Realized something today…

Based upon Paul Carter’s Strong-15 (LRB365)

Phase 2, Week 1

• Squats – cycle goal: 325
  • BW x 10
  • BW x 10
  • bar x 5
  • bar x 5
  • 150 x 5
  • 175 x 4
  • 205 x 3
  • 225 x 2
  • 235 x 1
  • 250 x 1
  • 265 x 1
• Pause Squats
  • 195 x 3
  • 195 x 3
  • 195 x 3
• Deadlift
  • 165 x 5
  • 205 x 4
  • 250 x 3
  • 290 x 2
  • 330 x 1
  • 350 x 1
  • 365 x 1
• Deadlift – Back off
  • 290 x 3
  • 290 x 3
• Leg Curls
  • 40 x 20
  • 40 x 20

Today starts the second phase of the Strong-15 cycle. While the weights went up, the work still felt light. I reckon that’s a good thing at this stage.

I did notice something significant today.

I realized that, when squatting, when I’m down in the hole I lose tightness. If I stay fully tight, really pressing out, Valsalva in full effect, when I get down in the hole there’s a wicked pain in my glutes and hamstrings, on the “rear, outer” portion of my legs from waist to knees. It’s hard to describe, but it happens without fail. What I think has happened is, my body KNOWS this is going to happen, so as I get into the hole my body loosens up, doesn’t press as hard into the belt, doesn’t hold everything as crazy tight, and thus avoids the pain. It’s not a big change… I just have to not be “clenching” as hard, just slack off a bit, but it’s enough — enough to both alleviate any pain and keep me from being fully tight and thus reaping the full benefits of tightness.

It crept up on me during the singles, and I really got it on the last single. I worked to stay uber-tight and it hurt. I then played around with it during the Pause Squats to see what I could discover. I played with my belt height, etc… but no difference in terms of the pain.

What I think it might be? Tightness. As in not flexible enough. When I stretch my hamstrings I usually do it in some sort of “toe-touching” modality. What I think I need instead is laying on my back; keeping my back straight, at a minimum up to trying to fully arch (no rounding); then pull my knee up to my chest. I did some of that after I was done lifting and yes, that was hitting directly to the muscles that were affected. I may just need to do THAT stretch and increase my range of motion there. I can’t say for sure, but I’m going to add that stretch to a daily routine and see how it goes.

Meantime, I just have to remember to cope with the discomfort and cue myself to “increase tightness”. Not just maintain, but to think towards increasing it, because that will help ensure I don’t slip back… at least I’ll maintain, at best I’ll get tighter.

Based upon Paul Carter’s Strong-15 (LRB365)

Wide, Neutral-grip Pull-ups

• BW x 3
• BW x 2
• BW x 1
• BW x 1
• BW x 1

BB Rows

• 135 x 10
• 135 x 10
• 135 x 10
• 135 x 10

Meadows Shrugs

• 70e x 12
• 70e x 12
• 70e x 12
• 70e x 12

BB Curls

• 45 x 20
• 45 x 10

I was in a rush today. Jam-packed day with many things going on, so I really needed to get in and get out. So that’s what I did.

Nuff said.

Based upon Paul Carter’s Strong-15 (LRB365)

• Bench Press – cycle goal: 245
  • bar x 5
  • bar x 5
  • 105 x 5
  • 120 x 4
  • 140 x 3
  • 155 x 2
  • 175 x 1
  • 185 x 1
  • 195 x 1
  • 165 x 16
• Incline Press
  • 105 x 10
  • 105 x 10
  • 105 x 10
  • 105 x 10
  • 105 x 8
• Machine Flye
  • 65 x 20
  • 65 x 20
• Pushdowns
  • 45 x 20
  • 45 x 20
  • 45 x 20
  • 45 x 20

Nothing much to report. Just a solid session. One thing I’m making a better effort on is locking out. Often, if I’m doing “touch-and-go”, I will go to extension, but may not fully lock out (e.g. 98%). I’m trying to go all the way, certainly on assistance work like the pushdowns… get that squeeze.

