Are Weak Men Allowed To Post Routines!?

[lifesnotfair]

Thanks Florian!

I've been exchanging PM's with user aquilonian, and he seems very knowledgable! He even mentioned about some people having trouble with military pressing, usually people who can pop out their shoulder out of their socket a bit (like I can do, a little bit). And that's so true! I can pop my left one out more and hold it "out of place" for as long as I want. I've been thinking about making some changes to my grip workouts, seeing how my left hand gets pain with grippers and stuff. I have to pay more attention to some stuff, and I MUST get some wrist-strength, which I have very little off and is important once one wants to reach big grippers, and I'll eventually get there since I'm almost closing the #2 now (I think).

Anyways, today's workout (not grip).

21.12.2006

15 mins stair master @ level 9.

15 mins eliptical, alternating 1 min @ level 16, 2 mins @ level 17 - I felt some remorse because I ate some sweet stuff last night and today at breakfast, so to make up for it a little bit, I did twice the usual warmup. It didn't tire me too much luckily and I could hit the weights normally.

Standing Military Press:

5x5 @ 55, 75, 95, 95, 95 lbs - I lost a lot of strength on the first rep, since it's "from the bottom possition", so in the last set, I picked the bar from the rack (at chest height), and I used some leg drive to get it overhead and locked, and started from there. Pretty tough still, so I'm gonna use this weight next workout too I think.

Close-grip Bench press:

5x5 @ 75, 115, 135, 135, 135lbs. - pretty hard, but I wanna see what I can do with 145 next week.

Squats:

1x5 @ 95lbs

1x5 @ 135lbs - did not feel very hard, so I decided to up the weight finally.....

3x5 @ 175lbs - PR! - Form was pretty decent! Upper body was not leaning forward, and knees wanted to go inward just a bit, but only a little! I actually psyched up a bit with some light grunts (LOL!) and got 6 reps on that last set. This weight is, give or take 2 pounds, my BW, so that's cooooool for me!!

Preacher curls

1x10 @ 50lbs

1x10 @ 70lbs

1x9 @ 70lbs - did not attempt a 10th, as the 9th was very hard.

1x8 @ 70lbs - attempted a 9th, but did not get it even halfways, arms exhausted by now.

All of these sets/reps were good, lowering the weight until arms extended... Damn, I've been wanting to do those 3x10 for a while with this weight before upping, it's taking forever!

Today it's supossed to be grip-training too, so we'll see if I'm good for it after work, I'm feeling strong, and none of the exercises today at the gym compromised my grip... I'm gonna do grippers at least with my right hand, and some other stuff with both hands - giving the left a rest from grippers for at least two weeks, then I'll use it again but not only max-attempts or long holds.

[lifesnotfair]

I couldn't workout right after work, so I decided to do it after dinner and everything, which is very rare for me. Maybe not the best idea, but it wasn't ALL bad.

I started doing wide pinching.

LH/RH

25lbs (five 5lb plates) - 10 secs / 10 secs

35lbs (above, with a loading pin in between and adding weight to the sides) - 10 secs / 10 secs

40lbs - over 5 secs / almost 10 secs.

45lbs - 4-5 secs / 6-8 secs

45lbs - 2-3 secs / 5-7 secs

45lbs - 2 secs / 5-7 secs

Better than last time it would seem, held them a bit longer, specially lefty.

In between some sets, I tried some grippers with my right hand only (giving left a break), and I sucked today.

I tried them every few mins, closing the BBA, BBSA, #1.5, and attempting the #2 and getting it to 2mm and held there for a few secs, argh! But was feeling off today, the closes on the BBSA and #1.5 seemed very hard today.

Wrist Curls (with thumb on same side as rest of fingers):

5x5 @ 26, 36, 46, 46, 46lbs.

Pegasus extension:

5x5 @ 7.5, 10, 12.5, 12.5, 12.5 - very hard. I don't like this. I'm one of those that needs to have their hands a bit more far from one another on reverse wrist curls. I think I do better with a barbell on this particular excercise, and dumbells for the normal WC's. I'm gonna use a barbell next time for this, and I'll use a normal grip on these (thumb on opposite side of fingers), I think it's the best way...

Some IM Yellow bands, only right handed. Well, did a bit of them left handed, but not much. I'm resting my left for a couple of weeks. And I didn't punish my right with any forced close today, not even the #2 attempts, so it should recover quickly I would think.

