First Workout Back

24 March 2012

Back from travel, didn't train for around two weeks, massively jet-lagged. Also managed to pick up some sort of stomach bug, had the runs for about a week, didn't eat anything for two days and came out of it dehydrated and weak.

Workout was okay, didn't have much stamina and was weak overall but managed to get one in.

Bench press:

Warmup x a few sets
285 lbs. x 1 (felt heavy)
310 lbs. x 1 (felt like a max effort, barely made it)
270 lbs. x 3 x 3 sets (couldn't budge a fourth set)

Pullups 5x5

Dips x 10 bodyweight, x 5 x 3 sets with added chains

Smith machine bent-over rows (light to medium) 4 sets

Biceps supersets: DB preacher curls with barbell curls x 3 sets

Tricep pushdowns x 2 sets, high reps

Some chest expander exercises with light resistance, targeting specific muscle groups:

Front chest pulls 2 sets x 10
Bicep curl 2 sets x 10
Tricep pressouts / pushdowns 2 sets x 10

Bench Press Day

25 February 2012


Another strong session, although I couldn't finish the 5x3 with 290 lbs. as prescribed. Still did better than I expected.

Bench press:

Warmup x a few sets
295 lbs. x 1
320 lbs. x 1 (again, fast and explosive like it should be)
290 lbs. x 3 x 1 set, x 2 x 3 sets
275 lbs. x 3 x 1 set (lowered the weight on the last triple)

Triceps were pretty fried at this point, so I didn't do any close-grip pressing.

Pullups 5x5 (I still have that weird pain in my left lat)

Smith machine bent-over rows x 4 sets x 8-10 reps

DB flyes 40 lbs. x A.M.A.P

Tricep pushdowns, medium, 2 sets x 10+ reps

Cut the workout short due to time constraints but returned the next day to finish it off.

Bench Press Training

11 February 2012


Shitty session today, felt weak and unstable while pressing. Perhaps at 75% of normal strength level.

Bench Press:

Warmup x a bunch of sets
245 lbs. x 1
285 lbs. x 1 (should have stopped here, this felt like 315 at least)
305 lbs. x 1 (this felt like a max)
270 lbs. x 3 x 3 sets, x 2 x 2 sets (couldn't even finish the 5x3... pathetic)

Pullups 5x5 (definitely have a strain in the left lat, in addition to the inflamed tricep tendon)

Smith machine bent-over rows 3 sets

One-arm machine preacher curls x 2 sets

I didn't feel like doing more so I called it a day. I'll need to back off a bit next week, my entire left side is riddled with nagging little sprains (adductor - lat - elbow). Keep it down to 3 heavy sessions at most. Also ditch the rack lockouts for the next three weeks, then work them back in.

Bench Press Training

28 January 2012

Bench press: warmup, then 285 x 1, 310 x 1 (both flew up with good speed)
Back-off sets 280 lbs. x 4 sets x 3, 1 set x 1 (could not get the 5x3)

Incline press 135x5, 185x3, 225x2, 245x1

Pullups 5x5

Smith machine bent-over rows 5 sets

Barbell curl x 4 sets

Tricep pushdowns x 3 sets

Bench Press Training

21 January 2012


Bench press:

Warmup x a few sets, 280 lbs. x 1, 305 lbs. x 1
275 lbs. 5 sets x 3

Close-grip bench press 235 lbs. + medium chains x 3 reps

Pullups 5x5

Smith machine rows x 4 sets

DB flyes x 1 set x as many as possible

Lateral raise, cheating, x 1 set x AMAP

Barbell curl 3 sets

Behind-the-head skullcrushers 2 sets

Two-DB incline bench curls 1 set

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

Bench Press Partials Training

11 October 2011

Started out with some heavy overhead pressing, then switched to bottom-position bench presses. These hurt my left shoulder in a weird way, so I did some board presses instead.

