Simple-6
Chin-Ups (neutral grip) - BWX10
One-Arm Pull-Downs, slow eccentric - 50X10X2
super-set with
DB Side Presses - 35sX10, 40sX10
DB Bent-Over Raises - 30X10, 20X15X2
BB Curl, cheat-up/slow eccentric - 75X5X3
CORE Circuit X2
Push-Ups - BWX25
Last day of the program. In 12 weeks, I've gone from barely being able to get 1 strict chin to a 10 rep PR. That is on top of an 8-10 lb. weight gain, BTW. Results speak for themselves.
Slow eccentric back work sucks hard in the session, and feels uncomfortable the next day.
Never done side-presses before. Kind of fun/kind of awkward.
The chrome bar was occupied, so I had to used a regular bar for m'curls. Where's the love?
Another successful core circuit. Feeling good about that...
...until I fail to get more than 25 push-ups. Well, I suppose all the whiskey I drank the night before to celebrate my show opening could have contributed as I felt like absolute crap today. I managed to power through with everything except the push-ups. Oh well, staying humble.
I feel like this program did what I needed it to do. I've established a new baseline for strength and general athleticism. I went for my first run in a couple of months yesterday, and had more wind and endurance than I did before the program. That combined with all the PRs, and that my weight has increased while my waist hasn't all goes to show the effectiveness of this program. At this point, I still believe I should run it again this time next year. Regarding the ME movements, I will pick whatever seems lagging at the time between assorted presses, and squat/DL. On to 531!
Showing posts with label BLAB. Show all posts
Showing posts with label BLAB. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
BLAB Log: Week 12.Day 2
Agile-8
DB Jump Squats - 10sX5X5
Low Box Heel-Touches - BWX12X2
Press Warm-Up - BarX7, 65X5, 85X3
Press - 95X1, 105X1, 110X1, 115X1, 120X1, 125X1
Elevated Single-Leg Hip-Thrust - BWX12X3
super-set with
DB Side-Bends - 75X15, 75X15, 80X15
Because the last lower body day of the program inexplicably has no ME movement, and because I was feeling great half-way through the session, I strapped on my Chuck's, cranked up the iPod, and set a new 1RM in the Press. The 120 and 125 were both PR's for me. I would venture to say that all the bench and chin accessory work in the Built Like a Badass program have gone a long way to building my Press as well. Good on ya, Joe Defranco. Looking forward to testing my DL on Wednesday to see where it's at as well.
DB Jump Squats - 10sX5X5
Low Box Heel-Touches - BWX12X2
Press Warm-Up - BarX7, 65X5, 85X3
Press - 95X1, 105X1, 110X1, 115X1, 120X1, 125X1
Elevated Single-Leg Hip-Thrust - BWX12X3
super-set with
DB Side-Bends - 75X15, 75X15, 80X15
Because the last lower body day of the program inexplicably has no ME movement, and because I was feeling great half-way through the session, I strapped on my Chuck's, cranked up the iPod, and set a new 1RM in the Press. The 120 and 125 were both PR's for me. I would venture to say that all the bench and chin accessory work in the Built Like a Badass program have gone a long way to building my Press as well. Good on ya, Joe Defranco. Looking forward to testing my DL on Wednesday to see where it's at as well.
Monday, October 3, 2011
BLAB Log: HYBRID Week 11.Day3 / Week12.Day 1
Simple-6
Chins - BWX7, BWX6
Bench Press - BarX5, 95X5, 135X3, 165X2, 185X1
BB Overhead Shrug - 185X15ish, 145X15, 145X15
One-Arm Pulldowns, slow eccentric - 50X12, 40X12 each arm
BB Curls, cheat-up, slow eccentric - 75X5X2
45lb. plate Core circuit X2
BB Push-ups - Ladder down from BWX17-1
My rehearsal schedule prevented me from getting to the gym on Saturday, and will prevent me from getting there for the next week, so I decided to combine the next 2 days into one session. Truthfully, I just couldn't wait a week+ for my bench test.
For the main movements, the chins were fine I guess. 6 might actually be a record for my 2nd set now that I look at it. For the bench, my target was 185X2 which would have raised my projected max. I got the first rep, but failed on the 2nd. I'm totally okay with this because that makes this my first ever true 1RM attempt! Kind of exciting until I realize that I won't see that weight again for months. It almost makes me want to run BLAB again. Defranco's program would have me attempting more reps on that weight in weeks 4 and 9, and trying to lift heavier in week 11. But I miss pulls and presses, so I'm still going to go over to 531...where it will be 5 months before I see 185 on the bench again. Fuuuuuck. Whatever. Novice results, law of diminishing returns, marathon not a sprint, training to get stronger rather than powerlifting, etc.
For accessory work, I chose one movement for each area from the two days. For back, I chose to do the one-arm pulldowns since it is specifically in there to help my feeble chin strength. For shoulders, I went with the OH shrugs. Tried to go even heavier this time, but it got dicey. After I dropped the weight, I discovered that using a split-stance, and starting with my elbows locked, my knees bent, and "squatting" the weight up to the starting position helped my balance a great deal. For biceps, I went with the cheater curls, and they were fine.
Core circuit was the most successful I've had in a while. Again, I plant to keep the core portion of this program in my 531 programming. It's got a lot of variety that I suck at, so might as well get better at it since I need to do core something anyway.
I chose to only pick one of the finishers, for what I hope are fairly obvious reasons. I went with the push-ups, because I'd rather be good at push-ups than complexes. Very satisfying results. That's two good push-up sessions in a row, so I fully expect to crap the bed on next week's rep test, so that I can get good and depressed about my push-up ability once again.
Only two days left in the program. Can't believe it. Since those are no-squat lower body and chin-up days, I might try to see if I can find a gym near the theatre to sneak in and finish this up. I tried doing that on Saturday, because my gym closed before I got out of rehearsal. There's another gym on the way home, and I stopped in, looked around, and saw that they probably had everything I needed. I walked up to the desk and I asked the guy "What's your daily rate?" "Fifteen Dollars." "Fifteen Dollars?! For one workout?" "Yes." "Bye." No way am I paying $15 to go use the lat-pulldown machine in a treadmill factory.
Chins - BWX7, BWX6
Bench Press - BarX5, 95X5, 135X3, 165X2, 185X1
BB Overhead Shrug - 185X15ish, 145X15, 145X15
One-Arm Pulldowns, slow eccentric - 50X12, 40X12 each arm
BB Curls, cheat-up, slow eccentric - 75X5X2
45lb. plate Core circuit X2
BB Push-ups - Ladder down from BWX17-1
My rehearsal schedule prevented me from getting to the gym on Saturday, and will prevent me from getting there for the next week, so I decided to combine the next 2 days into one session. Truthfully, I just couldn't wait a week+ for my bench test.
For the main movements, the chins were fine I guess. 6 might actually be a record for my 2nd set now that I look at it. For the bench, my target was 185X2 which would have raised my projected max. I got the first rep, but failed on the 2nd. I'm totally okay with this because that makes this my first ever true 1RM attempt! Kind of exciting until I realize that I won't see that weight again for months. It almost makes me want to run BLAB again. Defranco's program would have me attempting more reps on that weight in weeks 4 and 9, and trying to lift heavier in week 11. But I miss pulls and presses, so I'm still going to go over to 531...where it will be 5 months before I see 185 on the bench again. Fuuuuuck. Whatever. Novice results, law of diminishing returns, marathon not a sprint, training to get stronger rather than powerlifting, etc.
