Grunt11's Training Log

Max Effort Lower Body, Today:

Max Effort:
Dead Goodmornings Bar x 15, 95 lbs. x 5, 135 lbs. x 5, 155 lbs. x 5, 165 lbs. x 5, 175 lbs. x 5, 185 lbs. x 5, 200 lbs. x 5

Supplemental:
Glute Ham Raises (-46 lbs. bands) x 12 x 12 x 8 (30)

Accessory:
BB Shrugs 255 lbs. x 20 x 20 x 20 (60)
BB Calf Raises (Skipped)

Pre/Re-Hab:

Lat Pulls 50 lbs. x 20 x 20 x 20
Flat Bench Bar x 20 x 20 x 20
DB Overhead Triceps Extensions 17.5 lbs. x 20 +9 +7 (36)
Seated Incline DB Curls 25 lbs. x 15 +5 +5 +5 (30)
DB Reverse Wrist Curls 10 lbs. x 15
Band Flyes 14 lbs. x 15
Band Face Pulls 26 lbs. x 15 x 15

Yet another great feeling workout, gotta love eating right.

I wanted to keep doing Low Box Squats as my ME exercise to see how they translate over to my real lifts however I had to swap them out and also skip the Calf Raises because of a freak accident on Saturday. About a month ago I dropped and broke a jar in my kitchen. Saturday while making breakfast the top of my right foot itched so I just scratched it with my left foot. I felt a sharp pain and looked down to see a pool of dark red blood forming around my right foot. It took a both pressure and elevation to get the bleeding to stop. Turned out a glass shard got embedded in one of the calluses on my left foot so when I scratched my right foot it slashed open a vein. I kept a pressure bandage on it until Sunday morning when I took a pre-workout warm up shower and it started bleeding again. So today I figured I better not put too much lateral stress (wide stance) on it or move it too much.

So, since I switched to Dead Goodmornings I decided to stop pissing around with them and put more weight on the bar. I got up to 200 lbs. and felt like I could go higher but I’d already done quite a few reps creeping the weight up the way I did. So now I’ll keep them in the rotation until I find a true 5RM.

I looked back at my log yesterday and got a little bumbed. I realized I’ve only put 20 lbs. on my Deadlift in over 7 months, which corresponds with when I started my first cut. I knew I had become sort of aimless after the cut but that was depressing to see.
 
Max Effort Upper Body, Today:

Max Effort:
Close Grip Bench Press Bar x 10, 85 lbs. x 5, 135 lbs. x 5, 165 lbs. x 5, 195 lbs. x 3, 205 lbs. x 1 (4 @ 90%+)

Supplemental:
Close Grip Bench Press 170 lbs. x 10 +3 +3 +3 (19)

Accessory:
Close Parallel Grip Lat Pulls 135 lbs. x 10 +5 +5 +4 (24)
Dips 180 lbs. x 13 +5 +3 +3 (24)
Supported DB Rows 75 lbs. x 15 +5 +5 (25)
Leaning Lateral Raises 20 lbs. x 15 +5 +5 (25)
Incline DB Press 55 x 12 +4 +4 (20)

I didn’t do as well as I’d have liked on the ME exercise. In part I think it’s because I was impatient and didn’t warm up very well, but I may also be overtraining with too much volume so I dialed that back a little bit. After the ME lift the workout felt great so I do think warm up was a big part of it.
 
Dynamic Effort Upper Body, Yesterday:

Dynamic Effort:
Flat Bench Press 125 lbs. (+28 lbs. bands) x 3 (8 times) (24)

Supplemental:
Close Grip Bench Press 175 lbs. x 7 +3 +3 +2 +2 (17)

Accessory:
Chin Ups BW (172 lbs.) x 10 +4 +3 +3 +3 +3 (19)
Dips 185 lbs. x 12 +4 +3 +2 (21)
Supported DB Row 80 lbs. x 15 +5 +5 (25)
Leaning Lateral Raises 25 lbs. x 15 +5 +5 (25)
Incline DB Bench Press 60 lbs. x 9 +4 +4 +3 +3 (23)
 
Max Effort Lower Body, Today:

Max Effort:
Concentric Good Mornings Bar x 15, 95 lbs. x 10, 135 lbs. x 5, 185 lbs. x 5, 205 lbs. x 5, 215 lbs. x 5, 225 lbs. x 5

Supplemental:
GHR BW (-46 lbs. bands) x 12 x 10 x 8 (30)

Accessory:
BB Shrugs 265 lbs. x 15 x 15 x 15 x 15 (60)
Ghetto Reverse Hypers BW x 10 x 10 x 10 (30)

I think I’m finding my limit on Concentric Good Mornings. On the third rep of the last set I felt it tweak my ruptured disk. It didn’t feel bad so I reset better and did the last two reps ok but that’s getting close to as much shearing force my spine can take right now.

