Progress Log: Week 22

Details

Mode

It’s a low rep/high weight week.

Sunday

Had an awesome Chest and Bicep day. For the first time in what feels like forever, I finally got on the Smith Machine for a chest day. It’s been almost two months (April 2nd was my last turn through this particular program).

I had to get accustomed to a few things. My last successful flat bench on the Smith Machine at the downtown location was 215 for a single.

So, I loaded up 215 to see how it shook out. I mean, I’ve been pretty diligent over the past couple of months about my chest workouts. I’ve missed two out of ten, both due to crazy workweeks.

While the adjustable incline/decline bench is a Hoist model, similar to the bench at my old facility, the seat is a lot wider. These benches are tall, so folks with short legs, such as myself, have to plant our feet on the adjustable foot anchor. I couldn’t really get a solid power position due to the flared seat.

I ended up pinning myself to the bench, which is always a joy.

That didn’t make a lot of sense to me, so I looked up the specs on this new Smith machine and the bar is 30 lbs instead of the 25 at the old gym.

So that makes a little bit of a difference as well.

I adjusted down to 210 and got it back up cleanly. I should be able to do 215 on my next cycle.

Once the bugs were worked out, it was a really great workout. I actually surprised myself with my incline presses.

I kind of hate how they’re doing the EZ Bar situation. There are no adjustable ones. Instead, there’s a rack of 10 or so with ascending weights in 10 lb increments, starting with 20 lbs. The bars have a weird bend to them. The narrow part is too narrow and wide part is too wide.

And while I’m being a diva…I seriously hate having to drag these over to the preacher curl bench.

So I’ve adjusted my workout to do standing EZ Bar curls followed by reverse grip ones, right there by the rack. I then added three forearm exercises into the mix, then finished my biceps off on the Preacher Curl machine, which is actually more of a challenge than one would think it would be.

All in all, I was happy with that workout.

Monday

Gym was closed for Memorial Day, which was fine. I got in 12,958 steps doing lawn work. As a bonus my lawn looks terrific and I earned a sunburn!

Tuesday

Super low motivation. Today was a fail.

Wednesday

Got in for a solid Leg and Bicep day. Had a full workout.

Working on getting deeper on my hack squats. The new machine tracks a little differently than at the old gym, but I’m getting used to it.

Seeing some interesting progress on my leverage shoulder press. A month ago I struggled with 150 lbs. Today, I hit 150 for 3.

Started back with barbell shrugs. I’m not using straps. A year ago, I developed a nasty case of tendinitis in my left wrist. It happened the day after I pulled 315 on a set of shrugs. It really limited parts of my workouts for months afterwards.

The arthritis in my hands has greatly impacted my grip strength, which I hate. My back and shoulders can pull big weight, but my hands can’t hold it.

I’ve reintroduced forearm exercises in my Chest and Bicep day to counter this, but the dead slow pace of progress is really frustrating.

Thursday

Got a satisfying Back and Triceps day in.

My seated cable rows are feeling really good. I nailed 250 for a clean pair. It kind of surprised me.

I’ve dropped the weight on my tricep cable work a bit to clean my form up. I’m feeling it better now.

I still dream about doing clean, unassisted pull ups and dips. I can now do a couple of shaky unassisted dips, but they’re not pretty. However, I remind myself, I’m 53 and currently weigh around 245. Once I get down to 200 lbs, I’m going to be in beast mode here.

Friday

Had plans to get in a CT day. Had to work until 11 am, then go meet my sister for lunch in Albany. I had set everything up so I could get back home, conveniently grab my gear, and get to the gym.

Then my mobile groomer texted me and asked if she could move our 5:00 time to 2:30. She’s also a friend, and I wouldn’t be able to make her alternate time slot for Saturday at 2:00, so, there was that.

By the time all was said and done, it was 3:30 in the afternoon, the house was filling up with teenagers, and I lost all steam.

Saturday

This morning, I’m headed out to get our alley way cleaned up. It should take a couple of hours. If I have time I’ll mow the yard as well.

Alicia and I are going to a Celtic music show at 2:00, so I need to be done with the work stuff by noon to get showered up and out the door on time.

Diet

I was in big caloric deficit on Sunday and Monday, small caloric deficit on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, and had a blowout on Wednesday when we had a pizza night.

I’ve been upping my protein levels considerably. I’ve started eating some tasty Quest protein bars and I’ve discovered Lean Body protein shakes, which are freaking delicious. My lowest protein intake this week was 97 gm and my highest was 169. The rest of the days were were right around 120, which is substantially higher than what I’ve been consuming normally. Technically, I should be aiming for 185 gm a day, but that’s either a lot of time cooking or a lot of cash for convenience. I’ll figure it out. As long as I keep progressing positively I’m happy.

I hit my hydration goals for the entire week until Friday, when I dropped the ball. Need to be better about that.