Bench

3/31/10

Bench

205 x 3

215 x 3, 3

Reverse-Grip Seated Military Press

85 x 5, 5

95 x 5

Weighted Dips

45 x 5

55 x 5

45 x 5

3.31.10--Bench and Upper Back

Did a hybrid Bench and Upper Back day to be caught up after a hectic week.

Bench Press:
warmups
95x5
135x4
145x4x5
155x2+f

Close Grip Bench Press:
very tired on these...
125x4+fx2
115x5

Pin Press:
95x8
115x6
105x5
95x8

Lat Pulls:
120x8
140x5x2

Bicep Curls:
3 sets

Cable Flyes:
3 sets

Sprints at Drake Stadium

RE Bench

Bench:
285 x 4 @ 8+, 4 @ 8+
295 x 4 @ 9, 4 @ 10
285 x 4 @ 9, 4 @ 10

The weight felt extremely light to start and got heavy on the second set of 295 much more than I had expected.

Close-grip Bench:
225 x 5 @ 9, 5 @ 9
235 x 5 @ 10

Military Pin Press:
Set the pins so the weight was at the forehead. Lots of tricep work here.
185 x 5
205 x 4
185 x 6, 7

Finished with cable flyes

3/31 Bench

Bench Press:
205x3, 3, 3

Shoulder Press:
135x5, 5, 5

Dips:
55x5, 5, 5

All good stuff. It seems like my benching and squatting strength suffers the most from long lay-offs of training. They are right in the zone where they need to be to make good gains though.

3.30.1--Squat

Please excuse my absence from the gym. I have had Passover Seders to attend the previous two nights, and might go at an odd time tonight as well. I knew I had to get some squats in so I went at 5 with Darvin to get some work in. Kyle was there too.

The Wooden Center was PACKED. Fucking n00bs who only care about training for the first two weeks of a quarter. It took 35 minutes to get on a squat rack as I had to watch two fashion bugs go through bench press where they didn't even touch their chest and work in with a squatter who set the pins at 4 and used the manpon. Fail.

Squat:
warmups
95x5
135x5
135x3 with Kyle approved good form
155x3
185
205x3x2 PR
205
195x3x2

Kyle really forced me to focus on good form. This resulted in much better strength out of the hole, but also a lot of attempts where I was a little high. In short, I can do good form, but when I get to the bottom of my lift, my form goes soft.

Pause Squats:
135x3x2@3 seconds
145x3@3 seconds

Transversus:
3 sets

Bench/Upper Back

I have a hectic schedule this quarter so I'm condensing bench, upper back, and bench assistance days into 2 upper body days so I'll be lifting 4 times a week. I will still make it out for squats on Monday and deadlifts on Thursday.

Bench (brief pause)
165 x 4, 4, 4, 4
175 x 3+1 w/ spot -Fuck.
165 x 4

Close grip bench
145 x 7
155 x 5, 5

Pullups
BW+45 x 7
BW+55 x 5
BW+65 x 4
BW+45 x 8

Smith machine shrugs
270 x 15
320 x 12, 12, 12

Gaze at the Danish Alps and Weep!

T-bar Rows:
4 sets... 5/6/6.5/6.5 plates

Wide-grip Pull ups:
bw x 10
bw + 45 x 5
bw + 45 x 5
bw + 45 x 8
bw + 70 x 4 + 2 (close-grip)

Shrugs:
4 sets, last set strip set

Danish Aps Preacher Curls
80 x 8
100 x 8
120 x 5, 3

Finished with ball leg raises.

3-30-10 Upper Back

T Bar rows

worked up to 5 plates x 6

Pullups

BW x 12

BW + 45 x 7,5,6,6

Shrugs

2 plates + 25 x 20

3 plates x 20

4 plates hold at top x 10 x 2

Biceps

3/30 Early Back/Biceps

Chin-ups:
35x3, 3, 3

EzBar Row:
165x5, 5, 5

EzBar Curl:
75x5, 5, 5

Not too much to report. This quarter I am focusing on a few basic exercises (9 total)and using a simple linear progression. I had really good results with this method last quarter (and it seems that Jake is reporting similar results), so I am sticking with it. I will be training 6 days a week with a heavy day and a lighter volume day for legs, back/biceps, and chest/shoulders/triceps. I am purposely starting off a little light just so I have some good room to progress throughout the quarter, and if all goes according to plan I should get much stronger this quarter.

Squat

Squat
235 x 3, 3
245 x 3, 3
255 x 3

Pause squats (3 seconds)
185 x 3
195 x 3, 3

Lunges
135 x 8, 7, 7 (per leg)

Planks
3 sets

3/29 Squat

Squat:
255x3
265x3
275x3

Glute Thrust:
225x5, 5, 5

Seated Calf Raise:
160x5, 5, 5

and some GHR abs to finish. Felt a little weak, which is to be expected for not really lifting all of spring break. The glute thrusts were actually a pretty good exercise (although Arthur did not share my opinion), and the fact that they look so funny is only a plus.

Squat Day 3/29/2010

Squat

3 x 345

3 x 345

3 x 345

3 x 345

3 x 345

EVERY set was extremely difficult. I thought I was going to be able to go up in weight but I would have failed.

Front Squats

8 x 185

8 x 185

8 x 205

Hand Cleans

3 x 135

3 x 155

3 x 155

My neck is feeling a lot better. I was able to do these without any sign of pain.

Finished with some calves and abs

Bench 3/26/2010

Dumbbell Bench

5 reps w/ 85's

5 reps w/ 90's

5 reps w/ 90's

5 reps w/ 90's

tried the 100's but no luck

5 reps w/ 90's

Close Grip off pins

3 x 185

3 x 185

3 x 195

3 x 195

3 x 195

3 x 205

Triceps

Close Grips Rows

Farmer walks w/ 85's ( this was a killer )

Finished w/ 10 minutes on the rowing machine

One hell of a workout. I got to try my new Inzer wrist wraps for bench. Helped a lot even though it was close grip.

Lower Back Day 3/25/2010

Squats

5 x 315

5 x 325

5 x 325

Pause Squats

3 x 265

3 x 275

3 x 275

Gmops

5 x 315

5 x 325

5 x 335

Pull Thrus w/ dumbbells

Abs ( Reverse Crunches )

Knee Tuck Jumps

3-29-10 20th Birthday Squat

Squat

225x3

235x3

245x3

260x3 PR

275x3 PR boom. not 2EZ, but I think I could do more fresh

And some other boring stuff that bears not repeating.

Like jump stuff. and calves.

and.

um. like 5 deadlifts.

I'm 20 now.

Lame Leg day

[from last friday]

I was at the med school gym after getting denied guest access to the regular gym. This meant no bumper plates or clean platform.

Hang Cleans:
135 x 3
155 x 1
185 x 2F + 1,
195 x 3F, 3F,
185, F + 1, F + 1, 1
175 x 1, 1, 1, 1 , 1, F + 1
(3F = 3 failed attempts of a single rep)

Not my proudest hang cleaning experience. I had a nasty sprain my lower trap that killed the mood, but I'm not using that as an excuse. My quad started getting irritated half way through the workout, so I stopped after cleans and just did a bunch of abs.

3/27/10--UPDATE

Spring Break was very good as always. I have so many great stories to share with you guys, better than any other stories I've ever shared. Unfortunately I will be missing the lifting on Monday night as I will be attending a Passover Seder, but I will see you on Tuesday at the normal time.

Polish weightlifting training videos

http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=308D0F3E52764BA9

Kinda long, but interesting.

Bench Assistance

Flat dumbbell bench
75s x 5
80s x 4+1fail
75s x 5, 5, 5

Dips (elbows were a little sore yesterday so I stayed away from any barbell pressing exercises)
BW for 3 sets of 12

Dumbbell rows
142 x 8
152 x 8
162 x 5
172 x 4+regrip+1

Post-training BW: 181.0 lbs

Competition

Hit 110/136 for a 246 total. That's a 12kg PR over my last meet, and 136 = 300lb, so I'm really happy about my results. Also, I set a PR on coffee consumption as well: 48 ounces.

DB bench

Dumbbell bench

60 x 5

65 x 5

70 x 5 x 3

Close grip incline bench

135 x 3 x 6

Tricep pushdowns

4 sets of 8 on a weird pulley that made 70 kind of hard for that many reps

Bent-over row

205 x 5

205 x 6 x 3

Pulling

Feeling better today. Mostly runny nose which is not as bad as a sore throat in my opinion.

Power cleans
185 x 1
195 x 1 -PR
175 x 1, 1, 1
My wrists felt kind of beat up after this probably because my form is especially bad with heavier weights.

GMOPs (off the 10th pin down which I think is the same height as Wooden)
205 x 5, 5, 5, 5

Kneeling abs
95 x 12
102.5 x 12
110 x 10

3.25.10--UPDATE

Washington DC was awesome.
NYC is great.
Everyone on my group is aware that I am a California State Record Holder.
More stories to come in person.

Oh yeah I did about 15 pushups but nothing really else.

Sick bench

Spent most of the day in bed sick. Everything was sore to start. Trained at Wash U's med school gym, which had all these weird hexagonal grip bars - sort of like the dumbbell handles at Wooden, except for an entire bar. Very uncomfortable.

