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

Lol said:
It's great to make a breakthrough and you've made two good ones right at the start of the year! :cool:

Have you considered learning to hook-grip for deads? Then it won't matter if you are ever without straps. After two weeks to a month of acclimatisation you'll be hooked!

I always grip the heck out of the bar when I press/bench press etc. I'm fairly sure that the medial(?) nerve that activates your forearm grip (hand/digit flexors) has something in common with the medial(?) nerve that activates your pecs so you get a much better contraction in your pecs if you consciously squeeze the bar at the same time. Something like that. :)

All the best with your new-found pressing ability!
Click to expand...

I'm totally buying what you've said about the medial nerve. I'm going to ask my wife, she's an anatomical expert; but I DEFINITELY feel a better pec contraction.

I've tried a hook grip and I think my hands/fingers may be too small to get it right. Or maybe I'm just too much of a sissy... It was so painful with moderate weight (I think I tried with 225). I know getting used to a hook grip is supposed to be painful, but the primary point of pressure was on the end of my thumb; felt like the tip of my thumb was going to pop like a big zit, rather than on the bottom of my thumb toward my hand. So, either i'm too much of a sissy, or my hands/fingers are too small. I'm hoping for the latter of the two. ha ha.. :eek:)
 
It’s always nice to figure something out especially something that’s been dogging you for a while. Well it’s nice once you stop kicking yourself in the butt for taking so long to figure it out. ;)

I had a problem with tendonitis which I think was partly brought on by using alternate grip (the underhand arm being in an awkward position). The workaround I’ve found is to use straps for all pulling movements except for Max Effort Deadlifts and occasional static holds to test my grip strength. So far it’s worked out fine with no loss in grip strength.

Another thing to pay attention to is if you are having rotator cuff issues is to keep your elbows tucked in at least until you get nearer the top of the movement. This is one reason using neutral/parallel grip is usually easier on peoples shoulders since it naturally bring the elbow in.

Something else to consider since your already going to gripping the bar hard is to consciously try to pull the bar apart like you’re trying to stretch it out in the middle. For most people this leads to better Triceps activation.
 
Monday saw a PR for Deadlifts, I finally tried 315 and got it. First set I stopped at 4, second set I stopped at 3. It all felt great... The rest of my Monday workout was pretty vanilla. With such "heavy" weights on Squat and Deadlift, the first two exercises in my routine end up taking about 25+% of my total workout time. At this point, not sure if I need to simplify or just suck it up and not take as much time between sets.

I didn't do any cardio this week... work schedule crushed me and I definitely "feel" like I didn't do any cardio this week... ugh.

Wednesday's workout looked like this.
Squats: 135x10, 135x10. Skipped the rest... was too excited about trying deadlifts @ 315.
Deads: 135x10, 225x5, 275x1, 315x5, 315x5!! (315x1 would be a PR, may be able to try 350x1 before end of this cycle)
Chins: 3@ BW+40x6, 5, 5
Dips: 3@ BW+80x6, 5, 5
DB Rows: 3@ 85x6, 5, 5
DB Incline Press: 3@ 80x5, 5, 7
Rear Delt Raise: 3@25x10
Single Arm DB Preacher Curl: 3@35x5
Shrugs: Skipped
Calves: Skipped
Abs: Skipped...

Bodyweight has been steady around 178 after workout. I did some caliper measurements the other day and figured I'm around 14.5% bodyfat (J/P 3 site method). My lean mass is ~152, which is up from ~147 in September. My actual bodyfat % has pretty well stayed between 14% and 15%.

Though this is the "strongest" and "heaviest" i've ever been, I'm still not very happy with what I'm seeing in the mirror. Trying to stay focused on the strength and weight gain results of HST thus far. Once I hit my target weight (180), it's time to start cutting, I suppose... I havent really planned that far ahead yet.
 
Had a GREAT workout on Friday.

There are a few guys in my "office gym" that I run into often; that is, they typically workout around the same time I do. One such guy, Dave, I ran into walking into the locker room, so we chatted a bit and agreed to workout together yesterday. Dave recently started HST after I preached to him about it a few times. He's on his second HST cycle in the midst of his 10's.

Oddly enough, on many exercises, his 10's weights are my 5's weights so it works out quite well that we partner together. even though our HST cycle are not synced. Not to mention, having a spotter and "external motivator" on everything makes for a better workout than going it alone. Did I mention that Dave weighs 145lbs? Dude is incredibly strong; maybe the strongest guy (pound for pound) that I've met personally.

