HIT updates et miscellanea...

3/1/15 (?) 
5 min. warmup 

FSQ: 195 x 10c
RDL: 255 x 11c
flye: 160 x 11c
press: 220 x 10c
pulldown: 160 x 12c
pullover: 85 x 10c
bb seated MP: 90 x 11c
bb curl: 80 x 8e
tricep pressdown: 100/90 x 5e/3e


3/6/15 
afternoon...
rowing erg:
5 min. warmup
1500m piece - 5:19.9 (two pauses for breath!)

[I got a Class C Concept II erg from a coworker/friend for an AMAZING price. I intend to use it regularly.]

evening...
leg press: 270 x 10e
Smith FSQ: 190 x 5e
cable flye: 120 x 9c
T-row: 125 x 8e
db press: 140 x 9e
cable pulldown: 150 x 9c
tricep cable press: 70 x 10c
bicep bb curl: 75 x 8e

[This was after a team dinner, and coming off days of feeling "not quite right". Eff it. Had to do something.]

3/10/15 
5 min, warmup, stretching, motions 

leg press: 270 x 15e
FSQ: 215 x 8c
RDL: 245 x 9e (?)
flye: 170 x 10e
press: 220 x 8e (?)
cable pulldown: 170 x 12e (?)
db seated MP: 100 x 9c
tricep cable pressdown:
bb curl: 80 x 7e

[Can't find my note paper from this workout, working from memory.]

3/12/15
erg rowing:
3.5 minute warmup
2 min. stretching
1500m piece - 5:16.8 (with three pauses for breath!!)
90 sec. pulse check, walkabout
5:16 cooldown row

[Three seconds faster than last time, and I'm intent on restoring my aerobic capacity. Oh, and I will be using squats to nurse my fragile left knee back to health, too. Stay tuned.]

HIT Basic regimen, week 2... and a readjustment...

Saturday, 17.1.2015
225 lbs., 52 minutes

warm-up: elliptical machine, stretching, motions

Leg curl: 90 lbs x 17c

Leg extension: 90 x 17c

Leg press: 210 x 22
(blech; Not true failure, but my exertion headache kept me in check)

db pullover: 85 x 11e

Hammer chest press: 150 x 15e

T-row: 115 x 10c

db MP: 40 x 3 / 45 x 7e

BBC curl: 75 x 10e
:)

db tricep extension: 60 x 10e
(with two body English concentric cheats)

db farmer carry:
85 x 65 steps left hand /
85 x 65 steps right hand /
80/85 (L/R) x 50 steps
85/80 (L/R) x 31 steps

standing calf press: 240 x 15c

+ + + 

Got an exertion headache on Wednesday, took Friday off, felt it again on Saturday on pullover and leg press, but focused on breathing (avoid Valsalva) and it felt much better, so the rest of the workout felt very good. Have been taking a lot more ibuprofen than usual, and really hydrating. I will survive.

I am pleased with my strength gains so far, and will only workout this Tuesday and Thursday, but will ratchet back some weight gradients in order to increase the conditioning component of this HIT regimen. Faster but lighter. Then heavier again.

Saturday and Sunday I did some forearm and ab workouts: mace, ab wheel, 1.5 gripper, 25-35 minutes each, and took a good walk with the family Monday evening.

New HIT regimen - Basic Week 2

Wednesday, 14 January 2015 
HIT Basic Week 2.2 
38 minutes, 224 lbs. 

warm-up: elliptical machine, stretching

leg curl: 90 lbs x 16c

leg extension: 90 x 15e

leg press: 200 x 19e

db pullover: 80 x 12e

db BP: 70 x 12e

T-row: 130 x 2 / 115 x 9c

db MP: 35 x 13e

bb curl: 70 x 11e

db tricep extension: 50 x 14e

farmer carry: 80 x 80 steps (left hand), 82 steps (right hand)

standing calf raise: 240 x 13e

+ + +

The "e" and "c" in the above notes refers to when I "failed": c refers to the concentric phase, in which I could no longer overcome the resistance, and e refers to the eccentric phase, in which I could no longer control the resistance "on the way down" (as it were). Also, failing on "e" means that the concentric phase involved a spotter or body English.

I took an average of a minute of rest between each exercise, which made each effort a little less ragged (compared to last time).

I enjoyed the 2c/4e cadence of this workout and the T-row was a nice change.

On Friday I will add a two-handed farmer carry after the unilateral carries. It's such a great exercise. I would love to work in some "trap days" but I don't want to undermine my progress by giving short shrift to rest.

How the mighty have fallen -- and yet live to rise again...

After Workout 1 of Operation Get Back Into Serious Weightlifting the members most stricken were my biceps and my calves. Oh my calves! I didn't do anything on Tuesday. I attempted to stretch my calves but got scared off. Today I went a little heavier than Monday's workout on just a few exercises.

