2ndfloor's progress

[MaliaBot]

It's nice to see you posting regularly again.

Also, glad to hear some improvements with the shoulder are coming along. Are you doing ice and ibuprofen?

[2ndfloor]

^Thanks, Malia! I've been icing it but not taking any pills (which I hate, lol). I've been lurking in your journal, lately. I see that you're doing some impressive high-volume workouts!

[2ndfloor]

Deadlift and upper back day:

warm up with bar, 135, 175
1x4 deadlift 205 lbs. (I wanted to do 5, but 4 was all I could muster.)

5x5 assisted wide grip pull ups with 52 lbs. of counterweight and 2 minutes rest between sets (52 lbs. of assist was supposed to be my warm up, but my shoulder started bothering me, so I decided to stick with this for my work sets.)

shoulder rehab exercises

[tina722]

Yay! Deadlifts!! Great job!

Also, very impressed with squat weight.

[2ndfloor]

Bench day:

warm up with bar, 65, 80
4x4 bench 95 lbs. with 4 minutes rest between sets

4x7 dumbbell bench 40 lbs. with 4 minutes rest between sets

1x12, 1x10, 1x8 barbell skull crushers 30 lbs. with 2 minutes rest between sets

Finally nailed that 4x7 dumbbell bench at 40! I didn't think I would be able to do it following a barbell session, but the 3rd set was still manageable, so I went for that 4th set. I almost couldn't get the last rep of the last set up, but there it was! So stoked about this!

Some guy had the 40 lb. preloaded barbell for skull crushers, so I had to go with higher reps on the 30.

[kjake55]

Bench day:

warm up with bar, 65, 80
4x4 bench 95 lbs. with 4 minutes rest between sets

4x7 dumbbell bench 40 lbs. with 4 minutes rest between sets

1x12, 1x10, 1x8 barbell skull crushers 30 lbs. with 2 minutes rest between sets

Finally nailed that 4x7 dumbbell bench at 40! I didn't think I would be able to do it following a barbell session, but the 3rd set was still manageable, so I went for that 4th set. I almost couldn't get the last rep of the last set up, but there it was! So stoked about this!

Some guy had the 40 lb. preloaded barbell for skull crushers, so I had to go with higher reps on the 30.

Super job! All that persistance of yours paid off on the DB bench.

[CathyVee]

Yay for the 40 lb db bench (especially after doing BB bp)! Squat weight is pretty impressive, as well.

[2ndfloor]

^Thanks, cheering section!

Upper back day with PT

2x10 one arm row 30 lbs.
1x10 one arm row 40 lbs.
Nice to get back into these.

Various other exercises: assisted pull ups, wide-grip seated cable row, weighted back extensions, reverse push ups.... I don't remember the weights used, because my PT kept on adjusting based on how I was doing. The assisted pull ups are still bothering my shoulder.

[tina722]

^Thanks, cheering section!

Upper back day with PT

2x10 one arm row 30 lbs.
1x10 one arm row 40 lbs.
Nice to get back into these.

Various other exercises: assisted pull ups, wide-grip seated cable row, weighted back extensions, reverse push ups.... I don't remember the weights used, because my PT kept on adjusting based on how I was doing. The assisted pull ups are still bothering my shoulder.

What are reverse pushups?

& shoulder dislocations for the pain?

[kjake55]

/\/\ I was wondering the same thing...what's a reverse push up?

[2ndfloor]

Reverse push ups are when you set the Smith machine bar at a certain height (the lower it is, the harder it gets), and then hang from it in the plank position (think "push up" but with your back facing the floor), and then pull up with your arms. It targets the same area as rows do.

Are "shoulder dislocations" the same thing as "pass throughs"? I've been holding a pole with both hands and swinging it up and over my head to my back and forwards again to stretch that area after my usual sequence of stretches. When I started doing them, they were hard, but I'm getting more flexible, and the shoulder is starting to feel a bit better.

[tina722]

OH! ok, yea, those are hard!

And, yup, same thing (dislocations=pass throughs). Glad they are getting easier.

[2ndfloor]

Squat day with the PT:

warm up with bar, 75, 115
2x3 wide stance squat 155
1x2 wide stance squat 170

I had planned to do my usual 3x3, but on a whim, I asked my PT if I could go for a 1 rep max instead of doing the last set. He said yes, so I loaded the bar to 170 lbs. After plenty of rest, I went for it, and it felt so manageable that I went for a second rep, which was even deeper than the first! After seeing how easily that first rep went up, I'm seriously bummed that I didn't try for 175 instead.

So, the long and the short of it is that I'm super stoked about getting 2 reps at 170 but bummed I estimated conservatively.

