Hangar 18: The Journal of Bassist-Dude

[Bassist-Dude]

HCT-12 / Return of the Squat!

Like my last workout, I was feeling particularly good on my way to day. UNLIKE my last workout, I did not encounter any set-backs. Instead, I tried out Box Squats, and found that if I am careful, I can use them to effectively work around my injury! I was absolutely stoked on this, and it made my week (and it's only Monday!). The injury is definitely still there, but it feels like it's healing slowly, and I have a physio appointment on the 29th of December (I know that's a ways away, but this guy is supposed to be fantastic, and has a sports background), so it should be taken care of relatively soon.

The main point is, I was getting way too close to fitting in regular people jeans, and now I can get back to fixing that problem!

Box Squats - Parallel Height:
bw x12
45lbs x12
95lbs x6
115lbs x6
135lbs x6
155lbs x6
175lbs x6
185lbs x6 + 2-2-2
It's humbling to have 185 be a challenge again, but it's just that much more motivating.

Stand* GHRs:
bw 2x6
+10lbs x6 + 2-2
Calves seemed to be way too active in this movement, and started to cramp a bit. Will have to review form.

Decided to call it here, as chin-ups bothered my shoulders, and I wasn't about to start pushing my luck after finally squatting again.


*Note: When I say stand, I mean one of those special GHR stands, not quite a machine, not quite a rack. Just cause there is a equipment-less version of the GHR that is a lot more difficult/impressive.

[Bassist-Dude]

The Day I Discover I Hate Hex Plates

Couldn't really do much today, as both shoulders have some sort of problem that came up overnight a week or so ago, but hasn't gone away yet, and the leg injury remains. Decided to see if getting back to deadlifting is a possibility, and if an idea I had would be effective for fixing an imbalance in my quads.

As I quickly discovered, my deadlift form is more than a little bit rusty. Moreover, hex plates are bloody awful for deadlifting.

On the upside, with a bit of adjustment, I should be able to use leg press machines to strengthen my VMOs and bring them up.

My idea is that weak VMOs are contributing at least partially to my lower body problems. Reasoning: Having had patellar tendinitis for 3~ years left me avoiding knee flexion as much as possible, both while I had it and after. Recently I noticed it was also a whole lot smaller than my vastus laterallis and rectus femoris, which would make sense given how I avoided knee flexion. Regardless, I'm going to see if strengthening it will help solve any problems. Hopefully this doesn't sound too bro-science-y, and anyone with more knowledge on this subject, feel free to correct me or pass on any tips!

[Bassist-Dude]

Treading Water...

...Not so much literally, but definitely progress wise. I've found that my groin injury is still lingering, and hasn't gotten any better (or worse, on the upside) despite 2 months or so of rest. A few other things are bothering me as well, but hopefully it'll all get sorted out at my physio appointment on the 29th. If all goes well, I'm going to make January my (hopefully) FINAL restart on training. Until then, I'll be doing general maintenance/exercise experiment workouts and trying to find out more about my problem areas.

Box Squats:
45lbs x20
95lbs x10
115lbs x8
135lbs 2x8

Leg Press: Close Stance and Limited ROM for VMO Focus
1 plate/side x20
2 plate/side x12
3 plate/side 3x20

Stand GHRs:
3x8 w/ BW

[Bassist-Dude]

First Workout of 2012

Finally saw a physiotherapist and had my two major problems fixed. As it turns out, a lot of my low back/groin problems were due to my sacrum being rotated. Additionally, both of my clavicles (particularly the right) were totally out of position. The physio put both areas back into place, and it made a dramatic difference straight away. I've yet to try squatting, but with everything corrected, it should hopefully go pretty smoothly on Wednesday.

As for today's workout, I did a little bit of pressing in between more back work, as strengthening the upper back will help keep the clavicle (and thus shoulder) problems away.