[NB: My comma key on my keyboard is broke and I do not want to press CTRL+V over and over so I'm using slashes instead.]

Ahnohld Three-Day Split 
Monday - 19 November 2014 
60 min. 

For a warm-up I did two sets of the following exercises at pretty low weight. Just to stretch and get the blood flowing. 

BP: 10/8/6/6/6 @ 155/165/185/195/205 lbs.

db MP: 10/8/6 @ 35/45/50 lbs.

PU: 12/8/6/4 @ bdw

db tricep extension: 10/8/6 @ 25/35/40*
[On the last set I used a single 80-lb db and summoned not a little Body English.]

EZ bar standing curl: 10/8/6 @ 60/70/80 lbs.
[Only used a smidgen of body English on the last set. These are great.]

SQ: 10/8/6 @ 170/190/205 lbs.

leg curl: 10/8/6 @ 60/70/80 lbs. (??)
[These were a great way to stretch out my poor lil' calves.]

calf raise: 10 x 5 @ 60 lbs.
[Sinking into the bottom for a real stretch was like putting my hand in The Pain Box. Essential but brutal.]

crunches: 50
[I cycled through having my hands on the outside of my legs; having my left hand in between them; and then having my right hand in between.]

+ + +

I have also decided to make at least one "off day" a traps/ neck/ and elliptical workout.

Fitness update - June 2014 (hitting a wall, shrugging it off, rage in the ga-rage, getting a grip)

Wednesday, 4 June 2014 
Shurg rush 
55 min., 225 lb.

warm-up

FSQ: 10, 5* @ 145, 195 lb.
[Okay, so... you CAN overtrain on squats. My dead squats on Monday must have challenged me more than I realized. I took Tuesday off, but when I got into the gym on Wednesday, I felt "weak" right away on squats. As I sank into the hole on rep 6 at 195 lb., I felt something between my vastus medialis and vastus intermedius "give" in my right leg and I lost all power. When whatever-it-was "gave", I felt a distinct popping sensation and what felt like a hollow marble. It was not a searing, tearing pain and I have not lost any mobility. The leg was still load bearing, just very tender and achey. By Thursday I was even able to jog lightly, so I'm not really worried about this setback. I simply strained under-recovered muscles, and they let me know it. Admittedly, I was pretty distracted and demoralized for the rest of my workout, but I led myself through it. After a week of three PR's in a row, it might have been wise to light(er) this week, but what do I know!?]

hypers: 15, 15, 12, 12 @ bdw, 10, 25, 35 lb.

Kelso shrug: 12, 12, 10, 10 @ 195, 215, 225, 235 lb.

bench shrug: 12, 12, 12 @ 225, 245, 275 lb.

pullover: 15, 15, 12, 12 @ 50, 60, 70, 80 lb.

snatch shrug: 10, 10, 10 @ 215, 225, 235 lb.

[Compared to my last two Shurg Rushes, I used lighter weight for more reps. I think I'm interested in trying a few weeks of high-volume, high "pump" weightlifting, and I didn't want to risk taxing my neck again just a couple weeks outside of a strain.]

---------------------------

Thursday, 5 June 2014 
Garage fitness
35 min., 225 lb.

[My buddy came over for a workout and we did the following circuits. I set my watch with a repeating 1'05" timer. Halfway through the workout, we realized that my double-end bag had a leak, so it's time to spring for a nicer one. I wore out my first double-end bag, woohoo!]

double end bag - 1 min.
heavy bag - 1 min.
[1 min. rest]
sling pushups & rows - 1 min.
sling dips & curls - 1 min.
[1 min. rest]
jump rope - 1 min.
tire/sledge - 1 min.
[1 min. rest]

REPEAT for 4 cycles

-------------------------

Friday, 6 June 2014 
Grip training
30 min., 225 lb.

warm-up - gyro ball, space mace, ghetto grippers

CoC #1.5 - 10 closes

CoC #2 - 0 L, 1 R

CoC #2 - 0 L, 1 R

CoC #1.5 - 7 closes, 2 closes

dino db hold (2", 74 lb) -
60 sec
42 sec
40 sec

[I've lost some ground on my grip strength, but I also trained at night, on a Friday, when I don't eat meat, and eat less in general. Just have to keep on keepin' on....]

Gym regimen update - 30 May 2014 ("Booyah!")

Friday, 30 May 2014 
Quasi Even Keel 
65 min., 226 lb. 
MOOD: Felt expectant, confident, but had to overcome some grip slippage and mental uncertainty in my first sets of DL. Had coffee, L-carnitine, fish oil, and a Cytomax before the workout.

warm-up: movements, stretching, etc.

DL: 6, 5, 3, 3, 2 @ 235, 305, 385, 425, 455 lb.

db press: 12, 12, 10, 8*, 10 @ 60, 70, 80, 90, 70 lb.

