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SociallyChallenged Workout Journal

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Originally posted by: SociallyChallenged
Oh also, as a side note to anybody doing low bar squats - do you guys get abrasion marks from the bar where your rear delts are when flexed? I get them every time. They don't bother me much and I'm sure I'll adapt, but I've gotten them every time. Just curious.
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I have the marks on my upper back where the bar rests, right around my shoulder blades. Like brikis said, they are more like rugburns than anything else.

There's probably not any harm in trying 285, but since you're up so high, your idea of trying a set at 280 is a good idea. If you're able to maintain form like you did at 275, I'd go for it.
 
Originally posted by: SociallyChallenged
In other news, I have a question myself. Since I did 3x5x275 for squat Wednesday and since I'll be squatting again tomorrow - how should I increase the weight? I usually do squats once a week and increase in 10 pounds increments. Would it be a bad idea to go to 3x5x285 tomorrow? I'm not necessarily asking what I should do, but rather what you guys have done at similar weights in the past. I will probably start with a set at 280 and see how that feels and will increase or not after that. I would, however, like some personal opinions on what has worked for you guys though. Thanks in advance to those that respond.
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Depends on:

1. How you felt on 3x5x275: if it went up with good bar speed & solid form, a 10lb bump may be in order. If bar speed was slow and form was on the brink of collapse, 5lbs may be more appropriate.

2. How you feel tomorrow during warm-ups: as you ramp up to your work sets, if you feel particularly good, a 10lb bump would probably be doable. If you're feeling sluggish and tired, 5lbs is probably all you'll be able to handle.
 
Thanks for the responses, guys. I was just gonna gauge how I felt after warmups and see how it went. Will still do the set at 280 and see if I feel like 285 is in me. Again, thanks for the feedback.
 
Fri 5/29/09 (ie yesterday's workout):

Squats:
3x5x280

Shoulder press:
2x5x125, 1x3x125 (F)

Pullups:
1x20xBW kipping, 1x10 explosive pullups (essentially clap pullups without room for the clap at the pullup bar)

I decided to go with 280 yesterday for squats. I did my first set and they felt pretty good. I could've gone for 285, but I was starting to get over-excited about it. I was pumped, but I was too pumped. They went up relatively well with only the last rep of the last set having slightly slow bar speed. My depth was also good as well. I wasn't undercutting it. I haven't done heavy shoulder press probably since the Max-OT program. 125 is pretty great for not having done it in such a long time. I felt good when I locked out the last rep of the first set. Pullups were just to even things out yesterday.
 
Today's workout:

Soccer field HIIT runs (~80-85m x ~40-50m):
2 full laps

I wasn't feeling all that well yesterday due to some stress and foot pain, but I came out today and just wanted to get something done. I decided to go two full laps opposed to last time's one full lap. I walked the normal "jog" parts because I wanted to make sure I could finish. Next time I'll do two full laps again, but make sure I jog those parts. I wasn't sprinting because my calves were really pumped and fatigued. Last time it wasn't, but I imagine this is because of of the VFF's, the grass, and because I wore sandals today (makes me dorsiflex my foot quite a bit more). I'm glad I got it done, but wasn't very impressed with myself. I just needed the endorphins and the ability to say I got something done today.
 
Today's workout:

Deadlift:
3x5x315

DB Shrugs:
1x10x100's, 2x8x100's

Bench Press:
3x5x165

I came upon some straps today. They were by a treadmill, I asked around, and lost and found won't take them because there's no way to put a name on them so I decided to try em out. I only used them with the shrugs because my grip utterly fails there while my traps are still strong. They were interesting and definitely helped my grip. It really pushed my grip hard though because they were still heavy as hell. I won't use them for much other than things like that.

Also, deadlifts were strong. There was my roommate's buddy from high school doing deadlifts at the gym as well. He is a beast. He is a powerlifting champ and was lifting 635x5 for I don't even know how many sets (over 3). I felt bad until I thought about it.. he's about 260 and is built for it so *shrugs*. I was really happy with today's performance though so yay me. Bench was solid as well.
 
Today's workout:

Squat:
3x5x285 (woot, PR)

Shoulder Press:
3x5x115

L-chinups:
1x15, 1x8

L-hold:
25 seconds

Extensive stretching and some shoulder physical therapy exercises included as well.

I got out of my final today and needed to go work out. Finals always mess with my workout schedule, but school takes precedence when they come around. I wasn't very pumped during my warmup sets for squat and was feeling sluggish so I threw in a few extra reps here and there and went for depth. I got myself really pumped for the first set and got through it just fine. The other two were great. The very last rep of the last set, I put myself deep in the hole. It wasn't really too big of a problem to dig myself out, which was really nice. I also decided to drop the weight on shoulder press because 1) I failed at 125, 2) I haven't done shoulder work in a while and realized I need to work my way up, 3) I wanted to do some PT at the end so I didn't wanna overdo it. The shoulders felt alright though. L-chinups were good - I didn't wait long enough for my second set, but that's alright. Overall, I'm quite happy with today. Oh, also I weighed in at 161 after the workout.
 
