Nads Workout Journal 2012: Get strong without turning into a lardo

[nads786]

Hope you enjoyed your trip brah. I've been to San Fran twice and enjoyed both times.

Regarding your new split, are you planning on doing P/P/L every other day 3 times a week, or are you going run P/P/L/P/P/L six days a week? What prompted you to make a program change?

I love SF, This was my third time going there. It's my favorite city outside of Chicago in the US.

I decided to change my workout for a couple of reasons:

-I've noticed I lost muscular endurance alternating body parts
-Work is getting pretty hetic and I need maximum flexibility to move my workouts around and not have any overlap and muscle conflicts
- I really want to push the volume of my first exercise to drive strength gains and that just takes too much out of me to give back its due

Good volume with the pulls and nice to finish with the chins. Good news that the shoulder didn't bark at you Nadeem

Thanks Andrew!

[nads786]

Push

1) BB Flat Bench
barx8
95x8
135x8
185x4
225x1
250x2 (fail)
185x8
185x8

2) Side Laterals
4 sets of 15 reps

3) Incline DB Bench
50x8
60x8
70x8
80x8

4) CGBP
barx8
135x5
155x5
175x5
175x4 (lame)

5) V Grip Pushdowns
50x8
57.x5x8
65x8
65x8
65x8
57x8
57x8
50x8

*1 mile treadmill walk*

Comments

Pretty crappy workout but it's to be expected as I went to SF missed a week and I need to get my groove back. I'll give the 250 for 3 sets of 5 a shot next week and see where I end up.

[lewdog_5]

Where are your hands on close grip? Given your regular bench numbers you should be pushing more on close grip...I see some guys who really go too narrow and it limits your strength and carryover IMO.

[iron619]

Pretty crappy workout but it's to be expected as I went to SF missed a week and I need to get my groove back. I'll give the 250 for 3 sets of 5 a shot next week and see where I end up.

Perhaps you are still getting adjusted to your new Push/Pull/Leg routine. This was the third workout since you've returned from your trip, but it can still be a "transition" phase.

You wrote that you fail on 250x2---does this mean you attempted a 3rd rep but missed it?

Where are your hands on close grip? Given your regular bench numbers you should be pushing more on close grip...I see some guys who really go too narrow and it limits your strength and carryover IMO.

I guess it's tough to find the ideal sweet spot on CGBP. There are many interpretations of what "close grip" means. Some go too narrow and it decreases the mechanical leverages and may put too much stress on the joints. My rule of thumb is close grip can essentially be anything that is within or narrower than the width of your deltoids...thoughts?

[lewdog_5]

I guess it's tough to find the ideal sweet spot on CGBP. There are many interpretations of what "close grip" means. Some go too narrow and it decreases the mechanical leverages and may put too much stress on the joints. My rule of thumb is close grip can essentially be anything that is within or narrower than the width of your deltoids...thoughts?

IMO the best mechanical advantage and carryover to regular bench is hands right at shoulder width where my thumbs touch right on the outside of my pecs when I bring the bar to my chest.

[fittofattofit]

250 x 2 doesn't look like a fail to me
Interesting thoughts about close grip benching although you did a lot of pressing with the BB and then incline DBs so I'm sure your tris were tiring
Good luck with the 250 x 3 x 5 next week when you've fully recovered form SF

[nads786]

Lower

1) Front Squats
barx8
95x8
135x8
185x3
205x1
225x1
240x3 (injury)


Comments

I should of probably not forced this workout but I decided to anyway. I've been driving a lot for work and my back was been stiff but I decided to hit legs and the 240 really messed up my lower back.

I have no idea how I even reracked the weight but the minute I did I had a shooting pain near my lower back and then I barely walked out of the gym and into my car.

I'm icing the hell out of it right now but sitting is painful right now.

fuk my lower back.

[nads786]

Where are your hands on close grip? Given your regular bench numbers you should be pushing more on close grip...I see some guys who really go too narrow and it limits your strength and carryover IMO.

