Training

BW - 229

Squat -
375X4
340X5

Press -
155X2
140X5, 5

Chin-Ups - BW; 31 Reps, 8 Sets

Had the day off and so trained a bit earlier than usual.  I usually don't perform well in the gym on a day off, but this was particularly poor performance.  I knew coming in that something was off, so tried moving Squats to the front of the workout so that I would be "fresh," but it didn't help.  The top-set was brutal and wiped me out for the back-down set.  Press was more of the same.  Did get some more reps on chins, though.

I'll be switching back over to Texas Method with 3X5 on volume day.  If that's not enough to drive progress after a few weeks, I'm prepared to switch to HLM instead.  Full, 5X5 Texas Method buried me last time and I'm not interested in revisiting it.

Greyskull LP. Session 26

BW - 230

Bench - 215X5, 5, 7

Chin-Ups - BW; 30 Reps; 8 Sets

Deadlift -
370X4
335X3

215X7 is a Rep PR on Bench.  Felt really solid.

Chins were a little all over the place.  I forgot I was supposed to either exceed total reps, or match total reps in less sets.

370X4 is a Rep PR on Deadlift.  Just didn't think a 5th rep was going to be there, and so will move on with sets of 3 and a back-off set of 3.

Greyskull LP. Session 25

BW - 231

Press -
152.5X3
137.5X8, 5

Chin-Ups - BW; 30 Reps; 8 Sets

Squats -
370X5
335X7, 5

152.5X3 and 137.5X8 are both Rep PRs on Press.  I think a 4th rep would have been there at 152.5, but I let the bar get out in front of me too far and got on my toes.  Pretty clear in the first video.  The set of 8 at 137.5 was also RPE 9.5 or so.

On Chins, I got a couple more reps, and one less set than last time.  Progress.

No PRs on Squats.  I've I'd been paying attention, I might have gone for a 6 rep PR on the first set.  I've been starting to feel a little beat up by Squats, and my form was getting bad (bad bar path and bad depth).  Today I made a game time decision to switch to the same phase that Press is in:  Top set followed by AMRAP @ 90% and another set of 90%X5 for volume.  Knowing I would only have one set at 370, I really took my time.  Focused on bar path and depth.  I'm feeling like the days of toying around with these advanced novice LP strategies like Greyskull are coming to an end for the Squat, and I will need to move back into some intermediate programming very soon.  I've managed to stretch it out almost a full year on Squat and Bench, so that's not too bad.

Greyskull LP. Session 24

BW - 234 (wow)

Bench - 212.5X5, 5, 8

Chin-Ups - BW; 29 Reps; 9 Sets

Deadlift - 365X5

212.5X8 is a Rep PR, and 3X5 is an LP PR.  First set felt tough, and I didn't expect this many reps on the final set.  Maybe could have gotten an 9th rep though.  We'll call it RPE 9.5.

Didn't have any juice on chins today.  Most sets I've needed to hit my number since I change to this volume approach.  We'll see how it goes next session.

365X5 is a Rep PR on Deadift.  Really taking my time between reps.  Starting to have some nagging low-back discomfort again, but it didn't seem to be aggravated by the pulls.  I suspect it's bad bar path on Squats causing problems.

Greyskull LP. Session 23

BW - 229

Press -
150X3
135X9, 5

Chin-ups - BW; 28 total Reps; 7 Sets

Squats - 365X5, 5, 5

135X9 is a Rep PR on Press.  I originally programmed for the third back-off set to be 80%X5, but that didn't feel right on the day.  I'm still playing around with how to use the back-off sets but not let tonnage drop too far.  1st and 2nd set shown.

On chins, I got the same total reps as last session in less sets.  Feels like progress.

365 for 3X5 is an LP PR.  I feel like I should have gone for a 6th, but it's feeling very heavy, and the technique looks off.  Depth is borderline-to-high, and bar path is poor.  Sigh.

Greyskull LP. Session 22

BW - 227

Bench - 210X5, 5, 8

Chin-ups - BW; 28 Reps; 8 sets

Deadlift - 360X5

210X8 is a Rep PR on Bench and a 3X5 LP PR.  RPE 10 thanks to the spotter pushing me to get that last rep.  No video, but this was a max effort, one arm locks out way before the other, slooooooow PR.

