5 Rep Deadlifts. Thursday, 12/9/10.

Deadlifts 2x5 (belted)
300
315 --> P.R.!!!!
-> felt good, lockout improving, hips coming through quicker.

Stiff-Leg Deadlifts 3x8 (belted)
245
245
245x12 --> P.R.!!!!

Banded Hyperextensions 4x12
-> with greens (singled)

Box Jumps (tall box) 3x10 BW

Weighted Reverse GHR Sit-Ups (Core)
25x5
25x5
25x4+f

Aerobics Ball Leg Raises (Core)
3 sets x 3 big circles each way

**** PNF Stretching ****

Deadlift

Deadlift
135 x 7
185 x 5
245 x 3
315 x 5 shouldn't have done this
365 x 1
405 x 3 PR, going for 5 though

Good Morning
205 x 5 x 3 sets

Everything a little weak. Still not a bad workout.

Deadlift

Deadlift

405 x 4 -PR

375 x 5

Stiff legs

275 x 8, 8

295 x 8, 8

Left to study for my last final tomorrow.

12-9-10 Deadlift

Much better deadlift showing this week

Deadlift

325 x 5 @ 8.5

365 x 5 @ 9- PR this was a 10 pound PR and I probably had at least another 10-20 pounds in me

Good Morning

135 x 8

185 x 8

225 x 8 x 2

Hamstring Curls

Stupid Ball Leg Ab Transversus Thing

Maxwell 12/9 Deadlifts

Deads

325x5 no belt

365x5 Wooden Center ghetto belt

Apparently my back was rounding pretty bad on the last couple, but Danny said the closer I get to the bar when I start the lift, the better my back is during the lift, so I'm gonna work on dropping my hips lower. Still, skeet skeet skeet! 20lb PR, and 405 is in sight.

Straight-Legged Deadlift

225x8

245x8

275x8

Last set was really tough. All w/o belt.

Hamstring Curls (Machine)

135x10 3 sets

150x10

Calf cramping up, I need to remember to stretch first.

Plyos, abs, etc.

I'll call this maintenance week

Bench

165 x 5 x 4

Incline bench

135 x 5

145 x 5 x 2

135 x 5

Close grip bench

145 x 5 x 3

Close grip chest ups

BW x 10 x 4

curls

Deadlift

325 x 5 x 2 (unbelted)

Good morning

185 x 5

205 x 5

215 x 5

225 x 5

Reverse hyperextensions

Plyos, abs circuit

12/09/2010 Deadlift

Deadlift (Raw)
1x5 at 225 lbs (78.9% max)
1x2 at 245 lbs (86.0% max)

Stiff Leg Deadlift
1x8 at 135 lbs
1x8 at 155 lbs
1x8 at 185 lbs

Hamstring Curls
1x10 at 70 lbs
3x10 at 90 lbs

Pylos
3 circuits

12/9 Incline

Incline:
135x3
155x3
165x3
175x3
185x3
195x1
205x1
165x3x4

Back Work Circuit: Chins, Rows, Face Pulls
4 sets of 6/6/6

DB Laterals

BW: 230lbs

More maintenance-type work. I really like doing all of my upper back work as a circuit, and I think I will continue doing this up until the meet. So easy to get volume in that way (those 4 circuits amounted to a total of 72 reps).

Maxwell 12/7 Bench

Bench

185x5

195x5

205x3

195x3

Got too ambitious. I thought I got 200 for a 5 last week (lol) and figured I might as well just go for a 5lb PR. Turns out I actually got a triple with 200 last week. I guess this is still a PR?

Incline Bench

155x5

165x5 3 sets

Started at 155 and realized that was probably a bad idea. Got all my sets tho!

Close Grip Bench

155x5

165x5 3 sets

See above

Pull-Ups

9, 8, 7, 7

Curls

30 plus whatever the bar weighs, 35 plus whatever the bar weighs, some sets some reps

Saving the best for last, as always!

Bench 5

Bench:
295 x 5 @ 10
275 x 5 @ 10, 5 @ 10

Rough day. My nerve damage was flaring up even before i started benching. I wasn't feeling over trained until I started benching, so it's probably a sign to take a day off to heal and rest.

Band-resisted bench:
looped greens under the bench. maybe 70 lbs?
185 x 5
205 x 5
235 x 5, 5

I couldn't really feel the bands until it hit 235. Things just seemed to press up like always. Also my hands were pain-numbed by this point, so that could have been it, haha.

Close-grip Bench:
185 x 8
205 x 8
215 x 8

Went for volume. Last set was easy

Tried rowing / pull ups, couldn't do anything. Same with curls (did 25s for whatever). Finished with ghr abs

5 rep Bench. Tuesday, 12/7/10.

Bench 3x5 (touch & go)
135 (felt good!!)
145 --> P.R.!!!!!
145

Incline Bench 4x5 (touch & go)
135 --> P.R.!!!!!
135x4
125x4+f (muscles fatigued)
115

Close-Grip Bench 4x5
95
105
105
105

Hammer-Chin Pullups 4x8 BW

Preacher Curls (Outer Grip)
40x10
40x10
40x13+f

Forearm Grip Holds 3 x (10 sec.)
-> on shrug machine
3+1/2 plates each side
4 plates each side
4+1/2 plates each side --> P.R.!!!!
(forearms slipping at end but still held on for the last second!!)

Bench

Bench (brief pause)

165 x 5

175 x 5

190 x 5 (5lb PR)

185 x 5

Band-resisted bench (purples knotted at about 8 inches and looped around a 75lb dumbbell)

145 x 5 -after this a knot came undone and we redid it with more tension

145 x 3+1fail

125 x 5

Close grip bench (brief pause)

135 x 8

155 x 5

165 x 5, 5

Close grip pullups

BW x 20, 12, 17, 12

Finished with 3 sets of incline curls and 3 sets of GHR abs

Bench Day 12/7/2010

Bench

185 x 5
185 x 5
195 x 5
195 x 5

Band Resisted Bench (w/ Greens)

145 x 5
145 x 5
155 x 5
145 x 5

Close Grip Bench

165 x 5
165 x 5
165 x 6
165 x 5

Close Grip Pull Ups
x21, x15, x13, x10?