Overhead press:

Warmup - sets of five, then triples, then singles  to 185 lbs.
200 lbs. x 1
210 lbs. x 1
215 lbs. x 1
225 lbs. x 1
235 lbs. x fail

Bottom-position presses - 2 inches off chest:

135 lbs. x 10
185 lbs. x 5
225 lbs. x 3

Board presses - to around 5 inches off chest: worked up to 315 lbs. x 1. Might do these more often.

Pullups 3 sets x 8

Bent-over rows 135x8, 185x5, 205x5, 225x5, 245x4

Tricep pushdowns 3 sets x 12

EZ bar curls 4 sets

Double-KB bottoms-up presses 3 sets

Double-KB muscle cleans (without bending legs) 3 sets

Bench Press Training - Singles Session

22 September 2011


The goal today was to get in ten perfect singles with a moderate weight in order to groove technique and proper tension.


Bench press - quick warmup, then 285 lbs. x 10 sets x 1

Pullups 3 sets x 8

Bent-over rows - 135x8, 185x5, 235x5, 245x5

Overhead press - 135x3, 155x3, 165x2, 175x1, 185x1, 205x1

Two-DB bicep curls 3 sets

Two-DB combo - front and lateral raise 2 sets

Two-DB bench flyes 1 set x 10

Hanging leg raises 2 sets x 10

Two-DB hammer curl 1 set x 8

Press Session

2 August 2011


Tired and out of shape, back hurt like hell. Had a shitty workout which I am hoping to forget.

Overhead press from rack:

Warmup 2 sets

175 lbs. x 3

195 lbs. x 3

215 lbs.x fail

165 lbs. x 2 sets x 2

175 lbs. x 1 set x 2

I seem to be getting weaker with every overhead press workout, will try de-loading a bit. Last week it felt like I was back on track - apparently not. Lots of back pain on this movement.

Seated overhead press behind neck: 115 lbs. x 3, 135 lbs. x 2, 155 lbs. x 2, 175 lbs. x fail. Weak in this lift too.

Pullups/chinups 5x5

Bent-over row 135 lbs. x 5, 185 lbs. x 5 , 205 lbs. x 5 - got a mysterious burning feeling in my right trap so I quit here. I've had that problem before, I think I have really bad posture while typing on a computer and my trap muscle gets tweaked.

Bottom-position bench press in power rack:

135 lbs. x 3

225 lbs. x 2

255 lbs. x 1

275 lbs. x 1

300 lbs. x fail

After hitting 280 lbs. x 2 last week I was hoping for 300, but this movement is extremely hard and I should have been more conservative with the poundage.

Incline bench DB curls 4 sets

Dips 2 sets x 10

Incline ab board situps 3 x 12

Bench Press Training - Ed Coan Routine Week 17

23 July 2011

Regular bench press 275 lbs. x 2 sets x 5

Close-grip bench press 240lbs. x 2 sets x 5

Incline bench press 185 lbs. x 5, 195 lbs. 5

Bent-over row 135x5, 185x5, 205x5, 235x5, 255x3

Pec fly machine 1 set x 10

EZ bar preacher curl 3 sets

Skullcrushers 3 sets

Incline ab board situps 3 sets x 12

Bench Press Training - Ed Coan Routine, Week 10

6 June 2011

Regular bench press 310 lbs. x 2 sets x 2

Not bad, this was the max I used to calculate the routine in the beginning. Warmed up over 3-4 low-rep sets, then nailed the 2x2.

Close-grip bench press 275 lbs. x 2 sets x 2 (tough, but doable)

Incline bench press 235 lbs. x 2 sets x 2

Pullups 5x5

T-bar rows 2 sets x 10

Bent-over rows 135 lbs. x 5, 185 x 5, 235 x 5, 255 x 5

Bottom-up bench presses - worked up to 295 lbs. x 1, failed 315 lbs. Really tired from the previous pressing.

