RT1957 journal

[RT1957]

Hi all

Joined in Dec. I did a lot of BB as a teen, competed but I got hurt and was told not to weight train by my doctor...so stupidly I didn't...got fat 230 ...fat for my body....I'm 55 now. In September of 2011 I started my journey back by working out at home on my bowflex(No comments Please) it worked for getting me active again and is low impact so no joint trouble. In June of 2012 I had gotten down to 190 and I joined a 24hr fitness. Initially I used only the machines but hooked up with one the the trainers and he convinced me I could hit the weights again without fear of injury to my back. We stripped a bunch more fat off of me and I got down to 167...at 6'1" that was a little light. I stabilized at 174 until the beginning of the year.

He started me off slow and now I'm squatting again and having a great time getting myself back in shape. My routine isn't really bodybuilding routine because at my age I really more interested in getting as strong as possible simply so I have more to lose I as age. I also want to start playing softball in a senior league and my body laughs at me every time I think about sprinting. So I gonna start by jogging for a few months to build up the joint strength

Right now I'm on a 5 day upper lower push pull split.

Mondays & Wednesdays are heavy leg days
Squats 5X5
Romanian DL 3 X 10
DL 1 X 5
Leg Press 12 10 8 6
Leg curl 3 X 10
Back ext
core work

Tuesday Upper push pull
Incline BP 5X5
Bent Row 5X5
Seated Arnold Press 3 X 10
Wide grip upright row 3 X 10
Bent lateral raise 3 X 10
DB Pullover 3X10
Bench press 5X5
Wide grip Pulldowns

Thursday Push Pull
Standing Press 5X5
Wide Grip Upright rows 3X10
Bent Lateral Raise 3X10
Incline DB Press 3X10
Close Grip Pulldowns 3X10
DB Pullovers 3 X10
Bench Press 5X5
V-Bar rows 3X10

Rest on friday...some cardio and balance exercises...at 55 my balance sucks

Saturday is a fullbody deload light weights and the only day I do direct arm work. I think with the volume of push pull I do my arms are getting plenty of work. Plus They've grown a good 1" in the last 2 months
Squats 3X10
Romanian DL 3X10
Standing Press 3 X 10
Wide Grip Pulldowns 3 X10
Incline Bench Press 3 X10
T-Bar Row 3 X10
Reverse Tricep Pushdown 4 X10
EZ Curl 2 X 10
Reverse EZ curl 2 X10
Back Ext 3 X 15

Sunday rest day

I've put on 10LBS since starting this routine and I'm loving it....

[RT1957]

Purchased some adidas power lifting shoes that should be here later this week. So I'm skipping squats for the week until they get here. I'm not getting low enough and I sprained my knee last week so I'm hoping the shoes will help me break parallel and the week off will help heal my knee sprain. Plus no sense in performing bad form. I got to work on the flexibility of my calves lower back and hamstrings too. I can get parallel but can't break it comfortably with the toe shoes I was wearing so I went for the powerlifting shoes. Did some heavy leg presses today.

[RT1957]

Hit upper body today. Got all my weights and reps for this workout. Did some pullups for the first time in many years. I wasn't even sure if I could.. I can do 4 good ones so i did 5 or 6 sets of 3 or 4. I usually do wide grip pulls downs at the end of my Tuesday workout but both cables stations were taken so I had to improvise and I had been thinking about adding some basic body weight exercises into the workout so the pullups were a good introduction. Felt good I bet I'll be sore from the tomorrow. I did 3 or 4 sets of wide grip then I used a vbar and did 2 more sets that way. Since I can only do a few reps I just did as many sets as I could and I lost track. I did them until I felt I had gotten some good from it. I've avoided them because I don't do many and have been embarrassed in a sense so I throw it to the wind and said who cares. Gotta start somewhere. Jump rope is another activity I'd love to master but I can only do 5 or 6 jumps before the rope gets caught in my feet...no patience. I had deloaded all my weights in January so I'm slowly getting back to more challenging weights.