Bicep Curls
3 sets

GHR abs

I miss wooden squats

Squat (unbelted)

225 x 5

245 x 5 x 3

Started way too light. 245s weren't that hard at all, which was nice

Box squat

205 x 5 x 3

215 x 5

Went extra wide stance for these, like toes touching the sides of the rack. Hard. Reminiscent of a Zercher when I rested at the bottom though.

Lunges

135 x 6 x 3

calves, cable pull through superset

windshield wipers

12/7

Front Squat:
95x3
135x3
165x3
185x3
195x3
205x3x3
215x3
195x3

RDL:
225x10x3

Triples are definitely a good range for squatting in. My PRs on front squats are 225x3 and 245x1 for reference. Also, met a possible recruit named Sean who squatted 455 to USAPL depth.

12-7-10 Bench

Bench

165 x 5 @ 8

175 x 5 @ 8

185 x 5 @ 8.5

195 x 4 + fail PR

Incline Bench

135 x 5

155 x 5 @ 8.5

165 x 4 + fail PR

155 x 5 @ 9

Close Grip Bench

155 x 5

165 x 5

175 x 4 + fail, tired from incline I guess

Pull Ups

BW x 15 x 3

Preacher Curls

Weigh In: 154 lbs

12.7.10--A day that will live in Benchfamy

Bench Press:
135x5
145x5
155x5x2 PR

Incline Bench:
115x5
135x5
135x3+f
125x5

Close Grip Bench:
135x4+f (lost my groove)
115x5
125x4+f (just plain tired by this point)

Pull Ups

Biceps, Biceps, BICEPS

Weigh In: 167 lbs

Maxwell 12/6 Squat

Squat

215x5

235x5 2 sets

245x5

Ben came out of nowhere with a belt, or I was gonna hit 235 again. Thanks, broseidon.

Box Squat

185x5

205x5

215x5 2 sets

Might've been 205x5 for 3 sets and no 215 =S

Lunges

135x5 per leg, 3 sets

The day after, my buttcheeks are very tender. Good stuff.

Abz etc

American Open Meet Recap

I competed raw at this meet, my first raw meet. I competed in the 181 lb (82.5 kg) weight class. Weighed in at exactly 82.5 kgs...which required the removal of all clothing, including underwear lol.

Squat:
402.2 lbs (182.5 kgs) 3 whites
424.2 lbs (192.5 kgs) 3 whites
440.7 lbs (200 kgs) 3 reds

Bench:
275.5 lbs (125 kgs) 3 whites
292 lbs (132.5 kgs) 3 reds
292 lbs (132.5 kgs) 3 reds

Deadlift:
501.5 lbs (227.5 kgs) 3 whites
523.5 lbs (237.5 kgs) 3 whites
540 lbs (245 kgs) 3 reds

I am pretty happy with my squat. My week off leading up to the meet I developed some inflammation in my lower back which wasn't relieved for the meet, so I was cognizant of it. Opener felt nice and strong, although I had a bit of a forward lean. My 2nd attempt was also good, although I also had a bit of a forward lean and my hips shot a bit up, so for a small portion of the lift I had to good morning the bar back into position. On my 3rd attempt I decided to descend a bit slower to try and maintain more of an upright posture but hit the hole pretty statically so the reversal was slow and took a lot out of me and didn't have enough speed or strength to finish the lift. Looking at some videos of my squats, I went WAY BELOW parallel - I mean like 3 inches below. This obviously is overkill and I will fix it but is also good in that my strength and speed out of the hole had been lacking and now is rectified. My weakness now is the portion of the lift about 2 to 3 inches above parallel.

Bench went terrible. Warm-ups felt fine, but 275 was much harder than it should have been. The lift-off guy was horrible and it was a pretty long press call but I got 275. I should have re-evaluated my 2nd attempt and did something lower but thought that the struggle with 275 was a fluke. Needless to say, it wasn't a fluke and I failed with 292 twice. I was slow off the chest and failed at about a 2-board.

Deadlift went ok. I have never felt as tired going into the deadlift as I did for this meet. All the warm-ups went fine though. 501 was a solid opener with no issues. I had meant to go for 529 for my second attempt, but mistakenly put 523 in. 523 while a little harder than 501, might be my most technically sound meet deadlift to date. I just wasn't strong enough for 540 by this time and got it about 3 to 4 inches off the ground and then my hips shot up and I was all out of position, so I just dropped it.

My plan for my next training cycle is as follows:

Squat - high box squats, pause squats, good mornings, and regular squats
Bench - pause bench, pin press, reverse band bench, overhead press
Deadlift - basically to deadlift more frequently, front squats, RDLs, and power cleans.

Squat

Squat

255 x 5

275 x 5

285 x 5 -PR, last two were grinders and high though

Band resisted squats (greens)

185 x 5

195 x 5, 5

Lunges

135 x 6

165 x 6, 6

First time doing these in a while. Already sore.

Finished with calves, foam roller transversus and some stretching,

Squat 5

Wasn't feeling too bad when this started, but my lower back was actually still obliterated from last thursday.

Squat:
405 x 5 @ 10
425 x 5 @ 10
445 x 5 @ 10

guhhhh... The first rep is always unbelievably slow due to my lower back freaking out. Each rep was so slow that these really took a lot out of me.

Band-resisted Squat:
w/ greens
275 x 5
295 x 5
315 x 5

All do-able, but not super fast.

Lunges:
135 x 6, 6
165 x 6

Completely gassed at this point.

Finished with transversus, calves, and pnf.

Squat Day 12/6/2010

Squat

315 x 5
335 x 5
345 x 5 PR
315 x 5

Band Resisted Squat

245 x 5
255 x 5
245 x 5

Lunges

185 x 8 per leg
185 x 6 per leg
185 x 6 per leg

Calves, Foam Roller Abs and PNF
Great workout. The PR didn't feel too bad. I brought my feet closer this week and it really made a difference. This whole time I've kept my equipped stance.

Squat

Squat
Worked up to
225 x 5
245 x 5 Not hard
225 x 5 x 2 sets

Held off here, fucked around with my belt positioning/depth.

Band Lightened Squat purples
275 x 5
315 x 5
335 x 5 Felt pretty quick, though the belt was digging into my hip.

