Malone-Meltzer Age Coefficients

Bench press - managed a whopping 345x10, followed by 365x4.

Bench day was starting to feel like groundhog day. Then I had a breakthrough and hit 345 lbs. for 10 reps. Then I took three weeks off lifting to travel and now I'm back where I started.

According to some bullshit numbers I found on the internet, my recent bench press of 375x1 at my advanced age is the same as pressing 418 lbs. at age 30 or younger. If I can bench 375x1 at age 45, I'll actually be lifting almost 450 lbs. Already feeling stronger.

Standing overhead press - 190x10, 195x8, 210x3, 215x2

Close grip bench press - 315x5

Squat - 425x5, 465x3, 470x3

Deadlift - 445x3, 465x3

Loading up for the Deload

On the program I'm using now, every fourth week is supposed to be a deload. I.e. you either keep the volume the same but use lighter weights, or do a few heavy singles and no extra work. I went for the latter option.

Also I've been using this template since March, but this week was only the second time I've opted for the deload because I rarely train 4 weeks uninterrupted. Due to time constraints, I lifted four days in a row (Monday through Thursday), which was not that hard, given the low total poundage lifted (only 3-4 sets of assistance exercises after the main lift).

Squat: 405x2, 425x1, 445x1, 465x1, 475x1, 505x1

First squat with 500+ lbs. since 2015 or so. Pretty happy about that.

Standing overhead press: 205x1, 215x1, 225x1, 235x1

This is only 10 lbs. off my best OH press ever. Also pleased.

Deadlift: 405x2, 445x1, 475x1, 495x1, 530x1 (PR)

This breaks a PR set in 2014 by 5 lbs. More than pleased.

Bench press: 315x1, 335x1, 365x1, 385xF, 315x5

I won't lie, I was secretly hoping to get 405x1 and am disappointed. Training has been going very well, I was feeling strong and had hit all the requisite indicator sets - 345x7 and 365x3. This was the fourth consecutive lifting day, so a drop in strength was maybe expected.

I get to run one more full training cycle in November/December, maybe two if I'm lucky. Let's see what happens then.

HammerStrong

Been traveling quite a bit lately. Training is sporadic. No PRs to report, just a series of solid workouts. Schedule looks hectic so lifting will probably be uneventful for a while.

Started going to a new gym in the neighborhood (same chain, different location). It has awesome old-school plate-loaded machines (HammerStrength) which I'm using for assistance work. My favorite ones are the seated dip, isolateral row and incline/shoulder press. Usually I do one big rest-pause set with a challenging weight for anywhere between 20 and 30 reps. It's fun and adds a lot of extra work for the muscles without adding much time to the workout. One set, 60-90 seconds, and that's it.

Training lifts:

Standing overhead press - 185x7, 205x2.

I seem to be stuck on these numbers - repeated almost the exact set/rep scheme three workouts in a row, except one time I did 205x3.

Bench press - 345x7, 365x2, 370x1

Close-grip bench press - 305x5, 325x3

Squat - 425x5, 455x3, 475x2

Deadlift - 445x2, 465x2, 475x1

No progress, but at least I'm consistent?

Why More or Less Everything is Absolutely Fine

I've been reading this book and finding that a lot of it aligns with my own life philosophy. It could be about 50% shorter, though.


Some lifting highlights in July:

Standing overhead press - 180x9, 195x4 (with some help from the legs), 200x3, 205x2

I should start using a lifting belt for overhead presses.

Bench press - 335x8, 340x6, 370x2

Close-grip bench press - 330x5, 335x4. Almost catching up to my regular-grip press

Squat - 440x3, 465x2

Deadlift - 465x2, 470x3

Consistency

I've had a pretty consistent lifting summer so far. Some interruptions here and there, but nothing to set me back. I've gotten to the point where I can take 1-2 weeks off lifting and lose little to no strength, which is good. On the other hand, this also means I don't gain any strength in that time, which is not so good. My lifts have been stalled for a few years now and my squat has in fact gone down by at least 30-40 lbs. I'm not expecting to set many more PRs at my age, but one or two would be nice.

