Today was the hardest workout I ever had. A training log.

[justinbass]

Originally Posted by tcoy777

Don't worry on the dead lifts they will come with time. By the end of Hyp 1 you will see big gains with them. Great job on the workouts.

Thanks. I hope so.

Before NROL I never did deadlifts, so I am not surprised that they are so hard for me. I wish this book existed when I was 18. I spent way too many years doing leg curls instead.

[RacerBill]

Nice work. That 3 x 15 stuff is brutal, especially the BSS + step up. And stepping up above knee level makes it all the harder. I was doing "high step ups" a while back and those really work the hips.

[tcoy777]

Originally Posted by justinbass

Thanks. I hope so.

Before NROL I never did deadlifts, so I am not surprised that they are so hard for me. I wish this book existed when I was 18. I spent way too many years doing leg curls instead.

Same here, now my 1RM is 285 and I am not that strong on other lifts. Alwyn's evil plan works.

[justinbass]

Originally Posted by tcoy777

Same here, now my 1RM is 285 and I am not that strong on other lifts. Alwyn's evil plan works.

Wow. Good for you! 285 is a serious amount. That's awesome.

Looking at your log, you didn't start deadlifting all that long ago. That is very encouraging to see. It amazes me how much more quickly my body is fatigued by deadlifts than any other lift. I am currently able to squat, bench, and lat pull more than I can deadlift. Seeing how this is any serious lifter's strongest lift, I know I have a deficit to overcome.

Originally Posted by RacerBill

Nice work. That 3 x 15 stuff is brutal, especially the BSS + step up. And stepping up above knee level makes it all the harder. I was doing "high step ups" a while back and those really work the hips.

I try to go deep in my squats and step high on my step-ups. I'd rather move lighter weights through a full range of motion than heavy weights any day of the week. And yeah, 3 x 15 with 30 second rests is unreal. I'm still not sure if I want to shake Alwyn's hand and say thanks, or curse his name.

[justinbass]

One of my goals in lifting/fitness is to get better at pullups, so I switched my workout around a little bit today to make room for weighted pullups in the beginning.

NROL: HYPERTROPHY 1 A

April 17, 2008
Weight: 185

Superset with full 90 sec rest

Dumbell Incline Bench Press
1 x 5 x 150 (2 75s)
1 x 5 x 160 - After this, I didn't have anyone to help me get lift off, so I dropped the weight.
1 x 10 x 130
1 x 9 x 130
1 x 6 x 130

Pullups(some with weight added)
1 x 5 x +30lbs
2 x 5 x +20lbs
1 x 6 x Body Weight
1 x 7 x BW

Superset with full 90 sec rest

Dumbell Shoulder Press
1 x 4 x 80 (2 40s)
1 x 7 x 70
1 x 8 x 70
1 x 6 x 70
1 x 8 x 70

Cable Seated Row with Overhand Grip
1 x 5 x 150
1 x 6 x 150
3 x 7 x 150 (these felt better and stronger with each passing set)

Superset with full 90 sec rest

Barbell Close Grip Bench Press
5 x 5 x 135

High Pull
1 x 8 x 75
4 x 8 x 85

Straight set with 60 sec rest

Swiss Ball Crunch(weight behind head)
1 x 15 x +25
2 x 20 x +25

Some standing ab exercise that I don't know the name of, where you hold two light dumbbells over your head and lean to the left and right. Killer on the obliques.
2 x 10e x 24(2 12s)


Notes:
Fun workout today. I only could get help starting the incline dumbbell presses on the first two sets, so I went lighter for higher reps on the last 3 sets.

It felt good to do weighted pull ups. I've never tried that before. I have a long way to go before I am happy with my pull up numbers. (I should try to loose weight to make them easier )

This was an easier workout than the last time I did 5x5s. I can't get my heart rate up with all of those 90 second rests. By the time I got to the close grip presses and High pulls, my rest time was probably closer to 45 seconds. I was getting hungry.

The weighted swiss ball sit ups didn't feel like enough ab work, so I added an exercise that I know hurts good, but I don't know the name of.

Time to cook some steak fajitas! (Still eating clean)

[Sign]

Good numbers so far, keep up the good work. 3x15 w/30s rest on the BSS / Step-up superset sounds brutal.

