2015 in the Rearview

29 December 2015


SlingShot bench press 370 lbs. x 2, 355 lbs. 2x2

Pulldowns 30 total reps

Standing BTN press 135x5, 155 2s x 5

Barbell curl 30 total reps

Cable fly 2s x 10

Bodyweight was at 210 after the holiday week, which I was happy about (zero to insignificant weight gain). Pressing was hard but doable, which I'm also happy about.


30 December 2015

Squat 435 lbs. 3s x 2

Had to use the shitty rack with weird hooks, which I haven't used in a while and which felt super awkward. On my last warmup set I misstepped and rammed the bar against one of the hooks (instead of over it) and had to do a shuffle dance with 405 on my back. This did not feel good at all. My injured knee hurt and squat depth was questionable on one of the sets (I think 3).

Bench press 310 lbs. x 3, 295 lbs. x 3

Only did one back-off set, as I was pretty fried from the awful squat workout.

Leg extension 3s x AMAP

Leg curl 3s x AMAP

Pushdowns 3s x AMAP


Usually a do an end-of-the-year post in which I summarize any improvements in my lifts over the year, exercises and programs that I experimented with, what worked and what didn't, etc. 2015 can be summed up as: I got hurt, worked around one injury after another, made zero progress on the big lifts. On the plus side, I kept lifting even though the weights and workouts were unmotivating and disappointing, so I was able to maintain some continuity.

I also saw some modest improvements physique-wise, mostly via lost bodyfat. It has taken me a while to let go of my bigorexia and permabulk dreams (not easy for a former skinny person who struggled to gain weight for years), but I'm pretty sure my "eat big lift mediocre" days are over.

In 2016 I'll keep rehabbing and I plan to get back on the Texas Method - inspired routine that served me well in 2013 and 2014. I'm probably too detrained to hit a new PR in the squat in the next 12 months, but getting back to around 5 plates would be nice. Here's to best wishes for the future and lessons learned, etc., etc.

A Touching Holiday Story

14 December 2015


SlingShot bench press (R) 330 lbs. x 6, 300 lbs. x 2s x 6

Used the Reactive instead of the Original again, only this time it worked.


15 December 2015

Bench press 315 lbs. x 2, 300 lbs. x 2s x 2 - fatigued from pressing the previous day, but this was still easy.

Standing BTN press 135x5, 150 x2s x5

Barbell curl 30 total reps

Dips x 15, x 15, x 12 - not sure what possessed me to do these.


17 December 2015

Paused bench press 275 lbs. x 3, then 265 lbs. 3x3

Very easy. Shoulder/scapula was acting up, possibly due to dips on Tuesday.

Rear delt raise x20, x20, x15

DB curl 4s x 8-10

Pushdowns 3s x AMAP

Cable fly 2s x 8-10


19 December 2015

Squat 425 lbs. x2, x3, x2

Pull 475 lbs. x 3 singles, 455 lbs. x 3 singles

Dropped the weight down so I could get all the reps. For some reason, I really felt these pulls in my upper back, especially between the scaps.

A story for the holidays: there were two guys deadlifting in the rack today. I snickered inwardly and thought about Swede giving them the death look. But then one of them (the tall and skinny one who didn't look like he lifted at all) pulled 500 pounds like it was 315. His form was terrible and inefficient and one could tell that he only deadlifts when he feels like it, as an afterthought to his real workout. I would bet good money that he'd pull 600+ with minimal proper training. Moral of the story - you can program like a tryhard nerd and train until your spine cracks and your hands bleed, but the guy who does half squats and curls in the rack will still out-pull you with minimal effort. This is why the deadlift is like life.

Then I set up to do overhead presses, but some guy was waiting for the rack to do squats. I always feel very guilty about pressing in the rack (to me it's on par with curling in the rack), so I gave it up, in the spirit of the holidays, and went to press in the shitty Crossfit rack. Hit 135x4, then 155x3, then failed 175 twice (not even getting a single rep). Moral of the story - no good deed goes unpunished.

Hope everyone enjoys the holidays. I'm taking a week off, and my wish for the new year is that it will be stronger than 2015, because 2015 sure sucked elephant balls when it came to lifting. But everything else went great, so no complaints overall.

Getting There

8 December 2015


SlingShot (R) bench press 365 lbs. x 2, 335x3, x1, 315 2s x 3

Was supposed to get 3 reps with 365, but no way. I realized that I screwed up the weights, because I based the percentages on my max with the Original SS (significant boost), but for some unknown reason am still using the Reactive (little to no boost) on my SS days. Which is a surefire recipe for... not-success. So, red or Original SS it is until the end of the cycle.

In addition to the above, I was only supposed to do 360x3, but decided to bump it up to 365 so as to not be a pussy. Obviously that went well.

Pulldowns 30 total reps

Standing BTN press 135x5, 150 lbs. 2s x 5

One-arm machine preacher curls 30 total reps per arm


10 December 2015

Bench press 300 lbs. x 4, 285 lbs. 3s x 4

Lately I've been having some shoulder issues when pressing, but today everything felt fine. So I did an extra back-off set.

Seated cable row 30 total reps

Standing BTN press 140 lbs. 3s x 6

Barbell curl 30 total reps

I kinda sorta curled in the squat rack today. Not really in it, but I leaned against one of the rack posts while curling (there was no space available to do wall curls). Imagined Lyfta making angry eyes at me from across the weight room.

Cable fly 2s x 10 - speaking of Lyfta.


11 December 2015

Paused bench press 285 lbs. x 2, 275 lbs. x 2

275 didn't feel heavy at all, but 285 felt more like 315 for whatever reason.

DB curl 3s x 8-10

Rear delt raise on incline bench, 2s x 20, 1s x 15

Pushdowns 3s x AMAP

Leg curl 4 sets

Leg extension 4 sets

Because it makes sense to bench press and then do leg isolation exercises.


12 December 2015

Squat 415 lbs. 3s x 2

Warmed up like this: 135x5, 225x3, 275x3, 315x2, 335x2, 365x2. This is significant because I only had 20 minutes to complete the whole workout. Squats were easy enough, but I definitely felt some lower back and hamstring soreness the next day.


13 December 2015

Mid-shin block pull 475 lbs. x 4 singles

Was supposed to do 5, but back was sore and now I'm super cautious about that sort of thing.

Pulldowns 30 total reps

Leg curl 4s x 8

Standing BTN press 135x3, 155x3, 165x3, 170x3 - at least this went well.

Nothing to See Here

6 December 2015

First gym workout back.

Squat 405 lbs. 3x3 - easy, but knee is still tweaked.

Pull 450 lbs. x 6 singles - program called for 8, but this was all I had

Standing BTN press 115x4, 135x3, 155x3, 170x3

Holiday Week

23 November 2015

SlingShot bench press (Reactive) 315 lbs. x 7, 300 lbs. 2s x 7

Mid-shin pull 420 lbs. x 8 singles

Was supposed to do 10, but I have to squat and pull again on ether Wednesday or Saturday, so I decided to cut it short.

Pulldowns 30 total reps

Standing BTN press 135x5, 155x3, 165x3


24 November 2015

Bench press up to 310 lbs. x 3, then 295 lbs. 2s x 3

Chest-supported row 30 total reps

Second time in a row (hue) I wanted to do seated cable rows and could not get to the machine.

Standing BTN press 115x5, 145 lbs. 2s x 5

Barbell curl 30 total reps

Pushdowns 2 sets x AMAP


25 November 2015

Paused bench press 265 lbs. x 4, then 245 lbs. 2s x 4

Three consecutive bench press days - my shoulders are starting to get that familiar ground-glass feeling.

DB curl 4s x 10

Leg extension 3s x 8-10


29 November 2015

Squat 395 lbs. 2s x 3, 400 lbs. x 3

Couldn't resist bumping the weight up on the last set.

Mid-shin pulls 450 lbs. x 5

Standing BTN press 115x5, 135x3, 145x3, 165x3

Leg extensions 4s x AMAP

Leaving for another out-of-town assignment tomorrow. At least I didn't gain much weight over Thanksgiving.

Even More Pressing

16 November 2015


Bench press up to 305 lbs. x 4, then 285 lbs. 2s x 4

Pulldowns 30 total reps

Standing BTN press 115x5, 135x4, 150x5, 155x5

EZ bar curl 30 total reps


17 November 2015

Floor press 255x3, 275x2, 295x2, 315x2, 325x1, 255x3

Chest-supported row 30 total reps

Leg curl 4s x 8


19 November 2015

SlingShot bench press (Reactive) 335 lbs. x 2, 350 lbs. x 4, 335 lbs. x 3

Way too heavy on the last two sets. Should have used 345 and 325 and gotten two back-off sets of 4. Also left shoulder felt a bit icky.

Standing BTN press 135 lbs. 3s x 6

DB curl 4s x 10

Pushdowns 3s x AMAP


22 November 2015

Only got to do the squat portion of the workout, as we had people visiting.

Squat 335x2, 265x2, 385 lbs. x 3s x 3, high bar 315x5

Grinding

9 November 2015

Floor press 255x4, 275x4, 285x4, 255 x 2s x 4

Did these with a barbell instead of the Smith machine. Took me a while to get used to the groove, but once I got the hang of it upping the weight was easy. Mad props to Coach for floor pressing 315+ back in the day, this shit is considerably harder than a regular BP.

Leg curls 3s x 8


12 November 2015

SlingShot bench press 300 lbs. x 8, then 280 lbs. x 8 (again with Reactive SS - I will hold off on using the Original until the last 3 weeks of the program).

Pulldowns 30 total reps - alternated between supinated grip and regular wide pronated grip

Standing BTN press 135 lbs. 3s x 6

DB curl 30 total reps

DB kickbacks 3s x AMAP

Not 100% sure, but this might be the first kickback I've done in this millennium.


14 November 2015

First lower body session after a layover always hurts.

Squat 375 lbs. 3s x 5

Pull 420 lbs. x 8 singles

Close-grip bench press 235 lbs. 2s x 5

Standing BTN press 115x4, 135x3, 160x3

Leg extensions 4 sets x AMAP

Groundhog (Bench) Day

8 November 2015


So my assignment got extended and I didn't make it home until Saturday. Went to the gym and just basically repeated last pre-trip workout to restart the cycle. Also I somehow dropped 5 pounds during my trip and now weigh around 203. Seeing as I no longer lift heavy and don't need the extra bodyweight, that's a good thing?

Bench press up to 310 lbs. x 3, then 280 lbs. 2s x 3

Paused bench press 250 lbs. 2s x 5

Seated cable row 30 total reps - forgot I was supposed to do these on a separate day

Standing BTN press 140 lbs. 3s x 5 - also forgot I was only supposed to do 2 sets of these.

EZ bar curls 30 total reps

Pushdowns 3 sets x AMAP

Last November I weighed in excess of 220 pounds and was capable of lifting some decent weights. A year later I've lost over 15 pounds BW (granted, most of it on purpose) and all my lifts are way down. Training-wise, 2015 has been a complete writeoff.

Another Sabbatical

26 October 2015


Bench press 310 lbs. x 3, 280 lbs. x 2s x 3

Paused bench press 245 lbs. 2s x 5

Pulldowns 1s x 8, 5s x 6, heavy

Standing BTN press 140 lbs. 2s x 5

EZ bar curl 30 total reps

Pushdowns 3s x AMAP

Traveling out of town for work, will resume lifting next week.

