Raffi's Official Journal

[ChocoChick]

Happy Halloween, cutie.

[ArchAngel'73]

Originally Posted by ChocolateGirl

Happy Halloween, cutie.

x2


Have a good day brother!

[raffim]

Originally Posted by ChocolateGirl

Happy Halloween, cutie.

Originally Posted by Fiend_73

x2


Have a good day brother!

thx... you too cutie

[raffim]

From Plan: Increase / Decrease
(First two sets on first exercise are warm-up sets)


BB Shoulder Press: 20x95, 20x95 12x135, 4x165, 5x165
DB Side Laterals: 13x25, 9x25, 5x30, 5x30, 12x25
DB Upright Row: 9x50, 5x55, 15x40
Seated Calf Raises: 24x160, 20x180, 20x180, 20x180
Standing Calf Raises: 12x300, 10x325, 12x325, 10x335

Cardio: Walked on treadmill at 15 degree incline, at 3.0 mph, for 20 minutes

Diet: To plan.

WO: Had a great WO. Really increased weight on the calf exercises. Felt like a great day and my calves were killing me, although, no DOMS. Come to think of it, I don't think I've ever felt DOMS in my calves before.


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[raffim]

From Plan: Increase / Decrease
(reps x lbs)
(First two sets on first exercise are warm-up sets)


Cable Straight Bar Tricep Press: 20x50, 20x60, 11x90, 7x95
BB Close Grip Bench Press: 15x55, 9x65, 3x80, 11x60
EZ Bar Lying Tricep Press: 10x95, 4x105, 7x95
BB Curls: 20x75, 13x85, 6x95, 4x105, 7x95
Incline DB Curls: 10x35, 4x40, 7x35, 9x30
Cable BB Culrs: 10x120, 5x140
Weighted Incline Sit-ups: (I don't count reps) 6 sets with following weights 0, 35, 35, 25, 25, 0
Hanging Knee Raises: (I don't count reps) 6 sets

Cardio: Walking on treadmill at a 15 degree incline for 20 minutes @ 3.0 mph

Diet: To plan

WO: Good. No complaints. Arms felt great afterwards.



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[ArchAngel'73]

Great workouts bro!
I'll be getting back to your PM very soon.

[Hibiscus09]

Nice workouts, Raffi! Calve DMS sucks anyway, so don't wish it on.

Happy Monday!

[raffim]

Originally Posted by Fiend_73

Great workouts bro!
I'll be getting back to your PM very soon.

Originally Posted by Hibiscus09

Nice workouts, Raffi! Calve DMS sucks anyway, so don't wish it on.

Happy Monday!

Thanks Diane/Brian. The WOs were good.

I've been avoiding talking about how I've been injury-free for a while now, thinking it may jinks me. Well, even that did not work. Yesterday I was in the park kicking a soccer ball around. Nothing intense in any way, but of course, when you least expect it, things will go wrong. I totally messed up a groin muscle. I now can barely lift my right leg.

Yesterday evening was supposed to be leg day for me but could not even get into a squat position without any weight so decided to skip upper legs and do shoulders and calves instead. Will post WO details later but I'm hoping in the next few days I will get better and will make up what I skipped then. Although, considering the pain I feel now I don't think I will feel better any time soon. Can't even stretch the darn thing!!!

Any advice anyone who has gone through this has would be appreciated. For now, I will lay off any exercise that puts pressure in the area and just focus on other body parts. Unfortunately, this means no squats, leg presses or any upper leg exercises, also no deadlifts either. Hummm..... this is not going to be good.


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[raffim]

From Plan: Increase / Decrease
(First two sets on first exercise are warm-up sets)


BB Shoulder Press: 20x95, 20x95 8x155, 1x165 (see note below)
DB Shoulder Press: 12x50, 10x55, 6x60
DB Side Laterals: 13x25, 9x25, 5x30, 5x30, 12x25
DB Upright Row: 9x50, 6x55, 15x40
Hack Squat Calf Raises: 20x500, 8x770, 7x810, 20x540, 78x180

Cardio: None... it hurt too much to walk up hill.

Diet: To plan.