Otherwise… I just can’t wait to start phase 2 next week. 🙂

It just got lighter…

Based upon Paul Carter’s Strong-15 (LRB365)

• Squats – cycle goal: 325
  • BW x 10
  • BW x 10
  • bar x 5
  • bar x 5
  • 135 x 5
  • 160 x 4
  • 185 x 3
  • 205 x 2
  • 245 x 1
  • 250 x 1
  • 255 x 1
• Pause Squats
  • 210 x 3
  • 210 x 3
• Deadlift
  • 190 x 5
  • 225 x 4
  • 265 x 3
  • 300 x 2
  • 330 x 1
  • 340 x 1
  • 350 x 1
• Deadlift – Back off
  • 300 x 3
  • 300 x 3
• Leg Curls
  • 40 x 20
  • 40 x 20
  • 40 x 20
  • 40 x 20

This marks week 3 of phase 1. It’s supposed to be that “very light” phase, just getting the body back in the groove. Sure enough, it’s been that. Everything has felt light; in fat, each week feels lighter than the last! I don’t know if it’s because I’m getting in the groove, or my body is really remembering all the cues and minor technique details, especially during setup. But whatever, today felt very light.

There were a couple times when during the singles I did the single, changed the weight, did the next single — no real rest between sets. I mean, the prior rep felt light enough, enough I could have certainly done more than 1 rep… so why not?

All in all, things seem to be on track. Next week begins phase 2. Looking forward to where this takes me.

Had a workout partner this morning. 🙂

Based upon Paul Carter’s Strong-15 (LRB365)

Wide, Neutral-grip Pull-ups

• BW x 3
• BW x 2
• BW x 2
• BW x 1
• BW x 1

BB Rows

• 135 x 10
• 135 x 10
• 135 x 10
• 135 x 10
• 135 x 8

Meadows Shrugs

• 65e x 12
• 65e x 12
• 65e x 12
• 65e x 12

BB Curls

• 45 x 20
• 45 x 20
• 45 x 15
• 45 x 12

Youngest joined me today.

Periodically he asks if he can come with me to the gym. I don’t say no, but it hasn’t worked out for some reason or other in the past. But he came up to me again a couple days ago, asked, and so finally it happened.

Of course, he can’t spot worth a darn. 😉 But it’s all good. It’s a lot of curiousity about what it is that I do, and what goes on in the gym. I think there’s also a bit of fascination with the gym and all the equipment.

So I just had him do the same things I did, tho of course very scaled back. A lot of focus on body mechanics, like where to bend, keeping the back straight, and other things — posture’s a big one. And just kinda “doing what Dad does”.

I’m not sure he’ll come with me on a regular basis, tho that would be fine if he did. But I did tell him how a lot of what he can do is just stuff at home. He knows how to do a push-up, so I showed him how to do a burpee. grin I told him, get where you can do that 10 in a row every day… that will be awesome, and you’ll be on the road to being awesome.

One of the better gym days I’ve had in a while… and it had nothing to do with the weight I lifted. 🙂

Bench is fine. Knees… not so much.

Based upon Paul Carter’s Strong-15 (LRB365)

• Bench Press – cycle goal: 245
  • bar x 5
  • bar x 5
  • 105 x 5
  • 120 x 4
  • 140 x 3
  • 155 x 2
  • 165 x 1
  • 180 x 1
  • 190 x 1
  • 155 x 20
• Incline Press
  • 10 x 105
  • 10 x 105
  • 9 x 105
  • 7 x 105
  • 10 x 95
• Machine Flye
  • 60 x 20
  • 60 x 20
• Pushdowns
  • 50 x 20
  • 40 x 20
  • 40 x 20
  • 40 x 20

Bench was fine. Things feel light and pretty solid. Went with ring finger on the rings and things feel much better. So I guess, generally speaking, ring finger on the rings for flat bench and pinkies just inside the rings for incline.

This first phase is supposed to feel light, and it does. So, good.

