Hard Work and Today's Workout

I spent the past two weeks without strength training due to quite a few factors, some of which I'll cover in later posts. This made me force myself to come home and put myself through a workout after work on Tuesday. It was hard to talk myself into it, it was hard to do, and it probably wasn't the smartest workout I've ever done, but the point is this:
I did it.
You have to work hard to get what you want, this applies to almost all areas of life, training, financial matters, your career, etc. There's some amount of work required for success in each one. The amount of work varies at times, but the best things come from hard work in my experience.
So, without further adieu, here's the lowdown on today's workout:
A1: Decline Dumbbell Bench Press 1x15 (40 lb dumbbells)/1x12 (45 lb)/1x20 (35 lb)
A2: Dumbbell Row 1x15 (40lb)/1x12 (45 lb)/1x20 (35lb)
B1: Dumbbell lateral raise 3x15 (15 lb dumbbells)
B2: Lat Pulldown 3x15 (not really sure how much weight we used, and also, in my experience, the weight on different machines seems to be a different amount of resistance)
C1: Preacher Curl 2x15 (45 lb first set, 35 lb second set felt like so much more though)
C2: Overhead Unilateral Dumbbell Extension 2x15 (15 lb dumbbells)
A buddy of mine from work wanted to train with me today, as he hasn't trained since the beginning of the summer. He plans on training with me more often, and we both plan on doing the training without the other if our shifts don't allow a joint workout, as we'll be pushing each other to improve each time.

New Training

Instead of using my own training routine, which was cool for a while, I'm going to be using one from T-Nation. My routine was hard to keep to, wasn't consistent, and I just didn't really know enough while going about trying to make it up.
The routine I'm going to be using for a while is Blending Size and Strength, Version 2.0 created by Dr. Clay Hyght. My first day of using it was today, and it felt great. It's a much better split than what I tried to do, and I feel much more worked than I have in a long time without doing squats or deadlifts (which will be coming up in the next few days). I went early this morning, and I've gotta say, I've never been this sore so short a time after a workout before. You can find the workout here.
Anyways, here's how today went:
A1: Barbell bench press 6x3 - 165 lbs.
A2: T-bar row 6x3 - 90 lbs.
(had to do the C exercises before the B exercises, because the barbell I needed for overhead press in the cage was already being used)
C1: Skullcrusher 3x5 - 55 lbs.
C2: Barbell curl 3x5 - 55 lbs.
B1: Standing barbell shoulder press 5x5 - 75 lbs.
B2: Pull-Up 5x5 - assisted with 40 pounds
Notes
I'll probably switch to doing a bent-over barbell row for my rowing exercise on most weeks.
I can't do many pull-ups at all (maybe 4-5) and using that much assistance was the only way I could get that many done. Used the assisted pull-up machine at my gym, could feel it a lot more than when I use the pulldown machine.
Doing the C exercises first hurt my performance on the B exercises, so I'll try not to have to do that again, I just wasn't prepared for changes today.
I used a reverse grip on the barbell curl, and both it and the skullcrusher were done using an EZ-curl bar. Won't use reverse grip next time.
On weights, the exercises that will go up the most next week will be overhead press and barbell curl, as I was able to complete all sets and reps without struggle at all, so I probably could have gone heavier, just wasn't sure. Could have done more on bench, but that was all I was comfortable with for now, as I did it without a spotter (my max is 185, so I'm not too disappointed).
My lats are the weak point on my pull-ups, and they're extremely sore right now. Not really sure how long it will be until I can do the 5x5 on my own, but once I get there I plan on adding more resistance. Could be a while.
More tomorrow about things, if anybody has any comments on today's workout, feel free.

