Squat Training - Week 5, Day 2

28 August 2011

Back squat:

115 lbs. x 10
225 lbs. x 6
245 lbs. x 4
265 lbs. x 4
310 lbs. x 1
355 lbs. x 1
380 lbs. x 1

Paused squat 280 lbs. x 5

Deadlift - worked up to 385 lbs. x 1 Still taking it nice and easy.

Leg curl 1 x 10

Leg extension 2 x 10

Seated calf raise 3 x 10

Weighted incline ab board situps 2 sets

Farmer's walk with a pair of 76 lb. kettlebells - 3 sets (around 30 meters each set)

Bench Press Training - Ed Coan Routine Week 22

26 August 2011

Bench press:

Warmup doubles and singles up to 285 lbs. x 1, 315 lbs. x 1

Regular grip BP 335 lbs. x 2, x 1

Close-grip BP 290 lbs. x 2, x 1

Incline bench press 185 lbs. x 3, 205 lbs. x 3, 225 lbs. x 2, 235 lbs. x 1

Pullups 5x5

Bent-over rows 185x5, 235 lbs. x 5, 255 lbs. x 2 sets x 4

Incline bench DB curl 3 sets

Tricep pushdowns 3 sets

Reverse curl 2 sets

Incline ab board situps 1 x 12

Squat Training August 26

26 August 2011

Back squat:

bar x several reps
115 lbs. x 10
225 lbs. x 6
265 lbs. x 4
310 lbs. x 1
355 lbs. x 1
380 lbs. x 1
300 lbs. x 5 x 4 sets

Paused squats 280 lbs. x 5

Leg curls 1 x 10

Leg extensions 1 x 10

Incline ab board situps, with and without weight 3 sets x 12

Overhead Press Training - PR Wednesday

24 August 2011

Overhead press from rack:

Warmed up doing triples and doubles from 95-185 lbs., then:

205 lbs. x 2
215 lbs. x 1
230 lbs. x 1 (PR!)
235 lbs. x 1 (PR!)
240 lbs. x fail

Pullups 5x5

One-arm DB rows 100 lbs. x 2 sets x 5 (did these in between my BTN press sets)

Standing behind-the-neck press: 135x3, 155x2, 165x2, 175x2

Bench press - hit a few light singles, topping out at 285 lbs.x 1

HammerStrength machine seated row 3 sets

Olympic bar bicep curl 4 sets

Some abdominal work on incline board

Cable Pulls

23 August 2011



Cable pulls – heavy:


Front chest pull RYR 9 reps, RRR 3 reps

Overhead downward pull YRY 10 reps

Back press GRG 8 reps, GYG 4 reps

Straight-arm front pulldown OO 12 reps

Front lateral raise single yellow 12 reps

Rear neck press OO 12 reps

Archer pull RR 12 reps

Bicep curl RR 12 reps

Forearm curl OO 12 reps

Squats and Deadlifts August 21

21 August 2011

Back squat:

95 lbs. x 10
225 lbs. x 6
245 lbs. x 4
300 lbs. x 1
345 lbs. x 1
370 lbs. x 1
290 lbs. x 4 sets x 5

Pause squat 270 lbs. x 5

Deadlift: worked up to 375 lbs. x 1, nice and easy

Leg curl 3 sets x 10

Leg extension 3 sets x 10

Seated calf raise 3 sets x 10

Incline ab board situps, 1x12 weighted, 3x12 unweighted

Bench Press Training - Ed Coan Routine Week 21

20 August 2011

Almost skipped this workout as I did not have a spotter, did a bunch of kinda-heavy singles and was getting ready to leave when my spotter showed up.

Bench press:

Warmup: a bunch of sets

Singles: 285 lbs. x 3 singles, 315 lbs. x 3 singles

Regular bench press 325 lbs. x 2 sets x 2 (was supposed to get triples, but the weight was too heavy)

Close-grip bench press 280 lbs. x 2 sets x 2 (same here)

Incline bench press 185 lbs. x 3, 205 lbs. x 3, 225 lbs. x 2, 235 lbs. x 1

Pullups/chinups 5x5

Seated cable row 2 sets

Incline bench DB curls 4 sets

Incline ab board situps 3 sets, some weighted, some unweighted

Overhead Press Training August 16

16 August 2011

Training has been erratic this past few weeks, I've managed to hit the gym 3 times per week but nothing out of the ordinary to report (as can be seen). Bench press routine is progressing well, although I feel like I'm hitting a wall there too. Squat is getting back on track slowly and I'm avoiding heavy deadlifts.

