Jenng's Journal

I'm wiped after todays workout. My body just feels tired and beaten. I worked out right around when a meal was scheduled, so that must be it. I got the 105 up on the bench, but I really struggled on all of those last sets. My left side is really weak lately too. It seems the more I go up on weights, the more I am being held back by my left side. Guess I need to do more DB work.

CHEST/TRIS 4/24

BB Bench Press: 45x8, 45x8, 75x5, 75x5, 105x3, 105x3, 105x2

DB Incline Press: 30x8, 30x9, 30x10

Assisted Dips: 140(assist)x8, 140x7, 150x10

Overhead Triceps Ext: 32x12, 32x12

Triceps Pushdown: 70x14

You better save some energy for our race. I dont want to race a cripple!

(Something Inspirational)!!!

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Today I did some pennance for all of my celebrating this weekend. Rah, rah..one year. As they say here in the south, that don't matter none anymore. Year two is here and I got a race to win!

This was a killer wrist workout. By the time I got to my DB curls, my wrists were toast. I already struggle with tendonitis, but it hasn't flared up since I have been lifting. Today just seemed to wear my wrists out. I wonder if I should get straps for the deadlifts.

My workout was running long, so I decided to superset my DB curls with the Good Mornings. That was cool! I've never done that before. It shaved a good 5-7 mins off my workout and really worked up a sweat. I might have to incorperate that more often.

BACK/BICEPS 4/26

Warm Up: Deadlifts 75x12, 75x10, 105x6, 125x3

Working Sets:
Deadlifts 145x6, 145x6, 145x6
WG Lat Pull Downs 110x6, 110x6, 110x6
Cable Low Rows 140x6, 140x6, 140x6
Good Mornings 85x6, 85x6, 85x6 <superset with DB curls>
DB Curls 30x5, 30x5, 30x4
BB Curls 50x6, 50x6, 50x6

Are you using an alternating grip on Deads? I found that when I use an alternating underhand/overhand grip it's not QUITE as bad.

Paul

A friend helps you move, a true friend helps you move bodies.

I do use the alternating grip. It wasn't specifically the deads that killed me, it was the cumulative effect of all 3 pulling exercises with heavy weights. I just need more hand strength I guess.

Today was a double up day - cardio in the afternoon, lifting at night. I definitely felt a loss of stamina when I started lifting tonight. Each set was more of a struggle than it normally is. But if I want to loose this fat sooner rather than later, I need to keep up this committment to cardio. As it is, I should get my 3 sessions in this week.

CARDIO - 4/27 2:30pm

Treadmill - 2 min warm up
1 mile jogging = 10:26
Increasing incline for hill

Total Distance 2.5 miles
Total Time 32 mins
Calories 420


SHOULDERS/TRAPS 4/27 9pm

Warm Up - DB Press 20x12, 20x10, 25x6, 30x3

Working Sets:
DB Press 30x6, 30x6, 30x6 (the 35's were all gone, so I added the twist to the 30's)
Smith Mil Press 85x6, 90x5
Lateral Raises 15x8, 15x10
Reverse Flyes 82.5x6, 82.5x6
Shurgs 180x8, 180x8, 180x12

My body is falling apart. All kinds of aches and pains tonight. Am I 31 or 51? First there is this weird pulling I feel in the front top of my right quad when I first start squatting (felt it last week too). Then my left knee popped between sets. But I still was able to get a good workout in and finally got past my mental barriers and squatted 155. It can only go up from here.

LEGS 4/28

Warm Up: Squats 80x12, 80x10, 115x6, 135x3

Working Sets:
Squats 155x6, 155x6, 155x6
SLDLs 135x6, 135x6, 136x6
Hack Squats 110x6, 110x5
Smith Calf Raises 135x12, 155x12, 155x12

Uh oh, I am starting to get a little sick of the gym. Not good. I was not going to take my week off until after this 9 week program my TP and I are doing for bench. That is 4 weeks from now. I'm taking tomorrow off, so hopefully that will help.

I really don't think I am overtraining - I lift 4 days and do cardio 2 days, with one day off and one double up day. Once I get there I am fine, but my motivation to go seems to be slipping. Hopefully I am just over analyzing and getting psyched out for the contest.

I am going out of town next week and was going to try to keep up my lifting WOs. I might just take a mini week off, keeping my chest WO and taking the rest off. Maybe that will get me psyched and ready for the contest. Who knows. It could be stress, as tomorrow is my last day of work and I will be unemployed for the first time in my life.

