Hangar 18: The Journal of Bassist-Dude

[Bassist-Dude]

A - Squat Day:

Officially back in progress territory! 10lbs PR on Front Squats and Lunges today.
Swapped out RDLs for Cable Pull-throughs, as something is up with my right glute/hip on hinging movements.

Front Squats:
45lbs x10
95lbs x8
115lbs x6
125lbs x3
135lbs x1
145lbs 5x5

Cable Pull-Throughs:
20lbs x10
40lbs x10
60lbs x10
70lbs 3x10

Alternating DB Lunges:
80lbs x6/side
100lbs x6/side
120lbs x6 +2+2+2/side

[Bassist-Dude]

B - Vertical Pulling Day:

Great workout today, really hammered my forearms through all the pulling work. Chest/anterior/middle is out, but tricep push-downs seem to go pretty well, so I'm not entirely screwed for that. I might try skullcrushers sometime soon to see if they are a go as well.
Lastly, the laps I use for Farmer's Walks are around the indoor track at one of the gyms I go to. No idea how long it actually is.

Assisted Pull-Ups:
-150lbs x10
-130lbs x8
-110lbs x6
- 90lbs x3
- 80lbs 5x5
- 110lbs x20

Close Supinated Grip Pull Downs:
50lbs x10
80lbs x10
100lbs 2x10

Back Extensions:
3x10 (no weight)

Cable RDFs:
30lbs x10
50lbs 3x10

Tricep Press-downs:
20lbs x10
30lbs 3x10

Farmer's Walks:
1 lap
2/3 lap
1/3 lap

[Bassist-Dude]

C - Horizontal Pulling Day

Forgot to post this on thursday when I actually did the workout. Things went pretty well for an improvised workout, but I'm feeling like I need to jump on a proper program again soon.

Inverted Rows:
3x8 bw
3x3 bw, legs on high box

One-Arm T-Bar Rows:
bar x8
+10lbs x8
+20lbs x8
+30lbs 3x5

Seated Close Grip Rows:
*forgot warm-up*
90lbs 3x12

Farmer's Walk
45lbs/hand, 1 lap

[Bassist-Dude]

A - Squat Day:

The PRs continue! 10lbs on Front Squats and 20lbs on Reverse Lunges, and I'm RDL-ing again, to boot! Cut this workout a bit short due to time/the fact I have a midterm I need to study for, but I went all out on the movements I did use. I also think I dulled some of the nerve endings in my thumbs, hook-grip ftw.

Front Squats:
45lbs x10
95lbs x8
115lbs x6
135lbs x3
155lbs 5x5

Romanian Deadlifts:
45lbs x10
95lbs x6
115lbs x6
135lbs x6
155lbs x6
175lbs x6 +2+2+2

Alternating DB Reverse Lunges:
80lbs x6/side
100lbs x6/side
140lbs x6 +2+2+2/side

[Bassist-Dude]

B - Vertical Pulling Day

Not terrible workout, but also not great. Woke up with pain in my right shoulder, which seemed fine after warming up, but it seemed to be irritated on some pull-up reps. The shifting/clicking going on in (what I think is) my right AC joint also isn't getting any better, and I'm not sure if it's getting worse. It's a bit disconcerting either way.

On the bright side, 1 lap PR on Farmer's Walks!

Assisted Pull-Ups:
140lbs x10
120lbs x8
90lbs x6
70lbs x5
80lbs 3x5
(these last four sets ranged from solid to pretty iffy)

Close Supinated Grip Pulldowns:
70lbs x10
90lbs 3x10

Wide Grip Pulldowns:
60lbs x10
90lbs x8
110lbs x6

Tricep Press Downs:
20lbs x10
40lbs 3x8

Farmer's Walks:
2 laps - 45lbs/hand

[Bassist-Dude]

D is for Deadlifts!

Listening to gut instinct pays off again! I felt the need to try deadlifts again today, and man did it pay off. I didn't really move too much weight, but it doesn't feel like I've lost too much strength either, considering it's been ages since I've done conventional deadlifts (somewhere around 6+ months).

Deadlifts:
45lbs x10
60-something x8 (odd bumper plates)
135lbs x5
155lbs x5
185lbs x5
205lbs 3x5

Seated High Rows:
40lbs 2x10
60lbs x10
80lbs 3x10

[Bassist-Dude]

A - Squat Day: (Monday)

Another 10lbs added to my Front Squat, and I'm slowly getting my RDL back up to where it used to be. Cut out there rest of my workout to play basketball with some friends.

