back in the saddle - trnitz training log

[trnitz]

Last year I used SL5x5 for a while, got *great* results, then ran into a few health problems, namely shoulder impingement, kidney stone, and West Nile Virus. Not sure how long the last one was with me, as I got a positive blood confirmation at the END of the summer.

Due to the shoulder impingement, I stayed off the weights, rehab'd the shoulder, and basically put on about 10-20lbs of fat, lost strength and muscle tone. Basically, I got lazy.

Started lifting again after Jan 1st (like everyone else who goes back to the gym after Jan 1st), and started SL5x5 about a month ago.

Decided after a month my body wasn't going to give out on me, so I decided to start posting my training here.

Stats:
Age: 39 (40 in June)
Weight: 205
BF: unknown at this time

Goals:
Regain the strength I had, and improve on that.
Loose bodyfat
Stay injury free

[trnitz]

March 4, 2009 - Wednesday - Workout B

Squat
45lb/20kg x 4
95lb/43kg x 4
135lb/61kg x 3
190lb/86kg x 5 x 5

OP
45lb/20kg x 4
55lb/24kg x 4
75lb/34kg x 5 x 5
I started very low with both the OP and the bench due to my shoulder impingement, but with proper recovery, I haven't had much of a problem, so far (so good)

DL
135lb/61kg x 3
185lb/84kg x 1
225lb/102kg x 5

Chinups
4+ / 3+ / 2+
(I use the + to indicate I attempted another rep, but couldn't make it all the way to the top)

Prone Bridge
3 x 60seconds
Started out at 30 seconds on these, and add 5 seconds each time I do them in SL5x5

[trnitz]

March 6, 2009 - Friday - Workout A

Squat
45lb/20kg x 4
95lb/43kg x 4
135lb/61kg x 4
195lb/88kg x 5 x 5

Bench
45lb/20kg x 5
65lb/29kg x 5
85lb/38kg x 5
135lb/61kg x 5 x 5

Inverse Rows
10+ / 6+ / 4+

Pushups
30 / 10 / 8

Reverse Crunch
12 / 10 / 10
These things kill me!

Notes: Slept like crap the night before, didn't expect to get a decent workout, but the weights actually felt pretty light today. Figured it was the creatine kicking in (started loading on Tuesday).


Squat form check

I youtube'd a video of my Friday squat. Rather than create another post, figured I'd just throw it in here. Realized after the fact that the camera angle isn't the greatest...



Would appreciate critiques on it.

[Davek]

squat looks good. I try to keep my knees a little before my feet at the bottom of the box. but all in all looks real good. back looks good. other guys know a ton of stuff though so only take my thoughts w/ a grain of salt.

[trnitz]

March 9, 2009 - Monday

Squat
45lb/20kg x 5
95lb/43kg x 5
135lb/61kg x 3
165lb/74kg x 1
200lb/90kg x 5 x 5
Last set of 5 was a bitch. Haven't slept worth a damn for the past two nights, plus the time change (Daylight Savings Time) is really messing me up this year.

OP
45lb/20kg x 5
65lb/29kg x 3
80lb/36kg x 5 x 5

DL
135lb/61kg x 4
245lb/111kg x 5
I was scheduled to do 230lb/104kg DL, but on one side of the bar I put a 25lb plate instead of a 10lb plate, as I had put on the other side. Lift felt weird; figured out why after.

Pull-ups
5 / 4 / 3+

Prone Bridge
3 x 65seconds


Just order these fat calipers, so I should have an idea of what my BF is by the weekend.

[atypical1]

Great job on getting back. Funny that we all choose Jan like it's some magical date or somethin'.

Keep up the great work.

james

[Foxybass]

Hi Tom

What a great comeback. Wow…I’m jealous of your squats. It was weird watching your youtube squat video; it looked just like me minus the silly goatee beard I have. Your numbers suggest that you are stronger than me but I’m gonna do my best to catch you up in good time!

Hope your sleep improves.

Catch you later

Dave

[helm]

hey, good thing to be back lifting, right? I also restarted SL55 a month ago and already feel a lot better now

about your squat: I would say you could probably try to move your butt one inch lower, to me it looks like you're not completely breaking parallel - except for the 4th rep, that one seems a little deeper than the others. but that could also be those white stripes on your pants irritating me.

good luck with your lifts

[trnitz]

March 11, 2009 - Wednesday

I need a home gym or a gym with more squat/power racks.
My current gym, while very convenient (2 minute drive, 6 minute walk), has only one squat rack. Usually the only wait is for the curl-idiots to get out of it, but yesterday I arrived at 5pm, and the resident juice head was doing squats. Fair enough I thought, I'll just wait until he gets done. After 10 minutes, I asked him (in between sets) if he had many more sets to do. He was nice about it, but said he had quite a few more to do. So I did bench...then inverse rows....then push ups. Finally at 5:45, he was done, but I was just about out of gas myself. He ended up squating 600+ pounds (272kg), but was only doing 90% squats, never quite breaking parallel.

