Quagmire911 Lifting Journal

[I-tallionStallion]

Nice job!!

Going westside too huh This is going to get interesting.

I have the same problems with partying but I've managed to stay 'alcohol free' for the last 4 weeks...welll haha almost. Well keep it up dude

 

[Quagmire911]

Thursday

Not a stellar day today. Had to work in hell unfortunately beforehand. I didn't expect much really, and it wasn't terrible. Here it is:

Pulldown abs 2x10-50kg, 60kg-I think I worked out a way to do them. I f***** hate my gym, lack of equipment. Impossible to effectively do abs.

Box squat (Roughly 4" below parallel and wide stance)-100kgx1 110kgx0-Not sure what to think here. I haven't really done wide squats and these were very low so I am not sure whether this is good for me. It should be higher, but I will see how I get on. I have done roughly 115kg/120kgx1 ass to grass, so I don't know whether this is regression or not. All that matters is that it goes UP on Westside. I am also not convinced about my squatting form, think there still may be some issues.

Speed squats 6x2-40kg-I don't like these. The difference between this and bench speed work is night and day. These feel horrible, whereas the speed bench feels smooth and I glide through it. I tried turning my feet out a bit on the last set and I am not sure whether that helped. Will see in the coming weeks. Unweighted feels a lot better and is A LOT more explosive. This also tells me there are form issues/imbalances.

Sumo SLDL-100kgx10-This fried my lower/mid back. Felt good. I did these sumo because the form felt a lot better. I have difficulty doing conventional sldl.

Pullthroughs 3x8-100kg-Not to bad. Going to have another problem soon, the stack only goes to 110kg so this will be ANOTHER exercise that I won't be able to do unless I can work something out. F***.

Dorian row 3x8-70kg-Not sure what to make of these. Not sure if my form was great. Will probably use straps for them next time, they fatigued my forearms more than my back. I think that may have been the issue. Maybe underhand would help, I did overhand today.

Chin ups 1x12-Just did bw. Pretty fried by this point.

Grip work-Crushing-COC No.1-Right hand-1x13 1x8 (PR) Left hand 1x8 1x6 (PR)
Pinching-Door grab with both hands.

And that is all. Covered pretty much everything above. I will need to get a Captains of Crush No.2 soon, should be able to close it within a few months with my right hand. My long term goal is to close No.3.

Anyway that is all for today, until next time...

Quagmire

 

[Quagmire911]

Sunday

Went to the gym last night instead of this afternoon as I played some golf today. Following the lower workout on Thursday my hamstrings were toasted which felt great. I think it was the S.SLDL that did it, they felt like a great move. Had not a bad session yesterday, here it is:

Russian twists-3x10-15kg-I tried to do pulldown abs and then situps, but neither felt good at all. I managed to get a great way of doing these and they tore my midsection apart again which was good. I am holding the weight to my chest but eventually I will hold it at arms length and do the move as I saw Kerpal suggest. I attempted it for a rep or two but couldn't do a full rom with the above weight.

CG bench 90kgx1 (198lbs)(PR) 92.5kgx0-Wasn't feeling great in the warmups but I sniffed my ammonia and had at it on the 90. Hit the groove and it was a fast, explosive rep. I then attemped 92.5 but the rep was ****ty and I just set the weight down after struggling for a second or two. Pretty happy with the 90.

Speed bench 5x3-50kg-Weight felt about right.

DB skullcrushers-10kg DB's-x9x10x8(PR)-First set I actually used plates but they hurt my fingers. The second set I went into the gay cardio gym where they have light DB's and used them to complete the rest of the sets. I then got back to the other gym as quickly as possible, and was the only one there for the rest of the night.

DB bench-22.5kg DB'sx8x8x12-As I suspected there was a drastic improvement from last week. I don't know what it is but my DB numbers are low, but climb quickly. Maybe the stablizer muscles not used in the barbell move or whatever improve quickly.

Lateral raise-8kg DB'sx8x8x10 (PR)-A bit better than last week. My right shoulder still clicked a bit but not as badly as last week which is good.

Pressups-1x25-Did these again for the same reason as last week. Think I will continue to do it. A bw move which is good and it doesn't seem to impact on the weights at all. This set was easy.

HIIT-Rowing 6 minutes-A minute more than last week. Did the 1 minute easy/30s all out again. Nearly died at the end of it.

And that was all. The workout was reasonably productive. My conditioning is already up after the two HIIT sessions and will continue to improve. It is my birthday in under a month and I am getting a Captains of Crush No.2 which I am excited about (pretty sad ).

