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conorvansmack's Training Journal

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Gramboh has it. My gym's dip belt has disappeared or it is broken. They only have an assisted dip station so I put a weight on the pad to lower it to the floor. I put the dumbbell on the top step and then push myself up on the bars. Then I dip down and catch the dumbbell on my calves.

This changes the location of the weight vs. a dip belt. I appreciate that it's harder, but it really makes doing the exercise a pain in the arse.
 
12/7

Front Squats - 10 w/bar, 5 @ 95, 5 @ 135, 3 @ 155, 5 x 5 @ 170

OH Press - 10 w/bar, 5 @ 85, 3 @ 95, 3 x 3 @ 105
Hard deload 1 of 3

Deadlift - 8SLDL and 5 GM w/bar, 5 @ 135, 5 @ 185, 3 @ 225, 2 x 5 @ 265
Technique on the 1st set at 265 was all kinds of ugly. It got better on the 2nd set. My hands get ridiculously sweaty during winter, it sucks. The bar started slipping out of my hand. It may be time to switch to the alternate grip. I was hoping to get much higher with a double-overhand grip.

Chin ups - 10, 7
I tweaked/pulled/messed up my right bicep around thanksgiving. My wife's family thinks it's fun to make a spectacle of people who try to take care of themselves. I was talked/bribed ($10) into arm wrestling my cousin. He's a farmer. A really big farmer. My wedding ring fits inside of his with room to spare. Heck, quarters fit inside his ring with room to spare. At any rate, I tried really hard even though it didn't look like it. Nothing hurt until the next day when I help my brother-in-law move a bunch of furniture. It feels similar to the tendonitis I developed in my elbow from water polo. Pull ups and rows aren't a problem, but chin ups hurt enough to make me stop. Feats of strength on a holiday?! What is this, Festivus?
 
12/9

Squat - 10 w/bar, 5 @ 135, 5 @ 163, 3 @ 185, 5 x 5 @ 205

Bench Press - 10 w/bar, 5 @ 135, 5 @ 165, 5 @ 195, 1 @ 205, 3 x 5 @ 220
Starting out, I didn't feel like I had enough energy to get 220 and my warm up felt really heavy. Once I got started, it went really well. I started feeling a lot of pain above my elbow after the first set. I wouldn't feel any pain when I was doing the exercise, but once there wasn't any weight, it hurt like hell. I stopped after 3 sets.

Rows - 10 w/bar, 5 @ 115, 5 @ 155, 3 @ 185, 5 x 5 @ 200

Dips - 10 w/o weight, 3 x 5 @ 40#s

Hanging knee raise - knees to elbows
2 x 12 front, 1 set of 8 each side

I'm kind of nervous about my elbow. It seems very similar to tendonitis (pain when there's no activity/resistance). Any recommendations? I really want to hit 225 and I'm so close I can smell it.
 
Originally posted by: conorvansmack
I'm kind of nervous about my elbow. It seems very similar to tendonitis (pain when there's no activity/resistance). Any recommendations? I really want to hit 225 and I'm so close I can smell it.
Click to expand...

Weird. Have you ever had this pain before?
 
It's almost the exact same place and feeling that I have when I shoot too much/too hard in water polo. It's a throwing motion. I had it diagnosed about 10 years ago and the doc told me it was tendonitis. He advised me to use one of those pointless arm bands. I tried it and it didn't do a thing.

The only thing I can link the pain to is arm wrestling on Thanksgiving. I must have strained/inflamed the tendons/ligaments.
 
Originally posted by: conorvansmack
It's almost the exact same place and feeling that I have when I shoot too much/too hard in water polo. It's a throwing motion. I had it diagnosed about 10 years ago and the doc told me it was tendonitis. He advised me to use one of those pointless arm bands. I tried it and it didn't do a thing.

The only thing I can link the pain to is arm wrestling on Thanksgiving. I must have strained/inflamed the tendons/ligaments.
Click to expand...

