Bench Press Training

29 March 2012

Absolutely weak today, I went to the gym merely to put in an appearance as I'll be missing the next three days (out of town again).

Bench press:

Warmup x a few sets
245 lbs. x 2 (even this felt way too heavy)
265 lbs. x 1
295 lbs. x 1
320 lbs. x 1 (tonight this was a legit one-rep max)
280 lbs. x 3, x 2
265 lbs. x 2

Pullups 5x5

Dips bodyweight x 10, weighted (with fat chain) x 5 x 4 sets

Smith machine rows x 2 sets, light

Bicep blitz: DB preacher curls supersetted with straight-bar preacher curls x 3 super-sets

Deadlift Training

28 March 2012

This was my third training day in a row this week so I didn't push it very hard. I have a session planned for tomorrow - it'll be tough. Was also suffering from terrible soreness from the squatting on Monday.

Deadlift:

135 lbs. x 10
225 lbs. x 5
275 lbs. x 2
330 lbs. x 1
375 lbs. x 1
400 lbs. x 1
350 lbs. x 3 x 2 sets

Smith machine shrugs 2 plates x 10, 3 plates x 10 x 3 sets

Glute-ham raise 3 sets

Machine ab crunches (seated) 3 sets

Overhead Press Training

27 March 2012

Weak session today, didn't hit the gym until late in the evening. I've lost a lot of strength on the OH press - today I failed to hit the progress goal, backed all the way off to 200 lbs., couldn't hit that either. Will see where I'm at next week.

Seated BTN press:
150 lbs. x 5
165 lbs. x 4
175 lbs. x 3
195 lbs. x 2
185 lbs. x 1

Seated front military press 185x1, 195x1, 200x1, 205x1

Pullups 5x5

Bent-over rows (Smith machine) 4 sets x 10, light

Long-pause bench press - worked up to 280 lbs. x 1, something of a personal best. Pause for 3 seconds.

Squat Training

26 March 2012

Squatting went well, I managed to hit the next target single on the list so no strength lost over the layoff. Didn't do all the back-off reps and sets, just picked a fixed weight and did three sets of five.

Back squat:

Warmup x a few sets
315 lbs. x 3
355 lbs. x 2
390 lbs. x 1 (belt + wraps)
430 lbs. x 1 (B+W)
460 lbs. x 1 (B+W)
410 lbs. x 5 x 3 sets

Leg press: 4 plates x 8, 5 plates x 8 x 2 sets

Leg extension (one leg at a time) 2 sets

Leg curl (single leg) 1 set

Incline ab board situps 2 sets

First Workout Back

24 March 2012

Back from travel, didn't train for around two weeks, massively jet-lagged. Also managed to pick up some sort of stomach bug, had the runs for about a week, didn't eat anything for two days and came out of it dehydrated and weak.

Workout was okay, didn't have much stamina and was weak overall but managed to get one in.

Bench press:

Warmup x a few sets
285 lbs. x 1 (felt heavy)
310 lbs. x 1 (felt like a max effort, barely made it)
270 lbs. x 3 x 3 sets (couldn't budge a fourth set)

Pullups 5x5

Dips x 10 bodyweight, x 5 x 3 sets with added chains

Smith machine bent-over rows (light to medium) 4 sets

Biceps supersets: DB preacher curls with barbell curls x 3 sets

Tricep pushdowns x 2 sets, high reps

Some chest expander exercises with light resistance, targeting specific muscle groups:

Front chest pulls 2 sets x 10
Bicep curl 2 sets x 10
Tricep pressouts / pushdowns 2 sets x 10

Quick Bench Press + Lats Workout

9 March 2012

Leaving on a business trip today and won't be back until the end of the month. No gym access while I'm away, so I made sure to hit the weights before leaving.

Bench press:

Warmup x a few sets
285 lbs. x 1
310 lbs. x 1 (easy)
270 lbs. x 3 x 5 sets

Lat pulldowns (machine)

140 lbs. x 10
160 lbs. x 10
180 lbs. x 5
200 lbs. x 5
220 lbs. x 3

Tried something different for the lats, felt pretty good (but left lat still hurts).

