Monday (11-8-2010):
Overhead press 5x50lb, 5x60lb, 5x70lb
Overhead press 5x10
Chin-ups 10, 6, 5, 4, 5

Tuesday:
Deadlift 5x125lb, 5x155lb, 5x170lb
Back raise 5x10
Hanging leg raise 5x15

Thursday:
Bench press 5x85lb, 5x105lb, 5x125lb
Bench press 5x10
Barbell row 4x10
Close-grip cable row 2x10

Friday:
Squat 5x95lb, 5x125lb, 5x155lb, 1x225lb, 1x245lb, 0x275lb (f), 1x265lb, 1x275lb, 0x285lb (f)
Leg extension 3x10
Leg curl 3x10
Prone bridges 3x60s

Weight (Friday): 190 lb

Notes:  I have tennis elbow in my left forearm.  Presses and pulls with anything gripped in my hand both seem to aggravate it.  Pushups and dips seem safe when I've tried them, so I might have to switch to those for assistance work on pressing days, and just do back raises on deadlift days.  That should take a lot of the volume of work literally out of my hands for awhile.  I'm contemplating taking all of next week off from lifting, rather than starting the next 4-week cycle right away.  We'll see how my forearm feels on Monday.  A week off is likely a good idea, since I haven't taken one since the second full week of September.  I did try for a PR today on squats, just to see.  I think I might have been able to pull off 285 if I'd been in top form, but it's nice to see that I could hit 275 on the second try.  It's still a lot less than I'd like, but it's better than I'd expected.  I might have to adjust my targets for the next 4-week cycle accordingly, since the whole program is based on percentages of 1RM.

It's funny, I remember reading training logs of experienced lifters -- back before I started getting serious about strength training -- who noted that they hated taking time off from training.  I'm right there.  I believe I should take a week off, that the de-load week hasn't been enough "rest" for my joints given the pain in my forearm, but I really, really wish I could just train next week.  I may still, it's hard to say whether I'll be okay to do it by Monday, but it's weird to feel anxious about taking a week off.

Also, today will be my first full day of deliberately abstaining from dairy.  I'm giving it from today until December 15 to see if it makes a big or even noticeable difference in how I look/feel/perform.  I'm solidly grain-free at this point, even when I cheat, so this is the last thing I really need to experiment with.  I will likely end up making a lot of guacamole for my burgers, since I have a weird psychological need to have something on top of them when I eat them.

Posted by: leoncaruthers at 01:38 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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