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

Definitely sore today, but not as bad as I thought.

Cardio today... felt pretty good.

177 BW after cardio today.

Wife made chili and corn bread for dinner... I crushed two bowls full and 4 cornbread muffins... threw off my diet numbers but it was totally worth it...

Calories: 3632
Carbs: 403g
Fats: 94
Protein: 281

For the non-initiated, wtf is "chilli" ... ? Is it just minci, beans and actual chilli ... ?
 
@ Alex: chili is a spicy thick soup eaten hot. There are thousands of different ways to make it, but my wife's is made of beef, tomatoes, two types of kidney beans, chopped onions, chopped green peppers, sliced garlic, and a bunch of different spices... You first brown the ground beef with the green peppers, garlic, onions and spices... then you mix the rest of the stuff in a crock pot. Once the beef is brown you mix it all together in the crock pot and leave it simmering all day, stirring occassionally. Delicious especially on a cold evening.

Btw, what is "minci"???

GREAT workout today.

Squats: Skipped (Totz and others are right... heavy squats and heavy deads in the same day is probably too much...)
Deadlifts: 45x10, 135x10, 225x5, 315x5, 325x3, 325x3 (325 is a PR! I may have been able to get 4 in my first set.)
Chins: BWx1, BWx1, BW+55x4.5, BW+55x4+1, BW+55x3+1+1 (had to cluster)
Dips: BWx5, BWx5, BW+95x5, BW+95x5, BW+95x4+1 (didn't cluster the first two sets of 95!!)
DB Bent Rows: 100x7, 100x7, 100x5 (3-4 second negatives on last set)
Bent Rear Delt Raise: 30x5, 35x5, 35x5
Standing DB Curl: 35x5, 35x5, 35x5 (didn't really push it here, but went nice and slow)
Leg press: 200x5, 200x5, 290x5, 380x5 (just getting a little quad work since I skipped squats)
Crunches on ball: 20, 20

BW after workout was 179.4

Diet:
Calories: 3234
Carbs: 377g
Fats: 83g
Protein: 246
 
Today was my last day of 5's; work was crazy Friday so I missed my workout and had to push it off until this morning. Went to the "other" office gym; pretty much had the place to myself and had a great workout.

Managed to get 5 PRs today!!... For me, this is the best I've ever ended a cycle. Feeling GREAT good going into SD!!

Deadlifts: 45x10, 135x10, 225x5, 325x5, 330x5 330 is a PR (little bit of back rounding on the last rep and a half, but I got it.)
Chins: BWx1, BWx1, BW+60x5, BW+60x5, BW+60x4+.5+.5 (tried twice, just couldn't get that last rep...) BW+60 is a PR
Dips: BWx5, BWx5, BW+100x3+1+1, BW+100x3+1+1, BW+100x3+1+.5 (failed 1/2 way up) BW+100 is a PR
DB Bent Rows: 105x7, 110x5, 110x5 110 is a PR
Rear Delt Raises: 3 @ 35 x 5
Pec Dec Machine thing: 80x10, 90x7, 90x7
Leg Press: 45x 10, 225 x7, 405x5, 495x5 495 is a PR
BB Preacher Curl (curly bar): 70x10, 100x5, 100x5, 100x5
Crunches on the ball, 20, 25

BW was 178.5 after workout.

Diet is going well. Going to keep consuming 3200 calories for today, tomorrow, and Monday... then drop down to "maintenance" calories for Tuesday-Sunday. Once SD is over, I'll reassess calorie needs, but will probably still be shooting for ~3200/day.

Hope everyone is doing well!!
 
Very fine way to end a cycle. Good job NTB! 5 PR's!!! :cool:

You have some really good lifts there. Your dipping and chinning strength are very good. Do you ever attempt 1RM's?
 
Thank you, Lol! I appreciate the encouragement!!

I haven't attempted a 1RM on anything in a long time (honestly, probably not since college). If I feel this good at the end of my next cycle, I will attempt some 1RM's.

Thanks again!!
 
SD period ends tomorrow, so Monday begins my next cycle! Nothing hurts, so I'm considering skipping the 15's this go-around.

Will post my slightly modified program once I fine-tune it tomorrow.

I've been eating about 2500 calories all SD week, keeping protein high, but will eat 3200 tomorrow in preparation for the start of my next cycle. Going to continue 3200 calories/day and see how that goes after a couple weeks; maybe adjust then.

Hope everyone is doing well!
 
Thanks, Sci. I'm hoping for another great HST cycle!

Started off well today, I skipped 15's and went straight to 10's.

