I LOATH the Safety Squat Bar.

With my elbow issues, it has become necessary to continue to use the Safety Squat Bar for the foreseeable future.

I may try to go back to a regular bar on Monday, and just push my grip out to the collars, but I am not optimistic that it will be painless.

With how much more difficult it is to keep my upper back tight and my lower back arched or even neutral, and with how much more upright the SS Bar forces me to lift, the squat is MUCH more difficult.  I have never loved the Squat, but now I downright hate it.  I am going to keep doing it because refraining from squatting is NOT an option... but man oh man am I sick of tendinitis's effect on my workouts.

Everything went swimmingly - except maybe Chins.  I got every planned rep, but I am so sick of how slow (or non-existent) my progress is on that exercise.  It shouldn't be as hard as it was today.  I know I am always bloody exhausted by the time I get to chins, but the apparent complete lack of progress is ridiculously and incredibly frustrating.

High Pulls were hard - both because Saturday's workout was insane re: traps, and because I went up ten pounds rather than 5.  We'll probably stay at the same weight for next week.

The elbow feels about as close to painless as can be expected, but my right wrist started having some pain issues during the Bench.  Otherwise, I am pleased with the Bench workout - or, rather, I am as pleased as I can be considering how much strength I have lost over the last year and a half.


5.25.15

Safety Squat 1x300; 3x5@255; 10x215
Bench 2x1@230; 202.5x5,5,7; 10x170
Rows 170x5,5,6
Chins BW+2.5x5,5,5
High Pulls 3x3@145

Baby Cobra

I missed yesterday, so I did High Pulls & Farmer Walks today.  My Traps feel like gelatin - really painful gelatin.  Growing a cobra hood is going to be hard work... haha - as if the rest of this isn't, right?

It was a long workout - too long - since we crammed all of Friday's and some of Saturday's workout on the same day.  I used some pre-workout powder - I haven't done that in a long time - and the beta-alanine made my skin hot and tingly, which was exceedingly unpleasant.

Because of my elbow tendinitis, I used the Safety Squat bar today.  The high-bar type posture and the heavier, more awkward bar made squats a bear.  I was trying to be a hero by pretending the bar weighed the same as a standard 45lb bar, and got to "285" (really 300) and did a double which almost killed me (my planned OWU was 295x1).  I played the same game with the work-sets, (but only did 2, skipping the third) and the 10 rep set. I'll move the OWU and 10 repper up 5lbs for next workout, but I'll keep the work set the same since I didn't do three sets today.

Press went swimmingly, but my elbow started complaining by set 5.  Chins reset to BW+0, and that also went swimmingly.  I added in a couple sets of curls for good bicep measure.

We did 3x3@135 for High-pulls, which felt fine.  I need to start dropping the weight rather than catching it because it hurts my shoulders and aggravates my elbow.

Farmer Walks went much better than last time - I only had to stop on the way back on trip three.

5.23.15

Safety Squat 2x300; 2x5@275; 10x210

Press 132.5x5,5,5,5,6

Chins BW+0#x5,5,6

Curls

High Pulls 3x3@135

Farmer Walks 3x200' w/100# ea. hand

PG-13

Elbow Tendinitis is back in full force, and this is how I feel about it:

My left elbow was on fire throughout the whole workout, especially (obviously) during Bench.  I did get all the planned reps, though.  It felt good to keep strict form on Rows.  I'll probably reset Chins to just body weight - I have been kicking and squirming a lot to get those last few inches on too many reps.

Otherwise, I had a decent workout.  Too tired to really blog about it further, so here are the numbers:

5.20.15

DL 325x5,6

Bench 2x1@225; 200x5,5,6; 165x10

Rows 165x6,6,6

Chins BW+12.5#x5,5,5

COG

Positive and Negative

The Good:
I had a great workout. I felt strong, I got most of my planned weights, and have that "post-workout-high" feeling I love so much.
Squats: I got a good strong pause at the bottom of my OWU, knocked out my work-sets, and easily cleaned up with my 10 rep finale.  Press 5x5 felt a bit harder than I expected, but with a workout partner I don't rest between sets as much - sitting around suddenly feels awkward when I am not alone.  I went back down to 10lbs for Chins, but still barely got 3x5.  It is weird (read "irritating") how mercurial my chin-ups are.

I got my workout partner back for the rest of the Summer!  My former co-worker is back from school, and after not having a consistent workout partner for 2½ years, he is back and it feels like we have been working out together the whole time.

