Last night I did regular flat bench and standing overhead shoulder press. Didn't do too well on either of them. Plus, doing bench first really weakened my ability to press over my head. I didn't even touch 125... and knew that I couldn't. Here are the sets.
12/28/11 Wednesday
Bench Press - 3 sets
95x8 (warmup)
135x6 (warmup)
195x4
195x3 (barely)
175x4 (barely)
Standing OH press - 3 sets
45x8 (warmup)
85x5 (warmup)
115x3
105x7
105x6
And then I did one set of 10 bodyweight dips. My tri's were absolutely annihilated at that point though, so I barely even count the dips.
The last time I did both presses on the same day was 11/22. I had just barely hit 195 for 2 reps on bench and then nailed 125 for 2 reps on overhead press. So why no improvement, over a month later? It's strange, I even got fucking amazing sleep the night before, over 8 hours. And there's been plenty of rest between the last time I did either of these exercises, over 8 days. I think I have 2-3 possible reasons why I didn't do too well.
1) I've been reading Beyond Brawn, and I'm really interested in his cycling technique, specifically on these 2 lifts because they haven't been improving much. These lifts have been stalling somewhat lately, but this was the first time I saw no improvement at all in either. Is it because I'm actually stalling, or is it a self fulfilling prophecy from reading the book. AKA, I want an excuse to start cycling (as prescribed in the book), so I'm subconsciously showing myself that these particular lifts are stalled.
2) I was distracted at the gym. A couple of my friends were there, people that I've worked out with in the past but hadn't worked out with in a while. I could have been distracted by thinking they were watching me, or watching what weight I was doing, something like that. The one thing I can say, is that my focus was not 100% yesterday. This could have been a part of why.
3) Those 2 lifts have finally and actually hit a stalling point. I need to gain weight, begin a cycle, try something new, whatever.
It's probably a combination of all 3. Either way, something needs to change. I think that I'm going to continue doing both exercises on the same day. What I may do instead is just drop the weight for both, increase the reps a little bit, add in some different stuff, like 20 rep sets, dumbell presses, and slowly build myself back up to 195 and 125 for each exercise. Hopefully I will have been able to add a few reps along the way. Then, at least according to what I believe I'm reading, I should be able to increase the poundage and slowly move up over the next few weeks, totaling about an 8-10 week cycle.
As for the other big lifts - Deadlifts, squats and cleans. They've been improving, so I won't mess with them. At least not until I'm done with bench and press.
Today's an off day. Goal is to eat lots, rest lots and prepare for Friday's session. And what am I doing on Friday? Definitely squatting. And I might throw cleans in there. Maybe even some very light RDLs? We'll see how I'm feeling.
Stay Puft
Stay Puft has his game face on!
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Deadlifts for Christmas
Hope everyone had a very merry Christmas! In wishing happy holiday's to people, I'm reminded of this recent strip from explosm that made me lol...
My wife and I spent a lot of time with her family this year, which was great. On Christmas day, we were able to make it back to my parent's house in time to catch dessert. Wayyyyy too much cheesecake! Overall though, we had a great time with both her family and mine.
This year I got a whole bunch of cool stuff too. Starting with Skyrim for the 360, some real nice dress shirts (and ties) for work, a few books and a game for the DS. Plus some PJ's so I can lounge around and play some of those video games I got for X-mas ;). Really, that's just the beginning. I got some great stuff.
That being said, my favorite gift has to be the one given to me by my wife. The book, "Beyond Brawn" by Stuart McRobert. I've started going through it, and it's pretty much an encyclopedia of information on how to build muscle and get strong. It's perfect for me. Without getting into TOO much detail, one of his main philosophies is cycling your workouts to hit new PR's. A cycle would last anywhere from 5-10 weeks, and you start by dropping the weight to about 80-85% of what you normally lift (phase I). After you drop the weight, slowly bring yourself back up to where your last max was. Work out at this max for a few workouts (phase II) and then begin to increase the poundage over the course of the next few weeks (phase III). The goal is to stretch out phase III for as long as possible. Once you begin to stall, begin the cycle all over again.
His point is that it's difficult to do this because you have to detrain, and almost lose muscle to gain more later on. According to the author, it takes patience, patience, and more patience, but the gains are well worth it. It makes sense, I've been stalling on some of my lifts, especially the presses... bench and overhead. It might be prudent for me to take a cycling approach to training those 2 specific lifts. Either way, I'm not making any changes until I finish reading the book, and take thorough notes. I want to design a very specific plan that I can follow.
Onto my training over the weekend. As the title suggests, I deadlifted Christmas morning, after opening presents. Hit a new PR of 315lbs and felt great. Here are my sets.
12/25/11
Deadlifts - 3 sets
135x8 (warmup)
225x6 (warmup)
315x4 PR
315x2
295x5
Standing Dumbbell Bicep Curls - 3 sets
35's x 8
40's x 7
40's x 6
An interesting note, and quick story. Ron Darling is a TV announcer for the NY Mets, and he used to pitch for them back in the 80's. You may have heard, but he helped them win the 1986 World Series. Not that it matters, but he's also a fantastic analyst. But whatever. I've heard him say about pitchers, (and I'm paraphrasing here) that if you have a shitty warmup session, that doesn't mean you'll have a shitty game. And vice versa, if you have a great warmup session, that doesn't mean you'll have a great game. It's one of the things that you have to be willing to accept and adapt to if you're a major league pitcher.
That saying applies to my workout on Christmas. My warmups for the deadlifts didn't feel too great. 135 lbs was light, but I felt a tiny little kink in my back. The 225 felt really heavy for some reason, and it crossed my mind to NOT go for the PR. While the warmups didn't feel too good for me, they did what they were intended to do. Warm me up. Get the kinks out. And as you can tell, I went for the 315 and nailed it.
And finally. Anna took a video of me PRing that 315. She missed the 1st rep of the set, so it only shows me doing 3 reps.
Not that many people comment here, but how's my form?
My wife and I spent a lot of time with her family this year, which was great. On Christmas day, we were able to make it back to my parent's house in time to catch dessert. Wayyyyy too much cheesecake! Overall though, we had a great time with both her family and mine.
This year I got a whole bunch of cool stuff too. Starting with Skyrim for the 360, some real nice dress shirts (and ties) for work, a few books and a game for the DS. Plus some PJ's so I can lounge around and play some of those video games I got for X-mas ;). Really, that's just the beginning. I got some great stuff.
That being said, my favorite gift has to be the one given to me by my wife. The book, "Beyond Brawn" by Stuart McRobert. I've started going through it, and it's pretty much an encyclopedia of information on how to build muscle and get strong. It's perfect for me. Without getting into TOO much detail, one of his main philosophies is cycling your workouts to hit new PR's. A cycle would last anywhere from 5-10 weeks, and you start by dropping the weight to about 80-85% of what you normally lift (phase I). After you drop the weight, slowly bring yourself back up to where your last max was. Work out at this max for a few workouts (phase II) and then begin to increase the poundage over the course of the next few weeks (phase III). The goal is to stretch out phase III for as long as possible. Once you begin to stall, begin the cycle all over again.
His point is that it's difficult to do this because you have to detrain, and almost lose muscle to gain more later on. According to the author, it takes patience, patience, and more patience, but the gains are well worth it. It makes sense, I've been stalling on some of my lifts, especially the presses... bench and overhead. It might be prudent for me to take a cycling approach to training those 2 specific lifts. Either way, I'm not making any changes until I finish reading the book, and take thorough notes. I want to design a very specific plan that I can follow.
Onto my training over the weekend. As the title suggests, I deadlifted Christmas morning, after opening presents. Hit a new PR of 315lbs and felt great. Here are my sets.
12/25/11
Deadlifts - 3 sets
135x8 (warmup)
225x6 (warmup)
315x4 PR
315x2
295x5
Standing Dumbbell Bicep Curls - 3 sets
35's x 8
40's x 7
40's x 6
An interesting note, and quick story. Ron Darling is a TV announcer for the NY Mets, and he used to pitch for them back in the 80's. You may have heard, but he helped them win the 1986 World Series. Not that it matters, but he's also a fantastic analyst. But whatever. I've heard him say about pitchers, (and I'm paraphrasing here) that if you have a shitty warmup session, that doesn't mean you'll have a shitty game. And vice versa, if you have a great warmup session, that doesn't mean you'll have a great game. It's one of the things that you have to be willing to accept and adapt to if you're a major league pitcher.
That saying applies to my workout on Christmas. My warmups for the deadlifts didn't feel too great. 135 lbs was light, but I felt a tiny little kink in my back. The 225 felt really heavy for some reason, and it crossed my mind to NOT go for the PR. While the warmups didn't feel too good for me, they did what they were intended to do. Warm me up. Get the kinks out. And as you can tell, I went for the 315 and nailed it.
And finally. Anna took a video of me PRing that 315. She missed the 1st rep of the set, so it only shows me doing 3 reps.
Not that many people comment here, but how's my form?
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Jets vs Giants
I'm a huge Jets fan. I like the Giants too, but I love the Jets. All I have to say about today's game is this.
CAN'T WAIT
CAN'T WAIT
Friday, December 23, 2011
Some information on RDL's
I don't do RDL's often, but some research has made me aware that I do them incredibly wrong. There are other's that can describe what an RDL (Romanian Deadlift) is much better than I can, but to oversimplify it, it's a form of deadlifts where you concentrate on using hamstring tension to lift the bar. You don't bend your knees nearly as much as you would during a regular deadlift. And believe me, your hammy's will get seriously sore afterwards.
Anyway, as I was saying... I've been doing them completely wrong. Check out this post on 70's big:
http://www.70sbig.com/blog/2011/06/the-rdl/
I highly, highly recommend you check out that post. Here are the points of emphasis that the author gives.
Points of Emphasis
1. Start in the hang
2. Un-lock knees
3. Push hips back
4. Don’t let knees go forward
5. Keep the bar back
6. Once the back angle is arbitrarily parallel, or the hamstrings are sufficiently stretched (you’ll know), reverse the movement
7. Drive the heels through the ground
8. Continue to keep the bar back and not let the knees go forward
9. Return to the hang position
2. Un-lock knees
3. Push hips back
4. Don’t let knees go forward
5. Keep the bar back
6. Once the back angle is arbitrarily parallel, or the hamstrings are sufficiently stretched (you’ll know), reverse the movement
7. Drive the heels through the ground
8. Continue to keep the bar back and not let the knees go forward
9. Return to the hang position
I use entirely too much weight, and I end up bending my knees way too much. And I let the weight drop too far low. To quote the 70's big article, I end up just doing a shitty deadlift.
I plan on doing regular deadlifts this weekend, but early next week I'm going to give RDL's a try... the right way. Tonight I'm overhead pressing. I'll post my sets tomorrow.
If I don't see you, have a Merry Christmas everybody. Enjoy a christmas cookie or 7.
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Squats and Bench, together again
I used to squat and bench on the same day, almost every time. My workouts were split between push and pull, and most days I did squats/bench together, and deadlift/row/pullups together. Where shoulders fit in, sometimes on bench/squat day, sometimes I'd just kind of do them where I could.
Lately, I've been really just concentrating on main lifts, and splitting them up each day. It's given me much more rest in between each specific workout, but I'm not sure if 10 days in between each bench, deadlift, or squat day is the best method. I've definitely made some gains though, in all of my lifts. Bench is solidly up to 195. Deadlifts I'm getting up 305 for 5 reps, no problem. And overhead press is slowly increasing too. I'm torn, because part of me is impressed with my progress in strength, but the other part is left wondering if I'm just taking way too much time in between each lift.
The whole point is that yesterday I reverted back to squatting and bench on the same day. It worked out pretty well. Less rest between sets, and not much of a drop off in strength for bench. Here are my sets.
12/20/11
Squats - 3 sets
135x8 (warmup)
185x5 (warmup)
245x5
255x4 - struggled, didn't go down all the way.
225x5 went all the way down, ass to grass
Bench Press - 3 sets
95x10 (warmup)
135x5 (warmup)
195x3
195x3
185x5
Skull Crushers - 3 sets
50x8 (warmup)
80x5
80x5
80x5
I'm happy with the progress. Although not going down all the way on the squat really pissed me off. It took my wife taking a video of me for me to see how I wasn't going far down at all. I'd post it up, but quite frankly I'm too ashamed of it. All is good though, I realized it and made the correction.