More reps AND sets on chins on this day.  Mostly used my least favorite chin-up station in the gym (wobbly stand and has smooth, large diameter grips), so might have beaten the total reps in fewer sets at a better station.  Whatevs.  Volume uber alles.

360X5 is a Rep PR on Deadlift.  4 reps would have been a PR, but I was determined to get a 1X5 LP PR.  Similar to how I've been handling the Squat, I really took my time on these instead of trying to "blast" through them.  While that made the initial reps maybe feel a little slower, I think it helped the later reps.

Greyskull LP. Session 21

BW - 230

Press -
147.5X4, 4
135X7

Chin-ups - BW; 26 Reps, 7 Sets

Squats - 360X5, 5, 5

147.5X4 is a Rep PR.  Couldn't squeeze out 5 on either set.  Will switch over to a top-set of 3, a back-off set of AMRAP @ 90%, and a set of 5 @ 80% for volume.  2nd set of 4 shown.

Increased total reps in the same amount of sets on Chins.  First couple of sets were on their own, then super-set a few sets with Squat warm-ups (none b/w last warm-up and 1st work-set), and then a couple more sets after Squats.

360 for 3X5 is an LP PR on Squats.  Thought I might go for a 6th rep, but technique was feeling off.  Also depth was all over the map.  Still, I get to go for 365 for sets across next week, and that's good.  3rd set shown.

Greyskull LP. Session 20

BW - 228

Bench - 207.5X5, 5, 7

Chin-Ups - BW; 24 Reps; 7 Sets

Deadlift - 355X5

207.5X7 is a Rep PR on Bench.  3X5 at this weight ties my previous LP PR.  Kind of thought I would get 8 today. 

More chin-up volume.  Little bit of a drop-off today from last time, in that it took an extra set to get the same number of reps as last time.  Probably should have done an extra set.

355X5 is a Rep PR on Deadlift.  Technically an LP PR as the LP is 1X5 each week.  Felt solid today even though I've had some mild low back discomfort lingering the last 2-3 days.  Nothing about Deadlifting aggravated that.

Greyskull LP. Session 19

BW - 228

Press - 145X5, 5, 5

Chin-Ups - BW; 24 Reps / 6 Sets

Squat - 355X5, 5, 5

145X5 is a Rep PR on the Press, and 3X5 is an LP PR.  I kind of forgot about LP PRs, and may have hit a few more recently without noticing.  Anyway, these felt solid.  Gym was packed so had to go with an odd camera angle.

I did a couple sets of chins on their own, and the rest were super-set with Squat warm-ups.  Chins felt strong today with a couple sets each of 5 and 4.  No video.

No PR on Squats today, although 355 for 3X5 ties an LP PR.  Looking to break that next week obviously.  Again, focusing on letting the bar settle after the breath, and a controlled descent.  One day, I will Squats back to the beginning of workouts, and I expect them to be more fun to do then.

Greyskull LP. Session 18

BW - 231

Bench - 250X5, 5, 9

Chin-Ups - BWX4, 4, 3

Deadlift - 350X5

Chin-Ups - BWX3, 2, 3, 3

250X9 is a Rep PR on Bench.  Everything moved well.  Crowded gym, so camera angle sucks.

More strict chin-up volume.  Did sets before and after Deads.  Thought I might do pull-downs after Deads, but decided to wait and see how a chin-only works with this volume approach.  If things taper off, I'll try swapping out some medium rep pull-down volume.

350X5 is a Rep PR on Deadlift.  Everything felt pretty good.  RPE 9.5. Feels like I'm getting back in the swing of things again after the roller-coaster of Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's, Wife's Birthday scheduled interruptions.

Greyskull LP. Session 17

BW - 231

Press - 142.5X5, 5, 6

Chin-Ups - BW; 21 Reps / 8 Sets

Squats - 350X5, 5, 6

Solid session despite no PRs.  142.5X6 ties a Rep PR on Press.

For chins, I'm really trying to work my way back in with super strict technique.  Today it was all about touching the bar at the top.  I wanted to touch it to my chest, but that seemed impossible for some reason, so I settled for touching my neck.  After three sets, I kept doing them between squat warm-ups to get the volume.  Not sure what I'm doing with these right now, but I want to double-down on doing them strict whatever it's going to be.  Need to get video to see why I'm not able to touch my chest.

On Squats, I focused a ton on a letting the bar settle before the rep but after my breath, and then on a very controlled descent.  It took some mental adjustment to be this patient, but everything felt and looks pretty good.

