June 22, 2014 Sprinting

• 200m: 4
• 100m:2
• Total: 1000m

Very hard time on the 200s, quads felt tight and cardiovascularly I was just not doing well.  First 200 was fine, 2nd was ok, and 3rd & 4th were brutal.  Finished with 100s, and I will say I was absolutely flying on the last one. 

June 20, 2014 Lower

• Hip Thrusts: 225*6 315*4 365*5
• Straight-Legged Deadlifts: 315*5 365*3
• Unilteral Lying leg curls: 30*6 50*4

Wanted to do a deload after hitting 500 last week. Felt pretty good!

June 19, 2014 Upper

• Pullups: 70*3 70*2 70*2
• Seated Press: 135*3 175*3 185*2 195*1
• Unilateral bb t-bar rows: 160*3 170*3 180*2
• DB Reverse Laterals: 15*8 20*6
• Suitcase Carries: 40*75 40*75
• Rows: 200*0:31 TIES PR

Good times, pullups didn't hurt shoulder at all. Left elbow is still tight, been like that for months though, and it's not getting worse or better. I'm pretty sure it's tennis elbow, but I don't really want to rest it.  Rest of session went well, wanted to rest shoulder because it was SORE after dodgeball yesterday.  Seated presses don't bother it for some reason, but incline benching will irritate it.

So I haven't tried rowing in a few months, or at least not a 200m row...I actually stopped trying very hard around the 20 second mark because I thought I was way off pace. I think I can get 0:29 if I build back up here.   

June 18, 2014 Dodgeball!

• Dodgeball: 110 minutes

extra long session. Shoulder is not feeling good after this one; was already fatigued from heavy benching on Monday, then we went extra long here.  Needs some rest after this.  Once again virtually no sprinting during the matches for me, I want to give my groin a week to get better after each sprint session, and so far it seems to be working.  Had a really fun time here; great people and tons of fun. 

June 17, 2014 Lower

• Squats: 315*3 350*1 370*1 385*1
• Front Squats: 225*2 260*1 280*1 300*1
• Good Mornings: 225*1 250*1 -back is exhausted
• Lumberjack Squats: 135*3 180*3
• Dead Bugs: 8, 8

Good squatting, hit 300 on front squats. I've never bailed on a front squat rep ever. Probably should have on 300 because my form was hideous.  After that my back was exhausted so did a couple quick good mornings, then welcomed lumberjack squats back into the rotation. Been too long. Also threw dead bugs back in.  Hernia or whatever is feeling much better at this point. It wasn't super comfortable, but it wasn't painful either. Maybe it's not a hernia after all

June 16, 2014 Upper Body

• Bench Press: 250*2 275*1 290*1 300*1
• Unilateral T-Bar Rows: 135*3 155*3 165*3
• Push Press: 225*1 235*1 
• T-Bar Rows: 135*5 145*3 155*3
• Unilateral Cable Reverse Laterals: 20*6 20*6

Tired on push press from benching, still went well though. 

June 14, 2014 Sprinting

• 200m: 5
• 100m: 1
• Total: 1100m

Going to the beach tomorrow, so sprinted Saturday instead.  VERY easy time out there; I was well rested, but also the track was damp from recent rainfall.  Maybe there was less friction on account of this, I dunno, but I was not exerting even 90% of the usual energy I have to in order to move out there. Good stuff. 

June 13, 2014 Lower

• Hanging Power Snatches: 115*3 135*3 145*2 150*1
• Hanging Power Cleans: 135*4 155*4 175*3
• Deadlifts: 315*2 365*3 285*3
• PUPP: 1:00, 1:02

Deload week, led off with HPS's, went very well, happy with the 150. Not too much star-fishing either. So that's good. 

June 12, 2014 UPper

• BB Rows: 185*4 205*3 225*2 245*1
• BB Incline: 225*3 245*1 255*1
• Seated Press: 135*5 155*4 175*2 185*1
• Cable Rows: 170*4 180*3 190*3
• Waiter Walks: 30*60 steps

REALLY precise form on rows. Very happy I got 245.  Rest of session went good; threw in waiter walks for suitcase carries this week just to mix it up. 185 on seated press, happy with that as well. I'm very pleased with my strength levels during this cut, I don't feel like I've lost much, if any strength. 

June 11, 2014 Dodgeball!

• Dodgeball: 90 minutes

Such a good time! Also, didn't sprint to get balls at the start for any of the rounds, want to rest the hernia thing or whatever.  Actually felt pretty good afterward, no soreness in that area at all. 

