Grunt11's Training Log

RE Bench, Today:

BW 179

Assistance:
BB Floor Press 95 x 10, x 10 (20 reps) (2 minute rest)
V-Bar Triceps Press Downs 35 x 30, 40 x 22 (+w) (52 reps) (2 minute rest)
Medium Underhand Grip Cable Rows 70 x 20, 80 x 20 (40 reps) (2 minute rest)
T-Grip BB Curls 30 x 20, x 20 (40 reps) (2 minutes rest)
Standing Twisting Crunches 60 lbs. bands x 30, x 30

The good news is that the pain in my shoulder has been lessening since my last Bench day and Squatting two days ago didn’t seem to aggravate it any. However, since I still feel pain I decided to skip the DE Bench work and do other exercises that minimize shoulder involvement.

Also I did some shoulder and back foam rolling and stretching and YTIs prior to working out and am icing my shoulder right now.

I’m trying to follow the suggestions of lowering the volume so please let me know if the above exercises look reasonable for now considering that I will eventually be adding back in the DE Bench.
 
grunt11 said:
The good news is that the pain in my shoulder has been lessening since my last Bench day and Squatting two days ago didn’t seem to aggravate it any. However, since I still feel pain I decided to skip the DE Bench work and do other exercises that minimize shoulder involvement.

Also I did some shoulder and back foam rolling and stretching and YTIs prior to working out and am icing my shoulder right now.
Click to expand...

Be wise with shoulder pain, it can be an indication of an impending injury. Backing off the weight and certain exercises can be a help, as well as your foam rolling.

If the pain persists, see a doctor (preferably a physiatrist). If it gets better, then full speed ahead!
 
DE Squat, Today:

BW = 177 lbs.

Dynamic Effort:
Ultra-Wide Low Box Squats (180 lbs. +30 -70 lbs. chains x 2) x 10 (20 reps) (1 minute rest)
Ultra-Wide Dead Lift (315 lbs. +30 – 80 lbs. chains x 1) x 6 (6 reps) (1 minute rest)

Assistance:
GMs 135 x 20, x 20 (40 reps) (2 minute rest)
Medium Underhanded Grip Cable Rows 80 x 20, x 20 (40 reps) (1 minute rest)
Hanging Leg Raises BW x 30, x 30 (60 reps) (1 minute rest)

First since I’m still getting use to chains and I was able to pick up another 40 lbs. I decided to add them incrementally as I did each set of DE Squat and Deadlifts so I could get the feel of working up to 25% rather than jumping right there. So I started the first set of each exercise with 30 lbs. of chains and added 10 lbs. each set until I got to 25% or in the case of the Deadlifts ran out 10 lbs. short. I have to say the 25% felt just right.

I’ve seen lots of different recommendations about how to wave the weight on the DE Deadlifts so I’ve been following the one that says to start at 65% of your 1RM and work up to 85%. I’m wondering if that’s wrong if I’m also adding up to 25% accommodating resistance? The bar speed on any of my speed pulls has never been quite as fast as my DE Squats and they didn’t feel all that slow but they did feel more like ME Deadlifts today though obviously I couldn’t have done 6 of them if they were. The bar speed was consistent all the way up with no problem breaking the ground and it also felt kind of cool knowing I was holding 395 lbs. at the top which is 20 lbs. more than my 1RM.

Something I think I finally really figured out today was the whole spread the floor especially trying to twist your toes out. I could really feel the difference doing that today and think it’s because previously I’ve been so far below my 1RM when doing multiple Deadlifts I really didn’t get a chance to practice it and get it dialed in. This is the first time I’ve Deadlifted for multiple sets and really felt it in my hamstrings and glutes and very little in my quads. They also didn’t hammer my lower back the way they usually do.
 
TunnelRat said:
Be wise with shoulder pain, it can be an indication of an impending injury. Backing off the weight and certain exercises can be a help, as well as your foam rolling.

