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Thread: The Road to Dawn - Kain's Log

  1. #11
    Join Date
    Jun 2014
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    • starting strength seminar april 2024
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    Intensity Bench day! I was a tad upset with my performance today but it wasn't a total loss as I managed the 5 reps I needed.

    Bench Press
    305x4 (Failed the 5th rep, dammit all!)
    305x5 (Yay! After some rest I attempted it again as I failed the previous 5th rep at a really silly spot)
    315x7 (Slingshot) (I wanted to do something heavier without taxing myself too much for the upcoming presses, so I whacked on my slingshot and went at it)
    275x6 (Removed the slingshot and did a back-off set)

    Press
    170x5x5 (These went up without too much of a hassle, so I'm happy with my pressing)

    Chin-Ups
    10, 10, 8, 8, 7

    Weighted Dips
    5x10

    Thankfully, my elbows didn't flare up as they have in the past, so at the very least I have that going for me!

  2. #12
    Join Date
    May 2013
    Location
    Walnut Creek, CA
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    328

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    Quote Originally Posted by Kain View Post
    Hi ho everyone!

    After spending quite a lot of time reading through training logs the past couple of months I decided to start one of my own. I'm a 6/7, 240 lb 22-year old English-born South African living in Chile. About 2 years ago I suffered an intense emotional trauma that left me in a comatose state that I awoke from at the beginning of the year. My first thought was to bust some ass in the gym and try to get my life back together. I followed Rip's work before the trauma and hope to one day attain the SSC certification and preach what I love to others. Suffice it to say I still suffer from episodic bouts of despair and hopelessness but I've been working through it with help from family and my therapist. Funny that part of the idea behind posting this log was the therapist's idea, but I digress. Hopefully, I'm stronger than my problems! Oh, and the last time I competed was prior to the trauma in early 2011, but I hope to compete again later this year, provided my lifts are worth a damn!
    I always feel that physical strength contributes to emotional strength and well being. I love when my patients get into exercising, it can really change things emotionally. Glad to see you posting and kudos for your honesty. This is a great, supportive community.

    Quote Originally Posted by Kain View Post
    If this is "painfully average", then I'm a hell of a lot weaker than I thought haha. Among the other so-called "painfully average" lifters, I'm also quite the fan of Wolf, Rori, Jordan, Rob, and Sarah. Hope I get to meet some, if not all, of you someday!
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4c8HS0PyTlg
    John is always humble. Sometimes too humble.
    Thanks for the shoutout!
    Last edited by Sarah Archenbronn; 08-20-2014 at 11:34 PM.

  3. #13
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    Jun 2014
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    Quote Originally Posted by Sarah Archenbronn View Post
    I always feel that physical strength contributes to emotional strength and well being. I love when my patients get into exercising, it can really change things emotionally. Glad to see you posting and kudos for your honesty. This is a great, supportive community.



    John is always humble. Sometimes too humble.
    Thanks for the shoutout!
    And today was an absolute shit-fest! My elbows were pretty aggravated so I whacked out my SB Bar, although that only provided slight relief. I was still in quite a bit of pain and so after the 5x5 I shut it down. I'm massaging the hell out of the area around the elbow and that seems to be helping somewhat. I'm also starting an Ibuprofen regimen, so hopefully my elbows recover somewhat so I can start squatting properly again.

    SB Squats
    340x5x5

    Tomorrow, I'll (ideally) be benching and pressing. After the awful performance of the day I'm counting on pushing some heavier weights tomorrow to lift my spirits. I guess only time will tell how it goes.

    I have to admit, the moment I saw that Sarah had posted my heart skipped a beat! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8lq...t4QO3svPJvIYvA You are such an inspiration!

  4. #14
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    Jun 2014
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    Finally! Today was the first decent training session I've had recently! Specifically, today was volume bench day and it went much better than intensity day on Wednesday. Normally, I would have done presses before benching but my training partner had little time and so we started with bench for lift-off-related reasons.

    Bench Press
    295x5x5
    Today these shot up comparatively easily. I was originally going to do it with 290, but after a go with it I found the set to be easy so I increased the load a tad and went with it. The strange thing is I was struggling on intensity day (Wednesday) with this particular load and yet I destroyed it today. I suppose part of it has to do with the fact that my elbows weren't bothering me today. I'll take any progress where I can get it!

    Press
    175x5
    180x5
    This is a PR for Press 2.0, so I'm pleased with this!

    Chin-Ups
    10,10,8,8,6

    Close-Grip Bench Press
    165x12x5
    Felt like hammering the triceps a bit more so I did this quickly.

    Rows
    125x10x5

    Overall, one of the better sessions I've had recently so I'm not complaining!
    Last edited by Kain; 08-23-2014 at 02:29 PM.

