Heisman's log

[Heisman2]

Back from vacation. Now I can start going all out.

Worked out this morning:

Deadlifts:
warmup
405 x 5 x 5

And done. Awesome session, took a lot out of me and felt good. My last warmup was 375 for a single that felt easy but then my first rep with 405 was considerably harder so still getting my full strength/power back. This matches a PR for me and I think this is the first time I've done this in the morning (I'm generally a bit stronger in the evening). Next deadlifting session I may go for 425 x 5 x 5 (I think I've done 425 x 4 x 5 but I can't quite remember. I've definitely done 435 x 2 x 5, 445 x 7, and 465 x 5). The last two sets (445 x 7 and 465 x 5) I did in my run up to doing 550 x 1. Things are looking good.

[Heisman2]

My body feels dead today after the deadlifts yesterday, but I still had a very good workout:

Incline dumbbell bench press:
warmup
75 x 7
75 x 4
70 x 4
65 x 5
60 x 5

Weighted dips:
warmup
70 x 4
45 x 4
25 x 6
25 x 5
25 x 4

Hammer grip machine shoulder press:
warmup
80 x 7
80 x 6
80 x 5

Face pulls:
50 x 12
50 x 12
50 x 12

Lateral raises:
25 x 7
20 x 7

Tricep overhead extensions/pushdowns:
two sets with varying amounts of weight and handles


Overall very nice; I should be very sore tomorrow. I will take tomorrow off as I continue to recover from the deadlifts.

[Payton1221]

Incline dumbbell bench press:
warmup
75 x 7
75 x 4
70 x 4
65 x 5
60 x 5

As far as chest exercises go, I have better mind-muscle-connection with DB presses (I do incline too) than any other exercise.

I hope you have better luck getting such large bells in place than I do

[Heisman2]

As far as chest exercises go, I have better mind-muscle-connection with DB presses (I do incline too) than any other exercise.

I hope you have better luck getting such large bells in place than I do

I can get 75 and 80s up without much trouble, 85s are touch and go, and 90s are difficult. When I was able to do 90 x 4 it was still a huge struggle to get up the first rep.

I am very sore today in my chest and triceps; I rarely get soreness in my triceps so I am very happy with the quality of the workout and overall volume I used. Should be a great starting point for future workouts.

Legs tomorrow!

[Heisman2]

Squatted today:

High bar back squats (no pauses):
warmup
275 x 3 x 4

Assisted glute ham raises:
1 x 10

Added one rep to each set from the last time I squatted despite going several days since my last squat session, so I'm very happy with this. I'll squat again probably in 2 or 3 days and we'll see if I can build on this well.

[Heisman2]

Nice workout today:

One-armed pulldowns:
warmup
130 x 9
130 x 5
120 x 6
120 x 5
110 x 5

I felt weak warming up so was happily surprised with the first set, which is a big PR. These all felt good.

Cable rows:
80 x 5
100 x 5
120 x 5
140 x 5
160 x 5
180 x 2
140 x 10
150 x 10

I did these with pretty strict form (meaning I didn't generate momentum with my legs or lower back). I'll keep working on these and machine rows too.

Dumbbell curls:
40 x 2
50 x 1

My right elbow hurt a bit with the curls so I stopped. In my 13 years of lifting serious I have still never managed to get myself to care about my biceps or curls.

Overall, great session due to the first set I did (two rep PR). Pressing movements tomorrow.

[Heisman2]

Another great workout!

Incline dumbbell bench press:
warmup
75 x 9
75 x 6
75 x 4
70 x 6
70 x 4

Weighted dips:
warmup
BW + 70 x 5
BW + 70 x 3
BW + 45 x 5
BW + 45 x 4
BW + 25 x 5

Hammer grip machine shoulder press:
warmup
100 x 5
90 x 6
80 x 6
70 x 7

Facepulls:
warmup
60 x 3 x 12

Lateral raises:
25 x 4
20 x 7

Overhead tricep extensions & pushdowns:
2 sets of random weight

Overall very happy with this.

[Payton1221]

In my 13 years of lifting serious I have still never managed to get myself to care about my biceps or curls.

If you want to try something different, try Poundstone Curls. You attempt to get 100 reps without ever taking your hands off of an EMPTY oly bar. It becomes a rest-pause exercise as you must rest between the final reps, but it'll make your arms blow up with all of the blood that fills them from this kind of exercise.

