PTAaron's "I feel like a newbie again" Training Log

[goes4ever]

only 25....lol

[PTAaron]

only 25....lol

Well, I'm trying to work my way up to 45 minutes... but anything is better than nothing

[PTAaron]

Workout 2 - Rotation 2
Last Time=3/14/07 This Time=3/28/07

Preacher Curl:
Last Time: 70lbs + bar x 16 Rest Paused
This Time: 75lbs + bar x 14 RP
*I had the 15th rep 2/3 up, but couldn't get it the rest of the way.

Dumbell Hammer Curl:
LT: 45s x 10 RP (6 second negative)
TT: 45s x 12 RP (6 second negative)

Leg Press Calves:
LT: 255lbs+sled x 12 DC style *(PR on this machine)
TT: 270lbs+sled x 12 DC Style *(new PR - obviously)

Prone Hamstring Curls:
LT: 150lbs x 16 RP
TT: 150lbs x 18 RP
*My PR on here is 160 x 18 RP, in case anyone cares.

Barbell Squat:
LT: 135 x 3 sets of 10 to a bench
TT: 135 x 3 sets of 10 to a bench
*See below

NOTES:
This workout didn't feel as good as I thought it was going to. I was expecting to come in and just kick some serious ass on everything, but that didn't happen. I did a carb loading day yesterday to get ready for "big squat day", because in the past that has helped... but I fell asleep way before I planned to and missed my last meal.
Curls surprised me - I thought I was going to kick their asses today, but the strength just wasn't there. Oh well. Squats - I REALLY wanted to put some real weight on the bar and do them ass to the grass today because screamer boy was doing squats right next to me, but the knee just wasn't having it. I ended up doing 3 warmup sets of 5 with just the bar, 3 sets of 2 with 135 to get my knee warmed up... then the 3 sets of 10. I don't know what it is about free squats that hurts my knee so much - leg press and hacks don't bug it much at all.

[PTAaron]

Haven't had much time to get online and actually type out my workout from Monday... so here it is:

Workout 4 - Rotation 2 - April 2, 2007
Last Time=3/19/07 This Time=4/2/07

Alternating Dumbell Curl:
Last Time: 45lbs x 17 Rest Paused
This Time: 50lbs x 15 RP

Preacher Reverse Curls (machine):
LT: 80lbs x 11 RP
TT: 80lbs x 15 RP

Hack Squat Calves:
LT: 240lbs+sled x 8 DC Style --> 180lbs+sled x 20 as punishment for failure
TT: 240lbs+sled x 12 DC Style
*This HURT LIKE HELL!! I wanted to give up at 10 because it hurt so bad, but thinking of another set of 20 for giving up made me man up and finish the set.

Hack Squats:
LT: 450lbs+sled x 8; 270lbs+sled x 20
TT: 470lbs+sled x 8; 360lbs+sled x 14
*Knee felt good - only minor soreness. 14 was all that was going to happen on that widowmaker though... I didn't want to get squashed like a grape.

Stiff Leg Deadlift:
LT: 150lbs, 170, 190, 210 all x 6; 230 x 5; 250 x didn't do. (all sets done with no rest other than adding weight)
TT: 150, 170, 190, 210, 230, 250lbs all x 6 (no rest... as above)

NOTES:
Pretty happy with this workout. At the time I was kind of disappointed with it, but I don't know why. Looking at it right now it was a damn good workout! My left shoulder was really hurting bad on the bicep curls, which cut my reps down by a few - maybe that is why I was unhappy with it.
Knee felt REALLY good during the workout, just some soreness while warming up. The heavy set and the widowmaker set both felt great, other than my muscles not being able to move the weight!
Since I am typing this up Tuesday night - I didn't do cardio this morning because it was my birthday, and I felt like sleeping in. So deal with it!

Wednesday's workout will have to be pushed to Thursday because a realtor is coming over to give me an idea of if I can sell my condo or not - this Michigan economy is KILLING property values.

[PTAaron]

Workout 5 - Rotation 2 - April 5, 2007
Last Time=3/21/07 This Time=4/5/07

Nautilus Vertical Bench Press:
Last Time: 155 x 20 Rest Paused
This Time: 185 x 16 RP
*Still guessed too light!

