UB: Strong Week 4. Squat

Defranco Mobility Work

Good-Mornings - BarX10X2

Standing Calf-Raises - 305X15, 365X15, 385X15

Squats -
BarX10
135X5
155X5
185X5
215X5
235X5

Front Squats - 125X11, 125X6

RDL - 175X10, 6

Hammer and Tire - 4 rounds of 20, 1 round of 15 swings "per arm."  10 minutes

I have some sort of strain or something in my mid-back on the left-hand side.  It's been bothering me for two weeks.  I've set Deadlift and Chin-up PR's with it, so it hasn't been interfering with my lifts so far.  However, I got the idea that it might interfere with my Squats today, so I did some empty-bar Good-Mornings with the idea that if a back-strain was going to hamper squats, GM's would be the best candidate for warming-up that part of the back before-hand.  If that makes sense.  Hard to say if it worked or not.  My back didn't bother me during squats, and the painful area felt the same after the work-out as it did before.  This may just be something I have to ride out.

For the calf-raises I again raised the weight on the first two sets, but not the top set.  So increasing volume but not top weight.  Next session I will go up another plate, and I think that will be the full stack.  I don't know how much of this increase is neural and how much is muscular at this point.  Calf training is kind of dicey anyway, as true gains seem to mostly come from being heavier, and weight-training is more of a topper.

I decided to break from plan with Squats a little bit, in that I didn't add weight to the warm-up sets the way I have been.  The way I laid out the program was 5X5 to a top set of 5, and that every week all 5 sets would be heavier than the week before.  All of a sudden this week I had the thought that as I'm working in PR range on the top sets, it might be a good idea to not be pushing as much on the lead-up sets.  So I worked up to, and set, a 5 Rep PR, but the total, accumulated weight for my Squat workout was less than originally programmed.  I feel totally fine about how this worked out as I hit my top-set goal.  It was certainly the hardest set of the cycle so far, but the reps moved smoothly.  That seems to be on target.  Next week will push me into projected increase to 1RM territory on squats.

UB: Strong Week 4. Bench

Defranco Shoulder Mobility

Machine Neck Extension - 25X20X2, 30X20

Bench -
BarX30
95X5
115X5
135X5
145X5
165X5

DB Incline - 60sX9, 4

Dips - Gym BW 207+25X8, 5

Hanging Leg Raise (Feet to Bar) - BWX5, 3, 4, 3

10 minutes on treadmill

5th week of neck work in the bag.  I've been growing a beard since October, and I'm shaving it off this weekend.  Wondering if my neck will look drastically different once it's exposed.  I originally started addidng in extensions here, because I thought it might help with upper back tightness in the deadlift.  Paul Carter poo-poo'd that idea, however looking at the deadlift on exrx it mentions the levator being a stabilizer along with the traps.  The levator gets worked in lateral neck flexion, so maybe it would be better to start doing those instead.  2 weeks to go, might as well mix it up a little.

So 165 is right around my projected 5RM.  I did a lot of reps with just the bar to make sure to get a lot of blood flowing into the muscles and get the mechanics locked in.  I took progressively longer rests between sets as I progressed through the 5X5.  On the top 2 sets, I let my focus come away from mechanics and move towards power, or "intent."  Top set felt pretty good.  Hard, but not a grinder.  Next week the weight on the lower sets come up, but the top set remains the same, so everything should be good, and setting the stage for a PR the following week.

UB: Strong Week 4. Deadlift

Defranco mobility work

Standing Calf Raises - 285X15, 345X15, 385X15

SLDL - BarX10

Deadlift -
135X5
165X5
195X5
215X5
245X5
265X5

Power Shrugs - 365X11, 7

Chin-ups - Gym BW 207X10, 5

10 minutes on treadmill

Went up another plate in the stack on the calf machine.  2 to go.

Worried about Deads today.  I spent part of the day staring at my spreadsheet for this cycle and finally had to admit that my goal for Pulls was unrealistic.  I had projected a 30lb. increase in my 5RM, starting by hitting my previous projected max this week, then going for a 20lb. PR next week, and another 10lb. PR the week after that.  As it got closer, that just looked crazy, so I decided to back it off to the max this week, a 10lb. PR next week, and another 10lbs. for the week after, BUT will decide for sure about that after next week's session. 

