Bergs's logs's - A foray into writing down what I lift

[Bergs]

So, long time member (kind of), first time log poster here. I decided to start writing down what I've been doing in the gym thanks to some prompting from Dracoy.

The next week or so will be fairly sporadic due to New Years, but after that, it will be back to the grind. My split will most likely look something like this:

Sunday or Monday = overhead press, shoulders, upper back, triceps
Tuesday = Deadlift, biceps, glutes/hamstrings/lower back, abs
Thursday = Bench, chest, upper back, triceps, biceps
Friday = Squat, quads, ad/abductors, abs
Saturday = Fun day = grip work, traps, forearms, whatever I want

I say "Sunday or Monday" because I'm not sure how much the upper back work will affect my deadlift on Tuesday; I'm also not sure how much fun lifting four days in a row will be, either. However, my focus for this cycle will be my deadlift, so I think I'd like as much rest before deadlift day as possible. Also, notice that every day has something that ought to benefit my deadlift... since my main goal this year is to get to 700lb.

Any comments would be highly welcome!

(First entry should come later today after a trip to the gym)

[Bergs]

First workout... yay!

A1. Rack pulls from the top of the kneecap:
135 x 10
225 x 6
315 x 5
405 x 4
495 x 3

belt:
585 x 2
685 x 1
735 x 1... PR
745 x 1... PR

B1. Bicep curls:
35s x 12
40s x 10
45s x 8

C1. Good Mornings:
135 for 3 sets

D1.Dumbbell rows:
70s x 15
70s x 15
75s x 15

Comments:
Rack pulls felt good. I was pretty happy to get two PRs after missing 765 last week. I'm never sure what that means for my deadlift, but next week, I'll be back to pulling from the floor. Will probably start at 606 and work up 10 pounds a week for singles.

[Bergs]

Well, it's been almost a week since I've posted. Gogo winter break, I guess. I'm going to go to the gym later today and I'll be back with a post of my amazing session for you all =p

In the mean time, I've been thinking about what I want to accomplish for 2010. It's sort of a New Year's Resolutions List, I suppose. Going to put in some boxes so I can check them off when I accomplish them. Here goes:

(listed in order of what I think will be easiest to hardest)
[Feb 20th] Qualify for WABDL Worlds
[] 400 raw bench: Currently at 395, but have a bad shoulder I need to repair
[] 1500 raw total: Current lifts would put me at 1525, but best meet total is only 1436.
[] 500 raw squat: Currently at 479
[] 400 Wilks in order to qualify for 2011 Arnold Raw Challenge: Requires roughly 1500 @ 245 bw
[] Get down to 260 bodyweight: Currently at 270
[] APF elite geared total: Would most likely be 1940 @ 242... 2000 @ 275 might be stretching it. My currently lifts put me around 1915, I think.
[] 690 deadlift: WABDL junior 259 deadlift world record
[] 700 deadlift: Currently at 650
[] 1600 raw total: Current lifts would put me at 1525, but best meet total is only 1436.
[] Get down to 245 bodyweight: Currently at 270
[] 20 inch arms: I think I'm at 18 or so right now. (mostly joke)Req
[X] Finish my M.S. thesis by May.
[X] 135lb strict barbell curl - no body english.

[Bergs]

Monday - Shoulders / back:

A1. Standing barbell military press:
45 x 12
95 x 10
135 x 8

155 x 5
165 x 5
175 x 5

B1. Shoulder adductors:
20 for 3 sets of 10 per arm

B2. Shoulder abductors:
15 for 3 sets of 8 per arm

C1. Dumbbell rows:
75 x 15 per arm
75 x 15 per arm
75 x 15 per arm

D1. straight bar tricep pressdowns:
65 x 10
65 x 10
drop set starting at 65

comments:
Didn't feel so hot today. I kind of felt like I was going to throw up... my guess is that would be due to the fact all I had to eat today was a bagel and some thin mints. Also, while doing the dumbbell rows, my hammies felt really weird. I'm guessing they're tight and this is something I should look into fixing.

[Bergs]

Tuesday - Deadlift:

A1. Deadlift:
75kg x 6
125kg x 5
175kg x 3

belt:
225kg x 2
255kg x 1
275kg x 0 ... was planning on doing three singles at this weight (606lbs), but I barely broke this off the ground. So I did some more sets at lower weights, that I wouldn't normally do.
225kg x 2
175kg x 6

B1. barbell bicep curls:
45 x 10
65 x 8
85 x 6
105 x 4
125 x 1 ... drop to 65 x 6

C1. GHRs:
bw x 10
20kg x 6
20kg x 6

C2. Reverse hypers:
55kg x 10
85kg x 6
85kg x 6

D1. Crunches:
3 sets of 70

D2. Side twists:
2 sets

pre-wo bw: 273.8

Comments:
So I just realized that this was my first time deadlifting in a month; I probably shouldn't have been so ambitious. Anyway, I'll get it next week, and hopefully get this tight hamstring issue worked out, too.

