Spytech’s Intense Workout Log

My legs are sore. I think the kb swings+gm+deadlift triple-combo finally did my hams in. Good thing today was an upper body workout, and almost all floor pressing so I got to lie down and relax most of the workout! I warmed up my shoulders well with some external rotations and some other light movements and gave floor presses a try. No real pains issues, but I could feel some general discomfort/instability in the delt as I worked into the heavier stuff. It might just be mental at this point, but I feel like avoiding working it is hindering it more than anything, so I will keep doing light stuff (light presses, rotations, band pull-aparts) to keep it mobile and fresh with blood flow. Floor presses were all done from a dead stop, which makes them a lot tougher (to me). DB Floor presses with a neutral grip are one of my favorite pressing movements now. I keep my elbows tucked in tight and focus on really hammering the tris. The first 3 sets were paused, last 2 were done ‘traditionally’. No shoulder issues here, either. BB Rows with the medium grip felt great. The weight is still pretty ‘easy’ but I am really focusing on pinching my shoulder blades at the top of each rep. As long as I can pinch my shoulder blades back as far as my flexibility allows I will keep adding weight every time I do rows.

After the main work-sets I did a bunch of rehab stuff. Light inclines with the bar and then 95lbs. Some light incline db presses (45lbs). Everything for high reps. Stuff that causes a tiny bit of discomfort, but nothing that aggravates the injury and still allows for blood to get moving through the injured site.

Yoga was tough tonight due to my incredibly sore hams. They kept cramping up and tightening, but it was a great flow and I enjoyed it nonetheless.

Floor Press (each rep from a dead stop @ bottom):
135×12x1
155×12x1
185×5x1
210×5x1
240×5x1
275×5x1

DB Floor Press w/ Neutral Grip:
90×12x4
90×20x1 (PR)

BB Rows (overhand medium-wide grip):
225×15x1
275×12x1
285×12x1
295×12x1
305×12x1 (PR)

Cable Pushdowns w/ Rope:
100×20x1
150×20x3

Shoulder Rehab (light high rep movements):
Incline Bench
Incline DB Press
Rotations

+ stretching + power yoga (60min)

Duration: 120 minutes

What the hell. How is this even possible? I decided to use the 53lber again like I did last Tuesday since my hamstrings are TOAST, plus this week’s sets are for 50 reps. I knew I could top last Tuesday’s 260 rep effort, but I did not expect to top it by 55 reps for a total of 315 reps! My pace was quicker than last week and I had a good groove going, which led to faster overall set times. I was sucking wind hard at the end, but I restored my breathing rate to normal within 3 minutes. One more swing workout and then it’s on to the “real” kettlebell training next week.

Warmups - 10 minutes, 4 cycles of the following completed:
Wall Squats x10
Halos with 53lb bell x10
Pumps x10

Workout - 12 minutes continuous - 53lb bell used - 315 total reps:
One-arm swings x50
1 minute active rest
One-arm swings x50
1 minute active rest
One-arm swings x50
1 minute active rest
One-arm swings x50
1 minute active rest
One-arm swings x50
1 minute active rest
One-arm swings x65
Cooldown

Duration: 22 minutes

This was a flippin’ sweet low volume, but effective workout. I haven’t pulled from the floor in briefs since March so I decided I would do them this 3-5-1 cycle. Naturally, the starting weight targets are very low. I killed the target weights and couldn’t resist seeing if I could still do at least 600. Ended up with a solid triple with 5 second pauses between each rep. Had I went touch and go I probably could have hit 8-10 reps, but pulling with long pauses between the reps really kills the stretch reflex – and of course no bounce to help. I am very pleased with this effort, as I have some lingering soreness and fatigue from all the kettlebell swings I have been doing, plus the nice squatting last Wednesday.

After pulls I went to super strict good mornings. These are great in that you don’t have to use a lot of weight (well, you can’t really anyways – at least safely), and they still rip your lower back and hams apart. Strict GM’s are done with a shoulder-width stance, and knees almost locked. Focus on pushing your hips way back as you lower your upper back to slightly below parallel, in relation to the floor. You should be able to lift your toes off the floor at this point; all the weight is on your heels. Keep your lower back straight at all times, of course. I worked up to 145, but have no need to really go any heavier. My hams were on fire more-so than doing SLDLS with much greater weight (which is also harder on the CNS).

