I'm walking 60 miles for a breast cancer cure, September 11-13, 2009! Please support my walk and help me raise funds for cancer research by donating to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer 3-Day: http://www.the3day.org/site/TR/Walk/...nal&fr_id=1300
Way to go on those Anderson Front Squats -those were tough and you're moving some really good weight on those! I HATED the reverse lunges w/ front squat grip!! Those are simply torture!!
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This looks like a fun log to watch! Good luck with your goals
Thanks! How'd you choose your username... that's my name! Well, at least back in middle/high school... now I just go by Will.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DamienK
Way to go on those Anderson Front Squats -those were tough and you're moving some really good weight on those! I HATED the reverse lunges w/ front squat grip!! Those are simply torture!!
Thanks! I was totally surprised I could move that much weight! Yeah, I had read from your log and others that the front squat grip makes the reverse lunges very painful, so that's why I started with much lower weight. But for me, I didn't think they were that bad. I thought the reverse lunge with front foot elevated was harder.
I can't imagine how bad reverse lunge with front foot elevated with front squat grip would be though....
MAXIMUM STRENGTH
By Eric Cressey (following the program with about 95% fidelity)
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Weight: 153-154 lbs
Phase IV - Week 1 (Week 13 overall) WORKOUT C: LOWER BODY
Weight x Reps
A - SPEED BOX SQUAT (10x2 @ 50%1RM)
5 sets: 145 x 2
5 sets: 155 x 2
This session started off easy enough... I used two aerobic steps, probably about 8 or 9 inches.
B1 - NATURAL GLUTE HAM RAISE (4x5)
6
5
5
5
I am horrible at these. still. ugh, these are painful.
B2 - DB FORWARD LUNGE (3x6)
120 x 6 (60# each hand)(6 reps each leg)
120 x 6
120 x 6
I decided, what the heck, let's try 60s in each hand and see how they go. Verdict: not too bad. At least not as bad as reverse lunges with front foot elevated.
C1 - BOX PISTOL (3x10)
10 (each leg)
10
10
Tried various heights. My left leg is definitely weaker or less stable than my right--did a lot of thudding onto the box
C2 - BARBELL ROLLOUT KNEES ON BOX (3x12)
65 x 12
65 x 12
65 x 12
This was gross--there was basically a line of sweat on the ground from dripping off my face.
I'm walking 60 miles for a breast cancer cure, September 11-13, 2009! Please support my walk and help me raise funds for cancer research by donating to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer 3-Day: http://www.the3day.org/site/TR/Walk/...nal&fr_id=1300
MAXIMUM STRENGTH By Eric Cressey (following the program with about 95% fidelity)
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Weight: 152ish lbs
Phase IV - Week 2 (Week 14 overall) WORKOUT B: UPPER BODY
Weight x Reps
A - CLOSE GRIP INCLINE BENCH PRESS (5x1 @ >90%)
95 x 5 (warmup)
145 x 2 (warmup)
165 x f
165 x 1
165 x 1
165 x 1
165 x 1
165 x 1
Ugh, I was able to do 175 last week, and when I tried 165 for the first rep, it didn't go well. Got the other 5 reps, but yuck, it was a struggle today.
B1 - CLOSE GRIP DECLINE BENCH (subbed dips) (3x8)
25 x 8
35 x 8
45 x 8
I subbed weighted dips. I just much prefer dips to decline bench and I figure they're both pushing movements anyway, and close to vertical downward pushes. Also, I hadn't done dips in a while.
B2 - PRONATED GRIP CHEST SUPPORTED ROW (4x8)
80 x 8
85 x 8
85 x 8
C1 - SCAP WALL SLIDE 3x12
3 x 12
C2 - DB HAMMER CURL 3x12
22.5 x 12
20 x 12
20 x 12
Uncomfortably pumped in the biceps, but I guess that's the point. I mean, there's a reason I'm doing 12 reps, right? I rested slightly longer than last week so I could get all 12 reps in for each set.