[lifesnotfair]

Cardio today today, was not gonna grip or anything either, but I bought some 1/2" pipes and mounted my wrist roller. Crappy setupt and I need to make it a bit taller, will do that tomorrow maybe. Pic of it in my gallery right here.

So I did a few sets of just 1 rep (getting it completely up), not the biggest ROM but as I said, I'll make it higher so 1 rep is gonna feel harder and longer. hopefully.

Looking at the roller from my right side, I worked up to:

Anti-clock wise: about 60 lbs.

Clock wise: about 73 lbs.

I know, stinks... but oh well.

Also I tried some grippers in between, but not much... just closed the BBSA, then 1.5, then did about 3 attempts on the #2, they were all 2mm and one seemed like 1.5mm. I then did 1 negative on the 2.5 and cooled off with a 1.5 close again, with a wide set (not CCS wide!). I wasn't particulary strong today, and I had trained grippers YESTERDAY.... I'm gonna rest two days and hit them again on monday, and then I will do my best to control myself and rest at least 4 days from grippers so next saturday Dec. 30th, I'm gonna close this. I can almost feel it closed by now, and I can let it open ultra-slow, it doesn't feel like a hard gripper anymore - the 2.5 feels hard. I hope to achieve my goal of closing it this year (the #2).

Hands felt ultra-tired, as I had never wrist rolled before... I decided to do contrast baths today, 12 mins total, 3 cycles of 2 mins hot / 2 mins cold.

[lifesnotfair]

23.12.2006

20 min stair master level 9. If I were to "feel bad" for what I ate yesterday, I would've done a 1 hour warmup.

Incline Bench Press:

1x5 @ 85lbs

1x5 @ 115lbs

3x6 @ 135lbs - struggling to get 6 reps, but done, so I decided to try for some more.

1x4 @ 145lbs - PR - I think next time I will use this for the 3 workout sets.

Chin-ups, underhand grip, about 16" between hands:

5x6 @ BW - I think it's the first time I get all 6 reps. Last two sets were hard, but cleared my chin anyways! It's kindof a PR I guess. Maybe next time I ought to shoot for 7.

Oh, by the way, BW was 177lbs today, not surprising as I've been eating "forbidden" stuff, which my folks always buy for christmas, and its hard to see that kind of thing laying around and never take a piece!! ARGH!^%*&%$

Deadlifts:

1x5 @ 135lbs - decided to up the warmup weights.

1x5 @ 185lbs

3x5 @ 225lbs - felt VERY hard, specially because my left hand was opening! It makes me feel like I'll drop the bar, but it just opens to the point where I can't use my thumb anymore, but I can hold it with my fingers (kind of in the bottom possition of a finger roll????).

I have been thinking about including finger rolling in my workouts. I could use the benefits, as my left struggles with this little weight... jeez. I think form was decent, but can't be sure without asking someone.

I supersetted Calves and Hammer curls, I wont mention the Calves, but I did a bunch of sets.

Hammer Curls:

1x5 @ 25lbs

1x5 @ 35lbs

3x6 @ 40lbs - I still feel a bit of pain in my left wrist when doing this! Dunno why. Form was very good I believe, no swing at all... I actually wanted to try out the 45's!

1x3 @ 45lbs - actually got 4 reps with the right, and although they were all a bit swinged, it was a small drive to help me get them up, they weren't feeling so heavy, and seem more doable than before.

I got home and did:

TTK:

5x5 @ 15.7 (6kg + 2.5lb), 20.7 (+5lb), 23.2 (+2.5lb), ~24 (+PDA choker), ~24 lbs.

I did some Sledge Twists with the 6lb one, 3x5 @ various lengths, with my RH I think I can go a liiiiittle bit below half of the handle.

I couldn't resist and tried some grippers RH only, BBSA x3, #1.5 x1, #2 x0 (2mm). I can close the BBSA and #1.5 with a rather wide set (dunno how wide, maybe 1-3/8" or 1.5"), and I tried my Filed #1 with a huge set, probably CCS, and though it didn't close, it would've been were it not filed. I suck at wide-set closes. I shouldn't have touched the grippers today, but could not resist, it wasn't much anyways, just what I lised here. Some IM Yellow bands for right hand just in case.

[StalwartSentinel]

23.12.2006

20 min stair master level 9. If I were to "feel bad" for what I ate yesterday, I would've done a 1 hour warmup.

Incline Bench Press:

1x5 @ 85lbs

1x5 @ 115lbs

3x6 @ 135lbs - struggling to get 6 reps, but done, so I decided to try for some more.

