Maintenance / Rehab Block. Week 1. Day 2.

BW - 226

Press - 135X5, 5, 5

Pull-Ups - BWX3, 2, 2

Pull-Downs (supinated) - X10, 10, 10 (straight-weight; +5 "lbs.")

Hammer Curls - 30sX12, 12

So, I went to my P.T. before the training session today to get my hip looked at.  He didn't like how pain was being triggered during one part of the assessment ordered an MRI.  Got that scheduled for the middle of this week.  Could just be tendinosis in the left adductor, but he's concerned that there may be some impingement or damage in the hip now. 

TL;DR = no Squats, Deadlifts, or full power Bench (i.e. w/ leg drive) until this gets sorted.  I was already planning a maintenance block due to recent and upcoming schedule difficulties, so at least I had a bit of a plan in place.

Press was okay today, but has just been feeling heavy recently.  That probably won't get better during the maintenance block, and I will likely be dropping reps down pretty quickly here.  Last set shown.

The plus side is I can hammer Chin-Ups and chin-up accessory as hard as I want during all this (maybe I should bring dips back too?).  Doing the full Andy Baker 2-day split for this period. 

Haven't done pronated pull-ups in a long time.  Pretty darn hard.  Decided to stay at 3 sets to start, and do my usual thing of getting more reps in each subsequent session regardless of how many sets it takes.  Similar to Chins, I'll look to cap these at 25.  I guess?

Was able to add weight and/or reps to the assistance movements.  Whatevs.

Greyskull LP. Session 10

BW - 228

Bench - 195X5, 5, 10

Chin-Ups -
BW+22.5X3, 3
BWX10, 6

Deadlift - 325X8

Dips - BW+30X10, 10, 10

195X10 on Bench is a Rep PR.  Checking video of the first work set, I noticed my right leg was caving in on the leg drive.  Sorted that out on the final two work sets.  The new video angle is paying dividends so far.  This was probably RPE 8.5.

Chin-ups were okay.  BW sets felt much better than the weighted sets.

325X8 is a Rep PR on Deadlift.  RPE 8, but only needed 7 reps for a PR.

258 (BW+30)X10 is a Rep PR on Dips.  These are feeling pretty good.  Still wish my shoulder felt stable enough to go below parallel on these.  3rd set shown.

Novice LP. Session 55 (Greyskull Squats and Press)

BW - 229

Bench -
225X5
202.5X5, 5

Squat - 365X5, 4

225X5 is a Rep PR on Bench.  Nice milestone.  Reps were all pretty smooth, and got in some leg drive without my butt coming up.

365X5 is a Rep PR on Squats.  Weight was shifting off my heels a bit again today, and so the bar was drifting forward at the bottom of the movement. I believe that was taking a bit of a toll on me.  The 4th rep on the 2nd set felt like such a grinder, I didn't go for a 5th.  Also, my low back is still a little dicey.  I was going to go for a 3rd set, but realized I was supposed to be somewhere in 30 minutes, so I cut if off there.

I will revisit 365 on my next squat session.  If I run into trouble on it again, I will start progressing the first set and drop back to 90% on the 2nd and 3rd, with AMRAP on the 3rd.

Novice LP. Session 37 (Greyskull Squats)

BW - 229

Bench -
215X5
192.5X5, 5

Deadlift -
345X3
310X3

Dips - BWX11, 11, 11

215X5 is a Rep PR.  Some form breakdown really started to show though here, although it was also totally do-able.  My spotter kept saying "drive your legs," and it made me realize how loose my legs were getting after the initial lift.  Something to focus on.

First week deadlifting with a belt.  Made a huge difference.  These lifts were all much easier that last time.  Almost zero back discomfort.  Video of the top-set below.

At 11 reps, dips are starting to get much more challenging by the end of the 3rd set across.  I'll take it up to 3X12.  At that point, if the final reps are grinding, I will reset and start adding weight.  If they're still very do-able, I may try to run up to 3X15.

Higher Reps. Week 8. Bench

BW - 210

Bench -
BarX20
95X5
135X4
155X3
185X2
205X2, 2, 2, 2, 2.5

CG Bench, no leg drive - 165X5, 5, 5, 4
Flat-back Bench, no leg drive - 135X10, 7, 10
DB Press - 35'sX18, 12, 10, 10
all above super-set with
Face-Pulls - X20, 20, 18, 18, 18, 18, 20, 15, 18, 15, 15, 15

Dips -
BW+45X8
BW+45X5/BWX8 (drop-set)
BWX15

DB Curls - 30'sX18, 12, 10, 10

Solid session.  Upped the volume sets on full bench to 205.  Went for 3 on the last set, but it wasn't there.  I'll stay at this weight for next week; the last week of this block of programming.

