dec 31

Press- 3x5 @95
Lateral Raise 3x5 @20
Rear Delt Rows 3x5 @145
Ive gotten weaker

Deadlift

Deadlift
360 x 5 PR
305 x 2, 2

Stiff legged deadlift
225 x 4 x 8

Kneeling ab crunches
95 x 4 x 8 (2 sets alternating sides, 2 sets straight down)

Back log and upper back

Monday

Did not expect much out of squat day since I messed around on my bike for like an hour right before lifting.

Squat

225 x 5

235 x 5

245 x 3

255 x 1 good+2 kind of shitty

leg press, leg extension, calves

Wednesday

Shrug

315 x 10

365 x something x a lot

Neutral grip pull up

BW x 6

+15 x 5

+25 x 5

+35 x 4

+45 x 4

Chest supported row

90 x 8

115 x 8

125 x 8

curls, obliques superset

Upper Back

T-bar rows
190 x 6
205 x 5
215 x 5
225 x 5

Wide grip pullups
BW x 12, 12, 10, 10

Rear delt raises
30s x 3 x 10

Reverse EZ bar curls
70 x 3 x 10

Squat

Squat
255 x 5 -After the 4th rep I contemplated for about 5 seconds whether I should go for the 5th since I had no spot. I ended up doing it but I almost dropped the last rep in the rack.
225 x 3, 3

Pause squats
185 x 3 x 3

GHR abs
3 sets

I had to move up one hole on my belt while squatting today. Overeating during the holidays has caught up to me.

12.28.09 Bench and Shitlift before the Shit Show

Bench Press
warmups
95x5
115x5 (wide grip)
115x5 (medium)
115x5 (close)
125x5 (wide)
125x5 (medium)
125x5 (close)

Standing Press
45x10
75x5x3

Tricep Pulldown
80x10x3

Deadlift
135x5
this is when the trouble started. It had been a good 3 weeks since I last deadlifted. Plus I wasn't using bumper plates and wasn't on an olympic platform. I didn't have chalk or a belt. And I'm sure I was tired from all the upper body work, but I knew I needed to get some deadlifting in so I overexerted myself....Okay enough excuses...time for the embarrassment.
185-failed... inner thighs were on FIRE and got it off the ground a little but I either didn't have the proper motivation of Matt, Luke, Ben, et al. not being there or I am just a pussy. Worst thing is my friend who I was lifting with doesn't know shit so he couldn't even give me advice on what I was doing wrong.

Hip Adducter Machine
I thought that maybe that burning sensation in my thighs was my body telling me to do this machine... so I did it until I could do no more at 130 pounds.

Gym was about to close so on my way out I noticed something that I just could not resist...

CYBEX EAGLE GLUTE MACHINEEEEEEEEE
150 (machine max)x10 (each leg)x3

I'll be in Big Bear snowboarding and drinking copious amounts of beverages until Jan 2. I look forward to seeing you all at the Wooden Center on the 4th so you can all call me a pussy for my SOFT deadlift. Happy New Years to all you guys.

Upper Back

12/28/09

3 Sets Pull ups, 1 Set Neutral Grip, 1 Set Chin ups

Narrow Grip Lat Pulldown

65 x 7

80 x 5

95 x 5

Face Pulls x 3 sets

Bent Over Barbell Row

135 x 7

145 x 7, 7

155 x 7

Shoulder Shrugs

315 x 10 x 4

Band-Resisted Standing Preacher Curls

Absence From the Blog

I haven't been near a computer until now, but it doesn't matter because I was unable to lift all of last week. My grandfather had been ill so I was away with family to see him and for the Christmas holiday. He passed away yesterday, so I will most likely be unable to lift this week either due to the wake/funeral and such.

On top of that I had a minor stomach bug and it caused me to lost 8 pounds.

All personal problems but reasons nonetheless of why I haven't been posting.

I hope everyone has had a good holiday break and I will be back and ready to lift at Wooden on Jan. 4th.

Shoulder Work

Standing Press:
185 x 3
205 x 3 (last one was a grinder)
215 x 1
225 x 1, 1 (PR)

Felt very slow at first, but the last set was the easiest of the singles

Dumbbell Bench:
100s x 8, 8, 6, 5

Completely exhausted on this after monday's chest work and the standing press. Also not sleeping.

Close-grip pull ups:
20, 14, 15, 14

Finished with iso low row machine, machine flyes, and seated crunches

ME Lower Back

Only had 45 minutes for this. Was planning on doing deadlifts but not enough time.

Good Mornings Off Pins:
365 x 5
405 x 5
455 x 1

Misgrooved the last one, so I had to stop.

Finished with hamstring curls, ab machine and band-resisted hyperextensions

dec 27

Warm up Pull Ups 4/3/2/1
DB Shrugs- tried all sorts of weights, standing/sitting, just couldn't find something that felt right.
DB Rows 1x10 @40, 1x10 @50, 1x10 @60




dec 24
semi-sumo deadlift 1x5 @255 + other things

Bench Assistance

Standing press
95 x 8
105 x 5
115 x 5
125 x 3+1fail

Dips supersetted with Neutral grip pullups
2 sets of 10 each
1 set of 15 each

12-25-09 Christmas Accessories

Standing Press

85x8

95x8 PR

105x6 PR had to lean to lock out last rep

115x2 PR new max

Standing Barbell Curls

85x7x2

Lateral Raises supersetted with frontal raises and dumbbell flyes.

and I did a bunch of finger curls with 10 pound plates for forearm grip strength.

In other news I ran into and talked to one of my friends from back home at a party. I told him I do powerlifting and he told me he's getting into body building. I asked him if he practices tanning, the application of oils, and posing. He said "No, well posing yeah."

12/24/09 ME Stomach flu

Finally got back from Arizona/Palm Springs today. I had plans to lift but my body thought it would be awesome to throw up all day instead. Hopefully it's just a 24 hour bug and I'll be able to lift tomorrow.

Deadlift

Forgot my belt today.
Goodmornings
185 x 5, 5
195 x 5
205 x 5

Stiff legged deadlifts
225 x 8
245 x 8, 8

Kneeling ab crunches
87.5 x 10
95 x 8
102.5 x 6

Bench

Bench (paused)
205 x 1 PR
215 x fail
175 x 3, 3
It felt much better starting with a heavy set and finishing with moderately heavy backoff sets. Maybe we could try incorporating this into our training next quarter?

Inline bench
135 x 8, 8, 7

Skull crushers
70 x 10, 9, 10

Bench

Bench (wide, normal, narrow grip 2 rounds)

135 x 6 x 6

Standing press

95 x 4 x 2

105 x 3 x 2

Intended on a 4x5 but didn't realize how tired I was until the 4th rep of the first set, so decided to do this instead.

Close-grip lat pull down

170 x 8

180 x 8

200 x 6

Dips, Hammer curl superset

BW x 8, 50 x 8

BW x 8, 55 x 8

BW x 8, 60 x 8

ME Bench

Bench:
(all paused)
295 x 3
305 x 2
315 x 1 + 1 fail

Everything felt great today for some reason. 315 ties a PR and came after two heavy sets, so it was encouraging.

Incline Dumbbell:
90s x 8
100 x 8
110 x 5, 4

Parallel-grip SkullCrusharz:
bar (20?) + 100 x 8, 7, 10

Finished with cable flyes and sub scap pulls.

I like rows

T-bar Rows:
180 x 10
225 x 7, 10

There's a machine for it here. It's actually surprisingly hard to get it off the ground to start though. 225 is close to my max sadly, but it feel like 400+ due to the leverage.

Wide-grip Lat Pull-downs:
200 x 10
250 x 10
270 x 8
300 x 5, 6

Chest-supported Rows:
135 x 10
180 x 8, 8

Hammer Curls (up to 85s) and seated abs

Upper Back and Squats

10/22/09

Pull ups, Cable Row, Isolateral High Row, Rear Delt Fly, Shoulder Shrugs, Box Squats, Leg Press

Upper back

Lat pulldowns (wide grip)
209 x 7
221 x 6
234 x 6
240 x 6

Dumbbell rows
105 x 8
125 x 8, 10

Barbell shrugs
315 x 15
365 x 12
405 x 10

Dumbbell curls
45s x 10, 10, 10

Squatting by 3s

Squat

235 x 3

245 x 3

255 x 3

The last triple felt surprisingly easy, though I would like to have someone call me on depth once we get back.

Pause squat (3 seconds)

185 x 3

195 x 3

205 x 3

Cleans

125 x 5

135 x 4

145 x 2+high pulls trying to get in a third

135 x 3 x 2

Knew I wasn't going to get in 155 today so I went down for the sake of doing work.

calbs

12/22 Training

Bench: 145x5
165x5
190x10 (PR I guess)

Seated Shoulder Press: 115x12-5-3 (20 RP) PR

Seated Barbell Curl: 85x8-5-3 (16RP) PR

Tricep Pullover: 100x13-5-3 (21RP) PR

Today was a pretty awesome training session. I felt pretty much in the groove when I was benching, although unracking the weights myself and benching without a spotter may have caused me to lose a rep or two from what I could have done. I improved notably from last week on the assistance exercises as well, on both weight and reps in some cases. I'm liking this rest-pause thing.

