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uh: my training journal


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took a huge break.

 

with barbell:

 

95 pound overhead press, 8 reps and then 6

 

bent over rows, 135 pounds 8 reps and then 185 pounds 8 reps, then 4 more 185*8, realized i was going too light, but decided to call the last rep on those a failure because of involuntary neck movement.

 

225 pound deadlifts: 8 reps. can do more. honestly don't want to. not getting enough of an exercise with this low weight. i was surprised this session to discover that my muscles have hardly degraded (if at all) since i lifted heavily 6 months ago. is this common?

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Damn dude you are strong! Or hopefully you still are. I think I've seen somewhere that your longterm strength lasts for some time, but I don't know if 6 months was normal. I think it depends on how good of a base you have. For example, I've been lifting for only 6 months so if I quit for 6 I'd probably lose most of it (not that I've gained too much anyway).

 

So what are your stats (height/weight)? Also, no love for squats?

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i am nearly 400 pounds if not exactly that. i'm about 6'3". i need to lose weight real fast. i overate like crazy over the summer. i was down to 320 in april. my goal is to be 200lb and look like one of the guys on the main page of this site.

 

i did 8*2 hindu squats after i deadlifted. i don't have a squat rack. i should do some front squats though..

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  • 1 year later...

So I've gotten back into the swing of things, and am still without the weight I desire. I'm stuck doing deadlifts with 245 pounds, and only doing 8 reps because it feels a waste of time (or at least that's what I'm saying because my grip was so painful after the callouses started disappearing)

In other news, I'm up to 4 reps in bent rows (245 pound), and my overhead press has switched to barbell 95lb (currently resourced dumbbell weight only 45lb), which I pull off about 4 reps of also.

And I'm ~400lb, so doing 3x8 pushups isn't too embarrassing.. same with 3x8 stomach crunches.

 

for people who dont like walls of text:

 

DL 245lb 8x

BBR 245lb 4x

OHP 95lb 4x

pushups 3x8

crunches 3x8

 

that's my current routine since i haven't been a gym member in a while.. i don't know how soon i'm going to get any more equipment. who needs a barbell when you're fat and can do hindu squats?

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  • 8 months later...

So it's been a few years since I had a gym membership. Now that I have access to some more convenient weights (floor-bound 200lb plates plus 45lb bar weren't cutting it), I have been able to do more. My muscles haven't fatigued too much, but I'm now only capable of the following:

 

325lb deadlift 3 1/2 reps

 

55lb dumbbells overhead press, 18 reps (3x8)

65lb dumbbells chest press, 4 reps

 

235lb bent row, 18 reps (3x8)

 

100lb machine crunch, 24 reps (3x8)

 

this is pretty much where I'm at now. I'm guessing I should drop the weight a little on some of these, to build up a more complete likeliness of reaching 24 reps.

By the way, I just picked up some vega from whole foods, since they carry it now. Also, their new pre-workout mix, and some of the vega omega. (i like saying that)

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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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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..

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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

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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.

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  • 2 weeks later...

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

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305lb deadlift x8

125lb overhead press x15

135lb bench press x20

 

deadlift is not making gains rep-wise. it feels easier at first each time i do them, but less than last time. it could've been because i didn't have my chalk and my grip started failing, but after i got sloppy with my lockout i started to not make it there. chalk got lost, have to get more tomorrow. also can't find in the backlog how frequently i deadlifted before, when i was making mad gains. i remember thinking about how every 72 hours was too often, so i'm going to switch my routine to every other day instead of 2 days on 1 day off. this will give all my lifts a 4 day rest period.

 

thanks for the compliment on the ohp

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around 1:30am:

 

265 barbell bent row x13

95lb preacher curl x22

270 assisted dips x20

190lb crunch x24 or 26, kept losing count..

 

it seems like my barbell bent rows are finally slowing down. this is the first time since around 220lb that i couldn't do more than 20 right away per 5 pound increase.

 

also the preacher curls i did tonight were with a bar that i ASSUME was 25lb by itself. ez-bar, looks olympic, research suggests it was. i hate the squeaky noise it makes while curling it!

 

all in all a good workout.

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