Had to break workout into to parts due to time constraint. Still didn’t have enough time.
AM
Zercher squat 165 lb x 10, 10, 14
Overhead press 120 lb x 3 sets x 5 reps
PM
Close grip bench 185 lb x 8,8,8,6
Romanian deadlift 155 lb x 3 sets x 10 reps
Kettlebell curl two hands 50 lb x 10, 11, 10
Seriously considering switching to an upper/lower body 4 day split. Ok workout still. Barely got the overhead press and didn’t get all the reps I wanted on close grip bench. Will probably stay at this weight next time I do these. Tried having a more neutral spine rather than arching too much on rdl. Allowed me to get a little lower.
Edit to add notes.
Are you aiming at a certain number on the zercher squats? Also, do you think you’ll make them your primary squat movement permanently or are you planning on pushing the regular squat eventually?
No, I won’t make it my primary movement. Maybe a secondary if it has good carryover to the back squat. I am only doing it as my primary movement for now because it allows good leg and core work while not hurting my back any. I do really like the movement though. As for reps, I am doing amrap but I am aiming to match the number I did in my previous session.
Zercher squats 185 lb x 10, 10, 15
Overhead press 123 lb x 3, 110 lb x 6 sets x 4 reps
Romanian deadlift 160 lb x 10, 10, 11
Pullups BW + 10 lb x 3 sets x 5 reps , 4 , 4
Bb curls 55 lb x 8, 8, 7
Really happy with the zercher squats. Not so happy with the overhead press and pullups. Even dropping down to 110 lb on press for only 4 reps it was pretty tough today. Not sure why. Going to have to think about how to keep progressing the lift.
So, a few things are occurring that call for a change in programming:
Workouts are beginning to take too long.
Bench press and overhead press both stalled.
Because of this, I am going to switch to a four day split. I am still thinking about the order of these because I want to include two days of conditioning, but for now the plan is something like this:
Day 1: bench press 8 sets x 3 reps
Overhead press 6 sets x 3 reps
Lying tricep extensions 4 sets x 8 reps
Day 2: squat variation 3 sets of 10 for now. As weight gets heavier this will drop to sets of 8, 5, and then 3.
Romanian deadlift 3 sets x 10 reps. Later will change to snatch grip deadlift/ deadlift.
Rows 3 sets x 10 reps
BB curls 3 sets x 8 reps
Day 3: Same as day 1
Day 4: same as day 2 except sub pullups 5 sets of 6 for rows
I will run this for a while and see how I respond. If bench doesn’t progress I will probably switch to Texas method for those lifts.
Bench press 215 lb x 7 sets x 3 reps, 8 reps
Overhead press 115 lb x 5 sets x 3 reps , 5 rep
Skull crushers 65 lb x 8, 8,12
Did 215 lb for 8 reps on bench, which is higher than my last amrap even with the extra volume sso bench must be moving again. Skull crushers felt off doing them with a barbell. Balance was a factor. Good workout overall.
Edit
Note: since weight is relatively light, rest is around 1 min to 1 and a half min. Will increase when weight gets heavier.
Zercher squat 195 lb x 10 , 10, 14
Romanian deadlift 165 lb x 10, 10, 13
Rows 155 lb x 10, 10, 11
BB curls 55 lb x 3 sets x 8 reps
Everything is still moving up steadily except for curls. Not sure if that’s just normal since it’s an isolation movement instead of a compound movement. Hips have been aching lately, but until today they haven’t bothered me during squats. It feels like a stretching aching feeling. Not sure what it is. Planning to switch back to back squats on October 1st. Going to aim for 225 lb x 13 on zercher squats before then. Maybe will start deadlifts again. I’ll aim for 195 lb x 10 on Romanian deadlift and see where that gets me.
Bench press 220 lb x 7 sets x 3 reps, 9
Overhead press 120 lb x 6 sets x 3 reps
External rotator exercise 15 lb plate x 6, 8 , 8
Skull crushers 70 lb x 8, 8, 15
Bench is progressing very well. Really happy with that. Last big rep pr I remember from 4 years ago was 225 lb x 10, so I’m in pr territory. Really going to try for 225 x 10 on Monday to see if I can tie the pr.
Zercher squat 205 lb x 10, 10, 13
Romanian deadlift 175 lb x 10, 10, 13
Pullups BW +10 x 5 sets x 5 reps
Barbell curls 55 lb x 8, 8, 9
Zercher squats are slowing down a bit, so good thing I’ll be switching to back squats soon I guess. Good workout overall. Hips were not hurting this week or during squats, so that’s good. I’m really liking the four day split. Keeps workouts a reasonable length while still making good gains. I will probably stick with it for some time.
