Still novice, trying the 40 day workout

[Moving_Target]

The fucking tubes are called Viper something. Unique to my yuppie gym chain apparently. Approximately as revolutionary a fitness tool as a pipe.

<iframe width="560" height="345" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Qovs9T80hh4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Two coments; That is stupid and why don't they try the power versions of the Oly
lifts if they want to train balance, agility and all that other hooey. Hell, play Frisbee even. It's more fun and people won't point and laugh either.

Yeeesh.

[tfarny]

Couple of those chicks were hot, you gotta admit. Not the skinny blonde one, the other two.

[Moving_Target]

Yes but....no.

I don't think this fad will change many people's lives but the gratuitous T 'n A in the
sales pitch is nice. ;-)

Bleach Blond "Lisa" wasn't wearing a sports brawwwwww. The little tease.

[tfarny]

Today, a good example of how this is going:
warmup - foam roller, bunch of jumping jacks, air squats. Didn't feel like hitting the C2 yet again.
Started with Deads because I had a hunch that a PR would be tough today (didn't sleep well last night) and I really, really want to get to 300 lb before I turn 40 next month. No chance of 315 happening unfortunately.
(not logging warmup sets):

DL 280 2x3, hard but a PR. Took a moderately cheaty-feeling breather b4 the last rep last set.
Press 95 2x5. This is finally starting to feel a bit easy thank god. Very tired of press related struggles. Will try for a press PR next workout.
Squat 175 2x5. Also feeling easy finally. Will try the heavy singles on Monday, go for my first two-plate (x1) squat.
Chins: 'nother PR, out of the blue - bwx7, BW+20 x3 (almost 4). Previous weighted best is +15x2. Backed off and got 4 more w/ +10. Once I get +25 2x5, I'm not sure where I'm going to take the chins. Maybe start training for a muscle up.
Hit the curl bar for a minute on my way out the door.

[tfarny]

Failed my 225 x1 attempt- I knew I would, too, just feeling weak this week. Actually I'm feeling like I need a deload week right now, so yesterday I took it real easy, I'll go in once more this week for a real light session and that's it.
Did hit clean + jerk 130x3 a couple times and cleans 140x3 on Monday, just wanted to log that so I don't forget.
We'll see how I feel next Monday - right now I'm feeling like the chins are going awesome but other than that I'm making more progress on the lifts I'm doing weekly on LP (deads, cleans) than the ones I'm doing daily (squats, press). Still, progress is progress and I did take 4 months off before this.

[tfarny]

Some good stuff so far this week: C&J 135 2x2, clean 145x3. prone db press 60s 5,5,7 - time to move up to 65s. Hit 115x1, nearly got 120 on press - not a pr but a previous best (before the layoff). My love for this program is cooling as I don't see my squats leaping upward, but I'll give it one more month and re-assess.

[tfarny]

Ok, 40days are roughly up. My assessment: I got (a lot) better at my squat form, and a little bit stronger, my deads and cleans improved a lot via weekly practice, and my chins really hit their stride. So in that sense it was good. But it's not a good long term program for me - I feel the stress of near-daily squatting, even if it's not near maximum. I gained only 2 lb total in almost 2 months, but I hit chins +20x3 and some other good PRs for my weak ass.
Today I tried out a "volume pushing" day because I'm probably going to move to a 4 day push-pull split. I took it very easy on the weights:
Squat 185 5x5 - smooth
Press 95 5x5 - easy
Accessory: clapping pushups 12,10,10, L-sit on bars about 30 seconds total, various plank iterations.
A good day. Change is needed sometimes.

Tomorrow I'll try volume pulling: lots of BW chins, cleans, rows, and curls

[tfarny]

Volume Pulling was a mixed bag. Last night I ate a huge burrito and some milk, slept 10 hours, still woke up pretty sore.
Today:
BW chins, 5 sets, AMRAP total: 28. I think it was 8,7,6,4,3. I'll try to add 2 reps / week to the total volume, keeping to 5 sets, on this one. I'm allowing a bit of leg kick but insisting on full ROM, chin over.
Clean and Jerk 135, 4 sets of doubles. Smooth. The jerk is basically in the routine simply because it's bad ass.
Clean, 145, 3 sets of 3 - I think i was fatigued at this point, I missed one from shoulder height (surprised the treadmill zombies!), nearly dropped another. I've hit 145 pretty solidly before, so I think this was just fatigue here.
Accessory: dumbbell rows, 3 sets of 10 per arm. Weighted back extensions, 25 lb over head, 12,10. I had curls slated for today - not after five sets of chins. nuh uh.
Most definitely need a rest day tomorrow. I should probably move these to a new log, maybe I'll leave it here for a week or two till I get a routine down. Have a friend coming in from out of town next week, so my training will be interrupted anyhow.

[Moving_Target]

<snip>
Change is needed sometimes.
<snip>

Very true.

So..going to try out the ViPR then?

[tfarny]

I think so! One trainer suggested I diet down to 165 (I'm 6'1", 202 lb, I wear a 32" jean, wtf), and another suggested "balance work" so yeah, I think the ViPR is for me. That, or mindless slow jogging on a treadmill while watching The Bachelor.

In SERIOUS badass news, though: There is a guy in my gym who does really, really awesome BW / gymnastics stuff - like, walk down stairs on his hands, etc. Every time I see him I'm in awe. Turns out he was a Flipping POWER RANGER!! How bad ass is that?

http://youtu.be/IxC96dUxSDk