_tim's Log

Thank you so much, guys. And thanks to whoever upped my reputation thingamabob!

Lol - To answer your question, I have no idea what my current maxes are. I was away from my core heavies for too long. This cycle is intended to reset my current maxes, among other things. I'd have to believe that I started the cycle somewhere in the 75-80% range for triples four weeks ago. I'm nearing 95% of my old triples max on a couple of the lifts - presses being one. So, we'll see how far I can go, and then once I hit walls on all the lifts, I'll switch to singles.

I pause my presses at the bottom of the rep, usually for about two full seconds.
 
Deads: 10 x 3 @ 265
I made it through 7 sets using a hook grip; the last 3 were versa-grip assisted. Socks as always.

BB Row: 4 x 6 @ 155
This lift confuses the heck out of me. One day, I can barely rep triples at 160. The next, 155 sixes aren't hard. WEIRD. Socks here too.

CGPD: 2 x 12 @ 160
No clustering.

I've had wicked DOMS in my low back since Tuesday. Today's session was tested because of it. Lots of stretching/yoga is in my future.
 
Took a day off to rest my back. The only thing I can think is that I really stressed it during my squat effort on Tuesday, when my quads were really sore. I must have leaned more heavily on my stabilizers. I'm going to do a bunch of yoga through the weekend to get right for Monday. Only problem is that I'll be working on a new granite floor, and tiling always kills my back. Oh well - we'll see how it goes. I'm really happy with my strength gains thus far after the layoff, but in no way feel that I'm done with the cycle.
 
I hate to say it, but this cycle is done. I've been working like crazy in the house and am paying the price. My lower back is cooked, and my hands are a mess. Until about 5 minutes ago, I couldn't flex my left thumb. If I were to hit the gym to do anything but some very light work, I'd be asking for an injury.

So - because I'm knee-deep in the remodel, I'm going to get it finished before I return to anything heavy. That'll likely be about another week or so. I may do some running to continue preparing for the race in May, but that's about it. I'm open to suggestions for the next cycle - anything but HST. That may sound kinda harsh, this being the HST site and all, but I need growth about as much as I need more damage to my left thumb. I'm considering my own take on Wendler, an Lol peeking cycle, or maybe even the CF WODs. No matter what I do next, CF and running will be incorporated.
 
Get healed up; get your house sorted; get back in the gym! Work hard and play hard. :D

My vote is for a few 5/3/1 cycles (they're only short) with some CF thrown in for good measure.

Bet that floor looks great.
 
Lol - Thanks my friend. Wendler, here we go. Details for the programming will follow soon. Like everything I do, I'm never satisfied with the norm. The floor is to be granite (not in from the supplier yet) - I'm conditioning the subfloor now. This will be my 5th new floor in the house.

LDU - If you follow Brian's lead, you will grow. I personally experienced enormous growth in my legs, so much so that I now wear pants with waist sizes two sizes too big to accommodate the size of my quads and hams. I'd guess I added 7-10" (not sure) of total diameter during the first 2 cycles that I did. That came with a very strict diet, and very consistent training. My chest and arms grew noticeably as well - arms maybe another 4-5" and chest 6-8". So yes, I grew. Sick to death of buying pants and having the waist look all bunched up. Stick to the HST principles, and do strict SD's, during which - go buy new clothes. Don't get discouraged if it takes a cycle to prime your body for growth; the second cycle is where I really packed on size. Now I focus on strength, if that's not evident. :) Best of luck as you get going.
 
damn Tim thats madness! huge gains!

Ive got everything sorted, supps, caloric surplus, good program.

Im hoping for big things.

Thanks mate and good luck with your strength training
 
I'm not sure what you're going to supplement with LDU, but I'd like a recommendation. Get some glutamine and take it right before bed. I experience my greatest gains in both strength and size when I do that. From what I read, it stimulates and increases in the natural release of HGH, which happens as you sleep. If nothing else, it really helps with recovery so it's well worth it.

Today's fun...

Treadmill: 2.3 miles @ 6.5 MPH (21:00), random program level 5
During inclines, my back made itself known. I'm 100% sure at this point that my hamstring fibers are playing a role in this. I stretched a ton afterward. Sweated a ton too.

Crunches: 25-10-10-25 (front, left oblique, right oblique, front) NO STOPPING.
Figured a bit of tension in my abs would help the tension in my back.
 
yer i use
glutamine,
white flood - NO
WPC
Creatine mono
fish oil
joint support - gluscosamine

I import supplements to sell here in Australia so have a good supply.

thanks for the advice mate.
 
Ok. Here's the new program. I may start as early as Monday, but my back will be the ultimate judge of that.

