Quarantine Bench Day

BENCH:
(Bar 1.5 x10 / 45lb rows x5) 2x
55lb x10 / 45lb rows x5
65lb x10 / 45lb rows x5
85 3/4 depth x10 / 45lb rows x5
••••••••••
(15lb inclined shrug-lat raise / front raise x10) 3x
••••••••••
CHEST PULLS / RENEGADE ROWS:
80lb x10 / 15lb x10
90lb x10 / 15lb x10
100lb x10 / 15lb x10
••••••••••
CURLS:
15lb standard x10
15lb hammer x10
15lb zottman x10
••••••••••
I'm still nursing this friggin shoulder of mine and it's really starting to annoy me. It was feeling better but still I'm not able to do anywhere near my normal weight on bench and I can't even hit full depth at a lousy 85lbs. Even being in the plank for the renegade rows was putting me near my limit. The rows didn't bother me and the chest pulls didn't seem to affect it at all. I'm just keeping the weight light on upper body day and hoping that eventually it will heal fully and get back to normal. I pulled this shoulder once before and it took months to heal completely. Oh well. I'm on quarantine for the foreseeable future anyhow. I didn't work out last week, but there can't be any excuses this week.  

NEW PR

I haven't done much this week. No excuses, just haven't done it. Tonight I tested my deadlift max. Here's how it went:
DEADS:
135lb x5
160lb x3
170lb x2
190lb x1
225lb x1
235lb FAIL
(205lb x2) 4x
205lb x1
135lb x10
••••••••••
I've increased my max by 10lbs which is basically nothing but I'll take it. I've also decided that I'm capable of increasing my working weight to 205lb. I seem to get stuck in the past, and what "used" to be able to do and for some reason I never push myself to get past my plateaus. For years 185lb on deads was a number I just couldn't get past. It seemed as though I would jump a little over that and then inevitably fall back. But it was probably just all in my head. I should be well past a max of 225lb, but I hold myself back. Fuck it, I'm moving on. Now I keep the weight at 205lb until I can get 5 reps, then I move it up. I'm not out to break records, those days and dreams are long gone. I'm out to be strong and I have to stop holding myself back.

The Pressin' Palace

SEATED OVERHEAD:
(Bar x10) 5x
10lb  DB x2
(10lb DB x10) 2x
(15lb DB x10) 2x
••••••••••
INCLINED LAT & FRONT RAISE:
(15lb x10 / x10) 2x
••••••••••
MACHINE FLYS:
20lb x10
40lb x10,
40lb x9.5
••••••••••
DB CURLS:
15lb standardx10
Hammer x10
Zottman x10
••••••••••
TREADMILL:
30 minutes
Incline 3 - 6
Speed 3 - 5mph
••••••••••
I'm still having pain in my left shoulder and it's extremely annoying. I did finally figure out how I did it though. I'm 99% sure I did it during the night trying to get my dog off of the bed. Stupid pibble. Anyhoo...I could barely get the 10lb DB up, but Frank helped me push through and I was able to get past the pain and bump up to 15lb. Pretty bad considering I used to do 25lb. I'll get back there, it's just going to take time. Now, a little caveat here, there are times when pushing through pain is a very bad thing. Pain serves the purpose of letting you know you need to rest and heal. Sometimes, however, pain is temporary and needs to be worked through. In this case, some of the pain lessened as I worked into the sets. But I knew not to push too far. That would just cause more injury.
A bit of good news, I'm actually down 5lbs. Not a huge amount, but it shows progress. Seeing that bit of forward progress is very motivating. And I didn't do it by starving myself or cutting out all treats. I just stopped kidding myself about how much food I needed. So, a good night all around, even though my shoulder is sore and my dog is stupid.

Back To The Dead

DEADS:
All sets were speed sets - fast reps, no rest, touch and go. The only exception was the 185lb set. (see below)
135lb x10
155lb x10
185lb x6, x4
155lb x10
135lb x10
••••••••••
SEAL ROWS:
25lb x15
30lb x10
45lb x5
••••••••••
25lb plate sit ups x20
25lb plate overhead sit ups x20
••••••••••
I so didn't want to work out tonight. I missed last night and that stagnation carried over to today. I just didn't want to and I was actively thinking up feasible excuses. But then I thought about staying the same. I don't want to stay the same. I'm not happy with where I'm at right now and how the hell can I expect that to change if I continue to not do what I know I should do?
The last time I deadlifted was October 24, 2019. I had to do a double take when I looked back in my training log. All of January was kettlebell work, February was pretty much a wash because of surgery and so now, I'm playing catch up. I'm pleased with what I did tonight. It all felt good except for some muscle tightness after. That, however, is due more to me needing an adjustment on my back. I need to find a new chiropractor. But everything else felt pretty damn good. I may be a little chubby, but I'm pretty sure I could still kick some ass. wink wink.

