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October 15, 2023
[B]Stiff Legged Deadlift:[/B] 225 pounds - 3 sets x 8 reps
[B]Leg Extension:[/B] 65 pounds - 3 sets x 10 reps
[B]Incline DB Press:[/B] 30's - 3 sets x 12 reps
[B]Decline Crunch:[/B] 30 Pounds - 3 sets x 12 reps
[B]Seated Press:[/B] 65 pounds - 3 sets x 12 reps
[B]Lateral Raise:[/B] 10's - 3 sets x 12 reps
[B]Incline Curl:[/B] 20's - 3 sets x 12 reps
Everything in the 8-12 rep range - methodical reps. Had to break this into 2 separate sessions today. Probably a good thing because I don't know if I could've done it all in one go. Definitely will take a rest day tomorrow.
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October 22, 2023
[B]Conventional Deadlift:[/B] 315 pounds x 1 rep
[B]Close Grip Bench Press:[/B] 165 pounds x 1 rep
[B]Bulgarian Split Squat:[/B] 20 pounds - 2 sets x 12 reps
[B]Pullup:[/B] BW x 8, 6
[B]Cable Pullthrough:[/B] 50 pounds - 2 sets x 12 reps
[B]Upright Row:[/B] 20lb DB's - 2 sets x 12 reps
Continuing to be super busy around the house, prepping for a party next weekend and still have a lot to do. Going to try to get in a few workouts this week though.
Deadlift moved like a warmup - felt like I could've done 4 plates, but just wanted to hit something reasonably heavy that wouldn't destroy me.
Close Grip Bench was harder, but not a grind. Exactly what I was aiming for.
Other work was pretty straight forward. Pullups were just partials since that seems to be all I can do without elbow pain. Just went about halfway up, but still felt like I worked lats pretty well.
Here's video of the top deadlift, with a young man admiring himself in the phone, lol:
[youtube]5QF9TAFHSMo[/youtube]
And a couple pictures of the new lifting space:
[IMG]https://i.ibb.co/hCKpHdP/IMG-7217.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]https://i.ibb.co/wKBJGQY/IMG-7215.jpg[/IMG]
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October 23, 2023
[B]Front Squat:[/B] 95 pounds - 2 sets x 10 reps
[B]Single Leg Extension:[/B] 50 pounds - 2 sets x 12 reps
[B]Bench Press w/Cambered Bar:[/B] 85 pounds - 3 sets x 9 reps
[B]Kneeling Cable Crunch:[/B] 50 pounds - 3 sets x 12 reps
[B]DB Fly Press:[/B] 20lb DB's - 3 sets x 12 reps
[B]DB Skiers:[/B] 10lb DB's - 2 sets x 15 reps
[B]Cable Curls:[/B] 30 pounds - 2xAMRAP
[B]French Press:[/B] 40 pounds - 2xAMRAP
I really felt how severely out of shape I am today. I was held back by conditioning much more than by weight. I was also actively trying to make the reps difficult by slowing down eccentrics and maximizing range of motion.
Good news - I have very little soreness from my session yesterday. Tells me that my body has already somewhat acclimated and I can push a bit harder without worrying about being unable to function in the following days.
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October 24, 2023
[B]SSB Squat:[/B] 175 pounds x 6 reps
[B]SSB Calf Raise:[/B] 265 pounds - 2 sets x 15 reps
[B]Bench Press:[/B] 135 pounds - 3 sets x 6 reps
[B]Pullup:[/B] 3 sets x 5 reps
[B]Conventional Deadlift:[/B] 315 pounds x 6 reps
[B]Cable Crunch:[/B] 50 pounds - 2 sets x 15 reps
[B]Overhead Pin Press:[/B] 95 pounds - 3 sets x 5 reps
[B]Hammer Curl:[/B] 35lb DB's - 2 sets x 10 reps
[B]DB Pullover:[/B] 40 pounds - 2 sets x 12 reps
Realized pretty quickly that the programming I was just started out with wasn't going to work long term so I've switched gears. Will run this setup for a bit and see how it goes.
