Ash's Journal

[Growth]

Doesnt it suck that cronic injuries etc can really be so detrimental to your training. You would think the body would be able to handle the stress by now, we dont hit it that hard and most of us get good rest. Usless bodies

[Ash]

Doesnt it suck that cronic injuries etc can really be so detrimental to your training. You would think the body would be able to handle the stress by now, we dont hit it that hard and most of us get good rest. Usless bodies

Story of my life mate

Doing plenty of warm-up sets still hasn't kept me in 1 piece over the years, so I've decided to make my warm-ups even longer, keep my reps closer to 10 and to concentrate on form much more carefully.

At 36, I don't heal up as fast as I used to and I can't afford to end up more wrecked than I am.

[shane]

I know the feeling had my knees operated 4 times last time was in July this year so slowly building them up taking that stuff to help with the joints cant remember the name of it now seems to be working thou

[Ash]

I know the feeling had my knees operated 4 times last time was in July this year so slowly building them up taking that stuff to help with the joints cant remember the name of it now seems to be working thou

What did you do to your knees to need 4 operations Shane?

[Ash]

Just chest and delts today

20 minute cardio @ 75% Max HR

Incline smith bench press

45 x 19 RP

Hammer delt machine

50 x 18 RP

(Last time 50 x 13 RP)

Nice improvement here - making progress again

Didn't do tris today - I'll start a thread about that.....

[shane]

I started playing club rugby at 16 and played a hand full of senior rugby at that age as well then when I was 18 played senior A's all the the time.

I think being in the army and carrying a heavy for weeks on end didn't help as well. In a nutshell they call it wear an tear. Not suspose to play touch, sports like that now which I don't well once in a while I just train in the gym now which I enjoy :grin:

[Ash]

I had a very decent workout today - back, bis and forearms

24 minutes cardio at 80 -85% Max HR

Parallel grip pulldowns

80 x 19 RP

(Last time 78 x 17 RP)

Horizontal grip machine rows

55 x 20 RP

Hammer preacher curls

40 x 19 RP

30 x 18

I tried doing a straight set of 20 reps with a lighter weight just after the RP set. It hurt like hell and I only got to 18 :roll:

Standing BB wrist curls

20 x 12

25 x 10

25 x 8

[ExpensiveUrine]

You're back into DC? Good to hear.

How's your diet looking?

[Ash]

You're back into DC? Good to hear.

How's your diet looking?

Ah it's not really DC right now. :?

While I'm using DC techniques like RP sets/stretching and I'm following most of the diet guidelines, it isn't DC because I'm not getting the high levels of protein and I'm not following the workout schedule exactly. As my back improves and I can train harder, I'll keep upping my calories and my intensity to get closer to the real thing.

My diet is solid - I've been calorie counting to make sure I'm getting enough food. It's all clean carbs, good fat and a decent amount of protein. I started on about 3000 cals a day and am heading towards 3600 daily. In a few weeks, I'll be back to 4500+.

How's your training going?

[ExpensiveUrine]

While I'm using DC techniques like RP sets/stretching and I'm following most of the diet guidelines, it isn't DC because I'm not getting the high levels of protein and I'm not following the workout schedule exactly. As my back improves and I can train harder, I'll keep upping my calories and my intensity to get closer to the real thing.

Over the years, what do you think aggravated your back condition?

How's your training going?

Pretty good. I've taken out/substituted exercises that taxed my lower back the most. So SLDL/Squats/Bent-over rows are out for a while but I pretty much used alternatives to those and compensated volume as a result.

[Ash]

Over the years, what do you think aggravated your back condition?

Mostly lack of flexibility - both spinal and otherwise (hams, hips etc) combined with doing stuff that just shouldn't be done with a disc injury - squats and SLDLs in my case.

Bad form also played a part :cry:

[Ash]

Sunday - Legs

Cardio - 26 minutes at 80% Max HR

Leg extensions

30 x 20

35 x 15

35 x 14

35 x 12

1 legged squats

BW x 12

BW x 10

BW x 10

Leg curl

35 x 15 RP

I did a few decent sets of calves as well - will start logging these soon.

Things are slowly improving - I should be able to get back to leg press by next week as well as adding weight to the rest of the leg movements.

[Ash]

Monday - chest, delts and tris

Incline BB press

70 x 18 RP

(Last time 70 x 16 RP)

Smith military press

35 x 16 RP

(Last time 35 x 15 RP)

Hammer tricep extensions

60 x 19 RP

40 x 20

(Last time 50 x 25 RP)

I'm trying a 20 rep set just after the RP set - seems to work quite well.

Added reps or weight on all 3 muscle groups today, so I'm happy to be making progress again. I'll be keeping the reps up to try and prevent injuries.

[jono]

keep the workouts coming man.

[Growth]

Nice looking workouts mate, keep it up!

[Ash]

I noticed that my gym is closed Sun, Mon and Tues next week - so I better get stuck in while I can.

