Beached Whale Chronicles

[Sentinel]

Hi everyone,

I haven't posted on this board in forever and I think it's time I come back..I've always been a lurker and liked the feel of this board so I'm setting up shop here

I started this year weighing 215 lbs @ 5'7. Needless to say, I was fat. I am now down to 185-190 lbs.

I'm 21 years old and a Senior at Trinity University majoring in Finance and Economics with a huge amount of elective classes in History. If the money paid well, I'd love to be a History major.

I have been training for 5 years now (6 in March 2010) and I spent the first few doing stupid things. I then suffered a series of shoulder and lower back injuries for a good year and a half almost.

I then got introduced to the wonderful ideas of shoulder stability, hip mobility, etc by Eric Cressey and Eric Troy.

I am a strength trainee of sorts...I'm not a powerlifter so I don't focus as much on the big three as some of you guys.

I dabble in Overhead Squats, Pistol Squats, Deadlifts, Military Press, etc...

I don't follow "routines". I train.

I follow templates and the exercises are rotated every 4 weeks. Each block of 4 weeks is one Mesocycle. I am currently on Week 2 of my 15th Mesocycle.

I'm going to post the last 2 weeks' workouts just to keep this fresh with Mesocycle 15.

Thanks for reading everyone and it's great to be here

 

[Sentinel]

13th November

Fall 2009 Training
Mesocycle 15 - Week 1
Deadlift Day​

Beginning Thoughts:

This week has been hellish for my school-wise. I managed to only get one sandwich in yesterday before this workout.​

Workout:

Deadlifts:​

405 lbs x 3 reps​

415 lbs x 3 reps​

425 lbs x 3 reps​

435 lbs x 1 rep​

455 lbs x 1 rep​

​

Weird Ab Exercise:​

BW x 4 reps x 4 sets ​

Videos:

Deadlifts:​

​

Overall Impression:

Good session. I ate like a pig after this workout though...Taco C all the way lol....​

 

[Sentinel]

15th November

Fall 2009 Training
Mesocycle 15 - Week 1
Press Day​

Beginning Thoughts:

SI have decided to alternate Military Press and Bench Press from here on out. This week I started it off with Bench Press. Next week I will do Military Press and so on and so forth. I am keeping a simple linear progression scheme of 5x3 and my base weights for Bench is gonna be 185 and for Military is gonna be 160. After 5x3, I plan on hitting one or two slightly heavier sets just for kicks.​

Workout:

Bench Press:​

185 lbs x 3 reps x 5 sets​

225 lbs x 1 rep​

​

Dumbbell Rows:​

120 lbs x 2 reps x 3 sets​

​

High Cable Rows:​

160 lbs x 8 reps x 3 sets​

​

Facepulls:​

80 lbs x 15 reps x 2 sets​

​

Ab Rollouts:​

BW x 10 reps x 3 sets​

Videos:

Press and Rows:
IronScene | Powerlifting Videos

My boy Didier hit a 365 Deadlift which is a new PR @ 140 lbs BW:
IronScene | Powerlifting Videos

Overall Impression:

I am swamped with school work this week. I have 3 exams in a row from Tuesday - Thursday. So I am gonna be missing my Pistol Squat workout but I will hit the gym tonight for Squat Day.​

​

I hope everyone's had a good weekend so far and thanks for reading! ​

 

[Sentinel]

16th November

Fall 2009 Training
Mesocycle 15 - Week 1
Squat Day​

Beginning Thoughts:

I am kinda overwhelmed with school work....​

Workout:

Front Squats:
255 lbs x 2 reps
275 lbs x 2 reps x 3 sets

SSB Squats:
295 lbs x 3 reps
335 lbs x 1 rep
295 lbs x 3 reps x 3 sets
365 lbs x 1 rep
Getting into it...

Unilateral RDLs:
40 lbs x 5 reps x 2 sets

Farmers Walks:
105 lbs x 2 trips x 2 sets

Swiss Ball Jackknife Pikes:
BW x 10 reps x 3 sets​

Videos:

Forgot my camera...Really stupid of me.​

Overall Impression:

I am beginning to like squatting again so thats good.

