conorvansmack's Training Journal

[conorvansmack]

7/16
7 minutes on elliptical

Squats
10 w/ bar - warmup
5 x 115 - warmup
5 x 5 @ 145

Pull ups - 7, 5, 6

Deadlift
5 x 115 - warmup
3 x 5 @ 150

Dips - 12, 10, 8.5

Rows
5 x 75 - warmup
5 x 5 @ 105

Wide grip pull ups - 2 x 5 reps

Crunches - 2 x 16
Reverse crunches - 2 x 8

 

[conorvansmack]

7/21
7 minutes on elliptical

Bench Press - 10 w/bar, 8 x 115, 8 x 135, 5 x 5 @ 155

Squat - 10 w/bar, 8 x 115, 5 x 5 @ 150

Rows - 10 x 75, 10 x 95, 5 x 5 @ 115

Dips - 10, 10 , 7

Reverse grip pull downs - 10 x 135, 10 x 195, 8 x 195, 8 x 195

Flies - 2 sets of 10 x 45 with my back off the pad, 8 x 60 normal

Hanging leg raise - 12 front, 10 each side, 6 front, left, right complex

My squat is creeping up on my bench. The squat really felt good when I started using my hips correctly.

 

[rasczak]

update?

 

[conorvansmack]

tonight. The forces of evil have been consipring to eff up my schedule.

 

[conorvansmack]

7/24
5 minutes on elliptical

Squat - 10 w/bar, 10 @ 115, 5 @ 135, 5 x 5 @ 155

Bench Press - 10 w/bar, 10 @ 115, 5 @ 135, 5 x 5 @ 155

Rows - 10 @ 75, 10 @ 95, 5 x 5 @ 120

OH Press - 10 w/bar, 5 @ 95, 5 @ 100, 4 @ 100, 2 x 5 @ 95
I messed up here and didn't have my old journal with me. 95 felt good, so I jumped up and wore myself out. I should have been at 90 or 95. I push pressed the last rep on the last two sets. I'm not going to count this as a failure, but it's close.

Front Squat - 10 w/bar, 10 x 95, 8 x 95, 10 x 95
Again, forgot the log, screwed up my loading progress. I should have been at 70. I'm having a hell of a time with racking the bar on my shoulders/clavicle. I let it rest there and my fingers and under the bar, but it hurts like hell and I've gotten "twinges" in my forearm. I'll try stretching my wrists at work. All I do is sit on my ass, so it will give me an excuse to stand up and move around.

This was kind of a disappointing workout, mostly due to the fact that I forgot my old journal and didn't record my weights in the new one. I've been in a weird mood lately; really grouchy and intolerant with my wife, which sucks because she doesn't deserve that. I'm hoping a weekend of wakeboarding and loafing will turn me around.

 

[conorvansmack]

7/27

Wakeboarded all day Saturday. Sunday, I moved my old dryer out my house and new one in. I think carrying a dryer up and down 2 flights of stairs twice counts as a workout. I might do a cardio day (swimming) tomorrow. My left knee has some pain in it right above the kneecap, so I'd like to give it a few more days before I get after it again.

Edit - hurt my back wakeboarding, low right side is very tight. My knee is feeling better, but I'll be staying out of the gym until Friday.

 

[conorvansmack]

8/1 - Finally

7 minutes on elliptical

Squat - 10 w/bar, 8 @ 115, 8 @ 135, 5 x 5 @ 160

Deadlift - warm up - 10 Romanian deadlifts w/bar, 3 x 5 @ 160

Dips - 10, 10 , 9.75 - So close!:roll:

OH Press - 10 w/ bar, 8 x 65, 5 x 5 @ 90

Pull ups - 8, 5, 4
Pull downs - 10 @ 135, 9 @ 165

15 crunches, 10 reverse crunches, 10 of each

I'm pretty happy that my progress didn't drop off after over a week out of the gym. Should I be increasing my deadlift by more than 10 lbs. each time? I only do it every 3rd workout, so it's not really keeping pace with the other lifts, but I'm satisfied with my form and progress.
I was nervous about OH Press since I had problems last time, but Gramboh's advice to shrug my traps to finish definitely helped. I started lifting faster and noticed that I didn't get the pinching feeling in my neck.

 

[gramboh]

If you are happy with your form on the deadlift and are not totally gassed after 5 reps, you should increase it 10lbs each time. You will know when you get near your max, it gets really hard (at least for me).

 

[conorvansmack]

8/5

7 minutes on elliptical

Squat - 10 w/bar, 8 @ 115, 8 @ 135, 5 x 5 @ 165

Bench Press - 10 w/ bar, 10 @ 115, 8 @ 135, 4 x 5 @ 160, 4 @ 160?!, 5 @ 160
I let the bar slow down too much on the 5th rep of the 5th set. I got stuck with it on my chest and had to roll it down my body and then pick it up to re-rack it. I was pissed and took a slightly longer rest and pounded out the last set of 5. HOO-RAH!

