paulxcook's Training Journal

[crt1530]

Congratulations on the plate mile markers on the bench and squat.

Get a knife or pumice stone and rub down the callus after a shower when your hands are nice and wet. Callus maintenance prevents ripped up hands.

 

[paulxcook]

Thanks, last up for plates is overhead press. I think that might take longer.

Didn't some guy on here need help with his calluses because his girlfriend hated them? I think I remember you or someone recommending a pumice stone. I'll see about getting one, if I can minimize this one so it doesn't bother my grip that would be great.

 

[paulxcook]

Man this thing got buried. Looks like H&F is taking off.

Day 12

Tonight I forgot to charge my mp3 player. Sucks. On top of that is was "customer appreciation night", which translates into a metric shit ton of people in the gym. I had a hard time focusing, and feel I could've gotten more out of it if I'd just been more mentally tough. I still made some progress.

Squat:

bar x 10 x 1
95 x 5 x 1
135 x 5 x 1
235 x 5 x 3 (+5 lbs from last session)

These felt heavy but good. I had trouble focusing tonight. I had a lot of energy, so I think I could've gone for 240.

Overhead Press:

bar x 10 x 1
65 x 5 x 1
85 x 5 x 3 (+5 lbs)

I barely made it through these. My left shoulder still feels funny from a few weeks ago, but I think the weight was just heavy for me. Progress is progress.

Bent-over rows:

bar x 8 x 1
65 x 5 x 1
95 x 5 x 1
135 x 5 x 1
145 x 5 x 1
150 x 5 x 1

I went back to these and also did some form work on power cleans with just the bar. I'm making progress there, getting the hip thrust movement down. It's easier to flip up the bar without using my arms now, and my muscles are getting better at "remembering" the movements. Not perfect at all, but better. Thanks to Koing and crt for the ongoing tutelage. My form on the row looked phenomenal, to me anyway, best it's been so far.

Tonight was also apparently lightbulb night. A bunch of upper body gorillas all curling and such in front of the dumbell rack mirror. They were all bigger/stronger than me, so I can't talk too much. I just wouldn't want to look like them if I'd put in that much time lifting.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Good job on the squat, man. I know how that is - my squats are my hardest thing. I had the same trouble with my iPod at the gym today. I got into a sweet zone and then it died right before my second set of squats (right at the beginning of the workout). What did you do to your shoulder weeks ago? Have you been stretching and icing it (if it hurts)? If not, you really should.

 

[paulxcook]

Thanks. My goal is to hit 300 lbs on squat by the end of the year, but I've progressed faster than I anticipated. I might hit 300 a lot sooner than that.

I didn't injure it per se. I was doing seated overhead presses instead of standing, and there was a bench seat with a high rack, it looks perfect for overhead press except you have to reach backward to grab the bar, and when I did that I tweaked my left shoulder. I won't ever use it again, very stupid design, and very stupid of me to rotate my shoulders back that far. It only hurts it I hold it in a certain position, and it seems like it's going away with time. Since it doesn't constantly hurt I don't think icing is necessary. There's no swelling at all, and no pain unless I rotate it just so. I do stretch it.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Originally posted by: paulxcook
Thanks. My goal is to hit 300 lbs on squat by the end of the year, but I've progressed faster than I anticipated. I might hit 300 a lot sooner than that.

I didn't injure it per se. I was doing seated overhead presses instead of standing, and there was a bench seat with a high rack, it looks perfect for overhead press except you have to reach backward to grab the bar, and when I did that I tweaked my left shoulder. I won't ever use it again, very stupid design, and very stupid of me to rotate my shoulders back that far. It only hurts it I hold it in a certain position, and it seems like it's going away with time. Since it doesn't constantly hurt I don't think icing is necessary. There's no swelling at all, and no pain unless I rotate it just so. I do stretch it.

