Line - "We Can Rebuild Him"

[Storm]

bump? this is the holy grandmother of all bumpiness

 

[Line]

Glex is such an asshole. Anyway, workouts have been pretty good lately, but my focus is on *gasp* improving my cardiorespiratory capacity more so than building more mass. I'm still lifting 4 days a week, but I'm also doing just as many cardio sessions. As such, my lifts aren't particularly impressive right now but I'm in better overall shape than I've been in for quite some time. Updates forthcoming? Almost certainly not. I'm far too busy right now with work, school and finishing up my internship to really post with any type of consistency. Pics in the future are possible though.

 

[Glex]

Glex is such an asshole.

I'll leave you to it. Glad to hear you're doing some cardio these days. Keeps you out of the 'annihilates Glex while lifting' category and just in the 'destroys Glex while lifting' group.

 

[Line]

Will be updating.

/tease

 

[Natzo]

I'm waiting sexy!

 

[Clint]

Throwback...

Bring it... But not too much I rather not be embarrassed by your lifts

 

[Line]

Natzo: Consider it brought.

Clint: Eh, I don't think that's anything you really need to worry about, for reasons I'll go into below.


Introduction (feel free to skip): So, it's been a while. Hello again. Anyway, I'm not exactly sure where to begin — I can't say that my current levels of strength and muscularity are currently anything special, though I feel I'm in better overall shape now than I've been in for quite some time. This past year, on top of finally finishing my degree in Exercise Science, I focused a lot on improving my cardiorespiratory capacity, to which I modestly succeeded. Injury, however, struck early and often, thrice slowing down or altogether stopping my training initiatives. In June I broke the third metacarpal of my left hand playing softball. After six weeks in a cast and a few weeks rehabing my hand and wrist, I was able to get back into decent shape only to do ligament damage to my left thumb (on top of knocking out two of my teeth) in September. And finally, I threw out my back deadlifting, or at least trying to, about two and a half weeks ago. Nonetheless, I've worked around the injury and have been making observable progress again. My bodyfat and weight are as low as they have been since I started college, which, in part, I attribute to my quitting drinking a little over two months ago.

Some of my lifts (read: squat) aren't where I'd like them to be, both due to injury and a shift in my overall focus. My current goals revolve around balancing out Wendler's four big lifts as well as continue to improve my body composition and movement capacity. I'm still quite active and athletic, sure, but I wish to achieve a physique that's as functional as it is powerful. Moreover, I'm also taking as many precautions as possible in avoiding long-term injury: stretching, foam rolling, stretching, band work, and stretching. Right now I'm also, at least for this month, performing at least fifty pull-ups every day — so there's that. All this aside, I've realized that I don't really have any type of support system within my circle of friends. Some are supportive, sure, but I have no one to talk to about lifting or fitness, no one to bounce ideas off of, and no one who understands how difficult it is to load a meager five additional pounds on a bar. I'll probably approach this log in a more free form, amoebic way, listing weights and movements some days and expounding on my sessions others. Now, without further ado...


Date: December 8th, 2011
Pull-ups This Month: 575
Body Weight: 182

Chest and Shoulders
BB Bench
After performing my warm-up, which seems to grow more extensive by the week, I worked my way up to doing a single with 285. I then stripped the bar down to 225, did six more reps, then stripped it down to 135 and performed 12 more. I think. The drop-set wasn't necessarily planned, but I wanted to see, roughly, what my max sat at these days. I should also note that I'm gripping the bar closer than before, as it seems to aggravate my left shoulder a bit less.

Unilateral DB Floor Presses superset with DB Lateral Raises
I started doing the former movement after reading about it on T-Nation and have incorporated it into my routine because, supposedly, it's easier on the shoulders than other forms of pressing. I don't have any complaints so far. I've been using 70 pound dumbbells and keeping my reps in the 10-12 range.

BB Hang Cleans
After a warm-up set, I basically did my body weight (185) for three sets of three. Felt good. I took a conservative route weight-wise to save my back. This is an exercise I want to improve on over time.

Seated Dumbbell Presses superset with DB Rear Delt Raises
70's x 10 followed by two sets of 80's x 10. I've been doing these and seated overhead barbell presses with a moderate amount of success lately.

BB Shrugs superset with Machine Presses
The barbell shrugs were nothing special. I kept the weight to 295 for sets of 10-12 in order to save my back the strain of going heavier. I'm not sure why, but I like the movement pattern that a pressing machine at my gym offers, so I threw those in there as well.


I'm pretty sure that's it, or at least the highlights. On tomorrow's agenda: More pull-ups as well as a back and arms session. Legs Saturday.

