Log - Fri., 8/27/10

Workout:

weights

squat
 - 115x5
 - 145x5
 - 175x5
front squat, 95 - 5x10
walking lunges, 3x15e

Comments:

I basically did a deload squat workout, just to get back into things.  I didn't end up using the safety squat bar.  Instead, I tried a high-bar squat.  It was much easier on the shoulder, which doesn't feel tweaked at all by it.  (Low-bar has always been a problem that way, and I think was aggravating whatever injury I have/had.)  We'll have to see how I do with this on 5/3/1 - it's a different lift, and holding 225+ lbs. on my traps is a lot less comfortable than on my upper back/rear delts.

Log - Tues., 8/24/10 - Thurs., 8/26/10

Tuesday Workout:

running

sprints - 10 x flying 40 every :30
walking rest
sprints - 10 x flying 40 every :30

Wednesday Workout:

running

Easy run walk for 40:00, roughly 3.5 miles.

It was a nice night, and I just didn't feel like running the whole thing.  I don't know why, but the fast walk in the dark was pretty nice.

Thursday Workout:

boxing

jumping rope - 3x3:00, various techniques
heavy bag - 3x3:00 rounds, technique work, holding back on power (due to shoulder issues)
speed bag - 3x3:00 rounds

Log - Wed., 5/12/10

Workout:

running

About 3.5 miles in 33:00.  I felt light and quick out there - this was close to (I'd have to look) my PR for that loop in the last few years, and I really wasn't pushing it at all.

Fat Loss - When to Do It

Right now, I'm in a strength competition over at Training Anarchy.  I'm not in any shape to win it, of course - there are some very strong guys at that place - but I'm having fun improving my lifts day to day.  My plan is, and has been, to finish out that strength context at the end of October, and then to begin a serious, no-holds-barred fat loss phase.

I'd like to say I've tried fat loss in the past, but I really haven't.  I did Waterbury's 10x3 for Fat Loss for about a month and loved it - and had success at it - but otherwise I've always tried chasing two rabbits at one, getting stronger while getting leaner.  Although theoretically possible, that's really hard to do, and I always ended up chasing my strength goals instead, eventually abandoning the other.  So, while I do think I am leaner than I was when I started all of this about two years ago, I wouldn't say it's much.

So, whenever the time comes, I'm going to do a serious fat loss phase, focusing only on that.  My lifting, my cardio, my diet, all will be geared to that goal. 

Doing this beginning in November has some drawbacks, of course.  The first is that it's around the holidays, a notoriously difficult time to diet.  The second is that the weather will be poor, making running outside difficult. 

Another option has recently presented itself.  My boys want us all - including my wife and I - to dress up as superheroes for Halloween, ten weeks away.  And they want me to be Batman.  I'm not in any shape for that now, but I could be.  Ten weeks of fat loss could put me as low as 210 pounds at that point.  I haven't hit that weight since my wedding.  It wouldn't be ideal, but I'd look a lot better than I do now.  That would give me a real goal to shoot for, and I'd be doing most of the training in better weather.

I could also keep doing what I'm doing, with the added goal of Halloween being the incentive to continue the significant progress I have made in cleaning up my diet.  After all, my wife thinks I look thinner - she commented on it today - even though I've actually put on a few pounds on the scale.  If I continue with this, I could keep getting stronger, hopefully getting my squat to 315 pounds (my goal for the contest) while continuing to lean out a little, thus setting me up even better for the fat loss phase.

Anyway, I'm torn about whether to start serious fat loss now or just continue to clean up the diet while focusing on strength.  I should make a decision this week.

Log - Sat., 8/14/10

Workout:

weights - 5/3/1 Cycle 2 Day 12

bench, 5/3/1
 - 210x5
 - 240x3
 - 270x2 (288)

Comments:

My left elbow/upper arm has been bothering me since Monday's boxing session.  It started acting up as soon as I put some weight on the bar, and continued through the first work set.  In fact, I got a spot for the second work set just in case.  I had him spot the third, too, and really felt as if he took the second rep (I wasn't watching the bar).  My arm hurt, so I racked it.  It turns out he didn't touch it - Art's a no-BS guy so he wouldn't misrepresent that - and I may have had another rep or two in me.  But my arm hurt so bad it was best to stop.  I think it's a biceps issue.  Lots of ice and wrapping.  I'll try a light workout later this week and see what happens.  Thank goodness it's deload week.