Misc Notes:
Blah, lost like a pound in a couple days, and was feeling fairly weak today as evidenced by the crappy incline presses. I'm thinking I didn't eat enough over the weekend because I got lazy and didn't feel like cooking or going out to get food.
MAXIMUM STRENGTH
By Eric Cressey (following the program with about 95% fidelity)
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Weight: 154 lbs
Phase IV - Week 3 (Week 15 overall) WORKOUT A: LOWER BODY
Weight x Reps
A - SUMO DEADLIFT 9x1 @>90%1RM
295 x 1
315 x 1
325 x 1
335 x 1 (4 sets)
345 x 1
335 x 1
I started off doing warmups for the anderson front squats, and then I checked my log and realized that today's supposed to be sumo deadlift. I've never done these before... so I started conservative and worked my way up. The 295 should probably not count since it's < 90% 345 which I was able to do. My 1RM might be even higher than that since I was pretty tired already by the time I tried the 345, but I'd already spent like 40 minutes resting between deadlifts :P Now, I'm really curious what my 1RM for normal deadlifts is...
B - SPEED DEADLIFT 8x1 (35-50 seconds rest)
4 sets: 265 x 1
4 sets: 275 x 1
Ahh, normal deadlifts with lower weight feel so easy.
C - REVERSE LUNGE - FRONT SQUAT GRIP 4x8
105 x 8 (each leg)
105 x 8
105 x 8
105 x 8
Ugh. So far, this is the only exercise where I'll grunt. (or whimper) and then lie in a crumpled heap of worthlessness afterwards.
D - PALLOF PRESS 3x8
27.5 x 8 (each side)
30 x 8
30 x 8
Same as last week. Not in the mood to try for more after those reverse lunges.
Misc Notes.
Week 3! Starting down the homestretch. Three more days of very heavy volume, then one week of low volume and then I get to moving day! Now, I've got to start thinking of what I want to do post-Maximum Strength. I'm thinking I want to repeat one week of each of the previous phases, just to see what progress I've made. After that I'm currently leaning towards Huge in a Hurry, but I'm thinking I'll probably just use the methodology and switch out some exercises.
MAXIMUM STRENGTH
By Eric Cressey (following the program with about 95% fidelity)
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Weight: 153-154 lbs
Phase IV - Week 3 (Week 15 overall) WORKOUT B: UPPER BODY
Weight x Reps
A - TWO-BOARD PRESS (SUBBED PARTIAL ROM BENCH) (9x1 @ >90%)
135 x 5 (warmup)
185 x 1
3 sets: 190 x 1
5 sets: 195 x 1
I didn't have any boards handy. I looked around the gym and didn't see anything I could sub besides those foam instability oval things. I decided to just set up inside the power rack and put the pins at about 1 inch off my chest and so each rep I lowered to almost touching the pins and then back up. But I can't really judge how close "almost touching" is when it doesn't touch, so the ROM was probably highly variable. Oh well--now I understand one reason of having a board on the chest--it's so you go to a consistent depth.
B1 - CLOSE GRIP DECLINE BENCH(subbed dips) (4x8)
50 x 8
55 x 8
50 x 8
50 x 7
I subbed weighted dips again. With that weight, the handles to the dipping station really dug into my hands. Owwie. These became real tiring real quick.
Wow, my ROM on this this week is horrible. In warmups I did much better. I'm not sure what happened
C2 - DB HAMMER CURL 3x12
22.5 x 12
22.5 x 12
20 x 12
I suck at curling. Oh well.
Misc. Notes
I biked to work today, then biked to the gym, so I skipped most of the warmup since I was already sweating by the time I got to the gym.
I feel like I don't need to foam roll 4 days a week anymore--I generally don't even feel most of it on most days anymore.