EZ bar spider curl: 12, 12, 10, 10 @ 70, 80, 90, 100 lb.

+ + +

425 x 3 and 455 x 2--that's technically two DL PR's in a row, which makes for three PR's (DL, SQ, FSQ) in as many days. The final DL rep felt a little "tweaky" and I can feel some warm stiffness in my lower back now. I wore sweatpants and a hooded sweatshirt, which I really enjoyed. I can't stand feeling cold when I lift.

Today was the last full day of school, and the weekend is here, so I'm ready to recover. It'll be interesting how all this free time over the summer helps my gains.

Stay tuned, and I'll stay...

Humble, Consistent, Confident, Patient.... 

Recent workout notes

Last week I had to deal with a neck strain (thanks a lot, SQ!), so I did a few days of jump rope, space mace, suspension dips and curls, ab wheel, sledge/tire, dino dumbbell movements, etc.

Thursday I went into the gym, but felt very sub-optimal, and was quite modest with my squats. I did the following (about an hour) as a circuit:

SQ: 12, 10, 10, 8, 6 @ 75, 105, 125, 145, 195 lb.
FSQ: 12, 10, 10, 8, 6 @ 75, 105, 125, 145, 195 lb.
db press: 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10 @ 50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 80 lb.
seated cable row: 12, 12, 12, 12, 12, 12 @ 100, 100, 110, 110, 120, 120 lb.
spider curl: 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10 @ 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 80 lb.

I did a 30-minute workout on Saturday involving dino-db movements, space mace, and perfect pushups.

I'm headed into the gym now. We'll see what I pull off. Maybe I got "stale" this past couple weeks, so I'm willing to take it easy until the school year is over.

Shurg Rush (and, "I've really gone and done it this time!") - 14 May 2014

Wednesday, 14 May 2014 
Shurg Rush 
70 min., 224 lb. 
MOOD: A bit skittish at first, not knowing what I was going to go for on the squat. This workout took longer than usual due to a small amount of chatting with a gym buddy, and then a few minutes giving a trainer some tips on front squatting when she asked me for them!

FSQ: warmup, 8, 6, 4, 3, 3, 1, 1 @ 95, 145, 195, 215, 235, 255, 275, 285 lb.
[Yes, lady and gentleman, I have done it this time: I achieved my goal to front-squat 90% of my back squat. Granted, on a lark last week I did some back squats which edged my SQ up to at least 325 lb, which means I should go for 290 on the FSQ. Nonetheless, the original goal was based on an estimate of 15 lb. While I won't say it was easy, I will say that it wasn't nearly a gutbuster, especially considering how many reps I'd already done. My reward? Back squats tomorrow!] 

hypers: 12, 12, 12 @ + 25, 35, 45 lb.
[Should I do more reps next time, I hold more weight? I'll go for a 12/9/6 rep scheme next time with more weight and see what happens.] 

EZ-bar Kelso shrug: 15, 15, 15 @ 110 lb.
[Annoyed. Using a barbell worked better than dumbbells, but using a 110-lb bar was too light, and using a heavier bar in the dumbbell/bench-seat area is too cumbersome. So, next time, I shall simply take a slightly bent-row posture and shrug a properly loaded barbell. I need at least 135 lb.]

bench shrug: 12, 12, 12 @ 285, 305, 325 lb.
[These were gratifying because I got the bar off the break without a spotter.] 

standing "shrug" shrug*: 12, 9, 9 @ 315, 365, 395 lb.
[A loudmouth at the gym looked at me incredulously when he saw me approaching the machine for a second set, with close to 400 lb. in my sights. That's right, meathead, we don't all have to be beefy to be strong, or loud to be competent.] 

snatch shrug: 9, 8, 8 @ 195, 235, 255 lb.

+ + + 

I replaced dip shrugs for "shrug" shrugs this time, partially because using the gear for dip shrugs is time-consuming, and partially because I want to give my palms a little break. My cleans from the other day gave me a weird periostium bruise/strain on my right hand. I am thinking of doing SQ, chest, biceps, and neck tomorrow, and giving my wrist one more day to rest before I do a  grip workout on Friday. Stay tuned.

* 

Even Keel - 25 April 2014

Even Keel 1B
70 min, 224 lbs 

DL: 6, 4, 3, 1/4 @ 235, 285, 325, 355 lbs 
[Used chalk on what was supposed to be the only rep in the last set, but then I did four more reps with a hook grip. LIGHTWEIGHT! Perhaps a PR. One nice little detail is that I used the thicker, powerlifting bar. Grip Strong Or Die.] 

pullover-press: 10, 10, 10 @ 50, 60, 70 lbs. 
[in line with the bench] 

FSQ: 5x5 @ 205 lbs. 
[Nut'n but a peanut.] 