Bench:
275 x 5, 5, 5

Incline Dumbbell Bench:
80s x 8
90s x 8
100 x 8, 8

Finished with CYBEX EAGLE ROW, CYBEX EAGLE SHOULDER PRESS, pull ups and ball leg lifts.

This gym was stocked with all CYBEX EAGLE , which made up for the hex barbells. Sadly no CYBEX EAGLE GLUTE MACHINE, or I would have done that out of principle.

Bench

Still feeling a little sick, hopefully will be better tomorrow.

Bench (paused)
155 x 5
165 x 5
175 x 4+1 w/ help -should've gotten this one

Incline dumbbell press
65s x 5
70s x 5
75s x 4
80s x 3

Skull crushers
70 x 10, 10, 10

Yesterday's workout

Cleans

155 x f

135 x 1 x 5

145 x 1 x 5

Not even a PR, yet the 145s were starting to feel easy as they went on, so I'm pretty sure I have no idea how to warm up on these.

GMOP - OP

175 x 5

185 x 5

205 x 5 x 2

DB pull throughs

55 x 6 x 2

55 x 8 x 2

Box rebounds and split jumps

Didn't seem like much until I wrote it down

Bench

145 x 5 x 3 (PR)

Incline dumbbell bench

60 x 5 x 2

65 x 3

70 x 3

Moved to a less inclined bench from first to second set and felt easier so I jacked up the weight. 70 felt about right for 3.

Shoulder press/Pull up superset

95 x 8, BW x 6

(95 x 6, BW x 6) x 3

Chest supported rows

125 x 6

125 x 8

135 x 6

135 x 5

3-20-10 Legs

Dunked a tennis ball on 10'1'' rim with running shoes on asphalt court. Failed about 15 times, but finally got it. PR

Estimated running vertical jump 10'1"+3" for tennis ball - 7'6" standing reach = 34" vert

This was a new PR over my previous

also did a ton of jumps

3-23-10 Bench

bench

155 x 10 easy lol

monday night technically tuesday at a party. I had to show all my friends back home how much stronger I am than them. The rest of the workout was tuesday night. I also did some pull ups at the party including a one armed pull up with my right arm.

155 x 5 x 3

155 x 8

yeah I went pretty light because I'm kinda lazy as hell this break

Triceps extensions

20 x 10 x 3 each arm

Deltoid Raises

Flyes

Abs

Light Upper Back

Still feeling sick today.
Lat pulldowns
245 x 5 -wasn't feeling these so I just did pullups

Pullups
BW for 5 sets of 10

Machine shrugs
4 plates/side for 4 sets of 20

Incline curls
30s x 10, 8

Bench 3/23/2010

Bench

195 x 5
195 x 5
I felt like my arms were flaring out too much so I lowered the weight and did two more sets with more tucking.
185 x 5
185 x 5

Incline Dumbbell
5 reps with 75's
" " "
3 reps with 80's
3 reps with 85's

Super-set Shoulder Press & Close Grip pull-ups ( decided to do these since I did wider grip on saturday )

115 x 5, then 8 pull ups
115 x 5, then 8 pull ups
115 x 5, then 7 pull ups
115 x 5( heavy grinder), then 7 pull ups

Barbell Rows
165 x 5
165 x 5
175 x 5
175 x 5

My triceps were done by the time I got to the supersets. Overall, a good workout. Btw I'm aware that my posts are a little delayed but I figured I'd post all the other ones.

Squat 3/22/2010

Squat
worked my way up to 345 x 3
did a heavy single at 365

3x10 @ 255
my legs were killing me

lounges with dumbbells ( there was no racks to do them at with a regular bar )
6 w/ 45's ( on each leg of course )
" "
4 w/ 55's
" "

Plyometric jumps
Knee Tuck Jumps over small box

Finished up with some transverse work, I had my brother help me keep the ball steady.
Great workout. Extremely lightheaded by the end of it.

Bench 3/20/2010

Bench

215 x 1
215 x 1
215 x 1
220 x 1
225 x 1

Band Lightened Bench w/ Greens

315 x 2
315 x 2
315 x 2
345 x 2 ( couldn't lock out, I had Dave help me up )
315 x 2 ( decided to stick with what I can do )

Floor Press

185 x 5
185 x 4
175 x4
175 x 3
extremely tired

Pull ups
7
6
5
6

Finished up with some rows

SPRING BREAK! WOOOOOOOOO!

Squat

245 x 3

255 x 3

175 x 10 x 3

too hard, too fat

Lunges

135 x 5 x 4

Jump stuff

4 Star Squat

Trained at 4 star in El Segundo today. 3 hours well spent.
I feel a personal problem coming on (AKA a cold) but I don't think this affected my performance today since I completely forgot about it while training.

Squat
265 x 2+1 with a slight spot
275 x 1 -This was a grinder.
I'm having problems with my knees coming forward when I break parallel and come out of the hole. Need to focus on taking the tension in my hamstrings and keeping my chest up on the way out of the hole.

Squat w/ chains
135+2 chains(total) x 5
135+4 chains x 5
135+6 chains x 5
135+8 chains x 5
I think it was like 240 at the top on the last set. This was my first time doing these and they felt really good. I think doing these consistently would teach how to be fast on the way up. Unfortunately these would probably be incredibly inconvenient to store at school.

SS bar box squats
135 x 5
185 x 1+1 fail
155 x 5
Also my first time doing these. These work the core like crazy.

Plyometrics
3 sets of box rebounds
3 sets of side box jumps

Abs
GHR abs
ball leg raises

ME Squat

Squat:
405 x 1
425 x 1
445 x 1
465 x 1
475 x 1
485 x 1

Felt good. Quad discomfort was still there, but not nearly as painful as last week. I was too tentative in the hole because of it though. It was nice to go this heavy as I haven't hit 485 raw in a long while.

SS-bar box squats:
245 x 5
295 x 5
335 x 5
385 x 5 (PR)

Not sure what happened with these, but they felt great. I was going for a single on the last one but it felt so explosive, I kept going. This was pretty surprising since three months ago, I maxed at 368. No quad pain either.

Finished with some box rebounds and side box jumps.

Then did some ghr abs and ball leg raises. The latter were new and I thought were a pretty good code exercises, so we'll be doing them more in the future.

Bench Assistance

Dips
BW+55 x 7
BW+70 x 5
BW+80 x 5, 5

Flat dumbbell press
60s x 10, 8, 8, 8

Dumbbell rows
I ordered another dumbbell that has more room for weights to be loaded. The handle still rolls but it doesn't seem to affect grip too much.
132 x 8
142 x 8
152 x 8
If anyone wants to use the handle for upper back work next quarter just let me know and I'll bring it.

03/20/10 Bench

Need to fight the bubble a bit more to touch in an appropriate spot on my chest.

Greens took 205 off at chest level and zero at the top.

Shirted 2-board

275 lbs x 3 reps x 1 sets @ 7 RPE
295 lbs x 2 reps x 1 sets @ 7.5 RPE
315 lbs x 2 reps x 1 sets @ 8 RPE
335 lbs x 2 reps x 1 sets @ 8 RPE
355 lbs x 2 reps x 1 sets @ 8.5 RPE
365 lbs x 2 reps x 1 sets @ 9 RPE
385 lbs x 1 reps x 1 sets @ 10 RPE
365 lbs x 1 reps x 1 sets @ 9 RPE

Reverse Band Bench (greens at pin 6)

365 lbs x 2 reps x 1 sets @ 8 RPE
375 lbs x 2 reps x 1 sets @ 9 RPE
385 lbs x 2 reps x 1 sets @ 9 RPE
405 lbs x 2 reps x 2 sets @ 10 RPE

Floor Press (Medium Grip)

225 lbs x 5 reps x 3 sets @ 8 RPE

Finished with some BW pullups.

Total Workout Time: 2h

BW: 182.6

ME Bench

Bench:
305 x 1
315 x 1
320 x 1 (PR)
315 x 1, 1, 1

Feels good to hit 3 plates. Right shoulder doesn't feel so good about it though, haha.

Band-lightened bench:
Used the greens
385 x 2
405 x 2
425 x 2
435 x 1 + 1f (misgroove with bands)
435 x 2

Floor Press:
225 x 5, 5, 8, 6

Did some pull ups and sub scap pulls to finish

Deadlift

Band lightened deadlift (blues)
455 x 2
465 x 1+1 failed at the knees
435 x 2, 2, 2
There was no band tension from the knees up but I think this is a good thing because my lockout sucks.

Good Mornings
165 x 10, 10
175 x 10
185 x 10
These actually felt really good compared to last week. It felt much better when I finished the reps quickly instead of taking a huge breath after every rep.

Pushin' and Pullin' 2: Electric Boogaloo

Band-lightened deadlift (blues at 6)

455 x 2

475 x 2

475 x 1+f

455 x 2 x 2

Current personal problem: power racks are too narrow for my stance so these feel kind of weird

GMOP

165 x 10

175 x 10

185 x 10

195 x 10

This might be my new thing.

