Training - Squat, One Week Before Max Attempt

17 April 2012

Today I just worked up to the daily max and did a bunch of single-leg exercises, medium reps with moderate resistance plus heavy negatives (lift with both legs, lower with one).

Back squat:

Warmup x a bunch of triples and doubles
365 lbs. x 2
405 lbs. x 2 (belt + wraps from here onwards)
420 lbs. x 1
465 lbs. x 1
490 lbs. x 1 - this is a personal best, went up easily enough. Onward to 500 next week.

Single-leg leg press 3 sets

Glute-ham raises 2 sets

Single-leg extensions 3 sets

Single-leg curls 2 sets

Adductor machine 1 set

Abductor machine 1 set

Ab work x a bunch

Training - Pulls

12 April 2012

Did a combined session of heavy deadlift – medium paused bench press, as I will be away this weekend.

 Deadlift:

135 lbs. x 10, 225 lbs. x 5, 315 lbs. x 2

350 lbs. x 1

395 lbs. x 1

420 lbs. x 1

370 lbs. x 2

Smith machine shrugs 4 sets x 10

Paused bench press (5-second pause at chest) – worked up to 275 lbs.

Dips x 10 bodyweight, x 5 x 2 sets weighted

Straight-legged good mornings 3 sets x 10 (light)

Seated rows 3 sets x 10

Weighted hyperextensions 2 sets x 10

Glute-ham raise 1 set x 7

Training - OH Press

10 April 2012


Still sore from the pressing on Sunday - those weighted dips kicked my ass (or rather shoulders, chest and triceps). I'll keep doing them as a third pressing exercise, and work them into the ground. They are safe and blast the upper body better than other pressing exercises (pump-wise) = win.

Seated BTN press:

Warmup - standing two-DB OH press, worked up to 70 lbs. x 3
135 lbs. x 3
160 lbs. x 5
170 lbs. x 4
180 lbs. x 3
190 lbs. x 2
205 lbs. x 1
210 lbs. x fail

160 lbs. x 8, x 4 - this will be my go-to tactic until my OH press recovers. If I can't get heavy singles in, I'll do a bunch of reps with a light weight.

Pulldowns 5 sets x 5-8 reps - left lat hurts on the first few sets, then gets better

Seated HS rows 4 sets x 10 reps

Bicep superset: DB preacher curl + EZ bar preacher curl x 3 sets

AB work x a lot

Squat Training

9 April 2012


Good session, the heavy single went well but my wrists hurt too much to hit all the rep goals afterwards. Bench pressing and squatting on consecutive days = wrist pain. Wraps didn't help.

Back squat:

Warmup x several sets
365 lbs. x 1
410 lbs. x 1 (belt + wraps)
455 lbs. x 1 (B+W)
480 lbs. x 1 (B+W) - this matches my all-time PR. Felt like I had some left in the tank.
405 lbs. x 3
425 lbs. x 3 (wrists hurt too much at this point so I stopped)

Inner left thigh still hurts, I've tried massaging and I rested it for two weeks while I was travelling but it hasn't gotten better. I'll try to suck it up and hit 500, then I'll take it easy on the squat and focus on the deadlift more for the rest of 2012.

Leg press - 6 sets of 8 at various weights (used a different leg press machine than usual and just went by feel)

Single-leg curls x 2 sets

Glute-ham raise x 1 set x 8

Ab work x a ton

Bench Press Training

8 April 2012


Finally a decent session.

Bench press:

Warmup x a few sets
305 lbs. x 1
330 lbs. x 1 (this is arund 92% of my 1RM and it went up pretty easily)
280 lbs. x 3 x 3 sets

Close-grip bench press negatives, 280 lbs. x 4 reps

Dips:

Bodyweight x 10
+ big chains x 5
+ big chains + small chains x 3
+ big and medium chains x 3 x 2 sets (with a few negatives added at the end)

Barbell skullcrushers, light x 2 sets - triceps were already dead

One-arm pushdowns x 2 sets, 20 and 15 reps per arm

Ab work x a lot

Deadlift Training

4 April 2012

Deadlift:

135 lbs. x 10, 225 lbs. x 5 - still having that weird pain in my left lat, makes it hard to pull in the correct groove once the weights get heavy.

305 lbs. x 2
350 lbs. x 1
395 lbs. x 1
410 lbs. x 1 (felt nice and easy as it should, no strain)

360 lbs. x 3, x 2

Smith machine shrugs x 3 sets

Pulldowns x a bunch of light sets - decided to take a break from pullups to see if my left lat problem goes away. Will focus on these, medium and heavy, for the next few weeks.