In general, if I have some kind of minor injury, my typical approach is to skip the particular exercise completely in the next session, and for several sessions after that, only do some PT type exercises with very light weight and high reps just to flush lots of blood through the area. With minor injuries, it usually only takes 1-2 of these PT sessions until I'm feeling better and go back to doing the normal exercise. It also helps to use plenty of ibuprofen and/or ice to reduce swelling through out the day. With my most recent back strain from deadlifting, for example, I skipped the next deadlifting session completely, and then for the next two sessions did lots of back/hip extensions (1-2 sets of 25). After just over a week, I was back to 100% and deadlifting w/o issues.

Unfortunately, tendinitis is a bitch, so YMMV. Certainly an anti-inflammatory meds & ice will help, but other than that, it may just take a whole lot of rest & PT.
 
Originally posted by: brikis98
Originally posted by: conorvansmack
It's almost the exact same place and feeling that I have when I shoot too much/too hard in water polo. It's a throwing motion. I had it diagnosed about 10 years ago and the doc told me it was tendonitis. He advised me to use one of those pointless arm bands. I tried it and it didn't do a thing.

The only thing I can link the pain to is arm wrestling on Thanksgiving. I must have strained/inflamed the tendons/ligaments.
Click to expand...

In general, if I have some kind of minor injury, my typical approach is to skip the particular exercise completely in the next session, and for several sessions after that, only do some PT type exercises with very light weight and high reps just to flush lots of blood through the area. With minor injuries, it usually only takes 1-2 of these PT sessions until I'm feeling better and go back to doing the normal exercise. It also helps to use plenty of ibuprofen and/or ice to reduce swelling through out the day. With my most recent back strain from deadlifting, for example, I skipped the next deadlifting session completely, and then for the next two sessions did lots of back/hip extensions (1-2 sets of 25). After just over a week, I was back to 100% and deadlifting w/o issues.

Unfortunately, tendinitis is a bitch, so YMMV. Certainly an anti-inflammatory meds & ice will help, but other than that, it may just take a whole lot of rest & PT.
Click to expand...

The bolded part is the way to go to prevent swelling, pain, and will help in the healing process for tendinitis.

Does it hurt when you move at the bicep hinge or does it hurt when you flex your wrist, OP?
 
It's just the bicep hinge, my wrist feels fine. Before bench press last night, I really noticed it while doing chin ups. It doesn't hurt as much when I do pull ups. Are there any movements that you would recommend to get blood flowing in that area?
 
12/12

Front Squat - 10 OH Squat w/bar, 5 @ 95, 5 @ 135, 5 @ 155, 5 x 5 @ 175

OH Press - 10 w/bar, 5 @ 85, 5 @ 105, 3 x 3 @ 110
Hard deload 2 of 3

Deadlift - 8 SLDL and 8 GM w/bar, 5 @ 135, 5 @ 185, 3 @ 225, 2 @ 255, 1 x 5 @ 270

Short on time so I only did one set of deadlifts. I didn't do pull ups to rest my bicep.
 
12/14

Squat - 10 w/bar, 5 @ 95, 5 @ 135, 5 @ 165, 3 @ 195, 5 x 5 @ 210

Bench Press - 10 w/bar, 5 @ 135, 5 @ 165, 5 @ 195, 3 @ 205, 3 x 5 @ 220, 4 @ 220 (spotter balanced), 3 @ 220

Rows - 10 w/bar, 5 @ 115, 5 @ 135, 5 @ 155, 3 @ 195, 3 x 5 @ 205
I started running out of gas on the 2nd set, so I just finished up.

Dips - 8 w/o weight, 0 @ 35#, 10 unweighted, 8 unweighted
I ran out of gas before even starting! I was supposed to do 45 today, but I knew that wasn't in the cards for me today. I guess 35 wasn't either. Crap!

Turkish get-ups - 2 sets of 10 w/15# - alternating sides (5 each per set)
Wow, those seem like such a mundane exercise, but I was definitely worn out by the end. It was a nice way to end an otherwise lackluster workout.
 
