PtReyesGreg's Workout Journal

[PtReyesGreg]

8:05 am - Home

Sunday morning I completed Strength & Mass After 40 (C56_3A) as follows:

Band Chest Flyes - Red Bands 6 sets of 12
Superset with:
Bench Press 3-135, 3-155, 3-185, 2-235, 1-275, 1-295, 1-315, 1-345, 1-375 PR (vid below)

Decline BP 3 sets of 10 @ 175
Superset with:
Seated DB BOLR 3 sets of 10 @ 15

Dec DB BP 2 sets of 20 @ 40
Superset with:
DB Tate Press 10-40, 5-40

Leg Raises 25, 25

Bodyweight: 213.4 Pounds (Down 5.6 pounds from 219.0 on 7/2)

Workout Duration: 1:03:36.95 h:mm:ss.ms (with 1:00 rest between sets)

https://www.instagram.com/p/CCjDO7YASF0/?hl=en

[PtReyesGreg]

7:15 am - Home

Tuesday morning I completed Strength & Mass After 40 (C56_3B) as follows:

Band Chest Flyes 5 sets of 10 @ Red Band
Superset with;
Decline Bench Press 3-135, 3-160, 3-205, 1-225, 3 sets o1 5 @ 250

Decline CGBP 3 sets of 8 @ 190
Superset with:
Seated Side Lateral Raises 3 sets of 15 @ 15

KB French Press 8-62.5, 10-50, 10-50
Superset with:
Leg Raises 3 sets of 15

Bodyweight: 213.4 Pounds (Down 5.6 pounds from 219.0 on 7/2)

Workout Duration: 0:24:33.85 h:mm:ss.ms (with 1:00 rest between sets)

Work has been crazy lately so I've fallen way behind on my journal entries. I've still been hitting all of my workouts though.

My cast was removed yesterday and I was very ready for that. Unfortunately my ankle, foot, and lower leg are sore and tender. I had visions of being able to get back to squatting and deadlifting before too long but my doctor squashed that. He told me to still use a crutch when walking and to limit my walking as much as possible for the next 7 days. After that I can gradually increase my movement over the next 5 weeeks and then he'll reassess me. In the meantime I can't do any exercises that put weight on my leg, so no squats, deadlifts, barbell rows, etc. I'll keep going with my upper body only workouts seated as much as possible.

[PtReyesGreg]

Starting Saturday I'm going on a road trip to my in-laws house in Utah for the next week. I'll probably take that time completely off from lifting although I plan to do some daily pushups.

When I get back from that trip I'm planning to change up my workouts some. It will involve pieces of the Strength & Mass over 40 program, namely working up to sets of 3x5, 3x3, and 3x1 on bench and incline bench. My warmup sets for those lifts will involve reps of 15,13,11,9,and 7 to work more on hypertrophy. All of my assistance lifts will be done for hypertrophy with lower weights. Once I am able to do so I'll add squats, deadlifts, and rows back in as well.

[RT1957]

Strong BP Greg!!!...fingers crossed the cast did the job...Take it slow

[PtReyesGreg]

Strong BP Greg!!!...fingers crossed the cast did the job...Take it slow

Thanks Ron. I'm hoping it did the job too. It's hard for me to take it slow, but that's exactly what I have to do. I've got to give the foot and ankle as much time as possible to heal up and strengthen.

[shaneinga]

You are making some amazing gains on BP Greg. Really damn impressive man!

Sorry to hear that your foot is not allowing you to get back to squats and deads but this time next year this will all be a distant memory and you will be back to kicking azz on those lifts soon.

I like the S&M Over 40 but like you I see the need for some volume for hypertrophy. I guess with the aim at being the over 40 crowd Andy made it so it would be a lower volume program. I like your take on it and it should help bridge that gap.

Hopefully work slows down for you and your foot heals up quickly.

Keep crushing it!

[PtReyesGreg]

You are making some amazing gains on BP Greg. Really damn impressive man!

Sorry to hear that your foot is not allowing you to get back to squats and deads but this time next year this will all be a distant memory and you will be back to kicking azz on those lifts soon.

