uh: my training journal

[awaken375]

So I went to the gym tonight, and pulled off 225x24 barbell bent rows (3x8). yippee!
also, 85x3 preacher curls, and 65x22 (3x8) preacher curls with that ez-bar shaped inner grip.

also hit the pullup assist machine and did some dips and pullups there. the heaviest weight is the 160lb assist, and that's all I could do easily, so I did about 5 reps with various weight doing pullups on that and 5 reps of dips with 160lb.
i love how it feels to be failing again lately!



also, 32 3x8 body weight ab crunches

[robert]

Nice work!

I hope training is going great and that it is a ton of fun.

Seems like both are true for you.

All the best!

Robert

[awaken375]

Deadlift 325lb x5 tonight. Making gains here, but slowly. My grip fails more than my legs/back.
Also overhead press 55x2 13 reps (3x8), less than last time but done more slowly.
Bench press 65x2 7

my routine is back to usual but I'm still playing catchup. I'm doing only dips, pullups, deadlift, overhead press, bench press, bent rows, crunches, and I've been adding preacher curls (65lbx24 on wednesday).

Tomorrow is a rest day, and then: bent rows 230lb, 160lb assisted dips and pullups, empty crunches, and 70lb preacher curls.

[awaken375]

230 lb barbell bent rows tonight. doing 3x8, i got 19 reps. the bar flew up at first. i wasn't expecting it to be easy. i expected grueling, embarassing low reppage.

70lb preacher curls, this time with a straight bar rather than ez-bar at 65 (these bars are preloaded, i couldve added weight to an ezbar that you put plates on, but didnt feel like it mattered) - 3x8, 15 reps in.

2 160lb assisted pullups, didnt get chin over.. figure it was hard from the bent rows. same muscle groups.. different direction.. dont mind, it still gives a direction to the muscles.

10 160lb assisted dips (3x8). im not totally positive i failed too much to keep going, but i didnt care, mainly because it hurts on this machine. it's meant for skinnier people i guess. the hand bars could have more cushioning. anyway this is still good for me because i could do twice as many this time. i still feel a little gimpy because i was capable of 3 freeweight dips a couple years ago.

8 non weighted crunches, then between 37 and 45 120lb machine crunches, 8 reps a set. i lost track of how many sets i was doing. the gym used to have a standing cable crunch which i could do the max weight 3x8 (230lb), but it's gone missing. i'm tempted to pick up a 45lb plate and use that instead.. going to research freeweighty crunch exercises after this.

got home and took some vega with soy milk and vega oil squirt. delicious.
thanks for posting, robert, btw.

[awaken375]

230 lb barbell bent rows tonight. doing 3x8, i got 19 reps. the bar flew up at first. i wasn't expecting it to be easy. i expected grueling, embarassing low reppage.

70lb preacher curls, this time with a straight bar rather than ez-bar at 65 (these bars are preloaded, i couldve added weight to an ezbar that you put plates on, but didnt feel like it mattered) - 3x8, 15 reps in.

2 160lb assisted pullups, didnt get chin over.. figure it was hard from the bent rows. same muscle groups.. different direction.. dont mind, it still gives a direction to the muscles.

10 160lb assisted dips (3x8). im not totally positive i failed too much to keep going, but i didnt care, mainly because it hurts on this machine. it's meant for skinnier people i guess. the hand bars could have more cushioning. anyway this is still good for me because i could do twice as many this time. i still feel a little gimpy because i was capable of 3 freeweight dips a couple years ago.

8 non weighted crunches, then between 37 and 45 120lb machine crunches, 8 reps a set. i lost track of how many sets i was doing. the gym used to have a standing cable crunch which i could do the max weight 3x8 (230lb), but it's gone missing. i'm tempted to pick up a 45lb plate and use that instead.. going to research freeweighty crunch exercises after this.

got home and took some vega with soy milk and vega oil squirt. delicious.
thanks for posting, robert, btw.

[awaken375]

So after reading through my log, I recognized that I didn't ever do more than 5 or 10 reps of deadlift at 305 pounds before adding weight. I'm usually strict about 3 sets of 8 reps, so I must've gotten my ego boosted a bit high after accomplishing a goal of 305 pounds since that's when the bar bends. Which is why tonight I deloaded from 325 (3, then 4, then 5 reps over the course of 2 weeks) to 305 and did 5 reps again. I figure this was due to not eating enough protein lately. So, time to focus more on getting enough of that.

also, 55 x2 overhead press dumbbells: 18 reps, 2 more than last time.
65 x2 bench press dumbbells: 7 reps. this was the same amount as last time, but I got more of my chest into it.

an educating and disappointing exercise.

came home and doubled my usual protein powder drink, and ate a ton of salad, since there's more organic fruits and veggies in the kitchen than usual nowadays.

let's hope my kidneys enjoy the 60g of protein.. 'cuz I've been slacking on going upstairs for frequent 30g increments.

