Legwork

4 May 2015


Squat 135x5, 225x3, 275x3, 315x3, 345 3s x 5, paused 285 x 2s x 3

Rack pull 380 lbs. x 10 singles, 45-60 seconds of rest between singles

Leg press 50 total reps - started out at 4.5 plates, had to strip down to 4 for the last 15 reps or so

Ab machine 3s x 8

15 minutes cycling

Rack Pull Singles

27 April 2015


Squat 345 lbs. 3s x 5, paused squat 285 lbs. 3x3

Rack pull 355 lbs. x 12 singles, 30 seconds or less between reps

Leg press 50 total reps - started at 5 plates, had to strip to 4 about halfway through

Ab machine 3s x 8

Cycling 20 mins.

Legs and More Legs

21 April 2015


Squat 135x5, 225x3, 275x3, 315x2, 345 3s x 5, 275 3x3

Watching myself in the mirror (hello sexy) I noticed I've started doing this weird thing at the bottom of the squat, sort of shifting side to side. I think it's because I'm unconsciously avoiding my left hip (the injured one). I'll have to work on correcting this, as I suspect it could have disastrous consequences once I start using some appreciable weight.

I'm also feeling some abdominal strain in random places, hope it's not a hernia or something.

Rack pull 335 lbs. 3s x 5

Leg curl 50 reps

Leg extension 50 reps

Ab machine 3s x 8

Back

19 April 2015


Back in the gym. Vacation was fun, drank too much but managed to keep the weight down to a svelte 214. Of course, lifting felt like shit.

Squat 135x5, 225x3, 275x3, 315x2, 345 x 3s x 5, then a few lighter sets

Hip injury has healed somewhat, now I just have to build back some strength. 345 felt awful and heavy. Will stay at the same weight this week and hope it feels lighter.

Rack pull 335 x 3s x 5

This felt better. I'll do it for another week, then switch to singles 3x/week, like I did on the deadlift singles program. Can't wait to hurt myself again.

Glute-ham raise x8, x6, x4

Leg press 5 plates x 15

Leg extension 1s x 10

Ab machine 3s x 8

25 minutes cycling.

Leg Training

1 April 2015


Squat 345 lbs. 4s x 5 - did an extra set for no particular reason

Rack pull 335 lbs. 3s x 5

Hip still hurts, but it's not that bad. I'm planning to stay away from heavy squats (triples) for a while yet - will keep doing sets of five. Also will switch to singles for the rack pull once I hit 355 for sets of 5.

Glute-ham raise 2s x 6

Leg press 5 plates x20, x20, x12

20-rep leg presses are worse than 20-rep squats. With the squat, at some point self-preservation kicks in and you simply can't do another rep because it'll crush you. With the leg press, you can always do one more rep.

Machine split squats 1s x 20 (10 per leg)

Not sure why I did this last exercise, except maybe masochism.

Machine ab crunch 3s x 8-10

Squats and Deadlifts, Rehab Mode, Week 4

30 March 2015


Squat 345 lbs. 3s x 5 -felt very heavy

Rack pull 335 lbs. 3s x 5 - this felt OK. I might go back to my singles-only program, except with mid-shin pulls instead of deadlifts from the floor.

Glute-ham raise 3s x 8

Leg press 5 plates 2s x 20, 1s x 10

Leg curl 21s x 2 sets

Leg extensions 3s x 10

15 minutes cycling - all the legs could take

More Rehab - Week 3, Day 2

25 March 2015


Did a bunch of stretches and activation exercises for the hips and glutes.

Back squat 335 lbs. 3s x 5

Rack pull 325 lbs. 3s x 5

Glute-ham raise 3s x 6

Leg curl 21s 1 set

15 minutes cycling.

Riveting.

Lower Back Rehab Week 3 Day 1

23 March 2015


Stupid post title, stupid post content.

Back squat 335x5, 345x5, 335x5, 235x10 close stance

Was okay, but left leg felt a bit dead after the set with 345, which wasn't so okay.

