I'm Back! TUOSTL Take 2

[Kevin T.]

I'll admit it, I took a very long break from lifting. I just didn't do it. However, I can't say I regret it, because I found other forms of exercise that have gotten me into the best shape of my life. Previously, I had gotten up to a chunky 200 pounds. I was not happy. Through various forms of exercise and cleaning up my diet, I was able to get down to a lean 185. From there, I have put on 5 pounds - this time without all the fat. I'm lean and doing great.

Had my yearly physical today and my doctor noted the I "got big." I told him that I hadn't grown any taller (still at 5'11") and had actually lost 10 pounds since last year. So, while my stats say I'm "this" big, my physique and posture say I'm alot bigger. Good.

With all that being said, I have started lifting again. I have lost some of my strength, as I found out my first couple times back into deadlifting and squatting. I have noticed that after a few sessions, I'm getting back into the groove, but there is definitely ground to make up. I am once again using EC's The Ultimate Off-Season Training Manual. I'm currently doing the spring proficient template. I finished phase I, and will begin this log starting with Phase II.

So, here it goes

[ParanoidAndroid]

hey man, haven't seen you around here in a while. How's it going?

good luck!

[Kevin T.]

Monday, September 17, 2007
Lower Body - Max Strength

A) Wide Stance Box Squats: 3RM test + 3x3 @ 155 (3RM); 135,135,135


My 3RM for this is most likely not my actual 3RM. Not having squatted in ages, I know that my form was off and I did not want to be stupid and hurt myself in the first workout back. During the backoff sets, I realized I had set up too narrow and didn't push out my knees enough to engage the PC. Next week.

B) Barbell Reverse Lung: 4x6/side @ 45, 65, 75,75

Balance on these things is a pain. Really focused on form, so the weights stayed lower.

C) Stiff-Legged Deadlifts: 4x6 @ 135, 135, 155, 155

Felt pretty good. Form felt really solid. The quality of the tissue in my hamstrings has GREATLY improved since I start foam rolling over a year ago. That really helped as I was able to keep my back flat.

D1) Lying Scissors: 3x12
D2) DB Windmills: 3x8/side @ 25

Scissors were relatively easy. Will probably up the reps in weeks to come. DB windmills were alright. I have to refresh my memory some more on the proper form, but I'm pretty sure I knew what I was doing. :p

[Kevin T.]

Thanks!

Yea, I got away from the site (and the internet in general) after I had to hand in my school laptop for reformatting over the summer. It was good because it broke my habit of spending hours in front of a computer screen. Everything's been going good. Things got crazy with college research and visits and it still is pretty hectic with Early Action deadlines quickly approaching, but I'm hanging in there. Looking forward to getting back to lifting regularly and improving my numbers.

How's everything by you? APs go well? Hows the college search going?

[Kevin T.]

September 19, 2007

Upper Body - Max Strength

A) Thick Bar Bench Press: 3RM test + 3x3 @ 140; 120, 120, 120

Wrapped a towel around the bar until it got to be about double the normal width after gripping. Worked out great. I really liked these for some reason.

B1) Alternating Incline DB Press 4x6 @ 42.5
B2) One-Arm DB Row: 4x6/side @42.5

Nothing much to say about these except I really felt 'um. :p

C1) Neutral Grip Seated Row: 3x10 @ one band wrapped double
C2) Woodchop: 3x10 @ one band.

Wrapped a band around the post of my bench, then wrapped it around again for the seated rows. For the chops, I choked it to an iron bar (I installed it for chinups/pullups) I have running between the beams of my basement and hacked away.

[Kevin T.]

September 21, 2007

Double Workout Today because I'll be away for the weekend without access to a gym.

Lower Body - Speed Strength

A) Reactive Squat: 6x4 @ 42% of 1RM: 75

Kinda fun actually :p

B) Speed Deadlifts: 8x2 @ 55% of 1RM: 140

Felt good to be back to deadlifting and I liked the speed I was able to use.

C) Walking DB Lunge: 4x5/side @ 42.5

These made me sweat profusely.

D1) Band Pull-Throughs: 3x10
D2) Bar Rollout - Knees Elevated 4" 3x10

September 21, 2007

Upper Body - Speed Strength

A1) Decline Close Grip Bench Press: 4x4 @ 115, 125, 135, 135
A2) Neutral Grip Pull-Up: 4x4 @ BW
B1) Prone Trap Raises: 3x12 @ 5
B2) Cuban Press: 3x10 @ 5

Dropped the push jerks for today because I don't have any room to do overhead movements and I just read Tony G. :"Simple answer: decide what they should NOT be doing, and go from there. A great example would be baseball players. The vast majority do not need to be performing overhead movements, and we tend to exclude any overhead pressing (more specifically any BARBELL pressing) into their programming." Next week, I will get outside and do these with DBs.

Dropped the Prone Internal Rotation because I shouldn't be doing internal rotation work while playing baseball. I need to focus more on external rotation to counteract the stress of throwing.