Legs tomorrow...no squats this week until I get my adidas power pro shoes. Heavy leg press and some no weight hack squats as a dynamic stretch. I'll probably do some dead lifts

[RT1957]

Probably would have been a good week to take off. The time change really messed with me. I'm getting to the gym about the same time I use to be finishing and I can't seem to wake up before 7:30 which last week was 6:30. I even set my alarm and just ignored it....I'm hoping I'll get back to getting up at 6:30 soon. I like to get to the gym early and start my day. Did a light leg day today still waiting for my shoes. and my knee is still a little tender but it doesn't hurt at all when I do leg presses...so I piled on the weight there. Did some no weight Hack Squats(Dynamic stretch), Romanian dead lifts also did a few sets of single leg leg press to help with my left leg weakness and some light leg ext and I always do 10 minutes of cardio before each wo as my warmup...Not my normal routine but back to it next week with the new shoes....I can't wait to squat in them. My trainer said the first time he squatted in a them he wonder why it took him so long to buy a pair.

[RT1957]

Good wo today. Didn't get my 5X5 on standing press but did get sets of 4. It usually takes 2 or 3 wo's to up the weight on shoulder press. It seems to be my weakest move of all the compound movements I do. I have long arms so I've been told that has something to do with it. I also have long legs so probably another part of my squat form problem. Rest day tomorrow but I will do some cardio stretching and balance work. Then a light full body on Saturday after my CPR class I'm taking this week. I'm studying with NASM to get my CPT I'm also going to get certificates for corrective exercise, nutrition and senior fitness through NASM. Get program...amazing amount of information that I wish I knew when I first started out at 15. I probably wouldn't have gotten hurt with the knowledge I'm gaining through the course

[RT1957]

My shoes came today and since I didn't squat all week and I have a CPR class tomorrow I went to the gym to try them out. Didn't really keep track of how many sets I did. Just real light 95 and then 115 trying to get as low as I could. I feel it in my butt and hams a lot more than I did squatting with my toe shoes. I bought the Adidas Power Pro 2 shoe. It as 3/4 inch heel. It a nice snug shoe and I think it looks great and the stability was amazing. Gonna start again Monday with my regular leg routine and I'm gonna deload back to 120 and add 5LBS per WO and really try to get my A$$ to the floor. I can now bring my legs a little closer together and I need to work on keeping my feet from drifting out, especially my right foot. I know it's tight calfs, hams, hips and lower back

[RT1957]

Good leg workout today. Love the new shoes. I deloaded Squats back to 120 to really try and get past parallel. My trainer said I was a couple inches short when I went to see him last weekend. So we worked on depth and form. The shoes really help get deep.

Squat 5x120X5
Romanian DL 10X120X3
Deadlift 5X120X3
Single leg leg press 5X60X3

I use to use the leg press machine with the platform that moved away as you pushed from a seated position. Today I went to the one where you squat your body at a incline so I really had to drop the weight because of the different angle.

I do single leg press because due to my back injury i favored my right leg and my left leg just continued to get weaker and weaker as the years went by. When I first got back into training I could do about 7 reps at 50LBS on the leg extension machine with my left leg but I right leg I could do like 30. My left leg was 2inches smaller than my right and at least 80% weaker. So the single leg presses are designed to bring my left leg back in line with my right. It is much better than it was but still very much weaker. I also suffer from constant spasms in my hip flexors because of the problem with my left leg. I've been stretching it and foam rolling along with doing the single leg leg presses to bring it back. It's made huge improvements. My left leg is now only 3/4 inch smaller than my right and much closer in strength

[RT1957]

Upper body today. Didn't get all my reps with my new weights.
Reps X weight X sets
Incline bench 5 X 130 x 1
4 X 130 X 4
T-Bar Row 5 X 130 X 5
Seated Arnold Press 10 X 40 X 1
8 X 40 x 2
Rear Lateral raise 12 X 40 X 2
9 X 40 X 1
Wide Grip Upright row 6 X 100 X 3
Dumbbell Pullovers 10 X 70 X 3
Bench press 5 X 135 X 1
4 X 135 X 2
3 X 135 X 2
Wide Grip Pulldowns 8 X 120 X 3

[RT1957]

Legs today...My leg routine is very basic...
reps X weight X sets
Squats 5 X 125 X 5
RDL 10 X 125 X 3
DL 5 X 125 X 3
Single leg press 5 X 40 X 3 alternating legs

I really had to drop the weight changing machines. I had worked up to 110 on the seated leg press. This incline squat machine is way harder. I put 70 on it this AM and did 2 reps so I just bit the bullet and dropped it down to 40....ugly....my left leg is so weak....Gonna keep after it....I think this will be a better machine to use. It's more of a squat than just a regular leg press. Trying to balance out the strength between my legs has been an interesting road. My right leg feel so much more fluid and natural and my left legs feels like it belongs to someone else. I really struggle to push that weight with it. That's why I'm going so light on squats I really need to feel like both legs are in the fight. I had worked up to 190 on squats but again wasn't getting deep enough so with that and the feeling like my right leg is doing all the work I deloaded squats and changed machines to do my single leg work

[daviddaug]

Good Job getting going with the Journal. I started one last year but failed to make it a habit. I am planning to resurrect it in hopes of making some connections for feedback. I will check back in to see how you like the new shoes after a couple more workouts.