The Glute/Ham Raises feel like they are getting easier which is a good sign. I also am trying out Reverse Hyperextensions using the kitchen counter at the suggestion of a member of the Westside forum. They didn’t cause any discomfort for my ruptured disk even though I tweaked it earlier, so these may become a staple of my routine if they hold up.
 
Assistance:
Dips 190 lbs. x 14 +4 +3 +3 (24)
Close Parallel Grip Chin Ups BW (175 lbs.) x 10 +4 +4 +3 +3 (24)
Leaning Lateral Raise 27.5 lbs. x 12 +4 +4 +4 (24)
Supported DB Row 85 lbs. x 12 +4 +4 +4 (24)
Incline DB Press 65 lbs. x 9 +3 +3 +3 +3 +3 (24)

Even though today should have been a day off I really felt like doing a workout since I’m not going to be able to workout due to work tomorrow. So all I did today was Repetition (RE) work and no ME or DE stuff. The cool part is that the whole workout only took a little over 20 minutes and I wasn’t rushing.

I checked back in my log and as near as I can tell I’ve never gotten as high as 65 lbs. on the Incline DB Press before, and 27.5 is as high as I’ve ever gotten on the Leaning Lateral Raises.

Turned out I tweaked my back more than I thought yesterday. When I started doing hill sprints I felt pain shooting down the back of my legs so I stopped and packed it in. Today it feels fine including while I was working out.
 
Dynamic Effort Lower Body, Today:

Dynamic Effort:
Low Wide Stance Box Squats (200 lbs. x 2) x 10 (20)
Wide Stance 3” Deficit Deadlifts (200 lbs. x 1) x 10 (10)

Supplemental:
Ghetto Glute/Ham Raises BW (175 lbs.) -40 lbs. bands x 13 x 10 x 7 (30)

Assistance:
BB Shrugs 275 x 15 x 15 x 15 x 15
Ghetto Reverse Hyperextensions BW (175 lbs.) x 20 x 20 x 20

The Glute/Ham Raises continue to improve. When I started them I needed -60 lbs. and now I’m down to -40 for the first time and felt I could have gone a little lower.

I’ve just stopped doing separate Calf Raises for now because my lower back, glutes and hamstrings are so hammered by the time I get to the Shrugs they already feel like they’re going to cramp up on me. So since Calf Raises seem least important they got the axe.
 
Max Effort Lower Body, Today:

Max Effort:
Ultra-Wide Low Box Squats Bar x 15 x 15 x 15, 95 lbs. x 5, 135 lbs. x 3, 185 lbs. x 1, 225 lbs. x 1, 275 lbs. x 1, 255 lbs. x 1 x 1

Supplemental:
Ghetto Glute/Ham Raises BW (177 lbs. -36 lbs. bands) x 11 x 7 x 8 x 5 (30)

Accessory:
BB Shrugs 285 x 15 x 15 x 15 x 15 (60)
Ghetto Reverse Hyperextensions BW x 20 x 20 x 20 (60)

I took another 4 lbs. of band tension help off the GHR today so I’m still making progress.

I had one of those aha moments today while doing the Ultra-Wide Box Squats. I’ve keep hearing and reading people saying to push the floor apart with your feet to activate the hips but just wasn’t getting it. My normal Squat stance has always been just a little wider than my shoulders but moving my feet way out, can’t quite reach the plates being 5’6”, I finally got it. With the wider stance it’s almost impossible to Squat without pushing your feet apart.

Saturday I did a half volume Upper Body Repetition workout about 6 hours after my DE Lower Body. I knew I would be too busy to workout on Sunday and also didn’t want to workout that many days in a row.

