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

My schedule was off from the start of the week, so Friday's w/o was pushed to Saturday... had my fantasy football draft 1/2 the day Saturday so I didn't get to the gym until 8:45pm. Had to cut the workout way down so I could be home at a reasonable hour.

Work sets:
Smith Squats: 3 @ "smith 265" x 5
Weighted Chins: 3 @ BW+35 x 5
Unweighted Chins: 2 @ BW x 12
DB Bench: 3 @ 80 x 5
BB Bench: 1 @ 135 x12 (just wanted to see how good ole' BB bench felt. Felt good.

Probably a 35 minute workout start to finish. I'll make up for it tomorrow. Tomorrow's work sets start with Deads @ 275x5!!
 
Had a great workout yesterday. Felt really strong through all exercises.

Work sets:
Deads 3 @ 275x5 (felt great! PR scheduled for Friday!)
Dips 3 @ BW+ 70x5
Leg press 3 @ 420 x5
Curls 3 @ 105 x5 (felt really close to 5rm )
Calf raises 1 @140x12 + 6 @140 x5 (was at a different gym... Calf press machine felt really heavy)
Hang cleans 5 @ 95 x 5 (still working on form)

Today was 35 minutes of uphill walking.

Squats@265 tomorrow. Hoping for the best.
 
Decent workout today... couple high points, couple lows.

Work sets:
Power Squats 2 @ 265 x 5. Decided not to push it. 265 felt pretty heavy... I may have overdone it on the warmups (135x10, 185x5, 225x5)
Chins 3 @ BW+40 x 5. These felt great, making progress.
Upright Rows 3 @ 65 x 10 Stepping down the weight on these until all shoulder issues subside.
SLDL 3 @ 185 x 5 Lower back was smoked, still sore from deads on Monday, so I stepped down the weight, focused on form...
DB Bench 3 @ 85 x 5 Felt great here... still progressing.
Shrugs: Went with DB's because of crowding at the gym (oh the joys of not using a real gym)... Finished with 80's x5
Skullcrushers: The single curl bar we have was in use by the same guy for about 40 minutes... I went with DB's and did a pair of giant sets, lying DB skullcrushers paired with standing tricep extentions 2 @ 20's x 10, 1 @ 25's x 10
Weighted incline crunches: 1 @ 25 x 20 + 1 @ 30 x 20
Skipped calf raises due to time constraints.
 
Good workout today, hit a couple PRs. Shoulder still ain't right, which is frustrating...

Work sets:
Deads 3 @ 285x5 (new PR!! very excited about this because 285 felt easy for 5.)
Dips 3 @ BW +75x5 (new PR... actually, anything above 45 was a new PR for me, but really only because I never tried "heavy" weighted dips. Love this exercise!!
Leg Press 3 @ 430 x5 (new PR!!)
DB Rows 3 @ 90lb db x5
BB Curl 3 @ 105x5 (last set did 4 and failed on the 5th 1/2 way up... then tried again and got it with a pretty bad break in form.)
Calf raises via "hack squat machine" 1 @ 110 x 12 + 1 @ 110 x 8 + 10 @ 110 x 3

Weighed 173.8 after workout. Definitely gaining, but definitely gaining more fat than I thought I would. Next cycle I'm going to up the cardio a little bit, I think. I like the weight gains, but definitely gaining a bit too much around the mid section.
 
So I'm definitely getting fatter (174 today), but I can't really argue with the strength increases I've experienced.

