PaulG's Training Log

[Twilight]

3^c-x, 4^b-y, 3.5^b-y

 

What are the factors?

[PaulG]

What are the factors?

 

Hah, it's a bit confusing at first glance.

 

It's notation I use to grade my form and perceived effort for each set.

 

The first letter goes A-D and grades my form in the exercise. The closer to A the better.

 

The second letter goes X-Z ('E' means easy) and grades how much effort the set took, and how close I got to failure. The closer to Z, the harder. Z means getting oneself pumped, adrenaline flowing, and going to failure; Y means going to failure when training calm. I usually train calm, I'm not one for grunting or pep-talking myself in German like some of the gymgoers I see.

 

So 5^a-y means 5 reps, perfect form, and I went to failure. Most weightlifters don't put so much detail into their logs, but with bodyweight exercises, I find it helpful: it's another way to see if I'm making progress.

[Twilight]

Cool, thanks!

[PaulG]

Speaking of workouts...

 

Workout Log 3/20

 

Normal Warmup/Prehab (+ 4 sets RHS, 2 sets german hangs)
L-sit: 3 sets (2 adv. tuck)

- Instead of doing 1-leg extensions, I just extended both legs about halfway, right to the point before it got too brutal to hold solidly. Holy hell. 5-second holds on those.

Pistols
3/5^a-y

- Tightened up my form and leaned a little less forward during the movement. Made it MUCH harder.

 

Deep Step-Ups (+24lb)

3/5^a-y

- Got all my leg stuff out of the way at once today. Only one set per exercise -- I'm not looking to make gains until my knees are back to normal. Tried a few pistols and step-ups with the hyperextended (right) knee, and they felt fine, so I'm looking forward to getting back to these.

C2B Pull-ups
3^bdd-y, 2^bd-y, 4^bbdd-y, 3^d-y

- Getting frustrated with these. Without the pyramid training on ring rows I was doing back in November, I just can't improve my height doing extremely low reps of pull-ups. I think I'm going to switch back to regular pullups for a while, hit chest to bar when I can, and just up my numbers for a bit until I can bulk properly. Then, bar... you WILL hit my abs.

Rings Wide Push-ups
4^b-e, 4^b-x, 4^b-y
- Little difficulty w/ keeping shoulders down on the last set, and pec minor feeling slightly twingy. Should hold at 3x4 for the next workout.

Elevated Ring Rows
8^c-x, 6^a-y, 5^a-y

- Really concentrated on activating my lower traps, and reps dropped like a rock. But I feel like I got a lot out of them.

Dips
3^a-e, 4^a-x
- Adding these in for the first time since my shoulder injury -- new push exercise, yay!

 

Cooldown:

Shoulder (P)rehab Circuit

Stretchin'

 

 

- Again, added more volume to my shoulders this workout. Ring support holds, german hangs, and two sets of dips. My shoulders are pretty smoked. In fact, I think I might ice them just in case. They feel pretty good though, I think this new volume will help push me through the next stage of recovery. If my shoulders still feel good next week, I'll add a third set of dips too.

[PaulG]

Workout log is not fancy today, I'm posting it from my phone and can't format for shit. My gym is closed for spring break today, so I went up to my parkour gym and worked out there. The equipment was slightly different so I had to adapt.

Workout 3/22

Normal Warmup/Prehab

Parkour skill work:

General flow on obstacle courses, 1 hour

L-sit: 3 sets 1-leg, 5 breaths each leg per set

Pistols

4/6b-y

Pullups

4b-x, 4b-x, 4c-y

- 4 chest to bar pullups this workout.

RW Push-ups

5a-x, 5b-x, 5a-x

Elev. Ring Rows

6a-x, 6b-y, 4a-y

- Think these are a little more elevated than usual. Made them considerably harder. Bugatti least my back got the crap worked out of it.

Cooldown:

Prehab Shoulder Circuit

- focus on Ecce.

Notes:

- No dips today, as I had no Pbars. Not too worried, I got plenty beat up doing parkour flow. Lots of rolls, drops and vaults, and bar work.

