31 August 2014
Bit the bullet and reduced my speed bench press weight to 60% of my 1RM. Actually I dropped it to 245 which is more like 64%, but whatever. I'll do 60% for 5x5 for 5 weeks, then move up to 70% for 4 sets x 5 for 5 weeks and finally 80%, 3 sets of 5 for 5 weeks. Something like what I do for the squat.
Speed bench press 245 lbs. 5x5 - these moved very fast.
High row machine 4s x 8
Pulldowns 3s x 8
DB flyes 3s x 8
DB tricep extensions 3s x 8
Cheat lat raises 3s x 8
Rear delt machine 3s x 8
Bicep superset: EZ curl + seated DB curl 3 sets
Sunday, August 31, 2014
Saturday, August 30, 2014
Squatting
30 August 2014
Squat 135x5, 225x3, 275x3, 315x3, 365x3, 405x3, 455x3 (belt + wraps), 505x3 (B+W)
Stiff-leg deadlift up to 365 lbs. x 5
Front squat 5x5
Squat 135x5, 225x3, 275x3, 315x3, 365x3, 405x3, 455x3 (belt + wraps), 505x3 (B+W)
Stiff-leg deadlift up to 365 lbs. x 5
Front squat 5x5
Bench Press - Heavy
29 August 2014
Bench press:
315x3/320x2/330x1
320x3/325x2/335x1
345x3/355x2/375x1
375 for a very fatigued single is not bad. But I don't think I like this ladder program very much, it takes way too long and my joints kinda hurt from the constant heavy singles. Will do it one more week, then take a week off (vacation), then restart the 6/5/3/2/1 heavy bench press program.
Push press 135x3, 185x3, 205x3 - this didn't feel good. Instead of push presses which I've always sucked at, I'll just do incline presses on a 3x3 scheme.
Partial close-grip presses 295x3, 300x2sx3 - these felt pretty good
Preacher curl machine 3 sets
Face pulls 4-5 sets of 20, didn't really count
Bench press:
315x3/320x2/330x1
320x3/325x2/335x1
345x3/355x2/375x1
375 for a very fatigued single is not bad. But I don't think I like this ladder program very much, it takes way too long and my joints kinda hurt from the constant heavy singles. Will do it one more week, then take a week off (vacation), then restart the 6/5/3/2/1 heavy bench press program.
Push press 135x3, 185x3, 205x3 - this didn't feel good. Instead of push presses which I've always sucked at, I'll just do incline presses on a 3x3 scheme.
Partial close-grip presses 295x3, 300x2sx3 - these felt pretty good
Preacher curl machine 3 sets
Face pulls 4-5 sets of 20, didn't really count
Thursday, August 28, 2014
Fast Squat
27 August 2014
Speed squat 320 lbs. x 5, 405 lbs. 2s x 5
Tried to do these without much forward lean. It was tougher on the quads, but still pretty fast. Next week I'll recalculate my percentages and start from 60% again. So 260 lbs. for paused speed squats (3 sets) and 315 for regular speed squats (2 sets).
Hack squat 3s x 8 - knees felt weird on this one.
Seated DB shrugs with pause 3s x 20
Leg extensions 3s x 10
Speed squat 320 lbs. x 5, 405 lbs. 2s x 5
Tried to do these without much forward lean. It was tougher on the quads, but still pretty fast. Next week I'll recalculate my percentages and start from 60% again. So 260 lbs. for paused speed squats (3 sets) and 315 for regular speed squats (2 sets).
Hack squat 3s x 8 - knees felt weird on this one.
Seated DB shrugs with pause 3s x 20
Leg extensions 3s x 10
Wednesday, August 27, 2014
Fast Benching
26 August 2014
Speed bench 275 lbs. 3s x 5 - first set wasn't fast, second and third were pretty fast.
DB flyes 5s x 8
DB tricep extensions 3s x 8, heavy
DB lateral raises 3s x 8, heavy
EZ bar curl + seated DB curl superset 3 sets
Speed bench 275 lbs. 3s x 5 - first set wasn't fast, second and third were pretty fast.
DB flyes 5s x 8
DB tricep extensions 3s x 8, heavy
DB lateral raises 3s x 8, heavy
EZ bar curl + seated DB curl superset 3 sets
Saturday, August 23, 2014
Below-Knee Pulls
23 August 2014
Below-knee pulls 135x5, 225x3, 315x2, 385x1, 425x1, 455x1, 495x1, 545x1
Not really sure what happened here. I did the pulls in a different rack, so maybe the pin position was half an inch higher than normal and this whole workout was worthless. But 545 pounds from my weakest pull position is pretty sweet.