Right now I'm focused on building up work capacity. Was breathing pretty heavy towards the beginning, but got a second wind halfway through.
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November 1, 2023
[B]Cambered Bench:[/B] 105 pounds - 2 sets x 8 reps
[B]Wide Grip Lat Pulldown:[/B] 70 pounds - 2 sets x 12 reps
[B]Front Squat:[/B] 95 pounds - 2 sets x 10 reps
[B]Donkey Calf Raise:[/B] 90 pounds - 2 sets x 20 reps
[B]Stiff Legged Deadlift:[/B] 225 pounds - 2 sets x 10 reps
[B]Decline Situp - 50 degrees:[/B] 25 pounds 12 reps / BW x 12 reps
[B]DB Incline Press - 50 degrees:[/B] 20 pounds - 2 sets x 15 reps
[B]DB Incline Curl:[/B] 20 pounds - 2 sets x 10 reps
[B]Tricep Pushdown - Straight Bar:[/B] 20 pounds - 2 sets x 10 reps
Hosted a huge party (Sons B-Day/House warming) and had a variety of other things going on and had another week long break because of it. I got in a short workout yesterday. I've had a tendency to avoid doing any type of workout if I think I don't have enough time to get through a 'full' session. I not going to worry about that anymore, and will do truncated workouts if/when needed because otherwise I'm leaving a lot of potentially good work undone.
I feel not at all good when lifting right now. My weight has gone up only about 3 pounds over the last 2 months of limited lifting, but I feel fat and very out of shape. Getting short of breath too easily. A good dose of consistency and discipline will fix this in pretty short order, but I'll need to work through a bit of discomfort. Aside from feeling not good during the workout today, it went well. For sure I was wondering what in the bleep I was thinking putting SLDL in the middle of the workout when I got to that point, lmao, but I did it for a reason (wanted to force a focus on working the hamstrings rather than on moving heavy weight) and it served its purpose.
I probably mentioned this already, but at some point I may stop noting what weight I'm using on each exercise. I definitely have a bit of a mental complex when it comes to this, having been somewhat obsessed with just getting stronger for several years. This has been a hard mindset to break and I'm thinking that disregarding the number on the plate/db will result in a better focus on doing the movements in a way that will help to grow more muscle.
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November 2, 2023
[B]Walking Lunge:[/B] 20 pounds x 12 reps / 40 pounds x 12 reps
[B]Single Leg Curl:[/B] 40 pounds - 2 sets x 12 reps
[B]DB Fly Press:[/B] 25's - 2 sets x 12 reps
[B]DB Row:[/B] 40 pounds x 15 reps / 50 pounds x 15 reps
[B]Lu Raise:[/B] 10's - 2 sets x 12 reps
[B]Cable Curl:[/B] 20 pounds - 2 sets x 12 reps
[B]French Press:[/B] 30 pounds - 2 sets x 15 reps
I eventually plan to be doing 3 sets of 12-15 reps on everything for this session. Trying to gradually build towards that (last time I did only 1 set per exercise - didn't log it here). It's meant to be a low impact day that adds a bit to my total volume while also allowing some recovery between heavier days. I think it will serve its purpose well.
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November 6, 2023
[B]SSB Squat:[/B] 175 pounds x 8 reps
[B]SSB Calf Raise:[/B] 265 pounds - 2 sets x 18 reps
[B]Bench Press:[/B] 135 pounds - 3 sets x 8 reps
[B]Pullup:[/B] 3 sets x 6 reps
[B]Conventional Deadlift:[/B] 315 pounds x 8 reps
[B]Cable Crunch:[/B] 50 pounds - 3 sets x 20 reps
[B]Overhead Pin Press:[/B] 95 pounds - 3 sets x 8 reps
[B]Hammer Curl:[/B] 35lb DB's - 3 sets x 12 reps
[B]DB Pullover: [/B]40 pounds - 3 sets x 12 reps
Great progress, adding multiple reps to each set for almost everything. I'll be increasing weights on most of these next time around.
