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

About the crunches... if you are doing deads, I don't think you need them. I've never been big on ab work, but I've always been big on deadlifts, squats, etc. I can sit down at any crunch or situp machine in the gym and do the full stack for 15 reps no problem. That's from years of almost no direct ab work, just deads and etc. Point is... you keep doing those deads, you shouldn't need ab work. I bet you'll find your core strength increasing without "direct" work.
 
Alex, are you recommending that I drop the db presses? After today, I'm thinking I'll go back to the lateral raises instead... Left shoulder just doesn't like any overhead pressing.

Totz and Alex, thanks for the input re: crunches. You are both very right; deads hit abs nicely... I almost always end up dropping the direct ab work due to time, so I suppose I'll just work in a few crunches on a ball here and there if I have the time and energy (thats all I did today).

Today's workout was great... felt AMAZING to be back in the gym again. My cardio is simply hideous and was the primary limiting factor on all lifts where I was feeling, well, limited...

Deads: 45x10, 135x10, 185x3, 225x3, 275x10, 275x10
DB Incline Press: 35x10, 65x10, 65x10
Chins: BW+25x10, BW+25x5+2+1+1+1
Leg Press: 201x5, 291x5, 381x10, 381x10
Calf Press: 291x10, 291x10
Dips: BWx5, BW+50x10, BW+50x10
DB Rows: 75x10, 75x10
Alternating DB Shoulder Press: 15'sx10, 15'sx10
BB Curls: 45x10, 70x10, 70x10
Crunches on the ball: 15, 15, 15
Rowing Machine: 500m (2:27) 500m (2:13)

-Deads felt incredible. I felt like I was tossing 275 around like nothing. Definitely going to progress on deads this cycle.
-Chins were a different story... After watching MikeyNov's most recent video I was very convicted about my chinup form; that I'm really not going up high enough. So, I did about 8 MikeyNov chins +25 and then 2 just got my chin over the bar... 2nd set proved my cardio was crap so I had to cluster. Not a good way to start a cycle. That said, I might be going back to the drawing board here and focusing on my form.
-Shoulder presses... yeah... probably going to go back to rear delt laterals... left shoulder just can't do any overhead pressing these days.
-Worked in a little rowing machine at the end of the W/O... nothing too taxing, just a little something to get the blood flowing all over again. I might experiment with the rowing machine on cardio day.

I can't tell you how great it felt for me to be back in the gym again!

Hope everyone is doing well!!!!
 
-Chins are a great exercise for clustering. I can't explain why per se, but I think more than any other upper body exercise they're suited to that style of rep partitioning. Maybe it's because the blood flows back into the arms uber quickly (gravity, woot), or because of the direct pull against gravity (compared to a cable exercise or a leg press, the angles are so simple) ... for whatever reason, chins are the best for clustering IMO. I would just pick a rep target and cluster until they're done.

-Re: DB presses - I think DB shoulder presses are great, but those and incline DB press is a lot of work for the stabilisers. Obviously the trade off with a BB is that that you're missing a plane of motion (body 'width' is missing, but you get 'height' and 'depth'), however the DB whilst having a better 'groove' certainly requires a lot more energy and the injury potential is greater if it's tired.

Considering you already have Dips, personally, DB incline and DB shoulder/OHP would be alternated. They're both good, but again, that's a lot of volume for a less 'steady' movement and a vulnerable area.

Upright rows are fine if the grip is wide and the ROM is small. That's how I do them. I know a lot of people don't like uprights for their delts though. Maybe it's an issue of poor/uneducated/unaware technique. Anyway ...

Lateral raises are 'ok'. I don't love them because of the stress it puts along the arm, forearm in particular and there's minimal incrementation (my 5RM would be ~ 20-22.5kgs for them).
 
Great point about the stabalizers in the shoulder; especially considering it is precisely the stabalizers in my left shoulder that bother me... I'm just going to scrap DB shoulder presses and replace with either laterals, notwithstanding their progression limitations, or upright rows.

I tried BB uprights before... i'm quite confident that my form was wrong because I didn't feel them in my delts enough. Now that you mention it, I did once use a DB upright row technique that sounds very similar to what you describe only with DBs vice BB... relatively short ROM, keep the DB's wide. Maybe I'll give those a shot.

I'm reluctant to take DB incline presses out of my lineup... I've actually seen some growth in my pecs lately so I want to keep doing what appears to be working.

Huge thanks for the input, Alex!
 
DB incline + DB upright row is a great combo. You'll be hitting everything from upper pecs to front and side delts, traps, rotator cuff... Just about the entire shoulder excluding rear delts of course, which you'll hit with rows and chin-ups.


Nice deadlifting btw.
 
Thanks, Sci. I'm aiming to attempt 375x1 or 2 at the end of this cycle. By the time I'm attempting that, you'll have a new deadlift PR under your belt!!