If the pain persists, see a doctor (preferably a physiatrist). If it gets better, then full speed ahead!
Click to expand...

Good advice TR. I’ve cut out the most offending exercises completely and will not add them back until the pain is gone. In all the other exercises involving major shoulder movement I’ve cut the weight in half and will slowly start working my way back up as the pain lessens, which does seem to be happening. And I’m also now foam rolling twice a day along with doing various shoulder exercise and stretching.
 
Great job grinding it out Grunt. I too have recently had left shoulder problems during the last two weeks of fives. Luckily I'm done with my first cycle and I even UPDATED my pics on my latest post. Three more weeks until I start UD2.0. Going through a breakup of five years with the GF so it will be nice to have something to sink my time into. Full speed for you!
 
Svpeacock said:
Great job grinding it out Grunt. I too have recently had left shoulder problems during the last two weeks of fives. Luckily I'm done with my first cycle and I even UPDATED my pics on my latest post. Three more weeks until I start UD2.0. Going through a breakup of five years with the GF so it will be nice to have something to sink my time into. Full speed for you!
Click to expand...

Thanks! My shoulder is feeling a little better after a few unscheduled days off while I was travelling to Saint Croix, USVI. I did some shoulder rehab exercises while gone but no heavy lifting of any kind. Sucks to hear about your GF but at least you have something positive to focus on.
 
GPP 21-24 March

BW = 177 lbs.

GPP:
Hill Sprints various numbers and distances all x 3
Ocean Kayaking various distance x 5

Pre/Rehab:
Various shoulder exercises and stretches
Various arm and forearm exercises

I had an unexpected trip to Saint Croix, USVI and didn’t have access to any weights so I focused on doing GPP and Pre/Rehab work for the last few days.
 
DE Bench – Today

BW = 174 lbs.

Dynamic Effort:
Flat Bench Press (95 lbs. + 50 lbs. chains x 3) x 9 (27 reps) (45 second rest)

Assistance:
Incline DB Press 30 x 20, 35 x 20, 40 x 15 (55 reps) (90 sec rest)
Superset with
Wide Grip Cable Rows 50 x 20, 70 x 20, 90 x 20 (60 reps) (90 sec rest)

Overhead DB Triceps Extensions 10 x 30, x 20, x 15 (65 reps) (90 sec rest)
Superset with
Close Parallel Grip Lat Pulls 50 x 20, 70 x 20, 90 x 20 (60 reps) (90 sec rest)

Lateral Raises 5 x 30, 7.5 x 23, 10 x 15 (68 reps) (90 sec rest)
Superset with
Incline DB Curls 10 x 30, 15 x 22, 17.5 x 13 (65 reps) (90 sec rest)

YTI on bench (Y) 5 x 30, (T) 5 x 20 (I) 5 x 25 (75 reps) (90 sec rest)
Superset with
Standing Twisting Crunches 46 lbs. band x 50, x 50, x 50 (150 reps), (90 sec rest)

This was my first real workout in a week since I spent the last week hopping across the Pacific. I was able to get some mini workouts in on the aircraft using my bands and attaching them to cargo tie-down rings but it wasn’t the same as having a power rack, BBs and DBs.

I’ve decided that for now I will do all pushing assistance movements unilaterally since my right arm is very weak compared to my left right now.

I dialed the weights back a little and upped the volume to ease back into it. Also the extra volume and doing supersets I hope will improve my GPP since I’m finding it’s sorely lacking.

I got a good ego boost while in Hawaii on this trip. When I showed up in the hotel lobby to meet with the aircrew to head to Dukes I was wearing a sleeveless shirt and one of the nurses we were carrying yelled out “look at those pythons” and then proceeded to examine and be impressed by the rest of my muscles especially my glutes. Not bad to have a 20 something checking you at 51.
 
ME Squat, Today:

BW 175 lbs.