Oh. And the battery in my car is shot. On cold days (like the other day) the car won't even start. Guess who's stopping at Walmart tonight to pick up a new one?
Have a good one.
Lately, I've been really just concentrating on main lifts, and splitting them up each day. It's given me much more rest in between each specific workout, but I'm not sure if 10 days in between each bench, deadlift, or squat day is the best method. I've definitely made some gains though, in all of my lifts. Bench is solidly up to 195. Deadlifts I'm getting up 305 for 5 reps, no problem. And overhead press is slowly increasing too. I'm torn, because part of me is impressed with my progress in strength, but the other part is left wondering if I'm just taking way too much time in between each lift.
The whole point is that yesterday I reverted back to squatting and bench on the same day. It worked out pretty well. Less rest between sets, and not much of a drop off in strength for bench. Here are my sets.
12/20/11
Squats - 3 sets
135x8 (warmup)
185x5 (warmup)
245x5
255x4 - struggled, didn't go down all the way.
225x5 went all the way down, ass to grass
Bench Press - 3 sets
95x10 (warmup)
135x5 (warmup)
195x3
195x3
185x5
Skull Crushers - 3 sets
50x8 (warmup)
80x5
80x5
80x5
I'm happy with the progress. Although not going down all the way on the squat really pissed me off. It took my wife taking a video of me for me to see how I wasn't going far down at all. I'd post it up, but quite frankly I'm too ashamed of it. All is good though, I realized it and made the correction.
Oh. And the battery in my car is shot. On cold days (like the other day) the car won't even start. Guess who's stopping at Walmart tonight to pick up a new one?
Have a good one.
Monday, December 19, 2011
Oh yes... cleans
Friday night was a dud, so cleans were put off until Saturday morning. I did things a little differently this time. I upped the weight to 135, and did 2 reps on the minute for 10 minutes. It totaled 20 reps at 135, which was fantastic. Near the end my form started getting sloppy, but that's to be expected. I think next time I can up the weight even further. I'll keep at it and hopefully soon I'll be getting real weight up. My traps yesterday and today are incredibly sore.
12/17/11
Hang Cleans - 10 sets
45x10 (warmup)
95x5 (warmup)
135x2 - 10 times
And that's about it. Afterwards I went home, got changed and had to run a few errands before heading to a surprise birthday party that evening.
I'll leave you with a great paragraph off of an old 70s big post back in April. Took me a while to find it, but find it I did.
12/17/11
Hang Cleans - 10 sets
45x10 (warmup)
95x5 (warmup)
135x2 - 10 times
And that's about it. Afterwards I went home, got changed and had to run a few errands before heading to a surprise birthday party that evening.
I'll leave you with a great paragraph off of an old 70s big post back in April. Took me a while to find it, but find it I did.
Never avoid doing something that’s hard. Avoiding “hard” makes you a coward, and you can never experience or learn anything by being a coward. By convincing yourself to do something that’s hard when you don’t want to, you won’t just grow physically. You display a quality of strength that correlates and resonates far beyond the barbell. By overcoming the difficult, that process sets you up for success. Your thoughts formulate your feelings, your feelings compose your emotions, your emotions are exhibited through your actions, and your actions define who you are. By structuring your thoughts to tackle difficult challenges, to strive towards success regardless of the obstacle, you formulate into a better person. You manifest into 70′s Big.Couldn't have said it better myself.
Friday, December 16, 2011
Random Videos
I don't have much today that wouldn't sound like bitching and complaining, so here are some funny videos to keep you entertained instead.
If all goes according to schedule, the plan is some cleans tonight.
If all goes according to schedule, the plan is some cleans tonight.
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Overhead Press - Little to no progress
Man, the one area of training where I have serious trouble are my shoulders. I just can't add weight to the bar, and any progress I make are really tiny baby steps. It's frustrating. Part of my problem is that I don't know what I should be doing to correct it. I've read that doing more volume can help, I've read that doing less volume and heavier sets will help. Right now I'm focusing on less reps for the higher weight. Here are my sets from yesterday.
12/14/11
Standing Overhead Press - 4 sets
45x10 (warmup)
75x6 (warmup)
125x4
125x3
125x2
105x7
Preacher Curls - 3 sets
60x8 (warmup)
90x6
90x5
80x6
Looking at last week when I pressed:
12/14/11
Standing Overhead Press - 4 sets
45x10 (warmup)
75x6 (warmup)
125x4
125x3
125x2
105x7
Preacher Curls - 3 sets
60x8 (warmup)
90x6
90x5
80x6
Looking at last week when I pressed:
12/6/11Standing Overhead Press - 3 sets45x8 (warmup)85x7 (warmup)125x4115x5105x7It's progress. Baby steps, but progress. Next week the goal is 5 reps, again 3 sets. I also added another set at 90lbs for preacher curls.
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Deadlifts - Being Loud at the Gym
The gym on Monday was packed. I can't remember it ever being that loaded with people. It was so crowded I even considered going home, but waited it out and got on the rack where I could deadlift. Didn't hit a PR on weight, but was able to up the reps a bit. Here are my sets.
12/12/11
Deadlifts - 3 sets
135x8 (warmup)
235x5 (warmup)
305x5
305x4
305x4
Barbell Rows - 4 sets
135x8
155x7
165x6
165x6
Overall, I'm happy with the lifts. Next week I'm going to attempt 315. We'll see how 3-4 reps goes.
On a side note. I tend to slam the weight down in between reps when deadlifting. I don't do it on purpose. The weight is fucking heavy, and I kind of just let it drop after I lock each rep out at the top. It can get kind of loud, especially when it's 305 pounds hitting the floor. I've gotten the looks from other people before, but normally I don't give a shit. This last time one of the trainers did a "is that necessary?!" yell from across the gym when I did my last rep. I'm loud, but I'm not THAT loud. And I don't scream or any of that shit while I'm doing my sets. As you can see from my reps above, the slamming only goes on for 4 or 5 reps at a time. And only for 3 sets. Am I in the wrong here? Should I be gently placing my weight down in between each rep? My gut is screaming no.
I need to get a damn video.
PS - Hats off to my wife for nailing a PR of 185lb deadlift for 5 reps yesterday. Her strength is increasing dramatically.
12/12/11
Deadlifts - 3 sets
135x8 (warmup)
235x5 (warmup)
305x5
305x4
305x4
Barbell Rows - 4 sets
135x8
155x7
165x6
165x6
Overall, I'm happy with the lifts. Next week I'm going to attempt 315. We'll see how 3-4 reps goes.
On a side note. I tend to slam the weight down in between reps when deadlifting. I don't do it on purpose. The weight is fucking heavy, and I kind of just let it drop after I lock each rep out at the top. It can get kind of loud, especially when it's 305 pounds hitting the floor. I've gotten the looks from other people before, but normally I don't give a shit. This last time one of the trainers did a "is that necessary?!" yell from across the gym when I did my last rep. I'm loud, but I'm not THAT loud. And I don't scream or any of that shit while I'm doing my sets. As you can see from my reps above, the slamming only goes on for 4 or 5 reps at a time. And only for 3 sets. Am I in the wrong here? Should I be gently placing my weight down in between each rep? My gut is screaming no.
I need to get a damn video.
PS - Hats off to my wife for nailing a PR of 185lb deadlift for 5 reps yesterday. Her strength is increasing dramatically.
Monday, December 12, 2011
Benching and Pain During Dips
I have to start this post by saying that the squats on Thursday wrecked me. I jogged to the gym on Saturday (it's really close by) but you could barely call it a jog. It was more limping and hopping than anything else. I wanted to do cleans, but my legs were just too messed up. Instead, I benched. Felt pretty good, though I tire out quick. Then, since they did such a good job of destroying me last time, I did skull crushers again. And they destroyed me again. Finally, I was going to just kind of finish out with a few sets of bodyweight dips. I did 2 sets of 15... and by the end of the 2nd set, the inside of my chest felt so tight, like something was wrong with my breastplate. I decided to call it quits and headed home. For the record, a few hours later, my chest "popped" or cracked the way your knuckles would, and the pressure was released.
This had happened to me a few weeks ago, the last time I did dips. The pressure built up during my set, and then my chest was tight for several hours afterwards. It wasn't until the next day till I finally popped my chest while stretching, and it was a serious relief. Doing some google researching online, I found a few possible reasons for this happening.
The most plausible explanation is that my chest is getting disproportionately stronger than my upper back. This is pulling my sternum, especially when I lean forward to do dips. Pressure builds up, and has to be released by "popping" my sternum back into place. This could be true, I've been really concentrating on bench lately, and haven't been doing much back. But... I still DO back. It's not like I don't do rows or chinups. I don't do rear delts often though. I'll be adding them to my deadlifts tonight.
The other reasons I've found were more medical problems or disorders, which I don't think I have. I could also just be leaning forward too far during dips too. It's something that I need to watch.
For the record, all of this "research" is just reading through posts people have made on various forums. I don't know how true or false any of it is. If the problem persists, I'll go to a doctor.
12/10/11
Bench Press - 3 sets
95x8 (warmup)
135x6 (warmup)
195x4
185x4
185x3
Skull Crushers! - 3ish sets
70x8
80x2
70x7
Dips - 2 sets
15 bodyweight
15 bodyweight
Tonight the plan is deadlifts. Going for 3 sets at 305, getting at least 5 reps on one set. That would be a good thing. At one point my 1 rep max was 305.
Friday, December 9, 2011
Happiness is a Choice
Happiness is a choice. My wife said that to me today while I was whining and being extremely negative (aka being a little bitch) about how my sleep has sucked lately. Granted, my sleep HAS sucked lately. I keep waking up at like 5ish AM, and then toss and turn and half-sleep till the alarm goes off around 7am. In short, it blows. Anyway, as I get less and less sleep each night, I get crankier and crankier, and I've been acting like somewhat of an asshole lately. Talking to Anna today, she helped me realize that I'm being somewhat of a little bitch about my stupid sleep situation. While it may suck, I need to man up and be myself, not the guy who's suffering from sleep deprivation and gets depressed and acts like a dick because of it. I'm better than that.
Happiness is a choice. Whatever is happening with me and this sleep bullshit, it has no impact on who I am, or how I treat others, especially the people I care about. It shouldn't change my view of the world, or make me pessimistic. I'm still the loving, driven and overly optimistic sonofabitch that I've always been. And that's never gonna change. I choose to be happy, not some depressed piece of shit that you scrape off your shoe.
Thanks Anna for reminding me of that (in not so many words). I love you.
PS - I did squats yesterday. Here are my sets.
12/9/11
Squats - 3 sets
135x9 (warmup)
185x6 (warmup)
245x5
235x5
235x5
Looking back on this blog, I haven't squatted since November 10th. Christ. I think I may begin sacrificing weight to get more exercises in. For example, doing cleans and bench press in the same day. My bench would suffer (if I did cleans first) because I'd be tired, but I also wouldn't go so damn long in between each exercise. Squats and shoulder press? Deadlifts and rows? I dunno, I have to plan it all out. And I'm not the best at planning.
Since I hadn't squatted in such a long time, after my warmups my groin and glutes were all sorts of tight and strained. It all worked itself out in the end though.
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Overhead Press and... cookies?
It's Christmas time. This means that people are insane for the next 3 weeks. It's just a fact of life. I've seen it in the way people drive, the way they shop... even the way they cook. My wife and mother both have been baking Christmas cookies like their lives depend on it. And I'm the fool who pigs out on the piles of cookies as they're piping hot out of the oven.
As you may or may not know, I don't usually eat flour/bread/grains. So cookies made with flour kind of mess my stomach up, especially when I house over a dozen of them at a time. Tuesday and Wednesday were a little intense.... I ate cookies for breakfast, brought a few with me for lunch, and ate a few after dinner. Wednesday night left me in pain, and making massive deposits in the porcelain bank all night. Needless to say, I'm still here today eating gingerbread cookies. As my wife would say, "what an idiot."
Despite the cookie madness, Tuesday night I trained standing shoulder press. I'm still having some weird pain in my shoulder, so I can't do the seated barbell press. I think I like standing better anyway. I did not increase the weight, but I did increase (slightly) the reps. I'm getting more comfortable with the exercise. Here are my sets.
