ME Upper Body

The day before, I had napped plenty. These days, after 1PM, the rest of the time is mine (That will change when training is over and I start standing security watches). So why was I wiped out when I woke up for Army PT at 5AM? I just can't get used to this, especially seeing how I'm such a bear in the morning.

All Notation: Weight x Reps x Sets

Incline Bench Press: 150x8x4

Trap Bar Shrugs (196b): worked up to a 186 lbs 3RM. If the number seems weird, I weighed the bar at 76 lbs on the scale. It's thicker than the average Trap Bar, almost Fat Bar-like.

Assisted Pullups (Average Band): 9, 8, 7, 6, 5 reps. Maybe, if I hadn't killed my traps first, I might have been able to do a little more.

Hammer ISO Rows (125b): 95x8x4

Incline DB Lateral Raises: 15x4x5

Barbell Curls: 70x8x5. Supersetted with the lateral raises.

ME Lower Body

Parallel Box Squat: Worked up 225x5, 245x5, 255x5.

GHR: 8, 7, 6, 5, 4 reps

Hammer Calf Press: 220x8x4

RE Upper Body

Went to sleep late last night (1:30 AM), and woke up at 5:30 AM to go running with the Army (2.0 miles). I was so sleepy that I caught myself a few times catnapping in between sets. Still a good workout, will go to bed early today.

Flat Bench Press (195): 115x12x4

Incline Front Raises: 15x4x5

Assisted Chinups (Average Band): 10, 9, 8, 7, 6 reps

Hammer ISO High Rows (110p): 85x8x4

Hammer Curls: 30x8x4

DB Shrugs (72p): 65x2x12. Did these in between sets of chins, rows, and curls.

Test

My legs are just about healed up, but I kept it simple today by doing only one lift just for testing purposes.

Deficit Deadlift off 4" Block: Worked up to a 315 single and a 345 miss (barely broke the floor buut that was it).

ME Upper Body

Instead of running, we went to the gym and did our own thing at 5:30 AM.

Incline Bench Press: worked up to 165x3, 185x3, 175x3

Wide lat Pulldowns: Forgot the bands. Worked up to 105x5, 120x4, 135x1, 105x5x3

Hammer ISO Rows (125b): 65x15x3

Incline DB Raises: 10x10x5

DB Shrugs: 60x4x7

Barbell Curls: 50x15x3

Ouch!!!

My hamstrings are so sore right now from that Sunday leg session and Monday sprint session that I took two days off and their still really sore. I'm talking about my whole backside except for the calves. So I did an abbreviated session with parallel box squats just to do something . . . . anything.

Parallel Box Squat: worked up to a 255 triple. I had no pop, but the stretch felt good afterwards:

Hammer Calf Press: 150x15x3

Week 2: RE Upper Body

My morning today began at 5:30AM: that's when I started training with the Army for security forces. I ran about 1.5 miles, then did almost the same thing for Indian Runs, then sprints and suicides and cariocas. Of course, there was also calisthenics. At 7, we were done with PT.

Then after safety instruction with the M16 rifle, I went in at around 11:00 AM to do weights.

Flat Bench Press (195b): 100x15x3

Incline Front Raises: 10x8x5

Assisted Chinups (Average Band): 10, 9, 8, 7, 6 reps

Hammer ISO High Rows: 55x15x3

DB Shrugs: 55x6x5

Hammer Curls: 20x15x3

Felt super tired and since we couldn't go to the range to shoot, we were done for the day. By 2PM I was asleep fpr a 3 hour siesta.

RE Lower Body

Arched Back Good Morning (205): Since I haven't done this movement in a long time, I went ahead and tested on it and just abbreviated the day's workout to make up for it. Starting with an empty bar, I worked up to a 195 lbs double and a 205 lbs single.

Front Squats (205): 105x15x3

Leg Curls (145): 75x15x3. After the arched back good mornings, the leg curls left my legs shaking and burning.

Seated Calf Raises (95): 80x5x5

Update

First off, my trip to Finland has been approved so barring something unforeseen coming up, All I need is the plane tickets (sometime May orr June).

