Old Man Texas Method. Week 4. Intensity Day

BW - 227

Squat - 380X5

Bench - 227.5X5

Deadlift - 390X3

380X5 is a Squat PR.  Moved pretty well.  Depth is borderline, but feels tight at the bottom.

227.5X5 ties a PR on Bench.  Probably about RPE 9.5 (i.e. couldn't have gotten another rep, but possibly could have had a touch more weight).  A good tip that came up on the Barbell Logic podcast with Matt Reynolds was that right when the bench hits a hard sticking point, allow it to drift back over your face a bit more, and that movement actually allows the elbows to extend without having to push the weight up.  The effect is that you move an inch or so closer to lockout, and through the sticking point.  I felt that very much on this last rep.

390X3 on Deadlift ties a PR.  Last rep was also about RPE 9.5  Had to reset after the 2nd rep because the bar shifted on the platform.

Phase 1. Week 10. Bench

BW - 210

Bench -
BarX20
95X5
115X4
135X3
155X2
185X2
195X6, 3

Cambered Bench - 135X6, 6, 5

Press - 95X5, 5, 5

Dips - BWX15, 10, 9

Ab Wheel - X10, 10, 10

195X6 is a Rep PR, and my phase goal for this weight so I can move up next week.  Actually, every rep was  Rep PR because I've never benched 195 before.  Awesome to be moving into new territory.

Cambered benching felt a smidge stronger today, but I hate this goddamn exercise.  My legs shake like crazy coming off the chest, and every rep is hard to lock-out.

The good incline bench was occupied today, so I did some OHP.

A 211BWX15 on dips is actually an all-around PR.  Not even looking for that coming in today.  Nice.

3X10 on the Ab Wheel felt really easy today.  If it feels like that on Saturday, I'll push the reps up a touch next week.

Phase 1. Week 8. Bench

BW - 208

Bench -
BarX20
95X5
115X4
135X3
155X2

185X7, 4

Cambered Bench - 135X5, 5, 5

Incline Bench - 135X8, 5, 5

Dips - BWX10, 8, 7

Ab Wheel - X10, 10, 10

Still couldn't get 8 reps with 185 which is my phase goal for this weight.  4 reps on the back-off set is more than I've gotten previously, so at least I increased the overall volume.

Cambered Bench still tapping out at 5 reps, dammit.

Pushed the first set of inclines, but the other two were slow.

My bench lockout felt a bit more stable today.  Don't know if that's to do with the triceps work I added on Saturday, but to be on the safe side I'm adding BW dips onto this day as well.  Probably should have from the beginning if I'm being honest, but I didn't want to over-fill the day.

Phase 1. Week 7. Accessory

BW - 208

Machine Pullovers -
warm-up set
worksetsX12, 8 (straight weight, increased from last session)

Chins (close, V-grip) - BWX6, 3, 2 (paused at bottom)

Pulldowns (close-grip) - X12, 8, 6 (straight weight, increased from last session)

Hammer Curls - 25sX15, 12, 10

Prearcher Curls - 40ishX12, 10, 10

all curls super-set with
Rope Pushdowns -
warm-upX30
worksetsX15, 15, 12, 12, 14 (straight weight)

Pushed the weight up a bit on the machine lat work.  I know that with bodybuilding-style machine work, I can sometimes get content to do the same weightXreps week after week.  Have to remind myself to try to take it to a new level periodically and try to establish a stronger base-line.

I've been concerned about my increasing bench lock-out trouble, so I'm adding in triceps work on this day.  Looking at my programming the last several weeks, I realize that direct triceps work was missing, and that might be the key.  Hopefully.

Phase 1. Week 7. Bench

BW - 208

Bench -
BarX20
95X5
115X4
135X3
155X2
185X6, 2

Cambered Bench - 135X5, 5, 5

Incline Bench (steep) -
135X5
95X10, 10

Bench was horrible today.  Reps came off my chest okay, but I struggled to lockout at least half my 185 reps.  Elbows flaring, one butt-cheek coming off the bench, it was just a goddamn train wreck.  1 rep short of last sessions mark, and significantly harder in general.  Is it possible I actually need fucking lock-out work?  Gonna start throwing some direct triceps work back in, and see if I can remedy this bullshit.

Fuck even talking about assistance.

LRB 365: Big-15. Phase 2. Week 3. Bench

BW - 202

Bench -
BarX10
85X5
105X4
125X3
155X2
175X1

165X10.75!, 5

Chins (close, v-grip) -
BWX5
+15X5
+20X3, 3
+25X2
+30X1

+25X5
BWX10, 7

DB Bench - 60sX18, 11, 9, 5

Early morning sessions are often dicey for me as my body doesn't feel like it's 'going' yet. 

This is the first time I think I've ever missed a bench at lock-out.  I was SOOOO close to that 11th rep.  I think grinding and failing on that one took a chunk out of me for the rest of the session.

On chins I felt so weak on the back-off with 25, that I didn't want to gut out a 50% set of 2-3, so I dropped the weight and pounded out some more BW chins to up the total volume over last session.

I pushed the 1st set of DB bench a little farther also trying to up the over-all volume, but my strength was leaving me pretty quickly at this point as evidenced by the final set being only 5 reps (failed on the 6th).

LRB 365: Big-15. Phase 1. Week 3. Bench

BW - 203

Bench -
BarX15
85X5
95X4
115X3
145X2
165X1

155X14, 5

Chins (shoulder-width, neutral grip) -
BWX5
+15X5
+20X3, 3
+25X2
+30X1

+25X8, 4
BWX7

DB Incline -
50sX20, 12, 8, 7
45sX6

155X14 is an all-around PR on Bench.  The gym owner (former BP champ) spotted me on the set of 14.  As I was straining under the 14th rep he was cuing me to drive the bar back towards my face, and that made a big difference.  Looking back at some video from a couple weeks ago, I can see that I'm locking out just a tad in front of my shoulder joint.  Good to know!

203 (BW) +25X8 is a Rep PR on chins.

Rep PR on DB Inclines, but the strength drop-off after the 1st set is still pretty awful, and the 1st set was NOT to failure. I'm going to keep capping it at 20 until I get over 15 reps on the 2nd set.  Then I'm going to move up to the 55s.  My goal for the cycle is 55sX15.