WO: Well, per my previous post, I walked into the gym limping from the groin muscle injury earlier in the day (sad to even call it an injury considering how it happened) so decided to not do upper legs (not much of a choice on the matter) and did shoulders instead. My first set on the BB shoulder press felt okay but on the second, started to feel some pain in the groin area and could not focus on the lift. Just was too worried about hurting myself again/more. So, I did 3 more sets of shoulder presses with DBs and they all felt good. With the rest of the exercises, I just wanted to maintain what I did last week and to get a descent WO. Although I did tell myself to try and go beyond last week's figures, I was really happy to maintain.

By the way, it has now been a few hours since I posted about my injury and the groin area is feeling much, much better. Still feeling sharp pain there but it is contained to the specific spot where I injured it rather than the pain shooting all the way up to my abdominal area like before. I'm thinking to skip squats, leg presses and deadlifts this week so to no make things worse. What would you recommend I do instead Brian? Especially for the lower back (instead of the deadlifts) what is a good substitute for this week? I can come up with something but would like your feedback.

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[ScubaDave]

Raffi,

Way to go with an injury man - do what you can, and keep it simple. It's a good excuse to drop the weight, and work on form. Hope that groin injury sorts itself out soon.

Dave

[raffim]

Originally Posted by ScubaDave

Raffi,

Way to go with an injury man - do what you can, and keep it simple. It's a good excuse to drop the weight, and work on form. Hope that groin injury sorts itself out soon.

Dave

Thanks Dave. Pretty much doing as you said, trying tot get the most I can fro my WO considering the situation. My main focus is to heal as fast as i can so I?m not going to mess with it.

[raffim]

I worked bis and tris yesterday. No major increases and nothing special to post, so I'm not going to get into the details here. There was one tri. exercise I could not do because it somehow put pressure in the groin area causing too much pain so I replaced it with something else. The rest of the exercises went well... got a good pump. One thing I was not able to WO was my abs. No choice but wait till I heal.

So at this point, without being able to work on legs and abs, this leaves me with a few extra off days this week, so I took tonight off hoping I can heal faster. Will be back in the gym tomorrow.

[Hibiscus09]

Originally Posted by raffim

I worked bis and tris yesterday. No major increases and nothing special to post, so I'm not going to get into the details here. There was one tri. exercise I could not do because it somehow put pressure in the groin area causing too much pain so I replaced it with something else. The rest of the exercises went well... got a good pump. One thing I was not able to WO was my abs. No choice but wait till I heal.

So at this point, without being able to work on legs and abs, this leaves me with a few extra off days this week, so I took tonight off hoping I can heal faster. Will be back in the gym tomorrow.

I'm sorry you have an owie. I've never had a groin injury, but I imagine it doesn't feel too hot. It always seems injuries come when we're doing stuff that we wouldn't think would injure us.

http://orthopedics.about.com/cs/spra...instrain_2.htm

I hope you feel better!

[batteryrequired]

Holy smokes....easy with the groin injury bud! That has gotta suck big time. You can't move or anything thru-out the day with out using those muscles. Hang in there and work around it for a while. Just don't pull it again once your healed up!

[raffim]

Originally Posted by Hibiscus09

I'm sorry you have an owie. I've never had a groin injury, but I imagine it doesn't feel too hot. It always seems injuries come when we're doing stuff that we wouldn't think would injure us.

http://orthopedics.about.com/cs/spra...instrain_2.htm

I hope you feel better!

"It always seems injuries come when we're doing stuff that we wouldn't think would injure us"
Tell me about it.... Every time I feel the pain I keep getting annoyed because I start thinking.... I Squat with 250+ lbs with no injury, I do Leg Presses with 700+ lbs and no injuries, I Deadlift close to 300 lbs and still no injury, but try and kick a small ball for 30 feet and it brings me to my knees!!!! (literally)

Life is very strange sometimes ya know!!

BTW.... when I guy has any type of pain around the groin area, please do not call it a "owie".... it's just salt in the wound

Also, thx for the link... i needed different ways to stretch the area and had not had the chance to look into it. the link provided some options.

Originally Posted by batteryrequired

Just don't pull it again once your healed up!

I have not stopped pulling it since I was 12 and discovered how I could.... I do not plan to stop now... but thanks for the suggestion!!


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[ChocoChick]

Well, I am so glad I wandered in right about now... Thanks for the overshare, Raffi!

Hope you feel better sooon.

