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Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Bench and Arms

29 September 2015


Bench press 135x10, 185x6, 225x3, 245x3, 285x5, SlingShot 320x3, 360 (1+) x 4 reps

Joker sets 370xfail, 320x3

Was pleasantly surprised to get four reps with 360. Unpleasantly surprised to fail a single with 370 right after that (it wasn't even close). But the work set is the only set that matters, so it's fine.

Neutral grip pullups 30 total reps

Smith machine floor press 4s x 5 - liking this more and more every time.

Machine preacher curls 4s x 8 per arm

Rope pushdowns 3s x 20

Cable flyes (for Swede) 2s x 8-10

Sunday, September 27, 2015

PR Killed

27 September 2015


Mid-shin pull - worked up to 515x1, then 525x1, which is a solid PR (last cycle topped out at 505, I think). Small insignificant victories, etc. etc.

High bar squat 135x5, 185x3, 225x3, 265x5, 295x3, 330 (1+) x 5 reps

Not bad after pulling first.

Hip thrust 3s x 5 - need to start hitting these again. If only they weren't such a pain to set up.

Glute-ham raise 20 total reps

Weekend Shenanigans

26 September 2015


Few too many beers the night before. I dragged ass around the house all morning, had a couple Advil, managed to hit the gym in the afternoon. Needless to say, expectations were pretty low.

Also some kid at the gym addressed me as "sir". Haggard hungover look PR.

Bench press 135x6, 185x3, 225x3, 255x5, 285x3, 320 (1+) x 6 reps

Some improvement here. No shoulder or collarbone pain.

Joker sets 340x1, 350x2, 360x1

360 felt very heavy and I suspect the spotter yanked the bar up at the end (although I got the obligatory "all you brah"). Doesn't matter, since the rep set is the only thing that counts.

Seated cable row 30 total reps

Standing front press up to 185x1, then a couple of back-off sets with 155.

EZ bar curl 30 total reps

Pushdowns 3s x 15-20

DB curls 3s x 8-10

Friday, September 25, 2015

Slam Bars, Kill PRs... Not

24 September 2015


Squat 185x6, 225x5, 295x5, 340x5, 385 (5+) x 10 reps

Leg press, close stance, 50 total reps

Added a pair of 25s later in the set. High rep leg pressing feels okay these days and I no longer hate it with a passion.

No pulling today so I can rest up for the massive slam bars, kill PRs workout on Sunday (slam bars, kill your back, more likely, but it's fine).

Leg extension 3s x 10-12

Leg curl 3s x 8-10

Leg raise 3s x whatever

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Floored

22 September 2015


Bench press 135x8, 185x3, 225x3, 245x5, SlingShot 285x5, 320 (5+) x 9 reps

Pretty decent.

Pulldowns 30 total reps, heavy

Smith machine floor press 3-4 sets

Decided to switch one overhead press session to a floor press session. It took me a few sets to figure out the correct positioning for these, then I did 3-4 sets of 5. Felt good.

DB curl 6 sets

Pushdown 3 sets

Monday, September 21, 2015

Putting the Time In

20 September 2015


High bar close stance squat 135x5, 185x3, 225x5, 265x5, 295 (5+) x 10 reps

Mid-shin pull - worked up to 480 lbs. x 2 singles, then 455x1, 405x1. Hard, but doable.

Leg press (close stance) 50 total reps

Leg curl 3s x 8-10

Leg extension 3s x 8-10

Sunday, September 20, 2015

Just Pumping

19 September 2015


Bench press 135x8, 185x3, 225x5, 255x5, 285 (5+) x 8 reps

Whatever. Triceps were super sore, in spite of taking 2 days off and not even doing any cable pulling. Not just sore, but also somehow, I don't know, crampy? Really weird.

Seated cable row 30 total reps

Standing front press 135x3, 155x3, 165x3, 175x3, 185x3, 190x1, 190x2

DB curl 5 sets

Pushdowns 4 sets

Cable curl 3 sets

Cable fly 3 sets

Thursday, September 17, 2015

Lazy on Leg Day

16 September 2015


Low energy today. Ate a piece of cake at work and felt like shit the rest of the day. I don't avoid carbs or anything, but I do tend to eat them later in the day, after training, and generally avoid garbage carbohydrate sources. No sugary crap in the middle of the day anymore.


Squat 135x8, 225x3, 275x3, 315x3, 365x3, 405 (3+) x 6 reps

Not great, not disappointing either. A mediocre squatting session.

Joker sets 425x3, 430x3

Leg press:

Close stance (quad-focused) 25 reps
Wide stance (to work hamstrings) 25 reps

Did this to compensate for the lack of block pulls. I have to say that the wide leg press is as effective a hamstring exercise as anything else I've tried.

Tomorrow I'll do 100 lunges as penance for being lazy on leg day.

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

Angles

15 September 2015


Bench press 135x8, 185x3, 225x3, 265x3, SlingShot 300x3, 340 (3+) x 7 reps

Pretty happy with this.

Joker sets 350x3, 355x3, 360x3

These weren't bad either.

Neutral-grip pullups 35 total reps

Elbows felt a bit iffy, so I didn't do the usual 50 reps. But pullups haven't felt this easy in a long time. Losing weight seems to be the ticket to pullup proficiency. Might try for a new rep max one day when my elbows feel good.

Overhead press 115x5, 145x3, 165x2, 185x1, 200x2, 200x1

Barely had anything left at this point. The more weight I move in the bench press (raw and SlingShot), the further my overhead press continues to plummet. I guess this is normal. My arms seem to be the weak point in the OH press (as usual).