For accessory work, I chose one movement for each area from the two days. For back, I chose to do the one-arm pulldowns since it is specifically in there to help my feeble chin strength. For shoulders, I went with the OH shrugs. Tried to go even heavier this time, but it got dicey. After I dropped the weight, I discovered that using a split-stance, and starting with my elbows locked, my knees bent, and "squatting" the weight up to the starting position helped my balance a great deal. For biceps, I went with the cheater curls, and they were fine.
Core circuit was the most successful I've had in a while. Again, I plant to keep the core portion of this program in my 531 programming. It's got a lot of variety that I suck at, so might as well get better at it since I need to do core something anyway.
I chose to only pick one of the finishers, for what I hope are fairly obvious reasons. I went with the push-ups, because I'd rather be good at push-ups than complexes. Very satisfying results. That's two good push-up sessions in a row, so I fully expect to crap the bed on next week's rep test, so that I can get good and depressed about my push-up ability once again.
Only two days left in the program. Can't believe it. Since those are no-squat lower body and chin-up days, I might try to see if I can find a gym near the theatre to sneak in and finish this up. I tried doing that on Saturday, because my gym closed before I got out of rehearsal. There's another gym on the way home, and I stopped in, looked around, and saw that they probably had everything I needed. I walked up to the desk and I asked the guy "What's your daily rate?" "Fifteen Dollars." "Fifteen Dollars?! For one workout?" "Yes." "Bye." No way am I paying $15 to go use the lat-pulldown machine in a treadmill factory.
Thursday, September 22, 2011
BLAB Log: Week 10.Day 1
Simple-6
De-Load Week
BB Bench - BarX5, 75X5, 95X5
Push-ups - BWX20X2
super-set with
Neutral-grip Cable Rows - 60X20X2
Bicep "21s" (7 reps each: Zottman Curls, Curls, Hammer Curls) - 25sX1 set
Defranco's "BeZercher" complex - 45X8
De-Load week so not a lot to talk about. While I haven't studied up on Dynamic/Speed work, I did try to execute the Bench as quickly as possible. Meaning I set-up like I would for a normal work-set, and attempted to execute the movement with correct form (tucking hard near the bottom, attempting a clean bar-path,etc.), but otherwise I was focused on moving the bar as quickly as possible. I believe this volume is actually quite low for speed work, but nonetheless it gave me something to focus on. Also, my impression of speed-work is that the impulse to move the bar quickly is intended to carry-over to maximal work, so the practice can't hurt.
The first round of 20 push-ups was easy, the 2nd round had 2 or 3 pauses in it. Can't tell if that's progress or not.
For the Zercher complex, and without thinking about it, I did split squats instead of lunges. Significantly easier, but still a challenge. I'll tuck that away for the future in case I feel the need to do some "lighter" single leg work.
De-Load Week
BB Bench - BarX5, 75X5, 95X5
Push-ups - BWX20X2
super-set with
Neutral-grip Cable Rows - 60X20X2
Bicep "21s" (7 reps each: Zottman Curls, Curls, Hammer Curls) - 25sX1 set
Defranco's "BeZercher" complex - 45X8
De-Load week so not a lot to talk about. While I haven't studied up on Dynamic/Speed work, I did try to execute the Bench as quickly as possible. Meaning I set-up like I would for a normal work-set, and attempted to execute the movement with correct form (tucking hard near the bottom, attempting a clean bar-path,etc.), but otherwise I was focused on moving the bar as quickly as possible. I believe this volume is actually quite low for speed work, but nonetheless it gave me something to focus on. Also, my impression of speed-work is that the impulse to move the bar quickly is intended to carry-over to maximal work, so the practice can't hurt.
The first round of 20 push-ups was easy, the 2nd round had 2 or 3 pauses in it. Can't tell if that's progress or not.
For the Zercher complex, and without thinking about it, I did split squats instead of lunges. Significantly easier, but still a challenge. I'll tuck that away for the future in case I feel the need to do some "lighter" single leg work.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
BLAB Log: Week 9.Day 3
Simple-6
Chins - BWX8, BWX5
Lat Pull-downs Drop-set - (90X8, 70X6, 60X6)X2
Seated DB Arnold Press - 35X8X3
super-set with
Incline DB "cleans" - 35sX5, 20sX10X2
BB Curls - Bar, 45, 55, 65, 75X6
Core Circuit - 10lb. plateX1, XFail
Incline BB Push-ups - Ladder down from 15 to 1, +6 reps
Chin-ups still showing slow but steady progression. I had thrown in a few between sets on bench day, but avoided them on squat day to make sure I was rested for today. Might keep doing that.
Pulldown drop-sets were fine. However, I watched a Thibodeau training video where he was talking about making sure you're using lats more than arms, and I'm not sure I'm dialed in like that. I will try to keep it in my in the future. I'm trying to get stronger in pull-ups not pull-downs, so I want to make sure I'm taking full advantage of the exercise.
DB Cleans weren't there for me with the 35's. Had a similar experience the last two weeks with the Defranco "shoulder shockers". These aren't explosive cleans, but rather a shrug into a 180 degree bent-arm raise. The difficulty is on the rotation, but I don't know what this means exactly. Will this weakness be addressed when I start heavy OHP's again? Do I keep testing these against that, and what if there's no improvement, then what do I do? Argh.
I know you're not usually supposed to work up to top sets on shit like curls, but I really wanted to go for a rep PR on these, and so I did a work-up instead of all sets at the same weight. And, yeah, I used the chrome bar. So what?
Oh, core, why do you hate me? Lately the extra reps I'm getting on chins have been straining my abs a bit, preventing me from doing the full core routines. It's a vicious circle because the core work would be strengthening my abs for the chin-ups. Whatever. I've already settled that I will restart the core circuit progression from this program on the next one.
I was supposed to start the BB push-ups last week, but life commitments prevented me from getting to the gym. I had done a ladder-down of netural-grip push-ups out at the beach instead. I know I'm too weak in the push-up to finish a ladder starting with the prescribed 18 reps. Instead, I kept track of how many total reps I did last week, 66, and was determined to almost double that this week. Mission fucking accomplished. The ladder down from 15 got me to 120 total reps, and then I took a breath and did another set to failure. So 126 is my new target to beat. I think my next ladder should start with 17. That would get me 153 reps. Not as big of a jump as this last one, but I can always add in another failure set to find my new limit.
Chins - BWX8, BWX5
Lat Pull-downs Drop-set - (90X8, 70X6, 60X6)X2
Seated DB Arnold Press - 35X8X3
super-set with
Incline DB "cleans" - 35sX5, 20sX10X2
BB Curls - Bar, 45, 55, 65, 75X6
Core Circuit - 10lb. plateX1, XFail
Incline BB Push-ups - Ladder down from 15 to 1, +6 reps
Chin-ups still showing slow but steady progression. I had thrown in a few between sets on bench day, but avoided them on squat day to make sure I was rested for today. Might keep doing that.
Pulldown drop-sets were fine. However, I watched a Thibodeau training video where he was talking about making sure you're using lats more than arms, and I'm not sure I'm dialed in like that. I will try to keep it in my in the future. I'm trying to get stronger in pull-ups not pull-downs, so I want to make sure I'm taking full advantage of the exercise.
DB Cleans weren't there for me with the 35's. Had a similar experience the last two weeks with the Defranco "shoulder shockers". These aren't explosive cleans, but rather a shrug into a 180 degree bent-arm raise. The difficulty is on the rotation, but I don't know what this means exactly. Will this weakness be addressed when I start heavy OHP's again? Do I keep testing these against that, and what if there's no improvement, then what do I do? Argh.
I know you're not usually supposed to work up to top sets on shit like curls, but I really wanted to go for a rep PR on these, and so I did a work-up instead of all sets at the same weight. And, yeah, I used the chrome bar. So what?