Starting Monday, I begin training to augment security forces here in Africa for the next 3-4 months. Which means a lot of running to get me up to Army standards, a lot of shooting, and a lot of time spent in full body armor, weapons, and gear in the heat. On top of that, I will still be training for the meet. I might not even recognize myself when all of this is over. This means having to be efficient with my time, an adjustment in diet, maybe an adjustment in workout schedule since my hours will vary. It will be a challenge, but I'm up to it. No matter what shape I'm in in July, I'm still planning to go.

ME Upper Body

Incline Bench Press: worked up to 155x5, 175x4, 165x5

Assisted Pullups (Average Band): 5 sets of 9, 8, 7, 6, 5 reps.

Hammer ISO Rows (125b): 107.5x5x5

Incline DB Raises: 15x4x5

DB Shrugs: 50x8x5

Barbell Curls: 80x5x5

ME Lower Body

All Notation: Weights x Reps x Sets

10" Low Box Squat: Worked up to a hard 225 5RM

Assisted Pistols (Average Band): 5 sets of 7 reps

45-degree Hyper: 5 sets of 12 reps

GHR: 30 reps (8, 7, 6, 5, 4 reps)

Decline Twisting Situps: 5 sets of 12 reps

Hammer Calf Press (285b): 250x5x5

RE Upper Body

After much experimentation and some days off due to soreness, I'm ready to get down to brass tacks.

All Notation: Weight x Reps x Sets

Abs Class

Flat Bench Press (195b): 165x5x5

Assisted Chinups (Average Bands): sets of 9, 8, 7, 6, 5 reps

Hammer ISO High Rows (110b): 95x5x5

Incline DB Front Raises: 10x10x4

DB Shrugs (72b): 45x10x4

Hammer Curls (40): 25x10x4

ME Upper Body

After a long layoff, the hardest part is just getting started again. Today, at 12: 01 AM, I finally got back into the gym. In the future, I probably should never take a layoff this long. 2 weeks tops, maybe. I'm up to 220 lbs, and I'm weak all over the place. On the plus side, my rib was fine the whole session, so I think it's fully healed. Psychologically, it felt great to be touching the iron again.

The Virtual Meet is in 21 weeks, enough for seven 3-week waves. My request has been approved by my chain of command and I should have flight information in a week or two. Barring something way out of the blue, the trip is a go.

Training wise, I may do something like what I did last time which was like Westside for Skinny Bastards III but with no speedwork. Like what worked for my squat, I will stick with the flat bench press on repetition day for the 21 weeks, and use everything else for maximum effort days. I'll stick with the deep front squat and arched back good morning for 21 weeks on repetition day, and switch between DL/box squat variations for maximum effort days. Accessory work will be just about the same but instead of doing a bicep movement on both days, one of those days will be for triceps to push my bench up. Aerobics, I will figure out: I do now that my goal weight for the Virtual Meet is 200 lbs flat.

Flat Bench Press (195b): worked up to a 185 lbs 3RM

DB Shoulder Press (65b): 45x8, 45x7

Assisted Pullups (Average Band): 7, 6, 5, 4, 3 reps

Hammer ISO Row (Elbows In)(127b): worked up to a 110 lbs 6RM

DB Shrugs: (72b) worked up to a 70 lbs 2RM

Barbell Curls (95): 80x5x5

To make the workouts easier to decipher, especially on rep days, I will soon do like I used to and put the 1RM in parentheses after the lift. If it is an actual 1RM, it will appear as is. If it was calculated using Brzycki's formula ( weight lifted/[.0278 x number of reps at that weight] minus 1.0278), it will appear with an "b" after the number.

The lifts that stay the same for the 21 weeks use a planned progression (see Excel spreadsheet above) so those maxes will show up in parentheses with a "p". As you can see from the attached spreadsheet formula [ =(A3+10)*0.9] for the 4th week, the max used to calculate week 4 is 10 lbs bigger than it was at the beginning, and 10 pounds are added around every 4th week or so. For dumbbell lifts, it is a 5 lbs planned progression. For me, this is easier than always having to test a lift, especially since ME days do that for the main lift.