Speed Bench and Deadlift Update

12/19/09

Deadlift, Good-Mornings, Lunges

Since I haven't deadlifted in a while, nothing felt good. I have to make sure to deadlift continuously until the meet.

12/21/09

Band-Resisted Bench

135 x 3 x 6 (3 reps, 6 sets)

Neutral Grip Dumbbell Floor Press

55 x 6 x 3

Tricep Extensions

Not stack x 3 sets

stack x 3 sets

Seated Shoulder Press

55 x 5 x 3

Band-Resisted Pushups

12-21-09 Bench and Squat

Bench

185x5 PR

195x3

205x1

215x fail, I really almost had this one.

Squat

225x5

235x4 PR going for 5 reps

255x2 going for 3 reps

275x fail wasn't feeling it. I didn't have a spotter so I had to dump the weight. It sucked stripping the bar from the floor. I know I can squat this weight. I wasn't feeling great today, maybe because I only had a small sandwich and 4 taquitos for the whole day before working out. I felt strong, yet tired during everything. I just didn't have the energy. I decided to cut short the squat sets rather than struggle with the last rep. I don't if I like this 3 day split.

Dips

BW x 15 x 3

supersetted with

Pull Ups

BW x 15 x 3

Walking Lunges

45 pound plate held above head 20, 20, 30 wow these were really hard

Squat

Squat:
Straps down, under belt

457 x 1
499 x 3, 3, 3,

Felt alright, but a bit slower than I would have liked. The only squat rack in the gym faced a mirror which threw me off. I think last two sets were at depth, but the first was high

Walk-outs:
589 @ 10 sec
639 @ 10 sec

Man, this felt heavy. I am currently unprepared to even handle this weight. I need to be feeling something 600+ every squat workout until the meet.

Box Squat:
w/ greens
225 x 5, 5, 5, 5

The set up here wasn't too great and the plates were sliding all over, so I didn't got heavier. Weight felt pretty light.

Finished with adductors and leg extensions. (Due to time)

Squat

Squat
245 x 3
255 x 3
265 x 1
265 x fail

Power cleans
155 x 3, 3
165 x 3

Leg press
360 x 8, 8, 8

Went to Fatburger afterwards and ate a XXXL burger. I think I've eaten enough protein for the next couple days.

12/21 Training

Squat: 225x8 PR
185x12 (was supposed to be in the 15-20 range, but I had breathing difficulty after the 225)

CG Lat Pulldown: 225x12-6-2 (20RP)

Seated Calf: 160x8

RDP: BWx8

So tired after this session. Also, going to go see Avatar later today. ME Colors.

12/19/09 Suited Squat

Squat (suited):
warmups
415 x 3 (about 2-3 inches above parallel)
435 x 2 (about 2 inches about parallel)
465 x 1 (added a light wrap to my knees. had issues with the walkout - been some time since I have been under some heavy weight and I think the racked bar height was a little too high)
485 x 1 EASY (at parallel. more walkout issues. I found that I have the tendency to look down at my feet before I walk back the weight - a horrible idea. after changing this, the walkout was much smoother. needless to say I need to do some super heavy squat walkouts)

Banded Hamstring Curls

supersetted with

Banded Pullthroughs

GHR abs

Grip Work

12/16/09 Shirted Bench

I have been away from home and haven't had the chance to upload my logs.

Bench (shirted):
warmups
315 x 3 on 3-board
335 x 1 on 2-board
335 x fail on 1-board (got out of the groove and dumped it slightly towards my stomach. also the weights felt heavy today and i tweaked my left wrist and had some pretty major pain shooting down my forearm while supporting the weights)
345 x fail off chest (wrist issues)
wanted to quit here due to severe pain, but my buddies forced me to do another set
365 x 1 EASY off 1-board
this was a PR and felt like speed work. finally hit the groove in the right spot. wrist hurt like a mother fucker tho.

Seated DB Shoulder Press:
60s x 12
65s x 12
70s x 12

Lat Pulldowns:
165 x 10
185 x 8
185 x 8

Banded Tricep Extensions (purple):
4 sets of 10

ME Press

Standing Press:
185 x 3
195 x 3
205 x 2
215 x 1, 1

Not bad, but I still want to get 225 at some point

Close-grip Pin Press:
275 x 3
285 x 3
295 x 3
305 x 3

Felt easy today

Finished with a super set of machine rows, close-grip pull ups and cable flyes.

dec 19

Warm Up Pull ups 1x3
Warm Up Face Pulls 1x10 @15, 1x10 @30, 1x10 @45
Bench Press 1x5 @185**, 2x3 @195**, 1x1 @210** all w/ commands
BW Dips 3 sets of 6.

12/19 Training

Press: 95x5
110x3
120x6 PR

Upright Row: 115x13-8-6 (27RP)

Floor Extension: 95x12-4-3 (19RP)

DB Curl: 35x11-5-3 (19RP)

So I weighed the curl bar at my gym and it came out to about 25lbs. I added it up to be the correct weights with the extensions this time (the pullovers last time were 95lbs as well). I need to weigh the one at Wooden for record-keeping's sake.

12.19.09--Hybrid Day

Well, I had avoided the gym for too long (thanks COD: Modern Warfare 2) and decided today I HAD to go. There is a squat rack and two benches, but not many weights at my gym. To be honest, I wanted to focus most on bench, but also get some squats in because squats grow facial hair.

Bench press:
warmups
95x5
135x4
145x2
155x1
165xf (got it like 5 inches off the chest, then couldn't do more...however, I'm going to save my excuses for later)

Tricep pulldowns:
70x10
80x10
90x8

Squats:
warmups
135x5
155x3
165x2
form on these felt BAD. My spotter was my friend from highschool who rarely lifts and weighs 125 pounds, so I wasn't very comfortable in the rack. However, the balance with the Chucks is a LOT better.

Abs
situps and crunches in my room until I felt tired

Ice skating:
took a girl on a date to an outdoor ice rink. She has been figure skating since she was 6. I've been ice skating maybe a total of 6 times. However, I only fell once, so I'm calling it a PR. We skated for like an hour, so I'm anticipating some soreness tomorrow.

For the upcoming week, I'm going to be in Arizona and Palm Springs. The hotels there should have gyms of some sort, but I'm probably going to have to be creative to find things that aren't cardio.

Also, I did a weigh in today at my gym because I'm convinced the scale in the Wooden Center is biased to make people feel heavier than they actually are. I clocked in at 174, which is encouraging because I am planning on putting on more leg muscle from squats.

Deadlift

Played full court basketball for 2 hours yesterday and it's been a long time so my legs and core were sore as hell today.

Deadlift
405 x 1 -the bar stalled at the very top but I eventually locked it out
295 x 3 x 3

Glute ham raise
BW x 4 x 12

dec 18

Warm up Pull ups 3x3
Semi-Sumo Deadlift 1x5 @135, 1x5 @165, 1x5 @195, 1x5 @225, 1x1+f @255, 1x1 @255
first time i tried these. they felt good, much better than standard dead lifts.

ME Cleans

Thought I was going to deadlift but then forgot my long socks. Looks like I'll be pulling next week instead.

Cleans:
111 x 5
161 x 5
201 x 3
221 x 2
241 x fail x 2
231 x fail, 1
231 x fail, 1
231 x 1

I'm having serious technique difficulties at the top of my heavy cleans. I am unable to get the full arm rotation through, so I end up doing a high pull and failing. Not sure what the cause is, but I should probably video it. 221 x 2 felt easy, so I'm not sure why 231 was so difficult.

Seated Good-mornings off pins:
135 x 10
225 x 5
275 x fail
245 x 4

These were not working out.

Good-mornings off pins:
275 x 5
365 x 5, 5

I really like these. I feel much better about being able to sit back and I think my depth is actually better with these. I will probably incorporate these a lot more now.

Supersetted banded pull-throughs w/ blues and banded hamstring curls w/ greens.

Bench Assistance

Standing Press

95 x 3 x 2

105 x 2

115 x 1 x 2

DB Incline Bench, Pullup superset

(50 x 8, BW x 8) x 2

55 x 8, BW x 6

BW x 5+1

DB Flyes, DB row superset

25 x 12, 65 x 6

25 x 12, 75 x 6

(30 x 12, 85 x 6) x 2

abs

12-18-09 Hamstrings?

First I jumped and touched the rim of my basketball hoop about 20 times. My knees kinda started to hurt after that. I did some good mornings but they felt weird and the bar kept slipping. Maybe it's because the bar I have at home is too skinny and has no knurling where it rests on my back. I did some stiff legged dead lifts too and finished with pull throughs. I think I was doing pull throughs at least, I was doing the thing where you swing the dumbbell between your legs and up in the air. Lunges were hurting my knees. My back is still a little sore from squats.