But with that noted, I rarely do direct arm work. I probably should, but I don't. I have forced myself to start one set of forearm exercise, because I understand (correct me if you this to be false) but that a weak forearm can sometimes lead to an imbalance that makes tennis and/or golf elbow more likely.

[Heisman2]

If you want to try something different, try Poundstone Curls. You attempt to get 100 reps without ever taking your hands off of an EMPTY oly bar. It becomes a rest-pause exercise as you must rest between the final reps, but it'll make your arms blow up with all of the blood that fills them from this kind of exercise.

But with that noted, I rarely do direct arm work. I probably should, but I don't. I have forced myself to start one set of forearm exercise, because I understand (correct me if you this to be false) but that a weak forearm can sometimes lead to an imbalance that makes tennis and/or golf elbow more likely.

Well, that would destroy my arms for sure, lol. Probably won't be trying that as I need my arms for work! I'm not sure if a weak forearm makes them more likely; I typically think of tennis and golf elbow as overuse injuries and not due to innate weakness of the forearm. You may like this: http://blog.nasm.org/sports-performa...-tennis-elbow/

Nice squat session today:
warmup
275 x 5
225 x 3 x 5

That's it. The first set with 275 was quite hard and I ended up bending forward a bit more than I'd like on the last two reps. I did the next 3 sets without a ton of rest and was out of it by the end, haha. Still working up on volume & work capacity. Overall happy with this.

[Heisman2]

Legs got very sore this afternoon so squats worked yesterday.

Good session today:

One armed pulldowns:
warmup
140 x 7
140 x 4
130 x 5
120 x 5
110 x 6

I was going to go for 130 x 10 but I warmed up to 120 and that felt very easy so I went up in weight instead and am happy I did so; 140 x 7 is a PR and I really felt this in my lats. It doesn't really work this way but that would equate to bodyweight + 120 x 7 reps, which is far more than I have ever done (I've done BW + 115 x 4). As long as I keep progressing well I will continue this but I look forward to my next weighted pullups cycle.

Biceps:
Back-to-back set of low cable curls and dumbbell curls: did 20 x 10 (with the cable set up it was more difficult than a dumbbell due to stabilization requirements) followed by 30 x 7. Called it here. At least I did something.

[Heisman2]

Today's workout:

Incline dumbbell bench press:
warmup
80 x 5
75 x 5
70 x 5
65 x 5
60 x 5

I'm ok with this; getting the 80s up initially was a bit of a challenge but I haven't gone that heavy in awhile. The most I've ever done is 80 x 7; we'll see what I get next session.

Weighted dips:
warmup
BW + 70 x 6
BW + 70 x 4
BW + 45 x 4
BW + 25 x 6
BW + 25 x 4

1 rep improvement on my top set from my last session; quite happy with this.

Hammer grip machine shoulder press:
warmup
100 x 7
90 x 6
80 x 6
70 x 6

I may be misremembering by a rep on the last 2 sets. This felt good.

Face pulls:
warmup
60 x 15
60 x 15
60 x 10

Halfway through the second set I realized I did not my have my hands in the proper position as I finished the rep; I then fixed this. Felt so dumb, lol. All good though.

Lateral raises:
25 x 4
20 x 5

Shoulders were spent.

Tricep combo (overhead extension + pushdowns):
45 x 6/3
40 x 7/2
35 x 6/3

Overall nice workout for sure.

[Payton1221]

Hammer grip machine shoulder press:
warmup
100 x 7
90 x 6
80 x 6
70 x 6

I may be misremembering by a rep on the last 2 sets. This felt good.

LOL on misremembering. I will normally count each rep which helps with my breathing and memory, but I still get confused from time to time.

Good job on handling the 80's. My largest bells are 70# and I know that without my homemade power hooks, I'm hard-pressed to get those beasts into position.

[Heisman2]

Went to the gym today and deadlifted. Worked up to 425 x 1. Form was good. Was gonna do a lot more but it was heavier than I wanted to. I attribute this to a few reasons:

- I did not sleep well last night
- A few days ago I banged my right shin against a barbell, hard. No pain at all now unless I press against it. Even simply laying my left leg on top of it when lying in bed is painful. Sadly, I couldn't set up for deadlifts well today as it was too painful to have the bar against my shin, lol. This did not help.
- I've been killing it in the gym recently and likely need a day off. My chest and triceps are quite sore from yesterday.

