Please Scroll Down to See Forums Below All beaten up today from kempo last night, my arms and shoulders are destroyed, especially my forearms from all the blocking and being blocked. Thankfully today's just legs/back, but I don't know how my shoulder is gonna hold up on squats and how my arms are gonna hold up on deads and chins. I've decided that since my rear delts are ridiculously lagging, I'm going to hit a different rear delt exercise every day. Off days from the gym are just going to be external rotations with a band, but otherwise I'll switch off between more vertical and more horizontal, large ROM and small ROM rear delt variants. Might add 1 complete rest day if needed. Also started bringing a mini band to kempo so I can use it to hit the upper back on push ups instead of further contributing to my way overdeveloped front delt problem. Hopefully this will all help fix my shoulder problems along with mobility exercises.
My Training Log
- Thread starter amounirl
- Start date
6-28-12: Squats and Deadlifts
Shoulder and hip warmup, including a lot of light rear delt work
Squats
5x185
5x225
8x255
Reverse Band Deficit DL (purple bands deloading at knees, standing on one hex 45 plate)
Worked up to 8x405
Hip Thrust
135x8/12/15
Rear Delts ( This Thing: Elitefts.com - Rear Delt Hang & Swing - YouTube )
37.5 lbs for 30 reps
Today I went to the gym early (around 9 AM instead of around 11 AM-2 PM) and besides the zumba or whatever class it was nice and empty, just the way I like it. I left early because yesterday some family came into town, so we have 6 guests staying with our 4 person family for a total of 10 people, in our 3 bedroom house, for the next week or so. Their kids are loud and I have to share a room with my brother, so I have no personal space and I got very little sleep. I'm tired and just in general pissed off, and I had to get out of the house, so I went to the gym. At the gym pretty much everything that could go wrong was going wrong (except thankfully my back arch on squats). IPod wasn't working properly, hand placement was crappy on squats even after a 10 minute shoulder warmup, etc, all adding to the rage. Thankfully it paid off because I smashed the sh*t out of 405 and pushed it to 8 reps, and typically on reverse band deficit DLs I have just about the same strength as normal DLs, if not less. 405 for 8 translates to about 485, so I feel pretty good about that.
Squats were decent, only pushed the last set to 8 so I could have some left in the tank for deads. I kind of like the idea of doing squats before deads year round since in competition one almost always does squats before deads. Deads, like I said, went well strength wise. I actually used mix grip instead of hook grip on these and I really like it, I figure as long as I switch off and occasionally do back off sets of 8-10 at 70% with my non dominant mix grip, I should be fine in terms of muscle imbalances. All I need to worry about is tearing a bicep. Better than worrying about tearing a thumb. Konstantinovs, Magnusson, and Bolton all use mix grip and only Magnusson has torn a bicep, after years of heavy deadlifting over 800 lbs, so I'm not too worried. I've been using hook grip for 6-8 months and honestly I've given it a good test run, but I really don't like it at all, I always tear up my thumbs and the pain makes me a lot slower on my DL. Today they were flying up, not just because of the reverse bands but because I didn't feel it in my grip at all, only in my back, hamstrings, and a little quads, abs, and lungs. Even my lockout felt better because my grip wasn't tiring and I could focus on ramming my hips into the bar.
Speaking of which, hip thrusts were painful where the bar rest on my hips, but were otherwise a great exercise, might start doing those twice a week, really felt it in the glutes. And as part of my rear delt program I threw in that swing exercise, didn't feel it so much isolated in my rear delts but definitely felt it a ton in my whole upper back.
