BW - 214
Deadlift -
135X5
185X4
225X3
275X3
315X2
345X4, 1
315X3
RDL - 185X15, 15, 12
Paused Front Squats - 135X5, 5, 5, 5, 5
Chest Supported Rows - 90X20, 15, 12, 11
I was on the fence about even doing Deadlifts today. I gave it a shot and they felt strong all the way through the set of 345X4. Then the next set of 345 had no umph at all. Instead of trying to force the issue I dropped down for a quick set with 315.
Later in the session I went back to the platform and examined my set-up in a side mirror. I hadn't realized this, but I was set up with my shoulders WAY behind the bar. This is something to look at. I haven't filmed myself from the side in a long time, so I'll start doing that. Got to get my shoulders over the bar.
RDL's felt strong. I forgot my straps today and just went with a mixed-grip.
Paused Fronts and T-Bars both felt strong.
Friday, January 9, 2015
Wednesday, January 7, 2015
Reps and Volume. Week 16. Bench
BW - 212
Incline -
BarX30
95X5, 5
115X4
135X3
155X2
175X7*, 3, 4 (*failed on 8)
DB Laterals - 20sX20, 20, 20
super-set with
Rolling DB Triceps - 30sX20, 20, 15
DB Hammer Curls - 40sX10, 10, 10
super-set with
DB Rear Delts - 30sX18, 18, 18
175X7 is a Rep PR, and, together with 14 total reps, meets my goal for this weight. I'll reset next week with 185 as my over-warm-up single.
I was going to try machine benching today, but once I got there something said work through the delts so I did that instead. I've been doing lots of OHP and rear delts, but I hadn't done anything for the lateral head for awhile. Who knows, maybe it can help jump-start some improvement before I go see a professional about my shoulder issues. Also, my shoulder is WAY less achy for having not done the heavy lock-outs. I'm suspicious that as I work back up on Inclines and start looking to hit reps at 185+, I may run into the same issues, however.
Incline -
BarX30
95X5, 5
115X4
135X3
155X2
175X7*, 3, 4 (*failed on 8)
DB Laterals - 20sX20, 20, 20
super-set with
Rolling DB Triceps - 30sX20, 20, 15
DB Hammer Curls - 40sX10, 10, 10
super-set with
DB Rear Delts - 30sX18, 18, 18
175X7 is a Rep PR, and, together with 14 total reps, meets my goal for this weight. I'll reset next week with 185 as my over-warm-up single.
I was going to try machine benching today, but once I got there something said work through the delts so I did that instead. I've been doing lots of OHP and rear delts, but I hadn't done anything for the lateral head for awhile. Who knows, maybe it can help jump-start some improvement before I go see a professional about my shoulder issues. Also, my shoulder is WAY less achy for having not done the heavy lock-outs. I'm suspicious that as I work back up on Inclines and start looking to hit reps at 185+, I may run into the same issues, however.
Tuesday, January 6, 2015
Reps and Volume. Week 16. Squat
BW - 215
Squat -
BarX10 (paused)
95X5 (paused)
135X5
185X4
225X3
275X2
315X1
275X11, 4, 2
High Bars - 225X3, 3, 3, 3, 3
GMs - 135X10, 10
Single-Leg Extensions - X20, 17, 15
275X11 is an all-around PR. However, 11 is my number to beat, so I'll be repeating this day next week.
This really re-fatigued my low back after having just recovered from Deadlifts on Friday. I may do accessories only on Deadlift day this week, and think about alternating like that. I'll also be making big changes to my programming starting next week as I start looking to get in shape for a vacation in early March.
Everything else went well.
Squat -
BarX10 (paused)
95X5 (paused)
135X5
185X4
225X3
275X2
315X1
275X11, 4, 2
High Bars - 225X3, 3, 3, 3, 3
GMs - 135X10, 10
Single-Leg Extensions - X20, 17, 15
275X11 is an all-around PR. However, 11 is my number to beat, so I'll be repeating this day next week.
This really re-fatigued my low back after having just recovered from Deadlifts on Friday. I may do accessories only on Deadlift day this week, and think about alternating like that. I'll also be making big changes to my programming starting next week as I start looking to get in shape for a vacation in early March.
Everything else went well.