[Bergs]

Thursday - Bench day:

A1. Bench Press:
45 x 10
135 x 8
185 x 6
225 x 5
275 x 4

315 x 2
325 x 2
325 x 2

B1. Dumbbell flyes:
30s for 3 sets of 12

B2. Fat-man pullups:
3 sets of ~8

C1. Straight bar overhand cable rows:
200 x 12
220 x 9
240 x 4
260 x 2

D1. tricep cable extensions:
3 sets

D2. bicep cable curls:
3 sets

comments:
Not sure how heavy I should be pushing the bench, but it feels... ok. A little bit of pain still, but hardly any after. I'm still scared re-injuring it though, so I guess I'll stay in this weight range, and maybe push up the reps. 325 feels heavy, when it never used to :-/

Also, I just got home and should probably start watching the national championship. The gym's more important than watching football though, haha.

[Bergs]

Friday - squats:

A1. Back squat:
45 x 10
45 x 10
135 x 8
185 x 5
225 x 5
275 x 4
315 x 3

belt:
365 x 2
365 x 3
375 x 3
385 x 3

B1. Front squats - beltless:
135 x 8
155 x 8
175 x 6

C1. Hip adductors:
110 for 3 sets

C2. Hip abductors:
110 for 3 sets

D1. Standing ab pulldowns:
100 x 15
105 x 15
110 x 12

D2. Pallof Press:
50 for 3 sets of 8 per side

comments:
Haven't back squatted in a while, but it felt alright. The weight felt light, but the belt felt too tight... need to lose some weight

Not sure how I'm going to progress on squats the next few weeks, though. I think I will hit a back ME / front RE combo for the next three weeks. Then switch to some box work before my meet next month.

[Bergs]

Saturday - grip day:

A1. Two-Handed Pinch Grip Deadlift:
90 x 3
90 x 3
90 x 3
100 x 3

B1. Rack Pulls - held for ~10 seconds:
225 x 5

315 x 3
315 x 3
315 x 3

with towels wrapped around:
225 x 3

C1. Bicep curls:
45s x 10
50s x 6
55s x 5

C2. Trap jack:
{90,70,55} x 20
{55,70,90} x 20

D1. Hang cleans:
135 x 6
165 x 3
165 x 3

D2. Armory™ forearm blaster:
3 sets

comments:
This was the first grip-centric session of my entire life, I do believe. As such, I really wasn't sure what to expect. The rack pulls and pinch deadlifts were pretty tough, but I didn't feel much of a pump or anything during the workout. I'm sure I'll feel it tomorrow though.

Also, the hang cleans were pretty tough, since I did them after traps/grip. Maybe I ought to move them up in the order, since they're more of a technical lift.

[Bergs]

Sunday - Shoulders:

A1. Standing barbell military press:
45 x 15
95 x 8
145 x 5

175 x 3
185 x 3
195 x 4

B1. External rotations:
10lbs for 3 sets of 10 per arm

B2. Scap pushups:
3 sets of 10

C1. Dumbbell rows:
75 x 15 per arm
75 x 15 per arm
80 x 15 per arm

D1. straight bar tricep cable pressdowns:
72.5 x 10
72.5 x 10
72.5 for a drop set

pre-wo bw: 275.0

comments:
The 195 x 4 surprised me on the military press since my best 1rm is only 205 and that was pretty tough. So that felt really good, even if the rest of today was only so-so.

The bad thing though is that I weigh 275. I was planning on getting down to 265 by February... looks like I will have to tighten up my diet a little bit over the next few weeks.

[Bergs]

Tuesday - Deadlift:

A1. Deadlift:
75kg x 8
125kg x 5
175kg x 3

belt:
225kg x 1
255kg x 1
275kg x 1
280kg x 1 ( 617lbs) ... felt incredibly light-headed after this rep. But at least it went up smoothly.
275kg x 1

B1. barbell bicep curls:
95 x 6
95 x 6
105 x 5
115 x 4
125 x 0... Sad

C1. GHRs:
20kg x 6
20kg x 6
20kg x 7

C2. Reverse hypers:
85kg x 6
85kg x 6
85kg x 7

D1. Crunches:
3 sets of 80

D2. Side twists:
3 sets

Comments:
Well, this week of deadlifting went much better than last week when I barely broke 606 off the floor. So that's good, even if it did feel weird at the top. I'm still looking to add 5kg a week till I peak at 650lbs before my meet.

