Barry101's Training Log

[Barry06GT]

Enjoy your vacation!

.

[holvoetn]

Eh ?
Pushups on a bear ?
Oh ... I misread ...

Have fun

[Barry101]

Back home, but had Jury Duty yesterday morning so today is the 1st workout! Workouts on vacation were non-existent other than biking and hiking.

8/4

Squat
210lbs 5,5,5,5,5 Felt fresh on the first two sets, the last three were more difficult. Hip flexibilty was really good for having a week off. Depth was excellent too. On to 215!

Bench
165lbs 5,5,4,4,3 This was very hard. The weight did not feel heavy as much as I could not get the bar back up past 2/3 the way on the last reps. It just stopped there like a magical force was keeping it from moving (oh that's right...165lbs of magical force). I am also having difficulty NOT pushing my head into the bench as it's gotten heavy. I am really beginning to feel this in my chest. I am going to be sore tomorrow!

Inv Row
Feet on floor 10,8,7

Dips
Body Weight 7,5,5

Rev Crunch
3X12 no counter weight

Good workout. I did not know what it would be like coming back after a week off. I believe time off was better for me mentally than physically.

[Barry101]

8/5

Wow, a word for those who are curious what happens if you take a week off SL to go on vacation. You can take up where you left off but expect to be very sore the next day. Tomorrows work out should get rid of this but I haven't been this sore since beginning SL

[Barry06GT]

While taking a photography workshop with a dance teacher and former ballet dancer, she once told be that in ballet:

“If you miss a week of classes you know it; if you miss two weeks, everyone else knows it.”

I guess that is true for StrongLifts and power lifting in general.

Hope your pain and DOMS go away next workout!
.

[Barry101]

8/5
Squat
215 5X5 No problem here. It's heavy but still doable. On to 220. I want this one BAD!

OHP
115 5,3,2,2,2 Time off def hurt this lift. Last time I tried OHP was 2 weeks ago on 7/22.

DL
275 1X3 AGAIN! Same problem as OHP...too much time off. Could not prevent my lower back rounding a little on the third rep...this hurt as soon as I was about half way up. I really need to watch my form here. I may have got in a little bit of a hurry and started off rounded. I certainly could not straighten it out on the way up. I think I may need to pause a little longer between reps. One, to make sure I am really lifiting from a dead stop and two, to be sure I reset my form each rep. It's tough to think about all of this when the level of effort is so high.

I'll let my back rest the remainder of the day and see if I can finish up at home tonight. Advil, here I come!

I think I can overcome the DL problem if I get my three workouts a week going again. I think the OHP is only going to progress at this point with fractional plates or chains. This is my third deload at 115. I don't seem to be progressing here anymore. I am not really frustrated with this though. 110 5X5 is hard, but doable and a respectable weight. I just need to find a way to work up to and past 115.

[Barry101]

8/8
Bummer, no workout today. Getting up from a seated position is even a challenge right now. Maybe Monday but I am not sure by the way my right lower back an hip feel. I really tweaked both on Thurs. Disappointing. I am pretty sure from the way my squats went on Thursday, I would have nailed the plateau on my squat!

[holvoetn]

Be careful with your back !
A injured back is not something you want ...

[Barry101]

Turned out to be minor. But I think I'll deload the DL to 225 or so and work on form as I come back up. It will get hard again soon enough. I've struggled with form and confidence on this lift since I got 100kg. I got too aggressive with it last workout and stood up lower back rounded. I did not reset and I let my shoulders get behind the bar. Stupid mistake , but I learned my lesson. Won't happen again...not like that anyway!

Will return to lifts this Thurs. Back felt good today and I did some cardio this PM. Was going to try some light squats as a test but could not get in a rack. Someone dead lifting in one , a couple doing step ups on a bench in the other . Now I remember why I workout at 6:30AM. I hate getting up that early but not as much as waiting forever for equipment!

[Barry101]

8/13...Test Workout for Back

Decided to try some lifts at various weights today just to see how my back felt. Lower back is feeling pretty good. Upper left side a little sore. This must have come from an inbalance due to the injury. I left out the DL for obvious reasons.

Squat
1X10X45lb, 1X5X95, 1X5X135, 1X3X185, 1X2X205 and 1X2X225 This is my usual warmup progression and it went well (I usually begin my 5X5 after the 2X205). First time I've tried 225lbs. 1st rep was hard, 2nd rep kinda stuck in the hole a moment, but pushed it out. That's a PR for me but prolly not my 1RM, I thought of adding 10lbs and trying one more rep but decided to play it safe.

Bench
1X10X45, 1X5X90, 1X5X135, 1X2X185. 185 is a PR on bench. This is probably very close to my 1RM on this lift right now. Rep two was an all out effort. At 2/3 the way up the bar stalled. I kept pushing, but the bar wasn't moving. After about 5 seconds sitting stationary, it started moving again, room went dim and I saw stars as I racked the bar (I was in a squat rack with the pins set to catch the weight) Fun! Even with the Max effort, form was good, so I'll count it as TWO! Don't know if I could do 1 rep at 190 or not.