I tried a new exercise.  I did some light High Pulls to see how I like 'em.  Still too soon to tell, but if all the hype is even somewhat accurate, I am going to like how these beef up my yoke and shoulders.  I started with snatch grip, but that irritated my elbow so I narrowed to clean grip.  It was too light to really get a pump, but I am taking it slowly with the new exercise.  I don't really need it, I am just being vain, wanting to get a yoke going, so there is no real reason to push it faster than I am.  I'll add some more weight next week.  I'll probably just do them on Mondays.



The Bad:
In injured my wrist.  Last night, it just started hurting.  I don't remember what I did, but it hurts a lot.  I was afraid it'd hold me back from completing my workout, but I wasn't going to punk out on my first workout with a partner in forever, so I sucked it up.  Luckily, it didn't affect my performance to any really noticeable degree, but it still hurts a lot.

Left elbow Tendinitis is back!  It hurts, and I can tell it will only get worse if I don't get ahead of it.  It didn't hold me back today, but it seems like I am going to have to break out the safety squat bar, and/or move my hand position back out to the plates, and/or start joint flossing again.  I hate this crap!!


5.18.15

Squats 1x290; 3x5@245; 10x185
Press 130x5,5,5,5,6
Chins BW+10#x5,5,5
Curls
High Pulls 3x45, 75, 95, 115

Like Sands Through the Hourglass...

Last night's workout:

I was tired, it was late, and I don't care that hardcore people are shaking their heads at me for being a wuss - that is I wouldn't care if hardcore people actually read my blog.

I nailed squats, killed the bench press and then skipped everything else so I could spend some time with my bride.  My left shoulder, elbow, and wrist are hating me today, and I am a little concerned about how tomorrow's Press workout is going to go as a result, but my workout partner is back in town and there is no way I am missing our first session together in 2½ years!


5.16.15

Squats 1x290; 3x5@245; 10x185
Bench 2x1@227.5; 197.5x5,5,6; 10x160

"Slow and Steady..." or some such nonsense

(This is the only turtle/tortoise I want to emulate!)

YAY!  It is Deadlift Day!!

There is only one thing I tire of saying how much I love it less than Deadlifts, and that is my wife.  I am sure it is boring and inane for the 2 people who actually read my blog - but I can't stop saying it.

I continued with my foray into TWO work-sets each DL session.  This is my second set of 5+ @320lbs on the deadlift:

It still pains me inside that this much weight is so bloody heavy - but nothing can bring me down BECAUSE IT IS DEADLIFT DAY!!!!

The upper right side of my back is thankfully still not troubling me, but my left elbow started to have some discomfort, which I am exceedingly unhappy about.

I failed on Chins at 20lbs. again, but got closer.  I really want to get super strong on Chins because when I eventually build a Salmon Ladder, I don't want to embarrass myself on it.

I threw in some Curls and COG at the end for good measure.


5.14.15

DL 320x5,6
Press 127.5x5,5,5,5,6
Chins BW+20#x5,5,4,2; BWx5
Curls
COG

Feeling Strong

I felt great today.  I took my time, and enjoyed my workout.  I felt too tired to workout last night, which is a weak excuse, but I really am concerned about how my form breaks down when I am tired, and I decided that an extra day's rest was better than adjusting the weight to match my level of weariness.  I am glad I did because today's workout was AMAZING!

I wanted to get a video of my squat depth because I was off for so long that I forgot what correct depth "felt" like, so I wasn't sure if I was hitting it.  I always buried my squats (not quite ATG) so I don't know what I was worried about, but I needed the reassurance/confirmation anyway.

Since I had the camera out, I thought "why not film something worth filming?" and decided on a really "heavy" (at least for me right now) single. I chose 315 as a good high point, and went for it.
I neglected to film my first work-set at 235, but I got the next two.  I did not film my final set.

Bench felt pretty good.  Rows felt fine, but I feel like I am not doing them strictly enough - too much hip and back movement - so next session of Rows will be a substantial reset to work on form.

I put 20lbs on my dip belt and did chin-ups.  My plan is to go for 3x5, and if I fail (which I did, today), to finish the 15 reps in as many sets as it takes, then lower the weight until I can hit 25 total reps.  If I fail at the 3x15, then I repeat the weight the next chin-up session.