Then a speedy single with 225, unbanded.

Lunges
Bar x 16
65 x 10
95 x 10

12-6-10 Squat

Squat

275 x 5 @ 8.5

295 x 5 @ 9

315 x 5 @ 9

Cleans

155 x 3

165 x 3

175 x 3

185 x 3 PR

175 x 3

Band Resisted Squats Greens

195 x 5

215 x 5

Foam Roller Transversus

5 rep Squats. Monday, 12/6/10.

Back Squat 3x5 (belted)
205
215 --> P.R.!!!
215

Box Squat 4x5 (belted)
-> box height below parallel
155
165
165
165


Power Cleans 5x3
135
135
135
135
135
(felt good, getting more explosive)

Cable Abs 3x5
100
110 --> P.R.!!!
100

Transversus Foam Roller Leg Raises 3x20

12/6

Pause Bench:
135x3
155x3
165x3
175x3
185x3
195x3
205x3

Incline:
135x5
155x5, 5

Chins + Rows + Face Pulls:
4 rounds of 5 reps each

More study break training. I tried to keep the speed of these reps high, and just nixed the sets when the speed slowed down.

12/05/2010 Squat

Squat
1x5 at 185 (75.5% max)
3x5 at 195 (79.5% max)

Box Squat (to Parallel)
1x5 at 135
3x5 at 155

Lunges
4x5 at 95

12/5

Pause Squat:
135x3
185x3
205x3
225x3
235x3
245x3

Front Squat:
165x3, 3, 3

RDL:
165x10, 10

Basically this was a 15 minute study break to ward off any atrophy that might happen during finals week. Everything was at about a 7 on the RTS scale.

12-5-10 Bench Assistance

Horrible Day. My left shoulder started hurting during warmups for dumbbell bench so I tried seated shoulder press instead which still kinda hurt so I did chest supported rows first and then incline dumbbell which was better.

Chest Supported Row

90 x 6

115 x 6 x 3

Incline Dumbbell Bench

50's x 10

60's x 8

65's x 8

60's x 8

Tired

Maxwell 12/3 Bench Assist

Narrow-Grip Incline Bench

165x5

175x5

175x3

Wide-Grip Seated Press

120x5

125x5

125x4

Wide-Grip Pullups

6 6 6

Dips

12 9 12

T-Bar Rows

135x10

160x10x2

Abs etc

Ryan Bench Assist 12/4/10

Close-Grip Incline Bench
175 x5
185 x5
185 x5
195 x5

Military Press
95 x8
115 x8
135 x6
135 x5

Dips
15, 15, 15, 15

Pull Ups
Seated Row x8
Per hand:
80
90
100
90

Ab Wheel

Punched right in the ego

Deadlift

395 x 1

Should've realized something was wrong considering how hard this was for my last warmup

405 x f

Failed at the knees for some reason, walked to the squat rack, leaned against it, aaaaaaaaaaaand straight up fainted on my feet. Going to put waaaaaaaaaay more carbs and food total in my diet

Good mornings
185 x 10
205 x 8
225 x 5 x 2

Stiff legged deadlift
245 x 8 x 3

Incline DB bench

60 x 5

65 x 5

70 x 5 x 2

Seated military press

95 x 8

105 x 6

115 x 5 x 2

Chest supported row

115 x 8

135 x 5 x 3

Chest ups,

BW x 8 x 4

Dips superset

BW x 10 x 4

Still trying to work on muscle ups, can't get the grip quite right.

Hanging leg raises

Bench Assisstance

12/3/10

Incline Close Grip Bench

165, 175 x 5

185 x 4

Seated Military Press

95 x 7

115 x 5, 5

T-bar Rows

135, 225, 225

Pullups superset Dips

GHR Abs

Bench Accessory. Friday, 12/3/10.

Incline Bench 4x5 (with hands just inside rings)
125
125
125
115

Shoulder Press 4x5
75
75
75
75

Dips (Bodyweight)
6 reps
6 reps
6 reps
10 reps (elbows alright)

Wide-Grip Pullups 4x6 BW

Semi-Bent Over Rows 4x5
-> all @ 115

**** (CHOSE NOT TO DO MY FOREARM HOLDS. BODY FEELING PRETTY FATIGUED. GRIP AND HAND CALLUSES FEELING INCREDIBLY WORN FROM BANDED DEADS AND STIFF-LEGS YESTERDAY) ****

Banded Deadlifts. Thursday, 12/2/10.

Band Resisted Deadlifts (purples doubled)
245x1 --> P.R.!!!!
245xfail (barely failed at top, nonetheless could not lock it out)
245x1
-> slowly improving at these. cleans are helping my explosion off floor.

Good Mornings 4x5
135
155
175 --> P.R.!!!!
175

Stiff-Leg Deadlifts 3x8
225
225
225

Banded Hamstring Curls (with green) 3x8 + long pause

Transversus Foam Roller Leg Raises 3x20

Free Motion Calf Press 3x10 (each leg)
260
260
260

Cable Abs 3x5
100
110x4 --> P.R.!!!
100

DB Bench
55 x 5,8,8 PR
60 x 5 PR

Stronger on these today.
Seated OH Press
95 x 5
115 x 5
115 x 5

Didn't feel like pushing these
Pullups
BW x 5 x 3 sets (successively worse)

superset
Dips
BW x 10,8,8

Chest Supported Row
2 plates x 5 Messy
Plate, Quarter x 5
Plate, Quarter, Ten x 5

Hyper Abs BTN
BW x 20
5 x 10
10 x 8

12/3

Standing Press:
65x3
95x3
105x3
115x3
120x3
125x3
130x3

Incline Bench:
135x3
145x3
155x3
165x3
175x3
185x3
195x3 PR

Chins + Face Pulls
T-bar Rows
Abs

Gonna use the assistance day to really up my chest/shoulder strength. Not really sure what my previous numbers were for incline, but I know that 195x3 is a PR. I liked the ramping of standing to incline as well.

Bench Assistance

Incline bench (closer grip)

155 x 5

165 x 5

175 x 5 -PR

Seated press

95 x 10

115 x 6

125 x 5

T-bar rows

180 x 8

205 x 5

225 x 5

Dips

BW x 18, 16, 16

ss'd w/ Pullups

BW x 14, 11, 11

Finished with GHR abs.