Front Squats:
45lbs x10
95lbs x8
115lbs x6
135lbs x3
155lbs x1
165lbs 5x5

RDLs:
45lbs x10
95lbs x8
115lbs x6
145lbs x6
165lbs x6
180lbs x6 +2+2+2

B - Pull Day: (Tuesday)

Pretty sick workout this time, lifted with a buddy of mine for the first time. He's a lot stronger that I am, so it was cool to push myself a bit harder/try new methods. Form wasn't totally thrown out the window, but a little bit of body english never killed anyone. Was actually kind of refreshing to stop being a form perfectionist for once and just see how much weight I could get myself to move (still safely, of course).

Barbell Rows:
95lbs x12
135lbs x12
155lbs 3x8
155lbs 1x15
135lbs 1x21

Assisted Pull-ups:
-130lbs x10
-110lbs x10
-90lbs x10
-80lbs 4x5
-70lbs 1x5

Lat-Pulldown---DB Row Super Set:
90lbs x10 + 65lbs x6/side
100lbs x10 + 65lbs x6/side
110lbs x10 + 65lbs x6/side

Cable RDFs:
50lbs 3x8

[Bassist-Dude]

A - Squat Day:

The progress streak continues! Another 10lbs increase on my Front Squat, and things (outside my upper right back and shoulder) are feeling pretty good. I do seem to be burning out a bit on my self-written program, so I'm thinking it'll soon be time for me to find something else to implement. On the upside, what I'm doing now has definitely served its purpose, that being to get me back into the gym and Squatting and Deadlifting again.

Front Squats:
45lbs x8
95lbs x8
135lbs x6
155lbs x3
175lbs 5x5

RDLs:
45lbs x10
135lbs x6
165lbs x6
185lbs x6 +2+2+2

Alternating Reverse DB Lunges:
100lbs x6 +2+2+2

[Bassist-Dude]

B - Pull Day:

Pretty decent workout today. I'm learning that I'm weakest at the top part of my pulls, particularly in pull-ups. Will have to find some movements to target that.

Inverted Rows:
legs on ground - 2x5
Low Box - 3x5

Assisted Pull-Ups:
-130lbs x8
-100lbs x6
-80lbs x3
-70lbs x5
-60lbs 3x5
The last three sets weren't perfect form, but also not terrible either. I had originally planned to stay at 70lbs of assistance, but the female fitness model who ended up working in with me switched it back to 60lbs after her set each time, and I didn't want to change it back

T-Bar Rows:
Bar +25lbs x10
Bar +50lbs x8
Bar +75lbs 3x8

Triceps Push-downs:
30lbs x10
40lbs 3x8

Assisted Neutral Grip Pull-Ups:
-150lbs x10
-100lbs 3x8

[Bassist-Dude]

A - Squat Day

The Good: Another 10lbs on my Front Squat! Form was solid for the first 3 sets, slightly iffy on the latter two. On the upside, all the rounding I feel is in the thoracic spine, rather than the lumbar.
The Bad: I felt like crap today, all sorts of dizzy and mentally "not there". Felt fine before getting to the gym, but after that it was a bit sketchy. Pushed through it anyways, but called it after squats. Time for a deload week!

Front Squats:
45lbs x8
95lbs x8
135lbs x6
155lbs x3
175lbs x1
185lbs 5x5

[Bassist-Dude]

Press Experimenting

Had my shoulders looked at and corrected as much as possible at the time on Monday, finished my last exam today, and hit the gym to see what pressing is like after essentially half a year off!

Discoveries:
1. All the back work I've done has definitely helped. It'll be even more important now that I'm pressing again.
2. I've changed my bench form so that I am able to tuck my elbows more (narrowed grip width and bringing the bar just inferior to my pecs), and am now using a thumbless (suicide!) grip. As a result, I actually feel pressing in the chest more, and get a considerable lat pump as well.
3. Shoulders feel considerably better using a thumbless grip, and far less stable when using a regular grip
4. Focusing on my low and mid traps helps my OH press
5. Arnold Presses don't bother my shoulders
6. I have a whole lot of strength to get back in my pecs, tris, and delts!

