13 Sep 2012
Cycle #6
**Week 3 Day 1**
Just did week's day 1 lift. Was pretty busy Monday and Tuesday night. Playing catch-up sucks a lot- it throws you off your rhythm. But, on that same note, you have to learn to adapt and cope with the slight change. Consistency is king when it comes to lifting and wanting to get results.
5/3/1 Press: 5x50, 3x70 + 5x90, 3x105, 2x115 Rep PR**
**
A few reps were a bit scary. I dropped the weight a bit too quickly on a few reps and bent my wrists back too much. I remember hitting this weight eons ago...probably sophomore year of college when I first started doing Stronglifts.
BB Assistance:
DB Military Press: 4x12x35lb
Barbell Curl: 3x10x30lb + 10x40lb
Side Laterals: 2x12x10lb
Rear Laterals: 2x12x10lb
Preacher Curl: 4x10x30lb
Upperback and biceps were burning and had that pumped sensation. Side laterals and rear laterals were very taxing even though they were only 10lbs in each hand. Dumbbell military press felt much more stable compared to the first time doing them. I made sure to try and keep my elbows and forearms at right angles and making sure not to go too low to avoid stress on the shoulder joints. Preacher curls felt light- I used preset bars, not ones to load plates on. The barbell curl was easy, but taxing endurance-wise.
Conditioning:
6min. treadmill jog
Getting back to doing some cardio.
08 Sep 2012
Cycle #6
Week 2 Day 4
Warm-up: foam roll, leg swings, box jumps
Foam rolling was torture today. Insanely painful from the really sore legs from Tuesday squats. Had to do them to get rid of the soreness and get my legs back into shape quicker. Box jumps were pretty easy; a lot more confident with them compared to Tuesday where I had a minor slip up.
Deadlift: 5x120, 3x150, 1x80 + 3x210, 3x235, 10x265
No belt. Managed to crank out 10 reps on the last set. This matched my previous effort at 265. Probably could have done more with a belt.
BB Assistance:
6/3/2 - Chin-ups: Pretty difficult as my grip was shot from the deadlifts.
3x15x40 - DB Rows: Difficult after the chin-ups and deads.
07 Sep 2012
Cycle #6
**Week 2 Day 3**
Bench: 3x5xBar + 5x75, 3x100, 1x115 + 3x125, 3x145, 5x165 Rep PR
Got to the gym late tonight so no one to spot me. I decided to go ahead anyway and make an attempt on the top set. Used a tight power lifter arch, took a deep breath and squeezed my shoulder blades together. I would push my feet through the ground at the beginning of each rep to really keep a tight upper back. Managed to bang out 5 reps which I was ecstatic about at the time.
From this point forward, I'm looking at pretty new poundage territory. I've been consistently and slowly gaining on my bench numbers and it's gotten to the point where next cycle's first week poundages are PR numbers I broke just some few weeks ago. It's funny. When I'm gaining and not stalling and everything is dandy, I don't really notice how much weight I'm pressing or pulling. But, when I'm really grinding that last rep out...only then do I realize how far I've actually come and what gains I've achieved to reach that point of 100% maximal effort.
BB Assistance:
DB Fly - 3x10x15lb: Pretty easy. Right shoulder bothered me on negative to positive phase of the lift. Doing the exercise slower and with more control I think is key to making sure I don't strain my shoulder.
Tricep Extension - 10x30lb + 10x35lb + 10x40lb: Decided to do these in place of pushdowns. I haven't done them since I was doing Madcow about six to nine months ago.
DB Bench Press - 10x30lb + 2x10x35lb: Not sure whether or not to tuck elbows or flare them out for these.
Dips - 8/4/4: Always hard as hell with fatigue build up from the other exercises.