Starting Over

So, things sort of went to the wayside there. I stopped training seriously for a while, stopped eating right, and pretty much everything else I need to do to stay fit. I've decided to start over now, and I have a pre-new year's revolution to try and keep to these things and improve myself as much as I can until then.
I'm going to start over with this blog too, and send it in new directions, as my training right now isn't just my lifting. I'm in high school, everything I do is training for college and training for life. Due to this, I'm going to talk about other things relating to my life, with the hopes of helping other people like me out as they can learn from my mistakes.
Hope this ends up being a good decision, and I'll need all the support I can get, so any ideas anyone can give would be awesome.
-Thryah

Monday Workout

Deadlift: 5x5 @ 225 lbs.
Pull-Ups: 4x5 @ bodyweight
Bent-Over Barbell Row: 4x8 @ 55 lbs.
Dumbbell Shrugs: 5x5 @ 55 lbs. dumbbells
I didn't post my last two weeks workouts because I was experimenting, and wasn't in there consistently. Probably should have posted them, but didn't get around to it. My weight on the Bent-Over Barbell Row is low because I've just started the movement, my second workout trying it actually, and i like it much more than T-Bar Rows, it's just going to take some getting used to. Luckily, before my workout, I checked T-Nation, and today's article happened to be about rows. Check it out here. Another great post is by Mehdi, on how to perform them. Read it here.

This Week in Summary

Monday:
Deadlift: 4x10 @ 135 lbs
Bent-Over Row: 4x10 @ 65 lbs
Dumbbell Shrugs: 4x10 @ 25 lb dumbbells
EZ Bar Curl: 2x10 @ 65 lbs
Pull-ups: 3x3 @ bodyweight
Tuesday:
Bench Press: 5x5 @ 150 lbs
Incline Bench: 5x5 @ 115 lbs
Squat: 5x5 @ 145 lbs
Thursday:
Deadlift: 8x3 @ 205
Dual-Pulley Row: 6x4 @ 47.5 lbs
Face Pulls: 6x4 @ 35 lbs
Curls: 3x5 @ 85 lbs
Friday:
Bench Press: 4x10 @ 115 lbs
Incline Bench: 4x8 @ 85 lbs
Squats: 4x10 @ 115 lbs

Sorry About the Lapse in Posts

I've been meaning to post, truly, I have. What finally pushed me to get another post out was yet another link from my friend Mehdi at Stronglifts. If he's going to help me out and give me publicity, I feel I should actually post things. Also, I've worked out since the last time I posted, but I haven't trained with anything other than bodyweight exercises this past week, because I've had so much going on. Yes, I know that's a weak excuse, but my choices were not enough sleep and getting my training done, or getting sleep and not training. That's pretty much how it went. I had accumulated a lot of fatigue the past few weeks, having just jumped right in to having four high-intensity days or more a week, compared to the 2-3 I had in the past, those not even comparing in intensity to what I've been doing lately. Thinking about it though, I've decided to rethink my training for the next few weeks and see how it goes, just because I think this fits my goals more.

The plan is to basically do a push-pull split, with days focused on hypertrophy and fat loss, and days focused on strength. The plan is to do a less CNS intensive bodybuilding style pull training on Mondays, and the same type of push training on Fridays. Heavier weight, lower rep, strength-focused push training on Tuesdays, with pull being on Thursdays. Big lifts that leave me lacking for a few days like squats will be rotated each week into either a lighter day or a heavy day each week for the first few weeks, and gradually build up to doing them or variations on both of the days, after seeing how it will affect me.

Since my goals are for increased strength, but also to lose fat and get bigger, I feel this type of training will benefit me a bit more than what I was doing before. Also, what I was doing before turned more into a "go in and wing-it" style of training.

In addition to this, I've decided to expand on my blogging a bit and add an extra post in at least every few days either showing something interesting I've found on the web, something I've learned and think will help others, or just something random, to keep things interesting. So, keep reading, and I promise things will get better.

Workout Post #3

Here's the lowdown on Friday's workout:

5x8 Face Pulls - 27.5 lbs

5x6 T-Bar Row - 70 lbs.

2x5 Pull-ups

5 Chin-ups

5 Chins with perpendicular grip

5x5 Deadlift - 185 lbs.

5x8 Overhead Shrugs - 105 lbs.

Workout Post #2

Last thursday I did go in for my workout, and did lats, biceps, traps, lower back, hamstrings. Basically combined my thursday and friday workouts into one. I don't remember my exact stats, except that I pulled 175 in deadlift for 5x5.