Increased weight on the full bench seemed to cut into my CG Bench.  The X5 sets were harder than last week, and I could only get 4 on my last set.

Flat-backing was okay though.  I got into a conversation with a guy between the 2nd and 3rd sets, and that's why I was able to push back up to 10 reps on that last one.

DB Pressing with a more neutral, or 'relaxed' grip, came back on a bit.

My shoulder felt more stable and I had less twinging and popping after all the face-pulls last week, so I'm keeping those in for a bit.

210+45X8 is a Rep PR on dips.

Higher Reps. Week 7. Bench

BW - 211 (what the shit?)

Bench -
BarX20
95X5
115X5
135X3
155X3
185X3
195X2, 2, 2, 2, 2

CG Bench, no leg drive - 165X5, 5, 5, 5

Flat-back Bench, no leg drive - 135X12, 8, 6

DB Press - 35sX12, 10, 10, 10
all of the above super-set with
Face-Pulls - X20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 20, 15, 15, 15, 15, 15, 15, 15

Dips - BWX10, 15, 15
super-set with
DB Curls - 30sX10, 10, 10

Exhausting session.  I added a 5th double onto my sets of 195.  It actually may have been the strongest of the five.

Close-grips still feeling a bit weak.

Added reps to all my flat-back sets.

My left shoulder has been bothering me, and that's why I'm throwing in all these face-pulls.  I also turned my grip in on the DB Press, and that may have contributed to some lower reps.

Was gassed by the time I got to dips.  The face-pulls were pretty light, but maybe they added enough fatigue to cut into the end of my workout?  Who the fuck knows.

Higher Reps. Week 5. Bench

BW - 206

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

CG Bench, no leg drive - 165X5, 5, 5, 5

Flat-Back Bench, no leg drive - 135X10, 6, 5

DB Press - 35'sX15, 11, 8, 10

Dips - BWX21, 15, 12, 10
super-set with
DB Curls -
25'sX18, 15
30'sX12, 8

Good session, but gruelling. 

Decided to try sets of 5 across on the CG/No-Leg bench instead of going for max reps on each set.  Felt like more quality reps this way.

Pushed the reps a bit further on the flat-back bench.

DB Press was especially hard after all of the above.  I think that's a good sign?

21 is the most dips I've ever done.  I don't track Rep PR's that high, but it's some kind of PR.

Higher Reps. Week 4. Bench

BW - 209

Bench -
BarX20
95X5
135X4
155X3
185X2
195X3

CG Bench (no leg drive) - 165X8, 4, 4

Bench (flat back, no legs) - 135X8, 6, 6

DB Press - 35'sX15, 13, 12, 10

Dips -
BW+25X11
BW+25X6, BWX10 (drop-set)
BWX12
super-set with
DB Curls - 30'sX10, 13, 16

Half intuition and half rational thought led me to decide I've been spending a bit too much time and energy on Incline, when possibly more flat benching would help my...flat bench.  I've been doing close-grips with my regular set-up but no leg drive as my back-off sets for a few weeks.  Today I decided to scrap the Inclines for a while and do some more benching with my normal grip, but with a flat back and also no leg drive.  I just don't think it can hurt to spend more time working the actual pressing muscles with variations in a plane closer to the actual lift.  Since I'm pushing for reps and not weight on the bar in my programming at this time, the weights are a bit lighter and so I don't require as much technique to complete lifts.  We'll see how it goes.

DB Press was a lot stronger without the Incline sets before it, and Dips felt strong as well.

Skipped abs again.  May need to switch out Ab Wheel for something new, just to make it seem less dreadful.

Higher Rep. Week 2. Bench

BW - 209

Bench -
BarX20
95X5
135X4
155X3
185X2
195X1

Close-grip, no leg drive - 165X8, 5, 4

Incline - 115X15, 10, 8

DB OHP - 35sX12, 12, 12, 10

Dips -
BW+25X7
BW+25X5 / BWX6 (drop-set)
BWX12

Ab Wheel - X12, 12, 12

I'm tightening up my set-up on bench even more, and it hurts like hell but I can push hard with my legs without my butt coming off the bench.  Finally.  Not sure that if felt any stronger, though...

