Training - Overhead Press

30 April 2012

I'm still struggling to find some sort of consistent form on overhead presses, behind-the-neck military still sucks but I made up for it with heavy volume.

Warmup: standing press 135 lbs. x 5, 155 lbs. x 3, 175 lbs. x 2, 185 lbs. x 2

Behind-the-neck seated press 185 lbs. x 2, 195 lbs. x 2, 165 lbs. x 3 (shoulder felt strained)

Seated front military press 165 lbs. x 3, 185 lbs. x 2, 205 lbs. x 1, 215 lbs. x 1 (not too hard)

Pullups (able to do these again) 5x5

Long-pause bench press (5 seconds) - worked up to 275 lbs. x 1, smoked it

Seated low cable rows 3 sets x 10

Dips bodyweight x 10, x 10, x 12

Seated HammerStrength rows 2 sets x 10

One-arm machine preacher curls 4 sets x failure

Training - Squat, Light

29 April 2012


Nice and easy session, ditched the belt and wraps and squatted 100% RAWDAWG.

Back squat:

Warmup x a few singles and doubles
315 lbs. x 5
365 lbs. x 5
405 lbs. x 5 x 3 sets

Single-leg press 3 sets x 6-10 reps, varying resistance

Glute-ham raise 3 sets x 5

Single-leg curl 2 sets x 8

Single-leg extension 3 sets x 5-8

Ab work x a lot

Training - Bench Press

28 April 2012

Bench press: 245 lbs. x 2 sets x 10

Close-grip BP 205 lbs. x 1 set x 10

Wide-grip BP 185 lbs. x 1 set x 10

DB flyes 40 lbs. x as many reps as possible

Pulldowns 5 sets x 5-10 reps

Face pulls x 4 sets x many

Dips: bodyweight x 10, +25 lbs. x 5, +35 lbs. x 5

Bicep supersets: DB preacher curl + barbell preacher curl x 3 sets

Barbell skullcrushers to behind head 2 sets x 8

Ab work x a lot

Training - Pulls

26 April 2012

Deadlift:

135x10, 225x5, 315x2

370 lbs. x 1

415 lbs. x 1

440 lbs. x 1 (harder than I thought, but it went up)

 

Smith machine shrugs:

1 plate x 12, 2 plates x 10, 3 plates x 6 x 2 sets

Glute-ham raise 3 sets x 5

Smith machine bent-over row with shrug x 2 sets

Leg raises 2 sets x 10

Training - Misc Press

24 April 2012

Didn’t feel too strong today, did a bunch of stuff I felt like doing rather than stick to a plan.

 

Standing OH press:

135 lbs. x 8

155 lbs. x 3

185 lbs. x 3

205 lbs. x 1

Long-pause bench press (5-second pause) – worked up to 275 lbs. x 1, didn’t go that well today (almost got stapled by the 275)

 T-bar rows x 4 sets x 8-10 reps (ended last couple of sets with scapular shrugs)

 

Pullups 3 sets x 5

 

Seated HammerStrength rows 2 sets x 10 plus scapular shrugs

 
Dips: bodyweight x 12, x 10, + big chain x 5, + big chain and little chain x 5 x 3 sets

Squat Training - PR - The Big 500

23 April 2012

Back squat:

Warmup x a bunch of sets

315 lbs. x 2, 365 lbs. x 2, 405 lbs. x 1 (added belt + wraps on the last one)

430 lbs. x 1

470 lbs. x 1

500 lbs. x 1 (personal best)

Very happy about this. I've been working toward this for a long time. I took some footage of the lift which I will post as soon as it is edited. The video revealed a lot of surprising things about me doing heavy squats - it's a whole different story once the weights get over 400-450.

Single-leg work:

Leg press x 3 sets x 6-10 reps per leg

Leg curl x 3 sets x 6-8 reps per leg

Leg extension x 2 sets x 10 reps per leg

 

Glute-ham raise x 1 set

Ab work – light x a lot

Training - Bench Press

22 April 2012

 

I decided to run another cycle of the Ed Coan bench program. It has worked well for me in the past, pushing my stalled bench press to 345, then 360 lbs. In preparation for it I did a high-rep session today, which was painful and embarrassing (reps over 5 are very hard for me with anything over 200 lbs. and I tend to fail utterly even with light weights). Rep work is something I need to get better at and it should build some extra muscle for the heavier phases.

