Falling behind with the posting a bit, let's see what happened this week:
28 January 2016
Block pull 385 lbs. x 4, 405 lbs. x 4, 355 lbs. 2s x 4
Was only supposed to do 385x4, but it felt too light so I decided to do a bonus set.
Bent-over row 5x5
Leg curl 4s x 8
Adductor/abductor machine 2 sets x AMAP each
29 January 2016
SlingShot (Reactive) bench press 320 lbs. x 8, 295 lbs. x 8, 285 lbs. x 8
Sickest bench press pump ever.
Seated cable rows 4s x 8
Incline bench press 4s x 8
DB curl 4s x 8-10
DB tricep extension 3s x 8-10
Leg raises 4 sets
30 January 2016
Squat 385 lbs. x 4, 355 lbs. 2s x 4, 345 lbs. x 4
Close-grip bench press 5x5
Sumo deadlift 3s x 5
Leg extension 4s x AMAP
Saturday, January 30, 2016
Tuesday, January 26, 2016
More Pumping Iron
26 January 2016
Bench press 300 lbs. x 4, 275 lbs. 2s x 4
Paused bench press 270 lbs. x 4, 245 lbs. 2s x 4
Pulldowns 4s x 8
Standing BTN press 4s x 8
EZ bar curls 30 total reps - could not find a free barbell to curl with, now I have a mild pain in my wrist.
Cable curls x a few sets
Bench press 300 lbs. x 4, 275 lbs. 2s x 4
Paused bench press 270 lbs. x 4, 245 lbs. 2s x 4
Pulldowns 4s x 8
Standing BTN press 4s x 8
EZ bar curls 30 total reps - could not find a free barbell to curl with, now I have a mild pain in my wrist.
Cable curls x a few sets
Monday, January 25, 2016
Snow Delays
25 January 2016
Missed a few training days as the gym was closed due to snow. It opened today and I made it over around lunchtime, remembering Lyfta's experience with the snow and walking very carefully.
Squat 380 lbs. x 5, 355 lbs. 3s x 5
Close-grip bench press 5x5
Leg extensions 3s x AMAP
Sumo deadlifts 3s x 5
Abduction machine 2s x AMAP
Adduction machine 2s x AMAP
Leg raises 3s x 15
Missed a few training days as the gym was closed due to snow. It opened today and I made it over around lunchtime, remembering Lyfta's experience with the snow and walking very carefully.
Squat 380 lbs. x 5, 355 lbs. 3s x 5
Close-grip bench press 5x5
Leg extensions 3s x AMAP
Sumo deadlifts 3s x 5
Abduction machine 2s x AMAP
Adduction machine 2s x AMAP
Leg raises 3s x 15
Friday, January 22, 2016
How to Not Increase Your Bench Press
22 January 2016
SlingShot bench press 330 lbs. x 5, 300 lbs. x 4s x 5
330 felt terribly heavy, then 300 was absurdly light so I did a bunch of sets because volume.
Seated cable row 4s x 8
Incline bench press 4s x 8
DB curl 4s x 8-10
Pushdowns 4s x AMAP
SlingShot bench press 330 lbs. x 5, 300 lbs. x 4s x 5
330 felt terribly heavy, then 300 was absurdly light so I did a bunch of sets because volume.
Seated cable row 4s x 8
Incline bench press 4s x 8
DB curl 4s x 8-10
Pushdowns 4s x AMAP
Wednesday, January 20, 2016
Steroid Low Back Pump
19 January 2016
Mid-shin pull 385 lbs. x 5, 365 lbs. 2s x 5
Bent-over row 5x5
Leg curl 4s x AMAP
Insane low back pump, even though the weights are still pretty light. Broscience claims this is what happens to steroid users. BRB experiencing roid side effects without actually using roids or getting any of the benefits. It feels quite different from pumping up any other muscle grup - I wonder if it's not really a pump, but some sort of inflammation?
Also I didn't really get how tough pulling from mid shin is on the lower back until I started doing it for reps - definitely not the same as deadlifting.
Mid-shin pull 385 lbs. x 5, 365 lbs. 2s x 5
Bent-over row 5x5
Leg curl 4s x AMAP
Insane low back pump, even though the weights are still pretty light. Broscience claims this is what happens to steroid users. BRB experiencing roid side effects without actually using roids or getting any of the benefits. It feels quite different from pumping up any other muscle grup - I wonder if it's not really a pump, but some sort of inflammation?
Also I didn't really get how tough pulling from mid shin is on the lower back until I started doing it for reps - definitely not the same as deadlifting.
Monday, January 18, 2016
Hateful Eight and Some Benching
18 January 2016
Went to see Hateful Eight. Great movie, but they could have cut out at least 45 minutes of it and it would have been just as great. Tarantino's movies are either terrific or awful IMO, and this one was definitely terrific.
