Quest For Strength

[Ken_L]

1/28/2019 Monday@Work

AM
Shoulder Stretches
Squat 270X5,5,5,6
Bench Press RG15 185(11,12)
Not much time for a workout today. At least I got the main lifts in.



1/31/2019 Thursday

AM@Home My bar and weights at home are all 1-2 pounds heavier then the ones at work. Mine weigh more then stated.
Shoulder Stretches
Squat 255X5X3
Bench Press RG15 185(13,11)

Lunch Time@Work
Deadlift RG8 135X5, 225X5, 315X1, 400X1, 345X7 405# is next week!
One Arm DB Row RG15 120X14 L&R

[Ken_L]

2/1/2019 Friday

Treadmill 1.75 miles@6.6mph Time: ~15 minutes. Breath changes at .8 and 1.5 miles with an 8mph sprint from 1.65-1.75 miles.
Running is still no fun the day after doing squats and deads. However it does get the blood flowing and helps me to recover by Monday for squats. I still need to get back up to 2 miles. On Tuesdays it wouldn't be an issue, but today my legs felt like they each weighed the 400 pounds that I deadlifted yesterday.

[Ken_L]

2/4/2019 Monday@Work

Shoulder Stretches
Squat 275X4,4,3
Bench Press RG15 185(13,11)
Chins BW X 13
KB Press 45 X 12L, 5R

There was still a lot of lower body fatigue from last Thursday's workout and squats were pretty bad as a result.

My right forearm has been hurting, probably tendinitis. This has happened several times in the past and I am noticing a pattern. It happens when I start using the preacher bench for curls. Because the forearm was hurting I didn't push chins and was unable to complete a set of KB Presses with the right arm.



2/7/2019 Thursday@Work

AM
Shoulder Stretches
Squat 275X4 255X5,6 Still felt fatigued
Bench Press RG15 185(13,11,10)

Lunch Time@Work
Deadlift RG8 135X5, 225X5, 315X1, 405X1, 345X8 Finally hit 405! This is the first 8 plate lift I have ever done and it wasn't even all that hard!
One Arm DB Row RG15 120X15 L&R One set per week is still driving progress.

[Ken_L]

Due to accumulating fatigue and the inability to recover from deadlifts and squats in the course of a week I am going to make a tweak to my program. At age 51 recovery is not quite the same as it was 30 years ago! Training will still be full body on Monday and Thursday but will follow an HLM template for lower body. This will push each HLM cycle out to a week and a half to allow for recovery (Mon/Thurs/Mon and then Thurs/Mon/Thurs). I was thinking about lightening up the deadlift so that I could get my squat moving again, but I don't really want to give that up since progress has been very good lately. The extended HLM should allow for both lifts to progress, just at a slightly slower rate which is fine with me. I would be glad to hear any other suggestions.

2/11/2019 Mon

AM@Home
Light Squat 250X5X3 Hard, there was still a good amount of fatigue left from deads last Thursday.

Lunch@Work
Bench 185X13,10,10
Chins BW X 15,15

The forearm was feeling much better today. I will try the KB Press again on Thursday.

[Ken_L]

2/12/2019 Tuesday Cardio

Treadmill 2 miles at 6.6mph. I am paying the price for being lazy with running for the past couple of weeks. It will take a few more sessions to get back to where I was. Still only running once a week. It has proven to be enough to drive slow but steady progress without interfering with weight training.

[Ken_L]

2/14/2019 Thursday@Work

Medium Squat 255X5X3 I only went up 5 pounds over last sessions light squats because I am going to do a small reset instead of grinding it out right away. Heavy squats will probably start at 260 pounds instead 275, which is where I left off. I just may try adding in 1 heavy single since it has been working well for the deadlift.

One Arm DB Row 125X11 L&R

Kettlebell Press 45X13 L&R Still had some forearm pain but I was able to get through them this week. It is slowly getting better.

[Ken_L]

2/18/2019 Monday@Work

Shoulder Stretches
Squat 255X5X2
Bench Press RG15 185X13, 11
Band Curls

Played basketball very aggressively on Saturday and was still feeling it. Light squats were done to help with recovery.
My right forearm is slowly getting better. Band curls seem to help so I'll keep doing them.



