Creatively Titled HLM Log

[Tim K]

HLM Week 5 (5/07/17-5/13/17)


Friday:

Deadlift:
575x3x2 (PR) (straps)

Bench:
240x5x4

Squat:
385x5x4

Press:
180x5x4 - first set was the hardest by far. I almost dropped the weight for the rest of the sets, but I'm glad I didn't. Stuff like this is why I'm so hesitant to try to get into RPE based programming.

3 hours again. Glad I won't be doing these marathon sessions going forward.

Also I think I'm going to leave the volume benching and pressing at 4 sets going into the new program. That way the only increase in volume will be from the CGBP on Friday. Or I might do 5 sets of 4 as the weights keep going up. Not sure yet. Can't keep adding 5 lbs to the volume sets at this rate though for much longer. Not sure if it's better to keep those weights the same for a couple weeks at a time or keep them moving up and lowering rep ranges.

Deadlifts:

[broseph]

The AC pain is both acute and chronic when I do the lateral raises. I'm gonna be so jelly of dem cannonballs.

Strong work on the weight-loss with continued PR's. I'm right there with you at 2700 Cal/day. I would have to do intermittent fasting or something to go much lower than that.

[Tim K]

Strong work on the weight-loss with continued PR's. I'm right there with you at 2700 Cal/day. I would have to do intermittent fasting or something to go much lower than that.

Thanks, some of the PRs are just because I haven't done much work in the 3 rep range before so I'm not sure how much strength gain they represent. Not going backwards at least though.

For me when I was doing 2000 cal/day I was eating lots of fat free cheese, tuna, chicken breast, and whey protein. I still eat tuna, chicken breast, and whey now but the cheese is real and delicious. I also have been eating a pizza almost every day, which is nice, lol.

I actually did sort-of intermittent fasting last year when I ran LP for the first time. I trained around 11:30 am with just some BCAA's beforehand and didn't eat my first meal of the day until like 2:00pm. It helped me stick to the 2000 cal/day I was on at the time but I'm glad I'm not doing that anymore.

[Tim K]

Oh yeah, I also had a realization today while pressing. It seems like no matter how good my form is during the set, I always feel like I have a minor back tweak afterward. Today I figured out that it's most likely because I'm lurching forward and hyperextending my lumbar spine as I re-rack the bar. D'oh.

[Tim K]

HLM Week 5 (5/07/17-5/13/17)

Saturday

Bike Ride:

56:44
10.98 miles
11.61 mph average

Rode around on the back roads near my apartment rather than on an actual bike trail. Probably won't do this again. More hills than I would prefer, frequent smell of manure, and a surprising amount of traffic given the "rural" setting. Not worth the 15 minutes saved by not driving to and from the bike trail.

[Tim K]

4 Day Split Week 1 (5/14/17 - 5/20/17)

Monday:

Bench:
265x4x4 (PR) - only a PR because I have never done sets of 4 before

Weighted Chins:
20x5x3

Press:
182.5x4x5

DB Curl:
40x10,9,8

LTE:
90x12 - counting the ez curl bar as 20lbs, not sure of the actual weight.
100x10,9

Lateral Raise:
30x8
25x10,8
15x6 - burnout set right after the previous 25x8

After not getting 3x5 last week on bench and press I went back and forth on how to proceed. Initially I was going to do a top set of five + backoffs and just run out the top set, but I decided to try switching from 3x5 to 4x4, and eventually down to 5x3, continuing to add weight. Pretty much doing the same thing with the medium lifts. Instead of resetting the 4x5 and working back up I'm going to try doing 5x4 and keep adding weight, although I'm switching to 2.5lb jumps. I expect these strategies to either work amazingly well or end up being an unmitigated disaster. Can't wait to find out which! I have still been feeling recovered and fresh going into my workouts though so I'm going to try it out and see what happens. Assuming I can go a few weeks at 4x4, switch to 5x3 when I miss a rep, and do that for a few more weeks, at that point I'll probably do a small deload and then test 1RMs again. Then maybe just start rotating 3x5,4x4,5x3 every three weeks.

Also, I jumped 5lbs on the bench since I was dropping a rep. That was probably too aggressive, judging by how the sets went, but I got the reps. When going to 3's I'll probably just do a standard 2.5lb jump.

Bench:

[Tim K]

Old Man Sweatshirt needs to back the fuck off. Do people think they can snag a catastrophic fail with their fingers? If the weight starts going back down, take one step forward, and provide some assistance.

Hovering gainz-stealing spotters who can't keep their goddamn hands away from the bar. My fucking life at a commercial gym. The last guy was even worse. I had to stop between reps 3 and 4 and tell him politely to get his hands away from the fucking bar. He was actually maintaining contact at the top while I had it locked out.

Honestly with stepping up to 4 and 5 sets of bench I have pretty much decided to start benching in the rack. There are two now anyway so I don't feel too bad about commandeering one of them for my entire workout. Just need to take the time to figure out how to best set up the pins.

[Aaron Montgomery]

I bench by myself in my garage. To get the ideal height, I have to place 2x4's under my power rack because the spacing between the holes for the safety bar are very far apart. I have the safety bars set so that if I completely relax I can roll the bar slightly up and it's no longer on my chest. Then I have to turn my head to the side and roll the bar over it and squeeze out. Practice your escape without any weight on the bar...

[Aaron Montgomery]

You know, the Titan cages are like $400. Do you have your rack bolted to the ground through the 2x4? Or is the rack at least bolted to them? I bought a new bench because my old one was rated at 300lbs. My wife wasn't happy, until I told her that the new one was $300, and my life is worth more than $300.

Nope. I only place the 2x4's under the rack while benching, then I kick em out. Not an ideal setup, but it works on the cheap. When I'm no longer a poor college student I'll be investing in a new rack, bench, plates, etc.

[Bliss]

Hovering bench spotters LOL))


Aaron, have you considered shoving a block/sheet under the bench itself and using the next holes up?