Entry #879

ME upper

Westside ME upper yesterday:

2-board press:
135 x 3
185 x 3
225 x 3
275 x 3
315 x 3
320 x 1
325 x 1
> Really easy, but had no safety bars so didn't want to risk failure. Benched on super low pins instead of the usual power rack so last set was awful for form, yet it still felt light. Wrists were bent, back was flat, had to do practically an extra rep just to unrack, etc.

CG bench press:
225 x 9
230 x 6
230 x 5

Dumbbell rows:
115 x 8
115 x 8
115 x 6
115 x 5
115 x 5

No curls because I went over my hour limit.

Haven't been feeling motivation to update. If this is a slump then I'm doing good for one, at least. Strength is being maintained if not improved, and weight loss keeps coming.

Entry #878

RE upper

60 sec rests

Incline crazy plates:
155 x 12
155 x 8
155 x 6
135 x 10

Dips:
5 x 5

Chin-ups:
12, 10, 8, 6, 5
> Zero rest-pauses.

Dumbbell curls:
50 x 8, 6

Dumbbell shrugs:
125 x 15

Have been doing a lot of cardio I haven't been logging. Today did a circuit of shadowboxing, mountain climbers and burpees.

Entry #877

Well, I ran out of creatine. Looks like my training has come to an end. I had a great run and I'm gonna miss it.

Entry #876

ME lower yesterday

Reverse-band deadlifts
225 x 3
315 x 3
405 x 3
455 x 3
495 x 3
515 x 1
> Lower the bands by set 4 for much less slack. The fact that this was all still easy makes me think I should be more than good for 500 on deadlifts.
> Using very strong Iron Woodys, don't remember the exact number. Noticed some material deterioration in one of them, probably from moisture being in the trunk of my car.

RDLs with Fat Gripz:
225 x 8, 2 sets
225 x 5
> Grip was the only limiting factor from using the Gripz with a pronated grip, this weight was air otherwise.

GHR:
x 10

Plank:
60 seconds

Rushed out to take care of some business so didn't finish doing abs.

Entry #875

Westside ME upper from Friday:

2-board press:
135 x 3
185 x 3
225 x 3
275 x 3
315 x 2
320 x 2
> Way lower than my bench, but that's okay. Really sunk in deep and basically did pause presses.
> Shoulder started to hurt by the last set and it's been persisting mildly ever since. Might not be tucking back scapulae enough. Harder to keep tight on this because of the board, but I need to just ignore it and lift.

CG bench press:
225 x 8
225 x 8
225 x 6

Kroc rows:
110 x 5, 5 sets
> Strict, no torso twisting. Used a thumbless grip. Very good lat isolation.

FG curls:
90 x 8
90 x 5

Entry #874

Now that I'm done with 5/3/1, my thoughts:

It's a great program, but I'll be honest in that I wouldn't think so without having made the adjustments to it that I did after the first cycle of 4 weeks, which constitutes half of my stay on it. In the 8 weeks that I was on it I couldn't get around how <i>light</i> it has you going. You're supposed to calculate your numbers using only 90% of your max. I didn't freak out about this or anything like Wendler predicted some might, but it became apparent that this was the element holding it back for me.

On a day that has you doing 3 sets of 3, for example, you're actually allowed to take your final, heaviest set and do as many reps as possible. It's listed as 3+ to indicate this. Well, what's the point in even mentioning the 3 or calling it a 5/<b>3</b>/1 if I never get anywhere near 3 reps? Usually it's something like 11 reps. I wouldn't have any problem with that (high rep deadlifts were the breakthrough I needed to get my form down) but that's throughout the <i>entire program</i>. If my bench max is 335 I'm lifting 286 lbs on my heaviest day of the entire 4 weeks. That 286 is supposed to be for 1+ rep. I'd end up hitting that for 8. And remember, that's the heaviest week. Everything else is even higher. I'm rarely ever lifting anything less than 10 reps by sticking with 90% and then doing 65%-95% of that 90%.

Wendler goes out of his way to insult meatlings who tinker with it (which is awesome) but even he acknowledges what I said by way of his new version "5/3/1 for Powerlifting".

In my opinion, it's very viable for novices to intermediates who still need to get the grooves down but I had better success ignoring the 90% limit and doing lower reps in all but the first of the weeks.