I like the S&M Over 40 but like you I see the need for some volume for hypertrophy. I guess with the aim at being the over 40 crowd Andy made it so it would be a lower volume program. I like your take on it and it should help bridge that gap.

Hopefully work slows down for you and your foot heals up quickly.

Keep crushing it!

Thanks Shane. I'm dropping the weight on bench and going for some volume for a while. I figure building strength up from the bottom has worked so far so dropping my TM and increasing volume will do me good in the long run.

I don't know when I'll be able to do squats or deads again, so I bought a utility bench I can do leg extensions and leg curls on. It's not a great bench...I got a Gold's Gym bench on Amazon, but it'll do what I need to do for now.

[PtReyesGreg]

6:40 am - Home

This morning I completed my 5 Day Bodybuilding Program (C57_1A) as follows:

Shoulder Rehad - Red Bands

Band Chest Flyes - Red Bands 5 sets of 10
Superset with:
Bench Press 15-115, 13-145, 11-175, 9-195, 7-225, 5-245

Incline DB BP 12-40, 10-40, 8-40
Superset with:
Incline DB Flyes 12-15, 10-15, 8-15

Triceps Pressdowns 3 sets of 20 @ 50
Superset with:
Leg Raises 25, 15, 15

Bodyweight: 210.4 Pounds (Down 8.6 pounds from 219.0 on 7/2)

Workout Duration: 0:46:56.87 h:mm:ss.ms (with 1:00 rest between sets)

I'm changing things up starting with this cycle. I've dropped weight on all of my lifts and am focusing on doing more volume.

I'm also focusing on tightening up my diet, getting rid of as much junk as I can, and making sure to get enough protein. I'm playing with Intermittent Fasting a bit, as my body seems to function well with that type of schedule.

[TM79]

Glad to see you posting again Greg. Hope you had a good trip to Utah. Nice looking chest and tricep work yesterday. Sounds good on cleaning the diet up. I was going along well until one of our clients walked in the office with a hot, fresh box of donuts yesterday morning. I was lucky to keep it to two. My boss ate 6. Glad to read that you got our cast off too. Is your leg/ankle feeling any better?

[shaneinga]

Welcome back Greg.

I like the idea of a utility bench. I have been shopping for a used one around here as well. Great minds think alike.

Nice workout man. Good luck with your weight loss goals. Are you still going the vegan route?

[PtReyesGreg]

Glad to see you posting again Greg. Hope you had a good trip to Utah. Nice looking chest and tricep work yesterday. Sounds good on cleaning the diet up. I was going along well until one of our clients walked in the office with a hot, fresh box of donuts yesterday morning. I was lucky to keep it to two. My boss ate 6. Glad to read that you got our cast off too. Is your leg/ankle feeling any better?

Thanks Trent. The trip to Utah was good. I had to work most of the time, but I did get to take off one day to go rafting on the Green River. I also took 1/2 day off another day to go paddle boarding and swimming at a lake. On the way back we camped out on some BLM land out in the desert which was nice. The nearest other campers were 1/4 mile away.

It's good to be back and lifting though.

Welcome back Greg.

I like the idea of a utility bench. I have been shopping for a used one around here as well. Great minds think alike.

Nice workout man. Good luck with your weight loss goals. Are you still going the vegan route?

Thanks Shane. Yeah, even though the one I ordered is not the best...I would've preferred to get a better brand, my used market is terrible right now so I went with that one for $170. The used market is so bad here right now I've seen posts for old plastic weight sets with flimsy kids benches from the 80's going for $500+...and not just one ad like that but lots.

I'm not going the vegan route right now. My blood work went bad on it. My LDL lowered, which was good but my HDL also tanked down to 22. My doctor was very worried about that. Now I'm eating a mix of grass fed beef, fish, chicken, veggies and fruits. I'm trying to keep my grain consumption down as low as possible and I don't digest them well. I also limit my dairy, and try to keep carbs low for the most part. So far so good with that.