Dumbell Tricep Pullovers:
LT: 80lbs x 17 RP
TT: 85lbs x 16 RP

Hammer Strength Shoulder Press:
LT: 90lbs each side x 13 RP
TT: 95lbs each side x 13 RP *(I think this is a PR for me)

Front Pulldown:
LT: 200lbs x 16 RP
TT: 210lbs x 15 RP
*Probably should have stayed with 200 and just went for more reps - not really happy with my form on these.

Smith Machine Bent Rows:
LT: 160lbs+bar x 11 straight set
TT: 165lbs+bar x 13 straight set

NOTES:
Good workout, beat all of my numbers from 2 weeks ago.
Shoulder (left) was hurting me pretty bad when I woke up today because I slept on it all night, but it only hurt at the gym during chest press.

[goes4ever]

smith machine bent rows are really tough IMHO, that is pretty good numbers

[PTAaron]

Thanks man. I used to hate the smith bent rows... but they are starting to grow on me. I really feel like they blast my back.

[PTAaron]

Workout 6 - Rotation 2 - April 7, 2007
Last Time=3/23/07 This Time=4/7/07

Barbell Drag Curl:
Last Time: 100lbs x 13 Rest Paused
This Time: 100lbs x 13 RP
*Bad... time to drop this exercise. I was struggling hard with this one last blast as well.

1 Arm Cable Reverse Curl:
LT: "50lbs" x 13
TT: 6 plates x 11
*Couldn't get to the machine I used last time... some guy was doing golf swing simulation exercises with the cables.

Cybex Rotary Calves:
LT: 170lbs x 8 DC Style; 150lbs x 20 regular speed
TT: 170lbs x 10 DC Style; 150lbs x 20 regular speed - punishment for not getting 12.

Sumo Leg Press:
LT: 720lbs+sled x 11
TT: 720lbs+sled x 14

Leg Press:
LT: 810lbs+sled x 6; 630lbs+sled x 13
TT: 810lbs+sled x 9; 630lbs+sled x 14

Hip abduction and adduction machines:
70lbs on each of them... rest paused for 35-40 reps.

NOTES:
I am not happy with this workout. My shoulder/bicep on the left were really bugging me during the barbell curls - but thats not my excuse for sucking at them, they were just too hard today and I failed to progress them.
My gym is way too crowded on saturdays, which is why I try not to do my weights on the weekends... but using the wrong cable stack for the forearm exercise messed that part up too.
Calves - I progressed them, but still didn't get enough reps! That wasn't a "wimping out" that was a complete muscular failure though, so I don't feel too bad about it.
Knee felt perfect during the leg press exercises, so that is great news at least!

[PTAaron]

Workout 1 - Rotation 3 - April 9, 2007
Last Time: 3/26/07 This Time: 4/9/07
*=Personal Best

Incline Barbell Bench Press:
Last Time: 205lbs x 15 Rest Paused *
This Time: 215lbs x 10 Rest Paused *
*Shoulder was REALLY hurting, I felt very strong on these - had to stop because of the pain.

EZ Curl Triceps:
LT: 105lbs x 14 RP
TT: 105lbs x 17 RP *

Smith Machine Shoulder Press:
LT: 170lbs x 12 RP
TT: 175lbs x 13 RP *

Rack Chins:
LT: +50lbs x 17 RP
TT: +55lbs x 17 RP *

Close Grip Cable Row:
LT: 14 plates x 11 straight set *
TT: 14 plates x 12 straight set *

NOTES:
In case anyone was keeping track - Yes, I got new personal bests on every exercise today. I was pretty excited about that! I had to fight like hell to get 17 reps on the triceps though, because 16 was my previous best - and I wasn't going to settle for not getting a new PR on that exercise!
My left shoulder was hurting BAD during incline bench. During the first part of my rest pause set I could only manage 5 reps before I had to stop because it hurt too bad - I felt like I could have gone for at least 2 more good reps if it hadn't hurt. I am calling the doctor's office tomorrow - this has gone on long enough. No other exercises hurt it at all though - so I may just stop training biceps and chest for a while until it calms down... yeah that would be good - stop training my 2 biggest weak points!
Anyway... good day today, and now it is time for bed!

