★ Tom's BTK Training Journal and Entertainment Center ★

[viennafat]

Good work on those floor presses and DB inclines Tom! I think you can get good hypertrophy without benching more than 185 ( at least I hope so ) and you've done a really well-rounded set of exercises today. I like to think that if the chest feels pumped and you get DOMS the next day then some growth has to occur
I like the idea of the floor presses --- I've done them before and liked them but it is awkward in a pubic gym.... I'd probably have someone run over to 'rescue' me again I'll be keen to see how you go with those if you stick with them

Good idea about finding a sports oriented physio as well!


So true!
Welcome to my world

A great session Tom. I'm glad to see you getting into the deads and really enjoying them .... despite all my travails with them, they are my favourite exercise by far!
Nice volume and you'll find bumping those weights pretty easy now

Thanks, Andrew.
I'm hoping the same about the chest. I mean I do get a decent pump and DOMS, so something must be happening.

I have to work on those floor presses a bit more. I think what might help with increasing the chest engagement is going with a wider grip. I dunno, we'll see.
If it ever comes to a point where I need to be "rescued", I'm as good as dead.

Deadlifts have been going well. I'm not pushing it much, but they feel ok. I'll keep going with conservative weight and it should be fine.

I plan on going for a visit to this sports clinic tomorrow. Hope they are competent.

Just lol'd in real life at my desk haha So good

Nice session too man

Thanks, Mike.

[viennafat]

February 4


Arms


BB Curls
70x10
90x9
75x13
75x11
70x11



Dips
+15x5

Nope. Just wasn't feeling good.


Seated French Press
80x13
90x9
90x8
80x11
70x14

I really like this exercise but once Im a little fatigued or the weight is heavy, it's hard to maintain form.
Especially cuz it requires quite a bit of stabilization.


Concentration Curls
37.5x14/14
37.5x13/12
37.5x11/11
32.5x11/11


Floor Skulls
90x10
90x9
85x10


One arm OH DB Extension
30x13
30x12
30x12


DB Curls
40x13
40x12
40x12


Resistance Band Tri Pushdowns
13 reps
12 reps
12 reps


Reverse Poundstone Curls x 20
Regular Poundstone Curls x 20


Arms dead.
On the last set of DB curls I was in so much pain I made this weird girlish scream.
My daughter was around and she looked at me with such a perplexed look. lol

[fittofattofit]

Big arm session Tom --- 9 different exercises and lots of sets. You're making me feel guilty now

Your daughter's thinking: "I came in for the 'gun show' and I get 'Psycho' "

[juicydanglers]

After arm day do you walk round the house with sleeves rolled up hopin wife be mirin?

[viennafat]

Big arm session Tom --- 9 different exercises and lots of sets. You're making me feel guilty now

Your daughter's thinking: "I came in for the 'gun show' and I get 'Psycho' "

Thanks!
I'm feeling it today. Arms, hands, wrists, are all sore.

haha
I was surprised at myself when I let out that sound. I can only imagine what she was thinking.

After arm day do you walk round the house with sleeves rolled up hopin wife be mirin?

lol

Yes, yes I do.
And if she's not around, I usually just walk by 3-4 mirrors, pick the one that looks best, and mire myself.

[ch3v3ll3]

wish I could do french presses without feeling like I'm gonna destroy my elbows.

[viennafat]

wish I could do french presses without feeling like I'm gonna destroy my elbows.

Funny that you mention that, because I'm starting to feel a little something in my elbows.
Nothing too bad at the moment, but still a bit concerning.

Not sure what to do to combat this.

[phal]

Awesome arm day Tom I wish I could do French pressing but my elbows ... Feels like a ligament slides over my elbow and it's not a feeling I enjoy lol

[ch3v3ll3]

Funny that you mention that, because I'm starting to feel a little something in my elbows.
Nothing too bad at the moment, but still a bit concerning.

Not sure what to do to combat this.

Disregard french press acquire 315lb close grip.