12/03/10 Bench Assist

Incline Bench (Close-Grip)
1x2 at 135
3x5 at 115

Military Press
2x8 at 75
1x8 at 95

Dips
4x12

Wide Grip Pull-Ups
4x5

Cable Rows
3x8 at 100

Its been a really hectic/busy week and I feel that the workout has suffered drastically. I plan on trying to stay on par during finals week. Inevitably, my numbers will go down over winter break (hopefully I'll be able to offset the decline slightly though) so I'll have to double my efforts when we get back so I'll be ready for February.

12-2-10 Deadlift

Deadlift
365 x 1 @ 9
385 x 1 @ 9.5 (I've tripled this before)
405 x fail couldn't break off ground
365 x 1 @ 8.5
idk why I had so much trouble with deadlift. maybe it was because I hardly got any sleep this week or because I've only deadlifted once since the beginning of November and squatted twice since then. I did manage to hit 345 x 5 2 weeks ago so I think I still have my strength, it just wasn't clicking today. I felt like a bitch. The original 365 was supposed to be a warmup.

Good Morning (no belt)
185 x 8
205 x 8
225 x 12

Stiff Legged Deadlift
225 x 8
245 x 8
265 x 8 belted

Plyos and Abs

Deadlift Day 11/27/2010

Deadlift

500 x 1 (easy)
535 x 1 PR (HARD)
very slow at the top
I hit 529 at the meet with my suit on.

Good Mornings

315 x 8
315 x 8
315 x 8

SLDL

335 x 8
355 x 8
355 x 8

Banded Hamstring Curls
3 sets

Deadlift

Band-resisted deadlift (doubled purples-3" from end of the bar)

295 x 1

315 x 1

Last time I pulled raw with straight weight was 7 weeks ago. I look forward to this next cycle of raw deadlifts...especially after seeing Kyle's video.

Good mornings

225 x 5, 5

235 x 5

Stiff legged deads

275 x 6, 6, 6

Finished with banded hamstrings (green), transversus abs and some stretching

To Danny, Misael, Dave, Ross, and Ryan: I've uploaded your videos. Embed them in your posts so you can have them on the blog.

Deadlift 3

Deadlift:

500 x 1 @ 10
545 x 1 @ 10
595 x 1 @ 10
650 x 3 @ 10- (PR x infinity)

Every rep since 405 felt like max effort. My body doesn't seem to respond unless i just keep banging out the weights and then it begrudgingly is like "ok, ok, you can pick this up now." The 650 was a bit ludicrous though. Prior to tonight, i had only hit 619 for a single raw. so it's a 30lb PR for a triple?



SLDL:
245 x 8
335 x 2

nothing left in the lower back tank at this point.

I had to run unfortunately, so I did two sets of banded hamstring curls and bailed. I think in the future, I'll follow heavy deadlifts with banded hypers to try to salvage what was left of the workout with some lower back work. and then stick to isolation.

Maxwell 12/2 Deadliftz

Deads

385x1, 405x1, 425x1

425 was very tough; I might've been able to add 5-10 more, but it's still a 20lb PR, and I officially hit my failed 4th attempt from the mini-meet.

G'Mornings

185x7, 195x7, 205x7, 185x7x2

The last set was a result of Kyle letting me know that I was only going down about 40 degrees.

SLDL

245x8, 265x8

Pylos

Jumped up the Drake stairs 4 at a time, got 5 a few times as well. Maybe in the future I'll hit 5's all the way up. Yay progress!

Ryan Deadlift 12/2/10

Deadlift x1 -
315
365
405
425 (pr)

Good Mornings
135 x8
185 x8
205 x5

Straight Legs
275 x8
275 x5
275 x5



Banded Leg Curls
Transverse Abs

Egg burrito, Chicken breast, 2% milk

Deadlift
95 x 7
135 x 5
225 x 3
275 x 2
belt
315 x 1
365 x 1
405 x 1
445 x 1 PR @9.5
405 x 1



My face was quite red.

Good Mornings belted
155 x 5
185 x 5
205 x 5
225 x 5

SLDL belted
275 x 8 x 3 sets
Held back on these a little.

Green Band Hamstring Curls
15, held for 5 seconds on last rep x 3 sets

Transversus Abs
3 sets

Good workout

12/2

Deadlift:
135x5
225x3
275x3
315x3
365x1
405x1
425x1 PR (for about 3 minutes)
455x1 PR



Front Squat:
135x5
185x5, 5, 5

Can't do a deadlift workout without being a dick about it. Wanted to hit 445 to one-up Vit's deadlift at the meet (which is why I mistakenly said it in the video), but Luke suggested 455 because we could not fit 445 on the bar. Got it anyways. Very happy about the PR, and a little sorry for being so mean to Vit.

Maxwell 11/30 Bench

Bench

215x1

225x1 3 singles

225 was a struggle, so I knew it would be a bad idea to add more, so I just did more singles with that.

Close-Grip Bench

165x5, 175x5 2 sets, 185x4, 185x2

Thought I could get another set of 4 with 185. How terribly foolish of me.

Floor Press

185x3, 195x3, 205x3 3 sets

Nice.

Pullups: 11, 8, 7, 7

PR by 2 reps. Nice.

Concentration CURLZ

35x5-8, a few sets

Didn't get a very good pump out of these, despite Arnold's eternal words of wisdom. I'll stick with preachers in the future.

Luke Squat 365 11/29/2010

Bench Press 11.30.10

No Shave November:
Most Improved. sweet

Bench Press:
165
175
180xf :(

Close Grip:
135x5
145x5
145x3

Floor Press supersetted with Chin Ups:
145x3
155x3x2

Bench Singles. Tuesday, 11/30/10.

