02/15/10 Squat

Started a 9-week peaking cycle for collegiates using Mike Tuchscherer's RTS template.

Squat (Low Box + Foam):
275 x 5 for 2 sets @8
295 x 5 for 1 set @9
275 x 5 for 2 sets @8.5

Squat (Low Box + Foam + Greens):
225 x 4 for 5 sets @8

Each of these were meant to be medium intensity, higher volume work mainly focusing on hip strength and speed out of the hole. It ended up being slightly more intense than anticipated but the volume was good and I definitely worked my hips well.

Banded (Green) Pull-Throughs
4 x 10

Banded (Blue) Hypers
3 x 10

Abs - Physioball trunk twists (w/ 25 #)

Nathan : 10/19

▼ 1. 10/19/09 - Mon - Intensity Week 2 - SQUAT

Weight: ??. Time: 1:40.

  The goal of this week is to hit a moderately heavy single in each of the main lifts, and do mostly normal intensity programming for the secondary lifts (except perhaps reduced volume). I will hit a heavy single next week.

  Flying solo today because Dee is taking a week off after rugby season and Jason is in Florida. Would have just gone to Z, but I need TPS equipment.

  In other news, today was the first time I'd seen Matt Rhodes in TPS. He was walking and talking with Murph the whole time.

• Warm-up : bike 10 mins

Needed this today, came in very cold from traveling on train and bus.

• SSB box squat 295x1, 315x1 @ 8.5?

In retrospect, this was simply a bad choice for my main squat movement. Immediately off the box I feel week, but the rest of the motion is a joke. I will move it to the third movement on squat day next cycle and get back to actual squatting for the main movement.

  That being said, 315 felt OK except I think form is starting to deteriorate, and it still destroys my lower back. I think my back was tired coming into today from bad form conv deads on Friday.

  Its hard to quantify RPEs on these because its a matter of form breaking down and being difficult off of the box.

• Sumo dead w chain 415+120x1x3 @9

Cut it at three sets because I want to make sure my back can recover this week for next. These felt pretty good, last set was definitely heavier than the first though.

• Good mornings 135x5x2, 225x5x2

I did these light good mornings just to get my back a little more love. One of the guys at TPS was impressed, I think this just confirms my theory that people are pussies on good mornings.

• Abs - Sandbag twists 50x8x3

Nathan : 10/17

▼ 1. 10/17/09 - Sat - Intensity Week 1 - BENCH LOCKOUT

Time: 2:30.

  Took my time between sets, lazy Saturday. This is my last set of the 3RM week, next week will be singles with moderate intensity, followed by actual 1RM attempts a week later.

• Cardio : bike 10 mins

• Rev band bench w purples 305x3 @9.5

Super easy off the chest, but slows down on lockout. This makes sense to me because Sheiko included minimal lockout work, so I don't see any reason why my lockout should be much stronger than my max bench. Still tripled lockout with my max, though.

• Floor press 265x1x5 @9.5-10

Hard but I managed.

• Dips BW+45x8x4

• Pull-ups 25x8x4

• Videos

20091017 - rev band bench w purples 305x3

Also took a video of floor presses, but my phone is terrible and it was corrupted.

Nathan : 10/15 & 10/16

▼ 1. 10/16/09 - Fri - Intensity Week 1 -DEADLIFT

Weight: 213 (morning), 218 (after gym). Time: 1:45.

  Went in with very little motivation. Happy with results given that.

  Plan for this intensity block is -- Week 1: 3RM (ish) on primary exercises. Week 2: single with same weight as 3RM, maybe a little more. Week 3: Heavy single. Do a random intensity protocol on secondary exercise.

• Conv deadlift 455x1 (warm-up), 495x3 @9.5

Wanted to get 495x3. Wasn't sure I would get it, given last deads of volume block. But 455x1  for warm-up felt super fast, so I went for it and got it. Probably had another rep in me.

  Form was terrible, however. I call the 495x3 video, "How to injure your back in 3 easy steps." There's a reason I lift sumo. BUT FORM STILL BETTER THAN BRENT WITH 135!