Oh, core, why do you hate me? Lately the extra reps I'm getting on chins have been straining my abs a bit, preventing me from doing the full core routines. It's a vicious circle because the core work would be strengthening my abs for the chin-ups. Whatever. I've already settled that I will restart the core circuit progression from this program on the next one.
I was supposed to start the BB push-ups last week, but life commitments prevented me from getting to the gym. I had done a ladder-down of netural-grip push-ups out at the beach instead. I know I'm too weak in the push-up to finish a ladder starting with the prescribed 18 reps. Instead, I kept track of how many total reps I did last week, 66, and was determined to almost double that this week. Mission fucking accomplished. The ladder down from 15 got me to 120 total reps, and then I took a breath and did another set to failure. So 126 is my new target to beat. I think my next ladder should start with 17. That would get me 153 reps. Not as big of a jump as this last one, but I can always add in another failure set to find my new limit.
Monday, August 29, 2011
BLAB Log: Week 6.Day 2
Agile-8
Kneeling Jumps - BWX5, 5X5X3
BB Squat Warm-Up - BarX5, 65X5, 95X5, 135X5
BB Squats - 150X8, 160X6, 170X10
Hip Thrust - BWX12X3
super-set with
Stability Ball Plank - 30sec.X3
DB Reverse Lunge, front foot elevated - 30X10X2
Kneeling jumps made me nervous, but lo and behold the YouTubes don't lie and they are possible. I'd still hesitate to do them with a BB on my back as suggested by the program, but you never know.
Jefit says 170X10 is a PR for the Squat. My first since early June. Yay! This was the first opportunity the program afforded for me to PR in the squat and I'm glad I did. Hopefully I can continue that through the end of the program.
The reverse lunges were odd. I'm going to search for video of this EXACT exercise being done to see if I am on the right path.
Program called for Tabata jump-rope at the end, but the gym doesn't have one. I did a one-mile run instead.
Kneeling Jumps - BWX5, 5X5X3
BB Squat Warm-Up - BarX5, 65X5, 95X5, 135X5
BB Squats - 150X8, 160X6, 170X10
Hip Thrust - BWX12X3
super-set with
Stability Ball Plank - 30sec.X3
DB Reverse Lunge, front foot elevated - 30X10X2
Kneeling jumps made me nervous, but lo and behold the YouTubes don't lie and they are possible. I'd still hesitate to do them with a BB on my back as suggested by the program, but you never know.
Jefit says 170X10 is a PR for the Squat. My first since early June. Yay! This was the first opportunity the program afforded for me to PR in the squat and I'm glad I did. Hopefully I can continue that through the end of the program.
The reverse lunges were odd. I'm going to search for video of this EXACT exercise being done to see if I am on the right path.
Program called for Tabata jump-rope at the end, but the gym doesn't have one. I did a one-mile run instead.
Friday, August 26, 2011
BLAB Log: Week 6.Day 1
Simple-6
BB Bench Warm-up - BarX10, 65X8, 95X5
BB Bench Press - 110X8, 120X6, 130X11
Off-Set, Alternating Med-Ball Push-ups - BWX10, BWX7
Cable Row - 100X12X2, 100X10
super-set with
Lying Triceps Extensions - 60X12X2, 60X9
Face-Pulls - 40X12X2, 30X12
super-set with
DB Zottman Curls - 60X8, 50X7, 30X10
DB Complex (Front Squat, Swing, Curl+Press, Jump Squat) - 25X7, 25X8, 25X9
Bench felt good. Program called for 4+ reps on the last, heaviest set. Jefit projects the 130X11 as a PR which makes me 5 for 5 on Bench PR attempts in this program. That's nice, but I can't help but feel that the little tweaks I'm making in my form might be contributing as much as any strength gains. Oh well, a PR is a PR I suppose.
Speaking of form tweaks, I tried "grabbing" the bench with my legs as Wendler suggests in his 531 manual, but the bench isn't long enough for me to keep a strong arch between my butt and shoulders with my eyes in front of the bar, and still have my knees alongside the bench. Maybe if I pull my heels even further back? Maybe I'll try this on my warm-up sets next round and see if it's feasible. Also, maybe a lot of powerlifters are shorter than me.
Threw chin sets in between bench work-sets. Continue to feel stronger and more explosive since I started mixing up the grips with neutral and over-hand.
Triecps extensions were harder than usual for this weight. Also, my left elbow didn't seem to like them much. Makes me nervous because Paul Carter has ascribed all his elbow tendonitis to heavy free weight extensions. I'm just trying not to lock-out and hope that keeps them healthy. I was hoping to go heavy on these in my next program, but I may have to rethink that.
REALLY had to drop the weight on the Zottman curls. I'm wondering if the combination of the programmed rows and the extra chins caused this. Also, my biceps might have been more involved in the Face-pulls than normal because I'm having to use a seated pulley station and that has a low angle. Maybe I'll try a high-pulley next week and see if that helps.
DB Complex was fun. Might go up 5 lb.'s next week. Would go more, but I'd probably lose gas on the Curl'n'Press.
BB Bench Warm-up - BarX10, 65X8, 95X5
BB Bench Press - 110X8, 120X6, 130X11
Off-Set, Alternating Med-Ball Push-ups - BWX10, BWX7
Cable Row - 100X12X2, 100X10
super-set with
Lying Triceps Extensions - 60X12X2, 60X9
Face-Pulls - 40X12X2, 30X12
super-set with
DB Zottman Curls - 60X8, 50X7, 30X10
DB Complex (Front Squat, Swing, Curl+Press, Jump Squat) - 25X7, 25X8, 25X9
Bench felt good. Program called for 4+ reps on the last, heaviest set. Jefit projects the 130X11 as a PR which makes me 5 for 5 on Bench PR attempts in this program. That's nice, but I can't help but feel that the little tweaks I'm making in my form might be contributing as much as any strength gains. Oh well, a PR is a PR I suppose.
Speaking of form tweaks, I tried "grabbing" the bench with my legs as Wendler suggests in his 531 manual, but the bench isn't long enough for me to keep a strong arch between my butt and shoulders with my eyes in front of the bar, and still have my knees alongside the bench. Maybe if I pull my heels even further back? Maybe I'll try this on my warm-up sets next round and see if it's feasible. Also, maybe a lot of powerlifters are shorter than me.
Threw chin sets in between bench work-sets. Continue to feel stronger and more explosive since I started mixing up the grips with neutral and over-hand.
Triecps extensions were harder than usual for this weight. Also, my left elbow didn't seem to like them much. Makes me nervous because Paul Carter has ascribed all his elbow tendonitis to heavy free weight extensions. I'm just trying not to lock-out and hope that keeps them healthy. I was hoping to go heavy on these in my next program, but I may have to rethink that.
REALLY had to drop the weight on the Zottman curls. I'm wondering if the combination of the programmed rows and the extra chins caused this. Also, my biceps might have been more involved in the Face-pulls than normal because I'm having to use a seated pulley station and that has a low angle. Maybe I'll try a high-pulley next week and see if that helps.
DB Complex was fun. Might go up 5 lb.'s next week. Would go more, but I'd probably lose gas on the Curl'n'Press.
Monday, August 22, 2011
BLAB Log: Week 5.Day 2
Agile-8
DB Squat jumps - 20X6X2
Squats - 105X5, 125X5
Back extensions - BWX10
super-set with
Plate twists - 25X10X2
Day 2 of the deload week went fine. I decided to pause at the bottom of all my squat warm-ups and my first work set. I suspect that's why my legs were very tired by late the following afternoon, but no biggie.