32" vertical jumps x 20

Good Mornings 65 x 5 x 4

Stiff Legged Deadlifts 65 x 5 x 4

Pull Throughs 43 x 10 x 4

Speed Bench

Bench

alternated grip every set

155 x 3 x 6

Decline Bench

185 x 5

195 x 5

205 x 5

215 x 3

Dumbbell Incline

65 x 6 x 2

Arnold Press

45 x 5

50 x 5

Military Press

115 x 3,4

Core Work

Lower Back

Good mornings

155 x 5

175 x 5

185 x 5

185 x 5

Lunges

135 x 8 x 2

155 x 6 x 2

DB Pull through

45 x 8

55 x 6

65 x 6 x 2

Leg curls

I think I'm getting fat from the inside out because anything more than 5 reps leaves me gasping for air

12-17 Bench Assistance and Upper Back

Worked out at my house today

Standing Press

105 x 3 x 2 PR

115 x fail x 2

105 x 2

110 x 1 PR new max

I had to clean the bar then press it, so I ended up doing standing shoulder presses with a somewhat close grip. I also did a few bent over rows between sets.

Incline Dumbbell Press

33's x 10

43's x 10+10 wide grip

48's x 10

supersetted with Hammer Curls

33's x 10, 43's x 6, 48's x 8 each arm for all sets

Dumbbell Flyes

20's x 10 x 2, 20's x 15

supersetted with Dumbbell Rows

48's x 10 x 3 each arm

Finished with 60 wrist curls per arm at 20 pounds and 60 reverse grip wrist extensions per arm at 5 pounds

The dumbbells have weird amounts like 33 and 48 because they are the kind that use mini plates and the bar itself weighs 3 pounds.

12/17 Training

Deadlift: 225x5
255x5
285x6

Block Pull: 285x9

HS High Row: 135/side x 11-4-3 (18RP)

Leg Raises: BWx15

Felt much better today than the last deadlift session. It definitely showed in the lifting too - all of my pulls were flying up. I really like the high row machine, and this was my first time doing it in a while. Hammer Strength makes some awesome equipment, but I wish that they had the DY Row and the Shoulder Press machine down at UCLA.

Yes I'm still here... 12-7 - 12-17

And it feels like I got on Brent's "walk into the gym and set a pr" program.

12-7
Power snatch 85/2@ 8,9,8 87/2 @ 9,(1+miss) 82/2@ 9,8,8
Snatch 87/2@(miss,1,miss) 8,8,8,8
Jerk 95/2@8,8 100/2 @ 8
Front squat 125/3 x 5

12-8
Power snatch 77/2@8,7,7
BTN Jerk 100/3 @ 8,8,8
Clean pull to kn. 140/2 @ 8,8,8

12-9
Power clean + jerk 105/2@8 107/2@8,8,8,8 110/2@9,9

12-10
Power clean 105/2 @ 8,8,8,8
Sn. Sqt. Press 40/3 @ 7,7,7

12-11
Power snatch 85/2 @ 8 87/2 @ 8, 90/2 @ 9, 87/2 @ 8,8 90/1 @ 9,10,10,miss
Snatch 90/2 @ 8,8,8, 95/1@ 8.5 100/1@9 102/1 105/1 107/1 - miss,miss
Pretty damn close to my max, not bad.
Jerk 107/2@ 8,(1+miss)
Front squat 125/3 x 5

12-14
Power clean + Jerk 105/2@ 8, 107/2 @ 8, 110/2 @ 8,8,8,8,8,8
Clean and Jerk 110/1+2@8 115/1+2@8, 120/1+2@9,8,9,8,9

The clean and jerks were over 90%. I'd never doubled 120 before this workout.

Jerk 110/3 @ 7,8,7
Front squat 125/4 x 5

12-15
Power snatch 80/2@7,7,7,7,7
Power clean 97/2@7,7,7,7,7
Sn. deadlift 110/3@7, 115/3@7, 120/3 @ 8

12-16
Power snatch 80/3@8, 85/3@8,8,8,8
Snatch 90/2 92/2 95/2 97/2 100/2 102/2 105/2 107/1 110/1 112/1

New snatch record!!! This is a 2kg pr from my all-time best and a 5kg pr from the last time I maxed, maybe a month ago. Also, I'd never doubled 105 before this workout.

BTN Jerk 110/2 @ 8,8,8,8,8
Back squat 142/3 x 5 @ 8

12-17
Power clean + Jerk 110/2 @ 8,8,8,8 115/2 @ 8,9 110/2 @ 7 115/2 @ 9 110/2 @ 8
Clean and jerk 115/1+2 120/1+2 125/1+2 130 - clean and jerked it then missed the second jerk
Front squat 127/3 x 5

This has been probably the best 2 weeks of training ever. I'd never doubled more than 120 before this workout and I got 125, and easily clean and jerked 130, equal to my best a month ago and 2kg my best ever, and attempted a second jerk. This is also 1 day after the previous workout instead of two, because I travel back home tonight. I rock.

ME Bench

Last shirt work for two weeks

Bench:
345 x 1
365 x 1
385 x 1
405 x 1 (3 pound PR)

All felt easy. This confirms my idea of opening heavier at the meet.

3-board:
425 x 2
425 x 2 @ 10.10
405 x 2
405 x 2

Second set was ME to the limit with a 20 second grinder to the top. My lock out seems to be abnormally week at the moment though, which is worrisome. These reps were all paused too.

Finished with four sets of banded tricep extensions, three sets of dumbbell front raises and two sets of dips til failure.

Due to stupidity and a challenge. I did a negative on stability bench with 110 in dumbbells on the bar, hanging very low. I thought I was going to die.

Upper Back

12/16/09

Pull-Ups

BW x 3 sets

Cable Row

160 x 6

175 x 6

190 x 6

Shoulder Shrugs

3 plates x 10 x 2

3 plates + quarters x 8

Dumbbell Row

80 x 5

90 x 5

100 x 5

110 x 5

Farmers Walk

Walked around the treadmills, ellipticals, and bikes a few times like an idiot holding 45lb plates.

Bench

Bench (paused)
155 x 5
165 x 5
175 x 3+1 failed halfway up

Incline dumbbell press
55s x 8
60s x 7, 5

Skull crushers
70 x 8, 7, 8

Benchee

Bench

135 x 5

145 x 5

155 x 5 (spotter helped way too much)

Dips

25 x 5

40 x 5

55 x 5

Triceps/Chest supported row

70/90 x 8

70/115 x 6

80/125 x 6

80/130 x 6

some calves because I didn't do them yesterday

12-15-09 Squat

Worked on low bar squatting. My lower back is pretty sore from it. I like being able to move faster with high bar squats and I'm not sure which one I'm stronger with right now. I had some bar slippage at the bottom of the movement toward the end of my sets. None of the weights felt heavy, but it felt kinda awkward and it was hard to get depth.

Squat

185x5x3

225x1

245x1

Box Squat on 12" box plus 2" plate

95x8

135x8

155x8

For box squats I went low bar also. Again I focused on form, not weight. I really felt it in the hamstrings. I worked on reaching back with my ass and keeping my shins vertical.

Power Cleans

65 x a lot

95 x a lot

115 x a few

I've never really been shown how to clean/power clean properly before so I kept the weight low and had a lot of instruction. Before I had been catching the clean with my forearms vertical, but I worked on receiving it on my fingers with my triceps parallel to the ground.

5 box jumps, 10 pullups, 30 seconds rest, 4 sets

Uppr bck + cardio

Apparently Wooden closes at 7:45.

Did shrugs, pull-ups and dumbbell curls.

Then did the elliptical machine for 23 minutes. I seriously need to start dropping weight if I have any chance at 181.

dec 15

Walking DB Lunges 1x3 @20s, 1x3 @30s, 1x3 @35s, 2x3 @40s
Zercher Squats 1x5 @135, 1x5 @155, 3x5 @185
still too sore from running

Apparently I can still pass for a high schooler

Squat

215 x 5

225 x 5

235 x 5

255 x 1

Box(chair) Squat

175 x 8 x 3

Cleans

115 x 3

125 x 3

135 x 3

145 x 2

155 x 1+2 high pulls

135 x 3

Abs

Squat

12/15/09

Squats

215 x 5 x 2

225 x 5

Box Squats

135 x 8

145 x 8

165 x 8

Hang Cleans

135 x 3 x 3

145 x 2 x 2

Calf Raises, Kneeling Cable Crunches, Bridges

I met a powerlifter today who works at the gym I've been going to (Boston Sports Club). He's been to raw nationals and a bunch of other meets, and will be at the Arnold this year. He told me I wasn't going to the best powerlifting gym and that there's a better gym in the area, but it's pretty far away (that's the gym where he lifts). He also told me to eat more after I told him I compete at 165.

12/15 Training

Bench: 165x5
185x3
205x7 PR

Seated Shoulder Press: 115x8-4-2 (14RP)

Seated Barbell Curl: 80x7-4-3 (14RP)

Tricep Pullover: 85x10-4-2 (16RP)

There we go. I'm back in the PR-setting groove now. Also, altered my form a bit on the pullovers to make it a bit more tricep-focused. Its almost a pullover-extension hybrid.

Upper Back

T-bar rows
180 x 5
190 x 5
200 x 5
210 x 5

Wide grip lat pulldowns
192 x 9, 9
204 x 8, 8

Barbell shrugs
315 x 15
365 x 10, 10

Hammer curls
50s x 8
55s x 8
60s x 6

No-handed Squat

Wanted to give the forearm a chance to heal, so I went to 4-star for some random squatting.

SS-bar box squat:
280 x 3
316 x 1
348 x 1
368 x 1
378 x FAIL

These felt good and I was unexpectedly weak off the box when things got heavy. Decided to work a bit more volume.

