: 75x10, 75x8, 75x6

Post workout weight: 244