LongDriver's Training Log

[LongDriver]

Yeah, I'm having to get used to a lot of different spotters, although at the gyms I attend most often I know a few people and can ask them. I remember thirty years ago people seemed more willing to ask for a spot -- sometimes even asking me if I needed one while I was resting between sets. Now it almost seems like people I see working out alone either don't train to potential failure, or maybe they don't want to admit that they may need help with the weight.

[LongDriver]

5/14/2012, Workout #75

(written on 5/14)

Last night I got nine hours of sleep, and all day today I felt energetic. However, over the weekend I skipped several meals, so my bodyweight was down quite a bit. My hip was feeling better, so I decided to test the waters by doing some squats. The workout went as follows:

Volume:

Press: bar x 12, 95x8, 135x5, 165x2, 165x5x3

LP:

Squats: bar x 10, 95x5, 135x5x3

Volume:

Bench Press: bar x 25, 95x15, 135x10, 185x6, 225x3, 250x5x3

Pull-ups: Bodyweight x 10, 9 (isometric hold 15 seconds on final rep)

I weighed 234½ pounds with my workout clothes on.

On the presses I had originally intended to do 175x5x3, but the double with 165 felt so heavy that I was forced to use it for my work sets. My arms just didn’t feel like they had any strength. The first work set was difficult (especially the final rep), but the next two sets were a little easier.

I didn’t have any pain on the squats, but the hip popped on one of the early reps with 135. My legs feel like they’ve lost quite a bit of strength.

Bench presses were a little more difficult than last week – I doubt I would’ve been able to manage 255x5x3. I'm also pretty sure my 1RM has dipped below 300. The good news is that my shoulder was not hurting too badly. Since I had the prolotherapy treatment two weeks ago it has felt better.

Since I was low on energy I chose not to add any weight to my pull-ups. I was exhausted when I was finished, and I definitely attribute this to a reduced caloric intake over the past few days. I’m hoping it doesn’t take more than a few workouts to get my strength back to where it was a few weeks ago.

[LongDriver]

5/16/2012, Workout #76

I only had approximately 45 minutes for my workout tonight, so at times it almost felt like circuit training. The workout went as follows:

Recovery:

Press: bar x 15, 95x8, 145x5x3

LP:

Squats: bar x 10, 95x5, 145x5x3

Recovery:

Bench Press: bar x 30, 95x15, 135x8, 205x5x3

Lat pulldowns: 220x5x2

I weighed 237 pounds with my workout clothes on.

The guy who had been using the rack before me left the weights strewn all over the place, so in-between warm-up sets on the press I spent time putting them away (including moving the dumbbells across the gym to their racks). I rested around 90 seconds between work sets. Nothing of note to report.

The squats are actually feeling a little heavy, and the final reps on my work sets were a little slower than the first reps. I may have to go up by five pounds per workout in order to avoid hitting a wall soon. I rested around two minutes between work sets, and the hip held up OK. It's still not healed, but these weights aren't heavy enough to aggravate it.

The guy who hadn’t put away his weights had also taken the bar from a bench on the other side of the gym, so I returned it (since it effectively reduced the number of bench press stations from three to two). I was also able to use that station for my bench press sets. I tried to do the reps as fast as possible, and I rested around two minutes between work sets. My shoulder started to hurt just a little.

I finished with a few lat pulldowns. These were easier than last Wednesday’s sets, even though I was using 15 pounds more. I was at a different gym tonight, so it’s probably due to the difference in the machines.

I’ve been reading about Paul Anderson’s power rack training, and I’m tempted to try some of his techniques on my Intensity day, provided the gym isn’t too crowded and the rack is available. He would set the pins not far from the lockout position and work the finishing portion of the movement. In the coming workouts when that ROM became easy, he would move the pins down and continue. Eventually he would be able to do the complete movement with the weight. He also advocated using push presses, because it allows the lifter to become accustomed to having heavier weights overhead, and also because the eccentric phase of the lift can be done slowly to build additional pressing strength. His "secret weapon" was the handstand press, but I may have to gain a little more strength before I'll be able to manage that one.