Yeah, I think you're right, DB Incline and DB Uprights should get me pretty well covered!
 
Definitely sore all over today especially in my hamstrings and quads.

Cardio today:

2000m in 8:35 on the rowing machine followed by 20 minutes walking uphill on the treadmill.

BW was 178.4 after cardio.
 
nativetroutbum said:
Alex, are you recommending that I drop the db presses? After today, I'm thinking I'll go back to the lateral raises instead... Left shoulder just doesn't like any overhead pressing.

Totz and Alex, thanks for the input re: crunches. You are both very right; deads hit abs nicely... I almost always end up dropping the direct ab work due to time, so I suppose I'll just work in a few crunches on a ball here and there if I have the time and energy (thats all I did today).

Today's workout was great... felt AMAZING to be back in the gym again. My cardio is simply hideous and was the primary limiting factor on all lifts where I was feeling, well, limited...

Deads: 45x10, 135x10, 185x3, 225x3, 275x10, 275x10
DB Incline Press: 35x10, 65x10, 65x10
Chins: BW+25x10, BW+25x5+2+1+1+1
Leg Press: 201x5, 291x5, 381x10, 381x10
Calf Press: 291x10, 291x10
Dips: BWx5, BW+50x10, BW+50x10
DB Rows: 75x10, 75x10
Alternating DB Shoulder Press: 15'sx10, 15'sx10
BB Curls: 45x10, 70x10, 70x10
Crunches on the ball: 15, 15, 15
Rowing Machine: 500m (2:27) 500m (2:13)

-Deads felt incredible. I felt like I was tossing 275 around like nothing. Definitely going to progress on deads this cycle.
-Chins were a different story... After watching MikeyNov's most recent video I was very convicted about my chinup form; that I'm really not going up high enough. So, I did about 8 MikeyNov chins +25 and then 2 just got my chin over the bar... 2nd set proved my cardio was crap so I had to cluster. Not a good way to start a cycle. That said, I might be going back to the drawing board here and focusing on my form.
-Shoulder presses... yeah... probably going to go back to rear delt laterals... left shoulder just can't do any overhead pressing these days.
-Worked in a little rowing machine at the end of the W/O... nothing too taxing, just a little something to get the blood flowing all over again. I might experiment with the rowing machine on cardio day.

I can't tell you how great it felt for me to be back in the gym again!

Hope everyone is doing well!!!!
Click to expand...

I appreciate the nod to mikeynov form chins :)
 
Wife had a dinner out with friends tonight, so I had to come home a little early; had to cut my workout a little short.

Deads: 45x10, 135x5, 185x5, 225x3, 280x10, 280x10
DB Incline Press: 35x10, 65x10, 65x10
Leg Press: 200x5, 290x5, 400x10, 400x10
Calf Press: 300x10, 300x10
Chins: BW+25x10, BW+25x9.5+1
Dips: BWx5, BW+55x10, BW+55x10

Everything was still really sore today... that's usually the case for me for my first week back in the gym.

Deads felt pretty good considering I was pushing through pretty good soreness. 285x10 on Friday.
I didn't increase weight on DB Incline presses due to a little shoulder soreness yesterday... zero soreness during workout. Will move up to 70x10 on Friday.
I managed a little better on chins today, but I didn't do any MikeyNov reps; just got my chin over the bar.
Dips felt good, I might be a little light, so maybe +65 on Friday.

BW was 179.2 after workout.

Diet:
Calories: 3148
Carbs: 296
Fats: 88
Protein: 301
 
The warmup he did was maybe slightly excessive, but nothing exhausting. The first few warmup sets were so light I wouldn't even feel it. Then he only did 3 reps with 225 before jumping to the work sets. It takes a little while to warmup the lower back.

Personally I like to warmup the back with some jogging or something, then just two small warmup sets before I go right into the real pulling.
 
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Warmup. Today I did a little more (rep-wise) than usual because I was so sore... trying to loosen everything up a little. Generally I like to ramp up to my working weight. 1-3 reps at about 4 increasing weights leading up to my work sets. Maybe it is too much. I suppose I could try a day with something different and see what happens.
 
Cardio today.

1000m on the rowing machine (4:20) followed by 20 minutes walking on the treadmill at a 13.5% grade.

BW was 179.2.

Food:
Calories: 2947
Carbs: 310
Fats: 58
Protein: 310
 
Deads: 45x10, 135x3, 225x2, 285x10, 285x10
DB Inc Press: 35x10, 70x10, 70x10
Chins: BW+30x10, BW+30x5+1+2+1+1
Leg press: 200x5, 290x5, 420x10, 420x10
Calf press: 310x10, 310x10
Dips: BW+65x10, BW+65x10
DB Bent Rows: 80x10, 80x10
DB Upright Row: 10x10, 20x10, 20x10
BB Curl: 75x10, 75x10
Decline Crunches: 20, 20

Food
Calories: 3538
Carbs: 319
Fats: 131
Protein: 280

Lunch out with coworkers at Firehouse subs today killed my "diet"... 1200+calories just in one sandwich... but MAN was it good.
 
