Another 24

[Jim Ouini]

You mean you went to Bally's and didn't even take advantage of the pec deck and crossover station for some inner pec blasting????

Nice work.....also, commercial gym weights are just as likely to be SLIGHTLY more as they are slightly less......either way, it sounds like the deload is serving it's purpose and the strength you built is showing through.

My Bally's has 3 pec decs and one power rack

Thanks for the input; I certainly hope I'll get a nice rebound, and going from 6 reps in volume to 3 reps now feels kinda good

Subscribed (rather tardily). Gotta keep up to date on the antics over at Bally's

Thanks for checkin in G. You haven't been around much so I assume it's going well outside the gym

 

[Jim Ouini]

Week 7 Day 3

Back Squat
Bar x 2 x 8
135 x 5
185 x 1
225 x 3
275 x 3
320 x 3

I was debating 320 or 325 but after perusing through Beyond Brawn I decided on slow and steady. Good thing I did since 320 was hard, at least the first 2 reps were. The 3rd rep I got my hips under the bar really quick and came up pretty fast.

Incline Bench
Bar x 15
135 x 6
165 x 1
185 x 1
210 x 3 x 3

Has some strain in my left shoulder; 1st couple sets were 'feeling out' hard, last rep I concentrated a bit more and it was relatively easy.

Overall: Decent workout, squats a bit harder than I'd hoped but reps never in doubt. I hadn't had great sleep the past couple nights, maybe 6hrs average, so I'll try to catch up on it this weekend and come back stronger next week.

 

[Jim Ouini]

Week 8 Day 1

Back Squat
Bar x 10 (front)
Bar x 8
135 x 5
185 x 1
225 x 1
275 x 1
320 x 3 x 3 No belt 3 x 3 PR

First set was good, I felt really strong and tight. 2nd and 3rd less so and had a wiggle on the 3rd rep of each, but reps never in doubt. It feels great to put up a PR again, especially squatting.

Incline Bench
Bar x 15
135 x 5
165 x 3
185 x 3
215 x 3 PR (I think, haven't pushed these but I remember having trouble with 205 last year)

185 was fast 'n easy. 215 was no problem but the 3rd rep I did BB style and it was a little tougher

Clean Pull
135 x 2 x 3
225 x 3
275 x 3 x 3

My back and hips felt great today so I tried some clean pulls. Last time I did these was at end of volume, I think I left off at 295 or so, so I backed up a bit. These felt good, I remembered to start my 2nd pull a little higher so it's touching my thighs and I think it helps.

Overall: Great workout. Afterwards I felt excellent, not sure if it's the deloading, glucosamine kicking in or whatever. Funny how the aches and pains come and go but I'll take it for now.

 

[blut wump]

Congrats on the double PR

 

[Jim Ouini]

Week 8 Day 2

Worked out at home. Weights in kg's

CG Bench Press
Bar x 15
40 x 8
70 x 2
103 x 3 x 3

No problems. I did paused reps on my last set, I had to push hard on these.

BB row
Bar x 10
40 x 5
70 x 2
103 x 3 x 3

I think these were a little better, especially 2nd set. I was pulling back hard into my tummy. Maybe it's hanging down more. Whatever. 3rd set had some humping action

Trap Bar DL
75 x 2 x 3
115 x 3
135 x 3
155 x 3 x 3

I got this bar a few days ago as promised. Wasn't really sure how heavy to go although I figured they're easier than regular deads or even sumo deads. My first set at 155 I used the 'high grips'. So I wasn't bending down as much as regular deads. So I flipped the bar around and used the grips that were even with the bar and that felt more like it. I might use the high grips (it's maybe 4" higher than the bar) in the future as maybe a makeshift rack pull? We'll see. In any case, I liked it, easy to concentrate on driving your legs into the ground and I still had some hip extension action at the end.

Overall: Good workout, happy I was able to pull from the floor a little and not feel like I wrecked myself for Friday.

 

[Jim Ouini]

Week 8 Day 3

Worked out at home today. All weights in kg's

Squat
Bar x 10
40 x 5
60 x 3
80 x 1
100 x 3
130 x 3
147.5 x 2, fail
147.5 x 3

Had to dump the bar on my 3rd rep of 1st set at 147.5. I think I sat back too long so I had no hesitation to try it again. 2nd set was hard and I had some wobble. I think overall I didn't warm up very well and concentration was off a bit. Oh well at least I got it

Flat Bench
Bar x 15
40 x 8
60 x 3
80 x 1
100 x 1
110 x 3
125 x 2

I usually incline today but I have no incline bench at home so I thought I'd see where my flat is. In a word: sucks Yipes. I hadn't flat benched for a good while and my CG and Incline were in the 100-105 range so I guess this was just asking a bit much.

Clean Pull
60 x 3
110 x 3
140 x 3 x 3

Off the floor felt decent. I asked my bro to get a vid:

http://media.putfile.com/DSCN0183

Overall: 'Eh' workout. Squat was iffy, bench was off and who knows about the clean pull I'll try to push it a little bit next week and see how it goes.

 

[Jim Ouini]

Week 9 Day 1

Worked out at gym today; it was packed. Weights in lbs

Back Squat
Bar x 10
135 x 2 x 5
185 x 2 x 3
225 x 1
275 x 1
325 x 3 x 3 (no belt PR)

I have to admit to being a little nervous since I had to dump the bar on the same weight last Friday. Anyway, it went pretty well, I felt decently strong although I had some wobble on my 3rd set. I am very happy I hit my target today, although the hip pain on my right side came back.

Incline Bench
Bar x 15
135 x 4
165 x 3
185 x 3
220 x 3

I felt strong on these today - 220 was no problem, no sticking point.

I skipped clean pulls because of my hip.

Overall: Good strong workout, albeit abbreviated.

 

[Jim Ouini]

Week 9 Day 2

Messed around arranging my home gym for about an hour. Kind of tired after doing all that . All weights in kg's.

Trap Bar DL
70 x 2 x 3
110 x 2 x 3
140 x 1
160 x 1
187.5 x 3 x 3

Not sure how these are supposed to feel. Off the floor it feels like a conventional dead or maybe worse since my hands are out a bit wider. Lockout is pretty easy, relatively speaking, although my back was still twinging a bit from this weekend.

CG Bench
Bar x 10
70 x 2 x 3
107 x 2, 2 x 3

Meant to go 105 but I had an extra 2kg on one side No wonder I felt off balance. The first set it threw me off but I thought I was just weak since my grip was a bit narrower than usual. Last 2 sets I hunkered down and got all 3 reps lol

No rowing, will move to Friday to give lower back a break

Overall: decent workout, happy to get 187.5 DL even if it's trap bar. CG was messed up but all things considered I can't complain.

 

[Tweakle]

nice pull on the trap bar, that's about 420 in real money? good numbers especially if it's a new lift

 

[Jim Ouini]

Thanks Tweakle. Aren't you Canadian? You should know how many liters are in a kilo

Anyway, this trap bar is 54lbs Then I loaded 160kg in bumpers - at was all that would fit, I may need some metal plates since they're thinner if I want to go up. So now that I'm doing the math it's more like 185kg or 407.

The lift doesn't feel that new, it's a lot like a conventional dead off the floor and a sumo dead to lockout. Well to me anyway.