Back and forearms today

Cardio - 22 minutes at 80 - 85% Max HR

Hammer pulldowns

52.5 x 18 RP

(Last time 50 x 20RP)

I thought I could get at least 20 reps with this but I lost my focus at 18 and failed on 19...mumble mumble :evil:

Incline bench DB rows

16 x 12

16 x 12

16 x 12

(Last time 16 x 10, 16 x 9, 16 x 8 )

DB rear lateral raises

16 x 12

16 x 10

16 x 10

(Last time 16 x 10, 16 x 8 )

Standing DB wrist curls

25 x 12

25 x 11

(Last time 22.5 x 10, 25 x 10)

Progress all round, mostly with added reps but I'm a bit disappointed with the pulldowns. Oh well it's a target for next time.

[Ash]

Thursday - Legs

Leg extension

35 x 17

35 x 16

35 x 15

(Last time 35 x 15, 35 x 14, 35 x 12)

Some progress here. I'm really taking it easy on the knees, which are holding up nicely at the moment, so no extra leg work today...just slowly getting back into things.

Leg curl

35 x 14 RP

(Last time 35 x 15 RP)

I was working on really slowing down the negative part of this movement and couldn't get the same amount of reps as last time. Form was much much better though.

Chucked in some good calf work on the leg press as well...will move back to the standing calf machine next week.

Friday - Chest, traps and delts

Machine chest press

100 x 18 RP

(Last time 85 x 17 RP)

Hammer delt machine

50 x 20 RP

(Last time 50 x 18 RP)

DB Shrugs

25 x 12

25 x 12

25 x 12

[jono]

good to see some training here man

[Ash]

good to see some training here man

Thanks jono - it's good to be making some progress again.

I did legs today - my knees are feeling a lot better, maybe the joint formula is having an effect, now that I'm taking it consistently

Leg extension

35 x 20

40 x 15

40 x 15

40 x 14

(Last time 35 x 17, 35 x 16, 35 x 15)

Leg curl

35 x 17 RP

(Last time 35 x 14 RP)

1 leg squats

BW x 10

BW x 10

BW x 10

Seated leg press

40 x 20

54 x 20

61 x 20

Just trying this machine out again - it seems to be easier on my knees than the normal leg press, so I'll add it to the routine and see how it goes.

Seated leg press calf raises

89 x 15

103 x 12

117 x 10

117 x 10

[jono]

one thing about legpress and knees if you dont put ur feet high enough up on the platform it will stress ur kness quit hard. did u try feet right up high

[ExpensiveUrine]

Have you tried wrapping your knees?

Good stuff on the progress thus far.

[Ash]

Have you tried wrapping your knees?

Good stuff on the progress thus far.

I tried once and it felt worse during the workout with the wraps than without :?

I'll get a decent set of wraps and try again. I've been told that neoprene knee supports and a heat rub are a good idea because they keep the area really warm during training.

Thants for the feedback BTW.

[Ash]

It's occurred to me that my training is staler than last month's bread, so I'm going to have to mix it up a bit with some new movements. My back's feeling much better so I can start using DBs again.

Friday - chest, delts, tris

Decline BB bench press

85 x 17 RP

This isn't done on a proper decline bench because the gym doesn't have one :roll: so I just chucked a step under the front of a flat bench to get a decline. Felt quite good - the weights should increase quickly here.

Seated DB press

22.5 x 11

25 x 8

22.5 x 8

22.5 x 8

I don't really want to be rest-pausing DBs, so I'm doing 3 - 4 straight sets here.

Floor skullcrushers

30 x 17 RP

It feels quite strange to do these on the floor instead of a bench but it saves me having to move the weights from the floor and back after every set....much easier on my back.

[Ash]

I forgot to log last Saturday's workout - the last one for 05

Back, bis, forearms

Close grip pulldowns with straight bar

78 x 18 RP

Incline DB rows

17 x 12

17 x 12

17 x 12

(Last time 16 x 12, 16 x 12, 16 x 12)

Some progress here - not sure about this movement. I can use about a third of what I could probably move on normal DB rows but at least my lower back takes no strain while I'm doing this. I'll persist and see how it goes.

Incline rear lateral raises

17 x 12

17 x 10

17 x 10

(Last time 16 x 12, 16 x 10, 16 x 10)

Hammer preachers

40 x 12

50 x 9

50 x 9

50 x 7

(Last time I did straight sets on these, I got 40 x 10, 40 x 10, 50 x 7)

Standing BB wrist curls

40 x 13

45 x 11

47.5 x 8

(Last time 40 x 12, 45 x 10, 45 x 8 )

Progress all round.

[Ash]

1st workout for 06 - legs.

Now this is more like it - my knees feel much better and although the reps are still high and the weights are low, I had a decent leg workout for the 1st time in ages :grin:

Seated leg press

101 x 20

101 x 20

110 x 18

Seated leg curl

35 x 18 RP

(Last time 35 x 17 RP)

My kingdom for another freaking leg curl machine...... :pray:

Standing calf raises

77 x 10

77 x 10

77 x 9

I'm really trying to focus on my form on this movement - 5 seconds stretch at the bottom, 5 seconds up, 5 seconds peak contraction and 5 seconds down. The pain is pretty impressive :shock: