Paul's Quest into first Pro Qualifier

[COZ999]

That is sweet. I have a 96 with 163k on it but I keep it in tip top shape and had it painted a few years back.

I have always been way more into ZX's. I have been looking for one in tip top shape for some time now. 2+2 turbo, t-tops! Gotta love a quality 90's car!

[PR1MO]

I had an '06 Touring in silver. F*ckin loved that car. Had to sell it a few months back as I have other monetary priorities atm (house buying FTL lol). After seeing these pics I think I will definitely be back in the Z club in the near future

[fltallpaul]

I had an '06 Touring in silver. F*ckin loved that car. Had to sell it a few months back as I have other monetary priorities atm (house buying FTL lol). After seeing these pics I think I will definitely be back in the Z club in the near future

I have not had a car payment in a long time, it has allowed me to purchase a home which is a much better investment than a car. Sounds like you have your priorities straight.

[fltallpaul]

Knee Update

I went into the Dr's Office on Friday after work and got some really good news. There is nothing structurally wrong with my knee at all. The pain I have been feeling is most likely caused by inflamation under my knee cap. The Dr. suggested a cortizone shot and I was all for it. He froze my knee right there, stuck in a giant needle and injected a combination of cortizone and a numbing agent. Before I knew it he was done and I was on my way home. He told me to try it out right away so I went home to eat and then to the gym for legs. No time like to present right. I was able to squat, leg press, lunge and do extensions without any pain or strength loss. My only issue now is that I anticipate the pain and loss of strength so I had to really use slow and controlled movements to be sure I wasn't avoiding the problem area. The Dr. also told me that in the future if it bothers me I am free to use anti inflammatories since there is nothing at all wrong with my knee structurally. This is good news as Aleve really helped me train legs from time to time but I was afraid I could be doing more harm than good.

I am going back in tonight for another leg session which I will probably do some deadlifts and other things I have missed. I also went in on Saturday morning and did back\traps and Sunday evening for Shoulders\Triceps. I finally feel like I am ready to start making some serious PR progress again.

[deltpecx]

That's great news about your knee!

[ehlisl]

Right on Paul! Glad you found the issue with the knee. Excited to see what goes down...or up now!

Did he say would could have been causing it? and is it something that is going to keep returning after the cortizone shot wears off??

[adamjohn32]

Did he say would could have been causing it? and is it something that is going to keep returning after the cortizone shot wears off??

old-man-itis, bahahaha, J/K!

I'm curious about this as well? What would cause inflammation under the knee cap (probably overuse)? I guess if you keep aware of any possible problems (like with my elbow tendinosis) you should be able to avoid any problems in the future.

[fltallpaul]

That's great news about your knee!

Thanks I was freaking elated all day Friday!

Right on Paul! Glad you found the issue with the knee. Excited to see what goes down...or up now!

Did he say would could have been causing it? and is it something that is going to keep returning after the cortizone shot wears off??

The Doc told me that the issue is likely from years of playing sports. I was a left footed jumper in basketball and as a pitcher my left leg was my landing foot so it took alot of wear and tear. He said the pain may return at some point but all the inflammation in there will be gone for a while. He said if he needs to he can go in and clean it up at some point which would be not too invasive.

For now though I am going to use knee sleeves and take aleve and hope that allows me to stay healthy.

[fltallpaul]

old-man-itis, bahahaha, J/K!

I'm curious about this as well? What would cause inflammation under the knee cap (probably overuse)? I guess if you keep aware of any possible problems (like with my elbow tendinosis) you should be able to avoid any problems in the future.

It was the best possible visit i could have had.

"nothings damaged, here's a shot, go lift heavy"

What's better than that?

[tenwest23]

Good news Paul! My left knee would get really sore after I played basketball and it was the same issue. When I got my cortizone shot, I remember the doctor saying I would only feel the pressure from the cortizone going in. He Lied! Hurt like crap, but felt great right after the needle came out. I played basketball an hour later and felt like I had a new knee. That stuff is magic in a syringe!

[adamrochester]

good news bro in for some crazy lifts yeah buddy !

[fltallpaul]

Good news Paul! My left knee would get really sore after I played basketball and it was the same issue. When I got my cortizone shot, I remember the doctor saying I would only feel the pressure from the cortizone going in. He Lied! Hurt like crap, but felt great right after the needle came out. I played basketball an hour later and felt like I had a new knee. That stuff is magic in a syringe!

yeah it makes me mad I waited so long for something that was fixed in a matter of minutes. When I got my shot he froze my knee with a spray and I didn't feel anything.

good news bro in for some crazy lifts yeah buddy !

Coming soon, thanks!

[fltallpaul]

Monday May 10th, 2011

Squats, Hack Squats, Leg Extensions, Good Mornings and Cardio

I squatted up to 295 for 3 reps with perfect slow form. I felt much better than I did Friday and I really see my squat numbers climbing quickly as I am now using both legs lol.

For this workout I was again just getting used to having full strength in my knee and really used slow contractions and long TUT to ensure I am firing properly.

I will be in tonight for chest and bi's, but honestly I just want to squat again lol.

[adamrochester]

im like that every leg day exited as hell to do squats......then when im finished im already thinking about doing them again the next day ! cant imagin how you feel though now that things are looking sweet !

[fltallpaul]

im like that every leg day exited as hell to do squats......then when im finished im already thinking about doing them again the next day ! cant imagin how you feel though now that things are looking sweet !

Yes I am already excited to thrash legs again, infact I am going to jump back into the Power Hypertrophy split with squatting twice a week to get back where I was. I want that 405 squat badly.

