Bench Weak Points. Saturday, 8/28/10

... Today, I worked on my bench weak points such as the pause on the chest and my weak tricep lockout ... Also spent some time on my shoulders ... Didn't do any back exercises because my lats and traps are extremely sore and I didn't really have time ... so I hit a few MAX EFFORT BICEP CURLS !!!!


Bench with Extra Long Pauses
-> using 2 full seconds to pause each rep on my chest
135 x 2
135 x 3 --> P.R.!! (for long pause)
135 x 2
135 x 1 + fail (3 second pause on first rep, triceps died)

Shoulder Press
85x5 --> P.R.!!!
75x6
75x7 --> P.R.!!!
-> bringing bar down to just below chin

Pin Press (Bench)
-> started with normal grip and the pins at level '14' (about 3 inches off chest)
115x6
115x5
-> then moved pins up to level '13' (about halfway off chest) with pinkie fingers on the rings (a closer grip)
115x10
115x7 (triceps died)
95x12

Open Bicep Curls
60x8 --> P.R.!!!
60x6

Reverse Curls
50x12 --> P.R.!!!
50x12
50x12

Deadlifts. Thursday, 8/26/10

Deadlifts 3x5
275
275
275
-> using new belt, no chalk
-> felt strong off the ground, lockouts tough though

Stiff-Leg Deadlifts 3x5
225 (belted)
225 (no belt)
225 (no belt)

Thumbless Shrugs (on Shrug Machine)
-> traps are still pretty fried from the power cleans and hang cleans last workout
2 plates each side x 10
2 & 1/2 plates each side x 10
2 & 1/2 plates each side x 10

Pause Squats 3x3
-> 3 second pauses, no belt
135
155 --> P.R.!!!!!
155

Cherry-Pickers (Core)
-> using a dumbell, holding it with both hands
20 x 20
35 x 20
45 x 20 (tough)
45 x 20 (tough)
-> 20 reps means 10 reps each way
-> tried to be explosive, tough to maintain my balance on the bench though at end

Seated Calf Raise Machine 3x5
120
120
120
-> heavy but strict form

Forearm Grip Holds
-> using thumbless grip on shrug machine
3 plates each side x "15 count"
3 & 1/2 plates each side x "12 count"
4 plates each side x "10 count"

Bench

Bench (brief pause)

155 x 5

165 x 5

175 x 5 -all sets so far felt pretty easy

185 x 4+1fail -PR

Push press

145 x 5

155 x 5

165 x 4 -PR

Incline dumbbell press

60s x 10

65s x 8, 9

Lat pulldowns

220 x 10, 10, 8, 8

SSS aka Triple S raises -If you even have to ask what they are, then you're probably not ready for them.

15s x 1 set

20s x 2 sets

Finished with some PNF stretching.

Will be ordering gear soon since I see Misael having so much fun with his new gear and head nearly exploding.

Welcome back, Mr. Squatta

After not squatting for 8 weeks, welcome back to Painville.

Squat:
365 x 5 @ 10
385 x 5 @ 9
385 x 5 @ 8
405 x 5 @ 9

I almost bagged it after that 365 set. My form was awful and my CNS was all over. The strength is there, but my nervous system needs some serious retraining.

Pause Squat:
3 second pause for all
315 x 3 @ 9
335 x 3 @ 8
365 x 3 @ 8+
385 x 3 @ 9

For the 385, they forgot to count so the first rep was like 5 seconds. I started laughing on the way up, which made it even harder. The weight felt so light compared to when I was free squatting. My strength out of the hole feels stronger than ever (probably due to those box squats).

Superset:
Low Box Squats:
off a 12" box (lowww)
135 x 6-10 reps, 4 sets

Lying hamstring curls:

Finished with ghr abs and hamstring stretching

08/31/10 Bench

Had a surprisingly great day today for bench. Going into the day my legs were very sore from yesterdays lifting, and my anterior delts and lats were slightly sore. So I figured it might not be the best day - but it went quite well.

Bench:
225 x 5 @7.5
245 x 5 @8.5
255 x 5 @9.5
245 x 5 @9
245 x 5 @9.5

I really used my legs on all of these and I think that is what made the biggest difference. I have known for a while now I don't always use a leg drive, but I have had trouble developing a mental cue to make sure I do it. Hopefully I can build off of what I did today.

Pin Presses (~2-3 board):
255 x 4 @8
275 x 4 @8.5
295 x 4 @9.5
315 x 2 @10

Seated front shoulder press (machine)
4 sets of 8

I's, Y's, and T's:
2 x 10,10,10 with 10#

Finished with some hanging leg raises

8/31 Press

Week 2 Cycle 2

Press:
95x3
115x3
130x6 PR

30 minute break to help Dean and Misael with bench shirts

Dips:
8@BW
25x5
45x5, 5
65x5 (Adding in BW, this is a 300lb dip, which is a PR)

Barbell Rows:
135x10
185x8
225x5, 5
245x5 PR
175x12

Good session today, and one of many it seems. I did the presses from a hang clean today, which made a large difference in how easy the weight felt off my chest (dont know why). Also in the idk category is that my shoulder hurts a bit with BW dips, but hurts less the more I pile on the weight. ::shrugs::

Also, my inspiration for re-including dips into my program (he says that they are his favorite assistance exercise for bench).

Breaking in the Katana 8/31/2010

Bench w/ Shirt

245 x 3 w/ Foam Roller

273 x 3 w/ Foam Roller

275 x 3 w/ 2-Board

275 x 2 w/ 2-Board

These were painful. It wasn't until the third set where I could somewhat comfortably touch the board. I'll keep working on it. I decided to go suited today because I'm going back home this weekend. I'll do 3-4 x 5 for bench on Friday.

Push Press

165 x 5

165 x 5

175 x 5

Incline Dumbbell Bench

75's x 10

75's x 10

75's x 10

Pull Ups

x13, x12, x8, x8

Shoulder Raises with 22.5 lbs.

3 Supersets raising the dumbbells up straight, up sideways, and bending over. About 18 reps per set.

Finished up w/ 20 minutes on the Stationary Bike and then stretched.

Going heavy with the shirt really took it out of me. I didn't think it was going to be that tiring. Hopefully next time I'll be able to go down to a 1-board distance.

8-31-10 Sub Par Bench

Sore today in the quads and hips from squats and traps and lats from cleans (didn't get the email for the workout until after I did the workout, although I should have known cleans would make me sore after not doing them for a few weeks.) The result was reduced leg drive and lat engagement which made for a sub par bench day... and by sub par I don't mean below par which in golf is desirable. I mean par as average and my performance was below that. I just watched The Office today where Jan explains sports metaphors during a women's seminar and she brings up a good point about that one.

Bench

165 x 5 @8.5

175 x 5 @8.5

185 x 5 @9

185 x 5 @9.5

I don't think I've ever got 185 x 5 x 2 before. I would have gone for 190 or 195, but today wasn't having it.

Push Press

95 x 5

115 x 4 or 5? PR?

115 x 4+failed lockout

I don't feel explosive on these. My shoulders hurt a little in the beginning of the movement and I struggle to lock it out once the bar slows.

Incline Dumbbell

60's x fail couldn't get them up to start, tired from push presses

50's x 10 x 3 lockouts felt hard.

Front Shoulder Raises

12's x 10 x 3

supersetted with Wide Grip Pull Ups

BW x 15, 15, 11

sweaty hands made grip difficult. at this point in the workout I was very tired and was almost out of breath. I hadn't eaten for 4 hours prior which may have accounted for some of the tiredness.

Hamstring stretching at home

5/3/1 Deadlift

Deadlift-
135x5
225x5
385x5
445x5
500x2 PR

Deep good morning
165x5x10

Hanging leg raises w/ 15 lb DB
5x10

15 mins cardio

I was really hoping for a 3rd at 500..but I wasnt feeling it, my lower back was still sore from squatting Saturday, and no Deload in 8 or 9 weeks, I need one...

Retard strength

Standing press

90 x 3

105 x 3

120 x 5

85 x 10 x 5

I had planned to just do 75 for a few sets and see how 85 felt as the last set, but I misloaded 2 10s on each side and didn't catch it until the 4th set in. Nice to see how much my work capacity has increased from the beginning of the summer.

Dumbbell row

80 x 10 x 5

Chin ups

BW x 15

BW x 12+3

BW x 10

Reverse curls

70 x 10 x 5

Squat

Squat

235 x 5

245 x 5

255 x 5 -definitely the best set formwise

265 x 5

Pause squats (no belt)

195 x 3

205 x 3, 3

Hang cleans

135 x 3

155 x 3 -terrible form

135 x 3

Lunges

135 x 5

155 x 5

175 x 5

185 x 6

First set on these always feels kinda wobbly but the later ones feel progressively better.

Medicine ball abs

2 sets

Finished with PNF stretching...pain.

8/30 Squat

Week 2 Cycle 2

Squat:
235x3
265x3
300x5 PR

Front Squat:
135x8
165x8
185x8

Chins:
8 @ BW (235 w/shoes)
25x6
45x4
25x6
8 @ BW

Hamstring stretches (Need to do these twice a week for maximal awesomeness)

300x5 today was a good solid PR. Reps 1-4 were hard, but rep 5 was mysteriously easier. Dunno about that. Gonna hit 315 next week and see how many reps I get.

