33sun33

Wow, that sucks! In my case, there was disagreement among the specialists as to whether the bone growth was sufficient to cause any rotator issues. Shoulders doing fine, but I always try to be careful

Stats: 6"3, 225lbs, 18%-ish bodyfat??, cutting

33sun33

Wednesday's Pull Workout (Rep Range) (11/14/07)

Today's workout was decent. After Monday's fiasco I really paid attention to my diet the last few days. Been having a bit of insomnia though, but some caffiene helped with that a bit.

Sumo Deadlifts

135x10; 225x8; 225x8; 275x5

Three things about this workout: (1) my shins got messed up with the higher rep range!!! I found myself wanting to stop short on the reps (e.g., only 5 reps at 275) just because my shins were about to bleed. (2) Higher reps on deadlifts just feels like a recipe for injury to me. I purposefully kept the reps on 225 to 8 instead of 10 or 12 for this reason. Not sure if this is a valid fear. Anyone? (3) my grip needs work. Seemed like my grip might fail on the 9th or 10th rep of 225, even though my legs and back could take it.

Chin Ups

BW x 5, BW x4, BW x4, BW x6 (PR - bw reps)

Wow! It made such a difference by doing these earlier in my workout (before rows, etc...). I really suck at chinups, and this was by far the most amount of nonassisted reps Ive ever done. My problematic shoulder kinda acted up. Didnt hurt per se, just feels awkward and almost out of joint during the movement at times, if that makes sense.

Romanian Deadlifts

135x10; 225x8; 225x8; 225x8 (PR reps at this weight)

These felt pretty good. Again worried about doing high reps on these. Felt strong enough to do more reps, but whatever. Grip was an issue. My hands were feeling numb towards the last set - not good. Though I felt strong, it also felt heavy, and so I was super super strict with my form.

Yates Rows

135x10; 185x10; 185x10; 185x10

Felt very good on these. I dont think it was a PR for me, since Ive done 10 reps of 185 in the past. Not sure if Ive done 10 reps for 3 sets at 185 tho.

Standing DB Curls

35x10; 30x12

Felt good. the end.

Also threw in some planks at the end.

All in all, a decent but not stellar workout. I may be obsessing a bit much about the whole bruised shins thing, and hopefully my grip will continue to improve.

Stats: 6"3, 225lbs, 18%-ish bodyfat??, cutting

katt

Deadlifts are a total power move aren't they? Why would you want to do higher reps with them?

Also, have you tried using straps on your last sets when your grip is failing?

Oh btw - it looks like a great workout to me!

33sun33

Thanks Katt!

That does make sense about deadlifts being a power move, so keep the reps low. Ill adjust that next time, which is awesome because it means I can add more weight!

Ive never tried straps before, dont even know how to use them. Maybe its time to give them a try, at least on the last set if my grip is a problem.

Stats: 6"3, 225lbs, 18%-ish bodyfat??, cutting

33sun33

Friday's Push Workout (Rep Range) (11/16/07)

Today's workout wasnt a total loss - it had its good moments. However, I just had a total lack of energy, and whats worse, experienced muscle fatigue and pain on a number of sets. For instance, after I finished up with DB flat bench (which went OK), I simply could not finish more than one set of dips due to pain and fatigue in my triceps (chest was fine). Similarly, I cut short the reps on my back squats due to similar pain/fatigue in my hip flexors (quads, etc.. were fine).

Ive had this issue with dips and triceps come up in the past. The wierd thing is, is that Im doing a "chest" dip by leaning forward and trying to take pressure off of my tris. The hip flexor thing has been going on for the last couple of weeks. I had hoped it would go away, but it hasnt.

So this is what I mean by pain/fatigue. I dont mean simple doms pain. I love some muscle soreness after a workout, and dont mind working through the soreness at all. What I am talking about is a deeper pain in my muscle tissue that is COMBINED with a general feeling of fatigue in the muscle, which makes me stop short on sets for fear that I might fail on the next rep.

Right now I am doing a Push-Pull workout. This means Push (with back squats) on Monday, Pull (with Deads/RDLs) on Wednesday, and then repeat the same Push workout on Friday. The following week is Pull-Push-Pull.

Im wondering if maybe that is just too much volume for my body? Maybe I should step it down to a push-pull-legs weekly workout?

Here are the results of today's workout:

DB Flat Bench

[warmup - 40x10; 60x6] 70x10; 70x10; 70x10

Happy to get 10 reps for 3 sets at 70lbs. Still hoping to bump it up to 75 soon. Felt pretty good though.

Back Squats

[warmup - 135x10] 185x10; 225x8; 225x7.

