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Full Workout Log
Starting 10/27/08
Rehab/ In-Season: Weeks 1-5
These workout logs are continued from: Full Workout Logs: Starting 9/19/08: Off-Season: Weeks 1-5.
Next contest: If I am able, ADAU Raw Power Steel City Challenge (push/ pull), Saturday, January 10, 2009, in Monroeville, PA.
Age: 47.
Weight class: 114s or 123s.
Warm-ups are in brackets. All weights are in pounds. Format: pounds/reps.
Workout times includes set-up, warm-up, lifting, cardio, stretching, and
clean-up.
For background to these workouts, see Hamstring Injury.
Week One
Bench Assistance
Rehab/ In-season – Week 1 of 10
Monday – 10/27/08
Dips: [bwt./10] 25/6, 35/6, 45/6, 55/6
Lat. Pulldowns: [55/8, 90/4]; Pull-ups: bwt./6, 5/6
Triceps Presses (with curl bar): 15/8, 25/8, 30/8
Shoulder Horn (alternate arms): 5/12, 5/12
Stretching: 10-15 minutes
Workout time: 1:00
I took off since Wednesday (10/22) to let my hamstring heal. It’s still bothering me some, but not too much. This first week I’ll lift M, W, Th, F to get all four of my workouts in this week. Then next week I’ll go back to my regular Su, M, W, Th schedule.
Since I’ll basically be following what I had planned on doing for my “in-season” but with some modifications due to my hamstring, I’m labeling these my “Rehab/ In-season” workouts. There will be ten full weeks for training until the bench/ deadlift contest in January I had planned on entering. I doubt that will still be doable, but I’m keeping it in mind. If I enter that contest or not, I am tentatively planning on ten weeks for this routine.
I will begin my “rehab” workouts for my hamstring with my next workout. But here and on my bench days, I just made sure to pick out exercises that would not aggravate my hamstring. I had been doing decline benches here, but I was afraid with the way you “hang” from your legs when doing them would be problematic, so I’m doing dips instead.
I’m using my “starter” plan of doing sets of six reps, adding weight each set until I do one heavy set. Since I’m not planning on doing sets of ten anymore, this will still be a good way to start a new routine.
I usually have problems doing most direct triceps work as it bothers my elbows. Pushdowns don’t seem to cause me problems, so I’ve been doing those. But I wanted something else to alternate them with, so I’m trying triceps presses with a curl bar. That didn’t seem to bother me too much. But I’ll see when I start working harder.
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Deadlifts
Rehab/ In-season – Week 1 of 10
Tuesday – 10/28/08
Deadlifts (sumo):
[45/15] 135/6, 185/6, 225/6
Leg Curls: --/ 12, 3/10
Rev. Crunches (on floor): 12, 12
Jump Rope: skipped
Stretching: 10-15 minutes
Workout time: 0:52
My normal workout rotation is: Bench Assistance/ Squat/ Bench/ Deadlift. It was during my deadlift workout last Wednesday that I injured my hamstring, hence why I did bench assistance yesterday. But since I really didn’t put in a deadlift workout last week, I decide to switch squats and deadlifts and do deadlifts first. And besides, I figured it was time to start rehabbing my hamstring, which deadlifts would be better for.
I debated on whether I should use a conventional or sumo stance for DLs. Sumo is my competition stance. They of course do not work the hamstrings as much, so I probably will be able to handle heavier weights sooner without aggravating my hamstring, but conv. would probably rehab the hamstring better.
As a compromise, I decided to go with the sumo stance now in hope that I’ll still be able to enter the above contest, but I doubt I will enter the contest in February I mentioned about before. I’ll instead start with an off-season after the January contest where I will do conv. DLs. In that case, I’ll go with my previous plan of waiting until spring or summer for another contest.
My hamstring felt reasonable good for this workout. It only started hurting with the set with 225, so I stopped there. But that was all I had hoped to pull as it would give me a good place to increase from. In fact, all I have to do is increase by an average of 20 pounds each workout over the next nine weeks and I’ll be back to pulling about what I did at my last contest (402). And that was another reason to start with deadlifts. This way, I should get in a total of ten workouts (including this one), before it.
I don’t have a leg curl machine, so I am doing the leg curls to rehab my hamstring by standing and bending my leg up. I have a pair of three pound and of five pound ankle weights, so I’ll be able to utilize them as I am able.
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Benches
Rehab/ In-season – Week 1 of 10
Thursday – 10/30/08
Benches:
[45/15, 95/8] 115/6, 135/6
DB Rows (elbows out): [30/8] 40/6
CB Curls: [35/8] 45/8
Heavy Bag: 4:30
Stretching: 10-15 minutes
Workout time: 0:55
Even though this was only an upper body workout, I was still leery about pushing too hard and aggravating my hamstring. On benches, I didn’t want to work hard enough that I needed to use “leg drive,” so all I did was basically warm-ups.