5.12.15

Squat 315x1; 3x5@235; 170x10
Bench 2x1@225; 3x5@195; 155x10
Rows 3x5@210
Chins BW+20#x5,4,4,1,1; BW+10#x4,3; BWx5

I also added some COG work at the end.

Sled Work gets an Upgrade!

Well, not that kind of dog sled.  THIS kind of dog sled.  I went online and bought 100 feet of rope, dug deep into my almost two decade old scout training and braided an eyelet into it, and made myself a pulling rope to add to the end of my sled work.  Me Gusta!

I crammed a lot into my workout today, doing a bit of a hybrid of a Friday and a Saturday workout.  I did all of Fridays and some of Saturdays.  It was great, but I have a feeling I am going to be dead tonight and tomorrow.  I am still not 100% over the illness I have been fighting for nigh on 2 weeks now.

I am still not certain how I am going to handle the 3 vs 4 day weeks... I guess the deciding factor will be what my workout partner can do with our schedules.  I am back to thinking I will do Squats, Bench, Rows and Chins Mondays and Fridays of every week, with DLs, Presses, Chins and Curls every Wednesday.

I jumped a bit up in weight and added an extra set to DLs, and it felt AMAZING.

Have I mentioned I love Deadlifts before?  Haha!  Yes??  WELL - I DO!!

I did a 5x5 on Press that felt fine.  Chins and Curls also felt fine.

I did 2 sets of Sled Pushes, following up each push immediately by Sled Rope Pulls.  Like I said: Me Gusta!

I ended my workout with some Farmer Walks.  I did 100lbs in each hand and had to put it down at the end of the sidewalk, half way on the return trip, and again with maybe 15 feet left.  I'll go down to 95 next time - looks like a ten pound jump while adding rope work was a bit too much since I want to be doing three trips and couldn't finish one without stopping.


5.9.15

DL 2x5@315
Press 5x5@125
Chins 3x15@BW+15#
Curls
Sled(103lbs) Push 100ft +45lbs Iron+30lbs kid
Sled(103lbs) Rope Pull 100ft +45lbs Iron+30lbs kid
Sled(103lbs) Push 100ft +45lbs Iron+40lbs kid
Sled(103lbs) Rope Pull 100ft +45lbs Iron+40lbs kid
Farmer Walks 200ft w/100lbs ea. hand (with three 5 second rests during set)

May the Fourth be with you - 2 days late.

Well, I didn't get to workout on Monday, so I didn't get to use this awesome pic from T-Nation's facebook page, but this is my blog, so I will use it anyway because #IDoWhatIWant.

I had a great workout today, and I feel great.  I haven't enjoyed a squat workout this much in quite some time.

Bench, rows and chins all felt pretty good, too.

I am changing up how I do chin-ups: I am adding weight and going for 3x5.  If I get 3x5 then I will add weight the next session.  If I do not get 3x5, I will keep doing sets until I hit 20 total reps and stay at that weight for the next workout.  Also, I am doing chins every workout (except Saturdays, obviously) rather than every other.


5.6.2015

Squat 1x250; 2x5@230; 2x10@165
Bench 2x1@222.5; 2x5@192.5; 1x12@145
Rows 3x5@205
Chins 3x5@BW+10

Post 184: Saturday Wrap-up

Well, I worked out yesterday, so I should log it.
I did some sled push-sprints and sled drags; I did 3 50 yard farmer walks with 90# in each hand (1 more 50yd trip than last week); and some crunches, leg raises, and stability ball plank pikes for abs.


5.2.15

Sled(103lbs) Push 100ft +90lbs of iron+30lbs of child
Backward Sled(103lbs) Drag 100ft +90lbs of iron+30lbs of child
Sled(103lbs) Push 200ft +90lbs of iron+40lbs of child
Farmer Walk 200ft w/90lbs ea. hand
Farmer Walk 200ft w/90lbs ea. hand
Farmer Walk 200feet w/90lbs ea. hand
20 Crunches
10 Leg Raises with 5 second static hold at the end
(no rest after leg raises)
5 Plank to Pike on a stability ball

Because of the sickness that pushed Wednesdays' workout to Thursday, I had to choose if I wanted to skip Sled/FW day and do Friday's workout.  The problem with that would be that, since I have chosen to do Bench every Monday and Friday so I am only doing Press once a week (until I am confident I am out of the woods with my injury), I would be benching Saturday and Monday with only one day's rest in between.