• Squat w chain 275+120x1 (warm-up), 325+120x3 @9.5

Wanted to do 3x3, but lower back was super tired. The set with 275 felt good, but 325 was pretty bad. My lower back was too exhausted to lift shit and it was rounding all the time. So after the first set, I said fuck it.

• Abs : sandbag slam 50x12x3

As requested, there's a video of Dee.

• A: Reverse hyperextension 0x15, 20x15x2

• A: Foam roll lower back

• Videos

20091016 - conv dead 455x1 (warm-up)

20091016 - conv dead 495x3

20091016 - squat w chain 325+120x3

20091016 - sandbag slams 40x10 (dee!)

▼ 2. 10/15/09 - Thu - CARDIO

Weight: 215. Time: 1:00.

• Cardio : bike 30 mins

• Flexibility - gastroc, soleus, adductor on leg press, hamstrings, hip flexor, seated groin, lying 

glute

Nathan : 10/13 & 10/14

▼ 1. 10/14/09 - Intensity Week 1 - BENCH

Weight: 219 (after gym). Time: 2:00.

  Pretty happy about this day. Weight is steadily going down, which is probably not the best sign.

• 2-sec pause bench 275x3 @9.5

Going for 3RM, I estimated I should be good for 275, but I was very happy to get it. I have never tripled this weight, and doing it with a long pause was satisfying. I may have had a fourth rep, but it would have been tough. This projects my 1RM at 305, which is what I got at my last meet. I would be very happy to do this with a long pause.

• Close-grip 275x2@9, x2@10, 265x2@10

Going for 2x4, but fatigue stopped after 265 felt heavy.

• Dumbbell military press 60x6,7,7,8

I feel like I've made good strength gains on this just doing it as a supplemental lift.

• Dumbbell row 100x10x3

Kept it light and used very strict form.

▼ 2. 10/13/09 - Tue - CARDIO

Weight: ??. Time: 1:15.

  More intense cardio than I normally do. Doing jogging and lighter settings on the bike definitely get my cardio working harder than doing higher-difficulty bike, which just tires out my quads. I'm definitely going to do more of this type of cardio in the long run.

• Cardio : jogging 15 mins @ 160 bpm

Right knee (bad one) didn't feel good on Wednesday. Need to do spin bike or swimming instead.

• Cardio : bike 20 mins @ 150 bpm

• Flexibility : soleus, gastroc, adductor on leg press, hamstrings, hip flexor, seated groin

Nathan : 10/1 - 10/5

▼ 1. 10/5/09 - Mon - Deload Week 1 - SQUAT

Weight: ??. Time: 2:00.

  Taking a deload week because: sleep has been bad, muscles feel constantly tired, a little loss of motivation at the end of last week. These are signs of overtraining for me. I think switching training plans got me a little more sore than I otherwise would be.

• Warm-up : bike 10 mins

• SSB box squat 205x5x5

This was surprisingly hard on my lower back. My form was very solid this week, though.

  Focused on keeping glutes tight while sitting back, feels very good.

• Sumo dead w chain 275+80x3x6

Easy.

• Barbell thrusts 135x10x2, 135+80 chainx10, 235x10

This exercise basically consists of humping the bar (see video). Is is the best exercise ever. It's supposed to be good for your glutes, but its really just to look awesome.

• Abs - twist crunches 45x12x3

▼ Videos:

• 20091005-glute thrusts third set 135+80x10?

• 20091005 - dee glute thrusts 95x??

▼ 2. 10/3/09 - Sat - Volume Week 3 - BENCH

Weight: ?? Time: 2:00. Weight fluctuates between 216 and 219 in morning these days.

  Feeling really detached again today. Not very into it at all and tired. I've had trouble sleeping lately, which is one common sign for me of getting overtrained. The last three weeks have been fucking me up, so I'm going to take a deload week before starting the intensity block. If I feel good halfway through the week, I may re-assess.

• Warm-up : bike 10 mins

• Rev band bench w purple 275x5x5 @ 8-9

A little lighter than RPEs call for, but I was happy with getting these reps, esp. considering how detached I was feeling.

