Notes, Landmarks, and highlights.

[Snow9308]

Sorry for posting this in your blog Hammer but I too am looking to increase my bench. I am currently doing the Bill Star 5x5 program but i was wondering if I would be better suited doing the Pinder thing(Boyd)

Thanks

[TheHorseman]

Guys there is more than just benching 3x3x3. He also does rc work and fixes whatever weaknesses you have. Im not speaking on his behalf but I prefer his style over 5x5.

[HammerTech]

That's what it's all about - fixing weaknesses. Of course part of progressing in bench is to bench more and utilize the various means (grips, low rep-heavy weight, higher rep lower weight, etc.) but there's more to it than that.

Jumped on the scales this AM and another pound down. Still progressing in that department. Back hurts like a mofo but it's soon off to the chiro.

[HammerTech]

Originally Posted by HammerTech

Back hurts like a mofo but it's soon off to the chiro.

Went to chiro yesterday, still have pain. This ain't cool. He's going to see me again tomorrow.

Will update the remainder of today's effort later on tonight if I remember...

[HammerTech]

A couple days' worth in one post. Been busy doing things, both fun and not so fun, so my workout schedule was slightly altered. I just adjusted to be sure to hit the weights every day I have planned. What I normally do is a little truncated also for time considerations.

Yesterday (early PM) - Upper 2:
*no spotter around - place was dead but for 2 fat chicks trying to use the ellipticals while drinking diet soda, so I got stuck doing a few things on the Smith.

Incline Bench:
1 x wu
3 x 6 x 160 plate wt (on smith)

Close Grip Bench:
2 x 6 x 160 plate wt (on smith)

Lat Pulldowns, V handle:
2 x 8 x 160
1 x 7 x 160

Standing hammer curl, volume sets:
3 x 10 x 45's
*noticed how I can't do as much standing as seated...hmm...

Today (early PM again) - Lower 2:

Saw the chiro 2x in the past 3 days to relieve pain in my back. Feel so much better today - but the doc told me to stay away from deadlifting for today. I can go back to full-on work next week.

Leg Press ---- Calf Raise:
3 x 10 x 14 plates total --- 3 x 15 x 14 plates total
*was getting a few stares from one of the "silver sneaker" old geezers during these. I was hitting them hard with very short rest between each, maybe 30-45 seconds or so. Dude taps his buddy on the shoulder and says "he must be one of those bodybuilder types or whatever...must be taking something...". Whatever, grampa.

Face Pulls (hitting the traps a little):
3 x 12 x 60

Some other assistance stuff without directly involving heavy lifting for the lower back - stuff like adductor/abductor, a little bit of abs, etc. Doctor's orders....sigh.

[HammerTech]

I REALLY hate surprises. They don't work well with my plans.

I just got in from a surprise 37th birthday party that I had no fvcking clue was coming at me (yes, I turned 37 today...). Entirely too much of the wrong stuff to eat with no choices that were really any good. And yes, these are friends who know what I'm all about. SIGH!

And I swear, if one more person tells me that I'm "too old" to be in this game at 37, I'm gonna take that comment, put it in a bottle, mix it up with some monkey p!ss, turn that sombich sideways, and stick it straight up their candy ass.

But in the end, all it does is push me a little more. Results forthcoming, gonna turn up the intensity a bit starting tomorrow.

[HammerTech]

Getting it rolling again this morning...40 minutes of cardio and back to the diet path being on target. Upper body in a while. Ran out of protein powder for shakes this AM but that's fine, we'll work with real foods til my order gets here, which should be in a day or two I'd think.

[HammerTech]

A few adjustments on Upper 1 day:

Bench:
1 x wu
3 x 3 x 185 WG
3 x 3 x 185 normal
3 x 3 x 185 CG
*yes, some things have been exposed, particularly working with a wide grip. Namely shoulder work, probably some rc work also. I also, as a matter of opinion, need to really work back width also.

Assisted Chins, Neutral Grip:
3 x 8 x bw-? (I forgot to look but it wasn't much...)

Standing Mil Press:
2 x 10 x 95
1 x 9 x 95
*I did these while waiting for some tool to get done doing forearm curls with the lat station. I'm debating which way to go here, move more weight/less reps or move less weight/more reps. Given an exposed shoulder weakness in bench, probably should drop the reps and move weight....