12/6/11
Standing Overhead Press - 3 sets
45x8 (warmup)
85x7 (warmup)
125x4
115x5
105x7
Seated Arnold Press - 3 sets
50x6
50x5
50x5
Not the best workout, but effective. Shoulders were weary afterwards. Next time I press I'm upping the weight.
mmmmm cookies
Despite the cookie madness, Tuesday night I trained standing shoulder press. I'm still having some weird pain in my shoulder, so I can't do the seated barbell press. I think I like standing better anyway. I did not increase the weight, but I did increase (slightly) the reps. I'm getting more comfortable with the exercise. Here are my sets.
12/6/11
Standing Overhead Press - 3 sets
45x8 (warmup)
85x7 (warmup)
125x4
115x5
105x7
Seated Arnold Press - 3 sets
50x6
50x5
50x5
Not the best workout, but effective. Shoulders were weary afterwards. Next time I press I'm upping the weight.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Cleans and a little Bi's
Did some cleans on Sunday, while my wife did 5 sets of a barbell complex. I again didn't up the weight on the cleans, but instead worked on my form, and nailed 4 sets of 5 at 125. I also did some preacher curls as well.
12/4/11
Cleans - 4 sets
95x6 (warmup)
125x5
125x5
125x5
125x5
Preacher Curls - 2 sets
80x7
90x4
My wife started her complex with 55lbs, but dropped it to 45. She did:
8 cleans
8 press
8 front squats
8 rows
8 deadlifts
She did this 4 or 5 times, I forget. At the end, she was wrecked. Especially considering she's done cleans maybe once in her life before. Great job Anna!
Tonight is chest or shoulders, some kind of pressing. I need to squat soon too. Tonight? We'll see.
12/4/11
Cleans - 4 sets
95x6 (warmup)
125x5
125x5
125x5
125x5
Preacher Curls - 2 sets
80x7
90x4
My wife started her complex with 55lbs, but dropped it to 45. She did:
8 cleans
8 press
8 front squats
8 rows
8 deadlifts
She did this 4 or 5 times, I forget. At the end, she was wrecked. Especially considering she's done cleans maybe once in her life before. Great job Anna!
Tonight is chest or shoulders, some kind of pressing. I need to squat soon too. Tonight? We'll see.
Friday, December 2, 2011
Deadlifting makes me feel good
I know, I said I was going to do cleans yesterday, but my wife convinced me to do deadlifts instead. It feels weird to write that. My wife convinced me to do deadlifts... crazy. We did them together. And while I didn't hit a PR in weight, I increased the sets I could do at 305. I have a weird mentality, I always dread the days when I'm going to deadlift, but afterwards I always feel fantastic. Such a feeling of satisfaction.
Again, I asked if they had a weight belt and was told they would order one. So no weighted chins this week. And finally, there was no space to do any curls, so Anna and I tried a preacher curl machine. It was... interesting.
Here are my sets.
12/1/11
Deadlifts - 3 sets
135x8 (warmup)
225x5 (warmup)
305x4
305x3
305x3
Barbell Rows - 3 sets
155x8
165x6
165x6
Preacher Curl Machine - 3 sets
70x8
80x7
80x6
A couple of notes: My triceps are destroyed from those skull crushers. Seriously. And my left quad is sore. I think it has something to do with the fact that I'm driving a stick shift temporarily. It's like my leg isn't used to it or something... I don't get it, but it's sore.
Next on the menu are cleans this weekend.
Again, I asked if they had a weight belt and was told they would order one. So no weighted chins this week. And finally, there was no space to do any curls, so Anna and I tried a preacher curl machine. It was... interesting.
Here are my sets.
12/1/11
Deadlifts - 3 sets
135x8 (warmup)
225x5 (warmup)
305x4
305x3
305x3
Barbell Rows - 3 sets
155x8
165x6
165x6
Preacher Curl Machine - 3 sets
70x8
80x7
80x6
A couple of notes: My triceps are destroyed from those skull crushers. Seriously. And my left quad is sore. I think it has something to do with the fact that I'm driving a stick shift temporarily. It's like my leg isn't used to it or something... I don't get it, but it's sore.
Next on the menu are cleans this weekend.
Thursday, December 1, 2011
My Weight
I mentioned the other day that I had lost weight over the Thanksgiving break. In the back of my mind, I felt like that couldn't be the case, but I had weighed myself, and it was true. After Thanksgiving, I weighed about 154. It was driving me nuts because I ate a lot, and about a week before the holiday I was weighing about 160.
Yesterday, I was weighing myself, and realized that because of the positioning of the scale, I wasn't getting 100% of my weight onto it. It was wedged in a corner of my bathroom, and when I stepped on it, part of my body was touching the side of the bathroom counter. It wasn't much, but it was enough to mess up my weight. So, like any other obsessed asshole, I moved the scale, tried it again... and was a solid 162.6. That's more in line with what I thought it should be.
Either way, I'm happy with how the weight gain is moving. Slow and steady. If I can consistently gain 2lbs per month, I should be a solid 170 by the start of the summer.
Yesterday, I was weighing myself, and realized that because of the positioning of the scale, I wasn't getting 100% of my weight onto it. It was wedged in a corner of my bathroom, and when I stepped on it, part of my body was touching the side of the bathroom counter. It wasn't much, but it was enough to mess up my weight. So, like any other obsessed asshole, I moved the scale, tried it again... and was a solid 162.6. That's more in line with what I thought it should be.
Either way, I'm happy with how the weight gain is moving. Slow and steady. If I can consistently gain 2lbs per month, I should be a solid 170 by the start of the summer.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Bench and... skullcrushers?
After working a little late on Monday night, I found myself unable to make it to the gym. Unfortunately, I just got home too late. It was unfortunate because on Tuesday, it was pouring, and the traffic home from work was terrible. I left work kind of on time, but sat in traffic forever, and got home late anyway. I still went to the gym, I don't like not going for more than 2 days. And it feels like I've done that a few times recently.
I did flat bench, and tried skull crushers for the first time in like 10 years? I think I did them once when I was in college. They were awkward, and I kept the weight light, but I feel like they worked the shit out of my triceps. Dunno if it's because the exercise is effective, or I'm just not adapted to it. For bench, I started well, busting out 2 sets at 185, but the 3rd set I lost my focus. 2 "bros" were standing in front of my bench, having a pleasant discussion about something. I don't even remember the topic, but it was distracting. I let it mess me up, and it kind of ruined my 3rd set. Their fault? My fault for not staying focused? Probably the latter. Here are my sets.
11/29/11
Bench Press - 3 sets
95x9 (warmup)
135x5 (warmup)
185x5
185x4
185x3
Skull Crusher - 3 sets
60x8
60x8
60x8
Easy as pie. But I'm already sore in my tri's. Thursday is either squats or may some clean and press? We'll see how I'm feeling.
I did flat bench, and tried skull crushers for the first time in like 10 years? I think I did them once when I was in college. They were awkward, and I kept the weight light, but I feel like they worked the shit out of my triceps. Dunno if it's because the exercise is effective, or I'm just not adapted to it. For bench, I started well, busting out 2 sets at 185, but the 3rd set I lost my focus. 2 "bros" were standing in front of my bench, having a pleasant discussion about something. I don't even remember the topic, but it was distracting. I let it mess me up, and it kind of ruined my 3rd set. Their fault? My fault for not staying focused? Probably the latter. Here are my sets.
11/29/11
Bench Press - 3 sets
95x9 (warmup)
135x5 (warmup)
185x5
185x4
185x3
Skull Crusher - 3 sets
60x8
60x8
60x8
Easy as pie. But I'm already sore in my tri's. Thursday is either squats or may some clean and press? We'll see how I'm feeling.
Monday, November 28, 2011
Saturdays pulling (and football soreness)
So, did I mention how ridiculously sore I got from playing football on Thursday? It's Monday, and I'm still a little sore, especially in my calves and feet. Now, sprinting isn't really a part of my training regimen, but maybe it should be. I didn't expect to get my ass kicked this hard. I also think that I sat on my ass this weekend, and it didn't help my body recover at all. I didn't eat enough either. Surprising, considering it was fucking Thanksgiving weekend.
I had planned on doing squats on Saturday, but my legs were in no condition to take that kind of a load. Instead, I did a "regular" pulling session, without deadlifts. Here are the sets.
Oh, and on the bicep curls I did 4 sets... 2 with the "hammer" bar, and 2 with the curved bar. The hammer was a barbell that you added weights to, the curved bar was off of a rack, meaning there were multiple bars of different weights I could pick from. I put the hammer barbell on the gym scale, and it came to exactly 22lbs.
11/26/11
1 hand dumbbell rows - 3 sets
65x8 (warmup)
75x5 (warmup)
100x6
105x2
95x6
Barbell Preacher Curls - 4 sets
40x8 (warmup)
72x8 Hammers
92x5 Hammers
80x6 Curved bar
80x5 Curved bar
Barbell Shrugs - 3 sets
135x8
185x8
225x3 (grip slipping)
185x7
With shrugs (and deadlifts), it always seems like my grip is failing. I don't know if I should be specifically working on my grip, if I need to get one of those stupid grip things that people use while driving to increase their strength. It's an idea, I guess. On the 1 handed rows, when I jumped the weight to 105, it was the same thing. Grip fails. I'm gonna start googling how to increase your grip strength. It's holding me back.
I had planned on doing squats on Saturday, but my legs were in no condition to take that kind of a load. Instead, I did a "regular" pulling session, without deadlifts. Here are the sets.
Oh, and on the bicep curls I did 4 sets... 2 with the "hammer" bar, and 2 with the curved bar. The hammer was a barbell that you added weights to, the curved bar was off of a rack, meaning there were multiple bars of different weights I could pick from. I put the hammer barbell on the gym scale, and it came to exactly 22lbs.
11/26/11
1 hand dumbbell rows - 3 sets
65x8 (warmup)
75x5 (warmup)
100x6
105x2
95x6
Barbell Preacher Curls - 4 sets
40x8 (warmup)
72x8 Hammers
92x5 Hammers
80x6 Curved bar
80x5 Curved bar
Barbell Shrugs - 3 sets
135x8
185x8
225x3 (grip slipping)
185x7
With shrugs (and deadlifts), it always seems like my grip is failing. I don't know if I should be specifically working on my grip, if I need to get one of those stupid grip things that people use while driving to increase their strength. It's an idea, I guess. On the 1 handed rows, when I jumped the weight to 105, it was the same thing. Grip fails. I'm gonna start googling how to increase your grip strength. It's holding me back.
Sunday, November 27, 2011
A Late Happy Thanksgiving
It's a few days late, but I hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving. One thing that's become a tradition with my family and friends, is that every thanksgiving we play football in the morning. A turkey bowl, if you will.
This year was no different. We had a huge turnout, and got in a long game of 8 on 8 with an automatic QB. As usual, half of us were hungover, but everyone had a blast. After 2-2.5 hours of running our asses off, it was time to pack it in and get ready to eat.
I won't get into too many specifics, but as expected the turkey was huge, there were too many side dishes, and there were 3 desserts. Ok, one specific: my mom makes a pumpkin cheesecake that's ridiculously good. And a mean apple pie. And my wife made one hell of a pumpkin pie.
Anyway, good times were had with friends in the morning, family in the afternoon, and with my wife in the evening ;)
Hope you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving too.
PS - I made it to the gym on Saturday. I'll post up the workout later today.
This year was no different. We had a huge turnout, and got in a long game of 8 on 8 with an automatic QB. As usual, half of us were hungover, but everyone had a blast. After 2-2.5 hours of running our asses off, it was time to pack it in and get ready to eat.
I won't get into too many specifics, but as expected the turkey was huge, there were too many side dishes, and there were 3 desserts. Ok, one specific: my mom makes a pumpkin cheesecake that's ridiculously good. And a mean apple pie. And my wife made one hell of a pumpkin pie.
Anyway, good times were had with friends in the morning, family in the afternoon, and with my wife in the evening ;)
Hope you all enjoyed your Thanksgiving too.
PS - I made it to the gym on Saturday. I'll post up the workout later today.
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Bench and Shoulder Press
Ok, so I've been making some progress on bench... not so much on shoulder press. I think there's something off in my right shoulder. If I pull my arm back too far while it's over my head, I get some serious sharp pain in there. It doesn't really impact my workouts too much, but if the weight gets too far behind my head during the shoulder press, I instantly have to stop, pack up, and go home. The next day it won't hurt, but it'll be tight when I move the arm too far back again. It's part of the reason why I've been doing dumbell press more often lately, I can keep the weight just above my head much more easily, and it allows me to do the exercise easier.