I had to work day shift for an alert exercise on Thursday and had 3 people, I usually don’t see on nights, comment on how big I’m getting.
 
Dynamic Effort Upper Body, Today:

Dynamic Effort:
Flat Bench Press (125 lbs. +28 lbs. bands x 3) x 8 (24)

Supplemental:
Close Grip Bench Press 180 lbs. x 8 +4 +2 +1 (15)

Assistance:
Close Parallel Grip Chin Ups BW (177 lbs.) x 11 +3 +3 +3 +3 +3 +3 +3 (32)
Dips 200 lbs. x 8 +3 +2 (13)
Supported DB Row 90 lbs. x 12 +4 +4 +4 (24)
Leaning Lateral Raises 30 lbs. x 12 +4 +4 +4 (24)
Incline DB Press 70 lbs. x 6 +3 +3 (12)

I’m not sure how I ended up doing it but I’ve progressed the weights way to fast this cycle. I’m starting the 4th week and I’m already maxing out most of the lifts. I’m not sure how I’ll handle it but I think I’ll just roll straight into a full up Westside routine and drop the body building exercises.

On the bright side I’m up to 30 lbs. on the Lateral Raises something I’ve never done before. I’m also at a personal best with 70 lbs. on the Incline DB Press though that one was very shaky.
 
Anytime that you hit limits too quickly, you have the choice to either step back or try to adjust to the load structure. May not be a horrible idea to stay with the current load structure for a week or so and see how you adjust to it. There's nothing wrong with suspending progression for a time such that you can make an appropriate assessment of strength and endurance levels - a snapshot in a kinda sorta way. If it ends up that the load structure is just too much after that, THEN alter/reduce. Make sense?

Your progress this cycle has been great, G11 - it's been great catching up on your log and seeing that!
 
Thanks for reading up on my log Tim. I have decided to roll straight into a regular Westside BB routine, so in essence I will be staying at the same load structure for my ME days though the DE days are lower intensity with higher volume. It just seemed like the logical thing to do since I’m already at the top end of the loads.
 
Dynamic Effort Lower Body, Today:

BW 176 lbs.

Dynamic Effort:
Ultra Wide Stance Low Box Squats (185 lbs. x 2) x 10 (45 second rest)
Ultra Wide Stance 3” Deficit Deadlifts (185 lbs. x 1) x 10 (30 second rest)

Assistance:
Ghetto Glute/Ham Raises (-52 lbs. resistance bands) x 25
Ghetto Reverse Hypers BW x 25
Supported DB Rows 60 lbs. x 25 +10 +10 (30 second rest)
Hanging Leg Raises BW x 20
Side Bends 60 lbs. x 20

Reading that it sure doesn’t look like much but my a$$ is kicked. Now that I’ve learned how to really speed work and not just go through the motions it is brutal. Also I’ve never done 5 exercises in a row that all hammer my lower back. I’m not sure I want to know what the heavy day is going to feel like. ;)

Well this is, as far as I can tell, a fairly typical Westside Lower Body Dynamic Effort workout. I’m going to also start posting my workouts over in the new Westside forum to get feedback from people with the most experience.
 
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Max Effort Upper Body, Today:

BW 177 lbs.

Max Effort:
Rack Press one pin up 95 lbs. x 5, 135 lbs. x 5, 185 lbs. x 2, 195 lbs. x 1, 205 lbs. x 1 (3-5 minute rest)

Assistance:
1 Board Press 135 lbs. x 6, 185 lbs. x 4 x 6 x 6 (3 minute rest)
Triceps Dips 190 lbs. x 10 +3 +3 +2 (30 seconds rest)
Overhead DB Triceps extensions 25 lbs. x 10 +3 +2 +3 (30 seconds rest)
Close Parallel Grip Chin Ups BW x 12 +3 +4 +4 +4 +4 (30 seconds rest)
Supported DB Rows 90 lbs. x 12 +4 +4 +4 (30 seconds rest)
Lateral Raises 25 lbs. x 20
Hanging Leg Raises BW x 25
DB Side Bends 65 lbs. x 20

The only good thing about how bad my arms hurt after this workout is that if made me forget how bad my back chain hurts from yesterday’s workout. I don’t think I’m going to use Rack Presses as a ME exercise anymore because starting out with them just kills my Triceps. I actually started felling stronger as the workout progressed and I started recovering from the Rack Presses.
 
