5/3/1: Wave 2 Week 3 Military Press

All Notation: Weight x Reps x Sets

Nautilus Nitro Laterals (115)(Adjusted Max: 125): 70x12x3

Hoist Military Press (139)(Adjusted Max: 135): 40x5, 55x5, 70x5, 85x3, 95x2, 105x5, 115x3, 130x3 (Rep Out Set).

Hoist Roc-It Pulldown (139)(Adjusted Max: 149): 85x12x3

Nautilus Nitro Close Grip Pulldown (145)(Adjusted Max: 155): 90x12x3

Deadlifts w/35s (305): 200x4x5. This represented 66% of my 1RM.

EZ-Bar Reverse Curls (70)(Adjusted Max: 75): 45x12x3

Warmup and Cooldown: Jacobs ladder, 15 minutes (30 seconds on, 30 seconds off)

Cardio & Stuff

First off, I' m finally below 240 at 239. F'in A!!! 229 is now my new target.

Some things after a week plus of having cardio back into my routine. The Metabolic Acceleration workout, however good an idea, is going to get put on the back burner for a while: as I thought might happen, my lower back recovery slowed down after using it. I could use the Jacob's Ladder, which wasn't too bad. My thought is to either stick with just using the Cybex ArcTrainer for almost all of my cardio and to build up my aerobic capacity, or to use a variant of Metabolic Acceleration that uses a bodyweight complex since the Army PFT stuff I'm doing on off-days can be worked into that.

Today's Workout:

Assised Wide Grip Pullups (Light/monster Mini Band): 3 sets of 5
Assised Close Grip Chinups (Light/monster Mini Band): 3 sets of 5
Assisted Wide Neutral Grip Chinups (Light/monster Mini Band): 3 sets of 5. Felt good to give these a try. Am thinking of using these for all lat work.

Pushups/Decline Situps: 4 sets of 30 seconds

Cybex ArcTrainer: Interval Program, Level 4, 30 minutes.

Hoist Roc-It Leg Curls: worked up to a 165x5, to make up for yesterday.

5/3/1: Wave 2 Week 2 Squat

12" SSB Close Stance Squat (295)(Adjusted Max 280): 85x5, 115x5, 145x5, 175x3, 205x2, 225x3, 240x3, 255x3 (Rep Out Set). I couldn't get the target 5 reps on the last set so I stuck with the minimum. Not with the SSB.

GHR: 1 set for 1 rep. At this point I was beat down. Have I really gotten this weak on this movement? Have I really let the GHR go to seed for me?

Ah, fuck it!!!

5/3/1: Wave 2 Week 2 Bench Press

All Notation: Weight x Reps x Sets

Dead Benches (195) (clustered, 15 seconds between reps): 85x3, 105x3, 125x3, 145x3x5. Done at 75% 1RM.

3-Board Press (264.5 Projected Max)(Adjusted Max 247.5): 200x3, 210x3, 225x5 (Rep Out Set). 3-Board or not, the last set was hard. I will have to do more wrist intensive forearm work as I had to focus on keeping them straight just to do this. It was expected, I've never benched 225 for this length of time before.

T-Bar Row (155)(Adjusted Max 150): 45x5, 60x5, 75x5, 90x3, 105x2, 120x3, 130x3, 135x5(Rep Out Set)

Rack Pulls 2" Below The Knees (345): 225x4x5, Done at 65% of 1RM.

Biceps Curls (100)(Adjusted Max 105): 95x3x6.

Warmup and Cooldown: Cybex ArcTrainer Elliptical, Interval Program, Level 4, 15 minutes.

5/3/1: Wave 2 Week 2 Deadlift

All N0tation: Weight x Reps x Sets

Hoist Roc-It Seated Leg Curls (193): 145x8x4

Arched Back GM (Straight Bar)(215 max)(205 adjusted max): 65x5, 85x5, 105x5, 125x3, 145x2, 165x3, 175x3, 185x5 (Rep Out Set).

Hoist Leg Press (741 max)(677 adjusted max): 205x5, 275x5, 340x5, 410x3, 480x2, 545x3, 580x3, 615x5 (Rep Out Set). I moved my feet out a little wider, and this made the movement harder for me. Just what I needed.

Seated Calf Raises (70): 45x10x4

Nautilus Ab Crunch Machine: 5 sets to failure with 65 pounds.

Warmup: Cybex ArcTrainer Elliptical, Interval Program, Level 4, 15 minutes

Cooldown: 1 hour of basketball

Metabolic Acceleration

Tried a variation of an aerobics method devised by Alwyn Cosgrove and used in an article called The Last 10 Pounds. Since I decided to give this a go at the last minute, I didn't follow the timing exactly. And because I'm doing a lot of heavy lifting, I shrank the complex down. Even then, the Metabolic Acceleration setup was still tough for me. No matter, I got it done.