• Floor press 225x3x3 @ 8-9, 235x3x3 @ 9-10

Screwed up RPEs on these too. I've actually gotten weaker on floor press as this cycle has progressed. Shouldn't have gone up to 235, but I refused to stay at 225, which I did 5x5 at three weeks ago.

• Dips bw+45x6,6,8,8

• Pull-ups bw+45x3x3, bwx10

Threw in three bodyweight reps after the third set too.

▼ Recovery

• Dislocates w band lots

• Pullovers 25x12x3

▼ 3. 10/2/09 - Fri - Volume Week 3 - DEADLIFT

Weight: 217. Time: ??.

  Today felt awful. I was very unmotivated and everything was heavy. Logging a while after this occurred, so I might miss details.

• Warm-up : bike 10 mins

• Conventional deadlift 435x3x6 @9

Terrible back form. Everything felt heavy, even 315x5 warm-up.

• Squat w/ chains 225+80x5 @8 super easy, 245+120x5x5 @9

I thought this would go equally bad, but it ended up going OK. Just like on Saturday, workout seemed to get better as it went on, but still feel general lack of motivation.

  Chains kept falling off bar on early sets (see videos), which was really annoying.

  My form felt very good on these, hips not shooting up slightly like usual. In particular: First set is good. Second set on last rep hips came up. Third and fourth sets, last two reps hips came up. Fifth set same, except last rep was bad and lower back just rounded.

• Sumo rack pulls

No time. Little motivation.

• Abs - V-ups Bwx15, Bw+20x10x3

Fuck me.

▼ Videos:

• 20091002-conv dead third set 435x2 shitty

• 20091002-conv dead fifth set 435x3 shitty

• 20091002-squat w chain fail set 1

• 20091002-squat w chain fail set 2

• 20091002-squat w chain first set 215+120x5

• 20091002-squat w chain fourth set 245+120x5

▼ 4. 10/1/09 - Thu- CARDIO

Weight: 216.

• Cardio : bike 30 mins

• Flexibility : soleus, gastroc, adductors on leg press, hamstrings, hip flexors, seated groin, 

prone glute

Nathan : 9/29 & 9/30

▼ 1. 9/30/09 - Wed - BENCH

Weight: ??. Time: 2:00.

  A day back at the Z because I have no ride to TPS today. It was fun to be back at TPS. Shout out to Hil for helping with lift-offs.

• Warm-up - bike 10 mins

• 2-sec pause bench warm-up, 245x2x4 @8, 250x2x2 @8-9

Going for 3x6 volume @ 8-9. Felt pretty good.

• Close-grip bench warm-up, 265x2x3 @9, 265x2 @10, 255x2x2 @9

Going for 2x6 volume @ 8-9. 265 was a little heavy, so I eventually dropped it down to 255 to finish the sets.

• Dumbbell military press 60x5x5

Happy I pulled out 5x5 on this, 5 sets even on first rep was somewhat difficult and it had already been a long day.

• Dumbell rows 120x8x3

Not sure that this was the best choice of back exercise, given that my right lower back is bothering me and the twisting in this motion makes it unhappy.

• Videos

20090930-two second pause press fifth set 250x3 - Pause on first is good, I think I cheated a little bit on third.

20090930-close grip fifth set 255x2 - Something on the lens for this one. Gives it a cool halo effect.

▼ 2. 9/29/09 - Tue - CARDIO

Weight: ??. Time: 1:00.

• Cardio - bike 30 mins

• Flexibility - usual

Nathan : 9/28

Weight: 219. Time: 2:15.

Squat day today.

Warm-up on bike for 10 mins

SSB box squat - going for speed work, 2x8 @ 7, 1x2 @ 9

warm-up

245x2x4 @7 - These popped off my shoulders at the top, but the bottom part off the box was still slow. I have no speed through the bottom part of the motion for some reason.

225x2x2 @7 - Tried a lighter weight, but I didn't feel any different.

245x2x2 @7 - Went back up

295x1, 315x1

335x1x2 @9 - These were very easy at the top, but I struggled at the bottom. This is also the weight that I started to fall forward on.