Deadlift Training

8 March 2012

Deadlift:

135 lbs. x 10, 225 lbs. x 5
275 lbs. x 2
320 lbs. x 1
365 lbs. x 1
390 lbs. x 1
340 lbs. x 3 x 2 sets

Easy singles, 390 felt like no effort at all. Whatever it is that I pulled in my left lat still hurts which makes it kinda hard to activate both lats efficiently, but the weight still went up nice and easy.

Sumo deadlift 290 lbs. x 5
Deficit deadlift 290 lbs. x 5

Smith machine shrugs 2 plates x 10, 3 plates x 10, 4 plates x 10

Seated low cable rows 4-5 sets x 8-10 reps

No squats today.

Overhead Press + Back

6 March 2012


Seated behind-the-neck press:

150 lbs. x 5
165 lbs. x 4
175 lbs. x 3
190 lbs. x 2
205 lbs. x 1 x 5 sets - all but the last one pretty easy.

I'm loving the progress on the BTN seated press, but then again I was so weak at it that it had nowhere to go but up.

Seated front military press 185 lbs. x 2, 205 lbs. x 1

Pullups 6 sets x 5

Seated chest-supported rows 3 sets x 10

Smith machine shrugs 3 sets x 10 (2 plates per side, 3 plates per side, 4 plates +15 per side)

Barbell curls 3 sets

EZ bar bicep curls, elbows and back against wall, 3 sets

Tricep pushdowns x 2 sets x 10-12 reps

Squat Training

5 March 2012


Back squat:

Warmup x a few sets
315 lbs. x 2
380 lbs. x 1 (belt + wraps)
425 lbs. x 1 (B+W)
450 lbs. x 1 (B+W - still nice and explosive)
400 lbs. x 4 (didn't grip the bar properly, almost lost it on rep 3)
410 lbs. x 4
420 lbs. x 3
430 lbs. x 2
440 lbs. x 1

Paused squat 225 lbs. x 4

Leg press: 4 plates x 8, 5 plates x 8, 6 plates x 8

Leg extensions 1 set x A.M.A.P.

Adductor machine 1 set x 20

Abductor machine 1 set x 20

Glute-ham raises 1 set x 8

Calf raise 1 set x 20 or so

Bench Press Training

3 March 2012


Sluggish this morning, had a late night last night and ate and slept badly.

Bench press:

Warmup x a bunch of sets
280 lbs. x 1
305 lbs. x 1 (a bit of a grinder but overall nice and fast)
265 lbs. x 3 x 5 sets (easy - last rep was paused just above chest for 5 seconds)

Close-grip bench press with chains: 235 lbs. + big chains x 2 x 2

Pullups 5x5

Seated chest-supported rows 3 sets x 10-12 (light-moderate weight)

EZ bar preacher curls 3 sets x 6-8 reps + "burns"

Two-DB incline bench seated curl 40s x A.M.A.P.

Dips (bodyweight) 3 x 10

Tricep pushdowns x 2 sets x 12 reps

Deadlift Day

1 March 2012


Deadlift: 135x10, 225x5, 265x2

315 lbs. x 1
355 lbs. x 1
380 lbs. x 1
330 lbs. x 3 x 2 sets

Sumo deadlift 280 lbs. x 5

Deficit deadlift 280 lbs. x 5

Smith machine shrug 2 plates per side x 10, 3 pps x 10, 4 pps x 10

Smith machine bent-over row 3 sets (worked up to a heavy 5)

Pause squat to pins - worked up to 315 lbs., back felt somewhat wobbly after this so I stopped

Abductor / adductor machines 1 set x 20 each

Leg extension 1 set A.M.A.P.

Overhead Pressing and Back Work

28 February 2012


Seated behind-the-neck press:

140 lbs. x 5
165 lbs. x 4
175 lbs. x 3
185 lbs. x 2
200 lbs. x 1 x 5 sets

Pullups 7 sets x 5

Bench press with 5+ second pause above chest - worked up to 275 lbs. x 1

Seated chest-supported rows x 5 sets (worked up to a heavy weight, then back to medium, 8-10 reps)

Dips 2 sets x 10

EZ bar bicep curls 3 sets 6-8 reps plus "burn" reps