[PtReyesGreg]

7:03 am - Home

Wednesday morning I did one of my 5 Day Bodybuilding Workouts (C57_1B) as follows:

Shoulder Rehab - Red Bands

Seal Rows 13-95, 11-115, 9-135, 7-145, 5-155, 13-125

Seated Barbell Shrugs 15-135, 15-155, 15-175

Tri-Set:
MG Chins 12 (narrow grip), 10 (medium grip), 8 (wide grip), 6 (angled grip)
Leg Raises 4 sets of 15
Reverse Hypers 4 sets of 10

Bodyweight: 207.6 Pounds (Down 11.4 pounds from 219.0 on 7/2)

Workout Duration: 0:36:07.04 h:mm:ss.ms (with 1:00 rest between sets)

It was a good workout. I had a little trouble getting comfortable with the seated barbell shrugs, but once I found a good position at the end of the bench they felt good. That was the first time I've seal rows at home and they felt good too.

[TM79]

You're always posting new exercises for me to look up. Nice job on the seal rows and other stuff. Glad the trip to Utah was fun. That's one state I'd love to explore more of one day. Stay after it brother.

[PtReyesGreg]

You're always posting new exercises for me to look up. Nice job on the seal rows and other stuff. Glad the trip to Utah was fun. That's one state I'd love to explore more of one day. Stay after it brother.

Thanks Trent. Yeah I enjoy throwing something new in the mix every once in a while. When I work out at Untamed Strength they have a Seal Row bench, but I'd never tried it at home. It is definitely a keeper.

Utah was fun. I'd never been in that part of Utah before. My in-laws have lived up there for a couple of years so I was happy to make it over there even though I had to work most of the time. I'm looking forward to going back when my foot/ankle heal up and I can get some time off. They have lots of good lucking trails there.

[PtReyesGreg]

6:38 am - Home

This morning I did one of my 5 Day Bodybuilding Workouts (C57_1C) as follows:

Shoulder Rehab - Red Bands

Decline Bench Press 13-135, 11-155, 9-175, 7-195, 5-215
Superset with:
Band Facepulls 5 sets of 15 @ Purple Band

Incline BP (FSL) 12-165, 10-165, 8-165
Superset with:
Upright Rows 12-75, 10-75, 8-75

DB Side Lateral Raises 12-15, 10-15, 8-15
Superset with:
DB BOLR 12-15, 10-15, 8-15

Bodyweight: 207.6 Pounds (Down 11.4 pounds from 219.0 on 7/2)

Workout Duration: 0:34:45.91 h:mm:ss.ms (with 1:00 rest between sets)

Good workout today. I'm enjoying these higher rep ranges. They are tough but I can really feel them hitting the muscles more than the lower rep sets I was doing before.

[shaneinga]

I hear you on the used market still being outrageous for gym stuff. I know out in California you guys definitely have it A LOT worse though. I can find dumbbells here locally for around 1.50 to 2.00 a pound all. Back before the gyms opened you couldn't find them at all.

Sorry to hear the vegan diet didn't work but at least you get to eat meat again so that is a win.

2 very solid workouts Greg. Plate raises will work those traps pretty damn well also if those seated shrugs continue to bother you.

[shaneinga]

Doing a drive by. Hope you are doing well Greg!

[PtReyesGreg]

Doing a drive by. Hope you are doing well Greg!

Thanks Shane. I'm doing well, just been super busy with work and with yardwork in my time off. I'm still working out but just haven't been able to log much recently.

I hear you on the used market still being outrageous for gym stuff. I know out in California you guys definitely have it A LOT worse though. I can find dumbbells here locally for around 1.50 to 2.00 a pound all. Back before the gyms opened you couldn't find them at all.

Sorry to hear the vegan diet didn't work but at least you get to eat meat again so that is a win.

2 very solid workouts Greg. Plate raises will work those traps pretty damn well also if those seated shrugs continue to bother you.

Yeah the used market here really stinks right now. It was never great, but it was always decent...now there's little availability and crazy prices. Oh well, I've got most everything I need anyway, so this is a good opportunity for me to be thankful for what I've got and to save some money.

