TR's log

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(BAX67 @ Aug. 30 2008,11:17)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Sorry your not feeling well TR.  Question for you?  I have to head to Toledo  to help a buddy with a home project next weekend and was wondering if you have any recommendations on a good place to hit the iron.  I would really hate to miss two workouts, so any suggestions would be helpful.  Thanks</div>
I slept straight through for 12 hours last night! Thank goodness for the weekend.

There are a number of good gyms in the Toledo area. I workout at the YMCA because, when I travel, my card lets me go to virtually any Y in the country.

If you are a member of the YMCA, I would recommend the Summit Y, right at I-280 and Summit street. That's where I generally workout. They have less chrome, fewer ferns, and not so much spandex, but plenty of iron. Be careful, though -- they tend to close at 4pm on the weekends.

If you're not a YMCA member, I recommend Synergy (Synergy). It's a no nonsense sort of club, and it offers a free one-week pass to the facilities. I used to workout there before I joined the Y.
 
Thanks TR! Much appreciated!!
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Monday, September 1, Labor Day

Deadlifts 10x45, 10x95, 5x135, 5x185, 20x225 (ms)
RDLs 10x45, 2x5x135
Chins 4x5xBW-10
Dips  4x5xBW-20

Tricep Pushdown 4x5x100
EZ-curl bar Preacher Curls 20x47 (ms)
EZ-bar skull crushers 20x47 (ms)
Pec-Dec 4x5x90

The gym was closing early for Labor Day, so I sorta rushed through and got done in about 45 minutes or so. I threw in some RDLs as I was warming up for my deadlifts.

Chins, Dips, and Pec aren't quite heavy enough yet to need M-time. So I'd do little sets of five with about a 15 to 30 second rest after each.
 
Tuesday, September 2

Front Squats 10x45, 5x65, 5x85, 5x95, 5x115, 5x135
Squats 20x165 (ms)
Bench Press 2x10x45, 2x5x65, 20x85 (ms)
Lying Dumbbell Row 20x60 (ms)
Seated (single-leg) Calf Raise 4x5x55
Standing Calf Raise 20x225 (ms)
Power Shrugs 20x225 (ms)

I did Front Squats to warm up for my regular squats. Much more fun...!!  

I've decided to use the same weight for Shrugs and Standing Calf Raises as I do for Deadlifts. Maybe I won't be able to keep it up, but it's worth a shot.

So, anyhow, I was out watching my youngest daughter (she's 25) perform with her dance group. It was hot (90 degrees), and I was wearing shorts. Apparently, one of the dancers asked her &quot;Who's the guy standing next to your husband? He's got great calves&quot;.

Leah punched her and said, &quot;That's my Dad!&quot;

Her friend replied, &quot;He must work out&quot;...
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(TunnelRat @ Sep. 02 2008,11:22)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Front Squats 10x45, 5x65, 5x85, 5x95, 5x115, 5x135
Squats 20x165 (ms)

I did Front Squats to warm up for my regular squats. Much more fun...!!  </div>
Your quads must have been screaming!

Excellent comment about the calves. Makes all that hard work worth it!!
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(TunnelRat @ Sep. 02 2008,11:22)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Leah punched her and said, &quot;That's my Dad!&quot;

Her friend replied, &quot;He must work out&quot;...
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1. Props to your kid for punching a fellow dancer.

2. Props to you, Pop, for making a 20-something notice your sculpted man legs.

BUCKEYE PRIDE!

So - is Beanie gonna be OK?
 
Thursday, September 4

Deadlifts 10x45, 10x95, 5x135, 5x185, 5x235, 5x255, 20x235 (ms)
RDLs 10x45, 10x95, 5x135
Chins 20xBW (ms)
Dips  20xBW-10 (ms)

Tricep Pushdown 2x10x110
EZ-curl bar Preacher Curls 20x47 (ms)
EZ-bar skull crushers 20x47 (ms)
Pec-Dec 20x100 (ms)
Ab Machine 20x110

I threw in some RDLs to stretch out my hamstrings a little bit. My calves still have DOMS from Tuesday's workout...
 
