Sun 8/30/20 - Full Body (Deadlift)

 Garage Gym

(Deadlift)135x6,185x6,205x6,225x6,6

(Incline)bar,95,125x8,145x8,155x8,8,8

(OHP)105x8,85x12,9,75x10

55 mins 

Started with deadlift, keeping it light and working up to 2 sets @RPE8.  These were lower than @8 intensity, but I’m just trying to work up slowly and this was heavier than last week. I want to keep being able to do deadlifts and work up slowly as my knees get better.  I wanted to keep going heavier, but I get into trouble when I do that. Next was incline working up to 3 sets @RPE8. This was 5# heavier than last week, RPE’s for the top sets were probably 8, 8.5, 9-9.5.  Definitely overshot on the last set. Solid work. OHP next for high reps was a struggle after incline. I didn’t get as many reps as last week and had to drop the back-off sets.  Solid WO.

Nutrition/Weight:

181.4 this morning.

Sat 8/29/20 - GPP (Pull-ups)

 Garage Gym

(Pullups)10,10,9

(OHTri)50x15,60x15,70x12

(Curl)30x12,25Hx12

(L-Sit)90,90,90

(Delt)10x15,15

(FacePull)2x15

(Crunch)20/+5,5,5,5,5

(Mobility)

60 mins 

GPP Day.  I wanted to do a set of pull-ups and then do seal rows for my back movement.  But pull-ups felt really good so we decided to do 3 sets.  Sarah and I both had great pull-ups today, especially since we haven’t done them in a long time.  Sarah got 8,7,3.  I was shocked that I got 10,10,9.  We didn’t do seal rows.  We superseded pull-ups with overhead triceps. I started light and worked up.  Then we did curls and L-Sits.  I had to do the 3rd set with my butt on the ground. My triceps and shoulders couldn’t hold me off the ground.  Then we did delt raises and face pulls. Finished up with mayo-rep crunches and mobility.  

Nutrition/Weight:

182.4 this morning.

Fri 8/28/20 - Full Body (Bench) + Knee/Shoulder update

Garage Gym

(Bench)135x6,155x6,170x6,180x6,185x6,6,6

(Tibialis)2x25

(Calf)2x25

(StepUp3”)25

(PendlayRow)155x16/+5,5,5,5,4

(LDelt)10x15,15

(Mobility)

70 mins 

Used the new ISF Power Bar for the first workout today. LOVE the aggressive knurling.  So much better than the Ohio Bar.  Started with bench working up to 3x6 @RPE8. I paused the last rep on each set and on the 3rd set that pause pushed me to probably RPE9, but felt pretty good.  I already did barbell squats this week, so I skipped skipped squats today and did knee ability work. Then we did Pendlay rows for Myo-reps.  I was POURING sweat during these.  Finished up with some lateral delts while I cooled down.  Solid WO.

I haven't mentioned my shoulders bothering me in a while, because they haven't! My shoulders and elbows have been feeling good for several months.  My knees are still a work in progress, but getting better (I think) and my legs are getting stronger. I'm also getting more flexible. When my knees aren't cranky, I can squat below parallel, I can do things I haven't been able to do in probably 10 years.  So, despite them being painful at times still, I'm seeing progress in other ways and no way in hell am I giving up!

Nutrition/Weight:

181.2 this morning.

Wed 8/26/20 - Full Body (Squat)

Garage Gym

(Squat)bar,75,95x6,6,6,6

(OHP)bar,75,95x6,110x6,120x6,115x6,6

(RDL)135x10,185x10,205x10,10

(Flexibility)

47 mins 

Left knee was feeling a little wonky after yesterday’s WO, but I stretched and warmed up well and knees were feeling really good. So, I decided to squat, very lightly, today. I basically squatted during my rests as I was warming up on OHP.  How pathetic is that, squatting my OHP weight?  But it felt good, only slight discomfort in my left knee a couple of times. I hit good depth, flexibility is getting much better.  Pleased with squats for what they are right now.  OHP was OK.  I was working up to 3 sets @RPE8.  Last week 115#’s felt really good so I bumped up to 120 this week but overshot RPE.  Instead of trying to stick with it, I backed off to 115 did 2 more sets.  First one was @8, the 2nd one was @9.  Then I did RDL’s.  Finished up with some flexibility (hamstring/quad/glute).