I was also afraid doing rows with a BB would aggravate my hamstring, so I’m doing them with a DB instead, one arm at a time, with one leg up on a bench and the other foot on the floor with the knee slightly bent. Hopefully, that will prevent any strain on my hamstring, but even then, again, I didn’t push too hard.
For the curl bar curls, I set the bar down on my squat box so I wouldn’t have to bend down to pick it up. And on the heavy bag, I didn’t move around like I usually do, instead, keeping my feet in one place and again, not working that hard.
This is all such a drag, having to worry about every little thing. But I am hoping if I am just cautious a little longer my hamstring will be okay.
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Squats
Rehab/ In-season – Week 1 of 10
Halloween, Friday – 10/31/08
Squats:
[45/15, 95/8] 135/6, 175/6, 195/6
Leg Curls: [--/12] 3/12, 3/12
Crunches: 25/12, 25/12
Step ups: skipped
Stretching: 10-15 minutes
Workout time: 1:00
I was actually more worried about squats than DLs as squats require more flexibility and my hamstring is still feeling rather tight. But it felt reasonably good. It bothered me more on the walkout than the actual squats. But I still kept things rather light. Hopefully, next week I can start pushing a little harder.
But in a way, this injury might prove beneficial on squats. It will force me to start light and gradually increase the weights to develop my raw squatting strength. This will prepare me to compete raw next year.
Week Two
Bench Assistance
Rehab/ In-season – Week 2 of 10
Sunday – 11/2/08
DB Incline Bench: [10s/15, 20s/8] 30s/6, 40s/6, 45s/6, 50s/6
Lat. Pulldowns: [55/8, 80/5]; Chin-ups: bwt./6, 5/6
Pulley Strap Triceps Pushdowns [25/8] 35/8, 35/8
Shoulder Horn (arms together): 5/12, 5/12
Stretching: 10-15 minutes
Workout time: 1:06
______________________________
Deadlifts
Rehab/ In-season – Week 2 of 10
Monday – 11/3/08
Deadlifts (sumo):
[45/15, 135/8, 185/6] 225/6, 245/6
Leg Curls: [--/10] 3/12, 3/12
Reverse Crunches: 15, 13
Jump Rope: skipped
Stretching: 10-15 minutes
Workout time: 0:59
My hamstring felt reasonably good, and I probably could have pulled more, but I didn’t want to push it. Also, last week I did one “heavy” set of DLs, so this week I did two, and next week I hope to do my normal three sets.
The only time I felt anything in my hamstring was on my second set of reverse crunches. I felt a “twinge” on my 13th rep, so I stopped there. I was going to try some jumping rope, but with the twinge, I thought it best to skip it.
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Benches
Rehab/ In-season – Week 2 of 10
Wednesday – 11/5/08
Benches:
[45/15, 95/8, 115/6] 135/6, 140/6, 145/6
DB Rows (elbows in): [30/8] 40/6, 45/6, 50/6
Reverse BB Curls: [45/8] 47/8
Heavy Bag: 5:00
Stretching: 10-15 minutes
Workout time: 1:07
Slowly getting back into heavier training.
______________________________
Squats
Rehab/ In-season – Week 2 of 10
Thursday – 11/6/08
Squats:
[45/15, 115/8, 155/6] 195/6, 215/6
Leg Curls (alternate legs): [-/10] 2.5/10, 5/10
Bicycle Abs (reps to each side): 15, 15
Step ups: 3:00
Stretching: 10-15 minutes
Workout time: 1:06
It was before this workout that I got my new FID Bench. See my separate post for details. But here I will say it worked out well for doing the leg curls to rehab my hamstring.
And that ends the second week of my Rehab/ In-season program. It didn’t bother me too much having to go so light these two weeks as my basic plan is to “deload” the first two weeks of each new “season” of my routine, but hopefully, I can get back into harder training next week. My hamstring is feeling rather good, so I should be able to.
Week Three
Bench Assistance
Rehab/ In-season – Week 3 of 10
Sunday – 11/9/08
Dips: [bwt./10, 25/8, 35/5, 45/3] 55/6, 65/5, 70/4
Lat. Pulldowns: [55/8, 90/4, Pull-ups: bwt./6] 5/6, 10/6, 15/4
Triceps Presses (with curl bar): [25/8] 30/10, 32/8
Shoulder Horn (alternate arms): [5/10] 6/10, 6/10
Stretching: 10-15 minutes
Workout time: 1:23
The workout time is rather meaningless as I wasted time taking some pics. To make matters worse, I stupidly forgot to get the camera ready beforehand, and of course, the rechargeable batteries were dead. When I got out my other set, I dropped one, and it rolled away. I thought it might have rolled underneath something, so I spent the next five minutes or so crawling around on my hands and knees looking for it. Not what you want in the middle of a workout! I finally find the battery “hiding” under my new FID bench.
