Turkey Day

20 November 2016

Bench press 300x5, 310x4, 315x3, 325x2, 335x1, 350x1, 370x1

Pulldowns 10-8-6-5-5

That was it for today.


22 November 2016

Pulls 400x5, 420x4, 435x3, 445x2, 465x1, 475x1, 495x1

I think I showed remarkable restraint in not going over 500 for the top single. Weights moved very fast today, but my hands hurt pretty bad and I had trouble holding onto the bar on the higher-rep sets. No idea why this was the case.

Wide-stance leg press 4s x 20

Machine high row 10-8-6-5-5

Machine crunch 4s x 8-12


23 November 2016

SlingShot bench press 335x5, 350x3, 360x3, 370x2,  380x1

Close-grip press 2s x 6

Looks like the Tuesday workout totally wrecked my lower back. Weights felt okay, but I couldn't get much leg drive into the presses.

Seated cable row 10-8-6-5-5

Standing BTN press 135x5, 155x4, 165x3, 175x2

Lateral raise 2s x 15, lateral swings x AMAP

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

Tricep superset overhead cable extension + cable pushdown x 3 sets

Concentration curl 3s x 6-8


25 November 2016

Back was still severely sore today, so I cut my workout short. Next week I'll back off the deadlift singles and try to push the squats a bit harder.

Squat 405x5, 415x4, 425x3, 435x2

Leg press 2s x 20

Harry the Biceps Killa

13 November 2016

Bench press 300x5, 310x3, 315x3, 320x2, 330x1, 345x1, 365x1

Missed one rep at 310, which I could have gotten with a spotter. I've noticed that I often miss on the 4-rep set. The other sets were strong, but my left shoulder felt a bit tweaked afterwards.

Reverse-grip pulldowns 10-8-6-5-5

Standing BTN press 135x5, 155x4, 165x3, 175x2, 180x1, 190xfail

Face pulls 3s x 20

Preacher curl superset DB + barbell x 4 sets

Triceps superset overhead extensions + pushdowns x 3 sets


14 November 2016

Pull 395x5, 415x4, 425x3, 435x2, 445x1, 465x1, 485x1

Forgot to pack my belt today. Pulled more or less the same weights as with the belt. Not sure if this is depressing or encouraging.

Stiff-legged pull 295 lbs. 2s x 5

Bent-over row 3s x 5

Wide-stance leg press 2s x 20


16 November 2016

Warmup wide grip paused bench press to 315x2, then:

SlingShot bench press 340x5, 350x4, 360x3, 370x2, 380x1

This is pretty much the perfect pressing 5-4-3-2-1 layout. Good volume, solid effort across the sets, worked up to a heavy but fast-moving single. I would have tried 390 and maybe 400, but I had very little time to train today.

DB tricep extensions 4s x 12-15


17 November 2016

Extra back workout.

Smith machine rows 10-8-6-5-5

Seated long cable row 10-8-6-5

Have been getting some monster lower back pumps lately. It feels like I really beat the hell out of it deadlifting on Monday.

Pullups 1s x 8

Preacher curl superset DBs +  barbell x 4 sets

Concentration curl 3s x 6


18 November 2016

Squat 405x5, 420x4, 435x3, 445x2, 455x1 - wraps on last set

Leg press 2s x 20

Sqwatz

7 November 2016

Pull 395x5, 415x4, 435x3, 445x2, 465x1, 485x1, 505x1

There was really no reason to chase the 'daily max' here. Should have pulled 485x1 and called it a day. I'm getting better at gauging the weight for the singles, but I still get carried away sometimes.

Stiff-legged pull 295 lbs. 2s x 5

Bent-over row 3s x 5

Leg curl 4s x 8

Machine crunch 3 sets x AMAP


9 November 2016

Warmed up with wide-grip paused benches up to 320x2, then:

SlingShot bench press 335x5, 345x3, 350x3, 365x1, 375x1, 390x1

Chest-supported row 4s x 6

Incline bench press 5-5-3-3

Two-DB preacher curls 4s x 6-8


11 November 2016

Squat 405x5, 425x4, 435x3, 445x2, 455x1

Squats felt off, so I didn't push for very heavy singles. It could be that my lower back was tired from overdoing the deadlift on Monday.

Close-stance leg press x18, x15 - could not hit 20 reps on any of the sets

Hack squat 2s x AMAP

Movember

30 October 2016

Bench press 290x5, 300x4, 310x3, 315x2, 325x1, 340x1, 350x1

Good pressing session today. I went for a second rep with 350 and my spotter touched the bar on the way up. Think I had it anyway, but I won't count it. It's really encouraging, as I don't think I've ever pressed 350 twice (best double ever was 340 or 345).

Close-grip press 2s x 5-6

Close-grip pulldowns 10-8-6-6-4

Somehow I've gotten much stronger on these. I used to do them from time to time and could never match my regular pulldown weights, but today I exceeded them pretty easily.

Preacher curl superset dumbbells + barbell x 3 sets

Standing BTN press 135x5, 155x4, 165x3, 175x2, 180x1

Tricep superset overhead cable extension + pushdown x 3 sets


31 October 2016

Pull 390x5, 410x4, 420x3, 445x2, 455x1, 465x1, 485x1

Bent-over rows 3s x 5

Wide-stance leg press x20, x20, x15


2 November 2016

Warmed up with paused wide grip bench press to 315x2, then:

SlingShot bench press 335x5, 345x4, 355x3, 365x2, 380x1

Close-grip 2s x 4-6

Seated long cable rows 4s x 8

Preacher curl superset DBs + reverse curl x 3 sets


4 November 2016

Squat 365x5, 405x4, 425x3, 445x2, 455x2, 465x1, 475x1

Leg press, close stance 2s x 20, 1s x 15

Leg extensions x20, x12


6 November 2016

Bench press 295x5, 305x3, 315x3, 320x2, 330x1, 345x1, 360x1

Missed the groove on the 305 set so didn't manage the required 4 reps. Otherwise the workout was a bit sluggish, but strong.

