electric's log

BW @ 71.5Kg (157.7lbs)

Elliptical 5 min warmup
Smith Squats - 3x6 @ 70Kg (154lbs)
Smith Squats (starting at the bottom position) - 3 @ 70Kg (154lbs)
Flat BB Bench - 3x6 @ 77Kg (170lbs)
Chest Supported T-Bar Row - 3x6 @ 60Kg (132lbs)
Swiss-ball Crunches - 2x15 @ BW
Bike low intensity cardio 20 min

Rest between sets kept at 1:30min. Bench wasn't good. Three posts ago I got 81Kg for 7 reps without much trouble and this time the 6 reps at 77Kg were difficult. Spotter had to help me as the last rep of the last set stalled.
The swiss-ball crunches felt good with a nice hyper extension of the abs.
 
Another workout. BW @ 72.5Kg (160lbs)

Elliptical 5 min warmup
Deadlifts - 3x6 @ 123Kg (271lbs)
Dips - 3x6 @ BW+10Kg (22lbs)
Chins - 2x6, 5, 1 @ BW+10Kg (22lbs)
Bike low intensity cardio 20 min
 
<div>
(electric @ Aug. 17 2009,11:58)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Another workout. BW @ 72.5Kg (160lbs)

Elliptical 5 min warmup
Deadlifts - 3x6 @ 123Kg (271lbs)
Dips - 3x6 @ BW+10Kg (22lbs)
Chins - 2x6, 5, 1 @ BW+10Kg (22lbs)
Bike low intensity cardio 20 min</div>
Whoa! I'm gone for a little bit and look what I miss.

You seem to be moving a lot more weight than you used to.
 
<div>
(TunnelRat @ Aug. 18 2009,1:44)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Whoa! I'm gone for a little bit and look what I miss.

You seem to be moving a lot more weight than you used to.</div>
Thanks TR. It's nice to see you back.
I've recently managed a 161Kg (355lbs) strapless deadlift single and a BW+39Kg(86lbs) chin single which felt good. I chickened out of trying a max bench single and didn't think it made sense to try a max for squat considering I have no option but to use the smith machine for that.

Since I feel that I've been spinning wheels lately I decided to start cutting while lifting heavy submax weights until my BF level drop somewhat then resume a slow bulk with new max attempts. Slow cut and bulk are boring but I think that in the long run they are better...
 
Yesterday's workout:

Smith Squats - 3x6 @ 70Kg (154lbs)
Flat BB Bench - 3x6 @ 77Kg (170lbs)
Chest Supported T-Bar Row - 3x6 @ 60Kg (132lbs)

Had very little time due to a meeting so no elliptical warmups, no direct abs work and no cardio afterwards. Also kept rest between sets very low (specially in my standards), 1:00-1:30 tops. Was in a hurry so reps ended up being speed-reppy.
 
Today's workout, BW @ 72.8Kg (160.5lbs):

Elliptical 5 min warmup
Deadlift - 4x5 @ 125Kg (276lbs)
Dips - 4x5 @ BW+14Kg (31lbs)
Chins - 4x5 @ BW+14Kg (31lbs)
Swiss-ball hyperextended crunches with weight behind the head - 3x15 @ 7Kg (15lbs)
Bike cardio 30 min
 
Well, another day another routine. BW @ 72.5Kg (160lbs) Routine:

Elliptical 5 min warmup
Smith Squat - 4x5 @ 72Kg (159lbs)
Flat BB Bench - 4x5 @ 79Kg (174lbs)
T-Bar Chest Supp Row - 4x5 @ 64Kg (141lbs)
Swiss ball Crunch - 3x15 @ 8Kg (18lbs)
Bike cardio 30 min

Some notes for reference: Rest period between sets of the same exercise are between 1 and 1.5 minutes, with longer rest between different exercises. Although I have to squat on the smith I always squat ATG. Swiss ball crunch is with weight held behind the head and hyper extending the abs. Both elliptical warmups and bike cardio are low intensity, I try to keep bpm around 130.
 
