3/5/24: 500pm workout
Week 3 Legs
Squat machine:
5x 90lbs added
5x 180
5x 270
5x 360
5x 450
5x 540
5x 630 (will add 20lbs next week)
2x5 @450 w/3 sec pause at bottom
BB RDLs:
3x10 w/235 & constant tension/no lockout at top
Seated leg curls:
3x12 w/slow eccentric (good burn)
3/7/24: 600am workout
Week 4 Upper
Neutral-grip pullups:
2x BW warmup sets
10x +45lbs
9x +45lbs
15x BW (AMRAP)
Meadows row:
2x10 each side w/110lbs added to bar
Behind the back cable lateral raises:
3x15
Face pulls:
3x15
supersetted w/
Rope upright rows:
3x10
Incline bench lateral raises:
15x 12lb DBs
15x 10lbers
20x 5lbers
Bent rear delt flyes:
3x12
Incline DB curls:
8x 35s
15x 25s
20x 20s
great rear delt pump after this one . . going to skip lower day this week so I can have push and pull days on Saturday and Sunday like I like
3/9/24: 1000am workout
Week 4 Push
BB bench:
8x 135
5x 185
5x 225
3x 265
4x 295 . . this was with no safety or spotters, probably could’ve gotten 1 more . . felt good
Feet up bench press:
2x10 w/215
Shoulder press machine (not hammer strength, was at a different gym than normal this morning):
10x 160
10x 155
10x 150 . . last rep hit failure
Cable chest press around:
2x12 each side w/10 sec hold on last rep
Cable Y lateral raise:
4x15 each side
Tricep cable press down:
3x8
supersetted w/
Tricep cable overhead extension:
3x8
Machine lateral raises:
1 set to failure w/ each arm (hit 20ish reps)
really hitting a good mind-muscle connection on those cable Y raises . . finally . . had a banana, strawberry, oat, peanut butter, whey smoothie pre workout then 2 burgers w/ an egg cracked on each and leftover mashed potatoes from last night
3/10/24: 1100am workout
Week 4 Pull
Close grip lat pulldown:
4x feeder/warm-up sets
10x 200 stack+5lb plate
drop set 5x 150
Hammer strength chest-supported row:
11x wide-grip w/4 plates each side
10x closer grip
10x neutral grip . . last 2 were partials
Lat pull-in:
2x12
Face pulls:
12x lo to high
12x mid level
12x high to lo
BB curl:
8x 95lbs
7x
7x
Single arm machine curl:
3x12 each arm
3/11/24: 500pm workout
Week Legs
Squat machine:
5x 90lbs added
5x 180
5x 270
5x 360
5x 450
5x 540
3x 630
3x 680
2x5 w/470lbs added & 2 sec pause at bottom of each rep
BB RDLs:
3x10 w/245 . . constant tension/no lockout at top
Seated leg curls:
3x12 w/real slow eccentric each rep
had a plate of chicken thighs and rice about 2 hours pre workout then 2 smoked chicken leg quarters, 2 thick (homegrown/butchered) pork chops and a scoop of a beef and potato dish that the Mrs made post workout
Some time ago I had started doing zercher squats exclusively in place of front squats. After sitting with them for some time I did really enjoy the extra depth and sone gains in my biceps.
Since then, I went back to front squats after reading that fronts are the most transferable to real life activity regarding squats. I could see myself mixing in a set or so of zerchers throughout the weeks.
Haven’t tried any other zercher style lifts though.