I totally agree I was really sandbagging this workout just didn't have my normal motivation and drive. In past workouts I think the DB rows took a lot out of me and I was never able to really give the CGBP its full due. Hopefully the Push/Pull/Legs split helps.

Perhaps you are still getting adjusted to your new Push/Pull/Leg routine. This was the third workout since you've returned from your trip, but it can still be a "transition" phase.

You wrote that you fail on 250x2---does this mean you attempted a 3rd rep but missed it?

Hopefully its just the transition phase and I'll be able to get back to my normal ability. I didn't attempt the third rep I simply stopped at rep 2 realizing I couldn't get three.


I guess it's tough to find the ideal sweet spot on CGBP. There are many interpretations of what "close grip" means. Some go too narrow and it decreases the mechanical leverages and may put too much stress on the joints. My rule of thumb is close grip can essentially be anything that is within or narrower than the width of your deltoids...thoughts?

My CGBP is actually not too narrow. It's just slightly more narrow than the width of my delts.

IMO the best mechanical advantage and carryover to regular bench is hands right at shoulder width where my thumbs touch right on the outside of my pecs when I bring the bar to my chest.

250 x 2 doesn't look like a fail to me
Interesting thoughts about close grip benching although you did a lot of pressing with the BB and then incline DBs so I'm sure your tris were tiring
Good luck with the 250 x 3 x 5 next week when you've fully recovered form SF

250x2 is a huge fail when you were trying to hit 15 reps! I'm continuously hard on myself tho its just the way I am.

[fittofattofit]

250x2 is a huge fail when you were trying to hit 15 reps! I'm continuously hard on myself tho its just the way I am.

Everything is relative but I think that by being hard on ourselves is how we keep improving. I've been training in my current gym for maybe 8 years now and a lot of the same people are there day-in-day-out and don't seem to ever change their lifts or shape. They just don't seem to have the same intensity and drive.

I'm sorry to hear about the back. I'm sure it was a muscle strain so ice and rest today and then some good (and painful) stretching for the next few days is my prescription

[nads786]

Pull

1) Chest Supported T-bar Rows
45x12
75x5
105x5
105x5
105x5
105x5
105x5

2) DB Rows Deloaded
60x5
90x8
90x8
90x8

3) Side Laterals
3 sets of 12

4) Cable Shrugs (2 second pause)
75x8
75x8
75x8
75x8

5) HS High Row (assume machine weights 45lbs)
185x12
225x8
225x8
225x8

6) DB Curls
25x8
25x8
25x8

Comments

Overall very good workout. I wore a belt throughout and my lower back seemed to hold up.

the T-bar rows were again very very easy and I'll add another 5lbs til I hit a sticking point. So far I'm loving the pull days.

HS high rows started irritating my left shoulder which tells me anything in the vertical pushing/pulling category is going to flair up my shoulders so I'll try to avoid those.

[fittofattofit]

Good back and lat session despite the tweaky back Nadeem. Nice work with those chest supported T bar rows .. and much better for your back than the unsupported ones. I like it how 90lb DB rows are a 'deload'

[FeaRxUnLeAsHeD]

in brah, just noticed this log started in 2012. You had some strong lifts then. Can you give me the cliff notes of the last 2 years of this log so I don't have to read 55 pages ?

Check out my workout log as well (in sig)

[nads786]

Good back and lat session despite the tweaky back Nadeem. Nice work with those chest supported T bar rows .. and much better for your back than the unsupported ones. I like it how 90lb DB rows are a 'deload'

The only problem with the chest supported T-bar rows is that breathing can be difficult. I should use better phrasing for the DB rows they aren't a "deload" but they are pendlay style dead stop to the ground and then another rep occurs if that makes sense.

in brah, just noticed this log started in 2012. You had some strong lifts then. Can you give me the cliff notes of the last 2 years of this log so I don't have to read 55 pages ?

