Donpalmero's Training Log

Training Training Logs
81

Workout B (power day):

box squat (30cm/12in)
5x43 5x54 5x65 5x65kg (143 lbs)

OH press
5x28 5x33 5x39 5x45kg (99 lbs)

power clean - 3x3x63kg (139 lbs)

(circuit)
push ups - 8,8,5x7kg (15 lbs)
DB curl - 3x8x15kg (per DB) (33 lbs) (reverse/regular/hammer grip)
BB skullcrusher - 3x8x17kg (37 lbs)
band pull-apart - 3x8 (doubled blue)

Awesome. Basically hit everything hard. I’m loving box squats. They are getting pretty heavy, but my form feels great. Hit all the OH press reps. Maybe a bit of a back arch. I will do these with a ball against a wall if this becomes a real problem.

I could probably clean 70kg for 3, but I’m just gonna keep a slow climb here. Wanna keep my form as sharp as possible.

The final circuit was great. I went through 3 grips on the DBs (got this idea from Thib’s Monday article). I threw in the pull-aparts for a “rest” set. I hardly got the band apart on the last rep. Man, that was crushing.

82

Workout C (medium day):

squat
5x43
5x54
5x65
5x75
2x88 kg (194 lbs)
8x65

bench
5x29
5x37
5x44
5x51
2x59 kg (130 lbs)
8x44

deadlift (sumo)
5x59
5x71
5x82
3x96 kg (211 lbs)
8x71

(circuit)
band pull-apart - 3x8 (doubled blue)
elbow plank - 90,60,40 secs
chins - 5,4,2 @ bw

Meh. Could have been better. I didn’t expect to miss reps on the medium day. Pretty disappointing particularly for my bench. I’ll just try the same for those lifts next time. If I don’t see progress then I suspect I may need a deload. I’m planning to complete 8 weeks of this program.

DL was pretty good. The heavy triple was pretty tough, but I had great speed on the final back-off set. Since these DLs are from a few cm negative and the bottom is my sticking point, my actual DL is probably getting okay. I may get a new bar and proper plates soon. Will be nice to see where my DL is.

I nearly dropped the circuit today. I was feeling beat. I’m glad I kept it though. I haven’t done that many chins in awhile.

83

Workout A (heavy day):

squat
5x43
5x54
5x65
5x75
3x88kg (194 lbs)
8x65

bench
5x29
5x37
5x44
5x51
3x59kg (130 lbs)
8x44

deadlift
5x60
5x72
5x84
5x96kg (211 lbs)

(circuit)
band pull-apart - 3x8 (doubled blue)
ball hyper - 3x8x1.25kg (3 lbs)
decline sit-ups - 3x8x5kg (11 lbs)

Pretty good. Just repeated the medium day for squat and bench. Got through it this time. Had another rep in the tank on the squat. Maybe not for bench.

84

Workout B (power day):

box squat (30cm/12in)
5x44
5x55
5x66
5x66kg (145 lbs)

OH press
5x29
5x34
5x40
4x46kg (101 lbs)

power clean
3x50
3x64
3x64
2x64kg (141 lbs)

(circuit)
push ups - 3x8x7kg (15 lbs)
DB curl - 3x8x16kg (per DB) (35 lbs) (reverse/regular/hammer grip)
BB skullcrusher - 8,8,6x18.5kg (41 lbs)
band pull-apart - 3x8 (doubled blue)

Quite good. Missed a rep on press and clean. I’ll hold the press. I rushed the last set of cleans and didn’t rest enough. I’m sure I would have had it with another min of rest. I’ll probably advance to 65.

Advancing push ups. I hope these help my bench. It is pretty clear my triceps are one of my weak points. I may hold the curls. Got all the reps, but I could probably be a bit more strict (especially on the reverse grip).

It is becoming increasingly clear that I have an imbalance between my left and right sides. Particularly on upper-body pressing (although it impacts my squats too). My right is stronger than my left (despite that I’m a southpaw).

