Training: Pressing

BW - 212

High-Incline Bench -
BarX25
95X5
115X4
135X2
155X2
135X15, 8

Incline DB Flyes - 30sX15, 15, 15

RG Curls - 40ishX23
DB Hammer Curls - 35sX20
DB Curls - 30sX18
WG Curls - 50ishX18
Preacher Curls - 40ishX11

Pushed the weight up a bit this week, and probably still left 1-2 reps in the tank on both sets with 135.

Worth noting: one of the strongest guys in the gym mentioned to me this day that he didn't really like the High-Incline bench for strength development very much.  He said he gets better  carry-over to both his flat bench AND his front press from the "regular" incline bench.  In the case of our gym, that's actually an unusual, arched incline bench.  You can see both benches in this picture:


The High Incline is in the foreground and you can kind of see the Arched Incline behind it and to the right (also reflected in the mirror on the back-wall).

The guy said he thought the High Incline was better for body-building.  The guy is strong as hell and has been working out of that gym for a long time, so I'll take it on faith that he's spent some time with both and that his opinion is based on experience.

No skin off mine either way, as I was only hitting this for a couple of high-rep weeks as a break before I got back to pushing the other incline anyway.  Interesting feedback, though!

Training: Pressing

BW - 208

High-Incline Bench -
BarX25
85X5
95X4
115X2
135X1
155X1
115X20, 10

Incline DB Flyes - 30sX15, 15, 15

RG, EZ Bar Curls - 40ishX20
DB Hammer Curls - 40sX15
DB Curls - 30sX15
WG BB Curls - 45X20
Preacher, EZ Bar Curls - 40ishX15

For the couple weeks after my vacation, I just wanted to get some high rep work in on movements that I haven't pushed very hard, and so I decided to just move over to this bench temporarily.

This thing's probably around 60 degrees, so it's almost more of an overloaded front press.  In the past I've only really used this thing when the "regular" incline wasn't available.  I always hated it because I couldn't handle anything near the same weight, and didn't see the point if I was already doing 45 degree inclines AND overhead work.  I sometimes struggled to get 95X10 at this angle when I used this movement for a supplemental lift.

I expected to only work up to 135 and then do medium-to-high reps with 95.  What a nice surprise that 135 was so easy, that taking another single at 155 was a no-brainer.  After that, I knew 95 was going to be way to light for a work-set.  115 was just right.  I probably left 2-3 reps in the tank on the first set, and 1-2 on the 2nd.  This is good feedback to get as my regular incline has been moving faster than my OHP.  I'm instantly planning on using this to supplement regular incline and/or OHP in the future.

Biceps circuit inspired by some more recent Paul Carter stuff.  My brachialis were screaming for 2 days after this.

Vacation Prep. Week 6. Bench

BW - 210

Incline -
BarX20
95X5
115X4
135X3
155X2
185X1
155X16, 6
115X11

Plate Full-Frontal Raise - 25X30, 15, 12
super-set with
DB Incline Flyes - 30sX15, 15, 15
and
DB Rear Dealts - 30sX20, 20, 20

155X16 is an all-around PR for ALL Benching.  Feels good.

Vacation Prep. Week 5. Bench

BW - 207

Incline -
BarX30
95X5
115X4
135X2, 2
155X2
185X1
155X14, 5
135X6

Plate Raises - 25X25, 18, 15
super-set with
DB Incline Flyes - 30sX15, 15, 15
and
DB Rear Delts - 30sX20, 20, 20

Bench felt a little shaky tonight, the 185 moved slower than I would have liked, and my shoulder was bothering me after Inclines and is bothering me a bit the next day.  Nevertheless, 155X14 is a Rep PR for Incline Bench.  It doesn' meet my rep goal for this weight of 16+ so I stay at this weight next week.  I met my volume goal with that 2nd set of 155X5, but I decided to drop down and get one more set in instead of doing hammer bench.  Not a terrible idea, but I may have been better served dropping down to 95 and doing higher reps.  I got lazy and didn't want to unload and reload the bar.

The giant-sets for the shoulder joint were fine.  I added some reps to the full-front(al) raises, but couldn't really add any to the other movements.  I'm pausing the flyes at the bottom, only coming 2/3 of the way up to keep tension on the muscle, and then doing a controlled eccentric back down.  By the time I get over 10 reps with just the 30s, I'm starting to really struggle.

Vacation Prep. Week 3. Bench

BW - 205

Incline -
BarX30
95X5
115X4
135X3
155X2
185X1
145X19, 7

Hammer Bench - 50X20 (burn-out set)

Plate Full Front-Raise - 25X20, 15, 15
super-set with
Incline DB Flyes - 30sX15, 15, 15
and
DB Rear Delts - 30sX20, 20, 20

Treadmill - Incline Walking; 30 minutes

Because I didn't get to the gym yesterday, I threw in assistance work today in addition to the main lift.