Breaking in the Centurion 8/30/2010

Equipped Squat, straps down

315 x 5

355 x 5

385 x 5

405 x 5

None of these were below parallel, but it's my first time using a suit so that's a good thing. The 405 was the best set. I was getting closer to depth and I really felt the support when sitting back. The first couple of sets were awkward but I got more and more comfortable in it.

Pause Squats

265 x 3

275 x 3

285 x 3

Front Squats

225 x 8

225 x 8

225 x 8

These were a bitch to do. I was fried.

Medicine ball abz

3 sets

PNF Stretching...OWWWWW!

This was a long workout. Next week I'll be doing more weight in the suit. Today was just to get a feel for it.

08/30/10 Squat

After taking last week off to let my hips heal I am back to squatting. Wasn't sure how my hips would do, but all was fine.

Box Squat w/ Foam (14" box):
275 x 5 @ 7.5
315 x 5 @ 8.5
335 x 5 @ 9
335 x 5 @ 9.5
335 x 5 @ 9.5

Good Mornings:
4 x 8 x 225 @7.5

Kept these light as my back was a bit fried.

Weighted Hypers:
4 x 12 x 45 @8

Abs - rolling planks w/ physioball
4 sets of 15

Incline Curls
4 x 6 x 35

Bench 5

Bench:
everything was paused.
275 x 5
295 x 5
305 x 5 (+10 PR)
310 x 5 (+15 PR)

No idea what happened here. Two weeks ago I felt good about 305 x 3, but that felt really easy today. I've been sick for two weeks and my bench is making ridiculous process out of nowhere. I think that's a sure proof of the Jürgens Method™.

Push Press:
185 x 5, 5, 5, 5

I just kept these light after putting in so much heavy volume on bench.

Incline Dumbbell:
85s x 10, 10, 10, 10

light.

Finished with lateral cable raises and some stretching.

5/3/1 OHP

Strict OHP-
barx10
95x5
155x5
175x3
195x4 big PR, 4th was a grinder at lockout

BW Chin-ups-
5x10

Incline DB Press-
60lb Dumbbell-
3x15

1 Arm Dumbbell Floor Press-
95 Lb Dumbbell-
4x10(each arm)

I'm trying to pickout a singlet for november,
is the 33$ Inzer one fine? is it okay to leave the the Inzer logo?
I like their products, they always seem quality.

8-30-10 Squat 531 1.1

I ran into 3 guys from my high school who were deadlifting. I taught them how to do d-bag rows.

Today is the start of 531. I looked the program up online, but I know David can and probably will change it without any prior indication. As for now I'm gonna follow what it says with conservative loading maxes. My loading maxes will be 345, 205, and 375.

I realize that I used the wrong percentages today. I used 75, 80, 85 instead of 65, 75, 85.

Squat

255 x 5 unbelted

275 x 5 belted

295 x 7 PR belted

Pause Squat 3 seconds self imposed, all unbelted

225 x 3

245 x 3

245 x 3

Cleans

135 x 5

155 x 5

165 x 3

165 x 2

Roman Chairs

20 x 3

Calf Raises

300 x 20

400 x 20

500 x 20

supersetted with abench

20 x 3

Weigh In: 153.5 with clothes and shoes

Bench Assistance

Foam press

175 x 3

195 x 3

205 x 3

215 x 3

Pin press (~4 inches off the chest)

175 x 5

185 x 5

175 x 5

Lateral raises

15 x 4 x 15

08/27/10 Bench

Band-Lightened Bench (doubled greens at pin 6):
275 x 3 @7
315 x 3 @7.5
345 x 3 @8.5
365 x 3 @9
385 x 3 @10
405 x 2 @10

The bench I used for this setup was between 1-2 inches higher than last week so I had less band tension at my chest and the last 2-3 inches of lockout was the full weight. Considering this fact I am very happy with how this went. It is great to have heavy weight in my hands again.

Incline Bench:
185 x 8 @8
185 x 8 @8
185 x 8 @9
185 x 8 @9.5

Lat Pulldown:
4 sets of 8 at 200

Shrugs:
365 x 10
405 x 10
405 x 10
455 x 10

Super-setted the shrugs with tricep pushdowns against average band.

5/3/1 squat

2 months ago, I switches from 5/3/1 to 1 ME lower and 1 DE lower weekly, and my squat stood still . I'm really hoping switching back to squatting/ pulling heavy weekly will help me get past this plateau.

Squat
135x3
225x3
335x3
385x3
430x3

12" box squats
250+gray average bandsx5x5

Weighted abs SS jumprope
5 sets

I'm not mad about not getting a PR. I might have had a 4th. But I didn't want to get hurt, I just got back from Hawaii today and woke up at 3 AM off 3 hours of sleep. I want to hit 500 so bad in November while staying a 242.

Re-returning of the Deadlift

Deadlift:
315 x 3 @ 10
365 x 1 @ 10
405 x 1 @ 10
455 x 1 @ 10
495 x 1 @ 10
545 x 5 @ 10

Every single rep felt like a ME lift today. This suckssss. My off-the-floor strength is horrible right now. I need to figure out how to fix it pronto.

SLDL:
315 x 5, 5, 5, 5 @ 8

Zerchers:
225 x 5
275 x 5 @ 10, 5 @ 9

Finally trying to move up in weight on these

One arm rows:
120 x 6, 8, 10, 12

supersetted with some cable abs.

Did one sled trip with 300 lbs, and finished with stretching

8-28-10 Bench

Bench

165 x 5

175 x 5

185 x 8 PR

205 x 1

Pin Presses

Pins were an inch above chest, these were harder than normal bench

185 x 3

205 x fail

185 x 2, 3

Incline Dumbbell Press

55's x 8

60's x 6, 7

Bent Over Rows

110 x 10 x 3

supersetted with lateral and front deltoid raises

Triceps Pushdown

110 x 10 x 3

supersetted with Close Grip Pull Ups

BW x 10 x 3

5/3/1 bench

Bench--
Barx10
135x3
185x3
225x3
250x3
285x3 PR

DB bench
90x5x10

1 arm DB Row
105x5x10

Bench

8/27/10

Foam Roller Press

225 x 3

235 x 3

245 x 3

255 x 2 + 1 fail

Pin Press

235 x 4 x 3

Upright Row

185 x 5 x 3

Dean Raises

35lbs x 6 x 3

Pullups superset Abs

Bench Day 8/27/2010

2-Board Bench w/ pause

225 x 3

225 x 3

235 x 3

245 x 3PR

255 x 2PR

Incline Bench

185 x 6PR

185 x 6

185 x 4 ( felt fried )

165 x 7

Superset - Bent Over Rows and Delt Raises w/ Preset Barbell ( 90lbs )

185 x 8; x 6

195 x 6; x 6

195 x 6; x 6

Dumbbell Pull Overs

70 lbs x 10

80 lbs x 8

70 lbs x 7

Abs - Crunches on decline bench w/ 10lb weight

3 sets of 5

Cardio - Treadmill

2 min @ 4.5mph, 2 min @ 7.5mph

20 minutes total

Stretch

Great work out. A couple of weeks ago I only hit 335 for two on the 2-board. I feel like I have better form and more control of the weight. I'm also getting better at incline bench.

8/27 Bench

Week 1 Cycle 2

Bench:
175x5
195x5
220x8 PR

Press:
95x8
105x6
115x4, 4

Dip:
BWx8
25x6, 6, 5

Barbell Row:
135x8
185x5, 5
205x5
225x5, 5 PR?
135x20 (for teh PUMPZ)

+Stretching

This workout today felt really effective. The benching was solid, and a nice PR for me. The pressing feels like it might be getting stronger, and the dips were done in a fashion that did not irritate my shoulder. I also set a PR on Barbell Rows, and plan on incorporating them more often.

Deadlift Day 8/26/2010

Deadlift

405 x 5

425 x 5

SLDL

335 x 6 (I did an extra rep by accident, but it set the trend for the other sets)

345 x 6

355 x 6PR

365 x 6PR

Super Set - Zercher Squats and Shrugs on Smith Machine

225 x 5 & 405 x 8

225 x 6 & 405 x 8

225 x 6 & 405 x 8

This got me sweating pretty bad.

Weighted Inverted Rows w/ 45lbs

x10

x8

x8

I tried doing one armed rows but I started cramping up on my left leg, maybe it was the positioning. Instead, I did inverted rows with a 45lb plate on my chest.

Ab Wheel

3 sets of 15

Deadlift 8/26/2010

Deadlift:

505x5x2 PR

Stiff legs

445x5x2(feeling shitty due to some bad food choices earlier in the day. Wont go into more detail than that on the blog)

Zercher Squats:

225x5

315x5

335x5

My vein in my arm is now swollen. Done with these

Shrugs:

405x10

495x10

535x5

some one arm rows

I hate having to use the 'shitty' tag

Deadlift

280 x 3

320 x 3

360 x 2+1

First time I haven't been able to hit the minimum work. Pissed off enough I decided to take a breather and get one more single out at that weight just for 3 total, though I get the feeling that's not the way to go about the program.

