Quagmire911 Lifting Journal

[Quagmire911]

Sunday

Had to go in tonight as I am busy tommorow afternoon. The strength was there at the start but it drained away as I was lacking energy for numerous reasons. So it wasn't so great towards the end. Here it is:

Overhead press 60kgx8 (132lbs) PR 62.5kgx6 65kgx3-Good going, especially on the first set. I just kind of died on the last set. My core wasn't as much of a problem as when I last tried this weight. I am going to start with 65kg next week. I should have more enery then.

Chinups BWx12x7x5-Same kind of deal. Died as the sets progressed and I was probably taking longer than usual between sets. My forearms were the biggest problem here today which was strange, they had a massive pump by the end. BW is 180ish in the mornings probably 185 or more with clothes/food etc.

Hammer Db bench 25kg DB's 2x12-Nothing great. Will see how this goes when I have a bit more energy.

Rows 75kgx5x5-Form felt sloppy today.

Pulldown abs-...Just couldn't get them to work today. Awful. Tanked by now.

Knee prehab/rehab-Peterson step ups-With a 20kg DB 2x20 each leg. The slight twinge in my right knee disappears immediately after doing a set of these. May have a weak VMO.

Well that was all. Not bad on the first two sets of OH press, after that I just kind of fell away. Will do better next time. I will put in that cardio today was 30 minutes of cutting the grass. Not overly taxing and I don't really think it affected anything tonight, other reasons were the culprit.

Well that is all for today, until next time...

Quagmire

 

[Quagmire911]

Wednesday

I think I should put in that I forgot to put in that I did pullups a few week or so ago and also some grip work (hanging from a bar with one arm). Not terribly important, but there it is. Today went alright, here it is:

Power Good mornings 105kgx5 (231lbs) PR-Felt pretty good. I used quite a lot of knee bend and a wide stance as I was trying to mimick the starting position of my sumo deadlift.

Box squats 95kgx5x5 -These were done reasonably wide and lower than in the last month. Around about 4-5" below parallel I reckon.

Squats 105kgx5-Unfortunately I set the ghetto rack a bit high and I was going pretty low with these and I bumped of on a rep or two which through me off. Looking at my form I think I need to focus on pushing my knees out. It isn't that they are coming in during the lift, it is just they aren't out enough I don't think. When I do it body weight it facilitates keeping my back angle where it should be. I will see how this feels next week.

Hyperextensions 25kgx15x15x15-Adjusted my old setup for these and felt it in my lower back instead of my hammies. Trying to think of ways to add more weight. I think a smaller bar in the gym with plates may work, will try it out sometime soon.

Flag/Side bends x10x10/7kgx5x5-The flag is an ab exercise that I am not going to try to explain. On the side bends I was bending over more than usual, it was tough as always.

Grip-Towel grabsx3-Through a towel over a chinup bar and held. This was really hard, especially on my fingers.

Sumo hold 120kg 2 sets-Just deadlifted it up with a pronated grip and help it. Tried it with 140kg and I could deadlift it easily enough but I couldn't really hold it long enough for it to work my grip properly.

Knee prehab/rehab-Peterson step ups 2x20 22.5kg DB

GPP-Rowing 10 minutes, last 15s all out-Some bas**** has broken the screen on it so I don't know how far I went. I was dead by the end of it though.

Well that is all for today. The right side of my back is twinging after the workout. It is the same place where I injured slightly a few months ago. Will go to the physio when I can afford it. Hopefully it will be alright in the morning. I reckon it is just a ball of knotted muscle.

Alright session today. Going to alternate gm's and deads, squats can go to hell as always. Will see how they go when I push my knees out. Tommorow will probably be some cardio and I may do some extra stuff as I am probably working on Friday. That is all for today, until next time...

Quagmire

 

[frenchbeauty]

Quag your log is quite inspiring ... Keep it up , Btw good job on the Good mornings.

 

[Warboss Alex]

nice bench. 275 next then 308..

get a video of your latest squats. you driving with the hips yet? that's more important than pushing your damn knees out.

 

[Quagmire911]

Thanks FB and thank you Alex.

I will upload videos of the squat soon.

 

[Quagmire911]

Well, I have pretty much decided to take a week off, followed by a lower intensity week (70-75%). The days after lifting recently are usually unpleasant (more so than usual) and I haven't really had proper down time in a while. My back is alright after the other day, it could have been worse. That having been ongoing along with my right knee (right shoulder seems to have stopped complaining) and I think my body is telling me to take some time off. I have no intention of having chronic injuries.