Is What It Is

No explanations, no excuses. Tonight was basically a waste of time. Here's what I managed
BENCH:
1.5 reps from the bottom x10
1.5 reps from the top x10
65lb x10
(95lb x5) 3x
Not full ROM - too much pain in shoulder still
••••••••••
TRICEP PULLDOWNS / DB ROWS
(40lb x 10 / 45lb x 5) 4x
••••••••••
That's it. I'm aggravated and fed up. Pretty much standard fare for me lately. Oh well.

Press It Good

SEATED OVERHEAD PRESS:
(Bar x10) 5x
••••••••••
SHRUGS:
(30lb x25) 4x
••••••••••
INCLINED SHRUG/LAT RAISE & FRONT RAISE
(15lb x10 ea) 2x
••••••••••
FRONT/REAR PULL DOWNS:
60lb x10 ea
80lb x10 ea.
••••••••••
BUS DRIVERS:
(10lb x30 sec) 2x
••••••••••
TREADMILL:
30 minutes
Incline from 0-5
speed - 3
5mph
••••••••••
Again, the intensity level was not where I would like it. My left shoulder still has that wonky pain in it. For the life of me, I have no idea what aggravated it because I haven't been doingmuch of anything. But at 43, sometimes, not doing anything is all it takes to get a weird pain! Next week I ramp up the intensity with hopefully some heavier weights. I'll tell you, using the treadmill with the varying incline is killer. It looks so easy but it ends up hurting your ass like a stair climber for crying out loud. The only bad thing is that the incline bothers my SI joint, which I find odd. 

It Was Uphill All The Way

Tonight was an off night from lifting, but I still wanted to get on the treadmill. I did one of the pre-programmed routines. I had taken a picture of the diagram that shows the hills and such, but I can't get it from my phone to this laptop because my phone is a dinosaur turd. I also can't get any sort of screenshot or image from the online manual because I'm tired and can't figure anything out. It's really not a good night here - the dog is being an asshat and I can't seem to get one coherent thought out of my head into this blog. Sufficed to say, it was uphill all the way. Didn't drop below 3mph, went up to 3.5mph until the end when I turned it up to 5.5 for the last sprint. The incline went up to 9 and never dropped below 6 until the last 4 minutes then it goes flat. 
Uphill all the way - just like life.

I Can Do Better

Tonight was deadlift night. Here's what I did:
RACK PULLS:
95lb x10
135lb x10
185lb x10
135lb x10
95lb x10
••••••••••
CHEST PULLS / PUSH UPS:
60lb x10 / x10
80lb x10 / x10
100lb x10 / x10
••••••••••
GOOD MORNINGS:
Bar x10
55lb x10
65lb x 10
••••••••••
10 minutes on the treadmill, various inclines and speeds.
••••••••••
I know that I haven't lifted in a while, but I really need to up the intensity level. Once again, I'm feeling that I could give a little more; try a little harder. Tomorrow is our rest day, but I still may do the treadmill.

There's Always Some Weird Pain

Tonight was the first night back on our 4 day split. Monday is bench day, so here's what I managed:
BENCH:
Bar 1.5 rep from top x10
Bar 1.5 rep from bottom x10
65lb x8
75lb x4
(85lb x10 / 45lb DB row x5 ea.) 5x
••••••••••
CHEST FLIES:
(15lb x15) 4x
••••••••••
SEAL ROWS:
(30lb x10) 4x
••••••••••
30 minutes on treadmill. Pre-programmed routine of hills and speeds. incline went between 3 & 6 and speeds went between 3mph & 4mph. I changed the speed, however, for the last 4 minutes and kept it at 4mph. The last 30seconds I upped it to 5mph and then at 10 seconds I upped it to 6mph.
••••••••••
I was happy to be back on the program and then my friggin shoulder decided that an old injury would pop in for a visit. I pulled my shoulder years ago doing stupid things with a kettle bell and I think the month of swings and things aggravated it or something. There isn't a lot of pain, but enough to be naggy and annoying. I hadn't planned on heavy weight tonight anyhow, so it's all good. I threw the treadmill in as a finisher because It'll help get rid of these extra pounds that need to go. All in all, it's good to be back!