Saturday, January 2, 2010

FOAM ROLL (lower back, IT bands)
TENNIS BALL (piriformis)
WARM-UP WALK (1/2 mile)
STRETCHING

SQUAT
135 x 1 x 10
135 x 1 x 5
225 x 1 x 5
295 x 1 x 2
315 x 1 x 1
335 x 1 x 1
365 x 2 x 1
385 x 1 x 1
405 x 1 x 1

PULL THROUGHS
30 x 1 x 10
60 x 3 x 10

After the 5th set, squats felt really good. Maybe it was the Icy Hot, but my SI joint felt fine and my back was good. Then came the pull throughs. I should have kept the weight lower. When I was done my back was tight. It did go away pretty quickly, though, so I can't complain too much.

Overall, it was a good day.

Mens Sana in Corpore Sano

Friday, January 1, 2010

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

New year, new goals. This is NOT a New Year's Resolution. Nothing guarantees failure quite like a New Year's Resolution.

Goals:

1) GET HEALTHY AND STAY THAT WAY (SI joint, hip flexors/abductors, left elbow)

2) Stay on top of SMFR, massage therapy, stretching, and warm-ups.

3) Compete in at least 3 meets (either bench-only or full)

Meet goals:

Squat: 500
Bench Press: 365
Dead Lift: 530


Mens Sana in Corpore Sano

December 31, 2009

FOAM ROLL (lower back)
WARM-UP WALK
STRETCHING

BENCH PRESS

Bar x a lot
135 x 10
185 x 5
210 x 5
240 x 11
(est. rep max = 327, not bad but needs improvement)

FACE PULLS

40 x 1 x10
60 x 2 x 10
80 x 1 x 10

LAT PULLDOWNS

100 x 3 x 10

DONE

Should have warmed up more on the bench to get the 12 reps I was looking for... c'est la vie.


Mens Sana in Corpore Sano

Update 12-28-09

I saw the sports medicine doctor last week. He said it's probably an SI joint issue and not a herniated disc. My nerve function was good and the so-called "straight-leg test" was negative for sciatic pain.

I plan to use Joe DeFranco's Agile 8 combined with some massage therapy to work out the tight muscles. Hopefully I'll be back to dead lifting soon.

Training is later today, so I'll have an update on what I get done.

Mens sana in corpore sano.

December 18, 2009

Dead Lift

walk 4 minutes
stretching

Dead Lift:

2x8 @ 135
1x5 @ 225
1x3 @ 275
1x5 @ 340
1x3 @ 385
1x3 @ 435

Glutes (on multi-hip)
3x10 @ 150

Abs (body weight, decline bench)
1x12
1x10
1x8

DONE

My back was so dang tight I was walking around like I thought I was God's gift or something. I'm working with my future-PT friend again to see if we can resolve this. I'm thinking of dropping the 5/3/1 for squat and dead lift (while continuing to use it for bench press) and just doing heavy singles.

I was thinking today that I want to hit up the next two meets in the area; the Capitol City Clash in Lincoln, NE on January 23 and the Kansas Heavy Metal Open in Hoisington, KS on March 6.

I plan to do bench press only at the NE meet and do a full meet at the KS one.

We'll see...

Mens Sana in Corpore Sano

December 17, 2009

No squat this week. This is partly because of my psoas issue and partly because of finals. No excuse is a good one, but at least this is an explanation.

Got the massage done Tuesday night and I'm feeling pretty good. Not 100%, but I should be so after another treatment or two. The therapist is coming back in about a month, so I'm definitely looking forward to it.


Anyway, today:

Bench Press:
1x15 @ bar
3x8 @ 135
1x5 @ 210
1x3 @ 235
1x8 @ 265
(335 est. 1 RM... YES!)

Lat Pulldowns:
3x8

CSR:
2x10
1x6

Face Pulls:
2x10
1x8

Felt good... traps will be sore from the face pulls even though they were light. I've never done these before, but I hope they keep my scapulae tracking right.

Mens Sana in Corpore Sano

December 9,2009

Bench Press

Bar x10
135 x6
185 x3
225 x3
250 x8
(316.67 est 1RM)

CSR

2x10
2x8

Lat Pulldowns

2x10
2x8

Felt darn good today. Little pins and needles in the left pec, but other than that, no problem.

December 11,2009

No training today. Too busy studying and had a tight muscle in the right iliopsoas region.


I'm not sure what my training will look like in the next week. Finals loom large on the horizon and that hip flexor or ab muscle or whatever it is is just getting worse. I'll just have to see, but I want to be smart. Another student's wife (a massage therapist) may be able to fix the issue near the end of finals week.

Hoping...

Mens Sana in Corpore Sano

Sunday (12-7) & Monday (12-8) Training

Sunday (12-7)

pushups:
20
20

machine flyes:
10

wide-grip dips:
3x4 (sets x reps)

selector machine incline presses
3x10

walked 1/4mile

pushups:
20

machine flyes:
10
10

narrow-grip dips:
2x8
1x6

selector machine incline presses
2x8
1x6

I was pretty tired after this. Today I've got the DOMS like nobody's business. Hopefully this will help me jack up my (rather pathetic) bench press max...


Monday (12-8)

hip adductor/abductor
2 sets each exercise 10 reps x 80 lbs.

hamstring/glute on multi-hip
2 sets 10 reps x 40 lbs.

hip stretching/hamstring stretching

Squat:

135x8
185x5
295x3
345x3
385x5

hamstring curls
2x8x115
1x8x135

My back was pretty tight again tonight, but I think it was better than it could have been.

I used a LOT of Icy-Hot on my lower back to try to stay warm... smelled like menthol for about an hour after the session.

Hoping and praying that my back loosens up this week before dead lift on Friday...

Mens Sana in Corpore Sano