Deads: 135x12, 225x10, 225x10
Chins: BWx1, BWx1, BW+25x10, BW+25x8+1+1
Dips: BWx5, BWx1, BW+45x10, BW+45x10
DB Rows: 75x10, 75x10
Leg Press: 110x10, 200x10, 200x10
DB Incline Press: 35x12 (really slow) 60x10, 60x10
Rear Delt Raise: 10x10, 10x10
Single arm DB Preacher curl: 20x10, 20x12
Calves on leg press: 200x15, 200x15
Decline Situps: 15, 15

Felt great, for jumping right into 10's... Went a little light in a few areas, but I'll be adding weight every workout; some places i'll add more than others.

Deads felt incredible... I think i can move the weight up considerably here.

Gonna stay off squats for this cycle and give my shoulder a total rest. Incline presses felt zero pain today and I even increased my range of motion at the stretched position slightly. Very happy about this! Hope it stays solid.

Nutrition (so much for 3200 calories!! ha ha!!)
Calories: 3527
Carbs: 396
Fats: 105
Protein: 270

BW was 177.4 after workout, which I'm happy about; pretty much right where I left off last cycle.
 
Personally I wouldn't bother w/lat raises until the 5's. There's just not enough progression. The alternative (IMO) is use a low weight for the first week of the 10's, then bump it by one increment for the week after and THEN start progressing in the 5's. I used to hold out around 8RM for them back when I did them in a typical HST framework. Didn't like them to become jerky.


Solid looking routine, nice dip strength, what's your height btw - to give some context to the BW ... ?
 
@Alex: I'm about 5'9.5".. 5'10 on a good day :) Thanks for the suggestion re: the shoulder work. Since I've had some minor shoulder issues I'm throwing in the shoulder work just to make sure that I keep everything in there stimulated and the blood flowing. I plan to do exactly what you suggest: start really low, bump it up a notch for the 2nd week of 10's, and then progress through the 5's. From start to finish I'll be going from 10 pound DBs to maybe 35's or 40's so I definitely agree, there isn't much room for progression.

Today was cardio-day (only 20 minutes on the treadmill) and I also did 3 sets of 25 decline situps.

Diet:
Calories: 3128
Carbs: 307
Fats: 108
Protein: 260

BW was 176 after cardio
 
Wow, had a GREAT workout today.

Had a meeting in the city this AM and I left my coffee in the car before I jumped on the train (no coffee allowed on train...)... so I basically only had a few sips. Got back to my office around 2pm and, still had nearly a full travel-mug of coffee. Finished up the work day around 5:30 but decided to choke down my cold coffee before my workout. Wow... I felt it. Felt great.

Deads: 135x15, 235x10, 235x10
Chins: BWx1, BWx1, BW+25x10, BW+25x10 (got 2 sets of straight 10's with +25)
Dips: BWx5, BWx1, BW+50x10, BW+50x10
Leg Press: 200x5, 250x10, 250x10
DB Bent Rows: 75x10, 75x10
DB Incline Press: 35x15 (super slow) 65x10, 65x10
Rear Delt raises: 10x10, 10x10, 10x10
Single Arm DB Preacher Curl: 25x10, 25x12 (supersetted with the rear delt raises)
Calf presses on leg press: 220x10, 220x10
Decline crunches: 15, 15

Remarkable how sore my upper back and lats were today. Decided I would not "progress weights" on rows and chins. Will add weight on Friday. Shoulder felt GREAT again today on incline presses; again was able to really push into the full stretch position rather than stopping short. Very excited about the fact that I'm almost back to feeling 100%. Who knows, maybe one day soon I'll be able to add BB overhead presses back in!

Diet
Calories: 3178
Carbs: 308
Fats: 99
Protein: 273

As a side note, I am trying a new multi-vitamin, "Animal Pak" starting tomorrow. Not really expecting anything different but placebo effect can be pretty strong! :)

Hope everyone is doing well!
 
Personally, I wouldn't bother with a BB overhead press. As part of an Olympic lift they're 'ok' but I've always found the reduced ROM and restriction on lateral movement, shoulder rotation is less-than-ideal for the shoulder joint itself. DB overheard or a seated incline, at a steep angle (ala a shoulder press and not a chest press, which is what a shallow "Incline Press" should be) is definitely better in my experience.
 
Thanks for the input, Alex. The first time I managed to get OH presses into my workout I felt like my shoulders and even my upper chest were making some nice progress... and then I hurt myself. That said, I'll probably take your advice and play it a bit "safe" with all things shoulder for the foreseeable future.

Cardio today; 30 minutes on an 12.5 incline, 3.3-3.5 speed with about 1/2 a mile worth in the middle at speed 6.5.

Also did 3 sets of 15 situps on the ball.

Diet:
Calories: 3103
Carbs: 288
Fats: 88
Protein: 306

BW was 176 after cardio.
 
