Cardinal's Training Log

[Cardinal]

I began seriously strength training in early September of this past year. Over the past few months, I have made some costly mistakes including an ill advised and ineffectual cutting cycle over the holidays leaving me relatively weak.

By starting this training journal, I hope to circumvent making some of the same mistakes again.

My interest right now is in Dinosaur Training and my workout routines will reflect this. I will post a log of my workouts starting either tomorrow or Sunday with explanations where appropriate. All insight is welcome.

Cardinal

[Cardinal]

Rock Bottom Squats (Felt solid once I remembered to spread the floor apart) 195 lbs, 3 Sets of 4. 205 lbs, 1 Set of 2
Incline Bench Press (Arms a little shaky, but weight was easy)
185 lbs X 5,4,3
Partial SLDL From Pins Set At Mid-Shin Level
285 lbs X 6, 295 lbs X 5,5
JM Presses (Use 165-170 lbs next time)
145 lbs X 8 (Felt Very Light), 155 X 6 (Also very light)

12 Working Sets, All stopped 1 Rep shy of failure

[Deciever]

looks good...

whats your split look like?

[Cardinal]

I am aiming for three workouts per week, looking something like this:

Day I
Squat/Deadlift movement(s) (GM variation or SLDL)(Light Day)
Bench Press Movement (CG Bench, Incline, Flat, DB, Lockouts, Heavy Day)
Assistance For Tri's (Isolation movements 8-12 Reps, Compound 4-8 Reps Light)
Abdominal Work

Day II (Moderate Intensity)
Overhead Pressing Movement (Side Press, MP, DB Press, or Push Press)
Wide Grip Pullups/Chinups
Weighted Dips
Farmer's Walk
Calves

Day III
Experiment with Power Cleans as Warmup
Deadlifts (Sumo Deadlift, Heavy Partials, Hand and Thigh Lift Heavy Day)
T-Bar Rows
Bench Pressing Movement (Same movements as Day I) (Light)
Abdominal Work


+1-2 times per week- #1 COC Grippers

Aiming for 10-15 Working Sets per day, Varied Reps usually <=6, Rarely go to failure based on Pavel's reasoning.

Edit: Routine Revamped for 1st time of many

[Deciever]

definately an unconventional split... hope it works

[Cardinal]

Thanks, I am going to give it a shot. If you see any glaring problems with it, let me know. I am a little worried about going heavy on Squats and Deads in the same week, but my squat strength is rather weak, and it is not all that taxing right now.

I am interested in improving my overhead pressing ability and strengthening my grip, hence the extra movements. I am not training for a powerlifting competition, just strength training in general.

[Deciever]

since you are worried about squatting and deadlifting heavy each week.. vary the intensity of your deadlifts each week. Go heavy one week and light the next

[Cardinal]

Weighted Dips 45lbsX5. 55lbsX4. 50lbsX5
Weighted Neutral Narrow Grip Chins
BW+10 lbs X 3. BW X 5,5. BW+25 lbs X 1
Farmer's Walk 3 Times w/80 lb dumbbells.
Calf Work 3 Sets

Notes:Really liked doing this workout. Might keep this day of the routine intact.
Things I Learned Today: Its fine to do Farmer's Walk in a crowded gym. People doing knee pushups and 10 lb lunges move right out of your way.

[Cardinal]

Workout III

Started out today with Olympic Squats. Knee felt bad, possibly some kind of quad tendonitis. Been going on for months. Cessation of squats for 3 weeks did not help. So I decided to experiment with some new lifts. Tried hack lifts. Lifted 315 with bad form from bottom pins. Bar kept hitting my hamstrings. Need more practice. Rest of workout is as follows:

CG Bench Press 195X4, 190X4, 185X4
JM Press155X8
Arched Back GM - Worked up to a near max triple. First time these have ever felt good. Bent my knees a lot to keep the arch in my back and go as low as possible.
135X5, 155X4, 175X3, 185X3
Hanging Leg Raises 1 set of 10

Something funny always happens: Was warming up at the free squat rack, when I catch this girl eyeing me. I am thinking, cool maybe she thinks I am hot. Then I realized I had not removed the squat pad from the bar while warming up. I was like damn. So I toss it nonchalantly into the corner of the gym and she grabs it and proceeds to use it on the smith machine, doing lunges with 5 lbs on the bar. Anyway, I got a laugh out of it at least.

[lilmuscleman]

hehe, it'll happen someday :D how were the good mornings? have you ever tried doing em suspended

[Cardinal]

The Goodmornings went very well. I would love to suspend them from chains to eliminate the eccentric part of the lift.

Somehow I don't think me lugging heavy chains into my gym and performing surgery on the already fragile powerrack would go over so well. Plus they might get in the way of someone trying to do bicep curls. See my college gym is pretty far from being hardcore as you might have guessed. People already consider me odd in there b/c I do weighted dips with a whopping 45 lbs attached to my dip belt. Go figure.

I am a bit limited b/c I can't do a proper power squat in these racks (far too narrow base). It is a little tough to do GM's or any motion that requires movement in the forward plane b/c the racks are also just slightly longer than the diameter or a 45 lb plate. I think they were built for a small girl.

[Cardinal]

Workout IV (Including Warmups)

Military Press 95X5, 115X5, 135X4, 145X4, 140X4
Felt Much better not going quite to failure (Add 5 lbs next time)
Semester Goal: Hit 5 Reps with 165

Wide Grip Chins BW X 5, (BW+10) X 3,3,3
Note: Use straight pullup bar for wide grip pullups next time.

