22 Jan 2014
Weight: ??
Duration: 11:30am - 12:21pm ~ 1hr 10min.
And when things were going so well.
Squats: 5x135 + 5x155 + 3x175 + 5x195 + 3x195 + 5x185
Someone else was on the squat rack with 4 more sets so I decided to work in with him. He was using high bar squat and had pretty impeccable form. I didn't want to inconvenience him so I decided to keep 1 45lb plate on and do a warm-up on that. I proceeded to go completely off of my normal ramp sets. It was at the point that I did my 3rd rep on the first work set that I felt something weird happen in the low back. I've felt the same sensation before when I was doing plyometrics. I got it checked out and X-rays didn't show any problem and I was told to keep off activities with low back for a week and...it went away. Bending over, currently, has a slight twinge that is very familiar, but not as aggravated compared to last time. I may get it checked out again. Suffice it to say I'll probably warm-up considerably more to avoid this. In addition, I need to work on more core to stabilize my torso and prevent it from falling forward.
Seated Plate Raises: 3x10x25
Seated Lateral Raise: *3x10x12
*Seated DB Shrug + Clean + Half Press: 3x10x12
Instead of looking forward, I decided to, instead, look a bit down in order to put less strain on my neck. These weren't as bad as last time.
Deadlift: 5x145 + 3x165 + 2x185 + 1x205 + 1x225 + 5x245
Pretty easy. Rested plenty between last 3 sets up to the work set. The lower back tweak had subsided a bit more by this point.
*Accessories:
*Preacher BB Curls 10x50
Incline DB Press 2x10x40
Push-ups 10/10/6
*Core:
*Elbow Planks 45 sec.
20 Jan 2014
Weight: 181 lbs
Duration: 11:15 - 12:10 ~ 55 min.
Encountering and experiencing the unknown. There's always an inherent feeling of hesitation, a feeling of awe, excitement or sometimes fear that goes along with it. In the realm of lifting the iron, my past experience has dictated that achieving something beyond what I fathom to be my capable limits, the unknown, required me to have such an intense and single-minded focus on the lift at hand. The most fearful part of lifting for personal records is the beginning of the lifts. The beginning of the lift, for me, is the sole driver, mentally, of whether or not I'm going to finish that rep out or not. Without intention, without conviction and without absolute confidence that I will accomplish what I've set out to do, I will have already placed myself in a dangerous place.
Squats: 3x5xBar + 5x115 + 3x135 + 2x155 + 1x175 + 5x5x190
Low bar position got better as I progressed. Used a little low back as I was positioning my torso a bit too upright, my low back would round at the bottom. Stayed inside the squat rack this time so I had the safety bars to catch the bar if I failed on the reps.
Bench: 3x5xBar + 5x55 + 3x75 + 1x95 + 5x5x15
First few sets felt pretty light. I was tucking the elbows a lot so the forearms weren't perpendicular to the floor, or at least I didn't feel as if they were. Almost couldn't finish last rep of the last set.
Rows: 5x65 + 3x85 + 1x105 + 5x5x130
These felt magically light. I don't know what it was, but compared to the previous row'ing session, the weight felt considerably lighter.
Accessories:**
**Preacher BB Curls: 10x50
Incline DB Press: 10x40
Standing EZ-Bar Curls: 10x40
Tricep Extensions: 20x40
Dips: 6
17 Jan 2014
Weight: 182.4 lbs
Duration: 11:20am - 12:30pm ~ 1hr 10min.
As promised, I went on the Internets to do a little research on some shoulder mobility exercises I could do. I found the following, I'll be adding it to my collection of videos.
I've already been doing the shoulder stretch-apart stretches throughout the day. I'm using my green Theraband that was given to me from my physical therapist for the shoulder. I've also been doing the second exercise, but only with my right arm. The first exercise was new to me. It was certainly very different, but I did feel a great deal of stretch on my shoulder. The man in the video is Joe DeFranco. I've also used his "Agile 8" exercises, a collection of 8 stretches/exercises that help with improving hip mobility and ROM.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Lnqtibxboo
Squats: 3x5xBar + 5x115 + 3x135 + 1x155 + 5x5x185
The right shoulder was still pretty super tight when getting under the bar on the empty sets. The tightness went away when I had heavier weights on the bar. These got me breathing very heavily. Used a little bit of lower back on the last set, but I think, at that point, the fatigue was really affecting my form. I was happy to crank these out though. I was really beat after these.
Seated Plate Raises: 3x10x25
Seated Lateral Raise: *3x8x12
*Seated DB Shrug + Clean + Half Press: 3x8x12
Used 12 lb dumbbells and dropped the 35lb plate raise. Still killed me.
Deadlift: 5x135 + 1x155 + 2x175 + 1x195 + 1x215 + 5×235
These weren't bad. Used the belt on the top set.
*Accessories:
*Preacher BB Curls 10x50
Standing EZ Bar Curls 10x40
Seated DB Curls 10x25
Incline DB Press 10x45
Dips 8/4/3
Push-ups 10/8/6
*Core:
*Elbow Planks 45 sec.