Pause bench (3 sec)

115 x 3

115 x 3

125 x 3

135 x 3

Incline bench

135 x 5 x 3

Abs

Lower Back Day 3/18/2010

Squat

2 x 345

2 x 345

2 x 345

2 x 345

2 x 355

Gmops

3 x 10 @ 275

Finished with banded hyperextensions and some hamstring curls

Pretty good workout. Nice break from studying.

RE Deadlift

Band-lightened Deadlift:
Used blues; ~220 off the bottom. Maybe 45 off the top? Should have lowered the pins one so it was full weight at lockout.
585 x 2
635 x 2
675 x 2
695 x 2
705 x 2, 2

Started off a bit rough. Lower back finally warmed up enough that it wasn't horrible off the ground. However, the left quad/bone thing kicked in around the 3rd set. Not as bad as monday, but still enough to make me worried.

GMoP:
225 x 10
275 x 10
315 x 10

Went light to avoid irritating the quad. These felt really really good today though.

Finished with band twists and leg curls.

RE Bench

Bench:
295 x 2, 2, 2, 2 @ 9
305 x 2, 2 @ 9.5

Close-grip 3-board:
Not sure what I could do on these at the start
275 x 3 @ 8
285 x 3 @ 8
295 x 3 @ 8.5
305 x 3 @ 9
315 x 3 @ 9

Shoulder Press:
185 x 5
205 x 3 + 1f
185 x 5

Finished with flyes.

03/17/10 Bench

Pretty happy with this workout, especially considering how yesterday's workout went. Also because of the problems I have had in the past with workout the shirt. Got a lot of reps in with it, working on the form.

Ever since Collegiate Nationals last year (in which I dumped the bar on my neck) I have been hesitant to descend the bar with any type of speed. I needed to get over that and was able to descend the bar at an appropriate speed while maintaining control. Only issue is to keep my elbows tucked a bit more and be consistent with where I touch (some reps were touched too low). Other than that the weight felt light and I was moving it quickly.

Did some 3sec pause bench to work on my chest a bit.

Shirted 3-board

275 lbs x 3 reps x 1 sets @ 7 RPE
295 lbs x 3 reps x 1 sets @ 7 RPE
315 lbs x 3 reps x 1 sets @ 7 RPE
335 lbs x 3 reps x 1 sets @ 8 RPE
355 lbs x 3 reps x 1 sets @ 8 RPE
365 lbs x 2 reps x 1 sets @ 9 RPE
385 lbs x 2 reps x 1 sets @ 9 RPE

Normal Grip 3sec Pause Bench

185 lbs x 6 reps x 1 sets @ 8 RPE
205 lbs x 6 reps x 1 sets @ 9 RPE
205 lbs x 5 reps x 2 sets @ 10 RPE

Finished with:

Is, Ys, Ts superset for 3 sets of 10/10/10

Mountain climber planks on physioball 1x12 (trying to get used to them) 2x20

Total Workout Time: 1h40m

BW(no dinner, working on final projects): 186.4

03/16/10 Squat

Normally Monday is my squat day, but had 2 finals and was a little physically but very mentally exhausted and did not think that heavy suited squats would be a good idea, so I postponed the workout until Tuesday. This did not seem to matter much as I had a piss poor workout.

First time suited in about 2 months. The last time I was suited, the suit was new but it fit rather well and I hit some big PRs in it. Since then I have gained about 8 pounds (mostly in my legs as far as I can tell) and it just didn't fit right. I had the straps down for all the sets and sat back well for about 75% of each descent. After that I felt the suit really get tight - I tried to fight against it with no luck. So in order to further descend my knees would shift forward a little. So this all needs some work. I plan to start cutting some weight to fit better in the suit and am just going to get rid of the box next time. Anytime I did reach the box I had trouble touch-n-going and would plop too much on it and consequently lose all my tightness.

Needless to say this all really frustrated me and near the end I was losing my focus. I had programmed in reverse band raw squats but due to the fact the suited work took about an hour and I just wasn't focused I scrapped it.

Suited Box Squat -

365 lbs x 3 reps x 2 sets @ 8 RPE
405 lbs x 2 reps x 2 sets @ 8 RPE
425 lbs x 1 reps x 1 sets @ 9 RPE
455 lbs x 1 reps x 2 sets @ 10 RPE
405 lbs x 1 reps x 1 sets @ 9 RPE

Finished with:

Banded (purple) hamstring curls - 4x 10 (w/ 2 sec pause at contraction)

Banded (blue) hypers - 4x10

Banded (mini) GHR abs - 3x10

Total Workout Time: 1h40m

BW (post-dinner): 187.4

Bench/Tendonitis Day 3/17/2010

Bench

2 @ 195

2 @ 195

2 @ 205

2 @ 205

2 @ 205

2 @ 205

2 @ 205 ( I felt like I needed to do an extra set )

Close Grip w/ 3 Board

3 @ 205

3 @ 205

3 @ 205

3 @ 205

3 @ 205

Left elbow hurt like a bitch the whole time

Shoulder Press

3 @ 135

5 @ 115

Called it quits

Flyes

Not the greatest workout. It was nice to get some Ibuprofen when I got home = )

Bench

3/17/10

Bench

205 x 2 x 2 sets

215 x 2 x 3 sets

Close-Grip 3 Board

165 x 3

185 x 3

195 x 3 x 2 sets

205 x 3

Dips, Flyes

3-16-10 Bench and Upper Back

did my bench so I don't have to lift tomorrow so I can study for finals. Wanted a quick workout.

Bench (touch n go)

185 x 5.5 spotted on 6th rep

175 x 5 x 3

Pull Ups

Lat Pulls

Shrugs

Standing Biceps Curls

Triceps Pushdowns

Body Weight: 151.5

3.16.10--Bench stuff

Finals week is giving my workout routine a little bit of a change...
Bench Press:
I haven't tried to max in a while, so I went for it
warmups
95x5
135x3
155
165
175 (no pause) New Max! I'm not sure if I would be able to get it with a pause, but I'm still counting it as a max. This marks the second goal of the year that I have achieved (bench more than my bodyweight. BW = 169)

BB Bicep Curls:
40x15x2

Cable Rows:
100x10x2

Tricep Pushdowns:
50x15
60x10

I know I should've hit more upper back, but to be frank, my upper back was still a little sore from yesterday's cleans and high pulls.

Pushin' and Pullin'

Bench

155 x 2 x 2

160 x 2 x 2

165 x 2 x 2 (PR?)

Close grip bench

135 x 4+f

135 x 5 x 2

Pull ups

BW x 8 x 4 (PR)

Bent-over row

135 x 8 (Pendlay this set)

175 x 6

185 x 6 x I don't know

Close grip pull up

BW x 6

BW x 7

Upper Back

3/16/10

BW Wide-Grip Pull-Ups

Seated Rows

Iso-Lateral High Row

Barbell Hammer Curls

Core

UBBBBBB

shrugs - 6 sets?
bent-over rows - 4 sets (3 @ 275 x 6)
wide grip pull ups - 4 sets
incline curls - 60s x 5 for 4 sets
ghr abs

Now this is Bulking

Woman wants to reach 1,000lbs of bodyweight

Bench/Upper Back

Bench (paused)
175 x 2
180 x 2, 2, 2
185 x 2, 2 -PR, the 2nd rep on both these sets were pretty damn ugly, lots of elbow flaring very early off the chest

Close grip bench -wanted to do pin presses as a substitute for 3-board presses but people were squatting and deadlifting in the racks and I didn't want to wait 4 hours before getting a rack
155 x 5
165 x 4, 4, 3+1 w/ help

Wide grip lat pulldowns
230 x 6
240 x 6
250 x 5
220 x 8

Machine shrugs
5 plates/side x 15
6 plates/side x 5+regrip+2
6 plates/side x 5 -my grip sucked today so I dropped back down
5 plates/side x 12+regrip+3

BW post-lifting - 180 lbs

3/16 Moar Stuff

Dips:
BWx5, 5
BW+25x5
BW+45x5
BW+55x8 PR

RGBP:
135x10
155x10, 10, 8

Diablo Rear Delts:
45x10/10
55x10/10, 10/10, 10/10

It is very strange that I am hitting these PR's on finals week. I go into the gym feeling like a zombie with just a vague idea of what I want to do. I guess this goes to show how lame my normal training intensity is. I need to really crank it up Spring Quarter.

3-15-10 Squat

Squat

225 x 5 x 2

235 x 5 x 3 Misaels new belt was really hurting me on the first few sets. I wasn't feeling great today

Cleans

111 x 8

131 x 5 x 2

141 x 3

151 x 2

tired

Ab Wheel

Jump Stuff

3.15.10--Finals Squat

Had to have a very rushed squat day to accommodate my finals schedule.

Squat:
warmups
95x5
135x5
175x5x5
As much as I hated Dave for making me do all those Hip Adductors, these felt the best in the hole that I ever felt.

Calves:
1 set until it hurt too much

High Pulls:
115x6

Cleans:
115x4
115x5
Gotta remember to keep my hands wide on these.

Went back to my room to study/light farts on fire with Luke.

