TR's log

Thursday, May 8

"A" Routine:

Squats 10x45, 5x65, 5x95, 5x135, 20x160 (ms)
RDLs 2x5x135 (trying to loosen up my hams a bit)
Seated (single-leg) Calf Raise 20x50 (ms)
Standing Calf Raise 20x160 (ms)
Power Shrugs 20x225 (ms)
(plus ab machine and pec-dec)
Rack Pulls 1x315 lbs, 1x365 lbs, 0x375 lbs, 1x375 lbs

I've been doing my standing calf raises and power shrugs in the Shirley Machine. It helps to keep me from falling over (and the bar doesn't hit me in the balls on the P-shrugs...). I don't know how much the bar weighs on that machine, so I am only recording the weight of the plates.

Since I didn't do any deads, I didn't quite have that "beaten with a rubber mallet" feeling when my workout was over. So I tried a coupla rack pulls for fun. I lost my grip on the first try at 375, but I got it the second time around. That pretty much did me in...

Friday, May 9

"B" Routine

Deadlifts 10x45, 10x95, 5x135, 5x185, 5x225, 5x240, 20x225 (MS)
RDLs 2x5x135 (hams still tight)
Chins 20 (w/20 lb p.a.) (MS)
Dips   20 (w/30 lb p.a.) (MS)
Incline Bench 10x45, 2x5x55, 10x65 (MS)
Flat Bench 20x70 (MS)
Tricep Pushdown 20x100 (MS)
Lying Dumbbell Row 20x60 (MS)
Dumbbell Prone Incline Curl 20x22.5 (brachialis curl)
Dumbbell Preacher Curls 20x22.5 (MS)

Both the flat benches were occupied while I was warming up, so I used the incline bench for a bit. Inclines seem a little harder than the flat bench.

I'm doing a lot of exercises, but since I'm not doing squats and deads on the same day, I still have a lot of "go" left after my workouts. I suspect that will stop when the weights start getting heavier.
 
TR, I'm not quite sure what your A and B routines are or what your frequency plan is as they seem to vary every time I check in here? Are you now doing a 4 x weekly set-up?

If you are going to be doing 4 sessions a week I reckon alternating deads and RDLs would be a smart move once your loads are a bit nearer to your 5RMs. That way you deadlift and RDL once a week which should enable you to keep progressing them both for longer without burning out. I think this will be particularly helpful if you are intending to back squat twice a week too.

I really want to see you get a 330 dead (or maybe a 340?) by the end of this cycle.
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<div>
(Lol @ May 10 2008,11:09)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">TR, I'm not quite sure what your A and B routines are or what your frequency plan is as they seem to vary every time I check in here? Are you now doing a 4 x weekly set-up?

If you are going to be doing 4 sessions a week I reckon alternating deads and RDLs would be a smart move once your loads are a bit nearer to your 5RMs. That way you deadlift and RDL once a week which should enable you to keep progressing them both for longer without burning out. I think this will be particularly helpful if you are intending to back squat twice a week too.

I really want to see you get a 330 dead (or maybe a 340?) by the end of this cycle.  </div>
Yes, I've been dancing around a bit, trying to figure out how to apply Dan's Max-Stim program. It doesn't help that I have to keep running to the library to access the internet...  
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I am switching from 3xwk to 4xwk with an A and B routine. Squats will be 2xwk in my A routine. Deads will be 2xwk in my B routine, until things start getting heavy enough to limit deads to once a week.

I've only been doing RDLs occasionally, for the hamstring stretch. However, I may well take your advice and substitute them for one of my regular deadlift sessions when I start working on the 6RM phase.

A 340 lb deadlift would be nice...  
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Monday, May 12

&quot;A&quot; Routine:

Squats 10x45, 5x65, 5x85, 5x105, 5x135, 20x165 (ms)
Seated (single-leg) Calf Raise 20x55 (ms)
Standing Calf Raise 20x170 (ms)
Power Shrugs 20x230 (ms)
Tricep Pushdowns 20x100 (ms)
(plus ab machine and pec-dec)

My &quot;B&quot; routine tends to run long and my &quot;A&quot; routine is often a bit short, so I moved my pushdowns from &quot;B&quot; to &quot;A&quot;. I doubt that I do enough triceps work for it to be an issue with pushdowns one day then dips and bench the next. I'll probably drop the arm isos out after a bit, but for now I'd like to bring my arms up to speed.

I've gained five pounds in about three weeks. My diet has been a little sloppy (I've been invited out to dinner a lot...), so I was afraid I was putting on fat. I got out the calipers and determined that -- even if I add a millimeter to every skinfold measure! -- I'm still right at or below 10% bodyfat. So apparently I may have gained some muscle mass. It's amazing what effect eating has on growth...!
 
