I’ve always wondered why companies like Coke and Pepsi make dozens of niche flavors of soda, but never just sell a non/less carbonated version of their main one. Surely there must be some amount of demand for it.
TPWiaB W11D5: Chin
Chins: 4x3@65, 1x9@25 (PR?)
Pendlay Rows: 5x8@175
Cable Curls: 5x10@100
70 for triples is a PR on chins, so I’m right on the verge of getting past it. Pretty sure my backoff set was a PR, but honestly I don’t want to look back through months worth of chins to verify that. These all went up easy today, and the bar’s a non-issue with chalk. This is my first time ever doing Pendlay rows, so I started light. Should be able to throw more weight on pretty quickly.
11 Likes
TPWiaB W11D6: Squat
Zeno Squat: 330x6/3/2/1, 280x6
Ham Curls: 150x12/12/12/12
Leg Extensions: 210x12/12/12/12
Coming down with some sort of cold, and this all felt fucking awful. Got it done though. Up next, Deload week.
11 Likes
TPWiaB W11D7: Bike
50 Cal Warm-Up
100 Cal in 7:50
100 Cal in 7:44
50 Cal Cool-Down
Toes-To-Bar: 9/8/8/7
Reminder that I’m biking a ~6 mile round trip for each of these sessions. So I’m biking to a gym to use an air bike. Yay. Slower moving calorie-counter on this one compared to the bike at Bama, so these rounds are longer. Still feel sick-ish, but not enough to really get in the way of much.
7 Likes
Forgot to mention it, but there’s a trap bar here (something that’s not available at the Bama gym,) and at some point during this Deload I wanna give a shot at pulling like 550+ with the high handles. And then immediately going back to never using it lol.
5 Likes
Nah, use it for shrugs too bro.
@tlgains I might end up giving that a try. I legit haven’t touched one since I was in like 10th grade lol.
TPWiaB W12D1: Deload Bench
Bench: Work to 240x1 (PR)
DE Press: 5x2@95
WG Pull-Ups: 5x3@20
Larsen pressed up to 205 and knew that I had a PR in the bag. My bench is improving pretty steadily now, which is nice to see.
10 Likes
well done
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YEAR IN REVIEW
05/17/2022:
- Bodyweight: ~170 Lbs @ 5’9”
- Squat: 315x1
- Bench: 190x1
- Deadlift: 405x1
- Press: 165x1
- Chin: +80x1
05/17/2023:
- Bodyweight: ~192 @ 5’9” +22
- Squat: 375x1 (330x6, 300x10) +60
- Bench: 240x1 +50
- Deadlift: 495x1 +90
- Press: 195x1 (135x12, 215x1 PP) +30
- Chin: +95x1 +15, At Higher Bodyweight
Today marks the 1-year anniversary of me starting this log - and semi-coincidentally, lines up pretty well with the end of the last academic year, too. By pretty much any standard, it’s been a great year. I’ve gotten much stronger, received an essentially perfect slate of grades, gotten myself into a few leadership positions for school organizations, and got a job through the school, with a promotion lined up for next semester.
Specifically on the training front, it’s crazy to think about how much has happened over the past year. I spent the majority of it running 5/3/1 - BBBB twice, BTM once, and 5x5 FSL for a few cycles. The past three-ish months have been self-programmed, which basically just amounts to taking a different approach that has worked for me for each of the main lifts I’m pushing, and running with it. BTM was probably the hardest program I’ve ever ran, and really worked as a great introduction to actually working hard under the bar. I was used to hard training in a general sense from my years wrestling, but that was the program that got me to start applying the same sort of intensity to my lifting, and that’s carried me to where I am now. Nothing highlights this so much as a recurring conversation that I’ve had with four or five people at the YMCA I go to on my breaks from college, which looks something like:
“I see you here a fair bit, do you live around here?”
“I’m in college now, I went to high school name a year ago. I wrestled there.”
“Oh, that figures. All you wrestlers train like fucking lunatics.”
It’s almost enough to tempt me into starting BJJ.
I’ve spent the entire past year focused on gaining weight, and I think that the constant flow of food is one of the main reasons I’ve been able to consistently push my strength up. I’m almost 50 pounds heavier than my weight class from my senior year of high school wrestling (~15 months ago,) and over 80 heavier than I was when I started the sport. For now, being really lean is sort of a “been there, done that” feeling. Getting big and strong is novel, fun, and has made me more assertive and confident in the process. I preach this to basically anyone who asks me for advice (which I always find bizarre, since I’m my eyes I’m still very much a beginner) and have gotten two or three people to legitimately buy into
It over the past year.
This website, these forums, and most importantly the people on them (I can’t tag everyone, but y’all know who you are) have been invaluable. In general, I hate online/social media fitness spaces. People obsess over minutia, treat being right like a competition to be won as opposed to helping one another, bash strangers for no reason, and speak from behind anonymous profiles that make it impossible to assess their credibility. For the most part, none of these are issues here. The overall culture is one of mutual support. I think back to a few months into my log, when I was experiencing some pretty rough family issues, and had like five or six people jump out of the woodwork to offer everything from condolences to help with housing, training materials, and food if shit hit the fan. That’s what going above and beyond looks like. I can say confidently that it would not have been nearly as productive a year for me without you all.
So what’s next?
I’m currently trying to figure out some part-time summer employment, which will be balanced with an LSAT course that will hopefully wrap up that part of law school apps a year in advance.
But for the most part, it’ll be more of the same, which is great. Still going to be chasing down a four plate squat, two plate press, triple digits on my weighted chin, whatever poundage I can get on my deadlift, and a less embarrassing bench. Still going to be interstate biking for the sake of my recurring side character. Still going to be arguing over FaceTime about what defines chili with my still-in-Alabama partner. Still going to be eating my way across the elusive 200-pound barrier, but now with less biscuits and gravy (tragically).
Not really sure how to wrap this up, other than to say that from where I’m standing as things are, I don’t have a single substantial regret from the past year, and that’s a great feeling.
13 Likes
Amazing progress!!!
Also, congrats on the grades. You seem to be locked on in all aspects. It’s awesome to read.
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Definitely going to fall, especially if you grow up and start ordering cheesy gordita crunches like a man who really wants to bulk 
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Thanks guys! I’ve legit only ever had the tacos and nachos from Taco Bell, so I guess I know what I’ll be trying next time I’m biking lol
W12D2: “Deload” Lower
Trap Bar Pull: Work to 545x1 (320-Pound PR)
Last time I touched one of these was in 10th grade, and I pulled 225 at like 110. I think I’ve gotten a little stronger since then.
Hair PR
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W12D3: Bike
~1:15:00
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That is some great progress over 12 months and a sure sign of you hard work and discipline. Well
Done done young man.
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I’m surprised you don’t use any leg drive.
I wonder what you could put up with some leg drive.
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I do too lol. I’ve never really figured out how to do it well, which is probably why my bench lags so far behind everything else.
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No shame in having a strong asf larsen press though 
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TPWiaB W12D3: Press
Press: Work to 200x1 (PR)
Dips: 3x10
Forgot the safeties were up and dropped the bar onto them like a moron. That notwithstanding, this was a good, solid max. The TM rep at 185 felt really solid and I knew I had this one in the bag. I feel I’ve gotten really good at the layback on these, and all the low-rep sets with heavy weight make handling PR’s and keeping a good bar path much more doable
10 Likes
congrats.
what’s your body weight?
1 Like