Because I've been hitting the gym less frequently, last night I combined bench press and shoulder press into one session. I also tried doing less sets and reps with higher weight. Here's what I did.
11/22/11
Bench Press - 3 sets
95x9 (warmup)
135x6 (warmup)
185x3 - nailed this very easy
195x2 - worked very hard at that 2nd rep
185x3
Standing Shoulder Press - 3 shitty sets
45x8 (warmup)
115x3 - easy
125x2 - very very difficult
115x2
Reverse Curls (Triceps) - 2 sets
60x6
60x6
55x7
25 bodyweight dips
Overall, I'm happy with the bench. Doing less volume allows me to increase the weight more. Increasing the weight increases my muscle growth. Shoulders, I felt some pain in there which really screwed me up. I wanted to go heavier with less reps, but it just wasn't working.
Strangely enough, after the 25 dips I felt a huge tightness in my chest, like my breastplate needed to be cracked. You know, the way you would crack your knee, or to a much lesser extent, your knuckles. I've had that feeling before, but never as a result of anything at the gym. And this time, it was much more hardcore. The tightness was intense, and I was unable to crack it. I felt it still when I woke up this morning, and today, while stretching, it finally cracked. It definitely relieved most of the pressure, but I still feel it a little. Weird. I'm sure it'll go away though.
Tomorrow is Turkey Day, and that means football in the morning with friends and family. I'm pumped.
Because I've been hitting the gym less frequently, last night I combined bench press and shoulder press into one session. I also tried doing less sets and reps with higher weight. Here's what I did.
11/22/11
Bench Press - 3 sets
95x9 (warmup)
135x6 (warmup)
185x3 - nailed this very easy
195x2 - worked very hard at that 2nd rep
185x3
Standing Shoulder Press - 3 shitty sets
45x8 (warmup)
115x3 - easy
125x2 - very very difficult
115x2
Reverse Curls (Triceps) - 2 sets
60x6
60x6
55x7
25 bodyweight dips
Overall, I'm happy with the bench. Doing less volume allows me to increase the weight more. Increasing the weight increases my muscle growth. Shoulders, I felt some pain in there which really screwed me up. I wanted to go heavier with less reps, but it just wasn't working.
Strangely enough, after the 25 dips I felt a huge tightness in my chest, like my breastplate needed to be cracked. You know, the way you would crack your knee, or to a much lesser extent, your knuckles. I've had that feeling before, but never as a result of anything at the gym. And this time, it was much more hardcore. The tightness was intense, and I was unable to crack it. I felt it still when I woke up this morning, and today, while stretching, it finally cracked. It definitely relieved most of the pressure, but I still feel it a little. Weird. I'm sure it'll go away though.
Tomorrow is Turkey Day, and that means football in the morning with friends and family. I'm pumped.
It's been a while
It's been a full week since I last posted. Life has been a little crazy, and time has been scarce. I've lifted twice in the past 7 days, and I'll post my workouts in 2 posts to make it easier to follow.
First... a little catch up on what's been going on the past week. It's been fun, it's been busy, and I've loved it.
Wednesday night my brother and I went to NYC to watch Bela Fleck and the Flecktones perform at Town Hall. As expected, the show was phenominal... each of the guys in the band played different instruments, and between the banjo, the piano, harmonica, the bass and drummer... it was all pretty mind blowing. Each guy got his time to shine with numerous solo's, and they all really played their hearts out. It ended up being a really fun and awesome night with my brother, and I can't thank him enough for inviting me.
On Thursday, my wife took me to the Hamptons (eastern LI) for my birthday. The weather was rain, but we drove around a bit and saw some sights where we could. Our destination was a bed and breakfast, where we spent the night. The room we stayed in was huge, with a really big screen TV, a jacuzzi, a back porch, 2 big couches, plenty of board games, and a king sized bed. Yes, it was epic. Thursday night, we went out for dinner and enjoyed a fantastic meal of fish and filet mignon, oysters and a fudge sunday to top it all off. It's safe to say we gorged ourselves with no regrets. The food was fantastic. Friday morning we enjoyed a delicious breakfast that was a little unusual. I had a LOBSTER fritatta, and Anna enjoyed an omelet with all sorts of crazy shit in there, including sun dried tomatoes, bacon, and some kind of Vermont cheese. All in all, it was a really great time and my birthday couldn't have been better.
Saturday night, Anna and I went out with some friends who wanted to treat me to some drinks for my birthday. Another fun night... this time with shots, spilled beers, and darts. Oh and weird thing happened... some dude knocked Anna's beer over INTO her purse. He looks at what he just did and says "someone needs to get her a new beer," or something like that and then gets up... we assumed he was getting her another beer. But no, the guy ran away from the scene of the crime. One of my friends and I went outside just in time to see him peeling out with his girlfriend in tow. Go figure... Asshole.
Sunday was spent at my parents house with some of the family, they had a little birthday cake for me which was nice. I also got to see my niece and nephew, along with my cousin and his fiance. It was really a nice time with some family I hadn't seen in a little while.
All in all, I was spoiled like crazy for my birthday. Poor Anna has a bag that still smells like pumpkin beer.
Now... to my workout on Saturday. Since it had been a little while since I had last done deadlifts, I did some RDL's instead. I just went a tiny bit lighter on the weight, and really concentrated on using more hamstring tension to raise the weight. I also did some weighted chin ups and nailed biceps a bit. Here are the sets.
11/19/11
RDL's - 3 sets
135x8 (warmup)
225x5 (warmup)
285x5
285x5
285x5
Weighted Chinups - 5 sets
25x8
25x7
25x5
25x6
25x4
Biceps Preacher Curl (2 hands)- 3 sets
80x4
70x7
70x6
A couple of things here. This was all last Saturday, and I'm not sure if I did 3 or 4 sets of the RDL's. I don't want to post more than I'm sure that I did, so I'm only putting 3 sets down. Also, I don't remember the exact breakdown of the chinups, but I know I did 30 reps total. And finally, the preacher curls were done using a "crooked" bar, not the straight bar. Between the chinups and the preachers, my bi's were shot afterwards. It's Wednesday, and my forearms are still sore from this workout.
I'll post my workout from last night in a separate post, so things don't get too confusing.
First... a little catch up on what's been going on the past week. It's been fun, it's been busy, and I've loved it.
Wednesday night my brother and I went to NYC to watch Bela Fleck and the Flecktones perform at Town Hall. As expected, the show was phenominal... each of the guys in the band played different instruments, and between the banjo, the piano, harmonica, the bass and drummer... it was all pretty mind blowing. Each guy got his time to shine with numerous solo's, and they all really played their hearts out. It ended up being a really fun and awesome night with my brother, and I can't thank him enough for inviting me.
On Thursday, my wife took me to the Hamptons (eastern LI) for my birthday. The weather was rain, but we drove around a bit and saw some sights where we could. Our destination was a bed and breakfast, where we spent the night. The room we stayed in was huge, with a really big screen TV, a jacuzzi, a back porch, 2 big couches, plenty of board games, and a king sized bed. Yes, it was epic. Thursday night, we went out for dinner and enjoyed a fantastic meal of fish and filet mignon, oysters and a fudge sunday to top it all off. It's safe to say we gorged ourselves with no regrets. The food was fantastic. Friday morning we enjoyed a delicious breakfast that was a little unusual. I had a LOBSTER fritatta, and Anna enjoyed an omelet with all sorts of crazy shit in there, including sun dried tomatoes, bacon, and some kind of Vermont cheese. All in all, it was a really great time and my birthday couldn't have been better.
Saturday night, Anna and I went out with some friends who wanted to treat me to some drinks for my birthday. Another fun night... this time with shots, spilled beers, and darts. Oh and weird thing happened... some dude knocked Anna's beer over INTO her purse. He looks at what he just did and says "someone needs to get her a new beer," or something like that and then gets up... we assumed he was getting her another beer. But no, the guy ran away from the scene of the crime. One of my friends and I went outside just in time to see him peeling out with his girlfriend in tow. Go figure... Asshole.
Sunday was spent at my parents house with some of the family, they had a little birthday cake for me which was nice. I also got to see my niece and nephew, along with my cousin and his fiance. It was really a nice time with some family I hadn't seen in a little while.
All in all, I was spoiled like crazy for my birthday. Poor Anna has a bag that still smells like pumpkin beer.
Now... to my workout on Saturday. Since it had been a little while since I had last done deadlifts, I did some RDL's instead. I just went a tiny bit lighter on the weight, and really concentrated on using more hamstring tension to raise the weight. I also did some weighted chin ups and nailed biceps a bit. Here are the sets.
11/19/11
RDL's - 3 sets
135x8 (warmup)
225x5 (warmup)
285x5
285x5
285x5
Weighted Chinups - 5 sets
25x8
25x7
25x5
25x6
25x4
Biceps Preacher Curl (2 hands)- 3 sets
80x4
70x7
70x6
A couple of things here. This was all last Saturday, and I'm not sure if I did 3 or 4 sets of the RDL's. I don't want to post more than I'm sure that I did, so I'm only putting 3 sets down. Also, I don't remember the exact breakdown of the chinups, but I know I did 30 reps total. And finally, the preacher curls were done using a "crooked" bar, not the straight bar. Between the chinups and the preachers, my bi's were shot afterwards. It's Wednesday, and my forearms are still sore from this workout.
I'll post my workout from last night in a separate post, so things don't get too confusing.
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Another Day, Another Terrible Night's Sleep
Well, as the title of this post suggests, I slept like dog shit last night. You could say that I set myself up for failure because I stayed up somewhat late playing some MW3. But to make matters worse, like clockwork, I wake up at 4am for no reason. As usual, I laid in bed pretending to sleep until around 630am. I got out of bed in zombie mode, and managed to put some soap on my body and get myself wet in the shower. 1 big thermos of coffee later and I survived my morning commute to the office.
The plan tonight is to go see Bela Fleck and the Flecktones. Ever hear of them? They're led by this guy:
Mr. Bela Fleck himself
I haven't, but my brother has assured me that I will enjoy myself. If I remember correctly, he said they're a damn good bluegrass band. I don't usually like that type of music, but he's never been wrong when it comes to stuff like this, so I believe him.
Plus, something tells me I'm going to have more than a few beers in me. I think it's gonna be a good night.
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Incline Bench
I switched to incline bench last night, and it worked out well. I'm definitely weaker when I'm pressing on an incline, but I think it's a great way to mix things up and help strengthen your chest. After incline, I did some flat bench dumbbell press, and finished up with some triceps using cables.
Here are my sets.
11/14/11
Incline Bench - 5 sets
95x8 (warmup)
135x5 (warmup)
175x5
175x4
165x4
165x4
155x6
Flat Bench Dumbbell Press - 3 sets
75x4
65x9
65x7
Triceps Cable Pull down - 4 sets
50x7 (reverse grip, as if I was doing bicep curls)
50x7 (reverse grip)
50x6 (ropes)
50x5 (ropes)
This was an up and down night at the gym. Incline I started out strong, but died really quick. On my 1st set at 165, the bar moved way too far forward on the 2nd rep and I needed a spot to get it back up. I finished the set with 4 reps, but it tired the shit out of me. By the end, I knew I had to drop the weight to 155, else I embarrass myself trying to put up 165 again.
On the dumbbell press, after my first set I decided to opt for less weight and more reps. My chest was feeling super destroyed by the end of this. As were my triceps. I switched things up from the dips this week, and used the cables... which I usually hate doing. The "50lbs" I used is such an abstract weight, because it's using pulley's.
I have no plans to train tonight, but I might have to squeeze something in. Wednesday I'm going to a show with my brother after work, and I have off for my birthday on Thursday and Friday. My wife has hinted at something crazy during those 2 days. Like I need to pack an overnight bag crazy. So the gym may be out of the question for the rest of the week.
Deadlifts are next on the menu. If not tonight, then maybe Friday? We'll see.
Either way, guess what I'm doing tonight?
Here are my sets.