Bench (heavy singles, touch and go)
155x1
165x1 (tied my paused max, but did this touch and go)
165x1
155x1

Close-Grip Bench 4x5
115
115
125
125

Floor Press 4x3
135
155x2
145
145

Hammer-Chin Pullups
8 BW
8 BW
8 BW
13 BW

Preacher Curls (Inner Grip) 3x8
50
50
40

Cable Abs 5x5
100
100
100
100
100

One Arm Rear Delt Flys 3x10
15
15
15

(2) Light Rotator Cuff Exercises 2x8
-> with 5 lbs

Forearm Grip Holds 3 x (10 sec.)
-> all with 3 + 1/2 plates each side on the shrug machine

bench 1

bench:
325 x 1
345 x 1 @ 10 (+5 PR)
325 x 1

hands were starting to go numb from pain around now :/

close grip bench:
225 x 5
235 x 5
245 x 5, 5

floor press:
245 x 3
265 x 3
275 x 3
285 x 3 (+10 PR)

supersetted with close grip pull ups

couldn't curl at all. finished with cable abs and pnf.

Been a while

Squat

285 x 1

295 x 1 x 2

305 x high

I can get 295 for singles pretty consistently now, but anything more is horribly iffy

Band resisted squat (green)

185 x 5

205 x 5

215 x 5 x 2

Cleans

155 x 1

165 x 1

175 x stiff leg deadlift

a few pull throughs here and there

Bench

195 x 1 x 2

200 x what the hell

195 x goddammit

Close grip bench

145 x 5

155 x 5 x 2

Floor press

165 x 3

175 x 3 x 2

185 x 3

Close grip chest ups

BW x 8 x 4

I'm going to work on trying to get to a muscle up, so I'm going to pull myself way high from now on

krulls

windshield wipers

Bench

Had a good bench session today.

Bench (brief pause)

205 x 1

220 x 1 -PR

225 x 1 -PR

Close grip bench (brief pause)

165 x 5

175 x 5, 5, 5

Floor press

185 x 3, 3

195 x 3, 3

SS'd w/ close grip chinups

BW x 18, 12, 12, 12

Hammer curls

50s x 10, 8, 8

Finished with 4 sets of standing abs and some stretching.

I feel like higher volume with compound movements for tricep work like close grips, floor presses, and close grip inclines has helped my tricep strength. I used to think skull crushers were the way to go for tricep strength but my tricep strength and size has increased in this past cycle while doing zero isolation work.

Bench
95 x some
135 x 3
155 x 1
165 x 1
175 x 1
185 x 0 not close

Close Grip
135 x 5
150 x 5
165 x 5 PR

Floor Press
135 x 3
155 x 3, 3
165 x 3 PR
Fixed a form error here, and got a lot stronger.

PullUps
BW x 7,6,6

Hyper Abs weight behind head
BW x 20
10 x 5
5 x 10,10,8

Ryan Bench 11/30/10

Bench x1 -
205, 225, 235, 240 (pr)

Close x5 -
165, 175, 175, 175

Floor x3 -
185, 195, 205, 205

Curls

Chicken Breast x2
Couscous
2% milk

11-30-10 Heavy Bench/ Beard Part II

Bench

205 x 1 @ 8.5

220 x 1 @ 10 PR uneven extension

210 x 1 @ 9

215 x fail -stupid

woohoo finally improved my bench PR from freshman year. This brings my total to 999 lbs and my ratio to 6.66 x body weight...

Close Grip bench

165 x 5 x 3

175 x 5

Floor Press

185 x 3

195 x 3 x 2

superset with chin ups

BW x 15 x 2

BW +45 x 10

Incline Curls

35's x 8,8,5

Weigh In: 154 lbs

11/30

Bench:
95x5
135x5
185x3
225x1
245x1
275xfail, fail
205x5x4



Standing Press:
95x5
105x3
115x3
125x3x4

Chins:
BWx5
25x5
45x5
70x2.5

Rows:
135x10
185x5
205x5, 5

Bench attempts at 275 failed. I was sick, so I was sure that I would be more powerful than ever. I stalled out on both reps right in the middle. If I could have pressed it out an inch more it would have gone up. Terence recommended getting some speed, which I will try to do from here on out.

Bench 11/30/2010

Bench
1x1 at 155 (100% max)
FAILx1 at 165
FAILx1 at 155
1x1 at 135 (87.1% max)
1x1 at 145 (93.5% max)
1x1 at 155 (100% max)

Close grip bench
1x4 at 135
3x5 at 125

Floor Press
4x3 at 135

Pullups (Neutral Grip)
4x7

Biceps

No Shave November awards: Most Surprising

Bench

Bench-
285x1
295x1 @8.5
315x1 @ 9.5 10 LB PR

Close grip bench-
245x5,5,5

Floor Press-
245x3
255x3
265x3
265x3

Close grip pullups
BW x 10,10,10,10

Biceps, Abs,Jumprope

Ryan Squat 11/29/10

Squat-
255, 265, 275, 275

Banded x5-
185, 195, 205, 215

Clean x3-
185, 185

Squats: 11/29/2010

Squats:

315 X 1 ( too high)

315 X 1

320 X 1

325 X 1

Banded Squats (Green)

205X5

215X5

225X5

Cleans:

135X1

145X1

155X1

165X0

Transversus abs, Pull-throughs with 50 lb dumbell, and calf machine.

Maxwell 11/29 Squat

Squats

Singles: 275,285,295 fail, 285, 285, 285

Couldn't even get my last PR (the 295), but I'm working on my hip drive, and I think the next cycle will be very productive. Fixing form issues, small and large. It's all about the hip drive; once that's in action, my knees even stop caving in as much.

Pause Squats

185x3 4 sets

Get wrecked.

Power Cleanz

175x3,185x1, 195x1, 205 failed twice, 175x3 4 sets

Keeping on moving up, I get about one good rep for every two bad reps, working in increasing that ratio

Kettlebell Swings

4 sets of 10 with each arm, 50lb dumbbell

Squat 11/29/2010

Squat

365 x 1
405 x 0 AHHHHHH!!!!!
385 x 1 (10 lbs from PR)
Terrible terrible terrible

Band Resisted Squats

245 x 5
245 x 5
245 x 5

Powercleans

185 x 1
205 x 1 PR
205 x 1

Supersetted Foam Roller Transversus, Calves and Pull throughs (50lbs)
3 sets total.

Finished up with Box Jumps and PNF.

I can't believe I missed 405. I guess it was foolish to try it while trying to fix my form during this split. I was confident I'd get it after getting 365 x 3 last week. Bad day I guess.