Personally, I wouldn't bother with a BB overhead press. As part of an Olympic lift they're 'ok' but I've always found the reduced ROM and restriction on lateral movement, shoulder rotation is less-than-ideal for the shoulder joint itself. DB overheard or a seated incline, at a steep angle (ala a shoulder press and not a chest press, which is what a shallow "Incline Press" should be) is definitely better in my experience.

I agree with alex here. I will go one step further, and say that I believe dumbells are far better suited for almost any deltoid exercise than a barbell, actually. Upright rows, overhead presses, front raises, rear delt rows, every single one of these exercises has better range of motion and joint safety using dumbells, rather than the barbell version. At least in my experience. Although I still enjoy a wide-grip barbell bench press, or seated press if I am careful and limit range of motion.
 
I agree with alex here. I will go one step further, and say that I believe dumbells are far better suited for almost any deltoid exercise than a barbell, actually. Upright rows, overhead presses, front raises, rear delt rows, every single one of these exercises has better range of motion and joint safety using dumbells, rather than the barbell version. At least in my experience. Although I still enjoy a wide-grip barbell bench press, or seated press if I am careful and limit range of motion.

I'm going down this route myself, replacing all pushing exercises (besides pushups) with dumbbells.

Which reminds me - I am starting to think that we should probably be doing pushups regularly, from a shoulder health perspective.
 
...
Which reminds me - I am starting to think that we should probably be doing pushups regularly, from a shoulder health perspective.
I agree. I do them most days after I've done some dislocates and shoulder stretches. Just a single set to failure. Sometimes I go fast and sometimes slow. Then I do some more dislocates and stretches.
 
Appreciate the feedback guys. I've always loved pushups but I don't work them into my routine currently... maybe I can figure them in; just don't want to overdo it with dips and incline dumbell presses. Maybe I'll work them in on my cardio days... could serve as some healthy pre-hab AND will get the blood flowing in the chest and shoulders to assist some with recovery. (?)

Today's workout was great, just a touch of discomfort in the left shoulder during my 2nd set of incline presses.

Deadlifts: 135x12, 185x5, 245x10, 245x10
Chins: BWx1, BWx1, BW+27.5x10, BWx27.5x10 (barely got my chin past the bar on the last rep...)
Dips: BWx5, BWx1, BW+55x10, BW+55x10
Leg Press: 200x5, 275x10, 275x10
DB Bent Rows: 80x10, 80x10
DB Incline Press: 35x12 (super slow) 70x10, 70x10
Bent Rear Delt raises: 15x10, 15x10, 15x10 (supersetted with curls)
Single Arm DB Preacher Curl: 30x10, 30x10
Standing Calf raises: BWx15, BWx15, BWx15
Decline Crunches: 15, 15

Diet went a little crazy today, breakfast had 1040 calories and 158 carbs by itself!
Calories: 3692
Carbs: 450
Fat: 91
Protein: 273

BW was 178.8 today after workout.
 
Did some cardio yesterday... went a little crazy and actually did more jogging than walking. Felt pretty motivated watching Rugby on the TV (I used to play in college) so that helped move me along. Anyway, I managed to log about 3.5 total miles running a couple laps then walking about a 1/2 lap. "running" means 6.5 speed... walking was 3.0 speed... incline stayed at 2.0.

Workout today was pretty good.

Deadlifts: 135x12, 185x5, 255x10, 255x10 (felt great)
Chins: BWx1, BW+30x10, BW+30x7+1+1+1
Dips: BWx5, BWx5, BW+60x10, BW+60x10 (last rep was slow and shaky but I got it.)
Leg Press: 200x10, 290x10, 290x10
DB Rows: 80x10, 80x10
DB Incline Press: 35x12 (slow motion) 70x10, 70x10
Single Arm preacher curl: 30x12, 30x12, (left arm only got 10 on second set.)
Bent Rear Delt Raises: 15x12, 15x12, 15x12
Calf Raises: BWx15 (calves were still crazy sore... didn't want to push it.)
Decline Crunches: 15, 15

So I've been using wrist straps for deads, chins, and rows. Maybe one day I'll focus on grip strength, but not now... i'm ok using the straps for now since if I don't I feel like I'm compromising my workout due to grip fail... Haven't been using my belt but I may throw it on for my next two deadlift workouts @ 265 and 275. Actually, deadlifts are feeling so good, I might push my 10's up in weight a bit... 275 and 285 maybe... Pretty sure I could have gotten close to 15 reps of 255 today so we'll see. Left shoulder is still feeling good, and that's great because there was a little pain on Friday.

Diet today
Calories: 3472
Carbs: 440
Fats: 81
Protein: 267

BW was 178.8 after workout today.
 
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Ahh rugby ... the football for guys who don't need diaper padding all over their body ;)


How do preacher curls treat your elbows? I gave up on them some years back, they just didn't agree with my joints or forearms much.
 
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