Farmer's Walk
85 lb. DB 3 Times (Having gym chalk helped, added at least 10 yards to my distance capability on set 1) Semester Goal: Walk same distance with 110 lb. DB
Seated Calf Work 1 Set, 12 45 lb plates, Countless Reps, not too useful. Find something else next time

[Cardinal]

Workout felt great today. Did some reading on Olympic styled squatting from JVA's site and gave his recommendations a shot. Knew there was something wrong when I was having trouble with 175X5 last workout. Here is how it went.

Squat 195X5,5. 205X5, 215X3

Partial DL's (~8-10 inch ROM) Worked up to a heavy single
135X1, 225X1, 275X2, 315X1, 365X1, 395X1.
Felt good learning to work with heavier weights. LOL, set the bar right at height of kneecap. Need to remember to go notch above or below next time.

Light Pressing session
2 sets CG Bench Warmup
3 sets Weighted Dips BWX5,BW+25X3,BW+35X3,BW+45X4

Hanging leg raises...need to get more serious about ab work next time. Calf work...same thing.

[Cardinal]

Today's workout went fairly smoothly.

Flat Bench 5X165, 4X185, 3X205, 2X215, 205X3
Need more frequent practice on the bench press. Arms felt shaky though the weight wasn't too much. I have added only a modicum of strength on this movement over the last few weeks. Something must change.

JM Presses 165 X 6, 155 X 7
Wide Grip Pullups BW X 4,4,3,3

Chest Supported Tbar Rows
1 set 2 plates X 5 , 1 set 2 plates + 25 lbs X 4 reps
Farmer's Walk 3 X with 85 lbs. I own this weight now. Time to move up.

[Cardinal]

I have given it a lot of thought, and I feel I need a lot more practice on some of the basic movements. I can't strengthen weaknesses very well that I don't even know I have.

So for now, I am going to Pavelize my routine a bit more. Rather than aiming for three workouts a week, I am going to shoot more for 4-5 relatively brief sessions maybe 12-15 sets per workout focusing on a couple primary movements.

I like what little I know about Ditillo's training philosophy and am going to see if I can get my hands on one of his books soon.

1 Incline Pressing movement and one Flat bench movement in twelve days simply isn't enough for me. I am going to learn to moderate my intensity to handle more volume. No reason I can't gradually increase my work capacity now.

[healthy n_fit]

Nice job!!! Thats one hell of a partial deadlift ;)

Keep it up dude. :) Youll total 1000 soon

[Cardinal]

Workout felt great today.

Limit Single in Sumo Deadlift (Raw, no belt)

135X5
225X4
275X2
295X2
345X1 (20 lb PR)
365X0 (Stalled 2-3 inches off the floor)
355X1 (30 lb PR!)

Sumo DL
295X3 (Too tired to pull more, so I backed off)
225X8...easy reps

Snatch Grip Deads (These are a lot of fun!)
135X10
185X5

GM's
135X5 slow and easy

[Antaeus]

Cardinal - very interesting strength routine. You have a 3 day split which incorporates a GPP-style movement (farmers) into one of them. Have you thought about a separate GPP day? I used to do plyometrics, farmers (GPP stuff), & preventative maintenance all on a separate day.

What are your stats? Age, wt, maxes, etc.

Where do you go to college? (u can PM me)

"I have given it a lot of thought, and I feel I need a lot more practice on some of the basic movements. I can't strengthen weaknesses very well that I don't even know I have."

Not to tootle the Westside horn too much, but one of its features is that it isolates and trains your weaknesses. The varying ME exercises focus on or exclude part of each of the big 3, and assistance is geared towards bringing up those lacks.

"Somehow I don't think me lugging heavy chains into my gym and performing surgery on the already fragile powerrack would go over so well."

Who the heck builds a 2 foot wide power rack?? Chains are very versatile - you can use them for countless exercises. I keep 2 sets in my gym locker.

Congrats on your recent PRs. :)

-Ant.

[Cardinal]

Originally posted by Antaeus
Cardinal - very interesting strength routine. You have a 3 day split which incorporates a GPP-style movement (farmers) into one of them. Have you thought about a separate GPP day? I used to do plyometrics, farmers (GPP stuff), & preventative maintenance all on a separate day.

Who the heck builds a 2 foot wide power rack??
Congrats on your recent PRs. :)

-Ant.

That is a good idea. I definitely plan to add a fourth day to my routine to help up the volume. If I can come up with enough ideas for GPP in my gym, I might make it exclusively that.

I think I know whats up with my powerrack. In order to make room for the bicep machines, pec decks, and the weightless pullup machines, they made the 2 powerracks smaller. It works fine for doing curls though :)

[Cardinal]

Military Press 95X5, 115X5,5. 150X3 (hard). 135X4,4,4
Standing Tricep Work 25'sX5,5. 30'sX5
Pushdowns X 3sets
Hanging Leg Raises 3 Sets
Side Press BarX6. 55X6,6. 60X6 (almost nailed someone in the head with this one. control, need to practice control)

Note: Wanted to do squats today, but knee felt like crap. Maybe the heavy DLing isn't helping it so much. Been reading some logs over at P & B. Some of them are pretty amazing. Need to check those more often.

[Cardinal]

Chest supported Tbar rows 90X5,5,5
Vbar Row 135X5

Squats: High bar OL Squats, Front Squats, Heavy Partials, Bottom Position Squats, Leg Press, Power Squat (wide stance)

Notes: Came to the gym mainly to do squats today. Knee felt bad on every rep. Gonna have to throw in the towel on squats for a while I think. Pavel feels one can develop incredible total body strength using only forms of Deadlifting and heavy Presses. I intend to prove him right!

[Deciever]

workouts looked good.. so how long are you goiung to take off from squats?

i'd at least do some type of light squats to keep your form..

btw, nice job on the deadlift..me and you are very close on that..