 

[mvsf1]

I read you lastest entry, good work. Any before/after pics?

 

[Line]

mvsf1: Thanks for reading. As for pictures, "after" shots are certainly in the cards.


Date: December 9th, 2011
Pull-ups This Month: 675


Back and Arms
First thing's first: I did 100 pull-ups (10 sets of 10) before leaving work, had a meal with my family, and then trained again after taking some time to digest. A prolonged warm-up preceded everything below, during which I also worked in unilateral calve raises. Anyway, on to the rest of the workout.

DB Rows superset with Close-Grip BB Bench
85 x 12 and 135 x 15
85 x 12 and 185 x 10
85 x 12 and 225 x 8
85 x 12 and 225 x 6 (drop) 135 x 15

Unfortunately, 85's is the heaviest my gym has in dumbbells, which means you can all expect Kroc rows in the near future — I have, for reference's sake, done sets of 25 with them before. The close-grip pressing felt a bit weird, probably because I'm not as accustom to that movement pattern as I had been previously.

DB Bat Wings superset with EZ Bar French Press
70 x 8 and 75 x 15
70 x 8 and 75 x 15
70 x 8 and 95 x 10
70 x 8 and 95 x 10

I performed the bat wings lying down on an incline bench and held my contraction for a two-count before beginning the eccentric portion of each rep.

Blast Strap Inverted Rows superset with Rope Pushdowns
BW x 15 and 90 x 10
BW x 12 and 90 x 10
BW x 12 and 90 x 10

These straps are setup somewhat awkwardly at this gym, so I'll be experimenting with my approach to these in the future, provided I continue to do them.

Incline DB Curls
25 x 10
25 x 10
25 x 10

I can go pretty heavy on regular DB curls but like taking these lighter. Plus, I have a dart match tomorrow and didn't want to fry my biceps today, which grow from minimal training anyway.


That's pretty much everything. My lower back is still sore from my deadlift injury two weeks ago, so I refrained from doing BB Rows or other movements that would compromise its stability. Tomorrow I have legs and, more importantly, a cheat day. I can't wait.

 

[ironheart]

100 pullups! that'll hit the lats pretty good good session overall. i got an injury from deadlifts yesterday. suck balls.

 

[Line]

ironheart: Ha, yeah, the 100 pull-ups did feel pretty good on the lats. As I've said above, I've decided to do at least 50 a day throughout this month, and I tend to go a little — or sometimes a lot — higher on back days. Other days I'll include more depending how I feel, though I'm starting to rein back such extraneous reps due to general soreness/stiffness.


Date: December 10th, 2011
Pull-ups This Month: 725


Legs
Somehow, I'm not as stiff today as I thought I'd be following last night's leg session. I'm still being pretty cautious with my lower back, so I took a more experimental route with my exercise selection, trying out a few movements and worrying less about the amount of weight I used. I also have been putting a larger emphasis on the posterior chain than I have in years past, during which my sessions were basically built around the squat and accordant assistance work.

This session was mostly comprised of supersets because, A) I went to the gym later than usual, and B) I'm still breaking my lower-body back into the routine slowly. I'm not sure what they're called, but I did three or four sets of "hip extensions" with my torso pinned down against an incline bench — I basically held onto it and lifted my legs off the ground by employing my hamstrings and glutes to extend my hips. Regardless, I performed these first after warming up with some DROM stuff and some light goblet squats and DB SLDLs.


Leg Curls superset with Rear Foot Elevated Split Squats
I used 50 pound dumbbells for the latter movement, and realized that my balance kinda sorta sucks. So there's something to work on. I ran through this superset four times, doing 15 reps for each leg on the hamstring curls and 8 reps per leg on the split squats.

BB Squats
I was able to work my way up to 275 for two doubles, which I'm more or less happy with, at least for now. My depth isn't nearly as suspect as it's been in previous years — I don't think it was ever particularly bad, but it could have been much better — and I'm focusing more of my efforts on balance and form. If my gym had a safety rack, I'd probably have gone heavier, but that's something I can save for a later day.

Plate Jump Squats superset with DB SLDL
With my lower back in the shape it is, I kept the SLDLs light, only going up to about 30 pounds per side. Things felt fine. For the jump squats I used a 25-pound plate and basically tried to leap through the ceiling. I've always been a pretty good jumper, and have always liked jumping on and off of things, so this movement comes naturally for me. And because I'm still active in sports, I want to work on being as explosive as possible.


That's, sadly, all she wrote for the day — unless I'm forgetting something, which is a distinct possibility — as I wasn't looking to throttle my legs in my second real session back. Today is a rest day, which means abs, pull-ups, and watching football.

