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.
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.
__________________ The trick is in what one emphasizes. We either make ourselves miserable, or we make ourselves happy. The amount of work is the same. -- Carlos Castaneda
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.
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.
Quote:
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.
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)
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.
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.
Quote:
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.
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!
'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.
__________________ Completed Programs: NROL Strength Series X 2. Hyp. Series. Current Program: CrossFit-Performance Menu-Strength Work
'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.
Work was UGLY over the weekend, and I logged about 27 hours between sat and Sunday, with a only few hours of sleep last night to get back to the worksite this morning extra early. I feel like crap. Not just tired, but coughing, congested, ect. So I made today an extra rest day. I didn't want to, but there was no way I was going to lift today.
Tomorrow will be my 4x10 squat / deadlift / BSS / Step-up day. I can't wait! I am hoping to get at least one set of squats in with 165, and I am going to try maintain weighted BSS/ Step ups for all 4 super sets. I know it is going to be ugly, but if I am feeling good, I can do it!
April 22, 2008
Weight: ?
Straight Sets with 60 sec rests
Squat
1 x 10 x 135
1 x 10 x 155
1 x 10 x 165
1 x 10 x 175 (+20 PR at 10 reps)
Deadlift 3 x 10 x 135
1 x 5 x 135
Superset with full 60 sec rests
Bulgarian Split Squat 4 x 10e x BW (Body weight)
Step Up (higher than knee level) 4 x 10e x 40 (+10)
Superset with 60 sec rest
Hanging Bent Leg Raises (Hanging Knee raises?) 3 x 15
Back Extensions (Not in the book, I added this to get some more core and lower back work in)
3 x 15
Notes: I bought a watch the other day so I could more accurately measure my rest time. 60 seconds is a short rest. This workout was a damn challenge.
I don't know what happened on the last set of deadlifts. (well, actually I do, I just don't like it) 60 seconds wasn't enough time to recover from the 3rd set, and I could only get 5 up. Something I'd like to improve on next time.
Squats felt great. I went deep and maintained good form. I am sure I could have done 10x185. I will start heavier next time.
It took a lot of will to make it to 10 on each leg for the Step Ups. I had to lie down in between my last 4 sets to get my breath back and my heart rate down a little. I was breathing hard, my heart was pounding, and I was sweating a lot.
All in all, a great workout. Today felt a lot better than the last time I did the 4x10 hyper 1B two weeks ago. It is nice to feel that I've made that much progress in just two weeks. I was taking 2+ minute breaks by the end of the last one. This time I was able to stick to the 60 second rests until the end.
Good work with the supersets. Now that you have a watch to time your rests how do you feel you were doing before, do you think you were close the actual times or were you over/under?
__________________ Beginning is Easy - Continuing is Hard
猿も木から落ちる Even monkeys fall from trees
- Japanese Proverb
Good work with the supersets. Now that you have a watch to time your rests how do you feel you were doing before, do you think you were close the actual times or were you over/under?
I was defiantly over. 60 seconds is short. I was probably resting for 90 or so the last time I did this workout.
Good job on the workout. On the dead lifts, is your grip the problem on the last set? If so try a mixed grip on the last set to push through.
Sadly, it's not the grip. I wasn't fresh enough to do more than the 5. If I had rested for 120 seconds and not 60, I would have been able to do the ten.
Today was a very different workout. I met up with 2 crossfit certified trainers and cleaned up my form on squats, shoulder barbell press, and push presses.
I don't remember all of my weights, but I did a lot of shoulder barbell pressing, peaking at 3x135 and a lot of dip with rings.
Fun times. It was frustrating to learn that my squat form wasn;t perfect, but I am glad to know that I'll be doing it right in the future.
Were these CF Trainers just trainers at your gym? Thats cool, I wish I could have someone coach me on some of my OLY lifts.
Were those strict barbell presses or push presses? Nice work btw!
I did a few strict barbell presses and later push presses at 135. I couldn't believe I was able to get the weight up. A lot changes when 7 people are looking at you and cheering you on.
They are CS Certified trainers that workout near my house, so I've been meeting up with them.
Yesterday I did rounds 400m sprints mixing in max rep pushup, pullups, squats and dips to failure between sprints. Brutal. I was dead for 20 minutes after that.
Afterwards I almost got my kipping pull ups form down.
Today I worked out with someone else, and was limited on time so I wasn't able to be strict with the NROL. This was a fast workout with minimal rests. I am sore from it, and I know I am going to feel it in my arms tomorrow.
April 26, 2008
Superset with minimal rests (30-45 seconds)
Barbell shoulder press
3 x 10 x 95
Pull Ups 3 x 10 x BW
Superset with minimal rests (30-45 seconds)
Dumbbell incline press 2 x 12 x 110 (2 x 55)
1 x 10 x 110
Cable Seated Row with Overhand Grip 3 x 15 x 125
Straight set with 60 sec rest
Lower Body Russian Twist (ouch. These are brutal)
2 x 15
Notes: It is always nice to lift with someone else. I knew I needed to get in and out today, so I made sure that each set was intense. I am getting more confidant in my pull ups. Todays were very explosive and felt good.
Squat
5 x 155
5 x 175
5 x 195
5 x 205
5 x 205(this felt heavy, but very manageable. Last time around I barely got 4 up)
Deadlift 5 x 135
5 x 155
5 x 175
5 x 185
5 x 185 (PR. I did 3 x 185 last time, but with bad form.)
Superset with full 90 sec rests
Bulgarian Split Squat 5 x 60 (2 30s)
5 x 60
5 x 70
5 x 70
5 x 70 (PR +10)
Step Up (higher than knee level) 5 x 60 (2 30s)
5 x 60
5 x 70
5 x 70
5 x 70 (PR +10)
Straight sets with 60 sec rest
Hanging Keens to Elbows 2 x 15
Notes:
Today was one of those days where I just didn't want to go to the gym. At all. I took extra time warming up today to be sure the blood was flowing because I knew today was going to be a hard and heavy day. After the first set of squats I felt awake and energized. Lots of PRs today, which is always nice. I am FINALLY feeling good about my dead lifts. I could have gone heavier, but I am still new to the lift, and I don't want to do something stupid like get hurt. I am glad I forced myself to go to the gym. Today ended up being as awesome, productive workout.
Nice work making yourself go. Whenever I'm in a slump I go to YouTube and look up some Nike commercials, those usually MAKE me go, otherwise I feel like a puss.
Good job on the DL PR.
__________________ Completed Programs: NROL Strength Series X 2. Hyp. Series. Current Program: CrossFit-Performance Menu-Strength Work
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