Training Log

12-30-2014

Bench Press
220x5, 5

Close Grip Bench
195x5, 5

Incline Bench
175x5, 5

JM Press
Barbell Curls w/ Fat Gripz
Rear Delts on Machine

All presses were paused. Bench felt "slow" today. Last week it felt like the lockout was tough. Today it just felt like the bar was moving slow, so the whole top half of the press was tough.

I need more speed! Maybe I'll drag out some chains, or try some plyometric pushups. Anyone have any suggestions?

1-1-15

Decline Situps/Reverse Hypers
4x12

Some hip stuff

Front Squat
95x8
135x8
165x8
195x8, 8

Oly Pause Squat
155x5, 5

Kettlebell Lunge, Right Leg Then Left
40x10
50x10
60x12

Some work on the Deadlift. Stood on a 45, then pulled the bar up to knees, paused, then back to the floor. Ugly at first, went smooth after a few tries.

Decline Situps
+20x15
+40x15
+60x12

It's still a front squat, under 200, but squatting felt good yesterday. It was good to work on the DL a little bit. Even decline situps felt good. They aggravated my back a couple months ago.

Woke up this morning, no trouble getting out of bed, no pain bending over to put on my socks.

1-3-15

Seated Dumbell Press
2 warm ups
45x12, 12

Standing Barbell Press
2 warmups
85x12, 12

Dumbell Front Raise
2 warmups
30x15, 15

Chest Supported Row
2 warmups
3 plates x8, 8

Dumbell Side Raise
20x12, 12

Some shrugs that sucked. Some arm shit. Pussy-Shoulders!

1-5-15

Back Raise/ Pulldown Abs with Band

1 Arm Farmer's Walk/ Hips with Belt and Band

1 Leg Curl/ 1 Leg Seated Calf Raise

Deficit Deadlift, Pull to Knees and Pause
135x8, 8
185x8, 8
225x6, 8

Partial Deadlift Against Bands, From Just Below Knees
135x1,1,1
155x1,1,1
185x1,1,1

Close Grip Pulldowns w/ V Bar
180x10
200x10
220x8
240x6, 7

Upright Rows superset with Farmer's Walk

Some Hanging Leg Raises

1-5-15

The routine called for bench press. My shoulder and elbow felt kinda shitty, so I did some dumbbell benching and some other weak shit. Truthfully, I just pussed out because I was afraid to bench press.

1-7-15

Some abs/lower back to get loose.
Some hip stuff.

Front Squat
95x6
135x6
175x3
195x1,1
215x6, 6

Kettlebell Lunge
40x10
50x10
60x10, 12

Inverse Curls/Hanging Leg Raises

Leg Extensions/Standing Calf Raise

I forgot to do pause-squats today. Just skipped right over them. Then I had to force myself to do the accessory work. I just wanted to get out of there. It's been like 6 or so weeks of increasing weights and I guess I'm ready for a little break, or "deload." Physically I feel pretty good, but my nerves are shot. Instead of enthusiasm, I'm starting to feel the doubt in the gym. I'll take it easy on the weights, and do more stretching this week.

On a positive note, I front squated 215 for two sets of six today. Like 3 months ago like 245 for a single was all I could handle. I've also gained almost 10 pounds since then. ALL MUSCLE of course.

5 days off.

1-13-15

Shoulders. Just repeated last shoulder workout. BIG lift was Military Press 85x12, 12.

1-14-15

Clam Shell/Back Raise/Pulldown Ab
3x15

Terminal Knee Extension/Leg Curl/Hip Lift
3x15

Glute Bridge/Romanian Deadlift
4x15

Close Grip Pulldown
180x15, 3 sets

Chest Supported Row
90x15, 3 sets

Light workout for deadlift/back, with a bunch of hip rehab moves. Glutes and back were pumped.

1-16-15

Bench Press Day! I had a shitty bench/chest workout about 11 days ago. I rested a little, and tried a few new things today.

Plyometric Pushup
3 sets of 3.
-Start in pushup position with 45 pound bumper plate between hands. Lower chest to plate, push up fast and "jump" hands on top of plate. A lot of room for improvement here!

Wide Grip Bench Press with Pause
135x20, 20, 17
-Ring fingers on rings. Focused on keeping the bar low on my chest and pushing straight up.