Had another great workout with a couple PRs. Today's work sets looks like this:

Squats: 2 @ 275x3, 2 @ 275x5, 2 @ 315x1 (New PR)
Chins: 5 @ BW+45x5
Upright Rows: 4 @ 75x5
SLDL: 3 @ 205 x5
DB Press: 3 @ 90x5 (new PR)
Shrugs: 3 @ 225 x5
Skull Crushers: 3 @ 90 x5
Calf press: 1 @ 160x12 + 10 @ 160x3
Weighted Crunches: 2 @ 25 x15 +5 @ 25 x5

Squats: First two sets were rough, not really sure what was going on there, but after sets 3 and 4, I felt great. Originally I was intending to just see what 315 felt like; I was just going to unrack it and re-rack it right away... After I unracked it, it didn't feel as heavy as I thought it would, so I stepped back and pushed out one rep. Form definitely wasn't perfect but I'm going to count it. After my first set of chins I decided to try 315 again and got it. Felt great!

Also decided I'd add a little more volume to chins hence the 5 sets.
 
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Tuesday was cardio day. Decided to up the intensity a bit. First did a 1 mile jog at 6.0 speed and 2% grade; then 25 minutes at 3.5 speed and 12% grade. Burned about 120 more calories this way.

Today was another great workout with a few PR. Work sets looked like this:

Deadlifts: 3 @ 300x5 (PR)
Dips: 4 @ BW+80x5 (added an extra set... pecs are lagging a bit, need to boost 'em.)
DB Rows: 3@ 90 x 5
Leg press: 3@ 470 x 5 (PR)
BB Curls: 3 @ 115 x 5 (PR)

Skipped everything else because I was pretty well spent.

Deads: I thought about trying 315 x1 just for good measure but wasn't "feeling it"... Still, I've never tried 300 before and it felt great. Definitely not easy, but I didn't struggle too bad with any rep.

Leg press: Was a bit easier than I thought it would be. Unfortunately we only have a "hammer strength" leg press, and it only fits 10 plates total, 5 on each side. The press without weight weights 20 pounds, so 470 is as high as it will go. For now, 470 is a really good 5RM, definitely worked hard to get those 15 reps.

BB Curls: Again, another PR; never tried to curl 115 before but I got all 15 reps spread over 3 sets. I did have a spotter who probably helped me a bit on rep 5 of sets 2 and 3, but otherwise he didn't touch the bar.

Weighed 172.8 today. Ordered a body fat caliper and will implement the same method Totentanz uses during my next HST cycle.
 
Friday was the final workout of my first HST cycle. Overall this has been a great cycle. SD is going to feel good (need the break) but I'm already looking forward to setting up my next cycle.

Friday's work sets:
Power Squat: 2 @ 275x5 (stopped short due to slight pain in right knee)
Chins: 4 @ BW + 50 (followed up with two sets of alternating grip chins @ BW x5... just to get a feel for the motion)
Upright rows: 3 @ 75 x 10 (left shoulder still ain't right...)
SLDLs: 3 @ 205 x 5
DB Press: 1 @ 95's x5, 2 @ 100's x 3 -- PR, never even touched the 100's before. Had a spotter and he helped on the left side a little on the 3rd rep.
Shrugs: 3 @ 255 x 5
Skull Crushers: 3 @ 95 x 5
Incline Crunches: 3 @ BW x 20
Calves: Skipped

BW was 173 after workout. BW gain this HST cycle was 8 pounds, hoping maybe 1/2 of that is muscle gain... Received my bf caliper; will begin measurements prior to next cycle.

Next week is SD... though I may do a little light cardio, just to keep the blood flowing a bit... (thoughts on this anyone?)
 
Frustrating... just posted a message but it's gone. Oh well.

Sorry I haven't been around in a while. Work/life = busy.

15's went well. Added 10 pounds to each lift. Some 15 rep maxes are still a little light.

Cardio is the same, T/Th/Sat, 12.5% incline; 3.5 speed. HR in the 140's to 150's.

10's and 5's will be an A/B split. Not quite as simple as before, but trying to focus a bit more on biceps and chest; so adding a bit more volume.

A
Deads
Chins
DB Press
Leg Press
DB Hammer Curls
Skull Crushers
SuperSet Lateral Raises/Scaption Front Raises
Calf Raises
Crunches

B
Squats
Dips
SL Deads
DB Bent Rows
Shruts
SuperSet Leg Extensions/Leg Curls
BB Curls
Calf Raises
Crunches

Hope everyone is doing well!!
 