I also did mixed grip chin sets between most of the programmed sets. Neutral close grip seems to be the easiest, so I will focus on that going forward. I also finished with 25 non-stop push-ups to try to work on my rep strength in that movement. 25 was my target, but it eas probably my limit. RPE was at 10. One more easy day to go before 15 real work sessions.
Saturday, August 20, 2011
BLAB Log: Week 5.Day 1
Simple-6
Thursday, August 18, 2011
BLAB Log: Week 4.Day 3
Simple-6
Chin-ups - warmed-up with band-assisted, then BWX4, BWX3, backed-off with drop-set (No band, band on knee, band on foot)
Neutral Grip-Pulldown - 70X18(?Jefit?), 70X20
super-set with
Standing, Neutral grip DB Press - 60X18, 60X12
Cable Rear Delt Raise - 30X10, 25X10X3
"Run the Rack" DB Curls - 35, 25, 15, 5X8
Core Circuit (Sprint-ups, V-ups, Toe-touches, Hip-ups) X2
Body-weight Complex (Mountain Climbers, Push-ups, Groiners, Burpees) X Fail
Annnnd -10%. Figures that would happen after Tuesday's +10 day. The cable stuff and the curls are fine, but they're cables and curls, ya know? Although, there appears to be a glitch in the Jefit App, wherein in it mis-records some of the weights on super-sets. I think I actually got 26 reps on my first set of pull-downs. I'll have to play with it.
The chins just don't seem to be moving anymore. I've gone up in weight by around 5 lbs. over the last two weeks, but I refuse to accept that as an excuse. I'm gonna try varying grips and see if I can get any more reps that way.
The Core circuit was the only thing I felt good about today, because I was able to complete the prescribed sets/reps. However that back-patting turned into excruciating shoulder-wrenching when I started the BW Complex. Climbers and Groiners are fine (probably because they're already in the Agile-8 warm-up drills I've been doing for months), but our old nemesis the push-up rears it's head once more. The program calls for 3 sets of descending reps on the 4 exercises: 30 MCs, 20 push-ups, 10 groiners, 5 burpees. I was worried, but I got through the 20 push-ups, but after the first burpee I thought I would pass-out. I got through the next set up to the burpees, and I was just done. Workout cancelled at the end. Fuck.
Next week is the "deload" week of light work. These BW complexes come back into the program for chin-up day after that. I hope I can get this. It's damn frustrating to begin a work-out by failing to progress on chin-ups, and end by not being able to finish a conditioning circuit.
Chin-ups - warmed-up with band-assisted, then BWX4, BWX3, backed-off with drop-set (No band, band on knee, band on foot)
Neutral Grip-Pulldown - 70X18(?Jefit?), 70X20
super-set with
Standing, Neutral grip DB Press - 60X18, 60X12
Cable Rear Delt Raise - 30X10, 25X10X3
"Run the Rack" DB Curls - 35, 25, 15, 5X8
Core Circuit (Sprint-ups, V-ups, Toe-touches, Hip-ups) X2
Body-weight Complex (Mountain Climbers, Push-ups, Groiners, Burpees) X Fail
Annnnd -10%. Figures that would happen after Tuesday's +10 day. The cable stuff and the curls are fine, but they're cables and curls, ya know? Although, there appears to be a glitch in the Jefit App, wherein in it mis-records some of the weights on super-sets. I think I actually got 26 reps on my first set of pull-downs. I'll have to play with it.
The chins just don't seem to be moving anymore. I've gone up in weight by around 5 lbs. over the last two weeks, but I refuse to accept that as an excuse. I'm gonna try varying grips and see if I can get any more reps that way.
The Core circuit was the only thing I felt good about today, because I was able to complete the prescribed sets/reps. However that back-patting turned into excruciating shoulder-wrenching when I started the BW Complex. Climbers and Groiners are fine (probably because they're already in the Agile-8 warm-up drills I've been doing for months), but our old nemesis the push-up rears it's head once more. The program calls for 3 sets of descending reps on the 4 exercises: 30 MCs, 20 push-ups, 10 groiners, 5 burpees. I was worried, but I got through the 20 push-ups, but after the first burpee I thought I would pass-out. I got through the next set up to the burpees, and I was just done. Workout cancelled at the end. Fuck.
Next week is the "deload" week of light work. These BW complexes come back into the program for chin-up day after that. I hope I can get this. It's damn frustrating to begin a work-out by failing to progress on chin-ups, and end by not being able to finish a conditioning circuit.
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
BLAB Log: Week 4.Day 2
Agile-8
BB Squat Warm-up - BarX10, 65X8, 95X6, 135X3
BB Squats - 165X5, 175X3, 195X1
Bulgarian Split-Squat Jumps - 10X5X5
Stability Ball Leg-Curls - 3X15
super-set with
Spread-Eagle Sit-ups - 10X15, 25X15X2
60 Sec. Alternating DB Lunges - 30X28, 30X27
Timed One-Mile Run - 9:12
+10% Day, as Paul Carter would say. I injured myself taking 195 out of the rack a month back. I tried to tell myself I was nervous about the weight, but I wasn't. I arched it out of the rack, took a step back with each foot, and it went all the way down and came right back up like bad sushi. Honestly, if not for the scheduled run, I might have taken it for a few more squats. But I didn't, because the whole reason I'm following such a rigid program is to protect myself from myself until I know more about what I'm doing. Regardless, it's nice to ace that weight coming back from the injury and heading into the scheduled deload week.
Just to prove I really am keeping my ego in check, I sure did go right ahead and do those split-squat jumps holding 5 lb. weights, and the timed lunges holding 15's while some of the biggest guys in the gym were doing heavy-ass BB and DB benching all around me. Fuck it. My quads felt like they were going to slide off the front of legs after that shit. Getting the work in.
I felt like crap heading into the gym today after getting no sleep due to house-guests over the weekend, and yet I was able to do the sit-ups with a 25 lb. plate, after having to ditch a 10 lb. plate in favor of BW last week. There really is no forecasting how you're gonna do in the gym.
Likewise, I knocked 43(!) seconds off my previous best time on the 1-mile run. Kind of makes me sad that the timed runs are now over. Oh well, I'm sure Joe D. has something planned that will kick my ass down to humble in whole new ways. Also, after the first deload week, I'm allowed to max out the reps on my last squat set. So in two weeks, after the deload, if I can take that last set of 175 to 10 reps, Jefit says that's a PR. I've been setting rep PR's on my last bench sets, and I hope to start doing that with squats as well.
BB Squat Warm-up - BarX10, 65X8, 95X6, 135X3
BB Squats - 165X5, 175X3, 195X1
Bulgarian Split-Squat Jumps - 10X5X5
Stability Ball Leg-Curls - 3X15
super-set with
Spread-Eagle Sit-ups - 10X15, 25X15X2
60 Sec. Alternating DB Lunges - 30X28, 30X27
Timed One-Mile Run - 9:12
+10% Day, as Paul Carter would say. I injured myself taking 195 out of the rack a month back. I tried to tell myself I was nervous about the weight, but I wasn't. I arched it out of the rack, took a step back with each foot, and it went all the way down and came right back up like bad sushi. Honestly, if not for the scheduled run, I might have taken it for a few more squats. But I didn't, because the whole reason I'm following such a rigid program is to protect myself from myself until I know more about what I'm doing. Regardless, it's nice to ace that weight coming back from the injury and heading into the scheduled deload week.
Just to prove I really am keeping my ego in check, I sure did go right ahead and do those split-squat jumps holding 5 lb. weights, and the timed lunges holding 15's while some of the biggest guys in the gym were doing heavy-ass BB and DB benching all around me. Fuck it. My quads felt like they were going to slide off the front of legs after that shit. Getting the work in.
