BigA's Log

[BigA]

SLDL (no belt + hook grip + chalk): 350 x 5, 350 x 5, 350 x 5
Squat (no belt): 135 x 5 x 2 (light day)
Press (no belt): 75 x 5 x 2 (light day)
BW chin-ups: 3, 3, 3 (light day)

Morning bodyweight: 233

[BigA]

Squat (no belt): 315 x 5 (ID)
Press (no belt): 150 x 3, 150 x 3, 150 x 3
Weighted Chin-ups: 15 x 4, 12.5 x 3, 12.5 x 3
Incline Bench Press: 185 x 5, 185 x 5, 185 x 5
Barbell Curls, Tricep Extensions, Rear Lateral Raises, Lateral Raises

Morning Bodyweight: 237.7

Strength is almost back to where it was. Interestingly enough, my upper body strength came back faster than my lower body.

A notable occurrence: I had a 45$ rib-eye and 20$ bacon wrapped scallops yesterday at a birthday party. They were the best I have ever had thus far in my life. They also did NOT come with sides as I learned when they arrived. Reminds me of going out to eat in Europe, small portions, really overpriced. Not ideal for a lifter on a more moderate budget. Im going to stick with my Freebirds (take that Chipotle!) and a local Mediterranean diner.

[BigA]

Press (no belt): 132.5 x 5, 132.5 x 5, 132.5 x 5, 132.5 x 5, 132.5 x 5 (almost at the big boy plates for my 5x5 press!)
Weighted Chin-ups: 15 x 4, 12.5 x 2, 12.5 x 3

Upper body strength is back where it was. This week, deadlifting will be where it was before layoff. Squatting will take one more week. Overall, all of my general aches and pains from the heavy training I did are gone and I am now ready to continue onwards.

Current bodyweight: 238 (I forgot to weigh myself this morning)

[BigA]

Squat (no belt): 290 x 5 x 5

Morning bodyweight: 236

[BigA]

Press (no belt): 85 x 5 x 2 (light )
BW chin-ups: 3, 3, 3 (light)

Morning bodyweight: 238

[BigA]

SLDL (no belt + hook grip + chalk): 355 x 5, 355 x 5, 355 x 5
Squat (no belt): 155 x 5 x 2 (light day)

Morning bodyweight: 236.6

Deadlifting strength is back to where it was.

[BigA]

Press (no belt): 152.5 x 3, 152.5 x 3, 152.5 x 3
Weighted chin-ups: 15 x 4, 12.5 x 3, 12.5 x 2
Incline Bench Press: 187. 5 x 4, 187.5 x 4, 187.5 x 4
Barbell Curls, Tricep Extensions, Rear Lateral Raises, Lateral Raises

Morning bodyweight: 237.6

After some experimenting, it appears that doing LTE's like how Rip suggests really pisses off my elbows. I have instead tried doing tricep extensions with dumbells with a hammer grip, laying down on a bench and fully flexing my arms (instead of stopping at 90 degrees and lowering arms back towards head) and these feel much, much better. Im starting to take a liking to bodybuilding work, it's a nice contrast to strength training. Im appreciating the "pump".

[BigA]

Squat (no belt): 320 x 5 (ID)

Morning bodyweight: 239

On the second rep of the squat, I think I went too low and my lower back relaxed. I felt some sudden pain as I changed direction out of the bottom. The pain didn't last though, I have no pain now. The reps went up fine though, it was easier than last week. I think I have 1 or 2 more weeks of 5's in me before I go down to triples.

[BigA]

Squat (no belt): 295 x 5 x 5 (VD)

Morning bodyweight: 240

I had an interesting experience with lifting today. Normally, I train alone and without music. I literally have nothing to pump me up except for my own mind and with school happening now (this is a particularly hard semester as I now have a 1 hour 10 min commute EACH WAY), its clear lifting isn't at the top of my priorities. However, today, I happened to meet some friends at the gym and they wanted to watch me lift. I wanted to impress them and I felt quite pumped up on the sets that they stayed for (1 and 2). To put it simply, the weight went up very easily. I honestly didn't even know that I had this reserve of strength. I got someone to watch my depth on my last set (apparently, im going almost ATG) and his encouraging "push, you got this!" really made a difference. Sets 3 and 4 by myself felt quite heavy. It's crazy how your mind influences your performance.

[BigA]

Press (no belt): 135 x 5, 135 x 5, 135 x 5, 135 x 5, 135 x 5
Weighted Chin-ups: 15 x 4, 12.5 x 4, 12.5 x 3
Curls, tricep extensions, lateral raises, rear lateral raises

Forgot to weigh myself this morning.