15 Jan 2014
Weight: 182.5 lbs
Duration: ~1 hour
Did a pretty condensed and short warm-up again. Need to do some more shoulder mobility exercises during warm-up. I've only been doing lower body dynamic stretching. Today's session was pretty exhausting. I can clearly remember when I last did StrongLifts 5x5 with Squats going upwards of 225+ lbs and it was just absolutely brutal. The linear progression that can be achieved doing 5x5 can only be sustained for so long, but I definitely feel like my linear progression is at the start of the plateauing phase.
Squats: 3x5xBar + 5x120 + 3x140 + 1x160 + 5x5x180
Right shoulder was pretty tight in the first few sets. Loosened up a lot afterwards. What helped me was assuming a very wide grip to start and then narrowing as I got under the bar. Starting from a narrow grip then getting under the bar doesn't seem to play nicely with my right shoulder. Again, I'll have to start doing some serious shoulder mobility exercises. Last thing I want is to develop some chronic shoulder impingement issue. I used kinesio tape on my left knee- it was given to me from the mum when I started talking about my left knee and its instability. I can't tell whether or not it's helped- I do feel more confident with them on. But, then again, this may just be a placebo effect. I also wore a knee wrap over this which kept the entire area pretty tight, especially during squatting. Not much lower back, so I'm happy about that. Last 2 sets were definitely pretty rough.
Bench: 3x5xBar + 5x55 + 3x75 + 1x95 + 5x5x110
Used Dave Tate's setup on the bench, keeping the feet back and using a powerlifter arch. I made a point not to full extend my right arm to avoid losing my scapular contraction aka squeezed shoulder blades. I felt some load being transferred to my shoulders a bit. Driving through with my feet was a bit weird since they were underneath me and my feet weren't planted on the ground, just the balls of my feet. The lift did feel significantly lighter using this form.
Rows: 5x65 + **3x85 + **1x105 + 5x5x125
Pretty heavy. Made the mistake of using 4, 10lb plates instead of using a bigger 25 or 35lb plate to get the barbell higher off the ground. I was going upright and jerking a bit more on the last set, so strict Pendalay style was out the window.
Accessories:**
**Preacher BB Curls: 10x50
Incline DB Press: 10x40
Standing EZ-Bar Curls: 10x40
Dips: 7/4/3
Seated DB Curls: 10x25
Pushups: 12/12/10
10 rep preacher curls were very taxing, especially the last 2 reps. Incline db pressing was a bit wobbly, but still pretty light. I'm thinking of going up on these. Dips were a bit easier today, less shakiness. Pushups were also easier. Forgot to do my planks! The mat area was pretty packed.
13 Jan 2014
Weight: 181.4 lbs ??
Duration: 11:20am - 12:15:pm ~ 55min.
A million things racing through my head this morning. I had to get back to work by 1:00pm for a meeting so things were very up tempo today. Clocked back on the warm-ups did 5 rep leg swings instead of 10. Jump rope for 15-20 seconds. Static hip flexor stretch and fire hydrants. No foam rollage. Didn't do any wall walks with my shoulder. Forgot to do my planks at the very end.
Squats: 3x5xBar + 5x115 + 3x135 + 1x155 + 5x5x175
Didn't get much stretch in on the shoulder so low bar position was pretty tight. Not much pain except for a few reps when the bar was a little too low. Surprisingly, I didn't feel much in the low back and my left knee was feeling comfortable despite not having a knee brace on it. I watched my left and right shins carefully to see if I was shifting my weight to my left or right legs. Took about 1 minute rests between the last 2 sets.
Seated Plate Raises: 3x10x35
Seated Lateral Raise: *3x10x10
*Seated DB Shrug + Clean + Half Press: 3x10x10
Brutal. 35 lb plate raises killed my shoulders. Rested about 1.5 to 2 minutes between sets. I sped up the transition from the clean to the half press, using my clean momentum to press upwards.
Deadlift: 5x145* + *3x165 + 2x185 + 1x205 + 5×225
Took some extra resting periods between the 3rd and 4th warm-up sets. Used the belt on the top set. Wore long socks along with sweatpants, so the skin on my shins took some rest, less bruising. Banging up my shins sometimes makes me hesitant on the lift, messing with my form. The 2 plates felt pretty light though. Used a supinated grip on the left hand and regular pronated grip on the right.
