Chewy's Strength Log

[vegan hal]

good stuff Chewy.

I will say keep those shoulder exercises up. I really fucked my right shoulder up 6 months ago. i plowed through it and dealt with the pain until it got so bad that I had to take a major break (2+ months). really affected my squats, bench, Dips, OHP and push ups.

i'm finally back in it and working my way back up but I had to do a major reset. doing well, but honestly i still have some issues.

so be very careful.

[chewybaws]

Wed 9th March 2011
Morningweight=83.3kg

Deadlift
4x5x160kg (no belt)

Close grip bench
1x10x60kg

DB bench
1x15x25kg DBs

Dips
1x10

Seated calf raises
10,10,16x60kg

I was completely and utterly gassed after deads. They weren't easy. Tried dips again, think they're a no go for the meantime, too much of a stretch for my shoulders at the moment. Been doing a lot more for stretching recently for flexibility, will post the details soon.

It's nearly been 2 years of training and today was a good example of how unfit I am. I was gasping, panting, guzzling water at every chance for not very many sets of exercise. And my flexibility is genuinely upsetting me.

@KC that's exactly what I've been looking for, tried most of them out and they seem really cool.

@ninearms - no bands! i only have a set of minis.

@stoaty - lol, that 14th rep was prob the slowest bench rep I've ever done

@hal - yep, definitely gonna be keeping it up, the dieselcrew warmup is a real winner

[chewybaws]

Fri 11th March 2011
Morningweight=83.4kg

Chinups
3x7

Barbell rows
5x5x55kg

Close grip lat pulldowns
3x10x55kg

Weighted situps
3x5x10kg (plate behind neck)

Pretty much a waste of time, didn't like grouping similar exercises together on one day. I'm liking full body (more or less) every workout - can use heavy weights every time. Was supposed to do deadlift lockouts but back/hams were so stiff from wednesday, back's still stiff today (sat night), should be good for monday though. BB rows sucked - narrowed the grip a bit and just a tired from deads from wed and chins right before it. It's amazing the difference a narrower grip makes. I thought I was using my bench grip on BB rows before not realising I was always using an olympic bar (knurls 91cm apart) instead of the power bar that we use for bench (81cm apart). So been using too wide a grip. Which is a shame, everything was real easy lol.
Planned on doing hanging leg raises but there's only 2 pullup bars in there and i can grab them without jumping, so they're no use. And weighted situps are gonna be too hard to load behind the neck. In the past I found loading my chest up done absolutely nothing for my abs. They kind of worked behind the neck but intensely uncomfortable and can't see it easy being able to add weight to them.

For abs I'm just going to go back to good old weighted planks. Will try cable crunches as well.

Been sticking at the mobility work the last couple of days, will need to do a writeup soon of what I've been doing.

[ninearms]

Try standing ab pulldowns against bands (get some bands!), or just plain old barbell rollouts. Much better than situps and leg raises, and much better for your spine too.

[chewybaws]

Just looked up the price of bands, no chance I can afford that! I'm gonna get started with some planks on Friday get myself back into it. Then when my abs are core is stronger again can give some other stuff a go.

Powerlifting Schedule - Week 2

Mon 14th March 2011

Squat
5x5x115kg (no belt)

Bench
8,8,8,12x62.5kg

DB bench
1x14x25kg DBs

Chins
3x7

Seated calf raises
10,10,15x60kg

DB Clean&Press
3x20x12.5kg (for speed)

Woke up with a sore shoulder out of nowhere on Monday, when turning it in certain positions. All I can think that caused it was demonstrating bar position to someone on Friday without warming up. It was there during workout straightaway with squats but didn't get worse throughout workout so rolled with it. I've been messing about trying to get an assistance schedule. I won't bother writing it up till I get it consistent for a couple of weeks, cause I keep swapping stuff about everywhere everyday.

Was a good day.


Pretty much my mobility warmup is this;

http://www.defrancostraining.com/ask_joe/archives/ask_joe_08-10-03.html#question04 (thanks KC!)

Instead of the groiners I do "squat to stands" with a bar as I don't have the flexibility to touch my toes with straight legs. I do a couple of sets, start at deadlift height then I start standing on plates, get it closer to my feet. Working my way down basically.

On top of this I do the diesel crew shoulder warmup I posted earlier, an extra rotator cuff set on the floor, and some leg swings thrown in.

I've been doing this on off days as well, once I get better at these I'll add in extra stuff.