Front Squat - 10 OH Squat w/bar, 5 @ 115, 5 @ 135, 5 @ 155, 3 @ 170, 5 x 5 @ 180

OH Press - 10 w/bar, 5 @ 85, 5 @ 105, 3 x 3 @ 115
Hard deload 3 of 3 - I really worked on technique and not pushing my torso forward too far. I also didn't use any bounce reflex between reps.

Deadlift - 8 SLDL & 8 GM w/bar, 5 @ 135, 5 @ 185, 5 @ 225, 3 @ 255, 5 @ 275
I had originally planned on just doing technique work at a medium weight for me, but I was feeling good and kept going. Taking a big breath before each rep really helped. I wasn't nearly as sore from shoveling snow all day Friday as I thought I'd be.

Pull downs - 10 @ 120, 10 @ 150, 8 @ 180
My right elbow/bicep started getting sore during the last set so I stopped.
 
Originally posted by: conorvansmack
It's just the bicep hinge, my wrist feels fine. Before bench press last night, I really noticed it while doing chin ups. It doesn't hurt as much when I do pull ups. Are there any movements that you would recommend to get blood flowing in that area?
Click to expand...

Normally the best way to deal with a sort of tendinitis is to rest it, ice it, and stay on anti-inflamatory medication. The hard thing is that increased blood flow to the area isn't actually going to fix it. That will probably only come in the form of swelling.

However, you could do a hot/cold pack variation. Hot for 5, cold for 5, hot for 5, cold for 5. That will help promote blood flow, then constrict the vessels purging the blood. The expansion and contraction of the blood vessels act sort of like a pump, getting the chemicals that promote inflammation and other symptoms out of the area. That's why tendinitis is such a crappy thing to have. It usually requires that you take a break or continual maintenance with ice and ibuprofen. Sometimes as you get stronger, your body adapts a bit better and it goes away. It's not the usual case though.

The best way to get rid of it is to strengthen the supporting muscles (for you, forearm, biceps, triceps). Lifting heavy in the meantime is probably only going to make it worse.
 
Thanks for the advice. I'll try the hot/cold. I'm probably only going to be able to get in one workout between now and New Year's. I'm heading home to California for vacation until then.
 
Squat - 10 OH Squat w/bar, 5 @ 135, 5 @ 165, 5 @ 185, 3 @ 205, 5 x 5 @ 215

Bench Press - 10 w/bar, 5 @ 135, 5 @ 165, 5 @ 195, 2 @ 205, 5 x 5 @ 220
I focused on keeping my upper back tight and that really helped. One step to go for 225.

Rows - 10 w/bar, 5 @ 115, 5 @ 135, 5 @ 155, 5 @ 185, 5 x 5 @ 205
I didn't reset my grip after each rep, but I definitely reset my abs and breath which helped.

Dips - 13 unweighted, 5 @ 30, 5 @ 40
Still no dip belt, I going to have to buy one. For some reason I felt a little gun shy on these and started out light. I was pretty worn out from Bench and Rows, but I got fired up for 40 and it worked.
Any suggestions on types or brands of dip belts?
 
1/3/09

Front Squat - 10 OH Squat w/bar, 5 @ 115, 5 @ 135, 3 @ 165, 5 x 5 @ 185

OH Press - 10 w/bar, 5 @ 85, 5 @ 105, 5 x 5 @ 115

Deadlift - 8 SLDL and 8 GM w/bar, 5 @ 135, 5 @ 185, 5 @ 225, 3 @ 255, 5 @ 280

Pull downs - 10 @ 90, 10 @ 120, 10 @ 150, 10 @ 180
I didn't feel any pain in my right bicep until the very end, so it's definitely getting better. A week off helped too. My shoulders are extremely weak. I struggled a bit on the last rep of the 3rd and 4th sets. I went surfing when I has home in California last week and after a few minutes of paddling, they were gassed. I may start swimming again.
 