- Shoulder's a touch sore around the pec, clavicle, and upper trap area. Lots of stretching. Going to ice it some too, and take a couple NSAIDs for good measure.

[PaulG]

A couple quick notes for posterity:

 

Went back to the gym Sunday to practice some more parkour and take a class. Lots of fun, a lot of flow work on running various courses, and the instructor had us take a few big jumps as a fear exercise. Nothing I couldn't handle, though my knees felt a little sore after a few drops and I chose to do low-impact stuff the rest of the class.

 

A couple hours later, I found myself in a flying trapeze class, practicing a trick called the planche:

 

 

As you can see, very different from the gymnastics planche. But it was still rough on the shoulders -- you have to lock out hard to keep your body straight the whole time, and if you can't handle it you'll either get ripped off the bar entirely -- or just rip your shoulder out of its socket, according to the instructor.

 

So classes went well, but I'm pretty beat up today. Shoulders are sore, some DOMS, some possibly stress from the beating I've been giving them. Knees are definitely feeling a bit stiff, and despite how well I was recovering at first, I felt some achiness in my hamstring tendon Sunday during parkour. And my creeping forearm/grip issues I've mentioned in prior posts.

 

What is it all adding up to? Rest week. I've been thinking about it for the last few days. My plan was to start an active recovery week on 4/8; but honestly, I don't think my body can handle two more weeks of full-on strength training. I might have been up to it before all the gym time this weekend, but now I think the best thing is to be cautious and call a close to this training cycle.

 

Workouts this week will be normal exercises at half-volume. So one, maybe two sets of each movement, going very easy and focusing on form. I may go particularly easy on the left knee, as I'm not sure whether full pistols will help it or hurt it.

[Twilight]

Aaah, trapeeze looks like so much fun! Take it easy on your body. You'll get it.

[PaulG]

Workout Log 3/25

 

Going in: sleep didn't go so well last night, but hitting maintenance seems to have improved my energy levels. Ate plenty of good food today. Worked out at home because gym is still closed. Damn college kids and their spring break.

 

Normal Warmup/Prehab

 

Ring Support Holds: 3 sets on knees, not timed

L-Sit: 1 set tucked, 2 sets 1-leg

 

Pistols

4/4^a-e, 5/5^a-e

- Slight pain in the quad tendon in the last set, left leg. Yep, needed this deload.
 

Pull-Ups

4^a-e, 4^a-e

 

Rings Push-Ups

3^a-e, 2^a-e

- Could not do wide rings push-ups due to lack of space. Did my best with what I had, and stayed well away from failure, but I'm a little worried I worked too much. We'll see tomorrow.
 

Elevated Ring Rows

5^a-x, 4^a-e

 

Decline Push-ups

5^a-e

 

 

Cooldown/Prehab:

Truncated Shoulder (P)rehab Circuit

- Used a full gallon of chocolate milk I just bought for a dumbbell. Building muscles with chocolate milk GO.

 

Stretchin'

 

- And finished everything off with a chocolate ice cream/protein milkshake. Calories FTW! I love eating at maintenance.

 

- OTOH, a little worried about my waistline. As of 3/22 it crept back up to 28 inches. I haven't had a chance to get a decent measurement since then. As for my weight, it's all over the place, anywhere from 172 to 176 on any given day. I expected the weight nonsense, as I'll add water glycogen now that I'm eating more and it may take a couple weeks to fully stabilize. I did not expect the new waist. I'm hoping that it's nothing, but if it continues to rise I may have to cut calories slightly. My big fear is that I overestimated my maintenance level.

[Twilight]

I hear you on the waistline thing. I can't tell if it's just because I've been hungrier lately, or if it really is a trend, but I think I'm getting bigger around the middle. Argh. So frustrating!

[PaulG]

I hear you on the waistline thing. I can't tell if it's just because I've been hungrier lately, or if it really is a trend, but I think I'm getting bigger around the middle. Argh. So frustrating!

Yeah, it's annoying. Are you using a tape measure to track your waistline?