1x4 @ 145lbs - PR - I think next time I will use this for the 3 workout sets.

Chin-ups, underhand grip, about 16" between hands:

5x6 @ BW - I think it's the first time I get all 6 reps. Last two sets were hard, but cleared my chin anyways! It's kindof a PR I guess. Maybe next time I ought to shoot for 7.

Oh, by the way, BW was 177lbs today, not surprising as I've been eating "forbidden" stuff, which my folks always buy for christmas, and its hard to see that kind of thing laying around and never take a piece!! ARGH!^%*&%$

Deadlifts:

1x5 @ 135lbs - decided to up the warmup weights.

1x5 @ 185lbs

3x5 @ 225lbs - felt VERY hard, specially because my left hand was opening! It makes me feel like I'll drop the bar, but it just opens to the point where I can't use my thumb anymore, but I can hold it with my fingers (kind of in the bottom possition of a finger roll????).

I have been thinking about including finger rolling in my workouts. I could use the benefits, as my left struggles with this little weight... jeez. I think form was decent, but can't be sure without asking someone.

I supersetted Calves and Hammer curls, I wont mention the Calves, but I did a bunch of sets.

Hammer Curls:

1x5 @ 25lbs

1x5 @ 35lbs

3x6 @ 40lbs - I still feel a bit of pain in my left wrist when doing this! Dunno why. Form was very good I believe, no swing at all... I actually wanted to try out the 45's!

1x3 @ 45lbs - actually got 4 reps with the right, and although they were all a bit swinged, it was a small drive to help me get them up, they weren't feeling so heavy, and seem more doable than before.

I got home and did:

TTK:

5x5 @ 15.7 (6kg + 2.5lb), 20.7 (+5lb), 23.2 (+2.5lb), ~24 (+PDA choker), ~24 lbs.

I did some Sledge Twists with the 6lb one, 3x5 @ various lengths, with my RH I think I can go a liiiiittle bit below half of the handle.

I couldn't resist and tried some grippers RH only, BBSA x3, #1.5 x1, #2 x0 (2mm). I can close the BBSA and #1.5 with a rather wide set (dunno how wide, maybe 1-3/8" or 1.5"), and I tried my Filed #1 with a huge set, probably CCS, and though it didn't close, it would've been were it not filed. I suck at wide-set closes. I shouldn't have touched the grippers today, but could not resist, it wasn't much anyways, just what I lised here. Some IM Yellow bands for right hand just in case.

Nice workout! Congrats on the bench and chin PR's!

[lifesnotfair]

Thanks Stalwart!!

26.12.2006

Oh man, have I been eating like a madman or what!? What a way to EAT. Luckily these days will be over soon... jeez. Big family gathering last night, and lots of food from last night to eat today... darn.

I decided to try some grip training today. Yesterday I was dumb enough to take 1 or 2 attempts on my BBM, warming up on a store gripper! (as I keep these in my room, not where I train). I was miles away from it, maybe because of lack of chalk or something, dunno.

Anyways, today I tried doing 3 Inverted closes on the BBA with my left hand - the pain is there when I release it!! Even invereted, which is supossed to be less tough on the left hand. So I'll just take my 2 weeks off with this hand. However, to keep training these muscles, I've decided to try FINGER ROLLS!! And they worked! As in, I can squeeze hard and I wont feel that pain I feel with the grippers (left handed!), so I'm very happy about that, and will do finger rolls while I take time away from grippers with my LH.

I was slowly increasing weight, and I ended up at 51.5 lbs not counting dumbell pin, I got 5 reps on this, might have had some more in me, but didn't wanna push it, specially since I was doing grippers with my right hand in between sets.

The way I do the finger rolls: I possition myself kinda like if I were to do a concentration curl, but I place my forearm over my thig; the forearm forms a 45 degree (or so) angle with the floor, and the palm of the hand is almost vertical; I lower the weight until I can't lower it anymore (or the dumbell would fall off my hand!), and then just bring it back up, without moving my wrist up, leaving my wrist bent a bit backwards all the time. The ROM doesn't "feel" too big, maybe like 1 inch (I have 7-1/4" hands with rather short fingers), but after actually thinking about it, the ROM on a gripper close isn't that big either!! Specially since the gripper handles, together, are actually wider than the regular dumbell pin - specially at the TOP, where the gripper handles wont touch each other while closing it. I will include finger rolls more now, thanks to user aquilonian from this board!!! I remember reading about this on David Horne's "Routine for Begginers", but I paid no attention to it... my bad!! But hey, live and learn!

