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

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.

Mini Workout

7 April 2012

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

Seated HammerStrength Row x 4 sets x 10

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

Extra Workout - Back and Arms

26 February 2012


Today I did about 45 minutes of assistance work to cover some areas I missed yesterday.

Seated low cable rows 4 sets x 8-10 reps (light, medium, then two heavy-ish sets)

Two-DB seated shrugs: 80 lbs. x 12, 100 lbs. x 8-10 x 2 sets

EZ bar preacher curl: 4 sets 6-10 reps plus some "burn" reps at the end of last 2 sets

Tricep pushdowns: 3 heavy sets x 8-10, then one light set x A.M.A.P (these were supersetted with the curls)

Incline ab board twisting situps x 3 sets

Bench Press Training

13 December 2011


Bench press:

Warmup x a bunch of sets
280 lbs. x 5, x 4, x 3
245 lbs. + big chains x 2
265 lbs. + big chains x 1

Pullups 3 sets x 5

Seated rows x 4-5 sets

Standing overhead press - worked up to a tough 205 lbs. x 1. Lost some strength here.

Two-DB hammer curls x 3 sets

EZ bar preacher curls x 3 sets

Bench Press Training - More 3x5

10 December 2011


Continued to move the weight up on the 3x5 and am still hitting the reps. Today's session turned out to be more high-volume than planned. I managed to squeeze a lot of work into around 90 minutes.

Bench Press:

Warmup x a few sets
270 lbs. x 3 sets x 5
275 lbs. + big chains x fail (didn't even come close to pressing it - nasty surprise)
245 lbs. + big chains x 1 (barely)
265 lbs. + big chains x 1 (almost missed again)

Pullups/chinups 5x5

Bent-over rows x 5 medium-light sets

Seated HammerStrength rows x 4 sets, worked up to 3 plates per side x 8

Seated behind-the-neck press 135x3, 155x3, 175x2, 190x2, 200xfail, 135x5

Two-DB hammer curls 3 sets

Weighted dips x 3 sets (none very heavy)

EZ bar preacher curls x 3 sets

BW this morning - 197 lbs... dammit... can't seem to get it moving upward.

Bench Press and Pull Day

12 November 2011

Shoulder (rotator cuff) was giving me trouble, so I decided to do some light high-rep benching. This made me remember how much I suck at high-rep benching.

Bench press:

Warmup x a few sets
235 lbs. x 10 (this felt incredibly light, could have gotten 15)
255 lbs. x 5 (this, on the other hand, felt like 300 on the bar... and the 5th rep was almost failure)
275 lbs. x 2 (no comment...)
235 lbs. x 5

Deadlift:

Warmup x a bunch of sets
355 lbs. x 1 sumo, 1 conventional
375 lbs. x 1 sumo
400 lbs. x 1 sumo - nice and easy pull, no back pain

Bent-over barbell row: 205 lbs. x 3 sets x 5, under 30s rest in between

Seated HammerStrength row 3 sets x 8 reps plus some scapular shrugs at end of each set

Pullups 5x5

Arm supersets:

Two DB hammer curl + tricep pushdown 3 sets
EZ bar preacher curl + bench dips 3 sets
Oly bar curl + Oly bar skullcrusher 3 sets

Misc Pressing Day

25 October 2011

Bottom position bench press:

135 lbs. x 8
185 lbs. x 3
245 lbs. x 3
265 lbs. x 3 x 5 sets

Mid-position bench press (above sticking point):

275 lbs. x 1, 315 lbs. x 1, 335 lbs. x 1, 355 lbs. x 1, 375 lbs. x fail

HammerStrength Seated Row:

2 plates x 8
2 plates + 25s x 8
3 plates + 5s x 5 x 3 sets

Pullups 3 sets x 5

Two-DB press 65s x 5, 70s x 4

Seated behind-the-neck overhead press:

135 lbs. x 5, 155 lbs. x 3, 175 lbs. x 2, 185 lbs. x 2, 195 lbs. x 1

Then did a quick bodybuilding-style arm workout, emphasizing the negative portion of the lift and super-setting bicep and tricep exercises whenever possible:

Two-DB hammer curls 3 sets x 5-7
Tricep rope pushdowns 3 sets x 5-8
EZ bar preacher curl 3 sets x 5-6
Seated tricep dip machine 3 sets x 5-8
Standing Olympic bar bicep curl 3 sets x 5
Olympic bar skullcrushers 3 sets x 5 (last set only 3)

The 3-second or longer eccentric really pumps the arms up nicely.