Nutrition/Weight:

181.4 this morning. 

Tue 8/25/20 - GPP

 Garage Gym

(SealRow)25x20,45x13,13

(OHTri)45x20,60x15,70x13

(Tibialis)2x25

(CalfRaise)25

(KOTCalf)30

(Curl)25x15,25Hx15

(Delt)10x15,15,15,15

(L-Sit)90,90,90

(PartickStep)2.5x10,3x10,4x25,3x25

(Flexibility)

63 mins 

 

GPP day started with seal rows and overhead triceps extensions. Started with a light set, high reps as a bit of a warmup set.  Next I did the knee ability routine.  Then I did curls, delts and L-sits.  For delts I did a front, rear and two lateral sets.  L-sits are still a challenge but getting better. I keep trying to add a little time or a little volume.  Today, 3x90 with 15 second hold intervals has been my best.  Then I did Patrick step-ups. Started warming up at 2 inches and worked up to 4” working set.  My knees were popping on that set so I dropped back down to 3” for another set.  Finished with some flexibility.  Solid GPP day.

Nutrition/Weight:

181.8 this morning.

Mon 8/24/20 - Full Body (Deadlift)

 Garage Gym

(Deadlift)135x6,185x6,215x6,6

(Incline)125x8,140x8,150x8,8,8

(OHP)105x10,95x11,8

(Flexibility)Quad/Ham/Glute

48 mins 

 

I superseded deadlift and incline to save some time this morning, and because I’m still keeping deadlift really light I was able to work it in fairly easily.  I spent about 9 hours in the car yesterday so my back was a little tight starting with deadlifts.  Just kept RPE fairly low as I work back into this movement and take it easy on my knees.  Incline was decent.  Last week my top sets were at 155#’s, but I had written down that the 2nd set was RPE9. I wanted to stay at RPE8 if possible and I had 3 sets instead of 2 so 150 felt about right.  Next was OHP, same weights as last week.  A set at 70%AMRAP, then 63% for 2x12.  These high-volume sets at the end of the WO always get me.  Happy to get this in on a rainy Monday morning.

Nutrition/Weight:

182.4 this morning.

Fri 8/21/20 - Full Body (Bench)

 Garage Gym

(Bench)145x6,165x6,175x6,180x6,6,6

(GobletSquat)BWx10,20x10,30x10,10

(PendlayRow)155x15/+5,5,5,4

44 mins 

 

Started with bench working up to 3 sets @RPE8. Working on tight setup which still feels a little weird.  I did 175 last week and felt really strong. Bumped to 180 today and felt pretty good and I think stayed about in the correct RPE range.  Next was a squat variation.  I did very light goblet squats. As I write this several hours later, my quads are feeling it.  Finished up with myo-rep Pendlay rows. Bumped up 20 pounds from last week and felt it!  Fairly short but solid WO.

Nutrition/Weight:

181.0 this morning.  Feeling good. Trying to get back to pre-vacation weight.  I was 179-180 and have been hovering a few pounds above that.

Thu 8/20/20 - GPP

Garage Gym

(InvertRow)15,12,10

(OHTri)60x15,12,10

(Curl)25x12,25Hx10,20Hx12

(Delt)10x15,15,15

(L-Sit)90,90

(Mobility)

35 mins 

 

Quick GPP work this morning. Started with inverted rows and overhead triceps superset.  Started every 2 minutes so 3 supersets in 6 mins.  Then I did curls and delt superset, again 3 sets in 6 minutes.  For delts I did 1 set each front, lateral, rear.  Since these were supersets and short rests reps dropped and/or I had to use lighter weights than normal.  I never use long rests on GPP days, but these were really short between sets.  Finished up with L-Sit holds. I’m still struggling with these, but getting better. I hold a single leg for 15 seconds, then switch legs.  When I started I could barely do 10 second holds for 60 seconds total.  Now I’m at 15 second holds for 90 seconds.  I also did my normal morning full body mobility routine.

Nutrition/Weight:

181.4 this morning.