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November 9, 2023
[B]Walking Lunge:[/B] 30 pounds - 2 sets x 12 reps
[B]Gliding Ham Curl:[/B] Bodyweight - 2 sets x 8 reps
[B]DB Fly Press:[/B] 25's - 2 sets x 15 reps
[B]DB Row:[/B] 60 pounds - 2 sets x 15 reps
Life has pretty much returned to normal but my lifting schedule has continued to be very inconsistently. I'm struggling with my new working hours - starting an hour earlier each day. Finding myself very tired and unmotivated when it comes time to workout.
I'm thinking that shorter and more focused workouts will make me more likely to get some work in. This approach has worked for me in the past. I may program for 5-6 days per week, shooting for around 30 minute workouts each day. Will just need to look at the workload I want to hit and see if I can logically split it up to make that happen.
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November 12, 2023
[B]Cambered Bench:[/B] 110 pounds x 12/12/10 reps
[B]Wide Grip Lat Pulldown (behind the neck):[/B] 50 pounds - 3 sets x 12 reps
[B]Front Squat: [/B]95 pounds - 3 sets x 12 reps
My birthday today and we have some friends coming over. So it's been a busy day prepping but I managed to fit in a short workout.
Increased weight and reps on bench - last set around 9 RPE.
Increased reps on Front Squat as well. Conditioning is much more of a limiting factor than weight.
All reps on everything were high quality.
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November 14, 2023
[B]Conventional Deadlift:[/B] 325 pounds x 8 reps
[B]Cable Crunch:[/B] 55 pounds - 3 sets x 20 reps
[B]Overhead Pin Press:[/B] 100 pounds - 3 sets x 8 reps
[B]Lateral Raise:[/B] 10lb DB's x 12/12/15 reps
[B]Hammer Curl:[/B] 37.5lb DB's x 12/10/10 reps
Deads were strong - will increase another 10 pounds next time
Was not expecting to get 3 sets of 8 on pin press after barely getting it with less weight last week.
I was very conservative on the Lateral raises, not wanting them to impact the Overhead work too much. That's probably part of the reason I felt stronger than last week on this lift.
Video shows the Deadlift set and the second set of Pin Presses.
[youtube]shWok7Gf3cE[/youtube]
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November 15, 2023
[B]Single Leg Extension:[/B] 45 pounds x 15 reps / 50 pounds - 2 sets x 15 reps
[B]Gliding Hamstring Curl:[/B] Bodyweight - 3 sets x 15 reps
[B]DB Pullover:[/B] 40 pounds - 3 sets x 15 reps
[B]Lu Raise:[/B] 10's - 3 sets x 15 reps
[B]Concentration Curl:[/B] 10 pounds x 15 reps / 20 pounds - 2 sets x 15 reps
This workout is meant to be less stressful after the hard deadlifts yesterday. Felt good. I have very little experience with doing Lu Raises, but I like them a lot so far.
Even with all of the time away from lifting over the last 2 months I've not really noticed any difference at all in my elbow tenderness. I'll need to really closely watch my bicep and tricep work and be quick to scale it back if needed.
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November 19, 2023
[B]Stiff Legged Deadlift:[/B] 245 pounds - 3 sets x 10 reps
[B]Decline Crunch:[/B] Bodyweight - 3 sets x 15 reps
[B]DB Overhead Press:[/B] 25lb DB's - 3 sets x 12 reps
[B]Biceps Incline Curl:[/B] 20lb DB's - 3 sets x 12 reps
[B]Triceps Cable Pushdown:[/B] 20 pounds - 3 sets x 12 reps
Deads felt like cardio. Strength was there for another 10 reps, but I was getting gassed around rep 8 or 9. Crunches also left me pretty short of breath. The rest of the work was pretty easy.