Pendlay row: 5x5 @ 165 lbs 

bb guillotine: 12, 9, 8* @ 145, 165, 185 lbs. 
[spotter on last rep of last set] 

db spider curl: 12, 12, 12 @ 50, 60, 70 lbs 

+ + +

The DOMS in my hammies from the Shurg Rush (viz. hypers) gave me second thoughts about working out heavy today, but, as always, "how you feel is a lie." If I do feel wrecked tomorrow--which I doubt--I've got the weekend to recover. 

I hope to post a photo of my 60+ lb dino-dumbbell tomorrow. I will probably train grip tomorrow or Sunday. 

Hit a wall, going through it

After five consecutive days of training, a weekend of grip training and playing at the beach threw my body "out of whack" (a phrase which for the first time has a personal phenomenological vividness). For the past three days I have done virtually no exercise.* I hit a wall. I needed a break. I needed some space. Even today I was a bit reticent, but the axiom that "how you feel is a lie" was largely borne out once more. Kelso's Shrug Book is more substantial than I expected (i.e. its 94 pages are textbook size and provide numerous photos), and I couldn't wait to apply some of the great things I've read in it so far. A Carpe Ferrum workout was just the sort of rehab-refresher workout I needed.

Carpe Ferrum/Shurg Rush 
60 min., 226 lbs. 

Warm-up: 10 min.

FSQ: 6, 6, 3, 3, 3 @ 165, 185, 205, 235, 255 lbs.

Cable cross shrug: 10, 10, 10 @ 100, 120, 140

DBP: 6, 6, 6, 6, 10, 12 @ 215, 225, 235, 215, 195, 175 lbs.

Bench shrug: 12, 12, 12 @ 215, 225, 235 lbs.

stiff-arm pulldown & dip shrug (or "monkey shrug"):
[I just tried a few of these to get a feel for them. Weighted dip shrugs would be awesome, mega serratus trainer!]

db pullover: 10, 10, 10 @ 55, 60, 65 lbs.

EZ bar spider curl: 6/6, 6/6, 6/6 @ 40, 50, 60 lbs.
[I did the first 6 reps to work the short/inner head, and the next six for the long/outer head.]

-----------------------

* Tuesday I did three sets of ab exercises, and Wednesday I did what was basically a diagnostic grip session. I closed the CoC #2 twice, in two separate attempts, with my right hand, but was "this close" three times with my left hand. I perused my past grip notes here and the best I seem to have achieved, in August 2012, was 4 right closes, and 2 (or 3) left closes. Despite this current setback, the good news is that, only a week or two ago I was unable to close the #2 at all, so my old grip foundation is coming back. Still, it will take time, and I daren't rush into tendonitis. 

Interestingly enough, I must thank last night's grip session for galvanizing me to do today's workout. There's something very special about intense grip training. A serious crush attempt, if done right, will have you flexing an entire side of your body, and will often leave you a little dizzy. (To experience this feeling, try doing half a dozen extremely arduous, standing front pec flexes, each time 5 seconds long, with your fists squeezing as hard as possible.) As I learned long ago, and which was a key impetus for my plunge into serious grip training, the brain will not activate full muscular potential if it's not convinced you have solid grip on the resistant object. By extension, therefore, achieving a solid grip on an object will deeply stimulate larger accessory muscles "up the chain." This is why trying to "crush" the bar helps your bench, and even your squat (cf. step 3), and also ties into effective kettlebell clean and jerk. 

AYCE Heavy notes...

Thursday, 27March 2014
All You Can Eat (AYCE) Heavy
40 min, 233 lbs

Warm-up (10 min.) - a lot of hopping, shaking, swinging, and stretching 
-
i) DBP: 225 x 5, 245 x 3, 255 x 2
-
ii) FSQ: 195 x 5, 225 x 3, 255 x 2
-
iii) Dip: 12, 11, 10
iv) Pull-up: 11, 9, [5-10 minute discussion with a couple high-school guys who asked me some questions {not counted in workout time shown above}], 10 

Hoo-boy! It's a good thing that "how you feel is a lie," because I feel pretty worked! I'm glad I went "lighter" today than on Tuesday. I spent time at lunch today calculating the 75/85/95% 1RM weights for today's workout 5-3-2 rep-scheme. I think it's a reasonable set-up, but it may turn out to be better to go with a 70/80/90% ratio on a 5-5-5 rep-scheme.

I will almost certainly still hit the gym tomorrow, but if not, I'll do some kettlebell and box jump drills at home. Either way, I'm taking the weekend off. There's a Eucharistic Congress downtown beginning tomorrow evening, and I may be having dinner with my brother's family Saturday.

SMILES: I felt more secure on the DBP. I lurrved feeling my abs go completely rigid for my final FSQ.

FROWNS: Meh. 