While this isn’t a “leg day”, I need to mention my left knee. I don’t know what’s wrong with it, but I start squatting down and about 1/3 of the way down there’s a sharp pain. Consistent. If there’s less weight on the knee, it’s not a problem. It rides with me about 2/3 of the way down, then dissipates. I don’t feel much of anything going up. I’m not sure what this is, and I think this is really at the heart of my prior issues that I thought was from the ankle… or maybe it was both and with the ankle doing much better now the knee comes forth.

I actually think this has been something that’s been slowly creeping up on me for a long time. Not sure what nor why. But I’m going to make some further changes to my warmups and also try doing those same warm-ups every day (even off days). I’m going to go on an Aleve diet for a week or so and see what happens. Also bumping up my fish oil (usually 2 1g capsules 2x day, bumping to 3 2x), as that has helped me with joint issues in the past. Just going to take it slow and steady.

Getting used to it.

Based upon Paul Carter’s Strong-15 (LRB365)

• Squats – cycle goal: 325
  • BW x 10
  • bar x 5
  • bar x 5
  • 135 x 5
  • 160 x 4
  • 185 x 3
  • 205 x 2
  • 220 x 1
  • 245 x 1
  • 250 x 1
• Pause Squats
  • 190 x 5
  • 190 x 5
• Deadlift
  • WT x 5
  • WT x 4
  • WT x 3
  • WT x 2
  • WT x 1
  • WT x 1
  • WT x 1
• Deadlift – Back off
  • 285 x 3
  • 285 x 3
  • 285 x 3
• Leg Curls
  • 35 x 20
  • 35 x 20
  • 35 x 20
  • 35 x 20

Week 2 of Strong-15.

I am getting used to the workload of squatting and deadlifting on the same day. The weights felt fine, nothing was too taxing, and the whole day didn’t leave me feeling like I got worked over. I did feel a pleasant exhaustion by the time I left the gym, but I didn’t feel “dead” and drained.

My knees are feeling stiff… in the gym, out of the gym. I try do do some bodyweight squats whenever I think about it. I also do one-leg “step ups” whenever I have something that’s tall enough, like taking the stairs 2 at a time, or there’s a place on the back patio where the drop to the ground is large enough, so I’ll use that. I probably should try adding some quad-specific stretches in and see if that helps.

My walk to the gym was the more interesting story.

Based upon Paul Carter’s Strong-15 (LRB365)

Wide, Neutral-grip Pull-ups

• BW (around 250) x 3
• BW x 2
• BW x 2
• BW x 2
• BW x 1

BB Rows

• 135 x 10
• 135 x 10
• 135 x 10
• 135 x 7

Meadows Shrugs

• 60e x 12
• 60e x 12
• 60e x 12
• 60e x 12

BB Curls

• 45 x 20
• 45 x 14
• 35 x 20
• 35 x 20

The more interesting story was the walk to the gym.

Some wicked storms blew through Texas last night. My neighborhood was under a tornado warning. Heavy rains (nearby friend with a weather station reported a 0.5″ rain in 10 minutes!). Straight-line winds up to 70 MPH. It was a pretty precarious couple of hours. We came out relatively unscathed — tree limb down, lost a screen on a window, but really nothing much. But on the walk to the gym, I saw lots of downed limbs, and probably half-dozen down trees — some split/broken on the main trunk, a few fully uprooted. One was laying across a car (tho it didn’t seem to have any obvious major damage, but I’m sure there’s something). I’m sure chainsaws and roofers will be buzzing for the next couple weeks.

As for the lifting itself. Just fine. I’m getting used to this dedicated back day stuff. I don’t feel like it’s enough volume, but I’m not going to change it. I can look in the mirror and when I look through the layer of fat, I can see there’s a back screaming to get out. So “sub-max” work is working. Could more volume do better for me? Don’t know, but for now that’s not important — follow the template.

I did have some mental peed-outs. That 14 on the curls? I just stopped. I think I hate 20 reps. Probably wouldn’t have gotten to 20, but certainly could have done more than 14. Dropped the weight, and even on that last set I wanted to stop at 12 but knew it was all in my head and kept going.

