Jun. 8
mobility/warmup
bench
bar x 8
32kg x 8
50kg x 5
64kg x 3
72kg x 4 x 6 sets
squat
bar x 5
45kg x 8
65kg x 5
90kg x 3
106kg x 2 x 6 sets
bb curl
24kg x 10
28kg x 10
32kg x 11 (+1 rep)
32kg x 6
(80 mins)
Great stuff. Last week I was concerned I wouldn’t make it through the first portion of this program at 72 kg bench. However, moving putting bench first on this day easily did the trick. Six sets of four was reasonable.
I tweaked my setup a bit too. I had my feet a bit further out than normal, but I felt tighter on the bench this way. Good to remember.
I finally caved and stopped using the mirror while squatting. It felt a bit awkward to not check my depth and form, but according to the camera my form was better. I have a bad habit of looking down in the mirror at the bottom of my squats.
The session took a bit longer than expected, but I had to take two short breaks for non-training related stuff. And now that I’m fixed on 3 days a week I don’t mind taking a bit of extra time each day.
I’ve been taking 20 minute brisk walks every day mostly for recovery. It has been helping and it is keeping my lower body a bit more mobile. On non-training days I’m just not moving around enough.
Jun. 10
mobility/warmup
deadlift
65kg x 8
85kg x 5
105kg x 3
121kg x 4 x 6 sets
chin-up (alternated grips)
bw x 3 x 8 sets
bw x 1
(70 mins)
That was a lot of work, but I still had reps in me. Things were somewhat slower than last week though. But I’m not going to count rest time for this cycle. Just making sure to hit all the reps.
I wore my belt a bit higher than last week and one hole tighter. This was good. Also, training without the mirror is really the way to go. I’m glad I finally figured this out.
I’m gonna add one chin rep per week.
Jun. 24
mobility/warmup
bench
bar x 6
32kg x 8
50kg x 5
64kg x 3
72kg x 3 x 6 sets
squat
bar x 3
45kg x 8
65kg x 5
90kg x 3
106kg x 2 x 6 sets
bb curl
20kg x 10
24kg x 10
28kg x 10
32kg x 11, 7 (+1 rep)
(70 mins)
Been totally out of action for the past two weeks. I got sick and had a bunch of stuff going on. I’m well now though. It was good to get back to it yesterday. I’m pretty sore today, but I don’t feel like I lost much strength. I’m just starting the program over from the start.
Jun. 26
mobility/warmup
deadlift
65kg x 8
85kg x 5
105kg x 3
121kg x 3 x 6 sets
chin-up (4 grips)
bw x 26 reps (sets of 3)
(60 mins)
Solid. Chinning strength felt great.
Jun. 28
mobility/warmup
squat
bar x 5
45kg x 8
65kg x 5
90kg x 3
106kg x 3 x 6 sets
bench
bar x 5
32kg x 8
50kg x 5
64kg x 3
72kg x 2 x 6 sets
hanging knee raise
bw x 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
(75 mins)
Pretty good. I don’t think I was totally recovered from the deadlift day. I was feeling pretty sluggish on the first few work sets. By the end things were better though.
I’m not sure I’ll do the hanging knee raises again. Maybe back to the ab wheel on this day.
Jul. 1
mobility/warmup
bench
bar x 5
32kg x 8
50kg x 5
64kg x 3
72kg x 4 x 6 sets
squat
bar x 5 x 2 sets
45kg x 8
65kg x 5
90kg x 3
106kg x 2 x 6 sets
bb curl
bar x 10
24kg x 10
28kg x 10
32kg x 12 (+1 rep)
32kg x 6
(70 mins)
This was a bit more difficult than the last time I did 6 sets of 4 bench. Hopefully next week is a bit better.
Squat form felt great.
Jul. 4
mobilty/warmup
deadlift
65kg x 8
85kg x 5
105kg x 3
121kg x 4 x 6 sets
chin-up (4 grips)
bw x 27 reps (sets of 3)
(65 mins)
Deadlifts felt a bit heavier than last time, but I should be good to go next week. I didn’t get to bed till quite late last night. Chinning was good.
Jul. 7
mobility/warmup
squat
bar x 5
45kg x 8
65kg x 5
90kg x 3
106kg x 4 x 6 sets
bench
bar x 5
32kg x 8
50kg x 5
64kg x 3
72kg x 2 x 6 sets
(65 mins)
No energy for assistance.