At the start of doing it, my stats were:
Overhead press: 175 x 5
Deadlift: 365
Bench press: 305 x 2
Squat: 375 x 3

After 8 weeks:
Overhead press: 205 x 2
Deadlift: 475
Bench press: 335
Squat: 415 (deeper, as well)

Entry #873

Structuring my carb load days to surround where ME will be.

Friday: ME upper, cheat day
Saturday: cheat day, rest
Sunday: ME lower, rest of the weak clean
Monday: rest
Tuesday: DE upper
Wednesday: DE lower
Thursday: rest

Cardio accordingly.

Entry #872

Yesterday went well, but I've decided I want to switch.

Overhead press:
132.5 x 5
152.5 x 5
172.5 x 8
> Like a 1 lb improvement. Considering that this has been my slowest lift to progress on and that I'm still in the midst of decreasing calorie intake while losing weight, I'll chalk this up as a success.

Dumbbell military press:
70 x 5
70 x 5
70 x 4
60 x 5
50 x 8
> Holy crap, way harder than sitting down. I can power up the 90s relatively easily for 8, but standing with dumbbells is far different (though I've never OHP'd after doing OHP, either).

NG pull-ups:
10, 9, 6, 4, 3
> Being strict with myself and discounting any partial reps.

Fat Gripz dumbbell curls:
32.5 x 14, 12, 12
> Overstimated these. FG really aren't super hard to hold or anything, people just don't do enough functional grip work so when they try these they're blown the hell away.

Walking around at 227. Overall a 10 lb loss in 4 weeks. I'm very happy with this. Slow is the way to go for me.

Entry #871

Going to do something today I call a transitionary session by doing the first day of the week as normal. This is to avoid breaking training consistency by moving to a different routine. I ended my deload with squats so starting Westside with another day of squats will make it four days of not doing any upper body effort. This is critical because frequency is absolute key to maintaining gains on a cut, I've discovered. I can skip meals and not suffer from it but not with lifting. This is what killed my last cut. Training is clearly much more important than diet.

While I'm on the subject, another essentiality is not doing hypertrophy movements like any kind of tricep extensions, high rep curls, etc. I'm seeing success sticking to dumbbell press, push-ups, dips, and heavier curls for accessory work.

And perhaps an even more important point is to keep every session an hour or less. This has been the first time I don't go over an hour and a half, let alone one hour, and I'm profiting astoundingly.

With all that said, I'm not set on moving on just yet. If my OHP today, my weakest lift at the moment, hasn't improved and I feel stale doing another of these workouts I'll make the switch. If I feel strong then I'll keep going for another four weeks before reevaluating.

Entry #870

Had an awesome cheat day on the weekend that I never mentioned. Went to the mall and engorged on cheap Indian food (lamb, rice and yogurt) at the food court and then had Cinnabon for dessert. As I sit here eating low fat cottage cheese before bed my mouth is watering.

Went to see Combichrist live last night and it sucked due to three hours of shitty opening bands. Got some NEPA in from metaling out. Today I did HIIT.

So I'm done my deload and I'm still on the fence about where to go moving forward. More Wendler or Westside? I'm making such good gains, but I really want to put my bands and boards to use.

Entry #869

Went out at 12:30am to train by pushing my 2001 Civic around a lot. Stopped after about 5 minutes because it was easy and I didn't feel taxed in any way by it. Doing forced treadmill runs is way harder.

Might give it a go again when I feel like doing it for half an hour straight or something.

Entry #868

Ugh, it's 3:00 right now because I stayed up watching Bigger, Stronger, Faster. Highly recommended.

Entry #867

Weighing in at 229. 8 lbs lost in total, yet my arms measured 17 inches - .5 more than last time.

Deadlift:
185 x 5
237.5 x 5
285 x 5
> Holy crap, could barely muster 1 rep of 285 with the Fat Gripz on. Had to rip them off to finish.

Good mornings:
135 x 12, 5 sets
> Using a slightly wider stance that makes me feel like I'm getting a better stretch. Gym was full of turbodouches curling in the power racks so on the first set I had to clean and press it into position.

Planks

Entry #866

Deloading.

OHP:
85 x 5
105 x 5
125 x 5

Diamond push-ups:
22, 12, 10, 8, 8

Dumbbell rows:
80 x 8
60 x 10, 10, 10, 10
> Used Fat Gripz and could barely maintain grip, so I had to lower the weight.