Ab work x a lot

Overhead Press Training - Sort Of

3 April 2012

Terrible session today, best forgotten. Tried some OH pressing and it felt fine until I got into the heavier sets. I walked out of the gym after about half an hour.

Seated BT press:

Warmup x 2 sets
160 lbs. x 5
170 lbs. x 4
180 lbs. x 3
190 lbs. x 2
205 lbs. x 1
210 lbs. x fail x 2
200 lbs. x 1

Pullups 5x5

Squat Training - Last Week of 4-Week Cycle

2 April 2012

Intermediary cycle is over. On to the final peaking cycle and hopefully that 500 lbs. max at the end of it.

Left thigh is still bothering me, but the pain is not too bad.

Back squat:

Warmup x a bunch of sets
315 lbs. x 2
365 lbs. x 2
400 lbs. x 1 (belt + wraps)
440 lbs. x 1 (B+W)
470 lbs. x 1 (B+W)
420 lbs. x 5
430 lbs. x 4
440 lbs. x 3
450 lbs. x 2
460 lbs. x 1

Leg press 4 plates x 8, 5 plates x 8, 3 plates x 10

Adductor machine 1 set x 20

Single-leg extensions 2 sets

Single-leg curls 1 set

Bench Press Training

29 March 2012

Absolutely weak today, I went to the gym merely to put in an appearance as I'll be missing the next three days (out of town again).

Bench press:

Warmup x a few sets
245 lbs. x 2 (even this felt way too heavy)
265 lbs. x 1
295 lbs. x 1
320 lbs. x 1 (tonight this was a legit one-rep max)
280 lbs. x 3, x 2
265 lbs. x 2

Pullups 5x5

Dips bodyweight x 10, weighted (with fat chain) x 5 x 4 sets

Smith machine rows x 2 sets, light

Bicep blitz: DB preacher curls supersetted with straight-bar preacher curls x 3 super-sets

Deadlift Training

28 March 2012

This was my third training day in a row this week so I didn't push it very hard. I have a session planned for tomorrow - it'll be tough. Was also suffering from terrible soreness from the squatting on Monday.

Deadlift:

135 lbs. x 10
225 lbs. x 5
275 lbs. x 2
330 lbs. x 1
375 lbs. x 1
400 lbs. x 1
350 lbs. x 3 x 2 sets

Smith machine shrugs 2 plates x 10, 3 plates x 10 x 3 sets

Glute-ham raise 3 sets

Machine ab crunches (seated) 3 sets

Overhead Press Training

27 March 2012

Weak session today, didn't hit the gym until late in the evening. I've lost a lot of strength on the OH press - today I failed to hit the progress goal, backed all the way off to 200 lbs., couldn't hit that either. Will see where I'm at next week.

Seated BTN press:
150 lbs. x 5
165 lbs. x 4
175 lbs. x 3
195 lbs. x 2
185 lbs. x 1

Seated front military press 185x1, 195x1, 200x1, 205x1

Pullups 5x5

Bent-over rows (Smith machine) 4 sets x 10, light

Long-pause bench press - worked up to 280 lbs. x 1, something of a personal best. Pause for 3 seconds.

Squat Training

26 March 2012

Squatting went well, I managed to hit the next target single on the list so no strength lost over the layoff. Didn't do all the back-off reps and sets, just picked a fixed weight and did three sets of five.

Back squat:

Warmup x a few sets
315 lbs. x 3
355 lbs. x 2
390 lbs. x 1 (belt + wraps)
430 lbs. x 1 (B+W)
460 lbs. x 1 (B+W)
410 lbs. x 5 x 3 sets

Leg press: 4 plates x 8, 5 plates x 8 x 2 sets

Leg extension (one leg at a time) 2 sets

Leg curl (single leg) 1 set

Incline ab board situps 2 sets

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

Quick Bench Press + Lats Workout

9 March 2012

Leaving on a business trip today and won't be back until the end of the month. No gym access while I'm away, so I made sure to hit the weights before leaving.

Bench press:

Warmup x a few sets
285 lbs. x 1
310 lbs. x 1 (easy)
270 lbs. x 3 x 5 sets

Lat pulldowns (machine)

140 lbs. x 10
160 lbs. x 10
180 lbs. x 5
200 lbs. x 5
220 lbs. x 3

Tried something different for the lats, felt pretty good (but left lat still hurts).