Log - Fri., 8/13/10

Workout:

weights - 5/3/1 Cycle 2 Day 11

power clean, 135 - 3x3
squat, 5/3/1
 - 215x5
 - 245x3
 - 275x5 (321 - PR)

Comments:

I was looking forward to this workout all day.  I got up at 5:30 to do it, was dressed and headed out the door when I heard by oldest son calling - "I'm gunna frow up."  He did, and we watched Curious George cuddled up for an hour while everyone else slept.  It was actually nice to have a little one-on-one time with him.

So I thought about squatting all day.  I knew my AMRAP set used my previous 1RM, from only seven weeks ago.  I wanted two reps, and I thought I had three in me.  So I made a deal.  If I got three, I'd do my RDLs and go home.  In the gym, I felt good, so I added on to the deal, and said that if I got five, I'd just go home.

I got three.  I went for four and got it, but didn't think I had another rep in me.  In one of those leaps of faith every lifter has to take when he's squatting alone with a lot of weight, I just said, "Fuck it" and went for it.  It was slow, but I got the fifth rep.  And now I'll lift for another month getting energy from memory of that rep.  There is nothing more empowering than beginning a squat rep you really don't know you can finish, and then finishing it.

5/3/1 Assistance Exercises

I think I have my assistance work planned for my next cycle or two of 5/3/1.

Basically, I wanted to go to the Boring But Big format.  It's simple and fast, which I like.  However, for most lifts, I'll be changing the exercise to a variation, which is a little less boring.  I'm also going to try Wendler's advice regarding working chinups in between my main lift work sets; we'll see how that goes.  Finally, I'm not going with the wide stance work yet.  It felt terribly awkward, so while that suggests I should do it at some time, the middle of this strength competition may not be the time.

So, here's the plan:

Day 1

power clean, 3x3*
deadlift, 5/3/1
RDL, 5x10
walking lunge, 3x15e

* I have kept these at 135 in the past as a warm-up.  I'm going to try progressing them, probably in 2.5 lb. increments.

Day 2

superset:
press, 5/3/1
CG chinup, 3x___

press, 5x10**
lat. pulldown, 5x10
DB tri. ext., 4x6***
DB curl, 4x6***
lat. raise, 4x6***

** I'm sticking with the main lift here as I want to work on form.
*** These are fairly optional.  I only do them for fun and for my vanity.

Day 3

power clean, 3x3
squat, 5/3/1
front squat, 5x10
walking lunge, 3x15e

Day 4

superset:
bench, 5/3/1
CG chinup, 3x___

incline bench, 5x10
BB row, 5x10
DB tri. ext., 4x6
DB curl, 4x6
lat. raise, 4x6

Log - Wed., 8/11/10

Workout:

weights - 5/3/1 Cycle 2 Day 10

press, 5/3/1
 - 115x5
 - 130x3
 - 145x6 (174-PR)
chinup, BW - 3x5

Comments:

Another short day due to sick kids at home, but another good one, too.  This is the first time in a very long time I've scored a rep PR on the press, and this was using higher weights than prescribed.  (I round to 2.5 lbs. for the press, or am trying that approach, but forgot my 1.25 weight plates at home, so I rounded up.)  This is another lift where I'm really looking at the technique involved and trying to improve.

Assistance Exercises

I think that I am going to take the upcoming deload week to experiment with switching around some assistance exercises.  I want to decrease my volume a bit, and keep the weights a little higher, but manageable - maybe 3x8 or 4x6.  I want to get out of the gym a little faster than I am at the moment.  On the other hand, I think I want to keep doing some direct arm work - I've never really focused on it, and I'll be damned if it doesn't seem to be accomplishing something.  Of course, I could also move arms to other days throughout the week, but something inside of my sort of opposes an "arms day."

At the moment, I'm thinking of a Boring But Big variation.