Anyway that is all for tonight, until next time...

Quagmire

 

[Quagmire911]

Wednesday

Went in a day early again as I knew I would be off today. Had a good day. Here it is:

Russiain twists 2x10 20kg (PR)-It hurts Will have to start holding the plate out too progress, these were done with the weight on the chest.

Good morning-105kgx1(PR)-I do this onto a ghetto rack so it is more of a rack good morning. This was tough.

Box squats 85kgx8-These were feeling a thousand times better than last week. It felt like a squat should, which is great. I was going to use 80kg but I put some more weight on as it would have been too easy. These were done with a widish stance (not sumo though) and off a low box, 4" below parallel.

Speed box squats 6x2 45kg-Heavier than last week and a hell of a lot smoother and explosive. Good stuff. Weight will go up next session.

Pullthroughs 100kgx12 105kgx10x10 (PR)-Not much to say, they felt good. Will have to do something else in place of this though as the pulley goes to 110kg and I can't add weight to it. I am thinking I will try and do ghetto hyperextensions, I have an idea for how to do them.

Dorian row 75kgx8x8x8-Used an underhand grip today and the move felt a lot more natural. Was also easier to grip obviously. Weight will go up next session.

Chinups BW+5kgx10-Not bad.

Grip work:

Crushing-COC No.1 Right hand 1x16 1x12 (PR)-Very happy with this.
Left hand 1x9 1x6 (PR)-Again good stuff. Getting No.2 in a few weeks, looking good for the right hand.

Pinching-Door grabx2

And that was all. Even though it was a day early I felt very strong today. I was a disappointed there weren't any SLDL's today, they felt great last week and I can't wait to do them again. My hamstrings are coming along I reckon, my right hammie is noticeable bigger than it was before.
Feeling good about this routine. I am consious of my right shoulder twinging occasionally, will have to monitor how it is. Not a problem on bench although I don't know if that is what is aggravating it. Will be doing stretching etc, so hopefully that will help it.
More than likely that I will be in on Monday for the bench work, big party on Saturday and I will be drinking heavy, so Sunday will be to recover.

Anyway that is all for today, until next time...

Quagmire

 

[Rampage1]

good stuff. you trying to make mass gains this time or just focusing on strength? you play much golf?

 

[Quagmire911]

Not really trying to gain weight at the moment, just going for strength really. I can't expect much over the summer though, parties, drinking, and eating more **** than I should. Going to have to keep activity levels high so that I don't lose my four/six pack again. I suppose I make it sound worse than it is. Still eating five meals a day at least four of which are loaded with protein in the form of eggs/meat and usually the fifth too. Drinking is usually twice a week, and not getting fully pissed most of the time, so not too bad.

I am at about 171 at the moment and around 12/13% I reckon. I am around 5 9" so I don't look skinny or anything (although I am sure some body dismorphia folks disagree). My conditioning has slipped over the last year so I have started working on that over the summer. Putting on weight won't help rock climbing either, but as long as I get my conditioning way up and keep it there and strength and endurance go up, I will probably put on some more weight. I have said before that I see myself at 180-185 longer term, but I am in no rush to get there-plenty of time. I do not aspire to be 200+ at all. People do seem to forget that height plays quite a big role in weight. At 180-185 I can still be athletic I reckon and another 10-15lbs will help my overall strength potential quite a lot, so it is probably where I will go.

As for golf that was the first time I played this year and I didn't play last year, but I can still hit it pretty well.

 

[Quiksilver]

Is there any way you can drink in the winter rather than summer?

Personally I've found it best to 'listen' to my body. It seems to have its own cycles. I find fat loss works best in spring/summer and weight gain works best in fall/winter. I don't know about other people, but it seems prudent to lose fat when your body WANTS to, and gain muscle/trace fat when your body WANTS to.

After a couple years or mucking about with muscle gain and fat control, I've found that I should really gun for fat loss during the summer when my body is willing to help me do it, and slap on some muscle in the winter.

I don't think alcohol will help much with fat loss

On the other hand, you've been working pretty hard so you deserve a break. Just remember that you can make both muscle gain/fat loss far easier by knowing when your body wants to do them.

good luck with that rock climbing! high rep: dips, pullups, grip work, ab work, squats/pistols. those will all compliment rock climbing a lot.

 

[Quagmire911]

Is there any way you can drink in the winter rather than summer?

Personally I've found it best to 'listen' to my body. It seems to have its own cycles. I find fat loss works best in spring/summer and weight gain works best in fall/winter. I don't know about other people, but it seems prudent to lose fat when your body WANTS to, and gain muscle/trace fat when your body WANTS to.