Snatch-grip deadlift 275x5, 295 x 4sx5
Seated cable rows 2s x 8, 2s x 6
Weighted incline bench situps 3s x 5
Good mornings 4s x 8, light
Leg curl 3s x 8
Side bend 2s x 8
Below-knee pulls 135x5, 225x3, 315x2, 385x1, 425x1, 455x1, 495x1, 545x1
Not really sure what happened here. I did the pulls in a different rack, so maybe the pin position was half an inch higher than normal and this whole workout was worthless. But 545 pounds from my weakest pull position is pretty sweet.
Snatch-grip deadlift 275x5, 295 x 4sx5
Seated cable rows 2s x 8, 2s x 6
Weighted incline bench situps 3s x 5
Good mornings 4s x 8, light
Leg curl 3s x 8
Side bend 2s x 8
Bench Press Waves
22 August 2014
I went a little lighter today in order to get all 3 waves and some SlingShot singles.
Bench press:
305x3/315x2/325x1
315x3/320x2/330x1
320x3/325x2/335x1
SlingShot 365x1, 375x1
High row machine 3s x 8
Incline bench press 185 x 5, 190 x 4s x 5 - felt easier than usual, so I added weight
Machine preacher curls 4s x 8
Cheat side lateral raise 1s x 10, 3s x 8
I went a little lighter today in order to get all 3 waves and some SlingShot singles.
Bench press:
305x3/315x2/325x1
315x3/320x2/330x1
320x3/325x2/335x1
SlingShot 365x1, 375x1
High row machine 3s x 8
Incline bench press 185 x 5, 190 x 4s x 5 - felt easier than usual, so I added weight
Machine preacher curls 4s x 8
Cheat side lateral raise 1s x 10, 3s x 8
Wednesday, August 20, 2014
Speed Squat
19 August 2014
Speed squat 320 lbs. x 5, 405 lbs. 2s x 5
Still fast, but not as fast as I'd like them to be.
Hack squats 4s x 8
Weighted incline ab board situps 3s x 5, heavy
Side bends 3s x 8
Speed squat 320 lbs. x 5, 405 lbs. 2s x 5
Still fast, but not as fast as I'd like them to be.
Hack squats 4s x 8
Weighted incline ab board situps 3s x 5, heavy
Side bends 3s x 8
Monday, August 18, 2014
Speed Press
18 August 2014
Speed bench press 275 lbs. 3s x 5
These were fast, but could have been faster. 275 is light for repping out, but feels a bit heavy for speed work. I'm thinking about doing something similar to my squat speed sets for the bench press, i.e. where I start at 60% for 5x5, then 70% 4x5 and 80% 3x5. That seems to have made my squats more explosive, maybe it'd work for pressing too.
Seated cable rows 3s x 8
DB tricep extensions 1s x 10, 2s x 8
Incline chest machine 2sx8, 1sx7
Bicep superset EZ bar curls + seated DB curls 4 sets
Speed bench press 275 lbs. 3s x 5
These were fast, but could have been faster. 275 is light for repping out, but feels a bit heavy for speed work. I'm thinking about doing something similar to my squat speed sets for the bench press, i.e. where I start at 60% for 5x5, then 70% 4x5 and 80% 3x5. That seems to have made my squats more explosive, maybe it'd work for pressing too.
Seated cable rows 3s x 8
DB tricep extensions 1s x 10, 2s x 8
Incline chest machine 2sx8, 1sx7
Bicep superset EZ bar curls + seated DB curls 4 sets
Sunday, August 17, 2014
Squatz
15 August 2014
Shoulders-and-arms workout at the gym at work. Just to get some extra volume in.
Shoulder superset: standing BTN press + combo raises (10 reps) x 5 sets
BTN press weight x reps 135x5, 155x5, 165x5, 175x5, 135x5
Biceps superset: EZ bar preacher curls + DB concentration curls x 3 sets
Tricep superset: Smith machine incline bench JM presses + pushdowns x 4 sets
Watch John Meadows demonstrate JM press exercise here.
16 August 2014
Squat:
135x6, 225x4, 275x3, 315x3, 365x3, 405x3, 460x3 (belt and wraps), 500x3 (b+w)
Not bad.
Stiff-leg deadlifts up to 355 lbs. x 5
Front squats 5x5 - did these in the rack today, no Smith machine, might finally be getting the hang of them.
Leg curl 2s x 8
Shoulders-and-arms workout at the gym at work. Just to get some extra volume in.