Lat Pulldowns, WG:
2 x 8 x 140
1 x 7 x 140

EZ Bar 21's:
2 x 21 x bar+50

Single Arm Tri Pulldowns:
2 x 12 x 35

I can take away a few positives tonight knowing where I stand, and know where I need to work on my weaknesses going forward to make more progress. Should be fun.

[HammerTech]

Lower 1 - oops, forgot to log yesterday's workout:

Squats:
1 x wu
1 x 3 x 225 acclimation set
3 x 2 x 295
*good groove on these, with no back pain. I surprised myself moving 295 properly, really...I guessed I'd have left them high, but didn't.

SS #1 DB Stiff Leg Lifts ---- Good AM's
2 x 8 x 70's (slow contractions) ----- 2 x 8 x 155

SS #2 Hanging Leg Raise ---- Decline Crunch:
2 x F x bw ------ 2 x F x bw
*I hate direct ab work, but I force myself to do it once in a while at least with body weight.

SS #3 Pull Thrus ---- Single Leg Ham Curls (Cable):
2 x 8 x 80 ------- 2 x 8 x 50

Left my hams torched...was fun.

[HammerTech]

Upper 2 - from yesterday...pounding it out early, and going all out. Very short workout, probably 40-45 minutes.

Incline DB Press:
1 x wu
3 x 6 x 70's

SS Bent over BB Rows ----- T-Bar machine rows:
3 x 8 x 205 ---- 3 x 8 x 4pl
*grabbed the BB's out a bit wider, then pulled my hands way in and underhanded for the T-bar. Roasted back...woooo!

Seated DB shoulder press:
3 x 8 x 45's

SS Single Arm Tri Pulldowns ---- High Cable Curls:
2 x 12 x 30 ------ 2 x 12 x 30

That was fun - more later...

[HammerTech]

Upper 1 - back to semi-normalcy...

Bench:
1 x wu
3 x 3 x 195 wg
3 x 3 x 195 normal grip
3 x 3 x 195 cg
*I'm really finding that I need to correct weakness in the shoulders. Especially in the wide grip position, not so much the other two, I find I'm struggling there.

Standing Shoulder press:
3 x 6 x 115
*had to farm these out...would rather have gone straight to pull-ups/pull downs and come back to this but wouldn't you know that both stations were taken up for an extended period of time...

Pull Ups (neutral grip):
2 x 10 x bw-???
1 x 8 x bw-??

Lats (using the "super wide" bar):
2 x 8 x 140
1 x 6 x 140

Standing hammer curls for da gurls - slow reps:
2 x 12 x 35's

Out

[HammerTech]

Lower 1 - bleh...the mind was in full gear but the body was saying no at various points tonight...sucked. Had to grind this session out.

Squats:
1 x wu
lots of stretching...
3 x 15 x 225
*had to stop at that point, painful. Back to that 'knife in the back' feeling. Probably 10 minutes or more of rest between this and moving on.

Good AM's:
3 x 10 x 155
*these didn't bother my back much. I tried doing SLDL's, and forget it, just wasn't going to be.

Hanging Leg Raise:
3 x F x bw

Seated Ham Curl (for some exhaustion):
3 x 10 x I think 160, fvcking machine is marked wierd

A little bit of other assistance (abd/add, etc.) that I didn't write down like a dumb@ss.

I may need to consider working in some extra rest/recovery time overall - maybe even take a short break (no longer than a week) from the weights altogether - to give my back some rest and let things kinda heal up. That knife in the back sh!t is getting old.

[TheHorseman]

Keep updating dude. There are only a couple of threads I read daily and this is one of them. Good commentary, no bs, hard work, and not a bunch of excuses. Most logs are full of why they couldnt do this or didnt do that.

Good work. Get that back better.

[HammerTech]

Originally Posted by TheHorseman

Keep updating dude. There are only a couple of threads I read daily and this is one of them. Good commentary, no bs, hard work, and not a bunch of excuses. Most logs are full of why they couldnt do this or didnt do that.

Good work. Get that back better.

Thanks B. I'm not exactly sure what I've done to my back, but I'll get it sorted. Going to see my chiro tomorrow and see how that goes, and take it from there.

[BiggerGuns=LongerDrives]

Originally Posted by TheHorseman

Most logs are full of why they couldnt do this or didnt do that.

Good work. Get that back better.

Boyd is right, you keep it real

[HammerTech]

Keeping it real's the only way to go man.

