My BodyBlog

The snow shovelling Saturday morning was actually a pleasure.  The way the wind was blowing, we didn’t get any drifts in the driveway, but it all accumulated behind the house blocking the two doorways and piling up on the 2 decks.  Took about an hour to shovel out these.  I am amazed at how easy the shovelling was compared to what I had to endure before I was in the relatively good shape I’m in now.  I went at a fast pace, using good form (shovelling is almost as technical as deadlifting!) to ensure no injury.  Although I had a light sweat by the end, I wasn’t huffing and puffing out of breath or struggling in any other way to get through it.  One of the pratical benefits of my bodybuilding and I’m very grateful.

Like any good workout though, there was a price to pay the next day and the price this time was light soreness and and a general ‘tired back’ feeling.  I was planning to deadlift on Sunday but decided to wait until I warmed up at the gym before making the decision.  By the time I got to the gym late afternoon I was feeling much better than in the morning.  After a treadmill warm-up and a good stretch, I loaded the bar to 135 and did a set of 10.  I decided to go on and see how much I could do before the back called it quits.  Between deadlift sets I did some light trap and shoulder work and a lot of stretching.  I did deadlift sets of 225×3, then 315×1.  My tired back sure made itself known as the weight got heavier.  I put on another 2 plates and decided to try for the 405 lift, not knowing if I could do it but not being able to stay away from the attempt.  I did the lift, it was hard but a solid lift none the less.  Feeling great about doing that, I put on another 50 pounds and thought I’d attempt the 455 (PB attempt), not really thinking I could do it given the back tiredness.  It was a solid attempt, got the bar up a lot higher than I figured I could manage at the time.  I am feeling more comfortable with that weight every time I try it and it’s a matter of WHEN I do it, not IF.

After this I went upstairs and did 15 minutes of treadmill sprints, a challenge with a tired back and after deadlifts.  Got ‘er done though.  Finished off the workout with some bicep work, and as I left the gym I felt very happy with what I’d accomplished given the back tiredness and I was already thinking about my next workout! 

A real old fashioned blizzard is underway here today, they say to expect 50 cm (20 in) of snow over the next 24 hours.  I am content working in my home office, don’t have to go out today.  Especially content since I did my workout last night, one day earlier than in a typical week.

The gym wasn’t too crowded, I was able to do my warm-up and stretch then hit the bench press.  I was feeling good so after a warm-up of Bar x 15, 135×6, and 135×6, I loaded on the plates to go for a new personal best lift of 260.  Told the spotter what I was attempting to do.  Didn’t come right out and tell him not to touch the bar until absolutely necessary since I know from experience this guy is a good spotter.  He helped me with the lift off, I went right down to my chest and although it felt very heavy I felt like I had a good chance of doing it.  The press started well but had trouble with the final lock-out, the spotter had to give a push for me to finish…so close!  I really feel this weight is within my reach now and it is only a matter of time.  I’ll keep trying it.  Did a set of 225×3 to finish flat bench press.  I then did incline bench press (3 sets), decline dumbbell press (3 sets), 2 sets of push up, 2 sets of dumbbell flyes, 3 sets of cable crossevers , and a set of plate pushes.  Towards the end I started super-setting with tricep exercises, tris were pre-exhausted so I couldn’t go very heavy, focused on strict form and getting a pump/burn.  It was an excellent chest/tri workout and I’m already feeling the DOMS only 12 hours later.

As for my HIIT cardio…it didn’t get done last night.  Quads were still sore and I just didn’t have it in me mentally to get it done.  I know I know, excuses, excuses.  I hope the cardio gods will punish me by burying me in snow and I’ll have to spend hours shovelling out.  That’ll teach me.  I WILL get back to HIIT next workout.

Wow.  What a crowd at the gym last night.  A wide variety of folks and that’s great to see, but it usually means I have to wait for equipment or do something else.  No chance getting to the power rack for squats last night.  I wanted to challenge myself with a 10×10, but there was a group of 4 guys taking turns doing barbell shrugs.  They were in no hurry, so I decided to defer squats and go for Plan B.  Did a 10 minute treadmill warmup first though.