[healthy n_fit]

You'll get better soon. Remember what we talked abou in yesterday's chat. ;) Cya! And keep it up. BTW, you have an excellent Military Press.

[Cardinal]

Deceiver...I'll probably take three weeks off from squats of any kind and see how it feels. I may start back with an ultra wide power squat and narrow it as time progresses. That way I could train closer to Westside style and see progress with little to no pressure on the quad tendon.

Healthy...I'll see if I can construct a sled of some kind and try some of the various things you suggested. If it doesn't cause pain I mighted even go for a car push or something at some point.

[Cardinal]

CG Bench 185X4, 195X4, 195X3
Weighted Dips 35X4, 45X4, 45X4
DB Presses 50X5, 50X5, 55X4
HLR 1 set
Farmer's walk
Note: Should have added some low intensity Tate presses or JM presses. Add rack lockouts or floor press/regular bench for limit single next week at this time. Follow with CG bench. Might be better off just dropping the weighted dips all together. I feel like I am getting more out of various forms of CG benching.

[ballast]

Cardinal-Congrats on your training.Looks like it is going pretty well.I used to train Dino-style before switching to Westside about six months ago or so.I used quite a few of Kubik's ideas and I built a pretty good strength base as well as a high level of GPP.Keep up the good work.

[Antaeus]

Card - sorry to hear about your knee. Looks like your training is progressing nicely otherwise.

I usually do a CG press movement as my 2nd exercise, then an extension if I feel I need the extra work. Sometimes I'll do CG boards after a CG ME, like incline. I used to love weighted dips but the jury's out on how beneficial they are to PL. Keep it up and see a doc about the knee if it doesn't go away with I&I (ice & ibuprofen!). :)

[Cardinal]

Ballast, thx for the input. I plan to use quite a few of Kubik's ideas this summer when I have my own exercise equipment and hopefully some new implements. Same goes for ideas from Justa's Rock, Iron, and Steel. I look forward to some of Kubik's GPP type suggestions.

Antaeus-Thx for the encouragement. I don't believe my knee is that bad off. Just need to take some time off from squats. I have chronic mild patellar chondromalacia in that knee as well as now tendonitis. I am going to have to be careful in deciding how to rehab back into doing squats. Obviously something about my old method and routine will have to change or the same thing will happen again.

That is a really good suggestion for the bench work...Looks sensible and quite effective. I may train closer to westside for my bench work from here on out. It would add some much needed structure and would be fairly easy to implement.

[Cardinal]

Hand and Thigh Lift (All sets performed as singles w/rest on the order of 30 seconds)
135X5,225X4,315X1,365X1,405X1,455X5X1

1 Hand Side Deads 135X5,5
Chest Supported Tbar Rows 90X5,105X5,100X5
Vbar Rows 6 PlatesX5
Work with COC- T & #1, 6 Reps w/#1 Right hand
Notes: Hand and thigh lift felt great. Easy to maintain proper form with heavier weight. I didn't like the side deads. Turned into side bends more or less. Hitting lats again felt good. They seem to recover quickly.

Things to think about adding...Power Cleans, High Pulls. 1 Hand Regular DL.

[healthy n_fit]

Nice job!! So, everything is feeling a bit better now? Looks like everything went well in that workout. And, what kind of machine is this hand and thigh lift? I'm intrigued haha. ;)

Keep it up bro! Do you think you'll be sore tomorrow? I hope I am not that sore haha.

[Cardinal]

Healthy...The hand and thigh lift (sometimes called a health lift) is just a rack lockout starting right above the knee cap. I got the idea from Power to the People. I am experimenting trying to put together a twice a week pulling workout that is easy on the knees. One heavy day and one light day. I've about got it together.

[healthy n_fit]

Originally posted by Cardinal
Healthy...The hand and thigh lift (sometimes called a health lift) is just a rack lockout starting right above the knee cap. I got the idea from Power to the People. I am experimenting trying to put together a twice a week pulling workout that is easy on the knees. One heavy day and one light day. I've about got it together.

Oh ok. That sounds cool. Keep it up! :)

[Cardinal]

CG Incline 175X5,5
CG Flat 185X4,4. 175X6
Extensions (Tate presses mainly) 25'sX5X7-8, 30'sX6X1set
Military 135X3
Farmer's Walk 95lbs 1 Trip ~40-50 Yards
2 sets HLR

Had to swallow my pride to go less than 185 on any kind of incline but the CG's felt good. I think it will be worth it in the long run. Farmer's Walk is getting easy, damn thin handled useless DB's. Only go up to 110 lbs.

[ballast]

Cardinal-Have you ever tried farmers walks holding a sandbag in each hand?They are brutal to say the least.Actually, any type of sandbag training can be brutal.It's cheap and effective.You might want to give it a try sometime.

[Cardinal]

That is actually a really good idea. I will see what I can get/make. I can combine bags to make several different weights.
Did you find any special technique that worked best for training the farmer's walk this way? Or for that matter, effective techniques for training the sandbag in general.

I have Kubik's dinosaur training and Rock, Iron and Steel. I could try some of their suggestions also.

[ballast]

One overall technique worthy of mention for both sandbag work and farmers walk is strict attention to technique.Odd object lifting is vastly different from lifting an evenly balanced barbell because implements like rocks and sandbags are awkward and cumbersome.You really need to focus on good lifting mechanics.
Some effective exercises you can use for the sandbag work are:
1-shoulder and squat(lift a sandbag off the ground by placing it on your shoulder,stand up, then drop down into a deep squat.Put the bag down, switch shoulders and repeat)
2-power clean and overhead press
3-bearhug and walk for distance
4-lift and load drill(set your sandbag down in front of a raised platform,picnic table or bed of a pick-up truck,etc.Pick up the bag and set it up on the platform.Lower it back down to the floor.Repeat for reps)
5-curls
6-overhead squats

The lift and load drill is probably one of the best strength and conditioning exercises I have used in conjunction with sandbag work.It hits the muscles of the posterior chain and a lot of stabilizer muscles as well, in addition to building up your GPP.These are just a few exercises I have tried.I'm sure there are many more.I plan on implementing some odd object lifting this summer.If I come across any ideas or new exercises, I'll let you know.

