Feb. 6
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 4 (+1 rep)
110kg x 8 (touch and go)
stability ball jackknife
bw x 21
Excellent. Breezed through everything. I taped the sets too and I was quite happy with my form. On the belted sets I just tried to do exactly my raw form and not concentrate on the belt. This seemed to work.
Feb. 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
76kg x 3 (+2 kg)
84kg x 3 (+1 kg)
65kg x 8 (close-grip)
db bench (flat, low, med incline)
21kg x 9, 10, 10
db fly
10kg x 11, 12, 12
stability ball jackknife
bw x 11, 7
hanging leg-raise
bw x 5 x 3 sets
Good. Playing around a bit with ab movements. The hanging leg raises are good, but my chin-up bar is not high enough to full hang my legs so these are a bit awkward. I’ll probably swap between these two movements for now.
Feb. 8
A1 hang snatch
40kg x 3 x 4 sets
A2 tuck jump
bw x 4 x 4 sets
A3 clap push-up
bw x 4 x 4 sets
A4 rope face pull + external rotation
bw x 4 x 4 sets
Felt amped to lift, but I didn’t want to go through a full squat workout today so I tried some neural charge stuff. This was fun. It’s also a good opportunity to do my warmup prehab stuff on a “rest” day.
I’ve found that I always lift better if I lifted the day before. Hopefully this will help bridge the gap to tomorrow.
Feb. 9
chin-up/pull-up
bw x 3 x 10 sets
db row
22.5kg x 10 (pause)
30.5kg x 10 (pause)
34.5kg x 21
rope face-pull + external rotation
bw x 14, 12
I modified this day to just focus on bw chins. I alternate sets between close grip chins and wide grip pull-ups. The plan will be to add a rep each week for as long as I can.
I did a few light hang snatch reps after the warmup. I might try to do these regularly before the rest of the lifting.
Unfortunately I have to miss the next two days. Otherwise it is going great.
Feb. 12
A1 hang snatch
40kg x 3 x 4 sets
A2 tuck jump
bw x 4 x 3 sets
A3 clap push-up
bw x 4 x 4 sets
A4 rope face pull + external rotation
bw x 4 x 4 sets
Wasn’t fit to squat today, but I’m glad I did something. I dropped the last round of jumps. They just don’t feel right.
Feb. 13
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 4 (+1 rep)
100kg x 6
Good. I added the belt when I reached one plate. I had much less hip pain this way. I’m going to stick with this for now. I feel like the plate slides and ab work are having a positive impact too, but this is hard to judge. At some point I need to get to the root of this problem.
Depth felt great on all sets but the heaviest where I wimped out or something. I didn’t have any trouble with the reps though. I’ll probably tape myself again next time.
I also need to consider drilling some more holes in my belt. I’ve been stuck just between two sets of holes for awhile now.
Feb. 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
63kg x 3 (+1 kg)
50kg x 9 (+1 rep)
db upright row
14kg x 10, 10, 11
bb curl (closer-grip)
bar x 6
24kg x 6
28kg x 6
32kg x 6
36kg x 6
40kg x 4
db curl
14kg x 9, 9, 10
Great day. The 63 was a little wobbly, but the 50 left no doubt. I could have probably hit another rep or two. I’ll increment the second set soon.
I changed the rep range on the curls. Aiming for more like 6-8 from now on. This cost me some strength and I dropped the back-off set, but I got a great pump still. I might swap to the EZ bar at some point.
Feb. 17
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
135kg x 3
146kg x 5 (+1 rep)
110kg x 8 (touch and go)
stability ball jackknife (more strict)
bw x 15
Great. Everything flew off the ground except for the top set. I didn’t have my belt in position I liked. I should have just stopped and reset. But I still got the reps without too much trouble. I’m planning another jump by 2kg. It is time to increment some of the ramp sets a bit too.
The ab set was a bit more strict than it has been in the past. I didn’t let the ball roll up my legs this time.
Feb. 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
76kg x 3
84kg x 4 (+1 rep)
65kg x 8 (close-grip)
db bench (flat, low, med incline)
21kg x 10 x 3 sets
db fly
10kg x 12 x 3 sets
I was feeling pretty fatigued, but I still hit everything.
Feb. 19
chin-up/pull-up
bw x 31 (10 sets)
db row
22.5kg x 10 (pause)
30.5kg x 10 (pause)
34.5kg x 22
rope face-pull + external rotation
bw x 14, 13
Zipped through everything. Felt great.