This was a productive session of squats. I feel like I learned a few things, with some coaching help from Carlos:

- Keep glutes tight at the bottom to prevent "plopping" onto the box. I realized that I am not keeping tension in my glutes at all near the bottom. This is probably what gives me my "dip"/rebound at the bottom of normal squats, but isn't necessarily better in the long run. I think this might be the reason why I fall forward in my squats.

- I am supposed to be shrugging into the SSB bar to prevent from falling forward. I didn't actually try this today, I will do it next week.

- I am very slow off the bottom on these. These are definitely targeting something in the last 4-6 inches of motion that I am weak on. I felt very tired in the same muscles for sumo dead immediately following this, which to me means I normally don't use some muscles in squatting that I should be.

- These tire out my back like nothing else. This week it seemed more like a healthy tiredness rather than a pull in my glute/lower back. That part of my back felt tired but not aggravated.

Tires - I forgot about these until I saw Dee's post. Basically, I was watching Dee and Jansel flip tires, and Dee yelled at me calling me a pussy until I did them too. These were done in between sets of speed squats.

350x8? - Flip down the driveway one way.

450x3 or something - This was just dicking around.

Sumo dead w chains - going for 3x6 for volume. Feeling tired after squats, lower back not feeling good. Probably could have gone heavier, but because of the back I really wasn't feeling it.

warm-up

315+120x3x6 @8

Back not as good as usual. Rounding ever so slightly, especially on later sets. Murph says I need to get my shoulders back more quickly, immediately after the bar crosses my knees. I will try to do this, although I am a little vague on exactly what it entails.

Pause squat w chain - skipped because of back/time. I have yet to do these. That maybe says something about my exercise selection for this day ... Maybe I should choose something less stressful for the third movement?

Abs - sandbag crunch/twists - I really like these.

35x12x3

Overall, I feel like I am not going as heavy as I should be. But I think I am following the RPEs correctly. We'll see if this actually gets me stronger or not.

Videos:

ssb squats, third set

ssb squats, fifth set

ssb squats, eighth set

ssb squats, second single

sumo dead, third set

sumo dead, sixth set + bonus! dee doing hanging abs

Nathan : 9/24 - 9/26

▼ 1. 9/26/09 - Sat - BENCH LOCKOUT

Weight: 222 (after gym). Time: 2:00.

  Decided to go early today because it fit my schedule better. I felt really tired and everything felt difficult, even though the weights themselves went up OK (but not great). I'm going to try not to go early in the future.

  No videos today -- battery is dead.

• Warm-up on bike 10 mins

• Rev band bench w/ purples warm-up, 275x4x3 @ 9, 285x4x3 @9-10

Did 295 for triples last week, so this is OK. Lower back and quads were very tired from all the other work in the week, so my arch felt a little weird. I think it loosened up by the end though.

• Floor press warm-up, 225x4x6 @10

I'm really bad at floor press. These were sloooowwwwww, as Frank can attest.

• Dips bw+45x6x4

Feeling pretty done by this point. These dips are around 270#, though, so I'm happy.

• Pull-ups bw+25x6x3, bwx8

▼ 2. 9/25/09 - Fri - DEADLIFT

Weight: ??. Time: 1:30.

  I was working on some paper bullshit and Dee had work to finish up, so we didn't make it to TPS until 1:30 before closing. Made this a very abbreviated workout.

• Warm-up on bike 10 mins

• Conventional deadlift warm-up, 365x4 @8 (warm-up), 385x4x4 @8, 405x4 @8, 405x4 @9

I tried focusing on arching just the lower back and letting the upper back do whatever. It felt OK, but I don't think it looks much different on the videos.

20090925-conv dead warm up 365x4

20090925-conv dead first set 385x4

20090925-conv dead second set 385x4

20090925-conv dead fifth set 405x4

20090925-conv dead sixth set 405x4

• Squat w/ chains warm-up, 275+120x2x6 @9

I was going really fast through these because all of the sets had to be done in 15 mins. I was also feeling very tired (sleepy) at this point for some reason. My eating has been awful lately, I suspect this contributes. But regardless, these sets varied a lot in how easy/hard they were. I got lazy on form on the fifth one and dropped really fast, which I'm trying to avoid this training cycle. Otherwise, success.