Shoulder superset: standing BTN press + combo raises (10 reps) x 5 sets
BTN press weight x reps 135x5, 155x5, 165x5, 175x5, 135x5
Biceps superset: EZ bar preacher curls + DB concentration curls x 3 sets
Tricep superset: Smith machine incline bench JM presses + pushdowns x 4 sets
Watch John Meadows demonstrate JM press exercise here.
16 August 2014
Squat:
135x6, 225x4, 275x3, 315x3, 365x3, 405x3, 460x3 (belt and wraps), 500x3 (b+w)
Not bad.
Stiff-leg deadlifts up to 355 lbs. x 5
Front squats 5x5 - did these in the rack today, no Smith machine, might finally be getting the hang of them.
Leg curl 2s x 8
Thursday, August 14, 2014
Slam Bars, Break PRs... Or Not Really
14 August 2014
Bench press:
305x3/320x2/340x1
320x2/330x2/370x1 - messed up on first set, forgot I had to do 3
With SlingShot 345x3, 365x2, 395xfail - was debating between 390 or 395, chose wrong.
Incline bench press 185 lbs. 5x5
DB flyes x10, x8, x8
Pushdowns x10, 3s x 8
Bench press:
305x3/320x2/340x1
320x2/330x2/370x1 - messed up on first set, forgot I had to do 3
With SlingShot 345x3, 365x2, 395xfail - was debating between 390 or 395, chose wrong.
Incline bench press 185 lbs. 5x5
DB flyes x10, x8, x8
Pushdowns x10, 3s x 8
Wednesday, August 13, 2014
Speed Squats
12 August 2014
Squat 320 lbs. x 5, 405 lbs. 2s x 5
These were easy, but didn't feel very fast today.
Hack squat 4s x 8
Leg extension 4s x 8
Hanging leg raise x10, x8, x8
Squat 320 lbs. x 5, 405 lbs. 2s x 5
These were easy, but didn't feel very fast today.
Hack squat 4s x 8
Leg extension 4s x 8
Hanging leg raise x10, x8, x8
Tuesday, August 12, 2014
Speed Bench
11 August 2014
Today I tried to move my rep bench presses explosively. The first few reps of each set this actually worked, but then they would slow down to the usual grind. But maybe if I keep doing this like I did with squats I'll see decent results.
Bench press 275 lbs. 1s x 5, 285 lbs. 2s x 5
Incline chest press machine 3s x 8
Incline row machine 3s x 8
Seated paused DB shrugs 3s x 20
Pushdowns 3s x 15
Bicep superset EZ bar curls + seated DB curls 3 sets
Today I tried to move my rep bench presses explosively. The first few reps of each set this actually worked, but then they would slow down to the usual grind. But maybe if I keep doing this like I did with squats I'll see decent results.
Bench press 275 lbs. 1s x 5, 285 lbs. 2s x 5
Incline chest press machine 3s x 8
Incline row machine 3s x 8
Seated paused DB shrugs 3s x 20
Pushdowns 3s x 15
Bicep superset EZ bar curls + seated DB curls 3 sets
Saturday, August 9, 2014
Below the Knee Pull and a PR
9 August 2014
Below the knee deadlift:
135x5, 225x3, 315x2, 365x1, 405x1, 455x1, 485x1, 505x1
Not bad at all. My old PR from this height was 455 (back when my deadlift max was 495), so this is a major improvement.
Snatch-grip deadlift 275 lbs. 3s x 5 - went a bit lighter because I wanted to do 5x5, but even 3 sets were hard.
Seated cable row 3 sets x 8, working up in weight
Pulldown 1s x 10, 2s x 8
Leg raise from Roman chair 3s x 10
Side bends 3s x 8
Back raise 3s x 10
Below the knee deadlift:
135x5, 225x3, 315x2, 365x1, 405x1, 455x1, 485x1, 505x1
Not bad at all. My old PR from this height was 455 (back when my deadlift max was 495), so this is a major improvement.
Snatch-grip deadlift 275 lbs. 3s x 5 - went a bit lighter because I wanted to do 5x5, but even 3 sets were hard.
Seated cable row 3 sets x 8, working up in weight
Pulldown 1s x 10, 2s x 8
Leg raise from Roman chair 3s x 10
Side bends 3s x 8
Back raise 3s x 10
Friday, August 8, 2014
Playing Around With Assistance Exercises
6 August 2014
Quick workout in gym in office building:
Standing BTN press supersetted with combo shoulder raises 3 sets (135 x 6, 155 x 2 x 6)
EZ bar curl + seated DB curl 3 sets - this is one hell of a superset.