Anyways, with RH I was doing some grippers in between sets, sometimes skipping the right hand's turn to finger rolling (with the 25, 30, 35lbs, etc, as I was moving up slowly).

I did some baby reps on the #1.5, don't remember how many, maybe 12? I really need some rest, as I got 8 parallel reps out of the package with this, and these baby reps were really tiny, I should've gotten much more.

I got 10 reps and overcrushed my filed #1 - PR! - I don't think I had tried this since I oiled it some days/weeks ago.

I strapheld my 6lb sledge (LOL) with my #1.5; then I strapheld 10lbs on the loading pin for maybe 3 secs. I tried it again and broke ground, but couldn't really do it, by this point hand was getting really tired.

I think another overcrush with Filed #1. I tried a CCS width with the Filed #1, almost got it (would've been closed if it were not filed). I closed my #1.5 with a wide set (maybe ~1.5" ?)

Some IM Yellow bands and blue bands, only right hand as well.

Now I came here to type this, it's cardio day today, I'm gonna jump the rope... I'm gonna take at least a 4 or 5 day break from GRIPPERS, to then try and close the #2. But I might finger roll again after 1 day rest.. just from grippers, I think I need the rest, hand doesn't feel as strong as it was feeling some days ago!

On a sidenote, I don't know why, but my thumbpads have been sore since saturday... I know I did TTK that day, but I do that once a week every week, I wonder why this week it left me sore... weird.

[gerryg]

Your log is looking great! The coc#2 should fall very soon!

[Scott Styles]

As long as you get the food back in gear at the end of this week, the eating will be good for you. After running a caloric deficit for so long, a week of surplus can jump start your metabolism.

[lifesnotfair]

Thanks Fedor -- I mean, Gerry :P

Thanks Scott... but today I'm back on track (foodwise). After 3 days of MASSIVE eating, including lots of cake and stuff with a crapload of sugar, I'm back on my routine. I'm going to be a little bit less drastic, I'm gonna eat a bit more carbs now, at least in the morning at breakfast. And in lunch/dinner I'll continue eating meats/vegetables. I've proven that I can still lose weight this way.

26.12.2006 (Yesterday I should've written 25 !! But I thought it was the 26th, heh).

10 min stair master - wow, I wanted to do 15 but today it tired me more than EVER.

Barbell bench press:

1x10 @ 45lbs

1x5 @ 95lbs

1x5 @ 125lbs

2x5 @ 155lbs

1x5 @ 165lbs - Wont call it a PR, since I asked a guy to spot me. He only had to assist me a little bit in the last two reps, and that's because on the third rep I hit the rack with the bar on the way up, which took a bit more out of me. It seems I have been stuck at 155 for a lifetime, I'll try to use the 165 from now on!

Chin-ups, underhand grip, hands about 16" appart:

This felt VERY hard today....

5x6 @ BW - I was struggling to get up on the latter sets, and in the last set I don't think I was clearing my chin as I wanted to.... dunno why it felt so hard today, :-(

Pendlay rows:

5x5 @ 75, 95, 125, 125, 125 lbs - I think pretty good form. I've been considering changing this with Cable Rows, the movement seems very similar.

Squats:

1x5 @ 95lbs

1x5 @ 135lbs

2x5 @ 175lbs

1x3 @ 175lbs - darn, it felt so hard.... I had to stop. But I took 10lbs off, and with 1 min rest I did:

1x5 @ 165lbs - the first reps felt way lighter than the 175, had to struggle on the last two, but got them.. keep in mind I rested very little for this last set. So it's not all bad.

Overall a crappy day, but oh well....

I've been thinking about including some excercises for my shoulders, to prevent injury and to strengthen the tendons and stuff (rotator cuff?)... but I'm still reading articles and stuff on the subject.

[mwinsl01]

hi lifes not fair,

How many times do you do your work out routine a week for squats, deads, bench, etc?

Also, I noticed that you sold a car because you have a kid, how old is your kid?

Some reasons i am asking is because it sounds like you are overtraining. When you have children especially very young, you will lose sleep so it may be that you are sleep deprived and/ or overtraining in regards to doing too many sets. Not everyone can grow on working out the same body parts 2 or 3 times a week.

I would try cutting back your heavy squats or deads to once a week, and once you hit a plateau for the big lifts squat, dead, bench, try cycling down over six weeks at 85 % weight 1 st week, 90 % 2nd week, 95 % 3rd week, 97.5 % 4th week, 100 % 5 th week, 102.5 % 6th week.