Was down with something on Wednesday so I skipped my workout and moved it to today. Not 100% better tho. BW @ 71.8Kg (158.3lbs). Here's how it went:

5 min elliptical warmup
Chins - 4x5 @ BW+14Kg (31lbs)
Dips - 4x5 @ BW+14Kg (31lbs)
RDL - 10 @ 51Kg (112lbs), 8 @ 71Kg (157lbs)
Swiss-ball Crunch - 3x15 @ 8Kg (18lbs)
Face pulls
30 min bike low intensity cardio

Wasn't feeling 100% so decided to switch deads for RDLs. Problem is I've never done them so I was shooting in the dark with the weights. Form also was horrible.
After reading about the Avoiding Injuries thread I decided to do some face pulls. I've been getting a little discomfort in my right shoulder from benching and I want to see if the face pulls might help with that. I am not sure if I should use a lower weight and do a slow movement so that the shoulder muscles really work on the final part of the move or if I should use a heavier weight and pull explosively. Anyway I tried it both ways but am not sure which is best.
 
<div>
(electric @ Aug. 27 2009,11:42)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">After reading about the Avoiding Injuries thread I decided to do some face pulls. I've been getting a little discomfort in my right shoulder from benching and I want to see if the face pulls might help with that. I am not sure if I should use a lower weight and do a slow movement so that the shoulder muscles really work on the final part of the move or if I should use a heavier weight and pull explosively. Anyway I tried it both ways but am not sure which is best.</div>
To get the biggest bang from face pulls, make the concentric part of the lift deliberate, a bit on the slow side.  At full contraction, hold the rep for a SOLID 1-count, and then the eccentric part of the lift should be at the same speed as the concentric.  Trust me, electric - don't do these explosively.  If there was ever an exercise that could drastically damage the whole of your upper torso, it's face pulls.  You're hammering smaller muscle groups with this lift, many of which are utilitarian in nature (holding up your head, maintaining balance between your delts, traps and rhomboids, etc.), and they can spasm very easily.  That induces some of the harshest pain you'll ever feel, because it always resonates with what I'd liken to a very bad migraine.

Be cautious!

I hope you feel 100% very soon!  Take care!
 
<div>
(_tim @ Aug. 27 2009,12:58)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">To get the biggest bang from face pulls, make the concentric part of the lift deliberate, a bit on the slow side.  At full contraction, hold the rep for a SOLID 1-count, and then the eccentric part of the lift should be at the same speed as the concentric.  Trust me, electric - don't do these explosively.  If there was ever an exercise that could drastically damage the whole of your upper torso, it's face pulls.  You're hammering smaller muscle groups with this lift, many of which are utilitarian in nature (holding up your head, maintaining balance between your delts, traps and rhomboids, etc.), and they can spasm very easily.  That induces some of the harshest pain you'll ever feel, because it always resonates with what I'd liken to a very bad migraine.

Be cautious!</div>
Tim, I think explosive might not have been the best word. What I meant was that I was using a faster tempo so that the momentum from the initial pull helps with the part were the shoulder rotation is more active. Of course by doing this I can use much more weight since the shoulder rotation is the weak part of the lift.
But in any case, thank you, you answered my question, I'll follow your suggestion and stick with lower weights, slower tempo and the pause at full contraction.
I have very bad migraines every now and again, so I can relate.

<div></div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">I hope you feel 100% very soon! Take care!</div>
Thanks.
 
I haven't posted in a while but I have not given up. I was on vacations for two weeks and managed to get a few workouts during this time but not much. Now I am back and I'll be taking my cut up a notch by gradually reducing carbs (and the cals associated with them). I am not following any plans at the moment workout-wise, I just go there move some weights and go home. I'll resume a proper planned routine when I am done with my cut.

Today what I've done was
Power Clean + Front Squat + Press - 30 @ 37Kg (82lbs) - clustered

The reps were clustered in 5s, 3s, 2s and singles. Each rep was: I power cleaned the bar, front squated and pressed it, returning it to the starting position. Although the weight was very light the movement(s) had me breathing heavily and sweating. Last 10 reps were hang cleaned and the press was strict OHP and when fatigue got the best of me I push pressed it.
 
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(electric @ Sep. 16 2009,9:53)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">I am not following any plans at the moment workout-wise, I just go there move some weights and go home. I'll resume a proper planned routine when I am done with my cut.</div>
Set specific goals.

Write them down.

Tell someone about them.

Read them over every day.
 
Just posting to say I am still alive and lifting.
TR, you are right. What I meant to say was that at the moment my goals are more towards reducing body fat then exercise specific, so the lifting is more to keep LBM.