DB curls 4 sets

Pushdowns 5 sets

Cable curls 4 sets

Cable fly 3 sets

Didn't count reps on any of these, experimented a bit with angles and time under tension.

Sunday, September 13, 2015

Better

13 September 2015


High-bar close stance squat 135x5, 185x3, 225x3, 255x3, 280x3, 315 (3+) x 8 reps

Mid-shin pull 470 lbs. x 4 singles

Glute-ham raise 20 total reps

Hanging leg raise 3s x 8

Bodyweight has been consistently at around 205 lately.

Minus Ten Percent

12 September 2015


Had some people over last night and didn't go to bed until 5AM or so. Sleep was shitty and I didn't get enough of it. So today's workout really sucked.

Bench press 135x8, 185x3, 235x5, 280x3, 305 (3+) x 6 reps

Barely made the sixth rep. Last week I was disappointed to hit 315x6. Guess I should lower my expectations.

Joker sets 325x3, 330x3, 330x3 - these felt heavy and slow

Seated cable rows 30 total reps

Standing front press 135x3, 165x2, 185x1, 200x2, 205x1, 210x1, 215xfail

Having failed at the bench press, I thought I would at least have some juice left for the overhead press. I was wrong.

EZ bar wall curl 30 total reps

Pushdowns 3s x 15

Cable fly 3s x 10

Rear delt raises 3s x 15


Friday, September 11, 2015

Four:Twenty

10 September 2015


Squat 135x8, 225x5, 275x3, 315x3, 335x5, 375x3, 420 (1+) x 5 reps

Joker sets 440x2, 450x2

Not bad. Hit the rack with one side of the bar on the 440 set and almost tipped over and died (safety pins were not in place). It's fine.

Mid-shin block pulls 405 lbs. x 5 singles

Cheated a bit - really did three singles and a double. But I waited 5 seconds between reps for the stretch reflex to dissipate because Coach said so once.

Leg press 50 total reps

The very sight of the leg press makes me shudder nowadays.

Glute-ham raise 20 total reps

Leg raises 3s x 10-12

Some extensions


Wednesday, September 9, 2015

Flye Like an Eagle

8 September 2015


Bench press 135x8, 185x3, 225x3, 255x3, SlingShot 285x5, 315x3, 355 (1+) x 5 reps

Joker sets 365x2, 375x2

Looks like my raw press is now stalling and my SlingShot bench press is going up. I don't think I'll ever be able to make sense of this lifting business. Maybe it's the cable flyes?

Pulldowns 30 total reps, heavy

Standing front press 200 lbs. 3s x 2 - figured I should do doubles if my singles are stalling

Standing DB curls 30 total reps

Pushdowns 50 total reps

Concentration curls 30 total reps

Cable flyes 3s x 10

Sunday, September 6, 2015

Power Through

6 September 2015


High bar close stance squat 135x6, 225x5, 255x5, 285x3, 320 (1+) x 7 reps

Could have done 1-2 more, saved the lower back for pulls. No joker sets either.

Mid-shin block pull 455 lbs. x 6 singles

Leg press 50 total reps

Forgot how much these suck. Quads were on fire.

Glute-ham raise 20 total reps

Leg raise 3s x 8

No Progress

5 September 2015


Bench press 135x8, 185x3, 225x3, 250x5, 280x3, 315 (1+) x 6 reps

Felt heavy. Didn't beat last rep max with 315. Still sore from the huge workout on Thursday.

Joker sets 335x2, 345x2, 350x1 - maybe could have done two on the last set, but did not have a spotter.

Seated cable row 30 reps

Standing front press - worked up to 205x1, then 185x2, 185x1

EZ bar wall curl 30 total reps

EZ bar pullover 3s x 8

Friday, September 4, 2015

Two In One

3 September 2015


I won't be able to train tomorrow, so today I decided to combine two workouts into one. I figured I could get away with it as it's a 5-rep week.

Squat 225x5, 275x3, 315x5, 345x5, 375 (5+) x 10 reps

Bench press 135x5, 225x5, 255x5, SlingShot 285x5, 315 (5+) x 10 reps

Felt okay, but my elbows started hurting a bit. Not sure why.

Mid-shin block pulls 405 lbs. x 6 singles - middle back was fried at this point and the muscles were cramping up. I've never felt this part of the back work so hard.

Neutral-grip pullups 30 total reps - should have skipped these, as they didn't do my elbows any favors

Pushdowns 3s x 15

Seated Smith machine press - 4 random sets of 5. My back didn't feel up to standing presses and this was the only available seated station. I had to twist the bar at a weird angle to get the hooks off the catches, and elbows did not like this at all.

Machine preacher curl 3s x 10 per arm

Wednesday, September 2, 2015

Rational Approach

1 September 2015


High bar squat 135x5, 225x5, 255x5, 285 (5+) x 10 reps

Ten reps is enough, Saved some energy for pulls. Knee acting up yet again.

Mid-shin block pulls 455 lbs. x 5 singles - heavy but doable

That was it. Probably squatting/pulling again 2 days from now.

Tuesday, September 1, 2015

Backsliding

31 August 2015


Bench press 135x5, 185x5, 225x5, 255x5, 285 (5+) x 10 reps

Matched the reps from last attempt at 285. Not quite sure why I have to do 10 reps when I could just do the minimum 6 and save some energy for the OH press. But that would actually... make sense, so I'll probably never do it.

Seated cable row 30 total reps

Standing front press 135x3, 165x2, 185x1, 205x1, 215x1, 185 x 2 singles

215 went up with a terrible grind. Even 205 felt too heavy. The way my press has been moving, I should hit a 1RM of 135 by year-end.

EZ bar wall curl 30 total reps

EZ bar pullover 30 total reps

Standing DB curl 30 total reps