Eating meat is definitely my "happy zone". My body doesn't do well on carbs in general, so veganism was very tough for me. I do well with veggies and fruits but you can't get by eating them all the time...at least I can't lol.

I wound up changing back to seated db shrugs which work well for me and added in a burnout set of trap plate raises at the end of the workout. My goal was to hit 100 reps in a row so I started with a 10 pound plate. The first time I only got to 50 and this latest workout I only got to 60 so I've got some work to do.

[PtReyesGreg]

6:39 am - Home

Tuesday morning I did a Hypertrophy Workout (C57_3A) as follows:

Shoulder Rehad - Red Bands

Bench Press 15-115, 13-145, 9-175, 7-220, 5-245, 3 sets of 1 @ 275
Superset with:
Band Chest Flyes - Red Bands 5 sets of 15

Incline DB BP 12-50, 10-50, 8-50
Superset with:
Incline DB Flyes 12-15, 10-15, 8-15

Bodyweight: 206.6 Pounds (Down 12.4 pounds from 219.0 on 7/2)

Workout Duration: 0:34:17.56 h:mm:ss.ms (with 1:00 rest between sets)

*******************

6:54 am - Home

This morning I did a Hypertrophy Workout (C57_3B) as follows:

Shoulder Rehab - Red Bands

Seal Rows 13-80, 11-96, 9-115, 7-135, 5-145, 15-115

Std DB Shrugs 3 sets of 15 @ 60
Superset with:
Multi-Grip Chins 12, 10, 8

Front Plate Trap Raises 60-10

Leg Raises 3 sets of 15
Superset with:
Reverse Hypers 3 sets of 10

Bodyweight: 205.6 Pounds (Down 13.4 pounds from 219.0 on 7/2)

Workout Duration: 0:28:32.79 h:mm:ss.ms (with 1:00 rest between sets)

I've been having good workouts lately. Sorry for my lack of presence on here. I've just been super busy and haven't been able to log them on here. When I've had spare time I wound up doing something else and never getting around to it.

[TM79]

Glad to see you back in here Greg! Good looking last two sessions. Solid sets. Looks like you are still resting the ankle? Is that improving? Yeah, I hear you on being busy. The only reason I've probably had time to be in here is that I've been walking on the treadmill so much and I just keep the laptop on a shelf right in front of me and catch up on the journals and work. Anyway, hope you'll stick around. There's only so much yard work you can do. Glad you're back to eating meat too. I doubt I could ever survive on a vegan diet.

[PtReyesGreg]

Glad to see you back in here Greg! Good looking last two sessions. Solid sets. Looks like you are still resting the ankle? Is that improving? Yeah, I hear you on being busy. The only reason I've probably had time to be in here is that I've been walking on the treadmill so much and I just keep the laptop on a shelf right in front of me and catch up on the journals and work. Anyway, hope you'll stick around. There's only so much yard work you can do. Glad you're back to eating meat too. I doubt I could ever survive on a vegan diet.

Thanks Trent. Yeah my foot and ankle are still recovering. I've got an appointment with the Podiatrist next Tuesday to evaluate it again and decide if I need surgery. I'm trying to get a second opinion from an Orthopedist to see what he says. His office is closed right now because of Covid but they're opening up next Tuesday so I'll still try to get in there before any surgery is done.

Yeah I'm happy to be eating meat again too. My sister-in-law butchered some of her cows and steers recently so I bought 100 pounds of meat from her. I'll probably be done with that in a couple of weeks though.