Wed 8/19/20 - Full Body (OHP)

 Garage Gym

(OHP)75x6,95x6,105x6,115x6,6,6,8

(RDL)135x10,165x10,185x10,10,10

(Tibialis15”)2x25

(Calf)25

(KOTCalf)25

(PatrickStep)12”x25,11”x25

(Flexibility)Ham/Glute/Quad

54 mins 

 

Today should have started with squats, but I'm still doing the knee ability routine instead. Started with OHP working up to 3 sets of 6 @RPE8. I was feeling good so I did a 4th set and did 8 reps.  This was good and bad.  Good in that it felt much better than last week at the same weight, bad in that I pushed to RPE9 and I just tend to do that too frequently.  Felt good though and solid effort.  Then I did RDL’s fairly light with some decent volume. 

I also did the knee ability routine and some flexibility.  Knees are OK-ish.  They feel great in some positions and I can do things w/o pain I couldn’t do before.  But there are still some ROM’s that are painful that just won’t seem to go away.  I have to remember when they are feeling good, it’s not necessarily a time to start pushing (squatting, adding extra knee ability sets, pushing into pain areas).  I tend to do this when things start feeling good and end up taking several steps backward.  Slow progression will win the game here.

Nutrition/Weight:

182.0 this morning.

Mon 8/17/20 - GPP

Garage Gym

(Tibialis)2x25

(Calf)25

(KOTCalf)25

(PatrickStep12”)2x25

(SealRow)45x15,15,35x15

(BandExt)2x15

(Curl)30x12,25Hx12

(Delt)10x15,15

(Plank)40/20x8

(Flexibility)

58 mins 

 

Started with knee ability routine, then GPP work. GPP was seal rows and triceps.  Then curls and delts.  Finished up with 8 minutes of planks (90 second last hold) and some flexibility work (outer glutei, hamstring, quad/hip flexor).

Nutrition/Weight:

184.2 this morning.

Sun 8/16/20 - Full Body (Deadlift)

 Garage Gym

(Deadlift)135x6,165x6,185x6,205x6,225x6

(Incline)115x8,145x8,155x8,8

(OHP)105x10,95x11,10

51mins 

 

Knees improving, decided to do light deadlifts. Felt pretty good, enjoyed doing them even though light.  Next was incline for sets of 8, working up to 2 sets @RPE8. Finished up with OHP, 70%AMRAP, then 63% 2x12.  I always struggle with the sets of 12.  Solid WO.

Nutrition/Weight:

184.0 this morning.

Fri 8/14/20 - Full Body (Bench)

 Garage Gym

(Bench)135x6,155x6,165x6,175x6,9

(Tibialis)2x25

(Calf)25

(KOTCalf)25

(PatrickStep)2x25

(PendlayRow)135x20/+5,5,5,5,5

(L-Sit)60,80,80

(OuterGlute)60

(Hamstring)30

71mins 

 

Started with bench working up to 2 sets @RPE8. I ended up doing 9 reps on last set and was likely @PRE9, but I was feeling good. Then I did knee ability routine. Next was Pendlay rows for Myo-Reps. Then I did L-sits. I was doing holds of each leg for 10 seconds.  Today I did 15 seconds and went longer than 60 seconds. I was DRIPPING sweat.  These are SO hard for me.  Finished up with some flexibility.

Nutrition/Weight:

182.4 this morning.

Wed 8/12/20 - Full Body (Squat)

 Garage Gym

(Squat)BWx8,10,12

(OHP)bar,75x6,85x6,95x6,105x6,115x6,6,6

(RDL)135x10,185x10,205x10

31mins 

 

Re-starting the Powerbuilding 1 template today.  Template starts with squat today as main movement. I’m still not really squating so I started with OHP and knees were feeling good so I did some body weight squats. I did these deep, below parallel with some speed out of the hole. As I write this, my knees are really tight, so this might have been a big mistake.  Anyway, OHP was decent. Just starting to build some volume back in.  Finished up with some RDL’s. Fairly short WO.

Nutrition/Weight:

182.4 this morning.

Tue 8/11/20 - GPP & Knee Ability

 Garage Gym

(InvertRow)17,15,14

(DBTriceps)30x15,10,10

(Curl)30x12,25Hx12

(Delt)15x13,10x15,15,15

(L-Sit)60,60,80

(KneeAbility)

50 mins 

Started inverted rows and DB triceps superset. Then did curls and delts. For delts I did 2 front, 2 side.  Then I did 3 sets of L-sits, last one I did 80 seconds.  Finished up with knee ability and stretching.

