YaY! he's back!
I know I keep coming back for two weeks at a time and then leaving... I've seriously had a crap 6 months. Back, leg, and rotator cuff injuries, PLUS depression. Lovely.
But now it's 2010. Time to start a new journal. I've been back in the gym for nearly two months. I'm actually really surprised how quickly my strength has come back to me and yet am not up to the weight I was when I was lifting that much a year ago.
I think the time off for me was good. It's time to go to the next level, perhaps add in some cardio to stay lean, and kick ass in a way that doesn't risk reinjuring my RC.
I doubt I'll be posting each work out I do. I just don't have time for that like I used to. But I want to have a presence here again, it's a great place to use as a sounding board, plus I'd like to help anyone else out, if I can. I'll add pics that I took at end of December later tonight.
It's really good to see some of the old crowd still here.
w/o log
5'5" - currently bulking - 145lb on 5/16
weight goal I: 150 :: bench goal II:170 :: squat goal II: 250 :: weighted chin goal IV: +35 x 5 x 5
YaY! he's back!
What does the journal title mean?
w/o log
5'5" - currently bulking - 145lb on 5/16
weight goal I: 150 :: bench goal II:170 :: squat goal II: 250 :: weighted chin goal IV: +35 x 5 x 5
Ok, so I'm back to squatting my 5 sets of 5 at 235lbs.
Here's what I don't like though. My legs are huge. Some girl the other day called me 'thunder thighs'. She didn't appreciate how much they can squat though. So I'm beginning to experiment a little bit on how to cut down a bit on the size of my legs. For about two weeks, I've been subbing my usual leg day out for doing DB lunges, running horses, and doing a combination of stairmaster/treadmill.
Within 2 weeks I noticed a difference. Not good. My legs were noticably shakey when I did my RDLs. So I know that I need the strength in my legs to continue lifting heavy up top but how can I still work my legs out, mix in some cardio, and lift heavy without being in the gym for an hour and a half?
Here's what I did last night:
Back Squats
135 x 5
205 x 5
235 x 5
Superman jumps supersetted with Front Squats
10 x s/s 135 x 8
10 x s/s 135 x 8
10 x s/s 135 x 6
DB Pistol Squats (rested back leg on a bench)
22.5 (in each hand) x 10
22.5 (in each hand) x 10
22.5 (in each hand) x 10
Holy crap, I thought I was going to melt onto the floor halfway through my superman jumps and front squats. Definitely going to try this again.
w/o log
5'5" - currently bulking - 145lb on 5/16
weight goal I: 150 :: bench goal II:170 :: squat goal II: 250 :: weighted chin goal IV: +35 x 5 x 5
Isn't that usually what you want though, is large legs... I mean, not Tom Platz legs, but visibly big?
w/o log
5'5" - currently bulking - 145lb on 5/16
weight goal I: 150 :: bench goal II:170 :: squat goal II: 250 :: weighted chin goal IV: +35 x 5 x 5
Ok here are the pictures I took back on December 28th. Coming up on 2 months of being back in the gym and here's how things were looking back then. Definitely had let myself go from where I was in the middle of the summer... stupid injuries..
Each time I look at those pictures, I renew my resolve to not cheat on my diet and to go into the gym even on days when I don't feel like it. I'm seriously stoked about update pics in a few weeks.
w/o log
5'5" - currently bulking - 145lb on 5/16
weight goal I: 150 :: bench goal II:170 :: squat goal II: 250 :: weighted chin goal IV: +35 x 5 x 5
Hi nadirmg. (Can't believe I actually knew what "point break" meant)
Will you be taking any supplements?
w/o log
5'5" - currently bulking - 145lb on 5/16
weight goal I: 150 :: bench goal II:170 :: squat goal II: 250 :: weighted chin goal IV: +35 x 5 x 5
Howdy, Kathy - lol how did you know what it meant? Did you play any of the Final Fantasy games or just figure it out intuitively?