QUOTE]

This is because it is colder in winter and your body tries to retain fat for insulation.

This stuff is a hobby for me though, not a job. Some people take it more seriously than others. I have other things I want to do and I suppose it is about striking a balance.

Perhaps if I decide to do meets in the future I will be more strict about stuff, but I am happy with what I am doing at the moment.

 

[JohnnyIrish]

Is there any way you can drink in the winter rather than summer?

Personally I've found it best to 'listen' to my body. It seems to have its own cycles. I find fat loss works best in spring/summer and weight gain works best in fall/winter. I don't know about other people, but it seems prudent to lose fat when your body WANTS to, and gain muscle/trace fat when your body WANTS to.

QUOTE]

This is because it is colder in winter and your body tries to retain fat for insulation.

This stuff is a hobby for me though, not a job. Some people take it more seriously than others. I have other things I want to do and I suppose it is about striking a balance.

Perhaps if I decide to do meets in the future I will be more strict about stuff, but I am happy with what I am doing at the moment.

I always thought you burned more calories in the winter (the body needs to burn then to keep body temp up) and this translated to a greater increase for fat loss. No?

Also good to hear your balanced and happy mindset wise. I keep reminding myself to not be a nazi about this stuff..

 

[Quagmire911]

Monday

Well, I drank far too much on Saturday night and threw up a lot which is always good fun. Lost several pounds and barely ate anything on Sunday. Started to feel a lot better Sunday night and ate a reasonable amount. Woke up today and weighed in at just under 168 (down 3lbs-it will come back!). Was going to go to the gym (bad idea) but then having ate crashed on my bed for a few hours feeling really ****. Woke up and decided f*** it I wanted to get something done, so I went into my garage and used my old cheapy equipment to get some work done. Usually there is no way in hell I could have used this stuff for ME work, but it was just heavy enough for paused DB work. Probably a bad idea to try working out and I felt nauseous throughout, but hey it was all in good fun. I actually got most of what I was meant to done and was stronger than I should have been. Here it is:

Russian twists-5kg-3x10-Did these with the plate in my hands and arms outstretched which makes the move quite a bit harder. Will be able to use more next time.

DB bench (paused)-72.5lb DB'sx5x7-Paused for 1-2s at the bottom. Didn't warm up, too much hassle in the circumstances, perhaps this is why I improved quite a bit on set two. Far from optimal set up, but I do feel worked after it so it did some good. Of course it is debatable whether I should have been doing anything.

Speed bench 5x3 50kg-Not bad. Wasn't quite full ROM as it was to the floor unfortunately. Only for a week though.

Tricep PD-Couldn't do this unfortunately.

DB skulls-Roughly 10kg DBx12x12x12 (PR)-This was noticeably better than last week, surprising.

Lateral raise-12.5lbs DB's (roughly)x15x15x15-Right shoulder was still clicking. Will need to look into some shoulder rehab, more than what I am doing now(very little).

Well that was that. Far from optimal setup as I say, however It was surprisingly productive. No HIIT today, not up to it-will see how I feel tommorow and maybe do some then. Should be back 100% by Thursday, get to deadlift which is great. However I am consious that I need to stop stiff legging it when the weights get high, may need to lower it and really concentrate on using the hips.

That is all for today, until next time...

Quagmire

 

[I-tallionStallion]

haha ghetto style...nice

Its good you didn't miss a day, I can't begin to tell you how much i hate it when I miss one. Keep it up dude...just not the large amount of drinking and puking

 

[JohnnyIrish]

Seriously congrats on the gains..even after heavy drinking.

Question:
Your HIIT. You do it at the end of every other workout now?

 

[Quagmire911]

Heavy is an understatement, believe me.

As for HIIT: I have put it after the bench work once a week to start off with. I will probably start doing it after the other day in a few weeks as conditioning improves. The current aim is to work up to 15 minutes, twice a week. Have to ease into it so it doesn't kill the weights though. It really should be done the day after the weights but I hate cardio and doing it after the workout is better than nothing, and so far it is doing me good. I don't think I have actually seen it recommened the way I am doing it, but it led to great improvement after only two sessions so I am sticking by it.