1/5/09

Squat - 10 OH squat w/bar, 5 @ 135, 5 @ 165, 5 @ 195, 5 x 5 @ 225

Bench Press - 10 w/bar, 5 @ 135, 5 @ 165, 5 @ 195, 5 x 5 @ 205

Rows - 10 w/bar, 5 @ 115, 5 @ 145, 5 @ 175, 3 x 5 @ 210

Dips - 10 w/o weight, 3 x 5 w/35
The dip belt has been replaced. I'm a happy camper again.

Turkish getups - 2 x 10 w/15, 1 x 10 w/20 (5 each side)

Alternating between back squats and front squats is fun and all, but I think it's costing me progress on my back squat. It will take me twice as long to hit my goal because I'm not increasing the weight as fast as I would if I wasn't alternating. I figure I have two options:
1) Front squat less, maybe once in 4 workouts.
2) Increase the weight for back squats by 10 lbs. each time I front squat between back squat workouts. I figure since I'm front squatting between each workout that has back squats in it that I'm getting stronger anyway.

I want to hit 1.5 x bodyweight for 5 x 5 (approx. 330) this year and I feel that it's definitely possible.
 
Originally posted by: conorvansmack

Alternating between back squats and front squats is fun and all, but I think it's costing me progress on my back squat. It will take me twice as long because I'm not increase the weight as fast as I would if I wasn't alternating. I figure I have two options:
1) Front squat less, maybe once in 4 workouts.
2) Increase the weight for back squats by 10 lbs. each time I front squat between back squat workouts. I figure since I'm front squatting between each workout that has back squats in it that I'm getting stronger anyway.
Click to expand...

Consider using a Bill Starr 5x5 approach: do (heavy) back squats twice a week and (lighter) back or front squats one day per week in between.
 
1/8

Squat - 10 OH Squat w/bar, 5 @ 135, 5 @ 165, 5 @ 195, 5 x 5 @ 230

OH Press - 10 w/bar, 5 @ 85, 3 @ 105, 5 x 5 @ 115
I'm going to try increasing every other time with the Press. Hopefully, I'll be able to progress beyond 135 with this strategy.

Deadlift - 8 GM & 8 SLDL w/bar, 5 @ 135, 5 @ 185, 3 @ 225, 3 @ 255, 5 @ 285 (work set)

My quads were sore all week. While I was warming up for Squats, everything felt heavy, even loading the bar. All the lifts went smoothly once I was warm, but I definitely came in at less than 100%. I'm still using double-overhand grip for deadlift. I expected to have to switch a while ago.

No time for pull ups or abs, I had to get home for the BCS Championship game.
 
1/15/09

I fought through the weather, crappy schedule, and most my own motivation problems to finally make it back to the gym.

Squat - 10 OH squat w/bar, 5 @ 135, 5 @ 165, 5 @ 195, 3 @ 205, 5 x 5 @ 235

Bench Press - 10 w/bar, 5 @ 135, 5 @ 165, 3 @ 195, 5 x 5 @ 205
The bar was all over the place and wasn't going up evenly for me until the last set. I'll take another run at 205 next time.

Rows - 10 w/bar, 5 @ 135, 5 @ 165, 3 @ 195, 3 x 5 @ 210

Dips - 10 w/o weight, 3 x 5 w/ 35 lbs.

Hanging Knee Raise - 2 x 12 front, 1 x 12 sides (6 each)
 
1/18/09

Front Squat - 10 OH squat w/bar, 5 @ 115, 5 @ 145, 5 @ 175, 5 x 5 @ 190

OH Press - 10 w/bar, 5 @ 85, 5 @ 105, 5 x 5 @ 120

Deadlift - 8 GM & 8 SLDL w/bar, 5 @ 135, 5 @ 185, 5 @ 225, 5 @ 255, 2 @ 285, 5 @ 290 (work set)

Pull ups - 10, 6, 6

Weighted sit-ups - 12 w/25, 2 x 12w/35

I'm seriously considering switching from 5 x 5 to 3 x 5. This pretty much changed my mind. I think I will still progress and my workout won't take a long. I plan on keeping the same exercises from StrongLifts and I want to add Power Cleans once I learn how to do them safely.
 