  5. #15
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    Jun 2014
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    Today's intensity squat session was a great one as well! I adjusted my grip a tad to ease the torque that was irritating my right elbow and it seemed to work as it wasn't bothering me in the least.

    Squats
    345x5
    Felt easy, so I add a little bit more
    350x5
    This was also comparatively easy so I added a bit more
    355x5
    This wasn't too bad but I decided to shut it down here because I had other things to do

    Front Squats
    310x5x5

    Deadlifts
    455x5
    This is the first time I've pulled in a few weeks and it felt good, despite how knackered I was after the previous exercises

    Makeshift GHR
    10,8,6,5,5
    At this point I was destroyed so I called it a day

    Overall, it was a pretty good session, especially when compared to my previous couple of squat sessions

  6. #16
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    Jun 2014
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    I had a pretty damn good intensity bench day, given the awful mess that was last week!

    Bench Press
    300x5
    Super easy, so I added a bit more
    305x5
    Harder; fatigue started to set in during the last repetition. I figure that the last rep during last week's session didn't count as my bum lifted off of the bench, so the fact that it didn't happen this week means I counted it!
    310x4
    Damn! I was super close to getting that last rep but fatigue prevented me from finishing it. Oh well, I'll get it next week.

    Press
    175x5x5
    I was quite tired after benching but managed to PR these for volume so I'm quite happy!

    Chin-Ups
    10,10,9,8,6
    I was REALLY tired after pressing so I did what I could.

    Weighted Dips
    10,10,10,10,10

  7. #17
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    Jun 2014
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    If there's one thing I'll never take for granted it's definitely a stable, solid flooring for squats. If you've been following thus far, you might recall that I mentioned that the flooring underneath the squat rack is composed of wood that sinks under any load above 225 lbs. I had finally had enough of the roller-coaster that was squatting on a goddamn marshmallow so I brought a couple of slabs of stable plywood with me to the gym. Wow, what a difference! These were probably some of the easiest squats I've ever done! Before, this load was quite difficult, but the reps just shot up today! I now LOVE volume squat day!

    Squats
    340x5x5
    A walk in the park!

    SB Bar Box Squats (30-Second Rest)
    225x12x2
    I didn't really feel like front squatting today so I just did these quickly.

    Makeshift GHR
    10,8,8,6,5
    I was toast after the previous two exercises so these were quite difficult.

    Surprisingly good session! Hopefully, tomorrow's volume bench day goes as swimmingly as today's squat session!

  8. #18
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    Jun 2014
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    Well, yesterday's volume bench day went somewhat decently I suppose.

    Bench Press
    300x5
    300x5
    300x5
    300x4
    Damn, that last rep was a grind that I just could not finish.
    295x4
    I decided to take off a bit of weight, but I used up too much energy on trying to grind out that 5th rep of the previous set that I couldn't finish here either. I'll get it next time!

    Press
    185x5
    The last rep here was quite a grind but I managed it.

    Chin-Ups
    10,10,10,9,8

    Close-Grip Bench Press
    Having failed 5x5 with the normal bench press I decided to run it through a close-grip bench press
    265x5x5

    Close-Grip Machine Rows
    120x5x10

    Eh, I could have done better today but I did give it my all so I suppose I'm not completely upset. I'm hoping that squats go well tomorrow, but when has that ever happened?

  9. #19
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    Jun 2014
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    So today was intensity squat day. Nothing of the ordinary here really.

    Squats
    360x5
    These were quite difficult.

    Front Squats
    315x5x5
    The last two sets were quite strenuous but I managed.

    Deadlift
    460x5
    After the previous two exercises this was also comparatively difficult. In retrospect I probably could have done another heavier set but I completed more than last week so that seemed good enough.

    Makeshift GHR (2-Boxes)
    11,8,7,8,6

    All in all, not a bad session. I'm hoping intensity bench day finally gives me a 5RM of 315 (without my wraps).

  10. #20
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    Jun 2014
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    Eh, this is the kind of bullshit I had to deal with today. As today was intensity bench day, I was going for 315 for 5 reps but on the 4th rep the spotter decided to grab it (despite the fact that I had clearly told him prior NOT to). As a result I had to do it again, whereupon he yanked on it on the 3rd rep, attributing his actions to not 'knowing' me and not 'knowing' if I could do it. So bench day was a bust... I decided to do this after..

    Bench Press
    3 310 2 320
    3 310
    3 315

    Press
    5 180 5 175
    4 180 4 175
    5 175
    The repeated attempts prior to pressing sapped my triceps. So these did not go well; I wanted to do 180x5x5.

    Chin-Ups
    10,8,8,6,5
    At this point I was left without much motivation so these, too, went poorly.

    Dips
    10x5

    Called it a day after this. Eh, I was really looking forward to today's session but it just wasn't my day.

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