What are you looking to do with 300? I mean, what is your goal? Do you want that to be your 1 rep max or do you want to do sets of 5 with that? Either way, I have a feeling you'll hit it before the end of the year if you want it

Ugh, yeah, that support is BS. I only do military press and seated dumbbell press because of that. That way you can always spot yourself. Well, if it doesn't constantly hurt, keep stretching it and maybe give it some massage time when you're bored. Massaging it will promote blood flow and will actually help reduce healing time. It may seem weird, but just try it out. Hope it gets better, anyhow, and hope to see more improvement soon.

 

[paulxcook]

Yeah, 300 for 3 sets of 5. I'm not worrying about 1 rep maxes too much right now. When I go over 300 on squat and deads and over 200 on bench, all for 3 solid sets of 5, I will try maxing out.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Originally posted by: paulxcook
Yeah, 300 for 3 sets of 5. I'm not worrying about 1 rep maxes too much right now. When I go over 300 on squat and deads and over 200 on bench, all for 3 solid sets of 5, I will try maxing out.

Good call. Well, when you're interested in trying out your max, you should use a 1RM (1 rep max) calculator to get a good approximation, just so you don't hurt yourself. Always start a bit lighter and work up to it to see if you're ready. This is just a random one I've been using as of late.

 

[spamsk8r]

Definitely don't give up on the power cleans. They are one of the best lifts you can do, and they will allow you to increase your deadlift much faster because of their explosive nature. Get your form perfect, get comfortable with the motion, the foot position, and driving up with the hips. You almost want to jump those bad boys up into the air, and then get under them. Think of your arms as ropes, keeping the weight from flying away, but not really using any strength. That concept helped me get my cleans much cleaner (pun intended).

 

[paulxcook]

My copy of Starting Strength 2nd Ed. came in the mail today, along with a new mobo so I can actually use my computer again. Good mail day. Anyway, I've paged through it some and read here and there and it looks like a great source of info and instruction. I plan on reading it cover to cover.

 

[paulxcook]

Edited my entries to reflect a uniform WEIGHT X REPS X SETS formula.

 

[paulxcook]

Day 13

Squat:

bar x 10 x 1
95 x 5 x 1
135 x 5 x 1
245 x 5 x 3 (+10 lbs from last time)

It was stupid of me to increase to 245. My last set was not good. My form was terrible, I didn't get all the way to parallel, and my last two reps almost got stuck on the way back up.

Bench Press:

bar x 10 x 1
65 x 5 x 1
85 x 5 x 1
145 x 5 x 3 (+5 lbs)

This felt ok.

Deadlift:

95 x 5 x 1
135 x 5 x 1
185 x 5 x 1
250 x 5 x 1 (+15 lbs)

Ha ha, woops. I only meant to increase by 10 lbs. today. I didn't bring my old log sheet with me today (record my lifts on a single sheet of paper. Get a book, I know...), so I just assumed I did 240 last week and needed to do 250 this week. My form was decent, so no harm done. My grip about gave out on the last rep though. I may need to switch to over/under grip rather than double overhand grip.

I was tired today. I only got 4 hrs of sleep last night, and ate poorly today. Not enough calories, not enough carbs pre-workout. Given this sloppy behavior, I'm ok with my progress.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Originally posted by: paulxcook
Day 13

Squat:

bar x 10 x 1
95 x 5 x 1
135 x 5 x 1
245 x 5 x 3 (+10 lbs from last time)

It was stupid of me to increase to 245. My last set was not good. My form was terrible, I didn't get all the way to parallel, and my last two reps almost got stuck on the way back up.

Bench Press:

bar x 10 x 1
65 x 5 x 1
85 x 5 x 1
145 x 5 x 3 (+5 lbs)

This felt ok.

Deadlift:

95 x 5 x 1
135 x 5 x 1
185 x 5 x 1
250 x 5 x 1 (+15 lbs)

Ha ha, woops. I only meant to increase by 10 lbs. today. I didn't bring my old log sheet with me today (record my lifts on a single sheet of paper. Get a book, I know...), so I just assumed I did 240 last week and needed to do 250 this week. My form was decent, so no harm done. My grip about gave out on the last rep though. I may need to switch to over/under grip rather than double overhand grip.

