Hammer curls? Might be worth a go for your elbow issues

Would barbell curls be just as good? I don't have any dumbbells or a hammer curl bar, just a good old fashioned barbell.

6/12/17

Superset:
Squats: 195x5,5,7
Chins: 8,7,6,5,4

Superset:
RDL: 155x8x3
Ab wheel: 6,6,6

I forgot I RDLed 135 last week. The barbell was starting to drift away towards the end of my sets. Plus, it felt like I may have been bending my knee too much. Will remember to chalk up next week.

I think flat bar curls are more likely to exacerbate the issue than heal it. Just something I read somewhere, I'm happy to be shown to be wrong by someone

What you say makes sense to me.

Heh. Do you guys think doing chin-ups is a bad idea? Today, my left elbow was hurting while bench pressing. First time that has happened. Normally, my elbow only bothers me when squatting with a grip that is too narrow. This pain is different than that I have experienced recently while doing pull-ups and bench press.

6/13/17

Superset:
Chins: 8,7
Bench press: 167.5 x 5,5,6

Superset:
BB rows: 135x5,5,12
Banded pallof press

Dips: 8,8,7

Neutral grip chins would be best by far

+1 million

I will get on that. Thanks for the advice guys.

6/15/17

Sumo DL: 215x6x3
Pause squats: 150x5x5
Ab wheel: 7,7,7

My right quad has been giving me trouble the last day or two. First time that has happened. It is not a problem when lifting, but it aches afterwards. I will heat and ice in hopes it will be okay by next Monday.

6/16/17

OHP: 117.5 x 5,5,5
BB rows: 120x10x5
Spoto press: 135x5x5

I ambitiously tried towel pull-ups. Oops! I somehow did two and realized that wasn't happening. I need to get something to do neutral grip pull-ups posthaste.

6/19/17

Squat: 135x5,5,10
Pause DL: 185x5x2 (conventional), 185x5 (sumo)
Pause squat singles up to 175

My right leg has been bothering me since last week. I am pretty sure it is my TFL. If I flex my hip normally it is okay, but it is a different story when I do the same while externally rotating my leg. I dropped the weight to focus on technique. The first two working sets were okay, but certain reps felt terrible during the set of ten. It seems the pain occurs if I don't contract my hip flexors extra hard.

After my working squat sets, I fooled around putting the bar higher on my back while also doing a more knee dominant squat. The hip dominant squat did not feel so good at 175, but the knee dominant was fine.

6/20/17

BB rows: 140x5,5,12
Bench press: 170x5,5,6
Inverted rows: 10,10,10
Dips: 8,8,9
Banded pallof press

Chances are I will be able to do neutral grip pull-ups starting next week. Good thing because I can't find an adequate alternative for them. And I should probably add weight to bar for rows.

Nice work on the home gym!

Curious - what's the thought process behind the occasional 3x12ish burpee sets? I ask because it seems a bit short to me for HIIT work... if that's the goal, I think you should increase sets or reps or both .

Thanks!

The long term goal of the burpees is to be able to do 100 burpees in 5 minutes, which averages to a burpee every three seconds. It is one the challenges the creator of GSLP came up with. To get that goal, the idea is to slowly increase the amount of burpees while making sure the total time of the sets is less than or equal to a burpee every three seconds. So if I do three sets of 12 burpees, each set must be less than or equal to 36 seconds. I also take a minute of rest between sets. My lungs are burning after the second set. I have found it is a good way to get some conditioning that does not take anything away from my strength training.

6/22/17

Sumo DL: 235x5x3
Light squats up to 135
Ab wheel: 8,8,7

I could feel quad discomfort while DLing. Although I think I will do them over the long term, I will need to pull conventional in the meantime. Sadly, I realized today that the reason why I don't feel much pain in my right quad when squatting breaking at the knees first is because my flutes take over in the hole. Since I can't figure out a way to squat consistently pain free, I am going to try lunges. If that does not work, I will just do single leg work. It is probably for the best because my left quad and glutes are much weaker.

6/23/17

OHP: 120x5,5,6
BB rows: 122.5x10,10,10,10,8
Bench press: 147.5x5,5,5,5

After getting five reps during the OHP AMRAP set the last few weeks, a sixth rep decided to show up today. Welcome back buddeh! It was a pleasant surprise as the first two sets were tough.

6/26/17

Deadlift w/5 sec descent: 185x5x5
Split squat with left leg: 65x10, 75x10, 85x10
Ab wheel: 8,8,6

Had to cut this workout short. These deadlifts with a slow descent is helpful in cueing me to unlock my hips at the top. For some reason, I have a tough time not bending my knees first. On Thursday, I plan on filming my deadlifts. I plan on doing three sets: one touch-and-go, one regular (taking a breath at the bottom), one where I reset after each rep. I think doing reps how I have been deadlifting is not ideal because I can't keep a flat lower back on each rep. By trying three different ways at an easy weight should provide a guide for how to deadlift for reps in the future.