[Antaeus]

great post

[Cardinal]

Ballast, those are some great ideas. Thanks for the suggestions. I got seven fifty pound bags of sand and two huge duffel bags. I'll give them a go tomorrow.

[Deciever]

definately some good ideas..

nice training cardinal

[healthy n_fit]

Yeah, good job Cardinal. Nice CG Incline! :)

So, hows the leg feeling? Better?

Tell us how the sand bag goes if you do it. ;)

[Cardinal]

Workout XIII
Sandbag Carry 100 lbs, ~100meters, 2 times warmup
Sandbag Carry 150 lbs, ~100meters, 2 times
Sandbag Carry 200 lbs, ~5 meters, couldn't get it above waist level without squatting
Farmer's Walk 100 lb bags, 40-50 meters, 2 trips

Notes: Found a 5 meter pipe, about foot in diameter, hollow. Tried several times to lift it to shoulder height and carry it, but failed. Wasted some energy on this. Workout lasted ~45 mins.

Sandbag training is a lot of fun! Builds functional strength a lot like manual labor. I brought 200 lbs of sand to my dorm room, so I can do a lift and load and clean and press when i feel like it.
Healthy, Knee felt pretty good. Don't need to do much more than this right now though. thx for the encouragement guys. I recommend you all give this a try sometime, great at working stabilizers.

[ballast]

Excellent work!That's a tough routine.Very smart the way you warmed up to the heavier bags too.I'd say you are going to be pretty sore for the next couple of days.I'd be very interested in how the lift and load drill goes if you decide to do it.I set up a platform in my power rack and did several sets of loads from different positions.Did the really heavy stuff at knee level, moved it up to waist level, then chest, then put it up to about head height where I had to clean and press the bag overhead, then put it onto the platform.Extremely demanding and a lot of fun.Again, good job!

[Cardinal]

Thanks ballast. Back is a little sore today from the sandbag carry, but nothing major. I think I might use some of these ideas to finish off some of my gym workouts. I am used to doing a lot of manual labor with much lighter weights so yesterday didn't feel so bad. And I didn't push it too hard either.

[Cardinal]

Incline Bench Press Limit Single
115X5, 135X5, 155X3, 175X3, 195X1, 215X1, 225X1
Military Press
145X4, 150X2,2(these were easy, they were playing Enter Sandman on the radio)
CG Bench
185X4, 190X4
Dumbell C&P (1 ugly clean followed by 3 presses)
60's, 3X3
Tate Press
25'sX6,6

+more useless ab work, need to get serious program for ab training
+ Work on Squat worked up to a few sets with 135 in GM squat/powersquat type move. No knee pain from squatting.
Knee felt bad from deadlifting the sandbag carry yesterday.

[healthy n_fit]

Damn, nice incline and military press! Hell, nice everything! ;)

Keep it up dude. All is goin well it seems

[Cardinal]

Thx healthy. A few things are coming together for me. I think I know what has been lacking on my squat/DL form that is causing the pain. I need to relearn the leg movement in both exercises.
My squat now looks much more like a GM as well it should. I needed a lot more forward lean. Its hard to explain, but I believe I know how quad tendonitis can develop squatting/DL and hopefully can avoid it in the future.

[Antaeus]

man that sandbag stuff looks fun. LOL you keep sand in your dorm room! Just tell 'em you're hunkering down for WWIII !!

[Cardinal]

Heh. Dorm room = Several big piles of food, 2 small refridgerators, +1 larger one downstairs for beer. +random backpacking/climbing gear/toolboxes and now two munitions bags full of 200 lbs of immovable sand.

[Cardinal]

Hand and Thigh Lift(notch or 2 above knee height)
225X5, 295X3, 315X3, 405X1, 455X1, 475X1(hard), 455X1
Rack Pulls (knee height)
315X1,1,1,1,1,1
Snatch Grip Deads
135X10, 205X8
Tried 1 ladder of pullups but was exhausted, so...
Vbar Row 6 platesX5
Reverse Hypers 2X10, no resistance
Was tired today for some reason...

[Deciever]

wow..475..very nice

what exactly is a hand thigh lift?

[Cardinal]

Hand and thigh lift is just a regular deadlift from thigh level off pins. The weight looks good but it is a short ROM. The one I did is about 2 inches above slightly bent knee height. I am doing them to get used to the feel of heavier weights and to give my knee a rest from Floor DLing. A true hand and thigh lift would be with a much shorter ROM and more weight.

[Cardinal]

Half Squats BW, Bar, 95X4, 115X4,135X5, 155X3, 175X3, 185X3, 195X3, 185X3,3,3.
DL(from knee level), did 315 for a bunch of singles
Pullups BWX4,4.
Farmer's Walk, 105's

Notes: Knee felt good on all sets. Liking the rack work for deadlifts. I plan to add more structure to it and use density training for my DL work for a while. I'll use a single progression idea with the squats by increasing # of sets of triples I do, then bump the poundage.

Saw a couple of guys doing curls in the powerrack while I was deadlifting. They had a five and two tens on each side, put on in that order, all backwards to give the impression of more weight. Funny as hell.

