Workout Log

[Fippe]

I started a workout log in another forum before and it was great for getting feedback, so I'll start one here. Feel free to respond. I like hearing advice from people who know what they're talking about.

As I mentioned in my intro post, I'm working at a physically demanding job (produce department at a grocery store). It's a lot of forearm and leg work. It's also a bit of shoulder work, especially if I'm picking up compost off the pallet to put in the dumpster. Most boxes are 40 to 50 lbs, by the way.

I am...: 29, 5'11", 172lbs, ~15% bf

My goal for the next month is to build a better foundation for my strength, because my previous foundation was (as I'm sure you'll see) very lacking. I'm going back to basics and just focusing on the regular exercises for muscle groups until I can at least lift significant triple digits. I am not taking any gear.

It is Lent right now, so I figure cutting is a much better idea, despite my goals. Everybody seems to agree that most of this is your diet, so... bulking isn't really an option during this time. I'm planning on cardio and shorter workouts (but still increasing volume).

(Remind me if I'm wrong but notation is usually weight x reps x sets. Also, I'm in the habit of writing "+bar" instead of adding the weight of the bar.)

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Workout Log for 3/9/21:

Notes: I didn't notice the time and so this was cut short. The squats and strict press are accurate as far as what I can do. I cut the DLs short because I needed to leave.

Squats 110+barx6x2
Strict Press 20+barx5x2
Deadlifts 140+barx3x2

Achievements: Before working at the grocery store, I could barely lift the bar on its own in a strict press (seriously, maybe 2 reps). Now I can lift 20lbs on top of the bar now.

Workout Log for 3/11/21:

Notes: After work, didn't eat beforehand

Bench Press 90x8x3
Cable Rows 85x12x2
Wide Grip BB Curls 40x10x2
Close Grip BB Curls 40x8x2
Lateral Raises 10x15
Calf Raises 270x10x3
Hyperextensions 15

 

[CasperKValentine]

Well, you are putting in the work, logging your progress, and asking for advice. That is definitely on the right track! Since you are around 15% body fat and relatively new I wouldn't be doing what I would call a full-blown cut. Not necessarily would I full out bulk either. You should focus on progression and eat enough to support recovery and muscle growth. You can use your log to determine if you doing that and adjust your caloric intake accordingly. I think you might be surprised and possibly be able to gain a little weight and get leaner at the same time. I remember when I first started out. I gained a good 10 lbs and family I hadn't seen in awhile were asking me how much weight I'd lost.

 

[Fippe]

Since you are around 15% body fat and relatively new I wouldn't be doing what I would call a full-blown cut. Not necessarily would I full out bulk either. You should focus on progression and eat enough to support recovery and muscle growth.

Thanks. I guess what I'm calling a "cut" is really just me not being full all the time while working out.

You can use your log to determine if you doing that and adjust your caloric intake accordingly. I think you might be surprised and possibly be able to gain a little weight and get leaner at the same time. I remember when I first started out. I gained a good 10 lbs and family I hadn't seen in awhile were asking me how much weight I'd lost.

Yeah, today I was surprised to see I lost about half an inch on my waistline coupled with a bump in lean muscle mass.

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I do a lot of squats at work and eventually I'll add squats to the gym routine after or before work (since my body will adapt at some point, obviously) but for now that's probably not necessary. I'll be keeping (proper) squats to non-work days. I read somewhere that one of the quadriceps heads don't pass over the hip, so I'll do leg extensions instead.

Workout Log for 3/12/21:

Notes: After work. I ate a protein bar about an hour prior to working out (30g protein, 5g carbs, 10g fat). I used a different bar today and it felt like a normal weighted bar (~40-45lbs), so I'll avoid the one I used the other day and try to stick to this one. (IDK it just felt heavier than the other bar so I'm just guessing.)