In any case, despite the distraction, a good workout, and I’m finally getting back into some harder training.
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Deadlifts
Rehab/ In-season – Week 3 of 10
Monday – 11/10/08
Deadlifts (sumo):
[45/15, 135/8, 185/5, 220/3] 245/6, 260/6, 275/6
Leg Curls (alternating legs): [--/10] 5/10, 7.5/10
Rev. Crunches (on floor): 20, 15
Jump Rope: 1:00
Stretching: 10-15 minutes
Workout time: 1:09
The only time my hamstring bothered me was jumping rope, but I figure I need to get back into at least some light cardio before I lose my aerobic conditioning. I just jumped for one minute at a very slow pace. Hopefully, I can gradually increase the pace and time.
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Benches
Rehab/ In-season – Week 3 of 10
Wednesday – 11/12/08
Benches:
[45/15, 95/8, 115/5, 130/3] 145/6, 150/5, 155/4
DB Rows (elbows out): [30/8, 40/6] 45/6, 50/6, 55/6
Preacher Curls: 35/8, 35/8
Heavy Bag: 5:00
Stretching: 10-15 minutes
Workout time: 1:14
This was the first hard bench workout in a few weeks. But I was disappointed I got to the point of having to push hard so soon. My bench is obviously down quite a bit. But I should have plenty of time to get it back up for the above mentioned contest if I enter it.
Since I got a preacher’s pad with my new FID bench, I figured I might as well do preacher’s curls. I just did a couple light sets to get used to it.
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Squats
Rehab/ In-season – Week 3 of 10
Thursday – 11/13/08
Squats:
[45/15, 115/8, 155/5, 190/3] 215/6, 225/6, 235/6
DB Calves: 20/12, 25/12
Crunches: [25/10] 35/12, 40/11
Step ups: 3:30
Stretching: 10-15 minutes
Workout time: 1:23
Wasted time taking pics again, but otherwise a good workout. My squat is slowly coming back up, and my hamstring is feeling good.
If anyone is wondering, the pics I am taking are for a book on powerlifting I am working on. It is tentatively titled, Starting and Progressing in Powerlifting: A Comprehensive Guide to the World’s Strongest Sport. The writing is coming along well, but it probably will not be finished until the summer. I want to see how my training and competing raw goes next year so I can include those experiences in the book. In any case, I’ll probably be taking pics periodically over the next several weeks for the book.
Week Four
Bench Assistance
Rehab/ In-season – Week 4 of 10
Sunday – 11/16/08
DB Incline Bench: [10s/15, 20s/8] 30s/6, 40s/6
Lat. Pulldowns: [55/8, 80/5]; Chin-ups: [bwt./3], 5/6, 10/5
Pulley Strap Triceps Pushdowns [25/8] 30/10, 35/9
Shoulder Horn (arms together): [5/12] 6/12, 6/12
Stretching: 10-15 minutes
Workout time: 1:18
This workout was the first time I actually put my new FID Bench inside of my power rack, so it took some time to figure out how to set it up for the DB incline benches. The only way I could set it up was to use a higher angle than I had been using, about 60 degrees rather than 30 degrees. That will of course take some adjustment and require lighter weights, so I just did a couple of light sets.
______________________________
Deadlifts
Rehab/ In-season – Week 4 of 10
Monday – 11/17/08
Deadlifts (sumo):
[45/15, 135/8, 190/5, 245/3] 275/6, 290/6, 305/6
Leg Curls: [2.5/10] 7.5/10, 10/10
Reverse Crunches: 25, 25
Jump Rope: 1:30
Stretching: 10-15 minutes
Workout time: 1:17
My hamstring and deadlift are coming along rather nicely.
______________________________
Benches
Rehab/ In-season – Week 4 of 10
Wednesday – 11/19/08
Benches:
[45/15, 95/8, 115/5, 135/3] 150/6, 155/5, 160/3
DB Rows (elbows in): [30/8, 40/4] 50/6, 55/6
Reverse BB Curls: [45/8] 50/8, 52/8
Heavy Bag: 5:00
Stretching: 10-15 minutes
Workout time: 1:16
Wasted time taking pics again, but otherwise a good workout. I went back to arching more on benches. Without arching, I felt very weak at the chest. But I am still experimenting with where to touch my chest and how much to fan my elbows out.
With lifting raw, a little higher on the chest and elbows out seems to involve the pec more and thus to give me more drive off of the chest. But I then need to bring my elbows in to involve the triceps more for the lockout.