Have a good week ahead, everyone ​

 

[Sentinel]

Today - 22nd November

Fall 2009 Training
Mesocycle 15 - Week 2
Squat Day

Beginning Thoughts:

So...it's been 5 days since my last journal update. Last week was one of the worst weeks of my life. I was swamped with school work and I didn't get more than 3 hours of sleep each night.

I am going to be starting a new singles cycle for Deadlifts (more on that later) come next Thursday so this week's Deadlift workout was going to be very light. Since I hadn't been sleeping well (or at all) I decided to skip it. I went in yesterday and did a squat session though. Today's gonna be a press day and tomorrow I'll focus on pistol squats. Thats the plan so far.

If any of y'all are interested, my next Deadlift cycle of singles can be found out here: The Singles Scene. I will be starting this come next Thursday (on Thanksgiving Day).

Workout:

Front Squats:
255 lbs x 2 reps
275 lbs x 2 reps x 3 sets
295 lbs x 1 rep
Decent work.

SSB Squats:
335 lbs x 3 reps x 3 sets
This felt SOOO heavy..

Unilateral RDLs:
40 lbs x 5 reps x 2 sets

Farmers Walks:
105 lbs x 2 trips x 3 sets
Each trip is 25 feet. So each set was 50 feet. And 3 sets made it 150 feet total. I am underestimating these values though.

Weird Ab Exercise:
BW x 6 reps x 2 sets
I really need to come up with a name for this exercise.

Videos:

Unlike last week, I did NOT forget my camera. Here's my squat session:
IronScene | Powerlifting Videos

Overall Impression:

I am eating right and sleeping well for the last 3 days. I did eat decently inspite of having a terrible week though.

I hope y'all are having a good weekend. Thanks for reading!

 

[Sentinel]

Fall 2009 Training
Mesocycle 15 - Week 2
Press Day

Beginning Thoughts:

I was supposed to do Military Presses today but I wasn't feeling it.

Workout:

Dips:
BW x 5 reps
BW + 10 lbs x 5 reps
BW + 20 lbs x 5 reps
BW + 30 lbs x 5 reps
BW + 40 lbs x 5 reps
BW + 50 lbs x 3 reps

Dumbbell Rows:
120 lbs x 3 reps x 3 sets
120 lbs x 5 reps
I went all out on that last set..

High Cable Rows:
160 lbs x 9 reps x 3 sets

Facepulls:
80 lbs x 15 reps x 2 sets

Ab Rollouts:
BW x 10 reps x 3 sets

Videos:

Press and Rows:


My boy Paul doing Military Press and Rows:


Overall Impression:

Good workout. I cannot wait for Thanksgiving. This semester has gone by so fast. Very soon it's gonna be May and I'll be graduating college.

 

[Hypocrisy86]

awesome workout man, keep up the hard work!

 

[Sentinel]

awesome workout man, keep up the hard work!

Thanks a lot, man. I appreciate it.

 

[Xiva]

Looking good

1. Thing i noticed is that your "Boy" tends to open his hip when doing rows, that is not good

 

[Sentinel]

Looking good

1. Thing i noticed is that your "Boy" tends to open his hip when doing rows, that is not good

Thanks for dropping by, Xiva.

My friend Paul wanted to go all-out on that set and basically allow his form to crumble. I completely agree with you: he was using a LOT of torso rotation and opening his hips which is not what you're supposed to do. But, he wanted to do this so he did it lol...I can't quite justify his actions other than saying this and I agree with you regarding his form.

 

[ironheart]

awsome log man. some great sessions in here. great effort on the deadlifts and squats. keep up the good work bro.

 

[Xiva]

Thanks for dropping by, Xiva.

My friend Paul wanted to go all-out on that set and basically allow his form to crumble. I completely agree with you: he was using a LOT of torso rotation and opening his hips which is not what you're supposed to do. But, he wanted to do this so he did it lol...I can't quite justify his actions other than saying this and I agree with you regarding his form.

No problem dude, i understand. Something going all out is great

Just wanted to mention it in case he didn't knew it before

 

[Sentinel]

awsome log man. some great sessions in here. great effort on the deadlifts and squats. keep up the good work bro.