[Cardinal]

Incline Bench 135X5, 155X3, 175X3, 185X4,4,4
MP 135X4,4.
JM press 155X6,6,6.
One Arm Tate Press 25'sX8,8,8.
HLR 1 set

Notes: Felt weaker than I have in a long time. I am trying a CKD diet and am in a transition phase. This crap better reverse itself quickly. Also, 9 days since any type of benching workout due to ice/gym closings is not good at all. This damn diet better be worth it. :)

[Antaeus]

what the heck is a CKD diet, and why are you dieting in the first place?! :D

[Cardinal]

Lol. I'll be honest with you Antaeus. I am changing my nutrition for aesthetic purposes. I am leading a hiking trip in early to mid march. I met my female coleader last week. Her first words were, "oh, could we be one of the naked crews this year. I like to hike naked." We are taught to be compromise and to be understanding as leaders, so I said sure =D. Our organization is predominantly female. I'll be experimenting with ways to burn fat and keep my weight constant over the next several weeks.

[Antaeus]

hahahahaha that's great :D

I guess you have to be careful where you are in the hiking line - you don't want to be stuck behind some naked fatass dude lol

or worse yet he's behind YOU ahahaha

[lilmuscleman]

Originally posted by Cardinal
Lol. I'll be honest with you Antaeus. I am changing my nutrition for aesthetic purposes. I am leading a hiking trip in early to mid march. I met my female coleader last week. Her first words were, "oh, could we be one of the naked crews this year. I like to hike naked." We are taught to be compromise and to be understanding as leaders, so I said sure =D. Our organization is predominantly female. I'll be experimenting with ways to burn fat and keep my weight constant over the next several weeks.

sweeeeeeet ;) nudist hikers pwn

[Cardinal]

lilmuscleman, you gotta be ****ting me. I just noticed your location. Living in asheville, near the mountains, I am sure you have experience with what I am speaking of.

I'll be in Pisgah over the break hiking in the Devil's Courthouse/Cold Mountain/Shining Rock area with about 90 other Duke kids. It will still be cool in March, but good hiking weather.

[Cardinal]

Squats 115X5, 135X5, 155X3, 175X3, 185X4,4,4,4,4,4.
Squat singles 205X1, 215X1
DL(knee height) Again a bunch of singles with 315 (maybe 6-8)
Did a couple of timed holds with 315 at the end
Little **** (calf work, some ab work)

Notes: felt great getting more volume on the squats. Knee not too painful. Strength seems to be picking up a little.

[Cardinal]

CG Bench Press 115X5, 135X4, 155X3, 175X1, 195X1, 215X1, 225X1, 215X1,1,1. 205X2, 185X4,4
Military Press 145X4, 150X1, 135X4
One arm standing tate press 30's X 6
Messed around with rack lockouts and side presses a little.
Did some plate raises with 45-70 lbs.

Notes: Need to perform rack lockouts singles style, with modest weight to start. No energy left for side pressing. I think I want to split up my overhead pressing work and tricep work to an extent. Too much overlap and had no energy left for MP's.

[Cardinal]

Full Squats
115X5, 135X5, 155X4, 175X3, 185X3, 195X3,2 (tough), 205X1

Deadlifts (2 inches below knee height)
Warmup+
315X8 singles with rest in between
335X2 singles

Full Squats 135X8,8

Notes: DL's felt great as always, even the heavier singles. I think I actually lost strength from the last squat workout =D. The 205 Single looked like warmed over crap. Gonna back off on the weight again and keep doing full squats.

[Cardinal]

CG Bench 185X4,4,4.
JM Press 155X6,6,6,6.
Pullups BW 4,4,4.
Chest supported Tbar rows 90X5, 115X4
Calf work


Didn't have much time to workout today.

[Cardinal]

Warmup with Squats

Conventional DL 225X5, 275X4,4,4.
Sumo 315X1 (easy)
SLDL 225X5, 245X6,5,5. Done repetition style off platform.
Reverse Hypers

Notes: Increased Rom on dl's by wearing shoes/doing CDL's. Knee was hurting again so I didn't do squats. Lol, could barely do one pullup after all the dling. I probably did more sets of dl's than I wrote down. I tried more of a rounded upper back form on the SLDL's. It felt good.

[Antaeus]

Keep up the good work! :)

[Cardinal]

Thx Antaeus. I got the idea of trying the racklockouts for limit single from your log =D.

Bottom Position rack lockouts (~6 inch rom)
Regular bench warmup + 135X3, 185X3, 205X1, 225X1, 275X1, 245X1,1,1 (for extra warmup) 295X0, 285X1 (hard)
CG Incline 175X3,3,3.
Military Press 145X3
JM press 155X6,6,6.
Light Lat work (some chest supported Tbar rows)


Notes: Need to warmup a little better for the rackwork. This was my first time trying these. They felt great overall. I can't wait to try board presses as well. I couldn't even budge 295 from the pins. 285 took about four seconds to move it up.

[Antaeus]

Originally posted by Cardinal
Thx Antaeus. I got the idea of trying the racklockouts for limit single from your log =D.

Bottom Position rack lockouts (~6 inch rom)
Regular bench warmup + 135X3, 185X3, 205X1, 225X1, 275X1, 245X1,1,1 (for extra warmup) 295X0, 285X1 (hard)


Cool - I'm glad ppl are getting use out of my log! I wish I had squat stuff for you guys to look at but them's tha breaks.

Btw - bottom position pin presses are where the pins are at chest level. You push the weight off the very bottom. You did 6" lockouts, right? 2 different exercises.

To warm up for these, I do 95-135 full ROM for 2 sets of 8-10, then move into weight acclimation. As soon as the wt starts to feel even moderately heavy you drop to singles. You did too many at 245 for a ME move; HOWEVER, I do always recommend using an exercise for assistence 1st before you do it for ME, so reps are OK to get used to the movement.