For supplements I'm taking just the usual stuff:
-whey
-monohydrate creatine
-multi-vitamin
-C
-B
-D
-Potasium
-Calcium
-Fish Oil
How about you? Are you taking any? Actually, I'll just check your journal and see for myself![]()
w/o log
5'5" - currently bulking - 145lb on 5/16
weight goal I: 150 :: bench goal II:170 :: squat goal II: 250 :: weighted chin goal IV: +35 x 5 x 5
No supps for me except my usual gummi vites (I have a 5-year-old) and a little iron. Does the whey count?
... and we're talking about getting the Ragnarok to the railway road right?I went to college. That means lots of video games into the wee hours. I am a Castlevania champion, thankyouverymuch.
I see what you're saying - she is engaged to some dude and is moving to Houston, so her opinion does not matter. It's just happens to be my preference as well.
My thighs are thick enough. I just want to tone them now so you can see the definition in my quads and not wonder what the flabby excuse for a hamstring is. Meaty they are. Fat? Not really. Toned they are not.
w/o log
5'5" - currently bulking - 145lb on 5/16
weight goal I: 150 :: bench goal II:170 :: squat goal II: 250 :: weighted chin goal IV: +35 x 5 x 5
dude, never give up the big legs. so many of us want them and cant get them.
we will have to try that superman jump with front squats routine sometime.
i need to find something to make katt puke!!!!!![]()
"katt's spotter"
" its not how much u can benchpress. its how much other people think u can." bob chicherillo
I had some time to think about the direction of my workouts while I rehabbed yet ANOTHER tweaked shoulder over the past month-ish.
Been back in the gym for about a week and I'm convinced this time I won't injure my damn shoulder. I've decided to incorporate about a mile of running before I start up my weight lifting. Hopefully this will help me loosen up/stretch more. Plus, summer isn't far away and I'm going to start working more cardio into my workouts.
I really hope it all isn't downhill from here. I'm not even 30 yet and already it seems like I'm only in the gym for 4-6 weeks before my shoulder decides to go gimp on me.
It's incredibly discouraging and I'm trying to figure out how to do my workouts around my injuries without being completely out of the gym for a month at a time. Any suggestions?
I remember this is pretty much where I was about a year and a half ago, so maybe I just need to leave out shoulders for a while and focus on the other main areas while rehabbing my shoulder with bands and foam rollers.
Feedback appreciated!![]()
w/o log
5'5" - currently bulking - 145lb on 5/16
weight goal I: 150 :: bench goal II:170 :: squat goal II: 250 :: weighted chin goal IV: +35 x 5 x 5
Yesterday was an active recovery day. Swam laps in for about 15 minutes and then cooled down on the treadmill.
I couldn't believe how much tired and 'burny' my muscles got while I was swimming. I've never mixed cardio into my weekly workouts, so when DOMS are just kicking in from a horizontal pull/push day, the breast stroke and freestyle was working EVERYTHING. I'd say my lats were what got a lot of the burn.
One other element I'm going change is to try and add some tabatas into my weight lifting days. Read a pretty good article on tabatas on tmuscle.com and will hopefully have a plan to go with starting next week.
w/o log
5'5" - currently bulking - 145lb on 5/16
weight goal I: 150 :: bench goal II:170 :: squat goal II: 250 :: weighted chin goal IV: +35 x 5 x 5
One thing is obvious. My body, which is used to 3 days a week lifting weights doesn't like lifting for days a week plu the cardio I'm doing on my rest days.
I'm going into see a chiropractor today. Something in my back just above my shoulder blades is getting pinched. This is a recurring problem I've been having since November. It'll be fine for 2 weeks, and then one morning I'll wake up and it's like 'not AGAIN!!'.. and then I'm out of the gym for two weeks at least.
Seriously. I don't know what I'm doing wrong. I'm lifting with good form and stretching before and after my workouts. I'm wondering if this is the end of weights for me.
w/o log
5'5" - currently bulking - 145lb on 5/16
weight goal I: 150 :: bench goal II:170 :: squat goal II: 250 :: weighted chin goal IV: +35 x 5 x 5
That sucks about the injury man. Hopefully the chiropractor can work something out.
Maybe it's one particular lift that is bothering you? Heavy back squats... ? I really have no idea, just thought I'd throw something out there!
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