Sets looked like this
Squats: 135x10, 225x1, 250x5, 250x5 (almost failed on rep 5 of my 2nd set)
Deads: 135x10, 225x5, 275x1, 315x4, 315x5 (FYI, Dave easily did 315x6 so he then did 365x2)
Chins: BWx1, BWx1, BWx1, BW+45x6, BW+45x5, (Dave did BW+45 x11, 10...)
Dips: BWx5, BWx5, BWx5, BW+85x6, BW+85x5, BW+85x5 (Again, Dave did same weight x10. During his 5's, I watched Dave strap on 135 and do 7 reps)
DB Rows: 90x8, 95x7, 95x7 (definitely going to move up to the 100's next workout)
DB Incline Press: 45x10, 85x6, 85x5
DB Rear Delt Raise: 25x10, 25x10
Standing Barbell curl: 45x10, 95x6, 95x5
Crunches: 20, 20
Calf raises on hack squat machine: 135x15, 135x15, 5, 4, 3, 3, 2
Seated tricep push-down machine... "235" on the rack, x12 (just decided to try this machine, it actually felt pretty good on the ole' triceps...)

I'm going to try and workout with Dave more often. The benefits of a workout partner are incredible. Even though I didn't "need" a spot on most exercises; just having one there allowed me to push myself a bit more, and I managed a few extra reps here and there. Also, the external motivation when struggling on the last rep is always appreciated. Oddly enough, I also finished my workout faster which probably means I've been spending too much time resting between sets when working out alone. The faster workout with Dave didn't cause any detrimental impact to any sets, so more proof that I've been lollygagging...

My newly found "proper" pressing hand/forearm/form has continued to feel great. Left shoulder has experienced minimal discomfort for dips and incline presses, and my chest is definitely feeling the majority of the stress, which is where I want it!

Squat strength is down, not sure exactly why. I did implement a slight change in form which could be the difference, also, during my last cycle I only did squats every OTHER workout and did Leg Press every other workout. Maybe this allowed greater recovery and greater strength... not sure, but i'll continue to experiment. My leg size is still ever-so-slightly increasing such that my quads are measuring ~22" at mid-thigh which is up a bit, so that's good.

Biceps are NOT moving along the way I want them to. Flexed (but not "pumped") my right bicep is only at 15." and left is only 14.5". At one point in time, my biceps were ~15.75 and ~15.25 so not sure what I'm doing wrong here. Next cycle, I'm going to switch things up for biceps to hopefully get them to grow.

Hope everyone is doing well!!
 
Inspired by VQ35DE I decided I needed to get serious in tracking my nutrition.

After doing a bit of research today I've settled on the Katch-McArdle formula for figuring my daily caloric needs. At a BW of 177ish and trying to gain, but not go too crazy (not an old school "bulk" but a more gradual bulk...), I'm figuring ~3200 calories with 20% Fat, 60% Carbs, 20% Protein macronutrient spread.

Also decided to try the www.sparkpeople.com nutrition tracker. In a word: awesome.

"Trackers" I've used the past were much more "labor intensive" but this site has a massive database of every food/supplement that I searched for... Once you locate the food, you simply click to add to your daily consumption. I even cross referenced a few items I had to double-check that the database was consistent with the food item I had in hand... All items checked out. I'm pretty excited about being more accurate in tracking my nutrition.

At 60% of 3200 calories, I'm needing about 450 carbs/day... So far today, I'm at 362 and I feel like i've been gobbling carbs all day.

Pretty obvious that I've been dramatically undereating in the carb area lately. Just goes to show (shows me anyway) that if I don't actively and meticulously track my nutrition, it's way too easy for my macros to get out of wack. I think this tool is really going to help!
 
Glad to be of service :). Website is great but don't follow their suggestions for cals and macros, those are crap. Also, IMO percentages are not a good way to go about spliting up your macros. A better way it to aim for at least 1 g per lb of BW for protein and 0.5 g per lb of BW for fat. The remaining macros should be split among the three however you like(energy levels and taste preferences are things to consider). Furthermore, the K-M formula can be spot on for some folks in estimating needed calories, but I wouldn't set anything in stone. Good Luck!
 
