Hangar 18: The Journal of Bassist-Dude

[Bassist-Dude]

Back Under the Bar: Squat Day

Can't speak on the rest of the program, but it's feeling like the Squat day is pretty well laid out for my goals. Feels awesome to be seeing form or strength improvements every workout, again.

Squat:
135lbs x10
155lbs x6
185lbs 3x5
135lbs x10

Barbell Alternating Lunges:
Bar 2x12

Good Mornings:
90lbs 3x8

Calf Raises:
100lbs 2x20

(Pull-up Work)
*Skipped Negative chins because of a shoulder issue, should be cleared up sooner rather than later*

Barbell Rows:
70lbs x10
105lbs x8
115lbs x6
95lbs x12

Wide Grip Pulldowns:
70lbs x12
90lbs x10
110lbs x8

[Bassist-Dude]

Back Under the Bar: Press Day

Did as much as I can with my shoulder being off a bit still. However, after putting more effort into rows/other back movements, my bench press form is feeling much improved. The shoulder issue also seems to be triggered by overhead or fly type movements, so I should be able to keep benching (carefully, at least) for now. As far as the programming goes, it doesn't feel like I'm doing enough, but I'm going to reserve judgement until I can give 100% on this workout.

Bench:
(forgot warm-up)
125lbs x5
115lbs 1x8 + 2x10

OH DB Press:
25lbs 1x8 + 1x6

DB Reverse Flies
8lbs 1x10 - had two more sets to do, but my shoulder wasn't feeling it.

Planks:
35 seconds x3

[Bassist-Dude]

Back Under the Bar: Deadlift Day

Deadlift form is taking a while to come back, but it should come around soon enough. I'm finding my back in general is a huge weak point, which I expected. Hopefully this program will address this, if not, I'll make a couple tweaks. My grip is another weakness, but that should come along as well, just have to be patient.

As far as the program goes, I think I'm going to drop front squatting until I'm back into the swing of things, as it might be too much after all the glue, ham, and low-back work. Arm hangs were also really challenging, which was pretty eye opening. Finally, I had to skip assisted pull-ups until I have a means of doing them. Just have to find or order some tension bands first.

Deadlift:
bar x10
135lbs x8
155lbs x5
165lbs x3
185lbs x3
200lbs 3x5
135lbs 1x8

Glute-Ham Raises:
no extra weight 3x8

Back Extensions:
25lbs 2x10

(Pull-up Work)
Flexed-arm hang:
4 x 15 seconds

DB Row:
35lbs x10
35lbs x8
35lbs x6

Farmer’s Walks:
45lbs/hand - 3 x distance (not sure, the gym's track isn't full size or marked off)

[Bassist-Dude]

Squat Focus Day - Monday

Good News - Bad News workout today. Good news is that my squat form continues to improve, I've figured out a more effective warm-up, and I was able to do lots of upper-back work as my shoulder is starting to feel a bit better. Bad news is that my SI joint feels out again, so my back tightened up real quick and I had to cut my squat workout real short.


Squat:
bar x8
135lbs x10
155lbs x8
175lbs x6
185lbs x1

Barbell Lunges
Bar 1x12
95lbs 2x6

Good Mornings:
95lbs 3x8

Calf Raises:
110lbs 2x20

(Pull-up Work)
Negative Chin-ups:
4 x 3

Barbell Row
95lbs x10
105lbs x8
115lbs x6
105lbs x12 - pretty rough reps on this set, form wise.

Wide Grip Pulldown
80lbs x12
100bs x10
120lbs x4/110bs x4 - This set was pretty much a gong-show, but also another lesson learned.

As a side note, the pull-up work is just killing my grip, which is awesome, as that is a weakness that I really want to bring up to par.

[Bassist-Dude]

Back Under the Bar: Pressing Day

My shoulder is feeling a lot better, but my chest/collarbone/upper back still feel out-of-whack. Oh well. On another note, my wrist strength seemed to fail long before my actual pressing strength did today. Anyone have any ideas on why that might have been? I also tried out face pulls today, and prefer them a ton to reverse flies, so they'll be switched in to the program.


Push-ups:
2x10

Bench:
bar x12
95lbs x10
105lbsx8
125lbs x3
135lbs 1x5
120lbs 1x10 - 1x8 - 1x6

DB Press:
25lbs/arm 2x8

Face Pulls:
27.5lbs 3x10 (cable machine has odd weigh stacks)

Planks:
3 x 60 seconds

[Bassist-Dude]

Back Under the Bar - Deadlift Day

Still haven't found a way to do assisted pull-ups at my gym yet, so I have to make sure I get to ordering some bands soon. I ended up subbing them out for pulldowns.. Other than that, this was a pretty good workout.


