Jan 30, 2016

Squat day! Training squats once a week doesn’t feel like enough – can’t wait to go back to squats twice or more a week.

warmup: dorsiflexions, TKEs

Low Bar Squat (long rests, sleeves, shoes)

135 x 5
185 x 4
225 x 3
275 x 2
*belt on*
315 x 1
355 x 2
355 x 2
375 x 1
380 x 1

Squat – walkout only

430 held for 15 seconds

notes: I wanted to see what the weight felt like. Felt comfortable.

Deadlifts (short rests, barefoot, no belt)

255 x 1
255 x 1
255 x 1

notes: no special shoes or belt or whatnot. Just a cooldown.

Jan 28, 2016

Went to the gym for a serious bench session: other members of the club watching, critiquing, etc. Its getting late as I type this, so no time to talk about the critique right now, perhaps tomorrow on my offday.

warmup: slow neg side raises, Cuban presses, one arm shrugs

Bench Press (long rests)

bar x lots
95 x 4
135 x 3
185 x 1
*elbow sleeves, wrist wraps on*
235 x 2
235 x 2 *extra slow negs on this set*
225 x 3
250 x 1, pause 30 seconds, 250 x 1
255 x 2 Rep PR!!

Slingshot Bench (long rest, wrist wraps)

250 x 3
265 x 1

Widegrip Pulldowns (60 second rests)

120 x 6
135 x 6
150 x 6
165 x 6
180 x 6
195 x 6
210 x 4

post workout cardio: nada

Jan 26, 2016

wanted to get in deadlifts AND do some conditioning. I figure peak hard on squats this weekend, and not go crazy on DLs. Therefore… EMOM! Hooray! (not)

warmup: none

Deadlift Warmup

135 x 5
185 x 4
225 x 3
275 x 2
315 x 1

Working Sets Deadlift: EMOM, belt, shoes

330 x 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1

notes: that make sense? Every minute exactly on the minute, I did a single rep. Did that 9 times in a row, kept my belt on. Sweating by the end ! I had not done EMOM before, so this was a fun experiment.

Pause Deadlifts: EMOM, pause before I reach my knees, bely, shoes

330 x 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1

notes: Once I got used to 330, I changed them to pause DLs, short pause right between the floor and my knees. Did that 6 more times. I was worried these would be too taxing, but they actually felt really good.

Low Bar Squats (60 sec rests, no belt, no sleeves, no shoes)

215 x 1
215 x 1
215 x 1

notes: did these as a cooldown, so no gear.

Jan 25, 2016

Seems like I am benching a lotttt. I was supposed to slingshot today but I am a dope and forgot my slingshot, so I did CGBP instead.

warmup: slow neg side raises, Cuban presses, one arm shrugs

Bench Press (2 min rests)

bar x lots
95 x 4
135 x 3
185 x 1
*wraps and sleeves on*
225 x 3
235 x 2
245 x 2

Closegrip Bench Press (2 min rests, wraps, sleeves)

225 x 3
225 x 3
225 x 3

Incline 2 Arm DB Rows (90 sec rests, elbows high)

40s x 8
45s x 8
45s x 8
45s x 8

notes: on the first set, I actually used a 40 lb DB and a 45 lb’er by accident… and didn’t notice the difference. So I thought, may as well move up to the 45s.

post: 15 min LISS

Jan 23, 2016

Something came up and I couldn’t make my Friday squat session, so I squished two workouts together and had a huge heavy session Saturday morning.

warmup: dorsiflexions, TKEs

Low Bar Squats (long rests, knee sleeves, shoes)

135 x 3
185 x 3
225 x 3
275 x 2
315 x 1
*belt on*
335 x 3
335 x 3
335 x 3
335 x 3

Low Bar Hi Pause Squats (shoes, sleeves, belt, long rests)

335 x 3
335 x 3

notes: these felt smoother this week

Bench Press (long rests)

bar x lots
95 x 4
135 x 3
225 x 1
*wrist wraps and elbow sleeves on*
225 x 3
225 x 3
225 x 3

notes: honestly, these felt harder on Saturday than they did on Wednesday. I wonder if doing them after squats made a difference?

Widegrip Bench (long rest, sleeves, wraps)

225 x 3
225 x 3

Chest-Supported T-Bar Row (90 sec rests)

1 plate x 8
2p x 8
2P and a 1/4 P x 8 (115 lbs on the sled)
115 x 8
115 x 8
115 x 8
115 x 8
115 x 8

notes: kept my grip wide and my elbows high. felt good so I did a bunch

Jan 20, 2016

woops!!  I really need to catch up on posting my entries!

 

Office noontime workout. a gym full of people, but its all cardio, one old Asian lady doing yoga and one guy curling 5 pound DBs in his street clothes, therefore a totally empty bench station? check.

warmup: none

Bench Press (2-3 min rests for the working sets)

bar x infinity
95 x 5
135 x 3
185 x 1
*wrist wraps and elbow sleeves on*
225 x 3
225 x 3
235 x 2
235 x 2

Closegrip Bench Press (2 min rests, wraps and sleeves)

225 x 3
225 x 3
225 x 3

notes: its odd, my sticking point is usually at lockout, so I assume my triceps are weak… and yet my CGBP is almost equal to my reg bench? Spoto is a snap too. #confused Oh well, I guess I can try the JM Press or something.

