Nativetroutbum's Training Log... comments/critique welcome!!!

Gym was crowded again today. Also, I messed with my exercise order a bit. Good day overall.

Chins: BW+50x5, BW+50x5, BW+50x5
DB Incline Press: 35x10, 90x5, 90x5, 90x5
DB Rows: 100x5, 100x5, 100x5
Dips: BW+95x5, BW+95x5, BW+95x5
DB Upright Rows: 25x5, 40x5, 40x5, 40x5
Deads: 45x5, 135x3, 225x1, 275x1, 335x5, 335x5
BB Curls: 95x5, 95x5, 95x5
Leg Press: 290x5, 380x2, 510x5, 510x5, 510x5
Calf Press: 365x5, 365x5, 365x5
Decline Crunches: 25, 25

Everything felt pretty good but I only managed 2 sets of deadlifts. Chins obviously felt better doing them first. Not sure what order I'll do on Friday.

BW was 179.6 after workout... seems I may need to eat a bit more...

Food:
Calories: 3189
Carbs: 345
Fats: 97
Protein: 256
 
Cardio today

Rowing machine:
500m 1:40
20 second sprint
20 second sprint

Treadmill:
25 minutes walking up hill... 3.3-3.1 speed, 13.5% incline.

BW: 180.6

Food
Calories: 3402
Carbs: 408
Fats: 73
Protein: 296
 
Had an outstanding day in the gym today! Went back to deadlifts first and CRUSHED them today. Making progress!

Deads: air squats, jumping jacks, 135x5, 225x2, 340x5, 340x5, 340x5 (!!!)
Chins: BW+50x5, BW+50x3+1+1, BW+50x1+1+1+1+1
Dips: BW+95x5, BW+95x5, BW+95x5
Leg Press: 200x5, 390x3, 515x5, 515x5, 515x5
Calf Press: 370x5, 370x5, 370x5
DB Row: 100x5, 100x5, 100x5
Decline Crunches: 25, 25
DB Upright Row: 20x7, 40x6, 40x6, 40x6
BB Curls: 95x5, 95x5

Deads at 340 ties my PR, but last cycle I only managed 2 sets. Today, not only did I get 3 sets of 5, but I could have gotten 7 in my first set and definitely 6 in my last set. I cut my warmups down quite a bit. I cut out DB incline presses as I didn't have a spotter today... I may decide to cut out DB Presses and just do dips for chest for the rest of this cycle because dips felt amazing today since my chest was fresh. +95 is pretty heavy for me and I was quite easily able to get 3 sets of 5 with perfect form. Chest definitely felt it.

BW was 181.6.

I ate like a horse today, I'm sure that helped my workout, slightly inflated my BW, and will hopefully help my recovery. Also going to eat like a horse tomorrow.

Food:
Calories: 3561
Carbs: 363
Fats: 102
Protein: 291
 
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Congrats, I was going to do 335 for 3x5 next session, but now I will have to try for 340 for 3x5, since you make it sound easy!

How much did you rest between sets? I need to rest more I think between sets of 5. I usually only rest 5 minutes because the gym is so busy.
 
Thanks, Sci. Somewhere between 4 and 5 minutes between sets on my deads today. I don't have a stopwatch, I just look at the clock when I'm done with a set, then grab the bar for my next set when I'm nearing 5 minutes.
 
Thanks, Sci. Somewhere between 4 and 5 minutes between sets on my deads today. I don't have a stopwatch, I just look at the clock when I'm done with a set, then grab the bar for my next set when I'm nearing 5 minutes.

I always thought you were supposed to cap a rest to 2 minutes otherwise you allow your muscles to recover too much? Or is that just BS and I'm getting confused with Myo-Reps?
 
I always thought you were supposed to cap a rest to 2 minutes otherwise you allow your muscles to recover too much? Or is that just BS and I'm getting confused with Myo-Reps?

It's bs. If you try to keep rest periods under 2 minutes on heavy deads, squats or even bench or overhead press, you are going to immediately die. Or at the very least, you won't be recovered enough to complete all reps.

As Bryan says, you should try to rest enough between sets that you can complete subsequent reps in each set.

Anyway, some pretty impressive deadlifting there. Great job.
 
Late congrats on the deads but I'm only just catching up :)

Re rest times: if I'm doing heavy deads I take as long as I need to feel ready but not so long as to cool down. I don't look at the clock any more. It might be 3 mins. It might be 5 mins. It might be longer for a 1RM attempt.

Seems to me that the only time it makes sense to limit your rest time between attempt/sets is if you have only a short time to train or if that is what you want to get better at, ie. if it helps prepare you for a situation/sport where you will not be able to fully recover before having to go again. Eg. In Oly weightlifting you only have 2 mins rest between attempts if you have to follow yourself. So, it's good to make attempts in training with "significant" loads and with only 2 mins rest or less between attempts.
 
Thanks, Totz and Lol! I'm feeling pretty good about my progress.

Didn't get a chance to post my workout yesterday so posting today.