Rack pull 325 lbs. 3s x 5

Lower back was super pumped after this, I wasn't even able to do glute-ham raises. Not sure what happened.

Glute-ham raise x 6

Machine split squat 2s x 16-20 (8-10 per leg)

Tried cycling, but back hurt after 10 minutes.

Rehab Addict

21 March 2015


Back raises, weighted 1s x 15 - been slacking on these

Squat 325 lbs. 3s x 5, back-off close-stance 225x10

Somehow the close stance hurt my injury more.

Rack pull 315 lbs. 3s x 5, stiff-legged 225 x 10

Glute-ham raise 3s x 6

Lever machine split squats 3s x 15-20 (8-10 per leg)

Leg curls 2s x 21's (7 partials at bottom of ROM, 7 partials at top, 7 full reps)

Rubber band crunches 3-4 sets

Back/hip are feeling OK, but the pain is still there. Recovery has slowed down a bit. I guess I just have to be patient and push through.

Will increase weight by 10 lbs. on the squat and rack pull next week and try to get 3 workouts in.

Lower Body Rehab - Week 3, Day 1

16 March 2015


Weighted back raise 2s x 15

Had to cut these short, the gym was a jungle tonight and I had to grab the power rack before ayone else moved in.

Squat 325 lbs. 3s x 5

These felt hard. Being able to squat 3 plates again is great, but my legs seem to have detrained pretty quickly. Then again, it's been something like 8+ weeks of no or light squatting.

Rack pull 315 lbs. 3s x 5

These were easy, but my lower back gave a little twinge after that last set, which freaked me out a bit.

Shrugs 315x10, 365x10, 385 2s x 8

Lower back did not like these either. I will switch to either seated shrugs with DBs or standing paused shrugs in the Smith machine (where I use a lot less weight).

Glute-ham raise 3s x 6

Lever machine split squats 4 sets x as many as possible - sick leg burn again.

Lower Body Rehab Week 2 Day 1

9 March 2015


Weighted back raise 3s x 12-15 (45 lbs.)

Seated leg curl 3s x 10 - pre-exhaust for squats

Squats 135x5, 225x3, 275x3, 300 lbs. 3s x 5 - felt very easy today

Rack pull 295 lbs. 3s x 5

Leg press 2 sets warmup, then 5 plates x 25 reps

The leg press is the only exercise that bothers my injury now, even with very light weights. I've also figured out that the injury is not in my lower back and glute but in my left hip, so from now on I'll be attacking the pain site through stretches and foam rolling.

Abduction machine 3s x 10-15

Lever squat machine split squats 2s x 10 per leg

This is a fantastic leg exercise, can't believe I never tried it before. I was pretty tired at this point so I didn't do more sets, but will try to remember to do it later in the week.

Lower Body Rehab - Week 1, Day 2

4 March 2015


Weighted back raises 3s x 10-12 (35 lbs.)

Squat 135x5, 185x5, 225x5, 275 lbs. 3s x 5 - belted up this time

Mid-shin rack pull 265 lbs. 3s x 5

Glute-ham raise 3s x 7-8

Seated leg curl 2s x 10

Lever squat machine 2s x 8

Ab machine - around five sets

20 minutes cycling. Getting that cardio train on.

Lower Body Rehab - Week 1, Day 1

2 March 2015


Weighted back raise 3s x 15

Squat 135x5, 185x5, 225x5, 275 lbs. 3s x 5

Mid-shin rack pull 135x5, 225x5, 260 lbs. 3s x 5

Shrug 315x8, 365x8, 385 lbs. 2s x 8

Glute-ham raise 3s x 6-8

Adductor/abductor machine 2s x 12 each

20 minutes cycling.