Will hopefully be getting some footage of my bench form soon for further evaluation.

All that's left is to see if my shoulders start acting up within the next day or three. Here's hoping they don't!

Bench:
45lbs x10
65lbs x10
95lbs x8
115lbs x6
135lbs 3x5

Barbell Press:
45lbs x10
65lbs x10
75lbs x6
85lbs x6

Arnold Presses:
20lbs x8
20lbs x10
20lbs x12

Pec Flyes:
20lbs 2x10
10lbs 1x12

[Bassist-Dude]

Push Day:

Pretty solid workout today, shoulders are feeling pretty good aside from a twinge here and there, and I should hopefully be able to work those out with a little bit of patience and research. Two other things I noticed:
1) I seem to "wing out" a lot to the left when I near failure on overhead pressing. I think it could either be a core stability issue, or subconscious compensation for a weaker left arm (put more of the body under it for increased stability and thereby enough strength to finish the lift, perhaps?). I might try some single-armed pressing to see if I can fix this.
2) I get an awesome lat pump from pressing work now. I love it

Bench:
45lbs x8
65lbs x8
85lbs x8
115lbs x8
125lbs 4x8

OH Press:
45lbs x10
75lbs x8
95lbs x6
95lbs x5

Cable Flyes:
10lbs/side x10
20lbs/side 3x10

Dumbbell RDFs:
10lbs/side x8
15lbs/side 3x8

Arnold Press:
20lbs x10
25lbs x10
30lbs x8

Scapular Retractions SS/W Band Pull-Aparts:
3x5 / 3x12 (Light Band)

[Bassist-Dude]

Deadlift Day:

Was feeling sick for some reason during warm-up and deadlifts, so I took it easy and decided to focus more on form. One of the strength coaches even pointed out that I'm hyper-extending at lockout, which is something I wouldn't have caught otherwise, so I was thankful for that. I definitely have a lot of form work and practice to do after being away from deadlifts for such a long time.
Felt better after deadlifts, so I got back into the swing of things for the rest of the workout. Also did Box Squats for the first time in quite a while, and they felt bloody awesome! Cannot wait to get back to full back squats.

Deadlifts:
(Sumo) 89lbs x10
(Conventional)
89lbs x10
135lbs x5
185lbs 3x5

Seated Rows:
50lbs x10-10-10 (Switched grip every ten, took roughly 10seconds rest in between grip changes)
70lbs x10
90lbs 3x10

Box Squats - Parallel:
45lbs x10
95lbs x8
135lbs x6
185lbs 5x3

Lat Pull-Downs:
50lbs x10
80lbs x10
110lbs 4x10 + 50lbs Wide Grip x10 immediately after

[Bassist-Dude]

(Very Brief) Leg Day:

First day of my summer class/semester, so I got my gym pass renewed and went for a workout, only to realize I left my program, warm-up routine, and headphones at home. It was also surprisingly warm/busy in the gym, so I cut this workout really short. On the upside, it was probably a good idea, rather than jumping back into things after taking 2 weeks off for exams.

Goblet Squats:
45lbs x8
65lbs x8
75lbs 3x8

Good Mornings:
45lbs x10
95lbs x8
115lbs 3x8 - Did a single chin-up before the start of each work set. Was pleasantly surprised that I could, as the last time I was able, I was 20lbs lighter.

[Bassist-Dude]

Bench Day:

Great workout today, and I had my training partner get a video of my bench press form that turned out really well. Hopefully I have that up on youtube soon for further review.

Bench:
45lbs x8
65lbs x6
105lbs x8
115lbs x8
135lbs x8
145lbs x8
115lbs x12

OH Press:
45lbs x10
75lbs x6
95lbs 2x6

DB RDFs superset/w Squeeze Presses:
20lbs x10 / 20lbs x10
20lbs x10 / 30lbs x10
20lbs x10 / 40lbs x10

Inverted Rows:
Knees Bent x6, 8, 10

Arnold Presses:
30lbs/side x13
30lbs/side x8

[Bassist-Dude]

Deadlift Day:

Awesome workout today, for which partial credit is due to finding a new old pair of earbuds that actually work. Gotta have the tunes
On another note, returning to deadlifts and box squats has been awesome. My old strength is coming back fairly quickly, and it feels great.