A little dissapointed with only getting 7 reps on the last set. I dont want to admit it, but maybe I should just do 185 x 10 or 12 reps for 3 straight sets next time.

Standing Military Press

[warmup 45x10] 75x12; 95x10; 95x8

Overall pleased.

Dips

BW x10

This really sucked. A lot of pain in my triceps, though chest was dandy. Usually I do weighted dips. Didnt even try this time, and also didnt even do another BW set. I did mess around with some light flies, but even that hurt my triceps for some crazy reason!

Slow Straight-Arm Shoulder Raises

10lb x 12; 12.5lb x12

Front Squats

95x12; 135x8

Getting 8 reps of 135 was a struggle after the back squats.

Turkish Getups

30lb x 10.



So next Monday is supposed to be a Pull workout. Im really leaning towards going to a one time a week Pull-push-legs workout, but Im interested in any advice. Thanks

Stats: 6"3, 225lbs, 18%-ish bodyfat??, cutting

DOMS

When is the last time you took a week off?

That was still a good workout!

katt

let me get this straight... you're thinking about going in just once a week and doing all of the push/pull/legs??? Am I reading this wrong???

33sun33

Thanks Doms for the support. Thing is, I took a week off only like 4 weeks ago!

Sorry for the confusion Katt. No, I mean going into the gym 3 times a week, with one day for Push, one day for Pull, and one day for Legs. What I meant was that I would only be doing push exercises, for instance, once a week (instead of 3 times every two weeks like now).

Stats: 6"3, 225lbs, 18%-ish bodyfat??, cutting

33sun33

Monday's Pull Workout (Rep Range)

Today's workout went well overall. No feeling of fatigue, and hip flexors felt fine (a little tender still - but perhaps the thanksgiving break will help).

Sumo Deadlifts

135x10; 225x8; 275x4; 300x3

Wide Grip Chin Ups

bwx5; bwx5; bwx5; bwx5

There has been such a difference in chin ups since I placed them towards the beginning of my workout instead of at the very end.

Romanian Deadlifts

135x10; 225x8; 225x8; 245x6

Yates Rows

135x10; 185x8; 185x10; 185x10

DB Curls

40x8

Planks

1.25 minutes x 3

Stats: 6"3, 225lbs, 18%-ish bodyfat??, cutting

the other half

great looking sumo's. i hate doing pullups anywhere but at the start of a workout. how much do you weight.

"katt's spotter"
" its not how much u can benchpress. its how much other people think u can." bob chicherillo

33sun33

Hey Other Half, I weigh 210lbs right now at 6"3. So Im happy-ish with my chin ups, though there is certainly room for improvement.


Today was my last workout until next week, since Im traveling for Thanksgiving to spend some time with the family. Overall I was pleased:

DB Flat Bench

[warmup - 40x10; 60x10] 75x8; 75x8; 75x8

I was pretty happy with my performance today. My still illusive short term goal is to get in 3 sets of 10 with the 75lb dbs, but Im getting closer! Also, there was no muscle fatigue or pain like last time.

Back Squats

[warmup - 135x10] 185x10; 225x8; 225x8

Ehh... These were OK. I was kinda hoping to get in 10 reps each at 225 though.

Standing Military Press

65x10; 85x10; 95x8; 95x7

One Legged Box jumps

bwx6; bwx6; bwx6

Just started these up as my secondary leg movement on push days. I gradually want to incorporate more plyometric movements into my workouts. On these, I jump up onto a platform about 10-12 inches tall on just one leg. I really focus on jumping as high as possible, and also landing as softly and quietly as possible while maintaining balance. It actually is harder than it sounds to land like a cat on one leg!!

Dips

BW x10; +25x8; +25x8

Thankfully there was no pain during this workout, but I was just thrashed by this point and had no energy to pump out additional reps. Plus my stupid IPOD battery died. It really sucks working out without music! Also, the cute girl that was working out next to me on my first set (and giving me a boost of energy to get in my reps ), moved on to a different machine during my last two sets. Having hot women in my vicinity while working out is usually a for me!

Turkish Get Ups

30x12; 35x8

These are always a pain in the butt. They just wear me out. Probably looked like a fool doing these in the middle of the gym right on the floor, but there was no other hidden away area to do them.


So that was it. Overall I am pleased, and looking forward to eating some Turkey tomorrow!!! Happy T day everyone

Stats: 6"3, 225lbs, 18%-ish bodyfat??, cutting

the other half

well i guess if i would have looked at the bottom of your post i would have seen that. it sucks doing dips or pullups when you weight that much. im at 202-205 most of the time. about a year and a half ago i got down to 185 and i could do a ton of pullups, but you add on another 20 pounds and forget it.
have a great day tomorrow.

