BrackneyC gets back to the basics

[raynerd]

Calves get done with back, shoulders, and on Friday, which is Full Body Friday. The actual calf day is on Shoulder day (Wednesday). Tuesday (back day) is just a 4 set day, and Friday is typically 6 sets. The mid week calves tend to be 10 or more sets. I like my calves to hurt all the time. I climb stairs pretty much all day, maybe 50+ times a day (2 flights up, two back down). I guess I just want to ensure I continue to crush them. They recover over the weekend, but I have seen progress in them (still small imo), and it took this much volume to finally get them moving.

Awesome thanks, I do 2 sessions where the first I go heavier with about 13 sets and 7 sets supersetted in Tibialis anterior. The next is higher rep and light 10 sets with 5 SS of Tibialis Anterior. I usually only get a bit sore from the light work. I have been considering doing more frequency and less volume to see how they respond. They have come along pretty good in the last year, but definitely want more. Thanks for that, may change things up a bit, as well, keep things lighter in general. They seem to do better on the light days

[trickyB]

Sounds encouraging. Hopefully things continue to settle down for you. Glad your still getting your training in. I admire you guys for really going for balanced training. I do very little calf work and it shows.

[Marius_Ursus]

Brother, I think the sciatic issue will improve with lots of slow squatting and working the stretchy hell out of the glute and lower back.

I hope so, anyway. Good work on those squats, taking a good assessment there.

[Brackneyc]

Brother, I think the sciatic issue will improve with lots of slow squatting and working the stretchy hell out of the glute and lower back.

I hope so, anyway. Good work on those squats, taking a good assessment there.

Woke up feeling really good today. I even did two light sets of DL, just to see what would happen. Went well. The rest of the day was fun, as FBF are intended to be. Next week is a 10 rep week, and that usually lets me know where I am in the process.

04/03/2015
Cut, day 12
Weight: 210
Time In: 1010
Time out: 1105

Incline BP
2 x 115 x 12
2 x 145 x 09

OHP
3 x 72 x 09 (BTN)
3 x 92 x 09

Seated Calf Raises
6 x 175 x 28

BB rows (Supported with the curl bar)
2 x 105 x 09
3 x 130 x 09

Shrugs
4 x 140 x 09

Diamond pushups
3 x 19

Standing DB Curls
3 x 30 x 09

TPD
3 x 70 x 09

Hammers
3 x 30 x 09

DL
2 x 135 x 05

Overall, about what I expected. No real fallout from the reduced calories, other than being hungrier than usual. It doesn't affect me that bad, but I do notice it. What I di enjoy about the Friday workouts is the pace I keep as I go. Most of the rest is spent setting up for the next thing, filling the water glass, etc. It is a busy 50 or so minutes for sure.

[Marius_Ursus]

That's a good mix of exercises, and even with the lower volume, that's plenty of volume. Does your hunger sort of "figure itself out" when you're cutting calories? It takes me a few days, but I adjust to it where the hunger is just an ache and not gnawing, and it gets further apart.

[Brackneyc]

04/06/2015
Cut day 15
Weight: 210
Time In: 0435
Time out: 0540

(...) Denotes a change in rep and/or weight

BP
1 x 190 x 11 (+5lbs, -2)
1 x 192 x 09 (+2lbs, -1)
1 x 197 x 07 (+2lbs,+1)
1 x 202 x 06 (+2lbs)
1 x 187 x 08 (+2lbs,+1)

Incline BB
1 x 152 x 10 (+2lbs, -1)
1 x 157 x 05 (+12lbs,-3)
1 x 142 x 11 (+2lbs, +1)
1 x 142 x 09 ({+2lbs,+1)

DB Press
1 x 65 x 12 (+1)
1 x 65 x 11 (+1)
1 x 65 x 10 (+1)

Dips
1 x BW x 13
1 x BW x 12
1 x BW x 11

Diamond pushups
3 x 10

TPD
3 x 62 x 14 (+2)

Feeling good. This of course took place 14 hours ago. Happy with most of this. I had PT today. Good news is, no need for surgery at this point. Bad news is, The PT guy said it appears I spend a lot more time on chest than back. Of all the nerve. I love my back progress. I jest. It was a very positive session, and I have some movements which are designed to alleviate the pain, and further reduce the inflammation.

Tomorrow is back day. No lifting from the floor for a few more weeks. I did 15 easy miles on my bicycle yesterday, incorporating lots of hills and a strong headwind. I am feeling good about the prospects of this issue being short term. He assured me that DL would once again be part of my plan if that is what I wanted.

[raynerd]

Strong pressing today! Sounds like some great news from the PT, even endorsing deadlifts! Awesome work on the cut!

[Brackneyc]

Strong pressing today! Sounds like some great news from the PT, even endorsing deadlifts! Awesome work on the cut!