Been a while since I updated my log, but I've been motoring right along with my workouts. Work and life have both been so busy, haven't had any time to update.

Finished week 2 of 5's yesterday. Current BW is 173.4, BF is 14.4% (Jackson Pollock 3 - caliper method).
Lean body weight =148.3 lbs.

Noteable exercises @ 1/2 way through my 4 weeks of 5's:

Squats 3 @ 250x5
Standard Deadlifts 3 @ 275x5 (no longer doing "sumo," standard deadlifts have been feeling amazing! 275 x 5 was quite easy.)
Dips 5 @ BW+65 x5
DB Chest Press 5 @ 85x5
Chins 5 @ BW+45x5
DB Bent Rows 5 @ 85x5
Leg Press 3 @ 400x5
BB Bicep Curls 5 @ 85x5

So I'm still moving up the scales a bit, bodyfat seems to be sticking around 14% while lean body mass is going up a little.

Gonna get a general physical at some point soon (haven't had one in years); if I get a clean bill of health, I'm thinking of adding creatine to my supplementation plan which currently consists of whey protein, multi-vitamin, and fish oil. Expecting to see some increases accross the board with creatine supplementation.

Hope everyone is doing well!!
 
Nice to see you back posting again. Good work on the Dips and Chins adding +65 and +45 to your body weight respectively. I’m interested in hearing how the Conventional Deadlifts work out for you too so keep posting.
 
Thanks, G11. I really love the 5's; it's really easy for me to get motivated for a heavy lift because it's just 5 reps :)

Today would have been a workout including Deads @ 5x285, but this dang hurricane Sandy has pretty well shut everything down. My office is closed so my "office gym" is also closed...

Hopefully I'll be able to get back on track tomorrow.
 
Workout is a bit off stride due to last week. Last tuesday I went to a gym with a friend of mine. Managed deadlifts @285 and then got silly and did barbell bench, 3 @ 205x5. It felt heavy which was discouraging!! So then I got super stupid and did 3 sets of 3 negatives with 225. My right pec was so sore I couldn't do anything chest except for unweighted dips and pushups for the rest of last week. Thankfully I got back on track today and had a pretty good workout today:

Conventional Deadlifts: 3 @ 300x5 (going to shoot for 315 on Friday)
Weighted Dips: 3 @ BW + 75x5
DB Bent Rows: 3 @ 90, supersetted with unweighted dips x 10
Leg Press: 3 @ 380x5, supersetted with lat pull downs @ 130 x 10
BarBell Curls: 3 @ 95 x5, did 6 on my last set

Conventional vice sumo deadlifts have felt surprisingly good. I feel every bit as "powerful" as I did with a modified sumo stance. At heavier weights (300 is heavy for me) it's a bit harder to keep my form and I tend to power up my hips too fast which gets the geometry of the lift off a bit, the bar is too far forward and I end up putting too much pressure on my lower back. Friday being my last day of 5's I'm going to shoot for 315 and see what happens.

Body weight was 175 after my workout today which was pleasently high. Haven't measured my skinfolds in a few weeks. Probably do one final weigh-in+skinfolds on Friday.

Hope all are doing well!!
 
I like the 3 sets of heavy negative triples. Yeh, you'll feel a bit sore, but negatives are fantastic for building strength in my experience.
 
nativetroutbum said:
So then I got super stupid and did 3 sets of 3 negatives with 225. My right pec was so sore I couldn't do anything chest except for unweighted dips and pushups for the rest of last week.
Click to expand...

How do you go about doing these? Do you have a training partner who can help with the eccentrics? The only way I can do negs is with singles as I have to lower the bar to the rack safety bars, scramble out from under the bar, deadlift it back up to the pins, rinse and repeat. It's such a pain because I have to get set-up again between reps.
 