281 x 5, 2 sets

Front Squat:
160 x 5
210 x 5
280 x 5, 2 sets

Leg presses were up next, but felt horrible on my lower back. Switch to this ancient hack squat machine with a wooden(!) platform. Decided not to risk my feet going through the floor, so I stuck with sets of 200? for 20.

Then supersetted banded leg curls with hanging leg raises.

Bench

12/14/09

Bench

185 x 5

185 x 6

195 x 5

205 x 5

Seated Shoulder Dumbbell Press

50 x 5

55 x 5

60 x 4

Skull Crushers

65 x 5

75 x 5

85 x 5

Flyes

60 x 7 x 3

Squat

Post #2000!

Squats
225 x 5
235 x 5
245 x 3
255 x 2+1 high

Box squats (lowest box I could find was right at parallel if not half an inch above)
185 x 4, 4, 4

Leg press
320 x 9
340 x 8
360 x 8

Kneeling cable crunches
80 x 10
87.5 x 8
95 x 8

12/14 Training

Just about healed from my illness, and my weight is back up to 213. For some reason though, my squat felt kind of off today, so I toned it down a bit.

Box Squat: 155x3
185x3
205x3 (all fairly easy)

Narrow Stance Squat: 175x20

Lat Pulldown: 210x11-5-2 (18RP)

RDP: 10-4-2 (16RP)

12-14-09 Heavy Bench

Bench

175x5

185x3

195x4 PR

Close Grip Bench

135x5

155x5

165x5

Standing Press

85x6 staggered legs

100x5

85x6 legs even

100x6

Pullups on Rings x 10

Pullups x 21

dec 13

Couch to 5k
60 secs running/90 secs walking for 20 minutes

12/12/09 Deadlift

Block Pulls (bar ~3" below knees):
475 x 3
495 x 3
505 x 3

Good Mornings:
135 x 5
185 x 5
225 x 5
255 x 5
255 x 5

Banded hamstring curls

supersetted w/

Banded hyperextensions

Bench and stuff

Standing Press:
185 x 5
195 x 3
195 x 3
205 x 2
215 x 1

Close-grip Pin Presses:
225 x 4
255 x 5
265 x 4
270* x 4 (misloaded one side...)
285 z 4

Supersetted flyes with close grip pull ups (20, 10, 18, 16). Then finished with preacher curls

12-12-09 Deadlift

Worked out at Crossfit Elite Fitness Academy in Monrovia with Eric LeClair. The place was pretty sweet, it has 4 olympic platforms parallel to to each other which were extended across the entire floor so it could fit at least 12 lifters at once and at least 4 squat racks. The bumper plates were rubber and a lot fatter than the ones at wooden so it looks like you lift a lot more than you do. Eric was helping me work on form for deadlift as well, keeping the back tight and getting more power from the hips.

Deadlift off blocks (used plates about 3 inches high)
275x3
295x3
315xfail
305x3

GHR
3 sets of 15

Overhead Squats
65x10x3

12/12 Training

Military Press: 90x3
100x3
115x8 PR

Floor Press: 165x11-5-2 (18RP)

Upright Row: 105x11-6-4 (21 RP)

DB Curl: 35x10-4-2 (16 RP)

Sickness is starting to clear up, so that is nice. Need to increase the weight for the Floor Presses and Rows next time.

Also, I am training my sister to get her knee back in shape for soccer. Teaching her the ways of the Squat (which is what fixed my knee problems).

Squatting on Monday.

12-10-09 Bench

Bench

at my house with no spotters with a skinnier bar, and high bench

145x8

165x5,7,7,7 no pause on the last set

Triceps Death

without boards so I estimated the heights which made it harder

105 x 1 normal grip

105 x 1 close grip

Deltoid Raises

12/11 Training

Deadlift: 210x3
240x3
270x5 (no belt)

Block Pull: (used 100lb plate as block): 270x8 (no belt)

Pull-ups: BWx12-6-3 (21 RP)

Cable Abs: 105x10, 7 (stopped b/c these started hurting my elbow)

Well not a bad training session today considering that I am sick. My sinuses were full of crap and the room was spinning, so deadlifting was a little more difficult than it should have been. Advil Cold & Sinus + Airborne + Lots of food = Healing faster.

On another note, I am liking the rest-pause assistance work. It is very time efficient, and feels pretty effective as well. I am trying to keep my total volume for the rest pause sets somewhere in the 11-20 zone (20-30 for the pullovers), and increase the weight when I get close to that upper rep limit.

Military Press tomorrow.

deadening lift

Block Pulls:
400 x 3
450 x 3, 3
490 x 3?
(Vit help me out here with the numbers)

Felt like death on these. Lower back still isn't 100% from last week. The weight felt fine once I got it off the blocks, but the pain level was @9 for getting it moving.

Good Mornings:
315 x 5
365 x 5
405 x 5

Wasn't sure how these would feel, so I started light. Felt fine. I think I may work these in more often.

Finished with band-resisted hyperextensions (blue band) with pause/gaze at the top, supersetted with banded hamstring curls (green band). Both felt great. My lower back felt better after all that work than it did going in.

12/10/09 Shirted Bench

Standing Press:
155 x 3
165 x 2
175 x 1
My overhead press sucks something awful right now, and standing press is bothering my back. So I need to find some heavy movement exercises to do in place.

Shirted Bench:
315 x 2 (3-board then 2-board)
315 x 2 (2-board)
335 x 2 (1-board)
335 x 2 (1-board)

Close-grip Pin Presses:
225 x 5
245 x 5
255 x 4

DB Flies:
30s x 8 for 3 sets

Deadlift

Block pulls
363 x 3
373 x 3
383 x 2

Good mornings
185 x 5
195 x 5
205 x 5
215 x 5

Back raises
BW+blue band x 12, 12, 12, 10

Banded leg curls
greens x 4 sets

Entire back side of body and hands day

Knew I was going home tonight so combined workouts

Block pulls

359 x 3 x 3

Last rep on the first and last set were bad, especially without a belt or chalk.

Good mornings

135 x 5 x 2

145 x 5

155 x 5

Leg curls

One arm cable row

90 x 8

100 x 6

110 x 6

Wide grip pullups superset with abs

horrible effort upper back

Just not motivated today. Had to show up at midnight and had no energy.

One-arm cable rows:
120 x 8
130 x 6

Lower back felt bad on these, so I decided to save it since deadlifts were tomorrow

MTS Row:
130 x 8
150 x 8

Almost the same thing but the lack of torque on the back felt much better. Too bad each arm's stack stop at 150.

Wide Grip Pull ups:
16, 10, 14, 10

Finished with some bicep curls. I need to bring the Danish Alps back.

12/9 Training

Finally done with Finals! Today was a celebratory training session.

Bench: 155x3
175x3
195x7

DB Shoulder Press: 50x16-7-5 PR (28RP)

Seated Barbell Curl: 70x11-5-3 (19RP)

Tricep Pullover: 80x13-10-7 PR (30RP)

More experimentation with rest-pausing my assistance work. It felt pretty good, other than a nasty lower back cramp from the DB Shoulder Presses. Also, I discovered that I lost 6 pounds over the course of finals week. This explains why my bench has been shitty. Once I get to gaining again, everything should be kosher.

Deadlifts on Friday.

Bench

Bench

145 x 3

155 x 3 x 2

175 x f

Foam Roller Bench

165 x 3

175 x 3

185 x 2+f

Incline DB Bench

50 x 5

55 x 5

60 x 5

Skullcrusher

55 x 6

75 x 6

65 x 8

12-9-09 Upper Back

One Arm Cable Rows

did same weight for each arm

70x4

80x3

100x2 PR

90x3x2

Wide Grip Weighted Pullups

BW+25 x 8

BW+45 x 6

BW+55 x 5 PR

BW+70 x 1,1, and 1 close grip PR

Incline Curls Superset with Shrug Machine

Curls 35x6,8,8, 20x15

Shrugs 140x30, 180x30, 180x30, 140x40

Medicine Ball abs

GHR abs

11/09/09--Upper Back

One Armed Cable Rows (each weight is for each arm):
40x5
60x4
70x3
80x2
90x2 (got it about halfway there)
80x2x2

Assisted Pull Ups:
(BW-28)x1
(BW-52)x5x4

Lat Pulldowns:
130x5x2

Incline Curls:
20sx8x4

Shrug Machine:
90x30x2
140x20

Incline Abs with medicine ball 10x3

dec 09

Bench 1x3 @185**, 1x2+f @185, 1x3 @185, 1x1 @ 205**
Incline DB Press 1x3 @60s, 1x5 @50, 1x5 @55
Incline Skull Crushers w/ Parallel Bar: 1x8 @55, 2x8@ 75

Squat/Bench

Squat
225 x 5
235 x 3
245 x 3
255 x 2+1 with a slight spot at my sticking point halfway up
185 x 10
-I moved my stance out slightly since I find it easier to sit back this way and prevent my knees from coming too far forward

Bench (paused)
165 x 3
175 x 3
180 x 3 -PR
195 x 1
145 x 10 (unpaused)
-I was surprised at how good benching felt today, especially since I squatted heavy first. It may have something to do with having a full week's rest since last time benching. I've had a hard time keeping up with 2 bench days a week so I'll probably just do light low volume benching on Saturday's from now on.