Deadlift Training

8 March 2012

Deadlift:

135 lbs. x 10, 225 lbs. x 5
275 lbs. x 2
320 lbs. x 1
365 lbs. x 1
390 lbs. x 1
340 lbs. x 3 x 2 sets

Easy singles, 390 felt like no effort at all. Whatever it is that I pulled in my left lat still hurts which makes it kinda hard to activate both lats efficiently, but the weight still went up nice and easy.

Sumo deadlift 290 lbs. x 5
Deficit deadlift 290 lbs. x 5

Smith machine shrugs 2 plates x 10, 3 plates x 10, 4 plates x 10

Seated low cable rows 4-5 sets x 8-10 reps

No squats today.

Overhead Press + Back

6 March 2012


Seated behind-the-neck press:

150 lbs. x 5
165 lbs. x 4
175 lbs. x 3
190 lbs. x 2
205 lbs. x 1 x 5 sets - all but the last one pretty easy.

I'm loving the progress on the BTN seated press, but then again I was so weak at it that it had nowhere to go but up.

Seated front military press 185 lbs. x 2, 205 lbs. x 1

Pullups 6 sets x 5

Seated chest-supported rows 3 sets x 10

Smith machine shrugs 3 sets x 10 (2 plates per side, 3 plates per side, 4 plates +15 per side)

Barbell curls 3 sets

EZ bar bicep curls, elbows and back against wall, 3 sets

Tricep pushdowns x 2 sets x 10-12 reps

Squat Training

5 March 2012


Back squat:

Warmup x a few sets
315 lbs. x 2
380 lbs. x 1 (belt + wraps)
425 lbs. x 1 (B+W)
450 lbs. x 1 (B+W - still nice and explosive)
400 lbs. x 4 (didn't grip the bar properly, almost lost it on rep 3)
410 lbs. x 4
420 lbs. x 3
430 lbs. x 2
440 lbs. x 1

Paused squat 225 lbs. x 4

Leg press: 4 plates x 8, 5 plates x 8, 6 plates x 8

Leg extensions 1 set x A.M.A.P.

Adductor machine 1 set x 20

Abductor machine 1 set x 20

Glute-ham raises 1 set x 8

Calf raise 1 set x 20 or so

Bench Press Training

3 March 2012


Sluggish this morning, had a late night last night and ate and slept badly.

Bench press:

Warmup x a bunch of sets
280 lbs. x 1
305 lbs. x 1 (a bit of a grinder but overall nice and fast)
265 lbs. x 3 x 5 sets (easy - last rep was paused just above chest for 5 seconds)

Close-grip bench press with chains: 235 lbs. + big chains x 2 x 2

Pullups 5x5

Seated chest-supported rows 3 sets x 10-12 (light-moderate weight)

EZ bar preacher curls 3 sets x 6-8 reps + "burns"

Two-DB incline bench seated curl 40s x A.M.A.P.

Dips (bodyweight) 3 x 10

Tricep pushdowns x 2 sets x 12 reps

Overhead Pressing and Back Work

28 February 2012


Seated behind-the-neck press:

140 lbs. x 5
165 lbs. x 4
175 lbs. x 3
185 lbs. x 2
200 lbs. x 1 x 5 sets

Pullups 7 sets x 5

Bench press with 5+ second pause above chest - worked up to 275 lbs. x 1

Seated chest-supported rows x 5 sets (worked up to a heavy weight, then back to medium, 8-10 reps)

Dips 2 sets x 10

EZ bar bicep curls 3 sets 6-8 reps plus "burn" reps

Squats - First Week of 4-Week Cycle

27 February 2012


Back squat:

Warmup x a bunch of sets, 315x2, 335x2
380 lbs. x 1 (B+W)
425 lbs. x 1 (B+W)
440 lbs. x 1 (B+W) - misloaded here, should have done 450x1... but the way things were going 440 was enough
400 lbs. x 5
410 lbs. x 4
420 lbs. x 2
430 lbs. x 1

Paused squats 315 lbs. x 3, 325 lbs. x 1, 335 lbs. x 1

Leg press: 4 plates x 8, 5 plates x 8, 6 plates x 8

Leg extensions x 1 set A.M.A.P.

Abductor machine 1 set x 20

Adductor machine 1 set x 20

Still can't get rid of the pain in the left inner thigh.

Leg curl x 1 set A.M.A.P.