Second Everything Day

25 October 2015


Squat 365 lbs. 3s x 5

Mid-shin pull 395 lbs. x 10 singles

Close-grip bench press 235 lbs. x 7

Standing BTN press 135x4, 150x3, 160x3

That was it.

Back to the Future Week

18 October 2015


Bench press 280 lbs. x 5, 270 lbs. 2s x 5

Paused bench press 260 lbs. x 4, 250 lbs. x 2s x 4

Pulldowns 5s x 6

Standing BTN press 140 lbs. 2s x 5

EZ bar curls 30 total reps

Pushdowns 3s x AMAP


19 October 2015

Smith machine floor press 290 lbs. x 3, then 250 lbs. 2s x 3

Seated cable row 5s x 6

Leg curl 4s x 8

Cable curl 3s x AMAP


21 October 2015

SlingShot bench press (reactive) 330 lbs. x 5, 300 lbs. 2s x 5

Standing BTN press 135 lbs. 3s x 6

DB curl 3s x 10

Everything Day

17 October 2015


Squat 355 lbs. 3s x 5

Knee felt OK. A bit of pain on the warm-up sets, then it was fine.

Mid-shin block pull 370 lbs. x 10 singles

Close-grip bench press 265 lbs. x 4

A much needed reminder of how weak my triceps have gotten. Over the past year and a half or so I've moved my bench press grip out wider and wider, allowing me to progress in weight more quickly but neglecting the weakest link in the chain. I was supposed to work up to a comfortable set of 4, and 265 was not comfortable. Could have maybe done 1-2 more reps, which at this weight is pretty weak.

Standing BTN press 135x3, 145x3, 155x3

Set an unusual PR in the BTN press in that I waited 11 minutes to do three sets that took me 3.5 minutes (including rest periods).

Leg extensions with top squeeze, 3s to failure

Read somewhere that these are good for quad tendonitis. Jury's still out.

Bench and Kurlz

Update for 14 and 15 October 2015:

So the bench press specialization routine I settled on is a 9-week program where you rotate different pressing exercises, rep ranges and intensities.Since I'll only be squatting and pulling once a week, I needed something to fill up the remaining 3 days, and thought this fits the bill nicely. You start out with one main pressing exercise and 4-5 supplemental ones, then gradually eliminate them until you're only doing the main one in week 9.

I have no illusions about setting new PRs and have pretty much written this year off training-wise. Hopefully I'll learn something new from this experiment and stay motivated - I've been struggling with gym motivation since my back/hip injury.

Day one:

Smith machine floor press - up to a heavy set of 4

Seated cable row 5s x 6

Leg curl 4s x 8

Day two:

SlingShot bench press 300 lbs. x 5, 330 lbs. x 6 - used reactive SS, so this was pretty heavy

Standing BTN press 135 lbs. 3s x 6

DB curl 30 total reps

Pushdowns 3s x AMAP

Something New

12 October 2015


First light workout of new knee-friendly program.

Bench press 245 lbs. 2s x 6, 1s x 8

Standing BTN press 135 lbs. 2s x 5

Pulldowns 5s x 6, heavy

EZ bar curl 5s x 6

Close-grip incline bench x a few sets of 5, light

Deload Day Two

6 October 2015


Squatmourning 315 3s x 5 - mild knee pain during first set

Bench press 225 3s x 5

Stiff-legged block pull 315 3s x 5

Standing front press 135 3s x 5

Bent-over row 3s x 8

Incline bench DB curl 3s x 8

Deload Day One

4 October 2015


Deload week, starting new bench press specialization routine next Saturday.

Squat 315 lbs. 3s x 5

Did these squatmourning-style to keep strain off the knee. Also wrapped knees. It worked - no knee pain registered.

Bench press 225 lbs. 3s x 5

Stiff-legged block pulls 315 lbs. 3s x 5

Standing front press 135 lbs. 3s x 5

Pulldown 3s x 8

EZ bar curl 3s x 8

Tricep dip machine 3s x 8

Rear delt fly 2s x 10

Will probably repeat this once or twice this week.

Disappointing

3 October 2015


Bench press 135x10, 185x5, 235x3, 275x3, 305 (3+) x 7 reps

Joker sets 315x3, 325x3, 335x3

Barely made 305x7. Could not get the muscles to fire properly. Whole upper body was very sore and creaky. I think the current volume of heavy pressing (raw and SlingShot) is killing my bench press - I can't recover from two heavy workouts in 7 days.

Will probably take a deload week, then switch to a bench press specialization routine until my knee heals. Back to 3/5/1 as soon as I can squat pain free.

Seated cable rows 30 total reps - varied the grip and used different handles for a change.

Standing front press 30 total reps - started out with 115, bumped up to 120 at some point.

DB curls 4 sets x 10-12

Pushdowns 2s x 20+ reps

Cable flyes 2s x 8-10

Will I Make It?

1 October 2015


Squat 135x5, 225x3, 275x3, 315x3, 340x5, 385x3, 430 (1+) x 5

Joker sets 450x2, 460x1 - last set was to questionable depth.

Leg press 50 total reps - upped the weight on the leg press and now I hate it again.

Seated leg curl 3s x 8-10

Lifting was solid, but my knee doesn't seem to be getting any better. I'm now facing a quandary. If I ignore the knee pain (it's not really affecting my squats) and keep increasing the weight on the bar, I have a chance of working back up to 5 plates before the end of the year. On the other hand, if I ignore the knee pain, it could get worse and possibly develop into something serious. Also I don't see any point in working up to LOL5pleat just so I could say I've done it - it won't change anything, or even feed my ego.

From the online research I've done, it looks like a simple case of quadriceps tendonitis, but it could become chronic if untreated. The options now are a) keep squatting and hope the knee makes it, or b) stop doing all quad-oriented work and wait for the tendon to recover. There might be a c) reduce lower body work to once a week, but that never really works when it comes to injuries.

I guess I'll have to do some more reading and decide.

Bench and Arms

29 September 2015


Bench press 135x10, 185x6, 225x3, 245x3, 285x5, SlingShot 320x3, 360 (1+) x 4 reps

Joker sets 370xfail, 320x3

Was pleasantly surprised to get four reps with 360. Unpleasantly surprised to fail a single with 370 right after that (it wasn't even close). But the work set is the only set that matters, so it's fine.

Neutral grip pullups 30 total reps

Smith machine floor press 4s x 5 - liking this more and more every time.

Machine preacher curls 4s x 8 per arm

Rope pushdowns 3s x 20

Cable flyes (for Swede) 2s x 8-10

PR Killed

27 September 2015


Mid-shin pull - worked up to 515x1, then 525x1, which is a solid PR (last cycle topped out at 505, I think). Small insignificant victories, etc. etc.

High bar squat 135x5, 185x3, 225x3, 265x5, 295x3, 330 (1+) x 5 reps

Not bad after pulling first.

Hip thrust 3s x 5 - need to start hitting these again. If only they weren't such a pain to set up.

Glute-ham raise 20 total reps

Weekend Shenanigans

26 September 2015


Few too many beers the night before. I dragged ass around the house all morning, had a couple Advil, managed to hit the gym in the afternoon. Needless to say, expectations were pretty low.

Also some kid at the gym addressed me as "sir". Haggard hungover look PR.

Bench press 135x6, 185x3, 225x3, 255x5, 285x3, 320 (1+) x 6 reps

Some improvement here. No shoulder or collarbone pain.

Joker sets 340x1, 350x2, 360x1

360 felt very heavy and I suspect the spotter yanked the bar up at the end (although I got the obligatory "all you brah"). Doesn't matter, since the rep set is the only thing that counts.

Seated cable row 30 total reps

Standing front press up to 185x1, then a couple of back-off sets with 155.

EZ bar curl 30 total reps

Pushdowns 3s x 15-20

DB curls 3s x 8-10

Slam Bars, Kill PRs... Not

24 September 2015


Squat 185x6, 225x5, 295x5, 340x5, 385 (5+) x 10 reps

Leg press, close stance, 50 total reps

Added a pair of 25s later in the set. High rep leg pressing feels okay these days and I no longer hate it with a passion.

No pulling today so I can rest up for the massive slam bars, kill PRs workout on Sunday (slam bars, kill your back, more likely, but it's fine).

Leg extension 3s x 10-12

Leg curl 3s x 8-10

Leg raise 3s x whatever

Floored

22 September 2015


Bench press 135x8, 185x3, 225x3, 245x5, SlingShot 285x5, 320 (5+) x 9 reps

Pretty decent.

Pulldowns 30 total reps, heavy

Smith machine floor press 3-4 sets

Decided to switch one overhead press session to a floor press session. It took me a few sets to figure out the correct positioning for these, then I did 3-4 sets of 5. Felt good.

DB curl 6 sets

Pushdown 3 sets

Putting the Time In

20 September 2015


High bar close stance squat 135x5, 185x3, 225x5, 265x5, 295 (5+) x 10 reps

Mid-shin pull - worked up to 480 lbs. x 2 singles, then 455x1, 405x1. Hard, but doable.

Leg press (close stance) 50 total reps

Leg curl 3s x 8-10

Leg extension 3s x 8-10

Just Pumping

19 September 2015


Bench press 135x8, 185x3, 225x5, 255x5, 285 (5+) x 8 reps

Whatever. Triceps were super sore, in spite of taking 2 days off and not even doing any cable pulling. Not just sore, but also somehow, I don't know, crampy? Really weird.

Seated cable row 30 total reps

Standing front press 135x3, 155x3, 165x3, 175x3, 185x3, 190x1, 190x2

DB curl 5 sets

Pushdowns 4 sets

Cable curl 3 sets

Cable fly 3 sets

Lazy on Leg Day

16 September 2015


Low energy today. Ate a piece of cake at work and felt like shit the rest of the day. I don't avoid carbs or anything, but I do tend to eat them later in the day, after training, and generally avoid garbage carbohydrate sources. No sugary crap in the middle of the day anymore.


Squat 135x8, 225x3, 275x3, 315x3, 365x3, 405 (3+) x 6 reps

Not great, not disappointing either. A mediocre squatting session.

Joker sets 425x3, 430x3

Leg press:

Close stance (quad-focused) 25 reps
Wide stance (to work hamstrings) 25 reps

Did this to compensate for the lack of block pulls. I have to say that the wide leg press is as effective a hamstring exercise as anything else I've tried.

Tomorrow I'll do 100 lunges as penance for being lazy on leg day.

Angles

15 September 2015


Bench press 135x8, 185x3, 225x3, 265x3, SlingShot 300x3, 340 (3+) x 7 reps

Pretty happy with this.

Joker sets 350x3, 355x3, 360x3

These weren't bad either.

Neutral-grip pullups 35 total reps

Elbows felt a bit iffy, so I didn't do the usual 50 reps. But pullups haven't felt this easy in a long time. Losing weight seems to be the ticket to pullup proficiency. Might try for a new rep max one day when my elbows feel good.

Overhead press 115x5, 145x3, 165x2, 185x1, 200x2, 200x1

Barely had anything left at this point. The more weight I move in the bench press (raw and SlingShot), the further my overhead press continues to plummet. I guess this is normal. My arms seem to be the weak point in the OH press (as usual).

DB curls 4 sets

Pushdowns 5 sets

Cable curls 4 sets

Cable fly 3 sets

Didn't count reps on any of these, experimented a bit with angles and time under tension.

