Cycle 0 Week 2 Bench

Went to OC Strength Club for the first time today. It's a garage gym run by the owner of the house (Manny). All the guys today there were pretty strong. I was definitely the smallest, weakest guy there. One of the guys I met, Mike, was on PLwatch the other day. Very strong and very friendly guy.

Benching was done on a Forza competition bench. Nice and wide.

Bench

185 x 3 @8

195 x 3 @9

205 x 3 @10

185 x 3, 3 @8

I ended up just chatting with Manny for a while after everyone finished benching. There were a couple of guys doing other accessory stuff but it was getting kind of late and I didn't want to hold up Manny from closing up the garage so I finished the assistance work at my usual gym, which is only a 3-4 minute drive away.

Flat dumbbell bench

70s x 4 x 8

70s x 7.5

My elbows already started acting up today during bench :( Once shirted benching starts next week I'm probably just gonna be living off of ibuprofen. Definitely will be cutting down assistance work if I have to.

Wide grip pullups

BW x 12, 12, 12

Scap pushups

3 x 50

Bench Assistance

Elbow pains acted up again today. I think all the squatting from Monday (especially band resisted) is the main cause. Will we have access to the safety squat bar on Monday?

Standing press
125 x 3
135 x 3 @8
145 x 3 @9
155 x 2 @10

Bent over rows
235 x 8
255 x 8
265 x 8
275 x 8

Dumbbell bench
70s x 8
75s x 8
80s x 6+1fail

Lat pulldowns (didn't have a dip belt for weighted pullups)
240 x 5, 5, 5

Finished with 3 sets of GHR abs and light hammer curls.

Bench Assistance

Standing press

115 x 4

125 x 4

135 x 4

145 x 4

This went much better than last week.

Barbell rows

225 x 8

245 x 8, 8

255 x 8

Flat Dumbbell bench

65s x 8

70s x 8

75s x 8, 8 (PR)

Cable rows

220 x 10, 10, 10

Finished with some incline biceps.

Bench Assistance

Standing press

115 x 5

125 x 5

135 x 4 @10

135 x 3+1fail

I always suck at these for a week or two after switching back from push press.

Dumbbell rows

190 x 8

210 x 6

220 x 5 PR

Flat dumbbell bench

60s x 8

65s x 8

70s x 8, 8

Finished with 3 supersets of GHR abs and barbell curls.

Bench Assistance

Where was everybody??? Only Alex, Max, and I lifted at 4:30.

3.5 board press (yoga block)

185 x 4 sets of 6

Flat dumbbell press

60s x 12, 8

50s x 12

Cable rows

250 x 6, 6, 6, 6

Neutral grip pullups

BW x 12, 12, 12

Finished with 3 sets of ball rotations and 30 minutes on the stationary bike. Need to kick up the cardio since I'm consistently weighing 187-188 in the mornings.

Bench

Bench

205 x 1

185 x 2

195 x 2

All sets were at about an 8 RPE.

Dips (no decline bench at my gym)

BW+45 x 8

BW+55 x 6

BW+65 x 6

Flat dumbbell bench

60s x 8

65s x 8, 8

Wide grip pullups

BW x 12, 12, 8

Barbell shrugs

315 x 15

365 x 12, 12

Alternating dumbbell curls

40s x 10, 8, 8

Bench

Bench
185 x 2 -easiest this has felt so far
195 x 2
200 x 2.7 -PR, I was going for 2 but the spotter touched the bar on the first rep so I did 2 more
155 x 9, 9

Floor press
175 x 5, 5, 5

Flat dumbbell press
55s x 12
60s x 8, 7

Pushdowns
50 x 20
60 x 15, 15, 15

I talked a little bit with Rich, the guy that I said benched 655 before. He lifts single ply and said his PR is now 720. Anyway, he said that their guys have been benching once a week for a long time now. Usually they do a 6-8 week cycle raw and then follow it up with a cycle of shirted benching. However he said that they made really good gains in this past cycle when they did both raw and shirted benching every workout, working up to however heavy they could go raw, then shirting up. Rich is doing a meet in Chatsworth, CA put on by Scot Mendelson in a couple of months and hopes to put up 800.