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Squats
Rehab/ In-season – Week 4 of 10
Thursday – 11/20/08
Squats:
[45/15, 125/8, 170/5, 210/3] 235/6, 245/5, 255/3
DB Calves: [20/10] 27/12, 30/11
Bicycle Abs (reps to each side): 20, 20
Step ups: 4:00
Stretching: 10-15 minutes
Workout time: 1:14
Squats are also coming back up rather nicely.
After just four weeks of stretching, my flexibility is about back to where it was when I was stretching regularly, before I stupidly stopped stretching for several months. My left hamstring is even about as flexible as before.
Week Five
Bench Assistance
Rehab/ In-season – Week 5 of 10
Sunday – 11/23/08
Dips: [bwt./10, 25/8, 40/5, 55/3] 65/6, 70/5, 75/4
Lat. Pulldowns: [45/8, 80/5, Pull-ups: bwt./3] 12/6, 15/4
Triceps Presses (with curl bar): [25/8] 32/10, 35/10
Shoulder Horn (alternate arms): [5/10] 6/12, 7.5/12
Stretching: 10-15 minutes
Workout time: 1:07
My basic plan now is to take an “extra” day off after every four weeks of training to “deload” and keep from getting overtrained. In that case, I should have skipped this workout day. But my first couple of weeks of this routine were very easy due to my hamstring injury. And with Thanksgiving on Thursday, I thought it best to lift as normal until Wednesday, and then take Thanksgiving weekend off. Then four weeks later will be Christmas, so I will take that weekend off. That will then give me a break before my final week or so of heavy lifting before I take a short break before the above contest, assuming I am able to enter it.
That said, taking pics and vids again. Below are a couple of videos for my Web site:
Shoulder Horn, alternating arms
Note: This is probably the most effective rotator cuff exercise as the shoulder horn holds your arms in the correct position. They can be done alternating arms as seen here, or with the arms moving together. If you need a shoulder horn, it is available at Amazon .
______________________________
Deadlifts
Rehab/ In-season – Week 5 of 10
Monday – 11/24/08
Deadlifts (sumo):
[45/15, 135/8, 205/5, 275/3] 305/6, 320/6, 335/6
Leg Curls (alternating legs): [5/10] 10/10, 12/10
Dip Bar Reverse Crunches: 15, 15
Jump Rope: 1:45
Stretching: 10-15 minutes
Workout time: 1:16
This was the first workout since my hamstring injury that I felt confident working hard on DLs, and work hard I did. The final rep of the last set was a full effort. And with that, my DL is back to where it was before the injury. Now I will gradually drop the reps over the next five weeks. If everything goes according to plan, God-willing, I should be able to enter the contest in January.
My hamstring did not bother me at all during this workout, but it hurt slightly afterwards. But after I iced it, it felt fine. So I’ll probably continue my pattern of heat before my workouts and ice afterwards for some time. With doing so, I think I will be fine.
______________________________
Benches
Rehab/ In-season – Week 5 of 10
Wednesday – 11/26/08
Benches:
[45/15, 95/8, 120/5, 140/3] 155/6, 160/4, 165/3
DB Rows (elbows out): [35/8, 45/6] 55/8, 60/5
Preacher Curls: [35/8] 40/10, 45/8
Heavy Bag: 5:30
Stretching: 10-15 minutes
Workout time: 1:10
______________________________
Squats
In-season – Week 5 of 10
Sunday – 11/30/08
Squats:
[45/15, 135/8, 185/5, 230/3] 255/6, 265/5, 275/3
Leg Extensions: [5/12, 10/12, 15/15
Crunches: [25/10] 40/12, 40/12
Step ups: 4:30
Stretching: 10-15 minutes
Workout time: 1:16
I took Thanksgiving off as planned. With doing so, I was hoping I’d feel rested for this workout. But I ran into some problems health-wise over the weekend and felt terrible. I considered skipping this day as well, but as I said before, if I skipped a workout every time I had problems I’d never lift, so I went ahead and lifted. But it probably was a mistake as the workout did not go well. I got buried on my last rep of squats, but at least I didn’t get injured.
In fact, by this workout, my hamstring is basically recovered, so I am no longer labeling these as “Rehab” workouts. These are now solely my “in-season” workouts to prepare for the contest in January.
I’ve never been a real fan of leg extensions, but since my new FID bench has a leg extension attachment, I figured I might as try a couple light sets. I’ll probably do a couple of sets every other week.
These workout logs are continued at: Full Workout Logs: Starting 12/1/08: In-Season: Weeks 6-10.
Full Workout Logs: Starting 10/27/08: Rehab/ In-Season: Weeks 1-5. Copyright © 2008 By Gary F. Zeolla.
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