Better

13 September 2015


High-bar close stance squat 135x5, 185x3, 225x3, 255x3, 280x3, 315 (3+) x 8 reps

Mid-shin pull 470 lbs. x 4 singles

Glute-ham raise 20 total reps

Hanging leg raise 3s x 8

Bodyweight has been consistently at around 205 lately.

Minus Ten Percent

12 September 2015


Had some people over last night and didn't go to bed until 5AM or so. Sleep was shitty and I didn't get enough of it. So today's workout really sucked.

Bench press 135x8, 185x3, 235x5, 280x3, 305 (3+) x 6 reps

Barely made the sixth rep. Last week I was disappointed to hit 315x6. Guess I should lower my expectations.

Joker sets 325x3, 330x3, 330x3 - these felt heavy and slow

Seated cable rows 30 total reps

Standing front press 135x3, 165x2, 185x1, 200x2, 205x1, 210x1, 215xfail

Having failed at the bench press, I thought I would at least have some juice left for the overhead press. I was wrong.

EZ bar wall curl 30 total reps

Pushdowns 3s x 15

Cable fly 3s x 10

Rear delt raises 3s x 15

Four:Twenty

10 September 2015

Squat 135x8, 225x5, 275x3, 315x3, 335x5, 375x3, 420 (1+) x 5 reps

Joker sets 440x2, 450x2

Not bad. Hit the rack with one side of the bar on the 440 set and almost tipped over and died (safety pins were not in place). It's fine.

Mid-shin block pulls 405 lbs. x 5 singles

Cheated a bit - really did three singles and a double. But I waited 5 seconds between reps for the stretch reflex to dissipate because Coach said so once.

Leg press 50 total reps

The very sight of the leg press makes me shudder nowadays.

Glute-ham raise 20 total reps

Leg raises 3s x 10-12

Some extensions

Flye Like an Eagle

8 September 2015


Bench press 135x8, 185x3, 225x3, 255x3, SlingShot 285x5, 315x3, 355 (1+) x 5 reps

Joker sets 365x2, 375x2

Looks like my raw press is now stalling and my SlingShot bench press is going up. I don't think I'll ever be able to make sense of this lifting business. Maybe it's the cable flyes?

Pulldowns 30 total reps, heavy

Standing front press 200 lbs. 3s x 2 - figured I should do doubles if my singles are stalling

Standing DB curls 30 total reps

Pushdowns 50 total reps

Concentration curls 30 total reps

Cable flyes 3s x 10

Power Through

6 September 2015


High bar close stance squat 135x6, 225x5, 255x5, 285x3, 320 (1+) x 7 reps

Could have done 1-2 more, saved the lower back for pulls. No joker sets either.

Mid-shin block pull 455 lbs. x 6 singles

Leg press 50 total reps

Forgot how much these suck. Quads were on fire.

Glute-ham raise 20 total reps

Leg raise 3s x 8

No Progress

5 September 2015


Bench press 135x8, 185x3, 225x3, 250x5, 280x3, 315 (1+) x 6 reps

Felt heavy. Didn't beat last rep max with 315. Still sore from the huge workout on Thursday.

Joker sets 335x2, 345x2, 350x1 - maybe could have done two on the last set, but did not have a spotter.

Seated cable row 30 reps

Standing front press - worked up to 205x1, then 185x2, 185x1

EZ bar wall curl 30 total reps

EZ bar pullover 3s x 8

Two In One

3 September 2015


I won't be able to train tomorrow, so today I decided to combine two workouts into one. I figured I could get away with it as it's a 5-rep week.

Squat 225x5, 275x3, 315x5, 345x5, 375 (5+) x 10 reps

Bench press 135x5, 225x5, 255x5, SlingShot 285x5, 315 (5+) x 10 reps

Felt okay, but my elbows started hurting a bit. Not sure why.

Mid-shin block pulls 405 lbs. x 6 singles - middle back was fried at this point and the muscles were cramping up. I've never felt this part of the back work so hard.

Neutral-grip pullups 30 total reps - should have skipped these, as they didn't do my elbows any favors

Pushdowns 3s x 15

Seated Smith machine press - 4 random sets of 5. My back didn't feel up to standing presses and this was the only available seated station. I had to twist the bar at a weird angle to get the hooks off the catches, and elbows did not like this at all.

Machine preacher curl 3s x 10 per arm

Rational Approach

1 September 2015


High bar squat 135x5, 225x5, 255x5, 285 (5+) x 10 reps

Ten reps is enough, Saved some energy for pulls. Knee acting up yet again.

Mid-shin block pulls 455 lbs. x 5 singles - heavy but doable

That was it. Probably squatting/pulling again 2 days from now.

Backsliding

31 August 2015


Bench press 135x5, 185x5, 225x5, 255x5, 285 (5+) x 10 reps

Matched the reps from last attempt at 285. Not quite sure why I have to do 10 reps when I could just do the minimum 6 and save some energy for the OH press. But that would actually... make sense, so I'll probably never do it.

Seated cable row 30 total reps

Standing front press 135x3, 165x2, 185x1, 205x1, 215x1, 185 x 2 singles

215 went up with a terrible grind. Even 205 felt too heavy. The way my press has been moving, I should hit a 1RM of 135 by year-end.

EZ bar wall curl 30 total reps

EZ bar pullover 30 total reps

Standing DB curl 30 total reps

Squat Delays

30 August 2015


Didn't work out for 3 days, went to a friend's farm to help out with some stuff, mostly brute manual labor. Got to drive a tractor and operate the front scoop thingy, which was a lot of fun, and I managed to not kill/maim anyone or inflict damage upon immobile objects. Good times.

Squat 135x5, 225x3, 275x3, 315x5, 355x5, 400 (3+) x 7 reps

Joker sets 420x3, 430x3, 440x3 - quite pleased with this.

Mid-shin block pull 380 lbs. x 6 singles

Pretty easy, but had to use straps despite the low weight because my grip was toast.

Leg raise 3s x 10

Banned

26 August 2015


Bench press 135x10, 185x6, 225x3, 255x3, SlingShot 305x3, 335 (3+) x 8 reps

That was unexpected, especially since the 305x3 with SS felt more like 310x3 without SS.This is also a cycle 8RM with the SS.

Joker sets 345x3, 355x3, 365x2 - all felt pretty good.

Neutral-grip pullups 50 total reps

Standing front press 135x3, 165x1, 190 x 2 singles, 200 x 3 singles

EZ bar wall curl 30 total reps

EZ bar pullover 30 total reps

Short But Not Sweet

24 August 2015


High bar squat 135x5, 205x3, 225x3, 255x3, 305 (3+) x 10 reps

Bumped up the HB squat working max and still managed 10 reps. Could have done 11 or 12 no problem. Knee is still giving me problems, but shoulder felt OK.

Mid-shin block pull 430 lbs. x 8 singles

Leg extensions 3s x 12-15

Denied

22 August 2015


Bench press 135x8, 185x6, 235x3, 265x3, 300 (3+) x 7 reps

Once again, missed no. 8. I have yet to establish an 8RM in the bench press for this 3/5/1 experiment - I either stall at 7 or hit 9.

Joker sets 320x3, 330x3, 340x3 - at least the joker sets felt good.

Seated cable row 30 total reps

Standing front press 135x3, 165x1, 185x1, 205x1, 215x1, 220xfail, 190 x 2 singles

Overhead press is still stalling.

EZ bar wall curl 30 total reps

Cable fly 3s x 12

Pushdowns 3s x 15

Trying Hard

20 August 2015


Squat 135x8, 225x5, 275x3, 315x3, 335x5, 370x3, 415 (1+) x 4 reps

Had trouble with keeping the bar in the right position - left shoulder hurt again. Could have done maybe one more rep. On a positive note, knee felt fine while squatting.

Joker sets 425x2, 435x2, 445x2  these went a little better. I can stabilize the bar on my upper back for about two reps.

Mid-shin block pulls 380 lbs. x 6 singles

Leg raise 3s x 12

Glute-ham raise 20 total reps

Paused shrug 30 total reps

Calculations

18 August 2015


Bench press 135x8, 185x5, 225x3, 245x3, 285x5, SlingShot 315x3, 355 (1+) x 3

Not sure how the weight got so heavy all of a sudden. Maybe I messed up my Excel calculations, but it doesn't look like it. Also I should not have overhead pressed on Sunday, or I should have taken an extra day off.

Or maybe this makes sense. I got a raw single with 355 earlier this week and tripled the same weight wearing a SlingShot, which sounds about right? Either way, I'm supposed to repeat the same weight for my next 1+ week, so as long as I get more than 3 reps then I'll be fine.

Joker set - did an extra double with 355 and called it a day.

Pulldowns 30 total reps, heavy

Standing front press 135x3, 165x2, 185 x 2 singles, 195 x 2 singles, 200 x 2 singles

No pain in either shoulder, but right side seemed weaker than the left.

Machine preacher curl 30 reps per arm

Rope pushdowns 3s x 10-12

Squat-Pull-Press

16 August 2015


High-bar squat 135x5, 205x5, 250x5, 285x3, 315 (1+) x 8 reps

I've already decided to bump up the calculated HB squat 1RM for the next cycle.

Joker sets 335x2, 350x2, 360x2

At least I squat marginally more than I bench press.

Mid-shin block pull 430 lbs. x 6 singles - hard but doable. Got to remember to go easier on the squats when I'm scheduled to pull medium-heavy after.

Standing front press 135x3, 155x2, 185x1, 205x1, 215x1, 220x1

Redo of yesterday.

Bent-over row, light, 3s x 12

Bodyweight was 208.2 today.

Pushing Yourself to Power

15 August 2015


Bench press 135x8, 185x5, 225x3, 250x5, 285x3, 315 (1+) x 6 reps

Left one rep in the tank. Best ever at this weight was 8 reps at 15 pounds heavier. So this is encouraging.

Joker sets 335x2, 345x2, 355x1, 360x1

355 felt too heavy for a double, too light for a single. So I added a single with 360, which went up pretty easily.

Seated cable row 30 total reps

Standing front press 135x3, 155x2, 185x1, 205x1 - ran out of time. Will press again tomorrow to make up for lost reps.

EZ bar wall curl 30 total reps

EZ bar pullovers 30 total reps

Broz Knows

13 August 2015


Knee felt better today (luckily as it was squat day), but my left shoulder/upper back area started to hurt for no particular reason. It's like John Broz says, your body has to hurt somewhere. How you feel is a lie, etc.

Squat 135x5, 225x5, 275x3, 315x5, 345x5, 375 (5+) x 9 reps

Wanted to get 10 reps, but the shoulder discomfort made it hard to rack the bar properly.

Mid-shin block pulls 380 lbs. x 10 singles on the minute

These felt nice and easy, so I ended up doing a few extra.

Glute-ham raise 20 total reps

Bent-over rows, light, 3s x 12

Ab machine 3s x 8-10

I've been hitting pretty high reps on my 5-rep weeks, which feels great but I'm not sure if it's helping me get stronger. I believe in reps for strength and that doing singles in unproductive, but I generally prefer sets of 5, 4 or 3, not 10 and 12. Something I've been thinking about is to cap the 5-week reps to 5 or, say no more than 7, then try to go harder on the secondary lift. So the 5-week would really become heavy week for OH press and pulls with some token bench press and squat work thrown in. Maybe I'll do this, maybe I won't.