[PaulG]

I measured myself this morning and got a solid 28. It means my bodyfat is about 12.3%. I'm starting to think the measurement that caused me to end my cut was a fluke, and I would have hit my goal if I'd kept cutting another few days.

On the other hand, I'm starting to realize that it's not smart to get too attached to the number I wish I'd gotten. Yeah, my waist staying rock-solid would be nice, but I'm still pretty damn lean and I got very close to my goal. It was my first cut ever; there will be other cuts, that's the nature of controlling one's weight, and I've learned to be a little more patient.

As for overestimating my calories... I've been pretty damn accurate thus far. If I did, I won't gain more than a third of a pound before I adjust. Not many people can claim to have that level of control over their bodyfat. So I have something to feel lucky for.

[Twilight]

Yeah, I use a measuring tape. I don't have calipers or anything to measure my body fat %. The two times I had it done were with a machine.

[PaulG]

Yeah, I use a measuring tape. I don't have calipers or anything to measure my body fat %. The two times I had it done were with a machine.

Try this:

http://www.bmi-calculator.net/body-fat-calculator/

You can track your bodyfat% with a tape and a scale.

The number itself is not incredibly accurate, but the changes in your measurements are, so you can still see whether things are working as you continue to measure over time.

[Twilight]

I don't own a scale though!

[PaulG]

I don't own a scale though!

Lol. Well, I tried.

If you can measure, you're still getting a pretty good idea of where you are.

[PaulG]

Went for a light jog/walk last night, with the vague notion that it would get the blood pumping/promote healing/other unprovable nonsense. I went very easy, alternating walking and jogging to make things easy on my knees, which felt little twinges of soreness during the jogging bits.

The day after I feel great. My shoulders have felt a bit sore all week, but it's clearly just soreness from workouts and sitting at a desk all day -- nothing remotely like an injury. Overall this recovery week is going extremely well.

[PaulG]

HOLY BALLS GUYS. I found a new shoulder prehab exercise that could be the greatest thing since sliced bread. My shoulderblades feel like new... uh... blades.

 

But I'll write more about that at the bottom of my workout log, where I actually did the exercise. For now: maintenance news!

 

I seem to be holding steady at about 174.2. My waist this afternoon is 27-7/8". I'm thinking that all my weirdness has just been user error -- I discovered today that I wasn't pulling the tape measure from both ends for the last few measurements.

 

Workout Log 3/27

 

Going in: Not great sleep, good food. This seems to be a pattern lately. Grrh.

 

Normal Warmup/Prehab + 2 sets german hangs

 

Ring Support Holds: 3 sets on knees, not timed

L-Sit: 1 set tucked, 1 set 1-leg

 

Pistols

5/5^c-e, 5/5^a-e

- Had a weird bit where I overbalanced twice in a row in the first set and had to catch myself with my hand. Ugh. Whatever, it's a rest week.

 

Pull-Ups

3^a-e, 3^a-e

- Dropped the volume on these slightly, as my shoulders aren't feeling great with them. Still got some twinges at the front of the shoulder when I pull too close to failure.

 

Rings Push-Ups

2^a-e, 3^a-e
 

Elevated Ring Rows

5^a-e, 5^a-e

 

Decline Push-ups

7^a-e

 

 

Cooldown/Prehab:

High Internal Rotations at 90 deg.

 

- So I was bumming around physiotherapy blogs about runner's knee and found my way into posts on shoulder dysfunction. Long story short -- I found a great article on the subscapularis and its role in shoulder pain (spoiler alert: it plays a big one). On a lark, I decided to try the exercise Reddy recommends to fix a chronically weak/long subscap. And OMG. OMG OMG. This is what my shoulder prehab has been missing. I could feel my subscap as I did the exercise. It felt weak. It felt puny. It felt sore as I worked it. And since the subscap primarily depresses and internally rotates the humerus, it could solve this issue with my shoulders rounding forward in dips -- and solve my lack of internal rotation.