11/14/11
Incline Bench - 5 sets
95x8 (warmup)
135x5 (warmup)
175x5
175x4
165x4
165x4
155x6
Flat Bench Dumbbell Press - 3 sets
75x4
65x9
65x7
Triceps Cable Pull down - 4 sets
50x7 (reverse grip, as if I was doing bicep curls)
50x7 (reverse grip)
50x6 (ropes)
50x5 (ropes)
This was an up and down night at the gym. Incline I started out strong, but died really quick. On my 1st set at 165, the bar moved way too far forward on the 2nd rep and I needed a spot to get it back up. I finished the set with 4 reps, but it tired the shit out of me. By the end, I knew I had to drop the weight to 155, else I embarrass myself trying to put up 165 again.
On the dumbbell press, after my first set I decided to opt for less weight and more reps. My chest was feeling super destroyed by the end of this. As were my triceps. I switched things up from the dips this week, and used the cables... which I usually hate doing. The "50lbs" I used is such an abstract weight, because it's using pulley's.
I have no plans to train tonight, but I might have to squeeze something in. Wednesday I'm going to a show with my brother after work, and I have off for my birthday on Thursday and Friday. My wife has hinted at something crazy during those 2 days. Like I need to pack an overnight bag crazy. So the gym may be out of the question for the rest of the week.
Deadlifts are next on the menu. If not tonight, then maybe Friday? We'll see.
Either way, guess what I'm doing tonight?
Monday, November 14, 2011
Ye olde back, sans deadlifts
Lately my time has been scarce. After work, it's a mad rush to either meet with a real estate agent and look and some new places to live, or get to the gym. And then afterwards, it's always late and I can barely fit in some dinner. I've been trying to fit in some MW3 too, but obviously there are more important things going on.
Friday I was able to train some back and biceps, and left out the deadlifts. I did barbell rows, weighted chinups, and a few sets of biceps. Here are my sets.
11/11/11
Barbell Rows - 3 sets
95x8 (warmup)
155x7
155x7
155x8
Weighted Chinups - 6 sets
25lbs x 6
25lbs x 6
25lbs x 5
25lbs x 4
25lbs x 4
25lbs x 4
Bicep Curls - 5 sets
40s x 7 dumbbells
35s x 8 dumbbells
35s x 8 dumbbells
80 x 6 barbell
70 x 7 barbell
Not a bad job. I was suffering on the chinups, using the wide bar on the smith machine. The barbell rows I was using a little bit of an exaggerated motion to get the bar up.
Tonight the plan is to nail some incline bench press. And afterwards, I'm gonna eat like a champ and then play MW3 until the wee hours of the night.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Squats, Shoulders and Being Exhausted
Between picking up a mattress on Monday, and looking at properties on Tuesday, I couldn't make it to the gym till Wednesday. Of course, after getting some amazing sleep Monday night on the new mattress, Tuesday night was terrible, tossing and turning all night. I'm lucky if I got 4-5 hours of sleep, and Wednesday I was like a zombie at work.
I was so exhausted that I almost didn't work out, but I knew that Thursday we were looking at more properties, and there was no way I was gonna put off training till Friday. So, I zombie shuffled my way over the gym. Here are my sets for squatting and seated dumbbell shoulder press.
11/9/11
Squats - 3 sets
135x8 (warmup)
185x5 (warmup)
245x5
235x5
235x5
Seated Shoulder Press - 3 sets
35s x 8 (warmup)
45s x 5 (warmup)
60s x 5
60s x 5
60s x 4
I wanted to do more, but I was really exhausted. Afterwards, I came home, ate huge amounts of roast beef, then proceeded to make a 4 scoop protein shake with 1.5 bananas, whole milk, heavy cream and water that my wife and I split. I went to bed with a very, very full stomach.
PS - I managed to get "decent" sleep Wednesday night, 1130pm - 6am. Straight through, no waking up or anything. 6.5 hours isn't great, but it's better than 4.
PPS - MW3 is the fucking bomb. Kill confirmed, anyone?
I was so exhausted that I almost didn't work out, but I knew that Thursday we were looking at more properties, and there was no way I was gonna put off training till Friday. So, I zombie shuffled my way over the gym. Here are my sets for squatting and seated dumbbell shoulder press.
11/9/11
Squats - 3 sets
135x8 (warmup)
185x5 (warmup)
245x5
235x5
235x5
Seated Shoulder Press - 3 sets
35s x 8 (warmup)
45s x 5 (warmup)
60s x 5
60s x 5
60s x 4
I wanted to do more, but I was really exhausted. Afterwards, I came home, ate huge amounts of roast beef, then proceeded to make a 4 scoop protein shake with 1.5 bananas, whole milk, heavy cream and water that my wife and I split. I went to bed with a very, very full stomach.
PS - I managed to get "decent" sleep Wednesday night, 1130pm - 6am. Straight through, no waking up or anything. 6.5 hours isn't great, but it's better than 4.
PPS - MW3 is the fucking bomb. Kill confirmed, anyone?
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
The value of a good night sleep
Last night my wife and I went and picked up a mattress and box spring from my late grandfather's house. The mattress was only a couple of years old, which is a newborn baby compared to our old mattress. For the past couple of years, Anna and I had been sleeping on a bed that was older than me. It was my brother's OLD mattress, and he's 10 years older than I am. The thing squeaked, it was hard, uncomfortable, and...well old.
Picture this, just older and shittier. And not cut open..yet.
Yea. It was pretty ridiculous. Either way, we picked up the new mattress, and had a fantastic night of sleep. My first one in a long time. Seriously, my first night of good sleep in a really long time. Let me start from the beginning.
Sleep is so fucking important. It plays a role in just about everything you do. How well you can perform tasks. How well you can handle stress. It effects your mood, your pain, your motivation level. I could go on and on, but it literally has the potential to impact everything you control in your life.
How do I know all this? Well, aside from reading about it, I know because I used to be a beautiful sleeper. I'm serious. I would sleep 8 hours a night, almost every night. I'd wake up feeling like the man. It didn't matter if I left the lights or the TV on. I could go the other way too, turning off all the lights and TV. I would fall asleep no problem in a pitch black room.
Everyone else I knew would complain of having shitty sleep, or just not getting enough, etc. Not me. I slept like a baby on morphine. Every single night. Or at least, 99/100 nights. Every once in a while I'd have a poor nights sleep, but that's just because some asshole let his car alarm go off at 3am. Even then, I'd go back to sleep with no problems. This also excludes nights where I purposely would limit my sleep, to play a new game or to stay out drinking with friends.
Then something changed.
About a month before my wedding, I woke up in the middle of the night, around 2am. That's not really unusual, it had happened before. Sometimes I'd go take a piss, or just roll over and fall back asleep, no problems. But this time was different. I woke up, and was WIDE AWAKE. Like I had just slept a solid 8 hours and woke up, pumped and full of energy. So, I got up, turned on the xbox and figured I'd play a video game for like a half hour till I got tired and went back to sleep. Moment I turned on the TV my wife woke up and told me to shut that shit off. I can't blame her, the thing is bright and loud and woke her up. So now I'm sitting in darkness on my couch. I tried going back to bed, but as I said earlier, that mattress squeaks like a motherfucker, and woke up my wife even more. I'm laying in bed, not tired, tossing and turning and waking my wife up every 10 minutes. Add to it that at this point, I'm feeling guilty that I'm continuously waking her up, and I move back to the couch, where I figure I'll just sit for a little while and wait till I get tired.
Fast forward to like 530am, I'm finally feeling tired again, and I get back to bed (waking my wife up yet again.) It takes me a while to finally fall asleep... and then my alarm is going off waking me up for work. I ended up with like 3 hours of sleep. Ok. I figure it's just an anomaly, whatever - no big deal. But then, the next night it happens again. And continues to happen sporadically over the next few weeks. Not every night, but maybe every other night, or every couple of nights.
Next thing you know, I'm literally having fucking anxiety over being able to sleep. People are telling me, "don't worry it's just nerves over the wedding." Ok, my wife and I get married on September 1st. On our honeymoon, the sleep deprivation happens EVERY NIGHT. We're in the Dominican Republic on the vacation of our lives and I'm fucking tired as hell the entire time.
We come home from the honeymoon, and it's still happening. Thankfully, not every night, but often enough that every time I think I'm beginning to sleep normally again, it would happen and I'd be back to sleeping shittily. And, whenever I would wake up, even just to roll over, my mind would instantly start thinking, "Am I going to be able to fall back asleep? What if I can't? Etc, etc..."
I'm sure everyone knows how terrible it is to try to do anything when you're extremely tired.
No good dude. When I don't get enough sleep, It's like i'm just slogging through the day, not really caring about anything. Just being tired. Oh so tired.
Now, a couple of months later it still happens, but I'm a little less nutty about it. I also make sure I follow a few straight forward things to help me sleep. 1) I sleep in darkness. 2) When I do wake up, unless I have to take a piss, I don't get out of bed. It may take me a little while to fall back asleep, but I still lay there and close my eyes. 3) I try not to think about "will i fall back asleep?" I think about how comfortable I am, and try to let myself fall asleep, rather than forcing myself to fall asleep. If that makes any sense. 4) I finally got a mattress that isn't hard as a rock and doesn't fucking squeak.
Do these things always work? No. They sometimes do. And I still sometimes start my day with only 3-4 hours of sleep. What sucks is I'm slowly beginning to just accept that I'm going to be a shitty sleeper the rest of my life.
Here are some other tips, straight off of the MDA website.
- Sleep in a dark room.
- Read, rather than use a laptop or TV, before going to bed.
- Get exposure to "blue" light during the day. (aka the sun.)
- Sleep in a cooler temperature.
- Have someone give you a massage before bed, or use a foam roller.
- Get yourself into a routine before going to bed.
There are more tips at that link, but some of them are a little out there. Either way, if you're having trouble sleeping, following some of those tips can give some help. I've found that if I go for a walk during the day, I tend to sleep better at night too.
The whole point of this story? Get your goddamn sleep. You never know when you might lose the ability to sleep well.
And here's the pictures of people sleeping that I promised.
awww... she's fucking sleeping!
P.S. - No training tonight, going to look at a few properties with my wife. Tomorrow it's on like donkey kong.
Monday, November 7, 2011
Cleaning it up
It was a day of cleaning on Saturday... and boy, did I clean. I think I've done cleans maybe 3-4 times ever in my life, and every time I do them... A) they wreck me. B) I say "I should do these more often." and C) I don't do them again for a while. For those of you who don't know what cleans are, take a look below. That's the same demo video shown on www.crossfit.com.
Doing hang cleans fucking annihilated my traps and upper back, my forearms and wrists, and of course my life. And again, I'm an asshole. I workout on Saturday and don't update the blog till Monday... I'm going to forget exactly how many reps for each set that I did.
11/5/11
Hang Cleans - 5 sets
45x8 (warmup)
95x8
115x6
125x5
125x5
125x4
Bicep Curls - 3 sets
35s x 8 (seated)
35s x 8 (seated)
35s x 8 (standing)
Rear Delt Raises - 3 sets
25s x 8 (warmup)
45s x 8
45s x 8
45s x 8
The cleans were sloppy as hell, but that's just a lack of practice. If you're wondering what the hell a "rear delt raise" is, I took two dumb bells, bent over, and raised my arms to the side. Kind of like this guy. I've never actually done these before, but my back is sore today. I guess it did something.
Overall, I'm happy with the workout, but want to increase the weight on the cleans. Can't wait to do more next week.
Oh and one last thing - Jets and Giants took care of business this weekend. With the victory over the Bills and the Patriots loss to the Giants, the Jets are now tied for 1st in their division. Nice!
Doing hang cleans fucking annihilated my traps and upper back, my forearms and wrists, and of course my life. And again, I'm an asshole. I workout on Saturday and don't update the blog till Monday... I'm going to forget exactly how many reps for each set that I did.
11/5/11
Hang Cleans - 5 sets
45x8 (warmup)
95x8
115x6
125x5
125x5
125x4
Bicep Curls - 3 sets
35s x 8 (seated)
35s x 8 (seated)
35s x 8 (standing)
Rear Delt Raises - 3 sets
25s x 8 (warmup)
45s x 8
45s x 8
45s x 8
The cleans were sloppy as hell, but that's just a lack of practice. If you're wondering what the hell a "rear delt raise" is, I took two dumb bells, bent over, and raised my arms to the side. Kind of like this guy. I've never actually done these before, but my back is sore today. I guess it did something.
Overall, I'm happy with the workout, but want to increase the weight on the cleans. Can't wait to do more next week.