[PtReyesGreg]

6:33 am - Home

This morning I did a Hypertrophy Workout (C57_3C) as follows:

Shoulder Rehab - Red Bands

Decline Bench Press 13-135, 11-155, 9-190, 7-215, 5-240
Superset with:
Band Facepulls 5 sets of 15 @ Purple Band

Incline BP (FSL) 5-190, 5-190, 5-190
Superset with:
Upright Rows 12-85, 10-85, 8-85

Tri-set:
DB Side Lateral Raises 12-15, 10-15, 8-15
DB BOLR 12-15, 10-15, 8-15
Decline Situps 3 sets of 15

Bodyweight: 205.6 Pounds (Down 13.4 pounds from 219.0 on 7/2)

Workout Duration: 0:39:50.79 h:mm:ss.ms (with 1:00 rest between sets)

[TM79]

Nice looking session yesterday Greg. I like that rep scheme a lot. The chest and shoulders have to be feeling good after that. That's a lot of work in 40 minutes too. Good for you for getting a second opinion. I feel like a lot of doctors like to jump to surgery pretty quickly sometimes. Not saying that is the case here but its good to get more than one opinion. And a really big congrats on that hundred pounds of beef! It is quite different where you live. I walk into a gourmet butcher shop and buy the best meat money can buy and just bring it home and throw it on the grill. You buy it from the people with cows in their fields. That's pretty cool man.

[shaneinga]

Welcome back Greg! 3 sweet workouts. How are you liking the more hypertrophy based programming? I see you are still throwing in some good weights for singles as well.

That is awesome that you picked up 100 pounds of meat off your sister-in-law! Married into a cow baron. Sweet!

No need to apologize for being busy! It definitely gets like that sometimes.

[PtReyesGreg]

Nice looking session yesterday Greg. I like that rep scheme a lot. The chest and shoulders have to be feeling good after that. That's a lot of work in 40 minutes too. Good for you for getting a second opinion. I feel like a lot of doctors like to jump to surgery pretty quickly sometimes. Not saying that is the case here but its good to get more than one opinion. And a really big congrats on that hundred pounds of beef! It is quite different where you live. I walk into a gourmet butcher shop and buy the best meat money can buy and just bring it home and throw it on the grill. You buy it from the people with cows in their fields. That's pretty cool man.

Thanks Trent. Yeah I like that rep scheme too. I can really feel it working the muscles more than the lower reps I used to focus on.

Yeah hopefully I can get an appointment with that Orhopedist soon. With his office having been closed for a while for Covid it's probably going to be a scheduling mad house when he reopens on Tuesday.

I have to split my response in two to get it to post...

[PtReyesGreg]

Nice looking session yesterday Greg. I like that rep scheme a lot. The chest and shoulders have to be feeling good after that. That's a lot of work in 40 minutes too. Good for you for getting a second opinion. I feel like a lot of doctors like to jump to surgery pretty quickly sometimes. Not saying that is the case here but its good to get more than one opinion. And a really big congrats on that hundred pounds of beef! It is quite different where you live. I walk into a gourmet butcher shop and buy the best meat money can buy and just bring it home and throw it on the grill. You buy it from the people with cows in their fields. That's pretty cool man.

Part 2

My current foot/ankle doctor definitely wanted to jump to surgery right away. On my first visit he was saying surgery was really my only option. Then he told me I'd never run again. I wasn't too happy after that first visit, but then I realized that's just his opinion...I'm not giving up on the running yet. However, I think he's probably right on the surgery. The orthotics have helped straighten out my foot/ankle alignment but I still feel pain with pretty much every step, even after the month of the cast and 6 weeks of the orthotics, so I don't think the tendon and foot bones are going to heal up on their own at this point. That's OK though, because even though it can take up to a year to recover from the surgery I'll wind up in a better place in the end.

The best thing about the beef was she sold it to us for $4 a pound. It was a mix of steaks, roasts, briskets, and ground beef. Buying similar grass fed beef at the coop here (which is where the quality butcher shop is), starts at $9 a pound for ground beef and goes up to around $25 a pound for filet mignon. She gave us a heck of a deal.

[PtReyesGreg]

Welcome back Greg! 3 sweet workouts. How are you liking the more hypertrophy based programming? I see you are still throwing in some good weights for singles as well.

That is awesome that you picked up 100 pounds of meat off your sister-in-law! Married into a cow baron. Sweet!

No need to apologize for being busy! It definitely gets like that sometimes.

