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Friday, February 21, 2014

Impromptu Extra Workout

21 February 2014


Decided to hit the gym today for some squats and presses. Will be traveling tomorrow and all of next week and a half, so no weights until I come back. So I figured I'd get some additional volume in.

High bar back squat 135x5, 225x5, 275x5, 315x5, 335x3, 365x3, 385x3, 415x3

The sets of five were done "3+2" style, i.e. 3 high bar squats + 2 low bar squats, just to test the groove as I haven't been low bar squatting much.

Standing BTN press 135x10, 155x5, 175x5, 135x10

Tricep pushdowns 2s x AMAP

Incline bench DB curls 3s x AMAP

DB raises front+side combo 2s x AMAP

Thursday, February 20, 2014

Blah Blah Blah

20 February 2014


Paused close grip bench press 305 lbs. x 5, x 4, 275 lbs. x 5

Spotter on the first set, and it was a grinder. Hardest bench press set I've done in a while.

Paused CGBP with SlingShot 345 lbs. x 2

Could have done 1 or 2 more, but no spotter. Hate it when that happens.

Seated DB curls 4-5 sets, light

Behind-the-neck press standing 135x10, 155x6, seated 185x5

Pullups 3s x 5

DB hammer curls 2s x 8

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Deathlift

19 February 2014


Deadlift 135x5, 225x3, 315x2, 365x1, 405x1, 435x1, 475x1

405 and 435 felt lighter than 365. On the heavy set, the bar flew up on the first rep, came off the floor and stalled on the second. So no PR today.

In my defense, I got a yellow fever shot on Monday and have been having mild flu-like symptoms ever since (this is apparently a reaction to the vaccine, I haven't had a cold since 2010 or the flu since probably the early 2000s). So today wasn't 100%, or even 80%. Still, I made decent progress and will lower the deadlift weight to maybe 455x3 when I restart the cycle.

Weighted Roman chair situps 3s x 8

KB swings 3s x 15

Seated cable row 1s x 10, 2s x 8, 1s x 6

Leg curl seated 1s x 12, prone 1s x 12

Leg extension 2s x 10 - legs were weirdly tired today.

Sunday, February 16, 2014

Legs

16 February 2014


Paused high bar squat 280 lbs. 3s x 5

Regular HB squat 365 lbs. 2s x 5

Partial HB squat 365x2, 405x2, 425, 445, 465, 485, 505 fail

Lifted in a different rack and the pins were set a bit higher than in the one I usually lift in. So that's probably why I lifted more than last time.

Leg press close stance 4 plates per side x 15, 5pps x 12, 6pps x 12

Leg press wide stance 6pps x 12, 6p + 35s x 12

Leg curl x 20, x 15

Weighted Roman chair situps 2s x 8, 1s x 6

Did not do leg extensions, as the machine was under siege today.

At home - more cable pulling: front chest pull and overhead downward pull for a few 10-rep sets.

Pressing With Haltings

15 February 2014


Had to wrap up the lifting in 40-45 minutes, so only did the bench press sets and left.

Paused close-grip BP 300 lbs. x 4, x 5, 280 lbs. x 4

Spotter on second set. Was pretty happy with the first set, felt like I could have gotten five but my triceps tend to give out without any warning on the CGBPs so I didn't risk it. Will try 305 next week.

Paused CGBP with SlingShot 335 lbs. x 5

First time SlingShot benching with no spotter. I survived, but racking and unracking the bar felt really awkward. Maybe it was the adrenaline, but the set felt super light, paused for a good 2-count on each rep.

Later in the day I did some cable pulls:

Front chest pull 2s x 10

Overhead downward pull 2s x 10

Seated bicep curl 2s x 10

Thursday, February 13, 2014

Squatstravaganza

13 February 2014


Paused high bar squat 295x3, 335x3, 355x3 - first two sets with Manta Ray.

High bar squat 375x3, 415x3 - belted up on the last set because I was feeling unbalanced.

Partial HB squat 415, 425, 445, 465 fail, 425, 425, 430

Murder on the quads. I wonder if I should belt up on these as well?

Speed deadlifts 305 x 6 singles on the minute, 4 of these sumo - all very fast

Weighted Roman chair situps 2s x 8, 1s x 6

Leg extension 2 sets x 30 secs

Leg curl 2 sets x 30 secs

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Incline Pressing & Misc

11 February 2014


Incline bench press 255 lbs. 3s x 5 - at least this went well this week.