Oh and one last thing - Jets and Giants took care of business this weekend. With the victory over the Bills and the Patriots loss to the Giants, the Jets are now tied for 1st in their division. Nice!
The value of a good night sleep
Last night my wife and I went and picked up a mattress and box spring from my late grandfather's house. The mattress was only a couple of years old, which is a newborn baby compared to our old mattress. For the past couple of years, Anna and I had been sleeping on a bed that was older than me. It was my brother's OLD mattress, and he's 10 years older than I am. The thing squeaked, it was hard, uncomfortable, and...well old.
Picture this, just older and shittier. And not cut open..yet.
Yea. It was pretty ridiculous. Either way, we picked up the new mattress, and had a fantastic night of sleep. My first one in a long time. Seriously, my first night of good sleep in a really long time. Let me start from the beginning.
Sleep is so fucking important. It plays a role in just about everything you do. How well you can perform tasks. How well you can handle stress. It effects your mood, your pain, your motivation level. I could go on and on, but it literally has the potential to impact everything you control in your life.
How do I know all this? Well, aside from reading about it, I know because I used to be a beautiful sleeper. I'm serious. I would sleep 8 hours a night, almost every night. I'd wake up feeling like the man. It didn't matter if I left the lights or the TV on. I could go the other way too, turning off all the lights and TV. I would fall asleep no problem in a pitch black room.
Everyone else I knew would complain of having shitty sleep, or just not getting enough, etc. Not me. I slept like a baby on morphine. Every single night. Or at least, 99/100 nights. Every once in a while I'd have a poor nights sleep, but that's just because some asshole let his car alarm go off at 3am. Even then, I'd go back to sleep with no problems. This also excludes nights where I purposely would limit my sleep, to play a new game or to stay out drinking with friends.
Then something changed.
About a month before my wedding, I woke up in the middle of the night, around 2am. That's not really unusual, it had happened before. Sometimes I'd go take a piss, or just roll over and fall back asleep, no problems. But this time was different. I woke up, and was WIDE AWAKE. Like I had just slept a solid 8 hours and woke up, pumped and full of energy. So, I got up, turned on the xbox and figured I'd play a video game for like a half hour till I got tired and went back to sleep. Moment I turned on the TV my wife woke up and told me to shut that shit off. I can't blame her, the thing is bright and loud and woke her up. So now I'm sitting in darkness on my couch. I tried going back to bed, but as I said earlier, that mattress squeaks like a motherfucker, and woke up my wife even more. I'm laying in bed, not tired, tossing and turning and waking my wife up every 10 minutes. Add to it that at this point, I'm feeling guilty that I'm continuously waking her up, and I move back to the couch, where I figure I'll just sit for a little while and wait till I get tired.
Fast forward to like 530am, I'm finally feeling tired again, and I get back to bed (waking my wife up yet again.) It takes me a while to finally fall asleep... and then my alarm is going off waking me up for work. I ended up with like 3 hours of sleep. Ok. I figure it's just an anomaly, whatever - no big deal. But then, the next night it happens again. And continues to happen sporadically over the next few weeks. Not every night, but maybe every other night, or every couple of nights.
Next thing you know, I'm literally having fucking anxiety over being able to sleep. People are telling me, "don't worry it's just nerves over the wedding." Ok, my wife and I get married on September 1st. On our honeymoon, the sleep deprivation happens EVERY NIGHT. We're in the Dominican Republic on the vacation of our lives and I'm fucking tired as hell the entire time.
We come home from the honeymoon, and it's still happening. Thankfully, not every night, but often enough that every time I think I'm beginning to sleep normally again, it would happen and I'd be back to sleeping shittily. And, whenever I would wake up, even just to roll over, my mind would instantly start thinking, "Am I going to be able to fall back asleep? What if I can't? Etc, etc..."
I'm sure everyone knows how terrible it is to try to do anything when you're extremely tired.
No good dude. When I don't get enough sleep, It's like i'm just slogging through the day, not really caring about anything. Just being tired. Oh so tired.
Now, a couple of months later it still happens, but I'm a little less nutty about it. I also make sure I follow a few straight forward things to help me sleep. 1) I sleep in darkness. 2) When I do wake up, unless I have to take a piss, I don't get out of bed. It may take me a little while to fall back asleep, but I still lay there and close my eyes. 3) I try not to think about "will i fall back asleep?" I think about how comfortable I am, and try to let myself fall asleep, rather than forcing myself to fall asleep. If that makes any sense. 4) I finally got a mattress that isn't hard as a rock and doesn't fucking squeak.
Do these things always work? No. They sometimes do. And I still sometimes start my day with only 3-4 hours of sleep. What sucks is I'm slowly beginning to just accept that I'm going to be a shitty sleeper the rest of my life.
Here are some other tips, straight off of the MDA website.
- Sleep in a dark room.
- Read, rather than use a laptop or TV, before going to bed.
- Get exposure to "blue" light during the day. (aka the sun.)
- Sleep in a cooler temperature.
- Have someone give you a massage before bed, or use a foam roller.
- Get yourself into a routine before going to bed.
There are more tips at that link, but some of them are a little out there. Either way, if you're having trouble sleeping, following some of those tips can give some help. I've found that if I go for a walk during the day, I tend to sleep better at night too.
The whole point of this story? Get your goddamn sleep. You never know when you might lose the ability to sleep well.
And here's the pictures of people sleeping that I promised.
awww... she's fucking sleeping!
P.S. - No training tonight, going to look at a few properties with my wife. Tomorrow it's on like donkey kong.
Friday, November 4, 2011
Progress on Bench
Did some bench, incline fly's and some weighted dips last night. For once in my life I'm actually getting stronger on Bench. It's fantastic. I didn't up the weight, but I added an additional set at 185. Here are my sets.
11/3/11
Bench Press - 4 sets
95x8 (warmup)
135x5 (warmup)
185x4
185x3.5 (needed a tiny spot to finish the 4th rep)
175x4
165x5
Incline Fly's - 4 sets
60s x 5
60s x 5
60s x 4
55s x 5
Weighted Dips - 3 sets
45lbs x 6
45lbs x 9
45lbs x 9
bodyweight x 15
I'm happy. I'm making progress with bench, which has been a serious problem for me in the past. On incline fly's I actually tried 65's, but I just couldn't get them up on the first rep. My chest was fucking annihilated.
And, as I mentioned the other day, the weight belt is back. My weighted dips actually dropped a bit because I haven't done them in a few weeks. I expect them to come back quickly.
I plan on doing incline bench next time. I don't know if this will replace flat bench, or if it will be in addition to it. We'll see.
Cleans are on the menu for Saturday. Be afraid. Be very afraid! I know I am lol.
Oh and I started typing up a whole article on sleep earlier this week. It was after I had a particularly shitty nights sleep and was feeling the effects of...well... a shitty nights sleep. I'll have it up next week some time, complete with pictures of people sleeping!
Take it deep.
11/3/11
Bench Press - 4 sets
95x8 (warmup)
135x5 (warmup)
185x4
185x3.5 (needed a tiny spot to finish the 4th rep)
175x4
165x5
Incline Fly's - 4 sets
60s x 5
60s x 5
60s x 4
55s x 5
Weighted Dips - 3 sets
45lbs x 6
45lbs x 9
45lbs x 9
bodyweight x 15
I'm happy. I'm making progress with bench, which has been a serious problem for me in the past. On incline fly's I actually tried 65's, but I just couldn't get them up on the first rep. My chest was fucking annihilated.
And, as I mentioned the other day, the weight belt is back. My weighted dips actually dropped a bit because I haven't done them in a few weeks. I expect them to come back quickly.
I plan on doing incline bench next time. I don't know if this will replace flat bench, or if it will be in addition to it. We'll see.
Cleans are on the menu for Saturday. Be afraid. Be very afraid! I know I am lol.
Oh and I started typing up a whole article on sleep earlier this week. It was after I had a particularly shitty nights sleep and was feeling the effects of...well... a shitty nights sleep. I'll have it up next week some time, complete with pictures of people sleeping!
Take it deep.
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Finally Deadlifts
Finally was able to bust out some deadlifts. Oh, and they finally repaired the weight belt. Did weighted chinups as well. Here are my sets.
11/1/11
Deadlifts - 3 sets
135x8 (warmups)
225x5 (warmups)
305x4 PR
295x4
285x5
Chinups - 6 sets (28 weighted chins)
25lbs x7
25lbs x7
25lbs x6
25lbs x4
25lbs x4
Bodyweight x5
I had some trouble with my focus yesterday, and it kind of screwed up my rhythm. I still hit a PR on the deadlifts, although the last rep the weight practically fell out of my hands. My grip was shitty on the bar.
Oh, and the video I promised of deadlifts? My wife brought the camera, but as we pulled it out the batteries died. It sucked b/c she hit a PR on deadlift too, 185x4. I'm really proud of her, she's been working hard for a long time to get that up. She wanted a video of her attempt too. Either way, next week we'll be more prepared..
I need to get a video, I'm worried my form is turning into a half squat/half deadlift motion that's not fluid. I got the weight up yesterday, but it was not pretty.
11/1/11
Deadlifts - 3 sets
135x8 (warmups)
225x5 (warmups)
305x4 PR
295x4
285x5
Chinups - 6 sets (28 weighted chins)
25lbs x7
25lbs x7
25lbs x6
25lbs x4
25lbs x4
Bodyweight x5
I had some trouble with my focus yesterday, and it kind of screwed up my rhythm. I still hit a PR on the deadlifts, although the last rep the weight practically fell out of my hands. My grip was shitty on the bar.
Oh, and the video I promised of deadlifts? My wife brought the camera, but as we pulled it out the batteries died. It sucked b/c she hit a PR on deadlift too, 185x4. I'm really proud of her, she's been working hard for a long time to get that up. She wanted a video of her attempt too. Either way, next week we'll be more prepared..
I need to get a video, I'm worried my form is turning into a half squat/half deadlift motion that's not fluid. I got the weight up yesterday, but it was not pretty.
Monday, October 31, 2011
Squats and Shoulder Press
Here are my sets from Friday
10/28/11
Squats - 4 sets
245x5
245x5
245x5
225x6
Seated Shoulder press (dumbbells) - 4 sets
60's x 5
60's x 4
60's x 4
55 x 5
Worked hard and fast for all these sets, and afterwards ate sushi like a champ at a place called Kotobuki. Delicious and filling. I should have posted on Saturday, because I don't exactly remember what I did on the shoulder press. I may have done 5 sets... It's now 3 days later and I really just don't remember my exact sets. Plus I was rushing for a dinner with family and friends.
Didn't train over the weekend, too much boozing and halloween ridiculousness. Today I plan on doing some deadlifts after work. I slept like total shit last night though, I may even put it off until Tuesday depending on how I feel. I want to deadlift at full strength, not after a ride home from work where I'm falling asleep at the wheel.
10/28/11
Squats - 4 sets
245x5
245x5
245x5
225x6
Seated Shoulder press (dumbbells) - 4 sets
60's x 5
60's x 4
60's x 4
55 x 5
Worked hard and fast for all these sets, and afterwards ate sushi like a champ at a place called Kotobuki. Delicious and filling. I should have posted on Saturday, because I don't exactly remember what I did on the shoulder press. I may have done 5 sets... It's now 3 days later and I really just don't remember my exact sets. Plus I was rushing for a dinner with family and friends.
Didn't train over the weekend, too much boozing and halloween ridiculousness. Today I plan on doing some deadlifts after work. I slept like total shit last night though, I may even put it off until Tuesday depending on how I feel. I want to deadlift at full strength, not after a ride home from work where I'm falling asleep at the wheel.
Friday, October 28, 2011
Goals Today
Alright, one thing I didn't mention yesterday was that I still felt tightness and soreness in my right forearm. I officially think I messed something up in there. I need a couple of days off from pulling, and considering deadlifts are the most intense pull you can do.... I'm putting them off till at least later in the weekend, maybe even next week.
That being said, I can push my face off, and intend to do so tonight after work. And since it's a Friday, I should have plenty of time on my hands. And, the gym will be relatively empty. First, I'm gonna drill some squats. I'm aiming for at least 1 set at 245, on top of my other work. Next, shoulders are on the menu. Either standing, or seated dumbbell press. My form on standing is shitty, I have trouble. Maybe that means I should concentrate on that today.
