Dec. 17
romanian deadlift
bar x 8
28kg x 3
36kg x 3
45kg x 3
54kg x 3
60kg x 3
68kg x 3
76kg x 3
85kg x 3
93kg x 3
deadlift
102kg x 3
110kg x 3
118kg x 3
126kg x 3
134kg x 3
144kg x 3 (+2 kg)
110kg x 7 (touch and go)
(45 mins)
Pretty good. This was more difficult than it should have been. I was pretty sluggish today. I was up really late last night. That always has an impact. The top set was not too bad though. I should be able to breeze through 4 and 5 reps. Maybe I’ll jump more than 2 kg next time. Maybe.
Dec. 18
bench
bar x 8
36kg x 3 x 2 sets
50kg x 3
55kg x 3
60kg x 3
65kg x 3
70kg x 3
74kg x 3
82kg x 5 (+1 rep)
65kg x 7 (close-grip)
db bench (flat, low, med incline)
21kg x 8, 8, 9
db fly
10kg x 10, 10, 11
push-up
bw x 8 x 3 sets
(45 mins)
That last rep was not easy.
Dec. 20
chin-up
bw x 3 (jump)
bw x 3
2.5kg x 3
5kg x 3
7.5kg x 3
10kg x 3
12.5kg x 3
bw x 6
inverted row (feet raised)
bw x 8 x 3 sets
db row
22.5kg x 10 (pause)
30.5kg x 10 (pause)
34.5kg x 17
22.5kg x 10 (pause)
strap face pull (w/ external rotation)
bw x 10 x 3 sets
(50 mins)
Pretty good. I just can’t manage to get another rep on the top set. Unfortunately I don’t have a way to make a steeper loading scheme for chins which I think would help me out. At the moment I’m not really concerned though as all my other primary lifts are increasing and I kind of think of this as my accessory day. Still I’d be nice to be able to hit 10 bw reps or a single with one plate at some point…
Dec. 23
front squat
bar x 8
28kg x 3
36kg x 3
45kg x 3
54kg x 3
60kg x 3
68kg x 3
76kg x 3
back squat
85kg x 3
93kg x 3
100kg x 3
108kg x 3
117kg x 3
128kg x 4 (+1 rep)
100kg x 6
(50 mins)
Good. Kept the shoulderblades down again. I also had to wear my belt a bit looser than normal. No trouble though. In fact, this x4 felt easier than last week. Probably better depth too.
Dec. 25
military press
bar x 8
28kg x 3 x 2 sets
36kg x 3
40kg x 3
45kg x 3
50kg x 3
55kg x 3
61kg x 5 (+1 rep)
50kg x 7 + 1 (push-press)
db upright row
14kg x 9 x 3 sets
bb curl (closer-grip)
bar x 8
24kg x 3
28kg x 3
32kg x 3
36kg x 3
40kg x 5 (+1 rep)
32kg x 8
db curl
14kg x 8 x 3 sets
(45 mins)
Solid day. I squeezed at the top of most of the bb curl reps. I’ll continue to do this. I’m still considering increasing the rep range on curls, but I’m hesitant to mess with anything as everything is going well.
Jan. 5
romanian deadlift
bar x 8
28kg x 3
36kg x 3
45kg x 3
54kg x 3
60kg x 3
68kg x 3
76kg x 3
85kg x 3
93kg x 3
deadlift
102kg x 3
110kg x 3
118kg x 3
126kg x 3
134kg x 3
144kg x 4 (+1 rep)
110kg x 7 (touch and go)
(45 mins)
I’ve been sick and missed a bunch of days. Pretty good day though. I was able to add a rep. I felt pretty good overall although my form on the top set was not as good as it has been. Hopefully next week will be better.
Jan. 7
bench
bar x 8
36kg x 3 x 2 sets
50kg x 3
55kg x 3
60kg x 3
65kg x 3
70kg x 3
74kg x 3
83kg x 3 (+1 kg)
65kg x 7 (close-grip)
db bench (flat, low, med incline)
21kg x 8, 9, 9
db fly
10kg x 10, 11, 11
push-up
bw x 8 x 3 sets
(55 mins)
Glad I only increased by 1kg. It was still not easy. I think I lost a bit during the time off. Whatever.