So, blip in the road, but lesson learned. I may take tomorrow off or I may do squats. We'll see.

Edit: oh one more thing. As a resident in pediatrics I'm also irritated about the new health bill proposal. Lots of cuts to Medicaid, which is almost certainly going to impact a lot of our children. Sad times.

[Heisman2]

Poor squat workout today. I didn't eat as much as I would have liked simply due to how the day worked out and did not have energy in the gym. Worked up to 295 x 1 followed by 225 x 5 and called it.

However, I get tomorrow off, which is great. I'll go to the gym early most likely but will have eaten appropriately and should be fully energized. Hopefully will keep making progress on one-armed pulldowns tomorrow.

[Heisman2]

Yesterday I went in to the gym to do back/biceps stuff but just wasn't feeling it so I called it after a couple of sets. Slept poorly the night before.

However, last night I finally slept well and had a good workout today:

Incline dumbbell bench press:
warmup
80x6
75x6
70x6
65x6
60x6

Nice one rep improvement on everything from my last session.

Weighted dips:
warmup
BW + 70 x 6
BW + 70 x 4
BW + 45 x 7
BW + 45 x 5
BW + 25 x 6

Matched what I did last session on the first two sets and improved a rep on the last 3.

Hammer grip machine shoulder press:
warmup
100 x 8
90 x 6
80 x 7
70 x 9

Nice improvement from last time

Face pulls:
warmup
60 x 3 x 15

Made sure my hand placement was good on all reps.

Lateral raises:
25 x 5
20 x 6

Triceps overhead extensions/pushdowns:
45 x 8/4
45 x 6/3

Then did 25 minutes on an elliptical.

Overall great session, nice to get back on track. Legs tomorrow. Also, weight was 157-158 today, down a couple pounds over the last week. I've been cutting as my overall bodyfat was a bit higher than I'd like. I'm almost to where I want to be from a bodyfat perspective.

[Heisman2]

Great squat workout today:

High bar full back squats without a pause:
warmup
275 x 6
275 x 3
245 x 6
245 x 3
225 x 5

This was intense, and the first set was an all time high bar back squat PR for me. I've done 275 x 8 low bar once.

Assisted glute ham raises:
1 x 10

Done after this. Very happy with it overall.

[Heisman2]

Good workout today:

One-armed lat pulldowns:
warmup
140 x 9
140 x 3
120 x 5
100 x 6
100 x 5

First set was a 2 rep PR for each arm and I was spent. Definitely using a bit of momentum on these but I don't mind doing that as long as I don't get injured.

Cable rows:
warmup
150 x 9
140 x 3 x 10
140 x 8

These felt good.

Low pulley curls followed by dumbbell curls:
I did 3 sets total with random weight.


Overall happy with this. Legs/back also quite sore today from the squats yesterday. Pressing movements tomorrow.

[Heisman2]

Great workout today:

Incline dumbbell bench press:
warmup
80 x 5
70 x 8
70 x 5
60 x ?
50 x ?

Weighted dips:
warmup
BW + 70 x 5
BW + 45 x 6
BW + 25 x ?
BW x 8
BW x 5

Hammer grip machine shoulder press:
warmup
100 x 9
90 x 6
80 x ?
70 x ?

Face pulls:
warmup
70 x 8
70 x 8
70 x 8

Lateral raises:
25 x 4

Tricep overhead extensions/pushdowns:
warmup
45 x 9/3
45 x 6/2

Great workout. I don't remember all the reps on all the sets and I got one less rep on my first set than last time but it all felt very good and as I was warming up initially the 70s felt very light. I just mistimed getting the 80s up, I think. Next time I may just lift with the 70s on my first set and see what I can do (all time PR is 12 reps).

[Heisman2]

Did 30 minutes elliptical this morning and it went well.

Worked out after clinic:

Deadlifts:
warmup
425 x 5 x 5

This is a PR. Previously I had done 405 x 5 x 5 a total of 4 times but never 425 x 5 x 5. I'm extremely happy about this. One week ago today I struggled to do 425 x 1; that's how much of a difference a good day from a bad day is for me.