Machine preacher curls 4 sets

Pushdowns 4 sets

Standing rubber band crunches 3 sets

Bench Press Training - Ed Coan Routine Week 6

9 May 2011

Bench press:

Warmup 3 sets

Regular bench press 265 lbs. x 2 sets x 5 (felt easier than last week's 255)

Close-grip bench press 235 lbs. x 2 sets x 5 (no problem)

Incline bench press 200 lbs. x 10 reps (broken down into several sets), 205 lbs. x 2

Pullups/chinups 5x5, weighted (25 lbs.) 3x3

Pendlay rows 135 lbs. x 5, 185 x 5, 205 x 5, 235 x 3

Low pulley row 3 sets x 8

DB hammer curls 4 sets x 5

Olympic bar skullcrushers 4 sets x 5

Preacher curl machine 2 sets

Remedial exercises - rear delt raises, L-presses x a few sets

Weighted situps on incline ab board 4 sets

Bench Press Training - Ed Coan Routine Week 5

2 May 2011

Bench press:

Regular grip 255 lbs. x 2 sets x 5 (somehow this felt heavy)

Close-grip 225 lbs. x 2 sets x 5

Incline bench press 185 lbs. x 5, 190 lbs. x 5 (still off by 20 lbs. or more), 135 lbs. x 5

DB flyes 1 set x 12, light

Pullups/chinups 5x5, weighted 3x3 (+10, +25, +35 lbs.)

Pendlay rows 165 lbs. x 5, 215 lbs. x 5, 235 lbs. x 3, 255 lbs. x 3

DB hammer curls 3 sets

Olympic bar skullcrushers 4 sets

Incline ab board weighted situps 4 sets

Bench Press Training - Ed Coan Routine Week 4

25 April 2011

Bench press:

Warmup 3 sets

Regular bench press: 240 lbs. x 2 sets x 8 (didn't feel that hard)

Close-grip bench press: 215 lbs. x 2 sets x 8

Incline press: 185 lbs. x 7 reps, 200 lbs. x 3 reps (still lagging massivelly on this one)

Pullups/chinups 5x5

Pendlay rows (tried these for the first time today) 185 x 5, 205 x 5, 235 x 5, 255 x 3

DB flyes 1 set x 12

DB hammer curls 4 sets

Olympic bar skullcrushers 4 sets

Preacher DB curl 2 sets

Tricep pushdowns 2 sets

Weighted situps on incline ab board 4 sets

Bench Press Training - Week 3, Cycle 4

28 March 2011

Bench press:

Warmup 3 sets
240 lbs. x 5
270 lbs. x 3
300 lbs. x 2

My bench press has definitely stalled. I used to get 4-6 reps with this weight before, so it is in fact going down (the two reps I got in today were not done with the best form either). So I will be switching over to an Ed Coan-inspired bench routine for the next 13 weeks to see if I can kick-start some progress. I will be keeping the bottom-position bench press in the new program.

To be honest, I have lost over 10 lbs. since my benching glory days when I put up 353 lbs. (160 kgs) in December. I have often read that weight loss affects one's pressing, but I didn't know it was this dramatic.

I am also looking forward to starting a new program. The 5/3/1 has done a lot for all my lifts and it is definitely something I'll stick with in the long term, but 18 months is long enough. If I manage to make progress on the Coan bench routine I will go back to 5/3/1 for the bench press for a while.

Other lifts will still be trained using the 5/3/1 template, as they are progressing nicely.

Bottom-position bench press:

195 lbs. x 5
225 lbs. x 3
250 lbs. x 4 reps (this, on the other hand, felt so easy I had to re-check if I'd misloaded the bar)

Some pin presses from sticking point - light weight

Pullups/chinups 7 x 5

DB bench presses - worked up to 105 lbs. x 2

Bent-over row 135x5, 185x5, 235x5, 255x4

Olympic bar bicep curl 4 sets

Olympic bar skullcrushers 3 sets

DB hammer curls 4 sets

Tricep pushdowns 3 sets

Skipped the weighted ab work - will be done tomorrow.