Deadlifts:
45lbs x10
135lbs x5
185lbs x3
205lbs x1
225lbs x5

Seated Cable Rows:
50lbs x10
70lbs x12
100lbs 4x10

Box Squats - Parallel:
45lbs x3
135lbs x3
185lbs x3
205lbs 4x3
225lbs x5

Supinated Grip Lat Pull-Downs:
80lbs x10
110lbs x10
120lbs 3x10
(Switch to wide pronated grip right after)
60lbs x10

[Bassist-Dude]

Squat Day:

Pretty solid workout today, back to front squatting after a 3 week break (or somewhere around that), and I tried out Split Squats today and enjoyed them significantly more than lunges. I do need to figure out my workout day nutrition however, now that I'm working on following LeanGains IF.

Front Squats:
45lbs x10
95lbs x8
135lbs x6
155lbs x3
165lbs 5x5

RDLs:
45lbs x10
135lbs x8
155lbs x8
175lbs 3x8

Split Squats:
50lbs 4x6 /leg

Seated Calf Raise:
90lbs 3x12

[Bassist-Dude]

Press Day:

Left shoulder has been bothering me a bit recently, and was a bit of a nuisance during my bench sets, but it felt fine for everything else. Will try resting it and doing some stretching/recovery work and see how it goes. Everything else went pretty well, and I made a 10lbs gain on my OH presses.

Bench:
45lbs x8
95lbs x8
115lbs x6
125lbs 3x8

Overhead Press:
45lbs x10
75lbs x6
95lbs x3
105lbs 1x6, 1x7

Inverted Rows:
Knees Bent, BW - 2x12, 1x15

DB RDFs ss/w Squeeze Press:
15lbs* 4x10 / 35lbs* 4x10
*Per hand. Also used a slow (about 3-4 count) eccentric on the Squeeze Presses.

Arnold Presses:
20lbs/hand x15

[Bassist-Dude]

Press Day:

Took 4 days off over May Long Weekend (would've been three if the gym close to my place wasn't closed on Monday), which turned out to be a good thing. Shoulders felt fine, my nagging cold is gone, and I hit some solid PRs!
- Another 10lbs added to my OH press
- and 135lbs 5x5 on bench.

OH pressing is beginning to feel really good. Far better than it did before my break, and I believe that is due to all of the back work I did while I was unable to press. Everything feels a whole lot more stable and solid than it did previously. And the huge lat pump I get from pressing is always nice, too :P
Benching is still a work in progress, but it's also better than it was before.


Bench:
45lbs x12
95lbs x10
115lbs x8
135lbs 5x5

OH Press:
45lbs x10
75lbs x8
95lbs x6
115lbs 2x6

Inverted Rows:
Small Box, legs straight - 3x5

DB RDFs ss/w Squeeze Presses:
15lbs 3x10 / 40lbs x10, 35lbs x7, 30lbs x10

Arnold Presses:
15lbs/side 3x12

[Bassist-Dude]

Deadlift Day:

Well, today was not much of a deadlift day... But it was one hell of a Squat PR day!
Deadlifts went decently, but my grip was just not there today for whatever reason. My form also needs work, as I feel I'm rounding my lumbar spine too much.

Box Squats, on the other hand, were beyond legit. I started off with a regular warm up, and got up to two plates for 3 sets of 3, and found that I wasn't tired in the slightest. I ended up continuing to add weight up until I hit 315lbs x3! Absolutely crushed my old Box Squat PR (225lbs x5). The feeling after was incredible.

On a side note, I experimented with Kroc Rows a little bit, and think I shall be including them in my programming from now on.

Deadlifts:
45lbs x10
135lbs x5
185lbs x5
225lbs x3
235lbs x1
245lbs x4

Seated Rows:
80lbs x10
100lbs x10
110lbs 4x10 --- Focused on a slow eccentric

Parallel Box Squats:
45lbs x8
135lbs x5
185lbs x5
225lbs 3x3
245lbs x3
285lbs x3
305lbs x1
315lbs x3 --- Massive PR!