I counted 36 people in the free weight/machine area of the gym.  There was not a soul doing any kind of leg exercise.  Amazing.  I started with the leg press, I felt good and did sets of (counting 50 lbs for the sled) 230×15, 410×12, 500×10, 590×8, 680×6, 770×4.  I put on another 180 to see if I could press 950.  I got a couple of spotters to watch me.  I went as deep as I could, deeper than a previous attempt at this weight, and did the 950 press.  I was very happy with that, I will soon be trying 1,000.

Next up to the cardio room where luckily the ArcTrainer was free.  I grabbed it and did 15 minutes on the interval setting at the highest level, 10.  I got through it with not too much difficulty, I had a coating of sweat but I didn’t feel a huge cardio effect.  I like this machine because it’s easier on the joints than sprinting, I just have to find the program that will give me the cardio workout I want.  Back to sprinting next workout.

Downstairs again where I did supersets of lying leg curls and seated leg extensions.  I kept the weight low on curls, but really went for broke on extensions.  I did sets of 100×10, 150×10, 200×7, and then used the whole stack for a final sets of 230×4!  First time I’d tried to lift the stack, I was surprised I could do it.  I finished off quads here with a double drop set of 150×10, 100×10, 50×15.

Finished the workout with some work on calves and abs.

I will have to do my next leg workout on a Friday or Sunday when I won’t have any trouble using the power rack.  I really want to do that 10×10!

I worked out Friday night and Sunday afternoon.  Friday was chest and triceps while Sunday was back, biceps and overhead barbell press.  And HIIT cardio both times too, ArcTrainer Friday and treadmill Sunday.  These two workouts were just what the Doctor ordered to break me out of the little funk I was in.  I can speculate about what caused it, but I’ll probably never know for sure.  I think though that deadlifting on average twice a week in January was too much, especially when I was trying to lift heavy every time.  Combined with the heavy bench press work, I think my back reached the point where it couldn’t fully recover between workouts and that meant I could do less than I’m capable of.  That situation started to affect my motivation.  I’m thankful I had the awareness to realize what was happening and stop it.

One notable thing for Sunday’s workout - after doing back I decided to do some barbell overhead presses, after a warm-up I decided to really challenge myself by going for a new high single lift - 185.  My previous best was 170.  I’ve tried 185 before with not much success, and although I didn’t complete the lift on Sunday it was damn close.  I will do that lift one day soon!  Next workout I’m going to start with squats and the goal will be to completely destroy me legs.  Wish me luck! 

I have to react to what my body is telling me and what my mind is telling me too - the workout program I started in January is just not making the grade.  I’m 4+weeks into the 10 weeks I’d planned, and as I type this the thought of another 5+weeks working out like this has very little appeal to me.  I compare how I feel now to the same point in my last workout program - 3S Workouts - and it’s like night and day.  That was a great routine, this one is turning out not to be.  I won’t go into all the particulars, there’s no point really.  What it all boils down to is that I’m having much less FUN at the gym now and having fun is what’s kept me committed and motivated for the last 6 years.  It hasn’t been all bad, I’ve done some quality work and I know it’s benefited me, however my time at the gym is so precious to me that I have no intention on NOT enjoying what I’m doing.  I’ve felt like this one time before, when I attempted a 5×5 program in the fall of 2008.  When that didn’t go well I quickly moved on to something else with no looking back.  I’ve decided to do the same this time around.

I will never abandon my goals - heavier deadlift, bench press, and getting defined abs.  I’ll just find a more enjoyable way to keep working on them.  My short-term plan is to do more traditional split training, 2 or 3 muscle groups per workout, and to keep up with the HIIT cardio that I’ve started.  I can already see some benefit from that and I have no intention of giving it up.  I’ll start a structured program again when I feel ready, there are a couple of things I want to try.  In the meantime I’ll work hard, lift heavy, and hopefully have maximum FUN once again.

Workout went off the rails a little bit last night.  My back has been feeling sub-par since late last week - just a tired, achy feeling.  It’s happened to me before after an extended period of heavy lifting.  The combination of heavy bench pressing, deadlifting and sprinting for 3+ weeks now has taken its toll, along with some heavy lifting outside of the gym over the weekend.  I need to rest it up, I’m hoping the three days off I’ll have until Friday night will get it feeling strong again.