I am lucky to have access to this center. Between my ortho and my therapist, I have it made.
Here is yesterday, and today.

04/07/2015
Cut, day 16
Weight: 210
Time In: 0433
Time out: 0524

Lat pulldowns
2 x 120 x 10
3 x 130 x 12

Bench Supported BB rows
4 x 177 x 06 (overhand with curl bar)

Close grip Rows with BB
3 x 100 x 08

Seated cable rows
2 x 130 x 10 (Wide grip)
2 x 130 x 10 (close grip)

Cable Pulldown Curls
3 x 130 x 10

EZ Bar curls
3 x 65 x 09

Standing DB Curls
3 x 30 x 07

Hammer curls
2 x 30 x 11

Calf Raises
4 x 175 x 31


04/08/2015
Cut, Day 17
Weight: 210
Time In: 0430
Time out: 0526

Face Pulls
4 x 72 x 10

Lateral raises Straight arm (DB)
3 x 15 x 11

Seated OHP
2 x 115 x 05
3 x 115 x 06

Rear Laterals (Bench Supported)
4 x 32 x 11

Shrugs (BB, behind the back)
4 x 150 x 10

Seated DB Press
3 x 45 x 09

Seated calf raises
3 x 175 x 36
2 x 175 x 25

Calf Presses
5 x 400 x 16


For some reason, my calves are fried. They felt tired before the first set. Odd. Overall, two more good days. Legs tomorrow. Both happy, and not happy about that. Glad I can do them, not happy about the restrictions. Oh well, it is all part of it.

[Marius_Ursus]

Good job getting it done. I like seeing your lifts go up when you're dieting. That's great.

Is it possible your calves are fried from that 15 mile bike ride?

[mirroroferised]

Catching up in here. Solid progress being made on the cut Brack! My bike is just screaming at me to get it some use. I've gotten out on a couple of runs but not the bike yet. May just do that tonight. Keep it up man

[Brackneyc]

Good job getting it done. I like seeing your lifts go up when you're dieting. That's great.

Is it possible your calves are fried from that 15 mile bike ride?

Honestly, I had not considered that. Compared to everything else I do, riding that bike seemed leisurely. I'll take it though. I want my calves to be better.

[Brackneyc]

Catching up in here. Solid progress being made on the cut Brack! My bike is just screaming at me to get it some use. I've gotten out on a couple of runs but not the bike yet. May just do that tonight. Keep it up man

Appreciated. I did not get out on the bike even once last summer. We are planning a ride with the people we went with for at least once a week. We are planning a 70 mile ride at the end of the summer as a reward. Some folks do 70 miles as a warm up. For me, that is a lot.

[mirroroferised]

Appreciated. I did not get out on the bike even once last summer. We are planning a ride with the people we went with for at least once a week. We are planning a 70 mile ride at the end of the summer as a reward. Some folks do 70 miles as a warm up. For me, that is a lot.

That's a great ride and further than I've ever done. Good luck with that, I'm sure it'll be an awesome ride. I'm usually anywhere from 30-55 miles for my biggest ones of the year. We have an event here called Ride to Conquer Cancer that I plan on doing at some point but it would be hard at this stage of my kids life to find time to train for it. That ride would be in the 65 to 70 miles per day for 2 days. Blows my mind that some people do that for a warmup lol Some pretty good cyclists out there.

[Brackneyc]

That's a great ride and further than I've ever done. Good luck with that, I'm sure it'll be an awesome ride. I'm usually anywhere from 30-55 miles for my biggest ones of the year. We have an event here called Ride to Conquer Cancer that I plan on doing at some point but it would be hard at this stage of my kids life to find time to train for it. That ride would be in the 65 to 70 miles per day for 2 days. Blows my mind that some people do that for a warmup lol Some pretty good cyclists out there.

We did 20 miles yesterday. Was actually pretty easy. I really need to track my time, since that is where I will be able to see any real progress. This following two workouts were fun, and mildly productive. My leg pain is no different than it has been. This is both good and bad I suppose. The PT exercises are not helping so far, but the pain is no worse as a result. I still need to give it more time.


04/09/2015
Cut, day 18
Weight: 209
Time In: 0445
Time out: 0520

15 minutes of intense stretching

Squats
4 x 145 x 05

Leg Presses
3 x 330 x 10

Hack Squats
3 x 50 x 10

SLDL
3 x 145 x 08

Leg Extensions
4 x 50 x 12

Leg Curls
4 x 45 x 10

04/10/2015
Cut, day 19
Weight: 209
Time In: 0430
Time out:0530

Incline BP
2 x 115 x 10
2 x 145 x 10

OHP
3 x 72 x 10 (BTN)
3 x 92 x 10

BB rows (Supported)
2 x 105 x 10
3 x 130 x 10

Shrugs
4 x 140 x 10

Diamond pushups
3 x 20

Standing DB Curls
3 x 30 x 10

TPD
3 x 70 x 10

Hammers
3 x 30 x 10

DL
2 x 185 x 05

[raynerd]

Nice couple of sessions, big leg volume and see you were able to do some deads. That's great. Hopefully you rehab exercises start giving you some relief soon.
209! scale is heading south!