If you keep using the same weight week after week you get stale and don't get stronger i had this problem for a few years on some lifts.

It appears you are using a condensed workout.

I would do in order once a week

squats or deadlifts warmup 1 set 6 - 8 reps, 1 set of 20 reps squats or 15 reps for deadlifts

stiff leg deadlifts if doing squats warmup 1 set 6 reps, 1 set of 10 reps

bench or chest dips weighted 1 set warmup, 2 sets 6-8 reps

long bar chin up hand position wide grip cable rows hits the biceps don't need curls 1 set warmup, 2 sets 8-10 reps

seated shoulder press in power rack 1 set warmup, 2 sets 6-8 reps

this workout is for a hard gainer and should produce some results. I for one have gained 200 pounds in my squat, 150 pounds in my stiff leg deadlift, 100 pounds in cable rows, 20 pounds in seated shoulder press in one year from 2006 to present, while putting on 10-15 pounds and i have been working out for a few years. My bench has not went up much but i do not use a spotter i think it could be a mind thing who knows.

i would not change the gripper workout.

keep up the hard work

[lifesnotfair]

Hello there,

I'm working out 3 times a week (not counting the grip workouts I do at home, about 3 times a week too). I never do squats and deadlifts on the same workout, I will always do one of them, and always alternating. So, on week one, I'll do sq/dl/sq, next week dl/sq/dl, then back to the way it was on week 1, etc. I didn't think this would be that much!!

I think some lack of progress could be atributed to the fact that I'm also trying to lose some weight! And low-carb diets seem to have an effect on strength. I'm not a "hard gainer" if the term means what I think (a skinny guy who has trouble gaining muscle mass?). Also lack of a good night's sleep, yes... my son is 2 and a half weeks old :P I'm sleeping worse now... funny that you mention it, I almost feel asleep here at work minutes ago. Heh!

My routine, as it is right now, looks something like this:

Day 1: bench press, chins, pendlay rows and (either squats or deadlifts)

Day 2: standing military press, close grip bench and (either squats or deadlifts)

Day 3: incline bench, chins and (either squats or deadlifts)

NOTE: Notice day 1 has 4 excercises, the others have 3. In day 2 I throw in preacher curls just because I like them, and I barely work the biceps on that day (no chins or upper back work that day!)

On day 3, after the 3 excercises, I throw in some Calves work and Hammer Curls (calves just for looks, and HC's because I like them and they hit the forearm a lot, not just bicep!).

I never do any of these days one after the other, they have usually been tuesday/thursday/saturday. I do cardio on monday/wednesday/friday... and the grip/wrist/forearm work I do it usually monday, then wed or thur (depending on how I feel), and saturday.

I don't think I overtrain .. and I don't think I've been doing this routine long enough to conclude that I'm not seeing enough progress yet! Just a couple of months ago I was doing a whole lot of crap.. I've just been gathering info from the right people and places and tryin to put together a decent routine.

Thanks a lot for the help man! But I'm not sure I'm tired enough to try a 1-day/week type of working out! I really like lifting! :P I have been considering cycling the weights like you mentioned though, I've been reading that going always heavy can sometimes not be the best thing to do...

[Scott Styles]

I think lack of sleep is probably the primary cause of the workout getting tougher. You're on a good program that shouldn't require you to cycle the weights or add rest days for some time, providing you are attending to recovery by sleeping and eating right.

[lifesnotfair]

I just slept about an hour and half after work, man did I need this... I'm gonna start taking naps here and there when I can... Thanks for the input Scott!!

[lifesnotfair]

27.12.2006

I just ate some Planters Mixed Nuts... darn, how can a little can like that hold 850 calories, 30 grams of carbs, and 75 grams of fat? (only 10 out of those are saturated fat, though). Damn, I can't control myself like I used... :P

After work, I decided to work out a bit:

Plate pinching, using 5 dimes, about 3-3/4" total width:

25lbs x 10 secs BH

35lbs x 10 secs BH

45lbs x 3secs RH / 1-2 secs LH -- x3 sets ... felt very crappy, so I decided to lower and do some longer holds.

40lbs x 10 secs BH - x2 sets - struggled, and it was slipping slowly, but held them.

Reverse Wrist Curls:

I started with a 10lb dumbell, did 2x5, but with my left hand it felt VERY hard and weird, I didn't like it.