I felt like crap heading into the gym today after getting no sleep due to house-guests over the weekend, and yet I was able to do the sit-ups with a 25 lb. plate, after having to ditch a 10 lb. plate in favor of BW last week. There really is no forecasting how you're gonna do in the gym.
Likewise, I knocked 43(!) seconds off my previous best time on the 1-mile run. Kind of makes me sad that the timed runs are now over. Oh well, I'm sure Joe D. has something planned that will kick my ass down to humble in whole new ways. Also, after the first deload week, I'm allowed to max out the reps on my last squat set. So in two weeks, after the deload, if I can take that last set of 175 to 10 reps, Jefit says that's a PR. I've been setting rep PR's on my last bench sets, and I hope to start doing that with squats as well.
Monday, August 15, 2011
BLAB Log: Week 4.Day 1
Simple-6
BB Bench Warm-up - BarX10, 65X10, 95X8, 115X5, 135X3
BB Bench - 125X5, 130X3, 145X6
Incline DB Bench - 45'sX25, 45'sX16
One-Arm DB Row - 70X8, 70X8, 75X8, 75X8
super-set with
Rope Push-downs - 40X8X4
BB Shrug - 155X8, 160X8, 165X8
super-set with
Incline DB Rear-Delt Raise - 50X8X3
Barbell Complex (DL, Bent Row, Hang Clean, Push Press, Back Squat) - 65X10, 45X10X3
Ha, I wasn't paying attention to my programmed work-set weights for the bench and over-shot that weight with my warm-ups. Just shows I'm getting stronger in the bench, hopefully. The 145X6 projects as a PR according to Jefit. My previous best when I was at B@lly and working with suspect weights was 155X2, so I think it's true. However, I really think my form is getting more locked in, and that is likely playing a large part as well.
Speaking of that, the heavy lifters were working in the gym today, and I got to watch them bench at the same time as me and compare our set-ups. These guys are doing the full PL form where they set-up with their heads way behind the bar, plant the balls of their feet there, and then pull everything else in front of the bar. Extreme arch so that only the traps and head are on the bench, and their heels are way off the ground. For myself, I put my eyes right behind the bar, pull my feet back as far as I can without my heel rising off the ground, then I pull myself forward so that my eyes are just in front of the bar. My heels come off the ground a little, but I manage to keep my butt on the bench. I then push on the up-rights to make sure my shoulders are tight together and making a nice solid surface with my traps for me to press against. I grab the bar with my middle-finger on the rings, squeeze and "pull the bar apart," take a lot of air into my belly, and take the bar out. If it's a work-set, I will pause at the top and take new air into my belly before taking the press. I let the bar come down in a natural path (about to my diaphragm), then I focus on pressing it back up in the same groove. I also focus on keeping my elbows tucked coming in and out of the bottom of the press, but letting them flare at lock-out. This is feeling pretty good for now, and I'm hitting PR's. I don't know if it is going to be stable enough as the weight keeps increasing though. Looseness was one of my big problems at B@lly. The bar swaying side-to-side as it came out of the rack, etc.
Figuring out this form has been a bit nerve-racking. The fact seems to be that there are many ways to interpret what constitutes strong in the bench. So much of the stuff I read is geared towards power-lifting, which emphasizes that big arch that helps hit big numbers at meets. But I'm not going to do PL meets. Then when I read Rippetoe, he has you starting with the head and shoulders in final position in front of the bar, feet flat and shins at 90 degrees, and with just enough arch that a flat hand can slide between the back and the bench. He also has trainees keep the elbows out at about 60 degrees during the press. So PL form de-emphasizes the chest, and puts more of the weight on the triceps and the lats, which helps to move more weight. Rippetoe's method uses more chest and shoulders. I asked Paul Carter about form, and he said I'd have to figure it out for myself, and I guess that's what I'm doing. To clarify, my goal is this: Use the Bench Press to Get Stronger. This doesn't mean I'm trying to build up my chest, but it I'm not sure it means that I need to build the biggest bench possible which would involve the PL-style extreme arch. So for now, I'm settling on this hybrid with maximum arch while keeping the butt on the bench and feet almost flat. As the weight goes up I'll just have to make adjustments as necessary.
Back to the session, all the assistance stuff went great. If the one-armed DB rows, continue to have higher numbers than cable rows and/or pull-downs, I'm gonna want to know what that's about. Am I being a wimp on the cable stuff, or just cheating more with the DB? Probably the latter, as I don't think I've ever heard of anybody being more tentative on machines. Whatever. Right now it's just fun to be increasingly rowing weights from the fat end of the rack.
I should mention that I was totally out of gas for the BB complexes. I think it was probably a combination of only having a shake that day prior to training, and having house-guests/staying up late the night before. I started with the same weight as last time, but almost couldn't finish the set. The cleans are always a momentum killer for me on these, but this time I just didn't have any reserves. I was facing a mirror and my eyes literally went wide with surprise and concern on the first clean. Pretty funny. I pulled all the weight off after the first set, and barely managed to get through the rest of the sets/reps. Hey, dummy, eat and sleep! Tip o' the hat to you , Joe Defranco. These finishers are definitely exposing all kinds of holes in my training.
BB Bench Warm-up - BarX10, 65X10, 95X8, 115X5, 135X3
BB Bench - 125X5, 130X3, 145X6
Incline DB Bench - 45'sX25, 45'sX16
One-Arm DB Row - 70X8, 70X8, 75X8, 75X8
super-set with
Rope Push-downs - 40X8X4
BB Shrug - 155X8, 160X8, 165X8
super-set with
Incline DB Rear-Delt Raise - 50X8X3
Barbell Complex (DL, Bent Row, Hang Clean, Push Press, Back Squat) - 65X10, 45X10X3
Ha, I wasn't paying attention to my programmed work-set weights for the bench and over-shot that weight with my warm-ups. Just shows I'm getting stronger in the bench, hopefully. The 145X6 projects as a PR according to Jefit. My previous best when I was at B@lly and working with suspect weights was 155X2, so I think it's true. However, I really think my form is getting more locked in, and that is likely playing a large part as well.
Speaking of that, the heavy lifters were working in the gym today, and I got to watch them bench at the same time as me and compare our set-ups. These guys are doing the full PL form where they set-up with their heads way behind the bar, plant the balls of their feet there, and then pull everything else in front of the bar. Extreme arch so that only the traps and head are on the bench, and their heels are way off the ground. For myself, I put my eyes right behind the bar, pull my feet back as far as I can without my heel rising off the ground, then I pull myself forward so that my eyes are just in front of the bar. My heels come off the ground a little, but I manage to keep my butt on the bench. I then push on the up-rights to make sure my shoulders are tight together and making a nice solid surface with my traps for me to press against. I grab the bar with my middle-finger on the rings, squeeze and "pull the bar apart," take a lot of air into my belly, and take the bar out. If it's a work-set, I will pause at the top and take new air into my belly before taking the press. I let the bar come down in a natural path (about to my diaphragm), then I focus on pressing it back up in the same groove. I also focus on keeping my elbows tucked coming in and out of the bottom of the press, but letting them flare at lock-out. This is feeling pretty good for now, and I'm hitting PR's. I don't know if it is going to be stable enough as the weight keeps increasing though. Looseness was one of my big problems at B@lly. The bar swaying side-to-side as it came out of the rack, etc.