Barbell Rows:
45lbs x12
95lbs x10
115lbs x8
135lbs 3x5

Bench Press:
45lbs x12
65lbs x10
95lbs x8
115lbs x8
135lbs 3x5

Wide Grip LPD:
50lbs x10
100lbs 3x8

Chest Supported DB Rows:
20lbs x10
35lbs 2x8

Rear Delt Flyes:
5lbs x10
8lbs 3x8

+ the rehab exercises for my lower body problem, as prescribed by my physiotherapist.

[Bassist-Dude]

A Few Notes and Observations:

Alright, I'll keep this one pretty brief, but as it stands:

- The physiotherapist I saw is brilliant, I should finally be able to get back to squatting
- Commercial gyms around here are both expensive and frustrating. I, on the hand, am broke and impatient with Squat Rack Curlers. Luckily, I have free access to gyms closer to where I'm going to school, and now a free university gym closer to home.
- I've taken some progress pictures, and sorted out about half of my diet plan for the foreseeable future. I'll include all of that in a more comprehensive post as soon as I have my training focus and short/mid/long-term goals decided upon.
- Lastly, 2 of the 3 courses I'm taking this semester relate in some way or another to my training or nutrition or some aspect of improving fitness, and I'm stoked on them!

[Bassist-Dude]

Press Day

Once again, I'm back in the gym, but with much more consistency this time around (should all go well!). I've got my gym situation sorted out (had to leave my old one for financial reasons. Free > $40/month, gotta take that!), a homebrew program that should ease me back into things, diet is sorted (just have to buy the food now), and I've got my goals set. More on that in my official "progress pics and plan summary post" to follow.

Anyways, today was Press day, and considering it's been way too long since I've had a legitimate workout, I'd say things went pretty well! There's some shoulder issues I still need to clear up, but they aren't nearly as bad as they were previously.

Barbell Bench:
45lbs x20
95lbs x10
115lbs x8
125lbs x8
135lbs 3x5

DB Bench:
35lbs x15
35lbs x10

OH Press:
45lbs x10
65lbs x6
75lbs x5

Facepulls:
70lbs 2x8
70lbs 2x12

Tricep Pressdown:
20lbs x6
50lbs x6
60lbs x6 +2+2+2

[Bassist-Dude]

Progress Pics, Programming, Goals, and Diet:

Progress Pics:


Yup. These were a reality check, that's for sure. I look a whole lot better in the mirror, but such is life. Definitely more motivation to get back to work!

Programming:
I've written up a 4 day routine that is split into Squat, Pull, Bench, and Deadlift days, in that order. I've based it a lot around what has worked for me in the past, while keeping in mind that it needs to ease me back into the swing of things and work on a couple weak spots. Once I've gotten back to where I used to be, more or less, I definitely want to try a 20 Rep Squat program or something similarly awesome/crazy.

A - Squat Day:
1. Goblet Squats 5x5
2. Romanian Deadlift 6 +2+2+2
3. Reverse Lunges 6 +2+2+2
4. Calf Raises 6 +2+2+2
5. RKC Planks 10seconds x3+

B - Pulling Day:
1. Assisted Pull-Ups 3x10
2. T-Bar Rows 6 +2+2+2
3. DB Rows 6 +2+2+2
4. Face Pulls 3x10
5. Shrugs 6 +2+2+2

C - Bench Day:
1. Barbell Bench 3x5
2. DB Bench 2x15
3. Military Press 6 +2+2+2
4. Reverse Cable Flyes 4x8
5. Triceps Press Down 6 +2+2+2

D - Deadlift Day:
1. Deadlift 1x5
2. Front Squat 3x8
3. Glute Bridges 3x10
4. Calf Raises 6 +2+2+2
5. Ab Wheel Rollouts 3x3+

Diet:
I've decided not to go the traditional bulk/cut route, but will be using the "eat toward a goal" strategy that was outlined in an article on here a while ago.
My calorie total comes out to a target of 3360 kcal, with my macros set at 283g Protein, 321g Carbohydrates, and 105g Fat. I will be eating about as clean as possible and using Opticen and Results as supplements.
My plan is to make sure I hit that total every day and hope for the best. Going over that total on occasion won't be too much of a problem, but I'm going to strive towards never ending up under that total until I feel I need to cut fat and continue once the mirror doesn't disturb me!