• Rack pull 2'' below knee

Skipped.

• Abs - V-ups

Skipped.

▼ 3. 9/24/09 - Thu - CARDIO

Don't remember what happened today, but it was the same shit as always.

• Bike - cardio 30 mins

• Flexibility - usual

Nathan : 9/22 & 9/23

▼ 1. 9/23/09 - Wed - BENCH

Weight: 222 (after gym). Time: 1:30.

  Received word today about Holter monitor results. They were pretty much as expected (normal/benign), but my cardiologist is concerned that one benign condition might suggest that their original diagnosis was incorrect. I have yet another consultation with another specialist, but I'm not supposed to change anything about what I'm doing.

• 2-sec pause bench warm-up, 205x2x8 @ 7, 245x1 @ 8, 275x1x2 @ 9

Speed work.

• Incline bench warm-up, 225x5x5 @ 8

This was fairly easy. I wanted to keep it light because this the exercise that I believe originally pulled my lower back/side and caused all the problems.

• Dumbell press 50x7x4 @ 9-10

• Chest-supported row 80x8x4 @ 8-9

Wanted a movement that wouldn't stress my lower back at all.

▼ 2. 9/22/09 - Tue - CARDIO

Weight: 220 (after gym). Time: 1:15.

  Right side/lower back still killing me.

• Cardio - bike ~35 mins

I do a little warmup and cooldown so this was really 40 mins or so...

• Stretching - gastroc, adductors on leg press, soleus, hamstrings, seated groin, lying glute, 

hip flexors

Should do the lying glute more regularly.

Nathan : 9/20

▼ 1. 9/20/09 - Mon - SQUAT

Weight: 217 (morning). Time: 1:45.

  Came into today with lower back being a bit sore. This escalated and I decided to cut the workout short. Otherwise, I am very happy with how my form looks on the lifts I did today.

• Warm-up : bike 10 mins

• SSB box squat 65x5x3, 155x5x2, 245x4, 275x4x6 @9

Right side of lower back, basically inside the hip, was killing me on these. I think I pulled this slightly on close-grip presses last Wednesday, and this movement killed it for some reason.

  I think form is pretty good on these overall, except Carlos said I was "plopping" (crashing) onto the box in my first couple sets. I could sit back a little more so my knees are past vertical, but where I am is OK. On some sets I rocked more than I would like, but when I focused on it, it wasn't a problem.

20090921-ssb box squat fifth set 275x4

20090921-ssb box squat sixth set 275x4

• Sumo deadlift with chains 135x5x2, 225x5x2, 315x3, 315+120x2x2 @8, 315+160x2x4 @8.5

I was worried about these going into it because of my lower back, but they didn't seem affected. The warm-up set with 315 felt the heaviest of any of them. I could have done more than 315+160, but I decided to keave it there even though its slightly below the RPE I was shooting for. Next week I will either go to 200 lbs chain or increase bar weight -- maybe both! I'm happy with form on these.

20090921-sumo dead w chain first set 315+120 x2

Fw: 20090921-sumo dead w chain sixth set 315+160x2

• Pause squat with chains

Skipped because of lower back and time running out.

• Twisting crunches w sandbag 25 lbs x 12 x 4

Was going to call it after 3 sets, but Jason did another so I had to too.

Nathan : 9/18 & 9/19

▼ 1. 9/19/09 - Sat - BENCH LOCKOUT

Time: 2:00. Weight: 222 (after gym).

  Realized that I could use bands instead of chains and I don't have to go to TPS. So I did my first lifting at the Z center in months.

  This ended up being a pretty hard workout. I'm quite satisfied; I feel like I hit all of my reps at the right RPE without overshooting at all.

• Warm-up : bike 10 mins

• Reverse band bench w/ purples warm-up, 245x3 @ 8 (too light, doesn't count), 275x3x2 @ 8, 285x3x1 

@ 8, 295x3x3 @ 9

If they go straight down, bands stop slightly below my lockout. Because they are pulled to the side a bit, I'd guess there is about 5 lbs of total tension at the top, but hard to say. Very little regardless. Video on second and sixth set.

