Time to get serious...

[hard_rox]

Great pull, Paul!!! I'll be waiting for the 405 lb milestone to fall.

[pjb923]

Monday 9/18/06
NROL Strength I Workout "A"

B.B. Back Squat
135 x 6
185 x 3
225 x 3
295 x 6
355 x 1 (+20lbs)
305 x 6
365 x 1 (+10lbs) and a PR
245 x 12 (+10lbs)
205 x 15 (+10lbs, +3 reps)

Bulgarian Split Squats
30's x 15 each leg x 3 sets (+10lbs)

Step-Up
30's x 15 each leg x 3 sets (+10lbs, +3 reps)

This was another crazy leg workout as usual. I was really hoping to hit 375 today, but I just didn't feel like I had it in me. My plan was to keep my warmup short, and keep the same weight for my sets of 6 to conserve my energy for the singles. I'm not sure what it was, but my first work set just felt heavy, and my body was telling me not to push it too hard. Maybe I wasn't fully recovered from my deadlift workout on Saturday. Either way, I managed to add 10lbs to my previous 1RM!

Thanks to Mahler's log, I was motivated to increase the weight for my bulgarian split squats and step-ups and push to get all 15 reps on the step-ups. That was quite painful, thanks John.

[EdChap]

Nice work, an extra 10lbs at that weight is very respectable.

[EdChap]

Nice work, an extra 10lbs at that weight is very respectable.

[EdChap]

10lbs at that weight is very respectable, nice one!

[Lisa~]

Congratulations on the squat PR, and even more congratulations on finishing that nasty superset that follows!

[Lisa~]

Congratulations on the squat PR!

Even more congratulations on finishing that nasty superset that followed! :p

[Lisa~]

Congratulations on the squat PR!

Even more congratulations on finishing that nasty superset that followed! :p

[Lisa~]

Congratulations on the squat PR!

Even more congratulations on finishing that nasty superset that followed! :p

[Lisa~]

Congratulations on the squat PR!

Even more congratulations on finishing that nasty superset that followed! :p

[RedLefty]

Lisa's needle is skipping.

[Lisa~]

Originally Posted by RedLefty

Lisa's needle is skipping.

LOL It's this nervous tick I've got. I'll have to get that looked at! :p

They're all post 995, did you notice that? Weird. The forum was totally messed up this morning!

[RedLefty]

Cool, we've broken through the seventh dimension into parallel universes. I want to see the universe where I'm a simple goat herder named "Urth" who lives on a mountain and has a penchant for yodeling.

Paul, pretty soon you can save time and simplify the workout by just going to your driveway and lifting your car a few times.

[pjb923]

You guys crack me up.

Ed - Thank you, thank you, thank you
Lisa - Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you
RedLefty - Thanks for brining some humor into my log. Even if it did take a major forum glitch to get you to post here. I want to know more about this car lifting workout. Which phase of NROL is that again?

[EdChap]

Haha, sorry! I was wondering why it was taking so long so I left it and came back to it.

[pjb923]

Wednesday 9/20/06
"NROL" Strength I Workout B with modifications


SuperSet
Barbell Bench Press
135 x 6
185 x 6
205 x 6 x 4 sets
135 x 12

Neutral Grip Pull-up
100 x 8 - Lat pulldown
120 x 8 - Lat pulldown
BW x 6 x 4 sets
140 x 15 - Lat pulldown

Push-up ISO hold
60s x 2

Barbell Bent over row
90 x 6
135 x 6
175 x 6 x 2 sets
155 x 12

I finished with a little ab work. Some dragon flags and hanging leg raises.

This was an OK workout. No real increases, pretty much everything stayed the same. I don't think i'm getting enough sleep this week. My workouts have just felt slow and the weight is feeling heavier than it should. I planned to increase my bench weight today, but I just didn't have it in me.
We'll see what happens on Friday.

[pjb923]

I had another physical therapy session for my shoulder today. I have been really bad about logging my sessions, but have been going twice a week. With the exception of a few weight increases, the sessions have consisted of the following:

A 6 minute warmup on the Upper body ergometer. 3 minutes forward, 3 minutes backwards.
Cable ER (elbow at side): 5lbs, 3 sets of 15
Cable IR (elbow at side): 15lbs, 3 sets of 15
Cable pull to shoulder (cable set at shoulder height),20lbs, 3 sets of 15
Scap plane lateral raise 8lbs, 3 sets of 10
Prone DB rows, to the waist:25lbs, 3 sets of 10
Prone T’s: 5lbs, 3 sets of 10
Prone I’s (hands go to hip): 10lbs, 3 sets of 10
Side lying external rotation + side press + eccentric rear delt flye* 7lbs, 3 sets of 10
Inclined Ball pushup (hands on ball elevated on mini tramp): 3 sets of 10

This was followed by 10 minutes of Ultrasound, then some deep massage right in the area where I have pain. Next she did some range of motion tests, as well as IR and ER against her resistance to test my strength. The session ended with 10 minutes of electrostimulation and ice.

I'm about half way through my prescribed amount of PT, and I think it's really making a difference. I have not experienced any shoulder pain in the gym, but I am still avoiding overhead pressing movements. The therapist said that maybe in another week I can try adding some OH presses back into my routine.

*For anyone wondering what a "Side lying external rotation + side press + eccentric rear delt flye" is, i'm going to try to explain it in a little more detail. It starts with a side lying external rotation. Once your arm is fully rotated towards the ceiling, press the weight straight up until your arm is fully extended. Then rotate your hand 90 degrees CCW so your thumb is pointing to the left. From that position slowly lower your arm across your body until it's parallel with the floor, like the eccentric portion of a rear delt flye. That is one rep.

[EdChap]

Nice work, Paul! Glad to hear the shoulder is good.