Grunt11's Training Log

[grunt11]

I figured I would start a training log to see if anyone can offer feedback on what I’m doing rather than try to reinvent it all myself.

Some background. I’m just turning 50 next month and have spent the last 15 years running, the last 6 ultra running, averaging over 70 miles a week. Prior to that I powerlifted for about 2 years while I was a paid-on-call firefighter and before that was an avid runner though not ultra long distances.

I decided to get back into lifting because I recently got sick and lot 15lbs down to 140lb. That combined with the testosterone hit I was feeling from age and running made me realize I should get back to building some muscle. Not to mention 2+ hours a day of running was taking up way to much time.

Presently I am 145lbs at 5’6”.

I don’t have a gym membership as I prefer to work out at home. I have a power rack with a lat pull/cable row station (plate loaded). An incline/decline bench with a leg curl/extension and preacher curl attachment. Two Olympic barbells, EZ-curl bar and enough Olympic plates to keep me busy for a while. I did go out and buy a set of Power Blocks for dumbell exercises and have to say I really love these things.

I was sort of messing around with my weights for about 3 weeks prior to finding HST and must admit to jumping right into the program without doing a proper SD but as far as I can tell it hasn’t set me back this first time around.

Right now I’m doing a full body workout in the AM on Monday through Thursday and Saturday for a total of 5 days a week. I work second shift so AM workouts are great for me.

For 15s I did one set each for 2 weeks. For 10s I’m doing 2 sets but the second is only for 5 reps and I plan to do 3x5s when I get there but I’m also listening to what my bodies been telling me and adjusting things already. I plan right now on doing 2 weeks each and then starting a proper HST cycle with an SD. This was just suppose to be a trial run to see how I liked/tolerated the routines, volume and frequency but it’s working so well I’m going to see this first cycle through.

I work out 5 days a week A/B for 15 reps per exercise 1x15, 1x10 + 1x5, 3x5 during each micro-cycle:

A/B
Squat / Deadlift
Incline Bench / Incline Bench
One arm Dumbell Rows / Lat Pulls or Pull Ups (depending on reps)
Shrugs / Upright Rows
Barbell Curls / Weighted Bench Dips
Calf Raises / Nothing

I have a ruptured lumbar disk and so far found that bent over barbell rows and SLDL are out of the question at any weight. Perhaps later as I get in shape.

When I first started all those lifts were combined into one day but I quickly found that squats and deadlifts the same day 4 days in a row were to much. I also felt that my arms weren’t getting any real workout during the 15s so I added the curls and bench dips but will drop or cut back on them if I feel they are hindering me as I progress through the 10s into the 5s.

Nutrition:

I’m getting around 1.5g protein per pound of body weight including a balance of carbs and healthy fats in 7 meals a day including an overnight shake. I’m trying to keep my calories at 500 over my daily needs based on daily activity level. So far in 5 weeks total I’ve gained 5lbs.

Supplements:

Whey Protein
Creatine
Fish Oils
Multi-Vitamin

Impressions so far.

I love being able to work out almost every day. The thing I hated about my powerlifting routine before was only working out 3 days a week once per body part.

My workouts from warm up to cool down take less the 25 minutes so far which beats the hell out of 1-2 hours running each day.

I wake up every morning feeling pretty tired but as soon as I start my workout my energy starts flowing and I feel both invigorated and tired (that good relaxed sort of tired) for the rest of the day.

My sleeping has gone from 5-6 hours a day to 7-8 hours a day.

The sciatica from the ruptured disk has almost disappeared since I started deadlifting. It’s completely gone the days I deadlift and only really starts to come back on the two days off.

I can feel that my testosterone level is up.

Thanks for having this site and forum. Lots of great information here that you either won’t find or is hard to find elsewhere because of the way search engines seem to prioritize their results.

Cheers,
Dean

P.S. I’m very Dyslexic (once forgot how to spell “of”) so please don’t be insulted if I often misuse simple words like “their” and “there” which unfortunately spell check doesn’t catch.

[OzMullet]

hi mate, my missus has a bulging disk. why do you think deadlifts help? i told her to maybe try them but she's worried it will aggravate it more. she rekons pilates helps. do you think i should suggest deadlifts to her again?

[grunt11]

I’ve been trying to figure out why they would make a difference myself. Everything I’ve ever read before says that decompressing not compressing the spine is what helps. So I figured that DL would make it worse so I started out very carefully. I didn’t notice the improvement until I started using a lifting belt which I admit using this time around at a much lower weight than before just because I was scared of hurting my back.

Best I can figure right now is that it’s a combination of the strengthening of my core muscles (I hadn’t been lifting at all for years) and the tensioning of those muscles while executing the lift. It seems like the tensioning of my core muscles while lifting is helping push my vertebrae back into a better alignment.

I noted in another thread that I felt something in my back when executing a lift at the end of my 15s. It felt almost like something moved or having a knuckle crack and the pain I was having from aggravating it at work a few days before was gone. In a way that worries me because if something can move like that when I was lifting it might also move in the wrong direction.

