Recent workouts and notes

7/1 Upper body
1A Floor/pin press 185 1x3, 165 1x7, 155 1x8
2A Standing 1-arm cable row 100 1x9, 10, 10
1B TRX bodyweight chin-ups Bill Desimone style 4x(close to failure)
1B Seated EZ bar military press 85 1x6, 8, 6
EZ bar curl 85 1x5, 75 1x7
Wheel rollouts 2x6
TRX core
Hammer curls 25’s 1x13

Notes: A lot of exercises and some new ones that I was trying out for the first time. It was a lot of volume, but I was gone for the weekend and didn’t have a true upper body workout for another six days. This was my first time going heavy with the pin press from the floor and it’s challenging. My max bench is 205 and I can hit 5 reps at 185, but I can attribute my use of the stretch reflex to that. The pin press forces me to start the concentric portion of the lift without the aid of the turnaround point. More challenging for me and I plan to continue using the exercise in the future in conjunction with standard benching.

The 1-arm cable row is making a comeback! Hadn’t done this exercise much before, but I like the feel because I can rotate my palm throughout the range of motion. I can’t do that as much with a dumbbell and certainly not with a barbell. I can load it up heavy and balancing hasn’t been much of an issue. I also “feel” it more on my right side when I perform the lift probably because of the mind-muscle connection. If I want to get torturous, I can always do some overload negatives by lifting the weight with both arms and lowering it with one.

The chin-ups and military press come from Bill Desimone’s videos on youtube. I’ve read about him in the past, but only recently have I looked into his work. His youtube page is a goldmine and I plan on purchasing his book soon. No bounce on the chin-up and the TRX allows me to move my palms freely in a natural, shoulder friendly motion. The military presses were nice as well. I don’t do much overhead pressing because I used to throw a lot when I was younger, but I figure I can add some in now.

7/6 Lower body
Sprints 10yd 1x3, flying 20’s 1x3
1A Bulgarian split squats 145 2x5, 1x8
2A Explosive step-ups 4x3
Contreras hip thrust 265 1x8, 275 1x10, 8
Band pallofs, TRX rollouts, Bill Desimone calves

Notes: Started the workout with sprints, which was a change of pace. I want to improve my speed, but they also serve to psych up the nervous system. I stole the flying 20’s from Kelly Baggett’s site. You start at a jog and then sprint 20 yards, so there is less acceleration than a sprint from a dead stop. Nothing fatiguing, but they put me in the right place to start the workout.

Weights continue to increase for the BSS. I knew on the first two sets that I had more reps in me, so I decided to push it hard on the third set. I still think I had more. Again, I paired the BSS with the explosive step-ups for the PAP.

The hip thrust keeps jumping higher and higher. I try to make modest adjustments in weight, but it’s clear I can handle more with this lift. Ideally, I’d like to be working in the 6-8 rep range. Every damn time I do these I know that the next day my glutes will be sore. I like that.

I hadn’t done calve training in forever, so did some bodyweight calve raises Bill Desimone style to finish the workout. I got a good pump, but I did not anticipate the DOMS. Every step I took for the next two days reminded me that I have puny calves. Note to self: do more calve training.

7/7 Upper body
1A TRX Desimone chin-ups 40 1x3, 45 4x4
2A Band pull downs 6x3
1B Dumbbell bench press 80’s 2x5
2B Standing 1-arm cable row 105 1x8, 9
Seated EZ bar military press 85 1x11, 9
TRX core, rows

Notes: First time going heavy with the Desimone chin-ups. I expected that I wouldn’t be able to use as much weight, but it wasn’t much of a drop off (5 pounds). If I have noticed any differences between a TRX chin-up and a normal chin-up (aside from the obvious), I think that the motion is smoother and there isn’t a sticking point as much. This is probably because the TRX allows me to rotate naturally.

I should stop super-setting pushing and pulling exercises sometime because you need the back muscles to stabilize during the push, but I am too damn lazy and it’s more time efficient. It’s also not the end of the world. Anyway, I hadn’t done any dumbbell benching for a several weeks, so I wasn’t sure what I would get. I was hoping for 6 or 7 reps, but I’m not sure I would have gotten them.

Increased by 3 reps on the military press!


I’m leaving tomorrow for a five day wrestling camp at BU and I’ll be bringing a fridge full of sweet potatoes, eggs, and coconut milk with me. I don’t plan on wrestling in college, but it should be fun and challenging at the same time. So someone might ask why go? I don’t have a solid answer for that. It will be my senior year of high school, so I kind of want to do well (I’ve been varsity all three years). On the other hand, I realize that it is high school sports and it shouldn’t matter at all. I like the sport, but will easily walk away from it when my season ends. So am I going to the camps for me or my coaches and teammates? A little of both, I suppose. Not very self-reliant of me. Oh well. I also want to see if my strength and conditioning work have had any turnover onto the mat. There is something satisfying about being able to physically man-handle somebody on the mat. Alternatively, it sucks to have someone else physically man-handle you, but I digress.

I have some projects that have been brewing in my head. Some posts will be forthcoming.

I’ll be back on Thursday.