Training - Deadlift

24 November 2012


Deadlift:

135x10 - 225x5 - 315x2 - 365x1 - 415x1 - 435x1 - 485xfail - 345x5

Shrugs 455 lbs. x 8, x 8, x 5

Glute-ham raise 3 sets

Weighted incline ab board situps 3 sets

Training - Press (Flat and Incline Bench)

23 November 2012


Tried to bench press again and the pain is still there. I've decided to drop the flat bench press for two months and concentrate on getting my pathetic incline press numbers up, using the same twice-per-week, sets of six approach which has worked well on the bench press. This will provide the necessary break for my injured pec muscle and increase shoulder strength - or at least that's the idea.

I can still bench press with this pain as it's not too bad, but I'd rather not take chances. I feel like I gained a lot of strength in this second cycle: last time my max for the sets of 6 was 280 lbs., this time I ended the cycle at 295, with a corresponding increase in my triples and doubles. However, seeing as I didn't max out after this cycle, I'll never know.

Bench press: 135x8 - 185x3 - 225x3 - 275x2 - 315x1 - 335xfail (a weight I was doing doubles with last time - definitely time to try something else).

Incline press 135x6 - 185 x 3 sets x 6, x 1 set x 7

Seated low pulley rows 4 sets x 10

Standing front press - worked up to 185 lbs. x 1, but was very tired at this point

Pullups 3 sets x 5

Flat bench flyes 1 set x 15, light

EZ bar curls w. elbows against wall 4 sets

DB skullcrushers - 55x10, 60x10, 65x10

Incline bench seated curls 3 sets x AMAP

Sample Non-Weight-Training Day

20 November 2012


Today I did some running and cable pulls. I normally don't log this stuff, but this is what a non-weight-training day looks like:

Front chest pull 2 sets x 12 (enough resistance to barely finish each set)
Overhead downward pull 2 sets x 12
Behind-the-neck tricep extension 2 sets x 10
Bicep curl 2 sets x 12
Front lateral raise 1 set x 10

Then run ca. 2.5 miles, stretching and foam rolling. Lots of painful areas to work on.

Training - Light Press

19 November 2012


Did a light upper body workout to prime the (still painful) pec/shoulder for maxing out over the weekend.

Incline press - 3 sets of 6 with 155, a few sets of 5-3 reps with 185. And even that was painful. However, I feel lime some progress is being made.

Standing BTN press 120 lbs. x 2 sets x 12, 1 set x 10

Pullups 4 sets x 5

Lateral raise / bent-over raise supersets - 2 sets x 20 (1 set = 20 lat raises + 20 bent raises)

EZ bar curls with elbows against wall 5 sets x 10

Cable pushdowns 3 sets x 10

Training - Legs

18 November 2012


High-bar close-stance squat:

135x8 - 185x3 - 225x3 - 255x3 - 275x4 - 315x5 - 365x5 - 445x3sx5

Took forever to get in the groove.

Leg press: 10 reps with 5, 6, 7 plates

Hack squat x a bunch of reps with 1 plate on each side

Glute-ham raise 3 sets x 8

Leg extension 3 sets x 10

Random hamstring curl 1 set x 10-20

Weighted incline board situps 5 sets

Training - Bench Press

15 November 2012


Weak and painful session, managed to hit a few doubles with 335 but the right pec still hurts.

Bench press 315x2, 332x2x2, 335x1, 315x2, 275x4

Incline press 135x8, 185x3x3

Cable pushdowns, 3 sets x 6, heavy

A 50% session.

Back and Biceps Session

14 November 2012


Decided to rest my pec strain one more day, so I did a quick back and biceps session instead. Will bench press tomorrow.

T-bar row 2 plates x 20, 3 plates x 3 sets x 15

Pullups 5x5

Seated low pulley rows 1 set

EZ bar curl with elbows against wall 4 sets (80 lbs. is quite enough for this exercise, did sets of 10)

Face pulls 2 sets x 20

DB concentration curls 3-4 sets, light