Goals:

Alright, this is the good part!

In the Long Term I want to:
Reach a weight of 210lbs at 6'1" and 10% bodyfat
Squat 405 x3
Bench 315 x3
Deadlift 500 x3

In the Short-to-Mid Term I want to:
Start packing some mass back on to my legs
Lose most of, or all of, my gut by the time summer rolls around. Generally look better.
Eliminate my nagging shoulder, groin, and low back problems.
Improve flexibility, mobility, cardio, and work capacity
Squat 315 x1
Bench 225 x1
Deadlift 405 x1


Any advice, critiques, questions or guesses as to what my body fat percentage is at the moment are welcome. Thanks for reading!

[Bassist-Dude]

A - Squat Day:

Pretty solid workout today. Taking it slow to get back into my rhythm, and being careful with the groin injury. It is feeling much better however, and I can't wait until I'm back to barbell squatting again!

Goblet Squats
45lbs x10
60lbs x8
70lbs x8
80lbs 5x5

Romanian Deadlift:
45lbs x10
95lbs x6
115lbs x6
135lbs x6
185lbs x6
--- Odd Glute/Hammy/Hip pain in my right leg during these. Shall have it checked out.

Reverse DB Lunges: (weight listed as total between two DBs)
60lbs x6/side
80lbs x6/side
100lbs x6 +2+2+2/side

Machine Calf Raises:
90lbs x6
180lbs x6
270lbs x6 +2+2+10

[Bassist-Dude]

B - Pulling Day:

Pretty good workout again today, but I did discover that I end up teabagging the bar every rep on T-bar rows. Oh the joys of being built like a hunny badger (short limbs, long torso )! Anyways, aside from some odd shoulder issues, everything went pretty well. I may experiment with exercise selection in the future, but this should do fine for now.


Assisted Pull-Ups:
BW-110lbs x10
BW-90lbs 2x10
BW-100lbs 1x10
The last few reps of my last two sets got pretty iffy. Will have to be more patient with progress here.

T-Bar Rows:
Bar x10
+25lbs x10
+50lbs x6
+62.5lbs x6
+75lbs x6
+85lbs x6 +2+2+2
As mentioned, I end up t-bagging the bar. I'll probably be finding an alternative to these soon!

DB Rows:
35lbs x6
45lbs x6
55lbs x6 +2+2+2

Face Pulls:
20lbs x10
30lbs x10
40lbs 4x10

DB Shrugs: (weight listed as total, not per db)
80lbs x10
110lbs x6
130lbs x6
150lbs x6 +2+2+2

[Bassist-Dude]

C - Press Day:

Awesome workout today, was surprised it went so well, as I'm not used to working out earlier in the day. Tri's are particularly fried, and it feels great.

Barbell Bench:
45lbs x20
95lbs x10
115lbs x8
135lbs x3
145lbs 3x5

DB Bench:
35lbs 2x15

Military Press:
45lbs x10
65lbs x6
85lbs x5
65lbs 3x3 --- Focusing on form for these, my right shoulder seems to drop too much when I fail.

Face-Pulls:
20lbs x10
30lbs x10
40lbs 4x10

Triceps Press Down:
20lbs x6
30lbs x6
40lbs x3 --- these were ugly, dropped back to 30lbs
30lbs x6 +2+2+2

[Bassist-Dude]

A - Squat Day:

Skipped my deadlift workout last Friday, because I have one ridiculously tight hamstring (20 degrees less flexion at the hip than my other, and the other side isn't great to begin with!), so I'm nixing all hinging work until I see my physiotherapist.