Anyways…. so far, so good. Onwards to week 2.

That was different.

Based upon Paul Carter’s Strong-15 (LRB365)

• Bench Press – cycle goal: 245
  • bar x 5
  • bar x 5
  • 105 x 5
  • 120 x 4
  • 140 x 3
  • 155 x 2
  • 165 x 1
  • 175 x 1
  • 185 x 1
  • 145 x 21
• Incline Press
  • 115 x 10
  • 115 x 10
  • 115 x 7
  • 95 x 10
  • 95 x 9
• Flat Flye
  • 40 x 20
  • 50 x 20
• Pushdowns
  • 50 x 20
  • 50 x 20
  • 50 x 15
  • 40 x 20

I haven’t flat benched in months. Felt a little weird getting back into that saddle, remembering positioning and such.

Regarding my grip width, I tried pinky on the rings. That was better on my elbows, but still something was there. I’m going to go back to ring-finger on rings next week and see how things fare. Meantime, I still kept pinkies just inside the rings on inclines, and that was fine.

The AMRAP set surprised me — 21 reps… and I basically stopped because form was breaking down, not bad, but enough to say “eh… stop here, leave a bunch in the tank”.

All in all, not bad. I didn’t know where weights would be for the assistance work, so I made reasoned guesses. I’d rather get the reps in, even if that means dropping weight on the later sets (vs. straight sets). Keep the rest periods on the assistance work short (minute).

I didn’t do flat flyes. Instead, there’s a “pec deck” type machine at the gym. I figured I would give it a try to see how it worked. Way too light of weight. I did like how it helped ensure a full range of motion and no “cheating” because elbows bend. But one thing I get out of actual supine flies is some stretching and nice upper back adjustment. So who knows… this is just assistance work, not going to sweat it too much.

Anyways, really looking forward to how this Strong-15 cycle pans out as the weeks progress.

Oh… in other news….

My iPhone blew up.

Literally.

I had an old iPhone 3GS. I hadn’t used it in a long time and I guess the battery drained (bad). I tried charging it a few days ago, it got to 50% before the plug was pulled… then overnight went down to 30% despite doing nothing. Odd. Then in the gym on Monday it shut off a few times and I could never record video. I figured maybe the full-drain was the problem. So I figured to do a full-charge before trying again.

Well, yesterday I was charging it for today… then heard this loud POP.

Seems the battery decided to expand… literally “blew up” to almost double the size! So much pressure it popped the case and basically tore the phone apart. Well, that’s the end of that! Ended up dismantling it further, tearing the flash chip apart and cutting up the SIM chip, then dropped it all off at Batteries Plus for disposal (nice service they offer).

Anyways, the point of that phone was to capture video of my lifts. But well… that won’t be happening. Sorry Deb. 😉

I can see why he calls it “the man-maker” template.

Based upon Paul Carter’s Strong-15 (LRB365)

• Squats – cycle goal: 325
  • BW x 10
  • bar x 5
  • bar x 5
  • 135 x 5
  • 160 x 4
  • 185 x 3
  • 205 x 2
  • 215 x 1
  • 230 x 1
  • 245 x 1
• Pause Squats
  • 180 x 5
  • 180 x 5
• Deadlift
  • 150 x 5
  • 190 x 4
  • 225 x 3
  • 265 x 2
  • 300 x 1
  • 320 x 1
  • 330 x 1
• Deadlift – Back off
  • 265 x 3
  • 265 x 3
  • 265 x 3
• Leg Curls
  • 30 x 20
  • 35 x 20
  • 35 x 20
  • 35 x 20

Squat and deadlift on the same day. Oof. Actually, today was not too bad. Everything was light, as to be expected at the start of a cycle. My rest breaks were short (60-90 seconds), and I just kept moving. But I can see why this is a “man-maker”… it’s going to get tougher as the weeks go by. But on the same token, my body should adapt to the workload and do alright. It wasn’t a brutal day, but I can feel it and see why it’s going to be what it is.

Bottom line tho: I’m excited to be back on a strength-building template. Looking forward to seeing how this will work out.