[youtube]Wbp1wVwceJQ[/youtube]
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November 20, 2023
[B]SSB Squat:[/B] 185 pounds x 8 reps
[B]SSB Calf Raise:[/B] 265 pounds - 2 sets x 20 reps
[B]Bench Press:[/B] 140 pounds 7/8/7 reps
[B]Pullup:[/B] 2 sets x 6 reps
This is the hardest I've had to push on a squat set in quite a while. I'll be surprised if I'm not feeling it tomorrow. I actually did the 2 sets of Calf Raises before the squats and I was surprised how much it took out of me. Won't do that again anytime soon.
On my first bench set a little boy thought it was the perfect time climb up onto the bench, lol. Had to rack the bar, and that was why I only did 7 reps on the first set. On the second set I did 8 relatively easily.
The squats and the second bench set are shown in the video.
[youtube]Y_J6K8f6anE[/youtube]
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November 21, 2023
[B]Walking Lunge:[/B] 15's - 3 sets x 15 reps
[B]Single Leg Curl:[/B] 40 pounds - 3 sets x 15 reps
[B]DB Fly Press:[/B] 30's - 3 sets x 15 reps
[B]DB Row:[/B] 65 pounds - 3 sets x 15 reps
[B]French Press:[/B] 35 pounds - 3 sets x 15 reps
Had my 'light' day today and it kicked my backside. One of the main objectives of this day is to build work capacity and it absolutely pushed me beyond my comfort zone. I didn't time the workout but I'm pretty sure it was more than an hour. I'll be trying to reduce that significantly in the coming weeks. I may even forego weight increases on some stuff in favor of doing that.
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November 23, 2023
[B]Front Squat:[/B] 105 pounds x 12/10/8 reps
[B]Donkey Calf Raise:[/B] 100 pounds - 2 sets x 20 reps
[B]Cambered Bar Bench Press:[/B] 115 pounds x 12/10/8 reps
[B]Lat Pulldown - Wide Grip Behind the Neck:[/B] 55 pounds - 3 sets x 12 reps
I made the squat and bench sets progressively more difficult, narrowing stance/grip and adding pauses.
[youtube]dQxiiILv1DI[/youtube]
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11-24-23
[B]Barbell Hack Squat:[/B] 315 pounds x 1 rep [PR]
[B]Pin (Chin Height) Overhead Press:[/B] 135 pounds x 1 rep [PR]
[B]Hammer Curl:[/B] 30 pounds x 20/20 reps - 40 pounds x 10 reps
[B]Lateral Raise:[/B] 20 pounds x 10/10 - 10 pounds x 20 reps
[B]Ab Work:[/B] Combination of Cable Crunches and situps at different weights and reps
Was tired of doing rep work and unmotivated, so I called an audible today.
Pretty sure the Hack Squat is a PR, but I didn't have any tracking info on it.
Pin OHP definitely is a PR because I know I've never done any type of Overhead press with more than 120. Honestly thought I'd press 135, so this is a huge benchmark for me and was a nice surprise out of nowhere. :)
The curls and laterals are typed out as even numbers, but some of these were partial reps. Only really goal was to push close to failure on each set.
The video shows the 2 PR's.
[youtube]it5j5BVCQvY[/youtube]
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November 26, 2023
[b]Single Leg Extension:[/b] 55 pounds - 3 sets x 15 reps
[b]Gliding Leg Curl:[/b] Bodyweight - 3 sets x 15 reps
[b]DB Pullover:[/b] 45 pounds - 3 sets x 15 reps
[b]Concentration Curl:[/b] 22.5's - 3 sets x 15 reps
[b]Lu Raise:[/b] 10's - 3 sets x 15 reps
I think 15 reps per set is too high on some of these exercises. I'll probably just keep increasing weight each time until my max reps are in a lower range.
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November 27, 2023
[B]Stiff Legged Deadlift:[/B] 265 pounds 2 sets x 10 reps
[B]Seated DB Overhead Press:[/B] 30's - 3 sets x 10 reps
[B]Incline DB Curl:[/B] 22.5's - 3 sets x 10 reps
[B]Cable Triceps Pushdown:[/B] 30 pounds - 3 sets x 10 reps
For some reason the SLDL seems to be working my abs just as much as my backside. Feeling good and strong on this lift though - still some breathing room before I plateau.