Nutrition/Weight:

182.4 this morning.

Sun 8/9/20 - Full Body (Deadlift)

Garage Gym

(Deadlift)115x6,145x6,165x6,185x6,6,6

(Bench2CtPause)125x6,150x6,160x6,170x6,6,6

(DBInc)60x10,70x10,8,60x10

54 mins 

Started with light deadlifts because knees have been feeling better. Then did 2 count paused bench. Very pleased with this progression the last month. Finished up with DB incline for 4 sets.

Nutrition/Weight:

182.6 this morning.

Fri 8/7/20 - Low Incline + Knee Ability

 Garage Gym

(LowIncline)125x6,145x4,165x3,185x3,195x3,205x2,175x7,6,6

(SealRow)60x10,50x12,45x12,12

(L-Sit)60,60,60

(Tibialis15”)25

(FHLCalf)25

(Tibialis14”)25

(KOTCalf)25

(PatrickStep12”)25

66 mins 

Started with Low Inline working up to a heavy double, then backing off for 3 good sets for some volume. Then seal rows. Started with a heavy set AMRAP, then backed off for 3 sets. Next we did L-sits for 3 rounds of 60 seconds. These are SO hard for me! Finished up with knee ability.

Nutrition/Weight:

184.6 this morning.

Thu 8/6/20 - OHP

Garage Gym

(OHP)bar,bar,65x6,95x6,115x4,125x4,135x2,115x6,110x6,6,6

(Delt)10x18,18,18,18

(UprightRow)45x15,15

46 mins 

Missed my Wednesday workout, so I did some OHP and shoulders today. Legs got worked the last 2 days hiking in the GSMNP.

Started with OHP working up to a heavy double, then backing off to 6@9, then -5% and sets of 6 until @9 RPE again.  Then I did delt raises.  2 sets of front, then 2 sets of side/lateral supersetted with upright rows.

Nutrition/Weight:

183.8 this morning. A bit bloated from eating lots of carbs while hiking and last night for dessert.

Tue - Wed 8/4/20-8/5/20: Hiking in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Tuesday I hiked for about 4 hours.

Newfound Gap to Charlie's Bunion. Then the Bunion to the Jump Off, then back to Newfound Gap. About 4 hours hiking, 7-8 miles.

Wednesday

Woke up at 4am and drove to Clingman's Dome parking. Hiked up to the dome for a beautiful sunrise. Then went back to Elkmont to check into my campsite. I got there after check-in hours last night. On the way, I stopped at Laurel Falls for about 3 miles. 

Then I went into Gatlinburg for cell coverage to check on Hayden. Ended up cutting trip short and heading home. I just didn't feel comfortable being in the park without cell coverage right now.

Sun 8/2/20 - Full Body (Bench)

Garage Gym

(SLDL)125x12,145x12,165x12

(Bench2CtPause)115,125,145,155,165x6,6,6

(DBIncline)60x12,70x8,60x6,10

56 mins 

Today would be deadlift day but I just did some light, high-rep SLDL’s. Then 2 count paused bench which was good and a 5# improvement from last WO. Finished up with DB incline.

Nutrition/Weight:

181.8 this morning.

Sat 8/1/20 - GPP + Knee Ability

Garage Gym

(InvertRow)19,15,12

(BandTriceps)3x13

(Curl)30x12,25Hx12

(Delt)10x15,15

(KneeOut)2mins

(Tibialis14”)25,25

(FHLCalf)25

(KOTCalf)25

(PatrickStep10”)25

(L-Sit)60,60

47 mins 

GPP day.  Started with inverted rows and band triceps extensions. Then curls and delts. Then I did the Knee Ability routine, plus L-Sits and stretching.

Nutrition/Weight:

181.6 this morning.

Fri 7/31/20 - Low Incline

Garage Gym

(LowIncline)145x6,165x4,185x3,200x3,175x6,165x66,6,6

(SealRow)60x10,50x11,45x10,12

(Flexibility)

53 mins 

Still taking it easy on legs so I skipped squats. Started WO with low incline. Decent pressing but felt heavy. Finished with Seal Rows and some stretching.

Nutrition/Weight:

180.6 this morning