Monday I went in and did 5x5 squats below parallel with 135 lbs. That's all I had time for, but I used a slow tempo, and a pause at the bottom, and felt it the next day.

I moved tuesday's workout to today, and here's how that went:

5x5 Overhead press - 85 lbs.

5x5 Incline press - 105 lbs.

5x10 dumbbell squeeze press (5 reps with dumbbells parallel to me, 5 perpendicular) - 25 lbs. db's

2x10 Tricep pushdown - 50 lbs.

5x5 incline lateral raises - 15 lbs. db's

I pulled off the Overhead presses this time without any trouble at all, not sure if it was tips from Mehdi, or if my shoulders just got stronger, probably a combination of both, with a lot of kudos to his posts on the subject. In addition, I added 10 pounds to the incline press (still getting used to the motion, but it's coming back). All in all, I think this was a better rounded program for the muscles I was trying to hit, but it still needs a little tweaking.

Tuesday Workout and What Happened Yesterday

Today I decided to take my buddy Josh with me to the gym. He's had little-none experience lifting, and technique is turning out to be a struggle for him. I hadn't hung out with him in a while though, and I wanted a workout partner, so he fit the bill.

Here's what the workout consisted of:

5x5 Overhead Press - 85 lbs.

5x5 Incline Bench Press - 95 lbs.

5x5 Lateral Raises - 15 lb dumbbells.

5x5 Rear Delt Machine - 115 lbs.

I probably could have gone heavier on the Incline Bench, but I haven't done it in a long time, so I wasn't in any rush. The overhead press became extremely difficult the last few reps, and I was unable to complete the last set, I only got 2 reps in before I had to use a small knee action to get it started, I'll attempt this weight again next week, then decide what I need to do about it. I'm not a big fan of smaller isolation movements, but the last two exercises were added, just because I never seem to feel like I've done that well on the whole shoulder with just presses.

In retrospect, it seems the workout was a little heavy on shoulder work, with not much in the way of chest work, I'll probably end up doing some explosive push-ups tonight at home.

Yesterday was supposed to be a quad heavy day, but between work, errands, and a function at the school, I couldn't fit in the workout I wanted. I got a pretty good work from carrying two 44 lb dog food bags around and out of the store (I don't believe in carts when I can carry the items). What made it interesting: I ended up parking about as far away as possible without thinking about it. Then after the school function, I ended up carrying a ton of chairs to put them up out of the gym. Wasn't quite the workout I was looking for, but I did get something out of it, and I ended up helping people at the same time.

This Past Week in Summary

Not much has happened this week in my lifting, due to one particular problem: I injured myself early on this week. My schedule has typically been, Monday for Quads and Calves, Tuesday for Chest and Shoulders, Wednesday off, Thursday for Hamstrings and posterior chain, Friday for Upper back/biceps, with weekends off. I've been doing five sets of five with most exercises, using almost exclusively big, multi-joint movements (squat, deadlift, bench, overhead press, rows, etc.), upping the weight by 10 pounds each week on the big movements. I also walk about 4-5 miles each night on the road since I live in the country and there aren't many cars.

I've been seeing big improvements with this over my past records. At one time I had a 1 RM max on the decline press of somewhere around 175 lbs, but recently, with the plateau I hit, things in most exercises started to go downhill. My max dropped to 165. Tuesday I was doing this press, five sets of five, for 165. Big improvement. One small problem though, something popped in my shoulder in the last few reps, I was left able to do overhead pressing movements and lateral raise movements easily, but any type of raise to the front, caused sharp pain to go through my shoulder. For those of you who are delusional, no, it didn't feel good at all. I couldn't raise my arm over a few inches from resting in the front of my body, this left me unable to perform my Thursday and Friday workouts.

One good thing about this experience, it has once again taught me the importance of getting in a good warm-up, and good stretching habits. Today my shoulder feels perfectly fine again, I've been icing it when home from work, and our fitness director (who's real passion is rehab work) taught me some good dynamic stretches that helped to keep things loose.

I start things over again on Monday, we'll see how things go then. I've learned some lessons this week, as I'm sure to learn more in weeks to come. Feel free to post any lessons you've learned the hard way in the comments section, I'd love to hear your stories.