Superset
Bench press 225 lb x 7 sets x 3 reps, 9
Rows 165 lb x 8, 8, 8, 10; 135 lb x 15 slower
Overhead press 125 lb x 2, 2, 3, 2, 2, 2
External rotation 15 lb x 8, 7, 7
Superset
Skull crushers 75 lb x 10, 10, 15
Barbell curls 55 lb x 8, 8, 10
My wife wanted to try doing all upper body on one day, so we tried it out. Took about an hour. We will probably will keep it this way. That will give more room for higher volume on legs when it becomes necessary.
Didn’t tie my pr on bench, but I went up 5 lb for the same number of reps and they were cleaner too. Almost got the 10th rep though. Confident in the fact that bench is moving quickly. Rows seem to be moving too. I am going to slowly add more volume and decrease the reps while upping the intensity to work on rowing strength. Bb curls are finally moving. Good workout overall.
Went way too hard way too early on zercher and ended up going to failure on the 2nd and 3rd set. I think I would have had 12 in me if I did 8, 8, amrap but oh well. Same with back squats. I think I would have had a lot more if I hadn’t gone to failure on the two previous sets, but this was really just to see what weight I should start with on back squats. I think I am going to do just back squats Saturday at 235 lb. I’m ready to get back to them and I dont think one more day of zercher squats will improve my back squat that much. Still wondering how much carryover it has had if any to the back squats. I think I’ll do deadlifts Saturday too.
Rdls felt strong. Limiting Factor was sweaty hands. I should have thought to use my chalk but didn’t.
Workout was on a Wednesday instead of Tuesday due to construction on my roof.
Bench press
1 x 255 lb
7 sets x 3 reps x 235 lb
6 x 235 lb
Superset
Overhead press
6 sets x 3 reps x 125 lb
With
Pullups
5 sets x 5 reps x BW +15 lb
Then
External rotator cuff
11, 10, 10 x 15 lb
Superset
Skull crusher
8, 8, 13 x 85 lb
With
Barbell curl
8, 8, 12 x 55 lb
So bench didn’t go great today. Several reasons for this. First, the one minute rest really got to me by the 5th set. I increased the rest time after, but by then it was already too late. Secondly, the weight felt way heavier than 225 lb and I noticed I was lifting and lowering the weight much slower than necessary because of this. This wore me down and was something I corrected in the final set. Last but not least, a wasp landed on my hand on the 5th rep of the amrap set and my wife screamed “WASP!” . Because I am allergic to wasps and just had someone yell at me I jumped a little and lost tightness. I tried to regroup before the 6th rep but couldn’t get into a good position and barely got the rep. The joust of working put outside. Always next workout though. On the bright side, I did get all my reps on overhead press, so on to 130 lb on monday.
Definitely have to get into the groove of squatting again. Went light on the deadlifts and kept far from failure. Not sure how far exactly. I’m bad at estimating rpe.
Training notes:
Was contemplating doing 5 sets of squats today, but decided against it. Going to move forward with this on Tuesday though. Still thinking on how I should program the deadlift. Maybe just 2 or 3 sets and see how I recover.
Feeling the fatigue from high volume bench. Decided to cut it short and start rotating high intensity and high volume days Texas method style to get used to heavier weight and to give myself time to recover from high volume. I will also reset to 215 lb and change the rep range to 5x5 to change it up a bit and to get things more in line with my rows. I am thinking about doing this for about 4 weeks then switching to Ct’s 915 since I have a friendly challenge coming up in 13 weeks so the peak would line up with the challenge.
135 lb on press went up easy. Definitely interested in seeing how much is there now that I’ll be doing them before bench on bench volume days.
Interesting note: my biceps were sore as hell after sets of bench. Not so much during, just after.
Trying not to be disappointed with squats since I did add two sets, but it is still there. Deadlifts went well. Back cramped up a little once i sat down, so I’m just going to be very careful and try not to get close to failure and do something stupid.
Edit: felt the deep soreness in my bicep again today after deadlifts. Not sure what it is from.
Not putting too much weight in e1rm, just using it as a metric to quantify progress. I’m really happy with the progress overall. Especially with bench and ohp. Still hoping to see if improvements in zercher squats this last month will lead to greater improvements in back squats this month.