235 x 10 x 5

Floor GHR

BW x 10 x 5

The amount of cheating I do with these fluctuates every set, in no small part due to the fear of cramping due to my set-up. I really want to go back to Wooden and take advantage of the machine now.

wanted to finish with hanging leg raises but my grip was having none of that so

cable abs

Deadlift

Deadlift (sumo)

335 x 5

355 x 5 (video)

Stiff legged deads

255 x 5

275 x 5

285 x 5

Zercher squats

165 x 5 (belted)

185 x 5 (unbelted) -abs felt it

195 x 5

Barbell shrugs

405 x 10

455 x 10

505 x 10 -PR, but this was mostly leg drive and not much shrug

Dumbbell rows

132 x 12, 12

1 set of Medicine ball abs

Bench Assistance

2 board:
315 x 5
325 x 5 @ 8+
335 x 5 @ 9

All with a pause. Felt easy

4 board:
385 x 1 @ 7
425 x 3 @ 8
445 x 3 @ 10
455 x 1 + 1f @ 10+

455 was heavvvvvy.

Pin Press:
225 x 5, 5, 5, 5 @ 8
235 x 5, 5 @ 8

The racks were all full, so I cobbled together the deadlift blocks next to the bench to simulate pin presses. Got it right above my chest. Kind of a nice variation since the blocks here force the bar back in the same position for every rep.

Supersetted with parallel grip lat pull down.

Finished with curls and hamstring stretching

08/25/10 Legs/Accessories

Hips are bothering me a bit still, so on Monday I ended up skipping my workout all together. Today I wanted to get some stuff in but kept it light - mostly to get some blood flow and stretch the muscles. As a side note, Ben White (IFBB pro bodybuilder who apparently lives in my area) was training at the gym doing some heavy rack pulls.

Banded Hamstrings:
4 sets of 10

Banded Hypers:
4 sets of 10

Hammer Curls/Low-Half, Top-Half, Full-Range Curls/Cable Curls:
12 sets of 10

Cable Abs.

08/24/10 Bench

Bench:
225 x 2 @8
255 x 2 @8.5
275 x 2 @9.5 (2nd rep was sorta outta the grove making it harder than it should have been and I didn't have as good a leg drive)
275 x 2 @9 (better bar placement and leg drive)
275 x 2 @10
265 x 2 @9.5

Bench Pin-Press (bar starting at ~2-3 board):
225 x 3 @8
255 x 3 @8.5
275 x 3 @8.5
295 x 3 @9.5
315 x 3 @10

This was much better than last week.

Push Press:
4 sets of 5 at 155 @9

I should be able to do more but it has been a while and it just didn't feel very comfortable. I will work on it the next few weeks.

Incline Skullcrushers:
4 sets of 10 at 80 @8.5

Deadlift Thursday 08-26-10

Deadlift
225 x 5
245 x 5

Stiffleg
185 x5
195 x 5,5,5

Zerchers
95 x 5
135 x 5,5,5

Shrugs
225 x 6
275 x 6
315 x 6,6

Dumbbell Rows
25 lbs on each side x 6,6,6

Body Weight : 164.5 lbs

8/26 Front Squat

Week 1 Cycle 2

Front Squat:
155x5
185x5
200x8 PR

Squat:
135x8
185x8
225x8

Chins:
BWx8
25x6, 6

Bodyweight: 238 (with shoes) PR

Good training today. My front squat is coming along, and I have definitely seen some increased leg size since I started this program. And it was proven last week that the lack of deadlifts in my program is increasing my deadlift, so I will keep on keeping on.

Decline Bench and Back. Wednesday, 8-25-10

Today, for the front and back of my body, I attempted to lift a 3x5, 3x5, 3x8, 3x10 rep scheme. I think the 5 rep range for my first 2 movements works really well to develop my strength. The 6-8 rep range for the accessory work helps add additional muscle break-down and then one exercise for some isolation work.


Decline Bench 3x5 (with pauses)
135
145 --> P.R.!!!
145

Standing Press 3x5
75
75
75
-> I need to do more vertical shoulder strengthening work. My base feels strong lifting the weight off my upper chest but my lockout is very weak.

Close-Grip Incline Bench (touch & go)
95x7 + fail (slight)
95x8
95x8
-> used more leg drive on the last 2 sets. felt explosive off chest.

Weighted Pullups 3x5
45
40
35x4 (cut out early. too tired. barely got 5th reps on first 2 sets)

Seated High Row Machine 3x5
105 lbs each side (weak)
105 lbs each side
105 lbs each side

Face Pulls (Hammer Grip) 3x8
100
120
120

Dip Machine 3x10
70 lbs each side
70 lbs each side
70 lbs each side

Leaning-Over Bicep Curls
-> using a vertical bench and training one arm at a time
15 lbs x 10 each arm
15 lbs x 10 each arm
15 lbs x 8 each arm

8-26-10 Deadlift

I'm back from vacation. I did a little bench yesterday, but 135 was feeling heavy so I did one set 165 x 5 and jumped in the pool. We took some dumbbells into the pool and walked across underwater which counts as GPP.

Deadlift

285 x 5 unbelted

325 x 5 belted

Stiff Legged Deadlift

225 x 8 unbelted

255 x 6 belted

275 x 4 belted PR

Zercher Squats

135 x 6,8

wasn't feeling these today

Shrugs

225 x 15

275 x 10 x 3

Dumbbell Rows

75 x 8 per arm

100 x 5 x 2 per arm

Curls

30's x 8

35's x 8

40's x 5

Abs

Calf Raises

worked up to 520 x 20

Weigh In: 154 pounds with clothes and shoes

Bench Day 8/24/2010

Bench

185 x 5

195 x 4

205 x 3

215 x 2

225 x 1

Push Press

155 x 3

165 x 3

175 x 3 PR

182 x 2 PR ( I dropped the bar on the first set and it threw me off. I'll get three next time )

Superset - Close Grip Bench w/ Close Grip Pull Ups

155 x 8; x15

165 x 8; x12

175 x 7; x10

175 x 6; x10

Superset - Cable Tricep Pulldowns & Cable Biceps

3 sets

Abs

3 sets of Cable Crunches and Prone Bridges

Cardio

Jump Rope, 20 minutes. 1 min jumping, 30 sec rest

This workout is dedicated to my boy Cheng

Bench

135 x 3

150 x 3

170 x 6

135 x 10 x 5

Pull ups

BW x 10 x 5

Some kipping during the end of the last 2 sets but these felt good.

Reverse curls

60 x 10

70 x 10 x 4

1.5 miles on elliptical

I might have to do this from now on to stay a 181

5/3/1 pullz

Deadlift( conventional )
Barx10
135x
225x3
365x3
405x3
475x5 PR!, then I held the 5th rep for 24 seconds

Deep arched Goodmornings
145x5x10

BW hanging Leg raises
5x15

BW GhR
3x10

15 mins elliptical

Great workout and the gym in Hawaii has a real GHR WTF!
Sorry I'm not tagging the tagging on my phone browser sucks

Bench Tuesday 08-24-10

Bench
115 x 5
125 x 4
135 x 3
145 x 2
150 x 1

Push Press
95 x 5
105 x 5
115 x 5
135 x 3

Close Grip Bench Super-setted with Pull-ups
115 x 8 / body weight x 4
115 x 6 / Alex supported x 6
115 x 6 / Vit supported x 6
115 x 6 / Terence supported x 8

Reverse Grip Curls
40 x 8 for 4 sets

Abs

Body Weight : 161.5 lbs

Bench 8-24-10

Bench:
295x5 pr
315x2
325x1(easy)
335x0 blew this off of my chest, but my triceps succombed to bitchassness, even though this is relatively light weight. Time for some triceps death.

push press:
225x3
245x3 PR
255x2PR
too weak to go for rep 3

close grip/pullup superset
225x8
10 pullups
225x10
10 pullups
225x5
10 pullups

push down/bicep curl superset

Days late

Forgot to add press day on Saturday so I'll just mention the main work

Standing press

85 x 5

100 x 5

110 x 8

Today

Squat

215 x 3

245 x 3

275 x 3

I think my knees came forward on the first one and I kind of crumpled in a way that I had to GM it up but overall the set didn't feel bad, especially since I decided to go the rest of the summer unbelted.

175 x 10 x 4

185 x 10

Lying hamstring curls

130 x 10 x 5

Cardio abs

Seated calf raises

5 plates and a quarter x 15 x 3

Tuesday 8-24

Had to go light today because I benched on Sunday with Ben.

Bench

175 X 5

185 X 4

195 X 3

205 X 1

Push Press

95 X 5

115 X 5

125 X 5

135 X 5

Close Grip Bench Press

135 X 8

145 X 8

155 X 7

165 X 6

Pull Ups

25 X 4

25 X 4

25 X 4

25 X 4

Reverse Grip Curls

Heard a sound and a twinge in my arm when I was doing this, can't move my wrist anymore. My forearms are weak.

Squat 1

SS-bar Box Squat:
13" box
385 x 1
425 x 1
445 x 1 @ 10
455 x 1 @ 10

Switched the box to the 13" i normally use at 425. big mistake. The box I had done all my warm ups on was 14", not 13", which wrecked my sense of depth. 455 was pretty brutal on my CNS. I think I would have had maybe 10-15 more in me, but I was really hoping to attempt 500 based on my performance last time with the 14" box and suit bottoms. Oh well.

Pause Squats:
315 x 3 @ 3 sec, 4 (5?) sets

These felt super light, but my iliopsoas is still bothering me in the hole.

Power cleans:
185 x 5, 5
195 x 5

Finished with alternating leg ball bridges and hamstring stretching

Bench

Bench (brief pause)

165 x 5

175 x 3

185 x 2

195 x 1

All sets felt pretty easy.

