October 30, 2010

Workout log, week 6 (5/3/1)

Monday (10-25-2010):
Overhead press 3x85lb, 3x95lb, 5x110lb
Overhead press 5x10
Pull-ups 9, 6, 5, 4, 4, 4

Tuesday:
Deadlift 3x205lb, 3x225lb, 5x265lb
Deadlift 5x10
Hanging leg raise 5x15

Thursday:
Bench press 3x145lb, 3x170lb, 4x190lb, 2x190lb
Bench press 5x10
Dumbbell row 5x10 (each side)
Close-grip cable row 5x5

Friday:
Squat 3x165lb, 3x190lb, 7x210lb
Squat 5x10
Leg curl 5x10
Prone bridges 3x60s
BB shrug 5x5
EZ curls 3x5
Cable tricep pressdowns 3x5

Weight (Friday): 190 lb

Notes: Thursday's workout felt pretty crappy.  I gave myself a nice deep cut to my left middle fingertip Wednesday night, and then had a poor night's sleep.  Between the awkwardness of my grip, a slightly upset stomach, and how tired I felt, I just didn't feel strong in the gym.  Friday was much better.  Also, the weather's turning colder and nights much longer, and I don't know if it's that alone, but my appetite has been voracious this week, as evidenced by my high weight on Friday.  My waist doesn't feel noticeably wider or pudgier, so maybe I'm actually gaining some muscle.

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October 22, 2010

Workout log, week 5 (5/3/1)

Tuesday (10-19-2010):
Overhead press 5x80lb, 5x90lb, 6x100lb
Overhead press 5x10
Chin-ups 11, 6, 5, 5, 5

Wednesday:
Deadlift 5x190lb, 5x220lb, 7x250lb
Barbell shrug 5x10
Hanging leg raise 5x15

Thursday:
Bench press 5x135lb, 5x160lb, 6x180lb
Bench press 5x10
Barbell row 5x10
Close-grip cable row 3x10

Friday:
Squat 5x155lb, 5x175lb, 8x200lb
Squat 5x10
Leg curl 5x10
EZ curls 3x5
Cable tricep pressdowns 3x5

Weight (Friday): 187 lb

Notes:  This was week 1 of my second 4-week period on 5/3/1.  I'm finding myself adding more accessory work if I still feel fresh enough after my planned workout, which is probably a good thing.  I don't feel burnt out at all, and my strength gains have been steady, so I'm really warming to the periodization part of the program.  I'm still not sure how keen I am on the split routine, but I'm trying to compensate for that somewhat with my extra-curricular accessory work.  Most of my body is getting a workout in each session, just with a variation in emphasis.

I'm still only in the gym about 4 hours a week, which is a lot less than a serious athlete, but plenty more than your average guy.  I'd like to go more -- just to build my work capacity if nothing else -- so I may look toward doing some conditioning work (farmer's walks, tabata intervals, etc.) in the evenings either before or after dinner.  I realized recently that going to the gym is frequently the most exciting part of my day, and I'm not sure how I feel about that.  Seems weird.  I also realized that it's been just over a year since I seriously started trying to get healthy again, so I might put up some progress pics for comparison.

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October 19, 2010

Training Log, week 4 (5/3/1)

Monday (10-11-2010):
Overhead press 5x45lb, 5x60lb, 5x70lb
Dips 5x12
Pull-ups 6, 6, 6, 5, 5

Tuesday:
Deadlift 5x115lb, 5x145lb, 5x170lb
Shrug 5x10
Hanging leg raise 5x15

Wednesday:
Bench press 5x80lb, 5x100lb, 5x120lb, 2x200lb*
Chest flyes 5x10
Inverted row 5x10

Thursday:
Squat 5x95lb, 5x115lb, 5x135lb, 2x225lb*
Standing calf raise 3x10
Leg extension 5x10
Leg curl 5x10
Dumbbell shrug 3x10

Weight (Friday): 189 lb

Notes: This is the de-load week built into the 5/3/1 program, so the weights are all pretty light.  So light, in fact, that I felt fresh enough to try some (*) "I bet I can bench/squat X" lifts, in this case with 200 and 225 lbs, respectively.  I'm pretty sure I could have gone higher, but I needed to test these numbers to be sure.  I went 4 days in a row because I had an out-of-town trip Friday through Monday, and I'll likely be doing the same thing again this week.  I'm also adding a lot of shrugging, because I'm noticing that my trapezius really aren't where I want them to be, and I feel like that's holding back my overhead presses.