Enough bitching, here's what I did:

Bench
45lb/20kg x 5
65lb/29kg x 5
85lb/38kg x 3
115lb/52kg x 3
140lb/63kg x 5 x 5
Bench felt good today. No issues with the shoulder, plenty of energy. Probably because I didn't squat first, but the no issues with the shoulder is a good sign.

Inverse Rows
9+ / 5+ / 4+
I had my feet up higher than usual (about 1ft/30cm), which is where I think they should have been all along.

Push ups
27 / 12 / 9

Reverse crunch
12 / 9 / 5
For the first set, I stopped at 12, as I want to be able to do 12x3 before I start trying to go past 12. Previously I stopped at 12 as I couldn't do any more.
Also watched my form a lot more, as I my knees were coming apart the last time I did these.

[helm]

I found it works quite well to ask people if I can join in, cause everbody has to take a break in between sets. most people don't say no, maybe try that next time? better than not doing squats at all. and taking off and putting back on those 400lbs is just some extra exercise

I like your row/push-up/crunch numbers. need to work on mine a little more...

[trnitz]

March 12, 2009 - Thursday

Bad news
Used the fat calipers I got and after a few different readings, manged to get the same one a few times in a row.
23% BF
Shit...not where I want to be. Not looking for a swimmer's build, but that's more than I thought it would be. Need to work on that I guess.

Good news
Did soft tissue work with the foam roller. Hit a really tight spot on my L shoulder blade; after rolling it, felt MUCH better. Will have to remember to hit that spot when ever I get the chance, as that's the previously-injured shoulder.

Re-watched the Inside-Out DVD again. Did just about every exercise, except for the ones requiring a medicine ball. These seemed to help out a lot with my shoulder.

Between the foam rolling, and the I/O, I felt pretty damn good.


March 13, 2009 - Friday

Lucky Friday the 13th! I was born on Friday the 13th, so it is lucky for me.

Worked out at 7am, instead of the usual 5pm, as I'm working from home today, and have something going on this afternoon. First time working out in the morning in about 3 years. I was able to do a few of the I/O exercises while waiting for my son's bus, and did some foam rolling too.

Squat
45lb/20kg x 5
95lb/43kg x 5
135lb/61kg x 5
165lb/74kg x 3
205lb/93kg x 5 x 5
Did extra warm up sets as I didn't feel that loose when I first got to the gym. It paid off nicely, as it was easy to get in/out of the hole at the bottom of the squat.

OP
45lb/20kg x 5
55lb/24kg x 5
65lb/29kg x 5
75lb/34kg x 5
85lb/38kg x 5 x 5
No issues with the shoulder at all. Not sure if it's the combination of foam rolling & I/O exercises, but my shoulder feels great.

DL
135lb/61kg x 5
205lb/93kg x 3
250lb/113kg x 5

Chin ups
6 / 4+ / 3++

Prone Bridges
70seconds x 3
The last set was the closest I've gotten to not being able to finish the time.

20 minutes of cardio on the Precore elliptical. I have 2 days off before I train again, so I'm not worried about cardio getting in the way of my gains in strength.


Morning workout felt pretty good; still waiting to see how tired I am later in the day. I guess if it comes to it, since I'm working from home, lunch time == nap time!

[atypical1]

I'll have to try out the foam roller as my hips have been bothering me. Do you roll at home or in the gym?

james

[trnitz]

@james - home...gym doesn't have one, so I got the foam roller plus that Mehdi recommended.

[rere]

Hi trnitz, welcome to the logs.
I am glad your shoulder is not bothering you anymore.
Good Deadlift stats.

[trnitz]

March 16, 2009 - Monday

Squat
95lb/43kg x 5
135lb/61kg x 5
175lb/79kg x 4 (felt good by this time)
210lb/95kg x 5 x 5

Bench
65lb/29kg x 5
95lb/43kg x 5
145lb/65kg x 5 x 5
This is the best the bench has felt since I started back on SL5x5. No problem with the shoulder at all.

Inverse Rows
12 / 6 / 5
Smith machines were full, so I was going to do bent over rows (from SL5x5 version 1). Did one set 95lb/43kg x 5. Not sure how much this effected my inverse rows...

Push ups
32 / 12 / 8
Almost had 9 on the last set, but was going to eat the floor if I tried it.

Reverse Crunch
12 / 12 / 8
Closest I've gotten to doing 12 x 3 so far. Stopped on the 1st set at 12; will do this until I get 12 x 3, then progress to failure each set.



Felt a little tight all day; walked around at work to try to loosen up a bit before working out. By the time I got to my work sets on the squat, I felt ok, but need to do something about the tight feeling during the day. I already walk around about 5 minutes every other hour; may decrease the amount of time in between walks...

Squats felt good. Got some feedback from SL forum members on my form and started watching the Starting Strength DVD, so I've changed a few things about my squat.