Asparagus Strength Journey

[asparagus]

I don't know what's in store for me this weekend yet other than spending some good time with my son. Hopefully I can get the family out for a nice dinner tomorrow night, though.

The good mornings from last workout killed my hams and glutes! I was sore all day yesterday and even worse this morning! The hams more so than the glutes, but it was still a bother every time I had to tie shoes, pick something up from the floor, etc.

5/3/1 Cycle 4 Set 3

5x100 jump rope alternated w/ 5x3 widest grip pullups

OHP: (I'm not going to call it military press anymore because I don't keep my heels together)
5x45 lbs
5x85
5x115
3x130
5x145

Pullups: 8,8,8,7,6
Shrugs: 2x5x135 lbs, 15x225
Bar hold: 135 - 70 seconds, 225 - 33 seconds, 315 - 13 seconds

Steps: 2 sets 10x28 steps, 1 set 5x28 steps, 90 seconds rest between sets
HR after: 160 BPM
HR 5 minutes later: 120 BPM

Killer workout today. Rep 5 on OHP was a grinder but a little back arch at about the halfway point and up it went. Pullups are slightly better. A few more weeks and hopefully I'll hit 5x8. Shrugs are great, but I need to learn to lean forward a bit - the bar keeps hitting my junk on the way up. Bar holds were a little worse than last time, but that's due to both pullups and shrugs already taxing my grip.

I had planned to do my normal 4x5 on steps today, but on the first set I got to the top of rep 6 before I realized I had exceeded the plan. I switched it up and did 2x10 instead. My legs were pretty much dead at the top of rep 10 each set. The last set of 5 was done on full blast - as fast as I could go.

[asparagus]

5/3/1 Cycle 4 Set 3

5x100 jump rope alternated w/ 5x2 widest grip pullups

Deadlift:
5x135 lbs hook
5x225 hook
5x295 hook
3x335 over/under
6x375 over/under

Glute ham raise, hands crossed over chest: 5x15, done explosively
Leg raise: 5x15
Bar hang at bodyweight: 45 seconds, 40, 35, 45

My grip was feeling a little week today so I went over/under for my final warmup set instead of hook grip. I wanted to have a strong final warmup to build confidence for the heavy set. I again used the eco ball for grip only on my final set, and my grip was solid. I paused for a couple seconds after rep 5 to reset my feet as the bar bounced a little.

Instead of the slow controlled motion I usually use for GHR, I tried them explosively today. I kept my hams and glutes tight and whipped my torso up as fast as I could, letting it slow a bit as I approached full extension before bending the knees for the GHR part of it. The momentum from the back raise carried over into the GHR, so the movement as a whole was easier today. Barely made the 15 reps on the last two sets of leg raise. Noticed a little bit of swing at the bottom. Decided to do a set of timed bar hangs instead of the bar holds I've been doing today. Bodyweight clothed today was ~197 lbs.

[asparagus]

Oh yeah, for the two people who probably check my journal, I've started a thread for a strength table here:
http://www.veganbodybuilding.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=29127

Pass it on and hopefully we get some people to post on it.

[Mini Forklift Ⓥ]

Cool man, will have a look at that table.

6x375 over/under

Congrats on those deads as well, huge pulling.

[asparagus]

Heh, nothing in the table yet. No one seems interested so I'm probably going to delete the post after another week or so.

5/3/1 Cycle 4 Set 3

5x100 jump rope alternated w/ 5x3 widest grip pullups

Bench:
5x45 lbs
5x85
5x125
5x165
3x185
6x205

DB Row: 2x10x50 lbs, 22x80 lbs
Dips: 11,11,11,8,8
Bar Hold, DOH: 135 lbs - 73 seconds, 225 - 33 seconds
Bar hang, BW: 3x25 seconds

Felt a bit of shin discomfort on jumping rope, I hope I'm not developing shin splints. It might just be a bit of bruising from deadlifts on Wednesday. Bench went as well as I expected. The last rep was hell but I got it.

