Superset:
Single leg curl: 75x6, 75x6
Leg extension: 65x20, 65x20
Banded clam shell: 3x12
Front squat static hold: 2 x315 x15 seconds
Conditioning: 30ish min ruck around neighborhood
Notes:
near disaster today lol. Was trying to be explosive on my warmups. Had 225, really jumped up with the bar… bar came like 6 inches off my neck, landed way lower on my back than it was before, sort of French low bar position. Had to rack is ASAP, my shoulder was not playing around with that. Lucky the bar didn’t fall backwards. Note to self, save the CAT reps for working sets.
decided on a whim to do my top set beltless. Honestly, was surprised how easy it felt. Easily had 10 reps beltless, which isn’t too far off from my 11 reps of 320 with a belt. Happy with that, belts not a crutch.
rest of the workout wasn’t worth mentioning. It’s a deload week. I came in, I moved a bit, I left.
@T3hPwnisher I’m also glad it was a near miss haha. Shoulder felt a little funny, but nothing bad, and feels 100% back to normal today. Definitely would have been an embarrassing injury to hurt myself during a warmup!
@SkyzykS lol, well I definitely got the bar moving! Maybe just a bit too much
Wide grip lat pulldown: 8x8 with 125lbs, 30 sec rest periods
Conditioning: 20 min elliptical, HR 140 +/- 5
Recovery: 5 minutes stretching/ mobility work
Notes:
deload is over. Very glad for that. I feel like the gym is as much for my sanity as it is for my fitness, and I can definitely feel a difference if I’m not getting that physical outlet of pushing hard.
I always “feel” off coming back from a deload, but strength doesn’t drop. Bench didn’t “feel” right for a while, but the weights moved.
220x3 moved quick, definitely more still in the tank there.
the static hold is new. Never really done that before. I’m not sure how I feel about it. I unracked it, was holding it at lockout and just thinking “now what?” 5 seconds passed quick, and honestly I feel like I could do both heavier and longer times and still not really find that taxing. So part of my wonders if it really benefits.
on the other hand, when I dropped to 185, I unracked the damn bar so aggressively that I near through it, and my entire first set was a disaster because I was moving the bar so quickly that form was nonexistent. Had to consciously slow down and keep tight on the rest of the sets, but legit 175 has never felt so stupidly light in my hands. Also, 175x15 matches my max reps for 165 from two weeks ago, and this set probably moved cleaner. Good signs
pull-ups didn’t feel great. I don’t think I have gotten weaker, it’s just been 6 weeks since I’ve done regular pull-ups vice chins, and they felt awkward. Need to familiarize myself with the pattern again.
going off program with the poundstone curls. Program calls for 100 rep bicep ladder, but I’m not stealing a rack in a crowded gym to do bicep work. I feel poundstone curls fit the spirit.
8x8 lat pulldown was interesting. For the first 4 sets, I was worried I had gone too light on the weight, but set 8 I was having to pause between reps to get the set done. Insane back pump, the short rest intervals really sneak up on ya
Extra work: cable crunch: 35x15, 42.5x15, 50x15, 57.5x14
Notes:
@jdm135 i have a squat pattern similar to yours. Took me years to realize I need to stop trying to be upright and just get strong af in low bar using my hips. Well, I read everything in your post, and it totally fucked with my head today lol. Was over analyzing everything on my warmup sets, until I got 335 on my back, at which point my brain went “shut up nerd we gotta lift some heavy shit.”
dead squats are interesting. Kind of hate them, kind of love them. Absolutely a pain to set up, and getting into the bottom position is hands down the hardest part of the lift. Breaking the bar off the rack seems to be like ripping off glue, but the moment it starts moving, I easily have the rep. Prolly could have worked a little heavier, stronger at the movement than I guessed i would be.
never done sissy squats before. Thought they would be hard. Surprisingly good at them, feels almost like a bodyweight leg extension.
added some direct ab work on the end, I find I feel more “solid” on my squats when I do that consistently
Im glad you took an interest in my squat. And so many including you and @boilerman and @T3hPwnisher seem to have similar patterns, and be strong as hell, so I’ll accept that my pattern is not dysfunctional and just shut up, nerd, and train with it.
And you’ll see that, on my end, I’m using a completely different squat style these days, but I feel like that’s the takeaway: either do it 100% one way or 100% the other
@jdm135 dude, the struggle is real, and it took me a really long time to finally figure out I just will never be built like those Chinese oly lifters. The super upright definitely looks pretty, but it’s just not for all of us.
The advice everyone else has given you pretty much summed up everything I could have said, except for one thing. There’s one coach who I think coaches the squat in a way that feels great to me, and I think works best for people with our body type. Mark Rippetoe. Love him or hate him, his style squatting works well for me. Check out his vids with AOM for a decent primer of his style squat
today was just me trying to get in work. Moving this weekend, spent all afternoon yesterday moving my little library into the new apt, whole lotta books, whole lotta trips. Up late, early morning, 4 hours sleep. Woke up, loaded up another moving load, pouring down rain, then went to the gym still pretty soaking wet and tired. I hate moving lol. Should be done by Monday at least.
happy with press. Singles moved fast, 150x10 was solid. Also did this in normal tennis shoes, and I could definitely notice the difference in my stability.