Greyskull LP. Session 16

BW - 229

Bench - 202.5X5, 5, 9

Chin-ups (strict) - BWX5, 5, 4

Deadlift - 345X6

Blah session.  Super sporadic training schedule felt like it caught up with me a bit.  Really need to get back on track.

202.5X9 is a Rep PR on Bench, though not surprising considering the run of 10 rep PR sessions leading up to it.  On the 2nd work set, I felt that 10 probably wouldn't be there on the AMRAP set, and hoped to get 8.  Glad I at least beat that.

I was supposed to start microloading chins today, but everything felt so off, I thought I'd just do BW sets...and didn't even get all of those.  Blah.

Thought I might beat 6 on Deadlift, but I rushed a bit through the first 4 reps, and didn't have enough left in the tank to try and pull 7.

Greyskull LP. Session 15

BW - 230

Press - 140X5, 5, 7

Chin-Ups (strict) - BWX5, 5, 5

Squats - 345X5, 5, 5

Coming back from a sporadic couple of weeks of training capped by a trip to New Orleans, I decided to pull back on most of my lifts.  Backed Press and Squat up by two weeks, resetting the BW movements to be as strict as possible, and repeating the previous Deadlift weight.

140X7 is a Rep PR on Press.  Definitely didn't expect that on the first day back.  On the last few reps, I focused in on sort of "locking" my hips in place as the bar clears my head.  Kind of creating a more stable pillar to finish the press out after the initial movement to get the bar from chest to the forehead.

For Chins, I'm looking now for full elbow extension, and a breathing pause at the bottom of each rep, and chin over the bar at the top.  Reset to 3X5 at BW.  I was nervous I wouldn't get them all, but I did.  I've also built a calculator that will allow me to add ~2.5 to the TOTAL weight lifted after each time I get all 3X5.  Basically I just plug in my body weight for that day, and it will tell me how much weight to add.  I expect this to look a bit silly the first few times as I'll have a dip belt with a 2.5 hanging off of it.  Third set shown.

After everything, I'm very happy with 3X5 on squats.  I would have needed 8 for a Rep PR here, and that was unrealistic.  Although this final set was probably RPE 8.5.  I focused on letting the bar settle "back" on my shoulders after the breath.  I'd noticed sometimes I would take the deep breath and immediately descend, and the bar was rolling forwards a bit.  This seemed to help with that.  Also  continued to focus on a very controlled descent to make sure the bar path stays good.  Again, felt very good about the results here.  Keeping these points in mind for next week, I'm optimistic I'll feel good about getting some more reps in.

Greyskull LP. Session 14

BW - 231

Bench - 200X5, 5, 10

Chin-Ups -
BW+25X4, 4
BWX10, 5

Deadlift - 345X6

Dips - BW+30X11, 6

200X10 is a cool little Rep PR on Bench.  Felt confident it would be there, and was probably RPE 8.5.  Nice milestone I didn't even really know I was looking for. 

Chin-Ups went okay.  I'm going on a little trip this weekend, and I think I may reset chins and dips when I come back and try to get them all stricter.  More on the dips below.  Video is 2nd weighted set, and first BW set.  Angle sucks, and was way off-center on the BW set.

345X6 is a Rep PR on Deadlift.  Only needed 5 for a PR.  About RPE 9.  Felt pretty good today.

Dips were much harder today for some reason.  I wish I'd gotten video, because I suspect I was going way deeper than usual. Shoulder may be in good shape for deeper dips now.  I will take a little weight off, and reset using a plan I've been hatching for a chin-ups reset that takes total weight into account.  Will be better about getting video, and holding myself to a stricter, fuller range of motion on both movements.

Greyskull LP. Session 13

BW - 231

Press - 142.5X5, 5, 6

Chin-Ups -
BW+25X3, 3
BWX10, 7

Squat - 355X5, 5, 7

142.5X6 is a Rep PR on the Press.  Felt pretty good I think.  Tried to video it from the back to see if I could learn anything new from that angle, but the phone fell over.

231 (BW)X10 is a Rep PR on Chins.  No video on this day.