Preacher curls:
60 x 15, 10, 8

Entry #865

Video of squat from yesterday: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MndRxaDLz-8

I'd like depth to be x-treme deep and my form to be sitting back more but I did okay.

Did HIIT today for 12 minutes.

Also returned whey I bought from GNC yesterday for another flavor. For some reason "Extreme Milk Chocolate" has sucralose and a shitload of other additives while "Double Rich Chocolate" doesn't. Got Vanilla instead. I was kind of hoping the cashier would be a pest and try to sell me shit like yesterday but the guy was a quiet one today. By the way, here's what yesterday's exchange went like:

GNC dude: "You try Wheybolic Xtreme?"
Me: "No, what's that?"
GNC: "Here, I'll show you. Right here. It's got carnitine in it, which really helps with recovery, and..."
Me scrutinizing the ingredients: "It has fructose in it..."
GNC: "Fructose what?"
Me: "Uh, fructose. The sugar. Specifically high fructose corn syrup. Are you serious? I don't want that shit in my whey."
GNC: "Well..."
Me: "Fructose is very anti-insulinotropic. It decreases insulin sensitivity, and it actually makes it harder for glucose to go through the GI tract."
GNC: "Uh huh..."
Me: "Thanks anyway."

Like, I don't just go around starting debates with people, but the guy brought it up.

Entry #864

Squat:
315 x 5
365 x 3
405 x 1 (PR)
415 x 1 (PR)

Front squats (clean grip):
225 x 5, 5 sets

Ab wheel rollouts:
12 reps, 5 sets

Entry #863

So much for Monday. Went in today and benched 335. I actually blacked out during the ascent. I woke up a few seconds later and realized I was holding it up. I had to shake my head to make sure I had actually just done the rep.

I weigh an even 230. Losing weight slowly but smartly.

Bench press:
225 x 5
275 x 3
335 x 1 (PR)

Dumbbell press:
105 dumbbells x 10, 8, 7, 6, 6

Pull-ups:
45 x 8, 7, 6, 6, 5

So fucking tired. Considering I'm slightly sick and was running on 6 hours of sleep I had a great day.

Entry #862

Went in to bench heavy tonight, but I stopped at 275. My arms felt like lead and I'm too tired. I'll try again on Monday.

I didn't fail the 275, I repped it with no problem, but I knew I'd get stapled at my anticipated 335.

Don't lift this fucking late.

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Entry #861

Burnt out from so much lifting and cardio. Took it easy and ate a lot today. Digiorno pizza, dark chocolate, ramen, red wine, fatty cuts of pork...I feel resatiated.

Still couldn't stay away from training, though. Did five three minute rounds of shadowboxing in the dark.

This is for 5/6, by the way. It's 2:53 AM right now.

Entry #859

Did squats last week for 372.5 x 3. Could have done more but these were ATG.

Did OHP for 205 x 2. Not where I want it to be at right now.

And today: did deadlifts up to a max of 475 x 1(PR). Failed a first attempt due to grip because my hands were sweaty, but the second try went up easy.

Been doing so, so much cardio.

Entry #859

Bench press:
207.5 x 3
237.5 x 3
275 x 8
> Good. Used a narrower grip with pinkies in the rings instead of middle finger. Felt easy.

Dumbbell press:
90s x 12, 9, 7, 6, 6

Pull-ups:
45 x 6
Bodyweight x 8, 6, 7, 5

EZ bar curls:
95 x 10, 7, 7

Using a nifty little Android app called Jefit to serve as a timer between sets and a log to record numbers. You can input your own exercises so the limited database isn't a problem.

Nixing all extension work. Felt good to do dumbbell press.

Entry #858

Last night:

Deadlifts:
285 x 3
330 x 3
367.5 x 9
> Took video (which I cannot upload thanks to Android's retarded size limit on uploading to YouTube over 3G). First rep had major accordion effect with my knees locking out before my back (the telltale sign of unfresh form) but by rep 2 all was good. This tell me I need to start lower.

Good mornings:
185 x 8
5 sets
> Working my way back up.

Planks
60 seconds, 5 sets
> Don't stay high in a V-shape with my butt in the air just because it feels like I can squeeze my abs more. Stay low and parallel. I noticed it was way harder doing that on the last set.

I'm looking small but getting strong.

Entry #857

Today was confirmation that I can get stronger while losing weight. I weighed in at 232, a 5 lb loss from a week and a half ago.