(Sorta) Kroc Rows:
50lbs x15, x10 /side

[Bassist-Dude]

Squat Day:

Great workout today, and I found that Split Squats with short rest periods results in a ridiculous leg pump, even more so than the ones I've gotten from 20 Rep Squats. I couldn't walk properly for a solid 20-30 minutes after finishing my last set. Tomorrow and the day after might be interesting, DOMS wise

Front Squats:
45lbs x10
95lbs x8
135lbs x6
155lbs x3
170lbs x1
185lbs 5x5

Romanian Deadlifts:
45lbs x10
135lbs x10
165lbs 3x8

DB Split Squats:
25lbs/hand 3x10/leg with ~60 seconds rest

Calf Press:
80lbs x12
100lbs x10
120lbs x10
160lbs x10
200lbs 3x12 - 30 seconds rest.

[Bassist-Dude]

Bench Day:

Great workout today.
Bench sets felt really easy, so I focused on a slow and controlled eccentric, then exploding on the concentric.
Didn't quite get the 2x6 on OH Presses that I wanted (might've been a problem with my warm up), but it's still a solid PR, as my previous 1RM was 135lbs, and I'm only 10lbs off of that now.
All the assistance exercises went really well, got a ridiculous pump and am slowly adding weight to them as well.

Bench Press:
45lbs x12
95lbs x10
115lbs x8
135lbs 5x5

OH Press:
45lbs x10
95lbs x8
115lbs x6
125lbs x5, x4

DB RDFs ss/w Squeeze Press:
15lbs 3x10 / 40lbs 3x10
15lbs 1x10 / 30lbs 1x16

Inverted Rows:
BW, knees bent x20 - fast and explosive
BW, knees bent 2x6 - held for 3 count at the top

Arnold Presses:
20lbs x12
25lbs x12
30lbs x9

[Bassist-Dude]

Squat Day:

On a roll! Another huge PR today, 225lbs x3 on Front Squats. Previous highest weight was 185 by 5x5. Felt absolutely awesome, particularly when I realized I couldn't squat anything at all (due to injury) about 8 months ago, and I got this PR with zero pain.

Front Squats:
45lbs x10
95lbs x8
135lbs x6
165lbs x3
185lbs x3
205lbs x1
225lbs x3
135lbs 2x10

+ 3 Neutral grip chin-ups

Romanian Deadlifts:
45lbs x10
135lbs x8
175lbs 3x8

+ 3 Neutral grip chin-ups

Calf Press:
80lbs x12
100lbs 5x10 w/ 30s rest.

[Bassist-Dude]

Press Day:

Pretty solid workout today, even with a lack of sleep and far more energy expenditure and (mostly positive) stress than usual (starting a warehouse job, shifts start at 6-6:30am, which has me up around 5).

Anyways, I experimented with incorporating a slow, controlled eccentric and pause at the bottom with my bench. It's far different from what I'm used to, and it looks like I'll have to drop the weight a bit to get a proper pause, but I liked it a lot more than my previous mid-speed touch and go (no bounce, of course).

The two big lifts (Bench, OH Press) also felt rather slow and "stuck" or sticky, which I attribute to the accumulation of fatigue over the week. Depending on how I feel by Friday, next week will likely be a deload (which is great, as I always seem to come out bigger and stronger after an easier week).

Bench:
45lbs x10
95lbs x8
115lbs x5
135lbs x3
145lbs 3x5 - pause got rather short for some of these reps, but still just enough to qualify

OH Press:
45lbs x10
75lbs x8
95lbs x6
115lbs 3x3

DB RDFs ss/w Squeeze Presses:
15lbs x10 / 40lbs x10
15lbs 2x10 / 45lbs 2x10
15lbs 1x10 / 30lbs x20

Face-Pulls
20lbs x10
40lbs x10
60lbs 4x10

Arnold Presses:
30lbs/hand 2x10

[Bassist-Dude]

Deadlift Day:

Great workout today, perfect to end the week on before going on a deload. Deadlifts went much better than last time, and I switched up my form on rows and found that the new method hit my back much, much better. Also ended up super-setting pull-downs with my working sets on box squats, which turned out fairly well.

Deadlifts:
45lbs x10
135lbs x5
185lbs x3
205lbs x3
225lbs x1
235lbs x5

Barbell Rows:
45lbs x10
95lbs x8
145lbs 2x8, 1x10

Box Squats:
45lbs x3
135lbs x3
185lbs x3
225lbs x3
255lbs x3
285lbs 5x3*

Lat Pull-Downs:
100lbs x10*
120lbs 3x10*
(*done after each working set of squats)

Kroc Rows:
40lbs x20, x22 /side