Pullups supersetted with Leg raises
BW x 12, 10, 10 (different grips)/BW x 25, 15, 20
-Did this as one continuous set since Wooden was closing in 5 minutes.

ME Bench

Did some shirt work today. No one from group 1 showed up, so I trained alone. The cheese always stands alone. But when it wants food, it's there.

Bench:
315 x 2 (wtf? can i really touch w/ 315 now?!)
365 x 3
375 x 1 + 1 right into the rack
375 x 3
395 x 1

Shirt never quite got seated where it needed to be. I had to do these in the main part of the gym with no safety pins, which honestly scares me. On the second rep at 375, I flared too soon and went right into the rack. Thanks spotters!

3-board:
385 x 3
405 x 2 + 1 fail
405 x 2
385 x 3

Triceps were exhausted by the end, so I went down.

Incline Dumbbell:
95s x 8
95s x 5 (so tired)
80s x 8

Finished with some cable flyes

Squat

I realized I've been training to failure essentially every time I lift and I think it's been affecting me negatively so I'm going to try switching to being more conservative.

Squat

215 x 5

225 x 3

235 x 3

245 x 3(awful depth)

Never experienced depth problems until recently. Probably just have to readjust myself to feel where it is again.

Band Resisted Box Squat (purple)

135x4

155x4

165x4

175x4

and for shits

(green)

135 x 4

DB Walking Lunges

55 x 6

Abs

12/08/09 Squat

Squats (suited):
345 x 3
385 x 3
405 x 3
435 x 2
455 x 1
All above parallel but worked the suit in really well. I should be able to hit/break parallel next week. All the weights felt relatively light and easy for the distance they did travel.

Box Squats (band-resisted, w/ foam):
185 x 4 vs greens
225 x 4 vs greens
225 x 3 vs greens+purples

3 sets GHR

2 sets GHR abs

12/8/09--Squat

Squats:
warmups
145x5
155x3
175x3
185x3 (tied my PR... felt pretty good. I'm ready for a new one rep max)

Box Squats (purple band resistance):
95x4x2
105x4
115x4

Abs in my room

12-8-09 Squat

Back Squat

215x5

belted

235x3

245x3

255x3 PR new max

I wanted to go for a single at 275 because I was feeling strong, but Ben discouraged me

Purple Band Resisted Box Squat

135x3

155x4

165x4

175x4

numerous criticisms on these about going down too fast at the very end

UPDATE! I hit new maxes in all my lifts the past 3 workouts so I will update my total. Also since my squat is going up faster than I anticipated I will update my goals.

Lift: Current Max (Goal)

Bench: 210 (225) 2 plates, 1.5 x body weight

Squat: 255 (300) 2 x body weight

Deadlift: 330 (375) 2.5 x body weight

Total: 795 (900) 6 x body weight

So close to 800...

12/8 Training

So I had a little extra time to make it to the gym today. Skwats were on the menu.

Box Squat: 135x3
185x3
225x3 (still not 5/3/1 - that begins post winter break)

Close-Stance Squats: 185x10, 10

Cable Rows: 150x10
200x10-6-4 (20RP)

RDP: 9-3-2 (14 RP)

I wanted to maximize time, so I tried rest-pausing my assistance work. Felt good enough to where I may do that in the future. Also, box squats will be my main squat lift, as I feel they help my free squat form the most (moreso than actually free squatting lol).

12/7/09 Heavy Bench

Bench Press:
warmups
135x3
145x3
155x3
170xf (went for a new PR and fucked up at the bottom because I didn't stay tight enough)
160x1 (flew up very easily. Maybe had a chance at getting the 170 had I had that form and tuck)

Bench with 3" blocks:
155x3
165x3
170x3
175x3

Incline Bench with dumbells:
37.5sx8
40sx8
45sx8

Skull Crushers:
35x8x2
45x8

Meeting with RAs:
I was just dicking around for most of the time, being argumentative for the sake of making an argument. Luke enjoyed this, but once we broke the 1 hour mark, he stopped dicking around and putting up with my shit so we got down to some serious compromises. The total amount of time it wasted was kind of a fail, but in the end we got to keep the Rockstar, so I'm calling it a PR.

12-7-09 Heavy Bench

Bench

175x3

185x3

195x3 PR

215x.5 failed

210x1 PR new max

3 Board Press

195x3

205x3

215x3

220x3 barely got last rep in

Incline Dumbbell Bench

100x10

120x10

130x10

150x fail

Skullcrushers

65x10

75x10

85x7

Squatting in the rain

Back was more sore than expected from last thursday. I got that cramp thing going at the top when coming up too quickly. Decided to do some suit work today to focus on hitting depth with it. Did everything with the straps down.

Squat:
405 x 3
435 x 3
455 x 3
475 x 3

All felt easy. By the 475, I had a good feel for where depth was and was reliably hitting it convincingly. Now let's see if I can do that with the straps up.

Band-resisted Box Squat:
275 + purples x 4
225 + purples & greens x 4
275 + purples & greens x 4
275 + purples & greens x 4

Everything felt light. The combination of a belt, suit and low box was pretty brutal though. My ribs felt like they were getting crushed every rep. If my forearm ever heals, I want to go much heavier on these.

Lunges:
185 x 8 per leg
205 x 8 per leg

Finished with some transversus

12/07/09 Heavy Bench

Bench:
245 x 3
245 x 3
250 x 3
275 x 1

3-board Press:
265 x 3
275 x 3
280 x 3
280 x 3

Incline DB Press:
80s x 10
90s x 6
95s x 5

Skullcrushers:
65 x 12
95 x 7
95 x 6

Dec 07

Squat 8x5 @135
Band resisted Box Squats 3x4 @135+purples

dec 06

Bench [no pause] 2x5 @ 175 1x3 @175 (f)
Floor Presses 1x4+f @135, 3x5 @135
fucked around with some shoulder press. I blame having no chalk.
Ran into Dean and Dave ~1030 on a Sunday.

12-6-09 Deadlift and Upper Back

Deadlift

Belted

281x3 PR

329x1 PR new max

349x fail couldn't get it off the ground

Pull ups BW x 10 x 3 sets

Sub-Scap pull ups 10 reps x 2 sets

Lat pullovers 4 plates x 10 reps x 3 sets

Incline Curls 32.5x8 35x6 37.5x5

Reverse grip curls 40x10x2

Wrist Curls 50x10x2 each arm

12-5-09 Bench?

Wooden Center closes too early on saturdays I tried to go but instead I had the...

worst meal ever tonight. De Neve denied me, Covel denied me, Hedrick promised chicken fried steak, but delivered hamburger patties with gravy. It was horrible. They ran out of tri tip, and everything good. The potatoes were dry as hell, the pears were crunchy and tasted like wood, there was no variety, everything sucked. I did hand stand pushups and pushups and abs in my room instead of gym.

Hand Stand Pushups x 8

Weighted Pushups

Backpack + 6 textbooks + 5 gatorades x 25 x 4 sets

Various crunches and ab exercises

12.5.09--Deadlift

After fucking absolutely dominating the Bench and Squat days this week with new PRs, I was ready to give deadlift the business.

Deadlift (sumo):
warmups
243x3 (felt pretty easy)
260-f (This was the beginning of a day of frustration. My PR deadlift is 280 and I couldn't even get this off the ground. My glutes were super sore)

Deadlift off Blocks (conventional)
260-f (More frustration. Can't get it off the blocks. Glutes on fire. I blame EAGLE GLUTTTE MACHINNNNEEEE)
155x3
175xf (FUCK THIS SHIT... At least USC lost.)

Watching Pete Carroll's face after the USC loss was the highlight of my day. I tried to do a sitting deadlift of 155, but couldn't stand back up...an awful day overall.

Deathlift

Deadlift

368 x 2+stars (PR)

May have gotten that last one in if I had just kept my hips down. Although during the warmup I got an unbelted single PR at 353 so that was cool.

Block pulls (conventional)

315 x 3

353 x 3

368 x 3

Seated deadlift

155 x 8

221 x 4

155 x 8

Grip was gone in the middle of the 221 set so I dropped it all the way down for the sake of reps and getting the form down.

12/05/09 Deadlift

Deadlift:
warmups
443 x 2.9
Grip issues...and some anger management issues...nuff said

Deadlift off Blocks (conventional stance, bar 3" below knee):
465 x 3
465 x 3
475 x 3

Seated Sumo Deadlifts:
225 x 8 for 2 sets
This killed my shins and I had a pretty decent lower back pump going, so I stopped it here.

Squat Suit Work:
15 mins cardio (trying to get it on)
315 x 3
365 x 2
405 x 2
Not anywhere near parallel, but was able to get the suit to ride up about 1 more inch in the crotch and 2 more inches on my legs. I have about another 1/2 inch more to get it right in my crotch and about 1-1.5 inches more up my leg so I can hit parallel and keep my knees out.

Shoulder Work

Standing Press:
185 x 5
185 x 4
195 x 3
205 x 2
215 x 1

Considering 215 was my old max, hitting it after all that work felt pretty good.

Band-Resisted Bench:
used blues, maybe +160 at the top?