Overhead press:
137.5 x 3
157.5 x 3
177.5 x 7
> Using a 1RM calculator (handy app to have on the phone) I found that this was heavier than the old 185 x 5 while I was bulking. Oh, and it's 1 rep short of a 10 lb improvement from last week. Pretty rad.

Incline diamond push-ups:
12, 10, 8, 8, 6
> Really wasn't feeling like I got anything out of the skullcrushers last week. On this routine they were ridiculously light to appease rest times and I'm not going to reap the benefits of hypertrophy on a cut. So no more extensions, just pushing. Specifically I'm employing these in the interest of balancing the: http://www.t-nation.com/free_online_article/sports_body_training_performance_repair/pushups_face_pulls_and_shrugs

Bentover dumbbell rows:
105 x 8, 5 sets
> Some meatbag in front of me was hump-repping the 85s and up with a miniscule ROM. It was some ugly amalgamation between a bent and an upright row. Hideous.

Preacher curls:
70 x 8
60 x 6
45 x 10
> Getting a massive hyperextension here, letting my arms dead hang at the start and for a microsec between each rep. It's not impressive to see me curling weight this light but I don't really care. I pay my dues, man.

Entry #856

Yesterday sucked, which rules. Walked to my HIIT street as a warm-up and then did 10 intervals of 20/45.

Later went to the gym and did a circuit of jumping rope and shadowboxing, then swam laps in the pool (intermittently) for 10 minutes.

Lots of cardio, yet I felt more energized than ever.

Entry #855

Squats:
242.5 x 5
280 x 5
317.5 x 11
> Good. Deep. 11 seems to be the magic number lately.

Front squats (snatch grip):
135 x 8
x 8
x 6
> Murder on my wrists. I want to keep at this.

Ball crunches

Critics have crunches all wrong. The problem with them actually has little to do with the back. Try hyperextending on a ball with your body wrapped around the circumference and then do 12 crunches with each rep taking 5 seconds. It's all abs that way. The issue I have is not that they don't hit their target, but that they're similar to calf raises in that they only work through getting a muscle pump. One crunch isn't difficult, but a bunch of them in accumulation are. On the other hand, when I do one rep on an ab wheel or a few seconds of planks, I actually have to exert force to do the rep or hold the position. That's how I discern functionality.

On a sidenote, I can't upload pics because of my crappy dial-up. At least I'll have before and after ones when the time comes.

Entry #854

Deadlift workout on Thursday:
266.18 x 5
307.12 x 5
348.08 x 9

Bench press yesterday:
193.5 x 5
222.5 x 5
252.45 x 11

Entry #853

Cut is going good. Swam laps on Tuesday a few hours after OHP day and went on an hour LISS run yesterday in the rain. Still eating reasonably big, just low carbs. An example of my breakfast:

5 whole eggs
1 grapefruit
Glass of whole milk

I've basically cut out all wheat and most starch. Weekends will be carb loading days.

I don't believe in carb loading as described by Pasquale by way of it somehow switching your biochemistry so you're more prone to converting fat into glycogen, though. I've seen no evidence that you can train yourself off of carbs, they'll always be more efficient for energy conversion (EliteFTS had a good chart on this).

Going to be monitoring my strength state closely. If I'm on a consistent decline I'll terminate the cut and try again in a few weeks.

Entry #852

Started second cycle today. I was terrible about recording the last four weeks so these are the conservative maxes I'll be working with.

OHP: 220
Deadlift: 465
Bench: 330
Squat: 415

Today:

OHP: 127.5 x 5
147.5 x 5
167.5 x 8

Skullcrushers:
40 lb. dumbbells x 10
35 x 9
35 x 8
30 x 9
30 x 9

Dumbbell rows:
100 lb. dumbbells x 10
x 10
x 9
x 9
x 8

Preacher curls:
50 lbs. x 10
x 8
x 8

The hell is up with all these new Xanga ads? I'd switch to something else if I didn't want to maintain continuity. Gonna have to do some more code tweaking to get rid of them.

Officially cutting weight as of today. I'm a fat piece of shit. Currently 235 lbs. Took some pictures, they were ugly as sin. Gonna post them anyways to shame myself.

Doing a lot of reading. A LOT of reading. Got a cool app on my Droid called Read It Later that lets me archive everything on my computer and have it send to my phone in formatted article form. Saving a lot of T-Nation and EliteFTS stuff this way.

