New Leaf

2 January 2016


Paused bench press 265x2, 275x2, 285x2, 295x2, 265x2

Was only supposed to work up to 275x2, so this was better than expected. Weight felt very light and pauses were solid.

Mid-shin pull 490 lbs. x 3 singles

Bent-over row 5x5

Seated cable row 4s x 6

Standing BTN press 175 lbs. x 3 - a bit of a struggle, but this time it went up convincingly.

Incline DB curl 3 sets x AMAP


4 January 2016

I'm planning to max out on the bench press this week, so today was a sort of warmup day, workin up to 90% of the planned lift.

Bench press 305x1, 325x1, 350x1 - last single flew up like 315. Let's hope the momentum lasts.

Pulldowns 3s x 8

Seated DB press 3s x 8

Barbell curls 30 total reps

Pushdowns 3s x AMAP


6 January 2016

Still on track with the planned bench press max-out, today I worked up to 295x1 with a long pause, then did some rear delt raises and biceps work.


8 January 2016

Bench press 315x2, 335x1, 365x1, 375xfail, 315x3

Pretty disappointed with this, but not devastated. My plan was to warm up to 335, then hit 365, 375 and go for either 380 or 385 on the last attempt, based on the numbers I hit in this training cycle and the 90% warmup on Monday. Unfortunately, I struggled to get 365 off the hooks and completely missed my groove, which resulted in a long and ragged single repetition that totally wore me out. My setup with 375 was perfect and I blasted the weight off the bottom, but it stalled around midpoint and sank back down.

At least it shouldn't take much to beat this 1RM in my next training cycle. But I'm still a long way off my all-time PR, so there's a lot of work to be done.

Bodyweight today was only 208.2, and this is after indulging in an all-you-can-eat buffet the day before. I have struggled to get my eating back on track after the holidays, but, unlike normal people, I seem to have no appetite and am constantly undereating. This also needs to change.

Seated cable rows 30 total reps

Incline bench press 4s x 8

DB curl 4s x 8-10

Pushdowns 4s x AMAP

Cable fly 2s x 10


9 January 2016

Squat 405x2, 425x2, 445x1, 445x1

Wanted to go for 445x2, but chickened out on both attempts. However, the weight is not important. What is important is that I didn't use knee wraps on any of the sets, and my bad knee felt fine. I won't jump the gun and proclaim it healed, but it's definitely a good indicator.

Mid-shin pull worked up to 500 lbs. for 2 singles

Leg extension 3s x AMAP

Leg curl 3s x 8

Adductor mchine 2s x 12

Back raise 3s x 10-13