Dumbbell Incline Press with Neutral Grip
50x10,10,10,10
-Super long range of motion lots of triceps plus chest when you squeeze the dumbbells together at the top. Forearms gotta stay vertical, I think this will help to teach me to press straight up when bench pressing.

Decline Bench Press with Close Grip
135x 12,12,12,12
-The angle of the decline eliminates the bottom inch or two of the close grip press, taking a little pressure off my elbows. Also, you have to push towards your feet. I'm hoping working at this new angle will help my regular bench press. I want to keep the bar low on my chest, and press straight up, not let the bar drift up towards my face.

Dumbbell Flies superset with Inverted Rows
4 sets of 12-15 or so each.

Front Delt Raise with Bar superset with Facepulls on Low Pulley
4 sets of 12-15 each.

Barbell Curl with FatGripz superset with Skullcrushers on Giant EZ Curl Bar
4 sets of 12-15 each.

Tried to do the same exercises I usually do, just another angle or grip or handle. Every thing felt a little different, but in a good way. I got super pumped! I know it was super light, but I'm all enthused anyway.

1-17-15

Reverse Hypers/Pulldown Abs with Band
4x12

Clam Shell/1 Arm Farmer's Walk
2 goes on each side

Standing 1 Leg Curl/1 Leg Seated Calf Raise
3x12 each leg

I decided to take the plunge and squat today. I must have been nervous, look at all the silly stuff I did first to put it off. I moved my stance way, way out. So far my feet touched the bottom of the power rack. It was hard to get to depth at first with my feet so wide, but it felt really good. All the weight was on my glutes/hips and not my knees and lower back. I was able to maintain position and not rock side to side or anything. I'm pretty excited. I did a bunch of sets of 3, just working up to bodyweight.

1 Leg Leg Press
4x15 each leg

Leg Extension/Standing 1 Leg Calf Raise

1-20-15

Seated Dumbbell Press
50x12, 13

Military Press
95x15,15

chinups, alternating grips between sets of presses

Hang Clean
95x4,4,4,4
115x4,4,4,4
135x4,4,4,4
155x4,4,4,4
finally started to feel a little pop near the end

Dumbbell Front Raise/Dumbbell Shrugg
3x15 each

Dumbbell Side Raise/Rear Delts on Machine
3x15 each

1-21-15

Abs/Lower Back

A few squats to practice

Defecit Deadlift, Stop At Knees
135x6
185x6
205x6
225x6,6

Deads from Below Knee Against Bands
135x5 singles
155x5 singles
185x5 singles

T-Bar Row
1 Platex15
2 Platex15
3 Platex15,15

Paused for a 2 count at the bottom and top of the first 10 reps, then finished set regular style. Tough!

V-Bar Pulldowns
180x10
200x10
220x10

Leg Curls/Calf Raises

I moved my stance in on the deadlift stuff. Heels like 5 inches apart. It felt pretty good. It was really easy to drive with the glutes and lockout the partial deadlifts, even against the bands.

1-23-15

Plyo Pushups
4,3,3,2,1,1

Wide Grip Bench Press with Pause
135x20
160x15, 15, 13

Incline Dumbbell Press with Neutral Grip
40x10
60x10,10,10

Close Grip Decline Bench
145x10, 8,8

Dumbbell Fly/Inverted Row
3 sets of 15 each

Barbell Front Raise/Face Pulls
3x15 each

Barbell Curl with Fat Gripz/Skullcrushers
3x12 each

1-24-15

Abs/Lower Back/Hips/Hamstrings warm up stuff.

Jumps
8 single jumps
Squatted down to a low bench with a wide stance. Sat there for a second stretching my hips then jumped up onto a box. Room to improve on this one.

Squat
Bunch of light sets. Still not right, but it's feeling a little better.

Lunge in Smith Machine
50x12
60x12
70x12 3 sets right leg then 3 sets left

Inverse Curl
+115x10,10,10

1 Leg Extension/1 Leg Standing Calf Raise supersets
3x15

1-27-15

Seated dumbbell Press
40x12
50x15, 15, 12

Military Press
75x12
95x15, 15, 12

Hang Clean
115x4
135x4
155x4
175x4

Front Raise/Dumbbell Shrug
3x15 each

Side Raise/Rear Delt Machine
3x12 each

Dumbbell Curl/Tate Press
3x12 each

1-28-15

Abs/lower back/Hips

T-Bar Row
90x12
135x12
160x12

Deficit Partial Deadlift
135x5
185x5
205x5
225x5
245x5,5

Partial Deadlift Against Bands
155x1,1,1
185x1,1,1
205x1,1,1

Had to skip they gym for a couple days working out of town.