Deadlifts 90+barx5x3
Strict Press 20+barx5x3
Leg Extensions 75x15(x1); 90x15x2
Leg Curls 100x10x2
Lat Pulldowns 100x10x2
Calf Raises 270x10x4
High Rows 180x6x2

Achievements: More volume on strict press. Likewise with calf raises.

 

[Humbl3]

Subd

 

[CasperKValentine]

Great to hear it's going well buddy! Keep up the good work!

 

[Fippe]

Log for 3/13/21:

Rest day. I went to work, though, so I wasn't sedentary. No cardio (-) but also no booze or big snacks (+).

Workout Log for 3/14/21:

Notes: No work. For the Strict Press, the only bar available was the lighter bar, so for the sake of calculating weight I'll say the heavier one is 45 and this one might be between 35 and 40 (I don't know why they still have this bar).

(An ellipsis indicates the same weight as other sets. An asterisk indicates I didn't use correct form or something else went wrong with that particular exercise.)

Bench Press 50+barx7x3
Strict Press 30+barx4x2 & ...x5x1
Leg Extensions 105x7x2 & ...x8x1
Incline Press 50+barx4x2
Lat Pulldown 100x10
Wide Grip BB Curls 40x10x3
Close Body Hammer Curls 20x10x2
Reverse Pec Decks 85x10
Lateral Raises 10x15x2
Radial Deviations 30x10e*
Ulnar Deviations 30x10e*
Supination Extensions 30x10e*
Pronation Extensions 30x10e*

Achievements: More weight on strict press, where a week ago I used the same bar at 20lbs for two sets. Considering my best a month ago was less weight than a standard bar, this is a major achievement. Also, I didn't expect to lift so much weight on the incline press. I think giving my triceps a rest (while I worked quads) helped a lot, whereas in the past I would immediately go from bench press to the incline... or maybe the job is helping my chest more than I realize. Also, more volume on lat raises.

Weak Points: (I'd rather call these "weak points" than the dreaded "opportunities for improvement.") When I did the ulnar and radial extensions, I wasn't sure where to position the cable so I wouldn't really "count" them as completed. Honestly, I wouldn't count the supination / pronation extensions either because I couldn't stabilize my upper arm but I'll include them here as a reminder to keep doing them. I'm not sure what happened with lat pulldowns; it isn't like I worked them the day before. I looked at the workout I planned for myself and that drained the will out of me. As it turned out, unfortunately, I did have enough time and energy to do more pulldowns. Discipline is not my strong suit.

 

[CasperKValentine]

Keep in mind your lats are engaging in all that pressing work. Keep progressing and dialing in what works for you. Nice job so far.

 

[Fippe]

Workout Log for 3/15/21:

Notes: After work, but it was a slow day with too many people working. I didn't really work my legs or anything, y'know. As far as food goes, I had one of those protein bars about an hour prior. Also, this whole thing took around two hours (over if we're counting stretching and the sauna).

Squats 110+barx8x3
Strict Press 30+barx5x2, ...x4x1
Deadlift 110+barx5x4
Triceps Kickback 50x[3L, 5R]x1,* ...x[5L, 3R]x1*
Lat Pulldowns 100x10x2
(Cable) Triceps Extensions 60x10x2
Calf Raises 360x10x3
Arnold Presses 25x7x2
Reverse Pec Decks 85x10x2
Dumbbell Lunges 40x10ex2
Radial Deviations 30x15ex1,* ...x10ex1
Ulnar Deviations 30x10ex2
Pronation Twists 30x10ex2
Supination Twists 30x10ex2

Achievements: More weight on calf raises and deadlifts, and more volume on lat pulldowns and squats. Wrist exercises went (mostly) well this time.

Weak Points: I need to pay more attention to my elbow positioning during triceps kickbacks. I think what happened was I pulled the weight out to the side. I only did three reps for my right arm during the second set because I tried to keep my right-side triceps even with the left. During the first set of radial deviations, my bicep was clearly engaging too much so I did a few extra reps.