 

[Quagmire911]

Thursday

Not a great day today. Was still only 90-95%, although this is because it has taken a few days for diet to get back up to speed. Been eating more every day and have recovered most of the weight, was just shy of 170 this morning. Things should be back to normal next week, although it may not be a good day on Monday, will just have to see. Here it is:

Deadlift 160kgx0 150kgx1-Over the last week or two I have been working on my form as I felt it was sliding a bit. As the weights got higher form was getting ****tier, so I really made an effort with it today. What I really had to focus on was using the hips/hammies and make sure I didn't stiff leg it which has been my problem, causing my back to round. Definitely a lot better today though I could feel the difference, I bet my back will feel a lot better than it usually does in the morning. The 160 came off the floor to just below the knee so maybe midway. Considering I still wasn't 100% because of what happened and I was making sure to keep form I don't think there is much cause for concern. I reckon 155 would have went up had it been the first set, didn't attempt it though. Still not sure whether sumo or conventional is better for me. My 172.5kgx1 record was sumo so I have a suspicion that I am maybe a little more suited for it. I let my form slide with sumo a bit the last time I was doing it though, have it better again. Will have to make my mind up about this. I tried the 160 sumo after the 150 (conventional) but I was too wiped and it didn't budge. It didn't help that the place was like a sauna and I was already sweating a lot by this point. My work capacity wasn't there today. I haven't deadlifted in a while as well, so I may be one of those people that needs to do it regularly-something to keep in mind.

S.SLDL (light)-80kg 2x10-Not to bad. Still felt it in the hammies.

Speed box squats 6x2 50kg-Didn't hit the groove like I did last week, but it wasn't as bad as the first week. Will see how I get on next week.

GHR (assisted) 2x8-Meant to be 3 sets but my hammies were fried by this point.

Dorian row-72.5kg 3x8-Lowered the weight a touch this week cause of the circumstances. Felt quite weak by this point.

Chinups Bwx10-Terrible, again feeling really weak by this point.

Grip work COC no.1 R-1x12 1x4-Probably should have gave it a by this week. Just died on the second set. I had deadlifted before it though which may have lowered it further.
L- 1x5 1x4-Ouch.

Door grabx2

Well not a day to remember. As I say everything should be a lot better by next week although it may take another workout to get back into it, will just have to see. I am still concious of my shoulders clickling, really need to get it sorted. That is all for today, until next time...

Quagmire

 

[I-tallionStallion]

Hey Quag what is a Door grab?

Sucks to have bad workout, but its good you stuck it in there and finished. Job driving you crazy? Atleast you had good progress Monday

 

[Quagmire911]

The door grab is for pinch grip strength, I put it in for climbing although it can't hurt to do it anyway. Need to go rock climbing soon actually...

Half way down the page:

http://www.rosstraining.com/articles/trainingthehands.html

I really want to try the wrist roller at some point.

Not been in the job in two weeks now and I have requested to move to part-time, that would be good.

 

[Quagmire911]

Shoulder info

http://www.t-nation.com/findArticle.do?article=280rotator2

http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=922014

http://www.t-nation.com/article/performance_training/bench_press_blowouts_prevention_and_treatment

http://stronglifts.com/how-to-deal-with-shoulder-injuries-the-infraspinatus/

(Plus stretches)

Ps-I know I started Westside but I may or may not take a break and come back to it. Current issues are: Shoulders clicking, right in particular. Elbow-tendonitis I reckon-both sides. Right knee, tendonitis again. Shoulders don't hurt (yet) and the elbows/knee twinge during some moves. I'll have a think over the next couple of days and see what I think. Better taking some time off of "normal" exercises and doing other stuff than to continue and f*** myself up. I think the above issues are at the stage where I am being told to stop, let heal, and fight another day. I reckon I will be able to get stronger on something else, just taking out the exercises that cause problems and doing some pre/rehab. Again though, I will clarify this over the next week.

I would like to add to what I said about my deadlifting the other day, (surely not!). I hadn't done full ROM in a while, and focused on perfect form. My hammies have been coming on in the last month or two, strength and size wise-and I have to say I did "feel" them in the move. This shows they are still weak in the chain, but have taken a big step forward. I read in a Poliquin article tonight about the hips rising too fast (what I do-then back rounds-bad mojo), and this creates an imbalance in the amount of stress being placed on the hammies and glutes. Just thought I would add that in.

Will most likely be gyming on Monday...

 

[Quagmire911]

Monday

Felt back at full strength today. Had a productive session. My weight is back to the low 170's where it was before last weeks mishap. Wasn't a great day PR wise though, as I expected-simply because last week was more of a recovery week. Anyway, here it is:

Spread eagle DB situps-25kgx10 30kgx10 40kgx15-Stole this one from Stallion's routine. The last set was difficult, but I still had a little more in me. Maybe 50kgx10 is where I am at. Will see next time I do these. I quite liked the move though, cooked the midsection. I think I will rotate these with the russian twists and put them on day two for rotational strength.