Anyways, pretty decent workout today. Tried out Weighted Glute Bridges today, went pretty well aside from my lower back getting really tight towards the end. Will have to figure out why.

Goblet Squat:
35lbs x10
45lbs x8
60lbs x5
75lbs x3
85lbs 5x5

Glute Bridges:
Unweighted x10
45lbs x10
67lbs x8
87lbs 2x8

Leg Press:
No plates x20
2 plates (90lbs) x12
3 plates (180lbs) x12
4 plates (270lbs) x12
5 plates (360lbs) 3x10

Plank:
2 minutes 30 seconds. This was part of the fitness assessment hw for a class I'm taking. Otherwise I would've done something different.

[Bassist-Dude]

B - Pull Day:

Solid workout today. Have been drinking a lot more water (part of a school assignment, have to log that and a few other variables over the semester), and it seems to be helping at least a little bit.

Assisted Pull-Ups:
BW -150lbs x10
BW -130lbs x10
BW -110lbs x10
BW -100lbs 3x10

Barbell Rows:
45lbs x20
95lbs x6
115lbs x6
135lbs x6 +2+2+2

DB Rows:
35lbs x6
45lbs x6
55lbs x6 +2+2+2

Face Pulls:
20lbs x12
30lbs x10
40lbs 4x10

Side Planks: (Same reason I did planks yesterday. Though I had a fair bit more trouble with these)
1 rep/side
Left: 65 seconds
Right: 60 seconds

[Bassist-Dude]

C - Push Day:

Solid workout today. Tried out Rear Delt Flyes and they seemed to go pretty well. Will be adding them in for future workouts.

Bench:
45lbs x20
65lbs x8
95lbs x8
115lbs x5
135lbs x5
145lbs x3
155lbs 3x5

DB Bench:
40lbs x15
40lbs x13

OH Press:
40lbs x8
60lbs x8
70lbs x6 +2+2+2

Face Pulls:
25lbs x10
35lbs x10
45lbs x8
50lbs 4x10

Cable RDFs:
20lbs x12
50lbs x6
30lbs 4x8

[Bassist-Dude]

A - Squat Day:

5 more pounds on my Goblet squat, and I finally found my groove again. Absolutely stoked to get back to Barbell Front and Back Squats. Also, I've been skipping Deadlift/P-Chain day because of a hamstring issue, so I think I might just double up on my Squat day until that's resolved. It's that or a cardio day, but that might just kill me :P

Goblet Squats:
40lbs x10
50lbs x8
60lbs x5
70lbs x3
80lbs x1
90lbs 5x5

Alternating Reverse DB Lunges:
70lbs x6/side
90lbs x6/side
110lbs x6 +2+2+2/side

Calf Raises:
90lbs x6
180lbs x6
270lbs x6
320lbs x6 +2+2+2

Side Planks:
One per side, 45s each.

[Bassist-Dude]

B - Pull Day:

Added some extra stuff in today, because I felt like I needed some extra vertical pulling work. Seemed to go pretty well, shall keep experimenting with that.

Assisted Pull-Ups:
-150lbs x10
-130lbs x8
-110lbs x5
-90lbs 3x10

Lat Pull Down Machine:
80lbs x10
100lbs 3x8

Barbell Rows:
45lbs x10
95lbs x6
115lbs x6
135lbs x6
145lbs x6 +2+2+2

DB Rows:
30lbs x6
40lbs x6
50lbs x6
60lbs x6 +2+2+2

Cable RDFs:
30lbs/side x10
40lbs/side 3x8

[Bassist-Dude]

C - Press Day:

C-c-c-combobreaker! Shoulders had started acting up over the past three days or so, but I figured I could still get away with benching as I hadn't had any significant problems in previous workouts. As it turns out, I was wrong. Worked up to 155lbs x2 during my warm-up, and felt fine strenght-wise, but the shoulders were just not feeling it. Decided to call it there and save putting any extra stress on them. Skipped OH Presses entirely, as well. Oddly enough, my shoulders felt fine when I tried push-ups at the end of my workout. My right arm does seem to track differently, however.