[viennafat]

Awesome arm day Tom I wish I could do French pressing but my elbows ... Feels like a ligament slides over my elbow and it's not a feeling I enjoy lol

Thanks, bro!

That doesn't sound fun at all.
Both French press and skull crushers cuz some elbow issues with people.

Disregard french press acquire 315lb close grip.

lol
That's a good suggestion.

I've been thinking about starting some cgbp, too.

[Sinaku5]

Arms dead.

I can only imagine man. Thats a **** ton of volume lol.

I was going to do concentration curls the other day - real good way to isolate the biceps.

Gotta love a good arms session

[viennafat]

I can only imagine man. Thats a **** ton of volume lol.

I was going to do concentration curls the other day - real good way to isolate the biceps.

Gotta love a good arms session

It's always fun. Still have noticeable DOMS today.
Yup, concentration curls are a great way to isolate.
Curls for the girls.


In other news, I have an appointment booked with a sport medicine physician next week.
Curious to see what he has to say. I'll probably end up starting therapy again anyway, but since it's free I figured I'd give it a shot for yet another opinion.

[juicydanglers]

cgbp

wrecks my wrists

amidoinitwrong?

[ch3v3ll3]

cgbp

wrecks my wrists

amidoinitwrong?

buy wrist wraps. I'm usually thumb in the smooth and that seems to take care of most of it.

[viennafat]

February 6

Needed to make this session quick today.


Legs & Abs


BB Squats - building my way back up slowly
Warm-up
180x9
180x8
180x8
155x13

Left knee again gave me some problems, but only in the 1st set.
The subsequent sets felt ok. Increase in weight again next time.


Calf Raises - using a step
+70x15/15
+70x13/12
+60x14/12


Decline Situps
+35x15
+35x12
+35x10

Nice and heavy.
Abs really feeling it.


Front Squats - using straps
Decided to go just a bit heavier and lower the reps.

145x6
145x6
145x6

Aaaaaannnndddd FUK!
On the last rep of the last set, I felt that fuking feeling in my lower back I'm all too familiar with.
Almost immediately my back started tensing up and that was that.

I started stretching right away and icing. In the back of my mind thinking my efforts are futile, as per usual.
The truth will come tomorrow. Will see how I wake up, but I have a bad feeling. This doesnt feel like a small tweak like I had a while ago.
Unfortunately, I know these symptoms too well...

I wont jump to any conclusions until I see how it goes but those negative thoughts are running through my mind.
I hope I'm wrong and this isn't a bad one.

[moshvr]

ffffuuuark .... fingers crossed brah!

180lb sets on squats are great though man!

[viennafat]

ffffuuuark .... fingers crossed brah!

180lb sets on squats are great though man!

Thanks, Mike.
The squats were feeling good and I was finally feeling like I was making some progress.

Then this sh!t......

[fittofattofit]

The 180lb squats for high reps were looking good as were the front squats, then ....bam
I'm really sorry to hear about the back 'issue' Tom.
Hopefully with the icing and a bit of stretching the next few days it will start to settle. Take some ibuprofen as well and see that physio asap (doctors' orders)

[viennafat]

The 180lb squats for high reps were looking good as were the front squats, then ....bam
I'm really sorry to hear about the back 'issue' Tom.
Hopefully with the icing and a bit of stretching the next few days it will start to settle. Take some ibuprofen as well and see that physio asap (doctors' orders)

Thanks, doc.

Woke up today and on the positive side it's not as bad as I thought it may be. Definitely not like the big injuries I've had.
In those cases, it would take me a minute or two to just get out of bed cuz the pain was so bad.
But it's definitely not a minor tweak either. It's bad enough that I don't see myself deadlifting, squatting, or even rowing for a bit.
This will really affect my progress. Just when I was really getting into a groove and seeing results....

I'll play it safe for a couple of days and see how it goes. I'm hoping I'll be able to address it on my own.