As for tomorrow, I'm projecting the following:

AYCE Light Friday, 28 March 2014,   min. 
Warm-up:
-
i) MP: 5, 3, 2 @ 115, 125, 135 lbs
-
ii) CL: 5, 3, 1, 1 @ 145, 165, 185 lbs
-
iii) Gironda neck press: 10, 10, 10, 10 @ 105, 115, 125, 135 lbs 
-
iv) Pendlay row: 5, 3, 2 @ 155, 175, 195 lbs

Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose

I finally decided to go beyond the preview pages available via Kindle and purchase Matt Perryman's Squat Every Day. I like what I've read so far and am going to try the approach in conjunction with my Even Keel program. What tipped my hand is that they actually overlap in important ways: big, complex lifts at low volume + some accessory movements.

The only difference is the change in frequency. In the past couple weeks I've felt the urge to hit the gym more frequently; it really is a healthy addiction. So I'll simply limit the workouts to four, instead of five or six, lifts, and mix in some speed/power drills (box jumps, jump rope, medicine ball, bounding, short sprints, boxing, kettlebells, tire flips/rolls, etc.) on days I just don't want to be under the bar. That's a certainty, so I might as well plan around it in advance. Besides, as Perryman notes, the title of his book is not meant to be taken literally. Five, maybe even four, days a week is sufficient.

I am still not sure how to set up my programming as far as intensity goes. My understanding--or at least my working premise--is that I should work up to a 1RM every time I'm under the bar. Although I just tried out the rep scheme today, to get a feel for it, and paid no real attention to percentages of 1RM, 2RM, etc., I will shoot for four sets on "big lifts" scaled to a conservatively low 1RM:

80% x 5, 90% x 3, 100% x 1, 65% x MAX REPS

So, assuming I could 1RM 265 on the FSQ, I would do 215 x 5, 235 x 3, 265 x 1, and then max reps at 175 lbs. I think it would be similar for my DBP.

In any case, what I did today was...

All You Can Eat (AYCE) Heavy
44 min, 233 lbs

Warm-up
-
i) DBP: 225, 235, 245 x 3; 205 x 12
-
ii) FSQ: 225, 235, 245 x 3; 185 x 10
-
iii) Dip: 13, 10, 8
iv) Pull-up: 10, 7, 6

Tomorrow I will try the following:

AYCE Light

i) MP
-
ii) CL
-
iii) Gironda neck press: 
iv) Pendlay row:

As you might be able to tell, this second day is a lighter day. In a way, it's meant to be supplemental to the big lifts on the first day.

SMILES: Going heavier on the FSQ felt great in my quads! I did better on dips than I expected. I think letting my feet hang (knees pressed together), instead of lifting them to my waist, made it easier.

FROWNS: I felt some unusual stiffness/pain in my right wrist on the FSQ. I didn't feel as secure as normal on the DBP. It felt hard to set firmly and tightly on my traps and shoulder blades.

Active recovery...

Thursday, 13 March 2014 
230 lbs., 20-25 min. (?) 

3 min. double-end bag

2 min. heavy bag

8 lbs. SLEDGE-AND-TIRE x 3
10/10 staggered log split
10/10 low trunk chop
5/5 wide-leg high strike

KB swings
25/25, 25/25 @ 35 lbs.

-------

Cleaning the garage is a great excuse to workout, and vice versa. I got my heavy bag stand weighted down again, rigged up my double end bag, rolled Ferdinand into the firmest patch of soil in the backyard... and tidied up a couple other things in the garage. (Moving sucks.) It felt great to get the gloves back on my hands.

However, I could "feel the time away" from the fairly intensive cardio-conditioning that I'd been doing at the end of last year, before getting back under the bar these past two months. Having released myself from ALL BULKING ALL THE TIME, I'm stoked to be able to return to my full menu of "active recovery" (or "greasing the groove") exercises on "off days" after a heavy lifting day.

Lastly, it now makes perfect, "lived" sense that KB swings--and, really, all KB exercises--are meant to be done one-handed. (Here's an excellent interview with Valery Fedorenko for more insight along this line.) I felt much more core activation and loading of the posterior chain. I took a nice walk with the family yesterday and semi-forced myself into this workout today--hooray!--but I will not get back into the gym until Saturday, at the earliest.

Stay tuned.

Gym regimen - March 2014

Tuesday, 11 March 2014
231 lbs, 55 min.

Warm-up

(I)
DBP: 2-3-5, 5-5*-5* @ 235 lbs
(My spotter on the penultimate set surprised me by helping/exhorting me to go for 5 reps, and then I got the same treatment on the last set, for which I was more prepared. I dislike "grabby" spotters, but my pecs need forced reps, so it's all good.) 
(II)
CX: 8-6-4 @ 115, 125, 135 lbs (CL/MP/FSQ)
(I didn't feel as "amped" on these as last time. But at least I got them done.)
(III)
SQ: 10, 6, 4 # 225, 275, 315 lbs
(I decided to "take it easy" by not adding any weight over against my last workout, but getting one more final rep was victory enough.)
(IV)
PU: 10, 8, 6 # bdw
db-P: 10, 9, 7 @ 65, 70, 75 lbs
(My arms straight-up dropped at (what thus became) the end of my penultimate and ultimate sets. Good stuff. I should get a spotter next time. FORCED REPS!)

