Big lifts man, awesome progress. You’ve come a long ass way in your lifts and your attitude 
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Thanks! I was happy with the Press. Didn’t think I could hit 9 reps but was able to barely squeeze it out.
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Press is weird. Sometimes you feel like the Hulk when you un-rack the bar and then you miss a weight you should easily hit, others, the bar feels like a million pounds at un-rack but you nail a PR.
I always Press by lifting the weight from the floor. Does it matter? I find it gives me more momentum to lift. I think it’d struggle more if lifting from a rack but maybe not.
Are you just lifting from the floor once and then pressing, or are you lifting every rep from the floor? If it’s the first one, you’re fine.
Yea, just to echo this, the progress you’re making just by being smart and staying the course is great.
How’s the body weight at the moment?
Just once.
I felt I was gaining a bit too much fat about 2-3 weeks ago, since I noticed a bit more stomach fat. I decided to just hold my calories at more a maintenance level since then, but I’m starting to eat more again. I weighed in the past two days at 144.2 lbs.
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Bench
70% 107.5 1 3
80% 125 1 3
90% 140 1 3+ (8 reps)
70% 107.5 5 5
Back squat
70% 105 1 3
80% 120 1 3
90% 135 1 3+ (18 reps)
70% 105 5 5
Assistance
Skull crushers: 50 lbs - 5x12
Pull-ups: 5x10 (could barely do these near the end)
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Back squat
75% 112.5 1 5
85% 127.5 1 3
95% 142.5 1 1+ (16 reps)
75% 112.5 5 5
Press
75% 95 1 5
85% 107.5 1 3
95% 120 1 1+ (6 reps)
75% 95 5 5
Assistance work:
Dips (body weight): 20,20,17,16,15
Plate high pull: 45 lbs - 2x25,1x20
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Deadlifts
75% 192.5 1 5
85% 217.5 1 3
95% 242.5 1 1+ (13 reps)
75% 192.5 5 5
Bench
75% 117.5 1 5
85% 132.5 1 3 (mistake - added more weight)
95% 147.5 1 1+ (5 reps)
75% 117.5 5 5
Assistance
DB rows: 40 lbs - 4x15
Preacher curls: ~37.5 lbs - 4x15
Superset assistance work.
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Press
75% 95 1 5
85% 107.5 1 3
95% 120 1 1+ (5 reps)
75% 95 5 5
Back squat
75% 112.5 1 5
85% 127.5 1 3
95% 142.5 1 1+ (16 reps)
75% 112.5 5 5
Assistance
Skull crushers: 50 lbs - 2x14,2x12,1x10
Pull-ups: 5x10
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Starting cycle 7
Back squat
65% 105 1 5
75% 120 1 5
85% 135 1 5+ (20 reps)
65% 105 5 5
Bench
65% 105 1 3
75% 120 1 5
85% 135 1 5+ (11 reps)
65% 105 5 5
Assistance work:
Dips (body weight): 20,20,15,15
Plate high pull: 45 lbs - 3x25
Cut dips short because I was struggling and needed to wrap up working but still happy with main lifts.
I’m probably going to take a deload for just next week since I’m heading to my friend’s cottage. Not sure if that’s a good idea to do in the middle of a cycle. Alternatively, I could 2 of the 3 workouts next week.
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Killer squat dude.
Either way you play next week will be good.
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Killer progress since you have started this log! How do the last couple months compare to the progress you made over the last couple years?
Much respect. This is hard.
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Awesome work my man.
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Kicking ass man. Keep it up.
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The best progress I’d made was back in 2016 when I tried 5/3/1 Hardgainers. I still have the notepad with the logs. From what I can tell, around the time I quit, which was around 6-7 cycles into that program I think, I pressed 123 lbs x4 (my best x5 was 115 lbs) and benched 140 lbs x 5. Near the end I’d stopped deadlifting and was still trying to learn how to squat…so I did the progam basically without squatting. I think the highest I got my deadlift was around 240 lbs x 11, before I started to stop doing them. I just ended up quitting, because the progress stopped and I also looked bad body composition wise. I was putting on fat and plateauing, so I just lost motivation.
So yeah, this time around feels a lot better, but I didn’t eat nearly as much protein and didn’t take stuff like creatine and fish oil regularly. My diet and stress back then were bad. So I think that contributed a lot to my lack of progress.
Deadlifts
65% 172.5 1 5
75% 200 1 5
85% 225 1 5+ (17 reps)
65% 172.5 5 5
Press
65% 85 1 5
75% 100 1 5
85% 112.5. 1 5+ (9 reps)
65% 85 5 5
Assistance
Kroc rows: 55lbs x20
Preacher curls: 40 lbs - 3x20
Had the day off so took my sweet time. Was aiming for 10 reps on press. I wonder if I’d squatted instead maybe would have hit 10, since deadlift takes a lot out of me.
I’d love to do Kroc rows but the heaviest dumbbell I have is 55 lbs. So I just tried doing 20-30 reps with it. But can’t progressively overload since I don’t have anything heavier. Seems like an exercise to do at a gym. I guess I can keep doing them until I work up to 30 with 55 lbs, since I could only do 20. Maybe I’ll invest in heavier weights down the road though.
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