Time to enjoy a nice juicy steak and watch my Illini win at home against PSU for the first time in forever.

[Bergs]

Thursday - Bench day:

A1. Bench Press:
45 x 10
135 x 8
185 x 6
225 x 5
275 x 4

315 x 2
335 x 1
345 x 1

B1. Dumbbell muscle snatches:
25s x 15
25s x 15
30s x 10

B2. Fat-man pullups:
3 sets of ~8


C1. Neutral grip cable rows:
220 x 10
240 x 4
260 x 3
200 for a drop set

D1. tricep cable extensions:
5 sets

D2. bicep cable curls:
5 sets

Comments:
The bench felt pretty decent today. 335 and 345 felt heavy, but I suppose that's to be expected as I haven't had that much in my hands in a few months. Less pain in the shoulder than last week, but my upper pec seemed pretty sore/tight/weird. At least there's less pain than last week though, so that's a good thing. I've been working in quite a few of the shoulder rehab movements from the Diesel Crew website, so hope that fixes things soon.

On another note, I went in for some blood work today. I figured it would be a good idea to just see how things are... Cholesterol, blood sugar, that sort of thing. Also got my blood pressure ( 132 over 64 ) and resting heart rate (83 bpm) taken. Both of these are slightly high, I think, but nothing to worry about, as they're all in the normal range.

[Bergs]

Friday - squats:

A1. Back squat:
45 x 10
45 x 10
135 x 8
185 x 5
225 x 5
275 x 4
315 x 3

belt:
365 x 3
385 x 3
405 x 2
415 x 1

B1. Front squats - beltless:
135 x 8
155 x 8
175 x 6

C1. Hip adductors:
115 for 3 sets

C2. Hip abductors:
115 for 3 sets

D1. Standing ab pulldowns:
105 x 15
110 x 15
115 x 12

D2. Pallof Press:
50 for 3 sets of 8 per side

Comments:
Back squats felt alright. When I get to the bottom portion, it feels like something in my glute is stretching and not in a good way. Looks like it's more foam rolling for me.

[Bergs]

Saturday - grip day:

A1. Two-Handed Pinch Grip Deadlift:
90 x 3
90 x 3
95 x 3
100 x 3

B1. Rack Pulls - held for ~10 seconds:
225 x 5

315 x 3
315 x 3
315 x 3

with towels wrapped around:
225 x 3

C1. Bicep curls:
45s x 10
55s x 6
60s x 2

C2. Trap jack:
{90,75,55} x 20
{55,75,90} x 20

D1. Hang cleans:
135 x 6
165 x 3
185 x 2 ... + 0

D2. Armory™ forearm blaster:
3 sets

Comments:
What can I say... just a grip workout. Pretty boring. Time to go drink.

[Off Road]

You are strong for sure. Also, I like your workouts, they are basic and hit all the needed stuff without a lot of extra cr@p.

[Bergs]

You are strong for sure. Also, I like your workouts, they are basic and hit all the needed stuff without a lot of extra cr@p.

Why, thank you. On both counts. I like to think that keeping things basic allows me to stay consistent, even if it's a little boring.

[Bergs]

Sunday - Shoulders:

A1. Standing barbell military press:
45 x 12
95 x 8
135 x 6

175 x 5
195 x 3
215 x 0
210 x 1 .. 5lb PR

B1. External rotations:
10lbs for 3 sets of 10 per arm

B2. Scap pushups:
3 sets of 10

C1. Dumbbell rows:
80 x 15 per arm
80 x 15 per arm
85 x 10 per arm

D1. straight bar tricep cable pressdowns:
77.5 x 10
77.5 x 10
77.5 for a drop set

pre-wo bw: 272.9

Comments:
Well, I was hoping to get the 215 for a PR... maybe even two reps. Oh well, at least I got the 210 - a PR is a PR. My weight is down a little bit, and I hope to get under 270 by next Sunday. That'll put me on good pace to be 259 by Feb 20th.

[Off Road]

Nice PR.

[Bergs]

Thanks Off Road! I need to get my press up - so any time I hit more weight, I'm happy!

As for today -
Tuesday - Deadlift:

A1. Deadlift:
75kg x 8
125kg x 5
175kg x 3

belt:
225kg x 2
255kg x 1
275kg x 1 ... pretty light-headed here :-/
285kg x 1 ( 628lbs) ... took a long time to lock out, but felt alright. No light-headedness
275kg x 1 .. even more light-headed on this one - felt like I was about to pass out. WTF?