I will still do cardio although it will be on the lower intesity side. Thursday will be an exception as I am starting a Krav Maga class and evisage it being pretty brutal. I aim to sort out my diet/volume of drinking over these next few weeks. I will probably go easy the week off and then get things in check on the lower intensity week. Examples of things that need to change:

Diluting juice. Holy s***. I read the back tonight and it has about 60g of sugar in 100ml. Considering I am taking in several hundred mls a day, this is bad news. I usually read the labels of stuff, just seem to have missed this one and it is a pretty big one. Not to mention the gluctose-fructose syrup etc...

Get back onto a strict carb cutoff. I don't actually eat to much "s***", but I have been eating too many carbs lately. That juice discovery really put my carbs through the roof though. No doubt I will lean out quite a lot after removing it. What will I save? Roughly 100-200g of sugar a day? F***.

I also have started taking a probiotic. It has 10g of sugar a serving (one a day) which isn't too bad in the morning. I may try the one that is 3g though. Not to concerned about this.

Most of my meals actually contain meat/eggs. I take in too much bread but I will rebalance this by removing some of it and instead having OO/double cream or other fat sources to get in neccasary calories that the meat/eggs won't provide.

Drinking I will look to get down to maximum twice a week. A higher intensity day and a lower intensity day Heh, its better than what I have been doing ok

The rough plan I am looking at will be:

Meal 1-Pro/carbs
Meal 2-Pro/carbs
Meal 3-Pro/fat
Meal 4-Pro/fat

Getting in roughly 50g of protein per meal (not ideal, but I don't have cash for whey or any extras right now). I will try and get in 1-2 snacks, would be good if they could contain 10-20g of protein but I am not sure what this would be. Need to get some liver tablets again!

My current supps are:

Fish oil 5g -(Usually 9g, reduced the other day because of money :-(. )
Zinc 30g a day -(Was 45g).
Magnesium 250mg-(Was 500mg, may still take this).
Garlic-Not to sure how much of the top of my head.
Probiotic-Was taking two a day for the first two weeks. Will reduce to one a day.
BetaineHCL+Pepsin-2 a day-This is a ***** cost wise at the moment. Wasn't digesting well recently and have been feeling sluggish, which is why I have this, garlic and the probiotic. Cutting down on sugar will also help. Actually a little worried here, there is 650mg of HCL in one tab and I don't feel s*** after taking it. Must be way under for HCL secretion.

Well more to come on this, but that is the idea.

 

[Warboss Alex]

If costs are an issue, just eat yogurt for the probiotic goodness (have some with your carb meals). No need for the garlic either.

Betaine HCL is expensive here, do you truly feel you need it? If digestion is an issue, then dump lemon juice all over your meat/eggs and undercook your beef. Raw-er food is easier on the stomach than well cooked meat (but don't undercook chicken!). And unless you're going all out for 500g protein a day, I'd question the necessity of betaine HCL anyway (unless you do have digestive issues).

A cheaper way of aiding digestion would be 1g vitamin C with your four meals.

Losing the juice and the alcohol will help too.

btw H&B have cod liver oil for half price at the moment.

 

[Quagmire911]

Thank you for the input, going to send you a pm.

EDIT: On another note, just as well I planned the week off. I woke up this morning and my back (same place) is all stiff and painful. Twisting to the left is really hard, as is bending over. So unfortunately that will be £20 gone for a trip to the physio. Bugger. It is actually exactly the same as it was last week after the weights. Strange. I am hoping it is just a ball of knotted muscle that needs to be broken down. More on this soon.

 

[I-tallionStallion]

Yeah it sounds like a week off is in order. You've been PRing like crazy and maxing out quite a bit. You sure do take a lot of supps...damn.

Have a nice week off man, you deserve it. Get better and keep us updated.

 

[Quagmire911]

Thanks Stallion.

That supp list is nothing to what Alex had me on last summer . Volume-of-pill-wise anyway.

Back is feeling a bit better than earlier on. Looks like it should be fine in a few days, but I will go to the physio.

 

[Quagmire911]

Monday

Well so much for a relaxing week off. I didn't bother going to the physio and my back is feeling 100% now. Will probably go anyway when I have a bit more cash.