June 10, 2014 Lower Body

• Squats; 315*4 350*2 365*1,X 
• Pin Squats: 315*1
• Squats: 385*1 315*2
• Front Squats: 225*2 250*1 275*1
• Good Mornings: 225*2 250*1
• PUPP: 1:00, 1:02

Got buried going for 2nd rep on 365, reset everything and hit 385.  Front squats went well, as did good mornings. Avoiding dead-bugs for a couple weeks while I let lower groin/hernia/whatever hopefully heal.  I have other core-stuff I can do for the next fortnight or so, threw in PUPP here. 

June 9, 2014 Upper Body

• Bench Press, Paused, No Arch: 225*2 250*2 265*1 275*1(!)
• Pendlay Rows: 135*3 155*4 175*4 185*4(!) 205*2(!!!!)
• Push Press: 205*1 225*1 240*1
• Neutral Grip 1.5 Pullups: 7 - left elbow tight
• Landmine Laterals: 55*6 55*5

Good times! Happy with the 275 with no arch, AND paused reps.  Really just a good session for strength, got 185 and the 205 on pendlays, and this is with form absolutely locked in. Back didn't come up an inch from parallel.  Push press felt good too. Left elbow was getting tight by the time i got to pullups. 

June 06, 2014 Lower Body / Olympic Lifting

• Deadlift: 405*1 445*1 475*1 500*1
• Hanging Power Snatches: 135*3 145*2 145*3
• Power Cleans: 145*2 185*2 185*2
• Hanging Power Cleans: 185*1
• Wide-Stance Anti-Rotational Chops: 60*8 70*&

Feeling good, shoulder is getting back to normal so I can do the olympic lifting again. It will probably take a few weeks to get the power back on the snatches. Also, hit 500 again on deadlifting, went well.  

Jun 5, 2014 Upper Body

• BB Rows: 185*5 185*5 185*5 205*5 225*4
• Incline Bench: 225*3 235*3 245*1
• Pullups: 65*2 65*2 65*2
• Seated Press: 135*3 160*3 180*2ish
• Cable Reverse Laterals: 30*4 20*6
• Suitcase Carries: 40*75 40*75

Good sesh.  Focused on the form with the rows, went well.  Noticing my traps/mid back are much larger this cut, glad all the mid-back work I'm doing is paying off. Also adding weight back on pullups here. So far so good. 

June 4, 2014 Dodgeball!

• Dodgeball: 85 minutes

Good times, going to the line at the start still hurts groin first few times.  I've noticed (and others have too) that I'm playing much better as I get more cut.  Easier to dodge.  Oddly my throws even have more zip on them.  Good times. 

June 3, 2014 Lower Body

• Squats: 315*2 345*1 365*1 385*1
• Front Squats: 225*3 225*3 225*3 225*3
• Good Mornings: 225*2 250*1 275*1
• Dead Bugs: 8, 8

Felt good, 385 was tough for some reason.  Rest of session went well. Dead bugs still hurt my groin area.  Also, hit 275 on the good mornings, felt great. I like them for singles than higher reps.  Just feels like it's easier to stick to form that way. 

June 2, 2014 Upper

• Bench Press (Paused Rep, No Arch): 225*2 245*2 255*1 265*1
• T-Bar Rows: 135*4 145*3 155*3
• Push Press: 225*1 235*1
• Rope Pullups (Thick Rope): 3, 2
• DB Reverse Laterals: 15*7, 15*7
• Landmine Laterals: 65*2 65*1

Good session, progressing well, going to keep up with the alternative benching, adn then every month or so testing my max. Holding around 300 so far.  Reverse laterals are going well, seem to be keeping my upper/mid back nice and thick near my spine.  Also, need to start keeping better track of numbers on assistance exercises so I don't end up in a miasma of never progressing.  I feel like too many people do that; they progress on main lifts, but assistance stuff gets left behind, and eventually it's not at the same level as your main lifts, thus holding those lifts back. 

June 1, 2014 Sprinting

• 200m: 5
• Total: 1000m

welp, that went well. Last 2 I was ready to choke for the last 100m.  Still though...good stuff. 

Can't recall if I've written about this yet, might as well put it here.  When I was 4 I had an incarcerated hernia on my left. It got repaired and supposedly I can't have a hernia on that side anymore because of some mesh or something. Anyway....About 6 weeks ago I slipped on a wet floor and thought I strained my left adductor, and groin, slightly. Everything felt fine a couple weeks later. Then I noticed on the right side of my extreme lower abdomen, near the hip crease, that I was having vague soreness. It kind of built up over the past month, but only when I do certain things, and has spread to the left side now too. 

