Raskolnikov's Log

[Sami]

With a name like that, you should get really strong.

[Raskolnikov]

Haha... thanks! But, unfortunately, my real name doesn't suggest the same.

[Raskolnikov]

Food Log 12/13

Breakfast: 9:30am
Denver pancakes
eggs
bacon
milk

Snack: 11am - 1:30pm
beer and chips

Lunch: 2:00pm
2 hamburgers
1 hotdog
big pile of fruit
1 beer

Dinner: 7:30pm
Hibachi
-Fried rice
-Shrimp
-New York Steak
-Big pile of veggies
1 beer

[Raskolnikov]

12/15

Bodyweight this morning: 193lbs (not great, but moving in the right direction)

Squat:
45 x 5
95 x 5
135 x 3
185 x 2
225 x 1
255 x 3s x 5r

Bench:
45 x 5
95 x 5
135 x 3
155 x 2
175 x 1
195 x 3s x 5r

Deads:
135 x 5
185 x 3
225 x 2
275 x 1
315 x 4 (FUUUCCCKKKK!!!)

Weighted Chins
BW x 2s x 3r
BW+25lbs x 3s x 5r

Notes:
-Squats: I left my log book at home and accidentally made a 10lb jump. It wasn't much of a struggle, so no harm no foul I guess. I also moved my stance in about an inch or two (right at shoulder width) and I felt much more explosive coming out of the hole.

-Bench: The first set was pretty tough, so I called a spotter over for the second set. This guy actually looked like he knew what he was doing, and after I explained what I wanted him to do, he actually left me alone to complete both sets -- didn't even reach for the bar. It's amazing the psychological difference a good spotter makes. The 2nd and 3rd sets were supper easy and fast.

-Deads: Fuck. I'm starting to get irritated. I think I might be rushing things a bit. I don't rest at all between warm up sets (just long enough to add weight) and I only rested about 1.5 min between my last warm-up and work set (which is what I do for all my lifts), so maybe taking more time between sets next time will help. If I stall again, I definitely need to reconsider how I'm programming deads. Any suggestions are appreciated.

-Chins: I'm going to alternate between weighted chins and BW pull-ups. (Chins after deads, pull-ups after power cleans.) I have no idea how I'll respond, but I miss chins/pull-ups, so I'll give this a shot -- if I start stalling on squats or continue to stall on deads, these will definitely be the first thing to go.

Food Log:

12/15

Breakfast: 8am
1 cup oatmeal
8oz ground sirloin
couple oz of cheddar cheese
16oz oj

Lunch: 12pm
8oz ground sirloin
2 servings brown rice
homemade ginger bread cookies

Snack: 3pm
16oz milk
banana

Dinner: 5:30pm
8oz steak
broccoli
16oz milk
peach pie

Snack: 7:30pm
16oz milk
grapefruit
walnuts

Snack: 10:00pm
16oz milk
few slices of cheese

12/16

Breakfast: 7am
8oz steak
banana

Lunch: 12pm
8oz steak
spinach
cheddar cheese
olive oil
24oz milk

Snack: 3:30 pm
16oz milk
handful of walnuts

Dinner:7:00 pm
Pizza + Beer

[Raskolnikov]

12/17

Body weight this morning: 195

Squat:
45 x 2s x 5r
95 x 5
135 x 5
185 x 3
205 x 1
225 x 1
260 x 3 x 5

Press:
45 x 5
65 x 5
80 x 3
100 x 2
115 x 1
130 x 4, x 5, x 3

Power Clean:
95 x 3
115 x 2
135 x 1
160 x 5s x 3r

Pull ups:
BW x 3s x 8r

Notes:
Squats felt great. I'm loving the shoulder width stance. I definitely think I'm hitting a groove with these.

Stalled pretty bad on the press. The first set I let the bar get too far out in front of me on the very first rep and the rest of the set was a grind, so I cut it on the 4th rep. I was pissed, only rested about a minute and a half, a completed all 5 reps on the 2nd set with not too much difficulty. But I apparently blew my wad because the third set was complete shit. I almost got the 4th rep up (about an inch above my head), but couldn't lock it out. I definitely have some form kinks to iron out with these.

Power cleans and pull ups felt great.


Food Log 12/17:

Breakfast: 10am
5 eggs + cheese
1 cup oatmeal
32oz milk
half grapefruit

Lunch: 2pm
8oz ground beef
1/2 cup rice
16oz milk
banana
apple

Dinner: 6:00pm
Steak
mashed potatoes
veggies
chips + salsa
beer

Snack: 9:00pm
16oz milk
homemade Christmas cookies

[Raskolnikov]

Found out my university gym will be closed starting Saturday through Jan. 3rd. That definitely throws a wrench into things. I have a few commercial gyms near my apartement, so I might try to get by on free trials for the next two weeks. I've been so spoiled with bumper plates, platforms, quality bars, no crowds, etc., etc. that I'm not looking forward to stepping back into a 24Hour or LAFitness...or Ballys (dear god)...right around the holidays when everyone usually decides to implement their New Year's Eve resolutions.

