Labrat's Training Log

[Labrat]

Day 40 - 24 May 2009

Squat - 3x5 - 205 lbs.
Bench - 5,5,4 - 175 lbs.
Cable Rows - 3x5 - 150 lbs.
Dips - 3x5 - 50 lbs.
Dragon Flags - 3x7

Glad I switched to low-bar. I think I was really putting a lot of torque on my lower back. I can't say squats are easy now, but I realize I was having some pain in my lower back from the bar position. No shooting pain in my hip, but a little bit of an ache that I'll have to concentrate on in my stretching. The shoulder dislocations are very helpful. I think my upper body is really tight. My shoulders tend to droop forward and I have bad posture.

My spotter on the bench press claimed he just had his fingers under the bar on my last bench press rep, but I felt a little assistance. Call it a fail. I was thisclose though.

Places to do BB Rows all taken... that's the only thing that sucks about bb's. I fell less inclined to "work in" with someone when it would require lots of plate changes. The cable row "setting" (is it really 150 lbs? who knows) felt pretty tough at least and I concentrated on using my upper back vs. my arms.

Dips and DF's were nothing special... just as exhausting as I remembered.

[Labrat]

Day 41 - 27 May 2009

Squat - 3x5 - 210 lbs.
OHP - 4,4,3 - 130 lbs.
Rack Pulls - skipped
Pull-ups (wide grip) - 5,4,3 - 25 lbs.
Prone Bridges - 3x60s

I considered not going to the gym as my lower back was pretty sore. Then I decided to see how I felt when I got there. Loosened up, stretched, warmed up, and did the best I could. Squat form was a little wobbly, especially on the last set. I'll repeat 210. OHPs were brutal... I definitely was not expecting to get 130, but it felt heeeaaaavvvvyyy. After testing my back, I decided to give rack pulls a few days off. I had not done wide-grip pull-ups for a few workouts and it showed. What the hell, I'm giving myself a gold star for going. Yay me. Seriously, it did teach me to listen to my body. I think getting the blood pumping was good and loosened up my back... it hurts less than before for sure.

[Labrat]

Day 42 - 2 June 2009

Squat - 3x5 - 210 lbs.
Bench - 3x5 - 175 lbs.
BB Rows - 3x5 - 140 lbs.
Dips - 3x5 - 55 lbs.
Dragon Flags - 3x7

After a long weekend trip to visit the in-laws, it was a tiring morning. As often happens, I felt stronger and had better form on my last set of squats - despite plenty of warm-up. Got lots of encouragement and "atta-boys" from my personal trainer friend. He was slightly annoyed I had not followed his advice to the letter. He actually indirectly pointed me toward SL as he said I needed to be doing low reps, heavy weights, and compound lifts. When I realized I was clueless about BB squats, I ended up on the SL site. I am probably close to moving to an "intermediate" program, even after changing to 3x5.

[Labrat]

Squat - 3x5 - 215 lbs.
OHP - 4,4,3 - 130 lbs.
Rack Pulls - 3x5 - 335 lbs.
Chin-ups - 5,5,4 - 35 lbs.
Prone Bridges - 3x60s

Did not get any more sleep or eat any better. For some reason, the 215 squats felt easier and smoother than 210. I hope that keeps up until I can put two "big boy" plates on each side.

All other lifts were fails, unfortunately. I thought I would get 5 on at least the first set of OHPs. One more try, then a deload. I think I did not snap my hips and really flex my lower back and gluts.

Rack pulls were an early morning mistake. somehow I thought I put on 345. Oops. Too bad, because these were tough. Probably reached my limit on adding 5 lbs per workout. Haven't deloaded yet, though.

After a vacation and a missed workout, it was good just to get up and get to the gym for an early morning workout.

[Labrat]

Oops... again. I was re-thinking what I actually put on the bar... three 45s, a 10 and a 5. Guess I did do 345... and 1x5.

Coulda sworn I saw an "edit" button before. Oh well.

*edit* Aha... edit only available for a limited time, I guess.

[Labrat]

Day 44 - 6 June 2009

Squat - 3x5 - 220 lbs.
Bench - 5,3,3 - 180 lbs.
Seated Cable Rows - 3x5 - 160 lbs.
Dips - 5,4,3 - 60 lbs.

I like Saturdays because the whole fam goes to the gym... at 9:30! While my wife goes to her class and the kids are in childcare, I can enjoy a workout with (usually) plenty of rest and a decent breakfast beforehand. Today, that paid off on the squats. It was serious work, but bar speed and form was pretty good. Well, one rep I shot my hips a little too well and finished with a good-morning. That sucked. After some solid squats, everything fell apart. I knew it was coming, but man, the bench press and dips just murdered me. I might've gotten 4 on the 2nd set of bench press, but my spotter hadn;t heard of the rule about not touching the bar unless it's moving down. Whatever. No way I was getting 3x5, and it was to be expected. Dips were also brutal today. Maybe I should've added only 2.5 lbs. Probably would not have mattered as I was just drained at that point. I think I'll give 130 on the OHP and 180 on the bench one more shot and one deload cycle then change to an intermediate program. Have not decided what to do yet. But change will be nice.

[Labrat]

Day 45 - 9 June 2009

Squat - 3x5 - 225 lbs.
OHP - 4,4,2 - 130 lbs.
Rack Pulls - 2x355 lbs., 3 x315 lbs.
Pull-ups (wide grip) - 3x5 - 25 lbs.
Prone Bridges - 3x60s

Was a little worried as my ankle popped loudly when I was rolling out of bed this morning. Hurt for a few minutes, but seemed fine as I headed to the gym. No problems now. Just a huge air bubble, I guess. Squats felt really solid. Only problem was I wore pants so I would not tear the skin above my kneecaps doing rack pulls. Wrong pants. I had to hike them up my thighs so they did not bug me doing squats. Other than that, I was pleased to get two "big wheels" on each side. A mental and physical hurdle overcome.