Thanks, man.

 

[Sentinel]

No problem dude, i understand. Something going all out is great

Just wanted to mention it in case he didn't knew it before

I appreciate you letting me know. And rest assured that if he had been using that form on all his sets, I would've told him to drop the weight.

Going all out is fun if you've got a decent base before. Like in this case: Paul did 3 sets of 5 with really good form (too bad I didn't take a vid) and then for his 4th set he decided to go balls to the wall and discard weight. Thats probably one of the only times I would've been ok with doing that. Usually I think a range of correct ROM is to be enforced. I would never risk doing this with squats or deadlifts or bench press. That would be really silly of me.

 

[Sentinel]

Fall 2009 Training
Mesocycle 15 - Week 3
Deadlift Day

Beginning Thoughts:

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

I am in Dallas celebrating Thanksgiving with some friends. We decided to hit the gym today early in the morning. I hadn't eaten anything all I was sipping on during my workout was 2 scoops of whey and 2 scoops of dextrose.

As I mentioned last week, this week is gonna mark the first of a small singles cycle. If you need any info on singles training, please give this a read: The Singles Scene by Eric Troy and Joe Weir.

Workout:

Deadlifts:
415 lbs x 1 rep (91%)
435 lbs x 1 rep (96%)
455 lbs x 1 rep (100%)
425 lbs x 1 rep (93%)
435 lbs x 1 rep (96%)
415 lbs x 1 rep (91%)
415 lbs x 3 reps (91%)
I got carried away by the last set...I didn't go quite to failure though. My calluses got ripped out in 435 and I lost all drive so I got frustrated with this weight and decided to crank out 3 reps.

Renegade Rows:
35 lbs x 7 reps
45 lbs x 7 reps x 2 sets

Pallof Press:
42.5 lbs x 12 reps x 3 sets

Cable Wood Chops:
35 lbs x 12 reps x 2 sets

Videos:

Deadlifts and Core Training:


Overall Impression:

I haven't been as consistent as I would like to be this month of November. Hopefully things will improve down the line.

I hope everyone's having a great Thanksgiving! Thank you for reading, guys & gals!

 

[Xiva]

Hey dude. If i were you i would go with lighter weights in deadlift and start to focus more at getting a better technique and more speed in the lift. Your form is not good and if you keep lifting with that form with those kilo's you might get injured.

But ofcause it's all up to you.

 

[Sentinel]

Hey dude. If i were you i would go with lighter weights in deadlift and start to focus more at getting a better technique and more speed in the lift. Your form is not good and if you keep lifting with that form with those kilo's you might get injured.

But ofcause it's all up to you.

I'm working in with singles with WAY above 90% of my max....My form is in principle not going to be the same as with 80%.

I understand where you're coming from. You ever heard of consolidating?

This is how I've been training:
Over the last 3 months, I have been training within the weight range of 385-415 doing lots of reps. You can check out all these videos on my youtube channel though. The first month was spent doing reps only with 385. I ended up with 3 sets of 6 reps with 385. Then, the second and third months were spent doing a modified Poliquin 1-6 Principle. That went spectacularly. Then, I did some Quality Volume work using 405 as a base weight. Becasue of all this rep work I have been doing, I will not get injured using these heavier weights.

Infact, my form on 455 was sturdy as hell for it to be such a grinder...I have my form looked at by several powerlifters (which is why I record my workouts).

Don't worry about injuries...I won't get one doing Deadlifts anytime soon. I have worked so much between 385-455 range wise that my body is used to the load. Infact, you can really see this in that set with 455 because although it was a slloooowwww grinder, my form didn't break down one tiny bit.

 

[Xiva]

"my form didn't break down one tiny bit."

That i cannot agree on

 

[jonathan]

hey I like your log, great functional workouts. Big thumbs up

 

[Sentinel]

"my form didn't break down one tiny bit."

That i cannot agree on

Given the relativity of the % of my 1RM?

hey I like your log, great functional workouts. Big thumbs up

Thanks, Jonathan. I looked over your log. Good luck with the new goals. I think 200 kg Deadlift is easily in your grasp. That 100 kg military press is damn impressive too.