Here Goes Nothing.

[Kevin Pavon]

Thanks. The thick bar is the best bar I have, it is the Apollon's Axle from Ironmind. The other ones are crappy Olympic bars. Some of them are starting to bend slightly from the weight I am using, and I am probably gonna have to buy a real bar soon for squats/deadlifts. The thick bar feels awesome to press with, the weight is more evenly distributed and if you have any type of shoulder or wrist injury it is much easier on the joints because of this. I am still using it for the press.

[Kevin Pavon]

Week 3 Day 2

Warm-up: 5 min. on elliptical machine

Squat: 135x5, 225x3, 275x1, 310x5x3
Bench Press: 135x5, 185x3, 235x1, 255x5x3
Power Clean: 135x3, 155x1, 180x3x5
Chins: (BW +10lbs) x 5 x 1

Total Workout Time: about 1.5 hours

Notes: My power cleans sucked. I can't remember when they first started sucking, but I know I started arm pulling at some point. I am going to deload 10lbs because I want my form to be good and see if that does the trick. Today I decided to add one weighted set of chins for 5 reps at the end. I will do this until recovery becomes an issue.

[Kevin Pavon]

I went to the chiropractor today, as I have had some pain in my right upper trap/neck area. It started yesterday and felt like I slept on it wrong, but I just took some Ibuprofen and lifted through it. It hurt worse today, but didn't bother me when I lifted yesterday. Doc says it is a micro-tear in the muscle, and to take it easy with overhead lifts and anything that works the traps. I looked it up and it looks like the issue is caused by scar tissue forming from excessive muscle strain, so I am going to get a hard ball and roll the crap out of it to break that up so it can heal properly. Hopefully I wont have to skip any workouts. I will see how it feels tomorrow.

[Kevin Pavon]

Week 3 Day 3
The pain is a little better today. I only did squats today, to give my traps a break. I worked up to 315x5x3. My form wasn't great, so I am going to switch to a lighter day in the middle of the week with 5lb jumps on Mondays and Fridays.

[Kevin Pavon]

Week 4 Day 1, Part 1
The pain in my traps went away on its own.

Warm-up: 5 min. on elliptical machine

Squat: 135x5, 225x3, 275x2, 300x1, 320x5x3
Bench Press: 135x5, 185x3, 225x2, 245x1, 265x5x3

Notes: Had to cut this workout short. I will do power cleans later in the day. I worked up to 185 for working sets, but couldn't clean the first rep. I decided I'm going to deload back to 165 and build back up since my form has been sloppy. Also Squats were very hard. I think it is time to use a light squat day on Wednesdays and add 5lbs Mondays and Fridays.

[Kevin Pavon]

Week 4 Day 1, Part 2

Warm-up: 5 min. on elliptical machine

Power Cleans: 95x5, 135x2, 145x1, 165x5x3
Chins: (BW+15)x5

Notes: Chins got tough, I will only increase by 2.5 next time. I keep having to fight the arm-pull on cleans, but backing off to 165 helped. This workout was performed Monday, several hours after the first one.

Today is the day after, and I feel really beat. I am definitely not eating enough.

[Kevin Pavon]

It has been a while since I posted.

Week 4 Day 2 (11/26/14)
Squats: 260x5x3
Press: 160x5x3
Deadlift: 375x5

Notes: Forgot what exact warmup sets were, but they were similar to previous sets. Deadlift form was not so great but I got the set. I was sick as a dog this whole week so I took several days off after this.

[Kevin Pavon]

Week 5 Day 1 (12/02/14)

Squats: 135x5, 225x3, 305x1, 325x5x3
Press: 80x5, 120x3, 145x1, 165x 5, 4, 5
Deadlift: 225x5, 315x3, 355x1 385x5

Notes: Deadlifts were much better this time. I am CONFIDENT I should have gotten all three sets of presses, but I screwed up and let the bar get out in front of me on the second set, so I am gonna eat a ton and drink my milk and expect to get 170 on Saturday. The rest helped but I am still sick fighting sinus infections. Also, the workouts have been getting too long for me to get done in one sitting so I split them up: Squats in the morning, Presses and Pulls in the evening or afternoon.

[Kevin Pavon]

Week 5 Day 2 (Thursday, 12/04/14, 05:20)

Warm-up: 5 min. on elliptical machine

Squat: 45x5x2, 135x5, 225x3, 245x1, 265x5x3
Bench Press: 135x5, 225x3, 255x1, 275x5x3
Chins: BWx5x3

Total Workout Time: about 1.5 hours

Notes: Squats were done with no belt due to the lighter weight, and my lower back felt more sore than usual. I screwed up my form on the first bench press set by being back too far on the bench to where I had to press the bar using a poor bar path to avoid the racks, but I got all three sets. I had difficulty getting perfect form (struggled to get the chin over the bar completely) on the last rep of each chin-up set, so I will monitor that and may need to stick with BW for a while. Power Cleans will be done later in the day, because I have to re-learn them: I have been arm pulling and using an improper rack, and the bar doesn't touch my thighs every time etc. Progress has been great on everything but power cleans so I am happy about that. Also I finally gained some weight and am a little over 231 now. Getting the weight gain diet down isn't easy but the resulting strength is worth it.

[Kevin Pavon]

Week 5 Day 3 (Saturday, 12/06/14)

Part 1:
Squats: 135x5, 225x3, 305x1, 330x5x3

Notes: I got all the reps but it felt like my form was poor and my lower back leading into my hips felt VERY sore and tight at the end, worse than on Thursday.

Press: 80x5, 120x3, 145x1, 170x4, 167.5x5x2
Deadlift: 225x5, 315x0

Notes: It's time to slow my Press to 2.5 lbs per increase. My hips were still super tight and sore and 225 felt super heavy on Deadlifts. 315 wouldn't move, so I decided to let my back rest until Tuesday and re-evaluate after my Squats. I plan to do Power Cleans on Days 1 and 3 and Deadlift on Day 2 until my Power cleans catch up to everything else, dropping chins for now.