My next program (in 3 weeks or so) is going to include some unilateral work. I’m thinking DB benching and Bulgarian squatting in particular.

In other news, I found out there is a CrossFit gym not too far from where a live. I couldn’t believe it. I think I’m gonna swing by soon.

85

Workout C (medium day):

squat
5x44
5x55
5x66
5x77
5x88 kg (194 lbs)

bench
5x29
5x37
5x44
5x51
4x59 kg (130 lbs)
8x44

deadlift (sumo)
5x60
5x72
5x84
3x99 kg (218 lbs)
8x72

(circuit)
BB side bend 3x8x40kg (88 lbs)
chins - 3,3,3 @ bw

Pretty solid session. Hit all the squats. Got another rep on bench. It is slow progress, but it’s still going. Looks like I am going to make my 3 goals for this program.

I decided to try mixed grip on the DLs. Felt pretty good. To get used to it I did it on all the sets. This was a bit rough on my right hand, but next time I’ll probably only use that grip on the top set (if at all).

I was a bit slow so I rushed the circuit at the end and didn’t get many chins out of it. I probably won’t do the BB side bend again. It didn’t feel useful.

86

Workout A (heavy day):

squat
5x44
5x55
5x66
5x77
3x90kg (198 lbs)
8x66

bench
5x29
5x37
5x44
5x51
4x59kg (130 lbs)
8x47

deadlift (sumo)
5x62
5x74
5x86 (start mixed grip)
5x99kg (218 lbs)

(circuit)
band pull-apart - 2x8 (doubled blue)
ball hyper - 2x6x2.5kg (5 lbs)
decline sit-ups - 3x8x5kg (11 lbs)

Pretty good. No sweat on the squats. I should be able to hit 5 reps next time. Still gotta work on keeping my knees out. Depth is good though.

I had a bit of lower back tightness before the lifting and it was a problem on the bench. Bridging was uncomfortable. I should have hit my 5th rep. The first 4 reps were as solid as they’ve ever been. Argh. I upped the back-off set a bit to be sure of at least had a bit of progression.

Deadlifts were hard but my lower back didn’t bother me at all. I guess this is an indicator my form is correct. Nice head rush from the final set.

I should have thrown out the hypers and sit-ups today. If I have back pain tomorrow it will be from them. I think I’ll ice up tonight to be on the safe side.

87

Workout C:

squat
5x45
5x56
5x68
5x79
4x90kg (198 lbs)

bench
5x29
5x37
5x44
5x51
5x59kg (130 lbs)

deadlift (sumo)
5x62
5x74
5x86
3x101kg (222 lbs) (mixed grip)
8x74

(circuit)
saxon side bend - 3x6x3kg (per DB)
inverted row - 3x6xbw

Pretty good. I did another medium/heavy type today cause I’ve changed up my lifting days.

Missed a rep on squats. I can live with that. I decided not to add a back-off set as I did get one more rep than last time.

Finally hit all 5 for bench. That took too long. Was not too tough though. Hopefully I can make some progress here.

Tried out inverted rows and the side bends for something new. Now I understand why every illustration of people doing saxon side bends is will pretty small DBs. These are surprisingly difficult.

88

Workout A:

squat
5x45
5x56
5x68
5x79
1x90kg (lost concentration)
3x90kg (198 lbs) (try again)

bench
5x30
5x38
5x45
5x53
5x60kg (132 lbs)

deadlift (sumo)
5x63
5x76
5x89
5x101kg (223 lbs) (mix grip)

elbow plank - 3x60secs

Excellent session. Sorta blew it on the squat, but I should be able to hit all 5 soon. Got through 60kg bench on my first try. That got me pumped. This lift has been struggling for awhile. DLs were nasty. Ow.

I took the last week off. I was having some tightness in my back. Then I got a stomach flu. Suck. Whatever, today was great. I hit two of my 8-week goals.

