Turning into a meathead- mid life crisis

[coachcalande]

Absolutely crushed it today.

I was kinda sore from the deadlifts and wasn't sure any new PRSs were in the books...but set out to do some 3 rep benches....

surprised myself with some of my compounds

Bench 330x 6!
Incline 255x7
Behind the neck press 175x7

was strong in my pulldowns, rows, narrow pulldowns, upright rows and side/rear delt raises too.

June has been a good power surge month...

[coachcalande]

I at five meals yesterday....every single one of them involved two hamburgers. That's a day of big eating.

Must have been fathers day. I wont mention the chocolate ice cream.

[coachcalande]

Good squat day.

405x4, 405 x 4, 405x3

Then 15 plates on leg press for 3 sets

3 sets of leg ext, 100lbs (machine)
4 sets of leg curls x 70 lbs


110 on ez bar for 4 sets....4-5 reps
db curls with 60, 50, 50, 50
concentration curls x 30s

triceps pushdowns with 90-100-110 lbs.

[coachcalande]

Took an extra day off. My lifting partner didn't show and I didn't feel great anyhow...so I just spotted the kids during their workout and went to the lake for the day. Right hip has been bothering me some. I have to stretch it out and relieve the pressure on the nerve in there now and again.

Going heavy has its price...

[coachcalande]

The last two days I have eaten just four meals and with that seems to go my will and desire to train. I nearly skipped my workout today....shamefully....lol

I did get it in after a big ol steak and pasta dinner...

bench press was 355x3, then 375x1, then a couple of sets of 6 with 305.

inclines ...I drove out a few sets of 6-9 reps with 255.

I did back heavy...250 for pulldowns and rows, then 200 for narrow pulldowns....5-9 reps on all

shoulder press was good too....175x7...four sets 5--7 reps

upright rows staying where they have been....115x 6ish

side lateral raises....good form with the 25s for four sets, great pump.

Not a bad workout for only four meals today and yesterday...need to get some cals and protein tonight.

[coachcalande]

Yesterday my body was sore...hips, knees....upper back....I rested and ate well.

Today I started off the day with a delicious power breakfast of:

coffee x 2

then milk, oatmeal with raisins, peanut butter and chocolate mixed in, 6 whole egg ham and cheese omelet ....

So, then a half hour later...in the garage...

smith squat pyramid up...4 sets there
5 sets of leg extensions with 170x 10 reps
4 sets of leg curls with 135

my low back was tired so I went and sat down and did about 8 sets of concentration curls followed by 4-5 sets of lying triceps extensions on the smith machine (95 lbs, 12-8 reps)...then went for the heavy alternate dumbbell curls and pushdowns for 3 more sets.

solid workout. NOthing earth shattering but a couple of PRs in the process.

[coachcalande]

Breakfast, coffee...chicken breast, two slices of toast with peanut butter, milk

Great workout at the school today.

I started off with the usual...

Bench press: 365x3,365x3,315x7, 315x6...really handled 315 nice and strict.
Incline bench press: 255x7, 255x6, 255x6, 255x5
dumbbell fly press : 50sx 4 sets 8-12 reps

good solid chest workout, what I would call and HONEST workout.

then moved to back..

wide grip lat pulldowns- 5 sets x 8-9 reps with 180, good squeeze
Narrow grip lat pulldowns - 4 sets x 8-9 reps with 150
dumbbell rows 4 sets 6-8 reps with 75s. Havent done those in a long time.

for shoulders, I went directly to upright rows for 5 sets x 105 for 8-10 reps
then used 25-30 lbs for side lateral raise for 5 sets, then rear delts and front delts with the dumbbell raises as well.

Followed that up with a chicken breast and a banana. Large cup of water..

[coachcalande]

Id planned to get into the wt room early today and get some heavy record setting deadlifts in....

would have been my second deadlift workout this summer....

AS it goes, some new freshmen showed up and I trained them instead - so my workout didn't happen until nearly 3 hours later ...

I worked my way up to 405 for 3 sets of 3 today. I just couldn't find it in myself to go heavier or more intense today. Id been bothered by a) very sore right hip and b) im super sore from my chest/back day...so whatever it was, I didn't feel powerful today.

