Exerbabble for 9-24-7

Today’s Workout:

NROL, Hypertrophy I
Day A, Workout I

Alternating Sets:
DB Incline Press:
3 @ 35 lbs
5×5 @ 45 lbs
Cable Row:
3 @ 90 lbs
5×5 @ 120 lbs

Alternating Sets:
DB Shoulder Press: 5×5 @ 35 lbs
Wide-Grip Pull-up: 5, 5, 4, 4, 3 @ BW

Alternating Sets:
BB Close-grip Bench Press: 5×5 @ 95 lbs
BB High Pull: 5×5 @ 115 lbs

Swiss Ball Overhead Crunches: rest: 30 seconds
3×15 @ 20 lbs (2×10 dbs)

Post-exhaust Superset: rest: 60 seconds
V-bar Dip: 5, 3, 2 @ BW
Cable Tricep Pushdown:
11 @ 90 lbs
3 @ 100 lbs
3 @ 110 lbs

(Usual stretching.)

I feel fantastic. This workout had a really good rhythm to it. I was surprised I could do the incline presses for full sets. I know it was longer than it feels, but it feels like not that long ago I was flat benching 50 lb dumbbells for 5×5. To know I can move up to doing the same weight for an incline press is insane to me. The dumbbells are too heavy for me to “curl” into pressing position, so I do like everybody else and use my legs to kick the dumbbells up. It’s kind of fun to do, actually.

Cable rows felt odd in my left shoulder. Will keep tabs on this. Otherwise, the weight was easy. Increase it.

I undershot the shoulder press weight, as I tend to do my shoulder presses first to maximize the amount of weight I can do. Moreover, this ensures that I know 35 lbs is too easy, meaning I can upgrade to 40 lbs with confidence. With a month of strength training recently, I may do better than I think I can.

Wide-grip pull-ups make me look like my lats are huge. Ha ha. I was going to do lat pull-downs at first, but then I realized I can actually DO these near the set/rep. I’ll work up to 5×5. If I actually make it there during this program, I’ll add weight.

I considered doing dips instead of close grips, because I suck at close-grips. But, then I realized that because I suck at it is precisely the reason I should do it. So I did. I picked a weight I’m confident at. Moreover, 95 lbs can’t kill me. All else fails, I can move out to a wider grip and press it back up.

High pulls felt odd in my right arm/shoulder. I’ll keep an eye on my form and figure out what feels most comfortable. This was tiring. I’m afraid of what this is going to do to me at higher reps. I bet I could pull more, but it’s partly a form thing.

Regular swiss ball crunches have gotten too easy. I have added weight. So I’ve taken the next step and started holding dumbbells overhead. This makes it even harder. I felt like my neck was straining more than anything else, because my hair kept getting caught.

Last month, I tossed in some extra sets for my deltoids. This phase, I’m tossing in a tricep post-exhaust superset. My triceps suck, both aesthetically and practically. Though, it’s mostly for the former reasons that I’m doing it. I didn’t mean to hit so few reps – I’ll lower the weight next time. I’m using a simple wave-load scheme, the dips are merely a heavy compound that leads up to the post-exhaust. It’s something.