Friday, September 5

Front Squats 10x45, 5x65, 5x95, 5x115, 5x135, 5x145
Squats 20x175 (ms)
Bench Press 10x45, 5x70, 20x90 (ms)
Lying Dumbbell Row 20x65 (ms)
Seated (single-leg) Calf Raise 4x5x60
Standing Calf Raise 20x235 (ms)
Power Shrugs 20x235 (ms)

The hardest part of the Front Squat is holding the bar. The actual leg work isn't really all that much yet.

I used straps today (Versa-Grips) for my Standing Calf Raises and my Power Shrugs. I was able to focus on the exercise for a change, rather than on my grip.

I'm considering changing my workouts so that I do all the leg exercises (Squats, Deads, Calf Raises) on one day, then all the upper body stuff (Chins, Dips, Bench, Rows) on the next. I'm concerned that may be a bit too much on both days, but it would allow the various muscle groups to get an extra day or so of rest between workouts. I'm not sure which is worse: doing squats and deads on the same day, or doing them on consecutive days...  
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(TunnelRat @ Sep. 03 2008,12:22)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">So, anyhow, I was out watching my youngest daughter (she's 25) perform with her dance group. It was hot (90 degrees), and I was wearing shorts. Apparently, one of the dancers asked her &quot;Who's the guy standing next to your husband? He's got great calves&quot;.

Leah punched her and said, &quot;That's my Dad!&quot;

Her friend replied, &quot;He must work out&quot;...
laugh.gif
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Nice to get comments on having nice calves
!
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(Sniggel @ Sep. 07 2008,12:06)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE"> <div></div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Her friend replied, &quot;He must work out&quot;...
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Nice to get comments on having nice calves!
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Yeah, especially from 20 year-old chicks...!
 
Monday, September 8

Front Squats 5x45, 5x65, 5x95, 5x115, 5x135, 5x155
Squats 20x185 (ms)
Deadlifts 3x135, 3x185, 3x225, 1x275, 20x255 (ms)

Well, that didn't work!  
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I thought I'd try to rearrange my workouts so that all my leg exercises come on the same day and all my upper body on the next. I figured it would give the major muscle groups an extra day of rest between workouts. Apparently, that's not how the world works...

I warmed up with Front Squats, but I was having such a nice time with them that I pushed it a bit. Thus, I was already a bit tired when I began my regular Squats. By the time I got around to doing my Deads, I was pooped.

I started out okay, ramping up to a 275 lift before my work set. However, for whatever reason I noticed that the bar was beginning to hurt my hands after only the first five deadlifts. So I strapped up with my Versa-Grips for the remaining fifteen. I was more tired than I would have expected for only 255 lbs. My M-times at the last were closely approaching 30 seconds.

I had planned to do a set of calf raises at 255 lbs, but it didn't happen. My time was gone, and so was all my strength and energy. I was a tired puppy and called it a night.

Anyhow, I don't think I can do Squats and Deads on the same day, now that they're starting to get heavy. I suppose I could drop my Front Squats, but they're so much fun...!

A while ago Lol advised me to substitute RDLs for one day of my Deadlifts when things start to get heavy. I may have to do something like that.
 
Hey TR, don't drop your front squats, just don't do so many sets (if you do them first). You can always 'warm-down' with some more front squats if you have the energy at the end of your workout.

Squats and deads on the same day would fry me like a kipper once I was past my 10RM loads. In fact, call me a wuss, but I can only summon the mental drive to attack one or the other in any one workout - plus, my lower back would just give me too much bother over the following few days. Squats and RDLs (or squats and SLDLs) I can handle so you could give them a shot.
 