MAXIMUM STRENGTH By Eric Cressey (following the program with about 95% fidelity)
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Weight: 153-154 lbs
Phase IV - Week 3 (Week 15 overall) WORKOUT C: LOWER BODY
Weight x Reps
A - SPEED BOX SQUAT (12x2 @ 60%1RM)
12 sets: 175 x 2
B - NATURAL GLUTE HAM RAISE (4x5)
4x5
I think the most frustrating part of these is that it's hard to tell if I'm progressing. These are all done with tons of assistance :P
C - DB FORWARD LUNGE (4x6)
130 x 6 (65# each hand)(6 reps each leg)
130 x 6
130 x 6
130 x 6
Grip started giving out on the last set, but I held on!
D1 - BOX PISTOL (3x10)
10 (each leg)
10
10
I down like one inch and these were ridiculously hard. Then I added the one inch of padding (one of those blue foam oval things) on the last set, and it was a world of difference. I decided to use 10 lbs counterweight on all 3 sets.
D2 - BARBELL ROLLOUT KNEES ON BOX (3x12)
12
12
12
Used the wheel this time, but this time I chose the powerwheel (the ones with straps to strap in your feet), which is a bigger wheel. Bigger wheel makes this easier, and I really needed this to be easier today.
Misc Notes
Only one more extra high volume session left! WOO! This session was ridiculously tiring, I was ready to quit before even starting the pistols.
MAXIMUM STRENGTH By Eric Cressey (following the program with about 95% fidelity)
Friday, April 24, 2009
Weight: 155 lbs
Phase IV - Week 3 (Week 15 overall) WORKOUT D: UPPER BODY
Weight x Reps
A - SPEED BENCH (10x3)
10 sets: 125 x 3
B1 - CLOSE GRIP FLOOR PRESS (4x5, 2x7)
155 x 5
155 x 5
155 x 5
165 x 5
155 x 7
155 x 7
I actually did close grip floor press this week. I hate how the power rack isn't lined up perfectly with the lines on the ceiling. I think it's screwing me up on these because I'm staring at the ceiling and pushing to line up the bar with the lines on the ceiling.
I tweaked my left shoulder near the back near the blade ish area during these. Ugh.
B2 - NEUTRAL GRIP PULLUP (4x5)
55 x 5
55 x 5
60 x 5
60 x 5
0 x 12
Threw in an extra set at the end just for fun. Stopped plenty of reps short of failure though...
C1 - ONE ARM DB ROW 3x10
60 x 10
65 x 10
65 x 10
C2 - CLOSE GRIP PUSHUP 3x10
30 x 10 (smith machine)
35 x 10 (smith machine)
35 x 8 (smith machine)
Wow, I probably should have taken an extra minute of rest on that last set. It felt sooo heavy.
Misc. Notes
Biked to the gym today...
Yow! 155 lbs! I didn't even think I ate much yesterday...
MAXIMUM STRENGTH By Eric Cressey (following the program with about 95% fidelity)
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Weight: 153-154 lbs
Phase IV - Week 4 (Week 16 overall) WORKOUT B: UPPER BODY
Weight x Reps
B1 - CLOSE GRIP DECLINE BENCH(subbed dips) (2x8)
30 x 8
40 x 8
I subbed weighted dips again. I dropped the weight a bit because the dipping belt was taken so I had to hold a dumbbell between my legs. Also, it's deload week anyway, so I deloaded some.
B2 - PRONATED GRIP CHEST SUPPORTED ROW (2x8)
85 x 8
90 x 8
C1 - SCAP WALL SLIDE 3x12
3 x 12
I'm definitely going to keep doing these in future programs--I'm kinda ashamed at how bad my ROM is despite doing these weekly.
C2 - DB HAMMER CURL 3x12
22.5 x 12
22.5 x 12
22.5 x 12
By the way, those are DB weights, so 22.5 in each hand.
Misc. Notes
I'm kinda nervous to be doing moving day. Seems like there were so many variations of stuff done, that I haven't had much practice of conventional versions in a while--most notably, I haven't done near-max chins or near-max deadlifts in a lonnnng time, and I haven't done any jumping since phase 2. Oh well. I'll enjoy resting until saturday and see what happens.