Overhead press from rack:

Warmup 3 sets
165 lbs. x 3
185 lbs. x 3
195 lbs. x 2
205 lbs. x 2
215 lbs. x 2
235 lbs. x fail
175 lbs. x 2 sets x 1

Almost got the 235, not following a particular program for the OH press right now. I'll just keep hitting progressively heavier singles until the 235-lb. barrier is shattered.

Bottoms-up bench press - worked up to 285 lbs. x 1, 295 lbs. x fail

Pullups/chinups 5x5

Seated cable rows 2 sets

Olympic bar curls 3 sets

Tricep pushdowns 2 sets

Incline ab board situps 3 sets

Squat and Deadlift Training

14 August 2011

Back squat:

95 lbs. x 10
225 lbs. x 6
245 lbs. x 4
280 lbs. x 1
335 lbs. x 1
360 lbs. x 1
280 lbs. x 4 sets x 5

Pause squats 260 lbs. x 3, 225 lbs. x 2

Deadlift: worked up to 375 lbs. doing doubles, then singles.

Incline ab board situps 1 x 12

Bench Press Training - Ed Coan Routine Week 20

13 August 2011

Regular bench press 310 lbs. x 3, x 2 (tough, missed one rep in the second set)

Close-grip bench press 270 lbs. x 2 sets x 3 reps (this felt pretty solid)

Incline bench press 185 lbs. x 3, 205 lbs. x 3, 225 lbs. x 2 x 2 sets

Bent-over rows 135x8, 185x5, 205x5, 225x5

Pullups 5x5

Skullcrushers, Olympic bar 4 sets

Bicep curls 1 set EZ bar, 2 sets Olympic bar

Incline ab board situps 3 x12

Back To Cable Training!

10 August 2011

Did a quick cable session today just to blow the cobwebs off the cable set:

Front chest pull x 12 (8 reps RYR + 4 reps RRR as a drop-set)

Overhead downward pull x 12 (8 reps YRY + 4 YOY as above)

Back press x 12 (7 reps GRG + 5 reps double green cables)

Archer pull x 12, double reds

Bicep curl x 12, double reds

Front lateral raise x 12, 7 reps double oranges + 5 reps single yellow cable

Forearm curl x 12, double oranges

Lost quite a bit of pulling strength from the layoff, but am still doing okay. I will slowly reintroduce cable pulls into my weekly routine. Surprisingly weak in the tricep-dominant movements, especially archer pull in which I have lost a lot of strength.

Overhead Press Training - Max Effort

9 August 2011

My overhead press training has been irregular lately, so today I just went for some comfortable low-rep sets. Surprised myself and almost hit a personal best. I will keep attacking a PR over the next few sessions, maybe even add in an extra overhead pressing session somewhere in the week.

95 lbs. x 3
135 lbs. x 3
155 lbs. x 3
175 lbs. x 3
195 lbs. x 2
205 lbs. x 2
215 lbs. x 2 (last time I failed at this weight - could not even get it moving)
225 lbs. x 1 (smoked this one like it was 185)
240 lbs. x fail (too big of a jump - got it halfway up, but no lift)
230 lbs. x fail (I'm pretty sure I would have made it had I not messed around with the 240)

Bottoms-up bench press:

135 lbs. x 3
225 lbs. x 2
255 lbs. x 1
275 lbs. x 1
295 lbs. x 1
305 lbs. x fail

Pullups/chinups 5x5

Bent-over rows 135 lbs. x 8, 225 lbs. x 5, 245 lbs. x 4

Olympic bar bicep curls 3 sets

Tricep pushdowns 2 sets

Squats and Deadlifts Week 2

7 August 2011

Trained with a serious hangover, didn't go too badly except that my head felt like it was going to explode from squatting even with just the bar.

Back squat:

Bar x 2 sets x 5-8
95 lbs. x 10
225 lbs. x 4
245 lbs. x 4
280 lbs. x 1
325 lbs. x 1
350 lbs. x 1

Paused squat 250 lbs. x 3, 235 lbs. x 2 (had to dial it down a bit in order to get the pause)

Deadlift: worked up to 385 lbs. x 1 doing singles. This is the heaviest I have deadlifted post-injury. Added a set of deficit DLs with 115 lbs., 10 reps.