2-1-15

Abs/Lower Back

Plyo Pushups
3,3,3 a little higher 2, a little higher 1,1

Wide Pause Bench
95x15
135x15
155x15
175x12

Incline Dumbbell Neutral Grip Press
45x10
60x10,10, 9
50x10

Decline Bench
135x10,10,10, 8
115x10

Flies/Inverted Rows
3x12 each

Barbell Front Raise/Seated Facepull on Low Pulley
3x12-15 each

Barbell Curls with FatGripz/Tricep Pushdowns
3x12-15

Leg Day
Leg Press
Inverse Curls
Same stuff I've been doing

Shoulders
Seated Dumbbell
Military Press
Hang Cleans
Same assistance ...

Alright, this goes back about 4 months now. Looking back I started out with a lot of rehab/mobility stuff. One routine for 3 weeks, then a slightly different routine for 3 more weeks. Full body each workout, focusing on movements. Squat, hinge, press, pull, loaded carry. I pretty much just did what coach Dan John said to do. The goal was to move around a lot and just feel better. I focused on adding more reps and sets and taking fewer rest days to add intensity. After 6 weeks, I was ready for a change.

Then I started a more gym rat style routine. It kinda evolved along the way, but finished up like...

Day 1
Bench Press(Chest)

Day 2
Squat(Legs)

Day 3
Press(Shoulders)

Day 4
Row/Deadlift(Back)

I've been doing 3-4 sets of pretty high reps(10-15) and doing bodybuilder stuff like pausing reps at the top and bottom, doing slow negatives, super sets, all that kinda stuff. About 5-6 weeks in a got really tired of it and took almost a week off. After a break I went back to it, but now, about 3 weeks later I'm bored again.

It looks like every 3-4 weeks I get bored with the moves I've been doing and every 6 weeks I need a break in intensity.

Now I think I'm going to switch to an upper/lower split instead of the 4 way routine I've been on. 4 sessions per week, 5 sets of moderate reps (5- with higher weights than I've been using. Fewer lifts done more frequently. All this practice, plus the higher weights should be good for strength.

My squat is still shitty, so I'll do easy, light squats as a warmup on lower body days. Deadlift feels good so I'll use that as the base. Leg press and hack squats will have to be enough to prevent chicken legs.

I'll use the few days as light, easy days to try out a few things and see what fits together.

There are a lot of places to go with routines. It looks you have made good solid gains for 4 months.
I see a lot of room for plyometrics & HIIT, circuit training .

1 important often overlooked factor in routine development is rest periods. Mixing those up in a sound solid matter is huge. those should be recorded as well and followed with a timer, and also well written.

There is a huge difference in taking 2~3 min rest intervals between sets and allowing maximum recovery in order to lift heavy as possible during every set,

than say taking a 30s or no rest period in order to create muscle fatigue/endurance.

Also sometimes rests can be converted to a 40s jumprope then right into next set,
something like ;

3x bench press 10 rep; ( jump rope for 40s between each set. )

Doing this you will be using lighter weight maybe, but working out in an entirely different mode even working different types of muscle fiber.

utilizing all types of fibers in all types of training really take out the boredom factor for me, it raises my energy WAY higher plus gives me optimal and super usable and functional gains.

Elliot Hulse @ Strength Camp has some really good well rounded routines IME , & IMO. That is 1 of the few places that are super sound & solid in good training advice and pro routining , periodization, rest periods, phases, diet, etc

other than that dong traditional MA almost yoga type, forms, kick/punch drills , etc. about everyday, every morning, and good environment and my own gym, and good solid energy raising routines and training for function, flexibility, and wellness by eating good food , all a combination of overall well being.

works good for me, right now I am doing a double split 4x week routine from the hybrid training log @ strength camp.

I could post a few workouts if you are interested seeing a hybrid routine.