Shoulder and hip warmup, including a lot of light rear delt work
Squats
5x185
5x225
8x255
Reverse Band Deficit DL (purple bands deloading at knees, standing on one hex 45 plate)
Worked up to 8x405
Hip Thrust
135x8/12/15
Rear Delts ( This Thing: Elitefts.com - Rear Delt Hang & Swing - YouTube )
37.5 lbs for 30 reps
Today I went to the gym early (around 9 AM instead of around 11 AM-2 PM) and besides the zumba or whatever class it was nice and empty, just the way I like it. I left early because yesterday some family came into town, so we have 6 guests staying with our 4 person family for a total of 10 people, in our 3 bedroom house, for the next week or so. Their kids are loud and I have to share a room with my brother, so I have no personal space and I got very little sleep. I'm tired and just in general pissed off, and I had to get out of the house, so I went to the gym. At the gym pretty much everything that could go wrong was going wrong (except thankfully my back arch on squats). IPod wasn't working properly, hand placement was crappy on squats even after a 10 minute shoulder warmup, etc, all adding to the rage. Thankfully it paid off because I smashed the sh*t out of 405 and pushed it to 8 reps, and typically on reverse band deficit DLs I have just about the same strength as normal DLs, if not less. 405 for 8 translates to about 485, so I feel pretty good about that.
Squats were decent, only pushed the last set to 8 so I could have some left in the tank for deads. I kind of like the idea of doing squats before deads year round since in competition one almost always does squats before deads. Deads, like I said, went well strength wise. I actually used mix grip instead of hook grip on these and I really like it, I figure as long as I switch off and occasionally do back off sets of 8-10 at 70% with my non dominant mix grip, I should be fine in terms of muscle imbalances. All I need to worry about is tearing a bicep. Better than worrying about tearing a thumb. Konstantinovs, Magnusson, and Bolton all use mix grip and only Magnusson has torn a bicep, after years of heavy deadlifting over 800 lbs, so I'm not too worried. I've been using hook grip for 6-8 months and honestly I've given it a good test run, but I really don't like it at all, I always tear up my thumbs and the pain makes me a lot slower on my DL. Today they were flying up, not just because of the reverse bands but because I didn't feel it in my grip at all, only in my back, hamstrings, and a little quads, abs, and lungs. Even my lockout felt better because my grip wasn't tiring and I could focus on ramming my hips into the bar.
Speaking of which, hip thrusts were painful where the bar rest on my hips, but were otherwise a great exercise, might start doing those twice a week, really felt it in the glutes. And as part of my rear delt program I threw in that swing exercise, didn't feel it so much isolated in my rear delts but definitely felt it a ton in my whole upper back.
themondtster
New member
Too many people in a small area for a long period of times drives me nuts. Got to have some room and personal time.
6-29-12: 3x5 OHP/Pendlay Row
Strict Press
warmups
5x95
5x115
7x135 (1 rep PR)
Pendlay Row
warmups
5x135
8x165
Dumbbell Bench (45 degree angle Jim Wendler Style)
65s x 10/10/12
Fat Gripz Chest Supp Row
45s x 15/12/12 (short rest periods, the sets of 12 were paused at the top for 1-2 sec)
Cable Lat Pullover
2 sets of 10 (numbers for weight on the machine were faded)
(mostly) Straight arm rear delt flys
12x17.5 lbs
Decent day today, despite my shoulder hurting like a biatch. Not sure what messed up my left shoulder so badly but I think it's just general wear and tear, starting from bench day on tuesday and continuing to be torn up from Kempo. Thankfully I'll only be doing kempo in the summers, when I'm not focusing on heavy lifting. Last night we did some hardcore sparring and grappling which re-aggravated my shoulder, I woke up this morning and my entire left shoulder and humerus felt like it was fractured. I went to the beach around 7:00 AM and just lay down in the cold water to let it heal, and did some Defranco shoulder rehab/rotator cuff work. It helped, but my shoulder still wasn't 100% when I went to the gym this evening. Also played a little basketball before the gym today.
Managed to get a PR on OHP even though I haven't done it in a while, I used a thumbless grip which really helped me feel holding it in my lats. Might have had one more rep in the tank but I didn't want to actually break something in my shoulder. I wasn't able to do dips, so I did dumbbell bench instead, probably would have been able to do 3 sets of 15 with 65 lb dumbbells, but again I didn't want to push the pressing movements too hard today, only pushed a little harder on the last set for 12 reps. Focused on slow and controlled negatives with light weight on the chest supported rows, I find that helps me feel it in my lats more, and more time under tension challenges my grip further as well. Lat pullovers I felt mostly in my shoulders, but afterwards my triceps and lats were very pumped as well, from just 2 sets of 10. Did those reps fairly slowly. Finished off with some rear delt isolation and messed around with seated curls.