Some "funny" points about this injury:
- Just hours before, I made an appt. with a sports physician to have a look at my pec and shoulder.
- While I was back squatting, I thought to myself that it's interesting how I have never tweaked my lower back squatting. Considering my lower back is prone to it and it's pretty common for it to happen to people while squatting.
- This literally happened on the last rep of the last set. fml....
- Was also thinking how recently my back has been feeling good. Last time I deadlifted it felt totally fine.
- Front squats are supposed to be easier on the lower back, if I'm not mistaken.
- Getting a new mattress in the next couple of weeks cuz the current one is no good and even my wife was starting to get back pain....

[fittofattofit]

Thanks, doc.

Woke up today and on the positive side it's not as bad as I thought it may be. Definitely not like the big injuries I've had.
In those cases, it would take me a minute or two to just get out of bed cuz the pain was so bad.
But it's definitely not a minor tweak either. It's bad enough that I don't see myself deadlifting, squatting, or even rowing for a bit.
This will really affect my progress. Just when I was really getting into a groove and seeing results....

I'll play it safe for a couple of days and see how it goes. I'm hoping I'll be able to address it on my own.

Some "funny" points about this injury:
- Just hours before, I made an appt. with a sports physician to have a look at my pec and shoulder.
- While I was back squatting, I thought to myself that it's interesting how I have never tweaked my lower back squatting. Considering my lower back is prone to it and it's pretty common for it to happen to people while squatting.
- This literally happened on the last rep of the last set. fml....
- Was also thinking how recently my back has been feeling good. Last time I deadlifted it felt totally fine.
- Front squats are supposed to be easier on the lower back, if I'm not mistaken.
- Getting a new mattress in the next couple of weeks cuz the current one is no good and even my wife was starting to get back pain....

Pride comes before a fall
I've always been the same ..... I think things are starting to feel good and I either push it too far or else there's a momentary lapse in concentration and I lose my form long enough to strain something. The funny thing for me though, was that the day I got the 180kg deadlift I'd been doing core work and popped a lumbar facet joint. The pain from that was so sharp that my core was almost in spasm and was so tight that it made me keep upright for the lift so that I had a much better lifting posture than usual
I wouldn't stop lifting totally, but try to do some light squats and deads and focus on bracing the 'strained' part and see how your lifts feel. It may actually help you 'find' the right posture for keeping safe when you start lifting heavier again

[viennafat]

Doctor, are you advising me to train injured?
I know what you mean though. That's pretty interesting how that worked out with your 180 dl.

At the moment it's still in that really acute stage, so I think I will give it 1 more day. I was thinking to maybe do a chest workout as that will have the least impact. But then some light stuff might do the trick.

And I think I will start using a belt sometimes. I know that's not the best solution, but it may help.

[viennafat]

To add insult to injury, yesterday we had the biggest snowstorm in 2-3 years.

Guess what activity is very tough on the lower back? Cleaning up snow!
So I had to stay in while the wife took care of that. Felt bad.

[Sinaku5]

ffffuuuark .... fingers crossed brah!

this Tom

To add insult to injury, yesterday we had the biggest snowstorm in 2-3 years.

Guess what activity is very tough on the lower back? Cleaning up snow!
So I had to stay in while the wife took care of that. Felt bad.

We had a pretty bad storm in WI - where are you at?

great leg session btw - front squats rock

[viennafat]

this Tom

We had a pretty bad storm in WI - where are you at?

great leg session btw - front squats rock

Thanks, man.
Today my back feels a bit better. I think if I play it smart and take it easy on my back for about a week, I might make it out of this unscathed.
Will focus on Arm/Chest for the next couple of sessions so that will give my back another 3-4 days of rest.

I'm in Toronto, Canada.
Got about 2 feet of snow.

[fittofattofit]

Doctor, are you advising me to train injured?
I know what you mean though. That's pretty interesting how that worked out with your 180 dl.

It always depends what the cause is ----- if it's nerve and disc bulges, then rest and postural stretching. If it's muscular strain (in reality a small tear) then after the bleeding has stopped you want to stretch gently under load so that the torn muscle tissue doesn't scar up and shorten, cos then you'll have a tight area of muscle which will continue to re-tear. That is usually what the case is with repeated strains --- it's an old tear that keeps re-scarring. Stretching under light load can be painful as the muscle gets pulled out to length but that pain usually settles within a few minutes. It's also what physics/massage therapists do when they dig deep into a 'sore' spot -- they try to 'break down' the scar tissue.