 

[Fippe]

For some reason, I thought I had already added what I did on 3/16, but it looks like I not only didn't add anything here but also I didn't write about it in my phone. I could've sworn I at least went to the gym that night, but I guess I'll just say I did cardio. For 3/17 and 3/18 I didn't go to the gym at all.

Workout Log for 3/19/21:

Notes: After work. I went back down to one set for the wrist exercises because, well, they're for my wrists and I don't want to overdo them (especially since I did apples today and that is a lot of wrist work). For lateral raises, I did the same amount of volume as before (10x15 compared to 15x10); however, I rested for about half the amount of time between sets as previously.

Bench Press 60+barx5x3
Leg Extension 115x10x3
Strict Press 40+barx3x2
Leg Curls 115x5x2
Incline Press 50+barx5x2
Close Body Hammer Curls 25x15ex2
Wide Grip BB Curls 40x10
Lateral Raises 15x10x2
Reverse Pec Decks 95x10x2
Cable Row 100x10x1, ...x5x1*
Hyperextension (bwx)10x2
Radial Deviations 30x10e
Ulnar Deviations 30x10e
Supination Twists 30x10e
Pronation Twists 30x10e

Achievements: Switching the hammer curls and BB curls was a good idea.

Weak Points: I need to remember that these presses engage my lats. I thought if I could do cable rows instead of something that targets only the lats that I'd have an easier time with it, but that didn't happen. I generally could have done more, probably, but as it was after work I did not want to workout for two hours (as I did last time).

 

[CasperKValentine]

Keep at it man! At some point you may want to consider splitting up your workouts into days of doing opposing muscle groups. You could do a push day followed by a pullday or you could do muscle groups like chest one day back the next. Maybe then legs followed by arms. Something like that can help with muscles feeling fresh and rested for your workouts.

 

[Fippe]

Keep at it man! At some point you may want to consider splitting up your workouts into days of doing opposing muscle groups. You could do a push day followed by a pullday or you could do muscle groups like chest one day back the next. Maybe then legs followed by arms. Something like that can help with muscles feeling fresh and rested for your workouts.

Thanks! Seriously appreciate the support.

Eventually I'm going to split things up more traditionally into groups. However, I realized a while ago that, for my age, I am lagging way behind what I "should" be able to lift, considering that I've been working out on and off for years. I think once the "big three" and OHP get up to about 200lbs (in addition to the bar) that I'll then start grouping things into push/pull or chest/back/legs. Right now it's mostly an "upper body focus" and "lower body focus" full body routine.

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Workout Log for 3/19/21:

Notes: After work, so for one thing I replaced squats with leg extensions. The workout log for 3/15 has DB lunges at 40lbs, but that's just two 20lbs dumbbells. It's a bit confusing but I figure if it's one leg at a time then it's lifting both dumbbells per leg anyways. I've specified the weight of the dumbbells here, in case people thought it might be 40lbs dumbbells previously. As mentioned already, I don't want to injure my wrists by overworking them (work plus working out), so I dropped those exercises yesterday.

Deadlifts 130+barx5x3
Strict Press 40+barx4x2
Leg Extensions 125x10x3
Triceps Kickback 50x3ex2
Lat Pulldown 100x10x2
Triceps Extensions 70x10x2
Calf Raises 360x10x4
Arnold Press 25x10x1, ...x8x1
Reverse Pec Decks 85x15x2
DB Lunges 50x10ex1 (two 25lbs dumbbells)

Achievements: Consistency on triceps kickbacks; my left triceps definitely feel weaker than my right. Increased volume on strict presses, calf raises, reverse pec decks, and arnold presses. Likewise with triceps extensions. Additionally, triceps kickbacks improved by keeping a closer eye on my form. In other words, I did more quality reps. My left arm is definitely weaker than my right, though.

Weak Points: I'm not particularly feeling any progress with lat pulldowns. This may improve once I start focusing more on back-specific exercises, though.