Also, I had serious tightness on the left side of my mid-back coming into the gym.  Did the Defranco stuff which includes roll-overs, mountain-climbers, and groiners, then did some empty SLDL's and a set of 135, but nothing loosened it up (later at home, a combination of foam-rolling, ice, heat, and a 1/2 dose of ibuprofen mostly did the job).  I was really worried about attempting a near-max pull, but everything went GREAT.  While the top set was "hard," those reps actually went up as fast as any of the lower weight sets did.  Jefit actually projects 265X5 as a very, very minor 1RM increase.  Afterwards my back felt exactly the same as it did beforehand.  No aggravation from the assistance work either.  Either none of the stuff I did today really involved that tight area, or my form was super dialed-in.  Maybe a combination of the two.  I'll take it.

UB: Strong Week 4. Press

Defranco Shoulder Mobility

Machine Neck Flexion - 25X20X3

Press -
BarX5
65X5
75X5
85X5
95X5
105X5

Upright Rows - 95X12, 6

DB Laterals - 30sX12, 6

Hanging Leg Raise - BWX5, fail

Timed 1-mile run - 12:30

Hard to make myself get up and go the gym this morning, but felt fine once I got there.

Face pad on the 4-way neck machine just isn't cool.  The padding is fine, but covering your face and doing this kind of thing just feels...wrong.

Press felt good.  Taking plenty of rest between top sets, and really attacked that last one.

UB: Strong Week 3. Squat

Defranco Mobility

Standing Calf Raises - 285X15, 345X15, 365X15

Squats -
BarX5
135X5
155X5
185X5
205X5
225X5

Front Squats - 125X10, 5

RDL - 155X12, 8

Because I'm getting close to the whole stack on the calf raises, but it's also been getting hard on the top reps, I decided to move up the weight on the first sets and keep the top set at the same weight as the previous session.  So more total weight lifted, but no "PR."

Squats felt pretty smooth once I got to the top sets.  Giving myself plenty of rest between those last sets now.  225X5 is just shy of my previous 5RM, although my 5RM projects to 250.

UB: Strong Week 3. Bench

Defranco Shoulder Mobility

Machine Neck Extension - 15X20, 20X20, 25X20

Bench -
BarX10
95X5
105X5
125X5
135X5
155X5

DB Incline - 55sX12, 7

Dips - Gym BW 204+5lb.X12, 4

Defranco-style Core Circuit X2

20 minute, brisk walk home

Back of my neck felt a little sore coming into the gym, so I backed off the weight on the extensions.  I'm pretty sure it was just my traps from heavy shrugging the day before, but no point in killing myself on neck extensions anyway.

Bench felt a little better today.  I've been focused so much on tinkering with my set-up, that everything had just felt hard.  Today I tried to just make sure and do the things I KNOW have been good, and not worry as much about other stuff.  That meant setting up high on the bench so that my shoulders end up just below the uprights, and getting into this position by setting my feet then sliding down the bench and then back up onto my upper-back.  The thing I had trouble with today was tucking-and-flaring my elbows through the movement, and pulling the bar apart.  Otherwise, I gave myself decent rests between the top sets, and things mostly felt good.  Next week the top set is my projected 5RM.

UB: Strong Week 3. Deadlift

Defranco Mobility

Standing Calf Raises - 265X15, 325X15, 365X15

Deadlift -
155X5
185X5
205X5
225X5
255X5

Power Shrugs - 315X12, 8

Chin-ups - Gym BW 205X10, 4

Cable Crunch - 100X12, 10, 10

10 minutes on the treadmill

Wasn't sure how things would go today becasue I was running on a sleep deficit, and we had a party at work that involved both alcohol and massage therapy.  However, I didn't feel even a little drunk (except for after the massage) so I thought I'd try to get in my last "light" pull session.

Calf raises are getting harder, so I'm only going to try and go up a plate per session on the top set.

255X5 is only about 10lbs shy of my projected 5 rep max, but I have to say the top set felt pretty good, and, as has been the case lately, felt like the smoothest set of the session.  Next week I use my projected 5RM.