Bench:
45lbs x10
95lbs x8
115lbs x6
135lbs x4
155lbs x2

DB Bench:
35lbs 2x20

Cable RDFs:
20lbs x10
40lbs x8, x10, x12

Face-pulls:
20lbs x10
30lbs x8
40lbs 4x10

Push-ups:
3x8

[Bassist-Dude]

A - Squat Day:

Was pretty time restricted today, and haven't been feeling 100% recently, so I cut this workout (really) short. Still got a 5lbs PR on Goblet Squats, however! Mathematically, I'm nearly one third of the way to my goal!

Goblet Squats:
45lbs x8
55lbs x8
65lbs x6
75lbs x4
85lbs x2
95lbs 5x5

[Bassist-Dude]

A - Squat Day:

Back in the gym after a two week break (Slightly sick, reading break sleep coma, and surprise midterms attack :P) and does it ever feel great! It probably wasn't the most effective deload week, but I've got to make note of how I always feel a ton better and even seem to look a bit bigger whenever I accidentally take these deloads/breaks.

As for the workout itself, I was stoked today, and things went accordingly well!
Switched over to Front Squats from Goblet Squats, as I had reached 100lbs 5x5 and the barbell racks at the two gyms I go to don't get much higher than that. Was also a gut feeling thing, and those have worked for me in the past. I got extra stoked when I found I could Front Squat (more or less) ATG without any pain in my hips/groin/back. This is a darn good sign!
I was also able to do RDLs again after doing a bit of rolling for my hamstrings/quads. They felt infinitely better than they did before, moving really smoothly through the ROM, instead of glued-up, tight, and painful like they did before.

Front Squats:
45lbs x10
65lbs x8
85lbs x6
95lbs x3
105lbs x1
115lbs 5x5

Romanian Deadlifts:
45lbs x8
65lbs x8
95lbs x6
115lbs x6
125lbs x6
135lbs x6 +2+2+2

Alternating DB Reverse Lunges:
80lbs x6/leg
100lbs x6 +2+2+2/leg

Machine Calf Raise:
90lbs x10
180lbs x8
270lbs x6 +2+2+10

[Bassist-Dude]

B - Pull Day:

Swapped out my usual Assisted Pull-ups for Lat Pull Downs as part of a testing assignment that I got in class today. Ended up going over and then under on my RMs (12, then 8 plus two forced reps), oh well! Rest of the workout went pretty well, but I've got to find some specific grip training exercises, as my grip is lacking.

Lat Pull Downs:
50lbs x5
80lbs x5
110lbs x12
130lbs x8 (+2)

Barbell Rows:
45lbs x10
95lbs x8
115lbs x6
125lbs x6
135lbs x6 +2+2+2

DB Rows:
40lbs x6
50lbs x6
60lbs x6 +2+2+2

Face Pulls:
20lbs x10
30lbs x10
40lbs x8
45lbs 4x8

DB Shrugs:
60lbs/hand x10
70lbs/hand 3x10

Barbell Holds:
145lbs x22 seconds, x15 seconds
95lbs x34 seconds

Assisted Chin-Up: Tried to focus on the Lats
-130lbs x8
-110lbs x7

Cardio:
2:45 minute run/fast jog.

[Bassist-Dude]

Z - Pull Day Number 2:

Seeing as most pressing movements are off limits until I can get my shoulders sorted out (Physio appointment on April 23rd... Hoping to get in sooner on a cancellation), I decided to have another pulling day, cause my back has been lagging anyways.