I also backed off my leg press weight and went for more reps, 8-10s instead of all those heavy 4-6 rep sets. 4 sets of leg ext and leg curls...

then worked through my bis/tris for about 8-9 sets also with lighter weights and higher reps, 6-12 for the most part.

Wasn't any kind of PR workout today, but I didn't skip it either...

[coachcalande]

Today its a big ol cookout. I am going to get some serious red meat....always seem to gain after chowing down the beef.

I do feel like I need a break from the super heavy pushing and pulling and need a couple of workouts just focusing on good quality contractions with lighter weights.

I can clearly see the thickness in my chest from the last few months...pretty big difference.

When football ended back in December...man I had lost so much strength that I was just using like 245 on bench press and about 275 on squats...not as maxes, but for workouts. I could only manage 10 plates on leg press too, it was so heavy. (that's warmup weight for me now)

it really goes to show how fast (at my age) muscle will disappear and deconditioning can occure over a few short months.

NOw, I can squat with 405 for all my sets, bench with 315 or more for all my sets and leg press easily with 14-15 plates for reps...

The thing is, I can absolutely say that my elbows need a break, my right hip too. Been pounding big weights for a few months with only a few lighter workouts in the 8 rep range.

I am going to ice my elbows today at some point and consider an "all flye" workout for chest tomorrow just to avoid benching. we will see. I "say that" but when I get into the garage...im sure Ill want to get after it.

[coachcalande]

Today was a "bodybuilding workout"-that is, all of my sets were at least 6 reps and as many as 9.

Nothing in the 3-5 rep range to give my elbows a break.

Bench Press on Smith Machine 315x4 sets 6-8 reps
Incline Press on Smith Machine 255x 4 sets 6-8 reps
Flat bench fly/press 45 x 4 sets of 8-12 reps

Wide Grip Lat pulldowns 225 x 4 sets 8-9 reps
Seated Row Machine 245 x 4 sets 8-10 reps
Narrow Pulldowns 200x 4 sets 6-9 reps

Seated press behind head on smith machine 165 x 4 sets 6-9 reps
Upright rows on smith machine 115x 4 sets 6-9 reps
dumbbell side lateral raise 25s x 4 sets of 8-12 reps
dumbbell bent over lateral raise 25s x 3sets of8-12 reps

about an hour....

Gotta get some hamburgers today....

[coachcalande]

NOt a great lift today.

I felt stiff and unrecovered - tight- maybe dehydrated from being out in the sun all day yesterday and this am.

I started with smith squats and kept it light for 5 sets. Just worked on depth, control and getting some quality contractions.
Nothing earth shatteringly heavy either, just hitting 8-10 reps.

Five sets of leg extensions with 170...

then did 4 sets of tris and bis and called it a day. Just not into it all.

That happens but my philosophy is "squat, then anything else is gravy"....

[coachcalande]

I had a great workout today. Very strong.

I decided that I was going to "set" my training weights for a few workouts and strive to grind out more reps with that weight each workout. Id go 3-10 reps on upperbody and 3-12 on lower body as target rep ranges.

so these are my set weights for HOME GYM upper body:

(and what I did today)

Smith bench press- 315x7
smith incline bench- 255x10!!! 260x6
flyes 45x12(exception to my rule)

Wide Pulldowns- 250x6 (those are heavy, but I think "anything over three is gravy" and that helps)
seated rows - 250x10!!! 260x 8
narrow pulldowns 200x8

press behind head 175x10!!!180x6
upright rows 115x8 (ties pr)
db side laterals 30x10

So, several ten rep PRs today then I bump the weight up 5-10 lbs. I just try to always work as hard as I can on each set for anything in that rep range. The majority of my sets are 5-6 rep sets.

I had a great pump after todays workout and just felt like I crushed that workout. Love setting PRs in any rep range.

[coachcalande]

Just got back from my lift:

Squats:
135x10
225x5
315x5
365x5,5,4,3

I couldn't go heavier as the first rep on every squat bothered my hip. It felt more like a muscle issue near the attachment.