Bench Press Training - Week 2, Cycle 4

22 March 2011

Bench press:

Warmup 2 sets
225 lbs. x 3
255 lbs. x 3
285 lbs. x 3

Bench press is still lagging.

Bottoms-up bench press:

185 lbs. x 3
210 lbs. x 3
235 lbs. x 3

Rack presses - did not feel like doing super-heavy lockouts, so I did presses from the sticking point instead. Worked up to 305 lbs. x 1, which was a pleasant surprise, having in mind my sub-par bench pressing earlier.

Chinups 7 sets x 5 (did these instead of pullups as I don't use this variation much)

DB bench presses 3 sets (60 x 10, 85 x 10, 100 lbs. x 5)

Bent-over rows 135 x 10, 185 x 5, 235 x 5, 255 x 5, 265 lbs. x 3

Olympic bar bicep curls 3 sets, cheat curls 2 sets

Olympic bar skullcrushers 5 sets

DB hammer curls 4 sets

Tricep pushdowns 3 sets

Incline ab board situps, weighted, 4 sets

Bench Press Training - Week 1, Cycle 4

14 March 2011

Bench press:

Warmup 1 set
205 lbs. x 5
240 lbs. x 5
270 lbs. x 6 reps

Bottoms-up bench:

170 lbs. x 5
195 lbs. x 5
225 lbs. x 5

Rack lockouts - worked up to 475 lbs. x 1

Pullups 7 sets x 5 reps

Bent-over rows 135 x 5, 185 x 5, 235 x 2 sets x 5

Assistance work for chest - dips 1 set x 10, DB chest flys 2 sets x 10

Olympic bar curls 3 sets plus 2 sets power curls

Olympic bar skullcrushers 3 sets x 5

DB hammer curls 4 sets

Weighted situps on incline ab bench 4 sets

Bench Press Training - Week 3, Cycle 3

7 March 2011

Bench press:

Warmup 2 sets
235 lbs. x 5
265 lbs. x 3
295 lbs. x 2 reps

Bottoms-up bench press:

190 lbs. x 5
215 lbs. x 3
240 lbs. x 3 reps

Bench press lockouts - worked up from 315 x 3 to 475 lbs. x 2 reps. This was pretty tough and I got a bit dizzy from the last set, so did not push it further.

Pullups 7 sets x 5 reps

Dips +45 lbs. x 6 reps, then almost blacked out (this was right after the lockouts) so just hit one unweighted set for 10 reps and called it a day.

Bent-over rows:

135 lbs. x 8
185 lbs. x 5
235 lbs. x 5
255 lbs. x 3

Olympic bar bicep curls 4 sets

Olympic bar skullcrushers 4 sets

Hammer DB curls 4 sets

Bench Press Training - Week 2, Cycle 3

28 February 2011

Felt terribly weak today, so cut training session short and got out of the gym. I hope it's not a bug or something.

Bench press:

Warmup 2 sets
225 lbs. x 3
250 lbs. x 3
280 lbs. x 4 (barely)

Bottoms-up bench press:

175 lbs. x 3
200 lbs. x 3
225 lbs. x 4

Bench press lockouts:

275 lbs. x 3
315 lbs. x 2
335 lbs. x 2
365 lbs. x 1
370 lbs. x fail

Pullups 7 sets x 5

Bent-over rows 235 lbs. x 2 sets

Dips 3 sets x 10 unweighted

Strength-Endurance Circuit

23 February 2011

Another video - a decent strength-endurance circuit:




Four rounds, four levels of resistance used:

95 lbs. - 10 rows, 10 push presses, 10 squats, 5 pullups, 10 pushups

115 lbs. - 10 rows, 10 push presses, 10 squats, 5 pullups, 10 pushups

135 lbs. - 10 rows, 10 push presses, 10 squats, 5 pullups, 10 pushups

185 lbs. - 5 rows, 4 push presses, no squats, 3 pullups, 5 pushups

Quite the puker. Overhead press session tomorrow - it will be interesting.