Deads: 45x10, 135x5, 225x2, 345x5, 345x5 (345 is a PR!)
Dips: BW+100x5, BW+100x5, BW+100x5
Chins: BW+50x5, BW+50x5, BW+50x5+1
Leg Press: 200x5, 380x5, 520x5, 520x5, 520x5
Calf Press: 380x5, 380x5, 380x5
DB Rows: 100x5, 100x6, 100x7
DB Upright Rows: 20x8, 40x8, 45x5, 45x5
Decline Crunches: 25, 25, 25
BB Curls: 100x5, 100x5

Decided to go for it yesterday and I got it! I had to check the weight after my first set because 345 felt THAT good. Honestly, I think I had 2 more reps after 5; then I had at least 1 more rep for my 2nd set. I felt pretty good after 2 sets, but decided not to push it since this was the first time I've touched 345. As sore as I am today, I think that was a good call! Not sure what I'll do tomorrow, probably stick with 2 (maybe 3) @ 345x5 while progressing on other lifts.

Ate like a horse yesterday which, no doubt, helped me have a great workout. Also, in the last few weeks I think I've mastered the proper breathing technique during deadlifts which has made a huge difference especially at the bottom of the movement, getting that power burst right off the floor.

Yesterday:
Calories: 3603
Carbs: 381
Fats: 120
Protein: 288

BW was 183.2 after workout which is the first time the scale has read 183 anything... that said, a lot of that was my pre-workout meal and the 40+ ounces of water I drank during my workout. Today my BW was 180.6 after cardio.

Cardio today:
Rowing: 4x20-second-all-out sprints (averaging about 130m)
Treadmill: 25 minutes walking 3.3 speed at 13.5 incline.

Food today
Calories: 3290
Carbs: 304
Fats: 114
Protein: 295
 
Today's workout:

Deads: 155x8, 225x2, 345x5, 345x5
Dips: BW+100x5, BW+100x5, BW+100x5
Chins: BW+50x5, BW+50x4.9+1, BW+50x3+1+1+1
Leg Press: 290x5, 380x3, 525x5, 525x5, 525x5
DB Rows: 100x8, 100x8
DB Upright Rows: 25x8, 45x6, 45x6, 45x6
Calf Press: 380x8, 380x8

Skipped a few things today due to time constraints. My lower back was still sore, almost a "bad sore," but I went ahead and did deads anyway. I managed to get 2 full sets of 345x5. Today I really benefited from a workout partner. Dave (friend of mine who weighs 140) was also doing 345x5 and he inspired me to do a second set. Then during my second set, after 4 reps I said, "that's it" and I was ready to quit... Dave then chimed in with a friendly yet convincing "Bull$hit! One more rep, down and up!!" That did it and I got one more rep. Amazing how much of this is mental.

Everything else felt pretty good, my quads are definitely feeling really strong these days; they are definitely getting bigger especially the outside part of my quad. Hopefully I will be able to do deads again on Friday for another 2 sets @ 345x5, then 350 next week!!

No scale in the gym tonight... they moved it for some reason and I couldn't find it; didn't want to spend time looking for it.

Ate like a horse again today and will do so again tomorrow.

Calories: 3559
Carbs: 397
Fats: 121 (currently getting 20g of fats daily from fish oil and coconut oil)
Protein: 266

Hope everyone is doing well!!
 
Great week in the gym this week. Managed to hit a PR on deads and I continued that weight for three days.

Deads: 45x10, 135x5, 225x2, 345x5, 345x5
Dips: BWx5, BW+100x5, BW+100x5, BW+100x6
Chins: BW+52.5x5, BW+52.5x5, BW+52.5x4+1 (+ straps)
Leg Press: 200x5, 380x5, 530x5, 530x5, 530x5
DB Bent Rows: 100x7, 100x10, 100x10 (+straps)
DB Upright Rows: 25x8, 45x6, 45x6, 45x6
Calf Press: 380x7, 380x8, 380x8

Deads felt better today than they did on Wednesday, very happy that I was able to do "PR" weight deads 3 days this week. I decided to use straps on chins and DB bent rows, it definitely made a difference. Probably move up in weight on everything on Monday. Likely attempt 350 deads.

I didn't tally up my diet yet, but I know I was around 3600-3700 calories and around 275g of protein... I also didn't weigh myself but yesterday I was 182.2 after cardio.

Looking forward to two days of rest and lots of sleep this weekend!!
 
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Tallied up my food from yesterday... wow, I definitely ate like a horse (for me anyway). My estimates were a bit off, but this time, I under-estimated. I usually over-estimate, though I suppose all of the tracking I've been doing lately has somewhat improved my accuracy.

Calories: 3999
Carbs: 468
Fats: 107
Protein: 319
 
Crushed it today at the gym.