OHP This was definantly affected by my back and lack of workouts.
1X10X45, 1X5X65, 1X5X95, 1X1X115 That was really all I could do safely. The one rep at 115 was almost as challenging as I described my Bench.

A week of vaction then one workout (and injury) followed by a week off to heal (which was good for my back) is a little bit of a set back. Everything felt exceptionally heavy. Maybe all in my head but even the bare bar in my hands felt heavier than usual. I'll start back with my "A " workout 5X5 again Saturday. I'm going to make a real effort to get in three a week from here on.

It was good to lift again and refreshing just to try something a little different! I need to read up on how to measure 1RM. I'd like to try something like this again once fully healed.

[holvoetn]

It is a bit normal that everything feels heavier after some time off. You are not used to it anymore.
Had the same thing yesterday myself

Good workout

[Barry101]

8/15
Both Power Racks busy for more than 2hrs by the same people! Never seen this happen before. Just did cardio.

8/17
Squat
220 5,4,4,4,4 Not a shocked by this. First set a little iffy. Form a little off on the rest from the time away.

Bench
165 5,5,5,4,4 Same as above.

Inv Row
10,9,7

Dips
7,5,4

Prone Bridge 3X60 elevating limbs 15 sec each...

One of the guys who lifts the same time I do was watching me squat. He mentioned something my back was doing that sounded a little weird. Seems my mid back is really straight going down but develops a slight arch when coming back up (not rounding..the other way). I'll write a post in the weight lifting section to see what others think about this...bad or okay.

[Barry101]

8/18

Squat
220lbs 1 Rep and then Fail...did not expext this. Something did not feel right at all once I got to 205 so 220 was out of the question. Try this weight again on Friday. Did not want to push my questionable back. A little frustrating though. I thought I would get this weight today. Especially after going 5,4,4,4,4 last workout!

OHP
115 5X5 Yes! Finally got this weight. First the mental success; I did not let the failure on Squat ruin my workout. Second was trying some different physically. I think the key here was rest betwen sets. Once I got the first five I forced myself to rest between sets longer than usual. I rarely time my rest periods and usually go by feel. This time I waited 3 minutes after sets 1 and two and 4 min after 3 and 4. This seemed like forever but I believe it's what made the difference.

I will try applying this technique to my other lifts. I do not think I am resting enough in between, especially on bench and OHP where I don't get winded like squats. Though this could be a cause of failure there too. Wonder if I would have gotten 5X5 on my squat the other day if had rested more between sets?

DL
1X10X45, 1X5X95, 1X5X135, 1X3x185, 1X2X205,1X1X255. At 255lbs I could feel the tension in my lower back trying to pull like it did when I injured it. I stopped. I need to record a video of my DL, I feel something is not right.

Pull ups
Chin up Grip 7, Hammer Grip 4, Chinup Grip 4. I was hoping to do better on these but I really blew myself out on the OHP.

Ab work tonight at home. Needed to run a few errands before work. Mixed feelings about this workout. Super excited about my 5X5 at 115lbs. Not so happy with my Squat.

[Barry101]

8/22

Was up too late last night, had beers with some friends from out of town. Did NOT feel real good this AM.

Squat
220 5X5 Now I am glad I sucked it up and came in anyway! Another thing....I timed my rest periods between sets. Forced myself to wait 4 minutes. This made all the difference in completeing reps at this weight.

Bench
165 5,5,5,5,3 Actually last set was 5. I lost form in my shoulders on the last two (could not keep my platform pinched together). I was able to complete the last two reps, but not with good form. Will soft delaod to 150. Once again, giving myself adequate rest between sets made a huge difference.

Inv Row
11,5,4

Dips
7,5,4

Rev Crunch
3X12 no counter weight

I can't emphasize enough to newbies like me, when it starts to get heavy (whatever that weight is for you) make sure to force yourself to REST between reps. Time it on a clock, not in your head. A true 3-4 minutes rest feels like eternity. My failures on most lifts have been due to either bad form or lack of proper rest between sets. NOT a strength issue. The neg side is, this workout took over two hours counting my warmups and stretching.

[Barry101]

8/25

Squat
225 5X5 Not a problem. Hard but doable. Deload was good for me. Rest between sets very important. (Group of experieced lifters say "DUH"). I did notice some core weakness on my last set. Shaking abs etc...had not seen this before.

OHP
120 3,3,3,3,2 Tried a fouth rep on set 2. NOPE not yet! Good sets though , feel good about the effort.

DL
255...I thought. I loaded the bar with 275 and could not figure why I could only get 1 rep (after warm ups of 135/185/205/225). I really need to pay attention. Look back in my log, this is not a first! Left the gym a little discouraged until I did the math. Bar + 4/45 plates and two 25's =275. Shakes head, promises to take math in local elementary school.

Did these at home:

Pull ups...still working GTG, done about 5 sets of three/two so far, various grips. Would like at least 20-25 reps but I don't think I'll get there tonight, more tomorrow though!

Prone Bridge
3X60 sec elevated limbs 15 sec each.

I am frick'n SORE and tired ...goodnight!