I started the workout with rack pulls.  Set the pins lower to target the sticking point on my heavy deadlift attempts.  I worked up to having 455 on the bar, but after several lifts at lower weights my back was done for and I couldn’t pull this.  I went to do HIIT then, but all the machines were in use.  There was large crowd at my gym last night.  So I went back and did 3 sets of stiff-leg deadlifts and then 5 sets of lying leg curls - really worked the hamstrings well.  Went to do my cardio, but all the machines still in use….grrrr…..

Decided to do some calf work, set up the plates in the Smith machine for standing raises, drop sets.  Got two of the guys to help me, and I did seven sets to failure, pausing 10 seconds in between each while a plate was removed from each side.  This is a killer calf workout, the burn you get is unreal.  Took about 4 minutes to completely blast calves, no need for any more work after those drop sets!  By this time my energy level was very depleted and as I hobbled away from the Smith machine I knew that there would be no cardio for me this night.  I did manage to do some ab work though.

This was my 14th workout this month and the first with no cardio.  I’ll just have to dust myself off and get back to it next time.

Thursday night I did my Deadlift/HIIT/LB Workout #5, a day early, due to work travel.  It was just average, my back felt tired, so I couldn’t challenge myself on deadlifts as much as I wanted.  Couldn’t match your sets last week Steve, It’ll be awhile yet.  I did 225×5, 290×5, 325×5, and since I knew my back was very tired by that point, my final set was 335×2.  I know I won’t bring my ‘A-game’ every workout, what matters most is I do some quality work and keep building.  The gains will come!

Friday was hectic with travel and work, Saturday was spent doing errands and helping my sister-in-law with a home improvement project, and Sunday was a day to do housework, catch up on my emails, get some food ready for next week (lots of travel days again), and, of course, enjoy a workout.

It was Bench Press/HIIT/UB Workout #6 Sunday afternoon.  I decided to do my sprinting first, just for a change of pace.  I was watching a curling final on the tube and before I knew it 25 minutes had flown by.  I was on the treadmill for 30 minutes, about 15 of it sprinting.  I went downstairs to start my weights, I had a good warm-up but as soon as I started my first bench press set I could feel it…or rather not feel it.  My back was tired and energy level just wasn’t there.  I guess the combination of doing the cardio first and some heavy lifting and dragging (a toilet!) I did at my sister-in-law’s on Saturday was enough to sabotage a heavy bench press workout.  I managed 135×10, 185×8, 205×4, then did 135×16.  The rest of the workout I did various sets for chest, back, and biceps, keeping the weights low and reps high.  Not what I had planned to do, but most definately the best choice given how I felt.  I really drained myself with a fast-paced workout.

Last week of January is upon us and I’ve stuck to my workout program so far…Consistency = Success!

Supper didn’t digest well (chicken, rice and vegetables) last night for some reason and I felt bloated throughout the whole workout.  Pre-workout supp plus water intake just made it worse.  I soldiered on and had a decent workout anyway.  Had no choice but to do decline bench press first since every other station was blocked.  I did sets of 135×12, 225×8, 235×5 and feeling ambitious I went for a new PB single at 275.  Got it part way up but couldn’t finish, I’m very happy with the attempt though.  It will be done in time.  Next was incline bench press, I increased the weight on all sets by 10 pounds over last time.  Sets were:  115×12, 135×8, 145×6, and 155×4.  Did all sets clean and still have room to increase weight.  Incline has always been my weakest bench lift but it seems like it is coming around nicely!

Went to the cardio area where there were a lot of newbies just walking on treadmills.  My ’sprinting treadmill’ was free so I grabbed it to get my HIIT done.  This is when the bloated feeling, plus some tired legs really reared their ugly heads.  I couldn’t up the intensity from previous sessions but I was successful in upping the heart rate and working up a good sweat.  I’ll take it.

Finished the workout with chest/tri supersets.  I know I said I wouldn’t do tris during this workout program but since I have 5 days before hitting chest again, I figured I have plenty of time to recover and I just felt like doing it.  Felt great too.

Last night at the gym someone used the expression ‘Get all your ducks in a row’.  The two guys she was talking to had never heard the expression before, but I knew what it meant.  Is this a universal expression or just something said in my region of Canada?

