Tuesday, June 14th, 2016
Dynamic Effort Upper Body:
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Big Step Med Ball Throws
20lbs ball - ~10 Throws, alternating the leg that steps forward
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Military Press
55lbs + a mini band on each side - 9x3, switching the grips
I did the measurements. This setup produced ~20lbs of tension at the bottom and ~35lbs at the top.
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Dip
BW - 2x25
BW + 50lbs added - 1x7, then immediately went into 1x7 negatives only
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DB Row
60lbs - 1x10 per side
130lbs - 1x8, 2x6 per side
110lbs - 1x10 per side
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Seated DB Laterals w/ added partner eccentrics
20lbs each - 4x8
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Incline DB Triceps Extensions superset with Seated Incline DB Curls
20lbs each - 3x10 for both exercises
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Band Triceps Pushdown
Red Band each arm - 2x25 for just some extra work
Figuring out the proper band setup on the military press was super refreshing!
Wednesday, June 15th, 2016
Max Effort Lower Body
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Weighted Frog Jump
60lbs dumbbell between legs - 3x6
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Banded Sumo Deadlift from a 2 inch deficit
135lbs + light band on each side - 1 rep
185lbs + light band on each side - 1 rep
235lbs + light band on each side - 1 rep
295lbs + light band on each side - 1 rep
315lbs + light band on each side - 1 rep (belted)
365lbs + light band on each side - 1 rep (belted)
405lbs + light band on each side - 2 sets of 1 rep (belted)
FINALLY! My dad and I made a deadlift platform that I can attach bands to! This setup was around 100lbs of band tension at the top (I measured). My lower body lifts have done nothing but go up since using the Conjugate System.
This is what the platform we built looks like:
http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m301/BCR_02/homegym/platform001.jpg
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Roman Chair - feet hooked at the highest setting
BW - 4x12
Here I was trying to emphasize leg curling myself up instead of just a hip/back extension.
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Roman Chair - feet hooked at the lowest setting
BW - 4x20
This stressed the low back a little more.
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Reverse Crunch
BW - 3x12
Awesome workout. I trained with Zach Wiggins, the 2nd strongest guy here at the Coop behind myself. He hasn’t been training as long but is VERY strong. He pulled 295lbs today with the bands. He always pushes me and I push back.
Saturday, June 18th, 2016
Dynamic Effort Lower Body:
Week 1 of the 3-Week Pendulum Wave
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Kneeling Jump
20lbs dumbbells in each hand + 10lbs ankle weights - 5x5
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Parallel Wide Stance Box Squat
155lbs + light band on each side: 12 sets of 2
I decided to finally add some real band tension to my speed squats. I don’t have a variety of bars, so it’s hard to really modify the 3 week pendulum wave.
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Banded Sumo Deadlifts from 2 inch deficit on platform
315lbs + 100lbs of tension at the top (light band over both sides of the bar) - 8 singles
So because my last max effort workout I pulled 405lbs plus 100lbs of tension at the top with this setup, I simply did the math from that setup. ~80% is what I use for deadlifts.
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Sled Walking - bent over, straight legs, pushing through heels
25lbs in tire - 3 trips of 6 houses worth
This FIRED UP my glutes.
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Reverse Hyper - laying backwards on the roman chair
10lbs ankle weights - 4x25
This wasn’t heavy by any means, so I just wanted to get some extra work in here.
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Side Bend w/ dumbbells
80lbs - 2x12 per side
I ran out of time, otherwise I would’ve done up to 4 or 5 sets on these.
Great session for me. After my speed squats and pulls, my inner hip muscles were on fire, so I didn’t do anything that’d stress them too too much (that’s why I went for a glute exercise and some core exercises after).
Monday, June 20th, 2016
Dynamic Effort Upper Body:
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Floor Press
105lbs - 9x3, changing grips @ 50% of 1RM
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Military Press
95lbs - 3x10: close, medium, and wide grip
On the 3rd set, I hurt my neck for some reason! Right at the nape of my neck. It’s definitely a spine thing, not a muscle thing. Regardless, this was a very good number for me. I remember about 3 years ago when I overhead pressed 85lbs for 5 sets of 5 and it was a very, very hard endeavor.
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Bodyweight Skullcrushers
BW - 4x10 on my patio
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WIDE Pull-ups
BW - 5x10
Regardless of the grip, 5 sets of 10 is pretty solid for me.
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Barbell Front Raise
45lbs - 5x10
This didn’t really feel like a super productive workout upon completion (like I needed to do more), but on paper, I really made some good progress.
Wednesday, June 22nd, 2016
Max Effort Lower Body
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Broad Jump
BW - 3x5
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Safety Bar Box Squat - WIDE, parallel box
155lbs - 3 reps
205lbs - 1 rep
245lbs - 1 rep
275lbs - 1 rep
305lbs - 1 rep: Belted
345lbs - 1 rep: Belted
385lbs - 1 rep: Belted
385lbs - 1 failure: Belted
So what happened here was on my first attempt at 385lbs, I successfully completed the lift, but I had a spotter. He said he didn’t push up on the bar while I was muscling it up at the bottom, but I wasn’t entirely convinced because I didn’t feel a bit of help at the bottom (I didn’t want any - he thought I was failing the rep). So I tried again but was honestly so worn from that first attempt that I got stuck on the box.