Deadlift:
bar x8
135lbs x5
155lbs x3
185lbs x1
195lbs 3x5

Glute-Ham Raises:
10lbs 3x8

Back Extensions:
25lbs 2x10

(Pull-up Work)
Flexed-arm hangs:
4 x 15 seconds

Lat Pulldowns
120lbs 2x8
110lbs 2x8

DB Rows
45lbs 1x10, 1x8, 1x6


Farmer’s Walks:
35lbs 4 x distance

[Bassist-Dude]

Back Under the Bar: Squat Day

Funny enough, I didn't actually get to do any squatting today. I managed to pull/strain/do something to my left hammy last night or so, and it was bothering me all day. No idea what it was, cause it was fine over the weekend and after my last WO. Oh well. I did get a chance to confirm a theory I've had, which is that my quads are lagging rather far behind my P-chain strength (unlike the usual other way around), due to not bending them much for almost 2 years (recurring knee tendinitis = a reluctance to do any sort of quad involved movement).

Leg Press: (Weights listed by plate total, no idea how much the sled weighs)
90 x12
180lbs 3x10

Calf Raises:
110lbs 3x20

(Pull-up Work)

Negative Chin-ups:
4 x 3

Barbell Row: (did these with a just-outside-shoulder-width underhand grip, and felt they were a lot more effective. Might experiment with overhand, but definitely not going to continue pulling with my bench spacing)
95lbs x10
115lbs x8
125lbs x6
115lbs x12

Wide Grip Pulldown
85lbs x12
100lbs x10
100lbs x8

[Bassist-Dude]

Back Under the Bar: Pressing Day

Not too much to note today, other than my bench felt fine this time around. I remembered an old cue I read a while back, "push your self into the bench/away from the bar" and it helped a ton with keeping the lats tight and I got quite a few more reps out of it.

Push-ups:
2x10

Bench:
bar x12
95lbs x10
115lbsx8
145lbs x5
120lbs 1x10 - 1x12
125lbs 1x10

DB Press:
30lbs/arm 2x8

Face Pulls:
32.5lbs 2x10
37.5lbs 1x10

[Bassist-Dude]

Back Under the Bar: Squat Day

Got my back fixed up, and rested over the Easter weekend. Result? Best squat session in months! Felt so good to break 200 today, without any pain or form issues. Won't be long till I'm making really progress again.

Squats:
45 x10
135lbs x8
155lbs x6
185lbs x4
205lbs x3
215lbs x3
225lbs x3

Leg Press: (weights by plate, no idea on sled)
90lbs x12
140lbs x16
160lbs x12

Good Mornings:
115lbs x8
105lbs 2x8

Single Leg Calf Raises:
40lbs /leg 2x20

[Bassist-Dude]

Back Under the Bar: Pressing Focus Day

Around the start of this week, I tweaked my right shoulder somehow while sleeping. It felt fine enough during warm ups and push-ups, but started giving me a bit of trouble on the benching. I did a couple tests at home (youtube learning ftw) and it doesn't seem like an impingement, but I'm not sure what else it could be. Feels like it's in the front of the shoulder, closer to the bicep than to the pec. Hopefully it'll be gone soon enough, or at least isn't a major problem, cause it didn't hurt at all last week.

Push-ups:
2x12

Bench:
Bar x12
100lbs x10
115lbs x8
135lbs x3
155lbs x3
-Stopped here, before the 3x10 sets

DB OH Press:
25lbs 2x8

Reverse Cable Flies:
15lbs 2x10

Face-pulls:
45lbs 3x10

Planks:
60s x3

[Bassist-Dude]

Back Under the Bar: Deadlift Day

Finally got a chance to get a pulling day in, and I decided to try out sumo deadlifts on a whim. Let me tell you, best impulse decision of my lifting career! With my short arms/legs and longer torso, the leverages for sumo felt a ton better than for regular. It also tore a couple layers of skin off my shins, so I've got a great case of deadlift shin now. Feels great to be getting back in the swing of things.

Deadlift:
Bar x10
135lbs x8
155lbs x5
185lbs x3
205lbs x1
215lbs 2x5
215lbs 1x10 (lost track of reps on this set, oh well )

Glute Ham Raises ssw/ DB Curls:
15lbs 3x8 - 20lbs /arm 2x8, 1x10

Back Extensions:
25lbs 2x10

[Bassist-Dude]

Back Under the Bar: Squat Day

Apparently, listening to impulses every now and again isn't a terrible idea! Decided to try out 5x5 for my work sets today, and it went great. I suppose it could even be called a Rep PR. It was also much easier than I expected, so it looks like my strength is starting to come back pretty quickly. Feels amazing to be getting back into the groove.