I'm in the middle of a week off from lifting, but I got squirmy and ADHD'd so I decided to head to the gym today. I think I tweaked something in my back doing deadlifts on moving day, so I decided to keep resting that and do a familiar upper body workout:
A1 - CHIN UPS (5 sets: 6,1,6,1,10-12)
50 x 6
95 x 1
60 x 6
105 x fail (nose to the bar, couldn't complete)
25 x 11
3 plates between my legs! It's so bulky, but does wonders for the ego.
A2 - BARBELL STANDING SHOULDER PRESS (5 sets: 6,1,6,1,10-12)
115 x 6
135 x 1
115 x 6
135 x 1
95 x 11
B1 - DB BENCH PRESS (2 sets: 6-8)
120 x 8 (60s in each hand)
120 x 8
Grr, the 65s were being used.
B2 - WIDE GRIP SEATED ROW (2 sets: 6-8)
150 x 8
150 x 8
I skipped doing direct core work afterwards.
I'm going to start Huge in a Hurry next week, but mostly doing the hurry, and not the huge.
HUGE IN A HURRY
By Chad Waterbury (with random modifications by me :P)
Monday, May 11, 2009
Weight: 153 lbs
Get Ready Workout A: 4-6 RM, 25 reps, 45s rest
A - Standing Chest-height Pronated Grip Cable Row
120 x 6
130 x 6
140 x 6
140 x 7
Ok, I was strongly considering substituting these but I thought I'd give it a try before subbing out. I ended up going split stance because the pulley pulls me forward if I use heavy enough weights to actually work my shoulders/back.
B - Dip
60 x 5, 4, 4, 4, 4
50 x 4
It's hard for me to tell when speed is slowing. I think because I started with a weight that's already heavy for me. Lowered the weight on the last set cuz I was tired and not used to the low rest--or I should have just done extra sets. I should have probably started with lower weight to begin with. Will try that next time.
C - DB Split Squat (static lunge)
60 (each hand) x 6, 6, 6, 6, 2
Yikes, 45s rest goes by a lot quicker when doing these. The hardest part of these is getting the feet set in the split stance and balancing.
Misc Notes:
I like how the workouts are really short. Then again, I'm used to wasting a lot of time resting between sets.
That's cool you're starting HIAH. I'm enjoying it so far. Those mid-pulley rows are dumb; I could stand there and do the whole weight stack all day.
I hear ya on the rest periods too! Nice thing when you get out of the get ready phase you have an accessory exercise that gives you more rest in between!
If you progress in this like you did in Max. Strength, you're going to be kicking some serious ass!
HUGE IN A HURRY By Chad Waterbury (with random modifications by me :P)
Wednsday, May 13, 2009
Weight: 154 lbs
Get Ready Workout B: 10-12 RM, 35 reps, 60s rest
A - Chin-Ups
BW+10 x 12, 9, 4, 4, 3, 3
Holy crap! These were supposed to be underhand grip lat pulldowns, but I thought I'd rather do chin-ups instead. I added 10 pounds because I thought I was good at chinups, but afterwards it's readily apparent that my conditioning sucks, because there was a huge drop off on the third set... and all subsequent sets. Yikes. Kinda humbling.
B - DB Shoulder Press
60 (30 in each hand) x 13, 11, 6, 5
Conditioning... definitely not my forte. First set I could definitely do more than 13, but subsequent sets... so... tired...
C - Deadlift
205 x 12, 7, 5, 5, 4, 2
Same story here. I'm sensing a pattern here... :P
Misc Notes:
OK. If doing what you suck at helps you improve more, I guess this is a real good program for me to do.
I hope by the end of this, I end up kicking some serious ass, because I'm definitely getting my ass kicked right now.