Project:Virtualmeet

It's been a while, but I'm back.

I'll be back in the gym on February 9. Aside from the laziness after 16 days of vacation to the United States in December, I broke a rib in a scrimmage game while I was home so I've been letting that heal. Broke it in a scrimmage game of basketball.

So, about the title . . . . .

One of the nice things the military does for people recalled for what I'm doing is Rest & Recuperation (R&R) Leave, where they pay to send you ANYWHERE in the world when you are on one year orders. You just pay for everything else, and the leave gets charged - - - up to 15 days. Now, I could always go any place in the States on my own dime but for my second year in Africa, I've decided to take full advantage and go somewhere else I haven't been yet. . . . .

Finland.

For those of you who frequent Tsampa.org or Virtualmeet.net, you know who Kris is. I learned about him around 2001 or 2002, when I was trying to find Prilepin's Table using Google and one of the links it spit out was the Prilepin Bench Program on his site. Aside from having done a few of the virtual meets (highly recommended), we have corresponded here and there. Well, you may also know from going to his websites that he has an outdoor gym on an island (Vaasa), and has always wanted to do a gathering of some of the powerlifting bloggers who have done some of the virtual meets, partly to do a meet and also a convention. So I contacted Kris in January and asked him if he would be willing to host me for a while, and maybe show me around, for the Virtual Meet in July 2009. Kris thought it was a splendid idea, and sent me all the information I needed to file my request. It's now being routed up my chain of command and, hopefully, it will be a go. Thanks, Kris.

For me, it would be the chance of a lifetime. Finland is pretty damn far from Washington State (heck, it's pretty damn far from Djibouti) so it is not something I can always do a whim. Of course, I get to meet Kris and Sana and family, people I've read about on the blogosphere, but I also get to hang out and lift with him and do a Virtual Meet, too (Christian Burger, Virtualmeet.net site moderator from Austria, also plans on being there). I may even get to see Sweden and Estonia, and would be more than glad to lend a hand in the judging.

And of course, I'm gonna blog about it. I finally got myself a speedy laptop, and my digicam is on its way here. All I have to do now is prepare for it.

And Now I Know . . . .

. . . . . . I truly am burned out.

I am still toast after Thursday's workout. Not nearly as sore but just beat up. With that and about 2 weeks of inconsistency, I'm pulling the plug on this cycle. I will still walk in the mornings and do Abs Class 2-3 times a weeek, and I started doing the Elliptical in the afternoons. But no weights. Better to stop, than be stopped.

Did I hit my weightlifting goals? Small "no" but big "yes". Did not test my numbers and with no deload would have not hit them. The one thing I never planned for was a deload leading up to a test week. But looking back, I got stronger and better and more balanced structurally. From April or whenever I first started doing the lift, to December, these were some of the improvements:

1.) Reverse DB Lunges w/Front Foot Elevated: from 50x5 to 100x5
2.) Can now do 1 Clean Pistol, nice and low
3.) Went from not being able to do a pullup to 7 pullups and 1 pullup wearing 32 pounds of body armor.
4.) Hammer ISO High Rows: 90x5x3 to 95x15x3
5.) Hammer ISO Rows (Elbows In): 65x15x3 to 95x15x3
6.) Bulgarian Split Squat w/Front Foot Elevated: 40x5x4 to 110x5x5
7.) Incline Bench Press: 95x10 to 135x13 and from 185 (3rm) to 195x2x12
8.) From Deadlift off 2" Block of 345 to Deadlift off 4" Block of 365.
9.) Smith Machine Box Squat: 285 max to 285x4x6 to 290x2x12
10) Can now barbell curl 115, old PR was 100

And most importantly, I did this while dropping about 32 pounds tops. And I didn't have to diet too hard to do it. As of this morning, I was 209 pounds which was about 3 pounds more than my lowest weight this cycle of 206. I might get close to that before I go home on Monday but even if I don’t, I have come a long way and I get to also walk away with ideas for next year.