Normally, I would do some ab work to finish out the session, but tonight I did a full power yoga class afterwards so I skipped ab-work. One of my favorite things about Monday night workouts is that the YMCA director buys pizza for the workers pretty frequently on these nights. He always buys way too much, leaving an opening for me to swoop in and hoover up whatever is left. Excellent!

Deadlift (briefs, 3-5s pauses between reps):
245x10x1
335x3x1
410x3x1
470x3x1
530x3x1
600x3x1

Strict Good Mornings:
95x15x1
115x15x1
135x15x1
145x15x2 (PR)

+ stretching + power yoga (60min)

Duration: 120 minutes

Finished off the 3rd week of the 4-week kettlebell training cycle this morning with a quick session of get ups. Good stuff.

Warmups:
Wall Squats x40

Workout - 5 minutes continuous - 53lb bell used:
16 reps

Duration: 10 minutes

I woke up this morning with a sharp pain…in my nose. Apparently a big zit (or a colony of microscopic aliens with jackhammers) has popped up out of nowhere. The thing that makes this one suck is that it is INSIDE my damn nostril, way up there. There is no visual sign of it on the outside, making it hard to pinpoint. Every time I inhale through my nose it feels like a dagger being driven into my face. It’s actually giving me a headache. Holy hell.

Anyways, I worked out today, and it was stellar. Since I have barbell pressing on hiatus indefinitely until my rear delt is good to go I opted to do landmines as my ‘main focus’ today. This time around, to avoid having to pick up the weight from the floor for every set, I leaned the bar across the ez curl bench. This works perfect. I barely have to squat down to get into the starting position, making for a very efficient movement. Today I decided to keep my landmines ‘strict’. Previously, I have done them sort of like a push-press. At the bottom of each rep I sink my hips down a bit, then explode up and extend the weight. I would do these in sort of a lunge stance so it was like a one legged push press. This time around I kept both feet back in a squat-like stance, knees almost locked, and didn’t sink down at the bottom of the reps – I relied solely on pure strength to muscle the bar up. Each variation has its benefits (push-press style = explosiveness, strict-style = brute strength), so I will probably mix them up over time. These felt very strong today, and I was pleased. I polished off the landmines with some one-armed presses, which also felt strong, and great.

While resting between landmine sets I chatted briefly with Fred, an older fellow that carries the nickname ‘Lat Pulldown’ because that is just about all he does. He is undergoing a pretty major surgery in December, which will be a repeat surgery as the doctors messed it up the first time around and almost killed him. He played it off as ‘nothing serious’ and said “I’ve had a good run, so if something happens so be it”. I can tell he is pretty damn worried, despite his nonchalant visage, so I would like to ask any of you of faith to shoot a prayer or two off to the Lord to help Lat Pulldown Fred. I think he’ll know who you are talking about.

After landmines I did a set of weighted dips, but now that I am being hyper-sensitive to ANY discomfort in my rear delt and not tolerating any of it, I downgraded to just bodyweight dips for a few more sets. To make up for the lack of decent dippage, I did a couple sets of paused db floor presses with a neutral grip (that means my palms face each other). These hit the tris very hard. Another great movement. With presses completed, I cruised through the stack on face pulls. You would think these would be discomforting to the rear delt, but they actually feel wonderful. To finish the workout I did a shit-ton of curls. Don’t ask me why.