Today's workout:
5x200m dash (3 max effort, 2 at 400m pace, full recovery)

I was going to go to the local CF affiliate with my brother today, but that didn't work out so I went to the track with my parents. They had some guy training kids in sprints at the track and were hogging all the lanes. I was kinda frustrated with the guy even though he was really nice. First, he had the kids do static stretches before sprints. Sprints are on par with weightlifting. You don't do stretches before weightlifting because you lose a lot of the elasticity in the muscle and create the possibility for injury. Second, he doesn't know how to coach. He kept telling kids to use their arms and get their knees up. He didn't tell them how to use their arms and he didn't tell them that if they got their arms up, their knees would come up as well as a counter-balance. He also didn't correct a kid who was white-knuckling his fists while sprinting. That cripples upper body form. Honestly, this guy needs to read some research, get a coaching license and learn how to coach, and not take up the entire track while doing so. *Shrugs* Now that finals are over, I'm on a little break at home. I'll be working out 4-5 times a week now that I'm free from the ball and chain we call school for a week 😛
 
Today's workout:

Squats
3x5x290 (PR)

Bench Press
3x5x175

I had to bolt early 'cause I had to be some place, but I felt pretty good about both bench and squats. 🙂
 
Yesterday's workout:

50 Wall balls (20 pounds ball, target 10 ft in air)
50 Pullups
35 wall balls
35 pullups
20 wall balls
20 pullups

Time: 24:0x

I did this workout at a CF affiliate with my brother. I started really well, but the second set of wall balls sucked. I couldn't get it to land in my arms where I needed to. Then I tore my hands open on pullups. I finished, but still... *shrugs* I was gonna lift today but my hands are torn and my biceps are super tight. I'll do sprints tomorrow and will lift when I get back to Davis.
 
So the CF WOD really destroyed my arms. I mean... it feels like rhabdo in my forearms and biceps. I didn't feel bad while doing the workout so I don't quite understand. It's just because I haven't done workouts like this regularly for a while now. I won't do anything with over 50 pullups in it anymore unless I increase slowly. Also tore both my hands. It was a bad day. I've decided not to do anything until it all just stops hurting.
 
Today's workout:

1 mile at 8mph
10 minutes on elliptical (level 7 resistance)

I just wanted to get some blood flowing a bit. The arms are almost better and my hands are almost healed. My right shoulder has been bothering me so I decided to use the elliptical to get a very light pulling motion so as to get some extra blood flow. Also, my back started to get very sore while running on the treadmill. I think it's the form the VFFs make me use - it requires a great deal more stabilization and I don't usually run longer distances in them. I'm glad to be back, but won't be lifting until later this week.
 
Today's workout:

20 minutes on elliptical (varying resistance)

My foot had a small tender spot from the extra friction the pulling motion running creates in my VFFs. I decided to just continue getting the blood flowing and actually got my heart rate up to 170 at one point. When I can't feel any pain from the excessive soreness that the WOD created, I'll wait a few extra days and then head back into the gym. In the meantime, I'm gonna do some myofascial release and PT on my shoulders and back. Will still try 295 when I get to the gym.
 
Sat 6/27/09 Workout:

Jog around town, half jog, half walk (probably about 1.5 - 2 miles)

I gave blood on Thursday so they said no strenuous exercise for 72 hours. I know that's a very precautionary timespan, but decided to keep it light anyhow. My VFFs start to bother me on concrete pretty easy. I strike and pull pretty powerfully so the friction moves the shoe around a lot on me. I probably will either keep my longer runs on grass or start using my running shoes if I really feel like going on a longer jog around Davis.
 
Today's workout:

Squats
1x5x290, 2x5x295 (PR)

Deadlift:
1x5x325(PR, albeit with horrid form)

Arm Bike:
10 minutes, 8 resistance

Bicycle ride home:
3 miles at ~15mph

Weight: 159.5

Since the CF WOD, I haven't lifted due to torn hands and potentially rhabdo'ed forearms/biceps. I did 3x5x290 with squats last time so I figured I would start with that and see how I felt. I was sloppy with it because I wary of it. I knew I could up it to 295 if I focused better... then Freebird came on. The best part of the solo hit just as I went for the set and it had great bar speed. It was challenging, but the music really kicked it up a little bit. The form was also pretty good.

I also realized I won't ever do deadlift the same day as squat again unless it's fairly light. I did it today and the set was TERRIBLE. I should've stopped at 3, but I figured I was already in this... the form on the last one was probably the worst I've ever had. Lesson learned. Deadlifts get their own day every time. I had to try it sometime, but I did learn that this is not gonna work for me with the amount of weight I'm lifting.

On top of this, I didn't do any upper body today other than the arm bike. My right rear delt (not RC) had been bothering me for some reason lately. I'm gonna take it light and ease back into it in the coming weeks. One of this years goals was staying healthy and I'm at the point where if I push it, it will get worse so I'm gonna be careful with it.
 