At the moment it's still in that really acute stage, so I think I will give it 1 more day. I was thinking to maybe do a chest workout as that will have the least impact. But then some light stuff might do the trick.

And I think I will start using a belt sometimes. I know that's not the best solution, but it may help.

Chest will be good, but do that stretching!
No problem with a belt, just only use it for the heavier sets because you will de-activate your core

To add insult to injury, yesterday we had the biggest snowstorm in 2-3 years.

Guess what activity is very tough on the lower back? Cleaning up snow!
So I had to stay in while the wife took care of that. Felt bad.

WIN, WIN

[viennafat]

It always depends what the cause is ----- if it's nerve and disc bulges, then rest and postural stretching. If it's muscular strain (in reality a small tear) then after the bleeding has stopped you want to stretch gently under load so that the torn muscle tissue doesn't scar up and shorten, cos then you'll have a tight area of muscle which will continue to re-tear. That is usually what the case is with repeated strains --- it's an old tear that keeps re-scarring. Stretching under light load can be painful as the muscle gets pulled out to length but that pain usually settles within a few minutes. It's also what physics/massage therapists do when they dig deep into a 'sore' spot -- they try to 'break down' the scar tissue.


Chest will be good, but do that stretching!
No problem with a belt, just only use it for the heavier sets because you will de-activate your core

Great explanation. Sounds exactly right.
As soon I'm out of this acute phase, I will start doing some work.

What I think I need to also do is increase my lower back flexibility. When I go into that hyper extension territory is where I seem to have a problem.
But just all around I need my back to be more loose.

Did chest today and everything went well.
Yeah, I will use the belt sparingly. Only if I'm going for really heavy sets or if I feel anything funny.

In fairness, the front squats I was doing weren't that heavy and up until that point I felt nothing going in my back. So that came out of nowhere.
Maybe because fatigue had set in by that point (especially in my core) and that did the trick.

WIN, WIN

The wife didn't think so.

And the best part was when she saw me benching today.
"Your back is good enough to work out?"
"I'm only doing chest. Everything I do is lying down."
Gives me the evil eye and walks away.

[viennafat]

February 7

Took 2 days off to nurse my back.
Today it felt a bit better. Good enough to do some chest.
But still treading carefully. No sudden movements and being really mindful.


Chest


Incline BB Press
145x12
165x8
145x10
135x12
125x12

Not bad. Felt pretty decent today.
No issues to report. That 165 is the heaviest I have pressed in ages.
The last lighter sets were nice slow tempo.


DB Flyes
35x13, 13, 12

Nice chest pump going.


Incline DB Press (high incline)
50x12, 12, 12

Was supposed to go heavier today, but just to play it safe I went light but jacked up the incline.
No issues here either. Both the pec and my shoulder felt fairly good.


Push ups
15 reps
14 reps
13 reps


Not bad. Was good to be back in there.
Session was straight forward but I think it got the job done for now.
Everything felt good and pecs/tris/delt felt worked.

[fittofattofit]

It's nice that you're back is feeling better and that you're getting back into the gym. I know that 'death stare' though ...... my wife has it perfected ..... my testicles instantly freeze over

Good job on the incline pressing -- good lifts and good volume
Flyes, incline DBs and push-ups are all looking good as well (plus the push-ups would have been a small challenge for your back strain ..... just don't tell the wife)

[viennafat]

Thanks!

Today I felt a noticeable improvement. A couple more days like that and I'll be pretty happy.
Although I was doing everything gingerly. Slow to lie down, slow to get up, always squatting down instead of bending over, etc.
Yeah, I was really careful with those push ups.

It was not a fun conversation with the wife. Although she seemed ok with it after.

[moshvr]

lol Well done Tom.

The sessions and getting your wife to shovel