Rack Pull World Championships

The pain is all but gone now and what I do feel is mostly tightness. I was able to squat some light-moderate weight pain-free and will proceed with structured sets and reps next week, start at 50% of my 1RM and add 5% once those weights start to feel light. So my rehab lower body program will be:

Weighted back raise - aim for sets of 15, once I can do 3x15 add 5 lbs. and start at 10
Squat 3sx5
Mid-shin rack pull 3sx5 - very careful on these, will not go heavy
Shrug 3sx8
Glute-ham raise 3s x 6-8
Leg press 3sx10
Adductor and abductor machine 3s x 10 each
Maybe some leg curls/extensions


23 February 2015

Milestone workout - was finally able to get some squatting and rack pulling done, all with zero pain.

Back warmup:

Back raise 4s x 15

KB swing 3s x 15

Squat 135x8, 185x5, 205x5, 225x5, 235x5

Rack pull below knee 135x5, 185x5, 235x 5, 255x5

Will do some heavier shrugs next time.

Glute-ham raise 3s x 6

Leg extension 3s x 10


24 February 2015

100% day, everything felt great.

Bench press 330 lbs. 5 sets x 1 - felt incredibly light and fast.

Bench press w. SlingShot (R) 350 lbs. x 3

Back-off sets 300 lbs. 3s x 2, 270 lbs. 2s x 5

Seated cable rows 1s x 8 warmup, then 4s x 6, went pretty heavy on these too

Neutral-grip pullups 2s x 8 - for no particular reason

Seated DB press 4s x 6 (50s)

Dips 3s x 10

Preacher curls 6s x 6


25 February 2015

Heavy squat day. Managed to work up to 285x3, Dan Green better watch out.

Also looks like I'm in the 'bench press 50 pounds more than squat' club now. Better gain 100 lbs. BW, shave my head, grow a goatee and practice scowling.

In other news, looks like I dropped 6-7 pounds of BW over the past week or so, which is good, but also kinda unusual? Under 210 now.

Back raises 1sx15 unweighted, 2s x 12 weighted (25 lbs.)

Squat 135x8, 185x5, 235x5, 255x5, 285x3

Felt okay, but didn't want to push it.

Rack pull (below knee) 135x10, 225x5, 245x5, 275x5

Glute-ham raise 3s x 6

Leg press 2s x 10 warmup, 3s x 10 working

Lever squat (Freemotion) 3s x 8, plus partial reps


26 February 2015

Back raises 3s x 15

Light bench press 245 lbs. 4s x 5, with medium-close grip

Pulldowns 4s x 6, did a lot of pullups this week so had to go lighter on these than usual

Standing front press 135x2, 185x1, 200 lbs. x 5 singles

These felt nice and easy. Used wrist wraps, but no belt.

Standing tricep extensions 4s x 10-12

Seated barbell curl 6s x 6-8


28 February 2015

Back raises 3s x 15

Squat 135x8, 185x5, 225x5, 245x5, 275x5, 275x3, 300x3

Mid-shin rack pull 135x10, 225x5, 245x5, 255x5

Shrug 315x8, 365 lbs. 3s x 8

Glute-ham raise 3s x 6-7

Leg press 2s x 10 warmup, 2s x 10 working

Abductor machine 4s x 10-12

Glute machine 1s x 8

20 minutes cycling


1 March 2015

Bench press 295 lbs. 5s x 3

Pullups 5x5

Standing front military press 135x5, 145x5, 150x5, 150x3

Incline DB curl 3s x 10

Standing OH tricep extensions 3s x 12

Exercise In Futility

Further improvements on the injury. I can now foam roll the piriformis, hurts like hell but it makes the pain go away afterwards. I have also added high-volume back raises (bodyweight only) and my back feels a lot better (except now it's a bit sore, so I can't really tell how much of the pain is due to injury and how much to muscle soreness). Will continue to do these next week, try to work up to 100-150 reps per workout or so.

I don't consider myself superstitious, but I was recently reading Lift-Run-Bang's post on goal setting and I realized that the first part (telling people about your goals preventing you from reaching them) has proven eerily true for me. Over the past few years have publicly stated (several times) that one of my goals is to bench press 405, and I have failed to reach this goal year after year. Then recently I listed a 550 squat and deadlift as my goals, and less than a month later I'm barely able to leg press light weights and high squat 185. So from now on, no talking/writing about goals.


