7/10/17

Box squats: 165 x 6,6,6,4
Pause DL: 185x5x3
Ab wheel: 8,7,6

The guy I went to see today confirmed I have AC (and rotator cuff) problems on right shoulder. I will need to work on internal rotation. He mentioned my subscapularis is messed up. He thinks all these problems may stem from my collarbone protruding out excessively. It may also be why front squats suck so much.

He also confirmed I have a problem with my right quad. I told him it might be because my left glute and quad don't fire, causing my right glute and quad to take on more of the load. He had me do some single leg exercises, which showed that my left knee would go crazy. To avoid the pain, he suggested I do box squats with a wide stance. I vastly overestimated how much weight I can do. I will need to research how to do them properly because my lower back is sore.

I will be going back on Wednesday, where he will go over his plan to fix my injuries and strengthen my weaknesses. Really looking for it.

7/11/17

BB rows: 157.5 x 5,5,7
Bench press: 177.5 x 5,5,5
Neutral grip pull-ups: 7,7,6
Dips: 8,8,7

7/13/17

DL: 225x5
Sumo DL: 235x5
Box squats: 145x6x3
Ab wheel: 8,7,6

7/14/17

Weighted neutral grip pull-ups: BW+10: 5,5,7
OHP: 112.5 x 5,5,7
BB rows: 130x10x3
Pause bench: 137.5 x 5 x 3
AMRAP bench at 137.5: 10

The right side of my lower back tightened up after conventional DL. So why not add weight and pull sumo? Pretty sure my back tightened up from not descending properly.

7/17/17

Box squat: 155x6x2, 165x6x2
Slow descent DL: 185x5x3
Ab rollout: 8,7,7

7/18/17

BB rows: 160 x 5,5,7
Bench press: 180 x 5,5,4
Dips: 8,8,8
Neutral grip pull-ups: 7,7,6

Had my first appointment with the PT. Worked on scapular mobility and getting my left hip/glute/hamstring stronger and more stable. I tried single-leg exercises and my left knee wobbled all over the place. The plan is fix that ASAP and go back to squatting two plates.

What single leg exercises?

Squats (about a quarter of the way down), RDL with arms overhead, RDL with kettlebell in one hand. My left knee was unstable on all three. I have been doing the latter two exercises as a warmup on my lower body days. There has been a noticeable improvement in the last week.


7/20/17

DL: 225x5x3
Box squat: 165x6x3
Ab rollout: 8,8,6

First set of DL was eh, but the last two sets felt good. I think I will finally add some weight next week.

After box squats, I tried a normal set of squats. No right quad problem. That likely means I am keeping my glutes out instead of placing stress on my quads.

7/21/17

Weighted neutral grip pull-ups: BW+12.5 x 5,5,5
OHP: 115 x 5,5,6
BB rows: 135 x 10,10,8
Pause bench press: 140x5x3
AMRAP: 9

Going to Jacksonville next week for work. No point in logging since I will likely work out at a hotel gym and not go heavy. I hope to squat normal, at least on Monday, the following week.

7/31/17

Squat: 165 x 5,5,8
RDL: 135 x 10,10,10,9
Ab wheel: 5,5,5

Busy week + pink eye = one day in the gym last week. It also probably means losing at least a month of progress.

I tried to pick a weight where I could hit ten reps in the AMRAP set for squats. I was surprised it felt so tough. I had a difficult time keeping my weight back when hitting the hole.

8/1/17

BB rows: 160 x 5,5,8
Bench press: 162.5 x 5,5,6
Neutral grip pull-ups: 7,6,6
Dips: 8,7,5
Banded face pulls

Benching is tough. Maybe I will get my gains back after a couple of weeks. I guess it was a matter of time before my rows surpassed my pressing.

8/3/17

DL: 185x5, 205x5, 225x5x2
Squats: 155x5x5
Ab rollout: 8,7,7

I've decided to reset after each rep for deadlifts. It is a lot easier to get before each rep. No problems today.

8/4/17

Weighted neutral grip pull-ups: BW+10 x 5,5,7
OHP: 112.5 x 5,5,6
BB rows: 135 x 10,10,9
Bench press: 145x5x5
Banded face pulls

8/7/17

Squats: 170 x 5,5,10
RDL: 140x8x4
Ab wheel: 7,7,7

After a rough start back, squats felt much better this week. My goal is to get back to squatting 200 lbs by next month.

For RDLs, I focused on loading the hamstrings. I have had a tendency in the past to bend my knees too much. Worked out much better today.

8/8/17

BB rows: 162.5 x 5,5,7
Bench press: 165 x 5,5,5
Neutral grip pull-ups: 7,6,6
Dips: 7,6,6
Band face pulls

My bench has fallen part the last couple of weeks. I can't keep the bar straight on the descent. At least one rep of each set hits the safety bars. I'm not getting any leg drive. My wrist isn't straight on the ascent. I need to go back and watch SYTYCB.