Overall I'm getting into a good groove. I'm very happy with the structure/setup of the program. I'm getting easier days when I feel like I need them, and am fresh on the more demanding days. I think I should be able to keep this setup going for quite a while with some small tweaks here and there.
Here's video of one of the SLDL sets. Almost knocked my 3 year old over, lol.
[youtube]-BXPl_zo2f4[/youtube]
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November 28, 2023
[B]SSB Squat:[/B] 195 pounds x 7 reps
[B]SSB Calf Raise:[/B] 285 pounds x 20/15/15 reps
[B]Decline Crunch:[/B] Bodyweight x 20/20/18 reps
[B]Bench Press:[/B] 145 pounds x 8/7/5 reps
[B]Pullup:[/B] Bodyweight - 3 sets x 7 reps
My left elbow is feeling the best it has in over a year and I was able to do pullups with very little pain. Hopefully it will keep on improving.
Was a challenge getting through this workout and it showed on the Bench Press. Still happy to have hit 8 reps on the first set.
Tomorrow will probably be a rest day because I have some other commitments after work.
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November 30, 2023
[B]Walking Lunge:[/B] 20's - 2 sets x 12 reps
[B]Single Leg Curl:[/B] 40 pounds - 2 sets x 12 reps
[B]DB Fly Press:[/B] 30's - 1 sets x 12 reps
[B]DB Row:[/B] 75 pounds - 2 sets x 12 reps
[B]French Press:[/B] 40 pounds - 1 sets x 12 reps
Took it pretty easy today because I was very tired today, and also still had some tenderness in my shoulder from the bench work a couple of days ago.
I may need to drop the French Press at some point because even though I don't have any pain I'm getting a clicking in my left elbow on every rep.
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Some great work you been doing in here
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[QUOTE=CoachMori;1694184313]Some great work you been doing in here[/QUOTE]
Thanks. I appreciate that. ;)
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December 2, 2023
[B]Front Squat:[/B] 110 pounds - 3 sets x 10 reps
[B]Donkey Calf Raise:[/B] 110 pounds - 3 sets x 20 reps
[B]Cambered Bar Bench Press:[/B] 120 pounds - 3 sets x 10 reps
[B]Lat Pulldown - Wide Grip:[/B] 60 pounds - 3 sets x 12 reps
Shortened up the range of motion on front squats to reduce the stress on my knees. Shown in the video below.
[youtube]wAT-iAfMelg[/youtube]
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December 3, 2023
[B]Conventional Deadlift:[/B] 335 pounds x 8 reps
[B]Pin (Chin Height) Overhead Press:[/B] 105 pounds x8/7/6 reps
[B]Hammer Curl:[/B] 40 pounds - 3 sets x 10 reps
[B]Lateral Raise:[/B] 12.5 pounds - 3 sets x 12 reps
[B]Cable Crunch:[/B] 60 pounds - 3 sets x 20 reps
Good hard work all through. 335 pounds is my 3 rep best on Deads. 90 pounds was my previous 8 rep max on Pin Press. Virtually everything I'm doing in every session is PR territory for the rep range I'm doing it in. Strength is increasing steadily in these ranges.
Here's the Deadlift:
[youtube]-ryI_2VGzZo[/youtube]
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December 4, 2023
[B]Single Leg Extension:[/B] 60 pounds - 3 sets x 12 reps
[B]Cable Single Leg Curl:[/B] 20 pounds - 3 sets x 12 reps
[B]Lu Raise:[/B] 12.5's - 2 sets x 12 reps
[B]Skiers:[/B] 12.5's - 2 sets x 12 reps
[B]DB Pullover:[/B] 50 pounds - 2 sets x 12 reps
[B]Concentration Curl:[/B] 25 - 2 sets x 12 reps
Tried out a cable leg curl today using wrist/ankle straps and putting a barbell at knee height for support. Worked pretty well. I took video of it which I'll post below, but the set shown was the roughest one - the others were much smoother after I figured out correct positioning and slowed down the rep speed a little bit.