Seated Db Rows (90 sec rests, elbows mid to high)

40s x 8
40s x 8
40s x 8

notes: bench was 45 degrees. I haven’t done these in who knows how long. I thought I could keep my elbows all the way up at this weight, but at 45 degrees it was too hard. I still felt a good contraction, but I will spend some more time at this weight.

post: 20 min LISS

Jan 18, 2016

Ran to the gym tonight to do some tugs. Deadlift platforms were busy, so I had to jump right in without a full warmup, or lose my spot.

Deadlift (shoes, short rests until belt on, then long rests)

135 x 5
185 x 4
225 x 3
275 x 2
315 x 1
*belt on*
365 x 1
420 x 2
420 x 2
445 x 1
455 x 1

notes: for my top set, I think I was anxious, and pulled the bar early (I was rolling it towards me). Plus my feet were uneven. So overall my setup was off. It was an ugly pull, but it went up.

3″ block pulls (long rests, shoes, belt)

420 x 2
445 x 2
470 x 2

notes: after this, my hands were throbbing, so did some light squats to cooldown

Low Bar Squat (short rests, no shoes, no belt, no sleeves)

195 x 1
195 x 1
195 x 1

notes: since these weren’t serious, I took the gear off and went au natural.

Overall, the heavy tugs fried me a bit. But I will adapt, and keep up that trend for the next 3 weeks before I test my 1RM.

Jan 16, 2016

You miss me?  Got back from vacation, haven’t touched a weight in a week and a half, so… squats? Sounds good. Also cycled off caffeine, so that first scoop, woah!

warmup: dorsiflexions, TKEs

Low Bar Squats (long rests, shoes, sleeves)

135 x 3
185 x 3
225 x 3
275 x 3
*belt on*
315 x 3
355 x 3 (likely high)
355 x 3 (too high)
355 x 3

notes: these felt awkward and difficult. The first 355 set felt not smooth, so I had someone watch the second set – they said I was not hitting depth. It wasn’t embarrassingly high, but still not depth. So the third set I was able to get it going, but today didn’t feel like a day to go for a PR. I think my hamstrings didn’t feel totally engaged, maybe? I like them to feel pumped and pulling me down into the hole.

Low Bar Hi Pause Squats (long rests, belt, shoes, sleeves)

315 x 4
315 x 4

notes: took my pause coming out of the hole just above parallel. it was hard to get it going again on the ascent, I think this is definitely where my weak point is – these were especially hard today.

Weighted Hyperextensions (60 sec rests)

35 lb plate x 10
35 x 10
35 x 10

Jan 7, 2016

late morning office workout – felt like going to prison and throwing around iron in the weight pit and noticing new people watching me. hoping I don’t get shanked, lol

warmup: slow neg side raises, Cuban presses, one arm shrugs

Extra Widegrip Bench Press (2-3 min rests)

bar x lots
95 x 4
135 x 3
155 x 2
*wrist wraps on*
185 x 6
185 x 6
185 x 6
185 x 6

Spoto Press (2-3 min rests, wrist wraps, elbow sleeves)

185 x 6
185 x 6
185 x 6
185 x 6

notes: nice juicy pauses at the bottom. good day!

T-Bar Rows (2 min rests)

1 plate x 10
2p x 10
3p x 10
3p x 10
3p x 10

Flat DB Flys (2 min rest)

30s x 10
30s x 10

notes: had to bend my elbows a bit, I was not able to keep them strict

Trap Bar Shrugs (2 min rests)

190 x 10
280 x 10
330 x 5
330 x 10

notes: first time with 330, the weight distribution got to me – I grabbed the handles right in the middle, and the frame tilted back and it got too awkward so I had to stop early. need to grab it just closer in than the middle, allowing the frame to tilt forward a bit. its how I do farmers, and is more comfortable on my grip.

Jan 5, 2016

Late night workout for me. no time to sleep, only time to work.

warmup: rumble rolled upper back, mid back, lats; prone spinal twists

Deadlifts (2-3 min rests, SABOs)

135 x 5
185 x 4
225 x 3
275 x 2
315 x 1
*belt on*
335 x 5
335 x 5
335 x 5
335 x 5

Deficit Deadlifts (SABOs, belt, 2-3 min rests, 2.25 inch deficit)

335 x 3
335 x 3
335 x 3
335 x 3
335 x 3

notes: regular deadlifts felt good, so I set up a DEEP deficit (deep for me, lol) and did a bunch of low rep sets of deficits. I couldn’t remember the last time I did these (I have done deficit SLDL, but not these), so I wanted lots of sets to get comfortable with the setup and form. These were challenging but good!

Weighted Hyperextensions (60 sec rests)

30 lb DB x 6
30 lb DB x 6
30 lb DB x 6
30 lb DB x 6
30 lb DB x 6

notes: stretching out my back felt good after the DLs