[Brackneyc]

04/13/2015
Cut day 23
Weight: 210 (+1)
Time In: 0432
Time out: 0530

(...) Denotes a change in rep and/or weight

BP
1 x 190 x 11 (+)
1 x 195 x 08 (+3lbs, -1)
1 x 195 x 07 (+3lbs,+1)
1 x 205 x 05 (+3lbs, -1)
1 x 190 x 07 (+3lbs,- 1)

Incline BB
1 x 155 x 09 (+3lbs,-1)
1 x 160 x 06 (+3lbs,+1)
1 x 145 x 11 (+3lbs)
1 x 145 x 09 (+3lbs,+1)

DB Press (+3 lbs)
1 x 68 x 10 (-2)
1 x 68 x 10 (-1)
1 x 68 x 10 ()

Dips
1 x BW x 14 (+1)
1 x BW x 12 ()
1 x BW x 11 ()

Diamond pushups
1 x 11 (+1)
2 x 10

TPD
3 x 65 x 12 (+2lbs)

Up 1lb on the scale today. I can deal with that. Wasn't my finest weekend for eating. Not bad overall, but not consistent with the past 3 weeks. The training today felt really good. Failed on one set of BP. Thank goodness I use the safety bars.

Back tomorrow. Love that.

[raynerd]

Big pressing today! Nice job, is the +3lbs on your weights accounting for bar clips?

[Brackneyc]

Big pressing today! Nice job, is the +3lbs on your weights accounting for bar clips?

Lol. No, the 3 lb additions are an ankle weight I wrap around the bar when I want a very slight increase in weight. Especially useful on db presses. I use 2 inch plastic clamps as bar clamps, and they are light as a feather, but super effective.

[Brackneyc]

04/14/2015
Cut, day 24
Weight: 209
Time In: 0446
Time out: 0543

Lat pulldowns
2 x 122.5 x 10
3 x 132.5 x 12

Bench Supported BB rows
5 x 180 x 05 (overhand with curl bar)

Close grip Rows with BB
3 x 100 x 08

Seated cable rows
2 x 130 x 11 (Wide grip)
3 x 130 x 11 (close grip)

Cable Pulldown Curls
3 x 130 x 11

Spider curls (my version)
3 x 105 x 09

Standing DB Curls
3 x 30 x 08

Hammer curls
2 x 30 x 12

Calf Raises
4 x 150 x 21

Well, who would have thought calves would be the first real casualty of a pinched nerve in the back. Could be the bike riding causing the weakness. The right calf feels like it isn't even trying. Had numbness in the foot yesterday. I have PT Friday, so hopefully they will have an answer for me as to what comes next. No calf work, or legs for the rest of this week (doctors orders). Otherwise, I got some work in today.

[Brackneyc]

04/15/2015
Cut, Day 25
Weight: 209
Time In: 0417
Time out: 0505

Face Pulls
4 x 72 x 12

Lateral raises Straight arm (DB)
3 x 15 x 12

Rear Laterals (Bench Supported)
4 x 32 x 12

Seated OHP
3 x 115 x 06
1 x 115 x 07
1 x 115 x 08

Shrugs (BB, behind the back)
4 x 150 x 11

Seated DB Press
2 x 45 x 10
1 x 45 x 06

Cut is stable. Lifting still feels good. Tomorrow is an unscheduled off day due to not working legs this week. Hopefully the rest will allow the sciatic to calm down.

[Brackneyc]

04/17/2015
Cut, day 27
Weight: 209
Time In: 0450
Time out:0535

Incline BP
2 x 115 x 11
2 x 145 x 11

OHP
3 x 75 x 08 (BTN)
3 x 95 x 08

BB rows (Supported)
2 x 110 x 11
3 x 135 x 11

TPD
4 x 72 x 11

Shrugs
4 x 140 x 11

Diamond pushups
1 x 20
2 x 18

Standing DB Curls
3 x 30 x 11

Hammers
3 x 30 x 11

PT Stretches


Full Body Friday (minus anything related to legs). Feeling good about everything, except my right leg/calf. I have PT today. Here is to hoping they have some new and improved movements for me. This is getting old.

Going to go have a 1/4 of my daily cals in a bagel, plain, no cream cheese.