Bodyweight has been a dash under 210 all week.

Broscience

11 August 2015


Bench press 135x10, 185x6, 225x4, SlingShot 265x5, 285x5, 315 (5+) x 11 reps

Missed out on Rep 12 again.

Neutral-grip pullups 50 total reps

Included in these pullups was an all-out set of 12. Which isn't bad, considering I haven't done a set of more than 6 reps since probably 2009 or so.

Standing front press 135x3, 155x2, 195 x 7 singles

DB tricep extensions 30 total reps

Fat Gripz DB hammer curl 30 total reps

More Legs

9 August 2015


High bar squat 225x5, 255x5, 285 (5+) x 12 reps

Knee still hurts, but getting better.

Mid-shin pull 405 lbs. x 8 singles - these were very hard for some reason.

Glute-ham raise 20 total reps

DB up-right row 3s x 12

Coach Lives

8 August 2015


Bench press 135x8, 185x6, 225x5, 255x5, 285 (5+) x 10 reps

Matched old rep PR. Very happy about this.

Seated cable row 30 total reps

Overhead press 135x3, 155x2, 185x1, 205x1, 215x1, 220x1, 225xfail, 195 x 2 singles

EZ bar wall curl 30 total reps

EZ bar pullover 50 total reps

Machine preacher curl 30 total reps per arm

Mourning the Squat

5 August 2015


Squat 225x5, 275x3, 300x5, 350x3, 395 (3+) x 8 reps

Joker set 415x3 - felt heavy, so I stopped here.

Knee is now giving me trouble even with low-bar squats. But that was a solid rep effort.

Mid-shin pull from blocks 355 lbs. x 8 singles, 60 seconds rest between singles

Glute-ham raise 20 total reps

Paused shrug 50 total reps

Natty or Not

4 August 2015


Bench press 135x8, 185x6, 225x3, 265x3, SlingShot 300x3, 335 (3+) x 7 reps

Joker sets 345x3, 355x1, 360x2

No spotter on the 355 set, so I didn't push my luck. Not sure why I went for the 360x2.

Pulldowns 30 total reps

Standing front press 135x3, 155x2, 185x1, 205x1, 215x1, 220xfail, 185x1

Fat Gripz Hammer curls 30 total reps

DB tricep extensions 3s x 10

Knee Woes

2 August 2015


High bar squat 135x6, 185x5, 235x3, 265x3, 300 (3+) x 11 reps

Joker sets 320x3, 330x3, 340x3

Knee pain is getting serious. I was hoping it would go away after a week of no squats. On the plus side, squats felt extremely strong in spite of pain, and I could have probably done a few more reps. Will add more than the usual 10 pound increase when calculating weights for the next cycle.

Paused shrugs 50 total reps - did these while waiting for the platform to free up.

Mid-shin block pull 405 lbs. x 6 singles - not bad

Leg press 50 total reps

Was going to skip leg press to rest the knee, but someone left exactly the right number of plates on it.

Glute-ham raise 20 total reps

Leg raise 30 total reps

First Day Back

1 August 2015


First post-vacation workout wasn't great, but didn't suck either.

Bench press 135x6, 185x5, 235x3, 265x3, 300 (3+) x 7 reps - simply ran out of gas on last set

Joker sets 320x3, 330x3, 335x3 - these were pretty hard

Seated cable row 30 total reps

Standing front press 135x3, 155x2, 185x1, 200 x 3 singles, failed 2 singles

I had nothing at this point.

EZ bar wall curl 30 total reps

Preacher curl machine 50 total reps per arm

Rope pushdowns 50 total reps

Bodyweight didn't go up by much - 210 post-vacation.

Legstravaganza

23 July 2015


Squat 225x5, 275x5, 315x5, 365x3, 405 (1+) x 7 reps

Had at least one more rep in the tank, but wanted to save some juice for the joker sets (euphemism for "I chickened out").

Joker sets 425x2, 445x2, 455x1 - again, didn't have the balls to go for a second rep. A fatigued single with 455 is not bad. Now I'm only about ninety pounds behind my pre-injury max, hue.

Mid-shin pull 380 lbs. x 10 singles, ca. 60 seconds of rest in between

Glute-ham raise x 20 total reps

Leg extension 4 sets AMAP

Leg press x 50 total reps

Push

21 July 2015


Bench press 135x6, 185x5, 225x3, 275x5, SlingShot 315x3, 345 (1+) x 6 reps

2 reps more than last time with same weight. Not bad.

Joker sets 355x2, 365x2, 370x2 - finally some decent SlingShot pressing.

Pulldowns 30 total reps, heavy

Standing front press 135x3, 165x2, 195 x 2 singles, 200 x 3 singles

Seated DB curl 50 total reps

DB tricep extension 50 total reps

EZ bar reverse curl 30 total reps

Kneedful Things

19 July 2015


High-bar squat 135x5, 185x4, 245x5, 275x3, 305 (1+) x 9 reps

Joker sets 320x2, 340x2

Forgot how much I like joker sets of high-bar squats.

Mid-shin pull 380 lbs. x 10 singles, 60 seconds rest

Forgot how much I hate pulls after joker sets of squats.

Leg press 50 total reps

This was terribly hard as usual, but a bit easier than last time. Will add a pair of 25s next time I do this.

Right knee was giving me trouble again. Since I don't want to be smart and rest it, I should remember to wrap my knees and foam roll more. Will be taking a few days off this week and the next, maybe the pain clears up.

Write-Off

18 July 2015


Bench press 135x5, 185x4, 245x5, 275x3, 305 (1+) x 6 reps

Joker sets 320x2, 340x1, 350x1, 320x2

Pretty weak effort overall today. Could have gone for a second rep with 340, but did not have a spotter for that set so I bitched out. Barely made the single with 350.

Seated cable row 30 total reps

Standing front press 135x3, 165x2, 185x1, 205x1, 215xfail, 190 x 2 singles

Wall EZ bar curls 30 total reps

Weak workout overall.

To Squatmorning or Not to Squatmorning

16 June 2015


Not a lot of time or energy today.

Squat 135x5, 225x5, 275x3, 315x5, 335x5, 365 (5+) x 11 reps

Did these with the bar sitting pretty low. Shoulders didn't feel terrible either. It's tempting to revert back to Rippetoesque squatmornings and move bigger weights instantly, but after all the time I've invested into learning how to squat upright and use my legs it feels like a regression.

Mid-shin pulls 355 lbs. x 12 singles, rest under 60 seconds.

That was it.

Slinging Weights

14 July 2015


Bench press 135x8, 185x4, 225x3, SlingShot 275x5, 310 (5+) x 11 reps

Wanted 12 reps really badly, but I didn't have a spotter and I'm really afraid of failing with the SlingShot and catapulting the bar into my face. So 11 it was.

Neutral-grip pullups 50 total reps

Standing front press 190 lbs. x 2 singles, 200 lbs. x 3 singles

Hanging leg raise 2s x 8

Will do arm stuff tomorrow as an extra workout.

Volume

13 July 2015


High bar squat 205x5, 225x5, 255x5, 275 (5+) x 12 reps

Could have done a few more, but the weight was hurting my shoulder. Now that my preferred bar position has migrated somewhere between high and low bar, I'm having a hard time finding the right bar groove whenever I try to go for one extreme or the other.

Mid shin pulls 355 lbs. x 12 singles, rest times under 60 seconds.

Leg press 50 total reps

Glute-ham raise 20 total reps

Total Reps

12 July 2015


Bench press 225x5, 255x5, 275 (5+) x 11 reps

One rep off my all-time best. Not bad.

Seated cable rows 30 total reps

Standing front press 190x1, 200x1, 210x1, 220x1, 190x1

Wall EZ bar curl 30 total reps

Rope pushdowns 50 total reps

Hip Draahve

8 July 2015


Squat 225x5, 275x3, 315x3, 335x3, 365x3, 385 (3+) x 7 reps

Joker sets 405x3, 415x3, 385x3

Not bad. Except that I went very low bar and squatmourning to spare my knees, and it sort of hurt my shoulder.

Glute-ham raise x 20 total reps

Ab machine 3s x 8-10

Seven Seven

7 July 2015


Bench press 135x6, 185x3, 225x5, 265x3, SlingShot 295x3, 330 (3+) x 7 reps

Joker sets 350x3, 360x2

Finally a decent SlingShot workout. Maybe dropping the press day was the key and now I'll be able to magically work my way back to 4 plates. Most probably not.

Pulldowns 30 total reps, heavy

Standing front press 135x3, 165x2, 190 x 2 singles, 200 x 3 singles

Incline bench DB curl 30 total reps

One-arm preacher curl machine 30 total reps

BW today was 206.4 pounds. I can't seem to get under 205 and stay there, but at least I'm not going over 210 either.

Pulls and Knee Pain

6 July 2015


Mid-shin pull 315x2, 385x1, 435x1, 465x1, 485x1, 505x1, 525 x fail

505 is not bad. My best ever deadlift was 515 pounds, and my mid-shin pull was always lower than my deadlift, so this is almost like matching my deadlift PR.

High bar squat 225x5, 275x3, 295 (3+) x 7

My right knee was really bothering me, so I cut this set way short.

Hack squat 1s x 12, 3s x 10

Leg curl 3s x 21s

Hanging leg raise 3s x 10

Later at home I foam rolled my quads and IT band and my right knee was instantly and miraculously better. I need to devote at least 5 minutes once a week to foam rolling (back and legs), it always helps me get rid of weird little pains and I don't know why I always completely forget to do it.

The Fourth

4 July 2015


Bench press 135x8, 185x3, 225x5, 275x3, 295 (3+) x 7 reps

Joker sets 320x3, 330x3, 340x3 - nice

Seated cable row 30 total reps

Standing front press 135x3, 160x2, 190 x 5 singles

EZ bar wall curl 50 total reps

Rope pushdowns 2s x 15

Not a Great Squat Workout

3 July 2015


Squat 135x6, 225x3, 325x5, 355x3, 400 (1+) x 6 reps

Joker sets 420x2, 400x2

I think I'll have to get fatter to get my squat moving again. Everything felt heavy today.

Hack squat 3s x 12

Leg curl 2s x 6-8, then one rest-pause set of 15 reps

Leg extension 3s x AMAP, changing foot position through the set

Blech

1 July 2015


Bench press 275x5, w. SlingShot 315x3, 345 (1+) x 4 reps

Joker sets 355 x 2 x 2

This week my raw and SlingShot bench press were roughly the same. Still can't seem to be able to find my SlingShot pressing form. Not that I'm complaining, since my raw bench press seems to be going well, but it is pretty strange.

Pullups 50 total reps

Standing front press 135x3, 165x2, 185x2, 195x2

DB hammer curls, with and without FatGripz x 50 reps total

DB tricep extensions 4s x 12

I'm thinking about ditching the overhead press day. All it does is interfere with shoulder and triceps recovery and leads to piss-poor SlingShot pressing later in the week. On SS bench press day, my shoulders feel like they've been beaten up with baseball bats. Maybe I'll just do OH presses for 5-6 singles twice a week after bench pressing, so I get more recovery time between pressing days.

Everything Day

29 June 2015


Skipping the gym tonight due to evening with the wife, so I had to combine two workouts into one. Which really means I tacked some OH presses onto my leg day.