Perhaps it is not a good idea that I am doing this bench twice every week thing... it is inevitable that I will miss workouts here and there.  Perhaps, on weeks where I Press twice a week, I can just go light on one of the days, that way I can avoid this conundrum in the future...?  Who knows.

Sickness - Jag hatar dig

Nothing like a cold in April to make you miss a workout.  I can't stand how I can be relatively healthy throughout cold and flu season and then get my butt kicked in Spring!

Contrary to what Morpheus is saying above, Wednesday I was quite justified in spending all available time in bed wishing for death.

I am still hacking up my innards but I fit in a workout today.  It was a good one, as far as my workouts are going now-a-days.


4.30.15

DL 295x10
Press 120x5,5,6,8
Curls

I had 2 or 3 more in the tank on Deadlift, but I exercised (get it?) a little bit of discretion.
Press made the upper back area a bit uncomfortable, but I pushed through it with no real sign of complications or re-injury.

Monday Lost!

I am messing around with my amateur understanding of Post-activation potentiation (PAP) for Bench.  It is similar (really, the way I am using it, it is essentially the same) as the Over Warm-ups (OWU) I dabbled in a year or so ago.  I am also throwing in a little Stage Programming for a final set or two on both Squats and Bench.  It is kind of sad how quickly programming ADHD set back in, considering how little time I have been back to the iron.  Meh.  Oh well!


4.27.15

Squat 2x5@225; 2x10@155
Bench 2x1@220; 2x5@190; 10x135
Rows 3x5@195
Chins BWx5,6,7


Squats made my adductors feel weak and shaky.  I was at the perfect weight(s) for my first attempted "stage" programming.
Bench was pretty much perfect for the first two stages, but 135 was too easy... I hit 12 with some room to breathe.
Rows were just about right.
Chins were easier than expected.

Farmer Walks FTW

I got some sweet straps from Spud Inc. designed for farmer walks.  They are technically "traveling" FW handles, but since they cost significantly less than farmer walk handles/bars, and can hold (according to Rogue, who sells the exact same pair - not sure why Spud doesn't have this on their website) up to 300lbs each (I don't foresee myself needing that), I figured they'd be just fine for my non-traveling purposes as well.

It felt pretty great, my traps are already sore an hour later, my forearms are feeling weak and shaky and I am loving it.  Great purchase!

Deadlifts were easy; Press was easy; some discomfort in the area around my spine that I injured last October while doing Presses, but nothing that makes me too nervous, yet.



4.25.15

DL 280x8
Press 3x5@115
Curls
Farmer Walks 90# per hand

4.21.15

Not sure if I mentioned this or not, and I am too lazy to read my last couple of posts to find out.
I am surprised at how little strength I lost when doing my bent-over rows.

On squats, I tried a more traditionally narrow grip, really focusing on keeping my elbows and wrists in the proper position so as to not cause any joint issues.  It was uncomfortable in my shoulders, but my elbows were, mercifully, fine.

I went a bit more heavy than I had originally planned on both squat and bench, and was happy with the results.

4.21.15

Squat 5x45, 95, 135, 155; 1x185, 205; 5x225
Bench 10x45; 5x95, 135, 155, 185; 2x205; 1x225
Rows 3x5@190
Chins BWx5,5,6

I feel good.

Playing With Fire

I did a few sets of semi-heavy OHP (the straw that metaphorically broke this proverbial camel's literal back).  OHP was the workout that set off the major upper-back issues which had been threatening to detonate for so long prior to October, and which I have been battling with ever since.  Nothing TOO painful (Yet!  *knocks on wood*) but it was definitely uncomfortable.  I think I am going to try just doing press once a week every week and bench twice a week every week, rather than alternating.  I do NOT want to risk another pain riddled sabbatical.

Deadlift felt great and is STILL, by FAR my favorite exercise.

Elbow discomfort still lurks in the shadows, but nothing worth worrying about for now.

No numbers for now... I just want to keep consistent.  When I have something worth reporting, numbers-wise, I'll be sure to do so.

Because... "why not?"

It has been 29 days short of a year since I last updated my blog.

I can count on one hand the number of workouts I did between the middle of October and the beginning of March.

I have lost over 100# of strength on both my Deadlift and my Squat in that time.

I have battled injuries, and emotional and psychological (firefighting is all but eliminated as a possible future career option) set-backs in the last 6 months.

Today marks the second week in as many months where I worked out at least 4 times during the week, and the first time I think my body and schedule might allow me to maintain some semblance of consistency.