Check out my workout log as well (in sig)

Haha welcome dude, to sum up this journal:

1) Just got off of a cut in 2012 went from 165 up to 189 then cut to 180
2) Switched a bunch of main exercises
DB bench--> barbell bench
Leg Press--> Front Squat
Back work always interchanging
3) Started cycling a lot and now I don't go as frequently

[nads786]

Push

1) BB Flat Bench
barx8
95x8
135x8
185x4
205x2
250x3
250x3
225x3

2) DB Incline Bench
60x8
70x8
80x8
80x8
65x8

3) Cable Side Laterals
4 sets of 12-14 reps

4)CGBP
barx8
95x8
135x8
185x5
185x5
135x8

5) V Grip Pushdowns
120x10
130x10
140x10
140x10

Comments

Overall pretty crappy performance today. Thats two bad push workouts in a row. I didn't even drink this weekend and I still had a bad workout. The only thing I think is causing this is the lack of food which may have affected my performance. The other alternative is my body just reacts much better to Upper 2x workouts vs push/pull.

The question now is if I should continue to try the push workouts or go back to my upper/lower workouts?

Legs

1) Front Squats
barx8
95x8
135x8

(lower back giving me a lot of pain decided to ditch the front squats and try some random stuff)

2) Goblet Bulgarian Split Squats (BSS)
bwx8
20lbsx8
35x5
35x8
20x8
bwx8

3) GHR
4 sets of 8

4) BW BSS
6 sets of 8-12

5)Hip Thrusts
4 sets of 8-10

Comments

I'm going to play it a little safe and leave the front squats out of the equation for a bit and focus on some single leg stuff. The BSS are hard as hell and I keep losing my balance but I think once I get the form down I should be able to really progress on this.

[Woody-5]

250 triples on the bench is strong stuff dude! Liking the incline DB work afterward

[fittofattofit]

One week ago pressed 250 x 2 and incline DB press 80 x 8
This week pressed 250 x 3 for two sets and DB incline presses 80 x 8 for two sets
^^^^^^ looks like great progress on the upper day Nadeem

Good work on the BSSs .. it takes a bit of getting used to but once you get the hang of them you'll love them

[FeaRxUnLeAsHeD]

some strong bench in there.

[nads786]

Pull

1) Chest Supported T-bar Rows
45x10
75x5
110x5
110x5
110x5
110x5
110x5

2)DB Rows (pause at bottom)
60x5
95x6
95x6
95x6
96x6

3) Incline DB Shrugs (pause at top)
55x8
55x8
55x8
55x8
55x8

4) HS High Rows
2 platesx8
2platesx8
2platesx8
2platesx8
2platex8

Comments

Overall really good workout. The T-bar rows are def getting harder and I doubt I can get 2 plates and a 25 next week but I'll give it a go and calibrate down. I may consider going back to my upper lower routine instead of push/pull just depends on how I feel next week.

[nads786]

Lower

1) Goblet BSS
bwx8
20x8
20x8
20x8
20x8
bwx10

2)GHR
bwx8
bwx8
bwx8
bwx8

3) Hip Thrusts
80x10
80x10
80x10
80x10

4) DB Lunges
40x8
40x8
40x8
bwx10

5) Calves
4 sets of 15

Comments

Continuing my leg workouts without front squats til my lower back feels bit better. This was a solid workout that had me sweating my ass off.

[fittofattofit]

I really like chest supported T bars and other rows .. once you cut out the potential to 'cheat' with your hip drive and lower back extension you realise how focussed you can be on your lats with a much lower weight. I'd love to have a bench where I could do that but it just doesn't work with any of the ones in my regular gym
I love to see those BSSs and lunges .. I never fail to break a sweat and I always end up with good DOMS the next day. It's all good to help you stabilise the back as well

[iron619]

Taking a break from lifting brah? Is your lower back still messed up?

[nads786]

Upper 1

1) BB Flat Bench
barx8
95x8
135x8
185x5
205x3
225x3
225x3
225x3

2)Chest Supported T-Bar Rows
45x12
75x6
115x5
115x5
115x5
115x5
115x5

3)CGBP
135x8
155x8
155x8
155x8
155x8

4) DB Rows (paused)
60x5
80x6
80x6
80x6
80x6

5) DB Incline Bench
60x8
60x8
60x8
60x8

Comments

Another bad bench day but the back work was solid. I switched back to the ole upper/lower concept to see if my bench recovers this coming weekend. Maybe my body just likes heavy and light upper days? Nothing else has really changed in my diet or sleep cycle right now. The only change has been I'm at a different gym.

