Sunday Legs

Not a bad session. Still figuring things out, obviously. Finding situations in which my cardio is limiting me and dropping reps while upping weight. At the same time, I think, my lower bodyweight is helping my cardio capacity, but not much. The only real frustrating point here is the quad training. Regular squats, even with a high bar, is too much for my shoulders to handle. I saw a video on setting up a sissy squat with a tie down strap on the squat stand so I may try that soon if I'm not happy with my depth with the chain tighter on belt squats next time. Reminding myself it's all a process.

Calf Raise
2 sets @ BW - 30, 30

Wrist Curl
3 sets - 21 @ 17.5 lbs, 20 @ 22.5 lbs, 16 @ 30 lbs (new training weight = 30, new rep range = 16-18)

Belt Squat
3 sets @ 3p+25 - 15, 15, 15 (shortened chain for next legs session)

RDL
3 sets - 15 @ 135 lbs, 15 @ 135 lbs, 10 @ 185 lbs (new weight = 185, new rep range = 10-12)

Saturday Push

Still feeling out my chest work here. I'm just not sure what to do. It's clear from my massage and stretching that my left pec major is the root cause of the issues I'm having, so I guess it would make sense to really pay attention to pain in my shoulder when I'm doing pec stuff. I really like doing the flyes and flypresses but they do seem to put more pressure on my shoulder. I think what I'll do for my next push workout is use the grips I normally use for pull movements and do an actual reverse grip (rather than the talon grip which is uncomfortable) on the bench and see how high I can work up in weight doing maybe sets of 10 or 12. I think this will be easier on my shoulders than the flypresses and will still get me some decent chest stimulus. As for laterals, I stood up against the wall this time and it seemed to help me with my technique.

DB OHP

2 sets @40 lbs - 16, 16

Wrist curl

25x 17.5 lbs, 16x 22.5 lbs, 15x 22.5 lbs 

Fly press

2 sets @ 25 lbs - 15, 15

Band fly

2 sets@ red - 15, 15

Reverse JM Press

3 sets @ BW - 12, 12, 12

Laterals

3 sets @ 10 - 12, 10, 10

Friday Pull

Right upper back has been feeling really sore when I've been sitting. I'm realizing the pain in my left triceps at the elbow is also posture-related so I really just need to work on it and stand up or walk as much as is practical. Lateral raises felt good and I really focused on technique breakdown with those and the meadows rows. I was definitely putting a bunch of body english in with the rows last time, so cleaning that up is going to prevent me from putting too much stress on my upper back/shoulder while it's still recovering. My right hip is sore as I write this, so apparently I'm using some low back on the laterals. Maybe I'll try standing against the wall next time to prevent hitching.

Curls
5 sets @ 20 lbs - 12, 12, 12, 12, 12

Meadows Rows
3 sets @ 50 lbs - 15, 12, 10

Pullovers
4 sets @ 40 lbs - 15, 15, 15, 15

Laterals
3 sets @ 10 lbs - 12, 10, 10

Thursday Legs

 Session time: 1:24
Took a long time to figure out the best belt squat setup. I think I'm going to stick with 3 sets on belt squats at least for now. I'm happy with my leg size for now, at least until I get some substantial amount of fat off so I can see them better and get a more "accurate" measurement. Plus, it just takes so long to do. Shoulder felt fine today, so that's good.

SUPER SET
-Calf Raise
--3 sets @ BW - 30, 28, 28
-Wrist Curl
--2 sets @ 17.5 lbs - 20, 20

Belt Squat
3 sets @ 3 plates - 15, 15, 15 (probably move up in weight next week, won't be as tired next time)

RDL
3 sets @ 135 lbs - 15, 15, 15 (no pauses this time, calf raises and squats are fatiguing me ahead of these)

Wednesday Push

Session time: 48 minutes

Threw laterals in with the push day since my last pull day took a lot more time. I'm also only doing one lift for the chest now. Still trying to find what works. I'm going to work up heavier on rev. grip bench next time to see if that is viable. The flypress really packed some soreness into my chest but it was pretty hard on my shoulders at least during the day yesterday. I do feel better today, but I want to also play around with bent arms on the band flyes with the low setup to see if that is better on my shoulders while still working my chest effectively. This whole feeling-things-out phase is a mental challenge but I'm trying to enjoy it. The punished bodybuilder arc!

DB OHP
2 sets @ 40 lbs - 16, 12 

Flypress
4 sets @ 35 lbs - 15, 12, 12, 12

Rev. JM Press
3 sets @ BW - 12, 12, 12

Wrist Curl
2 sets @ 15 lbs - 20, 18 (incr. weight to 17.5)

Laterals
4 sets @ 10 lbs - 12, 12, 10, 8 (dropping to 3 sets next time, too hard on shoulder)

Tuesday Pull

Session time: 1 hour 5 minutes
Felt great today. Lots of sweat and arm pump. Felt the pullovers in my lats this time with a little form tweak from Atlas Power Shrugged. Abs are tired from 4 sets of those too. Tried the Meadows Row today and not sure what to think of it. I need to watch more videos because I'm concerned about my ability to load it. I had 25s on the bar (landmine set up) and it seemed like it was about to touch the floor at the bottom. I'm concerned that 20 reps are gassing me rather than giving me max muscle stimulation, but I'm a little concerned about loading it too heavy. I'll plan to add weight and drop reps slowly til I get to something like 10-12 range.

Meadow's Row
3 sets @ 50 lbs - 20, 20, 20

Laterals
4 sets @ 15 lbs - 12, 12, 10, 10

Pullover
4 sets @ 35 lbs - 15, 15, 15, 15 (need to add weight to these)

Face Pull
2 sets @ red band - 20, 20 (need to add reps)

Curls
5 sets @ 20 lbs - 12, 12, 10, 10, 10

Monday Legs

Time: 1:07
Was concerned my cardio was my limiting factor on squats, so I tried working up. I was still able to get 12 reps with 205 at the end, so I'm concerned I'm "too strong" for squats to make sense in my program anymore. It irritates my hip flexor and my shoulder/neck issues and fights with my lower back since I round a lot at the bottom of deep squats. For my next leg day I'm going to do belt squats standing on the bumpers. At some point this might justify buying a pendulum squat machine. I wasn't able to get as much done on RDLs I think in part because of working up on the squats, so I'm going to keep the rep goals the same for next time when I replace squat with belt squat. Then again, I'm fine with keeping glutes/hams on the back burner and focusing on quads.

Calf Raise
3 sets @ BW - 20, 30, 31 (change rep goal to 30-32)

Wrist Curl
2 sets @ 15 lbs - 20, 20 (too easy, more weight next time)

Squat
3 sets - 105 lbs x 20, 185 lbs x 14, 205 lbs x 12

RDL
3 sets @ 135 lbs - 15, 12, 12

Saturday Push

Session time: 35 minutes
Shoulder felt okay, but not great. Still playing around with where I end up on my flyes to keep it from hurting but I was able to finish all reps this time. I credit that in part to my new elbow sleeves on the JM press. Legs on Sunday tomorrow.

DB OHP
2 sets @ 30 lbs - 20, 20

RG Bench Press
3 sets @ 80 lbs - 20, 18, 20

Band Flyes
3 sets @ red band - 12, 12, 12

Rev. JM Press
3 sets @ BW - 12, 12, 12 (a bit lower this time)

Wrist Curl
2 sets @ 15 lbs - 20, 20