[PTAaron]

Today was cardio day since I couldn't get my ass out of bed early enough to have time for my weights...
Elliptical machine on "Fat Burner" program using heart rate control to keep it at around 145bpm for 30 minutes.
Tomorrow I will do Workout 2. It will be my final attempt at doing barbell squats for a while - if I can't do them without knee pain I am dropping them for a while and replacing them with something to be determined at a later date.

[PTAaron]

Little update - Friday April 13th was my last workout... I attempted to do decline bench but my shoulder hurt so bad I had to dump the weight 3/4 into the first rep with 265.
I finally went to the doctor this past monday, and got a prescription to start PT and for some dexamethasone to try to get the inflammation down...

Had 2 PT visits so far, and it feels better right afterwards - but it is still hurting quite a bit.

[PTAaron]

still not working out... just doing rehab and cardio.

[PTAaron]

Another update:
Still in rehab for my stupid shoulder. I can't believe a simple tendon problem is causing me this much grief. I had the tendon injected with cortisone on May 15th - that got rid of most of the inflammation, but my doc informed me that the tendon felt very "rough" as he was doing the injection... which is not a good thing.
Last week I managed to get up to 150lbs on incline bench in therapy without any shoulder pain, so that was a huge moment for me - as sad as that is.
I also did my first leg workout in over 2 months on Wednesday of last week - it consisted of 3 sets of calf raises, 3 sets of ham curls, and 3 sets of squats. I am STILL sore from it!! I only did 135 for 3x15 on the squats - because of the knee injury I was also dealing with from the time of the shoulder problem - and I just can't believe how sore I am!

I weighed myself last week, and I was down to 238lbs (12lb loss) - and I know it isn't because of fat loss. I am still doing cardio consistantly, so there is bodyfat coming off as well - I plan to be at or under 10% bodyfat and have gained back my muscle mass by September when we go to Vegas.

[PTAaron]

Okay - time to start a new training log for my "big return" to being a bodybuilder again instead of being a guy that just does cardio and physical therapy!
Here is a link to my last Training Log: http://www.musclemx.com/f104/ptaaron...lly-11414.html for anyone that wants to catch up on old times.

I am coming off of 3 months of only doing cardio, 3 leg workouts, and physical therapy 2x a week for my left shoulder. The "tendon issue" in my right shoulder is mostly resolved FINALLY!! I am not going to jump straight in DC training like I did immediately after my left shoulder surgery - instead I am going to do an equally difficult, but less "intense" workout program (I'll explain what I mean by that in a minute before anyone gets offended) for a month or 2 until my strength is back. I'm not saying this new method isn't "intense" in the sense of being very hard to do - it just uses a lower percentage of your max weights, so in that sense the intensity (using the technical definition) is a little lower. My thought is that this program will build up the endurance in my muscles as well as the strength and I should be able to get back to my pre-surgery (year and a half ago!) level without any more issues.
Anyway... new training program is German Volume Training. I am following the guidelines of Charles Poliquin as outlined on his website. I decided to jump right into the "intermediate" version of the program since (if you ignore the last year and a half) I am technically an "advanced" lifter with 15 years of training experience - yes I realize I don't look like one, but that is more genetics than anything.

My main goal with documenting this phase of my return is to show the newbies out there that you don't have to worry about the weights you are using - no one is going to judge you. What you are going to see in the following log is me using weights that for someone with my training experience and my size (240lbs at 6'1") should be barely warmup weights. Keep in mind I haven't done much outside of PT in the last 3 months, so try not to laugh too hard.

Anyway... workout one to follow:

[PTAaron]

Workout 1:

Goal of first 2 exercises is 10 sets of 6 with 60-90 second rest using your 10 rep max weight.

Low Incline Dumbell Bench Press:
65lb dumbells x6, x6, x6, x6, x6, x6, x6, x6, x6, x6 - 60 second rest between sets

Rack Chins to the Front:
+25lbs x6, x6, x6, x6, x6, x6, x5, x4, x5, x4 - 60 second rest between sets

Machine Flyes:
60lbs x12, x12, x12

Barbell Rows:
135lbs x 12, x12, x12

*I just realized the last 2 exercises were supposed to only be 3 sets of 6, not 12... oh well. I'll do better next time.

NOTES:
I've never spent so long doing 1 exercise before... felt good though. Can't wait to see how sore I am tomorrow.