When I upped to 15lbs, I could do 1x5 RH, but LH was struggling and it even hurted a bit, so I went back to the Pegasus, which doesn't hurt at all for extension.

3x5 @ 12.5lbs - it was very hard, but I think I cheated less than ever before, almost nothing I'd say.

Wrist Curls:

1x5 @ 31lbs

1x5 @ 41lbs (dumbell)

Then I decided to try the Pegasus for flexion, which I never do... and I did:

1x3 @ 40lbs - just experimenting.

2x5 @ 45lbs - VERY hard, might have cheated a little bit on latter reps, and it hurted a bit so I went back to dumbells.

RH: 2x5 @ 51lbs

LH: 2x5 @ 46lbs - I wont match the weights anymore on these, if I can go higher on RH I will !!

180 degree sledge twists with 6lber

3x5 @ different lengths, trying to be strict, with forearm over thig. I can grab it from about halfways only.

A little bit of IM Yellow bands and one set of Blue bands.

No finger-rolls, and unbelievably, no grippers at all today!

Damn, today would've been a great day, if only I wouldn't have eaten those mixed nuts..... ARGH!^#%^@#$%

[lifesnotfair]

28.12.2006

15 mins stair master level 9.

Standing military press:

5x5 @ 55, 75, 95, 95, 95 lbs - I was using leg drive to get it up before the first rep, so I don't have to start that first rep from the bottom possition. In the very last rep of the last set, I used kinda used some "calves drive", lol... but it went OK I guess.

Close-grip bench press:

First, I was using index finger on smooth part of oly bar:

2x5 @ 85lbs, 115lbs

1x6 @ 135lbs

Then I figured my shoulders aren't so wide, so I used index+middle finger on smooth part of oly bar:

1x6 @ 135lbs

1x4 @ 145lbs - felt pretty hard!

1x6 @ 135lbs - I think next session I'll be ready to try 3x5 @ 145lbs.

Deadlifts:

5x5 @ 135, 185, 225, 225, 225lbs. - Left hand's grip was giving in in 4th set, and I had to perform the last 3 reps of that set just holding the weight with my fingertips! Just couldn't grab the bar tight ... It was a bit better on the last set though, maybe it was a mental thing. :P

Preacher curls:

1x10 @ 50lbs

3x8 @ 70lbs - not that I could've done more, but at least on none of the sets I attempted a rep that I didn't get, felt very weak on these today! I usually get the 10 reps in the first working set, wow... I'm angry now!

After lunch, I ate some walnuts! LOL... darned christmas. I read the nutritional value, and for every 5 walnuts it's aprox. 200 calories, 20 grams of fat (of which only 2 are saturated) and 4 grams of carbs. I must've eaten close to 10, so it's twice all of that. Not as bad as last night's can of mixed nuts!!!

[pdfk20]

Good workout

[StalwartSentinel]

28.12.2006

15 mins stair master level 9.

Standing military press:

5x5 @ 55, 75, 95, 95, 95 lbs - I was using leg drive to get it up before the first rep, so I don't have to start that first rep from the bottom possition. In the very last rep of the last set, I used kinda used some "calves drive", lol... but it went OK I guess.

Close-grip bench press:

First, I was using index finger on smooth part of oly bar:

2x5 @ 85lbs, 115lbs

1x6 @ 135lbs

Then I figured my shoulders aren't so wide, so I used index+middle finger on smooth part of oly bar:

1x6 @ 135lbs

1x4 @ 145lbs - felt pretty hard!

1x6 @ 135lbs - I think next session I'll be ready to try 3x5 @ 145lbs.

Deadlifts:

5x5 @ 135, 185, 225, 225, 225lbs. - Left hand's grip was giving in in 4th set, and I had to perform the last 3 reps of that set just holding the weight with my fingertips! Just couldn't grab the bar tight ... It was a bit better on the last set though, maybe it was a mental thing. :P

Preacher curls:

1x10 @ 50lbs

3x8 @ 70lbs - not that I could've done more, but at least on none of the sets I attempted a rep that I didn't get, felt very weak on these today! I usually get the 10 reps in the first working set, wow... I'm angry now!

After lunch, I ate some walnuts! LOL... darned christmas. I read the nutritional value, and for every 5 walnuts it's aprox. 200 calories, 20 grams of fat (of which only 2 are saturated) and 4 grams of carbs. I must've eaten close to 10, so it's twice all of that. Not as bad as last night's can of mixed nuts!!!