Now for the fun part. On Friday I sliced my pinky open to the bone at the second row of knuckles (middle). Had to go to A&E and get stiches. Nothing is broken which is a bonus. So I wasn't sure what I would be able to do this week; I had intended on this being a lighter week to get back into it after the week off. I then woke up this morning with a cold, so I also had tiredness/soreness/slight dizziness to contend with. I went into Glasgow with my friend to try out his uni gym but the c***s wouldn't let me in. So I came home and did a bit in the garage with the weights I have in there. So here it is:

Overhead press 90lbsx8x8-Even this felt s****y. Wasn't feeling great on my right shoulder as I could only grab round with four fingers and it felt odd.

Rows 100lbsx8x8-This wasn't to bad. Easier to grip.

Pressups 1x20

Abs-Single leg raise 2x10-I found out my abs are weak. Yehhh!

Hip/stepup stuff

Well there you have it. Probably shouldn't have bothered but I wanted to try and prep myself for next week when the finger should be as good as knew. I am getting the stitches out on Wednesday I think and it should have healed more by then so things should go better, as well as the cold being diminished. I don't think I will deadlift, but I should be able to squat/gm alright. I did quite a bit of walking about which will do fine for cardio considering the circumstances.

I am also mega-dosing vitamin C to try and help the cold and repair of the pinky. Going to get in 15-30g for a couple of days. I will probably then bring it down to 3g a day.

Well that is all, until next time...

Quagmire

 

[Quiksilver]

On may 22, 2007 I crushed the end section of my middle finger under a falling stone slab(landscaping). Just as it squeezed my finger was when my reflexes yanked it out.

What ended up happening was I "degloved" the tip of the finger, so essentially the skin and soft tissue disconnected from the bone and ligament underneath.

Also besides that narsty fact, the force of the stone slab had caused my finger to "explode" in some places and try to squeeze out of the skin.
--
It's all in my log, I took 2 workouts off and then started working out again. There was a big metal brace over my whole finger so it was an interesting experience.
--
Even now the tip of that finger is a little weird-looking and there's little scars all over the tip.

Point being, enjoy your finger injury!! You're not alone and as long as you protect the finger for a few weeks, go ahead with the workouts.

 

[Warboss Alex]

sucks about the finger. heal up.

 

[Quagmire911]

Thanks Alex, and Quik I guess...

Wednesday

Still feeling tired and s***. Didn't know whether I'd bother trying to do anything but I decided to get something done. Just went into the garage and used the weights in there, they were heavy enough for what I was doing today, considering I was going light. Here it is:

Front squats 130lbs 2x10-Form actually felt really good on these as well as strength. Conditioning was the issue, my heart rate started to soar as I got above 5 reps. Thats what a cold does I suppose. I was having to clean the bar into position and I wasn't sure how that would go with the finger, but it held up.

Romanian deadlifts 150lbs 2x10-Pinky held up alright although it was only really curled round the bar (kind off) it wasn't really gripping. I should be good to go with the heavy weights next week I reckon.

Hip+ab+knee stuff

Well once the finger is better which as I say should be next week, I should be in pretty good condition. The only thing that is twinging here and there is the right knee. Need to start icing it again, that got rid of it the last time. Along with some Cissus if I can stomach it. I'm also going to go lower on my squats again, I don't really like stopping just below parallel, it doesn't feel natural at all. I'll do it if I need to in comps in the future, if I do any.

Well that is all for today. I am hoping to go to Krav Maga tommorow night, last week was pretty good. Anyway until next time...

Quagmire

 

[Warboss Alex]

I'm also going to go lower on my squats again, I don't really like stopping just below parallel, it doesn't feel natural at all.

when did you start doing this? all your squats should be as low as possible (in training anyway).

 

[Quagmire911]

Well I saw Rippetoe mentioning it to people on strengthmill. I tried it out for the last month or two and I don't like it. That's why I was using that box for depth and I think all that did was f*** my form up. Now my right knee is pissing and moaning which is irritating.

I'm going lowww again.

On another note, the cold is going away. I can make a fist again with my right hand and can nearly close the COC no.1. The pinky still can't apply force really so I can't close the last few mm's. Getting the stitches out tommorow. Should be good for overhead press on Monday I think.

 

[Quagmire911]

Monday

Didn't sleep well today as someone phoned far too early. Drank too much on Friday which f***** me up. Still coughing shi* up from the cold although it is pretty much gone. Finger is good enough for lifting, thankfully. Strange stuff happened today, here it is:

Braced one arm Oh press 30kg DBx9 PR-Pretty pleased with this.