145X19 is a Rep PR for Incline, and would also be a Rep PR for Flat Bench.  Together with 21+ total reps it meets my goal and I will move up to 155 next time.

I didn't really want to do the hammer bench because of time, but since I did it last week and my Incline was stronger this week, I thought I should at least get one set in.

But I really want the bench assistance focus to be on shoulders, and so I did this tri-set, and liked it.

Vacation Prep. Week 2. Bench

BW - 207

Incline -
BarX30
95X5
115X4
135X3
155X2
185X1
145X17, 4

Hammer Bench - 50X20, 17, 15

Incline Flye - 20sX15, 15, 15
super-set with
DB Rear Delts - 30sX20, 20, 20

Plate Raise - 25X25

Treadmill - 30 minutes; incline walking

Alright session.  I was looking for 19 reps with 145 on Incline, so I will repeat this weight next week.

I had been hesitant to try the hammer bench, because I didn't want to try another movement that would aggravate my shoulder.  This actually was okay, although the weight was really light.  I'll try it again next week.

I probably went overboard on assistance a little bit here, time-wise.  Starting next week, I will be going more frequently, doing the main lifts on separate days from the assistance, and alternating steady-state with interval cardio.  I want those sessions to be shorter, so I'll just have to contain myself.

Vacation Prep. Week 1. Bench

BW - 210

Incline -
BarX30
95X5, 5
115X4
135X3
155X2
185X1
135X20

Incline DB Flyes - 20sX15, 15, 15

DB Rear Delts - 30sX20, 20, 20

BB Curls - BarX35

Treadmill - 30  minutes; high-incline walking

135X20 is a Rep PR for Incline and also would be for Flat Bench.  Moving up to 145 next week.

I went round and round on what kind of assistance I wanted to do for this Vacation Prep period when I'll be in a calorie and carb deficit.  For lower body days, it was fairly easy to just pick some BW stuff.  For upper days, chins are the only viable BW movement because push-ups and dips aggravate my shoulder.  I'll be doing chins on OHP day but I didn't necessarily want to put them right before deadlifting until I see what my recovery will be like on the diet.

I ended up deciding to go with all light shoulder work.  See if I can build up shoulder strength and stability as much as possible around whatever is wrong in there.  It was hard NOT to do triceps work, but fuck it, we'll just see what happens.

Reps and Volume. Week 7. Press (Office Gym)

BW - 202

Machine Press -
Warm-Ups - X10, 8, 6
Work-Sets - X15, 12, 10, 8 (straight-weight; same as last week)

DB Incline - 45sX13, 10, 10
super-set with
Reverse Machine Flyes - X20, 20, 18 (straight-weight; same as last week)

Rope Curls - X25, 20, 20 (straight-weight; increased from last week0
super-set with
DB Incline Flyes (pronated) - 15sX20, 20, 20

Rope OH Extensions - X20

Good session, I managed to push up either reps or weight on every single movement.  Unlike last week, my shoulders and upper pec area feel a bit sore the next day.

Made good time, so added one AMAP set of overhead extensions.

Reps and Volume. Week 6. Press (Office Gym)

BW - 201

Machine Shoulder Press -
Warm-ups - X12, 10, 10
Work-Sets - X12, 12, 10, 8 (straight-weight, same as last week)

DB Incline - 45sX12, 11, 10
super-set with
Machine Reverse Flyes - X15, 15, 18 (straight-weigh, more than last week)

Rope Curls - X37, 20, 20, 20 (straight-weight, same as last week)
super-set with
DB Flyes (pronated) - 15sX20, 15, 15, 15

Reps and Volume. Week 5. Press (Office Gym)

BW - 198

Machine Press -
Warm-Ups - X10, 8, 6
Work-Sets - X12, 12, 10, 8 (straight-weight, increased over last week)

DB Incline - 45sX12, 10, 10
super-set with
Machine Reverse Flyes - X20, 20, 20 (straight-weight)

Rope Hammer Curls - X30, 20, 20, 20
super-set with
DB Incline Flyes - 15sX20, 18, 18, 18

Went a little heavier on some stuff this week with only a slight step-back in reps.

Decided to try Incline flyes instead of overhead triceps.  Chest isn't getting much work lately with the bench/shoulder issues.  I did incline because I want to see what the effect is if I keep my grip at a similar angle to the DB Incline Bench.  I'm thinking a little more shoulder involvement that may help with the OHP and Incline work down the road.  Also, a minor change for fun.