 

[Natzo]

Great job Line, it sucks getting injuried multiple times one after the other...

I enjoyed reading all the posts above man, especially because your exercise choice is not what the general "bodybuilder" does. In the past moths iv'e tried different things myself like incorporating the BB Hang Clean in my military press.

and your pushing some decent amounts.

 

[Clint]

considering the circumstances you're still quite strong. It disgusts me.

I know you're sober these days, and this may be too personal too publicly, but are you still taking your meds or don't you need them anymore?

 

[El Freako]

Yeah, Line sober. I'm still coming to terms with that...

 

[Line]

Natzo: Thanks, buddy. For whatever reason, my pressing strength seems to be coming back faster than anything else. That's not a complaint, mind you, just an observation. Aside from doing my bigger movements, however, I've been experimenting with things that A) are easier on my joints, and B) provide some sort of functionality. Basically, I've avoided major injury to this point, at least in the gym, and would like to continue to do so.

Clint: I've actually been off meds for a while now. I didn't like what they were doing to me, turning me into a pseudo-zombie, and weened myself off of them over a year ago. But that aside, and despite my diet, I hope I can get my lifts up a bit higher. I'm certainly feeling stronger, so there's that.

Freako: Me too, brother. Me too.


Date: December 11th, 2011
Pull-ups This Month: 775

"Rest and Recovery" Day
Well, I was sufficiently sore yesterday, which made it a day to just do my pull-ups, work on my core, get some stretching in, and spend the rest of my hours doing absolutely dick. Moving on...


Date: December 12th, 2011
Pull-ups This Month: 825

Chest and Shoulders
For whatever reason, perhaps inspired by Tweakums, I wanted to see where I stood in terms of overall pressing...albeit seated ones. An interesting aside is that, because I work in a physical therapy office, I basically spend my free moments stretching and foam rolling. Anyway, my warm-up, besides the obligatory pull-ups, consisted of a lot of band work: neutral-grip face pulls, triceps extensions, band pulls, and internal and external rotations. Then it was on to pressing.

Seated BB Military Press
135 x 15
165 x 10
185 x 8
205 x 6
185 x 8 (drop) 135 x 12

I actually tried to put up 225 but couldn't really get it off my shoulder shelf. I may experiment with setting up the bar so that the pins sit right at the lowest portion of the movement as to work on the initial pressing part of the lift.

DB Bench Press
85 x 15
85 x 12 x 3

These felt alright. I wish we had heavier dumbbells though.

BB Hang Cleans superset with Pronated-Grip Incline DB Flys
135 x 6 and 35 x 10

I did three sets with the aforementioned weights. Originally, I had sought out to clean 185 again, but my shoulders were already fairly fried. And I probably won't do the flys again, as they reestablished my disdain for the exercise.

Elevated-Leg Medicine Ball Push-ups superset with DB Lateral Raises
These were also done for three sets, but for 15 reps each. Not much to report here.

BB Shrugs superset with Incline Rear Delt Flys
315 x 10 and 20 x 12

Three sets for these as well. My back is feeling better and better, so stabilizing myself while doing the shrugs is now a non-issue. I feel remiss in not doing the unilateral floor presses again, as they seem like a far better exercise than the flys I performed. Next chest/shoulders session will probably be bench-heavy. We shall certainly see.

 

[Line]

Date: December 13th, 2011
Pull-ups This Month: 925

Today sorta sucked. After looking forward to my training session all day ? which, since going sober, is more or less my norm ? I just didn't have the drive I had hoped for. Whereas yesterday I was pretty zoned in during my overhead pressing, today I just felt like I was merely going through the motions. I realize this happens. I've had similar sessions in the past, and I'm sure the future will bring only more; it's an unfortunate inevitability of training. And yet, things could have been worse. I still put up some decent poundages and, dissatisfaction notwithstanding, I'm still glad I got to the gym. Things were slow today at work: It was an atypically slow Tuesday and the time, along with my energy levels, just seemed to drag. Sure, I got a decent boost after my pre-workout meal, but after my warm-up and pull-ups (100 today), honestly, I simply didn't feel like being there. Anyway, here's the damage...

BB Rows superset with DB Skull Crushers
135 x 15 and 25 x 15
185 x 10 and 35 x 12
185 x 10 and 35 x 12
185 x 10 and 35 x 10
185 x 10 and 35 x 8 (drop) 25 x 12

These weren't bad. Hell, I'd call them "good," even. I mean, I would have liked to have gone a little heavier, sure, but I feel this was an apropos opportunity to work on my hip hinge as well as seeing how well I'm currently able to stabilize myself.