+ + +

Having finally gotten my hands, or, feet, on a reliable scale, it seems that my initial weight measurements were heavy by a few pounds, which skewed my projected goals, as well as my measured weight gains along the way. The good news is that I have gained the same amount of lean-body mass since early January, but the bad news is, my gym's scale sucks.

As for some truly good news, my family is back from Taiwan! It was a wonderful reunion and, boy howdy, are my kids adorable. Of course, I'm now back on "active duty" as a husband and La Casa Bougis is a tornado of cleaning and furniture juggling. It's taken me some time to get used to having an infant and a toddler around again, so, between the cleaning, the projected costs we have for bringing the house into order, and the heightened awareness of my kids almost-tumbling-and-dropping-or-eating-things-left-and-right, my stress levels were pretty high when I headed to the gym this afternoon. As such, I decided to stick with my previous workout, so as to spare myself the mental irritation of having to think about a new workout scheme. I'll have to go for the deadlift next time.

Despite having gotten an unusually ample amount of sleep in the past few days except for one very late night, I could have gone for another day of rest: today's workout was very "mental" and I will not be back in the gym until I feel fully recovered (which allows for residual muscle soreness, by the way--it's the hormones and nervous system that you need to assess most carefully). 

Mass Made Simple - Time to reassess...

Week 7 of Mass Made Simple is for assessing one's progress and recalibrating one's goals and methods going forward. By the end of MMS (Mass Made Simple), my immune system and sleep were getting a little buggy, Lenten fasting threw my nutrition routine off, and then I mildly strained my knee Thursday night doing some double-KB "recharge" work. (In fact, I had been doing KB drills since Tuesday. KB bench press rocks!) Basically, I hit a wall, and it's time to restrategize.

From early January till now I've been hitting the weights pretty hard and have put on a good 20 lbs of lean body mass, so the quest has hardly been a failure. Did I reach 240 lbs? No, but I am not done bulking. I am simply releasing myself from the accelerated pace at which I've been bulking for almost two months. Weight training itself (as opposed to "augmenting athletic training with weight resistance") is a mega-marathon type sport. Some of the savvier gurus on YouTube, for example, have been weight-training-itself for 15-20 years. I've been doing weight training for less than four years, with a fairly significant hiatus in year three. I've learned a lot and I've gained 50 lbs since I began, and have enjoyed very satisfying gains in the major lifts (MMS helped my otherwise always lousy bench press quite a lot). Now it is simply a time to learn more, and build on a plateau.

I know what movements I want to train, so it's just a question (as always) of effective programming. Each person must adapt successful principles to his own needs. For me, for instance, I need a lot of volume for my chest, whereas I need a lot of power for my back and legs. I also do not enjoy losing whole-body mobility and agility by letting weight training crowd out calisthenic and gymnastic training.

OHS: overhead squat
FSQ: front squat
SQ: (back) squat
DL: deadlift
SDL: snatch deadlift
CX: complexes
MP: military press
OAP: one-arm press
DBP/db-P: decline bench press OR flat dumbbell press
DIP: dips
PU: pullups
CL/SQ: clean/into-front-squat

The above are the motions I prefer and which I believe research will bear out as the most efficient. However, given the demands of the DL, I will only do it every other workout.

So, what will I try today, mainly to get my mind back in the game and climb over the wall of stalled motivation that I ran into last week? Depending how my knee responds....

DBP: 2-3-5 x 2 @ 235 lbs
CX: 8-6-4 [CL/MP/FSQ] @ 115 lbs
PU: bdw for reps
SQ: [will report after workout]
db-P: 10 x 3 @ 70 lbs

For now I’m in a free-flow mode, discerning which program I want to pursue next. I’ve been interested in the 5-3-1 program for a while, so we’ll see. One thing that I do want to restore, is my grip training regimen, with a strong bodyweight dimension to all my training. This video was very "moving" ;) to me when I watched it last night. Enjoy!

Mass Made Simple - Day 13

Sunday, 2 March 2014   
232 (233?) lbs, 60+ min

Warm-up
-
BP : 3, 3, 3, 3*, 4* @ 235, 230 lbs 
          *[Minimal but just-right amount of help.]
Bat wings : 5 x 10 sec @ 70 lbs
One/arm press : 2-3-5 x 3 @ 60 lbs
[Bird-dog : 20 sec, 20 sec x 2 (tighter form)?]
Complex : 2 x 5 @ 135 lbs
SQ : 10, 3, 3, 10, 24 @ 155, 185, 205, 225, 205 lbs

+ + +

I took yesterday "off", since over half of my day was spent on exemplifying my 2nd and 3rd degrees in the Knights of Columbus. Then I spent the rest of the day tidying the house (The Never-Ending Move). The last couple days I have tooled around with my kettlebells (yes, I now have two 35-lb KBs, which are much harder than using just one!).

