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Full Workout Log
Starting 2/19/09
Alternate Weeks:
Weeks
7-10 of 10
These workout logs are continued from: Full Workout Logs: Starting 1/7/09: Alternate Weeks: Weeks 1-6 of 12.
Next contest: Maybe an ADAU, NASA, or RAWU contest late spring
or early summer.
.
Weight Class: 114s or 123s.
Age Class: Masters II (45-49).
Warm-ups are in brackets. All weights are in pounds. Format: pounds/reps.
Workout times includes set-up, warm-up, lifting, cardio, stretching, and
clean-up.
Week Seven
Squats
Week 7 of 12
Thursday – 2/19/09
Low Squats: [45/15, 115/8, 145/5, 170/3] 195/6, 210/4
Partial Squats: [225/6, 265/5, 300/3] 335/6, 360/4
Sit-ups: [5/10] 15/9, 15/11
Step ups: 5:00
Stretching: ~10 minutes
Workout time: 1:26
A very good workout.
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Benches
Week 7 of 12
Sunday – 2/22/09
DB Benches: [20s/15, 30s/8, 40s/5, 50s/3] 60s/6, 65s/3
Rack Lockouts: [115/6, 130/5, 145/3] 160/6, 170/4
DB Rows (underhand grip): [30s/8, 40s/5] 50s/8, 55s/5
Heavy Bag: 5:00
Stretching: ~10 minutes
Workout time: 1:19
Another good workout.
BTW, in the week since I restarted creatine, I gained a couple of pounds. I always suspected creatine caused me to retain water. That is why I stop using creatine when I cut weight for a contest but then load up on it after weigh-ins. In any case, with that weight gain, my weight is back up to where it was before my extended break over Christmas.
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Deadlifts
Week 7 of 12
Monday – 2/23/09
Reverse Band Deadlifts: [45/15, add bands: 185/8, 260/5, 330/3] 370/6, 395/4
SLDLs (on 3” high platform): [135/8, 180/5, 220/3] 245/6, 260/4
Twisting Leg Raises (reps to each side): 15, 15
Jump Rope: 3:00
Stretching: ~10 minutes
Workout time: 1:27
On the RBDLs, I was concentrating on keeping my butt down as much as possible. With doing so, both work sets were relatively easy, even with having increased both sets by 15 pounds over my last workout. I will try to keep this same form for regular DLs next week.
But then I did the exact opposite for SLDLs, where, of course, the butt is kept high up. This is one reason why some do not like SLDLs. They in essence “teach” you to pull with bad form. That is a concern, but can be avoided by being very conscious about not letting that form infiltrate your regular DLs.
I had been using my platform made with three planks for SLDLs. But I accidently laid down my four plank platform. I didn’t notice it until I had done my warm-ups, so I stuck with it. With the extra ¾” and having increased 10 pounds from my previous workout, the work sets were tough, but I got my full reps for both. So this was a very good workout.
______________________________
Bench Assistance
Week 7 of 12
Wednesday – 2/25/09
Decline Bench: [45/15, 95/8, 120/5, 140/3] 160/6, 170/4
DB Presses: [15s/8, 25s/5] 32s/8, 35s/6
Lat. Pulldowns (wide grip): [55/8, 80/5] 95/10, 100/6
Preacher Curls: [35/10] 42/10, 45/10
Rotator cuff (lying, out and in): [6/10] 8.5/12, 8.5/12
Stretching: ~10 minutes
Workout time: 1:28
Another good workout. One thing though, my right shoulder really bothered me on the lat. pulldowns, hence why I stopped at six reps on the second work set. I think it will be best to switch to a medium grip for my next workout.
Week Eight
Squats
Week 8 of 12
Thursday – 2/26/09
Squats: [45/15, 115/8, 170/5, 225/3] 245/6, 257/5, 270/4
DB Calves: [22/10] 30/12, 35/10
Crunch-Reverse Crunch Combo (with 3# ankle weights): [10/10] 20/15, 25/15
Step ups: 5:30
Stretching: ~10 minutes
Workout time: 1:21
I’m still struggling some to get my form just right. But more important, my left knee bothered me some during this workout. It’s been bothering me some ever since. It’s not anything serious, but it does have me rethinking about going raw. I might have no choice but to go back to lifting “unequipped” wearing knee sleeves. I’ll post more in this regard after I make a decision.
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Benches
Week 8 of 12
Sunday – 3/1/09
Benches: [45/15, 95/8, 115/5, 135/3] 150/6, 157/5, 165/3
DB Flyes: [10s/10] 12s/12, 12s/12
BB Rows (medium grip): [45/8, 75/5] 87/8, 92/5
Heavy Bag: 5:30
Stretching: ~10 minutes
Workout time: 1:12
My left pec bothered me some during this workout, but it wasn’t too bad. But this problem could also affect my decision on what type of gear to use and thus what federation and contest to enter.
