Not Just Getting Older, Getting Better

[r_graz]

Anything to post a pic of that home gym setup and make the rest of us jealous, eh?

Nice workout LNT.

[Lifting N Tx]

You can really tell when you get the bands on the bar, it really kills the stabilizers when unracking it and trying to control it, this alone takes alot out of you.

Training looks real good.

Kyle

Thanks, Kyle.

Not really having any point in a repetition that is easy, plus shorter rest, makes it tough for someone like me who has always used longer rests. But endurance and work capacity is one quality that I want to improve, and it seems to help make for a killer workout.

Anything to post a pic of that home gym setup and make the rest of us jealous, eh?

Nice workout LNT.

Thanks, Ron. I guess we all have something to envy. For me looking at Lencho's avatar deadlifting with 6 plates on a side does it pretty quickly.

[Lifting N Tx]

Thursday, July 19^th, 2007
(warm ups not shown)
120 second rests between sets of the same exercise, unless otherwise noted

Pendlay Row
195 x5 (195 x 5) A little too much body English, just like last time.
185 x 5 (185 x 5)
165 x 9 (8)

Chins
BW + 10 x 6 (5)
BW + 10 x 6 (5)
Reps in parens are from the last back/bi strength day. I'm also doing chins on the hypertrophy day, but only at BW for now.

Seated DB Curl
44 x 8 (7)
44 x 7 (6)
44 x 7 (5)

Cable Row
Done with this apparatus:


Pulled to around mid chest level
90 x 10 (9)
90 x 10 (9)

Hammer Curl
39 x 8 (7)
39 x 8 (7)

Grip
21 closures each hand plus 21 second hold (20)

Calf Raises
Single Leg While Holding Dumbell in Same Side Hand
35 x 19 (18)
35 x 19 (18)

15 work sets
Body weight around 208, workout time 47 minutes, including warm ups and stretching afterward as usual. Mainly the stretching is broomstick shoulder stretches, and stretching elbows up with the bar in the racked clean position to help with power cleans and front squats. The 47 minutes was about 3 faster than last time.

Comments
Long day and got home tired and later than usual, but forced myself to get this workout done.

Pendlays went about the same as last time. I may be stalling right about at my prior 5RM. I don't mind a little body english on a max attempt, but want it to become stricter before advancing. I added one rep in the backoff set, but am not necessarily claiming that as progress, as I may have just pushed harder on it this time so as to add a rep for at least one set. I did add reps in chins but these were quite tough also. I'm guessing that I might need to either reset Pendlays or change tactics a bit on this day. I probably inadvertently started them a bit heavier than I should have.

Next workout Saturday

[Lifting N Tx]

Saturday, July 21st, 2007
(warm ups not shown)
previous reps/weights in parens
90 second rests, unless otherwise noted

Front Squat
135 x 7 (6)
135 x 7 (6)
135 x 7 (6)

BTN Presses
105 x 8 (8)
105 x 8 (95 x 8)
105 x 5 (95 x 8)

GHR
BW x 8 x 3 (same)

Clean pulls
190 x 5 (185 x 5)
190 x 5 (185 x 5)
passed on 3^rd set (185 x 5)

Neck exercises
4 way?done to left, right, forward, backward
mini plus super mini bands x 20 from 4 angles (only super mini band)

RC work
4 way?2 ways internal, 2 ways external rotation each arm
16-1/2 x 12 (14 x 20)

13 Work sets counting RC and Neck as only 1 set each
Body weight around 208, workout time 63 minutes, including warm ups and stretching afterward.

Comments
Strength decent, endurance poor. Felt sluggish from the start. Afterward, had a protein shake, took a shower, then took a nap. Regardless of all discussions about what is a light recovery exercise, even light front squats kick my a$$. Especially when done for more than 2-3 reps per set. Getting another rep for all 3 sets was good. This time I kept to the same weight for all 3 sets of BHN presses, so hard to compare to last time, but I think I would not have gotten 8 reps at 105 for the 2^nd set last time, so I think it's some progress. It's still hard to evaluate what progress in the ?hypertrophy days? means strength-wise given the short rests and medium-high reps, and the resulting light weights. However, that's what the ?strength days? are for and more reps on hypertrophy days should mean at least better strength-endurance.