Squat Singles. Monday, 11/29/10.

Back Squats (belted singles)
225x1
245x1 --> tied P.R.!!!
245x1 --> (came up even quicker with better form)
-> still caved in some (need to continue working on keeping chest up) but it felt good.

Pause Squats 4 x 3 @ (3 sec.) (belted)
155
155
155
155

Power Cleans (2 epic fails, 5 triples)
165 x fail
165 x fail
135x3
135x3
135x3
135x3
135x3
--> when I hit 155 two weeks ago, I almost got a double with it. Today, I couldn't even get 165. Dissapointed. My elbow flip was much better today though on the weights that I was able to get up on my attempts.

Squat 1

Squat:
435 x 1 @ 10
475 x 1 @ 9
495 x 1 @ 10
510 x 1 @ 10 (+5 PR)

I really wanted to PR today, so I bumped it up enough to push up my max. The video looks easier than it felt.




Band-resisted Squat:
275 x 5 @ 8
295 x 5 @ 8
315 x 5 @ 8

All felt easy. Should have gone up. Much better than last week.

Cleans:
225 x f (not enough warm up)
185 x 3
205 x 3
215 x 3

Finished with transversus, calves, pnf, and box jumps

Squat

Squat-
Worked up to-
445x1 @ 8
475x1 @ 8.5, this was pretty easy, 5 LB PR
485x1@ 9 15 LB PR

I still have some 'left in the tank'

Banded squat w/ greens
275x5,5,5

power cleans
185x1
225x1
245x1 PR

Transversus
3x10
SS Calf Raises
stack x50,50,50

Box Jumps
x10,10,10

my form continually improves, the weight continually goes up= science.

Squat

Squat

295 x 1 @9

315 x 1 @10 -grinder, matches PR

305 x 1 @10- -semi grinder

Bar rolling is still happening. Wrist wraps seemed to help on band-resisted squats so I'll start using them regularly.

Band-resisted squats (greens)

185 x 5, 5, 5

I think this exercise has helped my grinding power through the middle of the squat. I'm still struggling somewhat right outside of the hole on free squats though.

Power cleans

185 x 1

205 x 1, 1

Had to leave early to do a project. Here's Dave squatting some phatass weight:

(stolen to dave's post) <----low blow.

Squat

Squat
135 x 5
185 x 3
belt
225 x 3
275 x 1
295 x 1
305 x 1 Not too tough
315 x 0, Close, went too deep

Pause Squat
185 x 3 x 3
205 x 3
Going too low on these.

Power Clean
95 x 2 sets
135 x 3
155 x 3
175 x 1
195 x 1
205 x 1
225 x 1
235 x 1 PR
175 x 3
185 x 3
Clean form was good today.

Pullthroughs
50 x 10,10
Green Band x 8 Meh.
50 x 10,10

Finally a good squat workout. I think it's because I didn't deadlift, so my back had plenty of time to recover.

11-29-10 Squat

Squat

325 x 1 @ 8.5

345 x 1 @ 9

365 x 1 @ 10- PR

I probably could have hit a little heavier, but it was slow, I wasn't feeling great today. My right bicep/armpit/ chest area was hurting during squats. This kinda went away during pause squats.

Pause Squat at 5 seconds (Max's 3 count)

255 x 3 x 3

Power Cleans

135 x 3

155 x 2

175 x 1

195 x fail, fail, 1 not really (the one I got I couldn't hold on too so I dropped it)

165 x 3

Kettlebell Pull Throughs

superset with banded pull throughs

Windshield Wiper Abs

11.29.10--Squat

Squat:
225
255
265 (4 pound PR)

Pause Squats (3 second pauses):
155x3x4

Cleans:
95x4
135
155xf

1 set kettlebell, 3 sets of banded pullthroughs

11/29/2010 Squat Day

Squat (Low Bar)
1x1 at 205 (91.1% max)
2x1 at 225 (100% max)
1x1 at 245 (108.9% max)

Pause Squats
1x3 at 135
3x3 at 155

Power Cleans
1x1 at 135

Cleans went strangely today. I began with the heavy single heavy triples routine in mind but felt my form was poor. Instead, I decided to do some hanging cleans to fix the part of my form I felt was weak (rotating my arms and resting the bar on my fingertips). After some work on that, I did some more cleans and finally did my max.

Banded Pull Throughs
3x5

At this point I was pretty beat so I probably didn't do as many as I should have.

Various Workouts

10/23/10 - 10/28/10

Amongst many personal problems, I had no spotter for anything

Squat

225, 235, 245 x 3

Box Squat

165 x 6 x 4

Good-Mornings

135 x 8 x 4

Self Band-Resisted Deadlifts orange single bands

185 x 3 x 3

I don't think these were quite as much as doubled purples, as they were advertised on elitefts.

Kettlebell Pull Throughs

18kg x 3 sets

Ab Wheel

Dumbbell Bench

worked up in sets of 5 to 85 x 5

Sleepy Press

185 x 3

195 x 3, 3, 3

Skull Crushers

85 x 5, 4 (weird EZ bar)

70 x 10 (normal EZ bar)

Close-Grip Pullups

Cable Curls

Sets and reps are irrelevant when you look in the mirror and see you have achieved DA PAMP!

Bench Assistance

Incline Bench
225 x 5
235 x 5
245 x 5

Military Press
155 x 8
165 x 8
175 x 7
185 x 5 + 1f

Felt pretty good on these since i only did 3 sets of incline.

Supersetted
dips, 15, 17, 18, 13
pull ups, 10, 11, 7, 6

So much pump

FInished with one arm cable rows:

120 x 8
140 x 8
150 x 8, 5

start losing my grip

and ab wheel

Deadlift fail

as seen on fail blog

RACK PULLS 405 X 3 AT BODY WEIGHT 137. friday, 11/26/10.

Rack Pulls/ Deadlifts Off Blocks
405x1
405x3 --> P.R.!!!!!!
405x3
405x2
-> all belted, with rack pins just below knees.

