Bench and Bodyweight

I've eaten too much in the last couple of days. Gotta get back on track while on vacation.

BENCH PRESS
45 x 10
135 x 5
185 x 5
225 x 3
275 x 3
315 x 2
335 x 1
365 x 1
315 x 3

LAT PULLS
4 x 10

Squat Cardio Bodyweight

Tonight I just worked up heavy on my main lift and did some cardio. I think this will give me a better chance at developing some work capacity/being able to breathe while standing.

CARDIO
5 minutes walking, 0.5 grade, 2.5 pace

SQUAT
135 x 5
225 x 5
315 x 5
405 x 2
455 x 1
495 x 1
495 x 1
495 x 2

CARDIO
10 minutes walking, 0.5 grade, 2.5 and 3.0 pace

BODYWEIGHT
348. Need to move the needle DOWN!

Bench Press and Bodyweight

Tonight was a good night. I put up 365 without a liftoff. From here on out I'm going to be doing triples and doubles on bench, no more singles until I have a spotter (which may be a long time).

BENCH PRESS
45 x 10
135 x 10
185 x 5
225 x 3
275 x 2
315 x 1
335 x 1
365 x 1
225 x 10

I got a good sweat going with this. I like the 225 drop set.

CABLE ROWS
10, 8, 6
(heavy!)

BODYWEIGHT
Still right around 347. My stomach issues have lessened pretty substantially, so that's good. Need to keep moving DOWN.

Rack Pulls & BW

Tonight I didn't feel like squatting as I had some stomach issues. So I decided to do some rack pulls since I haven't done anything like it in about 3 years. Felt okay, but I don't think I'll be doing them again anytime soon. I don't want to bend a bar.

RACK PULLS
(just above the knee)
135 x 5
225 x 3
315 x 1
405 x 1
455 x 8 x 1

CABLE LEG PRESS
4 x 10

BODYWEIGHT
I'm down to 348, which is about a 15 lb loss since July. I'm hoping this is real weight loss, not just from the stomach issues.

Bench (post-break PR)

Tonight was a good night. Got to talk to a college student who lifts at the gym. Asked him for a spot and hopefully helped him with a shoulder issue he's having.

Also, PR! I'm finally back over my (inexcusably high) bodyweight on the bench.

BENCH
45 x 15
135 x 5
185 x 5
225 x 3 (wraps)
275 x 2
315 x 1
365 x 1 (tried for 2 and got stapled)

CABLE ROW
10, 12, 10

TRI PUSHDOWNS
10, 10, 10 (heavy)

TREADMILL
7.5 minutes at 1* incline and 3 mph

BODYWEIGHT
352

I ate like shit today, so I'm glad I hadn't gained too much. Back on track with shakes and rabbit food.

Squat

Tough night tonight. I was only in there about 25 minutes as my squats completely knocked the wind out of me.

SQUAT
135 x 5
225 x 5
325 x 5
375 x 5
425 x 5

This was just a ton of work and it really pushed the limits of my (terribly diminished) conditioning. Tomorrow, nothing but conditioning.

Bench Press and First Day of 5-3-1!

This afternoon I cracked open my old copy of 5-3-1 and decided that I'd start using it in my training. The one big change I'm making is that instead of doing press, bench, squat, and deadlift; I'm doing bench and squat twice per week. I just don't think my shoulders can handle a lot of pressing, especially higher volume pressing, and my giant belly might completely preclude me getting down to the bar.

I've decided to use the "boring but big" accessory template, which involves 5x10 at 30 or 40% of your training max after the main sets. I may throw in a different exercise now and then and I'll certainly be doing prehab work for my shoulders and hips as needed.

One other note: I finally got my feet out of "no man's land." I was reading some stuff on the EFS forums and saw a couple of references to having your feet directly below your knees. I had totally forgotten about the notion that you need your feet under your ass (or at the very least, your knees below your hips) to do well on the bench. Let's just say that tonight I was WAY tighter in my setup and the weight felt like nothing.

BENCH PRESS
45 x 10
95 x 10
135 x 5
185 x 5
215 x 5
245 x 12 (implied rep max of 345)

Fun and felt awesome!

BENCH PRESS "ACCESSORY"
5 x 10 @ 135

Onward!

Squat

Saw some pictures of myself today that really motivated me to cut my diet down and put in more volume in the gym. So that's what I did.

SQUAT
45 x 10
135 x 5
225 x 5
315 x 5
405 x 3
455 x 3
455 x 3
455 x 3

My right hip was looser today but it did take a lot of work to get it there. Just need to stay consistent on the tennis ball, stick, and foam roller work.

Bench Press

Tonight was pretty awful. I had some trouble getting my right shoulder blade to squeeze in on the bench, but once I was warmed up it seemed to cooperate. I'm really looking forward to Christmas as I may get a chance to really test my bench with a spotter.