RE Squat + ME PAIN

Squat:
405 x 5 x 5 @ ???
PAIN @ 11

My right femur started aching from my knee to 6" above it. This was pretty distracting for the first set, but felt slightly better on the second. However, then the pain racheted up quite a bit and each rep was very hard mentally. After the sets I hobbled around and got an ice pack from the front desk. Nearest I can tell, I irritated some tendon/ligament deep in my quad. Until the ice/vitamin-I kicked in, I thought I might pass out.

Skipped pause squats and cleans.

Finished with ab wheel.

Squat Day 3/15/2010

Squats

5 @ 295

5 @ 295

5 @ 315

5 @ 315

5 @ 315

Pause Squats

3 x 3 @ 255

Had trouble sinking these but I think I got it on the last set.

Lunges

4 x 8 ( per leg ) @ 135

Calves/Ab Roller

Some squats

Squat

225 x 5 x 2

235 x 5

245 x 4.9

235 x 5

Originally intended to do 245 again but decided to drop since I was drained after the first one.

Lunges

135 x 6 x 3

Cleans

Ab wheel

3/15 Lats/Biceps also Post #2400

Felt like crap today so I just went in and did Chin-ups, Machine Pullovers, and some lame bicep stuff. I think I actually ended up hitting a PR though with the Chin-ups: BW+45x5. Who knows?

Finals totally blow.

Squats

Squat
225 x 5, 5
235 x 5, 5, 5@10
The last 3 sets were tough. My lower back and forearms were kinda sore I think from all the deadlift volume on Thursday and maybe also the standing dumbbell rows on Saturday. Also, I finished my work sets in around 20 minutes, which I think is quicker than usual.

Power cleans
Getting the weight up felt normal, but I really felt my lower back soreness putting the weight back down. Contemplated not doing these but I wanted to try for a PR today.
141 x 2
161 x 1
181 x 2 -PR (181 was my old max)
191 x 1 -PR
Thought about trying 201 but I'll save it for another day.

Leg press
I really wanted to do lunges but someone started deadlifting in the rack right before I got there. It's alright though because the leg presses hit my quads pretty hard.
360 x 8
380 x 8
400 x 8

Standing abs
110 x 12
120 x 10, 10, 10

3.13.10--Bench

Bench Press:
warmups
95x5
135x3
155x2x2
160x1+fx2 (not a great bench day)

Floor Press:
135x5
145x5x3

Dips supersetted with Pullups superdupersetted with Abs:
3 sets until failure

3-13-10 Bench

Bench

185 x 2

190 x 2

195 x 2 hard

200 x 1+fail halfway up, touch and go

Floor Press

175 x 5 x 3 I think the last reps of the 2nd and 3rd set had spots

165x5

Dips supersetted with Neutral Grip Pull Ups and Abs

Bench #2 3/13/2010

Bench

2 @ 205

2 @ 205

2 @ 215

2 @ 215

Floor Press

5 @ 185

5 @ 185

5 @ 195

5 @ 195 ( needed help on the last one )

Bench w/ Resistance Bands ( purple )

2 @ 135

2 @ 145

2 @ 155

2 @ 165

2 @ 155 ( went down 10 lbs to work on speed )

Banded Inverted Rows ( new invention )

Trap work

Bench Assistance

Dips
BW+45 x 7
BW+60 x 5
BW+70 x 5, 5

Skull crushers
80 x 7, 6, 6

Flat dumbbell press
50s x 10, 10

Dumbbell rows (standing) -tried using my dumbbell handle again
132 x 10
142 x 8
152 x 8
Had to regrip a couple times. The handle part of the dumbbell is way too long and I found out that there are other similar dumbbells with a smaller handle and more room to load plates. I ordered one of the smaller handle ones and will probably return this one since doing them with 45lb plates instead of 25s is kinda awkward and I think doing them standing as opposed to on a bench unnecessarily works the lower back.

03/13/10 Bench

Wanted to use greens for the reverse band work (to get more weight in my hands) but they weren't available so I settled for purples. Bands took 115 off the bottom and zero at the top. Hitting the single at 365 was a good feeling. Close grip wasn't quite as good as last week, but by then my triceps were pretty done.

Reverse Band Bench (purples at pin 6)

275 lbs x 3 reps x 1 sets @ 7 RPE
315 lbs x 3 reps x 1 sets @ 8 RPE
335 lbs x 3 reps x 1 sets @ 9 RPE
355 lbs x 2 reps x 1 sets @ 10 RPE
365 lbs x 1 reps x 1 sets @ 9.5 RPE

Normal Grip Pin Press (pin 13)

225 lbs x 3 reps x 1 sets @ 7 RPE
245 lbs x 3 reps x 1 sets @ 8 RPE
265 lbs x 3 reps x 1 sets @ 8 RPE
275 lbs x 3 reps x 1 sets @ 9 RPE
285 lbs x 3 reps x 1 sets @ 10 RPE

CG Bench (no pause)

225 lbs x 3 reps x 1 sets @ 8 RPE
245 lbs x 3 reps x 1 sets @ 9 RPE
265 lbs x 2 reps x 1 sets @ 10 RPE

Finished with some inverted hanging rows in the squat rack and band pull-aparts.

Total Workout TIme: 1h40m

BW (post-lunch): 187.8 (only had one small meal all of friday due to finishing term paper)

03/11/10 Deadlift

My deadlifting has been messed up lately. Have had some persistent right lower back issues and been slow off the ground. Bands took off 135 at the bottom and zero at the top. Would have liked to get more work in today but had to finish a term paper.

Reverse Band Deadlift (greens @ pin 6)

405 lbs x 2 reps x 1 sets @ 7 RPE
455 lbs x 2 reps x 1 sets @ 8 RPE
495 lbs x 2 reps x 4 sets @ 9 RPE

Total Workout Time: 30m

BW (no dinner): 187.0

Band

Lifting in the afternoon does not get you the most gym appropriate music. I mean I like alternative and indie pop but I'm not getting pumped listening to the Arcade Fire.

Bench

155 x 2 x 2

160 x 2

160 x 1+f

Pause bench (3 sec)

95 x 3

115 x 3

125 x 3 x 2

Band-resisted bench

85 x 2

95 x 2

105 x 2 x 2

115 x 2

Banded inverted rows

UCLA Powerlifting is also a place to exercise your creativity. Props to Misael.

Band pull aparts

ME Bench

Running late and on 3 hours of sleep. Another quality workout brought to you by the Jürgensbomb
Bench:
295 x 2 @ 9
300 x 2 @ 9
305 x 2 @ 10
310 x 2 @ 10

My butt came off the bench on the last set. sucks.

Had some fun with the 2.5s today.

Military Pin Press:
185 x 5
205 x 5
225 x 5
245 x 4 @ 10

Last rep was slowwww. like 15 seconds slow.

Finished with some wide-grip pull ups and cable triceps @ 6

3/12 Shoulders

Ruhl Press:
210x10, 7
170x14 (tried to do a back-off set, but it was too light)

Upright Row:
115x10
135x7, 7

Barbell Curl:
65x10
95x5

then Dave mysteriously showed up, and we did seated pin presses (135x8x4)

So, the main lifts that I will try and hammer to get my bench up next quarter will be dips, Ruhl presses, and reverse grip bench (RGB). I want to completely smash my old numbers in the competition in Novemeber, and in order to do that I need to get my bench to going. Squat is on the right track as is - I just need to make sure not to overtrain my lower back.

Question to John Broz

I posted a question to John Broz on the BB.com forum that I posted earlier. Here's the Q&A:

Originally Posted by Yoda-x
John, there's one thing I'm not totally clear about yet with your method of training, and that's how the Sn and C&J are trained. Do you just go up to a max for approximately 6 attempts then move on to the next left and repeat, then squat to max then do the backoff sets? Or do you max snatch, then drop 10-20kg and do doubles for a minimum of 3x2 (up for 50 total reps), then repeat for C&J, then repeat for squats?

I guess the main confusion I have comes from your saying that you shouldn't do the backoff sets when you train jerks because the lighter weights won't teach you the timing, so I'm wondering if that's true for the full lifts or just when you're doing jerks off blocks.

Personally, I started working your ideas into my trianing about a week ago, and my planned schedule looks like this right now:

Monday: Sn, C&J, FS, each to max, then -10-20kg and do doubles for at least 3x2, up to as many as possible

Tues: Jerk, power snatch, Back squat, max then drop 10-20kg for doubles on all 3 lifts

Wed: Same as Monday

Thurs: Power snatch, power clean + jerk, back squat, same as Tues.

Fri: Same as Monday

Sat: Jerk, back squat, Jerk for doubles only (had to train in regular college gym...) then BS to max, then backoff sets

Sun: Jerk, front squat (same as Saturday, same limitations)

I'm planning to simply alternate bs/fs.

Does this look good to get my feet wet in your program?

Thanks a ton for the advice and the interesting thread. I can't wait to see your guys smash some more PRs then win some medals.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reply:

When I mentioned going down in the jerk was a waste of time, I was referring to going max, then dropping below 80%. 90+% is good to train sets of 2's and 3's. returning below 80% is only for teaching technique to beginners, trying to fix the most basic issues. This will not help you get stronger or get better technique at maximum weights.