A.) Complex (100 pounds x 1 rep each movement, 15 minutes with 30-45 second rest periods between sets): Deadlift, Barbell Row, Hang Clean, Push Press, Back Squat.

B.) Intervals (Jacob's Ladder): 15 Minutes, 30 seconds on, 30 seconds Off.

C.) Steady State: Cybex ArcTrainer, Level 4 Cardio, 15 minutes

d.) Army PFT Pusups/Situp: 4 sets of 30 seconds each.

5/3/1: Wave 2 Week 2 Military Press

All Notation: Weight x Reps x Sets

Nautilus Nitro Laterals (115)(Adjusted Max: 125): 50x25x2

Hoist Military Press (139)(Adjusted Max: 135): 40x5, 55x5, 70x5, 85x3, 95x2, 110x3, 115x3, 125x5 (Rep Out Set).

Hoist Roc-It Pulldown (139)(Adjusted Max: 149): 60x25x2

Nautilus Nitro Close Grip Pulldown (145)(Adjusted Max: 155): 65x25x2

Deadlifts w/35s (305): 185x4x5. This represented 60% of my 1RM.

EZ-Bar Reverse Curls (70)(Adjusted Max: 75): 30x25x2

Warmup and Cooldown: Cybex ArcTrainer Elliptical, Interval Program, Level 4, 20 minutes.

Since I did not do yesterday's aerobic day (son had a basketball game at 5PM), I increased both the time and level on the aerobic work today. The high rep work was a bit of a grind and made the aerobics at the end harder. Most of the time, I could do 25 reps straight on the first set (except on the Nautilus Laterals) but the second set was half followed by spurts of a few reps until I hit 25.

5/3/1: Wave 2 Week 1 Squat

12" SSB Close Stance Squat (295)(Adjusted Max 280): 85x5, 115x5, 145x5, 175x3, 205x2, 210x5, 225x5, 245x5. After 3 straight squat sessions done balls to the wall, and still recovering from Friday's leg session, I just did the minimum required. I'm just gonna stick to the program.

5/3/1: Wave 2 Week 1 Bench Press

All Notation: Weight x Reps x Sets

Dead Benches (195) (clustered, 15 seconds between reps): 75x3, 95x3, 115x3, 135x3x6. Done at 70% 1RM. I took off the chains so as to regain my speed back and will get back to adding 5% per week until I hit 95% on week 6. After that, I will add 10 pounds to my max, add the chains, and begin again from 70% 1RM.

3-Board Press (264.5 Projected Max)(Adjusted Max 247.5): 190x5, 200x5, 210x7 (Rep Out Set).

T-Bar Row (155)(Adjusted Max 150): 45x5, 60x5, 75x5, 90x3, 105x2, 115x5, 120x5, 130x7(Rep Out Set)

Rack Pulls 2" Below The Knees (345): 215x4x5, Done at 62% of 1RM.

Biceps Curls (100)(Adjusted Max 105): 90x6x4, 90x5. The goal was 5 sets of 6 but I ran out of steam on the last set.

Warmup and Cooldown: Cybex ArcTrainer Elliptical, Interval Program, Level 3, 15 minutes.

I usually have to get up at 8:30 in the morning to get my son to basketball practice at 9AM. So while he did not have practice today, I decided to use that time to do a workout. My next Navy PRT (Physical Readiness Test) is on April 2/3 and the 1st was supposed to be the last workout of that week. So I did this workout ahead of time so I could get more rest that week in April. BTW, my weight is down to 242 pounds from 244 so I'm starting to creep downward again. Hurrah!!!

5/3/1: Wave 2 Week 1 Deadlift

Hoist Roc-It Seated Leg Curls (193): 120x10x4

Arched Back GM (Straight Bar)(215 max)(205 adjusted max): 65x5, 85x5, 105x5, 125x3, 145x2, 155x5, 165x5, 175x7 (Rep Out Set).

Hoist Leg Press (741 max)(677 adjusted max): 205x5, 275x5, 340x5, 410x3, 480x2, 510x5, 545x5, 580x7 (Rep Out Set).

Seated Calf Raises (70): 55x8x5

PRT Training Week 1 Day 2: Pushups and Decline Situps for 3 sets of 30 seconds each

Warmup and Cooldown: Cybex ArcTrainer Elliptical, Interval Program, Level 3, 15 minutes.

Aerobics

Cybex ArcTrainer Elliptical: Interval Program, Level 3, 30 minutes. You just don't know how I have been racking my brain trying to figure out what I would do aerobically to start dropping my bodyweight/bodyfat. I've thought of complexes, but I already do a lot of lifting (including deadlifting twice a week), so I was not keen on that. Aerobics in the morning? Nope, too much of a bear in the morning. After yesterday's warmups on this machine, I had my answer. 10 minutes and I realized that I was in pretty sad aerobic shape, and that level 3 on this machine was more challenging than level 3 on a Precor or LifeFitness elliptical trainer. I'll keep the time at 30 minutes but raise the level every week or so. For now, I want to minimize my running for a while.