16 February 2015

Bench press:

325 lbs. x 5 singles, w. reactive SlingShot 345x3
295 lbs. 3s x 2
265 lbs. 2s x 5

Seated cable row 1s x 10, then 4s x 6 heavy

Seated DB press 4s x 6

Dips 3s x 10

Preacher BB curl 6s x 6-8


17 February 2015

High bar squat to high box 135x10, 185 2s x 10, 205x5 - very little to no pain on these.

Glute-ham raise 3s x 6

Leg press - around 7 sets of 8-10 working up to 5.5 plates per side, then 5 plates x 10

These also felt good, no pain.

Hack squats 2s x 10

Leg curl 3s x 8

Leg extension 3s x 10

Abductor/adductor machine 2 sets each

Glute machine (first time using this) 3s x 8


18 February 2015

Incline bench 225 lbs. x 5, 230 lbs. 3s x 5

Pulldowns 4s x 6, had to take the weight down a bit from last time due to soreness

Cable fly 3s x 8

DB tricep extension 3s x 12

DB concentration curl 6s x 6

EZ bar reverse curl w. FatGripz 4s x 6-8

20 minutes cycling


22 February 2015

Everything felt super light today.

Bench press 290 lbs. 5s x 3

Neutral-grip pullups 8s x 5 - these feel super easy now that I weigh less, so I did more sets.

Seated front press 145 lbs. x 6, 155 lbs. 2s x 6, 1s x 4

These felt really easy too, so I added a short extra set.

Pushdowns 4s x 10-12

Incline bench DB curls 4s x 10

25 minutes cycling

Back complex:

Back raise on glute bench 3s x 15

Kettlebell swings 4s x 10-15

Back Pain PR

So my back/glute pain is coming and going, but overall it hurts way less than last week, which I guess is a PR. Also now it feels more muscular, i.e. not like ground glass in my spine but more like an extreme case of muscle soreness. Could be the muscles tightening up due to the injury. I've also been doing a morning mobility circuit and foam rolling a bit, which I feel has helped.

I'll try some light squats next week. It's now been almost 3 weeks since my back injury, and I'm planning to wait up to six weeks for it to resolve itself. If it doesn't, off to the doctor for an MRI, I guess.


10 February 2015

Bench press 320 lbs. x 5 singles, w. SlingShot 340x3
Back-off sets 290 lbs. 2s x 3, 260 lbs. 2s x 5

Seated cable row 1 set warmup, then 4s x 6 heavy

Seated DB press 4s x 6

Preacher curl 6s x 6

Dips 2s x 10


11 February 2015

Leg extension 4s x 10

Leg curl 3s x 8-10

Split squat 4s x 6-8 with progressively heavier DBs

Glute-ham raise 4s x 6

Hack squat 3s x 10

20 minutes cycling


12 February 2015

Bench press 235 lbs. 4s x 5

Pulldowns 4s x 6

Cable fly 3s x 8

DB tricep extensions 3s x 10-12

DB concentration curl 5s x 6

20 minutes cycling


13 February 2015

Split squat 4s x 6-8

Glute-ham raise 4s x 6

Hack squat 3s x 8-10

Leg curl 3s x 10

Machine squat (Freemotion) 2s x 8, 1s x 20

20 minutes cycling


14 February 2015

Bench press 285 lbs. 5s x 3

Neutral-grip pullups 5x5

Seated front press 135 lbs. 1s x 6, 145 lbs. 3s x 6

Pushdowns 3s x 10

Incline DB curl 3s x AMAP

15 minutes cycling

More Rehab Training

2 February 2015


Abductor/adductor machine 3 sets each, 12-15 reps

Seated cable row 6s x 6, pretty heavy

Close stance box squat, 95 lbs. x 15

Wide stance box squat, 95 lbs. x 2s x 15

Mid-shin deadlift, bar x 2s x 15

Hack squat 4s x 8-10

Leg extension 3s x 10

Leg curl 3s x 8

Tried leg pressing, but back felt tweaked.