zercher carries and squats are awesome . . havent done them in a few weeks as I’m trying to adhere strictly to this program but might add the carries back in soon
3/13/24: 600am workout
Week 5 Upper (shoulder focus)
Wide (1.5 shoulder width) neutral grip pull-ups:
2x BW warm-up sets
10x +55lbs
10x +40lbs (last couple were partials)
Meadows row:
3x10 each side w/112.5lbs added to the bar
Cable behind the back lateral raises:
3x15
Face pulls (cable at chest height):
3x15
Incline bench Y raises:
12x 12lb Dbs
15x 10lb Dbs
20x 5lb Dbs
Bent rear delt flyes:
3x12
Machine curls:
2x15 each arm
1x12 each arm
had a scoop of Surge intraworkout as I felt slightly hungry upon waking . . two scoops of whey postoworkout and am about to have a plate of chicken thighs and potatoes here for breakfast
3/14/24: 230pm workout
Week 5 Lower
BB hip thrusts:
5x 135
5x 225
5x 275
5x 315
5x 365
5x 415
Leg press (close/low foot placement):
4x8 w/500lbs added
BB RDLs:
2x8 w/325
GHR:
3x12 w/25lb plate
good one today, think I was walking a little funny leaving the gym . . had a smoked chicken leg quarter and some ground beef and rice around 1230 then a Gatorlyte w/12g added sugar intraworkout then a dozen smoked wings (no sauce), a little more ground beef and rice, a banana and about 10 organic strawberries pots workout . . probably have some turkey and cheese and a protein shake before bed
3/16/24: 1000am workout
Week 5 Push
BB bench:
10x 135
5x 185
3x 225
3x 275
3x 300
Feet-up bench:
2x10 w/225
Shoulder press machine:
3x10 @165 w/slow, controlled eccentric
Cable lateral Y raise:
4x15
Tricep cable pressdown:
3x8
supersetted w/
Cable overhead tricep extension
3x8
Lateral raise machine:
3x20 w/slow eccentric
had a banana, strawberry, peanut butter, whey smoothie about 45 minutes preworkout and then a deer burger, half a rack of smoked pork ribs from my favorite Mennonite place, an apple and a banana
3/17/24: 1100am workout
Week 5 Pull
Close-grip lat pulldown:
4x feeder sets
10x 210 then drop set -
5x 150 w/super slow eccentric
Hammer strength seated row:
11x wide grip & 185lbs added each side
11x slightly closer grip & same weight (last two reps were rest pause style)
11x close neutral grip & same weight (last few reps were partials)
Cable lat pull-in:
2x12
Face pulls:
15x lo to high
15x chest height
15x high to lo
BB curls:
9x 95lbs
8x
7x
drop set to 65lbs - 7 clean reps
Hammer strength shrug machine:
3x10 w/160lbs added each side & long pause each rep
had 4 eggs collected from the back pasture this morning, 4 strips of smoked, uncured bacon and a smoothie with a banana, strawberries, oats and whey . . post workout had 2 shredded chicken breast, 1/2 cup of rice and grilled onions and peppers
3/19/24: 715pm workout
short deload week - I feel good so I don’t want to fully deload so I threw together a quick full body workout tonight then tomorrow I’ll do some arms, rest Thursday and Friday and starting Saturday will be the start of a 4 week high-intensity, low volume phase followed by 2 weeks of high volume to finish the program
Smith machine front squats:
worked up to a heavy set of 3 at ‘275’ (not really 275 but not sure how much the bar weighs on the smith machine)
then 2x5 at ‘225’
Lying leg curls:
2x12
BW pull-ups:
2x12 w/neutral grip
Lean-away cable lateral raises:
1x12
weight drop then
2x15
Wide grip seated cable rows:
3x12
excited for Saturday to get here, ready to start the high intensity phase
3/22/24: 700am workout
Week 1 Phase 2 . . was going to wait til Saturday to start but didn’t have to go into work til late today so we’re starting today
BB bench:
10x 135
5x 185
3x 225
3x 275
2x 305 . . really struggled with the lift-off here and lost tightness. wanted at least 3 reps
2x 295 . . dropped to this weight right away and did a couple reps but struggled with the lift-off here as well . . will drop the bar a little lower next session and see if that helps
High-incline Smith machine press (60 degrees):
2x warm-up sets
6x 205
6x 205 . . the bars listed at 15lbs