Max Effort Lower Body, Today:

Max Effort:
Ultra Wide Stance Deadlift bar x 15 x 15 x 15, 135 x 10, 185 x 5, 225 x 3, 275 x 1, 315 x 1, 365 x 1(PR) (3-5 minute rest)

Assistance:
Ghetto Glute/Ham Raise BW -26 lbs. bands x 6 x 6 x 6 (18) (2 minute rest)
Ghetto Reverse Hyper BW x 30 x 30 x 30 (60) (1 minute rest)
Supported DB Row 98 x 12 +4 +4 (20) (30 second rest)
Side Bends 70 x 20
Hanging Leg Raises BW x 30

I wanted to get a baseline for doing Ultra-Wide Stance Deadlifts to see how I progress from here on and surprised the hell out of myself when I added 15 lbs. to my best Deadlift. I’ve always been weaker with a very wide stance which is why whenever I’ve tried for maxes it’s been with my feet just a little wider than shoulder width. It looks like the hamstring/glute work I’ve been doing is paying off.

I was supposed to do the Reverse Hypers in the 8-12 rep range, but I haven’t been able to figure out a way to rig weights to the ghetto version I’m doing. The recommendation I got to buy a Reverse Hyper machine is looking better.
 
NICE PR G11! Heck yeah! Westside is workin' for ya! Great stuff! Are you doing the strict westside routine or the version that DeFranco (WS4SB) came up with? Sorta looks like a mixture? Apologies - my WS knowledge has waned a bit it the past couple years.
 
Thanks Tim! Up until about 3 workouts ago I was doing a sort of WS + HST hybrid and it does look a lot like WS4SB, however I went ahead and made the switch as best as I can figure it out without buying their books yet, I do plan on getting them but just wanted to see if I could make what’s out there work for me first. Here’s what I’m basing most of my workout on:

http://www.syattfitness.com/category/westside-barbell/

Someone had posted a link to this on their forum and it seemed to meet the approval of the Westsiders that chimed in. I logged my last three workouts over there and will continue to do so in case anyone sees something I should change. So far their forum is pretty slow since it only been up for a month but now some of the people who actually train there are starting to post advice. I just got some advice on how to get more ham/hip activation in my squat from one of their lifters.
 
Dynamic Effort Upper Body, Today:

BW 176

Dynamic Effort:
Flat Bench Press (125 lbs. + 52 lbs. bands x 3) x 8 (24) (30 second rest)

Accessory:
Incline DB Press 35 x 20, 40 x 20, 45 x 20 (60) (2 minute rest)
Overhead Triceps Extensions 15 x 20 +10 +10 +7 failed (47) (30 second rest)
Supported DB Row 70 x 20 +10 +10 (40) (30 second rest)
BB Shrugs 275 x 20 x 20 x 20 (60) (1 minute rest)
Rear Delt Raises 10 x 20 +10 +10 +10 (50) (30 second rest)
Hanging Leg Raises BW x 30
Side Bends 75 x 20

Yesterday PM GPP/Prehab/Rehab:

Chock Dragging (2 chocks 60 meters) forward x 2, backwards x 2, sideways x 1 each way.
Shoulders Band Face Pulls, L-Flys, Side, Front Shoulder Raises
 
Dynamic Effort Lower Body, Today:

BW 176 lbs.

Dynamic Effort:
Ultra Wide Stance Low Box Squat (175 lbs. x 2) x 9 (45 second rest)
Ultra Wide Stance 1.5” Deficit Deadlifts (225 lbs. x 1) x 9 (30 second rest)

Assistance:
Ghetto Glute/Ham Raises (-46 lbs. resistance bands) x 25
Ghetto Reverse Hypers BW x 25 x 25 x 25
Hanging Leg Raises BW x 40
Side Bends 80 lbs. x 20

2 days ago PM GPP/Prehab/Rehab:

Hill Sprints 60 meters x 10
Shoulders Band Face Pulls, L-Flys, Side & Front Shoulder Raises

[FONT=&quot]I was supposed to up the weight on the Squats to 195 lbs. however the bar speed was so slow I dropped it down to same as last time and then dropped it another -10 lbs. until I felt the speed was fast enough. Everything else went as planned so [/FONT]
 
Max Effort Upper Body, Today:

BW 176 lbs.

