Journal - Fri., 8/5/11

Workout:

(morning)

run - 2 miles, 18:13.

Journal - Thurs., 8/4/11

BW:  224.2 lbs.  Odd that everyone is telling me how much thinner I look.

Workout:

(morning)

press, 132.5 x 5, 5, 7

chin-up, BW x 8, 6

squat, 235 x 5, 5, 6

Comments:

I need to consider how much further to push the squats before a reset.  My form is really starting to kick in, and I'm getting the feeling of sitting back, keeping my back locked, and lifting with my hams and glutes.  But on my work sets, I only do them right about half the time right now - other times, my knees cave (never really a problem before), or my hips come up too fast, or I even occasionally shift to my toes.  I don't want to "wimp out," but this might be one of those times where I would get stronger by dropping weight and building back up with quality reps.

Journal - Wed., 8/3/11

Workout:

(evening)

jump rope/pull-up/speed bag circuit x 3

heavy bag, 3 x 3:00

speed bag, 3 x 3:00

Journal - Mon., 8/1/11

Workout:

(morning)

bench, 215 x 5, 5, 7

DB curl, 40s x 15, 10

squat, 230 x 5, 5, 7

Comments:

I have no idea why my bench was so weak today.  That 215 felt like 250.  Five days ago, I did 210 for 12, so I'm going to just hope it's a fluke and that my next lift goes better.  With my squats, on the other hand, I'm quite happy.  I finally feel as if my form is right on the majority of reps.  However, that makes me a little weaker right now, since I've been so quad-dominant in the past.  I'm sure I'll have to do a reset soon, but that won't be a problem - I expect it would do my good now that I've found the groove, and I think this lift is about to explode.

Journal - Sat., 7/30/11

Workout:

press, 130 x 5, 5, 7

chin-up, BW x 8, 6

deadlift, 360 x 9

Comments:

In general, this felt like a good workout.  I'm only bummed about the tenth rep of the deadlift.  I went into it thinking I had two more in the tank, but let rep ten get a little too far out in front of me.  Oh, well.

Journal - 7/23-7/28/11

Sat., 7/23/11

bench, 205 x 5, 5, 12

DB curl, 40 x 12, 10

deadlift, 250 x 5, 300, 350, 400, 450, 480 x f x 2

Comments:

Just felt like going heavy on the deadlift to see where I was at.  The 450 was a harder pull than expected because my left hand started slipping.  But for that, I think I'd have had 480, which would have tied a PR.  So I've lost much less strength there than I feared.

Tues., 7/26/11

press, 127.5 x 5, 5, 8

chin-up, BW x 7, 5

squat, 220 x 5, 5, 6, 135 x 5

Comments:

This was a terrible workout.  I tried working pull-ups into my warm-up routine, and I think that hurt me on chins.  But the worst was my squat, which just felt terrible almost the entire time.  Then something happened when I did the drop set (which I did because I was so pissed).  My form changed slightly, my belly pressed out and between my legs at the bottom, and my descent slowed a little at the bottom.  All of a sudden, I was stretching my hams instead of my back going.  It felt right.

Thurs., 7/28/11

bench, 210 x 5, 5, 12

DB curl, 40 x 12, 12

squat, 225 x 5, 5, 7

Comments:

I remembered the way Tuesday's final squats felt, and it made all the difference in the world.  I wasn't noticeably stronger - I'll have to keep doing this for awhile before it gets there - but I'll be damned if those squats didn't feel RIGHT!  

Journal - Thurs., 7/14/11 through Thurs., 7/21/11

Wow, I've been behind on my log.  Here's the in-the-gym log for the last few sessions:

Thurs., 7/14/11

bench, 195 x 5, 5, 12

DB curl, 35s x 15, 15

squat, 205 x 5, 5, 8

neck harness, 20 x 25, 20, 15, 15

Sat., 7/16/11

press, 122.5 x 5, 5, 10

chin-up, BW x 7, 7

deadlift, 350 x 10

neck harness, 20 x 25, 25, 25, 25

Mon., 7/18/11

bench, 200 x 5, 5, 12

DB curl, 40 x 10, 10

squat, 210 x 5, 5, 8

Thurs., 7/21/11

press, 125 x 5, 5, 9

chin-up, BW x 8, 6

squat, 215 x 5, 5, 10

neck harness, 21.25 x 25, 25, 25, 25