Wh0died's MMA/Strength training journal

[wh0died]

Well the old one pretty much fell apart. I've just been busy lately. Those that followed my previous journal know that I joined an MMA school a couple of weeks back. So here's what my schedule looks like:

Monday
Back Squats: 5 x 5 ramping to limit
Bench Press: 5 x 5 ramping to limit
Pendlay Rows: 5x5 straight sets
Standing Overhead Press: 80% of Thursday's max set
Dips: 3xF

Tuesday
Two hours MMA.

Wednesday
Cardio, MMA or rest from getting my ass kicked on Tuesday.

Thursday
Back Squats: 5 x 5 80% of Monday's max set
Bench Press: 5 x 5 80% of Monday's max set
Deadlifts: 5 x 5 ramping to limit
Standing Overhead Press: 5 x 5 ramping to limit
Chins: 3xF

Saturday
Two hours MMA.

Rest on Friday and Sunday.

[wh0died]

11/27/06
Went to the gym without taking my asthma medicine all day. After a couple of light sets of squat my chest got really tight. Did a set of 5 with 185 and left. Idiot.

11/28/06
Took a Muay Thai class followed by a Judo one. Never took a Judo class. It kicks ass. I loved it. I'm in pain now though. Those mats are hard.

[wh0died]

11/30/06
Squats
160x5x5

Bench
115x5x5

Press
70x5
85x5
100x5

Deadlifts
185x5
235x5
275x5
315x5

Chin-ups
3+2+3

Squats and bench were pretty easy. More volume than I'm used to though. I wasn't getting any more than 100x5 up on press. For one my shoulder felt in really bad shape (I hurt it a couple of weeks back) and two, the bench took some out of me. Deadlifts weren't very difficult but I was done after that. The performance on chin-ups had more to do with fatigue than lack of strength.

I won't be comparing my press and deadlifts on this cycle to my last one. Last time I was able to perform those lifts fresh while this time I won't. I'd rather keep the squats and bench in the beginning to avoid any form break down issues.

Got my statistics exam back that I took two weeks ago. Got a 97, the highest grade in the class. Sweet.

[Il Leone]

Good to see you at it again. I like the way you've got the schedule sorted out around the MMA. It looks like it ought to work good for you.

[BluntD]

Don't let this one fall apart, ok?

[wh0died]

Originally Posted by Il Leone

Good to see you at it again. I like the way you've got the schedule sorted out around the MMA. It looks like it ought to work good for you.

It should work just fine. I still get to squat twice a week

Originally Posted by Bluntdogg

Don't let this one fall apart, ok?

That sure isn't the plan. Still waiting on your journal, bro.

[MISSINGLINK]

Nice switch whO. I am looking forward to how this one plays out.

[-chris2-]

*subscribed*

[wh0died]

12/2/06
One hour of Muay Thai. We did a bunch of drills and those drills are freaking intense. I was done after that.

[wh0died]

12/4/06
Squats
103 x5
128 x5
155 x5
180 x5
205 x5

Bench
73 x5
90 x5
110 x5
128 x5
145 x5

Press
80 x 5 x 5

Rows
115 x 5 x 5

Dips
BW x 6
BW x 4
BW x 1

Nothing overly difficult. The workout was completed in 50-55 minutes which is perfect. I'm trying to keep the rest times reasonably short. Dips are new to me but I like em. It's like an upper body squat. Hopefully it helps my bench.

[PhreEkGarden]

*subscribed* gonna follow this, looks good.

[Il Leone]

Originally Posted by wh0died

Nothing overly difficult. The workout was completed in 50-55 minutes which is perfect. I'm trying to keep the rest times reasonably short. Dips are new to me but I like em. It's like an upper body squat. Hopefully it helps my bench.

Nice job, wh0.

I like dips a lot. I don't have any idea if they're helping my bench though.

It makes sense that you are shortening the rest times since it seems like it would make the lifting more in-line with training for MMA.

[wh0died]

12/8/06
Squats (2-mins between sets)
165x5x5

Bench (90-secs between sets)
115x5x5

Press
63 x5 (30 sec rest)
75 x5 (60 sec rest)
88 x5 (2 min rest)
100 x5

Deadlifts
202 x5 (3 min rest)
242 x5 (4 min rest)
283 x5 (5 min rest)
323 x5

Chin-ups
1

Three reasons (excuses) why I quit on chins
1. I was dead tired. Deadlifts kill me.
2. I REALLY had to take a crap.
3. I had to leave so I could catch the show for Apocolypto. (turns out I have a little time though so I'm posting this.)

Everything else went well. I bought a stopwatch so I could time my rest. $8 at Target.

[Il Leone]

Good workout, wh0.

Hope you enjoyed the movie. I just checked out the trailer after I read this and it looks crazy.

[daYDreAmErX]

*subscribed*

[wh0died]

Thanks, daYDreAmErX.

Il Leone, the movie was awesome. Highly recommended. Definitely see it with the lady if possible.

12/12/06

Did everything as scheduled but I don't feel like posting the numbers right now. I had three fajita's from a Tex-Mex place for lunch. The first two were fine. The third one screwed me up. I'll spare everyone the details but I did more than workout at the gym. I hope it doesn't get worse. I have a very weak stomach, always have. No judo for me tonight.