Assisted Pull-Ups
-130lbs x10
-110lbs x8
-100lbs x6
-80lbs 3x3
-130lbs x20

Inverted Rows:
1x5
3x8

Cable RDFs:
20lbs x10
40lbs 4x10

Cardio:
3x 2 minute runs

[Bassist-Dude]

D - Deadlift Day:

Experimented with the Hex Bar today, as I finally have access to one, and found it was rather awesome. It does feel like more of a cross between Squats and Deadlifts, more than purely one or the other, and I feel a significant amount of work being done by my quads, particularly in the VMO. Since my VMOs are definitely a weak spot/lagging area, I think I'll be sticking with Hex Bar Deads for a while while I gradually work myself back into regular deadlifts.

Hex Bar Deadlifts:
119lbs x10
139lbs x10
169lbs x6
189lbs x3
209lbs 5x5

Ab Wheel Rollouts:
2x5

[Bassist-Dude]

A - Squat Day:

Great workout today. Squats are feeling good, only a few things left to work out, and a couple things to ask my physio about the next time I see him.
Hit a rep PR on my last set of front squats, went for 10 instead of 5 because I had more in the tank. Felt pretty great after.
I experimented with doing calf presses in the leg press, and I think I'll continue down this route for a while. I get a really strong stretch whilst doing them, so I'll see how that goes.

Front Squats:
45lbs x10
75lbs x8
95lbs x6
105lbs x3
115lbs x1
125lbs 4x5, 1x10

Romanian Deadlifts:
45lbs x10
95lbs x8
115lbs x6
135lbs x6
155lbs x6
170lbs x6 +2+2+2

Alternating Reverse Lunges:
80lbs x6/side
100lbs x6/side
110lbs x6/side

Machine Calf Press:
90lbs x20
180lbs x10
270lbs 5x10

Planks:
2x 60sec

[Bassist-Dude]

B - Pull Day: Repetition

Had a sick workout today, it seems my lats respond better to higher volume, so I'm going to experiment more with that in the future. Definitely got my first real lat pump today, felt great :P
On the recommendation of one of my kines profs, I also tried OH Pressing again as an alternative to benching, and it felt great. All the back work has made my pressing platform a whole lot more stable and solid, and my shoulders felt totally fine.

Assisted Pull-Ups:
-150lbs x10
-130lbs x10
-110lbs x8
-90lbs 2x8, 1x9
-120lbs x20

Inverted Rows:
bw 3x8

DB Rows:
40lbs x6
50lbs x6
60lbs x6 +2+2+2

Face-Pulls:
20lbs x10
30lbs x10
40lbs x10
50lbs 3x10

OH Press:
45lbs x10
65lbs x8
85lbs 5x5

[Bassist-Dude]

D - Deadlift Day:

This was an off day, for sure. A very, very off day. I don't know whether it's from playing pick-up basketball yesterday, or if I'm just not recovering very well in general, but I do know it sucks. Time to start trying to figure out what's up again, and hope a cancellation comes along soon for physio.

Trap Bar Deads:
119lbs x8
139lbs x6
169lbs x6
189lbs x5
209lbs x3

Eccentric Chin-Ups:
3 sets of 3, aiming for a 3+ second eccentric.

[Bassist-Dude]

A - Squat Day:

Took a day off yesterday, just to give my back (and the rest of me) some time to recover from last week's shenanigans. Result: 10lbs PR on Front Squat, and finally squatting 1 set of wheels again! Felt fantastic, cause everything after this point is a totally new PR for front squatting.

On a less positive note, my shoulders are being stupid, and even overhead pulling is out of the question now. I've yet to try horizontal pulling, but I'm hesitant to try anything until I have them checked out. Oddly enough, Cable RDFs felt fine.

Front Squats:
45lbs x10
65lbs x8
85lbs x6
105lbs x3
135lbs 5x5

Cable Pull Throughs:
15lbs x10
20lbs x10
25lbs x10
30lbs x8
35lbs x6

Calf Presses:
180lbs + Sled 3x12

Cable RDFs:
30lbs x10
40lbs 3x10