LRB 365: Conditioning. Week 1. Bench

BW - 199

Bench -
BarX12
95X5, 5
135X3, 3
155X1, 1, 1
135X8

BW Circuit -
Dips - 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 8, 6, 4, 2
Chins (neutral grip) - 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2
Push-ups - 5, 10, 15, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2
Leg Raises - 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 8, 6, 4, 2

Weighted Vest - 45 minutes; walking

First session of the new phase and a big wake-up call with the BW ladders, but I'll get to that in a sec.

The barbell movement on each of these days is optional on the weight used, so just go by feel using the Strong-15 template.  However, I prefer to make bigger jumps if possible, but as weak as I am that doesn't really pan out as well with the 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, 1, 1 rep scheme.  So what I'm doing for this phase is using 25's, 45's, and only ONE 10lb. plate per side.  So the above is what my bench will likely look like through most of the phase, unless I'm feeling particularly strong and decide to hit 185 for a top single and/or back-off with 155.

Also, I got the last walking session of the previous phase in on this day.

So, the ladders.  In an effort to keep this brief, I haven't done push-ups since June of 2012, and lo and behold I suck at them.  This whole bodyweight session took A LOT of Rest/Pause to get through and was sheer hell, and I had to cut down the intervals for just about everything.  I'm going to drop everything down to intervals of 2.  If I make rapid progress on any movement, I will inch it back up to where it was supposed to be.

So, for instance, if dips start to come back strong (which I suspect they will), I will bump them back up to 3's.  If sit-ups or BW Squats come back, or are good to go when I do them later this week, I will bump them to 3's, and then again to 5's if that is going well.

The point here is to try and retain my motivation by not making every lifting day a hell that I dread, to keep the reps higher-quality (strict-ish, good ROM, etc.), and to keep the pace up.  Whew.  See how it goes.

LRB 365: 100 Reps. Week 6. Deadlift

BW - 197

Weighted Vest - 40 minutes; walking

Pause Squats -
BarX10
95X5
135X5
185X3
195X3

Deadlift -
135X5
185X5
205X4
225X3
265X2
295X1
305X1
315X1 (20 sec. hold at top)

Shrugs -
135X76, 24 (no straps)

Nice little session.  Pause Squats felt strong, and so did Deads.  As always, my forearms got nicely fried by the strap-less shrugs.

LRB 365: 100 Reps. Week 6. Accessory

DB Press -
15sX15
20sX15
25sX15
30sX15, 10

Face Pull - X75, 30

Rope Extensions - X75, 25

Rope Curls - X75, 40

Treadmill - 20 minutes walking; high-incline

Good little body-buildery session.  I did some rest-pause on the 100 rep movements, and my triceps and rear-delts are really feeling it today.

The treadmill was just some extra conditioning that I threw in because I'm in the middle of a 3-day crunch when I can't get outside for my scheduled conditioning.  I'll still get the rest of the regular programmed stuff in this weekend as I switch to the next phase.

LRB 365: 100 Reps. Week 6. Squat

BW - 200 (wow)

Squat -
BarX10 (paused)
95X5 (paused)
135X5
155X4
175X3
195X2
235X1, 1
245X1

Cable Rows - X80, 25

Lunges - BWX40, 40, 20

Ab Wheel - 5 sets of 10

Brutally tired.  I needed to walk to keep on schedule, but I was done.  Fell asleep on the couch at 7:45, and went to bed at 8:30.  I have a feeling the lack of sleep is somehow related to the weight gain as well.

Nevertheless, Squats all felt strong.

Rows felt strong as well, getting 10 more reps than last time.

Lunges were crap, though, I'm sure due in part to hill-sprints the day before.

Feel so much better today after getting over 8 hours of sleep.

LRB 365: 100 Reps. Week 6. Conditioning

Hill Sprints - 10 sprints @ 75%

Tired.  Not getting enough sleep.

LRB 365: 100 Reps. Week 6. Bench

BW - 198 (Ah, the weekend finally caught up with me here)

Bench -
BarX16
95X5
105X4
135X3
145X2
155X1
165X1
175X1

Pulldowns - X55, 25, 20

EZ Bar Extensions - 30X60, 40
super-set with
EZ Bar Curls - 30X45, 35, 25

A little bit tired and bloated feeling for this session.  Bench still moved fine, but I definitely didn't feel any stronger than my EDM of 185.

Completely out of gas on pulldowns.

Arms were fine.

Tired.

LRB 365: 100 Reps. Week 5. Deadlift

BW - 196

Pause Squats -
BarX10
95X5
135X5
185X3, 3

Deadlift -
135X5
185X5
205X4
235X3
265X2
285X1
295X1
305X1 (held for 10 seconds)

BB Shrugs - 135X80, 25 (no straps)

Weighted Vest - 40 minutes; walking

Awesome session.  I don't really know how it happened.  I indulged in a bunch of eating and drinking and assorted debauchery the day before and closed down a bar and everything.  Woke up hung-over, ate some eggs, had some coffee and OJ and ibuprofen.  I got down to the gym and warmed-up, and went through the Pause Squats, and they felt pretty good.  Smooth, and the 2nd set with 185 felt better than the first.

Then the bar hit the floor, and for some reason my pulse started racing and I felt aggressive as hell.  I had to calm myself down a little on my work sets because I was worried I was going to spaz out and lose my form.  I just can't describe how awesome these pulls felt.

I took that same aggression to the shrugs and got the PR at 80 reps.  It was my grip that gave out.

Went home and had some more food, and then the wife came along for my walk. And the weather was even pretty nice.  Just an awesome, awesome training day.