Close grip bench x4, x6

Pulldowns, regular grip, 10-8-6-5-5

Standing BTN press 140x5, 160x4, 170x3, 180x1

Preacher curl combo x 4 sets

Dips 2s x 10

Coming to Terms

24 October 2016

Pull 385x5, 405x4, 425x3, 445x2, 455x1, 465x1, 475x1

This went a little better than the bench pressing yesterday. I've sort of figured out a progression for 5-4-3-2-1. Try to add 5 pounds to the higher-rep sets and progress the singles by the same increment whenever it 'feels right'. Will probably add weight more slowly on the bench press.

Ideally I'd just go back to my 6-week cycle, but I won't have be able to lift consistently for awhile, so it wouldn't make much sense to add a lot of structure (e.g. I'd be stuck repeating the first 2-3 weeks over and over).

Stiff-legged pull 315 lbs. 2s x 5

Bent-over row 3s x 5

Wide stance leg press 2s x 20, 1s x 15 - leg press is my new favorite exercise


26 October 2016

SlingShot bench press 330x5, 340x4, 350x2, 360x2, 370x1, 340x1, 350x1

Close-grip bench press 2s x 5-6

Chest supported row 4s x 8

Incline bench press 5-4-3-2-1-1

Preacher curl DB curls + barbell curls x 3 sets

Reverse bench barbell curl 3s x 8


27 October 2016

Squat 365x5, 385x4, 415x3, 435x2, 455x2, 465x1

Walkouts, no belt, x 2 sets

Leg press, close stance 2s x 20, 1s x 12 - wanted 15 on the heaviest set

Leg extension x 20, x 12

My squat has suffered the least of all lifts from my last trip. Usually it's the opposite. I tried a single with 480, but the bar caught a bounce as I unracked it and started to wobble up and down when I walked it out, so I put it back. But all squats felt strong and explosive, under control. I only used a belt, no wraps.

As punishment, I did two sets of walkouts (with small knee bends). The second set was with 10 lbs. below my all-time best squat. I barely managed to walk it out. It's fine.

I'm no longer concerned about my squat maxes and have come to terms with the fact that my best squatting is behind me. Looking back, the great run I had in 2014 was due to the consistent volume and intensity I put into squatting in 2012 and 2013.

I no longer want to dedicate that much time and effort to squatting, and my body isn't responding to heavy squats the way it used to. My hips have never felt the same since the injury and often I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror and see that they are completely out of alignment in the 'hole'. My shoulders can't take the deep low bar position which I have to assume in order to squat heavy weight efficiently. All this leads to slight adjustments to bar and foot placement which translate into stress being distributed unevenly.

Squats are a great exercise and I'll keep doing them as heavy as I can. I'd like to work back up to a 500 squat and maintain it at that level for as long as possible. Maybe do 405x20 someday, or try a slightly heavier single when/if it feels right. But I'll be focusing more on building the legs than on squatting. It's just another exercise.

Effort

23 October 2016


Bench press 285x5, 300x3, 310x3, 315x2, 330x1, 340x1

It's been a debauched two weeks, but I'm still disappointed by my pressing. Last trip I lost very little strength in spite of not training for two weeks. Maybe it's catching up with me now. I didn't feel weak, but something kept going wrong in the transition from halfway point to lockout.

Wide grip paused bench press x 5 reps

Close grip bench press 2s x 5

Pulldowns 10-8-6-5-5

Standing BTN press 135x5, 150x4, 160x3, 170x2, 180x1

Barbell curl 4s x 8

Bicep superset incline bench DB curl + reverse bench curl 3 sets

Dips 12-10-10

Leaving Again

2 October 2016

Bench press 295x5, 305x4, 315x3, 325x2, 330x1, 350x1, 365x1

Nice and sharp. I feel like I figured out the right weight for today.

Pulldowns 10-8-6-5-5, increasing weight

Standing front press 135x5, 155x4, 165x3, 175x2, 190x1

Did front presses for a change. They felt okay, although the groove is definitely rusty after two years of doing BTN presses.

Barbell curl 5s x 6-8

Tricep superset overhead extension + pushdowns x 3 sets

Bicep superset incline bench curl + reverse bench curl x 3 sets


3 October 2016

Paused squat to 385x1, then squat 405x3, 415x3, 435x1, 445x1

My shoulders are feeling very beat up from squatting. All squats were slow and torturous, regardless of weight.

Leg press 3s x 20

Leg extension 1s x 20


5 October 2016

SlingShot bench press 335x5, 345x4, 355x3, 365x2, 375x1

Seated cable row 8-8-6-6

Barbell curl 4s x 8


6 October 2016

Pull 395x5, 415x4, 425x3, 445x2, 455x1, 465x1, 475x1

Almost perfect. Maybe had an extra 5 pounds on that last single. Probably not.


7 October 2016

Leg press close stance 3s x 20, wide stance 3s x 15 - brutal and painful, but fun

Incline bench press 5-4-3-2-1

Pullups 3s x 8

Tricep superset - rope overhead extensions + pushdowns x 3

Leg curl 3s x 8

Bicep superset - incline bench curl + reverse bench curl x 3

Ab board situps 3s x 10-12

Will be back end of October.