______________________________
Deadlifts
Week 8 of 12
Monday – 3/2/09
Deadlifts (sumo): [45/15, 135/8, 210/5, 285/3] 320/6, 335/5, 350/4
Leg Curls (legs together): [17/12] 27/12, 30/9
Dip Bar Reverse Crunches (with 3# ankle weights): 20, 20
Jump Rope: 3:15
Stretching: ~10 minutes
Workout time: 1:17
My knee did not bother me at all during this workout, but it hurt some afterwards. The workout itself went very well.
______________________________
Bench Assistance
Week 8 of 12
Wednesday – 3/4/09
Incline Bench: [45/15, 75/5, 115/3] 130/5, 137/4
Dips: [25/8, 45/5, 60/3] 75/5, 85/3
Lat. Pulldowns (V Grip): [45/8, 80/6] 100/8, 100/7
Reverse Curl Bar Curls: [40/8] 52/9, 52/8
DB Flyes: [10s/10] 12s/12, 12s/12
Stretching: ~10 minutes
Workout time: 1:10
I was tired for this workout, but I managed to lift okay. I usually do rotator cuff work at the end of this workout, but I thought it more important to do DB flyes again this week to work on my pec problem. I’ll probably continue to do them on bench assistance day for a while.
Week Nine
Squats
Week 9 of 12
Thursday – 3/5/09
Low Squats: [45/15, 115/8, 150/5, 185/3] 210/5, 225/3
Partial Squats: [225/6, 275/5, 315/3] 350/5, 375/4
Sit-ups: [7.5/10] 15/10, 15/8
Step ups: 6:00
Stretching: ~10 minutes
Workout time: 1:21
My knee felt fine for this workout, and the workout went great. It helped that I had one of my favorite albums of all time blaring, “Imaginary Music” by Barren Cross, (White Metal, i.e., heavy metal Christian music). This music can be heard in the following videos:
Comments on these exercises are found on the following page of my site: Squat Assistance Exercises.
.______________________________
Benches
Week 9 of 12
Sunday – 3/8/09
DB Benches: [20s/15, 38s/8, 45s/5, 55s/3] 62s/5, 65s/4
Rack Lockouts: [115/6, 135/5, 155/3] 170/5, 180/3
DB Rows (underhand grip): [30s/8, 45s/5] 52s/7, 55s/5
Heavy Bag: 6:00
Stretching: ~10 minutes
Workout time: 1:20
The videos below are of the Rack Lockouts. This time, playing in the background is Whitecross, another White Metal group.
I had only planned on doing three reps on the second set. But as can be seen in the video, I got unbalanced on the third rep, so I tried a fourth. That was a mistake as it was the only time my let pec bothered me during this workout. That is why gave up on the rep.
An update on my creatine use; I gained three pounds in two weeks after I started using it, but my weight has leveled off since then. That gives me an idea on how much I can expect to lose just by stopping creatine when I need to cut weight for a contest. But I might want to stop it two weeks before a contest rather than just one as I had been doing to be sure it is depleted before weigh-ins.
______________________________
Deadlifts
Week 9 of 12
Monday – 3/9/09
Reverse Band Deadlifts: [45/15, add bands: 185/8, 275/5, 355/3] 385/5, 410/3
SLDLs (on 3” high platform): [135/8, 185/5, 230/3] 255/5, 270/3
Twisting Leg Raises (reps to each side): 17, 11
Jump Rope: skipped
Stretching: ~ 5 minutes
Workout time: 1:11
Despite being very tired for this workout, my DL work went very well. But then I “died” on the second set of leg raises, so I skipped jumping rope, only did a few stretches, and called it a day.
______________________________
Bench Assistance
Week 9 of 12
Wednesday – 3/11/09
Decline Bench: [45/15, 95/8, 125/5, 150/3] 170/5, 180/3
DB Presses: [17s/8, 27s/5] 35s/6, 35s/5
Lat. Pulldowns (wide grip): [55/8, 80/5] 100/10, 105/6
Preacher Curls: skipped
DB Flyes: [10s/10] 12s/13, 12s/13
Stretching: ~10 minutes
Workout time: 1:10
Still very tired. I lifted okay, but skipped the preacher curls so as not to push it. Today (Thursday) is my planned monthly day off. Hopefully, after three days of rest, I’ll feel better for my workout on Sunday.
Week Ten
Squats
Week 10 of 10
Sunday – 3/15/09
Squats: [45/15, 125/8, 190/5, 230/3] 255/6, 267/5, 280/4
DB Calves: [25/10] 35/12, 40/9
Crunch-Reverse Crunch Combo (with 3# ankle weights): [20/10] 30/16, 35/15
Step ups: 6:30
Stretching: ~10 minutes
Workout time: ~1:20
After the three day break, I felt much better for this workout. And the workout went great.
My knees felt fine during this workout, but they were sore afterwards. Nothing serious, but enough to make me leery about going any heavier without knee support. As a result, I decided not to enter a contest with a raw federation that does not allow knee support like I had thought of doing. Instead, I will enter a RAWU contest as RAWU allows knee sleeves in its raw division. The contest is RAWU's Northeast Regional & Pennsylvania State Championships, June 13-14, 2009 in Greencastle, PA. For more in this regard, see my previous post Revised Contest Plans for 2009.
