LRB Short-15. Week 2. Squat and Deadlift

BW - 212

Squat -
BarX10 (paused)
95X5 (paused)
135X5
155X4
185X3
205X2
245X1, 1
265X1
235X5, 5

Deadlift -
135X5
185X4, 4
225X3
255X2
285X1
305X1
305X3
275X3, 3

Solid session.  I dropped the goal weight back on squats after last week, and that meant my 2X5 weight was the same as last week's 2X8.  Everything was smooth

Deadlift is still feeling tough off the floor, but all the reps still moved fast and smooth.

LRB Short-15. Week 1. Incline and Rows

BW - ??? (worked out in street clothes, including boots)

Incline -
BarX30
95X5
105X4
125X3
135X2
155X1, 1
165X1
145X8, 8, 8
125X17

Rows -
BarX18
135X8
145X8
155X8, 8

Underhand pull-downs - X15, 9

Good session.  Everything was fairly fast on Incline.

On rows, I worked up until 8 reps felt heavy and did one more set there.

LRB Short-15. Week 1. Squat and Deadlift

BW - 208

Squat -
BarX10 (paused)
95X5 (paused)
145X5
165X4
205X3
225X2
245X1
255X1
265X1
235X8, 8

Deadlift -
135X5
185X4
225X3
255X2
275X1
285X1
295X3
275X3, 3

Running the LRB Short-15 as a 2x/wk. routine while I'm rehearsing my new show.  For Squatting and Incline benching, it's set up so that by the end I'm hitting the same weight for the top single that I was using prior to my vacation; 315 and 185 respectively.  For deadlift, I put in the old top single #, 365, as the goal for the cycle.  That will take me to 330X3 as my final lift of the cycle.

This may have been wrong thinking on the squat, as the 265X1 was heavy-ish, and the 235 for 2X8 was gruelling.  But I'm also running on 5 hours of sleep a night with rehearsals and work, and that doesn't help with the higher reps stuff at all.  So I'm going to back that back down and use 315 as my goal weight, which will only have me hitting a single at 295 by the end.

The sets of 295 and 275 on deadlift were all fast.

Training: High Bars

BW - 212

High Bar Squats -
BarX10 (paused)
95X5 (paused)
135X5
185X3
225X2
255X1
205X11, 9, 8

Hack Squats -
1ppsX10, 10, 11

Good session.  I went up to 255 for my last over-warm-up on High Bars just to see how it was moving.  My best ever High Bar Squat is 255X5, I believe.  This single moved pretty well, but the bar was positioned a little bit too high on my neck and so it was fairly painful resting on bone.  I also got 1-2 more reps per work set here for 4 more total work reps than last week.

Hack Squats felt a bit better this week as I got more in the groove.  I thought about adding more weight but said screw it, it's just extra quad volume.

I start rehearsing a new show next week so my schedule's going to go in the toilet.  I'm going to run Paul Carter's Strong-15 Short cyle as a twice-a-week program with a Squat/Dead day and an Incline/Chin day, and then get in some extras at the office gym or what-not as time permits.  Just stuff like biceps and leg curls, maybe some machine rows and that kind of thing.  Nothing crazy.

5/3/1 Log: Cycle 2. Week 1. Press

Defranco Shoulder Mobility

Press -
BarX5
65X5X2
80X5
95X5
110X8
95X5

Chin-ups, neutral grip - BW(204)X10, 6

Standing, single-leg curls - 5 sets of 10-12

Swiss-Ball Crunches - 5 sets of 20

110X8 is a Rep PR, and a minor increase to my projected 1RM.  I didn't expect to be setting any 1RM increases on Press or DL on this 2-day split program, but I felt good today so I went for it and got it.  Just one of the smart things about this program philosophy is that it teaches this.  I expect that this is something that becomes ingrained, and years from now when I am likely doing my own thing rather than someone else's program design, I will still work with this concept of having a minimum to meet in a given session, that I can then exceed based on feel.

5/3/1 Log: Cycle 1. Week 1. Incline Press

Defranco Shoulder Mobility

Incline -
BarX15
85X5
105X5
120X5
135X5

DB Rows -
45X15
50X10
55X20

Standing Leg Curls - 3 sets of 10-20

Farmers Carries - 25 minutes
Handles (120 lbs.) X1 trip down and back
160X1
200X1X5; 60 second rests
160X1X8; 45 second rests
120X1X5; 30 second rests

Incline bench was a little heavier than I expected.  Not having done it in over a year, I thought I would try 80% of my bench as my training max, similar to what I'm doing with Pause Squats, and similar to Pause Squats the weight is probably heavier than it should be.  I'm going to try and get through the first cycle just getting at least the required reps if possible.  If training is generally going well and not interfering with my rehearsal process, I will drop the training max and continue with the 2nd 3-week cycle.  Again similar to the plan for the Pause Squats.