Today's workout:

Squats:
3x5x300 (PR)

Bench Press:
2x10x135

Chinups:
2x5xBW, 2x8xBW

I was stoked to hit my previous 1RM (300) for 5 today. My back was still sore from deadlifts on Monday, but I felt like I warmed up enough to get through them. I told myself I'd stop if it was too much. It wasn't 🙂 Also, I did some light bench today for stabilization and to not push the shoulder too much. Did the same with chinups - enough to stay active, but nothing crazy. Wicked PR though, finally 5x300.
 
Originally posted by: brikis98
Congrats on the PR - almost double BW for reps is sick.
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As I've gained weight, double BW for reps continues to elude me, haha. It's comin' soon though. Probably 2-3 weeks hopefully. Gotta work on my DL though. It seems to progress more slowly and I have to work on my form much more actively. I wish I had someone to coach me for a few sessions and give me some tips. It's just so hard to keep my back flat. Gotta continue stretching, I guess. Let's not even talk about my bench numbers 🙁 I'm the inverted gym rat noob. I'm all legs, weaker upper body.

Originally posted by: conorvansmack
Nice job dude! 300 is an awesome number. Do you think you'll keep increasing by 5s?
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I would love to, yeah. I think I'm going to change my schedule though because low bar rack is destroying my back (constant abrasion). I was going to squat 3x a week, but will probably only squat Mon and Fri because of this thing. I've secured the weight, it's just anatomy difference (right trap is larger than left trap, skewing the weight a bit when racked in low bar). My goal for the year was 350 as a 1RM in the 2009 goals thread. Perhaps I'll hit that for reps.

I will probably also continue, or rather, more actively work on my flexibility and squat depth. Ah, actually, I was thinking I might do overhead squat Wednesdays to work on stability, to keep squatting, to work on my depth, and to keep the weight off the back. I need to work on keeping my upper body healthy as well. If I could do that, I would definitely be willing to compete in a PL competition.
 
Today's workout:

HIIT:
3 at 12mph, 1 at 8 mph, 1 at 11mph

The intervals were however long it took to get up to speed + one minute. I walked at 3 mph for two minutes during the rest periods. This was the first HIIT workout I've done in a while (aside from CF wods and such). I liked it very much. I ran a bit over 2 miles and went for about 25 minutes overall with cool-down and everything. It felt good. I also went swimming a bit later so I definitely got my cardio in. Good non-lifting day.
 
Today's workout:

Sprints:
5x60m
Full Recovery
3x60m

Rests were the walk back from the finish line back to the start. I don't really like running full speed on grass, especially without cleats. Maybe I'll run at the track sometime soon. Will be lifting again tomorrow.
 
Today's workout:

Squats:
1x5x305
1x4x305
1x10x135

L Pullups:
1x5
1x8
1x3

Shoulder PT

Squats today were a bit difficult, mentally and physically. I did the sprints yesterday and my hip flexors were fatigued when I started today. I wasn't getting the ROM that I wanted. I did the 4x305 to stress form and getting parallel. However, I didn't feel like I had another set in me. I decided to drop the weight to 135 and get a complete ROM (even slightly below parallel) to help loosen everything up. The 1x8 of L-pullups was crap form so I just did 3 with good form the next set. My shoulders were both bugging me when I tried to do shoulder press so I did some PT instead. I've gotta be really careful. I'll step up the PT to prevent injury.
 
Today's workout:

Squats:
3x5x305

Deadlift:
1x5x305

Cardio:
10 min rowing, moderate intensity

I was able to do all 3 sets of squats at acceptable depths today. I decided to lighten up the deadlifts and try again and it worked out better. Form wasn't perfect though. My shoulder is still bugging me. I'm not quite sure what to do about it so I'll continue doing some light PT on it and will talk to the physical therapists about it next Friday.
 
I ran a little bit a few days ago but forgot to put it up and forgot the exact stats of it.

Today's workout:

Squats
Working up to 1RM.

I had some problems here in the low bar position. For some reason or another, my rear deltoid gets really agitated when the weight gets anywhere. Perhaps I'm using it too much to keep the weight pinned on the delt shelves. I don't know. Any suggestions? It's pretty frustrating since I felt really strong today and was going for 340. Instead, I had to settle for front squat.

Front Squat:
3x185, 2x215, 1x235, 1x245, 1x250, 1x255

After that, I was just not very motivated to continue. I couldn't really do much of anything to supplement the workout because of the shoulder. I tried to work on my tuck planche... couldn't stabilize. Did some shoulder PT and should've done some stretching, but I was just tired. I iced the shoulder and will continue to rehab it and work on its ROM. I'll talk to the PT about it tomorrow.
 
I had to take some time off because somehow, someway I bruised my trachea or the like and I could barely just function. It passed but I decided to take the rest of the week off just in case. However, I did work out on Saturday.

Front Squats:
2x5x220, 1x2x220

Isometric Pullups at different ROMs:
Didn't count, but did these normally, with a L positions, and with split legs.

PT:
Internal and external shoulder rotations

I did that front squat weight because I wanted to determine where to start for the Texas Method program I'll be taking up. I decided that 220 was too heavy and that I didn't wanna wreck my legs the last set. I'll probably start with 210 just in case.
 
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