Had a really good pump from the assistance work since I ate quite a bit of carbs throughout the day. Despite that my cut is going well, my bodyweight is still fluctuating around 208-212 (probably because I added carbs back in today) but I'm visibly leaner in the mirror.
Strict Press
warmups
5x95
5x115
7x135 (1 rep PR)
Pendlay Row
warmups
5x135
8x165
Dumbbell Bench (45 degree angle Jim Wendler Style)
65s x 10/10/12
Fat Gripz Chest Supp Row
45s x 15/12/12 (short rest periods, the sets of 12 were paused at the top for 1-2 sec)
Cable Lat Pullover
2 sets of 10 (numbers for weight on the machine were faded)
(mostly) Straight arm rear delt flys
12x17.5 lbs
Decent day today, despite my shoulder hurting like a biatch. Not sure what messed up my left shoulder so badly but I think it's just general wear and tear, starting from bench day on tuesday and continuing to be torn up from Kempo. Thankfully I'll only be doing kempo in the summers, when I'm not focusing on heavy lifting. Last night we did some hardcore sparring and grappling which re-aggravated my shoulder, I woke up this morning and my entire left shoulder and humerus felt like it was fractured. I went to the beach around 7:00 AM and just lay down in the cold water to let it heal, and did some Defranco shoulder rehab/rotator cuff work. It helped, but my shoulder still wasn't 100% when I went to the gym this evening. Also played a little basketball before the gym today.
Managed to get a PR on OHP even though I haven't done it in a while, I used a thumbless grip which really helped me feel holding it in my lats. Might have had one more rep in the tank but I didn't want to actually break something in my shoulder. I wasn't able to do dips, so I did dumbbell bench instead, probably would have been able to do 3 sets of 15 with 65 lb dumbbells, but again I didn't want to push the pressing movements too hard today, only pushed a little harder on the last set for 12 reps. Focused on slow and controlled negatives with light weight on the chest supported rows, I find that helps me feel it in my lats more, and more time under tension challenges my grip further as well. Lat pullovers I felt mostly in my shoulders, but afterwards my triceps and lats were very pumped as well, from just 2 sets of 10. Did those reps fairly slowly. Finished off with some rear delt isolation and messed around with seated curls.
Had a really good pump from the assistance work since I ate quite a bit of carbs throughout the day. Despite that my cut is going well, my bodyweight is still fluctuating around 208-212 (probably because I added carbs back in today) but I'm visibly leaner in the mirror.
7-3-12: Squat and Bench
Squat
warmups
5x230
3x260
5x290 (with belt)
Bench Press
warmups
5x190
3x215
2x240
20x135 (close grip)
Pendlay Row
warmups
5x135
3x165
4x185 (5 reps attempted but the 5th didn't touch my chest so it's 4)
Front Squat
warmups
5x165
3x215
5x240
Good Mornings
135x10/10/15
DB shoulder press and DB chest supp row both with fat gripz
10xshoulders, 15xlats (paused at top)
Rear Delt Swing
25x45 lb db's.
Decent workout today, trained with a friend from school. I couldn't train yesterday because I was feeling way too sick, coughing, sneezing, and nauseous, so I moved squats to today since I'm feeling better, just a little coughing and nausea. I'll also combine deadlift and overhead press on friday. Squat form was good, kept my back arch according to my training partner, also felt it a lot in my hips which is a good sign, though I forgot to bring my video camera again. Bench felt very weak, but after my last set I weighed myself at 204, which would explain it, my belly has gone down a lot so my ROM is larger. Leg drive felt almost nonexistent today, hips were way too tight after squatting. Pendlay rows were decent, probably would have gotten 5 reps if I still had the large gut and smaller ROM, which would match a previous PR. Front squats felt great, might have had another rep on the 240 but didn't want to hit failure, previous 5 rep PR is 245, so considering I almost never do front squats anymore this is really good. GMs were good, just a lot of cardio. By this time I was way too worn out so I just did 1 set of db shoulders and chest supp row, then some rear delt swings. Might do dips later today because my chest and triceps aren't very worn out compared to my shoulders and back.
