My Road to a Lean(er) Mean(er) Aurik

[Aurik]

Thanks everyone. By "not 100%", I mean there are a lot of things that still HURT. For example getting myself off the bench is no longer a simple "lift the legs to the chest and let them drop and roll up with them" affair -- it's more like "grab the bar, rotate 90 degrees and then push my way up with my arm". The next few weeks are going to be an experiment in what I can and can't do now, but I'm definitely going to be moving forward as best I can.

[Aurik]

May 24, 2012

Squats: 45/5 95/5 135/5 135/5 135/5
Overhead Press: 45/5 65/5 75/5
Lat Pulldown: 137.5/5 140/5 140/5

Squats felt pretty good, but my left quad started getting tight in the third set. The OHP felt really heavy, but that's to be expected. I figure I'll start at 80lbs next time and go up by 5lbs per. Lat pulldowns felt really good. I'm thinking that I'll start doing DB rows on bench days and lat pulldowns on press days.

Overall a good workout and I'm starting to get back into the swing of things.

[BendtheBar]

That's good stuff Ken. Slow, easy and most of all staying healthy.

[Aurik]

May 26, 2012

Started with a few mins on the bike and then went into:

External cable rotations: 30/15 20/15
Internal cable rotations: 20/15 30/15
Squats: 45/5 95/5 140/5 140/5 140/5
Bench press: 45/5 45/5 95/5 135/5 135/5 135/5
Lat pull down: 150/5 150/5 150/5

So I've got a 13lb brisket that has been sitting in my smoker since 10pm last night and scheduled for consumption around 2pm today (any MABers in DFW interested?). Between the brisket and other food prep and cleanup last night, I was on my feet for most of the evening, and my hip/lower back did NOT like it. I was in severe pain by the time I went to bed, and I was having serious second thoughts about hitting the gym today.

Well, when I woke up around 6am this morning to check on the brisket (still smoking nicely at 225F), the back had subsided to a mild soreness. I decided to give the gym a whirl. Squats felt heavy, but I was able to hit full depth on all of them. 135 on bench felt really heavy when unracking, but it flew off my chest like old times. I stuck with the lat pulldown today, as I am having reservations to the whole bending over and rowing thing. I plan to transition to pullups once my pulldown is strong enough.

And the miracle of it all -- in the post-workout euphoria, the pain in my back is now almost completely gone.

[5kgLifter]

Nice session Aurik!


With regard to the rows, do you mean barbells rows and leaning over? I'm assuming so. If so, is there any way you could do them on an incline bench so that you don't have to bend etc?

[big_swede]

Im really happy to se you back at the weights A! Browsing from the phone now but will read through your log more thoroughly later!

[LtL]

The iron cures all. Of course brisket helps a LOT as well.

LtL

[Chillen]

Originally Posted by Aurik

May 26, 2012

Started with a few mins on the bike and then went into:

External cable rotations: 30/15 20/15
Internal cable rotations: 20/15 30/15
Squats: 45/5 95/5 140/5 140/5 140/5
Bench press: 45/5 45/5 95/5 135/5 135/5 135/5
Lat pull down: 150/5 150/5 150/5

So I've got a 13lb brisket that has been sitting in my smoker since 10pm last night and scheduled for consumption around 2pm today (any MABers in DFW interested?). Between the brisket and other food prep and cleanup last night, I was on my feet for most of the evening, and my hip/lower back did NOT like it. I was in severe pain by the time I went to bed, and I was having serious second thoughts about hitting the gym today.

Well, when I woke up around 6am this morning to check on the brisket (still smoking nicely at 225F), the back had subsided to a mild soreness. I decided to give the gym a whirl. Squats felt heavy, but I was able to hit full depth on all of them. 135 on bench felt really heavy when unracking, but it flew off my chest like old times. I stuck with the lat pulldown today, as I am having reservations to the whole bending over and rowing thing. I plan to transition to pullups once my pulldown is strong enough.

And the miracle of it all -- in the post-workout euphoria, the pain in my back is now almost completely gone.

Its good to see that your back is better. Good session, Aurik! Keep blasten it. Keep Rocken it out! Be rough, tough, and be at your best, man!


Best wishes for success,

Chillen

[Aurik]

5/29/12
Squats: 45/5 95/5 145/5 145/5 145/5
Military Press: 45/5 80/5 80/5 80/5
Lat Pulldown: 160/5 160/5 160/5

Still making nice, measured progress. Weight today: 374

[LtL]

Keep pushing.

LtL