Exerbabble for 12-11-6

Today’s workout:

HGM Phase V: “Winter Champ”, Upper Day, Workout I

Power Clean and Press: 3 @ 65 lbs/29.5 kg

Complex A

BB High Pull:
8 @ 105 lbs/48 kg
10 @ 95 lbs/43 kg
12 @ 95 lbs/43 kg
DB Shoulder Press:
8 @ 20 lbs/9 kg
10 @ 20 lbs/9 kg
12 @ 20 lbs/9 kg
DB Piston B-o Row:
8 @ 35 lbs/16 kg
10 @ 35 lbs/16 kg
12 @ 30 lbs/14 kg
Funky Chicken:
8 @ 5 lbs/2 kg
10 @ 5 lbs/2 kg
12 @ 5 lbs/2 kg

Complex B

Dip:
8 @ BW
6 @ BW
3 @ BW
BB Close-Grip Bench Press:
5 @ 85 lbs/39 kg
8 @ 65 lbs/30 kg
8 @ 55 lbs/25 kg
Close-Grip Lat Pull-down:
8 @ 120 lbs/55 kg
9 @ 110 lbs/50 kg
12 @ 100 lbs/45 kg
Cable Curl:
8 @ 50 lbs/23 kg
10 @ 40 lbs/18 kg
12 @ 30 lbs/14 kg

current bodyweight: 158.2 lbs/71.9 kg (+1 lbs; weekly average of 158.2 lbs)

Given that each set is going to be a different weight, I figured giving every set a separate line would make it cleaner.

This was.. interesting, to say the least. As expected, I didn’t run into any cardiovascular fatigue from doing four exercises in a row. I did an easy warm-up of clean and press. Made sense, given what I was about to. Even then, I could feel it in my lateral deltoid. Ooh boy, I was in for it.

I had to mentally think about what weights I was going to use for each set, and the subsequent exercises. Not too many things to remember. The first complex had me steal a squat rack place a bar on the floor. Lifting in the morning means less squat rack curlers. I was afraid high pulls would make DB presses difficult, but that didn’t seem to be the case at all. My triceps were fresh each time, so I was able to press easily. I wasn’t expecting to be able to do all the reps with 20 lbs, as I recall how much difficulty I had with DB shoulder presses in Phase II. Piston rows were interesting? I purposely went easy on the weight. And I went stupidly low weight for Funky Chickens. I went slow and got the motion down. All of five pounds, and I could see my lateral deltoid popping out. I like that.

I was kind of afraid I wouldn’t do well at dips, but I ended up hitting my initial mark. I realized my chest was completely fresh, and my triceps were still relatively fresh. What shocked me is those damn close-grips. What the hell happened? I can hover the weight above my chest until the cows come home, but it feels awkward pushing it up. It’s kind of embarassing to use weight that low. Maybe my anterior deltoids just aren’t that strong. (Then again, most of me isn’t that strong.) I’ll use whatever weight I have to use to keep form okay, as my elbows kept wanting to flare out. Close-grip pull-downs felt different than wide-grips, in that I could hold the down position a lot easier. And maybe it’s because it was a post-exhaust, but curls were hard. I.. did not like how it made me feel!

So that’s what a bicep pump feels like. Afterwards, my shoulder felt sore, my biceps felt pumped, and my lats felt. Why did I feel anything in my lats? I thought back to dips. As an internal rotator, wouldn’t the lats help with bringing the arms closer to the body at the bottom portion of the dip? Maybe. As expected, I had issues raising my arms over my head after this workout. I don’t recall it taking that long, really. Went really fast. But damn, that was it. I did my stretches, and called it a day.

Adjustments: I think I can level up my first two sets of high pulls. The third set, I was trying hard to hit the last two reps. A 115/105/95 progression will be easy to strip weight off of. Man, I felt that in my traps.

Level up shoulder press to 25/25/20. Go easy. Level up rows to 40/35/30. Piece of cake. Level up Funky Chickens to 10/10/5. I think I’ll try doing 75/65/55 for close-grips. I’ll keep my pull-down as it is. I’ll level up my curls to 60/50/40, and do what I can. I’ll find out fast if I hit a wall.

Oh, I never stated my weight gain goal. I’m already at 158 lbs, but I was intending to try and gain 3 lbs (up from 157) and hit 160 lbs by the end of four weeks. I think I have an idea of how much to eat without feeling like I’m overfeeding myself. I want to grow, and in order to do that, I have to eat.