After the squats, I did a bunch of assistance exercises on the machines with the PT: leg press, leg curls and extensions, hip adductors and abductors.

[2ndfloor]

High-volume bench day:

warm up with bar, 65, 80
5x3 bench 97 lbs. with 4 minutes rest between sets
5x6 dumbbell bench 40 lbs. with 4 minutes rest between sets (didn't want to chance a 4x7 with these after doing 5 sets of barbell bench)

I've been itching to get at the 45's for dumbbell bench for some time now. I got power hooks to use with them, so the power hooks will add a bit more weight to the total. I think I remember the Gold's Gym out in the suburbs having 42.5 dumbbells, although I can't say for sure. I might have to drive out there to try the 42.5's out before making the leap to 45.

[tina722]

1x2 wide stance squat 170

WOW! nice job!

All your weights are constantly going up. Looks good!

[CathyVee]

Squat day with the PT:

warm up with bar, 75, 115
2x3 wide stance squat 155
1x2 wide stance squat 170

I had planned to do my usual 3x3, but on a whim, I asked my PT if I could go for a 1 rep max instead of doing the last set. He said yes, so I loaded the bar to 170 lbs. After plenty of rest, I went for it, and it felt so manageable that I went for a second rep, which was even deeper than the first! After seeing how easily that first rep went up, I'm seriously bummed that I didn't try for 175 instead.

So, the long and the short of it is that I'm super stoked about getting 2 reps at 170 but bummed I estimated conservatively.

After the squats, I did a bunch of assistance exercises on the machines with the PT: leg press, leg curls and extensions, hip adductors and abductors.

I am so impressed with those squat numbers! Nice work. Are you eating more?

[2ndfloor]

Thanks, tina and Cathy! I think I'm eating the same amount as I had been prior to this weight gain. My hypothesis is--given that the weight gain coincided exactly with my getting a Vitamix blender--the super-blended mix of nutrients is getting more thoroughly absorbed by my body than previously. I don't know. I can't think of anything else I've done differently. But the long and the short of it is that I've gotten both stronger and heavier in the past 6 weeks.

Bench day with the PT:

One rep max testing, PL style.

After I warmed up slowly and gradually, I did an opening lift with 90. As expected, it was easy. I then did 105, which I missed in competition back in February, and it--too--went up without any difficulty. For my third lift, I tried 110, which was uncharted territory for me. To my surprise, it came off my chest pretty fast after he gave me the press command but then stalled at my sticking point. My PT helped me through it by a slight forced rep, and then I locked out on my own. The PT said that if I had tried 110 without 105 first, I may have gotten it. Since I hadn't already gotten 105 PL style, however, I wanted to make sure I got that one first.

Finished off with 1x20 bench 65 lbs., assistance exercises on pec machine and triceps machine, and 2x10 barbell skull crushers with 30 lbs.

[kjake55]

Good bench work there 2F. At 110 your almost at a full BW bench, something I've been dreaming of for a while now. I know you'll get there! Can't wait to see it happen!

[2ndfloor]

^Thanks! A full BW bench still feels like a long way off for me, lol. My goal is to get 110 PL style by the end of the summer and then 115 by the end of 2012. We'll see if I get there!

Lower body day:

One arm dumbbell snatch 1x5 20lbs, 2x5 30 lbs., 1x5 35 lbs.

warm up with barx2, 75, 115
3x3 wide stance squat 160 lbs. with 5 minutes rest between sets. Not entirely happy with depth, but 155 was starting to become not challenging enough

3x10 goblet squat 45 lbs. with 3 minutes rest between sets. My first time doing these. The hardest part was getting the dumbbell into position. Not used to high volume sets. I was starting to feel dizzy by the end.

Headed to a business trip for the next 4 days. The goal is to get to a gym on Saturday.

[2ndfloor]

Workout in hotel gym

Only dumbbells were available

warm ups
4x8 dumbbell bench 40 lbs. with 3:30 minutes rest between sets. First time!

warm ups
3x5 one arm dumbbell row 50 lbs. with 2 minutes rest between sets. First time!

Was happy that hotel had heavy enough dumbbells.

[2ndfloor]

Glad to be back home again!

Upper body day

warm up with bar, 65, 85
2x3 bench 100 lbs. with 4 minutes rest between sets (Woohoo! First time getting 3 reps at 100. I probably could have done that third set to make it a 3x3, but I didn't have a spotter and didn't want to chance getting stuck under the bar.)

2x3 dumbbell bench 45 lbs. with 4 minutes rest between sets (First time trying this out with the 45's! I didn't use my power hooks like I had planned, but once I get up to the 50's, I will definitely be using them.)