Deads: 45x10, 135x5, 225x2, 350x5, 350x5 (350 is a PR!)
Dips: BWx5, BW+105x5, BW+105x5, BW+105x5
Chins: BW+55x5, BW+55x5, BW+55x5 (used straps again)
Leg Press: 290x5, 470x2, 535x10, 535x10
DB Bent Rows: 100x10, 100x10
DB Upright Rows: 45x7, 45x7, 45x7
Calf Press: 390x7, 390x6, 390x7

Deads felt great! Form was good, breathing was good, probably had another rep in the tank for the first set. Full 5 minutes rest between sets for deads.
Dips also felt great, second set was strangely easier than the first.
Using straps on the chins has helped a bit.
No clue where 10 and 10 @ 535 came from on leg press. Everything felt great today.

BW was 182.4. I'm approaching 185 and cutting time... Not looking forward to that.

Food:
Calories: 3555
Carbs: 405
Fats: 88
Protein: 308
 
Great job with those deads. 350 is a milestone. Getting pretty close to being capable of a 405 single.
 
Way to go! Great deads... and for sets across too! You definitely have a 400+lb lift in you now. :)

That's some nice dipping too!
 
Thanks guys! Things seem to really be coming together!

Today was another good day in the gym, I hit all of my numbers AND I attempted a hard workout with a pretty serious carb reduction. Just wanted to see how I would feel with a lot fewer carbs. As it turned out, I felt great; which gives me hope that my cut won't be as bad as I expected.

Deads: 135x5, 135x3, 225x2, 350x5, 350x5 (wrist straps, belt)
Dips: BWx5, BWx5, BW+105x5, BW+105x5, BW+105x5
Chins: BW+55x5, BW+55x5, BW+55x5 (+wrist straps)
Leg Press: 290x5, 380x5, 540x6, 540x6, 540x4
Calf PRess: 390x7, 390x7, 390x7
DB Bent Rows: 100x10, 100x10, 100x5 (+wrist straps)
DB Upright Rows: 50x5, 50x5, 50x5
Decline Crunches: 15, 20, 20

Notes:
-Deads felt GREAT again. Felt like I had LOADS of torque today. Definitely had a rep or two left in the tank on the first set, and definitely 1 more on the second set! (I hadn't been posting "gear" but on my final weights during 5's, I use a belt and wrist straps for deads. I always wear wrestling shoes for all lifts.)
-Dips: Second set was again easier than the first. Maybe I need to do more warmups, or do an intermediate set with 1/2 load or something. Last rep of set 3 was very slow... probably 6+ second concentric which really left my chest and triceps screaming.
-Chins: First set I made sure to go to full extension and pause for a 1/2 second before pulling. Sets 2 and 3 I definitely went to full extension, but didn't pause as long. Used straps and managed a slight tweak in my right elbow; nothing major but it has me re-thinking using straps on weighted chins. Friday I'm going strapless on +60 chins; I'll likely have to cluster 15 reps, but that's better than an injury.
-DB rows: I'm at the limit of our DB's. I'm thinking of rigging some manner of T-bar row with a bar shoved into a corner or something.

Food today (intentionally went lower carbs today, just to see how "cutting" might feel.)
Calories: 2956
Carbs: 247
Fats: 92
Protein: 304
 
Just cardio today.

Total of 2 miles between jogging and walking uphill. Treadmill said about 390 calories burned...

Food:
Calories: 2574
Carbs: 226
Fats: 100
Protein: 202

Another (relatively speaking) "low carb" day today. Will do the same again tomorrow, will be interesting to see how I feel during workout. If I feel good and strong again, I suppose I'll keep with the slightly lowered calories (neighborhood of 2800-2900) for a few weeks to see how the ole' body fat reacts. I'm pushing 16% BF... I'm liking what's happening in the gym, I'm just not really liking what i'm seeing in the mirror. I think it's time to cut a little.
 
Thanks, LoL, I know you're right... I suppose I am my own biggest critic... I'm trying to not let the mirror bug me. I suppse what I'm going to do is continue to train as hard as possible and just lower my carbs a little, AND try to eat most of my carbs AFTER my workout. Thats what I did today, anyway, and it seemed to work pretty well.

2 new PRs today! Another PR for Deads and a new PR for weighted dips!

Deads: 95x5, 135x5, 225x3, 355x5, 355x5 (355 is a PR!)
Dips: BWx5, BWx5, BW+110x5, BW+110x4+1, BW+110x3+1+1 (BW+110 is a PR!)
CHins: BW+55x5, BW+55x5, BW+55x4+1 (no straps today)
Leg Press: 290x5, 380x5, 550x5, 550x5, 550x5
DB Bent Rows: 100x10, 100x10, 100x5 (no straps today)
Calf Press: 400x7, 400x7, 400x7
DB Upright Rows: 50x6, 50x6, 50x6
Decline Crunches: 20, 20

Notes
-Deads, Simply feeling great and continuing to move up in weight! Gonna keep going until I can't go anymore.
-Dips, Had to cluster these a bit today. Amazing what difference 5 pounds makes. A couple reps took a long time to grind out... left my pecs and tri's screaming again.
-Chins, No straps, no elbow pain.
-DB Bent Rows, No straps, no elbow pain... still hit my numbers though I had to re-grip with my left hand two times during my 2nd set.

Looking forward to two days of rest!

Food today:
Calories: 3308
Carbs: 338
Fats: 102
Protein: 279
 
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