I was tired today. I only got 4 hrs of sleep last night, and ate poorly today. Not enough calories, not enough carbs pre-workout. Given this sloppy behavior, I'm ok with my progress.

Yeah, be careful with your squat increases Just a little bit of too much weight can toss ya for a loop. Good job on the DL though! If you were able to do it, maybe you should think about getting a little bit more out of your comfort zone when you consider upping your weight next time? Also, switch to over/under. You may be able to deadlift even more just because of the grip. You never hear of people DL'ing 250 with double over grip for a reason

 

[paulxcook]

Day 14

5 minutes rowing for warmup (never doing this again, since starting this my last two workouts have been crap)

Squat:

bar x 8 x 1
95 x 5 x 1
135 x 5 x 1
185 x 5 x 1
245 x 5 x 1
250 x 5 x 2

These hurt. Not like they were sore, they just hurt. I'm thinking of taking a week off from squatting starting next week. I got a sharp pain somewhere in my pelvic region after my last set, and some muscle on my upper thigh/waist area doesn't seem to want to stretch out, so it hurts too. 250 didn't feel any heavier than 245, so I figured, what the hell.

Overhead Press:

bar x 10 x 1
65 x 5 x 1
95 x 5 x 1
95 x 3 x 1
90 x 5 x 1
90 x 2 x1

Idiot. I somehow added 50 and 45 and got 90 on my 3rd set. Nice grade school math, huh? I'll try 90 again next week.

Bent-over row:

bar x 8 x 1
65 x 5 x 1
95 x 5 x 1
135 x 5 x 1
155 x 5 x 3

155 was maybe a bit much, my form was not as good as last time.

I didn't feel that bad after this workout, but going back over it now, it kind of sucked.

 

[paulxcook]

Day 15

Squat:

bar x 10 x 1
95 x 5 x 1
135 x 5 x 1
225 x 5 x 1
245 x 5 x 1
250 x 5 x 2

These felt better, I did 2 sets of 5 at 250 lbs. this time instead of 1. Form was better.

Bench Press:

bar x 10 x 1
65 x 5 x 1
85 x 5 x 1
115 x 5 x 1
160 x 3 x 1
155 x 4 x 2

Gah, I gotta stop doing this. I put 160 on the bar thinking it was 150, then got discouraged when I couldn't do a full set of "150", and then couldn't even get in 2 full sets of "145" (which was actually 155). Stupid, stupid, stupid. Though I felt better when I realized I wasn't actually losing strength, I just suck at math.

Deadlift (now with over/under grip):

95 x 5 x 1
135 x 5 x 1
220 x 5 x 1
260 x 5 x 1 - feeling pretty good
275 x 5 x 1 - feeling really good!
315 x 3 + 2 x 1 - HELL YES MASSIVE PR!!!

I did 1 rep thinking I'd do a 1RM PR, felt good, so I did two more, stopped about 20 seconds, went back and pulled two more. Form was good, no Diesel Weasel straining or anything stupid like that. My lower back feels on fire, but it's good.

Now I need to think of a new deadlift goal for 2008.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Dude, really nice on the DL And the squats, man, dang. You're starting to pull away from me with the weights, lol. I just worked up to 2x5-6 at 235 for squats, stop adding weight so fast Your bench is getting better too. Awesome, man, keep it up.

 

[paulxcook]

Hey SC, thanks. Don't feel too bad. My DL weight only shot up because I changed my grip, which was apparently a limiting factor. My squat will only be going up 2.5 - 5 lbs from this point on, same with bench. I'm pretty sure you're still proportionally stronger. FOR NOW.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

Originally posted by: paulxcook
Hey SC, thanks. Don't feel too bad. My DL weight only shot up because I changed my grip, which was apparently a limiting factor. My squat will only be going up 2.5 - 5 lbs from this point on, same with bench. I'm pretty sure you're still proportionally stronger. FOR NOW.

