I don't know...those pimples are gone and I don't know if its worth it.

Last day in the bb portion of the split. I did some shoulder work and some tricep work. Really trying to squeeze, pump, and burn. Reps again were high and I played it on the safe side and stopped if there was pain when it came to certain movements (upright rows especially). Tomorrow is a day off and I can't wait to squat again on Tuesday!

SQUAT DAY

So what a workout. I'm supposed to do squats for 3's but I was super overzealous today and I went for singles. Last time I hit 245 for 3 on two sets. Well this time after hitting 245 for 3 on one set, I was curious to see what I could do for a single again. I know I tested just a week or two ago...but I beat my PR!! I got 285 for 1 rep. Old PR was 275.

Looked like this on Squats:
135/10, 175/5, 205/3, 225/3, 245/3, 275/1, 280/1, 285/1

So confidence is going up on squats and its only a matter of time before I get to 315. 2009 will see it. I did do a drop after that for three sets: 185/10 and worked on form with a makeshift box (stacked up some plates) with some light weights.
Then I moved on to the hammy movement. Leg curl was out of commission at the gym so I did something different. DB swings. Its not just a hammy movement but a glute, ham, and lower back movement...kind of like a deadlift but with momentum. It's really a pullthrough with a dumbell for speed. No leg extensions. Couple lunges...and now that my calves aren't sore, calve raises.

REally happy with the 285 though...only 30 more pounds. I'll get it once I gain some holiday weight.

Back and shoulder work today:

I remember you talking about hitting a 315 squat in August.  Almost there man.  Solid work!

Chest day:
Bench: Goal is 50 reps over 3 sets.....170 lbs>>3 sets: set 1: 41reps, set2: 10 reps, set 3: 3 reps. Yes I did go a little crazy on the bench here today. I used 50% of the max I did on the strength day and tested my max reps. Lets just say every exercise/set after this was just basically for me to get through it and probably not even necessary as I was pretty much maximally pumped/burnt and totally wasted after that one max set. Right around 30 I could feel the skin in my chest, triceps, glutes, and quads burning. Rep number 41, numbness set in.  I couldn't feel my hands.  That's why its good to have a spotter on crazy attempts such as this.
In DB press: 3 sets failure around 15 reps
Pushups: 3 times failure

winflex wrote:

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Great interactive webcast tonight Joe.

Back work
Chinned instead of lat pulldowns (like I always say, why pulldown when you can pullup or chin). Reps were 16, 15, 10, 9. Rows with 220 for 12 (some body english). And instead of one arm cable row, I tried a face pull. Man those were great. I never had a midback pump like that ever. Those will be in the rotation next time around. Light deads a the end for reps. Back is beginning to take a life of its own now and I can't complain.

BTW, my knees have done a 180. They feel great. After two weeks of fish oil supplementation, I feel like I have new knees...okay maybe that's an exaggeration but there is a noticeable difference. Looking forward to the long term benefits of the fish oil. I also recently started up some Bev Joint Care. I had some stashed away that I found. It also has essential fatty acids (evening primrose oil) in it, along with the glucosamine, msm, and chondroitin. I think the combo with the ultimate omega is contributing to the good knees. That and I've been doing soft tissue work on the foam roller and with my lacrosse ball regularly. Pain can go away with some proactivity.

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Thanks Dwayne and great to hear about the knee's.

Gun and Hams are sore today. Yesterday did its job.

Shoulder work
I actually did Incline DB presses today because my right shoulder felt up to it after all these weeks of avoiding overhead pressing. It felt pretty good. I only went up to 45's for 3 sets of 10 but I had an intense burn from not having done that motion in a while and possibly also from being sore from chest day also. Triceps were sore as well and doing that funny elbow thing; so, I just went light to help the recovery and didn't push it.

No PR's today but the feel was good and the pump was good. Can't PR everyday. Some days just have to be recovery days.

Going to be taking a break from posting this week as I will be really busy with other stuff. See you after Thanksgiving. Have a good holiday!

Last week, I didn't even record in my log book. It was just a "go by feel" week. My daughter was sick. We had a makeshift Thanksgiving on Thursday because we couldn't go anywhere that we planned. We didn't have any food (we ate out on Thursday) because we were planning to go up to Jen's parents house up in Northeastern PA for Thursday and Friday. That didn't happen. But the good news is that my mom invited us over for dinner on Sunday night up on Long Island. That was our Thanksgiving dinner. We were thankful that Olivia was getting better and that we could go on that trip. I stuffed my face silly: pumpkin cheesecake pie, apple/oatmeal/custard pie, Jamaican bread pudding...yes I focused on the desserts. Don't worry I got my turkey, stuffing, etc. as well.

Leg day 3 day:
Ha! the only movement that seemed knee friendly was squats (because I could sit back to relieve tension on the knees). So I did those. I am just going to listen to what my doctor told me last year: Don't do what hurts. But of course, I didn't do a whole strength workout with only squats. I had to improvise. So I did some step ups, front squats, and some bent knee situps. I think I sweat some of the thanksgiving water out.

I'm ditching the steel cuts oats for a while. I'm back to the good old quick oats. I just eat'em raw in my protein shake. They soften up quickly in the shake and it saves a lot of time. No need to hassle with the microwave.

RANT:

I don't know what happened today but I just ate lunch and I was ravenous. Could it be that Thanksgiving seemed to increase my need for calories even more. Jeesh! I ate my intended lunch of broccolli in peanut sauce, curry chicken, and potatoes....but then my appetite was just piqued. I went out and got some Nachos at Baja Fresh. I never got Nachos there before so I was thinking I would get this little thing of nachos with some cheese on top like you would get at a sports stadium. No, it was this huge plate full of nachos with cheese, pinto beans, pico de gallo, guacamole, and sour cream. I had gotten "nachos supreme" at the nachos price. I guess Baja Fresh only does big. Anyway, I didn't think I could eat it...but I downed the thing in minutes...and I don't feel overly stuffed. Maybe this is what I need daily...maybe, it was just today. I don't know but I hope it helps with gaining some quality pounds.

ME Bench

Warm up: Foam roller (thoracic spine, lats), sleeper stretch, band pulls, lat stretch, bicep stretch, rear delt stretch, pec stretch, glute activation, hip flexor stretch, ankle mobility.

CGBP: 135/5 165/3 3 185/3 3 205/5 225/3 240/1 260/1 290/1 315/1
stopped there started getting "shin splints in my forearms"
DB BP:60/6 70/6 80/10 10 28
Undergrip Pressdown: 60/6 90/6 120/10 10 21
Rear delt raise (standing): 15/10 20/10 30/10 10 18
BB Shrug: 260/50 (shrugging for reps is definitely quickly becoming one of my favorite exercises)
Chins: goal 50 in 3 sets: 19, 17, 14

Taking two days off Friday and Saturday. Going up to Northeastern PA to visit Jen's fam.

DE BENCH
Overall Warmups
1. CGBP: 175/3 185/3 195/3 205/3 215/3 225/3 3 3
2. DB BP: 95/10 10 17
3. Face Pull: 200/12 10 19
4. 1 arm cable row: 100/10 10 10
5. Parallel grip chin (50 reps): 15 15 10 10
6. YTWL: 5/20 each way

Good episode on Heroes tonight!

Dwayne - you a freakin' crazy man!!  Very impressive!!

How do you like the Box Squats?  Do you find that they are more effective than just regular squats?