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(BAX67 @ Sep. 09 2008,11:52)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">All those squats and deads in the same day.  You must be having Korte withdrawal.</div>
Yeah. What was I thinking...? [slaps self on forehead]

Tuesday, September 9

Chins 20xBW+10 (ms)
Dips  20xBW (ms)
Lying Dumbbell Row 20x65 (ms)
Bench 10x45, 5x65, 5x85, 20x95 (ms)

Tricep Pushdown 4x5x120
EZ-bar Preacher Curls 20x57 (ms)
EZ-bar skull crushers 20x57 (ms)
Pec-Dec 20x110 (ms)

It's amazing how much harder curls are when you do them after chins and rows...

Okay, so this exercise scheme isn't going to work. I think I'll go back to what I was doing before, except maybe three times per week instead of four.

Even so, it was an interesting experiment. It was a strange feeling -- not doing any squats or deads. When I was finished, I didn't have the bone-tired sensation that I have become used to.
 
Friday, September 12

Deadlifts 10x45, 10x95, 3x135, 3x185, 3x225, 1x275, 1x300, 20x265 (ms)
Chins 20xBW+10 (ms)
Dips  20xBW +5 (ms)

Tricep Pushdowns 20x130 (in clusters of five)
EZ-bar Preacher Curls 20x57 (ms)
EZ-bar skull crushers 20x57 (ms)

Okay, I'm back to my regularly scheduled A/B workouts. The difference will be that I'll only workout three times per week instead of four. The weights are getting heavy and I'm getting tired.

I tried Mikeynov's technique of ramping up to a heavy single before doing my work set. The 300 lb bar came right up, but the 20 Max-Stim deads were hard. I started with a 15 second M-time and rapidly moved it up past 20 then 25 seconds. I could only do an overhand grip for the first five reps, then I went to a mixed grip.

After the deads, all the other exercises seemed relatively easy...
 
Tuesday, September 16

Front Squats warm up, then 1x165
Squats warm up, 1x225, 20x192.5 (ms)
Bench Press 10x45, 3x85, 20x100 (ms)
Lying Dumbbell Row 20x70 (ms)
Seated (single-leg) Calf Raise 4x5x70
Standing Calf Raise 20x265 (ms)
Power Shrugs 20x265 (ms)

I lost track of my warm up reps, but I got as far as a 165 lb front squat and a 225 lb back squat.

My work set seemed to be a little uncomfortable. After I finished and was unloading the bar, I realized that I had  2 1/2 lbs more on one side on the other. So instead of the 190 lbs I had planned, I actually did an offset 192.5 lbs (okay, so I'm an idiot...!).
 
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(TunnelRat @ Sep. 16 2008,5:08)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Tuesday, September 16



My work set seemed to be a little uncomfortable. After I finished and was unloading the bar, I realized that I had  2 1/2 lbs more on one side on the other. So instead of the 190 lbs I had planned, I actually did an offset 192.5 lbs (okay, so I'm an idiot...!).</div>
Hate when that happens. Your back squats a coming along really nice TR. Do you feel the front squats are helping you out with the back squats at all?
 
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(BAX67 @ Sep. 16 2008,8:07)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Your back squats a coming along really nice TR.  Do you feel the front squats are helping you out with the back squats at all?</div>
I have no idea. Front squats let me stay significantly upright -- I don't have to be bent and squashed under the bar! Plus they seem to be much more of a workout for legs than for my back.

Of course, this is a new exercise for me, so I don't really know what my maxes are with it. I've just been using the front squats to warm up for my work set with the back squats. I add another 10 lbs each time; so each time is really a PR...
 
Friday, September 19

Deadlifts 10x45, 10x135, 3x185, 3x225, 1x275, 1x315, 20x275 (ms)
Chins 20xBW+20 (ms)
Dips   20xBW+10 (ms)

Tricep Pushdowns 20x140 (in clusters of five)
EZ-bar Preacher Curls 13x62 (ms), 7x62 (ms)
EZ-bar skull crushers 20x62 (ms)

Warmed up to a heavy 315, then 20 Max-Stim deads at 275 lbs. Things have been getting heavy. Next week I do 285 lbs, and finish Phase II of this cycle.

Chins and Dips went okay, but I nearly hit failure on my curls. So I stopped, did my skulls, then came back and finished my curls.
 
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