During my warm-up I stretched much more conscientiously than usual this time. Bench press was the only serious challenge today, but even that felt pretty good. Since I was brushing up against closing time by the time I got to squats, I did these much more intensively than previous workouts. I also kept my feet a little closer in order to work my quads more. Squats felt very good. Going for a straight 24 at the end was very gratifying.

Mass Made Simple - Day 11

Sunday, 23 February 2014   
230 lbs, 60 min

Warm-up
-
BP : Max Double: 2*, 2* @ 255, 245 lbs 
          [First rep of each set was solid, but I needed help for the second reps. I'm supposed to do five doubles at 20 lbs below today's max double, so I'll shoot for five doubles at 235 lbs. I can already tell that will be fun.]
One/arm press : 2-3-5 x 2 @ 60 lbs
          [I switched arms for each sub-set (2/2, 3/3, etc.), mistakenly thinking Dan John had prescribed doing so for a change.]
Bat wings : 5 x 10 sec @ 70 lbs
         [Actually challenging, as/but I kept good form, really felt those rhomboids!]
[Bird-dog : 20 sec, 20 sec x 2 (tighter form)?]
-
Complex : 5 x 3 @ 115, 125, 135 lbs
          [These kicked my ass today! There's a real difference between doing five sets of two reps (last week) and three sets of five reps. My cleans at 135 lbs felt ragged, and by the time I got into front squats, my forearms were fried, so much so that I released them and went into the alternative hand posture... which was... ill advised, since I then had no way to get my hands back in place for the press without racking the bar. So... I broke the key rule of complexes and racked it before all the motions were complete. Then I also used a little body English for my presses at 135 lbs.]
-
SQ : 10, 3, 10, 16/12 @ 155, 185, 205, 225 lbs
          [In an otherwise very demoralizing workout, these were a source of some pride. Or, rather, a much needed proof of progress. Actually, only the complexes and bench press were demoralizing, and even with complexes I aimed rather high. Anyway, for squats today I totally concentrated on a tense core and posterior chain, and I hitched the bar lower on my traps than I've been doing the past few workouts. That really helped and I think it will prevent the neck strain I've felt. The last set was to-fifty, but you'll notice that not only did I do a set of 16, but I also ended with 12, just to push myself to 51!]

+ + +

A friend asked me why I'm going heavier for some exercises than Dan John technically advises in Mass Made Simple. The only reply I could think of was that standby, "Go big or go home." Will I reach 240 lbs by March 18? With only 3+ weeks left, it will be very, very tough. But it will be fun!

As for today's workout, while it was prudent of me to take an extra day off, it turns out that a single day of great sleep does not recoup three days of inadequate sleep. I got 16-18 hours of sleep from Wednesday night to Saturday morning, but then went to bed at 6 PM Saturday and woke up at 7:30 Sunday morning. It doesn't help, I guess, that I went kayak fishing with a buddy from 6 AM till noon on Saturday. It didn't leave me sore, but the paddling, exposure and general busyness of the outing left me a bit taxed for my workout today. Whatevs, it was a good time and a passable workout.

Patience, perseverance, humility, prayer.... Stay tuned.

Mass Made Simple - Day 10

Wednesday, 19 February 2014   
229 lbs, 60+ min

Warm-up
-
BP : 2-3-5, 2-3-5 @ 230, 225 lbs 
          [Had a little spotter help on the last reps of the first set, and not a little help {forced reps} on the last reps of the second set.]
One/arm press : 2-3-5 x 2 @ 60, 55 lbs
Bat wings : 5 x 10 sec @ 70 lbs
[Bird-dog : 20 sec, 20 sec x 2 (tighter form)?]
-
Complex : 2 x 5 @ 135 lbs
-
SQ : 10, 2, 10, 12, 12, 4 @ 155, 185, 205, 225 lbs

+ + +

Tonight was hard. I took a nap after work, so by the time I got to the gym, I was not really amped. I did not drink any coffee or Red Bull, but I did have a Cytomax during the workout, which seems to be some truly worthwhile stuff. It took me a while to get my head in the game. I felt a bit defeated, since over the past few days I've felt a little run down. Nonetheless, taking an extra day off was a smart move, since, while I didn't go quite as heavy on the bench, it did feel pretty good. It just takes time.

I was pleased to go heavier on the complexes, but by the time I got to the squats, I was really digging deep. My legs didn't want to give out, but erector spinae got the worst of it. Not "pain" as much as intense cranky tightening. Had to stretch it out! I need to activate my core more. The past couple days I did some KB drills, with not a few swings. Feels good in the obliques. My neck is no longer so strained but there is a slight resistance when I turn my head right and up. Riveting stuff, I know.