Jan. 9
chin-up
bw x 3 (jump)
bw x 3
2.5kg x 3
5kg x 3
7.5kg x 3
10kg x 3
12.5kg x 3
bw x 7
inverted row (feet raised)
bw x 8, 8, 9
db row
22.5kg x 10 (pause)
30.5kg x 10 (pause)
34.5kg x 18
(45 mins)
Pretty good. I cut a bit off the end to avoid overdoing it. I’m still not quite back to 100%. Chin reps felt great today though. I always have success with them after a break. I’m thinking of swapping chins and bb rows every other week on this day. No hurry to change though.
Jan. 11
front squat
bar x 8
28kg x 3
36kg x 3
45kg x 3
54kg x 3
60kg x 3
68kg x 3
76kg x 3
back squat
85kg x 3
93kg x 3
100kg x 3
108kg x 3
117kg x 3
100kg x 4
(45 mins)
Not great. I just couldn’t get the grove on back squats. I cut the top set and called it a day. There are a couple reasons today was not good. Hopefully I’ll be back to it next time.
Jan. 14
military press
bar x 8
28kg x 3 x 2 sets
36kg x 3
40kg x 3
45kg x 3
50kg x 3
55kg x 3
62kg x 3 (+1 kg)
50kg x 8
db upright row
14kg x 9, 9, 10
bb curl (closer-grip)
bar x 8
24kg x 3
28kg x 3
32kg x 3
36kg x 3
41kg x 3 (+1 kg)
32kg x 9
db curl
14kg x 8, 8, 9
(45 mins)
Good. No problem with progress. Now I need to get back to 4-5 times a week.
Jan. 17
romanian deadlift
bar x 8
28kg x 3
36kg x 3
45kg x 3
54kg x 3
60kg x 3
68kg x 3
76kg x 3
85kg x 3
93kg x 3
deadlift
102kg x 3
110kg x 3
118kg x 3
126kg x 3
134kg x 3
144kg x 5 (+1 rep)
110kg x 7 (touch and go)
(50 mins)
Last rep was a bit uglier than I wanted, but it’ll do. Still having trouble getting my work in though.
Jan. 18
bench
bar x 8
36kg x 3 x 2 sets
50kg x 3
55kg x 3
60kg x 3
65kg x 3
70kg x 3
74kg x 3
83kg x 4 (+1 rep)
65kg x 8 (close-grip)
db bench (flat, low, med incline)
21kg x 9 x 3 sets
db fly
10kg x 11 x 3 sets
(45 mins)
Better than last time and another rep. Better arch.
I cut out the push-ups today as I was feeling done. If I get the frequency back up maybe I’ll alternate them with the flys. Or if my recovery improves I’ll add them back.
Jan. 19
chin-up
bw x 3 (jump)
bw x 3
2.5kg x 3
5kg x 3
7.5kg x 3
10kg x 3
12.5kg x 4
bw x 5
inverted row (feet raised)
bw x 8, 9, 9
db row
22.5kg x 10 (pause)
30.5kg x 10 (pause)
34.5kg x 19
rope face-pull + external rotation
bw x 13, 11
(45 mins)
Good day. I finally managed four reps again on the top. Of course this killed the bw set.
A few notes for the future: I used gloves on the chin sets. This helped. The knurling on my pull-up bar is for elephants or something. It’s brutal.
The inverted rows are more like rack chins now, but that’s fine. I just want them for a bit more relatively easy volume between the chins and db rows.
I liked ending with an easy movement that I can rep out on. A plus if it’s a “prehab” movement. I’ll see if I can work this in on some other days.
I added a squat-to-stand movement to the warmup. Keeper.
Jan. 21
front squat
bar x 8
28kg x 3
36kg x 3
45kg x 3
54kg x 3
60kg x 3
68kg x 3
76kg x 3
back squat
85kg x 3
93kg x 3
100kg x 3
108kg x 3
117kg x 3
128kg x 5 (+1 rep)
(60 mins)
Decent. Got all 5 reps on the top set. I took my time as my hip was acting up. No serious pain, but I know it’s having an impact. I need to see a PT or something. I ditched the back-off set.