Rows - 10 w/ bar, 10 @ 95, 5 x 5 @ 125

Dips - 10, 9, 8

Hammer grip pull ups - 5, 5, 5
This is the first time I've done these as a "work" set. I'll try to increase by at least one rep each set.

Flies - 2 x 10 @ 50 (off back pad), 8 @ 60 (on back pad)

Hanging leg raise - 12 x front, 12 x each side, 7 x complex (front, left, right)

Aside from the hiccup on bench, I felt really good about this. I'm a little nervous about next time, but I'll man up with my game face and other idioms.

 

[conorvansmack]

8/8

7 minutes on elliptical

Squat - 10 w/bar, 10 @ 115, 5 @ 135, 5 x 5 @ 170

Bench Press - 10 w/bar, 10 @ 115, 5 @ 135, 5 x 5 @ 165
I had a spotter because I was worried about stalling like last time, but it turns out I didn't need him at all.

OH Press - 10 w/bar, 10 @ 65, 5 @ 75, 5 x 5 @ 95

Rows - 10 w/bar, 10 @ 95, 5 x 5 @ 130
I hit my goal, which was much easier than I thought. New goal of 160.

Front Squat - 10 w/bar, 3 x 10 @ 70
I'm getting a much better feel for the technique. Clean grip is a no-go for me, so I'm using the cross-arm grip. It feels much steadier and my wrists don't spasm.

Pull ups - 5, 5, 5

Incline crunches - 12, 2 x 12 w/10 pounds.

 

[conorvansmack]

8/13

7 minutes on elliptical

Squat - 10 w/bar, 8 @ 135, 5 x 5 @ 175

Deadlift - 8 @ 135, 3 x 5 @ 170

Dips - 10, 10, 10

OH Press - 10 w/bar, 8 @ 75, 5 x 5 @ 100

Pull ups - 5, 5, 5

Reverse crunches - 3 x 12

Everything felt really good and went smoothly. I finally hit an honest 3 sets of 10 dips, so now I need to set a new goal. I did 3 sets of 5 on all the pull ups/chin ups this round, so it's up to 6 reps per set next round.

 

[conorvansmack]

8/13

7 minutes on elliptical

Squat - 10 w/bar, 10 @ 115, 5 @ 155, 5 x 5 @ 180

Bench Press - 10 w/bar, 10 @ 115, 5 @ 155, 5 x 5 @ 170

Rows - 10 w/bar, 8 @ 115, 5 x 5 @ 135 Finally, big plates!

Chin ups - 6, 6, 6

Dips - 9, 8, 7

Reverse crunches - 3 x 12

Definitely a hard day as evidenced by the dips. I'm staying up late watching the Olympics every night. I'm getting nervous about the weight on bench press and had a spotter, but again, didn't need him at all.

 

[saturnlife]

Yoga for 30 minutes.

Jogging for 30 minutes.

That's all.




____________________
Good diet food I ever ate

 

[conorvansmack]

Huh? Is that supposed to be advice?

 

[conorvansmack]

8/21

7 minutes on elliptical

Pull Ups - 6, 6, 6

Rows - 10 w/bar, 8 @ 115, 5 x 5 @ 140

Bench Press - 10 w/bar, 8 @ 135, 5 @ 155, 5 x 5 @ 175

Squat - 10 w/bar, 8 @ 135, 5 @ 156, 5 x 5 @ 185

OH Press - 10 w/bar, 8 @ 85, 4 x 5 @ 105, 1 x 3 @ 105

In the big picture, I should be happy with this workout becaue I'm still gaining. I failed in OH Press and had to push press the 4th rep on the last set and couldn't even push press the 5th. I'm also pretty certain that my squat technique is teh suck. As the weight has gone higher, I think my technique has gotten worse. I don't have a video camera, so I'm going to ask the gym owner to help me out again. I was so pissed about OH press that I didn't do any front squats or abs. I went home and watched the gold medal match for women's water polo. I yelled at the TV through most of it (I coached all through college) and scared my wife. She never had to deal with Coach Conor. He's a dick.

 

[conorvansmack]

My blood donating incident kept me out of the gym longer than I intended. I took it easy today in terms of sets just to ease back into it.

8/29

8 minutes on elliptical

Wide-grip pull ups - 6, 6, 6, 6

Dips - 10

Squat - 10 w/ bar, 10 @ 115, 3 x 5 @ 185
No increase in weight. I really focused on my technique, trying to keep my knees from coming too far forward and forcing them to the outside.