89

Workout B (power day):

box squat (30cm/12in)
5x45
5x56
5x68
5x68kg (150 lbs)

OH press
5x29
5x34
5x40
5x46kg (101 lbs)
1x50kg (110 lbs)

power clean
3x50
3x64
3x64
3x64kg (141 lbs)

DB curl
8x16kg (35 lbs) (per DB) (reverse grip)
8x16 (regular grip)
6x16 (hammer grip)

Good stuff. Threw in a heavy press single for the hell of it. Probably could had a double.

90

Workout A:

squat
5x45
5x56
5x68
5x79
1x90kg (no hip drive)
5x90kg (198 lbs) (that’s it!)

bench
5x31
5x39
5x47
5x54
2x62kg (137 lbs)
2x62kg

chins - 5,4,3

reverse crunch - 3x10

Not bad. Hit 5x90 on squat after a bit of trouble. Got it though. This means I’ve hit all my goals for this program. I decided to change things up a bit. Started today. In general, each lifting day I’ll do a compound lower body, upper body and back lift. So Squat/DL – bench/OH press – chin/row/clean. I’ll follow it up with abs. Depending on time I might throw in a few other things.

91

deadlift (sumo, dbl overhand grip)
5x52
5x65
5x78
5x91 (mix grip)
1x104kg (229 lbs) (normal stance, mix grip)
1x104 (normal stance)
5x91

bench
5x31
5x38
5x46
5x54
4x62kg (137 lbs)

t-bar rows (from floor)
5x30
3x50
5x50
3x5x65kg (143 lbs)

sax side bend - 3x8x3kg (per db)

db fly - 3x8x10kg (per db)

db bench - 1x20x10kg (per db) (hammer grip)

Not bad. Dunno what the problem was on the DLs. I guess I got psyched out. I couldn’t move the bar on my first try. I did add another warmup set, but I don’t think that was it.

Everything else was fine. Progress on the bench. The rows were pretty good. Didn’t really know what weight to work with. I was doing pretty good on time so I threw in some bench assistance work.

I’ll swap DLs and squats so that I’m squatting twice a week and DLing once.

92

squat
5x46
5x57
5x69
5x80
5x92kg (203 lbs)

OH press
5x23
5x29
5x35
5x41
5x47kg (104 lbs)

hang clean
5x30
3x5x50kg (110 lbs)

ab roller - 3x8

seated (45 deg) db curl
4x15kg
6x12.5kg
10x12.5kg

Solid session. Squat is progressing well. On the top set I squatted down slower than I was previously. Made sure to keep tight. Before I think I was just dropping into the hole and this was sometimes causing me to miss reps.

Press felt good. So did the hang cleans. Not sure about the ab roller. Didn’t feel much. I might be better off with elbow planks.

93

squat
5x47
5x58
5x70
5x82
4x94kg (207 lbs)

bench
5x31
5x38
5x46
5x54
2x62kg (137 lbs)
1x62kg
8x46

chins - 7,4,3

reverse crunch - 3x10 (superset)
DB triceps extension - 3x8x15kg (superset)

Not bad. I think I had a 5th rep in me on the squat, but didn’t want to go to failure. Went in the wrong direction on bench. I can live with that though. This lift is a constant struggle.

PR on chins. I don’t think I’ve ever done 7 straight before. I think I’ll start adding some weight once I can hit 10 straight.

94

Yesterday’s stuff:

deadlift (sumo, dbl overhand grip)
5x52
5x65
5x78
5x91
5x104kg (229 lbs)

bench
5x31
5x38
5x46
5x54
3x62kg (137 lbs)
1x62

t-bar rows (from floor)
5x30
5x50
3x5x66kg (146 lbs)

sax side bend - 3x8x3kg (per db)

Still slow progress on bench, but no trouble on the DLs. Didn’t have time for any extra assistance work, but next time I’ll probably superset the ab work with DB pressing or the like.