I loved that stuff Nate was talking about in Boyd's log about goals and progress. He was saying about writing goals down and stuff...that stuff works. When I wanted to get to/over 413 in deadlift...that number was all over the damn place in this house and I had notes as to how I wanted to get there and pull that fvcker. Same with my slow and steady progression of weight loss.

Have a plan and work that consistently...make changes when you know you have to. Progression will come.

Of course I love that Excel sheet Boyd put together - it's in one of the general threads - about keeping score for every day. Nothing better than seeing it in black and white whether or not you're winning or losing each day.

Anyhow - enough about that. 50 minutes on the treadmill this morning and a trip to the chiro for some treatment. Feel ok, still a bit tight, so I scheduled some deep tissue for Friday morning (first available slot to get me in). Should feel really good after that...or so I hope lol.

[BiggerGuns=LongerDrives]

Originally Posted by HammerTech

Keeping it real's the only way to go man.

I loved that stuff Nate was talking about in Boyd's log about goals and progress. He was saying about writing goals down and stuff...that stuff works. When I wanted to get to/over 413 in deadlift...that number was all over the damn place in this house and I had notes as to how I wanted to get there and pull that fvcker. Same with my slow and steady progression of weight loss.

Have a plan and work that consistently...make changes when you know you have to. Progression will come.

Of course I love that Excel sheet Boyd put together - it's in one of the general threads - about keeping score for every day. Nothing better than seeing it in black and white whether or not you're winning or losing each day.

Anyhow - enough about that. 50 minutes on the treadmill this morning and a trip to the chiro for some treatment. Feel ok, still a bit tight, so I scheduled some deep tissue for Friday morning (first available slot to get me in). Should feel really good after that...or so I hope lol.

Yeah, sound advice from Nate

My problem is that I have a solid workout plan, schedule my stuff accordingly, mix it up, stick with what works, etc, etc. But really, with my diet, I have only really only stuck to a plan of action once and that was a few years ago with the help of Boyd and his carb cycling advice....I think I am stuck on the fact that I used to be able to eat what ever I wanted growing up and was lean as a bean pole, but as we get older, every thing we stick in our body affects us more and more.

As of now my habit when it comes to eating consists mostly of "How much protein is in it, is it enough protein content? LOL obviously it takes alot more planning that that.


You said it best right here
"Have a plan and work that consistently...make changes when you know you have to. Progression will come.Have a plan and work that consistently...make changes when you know you have to. Progression will come"

[HammerTech]

Yeah, man - my day is pretty scripted eatingwise, or I'd fall right into the same traps I used to. I have a great luxury of not working in an office right now (doing some 'on the side' work, mostly from home, to help pay the bills til I get something full-time again, plus still able to collect unemployment - this fvcking job market sucks! ) so I have no excuses to not stick to my diet plan. It's all here, and ready to go. I win much more often than I lose as a result.

[joemomma]

Originally Posted by BiggerGuns=LongerDrives

I think I am stuck on the fact that I used to be able to eat what ever I wanted growing up and was lean as a bean pole, but as we get older, every thing we stick in our body affects us more and more.

This. Turning 35 next month, and have certainly noticed it is not as easy as it used to be. Granted, I was never lean, even growing up. (I had to wear "husky" pants, for those that remember that far back.) But, sticking with a solid diet plan and lifting routine makes all the difference. Like has been said, you have to look at it like "Did I win today?"

[HammerTech]

Got a late birthday present tonight - friend of mine that I train with handed me a jug of Xtend. That ruled since now I'm stocked up for a while.

Upper 2

Incline bench:
1 x wu
3 x 5 x 175
2 x 3 x 180

SS #1 - Low Cable Row ---- BB Row:
1 x 10 x 180 ---- 1 x 6 x 225
2 x 8 x 180 ---- 1 x 6 x 225, 1 x 5 x 225
*I remember when I could barely row 1 time at 225...now I'm cranking out sets of 'em with moderate reps - holla!

SS#2 - Supine Rows --- Rack chins:
2 x 8 x bw ----- 2 x 8 x bw
*was fun just to handle body weight moves for something different and see where I was. Obviously, not full body weight involved, but good perspective. Nice burn too.

Barbell Curlz to hit the Gunz Show:
2 x 10 x 85

SS #3 Tri Rope Pulldowns ----- Cable Curls:
2 x 20 x stack ---- 2 x 12 x stack
*split stack machine, each side is I believe 50 lbs.

Done.

Got a full agenda tomorrow, but we'll get something done. It's all in the planning.