EDIT: The DB clean&press are just 1 arm, alternating each rep.

Also was reading back at my log there, 112.5kg was the highest I went without a belt for many sets/reps (got 5,5,9 with it). On my plan for the next 3 weeks the weight only goes up 2.5kg at a time and sticks to sets of 5. So I'm thinking I might as well try and nail right upto 4 or 5 sets of 5 reps with 122.5kg before I get the belt back on. Won't be easy but totally acheivable.

[chewybaws]

Wed 16th March 2011
Morningweight=83.8kg

Deadlift
4x5x165kg (no belt)

Floor press
10,10,7x50kg

Plank
3x30s +20kg plate on lower back

Woke up this morning with an overly tight groin (especially left side. prob cause i tried out bulgarian squats yesterday. thought i'd be fine, was just BW and didn't do that many). The good news is this forced me to find a way to actually roll it out with a tennis ball - foam roller can never hit up there. Right at the inside at the top of my leg and round towards the back of my leg. Just popped the ball on a bench, kneeled beside it, stuck one leg up on the ball and took it from there.

Deadlifts were really good till the last set. Done all my warmups on a deficit, got me into the habit of pushing with my legs to start the lift. Done a more thorough warmup as well. Took my time throughout to keep the lower back straight. End of the 3rd set was starting to get suspect, should've called it quits there. I'll see tomorrow how tight my back is. The last rep was a GRINDER.

Wasn't a fan of the floor press, the ROM was way too limited (this was with a narrower grip). Will try board press next week instead. I was going to do some close grip bench after this but I was completely wiped out from the deads so just done some planks and foam rolled/stretched.


Ever since ninearms mentionned bands I've wanted them, especially for speed work on bench and maybe even squat. Maybe gonna see if my mate will half in.

[KC Masterpiece]

No worries, chewy. My shoulders were pretty beat after my improv'd bench session Monday so I gave that dieselcrew shoulder warm up a try--felt good!

[chewybaws]

[quote="KC Masterpiece"]No worries, chewy. My shoulders were pretty beat after my improv'd bench session Monday so I gave that dieselcrew shoulder warm up a try--felt good!

[buzz]

[quote="chewybaws"]I want to get bands for some speed work eventually. They're pretty expensive though so I need to see if someone will half in with me.

[chewybaws]

[quote="buzz"]We sell them in singles now, half the price they used to be But we're out of blue and green 41's just now which are the main puppies.

[quote="chewybaws"][quote="buzz"]We sell them in singles now, half the price they used to be But we're out of blue and green 41's just now which are the main puppies.

[chewybaws]

Aye I'm thinking of just getting a Small band when they're in, will get me started at least. I've just decided to keep doing what I've been doing, but a set of bands could be cool for working on speed on light day on a friday.


Fri 18th March 2011

Squat
3x5x90kg

Bench
3x5x50kg

Then jumped on the cross trainer for 10 mins. Totally should've took a rest day like I planned. Felt stiff and had a pain in the back after squatting. Concentrated on speed with the low weights.


Powerlifting Schedule - Week 3

Mon 21st March 2011

Bench
6,6,6,11 x 65kg

Chins
8,8,5

Seated calf raises
10,10,14 x 62.5kg

Leg Press
10,10,10,25 x 90kg

Once I got to 100kg on the warmup for squats I done 1 rep and decided just to call it quits before things got worse. All throughout warmup I was getting tightness around adductors/abductors. So spent the time doing some foam rolling. Not going to squat all week and just get back at it next Monday. To be honest I'm not really pissed off, I seen it coming over the last couple of weeks - too much volume on squats/deads is just screwing my lower body, each session I could've been doing with 1 or 2 less sets just been trying to push it too hard. I am annoyed that I didn't just rest up on Friday though, it just made things worse.


First time trying leg press, didn't know what to think really. Just stuck with a low weight and just repped out the last set so my legs got at least some blood around them.


On a better note I passed my Gym Instructor practical exam on Sunday, I started the course in October and was supposed to be qualified just before xmas but couldn't make my exam due to weather. It didn't get rescheduled till just there.


Gonna do some rolling and stretching tonight see if i can loosen up a bit.