*Accessories:
*Preacher BB Curls 10x50
Standing EZ Bar Curls 10x40
Seated DB Curls 10x25
Incline DB Press 10x40
DB Press 10x35
Dips 6/3.5/3
Did some more dipping today. Cranked more on the first set, but pretty much dead by the second and third. Not much strength endurance on these, especially after beating up the triceps with the incline dumbbell pressing.
10 Jan 2014
Weight: 181.4 lbs
Duration: ~1 hour
Got to the gym pretty early today. Did my leg swings, fire hydrants, static hip stretches and some brief jump roping to get the blood flowing. Took my time with a lot of the lifts, especially rest periods between heavy sets. A lot of things fell into place today. Today's workout session probably tops every other workout I've had thus far since I started lifting again in October. Low bar position was on point on the squat. The whole upper back felt super tight. I had an "Aha!" moment when benching that lead me to realize why my right arm sometimes works so much more than my left arm. Rows were also better, technique wise.
Squats: 3x5xBar + 5x95 + 3x115 + 2x135 + 1x155 + 5x5x170
Counter to what Mr. Rippetoe says about bar grip width, today, I went for a slightly wider grip width than normal. This point my forearm more towards a 45 degree angle than when using a narrow grip which would probably be closer to a 30 degree angle with respect to my body. One immediate thing that happened was that my palm would turn out more, putting the bar closer to the meaty part of my palm around the thumb and the base of the hand. This relieved a lot of strain on my right wrist because, before, the bar would essentially be along the top of my palm and this would lead my wrists to buckle. Widening the grip also helped me to easily get the bar placed in the right low bar position that Mr. Rippetoe was speaking about in his bar position video. Once the bar was in place, I lifted my elbows and this, in turn, allowed me to lock the bar really nicely on my upper back by driving my palms forward as if I was trying to push the bar through my back. I went a bit lower than parallel on some reps and I think this caused me to round my back a few times.
Bench: 3x5xBar + 2x10x65 + 2x5x85 + 5x5x105
So, the "Aha!" moment. Many times in the past when benching, I've experienced a load imbalance between my left and right arms. I would also find my right arm cranking out and doing so much more work than my left arm. So, today, I had an epiphany while doing the warm-up sets. To give a little background... With benching, I've always gravitated towards closer grip, tucked elbows rather than wide grip benching. Wide grip benching puts a certain degree of strain on my shoulders than I'm not all too comfortable with bearing, so I've always gone by way of safety first. Along with this style of benching, one thing of note is the importance of squeezing the shoulder blades together. Doing this along with the use of a power lifter arch and driving through the ground with the feet creates a very strong kinetic chain, stabilizing the entire lifter's body from the feet all the way up to the traps, giving the lifter the best means and position to press. So, what was my problem? I wasn't squeezing my right shoulder blade in. So, what I noticed was that, when I pressed into the lockout position, I would essentially lose my squeezed shoulder blade position. This resulted in my right arm being removed from the kinetic link with my shoulders and traps. To fix the issue, I made sure to press only to a point where I would still be able to maintain my squeezed shoulder blades.
Rows: 5x55** + 3x75 + **1x95 + 5x5x120
I tried not to bend my knees too much. It was turning into a semi-deadlift when I bent my knees too much.
Accessories:**
Preacher BB Curls: 10x50
Incline DB Press: 10x40**
Standing EZ-Bar Curls: 10x40
Dips: 5/5/4
Seated DB Curls: 8x30
Pushups: 10/10/8
Are those dips? Yes, they are! My doctor cleared me and basically told me I have no restrictions any more with regards to exercise activity. The only thing to avoid is any behind the neck pressing. Increased the incline dumbbell pressing weight from 35 to 40. They felt relatively light. Seated dumbbell curls also went up, they were pretty difficult, used a bit of swing.
*Core:
*Pushup-Position Planks: 45sec.
I may have jumped an extra 5 seconds today, but that's alright!