Yeah, man, changing that grip to over-under makes a huge difference. Well, that's probably a good idea. Make sure you check and double-check your weight on all your lifts 'cause now that they're getting heavier, you have a bit higher potential for injury. Going up 10 pounds on your squat accidentally would not be fun. And LOL. Ouch, man, you cut me deep. I'll do my best to keep up with you 'cause I will probably raise to 245 next week for squats. Man, I wish I lifted legs more than once a week... stupid bodybuilding proggie, lol. Oh, but for now, I'm pretty sure I have to give you deadlift. I don't know if even my pride could lift 315 pounds, although my stiff leg 1RM is estimated to be 320ish. Not for 3 + 2 times though.

 

[paulxcook]

Just remember us 240 lb. fatties have an unfair advantage, dude. This is the most I've ever weighed in my life. Though I don't think I've put any more fat on since I started, so most of it appears to be muscle.

*flex*

RRRRGGG!!

 

[paulxcook]

Day 15.5

Went with my wife to the gym to spot for her, as she had one of her migraines on Friday and couldn't go with me then.

Did 30 min of cardio on an elliptical. Post run, I weighed 236 lbs naked. I've weighed around 240-243 the last few days, so I think that's the low end of my normal fluctuation. I don't think I've gained much fat, if any at all. That would put my increase in lean muscle at around 6-8ish lbs. so far (assuming I'm correct that I haven't gained much fat).

 

[paulxcook]

Day 16

5 min. row machine to warm up

Squat:

bar x 10 x 1
95 x 5 x 1
135 x 5 x 1
225 x 5 x 1
230 x 5 x 1
250 x 5 x 1

Mixed feelings on these. The right side of my right thigh, right at the hip, hurts. I lowered the weight today just to work at form, and up until 230 I felt like I was doing better. Then it started to hurt again. I wonder if it might just be hip flexibility. I need that foam roller. I do think my form was better. Stance and depth were better, and I didn't rock forward onto the balls of my feet like I used to do.

Barbell press:

bar x 10 x 1
65 x 5 x 1
90 x 5 x 3

Barely made it through, but I did.

Barbell Row:

bar x 10 x 1
95 x 5 x 1
135 x 5 x 1
140 x 5 x 1
145 x 5 x 1

These were fine, but I was tired so I didn't push very hard.

Overall not a great workout. I'll do better next time. Though if I'm being honest with myself I don't feel confident in my squats. The lack of progress is frustrating, as is this pain in my right thigh.

 

[SociallyChallenged]

As you may or may not know, I have limited hip flexibility due to an injury so I deal with this all the time. The way I deal with that, especially when I workout my legs is, I do a lot of stretching for groin and hips and I do assisted squats (hold onto a bar) for depth and form. I do the squats like 10 times and then do it without the assistance. It really, really helps loosen me up. I do this every day to help stretch it and work on my overall flexibility. Also, try to get a nice deep squat in with the lighter weights while you're warming up. It'll help with the heavier ones when you're thinking less about form.

 

[TallBill]

Originally posted by: paulxcook

Mixed feelings on these. The right side of my right thigh, right at the hip, hurts.

Be careful. I hurt the top of my quad near the hip flexor by pushing myself when it hurt and couldn't squat for 3-4 months. Now I'm back up to where I was but back off if its very painful. It's a less muscle area so the rest of your legs can handle more weight while your hip cant.

 

[paulxcook]

Day 17:

Squat:

bar x 10 x 1
95 x 5 x 1
135 x 5 x 1
185 x 5 x 2
225 x 5 x 1

Lowered weight and focusing on form is boring. But I had little to no pain at the time, and no pain now, so I think my form was much better.

Bench:

bar x 10 x 1
65 x 5 x 1
95 x 5 x 1
150 x 5 x 3

This felt fine. It helps to add the correct weight.

Deadlift:

135 x 5 x 1
185 x 5 x 1
225 x 5 x 1
335 x 3 + 1 + 1

I got stupid on these. I should've just tried for 315 x 5 since I didn't completely get it last time.

My left knee started popping again after a few weeks of being fine. Sucks. But once I switch to my wife's insurance in March I"ll be able to go to the doctor for it.

 

[crt1530]

Knee popping can be a sign that your foot is not alligned with your femur when you are squatting.