1/21/09

Squat - 10 OH w/bar, 5 @ 135, 5 @ 165, 5 @ 195, 3 @ 215, 5 x 5 @ 240
The 3rd and 4th sets were all kinds of ugly. My gym has one of these types of racks and I'm not tall enough to get decent depth when squatting inside of it. I pick up the weight in the rack and then back out of it. My 5th set was good, but I'll be back at 240 next time.

Bench Press - 2 x 10 w/bar, 5 @ 135, 5 @ 165, 5 @ 195, 3 x 5 @ 205
These felt much better than last time when the bar was all over the place.

Rows - 10 w/bar, 5 @ 135, 5 @ 165, 3 @ 195, 3 x 5 @ 210
The 2nd set was pretty ugly, I didn't get the bar all the way up to my chest on one of the reps, so I added another.

Dips - 10 w/o weight, 3 x 5 @ BW + 40.
 
1/26/09

Squat - 10 OH squat w/bar, 5 @ 135, 3 @ 165, 3 @ 195, 3 x 5 @ 240

OH Press - 2 x 5 w/bar, 5 @ 65, 3 @ 80, 2 @ 100, 3 x 5 @ 120

Deadlift - 8 SLDL/8GM w/bar, 5 @ 135, 5 @ 185, 3 @ 225, 2 @ 275, 5 @ 290 (work set)

Chin ups - 10, 7, 5

Hanging Knee Raise - 12, 12
I experimented with hanging L-sits and that didn't work out too well.

I'm checking out a new gym tonight that has a lot more of a power lifting/free weight emphasis.
 
1/29/09

Squat - 2 x 5 w/bar, 5 @ 115, 3 @ 155, 3 @ 195, 2 @ 225, 3 x 5 @ 245

Bench Press - 3 x 5 w/bar, 5 @ 115, 4 @ 155, 3 @ 185, 3 x 5 @ 210

Rows - 2 x 5 w/bar, 5 @ 95, 5 @ 135, 3 @ 170, 3 x 5 @ 190

Dips - 2 x 5 w/o weight, 3 x 5 @ BW + 45!

Rev. crunches - 3 x 12

The different warm up definitely helped, but I think doing 3 x 5 helped more.
 
2/2/09

Pull ups - (warmed up with pulldowns - 10 @ 90, 5 @ 150) 8, 5, 4, 4

Squat - 5 OH w/bar, 5 w/bar, 5 @ 115, 3 @ 155, 3 @ 195, 2 @ 225, 3 x 5 @ 250

OH Press - 2 x 5 w/bar, 5 @ 65, 3 @ 85, 3 @ 105, 3 X 5 @ 125
I went fast on the work set and it helped a ton.

Deadlift - 5 GM and 5 SLDL w/bar, 5 @ 135, 5 @ 185, 3 @ 225, 2 @ 275, 5 @ 295 (work set)

Decline sit-ups - 10 w/25#, 10 w/25#, 8 w/10#



 
2/5

Front Squat - 2 x 5 w/bar, 5 @ 75, 5 @ 115, 3 @ 155, 3 x 5 @ 195

Bench Press - 2 x 5 w/bar, 5 @ 115, 3 @ 145, 3 @ 185, 3 x 5 @ 210

Rows - 2 x 5 w/bar, 5 @ 95, 5 @ 135, 3 @ 175, 3 x 5 @ 190

Dips - 2 x 5 w/o weight, 2 x 5 @ BW + 50, 8 @ BW + 50
The first two sets felt really good, so I decided to see how many I could do. I was surprised that I got 8.

Hanging Knee Raise - 2 x 10 front, 1 x 12 alternating sides

I experimented with Power Cleans using the bar a little. I'll likely do some more on Saturday or Sunday.
 
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