32.5kgDB Left side 1x6 1x1 Right side 1x4 1x4-I am not sure what to make of this. The second set I did less reps with my right, and on the third more with my right and my left died. This also correlates to my barbell overhead press. I have done 60kgx8, but as soon as I go to 65kg I struggle to get 3/4 reps. I think that my it is a core issue and I don't stay tight because my core can't support the weight. I think I may switch to seated DB oh press where I press both sides at the same time. That may increase the pressing strength whilst taking the core out of it. Of course, I will have to get my core up to par which I am already programming in.

Chinups BW+10kgx6x5x5-Pretty pleased with this. BW is around 180-185. Probably safe to call it 185 with clothes on and having eaten. I was alternating between this and the overhead work. One set of this then 1.5-2 minutes and then the next exercise, and vice versa.

CG bench 70kgx8x8-Not bad considering I didn't do them last week. My PR is 75kgx8x9. Didn't use a ghetto rack for this either. Should close in on a PR over the coming weeks. This week will have got the groove going a bit. Pointer finger on the edge between smooth and rough for reference. Just a bit inside shoulder width.

Rows 70kgx5x5-These didn't feel great, wasn't feeling them today. I may just do power cleans, Rippetoe prefers them to rows and it would be some good speed work for deads.

Abs Single leg raise/lower 2x15-Hard.

GPP-Rowing 6 minutes, last 15s all out-Fitness hasn't actually dropped too much in the last few weeks. Muscular conditioning was a bit off.

And that was all. Lower back didn't like something today, it is quite tight after the workout. Either the overhead work or the bench arch. Got some deep heat on it, will see how it is in the morning.

That is all for today will probably do some cardio tommorow. Until next time...

Quagmire

 

[Quagmire911]

Wednesday

Pretty good session today. Haven't walked out the gym like this in a while. I was tanked. Here it is:

Front squats 92.5kgx5x4 (203.5lbs) PR-God front squats are hard. I was going to do three sets but my quads were on the verge of cramping so I didn't bother. More precisely my VMO which I am not surprised at in the least. These were ass to grass fun Core struggles here, so this should help bring it up to par. Not done these in a few months, was a 2 rep PR.

Sumo deadlift 170kgx1 (374lbs)-Worked up to a moderately heavy single although it felt pretty damned heavy. Was after the front squats I suppose and my PR isn't much off this. Did 100, 120, 155 before this and they all blew off the ground. I was doing them both hands facing forward and I just managed it with the 155. I attemtped to do this with the 170 with straps but it wasn't happening, the straps didn't feel tight. So I just switched to hook and got it. Hips are the weakpoint here I am sure. I can get the weight off the ground but it is very hard to bring the hips forward at the top and lockout.

120kgx15 PR?-Not sure if this was a PR. But it killed me. Hip involvement was better here. I actually think rep work for deads is in order rather than singles until I can get the hips up to par.

Sumo stiff leg 100kgx10-Didn't have much left by this point.

One side deadlift-35kgDB 2x5-This is for the core. Enjoyed doing it, something new. The focus is to deadlift the weight on one side and really focus on keeping your body normally alingned and not twisting to the side.

Bi curls 40kgx5 (stripped to) 30kgx8-Probably got 15-20s rest stripping off to between 40-30kg. Bi strength is actually up quite a lot in the last few months. Think my PR was 40x8 a month ago or so.

And that was all. I didn't have time for cardio, but I was going through the workout quite a bit faster than usual so it was harder on the heart. Was only in for 45 minutes or so. Not a lot of sets in there but it fried me in a good way. I suppose the high rep sumos helped bring the work done up quite a bit. My limiting factors at the moment are my core, hips, VMO (think the rest of the quad section is alright) and I can just grip 180-185 hook grip on the deads. I'd rather switch to both palms facing grip and use straps if need be, seen to many bi tears for my liking. I really need to get the grip to the next level, it has stagnated recently.

Well that is all for today. Will do some cardio tommorow, don't know if I will go to Krav Maga tommorow night as I am low on cash. Will do some grip work and some other stuff at home on Friday. Until then...

Quagmire

 

[frenchbeauty]

Bi curls Quag ? I thought you were part of the anti curl lobby
Good job on the lifts btw

 

[simon]

He has to keep his guns well polished for the ladies.

Good job on the PRs! (especially the curls)