Beerdrinker's log

[beerdrinker]

Week 6, Day 3

Squats: 125x5,155x5,185x5,215x5,252.5x5,185x8

Bench: 110x5,140x5,165x5,195x5,226.25x3,165x8

Rows: 110x5,140x5,165x5,195x5,226.25x3,165x8


Assistance

Weighted situps: 3x6


I really don't know what to say, but not only did I hit every lift, I did them somewhat easily. I had more reps in me on every lift. Even squats. This is not the workout I predicted after Monday's grueling session. Squats were 100% pain free in the hips/glutes.

After my PR on squats though, I had really sharp pain in my left bicep or shoulder or somewhere in there. It was just sharp shooting pain, and I couldn't tell exactly where it was coming from. This is the problem I had on Wed. I have decided my grip on the bar is too narrow. I widened it up for the back off set of 8, and it felt a LOT better.

This pain really persisted though. It felt like someone had my arm in a Kimura hold. I almost didn't complete the workout. I stretched it out and gave it a little rest and continued. I just worked through the pain, and that actually helped. It actually forced me into good form on bench, and even though I felt some pain, it didn't affect my strength. By the time I went to rows, I was virtually pain free.

I think Monday is going to be a good day. Tomorrow, I will do cardio.

 

[beerdrinker]

Week 7, Day 1

Squats: 125x5,160x5,190x5,220x5,252.5x5

Bench: 115x5,140x5,170x5,200x5,226.25x4

Rows: 115x5,140x5,170x5,200x5,226.25x5

Bench again: 135x3,185x3,205x3,226.25x4,226.25x5

This was one ball busting workout.

I was so pissed about missing my last rep on bench, (I had it in me, I was robbed!) that I ramped up again after rows and made another attempt at 5. This time, on rep 4, I somehow got stuck underneath the pins, which ruined any attempt at the fifth. Fuck! I would have gotten it too! I decided I wasn't going to stop until I got 5. I rested for about 5 mins, and attempted it again. Holy shit was rep 5 hard! I did it though! That satisfies me enough to go for a new PR triple on Friday.

Squats really drained me. And for some reason, my arms are hurting afterwards. I don't get it. I widened my grip up on the bar, and it seems to help, but my arms still hurt afterwards. That's mostly why I missed that rep on bench. I was exhausted and my arms hurt.

This was my first early morning workout. It was a little difficult getting going, but max effort squats will get the blood going.

 

[beerdrinker]

Cardio today.

Eliptical 25 min, 5 min cool down.

Going to bed early tonight to try to get up for another early workout. Deadlifts at 6 AM.

 

[beerdrinker]

Week 7, day 2

Squats: 125x5,160x5,190x5,190x5

Deads: 205x5,245x5,290x5,327.5x5

OHP/PP: 110x5,125x5,140x5,155x3


Well, today was for shit. I got little sleep last night, just kept waking up every hour or so. Deads were unbelievably hard. The first pull at my last set didn't even come off the ground. I had to step back, get my head into it, and pull with everything I had. After that came up, reps 2 and 3 came a lot easier. Rep 4 though, I had to switch to mixed grip, and it was UGLY. Dangerous even. I took a few breaths and pulled up 5 with a bit better form. I will be repeating these weights next week.

OHP went fine until my last set which I am now doing push press on. I was just too tired to get up more than 3. I think I need to space the weights out a little further from now on on these. 140 is a little close to 155. I will repeat the weight on these next week as well.

I think I'm at a point here where my top set shouldn't be done without a belt since these are going to be PRs from now on. I am feeling it in my back. I ordered a 13mm lever belt from Inzer yesterday, and since I'm under 2 hours from their warehouse, I think I should get it before Friday's workout.

 

[roy2]

Have you found that cardio screws with your lifts at all? Or do you just eat more food to make up for the burnt calories?

 

[beerdrinker]

Have you found that cardio screws with your lifts at all? Or do you just eat more food to make up for the burnt calories?

Hard to say since I really haven't been doing it that long. Right now I would say no overall, but I do think cardio Tuesday night kept me revved up and ruined my sleep, screwing up Wednesday morning's workout. My hope is that it will eventually increase my work capacity.

I'm rarely in a situation of needing to make up calories. I have a big appetite. I don't really want to gain more weight, I'd rather stay the same and change my makeup.

 

[Mercere]

The reason for your arms hurting after squats may be that you are unconsciously pressing the bar up while squatting. I used to do that too on heavy weights. I wouldn't recommend widening your grip too much, that will compromise the form. Maybe concentrating on squeezing the bar will help.

Overall, I'd say you're making excellent progress.

 

[mad dipz]

The reason for your arms hurting after squats may be that you are unconsciously pressing the bar up while squatting. I used to do that too on heavy weights. I wouldn't recommend widening your grip too much, that will compromise the form. Maybe concentrating on squeezing the bar will help.

Overall, I'd say you're making excellent progress.

I second that. I usually feel a sharp pain in my left bicep/shoulder area when I lose focus on my heavy squat sets. I have to re-adjust and concentrate my form even harder on the next rep(s) and the pain will go away.

 

[beerdrinker]

You guys are right. I was thinking this could be the culprit as well, so I cracked open my Starting Strength book last night to refresh myself on squat form. Found a few things I had forgotten.

I wasn't holding the bar with my thumbs on top. I had them wrapped around like I was going to press it. Thumbs on top make it a LOT harder to subconsciously push up on the bar. Helps keep your wrists straight and everything a lot tighter. I changed this today and it was a lot better. I was even able to bring my grip back narrow again. My top set though, I did put a little strain on my left shoulder. It's hard to concentrate on so many little things when you have a heavy ass weight on your back.

 

[beerdrinker]

Week 7, Day 3

Squats: 125x5,160x5,190x5,220x5,260x3,190x8

Bench: 115x5,140x5,170x5,200x5,232.5x3,170x5

Rows: 115x5,140x5,170x5,200x5,232.5x3,170x5

No assistance today.

Overall, pretty good workout. Squats were strong, but like I'm finding a lot these days, that last rep of 260 was probably all I had. Monday will be interesting.

Bench was OK. I know I couldn't do another rep of 232.5. Same with Rows if I'm staying in halfway decent form with them. I may be doing these weights two weeks in a row. We'll see.

I didn't get my Inzer lever belt yet! I'm kind of pissed about it. It's a 1 day UPS shipment to my house from Inzer and I ordered it 8:00 AM Tuesday. I ordered standard black too. Hopefully I will have it Monday. I think I'll need all the back and abdominal support I can get for 5 reps of 260.