• Floor press warm-up, 225x5x5 @ 9-10

This is my lockout assistance. 225 was a very good weight for this, last sets were slow. Video on fifth set.

• A: Dips BW+45 x 6,8,6,6

Want to incorporate some kind of movement that lets my shoulders move freely. This supplement slot is a good place for it.

• A: Pull-ups 10, 8, 8, 8

Was going to slack off and do something lame, but then Frank said he didn't think I could do 6 pull-ups. Well, I can, damn it.

▼ 2. 9/18/09 - Fri - DEADLIFT

Time: 2:00. Weight: ??

  I'm way too slow on the early exercises, I need to speed up a lot.

• Warm-up : bike 10 mins

• Conventional deadlift 135x5x3, 225x5x3, 315x4, 365x3, 405x2x6 @ 8

Video on second and last set. Back isn't perfectly straight on any of these, it is a flexibility issue.

• Squat w/ chains 135x5x3, 225x5, 275x5, 275+80x3, 275+120x3x5 @ 8-9

Going for 3x6. Video on first set with 120 chain and last set. Went barefoot to try that out. Felt pretty good so I will stick with this for a few weeks.

• Rack pull 2'' below knee

Skipped due to time constraints, again. Need to get faster.

• Abs - V-ups 10, 10, 15, 15

Asked Dee what ab exercise I should do. She told me to do these. They were brutal.

VIDEOS:

20090918 - second set dead 405 x 2

20090918-sixth set dead 405 x 2

As I said, back isn't perfect on these, but I've never had perfect conventional deadlift form. So I'll just deal with it since it is at least consistent, and doesn't seem to get worse with increasing weight.

20090918- warm up squat 275 x 3

20090918- first set squat w chain 275+120 x 3 (first rep missed)

20090918-fifth set squat w chain 275+120 x 3

I don't notice too big a difference without shoes, but I did like how it felt so I will stick with this for a little while. My ass pops out a little bit, which I would rather it didn't, but overall I'm not too displeased about my form.

20090919 - rev band bench w purp second set 275 x 3

20090919-rev band bench w purp sixth set 295 x 3

Pretty happy with my arch and form on these. Ass comes up a little bit, but I blame that on the bench I was using that has a big whole where I want to set my ass down to keep it in place. I didn't realize my entire belly was exposed, which amuses me.

20090919-floor press fifth set 225x5

Last rep is slow. Not much else to say about this.

Nathan : 9/15 - 9/17

▼ 1. 9/17/09 - Thu - CARDIO

Weight: 218 (morning). Time: 1:15.

  Adductors bothering me since Monday, so I gave them a little extra love.

• Cardio - bike 30 mins

• Stretching - gastroc, soleus, adductors on leg press, hamstrings, more adductors, seated 

groin, hip flexors, glute

▼ 2. 9/16/09 - Wed - BENCH

Weight: 217 (morning), 224 (after dinner). Time: 1:30.

• 2-sec pause bench 45x10x2, 135x5x2, 185x4, 225x3x3 @ 8, 235x3x2 @ 8-9, 245x3 @ 9

Going for 3x6. I'm not exactly sure about the number of sets at each weight, but this is roughly correct.

• Close-grip bench 135x8, 185x5, 225x4 @ 8, 245x4x5 @ 9-10

Going for 4x6. First set at 245 was quite hard. Got easier a bit from there, but last set was very hard again and I had absolutely terrible form, kind of twisting myself on the bench. My right arm tends to lag behind on these for some reason.

• Dumbbell overhead press 55x6,6,5,5

Going for 6x4.

• Band-assisted pull ups Green band x 15, purple x 10, 8

Really tired, wanted to do something easy. Decided to try these, and they were kind of weird. Not sure I like them, but it was interesting nevertheless.

▼ 3. 9/15/09 - Tue - CARDIO

Weight: 218 (morning). Time: 1:00.