I've got to agree with VQ on the diet thing. I wouldn't set protein at a percentage. With your current percentage, you're getting about 160 grams which isn't terrible but I think you'd do better getting that close to 200 or 250.
 
Thanks for the input, guys. Today I just ate about the way I have been eating and ended up with the following:

3328 Calories
371 Carbs
79 Fat
264 Protein

I didn't realize how much protein I had in my diet without supplementation... I'll definitely change my protein target.

Today's workout was great.

Squats: 45x15, 135x8, 225x5, 255x5 (no spotter today, so only did 1 heavy set)
Deads: 135x10, 225x5, 275x1, 315x5, 315x5
Chins: BWx1, BWx1, BWx1, 3 @ BW + 47.5x5
Dips: BWx5, BWx5, BWx5, 3 @ BW + 85x5
DB Rows: 3 @ 100 x 5 (felt great pulling the 100's... unfortunately, this is as heavy as our DB's go...)
DB Incline Presses: 45x10, 3 @ 85 x 5 (these felt GREAT today!)
DB rear delt raise: 4 @ 30 x 5
Single arm DB preacher curl: 1 @ 35 x 5
Standing DB hammer curls: 2 @ 30 x 10
Calf Raises on Hack squat machine: 2 @ 150 x 15
Crunches on ball: 20, 20, 20
 
Today was just cardio, did 35 minutes on the treadmill; alternating between 3.5 speed at a 12.5% incline and a 6.5 speed at a 2% incline. Definitely worked up a good sweat. Treadmill said I burned 402 calories.

Weighed 177 before running, didn't weigh after.

Diet today:
3107 Calories
350g Carbs
75g Fats
253g Protein
 
Had a pretty good go at it today in the gym.

Squats: 45x10, 135x10, 225x1, 255x5
Deads: 45x10, 135x10, 225x5, 2 @ 315 x 5
Chins: BWx1, BWx1, 3 @ BW + 47.5 x 5
Dips: 3 @ BW x 5 then 3 @ BW + 85 x 5
DB Rows: 3 @ 100 x 5
DB Incline Press: 40 x 10 85 x 6, 8 (Going to try the 90's next workout!)
DB rear delt raise: 3 @ 30 x 5
DB Single Arm Preacher Curl: 40 x 5, 7 (had a spotter for the 2nd set... pushed it... had a little help for reps 6 and 7)
Calf raises on hack squat machine: 2 @ 150 x 15
Crunches on ball, 20, 20

Weighed 178 after workout.

Diet:
Calories: 3363
Carbs: 410g
Fats: 75g
Protein: 266g

So I am doing 2-3 work sets of Squats every OTHER workout, but at least 1 work set every workout. So far, so good. Pretty happy that I've had 4 consecutive workouts with most exercises @ 5 rep maxes and no bad pain anywhere! Pretty much everything feels pretty well fatigued and I'll definitely be sore tomorrow, but I have been recovering quickly such that my next workout doesnt seem to be compromised. (Funny, before HST I would be sore for 4-5 days after a "chest day"...) Right now, all seems to be going well! The scale and my strength are continuing to move in the right direction!

Hope everyone is doing well!!
 
Just cardio today.
35 minutes on the ole' treadmill... just over 400 calories burned.

Weighed 177 before treadmill.

Diet:
Calories: 3376
Carbs: 370g
Fats: 83g
Protein: 277g

It's been a rather stressful week at work. My boss's last day was last Friday, so all week I've been doing her job and my job while trying to "prove" to the higher-ups that I can 'handle' her job... scrapping hard for the ole' promotion. Probably will be this way for a few months. That said, this week I've felt great in the gym except for today... I was BEAT... felt like the whole week caught up with me and I had darn near zero energy... Hopefully I'll sleep well tonight and be able to finish the week STRONG (figuratively and literally...)
 
You have to have a caloric surge at the moment with the loads you've been pulling (so happy for you for the deads PR). If you're truly going to track calories and your cycle is still a bit away from being complete, you may want to push the calories as your intensity increases. Nothing insane, mind you - but just think of it in terms of recovery. As you put more stress on yourself, you need something more to heal and ultimately grow. That could be more rest, more calories, or both.

I work out in a gym with several nationally-competitive strong man guys, and a host of competitive regional lifters. The notion of eating and sleeping (juicing is a given) is a part of every other conversation. So - something to think about.

