Who Let The Pup Out? NC's Log

[NCPup]

Week 4, Day 1

22-Oct
Squat 245x5 245x5 245x5 245x5 245x5
lncline Press 160x5 160x5 160x5 160x5 160x4
BB Rows 135x5 135x5 135x5 135x5 135x5
Tricep Extension 100x8 100x8 100x5
Crunch 25 25 25 25 25

OK so after a week of feeling like crap, I finally felt well enough to go back to the gym. I proceeded with week 4 as planned. I almost lost it at the gym. I was doing my squats on the Smith, and took my ROM too far on the second set, and had to rerack it and scoot out from under it because I couldnt get it back up. Fortunately, I started right back again. Front squats go for full ROM, regular squats are more of a half-squat or a partial. But this is a better weight than I have ever done before and I am not cheating myself on my ROM yet.

Come to think of it, several exercises are new lifts. Squats, Incline Press, Tricep Extension. I am really excited. I cant wait to see what new lifts I get Wednesday. Hooray Military Press and Front Squats.

[NCPup]

Week 4, Day 2

October 24
Front Squat 145x5 145x5 145x5 145x4 145x4
Military Press 150x5 150x5 150x5 150x5 150x5
SLDL 215x5 215x5 215x5 215x5 215x3
Pullups 5 5 5 5 5
Incline Curl (2-3x5-8) 35x5 35x5 35x4
Calf raises, LP 350x5 350x5 350x5 350x5 350x5

OK so I felt very good overall about this workout. It was a new weight for Front Squats, and it went pretty good. It was an increase of 20# which I probably shouldnt have done but it worked. It went to failure so I will stay with this weight one more week. I am not terribly concerned as I was worried about my ROM anyway. SLDL went better than expected though I was not sure I would get through all the sets. This was my hardest exercise, but I did it. I got that extra pullup, and my sets on calf raises. I lost a rep on the incline curl but I wont be worried until next week. Next week I am going to start shooting for sets of 8, so I may crank it down to 2 sets, who knows. No problems whatsoever on the military press.

[Mahaffje]

Lookin good man, keep it up.

[NCPup]

Week 4, Day 3

27-Oct
Squat 255x5 255x5 255x5 255x5 255x5
Incline Press 160x5 160x5 160x5 160x5 160x5
BB Rows 140x5 140x5 140x5 140x5 140x4
Tricep Ext. 110x8 110x5 110x4

Well this was a good workout. I am staying at my Squat weight one more time to ensure I have a good ROM. Incline went better than expected. I obviously went up too much on my Triceps so it will take some time to move up in weight. I didnt do ab work, as my lower back was sore. But overall I am pretty happy. I know my back doesnt increase like my chest does, so the rows will take some time, but there was less to start with there. Speaking of which, time to eat!

[NCPup]

Week 5, Day 1

30-Oct
Squat 255x5 255x5 255x5 255x5 255x5
lncline Press 165x5 165x5 165x5 165x5 165x5
BB Rows 140x5 140x5 140x5 140x5 140x4
Tricep Extension 110x8 110x8 110x5
Crunch, Twist 20 20 20 20 20

Another late night workout but this went well. I checked my ROM for my squats so I feel comfortable going up in weight now. Technically its still a half squat but man could I feel it working. Another new weight for the incline. I had to watch a little bit more with this since I was really concerned about my ROM but it went well. I have the feeling I will see some amazing numbers by the time I finish.

[NCPup]

Week 5, Day 2

1-Nov
Front Squat 145x5 145x5 145x5 145x5 145x5
Military Press 160x5 160x5 160x5 160x5 160x4
SLDL 225x5 225x5 225x5 225x5 225x3
Lat Pulldown 100x5 120x5 120x5 120x4 120x3
Incline Curl (2-3x5-8) 35x5 35x3 30x5

Not a bad workout. It was a little difficult keeping the bar on my shoulders for the Front Squat but I managed. Military Press was good, though I was a bit upset that I couldnt get that last rep out. SLDL was almost not happening. I do them on the Smith Machine, and for several sets, the stops almost kept me from lifting it. I did it but it was really hard. I may try either another Smith or using free weights next time. I switched to Pulldowns for the same reason as moving from Dips- no belt for adding weight. My Incline Curls ticked me off. I had to drop down in weight because I simply couldnt get it done. I dont know if it was an increase in my ROM or just the Pulldowns, or the fact that I switched Calf Raises to another day so didnt do them today. Whatever the reason, I think I was cheating myself to get to 35 so I am going back to 30 pounds. I am gonna keep reminding myself I am only a third of the way there and if I get to 40 by the end, I can be really proud.

On another note, being sick caused me to lose 5 pounds, and cutting the creatine out also caused me to lose a little size but that happens. I am increasing my food intake. On the plus side, I can see that little V-shape around my lower abs/groin area. I didnt mean to be cutting but it is nice to see. I cant wait till the end to see my results.

[NCPup]

Week 5, Day 3

Sunday, November 4
Squat 265x5 265x5 265x5 265x5 265x5
Incline Press 170x5 170x5 170x5 170x4 170x3
BB Rows 140x5 140x5 140x5 140x5 140x5
Tricep Ext. 110x8 110x8 110x8
Calf raises, LP 360x5 360x5 360x5 360x5 360x5

This went well. I had to eliminate ab work because of time constraints. Which is also why I had to wait an extra day to lift; its been busy here. One thing I love about doing my squats on the Smith is that I can make sure I get the same extension. I watch one of the slots to make sure. Incline was rough. I actually got another rep on the last set, but my ROM was so bad I didnt count it. My next workout will probably see me hit all 5 sets ok. Triceps are a bit rough but I did squeeze the last rep out. This machine though, is a beast to get into, and the shoulder action required to get it going can be a lot. Next 5x5 routine I set up will have extra shoulder work and extra bicep work I think. I will probably switch bent over rows for upright. The rows went ok but I am not really happy with my back progress. On the plus side, I can feel how my wide stance squats has really helped my outer thigh muscles. I think this is a routine everyone should try.

[NCPup]

Week 6 Day 1

6-Nov
Squat 275x5 275x5 275x5 275x5 275x5
lncline Press 170x5 170x5 170x5 170x5 170x5
BB Rows 145x5 145x5 145x5 145x4 145x3
Tricep Extension 120x8 120x8 120x3
Calf Raises, LP 370x5 370x5 370x5 370x5 370x5
Crunch 25 25 25 25 25

OK so not a bad workout. Squat went up amazingly. I decided that since I am really doing half squats (a good power exercise) I will go for more ROM during week 10-12 when I am taking it easy. Incline went well but look at my numbers for Day 3 because I wil be switching from free weight to Hammer Strength and that is my conversion day. My gym is just too empty to ensure a spotter. Heck, the one staff memeber spends his time on the internet in the office. But Hammer is supposed to be the next best thing to free weights so we will see. I switched my grip on my Bent Over Rows to underhanded. Which was kinda weird for the Smith but I feel better. I also decided for my SLDL in a couple of days, I will be using the same grip for deadlifts: the over/under hand grip. Until now I had been using a simple overhand and that wasn't working well. Oh well time to eat.