Thanks Shane. I'm really liking the hypertrophy based programming. It really feels like it's working my muscles more and isn't as hard on the joints and tendons. I still use Andy Baker's 3x5,3,1 for the Bench to keep building strength there. Prior to those sets I do a number of higher rep sets to work myself up, though so I'm getting the best of both worlds there. Once I can add squats back in I'll probably use that same scheme for them.

Yeah, the meat was a good purchase. I filled up my deep freeze for $400 which wasn't bad at all. Meat in general is expensive out here, so the deal she gave us was really good. I should have bought 200 pounds though.

Work has been crazy lately and I usually have to work either Saturday or Sunday in addition to the weekdays. I see you've had the weekend work lately too. Like you though, I'm happy to have a good job right now. There's a lot of people who aren't so fortunate, so that keeps my bitching down.

[TM79]

Man, sorry to hear that it may need surgery, but like you said, if you end up better off in the long run, then that is best (and I like the pun there too, "long run"). Hopefully the ortho can get it sorted for you. I miss the running vids on IG... And $4.00/pound?!?!?!? I almost fell down when I read that. Ours usually starts at $15/pound and goes up as high as you want. On an average Saturday night, we'll spend $40 on steak for the two of us. If we get a really special cut (cowboy steak, etc.), we are easily spending over $50. That's what we get for living in yuppy heaven I suppose... Hope you have a great weekend brother.

[PtReyesGreg]

Man, sorry to hear that it may need surgery, but like you said, if you end up better off in the long run, then that is best (and I like the pun there too, "long run"). Hopefully the ortho can get it sorted for you. I miss the running vids on IG... And $4.00/pound?!?!?!? I almost fell down when I read that. Ours usually starts at $15/pound and goes up as high as you want. On an average Saturday night, we'll spend $40 on steak for the two of us. If we get a really special cut (cowboy steak, etc.), we are easily spending over $50. That's what we get for living in yuppy heaven I suppose... Hope you have a great weekend brother.

Wow! It sounds like your beef prices are crazy in NC too. I guess that pain's nation wide.

I'm hoping I can get into the ortho soon. I'm anxious to get it taken care of though so I can start the recovery (which can take a year or so). Also, I'll have to get a cast again so it'd be nice to do that while I can still work at home since I can't drive with it. Depending upon what the podiatrist says on Tuesday I might go ahead with his recommendations. We'll see.

[PtReyesGreg]

10:05 am - Home

Saturday morning I did a Hypertrophy Workout (C57_3D) as follows:

Shoulder Rehad - Red Bands

CGBP 12-145, 10-175, 5-225
Superset with:
French Press 12-69, 10-69, 8-69

Dips 12, 10, 8
Superset with:
BB Curls 12-69, 10-69, 8-69

Preacher Curls 12-50, 10-60, 8-70

Decline Situps 2 sets of 10

Bodyweight: 204.8 Pounds (Down 14.2 pounds from 219.0 on 7/2)

Workout Duration: 0:39:56.79 h:mm:ss.ms (with 1:00 rest between sets)

*******************

9:03 am - Home

This morning I did a Hypertrophy Workout (C58_1A) as follows:

Shoulder Rehad - Red Bands

Bench Press 15-135, 13-155, 11-185, 9-305, 7-225, 5-255
Superset with:
Band Chest Flyes - Red Bands 5 sets of 15

Incline DB BP 12-45, 10-45, 8-45
Superset with:
Incline DB Flyes 12-15, 10-15, 8-15

Triceps Pressdowns 3 sets of 20 @ 55

Leg Extensions 12-50, 15-50, 15-50
Superset with:
Leg Curls 3 sets of 12 @ 50

Bodyweight: 204.8 Pounds (Down 14.2 pounds from 219.0 on 7/2)

Workout Duration: 0:47:43.49 h:mm:ss.ms (with 1:00 rest between sets)

Good past couple of workouts. I got my new bench in so I'm able to do preacher curls, leg curls, and leg extensions now so that adds some nice variety. Also, it's nice to be able to do some sort of leg exercises again. The bench isn't the greatest but it gets the job done.