When an athlete is in shape we take up to 6 attempts at a daily 1RM in S and CJ (sometimes it can be more, sometimes less but 6 is a good starting point) THEN we go down and do 3-5 sets of 2-3 reps. Its these sets that gives you the work that makes you stronger. During which, if you feel the weights getting lighter - by all means go back up and try to pass your daily 1RM. It's all about pushing toward the maximum while allowing to get some work in. Obviously if the weight is max and you can't make it, then you must drop down to get some more reps/volume/work in for that day.




Ok- If on Tues you are trying to go heavy Jerk instead of doing PC/J (like on Thurs) then do the PS first. It will be much easier. I would probably do the same workout you listed for Thurs on Tue as well.

On Sat do the same thing - don't start with J, but do BS first.

Sunday do BS, no J. Substitute for strict presses - for sets of 5 - no less, no max. This will help you get more volume in your shoulders / arms and help you adapt a bit faster. (this will also give your lower back a needed rest)

You will be doing FS m,w,f, so BS t,r,s,su. this is a better ratio.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



I'm going to go ahead and do it. Here's a link to the second thread started there, for those who missed my previous post and are curious:

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=122395951

Lower Back Day 3/11/2010

Squats

5 @ 295

5 @ 295

5 @ 305

5 @ 305

5 @ 315

Gmop

3 @ 275

3 @ 275

3 @ 275

Banded Hyperextensions w/ Blue

2 x 20

1 x 25

Leg Curl

4 sets

My hamstring were killing me after Gmops. 10 reps made me pretty lightheaded. Great lower back work out.

3-11-10 Lower Back

Didn't deadlift today so my back can get better

what did I do?

hyperextensions x 60-100 x 4 sets

umm...

hamstrings curls x 30 @90 pounds

oh I remember now

Lunges

135 x 7 each leg

155 x 8 each leg x 2 sets

and of course CYBEX EAGLE GLUTE MACHINE full stack x 8 per leg x 3 sets

and then jumps and sprints

Making noise in the squat rack

Band-lightened deadlift

405 x 5 x 4

405 x 4+f

goddamn

Hips started going up during the last set, and using Wooden's way loose belt did not help.

Stiff-legged deadlift

225 x 5

245 x 5

255 x 5

GMOP

155 x 5 x 2

165 x 5

Banded hamstring curls

purple x 20 x 3

Abs and transversus

deadening lift

Band-lightened Deadlift
Warm ups felt so easy...
585 x 5, 5
605 x 5, 5, 5

Greens took off maybe 120 at the bottom. and not a lot at the top. Once again my lower back was not having this deadlifting business. The first rep was excruciatingly hard and then I could rep the rest out with no problem. Not sure if this is me being weak off the floor so much as it is my CNS resisting me picking things up (and putting them back down). Suggestions welcome.

SLDL:
295 x 1
GUGHHGHGHSDHSDHGHGH

GMoP:
185 x 10 (pffffft)
275 x 10
315 x 10

Initially, I wussed out on these as well after doing 185 x 1. However I was reminded that I called Vit out, so I decided I would do whatever it took. These didn't feel great but I was able to get some work sets in.

Finished with banded hamstrings.

3.11.10--Deadlift

Accidentally walked into the Wooden Center still wearing my "CA State Champion" button that I had made earlier in the day. Turned out to play into my favor...

Deadlift (for warmups)
155x5
205x5

Band Lightened Deadlift:
225x5
275x5
315x5x3 (on these, like all my deadlifts, I was having awful back rounding problems. Dave's solution? MOAR HIP ADDUCTORS. Ouch. I also had a minor hand injury during plate loading. However, the highlight of these lifts was Wooden Center worker Skye seeing my button and watching me deadlift like the champion I am... she was definitely impressed.)
275x5 (went back down in weight to get better form and it had mixed results... Dave was showing me form and I actually lost my balance and fell backwards without getting the bar off the ground... definitely one of the lowpoints in my powerlifting career. Luckily, Skye did not see this. About half of my lifts on this last set I actually used good form and it was reassuring to know I can do it, I just need to work on it more.)

Stiff Legged Deadlift:
155x1+fuck it my hands hurt and my back isn't too great right now... let's move on.

I go to check out the foam roller and guess who is more than eager to take down my info at the Fitwell Desk...

GMOP (pin 10):
135x10x3
I actually used good form on these and by about the 7th rep its exhausting. But we all know girls only care about your GMOP so you gotta do what you gotta do.

Banded Hamstring Curls (Greens):
3 sets

Abs:
3 sets

Deadlift

Band lightened deadlifts (greens @ pin 5(?))
I've only done these once before I think a year ago, so I was really bad about my weight selection, but now I know what weights to use for the rest of the cycle.
405 x 4+1fail at the top
385 x 5
395 x 5
395 x 4+1fail at the top
365 x 5

Stiff legged deadlifts
255 x 5
263 x 5
283 x 5

GMOPs
135 x 10
Dave indirectly called me a bitch, despite my immortal technique shirt, so I had to move up to 185.
185 x 8+few seconds rest+2 -I think my form was alright for maybe the first 6 reps.
185 x 8+few seconds rest+1 -Same story on this set.
I'm able to grind out reps using all lower back and shitty form, so I'm pretty sure my weak deadlift muscles are my hamstrings and glutes. Also, my failed deadlifts stop right above the knees where stronger glutes and upper back would finish the lift. Need to get better at GMOPPING.

Finished with Banded hamstring curls and Planks

Bench Day 3/10/2010

Bench

3 @ 195

3 @ 195

3 @ 200

3 @ 200 ( last one needed a spot )

3 @ 200 ( last one needed a spot )

3 @ 195 ( didn't want to fail on this one )

Bench w/ Foam Roller

5 @ 205

5 @ 205

5 @ 215

5 @ 215

Shoulder Press w/ Pins @ ear level

By this point my triceps were hurtin'

6 @ 115

6 @ 115

5 @ 115

5 @ 115

Finished w/ Fly machine with the cables

A better bench day than last week. My form has gotten better but the weight has not gone up. I was failing a lot less too.

3-10-10 Bench

Bench

175 x 3 x 2

180 x 3

185 x 3 x 2

185 x 2 +spot

This workout was twice as many sets as sunday's at the same % of max so I guess I did pretty well for 6 sets, but I'm not quite satisfied as I failed.

3 Board Press

185 x 5 x 2

195 x 4 +spot

Seated Shoulder Press

95 x 6 easy

115 x 6 pretty hard

125 x 2 with spots this one was overwhelmingly hard, my strength just isn't at this level

115 x 6 hard

Dumbbell Flys

30's x 10 x 3 slowly

3.10.10--Bench

Thanks Dave for that 145x10x10 hip adductor work on Monday. Walking today was excruciating. It also killed my leg drive. That plus soreness in the upperback from Tuesday and bench on Sunday (because I missed Saturday) led to an overall fatigue that I could not overcome a.k.a Scott had a day of personal problems.

Bench Press:
155x3x2
145x3x2
150x3x2

3 Board:
175x4+f
165x6 (had to do one extra to make up for the fail)
165x4+f
155x5 (less bouncy on this one)

Seated BB Shoulder Press:
70x6x4

Pecs:
4 sets

Pull Ups 3 2 1
Squat 1x5 @165, 1x3 @165, 1x2 @165, 3x3@165
felt like shittt

Bench

Bench (brief pause)
175 x 6 sets of 3
I found that keeping my feet a little closer together and focusing on driving through my heels allowed me to actually get some leg drive

3-board press
175 x 5
175 x 5
180 x 5
185 x 5
This felt much better this week compared to last week, probably because I didn't fail.

Dumbbell shoulder press
45s x 8, 7, 6

Cable flyes
60 x 10, 9, 9

3/10 Triceptriceptricep

Reverse Grip Bench:
155x8
165x5
185x5, 5, 5

Dips:
BW+45x7, 7, 7

3-board:
175x10
185x10

and some pec stuff to finish. My triceps were completely fried after the RGB and Dips with no elbow/wrist strain, so I think that these are some good exercises to pound away on next quarter.

Upper back

Kept things low volume today to save myself for deadlifting.
Shrugs
5 sets with 450 on the shrug machine

Cable row:
250 x 8
then the machine got taken

Ultra-wide grip pull ups:
5 sets

Close-grip pull ups:
6 sets

03/10/10 Bench

Improvement from last week. Was able to get 275x2 legitimately and got a new PR of 285. Although I didn't have much of a pause on it. Foam roller press felt good. Starting to really work my shoulders hard - a lot more OH pressing movements to come!

Normal Grip Competition Pause Bench

225 lbs x 2 reps x 1 sets @ 8 RPE
245 lbs x 2 reps x 1 sets @ 8 RPE
265 lbs x 2 reps x 1 sets @ 9 RPE
275 lbs x 2 reps x 1 sets @ 9.5 RPE
285 lbs x 1 reps x 1 sets @ 9.5 RPE

Foam Roller Press

275 lbs x 3 reps x 1 sets @ 8 RPE
285 lbs x 3 reps x 1 sets @ 9 RPE
295 lbs x 3 reps x 1 sets @ 10 RPE
285 lbs x 3 reps x 1 sets @ 9 RPE

Standing OH Pin Press (Pin 4)

115 lbs x 5 reps x 1 sets @ 7 RPE
135 lbs x 5 reps x 1 sets @ 8 RPE
155 lbs x 3 reps x 1 sets @ 9 RPE
165 lbs x 3 reps x 1 sets @ 10 RPE
155 lbs x 4 reps x 1 sets @ 10 RPE

Finished with some incline DB flies.