My BW is down to 70kg (154lbs) but unfortunately calliper tells me that most of it was LBM  
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 I guess I tried to lose too much too fast. I'll keep cutting but with a smaller deficit and start a bulk soon to make up for the lost mass.

Today's workout was just
Power Clean + Front Squat - 20x1 @ 57Kg (126lbs)
Push Press - 5x1 @ 57Kg (126lbs)
Front Squat - 5 @ 57Kg (126lbs)
Swiss-ball hyperextended crunches - 3x15 @ BW+5Kg (11lbs) - weight held behind the head

Every 5 reps on the power clean + front squat combo I did a Push Press with the bar following the front squat for a total of 5 singles spread through the 20 singles on the combo. Last rep of the Power Clean was followed by 5 reps of Front Squat instead of the usual single.
 
Today's routine:

SLDL - 3x10 @ 67Kg (148lbs)
Front Squat - 3x5 @ 67Kg (148lbs) - the weight was power cleaned from the floor at every set
Standing BB Curl - 10 @ 37Kg (82lbs)
Seated Overhead Tri Extension - 5 @ 37Kg (82lbs) - ugly
Strict press - 5 @ 37Kg (82lbs)
Swiss-ball hyperextended crunches - 3x15 @ BW+5Kg (11lbs) - weight held behind the head

The power cleans for the Front Squat were ugly. My form for the power cleans it horrible. Got to work on it. Curls went fine but the last 3 reps had a half-second breather between them. The seated triceps extension was a fail. I was aiming for 10 good reps but the weight was too much and I did 5 bad reps.
I like these crunches more and more, lots of stretch on the abs.
 
If you can power clean almost-your-bw with ugly form then you'll fly past that once you improve it. Practice makes perfect!
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Ok, I've been lifting inconsistently for a while but decided to go back to something more structured. Due to equipment limitation I'll only be doing Bench, Squats, BB Rows and swiss-ball crunches. OHPs, Biceps Curls and Uprights are auxiliary. Following the latest trend, Bench and Squats will be paused and Rows will be pendlay style.

The format is 5x / week: Monday - 12 reps, Tuesday - 10 reps, Wednesday - 8 reps, Thursday - 6 reps and Friday - 4 reps. Three sets of each exercise. Auxiliary lifts are saved for Thursday and Friday due to less volume of these days and due to the upcoming weekend rest.

The weight will (obviously) build up from monday to friday due to less reps and on the next week I start everything again bumping all weights up a little. It is some sort of double linear progression. If at any time I can't complete the number of reps with the prescribed weight I'll repeat or reduce it next week until I can get all three sets at the rep range so I can increase it again.

Diet-wise I'm still on a slow cut but might shift later on to a slow bulk if the cut works well. I workout in the AM so I'll have a protein shake after the workout and will try to focus most of my cals on lunch ratter then dinner.

Lol - re the power clean I recon if I could drop down and grab the bar with the front squat stance I could clean much more. As it is I am only able to jerk/pull the bar up to around shoulder height and grab it with a OHP starting position kind of grip which heavily limits the amount of weight I can clean.
 
Olá amigo ! Muito bom te ver aqui ... de onde você é ?

Nice to see a fellow brazilian around here
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I'll keep an eye on your journal !
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(Krieger @ Oct. 27 2009,2:00)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Olá amigo ! Muito bom te ver aqui ... de onde você é ?

Nice to see a fellow brazilian around here
smile.gif

I'll keep an eye on your journal !  
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</div>
Opa, bem-vindo ao forum do HST. Sou do Rio e você?
 
eu sou de Fortaleza... descobri o HST há uns 3 anos já e participo raramente do forum há uns 2!
mas ainda nunca fiz um ciclo realmente HST, essa é a primeira vez...
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acompanhe meu log também !
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BW Today at 68.4Kg (151lbs). I have lost a reasonable amount of LBM in a recent cut and will now try to up cals a bit for a slow bulk.
I've been doing and will continue doing the 5x week routine I outlined 4 posts ago with gradually increasing weight. So far it is going ok but I started with very light weights to see how I feel about the high frequency. At the moment the workouts last around 25-30 minutes.
I would appreciate comments regarding this setup, 5x week, reducing number of reps per set, constant number of sets, increasing weight per day and increasing weight per week (with zig-zag). Am I possibly doing too much?
 
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