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October 09, 2010

Workout log, week 3 (5/3/1)

Monday (10-4-2010):
Overhead press 5x95lb, 3x110lb, 4x110lb
Overhead press 5x10
Chin-ups 8, 5, 5, 4, 3, 3

Tuesday:
Deadlift 5x215lb, 3x240lb, 4x270lb
Deadlift 5x10
Hanging leg raise 5x15

Thursday:
Bench press 5x150lb, 3x170lb, 4x190lb
Bench press 5x10
Dumbbell row 5x10 each side

Friday:
Squat 5x170lb, 3x190lb, 4x215lb
Squat 5x10
Leg curl 5x10

Weight (Friday): 189 lb

Notes:  Heavy week of the cycle.  I screwed up my weight for OHP on Monday.  First set was supposed to be 85 lb, the middle set was supposed to be at 100 lb, but I brainfarted and overloaded the bar by 10lb in both cases.  Not so terrible, since I accidentally lifted heavier than intended.

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October 08, 2010

IF links, and humility

Since I've moved my workouts earlier in the day these past 3 weeks, I've been struggling to maintain my intermittent fasts with my normal 12pm-8pm feeding window. I've been having my post-workout meal around 10am most days, then occasionally getting lunch just 2 hours later( or skipping lunch altogether). The practical fallout from this is that if I want to continue daily 16 hour fasts, my feeding window closes at 6pm, which is an hour before I make it home most nights. This can often mean me eating a 2nd/3rd meal somewhat later than planned, mostly because getting home = dinner in my mind. I've tried to skip dinner on the days when I've had two meals while I've been away from home, but it's not always easy. My weight has also crept up a pound or two (mostly it goes up 2 or 3, then I skip dinner and it comes down 1 or 2). Anyhow, in light of that, I went back to see what Martin Berkhan recommended for my situation.

Early morning fasted training seems to recommend the protocol I should be following, whether it involves me bringing a lunch or not. For anyone interested, his general guide is here.  I'll be grinding through the BCAAs, but it's worth it.

Also, Christine (aka cookiemonster) posted this back on the 29th, but I just saw it.  Squatting 260 lb at a weight of 114 lb.  F*&^, I can't do that.  I was pretty pleased that I got 4 reps at 215 lb today, at a bodyweight of 188 lb.  Also, I want to praise Christine for posting all her weights in pounds for us metric denialists, even though she's Canadian.

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October 03, 2010

Training Log, week 2 (5/3/1)

Monday (9-20-2010):
Overhead press 3x80lb, 5x90lb, 6x105lb
Dips 15, 15, 12, 12, 10
Pull-ups 8, 5, 5, 5, 5

Tuesday:
Deadlift 3x200lb, 3x230lb, 5x255lb
Back extensions 5x12
Hanging leg raise 5x15

Thursday:
Bench press 3x140lb, 3x160lb, 5x180lb
Dumbbell bench press 5x12
Dumbbell row 5x10 each side

Friday:
Squat 3x160lb, 3x180lb, 7x205lb
Leg extension 5x10
Leg curl 5x10
Prone bridges 60s, 60s, 60s

Weight (Friday): 188 lb

Notes: Legs are much less sore this weekend.  That could be the change in exercises, or could just be that last Friday's squats were the first I'd done in nearly two weeks.

Posted by: leoncaruthers at 12:40 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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