Push press

135 x 3

145 x 3

155 x 3

165 x 3 -PR

Close grip bench

135 x 8

145 x 8, 8, 8

supersetted w/ Pullups

BW+35 x 8, 8, 8, 8

Rope pushdowns

60 x 10

65 x 10, 10

supersetted w/ Rope curls

60 x 10

65 x 8, 8

Cleaning Some Weight. Monday, 8-23-10

Power Cleans
125x5 --> P.R.!!!!
125x5
125x5
125x2 + fail + fail
-> not much explosion. couldn't get elbows up.

Hang Cleans
105x5
95x8
95x8

Bent-Over Rows
-> with back completely parallel to ground
95x8
95x8

Bus Drivers (Core)
bar + 25 x 8
bar + 25 x 8

Benching with Victor!! Sunday, 8-22-10

Bench (tough and go)
115x8
135x6 --> P.R.!!!
145x2 (tough)
135x4

Close Grip Floor Press
115x3 + fail ... (triceps died on me)
95x8 (easy)
105x7
110x5 + fail

Incline Bench
95x8
105x6
105x5 + fail
95x6 (very tough, triceps done)

Tricep Extensions/Pull-aparts
50x10
60x10
60x10

Bench

8/24/10

Bench

185 x 5

205 x 3

225 x 2

240 x 1

Push Press

I have never done these before and had no idea to do.

So I did 5+ sets at 95lbs to get the form down which I finally accomplished by the end.

Close-Grip Bench superset Weighted Pull Ups

145 x 8

155 x 8

145 x 6, 6

Skullkrushzr superset Curls

same 70lb EZ-bar, 3 sets each

these were fun -- for the ultimate arm PAMP!

Some Abs

5/3/1 press

Well this week I'm in Hawaii and you gotta be 25 to drive the rental so I was able to bug my dad enough to get him to drive me 45 mins to the 24 hour :)

Strict OHP
Barx10
95x3
145x3
165x3
185x5 PR

JM press
185x5x10

BW pullups
5x10

Assorted pushups

Hopefully I can get 2 more workouts in while here.. Crossing fingers

8/24 Press

Week 1 Cycle 2

Press:
95x5
105x5
120x8 PR

Bench:
135x5
185x5
205x5
225x5

Pullover:
65x8
85x8
115x8 PR
65x12

Chins:
50 reps @ BW

Nothing much to say, other than that I am ashamed of my overhead weakness. Also, I need to start sleeping differently, as this matress that I am using now is destroying my shoulders and elbows.

Monday 8-23

Squat

225 X 5

235 X 5

245 X 5

245 X 5

255 X 5

Pause Squats

185 X 3

195 X 3

205 X 3

225 X 3

Cleans

95 X 5

115 X 5

135 X 4

Machine Abs

Squat Day 8/23/2010

Squats

275 x 5

285 x 5

295 x 5

305 x 5

315 x 5

Pause Squats

245 x 5

255 x 5

265 x 5

275 x 5

Power Cleans

175 x 4

175 x 5

175 x 5

Abs w/ Medicine Ball

3 Sets

Box Jumps

10 jumps on big box, 10 jumps on medium box. 30 secs rest and started over; 5 sets.

I went very conservative on the squatting today. The hardest thing for me was keeping my knees out. Ever since I started squatting w/ a more Russian style, my knees have been caving in a little. Dean said today's squats were perfect. This workout was still challenging because we did 3 weeks without regular squats.

squat 9/24/2010

squat:

405x5

455x5

465x5 pr

475x3 (will do five next time)

pause squat:

365x3 (felt horrble)

385x#(felt okay)

405x3(felt easy)

cleans:

225x3

245x3

265xa

275xf for some mark ass reason

Squat

Squat

225 x 5

235 x 5

245 x 5

255 x 5

Terence said my form was good on all these sets. More chest up and less bar rolling. We'll see if I can keep this up once the weights get heavier later in the cycle.

Pause squats (3 seconds)

205 x 3 (no belt)

225 x 3 -abs felt it on these since it wasn't belted, almost failed the last rep. Weak abs :(

225 x 3 (belted)

Power cleans

155 x 3

165 x 3

175 x 3

Lunges

155 x 8

Left side of my hip was fatigued I think from pause squats. I'd like to keep lunges in the program though so I might throw them in on Thursday.

Bench 1

Bench:
300 x 1
325 x 1 @ 10 (PR +5)
335 x 1 @ 10 (PR +15)

Benching felt really solid today. Everything was done with a strict pause too. The judges watching said 335 wasn't a max single either and I was probably good in the 340-350 range.

Push Press:
185 x 3
205 x 3
215 x 3
225 x 3
235 x 3 (PR +10)

These are coming along well. The world class strongman in the gym said i had excellent form, but that I'm still weird for doing them in a split stance, haha.

Incline Dumbbell:
85 x 10, 10, 10, 10

Cheap volume work.

Supersetted with 4 sets of wide-grip pull ups until failure.

Finished with cable triceps and hamstring stretching. My hamstrings were extremely sore from the SLDLs, which was nice, and yet not nice.

Squat Monday 08-23-10

Squat
185 x 5
195 x 5
205 x 5
205 x 4 + failed 5th rep
195 x 5

Pause Squat
155 x 3
165 x 3
175 x 3
185 x 3
I've never done'em before so i started light and moved up

Power Cleans
95 x 5
115 x 5
115 x 5
115 x 3

Medicine Ball Abs
3 sets

Body Weight : 161.5 lbs

8/23 Squat

Week 1 Cycle 2

Squat:
215x5
245x5
285x10 PR (Apparently first 5 were deep, last five got progressively more shallow)

Front Squat:
165x5
185x5, 5

Cheat Curl:
95x5
105x5
115x5

And that's all. This squatting cycle will be a lot harder than the other one, and my reps shouldn't be as high.

Monday 8-23

Bench

175 X 8

185 X 6

195 X 4

195 X 3

Floor Press

135 X 5

175 X 3

165 X 7

165 X 6

175 X 4

Incline Bench Press

135 X 8

145 X 8

155 X 6

155 X 6

Bench Day 8/21/2010

2 Board

225 x 3

225 x 3

235 x 3

235 x 3

Incline Bench

185 x 5 PR?

185 x 5

185 x 5

185 x 5

Dumbbell Bench

70's x 10

70's x 8

70's x 8

Wide Grip Pull Ups

x10

x9

x8

x9

Dumbbell Rows

85's x 10 ( per arm )

95's x 10 ( per arm )

95's x 10 ( per arm )

Great workout today. I did 20 minutes on the treadmill afterwards.

I'm gonna order my gear this week and I wanted to clear something up. For a bench shirt, how exactly do I measure my shoulder width? I wasn't sure what they ( andersonpowerlifting.com person I spoke to ) meant because there's more than one way to measure your shoulders.

Speed Bench

Bench

115 for 8 sets of 3

Dips

BW x 30 -PR

BW x 18, 16

Chinups

BW x 19, 11, 10

Achieved the Ultimate Upper Body Pump.

Returning of the Deadlift

Deadlift:
415 x 3
465 x 1 @ 10
515 x 5 @ 9

I managed to wake up in time for my work set, which felt good. Speed was good and my form is coming back.

SLDL:
225 x 5
275 x 5
315 x 5, 5 @ 8+

Wasn't sure how these would go, but it felt fine. I could definitely tell my hamstrings were tight though.

Shrugs:
315 x a lot
405 x some reps
495 x 7, 9

Finished with crunches and one arm rows. then hamstring stretching.

Bench Saturday 08-21-10

Board Press
145 x 3,3,3,3

Incline Press
95 x 5
105 x 5
115 x 5,5

Wide Grip Pull-ups
46 lbs aided x 6,5,5

Skull Krushers
45 x 6, 5

Body Weight : 162 lbs

8/21 531 Bench

Week 3 Cycle 1

Bench:
185x5
205x3
235x5 PR

Standing Press:
95x5
115x5
135x3, 2 PR?

Barbell Pullover:
95x8
115x6
95x8

Chins:
25 BW Pre-Workout
BWx5
25x5, 5, 4


Good day in the gym today. Benching felt pretty strong, but kinda slow. Still set a good PR though, so I am nowhere near complaining. Switched out Push Presses for Standing Presses b/c my legs are tired as hell from Thursday. Will be doing the same for my 531 lift.

I noticed that my triceps were shrinking a bit, so I added in my bent-arm Barbell Pullovers. Soooooo awesome. My entire shoulder girdle and triceps were fried after doing them, and I think I could work my way up to doing some big weight without the elbow strain that normal extensions provide.

Also, here are my training maxes for the next 531 Cycle:

Squat: 330
Press: 140
Front Squat: 235
Bench: 255

08/20/10 Bench

Band-Lightened Bench (doubled greens at pin 6):
275 x 4 @7
315 x 4 @8
345 x 4 @8.5
365 x 4 @9
385 x 3 @9.5
405 x 2 @9.5
405 x 2 @10

Just a couple weeks ago with this I was struggling to do triples at 365. But it was the first time since nationals I had had over 275 in my hands, so I just needed to re-acclimate my CNS to the heavy weight. The doubles at 405 tie my PR.