Cousins are still in town until the 13th so my sleep is going to be pretty crappy until then, even with earplugs they still wake me up a lot. Even so my cut is going decently, bodyweight is way down and I definitely look leaner. Had a good warm up before the gym today, found out how to foam roll my rear delt and tricep which should help activate them better from the myofascial release. Could be one reason why my bench sucked, because I foam rolled them today so they were a little worn out before the gym, but in the long run it'll be good for my bench and shoulder health.
Squat
warmups
5x230
3x260
5x290 (with belt)
Bench Press
warmups
5x190
3x215
2x240
20x135 (close grip)
Pendlay Row
warmups
5x135
3x165
4x185 (5 reps attempted but the 5th didn't touch my chest so it's 4)
Front Squat
warmups
5x165
3x215
5x240
Good Mornings
135x10/10/15
DB shoulder press and DB chest supp row both with fat gripz
10xshoulders, 15xlats (paused at top)
Rear Delt Swing
25x45 lb db's.
Decent workout today, trained with a friend from school. I couldn't train yesterday because I was feeling way too sick, coughing, sneezing, and nauseous, so I moved squats to today since I'm feeling better, just a little coughing and nausea. I'll also combine deadlift and overhead press on friday. Squat form was good, kept my back arch according to my training partner, also felt it a lot in my hips which is a good sign, though I forgot to bring my video camera again. Bench felt very weak, but after my last set I weighed myself at 204, which would explain it, my belly has gone down a lot so my ROM is larger. Leg drive felt almost nonexistent today, hips were way too tight after squatting. Pendlay rows were decent, probably would have gotten 5 reps if I still had the large gut and smaller ROM, which would match a previous PR. Front squats felt great, might have had another rep on the 240 but didn't want to hit failure, previous 5 rep PR is 245, so considering I almost never do front squats anymore this is really good. GMs were good, just a lot of cardio. By this time I was way too worn out so I just did 1 set of db shoulders and chest supp row, then some rear delt swings. Might do dips later today because my chest and triceps aren't very worn out compared to my shoulders and back.
Cousins are still in town until the 13th so my sleep is going to be pretty crappy until then, even with earplugs they still wake me up a lot. Even so my cut is going decently, bodyweight is way down and I definitely look leaner. Had a good warm up before the gym today, found out how to foam roll my rear delt and tricep which should help activate them better from the myofascial release. Could be one reason why my bench sucked, because I foam rolled them today so they were a little worn out before the gym, but in the long run it'll be good for my bench and shoulder health.
Did some dips and chins today, mostly because I didn't really do any high rep stuff for upper body yesterday, and next time I'm lifting is on friday, so I should be fine recovery wise. Also ran a lot chasing my cousins around at our family's 4th of July BBQ, played some football and basketball. My knees are gonna be hurting tomorrow.
Wobbly Chair Dips: 14xBW (chairs wobbled out of control on 15th rep), 10xBW
Chins: 2x8
Also did some shoulder rehab stuff and foam rolled lat, tricep, rear delt, and hamstrings. Might try out some melatonin to help me sleep with the cousins here, and I ordered some supposedly good for sleeping ear plugs online which should arrive on Saturday.
Wobbly Chair Dips: 14xBW (chairs wobbled out of control on 15th rep), 10xBW
Chins: 2x8
Also did some shoulder rehab stuff and foam rolled lat, tricep, rear delt, and hamstrings. Might try out some melatonin to help me sleep with the cousins here, and I ordered some supposedly good for sleeping ear plugs online which should arrive on Saturday.