Seated cable row 1x12, 1x10, 1x8

Standing BTN press 135x5, 155x5, seated 185x5, 195x2

Shoulders and arms gave out on the last set. Usually I can get 5 with this weight.

Pec deck 3s x 30 secs

Reverse fly 1s x 15

DB hammer curls 3s x 8

Tricep pushdowns 3s x 30 secs

Incline bench DB curls 3s x 30 secs

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Sqwatz

10 February 2014


Paused high bar close stance squat 260 lbs. x 3s x 5 - all with Manta Ray

Regular HBCS squat 340 lbs. x 2s x 5

Bottom-up partial HBCS squat 340, 375, 400, 415, 435 fail

These are really hard. I used to do a lot of partial squats, low bar and with my normal wide stance. But these are a completely different animal. I set the pins so that the starting point is roughly a half-squat. I can normally HB squat 435, but couldn't even budge the partial (my quads were pretty pumped at this point TBH).

Leg press close stance 4 plates 3s x 15

That was all I had the energy for today. Squats again on Wed / Thurs.

Thursday, February 6, 2014

Again, Some Pressing

6 February 2014


Paused close grip bench press 300 lbs. x 5, 275 2s x 5

Spotter on first set, so I decided to go for broke. Turned out pretty good. Don't think I've close grip pressed 300 for more than 1 rep before, definitely not with a pause. Zero leg drive too because legs and back were fatigued from yesterday.

Paused CGBP with SlingShot 335 lbs. x 4

Pulldowns 2s x 10, 1s x 8

DB hammer curl 2s x 8, 1s x 5

Tricep extension (DBs) 1s x 15, 2s x 12 - still no elbow pain.

EZ bar twentyones 3 sets

Cable pushdown 2s x 35 seconds

The Thrust Camp

5 February 2014


Platforms were busy when I got to the gym, so I did some random stuff to warm up:

Pullups 2s x 5
Leg extension 1s x 30 secs
Leg curl 1s x 30 secs
Pulldowns x 10
KB swings (53-lb. KB) x 20

Deadlift: 135x5, 225x5, 315x4, 385x2, 425x1, 470x2

Pulled a third rep to my knees, but it wasn't going further than that. Still a "rep PR".

Back off set 420 x 2

Smith machine bent over row 1s x 10, 3s x 8

Weighted abs 3s x 8

KB swings 2s x 15 - these felt good, might do them for a while instead of my usual deadlift assistance.

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Token Pressing Workout

3 February 2014


I got a weird cramp in my mid-back today (to the right side) and now I have a nagging pain there as well. Maybe my spine's broken. Felt pretty tired overall, so tonight's session was lackluster. Also will have to bench press on Thursday night and need time to recover a bit.

Incline bench 255 lbs. x4, x3, then 235x5

Will keep same weight next week.

Seated pulley row 2s x 10, 1s x 8, 2s x 6

DB hammer curl 1s x 10, 1s x 8 - upped the weight on these finally

Rope pushdown 2s x 30 seconds

Preacher curl machine 2s x 30 secs

Sunday, February 2, 2014

Speed Squats

2 February 2014


High bar close stance speed squats 315 lbs. 8 sets x 2, 1.5 minute pause between sets

First four sets were done with Manta Ray.

Leg press:

Close stance 4 plates x 15, 5p x 15, 6p x 12

Wide stance 6p x 12, 6.5p x 12

Weighted Roman chair situp 2s x 8, 1s x 6

Weighted back raise 2s x 8

Leg extension 1s x 30 seconds, then failed a second set

Leg curl 1s x 30 secs

Saturday, February 1, 2014

And More Pressing

1 February 2014


Paused close-grip bench press 295 lbs. x4, x5, x4

Had a spotter on the second set and got the five reps pretty easily. Was also close on the first set but chickened out. I'll try 300 next week.

Paused CGBP with SlingShot 330 lbs. x 5

Good pauses on all four sets.

Smith machine bent-over row 4-5 sets of 5-6 reps

Standing BTN press 135x10, 155x8, 175x5

DB hammer curl 3s x 8

DB triceps extension 3s x 12

EZ bar curl 2 sets - tried to do 21s, but arms were way too tired at this point, so I did AMAP.