Incline Bench:
185 x 8 @8
185 x 8 @9
185 x 8 @9.5

I have been really hammering the incline the past few weeks and have improved a lot with it and consequently my flat bench has been going up too. Prior to my focus on the incline I was lucky if I could do 1 set of 6 at 185 or a triple with 205. But last week I did 6 sets of doubles, 3 at 235 and 3 at 225. Today I just focused on some volume work for the incline.

Lat Pulldown:
4 sets of 8 at 200

Machine Shrugs:
6 plates x 10
8 plates x 10
10 plates x 10
12 plates x 10

Finished with some physioball abs.

08/19/10 Deadlift

Band-Lightened Deadlift (greens single-choked at pin 6)
405 x 2@7
455 x 2@8
495 x 2@8

Stopped here because my hips were really bothering me. Last week I did the same thing and worked up to a double at 585. This coming week I am going to take it easy on my lower days. I have been going pretty hard at it and with my hip bothering me, a lower intensity/higher volume week is needed.

Finished with some banded hamstring curls, banded hypers, and leg extensions.

5/3/1 squat

Warmup
5 minute bike
Foam roll
Mobility drills

Squat
135x5
225x5
315x5
355x5
405x6 PR
225x5x10

Weighted sit ups
5x10

PreHab-

TkEs-
5x10

Leg curls
2x15

I'm thinking of duct taping my shins

Deadlift

260 x 5

300 x 5

340 x 5

Not good good but I brought my hips lower and these felt really easy off the floor. Had to keep resetting my grip though. Also, got a new shin scrape through my high socks during either these or my BBB sets.

235 x 10 x 5

Floor GHR

BW x 10 x 2

Doing these in a weird position caused my calves to cramp so I switched to

GMOP

175 x 10

185 x 10

195 x 10

Cable abs and hanging leg raises

Bench Assistance

Still sick, maybe 80% health, so I kept the volume lower than normal.

2-board:
315 x 5, 5
325 x 5 @ 9

Felt good on these, even with the pause.

Bent-over Row:
waiting on the bench again, so threw these in for something to do.
185 x 8
205 x 8
225 x 8, 8

Pin Press:
Slightly different setup today; pin was right on the chest.
225 x 5
245 x 5
255 x 5
265 x 4 + 1f @ 10

Pretty solid progress on these.

Finished with 4 sets of cable triceps with the rope and chin ups. and hamstring stretching

Deadlift Day 8/19/2010

Deadlift

500 x 1 ( 26.5lb PR )

Looks like I'm in the 500 lb club. I hitched a little on the way up but the weight didn't feel too bad. I would have had a way smoother lift if I had a singlet on with baby powder.

SLDL

345 x 5

345 x 5 PR

355 x 5 PR

Zercher Squats

225 x 8

225 x 8

255 x 6

Super Set - Pull throughs w/ 65 lb and Cable Abs

8 reps with each hand, 10 reps on cable abs

3 sets

Cardio

Ran up and down steps at Drake. I wanted to play soccer but the lights were turned off in the IM field.

Deadlift Thursday 08-19-10

Deadlift
265 fail, fail
245 x 1
255 x 1
265 x 1
275 x 1 <--PR

GMoP
135 x 6
155 x 6,6,6

Dumbbell Pull-Through
35 x 8 with each arm for 3 sets

Super-Duper Abs
from 25

Body Weight : 164 lbs

Deadlift

Edit: updated with videos.

Deadlift (sumo)

375 x 1

405 x 1

Form still sucks. Kyle took videos to prove it.

Good mornings off pins

225 x 5

235 x 5

245 x 5, 5

Hang cleans

135 x 3, 3, 3

Supa Dupa Abs

8/19 531 Front Squat

Week 3 Cycle 1

Front Squat:
175x5
195x3
215x5 PR
135x15

Deadlift:
295x5
345x5
375x5 PR
405x3 PR (Vit wanted to hit this weight and I was being a total dick, so I hit it too)

GHR Abs:
10x5
25x8

Upper Back 8/18/2010

Shrug Machine

6 plates on each side

x 10

x 10

7 plates on each side

x 10

x 10

Close Grip Pull Ups

x 15

x 13

x 12

Bent Over Rows

185 x 6

185 x 6

185 x 6

Superset - Seated Incline Bicep Curls ( 30 lbs ) & Reverse Flyes ( 45 lbs )

4 sets

Full Body Workout. Monday, 8/16/10

... this was a 3 hour, 45 minute workout ... I got very hungry haha

This was also the first workout I got to use my new belt. It is very stiff and fairly painful to wear yet I pushed through!

Also, thank you Terence for pointing out that possibly moving the bar up on my back a little bit for squats may help me sit back more and maintain a more upright position (keeping my chest up) while squatting. I will work on this.


Weighted Pushups
70x5
70x4
70x6 --> P.R.!!

Bench Machine (Wide Grip)
110x6
110x6
110x7 (tough)

Weighted Pullups 3x4
45x4
45x4
45x4

Box Squats 4x5 (trying to work in new belt)
155x5 (using 12 inch box)
165x5 (using 12 inch box + pad)
165x5 (using 12 inch box + pad)
165x5 (using 12 inch box + pad)

Band-Lightened Squats (purples) 3x4 (still trying to work in new belt)
275x4
275x4
275x4

Bent-Over Rows
-> with back parallel to ground
95x8
115x5 (tough)
105x6
105x6

Hip Adduction Machine 2x8
295x8
295x8

Hip Abduction Machine
190x7
160x8
145x10
145x10
-> tough. I need to strengthen these muscles so i can drive knees out better during squats. Today I definitely had very wobbly knees during all my squats.

Shrug Machine 3x10
3 plates each side x 10
3 plates each side x 10
3 plates each side x 10

Medicine Ball Throws
3 sets of 15-20 reps

Box Jumps
2x10 (onto tall box)

5/3/1 bench

Bench(paused)
Barx10
Barx10
95x5
135x5
205x5
235x5
270x5
165x5x10

DB Row (105 LB DB)
5x10

Shoulder prehab( scarecrows )
3x15

10 mins elliptical

Bench

Bench (brief pause)

195 x 1

205 x 1, 1 -second single was misgrooved and slow

I think for next cycle I'll be doing touch and go benching so I can handle more weight on bench days. I've been doing paused benching for about 6 months now with little progress so it's probably time for a change.

RGBP

155 x 3, 3, 3

Push press

135 x 5

145 x 5

155 x 5 -last rep was tough at lockout

Incline dumbbell press

60s x 10, 9, 8

Bench Wednesday 08-18-10

Bench Press
145 x 2
155 fail
150 fail
145 fail
-Not a good day

Reverse Hand Grip Bench Press
95 x 5
105 x 5, 5

Push Press
95 x 5
105 x 5, 5

Dips
body weight x 6 x 3

Body Weight: 162 lbs

08/18/10 Bench

Bench (brief pause):
225 x 2 @8
255 x 2 @8.5
275 x 2 x 2 @10
265 x 2 x 2 @9

Bench Pin-Press (bar starting at ~2-3 board):
225 x 3 @8
255 x 3 @8.5
275 x 3 @9
295 x 2 @10
275 x 3 @9.5

JM Press:
155 x 8 x 4

DB Shoulder Press:
70s x 8 x 4

Finished with some face-pulls

8/17 531 Overhead

Week 3 Cycle 1

Push Press:
125x5
135x3
155x4 PR

Bench:
185x5
205x5
225x5

Chins:
BWx 9, 9, 8, 6, 5 (37)

Bleghhhhhh. Brain is melted from studying.

Boring but working

Bench

125 x 5

145 x 5

160 x 10* (spotter helped starting at 5)

135 x 10 x 4

135 x 8

Pull ups

BW x 9

BW x 8

ABS BREAK

Pull ups cont.

BW x 8

BW x 10 x 2

Last 2 sets weren't as strict as I usually do them but I'm starting to think having slightly uglier form will push me past my old plateau.

Upper Back

T-bar rows

200 x 6

210 x 6

225 x 5

235 x 5

Lat pulldowns

220 x 10

230 x 8, 7

Barbell shrugs

405 x 12

455 x 10, 10, 10

Reverse curls

70 x 10, 8

80 x 8

Finished with vertical jumps and jumprope. Afterwards almost died playing a full court bball game for the first time in 3 months. Then played another game and died.

Vinny the Chin - Must Watch

8.17.10--Short Bench

Bench Press:
Warmups
125x5
145x3
155
165--harder than it should be, a sign of a shitty workout

Skullcrusherzzz:
40x8x3

Abs

Weigh In:
159 lbs

ZZZZZ Squat

Feeling like death today. I woke up sore from the deadlift workout 3 days prior, so I must be carrying a heavy sleep deficit right now. I also am still sick.

SS-bar Box Squat:
385 x 3
405 x 3 @ 10-
425 x 2 @ 10

I was all over on these. Form felt worthless. I tried getting myself psyched up with a little nose torque on the last set; ammonia + head cold feels something like this:



Pause Squat:
135 x 5 @ 3 sec
185 x 5 @ 3 sec
225 x 5 @ 3 sec

My joints felt like mush even on these warm-ups so I quit here.

Finished with some cable crunches and hamstring stretching.

Bench Day 8/17/2010

Bench

I'm sticking to my wide grip position.

225 x 2 PR

I seriously think I could have gotten a third one but I got a massive cramp in my lower back. The first two felt good.

