Monday, March 3
Military press: 65, 85, 105, 120, 142.5 x 4 (Didn’t have a 5th one in me).
Squat: 145, 185, 215, 245 x 4, 290 x 2 (These felt way harder than they should have…hardest workout I’ve done in a few weeks so maybe that’s why.
Lat pulldowns: 3 x 10
Face pulls: 2 x 10
Glute ham raises: 2 x 10
Wednesday, March 5
Bench press: 115, 145, 170, 205 x 2
Deadlift: 135, 185, 215 x 4
Squat: 135, 175, 205, 205
Its a but frustrating to lose some strength and time because of the neck strain - especially when I was setting new PRs every week and still had some left in the tank. However, I will not be deterred. Sprints today when I get off work. Will update later.
FrIday, March 7
Military press: 65, 85, 120, 147.5 x 3, 100 x 8 (boom…fairly easy
Squat: 145, 185, 215, 250, 295 x 2.
Pullups: 3 x 3
Decent day overall…skipped some assistance work because I was running late for my job. The squat was surprisingly hard today though. I grounded out the second rep and didnt go for a third because I didnt have a spotter. I’ve never even came close to missing s rep, and ive done 295 for 3 Decently hard reps, so ill just chalk it up as a bad day.
Sunday, March 9
Bench: 100, 125, 150, 170, 205 x 5 (Barely grinded out 5th rep…New PR)
Squat: 150, 185, 225, 250, 295 x 4 (Had to cut 1 rep short…4th took everything I had)
DB row: 5 x 12 w/30 pounds. Kept it light. Still easing back work because of my neck, which is almost completely pain free now.
Back extensions: 1 x 12 w/ bodyweight, 2 x 12 w/ 20 pounds
Face pulls: 3 x 12
I am officially back where I was before the neck strain. Hopefully I break new PR’s in the near future.
Tuesday, March 11
Military press: 75, 100, 120, 147.5 x 4 (New PR)
Sumo deadlift: 135, 185, 227.5 x 4 (New PR)
Squat: 135, 185, 215 x 5
Chinups: 4 x 3
Lateral raises/front raises: 2 sets of 10
My legs haven’t been this sore for a long time. Looking forward to my next workout…on my squat I will either do 300 x 3, or 315 x 1. I know that 315 x 1 is a deviation from the program, but I’ve already fucked with it anyway and 3 plates on each side is a personal milestone of mine.
Saturday, March 15
Bench press: 100, 125, 150, 170 x 3, 210 x 3, 150 x 8
Squat: 145, 185, 215, 250 x 3, 315 x 1 (Nailed it, actually a bit easy. I will just repeat last week’s squat totals for my upcoming workouts)
Dumbbell row: 5 x 10 w/30 pounds
Glute ham raises: 3 x 10
Cuban rotation: 3 x 10
Monday, March 17
Military press: 5 x 65, 85, 100, 120, 147.5 (New PR)
Squat: 5 x 145, 185, 215, 245, 295
Was pressed for time today so I will hit the rest of my stuff tomorrow. Pullups, glute-ham raises and some kind of upper body prehab and ab work. Will also do some sprints.
Wednesday, March 19
Bench: 115 x 5, 145 x 5, 170 x 5, 210 x 4
Deadlift: 4 x 135, 155, 195, 235 (new pr)
Squat: 5 x 135, 185, 225, 225
Dumbbell row: 10 x 30, 30, 35, 35
Friday, March 21
Military press: 65, 85, 100, 120, 152.5 x 3 (new pr), 105 x 8
Squat: 145, 185, 225, 250, 300 x 3 (new pr), 225 x 8
Pullups: 3 x 3
Chinups: 3 x 3
Weighted dips: 2 x 6 w/ 25 pounds
Skullcrushers: 3 x 8 w/ 50 pounds
Curls: 3 x 8 w /50 pounds
Monday, March 24
After making a quick weekend drive from Texas to Iowa (12 hours each way, through the night), I thought it would be a good idea to hit my heavy day. It wasn’t. I ended up fatigued and had the worst workout I’ve had in months. I will not even list the totals and just forget about this one.