Squats:
Bar x12
135lbs x8
165lbs x6
185lbs x3
205lbs 4x5
205lbs 1x7

Good Mornings:
95lbs 1x8
115lbs 2x8

Single Leg Calf Raises:
45lbs /side 2x20

Farmer's Walks:
45lbs 3x distance (Have really gotta figure out how far I'm walking, sometime)

[Bassist-Dude]

Back Under the Bar: Deadlift Day

I've definitely got to get some shin guards or something. I love pulling sumo, but the knurling on the bar ends up directly where the skin is thinnest on my shins, and as hardcore as bleeding all over can be, it's really not the greatest in a public gym, nor do the scabs look very appealing
Also, it feels like my SI joint is out again. I've really gotta figure out why it keeps bugging me.

Deadlifts:
45lbs x10
135lbs x8
165lbs x5
185lbs x3
205lbs x1
210lbs x5
215lbs x5
220lbs x5

Glute Ham Raises:
15lbs 3x5

Barbell Rows:
95lbs x12
105lbs x8
115lbs 3x5

Face Pulls:
32.5lbs 2x10

[Off Road]

Lot of good quality heavy lifting. Keep it up.

[Bassist-Dude]

Lot of good quality heavy lifting. Keep it up.

Thanks! It feels great to be moving iron again, and without any goal to rush towards, like basketball season or some such interruption.

[Bassist-Dude]

Back Under the Bar: Squat Day

Really enjoying 5x5 for squats so far,but they've been pretty easy, so I'm gonna try adding 10lbs a week rather than 5. My SI joint is apparently still out of whack, even though it felt fine for my week off (school Grad retreat), definitely a reminder to finally get started on daily stretching and mobility work. Also switched up two things:
1) Going to do Reverse Alternating Lunges, which I found work way better for me than regular lunges.
2) Switched reps on calf training to 4x10, rather than 2x20. It let me focus more on not bouncing and getting a good, full ROM.

Squats:
Bar x10
135lbs x8
175lbs x6
190lbs x3
210lbs 5x5

Good Mornings:
135lbs 3x8

Reverse Alt. BB Lunges:
95lbs 1x8/leg

Single Leg Calf Raises:
45lbs /side 4x10

[Bassist-Dude]

Back Under the Bar: Pressing Day

Well, it's about time! I missed my last two pressing workouts, so it's been roughly two weeks (three if you count a lame workout before the missed ones) since I've done any sort of pressing. On the bright side, it was a great workout, and I pinpointed my shoulder/collarbone pain a bit better, should hopefully be able to get that sorted out soon.

Bench:
bar x12
95lbs x10
115lbs x8
125lbs x5
135lbs x1
145lbs x5
125lbs x10
125lbs x6

OH DB Press:
35lbs x5
25lbs 2x6

Reverse Cable Flies:
7.5lbs/side 4x10

Face Pulls:
32.5 x10
27.5 x10
27.5 x18

Planks:
3 x 60 seconds

[Bassist-Dude]

Back Under the Bar: Deadlift Day

I've solved my deadlift shin problem with soccer socks and 1/8th inch thick rubber strips, and as a result, had a great session today. Now I just have to tweak form a bit to prevent smashing the bar into my inner knee every rep, and I'm good to go. The home-made guards should work fine as a temporary solution, that's for sure. Other note: After reading up more on proper barbell rowing, I tried them out today and felt a huge difference from how I used to do them. I was already considering a significant increase in back training (Left lat is particularly lagging), so this is all the more encouraging towards taking that path. Hitting my biceps more (have barely trained them at all, really) and making them grow a bit more is a welcome side-effect as well!

Deadlift:
Bar x10
135lbs x8
165lbs x5
190lbs x3
210lbs x1
225lbs 3x5

Glute Ham Raise:
10lbs 3x8

Barbell Rows:
45lbs x12
65lbs x10
95lbs 4x8

Back Extensions:
No extra weight 2x10

[Bassist-Dude]

Back Under the Bar: Squat Day

Excellent workout today. My warm up went really well, and I ended up doing 5lbs more than the planned 220 I was going to use for squats. Felt awesome to finally be moving two plates again, and for a set PR too! I'm also loving reverse lunges, as they totally alleviate any knee pain I had with regular lunges.

Squats:
45lbs x10
135lbs x8
175lbs x6
195lbs x3
205lbs x1
225lbs 5x5 -- 2 set PR!