3 February 2015

Bench press 300 lbs. 2s x 6, 1s x 8

SlingShot bench press 330 lbs. x 5

Still needs more leg drive.

Pulldowns 5s x 6, heavy

Cable fly 5s x 6, heavy

Preacher curls with EZ bar, wide grip 6s x 6-8

Dips 3s x 10


5 February 2015

Bulgarian split squats, bodyweight and light dumbbells, 5s x 8-12

Leg extension 4s x 10

Leg curl 4s x 10

25 minutes cycling.


6 February 2015

Bench press 275x3, 315x3, 325x3, 345x3, SlingShot (Reactive) 365x2

Starting to get a little sore from all this pressing.

Seated cable row 1 set warmup, then 5s x 6, heavy

Seated DB press 6x6, light

Cable fly 3s x 8-10

Fat Gripz hammer curls 6x6

Tricep extension, DB, 3s x 10-12


8 February 2015

Split squats with light dumbbells 4s x 8

Single-leg press 6-7 sets of 8 reps - back felt OK

Pulldown 6x6, heavy

Seated front military press from pins, 135x5, 155x2, 175x1, then 185 lbs. for 5 singles

Tough exercise.

Rear delt fly 3s x 10

Leg extension 3s x 10, last set heavy

Leg curl 3s x 8-12

Beast Mode... Not

I haven't stopped training completely while trying to see what happens with my back. There was intense pain for 2 days, then almost nothing for another two days, then some of the pain returned. But now it no longer feels like I have splinters in my spine, more like an extreme case of DOMS. So I'm not completely discounting a visit to the doctor and an MRI.

In the meantime I am getting some training done, mostly bench press and light machine work for the legs. Will probably update once per week.

30 January 2015

I did a bunch of Smith machine presses - flat, incline, overhead - at the gym at work. Also some biceps exercises (preacher bench). I never understood why people claim that Smith machine bench pressing is easier than barbell pressing, I always have to use far less weight on the Smith.


31 January 2015

Abductor machine 3s x 12-15

Adductor machine 3s x 12-15

Box squats - with bar, close stance 15 reps, wide stance 1 reps, 65 lbs. wide stance 15 reps

These don't seem to hurt my back. I'll keep doing them (light) to retain some squat range of motion.

Leg press 3 sets x 10 with extended negatives - used 3 plates, as this exercise did seem to bother my back a little

Hack squat 4s x 8-10 - again, extended negatives

Leg extension 3s x 10 - all extended negatives

Leg curl 3s x 8 - all extended negatives

Chest-supported row 4s x 8-10


1 February 2015

Bench press 300 lbs. 3s x 6, SlingShot 320 lbs. x 5

Pressing is pretty hard with no leg drive.

Lat pulldown 5s x 6 - went kinda heavy on these

Cable pec fly 5s x 8

DB skullcrushers 5s x 8-10

Shoulder machine press 5s x 8 - didn't want to risk doing standing presses

Concentration curl 6s x 6

Back Rehab Day 2

25 January 2015


Abductor machine 4 sets x 12-15

Adductor machine 3 sets x 12-15

Leg press 20-15-12-10-8, pyramiding up in weight

Hack squat 4 sets x 8, same as above

Barbell shrug - worked up to 600 lbs. x 3, much better form than last time

Seated cable row 12-10-8-8, pyramiding up in weight

Pulldown 15-10-8-6, as above

Leg extension 4 sets x 10, increasing weight each set

Leg curl 4 sets x 8, same as above

Ab machine 3 sets x 10

Fat Gripz hammer curls 3 sets x 6-8, regular hammer curls 1 set x 8

DB preacher curls 4 sets x 6-8

Fat Gripz EZ bar curls 4 sets x 6-8

30 minutes cycling

Will experiment with adding back some squats and deadlifts next week, very light and controlled.