Read something interesting from Andy Bolton about how he nixed extensions of any kind completely.

Done doing my very first deload and am set to start second mesocycle of 5/3/1 tomorrow. Doing a lot of cardio and cutting out carbs except for veggies and fruit (grains allowed before lifting, though I may cut that out eventually). Feels good to eat less.

Entry #850

Went to the hospital last night. An x-ray revealed that I don't have glass in my hand. They conjectured that I have a partial tendon laceration. This should heal on its own, but it takes a while. I have a hand doctor reference to follow-up with in the meantime.

So, last month. My deadlift was miserable. 365 is heavy for me. I switched to Wendler's 5/3/1 which has me doing weight infuriatingly light (90% of my max is what I use as my max for calculating percentages) but high reps on the last set. This has worked amazing for my deadlift.

Today I was supposed to do 345 x 1+, with the + being as high a rep I could muster. I started out with 275 to build up. Then 315, which felt super light. Decided to be bold and go up to 405 instead of 365. Did that for an easy 3, with only my grip giving out. Went up to 455 for a strong single.

No, I don't think 455 is high in and of itself, but at this rate I'll get at least 500 for my next cycle, which is pleasantly fast progress. I attribute doing reps of at least 8 with decently heavy deadlift weight.

Entry #849

Trained hungry yesterday and managed only 185 x 5 on OHP. The rest of the workout was drawn-out and sub-par. Definitely my worst session in weeks.

Planning on cutting weight very soon.

Did 337.5 for 8 yesterday on squats. Low bar, still getting a feel for it. Took video to check my form. Very good with no back rounding and depth was below parallel. Just need to bring my elbows in more.

The numbers I'm using for this routine for future reference. They're intentionally conservative in judgment and not very high.

Overhead press: 215
Deadlift: 405
Bench press: 315
Squat: 395

Entry #847

Bench press:
195 x 3
235 x 3
265 x 9
> This is kind of ridiculous. The last set is supposed to be 3 but you're encouraged to go beyond that and do as many as you can manage. Though I'm not amazed at this it's still the highest weight I've repped for that many. I've never been strong in strength-endurance.

Next week I'm pushing 285. Would kick ass if I could bench that for 8.

Tate press:
70 lb. dumbbells x 12
70 x 10
70 x 8
55 x 12
30 x 15

Horizontal cable rows:
Didn't look at the weight. X 12 for 5 sets

Hammer curls:
30 lb. dumbbells x 15
3 sets

Why the seemingly low weights? Rests were no more than 60 seconds, and form was Nazi strict.

Currently weighing 231. Huge spike. Been on creatine for the past week and a half, which I credit most of it to.

Training has been great. I'm doing Wendler's 5/3/1 to give my shoulders a break from heavy benching and squatting thrice a week on Madcow. I did try Westside a week inbetween but switched once my bench dropped the ensuing cycle after. Now I'm gaining weight and strength like never before. The low volume and session time was just what I needed.

Currently I'm in the middle of week 2. What this has me doing is taking a conservative estimate of my max, using 90% of that, and then basing all my percentages on my sub-max 90%. I end up using very light weight for no more than fives or triples, but on the final set I'm encouraged to bust out as many reps as I can manage for 90% of that 90%. It's weird but my body is adapting to it quite proficiently.

Entry #845

Been very busy. I'm back home on Westside because benching heavy + squatting three times a week was murder on my shoulders. I made great gains on Madcow but now it's time for some lift rotation.

Yesturrday~

Bench press:
135 x 3
185 x 3
225 x 3
275 x 3
295 x 3
300 x 3
305 x 3
> Just phenomenal. Felt strong on all reps, and what's more, I succeeded with three penultimate sets and then a max after having only one really heavy set on Madcow. Can't wait to get 315 x 3 like before.

Barbell skullcrushers:
135 x 8
3 sets

Barbell front raises:
65 x 10
65 x 10
65 x 10

Dumbbell rows:
110 dumbbell x 8
5 sets

EZ bar curls:
95 x 8
3 sets

Random hiking picture from before I moved to Oregon:

Entry #844

Back is still immobile so I did a bodybuilding session last night. Most pain I've felt in a long time, but it was good.