Tuesday, May 13

&quot;B&quot; Routine

Deadlifts 10x45, 10x95, 5x135, 5x185, 5x230, 5x240, 20x230 (MS)
Chins 20 (w/10 lb p.a.) (MS)
Dips 20 (w/20 lb p.a.) (MS)
Bench 20x70 (MS)
Lying Dumbbell Row 20x65 (MS)
Dumbbell Prone Incline Curl 20x25 (brachialis curl)
Dumbbell Preacher Curls 20x25 (MS)
 
<div>
(colby2152 @ May 14 2008,9:24)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Nice MS Deads.... that's something I should try this year.</div>
Yup, gonna try 240 lbs today!
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Thursday, May 15

&quot;A&quot; Routine:

Squats 10x45, 5x95, 5x135, 20x175 (ms)
Seated (single-leg) Calf Raise 20x60 (ms)
Standing Calf Raise 20x180 (ms)
Power Shrugs 20x240 (ms)
Tricep Pushdowns 20x110 (ms)
(plus ab machine and pec-dec)

I'm really starting to feel those P-shrugs -- my shoulders ached all last night. I got out my Versa-Grips to help hang on to the bar.
 
TR, how long do you find it takes you to do 20 M-S squats with your top load? I don't think I could be bothered with all the racking and unracking. Deads, M-S style, are 'easy' to perform by comparison.
 
<div>
(Lol @ May 16 2008,3:57)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">TR, how long do you find it takes you to do 20 M-S squats with your top load? I don't think I could be bothered with all the racking and unracking. Deads, M-S style, are 'easy' to perform by comparison.</div>
I've not noted my total time for squats. However, with warmups, M-time, and all the re-racking, I suspect it runs near 15 - 20 minutes. I just sort of figure my re-racking time as part of my M-time.

Deads are a natural for M-time lifting. I frankly suspect most lifters subconsciously use an M-time (however brief) between deadlifts. Unless, of course, they are using a metronome...
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Friday, May 16

&quot;B&quot; Routine

Deadlifts 10x45, 10x95, 5x135, 5x185, 5x225, 20x240(MS)
Chins 20 (body weight) (MS)
Dips   20 (w/10 lb p.a.) (MS)
Bench 5x50, 5x60, 20x75 (MS)
Lying Dumbbell Row 20x70 (MS)
Dumbbell Preacher Curls 20x25 (MS)
No Dumbbell Prone Incline Curl (brachialis curl) (outa time)

My Max-Stim schedule called for 100% lifts of my 10RM today. So I finally got to do some &quot;Big Boy&quot; chins. I still used a 10 lb assist on my dips. It wasn't much, but it surely made a difference.

I ran out of both time and energy when it came to the Brachialis Curls. It was late and I was tired. I did one or two and then hung it up. Perhaps it made a difference that I did my preacher curls first...?  
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When I went into the gym today, I had a little stiffness approximately in the area of my left rhomboid. So I did some dynamic stretches and it seemed to go away. I had no problems at all with it during my workout -- it didn't &quot;pop&quot; or &quot;pull&quot; or anything like that. However, after I got home my upper back tightened up rather painfully.

I took some Soma, a muscle relaxer, and some good pain pills (some hydrocodone and a bit of oxycontin). I slept okay, but my back is still sore this morning. I hope I haven't injured myself. Next week my lifts go to 105% and 110% of my 10RM; I wouldn't want to miss that.
 
Tuesday, May 20

A/B routine...?
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Squats 10x45, 5x95, 5x135, 3x155, 20x185 (ms)
Chins 20 x body weight + 5 (MS)
Dips 20 x body weight (MS)
Bench 5x45, 5x65, 20x80 (MS)
Lying Dumbbell Row 20x70 (MS)
Dumbbell Preacher Curls 20x25 (MS)
Dumbbell Prone Incline Curl (brachialis curl) 20x25 (MS)

I skipped my workout yesterday. My upper back was/is still sore.

I planned to do my &quot;A&quot; routine today, but the gym was packed and I wasn't able to use the equipment I wanted without a long wait. So I modified my workout (HST lets us tweak anything...). I did my squats from my &quot;A&quot; routine along with the supplementary exercises from my &quot;B&quot; routine. I doubt that'll make much difference in the universal cosmic plan. I had already decided not to do any Power Shrugs until my upper back begins to feel better.

Interestingly, I found that I was able to complete all the exercises within an hour. Maybe it'll work better this way after all. I plan to go in tomorrow to do my deads and the supplementary exercises from plan &quot;A&quot;.