215 x 1

215 x 1

215 x 1

Reverse Grip Bench

165 x 3

165 x 3

175 x 3PR

175 x 3

175 x 3

Push Press

155 x 5 ( had trouble locking out the last rep )

155 x 5

165 x 5

165 x 5

Dumbbell Incline Bench w/ 70's

x10

x10

x7

x6

Ab Wheel

3 sets of 15

Jump Rope

1 minute of jumping, 30 sec of rest for 15 minutes

Soccer

About 20 minutes. 2 goals, 1 assist.

5/3/1 Deadlift

Deadlift ( Conventional )
135x5
225x5
340x5
390x5
435x8 PR

GHR
4x10

Good mornings-
155x4x10

Weighted Abs
4x10

Farmer Walks
140 Per hand
100yard per lap
3 Laps

Upper Back Tuesday 08-17-10

Pull-ups
body weight x 3
terence aided x 8
aided 48 lbs x 6, 6

T-bar Rows
100 x 8
145 x 6
125 x 6, 5

Shrugs
225 x 8
275 x 6
315 x 6, 6

Reverse Curls
25 x 8
40 x 8,8,8

Jump Ropes/weighted jumps
3 sets

Body Weight : 162 7/8 lbs

Beginagin

Squat

195 x 5

230 x 5

260 x 6

I liked how light on the back these felt. 7 would've definitely been a possibility if I wasn't a little bitch.

175 x 10 x 4

185 x 10

CYBEX EAGLE GLUTE MACHINE

210 x 10 x 5

Seated calf raises

5 plate and a quarter 10 x 2, 15 x 3

Cable abs

Bench 3

Bench:
285 x 3
295 x 3
300 x 3 @ 9+ (PR)

These felt solid today. Andy and Todd thought I should be in the 335 range now for raw benching, which is surprising.

Push Press:
185 x 3
205 x 3
225 x 3, 3

Last set was sloppy, but fully locked out.

Incline bench:
Used the super incline for this. It was almost a push press motion.
135 x 8
155 x 8
165 x 8
175 x 8 @ 8

Finished with four sets of bodyweight dips and wide grip pull ups. Then hamstring stretching.

Squat Day 8/16/2010

Box Squats

355 x 1 PR

345 x 1

345 x 1

Band Lightened

405 x 3

405 x 3

405 x 3

Front Squats

225 x 8

225 x 8

225 x 8

Power Cleans

175 x 3

175 x 5

175 x 5

Box Jumps

10 jumps on the highest box then 10 jumps on the medium box. I did 5 sets of these with very little rest in between (10-20 seconds). I was sweating my ass off by the time I was done.

PR-I've never jumped on the highest box before.

Abs

Medicine ball; 3 sets

Bench Day 8/14/2010

Foam Roller Bench

225 x 3

245 x 3

255 x 3

255 x 3

265 x 3

Incline Bench

185 x 4

185 x 4

185 x 4

185 x 4

Dumbbell Bench w/ 70's

x10

x10

x9

x9

Wide Grip Pulls Ups

x10

x9

x9

x8

Close Grip Cable Rows

200 x 10

220 x 10

250 x 5

Cardio

Ran steps at Drake. Must not pass 190lbs.

Squat Monday 08-16-10

Squat
205 x 1
215 x 1
225 x 1 <--PR
235 x 1 <--PR

Band-lightened Squat
295 x 3
285 x 3, 3, 3

Eagle Glutes Machine-instead of lunges
110 x 8 each leg
130 x 6, 6

Abe Lincolns
medicine ball decline sit-ups

Body Weight : 161.5 lbs

8/16 531 Squat

Week 3 Cycle 1

Squat:
225x5
255x3
285x9 PR LOL (Will bump training max substantially for next cycle)

Front Squat:
165x5
175x5
185x5

Deadlift:
245x5
295x5
315x5 (supa easy)

Curls:
80x5
100x5

Abs:
10x5
25x6

I was supposed to be in and out of the gym today to study, but I just ended up doing some studying in the gym lol. 285x9 was good, although the weights felt considerably heavier on my back than they did last week. Also, I am including deadlifts in my routine now, but after squatting. I used a hook grip for all of these, and no belt, as I am starting light and working may way up. The hook grip felt substantially less painful than the last time I tried it, but the pain increases with the # of reps that you do.

Also, BW was at 230.

Squat

Box squat

245 x 1

265 x 1

275 x 1

Band lightened squats

315 x 3

335 x 3

345 x 3

315 x 3

Power cleans

155 x 2

175 x 2

185 x 2

195 x 1

Lunges

155 x 6 per leg

175 x 6

185 x 6

Medicine ball abs

3 sets

I guess for now I'll go back on. 5/3/1 sure I got bored of it but had amazing gains on it..

strict ohP
Barx10
95x5
135x5
155x5
175x7 pR

DB military
4x10

JM press
4x10

BW Pullups
5x10

Knees still a little sore.. IB has been helpin need moar ice!

08/16/10 Squat

Hips were tight and sore from deadlifting on Thurs and I might have tweaked a little something in my left hip. Anyways tried to train today and pushed my left hip a bit but it just wasn't up to it and I didn't want to really injure myself. Should not be too bad or anything, probably will be better for deadlift on Thurs.

Squat
315 x 2 reps x 1 set @8 RPE
365 x 2 reps x 1 set @9 RPE
385 x 2 reps x 1 set @9.5 RPE

Hips hurt a lot after this. I wanted to do another 2 or 3 sets but cut it short.

Just finished with some banded hamstring curls and banded hypers.

Return of the Deadlift

Feeling good, so I decided to deadlift for realz today.

Deadlift:
(lots of warm ups)
405 x 3
455 x 1
495 x 5 @ 8

Form is 90% there despite having pulled twice in 4 months now. No pain at all which is awesome. I'll gradually increase the weight to see where I'm at these days

GMoP:
someone brought in foam padding for the pins, so there's no rebound anymore.
315 x 5, 6, 8

Wow, my lower back was tired.

Zercher Squat:
225 x 5, 5
245 x 5, 5

Finished with ghr abs and hamstring stretching.

Full Body Workout. Thursday, 8/12/10

Incline Dumbell Press 4x7
50s x 7 x 4
-> didn't attempt 7th rep on 4th set. tough.

Zercher Squats
185 x 4
185 x 3 -> biceps couldn't hang on for 4th rep, had to set it down.

Barbell Shrugs 2x6
275 x 6 x 2

Push-Presses
75x5
75x7
85x4 + fail
-> I had no explosion on these.

Face-Pulls
110x8 --> P.R.!!
120x7 --> P.R.!!
120x7

Reverse Crunches 2x8
15 lbs x 8 x 2
-> with holding weight behind head on reverse glute hamstring machine

Hammer Curls
1 set of 10 reps while holding a 45 plate, biceps incredibly tired

Bench and Back. Saturday, 8/7/10

Bench (with pauses)
135x3
140x3 --> P.R.!!!
145x3 (touch & go) --> P.R.!!!
-> I "Gregged" the last rep and lifted my butt up a little on the touch and go.
135x5 (tough and go) --> tied P.R.!!

2-Board Bench (touch & go) 3x3
145 x 3 x 3 (tough)

Lateral Delt Shoulder Raises 2x8
12s x 8 x 2

Rear Delt Flys 2x8
10s x 8 x 2

Shoulder Front Raises 2x7
-> using a 35 plate

Tricep Extensions/Pullaparts 3x10
70 x 10 x 3
-> just kept these real light and easy so as not to strain elbows too much and just focus on form

Zercher Squats. Friday, 8/6/10

Zercher Squats 4x5
185 x 5 x 4
-> these were killer so I used a pad

Dumbell Pullthroughs 2x12
50 x 12 (6 each leg) x 2

Wide-Grip Thick Bar/ Straight Bar Pullups (aka swing set pullups) 2x6
6 reps BW x 2
-> shoulders didn't like these so I only did a few

Shoulders and Back. (resting chest).Tuesday, 8/3/10

Dumbell Shoulder Press 3x5
40s x 5 x 3
-> really tough

Arnold's Shoulder Press 4x6
35s x 6 x 4
-> didn't attempt 6th rep on 4th & final set though

High Row Machine 4x5
115lbs each arm x 5
120lbs each arm x 5 x 3 --> P.R.!!

Medium Hammer-Grip Lat Pulldowns 3x6
160 x 6 x 3
-> bringing down to collar bone

Forearms: Wrist-Flips 2x20
110 x 20
130 x 20

Deadlifts. Sunday, 8/1/10

... a little late to post here, sorry ...

Deadlifts
-> no belt, no chalk
295 x 3 --> P.R.!!!! (I've hit this belted, but not without)
275 x 4

Stiff-Leg Deadlifts
245x3
245x3
225x6
-> no belt, no chalk

Lower Back Extension Machine 3x8
305x8
305x8
305x8

Shrug Machine 3x10
3 plates each side x 10
3 plates each side x 10
3 plates each side x 10

Medicine Ball Core Throws
25 reps
20 reps
20 reps
-> speeding up throws until failure

Forearm Gripper Machine 3x8
70lbs x 8
70lbs x 8
70lbs x 8

Box Jumps (tall box)
3 sets of 8 reps body weight

Knee Jumps
2 sets of 8 reps
-> interesting exercise

**** STRETCHING ****

Light Bench

Bench

155 x 9, 8, 8

Skull crushers

80 x 9, 8, 8

Dips

BW x 20, 15

Chinups

BW x 15, 13

Bench Saturday 08-14-10

Foam Roller Bench
145 x 3
145 x 3
155 x 3

Incline Bench Press
115 x 5
115 x 5
115 x 4 and failed 5th
105 x 5

Dumbbell Press with 35 lbs dumbbells
4 sets of 6

Close Grip Pull-ups
3 1/2 with body weight
6 with 16 lbs assist
6 with 22 lbs assist
5 with 22 lbs assist

Cable Rows
100 x 8
110 x 8
110 x 8
---------------------
Body Weight : 159 lbs

8/14 531 Banch

Week 2 Cycle 1

Bench:
175x3
205x3
225x7 PR!