Log - Tues., 8/10/10

Workout:

running - morning

2 miles in 16:09. 

weights - evening - 5/3/1 Cycle 2 Day 9

power clean, 135 - 3x3
deadlift, 5/3/1
 - 315x5
 - 355x3
 - 395x6 (474 - PR)
front squat, 145 - 3x8

Comments:

The run was spur-of-the-moment.  I slept terribly, but was up with the kids too long to go back to sleep at all before work.  So I did a "fast" two miles.  Amazingly, that would have felt very fast a few months ago, but even after a month off (due to my hamstring), that 16:09 was a breeze.  With a better warmup, I think I could have approached 15:00.  I was pretty tight.

That deadlift felt amazing.  I went in thinking, "I need two reps, that's all."  The first was easy.  So was the second.  Well, neither was easy, but neither felt like I had only one more in me, either.  After the sixth, I was jubilant, and I think I held it too long, beaming.  Otherwise, I might have even had a seventh in me.  Who cares, I nailed it.

This is a big increase in weight - my tested max was 405 - and I attribute this to two things.  First, I'm now using a real deadlift bar, and while I cannot explain why the flexibility makes a difference, it does.  The lift is simply more comfortable.  Second, my technique has dramatically improved.  I'm "over" the bar more, if that makes sense, engaging my lats more, and the leverages simply all feel better.  I have very high hopes for this lift.  I'm still a long way from pulling 500, but it's looking realistic.  Very realistic.

Log - Mon., 8/9/10

Workout:

boxing

White Collar Boxing - rope jumping, technique work, mitt work, combination work.

Log - Thurs., 8/5/10 - Sat., 8/7/10

Thursday Workout:

weights - 5/3/1 Cycle 2 Day 6

press, 5/3/1
 - 105x3
 - 120x3
 - 135x6 (not a PR)
chinup, BW - 3x5
machine fly, 90 - 3x12
T-bar row, 80 - 3x12
skullcrusher+, 65 - 3x12
BB curl, 65 - 3x12
lat raise, 15 - 3x12

Friday Workout:

morning - weights - 5/3/1 Cycle 2 Day 7

power clean, 135 - 3x3
squat, 5/3/1
 - 200x3
 - 230x3
 - 260x4 (295 - PR)
RDL, 255 - 3x8
BSS, 35 - 3x8
calf raise, 55 - 5x15

evening - boxing

rope jumping
heavy bag, 6x3:00 rounds
speed bag, 3x3:00 rounds

Saturday Workout:

weights - 5/3/1 Cycle 2 Day 8

bench, 5/3/1
 - 200x3
 - 225x3
 - 255x3

Comments:

Squat day was great.  The trainer, Art, watched my sets, and couldn't figure out why I stopped at 4 reps on my AMRAP set.  I explained that I really felt my hips rise faster than my shoulders, and felt like was GMing the weight up too much.  He disagreed completely.  He said I'm still slow out of the hole - I knew that - but that my depth was fantastic, and that my technique looked very solid.  If my form was on - and it felt like I was doing it wrong, but it sure didn't hurt or anything - then I had a few more reps in me, I think.

Boxing, though, I think I did something to my left bicep, and it's causing a pinched-nerve type feeling through my left shoulder and elbow.  After doing the bare minimum on the bench, I called it a day.

Log - Tues., 8/3/10

Evening Workout:

running

sprint work
 - ~ 5x50 yard at 60% (warm-up)
 - ~ 10 "flying 40" yards at 80-90%

Comments:

I really want to start doing some sprint work, but was leery after pulling a hamstring last time.  So, I took it quite easy and just eased into it.  No problems.

Log - Mon., 8/2/10

Workout:

weights - 5/3/1 Cycle 2 Day 5

power clean, 135 - 3x3
deadlift, 5/3/1
 - 295x3
 - 335x3
 - 375x5 (437)
front squat, 135 - 3x8
SLRDL, 50 - 3x8
calf raise, 65 - 5x15

Evening Workout:

boxing

White Collar Boxing - rope jumping, footwork drills, focus mitt work, footwork drills

Log - Sat., 7/31/10

Workout:

weights - 5/3/1 Cycle 2 Days 3 & 4

power clean, 135 - 3x3
squat, 5/3/1
 - 190x5
 - 215x5
 - 245x6 (294 - PR)
RDL, 245 - 3x8
BSS, 25 - 3x8
bench, 5/3/1
 - 185x5
 - 210x5
 - 240x6 (288)
Pendlay row, 185 - 3x5
Arnold press, 35 - 15, 15, 10
lat pulldown (strict), 70 - 3x15