Mid-shin pull 480 lbs. x 3 singles

Program called for only 2, but I felt good and decided to go for a third. Which was maybe not a great idea, because I felt like I strained my lower back a little on that third single. Maxing out next week.

High-bar close-stance squat 205x3, 245x5, 275x3, 300 (1+) x 7 reps

All squat sets felt terribly hard, even the warmup with 205. Also my knees hurt. I think it's because I pull first and my lower back / glutes are too tired to distribute the strain properly.

Fortunately I only have to do this pull-before-squat nonsense for one more week.

Standing front press 135x3, 175x2, 205x1, 215x1, 220x1, 225xfail, 205 x 3 singles

Didn't expect much from overhead pressing today, as I was spent at this point.

Diuretics

28 June 2015


Nasty hangover this morning. On the bright side, the extreme diuretics cycle I went through last night has brought my weight down to just over 204 pounds. Maybe I should write an article on booze as the miracle weight loss drug.

Bench press 245x3, 270x3, 300 (1+) x 7 reps

Joker sets 320x2, 340x2, 360x1

Should have gone for 355 on that last set and tied my 2RM PR.

Seated cable row 30 total reps

Shoulder complex x 2 sets

Wall curl 50 total reps

Pushdowns 50 total reps

A Change of Gyms

26 June 2015


Gym was reflooring today, so they gave us passes to another gym from the same chain, also in my neighborhood. They have some really cool HammerStrength machines that my gym doesn't have, like a plate loaded seated dip machine which is the best exercise I've ever tried for my triceps, and a bent-over chest-supported row thingy which hits the upper back very well. Their squat rack and platform options, OTOH, are shittier.

I have a cheapskate membership that doesn't cover all the gyms in the same chain, so I can't use this other gym regularly. But if I could, I'd definitely go over there just to have a dip-and-row day. These machines are that good.

Squat 225x3, 275x5, 315x3, 365 (5+) x 10 reps

Leg press 50 total reps - sick pump brah, had to strip it down to 3 plates to make it all the way through the reps

Hack squat 3s x 10

Bent-over chest-supported row 3s x 10

Plate loaded dip machine x 4 sets

Seated shrug machine x 3 sets

Felt pretty good.

-20% Day

25 June 2015


Had a pretty bad headache all day and almost skipped working out. But then I realized I had nothing better to do. So I went in and did the bare minimum. Kinda worrying. I almost never get headaches.

Bench press 235x5, SlingShot 275x5, 310 (5+) x 8 reps

Standing front press 185 x 3, 190 x 2s x 3

Overhead tricep extensions 50 total reps

Preacher curl machine 50 total reps

Pushdowns 3s x 10, heavy

Cable flyes 2s x 10

Stalled Press

23 June 2015


Standing front press 135x4, 165x2, 185x2, 205x1, 215x1, 225x1, 230xf, 210 x 3 singles

I've decided to follow the Prilepin chart for my "heavy" press day. I.e. work up to a heavy single, then shoot for 5-8 total singles with 90% or more of the heavy single weight. So today's workout was 6 good singles (all lifts at 205 or more pounds).

On my second press day (after SS bench press) I'll do 8-10 total reps with 85% of the top weight I hit on the "heavy" day. So this week I'll aim for 195 for four doubles or 3x3.

Also I'm scaling back my press goals - I'll just go in and lift to a "daily max" and try to get the single reps in. The daily max will move when it moves.

Pulldowns 30 total reps, heavy

Shoulder complex x 2 sets

Cycled this morning for 30 minutes.

Leg Jelly

22 June 2015


Mid-shin pull - a few warmup sets, 435x1, then 470 lbs. x 5 singles

This was pretty easy, bar flew up on all but the last couple pulls. Much easier than pulling 455 last two weeks. Who'd have thought, looks like I can pull more weight if I don't pre-exhaust with multiple sets of squat.

I also did the "strip-down complex" while stripping the bar down.

High-bar close stance squats 205x3, 255x3, 270 (5+) x 8 reps

Holy crap the squats were hard. Even 255 felt like it would break my back. I never realized how much work I shift on the glutes and back and hams when squatting - with those muscles effectively out of commission today, quads had to take over, and it wasn't pretty. No wonder my quads have always been underdeveloped.

But I still hit the required reps and now I know what I'll do in the future: squats before pulls while the pulls are light to medium-heavy, then pulls before squats in the last 3-4 weeks of the pull cycle.

Hack squats 3s x 10 - legs were jelly at this point, but I added

Leg extensions 2s x 10, very light.

Bodyweight was just over 205 pounds today. Looks promising. Last week I clocked in at 206 twice, so let's see if I can get down to 200 by the end of summer.

Ziltoid the Omniscient

21 June 2015


Bench press 225x5, 245x5, 270 (5+) x 11 reps

Pump city.

Seated cable row 30 total reps

Incline DB flyes 3s x 10

Form was very poor, I just couldn't get both arms to press up at the same time for some reason. Will keep doing these to hopefully iron out some shoulder issues I've been having.

DB tricep extensions 1s x 15, then 3s x 10 heavy

DB curl 50 total reps

Tomorrow I'll try switching the pulls and squats round (i.e. pull before squat) because the pull weights are getting heavy. Will see how this works (or not).

Lack of Variety

19 June 2015


Back squat 135x6, 225x4, 315x3, 340x3, 380 (3+) x 7 reps

Tried to pause first three reps with 380. Didn't work that well, plus it messed up the rest of my set.

Joker sets 405x3, 425x3 - belt and knee wraps

Mid-shin pull 405 lbs. x 5 singles

While unloading the bar, I did a different exercise each time I took off some plates:

Snatch-grip pull x 3 - high deadlift (above waist) x 3 - bent over row x 5

Glute-ham raise 30 total reps

Hanging leg raise 3s x 8

20 minutes cycling

Gear Whore

18 June 2015


Bench press 135x8, 185x4, 225x3, 255x3

With SlingShot 295x3, 325 (3+) x 8 reps, 335x2, 345x2

Another underwhelming SlingShot session. Since I started this new program thing, my Joker-set SS pressing has been pretty much on par with my raw pressing, which is surely some kind of medical condition/phenomenon or something. Usually I get at least 30 pounds out of the SlingShot. But as long as I keep hitting my raw press goals (and my SS rep goals), I'm happy.

Pullups, neutral grip, 50 total reps

Standing front press 135x4, 165x2, 185x2, 190x2, 195x2

Went a little heavier to make up for the weak-ass overhead workout on Tuesday.

Machine preacher curls, one-armed, 50 total reps

Rope pushdowns 50 total reps

Shoulder complex x 2 sets - really liking these.

Crappy Overhead Day

16 June 2015


Standing front press 135x2, 165x2, 185x2, 205x1, 215x1, 220x1, 225x1, 230 x 2 x fail, 215x1, 205x1

I had a decent bench press session yesterday, so I wasn't expecting much today, but this was weaker than even my worst expectations. The strength just wasn't there, and the attempts at 230 didn't even come close. Onward and upward, I guess.

Shoulder complex x 2 sets

DB tricep extensions 1s x 12, then 3s x 10 heavy

25 minutes cycling, so the day wouldn't be a total waste.

Empathy Quotient

15 June 2015


Bench press 135x8, 185x6, 225x5, 265x3, 290 (3+) x 9 reps

Joker sets 310x3, 330x4

Wanted to do 310-330-340, but gym was as hot as a swamp and I just wanted to get out of the weight area. So I did an extra rep with 330 and told myself it's just as good.

Seated cable row 30 total reps

Incline bench DB curl 40 total reps

That was it for today. Overhead press and triceps tomorrow.

Pulling and Squatting

14 June 2015


High bar close stance squat 135x5, 225x5, 245x3, 280 (3+) x 11 reps

Joker sets 300x3, 320x3 - wanted to give 340x3 a shot, but decided to save my back for the pulls.

Mid-shin pull 435x1, 455 lbs. x 5 singles, 415x1

Program called for 6 singles with 455, but I barely managed to lock out the fifth, so I lowered the weight considerably for the last set. Again, upper back seemed to be the weak link. I need to either a) stop doing joker sets on the high bar squat, or b) do the pulls before the squats. Next 3 weeks I'll only be pulling once per week, so that should alleviate some of the fatigue.

Leg extension 30 total reps

Leg curl 30 total reps

SlingShot Bench Press - Heavy Week

12 June 2015


Bench press 135x5, 185x3, 225x3, 280x5, with SlingShot 315x3, 335 (1+) x 6 reps

Joker sets 355x2, 365x1

A bit disappointed with the joker sets. 355x2 went up very easily (I felt like I could have done 3 or 4), then I got crushed by 365 and barely made it. After hitting 350x2 "raw" earlier in the week, I was expecting at least 370-380 for a double with a SS. But I hit my reps goal with 335, so that's all that matters.

Standing front press 185 lbs. 3s x 2.

Cable rope rows x 20, x 15, x 15

DB hammer curl w. FatGripz 30 total reps

DB tricep extensions 50 total reps

Low Bar Squatmourning

11 June 2015


Squat 135x5, 225x3, 275x3, 335x5, 365x3, 390 (1+) x 8

Might have been able to do one more, but I was severely out of breath at this point.

Joker sets 410 x 2, 430 x 2 - last set was definitely heavy. Belt and wraps from 390 upwards.

Mid-shin pull 405 lbs. x 6 singles - surprisingly easy after Monday's torture. Didn't even use a belt.

Bent-over rows 2s x 5

Glute-ham raise 20 total reps

Shrugs on shrug machine 30 total reps

Sweated through 2 T-shirts at the gym and a third on the way home. Might be a PR. Good times.

Overheads

9 June 2015


Standing front press 135x4, 165x2, 205x1, 215x1, then 225 x 5 singles

I was very tired today and sore pretty much all over. Presses started feeling heavy at 165 pounds. But I managed to hit all five singles with 225 and didn't fail any this time. This makes 2 workouts in a row that I've lifted 225 5 times successfully, so next week I'll try getting at least 1 single at 230.

Pulldowns 30 total reps, heavy

Standing overhead tricep extensions 50 total reps - bumped up the weight on these

Rope cable row x 20, x 15, x 10

High Bar Squat and Pulls

8 June 2015


High bar squat 135x5, 230x5, 265x3, 295 (1+) x 9

Forgot to set the safety pins in the rack, so didn't go for #10.

Joker sets 315x2, 335x2

Could have kept going, but wanted to save some energy for the pulls.

Mid-shin pull 455 lbs. x 5 singles

These were unusually hard. I failed twice, so 7 attempts in total. Upper back was sore and cramping (not sure why - maybe the bench press and rows yesterday) and I could not engage my lats and traps properly to finish the lift. It's also the first time I've failed a pulling-type lift due to upper back soreness. Maybe I should switch around my cable rows and pulldowns/pullups so I'm not doing any upper back work before the heavy pulls day.

Hack squat 30 total reps - went heavier than last time and did fewer reps

20 mins cycling.

Bench Press - Ones Week

7 June 2015


Bench press 135x7, 185x4, 230x5, 265x3, 295 (1+) x 7 reps

Felt nice and easy, stopped at 7 as there was no one to spot me.

Joker sets: 315x2, 330x2, 340x3, 350x2

No idea where this came from, but I'll take it. 340 felt extremely light so I tried 350. By this point I'd found a spotter, who may or may have not touched the bar on the second rep. In any case, this is the heaviest non-slingshot double I've done in a long while, and it was pretty easy.

