Sweat Saga, a training log

[SaviorSelf]

Background:

• 5'7, 200lbs, lengthy training history (10+ years off and on), about 30 y/o. Never used any PEDs
• Lifetime PRs: 345 bench, 465 squat, 445x5 deadlift, 215 OHP
• Mostly train for strength/muscle, but do little bits of cardio too
• Currently dealing with a shoulder injury, and shin splints
• Username is from an old Halo video game, it was a default name on the character editor or something that I copied

I'll seed the log with a few recent workouts when I get my training journal

[SaviorSelf]

March 30th

Squat:
45x5
95x5, 3 sets (deload/recovery)

OHP:
45x5
95x5
135x5
190x5, 3 sets

Barbell rows:
135x5, 3 sets (also deload/recovery)

April 1st

2 miles alternating jogging/walking....17 minutes each mile lol
Shin splints flared up a little

April 2nd

Squat:
45x5
95x5
135x5
225x5
270x5, 3 sets

Bench:
45x5
95x5
135x5
185x5
205x5, 3 sets

Deadlift:
225
315
375x4.5 (grip failed on 5th)

Lumbar curls:
135x5
165x5, 3 sets

DB rows:
65sx5

Grip:
hold 315 barbell as long as I can (since my grip failed on DL), 2 sets

Band pull aparts for shoulder

April 3rd

1 mile alternate jogging/walking. 15:45. Shin splints a little worse, so foam rolled them afterwards

[DCR]

Welcome, @SaviorSelf!

Logs have been jumping a bit lately with new and returning members. It's great to see.

[Clearwater47]

Savior, glad you made it here! I never knew your name came from Halo. I've put so freaking many hours into that game over the years. Don't know if I ever mentioned this before but I used Forge a fair amount and had several maps put into matchmaking over the years. Kind of lost interest in it since Halo 5, but I still own and run a Halo-centric website/forum.

Anyway, hope the shoulder and shin issues clear up for you, and I look forward to following along on your progress.

[SaviorSelf]

Thanks DCR!

CW - yup, I vaguely remember cycling through some kind of a character creation screen on XBOX and every time I pressed a button it was choosing a random username. This one came up and I was like "oh neat" lol. 99% sure it was one of the first two Halos on the original XBOX. Some good games back then, Halo, Fable, original COD etc, doom 3, good times

----
Today:

Squat:
135x5
225x5
275x5, 3 sets

OHP:
95x5, 3 sets (need an easy workout before trying 195x5x3)

Barbell row:
225x5
305x5, 3 sets

DB Curls:
45sx5
55sx5
65sx5

Dead hang for supposed shoulder health

[DCR]

DB Curls:
45sx5
55sx5
65sx5

Damn, man. Those are some real curls. You doing them simultaneously or alternating arms?

[SaviorSelf]

Damn, man. Those are some real curls. You doing them simultaneously or alternating arms?

Thanks, I was tempted to go up to 70s or 75s today, but kept it cool. Have always done curls with alternating arms. Almost never do barbell curls anymore

(also - equipment discussion - I'm using spinlock dumbbells and these are surprisingly annoying to change weights on. Economically effective though)

[DCR]

Damn, man. Those are some real curls. You doing them simultaneously or alternating arms?

Thanks, I was tempted to go up to 70s or 75s today, but kept it cool. Have always done curls with alternating arms. Almost never do barbell curls anymore

Phew, I feel a little better now. I can curl much more alternating, no idea why, and now I’m thinking that it would be fun to find out just how much. I think I’ve done 55s previously? With both arms together I’m pretty sure I’ve never done more than 45s.

[Clearwater47]

Y'all really trying to force me into testing how much I can curl here...? Don't think I've ever even attempted more than 35's or 40's, but that's because I'm always in the 10+ rep range. I am interested to know how much I can do for sets of 5 now...
Do you feel like you benefit from doing heavy, low rep curls? I would assume so since you're doing them...

Interesting regarding alternating vs simultaneous. I just did curls yesterday and for the first time ever (?) I did them simultaneously and it felt much more natural and easier. I feel like alternating is more controlled and simultaneous can easily result in some momentum that makes if feel easier. But I didn't feel like it resulted in more reps (probably because it reduces the time between reps).

[DCR]

Y'all really trying to force me into testing how much I can curl here...? Don't think I've ever even attempted more than 35's or 40's, but that's because I'm always in the 10+ rep range. I am interested to know how much I can do for sets of 5 now...
Do you feel like you benefit from doing heavy, low rep curls? I would assume so since you're doing them...

Interesting regarding alternating vs simultaneous. I just did curls yesterday and for the first time ever (?) I did them simultaneously and it felt much more natural and easier. I feel like alternating is more controlled and simultaneous can easily result in some momentum that makes if feel easier. But I didn't feel like it resulted in more reps (probably because it reduces the time between reps).

It won't - as you continue with them you'll find that they're much harder.

Please do get into testing your curl strength. More fun with a barbell, though, and if you make it a priority movement. I had never curled more than 95 before, but a few months ago had a curl binge, doing it before back work, and managed 115. Not remotely impressive but interesting to see what was possible with prioritization. If you decide to have some fun with it, I might do it again too...

Curls for singles probably is silly, although fun, but yes I do feel that I've gotten results from lower rep curls, talking like the 3-6 range. Both for hypertrophy, perhaps surprisingly, but also in terms of carryover to other movements. Strong arms are never a bad thing.