[awaken375]

So tonight I was impressed with myself, as I did 230 pound bent rows, all 24 reps. 3x8 of that.
I did less dips, but I used towels as padding for the handlebars and that raised the angle slightly, but it also made it easier for me to do them quickly because it prevented me from feeling any pain in the process. It was probably a better workout because of this.

Preacher curls also coming along, and the abs are getting strong like they used to be..

24 reps 70lb bar preacher curls 3x8
7 reps 160 assist dips
24 reps 140lb crunches 3x8

not going to do pullups again for a while since they are basically the same thing as bent rows and it would slowdown my recovery.

[awaken375]

305 lb deadlift 7 reps
55 lb dumbbell overhead press 24 reps 3x8
65 lb dumbbell bench press 5 reps

[awaken375]

235 lb barbell bent rows 3x8 24 reps
75lb ez-bar preacher curls 3x8 24 reps
11 160lb assisted dips 3x8 11 reps

160lb crunches 2 reps, 150lb crunches 5 reps, 140 lb crunches 16 reps

got some vega recovery powder, 2nd serving of it. it probably helped me prepare for this yesterday.. still taking the vega sports energy powder before every workout.. i agree with people it doesn't make you jittery..

this is the 2nd time now ive added weight to bent rows without failing at doing all 24 reps.. reminds me of a few years ago when i went from about 135 pounds to 225 pounds in a month on it.. i don't know if i'm genetically gifted in the upper back or what. my deadlift didn't go up this quick at that weight range..

[awaken375]

well, I found out that there are 35lb plates between 45 and 25 at my gym, so now I don't know how many pounds I was doing before in deadlift. But as of this morning I can do 8 reps at 305..
also..

60lb x2 dumbbell overhead press, 12 reps
65lb x2 dumbbell bench press, 11 reps
40lb x2 dumbbell shrugs, 24 reps
40lb x2 dumbbell raises, 24 reps

[awaken375]

240lb barbell bent rows x24
80lb ez-bar preacher curls x5 (the plates were wobbly, maybe that explains the low reps)
11 160lb assisted dips (same as last time, but got a better range of motion)
150lb machine crunches x24

[awaken375]

305lb deadlift x7.. around there. grip was failing, and i was wearing normal shoes. the gym said i couldn't go barefoot so i went and got wrestling shoes.. and last time, it wasn't bad, a tiny bit of elevation off the ground, but less than normal. it hurt my feet a lot wearing the wrestling shoes though, so i tried to do the normal shoes thing again.. immediately reminded why i chose to start going barefoot. not low enough to the ground = intestinal health compromised. the other option is getting toe socks, but wrestling shoes for now to save money. they'll probably stretch out.
i'm also thinking i'm not getting enough protein, because 72 hours of rest hasn't been enough to make serious gains. it's easier to do than last time, but the reps aren't increasing much.

60lb overhead press - around 14.
65lb bench press - around 14.
45lb dumbbell raise - 24
45lb dumbbell shrug - 24
i forgot to bring my iphone with me so these are only estimates.

i must've been getting more protein a couple years ago when i trained before, because i doubt this is all just playing catch up. going to increase protein intake and expect more next time.

[awaken375]

245lb barbell bent rows 24x
80lb barbell preacher curls 24x
160lb assisted dips 15x
160lb crunches 24x

[awaken375]

Last wednesday:

305lb deadlift x10
60lb x2 dumbbell overhead press x20
65lb x2 dumbbell bench press x20
50x2 dumbbell side raise x24
50x2 dumbbell shrug x24

last friday:

250lb barbell bent row x24
85lb ez-bar preacher curl x19
160lb assisted dip x20
160lb crunch x24

last saturday:
305lb deadlift x11
120lb barbell overhead press x21
65lb x2 bench press 22 reps, 2 additional reps on right hand
55x2 dumbbell side raise x24
55x2 dumbbell shrug x24

tonight:
255lb bent row x24
85lb preacher curls ez-bar x24
160lb assisted dips x24
170lb crunch x24

[awaken375]

305lb deadlift x12
120lb barbell overhead press x3 (failed for some reason quick on these), 60x2 dumbbell overhead press x21..
65x2 bench press x24