AR's Training Log

[AR78]

Hey all, as per Mouse's saying I thought I'd give this a go! I do keep a record in my workout diary but as from now i going to start this log and hopefully get some feedback (and motivation!) along the way.
Been training on and off for the past 10 years, only the past 2-3 years seriously and actually got somewhere!

For the past 8 weeks now I've trained solid. Halfway through started to struggle a bit so started on the whole milk (again..) and thats helped great! Taking it easy at the mo and hopefully get back into it in about a weeks time. I've doing the Stronglifts program but only doing 3x5's, my body seems to like this and responds better to it and I don't get burned out as quick. I was doing 10-15min runs after each workout (M-W-F) and either a 3-5 mile jog on Saturday or go do some bag work at the gym for. As the weeks progressed I only had enough gas in the tank for my Saturday cardio only!!

Current stats

Height - 6ft
Age - 30
BW - Havent weighed myself for a while but I think im still around 83-85KG
Bodyfat - Around 22-25%! I've got the skinny fat look!!
Getting around 3500+ calories daily and trying to get stronger!

Lifesyle stats

Help run the family businesses. I myself run a sandwich shop, can get very hectic at times, great thing about this is access to any food. We stock so much variety its great!!
Mon to Fri wake up at 5.30am and finish by 3.30pm. Normally train as soon as i finish, work is only 2min from home and my gym is in my home. Weekends I wake up at the same time thanks to the wife and kid, well mainly the kid ... wouldn't change it for the world though! On average I get about 7-8 hours sleep. Normally as the week progresses I tend to get more tired, I need to try and sleep more!!

Lifting stats

Squat - 85kg (3x5)
Deadlift - 130kg (1x5) Havent trained these for about 4-5 months now!
Rack Dead - 155kg (1x5)
Press - 52.5kg (3x5)
Bench - 70kg (3x5)
Row - 65kg (3x5) I do these a different way, lying on the bench face down with my chest off the bench. Pulling bar from floor to lower chest.
Dips - BW +10kg (3x5)
Chins/Pull ups - Both BW only and max is 8 reps

Injuries

Left shoulder dislocated quite a few times in my early 20's, always gave me trouble. Been okay for past couple years now, esp since i started Stronglifts 5x5 last year.
I've actually had more little niggly injuries than ever since starting 5x5, all due to me though and my bad form! Once corrected they went.
At the moment i've got a pulled trap (left side) and neck (only slight) from bench pressing and a lower back strain from i don't know what! It's on my left hand side right next to my last couple ribs, I think its the top of my psoas. It doesn't cause me any discomfort during training but it is there and has been there for weeks now ...
Just got a foam roller so maybe that'll help.
Weak stomach ... suffer from IBS. Can strike at any time, i hate it, when it comes i can't eat how i need to. I normally try to power through but sometimes it can be tough. Not as bad as it used to be, thank god, at one point I couldn't even drink milk because of it... grrrrrr!

Goals for 2009

To get stronger and hopefully lose some BF , but just want to concentrate mainly on getting to my lifting goals. And to incorporate the Front Squat.

Back Squat - 125kg (1x5)
Front Squat - Undecided ....
Rack Dead - 170kg (1x5)
Press - 60kg (1x5) To reach BW on this lift would ber great!

The other lifts i'm not so bothered about but hopefully I'll get stronger in them along the way.

I'm changing my routine also.

Workout A

Front Squat 3x5
Press 3x5
Rack Deads 1x5

Workout B

Back Squat 3x5
Rows 3x5
Pull Ups/Chin Ups 3xF

Try to do the 10-15mins cardio after each session but I'm going to see how this goes. Saturday cardio will hopefully remain! Not fussed about the cardio but would be good to keep it in the routine, strengh is first priority.

Not final with the routine, mainly want to concentrate on the lifts i want to get strong in. Leaving out Bench and Dips till my trap heals fully these are the only 2 exercises that aggrevate it. May include them back in at a later stage. Don't know if I should add push ups for the time being.
Could do with some input regarding workout thanks!

Going to stick to my current calorie intake and see how it goes. I eat resonably clean and get about 200g protein on average. Don't realy watch the carbs but try not go overboard with them, prob getting around 250-300g.
Supplement with whey (MyProtein best tasting you can get!!), multi-vit, fish oil and full fat milk!!!

[Mouse]

Hey all, as per Mouse's saying I thought I'd give this a go!

Good start AR - look forward to seeing some good progression.

[AR78]

Decided on workout.

Workout A

Front Squat 3x5
Press 3x5
Rack Deads 1x5
Pull Ups/Chins 3x5

Workout B

Back Squat 3x5
Rows 3x5
Dips 3x5

Decided to ditch bench for now.

Todays workout. First proper session for about 10 days.

Front Squat - 50kg 5,5,5 New excercise, still getting used to it.
Press - 52.5kg 4,4,4
Rack Deads - 155kg 5
Pull Ups/Chins - BW+2.5kg 5,5,5

[AR78]

Squat - 87.5kg 5,3,3

Finding that i'm leaning forward sometimes and weight is shifting to my toes, got to try and fix this.

Rows - 65kg 5,5,5

Dips - BW+10kg 5,3,3

Overall i'm happy with the session. Feel like the rest has done me wonders, felt strong.