When I went to pick up the bar for a hold at 315 lbs, I wasn't focused well enough and I felt a little strain in my back, so I put it down and called it done. Did some bar hangs instead and stretched my back out - felt fine afterwards.

Skipped steps because I got a late start and needed to get back to the office. My workouts are starting to run a little long, I have to pay attention to how long I'm resting between sets.

[Mini Forklift Ⓥ]

Heh, nothing in the table yet. No one seems interested so I'm probably going to delete the post after another week or so.

Sorry for the delay, done

[asparagus]

Heh, nothing in the table yet. No one seems interested so I'm probably going to delete the post after another week or so.

Sorry for the delay, done

Nice!

You seem to have a decent number of followers here so maybe having you down will spur some interest! Of course, it would probably help if there was actually a table up! I'll get to work...

[Mini Forklift Ⓥ]

Look forward to seeing the table, will you be able to post it up in the thread do you think?

[asparagus]

Happy to have some strong lifters on the table now. I guess it will grow like muscle, slow and steady!

5/3/1 Cycle 4 Set 3

5x100 jump rope alternated w/ 5x3 widest grip pullups

Squats:
2x5x45 lbs
5x95
5x135
5x175
3x205
5x240
3x270 somewhere between parallel and ATG
5x300 low bar

Lunge: 5x15 +30 lbs
Good morning: 10x45 lbs, 10x95, 3x10x135
Bar hold, DOH: 135 lbs - 75 seconds, 225 - 35 seconds, 315 - 13 seconds

That final set of squats was ugly! I took some videos of my squats this time and my form looks OK to me for the most part, but I'm sure there's problems there that I'm not aware of. I'll post them up when I get some time, maybe on Monday. On the 2nd to last set, I had a bit of trouble going ATG so I decided I was going to do the final set low bar and to parallel. I think I figured out the trouble I've been having with the high-bar position and ATG squatting. In the high-bar position, I need to use a bit more upper body strength to keep the bar from sliding down into the low-bar position, and I'm just not used to doing it. Usually with low bar position I don't need to think too much about holding the bar up with my arms as it sits better and the lower back angle makes it less likely to slip. So on the last set, since I hadn't done any warmups at low-bar I was off my game a bit. My knees kept buckling in off the bottom and I'd push them out, as opposed to keeping them out the whole time. I also took a couple seconds between some of the reps to reset myself and try to focus.

I've also been reading up a bit on squatting and I'm not sure I'm ready for heavy ATG squats yet. I think I'll practice a bit with the light sets to make sure my form is good, but for the top 3 sets I'll go back to low-bar below parallel.

Rest of the workout went fine, although a bit long given that I did a few extra squat sets.

[asparagus]

5/3/1 Cycle 4 deload week

5x100 jump rope alternated w/ 5x3 widest grip pullups

OHP
5x45 lbs
5x60
5x75
5x90

Deadlift
5x155 lbs
5x195
5x235

Pullups: 3x5 widest grip
Shrugs: 3x5x135 lbs
GHR: 3x10
Bar hang, BW: 2x45 seconds

[Mini Forklift Ⓥ]

Good squatting !! Yeah throw the video up, I've just posted up a squat video in my thread so feel free to critique. My weakest lift but saying that, that also means there's heaps of room for improvement. I always do them ATG as you'll see, but not something you can jump straight into. Hitting that depth has taken me a fair bit of time, and I'm still far from perfect with the technique.

We live and learn I guess. Hope you are having a good week MF.

[asparagus]

Still need to post those squat vids...

5/3/1 Cycle 4 deload week

5x100 jump rope alternated w/ 5x3 widest grip pullups

Bench
5x45 lbs
5x95
5x115
5x135

DB row: 3x10x50 lbs
Dips: 6,6,10
Bar hang: 45 seconds, 30,30

Quick workout today.

[asparagus]

OK, Squat video post!