Seated cable rows 30 total reps

One-arm preacher curl machine 50 reps per arm

Tricep pushdowns 50 reps

Lateral DB raises 50 reps

SlingShot Bench Press

4 June 2015


Trained today because I won't be able to Friday and Saturday. Chest and triceps and shoulders were still sore from Tuesday, but most of the soreness was strangely in my lats.

Bench press 230x5, 265x5, SlingShot (5+) 300 x 11 reps

Really wanted 12, but it didn't happen. I'll just have to try for 12 with 310 next time.

Neutral-grip pullups 50 total reps

These went OK in spite of my lats being very sore. The reduced bodyweight might be helping with pullups. I clocked in at 206.4 yesterday. Not super light, and my weight has popped above 210 a couple of times during the week, but a solid loss from my previous average of 220-225.

Now if only I could get my pressing strength back to where it was before the weight loss...

Standing front press 185 lbs. 2sx3

My left palm started hurting on the second set - a weird pain like the bar was pressing down directly on the nerve, or something. So I didn't go for a third set. Just as well, because even the previous two felt very heavy and I had to cheat a couple of the reps with a kick.

DB tricep extensions 50 total reps

DB incline bench curls 50 total reps

DB front raise 50 total reps

Quick Leg Session

3 June 2015


Squat 135x5, 225x3, 275x5, 315x5, 350 (5+) x 10 reps

Again left 1-2 in the tank. High rep squats are very uncomfortable.

Mid-shin pull 380 lbs. x 8 singles

Glute-ham raise 20 total reps

Leg extension 50 total reps

Leg curl 2s x 10

25 minutes cycling

Spiked Supplements and Some Pressing

2 June 2015


Combined bench press and overhead press because I won't be able to lift Friday and Saturday.

Bench press 135x5, 185x4, 225x3, 265 (5+) x 12 reps

Cardio bench. Could have gone for 2-3 more, but my triceps were starting to seize up and I had no spotter.

Standing front press 135x4, 165x2, 185x1, 205x1, 215x1, 225 x 4 singles

Failed rep #3, nailed the other four. It was hard, but doable. Also I don't understand how I can OH press more after doing a high-rep set on the bench press than when I do the OH press fresh, as my main lift. But whatever, glad my press is finally moving forward.

Seated cable row 30 total reps, heavy

Preacher curl machine 50 total reps per arm

DB lateral raise 50 total reps

Rope pushdowns 50 total reps

Fives Week - High Bar Squats

31 May 2015


High bar squat 135x5, 225x5, 265 (5+) x 12 reps

Felt like I could do 3-5 more, but my lungs weren't on board, so I decided not to push it.

Mid-shin pull 430 lbs. x 8 singles

This was hard.

Glute-ham raise 3s x 8

SlingShot Bench Press- 3+ Day

30 May 2015


Walked 10 miles in 90 degree heat before lifting today. So not a great day lifting wise.

Bench press 135x5, 185x4, 225x3, 265x3, SlingShot 295x3, 315 (3+) x 10 reps

Joker sets 335 2x2

Standing front press 135x2, 155x2, 175x3, 180x3, 180x2

Rope cable rows 5s x 20

Inclne bench DB curl 50 total reps

Overhead tricep extensions 50 total reps

Skwatz and CelicaXX for Marshal of the Republic

28 May 2015


Still sore, squats were fun today.

Squat 135x5, 225x3, 275x3, 315x3, 335x3, 370 (3+) x 8

Joker sets 390x3, 410x3 - belt but no knee wraps today

Mid-shin pull 380 lbs. x 8 singles

Hack squat 50 total reps

Paused shrug 50 total reps

Press Day

27 May 2015


Standing front press 135x5, 155x2, 185x1, 205x1, 215x1, 220x1, 225x1, 225xfail, 220 x 2s x 1

Lower back and legs were very sore today, so pressing was very hard. Still got 4 reps with 220 or above, not a total fail. Had to grind some of the reps so hard I thought my eyes were going to pop out.

Pulldowns 30 total reps, heavy

Lateral raise 50 total reps

Preacher curl machine 50 total reps

DB extensions 50 total reps

High Bar Squat Day - 3+ Week

26 May 2015


High bar squat, close stance 225 x 3, 255 x 3, 275 (3+) x 10, 295 x 3

These weren't that hard, but for some reason they really aggravated my injury. Also I hit a sudden wall at rep #8, kinda like my triceps giving out on the close grip bench press... only with legs.

Mid-shin pull 430 lbs. x 6 singles

Glute-ham raise 20 total reps

The Hybrid Athlete by Alex Viada - Fatman's Review

Finished reading The Hybrid Athlete by Alex Viada and I must say I'm very impressed. The purpose of the book is to provide programming guidelines to athletes wishing to integrate weightlifting and endurance training, possibly even compete at both (e.g. a powerlifter looking to compete in his first marathon, or a triathlon athlete thinking about entering a strongman competition). If you're focusing on one and want to add a bit of the other (e.g. powerlifter trying to improve his conditioning), that's covered too. Personally I have no desire to improve my 5k time or do a triathlon (or a marathon), but would like to add as much low-impact cardio work to my weekly routine as I can without it negatively affecting my lifting.

The book is written in a clear, no-nonsense style. No apocryphal bullshit or broscience - where necessary, the author addresses and dismantles common training and nutrition myths using actual textbook science. At the same time, he doesn't try to cram science down your throat. There's a brief  physiology section at the beginning, describing bodily processes (e.g. digestion, strength and endurance adaptations, etc.) to lay down the foundation for the chapters to come, and that's about as sciency as it gets. The short nutrition chapter is an absolute gem and contains more useful information than some whole books I've read on the topic.

Although the book does contain a few sample training routines at the end, with exercises and sets and reps and times included, it's not a "how to program my strength training" type of book. The author wants you to understand the different demands various athletic endeavors place on your body and fit the pieces together accordingly. Viada himself is an accomplished competitive powerlifter who runs marathons 'for fun', so he definitely practices what he preaches. He trains successful "hybrid" athletes, Crossfitters and military personnel. He also happens to love beer, so major points in my book.

I would recommend that you get a copy of The Hybrid Athlete, but here are some of the high points:

• Lifting and endurance training encourage the development of different types of physique. New muscle mass places a disproportional added demand on the body's energy systems. Adding endurance training can impact your recovery, hence muscular hypertrophy. Cardio can "kill your gainz" (and conversely, gainz can kill your cardio), but you can mitigate the negative effects through intelligent programming and adequate diet.
• Stop thinking about "strength training" and "conditioning". Instead, look at various types of training through the twin prism of skill and intensity. I.e. it's unnecessary and unproductive to do sprints on your off days from lifting.
• Specific exercises for specific work capacity, i.e. to get better at specific movements, do those specific movements. E.g. the overhead press might or might not help your bench press, but the paused bench press always helps your bench press.
• A "hybrid" lifting program must center on the essentials. One main movement, 1-2 high-carryover accessories and 1-2 exercises to improve structural stability. E.g. squat, front squat, split squat.
• Don't waste time on irrelevant movements that require skill development and place undue stress on the muscle groups necessary for your main activity. E.g. tire flipping is great for strongman, okay for CF, absolutely useless for powerlifting or running.
• Steady state, long duration cardio is absolutely essential to the "hybrid athlete" and should comprise the bulk of the endurance portion of his workout. Intense cardio, e.g. sprints, takes too long to recover from and should be treated the same way as a weightlifting workout.
• Always think of opportunity cost - max effort training, be it sprints or heavy squats, is difficult to program in and requires a lot of recovery time.
• Nutrition: "The majority of individuals spend entirely so much time focused on macronutrient breakdowns, meal timing, manipulating hormone levels via food, etc, that they miss the fact that their careful caloric calculations are completely incorrect. The single biggest component in eating for performance is indeed caloric intake. (...) The second biggest factor is carbohydrate intake."
• Calorie calculators based on height, weight, "activity level", etc. are worthless. In order to estimate your caloric needs correctly, track everything you eat for a week and check the scale to determine your baseline caloric needs. Hint: you'll probably find out that you need way less calories than you thought you did. Figure out what you need to do from there, based on your goals (e.g. add 5% per week to gain weight).
• Baseline protein intake should be around 1-1.2g/kg bodyweight. More that that won't harm you, but is absolutely unnecessary. He quotes the example of burn victims (extremely high protein requirements to repair lost tissue, way above those of any bodybuilder) being fed around 2g/kg, i.e. still way less than the broscientific axiom of 1-1.5g/lb.
• Fats should be 10-15% of total caloric intake. The rest should be carbohydrates. Yes, for many this would be a staggering amount of carbs, and tough to swallow (in every meaning of the phrase). But as long as you count your calories correctly (and this is by far the most important factor for 99.9% of people looking to lose or gain weight), you can still get shredded.

New Program

25 May 2015


Bench press: warmup, 225 x 3, 255 x 3, 285 (3+) x 9

Joker sets 305 x 3, 325 x 2

Pretty surprised by the nine reps with 285. My best ever with that weight was ten reps, and at that time my repping strength was much better than it is today. Also nine reps on a 3-rep day is a good starting point for this sort of program.

Seated cable row 30 total reps

Dips 2s x 12

Seated DB curl 50 total reps

Rope pushdown 50 total reps

Bodyweight is holding at 210. Dipped to 208-209 a couple of times, and once all the way down to 207, but average for the week was still around 210.

Good Squat Workout, Programming Decisions

22 May 2015


Squat, paused 135x5, 225x3, 275x3, 315x3, 345x3, 365x3 - last set was hard

Squat 405x2, 440x3 - belt and wraps on both

Back-off paused 335 x 2s x 3

Mid-shin pull 380 x 8 singles

That was it. Squats felt really strong and my hip/back injury held up fine. I feel like a comeback by the end of 2015 is still possible.

Monday I'm embarking on a slightly changed program. It will be a variant of Wendler's 3/5/1 with extra "joker" sets thrown in. I like the simplicity of the programming and the "do as much as you feel like" approach. So lots of rep PRs, except in the OH press and deadlift, where I'll still be doing singles.

Weird Pressing Workout

21 May 2015


Standing front press 135x2, 155x1, 185x1, 205x1, 215x1, 225x2sxfail, 215x2sx1, 220x1, 225x1

Back-off 135 x 4, x 3

I didn't exactly expect to hit 5 singles with 225 one day after a heavy bench press workout, but the two consecutive fails were pretty disappointing. I didn't even come close on either of them, and on the first one I even failed a follow-up attempt at push-pressing 225. So I dropped the weight back down to 215, did two easy presses to find my groove, tried 220 which felt light, then tried 225, which felt even lighter. Take-home point: make smaller jumps when warming up to the working singles weight, 5 pounds instead of 10.

I also did 3 sets of 8 on the ab machine so as to not feel lazy. Accessory work to be done tomorrow, although if I feel recovered enough I'll just hit the heavy squats instead. 6 consecutive training days - I feel like Coach.

SlingShot Day

20 May 2015


Bench press 260x4, 300x4, w. SlingShot 335x4, 365x3

Still weak, but already the SlingShot sets are feeling more solid.

