Category Archives: Fitness

Does almost throwing up measure a good workout?

“Week 1″

• 5 reps – Deadlift (working max: 325#)
  • 1x5x135 (warmup)
  • 1x5x165
  • 1x3x195
  • 1x5x215 (work)
  • 1x5x245
  • 1x8x280

• 5 Reps – Press (working max: 145#)
  • 2x5x45 (warmup)
  • 1x5x60
  • 1x5x75
  • 1x3x90
  • 1x5x95 (work)
  • 1x5x110
  • 1x8x125
• Asst. #1 – DB Rows (superset with Press warmup sets)
  • 3 x 10 x 70
• Asst. #2 – Hanging Leg Raises
  • 3 x 10/7/5 x BW
• Asst. #3 – Dips (superset with Leg Raises)
  • 3 x 4/3/3 x BW
• Asst. #4 – DB Hammer Curls
  • 3 x 8/8/6 x 35
• Foam Rolling

You know… I can still wonder if I’m getting enough volume, but I don’t need to wonder if I’m getting enough intensity. Yes, I felt pretty nauseous by the end of the workout. I attribute it to pushing hard, not just during the sets themselves, but also in between. There wasn’t much rest between sets, nor between exercises. So weights may not have gone up, but less rest and more push-push-push and sure enough the intensity of the overall workout was up.

I really do have to push things if I want to get done in time. So, all good I suppose. But the long-term will really decide how good and fruitful this approach is for me.

I am happy to have pushed a little further than last deadlift (my cycle 9-2 false start). And while my Press did the same as the prior Press, it felt easier.

I’m not thrilled that I only got a few dips per set, but I am making them full range (upper arms go parallel) plus I did them right after the pressing with maybe 45 seconds of rest? So I’ll cut myself some slack. I also wonder if it was just not being used to things, because by set 3 I actually felt like I could have done more, but I’m sore enough and will be sore enough. Ease into it… I’m not a young buck any more.

But I think I might like this 2 days a week thing.

In light of my recent desire to change my workout approach, today Jim Wendler posts this to T-Nation.

What’s advocated? 2 day a week, and his suggestion is his “option 1″.

There we go.

Tho Jim’s article is pretty good because it does a good job of addressing needs of folks that travel. I’m thankful I don’t have to and haven’t had to travel much in my career, but whenever I did it was always difficult to deal with exercising. Jim’s got some good principles to follow here.

Aside:

In doing this I’ve been thinking how to adjust my goals for this year. There’s about 30 weeks left in the year. If this “2 days per week” program works out, that means a new cycle every 3 weeks, 10 cycles left. I figure another reset or maybe even 2 may have to happen before the year is over. So let’s say I might have only 6 true bumps in weight. Where does that put me? Well, for lower body that’d be maybe 60# and upper body maybe 30#.

If that holds true, it won’t put me where I want for Press. I’d like my working weight (the weight I use on my 5/3/1 week, last set) to be 185. With my current reset, that puts me 40# down. It’s possible I could make it. Even if I don’t, as long as I’ve made progress towards it, fine.

Now on bench, my reset weight is 205 (working max 215). So going up to 235 is again not where I wanted to be. I wanted to be at 250. But, at least bench pressing 2 wheels makes me happy.

Squat I could be ok with. I would like to squat (again, on my last 5/3/1 set) 315, or at a minimum breaking 300. This should be attainable, so long as I don’t mess up my back.

Deadlift going to 365 will be quite acceptable. I’d love to break 405, but even without the reset that’d still be a ways off.

But my longer-term goal is breaking the 1000# total (bench, squat, deadlift). And I don’t want to break it in terms of 1RM or other calculated maxes, but actually moving that. Given I don’t do 1RM work, it basically means taking the weights I use on my last 5/3/1 set and totaling them up. I figure a year from now I ought to be able to break that. It’s what I’d like to do.

We’ll see how well my new “busy man” schedule takes me towards those goals.

So, how did the first day of the “2 days per week” program go?

“Week 1″

• 5 reps – Squat (working max: 260#)
  • 2x5x45 (warmup)
  • 1x5x105
  • 1x5x130
  • 1x3x160
  • 1x5x170 (work)
  • 1x5x195
  • 1x6x225 (ugh)
• Asst. #1 – Chin-ups (supersetted with Squats)
  • 6 x 4/3/3/3/3/2 x BW

• WORK – Bench Press (working max: WT#)
  • 2x5x45 (warmup)
  • 1x5x85
  • 1x5x110
  • 1x3x130
  • 1x5x140 (work)
  • 1x5x165
  • 1x10x185
• Asst. #2 – Back Raises (hands behind head, superset with Bench warmup sets)
  • 3 x 15/10/8 x BW
• Asst. #3 – DB Bench Press
  • 3 x 10 x 80/90/90
• Asst. #4 – Face Pulls (supersetted with DB bench)
  • 3 x 12 x 65
• Foam Rolling

Well… this was interesting.