CARDIO/ABS 4/29

Elliptical Machine
26 mins
300+ calories

5 min warm up
5 30/30 sprints
2 min recovery
3 30/30 sprints
3 min recovery
2 30/30 sprints
6 min hill/cool down

Cable Crunches 120x12, 120x12, 120x12
Weighted Oblique Crunches 25x12, 25x12
Hanging Leg Raises 2 sets of 12 - no weight added

Hang tough. Don't quit on us now.

Laser

Showing up is half the battle.

My Bowling Business!!! H & E Bowling Supply
http://www.hebowlingsupply.com

Current Max Weights:
Bench 325
Squat 550
Deadlift 505

My goal is to get to 1400 total for the 3 lifts

Don't worry, I am not going anywhere. This is my passion, I just seem to be dragging a little lately. But between having a TP and this contest coming up, I'm not quitting. Just a little tired. All this ^$^%#$ cardio wearing me out!

Thanks!

If you are the way I think you are, after a week off from working out, you'll be edging to get back to the gym. I know I always am.

"Try and fail is the manner of losers. Try and learn is the way of the strong." -- Unknown

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Hope you feel better about it all soon......anyways, was wondering if maybe incorporating more d.b work instead barbell for a bit might help to bring up the left side...smith millitary presses are almost like cheating...the best part of that exercise (other than hitting the delts) is the use of stabilizer muscle which the smith cheats you out of, IMO.....it's important to ensure that all muscles working and stabilizing get worked...also as for pain inupper quad...I was getting those a while back myself..it took a little tweaking but I realised that I was overworking my quads...it was time to switch up my leg routine....so now I alternate 4-6wks of hack squats and lunges type movements with 4-6wks of leg press and squats...this sort of mix up seems to ensure that all areas of the quad are getting hit...pain either = overtraining or muscle imbalances and / or poor form.....good to take a look at this to avoid injuries.

Thanks Shera. Normally I do BB Mil Press, but my TP wanted to use the Smith this week to try to push more weight. We had the whole stabilzer muscle conversation, too. He won that one. But we did DB press for warm up and 3 working sets prior to the Smith presses.

I typically do squats every week and we have been adding the hack squats in these past couple of weeks as a change from the leg press. Do you think that the type of cardio I have been doing could be adding too much to the quads - jogging pretty intensely 2 times per week, plus elliptical sprints 1x/week? There is not a rowing machine at my gym and I can't think of another non-leg intensive way to do cardio. I will be taking a few days off of cardio at least on vacation, even if I do get my lifting in.

Ugh sometimes it seems the better I treat my body the more it complains! Thanks for your feedback.

Ugh sometimes it seems the better I treat my body the more it complains!

Time for a massage.

I'm into that about 1x a month. Fixes everything. Gets me back to heavy lifting.

I've got friends who get some kind of injury.. 1 year later they are still bitching. I ask.. "Did you ever get a massage on that area? A professional one?"

Nope.

Oh well.

In the business of heavy lifting, there isn't much better then getting the muscle worked out for an hour, with some good pressure to loosen them up and get them back on track.

Marc C. David
Support DB! Buy your supplements at Supplements101.com

Thanks Marc, I'll look into that. I think a splurge on a massage sounds really nice right now. Any particular kind? Like should I look for someone who specializes in sports massage?

FRIDAY WEIGH IN: 210 (-1.6)

I've been on BFFM for 5 weeks now. If my calipers are right, I was at around 32% body fat when I started and around 28% now. So actual weight change in 5 weeks is -7 lbs. Fat change is -10. LBM change is +3. Pretty darn cool!

Now I am not 100% sure of the body fat measures, because I am still trying to get the hang of the calipers. So it may be off by a percent or two, but the main thing is...I am loosing fat and gaining/maintaining muscle. This program rocks!

Anyway, that was nice motivation this morning. Taking a day off of cardio today and going to head back to the gym strong tomorrow and bench 110!

Off to look into that massage....

After taking yesterday off, I felt great going into my workout today. I had been working out at 9pm three days last week, so I think I was just tired. Having Thursday night to chill out and Friday off helped.

CHEST/TRIS 5/1

Flat Bench Press 45x8, 45x8, 80x5, 80x5, 110x3, 110x2.5, 110x3 (barely)
Incline Bench Press 75x10, 75x8, 75x10
Assisted Dips 140(assist)x10, 130x7, 130x8
Close Grip Bench Press 65x6, 60x8
Overhead Tricep Press 37x12, 37x11