When I sprint, my first warmup jog is excruciating. It feels like something to either side of my groin is tearing or being stabbed and is uncomfortable as fuck. I also notice a painful yanking sensation in both adductors. My next warmup run it's a little better. By the third the feeling is completely gone on the left, and I get a faint vague soreness on the right side the rest of the session, nothing that slows me down. The rest of the day there's a faint soreness on both sides, like a muscle that's been worked extra hard. Next, when I do certain ab-exercises, like dead bugs, I get the discomfort in my groin, kind of like something is squeezing the fuck out of my balls.

My first inclination was that I had a double hernia. But again, most days I'm fine.  I can squat/deadlift/brace my abs/etc. fine without any discomfort. I had an idea one day to try the adductor machine (the one where you sit and squeeze your legs together, i.e. the good girl/ bad girl machine) and sure enough it was awful.
My adductors had that yanking pain in them, the pain and discomfort in my groin was there, everything. Same thing if I'm standing and try to move a plate that's lying on the gym floor with my foot (so like 25 lbs. plate, put my right foot on the right side of the plate and try to push it to the left).  So now I'm confused as to what this is, and what I should do for it. It's not exactly a major issue, but I'd prefer to be able to warmup for sprints without shrieking and cursing as I do my warmup jog.

May 30, 2014 Lower / Olympic Lifting

• Hanging Power Snatch: 135*3 145*2 155*1
• Hanging Power Cleans: 155*3 175*3
• Trap-Bar Deadlifts: 405*10 495*3(!) 500*3(!!!!) 
• Paloff Iso-holds: 50*3 70*3

whoooooooooooooooooooo whaaaaaaaaargaaaaarbl.  Olympic lifting must have primed my cns because I was deadlifting like crazy here.  Was just going to do 10 at 405, but then I wanted to see how getting in that groove effected my ability to lift some heavier weights. Absolutely demolished 495 and then 500 a few minutes later.  May have to do something like this before I go to set a PR on deadlifting or squatting.  Usually I just go in and go for the record.  

May 29, 2014 Upper

• Incline Bench: 225*3 225*3 225*3 225*3 225*3
• 1.5 Pullups: 5, 4, 4
• Seated Press: 135*3 160*3 180*1
• Cable Rows: 200*2 180*3 180*3
• Suitcase Carries: 40*75 steps 40*75 steps

Figured with the squatting success I'd try it with incline benching.  Right shoulder is aaaalmost back to 100%, but it does get sore after heavy work, so didn't go as far as I did with the squatting. 

May 28, 2014 Dodgeball!

• Dodgeball: 90 minutes

Good times! Sprinting to the balls in the middle hurts my groin the first couple times though. 

May 27, 2014 Lower

• Squats: 315*3 315*3315*3315*3315*3315*3315*3315*3315*3315*3315*3 (11 sets!)
• Front Squats: 225*2 245*2
• Good Mornings: 225*2 245*2
• Dead Bugs: 8, 8

whoooooo. Figured I'd do a few sets, then after the 2nd I decided to go for 10, figuring I'd not quite make it. Got there, and did one more.  33 reps total, or more than my last 6 squatting sessions combined I believe. Felt great actually.  Dead bugs went well, I have this pain in my lower abdomen lately when sprinting, or at least the first couple, and when doing ab exercises. MAY be a sports hernia, will have to see. It's not bad enough to cause discomfort most of the time, and really only pops up with dead bugs, sometimes with deadlifting (rarely), and on my first couple sprints. I'll write about it later. 

Also another good thing with those 3 rep sets, by the last 7 or so I was really keyed in on using the proper muscle groups to move the weight, and really felt it. I tend to be quad dominant, but the more sets I do, your quads will fatigue before posterior chain, leaving the posterior chain to do the bulk of moving, which it should be. 

May 26, 2014 Upper Body

• Bench Press (No arch): 225*1 245*3 265*2 285*1 295*nope
• BB Rows: 185*3 205*3 215*3
• Seated Press: 135*3 155*3 175*3
• T-Bar Rows: 145*3 155*3 165*2
• Landmine Laterals: 45*7

Good times, surprised I got 285 with no arch on the benching.  Strength holding up good.  212 still for weight.