Added in skiers for rear delt work because I think the shoulder discomfort I've been having recently is due to a rear delt weakness. I'm feeling much stronger on the Lu Raises than I was when I started them a few weeks ago, and I think these and the lateral raises are the main reason for my increased overhead pressing strength recently.
I'm still not doing DB Pullovers quite right. I keep taking video and adjusting and it's getting better, but still not quite there. Going to try to get a bigger stretch next time, and not pull as far through because I'm totally losing tension on the lats on the follow through. Still liking this lift though and I think it will prove to be a good lat movement for me since it hits them so much differently than everything else.
On curls I still tend to turn it into a more dynamic movement rather than focusing on contracting the bicep. Some reps are better than others and I can clearly feel the difference. Just need to stay focused when doing these. In general I've become so conditioned to moving weights with speed that I tend to default back to that even on exercise that I want to be more muscle focused. Always a work in progress...
[youtube]GndiYirG-_g[/youtube]
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December 5, 2023
[B]Stiff Legged Deadlift:[/B] 275 pounds 2 sets x 10 reps
[B]Seated DB Overhead Press:[/B] 35's - 3 sets x 10 reps
[B]Incline DB Curl:[/B] 25's - 3 sets x 10/9/10 reps
[B]Cable Triceps Pushdown:[/B] 35 pounds - 3 sets x 10 reps
The weight wasn't a problem on the deads, but I did get pretty light headed.
Feeling strong on DB Presses - plenty of room for steady weight increases I think.
This is going to sound wild, but using straps on the incline curls was a game changer. Was able to do them with a thumbless grip and had no elbow discomfort and was able to better focus on the biceps. Had a long break between the 2nd and 3rd sets because I'd been on a phone call, and that's why I was able to do 10 reps again on the 3rd set.
Have visitors at the house the next couple of days, so they may very well both turn into recovery days.
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December 8, 2023
[B]SSB Squat:[/B] 275 Pounds x 1 Rep [[B]PR[/B]]
[B]Close Grip Bench Press:[/B] 175 Pounds x 1 Rep / 195 Pounds x Fail
Was not feeling at all good going into this workout. I've been short of sleep and was exhausted and queasy. I'm trying to do heavy singles every 2 weeks or so and today seemed like a good day to do that since I wasn't up to doing much volume. Expectations were very low, but I ended up being much stronger than expected.
SSB squats felt strong right from the beginning. The single at 245 felt like a warmup so I took a 30 pound jump. It was my poorest rep, getting my weight a little too far forward, but still got it up relatively easily for a 20 pound PR.
Bench was feeling strong as well. 175 moved very well so I took a 20 pound jump to try to match my PR. You know how you can tell as you're lowering the bar whether or not you're going to be able to lift it back up...I felt sure I had that 195, but it got stuck and would not budge.
I wasn't expecting to do anywhere near this well on max(ish) attempts today and it was really encouraging. It tells me at the very least that my programming approach is working well, and gives me confidence to stick with it.
Video shows all 3 of the attempts listed at the top:
[youtube]0GkwC6hPlp4[/youtube]
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December 10, 2023
[B]Walking Lunge:[/B] 20's x 12/10/10 reps
[B]Single Leg Curl:[/B] 45 pounds x 12/12/10 reps
[B]DB Fly Press:[/B] 30's - 3 sets x 12 reps
Posting a day late. Legs are sore. Lunges and Leg Curls seem to hit my leg muscles harder than anything else.
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December 12, 2023
[B]Front Squat:[/B] 125 pounds - 3 sets x 10 reps
[B]Donkey Calf Raise:[/B] 115 pounds - 3 sets x 20 reps
[B]Cambered Bar Bench Press:[/B] 125 pounds - 3 sets x 10 reps
[B]Lat Pulldown - Wide Grip:[/B] 65 pounds - 3 sets x 12 reps
Did Pin Squats on the first set of Front Squats - shown in the video below.
All of todays work was very good. Good quality reps. Was difficult, but didn't destroy me. I'll increase weights on everything next time.
[youtube]wDzAE6tF608[/youtube]