"katt's spotter"
" its not how much u can benchpress. its how much other people think u can." bob chicherillo

33sun33

Today was a decent workout, though my energy really crashed after deadlifting. It was probably a combination of really focusing on a PR for the deadlift, and also taking an energy drink (no shotgun) an hour before working out (I usually take it 15-20 minutes before I workout). Also, I REALLY need to get to the store and by some straps or something! After deadlifting, my grip failed a couple of times on my yates rows - couldnt even finish my sets!

Sumo Deadlifts

135x8; 225x6; 275x4; 305x3 (PR!); 275x6

Felt good on these, but 305 certainly wasnt easy. Decided not to tempt fate with a second set at 305. I cant wait until I can do a set of 315 (6 45lb plates).

Chin Ups

BW x4; bwx6; bwx5; bwx6

Romanian Deadlifts

135x10; 225x8; 225x8; 225x8

Yates Rows

135x10; 185x8 (grip started to fail at 9th rep); 205x4 (grip was failing by 5th rep!!!)

My grip killed me on this. My back definitely could have pulled more but for my grip. I gave up on Yates, and then did a set of bent over rows at 135lbs x10. Grip was still an issue, but at least the weight was lighter.

DB Curls

35x10; 30x12

Stats: 6"3, 225lbs, 18%-ish bodyfat??, cutting

33sun33

I think my post on Monday was lost by the system somehow. Anyways, I will try to remeber the details. I do recall that it was a good workout overall.

DB Flat Bench

45x10; 60x8 (warmup); 75x10; 75x9; 75x8

Back Squat

135x10; 185x10; 225x9; 225x8

Standing Military Press

75x10; 95x10; 95x8; 95x7

Weighted Dips

bwx10; +25x8; +25x8

One legged Box Jumps

bwx6; bwx6; bwx6

Turkish Getups

30x8; 30x8


Im pretty sure those were my numbers on Monday, but I might be a little off. I missed my usual workout (Pull) on Wednesday due to work (I teach and its the last week of classes - a lot of makeup classes scheduled, etc...)

Today I finally have the time to go back to the gym to do my Pull workout. Im playing around with the idea of doing singles, doubles and triples only for the sumo deadlift, and just increasing the number of sets.

Ill post back my results after my workout!

Stats: 6"3, 225lbs, 18%-ish bodyfat??, cutting

33sun33

Good day today at the gym! I set some PRs, especially on the deadlift. I think switching up the rep range and number of sets helped.

Sumo Deadlifts

[Warm up - 135x8] 225x3; 275x3; 315x3!! PR!; 315x1

I was so stoked to get 315! It actually felt "relatively" light. Switching to 1-3 reps with a shorter rest interval and more set definitely made this possible. In hindsight, I think I should have done at least one more set though. What do you guys think? If Im going for power/explosiveness, and purposefully keep the reps to 1-3, should I do 5 working sets? 6?

Oh, I bought some calf wraps from a pharmacy store to protect my shins. They cover most of the shin area and are padded. Worked great!! No bruising at all!

Wide Grip Chin Ups

bwx4; bwx5; bwx5; bwx5

Felt decent.

Romanian Deadlifts

135x10; 225x8; 245x8; 265x6 (PR!)

These felt very good. I had to do these using a bar from a flat bench station, because some jerkoffs were using the squat rack for about 45 minutes, taking 10 minute breaks between sets (and then just doing a couple of heavy quarter squats at that).

I admit that on the last two sets I used straps for the first time ever (on any exercise). Felt a little wierd to use straps for the first time, but helped hugely with grip strength. While I dont care too much about grip strength, I do care about forearm development and thus will try to only sparingly use straps. Probably just on this exercise probably.

Yates Rows

135x10; 185x10; 185x10; 205x8

These felt very good.

Standing DB Curls

35x10; 40x6

Ehhh....

Stats: 6"3, 225lbs, 18%-ish bodyfat??, cutting

33sun33

I was sick all of last week and could not work out. Ironically, I noticed that I wasnt feeling well after my first warm up set at the gym last monday. I did the one light set... wasnt feeling too good all of a sudden, plus my ipod died... so I went home and was out the rest of the week. But I feel good now, and put in a workout today.

Unfortunately, I will likely only be able to work out at the gym this week only, as the next two weeks I will be spending a week in Southern Illinois visiting family, and then another week in Chicago visiting family. There will be basically no chance to hit the gym during those visits, and it would be seen as uncouth to spend even brief time away from the family during xmas, etc... anyways.