135 x 4, 2 sets
155 x 4
185 x 4, 2 sets
205 x 4
225 x 3

Tricep Death:
205 x all five
225 x 3 boards + 3 reps on 4 board

Got a bit greedy on the last one and jumped too high.

Finished with 3 sets of close grip pull ups

12/5 Training

Standing Press: 85x5
95x5
110x10 PR

T-bar Rows: 90x10
115x10
135x10
155x11

Modified Extensions: 65x12
75x12, 12, 12

DB Curls: 32.5x8, 10, 10

Nothing too crazy today. Hit a nice PR on the standing press (switched it b/c push press was feeling inconsistent). Still playing with the assistance work though, and seeing which rep schemes/exercises feel best. I know that my triceps are getting to be much more involved with my pressing strength, and I am giving them the attention they deserve. My lats and upper back are always important for benching and deadlifting strength, so I'm hitting those hard twice a week. I'm trying more raise-type motions for the shoulders as of late, and seeing how those work out (rotating between front, side, and rear raises). The only thing that might seem out of place is the increased bicep work. I have recently discovered that my biceps have gotten very weak, so I need to make sure that they wont hold me back.

Every Effort Bench

Sort of pieced together what I could from both bench days since I don't have bands.

Just came out of a lab practical and didn't eat lunch so I was planning on mostly doing maintenance.

Bench (self imposed pause/no call)

135 x 5

145 x 3

155 x 3

175 x 1 (PR)

whoops

Floor Press

145 x 3 x 2

155 x 3 x 2

165 x 3 (PR)

Standing Press

75 x 5

85 x 4

95 x 3

105 x 2

115 x 1 (PR)

Dips

BW x 15

BW x 10 x 2

11-27 - 12-4

11-27
Snatch 80/2 @ 7, 85/2 @ 7,7
Jerk 97/3 @ 7,8,8
Front squat 142/2@ 9,9,9,miss,miss


11-30
Power clean + Jerk 110/2+1@ 9 105/2+1 @ 8,8,8 107/2+1 @ 8,8
Clean + Jerk 107/2+1@8 110/2+1@8,8 112/2+1@8
Jerk 110/2 @ 8,8,8,8,8,8
Front squat 110/4@7,7,7,7

12-1
Power snatch 80/2 @ 7,7,7
Power clean + Jerk 95/2 @ 7,7,7
Drop Snatch 80/4 @ 7,7,7,7

12-2
power snatch 85/2 @ 8,8,8,8 88/2 @ 8,9,9
Snatch 85/2 @ 8 90/2 @ 8 93/2 @ 8, 95/2 @ 8,8
Jerk 110/2 @ 8,8,8,8,8,8
Back squat 134/3 @ 7,7,7

12-3
Power clean + Jerk 92/2 @ 7,7,7,7
Clean pull + Clean 100/1+1@7, 105/1+1@7, 110/1+1 @ 7

12-4
Front Squat 147/1, 152/1, 157/1, 161 - miss, miss
A little bit disappointed, but at the same time, based on the numbers from the previous weeks, expected. I'll still be working to bring my squat up during the next cycle, but still most of my energy will be on explosive strength.
Power clean + Jerk 105/2+1 @ 8, 107/2+1 @ 8,8,8,8 110/2+1 @ 8,8,8
Clean + Jerk 115/3+1 @ 8,8,8,9

Bench

12/3/09

Standing Press

95 x 5

105 x 4

115 x 3

125 x 1 + 1 fail

135 x fail

terrible pressing.

Dumbbell Press

last set: 75 x 6

12/03/09 Shirted Bench

So today was the first time in about 7 months I have done shirted bench work. It was also the first time using the new Super K A/S.

Considering its a new shirt and all, it was pretty easy to get into from what I had been used to with other shirts. It took a little while to get it seated in a comfortable position (as if any position could be considering comfortable in a bench shirt) and I still feel like in the back of both armpits by the tricep the shirt could be pulled in a bit. That should happen as I work it in more.

Enough talking, here is how it went.

Shirted Bench:
275 x 3 5-board
275 x 3 4-board
295 x 2 4-board
315 x 2 3-board
335 x 1 3-board
All the weights flew up, the actual pressing part was easy, its was more taxing to stretch the shirt out and row it into the boards. For the 275 and 295 sets I was basically tucking it down to my dick - a combination of the unworked shirt and light weight. But for the 315 and 335 sets the bar placement was much better.

Tricep Death:
145 0-6 board
150 failed due to sabotage by a certain team member (although the way it was going I would've prob failed around somewhere on the 5-board).

Deadlift

Deadlift
369 x 3 PR

Block pulls
369 x 3
379 x 3 -PR (definitely some lower back rounding though)
359 x 3

Seated sumo pulls
221 x 6, 5, 4 -these felt incredibly awkward and my form basically sucked

Finished with rainbow dragon fly ponies and back raises
3 sets each

ME Deadlift

Deadlift:
629 x 3

This felt heavy. I seem to have lost all speed and strength since the meet. Definitely an @10 lift for me. Also, I think a huge PR but whatever; it should have been easier.

Deadlift off Blocks:
479 x fail
401 x fail

I couldn't get this to move for anything. Completely fried from the triple. bleh.

Seated Sumo Pulls:

221 x 7, 7
271 x 6

Felt good but still heavy. I had planned on the work sets being around 360.

Finished with some rainbow dragonfly ponies, hyperextensions and EEAAAAAGGGLEEEE GLUUUUTEEEEE MACCCCHIIIIIIIIIINNNEEEEE (to attempt to make up for the failure in block work).

12/3 Training

Deadlift: 195x5
225x5
255x5

RDL: 135x15
155x15, 15, 15 (epic low back pump)

Pull-ups: 4 grips going from widest to narrowest: 10, 10, 7, 7

Hanging Leg Raises: 5, 5, 5, 5

Good session. Aquasocks are awesome for conventional deadlifts, and all of my sets felt strong and fast. I'm also getting quite used to the hook grip, and it feels awesome as well.

Pressing on Saturday.

12.3.09--Speed Bench

Standing Press:
45x5
55x5
75x5
85x4
95xf (got it up like 3/4 of the way...couldn't lock out)
85x3
85x2
95x1 (avenged my previous fail)

Band Resisted Bench Press (purples, alternating between wide, medium, and close grips)
warmups
95x3x3
105x3x9

Tricep Death:
85 success
95--fail with 3 to go on 6 board. Double fail because I failed at top. I then got scolded for failing at the top.

dec 3

Deadlift 2x3 @221, 1x1 @241, 1x2+f @291**, 1x1 @241, 1x1@261
Hyperextensions 15x20**

Late Uppr Bck

12:00am - 12:45am zzzzzz

One Arm Cable Rows:
Figured I might get more work in this way...
90 x 8
110 x 8
130 x 8
150 x 6

Probably should have started with 130. Needed chalk badly on these, or I would've continued.

Close-grip Pull Downs:
stack x 8, 4 sets

Wide-grip Pull Ups:
These were hard after all that backwork

bw x 8, 8, 10

Incline Curls:
35 x 10
40 x 10
45 x 8, 7

12.2.09 Upper Back

Close Grip Lat Pulldowns:
100x10
120x8
130x8

Cable Rows:
100x10
120x8x3

Incline Curls:
20sx8x3 (each arm)

Shrug "Machine":
225x8
245x8x2

Gripper:
45x30x2
70x30

12-2-09 Upper Back

Close Grip Lat Pull Down

160x10

180x8

200x6 PR

210x5 PR

Cable Rows

130x10

150x8

170x6

160x6

Incline Curls

30's x 10 x 4 sets didn't finish the very last 2 reps PR

Shrug Machine 4 sets from 2 plates per side to 3 plates + 35 per side

Gripper 4 sets of 20 reps at 2 plates

Reverse Grip Curls 50x10x2

12/02/09 Upper Back Etc.

Shrug "Machine":
4 Plates and a 1/4 on each side x 8 for 4 sets

Lat Pulldown:
220 x 5 for 4 sets

Machine Shoulder Press:
4 set of 8

Hammer Curls:
50s x 8 for 3 sets

dec 2

Bench 1x5 @175, 1x1 @185, 1x3 @185, 1x1 @195**, 1x1 @200**

Foam Roller Press 1x1f @225, 1x2f @205, 3x3 @185

Pec Dec 1x6 @150, 1x6 @160, 1x6 @170

Bench

Bench (paused)
165 x 5
175 x 2+1(spotter touched the bar on the last rep so I didn't count it)
175 x 3
190 x 1
-on the sets of more than 1 rep I seem to be explosive off the chest on the first rep but there's a huge decrease in speed on the later reps

Floor press
185 x 3, 3, 3, 3
-Since I was alone I did these instead of foam presses but it was probably a bad idea because they made my elbows hurt pretty badly

Incline press
135 x 5
145 x 5
155 x 3+1fail

Did a set of dumbbell presses but my elbows hurt too much so I just finished with flyes
145 x 12
160 x 10, 8

Upper back

Wide grip lat pulldowns
220 x 6
230 x 5
240 x 5, 5

Dumbbell rows (using hammer curl bar)
115 x 8
125 x 8 -The elbow of my arm holding the bench felt awkward because of the bulky bar so I just switched to lighter dumbbells
90 x 30 PR
Gym closed so I had to cut it short

12/01/09 Heavy Squat

Squat:
315 x 5
315 x 5
335 x 3
335 x 3

Wasn't feeling too great today and my numbers show. Considering I did 315 x 5 for 5 sets 2 weeks ago, I was hoping to go 315x5, 335x5, 355x3, 365x3. I was happy getting in the work that I did though, and the numbers I was hoping to get will be close on a better day.