I recently found out that my former workout partner is moving back to town for the summer, and he has agreed to make the immense sacrifice of taking me up on my offer to work out with me in my garage/gym for free all summer.

In the spirit and tradition of this blog, I am setting a ridiculous and unrealistic goal of FINALLY hitting a 1200 Powerlifting Total at the Twin Ports Raw Open in 2016.  And, for the first time in many moons, my body's aches and pains are not laughing out loud at me for daring to hope.  They're just chortling under their breath and averting their eyes.

I am not sure why I am bothering to blog again.  I probably shouldn't waste my time - I should just do the workouts and let the last six lame months be my motivation... but I'll post this once and see if I come back.

Last Day of "Week" 2

Today was the first day I'd worked out this week, and it is Squat Day--the last day in week 2.  Obviously it took me longer than a week to do "week" 2, but it has been a bit crazy around here.

Added more weight to the sled, and it ended up being enough that I was wiped to the point where the sled lost momentum and I couldn't push through.  About ¾ of the way through the heaviest sprint, the sled just STOPPED.  I had a personal victory, though: I didn't quit.  I took a deep breath and kept at it, finishing the sprint.

Not sure if it was my imagination, but my gut felt less obstructive when I was doing sit-ups.


5.9.14

Squat 3x207.5, 235, 265
Rows 3x5@210
Cleans 135x2; 155x3, 3, 3
20 Sit-Ups, +25# Weighted Sled Sprint, 10 Toes to Bars,
+125# Weighted Sled Sprint, 20 Sit-Ups, +80# Weighted Sled Sprint


Keeping strict on my diet is getting harder--not easier.  I am more tempted to eat poorly and drink soda than I was a week ago.  Hopefully the cravings stop soon.

Another Late Night Bench Session

Another workout that spanned two calendar days.

Bench felt weak because it was so late and I was quite tired.  I didn't get out of work until 02:30 the night (morning) before, and had a 9½ hour shift that started at 09:45.  In my weary delirium I ended up making a math mistake that added 10 pounds to the bar on my last set, which was relief since I only got three reps, which was disappointing considering what I thought the weight was.  Coincidentally the weight I benched three times is next week's planned 1 rep set, so there is that.

I also did some Chins which turned out well.


5.3.14

Bench 3x165, 187.5, 212.5, 222.5
Chins BWx6; +13.75#x5, 5, 6 (followed immediately by 5 reps using the two red bands as assistance)

Week 2, Day 2

DLs felt great.  I banded all sets again, and it was tough.

Did some token squats.  Nothing big.

I found out that the sled weighs about 103 pounds.  Good to know.

Abs were much better this time around.


5.2.14

DL (Banded) 3x265, 305; 5x342.5
Squat 2x3@202.5
Abs/Sled:
20 Sit-Ups, +10# Sled Sprint, 10 Toes-to-Bars, +110# Sled Sprint
20 Sit-Ups, +110# Sled Sprint, 10 Toes-to-Bars, +55# Sled Sprint
20 Sit-Ups, +10# Sled Sprint, 10 Lying Leg Raises


I have eliminated soda, reduced sugar, stopped eating the more cholesterol laden items at work, added more water, vegetables, vitamins and omega 3s.  Hopefully with the conditioning, my body fat and cholesterol will go down.  I really need to avoid statins.

5/3/1 Week 2, Day 1

For my first two sets, I forgot I was supposed to be doing 3s.  Oh well.  More is better, right?

I am really starting to like the conditioning portions of my workout.  Lots of push-ups and sled sprints have been tough, but I can see how people get addicted to conditioning.

I got all the push-ups in with sets of 20, which is a huge improvement on last week.  For good measure, I did one more set of 10.

I increased sled weight, too.  On two runs my boys decided they wanted to take turns riding on the sled so that added more weight.


4.30.14

Press 5x115, 5x132.5, 6x147.5
Curls 10x25, 45; 5x65, 85, 95
20 Push-Ups, +10lb Sled Sprint, 20 Push-Ups, +110lb Sled Sprint
20 Push-Ups, +110lb* Sled Sprint, 20 Push-Ups, +75lb* Sled Sprint
20 Push-Ups, +10lb Sled Sprint, 10 Push-Ups

*Half Way through the sprint, my 30ish pound son hopped on.


I felt really good after the workout.  Heart rate got up to 170 during the sprints.