First, if I don’t superset, this will take a LONG time. So superset it is. In fact, I didn’t intend to superset db press with face pulls, but I looked at the clock and opted to do it. But again, it’s not as much about time at the gym (tho that’s relevant) as it is the impact on my daily/morning/weekly schedule. That’s still to be determined.

I’m upset that I only did 6 reps on the squat, but I know why. I was light headed the entire workout. I’d get under the bar, take my deep breath in, and then my head felt all light and swimmy. Every set of every exercise felt this way. *sigh* So once I got to 6 my head just couldn’t do it… didn’t have the oxygen. That sucks. Heck, on the bench press I did risk not getting the 10×185 but damnit I just did that a few days ago and damned if I wasn’t going to at least meet it… and I barely did, thank you head.

I also didn’t know what some weights would be. On DB Bench I accidentally picked up the wrong weights (2 40′s instead of 2 45′s). I might be able to do 2 50′s, we’ll see. Certainly face pulls need the weight upped. Back raises… oof…. that was tougher than I expected. But when did 4 chins and maintained 3 through most of the rest of the sets, I was pretty happy with that!

I don’t feel as tired and “worked out” after this workout, likely due to the reduced volume. We’ll see how this fares for me over the long term.

I’ve decided to try changing my workout plan.

The main reason? Time. With the new job and new schedule it brings to my life, it seems that it’s not so much duration of workout that’s the issue but frequency. That maybe 2x week instead of 3x might bode better for me. I might as well go ahead and change up now… why wait? If it’s a time issue, time isn’t going to wait for me. But until I actually try this, I won’t know if it will work for me. So… might as well dive in.

Wendler’s 5-3-1 2nd edition book has 2 options for 2-days/week. I’m going with a slightly modified option 1. Slightly modified because I’m going to still try to compact the time a wee bit, plus I have to adjust a few things to work for me. So it will look something like this:

• Day 1
  • Squat 5/3/1
  • Chins, superset with squats, every set including warmups (6 set)
  • Bench Press 5/3/1
  • Back Raises, superset with bench warmups 3×15
  • DB Bench Press 3×10
  • Face Pulls 3×12
• Day 2
  • Deadlift 5/3/1
  • Press 5/3/1
  • DB Rows, 3×10 superset with press warmups
  • Hanging Leg Raises 3 sets for up to 10 reps
  • Dips 3 sets for ?? reps
  • DB Hammer Curls 3×10

So this is mostly the same as his option 1, but here’s variations and why.

Supersetting, in an effort to compress workout time a bit. Note that most are done during warmups. My general approach with warmup has been to put the plates on the bar, do the set, change the plates, do the next set — rest is as long as it takes to change plates. Going to try to keep that here: do the set, do the other exercise, change plates, do the set, do the other exercise, change plates, etc..  One exception is chinups. Wendler says 3×10, but I can’t do 3×10 yet. So I’m going to do as many as I can per set and then a lot of sets. Day 2′s superset is a little odd because I couldn’t see what exercises could be done from his recommended list that wouldn’t affect the main lifts, so I just pushed it out a little bit.

Opted for face pulls instead of rear laterals. Similar functionality, and I’d prefer the compound movement to the isolation. I also noticed no ab work listed, so I ditched good mornings in favor of the hanging leg raises.

No idea how many dips I can do, especially after pressing. Wendler says 3×10-15, and I’ll just do 3xhowever many I can do since honestly I’m not sure I can get 10-15.

He said “curls”. I figure the hammers are sufficient and they work well for me.

So you can see, it’s essentially his “option one” but some variation for my needs. I’m honestly not sure how well it will work for me. Part of me feels like it might not be enough work, given how I’ve been working. But then, that may be part of my issue! Could I have been working too much and this will be better? If it winds up not being right, then there’s always “option 2″ which really cranks up the volume. I can always try that later. Hopefully after 3 weeks on “option 1″ I’ll have an idea, and if it seems to be addressing most needs stick with it at least 3 cycles and see how it goes.

I’ve been thinking about some more workout changes.