[RT1957]

Hi David

I love the shoes. I'm still probably an inch shallow but The light sets are almost like a dynamic weight stretch and I know each set I get lower. I'm trying to get the hip crease to hid behind the crown of my leg. Saturday I'll do some light box squats. I really need to work on flexibility and I do, it's better but yet has a long way to go. My left leg is like gristle when I roll it. Tight and weak as is the hip on that side. I can't even get into a hurdler position with it. I didn't take care of the problem when it happened and the years just created a cycle. I broke the cycle and it's fun and frustrating at the same time because now I don't want to take anytime off...

[RT1957]

Upper body today. I don't really split it by body part but shoulders just happen to get grouped. Although I think of just about every upper body exercise as a shoulder workout.

reps X weight X sets
Standing Press 5 X 100 X 5
Wide grip Upright row 6 X 100 X 3 2 second iso-hold on the last rep of each set
rear lateral raises 12 X 40 X 2
9 X 40 X 1
Incline Dumbbell Press 8 X 55 X 3
Close Grip Pulldowns 6 X 130 X 3
Dumbbell Pullover 10 X 70 X 2
8 X 70 X 1
Bench Press 5 X 135 X 5
Seated V-Bar row 8 X 130 X 3

Got my 5 X 5 on both presses today so next week 105 on Standing press and 140 on Bench press

I started this by using the principles of SL5X5 and I use the 5X5 method on all my basic compound movements Squat DL Press, Bench & Bent Rows which I replace with the T-Bar row.
My other movements all fall into the 3 set mode and when i add weight i drop the reps down to 6 and add a rep each workout to those movements until I reach 10 or 12 reps then I add weight. So I just upped thee weight on all my row exercises so I dropped the reps and I'm on my way working the reps back up to 10 or 12

[RT1957]

Got up very early this AM due to another CPR class that I signed up for but don't really need to take...but I paid for it so I'm going....Earliest I've been to the gym and It's too early for my body...The whole workout was one big "I wish I was more awake" fest.....

Saturday I go lighter and do a 3 sets of 10 Full body.....except.... I skipped arms today....just no interest...I was too tried to care

reps X weight X sets

Squats 10 X 125 X 3 I already deloaded Squats so I just used the weight I used during the week for my 5X5
Romanian DL 10 X 125 X 3
Standing Press 10 X 80 X 3
Wide grip Pulldowns 10 X 120 X 3

This is where it hit me that i was really weak and was not fully awake....Incline BP was a struggle with a very light weight. I actually lost 4 reps from last week at the same weight

Incline BP 8 X 115 X 1
6 X 115 X 2
T-Bar Row 10 X 80 X 3

Since I had struggled with IBP I just dropped a bunch of weight off T-bar so I could get my sets of 10. 5:30AM is too early for me to go WO...simple as that

[daviddaug]

Morning workouts can take some adjustment to get use to. I typically go around 5 or 5:30 am so I think it is just a matter of what you condition your body too expect.

Keep it up man the journal looks great

[RT1957]

I don't think I ate very well before the workout. I had an orange and a protein drink....I should have had some oatmeal for longer energy. I think the orange's carbs just go too fast and I made my protein drink with just milk and whey

David?? Did you resurrect your Journal ?

Thanks for checking in

Rest tomorrow.......(no resistance training)....I will do some light jogging, stretching and balance work. I'm giving myself a year to get in shape to play senior softball and not pull a muscle ....

[RT1957]

Good clean WO this AM. I decided due to my left leg weakness to put the single leg presses upfront

Warmup by foam rolling my entire body but I concentrate on my real tight muscles. My right calf and my left leg quads and hip flexors
10 minutes on the stair master

reps X weight X sets
reverse leg raises 10 X BW X 3
Single leg press 10 X 40 X 1 alternate legs
5 X 50 X 1
5 X 60 X 1
Squats 5 X 130 X 5
RDL 10 X 130 X 3
DL 5 X 130 X 3
Back Ext 15 X BW X 3

[RT1957]

Upper push pull today

Tried on the elliptical machines for my warmup...very different....

