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First time at Planet Fitness!!!! :D
BW: 211.2 lbs
Decided to give my back a rest from squats and deadlifts today. I didn't want to sit on a plane for 8 hours with a sore back. So I went to this Planet Fitness that was close to where I work. Asked them for a free trial and they let me go do a workout. Weird atmosphere there. Not a squat rack or barbell in sight. It ended up being a pretty easy workout. I just wanted to do something, rather than take a rest day. And I got to witness the legendary upside-down smith-machine squat (225 lbs!), so I can check that off my bucket list.
06/23/17:
Leg Press:
Warmup: 1x5x225/270/295/315 lb
3x8x335 lb
Backextension *pause* Glute/Ham Raises:
3x20x0 lb Getting some blood flowing through the ol' back. Took long recovery breaks to allow my back to stop spasming
Hip Abduction (Out):
3x8x260 lb
Hip Abduction (In):
3x7x260 lb
Dumbell Press:
3x6x50 lb
Notes: I was able to max out all the machines at the gym. Which would be a great confidence booster, except I'm almost positive the machines there have lower maxes than most normal gyms. Which makes no fucking sense, but who am I
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If you understand PF's business model, it all makes sense.
*They carefully select people who will sign up for membership, but won't actually show up at the gym.*
They do this by offering a very low price, keeping everything very non-threatening, and by eliminating key equipment that someone who actually trains will need. Also by sneering at "meatheads".
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Ahhhhh, that's pretty clever and shitty. I would respect them a little if they were only trying to make a non-threatening gym for beginners. Oh well
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Getting back into the groove
Just got back from Europe. Still feeling pretty wacky from jet-lag. Gained 3.8 lbs, hopefully some of that is muscle. Did a light session today. I'm going to train tomorrow and increase my working set weight on SQ/BP/DL to 245/190/225.
BW: 215.0 lbs
Sun 07/09/2017:
Bench Press:
2x5x185 lb
1x4x190 lb
Notes: Bench felt pretty good at 185. 190 was alright at the beginning, but I think my form was off (recruiting too much from deltoids). I'll start with 190 on Wednesday and adjust from there.
Tues 07/11/2017:
LB Squat:
3x5x185 lb
Press:
3x5x100 lb
Deadlift:
2x10x135 lb
Notes: Just getting back into the swing of things. Didn't bother recording the lifts as they were light. Everything felt good. Definitely going to record the session tomorrow and make sure I haven't taken steps back form-wise.
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Wednesday 07/12/17:
LB Squat:
2x5x225 lb
1x5x230 lb
Bench Press:
1x5x165 lb
2x5x185 lb
Deadlift:
2x5x165 lb
1x5x195 lb
1x5x215 lb
Notes:
Squat: Felt pretty bad. Haven't been eating well and I'm still feeling jet-lag. Couldn't make it to 245 today. Wrists stayed straightish, but they bent towards the end. Might put my wrists higher next time.
Bench Press: Felt pretty weak. Was struggling pretty bad through the second 185 set.
Deadlift: Actually kind of happy with the deadlift finally. Still not consistent throughout the whole set.
Back strain: No pain during squats, a little tightness towards the end. Sore towards the end of the deadlifts, but that was the point of doing so many.
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BW: 215.6 lbs (+0.6 lbs)
Friday 07/14/17:
LB Squat:
Warmup Sets
1x6x235 lb
1x2x235 lb Set the bar too low on my back and I could feel it slipping a little.
2x5x235 lb
1x4x240 lb Had some extra energy after work sets, so I did another.
Press:
1x5x100 lb
1x5x105 lb
1x5x110 lb
Deadlift:
1x5x225 lb
2x5x245 lb
1x5x260 lb
Notes:
I have some videos of today's lifts. Will post them eventually.
Squat: Felt good. Back angle still consistently low, but it's better than before. Depth was mostly there. I did place the bar a little lower on my back this time. Which made me stronger as I was using more glute action, but my legs weren't working as hard and my back angle was lower. My legs seem pretty weak, I hope they aren't falling too far behind my gluties.
Press: Shoulders were feeling weak from the bar slipping down during squats, so I didn't bump the weight up. Probably a good idea. You can see me struggling at the end of the 110 set, in the video.
Deadlift: Back felt strong as heck, didn't push it too hard though. I had a bad set where I was REALLY rounding my back, but I know what right/wrong feel like now...probably. Hopefully the next time I round my back, I'll recognize it immediately and stop.
Back Injury: Feeling pretty great! Didn't realize how swollen my back was before. I just thought I was getting fat, but I can see lower back muscles now. Now I just have to make sure I don't slip up again...
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My friend pointed out to me that my lower back is really curved. It's been that way since as long as I can remember, so I never really questioned it. I looked it up and I might have some mild lordrosis. I don't think it's bad enough for medical intervention or hurting my lifts, but I'm going to take steps to correct my posture (i.e. sleeping on my back, sitting correctly at work). Hopefully that fixes it.
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Squat Form Check - 07/14/17 Friday
Here's some videos from my last session on Friday. Depth wasn't as good as I had hoped, but it's not bad. Still need to work on grip. I'm still trying to make the squat into two motions when my legs get tired towards the end of the set. I shoot my hips up and try to recruit my back.
Squat 235x5:
Squat235x5-20170714 - YouTube
Squat 235x6:
It looks like my grip slipped at the bottom of the 4th rep. I'm gonna have to watch out for that in the future. Probably better to just end the set when that happens.
Squat235x6-20170714 - YouTube
Last edited by deludeddrummer; 07-17-2017 at 02:37 PM.
Reason: Added Links
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Friday 07/14/17:
LB Squat:
Warmup Sets
3x5x245 lb
Bench Press:
2x3x190 lb
1x3x185 lb
2x5x175 lb
1x2x175 lb
Deadlift:
1x5x225 lb
1x5x275 lb
1x2x275 lb
1x4x275 lb
Notes:
Squats: Felt pretty heavy, but I'm getting the hang of the higher bar position. Keeping my wrists straight is helping me keep my back angle less horizontal. Need to keep working on wrist angle. Left hand consistently bends by the end of the set. Going to continue incrementing by 5.
BP: Might have to deload BP. Stalling around 190 and I think it's because I'm recruiting my shoulders at the lower weights. So my pecs aren't getting strong enough to deal with heavier weights. Probably deload to 165 and increment by 5.
DL: Noticing form breakdown after first few reps. I think 275 is a good place to start progressing by 5s. I'll see how far that takes me. I might do 1 or 2 more 10 lb jumps.
Last edited by deludeddrummer; 07-17-2017 at 02:42 PM.
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Whoops! Previous post was my session on Monday 07/17/17.
BW: 214.2 lbs -1.4 lbs
Wednesday 07/19/17:
LB Squat:
2x6x45 lb
1x7x95 lb
1x6x135 lb
1x6x185 lb
3x5x225 lb
Press:
2x5x115 lb
1x4x115 lb
1x3x115 lb
Kroc Rows:
1x6x75 lb Per hand for all
1x6x85 lb
1x5x90 lb
Notes:
Squats: Grip was great today. I was able to stay tight for the entirety of each set. Lumbar flexion was fixed; thanks to adding the valsalva maneuver and/or just staying tighter. Felt heavy though. Should be eating more.
Press: Finally made it to 115 lbs! Though I did fail the 3rd set
Kroc Rows: Deadlifts were a bad idea. Too many deadlifts on Monday. So I just did some kroc rows.
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