I will almost definitely have to take tomorrow off fully.

[Payton1221]

Did 30 minutes elliptical this morning and it went well.

I've been experimenting with rucking . . . basically, walking with a weighted backpack. If you like the outdoors, it's a different mode of cardio(?) to consider. I wrote cardio as I did, because it takes a hill to get my heartrate up to 115 (I'm 50 so my max heartrate is prob 170), but even when it's just 100-105, it takes effort to walk at a brisk pace.

[Heisman2]

I've been experimenting with rucking . . . basically, walking with a weighted backpack. If you like the outdoors, it's a different mode of cardio(?) to consider. I wrote cardio as I did, because it takes a hill to get my heartrate up to 115 (I'm 50 so my max heartrate is prob 170), but even when it's just 100-105, it takes effort to walk at a brisk pace.

Not my thing (I hate outdoors, lol), but that is a great idea. I'll start recommending it to patients who like to walk around but don't like to do much else.

Did some core work today.

Kneeling upper pulley weighted crunches/situps:
warmup
80 x 5
90 x 5
100 x 5
110 x 4
90 x 5

Dumbbell side bends:
50 x 10
75 x 10
100 x 10

That's it. Felt good. First time doing direct ab work in awhile.


Today was my last day of intern year; I am not a senior resident. Tomorrow I start an ED rotation. I'll be working 8pm - 6am the next 4 nights. I will try to do an upper body pushing workout tomorrow. I'm pretty sure I'll be too beatup from the deadlifts to do anything else. I do not know yet if I'll try to get in a workout during the 4 day stretch. We'll see. My diet has been great recently with no cheating* at all and I'm down to 157 pounds, hopefully things don't get too screwed up over the 4 days.

*Cheating for me isn't like I'm restricting and then I need to binge, rather it's like things are going well and then all hell breaks loose in the hospital setting and I either have to cram a lot of food down because I may not be able to eat for awhile or I have to go a lot longer without eating than anticipated or I transition a lot between days and nights which always screws up my hunger:calorie ratio.

[Heisman2]

Today's sessions:

Incline dumbbell bench press:
warmup
80 x 3
70 x 4
60 x 6
50 x 9
40 x 11

Weighted dips:
warmup
BW + 70 x 2
BW + 45 x 6
BW + 25 x 6
BW x 11

Hammer grip machine shoulder press:
warmup
110 x 6

Dumbbell press:
40 x 8

Face pulls (holding end point x 1 second):
50 x 2 x 12

Lateral raises:
20 x 10
20 x 7

Tricep overhead extensions/pushdowns:
50 x 6/3
50 x 5/3

After this I went home and did 30 minutes on the elliptical at resistance 29.

My body is still dead from the deadlifts, and that was reflected in this workout. I'm content with it as I figured my numbers would be down. Everything felt fine.

My first of 4 consecutive night shifts in the ED starts tonight (yes, that means I'll be in the ED the night of July 4 so I will see everyone with firework injuries). I will not lift tomorrow (I may do cardio). It's possible I'll take the next 4 days off lifting as my body could definitely use a break and I don't lift as well when I flip my sleep cycle but if I feel good in 2-3 days I may get a workout in.

[Heisman2]

Decided to lift today even though I was going to take the day off.

Squats:
warmup
275 x 1 with a 3 second pause (felt heavy with some knee/hip pain)
135 x 7

Assisted glute ham raises:
1 x 10

One armed pulldowns:
warmup
120 x 1

Dumbbell curls:
35 x 5
45 x 2
50 x 1
55 x 1

Elliptical at level 30: 10 minutes

I'm definitely in a state of significant overreaching/overtraining right now, by design. I will take the next 3 days off from lifting (still may do cardio). We'll see if supercompensation benefits me here.

[Heisman2]

Quick update; came down with gastroenteritis. Actually have only vomited once and had diarrhea a couple of times but it's now been 38 hours since I last ate or drank anything other than water. Weight is down 3 pounds. Still not hungry at all. Hopefully I'll get over this in the next day or so.