2/21/2019 Thursday@Work

Shoulder Stretches
Heavy Squat 300X1, 275X5X2
Superset Bench/Chins to save time
Bench Press RG15 185X14, 10
Chins BW X 15, 13

Squats felt good today! Being recovered makes a big difference. 300# is a PR and it felt good. I believe 315# would have gone up but I'm not going to rush it. Also gained another rep on bench. I have been to this spot before and from here on out bench progress slows. I am not going to do like I have in the past and beat my body into submission but rather coax it and see where it goes, I'm in no hurry.

I am seriously thinking of going on a 2 week cycle for lower body. My squats were not going anywhere for a while but I was focused on hitting a 405# deadlift. With that accomplished it's time to figure out a way to allow for complete recovery. Upper body will be on a 3 day cycle or a week and a half since I lift 2 days a week. As the weight increases recovery at age 51 is an issue.

[Ken_L]

2/25/2019 Monday@Work

Shoulder Stretches
Deadlift 325X6
KB Press RG15 45X14 L&R
DB Row 125X12 L&R



2/28/2019 Thursday@Work

Shoulder Stretches
Medium Squat 260X5X3
Bench Press RG15 185X14, 11
Band Bi/Tri Superset Don't laugh, these are a great exercise! Plus band curls help my right forearm.



3/4/2019 Monday@Work
Shoulder Stretches
Heavy Squat 305X1, 280X5, 4 I'll have to repeat 280 next time and try to get 5 reps on the second set.
Bench Press RG15 185X14, 10 Bench is slow going, fast gains are done. Instead beating myself up and causing shoulder pain I am just going to keep plugging away slow and steady.
Chins BW X 15, 15 I really need to add some weight to chins but not until my forearm is ready for it. It is feeling much better and didn't bother me at all on bench or chins. After last Thursdays band curls there was a big improvement.

[Ken_L]

I have been giving a lot of thought as to where I should go from here. My lower body has not been recovering fully resulting in a lot of accumulated stress. After a deload period I have come up with a way to implement an HLM program that is spread out over a week and a half. My lifting days are Monday and Thursday, it’s been that way for quite some time. So the HLM program will alternate between Monday, Thursday, Monday and Thursday, Monday, Thursday. Right now is has a focus on bench but that can be swapped for a press focus in the future.

Heavy Day
Squat 1 Heavy Single, 2or3X5 This type of programming did wonders for my deadlift.
Bench 2 sets with the goal of hitting 15 reps on the first set, then add 5 pounds.
Chins 2 sets

Light Day
Squat 2X5 (light)
KB Press 1 set with the goal of hitting 15 reps on the first set, then add 5 pounds.
DB Row 1 set each arm with the goal of hitting 15 reps on the first set, then add 5 pounds.
Deadlift 1 heavy single, 1 set 5 to 8 reps. When 8 reps is done add 5 pounds. Deadlifts will be done at lunch time, the rest of the workout in the early morning. I just can’t seem to get into deads until I am awake for a while and have had some food.

Medium Day
Squat 3X5 (medium)
Bench 2 sets with the goal of hitting 15 reps on the first set, then add 5 pounds.
Band Bi/Tri 3X10 Superset done to failure.

I am trying to keep it simple, shorten my workout length, and spread stress out over a longer period. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Keep in mind I am 51 years old and can not take the pounding that you young guy’s can. This is the reason for the high rep low set count on upper body lifts. It is resulting in gains without the shoulder pain that I experienced last fall.

[Ken_L]

3/7/2019 ThursdayWork
Shoulder Stretches
Light Squat 255X5X2
KB Press RG15 45X14 L&R
DB Row 125X13 L&R
Deadlift 385X1, 330X6


3/11/2019Monday@Work
Starting to feel sick today and did not feel like working out but did it anyway. Energy levels were way down and I felt it.
Shoulder Stretches
Medium Squat 260X5X3
Bench Press RG15 185X12, 12
Band Bi/Tri Superset
Bi 23#X15X2 L&R
Tri 23#Band X15X2 L&R


3/14/2019 Thursday@Work
Still not feeling very good but I don't want to miss the workout. Missed workouts derail progress that I have worked to hard to gain.
Shoulder Stretches
Heavy Squat 310X1, 280X4, 275X5 Should have been able to do 280X5X2 but I feel drained from being sick.
Bench Press RG15 185X13, 12
Chins BW X 12 Called it quits as I had enough and was starting to cough a lot and hack up junk. Fortunately I had the gym to myself.