Saturday, January 3, 2015
Reps and Volume. Week 15. Deadlift
BW - 214
Deadlift -
135X5
185X4
225X3
275X2
315X1
365X1*
345X3, 2, 2, 2
RDL - 185X15, 12, 12
Paused Front Squats -
BarX5
95X5
135X5, 5, 5
Single-Leg Curls -
X12, 10 (straight-weight)
X15 (dropped weight)
Haven't done deadlifts in a while and things were a little out of whack. *I did double-overhand all the way up to 365, but that top weight started to come out of my fingers right before lock-out.
I was going to try using straps for my work sets, but I couldn't get in position starting at the bottom. I didn't realize so much of my set-up started while standing upright, getting tight and then pulling myself down to the bar.
Worksets felt weaker than I'd hoped after the time off. I missed at the bottom on both an attempted 4th rep on the first set, and an attempted single at the end. My weakness continues to be from the floor.
RDLs felt good though.
Thinking about strength off the floor, I decided to try out paused front squats here instead of the planned T-Bar rows. Might play with this again next week.
Deadlift -
135X5
185X4
225X3
275X2
315X1
365X1*
345X3, 2, 2, 2
RDL - 185X15, 12, 12
Paused Front Squats -
BarX5
95X5
135X5, 5, 5
Single-Leg Curls -
X12, 10 (straight-weight)
X15 (dropped weight)
Haven't done deadlifts in a while and things were a little out of whack. *I did double-overhand all the way up to 365, but that top weight started to come out of my fingers right before lock-out.
I was going to try using straps for my work sets, but I couldn't get in position starting at the bottom. I didn't realize so much of my set-up started while standing upright, getting tight and then pulling myself down to the bar.
Worksets felt weaker than I'd hoped after the time off. I missed at the bottom on both an attempted 4th rep on the first set, and an attempted single at the end. My weakness continues to be from the floor.
RDLs felt good though.
Thinking about strength off the floor, I decided to try out paused front squats here instead of the planned T-Bar rows. Might play with this again next week.
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
Reps and Volume. Week 15. Bench
BW - 214 (PR)
Incline -
BarX30
95X5, 5
115X4
135X3
155X2
165X12, 5
Reverse Camber Bench - 205X5, 5, 5, 4
DB Bench - 55sX12, 10, 7
super-set with
DB Rear Delts - 30sX20, 20, 15
DB Hammer Curls - 40sX15, 10, 10
165X12 is an all-around PR for Incline, and matches a Rep PR for Flat Bench. I had that as a back-of-mind goal for this session, and I'm happy to hit it. The 5 reps on the 2nd set meets my goal 15+ total reps, so moving up next week.
However, the reverse camber bench was not good. My shoulder started hurting after the 1st set, and I missed the 5th rep on set #4. My shoulder was really achy by that point and is really achy today. I'd settled on the hypothesis that whatever is wrong with my shoulder was only exacerbated by heavy movements that took the elbow behind the center line of my body, but that is CLEARLY not the case with this short ROM lift. So until I get examined by a professional, I don't know what. I'm just going to have to abandon this movement for now. Next week, I will try some machine pressing and see what that's like.
DB Bench was okay, but felt like it could have been better if my shoulder wasn't bothering me so much.
Incline -
BarX30
95X5, 5
115X4
135X3
155X2
165X12, 5
Reverse Camber Bench - 205X5, 5, 5, 4
DB Bench - 55sX12, 10, 7
super-set with
DB Rear Delts - 30sX20, 20, 15
DB Hammer Curls - 40sX15, 10, 10
165X12 is an all-around PR for Incline, and matches a Rep PR for Flat Bench. I had that as a back-of-mind goal for this session, and I'm happy to hit it. The 5 reps on the 2nd set meets my goal 15+ total reps, so moving up next week.
However, the reverse camber bench was not good. My shoulder started hurting after the 1st set, and I missed the 5th rep on set #4. My shoulder was really achy by that point and is really achy today. I'd settled on the hypothesis that whatever is wrong with my shoulder was only exacerbated by heavy movements that took the elbow behind the center line of my body, but that is CLEARLY not the case with this short ROM lift. So until I get examined by a professional, I don't know what. I'm just going to have to abandon this movement for now. Next week, I will try some machine pressing and see what that's like.
DB Bench was okay, but felt like it could have been better if my shoulder wasn't bothering me so much.
