mcl's training log (39, male)

[mcl]

Changes I've noticed from the previous set of photos vs. today's:

Upper lats seem larger. Quads definitely more pronounced, defined.


Measurement changes, that don't show up so well in the photos:

Delts, traps, pecs, biceps/triceps seem larger. bis/tris definitely larger, as measured tonight: 39cm vs. 37cm on June 21.

Chest measures at 120cm vs. 119cm on June 21.

Waist: 100cm vs. 100cm on June 21.

Thigh: 65cm vs. 64cm June 21.

Neck: 46cm vs. 44cm June 21.



June 21 is around the time I started StrongLifts 5x5.



By the way, I'm not logging my post-workout 30 mins of cardio, but I'm doing it religiously.

[mcl]

20080805

upright rows 1x12@75, 1x8@85, 1x6@95
incline bench on Smith machine 3x8@115
font shrugs 1x20@35, 1x15@45, 1x12@55
rear shrugs 1x20@35, 1x15@45, 1x12@55

30 minutes club and ball juggling practice.

[mcl]

20080806

I haven't been tracking my food for about a week, and started back in on it today. I've been tracking my food meticulously for a year now, never missing a day, and I guess I just got burned out.

Of course, during that week, I started eating based on what I thought I needed, rather than what I was actually putting in my body. Of course, it turns out that looking back, I was eating at least 4000 kcal/day, and almost 2xBW in protein, and way too much fat. That would explain where the extra 5 pounds came from.

Now that I'm back on the wagon, tracking-wise, I'm going to limit myself to no more than 15xBW kcal for a week, 1.5xBW protein, and no more than 100g low-GI carbs per day (the count incl. fiber). After a week, if my body hasn't moved back down to my normal range of 218-220, I'm going to knock 500 kcal off (probably from carbs and a bit of fat...not touching the protein), and see how that works for a week.

I realized I need to cut back on my olive oil...I've been sucking down 3-4 tbsp/day, which is too much. I also wasn't factoring in the (rather large) impact of the flax seeds I've been eating, so they're getting cut back as well. I'm going to severely up my fish oil dose (going from 2-3g/day to around 10g/day) starting next week if possible, and see how that goes. I'm also going to start trying a BCAA stack, and once the chicken breasts I've got are gone, I'm going to try to get more of my dead animal protein from red meats.



I've been sleeping like crap the past 3 nights, and it's because I'm sweating like a pig at night. I think it's because I'm eating so many calories, and my metabolism's keeping up, more or less. Which means I'm running like a furnace 24 hours a day. Which is wonderful, biology-wise, but it makes it impossible for me to sleep peacefully. Add to that the shoulder pain I've been experiencing and my tendency to sleep on my side, and I get woken up several times throughout the night. I'm averaging 6-7 hours, when I normally log a full 8 hours of sound sleep a night.

Hopefully, cutting back on the kcals a bit will help with the night sweats. I'm going to do shoulder dislocations and some flexibility exercises more religiously in the hopes that my shoulder pain goes away.



I decided that I'd switch most of my accessory exercises to something a bit more hypertrophic, with lighter weights and higher reps...primarily my bicep and tricep work, and I'm going to try to add some delt and trap accessory work as well, as time and energy permits.

I still need to focus on my lats, as my pullups continue to suck. Part of it is directly due to my hands, though: since I do pullups after my deadlifts, my calluses are sore, and my fingers are weakened. Maybe I'll try throwing the pullups in right after squats for a while, and see if that works better. Though there's still no doubt that pulling my 225 lb frame off the ground using my back is still a problem for me. So, I'm going to try to incorporate some T-bar rows, and maybe some pulldowns at high weight/low rep. Problem is, I max out the machine on the t-bar row, and I may max out the pulldown machine, too. I'll have to figure that out.



Deloading the overhead press last week was definitely the right move. I'm now 5 lbs below where I was when I deloaded, but my form is MUCH better, and I feel much stronger doing them. I think I just needed some time to let those muscles catch up to what I was asking of them.


squats 5x5@190
oh press 5x5@100
deadlift 1x5@235
pullups 3xF 2 full + 3 negative, 3 negative, 2 negative
inverse crunches 3x10
skullcrushers 3x12@55
barbell curls 3x12@55

[mcl]

I'm late posting my 20080808 workout log, since I was so angry with myself. See post210082.html#p210082 for the reason (and also for more details on today's 20080811 workout).

20080808

Squats 5x5@195:
Set 1: 2@195, 3@185 (groin pull).
Set 2: 3@185, 2@165.
Set 3: 3@165, 2@135 (dumped last rep @165).
Sets 4 & 5: 5@135

Bench press: 5x5@145 (had to rack before last rep of last set, but only for about 10 seconds).