Leg extension 3 x 10

Leg curl 3 x 10

Incline ab board situp 3 x 12

Bench Press Training - Ed Coan Routine, Week 19

6 August 2011

Had a pretty good workout today.

Regular bench press 300 lbs. x 5, x 4 (great)

Close-grip bench press 260 lbs. x sets 2 x 5 reps (tough, but doable)

Incline bench press 195 lbs. x 5, 205 lbs. x 5

Pullups 5x5

Bent-over rows 135 lbs. x 5, 185 lbs. x 5, 205 lbs. x 5, 225 lbs. x 5

Thick-bar curls (a new and terrific exercise for me):

Bar x 8 (this alone is challenging)
Bar + 10 lbs. x 5 (10 lbs. total, not per side!)
Bar + 20 lbs. x 5
Bar + 25 lbs. x 5

Tricep pushdowns 3 sets x 10

Concentration curls 2 sets x 10, light

Incline ab board situps 3 sets x 12

Bodyweight as of today - 194.8 lbs. Got to do something to stop losing weight, I'm aiming for 205-210 but I just keep going down.

Squat Training - Week 3

4 August 2011

Back squat:

95 lbs. x 10
225 lbs. x 6
245 lbs. x 4
280 lbs. x 1
325 lbs. x 1
350 lbs. x 1
270 lbs. x 5 x 4 sets

Paused squats 250 lbs. x 5 (almost got pinned by no. 5, should do these in a power rack in the future)

Leg extension 3 x 10

Leg curl 3 x 10

Calf raise, seated 3 x 10

Incline board situps 3 x 12

Press Session

2 August 2011


Tired and out of shape, back hurt like hell. Had a shitty workout which I am hoping to forget.

Overhead press from rack:

Warmup 2 sets

175 lbs. x 3

195 lbs. x 3

215 lbs.x fail

165 lbs. x 2 sets x 2

175 lbs. x 1 set x 2

I seem to be getting weaker with every overhead press workout, will try de-loading a bit. Last week it felt like I was back on track - apparently not. Lots of back pain on this movement.

Seated overhead press behind neck: 115 lbs. x 3, 135 lbs. x 2, 155 lbs. x 2, 175 lbs. x fail. Weak in this lift too.

Pullups/chinups 5x5

Bent-over row 135 lbs. x 5, 185 lbs. x 5 , 205 lbs. x 5 - got a mysterious burning feeling in my right trap so I quit here. I've had that problem before, I think I have really bad posture while typing on a computer and my trap muscle gets tweaked.

Bottom-position bench press in power rack:

135 lbs. x 3

225 lbs. x 2

255 lbs. x 1

275 lbs. x 1

300 lbs. x fail

After hitting 280 lbs. x 2 last week I was hoping for 300, but this movement is extremely hard and I should have been more conservative with the poundage.

Incline bench DB curls 4 sets

Dips 2 sets x 10

Incline ab board situps 3 x 12

Squat and Bench Training Combined

27 July 2011

Massive session today.

Back squat:

95 lbs. x 10
225 lbs. x 6
245 lbs. x 4
270 lbs. x 1
315 lbs. x 1
340 lbs. x 1
265 lbs. x 4 sets x 5

Paused squat 240 lbs. x 5

Pullups/chinups 5x5

Regular bench press 285 lbs. x 5, x 4 (almost got 2x5, but no spotter available so I didn't push it)

Close-grip BP 250 lbs. x 3, x 5

Incline bench press 195 lbs. x 2 x 5

Seated row machine 3 x 10

Leg curl 3 x 10

Leg extension 3 x 10

Tricep pushdown 3 x 10

Situps 3 x 12

Overhead Press / Bottom Position Bench Training

Last week was sort of hectic, I managed to squeeze in only two training sessions as I was away during the weekend. It sort of went like this:

25 July 2011

Overhead press from rack:

Warmup 3 sets
165 lbs. x 5
185 lbs. x 5
205 lbs. x 5 (press seems to be back on track)

Pullups/chinups 6 sets x 5

Bottom position bench:

135 lbs. x 3
225 lbs. x 3
255 lbs. x 2
265 lbs. x 2
280 lbs. x 2

Incline bench DB curl 4 sets

Incline ab board situps 3 x 12