Bench press 97.5kgx0x0-Weight came of my chest to about 3" above and stuck for a a few seconds. Wasn't going to happen though. I made a second attempt and the same thing happened, although it didn't stay up quite as long. Suppose this is my punishment for being a tool. Here is a question though: What are the main pushers in ROM from chest to 3-4" above? I am thinking this is where shoulders play their role...Would make sense.

Speed bench 47.5kg 5x3-Pretty explosive.

Db skullcrushers-12.5kg DB's-x6x6x5-Quite a big jump in weight because of the DB selection isn't great. I will stick with this weight and just work on upping the reps. My elbows were fine today-no flaring in the tendons.

Db bench 25kgx8x8x12 (PR)-Decided f*** it and put everything into the last set. My left is holding me back here. Will up the weight next week.

One-Arm Braced Overhead Dumbbell Press-20kg DB-Right sidex10x12 Left side x8x4-Just as well I canned the laterals and put these in. The right side was significantly stronger at these so this exercise has uncovered a BIG weakpoint. This links in with the Poliquin article above-My left shoulder is weak so the dominant right side is being overstressed which has started to cause wear and tear. Will be getting this fixed over the coming weeks. I have never liked laterals.

Pressups-1x25-Near failure which is odd-a few weeks ago this was easy at the end. Was pretty cooked though.

HIIT rowing-5 minutes-This killed me. Not done it in two weeks though so I had to get it done. Will be better off for it.

Did some dynamic stretching before the workout. Afterwards I did some shoulder dislocations.

Well that was all. Very useful that I discovered that gaping hole in my upper body, will bullet proof it in the coming weeks. I have decided to stick with what I am doing whilst implementing the shoulder disloactions/more stretching and working on getting my left overhead work up to scratch. I will see how I get on and see how the clicking is after a few weeks. If it is still an issue I will do a more dedicated routine for a few months, such as the one in the Poliquin article above.

That is all for today, will probably be in the gym on Thursday. I feel like smoking those box squats, until then...

Quagmire

 

[Quagmire911]

Thursday

I was running on diesal today, everything was strong. Not much else to say, here it is:

Russian twists 20kgx10x15-PR-Second set was pretty hard.

Box squats 105kgx1-Smoked it.
110kgx1 (PR?)-Made it my bitc* although it took a while It was one of those slow, grinding reps. Hit a wall for about 5s but I just new I'd get it and kept pushing. Excellent. Think this may be a box PR. This pinned me 3 weeks ago.

S.SLDL-110kgx10(PR)-Whoa. 10kg up on 3 weeks ago, these feel great. Done sumo.

Speed deadlifts (sumo) 6x1-100kg-I have fixed both my sumo and conventional form over the last few weeks. I am still unsure as to which I am better at but my PR is with Sumo so I think I will give it a go again. I hit a wall with it but I think that was form issues. These felt pretty good. Regardless, both forms need to be included in training.

Pullthroughs-110kgx10x10x10 (PR)-F*** yes. Unforunately this is the highest the stack goes to. I may try and sub in hyperextensions for these, I think this would work well. Maybe GHR's though, I will think about it. Thoughts are welcome on the matter.

Dorian row 80kgx8x8x8 (PR)-Again, felt great. I think on the last set the form may have been a little sloppy on the last few reps. Will need to try and get some new videos over the next while.

Chinups BW+10kgx5-I think my best here is around 6-7 reps but this was after everything else. Not bad. Not sure what I would get fresh-would make quite a difference I think.

Grip-Door grabx2(pinch grip)

Crushing grip-I have deliberately overtrained the Captains of Crush No.1 this week. Should be getting No.2 next week, we will see if the right will manage or not!

And that was all. A very good day, good progress all round. I think I will rotate dead singles and squat doubles weekly for the speed work-I need to have deads in a bit more for my sanity , and this should be a productive way of getting them in. Will probably be at the gym on Monday again, and with my 18th on Wednesday it will be likely that I will be drinking a lot-so Thursday may not go so well. Thinking about it, I may go in on Wednesday early on and get it done then-that would probably be more productive.

Well that is all for today, until next time...

Quagmire

 

[I-tallionStallion]

Awesome day Quag. I did it sumo once, and I could barely walk the next couple days haha...BTW, Good to see progress. I see you did the spread eagle, weird stuff right? haha

Just make sure you keep smoking those box of squats every week