DB Bat Wings superset with EZ Bar French Press
70 x 8 and 75 x 15
70 x 8 and 95 x 12
70 x 8 and 115 x 8
70 x 8 and 115 x 8 (drop) 75 x 12

Again, decent. I've been loving French Presses lately. That is all.

Neutral-Grip Shoulder Extensions superset with Dips

Four sets of fifteen reps for each here. I basically just figured out how to rig the assisted dip machine at our gym in a way that permits me to do regular dips, so I had some fun with these. First I did a regular set, then one with a heavy but dirty-as-**** rope around my neck, and finally two sets with a resistance band strapped over my shoulders. In the future I'll be working on finding better ways to load these.

Incline Bench DB Rhomboid Flys superset with DB Curls
Nothing too exciting to report here. I'm pretty sure I did four sets for these too, performing twelve reps for the former movement, with a squeeze at the top, and eight reps for the curls. I alternated between regular and hammer curls, working up to 50 pounds for each variation. As most have noticed, I don't really do much direct work for biceps ? they've always grown fairly quickly, and there's little reason for me to ever really blast them.

That's more or less it. I threw in a few other sets in an attempt to correct some asymmetry, as I'm wont to do. (My right arm is slightly longer, and subsequently smaller, than my left.) I also banged out a few light sets of underhand pull-downs before heading out. In retrospect, the session might not have been quite as subpar as I initially deemed it. But still, I can't help but think that something like two sets of Kroc Rows would have made a world of difference. Maybe next time.

 

[Natzo]

Hey Line sometimes or most of the times when I look forward to my training session all day long, the same thing happens.... maybe when this happens we put our expectations too high?

nontheless good session.

 

[Line]

Natzo: Yeah, I realize that anything, lifting sessions included, has the potential to fall short of expectations. And although I concede that a bad bout here and there is bound to happen, I'd like to minimize them, especially if there's something I can be doing differently from the angle of exercise selection or intensity. Lately I've too often building up to near maximum loads, rather than settle on a weight that I can groove for sets of a solid 6-8 reps. The longer I'm in the iron game, the more I become concerned with body positions, lifting angles, and joint stability. I guess I'd rather be healthy than big these days, though I'd still like to be as powerful as possible all things considered; sometimes these goals can clash a bit.


Anyway, I've got a few sessions to report today, which I'll try to recollect to the best of my memory. December 14th was merely an ab and pull-up day, so I'll omit that.


Date: December 15th, 2011
Pull-ups This Month: 1025

Ah, leg day. I'm slowly getting back into the habit of training my lower-body full-bore, and this is one of the better workouts I've put in, at least for legs, in quite some time. And yet, I wish I had kept things a little lighter for squats, as I can feel my form begin to break down a bit as my weights go up. I'll probably keep the loads down in the immediate future, and then retest my strength in due time.

Hip Extensions
I do these on an incline bench, holding onto it with my upper body while lifting both legs off the floor. Three sets of fifteen here. Nothing special, but I'm beginning to really like this move.

Hamstring Curls superset with DB Rear-Leg Elevated Split Squats
Another three sets for this batch. The hamstring curls are done on a machine, and I typically keep things light — reps are kept between 12-15. For the split squats I use 50 pound dumbbells and do eight reps per leg. Good stuff, overall. I had contemplated doing another set, but didn't want to drain myself too-too much for BB Squats.

BB Squats
Here I worked my way up to 315 at which point I performed two singles. My form isn't bad insofar as my depth is adequate, though I feel my knees coming together a bit at times. As such, I plan on keeping things lighter and just try to focus on form. I haven't spend nearly as much time as I'd like to under a bar of late, so I realize that this'll be something I need to practice at. I did, then, do a drop set with smaller numbers, which felt a bit better.

BB Front Squats superset with DB Stiff-Legged Deadlifts
185 x 8 and 40's x 10
185 x 6 and 40's x 10
185 x 6 and 40's x 10
185 x 6 and 40's x 10

Good Mornings superset with DB Step-ups
I broke my exercise cherry with both of these. I ended up going very, very light for the former movement, as my lower back already felt tight and I didn't want to push things coming off of my injury; I also wanted to make sure I was able to hinge to an appropriate angle. I can't say I loved the latter movement, but we'll see if my attitude changes in future sessions.

I also did some work for my calves before heading out. Certainly not a bad workout. I'm just glad I did as much foam rolling and prep work as I did throughout my work day before taking it on.

------------------

Date: December 16th, 2011
Pull-ups This Month: 1075

Not much to say here. Things went well. I felt moderately strong and kept things on the lighter side, I guess. After starting off with my prep and band work, here's how things went down...