BENCH PRESS
45x10
135 x 5
185 x 5
225 x 3
275 x 3 (wraps)
315 x 3
315 x 2 (hit the pins)
315 x 1 (hit the pins)
315 x 3 (struggled here... again an issue of back tightness)

CROSS BODY CURLS
40s x 10, 8, 6

I didn't want to further aggravate my back so I didn't do any heavy pulling. After all the benching I was ready to leave.

Squats ("new" max)

Tonight felt okay, except for my right leg. The stretching has helped, but I have a long way to go to loosening it up.

SQUAT
135 x 8
225 x 5
315 x 3
405 x 3
455 x 2
495 x 1
545 x 1
315 x 3
315 x 3
315 x 3

445 is my max right now. It was tough and I did get forward a bit. I just bought a new pair of shoes (Vans) and they're quite a bit flatter than my old shoes. Something to get used to.

I didn't feel like doing pull thrus because of my hip and knee, so I just banged out a few more triples as "accessory" work.

Accessory

Just some light stuff. Taking tomorrow off.

PULL THRU
3 sets, whole stack

MACHINE CHEST SUPPORTED ROW
2 sets

FACE PULLS
2 sets

HEAVY TRI PUSHDOWNS
3 sets

Bench and Bodyweight

Today I was at 350 again. Need to push into the 340s.  My back is in pretty intense pain from bar burn. I may take tomorrow night off just to give it an extra day.

BENCH PRESS
45 x 10
135 x 10
185 x 5
225 x 3
275 x 3
315 x 1
335 x 1

Movin on up!

PUSHDOWNS
3 sets of 10

LAT PULLDOWNS (straight bar)
4 sets of 10

Squat

Tonight was okay. I'm kinda tired and tight in my right leg, so I need to start foam rolling it and stretching my hip flexors some more.

SQUAT
135 x 5
225 x 5
315 x 3
405 x 3
495 x 1
515 x 2

Still moving up!


Rack Pulls
225 x 3 x 5 reps

Forgot my handles, so I did this instead of pull throughs.

Dumbbell Bench and Bodyweight

I am really tired today after staying up til 4:00 AM last night. We had a good Thanksgiving with the Siccardi's and the kids had a ton of fun.

Bodyweight was 350 even. Slow progress.


DUMBBELL BENCH PRESS
45s x 10
55s x 10
65s x 8
75s x 6
85s x 5
90s x 3
90s x 3
90s x 5

These felt awesome! Need to continue to to improve my posture and sleep to keep my back muscles healthy.

CABLE ROW
3 x 10 ascending to heavy weight

CLOSE GRIP PULLDOWN
3 x 10 ascending to heavy weight

Really felt a good burn on everything.

Bench Press

Great workout tonight, considering. I'm going to start wearing wrist wraps and see if that improves my stability in the bench.

BENCH
bar x 10
135 x 5
185 x 5
225 x 5
275 x 3
275 x 3
315 x 1

ROWS
4 sets of 10

PUSH DOWNS and FACE PULLS SUPERSET
3 sets of 10

Squat & Bodyweight

Tonight felt pretty good, but I only worked up to one double. 500 for a double seems to be close to my limit.

SQUAT
bar x 5
135 x 5
225 x 5
315 x 3
405 x 2
455 x 2
500 x 2

Felt good!!

PULL THRU
80 x 8
120 x 8 x 2

Feels good to do some accessory work. Gotta keep doing this and pumping up the volume.

Weight: 352
Same as last time. Gotta work harder!

Bench

Tonight I adjusted myself higher on the bench and tried the "hips off the bench" technique to unrack. It was helpful and I didn't get out of position as much as I did last time. I still struggled with 315x2 and had some elbow flaring about midway through the lift. I think next time I'll stay at 275 and do several sets of 2 or 3.

BENCH
barx10
135x5
185x5
225x3
275x2
315x2
315x2
225x8

ROW
3 sets of 10

PUSHDOWNS
3 sets of 10

Squat

Tonight was a good night. I moved up to 5 plates for a double and, for the first time in a long time, really felt alive in the gym.

SQUAT

135x5
225x5
315x5
405x3
455x2
495x1
495x2

Next time I'll try to get in some accessory work.

Bench

Decided to bench tonight to avoid the crowd tomorrow night.

BENCH PRESS
bar x 10
135 x 5
185 x 5
225 x 5
275 x 3
315 x 2
315 x 1

Not bad, but I had trouble getting set up since I didn't have a spotter. I'm going to have to slide up farther and see if that helps.

PUSHDOWNS & FACE PULLS
90, 100, 110 & 30, 30, 30
10 reps per set

CROSS BODY DB CURLS
3 sets of 10 each arm, 25#

Upper Accy & Bodyweight

Decided to do some accessory stuff.

BW is 352, which is about 10 lbs down from my highest weight a couple of months ago. I'm hoping to get to 325 by end of year. Long road to hoe.

DB BENCH
neutral grip

45x10, 55x10, 65x8x3

LAT PULLDOWN

3 sets of 10, ascending

MACHINE ROW

3 sets of 10, ascending


Sunday or Monday night I plan to squat if my legs are up to it.

5 Weeks Later - Squats again

Things have been crappy this past month, but we're looking ahead and being positive. Looking at some old photos gave me the inspiration needed to get back in the gym and eat better.

