My Training Log

[amounirl]

Thanks for the feeback guys! I actually already have chuck taylors, and my trainer let me try out his weightlifting shoes, which helped me hit depth actually, probably since my calf flexibility is my main limiting factor (though my hip flexibility isn't too great either).

 

[amounirl]

Sunday 1-1-12!!!: 5/3/1 Deadlift: 5/3/1

Deadlift
5x135
5x165
5x205
3x245
5x315
3x355
0x395
0x395
Adjusted Stance so I could get it off the floor
1x395

Pull Ups With Fat Gripz
3x(grip failure), I hit 7 then 8 then 7

Medium Neutral Cable Rows
3x5x160,170,180

Today was an off day for both me and my trainer, probably because it's only been 6 days since our last deadlift day, and we squatted 3 days ago on top of that (only 3 days after last deadlifting). He still managed to get a 3 lb PR but I only managed 1 rep of what I was aiming for 3 with, and only on my 3rd attempt, after adjusting my stance to super narrow so I could get the damn thing off the floor. I've got weak hamstrings. So my next squat day will be a deload, just focusing on form, but I'm going to keep trying to get my hamstrings up to speed. Happy new year everybody!

 

[amounirl]

Monday 1-2-12: 5/3/1 Overhead Press: 5/3/1

Overhead Press:
10x45
5x45
5x65
3x85
5x95
3x115
(1+4=)5x125
Rest pause 10-20 sec between sets: 5x125

Floor Press
Warmups
5x165
3x185
(1+2=)3x205

Incline Bench
5x6x135

Supinated Grip Pendlay Rows
3x8x135
2x8x155

Rope Facepulls
3x8x80
2x8x90

Done. Today I felt pretty strong on OHP, I really found my groove and even though I deloaded, I managed to get a reps PR. My previous PR was 5x135 on push press, so this was pretty significant since it was completely strict, no leg drive. Floor press felt ok, I'm pretty sure that's a PR. Then I screwed up on incline bench, I got 8 on my first set but I barely got 6 on my last 4 sets, so I just put 5x6. Next week I'll either reduce the weight or do 5x7. Pendlay Rows felt like crap at first but I got aggressive on my third set and was able to increase the weight. Then I made a pretty big jump on face pulls, yet it felt easier than last week's 5x8x70, and I had better form, so I must have made some pretty good strength gains. Overall a good workout.

 

[amounirl]

Thursday 1-5-12: 5/3/1 Bench: 3x5

My trainer is peaking for a meet so he was doing 6x3, I decided to jump in in place of my 3x5 today.

Bench Press
Warmups
6x3x205
Didn't feel fatigued at all so I did:
1x1x235 Paused, competition style.

Olympic Jerks
1x8x115
1x5x135
1x3x155
3x1x175
1x5x155

Bench Lift Offs (and hold at top for 4 sec)
1x185
1x225
1x255
1x275

Pendlay Rows
5x135
5x185 too much kipping
2x5x165 put my wallet on my back to prevent me from kipping too much

Strict Chin Ups
5x8 (on my 4th set had to let go and take a 5 sec breather after 5 reps then finished the last 3. Managed 8 on my 5th set.)

 

[amounirl]

Saturday 1-7-12: Deadlifts and Squats

Reverse Band Deadlift, 135 taken off at the bottom, bands completely deload at the knees
Warmups
3x365
3x405
1x455

Squat
Warmups
8x210
5x240
3x1x275
5x240

Weighted Chin Ups
5xBW
3x5xBW+10

Somehow today's session took over 3 hours, probably because we were talking a ton. My trainer is doing a peaking cycle for his upcoming meet but he's gonna put me back on 5/3/1, now that he has time to write up the cycle. Even though all my training sessions have been long as hell these last few weeks I've been making great gains, not only in strength, but my back and rear delts are exploding with growth. And I haven't even been eating that strict. Yes my abs are going away, but oh well, I'd rather hit a 300 bench by June than have a 6 pack in winter xD. Needless to say, I'm stoked, so it seems that the 1 hour rule isn't set in stone. I'll definitely cut once I bench 300. That's been my goal for a while actually, I want to hit a 300 bench, 400 squat, and 500 deadlift by the time I turn 18 in June.

 

[amounirl]

Woops forgot to bold weighted chin ups and actually it was weighted pull ups, grip facing away.