[chewybaws]

Wed 23rd March 2011
Morningweight=83.4kg

Deadlift
1x4x170kg (no belt)
1x5x170kg (with belt)

Close grip bench
1x11x62.5kg

DB bench
1x13x27.5kg DBs

Barbell rows
5x5x60kg

Showed up in a fowl mood today. Again, done deficit deadlifts for warmup and went well. First set at 170kg I think my back stayed pretty solid but I really struggled with the weight, especially the 4th rep. I felt like if I went for a 5th my back would cave. So I shoved the belt on for the 2nd set. The problem with this set was I'd changed my "routine" between reps since last week. Inbetween reps I've been straightening my legs out, then resetting my back before the next rep. Great for getting my back into position but it's came with 2 problems - I've been rolling the bar in before starting each rep and my right shin is taking a beating, and the 2nd problem is breathing with the belt on. I just need to time the breathing better, but today I wasn't getting to fill my lungs before each rep which made the set infinitely harder.
Was aiming for 2x5 (no belt) with a solid back. Disapointing.

To be honest I need to look at my training right now and realise - the squat volume's tightening my lower body into a problem, and I'm trying to screw about with my deadlift technique at the wrong time. I need to make a decision and I don't know what it is yet.

-Take a week off and do absolutely no weight exercises, just mobility work. Recharge, start up again from the bottom?
-Drop the vast majority of the assistance work, just keep CG/DB bench and rows/pullups. Concentrate on the main lifts.
-Drop the weight down (saying this I'm only a few weeks in)

I weigh the same as I did about 12 days ago. It's worth mentionning. Last cycle I was really packing it on.


At least my bench is feeling pretty solid just now, had some good numbers this week. BB rows I need to build them up with the now narrower grip (bench grip now), so started down at 60kg. Felt pretty good.

Today I done this before static stretches at the end (this will be ongoing):
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8caF1Keg2XU[/youtube]
(thanks again KC )
Not sure if I was quite hitting the lats/pecs as well as I could've, but I'll be getting plenty of practice. Burst my tennis ball with the arch of my foot lol. Oh well, I have a couple more.

[chewybaws]

Fri 25th March 2011

Squat
3x3x80kg (for speed, no belt)

Bench
3x5x55kg (for speed)

Bent over rows (underhand grip, standing)
8,8,9 x 50kg

Felt a twinge in my back all throughout the squat, got great speed on bench, and got a good pump doing rows a different way for a change (underhand rather than overhand, narrower grip, hanging rather than from floor, aiming for abs rather than chest).

I should've listened to one of my training parteners (who does my programs for me) and took a complete week off after the comp, I'm definitely feeling the consequences. Just over the last few weeks I've had wee niggling injuries around my back, adductors, abductors and elbow joints feel a bit weak. This is prob the hardest thing I'll have done in about 22 months of training, but I'm gonna take a full week off and do nothing but foam rolling and a bit of stretching.

As hard as it'll be I need to let my body recharge. I want to come out of a night of training without feeling run down and something going wrong with my body. Gonna concentrate on eating a bit cleaner a bit again, shitey food's been running me down a bit as well since the comp. When I start up again next week the volume will be pretty low, prob only gonna do 1 heavy set a night till I get back into the swing of things.


But sheesh it's gonna be hard, I have a bar/rack/bench/chin bar in my room. I don't even know if I'm capable of going a full week without doing a rep of anything

[chewybaws]

Not much to report, I took that week off and sporadically done some stretches and foam rolling. No muscle work at all except a few bodyweight squats for stretching. It was hellish not doing anything. My back didn't start healing till Tuesday or something so I needed it.

Madcow 5x5 - Week 1

Mon 4th April 2011
Morning weight = 82.4kg
Workout weight = 83.7kg

Squat
1x5x69kg
1x5x80kg
1x5x92kg
1x5x103kg
1x5x115kg (this set with belt)

Bench
1x5x42kg
1x5x49kg
1x5x56kg
1x5x63kg
1x5x70kg

Barbell row
1x5x36kg
1x5x42kg
1x5x48kg
1x5x54kg
1x5x60kg

Hypers
2x8x5kg (behind head)

Weighted situps
8,8,7 x 10kg (behind head)

A comfortable workout to start back with. Squats were easy (used a narrower stance because of groin problems before week off), slowed down a bit in the last set but to be expected. Bench/rows/hypers ridiculously easy but they only get heavier. 10kg situps were too heavy to start with, was actually going for 4x8 - will either drop the weight for wednesday or do sets of 5 instead. They started off really easy but got tough real quick towards the end of the sets.

Great to be in a club that has fractional plates

Done a full warmup today, and full post workout routine with foam roller/tennis ball and plenty of stretching. Will speed up after get the hang of the routine.

Will be weird squatting on wednesday. Light weight!