Jul. 10
mobility/warmup
bench
bar x 6
32kg x 8
50kg x 5
64kg x 3
72kg x 5 x 6 sets
squat
bar x 5
45kg x 8
65kg x 5
90kg x 3
106kg x 2 x 6 sets
bb curl
bar x 10
24kg x 10
28kg x 10
32kg x 12, 8 (+2 reps second set)
(75 mins)
That was probably the most benching volume I’ve ever done. It took a good amount of rest to get through it.
My form was off and the bar was not straight throughout most of the sets. On the last set I really focused on keeping the bar parallel to the floor and things looked better. The set felt easier overall too when done properly. Go figure.
I might add a few more sets of warmup for the bench. The last few sessions have left my shoulders feeling a bit banged up.
Jul. 12
mobility/warmup
deadlift
65kg x 8
85kg x 5
105kg x 3
121kg x 5 x 6 sets
chin-up
bw x 3 x 2 sets
(50 mins)
That was hard work, but I’m feeling like I can make it through the 6x6. Then the volume scales back down. Phew.
I cut the chinning short today as I was pretty beat. I spent most of yesterday in bed or on the couch with a fever. Ugh.
Jul. 15
mobility/warmup
squat
bar x 5
45kg x 8
65kg x 5
90kg x 3
106kg x 5 x 6 sets
bench
bar x 5
32kg x 8
50kg x 5
64kg x 3
72kg x 2 x 6 sets
(75 mins)
That was a lot of work. I should be able to get the 6x6 next week though.
I watched the 3-part bench article at elite and this has helped me out some. Biggest thing is pulling my shoulder blades together and DOWN. I normally shrugged up. This helped my squat too.
Jul. 17
mobility/warmup
bench
bar x 7
32kg x 8
50kg x 5
64kg x 3
72kg x 6, 5, 5
70kg x 5, 4, 3
(45 mins)
Lousy. The goal was 6x6. Last week I could do 6 sets of 5. I couldn’t even equal that this time. Ouch. I dropped all the other work after this.
For some reason I only took 1 day off after the squat day rather than the normal 2. This might be the explanation. I guess I was not recovered.
I think the 6 sets of 2 benching on the squat day actually really wears me out. It’s a lot less than on the heavy bench days, but after squatting even two reps are a big effort. I guess I gotta make sure to get 2 days rest in next time.
Jul. 21
mobility/warmup
deadlift
65kg x 8
85kg x 5
105kg x 3
121kg x 6 x 6 sets
chin-up (4 grips)
bw x 3, 3, 3, 4
Jul. 23
db row
22.5kg x 10
30.5kg x 20
bb curl
20kg x 10
24kg x 10
28kg x 10
32kg x 13, 9
Did some other light lifts while showing a visiting friend how to do some of the main movements. He wants to start lifting…
Jul. 25
squat
bar x 5
45kg x 8
65kg x 5
90kg x 3
106kg x 6 x 6 sets
bench
bar x 5
36kg x 8
50kg x 5
64kg x 3
72kg x 2 x 6 sets
Aug. 1
bench
bar x 8, 5
36kg x 8
50kg x 5
64kg x 3
77kg x 5, 4, 4, 3, 2
squat
bar x 5
45kg x 8
65kg x 5
90kg x 3
106kg x 2 x 6 sets
Shoulda been 5 sets of 5, so I guess last bench day was not a fluke. I think I’ll scale back the poundages a bit so I can start hitting all the reps. Despite this, 77 x 5 is not far off my best.
Aug. 3
track work
100m on/ 100m off x 14
Aug. 7
deadlift
65kg x 8
85kg x 5
105kg x 3
129kg x 5 x 5 sets
chin-up (4 grips)
bw x 4, 4, 4, 3, 2
db row
22.5kg x 10
30.5kg x 10 (pause at top)
30.5kg x 13
(70 mins)
Aug. 11
squat
bar x 8
60kg x 3 x 2 sets
76kg x 3
84kg x 3
93kg x 3
101kg x 3
(add belt)
109kg x 3
117kg x 3
125kg x 2
105kg x 5
bb lunge
20kg x 8
28kg x 8
36kg x 8
(60 mins)
I had to change the program. I couldn’t recover from that volume to lift as often as I wanted to.
Now I’ll be ramping with triples to a top set of 3-5 reps followed by a back-off set. The goal will be to add a rep each week to either of these sets (preferably the top set). The goal will be to avoid ugly or griding reps.
Incidentally, this was my heaviest double ever. It didn’t feel too heavy either. I could have squeezed out another rep most likely.