Figuring out this form has been a bit nerve-racking. The fact seems to be that there are many ways to interpret what constitutes strong in the bench. So much of the stuff I read is geared towards power-lifting, which emphasizes that big arch that helps hit big numbers at meets. But I'm not going to do PL meets. Then when I read Rippetoe, he has you starting with the head and shoulders in final position in front of the bar, feet flat and shins at 90 degrees, and with just enough arch that a flat hand can slide between the back and the bench. He also has trainees keep the elbows out at about 60 degrees during the press. So PL form de-emphasizes the chest, and puts more of the weight on the triceps and the lats, which helps to move more weight. Rippetoe's method uses more chest and shoulders. I asked Paul Carter about form, and he said I'd have to figure it out for myself, and I guess that's what I'm doing. To clarify, my goal is this: Use the Bench Press to Get Stronger. This doesn't mean I'm trying to build up my chest, but it I'm not sure it means that I need to build the biggest bench possible which would involve the PL-style extreme arch. So for now, I'm settling on this hybrid with maximum arch while keeping the butt on the bench and feet almost flat. As the weight goes up I'll just have to make adjustments as necessary.
Back to the session, all the assistance stuff went great. If the one-armed DB rows, continue to have higher numbers than cable rows and/or pull-downs, I'm gonna want to know what that's about. Am I being a wimp on the cable stuff, or just cheating more with the DB? Probably the latter, as I don't think I've ever heard of anybody being more tentative on machines. Whatever. Right now it's just fun to be increasingly rowing weights from the fat end of the rack.
I should mention that I was totally out of gas for the BB complexes. I think it was probably a combination of only having a shake that day prior to training, and having house-guests/staying up late the night before. I started with the same weight as last time, but almost couldn't finish the set. The cleans are always a momentum killer for me on these, but this time I just didn't have any reserves. I was facing a mirror and my eyes literally went wide with surprise and concern on the first clean. Pretty funny. I pulled all the weight off after the first set, and barely managed to get through the rest of the sets/reps. Hey, dummy, eat and sleep! Tip o' the hat to you , Joe Defranco. These finishers are definitely exposing all kinds of holes in my training.
Friday, August 12, 2011
BLAB Log: Week 3.Day 3
Simple-6
Chin-Ups - Band-Asst.(Foot)X10X2, BA (Knee)X5, BWX4, BWX3, BA (Knee)X5, BA (Foot)X10
Pull-Down (Neutral Grip) - 70X23, 70X18
super-set with
DB Standing Presses (Neutral) - 30'sX18, 30'sX12
Cable Rear Delt Raise - 30X10, 25X10X3
"Run the Rack" DB Curls - (30, 20, 15, 8, 5) X8
Core Circuit X 2
Timed Pushups - 50X4:25
Crap session. -10% as Paul Carter might say. Some possible progress on the chin-ups. Not in reps, obviously, but in technique. I really tried to go all out on the band-assisted sets instead of treating them as warm-ups/downs and I felt it a lot more in my lats so I'll be sure to get after every chin-set no matter what going forward. I really, really want to progress to weighted chins.
On a hopefully related note, I was able to jump up 10 lbs. on the pull-downs pretty easily. Initially I thought that was due to the grip change, but since the DB presses didn't get a similar benefit I'm hoping that's real progress on back strength.
Bent over cable raises were very nostalgic. The sets went well, but it was disconcerting because I kept flashing back to my mid-twenties when I used to do a lot of body-building style weight lifting, so-called "bro-splits," etc. Nevertheless, it was kind of fun. I had just watched some of the Indigo-3G training videos, and picked up some possible form tips for laterals from Christian Thibaudeau. He didn't say this explicitly, but when I was doing the reps, rather than think about bringing the weight up in an arc, I though more about throwing the weight sideways. I actually picked a target in my peripheral vision that was on the same plane as my shoulders, and threw the weight towards that target without letting go. I believe I was able to take my traps and back out of the peak contraction portion of the movement in this way. Little bit of an ego-check on the weight to do this, but I think it was right.
Started off too light on the curls, and had way more reps in the tank on the lower weights. Have to go up 5-10 lbs. next week. Even if I have to muscle up the last few sets of the opening weight, I think the final reps on the lower weights will be under more fatigue.
I continue to suck at direct ab work. No strength or endurance there at all. Had to pull back from all the prescribed reps as my abs were starting to cramp half way through the 2nd movement of the first set. Likewise, the push-ups actually LOST time from last week. This really sucks because I looked at the program this morning, and realized the timed push-ups are over, and I never actually got to the prescribed hundred. I don't feel okay about this. For those of you (imaginary) that are keeping track, the list of things I suck at and now feel compelled to keep in a program no matter what are: chins, push-ups, direct ab work, and single-leg squat variations. Looking at that list, I realize probably anything where body-weight makes up a significant portion of the overall load may be lagging for me. Except for dips. For whatever reason those were going fine when I worked them into WS4SB prior to starting BLAB. I even started strapping on weight with a dip-belt. Maybe I've got good dip genes or something. Anyway, I like chins and single-leg squat stuff is growing on me, but I hate the push-ups and the ab work. That tells me I HAVE to make sure to keep it in future programs. When I start 531 this fall, I've got to remember to find where this stuff plugs-in. I know Wendler uses hanging-ab raises with the feet coming all the way up as ab work, but I'm wodering if I shouldn't take the ab circuit progressions out of BLAB and put them on my 531 schedule. Food for thought.
Speaking of food, I started with protein supplements yesterday. It was just to damn hard to try and get all the protein in from food, and attempting to do so was screwing up my cooking. The wife was never totally pleased that I kept substituting additional meats for carbs whenever I cooked big portions of things. Hopefully now I can feel more comfortable churning out rice and starchy vegetable sides.
Chin-Ups - Band-Asst.(Foot)X10X2, BA (Knee)X5, BWX4, BWX3, BA (Knee)X5, BA (Foot)X10
Pull-Down (Neutral Grip) - 70X23, 70X18
super-set with
DB Standing Presses (Neutral) - 30'sX18, 30'sX12
Cable Rear Delt Raise - 30X10, 25X10X3
"Run the Rack" DB Curls - (30, 20, 15, 8, 5) X8
Core Circuit X 2
Timed Pushups - 50X4:25
Crap session. -10% as Paul Carter might say. Some possible progress on the chin-ups. Not in reps, obviously, but in technique. I really tried to go all out on the band-assisted sets instead of treating them as warm-ups/downs and I felt it a lot more in my lats so I'll be sure to get after every chin-set no matter what going forward. I really, really want to progress to weighted chins.
On a hopefully related note, I was able to jump up 10 lbs. on the pull-downs pretty easily. Initially I thought that was due to the grip change, but since the DB presses didn't get a similar benefit I'm hoping that's real progress on back strength.
Bent over cable raises were very nostalgic. The sets went well, but it was disconcerting because I kept flashing back to my mid-twenties when I used to do a lot of body-building style weight lifting, so-called "bro-splits," etc. Nevertheless, it was kind of fun. I had just watched some of the Indigo-3G training videos, and picked up some possible form tips for laterals from Christian Thibaudeau. He didn't say this explicitly, but when I was doing the reps, rather than think about bringing the weight up in an arc, I though more about throwing the weight sideways. I actually picked a target in my peripheral vision that was on the same plane as my shoulders, and threw the weight towards that target without letting go. I believe I was able to take my traps and back out of the peak contraction portion of the movement in this way. Little bit of an ego-check on the weight to do this, but I think it was right.
Started off too light on the curls, and had way more reps in the tank on the lower weights. Have to go up 5-10 lbs. next week. Even if I have to muscle up the last few sets of the opening weight, I think the final reps on the lower weights will be under more fatigue.