WSFSB III: RE Lower Body

Didn't do the long walk yesterday, but me and a friend took a long walk at night on the runners trail. Very quiet and relaxing, and no snakes or or desert foxes jumped out of the bushes.

Today, I took the 1.25 hour walk in the morning. In the evening, I had a brainstorm. I haven't been doing any high intensity stuff because I'm bordering on burnout. So I do the long walk at night, too, with a twist: on the way down I stop at the gym and do my workout, then finish the walk as a cool down. which felt great and was doable.

Abs Class

Smith Machine Box Squats (slightly below parallel): 185x15x3. Was supposed to do 175 lbs for 3 sets of 15 but felt like adding 10 more pounds. Walked away with a very uncomfortable pump.

Hammer Machine Calf Presses: 185x15x3. Same deal as the squats. One set was toes out, one was toes in, one was neutral.

Leg Curls: 90x15x3. My hammies were pumped to the point of cramping.

Was supposed to do assisted pistols but my legs were so exhausted that I could only do two instead of the usual 10 so I called it a night and went walking.

WSFSB III: ME Upper Body

All Notation: Weight x Reps x Sets

Have been walking at 6 AM every morning for an hour and 15 minutes, no body armor.

Evening:
Hammer ISO Shoulder Press: Worked up to a 100 lbs 4 RM.

Hammer ISO Super Incline Press: 70x8x4. Only adjustment was to raise the seat to bring the bars more in line with my mid chest. Couldn't lift as much, but it hit my chest a little differently.

Assisted Wide Pullups (Monster Mini Band): sets of 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 3 reps

Hammer ISO Rows (Elbows In): 95x15x3

Barbell Curls: 65x12+3, 65x9+6, 65x3+3+3+3+3. Based the weight off of a 115 max but all my back work taxed my biceps beforehand. Each pause was 10 seconds long.

Barbell Shrugs: 115x15x3

Skipped the aerobics. Felt really beat, didn't want to push too much harder. The workout went a little better than I hoped.

Burnout

Today was to be my ME Bench Day. But when I was working up to a 5 RM on the close grip bench press, I just didn't have it. 205 for a 5 rm was my goal: I hit a 210 max just over a month ago but even 115 felt heavy and slow. I walked out kinda bummed but reminded myself that I had just come off a very demanding bench session just a week before and a week of 12 sets of 2 in a lot of movements. After just over 20 weeks of lifting heavy stuff, I think it's time to deload. I still have a front squat goal I want to hit, too. What to do?

WSFSB III: ME Lower Body

Walked for 45 minutes at 6AM.

All Notation: Weight x Reps x Sets

Lunchtime:
Deficit Deadlift off 4" Box: 145x5, 180x5, 215x3, 250x2, 285x1, 330x1, 345x1, 365x1. Hit my mark with very good form. Everything fell into place.

Evening:
Bulgarian Split Squat w/Front Foot Elevated: 110x5x5

Leg Curls: 150x2x12

Seated Calf Raises: 110x2x12

Leg Raises/Decline Twisting Situps: 5 sets to failure

45 minute walk in body armor.

WSFSB III: RE Upper Body

Walked in the morning at 6AM for 45 minutes, no vest.

All Notation: Weight x Reps x Sets

Lunchtime:
Assisted Dip Machine (Weight=BWT-Assistance): 99x10, 139x8, 179x6, 209x4x6
Rear Delt Machine: 130x4x7

Evening:
Abs Class.

Assisted Chinups (Monster Mini Band): Failure at 7, 6, 5, 4, 4, 3, 3, 2 reps

Hammer ISO High Rows: 137.5x2x12. This was unbelievably hard, especially after the chinups.

Incline Lateral Raises (Rest Paused): 10x14+6, 10x12+4+4, 10x10+4+4+2

Hammer Curls: 35x10x4.

Intervals on a Treadmill (1.5 Degree incline): 4 intervals of 1 minute at 9.0 MPH and 2 minutes at 3.8 MPH