Push Press:
135x7, 5, 5

Barbell Shrug:
315x25

Chins:
BWx8, 7, 6, 5, 5 (31)

Mini-diet is working ok so far. Still at 231lbs bodyweight, but I have a less substantial gut (still no abs though lol). 225x7 was awesome today - I tried to go for 8, but failed right in the middle of the rep. Also, I took a little bit of a wider grip on the Push Press today, and that felt much more powerful both off the chest and at lockout. Progress is being made, and my pre-workout meal of oatmeal and coffee is helping with those PR's.

THIS MUST BE SEEN

I'm not sure which of these feats is more impressive:
596lb Behind-the-neck Jerk
640lb No-Handed Squat
884lb x 3! Deadlift
420lb Snatch, where he uses one leg to scratch the other with the weight still overhead

I will be rooting for Koklyaev at this year's World's Strongest Man for sure.

Deadlift

8AM final this morning, lack of sleep, 2 final reports due tonight = 4 personal problems -PR

Deadlift (Sumo)

355 x 3

375 x 3

315 x 2, 2, 2 -form work

For some reason I feel a little more reluctant to load my hamstrings quickly on sumo deads. I didn't have too much of a problem doing it on conventional deads. Maybe I should man up.

An Olympic lifter was hogging the platform so I scrapped block pulls. Also, I was too damn lazy to set up the blocks anyway.

GMOPs

205 x 5

225 x 5

235 x 5, 5

Standing abs

100 x 5, 5, 5(slow reps)

Ben & Kyle's Friday GPP

My friend needed some of here furniture moved today, and she asked me to bring along a powerlifter friend. Ben joined me and at 10AM, he and I moved:

2 Bookshelves
1 Coffee Table
1 Lamp
1 3-person Couch

The couch was a monster, but it was fairly easy for Ben and I both to carry it out of the first apartment and load it onto the truck. The real fun came when we arrived at the apartment that we were supposed to relocate it to. The room was on the 2nd floor, and the staircase to get up there was small, confined, and full of awkward angles. Getting the couch in the room was a MAX EFFORT exercise.

That is all for today. Benching at Noon on Saturday if others are interested.

Sheiko

So, I finished the first 2 weeks of Sheiko 37, I can deal with the boring-ness.
My muscles and CNS can too. But my joints cant.
I eat so much, fish oil supps whatever, but I'm not going to hurt myself.
So I'm discontinuing sheiko.

What isa rough outline of what you all do?

Back from the Abyss

So I haven't posted in about a month...tssk tssk, but I have been lifting.

I won't post all those workouts as I don't have them written down and I do not remember all of them. So I will just write some bullet point notes on how its been going.

- First couple weeks of bench was a bit off. Since I took 3 weeks off from benching that is to be expected. I just recently had a workout where I did doubles and did 1 set at 275 and 3 more at 265 all with pauses. The 275 was @~9.5 and the 265s were @~9, so that's a PR. Since I have been home and going to Gold's I didn't have a way to overload with bands or chains or anything, so I just bought a pair of average (green) bands. The power rack at Gold's is the same as at UCLA, so I set up for band-lightened bench and the increase of weight was definitely a shock to the CNS. I was only able to work up to triples at 365 which were pretty hard, and my PR is 405. So I need to re-acclimate my CNS to heavy weight. I have also been hammering the incline press and triceps. I definitely think my bench has improved due to my strength increase in incline (did 6 sets of 2 with 225 @9 - huge PR) and increased tricep size/hypertrophy.

- Squat is getting better by leaps and bounds. I just did a double with 385 @9 which is a PR. Nothing too noteworthy as far as the training methods.

- I dedicated myself to improve my deadlift lockout after what happened at Nationals. So I did a few weeks worth of heavy rack pulls (was able to hit 600 @10 from just above the knee). Yesterday I switched to band-lightened deadlifts, so I could get some form work from off the ground and still overload the lockout.

I will start posting daily again this coming Monday.

Deadlift Day 8/12/2010

Conventional Deadlift

425 x 3 ( felt fine )

455 x 3 PR

Rack Pulls

405 x 5

405 x 5

405 x 5

Zercher Squats

185 x 8

225 x 8

245 x 8

245 x 8

Pull Thru's & Standing Cable Crunches ( super-set )

3 sets

I watched a lot of glute-ham raise videos and I wasn't sure which one to follow. Pull thru's are always good though.

Soccer ( 35 min )

0 goals, 2 assists

I was really concerned about doing upper back the day before but it really didn't make a difference to me. I think I'll do the same thing next week.

Upper Back 8/11/2010

Shrug Machine

5 Plates on each side w/ short pause

x 10, x 10

+2 more plates on top

x 8, x9ish + Strip set

Bent Over Rows

185 x 6

185 x 6

185 x 6

Close Grip Pull Ups w/ BW

x14

x10

x10

Superset Seated Bicep Curls w/ Reverse Flyes

30 lbs dumbbells for biceps and 40 lbs for flyes

3 sets of 8-10

Volume feels good but makes me feel weak

Behind the neck press

55 x 10

65 x 10 x 4

Front raises

20 x 10 x 5

Close-grip lat pull down

135 x 10

150 x 10

165 x 10

165 x 8 x 2

Dumbbell row

60 x 10 x 5

Finish with reverse curls and cable abs

Thursday 8-12-10 Deadlift

First Post!!

Deadlift
245 x 3
265 x 1 + failed 2nd rep
^PR btw

Deadlift off blocks
245 x 5 x 4

Leg press
2 plates on each side for 5 reps for 4 sets
I dont know what the default weight is for the machine

FIRST POST!

Bench Assistance

2-board:
315 x 3
325 x 3
335 x 3
345 x 3 @ 10

345 was harder than intended. I should have stuck with a second set of 335 to keep the intensity lower for my assistance day.

Pin Presses:
225 x 5
245 x 5
255 x 5
245 x 5

I managed to arch enough that I'm touching the bar right where the pins start. This is great off-chest work for me, but it's starting to feel easier.

Superset
Speed Bench:
alternated 3 reps with hands inside, splitting and outside the rings.
135 + 120lbs chains
142.5 + 120lbs chains
162.5 + 120lbs chains

Working in with someone, so that's why the weights were wonky.

and Close-grip pull ups

Then supersetted cable triceps and one arm rows with the 120s.

Finished with alternating leg ball bridges and hamstring stretching

Thursday 8-12

Had 45 minutes.

Dumbbell Tricep Extensions

70 X 5

70 X 5

75 X 5

75 X 5

Tricep Pulldowns

115 X 7

115 X 7

125 X 4

115 X 7

A Big Carl afterwards. Workout... negated.

8/12 531 Front Squat

Week 2 Cycle 1

Front Squat:
165x3
185x3
205x6 PR

Squat:
255x4
225x5, 5

GM:
135x8
165x8, 8

Barbell Curl:
65x8
95x6

GHR Abs:
25x5, 5

Good training session today, even if it was only me and Jae. Also, I did back squats after front squats for the first time today, and that shit was HARD. Should push the squat up though.

Condensing recovery

Deficit deadlift

185 x 10

205 x 10 x 4

Did these off 3 plates. I have no idea how thick that is

Floor glute-ham raise

BW x 10 x 5

All of these were awful, but I can barely walk right now so I guess I did them right enough.

Seated calf raises

5 plates x 10 x 5

2 and a half miles on the elliptical

Wednesday 8-11

Bench

185 X 5

195 X 5

195 X 5 (failed on 5th)

135 X 16 (failed on 16th)

Decline Jumping Push ups

20

15

15

Bench

Finals, projects, and presentations throughout this week so I've been lifting at odd times. Luckily I ran into Alex and Jae and made them slow down their bench workout so I could catch up :)

Bench (brief pause)

175 x 3

185 x 3

190 x 3 -failed this 2 weeks ago so I think my bench strength is coming back

RGBP

135 x 5, 5

145 x 5

Still having trouble grooving these properly on every rep.

Incline dumbbell press

65s x 8, 8, 8

Flies

60 x 10, 10, 10

Sheiko 37 Week 2 Day 2

weightx(RepxSet)
Deadlift to Knees-
135x5
265x4
315x4
365x4x4

Bench-
165x5
195x2x5
225x5x4

these felt really good!

Chest Flies-
10x5

Deadlift-

265x4
315x4
365x2x3
390x5x3

Lunges-
135x10x3

Finish time 2 hour 20 minutes. By far the longest and hardest Sheiko workout for me so far.
My hams/glutes were still pretty sore from monday, Deadlifts felt great though.
Heres a video from my last set of Deadlift.

Tuesday 8-10

Came in early, too much homework.