Reps X weight X sets

Incline BP 5 X 130 X 5
T-Bar Row 5 X 135 X 5
Seated Arnold Press 10 X 40 X 2
7 X 40 X 1
Rear Lateral raise 12 x 40 X 3 Not the greatest form
Wide grip Upright Row 7 X 100 X 3 - 2 second iso hold on the last rep
DB Pullovers 10 X 70 X 3
Bench Press 5 X 140 X 1
3 X 140 X 4
Wide grip pulldowns 8 X 120 X 3

Got my Incline BP weights so up to 135 on Incline BP next week
I put flat bench at the end so I would get a better chest workout. My shoulder and tri's have been tested by this point.
So that's why my bench weight is so close to my Incline weight. I get a kicking pump putting BP at the end of the workout.

[daviddaug]

David?? Did you resurrect your Journal ?

I will do some light jogging, stretching and balance work. I'm giving myself a year to get in shape to play senior softball and not pull a muscle ....

I did resurrect it, so it is back out of retirement, hopefully to help me keep myself in the game.

Good luck with the Softball I play in a recreational league during the summer, though some games are more on the competitive side just because of the personalities on the teams. It is usually a lot of fun.

[RT1957]

Legs again today

Used the elliptical again for my warmup. Gets' the arms moving to loosens the shoulders...I'm gonna stick with it for my 10 minutes cardio. Much more fun than a stairmaster....

reps X weight X sets

Reverse leg lifts (For my lower back) 10 X BW X 3
Single leg presses 5 X 50 X 3
Squats 5 X bar X 2
5 X 115 X 1
5 X 135 X 5
RDL 10 X 135 X 3
DL 5 X 135 x 3
Back extensions 15 X BW X 3

I'm not really on any kind of diet I just eat clean. I already lost 50+ LBS over the last 1 1/2 years so right now I just want to eat clean and get stronger. I figure as I keep getting stronger I'll get more dense at my current weight. I'm happy anywhere between 180 - 190 I fall between that each month now.

[RT1957]

Upper push pull today

10 minutes on the elliptical for a warmup. I like it because it gets my shoulders moving and lubed up

reps X weight X sets
Standing Press 5 X bar X 2
5 X 65 X 1
5 X 105 X 1
4 X 105 X 1
3 X 105 X 1
5 X 95 X 2

My form was horrible on Press today. It's my weakest move and I really struggled to push 105 so I bit the bullet and lowered the weight on the last 2 sets

Wide grip upright row 8 X 100 X 3
Rear Lateral raises 12 X 40 x 3
Incline DB Press 10 X 55 X 2
7 X 55 x 1
Close grip pulldowns 8 X 130 X 3
DB Pullovers 10 X 70 X 3
Bench Press 5 X 140 X 1
4 X 140 X 1
3 X 140 X 1 I lost the groove on this set. The bar got a little low when I went to push it up on the 3rd rep and I used a bunch or energy getting back in the groove
4 X 140 X 1
3 X 140 X 1
V bar cable row 10 X 130 X 3

180 this AM

[RT1957]

Going tomorrow to see my personal trainer, Evan...great kid...javelin thrower ...he really did right by me when he saw how much I wanted to weight train again and gave me the confidence to do movements I never thought I could do, squats, over head presses, Deadlifts...

I've been on my upper lower split for about 3 months and I think it's time to reassess my weaknesses and concentrate on getting balanced strength so both side are in the fight 100% on all my compound movements. I don't think that the schedule will change. Probably go back to some very basics of balance, core strength and achieving better flexibility especially in my hip pelvic area and really address my left leg situation. I'm looking forward to his input and I know he'll set me on a great path to finding my new 100%

[RT1957]

Checked in my personal trainer...looks like he's on a bulking routine...he got freeking big in the last 3 weeks...hewas already big so when you notice a big guy get bigger...

anyway we added a lot of independent leg work along with the basics, squats DL RDL and I'm upping the reps this week to 12 on most exercises then 10 next week 8 the week after and 6 the last week of the month adding weight each week. Been on the 5x5 for 3 months time to switch to another rep scheme.

still a 4 day split
Day 1
Squats
DB walking lunges
Single leg press
RDL
Single leg DB Dead Lifts
Calf's
Back ext
abs

day 2 upper
Incline BP
DB Rows
Seated DB Press
Wide Grip Pulldowns
Rear delt machine
lying DB shrugs
Abs

day 3 Legs
DB Split Squat
DB Step ups to Balance
Squats
DL
Prone leg curls
calf's
Cobras
abs

Day 4 Upper
DB Bench
Wide Grip seated row
Machine OH Press
V-Bar Pulldown
cable rear delts
t-bar shrug
abs

[daviddaug]

Looks like a solid new workout scheme, keep us posted on how it goes. How many sets do you typically do for each exercise. It looks like this program could get up in the 70 - 90 minute range.

