SamG's Log

[J.Brown]

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sam, your diet will be what gets you results...and it seems from what you just posted about your diet that you don't need to get fancy and try carb cycling...how about just eating healthy? get into a lifestyle that you can maintain...follow berardi's 7 habits article from the faq...

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QFT.

i really have been enjoying your on going progress as well.
keep it up. just eat healthy and keep up the good/hard work and you will see a ton of great results. don't try to make it more difficult than it is. thanks again Sam. J.

[secretprankster]

Always remember that if all else fails, tan fat = muscle.

[SamG]

9/4 - Workout B

Couldn't make it to the gym over the holiday weekend. I had visitors from out of town, and Wei Yan and I simply couldn't find a time that worked. I think my body really needed the rest, though. A lot of the little aches and pains and pulled muscles etc I was having pretty much disappeared. I felt great heading into the gym today.

I spent a relaxing day yesterday at the pool, and I only had 4 beers over the entire Labor Day weekend, which I consider a monumental victory.

Warm-up: 3m exercise bike

Squat
2x5x45
1x5x65
1x5x85
1x3x95
3x5x105 (PR)

EZ PZ. This didn't feel heavy at all. I'm getting stronger. Squats have been lagging behind my other lifts. Time to fix that.

Press
1x5x45
1x5x55
1x5x65
1x3x80

I pulled a muscle in my arm on the 3rd rep and racked the bar. This is the EXACT same thing that happened a few weeks ago. I rested for a few minutes and felt OK and decided to go again.

1x5x45
1x5x65
1x2x80

Pulled muscle again! All 3 times it's been in my left arm. Something pulls, and I have to quit on the set and rack the bar. Kinda scary. The thing is the weight doesn't feel THAT heavy, which is probably a good thing. If I were doing 100 lbs, I might really have hurt myself. I don't know what's going on here. Something must be seriously wrong with my form. Wei Yan said as the set went on and I started to struggle, I pushed my elbows out and up, which can't be good.

So here's the plan (unless you guys disagree):

1. Study the SS chapter on the press.
2. Drop back down to 70. (I don't really want to do this, but I think it's best for my safety.)
3. Post a video of what I'm doing.

Like I said, kinda scary.

Chins
1x4 PR, 1x3 (unassisted)
1x8 (assisted)

Sweet. 4 unassisted chins are a new PR for me. I had to kick my way up on the last one and barely got my chin over the bar, but I'm counting it.

I love this exercise -- and I think I'm making good progress -- but one thing that bothers me is I don't have a clear plan for progression. When I walk into the gym, I don't know exactly how many chins I want to do (or what type even). I think I need to come up with goals for each workout.

Also, dumb question: How far apart should I grip the bar. Is a wider grip harder or easier? Narrower grip works biceps more, wider grip more back?

A few other things:

I am still planning on adding rows, I just didn't have time to read up on them for today. I'll add them next workout and bring my camera to film squats, presses, and rows. I haven't made any movies of a B day yet.

And finally diet: I keep asking you guys whether I should cut or bulk, and you guys keep telling me to eat clean. I finally have gotten it through my thick skull that, duh, maybe what I eat is more important than how much I eat at this stage in my development. So I am going to make a real effort to improve my diet. I no longer want an excuse for eating all of those processed foods. I'm going to learn to cook. [img]/images/graemlins/shocked.gif[/img]

[SamG]

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i really have been enjoying your on going progress as well.
keep it up.

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Thanks, man. I really appreciate these comments.

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just eat healthy and keep up the good/hard work and you will see a ton of great results. don't try to make it more difficult than it is. thanks again Sam. J.

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Yeah, I'm sure you're right. It's just that keeping the diet in check is a lot harder for me, since it's a major lifestyle change. Going to the gym for 3hrs/wk and busting your ass isn't really that difficult. But watching what you eat has to happen every day, several times a day.

I know it's important.

[SamG]

9/4 - Cardio: 30m exercise bike

[shemp]

Chin-up suggestion: make your chins+negatives equal some target for the sets. Say you want 2x6, so do your 1x4, 1x3, then pick up the remainder with 5 good negatives. Maybe alternate between negatives and "assisted" with that strategy. A pull-up bar is a nice piece of equipment for the home or office. The more you do, the more you can do.

[J.Brown]

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i really have been enjoying your on going progress as well.
keep it up.

[/ QUOTE ]
Thanks, man. I really appreciate these comments.

[ QUOTE ]
just eat healthy and keep up the good/hard work and you will see a ton of great results. don't try to make it more difficult than it is. thanks again Sam. J.

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Yeah, I'm sure you're right. It's just that keeping the diet in check is a lot harder for me, since it's a major lifestyle change. Going to the gym for 3hrs/wk and busting your ass isn't really that difficult. But watching what you eat has to happen every day, several times a day.

I know it's important.

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amen.

i have been working harder than ever, but struggling a bit with eating super clean. it is an ongoing process, but makes such a huge difference in perfomance and the way you look. i say this as i am finishing my second light beer and thinking of eating about a lb. of cashews right before bed, lol. thanks again sam. keep it up. J.

[Thremp]

SamG,

Apologies for the hijack.

All,

Thoughts on weighted negatives and isometrics on chins?

[theblackkeys]

Is it possible that your shoulders aren't as flexible as they should be? Does it feel like the bone and muscle might be rubbing at some points in the pressing motion?

[SamG]

[ QUOTE ]
Is it possible that your shoulders aren't as flexible as they should be? Does it feel like the bone and muscle might be rubbing at some points in the pressing motion?

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Could be. I don't know how to describe it except that it feels like a muscle pull, except I'm holding an 80 lb barbell so a little more intense. I guess I'm putting my arm in an awkward position trying to press the weight. All 3 times it's my left arm, which is maybe weaker than my right?