7-6-12: 5/3/1 Deads/OHP
Squat
3 warmup sets
2x5x70% (215) a la Texas method. Working my work capacity up towards squatting 3x/week: 2 heavy 1 medium. Going to be doing 1 heavy 1 medium until I start bulking again this fall, where I'll start doing 3.
Overhead Press
3 warmup sets
5x115
3x135
5x145 (10 lb PR): Strict Press145x5 - YouTube
Deadlift
5 warmup sets
5x365 (right hand underhand)
3x405 (left hand underhand)
3x455: Deadlift 455x3 - YouTube
Hip Thrust
20 reps x 95 lbs
Hammer curls and tricep extensions with fat gripz dumbbells
2x15x25 lb dbs
Chest Fly Machine
Mike Mentzer style reps with 150 just short of failure
Rear Delt Fly Machine
Mike Mentzer style reps with 75 just short of failure
Decent workout today, though it looks a bit wimpy on paper. Squat form felt perfect today, I've finally found my groove, was exploding out of the hole like it was dynamic effort, granted the weight was light but I felt like I could have hit 365-405 today. Tore my boxers on the first set of 215 though xD. OHP was good but I tweaked my back on the 4th rep with 145, as you can see in the video from fumbling it around. More commentary on the video description. That affected my deadlift a bit, plus my hips got all tight after squatting. From now on I'm going to stretch between squat and dead. Deadlift commentary on the video, form was a bit off as well on the DLs. I'm just going to have to learn how to deadlift and squat well on the same day, it seems like if one is good the other is bad, working towards getting both good. I was going to bench today but I was pretty gassed after the deads, as I always am, plus my back was hurting still from the OHP (can't arch on bench with f'd up spine), so I just did some light bodybuilding style hypertrophy stuff after. Fat gripz hammer curls had my grip and forearms screaming, especially since I supersetted it after tricep extensions where I was also gripping the weight. Shoulders both popped out of the socket on the rear delt flyes, good thing it was light weight, going to have to see how those feel tomorrow. I'm going to be incredibly bummed if both my spine and shoulders are f*cked tomorrow.
Squat
3 warmup sets
2x5x70% (215) a la Texas method. Working my work capacity up towards squatting 3x/week: 2 heavy 1 medium. Going to be doing 1 heavy 1 medium until I start bulking again this fall, where I'll start doing 3.
Overhead Press
3 warmup sets
5x115
3x135
5x145 (10 lb PR): Strict Press145x5 - YouTube
Deadlift
5 warmup sets
5x365 (right hand underhand)
3x405 (left hand underhand)
3x455: Deadlift 455x3 - YouTube
Hip Thrust
20 reps x 95 lbs
Hammer curls and tricep extensions with fat gripz dumbbells
2x15x25 lb dbs
Chest Fly Machine
Mike Mentzer style reps with 150 just short of failure
Rear Delt Fly Machine
Mike Mentzer style reps with 75 just short of failure
Decent workout today, though it looks a bit wimpy on paper. Squat form felt perfect today, I've finally found my groove, was exploding out of the hole like it was dynamic effort, granted the weight was light but I felt like I could have hit 365-405 today. Tore my boxers on the first set of 215 though xD. OHP was good but I tweaked my back on the 4th rep with 145, as you can see in the video from fumbling it around. More commentary on the video description. That affected my deadlift a bit, plus my hips got all tight after squatting. From now on I'm going to stretch between squat and dead. Deadlift commentary on the video, form was a bit off as well on the DLs. I'm just going to have to learn how to deadlift and squat well on the same day, it seems like if one is good the other is bad, working towards getting both good. I was going to bench today but I was pretty gassed after the deads, as I always am, plus my back was hurting still from the OHP (can't arch on bench with f'd up spine), so I just did some light bodybuilding style hypertrophy stuff after. Fat gripz hammer curls had my grip and forearms screaming, especially since I supersetted it after tricep extensions where I was also gripping the weight. Shoulders both popped out of the socket on the rear delt flyes, good thing it was light weight, going to have to see how those feel tomorrow. I'm going to be incredibly bummed if both my spine and shoulders are f*cked tomorrow.
