Well, I’m WRECKED! Hahaha. Yeah, yesterdays circuit destroyed me. I’m really glad I did it. I can’t lift my arms today because my lats and shoulder blades are so sore. Moving todays workout to tomorrow and eliminating the 2 consecutive days rest this week, I’ll go Monday and Wednesday.
I had been worrying about this for weeks, that I wasn’t diversifying enough, and this absolutely reconfirmed it. Though the problem is I don’t have many tools. There is so much I can do with an olympic bar with no supports of any type around. I’ve been thinking how the hell to make an improptu “bench” for bench press. I guess I’ll use two chairs as supports and lie on the carpet. Really have no ideas as to lat pulldowns with the complicated pulley mechanism needed. For the moment I’ll introduce chair dips (triceps and shoulders) and reverse pullups (for triceps and lats). Will move pushups out and introduce bench press sometime next week.
Man, I sure screwed up badly. I had been taking so much care of starting with little weight/effort not to run into a huge “adaptation risk” to weights, and on week 4 I go like a newbie and wreck myself adding some new exercises. Complete noob.
I should have know I had to be cautious adding exercises that use muscle groups I hadn’t touched yet. So it’s kind of back to the drawing board. I was immobilized Monday and Tuesday. I seriously couldn’t lift my arms above shoulder height or move them sideways. Yesterday (Weds) the pain was finally going away and I reintroduced a workout with some decreased volume (I was also feeling badly burned out, I probably need to start taking a multi-vit at the least). Pullups, dips and bench press definitely need to go into the routine. Introduced some pullups yesterday, barely did 4, didn’t want to flare up my shoulder/back area again. Those 24 reverse and 16 front pullups on Saturday were death. I’ll now move up slowly, maybe add a set of 4 each workout and then move to 6 reps each set and then 8 till I reach 3x8 which is what I used to do. Then add weight to the pullups when that becomes easy.
6x8 front squat 20kg.
6x8 squat with bar only 20kg.
3x8 bicep curls 20kg.
3x15 pushups
First three sessions of July :
3x8 front squat 20kg.
3x8 squat with bar only 20kg.
3x8 bicep curls 20kg.
2x4 reverse pullups
20 crunch
3x15 pushups
Mostly maintenance, added a bit of new stuff. Been really complicated and had many slight problems, a strained quad and then pain in the inner side of the knee another day, both days suspended squat and moved on to upper body. Will finally begin to step it up big time this week. I’m really motivated. That I’ve managed to keep somewhat of a routine during a complicated work period has really been positive. It’s 100% sure I’ll be in awesome shape before the end of 2007. I hope I manage to start doing something on the track soon, but first I want to be 100% I’m totally on track and consistent with weights. No point in trying to do too much and then not doing either thing.
Not sure how I’ll move up with weights. I think I’ll move up like 5kg. every session in squat till I reach 60 or so kg. and then see where I’m at and how to move up from there. Doing squats with just the bar I think wasn’t even helping to keep tone in my muscles, it was like nothing. So in three weeks (9 sessions) I’ll be at 65kg. in squat, that’s pretty much the plan. I’m still thinking if what I did the last month was equivalent to the first half of a accumulation phase for weights. I think I’ll just take it was “general conditioning” and assume the real accumulation starts now with a 3-1-3 cycle. Reach to 50-60 kg. at the end of the first three weeks with 4x8 reps, ease off a week, and then really go for hypertrophy with 6x8 the next three weeks, without moving up much in weight, maybe 5kg. a week at most. Like 60kg. week 1, 65kg. week 2, 70kg. week 3 or so. That will set me up for going up to 90kg. aprox. by the end of the max strenght phase. From my past experience that should be about what I should reach at the end of a first max strength phase after all this layoff. But I guess we’ll see what happens as we go. I’ll try to focus on not overextending myself. What matters the most is I gain some muscle mass and mostly stay consistent. Wish me luck. I’m happy as ever though. That’s what matters.
3x8 front squat 24.6kg.
3x8 back squat 29kg.
3x8 bicep curls 24.6kg.
2x4 reverse pullups
20 crunch
3x15 pushups
July 14 :
3x8 front squat 20-24.6-29kg.
3x8 back squat 24.6-29-33.6kg.
3x8 bicep curls 24.6kg.