While I should feel pretty fried today between the two workouts, mowing the lawn and working on two cars with temps in the 80s, I still feel fresh and good to go, which is another benefit of getting back into shape. I'm grateful I took the time to clean up my diet and found other ways to exercise to get into shape. I'm also glad I had the break from lifting, as it gave me time to recharge. I'm looking forward now to getting bigger at a very gradual pace.

My goal is to be at 205 (+15#) by graduation in the beginning of June. With 8-9 months, I have no doubt that I'll be able to accomplish this with minimal fat gain. As for #s, I'm setting the bar at: 400 deadlift, 275 squat, and 200 bench. I don't know where I stand with those right now, and I don't plan on testing them until the end of Phase III in 7 weeks. Then, I'll have my deloading week and will start up with the Static-Proficient templates.

[ParanoidAndroid]

I hear you, all the college stuff is crazy right now, on top of school and extracurriculars.
Everythings going well, pulled 5s on all APs . I think I;m going ED to Cornell, and EA to UChicago.

Where you looking to apply EA?

[Kevin T.]

Notre Dame (despite its horrific football team this year :p), Boston College, Villanova, Georgetown, St. Joes in Philly, and Northeastern for EA. Then I'll try UPenn for regular decision because I don't want to do Early Decision there and not be able to do Early Action for the other schools.

[ParanoidAndroid]

those are some good schools..
One of my good friends is actually applying to Georgetown EA, I think he's probably the first person every to apply there from my school haha.

and I'm also applying to Upenn RD(along with every other smart kid in my class). Not too confident about that, as the the top 2 kids from last years class applied there, and were rejected/waitlisted. And, they were the kinds of kid who had perfect grades, extracurriculars, and recommendations(not amazing scores, though)

[Alcoholiday]

Originally Posted by Kevin T.

Notre Dame (despite its horrific football team this year :p), Boston College, Villanova, Georgetown, St. Joes in Philly, and Northeastern for EA. Then I'll try UPenn for regular decision because I don't want to do Early Decision there and not be able to do Early Action for the other schools.

i live in the same town as notre dame. let me know if you get in there.

[RedLefty]

Great to see you back, Kevin.

[K-Court]

Hey welcome back, Kevin. Good to have you back in the JPF community. And congrats on the "getting big" thing.

[Simon C]

Welcome back man!

I guess size and strength aren't everything, especially for an athlete. Good job on getting the conditioning back in gear!

[Kevin T.]

September 24, 2007

Lower Body - Max Strength

A) Wide Stance Box Squats 6x1 @ 175, 175, 180, 185, 190, 190

Felt nice getting the weight back up a bit higher. Form felt really, really good. Theres a few keys that, when done right, make everything click.

B) Barbell Reverse Lunge - Front Foot Elevated (4.5") 3x5/side @ 55, 75, 95

Started out a bit lower on the weight to see how the elevation would affect it. My best set was the last. I really felt the lunges and my form was steadier with the heavier weight.

C) Stiff-Legged Deadlifts 3x6 @ 155, 185, 185

Same old, same old

D) Med Ball Floor Rotations 3x til it hurt

I don't know if I have the name right for these. Sit on the floor, raise your feet so they're a few inches off the ground, grab a med ball and touch it from one side to another, picking up speed. These are fun, until you smash a finger in between the med ball and the concrete floor. That's happened in the past, and I've been ever wary of them since. :p

Nixed the DB Windmills because my right tricep is feeling funky. 3x6 of an accessory lift is not enough to risk screwing something up. I'll see how it feels in a few days.

Peace out for now

[RacerBill]

Welcome back! Workouts look great.

[Kevin T.]

Thanks everyone for stopping by!

[Kevin T.]

September 26, 2007

Upper Body - Max Strength

A) Thick Bar Bench Press 6x1 @ 135, 140, 150, 160, 165, 165

Felt pretty good. I like the thick bar work. I really wish I had a spotter so I could be more aggressive with my singles. I'll have to see if I can grab a buddy and lift at the school gym for PR days.

B1) Alternating Incline DB Press 3x6 @ 45
B2) One Arm DB Rows 3x6 @45

I might have to start changing DBs for this one or see if I can pick up a couple more DB handles. I can row MUCH more but to change the weights back and forth would be a PITA. I should probably just suck it up and do it, but I'll see if I can steal Doug's handles :p

C1) Neutral Grip Seated Row 3x10
C2) Woodchop 3x10/side

I quadrupled the band for the rows. Works pretty good.

I really should look to lift at school on these days. I could grab a spot for the heavy stuff and have access to a cable machine for real seated rows and woodchops. I'll have to investigate the practicality of it. The other days, I can pretty much get by on my own with what I have. I really want to push myself on the upper body max strength stuff, especially the bench, but I'm not going to risk getting hurt without a spotter. Up to 165 went nice and smooth, but I feel that I'm being held back a bit by not being able to really push it with the low rep stuff due to safety concerns. I'm trying to overcome that by doing more heavy stuff with DBs. Where there's a will, theres a way.