5x5 barbell skull crushers 40 lbs. with 3 minutes rest between sets

warm up with 30, 40
2x5 one arm row 50 lbs. with 2 minutes rest between sets (I really wanted to do 3x5, but I was so worn out after the second set that I called it a day.)

[MaliaBot]

Strong upper day!!! Very nice!! Looks like you may have to update your sig soon.

[kjake55]

Welcome Home! Sounds like you made the most out of your trip and you killed today in the gym! WTG 2F

[2ndfloor]

^^Thanks, guys! It was a total rush finally to be up to this point on the bench!

Switching from conventional DL to sumo DL:

I told my PT that I wanted to make a change today. When I first tried DL'ing in February 2011, I did it once both conventional and sumo to see which one felt more natural to me, and the conventional style did. Now that I feel like I'm beginning to plateau on the DL, I'm curious about what switching will do for me.

My PT had me slowly work up. I did the bar. Then I did 65, 95, 105, 115, 135, 155, 165 for 5 reps each. The session was mainly for me to get used to the new movement, so we didn't go that heavy. I could immediately feel that there was a shorter distance between the floor and the end of the lift.

I think focusing on my squats so much the last few months really helped, since sumo style feels like it's more leg-dominant. Going wide-stance on the squats also made the switch that much more smooth.

Then my PT had me finish off with some upper back assistance exercises.

[2ndfloor]

Got to the gym late. Didn't have enough time to do a full "push" routine. Glad I got something in today, at least.

warm up with bar, 65, 80
3x5 bench 95 lbs. with 4 minutes rest between sets (First time at this volume and weight! After doing 100 lbs. last Tuesday, the 95 felt almost easy.)

2x7 dumbbell bench 40 lbs. with 4 minutes rest between sets

[2ndfloor]

I had a nasty bout of GI distress yesterday. I barely ate anything. I carb loaded as much as possible before going to the gym this morning, but it wasn't nearly enough

1x5 one arm dumbbell snatch 20 lbs.
2x5 one arm dumbbell snatch 30 lbs.

warm up with bar, 75, 115
3x2 wide-stance squat 155 lbs. with 4 minutes rest between sets

I'm going to get back into squats with a vengeance. My business trip a little more than a week ago and then getting sick yesterday really threw me off. In mid-June 3x3 with 155 lbs. was too easy, but today, I could barely get those 2 reps in.

[2ndfloor]

Squat day, revisited:

warm up with bar, 65, 85, 115
4x3 wide stance squat 150 lbs. with 4 minutes rest between sets
4x8 goblet squat 50 lbs. with 3 minutes rest between sets

Really seem to be having difficulty getting back into the groove of squatting. I think it might be time to do what I did with my bench a month or two ago, which was to go back down to a ridiculously easy weight and then work back up from there again. I want to keep the high-volume goblet squats to do in my routine after my back squats to see if that helps.

[MaliaBot]

How's your diet? You gaining?

[2ndfloor]

^I've been gaining for about 2 months steadily even though my diet and activity are the same. Also, my strength has not gone up at the same rate as my weight gain. It's really weird, because this has never happened to me before. My friends are all telling me to go get some tests done for hypothyroid. It's probably nothing, but I'll make an appointment.

Deadlift day (left hand pronated):

warm up with bar, 135, 165, 185, 195
1x3 sumo DL 205 lbs.

This was my second time doing sumo DL's. Last week, I worked up to 165 with my PT just to get the movement down, and it felt weird and unfamiliar, but in a good way. I could tell that it was less strain on the lower back than conventional style, and the distance of the lift was shorter from the floor to lockout.

When I did my work set at 205 today, I really felt like I could have made another increase and gone for 210 (which would have been a PR for me!), but I didn't want to overdo it on my second time out. I'll try 210 next week after a lower volume warm up series.

Upper back:

4x8 one arm dumbbell row 45 lbs. with 1:30 minutes rest between sets

p.s. Forgot to include a bench workout with the PT I did last Thursday. Worked up to a 1x3 100 lbs. and did a bunch of assistance exercises.

[2ndfloor]

Only mild DOMS the day after DL's.

"Press" day:

warm up with bar, 65, 80
3x5 bench 95 lbs. with 4 minutes rest between sets
3x10 press 45 lbs. with 2 minutes rest between sets
4x7 seated dumbbell press 25 lbs. with 3 minutes rest between sets

3x30 second planks with 1 minute rest between sets

It was nice to get back into shoulder work after hurting my neck doing shoulders earlier this year. I'm going to start out with light weights and work my way up again. My core has gotten weak after neglecting it for a while. Those 30 second planks were pathetic.