[nads786]

Lower

1) BSS (dbs to side)
bwx8
25x8
25x8
25x8
25x8
bwx10
bwx10

2) GHR
bwx8
bwx8
bwx8
bwx8

3) Hip Thrusts
4 sets of 8-10

4) Lunges (dbs to side)
25x8
25x8
25x8
25x8

5) Calves
4 sets of 15

Comments

Overall solid workout and a good bridge to keep my lower back feeling ok. I tried front squats again and still feeling lower back pain.

[nads786]

I really like chest supported T bars and other rows .. once you cut out the potential to 'cheat' with your hip drive and lower back extension you realise how focussed you can be on your lats with a much lower weight. I'd love to have a bench where I could do that but it just doesn't work with any of the ones in my regular gym
I love to see those BSSs and lunges .. I never fail to break a sweat and I always end up with good DOMS the next day. It's all good to help you stabilise the back as well

Thanks Andrew, so far I'm liking the BSS

Taking a break from lifting brah? Is your lower back still messed up?

No breaks ever haha But my lower back is still aching a bit all this driving for work doesn't help at all. The single leg work so far is a good break from front squats. Mentally I feel good knowing each leg day isn't an absolute battle.

[fittofattofit]

I like that leg day as a way of helping to rebuild your back strength and retrain your hip stabilisers and erectors: BSSs, lunges and GHRs are all good choices
Benching still looks very solid and you'll have a 'whoosh' day soon where it all comes together for a PR session

[nads786]

Upper 2

1) One Arm HS Rows
45x8
90x8
90x8
90x8
90x8
90x8

2) V Grip Pushdowns
80x8
110x8
140x8
140x8
140x8
140x8

3) Incline DB Shrugs
55x8
55x8
55x8
55x8
55x8
55x8

4) OH Rope extensions
50x12
60x12
65x12
65x12
65x12
65x12
65x12

5)DB Side Laterals
4 sets of 20

6) Chin Ups
bwx8
bwx8

7) One Arm T-bar Rows
50x8
50x8
50x8

Comments

Standard upper light day, need to up the weight on basically everything. Lets hope this leads to a good upper heavy day this sunday.

[fittofattofit]

Standard upper light day, need to up the weight on basically everything. Lets hope this leads to a good upper heavy day this sunday.

^^^ that has to be good!

[nads786]

Lower

1) BSS
bwx8
20lbsx8
20lbsx8
20lbsx8
20lbsx8
bwx10
bwx10

2)GHR
4 sets of 8

3) Hip Thrusts
120x12
120x12
120x12
120x7

4) Lunges (walking)
25lbsx8
25lbsx8
25lbsx8
25lbsx8


Comments

BSS are a humbling exercise but I'm slowly getting the hang of them. I did some light front squatting and it felt ok not sure how to proceed next.

The good thing with the BSS's are I can hit legs extremely frequently without feeling too fatigued.

[nads786]

Upper 1

1) BB Flat Bench
barx8
95x8
135x8
185x4
205x1
225x5
225x5
225x5

2) Chest Supported T-bar rows
45x12
75x5
90x5
117.5x5
117.5x5
117.5x5

3) CGBP
135x8
155x8
185x5
185x5
185x5

4) DB Rows (reps deloaded)
75x8
75x8
75x8
75x8

5) DB Incline Bench
60x8
60x8
60x8
60x8
60x8

Comments

I didn't have a spotter so I went with 225 for 3 sets of 5. Still felt harder than it should but I'm hoping next week I can buid back up to 240 and start progressing again.

The t-bar rows are on fire right now hoping to get to 3 plates in a month or two

[fittofattofit]

Good to see the BSSs ... I hate them but they're good for me because I really have to focus on stabilising my knees and hips to stop from toppling over
Sets of 225 x 5 and CG 185 x 5 looks very good and closing in on 3 plates for the chest supported rows is excellent work Nadeem
What's your weight doing at the moment?