Total Workout Time: 1h30m

BW (pre-dinner): 187.2

3-9-10 Upper Back

Weighted Pull Ups

45 x 8

70 x 5 or 6?

80 x 4 PR

100 x 1 PR

Seated Shrugs

Chest Supported Rows

Preacher Curls

3.9.10--Upper Back

Pullups:
BWx1x3
BWx1.9
Really glad this is coming along

Lat Pulls:
100x10
120x8
140x6
150x3
160x2
170

Seated Shrugs:
90x10
140x10
180x3
140x8

Cable Rows:
100x10
120x10
140x8
160x8

Biceps Biceps Biceps:
3 sets of Curls for the girls

Wrist stretching for front squats

Bench

145 x 3 x 2

150 x 3 x 2

155 x 3 x 2 (don't remember if this is a PR but probably)

Pretty sure I'm messing my wrists up pretty bad, since instead of keeping my wrists straight throughout the lift I bend them back and straighten them out as a last ditch effort during my hardest reps.

Foam roller press

165 x 5

175 x 4+f

175 x 5

I have no idea why 165 felt so hard last week.

Seated military press

85 x 8

95 x 6

105 x 5

95 x 6

Flyes

RE Bench

Can't make it in saturday, so I benched today so I'm fresh for a second session on Friday

Bench:
275 x 3, 3 @ 8
285 x 3, 3, 3, 3 @ 8.5-9.5

Foam-roller press:
315 x 5 (too easy)
345 x 5
365 x 4 + 1f

Military Press:
135 x 8
155 x 6
185 x 6
185 x 3 (hit a wall)
135 x 8

Finish with flyes.

Felt a bit beat up in the shoulders today. Also, i fell asleep in my office so it was another great wake-up-and-lift start to training. Overall, fairly pleased at the 285

Upper Back

T-bar rows
197 x 5
207 x 5
217 x 5
227 x 5

Machine shrugs
Greg, Scott, and Luke suggested just putting a 45 plate through each handle instead of stacking them on top of the machine after 5 plates/side. This worked pretty well.
5 plates/side x 15
6 plates/side x 8
7 plates/side x 1 -felt like a heavy partial to pick this weight up and didn't have straps so my grip gave out very quickly
6 plates/side x 9, 7

Wide grip lat pulldowns (thumbless)
190 x 12
210 x 8
220 x 8
230 x 7

Seated dumbbell curls
40s x 7
35s x 7, 8

Did most of this workout alone but it was a good training session and finished in about 60 minutes.

3.8.10--Canberra DAY! SKWAT

Okay I've fully celebrated Canberra Day and do not feel like editing even if its an egredfadiou smicstact i make,

WAHT DO YOU WANT FROM ME>

1. SQUAT
ewarmups
95x5
135xx5
175x5x4
204x1

2. Front SQUAT
95x5

3. Hip ADDUCTORSAAA
To put it in Clauy tertms:
10x10
@145

4. High Pulls
95x6

5. Cleans
95x5x2

6. CalvesL
140xuntil it hurtx2
165xuntil it hurt

7. Transversus
4 sets (including Dave being a total ASSHOLE) (JK <3>

3-8-10 Canberra Day Squat

Squat

225x5x2

235x5

245x5 PR

275x1 Everything felt easy today. I focused on going up quick and maintaining rhythm. I wore a belt for the benefit of my lower back.

Front Squat

135x5x3 without harness felt hard to breathe

135x5 with harness felt super easy, except I went too low on the last one and kinda hurt a tendon in my right knee. I'll have to see how that feels tomorrow.

Hang Cleans

135x3x2

145x3x2

155x fail

135x3 my hang cleans felt weak today. I haven't done them since well before the meet I think. Also I am stronger for a full clean. I don't care too much about this lift but I have a goal of 185.

Jump stuff and sprints

Squat

Squats
225 x 5, 5
235 x 5
245 x 5 -depth on last one questionable
275 x 1 -was pretty happy with this since it was after 4 sets of 5...not sure on depth though, let me know what you guys think of the video

Front squats
135 x 8
165 x 5, 5, 5
Let my knees come forward more and this allowed me to stay a little more upright but I still feel it in my lower back slightly at the top.

Power cleans
111 x 3
131 x 3
151 x 3
161 x 3
171 x 3

Transversus abs
3 sets

We went pretty quickly on squats today, and I noticed that I felt much better having shorter rest periods. For some reason on days when we take longer in between sets, I feel kind of stale on my finals sets, which probably means I had too much rest in between sets.

03/08/10 Squat

Good workout. Box squats felt good, slow but good. 345 and 365 felt very powerful. Was programmed to do reverse band squats like last week but forgot to ask Dave to bring them in. So I substituted in the rack lockouts. These were good because they really forced me to stay tight.

I was supposed to do GMOPs as a 3rd movement but since I did the rack lockouts which were very similar I scrapped that and did some leg extensions to hit the quads. I also wanted to save my lower back so I could hit this weeks deadlift day hard - to make up for last weeks disaster.

Box Squat (Low Box + 45 plate)

275 lbs x 2 reps x 1 sets @ 8 RPE
315 lbs x 2 reps x 1 sets @ 8 RPE
345 lbs x 2 reps x 1 sets @ 9 RPE
365 lbs x 2 reps x 1 sets @ 9.5 RPE
375 lbs x 2 reps x 1 sets @ 10 RPE

Squat - Rack Lockouts (pin 10)

405 lbs x 3 reps x 1 sets @ 8 RPE
455 lbs x 3 reps x 1 sets @ 9 RPE
475 lbs x 1 reps x 1 sets @ 10 RPE

Finished with calves and abs.

Total Workout Time: 1h30m

BW (post dinner): 189.0

THE RACE IS ON

FIRST TO THREE HUNNERD WINS

Squat

215 x 5

225 x 5

235 x 5

245 x 5 (ugly set)

275 x 1

Front squat

135 x 5 x 3

Weight was easy on the legs, horrible on the lower back so I stopped

Hang clean

111 x 3 x 2

121 x 3

121 x 1 + 1 high pull + 1 full clean

121 x 3

alves

Vit Squat Form Review

Here's the video



Here's a screen grab of the lowest portion of your squat.

3/8 Squat

My lower back has felt like death for the past 2 days, so I went heavy enough to still keep my strength alive, but light enough to allow for recovery. Did Squats, Zercher Squats, calves and abs with poundages not worth mentioning.

10th & Finals weeks are horrible for lifting. Bleh.

Squat

3/8/10

Squats

225 x 5, 5, 5 (unbelted)

235 x 5 (belted)

275 x 2 (belted)

I hit the first rep easily but didn't make depth, so I went for another rep (hit depth this time but a grinder with terrible form) and trashed my everything from my lower back to my hips down. Not sure what I'll feel like tomorrow.

RE Squat

Squat:
405 x 5 @ 9
405 x 5 @ 9
415 x 5 @ 8
425 x 5 @ 8.5
465 x 1 @ 8.5

My lower back was pretty beat up at the start but around the third set, everything started feeling much better in the hole and all the reps felt easier.

Front Squat:
225 x 5
275 x 5, 5, 5

Hang Clean:
135 x 5 (full clean)
185 x 3, 3, 3

No spin bar for these (platform was taken), so it was a bit awkward.

Finished with transversus. Hadn't done that in a while, so it felt really nice.

Squat Day 3/8/2010

Squats

5 - 275lbs

5 - 285lbs

5 - 295lbs

5- 305 lbs

1- 355lbs New PR !!! ( pretty happy about that )

Front Squats

5 - 185

5 - 205

5 - 225

5 - 235

Good Day for front squats. Felt less awkward than last week.

Super sets

Hip Abductor, Hip Adductor, Glute/One legged press

I would have been happier doing cleans but my neck still hurts. Hopefully I can do them next week.

Calves & Abs

Bench #2 3/7/2010

Bench Press

3 ( 195 )

3 ( 200 )

3 ( 205 )

Floor Press

4 x 5 ( 185 )

Dips

Inverted Rows

Reverse Flyes

My neck is still killing me. Found out it's my levator scapulae which I hurt doing shrugs. I tried doing deadlifts but it's still a no go.

3-7-10 Heavy Bench

Bench

180x3

185x3

190x3 with spot on last rep. Hopefully this twice a week benching will make me stronger, because I saw my friend who was weaker than me last year bench 225 for like 8 reps... Except he only went down to about 4 board height so I know I'm still stronger, but still I need to let him know that I'm stronger. I feel like I've been roughly the same strength for about a year in bench with no significant improvement.

Shoulder Press Machine

80 per side x 8

90 per side x 6

100 per side x 6

110 per side x 3 PR?

Dips felt easier after low volume bench

Pullups

3.7.10--Heavy Bench

Went home this weekend, so missed Saturday lifting. I made it up today with Luke.