Bench press - 330x8 and 335x8 in consecutive workouts, followed by 360x2 and 365x2

During my deload week, which is really a low volume week, I worked up to an easy single with 375 lbs. I might try 395x1 next time.

Close grip bench press - 325x5 again and 330x3

The 330x3 set would count as a PR, except I've never tried to max out on close grip triples before so I have nothing to compare it to.

Overhead press - 175x9 and 180x7, 200x2

Squat - 470x2,

Deadlift - 470x2

Bodyweight - just under 220 lbs., around 217-218 most days

Specialization

Shoulder is still sore, but pressing is going well. I have been breaking rep PRs on both the regular and close-grip bench press. My overhead press has stalled, which I'm not overly concerned with. It seems like my bench presses stall when my overhead presses are progressing, and vice versa. So far my experience with the Cast Iron program has been positive.

Recently I did:

Close-grip bench press - 315x6 and 325x5.

Both these are big rep PRs, and I feel like I could have done more.

Bench press - 315x7, 320x8, 325x10, 350x3

The last three are rep PRs. I've done 325 lbs. for 4 or 5 reps in the past, but never came close to ten. I may have pressed 350x3 before but I doubt it.

Of course, now I'm tempted to make big jumps in weight, but I won't. Slow and steady and all that.

Not much to report on the squat/deadlift front, and I'm fine with that too. As long as I maintain strength on those two lifts and incrementally up my bench and overhead press, all is well.

Deadlift - 445x3, 465x2

Squat - 445x3, 455x3

Standing overhead press - worked up to 220x1 with some cheating

Backward Hat

Not much to update here. Shoulder is still messed up but I'm still bench pressing. Oddly it doesn't hurt at all when I press overhead. Maybe that's a sign to work more on my overhead pressing and bench less. Maybe it's a sign I'll ignore. Stupid sign.

Speaking of overhead pressing, that's been going well, increasing slowly but steadily. Recently I did 180x6, followed by 200x3. Still not quite at my best-ever weights, but I've neglected front presses for a long time.

On a totally unrelated note, there's this widespread stereotype of the gym douchebro working out in a tank top, with a baseball hat turned backwards, doing nothing but arm exercises. I always thought it was one of those exaggerated gym memes (like "curling in a squat rack", which I've seen exactly twice in 20 years of lifting in commercial gyms). But lately douchebros with backwards hats seem to be everywhere. I counted no less than five in the gym this morning. Guess it's a case of life imitating meme. With apologies to Richard Dawkins.

I stopped pressing behind the neck until the shoulder pain goes away. Not that I think BTN pressing causes shoulder issues, but it does place extra strain on an already overworked muscle group. I read a shoulder saver article by Eric Cressey where he lists all the exercises that can cause scapular issues. While they're all good and productive exercises, the accumulated strain on these small muscles (rotator cuff and scapular area) can over time lead to nagging aches. At one point I was back squatting twice a week and pressing behind the neck twice a week, never really giving the scap muscles time to recover. Band pullaparts are usually prescribed for rotator cuff issues, but now I'm starting to think they may have the opposite effect.

I might also switch to floor or board presses for a few weeks. It's not like I'm setting any records anyway, and they may give my shoulders a rest.

Interestingly, paused benches hurt way more than my regular touch-and-go reps. Probably more time under tension for the injured muscle. Also, close-grip presses hurt just as bad as those done with regular grip. So much for broscientific claims that close grip benches are better for the shoulders. But my last close grip pressing workout went 275x5, 300x4 and 310x4, so there is improvement.

Back squats seem to be the main culprit. I'm keeping them in rotation, but I've now moved the bar higher on my back. Sort of a mid-bar position. This hopefully means less rotator cuff strain. These past weeks I worked up to 435x4, 445x3 and 465x3, which is pretty much what I was doing low-bar.

Deadlift reps were a grind. I feel like the straight-legged deadlifts I'm doing on light lower body day are hurting my heavy sets. Sure, the weight is very light, but the stress still adds up. But I'd rather work my hamstrings than set deadlift PRs, so I don't think I'll back off the straight-leg deads. I still hit fairly comfortable triples from 405 to 445, then easy singles with 455 and 475.