One other question, if I may. What do you do on your off days. I just switched to 5-3-1 and I am not settled in on having the off days in the middle of the week. Looking to see what others are doing.

[RT1957]

Off days I just rest and ride my bike if I have time. I do stretch and foam roll everyday and I'm starting to jog...gotta learn to run again if I'm gonna play softball.

I like the workout. he knows the problems I have with my left leg so the independent leg work was what I really need for now. I don't feel comfortable really pushing my squat weights until I balance out my strength imbalance. He also told me no more deloading. I also have like no rear delt on my left side. I dislocated my shoulder when I was 10 and they reset it weird and it's slightly turned in the socket. It might be scar tissue but my rear delt is very small on my left side so that's why all the pull work on the upper body day.

Glad your back on the journal...I could learn a lot from a coach and I like your strength routine....I've never explored oly lifts...cleans and stuff...might go that route in the next period. Gotta balance out the legs first. I need a good foundation....I need my legs the next 30 years or more...hopefully

Sets I'm going with 4 on most exercises this month with the higher rep scheme this week dropping each week while upping weights....

[daviddaug]

Foam rolling and stretching are two things i need to get more consistent with. Maybe a good reason to get into the gym even on the off days. I am a real noob with the cleans as well but I think if I can get the form down it will provide a good bit of improvement in the area of explosive power.

Once you get to the lowest rep range to you drop the weigh some, but not back to the start point, and increase the reps and run the cycle again. That sounds like a pretty good plan.

[RT1957]

You got me thinking about volume with the new routine. I think for the first week I'm gonna do 2 sets of 12 per exercise and each week when I drop the reps I'll add a set to try to keep within the 25 - 30 rep range per exercise

so 2 X 12 this week 3 x 10 next week 4 X 8 and then 5 X 6 the last week of the month.

I bought a foam roller and I use it at home and I do stretches before bed along with foam roll. My left foot shakes like crazy when I roll my left quad...knots and lots of them.

I'm on an aggressive self massage and stretching kick to get that leg to respond better. Plus foam rolling the back feels great and it really helps with relaxation. Overall I'm really trying to get all my weakness right so I can push ahead and get my body balanced out. Hopefully then I can start to really push more weight around...at 55 why...why not...I'll rest when the close the lid to the sounds of grazin in the grass :-)

[RT1957]

New leg day today
reps X weight X sets
Squats 12 X bar X 1
12 X 115 X 1
12 X 135 X 2
Walking Lunges 12 X 25 x 2
Single leg press 12 X 30 X 2
RDL 12 X 135 X 2
SLDL 12 X 20 X 2
Calf raises 15 X 150 X 2
Back ext 15 X bw X 3

Not use to sets of 12....It really kicked my butt to do those higher rep sets...

185 this am

[daviddaug]

Great job working through the new routine.

[RT1957]

Upper body today

184 this AM

reps X weight X sets

Incline bench 12 X bar X 1 warmup 12 X 65 X 1
12 X 115 X 1
10 X 115 X 1 5 seconds rest 2 x 115 X 1
Superset with
Single arm DB row 12 X 40 X 2
Seated DB press 12 X 27.5 X 2
WG Pulldowns 12 X 120 x 2
Rear delt machine 15 X 70 X 2
Lying DB Shrugs 12 X 37.5 X 2

getting use to sets of 12 is a challenge in finding the right weights to use some were way to light. Since I'll be dropping the reps and adding a set next week I'll need to really be thinking about weight adjustments

David thanks for checking in....my A$$ is sore today from those walking lunges I did yesterday

[RT1957]

Legs today

184 again this AM

reps X weight X sets

DB Split squats 12 X 40 X 2
Step up to balance 12 X 40 X 2
Squats 12 X 140 X 2
Dead Lifts 12 X 140 x 2
Prone leg curls 12 X 40 x 2
Prone cobras
Abs

I get a better cardio workout with these sets of 12 than I do on the cardio machines...