Max Effort:
Ultra-Wide Stance Low Box Squats Bar x 10, 95 x 5, 135 x 3, 185 x 1, 225 x 1, 275 x 1, 295 x 1 (PR)

Assistance:
Concentric GMs 225 x 3, 235 x 3, 245 x 3, 255 x 3, 265 x 6 (+w) (18 reps) (2 minute rest)
Ghetto GHR -26 lbs. bands x 8, x 8, x 4 (20 reps) (2 minute rest)
SLDL (will do at work)
Medium Grip Cable Rows 100 x 12, 110 x 12, 120 x 12
Side Bends (will do at work)

It was nice to see my Low Box Squat go up another 10 lbs. despite yet another week of almost no working out. It also felt really good in that it was a nice smooth rep with no slowing or grinding it out.

I started to cramp up on the 3rd set of GHRs so I called it quits for hamstring work. I also got up late (still jet lagged) so I’ll finish up the rest at work.
 
DE Bench, Today

BW 177 lbs.

Dynamic Effort:
Flat Bench Press (105 lbs. +50 lbs. chains x 3) x 12 (24 reps) (30 second rest)

Assistance:
Incline DB Press 40 x 20, 45 x 15, 50 x 12 (47 reps) (2 minute rest)
Overhead Triceps Extensions 15 x 20, 17.5 x 12, x 10 (42 reps) (2 minutes rest)
Wide Grip Cable Row 100 x 20, 110 x 20, 120 x 20 (60 reps) (2 minute rest)
Close Parallel Grip Lat Pull 100 x 17, 110 x 15, 120 x 8 (40 reps) (2 minute rest)
Lateral Raise 10 x 20
Rear Delt Raise 7.5 x 20
Standing Crunch 60 lbs. bands x 30
Hammer Curls 25 x 15

I started feeling crappy by the 5 exercise (a little too much partying last night) so rather than skip any one exercise I just did one set each of the remaining ones.

P.S. Wow, it worked. I’ve been having trouble posting lately between the board being unavailable and the editor not accepting any imput so I haven’t logged a workout in a while.
 
Myrrhman, I would make my workout look more like CDBs which is one of the best routines I’ve seen someone post here in a long time (Legs/Push/Pull), one exercise each hitting things from different angles by splitting the routine.

My second HST cycle was just the following done 3 times a week for a total of 3 workouts a week:

A/B

Dead Lift / Squat
Flat Bench / Shoulder Press
Pull Up / Cable Row
Barbell Shrugs / Barbell Calf Raises

My third cycle was the following done twice a week for a total of 6 workout days a week:

So with that I think I’ve finalized my exercises for my first real HST cycle after I SD.

A
Dead Lift
Flat Bench
Pull Up (wide grip)

B
Squat
Dips
Chin Up (close grip)

C
Calf Raises
Standing Shoulder Press
Cable Rows

These were probably the two most productive HST cycles I’ve done.
 
ME Squat, Today:

BW = 177 lbs.

Max Effort:
Rack Pulls (bottom pin just below knees) 135 x 1, 225 x 1, 315 x 1, 405 x 1, 455 x 1 (20 lbs. PR)

Assistance:
Concentric GMs 225 x 5, 245 x 5, 265 x 5, 275 x 5 (10 lbs. PR)
Parallel Grip Deadlifts 270 x 8

I did a short workout today since my GPP is sucking probably because of the heat and I’m not staying hydrated enough, and because I’m only 48 hours out from doing the DE Squat workout on Monday.

I decided to try Parallel Grip Deadlifts using 2 Olympic bars and they went very smoothly. I wasn’t sure how well they would balance. I really felt them in my Quads which is why I wanted to try them since I’ve been neglecting Quad dominant exercises to focus on bringing up my Hamstrings and Glutes.