Incline ab board situps, unweighted, 2 sets

Brief Upper Back Session

21 October 2011

Had only about 25 minutes to train, so:

HammerStrength seated row:

1 plate per side x 10
1 plate and 25 lbs. per side x 8
2 plates x 8
2 plates + 25s x 8
3 plates x 6
3 plates + 10 x 4-5 sets of 3-6 reps

Pullups 2 sets x 8, 1 set x 6

EZ bar bicep curls 4 sets

Bonus Back&Biceps Day

14 October 2011

Had a bit of extra time today, so I snuck in a brief back-and-biceps session to lessen the workload for tomorrow:

Bent-over row:

135 lbs. x 10
185 lbs. x 5
205 lbs. x 5
235 lbs. x 5
255 lbs. x 5
265 lbs. x 3
275 lbs. x 3

HammerStrength plate-loaded seated row - 4 progressively heavier sets

Pullups 1 set x 8, 1 set x 5 (upper back felt a bit iffy, so I stopped)

Burn-out back exercise (light weight, high reps):
HammerStrength high row 2 sets x 10-12 reps

EZ bar bicep curl - 4 sets

Burn-out bicep exercise (light weight, high reps):
Preacher curl machine 3 sets x 10-12 reps

Overhead Press Training - PR Wednesday

24 August 2011

Overhead press from rack:

Warmed up doing triples and doubles from 95-185 lbs., then:

205 lbs. x 2
215 lbs. x 1
230 lbs. x 1 (PR!)
235 lbs. x 1 (PR!)
240 lbs. x fail

Pullups 5x5

One-arm DB rows 100 lbs. x 2 sets x 5 (did these in between my BTN press sets)

Standing behind-the-neck press: 135x3, 155x2, 165x2, 175x2

Bench press - hit a few light singles, topping out at 285 lbs.x 1

HammerStrength machine seated row 3 sets

Olympic bar bicep curl 4 sets

Some abdominal work on incline board

Squats and Upper Back... and Finally Deadlifts

11 July 2011


Full squat bar x 2 x 5, 95x5, 145x5, 165x5, 195x5, 215x3, 245x2, 265x1, 275x1, 285x1

Pullups/chin-ups 5x5

Lat pulldown machine 3 sets x 5-8 reps (progressively heavier)

Seated cable row machine 3 sets x 6-8 reps (progressively heavier)

Deadlifts 135x2, 225x2, 245x2, 275x2, 295x2, 315x2 – very happy with this, back felt okay

Upper Back + Squats

5 July 2011

Full squat bar x 2 sets x 5, 95x5, 115x5, 145x5, 165x5, 195x3, 215x3, 235x1, 245x1

High box squat 235x5, 285x5 - back started feeling funny so I stopped there

Deadlifts 135 lbs. x 3 - finally can do these again. They hurt.

Pullups 5x5

Seated rows 3 sets

Pulldowns 3 sets

EZ bar preacher curls 3 sets

Upper Back Training + Squats

1 July 2011

Limited myself to full squats only, the above-parallel ones are hurting my knees. Back is feeling much better again. Went a bit heavier, it was still pain-free.

Full squat barx5, 65x5, 95x5, 115x5, 145x5, 165x5, 175x5, 185x5, 195x3, 215x3, 235x2

Pullups 5x5

Neutral-grip pulldowns 3 sets

Seated DB shrugs 3 sets x 10

Rear delt raises 2 sets x 10

Incline bench DB curl 4 sets

EZ bar reverse curls 3 sets

Wrist curl 2 sets

Seated good mornings 3 sets x 10

Standing band crunches 1 set

Bodyweight 198.7 lbs. Added some weight despite all the squat volume.

Lower Back Rehab + Some Upper Back Work

28 June 2011

Managed to hit a few sets of high box squats, which makes me very happy. Also squatted to depth some with an empty bar.

High box squats 135x5, 185x5, 225x5, 275x5 - back started to hurt a bit here, so I stopped.

Pullups 5x5

Pulldowns 4 sets x 5, progressively heavier

EZ bar preacher curls 3 sets

Did a lot of standing band crunches, I think they help te lower back a bit.

Lower Back Rehab + Upper Back + Biceps

23 June 2011

Some light lower back work, seated upper back and biceps exercises. Injured area is slightly better, I keep doing stretches and abdominal exercises when at home. Hoping to get back to very light squats and deadlifts next week, then maybe heavier stuff the week after that.

The pain is now bearable and I hope no permanent damage has been done.

Morning: pushup planks, planks and crunches, lower back stretching

Afternoon (gym): Seated good mornings: bar only x 3 sets x 10, 65 lbs. x 1 set x 10

Pullups 5 sets x 5

Leg extensions 3 sets x 10

Machine pulldowns 5 progressively heavier sets

Leg curl 3 sets x 10

Chest-supported seated row 3 sets x 10

Seated shrugs 3 sets x 10 w. 80 lb. dumbbells (this was not a good idea, as picking the DBs up was sort of painful)

Incline bench seated DB curl 4 sets

Concnetration curl 4 sets

Evening: light abdominal work, back stretches

Overhead Press Training - Week 2, Cycle 5

14 April 2011

Overhead press:

Warmup 2 sets
150 lbs. x 3
170 lbs. x 3
190 lbs. x 8

Back-off set 150 lbs. x 5

Behind-the-neck press 2 sets x 10

Bench press, regular: 190 lbs. x 2 sets x 10

Pullups/chinups 5x5

Machine low row 3 sets x 10

Incline bench DB curl 4 sets

Tricep pushdowns x 3 sets