I haven’t done a board press since I was doing geared lifting on my college team, and I don’t think I’ve ever done them raw. Felt good, happy with it. Think I had 220-225 for 6 in me if I was going RPE 10, more if I was doing these fresh. Interesting to me that I do these after the shoulder isolation stuff. Seems counterintuitive
program calls for smith machine Kaz presses, but I don’t have a smith machine, so JM press seemed like a close substitute. Also not entirely sure if I’m doing JM presses right, but I’m smoking the hell out of my triceps, so it works for me lol.
holy hell are push-ups demoralizing after tricep work lol. Body straight up would not move.
Thanks man. I was decently happy with it given the conditions I went into the gym with, and it’s also a bit of a game changer to be hitting that set after all the previous ones. Only 45 seconds rest between sets, so you’re not entirely fatigued, but you aren’t 100% fresh either. The programming for press is definitely unlike anything I’ve ever done before. It’s actually a pretty fun way to lift, and I’m intellectually curious to see how it will pay off. Still, I’ve hit 155x12 before, so this is still a bit off from a best set for me.
On a different note, the moving continues. My buddy who was going to help me move ended up being very late, and I had to haul a lot of stuff to habitat for humanity before they closed. I am legitimately more proud of my feats of strength during that than any PR I have hit in the last year. 2 coaches, a heavy wooden desk, and the grand finale, a freaking refrigerator. I genuinely did not think I would be able to lift and carry a fridge by myself, nor load it up onto the raised freaking pallet they had at the habitat for humanity placed. Never sleep on weighted carry’s lol
Also. Never moving myself again. It’s just miserable every time, I’m hiring some damn movers next time. I learn this lesson with every move, and then forget it. So maybe writing it down will help me out there lol
Straight arm lat pulldown: 50x15, 50x15, 50x15, 42x15
NG chins: 4, 4, 4, 4, 1, 2
Notes:
never done 1&1/4 squats before. Good movement to force me to not let my hips rise out of the bottom position. I also hate them lol. Which means they are probably good for me.
deads felt good, all reps were fast
no t bar row handle, so I just hand my hands clasped holding the bar. Seemed to work fine.
these straight arm lat pulldowns really do just light up my back.
ng chins with the short rest intervals after all the other work just continues to be humbling as hell.
skipped farmers walks because I have done enough damn weighted Carry’s this weekend lol. Also, time crunch.
program pretty drastically starts increasing weights this next week. Been a while since I’ve touched something heavy, been doing all the lighter acceleration work. Time to see how it pays off
happy with bench: 235 moved well, definitely had some more in the tank. Very happy with 185x14, felt strong.
back sore from yesterday, pull-ups still went decently well.
poundstone curls are evil. Also, grips definitely first thing to go. Almost like my arm stops wanting to fully pronate and I end up kind of holding the axle with my hand like a claw. Weird to explain.
last day of my moving odyssey. Which really just means cleaning the house so the new owners get it in good shape when they first arrive. Glad to be done with it!
was a little apprehensive about the squats. Had a very late night and early morning, combined with a nasty cold from a coworker. Not really “sick”, but definitely not firing on all cylinders
didn’t matter. 350x3 moved well, 100% reps in the tank
dead squats moved well too, with my squat style and the positioning, I almost good morning the first inch, then quads take over. Not really a good morning, but it’s definitely a lot of hips and core to break the tension off the bar.
sissy squats felt good. I think I prefer GHR for higher reps
I have no idea the actual name for this machine, but my high school football coach always called them bad girls. You know what it is.
3 board CGBP: 170x10, 190x8, 215x6 (All technically PRs, 215x6 the only real heavy set)
JM Press: 95x10, 105x10. 115x10, 125x10
Push-ups: 20, 13, 10
Conditioning: 30 min elliptical
Notes:
was upset at 155x9, knew I had hit 155x12 before. Went through my logs…. Evidently 155x12 was a figment of my imagination lol. 155x9 actually matches a PR for me, and given the set structure leading up to it, I’m actually feeling pretty happy with my Press. Definitely a bit of fatigue leading into the set.
drove to the gym from my new place today, and it took like 2 minutes. Kind of realized how ridiculously close I am, gotta be like a mile max. Think I’ll start walking to the gym, just get some extra time outside.
program called for 2 board CGBP…. The little block thing I bought only goes to 3. So we did 3. If this program fails completely, I’ll blame it on my lack of proper board pressing and my skipping of calf raises.
idk what the perfect JM press looks like, but I feel the lift has a bit of a spectrum between CGBP and skull crusher. I lean towards the CGBP side, because when I lean skullcrusher my elbow feels like it’s going to snap in half. Either way, my triceps are smoked.
push-ups at the end of this workout continue to wreck my ego lol