[LongDriver]

Well, it’s been six months since I started Starting Strength, and I’ve had a few ups and downs. I’ve made some nice gains in both presses, but my hip has prevented me from progressing past the novice level in the lower-body exercises. Since I stalled on the presses I began a sort-of modified TM program (i.e. a very loose approximation). Below are a few of my stats (all weights are in pounds):

Between 11/16/2011 and 5/16/2012:

My bodyweight increased from 220 to 237; top weight was 240 on 4/12.

My squat increased from 95x5x3 to 243x5x3 before I reset due to form issues, and then I injured my hip. Last workout I added squats back into my workout, even though the hip is still healing.

My deadlift increased from 185x5 to 325x5, shortly before my hip injury.

My power clean increased from 95x3x5 to 160x3x5, shortly before my hip injury.

My press increased from 95x5x3 to 175x5x5, with a top single of 215 on 5/4.

My bench press increased from 185x5x3 to 255x5x5, with a top single of 300 on 4/27.

In the near-term I’m hoping to get my squat back up over 250x5x3, with 300+ for a single. I’d also like to work deadlifts and cleans back in as well. I’m hoping to deadlift 405 sometime around the end of summer, but a lot of that depends on the hip getting better. I believe right now I could do 365 if I had to, but I probably wouldn’t be able to walk for a week. I’d also like to do a bench press single with 315 and a press single with 225 sometime this summer as well. A longer-term goal would be for a bodyweight press by the end of the year, but that might be a little ambitious.

[LongDriver]

5/18/2012, Workout #77

Today my girlfriend was being inducted into an honors society, so I had to split my workout. I did a slightly shorter version of my regular intensity workout in the afternoon, then went to the honors dinner, and then returned to the gym four hours later to finish up. The workout went as follows:

Intensity:

Press: bar x 15, 95x8, 135x5, 165x2, 185x3x3

Bench Press: bar x 25, 95x12, 135x8, 185x4, 225x2, 265x1, 285x2x3

(Four hour break for honors dinner)

Press (seated): Rack Lockouts – 205x3, 225x1

Bench Press: Rack Lockouts – 225x2, 275x1, 295x3, 305x3, 315x3, 335x1

Pull-ups: (Bodyweight + 26½) x 3, 2 (isometric hold 15 seconds on last rep)

I weighed 239½ pounds with my workout clothes on.

When I got to the gym the cage was open, and the guy I met two weeks ago, Cesar, was doing squats in the squat rack next to the cage. Cesar and I chatted as we rested between sets. One annoying thing kept happening during my work sets: the Smith Machine is diagonally across from the cage (since both are set up next to a corner), and I had to synchronize my sets with the guy in the Smith Machine since I had to press outside the cage (due to the top of the cage being too short). There were a few times where I was about to unrack the bar for my set, and the guy would suddenly come to my side to change weights and nearly bump into my bar as he squeezed by. It wasn’t so much his fault as it was the poor arrangement of the equipment in the room. My pressing strength still felt lower than normal, so I reset the weight down to 185 for some triples. I also decided I would come back later and try some rack lockouts to see if that would jump-start my pressing progress. The third rep on the first two sets went up a little slow, but on the last set it was easier (I might’ve been able to get a fourth).

Cesar had moved over to the bench press and was sharing it with another guy (Julio). They were almost done, so I decided to do the bench press next instead of squats since their station would be opening up soon. I went over to chat with them, and in the meantime another bench opened up so I hurried over and began warming up. On my first set of 285 I asked for a spot from a guy walking by. On the second rep he instinctively put his fingers underneath the bar but didn’t help at all, so I counted it as good. For the next two sets Cesar came over and chatted with me, so I had him spot both sets. He didn’t even have to move his hands from his sides on either set, so I was happy that I was able to get three sets of doubles with that weight. I did have to fight the second rep of the second set a little though.

By now it was almost time to get ready for the honors dinner, so I decided to come back later to do the squats, rack lockouts, and pull-ups. I felt somewhat lethargic afterwards, so I rested an additional hour before dragging myself back to the gym. I got there around 10:25 pm, so I had only about half an hour to finish my workout before they closed.