Bench Assistance

Dips

BW+45 x 8

BW+80 x 5

BW+90 x 4

BW+90 x 3+1fail

Flat dumbbell press

65s x 10, 8, 8

Dumbbell rows

162 x 7, 7, 7

Hammer curls

50s x 10

55s x 8

60s x 8 -No Luke, I didn't use perfect form.

Post-training BW: 180.0 lbs

Bench Assistance

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

Dips
BW x 24 -For some reason I'm having trouble getting past this 24 rep barrier
BW x 15, 15

Dumbbell rows (w/ straps)
162 x 6, 6, 6
I don't think the straps allowed me to do more reps than I would have without them, but they made it feel like I kept better form towards the end of the sets since my grip wasn't slipping.

Seated dumbbell curls
35s x 10
40s x 6, 6

Post-training BW: 182.8 lbs

Bench Assistance

Dips
BW+45 x 8
BW+70 x 5
BW+80 x 5
BW+90 x 3+1fail -a failed dip does not feel nice on the shoulders

Flat dumbbell press
60s x 10
65s x 8

Dumbbell rows
152 x 10
172 x 6
182 x 5

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

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.

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.

Bench Assistance

Standing press
105 x 5
115 x 5
125 x 3
135 x 3 -PR, last rep was a grind. Happy with the PR but honestly this exercise seems to have very little carryover to my bench.

Skull crushers
70 x 12
80 x 8, 7, 7

Flat dumbbell presses
50s x 12
55s x 10
60s x 8

Dumbbell rows
So I bought a dumbbell handle from Sports Authority but unfortunately the handle rolls and grip is kind of an issue. Additionally, the damn thing isn't long enough to hold enough weights.
122 x 8 (12 lb bar)
132 x 8
There wasn't enough room on the bar for more weight using 25s so I tried using 45s and did them standing, which worked out okay.
132 x 8
142 x 8
I could probably work with this if I do them standing from now on, but I feel it somewhat in my lower back. Considering I'll probably be using dumbbell rows for a long time to come, I think I'm gonna return it and try to find a better one that doesn't roll and is longer.

Bench Assistance

I think I'm coming down with a cold AKA I'm coming down with a personal problem.

Standing press
95 x 8, 8, 8

Flat dumbbell presses
70 x 5, 5, 5

Dumbbell rows
115 x 8, 8
125 x 8

Bench Assistance

Last pre-meet training session

Standing press
105 x 5
115 x 5, 5, 4

Flat dumbbell press
60s x 10, 8, 9

Skull crushers
80 x 4
70 x 8, 6, 6+1fail

Pullups
BW x 12, 12, 10
Came back and ate, but my roommate just bought a new pullup bar and wanted to see if I could do 20:
BW x 20 (neutral grip)

Bench Assistance

Standing press
105 x 5
115 x 5
125 x 4
135 x 1+1fail

Flat dumbbell press
60s x 9, 8, 8, 8

Skull crushers
70 x 10, 8, 8, 8

Bench

12/3/09

Standing Press

95 x 5

105 x 4

115 x 3

125 x 1 + 1 fail

135 x fail

terrible pressing.

Dumbbell Press

last set: 75 x 6

Bench

Bench
warmup
185 x 4 PR
165 x 5, 5

Bench (paused)
135 x 3, 3, 3

Flat dumbbell press
70s x 5, 4

Dips
BW x 12, 10, 10

Only had 40 minutes to workout so I cut the dumbbell presses short by a few sets.

Bench

Bench
warmup
175 x 3, 3, 3

Flat dumbbell press
65s x 5
70s x 5, 5, 5

Dips
BW x 10, 10, 10, 10

Skull crushers
60 x 10
70 x 8, 8