Friday

21/15/9:
—Push-ups
—BB power shrugs @ 105#

15/9:
—DB thrusters @ 20#

1×30 sec plank
1×40 sec plank

Pree:

25-min. elliptical
2×10 crunches
2×10 situps
Planks:
—1×30 sec
—1×40 sec
2×15 V-twists
2×10 push-ups
2×10 incline DB press @ 10#
DB bench press:
—2×10 @ 5#
—1×10 @ 10#
2×10 lat pull-downs @ 48#
2×10 horizontal row @ 36#
2×10 overhead triceps extensions @ 5#
2×10 dips

Notes:
—The power shrugs trained the very top of the pull motion for the power clean. Doing this more often could help improve my technique overall.

Miscalculation

Performed the last progressive athlete counting routine today. Was supposed to go 1-10-1, but only managed to get up to 6 before I fatigued out. I feel like I could have done more if I hadn’t miscalculated the weight to put on the barbell on the first set.  Adding two 10s to either side gives you 85#, not 65#. Because of this error, I couldn’t lock out the hang clean needed to get into the push press position (my 1RM is 80#) and I had to drop the weight back to hang position, straining both my elbows in the process.

1-2-3-4-5-6 reps of the following:
—Sumo deadlift high-pull @ 65#
—Push press @ 65#
—Pull-ups

Good Day

Got in a good day of some endurance-type work plus some extras. Did a fantastic mobility routine before and did my usual stretches after, and it felt great. It’s amazing what putting in a little extra effort into some prehab work will do for your workout.

4×10 deadlifts @ 105# (got some great advice from a guy who noticed I was bending my knees too much)
1×10 dips
Thrusters:
—1×10 @ 25#
—1×10 @ 20#

Notes:
—The workout prescribed 30 burpees, but somehow given my elbow problems I didn’t think I could pull them off. They also have to be one of the most boring exercises ever. I just couldn’t bring myself to even try.

Bench Stress

One very important lifting lesson to always keep in mind is: never bench press without a spotter. I did it yesterday, and it nearly cost me my elbow. However, in my frustration at my inability to bench I shot out five pullups in a very short time. Blowing some steam on exercise can only bring good, apparently.

2×6 bench press @ 95#
1×6 incline DB press @ 30#
5 pullups
3×6 squats @ 115#

Notes:
—Squatting at 115# is really good for leg building.

Inflamelbow

Almost sounds like a food doesn’t it? Well, it kept me from completing my workout today. I can actually feel a bit of swelling in my left elbow. I think I’ve also got a an excessive pump in my left forearm muscle that is only adding to the pain. Other than that, a fairly fruitful day.

100# Romanian deadlift, alternating both mix grips and overhand grip
Pullups
20# One-arm DB press/side

—20/15/10
—16/11/8

300 Reps

Completed a fairly intense workout today. My focus seemed to be spot on, so I think I pushed myself harder than I usually do, and thus accomplished a lot more. The rule I followed was to get up to 25 reps on each exercise, take a break, and then do the next 25. If I had to stop due to fatigue on one exercise, I had to go on to the next one and keep cycling through until I came back to the first one. Some of the exercises I was able to do all the way, some not. I’ll try to detail exactly how I got through each exercise below:

50 squats: 25 + 25
25 DB cleans/side @ 35#: R – 18 + 7; L – 15 + 10
25 narrow pushups: 12 + 8 + 5
50 box jumps @ 24″: 25 + 20 + 5
25 DB press/side @ 15#: R – 22 + 3; L – 25
25 pullups: 5 + 6 + 7 + 7
50 hanging knee raises: 25 + 25

Notes:
—It seems my left side’s push chain is stronger than the right, and vice versa with the pull chain. I wonder if this has any connection at all with the dominant mix grip I use for my deadlifts?
—My consecutive pullups are improving. It seems like 7 is my limit after a few warm-up sets.

Deadlift Training

Did my first day ever of only training one lift, in this case the deadlift. First three sets with goofy grip, and the final five with normal grip.

1×10 @ 95#
1×8 @ 115#
1×6 @ 135#
2×4 @ 155#
3×4 @ 175#

Notes:
—My back should be comfortably numb tomorrow. Good thing it’s a rest day.

Good Rigor

My workout wasn’t as consistent as I had planned, as I had to make do with some changes due to efficiency once I started.

5 rounds of 10 each:
—Deadlift @ 135# with switched mix grips (15 “goofy” and 35 regular)
—Pushups, first 30 from 12″ box, last 20 from 16″ bench
—Squats (1 round of jump squats + 4 rounds regular squats)

Notes:
—The 135# deadlift has gotten a LOT easier than I remembered it. That’s a good sign.

To Exhaustion

High reps should never be done with 80% your 1RM, and that was exactly what I did. As a result, I wiped myself out early and had to stop my countdown routine after the 3rd set. That said, I still feel like I got a lot out of it. I also got to try out a new exercise, the DB snatch, which I think I got down pretty well at the weight I was using. Now that I have the form I feel comfortable moving on the heavier weight the next time I get to do snatches.

Countdown from 10: 10 -> 9 -> 8 reps of the following:
—Deadlift @ 165#
—Box pushups off 12″ box
—Dual DB snatch at 15#

Build-Up Sets

I kind of dropped out at the end of this routine, partially out of boredom and partially out of fatigue. I got in the exercises that counted; the only one I had left to do was burpees, for total-body endurance conditioning (something I need to work on but not wholly essential for muscle development).

10 pullups in 2×5
20 deadlifts @ 100# preloaded barbell, in 2×10 with switched mix grips
30 box jumps @ ~ 24″ box
40 pushups in 4×10
25 crunches… should have been 50

Notes:
—If you weren’t following the pattern, I would have followed this with 60 burpees.