Bench press 295 lbs. x 5, 280 lbs. 2s x 5
Paused bench press 265 lbs. x 5, 245 lbs. 2s x 5
Pulldowns 4s x 8
Standing BTN press 4s x 8
Barbell curl 4s x 8
Went to see Hateful Eight. Great movie, but they could have cut out at least 45 minutes of it and it would have been just as great. Tarantino's movies are either terrific or awful IMO, and this one was definitely terrific.
Bench press 295 lbs. x 5, 280 lbs. 2s x 5
Paused bench press 265 lbs. x 5, 245 lbs. 2s x 5
Pulldowns 4s x 8
Standing BTN press 4s x 8
Barbell curl 4s x 8
Some Squatting
16 January 2016
Squat 375 lbs. x 5, 335 lbs. 2s x 5 - no belt or wraps, knee felt good
Close-grip bench press 5x5
Sumo dadlifts, very light, 3s x 5
Squat 375 lbs. x 5, 335 lbs. 2s x 5 - no belt or wraps, knee felt good
Close-grip bench press 5x5
Sumo dadlifts, very light, 3s x 5
Thursday, January 14, 2016
Slingin'
14 January 2016
SlingShot bench press (reactive) 330 lbs. x 5, 295 lbs. 2s x 5
Later I realized I was supposed to do sets of 6. Oh well.
Seated cable row 4s x 8
Incline bench press 4s x 8
DB curl 4s x 10
Pushdowns 4s x AMAP
SlingShot bench press (reactive) 330 lbs. x 5, 295 lbs. 2s x 5
Later I realized I was supposed to do sets of 6. Oh well.
Seated cable row 4s x 8
Incline bench press 4s x 8
DB curl 4s x 10
Pushdowns 4s x AMAP
Wednesday, January 13, 2016
Serratus Posterior Superior
12 January 2016
Never even knew this muscle existed, but it does, and when it gets tight you start experiencing shooting pain through your shoulder and down your arm. Left shoulder has been bothering me (to various degrees of discomfort) throughout this last training cycle, and I was pretty sure I'd torn my rotator cuff or something. Turns out it's this little thing under my traps and to the side of my scapula. Did some targeted trigger point release on it yesterday and it hurts like hell.
But at least I don't need shoulder surgery yet, so that's a plus.
Mid-shin pull 385 lbs. x 5, 350 lbs. x 5 - doing these for reps is tough even with a light weight.
Bent-over row 5x5 - got a massive low back pump from these.
Olympic squats 2s x 8 - these really bothered my knee, even though I only used a very light weight. I'll stick to squatting once per week for the time being.
Leg curl 3s x 8
Never even knew this muscle existed, but it does, and when it gets tight you start experiencing shooting pain through your shoulder and down your arm. Left shoulder has been bothering me (to various degrees of discomfort) throughout this last training cycle, and I was pretty sure I'd torn my rotator cuff or something. Turns out it's this little thing under my traps and to the side of my scapula. Did some targeted trigger point release on it yesterday and it hurts like hell.
But at least I don't need shoulder surgery yet, so that's a plus.
Mid-shin pull 385 lbs. x 5, 350 lbs. x 5 - doing these for reps is tough even with a light weight.
Bent-over row 5x5 - got a massive low back pump from these.
Olympic squats 2s x 8 - these really bothered my knee, even though I only used a very light weight. I'll stick to squatting once per week for the time being.
Leg curl 3s x 8
Tuesday, January 12, 2016
Back to Daily Posting
11 January 2016
Bench press 290 lbs. x 5, 260 lbs. x 5
Paused bench press 265 lbs. x 5, 240 lbs. x 5
Left shoulder felt terrible, almost like it was seizing up. However, I have had this before and know what to do - work on trigger points in my serratus (oddly enough).
Standing BTN press 4s x 8, light
Pulldowns 4s x 8
Barbell curl 30 total reps
Bench press 290 lbs. x 5, 260 lbs. x 5
Paused bench press 265 lbs. x 5, 240 lbs. x 5
Left shoulder felt terrible, almost like it was seizing up. However, I have had this before and know what to do - work on trigger points in my serratus (oddly enough).
Standing BTN press 4s x 8, light
Pulldowns 4s x 8
Barbell curl 30 total reps
Sunday, January 10, 2016
New Leaf
2 January 2016
Paused bench press 265x2, 275x2, 285x2, 295x2, 265x2
Was only supposed to work up to 275x2, so this was better than expected. Weight felt very light and pauses were solid.
Mid-shin pull 490 lbs. x 3 singles
Bent-over row 5x5
Seated cable row 4s x 6
Standing BTN press 175 lbs. x 3 - a bit of a struggle, but this time it went up convincingly.