[Clearwater47]

Strong arms are never a bad thing.

Can't argue with that, lmao!

Unfortunately I can't curl with a bar at all. Elbows won't allow it. I've tried many times. Last time I tried it with an empty bar and it felt like my elbow was going to explode.
I will test that theory on doing both arms simultaneously. Ultimately I suppose it doesn't matter much as long as progress is being made, but I'm still curious to see in my own experience how the two compare.

[SaviorSelf]

On the curls - if you really want to pump some heavy ass iron, try them hammer style with wrist straps, and allow a little slop on your form. You'll be surprised how much you can do haha. Maybe one day I can rep 100s this way

Supposedly they're really good for your elbow health too

I used to do barbell curls, but they really aggravate the bottom of my forearms for some reason. Was never able to figure out why. I can do them, but only once in a blue moon.

--------


Going to do an easy workout tonight, won't take long. Rest tomorrow, and on Sunday will try 195x5x3 OHP

Workout I'm going to do:
Squats: 95x5x3
Bench: 215x5x3
DB Row: 65x5x3

I've been adding +10 lbs to bench each workout, trying to gradually increase the load on my shoulder. Squat/row here are just recovery days basicallly

[SaviorSelf]

Today:

Squat:
95x5, 3 sets (another recovery day)

OHP:
195x5 (vid below)
195x4.5
195x2

DB curl:
65s x 12

Wanted to see how many reps I could do, I did record, but the set was over a minute long and imgur's video limit is 30 secs. Plus my arms didn't look too flattering in it lol. I can assure you that these are not up to form nazi standards but its not like I'm doing DB cleans either. My forearms get a good workout too just from holding onto the weight

Vid of OHP though:
(see post below)

Even though I didn't get all 3 sets of OHP, its still sort of a PR. I've done 195x5 before, but the last rep of that set was like a 5 second grinder. This one was hard but it wasn't that hard

I've got some work travel coming up, so next workout won't be till next weekend

[DCR]

DB curl:
65s x 12

Wanted to see how many reps I could do, I did record, but the set was over a minute long and imgur's video limit is 30 secs. Plus my arms didn't look too flattering in it lol. I can assure you that these are not up to form nazi standards but its not like I'm doing DB cleans either. My forearms get a good workout too just from holding onto the weight

I nearly posted a curl vid recently and then didn’t because I couldn’t believe how ridiculous my curl face looked lol.

I can’t get the OHP vid to work but that’s quite a set. Nice.

[SaviorSelf]

I nearly posted a curl vid recently and then didn’t because I couldn’t believe how ridiculous my curl face looked lol.

I can’t get the OHP vid to work but that’s quite a set. Nice.

Haha I was making some faces too

Does this work? When I open this in a private browsing tab it opens. But the other one didn't so I think it was broken

[DCR]

Does this work? When I open this in a private browsing tab it opens. But the other one didn't so I think it was broken

Still wouldn’t work on my phone, but played on my computer no problem. Looked great.

[Clearwater47]

That's a nice press! This definitely moved MUCH easier than your last 195x5.

I'll try to ignore the fact that I just did a 190x6 squat that looked harder than this.

[acorn93]

Do you typically jog on a treadmill or outside? Those shin splints can be a real bitch

[SaviorSelf]

Back from work travels, exhausted yesterday so worked out today. Might do another workout tomorrow too, then I've got to fly out again on monday

Preworkout: 200mg ibuprofen (hate doing this but my body felt cranky), 200mg caffeine, 25 min brisk walking

Squat:
280x5 (vid included)
280x5
280x5

Bench:
225x5 (vid included)
225x5
225x5

Shoulder wasn't hurting. I think my ideal technique is pinky close to the rings, and touch the bar kind of high up on my torso. Less torque on my shoulder at the bottom and kind of doing a small tricep extension to get the weight moving

Deadlift:
375x5 (vid included)

Grip was able to hold on the whole set. In the vid you can see what I mean by standing up between reps. I think it makes it a bit harder this way since you completely lose any kind of stretch reflex/tightness and have to setup your grip again

DB Rows:
125 per arm x 8

Chins:
12

Side delt raises:
25 per arm x 12
25 per arm x 15

Overall felt really good, when I was squatting with 280 my shoulders/arms felt like I could have pressed the weight off of my back lol

Vids (there's 3 vids in this, the player widget has a right/left button on the sides):

That's a nice press! This definitely moved MUCH easier than your last 195x5.

I'll try to ignore the fact that I just did a 190x6 squat that looked harder than this.

Thanks man, haha

I wanna do 225 so bad lol

Do you typically jog on a treadmill or outside? Those shin splints can be a real bitch

On a treadmill, but I've always gotten them no matter what. Even just from speedwalking

I first got them when I was in high school, I did wrestling and we had to do tons of jogging during wrestling practice on concrete with wrestling shoes have no padding. And in PE class we had the track and field coach who had us doing tons of running outside on asphalt

I got really bad shin splints back then, dropped out of wrestling, but the PE class was going to flunk me if I didn't run (unless I got a doctors note, which I didn't have) so I kept trying to push through the pain. Ever since then I've struggled with them.

Not trying to blame my current shin splints on those coaches, but its hard to feel like they're not connected

[Clearwater47]

Great lifts

Looked like you were trying to send that bar flying into the air on those squats.
You expecting to be traveling more regularly for work now?