So since this is my last week of working out until the new year, I decided to do a shock week. Dont really know if it makes sense to do a shock now or not (as opposed to just doing rep range, etc...), but what the hey. Had to rely on a lot of dropsets (instead of supersets) since it was so busy at the gym

Back Squats w/ dropset

135x10; 185x10; 225x7 drop to 135x8

Front Squats w/ dropset

95x10; 135x8 drop to 95x8

My legs were shaking after these two exercises!

DB Flat Bench Press w/ Dropset

55x10; 70x10; 70x8; 70x8 drop to 55x6

A little dissapointed that the 70s felt so heavy after only a week off (albeit being sick and with a horrible bb diet (not a lot of protein or meals... mostly just soup and tea the whole week))

Machine Flyes w/ dropset

205x10; 220x8 drop to 145x8

Hammer Shoulder Press machine Supersetted with Standing DB Pushes

90 (2 45lb plates) x10; 140x8 SS 25db x8; 140x8 SS 25dbx6

These supersets really fried my shoulders.

CG Bench Press Dropset

95x10; 135x6 drop to 95x8

Turkish Get ups

30lb dbs x 8
Damn these are tiring.

Stats: 6"3, 225lbs, 18%-ish bodyfat??, cutting

33sun33

Today was my pull workout. While I had done a "shock" push on Monday, today was essentially a normal workout with just a couple of dropsets added. Overall it was a good workout. Since I leave to visit family on Saturday (and thus likely will not be able to train for two weeks), Im wondering if I can get in one more Pull workout on Saturday before my flight. Ill see how my body feels and play it by ear.

Sumo Deadlifts

135x8; 225x6; 275x6; 315x3; 315x2

These felt pretty good. Since this was my first pull workout after being sick for a week, I was generally pleased.

Pull Ups supersetted with Chin ups

Pull ups - bw x5; pull ups - bwx5 SS with Chin ups - bw x4; pull ups - bwx5 SS with chin ups - bw x4

In all of my previous posts I think I was incorrectly using the term "chin ups" (narrow grip, palms supinated) when I was really doing "pull ups" (wide grip, palms facing away). I mostly do the latter, though today I supersetted them with chin ups.

Romanian Deadlifts with dropset

135x10; 225x8; 225x8; 225x8 drop set to 135x10

I have a feeling it maybe wasnt a smart idea to do a dropset on deads, even if it is romanian deads. At least I went with a light dropset though, and I feel fine.

Yates Rows with dropsets

135x10; 225x7 dropset to 135x8; 225x6 dropset to 135x8

Hammer machine Pull downs Supersetted with DB curls

180 (4 45 plates) x 10; 270x10 SS with 30lb curls x 8; 270x8 SS with 30lb curls x8

Stats: 6"3, 225lbs, 18%-ish bodyfat??, cutting

33sun33

After spending the last few weeks visiting family in Illinois for the holidays, I am almost back home and can begin going to the gym again!!!

Im still in NYC for a conference that will end Saturday, and plan to put in one or two workouts at the hotel gym here. But my new plan will begin in earnest next Monday.

I would like to bulk and put on as much muscle as possible for 3.5 months until around mid-April. At that point, I will start to cut to get ready for the beach/outdoor basketball season, lol.

Right now, I think I will do a Bill Starr variation for the next 9 weeks (4 - volume, 1 - deload, 4- intensity). After looking at various Bill Starr threads, this is what I think it will look like:

Monday

DB Bench - 1x5 (flat or incline?)
Squats - 5x5
Yates Rows - 5x5
Planks

Wednesday

Military Press - 5x5
Front Squats - 5x5
Sumo Deadlifts - 5x3
Pull-Ups - 5x5

Friday
DB Bench - 5x5
Squats - 1x5
Yates Rows - 1x5
Turkish Get-Ups


In regards to diet, I plan to eat as much as possible essentially. I will have seven balanced meals planned throughout each day.

In regards to supps, I will restart taking CEE creatine, a multivitamin, and ON protein shakes (used as sporadically as possible).

I am also toying with the idea of doing the NHA stack (rebound reloaded/activate) during this time. I probably have half a bottle of each left over, though that means Id still have to buy some more.

Anyways, I am super excited to finally stop traveling all over the damn place during the holidays, and to finally get back in the gym!! Hopefully I havent lost that much strength these last few weeks.

Stats: 6"3, 225lbs, 18%-ish bodyfat??, cutting

33sun33

My first workout after a few weeks of inaction was kinda sucky. I blame the suckiness on two things: (1) my layoff from the gym, and (2) the sucky ass gym equipment at the hotel. This workout was my "practice" 5x5 workout.

