BigA's Log

[BigA]

No workout today but I did something stupid that is slightly noteworthy and I figured I might as well log it.

Upon waking up this morning, I absentmindedly "stretched" while in bed kind of like how a cat does. It wasn't any deliberate stretching, just a quick one. However, without realizing I was doing, I was doing some weird diagonal extending of my neck against my hands slightly resisting and then the left side of my neck cramped up. I stopped midway before I made it really bad now it's rather painful to move or turn my neck to the left side.

If this persists during the press tomorrow, I don't think I will be able to press. But, I will move my neck around today a lot and hopefully it goes away.

[BigA]

Neck was fine today, the spasm is still present but it's reduced considerably.

Press (no belt): 192.5 x 0, 170 x 4, 2, 145 x 7, 8 (really grinded out this last rep)
Weighted Chin-ups: 65 x 1, 1, 0, 5 (lbs) x 7, 7

Not a very good workout today. My shoulders and triceps were pretty fatigued.

[BigA]

HBBS (no belt + no wraps/sleeves): 405 x 5, 375 x 5, 5

This was a challenging weight. I think it's time to drop down to 5 pound increments. Maybe I could do another 10 pound jump but why bother and possibly fail one or more reps? It's just an extra week. Hopefully I can push the LP farther than 425 x 5. My squat technique has been kind of crappy as of late. That form creep is setting in.

[BigA]

Deadlift (no belt + mixed grip): 445 x 5 LO RS

This weight was challenging but not as challenging as the 405 squat. I will go up by pounds next time on the deadlift and then do 5 pound increments from there.

[BigA]

Press (no belt): 192.5 x 1, 1, 1, 0, 170 x 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 145 x 8, 6
Weighted Chin-ups: 22.5 x 5, 5, 5, 4, 4

Decent workout. I'm still lighter in BW than my pre-flu numbers so I suppose that I am not so surprised that the press is not going back up like how I hoped it would. But, the most important thing is that IS going back up. So, I will see, hopefully in 2 weeks I will be back to 197.5.

[BigA]

HBBS (no belt + no wraps/vlees): 410 x 5, 380 x 5, 5

This workout was tougher than it should have been. It was done late at night. My BW is still not at pre-flu weight because I have been eating pretty little. The late workout time probably had a bigger effect this workout though. Yawning between sets is generally not a good sign.

[BigA]

Deadlift (no belt + mixed grip): 455 x 5 LS RO

This weight was challenging. I'm going to lower the increases to 5 pounds now. My morning bodyweight was 248.

[BigA]

Press (no belt): 192.5 x 1 x 5 (5 singles), 170 x 5 x 5, 145 x 8, 6
Weighted Chin-ups: 65 x 0, 5 (lb) x 5, 6

I had a fantastic pressing workout today. In contrast, the upper body pull was terrible. My chinning muscles are not fully recovered yet. Good thing my training has a mild form of "autoregulation" so it is likely that my next chinning workout will be great.

[BigA]

HBBS (no belt + no wraps/sleeves): 415 x 5, 385 x 5, 5

This was a challenging workout. I have been eating less and it is showing. Technically, when considering bodyweight, I am currently lifting PR's again as my weight was 253 or so in the pre-flu run of the LP. My post-workout today bodyweight was 249 with clothes on. I am definitely a bit lighter. My diet lately has consisted of the Mcdonalds value meal. As embarrassing as it is, I have basically been living off of 2 meals a day of 4-5$ each at Mcdonalds (Mcchickens for the win!). This is due to a combination of straight up being too lazy to prepare food and being somewhat financially constrained at the moment and a rather ingrained habit of eating out. One mountain at a time haha. At least I don't drink at all or smoke so I have that going for me.

Also, I think it's noteworthy to mention that my SI joint is now at 98-99% compared to pre-injury conditions. Occasionally, after a workout, I have a very, very slight pain in the SI joint (either one of them, it's not focused on a specific side). I suspect that this might stay with me the rest of my life but it's no big deal at all. It's not even a little deal, it's basically nothing and sometimes it pops back into place if I hyper-extend my back (not under load of course!).

[BigA]

Deadlift (no belt + mixed grip): 460 x 5 LO RS

Almost at my pre-flu weight. Next deadlift workout will match it but it will be accomplished it at lighter bodyweight. I need to keep my "lean back" cue in mind as the bar is getting out in front of me a little bit.