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Sumo Deadlift
133/10, 223/10, 223/10, 223/10
   * After some deliberation, I've decided that I am going to stay light with sumos and treat them as a hamstring dominant assistance exercise. As I've stated previously, I have injured my back three times deadlifting over the years, with the most severe being in January 2014. The hex bar deadlift has been my savior, so I am just going to stick with that as my "strength" form of deadlifting. I've become comfortable with it this past year and never feel any pain or tweaking in my lower back. With sumos, I have felt a tweak here and there when I've increased the weight and I am just not very comfortable with the form overall. The risk of another injury definitely does not outweigh the benefits, so repping these out at a lighter weight is the prudent thing to do.

Hex Bar Row
185/10, 205/5, 205/5, 205/6

Pushups
30, 30, 25, 25 (I sprinkled these four sets throughout the workout)
   * No shoulder pain at all. I'm beginning to think that I was right about the incline presses and/or shrugs being the most recent culprit(s). So, yes, I am not really hitting chest the way I'd like, but pushups are better than nothing.

T-Bar Row (underhand grip)
135/6, 135/6, 135/5 drop set to 90/5

EZ Bar Curls
70/15, 70/10, 55/10  (short rest periods in between each set, biceps were burning)

Depth Jumps
6 sets, 5 reps each

* Good workout- very happy with how both row exercises felt.

Pushups, Overhead Press, etc

Pushups
20, 20, 20, 30

Overhead Press
bar/10, 98/8, 138/5, 138/5, 138/6

Bodyweight Chins
12, 8, 7 (got weak quickly tonight, as evident by sets 2 & 3)

Planks 
1:00, 1:00, 1:00

Rear Delt Machine
90/12, 90/12

Depth Jumps
6 sets, 5 reps each

* As always, let's see how the shoulder holds up in the upcoming days.

Post Basketball Front Squats

Basketball ended early tonight, and since I didn't feel like I got enough of a workout, I decided to do front squats afterward.

133/5, 173/4, 203/3, 223/2, 243/1, 233/5

* The 5th rep on 233 was crappy. I felt my back hunching forward way too much. In any event, I guess I'm not too disappointed considering this was done after playing basketball. I was hoping to get 6 reps, however, which would have been a 6RM.

Hex Bar Rows (Video)

Hex Bar Rows
135/10, 155/8, 155/8, 155/8, 185/6, 185/6, 185/6
   * I decided to do more sets of these in order to work on the form.

           Video: 155/8

           Video: 185/6

Planks
1:00, 1:00, 1:00

Depth Jumps
6 sets, 6 reps each 

Hex Bar Deads, Pushups, Biceps

Hex Bar Deadlift
135/10, 225/5, 315/5, 365/2, 405/1, 430/3 (3RM)
    * Solid.

After deads, I played basketball for about an hour. Then, I finished up with the following arm work:

Pushups
30

EZ Bar Curls
Drop set:  90/9, 65/9, 40/9, 25/20

Pushups
25 

* The shoulder feels OK, but I will continue to refrain from push exercises besides OHPs and pushups. Let's see how this goes.  Tomorrow, I will work my upper back.

Front Squats, Overhead Press, Chins (Video)

Front Squats
bar/15, 133/5, 173/4, 203/3, 223/2, 243/1, 213/9 (9RM)
       * I was hoping for 10 on the set of 213, but 9 is still a max at that weight.

Overhead Press
bar/15, 93/8, 133/7, 153/5, 163/2 (could have probably banged out a 3rd rep if I really pushed it, which I was not about to do with my shoulder problems)
       * Attempted to make an appointment with a doctor per my last post, but that failed due to insurance reasons. That said, since said post, my shoulder has felt fine for some reason. Don't ask... I have no clue. Since OHPs have not hurt at all while performing them, I decided to try them out tonight. No pain at all. I am going to skip the Hammer Strength incline presses and shrugs this week to see how I feel. I'll attempt some pushups on Thursday.

Bodyweight Chins
12, 11, 10 (perhaps the first time I did three double digit sets of chins??)

        Video: 10 (with clothes & sneakers, I weigh about 225 here)

            

Lying Hamstring Machine
120/10, 130/8, 130/8

Depth Jumps
6 sets, 6 reps each 

* Decent enough workout. The question is how will my shoulder feel going forward? 