The gym was relatively deserted, so the cage was available – it had 405 sitting on the bar, which was resting on the safeties. The squat rack also had its bar loaded, and the rest of the weights from both racks were all over the floor. I spent five minutes putting the weights away on both racks before starting my press lockouts. I did them sitting down, since the top of the cage was not high enough for me to extend my arms (I have long arms for my height, and I’m only half an inch under 6 feet). I set the safeties so that the bar was resting maybe three inches over the top of my head and tested it with just the bar to see what the movement would feel like. For my first set I used 205 and did three reps from the safeties to lockout, which was probably a ten-inch ROM. I also started with the bar positioned over my ears and attempted to press straight up. It almost felt like a press behind the neck, and I had a tough time preventing the bar from moving forward to a position over my forehead. For the next set I tried 225 just to see how heavy it would feel. It took a lot of effort just to get the bar off the safeties, and this time it wanted to move backward. I was able to fight it and lock it out, but just feeling how heavy it was made me realize that it might be quite awhile before I'm able to do a legitimate press with two wheels. I also felt some pain in my left shoulder on the movement, so I decided that was enough overhead pressing for the day.

By now I had about twenty minutes before the gym closed, so I chose to skip the squats in favor of bench press lockouts. Since I was using the adjustable bench I just lowered it and the safeties. I positioned the pins maybe four inches above my sticking point so I’d have maybe a one foot ROM. I warmed up with 225 and then 275 to get used to the movement. The set with 295 took a little more effort than I had expected, but the second and third reps weren’t too difficult. I then took a small jump to 305, and this didn’t feel much harder than the 295. Next I tried 315, and that felt considerably heavier, but I was able to barely get three lockout reps with it. I also cheated a little by squeezing my shoulder blades together a little to allow myself to start with my arms straighter. Finally, I tried 335 just to see if I could do it. It was extremely difficult to start the bar moving up, but I was eventually able to get it to arms’ length. I held it there for a good 15-20 seconds before lowering it slowly.

I only had five minutes remaining for my pull-ups, so I did two quick sets before calling it an evening. I’ll probably stop by the gym tomorrow to do the squats, since I hate to skip them completely. I may also try some deadlifts to see how the hip feels.

[LongDriver]

5/21/2012, Workout #78

I didn’t get as much sleep last night as I normally do (only 5 hours and change), but I did feel pretty energetic by the time I got to the gym (around 9 pm). The workout went as follows:

Volume:

Bench Press: bar x 20, 95x15, 135x10, 185x6, 225x2, 255x5x4

LP:

Squats: bar x 10, 95x5, 150x5x2 (stopped due to hip pain)

Volume:

Press: bar x 12, 95x8, 135x5, 160x2, 170x5x4, 155x9

Pull-ups: (Bodyweight + 26½) x 2, 1, Bodyweight x 3 (stopped due to wrist pain)

I weighed 239½ pounds with my workout clothes on.

I went to the gym that has lots of equipment, and when I got there two benches were open. I picked the one with the powerlifting bar, but it was the one with the rings too far apart so I had to switch it with a bar on one of the seated press stations. As I was working my way up to my work sets three guys got on the bench opposite me. The setup is such that the benches are facing each other, and the ends are maybe five feet apart. One of the guys had an enormous chest (with triceps to go with it), and he had the guys throw on three wheels. He did seven reps like it was a warm-up weight. Seeing him handle 315 so easily got me a little pumped, and I was able to do all five reps with 255 fairly quickly and without pausing prior to the last rep. The other guys took turns with one wheel and change, and when it was the big guy’s turn he sat down facing me. I smiled and said, “I’m hoping to get just one rep with that weight sometime this summer.” He said, “Well, the name of the game is stick with it. If you can keep from getting injured and don’t miss workouts you’ll keep getting stronger. I used to do sets of 15-20 reps with this weight.” I was pretty impressed with that statement, since he looked pretty young – maybe 23 or so. He introduced himself as Gabe. He seemed to know most of the other big guys in there too. Anyway, all my sets went up strong, even when Gabe and his friends left.

I was unhappy about missing my squats over the weekend, so I made sure to do some tonight. However, the hip popped a few times during the first work set (even though the weight felt very light – much lighter than last week). On the second (and last) work set it popped on every rep, and it was sore as I racked the weight, so I decided I’m not ready to return to squatting yet. Fortunately I have another treatment scheduled for this Friday.