I’ve been lazy about logging my workouts so just a short recap. Monday I did a DE Squat workout and Tuesday I did a DE Bench workout. Prior to that I missed a few days because of training for a deployment and travelling, however I was able to get in good ME Squat and Bench workouts in Guam the middle of last week because the hotel we stayed in actually had a power rack in their gym. On most of the days I couldn’t use weights I was able to do some GPP work, mostly Hill Sprints and Cadence Runs.

I can already tell that the AZ heat is kicking my butt even worse than last year. I used to weigh only 140 lbs. and had gained up to 167 last year adding an addition 10 lbs. up to 177 this year and boy can I feel the difference carrying the extra body weight. Not to mention the added heat my body is generating because of the additional food I need to maintain this body weight.
 
ME Bench, Today:

BW 176 lbs.

Max Effort:
Flat Close Grip Bench Press Bar x 10, 95 x 5, 135 x 3, 185 x 1, 205 x 1, 220 x 1 (+5 lb. PR)

Assistance:
Incline DB Press 70 x 11 +3 +3 (16 reps) (20 seconds between clusters) (+5 lb. PR)
Triceps Press Downs (will do at work)
Close Parallel Grip Chin Ups (will do at work)
Abs Exercise (will do at work)

GPP, Yesterday:
1 mile tempo run

Well hopefully my right shoulder is back to normal since today I got a +5 lbs. PR on the Close Grip Bench. The rep was not pretty but this time it was my left arm that was lagging which is normal since my right arm has always been stronger except when the shoulder impingement was causing problems.

I’m also getting better on the DB Presses with another +5 lbs. PR there. In the past stability has always been a problem for me but since I started doing more of them to help rehab my right shoulder I’m slowly getting better at them.
 
grunt11 said:
Myrrhman, I would make my workout look more like CDBs which is one of the best routines I’ve seen someone post here in a long time (Legs/Push/Pull), one exercise each hitting things from different angles by splitting the routine.
Click to expand...

Where can i found this?

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2
 
Ironkid said:
Where can i found this?

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2
Click to expand...

Sorry I can’t find the post but it was something very simple like Squat/Bench/Row, Deadlift/Press/Lat Pull, Squat/Bench/Row, I’m guessing done Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I did something very similar in a couple of my early cycles but added a little more variety like Dips in place of one Bench day.

Keeping it simple can actually be very effective.
 
grunt11 said:
Sorry I can’t find the post but it was something very simple like Squat/Bench/Row, Deadlift/Press/Lat Pull, Squat/Bench/Row, I’m guessing done Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I did something very similar in a couple of my early cycles but added a little more variety like Dips in place of one Bench day.

Keeping it simple can actually be very effective.
Click to expand...

Thanks grunt

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2
 
DE Bench, Today:

BW 177 lbs.

Dynamic Effort:
Flat Bench Press (120 lbs. + 30 lbs. chains x 3) x 12 (36 reps) (30 seconds rest)

Assistance:
Incline DB Press 55 x 15 +5 +5 +5 (30 reps) (30 seconds rest)
Overhead Triceps Extensions 15 lbs. x 15 +5 +5 +4 (29 reps) (30 seconds rest)
Supported DB Row 75 lbs. x 15 +5 +5 +5 (30 reps) (30 seconds rest)
Medium Supinated Grip Lat Pulls 110 lbs. x 15 +5 +5 +5 (30 reps) (30 seconds rest)
Rear Delt Raises 10 lbs. x 15 +5 +5 +5 (30 reps) (30 seconds rest)
Lateral Raises 15 lbs. x 15 +5 +5 +5 (30 reps) (30 seconds rest)
Hammer Curls 25 lbs. x 15 +5 +5 +5 (30 reps) (30 seconds rest)

It felt good to get in the first real workout I’ve had in a week after getting back from another trip. Despite the recent intermittent nature of my workouts the weights were just about perfect today as I came just short of failure on every set and cluster except for the DB Rows which I lowballed on purpose.
 