HUGE IN A HURRY By Chad Waterbury (with random modifications by me :P)
Wednsday, May 15, 2009
Weight: 153 lbs
Get Ready Workout C: 20-22 RM, 50 reps, 90s rest
A - Rope attachment low standing cable row
100 x 20
110 x 20
120 x 10
These are completely awkward. The rubber ends of the rope attachment kept sorta getting caught on my shirt. Anyway, these aren't tough at all. I probably started too light, but this movement is just weird. I think I'll probably sub these out too.
B - Pushups
one foot up, one foot on 6-inch step x 20
one foot up, one foot on 6-inch step x 20
hands on bosu, one foot up, one foot on 6-inch step x 17
Maybe I should have added weight. I can do about 40-50 normal pushups--I thought doing one foot and raising the other would make it a bit harder, but these were fairly easy anyway. I think next time I'll raise my feet more.
C - Squat
115 x 19, 12, 10, 9
Whoo. These are actually tiring. 90 seconds was a lot shorter for this than the others. I stopped when I thought I was slowing down, but I think my relative sense of slowing down changes as I get more tired.
Misc Notes:
For some reason, all week my glutes and hamstrings felt really tight. I forgot to log: biked to work monday and today, and walked 3.5 miles outside on sunday
A - Pronated Seated row (sub for standing chest cable row)
160 x 6, 5, 5, 4, 4, 1
B - Dip
60 x 6, 3, 5, 3, 4, 3, 1
OK I said I was gonna try lowering the weight last week, but I decided to stick with 60 to start. I know I can do 6 and maybe squeak out 7 on the first set... so I figured this is the right weight to go with. For all the talk in the book about simplifying things, trying to pick the correct weight is certainly confusing me.
C - DB Split Squat (static lunge)
60 (each hand) x 6, 6, 6, 6, 1
I could definitely do more than 6 on the first set here, but 45s goes by so quick that I really *really* don't want to. I'll up it next week if I'm feeling fresher. I was already feeling kinda tired going into this workout, but wanted to slog through it anyway.
Misc Notes:
You know, I used to be really quick at math, especially mental arithmetic--I used to win math competitions in middle school (yes, I am a nerd. a mathletic nerd) but after a couple of sets with the blood flowing and muscles tired, it's just really hard to calculate 45 seconds of rest. It's like, "the clock says... uhh.. 53:22, which means... :45 is ... 53:57, no wait, 54:05, wait how can 2+5 be 5, dammit... math is hard right now, OK, 54:07. oh crap, it's already 54:00, I have 7 seconds left and I'm still tired."
Biked about 15 miles on saturday due to the beautiful weather. It took me about an hour. And then I realized that there are people that can run a mile in 4 minutes, which is the same pace I was biking. It's only 1 mile compared with 15, but still, wow, that's an extremely fast pace to run.
Walked about 3 miles on sunday due to the awesome weather again. Summer finally seems to have arrived!
Then this morning, it all caught up to me... I spent about half an hour foam rolling my sore legs... it was like, everything hurt, everywhere.
I'm walking 60 miles for a breast cancer cure, September 11-13, 2009! Please support my walk and help me raise funds for cancer research by donating to the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer 3-Day: http://www.the3day.org/site/TR/Walk/...nal&fr_id=1300
A - Barbell slightly bent over row, supinated grip (sub for Rope attachment low standing cable row)
95 x 20, 13, 10, 7
B - Pushups
+10, 23, 20
+25, 7
So, I added a weight plate this time--I tried to place the weight plate on my shoulder blades, but after 2-3 reps the plate migrated down to my lower back 10 lb weight plate isn't enough, but I don't think I can get 20 reps of a 25, which means I'll have a balancing problem with two plates. Grr. Next week, probably try 10 lb with raised feet.
C - Squat
115 x 18, 15, 13, 4
Misc Notes:
Biked to work thursday and friday, biked to gym today.
)
10 lb weight plate isn't enough, but I don't think I can get 20 reps of a 25, which means I'll have a balancing problem with two plates. Grr. Next week, probably try 10 lb with raised feet.
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