Since my bench press felt good I chose to up my presses to 170, instead of 167. This ended up being the right choice, because the sets ended up being moderately challenging but not too heavy. The main problem I had was having the weight racked on the outside of the cage (since there wasn’t enough room for me to press overhead inside). The cage was set up next to the dumbbells, so lots of guys were standing behind me and curling while looking into the mirror to my right. One guy even set the curl bar on the floor about a foot from me while he left to get a drink, and if I hadn’t seen it I would’ve tripped over it as I backed out with the weight. After my work sets I burned out with 155 and barely locked out the ninth rep.

On the pull-ups I usually use the handles instead of a bar because it’s easier on my wrists. However at this gym the handles were quite far apart, like wide-grip pull-ups. I tried a few reps with a 25 pound weight on my dip belt, but it was much too difficult. I then tried using the pull-up bar on the next set and my wrist got tweaked a little on the first rep so I stopped there. Finally I tried a set on the pull-up bar with just bodyweight and the wrist was still sore, so I called it a night.

During my workout I noticed two different guys who appeared to be doing an SS workout. Each of them did squats and presses, and one of them did deadlifts as his third exercise (I don’t know about the second guy because I left before he was done with his presses). It’s nice to see more disciples, but I actually feel a little self-conscious because if I talk to them I always have to explain that I’m not doing the lower body portion of SS right now because of my injury.

[LongDriver]

5/25/2012, Workout #79

I missed the recovery workout last Wednesday, so my muscles felt pretty well-rested. I had another treatment on my hip today, and I also found out that I’m half an inch taller than I had previously thought. I hadn’t been measured since 1984, and at that time (and numerous times before) my height has been 71½ inches. Today I was measured while wearing just a thin pair of socks, and the nurse said I was exactly 72 inches. Right after the treatment I went straight to the gym (around 1 pm), and there was a fairly good crowd there. The workout went as follows:

Intensity:

Bench Press: bar x 25, 95x12, 135x8, 185x5, 225x2, 255x1, 275x1, 290x1, 305x0 (spotter interference), 305x1 (current era PR), 290x2, 275x4

Press: bar x 15, 95x8, 135x5, 175x2, 190x2 (failed on #3), 3, 3; 155x9

Pull-ups: (Bodyweight + 26½) x 5 x 4 (isometric hold 15 seconds on last rep)

Bench Press Holds/Lockouts (10-second hold with arms not quite locked-out): 335, 365, 385, 415.
(moved pins to just above sticking point, 2/3 of the way up): 315x5 from pins to lockout.

Pull-ups: Bodyweight x 8 (isometric hold 20 seconds on last rep)

I weighed 241½ pounds with my workout clothes on.

As I warmed up on the bench press I was feeling pretty energetic, even though all I’d had to eat for the day was a vitamin shake for breakfast. As I was waiting for my single with 275 a guy asked whether I needed a spot (I wear a very large black tee shirt that hides the size of my arms and makes my upper body look smaller than it is). I told him not on that weight, but maybe the next couple of sets (and I thanked him for the offer). I didn’t see him again the rest of my workout. I didn’t think I’d need a spotter standing behind me on the 290 single, so I asked the guy on the calf machine to “just watch me from there in case I need help.” He agreed, and I got it up fairly easily. I told him I was going for a 1RM on my next set and that I’d need him standing behind me. It turns out his name is Josh, and he is a trainer there. He was doing his workout and not wearing his work shirt, since he was off the clock. I asked him whether he had any pointers for me, and he said I should lower the weight for a count of four, pause one second on the chest, and then take a full two seconds to press it up. I told him if I did that there was no way I’d get the weight up. He also told me that for his workout he was doing light weights for sets of 100 reps. When it came time for my single attempt with 305, he offered to give me a lift-off so I wouldn’t waste energy getting the bar unracked. I accepted (even though I typically take the bar off myself), and then he never really let go of it completely. As I pressed the weight up it felt lighter than the 290 I had done five minutes or so earlier, so he had obviously helped quite a bit. I told him it didn’t count since he was touching the bar, but his excuse was pretty lame. He said, “I didn’t want to let go of such a heavy weight with you underneath it, just in case.” He went to another part of the gym, so I found another spotter whose name was A.J. On the 305 rep the weight felt so heavy when I lifted it off that I didn’t think there was any way I’d get it up. A.J. had his hands just above the bar as I lowered it, and I actually pressed the top of the bar into his right hand on the way up (so it hindered my progress on the right side very slightly). I was still able to lock the weight out, so I was very happy with a new “current era PR”. A. J. also spotted my two backdown sets, and I was also very happy with both of those sets.