Chest machine + pushdowns 3s
8 August 2014
Decided to add some incline bench presses to my heavy bench press days, since I suck at this lift and am beginning to suspect it's holding my flat bench press back. Also will start rotating a second assistance exercise to work on different muscle groups each week. E.g. this week it was triceps, so heavy DB extensions. I'll still do tricep work in weeks when I'm focusing on chest and shoulders, but much lighter, and I won't track weight or reps.
Another thing I've figured out is that when I complete all three planned bench press waves I no longer have the energy to do a wave with the SlingShot. So starting next week I'll only do two waves "raw", then add one with the Slanger.
Bench press:
305x3/315x2/330x1
315x3/325x2/340x1
320x3/335x2/365x1 - pretty stoked I made this. Almost 95% territory.
Incline bench press 185 lbs. 5x5 - I thought about doing 225, but was glad I didn't.
Some kind of machine row 4 sets of 8-10, pyramiding up in weight
DB tricep extensions 50s x 10, 55s x 2s x 8
Machine preacher curls supersetted w. concentration curls - 3 sets.
Quick workout in gym in office building:
Standing BTN press supersetted with combo shoulder raises 3 sets (135 x 6, 155 x 2 x 6)
EZ bar curl + seated DB curl 3 sets - this is one hell of a superset.
Chest machine + pushdowns 3s
8 August 2014
Decided to add some incline bench presses to my heavy bench press days, since I suck at this lift and am beginning to suspect it's holding my flat bench press back. Also will start rotating a second assistance exercise to work on different muscle groups each week. E.g. this week it was triceps, so heavy DB extensions. I'll still do tricep work in weeks when I'm focusing on chest and shoulders, but much lighter, and I won't track weight or reps.
Another thing I've figured out is that when I complete all three planned bench press waves I no longer have the energy to do a wave with the SlingShot. So starting next week I'll only do two waves "raw", then add one with the Slanger.
Bench press:
305x3/315x2/330x1
315x3/325x2/340x1
320x3/335x2/365x1 - pretty stoked I made this. Almost 95% territory.
Incline bench press 185 lbs. 5x5 - I thought about doing 225, but was glad I didn't.
Some kind of machine row 4 sets of 8-10, pyramiding up in weight
DB tricep extensions 50s x 10, 55s x 2s x 8
Machine preacher curls supersetted w. concentration curls - 3 sets.
Tuesday, August 5, 2014
Another Combo Session
4 August 2014
Speed squat 320 lbs. x 5, 405 lbs. 2s x 5, hi-bar 335 lbs. x 5
All reps blasted out, lost a bit of speed on the set with 335 but otherwise went great.
Bench press 285 lbs. 3s x 5
These felt terribly heavy because of heavy bench pressing on Saturday. No time to do them another day, tho.
Pullups 3s x 5
Leg curl 3s x 8
Smith machine front squats 2s x 5
Triceps superset - incline press machine plus pushdowns, 3 sets to failure
Biceps superset - machine preacher curls plus DB concentration curls, 3 sets to failure
Speed squat 320 lbs. x 5, 405 lbs. 2s x 5, hi-bar 335 lbs. x 5
All reps blasted out, lost a bit of speed on the set with 335 but otherwise went great.
Bench press 285 lbs. 3s x 5
These felt terribly heavy because of heavy bench pressing on Saturday. No time to do them another day, tho.
Pullups 3s x 5
Leg curl 3s x 8
Smith machine front squats 2s x 5
Triceps superset - incline press machine plus pushdowns, 3 sets to failure
Biceps superset - machine preacher curls plus DB concentration curls, 3 sets to failure
Sunday, August 3, 2014
Bench Press Saturday
2 August 2014
Bench press:
305x3/315x2/335x1
315x2/325x2/345x1
320x3/330x2/360x1
Pretty good lifting, first time I hit multiple singles above 90% in a while. Did not have time to do a SlingShot wave.
Pulldowns 3s x 10, 1s x 5
Triceps supersets DB extensions + pushdowns 3 sets
Biceps supersets preacher curl machine + barbell drag curl 3 sets
Bench press:
305x3/315x2/335x1
315x2/325x2/345x1
320x3/330x2/360x1
Pretty good lifting, first time I hit multiple singles above 90% in a while. Did not have time to do a SlingShot wave.
Pulldowns 3s x 10, 1s x 5
Triceps supersets DB extensions + pushdowns 3 sets
Biceps supersets preacher curl machine + barbell drag curl 3 sets
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