[mjw8204]

WTF..no judo?? Must be rough. I can relate, though. I have to eat Mexican food very sparingly. The lady and I are planning on making chicken tacos for dinner tomorrow night. The last time we made tacos we cooked them with way too much salsa (we don't use taco seasoning) and I really paid for it, lol.

[Big Boi 1906]

Originally Posted by wh0died

11/30/06
Squats
160x5x5

Bench
115x5x5

Press
70x5
85x5
100x5

Deadlifts
185x5
235x5
275x5
315x5

Chin-ups
3+2+3

Squats and bench were pretty easy. More volume than I'm used to though. I wasn't getting any more than 100x5 up on press. For one my shoulder felt in really bad shape (I hurt it a couple of weeks back) and two, the bench took some out of me. Deadlifts weren't very difficult but I was done after that. The performance on chin-ups had more to do with fatigue than lack of strength.

I won't be comparing my press and deadlifts on this cycle to my last one. Last time I was able to perform those lifts fresh while this time I won't. I'd rather keep the squats and bench in the beginning to avoid any form break down issues.

Got my statistics exam back that I took two weeks ago. Got a 97, the highest grade in the class. Sweet.

Good stuff

[PhreEkGarden]

Nice workout man, liking the deads. What is your max bench?

[wh0died]

Not very good at all, bro. Last time I maxed I got 165 up. That was several months back but it hasn't climbed much since then. I could probably get BW right now (178ish.)

[PhreEkGarden]

Originally Posted by wh0died

Not very good at all, bro. Last time I maxed I got 165 up. That was several months back but it hasn't climbed much since then. I could probably get BW right now (178ish.)

Yeah, my friend who used to go to the gym with me put up 350, and 400 decline.. his upper body is built like a freakin tank though. Im starting to not really care if I have a real heavy bench, I would just like to get to 2 plates on each side for reps. =P Deadlifts >>>> Bench

[wh0died]

Took a 90-minute MMA class today. I got home a little after 8 p.m and decided to get to the gym around 9:30 to workout. Went to the gym (which usually closes at 11) and saw that they closed today for some holiday gathering. I'll be taking a takedown class tomorrow and possibly do a conditioning circuit after that. I'll try and hit the gym before that if I wake up early enough.

[mjw8204]

How are the classes going?

[wh0died]

Originally Posted by mjw8204

How are the classes going?

School? Done with one. Think I got an A in the class. Final in the other one on Wednesday. I'm only taking two classes.

The MMA is going good. I was off yesterday so I went to the 3 pm class. Turns out nobody was there so I got a private lesson. Sweet.

[Il Leone]

Originally Posted by wh0died

School? Done with one. Think I got an A in the class. Final in the other one on Wednesday. I'm only taking two classes.

The MMA is going good. I was off yesterday so I went to the 3 pm class. Turns out nobody was there so I got a private lesson. Sweet.

Good job with school. Keep it up. You're much better off doing it early than waiting until you're in your 30s to finish up.

The last day of finals here were on Wednesday and now everyone has cleared out which means I have the gym to myself for a month.

Brilliant!

[wh0died]

Originally Posted by Il Leone

Good job with school. Keep it up. You're much better off doing it early than waiting until you're in your 30s to finish up.

The last day of finals here were on Wednesday and now everyone has cleared out which means I have the gym to myself for a month.

Brilliant!

You dorm? That's pretty cool. I never heard of someone your age dorming.

[Il Leone]

Originally Posted by wh0died

You dorm? That's pretty cool. I never heard of someone your age dorming.

No, I don't live in dorms. I thought about it, but decided to get an apartment across the road from campus. It's pretty much like living in the dorms as far as location goes, but I don't have to put up with the university's rules and prices.

[wh0died]

12/16/06
Squats (2 min rest between sets - not including set-up time)
185x5x5

Bench (1.5 min rest between sets - not including set-up time)
135x5x5

Press
Blah. Garbage. ****.

Chins
BWx5
BWx3
BWx2

Ok, this set-up isn't working out. I decided to try ~80% of my projected 1RM based on my previous max 5 set rather than 80% of that max set of 5. For example, had I done it the way I originally outlined I would have done a weight on squats of 168 (215*.80). This way I will take the projected 1RM of 210 (236lbs) and take 80% of that. I like that. That I'll keep for squats.

But, there's a problem with that approach. I can't do presses after 5 heavy sets on bench. And I can't do deadlifts after 5 heavy sets of squats. Now what? I'd still like to hit the gym twice a week (Tuesday and Friday) while doing MMA or cardio four days a week. Here's what I'll try next week.

Tuesday
Back Squats: 5 x 5 ramping to limit
Press: 5 x 5 ramping to limit
Deadlifts: 4x5 ramping to limit
Chins: 3xF

Friday
Back Squats: 5 x 5 static weight using ~80% of Tuesday's projected 1RM
Bench: 5 x 5 ramping to limit
Rows: 5x5 static weight
Dips: 3xF

I should be able to handle deadlifts on Tuesday but it aint happening on Friday. Tinkering with this **** seems like a waste of time though. Like I'm spinning my wheels.

[mjw8204]

I think what you've got planned looks okay. I'd consider swapping the days deads and rows are done to see if it makes a difference doing the deads the same day as the static 5x5 squats. How basic are you wanting to keep this? Have you thought about incorporating a little more variety?

[PhreEkGarden]

I think what mjw was saying is what I was thinking, the deads would be better on friday wouldnt they, as you wouldnt quite be as worn out?