[Heisman2]

Made it through my shift today. After 52 hours of consuming nothing but water, I just ate a banana and a slice of bread. If I tolerate this without issue I will go back to my regular eating habits tomorrow and maybe lift tomorrow as well. I'm currently down 5 pounds; I have no idea how much energy I'll have in the gym tomorrow if I go.

[Heisman2]

Had low energy but lifted anyway.

Weighted pullups: worked up to BW + 115 x 1, failed at BW + 135 x 1
One armed pulldowns: worked up to 140 x 1
Weighted dips: worked up to BW + 90 x 1, failed at BW + 115 x 1
Incline dumbbell bench press: worked up to 75 x 2
Squats: worked up to 255 x 1

That's it. Felt very weak. Due to work I won't be able to get to the gym tomorrow or Sunday. I will say after getting home I was hungry for the first time in days and just ate 600 kcal and plan to eat another 400 kcal before going to sleep. No nausea after eating last night or breakfast this morning. I'll have a good amount of fat tonight. If I get through tonight just fine then I will be confident my GI tract is back to 100%. Monday I get my first full day off in 2 weeks and I after flipping back and forth between days and nights and getting the gastroenteritis I desperately need it.

[Heisman2]

I feel like I'm coming down with a cold. One step forward, two steps back. I love being in the ED for learning purposes but I hate the schedule and everyone gets sick a lot in the ED.

Anyways, I decided to alter my squat form to hopefully good effect. Basically I'm loading the outer parts of my feet a bit more than I had previously (essentially activating my hip abductors) and I'm sitting down moreso than back as if I was doing more of an oly than traditional powerlifting squat. Previously I couldn't really do this without stressing my right knee (always with a torn lateral meniscus) but by loading the outer portions of my feet I can and this feels quite solid. Worked up to 275 x 1 and then 225 x 2 x 5 today and they felt good.

If I have a full cold that will keep me out of the gym a few days. Eventually I will get back in and make gains.

[Heisman2]

Lifted today.

Incline dumbbell bench press:
warmup
80 x 2
60 x 10
60 x 7
50 x 8

Dips:
10
9
8

Hammer grip machine shoulder press:
warmup
120 x 3
110 x 3
100 x 5
70 x 8

Face pulls:
warmup
70 x 3 x 8

Overhead tricep extension/pushdowns:
45 x 10/4
45 x 8/3

Lateral raises:
20 x 6
20 x 4

Everything felt ok. Still getting back into it.

Surprisingly, I have not felt like I had a cold today. If I'm actually not sick that means yesterday I just had bad seasonal allergies (which has never happened to me), or I was having a bit of dysautonomia due to being really stressed the last couple of days secondary to work-related stuff. We'll see how I feel tomorrow.

[Payton1221]

Surprisingly, I have not felt like I had a cold today.

Do you have any suggestions for mitigating the effects of a cold? I've recently read about glutamine and even sodium bicarb, but I've yet to have the need to try them.

Also, kind of odd to see dips without some hyooge number added to bodyweight ;-)

[Heisman2]

Do you have any suggestions for mitigating the effects of a cold? I've recently read about glutamine and even sodium bicarb, but I've yet to have the need to try them.

Also, kind of odd to see dips without some hyooge number added to bodyweight ;-)

Zinc may work. At least there is some evidence supporting it and it's unlikely to be harmful. I haven't read about glutamine or sodium bicarb for this purpose. I'd be very surprised if sodium bicarb would do anything. You'd have to take a decent amount to really impact your pH (if you take it orally) and it's not a medication we use lightly.

As for the dips, I say this all the time but I think I would benefit from working on work capacity a bit. I'm thinking about it.

Lifted today:

One-armed pulldowns:
warmup
160 x 1
170 x 0
150 x 1

Weighted pullups:
warmup
90 x 1

Pulley rows:
warmup
200 x 3

Dumbbell curls:
warmup
50 x 1


I think it's about time I go back to doing some upper and lower every other day and squatting every other day. I'm so motivated to train now that this will probably benefit me, plus I think I would do better with more frequency.

Also, didn't sleep wonderfully last night due to having an early shift today. Also, while nothing bad persay happened to any of my patients in the ED, I had numerous aggravated families. I get that nobody wakes up and says, "hey, I want to spend my day in the ED" so frustration is understandable but when it's one family after another taking out their frustrations on me it just wears me down a bit; none of it was my fault at all.