All these vids were taken last Friday on my heaviest squat day of this cycle.

Warmup, I don't remember the weight, but pretty light. High-bar position, going for ATG, but I don't actually get that deep. However, my hams are squashing my calves at the bottom, so I'm not sure how much deeper I can go?



2nd to last set, 270 lbs. High-bar position, going for ATG, but I barely break parallel. If I recall correctly the bar was sliding down a bit and it's difficult to do ATG with a low-bar position.



Final set, 300 lbs. I decided not to do high-bar/ATG, but I still kept resetting the bar to the tops of my shoulders. As I mentioned in my journal for the day, my form was shit and the set was ugly. I'm almost embarrassed about posting it. I couldn't keep my back tight for shit. I didn't even hit parallel on 2 or 3 of the reps. They were much harder than I thought they should be. My knees kept buckling in and my stance was wobbly. Ugly.


I think I'm going to go back to low-bar parallel for a while, until I can get a bit more practice at high-bar.

Comments are welcome.

[asparagus]

Fixed the URL issue and now the vids embed just fine.

5/3/1 Cycle 4 deload week

5x100 jump rope alternated w/ 5x3 widest grip pullups

Squat:
10x45 lbs
10x95
5x135
5x165
5x195

Lunge: 3x10
Good morning: 5x45 lbs, 3x5x95 lbs
Bar hang, angled (neutral) grip: 60 seconds, 45 seconds, 40 seconds

All the squats were done high-bar, ATG. I'm not sure exactly how low I'm getting, but my hams were compressing my calves at the bottom. I tried to keep my torso as upright as possible and concentrated on keeping my upper back and arms tight. I think that I am going to do the first squat workout of each cycle high-bar ATG as well as during the deload week so that I can get some practice with the form and decide in the future whether I want to incorporate it more into my lifts. For the 2nd and 3rd squat sessions of each cycle I will stick to low-bar as deep as I can go.

[asparagus]

Had an impromptu workout yesterday. Our TV died and my wife's parents offered to give us their old one, which was almost exactly the same size and model as the one we had. The workout stems from it being an old 36" tube television, so it weighed in at about 160 lbs (~73 kg), maybe more, and was basically a 38" (~1 meter) cube. I had to pick it up out of the cabinet at the in-laws' house and set it down on a dolly. Rolled it out to my truck, then lifted it from the dolly (ground) to the bed. That part was the warmup.

I then drove it to my house and prepared to take it from the truck and use the dolly to get it the ~30 ft to my front door. I picked it up and walked over to the dolly, and then as I started lowering, I decided "to hell with the stupid dolly" and carried the set into the house. I then picked up my old set (same weight and dimensions as the new one), and carried it out to the truck. I drove it around to the garage and put it on the floor.

It would have been easy if it was a 160 lb barbell, but the carry was actually pretty difficult due to the size of it and no good spots for a single carrier to grip it. That is one of the main reasons I train - so that I can just pick up shit like this and move it without a second thought. Felt good!

Today:
5/3/1 Cycle 5 Set 1

5x100 jump rope alternated w/ 5x2 widest grip pullups

OHP
10x40 lbs
5x85
5x105
5x120
6x135

Shrugs: 2x5x135 lbs, 14x225 lbs
Pullups, alternating grips: 8,8,8,8,7

Not a great workout today. I went really late, compared to my usual lifting at lunchtime. I never seem to lift as well later in the day as I do in the very early afternoon. The gym was extremely busy, I had to wait about 10 minutes for a barbell to free up. Also, I usually press in the rack, so the bar starts in the pins at squat height. Today the bar was cleaned from the floor prior to each set. I'm not sure if that affected my lift at all, but I should have been easily able to hit 7 reps, possibly 8 if I was feeling strong. I skipped the bar holds since my workout was running long anyway. No big deal, I'll go in on Wednesday and pull some nice reps on the Deadlift and make myself feel better.