Best of luck in the corporate gym too - hope your efforts aren't going unnoticed.
 
Thanks, Tim! I'm pretty happy to finally be deadlifting 315 for 5; feels great.

Definitely another stressful day at the office... Today was a 1/2 crappy day in the gym. Had to cut a few things short in the lower half; worked a bit harder on the upper half to hopefully make up for it.

Squats: 45x10, 135x10, 135x10... almost in leg-raper fashion. Just couldn't go heavy today
Deads: 45x10, 135x10, 225x5, 315x5 low back wasn't feeling 100%, so I decided to not force a 2nd set.
Chins: BWx1, BWx1, 3 @ BW+50 x 5
Dips: BWx5, BWx5, 2 @ BW + 90 x 5; then got another set at 4 +1 with about a 10 second pause between reps 4 and 5. BW+90 is a PR.
DB Bent Rows: 3 @ 100 x 5 (worked 2-3 negatives in each set)
DB Incline Press: 2 @ 90 x 5; 90's on incline is a PR.
Rear Delt Raise: 4 @ 30 x 5
Single Arm DB Preacher curl: 40 x 5, 40 x 3
Standing hammer curl: 3 @ 30 x 10
Crunches on the ball: 20, 15
Pec Fly Machine: 90 x 10, 110 x 10, 120 x 10 (really slow and controlled reps; really nice pec burn...)

Today is my older brother's birthday so we went out to dinner; hence my ratio's are a bit off today.

Calories: 3468
Carbs: 330
Fats: 132
Protein: 236

Hope everyone has a great weekend!!
 
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Lots of good stuff happening here. :cool:

Glad your PR's are in bold! :) Makes them much easier to spot. I missed the PR for deads so congrats on that too. PR's on dips AND incline presses in the same workout is very impressive. I usually find that doing well in one chest movement will scupper me for another one.
 
Thanks, Lol. I feel like I'm making some decent progress.

Cardio today.

Saturdays I have been doing "real" jogging since I don't have a treadmill. There is a pond in my neighborhood with a path around it... it's about a 1/2 mile loop and it's relatively flat. I take my two girls there and they ride their bikes while I try to keep up with them... Anway, today I did 5 laps in about 25 minutes. Then I did about a 1/2 lap walk and then did about a 1/4 lap doing walking lunges... Wow... quads were burning.

Diet:
Calories: 3245
Carbs: 353g
Fats: 102g
Protein: 230g
 
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No workout today as I sit around, watch football and "graze" all day.

Watching the NFL freaks always compells me to do something... usually I just do light AB work... usually just some standing full stretch negative side-bends or some lying leg lifts...

Still going to shoot for 3200 calories... I'm more than 1/2 way there already.
 
Had the day off from work so I got up early and went to a different "office gym" thats a lot closer to my house than where I work... they actually have a proper power rack and dumbells that go up to 120!!

Squats: 45x10, 135x8, 225x2, 265x5, 265x5
Deadlifts: 135x10, 225x2, 315x5, 315x4 (probably could have gotten the 5th, but felt a little twinge of "bad pain" in my lower back.)
Chins: BWx1, BWx1, BW+50x5, BW+52.5x5, BW+52.5.x5
Dips: BWx5, BWx5, 2 @ BW+95x4+1; 1 @ BW+95x3+1 (95 is a PR!) Had to cluster these suckers... BW+95 is heavy for me...
DB Bent Rows: 3 @ 105 x 5 (105 is a PR!)
Single Arm DB Curl on Preacher: 30x10 (each)
BB Preacher Curl (Curly bar): 70x10, 90x5, 90x5, 90x4
Skipped the rest as this took me about an hour and 15 minutes and I had a busy day lined up at the house...

Spent the next ~9 hours painting our foyer and 1/4 of our basement (foyer wall extends into the basement). Foyer is about 20 feet floor to ceiling, so cutting in the edges was a serious pain... up the ladder, paint... down the ladder... move the ladder... up the ladder, paint... repeat... took forever. Rolling it all was relatively easy with a massive extension handle but MAN my back is going to be sore tomorrow. Anyway, this is why I cut my workout short today; knew I'd be on a ladder most of the day... wife is happy so I'm happy.

Diet:
Calories: 3033
Carbs: 327g
Fats: 91g
Protein: 226

Probably get another 150-250 calories of protein and healthy-fat just before bed...
 
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
 
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