Feb. 21
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 5 (+1 rep)
100kg x 5
Pretty good. A bit slow through the later reps and everything felt a bit heaver than last time, but for the most part my form was good.
Feb. 23
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
63kg x 4 (+1 rep)
50kg x 9
db upright row
14kg x 10, 11, 11
bb curl (closer-grip)
bar x 6
24kg x 6
28kg x 6
32kg x 6
36kg x 6
40kg x 5 (+1 rep)
db curl
14kg x 9, 10, 10
Good. I could increment everything without much trouble.
Feb. 26
romanian deadlift
bar x 8
45kg x 3, 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
135kg x 3
148kg x 3 (+2 kg)
110kg x 9 (touch and go) (+1 rep)
stability ball jackknife (more strict)
bw x 8 x 2 sets
Good. I flew through the rdls and the first few dl sets. I skipped the set of 54kg on accident, but I’m going to keep it this way.
My form on the top set was not perfect (I think my belt was too high), but it didn’t feel particularly heavy, so I’m happy.
I contemplated resetting the reps on the back-off set as I liked to finish with a movement with as close to perfect form as possible. However, I really like the impact the set done this way has on my grip. Although honestly the setup is probably irrelevant.
Feb. 28
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
76kg x 3
84kg x 5 (+1 rep)
65kg x 8 (close-grip)
db bench (flat, low, med incline)
22kg x 8 x 3 sets
db fly
10kg x 12, 12, 13
Good. The reps were not so pretty, but the 5th was easier than the 4th last week. The db reps flew up. That was a bit of a surprise.
I’ve slowed down the reps considerably on the db flys. This felt better and it was harder.
Mar. 1
chin-up/pull-up
bw x 32 (10 sets)
db row
22.5kg x 10 (pause)
30.5kg x 10 (pause)
34.5kg x 23
rope face-pull + external rotation
bw x 14, 14
Felt slow throughout, but I added a rep to everything.
Mar. 3
front squat
bar x 8
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
109kg x 3 (+1 kg)
118kg x 3 (+1 kg)
130kg x 3 (+1 kg)
100kg x 4
Okay. Noting really felt good today. Couldn’t get in a groove and my hip was bothering me a bit. The form on the top set was pretty decent though.
Mar 6.
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
63kg x 4
50kg x 9
db upright row
14kg x 11 x 3 sets
bb curl (closer-grip)
bar x 6
24kg x 6
28kg x 6
32kg x 6
36kg x 6
40kg x 6 (+1 rep)
db curl
14kg x 10 x 3 sets
Good. Despite missing the 5th rep on the press, the set felt great. On the previous sets the weight just flew up. Even the 55. I should hit it next week.
Incremented everything else without too much trouble. Missed a few days with a ton of crap going on again, but at least I felt totally fresh today. I might try and hit the next 5 days if this week is not too hectic.
Mar. 7
romanian deadlift
bar x 8
45kg x 3, 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
135kg x 3
148kg x 4 (+1 rep)
110kg x 9 (touch and go)
stability ball jackknife (more strict)
bw x 8, 9
Pretty good. The first few dl sets flew up. Even the 135 was quick. Form on the top set was solid. My belted sets still need some work though. Although since I only use the belt on the heaviest sets it is hard to tell if it is the fault of the belt. Maybe I’ll tape next time.
I’ll be on 150kg soon. I think that’ll be the heaviest I’ve ever pulled. I feel like I might have a shot at 405 for a single by the end of the year. That’d be great.
Mar. 9
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
76kg x 3
85kg x 3 (+1 kg)
65kg x 9 (close-grip) (+1 rep)
db bench (flat, low, med incline)
22kg x 8, 8, 9
db fly
10kg x 12, 13, 13
Great. The last 85kg rep felt a bit slow, but not really heavy. Considering I just did 84x5 it should be easier, but for some reason it is always like this when dropping back down to 3 reps.
The db reps flew up again. I might be in for a bigger jump.
Mar. 11
power snatch from hang
bar x 3, 3
28kg x 3
36kg x 3
40kg x 2
chin-up/pull-up
bw x 33 (10 sets)
db row
22.5kg x 10 (pause)
30.5kg x 10 (pause)
34.5kg x 24
rope face-pull + external rotation
bw x 14, 15
Good. Chins felt much better than last time. I feel like I pull better if I grip the bar closer to my finger tips than my palm. I need to keep this in mind.
The past couple of weeks I start this day off with a few easy snatches. I decided to log them here although it’s not a lift I’m trying to progress on yet. I just like to have an explosive movement somewhere.