3x4 reverse pullups
20 crunch
3x15 pushups
Finally began to add some weight. Absolutely no problems so far. This is nothing, I can probably do 50kg. front squat, 60kg. back squat without problems right now. But we’ll keep taking the conservative step by step approach and ratchet the weights up slowly.
I need to add something more triceps specific, probably dips and keep pullups to work my lats. Also working on how to solve my remaining equipment issues.
I need a bench for bench press. This worries me most I should be beginning already with bench press, but I can’t find an impromptu bench to build till I get the real one. And a wooden solution really makes me nervous, I don’t think wooden supports would be adequate which is all I have around.
I need a bar/pipe to do pullups well. I guess I’ll go to the nearest homecenter and buy any plumbing pipe of the adequate diameter and stuff it between two walls.
With those two things I’d start feeling more “complete”. I guess I’ll have to fork out the AR $ 300 and buy that stuff. Already spent AR $ 600 on the bar and weights, which is a lot of money. And I still need my supplements, another AR $ 300 or so for three months worth. Total investment AR $ 1.200. Result = priceless. Heh. Yeah I guess this is all worth it. Starting to feel great about all this. My main dilemma remains when and whether to start track. I’m feeling motivated as hell. I even went to see some old friends at the track last week. But I keep worrying and am pretty sure that I still don’t have to time to make a consistent track effort. I’ll probably begin, train a couple of weeks, then have a business trip or something and be back at zero again. My thinking still is along the lines “keep focused on just one thing you’re sure you can do and only start another when you’re sure you can keep that commitment too”. Realistically I can’t do both things right now. But does that mean I can’t do the random track session if I have time? Even if I know it won’t have any real result trainingwise?
3x8 front squat 24.6-29-33.6kg.
3x8 back squat 29-33.6-38kg.
3x8 bicep curls 24.6kg.
3x4 reverse pullups
20 crunch
3x15 pushups
Moving up in weight. Feel great. Still no effort, but I’m beginning to feel that sensation of lifting weight again - the muscles working. A great progress occurred in pullups all of a sudden. I guess I finally got over the hump there, several weeks after reinserting them into the workout. I feel like I used to, piece of cake. Moving reps up to 6 rep sets and then to 8 rep sets. Will introduce dips or bench dips as my main triceps workout and switch from bicep curls to weighted pullups as my main biceps exercise when I begin the second 3 week cycle of my accumulation weights period.
I’m worried about my warmup now. That should be the next thing I solve. I think the only solution is getting a stationary bike. Jogging around the block is out of the question, this isn’t an area to run around in. I worry my warmup is insufficient and that I’ll pull something because of not enough warmup. The investment keeps piling up. Man I had no idea setting up your own gym was this expensive. But it’s much better then the next option : doing nothing. I know for the time being I wouldn’t be able to go to a gym. And for that matter I hate “common” gyms, the weights aren’t what I need, nobody does what I do and one always has to wait to use what you need because some idiot with no idea about real lifting is using the machine/weights/bar you need.
So basically, things are going nicely. Still playing around with the idea of doing some random track sessions or making an attempt at starting track. Can’t get this out of my head. Not sure what I should do.
Next session I’ll begin using some impromptu supports for the squats, two wooden boxes. Up to now I had been cleaning the bar before each front squat rep and snatching the weight before each back squat. But I think 50 or so kilos will already get dangerous to snatch over my head and behind my back for back squats. I could crack my head or cause serious neck injury if the bar somehow slips when passing over my head. Not recommendable at all. I need to begin using an elevated support to get under the bar.
Thanks for the input mort, I thought no one read all this junk, that I was sort of making a monologue.
I’ll look up the floor presses on the net. Never done them before, no idea what they are.
You’re right I should go and check out the pullup bars at the specialized stores, shouldn’t cost that much. I used to have one. No idea what happened to it, haven’t seen it in years, but just last weekend found the supports that went screwed in the wall for that bar … useless without the bar though.
I’m not using any supplements right now. I threw away my clumped up creatine, I was nervous it wasn’t good anymore. That was all I had left from my previous athletics stints. I need to buy everything all over again. Planning to take a multi-vit, creatine 2grs. a day during GPP and SPP, and BCAA’s after all weight sessions. That was what I used to take and felt was very effective for me.