95

squat
5x20
5x30
5x47
5x58
5x70
5x82
3x94kg (207 lbs)
8x70

OH press
5x24
5x30
5x36
5x42
5x48kg (106 lbs)

hang clean
5x30
3x5x51kg (112 lbs)

elbow plank - 3x65 secs (60 secs rest)

db fly - 3x10x11kg

db bench - 20x11kg

I’m a bit hitched at this weight on squats, but I should be able to get through soon. The first two sets I normally don’t list, but I wanted to be a bit more comprehensive.

OH press is progressing pretty well. I think that’s a 5 rep PR. Hitting 50kg will be a nice barrier.

I did a few hang snatch reps with 30kg as an experiment. These were great. I might put these in place of the hang cleans at some point.

I’m going to try and work up to 3x90 secs on planks with a one min rest.

My left shoulder is still aching a bit. I went through this before on my right side. Squats seem to be causing this. I probably just need to take a week off soon. That’s fine.

96

squat
2x5x20
5x47
5x58
5x70
5x82
5x94kg (207 lbs)

bench
5x31
5x38
5x46
5x54
5x62kg (137 lbs)

chins - 8,5,4

reverse crunch - 3x10x2.5kg (on ankle) (superset)
BB floor pullover/press - 3x12x20kg (superset)

Great stuff. PRs on all 3 lifts. Squats weren’t too difficult, although I gotta focus on getting under the bar evenly. I think I was not totally symmetric this time.

I took a slightly wider grip on the bench. I’m going to stick with it. Felt solid.

Making good progress on chins. I probably could have done 3x5 if I didn’t go to failure on the first set. I’ll keep pushing for 10 first though.

I tried the pullover/press from Thib’s article this week. It felt good. I’m going to keep it pretty light for awhile though.

97

hey hey, what sort of program are you currently doing? To me it looks like sort of a Westside with varying days.

98

[quote]TheDudeAbides wrote:
hey hey, what sort of program are you currently doing? To me it looks like sort of a Westside with varying days. [/quote]

Hiya, Dude. Thanks for asking. It’s just a little something I threw together that I think suits me. I started off with Madcow’s 5x5 and ended up with this.

I’m lifting 3 times a week and each day is a 4-part full body: lower, upper, back and core. So, weekly I’ve got 3 workouts.

A: squat 5x5, bench 5x5, chins 3xFail, abs
B: deadlift 5x5, bench 5x5, row 3x5, abs
C: squat 5x5, press 5x5, hang clean 3x5, abs

I do the 5x5 ramping. The first set is 50% of the load of the top set. This works well for me. 5x5 across sets just take me too damn long to finish (I need to work on my recovery).

Basically I just add a few kgs once I clear the top set for the big lifts. If I fail to do more reps than last time, I either try another top set or add a back-off set of around 8 reps at a lower weight.

The back work is mixed between 3 lifts (chins/clean/row) and done 3x5 across. I find it unnecessary to hit my back super heavy after squatting or DLing.

I’m still enough of a noob not to really need ‘light’ days (at least that’s been my experience thus far). So, I just have a no-squat but DL day instead.

I also decided not to split the week evenly between bench and mil press (a la Rippetoe) as my bench numbers are lagging by comparison to my press (at least it feels that way).

Ab work gets stale pretty quickly so I’m just kinda trying out a bunch of different things there. Sometimes I throw in some random assistance work at the end with the abs. No real philosophy there. Just wanna keep it interesting and hit anything I feel like I’m missing.

99

well you’ve done a real good job designing your own program. When you get a chance, look up Wendler 5/3/1 on here and then on elitefts.com

100

[quote]TheDudeAbides wrote:
well you’ve done a real good job designing your own program. When you get a chance, look up Wendler 5/3/1 on here and then on elitefts.com

[/quote]

Thanks, man! I’ll be looking to try a new program in a few more weeks, I’ll defiantly check out Wendler 5/3/1.