Rack lockouts are a key WSB exercise. It felt great to do 295 on these, and then all of sudden my lockout exploded.

It's kinda like a trickle down effect. You should eventually do a hundred plus lbs on your lockout than your max, and then go down 10-20 lbs per board. This way you get the feel of progressively heavier weights, which descend as the ROM increases as you use fewer boards.

[Cardinal]

Antaeus. I was doing 6" lockouts from pins, thats right. 135 for 2 sets of 8-10 seems like a good plan +acclimation for the ME.

When I did 275, I was nowhere near warmed up properly and knew I had to back off and hit a few more singles to safely complete the workout. I'll do better next time.

I'll try the idea of increasing the ROM by removing 'boards' over time for some of my singles work. I know it has worked well for westsiders using the board press and I have seen guys try it with success deadlifting from pins as well.

[Antaeus]

Originally posted by Cardinal

I'll try the idea of increasing the ROM by removing 'boards' over time for some of my singles work. I know it has worked well for westsiders using the board press and I have seen guys try it with success deadlifting from pins as well.

Yup I do just below & above the knee rack pulls as well for DL. Surprisingly, the above the knee pulls are incredibly more difficult b/c you have no acceleration helping the lift as you would with a longer ROM exercise.

I'm glad you're going to try the boards, just remember to switch it up. Like don't descend in boards every week - that was just to give you the jist of how it works. A good ME plan would look something like:

4 boards
Floor press
CG Incline
2 boards
Rack lockout
CG flat bench
3 boards
etc.

Of course mixing in various grips & weight increasers (bands & chains). :)

[Cardinal]

Didn't have much time to workout today so did quick FB w/o

Dips, BW+45X5,5,5.
V-Bar Rows 6platesX5,5.
Chest Supported T-bar 90X5,5.
HLR X 10
SLDL off platform: Several light long rom sets with 245. Did 5's with it.
Did some little stuff too. Forgot chalk. Farmer's walk next time.

Getting ready for backpacking trip.

[Cardinal]

CG Bench 135X7, 155X3, 185X1, 205X1, 215X1, 235X0, 205X2,2,2.
JM Press, 155X6,6,6.

DL (knee height) 135X5, 225X3, 295X1, 335X1, 355X1, 405X1, 425X1, 445X1 (tough, body shaky on this one, pr though)

SLDL (increased rom from platform)
225X5, 245X5, 275X5, all easy

Finished with a few sets of dumbell overhead presses with 55's.

Notes: Lats sore from last workout. Didn't count the 235 b/c my spotter had his fingers on the bar. Sticking point right in the middle of CG bench, about 4-6 inches off chest. Board presses will fix this. Locked it out easily. Going backpacking 7 days for spring break. Leave o'dark thirty tomorrow.

[Cardinal]

Incline Bench 185X4,4,4.
Neutral Narrow Grip Chins
BWX2,2,2. BW+25lb.X1, BW+35X1, BW+45X1 (tough). BW+25X2,2.

VBar Rows 270X5, 280X4, 290X4.
Farmer's Walk 105's X 2trips (lost grip on second)
HLR, Standing abs

Notes: Took 9 days off backpacking over spring break. Felt weak on bench, strong on lat work/farmer's. Did some ab work for once.

[Cardinal]

SLDL off platform for increased rom
135X8, 225X5, 275X5, 290X4(tough), 285X4
Arched Back GM 135X6, 155X5, 135X7
Calf work, leg raises
Reverse Hypers w/no resistance

Notes: Fiddled around with a few lightweight squats, but knee wasn't up to the challenge. New Plan: Wing it and just move to a FB/frequent practice type schedule with the exercises I know I can do since I won't be doing squats for a while. I'll probably workout everyother day and moderate the intensity appropriately. Translation: lots and lots of deadlifting =D.

[Cardinal]

Flat Bench
135X8, 155X3, 175X3, 205X1, 215X1, 225X1, 235X0
JM Press
155X6,6,6.
Chest Supported Tbar
90X5, 115X3, 105X4.
Standing abs on lat machine
3X10

Notes: Felt great after 9 hrs of sleep. Found out exactly where my sticking point is on bench. Will use lockouts at that height for a while. Something has to work to bring it up. Maybe need to work on barspeed. Spotter touched bar again @235, but after that it flew to lockout easily. No need to work top part of bench. I really want to hit somewhere near 250ish by mid may. Been stuck in this range too long.

[Cardinal]

BB Side press
60lbs X 5,5,5.

Chins
2 ladders: 1,2,3,4. and 1,2,3,4 (tough). Got about 30-45 seconds rest in between sets.

Squats
Worked up to 2 sets of 5 with 175 lbs after a bunch of other slow warmup sets

Notes: Knee felt good since I used light weight, went slow on the decent and kept tight the whole time... I noticed a big difference versus when I didn't focus on keeping tight.

[Cardinal]

CG Bench 185X5,5. 195X3
Rack Pulls from Knee height
385X1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1.
Vbar Rows 6plates X 5,5.

Notes: Workout felt good. I really slowed down the tempo taking a lot of rest between sets. Do same thing for singles next time + 10 lbs. Hams a little sore from running and doing squats the other day.

[Cardinal]

Workout XXXI
Arched Back GM's several sets with 135 and 155
Light JM press/Military press

Weighted narrow grip chins
Worked up to BW+50 lbs for a max single
BW+25X2,2,2,2(started to get tired on this last one)

Farmer's Walk 110's
Trip 1: Made my usual distance 40-50 yards
Trip 2: Made 3/4 my usual distance.

Notes: Wasn't recovered enough to do much heavy pressing. Chins felt good.

