Just and old guy training training hard to be better than I was yesterday
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Lift Like a Beast
Wednesday, 17 September 2014
17 September 2014 Week 4 Light night Cowboy Method
For the first time since going back to the commercial gym I had to wait on the squat rack more than 5 minutes. I don't understand why guys spend half of their time in the gym texting or facebooking or whatever. I go to the gym to work and get stronger. I think the gym must have free Wi-Fi or something.
Once I got going things went pretty good.
Front Squats - in warm ups the bar started slipping on my shoulders from a little sweat so I moved to using straps as handles. I have done this before so it wasn't anything new. It gives a good stable bar for making the lifts. I am looking forward to my Safety Squat Bar to do these with. It is almost done and I should have it in the next couple of weeks. Yea, I know it has taken awhile but the guy is doing the work on his break times and I can't rush a favour.
OHP - the bench was in use so I went ahead and did the press. These went ok. I did find myself loosing tightness in one set but as soon as I tightened back up things went ok. Still not most favourite lift but I got the work in there.
Bench Press - I could feel my shoulder in warm ups feeling a little off, so I broke out the band and did some distractions and it felt good almost right away. I got into the sets and no big issues other than getting a little fast in the bottom again on a few reps. I want that slight pause at the bottom.
Rows - Yep, picked them up and put them back down.... with authority..
Back extensions - I added a 20kg plate this time and that made for a little more effort. I might be looking at keeping this next week and see about going up to a barbell to get more weight in a few weeks.
In a couple of weeks or so I am going to reduce the light day weights by about 20kgs on bench and evaluate the other lifts. It is supposed to be light week after all and allow for some recovery. The stimulus is from Volume night to advance the Intensity night weights.
Tuesday, 16 September 2014
15 September 2014 Week 4 Volume Night Cowboy Method
A little held up at work but got home and off to the gym in reasonable time.
Squats- went well with no hiccups. Time between sets is 60-90 seconds. I am still using the timer to get conditioning back up to par. the weight isn't huge but then it is volume day.
Bench - I had to wait on a guy to finish his doubles up to 100kgs before I could hit the bench. I give respect to everyone lifting but 2-3 minutes rest for 3 reps at 80kgs for this guys seemed a little much. My 6x6 went great with some stimulus to keep me going to hit the big ones on Friday.
RDLs - Not a huge weight but I need to remember form. Bending the knees too much takes the hamstrings out of the lift and posterior chain is what this is all about. While I was doing these I noticed a lack of pulling on the hammies so I made sure to reach for the wall behind me and got a better stretch on.
Had to give cable pull throughs a miss because of time but I'll add them in on Wed. to get the work on the PC.
Well today was an eye opener hitting the gym. The past few days I have felt better than I have in some time. My energy levels are up and my head feels clearer than it has in a few months. Amazing what changing medications can do.
Because I have been feeling better I was really looking forward to going to the gym today and it didn't disappoint. I got there and got straight into the rack and it went like this.
Squats - Squats tonight were a worry getting into them. Last week I had this pins and needles in my face and was really wiped out by my set. So much so that I had to have a seat and rest. Tonight warming up felt good, usually things start to feel heavy around 140kgs but tonight I went right up to my work set feeling right into it. Next week its add another 2.5kgs. I'll add that every week until I get tapped out and lower to 3 rep sets.
Bench Press - kinda went like squats. I warmed up to 100kgs feeling good but I found a guy to spot for my work set just to be safe. All my reps felt strong and I could have hit the weight for a couple more. Next week I'll be smoking it again on my way to a 3 plate bench.
Sumo Deadlifts- I adjusted my stance wider to a more true sumo stance and things felt pretty good. This is an example of hitting the move from a different angle to promote growth. Oh, And opted for the rainbow power socks for deadlifts tonight.
Deadlifts- I am not move up in weight here until I am moving weight easily. This weight isn't really hard but I want to take time and work the back slowly and build some strength.
Back Extensions - Tonight I added 10kgs and backed down to 12 reps. No big problems getting done so next time I think I'll go with a 20kgs plate. A few weeks of these will help build the back up.
I usually don't do two nights in a row but since it was light night I figured what the hell. I got home from work gave the chimney a clean ( it only takes a few minutes to run the brush up the flue) and headed to the gym. I got some stretching while I waited for a guy to finish a couple of sets in the power rack and then got to it.
Front squats- these felt really good tonight. I have pretty good bar control and the bar is sitting high up enough that the deltoids aren't suffering too much. The knees sleeves might have given just a little help but not much. the joint was nice and warm though.