Have some ZMA’s left but that never worked for me because my sleep pattern is so irregular. One week I’ll go to sleep at 12PM every day, the next at 2AM every day, then 10PM the next week, etc. Also thinking about buying some maltodextrin to make myself some energy drinks. Basically I need to wait till I get enough $$$ for all this. I’ll be buying the bench next week and hope I have enough for buying around 3 months worth of supplements the next week.
If you’re strapped for cash, I wouldn’t worry about the supplements too much. Maybe just the multi-vit. Also, isn’t the consensus BCAAs before and during the workout, not after?
Protein + multi vit (and maybe zinc for sleep if you find it helps you) is all you need if you are on a budget. 10lb bag of ON protein costs like $50 and then you pay shipping. That should last a while, assuming reasonable use.
3x8 front squat 29-33.6-38kg.
3x8 back squat 33.6-38-42.6kg.
3x8 bicep curls 29kg.
3x4 reverse pullups
20 crunch
3x15 pushups
Bicep curls were to failure, could barely get the last rep done. I’d need a 1 1/4kg. weight for arms exercises. Ratcheting up 5kgs. at a time is too much. Things are going as expected. Next week will be the unloading week. I will reach 51.8kg. on squat and stay there. 42.6kg. finally began feeling like some work. I’m having a logistical problem with the weights I have. The lbs. scale doesn’t work well. I now have to jump almost 10kg. from 42.6kg. to 51.8kgs. I have nothing to fill in between. I’m using the 4 10lbs. plates I have and the two 5lbs. ones to and that’s 42.6kg., now the next weight I have are the two 15.9kg. (35 lbs.) ones.
3x8 front squat 33.6-38-42.6kg.
3x8 back squat 33.6-38-42.6kg.
3x8 bench press bar only 20kg.
3x8 bicep curls 24.6kg.
3x4 reverse pullups
20 crunch
Pretty messy workout. Finally bought the bench, received it yesterday PM. I like it, it has some convenient grips for doing dips. One can also raise the supports to about shoulder height. So I experimented during the workout using it as support for my squats, but this was unsuccesful. I spent like 15 minutes trying to find a way around this, from the front, back, moving the chair to different angles, removing the chair, but it there was no way, there is always a metal tube in the way and I couldn’t get under the bar. So I’ll have to keep things as planned, using wooden boxes as the squat supports. Gonna build some new ones tomorrow to the height I need them.
By the time I was done testing the bench as a squat support (while I was doing front squat), I had warmed down quite a bit, so I eased off the rest of the workout, didn’t move weight up in back squat, moved down a notch in bicep curls, didn’t increase the reps in the pullups. Didn’t introduce dips yet.
It was great to do bench press. The bench is really good, so I was very happy with that. Started real conservative with just the bar, I know all too well what happens when one runs into the “adaptation risk” by doing too much in your first bench press session. Can’t lift your arms for like a week. Gonna move up 5kg. a session there. I assume I’m still able to do 50kg. or so for 8 reps. The bar alone really felt like nothing.
Front squat, which is the only thing I did while properly warmed up was GREAT. Felt VERY strong. It was nothing. Was really happy with that too. The quads strength is there, my legs have just atrophied a bit in all this time of inactivity. Next session moving the squats to 51.8 kg., and that will probably as far as I go in this cycle. Next week will be unloading, and the week after I’ll REALLY get going.
July 30
3x8 front squat 33.6-38-42.6kg.
3x8 back squat 33.6-38-42.6kg.
3x8 bench press 24.6kg.
3x8 bicep curls 24.6kg.
3x4 reverse pullups
20 crunch
July 31
Went to the track. Only did a full warmup and that was it. Didn’t want to risk anything, not even doing a tempo session, I haven’t run in too long to jump right in.
August 2
4x8 front squat 33.6kg.
4x8 back squat 33.6kg.
3x8 bench press 29kg.