Bench Press:
warmups
95x5
135x3
145x3
150x3
155x3

HS Shoulder Press Machine:
40 (each arm) x10
60 (each arm) x8x2
70 (each arm) x8

Dips:
BW-20x8x3

Pullups:
BWx1
BW-28x3x2

Cool interview

http://startingstrength.com/index.php/site/the_starting_strength_series_--_shane_hamman/

03/06/10 Bench

Much better day today. Greens took 205 off at chest level and zero at the top. Most weight I have ever had in my hands. Not much else to say other than PRs across the board. My bench is moving along nicely.

Reverse Band Bench (greens at pin 6)

275 lbs x 3 reps x 1 sets @ 7 RPE
315 lbs x 3 reps x 1 sets @ 7.5 RPE
345 lbs x 3 reps x 1 sets @ 8 RPE
365 lbs x 3 reps x 1 sets @ 8 RPE
385 lbs x 3 reps x 1 sets @ 9 RPE
405 lbs x 2 reps x 1 sets @ 10 RPE
385 lbs x 3 reps x 1 sets @ 9.5 RPE

Normal Grip Pin Press (pin 13)

225 lbs x 3 reps x 1 sets @ 8.5 RPE
245 lbs x 3 reps x 1 sets @ 9 RPE
265 lbs x 3 reps x 1 sets @ 9 RPE
275 lbs x 3 reps x 1 sets @ 10 RPE

CG Bench (no pause)

225 lbs x 3 reps x 1 sets @ 8 RPE
245 lbs x 3 reps x 1 sets @ 9 RPE
255 lbs x 3 reps x 1 sets @ 9.5 RPE
265 lbs x 2 reps x 1 sets @ 10 RPE

Finished with some High Row Machine for lats.

Total Workout Time: 1h30m

BW (post dinner): 189.4

03/05/10 Dead Lift

As the title suggest, it was a Dead Lift day. Horrible focus, horrible lifting - just not with it today.

Sumo Deadlift

405 lbs x 2 reps x 1 sets @ 9 RPE
435 lbs x 1 reps x 1 sets @ 10 RPE

Did some SLDLs, Pull-throughs (green band), Hyper-extensions (blue band)

Heavy Bench

Bench:
285 x 3 @9
295 x 3, 3 @10

Last rep was slow on 295, but ok.

Band-lightened Bench:
Greens were 205 off the chest.

365 x 5
385 x 5
405 x 3 (going for 5; got tired)
385 x 5(?)

Dips
bw x 3 sets of 20

Finished with some high rows and pull overs.

3/6 Shoulders

Standing Press:
110x4x5

Ruhl Press:
170x10
180x10
190x10
210x8 (assuming smith bar weighs ~30lbs)

Upright Rows:
95x8
115x8, 8, 8

Face Pulls:
3 sets of 8

Good lifting today. I decided to try more standing presses today, but it always feels like they never really stimulate my shoulders. The Ruhl Presses, however, felt awesome.

Squat

Squatted 415 today, new all-time record. I think I had more in the tank.

Bench again

Bench

145 x 3

150 x 3

150 x 2+1 spotter helped too soon

Pause bench (3 sec)

95 x 5

105 x 5 x 3

Definitely felt a struggle more from fatigue than anything, since I felt like I could've just rested the weight for those seconds and throw it off my chest.

Dips

BW x 18

BW x 15

BW x 12

Pull ups

here and there

GHR abs/actual GHR superset

3-4-10 Squat

Squat

185x3

205x2

215x2

225x2x3

235x2x3

235x5 PR felt easy could have done more with a spotter

I think my lower back is mostly better, squatting was fine.

Windshield Wipers Abs

Jump Stuff

I did some sprints after my workout and feel the fastest I have since coming to college, maybe even faster than high school. I gotta check my long jump max. I think all the squatting may have improved my explosiveness and short sprinting.

Deadlift

Deadlift
341 x 5 sets of 2

GMOPs (off of #10 pin)
175 x 5, 5
185 x 5
195 x 5
These actually felt pretty good for a change. I think it helped to think about arching hard throughout the lift like Dave said. Also, we did these facing the mirror today and I realized that I feel the tension much better in my hamstrings when I focus on keeping my legs straighter.

Back raises
BW x 3 sets of 50 -massively massive lower back pump

Standing abs
100 x 12
110 x 10
120 x 10, 10

3.4.10--Deadlift

Ultimate betrayal by Dave's fake birthday. Not cool.

Deadlift:
155x5
220x3
260x2x5
I'm going to try conventional next week per Kyle's suggestion to see if it helps my back rounding problem.

GMOP (pin 10):
135x5
155x5x4

Hypers:
BWx50

Cable Abs:
BW+80x10x3
BW+90x10

And for good measure, Lakers, Kings, and Bruins lost today. FAIL

Quicklift

Deadlift

323 x 2 x 2

333 x 2 x 2

343 x 2

Gmop

165 x 5

175 x 5

185 x 5 x 2

Had to leave early so just made sure to get the bigger lifts in.

RE Deadlift

Deadlift:
523 x 2, 5 sets @ 8

Lower back still not feeling so hot. Much better than last week. I seem very slow off the ground, which is unusual for me.

GMoP @ Pin 11:
315 x 5 @ 7
405 x 5, 5, 5 @7.5

Went a bit easy on this to save my lower back (based on what happened two weeks ago). I'm noticing that if I arch much harder, I can get a bigger hamstring stretch.

Finished with cable Pull-throughs and light banded hypers for 50 reps.

Post workout meal: TRIPLE DECKER MOON PIE. Best March 4th Birthday Ever.

3/4 Deadlift

Deadlift:
329x2
339x2, 2
349x2
359x2

GMOP: (pin 10)
135x5
185x5, 5, 5

and abs to finish. I feel just as strong as ever on my deadlifting even after this long hiatus. Awesome.

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=121212081

I can't paste the link into the text field, so it's in the title. Interesting food for thought. Don't be a pussy.

Happy Birthday

Let's get shitfaced to celebrate Dave's birthday!

RATTLE THE CAGES

Bench
135 x 4 x 6

3 Board
165 x 5 x 3
175 x 4+f

Not quite sure why the first set and last set felt so hard, either fatigue or misgrooving. Kind of concerned about how hard just holding 165 at the top felt, considering normal benching earlier felt pretty easy.

Dumbbell triceps
20 x 8

22.5 x 8 x 3

Cable flyes

Bench

Bench (paused)
165 x 5 sets of 4
165 x 3+help on the last rep
I think doing multiple sets at this moderately heavy weight helps for working on form.

3-board press
Didn't realize how incredibly weak I am on these. I think I have a case of the MattButtimers.
175 x 5
185 x 4+1fail
175 x 5
175 x 4+1fail
Before, I knew my lockout was weak but didn't realize it was this weak. I hope that more strengthening my lockout will help improve my bench numbers.

Pushdowns
70 x 10
80 x 9, 8
70 x 10

Cable flyes
60 x 10, 10, 9

3-3-10 Bench

Bench with self imposed pause which was a little short

165x4x2

175x4x4 the last reps were all hard

3 board

185x5

195x4

195x5 my back was feeling a little sore so I decided to skip the last set. I suck at 3 board press compared to foam roller press. I was feeling weaker than I wanted to feel today on bench.

One Arm Dumbbell Triceps Extension

17.5x10 per arm

20x10 per arm

25x10x2 per arm

Cable Flys

60x10

70x10

60x10

3.3.10--Heavy Bench

Bench Press:
warmups
95x6
135x4x6

3 Board Press:
155x5
165x5x2
175x5

Dumbbell Triceps:
15x8x4 for the right arm
15x8x3 and 15x5 for the left arm
Conclusion: 15s were too light for the right arm and too heavy for the left arm.

Cable Flyes:
45x8x3

Funny Video of the Week:
Does this video remind anyone of a member on our team? *cough* CLAY *cough*
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4cD-gblAa8

3/3 Bench

Bench:
195x4x6

V-Squat OH Press:
90x10
100x7, 7, 5

Seated Pin Press:
165x7, 7, 6


Curl Bar Extensions:
75x10
95x8
105x7


Felt kinda weak today, probably owing to the fact that I got maybe 3 hours of quality sleep last night. Fail lol.

RE Bench

Bench
275 x 6 sets x 4

3-board
295 x 5
315 x 5
335 x 5
355 x 3

Cable triceps
4 sets x 12-15 @ 6

Elbows were feeling a bit beat up when I started these, so I went for high reps.

Machine Flyes:
300 x 8,8,8,8

Hadn't done these in a while, but they felt pretty good.

Squat Day 3/1/2010

Squat:

5 (275lbs), 5(275lbs) @ 77-80%, 3 (295lbs), 3(315lbs) @ 80-85%

Box Squat:

8(225lbs), 8(225lbs), 6(275lbs), 6(275lbs)

Front Squat:

5 (135lbs) , 5 (165lbs), 5 (185lbs)

Calves

Abs

One of my better squat days. My first time doing a triple at 315. It was also my intro to front squats day, which was pretty uncomfortable.

03/02/10 Bench

Today was a mixed-bag. The full range comp. pause bench felt good. The last rep of 275 I got some slight help from the spotter at my sticking point and then locked it out.