This is not a lot of work sets to take an hour, but I take more time warming up for squats, some for shoulders, and several sets before the work sets with clean pulls. On these, I could be snappy with a couple of reps at 135 and 145, pulling the bar to about mid chest. However, I just didn't have enough in the tank to do much with the work sets?no explosion on the 2^nd pull. Not really a strength thing but rather my energy and muscular endurance was shot by this time. Some probably from the front squats and some from it just being a low energy day.

I was still planning to do a few power cleans, but my right wrist was bothering me on front squats. I started to warm up for power cleans, and noticed the same, so decided not to push it.

Tomorrow is chest/tri strength, and the last workout of rotation 2.

[Misanthrope]

It's still hard to evaluate what progress in the ?hypertrophy days? means strength-wise given the short rests and medium-high reps, and the resulting light weights.

I'm going into the eighth week of my program and I still don't know what to think about my upper body "hypertrophy" day. Sometimes it just seems like an extra day where I'm able to fit in chins and some DB presses. I consider it progress whenever I'm able to add weight or reps to any exercise, just as I would for my strength days. It never seems as rewarding to do so, though.

[Lifting N Tx]

Sunday, July 22^th, 2007
(warm ups not shown, prior workout numbers in parens () )
120 second rests between sets of the same exercise, unless otherwise noted

Flat BB Bench Press
235 x 5 (5)
235 x 4 (3)
205 x 10 (9)

Floor Press
215 x 3 (5)
205 x 5 (205 x 5)
185 x 9 (8)

Incline BB Press
30 degree incline
155 x 8 (8)
155 x 8 (7)

Skull Crushers
Using EZ curl bar
63 x 10 (9)
63 x 10 (9)
63 x 10 (9)

Straight Arm Cable Crossovers
One arm at a time
20 x 10 (9)
20 x 10 (9)
20 x 10 (8 on last strength day, 3^rd set not done on preceding hypertrophy day)

Abs-Standing Crunch
1 super mini + 1 mini band
15 reps (20 w/ super mini only)
15 reps (15)
hanging leg raise x 11 (10)

17 work sets
Body weight 208, workout time ~67 minutes, including warm ups and stretching afterward.

Comments
Decent workout. I got another rep on a couple of the flat bench sets. By comparison, I did 230 x 5 x 5 on the week before I set my bench PR at 280, and 235 x 2 x 5 the next week. That is with longer rests than the 2 minutes that I'm using now. I think I got a bit overreached after that, but am now probably back to where I was and hopefully can go beyond.

The floor press looks worse, but last time I did them touch and go. This time I paused each rep at the bottom, which is significantly harder. I'm wondering if it's not a bit too much volume on the 3 barbell pressing exercises. When I get a 2^nd Olympic dumbell and maybe a few more plates in a couple of weeks, I may switch out BB incline to 3 sets of incline DB presses and drop the cable crossovers for this day.

This is two cycles. Tomorrow will start the 3^rd with back/bi hypertrophy.

[Lencho]

I'm wondering if it's not a bit too much volume on the 3 barbell pressing exercises.

I was wondering that myself. Nice work, though.


What do your Olympic DB's looks like? Pics?

[Lifting N Tx]

Thanks, Lencho.



So the handle is about the same length as for a cast 65lb hex DB. Sleeves are just like on regular olympic style bars, and long enough to hold more 25lb plates than I'm likely to need any time soon.

Next month I plan to buy a 2nd so I can use for pressing also, and pick up some extra plates since you need twice as many for dumbells. I'll probably pick up some extra spring collars too so I don't have to rob them from my bars all the time.

[r_graz]

Thanks, Lencho.



So the handle is about the same length as for a cast 65lb hex DB. Sleeves are just like on regular olympic style bars, and long enough to hold more 25lb plates than I'm likely to need any time soon.

Next month I plan to buy a 2nd so I can use for pressing also, and pick up some extra plates since you need twice as many for dumbells. I'll probably pick up some extra spring collars too so I don't have to rob them from my bars all the time.

Nice oly DB bars. Out of curiosity, how much do they go for, how long, what do they weigh? I'm halfway tempted to get a pair and bring them to the gym with me. That would make it much more likely I'd do some dumbbell exercises. As it is, the ones at my gym go up 5lbs each, which means a minimum 10lb jump in every exercise

And nice workout, too

[Lencho]

So the handle is about the same length as for a cast 65lb hex DB. Sleeves are just like on regular olympic style bars, and long enough to hold more 25lb plates than I'm likely to need any time soon.

How comfortable is it using 25 lb. plates with the Oly DB bars? Do the plates not rub against your forearms?