Back-off (SS) 335 x 2s x 3

Seated cable row 30 total reps

DB hammer curl 40 total reps (all with FatGripz)

Cable pushdown 50 total reps

Squat Again and Some Rack Pulls

19 May 2015


Squat, paused 135x5, 225x3, 295x2, 305x2, 315x2

Squat, regular 335 x 3s x 5

Back-off paused 280 x 2s x 3

Mid-shin rack pull 405 x 10 singles

Ab machine crunch 3s x 8

Cutting out some of the accessory work this week because I'll be training 4 days in a row (Sunday-Wednesday).

Pressing Woes, Soreness

18 May 2015


Bench press 275 x 5, 285 x 4, x 5

Bench press seems to be taking a nosedive. I miscounted on the first set with 285, but even that weight felt heavy. Shoulders and upper back (lats) are really sore. I've decided to start alternating DB presses and lighter shoulder presses week to week. Also alternate pulldowns and pullups.

Standing front press 175 lbs. 3x3 - this wasn't that hard

Pullups 30 total reps - took it easy because I have to press heavy Wednesday and Thursday (bench/OH).

Lateral raises 50 total reps

Leg Power

17 May 2015


Missed Saturday due to a late night on Friday (but I made sure to get my cardio workout in before going out on Friday). So next week is going to be rough.

Today I did:

Squat, paused 135x5, 225x3, 285x3, 295x2x2, 305x2sx1, 315x3

Squat, regular 335x3, 365x3, 405x1, 425x3 - belt and wraps on last three sets

Back-off paused 275 lbs. x 5

Mid-shin rack pull 355 lbs. x 8 singles

Paused shrug 50 total reps

Leg extension 50 total reps

Leg curl 50 total reps

20 minutes cycling

Press and Press

14 May 2015


Close-grip bench press 250 lbs. 2s x 8, 1s x 7

Could have gone for rep #8 on that last set, but my triceps were still sore from Tuesday's workout so I bitched out. My triceps have a habit of locking up / unexpectedly giving out when I do close-grip BP, and I wanted to avoid the embarrassment of getting pinned by 250 pounds and having to commit seppuku in the locker room shower later.

Standing front press 135x2, 165x1, 185x1, 205x1, 220 lbs. x 5 singles

Almost didn't make #1, it was probably the longest press repetition I've ever done. I blasted the weight up, stalled, ground it up a few inches, stalled again, managed to get it moving again (and promptly rammed the left-side 45# plate into the crossbar at the top of the rack, and almost dropped the bar on my head). Reps 2 through 5 were easier than 215 last week.

Overall I'm pretty pleased with the OHP progress. At least one of my lifts is moving.

Pulldowns 30 total reps, heavy

DB front raise 50 total reps

Seated DB curls 50 total reps

DB tricep extensions 50 total reps

Rope cable row 3s x 20

Heavy SlingShot Bench Press

12 May 2015


Bench press 245x6, 275x6, SlingShot 315x6, 355x5, 315x3

Was supposed to do 355x6, but crapped out. Shoulders feel infinitely better though. I've lost the SlingShot groove, but it should come back to me after a few sessions.

Seated cable row 30 total reps, heavy - got through these without having to reduce weight

Seated DB press 4s x 6 (65s)

DB hammer curl 50 total reps

Rope cable pushdown 50 total reps

Boring Squat Day

11 May 2015


Volume squat 135x6, then triples to 315x3, then 345 lbs. 3s x 5

Mid-shin rack pull 405 lbs. x 8 singles

These caused a flareup of my hip injury. Did hip stretches to alleviate the pain. Also my knees are starting to hurt, not sure why as I've never hurt my knees doing squats before. Could be the total cycling volume in addition to the squats.

Leg extension 50 total reps

Leg curl 50 total reps

Curls and extensions instead of leg press, as I didn't want to aggravate the injury further. I never realized how much work the hips do in a leg press until I got hurt.

20 minutes cycling.

Medium Pressing Day, Some Programming Thoughts

10 May 2015


Bench press 275 lbs. 3s x 5

Standing front overhead press 170 lbs. 3s x 3

Pullups, various grip 50 reps total

Overhead tricep extensions 50 reps total

DB lateral raises 50 reps total

Incline bench DB curls 50 reps total

Low pulley rows with rope 3s x 20

25 minutes cycling

Looking over my logs, I see that my lifting program has changed a lot. I've been making little changes here and there, trying to work around my hip and back injury, and the little tweaks have added up to something quite different from the modified Texas Method I've been running over the past couple of years.

While I still want to get back to that original template (because it's very productive as far as heavy lifts go), I'll have to do so gradually in order to accommodate some changes to my lifting and overall health goals, such as:

• Five lifting workouts per week. If I can't go heavy on squats or pulls, I should at least focus on pressing strength, especially my neglected overhead press. Maybe something positive will come out of the back injury after all.
• Less fat - no use carrying bulk around if I'm not going to use it to lift heavy weights. Plan is to get my bodyweight to under 210, then to around 200 this summer. Then if I feel like my BF% is where it should be, gradually start to add weight. At a little under 6', 210 is more than enough BW, and a lean 200 would be great.
• More cardio work - I want to aim for 2-3 sessions of 20-30 minutes, plus 2 sessions of 60 minutes per week. The short workouts will be done after lifting and the longer workouts on my two days off from lifting. I've been pretty consistent with these, I just haven't been logging them.
• No more deadlifts. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me... you can't get fooled again. Or something. My deadlift journey has always been one of one step forward, three steps back (and months taken off training as a consequence). The only serious injuries I've ever sustained from working out and playing sports have been deadlift-related. The deadlift is the only lift in which the starting point is determined by manufacturing standards (plate diameter), rather than the relative length of your own body structures (in competition, you can adjust the height of the squat stands and bench uprights if you're taller or shorter, but you ALWAYS start with the bar at EXACTLY the same height off the floor, regardless of whether you're 6'7" or 4'11"). Seeing as I don't compete in powerlifting and have absolutely zero need to practice heavy deadlifts from the floor, mid-shin pulls in the rack will do me quite nicely. I'd like to still be lifting weights in my 60s, and snapping my back up time after time isn't really conducive to that goal.
• More SlingShot bench pressing. I have been using the two SlingShots for a while now, with good improvements on my "raw" bench press. I want to see what effect (if any) a period of SlingShot-dominant work would have on my bench press 1RM. So most of my heavy work will be done with either the Reactive or Original SlingShot.

So for the foreseeable future the plan will be:

Day 1 - Lower Body Volume - Squat sets of 5 + Pull singles + Leg Exercise 1 for 50 total reps

Day 2 - Heavy Bench Press (SlingShot) + Back Exercise 1 for 30 heavy reps + Seated DB press 4sx6

Cardio Day

Day 3 - Heavy OH Press + Close-grip Bench Press + Back Ex. 2 for 30 heavy reps

Day 4 - Heavy Squat (up to triple) + Pull singles + Leg Exercise 2 for 50 total reps + Shrug 50 reps

Cardio Day

Day 5 - Medium Bench Press 3s x 5 + Medium OH Press 3x3 + Back Ex. 3 for 50 total reps

With small exercises (arms, shoulders, upper back, calves) added throughout the week.

Heavy Squat Day - Long Road to Recovery (i.e. 5 Plates)

8 May 2015


Squat 135x5, 225x3, 275x3, 315x3, 335x3 all paused, 355x3, 385x1, 405x3, 415x3

Made these with power to spare, but form was not great. Still sort of uneven "in the hole". Used belt from 385 up.

Rack pull 380 lbs. x 10 singles in under 10 minutes

These were very hard today.

Leg press 50 total reps - made it to 35 with 5 plates

Glute ham raise 8 reps

I've been reading some stuff by Alex Viada and I can't believe I haven't discovered this guy before. Got his Hybrid Athlete book and might post a review soon. So far everything I've read, especially nutrition, is the work of pure genius.

Shoulders and Triceps

7 May 2015


Close-grip bench press 245 lbs. 3s x 8

I'm really enjoying the CG presses, but wrist wraps are a must for this exercise due to the severely compromised position my wrists are in at the bottom. With my history of tendinitis, I might come to regret doing these.

Standing overhead press 135x2, 165x1, 185x1, 215 x 5 singles

Almost 'forgot' to press the bar all the way up on the first single with 215, then stayed focused and nailed the next 4. Was going to try a sixth single with 220, but some guy wanted to use the rack, and since I have mad guilt/shame about pressing in the power rack I let him have it.

Pulldowns 30 reps total, heavy

One-arm preacher curls (machine) 50 reps total

DB front raise 50 reps total

DB tricep extension 50 reps total

Low rope cable row 3s x 20 - terrific back exercise, not sure why I don't do these every workout

Permission To Increase the Planned Percent

5 May 2015


Bench press 335 lbs. x 5 singles, SlingShot (O) 365 lbs. x 2

Singles went better than 330 last week, but still not as explosive as I'd like them to.

Seated cable row 30 total reps, heavy - really struggled with these today.

Seated DB press 4s x 6 (65s)

Hammer curl 50 total reps (about 30 with FatGripz)

Tricep pushdown (rope) 50 total reps

Shoulders feel beat up and I'm starting to get twinges in (what I think is) my right rotator cuff. Overall this is too much pressing weekly volume. Will have to make some changes, maybe alternate bench and overhead press on the medium (5 sets of 3) day. Skipped dips today to give the shoulders a chance to recover.

Legwork

4 May 2015


Squat 135x5, 225x3, 275x3, 315x3, 345 3s x 5, paused 285 x 2s x 3

Rack pull 380 lbs. x 10 singles, 45-60 seconds of rest between singles

Leg press 50 total reps - started out at 4.5 plates, had to strip down to 4 for the last 15 reps or so

Ab machine 3s x 8

15 minutes cycling

"Heavy" Squats, Random Day

1 May 2015


Squat 135x5, 225x3, 275x3, 315x2, 345x5, 365x5, 385x3, 405x2

First squat over 400 post-injury. Was pretty happy about that.

Rack pull 355 lbs. x 12 singles, 60 minutes rest in between

Paused shrug 50 total reps

Lever squat machine split squats 50 total reps

Worst leg exercise ever.

Calf raise 50 total reps



3 May 2015


Standing front press 165 lbs. 5s x 3

Did this instead of bench pressing because I want to BP on Tuesday.

Neutral-grip pullups 50 total reps

Lats were sore today for some mysterious reason.

Lateral DB raise 50 total reps

Overhead tricep extensions w. EZ bar 50 total reps

Incline bench DB curl 50 total reps

Lever squat machine:

Shoulders and Triceps

30 April 2015


Close-grip bench press 240 lbs. 3s x 8

Standing front press 135x2, 165x1, 185x1, 210 lbs. x 5 singles

These were hard and I had to cheat the weight up on a few of the reps. Shoulders are still sore from the mediocre bench press workout two days ago.

Pulldowns 30 total reps, heavy

Machine preacher curl 50 total reps

Front raise with DBs 50 total reps

DB tricep extensions 50 total reps

Weak Heavy Day

28 April 2015


Bench press 330 lbs. x 4 singles, SlingShot (O) 350 lbs. x 3

Failed the fourth single with 330, the bar drifted back and almost fell on my face. The guy who was spotting me had spotted me several times before, and looked disappointed. I thought about making up some excuse, then didn't. Nailed the fifth attempt but it was a grinder. Pretty sad, as this isn't even 85% of 1RM. Oh well.