At the end of the day, all I can say is, I pushed through, my numbers keep going up, and even one of the main trainers tonight gave me The Nod, saying, "You're bulkin' up pretty good, man."

Good night.

Mass Made Simple - Day 9

Saturday, 15 February 2014   
229 lbs, 55 min

Warm-up
-
BP : 3, 3, 3, 3, 3* @ 225, 225, 225, 230, 235 lbs 
          [Had spotter help me on last rep of last triplet.]
One/arm press : 2-3-5 x 3 @ 55 lbs
Bat wings : 10 sec @ 65, 65, 65, 70, 70 lbs
[Bird-dog : 20 sec, 20 sec x 2 (tighter form)?]
-
Complex : 3 x 4 @ 125 lbs
-
SQ : 10, 10, 5, 5, 14 (15?)/6 @ 185, 185, 205, 205, 225/225 lbs
          [I think I counted rep 12 at 225 lbs twice. Had that good ol' exertion headache by then.]


--------------------


While I haven't been posting the data, I have been sticking to the "recharge" workouts on the days after my recovery days. The last three or four times, I've used my 35 lbs KB to do swings, cleans, jerks, snatches, and windmills.


My weight keeps inching upwards, but, as always, eating is the hardest part of bulking. I'm off to buy some digestive aid and simethicone pills. They are to bulking what dairy aid pills are to lactose intolerance. They just make life easier. 

I was feeling signs of fatigue in today's workout, so I will take three days off and hit it again on Wednesday. It's better to err on the side of rest rather than injury. My litmus test, believe it or not, is the bench press. I think my shoulders and chest could use one more day of recovery, though I'll probably just do two recharge days in a row after Sunday. My complexes felt really good, though I think I should have gone for 135 lbs, though I did one more complex than the three scheduled by Dan John. Squats were not as brutal as last time, and I went heavier than Dan John prescribed for this workout. Go big or go home, and all that.


Stay tuned.

Mass Made Simple - Day 2

(I am only counting the "full workout" days, by the way. After each workout day, there is a rest day, then a recharge day. I went for a jog a few days ago, maybe Tuesday? On Wednesday my recharge was 4 sets of 10 goblet squats (50 lbs), 10 hang cleans (105 lbs), 10 presses (105 lbs), and 10+ pullovers (50 lbs). I intended to workout last night but I was exhasusted (we're moving and planning on a trip); I slept from 1700 last night till 0600 this morning, give or take. I will add tonight's workout data when I get home. Fridays are a real challenge on a protein bulking program, so I'm stoked that my protein, creatine, and ZMA will arrive in the next few days.)

A note on nutrition:

• This  morning I ate five fried eggs and a bowl of oatmeal with peanut butter in it; roughly 40g protein. 
• Then I came home for lunch and at five fried eggs with rice and spinach and kale; roughly 40g protein. 
• Then in the afternoon I drank a small protein shake; roughly 20g protein and half an apple.
• When I got home I ate... another five fried eggs... with rice and spinach; roughly 40g protein. 
• Shortly before my workout I had a Clif Bar; roughly 10g protein. 
• After my workout I ate... another five fried eggs... with spinach... and kale... and then ate a bowl of oatmeal... with peanut butter; roughly 50g protein. 
• Before going to bed I will drink another protein shake, a glass of milk, and a can of tuna; roughly 55g protein.

255g protein. That's at least 50g below my daily protein goal. On the other hand, today was a Friday, and I'm still waiting for my protein powder to arrive. I'll be cooking up half a dozen chicken breasts, nearly as many pork chops, cooking a pot of lentils, and making PB&H sandwiches for the coming week. 

Brang it.

Friday, 24 January 2014 
221 lbs, 50 min

Warm-up
-
BP : 2-3-5, 2-3-5 @ 185 lbs
One/arm press : 2-3-5 @ 50 lbs
-
Complex : 3x5 @ 75, 85, 105, 115, 115 lbs
-
SQ : 30 @ 115 lbs
-
One-arm press : 2-3-5 @ 50 lbs
Bat wings : 10x5 sec @ 55 lbs 
db pullover : 20 @ 40 lbs

-------------------------

I did things slightly out of order, and did not do bird dogs, because I was a little pressed for time, and wanted to make sure I got the complex and squats above all else.

I was surprised by how good the bench press felt, though there was a faint tinge of that right shoulder weakness that dogs me. I will go for 195 lbs next time.

Likewise, the complex felt much better this time than last, but the squats felt too easy; I could have done another set of 30, but... I'm going by the book as best as I can.

I have been a bit annoyed that I'm not gaining weight more quickly, but, hey, once the creatine and ZMA and get here, and the volume keeps getting higher and higher, and I keep getting good nights of sleep.

I've got this.

Stay tuned.