[Cardinal]

High bar Squats
185X3,3,3,3,3. + one set with 135

Incline Bench
Worked up to several singles with 205
Decline
175X7,7,7.

HLR X 1 set

Notes: No knee pain from squatting! Felt kind of weak overall today though.

[Cardinal]

Lat work:
Vbar rows worked up to 6 plates + 20 lb for 5, 3 sets total
Chest Supported Tbar rows 100X5, 90X7

Did 3 sets of extensions for tri's + some dips. Forgot dip belt.

Hang cleans: 135X5,5,5. Looked more like a reverse curl =D

Standing abs and HLR

Notes: Had plenty of energy today.

[Antaeus]

Originally posted by Cardinal
Lat work:
Vbar rows worked up to 6 plates + 20 lb for 5, 3 sets total
Chest Supported Tbar rows 100X5, 90X7


Holy crap! You did 6 plates on vbar rows? How is your chest supported so much less??

[Cardinal]

I should have just called it a row machine. The motion is a V though
http://www.ast-ss.com/jeffwillet/UniverseJournal02/UniverseJournal02.asp?offset=25

I like it more than the Tbars I have been doing since the weight is distributed more even through the large ROM. I feel the same way about weighted pullups. Good weight distribution.

I know barbell rows and Tbars lead to a greater specificity toward the bench press and are thus preferred for powerlifters, but it is really annoying sometimes that the Tbar makes the movement simple initially but really tough to lockout. Using a lot more total weight through a larger range of motion doing weighted pullups and vbars is worth it to me.

[Antaeus]

Originally posted by Cardinal

I know barbell rows and Tbars lead to a greater specificity toward the bench press and are thus preferred for powerlifters, but it is really annoying sometimes that the Tbar makes the movement simple initially but really tough to lockout.

That's exactly why barbell rows are so important. If you are a shirt bencher, the last 2 inches are the toughest to row the bar down. First of all, you HAVE to touch the bar to your chest. Secondly, think of the bench shirt as a bow and arrow. A bow becomes harder and harder to pull back as you draw an arrow, but the more you pull the more pop you get off the bottom, and hence the arrow flies faster and further. So training that last 2 inches is most important. hmm, I might repost this in the forum... :)

[Cardinal]

Done on 4/3/03

Rack Pulls from 1 notch below knee height
Worked up to a few singles with 365. Felt kind of heavy.

SLDL off platform
275X5, 290X5, 295X4

CG Bench
190X5, 195X4

Did some little **** to go with this that I already forgot about

[healthy n_fit]

hey, finally checking back here. it looks like you're squatting and pulling again! :) and you've gotten stronger. keep it up!

[Cardinal]

Thx healthy. Knee joint is feeling a bit better. Week long backpacking trip may have actually helped it some. + I use a lot of flax oil/fish oil and some glucosamine. Only bothers me when I run too much now. Stopping the full range deadlifts I think made a huge difference as well. I've been going with SLDL and lockouts for a long time now.

Light workout overall today:
Weighted narrow neutral grip pullups
Worked up to bodyweight + 45X1, tried bodyweight + 55 but couldn't lock it out. Got stuck about 2/3 of the way up

BW+25X2,2. BW+30X2,2.
Chest Supported Rows 95X5

Then did some lame cardio. I hate treadmills.

[Cardinal]

Squats
175X4,4,4. Good God I am weak on squats. Knee didn't hurt and form was solid though. (Things to be expected using that weight)

Flat Bench 195X4, 185X6.
CG Bench 195X3

Ab work, cardio

[healthy n_fit]

np man. you're bench is gonig up. youll get better on squat soon. were these powerlifting style or olympic style squats?

keep it up.

[Cardinal]

These were High bar olympic styled squats with a fairly wide stance. That is about what I can power squat as well. This lead me to believe I have incredibly weak legs and need to do some specialization work in the squat for a while =D.

[healthy n_fit]

I see. ya know, when you're ready, you can try the smolov squat program sometime. it can add like 50lbs to your squat in little time, but its really tough.

[Cardinal]

I reviewed the program on dragondoor. It sounds really interesting. I think it would work if you really dialed it in nutritionally. Lot of hypertrophy work in the first and third part. Somehow I think this program was designed for someone utilizing pharmaceuticals however =D.

[healthy n_fit]

Hahaha yeah, it is really though. but one day when im better, i m gonna try it, and see how it goes. lets juts hope i dont get reinjured or worn out though ;)

[Cardinal]

Military Press 95X5, 115X5, 135X5, 135X4
Squats 135X9,8
Front Squats: worked on learning form
Hang Cleans 135X5,5.
Standing abs 3sets, reverse crunch 1 set
Ran 2 miles

[Cardinal]

CG Bench worked up to 225X1(easy)
CG Bench 185X5,5.

Weighted neutral narrow grip chins
Worked up to BW+55: broke 90 degree angle with arms but couldn't lock it out
BW+35X2, BW+30X2, BW+25X2,2.

SLDL: 275X5, 285X5,5.
+Did some tricep extensions and then cardio

Notes: Frequent practice seems to be helping a bit with bench.

[healthy n_fit]

woah, thats some crazy bodyweight chin. good job on the cg bench. and how'd the sldl's feel?

[Cardinal]

Thx healthy. Part of the reason the chins are coming along well is that I have lost some bodyfat. Makes it a heck of a lot easier =D. SLDL's felt ok. I was doing them repetition/bodybuilder style starting from the top and rushed it a bit. I experimented with regular ROM.

My problem with deadlifting lately has been finding how to lower the weight effectively. I have trouble lowering my rackpull's unless I start from high up. I'd like to try reverse band DL's if I can get the bands. I think it might alleviate the problem and still let me train the lockout.