Oh and to keep track of what I ate:
Quick breakfast: 2 eggs with 2 bacon and cheese: Est protein: 25 g
Lunch: Chicken and lamb with yogurt sauce and salad. Est protein: No idea, maybe 50 g?
In other words, my ideal dinner would be a fucking 14oz steak topped with salmon and 2 scoops of protein powder. I don't even think that would be enough. I need like 150 grams to hit my goal of 230 in a day. My problem was breakfast. Eggs aren't great, because they only have like 8 grams each. 5 eggs only gets me 40 protein, and 5 eggs are filling. Plus I only ate 2 this morning because I was in a rush. I need to find easy sources of protein, quick.
We'll see. Short post today, I'll leave you with this. Made me lol.
That being said, I can push my face off, and intend to do so tonight after work. And since it's a Friday, I should have plenty of time on my hands. And, the gym will be relatively empty. First, I'm gonna drill some squats. I'm aiming for at least 1 set at 245, on top of my other work. Next, shoulders are on the menu. Either standing, or seated dumbbell press. My form on standing is shitty, I have trouble. Maybe that means I should concentrate on that today.
Oh and to keep track of what I ate:
Quick breakfast: 2 eggs with 2 bacon and cheese: Est protein: 25 g
Lunch: Chicken and lamb with yogurt sauce and salad. Est protein: No idea, maybe 50 g?
In other words, my ideal dinner would be a fucking 14oz steak topped with salmon and 2 scoops of protein powder. I don't even think that would be enough. I need like 150 grams to hit my goal of 230 in a day. My problem was breakfast. Eggs aren't great, because they only have like 8 grams each. 5 eggs only gets me 40 protein, and 5 eggs are filling. Plus I only ate 2 this morning because I was in a rush. I need to find easy sources of protein, quick.
We'll see. Short post today, I'll leave you with this. Made me lol.
Take it deep.
Thursday, October 27, 2011
A journey
I said in yesterday's post that I used to be around 170lbs when I was last benching 185. I figure I should go through my weight changes over the past year and a half. It'll actually help me solidify what the hell I've done over that time period.
I started "getting in shape" around March of 2010. I'm about 5'6", and I started out weighing about 165 with barely any muscle. I've never really been "fat," but I wasn't anything close to skinny. At this time I changed my diet to strict primal/paleo and started working out. After a few months of dicking around in the gym, I gained some shitty strength and lost some weight, down to around 145. This was now summer of 2010, and I realized that I weighed only 145 fucking pounds. Yeah cool, I had some nifty abs but I knew girls that weighed more than me. They were probably stronger too.
By the end of summer, I finally realized that I needed to be bigger and stronger. Through some research and some help/motivation from a good friend, I got into squatting, deadlifting, and concentrated more on bigger lifts like shoulder press and bench press. Next, I did what any reasonable human being would do. I started eating bigger. Way bigger. I started eating breakfasts of like 6-7 eggs with meat, cheese, avocados, and greek yogurt. Lunch and dinner were feasts that left me feeling like I was going to die. And then I'd drink 2 glasses of milk after that. Ugh. I still wasn't eating a ton of carbs, but the sheer volume of food was working. I was gaining weight. By October I was something like 160, and my lifts were increasing. By December I was 170, and I was hitting PR's like crazy on bench, deadlifts, squats. I felt like the man. And then by January, I peaked at around 175lbs, and I was starting to turn into a bit of a fatty bobalatty. Nothing crazy, but I was definitely sporting the beginnings of a gut.
Once February hit, I made the decision that I wanted to try and maintain my strength, but lean out a little bit. I read about lean gains, a diet constructed by Martin Berkhan where you fast for about 16 hours and then eat your face off during an 8 hour feeding window. Every day. Fucking crazy, right? I'm oversimplifying the shit out of it, but basically you fast for most of the morning, and then work out mostly fasted in the afternoon. Afterwards you eat (real food) like a monster. And by real food, I don't mean the processed shit you get at the supermarket.
I loosely followed this program for a long time. The fasting wasn't the problem, it was eating enough after my workout. Because I was still eating fairly strict paleo (mistake 1), I was eating a lot of fat and protein, which fills you up like a motherfucker. Because of this, overall everyday I just wasn't getting enough protein, and not nearly enough carbohydrate. And finally, I just wasn't sticking to the program. I wasn't squatting, deadlifting enough (mistake 2), and was eating too much before workouts (mistake 3). The program works fine, I just wasn't following it correctly.
Despite all that, I lost weight in time for the summer. Of course I did, I wasn't eating enough! Guess what else I lost? Muscle. A lot of it. All of a sudden, I'm struggling to deadlift 255lbs, and my squat was atrocious. Bench and shoulder press were laughable. At least this time my weight didn't drop below 150.
This was just a couple of months ago. I'm about 155 right now, and I'm beginning to put back on some weight. I still fast for 16hrs a few times a week, and I always eat some kind of carbohydrate immediately after my workouts. Usually some kind of potato, sometimes rice too. I've upped my protein intake a whole lot, although I don't measure it (mistake 1, heh). I've read all over you should be getting anywhere from 1.2 to 1.6 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight. My estimate is that I need over 230 grams a day. To quote 70's big:
Touche. It's high time I start measuring how much I get.
BTW, here are the links to my sources on primal eating, the lean gains program, and protein requirements for all that are interested.
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/definitive-guide-primal-blueprint/
http://www.leangains.com/2010/04/leangains-guide.html
http://www.70sbig.com/blog/2011/10/protein/
That about sums it up. I'll leave you with a comic about Mike Fatcessa and Darelle Revis.
Take it deep.
I started "getting in shape" around March of 2010. I'm about 5'6", and I started out weighing about 165 with barely any muscle. I've never really been "fat," but I wasn't anything close to skinny. At this time I changed my diet to strict primal/paleo and started working out. After a few months of dicking around in the gym, I gained some shitty strength and lost some weight, down to around 145. This was now summer of 2010, and I realized that I weighed only 145 fucking pounds. Yeah cool, I had some nifty abs but I knew girls that weighed more than me. They were probably stronger too.
By the end of summer, I finally realized that I needed to be bigger and stronger. Through some research and some help/motivation from a good friend, I got into squatting, deadlifting, and concentrated more on bigger lifts like shoulder press and bench press. Next, I did what any reasonable human being would do. I started eating bigger. Way bigger. I started eating breakfasts of like 6-7 eggs with meat, cheese, avocados, and greek yogurt. Lunch and dinner were feasts that left me feeling like I was going to die. And then I'd drink 2 glasses of milk after that. Ugh. I still wasn't eating a ton of carbs, but the sheer volume of food was working. I was gaining weight. By October I was something like 160, and my lifts were increasing. By December I was 170, and I was hitting PR's like crazy on bench, deadlifts, squats. I felt like the man. And then by January, I peaked at around 175lbs, and I was starting to turn into a bit of a fatty bobalatty. Nothing crazy, but I was definitely sporting the beginnings of a gut.
Once February hit, I made the decision that I wanted to try and maintain my strength, but lean out a little bit. I read about lean gains, a diet constructed by Martin Berkhan where you fast for about 16 hours and then eat your face off during an 8 hour feeding window. Every day. Fucking crazy, right? I'm oversimplifying the shit out of it, but basically you fast for most of the morning, and then work out mostly fasted in the afternoon. Afterwards you eat (real food) like a monster. And by real food, I don't mean the processed shit you get at the supermarket.
I loosely followed this program for a long time. The fasting wasn't the problem, it was eating enough after my workout. Because I was still eating fairly strict paleo (mistake 1), I was eating a lot of fat and protein, which fills you up like a motherfucker. Because of this, overall everyday I just wasn't getting enough protein, and not nearly enough carbohydrate. And finally, I just wasn't sticking to the program. I wasn't squatting, deadlifting enough (mistake 2), and was eating too much before workouts (mistake 3). The program works fine, I just wasn't following it correctly.
Despite all that, I lost weight in time for the summer. Of course I did, I wasn't eating enough! Guess what else I lost? Muscle. A lot of it. All of a sudden, I'm struggling to deadlift 255lbs, and my squat was atrocious. Bench and shoulder press were laughable. At least this time my weight didn't drop below 150.
This was just a couple of months ago. I'm about 155 right now, and I'm beginning to put back on some weight. I still fast for 16hrs a few times a week, and I always eat some kind of carbohydrate immediately after my workouts. Usually some kind of potato, sometimes rice too. I've upped my protein intake a whole lot, although I don't measure it (mistake 1, heh). I've read all over you should be getting anywhere from 1.2 to 1.6 grams of protein per pound of bodyweight. My estimate is that I need over 230 grams a day. To quote 70's big:
Has your progress slowed? The first thing to look at is your daily protein intake. What is it? Oh, you don’t even know? Well have fun shoveling shit in the regular infantry, because Special Forces are not in your future.
Touche. It's high time I start measuring how much I get.
BTW, here are the links to my sources on primal eating, the lean gains program, and protein requirements for all that are interested.
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/definitive-guide-primal-blueprint/
http://www.leangains.com/2010/04/leangains-guide.html
http://www.70sbig.com/blog/2011/10/protein/
That about sums it up. I'll leave you with a comic about Mike Fatcessa and Darelle Revis.
Take it deep.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Bench PR - Kind of
Left work a little late last night, and when I got home dinner was already done and on the table.. It's tough to choose to go to the gym and eat a reheated dinner rather than eating it hot, straight out of the oven. Needless to say, I rushed things at the gym.
10/25/11
Bench - 5 sets
95x8 (warmup)
135x5 (warmup)
185x3 - PR
175x5
175x4
165x6
165x5
Incline Flyceps - 3 sets
Tried 65's, couldn't get them up. I think I just wasn't rested enough.
60's x 5
55's x 7
55's x 7
Dips 1 set of 20 reps
20 x 1
When I look at the total workout, it looks kind of weak. But I did hit 185 x 3, which I'm happy about. Next time I do flat bench I'll go for 185x4 or 5. I also might cut out the fly's and put overhead presses in its place.
Also, 185 isn't really a PR for me. I hit 185 around December last year, but I also weighed like 15lbs more than I do now. I'm about 155 right now, back then I weighed 165-170. Last year I did that whole "lose weight before the summer!" bullshit, and lost a shitload of muscle, and have been struggling to get it back all summer and fall.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Skyrim
Holy shit, I just saw the new live action trailer for Skyrim, check it out.
I'm doing chest tonight, I'm thinking bench again along with some incline fly's, followed by whatever triceps shit I can do. I usually try to switch back and forth between flat bench and incline bench from week to week, but I think I'm on the cusp of busting out 185 on flat. That's my goal today, and I'm gonna nail it.
In other news, my forearms are ridiculously sore. Like I can't make a tight fist b/c it hurts sore. Makes me wonder if I still have some kind of lingering something in there from 2 weeks ago. Furthermore, it makes me wonder if I should take a couple of days off from any kind of pulling so that whatever is tweaked in there can fully heal up. I'm supposed to do deadlifts on Thursday, I'll see how I feel then.
I'm doing chest tonight, I'm thinking bench again along with some incline fly's, followed by whatever triceps shit I can do. I usually try to switch back and forth between flat bench and incline bench from week to week, but I think I'm on the cusp of busting out 185 on flat. That's my goal today, and I'm gonna nail it.
In other news, my forearms are ridiculously sore. Like I can't make a tight fist b/c it hurts sore. Makes me wonder if I still have some kind of lingering something in there from 2 weeks ago. Furthermore, it makes me wonder if I should take a couple of days off from any kind of pulling so that whatever is tweaked in there can fully heal up. I'm supposed to do deadlifts on Thursday, I'll see how I feel then.
Monday, October 24, 2011
Sunday pulling
I had a wedding this Friday, which made training on Saturday...difficult. Needless to say, the wedding was a lot of fun and plenty of drinks were had. Saturday I was in no shape to train anything except my water drinking abilities and play endless gears of war horde mode.
Sunday, I woke up, played some more gears, and then headed to the gym fasted. My legs were still sore (and are still sore today...crazy) so I held off from deadlifts for now. Instead I did a "regular" back and bi's kind of workout.