I continue to suck at direct ab work. No strength or endurance there at all. Had to pull back from all the prescribed reps as my abs were starting to cramp half way through the 2nd movement of the first set. Likewise, the push-ups actually LOST time from last week. This really sucks because I looked at the program this morning, and realized the timed push-ups are over, and I never actually got to the prescribed hundred. I don't feel okay about this. For those of you (imaginary) that are keeping track, the list of things I suck at and now feel compelled to keep in a program no matter what are: chins, push-ups, direct ab work, and single-leg squat variations. Looking at that list, I realize probably anything where body-weight makes up a significant portion of the overall load may be lagging for me. Except for dips. For whatever reason those were going fine when I worked them into WS4SB prior to starting BLAB. I even started strapping on weight with a dip-belt. Maybe I've got good dip genes or something. Anyway, I like chins and single-leg squat stuff is growing on me, but I hate the push-ups and the ab work. That tells me I HAVE to make sure to keep it in future programs. When I start 531 this fall, I've got to remember to find where this stuff plugs-in. I know Wendler uses hanging-ab raises with the feet coming all the way up as ab work, but I'm wodering if I shouldn't take the ab circuit progressions out of BLAB and put them on my 531 schedule. Food for thought.
Speaking of food, I started with protein supplements yesterday. It was just to damn hard to try and get all the protein in from food, and attempting to do so was screwing up my cooking. The wife was never totally pleased that I kept substituting additional meats for carbs whenever I cooked big portions of things. Hopefully now I can feel more comfortable churning out rice and starchy vegetable sides.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
BLAB Log: Week 3.Day2
Agile-8
Squat Warm-up - 45X10, 65X10, 95X5, 115X5, 135X3
Squats - 160X6, 170X4, 185X2
Bulgarian Split-Squat Jumps - BWX5X4
Stability Ball Leg Curls - BWX15X3
super-set with
Spead-Eagle Sit-Ups - BWX15, 5X15, BWX15
DB Alternating Lunges - 30X9, 30X11
Timed One-Mile Run - 10:09
Squats felt pretty good. Totally reinforced the decision to go on a more structured program, however. When I threw my back out squatting a few weeks back, I did 185X5 and then tried to take out 195 for a 5 rep. PR. So this 185 made me nervous even thought I've had more weight on my back for 2 reps in the past. The extra warm-ups still feel right for reinforcing technique prior to the work-sets. The bar felt kind of heavy but I just think that was the yips I had about the number. The reps actually felt easier on 185 than they did on the 160.
Split-squat jumps are funny.
In the previous vein of chin-ups and push-ups, we had a whole new edition of "you never spent any time on these before, and lo and behold you suck at them" with the weighted sit-ups. I've never really done a lot of direct ab work in the past, so I did the first set with no weight, and of course they were hard. I added a measly 5 lb. plate to the second set and almost couldn't finish, so I dropped it for the final set. Next week, I'll try starting off with a 10, and see if I can (safely) muscle through the reps with rests if necessary.
Even though my time on the run was longer than last week, the program only called for me to beat Week 1, which I did, AND I did the whole mile without walking. I just started off at a much milder trot and maintained that for the duration.
I had a call-back later in the night that ended up being a one-hour cardio session of theatre games. Didn't get home till after 11:30, got up today at 6:15 and feel like a smudge. Good thing we have dinner plans tonight, and house-guests coming tomorrow that I have to finish cleaning up for. Otherwise I might actually be able to rest. Accordingly, I expect Thursdays session to be a massacre. I don't know how I'm gonna get those 100 push-ups on an empty tank...
Squat Warm-up - 45X10, 65X10, 95X5, 115X5, 135X3
Squats - 160X6, 170X4, 185X2
Bulgarian Split-Squat Jumps - BWX5X4
Stability Ball Leg Curls - BWX15X3
super-set with
Spead-Eagle Sit-Ups - BWX15, 5X15, BWX15
DB Alternating Lunges - 30X9, 30X11
Timed One-Mile Run - 10:09
Squats felt pretty good. Totally reinforced the decision to go on a more structured program, however. When I threw my back out squatting a few weeks back, I did 185X5 and then tried to take out 195 for a 5 rep. PR. So this 185 made me nervous even thought I've had more weight on my back for 2 reps in the past. The extra warm-ups still feel right for reinforcing technique prior to the work-sets. The bar felt kind of heavy but I just think that was the yips I had about the number. The reps actually felt easier on 185 than they did on the 160.
Split-squat jumps are funny.
In the previous vein of chin-ups and push-ups, we had a whole new edition of "you never spent any time on these before, and lo and behold you suck at them" with the weighted sit-ups. I've never really done a lot of direct ab work in the past, so I did the first set with no weight, and of course they were hard. I added a measly 5 lb. plate to the second set and almost couldn't finish, so I dropped it for the final set. Next week, I'll try starting off with a 10, and see if I can (safely) muscle through the reps with rests if necessary.
Even though my time on the run was longer than last week, the program only called for me to beat Week 1, which I did, AND I did the whole mile without walking. I just started off at a much milder trot and maintained that for the duration.
I had a call-back later in the night that ended up being a one-hour cardio session of theatre games. Didn't get home till after 11:30, got up today at 6:15 and feel like a smudge. Good thing we have dinner plans tonight, and house-guests coming tomorrow that I have to finish cleaning up for. Otherwise I might actually be able to rest. Accordingly, I expect Thursdays session to be a massacre. I don't know how I'm gonna get those 100 push-ups on an empty tank...
Sunday, August 7, 2011
BLAB Log: Week 3.Day 1
BB Bench, warm-up sets - 45X10, 65X10, 95X5, 115X3
BB Bench - 120X6, 130X4, 140X7
DB Incline Bench - 80X26, 80X16
One-arm DB Row - 50X10, 60X10, 65, X10, 65X10
superset with
Rope Pushdowns - 25X10, 30X10, 35X10, 35X10
BB Shrugs - 95X10, 115X10, 135X10
superset with
DB Incline Delt Flyes - 25X12, 25X12, 25X12
BB Complex (pulls, bent rows, hang cleans, push press, squats) - 65X10, 55X10, 50X10, 45X10
I mentioned I was going to add more increments to my ME warm-up sets for squats, and I've decided to do that for all my "heavy" lifts. You can see that here where I added the 65 lb. set. Bench went well. The last set called for 2+ reps and I got 7. According to Jefit, that is a perceived max PR. Since that includes the innacurate, and allegedly lighter-than-advertised weight I was lifting at B@lly, I feel pretty good about that.
I haven't done one-arm rows in over a decade, so I wasn't sure where to start. I see a lot of talk about Kroc rows, which are vaguely described as one-arm rows for reps with "a ridiculous amount of weight." I'm a little confused about that because I don't understand why you would do this lift with less weight than you think you can handle for the target reps. I thought maybe brief rests were involved, but I just saw video of Wendler doing these, and he went non-stop from the first to last rep. Whatever, I worked up to the most I could get for the 10 reps.
Speaking of B@lly, I was doing the rope extensions, and I was using around the same weight as I had used at the cable station in the free-weight section of that gym. But they had another cable station in the machines area where I would have to more than double the "weight." What is that? I understand that having more pulleys etc. in-line with the transfer of force reduces the amount of work required to move a given amount of weight, but shouldn't they relabel the plates so that we have an accurate idea of how much force we're generating? Just sayin'.
Well the bar-bell complexes have been getting harder with the sets going up every week per the program, but I've decided to increase the difficulty by adding weight every week. Defranco is vague on this point. The program as written seems to imply an empty bar, but the example YouTubes show a trainee with a weighted bar. Last week, I added a 5er to each side for the first two sets, and this week I decided to work down from a 10 on each side to just the bar. I don't know how hard this "finisher" is supposed to be, but this was brutal and I'm keeping it. However, on the middle two sets I had to set the bar down between reps 5 and 6 of the cleans because my forearms felt like they were going to rip open. I have zero practicle knowledge of proper clean technique, but I must be doing something wrong because I did straight-up curls on the last set and it didn't burn at all. I'll take a look at some Rippetoe stuff and see if I can figure out what I'm doing wrong.