Incline bench press:
225 x 7
225 x 3/185 x 3
185 x 6
135 x 12
135 x 10
Super-setted with pull-ups

Dumbbell flyes:
45 lbs. x 15
45 lbs. x 15
Super-setted with -
Lat raises:
45 lbs. x 10
45 lbs. x 8

Dumbbell skullcrushers:
45 lbs. x 10
30 lbs. x 10
30 lbs. x 10
Super-setted with -
Bilateral dumbbell curls:
45 lbs. x 10
30 lbs. x 8
30 lbs. x 8

Cable curls:
Some abysmally light weight

Got an insane pump. Rest times were 60 seconds. 

Entry #843

Wow, I really need to update more than the first day of each cycle.

Back is insanely sore from doing cleans and being compressed like an accordion at the peak of the concentric. Debating whether to use a belt or not.

Squat:
185 x 5
225 x 5
275 x 5
315 x 5
355 x 5

Bench press: 
135 x 5
185 x 5
225 x 5 
275 x 5
290 x 4
> This one rack is no good for benching. The pins jut out way too much and I end up pushing with the bar too far down the sagittal plane to avoid hitting them. Totally killed my shoulders doing this and consequently left me weaker by the end of it. Will nail next week for sure. 

Power cleans:
135 x 5
165 x 5
185 x 5
205 x 5
215 x 3
> Tough. Maybe start at 95 next time and make 205 my 5RM.

GHR with 10 lbs. and planks.

Entry #842

Squat:
185 x 5
225 x 5
275 x 5
315 x 5
350 x 5

Bench press: 
135 x 5
185 x 5
225 x 5 
275 x 5
285 x 5

Weighted pull-ups:
25 lbs. x 5
45 lbs. x 5
70 lbs. x 5
90 lbs. x 5
105 lbs. x 5 

GHR with 10 lbs. and bench crunches.

I have a newfound taking to planks. They're awesome.

Entry #841

Yesterday.

Squat:
185 x 5
225 x 5
275 x 5
315 x 5
345 x 5
> ATG for the most part.

Bench press: 
135 x 5
185 x 5
225 x 5
255 x 5
280 x 5

Weighted pull-ups:
25 lbs. x 5
45 lbs. x 5
70 lbs. x 5
90 lbs. x 5
100 lbs. x 5 

Wanted to do good mornings but the racks were taken, so did GHRs and crunches instead.

Entry #840

Some current updates:

Bench is up to 275 x 5 (easy)
ATG squat is up to 345 x 3 (moderate)
Deadlift is all over the place. 
Bent-over row is up to 275 x 5 (hard, form not as strict as I would like)

These aren't my max numbers, just what I've done in my deliberate progression (for example, tomorrow I'll take that squat weight and do 5). And, of course, when I say "up to" I really mean "up to again", since I'm retreading old ground to get back to previous levels.

Can't fucking wait to start Muay Thai again. Unfortunately, my right fist is not totally in commission due to my pinkie finger. It was slashed about two months ago with a broken bottle and I can't enclose it fully; I think there's glass stuck inside.

I call them souvenirs.

Entry #839

Currently I'm without internet access save for my phone (which is pretty bitching, fortunately) and the occasional late night ravaging at Starbucks and other wi-fi enabled locations with my laptop. Right now I'm posting this from my Droid X. Lifting is going great. I'm making fast gains on Madcow's 5x5 (full-body splits are a novelty to me) and recouping what I lost. Thoughts are going to be pretty scattered since I'm typing this in between sets at the gym.

Something I just decided two minutes ago: I can't keep ascending this much on bent-over rows and expect to remain injury-free. Just now I did 265 for 4 reps. I never attain muscle failure; rather, I noticed I was using too much lower back so I terminated the set short of 5. I feel smart about it. I plan on going slowly and steadily until I hit 275, ,)possibly 315 if I get a belt, for 5 before switching to safer weighted pull-ups.

Bench tonight was 275 for 4 (hard, barely got it) and squat was 315 for 5 (very easy, could have done more). I'm up to about 209 from 205 last week.

Entry #838

Xanga ate up this entry so I'll just briefly recap. I'm doing Madcow's intermediate 5x5 to get back into the swing of things. More extrapolation later - for now, here's what I did yesterday. Session was done at 2 AM after having woken up at 7 AM the previous day so I was tired going in.

Squats:
135 x 5
185 x 5
225 x 5
275 x 5
305 x 5

Bench press:
135 x 5
185 x 5
225 x 5
255 x 5
260 x 4

Bent-over rows:
135 x 5
185 x 5
205 x 5
225 x 5
245 x 5

Nice and simple. Will add assistance exercises next week.

