Life: Fired Up

Wtd Dips-BWx5, BWx5, BWx5, 25×5, 50×4, 75×4, 105×2, 70×2

Deadlifts-135×3, 135×3, 185×2, 185×2, 225×1, 255×1, 275×1

My first day back with wtd dips I set a 2 rep pr, 105×2. I have done more weight for 1 but the most I have done for 2 was 100lbs. I almost went for more weight for another set of dips but chose against it, despite my pr, my dips felt heavier than usual, I blame this on being the first week back on the wtd dips.

This was the first time I have deadlifted in about a month and the first time I have deadlifted with a conventional stance in a very long time. I did switch to a sumo deadlift for my final set with 275. I have allowed myself to get very comfortable with sumo deadlifts and now when I use a normal stance I feel somewhat uncomfortable.Until about 2 years or so ago I had never really gotten into a sumo stance for the deadlift. I had tried once or twice before with light weight but always found it uncomfortable, now the opposite has occurred. I now feel I must do more conventional pulling to reclaim my comfort/strength level, I plan to continue on with this stance for another 2 weeks.

To finish up my workout I added in 3 sets of 5 wide grip pullups, these were easy. I also did 2 sets of BB shrugs with 135×10.

Standing BB Shoulder Press-45×10, 45×10, 95×1, 95×1, 115×1, 125×0 missed attempt, 85×5, 95×4, 115×2, 125×1(push press)

Wide Underhand Pulldowns-100×10, 100×10, 130×3, 170×3, 190×2, 210×2, 230×2, 250×1, 260×0 Missed attempt

After doing some yard work this weekend for a few hours my knee was a little swollen so I decided to stick with just some upper body. I brought standing shoulder presses back into my workout with the intention of working up to my previous personal best, 125lbs.  I did this but failed to press 125, I did not get the BB above eye level. After my missed attempt I decided to drop some weight and just do a few sets of 3-5 reps. After I did my set with 85lbs I decided to add some weight because it actually felt pretty easy. I continued to climb up in weight all over again, feeling stronger the second time around. I hit 115 for an easy 2 and decided to try 125 again. The same problem occurred, I then decided on the fly to do a push press made the push press successfully.

My wide pulldowns felt very strong. Even on my attempt with 250 the first rep felt very strong, I decided to go for a second rep but only got to 3/4 of the way down. 250lbs felt good enough for me to decide to go for 260. I missed with 260 only getting about 3/4 of the way down. I have pulled 260 before, just never with the wide grip, so I was satisfied.

RDL-95×5, 95×5, 145×3, 195×3, 245×3, 295×1, 305×1

EZ Curl-40×5, 40×5, 60×5, 80×5, 100×4, 120×1, 80×3

Decided to give my shoulders a little break today after Mondays workout and despite the front squats my legs/knees were not sore. My RDL with 305 was the heaviest one I have ever done.  My ez curl with 120 was also the heaviest I have ever done. Pretty fired up.

Front Squats-45×8, 65×3, 95×2, 125×1, 145×1, 165×1, 185×1, 145×1

DB Bench-30×8, 40×4, 50×3, 75×2

Close Grip Pulldowns- 100×8, 120×4, 150×3, 180×3, 210×3, 220×3, 230×3

DB Shoulder Press-50×5, 55×5, 60×6

New  era PR on my front squat, 185×1. My front squat actually felt pretty easy, i need to strengthen my back a little more to keep pace with my legs. Felt easy on the legs a little heavy on my back. I missed on my db bench press with the 75′s, only got 2 and struggled with that. After that I switched to db shoulder presses which felt much stronger than my bench presses.

I decided to give my grip a break after the incident with my finger and chose to just do some ab and low back work. After all of that I ran about 8 “sprints” again on the treadmill slightly harder than the last time.

Squats-45×10, 65×5, 95×3, 95×3, 135×3, 185×2

DB Shrugs-25×10, 40×10, 50×10, 70×10, 85×10

DB Lateral Raise-8×15, 10×10, 15×10, 20×10

I decided to give my elbows a little breather after hitting my presses hard on monday so i only did shrugs and lateral raises for my upper body, with my main focus being on my squats. About 1/2 way through my workout I missed the rack when racking one of the 85lb db’s, I racked it on my finger. I thought I broke my finger and decided to call it a day and break open an ice pack. Long story short, the finger was not broken, but my grip was pretty much shot for the week.

DB Bench 30×8, 30×6, 45×5, 55×5, 75×6, 70×9, 70×3

Bent Over Row- 95×5, 95×3, 145×5, 165×3, 175×2, 145×5

Wide Pullups-5

I hit another personal best on the db bench, 75×6, I am pretty amped up that my strength continues to go up and up. I am struggling a little bit with my Bent over rows, I need to hit those a little harder over the next few weeks.

After doing my lift I decided to do a few “mini runs.” I basically ran sprints on the treadmill for about 10 secs. I did not actually sprint, I only ran at about 8.0 or a little greater with an incline 5-6 degrees. I did this to test the water and as some prep work to start playing flag football this spring.

Due to some soreness from my hours of yard work over the weekend and bad weather on Wednesday today was my first workout of the week. Playing racquetball on Wednesday I had a moment of horrible athleticism, causing me to trip and slightly sprain my shoulder. I thought about training upper body anyway but chose not too, letting it rest until Monday.

Front Bench Squats-45×10, 65×5, 85×5

DB Shrugs-30×10, 40×10, 60×10, 80×10, 90×10

Squats-135×3, 185×2, 205×1, 225×1, 135×1

Back Ext-BWx20, 20, 20

I performed my front squats to warm up and to work on my technique. I then moved onto my squats. Despite not squatting since 2/16 I upped my weight by another 30lbs. I did 225 for one, which was pretty easy but I am still reluctant to push to a true max because of all of the annoying knee issues I have had.  Depending on how my knees feel I will either squat or deadlift next week, if they feel good I’ll squat. As for my shrugs, every set felt easy, the 90′s felt light, I even had no struggle grip wise. Stronger.