Part of the reason I went on the particular program layout was to try to save myself some time, but I’m finding that I’m not saving that much time. Plus I am feeling a little more beat up. And I’m bothered by my lack of shedding my gut, tho I know that’s just how it goes (and that my diet slacked off).

I’ve been thinking about switching to one of Wendler’s 2-day a week programs. It’s even slower gains, but I think that may give me a little more time overall. Just thinking about the greater work schedule that I’m dealing with, what with the new job and all.

I’m also realizing that a pure paleo-style diet isn’t working for me, or I’m failing at doing it right. My body screams for carbs… I’m just not getting the energy I need. Or maybe I was just hitting that transition zone and failed to tough through it. I’ve been reading about carb cycling and that might be what is right for me. So much of diet it trial and error until you find what works. The fear with carb cycling is what it implies for “family eating”, since Wife and Kiddos won’t be doing such a thing. Hrm.

So… don’t know. Just contemplating things so I can keep progressing but make everything work.

Finally… I am happy with my improved commitment to dry fire practice. One of these days I’m going to have some room in my schedule to try IDPA.

Mostly good day.

“Week 1″

• 5 reps – Bench Press (working max: 215#)
  • 2x5x45 (warmup)
  • 1x5x85
  • 1x5x110
  • 1x3x130
  • 1x5x140 (work)
  • 1x5x165
  • 1x10x185
• Work Asst. – 1-Arm Dumbbell Rows (supersetted with work bench press)
  • 6 x 10 x 70
• Asst. #1A – Bench Press
  • 5 x 10/10/9/9/7 x 135
• Asst. #1B – Face pulls (supersetted with the asst. bench press)
  • 5 x 12 x 65
• Asst. #2 – EZ Bar Curls
  • 3 x 10/9/8 x 50

I’m not totally sure what to make of things. Have I gotten weaker? All my assistance work is at less weight but I’m also getting less reps out of it. But I have ramped up the intensity, with supersetting, a few more excercises and sets, less rest between sets. So I figure it’s all good. Certainly I’m being pushed regardless of what the numbers are.

I noticed my benching was wobbly today. Just didn’t feel stable under the bar. I was trying to work with my foot and leg placement and drive, and think I did more harm than good, but that’s alright… just go back to what I was doing.

In other news… well, I’ll discuss that in another posting.

My back is happy with me… so far.

“Week 1″

• 5 reps – Deadlift (working max: 325#)
  • 1x5x135 (warmup)
  • 1x5x165
  • 1x3x185
  • 1x5x215 (work)
  • 1x5x245
  • 1x7x280
• Asst. #1 – Hyperextensions
  • 5 x 10 x BW
• Asst. #1B – Hanging Leg Raises (superset with hypers)
  • 5 x 8/8/8/5/5 x BW
• Foam Rolling

Well, my back wasn’t unhappy with me, which I’m happy about. As I said on Monday, form really gets minded here, and I was slacking a bit on the last set. Gym owner was watching me and told me that on that last set, on my descent, I’d get the bar past my knees then my back would round… probably me saying “just get the weight back to the floor”. But it’s right and true because I’ll go back to pull the next rep and my lower back isn’t flat and I have to reset it. So, yeah… need to watch the descent and that I don’t round it at the end. Thanx, Andy.

I did opt to NOT do more deadlifts for my assistance work, which I think is wise at this time. Did some hyperextensions instead, which gave my lower back and hamstrings some work, but didn’t kill me. Plus some nice stretch too. Supersetted that with the leg raises, which I’m trying to stop pussing out on.

I don’t think it’s so much that my abs are weak (tho they could be). But moreso I’m not keeping them solid and tight throughout the duration of the movement. It certainly could be weakness, but I won’t know until everything is tight and THEN starts to collapse, y’know? I need to try to watch and analyze for this. I have even thought that I might do some light ab work during my other days, e.g. during triceps pressdowns or biceps curls, just drop to the floor and do 10 crunches or something. We’ll see. I must confess I hate ab work, that keeps me away from it and easy to justify skipping it, and that’ll be the death of me. The right thing to do is to do what you hate until you love it…. *sigh* I know this, it’s just hard to do it. But nothing worth having in life is easy so….

With slight trepidation, I return to the gym.