Strict Landmine Presses:
135×5x1
180×5x1
225×5x1
270×5x1
280×5x2 (PR)

One-armed Landmines:
135×12x6

Dips:
+30×15x1
bw x15×2

Neutral Grip DB Floor Press (reps paused):
80×12x2 (PR)

Standing Rope Face-pulls:
48×20x1
72×20x1
132×20x1
156×20x1
180×20x1
204×20x2
72×50x1

Wide-grip EZ Curls:
75×12x1
95×12x1
115×12x1
135×12x1
135×15x1

DB Hammer Curls:
60×10-55×10-50×10-45×10-40×10-35×10

+ stretching

Duration: 60 minutes

Very sore legs, 65-degree weather, Dusk, and a 70lb kettlebell made for a great kettlebell session tonight. The 70lb kettlebell arrived Wednesday so I decided to use that one tonight as the 53 was too easy on Tuesday. I surprised myself with being able to do 10 more reps tonight than I did Tuesday, despite going heavier, and having beat-up legs. 270 total reps! I was sucking wind hard after each set, but found myself recovering very well within the allowed minute. My form stayed tight and I was getting good ROM on the swings. The last set was 70 reps, with the first 40 done single-armed, then double-armed for the last 30. Afterwards, it only took two minutes to regain a normal breathing rate. I am definitely liking the improved endurance and work capacity.

Next week is the final week of swings, and reps increase to 50 per set. I think I will continue with the 70lber.

Warmups - 5 minutes:
Wall Squats x40
Pumps x20

Workout - 12 minutes continuous - 70lb bell used - 270 total reps:
One-arm swings x40
1 minute active rest
One-arm swings x40
1 minute active rest
One-arm swings x40
1 minute active rest
One-arm swings x40
1 minute active rest
One-arm swings x40
1 minute active rest
One-arm swings x40
Double-arm swings x30
Cooldown

Duration: 17 minutes

This workout kicked ass. If I had any fatigue from the KB swings yesterday it did not show in my lifts today, or at least it didn’t feel like it. Much to my chagrin, when I entered the gym I realized it was an oven again, and someone was setting up in the squat rack. It was one of the ‘regulars’, though, so I asked if I could work in with him. He said he was doing curls (/facepalm), but quickly vacated the rack and did them elsewhere so I could get started. I told him I appreciated it. Courteous fellow lifters are hard to come by. I haven’t done any ATG squats in a while so I had to knock the rust off, but by the time I got to my last work set I was in a good groove. Threw on the belt and knee wraps and blasted 420 for 8, which is a solid new PR by 15lbs at that rep range. I managed the first 4 reps on one breath, then finished the set out taking a good breath for each additional rep. You know what holding breath like that during squats does. What’s better is that I had a handful of reps left in the tank. After squats I decided to give barbell step ups a try. I’ve read a few interviews with NFL and Olympic strength-trainers lately and they advocated step ups over lunges. I hate lunges, so I was more than happy to give their training ideas a try. I started out light, not knowing what to expect and just kept adding weight. Afterwards I decided I really like these! I used a 12” box, which seemed to be high enough to get some really good quad stimulus going, but not so high that I risked jamming my hip while stepping down with a loaded bar (as long as I was careful).

After step ups a friend came in and asked me for some ideas for home training since he is going to be having some troubles getting to the gym regularly for some time. Since I am still in kettlebell-worship mode I told him all about them and demonstrated some movements explaining what they are good for, etc. After this 20 minute deviation I went back to my workout and attacked some barbell get ups. Barbell get ups are tougher than kettlebell get ups, in my opinion. You can probably surmise why. None the less, I handled the 105lb barbell get up pretty well and was very pleased. 30lbs to go! I then finished the workout with some db windmills and barbell ab rollouts. I like the windmills with kettlebells better; the movement doesn’t feel nearly as balanced with a db. Before heading out the door to the pizza place for some post-workout nutrition, I cracked the mirror in the Men’s bathroom with a sub-sonic bark, courtesy of Mr.Squat. Incredible.