Max Effort:
Rack Press 2 pins up Bar x 15 x 15 x 15, 95 x 10, 135 x 5, 185 x 3, 205 x 1, 215 x 1, 225 x fail (3-5 minute rest)

Accessory:
2 Board Press 185 x 6, 190 x 6, 195 x 6 (18) (2 minute rest)
Dips 195 x 10 +3 +3 +3 (19) (30 second rest)
Overhead Triceps Extensions 27.5 x 10 +3 +3 +3 (19) (30 second rest)
Close Parallel Grip Chin Ups BW x 14 +3 +3 +3 (23) (30 second rest)
Supported DB Rows 103 x 12 +4 +4 (20) (30 second rest)
Lateral Raises 30 x 14 fail
Hanging Leg Raises BW x 45
Side Bends 88 x 20
 
Max Effort Lower Body, Today:

BW 176 lbs.

Max Effort:
Ultra Wide Stance Concentric Good Mornings Bar x 15 x 15 x 15, 95 x 10, 135 x 5, 185 x 5, 225 x 5, 250 x 5

Assistance:
Ghetto Glute/Ham Raises BW – 26 lbs. bands x 6 x 6 x 6
Ghetto Reverse Hypers BW x 30 x 30 x 30
Supported DB Rows 108 x 12 +4 +4
Hanging Leg Raises BW x 50
Side Bends 85 x 20

Pre/Rehab/GPP:
2 minutes each Bench Press 45 lbs. and Lat Pulls 50 lbs.
3 minutes Heavy Bag Work
Band Face Pulls, L-Flys, Side & Front Shoulder Raises
Indian Club Swings

This was the first time I did Good Mornings without any feeling like I tweaked my ruptured lumbar disk despite adding 25 lbs. more to the bar than last time. I hope this is a sign I’m doing something right.

Wow the Heavy Bag kicked my butt. My upper body strength and GPP have always been poor but geez.
 
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Dynamic Effort Upper Body, Today:

BW 176 lbs.

Dynamic Effort:
Close Grip Bench Press (105 + 28 lbs. bands x 3) x 8 (24) (30 second rest)

Assistance:
Incline DB Bench Press 45 x 20, 50 x 20, 55 x 10 (50) (1.5 minute rest)
Overhead DB Triceps Extensions 17.5 x 22, x 12, x 10 (44) (1.5 minute rest)
V-Bar Triceps Press Downs 30 x 30, 35 x 21, 40 x 16 (67) (1.5 minute rest)
Medium Supinated Grip Chin Ups BW x 10, x 7, x 6 (23) (1.5 minute rest)
Close Parallel Grip T-Bar Row 70 x 20, 105 x 19, 105 x 15 (54) (1.5 minute rest)
Rear Delt DB Raises 15 x 20, x 20, x 20 (60) (1.5 minute rest)
Standing Twisting Band Crunches 26 lbs. x 50, 38 lbs. x 50, 46 lbs. x 50 (150) (1.5 minute rest)

I changed things up quite a bit from my last workouts. I’m trying to pick exercises I have either never done or haven’t done in a long time because I sucked at them.

I added T-Bar Row to start getting away from babying my lower back. If my lower back tolerates the extra volume and less supported nature of the T-Bar Rows, as compared to the Supported DB Rows I will progress to regular BB Rows. Everything felt fine today but the weights were light.

I tried Upright Rows but what’s left of the shoulder impingement in my left shoulder said no so I stuck with Rear Delt Raises as part of the rehab for the impingement and dropped the Lateral Raises for a few weeks to see if that helps or slows my shoulder recovery.

My pushing movements have been feeling weak, in particular my Bench Press but all my other lifts are improving so I don’t think it’s general overtraining. So besides changing up the exercises I also increased the volume. I figure if I’m going to fail I’d rather do it falling forward than backward. However, it this doesn’t help then I’ll try lowering the volume to see what that does. Also as part of this I’m increasing the GPP work for my upper body, pushing movements in particular to see if that helps.
 
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