6/27/17

BB rows: 150 x 5,5,10
Bench press: 172.5 x 5,5,5
Neutral grip pull-ups: 7,6,6
Dips: 9,8,7
Banded pallof press

I'm such a fish at benching. The first two sets and four reps went fine, even though I am having trouble keeping the bar level on the way down (and probably on the way up too). Then somehow I had a strength dump on the fifth AMRAP rep I barely got up. I had a decent night sleep too.

On the plus side, I was able to do pull-ups without pain. Huzzah!

6/29/17

DL: 225x5x3 (vids below)
Split Squat (left leg): 85x10x2
Ab Wheel: 8,8,7

The inside of my right quad/hip flexor has been sore since Monday, probably from the split squat. The same place was getting irritated today from split squats so I called it after two sets. I'm hoping I can squat Monday.

I deadlifted three different ways: touch-and-go, taking breaths at the bottom after each rep, and resetting after each rep. Touch-and-go felt awkward and my grip was fried by the last rep. I think resetting after each rep is the way to go as each rep feels the same. I think staying at the bottom after each rep causes me to squat the weight up. I would appreciate any comments on my form, especially if one way of deadlifting looks better than the others.

Both normal and touch n go look good to me; what specific concerns do you have with your normal form again?

Turned off the Yugoset one after you started rep 2, because **** Yugosets.

I have thrown out my lower back a bunch of times with my normal form (i.e. taking a breath at the bottom after each rep). Not sure why, but it typically happens at the end of a set. I tinker with my setup after each injury, but I wind up hurting myself again and again (most recently a few weeks ago, though that was not as bad as it has been). I have not hurt my back pulling conventional when I reset after each rep, or when pulling sumo. I would pull sumo now, but it irritates my right quad.

6/30/17

Weighted neutral grip pull-ups: BW+5 x 5,5,6
OHP: 122.5 x 5,5,5
BB rows: 125x10x3
Bench press: 150x5x5
Banded pallof press

Crap night sleep = subpar workout. One day this will get through.

7/3/17

Squat: 155 x 5,5,10
DL with 5 sec descent: 185 x 5,5,5

My legs were all sorts of sore from doing yard work yesterday. I figured if I could squat yesterday without pain, I should add some weight and give it a try. As I get back into squatting, I will start out light and go from there. The weight wasn't heavy, but boy was gasping for air by rep seven in the AMRAP set.

I also squatted and deadlifted in my oly shoes. I seemed to only get leg pain when I was squatting by pushing my hips back first. Now I am squatting a high bar style. I also wanted to experiment deadlifting with oly shoes. I know the range of motion is more, but I have never missed a deadlift at the lockout. I feel like I can get my quads involved better getting the weight off the floor. I will give it a shot on Thursday too.

I have had AC joint pain the last few weeks. It is so bad I can't sleep on my right side. If I do, I am in a lot of pain the next morning. The upside is it does not hurt when I bench press or OHP, which is strange because it is supposed to. Since I have had the pain for so long, I should really see a professional about this.

7/4/17

Superset:
BB rows: 155 x 5,5,8
Banded pallof press

Bench press: 175 x 5,5,5
Neutral grip pullups: 7,6,6
Dips: 8,7,6

Grinded the fifth rep in the AMRAP bench set. I will be shocked if I can three sets of five at 177.5 next week.

7/6/17

Deadlift: 225 x 5 (in oly shoes), 4; 205 x 5
Tempo squats: 135 x 5 x 5

Deadlifts suck in oly shoes after all. I could feel being too forward at the start of the pull. I went back to my chucks, but my form felt like ****. It feels like I use only use my quads and glutes. I assume it should feel like an RDL once the bar gets just below my knee, but it doesn't. Pause DL sounds like a way to fix this.

Did tempo squats because my right quad/TFL/whatever felt inflammed the last couple of days. Slowing it down helped feel that I am not pushing my right knee out enough on the descent. I can fix it at the bottom doing tempo squats, though I doubt that will work on regular squats.

7/8/17

Weighted neutral grip pull-ups: BW+7.5 x 5,5,7
OHP: 125 x 5,4,3
Pendlay rows: 135x8x3
Bench press w/2 sec pause: 135x5x3
AMRAP at 135: 9

I fell asleep on my right shoulder Friday night so it felt awful on Saturday. It feels even worse today. That said, no exercises hurt. Good thing I have an appointment tomorrow to get my shoulder and quad checked out.