UB: Reps Week 6. Squats

Defranco Hip Mobility

Squats -
BarX20
95X10
155X6
195X3
275X1
195X20

Leg Curls - 5 sets of 15; 10 partials at the end of the last set

V-Ups - 3X10

Prowler Pushes; High-Handles down and back - 90 lbs., 15 pushes, 15 minutes

275X1 is a Rep PR, 195X20 is a Rep PR, increase to projected max, and my target for the cycle.  Left me sweating hard, and with my heart pounding like crazy.  Great session, great cycle for squatting.  Don't know what else to say.

UB: Reps Week 5. Squats

Defranco hip mobility

Squats -
BarX20
95X10
155X6
195X3
265X1
195X18, 6, 6 (30 total reps)

Hamstring curls - 5 sets of 10-15

Standing Abs - 4 sets of 8-15

Awesome squat session.  195X18 is a Rep PR, and a projected increase to my 1RM.  Also, 24 combined reps on the first two work-sets is a cycle best, and getting 30 reps in 3 sets ties my cycle best.  20+ reps is in the bag next week.  I hope to use a power rack, but it was f'ing busy as hell in the gym today.  I'm scheduled to squat again on Sunday, though, so it likely won't be as packed.

UB: Strong Week 1. Press

Defranco upper-body stretches

Neck Machine - 3 sets of 20

Press -
BarX5
BarX5
55X5
65X5
75X5

Upright Rows - 75X12, 7

DB Laterals - 25'sX12, 7

Hanging Leg Raise - 5, 7, 5, 6, 5

Foam-rolling at home afterwards.

First day of Ultimate Beastdom.  A really refreshing session due to the combination of light weights and few exercises.  I guess I didn't realize it, but the 2-day split I'd been doing because of my heavy rehearsal schedule had maybe been wearing me down with two ME style movements per session, plus plenty of accessory and core work.  I just felt great after this.

For the Pressing, even though the weight was light I tried to focus on driving it up fast so that I had the feeling of "coming-off-the-ground" at the top.  Just to make sure I was getting some work in there.

5/3/1 Log: Cycle 3. Week 1. Pressing and Deadlifting

No warm-up (full body foam-rolling the night before)

Press -
BarX10
55X8
70X5
80X5
95X5
105X5

Deadlift -
135X5
170X5
190X5
220X1
220X5
250X7
super-set with
Hanging Leg-Raise - BWX5X4

Bench Dip - BW(201)X15, 15, 12
super-set with
T-Bar Rows - 70X10, 10, 8

BB Split Front-Squats - 85X8, 6, 8
super-set with
Hammer Curls - 25sX13, 15, 12

No Conditioning

In a rush to get in and out so I could shower and get to rehearsal tonight, so no mobility warm-up or conditioning afterwards.

Press felt heavy.  In the light of day, I wonder if I put 10s on instead of 5s and was actually pressing 115 on the last set.  Find out when I press 115 next week.

In contrast, Pulls felt great.  Slight hiccup on my 2nd work set where my headphones got tangled, and I had to stop and reset.  250X7 is a Rep PR and an increase to my projected max.  Probably could have gotten 1 or 2 more.

5/3/1 Log: Cycle 2. Week 3. Bench and Squat

Defranco's Simple-6 and Agile-8

Bench -
BarX10
95X5
130X5
150X3
165X5

Squat -
BarX5
135X5
185X5
210X3
235X2

Chins - BWX5, 7, 5, 5, 4 (Gym BW 202)


BB Split Front-Squats - 85X8, 8, 5

Push-Ups - BWX10X5
super-set with
Face-Pulls - 4 sets of 15, final set of 22

Bench felt a little heavy, but 165 is a 5 Rep PR.  Good enough.

Squats are still rough with the TFL strain.  Moving my feet in has helped, but that stance may have a lower strength ceiling for me.  As long as I keep my feet in and KEEP MY KNEES OUT the TFL is OK.  Gotta keep the knees out, though.  Also had trouble staying off my toes.  Almost had a couple of GM's on my hands.

5/3/1 Log: Cycle 2. Week 3. Pressing and Deadlifting

Defranco's Simple-6 and Agile-8

Press -
BarX10
65X5
80X3
95X3
105X7

RDL - 65X10

Deadlift -
135X5
185X5
215X5
240X3
270X3

Dips (Gym BW 203) - 10X7, 10, 15X5

One-armed Rows - 65X15, 15, 10

Goblet Squat - 75X8, 60X10, 10

BB Curl - 45X8, 65X6, 75X5
super-set with
Hanging Leg Raises - 3 sets of 5

With my schedule so hectic I've decided to switch to a 2-Day split.  This was supposed to be Week 3, or the 531 week of the cycle.  I'd already done that day for Press, so I used what would have been my Deload weight, or Week 1 weight for the next cycle.  I worked up in 3's as I would for the Deload week, but then decided to do 7 reps on the top set and match my previous best for that weight.  Demonstrating that my strength hasn't dropped off.

For the pulls, 2 reps on the top set would have been a 2 rep PR, so I got that plus one more.