TunnelRat's log -- working my way back to zero

T

TunnelRat2

New Member
I've been back in the gym for two or three weeks now, after a four and a half month layoff. I had my last MRI today. They examined my head but didn't find anything. I suppose that's encouraging, though the headaches and stiff neck continue.

My doctor (who knows me all too well) advised me to take it slow and easy. So I planned to start with a couple of 10-rep sets of very light squats, benches, chins, and deads. I made it through the squats and benches okay, but I ran out of gas on the chins and never got around to my deadlifts. Then I spent the next five days with the worst DOMS I have ever experienced. Maybe I should have stared a little slower and easier...

So last week I did Monday, Wednesday, and Friday of:
Squats 2x10x95
Bench 10x45, 10x55, 10x65
Deads 2x10x135
Chins 4x5xBW-45 (the chin-assist machine is poorly calibrated)

This week I increased the workout a bit:
Squats 3x10x95
Bench 10x55, 10x65, 10x75
Deads 3x10x135
Chins 4x5xBW-45
(all weight in pounds)

I intend to repeat the same workout on Friday. Next week I plan to increase from three sets of squats and deads to four sets. I may increase the weight slightly as well. However, slow and sure wins the day.

It will be probably a month or so before I am in any condition to consider a regular program. There is no point in testing for 1RMs yet, as both my strength and endurance seem to be recovering slowly week to week.

My three primary goals are strength, weight loss, and flexibility. For strength I may well go with 5-3-1 (or my modification thereof) rather than HST. It's hard to produce hypertrophy while attempting to lose weight.

For weight loss I hope to be back on a more reasonable diet (my wife is back to teaching school again, starting today. So I may be able to take better control of my eating).

For flexibility I don't have much of an idea as yet. Most of what I read has to do with stretching, so I may give that a try. It just seems that the hardest part of my workout ought not to be putting my shoes on...!

Best to all!
 
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Welcome back TR! You have been sorely missed. I wish you well with your new training plan and hope that you stay well. What you say makes sense to me. However slowly you build back up, you will always be moving in the right direction. More power to you, Sir!
 
I echo Lol's comments... Welcome back, TR! I surely hope that the headaches and sore neck subside and allow you to lead a more pain free life. The gym plan is sound - as always. Best of luck with all of it!
 
Thursday, August 27, 2010

Squats 3x10x95
Bench 10x55, 10x65, 10x75
Deads 3x10x135
Chins 4x5xBW-45

Victory! I got a whole week done without bailing out.

I'm off to Florida this afternoon to visit one of my sons who is having some personal difficulties. It's an 18 hour drive straight south. I have checked and I will be able to use the YMCA there. So I hope to be able to keep up my training.

Next week I may try to increase the weights, as these are starting to come up fairly easily.

Best,
 
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Friday, September 3, 2010

Well, that surely didn't work out as planned. I made the drive to Florida and home again, but wasn't able to access the gym, so today has been my first day back.

Squats 4x10x105
Bench 10x60, 10x70, 10x80, 10x70
Deads 10x135, 10x145, 10x155, 10x135
Chins/Dips 4x5xBW-45

I added a bit to the weights and did four sets of ten rather than just three sets. I went home tired with shaky hands and knees. It's a long way back to zero...
 
Monday, September 6, 2010

Squats 10x95, 5x115, 5x135, 5x155, 5x135
Bench 10x60, 5x70, 5x80, 3x5x85
Deads 10x135, 3x185, 3x3x225, 3x185, 10x135
Chins 4x5xBW-35

I was able to increase the weights for each exercise, but I decreased the total reps for my squats. I don't know much about volume and so forth, so I don't know whether I did more work or less than I had been doing for my squats.

I had initially planned a 185 lb triple squat, but 155 was still heavy enough for me today, so I stopped there.

The deads were fun, but there was a guy on the bench next to me who was benching sets of ten with the same weight I was deadlifting...

I didn't really even work up a sweat and hardly needed a shower afterwards. My hands weren't shaking and I didn't feel like I had been the loser in a soccer riot. Perhaps things are starting to pick up a bit.
 
Quitters never win. Winners never quit. You have already shown that you're a winner. The rest takes time.
 
Wednesday, September 8

Squats 10x95, 5x135, 3x5x155, 5x135
Bench 10x65, 5x75, 5x85, 3x5x90, 5x85
Deads 10x135, 5x185, 5x225, 3x245, 5x245, 5x225, 10x135
lying dumbbell rows 20x25 (using Max-Stim's M-time)
Chin/Dip 4x5xBW-35

Squats were easy today, even with the weight bumped up a bit. Bench was satisfying, as well.