 

So basically, I'm pretty dang excited about it. Right now my subscap appears to be very weak in comparison to the rest of my rotator cuff, so I'm going to focus on just this one exercise for at least a week, then slowly add back in the others if it seems to be helping.

[Shortgorilla]

When you do your rings pushups are you talking to actual pushups with the rings near to the ground, or are you essentially doing dips up in the air?  Also, do you have any footage of your workouts?  Your log is amazing.

[Twilight]

Oooh, article and video. Thanks!

[PaulG]

When you do your rings pushups are you talking to actual pushups with the rings near to the ground, or are you essentially doing dips up in the air? Also, do you have any footage of your workouts? Your log is amazing.

Thanks.

My ring push-ups are regular push-ups with the rings very close to the ground. The closer to the ground, the tougher the exercise. I usually make sure mine are about 2 inches off the ground. Having them up in the air would mean I was either doing dips or planche push-ups... neither of which I'm strong enough for. Hoping to work toward the dips though.

Closest thing I have to footage of my workouts right now is a form video of ring support holds I threw up on the bodyweight form check forum. Is there anything in particular you're curious about?

[Shortgorilla]

I was going to say pistols and ring work, but really that's kind of everything. 

[PaulG]

I was going to say pistols and ring work, but really that's kind of everything. 

 

Lol, I would offer to video myself next workout, but I'm pretty sure no one actually wants to see some random skinny kid doing pushups and squats. Or listening to me grunt -- I feel sorry for the people around me at the gym. (Just not enough to cut it out.)

 

If you happen to be interested in trying out some of this stuff though, I've got resources up the wazoo. Videos, photos, tutorials, it's all out there on the Intertubes. And I've collected a ton over the last year.

[PaulG]

Now that my cut is over (finally!) I've been doing some thinking recently on my goals.

A lot of my progress over these last five months has been incidental. My initial plan, way back in November, was to drastically improve my pull-up height and eventually get my first bar muscle-up. Initially I saw some success, but quickly overstressed my shoulder and had to stop training for nearly a month.

While I worked my way back up, I decided on a lark to cut most of the fat I'd accumulated. That was a smashing success. I can safely say I haven't been this lean in over a year.

So where do I go from here?

It's been a long time since I thought of my physical life as an epic quest. That's been changing slowly. In the last few months I've ended a long-term relationship. It's funny how your perspective shifts when you're solo, the only one behind the wheel, deciding where you want to go.

For a long time, my physical training has just been a hobby to handle other stress, albeit one I sunk lots of time and energy into. At this point, I find myself wanting more out of it, wanting to do some more interesting things.

But I also have some life goals I've put off for long enough, things I'm ready to change. I sat down and wrote a list today, and... there's a lot. In the short term, I need to move into a new job. I'd like to move to Seattle by the end of the year (currently I live pretty far away, but train and socialize there, which means a lot of gas expense).

In the long term, I want to establish a solid plan for my career and education. I've long held an interest in working in public health, but it's been so long since I've been in that environment, I don't have a good view of the industry anymore.

It would also be nice to do some traveling. Back in my college years, I did some backpacking around Africa and Europe. I miss it. I don't want to wait until I'm in my thirties to do it again.

So as well as my physical goals are going these days, I might need to scale them down for a little while so I can work on other aspects of my life. That doesn't mean I need to stop making progress; I just can't sink the majority of my life into physical training.

 

Right now:
I'll continue to rehab, eat at maintenance, and build my strength.

I have a feeling I'm quickly approaching the point that my noob gains will stall. In the past, I've always stalled at the point of 3x6 pullups, basic tuck front lever rows, and 3x9 dips. I'm doing slightly different exercises now but the concept will be the same -- my pull strength will soon be maxed out, and my push has maybe a couple weeks of dedicated work before it maxes. I haven't practiced handstands in a while, but soon I'll be adding those too, and eventually those may stall somewhere along the way to headstand push-ups.