3x6 pullups
3x4 dips
2x20 crunch
This has been a very chaotic week. Tough week. Work has been hectic, probably the worse week so far this year. I’m so dead tired when I’m done it’s hard to do any workout. I get home and sleep. Then like at 8PM I try to get myself to do weights. There have been at least 3 days I’ve pulled out all my equipment but couldn’t get myself to start a workout, either someone called on the phone or dinner would be ready or whatever and I have ended up with no workout. But I’m hanging on. Doing what I can. Had to decrease the weights a lot, I’m fatigued, my body is tired. Today 29kg. on squat was tiring (I added a set though). I wonder if it might have to do with lack of some vitamin apart from the general fatigue/stress from work. I’m solving that tomorrow, getting all the supplements I need tomorrow.
Modified my whole weights workout this last session, introduced dips and reversed the type of pullup I’m doing, now I’m doing normal pullups and working my triceps with dips. Gonna increase reps of all exercises to 6x8 for the next three weeks, and that will be the thick of my hypertrophy phase.
Did a track “session” on Tuesday. It was so nice to be at the track. Just warmed up, did strides etc. No actual work. With good reason. I was very sore on Wednesday, just from having done a warmup, I guess that’s an indication of the state I’m in. Damn. Well, I’ll keep doing what I can little by little. I still feel really good about all this, and I think there will be significant progress by the end of the year.
Gawd, what a difference in quality there is in my session during non-work days. Felt absolutely great today. A very enjoyable workout. Not that struggle my weekday workouts have been.
Will move up in reps to 6x8 on Monday’s session. Thinking whether to add hang clean and/or hang snatch to the workout. But that would complicate things, I’d probably need to divide my workouts into arms and legs days, and I know that probably wouldn’t work well, as I’m struggling to just do 3 sessions a week.
Already seeing progress physically, I can tell I’ve gained mass, in particular my legs are coming back and my torso is getting V shaped again from the pullups. Too bad I don’t have a balance to properly gauge my progress. Also I feel that “jumpy” effortless feeling again when climbing stairs, that one gets after doing leg weights. I now see how week I had been getting doing no physical activity at all.
August 6
4x8 front squat 33.6kg.
4x8 back squat 33.6kg.
4x8 bench press 33.6kg.
3x6 pullups
3x4 dips
August 7
Track.
Full warmup, tempo 9x100m. with 45secs rest.
Monday was horrible, had a really bad day, struggled to get through the workout. But that’s alright, I at least did the workout and I’m concentrated on keeping just 1 day rest between workouts. If I don’t start putting in 3 weights workouts a week consistently, my progress won’t be very good. I know that well from my previous experience. 2x sessions a week is barely good for maintenance.
Managed to make it to the track today. I’m going to be trying to make it one or two times a week to the track. With no goals. Not even to do speed. Just stretch out my legs and see my old friends. I’ll probably only do tempo in these sessions as an active recovery from weights. Wanted to do 10x100m. today, but my right calf was tightening up a little bit, so I scratched out the last rep. I’m taking zero risks right now. The last thing I want is an injury.
6x8 front squat 33.6kg.
6x8 back squat 33.6kg.
6x8 bench press 33.6kg.
3x6 pullups
3x6 dips
Excellent. Progress. Finally.
I’ve been finally able to string together a few consecutive sessions now. It has made a lot of difference. Finally managed to move up to 6x8, now I should be well off for gaining some mass in the next few weeks. Despite it being a week day. I did have a good day though. So I wasn’t as flat as usual after work. Women. Women.
Going to the track tomorrow. I’m really feeling great about all this. This will be a great end of the year, I might even make it as far as doing some speed work.
To not vary though, I have a business trip, I will be out of town Friday night-Tuesday afternoon. So I’ll miss my sunday workout, I’m leaning towards doing a circuit that day during my trip.
A pleasant session. Finally was able to complete a tempo workout, finally felt some cardio work going into this. Things are going nicely. Things are smiling up for once. For the first time in a long time I’m progressing on all fronts, personally, professionally, physically. I hope I’m finally finding some balance in my life.
6x8 front squat 38kg.
4x8 back squat 38kg.
6x8 bench press 33.6kg.
3x6 pullups
3x6 dips
August 15
6x8 front squat 29kg.
6x8 back squat 29kg.
6x8 bench press 33.6kg.