I intended to do my deadlift work sets at 225 lbs with a 245 lb triple to make things interesting. The 245 triple went up slow and grindy (I've been away too long), so I took a three minute break before resuming my 225 lb set. Even so, I found the 5x225 lift to be slow and grindy, too. As I was resting afterwards, a fellow llifter pointed out to me that I had forgotten to take off the little ten lb plates -- so I had just done a 5x245 instead... Doh!

I threw in some weeny rows. So now I have squats, deads, bench, row, chin, dip. I'll eventually have to break this up into an "A" and "B" routine if I continue to add weights.
 
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Friday, September 10

Squats 10x95, 5x135, 3x5x155, 5x135
Bench 10x65, 5x85, 3x5x95
Deads 10x135, 5x185, 3x5x225, 10x135
lying dumbbell rows 20x30 (MS)
Chin/Dip 4x5xBW-35

I didn't add a lot of weight to the bar today. I increased my bench by 5 lbs and my weeny dumbbell row by 5, but that's about it. I had planned to squat 165 (and thought I was doing so!), but I forgot to add the extra plates...

I spent much of my time distracted by a young man who kept wanting me to spot his 225 lb bench presses. It's not really discouraging, but it does offer a psychological dilemma to help his 225 lb bench press while still struggling with my 225 lb deadlift. To be fair, the 225 came up a bit more easily today. Perhaps next week I can add a bit more iron.
 
I'm glad to see you are still lifting. You must be looking pretty jacked for someone to be asking you to spot on bench.
 
Tuesday, October 26

Squat 2x15x85
Bench 2x15x55
Deads 1x15x135

Whoops! A little unplanned SD there -- 45 days out of the gym with a bit of an upper respiratory infection. But I got back today.
I did the least little bit with the weeniest weights, but it still left me woozy and wobbly. I had planned to do two sets of deads, but just didn't have it in me.
So I'm starting over, over again...
 
Hey, lifting after an illness like that is hard work. At least you started back up again. Last time I was out for that long, it turned into half a year.
 
Great to see you back TR! Respiratory infections are hateful so I really hope you can be free of any recurrence for a good long while.

Know what you mean about the wobbly thing: just one or two sets of squats after a few months away from weights left my legs feeling totally drained like nothing else.

My cardio fitness isn't too bad because of all my rowing sessions and I would wholeheartedly recommend having a go on a C2 rower if one is available to try at your gym. Good rowing technique is very similar to deadlifting so it might be right up your alley. It's so good for the lungs too, which is the main reason I am doing it.

Anyway, congrats on getting back to the iron and I'll look forward to seeing you claw back the pounds. :)
 
Thursday, October 28

Squats 10x45, 10x65, 2x15x95
Bench 2x15x60
Deads 2x15x145
lying dumbbell rows 20x20 (using Max-Stim's M-time)
Chin/Dip 4x5xBW-47.5 (the machine is oddly regulated)

Well, I made it back for another session. I was a bit sore from Tuesday's dinky weights, but the desire to get back into action (and a couple of aspirin) overcame that.

The second set of deadlifts was, once again, a killer. Even with weeny weights, 15 consecutive deadlifts drain me. I sort of clustered reps 12 - 15 in order to finish.

Even so, after about five woozy minutes, I went on with my wuss-assist chins and dips, and some teeny rows with the little pink barbells.
 
Saturday, October 30

Squats 10x65, 2x15x105
Bench 2x15x65
Deads 1x15x155
lying dumbbell rows 20x25 ( M-time)
Chin/Dip 4x5xBW-42.5 (the machine is oddly regulated)

There was a group of young men using the power rack today. So I wasn't able to start with squats today. I started with deads instead. I'm just as happy that I did. One set of 15 is plenty, thank you ("a man's gotta know his limitations").

It was fun to watch the young men doing real squats (below parallel), with real weight (375 back squats, 232 front squats), doing doing them for reps! The one young man was using Wendler's 5/3/1.

I hit the treadmill for an hour aftewards -- 60 minutes at 3.2 mph.
 
Monday, Novemer 1

Squats 10x65, 2x15x115
Bench 2x15x70
Deads 1x15x165
lying dumbbell rows 20x30 ( M-time)
Chin/Dip 4x5xBW-37.5 (the machine is oddly regulated)

A little stiff and slow today. I didn't get a weekend break, as last week ran Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday.
 
Thursday, November 4

Squats 10x65, 2x15x125
Bench 2x15x75
Deads 1x15x175

Whoops, missed Wednesday...

At Lol's suggestion I warmed up for 5 minutes on the C2 Rower. It seems to beat the heck out of walking on a treadmill.

For whatever reason I was beat today, but I got in my major lifts. I suppose this is my modified version of Wendler's "Assistance Work #3: I’m Not Doing Jack ****".
 
You did what was important, TR - and that's all that matters. Jimmy W has a great approach to lifting, and the IMDJS workout is about as effective as anything else. So long as you hit the major compounds, progress continues. Very nicely done!
 
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