BB Bench Press
135 x 12
185 x 10
205 x 8
225 x 8
225 x 6
225 x 6
225 x 6

Unilateral DB Floor Press superset with DB Lateral Raises
75 x 8 and 25 x 12

I did four sets with the above rep scheme. Of course, the unilateral pressing was done for eight reps on each side. Anyway, I'm really liking the movement, so expect to see more of it in the future.

Hang Cleans superset with Machine Presses
I kept the hang cleans light (135), as I'm having issues with what's apparently tendinitis in my left shin, which all but eliminates my leg drive. I did six reps for the former movement and fifteen for the latter. As I've mentioned before, I like this machine, as it allows me to just focus on the contraction rather than worrying about moving big poundages. Oh, and if it wasn't obvious, I did my obligatory three sets, but with little-to-no rests between sets.

Seated DB Press superset with Rope Face Pulls
70 x 10 and 50 x 15
70 x 8 and 50 x 15
70 x 8 and 50 x 15

DB Rear Delt Flys and Kettlebell Shrugs
20 x 12 and 75 x 15
20 x 12 and 75 x 15
20 x 12 and 75 x 15


And that's it. Not a bad exercise bout by any means. If anything, I'm curious to see how my forearms will feel tomorrow, as I have my dart league in the afternoon and I definitely don't want to see those numbers fall. Later in the evening I'll throw together a back and arms session. Until next time.

 

[Line]

Date: December 17th, 2011
Pull-ups This Month: 1125

Just pull-ups and core work for this day. And onto the next one...


Date: December 18th, 2011
Pull-ups This Month: 1225

Back and Arms
Things went well today. I did my first 80 pull-ups before leaving for the gym and the final 20 upon arriving there amidst my warm-up sets. My lower back is feeling better each day, sure, but it's still a bit stiff, so I'm not reintroducing deadlifts quite yet.

BB Rows
135 x 10
165 x 10
185 x 10
205 x 8
205 x 8
205 x 8
205 x 8

There's not much I can add that would supplement the above numbers. I did, however, do some rope pushdowns and extensions in order to ready my elbows and triceps for subsequent movements.

DB Bat Wings superset with EZ Bar French Press
70 x 8 and 95 x 12
70 x 8 and 115 x 10
70 x 8 and 95 x 12

I decided to lighten up on my final set of French Presses because I felt that my form had broken down a bit when I jumped up in weight. Also, I'd be remiss if I didn't at least mention that I always hold the Bat Wings for a two count before beginning the eccentric portion of the lift.

Kroc Rows superset with Band Dips
85 x 20 and BW + Band Resistance x 15
85 x 20 and BW + Band Resistance x 15

I can't speak to the strength of the band I used, but it's enough to make fifteen reps moderately difficult. In the past, I've been able to complete 25+ reps on Kroc Rows with the same load, but I was fairly fatigued by this point.

Rear Delt Cable Flys superset with Dumbbell Curls
I don't do much in way of direct work for biceps, so I alternated between regular dumbbell curls and hammer curls from set-to-set. Curiously, I didn't feel like I could go any heavier than 40's for the curls, but I suppose my biceps were somewhat tired following all those pull-ups and rows.

Before leaving, I also included some unilateral work for my right arm, which is somewhat smaller than my left. I'm kicking around the idea of going back to an upper/lower body split, as it would afford me a few more rest days — right now I'll pretty much go non-stop without one if my schedule is accommodating enough. This is all well and good, but I'd like more "free" nights, so to speak. Anyway, until next time...

 

[Line]

Date: December 19th, 2011
Pull-ups This Month: 1275

Legs
Calling this a leg day seems a bit disingenuous; it was really just a squat day. Lately, as I've touched on in prior entries, my focus has been on refamiliarizing myself with the BB Squat, so much so that I'm more than willing to completely eschew the pursuit of poundages in order get a better feel for proper form. Alliteration aside, I basically did nothing but power squats to a box today, trying to really work on sitting back into the eccentric portion of the lift while making sure to keep my chest up and knees apart. I'd say that, as a whole, it went pretty well; I worked up to a 350 pound single. The box (read: bench) itself could have been a little lower, but that's something I can work out schematically another day. On the whole, I'm pleased with the direction I'm headed in. Now I just need to get some Chuck Taylor's.

Also, the importance of learning a lift like Good Mornings finally hit me, only after I left the gym (b'oh!). I plan on attaching a greater emphasis to this particular movement in the weeks to come, and I'm even kicking around the idea of doing GHR, or some other hamstring work, daily in January a la my pull-ups in December. Anyway, until later...