Leg press- stuck with 12 plates for 4 sets of 5-8 reps
Leg ext-3 sets x 100 lbs
Leg curls -3 sets x 70 lbs
Pushdowns 7 sets x 100 lbs
ez curls- 90 lbs x 4 sets around6-8 reps
db curls- 50 lbs x 3 sets of 5-6 reps

That was enough. The hip thing is irritating as Id just recently worked my way up to 405 for all my sets and now I feel like I need to back off, I think the biggest culprit is the leg press machine where I maybe go too heavy.

[coachcalande]

Very good workout today and proof positive of the impact of double progressive training.

Training to momentary failure I graduated on several lifts and had some PR reps, gained a rep since last workout etc.

Heres the best of todays workout:

Bench 315x7 (same as last workout)
Incline bench press 260x7 (gained a rep)
flyes 45x14 (yes, those are getting easy, gained two reps)
Pulldowns 250x8- gained two reps
Rows 260x8
Narrow Pulldowns 200x10* graduated to 210
Shoulder press behind the head on smith machine- 180x9 (gained 3 reps)
Upright rows 115x10* graduated to 120x 6
DB side laterals 25x 12

[coachcalande]

Gave the hip and knees a break, no legs yesterday. Just arms....went heavy too, felt great. NO elbow pain and blasted some 120 lb pushdowns out....Im all about the heavy stuff.

[coachcalande]

Playing around with higher reps...

Todays chest/back/shoulder workout

I lived heavy in the 7-12 rep range...

Bench 285x11, I know I got 9,8, 7 on the next three sets.

Incline 235x11, 9, 8, 7

I didn't count up the weight on the lat exercises but hit all my sets of 8-10reps to failure

Shoulder press I know I used 165x9
upright rows I used 105 for 9 or 10

....didn't record the last leg workout...did about 8 sets of front squats....actually had a good arm workout after my leg stuff as well.


As it goes, after all these months, really consistent workouts...I have recomped some, body weight is the same as when I started but obviously Im quite a bit stronger.

[coachcalande]

This am I discovered this old journal. I am not this strong these days! I’m going to start recording workouts here again.

One thing I noted…I’m eating four times a day vs the 5-6 listed through the journal and I rarely drink milk.

I’m obviously six years older and Father Time is doing it’s thing. I’m also feeling a tweak in my pec right now so will have to train around that or risk a bigger injury.

[coachcalande]

Today’s Legs/arms blast: 1 hour 15 min

Squats
135x15
165x11
195x10
225x8
255x6
285x5
315x4

Front squats *the best thigh mvt
135x7
145x7
155x6
165x5

Leg ext
144x12
154x11
165x11
176x10

Leg curls
122x13
132x12
142x10
152x8

Calf raise/drop set
135x15/bwx12
145x12/bwx9
155x9/bwx9
165x9xbwx9

Skull crushers
95x17
105x15
115x13
125x13
135x10
145x8
155x8
165x6

Ez curls
85x12
95x9
105x7
115x6

Conc curls
25x10
25x8
25x8
25x8


Time to go buy some eggs n stuff.

[coachcalande]

Today is a scheduled chest/back/shoulders day.
*right pec still mildly tender so I didn’t “train” chest.

I did three sets of incline bench very light to more or less gauge pain signal if any. No notice of issues on incline but no heavy training there today, live to lift another day.

I went to work on back and shoulders though.

Pyramid lat pulldowns - 20-15-12-8-6-4
Pyramid Seated press behind the head 15-12-10-8-6-6
Pyramid narrow grip lat pulldowns 12-10-8-8-6
Pyramid upright rows 15-12-10-8-6-4
Pyramid seated row 12-10-8-6-4
Strip set lateral raises 25/10s x 4 sets
Db front raises 4x12-15
Db bent lateral raises 4x12-15

Obviously the shoulder presses and upright rows felt easier/went heavier because I hadn’t trained chest first.

Btw, today’s meals Will be something like this:

1- 4 eggs/ cup egg whites, bakery English muffin with Peanut Butter, banana, coffee
2- large can tuna, on toast
3- chicken breast, baked potato, broccoli
4- The Brides chili….gains!
5- peanuts/cold cuts

[coachcalande]

Squats , new toy* power cage!