My other answer came from the physical fitness test manual the Army uses. Actually, a 3-month program printed out in calendar form. Here is the link for both. Today was supposed to be 20-30 minutes slow run, and 3 sets of 30 seconds each for pushups and situps.

http://www.hooah4health.com/4you/APFT_Calendar.pdf

http://www.hooah4health.com/4you/apft_two.htm

5/3/1: Wave 2 Week 1 Military Press

All Notation: Weight x Reps x Sets

Nautilus Nitro Laterals (115)(Adjusted Max: 125): 115x3x6

Hoist Military Press (139)(Adjusted Max: 135): 40x5, 55x5, 70x5, 85x3, 95x2, 105x5, 110x5, 115x7 (Rep Out Set).

Hoist Roc-It Pulldown (139)(Adjusted Max: 149): 135x3x6

Nautilus Nitro Close Grip Pulldown (145)(Adjusted Max: 155): 140x3x6

Deadlifts w/35s (305): 215x4x5. This represented 70% of my 1RM.

EZ-Bar Reverse Curls (70)(Adjusted Max: 75): 70x3x6

Warmup and Cooldown: Cybex ArcTrainer Elliptical, Interval Program, Level 3, 15 minutes. On my weight days, this will be my 30 minutes of aerobics. On off days, I will do the 30 minutes in one shot.

5/3/1: Week 3 Squat

It has been tough trying to keep a workout schedule with X-mas stuff going on. That, and I'm trying to fight off a lazy streak. I should have gotten squats done last week. So today, I just worked up to a max after the main work, and tested on the dead benches with no chain. Workoout took me about an hour.

All notation: weight x reps x sets

Dead Benches (195): 55x1, 75x1, 95x1, 115x1, 135x1, 155x1, 175x1, 195x1. Considering where I started from on October, a 20-pound PR is nothing to sneeze at. The next wave will be done without chains, because I was starting to lose speed (used chains too long), and I will start increasing each wave in smaller increments and maybe even start incorporating bands.

12" SSB Close Stance Squat (295)(Adjusted Max 270): 85x5, 115x5, 145x5, 175x3, 205x2, 235x5, 265x3, 295x1, 315x0. Decided to be ambitious. 295 was clean with a pause at the bottom: in retrospect, 305 might have been a better choice and barely so. Even after 4 minutes rest, 315 went down smoothly but I could barely budge it out of the bottom.

5/3/1: Week 3 Bench Press

Dead Benches w/1-Pr Chains (185) (clustered, 30 seconds between reps): 75x3, 95x3, 115x3, 135x3, 155x2, 175x2x4

1-Board Press (230)(Adjusted Max 215): 165x5,185x3, 205x4 (Rep Out Set). I managed to eke out a 5th rep but after the spotter said he helped me a bit, I refused to count it.

T-Bar Row (155)(Adjusted Max 140): 45x5, 60x5, 70x5, 85x3, 100x2, 105x5, 120x3, 135x3 (Rep Out Set)

Rack Pulls 2" Below The Knees (345): 185x5x5. Done at 53% of 1RM.

Biceps Curls (100): 60x10x4

Between being sick with a bad cold and not being motivated, today's workout almost didn't happen. So I did this workout at the base gym, so as not to be tempted to nap it off or blow it off.

Next week begins week one of wave 2.

5/3/1: Week 3 Deadlift

Hoist Roc-It Seated Leg Curls (193): 100x15x3

Arched Back GM (Straight Bar)(215 max)(195 adjusted max): 60x5, 80x5, 100x5, 120x3, 140x2, 150x5, 170x3, 190x3 (Rep Out Set).

Hoist Leg Press (741 max)(667 adjusted max): 205x5, 270x5, 335x5, 405x3, 470x2, 505x5, 570x3, 640x3 (Rep Out Set).

Seated Calf Raises: 45x10x4

Superset:
Lying Leg Thrusts: 12, 10, 9, 7, 6 reps
Assisted Decline Situps: 12, 10, 9, 7, 6 reps

5/3/1: Week 3 Military Press

All Notation: Weight x Reps x Sets

Nautilus Nitro Laterals (115): 70x10x4

Hoist Military Press (139)(Adjusted Max: 130): 40x5, 55x5, 65x5, 80x3, 95x2, 105x5, 115x3, 125x3 (Rep Out Set).

Hoist Roc-It Pulldown (139): 70x15x3

Nautilus Nitro Close Grip Pulldown (145): 75x15x3

Deadlifts w/35s (305): 200x4x5. This represented 66% of my 1RM.

EZ-Bar Reverse Curls (70): 60x5x5