Dippin' into Dips Week 4. Day A.

sRPE @8

BW - 226

Dips -

-    BW+100X1(PR) @10

-    BW+60X5, 4 @10

DB Incline - 50sX12, 8, 7 @~10

Roman Chair Squats - BWX12, 11 @~10

Pull-Downs - X9, 7 @~10

DB OH Extensions - 60X10, 8, 8, 7 @10

Happy to get a PR rep with the 100# DB.  Tried to go for some Volume PRs with a 60# DB, but didn't have the juice.

Despite the holidays disrupting training, I've hit a couple of milestone Dips PRs with 2 plates last week, and the Hundo DB this week.  I'll probably just mess around the rest of this week, and then start a new block next week.

Reload Day

sRPE @6.5

BW - 227

ATG Pause Squat - 225X3 @6

MG Cambered Bench - 155X3 @7

SLDL - 275X3 @6.5

Chin-Ups - BW+25X3 @10

Hanging Flexed Knee-to-Chest - BWX3 @6.5

DB OH Extensions - 55X10 @10

DB Curls - 40sX9 @10

Holiday week got away from me and so I didn't train for over a week.  Swept into the gym yesterday and just hit a little bit of everything so that I can start my new training block on Monday not completely de-trained. 

Dips, Hips, Curls, Shoulders

sRPE @7

BW - 225

Bench Dips - BWX18, 15, 16, 13 @8.5/10

Machine Knee Raise - X13, 12, 10 @10

Incline DB Curls - 40X12, 30X13, 13 @10

super-set with

Incline DB 45-degree Raise - 40X9, 30X10, 8 @10

Training and Recovery were both disrupted around the 4th of July holiday.  I was able to get into the gym on Sunday, but didn't feel up to Deadlifting.  Decided to go ahead and start my new block of training instead.  Will be focused on Vertical Pressing (Dips, and Overheads), and Upper Back Pulling.

Recovery Squat. Medium Bench. Chin-Ups

BW - 227

Squat - 325X5, 5, 5

Bench - 210X5, 5, 5

Chin-Ups - BWX7, 5, 5, 4, 3 (23 total)

Pull-Downs - X10, 10, 10 (straight-weight; same as last week)

BB Curls - 45X12, 12

Left adductor pain and a terrible schedule the past few, and upcoming, weeks have led me to admit that I haven't really been doing the program successfully for a couple of weeks and won't be able to really follow it for a month or so upcoming.  I'm stuck trying to formulate a sort of "maintenance" block.

Failed pretty hard on I.D. last week and then couldn't get back into the gym because of Memorial Day schedule.  Left adductor is killing me (appointment with my P.T. tomorrow) so I went with the "middle day" programmed weights.  I also started playing around with moving my stance in a little bit as I saw some stuff on the SS forum about narrowing stance and switch to squat shoes helping with this issue.  Felt maybe a little better in the session and probably helped depth the most.  Walking with a limp the next day because of adductor pain.  Video of 3rd set shown.

Because of the adductor pain, I also move my feet in on bench, and used the same middle day weights as last time.  While the leg still hurt, the weight itself felt very easy.  Possibly a stronger foot placement for this lift?  Last set shown.

Chin-ups were okay.  One more rep and set than last week.  That's pretty normal for the ebb-and-flow of this movement, but at the same time doesn't feel much like progress.

I failed to get 10 reps on the 3rd set of pull-downs last time so repeated the weight and got all the reps.  Will move up next week.

Also managed to get to 12 reps on both sets of curls, so will add weight.

Old Man Texas Method. Week 10.5. Intensity Day

BW - 225

Squat - 410X3, 2 (fail on 3)

Bench - 235X3, 3

Deadlift -
395X1
365X3

Pull-Downs: 3X10 (straight-weight; supinated)

Hammer Curls - 30sX10, 10

Well.  1st Intensity Day in a three weeks due to illness and schedule.  Probably went better than I should have expected.  410X3 is an all-around Squat PR.  Couldn't get that 3rd rep on the 2nd set, and dumped it like an asshole.  Both sets shown.

Shoulder and elbows felt like shit after dumping the bar off my back.  Still managed to get the prescribed work sets, but it was hard as hell.  2X3 PR.  Both sets shown.

At this point, I was out of gas and everything hurt.  I had a dim hope that Deadlift might miraculously come through, but that was not the case.  The 1st rep with 395 was slow and felt like the slowest of my life.  I knew there was not another rep there.  I threw in a back-off set at 365.  The way I felt, I was sure I could get 3, but hoped for 5.  Stopped at 3. Good news, I guess, is that 395X1 is a Rep PR.

I knew I wasn't going to be back in the gym for several days due to Memorial Day schedule for myself and the gym, so I through in a little bit of chin-up assistance that I knew could be done relatively safely and with less impact on my overall physical feeling.

Not sure what my plan is for the next 2-6 weeks.  I have family coming into town, and then a big camping trip.  All of this will impact schedule, recovery, etc.  I'm not sure how best to approach that yet.