Deadlift - 3 x 5 @ 195
I got really dizzy between sets and took a long time. I was breathing really deeply while resting, but I could feel my heart pounding.

OH Press - 10 w/bar, 3 x 5 @ 95

OH Squat - 10 w/bar
These are great!

 

[conorvansmack]

9/4

7 minutes on elliptical

Squat - 10 w/bar, 8 @ 135, 5 @ 165, 5 x 5 @ 185

Bench Press - 10 w/bar, 8 @ 115, 5 @ 165,
3 x 5 @ 180, 4 @ 180, 5 @ 180
I took a shorter rest between the 3rd and 4th sets, likely the reason I didn't get the 5th rep. 5th set was no problem. I noticed a tendonitis (had it in college) type pain in my elbows. I think it's from wakeboarding and letting the rope really yank when I land with my arm straight.

Rows - 10 w/bar, 8 @ 115, 5 x 5 @ 145

Dips - 12, 9, 9

Hanging leg raise - 12 front, 12 front, 6 each side and 4 front

 

[BeauJangles]

Sounds like you're making good progress.

What do you feel is troublesome about your squat?

 

[conorvansmack]

Thanks, I keep expecting to stall, but I'm still able to make all 5 sets. Bench has got to be getting close though.

As far as my squat, I'm worried about my knees coming forward too far. They aren't over my toes, but they look close. Ideally, I'd like my shins to be as close to perpendicular as possible, but as I squat lower, they start to drift forward. They are still in line with my toes, but I think this effects how much/well my hamstrings and glutes are engaged.

 

[paulxcook]

You seem to be making good progress in here. Strong bench especially. How tall are you? I kind of skimmed through the first page (my settings are 40 posts per page) but didn't see your height.

 

[conorvansmack]

I'm about 5'10ish. The last time I weighed myself, I was 220, but that was about a month ago. My diet has been pretty inconsistent lately, similar to my workout schedule. I appreciate the compliments!

 

[conorvansmack]

9/8

7 minutes on elliptical

Squat - 10 w/bar, 8 @ 135, 5 @ 165, 5 x 5 @ 190

Bench Press - 10 w/bar, 10 @ 115, 5 @ 165, 4 x 5 @ 180, 6 @ 180
My spotter was one of those "motivational spotters" which I appreciate. He wasn't over the top like Ben Stiller in Dodgeball or anything. He kept telling me that I had another rep or two in me after every set. I got the 6th rep no problem, but the 7th rep stalled about 3/4 of the way up.

OH Press - 10 w/bar, 5 @ 95, 4 x 5 @ 105, 4 @ 105
I stalled on the last rep of the last set. I tried to push press it, but that wasn't happening either. I'll get it next time. I think I took too much time getting comfortable with the bar over my head after the 1st rep.

Rows - 8 @ 105, 5 x 5 @ 150
Last week I thought I would be stalling soon, but I keep progressing. I combined the 3rd and 4th set (10 reps) because this dude kept talking to me - for 10 minutes! - after my second set. He sounded like he needed to talk, Nat'l Guardsman-getting ready to go back to Iraq, so I let him go.

Pull ups - 7, 7, 7

Front Squat - 10 w/bar, 3 x 10 @ 85
I think the technique is clicking for me. Right now, I like these better than back squats, but we'll see what happens as the weight goes up.

Crunches - 3 x 12
Holding the top position and exhaling completely on each rep.

 

[conorvansmack]

9/12 - Short workout, no time for accessory exercises

5 minutes on elliptical

Squat - 10 w/bar, 8 @ 135, 5 @ 165, 5 x 5 @ 195

Deadlift - 10 SLDL + 5 GM w/bar, 8 @ 135, 3 x 5 @ 205
My first lift over 200 pounds!

OH Press - 10 w/bar, 8 @ 85, 5 x 5 @ 105

OH Squat - 10 w/bar

 

[paulxcook]

Congats on the DL PR. Your OHPs are pretty strong compared to your other lifts.

 

[conorvansmack]

9/14

7 minutes on elliptical

Squat - 10 w/bar, 8 @ 135, 5 @ 185, 5 x 5 @ 205
Oops, I was supposed to do 200 today, but my math skills didn't come to the gym with me. I'll do 205 again next time. My technique was a little sloppy. My back rounded a few times.

Bench Press - 10 w/bar, 10 @ 135, 5 @ 165, 5 x 5 @ 185

Rows - 10 w/bar, 8 @ 115, 6 @ 135, 5 x 5 @ 155

Dips - 12, 12, 9

Chin ups - 7, 5, 6
I was getting pretty tired at this point.

Flies - 3 x 10 @ 50

Rev. crunches - 3 x 12