Good looking workout! Remember on the close grip bench, to bring the bar lower on your body, than a regular bench, IE: touch the lower ribs. Also keep the elbows tucked in, close to the body and explode out of the bottom position.

[lifesnotfair]

Thanks Pete!

Thanks Stalwart! I think I asked about that before, about wether the elbows should point to the sides, or if they should be close to my body!! Will keep that in mind next time! Because I honestly was not feeling a "burn" in the triceps or anything. Maybe I'm not supossed to feel it as it's not isolation, though. But will keep that in mind!! I think I do lower it a bit lower on my body than a regular bench, but I'll be sure to check that out next time too.

[StalwartSentinel]

Thanks Pete!

Thanks Stalwart! I think I asked about that before, about wether the elbows should point to the sides, or if they should be close to my body!! Will keep that in mind next time! Because I honestly was not feeling a "burn" in the triceps or anything. Maybe I'm not supossed to feel it as it's not isolation, though. But will keep that in mind!! I think I do lower it a bit lower on my body than a regular bench, but I'll be sure to check that out next time too.

You should feel it in the front of your shoulders, triceps and center chest. If you place the width of your hands, so that your thumbs touch the sides of your chest or slightly in from there, should be good too. Pretty much where you have them now.

[lifesnotfair]

Stalwart - if I lower it upper on my chest, and not on the lower ribs, will it take stress from the triceps??

30.12.2006

15 minutes stair master level 9.

BW at 180 lbs today. Not a good way to end the year, since in early december I reached 174 or so. But this time of the year it's so hard not to eat, specially when everywhere you go, there's candy, cakes, cookies, chocolates, and all sorts of things that people offer you. You can only say "no" a number of times.... jeez. Still, not a bad BW at 5'10" and now with "a bit" of muscle, considering I was 250 of pure fat 11 months ago.

Incline Bench Press:

1x5 @ 95lbs

1x5 @ 115lbs

1x5 @ 145lbs - PR!

1x4 @ 145lbs - felt too hard, no spotter, so didn't attempt a 5th.

2x6 @ 135lbs - this confirms I must keep trying with the 145lbs, although it was hard, but 6 reps!

Chin-ups, underhand grip, about 16" between hands:

5x6 @ BW - I did not even swing the feet much, maybe in the last reps of the last set. I have a question: should one pause for 1-2 seconds after every rep? This seems to make it harder. I was doing the first 3-4 very quickly... yes, going all the way down till my arms were straight, but doing them quickly, not with a pause and letting my shoulder/back muscles straighten all out, like I'm only hanging with my grip, with the force from my hands and nothing else.. I say I was doing the first 3-4 reps quick, coz then I stopped in each rep to take an extra breath. I cleared my chin in all 30 reps so it's good!!

Squats:

2x5 @ 95, 135 lbs.

3x5 @ 175lbs - hard, very hard... but kept my back straight (it was not leaning forward) and my knees out (they wanted to go a bit in, but not much)... huge effort, I reckon I'll use this same weight for a few sessions till I can own the weight.

Calves and Hammercurls - superset:

Calves: bunch of sets and reps on Donkey Calves machine.

HC's:

2x6 @ 25lbs, 30lbs

3x6 @ 40lbs - Left wrist hurts with these!!! WHY!?!?!?!?

EZ-bar Curls: 1x5 @ 70lbs - don't know why, but wanted to do at least one set... oh yeah, I remember why, it's because I thought the pullups weren't hitting my biceps hard enough! Maybe it's just me, but they DO hit them? ... I started theorizing stuff like "maybe my back is not strong enough to pull much weight, and BW is not enough to stress the biceps"... you know, because after the pullups I don't feel a huge burn in the biceps like the one felt by doing curls... but I guess feeling that "burn" or "pump" isn't an indicator of having worked the muscle out, right?

Just for fun, I decided to try "supinated dumbell curls", this is where you start like a hammer curl, but halfway through the ROM you move your wrist so you finish like a regular dumbell curl.

3x5 @ 25lbs, 35lbs, 40lbs - pretty hard with the 40lbs! .. However, I felt absolutely NO pain in my left wrist with this excercise. I'm thinking of performing it this way instead of the hammer curls.... you know, just trying to follow the old rule, "if it hurts, stop"... I can do the HC's even if I feel pain in my left wrist, but I don't want to injure myself on the process!

I then got home.... told my wife to bring the camera.

We practise with the BBA, which feels like it's gonna break from closing it so hard :P

I then closed the Filed #1. After taking pics on these two grippers, the batteries ran out! I took them out and cleaned the ends of them, so it had left for about 1 picture... but I had to do it in a hurry, not the best... this pissed me off.