Entry #837

Bravo, one previous entry for November. That's worth ethic.

Had a nasty neck injury (cervical disc herniation by my best guess) from doing supinated cable rows (embarrassing) somehow, but I'm back in commission for the most part.

In other news, I'm leaving for Portland, OR tomorrow morning and I'm basically up late packing. Training will increase by a large magnitude, particularly fighting.

I've been spending the entire week with my dad and I'm actually going to miss the old battle axe - a lot. I've just been brushing off sentimental expectations this entire time but I'm clearly not immune. He's a badass and my best friend.

Entry #836

Progress on shoulder is going great. Might be able to back squat next week. I was able to fit the bar behind me today but didn't feel comfortable doing that with a full load so I did front squats up to 315. Failed on a third rep, but this is a major improvement over 305 x 2 a couple of weeks ago.

In another milestone I think I may have finally gotten the hand of doing the aforementioned with a snatch grip instead of folding my arms. Will try it out with my working sets next week.

Yesterday saw major breakthroughs. Basically, I repeated the exact workout (dips + Arnold press, two movements I have not been able to do since) on the day of my subluxation.

1. Was able to do dips with 100 lbs. for 5 reps. No pain except crushing my fingers with this cumbersome-ass set-up (keeping the plates behind me instead of in front so I don't lean forward, which is a pain to prepare), but whatever, it's training, not gardening.

2. Managed doing full effort Arnold press with 80 lb. dumbbells for 10 reps.

 

Pic from Halloween of me setting fire to an innocent woodland village.

Entry #835

Weight is up to 212.

Loading up on creatine. Haven't taken this shit for years. Am using dextrose with water as the solvent.

It's been awhile since I've done this, so to start up again:

ME upper

Floor press:
135 x 5
185 x 5
225 x 5
255 x 5
275 x 5
285 x 5
> Very good. Shoulder held up. First time pushing at max effort since the injury.

Floorcrushers:
135 x 8
135 x ?
135 x ?
135 x ?
> I just stopped when I could do no more, but they were all either at 6 or 7 reps following the first set.

Lateral flyes:
45 lb. dumbbells x 10
45 lb. dumbbells x 8
30 lb. dumbbells x 10

JS rows:
225 x 8
225 x 8
225 x 8
225 x 8
225 x 8

Tried to use the EZ bar for preacher curls. FUCK, my radius bones hurt. Doing heavy bar curls the previous weeks took their toll. Will make sure to rotate from barbells to dumbbells every cycle if I'm going to crank out 115 lb.+ curls like that.

Did bilateral dumbbell curls with the 45s instead.

Entry #834

Training has been the most consistent in months. Diet has been up to par, too. I'm buying whole milk and cottage cheese instead of low fat. Before I didn't really pay it much heed as long as it wasn't skim, but no more skimping on fat for me.

Entire body is sore. Hopefully I adapt, or else I may have to crib some days for boxing practice. Yes, I'm going to be signing up for Dreamland this month. I really wish I could do Muay Thai but anything that isn't boxing (or...TKD and generic "karate") is unaffordable right now.

Entry #833

Deadlift form is currently in the range of "atrocious". Had to cut my attempted ME session short last week at, like, 365 because my knees were locking out so much earlier than my back. Used my Droid X's camcorder mode to confirm this.

The day before that was very productive, though - my shoulder was able to handle repping 225 on bench press with no pain. ROM, while still not complete, was much deeper than the week prior and the bar even managed to brush against my chest on later reps.

Today for RE I increased the weight in pretty much everything. Sure, it's still weight I've done before, but never with a recovering shoulder and at only 207 lbs. of bodyweight. Progress.

Reading a lot of good T-Nation articles tonight. Also, dig the Street Fighter-inspired beach picture:

Entry #832

Progress. Was able to dumbbell press the 80 lbers bilaterally with no shoulder pain. ROM wasn't absolutely 100% but it was more than satisfactory. Did this as RE, hence the low weight.

The fact that I did ME pull-ups on Thursday was also pretty awesome. My shoulder is really coming along.

Entry #831

Productive day. First full ME session in months, though it was with pulls - worked up to doing 80 lbs. on pull-ups for 5 reps (3 next week, as has been my preferred pattern). No shoulder pain.