3x6 pullups
3x8 dips
It’s been two hard sessions. Friday was a pretty rushed session before catching the plane. I took the cab to the airport right after showering after the weights session. Today I was pretty mowed down from my first day after getting back, maybe a little jetlagged. Decreased the weights a bit. Predictably didn’t do anything while on the trip. Thought a few times of doing the circuit workout but just didn’t put apart enough time for it. I did find out on the last day that a real good gym near the hotel has a “walk-in” plan where you just pay for one day and you use the facilities. Since I’ll be travelling back there every three months or so that was very good to find out … too bad it was on the last day of this trip … too late to help me this time. Going to the track tomorrow for a tempo session. Off-topic - the trip was stellar. Really happy about how business went. I guess in the long term that’s also good for my athletics side, the better off I am economically the more free time and possibilities I should have for making some time to do what I like.
Started taking a multi-vit today. Will stock up on the rest of the supplements I need before the end of the week.
6x8 front squat 38kg.
6x8 back squat 38kg.
4x8 bicep curls 24.6kg.
6x8 bench press 33.6kg.
3x6 pullups
3x8 dips
Moved Friday’s workout to Saturday. Monday is a holiday here. So this means I’ll have two great, good quality workouts in a row. Tuesday I’m travelling, so this made even more sense because I’d have to have taken Tuesday off anyway.
Finally was able to move a bit up in weight. I could really notice the difference in energy compared to work days. I definitely can do like 10% or so more weight on non-work days with the same apparent “effort”. I’m really burned out and tired after work. Reintroduced arm curls, I need more upper body exercises to get some good hypertrophy. My legs are blowing up alright, but my upper body really hasn’t progressed as much. Moving weight up again on Monday. Then I’ll have to see how I move up from there, the next weight I can do after 42.6kg. is 51.2kg. with the weights I have. I don’t think I can do 6x8 with 51.2kg. Probably not even 4x8. Hmmm. Well we’ll see. We’ll come up with something.
3x8 front squat 33.6kg.
3x8 back squat 33.6kg.
4x8 bicep curls 29kg.
6x8 bench press 38kg.
3x6 pullups
3x8 dips
Odd. Not sure what happened, I ended up really sore from Saturday’s session. My legs were dead. It must have been because I hadn’t done the full 6x8 in both squats yet and on top of it I did it with the max weights I had done so far. But even my chest was sore and I hadn’t moved up in bench press. Weird. So I decreased weights a bit and reps in half today for lower body. My upper body was the flip side of the coin, felt really strong, moved up in weight in arm curls and bench press. Still have more room to move up in bench press. I’ll almost certainly record a new bench press PB during this next max strength phase. Need to look back in my journal, I think my PB was 70 or 75kg., somewhere around that. If I can do 6x8 with 45 or 50kg. 3x2 with 80kg. shouldn’t be a problem. I’ll at least be very close to PBing. Had never been serious with bench press or upper body weight, but now it’s motivating me a lot. I guess I need some type of goals or records to keep me motivated, and I’m so hopelessly far from what I have done before in legs weights thinking of even getting close to my PB’s is a joke. It will take an year or two to get even close to 150kg. full squat or 200kg. 1/2 squat. When I think back and look at the videos I have, I can’t believe how the hell I was able to lift those weights. Insane. I don’t even have that much weight right now, LMAO, and I can’t even lift all the weights I have right now which is like 100kg. I haven’t even used the big 15kg. weights yet. LOL.
OK. Now I’m starting to get excited about this. I had really been cautiously optimistic about things up to now, but now I know and feel I’m committed. And most of all I’m feeling great about how things are going. I’m really stringing together sessions now and getting the type of consistency I know is needed for real progress.
This will be an excellent end of an year. I’ll be in incredible shape come November or December and I see a glimmer of light in respect to getting back to doing some speedwork consistently and finally getting back “on track”. I’m back in the game. Definitely.
As to today’s session. Just great. Introduced some modifications. Going to “stair up” my legs weights, I think the stiffness of that other session was influenced by a couple of factors, but probably mostly that I’m not getting as good of a warmup as I should be getting. I’d need a stationary bike for that … and that won’t be available for now. So I’ll be getting a better warmup for the heavier weights by moving up with each rep … which is how I always used to workout anyway. I might try the 52kg. rep for the last rep on Friday’s session. Upper body weights are going great, arm and pectoral mass and strength are going up. Had no problems with 8x6 @ 42.6kg. in bench press. I definitely smell a new PB come October.
Women. Women.