First time using free weights in a few years.

Here’s a set of 315x6 relatively easy.

I pyramid the sets like this today


135x15
185x10
225x8
285x 6
315x 6.

https://youtu.be/GB3Gz_rA8l8



340x4
And here’s set seven…365x3

https://youtu.be/oxGPidV23ro

Incredible how I can squat more free wt than on a smith.

Moved on to 3 sets front squats
5 sets ext
4 sets leg curls
4 strip sets on calf raise

Arms….
Ez curls/pushdowns supersetted 5 sets
Conc curls/skull crushers 4 supersets

[coachcalande]

Went for a 30 min run (waddle?)

Just needed to move.

[coachcalande]

Upper day. Still working around a tweaked pec.

3 light sets of inclines 12-15 reps

5-6 sets on the rest of this stuff.

Heavy Pyramid narrow grip pulldowns 15-6
Heavy pyramid wide grip pulldowns 15-6
Heavy pyramid seated row 12-4

Press behind the head 17-6
Upright rows 15-6
Side delt strip sets x4
Barbell front raises 4 sets amrap bar only

Gonna do a quick jog out back now. Managed 20 hills on my course. Seems a good starting point.

[coachcalande]

Grocery shopping done.

Going for another run. The goal is 20 laps with the 20 hills being run.

[coachcalande]

This am will be a legs/arms session.

There is a bit of soreness in my left knee. My legs are definitely NOT recovered due to the running so I’ll most likely pyramid and just focus on volume gradually adding weight as tolerated.

I just felt like I needed to move more and the pec strain is a reminder of my age and maybe a call to focus less on great strength and instead focus more on fitness and mobility. Obviously Im not going to stop trying to gain muscle .

I don’t expect to see any big numbers in today’s session.

[coachcalande]

I really surprised myself this am. I expected t be weak and drained after three days of running hills.

Free wt squats- heels elevated

135x15
185x12
225x10
275x8
315x6
365x3

Surprisingly stable and no knee pain.

Smith machine fronts 4x8-5

Leg ext pyramid 5x 15-6

Leg curl pyramid 15-10

Standing calf raise 4 strip sets

That took about an hour

I then did around 20 sets of arm work in 20 min.

Ez bar curls pyramid 12-4
Triceps pushdowns 15-5
Conc curls 4x6-12
Skull crushers 5x10-8



Really want to run too…

[coachcalande]

Today was chest/back/shoulders

Still working around pec boo boo

4 sets of inclines, moderately light 10-12 reps

Wide grip lat pulldowns 4x10-12

Shoulder press behind the head pyramid 5 sets 12-6

Narrow grip pulldowns 4x6-8 reps

Upright rows pyramid 5 sets 15-6

Seated rows 5 sets 10-12 reps

Lateral raise strip sets 25s/15s ( just got more adjustable dbs)


All of my sets were to failure as usual.

My back was so bloated with blood at the end of those rows…..

[coachcalande]

30 min jog/run/walk including 25 hills on grass.

It was remarkably EASY today.

[coachcalande]

Today’s meals:

1- eggs (4), 1 cup egg whites, oats, black coffee
2- two chicken breast sandwiches with American cheese, bbq sauce , oatmeal bread
3- chicken breast, broccoli
4-? Hawaiian chicken, rice

[coachcalande]

Arms/legs

Smith squats pyramid 15-4, six sets
Smith front squats 10-4 3 sets
Leg ext 4 sets 15-6
Leg curls 4 sets 10-12

*skipped calves due to running*

Supersetted these:

Ez curls 5 sets 12-4/ pushdowns 20-6 *great gains here!
Alt db curls 4 sets with strip set/skull crushers 10-12 reps

Feeling great. Glad I started running and so far knees are tolerating it.

[coachcalande]

Just finished my 30 min run. 30 hills approx a hill a minute! Incredible considering yesterday was leg day. The human body adapts so fast to whatever demands you put on it. Just incredible the conditioning changes in a handful of runs.