“Week 1″

• 5 reps – Press (working max: 145#)
  • 2x5x45 (warmup)
  • 1x5x60
  • 1x5x75
  • 1x3x90
  • 1x5x95 (work)
  • 1x5x110
  • 1x8x125
• Work Asst. – Chin-ups (supersetted with work Press)
  • 6 x 2/2/2/2/2/3 x BW
• Asst. #1A – Press
  • 5 x 10/10/8/8/8/ x 85
• Asst. #1B – Wide, pronated grip lat pulldowns (supersetted with Asst #1A)
  • 5 x 10 x 120
• Asst. #2 – Triceps pressdowns (EZ-Bar)
  • 3 x 12 x 55

After my mishap with my lower back last week, I took the rest of the week off. While my back feels better, it’s still not “normal” feeling again. So with reserve I went back to the gym… I need to see what I can do, because sitting around doesn’t do anything useful at this point.

I also am resetting my weights. It’s coincidence that I reset at the same time I have the injury, but it works out and bodes well. I opted to reset just about every weight because well… there’s no harm. Always go a little lighter and it’ll be fine in the long run. Must listen to the wisdom of Wendler, even if my ego doesn’t want to accept it. Because like Henry Rollins said, “200 pounds is always 200 pounds”. Worth listening to.

So I went and did what I did. A little surprised I only got 8 reps with 125, but then I realized 1. I’m supersetting with chins, 2. I was only taking 2 minutes rest in between sets! I need to rest longer during my main lift sets. Silly me. But I figured hey why not, let’s see if I can make my last chins set also a “rep max” thing. Only got 3, but hey, why not. Every bit helps.

I’m then a little surprised how my assistance pressing went, dropping the weight and the reps like I did. But, whatever. It pushed me, and probably because I took enough out of myself during the main sets. I dunno. Whatever.

I will say, my back felt OK. Granted this isn’t deadlift or squat day, but the back is still involved here. I really did watch my form tho… really keeping my torso tight, my butt clenched, breathing well, taking time to move slower if that’s what needs be so there’s no risk of a jerk or movement more sudden than my back would desire. I gotta say, this is a good thing, and maybe, just maybe, this injury is a time to learn. I’ll take that.

Yes, I’m a little nervous about Wednesday’s deadlift session. I just don’t want to risk injuring myself, but there’s no question that if it’s too much I’ll stop. I MIGHT actually only do my deadlift main lift and then do something else for assistance work like bodyweight hyperextensions. Not sure yet… I’ll think it over and see how it goes. I want good pain, not bad pain.

After doing what I did to my lower back on Monday, I have opted to take the rest of the week off from the gym.

I felt better yesterday morning and I feel even better this morning, but it’s not totally gone. A steady diet of heat, stretching, foam rolling, and Aleve.  I figure there’s no reason to rush back into the gym. I’ll start fresh on Monday.

Meantime tho, I have opted to reset. I came up with new weight values, and I’ll start on these and start a fresh Wendler cycle on Monday. I debated adjusting my assistance weights, but given the back issues I will adjust those down too. Just adjust and reset everything. And if the weights are too light, put a little “dynamic effort” behind them.

Ouch. In the bad way… ouch.

“Week 1″

• WORK – Squat (working max: 280#)
  • 2x5x45 (warmup)
  • 1x5x115
  • 1x5x140
  • 1x3x170
  • 1x5x185 (work)
  • 1x5x215
  • 1x5x240
• Asst. #2 – Crunches
  • 5 x 10 x BW
• Foam Rolling

Today was bad.

When I got under the bar with the 240, I came up on rep 5 and my lower back said “fuck you”.

That was the end of the day. Well, I laid down on the floor and did some crunches. And glad I did. That let me know what happened.

See, just prior to getting under the bar for the 240, I twisted my torso. It’s a movement I do now and again to pop my lower back. It works quite nice. But sometimes it doesn’t quite reset things and I have to finagle around more to get things to reset right. That must have happened. I didn’t notice it, nothing felt out of whack. But I reckon something just out of whack because after my first set of crunches I stayed on the floor and did some other twisting and movements and got quite a nice pop as my lower back reset.

*sigh*

It hurts. I don’t think I did anything truly wrong, but time will tell.

The other thing? I can see by my performance this first week that yes in fact I need a reset. It stands to reason. I’m going to do the math and start the reset on Wednesday, but continuing with this cycle. That is, Wednesday will still be 3 reps, but at much lower weights. It’s time to fix stuff, because I want to be in this for the long haul.

But otherwise, the squats went quite well. I reread some Rippetoe last night and had a bunch of things about the squat fresh in my head. My other sets went really well, proper cues in my head, and I was pretty happy with my progress, until my back hated life. Ah well, it’s how it goes.