I had a student today - not officially but it felt like it.  An eager teen that I’ve seen at the gym before came up to me when I was starting deadlifting and asked if he could work with me.  I did the first set, my warm-up of 135×10.  I watched him do his first set and saw several things he could improve.  I asked him if he minded if I told him a few things, and that opened the flood gates of questions and talking about deadlifting and training in general.  He’s been training for a couple of years and has done great with upper body, but his lower body has not been trained consistently.  He’s gone from 135 from 205, and not a lot of body fat either.  Great progress and I learned he’s done it basically on his own, not using much for guidance other than what he’s learned from others at the gym.  Sounds like me before I found bodybuilding.com.

My deadlift sets were 135×10, 185×10, 225×10, 269×10, 315×5.  My ’student’ tried every level and seemed to get stronger as he went along as he concentrated on doing the lifts using the tips I gave him.  As I set up for 315 he said he’s never tried that before but he was going to now.  He did the first rep and I could see the look of pleasure on his face and he kept going for two more reps.  After the set he said how happy he was with that.  In my opinion he can go a lot heavier if he focuses on training with good form, and I told him so.

Next I said I was going to do rack pulls, and he didn’t know what those were so I showed him and he worked with me on those too.  I did sets of 135×10, 225×6, 315×3, and 413×1.  He didn’t go over 225 since his back was getting sore and tired.  After doing a burn-out set at 135, he laughed and said he’s never felt his back like this before and it felt great.  He was finished his workout then and we went our separate ways.  I hope he enjoyed working with me as much as I enjoyed the role of teacher.

Next I did my cardio, 20 minutes on the ArcTrainer machine usind the ‘Hill Interval’ program on a setting of 8.  Good cardio, but not as intense as the treadmill sprinting.  Good to give the joints a little break though.

Finally, back to the weights and since I didn’t have much time I stuck with the leg curl and leg extension machines which are side by side and I did as many sets as I could in 15 minutes.  Another workout completed according to plan!

I know I’m doing deadlifting right when I start to see the blood flow.  I’ve been scraping my shins, even with the long socks and pants I’ve been wearing.  I’ve learned to drag the bar up the shins and legs which helps maximize the weight pulled.  Today I rubbed a spot I’ve rubbed before and it was enough to get me bleeding, I noticed it seep through my socks and pants.  I didn’t feel a thing though!  I didn’t let it stop me for a minute.  It will heal in time and if I get some scarring I will wear it with pride.

I’ve been feeling a litte lethargic and headachy all day today…can’t really concentrate on much at work, I’m just picking at a few easier things. I’m quitting work early to take a walk with my wife before it gets dark.  Hopefully the fresh air and exercise will clear my head, I’ll have a good supper and then be in good shape for my workout tonight…..
….it’s the next day and I did feel a lot better by the time I went to the gym, although energy wasn’t at 100%.  I decided to do HIIT first in case I ran out of gas quickly, AND I decided to try the treadmill again even though it would be the second day in a row.  To my amazement, I was able to sprint again, no cramping up or weird pains.  Including warm-up and cool-down, I was on the treadmill for 23 minutes.  I lost track of how many sprint intervals I did, it was at least 7, and I used different speeds between 8.5 and 10.  I can’t wait to see how my body will respond to this HIIT training as time goes on!

Now to hit the weights, I warmed up rotator cuffs before starting bench press.  My working sets were 185×10, 205×5 and 225×4.  Spotter’s push helped me finish final rep on the 225 set.  I am so close to conquering the 225×4 I can taste it!  Maybe next time I’ll try this right away after a good warm-up before I fatigue the muscles too much.  Next, I decided to do some barbell overhead presses.  Working sets were 105×6, 115×5, 125×4, 135×3 145×2, 155×1.  These were supersetted with biceps.  I was getting tired by this point but decided to go for a new PB single of 175, 5 more than I’ve done before.  I gave it a good shot, getting the bar part way up, but I had nothing left to finish.  I know I can get this lift with more gas in the tank, it’s all about timing.

Another workout in the books, I am very happy with my consistency in getting to the gym and working hard at least three times a week.  I know that consistency has been one of the keys to what I’ve achieved so far and I’m grateful that I’ve found a way to stay consistent no matter what is going on in my life.

Did I mention that I thrashed my abs Thursday night and they may very well be the sorest I’ve ever felt them?  A sweet feeling!