I’ve got a mirror set up and even though I hadn’t lifted in years I still use perfect form when deadlifting and squating so it’s not putting any shearing force on my lumbar region. On the other hand I can’t even begin to attempt a straight leg deadlift or unsupported barbell row without it feeling like someone punched me in the kidney.

I would say that if she does try it to start out slow with light weight and start using a lifting belt earlier that most would usually recommend. I really feel it’s the stability caused by the pressure of my core muscles against the belt that is stabilizing my spine. Also note that the belt is supporting exactly where my ruptured disk is located so mine might be a unique situation but everything I’ve read has said that the stronger core muscles almost always help with lower back pain.

Cheers mate,
Dean

P.S. You don’t sound like a POME, what are you doing in London?

[OzMullet]

ok cool thanks, yeah we both agree that strengthening her core should be number 1 priority, thats why she's doing 3 days a week pilates. she is worried about deads because she cant do any forward flexion. anyway thanks heaps for the info.

i'm just an Aussie who's outstayed his welcome ;-)

good luck with the training, i for one will be reading! your routine looks good. i would do 1*15, 2*10, 3*5 though. i found that works for me anyway. although you can't argue with 5lbs in 5 weeks.

[grunt11]

I will take your advice on the 2*10. I just started my 10s this week so I will move up today and see how it goes. I’m quite surprised at the gains in size so far. A couple coworkers have said I look bigger but they cant tell where or why because it doesn’t look like I’ve gained any weight. I haven’t told them I stopped running and started lifting again.

Though I did have a 15 year SD for everything but my legs. I was surprised to see how fast my strength was coming back in the three weeks before I started HST. Yet to see if I’m gaining any strength on this HST cycle but should be able to tell soon. I can say that when I first started the 15s they kicked me in the backside.

Tell your missus good luck with her back, I know how it feels, and keep us posted on how it’s going.

Cheers,
Dean

[TunnelRat]

I've been trying to figure out why they would make a difference myself. Everything I’ve ever read before says that decompressing not compressing the spine is what helps. So I figured that DL would make it worse so I started out very carefully.

Somehow I tended to think of my back as mainly consisting of the spine. Thus I considered that deadlifts would hurt since I've had a disc problem that required surgery. Eventually I came to realize that there is a whole lot more beef and muscle there than bone. Deadlifts strengthen the muscle and take tension off the spine -- such is my view of the matter.

[grunt11]

Somehow I tended to think of my back as mainly consisting of the spine. Thus I considered that deadlifts would hurt since I've had a disc problem that required surgery. Eventually I came to realize that there is a whole lot more beef and muscle there than bone. Deadlifts strengthen the muscle and take tension off the spine -- such is my view of the matter.

That makes sense. I know that I certainly take for granted how strong the lower back and abdominal muscles are and didn’t really think that they are also fairly beefy since my waist has always been very small compared to the rest of me.

[grunt11]

Well taking OzMullet’s advice I switched from 1x10 + 1x5 to 2x10 for my second round of 10s on the “B” split and boy can I feel it.

Today I did 2 sets each of:

Deadlift (sumo always) 10x200
Incline Bench 10x125
Lat Pulls 10x110
Bench Dips 10xBW+85
Upright Rows 10x85
Calf Raises 10xBW+85

The deadlift was way easy. Incline Bench was tough but actually improved from yesterday where I only made it to 9 reps on the first set before breaking form. Today I made 10 reps on both sets w/o loosing form. The second set of 10 lat pulls was pushing close to the limit. After doing two sets of incline bench the bench dips were not fun. I think I might drop them down to one set of 10 if my incline bench stops improving.

The upright rows are a mixed bag. The weight itself is easy but my left arm is recovering from some sort of carpal tunnel thing I didn’t realize was happening until I started lifting. Seems I was using the mouse to much with my left hand and when I started lifting certain lifts like curls, some angles of pullups and upright rows make it hurt like hell. Since I switched to using my right hand for the mouse the pain is dissipating but not gone and I really feel it as I increase the weight. I might have to switch to lateral raises if this keeps up.

Also cheated and started doing calf raises every day now. Just don’t feel my calves are getting worked at all.

I’m going to have to repeat some increments or slow down the increases for some exercises to make it through the 10s. When I first calculated things out I was planning to do 1 week micro-cycles since I was exercising 5 days a week rather than 3 but I want to stretch this first full cycle out so that my next SD will fall right as Christmas. So I think I will slow things down but keep pressing forward as long as I’m seeing improvement.

[TunnelRat]

Also cheated and started doing calf raises every day now. Just don’t feel my calves are getting worked at all.

Try putting a little weight on those calves. When I do calf raises, I like to use the same weight that I use for my deadlifts and shrugs.

[Totentanz]

Try putting a little weight on those calves. When I do calf raises, I like to use the same weight that I use for my deadlifts and shrugs.

Likewise... I use loads much greater than I would use for squats. Just be careful on the eccentric that you don't bounce too much - I have heard of people getting injuries that way.