Barbell row: 5x5@160: Did them, but form felt horrible, and I was completely demotivated from the rest of the workout.


I skipped the dips and went home p*ssed off.

[mcl]

What a difference concentrating on my form and spending the weekend with ice and soft tissue work can make. See post210082.html#p210082 for more details on my squat work today.


20080811
(warmup squats 1x5@95, 1x5@135)

Pullups 3xF: 3, 4, 3 Moved these to the beginning of the workout, and felt MUCH better. I think I'll continue to do them first.
Squats 5x5@185
Overhead press 5x5@105 (cheated with my knees on the last 3 reps of the last set. I'll leave it at 105 Friday 20080815)
Deadlift 1x5@245 Felt great!

DB rows 3x10@30
Curls 3x12@30
skullcrushers 3x12@30

[mcl]

Bodyfat (caliper) unchanged since last week (21.8%, 19cm).

Weight 224.

I'm reducing my caloric intake by 500 kcal/day to see if it helps. I'll try that for a week.

[mcl]

20080813

Woot! Great workout today.


Squats 5x5@190. Still 5 lbs behind where I was last Friday when my groin pull completely derailed me. But with the improved form (focusing on lifting with the hips, not the knees) and narrowed stance, the pain's all but gone. It's still there, as I'm still healing, but I'm able to avoid it with good form. Particularly focusing on keeping my knees out on the concentric motion.

I was able to go as deep as I was with the wider stance today, even on my last set. Felt great! Friday I'll be back up to where I was before I had to deload. I'm definitely feeling it in the hams and glutes now, rather than the quads.

I need to add some ham stretches prior to my squats, to ensure I can go deep.

I've also started being religious about warmup stretching, and warmup sets. I did a set of 5 at 95, and another set of 5 at 135 before doing the 5x5@190.


Bench press 5x5@150. Woot! Finally hit 150 lbs. Not a world record or anything, but a personal best, and something I've been aiming for mentally. Next stop 175, then 200.

Did a warmup set @115.

Barbell Rows 5x5@135: My form was sucking badly at the higher weight, so rather than risk another injury, or keep upping the weight with bad form, I decided to deload a bit and focus on my form. At 135, I'm able to execute almost textbook form while still getting some challenge from it (probably because my back is more horizontal, and I'm recruiting my lats more).

No warmups on the rows.


Weighted dips 3xF@15: 7, 5, 4.5. Really feeling these in the pecs now. It's nice that I can keep progressing weight-wise on the dips. Hopefully I'll have my pullups sorted in short order and I'll be able to start weigting them, too.


No accessory exercises today. The extra stretching and the soft tissue work I'm doing on my groin in between squat sets is slowing me down, and I also don't want to overwork myself while I'm recovering.


Working on a 2500 kcal day on the AD today. Had about 1900 kcals before the workout (66% fat, 28% protein, 6% carbs). The rest of my calories today will be protein, with a few carbs from my post-workout shake.

[mcl]

20080815

Squats 5x5@195 Knocked these out with the narrower stance. I'm back to the load I was at when I pulled my groin a week ago.

Overhead press: 5x5@110: Dear sweet baby jeebus, how I hate the oh press.

Deadlifts: 1x5@255: Woot!


Pullups 3xF: 4, 4, 4. Did these before anything else again.


Curls 1x12@55, 1x10@55, 1x8@55

[mcl]

20080818

Squats 5x5@200: Felt good and strong.

Bench press 5x5@155: Really struggling to knock these out with good form. I feel a deload coming on.

BB Rows: 5x5@140: Good and strong. Had a trainer comment on my form today, suggesting that my back is rounding. I took a look, and sure enough, it is. I may drop some weight and refocus on form, if I can't get the form right at the current weight.

Weighted dips: 3xF@20: 5, 5, 4

[mcl]

20080822

box squats 5x5@210

bench press 5x5@ 145 (had to deload)

barbell row 5x5@115 (had to deload)

weighted dips 3xF@20 5,5,6


Decided to deload my press and row to work on form, because it sucked.

[mcl]

20080825

box squats 5x5@215

overhead press 5x5@105

deadlift 1x5@230

pullups 3xF 4,4,3.5

[mcl]

20080827

squats 5x5@220

bench press 5x5@150

barbell row 5x5@120

weighted dips 3xF@25 5,5,5.5

[mcl]

20080903 (took 1 week break due to travel)

squats 5x5@225

overhead press 5x5@105 (cheated on the final 2 in the last set)

deadlift 1x5@285

pullups 3xF 4,4,3

[mcl]

20080905

squat 5x5@230

bench press 5x5@155

barbell row 5x5@125

weighted dips 3xF@30 5,5,4

[mcl]

20080908

squats 5x5@235

oh press 5x5@110

deadlift 1x5@295

pullups 3xf 4,4,4