Historically my 3-board press is hideous - and today was no exception. Its very frustrating to struggle at 3-board with a weight that you just went full range on. Almost defies logic. I am almost certain that if fresh, I could do more off my chest than off a 3-board.

Normal Grip Competition Pause Bench

225 lbs x 2 reps x 1 sets @ 8 RPE
245 lbs x 2 reps x 1 sets @ 8.5 RPE
255 lbs x 2 reps x 1 sets @ 9 RPE
265 lbs x 2 reps x 1 sets @ 9 RPE
275 lbs x 2 reps x 1 sets @ 10 RPE

3-Board Press

225 lbs x 3 reps x 1 sets @ 8 RPE
255 lbs x 3 reps x 1 sets @ 8.5 RPE
275 lbs x 3 reps x 1 sets @ 9 RPE
285 lbs x 1 reps x 2 sets @ 10 RPE
285 lbs x 2 reps x 1 sets @ 10 RPE

Standing OH Pin Press (Pin 4)

95 lbs x 5 reps x 1 sets @ 7 RPE
135 lbs x 3 reps x 1 sets @ 8 RPE
155 lbs x 3 reps x 1 sets @ 9 RPE
165 lbs x 3 reps x 2 sets @ 10 RPE
135 lbs x 5 reps x 1 sets @ 9 RPE

Finished with some face-pulls

Total Workout Time: 1h30m

BW (post dinner): 190.2

Upper Back

Pullups
BW+45 x 6
BW+55 x 6
BW+65 x 5, 4

D-bag rows
99 x 8, 8
124 x 8
Despite popular opinion that Kyle comes up with unnecessarily weird exercises, this exercise is actually a pretty good lat/upper back exercise.

Machine shrugs
5 plates/side x 18, 15, 15, 15

Dumbbell curls
45s x 8, 8
7 or 8 minutes rest
50s x 10

3.2.10--Upper Back

Thanks to all the 9:00 guys for not showing. I was the lone ranger, which of course meant I got some pretty good lifts (I once had a pretty good Gloom). The lifts do not compensate for the absolute shittiness of not getting university apartments. Not even epic Margan.

I started off by spotting my suitemate while he squatted. I looked up and considering it was upper back day and how close I got to a pullup last time, I just went for it.

ME BW Pullup:
1 PR

I was pretty damn happy that I got this, as it was one of my goals at the beginning of the year. Fuck yeah Seaking!

Shrugs:
135x10
185x8
205x6x2
205x4

I set up the rack to do some bent over rows, but then opted for cable rows instead.
Cable Rows:
100x8
120x8
140x8x2

Lat Pulls:
100x8
120x8
140 (hard)
150 (grinder, but I got it)

BB Bicep Curls For the Purpose of Lady Getting:
50x7x2
50x4+f

I know Dave has us doing abs today, but I'm just doing abs on Mon, Thurs, and Sat.

Total time: 40 mins

Biceps and abs day

DB row

75 x 8

85 x 8

90 x 6

95 x 6

Pull ups

BW x 5

+10 x 4

+25 x 3

+35 x 3

+45 x 2 and a shitty one

BW x 8

Machine shrugs

4 plates and a quarter x some

Grip feels kind of weak on these, but I want to keep the weight high since I might as well use it as a grip exercise too.

Hammer curl/abs superset

55 x 8 x 3

UB

shrugs
mts row
chin ups (wide-grip aggravated my elbow)
leg raises (lazy)

3-2-10

Bad day, didn't get university housing. The apartment search begins.

I'm gonna probably miss the rest of this week to give my back some time to recover. I really hurt it last deadlift day, but it seems to be getting better. I will skip deadlifts this week as well as upper back. I already missed squat. I am undecided about bench. It hurts to bend my back, not to arch. Thoughts?

3/2 Back

Pull-ups:
5 sets of 6 w/BW
1 set of 6 w/BW+25

D-Bag Rows:
110x8/8
125x8/8, 8/8

Lat Pulldowns and Cable Rows to finish. The lifting felt a little lackluster except for the D-bag Rows. The heavier the weight gets, the better these feel.

Also, the networking meeting was completely unnecessary. Common sense.

march 1

Squat 5x5 @165
Pull Ups 3 1 2 3 plus 3 negatives

3.1.10--Squat

Rushed to the Wooden Center after looking at most of the intriguing university apartments for next year. I'll have a new place to call home tomorrow at 2. Because of my tour de Westwood, I did not have time to eat dinner, which resulted in some soft attempts.

Squats:
warmups
95x5
135x5
185x5 (I don't think I had hit depth on any of my lifts yet. Glutes were still super sore from Friday's Deadlift and to be honest, my hips need about 15 reps in to feel warmed up)
175x1 (felt like shit and almost went to the dorms to get food, but I decided to toughen it up and finish at least one workout)
165x5
175x3
185x3

Box Squats with Foam Pad:
135x5x4

We said "fuck it" to front squats due to time constraints.

Calves:
140x12x3

Abs:
transversus for 3 sets

Pancake Party (a.k.a. dinner):
5 pancakes, top eater in the competition.

Shitty Movie Monday:
Every Monday, we watch a really shitty movie. Past weeks have had us see "The Wicker Man" (the Nic Cage one), and "Shark Attack 3: Megaladon." This week's movie was "Teeth," which is about a condition called Vagina Dentata. 'Nuff said.

03/01/10 Squat

This is the beginning of a 2 week raw intensity block to ramp into geared lifts prior to the meet. The box squats (as was the same the previous 2 weeks) were pretty slow off the box. This made it hard to gauge what type of RPE each lift was. Honestly the 335 was just as slow and grinding as 365 was - so I hard to guess a bit as to what the RPEs were. I was happy with the 365 though, I kinda hard that in my head as a number I wanted to try and hit.

I was slightly disappointed with my reverse band squats as I have had better days at it. The box squats took away a bit of my ability to drive out of the hole on these. The last rep of 495 was a grinder and I was happy in that I felt myself almost lose my tightness and round my back a little - but fought it and was able not to. The last rep for 515 was similar although I did end up rounding my back a little. At the end I measured what the bands took off at the top and bottom....95#s at the top 165#s at the bottom. These made me feel better as it meant for the last set I was hitting 355 at the bottom, which is not a light weight for me.

By the time I reached the GMOP's my back was tired and because I had rounded a little on the last set of Reverse Band Squats, I didn't want to push it too hard. So I just used moderate weight.

Box Squat (Low Box + 45 plate)

275 lbs x 2 reps x 1 sets @ 8 RPE
315 lbs x 2 reps x 1 sets @ 8 RPE
335 lbs x 2 reps x 1 sets @ 8.5 RPE
345 lbs x 2 reps x 1 sets @ 9 RPE
355 lbs x 2 reps x 1 sets @ 9 RPE
365 lbs x 2 reps x 1 sets @ 9.5 RPE

Reverse Band Squat (greens)

405 lbs x 3 reps x 1 sets @ 8 RPE
455 lbs x 3 reps x 1 sets @ 8.5 RPE
495 lbs x 3 reps x 1 sets @ 9.5 RPE
515 lbs x 2 reps x 1 sets @ 10 RPE

Good Mornings Off Pins (Pin #10)

185 lbs x 5 reps x 1 sets @ 7 RPE
225 lbs x 3 reps x 1 sets @ 8 RPE
275 lbs x 3 reps x 1 sets @ 8 RPE
315 lbs x 3 reps x 1 sets @ 9 RPE
275 lbs x 3 reps x 1 sets @ 8 RPE

Finished with calves/abs and BW hypers as prehab.

Total Workout Time: 1h40m

BW (post dinner): 189.2

Rush'n Squat

Squat
225 x 5 x 2
235 x 3 x 2

Box squat
155 x 8 x 2
165 x 6
175 x 6

Front squat (screw the harness)
135 x 5
145 x 5 x 3

Did the 135 way early since I came in late and was thinking of starting backwards with the workout; Matt called me a moron and I did the workout in the intended order.

calves

Time

~80 minutes (squat day PR)

Squat

Squats
215 x 5
225 x 5
235 x 3
245 x 3

Box squats
155 x 8
165 x 8
175 x 6

Front squats
135 x 5
155 x 5 -I was feeling these primarily in my lower back so I did a couple sets of lunges

Lunges
135 x 7, 7

Kneeling abs
92.5 x 10
97.5 x 10, 10

3/1 Squat

Squat:
225x5
235x5
265x3
285x3

Front Squat: (to box)
135x5
155x5, 5

2 sets EAGLE GLUTE MACHINE and abs

I had like 1 meal today, but my strength was still about 90% there. The front squats felt really difficult, so that is something to work on.

RE Squat

Squat:
405 x 5 @ 8
425 x 5 @ 8.5
445 x 3 @ 8.5
455 x 3 @ 9

I widened my stance slightly. This feels good, but I'm having trouble consistently hitting depth on the first rep (maybe 1" high?), which is the rep that really matters for competition.

Box Squat:
315 x 8, 8
335 x 5
355 x 6

Front Squat:
185 x 5
225 x 5
275 x 5

Finished with leg raises and calves