I’ll be doing a modified “light bench press” day in addition to the regular bench press session, which will be either heavy shoulders + chest flyes or incline bench press + moderate shoulder work (haven’t decided yet).

I’m attempting a 500-lb. squat tomorrow. Regardless of how that goes, I’ve decided to cycle back on the squats (either do light sets of 8-10 or triples with a moderate weight for a few months) as the heavy squat program is beating me up severely and my deadlift is not moving as well as I’d like it to. So I’ll have more energy to dedicate to pulling and pressing.

Bench press 245 lbs. x 9 x 2 sets (failed to get the 10^th rep twice - pathetic)

Close-grip bench press 205 lbs. x 8, x 10

Incline bench press 155 lbs. x 8, 185 lbs. x 4 (my arms had given up by this point)

Pulldowns 4 sets x 8-10 reps

Seated HammerStrength rows 3 sets x 10-12 reps

Dips – bodyweight x 12, x 10, x 8

One-arm machine preacher curls 4 sets to failure

Tricep pushdowns x 12 reps

Light ab work x a lot

Training - Deadlifts

19 April 2012

I pulled a muscle in my left buttock or something, hurt quite a bit while deadlifting.

Deadlift:

135 lbs. x 10, 225 lbs. x 5, 315 lbs. x 2

365 lbs. x 1

405 lbs. x 1

430 lbs. x 1 (nice and easy, except for the pulled muscle pain)

Was tired after this, did a bunch of light stuff and went home:

Glute-ham raise x 2 sets

Weighted ab machine x 10 x 2 sets

Back hyperextensions x 10

Light ab work x a ton

Training - Shoulders

18 April 2012

 Another weak OH pressing session, but got a lot of volume in. A 75%.

Seated BTN press:

Bar x a bunch, 95 lbs. x 5, 135 lbs. x 3

160 lbs. x 5

170 lbs. x 4

180 lbs. x 3

190 lbs. x 2

200 lbs. x 1, x 1

190 lbs. x 1

165 lbs. x 5 

Pulldowns 5 sets x 5-8 reps

Seated HammerStrength rows 4 sets x 10

Paused bench press (5-second pause on chest) – worked up to 280 lbs. x 1. Getting better at this.

Dips bodyweight x 10 x 2 sets, + big chain x 5

Seated cable rows x 2 sets x 10

Bicep superset: DB preacher curl + barbell preacher curl x 3 sets

Training - Squat, One Week Before Max Attempt

17 April 2012

Today I just worked up to the daily max and did a bunch of single-leg exercises, medium reps with moderate resistance plus heavy negatives (lift with both legs, lower with one).

Back squat:

Warmup x a bunch of triples and doubles
365 lbs. x 2
405 lbs. x 2 (belt + wraps from here onwards)
420 lbs. x 1
465 lbs. x 1
490 lbs. x 1 - this is a personal best, went up easily enough. Onward to 500 next week.

Single-leg leg press 3 sets

Glute-ham raises 2 sets

Single-leg extensions 3 sets

Single-leg curls 2 sets

Adductor machine 1 set

Abductor machine 1 set

Ab work x a bunch

Training - Pulls

12 April 2012

Did a combined session of heavy deadlift – medium paused bench press, as I will be away this weekend.

 Deadlift:

135 lbs. x 10, 225 lbs. x 5, 315 lbs. x 2

350 lbs. x 1

395 lbs. x 1

420 lbs. x 1

370 lbs. x 2

Smith machine shrugs 4 sets x 10

Paused bench press (5-second pause at chest) – worked up to 275 lbs.

Dips x 10 bodyweight, x 5 x 2 sets weighted

Straight-legged good mornings 3 sets x 10 (light)

Seated rows 3 sets x 10

Weighted hyperextensions 2 sets x 10

Glute-ham raise 1 set x 7

Training - OH Press

10 April 2012


Still sore from the pressing on Sunday - those weighted dips kicked my ass (or rather shoulders, chest and triceps). I'll keep doing them as a third pressing exercise, and work them into the ground. They are safe and blast the upper body better than other pressing exercises (pump-wise) = win.