Yes, Lol, I have a friend I workout with on occassion. It would be great to have a consistent workout partner, but with my schedule, it's just impossible.

For the negatives I did, I would lower the weight slowly for 8-10 seconds, and once it hits my chest the spotter lifts the bar back up to the starting position, I push very little on the way up, so you have to trust your spotter :0)
 
Finished up my 2nd HST cycle with a slight back injury...

So Monday I managed deadlifts 3 @ 300x5. My form must have been a bit off on my last few reps because I tweaked something in my lower back which pretty much ended my HST cycle. I managed to get a couple workouts in on Thursday and Friday, but I didn't really push anything too hard. As of this morning, my back is about 95% good; the week off will do everything well.

A few high points of this HST cycle:
-Conventional Deads @ 300 x 5. I think I would have gotten 315 x 3-4 if I didn't tweak my back.
-Chins @ BW + 60 x 5
-Dips @ BW + 85 x 5
-DB Bent Rows @ 90 x 5
-BW is up hovering around 173-175 (165 at start of first HST cycle)

A few low points:
-Left shoulder still hurts, preventing me from doing overhead presses. I have such a flexibility problem in my left shoulder, that even grabbing the bar when squatting hurts... Need to really work on flexibility and rotator cuff strengthening.
-Squats kinda stalled this cycle, 245 felt considerably heavier than it did last cycle. Could have just been diet/sleep on those days, but I stopped at 245...
-Body fat is up a bit (trying not to let that bother me)
-I'm questioning my workout routine... might go back to the drawing board or just go back to my first HST cycle. More to come on that; hope to get a bit of input from the board.

Thanks all!
 
You aren't doing anything it seems for rear delts, rotator cuff, rhomboids, etc. Stuff like wide-grip rows, bent laterals , rear delt rows, external rotations. This would really help balance your shoulders. Also, I personally have found that the lower back gets abused in the high frequency of HST. I avoid dead lifts, back squats, and may even switch barbell rows to seated cable rows. I am really tall with narrow hips, and my lower back gets thrashed at work, so this may not be the case for you. I definitely don't recommend high-frequency dead lifts or even back squats for some people.
you may need to tweak your exercise selection a bit to prevent injury, good luck on your next cycle!
 
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Thanks for the input SCI. I definitely need the critical analysis of my routine so I can get this thing sorted out. I do rotator cuff exercises (internal and external rotations) with thera-bands on my cardio days; I've definitely not been consistent though, some days I do them, other days I just go home :eek:) I'm going to move these "pre-hab" exercises to my workout days and do them daily... period.

You are correct that I've been neglecting rear delts... I'm going to mix in DB seated rear delt raises on my next cycle!!

My body has responded pretty well to deadlifts 3 days a week, same with squats. I'm not tall (5'10ish).

Gonna post my next cycle later today. Trying to simplify a bit, but want to make sure I'm hitting everything...

Thanks again for your help!! I hope you'll take a look and provide feedback on my exercise selection for HST#3!!
 
Planned HST Cycle #3.

Depending on the exercise, I will do 1-2 set for 15's, 2-3 sets for 10's and 3-5 sets for 5's. This time around, I do not intend to do an A/B workout; I will just try and gut through a single routine 3 days a week. I will likely alternate Squats and Deadlifts when I get past the first week of 5's unless I just really feel great and my lower back isn't fried.

Here is what I'm planning; please take a look and critique it. I can't do overhead presses yet, but I'm trying to hit everything; balance. Please let me know if you think I'm missing anything major.

Weight training will be M/W/F, cardio will be T/T/Sat. Cardio will be up-hill brisk walking with some possibly jogging and/or HIIT on Saturdays.
Squats
Deadlifts
Chins
Dips
DB Bent Rows
DB Bench (incline)
Seated Rr Delt raise
Shrugs
Calf Raise
Crunches
 
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