forget running

Running is just too painful, so I'm putting on the back burner. Cycling is where it's at for me, so I've joined cycle classes on Tuesdays and Saturdays at the Y.

Current stats:
weight: 211.6
Squat (3x5): 255
Bench (3x5): 180
Deadlift (1x5): 295
OHP (3x5): 115
BB Rows (3x5): 105

Today's lifts:
Squat:
Bench:
Deadlift:

I failed at the Bench on Monday pressing 185, so I'm trying the same weight again. Squat is progressing nicely, along with DLs and BB Rows. Today I'm going for 305 on the deadlift.

On Wednesday I did a circuit of dumbbell workouts via Mike Chang that I did after my Starting Strength B workout sans squats (OHP and BB Rows).
4 rounds (25lb weight):
DB Row (10 reps)
DB Bench (10 reps)
DB Curls (10 reps)
DB tricep extension (20 reps)
Shoulder Shrugs (20 reps)
This was a good workout, got my blood pumping and felt good overall. I don't know what kind of real gains I can expect, but I do enjoy working with the dumbbell.

My current routine, which seems to be changing over time, but still includes the core lifts:
Monday: SS A
Tuesday: Cycle class (1 hour)
Wednesday: SS B (minus squats to give my legs a rest), dumbbell workout
Thursday: Rest
Friday: SS A
Saturday: Cycle class (1 hour)
Sunday: Rest

Goals this week, week of 4/7

The Kevin Cain Make My Day 5K turned out great. I didn't get a PR, but I did hit a respectable time of 27:27. (My 5K PR is 26:18, Crystal City Twilight 5K).

Schedule this week:
Monday:
Jog 10 minutes (EASY)
SS A
Squat: 240x3x5
Bench: 180x3x5
Deadlift: 270x3x5
Accessory work

Tuesday:
Run 3 miles (EASY)

Wednesday:
Rest / Stretch

Thursday:
Run 3 miles (Medium)

Friday:
Jog 10 minutes (EASY)
Squat: 245x3x5
OHP: 115x3x5
Pendlay row: 100x3x5
Accessory work

Saturday:
Rest / Stretch

Sunday:
Run 4 miles (LSD)

---------------------------------------------

I'm going for 3 PRs this week. Bench 180, OHP 115, and running 4 miles. I'm bringing back the long run, which I'll do on Sunday mornings. This will give my body plenty of time to rest before I lift Monday evening.

Lifting PRs (5RM)
Squat: 255
Deadlift: 275
Bench: 175
OHP: 110
Pendlay: 150

When it comes to accessory work, I just do whatever I feel like doing, just having fun in the weight room. (DB curls, hammer curls, skull crushers, etc.) I keep track, but there's no set plan.

finishing up week 10!

As the title suggests, I'm finishing up week 10 today with workout B.

Today's lifts:
Squat 215x5x5
OHP 110x5x5
Deadlift 235x1x5

I need to be careful on the OHP, very easy to fall backwards and put unnecessary strain on my back.

I weighed in today at 221.6. Now that the weights are getting heavier I'm hoping to start shedding some fat. We'll see, I'm curious to see what happens... I've been trying to stick around 2500 calories by eating smart (fresh fruit, yogurt, milk, etc).

week 9, workout A

Today I start week 9

week A, all 5x5

squat - 190
bench - 130
BBR - 120

Last wednesday I did 5x5 of overhead press, which was great.

finishing up week 8, workout B

Weighed in at 221.2 today, so need to cut back on the sweets and snacks for a couple weeks.

workout B:
Squat 175
OHP: 105
DL: 205

Current accessory lifts levels:
Tricep extensions: 70x3x8
Bicep Curls: 75x3x8
chest flye: 105x3x8
lat pulldown: 105x3x8


Next time I do my accessory lifts I'm going to add "delt decs" to help with shoulder development.


I'm thinking about ending each workout with pushups, just one set until failure.

workout A; OHP failed

Today is workout A, all 5x5

Squat: 170
Bench: 120
Barbell Row: 115

On Saturday I did workout B. Everything was fine except the overhead press. Stalled on the 3rd set. So on Wednesday I'll try 105 again. There are ways to improve OHP, so I'll have to do some research.

week 8, workout B

Week 8 of Stronglifts 5x5 starts today!

Today's lifts:
Squat 5x5 - 165
OHP 5x5 - 105
DL 1x5 - 195

The weights are getting heavy!

On Wednesday my weights for Bench Press moved up to 115 and Barbell Row moved up to 110.

I weighed in the other day at 219.0.

Running has been going well too, I ran a 15/5 split the other day with no problem. I'm looking forward to a run on either Saturday or Sunday.

Wrist is at 90%!

back on track with workout A

Last night I did a running workout on the treadmill.

Warm up walk - 5 minutes (3MPH)
Run - 15 minutes (5.5 MPH)
Walk - 5 minutes (3.5 MPH)
Run - 15 minutes (6, 5.5, 8.1 MPH)
Walk - 5 minutes (3.3 MPH)
I went 3.64 miles and burned 592 calories!

Today is workout A
Squat 5x5 - 160
Bench 5x5 - 110
BBR 5x5 - 110

The wrist is feeling much better but I'm going to keep the brace on as a precaution.

pain-free; workout B (wk 7)

The wrist is feeling much better. I got a wrist wrap from CVS (Futuro, $8) and have been wearing it the past few days. I took it off this morning and have full motion of my wrist with zero pain. So, I'm going to do workout B today. I'm also going to keep wearing the wrap for the next few days.

Squat: 150x5x5
OHP: 100x5x5
DL: 185x5x5

The OHP weight is starting to feel really heavy. Squat and DL weights aren't feeling too heavy quite yet.

If no wrist pain, I'm going to add in some pushups. We'll see...

wrist injury

A couple weeks ago I injured my left wrist. I found myself able to lift through the pain but the pain isn't going away. So I got a wrist wrap and think it's better to not put any unnecessary stress on it. So I'm putting a pause on everything except Squats.

I did squats yesterday and did a 5x5 of 145 lbs. Felt great! Friday the weight moves up to 150. I'm tempted to move the weight up to 155...

Lauren and I are going to run today! She is working on becoming a triathlete, so next up is training for running. Today we're going to go for a mile around the track at the Y.

Y Meltdown challenge; workout B

Today I start week 6 of StrongLifts 5x5, almost halfway!

Today's lifts:
Squat: 130 (5x5)
OHP: 90 (5x5)
Deadlift:

Cardio:
20 minutes on TM, 4:1::(5.5mph:2.5mph)
Before I tried Jeff Galloway's running method and I think I'll be trying that again. I see no reason to risk injury.

If time permits, some accessory work:
tricep ext: 50x3x8
bicep curl: 55x3x8
chest flye: 80x3x8
lat pulldown: 80x3x8

Then later today, the aforementioned toe raises. I did some running on Monday and felt great afterwards, so I really do think the toe raises make a different. I see no reason to do them every day though, so I'm going to stick with at least 3x per week.

I signed up for the YMCA Meltdown challenge. I weighed in last night at 220.8, so I need to lose at least 2.2 lbs.