The setup is Wendler 5/3/1 with a couple additions. Because I put so much emphasis on my back development, I've added BB Rows and Chins to the 5/3/1 progression, making this an 8-week cycle. The M-W-F lifts will be laid out as such:

A Bench 250
B Squats 300
C BB Row 165
D Standing Press 145
E Deads 375
F Chins BW+55

The progression moves week to week; so ABC is one week and DEF is the next. T-R will be for extended run training and CF training. The placement of both will be extremely strategic. The assistance work will be:

Bench 5x10 @ 50%/ Cable Row 5 x 10;
Squat 5x10 @ 50%/ Romanian DL 5 x 10;
BB Row 5x10 @ 50%/ Incl DB Press 5 x 10;
Standing Press 5x10 @ 50%/ DB Row 5 x 10;
Deads 5x8 @ 50%/ Hanging Leg Raise 5 x 12;
CGPD 5x10 @ 50%/ Close Grip Bench 5 x 10

The 50% represents 50% of my 1RM used for the cycle. I'm not sure yet, but I may very slowly progress those loads. In the case of the Chins assistance, pulldowns will be used with half of the BW+MAX number. The maxes for the cycle are listed above after each of the core lifts.

This will make for quite the party.
 
Hey electric -

I plan on at least 3500 calories per day with a heavy emphasis on protein intake, while not avoiding carbs in any way. I'll have a decent amount of egg whites, milk and turkey on training and recovery days, probably spread between 6 meals. Weekends will likely be reduced to 2500 cals.

I can't wait. This is going to be a fun cycle!
 
Wendler Week 1

Pause Bench: 190, 200, 210 x 5
The above represent ~70%, 75% and 80% of the 1RM used for the cycle. The last set probably could have been a rep or two more (the last work set is always max effort), but the cobwebs in my tris after a week+ off kept it to 5.

Repetition Bench (not paused): 5 x 10 @ 140
OK - there's a lot I will do in the gym, but putting something less than a plate (45 lbs) on each side of a bar is not one of 'em. 140 isn't 50% as prescribed - but bar + 35 plates is not anything I'd ever touch unless the rep goal was something north of 30.

Cable Row: 5 x 10 @ 120
The last two sets burned a bit.

Tabata Elliptical: 3.25 cycles (~1:45) + cd.
By the end of this 8-week cycle, I will get through a complete Tabata effort (8 cycles).
 
Pause Squats: 220, 235, 250 x 5
The first two weeks will be the same - ~70%, 75% and 80% of the 1RM for the cycle. I had wanted to get to 7 reps on the third set, but felt form would be an issue due to fatigue.

Repetition Squats: 5 x 10 @ 150
I haven't done volume like that in forever. Killed me.

Romanian Deads: 140 x 10, 1
This was a bad choice to follow up paused squats as both my hams and low back were slain by time I walked away from the squat rack. I think I'm going to do ab work going forward; the squat effort is only going to get harder and the fatigue that comes with the work will impact other lifts.

Low on time today, so no Tabata. Not necessary.
 
BB Row: 140, 150 x 5; 160 x 7
I vastly under reached in my 1RM estimate. The revised max is 190.

Repetition BB Row: 5 x 10 @ 120
This was at more than 50%, on purpose. I wanted to blitz my back, and the extra weight did the trick.

Incline DB Press: 5 x 10 @ 50's
Surprisingly hard. Apparently my pecs and tris are still fatigued from Tuesday.
 
Wendler Week 2 - 70%, 75%, 80% continued

Pause Standing Press: 110, 115 x 5; 120 x 6
The pause between each rep was a tad over a second.

Repetition Standing Press: 5 x 10 @ 80
The last two sets were clustered 8-2 and 7-3 respectively. The pump in my delts even as I write this is nuts - even with a measly 80 pounds.

DB Row: 5 x 10 @ 55
Haven't done these in a long time. Felt a great burn in my lats and bi's.

I played two games of basketball and one game of football yesterday, so no form of cardio was necessary today.
 
Decided to rest today. I have some pretty serious DOMS in my calves and hams that I didn't think would translate all that well to what will be a heavy deadlift session for me. I ran outside for the first time in over a decade yesterday - and I guess my out-of-shapedness is showing it's true colors.
 
I hate to post with yet another non-workout update, but alas...

I busted up my thumb pretty badly over the weekend working on the house and haven't been able to bend it too easily since. I'm using the non-gym time to prepare for the race in May - something I desperately needed to do. I'm almost assuredly going to restart my Wendler program do to this lack of consistency. I have to get through a cycle - something I haven't done in months.

Take care, all.
 
All the best with the thumb Tim. I know how tough it is to have to work on your house and try to train consistently. All the best with the running prep too.
 
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