[fltallpaul]

Tuesday May 11th, 2011

Incline Bench
275x6, 275x5

Flat Db Press
125x13, 110x12

Flys and Dips Supersets

Incline Seated DB Curls
50x8, 50x7

Standing Barbell Curls
115x5, 125x5

Spider Curls
30x15, 30x12

10 minutes bike cardio, medium to high intensity

5th day in a row in the gym so tonight I will take off. Things are feeling really good right now as I have hit a new low in weight and still strength is climbing. My motivation and drive is really high right now with everyone posting competition pics and Layne and Doug Miller posting videos. I think Adam and I need to get on the video bandwagon and do the same. We are both going to be setting some PR's with the PH split so it will be a good time for it.

Disc Golf after work today, going to try to break par for the first time...been really close lately.

[bballbrett5]

yep definitely get up some vids. i'm sure you can beat doug miller's 495 deficit deads and 405x30 deads...right??

[fltallpaul]

yep definitely get up some vids. i'm sure you can beat doug miller's 495 deficit deads and 405x30 deads...right??

with some video editing sure!

[ehlisl]

with some video editing sure!

Speaking of vids. I just ran across the ones with Simplyshredded. When were those shot??

[fltallpaul]

Speaking of vids. I just ran across the ones with Simplyshredded. When were those shot??

There were a few times. I did a set by myself right after my powerlifting meet when I got back into more volume work. And then I did a few with Layne over 2 days a few months later. The first ones would have been July of 10, and the Layne ones probably Sept of 10.

I think next time I train with Layne we will shoot some video footage and edit it together, he has a nice handheld camera we used last weekend.

[adamrochester]

videos ftw !

[fltallpaul]

Well another great week of workouts in the books and I am fully ready to get back into the Power Hypertrophy split. I hit legs really hard on Friday and Back\Traps on Saturday and left Sunday as a day off to get ready for Monday nights heavy upper session.

Friday I did squats and got up to 315 for 2 without a spotter so I had a few more. I also did a drop set and did 225 for 12 which felt really natural so I know the squat movement is getting better every day. I am coming for 405 and beyond this year and it starts now. My back has come a long way since I last competed and I have really learned to isolate my lats and traps when training so I am expecting great things in myself the next time I diet down. My goal for this week is to get my body adapted to the rigors of the P\H split so I can make some progress.

Right now my training schedule will most likely be.
Mon-Heavy Upper\shoulder hypertrophy
Tues-Heavy Lower
Wed-Arms Hypertrophy
Thur- off
Friday - Leg Hypertrophy
Saturday - Back\Chest
Sun- off

[ehlisl]

Glad to hear the legs are feeling good and squats are in, no doubt 405 will be going down sooner than later Paul!

[fltallpaul]

Glad to hear the legs are feeling good and squats are in, no doubt 405 will be going down sooner than later Paul!

Yeah I am getting my confidence in my left leg back and not thinking about it so much, the volume and weights will be climbing each week and I feel like a newb right now as every time I do legs I feel stronger.

[adamrochester]

great to hear man will you get some pl hi heel shoes ? im thinking on geeting a paire

[fltallpaul]

great to hear man will you get some pl hi heel shoes ? im thinking on geeting a paire

I may get them at some point if I decide to do another PL meet I will for sure. Layne and I are talking about doing one together later in the year.

[fltallpaul]

Monday May 16th, 2011

Heavy Upper

Incline DB Press
110x5, 120x5, 125x8

Incline Bench DB Rows
60x5 (5 sets)

Hammer Strength Lat Pulldown
160x8, 160x8, 160x6

Pec Fly Machine
130x10, 140x10, 140x10

Skull Crushers
125x8, 145x6

Seated Incline DB Curls
50x8, 55x6

Seated DB Military Press
100x5 (3 sets)

20 minutes cardio

First day in the gym with two training partners in a while. We kept the pace pretty quick despite the three man rotation. I am not really following any type of periodization right now I just want to build up a tolerance to the volume of these workouts first. Tonight will be the lower power workout with squats so I can't wait. Then comes the volume work later in the week. I woke up at 229 today and my goal to wake up at 225 is within reach so this week will be spot on diet and cardio. I have a bit of a beach weekend coming up for Memorial day so its a good reason to focus until then.

[robertfah]

Monday May 16th, 2011

Heavy Upper

Incline DB Press
110x5, 120x5, 125x8

Incline Bench DB Rows
60x5 (5 sets)

Hammer Strength Lat Pulldown
160x8, 160x8, 160x6

Pec Fly Machine
130x10, 140x10, 140x10

Skull Crushers
125x8, 145x6

Seated Incline DB Curls
50x8, 55x6

Seated DB Military Press
100x5 (3 sets)

20 minutes cardio

First day in the gym with two training partners in a while. We kept the pace pretty quick despite the three man rotation. I am not really following any type of periodization right now I just want to build up a tolerance to the volume of these workouts first. Tonight will be the lower power workout with squats so I can't wait. Then comes the volume work later in the week. I woke up at 229 today and my goal to wake up at 225 is within reach so this week will be spot on diet and cardio. I have a bit of a beach weekend coming up for Memorial day so its a good reason to focus until then.

Good work last night Paul....definately gave me some motivation!

[bballbrett5]

diggin those heavy inclines my man

[fltallpaul]

Tuesday May 17th, 2011

Squats
275x5x5

SLDL
275x5x3

Seated Calf Raise
250x5x5

Leg Curl
140x8x3

Leg Extension
110x20, 150x15, 210x12

20 minutes of cardio

Heavy squats, well for me anyway, and they felt good. I got more and more comfortable as each set passed. I was fighting the last rep on each set so I really enjoyed completing this and now I will bump the weight next week. I didn't want to do too much with the SLDL's as my back is not used to the volume it gets on leg day. My hams feel really strong so I am also looking forward to deadlifting again.