Was in a hurry last night so I didn't add any commentary.

Deads were pretty easy at 285. Shooting for 300x10 next Friday; that's just 5 more pounds per workout.
Inc Presses were also easy; really slow and controlled movements felt great. Felt a great burn all the way across my chest.
Chins: got 10 reps in the first set, second set I only aimed for 5 and then a cluster... wanted to focus on the form.
Definitely not slow rolling leg presses this cycle. 420x10 was a little tough, but I'm confident I'll be able to get 470x10 at the end.
DB Upright rows focusing on the shoulders were simply amazing. I started low with 20s but my shoulders were BURNING after 10 reps.
 
Had a busy but fun weekend with the family... diet was all over the place and yesterday I experimented with a "carb free" first 1/2 of my day, just to see how I would feel and how I could cover my calories. I actually felt a LOT better than I thought I would; never felt hungry like I thought I would. In the future, I'm probably going to try a "backloading carbs" approach to cutting, which essentially looks like a form of intermittent fasting. Anyhoo, I wasn't sure what to expect in the gym today, but I had an outstanding workout!

Deads: 45x10, 135x3, 225x2, 290x10, 290x10
DB Incline Press: 35x10, 75x10, 75x10
Chins: BW+35x5+2+2+1, BW+35x5+1+2+1+1
Leg Press: 201x5, 291x5, 381x3, 441x10, 441x10
Dips: BWx5, BW+70x10, BW+70x10
DB Rows: 85x10, 85x10
BB Curls: 75x10, 80x10
DB Upright Rows: 25x10, 25x10
Calf Press: 320x10, 320x10
Decline Crunches: 20, 20

290 flew off the ground in my first set, I think I could have gotten 2-4 more. Second set was a bit harder, but I definitely could have forced 1 or 2 more. With 10 rep deadlifts, it seems like my cardio is giving out before my muscles do. I feel like I'm on pace for 300x10
Dips +70 were a lot harder than I thought they should have been, I may have had 1-2 more in the tank at the end of set 1. My 10th rep on set 2 took about 8 seconds to get up... almost didn't get it.
Leg Press is nearing my 10 rep max...
DB upright rows felt good again; definitely feeling it in the shoulders but no pain or discomfort.
Really loving this routine.

BW was 181.6 after workout, but definitely a lot of water and food in there... Still, the ole' scale is still moving up, I'm still getting stronger, and I'm still fitting into my same pants; so I guess all is going well.

Food today:
Calories: 3404
Carbs: 387
Fat: 77
Protein: 300
 
Cardio today.

Rowing machine 1000m in 4:15, then 25 minutes walking up-hill on the treadmill.

Food:
Calories: 3210
Carbs: 329
Fats: 95
Protein: 268

BW was 179.6 after cardio.
 
Based on your 290 for 10 reps, you should easily pull 375 for 1 at the end of this cycle. Well not "easily" but I think you can do it.
 
Thanks, Sci. I'm hoping 375 will come up at the end of this cycle!

Had to skip the workout yesterday... daughter broke her arm on the playground at school when some kid knocked her off the slide... Thankfully it's not too bad, but it did have to be re-set slightly... and she handled it all like a trooper! Now she has a tie-die color cast that she is quite proud of.

So yesterday's workout was moved to today and due to meetings, I ended up working out at the "other" office gym which is better than my usual one...

Deads: 45x10, 135x5, 225x2, 295x10, 295x10
DB Incline Press: 40x10, 80x11, 80x9
Chins: BWx5, BW+37.5x8+1+1, BW+37.5x7+1+1+1
Leg Press: 90x5, 270x5, 380x5, 450x10, 450x10
Dips: BWx5, BW+75x10, BW+75x8+1+1
DB Rows: 90x10, 90x10
BB Curls: 85x10, 85x10
DB Upright Rows: 30x10, 30x10
Calf Press: 340x10, 340x15
Decline Crunches: 25, 25

Deads felt simply amazing. 10 reps was surprisingly easy... so much so that after my first set, I re-counted the weight; just to make sure I counted correctly. Yeah, it felt THAT good! Extremely pleased with how deads are progressing. Definitely going for 300x10 on Saturday, might even go 305x10 if I'm feeling good...

Everything else seems to have progressed a bit; definitely nearing my 10 rep maxes on everything except DB Upright rows... just going to keep adding weight on those, +5 pounds per workout.

BW was pegged at 180 on the digital scale; 182 on the mechanical/medical scale.

Food:
Calories: 3398
Carbs: 381
Fats: 75
Protein: 303

Hope everyone is doing well!!
 
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