[raffim]

Originally Posted by ChocolateGirl

Well, I am so glad I wandered in right about now... Thanks for the overshare, Raffi!

i aim to please elise!

[ChocoChick]

Originally Posted by raffim

I have not stopped pulling it since I was 12 and discovered how I could.... I do not plan to stop now... but thanks for the suggestion!!

+

Originally Posted by raffim

i aim to please elise!

TMI!!!

[raffim]

Originally Posted by ChocolateGirl

+


TMI!!!

LOL.... we are of like mind Elise (scary for you!!)

[Hibiscus09]

Originally Posted by raffim

I have not stopped pulling it since I was 12 and discovered how I could.... I do not plan to stop now... but thanks for the suggestion!!


.

Is it sore?

[raffim]

Originally Posted by Hibiscus09

Is it sore?

huhhh!!?? what difference does it make??

[ChocoChick]

This thread cracks me up!

[raffim]

Rep Scheme for this WO:

- Incline Smith: 8-12, 6-8, 1-6
- Incline BB Press: 1-6, 6-8, 8-12, 20
- DB Pullovers: 8-12, 1-6, 15-20
- Flat DB Flyes or Lever seated Fly: 55
- Seated Calf Raises: 20, 20, 20, 20
- Standing Calf Raises: 10, 10, 10, 10

This was my first day on my new routine for Chest, per Brian's recommendation. Per your PM Brian, no, I did not feel much in my chest afterwards. I felt much more in the upper arms than in chest. But then again, this week is not a good indication of anything. With the injury with the groin muscle, I have not been able to put in a "normal" effort in my WOs, so I'm going to wait till I'm back to normal before I make a final judgment on things.

(By the way Brian, I know you said I should do DB Incline Presses on the second exercise but didn't do it this time since there is no way for me to kick one of the DBs up, considering the injury. Next week I may ask someone to just hand the DB to me, we'll see.)

The good news is my diet is still on mark. At this stage my diet is in such auto. mode and my day-to-day life is so structured around it that if I wanted to get off track I would actually have to go out of my way and make a conscious effort to do so. So at least that part of things is fine.



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[ArchAngel'73]

Mr. Raffi, what am I going to do with you bro?
Ya pulled ur balls 2 hard and broke the area and now you're not feeling your upper chest exercises.
I'm going to bite my pride and ask for help. I've come to learn that some of the folks on here have a whack of info I don't.






The Objective;
I (and Raffi) need exericse ideas that target the upper chest. Some of what we have are BB and DB inclines for presses and flyes, DB pullovers, and cable flyes.

Exercises that did not involve the middle pecs would be nice.

Some isolation and compound movements would also be appreciated.

And yes, we know bb.com has a data base, we are thinking outside of the box though.





Raffi, we both know you've done the hardest part already, you nailed your diet into a lifestyle!
Joking aside, you have my mad respect and you're one of my inspirations around here.
We'll get this chest routine down soon too!
If I don't see you around on the weekend (I'll be here, damn work), hope you have an excellent one and try to heal up.

[raffim]

Originally Posted by Fiend_73

Mr. Raffi, what am I going to do with you bro?
Ya pulled ur balls 2 hard and broke the area and now you're not feeling your upper chest exercises.
I'm going to bite my pride and ask for help. I've come to learn that some of the folks on here have a whack of info I don't.






The Objective;
I (and Raffi) need exericse ideas that target the upper chest. Some of what we have are BB and DB inclines for presses and flyes, DB pullovers, and cable flyes.

Exercises that did not involve the middle pecs would be nice.

Some isolation and compound movements would also be appreciated.

And yes, we know bb.com has a data base, we are thinking outside of the box though.





Raffi, we both know you've done the hardest part already, you nailed your diet into a lifestyle!
Joking aside, you have my mad respect and you're one of my inspirations around here.
We'll get this chest routine down soon too!
If I don't see you around on the weekend (I'll be here, damn work), hope you have an excellent one and try to heal up.

Like I said Brian, before I make a final determination that the exercises for chest did not work, i want to make sure i at least have one "real" chest day. I know there is no connection between a groin injury and WO on chest but you would be surprised how pain in the groin area can impact various exercises. For example, just laying on an incline bench to do Incline BB Presses hurt. I could not spread my legs around the seat of the bench without feeling the pain, and when I went to lift, the pressure of just hanging on to the weight while trying to balance on the bench with my legs hurt the messed up muscle.