I moved my grip in to almost the smooth for the back-off sets, and used the same set up but did NOT use any leg drive.  Trying to focus on making the primary movers do all the work.

Incline has been nosediving a bit, so I backed the weight way off in order to facilitate more reps.  We'll see how that goes.

Last week I got a baseline for DB OHP, so now I can move forward on trying to push reps with the 35's.

Everything to this point in the session represented a sharp increase in total volume over past weeks, and so it's no surprise that the weighted dips went into the toilet a bit.  Strength still seemed okay on the final, BW-only set.

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.

LRB 365: Big-15. Phase 2. Week 6. Bench

BW - 206

Bench -
BarX10
95X5
115X4
135X3
155X2
185X1

165X10, 5

Chins (Close, V-Grip) -
BWX5
+15X5
+20X3, 3
+25X2
+30X1

+25X6, 4
BWX7, 3

DB Bench - 65sX15, 6, 6, 5

Solid session.  I benched without a spotter, so cut the back-off set of bench at 10.  Feel confident I would have gotten at least 1 more with a spot, so I don't think this is really a step back from last week.  Also, I had trouble with my set-up.  The bench I was using had less 'grip' to it, and I had hard time getting set so that I could use leg-drive without sliding backwards on the bench.

Chins and DB Bench were all fine.  Similar to last week, with maybe a bit more volume thrown in.

LRB 365: Strong-15 Short. Week 5. Bench

BW - 199

Bench -
BarX20
95X5
115X5
135X3
145X2
165X1, 1
175X1

145X14, 6

Incline - 115X14, 6

Dips - BWX13, 10, 8, 5, 5

Nice, PR-laden session.  The 175 felt good, and I videoed again, and it looks about like it felt:

The video just supports what I know, which is that I'm having a bitch of a time reconciling leg drive with keeping my butt on the bench.  175 is what I've got down as my EDM for bench.

The back-off set is an all-around PR at 145X14.  I videoed that as well, but didn't see anything particularly informative.

115X14 is an all-around PR on Inclines.  So Rep PRs that project new highs in 1RM for both flat bench and incline.  That's what the program is designed to do here, and hopefully the top end strength really is moving.

Nothing spectacular on dips, but I did get more reps per set that previously.

LRB 365: Strong-15 Short. Week 4. Bench

BW - 202

Bench -
BarX10
95X5
115X4
135X3
145X2
155X1
165X1, 1

145X13, 5

Incline - 105X12, 8

Dips - BWX12, 8, 6

Good session.  145X13 is a Rep PR.  The back-off sets for the last 3 sessions, 125X20, 135X17 and this 145X13 all have higher, projected 1RMs than any other in my lifting history.  Ah, but will I ever see myself stronger in the lower rep ranges?  Only time will tell.

Also, got a good tip from reading this post by John Phung about leg drive.  The basic take-away is barely keep your butt touching the bench as opposed to letting your body actually rest there.  I'll keep going with this and see if it continues to feel good.

105X12 is a Rep PR on Inclines.  This is on the shallower, curved incline bench. 

Dips were alright.

LRB 365: Conditioning. Week 5. Bench

BW - 190 (home-style scale at an "away' gym, so grains of salt)

Bench -
BarX12
95X7, 5
135X3, 3
155X1, 1
175X1
135X8

BW Ladder Circuit -
Dips - 3 up to 15, back down to 3
Chins (V-Grip) - 2 up to 10, back down to 2
Push-ups - 3 up to 15, back down to 3
Leg-Raises - 3 up to 15, back down to 3

Tried out another "away" gym.  Little bit more of a local place called Southport Fitness.  Small, but WAY less crowded than the XSport.  Right now it is in the lead for the gym I will use to get workouts in during the work week for the next couple of months.

Bench was feeling strong so I went up to 175.  Based on an article by Dan Green, I tried playing with the way my leg drive works, but I didn't get the hang of what he's talking about.  My leg drive is still sending my butt off the bench, and I never felt like it was sending the bar back towards my shoulders as he describes.  I'll keep playing with that, and also flaring my elbows out of the bottom instead of closer to lock-out.  I also tried some different foot placements.  At the end of the day though, the best thing will be to get stronger vs. worrying about technique.

Ladders all felt pretty good, though I had to R/P some stuff as usual on upper-body day.  Dips felt as strong as they have, though.