Wednesday, March 26
Military press: 65 x 5, 85 x 5, 120 x 5, 152.5 x 4 (New pr)
Deadlift: 135 x 4, 155 x 4, 195 x 4, 245 x 4 (New pr)
Squat: 5 x 135, 185, 225, 225
Chinups: 2 x 4
Pullups: 2 x 4
Left the gym with a sore lower back. This seems to be a common trend with deadlifts. I don’t know what the deal is but I will spend the next few days working on flexibility and try to dial in my form. Pulling 245 x 4 didn’t feel too difficult though.
Monday, April 1
Haven’t updated in a while…took a few days off to let the lower back heal. Monday’s workout went great, but I pulled it even WORSE getting into a car at my valet job. Anyway, this is what I did.
Bench: 145 x 3, 175 x 3, 215 x 3 (new PR)
Squat: 185 x 3, 245 x 3, 305 x 2
Dumbbell rows: 2 x 10 w/35 lbs, 3 x 10 w/ 40 pounds
Saturday, April 5
Back is mostly healed, but I can still feel it. Decided to keep the workout quick and the volume low so I could make sure to not aggravate it. My next chance to workout will be on Tuesday, so I’m hoping it is fully healed by then.
Military press: 85 x 3, 125 x 3, 155 x 1 (Most I’ve done, but it sucks because I did 152.5 x 4 before I tweaked my back.)
Squat: 145 x 3, 185 x 3, 225 x 3 (I will be shooting for 305 x 3 on Tuesday)
Monday, April 7
Back was mostly healed so i hit a quick workout. I definitely felt weaker, but this was the workout:
Bench: 3 x 145, 175, 215
Squat: 5 x 145, 185, 225, 225
Tuesday, April 8
Since i missed a couple workouts after the back strain, i figured i would do an extra low volume day for shoulder press and squat.
Military press: 100 x 3, 125 x 3, 155 x 2
Squat: 135, 185, 225, 225
Thursday, April 10
Bench: 145 x 3, 175 x 3, 220 x 2 (missed no. 3,
new pr)
Squat: 145 x 5, 185 x 5, 225 x 5, 255 x 3, 305 x 3 (new pr)
Db row: 5 x 10
My lower right back acted up once again. It wasnt horrible pain, but certainly uncomfortable for thw rest of the night and part of the next day. I have decided that my current body is having oroblems handlinh my current strength/technique level. I wont be setting new prs on squat for a little while.
Sunday, April 13
Military press: 100 x 3, 125 x 3, 160 x 3 (new pr)
Squat: 145 x 5, 185 x 5, 235 x 3
Was pressed for time before work and didnt have time for the assistance work.
Thursday, April 17
My last workout of this program. I don’t feel like my achy, older than its supposed to be, stiff body is ready for new PR’s every week. I am pleased with the results I got though, and wish I could have seen my 5 month results if I didn’t have the nagging injuries that cost me a good 5 weeks of progress.
Bench press: 150 x 3, 180 x 3, 225 x 1 (Was going for at least 2…probably could have got 230 for 1)
Military press: 95 x 3, 120 x 3, 145 x 3
Squat: 155 x 3, 205 x 3, 245 x 3
DB rows: 3 x 10
Fresh off a 4-day vacation I am ready to start my routine. It will be an upper/lower split so I can fit in extra accessory work, but will still feature the same low volume, low rep approach on the main lifts. I will also start to incorporate olympic lifting techniques into my training.
After following Madcow for about 5 months I feel like I have a good idea of my weaknesses. The following points will list them:
I’m fat. This is my own fault, but it’s a problem. Standing at 5’8" and weighing 195 pounds I do not have anything that resembles an athletic look. I need to be at 180 pounds, or lower, to move and look the way I want.
My hamstrings are garbage. They are stiff and weak. My cure for this will be a heavy dose of GHR’s, light technique work on deadlift, a lot of stretching and sprints.
My lower back is also extremely tight and weak. I will attempt to fix this by doing a lot of back extensions, good mornings and stretching. Some changes to my daily posture could also help.
My upper back needs a lot of work. Yesterday it took me 9 sets to hit 30 pullups. This is unnacceptable. A lot of pullups, rows and face pulls should do the trick and prep my body for the heavy pressing I intend to progress on throughout the year.
My general fitness level might be my biggest problem of all. My squat (315 x 1), bench (225 x 1), and military press (160 x 3) aren’t great, but they could be worse. But my endurance, flexibility, agility and ability to recover between sets needs work. I will be resting much less between sets on this new program.