Novice LP. Session 36 (Greyskull Squats)

BW - 225

Press -
140X2
120X5, 5

Squat - 325X5, 5, 6

Chin-Ups - BWX6, 4, 4

Press failed again to get 3 reps with 140.  Everything felt good, it was just too heavy.  Hit back-offs to get in volume on this day.  I will take a full GSLP reset, and work back up with 2X5, 1XAMRAP.

Squats felt heavy on this day.  A lot of variables at play being in the middle of a rambunctious holiday weekend.  Still managed to get an extra rep on the last set.  Despite the belt, the bar path looked much worse today than last time.  Saw it on the warm-ups, and still wasn't able to correct it very much.  Back didn't give me too much trouble, though.

Gonna try out 3XAMRAP, 2/wk. on Chins for a few weeks and see if I can get them moving again with more full range, fully loaded volume.

Reps and Volume. Week 11. Holiday Training

BW - ???

PBN (standing) -
BarX20
65X5
85X3
95X2
115X1
85X20
super-set with
Chin-Ups - BWX11, 8, 6, 6, 4 (35 total reps)

Deadlift -
135X5
185X4
225X3
275X2
315X1
345X4 (strained back on attempted 5th)

Chest-Supported Hammer Rows -
1ppsX15
1.5ppsX12, 12, 11

Rolling Triceps -
25sX20
30sX15, 12

85X20 is the Rep PR on PBN I was looking for before moving up to work-sets with 95.  It seems a lot easier to get these standing vs. seated.  Some of that is that I find it awkward to unrack the bar by myself on the PBN bench, and sometimes the bar hits the pins as well.  May just try to do them standing from now on.

Since I was back home for Thanksgiving, I was just going to work up to a single set of my next tier working-weight with Deadlifts.  I thought maybe a triple or a set of 4.  When I got the 4th rep, I decided to go for a 5th which would have been a PR.  Strained something in my lower or mid-back on the attempt.  That's two Thanksgivings in a row where I've injured my back in the gym.  I'm blaming air-travel and the guest bed at my parents house.

So I was completely on track for some big Squat PR's over the next couple of weeks, and that will probably be de-railed while my back heals up.  I'll go in for squatting and see how it feels, but will absolutely not push it.  If anything feels even unusually tight, I'll just make this a bench focus week, hahahaha.

5/3/1 Full-Body: Cycle 3. Week 1. Hill Sprints

LRB Diet* - Day 36

BW - ???

Hill-Sprints -
Five, 5-10 minute sets on various hills
interspersed with 5-10 minute walks from hill to hill
last 1.5 sets were superset with regular push-ups; 80 reps total
last 0.5 set was finished with supersets of planche-position (or "reverse grip") push-ups; 10 reps total
1 hour 15 minutes total time; sore as hell for 2 days following

I was out of town at a wedding, and to prepare for the influx of copious calories from unpredictable sources, I followed *Paul Carter's Holiday Diet.  Three days of low-to-no carbs with regular training leading up to the day(s).  On the day of the feast, you train your ass-off in the morning and then go binge on carbs+.  Paul calls for weight training here, preferably squatting.  I had no access to a weight facility in this tiny Wisconsin resort town, BUT the town is hilly as hell so Hill-Sprints it was.  We drove up that day, and I stayed protein only until we got up there.  Then I basically walked all over town, and whenever I found a good hill, I'd run it for 5-10 minutes then walk around until I found another good one.  The last two hills, I started doing 10 reps sets of push-ups at the bottom of the hill before sprinting back up.  On my last hill, my shoulders were getting a little sore, so I reversed my hand placement and did planche-position push-ups on the last two runs.  Then I walked back to the hotel, downed a protein shake, slept for an hour and a half, woke-up and pounded another protein shake, then went to dinner with the wife and destroyed cheese fondue, sauerkraut, Roesti (cheese-stuffed hash browns), assorted dry sausages, apple pie, and local beer.

The next morning, I woke up and went for a 45 minute, brisk walk around various hiking trails around the town.  I fasted all AM, then had a little bit of chicken and cabbage at lunch followed by another protein shake.  At the wedding dinner, I expected a buffet or some other situation where the food wouldn't be that spectacular and I could pick and choose just the low carb items.  That plan was torpedoed by the best goddamn wedding food I have ever encountered.  Nonetheless I tried to skew hard towards fat and protein, but with all the alcohol being consumed, it probably didn't matter. 

Still, the next morning came around and I looked about as trim as I did going into the weekend, AND I looked a bit fuller in my muscles.  Particularly, my shoulders and traps seemed to have really benefited from the extra work I've started giving them combined with the week's diet.  I didn't have access to a scale, so I have no idea where my weight was these last three days, and will have to find out what ballpark I'm in when I hit the gym this afternoon.  All in all, I'm pretty happy with the results, even if it was more of a pain in the ass than I would prefer.