Bench Press - this is the plan. I am benching 3 times a week in TM fashion (Volume, Light, Intensity) and enjoying it immensely. I have my form pretty well dialled in and the joints are feeling good. Since I fixed my form the shoulder has been nice and settled. As long as I keep the shoulders tucked making the chest bigger I will keep doing fine.
OHP - Since I am benching light I don't have a problem with OHP on the same night. My press is still feeling pretty strong and here to I am happy with the form. Getting those shoulders strong..
Rows- what can I say.. freaking awesome time with these. I made a mistake with the weight, it was meant to be 82.5kgs and I loaded 85. I already had a set in so I just left it.
Back Hyperextensions - Looking at more back assistance work I have added these in. My gym doesn't have a back extension machine or anything so the preacher curl gets turned into one. I am thinking that I should do these at least twice per week and possibly 3 times per week and add some weight to them. Reg Park did these every workout 3 sets of 12 as a starter..
09 September 2014 Week 3 Volume day I had to make up my normal Monday workout because work kept me too late and there wasn't time to get it in as normal. I have started got to the gym pretty much right after work instead of after dinner and getting home too late screws up the schedule. Anyway, I got to the gym and got right into it.
Squats - felt just a little of tonight. not heavy but tight in the hamstrings on a few reps. between sets I really noticed it as the beginning of a cramp that just didn't quite get going. In watching my videos I see from the back that it showed up. So I need to make sure to get good stretching on the hammies to avoid this next time.
Bench Press - felt good tonight. The weight isn't very big yet but the volume was good. Still need to concentrate on the hold at the bottom and get just a bit more. I guess I am going to need to actually count to 2 in order to get it right. I have plenty of time before my next meet so this will go up nicely on the way there.
RDL - Definitely need to keep these going to build the back. I could feel the fatigue in my lower back after squats but it rested up during benching so I was good to go. Tried to keep the cues in my head, butt back, shoulders back, keep the bar back on the legs and stop looking up so much. I need to remember that the head needs to be more in line with the spine. If it needs reinforcing I may need to get a tennis ball to hold under my chin.
Cable Pull throughs- 3 sets of 12 here gets some work in on the lower back, hips and hamstrings. Reaching way back helps get some stretch on the hamstrings.
It never ceases to amaze me how empty the gym is on a Friday evening. By the time I got my shoes changed and ready to go I hopped right into the squat rack and got going.
Squats - felt really good tonight. The rack was clear and I warmed up by myself with just time to change weight between warm up sets. Once I hit my work weight I took a couple of minutes before hitting it. The weight was enough to make me work and the last rep was getting heavy. At some point over the next few weeks I'll be dropping a rep as intensity ramps up. I had some help from Brian, you hear him having some fum on a couple commands. I changed my grip to thumbs over on his advice and it did help my wrists a bit.
Bench Press - Just as I was ready to hit the bench the guys on it finished up. I warmed up and went straight to my work set keeping rests pretty short. I decided to let the camera run for the full workout. the work set got heavy on the last rep also. I will shift these to 3x2 in a couple of weeks. Heavy doubles will keep intensity up.
Sumo Deadlifts - these are light enough and feel just fine. I widened my stance out a little and pointed my toes out more. This seemed to help the lift even more. This was some advice I got last week. These feel ok and I'll add some more weight next week.
Deadlift - The only thing I am finding with deadlifts is my back gets fatigued.. might have something with all the other work put in before. I might consider changing these up for rack pulls or another assistance movement and deadlifting once a month.
I'm pretty happy with how things are going and the gains will keep coming.
Wednesday, 3 September 2014
3 September 2014
Week 2 Light Night Texas Method
Tonight work ran late making things run a little later than I wanted, but that was ok. I picked up some protein drink and chomped down a couple of Reese's peanut butter cups and I was ready for the gym.
When I got there a couple of young guys were playing in the power rack but they gave it over when I asked how long they would. Nice enough guys but the kind that go to the gym with no plan.
All in all this was a really nice workout even if things were running late. The whole workout took just under one hour.
Front Squats - felt better tonight. I am getting the hang of the move and keeping a good grip on the bar to keep it from rolling. My front delts are still bruised up from last week. I am looking forward to progressing these and see about possible carry over to my deadlifts.
Bench - These went fine. I need to concentrate on slowing the bottom down to more of a pause but getting some speed coming off the chest. We'll see in a few weeks if benching 3 times per week is going to be viable in the long run.
OHP - no real problems here. It is all a matter of getting tight and keeping tight. Power the weight up without bouncing it.
Barbell row - This is a nice weight to build back up from. I've said it a dozen times, I love these.
