Just and old guy training training hard to be better than I was yesterday
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Lift Like a Beast
Friday, 3 October 2014
26 September 2014 Week 5 Intensity Day
This was the end to another week of good lifting. I had a couple of issues and I feel like a bit of a puss. While having a big stretch sitting at my desk my right trap cramped up and didn't come right. Turning my head to the right puts a pain from my neck right down into the shoulder. It didn't bother me on squats or even deadlifts but it hit my bench pretty bad. I just wasn't at 100% tonight and I wasn't sure what to expect.
Squats - These felt heavy tonight and when I did a single at 180kgs warming up I thought I might need to just do a triple tonight. I made my triple ok but some kids stood right in front of my camera so I decided to do another set. Since I didn't do x5 I thought 2 sets of 3 was a good trade off. Surprisingly enough the traps didn't seem to bother me much here.
Bench Press - Warming up I could feel my trap twinging at about 100kgs but I thought I should b ok. Once at 115kgs for my work set I got a spotter and went for 5 reps. I did ok but no pausing the reps. One thing that normally doesn't happen is , my right arm lagged behind. Usually my left arm is the one that struggles, I guess the trap had more to do with it than I thought, but I still got by reps in.
Sumo Dead lifts - I have been reading, listening and watching about deadlifting in oly shoes as a way of changing up deadlifts. so I decided to give it a shot. I actually felt pretty good with the shoes on. I was able to get a good drag up the shins and got some volume in on sumo's.
Deadlifts - I kept the lifting shoes on for these too. I am really concentrating on form and looking at volume rather than intensity. I think this approach along with the other back work is helping out. The back felt good through my sets with only the last rep feeling a little tight. I am really working to keep the bar back and my bar path has improved.
24 September 2014 Week 5 Light Night A good night in the gym with everything running smoothly and not many hold ups. All up I was out of the gym in just under 1 hour.
Front squats - these went well and I felt really good doing them. I went back to a cross grip and had good control on the bar. Using straps last week actually stressed my right wrist a little so cross grip is my preference. I know that 90kgs isn't a lot of weight but form is good and I am ready for the weight to keep going up.
OHP- had to do press first while a guy finished playing on the bench. I made all my reps but the back was getting some rounding on the last reps of sets 2&3. I am going to see how next week goes and consider holding the weight for a couple of weeks to build strength.
Bench - my bench weight on light night has been set to be 10kgs less than volume night but I need to reset to a percentage to keep the proportions right..
Rows - Yep, you guessed it. Loved them. They were hard, fast and loud.
Back extensions- Still doing these holding a 20kgs plate in front. I think I will add some reps on these.
Thursday, 2 October 2014
22 September 2014 Week 5 Volume day Cowboy Method Today was a holiday here and we had the grandkids all morning and that was a bit of a workout in itself. It also meant there was hardly anyone at the gym which is always nice.
I'm a little sore after last Friday's deadlifting. The back has tightened up again and the hips took a beating with my left abductors getting aggravated again. Me and deadlifts are not the best of friends but I'll get there in time. It is going to be a slow process of assistance work and no big deadlifting for awhile.
Squats - It took a lot to get the hips to loosen up with the left side causing the most grief but I got things going. I noticed while watching some video that the bar on the left side is much lower on the back view so I made some adjustments and got it better on the last set. Need to watch hand placement and make sure both sides of the back are getting good and tight.
Bench Press - I am really happy with where my bench press is right now. My sets are feeling good and I should be able to carry the 6x6 on for a few more weeks before moving the volume down a little.
RDL - really working on getting the hamstring stretch again on these and I could feel it hitting them.
Cable Pull Throughs - Time to up the weight on these. I'm getting a good pull back on these. I am working on making sure it is a pull with the hips and back, not the arms. Any critiques on these would be welcome from those guys doing them.
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..