Physical Goals
 

Got a few subheadings here. First off:

 

Rehab Shoulder

 

1. Recovery week (in progress!)

 

2. Full volume ring support holds, dips, & german hangs

 

3. Add handstand skill work

 

 

Muscle-up

 

1. 3x5 pull-ups

 

2. 3x8 elevated rings wide rows

 

3. 3x2 chest-to-bar pull-ups OR 6 chest-to-bar pull-ups in a single workout

 

THEN: start bulking, implement rest-pause training, improve pull-up height

 

 

Handstand Pushups

 

3. Add handstand skill work (cont'd from shoulder rehab)

 

4. Hit the following prerequisites:

 

- 3x8 rings pushups

 

- 3x8 dips

 

- 60sec wall handstand hold

 

THEN: begin headstand pushup training

 

5. 3x3 wall headstand pushups

 

 

 

... And that's all the notes I have for now. I cobbled this together kind of last minute, some of the notes are from a few days back. the detailed physical goals are from today.

[PaulG]

So as I'm setting up for the workout, I realize Shortgorilla is right -- I don't have any footage of my workouts. What if I need to do a form check later? So I set up my iPhone and record pretty much the whole thing.

 

And parsing through some of the clips later, I realize how easy it would be to just string them together and set them to music. So... I do. One part form check, one part for laughs, video of my workout is at the bottom.

 

Workout Log 3/27

 

Going in: Not great sleep, good food. Again. I got to bed incredibly late last night and just couldn't make myself fully sleep it off. Oh well.

 

Normal Warmup/Prehab + 1 set german hangs

 

Ring Support Holds: 3 sets on knees, not timed

L-Sit: 2 sets 1-leg

 

Pistols

6/6^b-x, 4/4^b-e

 

Pull-Ups

5^a-e

 

Rings Push-Ups

5^b-x
 

Elevated Ring Rows

8^a-x

 

Decline Push-ups

9^a-e

 

 

Cooldown/Prehab:

High Internal Rotations, 90deg.

High Knee Raises (psoas strengthening exercise... not sure about this one)

Active Hamstring Stretch

Stretchin' of shoulders, hips, groin

 

Video below: just a quick sampling of the warmups, exercises and prehab stuff I did today, set to a little ditty I found recently.

 

 

Shirtless cuz that's how I roll with my home workouts. Hairy cuz my face is lazy this weekend.

[PaulG]

I've been a touch under my calorie goal this week (um, okay, more like 300kcal under), so I'm treating myself to a breakfast out this weekend. Eggs Benedict with bacon and a mimosa... and this is after splurging on ahi tuna steak at a birthday dinner for my brother last night. Oh, and let's not forget the dessert of cherry cobbler and Ice cream... If this is what they call being OCD about calories, I think I can live with that.

Being under calories has resulted in a somewhat annoying side effect though -- my waist is now 27-5/8". That's a drop of one-eighth of an inch from when I supposedly stopped cutting. I suppose there are worse problems to have.

A few notes on aches and pains for posterity:

- Shoulders feel great. The subscap exercise I discovered may not be a panacea, but it's what I needed.

- My knee twinges could be a problem with my IT band -- tried a new stretch that supposedly hits the entire band and I could tell I needed to keep doing it. Jury's out on whether I need to keep doing it -- my knee pain hasn't been bad but I've been getting weird (non-painful) crackling in my left kneecap lately when it's stiff. Not necessarily cause for alarm, knees make weird noises at the best of times, but it's never happened before.

- My workout video showed me my hamstrings need serious work and PWO stretching doesn't seem to be helping. Time to start doing hamstring stretches daily, otherwise I won't be able to progress very far with my L-sit.

I'm feeling pretty good about my goals these days. Especially since my last workout -- doing a set of 5 pullups without taxing myself much means I'm probably going to hit that goal within a week or two. I also expect to progress quickly on rings push-ups, considering how much progress with them I made on my deload week (!).

All in all... I'd call this deload week a big success. My strength is still expressing itself just as well, if not better, and my aches and pains are largely gone. I'm excited to keep moving in a positive direction -- my next big goal is to achieve full volume with my upper body work, and I'm feeling good enough to make it happen within a couple weeks.