I did away with my mirror. I thought it’d be harder to deal with than it was. I was able to look up a bit and it really helped my back angle at the bottom. Although my depth left something to be desired. I defiantly have issues to work out on this lift.
Jan. 22
military press
bar x 8
28kg x 3 x 2 sets
36kg x 3
40kg x 3
45kg x 3
50kg x 3
55kg x 3
62kg x 4 (+1 rep)
50kg x 8
db upright row
14kg x 9, 10, 10
bb curl (closer-grip)
bar x 8
24kg x 3
28kg x 3
32kg x 3
36kg x 3
41kg x 4 (+1 rep)
32kg x 9
db curl
14kg x 8, 9, 9
(45 mins)
Solid. I went without the mirror again. Not too different, but I’ll continue to do without.
Jan. 29
romanian deadlift
bar x 8
45kg x 3, 3
54kg x 3
60kg x 3
68kg x 3
76kg x 3
85kg x 3
93kg x 3
deadlift
102kg x 3
110kg x 3
118kg x 3
126kg x 3
134kg x 3
146kg x 3 (+2 kg)
110kg x 8 (touch and go)
(45 mins)
Good. I’ve been out of town the past week.
I adjusted the rdl sets a bit, this kept things going quicker. All the dl sets were good. Not too difficult. I was having a bit of trouble with my setup when using the belt though. I like a narrow stance, but the belt seems to restrict this a bit. I just have to keep tinkering.
Jan. 31
bench
bar x 8
36kg x 3 x 2 sets
50kg x 3
55kg x 3
60kg x 3
65kg x 3
70kg x 3
74kg x 3
83kg x 5 (+1 rep)
65kg x 7 (close-grip)
db bench (flat, low, med incline)
21kg x 9, 9, 10
db fly
10kg x 11, 11, 12
(45 mins)
Good. That fifth rep was really difficult, but I was able to really dominate the later sets. Good sign. I’ll probably go for another 1kg increase.
Feb. 1
chin-up
bw x 3 (jump)
bw x 3
2.5kg x 3
5kg x 3
7.5kg x 3
10kg x 3
12.5kg x 3
bw x 6
inverted row (feet raised)
bw x 9 x 3 sets
db row
22.5kg x 10 (pause)
30.5kg x 10 (pause)
34.5kg x 20
rope face-pull + external rotation
bw x 14, 11
(45 mins)
Still can’t progress on the chins, but incrementing all of the assistance was pretty easy. I’ll call it a success.
Feb. 3
front squat
bar x 8
36kg x 3, 3
45kg x 3
54kg x 3
60kg x 3
68kg x 3
76kg x 3
back squat
85kg x 3
93kg x 3
100kg x 3
108kg x 3
117kg x 3
129kg x 3 (+1 kg)
100kg x 5
Swiss ball jackknifes
bw x 13, 9, 5
(55 mins)
Pretty good. Had some hip pain on the earlier sets, but once I put on my belt it vanished completely. This is a bit of a mystery, but I’ve decided to go back to some direct ab work. In the meantime I might wear the belt on all of the squat sets. The hip pain really throws off my form. I also think a bit of adductor/abductor work in the warmup would be a good idea too.
Feb. 5
military press
bar x 8
28kg x 3 x 2 sets
36kg x 3
40kg x 3
45kg x 3
50kg x 3
55kg x 3
62kg x 5 (+1 rep)
50kg x 8
db upright row
14kg x 10 x 3 sets
bb curl (closer-grip)
bar x 8
24kg x 3
28kg x 3
32kg x 3
36kg x 3
41kg x 5 (+1 rep)
32kg x 9
db curl
14kg x 9 x 3 sets
stability ball jackknife
bw x 20
(45 mins)
Not bad. I was a little shaky on my feet after the heavy OHP set and my recovery felt miserable, but I got through everything just fine.
I’m going to try and keep at least a bit of ab work at the end of most days.