Seated Military Press

95 X 5

115 X 5

125 X 5

135 X 3

135 X 3

Dumbbell Side Raises

27.5 X 10

27.5 X 10

27.5 X 10

Incline Curls

35 X 5

35 X 5

35 X 5

35 X 5

Concentration Curls (negatives)

45 X 5

45 X 5

45 X 5

Superset some abs with machine/leglifts.

Monday 8-9

Box Squats

225 X 5

255 X 3

275 X 3

295 X 1 (failed on 2)

295 X 1 (failed on 2)

Band Lightened Squat

315 X 3

325 X 3

Front Squat

135 X 5

165 X 5

185 X 5

Unimportant deload updates

Since the 5/3/1 spreadsheet I've been using has been telling me to do things like squat 175 x 5 as my last work set, I'm just going to post the random assistance work I've been doing.

Yesterday

Cleans

135 x 5 x 5

Pistols

I used to be so much better at these. Now it's all power no balance.

Standing calves

horrible, horrible 30 minute ab routine

Today

Reverse grip bench

95 x 10 x 3

105 x 10 x 2

Dips

BW x 10 x 5

Dumbbell triceps

horrible, horrible 30 minute ab routine

Nobody else did upper back today? :(

Dumbbell rows

162 x 8, 8, 11 -PR

Barbell shrugs

405 x 12, 12, 12

Pullups

BW x 16, 11.5, 9 -biceps fried

8/10 531 Press

Week 2 Cycle 1

Push Press:
115x3
135x3
145x6 (Clavicles were bruised from cleans, so leg drive was awkward)

Bench:
205x6, 6
185x10

Chins:
BWx5x5 (25)

BB Curl:
65x6


Biceps were magically feeling much better today, so back work was added in. Throwing lots of food at injuries seems to work pretty well, but a side effect is a bit of chub. I think I may need to streamline my diet a bit more - cut back on the starches and keep it to milk, chicken, fruits, veggies, etc.

Squat 5

No suit today

SS-bar Box Squat:
used a lower 13" box.
335 x 5
365 x 5
385 x 5 @ 9+

Considering that I was on a lower box and had no briefs, it feel reassuring to hit the same weight as what I did when I had the higher box and briefs.

Band-lightened Squats:
used blues. nothing at the top ~185 at the bottom

405 x 5, 5
455 x 5 @ 8

Kept these light. My form feels good but the hip was only 80% still. Having full weight on my back again is a trip.

Pause Squats:
315 x 3 @ 3sec
335 x 3 @ 3sec
315 x 3 @ 3sec

Went up the 335, but my hip wasn't having it. 315 felt so light though.

Finished with leg raises and calf raises.

Bench Day 8/10/2010

Bench

205 x 3

215 x 3

215 x 2

205 x 3

Reverse Grip Bench

155 x 5

155 x 5

155 x 5 done...

Push Press

155 x 5

155 x 5

165 x 5

165 x 5

Hard to explode after doing squats and power cleans the day before.

Incline Dumbbell w/ 70's

x10, x8, x 6

15 Minutes of Jump-roping

( Jump for one minute, rest for 30 seconds )

Sooo tiring

Ab Wheel

3 sets of 15

This was a really fast paced workout. ( 1hr, 30 minutes ) After the push press I felt really tired. I'm doing upper back tomorrow morning on my own. Hopefully it won't affect thursday's workout too bad. This is the first time I've done bench right after squats. I felt no leg drive whatsoever.

8.10.10--Bench/Upper Back

Bench Press:
warmups
145x3
155x2x4

Incline Bench Press:
95x5
105x5
115x5x2

Close Grip Lat Pulls supersetted with Row Machine:
120x7x2-lat pulls
75x10x3--rows

Medicine Ball Incline Abs:
2 sets

Weigh In:
157 lbs

Ankle is feeling a lot better, gonna return to squats and deadlifts soon I guess.

8-10-10 Everything Day

I'm leaving on vacation (Pennsylvania, Vermont, and maybe Montreal) for 2 weeks tomorrow so I tried to cram the entire weeks workout into one day. I won't have access to a gym so I'm thinking of maybe doing some body weight exercises so I don't lose strength as fast.

Bench Press

my friend was at the gym when I got there so I had a spotter and liftoffs which was nice

185 x 3

195 x 3

205 x 3 PR

Box Squat on 12" box + 2" pad

275 x 3

285 x 3 x 2

these felt heavy at the bottom

Deadlift

295 x 2 only noteworthy because I did this with my grip reversed. Left hand was overhand grip and right hand was underhand which is opposite of normal. I noticed my right shoulder was coming forward which is why I wanted to try this

335 x 3

365 x 1 Decided not to triple because this one was a bitch to get up. Maybe I was extra fatigued in the hips from box squats or from not having a full week between deadlifts, but today I was way weaker than last thursday.

Lunges

135 x 10

165 x 14

185 x 14

Incline Dumbbell Press

45's x 10

60's x 8 x 2

according to my friend incline dumbbell made his bench go up more than bench press alone did and should be done at the beginning of the workout. I like the exercise so why disagree.

Abs and stretching at home

Weigh In: 147 lbs on my scale at home which is a bout 2 pounds light so: 149 lbs

Sheiko 37 week 2 Day 1

Went into 24 hour at 10 PM -_-
(RepxSet)




Squatz-
235x5
285x2x4
335x2x3
380x5x2 ( 80 % )

Bench-
165x5
195x4
225x2x3
260x6x2

DB side Raises-
5x10

Weighted Pushups-
5x10

Squats !-
265x3
335x3
355x4x3 tiredd

Good mornings-
225x5x5

Its kinda an ego buster to be only 5RMing 50lbs less than your true 5rm
but I'm really liking sheiko. the 3 days gives me more rest, my form is feeling way better, and oddly enough i'm feeling a little leaner..
heres a video of my final set of 380 from my first round of squats, critiques are welcome!!

Squat Day 8/9/2010

Box Squats

285 x 3

315 x 3 PR

335 x 3 PR

Band Lightened Squats w/ Purple bands

405 x 3

405 x 3

405 x 3

Front Squats

225 x 8

225 x 8

225 x 8

Power Cleans

175 x 3

175 x 3

175 x 3

175 x 3

Still gotta work on getting my elbows through. Front squats help

Box Squats

10 jumps w/ 10 seconds of rest

10 sets

This lasted about 6-8 minutes but I was sweating and breathing heavy

Abz w/ Medicine Ball

Squat

Box squat

225 x 3

235 x 3

245 x 3

Band lightened squats (purples)

315 x 3

325 x 3

335 x 3

Power cleans

135 x 2

165 x 2

175 x 2

185 x 1

205 x failed twice - first one I almost got but couldn't get my elbows under the bar, second one was a high pull

Lunges

155 x 6 per leg

165 x 8

185 x 6 -PR

Medicine ball abs

3 sets of 10-15

8/9 531 Squat

Week 2 Cycle 1

Squat:
215x3
245x3
275x11 PR (+2 Reps, w/better form and depth)

Front Squat:
165x5, 5 (tried the harness - did not like)

Power Cleans and High Pulls:
A bunch of sets with 3's and 5's, most around 135. Hit 160x2 Power Clean, which is a PR. Just going to stick with high pulls.

GHR Abs:
10x10, 10

This training session should be prefaced with the fact that I spent most of the day today with what seemed to be a mild case of food poisoning (Foreman grill didnt cook the chicken right). Pepto Bismol MAX saved me, and allowed me to do some SERIOUS work in the gym today. I hit an all-time squat rep PR, and 275 felt ridiculously light on my back. SICKNESS=STRENGTH.


I will most definitely be re-adjusting my maxes for next cycle on squat and bench.

squat:

squat:

405x5

435x5

455x3

475x2

475x1

front squat:

185x5

225x5

275x3 (dat mess hurt)

cleans:

225x5

245x3

255x2

225x5

225x3x2

lunges:

185x6

225x6

medicine ball abs

additionally, I weighed in and im officially back in the 242's

Bench 5

Bench:
285 x 5 @ 9+/10-
275 x 5, 5 @ 9

Felt pretty good today on these. Normally, I would have gone for a second set of 285, but I'm still trying to back off on my percentages on the 5-rep days to avoid overtraining. 275 felt easy though.

Push Press:
185 x 5
205 x 5
215 x 5 (PR)
185 x 5 + 2f (due to stupidity)

I was going for reps on the last set but the weight felt so light after 215 that I misgrooved on the 5th rep and couldn't regain my balance for two more reps. scrapped it after that. I think I'm finally getting the motion for these.

Incline Dumbbells:
80s x 8
85s x 8, 8, 8 (@ 10 for last one)

Finished with ghr abs and dips.

Overall a great workout. Things are feeling strong. I don't feel overtrained but I do feel like I'm getting decent work in still.

Bench Day 8/7/2010

Bench

205 x 2

215 x 2

215 x 2(w/spotter on 2nd)

205 x 3

205 x 3

Speed Bench w/ Purple Bands ( about 45-55 seconds rest in between each set )

135 x 3

145 x 3

145 x 3

145 x 3

145 x 3

155 x 3

155 x 3

145 x 3

Skull Crushers w/ Preset barbell

70’s x 10

70’s x 10

70’s x 10

70’s x 10

Ultra Wide Grip Pull Ups

10

8

8

7

Reverse Crunches and Prone Bridges

3 sets each