[SteveWright1]

Thought I would drop by and see how the training has been going
hope the trapped nerve issue is sorted very soon for you , not being able to train as you want is frustrating for sure (I know them feels)

supported barbell Rows caught my eye - 11 reps with 135lb
are you supported on a bench and row them up to the underside of the bench ?
just interested in how you are doing these, as I need to Row more , but back fatigue often prevents me getting the volume I want

[EjnarKolinkar]

Thought I would drop by and see how the training has been going
hope the trapped nerve issue is sorted very soon for you , not being able to train as you want is frustrating for sure (I know them feels)

Me too, and me too. Training looks steady!

Hope the sciatica eases up, most miserable thing next to a toothache.

[mirroroferised]

Moving along like planned. Got out on my bike a couple times this past week finally. Hope you're doing the same On my first bike ride of the year I only went out for a quick 20 minutes and I felt creaky, knees screaming and legs in general were tight. Not sure if that's like you calves issue but the cycling might have something to do with it. It's a lot of leg resistance.

[whatevergirl]

Feeling good. This of course took place 14 hours ago. Happy with most of this. I had PT today. Good news is, no need for surgery at this point. Bad news is, The PT guy said it appears I spend a lot more time on chest than back. Of all the nerve. I love my back progress. I jest. It was a very positive session, and I have some movements which are designed to alleviate the pain, and further reduce the inflammation.

Tomorrow is back day. No lifting from the floor for a few more weeks. I did 15 easy miles on my bicycle yesterday, incorporating lots of hills and a strong headwind. I am feeling good about the prospects of this issue being short term. He assured me that DL would once again be part of my plan if that is what I wanted.

Really happy to see that you're improving so much, Brack! Good session u had here, and nice on the 15 mile ride!
Encouraging you will be deadlifting again! *clapping*

Have a good weekend.

[raynerd]

A few really good sessions under the belt! Sucks about the nerve affecting the calf. Hopefully that heals up with some good PT. glad the cut is coming along well.

[Brackneyc]

Really happy to see that you're improving so much, Brack! Good session u had here, and nice on the 15 mile ride!
Encouraging you will be deadlifting again! *clapping*

Have a good weekend.

Thank you Sharon. I am getting along. Belt broke on the law tractor today, so I mowed a half acre with my push mower. Going to really pay for that tomorrow. Thankfully it is chest day.

[Brackneyc]

A few really good sessions under the belt! Sucks about the nerve affecting the calf. Hopefully that heals up with some good PT. glad the cut is coming along well.

I have pt again Wednesday. Pt said if no improvement, an mri would likely be next. Yay.

The cut is going ok. Had a tin of company in the past two weeks. Been good with my eating, but not great. Tomorrow my daughter leaves to go back to North Dakota. No excuses for bad eating now. . Sad to see her go.

Chest tomorrow, and lots of proteins.

[whatevergirl]

Thank you Sharon. I am getting along. Belt broke on the law tractor today, so I mowed a half acre with my push mower. Going to really pay for that tomorrow. Thankfully it is chest day.

lolz, plus a cardio workout in one? I have to admit. When I first read about your injury, I was wondering if you'd be able to regain all of your training, but looks like things are progressing pretty nicely for you. And per usual, your positive spirit is shining through in your log, here.

Have a great week.

[Brackneyc]

lolz, plus a cardio workout in one? I have to admit. When I first read about your injury, I was wondering if you'd be able to regain all of your training, but looks like things are progressing pretty nicely for you. And per usual, your positive spirit is shining through in your log, here.

Have a great week.

04/20/2015
Cut day 30
Weight: 209
Time In: 0430
Time out: 0530

(...) Denotes a change in rep and/or weight

BP
1 x 190 x 13 (+2 reps)
1 x 195 x 08 (Used safety bar on #9)
1 x 195 x 07 ()
1 x 205 x 04 (-1)
1 x 190 x 07 ()

Incline BB
1 x 155 x 09 ()
1 x 160 x 06 ()
1 x 150 x 08 (+5 lbs, -3reps)
1 x 150 x 07 (+5 lbs,- 2reps)

DB Press (no increase in weight)
1 x 68 x 11 (+1 rep)
1 x 68 x 10 (-1 rep)
1 x 68 x 10 ()

Dips
1 x BW (+10 lbs) x 10 (-4 reps)
1 x BW (+10 lbs) x 09 (-3 reps)
1 x BW (+10 lbs) x 10 (-1 rep)

Diamond pushups
1 x 14 (+3 reps)
1 x 13 (+3 reps)
1 x 13 (+3 reps)

TPD
3 x 67.5 x 13 (+2.5 lbs, +1 rep)

Well, I was able to move up a little today across the board. I have to see 207 by this time next week, or else. Leg feels oddly good today. Only movement that hurt was getting the dumbbells off the floor. I like that. Will proceed with caution.

Hope everyone has a productive week.

I'm still fat.