I'm not quite sure how to handle the 4-day exercise plan now that I've missed Monday. I could do Tues-Wed, then Fri-Sat, except that Saturday is a busy day for me. Or I could try to do Tues-Wed, then my squats on Friday and my deads the following Monday. Then I would skip Tues and begin Phase Two of Max-Stim on Thurs.

Alternatively, I could just do four days in a row. With any luck it won't kill me. However, this is the last week of my first phase of Max-Stim. The schedule calls for 105% and 110% of my 10RM. The deads are getting a little heavy for 20 reps, even using a generous M-time...

On a positive note, I did my first Big Boy dips today. I didn't use any pussy assist at all. Maybe there's hope after all...

[Lol: I timed my Max-Stim squats today and determined that my work set of 20 M-timed reps at 105% of my 10RM took 8 minutes to do.]
 
<div></div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">On a positive note, I did my first Big Boy dips today. I didn't use any pussy assist at all. Maybe there's hope after all...</div>
You'll have that buck and a quarter hanging off your belt in no time man! You'll be using BWx15 for warmups!
 
Wednesday, May 21

A/B routine...
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Deadlifts 10x45, 10x95, 5x135, 5x185, 3x225, 20x255(MS)
Seated (single-leg) Calf Raise 20x65 (ms)
Standing Calf Raise 20x200 (ms)
No Power Shrugs (until my upper back feels better)
(plus ab machine and pec-dec)

Deads are starting to take a little work. My M-time was pushing 20 seconds for the last several reps.
 
Hey TR, interesting about the time for 20 MS squats. That's not bad at all. I guess that means around 20 seconds or so between reps on average?

Don't forget that training when sore is fine as long as it's just DOMS. It can help ease the soreness and is all part of keeping a chronic anabolic environment in the muscle. Still, you may have felt that your CNS also needed some extra recovery time, particularly if you are trying for 20 rep deads.  
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<div>
(Lol @ May 21 2008,5:53)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">I guess that means around 20 seconds or so between reps on average?</div>
Yes, on average it works out to about 20 seconds plus a bit. I figure my M-time by allowing one second per rep count. So by rep number 12 I have an M-time of 12 seconds, on rep 13 my rep time is 13 seconds, and so forth. I don't count my re-racking time at all -- it's just added to my M-time. That is probably why the average time is so high.
<div>
(Lol @ May 21 2008,5:53)</div><div id="QUOTEHEAD">QUOTE</div><div id="QUOTE">Don't forget that training when sore is fine as long as it's just DOMS. It can help ease the soreness and is all part of keeping a chronic anabolic environment in the muscle. Still, you may have felt that your CNS also needed some extra recovery time, particularly if you are trying for 20 rep deads. </div>
No doubt my CNS is still thanking me for the brief break, but this doesn't feel like DOMS. I seem to have hurt something in my upper back last Thursday. Today makes a full week and it's not much better. I miss my P-shrugs, but I keep hoping this will heal up if I back off a bit. Unfortunately, this has come right at the 110% portion of my Max-Stim schedule. Dan is a hard master...
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I feel like 20 reps of Deads with such a short M-time would even be tougher than 4x5!  The first rep always seems the toughest...and the last.
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The only thing I can say is it probably helps with grip failure, and great for grip strength work!
 
Friday, May 23

A/B routine...?
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Squats 10x45, 5x95, 5x135, 3x185, 20x200 (ms)
Chins 20 x body weight + 10 (MS)
Dips 20 x body weight + 10 (MS)
Bench 5x45, 5x65, 20x80 (MS)
Lying Dumbbell Row 20x75 (MS)
Farmer's Walk with 75 lb. dumbells (50 meters)

This finishes the Squat part (A of my twisted A/B routine) of Phase 1 of my Max-Stim schedule. It calls for my 10RM + 110%. I plan to finish the Deadlift portion (B of that sad A/B routine) tomorrow. Next week I'll begin Phase 2, which is based on my 8RMs. There will be some zig zag during the first week, for which I shall be very grateful.

I really only needed to do 195 lbs for my squats, but 200 lbs seemed much more psychologically satisfying.

I tried to bring my dips in line with my chins, using BW+10. That was a mistake. BW+10 is easy with chins, but very difficult for dips. My M-time on my chins rarely got over 10 seconds, but my M-time on my dips regularly was near 20 seconds.

I couldn't find the 75 lb dumbbells in the gym today. Apparently the fancy new dumbbells had gotten broken (how do you break dumbbells...?). Anyhow, the fitness chick was gracious enough to let me fetch the old dumbbells out of storage. That was a mighty long walk back with the two 75 lb dumbbells in hand...!
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No bi/tri isos today. I was out of time and out of juice. Maybe tomorrow after my deads...
 
Gotta love the farmers walk. Your MS routine looks really intense. How does it compare to your Ed Coan routine?
 
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