Alternating Reverse Lunges:
95lbs x8/leg
105lbs x8/leg
110lbs x8/leg

Good Mornings:
2x8 115lbs

Single Leg Calf Raises
45lbs 4x10/leg

[Off Road]

Big leg day. Congrats on the PR.

[Bassist-Dude]

Big leg day. Congrats on the PR.

Thanks! It's an awesome feeling to be making progress again.

Back Under the Bar: Pressing Day

Another good workout today. Fixed up a few issues with my bench form and saw an immediate difference, and also found a few weaknesses to work on (Upper body strength in general, but triceps and shoulders specifically). Will definitely play a part in the next program I move into.

Push-ups:
3x10

Bench:
bar x12
85lbs x12
100lbs x10
115lbs x8
135lbs x5
155lbs x4
125lbs x10
125lbs x7

DB Press:
25lbs x8
35lbs x5

Cable Reverse Flies:
10lbs x10/arm
15lbs 3x10/arm

Face Pulls:
25lbs x10
35lbs x10
45lbs 3x10

Chin-Ups:
bodyweight 2x3

[Bassist-Dude]

Back Under the Bar: Deadlift Day

Sumos are going pretty well, I just have to tweak my form a bit more to resolve the occasional bar-on-knee collision, alleviate as much shin-shaving as possible (Ripping off scars is getting old ). I've also gotta work on grip strength, as double-overhand was near-failure around the 4th rep of my second work set. Mixed grip worked fine after I switched over. Other than that, I had another awesome workout.

Deadlifts:
bar x10
135lbs x8
185lbs x5
205lbs x3
225lbs x1
235lbs 3x5

Glute-Ham Raises:
10lbs 3x8

Barbell Rows:
bar x10
95lbs x8
115lbs 3x5
135lbs x5

Lat Pull-Downs + Stability Ball Push-Ups:
100lbs 4x8 + bodyweight 4x10

DB Curls:
15lbs 2x10

[Bassist-Dude]

Today I Realized: I Need To Do More Cardio

The title pretty much says it all. After having done very little to no running since the end of basketball season (around mid-February or early March), my cardio is pretty much shot, as I found out today. Seeing as improving it can only help my lifts, as well as serve as a good way to do some active recovery, I've decided to start working on it at least once or twice a week with running and swimming. My short term running goal will be to ease myself into doing HIIT style training, while my swimming goals mostly revolve around relearning proper form (took swim lessons ages ago) and building up endurance.

Today I both swam and ran, just to get a feel for both.
In total, I jogged/ran 400m x3-4 with rests in between, and swam a total of around 800m, 100m at a time, with varying rest intervals.

Once I get the hang of all this, I'll start tweaking the rest intervals and distances to better suit my goals. Gotta start somewhere, though!

[Bassist-Dude]

Update

Well, today was the first quick trip to the gym in pretty much a full month. Life really seems to have a way of throwing things at you to keep you outta the gym! Grad, sick for a week and a half, house sitting, etc. Definitely should've done some stretching and such even if I couldn't lift, but oh well, another lesson learned!

Anyways, speaking of lessons learned: I've come to the conclusion that my back is severely lacking in strength, and that I also need/want to start getting good at bodyweight movements like pull-ups, pistol squats, and push-ups. Reason #1 being that they are obviously beneficial in a whole bunch of ways. Reason #2 is that I'm headed to Spain for about 3 weeks in August, and won't have any gym access! In order to minimize strength loss, and maybe even make progress in some areas, I figured I should learn a few basic bodyweight movements that I can do wherever I end up.

Finally, a summary of the quick, light workout I did today:

Squats:
Bar x8
95lbs x8
115lbs x8
135lbs x8

Scapular Retractions (Pull-up Grip):
3x10

DB Bench:
15lbs x10
25lbs x12

Pistol Squats:
(Started with a high box, worked down to just above parallel over three sets)
3x8 /leg

Chest Supported Row:
45lbs x8
90lbs x5

[Bassist-Dude]

Update II

Still not going to the gym consistently, have got to fix that to make the best use of my time before I'm off to Spain. Either way, this was another lighter-but-still-productive workout. I sharpened up my bench form a bit, and figured out what I was doing wrong with DB shoulder presses. I also discovered that my grip strength drops like you wouldn't believe after any sort of break, oh well, better to know than not.

Scapular Retractions:
4x10

Bench:
bar x12
95lbs x12
115lbs x10
135lbs 2x8
135lbs 1x6

Deadlift:
bar x10
135lbs 3x10

DB Shoulder Press:
20lbs x10
30lbs x8
35lbs x6

Pistol Squats:
(To parallel level box)
1x8 /leg