[Raskolnikov]

12/19

Today's workout blew. Big time. I had to lift at a friend's house because my gym is closed for the holidays. He only has squat stands, a couple hundred pounds of weights, and a pull up bar. None of this really matters though because I felt like shit anyway -- I've had a really busy last few days with very little sleep and a less the perfect diet. I cut things pretty short and I droped deads entirely.

Squats:
45 x 8
95 x 5
135 x 5
185 x 3
205 x 2
225 x 1
245 x 3 x 3

Press: (no bench available)
45 x 5
65 x 5
75 x 3
95 x 2
115 x 3 x 5

Pull ups:
BW x 3 x 5

Definitely need to eat and rest for the next couple days before getting back into things. I'll be picking up a free trail membership at a local gym next week, so I'll start with squat, bench, deads on Tuesday. If I feel 100% warming up on squats, I'll try to hit PRs on everything, if not, I'll do a slight deload.

[Raskolnikov]

12/21

I injured myself today. I'm not sure what I did, but it hurts like hell. Any external rotation of my left leg, especially if it involves hip extension, results in a sharp pain right where my ass meets my hamstring -- the pain also radiates towards my groin intermittently. The injury happened at the start of my second squat work set, just as I rebounded out of the hole. I racked the weight and my left hip got tight immediately. After some stretching, I did a couple high rep sets and some light good mornings. Things loosened up, but the pain was still there -- even walking hurts. And benching was very painful. Any leg drive at all hurt like hell. So I decided it probably wasn't a good idea to push for a PR, and I dropped deadlifts completely. I did do some extra bench and upper back volume though.

Squat:
45 x 2s x 5r
95 x 2 x 5
135 x 5
185 x 3
205 x 2
225 x 1
245 x 1
265 x 5, x 1 (this is where I hurt myself)
135 x 2 x 15 (pretty painful)

Good mornings:
95 x 3 x 15 (not painful)

Bench:
45 x 2 x 5
95 x 5
135 x 5
155 x 3
175 x 1
185 x 5 x 5

Chins:
3 x 8

Cable Rows:
4 x 8

The first squat work set felt great. I was actually pretty stoked because it went up easier than 260 a couple workouts ago despite my not having a belt (my university gym has tons of 4" leather belts, but the commercial gym I'm at over break doesn't have any). I have no idea what the hell I did to myself, but I'm open to any suggestions you guys might have. I'm going to look into the Starr rehab protocol; hopefully that takes care of things.

[Raskolnikov]

So I don't know what the hell I did to myself. The pain is weird. Certain movements cause a sharp pain that radiates all through my hip, but there doesn't seem to be any set movement pattern that sets it off. (The pain, by the way, is "deep," if that makes sense -- way down inside my left hip.) The only movement that consistently sets it off is when I lift my left knee and internally rotate my leg (as one might do when puting on shoes). Furthermore, during overhead presses today, my legs were super shaky, especially the left one -- it's as if I have no stability.

12/23

Squats:
45 x 3 x 25 (25 reps blow, even with just the bar)

Press:
45 x 5
65 x 5
85 x 3
105 x 2
115 x 1
125 x 5 (messed up, should have been 130)
130 x 2 x 5
130 x 3 (poop)

Pull ups:
BW x 4s x 6r

Notes:

Squats actually felt pretty good. It took a lot of effort to keep my left knee out on the first set, but the next two sets were fine. No pain, surprisingly.

During the press I was shaking like crazy, even during the warm up sets. The weight didn't feel heavy, so I'm not sure what the deal was. The last set, the bar never once found the groove -- it was all over the place.

[Raskolnikov]

I screwed up my lower back doing light high rep squats back on the 23rd. Despite my effort to correct it, I was squatting crooked -- favoring my left hip, I would shift my hips to the right as I descended -- and I tweaked something on the right side of my lower back. I was visibly lop sided for a few days: my torso had a left handed curve to it no matter how hard I tried to stand up straight.
I took a break from squatting entirely for the remainder of the week. But, thank god, my hip and lower back felt well enough today to squat. I took it pretty light. My hip did get pretty tight after squats, so I decided to forgo power cleans, but things were relatively pain free.

In other news, I tried introducing my girlfriend to SS. She actually managed pretty decent form on squats and OHP. But she was miserable the whole time, so I'm not sure if I'll have any luck getting her back in the gym...

Body weight: 200lbs (shitloads of Christmas cookies and no squatting got me to the 200lb mark... not the best way to put on weight)

12/30

bar x 2 x 5
95 x 5
135 x 3
160 x 3
185 x 2
210 x 1
235 x 3 x 5

Press:
45 x 2 x 5
95 x 5
135 x 5, x 4, x 5

Chins:
BW x 8, x 7, x 6

Close-grip bench:
135 x 8
155 x 2 x 8

I'll be getting back on program next Tuesday when my university gym opens up. I haven't really bench or pulled since the injury, so I'm looking forward to it...