Sunday, July 26, 2015

Pull-ups, Deloads, and injuries 7/13 - 7/24



I didn't blog last Saturday because I was too frustrated with having reinjured myself.  The knots in the areas around my spine on the right side of my upper back, between my spine and scapula, and the shooting pain in my thoracic and cervical spine that sidelined me last year have returned.  Mercifully, they are not nearly to the degree they were last Fall, and I was able to work out this past week (only twice, though), but it is ever-present, and I am very nervous that one wrong move will sideline me all over again.  I can't afford the copious visits to a chiropractor and massage therapist that I fear I need - so we'll see how well I can self adjust.

After a brief deload, we tried adding in some OWU for Press, and ended up re-injuring myself! (Press was the culprit this time, as it was last time) So we are shelving the Overhead Press for a while.  To make sure to get at least some shoulder work in, we're trying 3 sets of the "Shoulder Shocker" on Wednesdays - this burns like crazy!  We'll be benching Mondays and Fridays every week (2x5 Bench plus 2xFailure w/Dumbbells on Mondays and 3x5 Bench on Fridays).



I got 405x5 on DL last week, (even though I said I wouldn't try for it... haha) which was very satisfying, but I only got 4 reps at 410 this past week.  Considering I have been preoccupied with my injury, I am not too disappointed with that.  I skipped the 12 rep set this past week and I will probably be dropping the 12 rep sets in the future... I am unsure.  If I deload on DL, I'll definitely be putting them back in.

Everything seems to be slowing and stalling, so it appears I am transitioning to a more intermediate type program at just the right time.  There are deloads coming, I am sure.

Hopefully this week will be an improvement.

Also note-worthy, my workout partner and I fixed the issue preventing us from doing pull-ups.  Pull-ups still hurt my shoulder, but it is nice to know we can do them if we wish.


7.13.15

Squat 295x5,5,6
Press 167.5x3,4,4
Chins +25x5,5,4; +40x2
FW w/80s


7.15.15

Squat 245x3
DL 405x5
Bench 3x240; 1x260; 230x5,6,4
Rows - SKIPPED
Pull-ups


7.17.15

Squat 300x5
Press 155x2; 180x2; 150x5,6,8 (Injury!)
Pull-ups
FW SKIPPED


7.21.15

Squat 300x5,5,5
Bench 240x3; 225x5,6,6
Rows 200x5,5,6
Chins +20x5,5,5; +35x3


7.24.15

Squat 305x5
DL 410x4; 345x0
Shoulder Shocker with 24/11/11
Chins +21x6,6,6; +35x3


Saturday, July 11, 2015

Chin-Ups, TX Method and Puke 7/6 - 7/11

Yup, you read that correctly - CHINS!  Chins have been steadily progressing for about a month now, and I am exceedingly pleased with it.  I have been improving quickly and adding weight regularly.


Today, I didn't eat a ton - I had a great breakfast but nothing else - and then just before my workout, without any lunch, I washed down all my vitamins with pre-workout... not a brilliant move on my part.  Got a heavy set of 5 squats under my belt, and then promptly threw up violently in my drive-way.  What?  Of course I went back to finish the workout... why would you even bother asking??

Still going strong with VooDoo Joint-Flossing like crazy, so we have been able to persist with Low-Bar Squats.  Monday Squats absolutely smashed me... I lost count on the last set and ended up doing seven reps and was wasted with exhaustion the rest of the day.  After that, Wednesday DL also smashed me.  By Friday, I was not ready to work out again -my body was sore, tight, and exhausted - so we waited until today.  So, two decisions come from that: 1, no more ten pound jumps for DL (which means next week I will NOT be going for 405x5), and 2, we are going to a Texas Method inspired plan for the Squat.  So, today we went up 5lbs and did 1 set of 5.  Then on Monday we'll stay at that weight, and do 3x5 (not 5x5, as TXM says to do - ain't nobody got time for that!).  Wednesdays we haven't been squatting, but now we'll do a light triple as a pre-DL warm-up.  Then, up 5lbs for another single set of 5 again on Friday.  Like I said - inspired.

Dumbbell Bench is still a ton of fun, and is improving.

Press is getting harder... micro-loading may not be enough, I am not sure.
We're adding Farmer Walks to Press days, and nixing Conditioning days for a while.


7.6.15

Squat 290x5,5,7
Bench 2x240; 1x255; 1x260; 227.5x6; 230x5
DB Bench 12, 11 w/80s
Rows (SKIPPED)
Chins +10x6,6; +25x4


7.8.15

DL 385x5; 335x12
Press 165x5,5,5
Chins +15x5,5,6; +35x3
FW w/80s


7.11.15

Squat 295x5
Bench 2x240; 1x255; 1x260; 230x5,5
DB Bench 13,12 w/80s
Rows 197.5x5,5,5
Chins +20x5,5,7; +35x4

Saturday, July 4, 2015

The Return of Low-Bar Back-Squat 6/29 - 7/4

Happy Independence Day!


We skipped another Saturday workout to maximize involvement in Fourth of July festivities.  As such, I won't spend much time on this post.

It suffices me to say that everything went well (for me) and we even got a workout of Low-Bar in with no additional elbow discomfort!!  My workout partner injured himself, but seems to be recovering quickly - he even got to LB squat with me yesterday, too!


6.29.15

Safety Squat 3x5@280
Press 3x5@160; 6x140
Chins +5x6,6,6,6; +20x3


7.1.15

DL 385x5; 325x12
Bench 2x240; 1x255; 3x5@225
Rows 3x5@195
Chins +5x7,4,5; +10x4 (30 sec) 3 (30 sec) 2 (30 sec) BWx2

7.3.15

LBBS 285x5,5,6
Press 3x5@162.5
Chins +10x5,5,5,5; +25x4 (30 sec) 1