The presses still continue to be problematic for me. I had planned on trying another single with 215, but the warm-up set with 175 felt so heavy that I opted to try for three sets of three with 190. On the first set I got two tough reps and missed the third badly. On the next two sets I somehow was able to complete all three reps. After the last one I got a drink, and as I was walking back from the drinking fountain I noticed that the bar on the bench was loaded up with 335 pounds and no one was there. When I got to the squat rack there was an older guy (long gray hair with a matching gray beard) who was looking for some collars. I figured he was using the bench, so I gave him the collars off the 155 I had on the squat rack and then offered to spot him. We talked for a bit, and his name is Mike. When it came time for him to do his set he told me he was going for five reps, and then he did six easy ones, although the bar stopped an inch above his chest each time (so I guess he didn’t actually do any real reps). Then he loaded the bar with 365, told me he’d try three, and then he did four easily (again, without touching his chest). It also looked like he could’ve done four more. He told me he’s 55 years old and has been exercising his chest and triceps pretty consistently for about 30 years. He says he rarely does bench press with barbells, but he almost always does lots of work on the Hammer Strength machines. This surprised me, because he was one of the strongest guys I’d seen at that gym (in fact, that’s the highest weight I’ve seen benched at that particular location). Just for fun he dropped the weight to 225 and tried as many reps as possible (like the NFL combine). He got 32 reps (and could’ve had two or three more), but since he was still stopping an inch above his chest I jokingly said, “Looks like you got zero reps.” After that I had him try touching his chest with a few reps, and I also had him lower the bar toward his sternum since his bar path was straight above is upper pectorals (which looked like it would stress his shoulders). I also told him about Starting Strength and encouraged him to do overhead presses (which he said he’d try) and pull-ups (which he said he could only do one or two of, since he weighs around 280). I should’ve also mentioned squats and deadlifts.

The pull-ups felt easier today than they have in awhile, so I chose to do four weighted sets. After that I rested for maybe 15 minutes before setting up the cage for some bench press lockouts.

The lockouts were a little different than the ones I did last week. Today I set the pins up maybe 5 inches from lock-out and started piling on the weight. On each set my arms would shake while trying to keep the weight in a slightly less than locked-out position. On the set with 415 I don’t think I could’ve held the weight there more than a few seconds longer. Then I moved the pins down to a position several inches above my sticking point and tried to get some reps in with 315. It felt heavy enough that I know it will be awhile before I am able to get a legitimate rep with that weight.

Overall it was a very good day at the gym, even though I feel my bodyweight is getting much too high.

[LongDriver]

5/28/2012, Workout #80

(written on 6/2)

This week I was very busy at work rolling out a project I’ve been working on for nearly a year, so I barely had time to work out. I was able to do my Volume workout Monday and my Intensity workout Friday. I’m guessing on some of the warm-up reps for Monday, but the work sets are correct:

Volume:

Press: bar x 12, 95x8, 135x5, 155x3, 175x5x4

Bench Press: bar x 25, 95x15, 135x10, 185x6, 225x3, 255x5x4, 225x10

I weighed 240½ pounds with my workout clothes on.

The gym was crowded, since it was Memorial Day. I did the presses outside the power rack and let a guy named Steve work in with front squats. The weight was heavy, but manageable.

Bench presses were also manageable, except there was a dearth of ten pound plates so I had to share one with the guys on the incline bench next to me. The tendonitis in my left elbow is starting to give me problems again, so I skipped the pull-ups. I didn’t have much time to work out, since I was on my way to a barbecue at my parents’ house.