Tuesday, December 30, 2014
Reps and Volume. Week 15. Squat
BW - 213
Squats -
BarX10 (paused)
95X5 (paused)
135X5
185X4
225X3
275X2
315X1
245X15, 5
High-Bars - 225X3, 3, 3, 3, 3
GMs - 135X10, 10
Single-Leg Extensions - X20, 16, 15
245X15 is a Rep PR, and together with 19+ total reps meets my goal for this weight. Moving up to 275 next week.
Also, my 315 felt like it may have been a touch high this week, however it was ridiculously easy. That should boost my confidence for the 315X1 going forward.
High-Bars are juuuuust starting to feel like I might need to do more reps with 225 for the volume supplement. Since next week's jump on Low Bar from 245 to 275 is larger than normal, I'll still plan on sticking to 5X3. That's actually the last week of this phase before I start shaping up for a beach vacation in early March. No reason to expect to push assistance extra hard in that instance.
Back to Good-Mornings and my low back felt totally fine. I really, really hate this movement, but it felt better today than it has in a while. In effort to feel a good stretch in both my glutes and my hamstrings, I ended up bending my knees a bit and letting my hips move down at the "bottom" of the movement. That seems technically incorrect, but my hips and spine felt perfectly stable/neutral, and I was able to really feel the stretch all through those two muscle groups before firing back up into the starting position. Both areas are fairly sore today as well.
Squats -
BarX10 (paused)
95X5 (paused)
135X5
185X4
225X3
275X2
315X1
245X15, 5
High-Bars - 225X3, 3, 3, 3, 3
GMs - 135X10, 10
Single-Leg Extensions - X20, 16, 15
245X15 is a Rep PR, and together with 19+ total reps meets my goal for this weight. Moving up to 275 next week.
Also, my 315 felt like it may have been a touch high this week, however it was ridiculously easy. That should boost my confidence for the 315X1 going forward.
High-Bars are juuuuust starting to feel like I might need to do more reps with 225 for the volume supplement. Since next week's jump on Low Bar from 245 to 275 is larger than normal, I'll still plan on sticking to 5X3. That's actually the last week of this phase before I start shaping up for a beach vacation in early March. No reason to expect to push assistance extra hard in that instance.
Back to Good-Mornings and my low back felt totally fine. I really, really hate this movement, but it felt better today than it has in a while. In effort to feel a good stretch in both my glutes and my hamstrings, I ended up bending my knees a bit and letting my hips move down at the "bottom" of the movement. That seems technically incorrect, but my hips and spine felt perfectly stable/neutral, and I was able to really feel the stretch all through those two muscle groups before firing back up into the starting position. Both areas are fairly sore today as well.
Monday, December 29, 2014
Reps and Volume. Week 14. Accessories
BW - 209
PBN -
BarX20
65X5
85X4
95X3
115X7, 4, 3, 1
super-set with
Chin-Ups - BWX10, 8, 6, 5, 6 (35 total)
DB Rows - 70sX20, 12
Machine Pullovers - X12 (upped the weight)
RG Preacher Curls - 50ishX15, 10
super-set with
DB Press - 45sX15, 10
DB Curls - 30sX12, 13
super-set with
Rolling Triceps - 30sX15, 12
Incline Treadmill - 15 minutes; walking
Mixed session. 115X7 is a Rep PR, and combined with 15 total reps meets my goal for this weight. Moving up next week.
Everything else was a mix of slightly better, about the same, or slightly worse. Weirdly, my biceps curling strength seems to be regressing. May need to just try switching out some movements for a while. I've been doing those same two types of curls, in the same order, on Saturdays for about 20 weeks straight.
PBN -
BarX20
65X5
85X4
95X3
115X7, 4, 3, 1
super-set with
Chin-Ups - BWX10, 8, 6, 5, 6 (35 total)
DB Rows - 70sX20, 12
Machine Pullovers - X12 (upped the weight)
RG Preacher Curls - 50ishX15, 10
super-set with
DB Press - 45sX15, 10
DB Curls - 30sX12, 13
super-set with
Rolling Triceps - 30sX15, 12
Incline Treadmill - 15 minutes; walking
Mixed session. 115X7 is a Rep PR, and combined with 15 total reps meets my goal for this weight. Moving up next week.
Everything else was a mix of slightly better, about the same, or slightly worse. Weirdly, my biceps curling strength seems to be regressing. May need to just try switching out some movements for a while. I've been doing those same two types of curls, in the same order, on Saturdays for about 20 weeks straight.
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