 

[amounirl]

1-9-12: 5/3/1 Squat: 3x5

Squat
Warmups
5x195
5x225
(5+3=8)x255

Front Squat
5x170
5x195
5x225 (was supposed to be 220 but someone took the 2.5s)

Semi-Sumo (squat width stance) Stiff Leg Deadlifts
4x8x185

Weighted Chin Ups (palms facing me)
5xBW
3x5xBW+25

Today was a pretty good workout, now that I'm hitting below parallel on every squat (parallel being hip joint below knee joint). I've been working on grabbing the bar instead of just pressing it to my back with my wrists, which is challenging my flexibility, but if I don't then my squat will be red lighted in USAPL. Front squats with the wrist back again, painful but I realized I was pressing it ever so slightly with my wrists in that position, so by focusing on only pushing with my shoulders I've made it a lot better. It looks like I finally have the flexibility to do SLDLs (which I felt a ton in my glutes and hamstrings), and the chin ups were decent. I was pulling from a little below a 90 degree elbow angle, but I want to reduce the weight and pull from a dead hang. Maybe 15 lbs next week. At least I wasn't bouncing.

A little insignificant but I threw in some plate pinches just for fun and for a little challenge while I was waiting for my trainer to squat (since he takes really long rest periods), so I did a 10 in my right hand and a 5 in my left, pinching the round part that goes around the bar, then I also stuck my fingers through it to get the finger extension "pinch" as well, keep it balanced and keep my joints healthy. All sets for 10 sec. I tried the 10 lb plate with my left but could only get 5 sec.

 

[amounirl]

Tuesday 1-10-12: 5/3/1 Bench: 3x5

Bench Press
Warmups
5x160
6x185 (lost count and did 6 apparently xD)
(5+2)=7x210 2 Rep PR!!!

Olympic Jerks
Warmups
5x125
5x145
5x155 rested 15 sec then did a 6th rep

JM Press
1x8x65
3x8x95
1x8x75 (worked on tucking my elbows better)

Pendlay Rows
1x5x135
4x5x155

Face Pulls With Straight Bar
1x8x80
2x8x110
2x8x120

Good workout today! I was really happy to hit 7 reps with 210, even though I was going for 8, and if I hadn't exhaled too much and lost my arch I'm sure I could have hit 8. I'm pretty stoked because this is a 2 rep PR within 2-3 weeks, and it also bumps my predicted max up to around 255. I tried a slightly wider grip so that might have had something to do with it (moved middle finger to ring instead of ring finger).

On the jerks my shoulders got really fatigued, high rep jerks are basically cardio =/. I need to learn to rack it on my collar bones instead of holding it with my shoulders, while I catch my breath. My shoulders were super tired so the first time I went for a 6th rep I failed it, so I rested 15 sec and did that 6th rep, barely got it, so I knew not to try more.

JM Press was decent.

Pendlay Rows I did with virtually no kipping, did a 4th set because my trainer noticed my knees were super bent so even though I was rowing from the floor, it was still more of a traps than a lat row. I did the 4th set with pretty straight legs and a parallel back. I've noticed my flexibility is going way up, I can even keep my back straight with stiff legs now.

Finally Face pulls, I got a 20 lb PR, probably because I'm getting used to the awkward movement, so I'm better coordinated. Overall a great workout, deadlifts this Thursday.

On a side note I haven't been eating much in the mornings, that's why I generally prefer to train in the morning to get my metabolism going. I might start doing light cardio in the morning just to get blood flowing and appetite up. I weigh about 183-185 right now.

 

[amounirl]

Weirdest thing just happened to me... I went for about a 1 mile run and... I enjoyed it! Never enjoyed cardio before. What's more is I didn't get winded even though I went at a decent pace, even though I never train cardio besides interval training, never endurance. This is awesome! I think I'm gonna time myself next time, this feels great. Got a decent stretch after, and I have a feeling today's gonna be a good day, with my metabolism running at a good pace as well!

 

[amounirl]

1-12-12: 5/3/1 Deadlift: 3x5

Deadlift
Warmups
5x275
5x315
(5+1=)6x355

Squat
Warmups
10x135
10x155
10x165
10x175
10x185

Cable Rows
8x100
8x150
8x160
8x170
8x160
8x150

Good workout. Could have gotten more on the deadlifts but my form was degrading. I don't really like the idea of high rep deadlifts, I'm probably not going to go over 5 again. Squats were well below parallel, especially that last set. Good stuff! Calves are incredibly sore from that run yesterday, but it's all good, all it impaired was my flexibility today, so I had to stretch a bit extra. My bodyweight is increasing, finally, that running in the morning is just what I needed to get my appetite going. I'm about 186.6 right now, going to eat dinner in a few mins. I can tell I'm gonna get fat on this bulk, but cutting is so damn easy for me that just a few weeks in the summer is all I'll need.