My 3rd attempt at 130 for OHPs was fruitless. I was happy to get 2x4, then the last set crashed in spectacular fashion. I'm torn because I think I'm ready for a new program, but I think I can advance a bit further on squats this way. On the other hand, I'll likely be resetting rack pulls, OHP, and bench. So maybe I need to move to advanced, drop all the weights down, and get some volume.

Rack pulls were terribly difficult. Amazing what 5-10 lbs. will do from one w/o to the next. I essentially discovered my 1 RM, as my second "rep" was probably not held for more than one second. During that one, I ripped a thick callous off of my hand. I know, waah.

[Labrat]

Day 46 - 13 June 2009

Squat - 3x5 - 230 lbs.
Bench - 5,4,3 - 180 lbs.
BB Rows - 5,4,5 - 145 lbs.
Dips - 5,5,3 - 60 lbs.
Dragon Flags - 3x7

[Labrat]

Day 47 - 20 June 2009

Squat - 3x5 - 225 lbs.
OHP - 3x5 - 120 lbs.
Rack pulls - 1x5 - 315 lbs.
Pull-ups (neutral) - 3x5 - 35 lbs.
Prone Bridges - 3x60s

Feel like I missed a post somewhere... oh well. I did this as a bit of a maintenance workout before I went to Ireland last week. Did 4x25 push-ups and 4x25 ab wheel roll-outs on three different days during the conference.

Now I think I'm going to start the intermediate program on Monday.

[Labrat]

Day 48 - 2 July 2009

Squat - 4,3,4 - 225 lbs.
Bench - 3x5 - 165 lbs.
BB Rows - 3x5 - 135 lbs.
Dips - 3x5 - 45 lbs.
Ab Wheel - 3x20

My week in Ireland drinking Guinness, Murphy's, and Jameson was great. Despite doing some push-ups and sit-ups on a few occasions over there, nothing is quite like the barbell. I dropped everything down a bit and it was still rough going. I did an extra few sets at lower weights on the squats since I failed to get 3x5. I'm doing a little maintenance until beginning the Advanced SL 5x5 next week.

[Labrat]

Day 49 - 5 July 2009

Squat - 3x5 - 225 lbs.
OHP - 3x5 - 125 lbs.
Rack pulls - 1x5 - 325 lbs.
Pull-ups - 3x5 - 25 lbs.
Reverse Crunches - 3x25

Prepping for the advanced SL program. This workout felt good... perhaps I should have added to my squats, but I was happy to get 3 smooth sets with good tempo. Even the OHP's felt good. Tough, but I'm still amazed at the wall I hit at 130 lbs there. I'm looking forward to a change in routine.

[Labrat]

Day 50 - 7 July 2009 - Begin Advanced SL (Barbell Row)

Squat - 5x5 - 170 lbs.
Bench - 5x5 - 105,115,125,130,140 lbs.
BB Rows - 5x5 - 90,95,100,110,115 lbs.
Dips - 3x5 - 15,30,50 lbs.
Reverse Crunches - 3x25

Nice to switch things up. I needed less rest (for now) so I tried to get 'just enough' rest and power through the workout. Maintained form pretty easily as the weights felt lighter. I must have hyperextended my elbows doing pull-ups (or, worse, done a deadlift without straightening my arms first) because my elbows/biceps were pretty sore. I wanted to do the ab wheel, but my arms were too sore at the end. All in all, a good workout and I'm happy to have some change.

[Labrat]

Day 51 - 9 July 2009

Squat - 5x5 - 155 lbs.
OHP - 5x5 - 95 lbs.
Rack pulls - 5x5 - 225 lbs.
Pull-ups - 3x5 - 7.5, 12.5, 20 lbs.
Reverse Crunches - 3x25

Felt pretty good. I guess this is a cool-down day for some heavier lifts on Saturday. My arms (specifically my elbows and biceps) hurt pretty bad doing the pull-ups. I may have to be careful. Not enough pain to think I tore anything, but I'm sure everything got hyperextended. I think I overplay the 'dead hang' part of my pull-ups and did not keep enough tension in my arms last time. I'll really see how I'm doing when I do the BB Rows on Saturday.

[Labrat]

Day 52 - 11 July 2009

Squat - 5x5 - 140,150,160,170,185 lbs.
Bench - 5x5 - 140 lbs.
BB Rows - 5x5 - 105 lbs.
Turkish Get-ups - 3x5 - 8,12,20 lbs.
Reverse Crunches - 3x30

My elbows are still sore. The BB Rows and the last couple of sets on the bench, I was feeling them. I'll have to ice them over the weekend. Turkish get-ups were a 'fun' addition. Pretty tough, but I liked them. I can see how 3x5 with 20+ lbs would really kick my butt.

[Labrat]

Day 53 - 14 July 2009

Squat - 5x5 - 190 lbs.
Bench - 5x5 - 120,130,140,150,160 lbs.
BB Rows - 5x5 - 100,105,115,125,130 lbs.
Dips - 3x5 - 20,35,55 lbs.
Reverse Crunches - 3x35

One of those mornings where, even after warming up, I didn't feel 'good' doing squats until my 4th and 5th sets. Everything felt heavy, I was tired and sluggish. My form was ok, but my tempo was a little slower until the last sets. After (apparently) waking up on the squats, everything else felt pretty good. My left elbow is still a little tender but improving. I did the BB Rows carefully, trying to really pull with my back and not jerk the weight up too much with my biceps. Based on how I felt there, I must have really tweaked it doing weighted pull-ups. I may skip those on Thursday, depending on how my arm feels.