Barbell Shrugs 3x5 (belted)
-> all @ 315

Good Mornings 3x5 (belted)
-> all @ 135

Stiff-Leg Deadlifts (belted)
225x8
275x5

Semi Close-Grip Incline Bench 4x5
-> with hands just inside rings
115
115
115
125 (easier than expected, controlled weight and stayed tight)

Standing Press 4x5 (belted)
-> all @ 80

Tricep Pullaparts 3x15, burnout
70x15
70x15
70x15
50x20

Wide-Grip Pullups 4x5 BW

Semi Bent-Over Rows 4x5
-> all @ 115

Preacher Curls (Open Grip) 3x10
-> with easy curl bar + 10s = 50 lbs ?

Cable Abs 4x3
110 --> P.R.!!!
100
100
100

One Arm Rear Delt Flys 3x10
-> all with 15 lb dumbell

Weighted Cherry Pickers (Core)
50x10
35x20
35x20
35x26

Front Delt Raises 3x10
-> with 15 lb dumbells

Lateral Delt Raises 3x8
-> with 10 lb dumbells

Forearm Grip Holds 3 x (10 sec.)
-> with 3 plates on each side of shrug machine

Forearm Wrist Flips 3x20
-> all @ 100 lbs

(2) Light Rotator Cuff Exercises 3x10
-> with 5 lb weights

11/28

Squat:
135x5
185x5
225x3
275x1
315x1
335x1
345x1 PR
205x10, 10, 10, 10, 8

Good Morning:
135x10x3

Had to squat today because I have a French oral final on Tuesday. Good PR at 345 - Squats are going up!

Edit - would like to add that I managed to stay away from doing a good morning on the 345, and stayed more upright. Progress!

Bench Assistance Day 11/27/2010

Close Grip Incline Bench

175 x 5
185 x 5
195 x 5PR
195 x 5

Wide Grip Military Press

135 x 7PR
135 x 6
135 x 6
135 x 6

Dips / Wide Grip Pull Ups
x 15, x13
x 13, x 12
x12, x 8
x 12, x 7

One Armed Cable Rows
4 sets

Ab Wheel

11/27

Reverse Grip Bench:
95x6
135x4
185x4
225x4
235x4 PR
135x10x5

1-arm Row:
45x10/10
70x6/6
90x6/6
45x10/10x5

Curls

Yeaaaahhhh Reverse Grip. A good PR today, and it is only 1 rep away from my regular grip PR at 235. First rep is always the most difficult one b/c it tends to slip out of the groove when you lower it, but the reps after are much stronger.

11/27/2010 Bench

Close Grip Incline Bench
4x5 at 115

Military Press
3x5 at 95
1x1 at 85

Dips
20, 10, 4, 10

Pull-Ups
3, 3, 8 (34 lb assist), 8 (34 lb assist)

One-Armed Cable Rows
2x8 at 60
1x8 at 80
1x8 at 70

Ab Wheel

Bench Assistance

Bench
75 x 5
115 x 5
135 x 5
155 x 3 x 4 sets
165 x 3 PR
135 x 10 PR

Good bench workout. My bench is pretty bad, but putting a towel on it gave me enough traction to stay tight. I spent a lot of time setting up here, and think I figured out a grip, foot placement, and arch that work.

Seated OH Press
95 x 5
115 x 3...
Not having back support made these nerve racking, and the ceiling is too low to do them standing, so....

Wide Grip Row
115 x 8
165 x 8
195 x 5 Messy, put too much weight on the bar without realizing it - damn 35s

Pushups
BW x 10,10,10

Good workout

Deadlift Day 11/16/2010

Deadlift

455 x 3 (easy)
475 x 3 PR (this was my equipped PR before the meet)

Good Mornings

315 x 8
315 x 8
315 x 8
315 x 8

SLDL

315 x 8
335 x 8
355 x 8

Hamstring Leg Curls
4 sets

Seated Box Jumps and Ball Rotations
3 sets each

Bench Assitance

Incline bench (close grip)

155 x 5

165 x 5, 5, 5

Dumbbell shoulder press

50s x 8

55s x 5, 6, 6

Dumbbell rows

125 x 10, 10, 10

Dips/Wide grip pullups superset

18/11

11/8

10/8

Fatigue.

Bench Day 11/24/2010

Bench

215 x 2
205 x 3
205 x 3
205 x 3
I screwed up. My grip was way closer than normal on the first two sets. I was thrown off by the rings on the bar at Bally's.

Close Grip Bench

165 x 5
175 x 5
185 x 5PR
195 x 3 DAMN it!

Floor Press

195 x 3
205 x 3 PR
195 x 3
195 x 3
205 x 3 (took a longer break)

Supersetted with

Close Grip Pull Ups
x20, x20, x18, x17

Biceps, Flyes, Abz
4 sets each in a cycle

PNF

Weird workout. Hit two PRs but I screwed up on bench.

Maxwell 11/26 Bench Assist

Narrow-Grip Incline Bench

165x5

175x5

175x3

165x5

Shame, but at least I got the 175 once.

Standing Wide-Grip Press

115x5

120x5

125x5

Pull-Ups/Dips

6/8

6/11

5/13

I had to get the chairs adjusted so they didn't fall over during dips, but once that was done, PR!

T-Bar Browz

135x8

145x8

160x8

A tire iron makes a fine handle for T-Bar Rows. The more you know!

Maxwell 11/25 Deadlifts

Deadlift

345x3

360x3

That's all the weight I have. I didn't anticipate getting that much stronger this quickly. It's 90% of my max but was still pretty tough, as I also don't have a belt. I need to go get my shop on. The bar sinking into the mud was kind of annoying, but the cool winter breeze refreshed and invigorated me.

G'Mornings

185x8

195x8 2 sets

205x8

Might not be going down far enough...

SLDLz

225x8

255x8

285x8

Hamstring Curls

25x10, 35x10 2 sets, each leg

Long/Hill Jumps

A few x several

Turkeylifts

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Band-resisted deadlifts (doubled purples)

315 x 1

335 x 1, 1 -lockout a little slow

I doubled the purples around 100lb dumbbells, but there was definitely less tension than we have in our usual setup at school. I weighed a doubled purple around a barbell right around the top height of my deadlift and it weighed ~60lbs, which means that its 120lbs total tension at the top. I'm pretty sure with the setup at school using 100lb plates, the bands are ~160lbs total at the top since they're stretched out a lot more, which means that the bar is about 445-455lbs at the top. I think the math is right, but we'll see if my lockout got stronger when I do regular deadlifts in a couple of weeks.