Used the Original SlingShot after a long period of bench pressing with the Reactive. It felt good, but I'm not as strong with it as I used to be. So for the next training cycle I'll be pressing with the Original on my heavy day and using the Reactive on my medium day.

Seated cable row 30 total reps, heavy

Seated DB press 4s x 6 (65s)

Dips x12, x12, x10

Hammer curl 50 total reps (about 25 with FatGripz)

Tricep pushdown (rope) 50 total reps

Bodyweight is back down to under 210.

Rack Pull Singles

27 April 2015


Squat 345 lbs. 3s x 5, paused squat 285 lbs. 3x3

Rack pull 355 lbs. x 12 singles, 30 seconds or less between reps

Leg press 50 total reps - started at 5 plates, had to strip to 4 about halfway through

Ab machine 3s x 8

Cycling 20 mins.

Squatting and Pressing

24 April 2015


Squat 345 lbs. 3s x 5, paused squat 285 lbs. 2s x 3

Rack pull 335 lbs 3s x 5

Weighted incline bench situps 3s x 8

Bent-over row 4s x 8-10



25 April 2015


Bench press 290 lbs. 5s x 3

Overhead press 135x2, 165 lbs. 3x3

Pullups (neutral grip) 50 total reps

Overhead tricep extensions 50 total reps

EZ bar reverse curl 30 total reps (used the same weight for extensions, which was a bit heavy)

Seated DB curl 50 total reps

Lateral DB raise 50 total reps

Hypertrophy Base

22 April 2015


Close grip bench press 235 lbs. 3s x 8

Standing front press 135x2, 165x1, 185x1, 195x1, 200x1, 205x1, 210x1, 215x1, 220xfail

215 felt easy enough for me to try 220, but 220 wasn't even close. Not bad overall.

Pulldowns 1s x 8, 4s x 6

Looks like I haven't lost much (any?) upper body strength over the past two weeks. Pulldowns also felt stronger than they had in the 1-2 months prior to the vacation. I did do high-rep cable pulls every day of the vacation, so those might have helped.

Front barbell raises 50 total reps

Machine preacher curls 50 total reps

Tricep DB extensions 50 total reps

Building that there HYPERTROPHY BASE for Coach.

Legs and More Legs

21 April 2015


Squat 135x5, 225x3, 275x3, 315x2, 345 3s x 5, 275 3x3

Watching myself in the mirror (hello sexy) I noticed I've started doing this weird thing at the bottom of the squat, sort of shifting side to side. I think it's because I'm unconsciously avoiding my left hip (the injured one). I'll have to work on correcting this, as I suspect it could have disastrous consequences once I start using some appreciable weight.

I'm also feeling some abdominal strain in random places, hope it's not a hernia or something.

Rack pull 335 lbs. 3s x 5

Leg curl 50 reps

Leg extension 50 reps

Ab machine 3s x 8

The Unbearable Soreness of Squatting

20 April 2015


First squat workout after a layover always results in a lot of pain, and today was no different. I also realized that I planned poorly and would have to bench press on a Monday, which is something I try to avoid as much as possible. The gym was a veritable jungle tonight.

Bench press 135x5, 185x3, 225x3, 275x3, 325 x 5 singles

Bench press w. SlingShot (R) 345 lbs. x 3

My setup on the SlingShot set was terrible (legs all over the place, upper back not set properly) but the weight still came up. Overall everything felt very strong, but technique was pretty bad - I lowered the bar to the wrong spot a few times, pressed unevenly out of the bottom, was slow and non-explosive in general. The fact that it felt easy in spite of all that is encouraging.

Back-off sets (no SlingShot) 295 lbs. x 2, x 3

Completed the whole bench press part of the workout in less than 20 minutes. Usually it takes me more than double that. Good times.

Seated cable row 2s x 8, 1s x 6

Used a machine with separate handles for each arm, didn't like it.

Seated DB press 4s x 6 (60s) - this was surprisingly easy.

Dips 3s x 10

Hammer curl 50 reps total, some with FatGripz, some without.

Tricep pushdown 50 reps total

Back

19 April 2015


Back in the gym. Vacation was fun, drank too much but managed to keep the weight down to a svelte 214. Of course, lifting felt like shit.

Squat 135x5, 225x3, 275x3, 315x2, 345 x 3s x 5, then a few lighter sets

Hip injury has healed somewhat, now I just have to build back some strength. 345 felt awful and heavy. Will stay at the same weight this week and hope it feels lighter.

Rack pull 335 x 3s x 5

This felt better. I'll do it for another week, then switch to singles 3x/week, like I did on the deadlift singles program. Can't wait to hurt myself again.

Glute-ham raise x8, x6, x4

Leg press 5 plates x 15

Leg extension 1s x 10

Ab machine 3s x 8

25 minutes cycling.

Press Medley

2 April 2015


Close-grip BP 235x6, 255x5, 275x5, 235x6

Pulldowns 3s x 6 heavy

Standing OH press 205x1, 215 x 4 singles

Actually failed first rep with 215, then got the next four in a row. Focus, focus, focus.

Barbell curls, heavy 3s x 5-6

DB tricep extensions 3s x 8-10

Machine preacher curls 3s x AMAP

Will be taking some time off, going out of town for a couple weeks. Let's see if I can keep the BW under 220 by the time I get back. Currently at 208, but 12 pounds in 14 days would hardly be a first for me.

Leg Training

1 April 2015


Squat 345 lbs. 4s x 5 - did an extra set for no particular reason

Rack pull 335 lbs. 3s x 5

Hip still hurts, but it's not that bad. I'm planning to stay away from heavy squats (triples) for a while yet - will keep doing sets of five. Also will switch to singles for the rack pull once I hit 355 for sets of 5.

Glute-ham raise 2s x 6

Leg press 5 plates x20, x20, x12

20-rep leg presses are worse than 20-rep squats. With the squat, at some point self-preservation kicks in and you simply can't do another rep because it'll crush you. With the leg press, you can always do one more rep.

Machine split squats 1s x 20 (10 per leg)

Not sure why I did this last exercise, except maybe masochism.

Machine ab crunch 3s x 8-10

Heavy Bench Press - 6 Week Program, Iteration Deux

31 March 2015


Bench press 325 lbs. x 5 singles, 1 negative rep with 365 lbs.

Negative felt super heavy, considering it's not even 95% of my 1RM (and broscience has it you should be able to do a negative with 120% of your 1RM). Maybe I need to do more of these. It felt very uncomfortable and weird.

Back-off sets with SlingShot 325 lbs. 3s x 2

No SlingShot 265 lbs. 2s x 5 close grip

Seated cable row 4s x 6

Seated DB press 3s x 6 (60s)

EZ bar curl, heavy 3s x 5

Incline bench DB curl 3s x 10

Also today I saw probably the most impressive feat I've ever seen at the gym. This guy walked in, a bit taller than me, very muscular and aesthetic but by no means huge. He put 135 on the bar, squatted it 6-7 times, barefoot, no belt or anything. Then he proceeded to add a plate each set until he ended up with 495 for 6-7 reps. Each squat from the first rep with 135 to the last rep with 495 looked exactly the same - upright torso, high bar, legit depth. Every rep was precise and effortless. I strain more with 315 (even when not injured) than this dude did with 495. He didn't even break a sweat.

The whole thing was done in like 10 minutes or so, after which he went over to the dumbbell rack and started doing DB bench presses.

I had seen the guy around the gym before, doing random bodybuilding shit. Never would have thought him to be this strong. Looked like he was good for at least another 50 pounds for the same no. of reps. Probably 6 plates for 3-4.

Will be thinking about this on Wednesday, as I strain to squatmorning 345 for three sets of five, all red in the face, veins popping out in my temples.

Squats and Deadlifts, Rehab Mode, Week 4

30 March 2015


Squat 345 lbs. 3s x 5 -felt very heavy

Rack pull 335 lbs. 3s x 5 - this felt OK. I might go back to my singles-only program, except with mid-shin pulls instead of deadlifts from the floor.

Glute-ham raise 3s x 8

Leg press 5 plates 2s x 20, 1s x 10

Leg curl 21s x 2 sets

Leg extensions 3s x 10

15 minutes cycling - all the legs could take

Mixed Weekend Work

28 March 2015


Took a day off on Friday and woke up to everything hurting on Saturday. My hip injury was flaring up big time, but there was also pain in my shoulders, elbows, wrists, etc. So I decided to work everything at the gym and see what happens.

Squat 335 lbs. 3s x 5 - moved stance in closer on last two sets because the hip hurt. Then my knees hurt. Good times.

Bench press 315 lbs. 3x3 - was going to do 3sx5, but the weight felt too heavy.

Rack pull 325 lbs. 3s x 5 - this felt okay.

Standing overhead press 135 lbs. 3s x 5 - also felt heavy.

DB curls 3s x 8

Cable pushdowns 3s x 12

Ab crunch machine 3s x 12

Pressing More

26 March 2015


Close-grip bench press 235x5, 255x5, 275x5, 235x8

Pulldowns 2 sets warmup, 3 sets heavy

Standing front press 135x2, 165x1, 185x1, 205x1, 210 x 4 singles

Bent-over rows 4s x 10

Seated DB curls 4s x 15

Tricep pushdowns 3s x 15

More Rehab - Week 3, Day 2

25 March 2015


Did a bunch of stretches and activation exercises for the hips and glutes.

Back squat 335 lbs. 3s x 5

Rack pull 325 lbs. 3s x 5

Glute-ham raise 3s x 6

Leg curl 21s 1 set

15 minutes cycling.

Riveting.

Bench Press - Heavy Single

24 March 2015


Bench press 135x8, 185x3, 225x3, 275x2, 325x1, 345x1, 365x1, 390x1

The rep with 365 felt slow, so I kept that last attempt pretty conservative. 390 still felt heavy. I was thinking about trying 405 with the Reactive SlingShot and 420 with the Original, but decided not to push it, so didn't do any SS work.

Back-off sets 315 x 2s x 5

Seated cable rows 3s x 6 heavy

Seated DB press 3s x 6 (60s)

Machine preacher curl, one armed, 5s x 8-10

Dips 3s x 10

25 minutes cycling

Just did a bunch of random stuff.

Bodyweight today - 209.4 lbs.

Lower Back Rehab Week 3 Day 1

23 March 2015


Stupid post title, stupid post content.

Back squat 335x5, 345x5, 335x5, 235x10 close stance

Was okay, but left leg felt a bit dead after the set with 345, which wasn't so okay.

Rack pull 325 lbs. 3s x 5

Lower back was super pumped after this, I wasn't even able to do glute-ham raises. Not sure what happened.

Glute-ham raise x 6

Machine split squat 2s x 16-20 (8-10 per leg)

Tried cycling, but back hurt after 10 minutes.

Mixed Day

22 March 2015


Close-grip bench press 135x8, 185x5, 235x6, 255 x 2s x 6

Bent-over row 4s x 10

Standing front press 135x5, 155 2s x 5

Pullups 5x5

Incline bench DB curls 3s x 12

DB tricep extensions 3s x 12

Cable curl 3s x AMAP

Tricep pushdown (rope) 3s x 12

Plan is to max out the bench press on Tuesday or Wednesday, do some medium-heavy work the rest of the week and then reset the weights for the 6-week program. For the max-out, anything between 375 and 395 would be great due to lower bodyweight and caloric deficit.