8/10/17

Deadlift: 230x5x3
Squats: 155x5x5
Split squats: 25x5x2

I have given up on doing Rippetoe deadlifts. I never felt like I could load my hamstrings properly. I went back to deadlifting the way I used to except I reset after each rep. It is more tiring having to add an air squat between reps, but my lower back felt much better.

I plan on finishing my lower body workouts with split squats, as prescribed by my PT. He showed me how to do them properly. I thought they were like lunges.

8/11/17

Weighted neutral grip pull-ups: BW+12.5 x 5,5,6
OHP: 115 x 5,5,6
BB rows: 137.5 x 8 x 4
Bench press: 147.5 x 5 x 4

8/14/17

Squats: 180 x 5,5,10
RDL: 145x8x4
Tempo split squats: 25# plate x 5 x 3

Felt like I was hyperventilating after the tenth rep in the squat AMRAP set. It took a couple of minutes to catch my breath. Gogogo for ten reps at 190 next week.

8/15/17

BB rows: 165 x 5,5,7
Bench press: 167.5 x 5,5,5
Neutral grip pull-ups: 7,7,7
Dips: 7,7,8
Band face pulls

Bench press felt much better than last week, even though I did the same number of AMRAP reps. At least this time I was able to try putting up a sixth rep. Felt I had it after the first two sets. Sweet improvement on pull-ups and dips.

8/17/17

Sumo DL: 235 x 5,5,7
Squats: 160x5x5
Ab wheel: 8,8,7

Ripped out third set of sumo DL for no reason. They feel much better on my lower back than conventional pulls. On the other hand, my lower back felt fried from squats. I am considering going back to a more upright squat for a little while to give my back a break. It will be a good test to see if my right quad is better.

8/18/17

Weighted neutral grip pull-ups: BW+15 x 5,5,5
OHP: 117.5 x 5,5,5
BB rows: 140x8x4
Bench press: 150x5x4

Another strange AMRAP day. For pull-ups and press I thought I could get a sixth rep before the set. Instead I ran into a wall after the fifth rep.

Recently rows have been destroying my hamstrings more than deadlifts or RDLs.

8/19/17

1.7 mile hike

8/20/17

Tennis for two hours. I have played five or six times this summer. I hadn't played for years before that. I'm pretty bad, but it gets me out of the house.

8/21/17

Squat: 185 x 5,5,8
RDL: 150x8x4
Split squat holding a 45# plate: 5,5,5
Ab wheel: 8,8,7

Not a bad effort squatting with a more upright torso after taking a break for a few months. Lower back feels great and no quad/hip pain. I may have had another rep or two but was dead tired. Progress in RDLs (and grip strength) is pretty good. No danger in failing at all.

8/22/17

BB rows: 167.5 x 5,5,7
Bench press: 170 x 5,5,4
Neutral grip pull-ups: 8,7,7
Dips: 9,8,6
Banded face pulls

I need to stop messing around and film bench. I am pretty sure I had should have put up a fifth rep. My bar path sucks. It is all over the place from rep to rep. It causes me to readjust the bar at the top. Instead of being macho, I will reset next week. I am thinking of doing spoto presses again on Friday to work on bar path.

I was wrong yesterday about my right quad. Hurt badly today. I had a PT appointment today. I told him about my pain and he critiqued my squat form. When I high bar, I tend to break at the knees. When I can't descent anymore, I get dumped forward which puts me in hyperextension. He showed me how to do a hybrid squat, which was pretty much what I had been doing. I need to do a better job tightening my core before the rep. I tend to get tight as I descend.

8/24/17

Squats: 165x5x5
DL: 240x10
Ab wheel: 8,8,8

Two hours of tennis

I decided to switch it up by doing squats first and just doing one AMRAP deadlift set, like the old GSLP days. I am considering going back to GSLP workouts. I am not sure if I am getting adequate recovery when working out four days a week. Working out three days doesn't sound like enough, but maybe it makes sense when you get the olds.

8/25/17

Weighted neutral grip pull-ups: BW+17.5 x 5,5,6
OHP: 120 x 5,5,5
BB rows: 142.5x8x4
Bench press (3 sec. descent, 1 sec. pause): 135x5x3

Bench is probably FPS. Still pretty tough.

8/28/17

BB rows: 170 x 5,5,7
Bench press: 152.5 x 5,5,9
Neutral grip pull-ups: 8,7,7
Dips: 8,8,7
Banded face pulls

My PT wants me to do Friday sessions the next four Fridays. He wants to work on my posterior chain. He mentioned he wants me trying trap bar deadlifts and heavy KB swings. In any case, I switched my upper body days to Monday/Thursday.

8/29/17

Squat: 190 x 5,5,7
RDL: 152.5 x 8 x 4
Superset:
Split squat w/2 sec pause at bottom: 25# plate x 5 x 3
Ab rollout: 8,8,7

Squatted with oly shoes. More iffy reps than I would like, going up with the weight too far forward. Going back to chucks on Friday.