B1. barbell bicep curls:
105 x 6
110 x 4 + 0
115 x 3
120 x 2
125 x 1

C1. GHRs:
20kg x 7
20kg x 7
20kg x 9

C2. Reverse hypers:
85kg x 7
85kg x 7
85kg x 10

D1. Crunches:
3 sets of 70

D2. Side twists:
3 sets

Comments:
Well, this week of deadlifting was weird. I hit the weight I wanted to hit, even if it was a bit ugly. However, the two reps at 606 left me incredibly light-headed... almost to the point of passing out. I'm not sure what this is from. It could be from the belt being too tight (I'm about ten pounds heavier, using the same belt-hole), or from my diet (too much sodium or something?), or my breathing's weird, or maybe my form sucks. I need to figure it out before I have an aneurysm though.

Today, I finalized my plans to go out to Boston for an interview, and I plan on lifting at TPS on Monday. So if anyone's in the area, come say hi! Anyway, now it's time to watch some Illini basketball. Down to Purdue but I have a feeling we'll get back in it!

[Off Road]

I'd be dizzy too if I was lifting that much

[Bergs]

I'd be dizzy too if I was lifting that much

Haha. That may be true, but it's never happened to me before (except for last week), and that's still 45 pounds below my max. I think I have a right to be concerned =p

[Bergs]

Thursday - Bench day:

A1. Bench Press:
45 x 10
135 x 8
185 x 6
225 x 6

275 x 5
280 x 5
285 x 5
290 x 5
295 x 5

B1. Dumbbell muscle snatches:
25s x 15
25s x 15
25s x 10

B2. Fat-man pullups:
3 sets of ~8

C1. Neutral grip cable rows:
200 x 10
200 x 10
220 x 10

D1. tricep cable extensions:
5 sets

D2. bicep cable curls:
5 sets

Comments:
Been working a lot on my thesis lately, which is kind of taking away from my intensity in the gym. It's hard to keep my energy levels up, but I was able to a do a 5x5 today without much trouble. The shoulder pain is only there when I go to rerack the weight, so that's an improvement. Anyway, back to the grind.

[Dracoy]

Strong bench today man.

I'll hook you up next time I see you.

[Bergs]

Monday - Deadlift at TPS in Boston:

A1. Deadlift:
135 x 6
225 x 5
315 x 5
405 x 4

belt:
495 x 2
565 x 1
605 x 1
640 x 0... Was probably a half inch from lockout, and just couldn't get my hips through after fighting it for a few seconds. Ugh, very frustrating.

B1. Back extensions:
4 sets of ~10

C1. Reverse hypers:
3 sets

C2. Bent-over dumbbell rows:
2 sets

D1. Crunches:
2 sets

D2. Side twists:
2 sets

Comments:
So for flying from Champaign to Chicago to Boston, getting in at 3:15 and deadlifting by 4:30, I don't think this was that bad a workout. Sure, I would have preferred to get the 640, but it was pretty close. I also got some good tips from people out there and everyone seemed like good people. If anyone's out in the Boston area, I recommend TPS in Everett.

[Bergs]

Thursday - Bench day:

A1. Bench Press:
45 x 10
135 x 8
185 x 6
235 x 6

280 x 5
285 x 5
290 x 5
295 x 5
300 x 5

B1. Dumbbell muscle snatches:
30s x 10
30s x 10
30s x 10

B2.Scap wall-slides:
3 sets of 10

C1. Neutral grip cable rows:
220 x 10
220 x 10
220 x 10
220 x 8
220 for a drop set

D1. tricep cable extensions:
5 sets

D2. bicep cable curls:
5 sets

Comments:
Bench felt good and my pec/shoulder didn't hurt me as much as it has the past few weeks. I went to an ART guy yesterday, and it seems like it's helping already. Hopefully, in a few more sessions, I might be healthy again!

[Bergs]

Friday - Squats:

A1. Back Squats:
45 x 10
45 x 10
135 x 8
185 x 5
225 x 5
275 x 5
315 x 4

belt:
365 x 3
385 x 2
405 x 2
425 x 1

B1. Front Squats:
185 x 5
190 x 5
195 x 5
200 x 4

Then, I went home and did sit-ups...

Comments:
So the gym closes at 10 on Fridays. I thought I get in there and get my stuff done real fast, but I forgot how much time I take between squat sets. Oh well, not like I missed anything - just ad/abductors. Now... time to work on my thesis or go out? The night is yet young!