DB Flat Bench

(warmup) 65x5; 65x5; 65x5; 65x5; 65x5

I suppose I was lucky that the hotel gym had a flat bench and DBs that went up to 75. The reps were never a problem, but even 65lbs seemed heavier than I remember.

Smith Squats

2 45lb plates x 5; 2 45lb plates and 2 25lb plates x 5 reps x 3 sets

Arggh... I hate the Smith machine. I felt very awkward and unnatural doing these lifts, so I squatted pretty lightly.

DB Rows

75x5; 75x5; 75x5

Stopped after only 3 sets.... was frustrated with the hotel gym and that my apple iphone earbuds kept falling out of my ears.

Standing DB Military Press

30x5; 40x5


So a pretty bad workout, and yes I know Im making a lot of excuses. I mostly viewed this workout as a throw away, just to shock my body back into a lifting mode. Ill come back strong with complete sets once I formally start the Bill Starr next week!

Stats: 6"3, 225lbs, 18%-ish bodyfat??, cutting

33sun33

Today I kicked off my slightly modified Bill Starr workout plan. So far so good!

Incline DB Press: 1x5

[Ramp up: 40x5; 55x5] 70x5; 80x2(fail)

Today was 1x5 for the DB presses. Still not sure what my 1x5 weight should be, but 70x5 reps was pretty easy. Obviously, 80lb was too hard!!

Squats: 5x5

[Warmup: 135x10] 185x5; 185x5; 185x5; 185x5; 185x5

Overall this felt good. Perhaps a little too easy. Next week I may bump it up to 205x5 for 5 sets, depending on how my 1x5 day on Friday goes (I aiming at 225x5, which is a very reasonable goal).

Yates Rows

[Warmup: 135x8] 185x5x5

This also was relatively easy. Probably need to up the weights. I kept the low-ish today since I wasnt sure what weight I could do consistently for 5 sets of 5 reps.



That was it for today!!! I planned on doing some planks at the end, but didnt.

At this extremely eary stage, Im diggin the Bill Starr ish plan. I do question only doing squats for 3 days, with no hamstring exercise. Even though Im throwing sumo deads in on Thursday, I wonder if I should switch the light loaded squats on Wednesday for RDLs or something for the hams.

Stats: 6"3, 225lbs, 18%-ish bodyfat??, cutting

33sun33

Had a decent workout today, the second of my new modified Starr plan. Didnt have much energy all day - likely due to some insomnia the night before, but still glad I hit the gym.

Sumo Deadlifts

[warmup - 225x4] 257x3; 275x3; 275x3; 275x3; 315x2

Felt a little heavier than usual, but this is my first crack at the sumos after a 3 week or so layoff. Hopefully Ill work myself back up to 315x3 for 5 sets in a couple of weeks or so.

Front Squats

95x5x5

These felt very easy and super light. Of course, I was purposefully lifting with lighter weights pursuant to my version of Starr [e.g., Mondays I do 5x5 of back squats pretty much all out, Wednesdays instead of doing 80% back squats, I do light front squats; and Fridays I do 1x5 full exertion hoping for a PR].

Military Press


95x5x5

Felt awesome and light. I psuedo supersetted these with the Front squats since I was doing the same weight on the same rack.

Wide Grip Pull Ups

bwx5x3

Felt decent, but stopped at three sets.

Stats: 6"3, 225lbs, 18%-ish bodyfat??, cutting

DOMS

Really nice sumos, man!

the other half

good to see you making it back to the real gym. its hard to have a good workout when you are in a strange gym, you cant get in to it mentally as well i think.

anyways you know the weights will go up quickly, and then of course they just die on you. ha

"katt's spotter"
" its not how much u can benchpress. its how much other people think u can." bob chicherillo

33sun33

Thanks Doms - sumos have quickly become my favorite exercise!

Thanks for the support Other Half, the weights are finally starting to come back up.... the hard part is to keep them increasing!

Stats: 6"3, 225lbs, 18%-ish bodyfat??, cutting

33sun33

My workout on Saturday was kinda crappy. I was very busy that day, and the only time I could workout is for an hour right after waking up. Only had time to eat a half a bowl of cereal, and then rushed through the workout. Needless to say, I had no energy and actually felt faint towards the end of the workout.

Incline DB Press - 5x5

[warmup] 70lbs x 5 reps x 5 sets

Decent performance considering everything.

Squats -1x5

[warmup] 185x5

Kept these light since I really started to feel faint during this set.

Yates Rows -1x5

[warmup] 245x5

Form suffered a little towards the end -- Im not quite ready for 5 reps of 245

Stats: 6"3, 225lbs, 18%-ish bodyfat??, cutting

33sun33