Box Squat w/ Foam, band-resisted (~12" w/ 2" foam, purples):
225 x 4
245 x 4
265 x 4
275 x 4

Had to jet to study for an exam tomorrow. I intend to isolate the hammies tomorrow along with the regular upper back work.

12-1-09 Squat

Squat

205x5

215x5

235x3 PR new max

250x3 PR new max, last rep was slow, but not too hard

Box Squats

135x4

175x4

185x4x2

the box was a little higher than the one the rest of you guys used, but there was no pad. We also didn't have bands. They felt really easy. Probably the box was too high.

Cleans

111x5

121x4

131x3

141x2

161x1 PR felt lightheaded after this

Cybex Eagle Glute

210x10 each leg

Lunges

115x7 each leg

115x8 each leg

Abs

Standing ab cable pulldowns 90x10 100x10 110x10

Decline Sit-ups

Rainbow Dragonfly Ponies

Squat--12.1.09

Clean shaven, I strutted into the Wooden Center to get my sweat on. Who knew this week was Max Week? Also, I decided I've had enough fucking around and I'm going to start hitting depth regularly...so I did.

Squats:
warmups
135x5
145x5
165x3
185x3 (Luke said my depth was good so PR by a lot...old PR was 135 with proper depth)
I considered going for a 1 rep max here, but felt tired and knew there was a lot of workout left, so I'm saving that for a later date.
Also, I'm finally getting comfortable holding the bar lower on my back (Matt and everyone else agreed it was way to high on my back before). This is making my squat improve overall.

Box Squats:
135x4x2
145x4
155x4

Cleans/High Pulls:
I tried to clean, but my form is awful and I almost fell after one attempt at 111. I just decided to do high pulls and work on explosiveness from my legs.
121x4
131x3
141x2
161x1 (not really high enough)

Mule kicks (Eagle Glute machine):
210x8x3 for each leg (pretty easy with the right leg, brutally hard for my left)

Ab Cable Pulldown:
60x10
80x10x2
This really killed my pinky fingers, which felt jammed by the black part of the rope thing

Incline Abs:
Body weightx10x3

Since I've hit two maxes this week, I'll do an updated tally here:
Bench Press: 165
Squat: 185 (haven't tried a 1 rep max though)
Deadlift: 280
Total: 630

ME Bench

Bench:
275 x 5
285 x 3
295 x 3
305 x 1

Felt pretty good on these. Noticeable loss in leg drive though from doing squats yesterday.

Foam Roller Press:
345 x 3
355 x 3
365 x 3
375 x 1 + 1 fail (misgroove)
365 x 3

On the 375, I must have misgrooved. Darvin couldn't quite spot it back up, so I had to rest on the manpon for a bit and then finish the rep, haha. TEAM EFFORT.

Not sure why the weights were so much lighter than this previous foam roller workout. I wasn't pausing on the roller, and instead trying let it sink more and then press. Perhaps that was it?

Incline Bench:
225 x 5
235 x 5
225 x 5

Planned on doing stability bench, but right forearm was still iffy so I switched to cable flyes and then did hanging leg raises.

Squats

12/1/09

Squats

225 x 5 x 2

235 x 3 x 2

good depth, form not so great

Band-Resisted Box Squats

145 x 4

155 x 4

165 x 4

dec 1

Close Grip Pull Downs 3x6 160
Cable Rows 3x8 150
Incline Curls 3x? 27.5
Rear Delt Machine 1x8 130, 2x8 160

12/1 Training

Bench: 145x5
165x5
185x10

Ez-Bar Pullovers (tricep bar still feels best): 45x10
65x10
75x10x3

Delt Raises: 45x10x5

DB Curls: 32.5x10, 10, 7

Experimenting with assistance work, and seeing how it feels. Feeling stressed out this week as finals are coming up, and my SRP just assigned me a project, so I'm not going to beat myself up in the gym this week.

Bench

11/30/09

Bench

195 x 5

205 x 3

205 x 3

235 x fail (failed on the lockout which is unusual for me, too much flaring like usual)

Foam Roller Press

225 x 5 x 3

Incline Bench

155 x 3 x 5

Hot Girl

While this is a lifting blog and I by no means intend to spam it...please watch the video and enjoy the beautiful girl in it (as discussed at our training session today).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEg6ECA5Nc0&hd=1

Everyone lurvs squat depth

I saw this on MIT's blog, and thought it might be useful. http://www.usapowerlifting.com/newsletter/06/novice/novice.html Now I can feel even more sad when you guys red light my squats :'(

Fu Manchu

Squat
225 x 5

225 x 5(failed somewhere along the way, don't remember where)
235 x 2+f

225 x 3

Band resisted box squats (purple band, weird box, weird pad)
135 x 4
185 x 2+horrible failure
155 x 4

165 x 4

Cleans:
111 x 5
121 x 4
131 x 3
141 x 2
151 x f

Kneeling cable crunches

Awful day for me, all but forgot what made low bar last week go so well and felt like I messed up pretty much every work set. I think I'm going to have to take some extra time to get a feel for it. Every time I get under the bar it doesn't feel quite secure on my back.

11/30 Training + Judgement

Lower Back felt kinda iffy today b/c of studying all day. Scrapped the squats, and just did Leg Presses, Calves, and Abs.

Also, I lost the beard competition by a whisker (haha), and shaved it down tonight. Max Effort Goatee.

11-30-09 Heavy Bench/Beard

Bench with full pause

165x5

175x3

185x3 felt pretty easy

195x1 I forgot to pause at first so I lowered the bar down and did a full pause. Originally without the pause it felt like it was gonna fly right up, but after lowering it the second time it was brutal lifting it.

Foam roller bench

195x3

200x3

205x3 easiest set

210x3

215x2 Matt told me to touch lower on the last one and I could not lift it from there.

Stability Bench

37.5 dumbbells each side with red minis halfway out on the bar x 8 reps x 3 sets

Incline Bench

115x5

135x5

145x4+1 helped

No Shave November complete. I award myself most volume of beard hair.

11.30.09--Heavy Bench

I don't know exactly what happened to me, but something clicked for me and I was just in the fucking zone!

Beard Growing Competition:
There's a reason why the competition is 30 days long. Maybe it was the long weekend or something, but my growth came on very strong to give me a new beard PR and the winner of the best effort category.

Bench Press:
warmups
125x5
135x3
145x3
155x1
165x1 (New PR...old PR was 160. I probably could have done more than 165 the way I was lifting today. I really just was tucking well, keeping the core and scaps tight, arching well, everything was working for me.)

Foam Roller Bench:
155x3
165x3
175x3
185x3x2 (PR)
Once again, I probably could have tried 195 for my last set. Everything felt easy today.

Stability Bench:
20s with minisx8x2 (too easy)
30s with minisx8 (definitely the challenge I needed)

Incline Bench:
95x5x2
115x5

If there were some brick wall that was holding my bench press back before, I felt like I knocked it down like Juggernaut in X-Men 3:The Last Stand.

Squat

Squat
225 x 5, 5
235 x 3, 3
Most of these reps felt shitty since my lower back is still sore from pulling on Friday.

Band resisted box squats (on ~10" box + 3" foam pad)
135+purples x 4
185+purples x 4, 4 -Dave made me move up since I Clay was doing 135.
195+purples x 2+1fail
Form was pretty shitty on these. I kept on rocking too far forward on the way up.

Lunges
115 x 6 per leg
135 x 6
145 x 6

Kneeling abs
4 sets

SQUATTTA

Squat:
405 x 5
435 x 5
445 x 3
455 x 3

Squatting still sucks. I don't think I've been training deep enough and it's come back to bite me. I widened my stance and added more flare. It felt amazing for pop out of the hole, but apparently I was still 1" high, so that was probably why. Most of the reps were below thanks to constant harassment.

Right forearm is still wrecked. I had to tape it and then use a knee wrap to compress it further to lessen the pain.

Band-resisted Squats:
275 x 4
315 x 4, 4, 4

I purposefully held back on these due to increase pain in the forearm.

Cleans:
131 x 5
151 x 4
181 x 3
201 x 2
221 x 1

In a strange miracle, these didn't hurt at all? Started light just in case.

Finished with some kneeling cable abs.

11/30/09 Heavy Bench

Bench:
225 x 5
245 x 3
250 x 3
265 x 1 EASY

Bench on ~4" manpon:
255 x 3
275 x 3
295 x 2.5
295 x 2.5
285 x 3

Stability Bench (55s w/ minis):
x 6
x8
x10

Incline Bench:
185 x 5
185 x 5
175 x 5
these were pretty brutal after the stability bench

QE Bench

Didn't get a chance to workout over break due to family commitments. Today got cut short due to even more stuff.