Seated BTN press:

Warmup - standing two-DB OH press, worked up to 70 lbs. x 3
135 lbs. x 3
160 lbs. x 5
170 lbs. x 4
180 lbs. x 3
190 lbs. x 2
205 lbs. x 1
210 lbs. x fail

160 lbs. x 8, x 4 - this will be my go-to tactic until my OH press recovers. If I can't get heavy singles in, I'll do a bunch of reps with a light weight.

Pulldowns 5 sets x 5-8 reps - left lat hurts on the first few sets, then gets better

Seated HS rows 4 sets x 10 reps

Bicep superset: DB preacher curl + EZ bar preacher curl x 3 sets

AB work x a lot

Squat Training

9 April 2012


Good session, the heavy single went well but my wrists hurt too much to hit all the rep goals afterwards. Bench pressing and squatting on consecutive days = wrist pain. Wraps didn't help.

Back squat:

Warmup x several sets
365 lbs. x 1
410 lbs. x 1 (belt + wraps)
455 lbs. x 1 (B+W)
480 lbs. x 1 (B+W) - this matches my all-time PR. Felt like I had some left in the tank.
405 lbs. x 3
425 lbs. x 3 (wrists hurt too much at this point so I stopped)

Inner left thigh still hurts, I've tried massaging and I rested it for two weeks while I was travelling but it hasn't gotten better. I'll try to suck it up and hit 500, then I'll take it easy on the squat and focus on the deadlift more for the rest of 2012.

Leg press - 6 sets of 8 at various weights (used a different leg press machine than usual and just went by feel)

Single-leg curls x 2 sets

Glute-ham raise x 1 set x 8

Ab work x a ton

Bench Press Training

8 April 2012


Finally a decent session.

Bench press:

Warmup x a few sets
305 lbs. x 1
330 lbs. x 1 (this is arund 92% of my 1RM and it went up pretty easily)
280 lbs. x 3 x 3 sets

Close-grip bench press negatives, 280 lbs. x 4 reps

Dips:

Bodyweight x 10
+ big chains x 5
+ big chains + small chains x 3
+ big and medium chains x 3 x 2 sets (with a few negatives added at the end)

Barbell skullcrushers, light x 2 sets - triceps were already dead

One-arm pushdowns x 2 sets, 20 and 15 reps per arm

Ab work x a lot

Mini Workout

7 April 2012

Bench pressing was on the menu for today but I had a late night yesterday and barely made it to the gym. SO I did a mini workout for the upper back and biceps:

Seated HammerStrength Row x 4 sets x 10

Bicep supersets (DB preacher curl with straight-bar preacher curl) x 3 sets

Deadlift Training

4 April 2012

Deadlift:

135 lbs. x 10, 225 lbs. x 5 - still having that weird pain in my left lat, makes it hard to pull in the correct groove once the weights get heavy.

305 lbs. x 2
350 lbs. x 1
395 lbs. x 1
410 lbs. x 1 (felt nice and easy as it should, no strain)

360 lbs. x 3, x 2

Smith machine shrugs x 3 sets

Pulldowns x a bunch of light sets - decided to take a break from pullups to see if my left lat problem goes away. Will focus on these, medium and heavy, for the next few weeks.

Ab work x a lot

Overhead Press Training - Sort Of

3 April 2012

Terrible session today, best forgotten. Tried some OH pressing and it felt fine until I got into the heavier sets. I walked out of the gym after about half an hour.

Seated BT press:

Warmup x 2 sets
160 lbs. x 5
170 lbs. x 4
180 lbs. x 3
190 lbs. x 2
205 lbs. x 1
210 lbs. x fail x 2
200 lbs. x 1

Pullups 5x5

Squat Training - Last Week of 4-Week Cycle

2 April 2012

Intermediary cycle is over. On to the final peaking cycle and hopefully that 500 lbs. max at the end of it.

Left thigh is still bothering me, but the pain is not too bad.

Back squat:

Warmup x a bunch of sets
315 lbs. x 2
365 lbs. x 2
400 lbs. x 1 (belt + wraps)
440 lbs. x 1 (B+W)
470 lbs. x 1 (B+W)
420 lbs. x 5
430 lbs. x 4
440 lbs. x 3
450 lbs. x 2
460 lbs. x 1

Leg press 4 plates x 8, 5 plates x 8, 3 plates x 10

Adductor machine 1 set x 20

Single-leg extensions 2 sets

Single-leg curls 1 set