[rere]

Welocme to the logs AR78. I noticed you do not bench for now, any reason for this?

Peace.

[AR78]

Welocme to the logs AR78. I noticed you do not bench for now, any reason for this?

Peace.

Arite mate,

Yeah i've decided to drop bench for now until my trap is fully healed. To be honest bench is my least favourite exercise.

That and it gives more energy for press and dips!!

I'll come back to it soon but for now i'm going leave it out, prob once i reach my goal for press.

[rere]

Welocme to the logs AR78. I noticed you do not bench for now, any reason for this?

Peace.

Arite mate,

Yeah i've decided to drop bench for now until my trap is fully healed. To be honest bench is my least favourite exercise.

That and it gives more energy for press and dips!!

I'll come back to it soon but for now i'm going leave it out, prob once i reach my goal for press.

Funny you say that, as it's not really doing it for me either, i know they must be done for total upper body strength and all, everytime i go to bench people are just queing or asking you how much you got left, it kinda gets on my nerves a little. Well I hope your trap fully heals and you come back to the bench with a vengence.

Peace man.

[AR78]

Front Squat - 60kg 5,5,5

Press - 52.5kg 4,4,3

Rack Dead - 157.5kg 1x3

Chins - BW+2.5kg 4,4,3

Overall thought it was a bad workout. Gained no reps on press, managed to lose 1 rep!!
Felt mentally drained as soon as i started, the weights actually scared me lol! I hate feeling like that.
Could put it down to a mad hectic day at work .... gotta bounce back, till next time ...

[AR78]

Yesterdays workout - 11/03/2009

Squat - 87.5kg 5,3,4

Rows - 67.5kg 5,5,5

Dips - +10kg 5,5,4

Tried to do some push ups but still got pain in my trap. I feel as though I need to incorporate a chest exercise, may give dumbells a go
or maybe decline bench press and see how my trap feels.

[AR78]

Front Squat - 60kg 5,5,5

Press - 52.5kg 3,3,2

Rack Deads - 157.5kg 1x4

Pull Ups - +2.5kg 5,4,4

Lost reps on press again. I'm losing form. Some reps are good and some are not. I'm going to deload on press
from next session and try to concentrate more on form. May do the same with front squats, i've been making
5kg jumps instead of 2.5kg as the weight was kinda light but lost form a couple of times. See how it goes next
time and decide from there.

(It was 55kg for front squat last session not 60kg!)

[AR78]

Squat - 87.5kg 5,5,4

Felt good today. Probably could have got the fifth rep on the last set but felt as though my form would have suffered, i'll get it next time!
Even tried some heavy singles today which felt more comfortable than i was expecting. 90kg x1, 95kgx1 and 100kg x0!

Bench - 60kg 5x5

My trap felt ok so gave bench a go today. Adjusted my grip width slightly wider which felt better. Hopefully i can continue with bench press from now.

Rows - 70kg 5,5,3

These are starting to get heavy.

Dips - +10kg 5,5,5

Last rep on last set was a killer!!

Here's a vid of my lying on the bench row

[AR78]

Front Squat - 55kg 5x5

Decided to drop the weight and work on form. Managed 5x5 but was a struggle. This is a tricky exercise to get the hang of, i'm finding it harder than back squats
... even at this weight!

Press - 45kg 5,5,5

Deload. Working on form. Adjusted my grip width on this, slightly wider now, seems to help. Felt good so went for some heavy singles
50kgx1, 55kgx1, 57.5kgx1 (just!)

Rack Deads - 157.5kg 1x5

Finally got me 5!!

Chins - +2.5kg 4,3

Totally burned out from the deads. Thinking of going back to just BW for chins and pull ups.

Overall a good workout!

[AR78]

Squat - 87.5kg 5,5,4,5

Was a bit shaky the first set. Bar started to slip on the third set, made up in the forth set! Had to get 3x5 this session or else I told myself!
I'm still find I'm finding ways to adjust my technique in this exercise, I'll read something and say to myself 'gotta try that next time etc'. I'm
looking forward to the day it all just clicks!

Bench - 62.5kg 5x5

This felt really good, in fact great! Was tempted to up the weight but thought no, just take your time and work your way back up.

Rows - 70kg 5,5,5

Hard....

Dips - +11.25kg 5,5,5

After last sessions dips thought I would find these hard ... managed to get all reps easier than I though! Very pleased!

[helm]

hey there, nice numbers. i like the weighted dips, wish I'd get there soon...

why are you doing the rows lying on the bench? ever tried them bent over? or is that too hard on the injured trap?

[AR78]

hey there, nice numbers. i like the weighted dips, wish I'd get there soon...

why are you doing the rows lying on the bench? ever tried them bent over? or is that too hard on the injured trap?

Thanks! And hey i'm sure you'll get there!

Trap seems fine now. Gets a bit stiff the day after bench and dips but ok once its warmed up a bit!
I used to do BOR when I first started 5x5. I couldn't maintain form and lacked hamstring flexibility to keep my back parallel.
I would always end up using more hip to get the weight up, more so as the bar got heavier.
With lying on the bench I can't cheat and the movement is more stirct. I'm enjoying doing these for now, may go back to BOR at some point.