Sumo Deads (Video), Hex Bar Rows (Video), Shoulder Hurt Again

Inexplicably, my shoulder is injured again. I truly have no idea why. Neither overhead presses nor Hammer Strength inclines hurt during or after each respective movement. On Tuesday morning (2.5 days after I last did inclines), I woke up with my shoulder in severe pain. It really hasn't subsided much at all since. I am at my wits end with this now and am going to make an appointment to see a doctor next week. That said, I decided to go to the gym tonight to see if back and biceps exercises irritated my shoulder at all. Sumo deadlifts, hex bar rows, and T-bar rows all felt fine. Close grip lat pulldowns bothered me, so I only did one set. I also did a light set of curls and felt it pretty quickly, so I abandoned ship on those.

In addition, I recently purchased a new phone, so I am once again able to post videos here. Tonight, I posted videos of sumo deads and hex bar rows. I am curious as to what you think of my form, especially with the sumos, as I am still learning the exercise.

Even though I already know that I am going to have to give up on push exercises again, I am hopeful to at least be able to continue to hit legs and back. I will be devastated if I am told that I can't.


Sumo Deadlift
138/10, 228/5, 278/5, 328/5

        Video: 328/5

Hex Bar Row
210/6, 210/6, 210/6

        Video: 210/6

T-Bar Row (underhand grip)
90/15, 135/6, 135/6, 135/6

Close Grip Lat Pulldown
190/10

Depth Jumps
6 sets, 5 reps each (highest box yet)
    * These are helping my vertical jump, as I am consistently touching the rim now.

Front Squats, Overhead Press, Chins

Bodyweight Chins
12, 10, 9, 8, 9

Front Squats
bar/12, 133/5, 173/4, 203/3, 233/2, 243/1, 228/7 (7RM)

Overhead Press
bar/15, 93/5, 133/5, 153/5, 163/2 drop set to 133/4

Depth Jumps
6 sets, 5 reps each

* Good workout, but major DOMS going on in my abs (yesterday's plank session) and shoulders (working them again).
 

Planks & Pushups Before Basketball

Planks
1:00, 30 second rest,
1:00, 30 second rest, 
1:00, 30 second rest,
1:00, 30 second rest,
1:00, 30 second rest.

Pushups
43 (PR)

Saturday Workout

Hammer Strength Incline Press
148/15, 188/10, 208/10, 238/7, 258/5

Seated DB Curls
30s/10, 30s/10, 30s/10

Shrug Machine
3 plates each side, 3 sets, 15 reps each

Depth Jumps
6 sets, 6 reps each

Pushups & Abs Supersets
30 pushups, 10 leg raises
20 pushups, 10 leg raises
20 pushups, 10 leg raises

 

2 Hex Bar Dead PRs, Back, & Pushups

Hex Bar Deads
135/10, 225/5, 315/16 (16RM), 420/5 (tied 5RM)
   * Thought I might go for 315/20, but I hit a wall at rep 16. If my life depended on it, I probably could have made it, but I just decided to put it down and save myself for the rest of the workout. I did feel strong, though, as is evident by 420/5 after 315/16. 

Hex Bar Rows
210/5, 210/5, 210/6 (these continue to feel great)

Pushups
33

T-Bar Rows (underhand grip)
125/8, 135/6, 135/6

Pushups
30

Close Grip Lat Pulldowns
190/9, 210/5, 210/6

Pushups
30

Depth Jumps
6 sets, 5 reps each

* Very good workout! 

Front Squats, OHP, Chins

Front Squats
bar/12, 138/5, 178/4, 218/3, 238/2, 248/1, 228/6 (6RM)
  
Overhead Press
bar/12, 93/5, 133/10, 153/4, 153/4

Lying Hamstring Machine
120/10, 130/7, 130/7

Bodyweight Chins
12, 9, 6

Depth Jumps
6 sets, 5 reps each (higher box)

* Classic 80% workout...nothing great, nothing horrible. Battling a cold, but felt OK. Happy to get back in to the OHPs. I'm stronger with them than I expected... probably due to the pushups.