first day of summer = chest day

Start: 12.10 pm
Finish: 1.20 pm
Mood: Great

Incline bench press

55kg x 12
55kg x 12
55kg x 12
55kg x 10

Flat dumbbell press

22.5 kg x 10
22.5 kg x 10
22.5 kg x 10

Chest dips

Bodyweight x 12
Bodyweight x 10

Seated dumbbell shoulders press

12.5 kg x 10
12.5 kg x 8

12.5 kg x 8

Side raises

5 kg x 10
5 kg x 10
5 kg x 8

Skull crushers


16 kg x 12

16 kg x 12

16 kg x 12

Notes: Finished up with a post workout stroll along the beach with my lover and boat pullups. I'm not kidding.

Legs

Start: 10.30 am
Finish: 11.40 am
Mood: Good

Front squats

42.5 kg x 12
42.5 kg x 12
42.5 kg x 12

Split squats

20 kg x 12
20 kg x 12
20 kg x 12

Good mornings

20 kg x 12
20 kg x 12
20 kg x 12
20 kg x 12
20 kg x 12
20 kg x 12

Barbell calf raises

52.5 kg x 12
52.5 kg x 12
52.5 kg x 10
52.5 kg x 10
BW x 15 (burnout set)

Crunches

22.5 kg x 20
22.5 kg x 20

Elbow rehab

2 sets of 20 eccentric wrist curls and 2 sets of 15 eccentric reverse wrist curls with a 4 kg dumbbell after stretching and a quick massage.

Notes: This was one of the best leg workouts I've had for a long time, and the first time incorporating good mornings into my routine. Everything felt really good except for the fact my legs were shaking all through calf raises after being destroyed by the first three exercises.

Pull Day - losing my inverted row virginity

Start: too late - 9.30 pm
Finish: 10.30 pm
Mood: Pretty good

Pullups

BW x 8
BW x 8
BW x 8

Inverted rows (feet elevated)

BW x 12
BW x 10
BW x 10

One-arm dumbbell rows

15 kg x 12
15 kg x 12
15 kg x 12

Rear delt flyes

4 kg x 15
4 kg x 12
4 kg x 12

EZ bar curls

10 kg x 20
10 kg x 15
10 kg x 12

Notes: This was my first time trying inverted rows and I have to say I like them a lot. Unlike barbell rows I was able to really concentrate on the the squeeze at the top of the movement and work my back hard. The rest of the workout went pretty good, and my elbow held up throughout it okay with just a little soreness by the end.

Chest Day baby

Start: 2.30 pm
Finish: 3.50 pm
Mood: Great

Incline barbell bench press

50 kg x 12
50 kg x 12
50 kg x 12
50 kg x 12

Dumbbell bench

20 kg x 12
20 kg x 12
20 kg x 12

Dumbbell shoulder press

12.5 kg x 10
12.5 kg x 10
12.5 kg x 10

Side raises

4 kg x 12
4 kg x 10
4 kg x 10

Skull crushers

15 kg x 12
15 kg x 12
15 kg x 12

Hanging leg raises

BW x 15
BW x 15
BW x 15

Notes: I would like my girlfriend for making this workout happen. Her excessive speeding enabled me to be home in time to rendezvous with my training partner.

High rep legs (start of new routine)

Start: 12.00pm

End: 12.40pm

Mood: Average

Front squats

40 kg x 12

40 kg x 12

40 kg x 12

Dumbbell RDL

10 kg x 15

10 kg x 15

10 kg x 15

Barbell calf raises

50 kg x 12

50 kg x 12

50 kg x 12

Crunches

20 kg x 15

20 kg x 15

Hanging leg raises

BW x 12

BW x 12

My Plan to heal my golfer's elbow for good

I've decided to accept the fact that I need to drastically drop the weight on all my exercises and start from square one again if I want to get on top of my golfer's elbow for good. I've made some great gains on my last 5x5 routine but this injury has been creeping up on me for a long time now. While I deal with the injury I'm going to take the basic push/pull/legs format I was using for 5x5 and make a few adjustments.

Firstly, I'm going to aim for high reps (12 +) on all exercises to get blood flow to the area and take strain off of my tendons. Secondly, I'm going to completely avoid any form of pull up/chin up and deadlifts which aggravate my elbow quite a lot. And lastly, I'm going to keep to a strict rehab program consisting of light eccentric exercises three times a week, stretching, ice and massage everyday, and a crap load of fish oil. In terms of my diet, I'm going to have to reduce my calories to maintenance or just above in order to at least maintain my current size. I'll keep any eye on my weight and make adjustments accordingly over time.

This is going to be one of the hardest things I've had to do since deciding to lay off weights a few months ago but it has to be done. In the mean time I'm going to try and pre-occupy myself with other things to take my mind off of weights. I have no clue how long it will take to get on top of my tendonitis for good, but my goal is to see major improvements by Christmas.

My Modified Routine for Golfer's Elbow

Day 1 - Push

Incline bench 3x12
Flat dumbbell bench 3x12
Seated dumbbell press 3x12
Side raises 3x12
Skull-crushers 3x15
Hanging leg raises 3x15

Rest - Eccentric forearm exercises/cardio

Day 2 - Pull

Pullups - 3x 8 - 15 (adding reps when I can)
Inverted rows 3x12
Dumbbell rows 3x12
Rear delt flyes 3x12
EZ bar curls 3x15

Rest - Eccentric forearm exercises/cardio

Day 3- Legs

Front squats 3x12
Dumbbell RDL 3x12
Barbell calf raises 4x12
Weighted crunches 3x15

Rest - Eccentric forearm exercises/cardio

Rest

Cardio and Elbow Rehab

Cardio

25 minute brisk walk.

Eccentric exercises

Wrist curls - 3 kg x 15 

Reverse wrist curls - 3 kg x 15 

I did just one set of these exercises in the morning, and another in the afternoon. I'm starting very, very light and will add weight and sets slowly each week.