Thu 11/7 - Push Day

Workout: (Golds)
(80#DBInc)8,8,8,7 V. good
(105#OHP)7,7,7,6 Good
(145#DecCGBP)12,12,9 Great!
(60#DBBench)10,10,9
(75#TriExt)11,9,8
(35#IncFly)2x10
(150#TripPushDn)10,8
(T-Twist)3x20
(50#RopePushDn)4x12
(105#RDelt)10,8,8
65 + 15 w/u + 8 c/d = 88mins

I went ahead and stuck w/ 80#DB's today and I *think* I'm glad I did. I got more reps than last WO, so that's good progress.I decided to stick to 4 sets instead of 5 so that I'd have a little more left for OHP. Reps felt pretty good, but not quite as controlled/smooth as I'd like. Left elbow bad getting DB's into position and back down. Sets on 3min intervals.(13mins). OHP was same weight as last WO, but more reps. Felt good; heavy though.(10/23).

Close grip decline bench was great. Quite a few more reps than last WO. Tri's are getting strong. Bench was better than last WO too, plus I did an extra set. Sticking w/ 60's here though. Plenty heavy aftet a lot of pressing already in WO.(7/37mins). First set of tri extensions (skull crushers) felt fairly easy. I should've stopped at 10 reps. Lost reps after that, but good work.(7/44mins). I did incline fly's next to give tri's a break. Only did 2 sets, but they were really good.(5/49mins).

I did 2 heavy sets of pushdowns, followed by 4 sets of light rope pushdowns mixed in w/ torture twists for abs.(11/60mins). Finished up with a couple heavier than normal sets of rear delt fly's. The heavier weight actually felt really good and I could "feel" it well.(5/65mins).

Very pleased with the WO. Didn't bump up any weights, but got more reps on all main movements. Progressing quite nicely.  I'd better be while I'm putting weight/fat on. :)

Nutrition:
I weighed 174.0 this morning. Not bad, but I'm starting to dread what I'll weigh after the weekend. I'm going to have to try to keep it under control. I've got a couple more weeks of really trying to push the weights up before a deload and I've got to eat over maintenance to capitalize on it.  But, I dont' want to get too fat in the process. Keep cals high.

		Prot	Carb	Fat	Cal
TOTALS:	Grams	216	401	32	2,746
	Calories	864	1605	286	2,755
	Percent	31%	58%	10%	`

Wed 11/6 - Cardio

Cardio:
- Walked for 52 mins. Left knee has been really bad the last 2 days. Wish I could've run, but it was a gorgeous evening for a walk. Mid 60's in November. Can't beat that. Would've only been better if Sarah could've been w/ me.

Nutrition:
I weighed 174.4 this morning. Not too bad.

		Prot	Carb	Fat	Cal
TOTALS:	Grams	226	346	38	2,612
	Calories	905	1384	338	2,626
	Percent	34%	53%	13%	`

Sky during my walk:

Tue 11/5 - Pull Day

Workout: (Golds)
(35#Pullups)8,7,6,6
(135#BOR)4x8
(75#BBCurl)3x10 Weight bump
(25#RearDelt)3x10
(135#RevGripPull)3x10 Weight bump
(80#IsoRow)3x12 Weight bump
(25#IncCurl)3x12 Weight bump
(70#CGIsoROw)3x12
(195#Crunch)3x12
(70#RDeltFly)3x13
(20#Russians)3x20
70 + 7 w/u + 10 c/d = 87 mins

Lost a few reps from last pullup WO. They were still good, but I really had to work for these unlike last WO where first two sets of 8 were relatively easy.(11mins). Bent over rows were OK. They felt a little awkward and I had to cheat the weight up a little the last 2 sets. Gotta work on these. I should be going much heavier here by now.(9/20mins). Bumped up the weight on barbel curls and they felt really good. Combo'd them with dumbbell rear delts.(10/30mins).

I bumped up the weight on reverse grip pulldowns and they felt really good. I lean back when doing these and get a really good stretch and flexion.(7/37mins). I bumped the weight on iso rows and did them single handed, wide grip. Felt good and I supersetted with incline DB curls, also bumped up from last WO. Love these.(12/49mins).

I did another round of iso rows with narrow grip, both hands at the same time. They were real good and combo'd them w/ cable crunches.(9/58mins). Finished up with rear delt fly's on the machine combo'd with a russian twist/hip thrust combo.(12/70mins).

Overall a great WO. I was a little disappointed that I lost reps on pullups, but everything else was really good and I was able to bump weight on several exercises and still maintain reps.  The only issue w/ that is I want to progress on my main movement of the WO.

Nutrition:
I weighed 173.8 this morning.

		Prot	Carb	Fat	Cal
TOTALS:	Grams	213	372	50	2,772
	Calories	851	1487	452	2,790
	Percent	30%	53%	16%	`

Mon 11/4 - Rest Day

A much needed rest day. Only my 2nd day off in over 3 weeks. My chest is actually fairly sore today from the heavy work yesterday. I was going to run, but other "things" got in the way and I could really use a day completely off anyway.

Nutrition:
I weighed 175.4 this morning. That's not too bad for a Monday after a lot of eating this weekend, but I can't let it keep creeping up this quickly.  Hopefully I'll drop some liquid the next day or two and stabilize around 173.