ATG Squats:
135x12x1
155x12x1
185x10x1
225x8x1
330x3x1
375x3x1
420x8x1 (PR)

Barbell Step Ups(to 12″ box):
135x10x1
185x10x1
225x10x1
245x10x1
265x10x1
285x10x1 (PR)

Barbell Turkish Get Ups:
65x2x1
85x2x1
105x2x1 (PR)

Ab Rollouts:
bw x6x2
bw x12x2 (PR)

DB Windmills:
70x10x2 (PR)

+ stretching

Duration: 90 minutes

66 degrees outside and raining. What a great day for some outdoor kettlebell swings.  The rain didn’t effect my grip at all - just toweled off the handle before each set and went at it. Today’s workout called for sets of 40 with the typical 1 minute active rest between sets. My calculations told me that I would end up with around 240 reps when time expired, but I still had 30 seconds on the clock when I finished the last set so I kept going until it expired. This session was EASY but fantastic. I was just about able to fully recover between each set, and still got a great lower back, hamstring, and glute pump/workout. After I finished, I rested for a minute or so then did some kettlebell flips. I have never tried these before, but I consider my first attempt a success since I didn’t leave any small craters in the lawn. I did around 10 reps and was breathing pretty good - but that was probably due to the fact I had just done 60 swings a minute prior.

Overall my form stayed crisp and I never struggled with my breathing or movements. I found that switching hands halfway through each set helped keep my grip much fresher. Next swing workout will be 40-reppers again.

Warmups - 10 minutes, 4 cycles of the following completed:
Wall Squats x10
Halos with 53lb bell x10
Pumps x10

Workout - 12 minutes continuous - 53lb bell used - 260 total reps:
One-arm swings x40
1 minute active rest
One-arm swings x40
1 minute active rest
One-arm swings x40
1 minute active rest
One-arm swings x40
1 minute active rest
One-arm swings x40
1 minute active rest
One-arm swings x60
Cooldown

Duration: 22 minutes

Man, I was just dying to get into the gym today to hit the weights after a nice deload week. Today I opted to do declines (as I mentioned I would be doing previously) to see how my rear delt would hold up. It felt OK but it wasn’t comfortable - I’d say 80%. I hit my target goal, which was super easy, and called it a day on declines. I moved over to do some CG bench press and that felt like crap too (like it usually does since the rear delt tweak). I stopped that after the 225 set and decided that I would not be doing any more barbell pressing (incline/flat/decline bench or OH presses) for a while. I may give paused floor presses a go next bench session just to see how those feel, as I haven’t been pausing them in a while and I feel that the ‘reversal’ of the momentum at the bottom of the lift is what really aggravates the delt. I have never done DB floor presses so I gave those ago after being frustrated by declines and cg bench. These felt great! Granted I was using light weight, but I paused each rep 3-5s (or longer) at the bottom of each rep and that seemed to really help things. Makes the lift a lot tougher, but it allows me to stay with lighter weight, which lessens the odds of aggravating the delt. I will continue these, I think. BTB pushdowns weren’t feeling ‘right’ for me today so I just did two light sets and switched to flat db extensions. I did these with light weight, but utilized a long ROM, bringing my fists to ear level (as low as I can go while keeping upper arms perpendicular to the floor). After a handful of sets the light weights didn’t feel so light anymore. Great movement. I finished off the workout with some very explosive and powerful rows. I used a medium-width grip, as I wasn’t sure if a wide-grip would be too much for my delt. These felt great, and everything was cake. Low rests, fast tempo. Got some good wind going. It was hot as hell in the gym - not my favorite

Stretched things out a little bit and went to do power yoga. I am pretty sure I overheated during the rows, and when I went into the yoga studio, which felt like an ice locker in comparison to the weight room, I got really nauseous. I struggled the entire time with light-headedness and wanting to throw up (even had that mouth watering thing going when you think you are going to vomit). This is no fault of the class itself, like I said, I am pretty sure I just overheated and the temperature change really messed with me.

Decline Bench Press:
135×12x2
155×12x1
185×10x1
230×3x1
260×3x1
290×5x1

CG Bench:
135×12x1
225×8x1

BTB Pushdowns:
204×20x2

DB Floor Press (3-5s pause at the bottom of each rep):
60×12x1
80×12x1
100×12x3 (PR)

Flat DB Extensions (fists to ears ROM):
40×12x5

BB Rows (overhand medium-width grip):
225×12x1
245×12x1
265×12x1
285×12x1
285×15x1

+ stretching + power yoga (40 min)

Duration: 110 minutes

Nice AM bike ride.

Bike Ride:
25.5 miles

Duration: 120 minutes