BB Bench - 120X6, 130X4, 140X7
DB Incline Bench - 80X26, 80X16
One-arm DB Row - 50X10, 60X10, 65, X10, 65X10
superset with
Rope Pushdowns - 25X10, 30X10, 35X10, 35X10
BB Shrugs - 95X10, 115X10, 135X10
superset with
DB Incline Delt Flyes - 25X12, 25X12, 25X12
BB Complex (pulls, bent rows, hang cleans, push press, squats) - 65X10, 55X10, 50X10, 45X10
I mentioned I was going to add more increments to my ME warm-up sets for squats, and I've decided to do that for all my "heavy" lifts. You can see that here where I added the 65 lb. set. Bench went well. The last set called for 2+ reps and I got 7. According to Jefit, that is a perceived max PR. Since that includes the innacurate, and allegedly lighter-than-advertised weight I was lifting at B@lly, I feel pretty good about that.
I haven't done one-arm rows in over a decade, so I wasn't sure where to start. I see a lot of talk about Kroc rows, which are vaguely described as one-arm rows for reps with "a ridiculous amount of weight." I'm a little confused about that because I don't understand why you would do this lift with less weight than you think you can handle for the target reps. I thought maybe brief rests were involved, but I just saw video of Wendler doing these, and he went non-stop from the first to last rep. Whatever, I worked up to the most I could get for the 10 reps.
Speaking of B@lly, I was doing the rope extensions, and I was using around the same weight as I had used at the cable station in the free-weight section of that gym. But they had another cable station in the machines area where I would have to more than double the "weight." What is that? I understand that having more pulleys etc. in-line with the transfer of force reduces the amount of work required to move a given amount of weight, but shouldn't they relabel the plates so that we have an accurate idea of how much force we're generating? Just sayin'.
Well the bar-bell complexes have been getting harder with the sets going up every week per the program, but I've decided to increase the difficulty by adding weight every week. Defranco is vague on this point. The program as written seems to imply an empty bar, but the example YouTubes show a trainee with a weighted bar. Last week, I added a 5er to each side for the first two sets, and this week I decided to work down from a 10 on each side to just the bar. I don't know how hard this "finisher" is supposed to be, but this was brutal and I'm keeping it. However, on the middle two sets I had to set the bar down between reps 5 and 6 of the cleans because my forearms felt like they were going to rip open. I have zero practicle knowledge of proper clean technique, but I must be doing something wrong because I did straight-up curls on the last set and it didn't burn at all. I'll take a look at some Rippetoe stuff and see if I can figure out what I'm doing wrong.
Saturday, August 6, 2011
BLAB Log: Week 2.Day 3
Chin-ups, band-assisted - under footX10, under kneeX5, no bandX3, no bandX2, under kneeX8, under footX10
Wide-grip lat pulldowns - 60X20, 60X20
superset with
Standing DB shoulder-press -60X20, 60X14
DB lying triceps extension - 60X8X5 (full stop behind head)
superset with
Seated Hammer curls -60X8X5 (full stop at bottom)
Core-circuit X 2
50 pushups - 4:20
This day continues to be humble pie. I discovered a month or so back that I could only do one or two strict chin-ups. The program calls for one set of max reps plus 50 - 60%, but I think the authors envisioned someone that could a few more than me. Luckily the new gym has bands, and I think warming-up and doing back-off sets with them are yielding positive results. My goal is to get up to 12+ unassisted, and then I'll start loading the work sets. Probably won't get there on this cycle of this progrm, but hopefully while I'm on 531, this winter.
Also, that damn push-up test. The program calls for 100 push-ups for time. When I tried to set my base time last week, I was horrified to have to stop at 50. At 5:48. I gave myself a much longer rest this week, before starting the test and that helped. I got 50 in under 5. Next week I will try for the hundo. I'm sure I could do them fresh, but the program has them at the end of the session for a reason. My lock-out just goes in the toilet after the DB OHPs and the triceps extensions.
Thursday, August 4, 2011
For Searchers
Because I've had so much difficulty searching google for logs of the programs I'm interested in, I thought it would be fair to throw out a post explicitly saying what program I'm logging here:
Currently I'm doing Joe DeFranco's (god help me) Built Like a Badass program.
There. Now if anyone is interested in the training progress of a mid-thirties weakling, they will be lavishly rewarded.
Assuming I keep posting about it.
And if they don't get turned off by posts about theatre and cooking.
Assuming I ever START posting about that.
BLAB Log: Week 2.Day2
Yesterday:
DB Squat Jumps - 50X6, 60X6, 70X6, 80X6
BB Squats - Warm Up (Bar, 95, 135) 155X7, 165X6, 175X3
Back Extensions - 25X12X3
superset with
Weighted Twists, feet-up - 25X15X3
1 Mile Run - 9:54
It's been two weeks since I threw my back out, and squats are still making me nervous. And yet I got the prescribed %'s with no pain. Still, my back felt tight all day beforehand just like the day I hurt myself. I tried to make it release by rolling an MB up and down between it and a wall, and maybe that helped. (However the wall turned out to be the back of some un-anchored lockers than I pushed over. Luckily no one was in the "women's dressing room" when that happened. Owner says I'm the third person to do that. The gym has been open for 40 years. Great.) My back felt tight all morning today, but now it's on the left side. Hopefully this is just some imbalances working themselves out, but I'm going to do more light-weight warm up sets anyway and really try to make sure my form is locked-in before I do my work-sets.
I forgot to write down my time for the 1-mile run last week. I was supposed to beat it this week. All I know is that it was over 10 minutes, so I busted my ass and got it done in 9:54. So woo-hoo, except last week I had my gym bag on with that giant hard-back of the new Game of Thrones book inside. Obviously I should be able to beat that time without the extra weight. Nevertheless, the workout really took it out of me, and I have felt run-down all day today.
Anyway. This is my first post on the blog that was supposed to be about theatre and cooking, and this post is about the 5th session of a 12-week weight training program. Guess you gotta start somewhere.
DB Squat Jumps - 50X6, 60X6, 70X6, 80X6
BB Squats - Warm Up (Bar, 95, 135) 155X7, 165X6, 175X3
Back Extensions - 25X12X3
superset with
Weighted Twists, feet-up - 25X15X3
1 Mile Run - 9:54
It's been two weeks since I threw my back out, and squats are still making me nervous. And yet I got the prescribed %'s with no pain. Still, my back felt tight all day beforehand just like the day I hurt myself. I tried to make it release by rolling an MB up and down between it and a wall, and maybe that helped. (However the wall turned out to be the back of some un-anchored lockers than I pushed over. Luckily no one was in the "women's dressing room" when that happened. Owner says I'm the third person to do that. The gym has been open for 40 years. Great.) My back felt tight all morning today, but now it's on the left side. Hopefully this is just some imbalances working themselves out, but I'm going to do more light-weight warm up sets anyway and really try to make sure my form is locked-in before I do my work-sets.
I forgot to write down my time for the 1-mile run last week. I was supposed to beat it this week. All I know is that it was over 10 minutes, so I busted my ass and got it done in 9:54. So woo-hoo, except last week I had my gym bag on with that giant hard-back of the new Game of Thrones book inside. Obviously I should be able to beat that time without the extra weight. Nevertheless, the workout really took it out of me, and I have felt run-down all day today.
Anyway. This is my first post on the blog that was supposed to be about theatre and cooking, and this post is about the 5th session of a 12-week weight training program. Guess you gotta start somewhere.
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