Incline DB curl 3 sets x AMAP
4 January 2016
I'm planning to max out on the bench press this week, so today was a sort of warmup day, workin up to 90% of the planned lift.
Bench press 305x1, 325x1, 350x1 - last single flew up like 315. Let's hope the momentum lasts.
Pulldowns 3s x 8
Seated DB press 3s x 8
Barbell curls 30 total reps
Pushdowns 3s x AMAP
6 January 2016
Still on track with the planned bench press max-out, today I worked up to 295x1 with a long pause, then did some rear delt raises and biceps work.
8 January 2016
Bench press 315x2, 335x1, 365x1, 375xfail, 315x3
Pretty disappointed with this, but not devastated. My plan was to warm up to 335, then hit 365, 375 and go for either 380 or 385 on the last attempt, based on the numbers I hit in this training cycle and the 90% warmup on Monday. Unfortunately, I struggled to get 365 off the hooks and completely missed my groove, which resulted in a long and ragged single repetition that totally wore me out. My setup with 375 was perfect and I blasted the weight off the bottom, but it stalled around midpoint and sank back down.
At least it shouldn't take much to beat this 1RM in my next training cycle. But I'm still a long way off my all-time PR, so there's a lot of work to be done.
Bodyweight today was only 208.2, and this is after indulging in an all-you-can-eat buffet the day before. I have struggled to get my eating back on track after the holidays, but, unlike normal people, I seem to have no appetite and am constantly undereating. This also needs to change.
Seated cable rows 30 total reps
Incline bench press 4s x 8
DB curl 4s x 8-10
Pushdowns 4s x AMAP
Cable fly 2s x 10
9 January 2016
Squat 405x2, 425x2, 445x1, 445x1
Wanted to go for 445x2, but chickened out on both attempts. However, the weight is not important. What is important is that I didn't use knee wraps on any of the sets, and my bad knee felt fine. I won't jump the gun and proclaim it healed, but it's definitely a good indicator.
Mid-shin pull worked up to 500 lbs. for 2 singles
Leg extension 3s x AMAP
Leg curl 3s x 8
Adductor mchine 2s x 12
Back raise 3s x 10-13
Paused bench press 265x2, 275x2, 285x2, 295x2, 265x2
Was only supposed to work up to 275x2, so this was better than expected. Weight felt very light and pauses were solid.
Mid-shin pull 490 lbs. x 3 singles
Bent-over row 5x5
Seated cable row 4s x 6
Standing BTN press 175 lbs. x 3 - a bit of a struggle, but this time it went up convincingly.
Incline DB curl 3 sets x AMAP
4 January 2016
I'm planning to max out on the bench press this week, so today was a sort of warmup day, workin up to 90% of the planned lift.
Bench press 305x1, 325x1, 350x1 - last single flew up like 315. Let's hope the momentum lasts.
Pulldowns 3s x 8
Seated DB press 3s x 8
Barbell curls 30 total reps
Pushdowns 3s x AMAP
6 January 2016
Still on track with the planned bench press max-out, today I worked up to 295x1 with a long pause, then did some rear delt raises and biceps work.
8 January 2016
Bench press 315x2, 335x1, 365x1, 375xfail, 315x3
Pretty disappointed with this, but not devastated. My plan was to warm up to 335, then hit 365, 375 and go for either 380 or 385 on the last attempt, based on the numbers I hit in this training cycle and the 90% warmup on Monday. Unfortunately, I struggled to get 365 off the hooks and completely missed my groove, which resulted in a long and ragged single repetition that totally wore me out. My setup with 375 was perfect and I blasted the weight off the bottom, but it stalled around midpoint and sank back down.
At least it shouldn't take much to beat this 1RM in my next training cycle. But I'm still a long way off my all-time PR, so there's a lot of work to be done.
Bodyweight today was only 208.2, and this is after indulging in an all-you-can-eat buffet the day before. I have struggled to get my eating back on track after the holidays, but, unlike normal people, I seem to have no appetite and am constantly undereating. This also needs to change.
Seated cable rows 30 total reps
Incline bench press 4s x 8
DB curl 4s x 8-10
Pushdowns 4s x AMAP
Cable fly 2s x 10
9 January 2016
Squat 405x2, 425x2, 445x1, 445x1
Wanted to go for 445x2, but chickened out on both attempts. However, the weight is not important. What is important is that I didn't use knee wraps on any of the sets, and my bad knee felt fine. I won't jump the gun and proclaim it healed, but it's definitely a good indicator.
Mid-shin pull worked up to 500 lbs. for 2 singles
Leg extension 3s x AMAP
Leg curl 3s x 8
Adductor mchine 2s x 12
Back raise 3s x 10-13
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