Note to self: look at those pictures more often.

SQUATS

up to 455 for 2 sets of 1

Next time I'm going for 495

Squats

I've decided to eschew the advice I was given and go back to squatting heavy. I just don't have the stamina to do several sets at 8 to 10 reps.

Squat
up to 455 x 2

This felt good. It especially felt good to have some "significant" weight on my back again.

Machine Good Mornings
3 sets

That's it. Next week I plan to do 2 sets of 2 at 455. Easing into it!



Mens Sana in Corpore Sano

Chest/Shoulders

Very tired today... not sure why. I started feeling the DOMS from Saturday night when I walked in, so I didn't do too much. There were a couple of high school kids on the (only) bench so I just went over to the machines since I wanted to get some stuff done and get home fast.

Incline Machine Press
1 x 8 x 90
5 x 6 x 180

DB Lateral Raise
10 x 15 lbs
8 x 20 lbs
6 x 25 lbs
8 x 20 lbs
10 x 15 lbs

Weight was at 357. I'm heading in the right direction... just need to speed it up!

Bodybuilding workouts suck. I'm already tired of this shit.



Mens Sana in Corpore Sano

Back

Felt okay today. Got all the soreness out of my legs (finally) and the DOMS were pretty much over for my chest as well.


Chest Supported Row
1 x 8 x 45
4 x 8 x 90

Pulldowns
4 x 8 ascending to 100 lbs

Pullovers
4 x 8 x 35

DB Rows
4 x 8 x 45

Let's see how sore I get! I'll likely do hams either Sunday or Monday night.

Mens Sana in Corpore Sano

Chest

Very very sore in the quads from squats the other day.

Tonight was okay but I did have some trouble with my right elbow/shoulder. Should work itself out with better posture and technique.


Bench
135/185/225/225/225/225/225 x 5

DB Flys
30s for 4 x 8

Mens Sana in Corpore Sano

Squats

This was absolutely terrible. I nearly passed out and just about puked when I got home.

I think I'm going to do this one exercise heavy and leave the rest the same. I just cannot handle this kind of volume on the squat (yet).

Squat
135, 225, 275, 275, 275 x 8

It's basically cardio!

Mens Sana in Corpore Sano

Arms

Skipped a night due to extreme hamstring soreness.

CG Bench
1x8, 3x6 @ 185 lbs

Fixed BB Curl
6x8 @ 20-60 lbs by 10s

Neutral Grip Pushdowns
4x10 @ 40 lbs

Alternating Hammer Curls
4x10 (each arm) @ 20 lbs

I'm going to be sore tomorrow.

Mens Sana in Corpore Sano

Dude Bro Workout for Weightloss and Re-Training

I talked with friend and trainer Rich Haven today. He suggested that since I've already built "a good strength base in the past" I needed to start over with non-CNS-intensive stuff. He suggested a dude-bro single-body-part-per-week amateur bodybuilding workout. I'll be doing this for 2 to 3 months, then moving back to a bench/squat split sometime after the first of the year. Hopefully some of my lost work capacity will come back and I'll put on some muscle mass. While those are hopes, the real goal is to cut fat.

I knew tonight would be bench night, so I'm starting the workout off on Shoulders/Hams day.

Here's what I did:

Machine OHP
4 x 6
I'll probably take the reps up to 8 or 10 next time. I didn't want to start off with DBs but might move to them later.

Alternating Lateral Raise/Front Raise
3 x 10
I'm going to work up to doing these individually. I just don't have the endurance yet.

Face Pulls
3 x 15
Shoulder prehab

Seated Leg Curl
3 x 8

Machine Hip Extension
3 x 8

Pull Thrus
4 x 10
Didn't do these. Will next time.


Mens Sana in Corpore Sano

Starting from Scratch

Back when I first started lifting weights in earnest (2002?) I was untrained, had no idea how to perform lifts correctly, and didn't have much for goals. Since then I've graduated high school in the top 10% of my class by strength, started college at 215 bw. I put on some muscle, learned how to lift properly, and competed several times in the USAPL and NASA raw divisions. Since 2012 I really haven't touched a weight, but I did manage to write my dissertation, graduate with a PhD, start a job at an R1 university and gain a ton of bodyfat. I'm now at 360 lbs and my doctor says I'm borderline diabetic and need to get a hold of my health ASAP.

So I've gone back to the gym and made a commitment to clean up my diet. Lana is, of course, an invaluable help in all of this. Here are a couple of my first handful of sessions:



Sept 18, 2015

Squat to 405 x 2

That's it. This is 205 lbs shy of my previous best, but the goal now is to build back strength and lose weight. Feels good to be under the bar!


Sept 20, 2015

Bench to 275 for 2 singles

Lat pulldown - 4 sets

Pushdowns/facepulls superset - 2 sets

No excuses, I will be in the gym every night unless I'm out of town for work. I have to get back to a healthy weight (250-275) and want to get back to high school weight, though with more muscle!


Mens Sana in Corpore Sano