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Back Extension
Holding 45lbs plate - 5 sets of 12
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Standing Leg Curl - 1 at a time
45lbs per side - 2x12
25lbs per side - 2x12
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Wide Neutral Grip Lat Pulldown
140lbs - 4x12
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Rope Cable Crunch
60lbs - 2x12
60lbs - 2x12 ALTERNATING SIDES for obliques
This workout was at my local gym, Exygon. The reason for this was because my current home gym is pretty infested with cicada killer wasps. So I took advantage of all of the equipment there and got to use a real safety bar squat, lat pulldown, good back raise setup, etc. This was a definite new record on the squat for me too! I really need to test my full squat soon.
Thursday, June 17th, 2016
Max Effort Upper Body
1.Diamond Plyo Push-Ups
BW - 5 sets of 5
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Banded Close-Grip High Incline Press
45lbs + doubled mini band per side (with my particular setup) - 1 rep
95lbs + doubled mini band per side (with my particular setup) - 1 rep
105lbs + doubled mini band per side (with my particular setup) - 1 rep
The band tension was so much at the top that this was basically a 1RM. Frustrated at the sheer amount of band tension I put with this setup, I decided to switch to a low incline press.
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Banded Close Grip Low Incline Press
45lbs + doubled mini band per side (with my particular setup) - 1 rep
95lbs + doubled mini band per side (with my particular setup) - 1 rep
105lbs + doubled mini band per side (with my particular setup) - 1 rep
115lbs + doubled mini band per side (with my particular setup) - 1 rep
125lbs + doubled mini band per side (with my particular setup) - 1 rep
Now because the band tension with this setup (which I won’t describe for my sake) was basically the same, this was too much too. So, frustrated again, I decided to just take off the bands.
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Close-Grip Low Incline Press
135lbs - 1 rep: Because this was my first set without bands, the bar flew up!
160lbs - 1 rep
185lbs - 1 rep
195lbs - 1 rep: belted, butt lifted off a bit
200lbs - 1 rep: belted, butt lifted off a bit
5lbs PR! Although it’s always hard to tell with incline because I tend to always lift up a little out of the bottom.
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Ring Push-Ups - feet up on bench
BW - 1x40, 1x25
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Triceps Extensions
6 sets total - various implements
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Weighted Chins
25lbs + BW - 3x8
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Band Pull Apart
Monster Mini - 3 sets of 1 minute on, 30 seconds off
Despite the main lift frustration, I achieved a new record! I really need to get a better idea of what lifts work for me. I really want to figure out how to do a pin press with my setup. Also a seated overhead press. I know from experience that these lifts work very well for me. Among these I’m thinking:
Bench Press
Military Press
Floor Press
Decline Press
Board Press
Pin Press
Seated Overhead Press
These might be the best lifts for me to experiment with in my setup. I don’t really feel like heavy 1RM inclines are that great only because for me, it’s so easy to lift off the bench (and the lift itself for a single doesn’t “feel” that productive either). Push Presses tend to turn into push jerks.
Saturday, June 25th, 2016
Dynamic Effort Lower Body:
Week 2 of the 3-Week Pendulum Wave
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36" Box Jump from Box
BW + 10lbs ankle weights ~ 20 reps
I realized that I have to RELAX if I want to make these. The more tension I have while jumping, the more likely I am to miss.
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Parallel Wide Stance Box Squat
165lbs + light band on each side: 12 sets of 2
I feel this mostly in my groin honestly.
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Banded Conventional Deadlifts from 2 inch deficit on platform
315lbs + 100lbs of tension at the top (light band over both sides of the bar) - 8 singles
Same setup as last week, but this time it was conventional instead of sumo. Reps came up quick with a great hip extension.
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Yoke Walks
315lbs - 3 sets of 1 minute
This is a generally good feat for me. I used to do something like this more often in my workouts, but there’d always be a little bit of low back tension. There was not quite as much today! This was comforting because I’ve really been hammering my low back to strengthen it.
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Belt Squat Walking
2 plates (90lbs) - 2 sets of 4 minutes, 1 set of 2 minutes for a total of 10 minutes
GLUTES!
This wrapped up to be exactly an hour of work. I was toast after this. It’s HOT down here in Texas, and training outside can really take some energy out of you.
Dynamic Effort Upper Body:
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Low Incline Press - banded
65lbs + band setup - 9 sets of 3 w/ 60 seconds rest: 3 sets close, 3 medium, 3 wide
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Low Incline DB Press
60lbs each - 1x20, 1x14
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Lat Circuit: 3 total sets
Econo Straight Arm Lat Pulldown: 45lbs - 10 reps
Pull-Ups: BW - to failure
Econo Kneeling Pulldown: 45lbs - 12 reps
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Arms Superset: 3 total sets
Econo Tricep Pushdown: 25lbs - 15 reps
DB Semi-cheat Curl - 30lbs each - 10 reps
I was running low on time for this workout, but it was a great pump and productive nonetheless.