Lean-away cable laterals:
2x8 w/40
1x12 w/20
Overhead cable tricep extensions:
2x8 w/150
Machine laterals:
2x8 w/90
1x15 w/75 . . finally figured out a good mind-muscle connection with these
had Surge as a preworkout and thats it . . stopped at the grocery store on the way home to get the boy something and they had free range boneless skinless chicken thighs for 1/2 off . . got 6 packs of those and also found ground venison for 1/2 off (normally its $9/lb) so I bought all of those as well . . didnt stop there and bought 2 grass fed NY strip steaks that were 1/2 off too . . the Mrs isnt going to be happy as we have 2 standing freezers full of homegrown beef and lamb and I still cant stop buying meat when its on sale haha . . just too good a deal to pass up
3/23/24: 930am workout
Phase 2 Week 1 Pull
Wide neutral grip pull-ups (1.5 shoulder width):
2x5 w/BW
5x +25lb
5x +50lb
3x5 +60lb
Bent BB rows:
5x 135
5x 225
2x5 w/315
1x5 w/295
Bent DB reverse flyes:
3x10 w/35s
Ez bar curls:
6x 90lbs
6x 100lbs
6x 90lbs
Hammer strength shrug machine:
3x8 w/170lbs added each side & 2-3 sec pause each rep
Standing DB curls:
2x8 w/35s
banana, pineapple, oat, whey smoothie pre workout and then 5 duck eggs, 1/2lb ground venison, peppers and onions and a strawberry, banana, egg white smoothie post workout
3/24/24: noon workout
Phase 2 Week 1 Legs
Hammer strength V-squat
5x 90lbs added
3 box jumps (36”)
5x 180lbs
3 box jumps
5x 270lbs
3 box jumps
5x 340lbs
3 box jumps
5x 390lbs
BB RDL
5x 135
5x 225
5x 295
2x5 w/340
Cable crunches
3x12
Single leg extension
3x8 @100 each side
3/26/24: 515am workout
Week 1 Phase 2 Upper
Wide-grip lat pulldown:
6x 120
6x 150
6x 180
6x 210
6x 210
Seated DB shoulder press:
6x 50s
6x 65s
6x 80s
6x 90s
6x 90s
Close-grip seated cable row:
6x 170
6x 200
6x 200
Machine chest press:
warm-up sets (I forget the numbers)
2x6 w/255 (slow eccentric & pause and hold on last rep)
Machine lateral raises:
8x each side w/95
8x each side w/110
8x each side w/125
12x each side w/80
Cable hammer curls:
3x8 w/140 (slow eccentric)
Wendler rows:
3x8 w/170lbs added & 1-2 sec pause on each rep
felt great this morning . . had a scoop and a half of Surge pre/intra workout and then a shake with whey and 2 bananas a little postworkout and then breakfast will be a big plate of eggs, rice, peppers and onions and ribeye here in about an hour
3/27/24: 600am workout
Week 1 Phase 2 Lower
Squat machine:
5x 180lbs added
3 box jumps
5x 360lbs added
3 box jumps
5x 450lbs
3 box jumps
5x 540lbs
3 box jumps
5x 630lbs
3 box jumps
5x 680lbs
BB step-ups:
3x5 each leg w/95lbs
Seated leg curls:
3x8 w/140 (slow eccentric)
Hanging leg raises:
3x10
3/29/24: 830am workout
Week 2 Phase 2 Push
BB bench:
8x 135
5x 185
3x 225
3x 275
3x 305
High incline Smith machine press:
5x 205 (actual weight, bar weighs 15lbs)
5x 205
7x 205
Cable Y lateral raises:
2x12 each side w/25
Overhead cable tricep extension:
3x8 w/150
Machine laterals:
2x8 each side
drop weight then
1x12 each side
I feel like I can see a difference in my shoulders since I’ve been prioritizing lateral raises and getting a good mind muscle connection with them
had an egg white, whey, banana, oat smoothie pre workout and then a plate of 5 eggs, a cup of potatoes and peppers and onions post workout . . I have a nice sirloin steak thawing out for late lunch, will probably make a couple sweet potatoes to go with it
3/30/24: 1230pm workout
Week 2 Phase 2 Pull
Wide neutral-grip pull-ups:
2x5 w/BW
5x +35lbs
5x +60lbs
2x5 w/70lbs+ BW
Bent BB rows:
5x 135
5x 205
5x 275
2x5x 315
5x 295
Bent forward rear delt flyes:
3x12 w/40s
supersetted w/
Ez bar curls:
2x6 w/100lb bar
Hammer strength shrug machine:
3x8 w/180lbs added on each side & 2 sec pause at top of each rep . . probably start shrugging with the trap bar going forward as I maxed out the machine, it only holds 4 plates on each side
Standing DB curls:
2x8 each arm w/40s
wife got me these new workout shirts and I felt like my shoulders and traps were popping so had to snap a pic
they are.