ME Squat, Today:

BW 180 lbs. (I ate a lot of salty junk food yesterday)

Max Effort:
Ultra-wide Stance Low Box Squat Bar x 10, 95 x 5, 135 x 3, 185 x 1, 225 x 1, 275 x 1, 300 x 1 PR

Assistance:
Concentric GMs 135 x 5, 225 x 5, 285 x 5 PR
Ghetto GHR -38 lbs. bands x 8, -26 lbs. bands x 8, -14 lbs. bands x 5 PR
Side Bends 80 lbs. x 15, x 15

The Box Squad was a real grind. From bottom to top I’ve never come up so slowly but I was determined to get it once I got the bar moving. It was actually the second attempt since the first try I pushed with my feet instead of leading with my head and didn’t even budge off the box. So I took another breath and tried again and made it albeit very slowly. However, it was a good experience since I’ve got a bad habit of giving up once I miss a weight when all I needed to do was correct my form. Also it showed me I could keep pushing even though my head felt like it was going to pop like a giant zit.

Despite my lower back feeling tired from the start 3 PRs in 3 exercises doesn’t suck.  It reminds me of the days I would go out to run feeling like crap and end having one of my best runs ever.
 
ME Bench, Today

BW 179

Max Effort:
Flat Bench Press Bar x 10, 95 x 5, 135 x 3, 185 x 1, 210 x 1, 230 x Fail, 210 x 1, 215 x 1

Assistance:
Incline DB Press 55 x 15 +5 +4 +3 (27 reps) (30 sec rest)
Medium Supinated Grip Lat Pulls 160 x 15 +5 +5 +5 (30 reps) (30 sec rest)
Supported DB Row 55 x 15 +5 +5 +5 (30 reps) (30 sec rest)
Triceps Press Downs 60 x 15 +5 +5 +5 (30 reps) (30 sec rest)
Hammer Curls 30 x 15 +5 +5 +5 (30 reps) (30 sec rest)

Well the 230 Bench didn’t quite crush me but it was much harder than I expected. I had improved my Close Grip Bench up to 220 so I hoped my regular Bench had also improved from 235 and boy was I wrong. I’m guessing right now it’s because that except for DE work I’ve been only using Close and Neutral Grip to keep the strain off my recovering shoulders. I started failing just off my chest as the bar started slowing down quickly though I actually stopped at about a 3 board height. The weight just felt oppressively heavy from the start, so much so that I couldn’t even unrack the bar my first try though I had good control of it on the way down. So as not to neglect my ME work I dropped back down and did 210 again and then 215 to get 3 total lifts above 90%.

Just as a test I’m going to use this as my ME exercise next week to see if it changes. Since my “training age,” 1 year bodybuilding and 5 months powerlifting is very novice I’m thinking I may be a good candidate for spending 2-3 weeks with the same ME lift especially the competition lift to improve my form.

The assistance work rep scheme looks a lot like the one from DE day because I decided that with all the time off I’ve had from trips I would be able to make gains for now starting with lower weight and progressing linearly until I get stuck around the 5-8 rep range before changing things up and going back to a more traditional low intensity/high volume on DE day with the reverse on ME day.
 
ME Squat, Today

BW 174 lbs.

Max Effort:

Deadlift Bar x 10, 135 x 5, 185 x 3, 225 x 1, 275 x 1, 315 x 1, 340 x 1, 365 x 1, 380 x 1 (+5 lbs. PR)

That’s it.

I worked early this weekend and didn’t want to completely skip working out so I decided just to do some Deadlifts and managed to get a +5 lbs. PR which is nice considering that just over a month ago I failed at 365 -10 lbs. from my PR. So I hope I can just caulk that one up to a bad day. 380 came up pretty easy but I decided to stop on a high note since it was also the 3rd lift at or above about 90%.

I do think that I need to deadlift more on ME days since I’m still so new to lifting and especially with a very wide stance. I feel I really need more practice with near max weights to improve my form.
 
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