Standing Press:
185 x 5, 4, 3
195 x 2, 1

Close Grip Pin Press:
225 x 5
255 x 3
275 x 3
285 x 2 + 1 fail

Finished with Dips and Sub-scap pulls

nov 29

Bench
3x5 165 pause
2x3 175 pause

Zercher Squat
1x5 135
1x5 155

Close Grip Bench
3x8 135

11/28/09 DE Squat, Accessory Uppers

Speed Box Squat (~14" box, against greens):
205 x 2 for 8 sets

I had strained my right hamstring on 11/17 and took 11/24 off from squatting to get it in order. Normally I lift thru things like this, but I felt like it would heal quick and I would only miss one lift (instead of lifting thru it and prolonging the injury). I made the right choice, the missed lift allowed it to heal and the speed squats felt fine.

Band (green) Pull Thrus:
3 x 10

Shoulder Pin Press:
155 x 5 for 3 sets

Upright Rows:
135 x 8 for 3 sets

Incline DB Curls:
40s x 6 for 3 sets

11/28 Training

Push Press: 110x5
125x3
140x3

CG Floor Press: 155x10, 10, 9, 9, 6

T-bar Row: 135x10, 10, 10, 8, 8

Leg Raises: 20x3

Don't really know what happened with training today. Maybe I trained too close to when I woke up, maybe it was all of the dairy products last night, or maybe I was just being a pansy. Anyways, the push press was close to a PR today, and the weights in the accessory exercises were pretty much a repeat of last week.

Squats and Beard Evaluations on Monday.

Squat

11/27/09

Squat

205 x 5

215 x 5

225 x 5

Shrugs 315 x 6 x 3

Deadlift

Block pulls (from about 1 inch below the knees)
315 x 5
325 x 5
335 x 5
345 x 5

Power cleans
135 x 5
145 x 5
155 x 5

Lying leg curls
90 x 12
110 x 10, 10

11-27

Snatch 80/2 @ 7, 85/2 @ 7,7
Jerk 97/3 @ 7,8,8
Front squat 142/2 @ 9,9,9,miss,miss

11/26 Thanksgiving Training

Deadlift: 210x5
235x3
265x5 (felt pretty good on the low back and everything)

RDL: 135x10x5

Chinups: BWx8x5

Pre Turkey Bench

Bench (paused)
155 x 5
165 x 5, 5

Floor press
165 x 5
175 x 5, 5, 5

Incline dumbbell press
55s x 9
60s x 7, 6

Rope pushdowns
55 x 3 sets

11-23, 11-25

11-23
Snatch 90/2 @ 8,8,8,(1+miss, miss), 7 Weird misses there.... didn't feel that great coming in though

Snatch pull 100/3 @ 8,8,7,7,7
Jerk 110/2 @ 8 112/2@ 8.5 110/2 @ 8,8.5
Front squat 125/2@ 8,8,8,8 130/2 @ 8


11-25
Clean and Jerk 105/2+1 @ 8,8 105/1+2 @ 8,8 112/1 @ 8.5 120/1 @ 9,9,9
Jerk 120/1 @ 9,9,9,miss
Clean pull 120/2 @ 8,8,8,8
Back squat 125/2 @ 7 134/2 @ 7,7,7,7
Good workout, especially on the jerk. The squats didn't feel great, my hips are a little tender from all the heavy squats.


*Update*
11-25 was also ME Egg Nog day. For those of you trying to gain weight, the holidays are the perfect time, because of the magical concoction known as The Nog. Yesterday I successfully downed 1/2 gallon of egg nog. Not really because I'm trying to gain that much weight. I just love The Nog. But, since it has about twice the calories and more protein than milk (not to mention doesn't upset my lactose intolerance at all), it is truly God's gift to strength athlete. Drink some Nog.

nov 25

Bench 4x5 165 no pauses
Press 1x5 95
Hyperextensions 4x12 weighted

BANCH

Bench

135 x 5

145 x 5

155 x 5

The friend I had spotting me was kind of iffy on the pauses but definitely know this is an improvement from before

Dips

BW x 10

+10 x 10

+25 x 8

+35 x 8

+45 x 5

+55 x 3

Don't know why I did so many of these

Seated pin press

95 x5

115 x5

125 x 4+f

125 x 4

Triceps pushdowns

11.24.09--SQUAT

Back Squats:
warmups
95x5x2
135x5x2
155x5x2
165x5

Band Assisted Squats (greens):
215x4
225x4x3

Pause Squats (3 seconds):
125x3
135x3x2

Lunges and Mule Kicks

Abs

11-24-09 Squat

Squat

205x5

215x5

225x5 PR!

225x5 the last 3 were assisted a little

Green Band Assisted Squat

335x4

345x4

355x4x2

Pause Squats with 3 second pause

165x3

175x3

185x3 last one was a grinder as Matt said

Lunges

50 pound dumbbells each arm x 6 each leg x 3 sets

Abs

medicine ball throws: 3 sets

rainbow dragonfly ponies: 9 total

11/24 Training

Bench: 155x5
175x3
195x9 PR

Military Press: 110x6, 5, 5, 5, 4

Pull-ups: BWx9, 8, 8, 8, 8

I have not had the chance to sleep much for the past few days, so the bench weights felt kind of heavy today. That being said 195x9 is an excellent PR for me, and it feels like my benching strength is really going up with this system. I think it may be all of the overhead pressing. Speaking of overhead pressing, I think I will alternate between lighter and heavier assistance work each week in order to get some semblance of weight on the bar, but still allow for proper recovery.

Deadlift and ME Turkey on Thursday.

Upper back

Shrugs
365 x 10
405 x 6
455 x6, 8

Pullups
BW+55 x 5
BW+65 x 5
BW+70 x 3.5
BW+45 x 7

Seated cable rows
190 x 8
200 x 7, 7
210 x 7

Rear delt raises
30s x 12, 10, 10

supersetted w/ EZ bar curls
70 x 8, 8, 7

QE Bench

Had to catch a plane flight so went in early

Bench:
275 x 5, 3 sets

Felt much easier than last week. Had a hard time find spotters though

Standing Pin Press:
right below eye level
205 x 2
185 x 4, 3 sets

Tried doing a set of cable flyes, but the right forearm started feeling awful. Rather than further irritate it, I stopped there.

11-23-09 Heavy Bench

Bench

170x5x3 Hard, but not any harder than last week. The pause may have been slightly less than one second for some of them, but all were done with full pause and press commands

Floor Press

175x5, 165x5, 170x5

Triceps Pulldown

110x10, 130x10, 150x10, 130x10 did these with the small metal v shaped bar

I was pretty tired from the basketball game and rally. Scott and I got on tv a few times, pretty sweet. I think my bench may be going up.

11.23.09--Heavy Bench

I don't know exactly why, but I was having a pretty shitty lifting day. I either got too ambitious with my weights or I was too tired from the Basketball game and the Bonfire (FUCK 'SC).

Bench Press:
warmups
135x5
135x4-fail on 5th
135x3-a little bit of help on 4th, failure on 5th

Floor Press:
145x5
135x5
135x4--fail on 5th. "FUCK IT"

Triceps Pull Down:
60x12
90x12x2
100x10

I just discovered low bar squats

Squat

205 x 5
215 x 5
225 x 5 (PR)
235 x 4.5 (PR)

Band-lightened squat (blue)
405 x 4
425 x 4
455 x 2(assisted)+fail

435 x f
435 x 4+Dave

Totally burned out my CNS after that 455 attempt and lost my balance on the first 435. The 435 I completed needed quick tap ups on the last 2 reps.

Pause squat
195 x 3
195 x 3
205 x 3

Lunges
95 x 6
115 x 6
115 x 6

Some of these weren't quite deep enough since I'm trying to get used to low bar squatting and having to sit back more but it felt pretty good overall.

RE Squat

Squat:
405 x 5
415 x 5
425 x 5
435 x 5

Better than last week, worse than what I wanted. Squats are averaging 60% below parallel with the rest at or slightly above. Also not what I want, but at least I'm getting the calls now so I can adjust.

Band-lightened Squats:
reverse blues
545 x 4
585 x 4
615 x 4
635 x 4

heavvvvy. I feel pretty good when sinking these deep though. Hopefully I can use that to adjust where I think below-parallel needs to be

Pause Squat:
315 x 3 @ 3 sec, 3 sets

Felt exhausted. Sprained my right forearm on the first set when my hand slipped out too far and the wrist bent back.

Glute Thrust Machine:
Too dead to do lunges.
stack x 8, 10, 10, 10

Overall, a productive workout. Things are coming back, but I have a lot of work to do get get everything in shape for january.

Squat

Squat
215 x 5
225 x 5
225 x 5
235 x 5 -this set was hard and the last rep was a grind

Band lightened squats
405 x 4
425 x 4
455 x 2+fail, 1+fail
435 x 4

Pause squats (3 seconds)
195 x 3
195 x 3
205 x 3
-Need to focus on keeping my knees out and arching my lower back hard throughout the movement

Lunges
95 x 6
115 x 6
135 x 6

Bench

11/23/09

Bench

185 x 5

185 x 5

195 x 4

Seated Pin Press

95 x 2 + 115 x 3

105 x 5

115 x 10

Incline Dumbbell Press

50 x 7

55 x 8

60 x 8

Core