[LongDriver]

6/01/2012, Workout #81

(written on 6/2)

Although it was Intensity Day, I had absolutely none. It was one of those days when I was just wondering why I was at the gym in the first place. The workout went as follows:

Intensity:

Press: bar x 15, 95x8, 135x5, 175x2, 195x2,3,3

Bench Press: bar x 20, 135x8, 185x4, 225x2, 255x1, 280x2x3 (failed on third rep on all three sets), 235x8

Push Press: 135x5, 185x3, 205x2, 215x0 (fail)

Bench Press Lockouts (10-second hold with arms not quite locked-out): 335, 365x3.
(moved pins to just above sticking point, 2/3 of the way up): 315x2x2 from pins to lockout.

I weighed 242 pounds with my workout clothes on.

As I began my presses I was just “going through the motions”. As I began my work sets I really had to psych myself up just to get the bar off the rack. I didn’t even attempt the third rep of the first set because the second rep was already a grind. Somehow I was able to get three out of the next two sets.

On the bench press I needed a spotter on all three work sets. Since I had done 275x4 the previous week I figured 280x3x3 would be doable, but I failed on rep #3 on each set. In fact, rep #2 was difficult on each of these sets.

I chose to try some push presses because I thought it would help increase my press by getting my body used to holding a very heavy (for me) weight overhead. On the set with 135 it felt like my arms were going along for the ride. Even the set with 185 was easy and went up fast. The double with 205 wasn’t too bad, so I decided to see how heavy my current max press would be. It turns out my legs are so weak that by the time I got them straightened (on the “push” phase), I had no more momentum, and the exercise pretty much became a strict press at that point. I got the bar overhead but couldn’t lock it out. I believe my push press will be very little (if any) stronger than my press while my legs remain weak.

I finished up with some bench press rack work. All reps felt heavier than they did the previous week.

[LongDriver]

6/04/2012, Workout #82

(written on 6/5)

I got to the gym very late, since I had to stay late at work. I was also tired from lack of sleep, since I was at my girlfriend’s house past midnight the night before trying to help her on a school project. I also lost several pounds of bodyweight over the weekend because I was literally too busy to eat – I only ate one meal Saturday and one meal Sunday (although I was able to stay somewhat hydrated). There were just too many obligations to meet comfortably, but I tried to meet them all anyway. The workout went as follows:

Volume:

Bench Press: bar x 40, 95x20, 135x10, 185x6, 225x3, 260x5,5,5,4

Press: 115x8, 135x5, 165x2, 175x4,5; 135x12

I weighed 237½ pounds with my workout clothes on.

I didn’t have to wait long for a bench press station, but I forgot my one-pound weights. I had done 255 for my work sets for several weeks, so instead of continuing the trend I chose to bump it up to 260. This was probably a mistake, since I had eaten so little the past several days. Fortunately I was able to get two guys to work in with me, so I had my spotters. On the first two sets the final rep was slow, but on the third rep it was a little easier because I rested longer. I failed on rep #5 of the fourth rep, so I guess I’ll be staying at this weight for several weeks on Volume day.

By the time I got ready to start my presses it was already 11 pm, and I still hadn’t gotten dinner since I had come to the gym straight from work. As I was waiting for a rack to open up, a guy started up a conversation with me. He had just gotten his membership, and he was shocked at how crowded the gym was at 11 pm. We chatted for awhile (his name was Steve), and since he was waiting to do squats I convinced him to work in with me on the squat rack. It turns out he is a former bodybuilder who had aspirations of turning professional, but he never quite made it. I enjoyed sharing the rack with him, and I hope I see him there again sometime when we’re both bench pressing since I need a good spotter (and perhaps even a workout partner). Unfortunately my triceps were “toast” after the heavy bench press sets, so after the warm-ups I only did two work sets. I might’ve been able to get five reps on the first set if I’d really exerted myself, but I was too spent. I knew the second work set would be my last heavy set, so I chose to try for (and get) the fifth rep. I did the burnout set with a little less rest than usual.

I skipped the pull-ups again due to my elbow. I’m concerned that I’m going to lose all the gains I’ve made on them, but I’m afraid I might need to get another PRP treatment (this time with the ultrasound to break up the calcification). That will probably force me to take a few weeks’ layoff, so I’m delaying it for as long as possible.

I’ve also begun stretching the hip more to hopefully get into shape so I can resume squatting and deadlifting. I’ve been taking it so easy these past few months to try to allow the hip to heal that its mobility has really become limited.