[Cardinal]

Squats 175X4, 180X4, 175X4,4
JM Press 155X6, 160X6, 155X5
Farmer's Walk 110's for 1 trip (40-50 yards). Failed on second trip
Did some cardio.

Notes: Made my semester goal of getting the 110's. Next long term goal, 150's. Felt good on the squats. Frequent practice seems to be paying off on everything.

[Cardinal]

Done 4/13/03
Rack Pulls (one notch above knee height):
Worked up to 475X1, then dropped back and did some singles at 405

Tbar Rows 90X5, 105X5
Machine Rows 6 PlatesX5, 6 Plates+20X5

DB overhead press 50'sX5, 55'sX5

Abs, Calves, Cardio

[BPP]

Originally posted by Cardinal
Squats 175X4, 180X4, 175X4,4
JM Press 155X6, 160X6, 155X5
Farmer's Walk 110's for 1 trip (40-50 yards). Failed on second trip
Did some cardio.

Notes: Made my semester goal of getting the 110's. Next long term goal, 150's. Felt good on the squats. Frequent practice seems to be paying off on everything.

awesome job bro :)
keep up the good work

u do farmers with DB's???

[Cardinal]

Thanks for the encouragement.

Yes, I have been doing my farmer's walks with regular gym dumbbells. I have used sandbags, but overall I prefer something with a more managable grip. I'm looking into getting or making some thickhandled dumbells for summer.

[BPP]

Originally posted by Cardinal
Thanks for the encouragement.

Yes, I have been doing my farmer's walks with regular gym dumbbells. I have used sandbags, but overall I prefer something with a more managable grip. I'm looking into getting or making some thickhandled dumbells for summer.

take 2 of the cambered bars that have a grip lookin thing in the middle
they camber at a HARD angle and come up for a bit
makes a perfect handle

thats what ive been using to prepare for contest

[Cardinal]

I'll do that. Good idea! Also, best of luck on your stongman event. I can see by your sig. that it is only a few days away.
-Cardinal

[BPP]

Originally posted by Cardinal
I'll do that. Good idea! Also, best of luck on your stongman event. I can see by your sig. that it is only a few days away.
-Cardinal

thanks bro :)
lemme know whatcha think when ya try it

[Cardinal]

Done 4/15/03

Squats(Light Day) 135X8,8,8
CG Bench 185X5,5,5.
Tri-Extensions 3 sets
HLR 2 sets

[Cardinal]

Chins BWX5,5,5,5.
SLDL 225X5, 275X5, 225X10
Decline BB Press (light day) 155X5, 175X6, 185X6
Abs

Notes: Stopped short on DL because back felt a little out of place after 275 set. Is fine now.

[Cardinal]

Done 4/19/03
Squat 5X5
135X5, 155X5, 165X5, 165X5, 170X5

Incline 5X5
135X5, 155X5, 165X5, 175X5, 175X5
JM Press
155X5,5,5

Done 4/20/03
Chest Supported Tbars
90X5,5,5.
Vbar machine warmup + 6platesX4
Wide grip Pullups BWX4,4.

[Cardinal]

Done 4/23/03

Squat 155X6,6,6

Incline 5X5
135X5, 155X5, 165X5, 175X5, 185X4

JM presses 155X5,5,5.
Extensions
Calf work

Done 4/25
Weighted Chins, Worked up to BW+45X1,
BW+27.5X2,2,2,2.

Rack Lockouts (notch above knee height)
Did singles with 405 and 425 for 10 minutes. Did maybe ~15 singles.
SLDL 225X5, 275X4

Machine Rows
6PlatesX5, 6Plates +10X5

[Cardinal]

CG Bench
135X8, 155X5, 185X1, 205X1, 215X1, 225X1, 215X1, 205X1,1,1,1.
185X4

Extensions
25's then 30's

Squat
135X5, 155X5, 175X3,3,3.

Standing ab work
3 sets

Notes:Squat strength = nonexistant. damn I am a weakling. 225 went up easy on cg bench...will try for 230 next time.

[Cardinal]

Done yesterday:
Machine Rows
6 PlatesX5, 6Plates+10 X 5, 6PlatesX5

Standing Dumbell Presses
60'sX4,5,4

HLR and other lower abwork

Tbar Rows
90X5, 100X5, 90X5

[Cardinal]

Done 5/1/03

SLDL (keystone deadlift done repetition style to below knee height)

135X5, 225X5, 275X5, 285X5, 295X5, 305X5, 315X5(tough)

Bench Press
135X8, 155X6, 175X3, 195X5,5
CG Bench
195X3

Plate Raises with 70lbs.

Standing ab, calf work

[Cardinal]

Superset weighted Dips and chins(really saves time)

Dips
BW warmup, BW+25,35,45,55X 5 reps each

Weighted chins
BWX2, BW+25X1, BW+35X1, BW+45X1 (easy lockout), BW+55X0 (couldn't quite lock it out at top)

BWX5,5,5, 5.

Zercher Squats
115X5,5.
135X5. 145X5,5. 155X4

Finish with a couple of sets of 4 BW pullups

[Cardinal]

Semester is over and I am hitting the beach tomorrow, followed by graduation. Should be back to TX by mid-May. I might post a few more workouts if I get time.

My plan is to get a good powerrack for the summer when I get back. Probably gonna go Yukon, but not totally decided yet.

I'll start another log for the summer when I get back into the swing of things. I should be able to come up with some new implements to use for strongman type stuff etc. Should be fun.

Thanks to everyone who has helped me on and off this semester. I learned a lot from you guys.

[BPP]

Originally posted by Cardinal
I should be able to come up with some new implements to use for strongman type stuff etc. Should be fun.




youll have a blast man
funnest stuff ive ever trained with :)