355X7 is a Rep PR on Squat.  Finally.  It's taken me 4 weeks to dig myself out of the hole I found myself in after my Thanksgiving trip where I ended up not squatting for 3 weeks.  4 weeks to undo 3 weeks.  What a pain in the ass.  Anyway, things had started to feel better last week, and everything felt really good all through warm-ups on this day.  The first set was hard in the usual way of a 3X5, 2nd set felt really good, and I was fired up for the last set.  Also, the video of the first working sets showed a really solid bar path.  Hopefully this is a sign of what the coming weeks will be like.

Greyskull LP. Session 12

BW - 228

Bench - 197.5X5, 5, 10

Chin-Ups -
BW+22.5X5, 5
BWX11, 8

Deadlift - 335X6

Dips - BW+30X11, 11, 11

197.5X10 is a Rep PR on Bench.  I was running out of gas a bit at the end, but strength-wise I think my short-term goal of 200X10 should be in reach.

228 (BW)X11 is a Rep PR on Chins.  Not a cart-wheel situation as my chin form certainly isn't super strict.  Something I'm pondering how I want to approach.  For now, my non-strict form is still consistent, so I'm comfortable progressing it as-is.  2nd weighted set and BWX11 set shown.

335X6 is a Rep PR on Deadlifts.  Would have like to have gone for 8 again, but was feeling pretty gassed on this day and decided to settle for the minimum PR.

258 (BW+30) X11 is a Rep PR on Dips.  Getting pretty tough if I don't focus on breath quality and micro-breaks.  3rd set shown.

Greyskull LP. Session 11

BW - 228

Press - 140X5, 5, 6

Chin-Ups -
BW+22.5X4, 4
BWX10, 7

Squats - 350X5, 5, 6

140X6 is a Rep PR on the Press.  These felt okay.  Noticing a tendency for my hips to shoot out a little too one side or the other at the transition/sticking point.  Can't really see it in the video.  May try a different angle to see if it's visible.

Chins felt pretty good.  7 reps on the 2nd back-off set may be a PR of sorts for this programming.

Squats felt much better today.  I worked on controlling the eccentric a lot more today.  Sacrificed some pop out of the bottom for a bit better of a bar path.  Still not nearly as good as it was before Thanksgiving, but better.  And as a result, I was able to go over 5 reps on the AMRAP set.  Needed 7 for a Rep PR, but was happy to not be struggling as much.

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.

Greyskull LP. Session 9

BW - 229

Press - 137.5X5, 5, 7

Chin-Ups -
BW+20X5, 5
BWX9, 6

Squats - 345X5, 5, 5

1357.5X7 is a Rep PR on the Press.  Only needed 6 for a PR, but felt like I could strain and get the extra and I did.  Probably felt the need to do something like that because squats have been going so shitty, and I wasn't looking forward to having to do them today.

Chin-ups went pretty well.  Realized, I could start loading the warm-ups a little bit.  Did +10X2 as my last warm-up, and we'll see if that has any effect on the work sets going forward.  These weighted sets felt okay, and the BW sets felt pretty good.

Squats went a little better than previously.  I videoed every single set from the empty bar up.  Trying to make corrections all the time to keep back on my heels and get the bar path completely vertical again.  Mixed results.  The first set was hard and imperfect, but not as bad as they have been.  The 2nd set, while still imperfect form-wise, was probably the best heavy workset since before Thanksgiving.  Felt good going into the 3rd set, but shat the bed on rep #2, and barely recovered enough to get all 5.  But I feel like if the second rep had been better, I may have had enough in the tank for at least a 6th rep.  Video of 2nd and 3rd sets below.

Greyskull LP. Session 8

BW - 228

Bench - 192.5X5, 5, 10

Chin-Ups -
BW+20X4, 4
BWX10, 5

Deadlift - 315X8

Dips - BW+30X9, 9, 9

192.5X10 is a Rep PR on Bench.  Felt pretty good.  Getting better centered on the bench thanks to the new camera angle.  RPE 9.

Weighted chins felt okay.  10 reps on the back-off set at this bodyweight matches a Rep PR.

315X8 is a Rep PR on Dealift.  These felt pretty good.  Only needed 7 for a PR, but was feeling 8 going into it.  RPE 8 or 8.5 max.  Still feeling limited more by fatigue than strength.

258 (BW+30)X9 is a Rep PR on Dips.  According to my records, it's actually my "heaviest" (counting BW) dips weight ever.  Kind of surprised me.  I'd like to be able to go a little deeper on these, but I have to be careful because my shoulders get cranky.  I go till I get a stretch but no further.