#2 x0 - ... it didn't happen. Wife took a pic, no too good, but you can see the handles a little bit, I will upload it later today. I didn't look so I don't know by how much I missed it.

Second attempt: another fail. No camera or anything now. It was 2mm max, not even 1/8" I'm sure.

Third attempt: this was the best. I got this to at least 1/16" I'm sure. This is a PR none the less, so it's not a horrible way to end the year...

I then tried some baby reps on my #1.5, and only got like 10-12, I realized it squeaks like crazy so it needs some oil, no wonder I haven't been able to match the 8 parallel reps I got with it out of the package.

Then I did about 16 parallel reps on my BBSA, which must be some kind of PR, specially at this point of the workout. Then I tried to close this one inverted, and got close, to maybe 1/8", not a good set though, I have no idea of how to set inverted grippers. I then did about 7 parallel reps on my Filed #1, this one is so filed, it's hard to close, because when I squeeze I always get it to about 3/16" and need to re-place my thumb to close it fully, so it makes it harder. But at this point I was very tired, I got 10 reps on this gripper in the previous gripper workout. So I then did 23 reps with the BBA as a cool-off.

I finger-rolled with left hand, and worked up to 60lbs dumbell x5, x2 sets!!

IM Yellow bands, and some blue bands attempts/negatives on RH only.

[lifesnotfair]

Pic of first attempt is in the gallery now, not a very good one, sorry.

[StalwartSentinel]

Stalwart - if I lower it upper on my chest, and not on the lower ribs, will it take stress from the triceps??

No, but you will be doing more of a French press/skull crusher, instead of a close-grip bench. The ONLY time a close-grip bench is lowered to the upper chest, is if you decide to do them on an incline bench.

[lifesnotfair]

31.12.2006

Instead of taking today off, I decided to do some cardio, and even ended up with the grippers a little bit!

Today's cardio was fun, I tried different stuff.

-I did bender's 4-minute squats routine (20 secs squats, 10 secs rest).

-Before that, I tried the same with pushups, but I was doing 10 pushups (in 10 secs) and 20 secs rest on these.

-I then did the same as with squats, but with "sailors"; Ok, this is the literal translation from spanish, I don't know the name of these in english, but I'll describe it: you jump and land with your feet appart, and at the same time raise your arms above your head; then you jump and land with your feet together, and at the same time place your arms back down, at the sides of your body; So it's like open/close for both legs and arms.

-I then tried the same with abs, doing "bycicle" with my legs, this was a KILLER.

-Last, I tried the same with jumps, with my palms at waist level, trying to touch my palms with my knees/thigs... this was much harder than I thought.

So... I was not gonna let the year 2006 go by without me having met my goal so easily!!! I did 3 reps on the BBA, 3 reps on the BBSA, and got my camera again... I got the batteries from a remote control - did not work!! DAMN! .. I got the batteries from another remote, and did not work either! ARGH!^#(*&^$ It seems the batteries need to be in very good condition for the bloody camera to work. I was angry because I wanted this documented. I said screw it, and just asked my wife to view the attempt:

#2 x0 - failed, but my wife even thought it was closed for a second - that's how close it was.

#2 x0 - failed again, 1mm.

At this point I remembered I have an old USB Ezonics camera, but I formatted my drives not too long ago, and don't have the software... I tried downloading it quickly, but couldn't get it to work for some reason... blah, I just tried one last time, and:

#2 x0 - again, failed.. it seems so close, it's hard to accept it's a failed attempt.

I then did 33 wide reps on my BBA and some IM Yellow bands and blue bands.

I reckon this gripper will fall soon. I tried yesterday and today, but in both days I kept volume at a minimun and I did not touch a gripper harder than the #2 itself, and just 3 attempts each day. I'll take some rest now.... not too happy, but oh well... Happy new year everyone!

[StalwartSentinel]

-I then did the same as with squats, but with "sailors"; Ok, this is the literal translation from spanish, I don't know the name of these in english, but I'll describe it: you jump and land with your feet appart, and at the same time raise your arms above your head; then you jump and land with your feet together, and at the same time place your arms back down, at the sides of your body; So it's like open/close for both legs and arms.

"Jumping Jacks"

[lifesnotfair]

Jumpinc Jacks !? Darn, I would've never guessed that!

Dunno why they're called "sailors" in spanish (marineros) ... heh! Thanks for that.