[justinbass]

Originally Posted by Sign

Good numbers so far, keep up the good work. 3x15 w/30s rest on the BSS / Step-up superset sounds brutal.

It wouldn't be too bad, but it directly follows 3x15 of both squats and deadlifts.

[tcoy777]

on the swiss ball crunches. Try them with your feet on a bosu ball or a bench. It will make you focus on stability while you add the weight.

I started NROL in October. Never heard of a dead lift before then. Its odd to me that I can do that much DL but still have a hard time on the bench. Its frustrating me, but that just means I need to work harder on those.

Keep up the good work. My favorite set on Hyp 1 was the 4x10 days. Still worked hard and got the HR up. I agree the 5x5 day seemed not to push me as hard as I thought I should, but the payoff will come later.

[liftintexas]

nice #'s, man. again, the incline press is impressive

[justinbass]

Originally Posted by liftintexas

nice #'s, man. again, the incline press is impressive

Thanks! I am feeling them today. My shoulders are tight and a little sore. Tomorrow should be fun.

Originally Posted by tcoy777

on the swiss ball crunches. Try them with your feet on a bosu ball or a bench. It will make you focus on stability while you add the weight.

I started NROL in October. Never heard of a dead lift before then. Its odd to me that I can do that much DL but still have a hard time on the bench. Its frustrating me, but that just means I need to work harder on those.

Keep up the good work. My favorite set on Hyp 1 was the 4x10 days. Still worked hard and got the HR up. I agree the 5x5 day seemed not to push me as hard as I thought I should, but the payoff will come later.

Not a bad idea on the swiss ball crunches. It amazes me that 6 months ago, those killed me, and now they aren't even a challenge.

The bench is an over-rated lift that puts too much strain on your shoulders. Be proud of dead lifting great numbers. It is a functional lift and more impressive.

The legs 4x10 day is the reason I started this log. Those are killer workouts. My next day in the gym is a 4x10 legs day, and I know it is going to kill me.

[justinbass]

April 18, 2008
I am not going to be able to make it to the gym on Saturday or Sunday, and maybe even Monday because of work. I do computer geek stuff, and this weekend is going to be UGLY.

So....

I decided to do my first crossfit WOD today, knowing I'd have two or three days to recover. I plan to mix at least one WOD a week into my NROL lifting to keep my body reacting to new things.

Today's WOD:
"Michael"
Three rounds for time of:
Run 800 meters
50 Back Extensions
50 Sit-ups

I know that doing 150 Back Extensions is well beyond my abilities, so I scaled that back to 3 rounds of 25. Everything else was done as prescribed. I chose to do swiss ball crunches as my sit-ups.

I finished in 22:00 minutes. It would have been a lot faster, but I was running on a treadmill, and had to run across the gym to get to the swiss ball and back extensions. It felt good, and was a draining challange, but I had more in me when I was done, so I added some leg workouts too.

3 x 20 x 24in Box jumps
3 x 20 x Air Squats.

I am going to be sore this weekend, but I feel alive. I was sweating, swearing, and drained by the workout. It is 3 hours later, and I feel great!

[Lance Bass]

OMG! You have the same last name as me, but Justin Timberlake's first name!! Too cool for school!

[justinbass]

He has my first name!

I'll let you claim bass though.

[Steer810]

'Michael' was my first CF WOD too. I did it as RX'd and finished in 55 min. The back extensions and sit-ups were killer. I'm planning on doing it sometime this week to see how far I've progressed. Hopefully under 20 min.

I can't believe you did box jumps and squats afterwards! Way to push yourself brotha.

[justinbass]

Originally Posted by Steer810

'Michael' was my first CF WOD too. I did it as RX'd and finished in 55 min. The back extensions and sit-ups were killer. I'm planning on doing it sometime this week to see how far I've progressed. Hopefully under 20 min.

I can't believe you did box jumps and squats afterwards! Way to push yourself brotha.

It would have taken me at lot longer, and I would have injured myself if I tried to do all 150 back extensions. I know my limits, and as much as I like to push them, the last 25 back extensions I did hurt, and 150 would have stopped me from getting out of bed yesturday.

That's why I still had enough in me to do the added leg work.

Fun times!

[liftintexas]

wow, man, that's a lot of box jumps. good workout