Hey Mike,
you're definitely right about being ready for some new stuff. Just lifting, especially on a body part split makes me feel slow and un-athletic. I added a few jumps and plyo-pushups near the end trying to get faster and more explosive. I've been doing a bunch of super-sets, so the next progression should be some circuits, lest rest, etc. I also spent some time walking up and down a big hill. I thought of it as interval training, but walking up a hill isn't super high intensity.

Right now I'm trying to decide whether to do a routine that will try to address everything at once(hybrid or conjugate style) or do 3 different short programs back-to-back to build size/strength/power.

Feel free to post anything you like. You seem to really know a lot about weight training and performance training.
Funny you mention the jump rope, I pulled it out earlier today.

2-6-15
100 jumps, 15 reps of an exercise, 100 umps, 15 reps...
Hanging Leg Raise, x2
Back Raise, x2
Leg Extension, x2
Leg Curl, x2
Hips Raise, x2
Calf Raise, x2

Here is a 1 week excerpt I did last week;

I usually start out my workouts fully stretched out until good posture and fluid motion in all joints . I probably stretch more than most with static & dynamic & corrective stretches/exercises so I can hit a workout in good posture with full range & central access of rotation in all joints.

1 week excerpt from my current power & hybrid training routine phase 1 week 2. This is a double split or

2 day on, 1day rest, 2 day on, ~ 2 day rest = 4x per week; This is 1 week from a 30 day Hybrid Training Log ;

Day 1~ Power Building;

Barbell Incline Press~ 6 sets 3 rep

(recover fully between sets on exe 1 only; 2~3m rest)

(rest of exercises in workout rest period is 30~60s between sets)

Seated Cable rowing~ 3 sets 6 rep

Underhand Pull Up~ 3 sets 6 rep (add weight or modify)

Standing Dumbbell Overhead Press ~ 3 sets 6 rep

these next 2 exercises run as a circuit;

a. Barbell Curl 3 sets 8 rep

b. Tricep Pushdown 3 sets 8 rep

Renegade Rows (each arm) 3 sets 6 rep

Hybrid~ Fat Loss Finisher;

a. Kettlebell Swings x 20

b. Sprint 100 yard or jump rope 40s

repeat 8x


Day 2 Power Building;

Barbell Front Squats~ 6 sets 3 rep

(recover fully between sets on exe 1 only)

(rest of sets are done with 30~60s rest between sets)

Stiff Leg Deadlifts ~6 sets 3 reps

Dumbbell Step Ups (each leg) ~ 3 sets 8 reps

Plate Crunches ~ 2 sets of 10 rep

Knees to Bows 30~60s

Hybrid Fat Loss Finisher;

30s sprint

30s walk

10 sets =10m total finisher~

Day 3 Rest

Day 4 Hybrid Training Circuits;

a. Barbell Clean and Press ~10 rep

b. Chin Ups or Jumping Chins ~10 rep

c. Reverse Cable Chops ~10 rep

d. 100 yard or 30s treadmill sprint or jump rope~ 1 rep

Rest 2 min then repeat above circuit 3~4 times

Fat Loss Finisher ; light jog or 20 min sport

Day 5 Hybrid Training Circuits;

a. Single Arm Cable Pulls~ 8 reps each arm

b. Box Jumps 1 min

c. Medicine Ball Russian Twist 1 min

d. Mountain Climbers 1 min

rest for 2 minutes then repeat above circuit 3~4 times

Fat Loss Finisher; light jog or 20 min sport

Day 6 Rest
Day 7 Rest

The following weeks and weeks prior to that week alter, it is a progressive and changing program, it has a lighter maintenance phase which is 3 days a week too .

Most of the workouts take me 30~60 min; not counting warm up , also there is a 5th day option to work out any lagging body part ;

It is a fairly athletic 1 week routine you may or may not want to try, full manuals are @ leanhybridmuscle.com

written by Elliot Hulse & Strength Camp,

the entire routines are about 30 day each and change parameters and reps and exercises throughout the routines.

Anyway I been liking the program . I find it always changing and diverse and challenging . Overall I feel a lot stronger in all areas of fitness.

Next week the parameters and exercises change a little, keeps it interesting and diverse. I intertwine that with other sports / training it keeps it interesting and is adding noticeable strength and balance of power/endurance, mobility, & function for me.

Anyways have a good 1 hope this was helpful.