Good mornings

235 x 5

245 x 5

255 x 5 -lower back started rounding

185 x 8

Stiff legged deads

285 x 8, 8

Morning BW: 184.6lbs...going to try and beat my PR weight of 192.5lbs today.

Thanksgiving Deadlifts!

Deadlift
135x5
225x5
315x3
405x3
475x1
515x3 PR

Goodmornings
225x8
245x7
265x6
275x6

Hamstring curls
4x10

Weighted Abs 5x10

Had to kind of cut it short., even 24 hour closed early:(

11/25 - Happy Turkey Day!

Front Squat:
95x6
135x4
185x4
225x2, 2
135x10x5

RDL:
135x10
185x10
205x10

Had to get a good quad pump on before a massive day of eating. Everyone here should gain at least 5lbs tonight.

Bench - Heavy Triples. Tuesday, 11/23/10.

Bench 3x3 (touch & go)
135 = 82% of max
145 = 88% of max
145 = 88% of max
-> wanted to go up but the weight felt heavy so I wanted to make sure I hit the sets/reps instead of fail heavier.

Close-Grip Bench 4x5 (touch & go)
105
115
115
115

Close-Grip Floor Press 4x3
115
115
115
115

Standing Press 3x5
75
75
75

Hammer-Chin Pullups 4x6 BW

Semi Bent-Over Rows 4x5
115
115
115
115

Preacher Curls (Inner Grip)
50x7
50x7
50x5 (started laughing hearing these 2 guys talk in a different language which sounded hilarious haha, this messed up my set. I think I could have got 9 reps).

Forearm Grip Holds (on shrug machine) 3 x 10 sec. holds
-> all at 3 and a half plates on each side

(2) Light Rotator Cuff Work 2x10
-> each with 5 lb weights

One-Arm Rear Delt Flys 3x10
-> all with 15 lb dumbell, short rest

**** WEIGH-IN: 140 LBS BODY WEIGHT ****

11.23.10--Shitty Bench

Bench Press:
135x3
155x3x2
160x3
165x1+f (it was one of those one's I could've gotten, but I just said fuck it)

Close Grip Bench:
135x5x3
145x5

Floor Press:
135x5
145x3
155x3

Pull Ups

Biceps

Weigh In
167 lbs...artificially high because of my lunch at the dining hall

Abs

11-23-10 Bench

Bench

185 x 3 @ 8

195 x 3 @ 8.5

205 x 3 @ 9.5 ties PR

210 x 2 @ 9.5 PR did not attempt 3rd rep

Close Grip Bench

165 x 5

175 x 5 x 3

Floor Press

185 x 3

205 x 2+spot

195 x 3

superset with BW chin ups x 15 x 3

Barbell Curls

90 x 5 x 3

60 x 15

Medicine Ball Decline Abs

Rainbow Dragonfly Ponies

Weigh In: 154 lbs

Bench

Bench
95 x 5
115 x 5
135 x 3
145 x 3
155 x 3
165 x 2
155 x 3

Close Grip
135 x 5
145 x 5
155 x 5 PR

Floor Press
135 x 5
155 x 3
145 x 5
155 x 3

Pullups
BW x 6,6,4

Biceps

Bench

Bench (brief pause)

185 x 3

195 x 3

205 x 2 -PR

Close grip bench (brief pause)

155 x 5

165 x 5

175 x 5 -PR

165 x 5

Floor press

175 x 3

185 x 3

195 x 3 -PR

185 x 3

Close grip pullups

BW x 20, 17, 13, 11

Finished with incline curls, GHR abs, and PNF stretching.

Maxwell 11/23 Bench

Bench 185, 200, 210 for 3 each

CG Bench 155x5, 165x5, 175x5 2 sets

Floor Press 175x5, 185x5, 195x5 2 sets

Pullups 9,8,7,7

PREACHER CURLS 55x8,65x8,70x5,70x4

Abs etc

Ate my oatmeal earlier, it definitely helped. PRs all around.

Bench 3

Bench:
295 x 3
325 x 3 (+5 PR) @ 10
315 x 3 @ 10

A nice small PR today. My right bicep nerve still isn't healed so the heavy weights started irritating it around 295.

Close Grip:
225 x 5
235 x 5
245 x 5, 5 @ 9-

Kept it light. Pec was feeling odd too. Possibly dehydration?

Floor Press:
225 x 3
245 x 3
265 x 3, 3 @ 9-

Supersetted with close-grip pull ups, which were harder than they should have been.

Finished with incline curls, ghr abs, and pnf.

Bench

Pause Bench-
285x3
275x3,3

CG Bench-
245x5,5,5

Floor Press-
225x3
245x3
255x3
255x3

Super Setted with
BW Pullups
x8,8,8,8

Bicep curls
90x10,10,10

Abs, Jumprope

11/23

Bench:
95x?
135x?
185x6
225x2
245x2
255x1+f, 1
135x10x5 (close grip)

Chins:
BWx6
25x4
45x4
70x3 PR (300lb chin-up)
BWx10, 8, 8, 8, 6 (40 total reps)

Delt Raises


Tried to double 255 today, but I stalled hard about 4 inches off the chest and couldnt push through. Did another single at 255 just to get in a little more work, and that was a lot quicker/easier than the first one. Also, hit a 300lb chin-up for 3, which is a nice milestone. Need to get my bench to that level.

Maxwell 11/19 & 11/22

11/19

Incline Bench 155x5, 165x5 3 sets

Seated Press 115x8,125x5,115x5 2 sets

Dips 10 10 8 8

Pull-ups 7 6 6 5

Seated Independent-Arm Rows 80x10 3 sets

Abs etc

11/22

Squat 250x3,265x3,280x1 failed 2nd rep

Pause Squat 165,175,185,185 x3 for each

Cleans worked up to 165 and did like 5 triples (still working on form)

Kettlebell Swings 50lb 10 per arm x4

My improvements on dips and cleans are drastically overshadowed by my complete inability to squat.

I thought everyone should watch this before we bench to be safe.