10/23/11
1 Hand Dumbbell Rows - 3 sets
65x8 (warmup)
80x5 (warmup)
95x8
95x8
95x7
Not much rest between sets on these
Chinups (wide bar) - 4 sets
30 reps across 4 sets, maybe 1-2 minutes max in between sets
Bi barbell curls - 2 sets
70x8
70x8
This was a workout on speed. I didn't rest enough between sets, and it definitely effected the weight I could do. Plus, by the end my forearms felt crazy tight, but no pain. It didn't help that the Jets game came on the TV at some point. It made me go even faster b/c I wanted to get home already and watch the game with a beer in my hand.
Overall, I rate this workout: Shitty. Maybe I should stop doing bullshit workouts on the weekend. If anything, I should have done 100lbs on that dumbbell row. I could have handled it easily.
The only good part was I ate my fucking face off when I got home from the gym, and the Jets won.
Sunday, I woke up, played some more gears, and then headed to the gym fasted. My legs were still sore (and are still sore today...crazy) so I held off from deadlifts for now. Instead I did a "regular" back and bi's kind of workout.
10/23/11
1 Hand Dumbbell Rows - 3 sets
65x8 (warmup)
80x5 (warmup)
95x8
95x8
95x7
Not much rest between sets on these
Chinups (wide bar) - 4 sets
30 reps across 4 sets, maybe 1-2 minutes max in between sets
Bi barbell curls - 2 sets
70x8
70x8
This was a workout on speed. I didn't rest enough between sets, and it definitely effected the weight I could do. Plus, by the end my forearms felt crazy tight, but no pain. It didn't help that the Jets game came on the TV at some point. It made me go even faster b/c I wanted to get home already and watch the game with a beer in my hand.
Overall, I rate this workout: Shitty. Maybe I should stop doing bullshit workouts on the weekend. If anything, I should have done 100lbs on that dumbbell row. I could have handled it easily.
The only good part was I ate my fucking face off when I got home from the gym, and the Jets won.
Friday, October 21, 2011
More Squats
Did some squats last night. The last time I did them was on 10/9/11. That's 11 days ago! It might be too far apart, but I have trouble doing squats when my back is sore from deadlifts, and vice versa (legs sore when I do deads).
Either way, here are the sets.
10/20/11
Squats - 5 sets
135x8 (warmup)
185x5 (warmup)
235x5
235x5
235x5
235x5
235x5
Man, I was struggling like a motherfucker on the last 2 sets. I considered dropping the weight on the last one... but...screw that. Went for it, and nailed it. Last time I only hit 235 for 2 sets. This time I got it in for all 5. Finally some progress.
Going to a wedding tonight where the drinks will be a flowing, so a Saturday training session is highly questionable. We'll see. Stranger things have happened.
Either way, here are the sets.
10/20/11
Squats - 5 sets
135x8 (warmup)
185x5 (warmup)
235x5
235x5
235x5
235x5
235x5
Man, I was struggling like a motherfucker on the last 2 sets. I considered dropping the weight on the last one... but...screw that. Went for it, and nailed it. Last time I only hit 235 for 2 sets. This time I got it in for all 5. Finally some progress.
Going to a wedding tonight where the drinks will be a flowing, so a Saturday training session is highly questionable. We'll see. Stranger things have happened.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Shoulder Press
Did some seated dumbbell shoulder presses last night, followed up by some barbell shrugs. Here are my sets.
10/18/11
Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press - 5 sets
35's x 8 (warmup)
45's x 5 (warmup)
60's x 4 - PR
60's x 4 - PR
55's x 5
55's x 5
50's x 6
Barbell Shrugs - 3 sets
135x10 (warmup)
185x8
205x7
205x6
One thing you can tell by reading my workout posts is that I don't do a lot of exercises at the gym. The most I do is 3, and on very rare occasions I'll fit in a 4th exercise. Instead, I try to hammer out 4-5 really heavy sets on my main lift (in this case shoulder press), and then try to fit in the other shit however I can. Since I get to the gym so late, time is a big deal to me. This helps me maximize the big lifts, and still get out of the gym in under an hour.
And by the way, 60lbs in each hand is a personal record for me. I know, it's pathetically light, but shoulders have really been a lowlight for me. I'll note anytime I can up the poundage on any of these lifts.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Survivabillity, Building Character, and Not Giving Up
I was talking with my wife Anna this morning, and we got into a discussion about the benefits of lifting heavy weights that most people don't really think about. Obviously, a lot of people train to look better, or just be healthier.
For me, these things are important, but there's another aspect to training that drives me. Gaining strength. While "looking better" and "getting healthier" may help get a lot of people into the gym, I feel that getting stronger keeps them there. I've heard it said that being stronger makes you harder to kill. Sound intense? It damn well should! That sounds to me like one of the most important reasons you should be trying to get stronger. Off the top of my head I can think of so many scenarios where being stronger could save your life. Imagine getting into a car accident. If you have more muscle protecting your limbs and organs, it makes you more likely to survive. Imagine you have to defend someone you love from an attacker. Wouldn't you be better able to survive and win the encounter with more strength? Having more muscle leads to less fatigue, less chance of getting sick, less chance of getting seriously injured. There are other examples, but you can obviously get the point I'm making here.
Another benefit of lifting heavy weights? It builds character.
I read an article a while ago that really moved me. Of course, I can't find it now to put up the link, but I'm pretty sure it was on 70s Big somewhere. (A really great training blog btw) Either way, the author talked about how consistently getting under the bar and lifting heavy weight takes grit and determination. If you can get yourself to the gym to train your ass off 3 times a week, you can handle almost anything. I'm not talking about hopping on the treadmill, or just doing some "bicep curls." I'm talking about the big lifts that, when done heavy, wreck your life. Things like the deadlift, the squat, shoulder press, and bench press. The determination you use to add an extra 5 lbs to your next lift, or to do that extra set of deadlifts even though you're annihilated... it helps shape your mindset when handling all other aspects of your life. It builds a quiet confidence, and the ability and willingness to own the situations you have to deal with in your daily life.
I lift because I want to be stronger. And strength gives you a better chance at defending those you love, and a better chance of living longer. I'm nothing great when it comes to weight training. I do what I can, and a lot of time I hit plateaus, and sometimes I fail. Hell for the most part my progress has been terrible for a couple of months now. But I keep on truckin. And I'm not giving up.
For me, these things are important, but there's another aspect to training that drives me. Gaining strength. While "looking better" and "getting healthier" may help get a lot of people into the gym, I feel that getting stronger keeps them there. I've heard it said that being stronger makes you harder to kill. Sound intense? It damn well should! That sounds to me like one of the most important reasons you should be trying to get stronger. Off the top of my head I can think of so many scenarios where being stronger could save your life. Imagine getting into a car accident. If you have more muscle protecting your limbs and organs, it makes you more likely to survive. Imagine you have to defend someone you love from an attacker. Wouldn't you be better able to survive and win the encounter with more strength? Having more muscle leads to less fatigue, less chance of getting sick, less chance of getting seriously injured. There are other examples, but you can obviously get the point I'm making here.
Another benefit of lifting heavy weights? It builds character.
I read an article a while ago that really moved me. Of course, I can't find it now to put up the link, but I'm pretty sure it was on 70s Big somewhere. (A really great training blog btw) Either way, the author talked about how consistently getting under the bar and lifting heavy weight takes grit and determination. If you can get yourself to the gym to train your ass off 3 times a week, you can handle almost anything. I'm not talking about hopping on the treadmill, or just doing some "bicep curls." I'm talking about the big lifts that, when done heavy, wreck your life. Things like the deadlift, the squat, shoulder press, and bench press. The determination you use to add an extra 5 lbs to your next lift, or to do that extra set of deadlifts even though you're annihilated... it helps shape your mindset when handling all other aspects of your life. It builds a quiet confidence, and the ability and willingness to own the situations you have to deal with in your daily life.
I lift because I want to be stronger. And strength gives you a better chance at defending those you love, and a better chance of living longer. I'm nothing great when it comes to weight training. I do what I can, and a lot of time I hit plateaus, and sometimes I fail. Hell for the most part my progress has been terrible for a couple of months now. But I keep on truckin. And I'm not giving up.
Monday, October 17, 2011
Deadlifts, Fatigue, and Bad Form
Ahh deadlifts, how I love and hate thee. Saturday I made it to the gym and did some. Here they are.
10/15/11
Deadlifts - 5 sets
135x8 (warmup)
225x5 (warmup)
295x4
295x4
295x4
295x4
295x4
Interestingly, the forearm pain that I felt earlier in the week didn't really impact my workout. I did feel some extra tension in my right arm during the lifts, but I was still able to keep a good grip on the bar and finish my sets. I was really fatigued on the last set, and my form was terrible. The last 2 reps I was using way too much quads to get the bar up instead of my back, and it showed.
The gym is iffy today. I have to pick up a new suit after work, and then Jets are playing tonight. I have a feeling I'm just not going to have the time.
Also, next time I do deadlifts I'll try and get some video. It's good to have the ability to critique yourself after the fact. Plus if anybody's actually reading this blog, they can give me some advice on my form.
10/15/11
Deadlifts - 5 sets
135x8 (warmup)
225x5 (warmup)
295x4
295x4
295x4
295x4
295x4
Interestingly, the forearm pain that I felt earlier in the week didn't really impact my workout. I did feel some extra tension in my right arm during the lifts, but I was still able to keep a good grip on the bar and finish my sets. I was really fatigued on the last set, and my form was terrible. The last 2 reps I was using way too much quads to get the bar up instead of my back, and it showed.
The gym is iffy today. I have to pick up a new suit after work, and then Jets are playing tonight. I have a feeling I'm just not going to have the time.
Also, next time I do deadlifts I'll try and get some video. It's good to have the ability to critique yourself after the fact. Plus if anybody's actually reading this blog, they can give me some advice on my form.
Friday, October 14, 2011
Chest, Tri's and Dumbbell Fly's
Did some bench, incline dumbbell fly's and body weight dips last night. Here are the sets. You'll notice I added warm up sets below. I figure why the hell not.
10/13/11
Bench Press - 5 sets
95x8 (warmup)
135x5 (warmup)
175x5
175x5
175x4
165x6
165x5
Incline Dumbbell Fly's - 3 sets
40's x 8 (warmup)
50's x 5
55's x 5
65's x 4
Bodyweight Dips - 2 sets
25 reps
20 reps
I haven't done fly's in over a month, and I forgot to check my log before I went to the gym. Because of this I was a little unsure of what weight I could do. 50's felt light, so I did 55's. These felt really light too so I jacked it up to 65's. Just like Goldilocks, these felt juuuuuuuust right, but at that point my chest was tired as hell. Next time, I'll start with 65's after warming up.
I'm definitely slowly increasing my bench, at least in repetitions. Last week I was only able to get 2 sets of 175 before having to drop it to 165. This week I got 1 more set of 4 reps in. Once I can nail 5 sets of 5, I'm increasing the weight to 185.
Thursday, October 13, 2011
What I eat
What you eat is an important part of any workout program. I would even go so far to say that for general health, your diet has the biggest impact on changing the way you look and feel.
I loosely follow a "paleo" or "primal" approach to my diet. You can read all about it here:
That's where I first read about a primal or paleo diet. If you don't want to bother with the article, here's a simplified summary. A strict paleo diet includes meat, veggies and some fruit, but would completely avoid all grains and beans. Milk products could be included, depending on how they effect you. On rare occasions, you could have some potato to get additional carbohydrate. This approach works for a lot of people, especially if you have problems with your weight. You control your sugar (carbohydrate) intake, while getting plenty of protein, fat, and fiber. Combine this with a good workout regimen and you can really burn fat and lose weight on this diet.
I'm not quite that strict, but I do agree with the main paleo principle: Eat lots of meat and vegetables. Get lots of fat in your diet. Every day, I get most of my calories from meat. If it's an off day from the gym, I'll keep my carb intake pretty low. If it's a gym day, I'll jack up my carbohydrates by eating a large sweet potato or (if i'm lucky) some sushi after the workout. My diet also includes cottage cheese, eggs, some fruit, some nuts, and some occasional dark chocolate. Also, if I feel I didn't get enough protein during the day I won't hesitate to have a protein shake with whole milk and heavy cream after dinner to top things off.
I'll go deeper into the why of my diet in another post, but this lays out a good generalization of what I eat on a daily basis.
Tonight I plan on doing some bench and maybe some dumbbell fly's. If the weight belt is fixed I'll do weighted dips too. If not, I'll probably just end up doing tricep cables with the rope (ugh) or skull crushers or something.
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