These are things that you do not feel or think about when you're fine but when you have the groin injury you definitely recognize how you use various, if not most, muscles with all exercises.

So long story short, I was not able to really push myself when I did chest a few days ago. Hopefully next week will be better. I'm feeling much better already and taking today and tomorrow off from going to the gym (no more exercises left for me to do this week (that I am able to do, that is) ) will hopefully mean I will heal that much faster. we'll see.

That said, any new and "improved" exercises for hitting upper chest would always be good, so happy to hear suggestions from anyone.....

(I got three extra days off from work left this year that I have not decided how to use. Maybe I can come up your way and we can hit the gym together and figure something out. )


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[raffim]

Reverse Grip Bent-Over BB Rows : 20x95, 20x95, 11x145, 7x175, 4x185
Chin-ups: (I do not count reps) 4 sets w/30 sec. rest, each to failure
Cable Rows: 8x160, 8x160, 8x160
Standing Machine Shrugs: 20x90, 13x115, 9x140, 12x135
Incline Bench Rear DB Laterals: 14x20, 8x25, 5x30, 8x20


Cardio: Have not been doing cardio this week with the groin injury. I'm willing to take some chances to get some WOs in but not willing to take chances of additional injury to the area for cardio!!!!

Diet: To plan.

WO: I had a very good WO today considering. I did not do the deadlifts due to the groin injury but everything else went relatively well. Felt like I put in a good day. Much better than the other WOs this week.

Also, for the shrugs, I tried doing the Behind the Back BB Shrugs on the Smith machine but they still did not feel right, unlike when I did them on the following machine (except I use the upper bars and do the shrugs standing, not seated.) I think I will stick with this exercise for the shrug. What do you think Brian? Any reason not to?

[raffim]

From Plan: Increase / Decrease
(First two sets on first exercise are warm-up sets)

BB Shoulder Press: 20x95, 20x95 10x145, 3x165, 4x165
DB Side Laterals: 14x25, 10x25, 5x30, 5x30, 12x25
DB Upright Row: 10x50, 5x55, 15x40
Calf Press on Leg Press: 19x410, 9x610, 7x720, 20x410, 50x180

Cardio: Walked on treadmill at 15 degree incline, at 3.0 mph, for 20 minutes

Diet: To plan.

WO: My groin muscle still hurts enough to prevent me from working on Quads and Hams, so did shoulders and calves instead. Had a very strong day. Felt good to be (almost) back to normal. Was also able to do my cardio again with minimal pain. I'm still not all there. I'm hoping to be able to do squats and deadlifts by the end of the week. We'll see.


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[ArchAngel'73]

People were more interested in your groin than they are in giving us ideas for upper chest.

If you do travel out here, better come quick, winter will kill you. We'd spend 2 hrs in the gym and the rest of the day going to strippers and picking up hawties (I never do that, might as well partay with Raffi!)

That machine for shrugs looks good, especially if it works for you.

I hope ur nuts heal soon, remember to use good hygiene on the injured area, you never know when it will be "blown" out of place again.



Take care brother.

[raffim]

From Plan: Increase / Decrease
(First two sets on first exercise are warm-up sets)

Incline Smith: 20x35, 20x35 9x140, 6x140, 5x150
Incline Machine Press: 6x180, 8x170, 12x160, 20x90
DB Pullovers: 10x80, 5x90, 17x60
Lever seated Fly: 65x80
Hanging Knee Raises: (I don't count reps) 6 sets
Hanging Straight Leg Raises: (I don't count reps) 6 sets


Cardio: Walked on treadmill at 15 degree incline, at 3.0 mph, for 20 minutes

Diet: To plan.

WO: Had a very good day on chest. Much better than last week and yup, felt it in my chest this time Brian. Although, I feel could have done better so will make up for it next week.

Also, I could not do BB Incline Presses and Weighted Sit-ups due to the injury, so replaced them with Incline Machine Presses and Hanging Knee Raises, respectively.



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[Hibiscus09]

I'm sorry your groin muscle is still injured. I guess that does get in the way of a lot of movements. I'll send good vibes in your groin's direction.

Nice job on the workout!