		Prot	Carb	Fat	Cal
TOTALS:	Grams	190	331	37	2,403
	Calories	759	1325	331	2,415
	Percent	31%	55%	14%	`

Sun 11/3 - Push Day (Inc # bump)

Workout: (Golds)
(DBInc)75#x8,80#x8,8,7,5
(105#OHP)7,6,6,6
(145#DecCGBP)11,8,10
(60#DBBench)9,8
(70#OHTri)10,8,8
(195#Crunch)3x10
(150#TripPushDn)9,7
(KneeCrunch)3x20
(50#RopePushDn)4x12
(35#IncFly)12,10,10
(25#RDelt)3x10
72 + 11 w/u + 10 c/d = 95mins

I've been saying I was going to stick to 75# dumbbells on incline until 5x8 got comfortable and w/o set intervals going past 2.5 mins. The first set of incline felt really good, so I went ahead and bumped up the weight to 80# DB's. The next 2 sets were really good, the 4th I really worked for 7 and the fifth set I could only get 5. I was still very pleased with these reps and effort. I'm nearing the end of this training block and I was feeling good today so decided it was time to over-reach a bit and push the weights up wherever possible.(17mins). I bumped up the weight on OHP and these were tough after really pushing on incline. Definitely the lower end of rep range I want to be at.(10/27mins). I also bumped up close grip bench and these were good. I asked for a spot on the 3rd set, which is why I got more reps (I wasn't afraid of getting stuck).(8/35mins).

60#DB's felt heavy for bench after all the pressing already done, but good reps.(5/40mins). Overhead tri extensions were OK, but got heavy quickly. Supersetted these with cable crunches.(10/50mins). I did heavy and then light rope tri pushdowns supersetted with knee crunched. Rope felt really good on outer head of tri's and abs were on fire today. Overkill on # of tri pushdown sets.(14/69mins). I finished up with incline fly's which felt great, supersetted with rear delt fly's.(8/72mins).

Really good WO. My ego got in the way a little with bumping weight up on my first 3 main movements, but now's the time to press for the heavier weights while I'm eating over maintenance and nearing the end of this block of training. WO's have been getting pretty long. Gotta remember to focus on main movements and possibly cut back on the accessory volume.

Nutrition:
I weighed 173.6 this morning. Not bad. Fighting the urge to stop eating as planned and putting on a little weight. Kind of stopped tracking in the evening. Just made sure I got enough protein and didn't worry too much about anything else.

Sat 11/2 - 8 Mile Run

Run:
Ran 8 miles in 1:15:22
9:52,9:59,9:33,9:31,9:16,9:01,9:07,8:58
Avg 9:25 pace
1,114 cals
5min c/d 1:20 total

I was planning on running 3-4 miles before the kids woke up. First 2 miles felt like crap and didn't know if I'd do more than 3. Then I just started feeling better and kept rolling. Miles 6&7 felt really easy. 8th mile I started to have to work a little bit.  Great run. Left knee wasn't too bad after I got warmed up, but it was still "there" the whole run.

Nutrition:
I weighed 174.2 this morning. I'll have to see where I'm at after this weekend. First couple weeks of "bulk" were good, but gaining a little faster now. Might have to reign it in a little after the weekend. Not sure if I ate enough today.

		Prot	Carb	Fat	Cal
TOTALS:	Grams	175	340	52	2,535
	Calories	698	1360	470	2,528
	Percent	28%	54%	19%	`

Fri 11/1 - Pull Day (Another Pullup PR!)

Workout: (Sprint Large Gym)
(35#Pullups)8,8,8,6
(155#SmBOR)4x10
(60#Curl)3x12
(20#RearDelt)3x12
(125#RevGripPull)4x10
(25#BackExt)3x20
(20#IncCurl)15,12,12
(40#RDeltFly)3x15
51 + 7 w/u +9 c/d = 67 mins

I really wasn't feeling motivated for today's WO and was considering doing pull/push on Sat/Sun, but I have the kids (Elena too) this weekend and decided it might not be a good idea to be gone Saturday morning for a long WO w/ Elena in case she woke up before I was done. Part of me just wanted to do a lighter pump WO, but I'm nearing the last 3rd of a hard training block so figured I'd better give it a good go.

Pullups were awesome! I warmed up with a few body weight pullups and was sailing above the bar. I certainly wasn't sailing with a 35# dumbbell between my legs, but I got another personal record w/ reps at this weight. The 3rd set was a struggle to get 8, and the last set I was dead by 6. Most I've gotten before though was 7 on the first set. Started each set pretty strict at 2.5min intervals.(11mins). I did bent over rows next in the smith rack and these were good. I tried to do them standing slightly more upright to hit upper back a bit more.(9/20mins).

Barbell curls were OK. Left elbow is pretty bad and curls really bother it. Combo'd these with dumbbell rear delt fly's.(9/29mins).  Reverse grip pulldowns were really good and my I could really feel these exercises in my back today. In fact, when cooling down I could feel a "pump" similar to how my chest gets after a good WO. I don't always get that in my back. I combo'd the pulldowns with weighted back extensions. I might pay for these later tonight.(13/42mins). Finished up with incline curls and rear delt fly's on the machine.(9/51mins).

For not even wanting to do this WO, it was GREAT! A pullup PR and lots of good back work. Very pleased. Some cardio tomorrow AM and then I hope to really have a great push WO on Sunday. Really reaching to hit some good WO's and PR's as this training block is winding down.

Nutrition:
I weighed 173.0 this morning. I was a little surprised. My weight hasn't really dropped off like weeks past. That's good, and the goal, but I am still having a very difficult time allowing myself to eat enough to put weight on. My first reaction when I see the scale go up is to start cutting again. Gotta
remember the plan and stick with it.