• Cardio - bike 25 mins

• Stretching - gastroc, soleus, adductor on leg press, hamstrings, seated groin, hip flexors

• Foam roll - lower back, IT band

Nathan : 9/14

▼ 1. 9/14/09 - Mon - SQUAT

Weight: 224 (after gym).  Time: 2:00 (long).

  Wearing Holter monitor, so I decided to go heavy. Nothing else to report on that front.

  Overall, this felt good, but my lower back is destroyed and I feel like I still haven't adjusted to the new exercises.

• SSB box squats 65 (bar)x5x3, 155x5x2, 205x5, 245x5, 275x5x5 @ 9-10

These were so hard. I can't believe how heavy this feels. Carlos said it wasn't really squatting, it was more heavy core work. Dee said my form looked good though -- I wasn't rocking back and forth.

• Sumo deads w/ chain 135x5x3, 225x5x2, 275x3, 275+80x2 @ 6, 275+120x2x8 @ 7, 

315+120x1 @ 8, 315+160x1 @ 8.5, 335+160x1 @ 9

Speed work. I really like the feel of the chains, except that having tons of chains in front of me makes locking out awkward/impossible.

  For those of you who haven't read the RTS manual, the way this works is 8 sets of speed weight, followed by a heavy single. I definitely had more left in me, but I was feeling tired and satisfied so I called it.

• Pause squats w/ chain -

No time for these, feeling destroyed anyway, so I punted.

• Ab crunches BWx15x3

Tried to keep it light so abs don't get too sore.

Nathan : 9/8 & 9/9

▼ 1. 9/9/09 - Wed - BENCH

Time: 2:00. Weight: 222 (after dinner). Happy that I did not lose weight on vacation.

  First day doing a full RTS-style template. It is my first day back in the gym after going to the ER with heart palpitations, so I decided to keep things light. This will continue until next Monday, when I will wear a 24-hr heart monitor to make sure that nothing funny is happening during workouts.

  Saw general practitioner and cardiologist today (same-day referral, awesome). Diagnosis is supraventricular tachycardia (SVT). This is a non-life-threatening condition where my heart rate suddenly increases or starts acting funny, in my case during exercise. It is apparently caused by a "short-circuit" in the nerves that control the heart muscle. There are treatment options available, but since my case is fairly mild, the side effects or potential side effects of those treatments are worse than the condition itself. So unless things change, the plan is to just deal with it.

  Also, since my "attacks" last only a couple minutes at worst, drugs that break the tachycardia are useless. I was shown a couple things to try that can possibly help by inducing reflexes that drop the heart rate. To help with prevention, I will do a semi-long warm-up (for me, at least) and make sure to stay very well hydrated. Ultimately, this is the diagnosis I was hoping for and there is really no way that it isn't good news.

  It was a big relief to be back in the gym. Nothing worrying happened at any point in the workout, and it was cool to see how concerned many of the people were.

  With all of that out of the way, it was a fairly easy workout except for the stupid stuff at the end. We'll see if RTS gives me results. I didn't exactly follow recommendations for RPE in RTS because I am keeping things light for the short term.

• Warm-up bike x 10 mins

• 2-sec pause bench 45x10x3, 135x5x2, 185x5x2, 205x5x5 @ 8

This is my main raw movement. A regular-grip bench press with a 2-second pause counted out by the spotter. Will move up weight on these.

• Close-grip bench 135x5, 185x3, 225x3x6 @ 8

Raw assistance movement with full ROM. I was surprised at how easy this was, but it felt a little awkward after not doing any close-grip presses for over a year.

• Dumbell military press 50x8,8,8,7

I can't believe how terrible I am at overhead pressing after the long lay-off. 50 was supposed to be a warm-up. I was sitting up without any support from a bench and my stabilizers were firing like crazy. That still doesn't explain how terrible this was, though.

• Pull-ups BWx8,8,6,5

Also disappointing.

▼ 2. 9/8/09 - Tue - CARDIO

• Bike 30 mins

• Flexibility - soleus, gastroc, adductor on leg press, hamstrings, hip flexors, seated groin

Not stretching for a week makes me really inflexible.