With this change, this will be my last training week for this routine, hence the change from “of 12” to “of 10” in the weeks count. After this week, I will start an eleven week routine to prepare for the contest.
On the cardio, the first week of this routine I did just two minutes of step ups on this day and two minutes of hitting the heavy bag on bench day. On deadlift day, I jumped rope for just a minute and a half. Since then, I have been increasing by 30 seconds each week on the step ups and heavy bag and 15 seconds jumping rope. I started with a shorter time and am increasing slower with the jump rope as I find it to much harder than the other two.
I was going to work up to six minutes on the step ups and heavy bag, and then work on increasing the intensity. But I think I will keep increasing up to ten minutes. For the jumping rope, I’m not sure how high will go, but I want to get to at least five minutes.
I forgot to start the chronometer on my watch, so the tilde (~) on my workout time means the time is an approximate. But even with the harder training, I am sure I got down in a good pace.
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Benches
Week 10 of 10
Monday – 3/16/09
Benches: [45/15, 95/8, 115/5, 135/3] 152/6, 160/5, 167/3
BB Rows (medium grip): [55/8, 80/5] 90/7, 95/5
Triceps Pushdowns: 45/12, 45/12
Heavy Bag: 6:30
Stretching: ~10 minutes
Workout time: 1:04
Benches went well, and my left pec felt fine, even on the heavy triple. That is a relief, as my pec problem could have derailed my plans to compete unequipped. But after this workout, I don’t think it will be a problem.
I had been doing DB flyes after the benches. But I’m doing those now on my bench assistance day, so I figured I’d do the pushdowns instead here to give the triceps some extra work.
______________________________
Deadlifts
Week 10 of 10
Wednesday – 3/18/09
Deadlifts (sumo): [45/15, 135/8, 215/5, 295/3] 330/6, 345/4, 360/skipped
Leg Curls (legs together): [20/10] 30/10, 30/10
Dip Bar Reverse Crunches (with 3# ankle weights): 22, 20
Jump Rope: 3:00
Stretching: ~10 minutes
Workout time: 1:10
A very strange and somewhat scary workout. On my first warm-up set, my right hamstring tightened up. I wasn’t sure if it was a cramp, a pulled muscle, or just my fibromyalgia pain acting up. Since I was just using the bar, I couldn’t see how I could have injured it, so I assumed it was the fibro-pain and continued the workout. The hamstring hurt throughout, but not too much on my first two work sets, and they went okay. But by the third, it was really bothering me. I made a half-hearted attempt, but I didn’t budge the weight as I couldn’t bring myself to really pull.
I was going to skip the rest of the workout, but I tried my warm-up set on leg curls, and the hamstring felt fine. So I did those and the ab work without problems. But then it started bothering me again while jumping rope, so I cut that short.
Afterwards, the hamstring really hurt, and I was very afraid I had made a big mistake. This was something I mentioned about in my post about my LEFT hamstring injury back in October. I’ve been afraid ever since I started lifting again that I would feel pain, assume it was my fibro-pain, ignore it, and then cause a minor injury to become very serious.
In any case, I iced the hamstring throughout the evening. That night, I felt terrible and barely slept. But strangely, the next day the hamstring did not feel that bad, so I ended up doing my bench assistance workout without much problem. Today (Saturday) it feels okay.
It will help that with starting a new routine tomorrow, I had already planned on “deloading” the first couple of weeks before getting back into heavy training. As such, despite my initial fears, I think I am still on track for to keep my contest plans. But if I have to back-off more than I initially planned, I might change my routine plans and do the actual powerlifts each week so I can more gradually increase the weights back up.
But let me add, I would never recommend anyone ignore pain when it occurs. It is only because of my unique health situation that I did so. For anyone else, if it feels like an injury, it probably is, so it is best to stop right there.
______________________________
Bench Assistance
Week 10 of 10
Thursday – 3/19/09
Incline Bench: [45/15, 75/8, 97/5, 117/6] 132/5, 140/3
Dips: [25/8, 45/5, 65/3] 80/5, 90/3
Lat. Pulldowns (V Grip): [55/10, 85/6] 100/9, 100/7
Reverse Curl Bar Curls: [40/8] 52/9, 52/9
DB Flyes: [10s/10] 12s/14, 12s/14
Stretching: ~10 minutes
Workout time: 1:24
Despite the problems the day before and being tired, a good workout. However, the workout time is meaningless. The connector slipped on my homemade lat pulldown, and it took several minutes to fix.
These workout logs are continued at Full Workout Logs: Starting 3/22/09: Pre-contest Workouts: Weeks 1-6 of 11.
Full Workout Logs: Starting 2/19/09: Alternate Weeks: Weeks 7-10 of 10. Copyright © 2009 By Gary F. Zeolla.
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