MikeChops Training Log

[Aliaga the Powerful]

I am glad to hear you made the plates for your dad and it might encourage your mom to start. JP's dad made the plates - if I would have done it myself, I would have lost a finger!

[MikeChops]

I hear yah. The jigsaw's a powerful little tool, but I think you would've handled it just fine! I've got some pics on the way, and maybe a quick video in case others in the same situation.

Press 112.5 2x5, 1x7 Rep 6 was really sloppy. Lost all tightness at the bottom.
Chins - 2x10,8. Okay. So something is definitely wrong here. I'm deloading to 8 reps next time and will build back up.
Deadlift - 215 1x10. Grip was really getting taxed tonight. I decided to hold the last rep at the top for a while. Form was okay, but I could have had better hip position for the first two reps or so. I sort of stiff legged them, but the rest improved.

Dad used the bumpers on Tuesday for his deadlift form work. We'll continue to work on form. The plates did their job. He has a pretty thick upper back, which makes it hard for me to tell if he's tight or slightly rounded. The chest up cue helps.

[MikeChops]

Bench Press - 165 2x5, 1x9
Curls - 62.5 2x12,10
Squat 200 2x5, 1x7 I don't know why but my last set always feels the most solid. I think that in general I get tighter, am more mentally prepared, and take a slightly longer break beforehand. Plus, I know it's gonna be [hopefully] more than 5 reps, so I do a better job of taking advantage of the stretch reflex.

Dad will do it Sat, since he was busy tonight.

[MikeChops]

Not a good session tonight at all. Not good. Low energy, empty stomach (important errand to run after dinner), late start. All that.

*Now trying to denote workouts with method in GSLP*

Press - 115x5x2, 115x8x1 - Rep nine just wouldn't go up. I'm looking forward to pressing 125 for 5. This is where I left off back when I was being consistent and [more] disciplined.
Chins - BWx10x2 Finally. A bit better. I'll add weight next time and allow myself to graduate by 2.5 as long as neither set falls below 6 (it's okay if set one is a few reps more than set two).
Squats - Fail. Back to corkscrewing and shifting. It was a mess and the weight felt heavy. But I know it's not a structural issue, because my warm-ups were okay (read: okay, not perfect). I'm resetting to 180 and working back up; it seems like the most logical thing to do. When I'm off, the knees out cue usually fails early.

Dad
Press - 45x5x3 No amrap, because he's still letting the bar drift too far forward and not keeping his head forward. We worked on this afterward and he improved.
Pullups - just a dead hang. Tough at his BW
Squat - Saw a lot of improvement. Still shy on depth.

[MikeChops]

I didn't work out on Wednesday, because I was in a really bad mood. It's the truth, but a lousy excuse. My dad didn't either.

Tonight was much better.

Press 115x5x2, 115x8x1 This was a repeat of last time. It was a bit harder, and I know I'm a tad detrained right now, but it will come right back.
Chins 5x8x2 Happy with this, although part of the reason has got to be a slightly lower BW. I'm just guessing (didn't weight in) since my eating declined too.
Squat 175x5x2, 175x11x1 The reset was necessary. The weight felt great; just the confidence boost I needed.

Ready to hit it hard like a steamroller.

Dad
Press 60x5x2, 60x8x1 - Pretty clean form. A few times he didn't quite get under it enough, but nothing big enough to warrant keeping it at this weight. He's good for more.
Chins - Dead hang practice.
Squat - 45x5x3 Some really good reps in here tonight. He hit parallel on a bunch of these. When he goes deeper, his knees come forward - probably not shoving them out enough at the bottom. Emphasizing this cue is helping. May need to let the knees forward at the top a little more (it's not a box squat)

[MikeChops]

Another ugly one.

Bench Press 170x5x5 170x7x1
Curls 62.5x10x2
Squat 180x5x2 180x7x1 This was the worst part of the workout. Everything just felt off.

Dad
Bench Press 60x5x2 60x15x1
Hammer curls 20'sx10x1 20'sx15x1
Squat - Form work, shy on depth, my oly shoes didn't help him (he may be better off in the chucks after all).

[Aliaga the Powerful]

Great to see your dad is still getting after it.

[MikeChops]

Thanks Aliaga.

Today was a failure on the training front. No workout - I had a due date to reach for a project and I procrastinated.

Overall right now I have no appetite, very low energy/drive and I feel weaker (and lighter). My squats sucked last time and now all my progress is eroding.

And when I don't work out, my dad also takes a day off. Failure on both accounts.

Maybe this weekend I'll catchup on work and get back on track.

But these 1-2am Tuesdays are beating the crap out of me and ruining Wednesdays.

Got to figure something out.

[MikeChops]

Some improvements tonight.

Press - 155x5x2, 115x6x1 Yeah, should've done more, but my eating is crap lately and it felt heavy. Couldn't get under number 7.
Chins - 5x8x2 Felt good. In fact set 2 felt a little better than the first
Squat - 155x5x2, 155x12x1 Some stance issues needed to be addressed. I think I found something I like. Just gotta stick with it.

Videos:
Press: http://www.youtube.com/user/VandelayCos ... DUrtrmqGF8

Squat 5 rep set: http://www.youtube.com/user/VandelayCos ... 4jbvlfFvnU
Amrap: http://www.youtube.com/user/VandelayCos ... PvE__WE39E

Dad

Press 65x5x2, 65x9x1 Had a few old habits to address on the press, but he cleaned it up quickly.
Chins - 2 times slowly lowering himself
Squat - Form work with the bar. Still some depth issues. Considering adding a little bit of weight to see if it helps him - something manageable.

[MikeChops]

Monday
Forgot to post. Can't remember the weights and reps. I'll have to edit em later.

Bench Press - 172.5x5x2, 175x7x1
Curls - 67.5x10x1, 67.5x8x1
Squat - 165x5x2, 165x12x1

Dad
Bench Press - 65x5x2, 65x__x1
Hammer curls - 20x20x2

Wednesday
Press - 117.5x5x2, 117.5x7x1
Chins - 7.5x8x2
Deadlift 205x10x1 - Haven't done this in about a month. It seems every time I miss a workout, it's a deadlift night. Felt okay.

Dad
Press - 70x5x2, 70x8x1 - Needs to remember to do the eccentric portion of the rep before stepping forward to rack it on the last rep
Pull-ups - Practiced the eccentric with BW about 5 times
Deadlift - 45x5x1 - Decent technique this time. On the last rep his knees got in the way a little