01/24/09:
OH Press: 111lbs (3x7) [~8min breaks] - form matters a lot
Squat: 261lbs (3x5) [7-8 min breaks] - driving my elbows downwards into my lats seems to help a lot
Decline Abs: 90lbs (12+2)
DB Curls/Cable Tricep Extensions Superset: 15lbs/50,45lbs x many reps
I’m feeling shit in my left ilium again. It suddenly popped up out of nowhere today.
I was going to deadlift tomorrow, but now I am worried. I will warm up and see how that goes. If I feel weirdness, I’m just going to ditch them. Either way, I’m going to be doing massage tonight. I also am going to schedule an appointment with my chiropractor for tomorrow (left and right iliums + tailbone).
01/27/09:
Deadlift: 206lbs (“12” or 10+2)
DB Chest Press: 60lbs (10/9/10)
BB Rows: 136lbs (2x5)
01/29/09:
Bodyweight: Heavier! I found I had gained +1.5lbs of bodyweight when I stepped on the scale today.
OH Press: 113.5lbs (3x6) [6,7-min breaks maybe?]- very tough last set, form wasn’t great on the first set but became much better on the last 2
Squat: 266lbs (3x5) [extremely long breaks between sets] - technique was solid I feel, getting the bar lower on my shoulders and driving my elbows down really is helping stability
Pullups: BW (3x6) - tough last set
Bicep Curls: 17.5lbs x many reps
Close-Grip BP: 96lbs (2xfailure) - some extra tricep work, I think I’m going to use these from now on
PR on squats!
01/31/09:
Deadlift: 211lbs (10) - pretty legit, could have been better with chalk
DB Chest Press: 65lbs (3x8) [5+ min breaks] - left elbow was sore afterwards…
BB Rows: 136lbs (3x6) - long breaks, tough
Decline Abs: +90lbs (16+2)
DB Curls: 15lbs & 20lbs x many reps
Tailbone feels better. No stiffness at all during deadlifts actually, but it’s not 100%. Also, the right side of my right knee felt funny today. I need to massage that.
02/01/10:
OH Press: 116lbs (2x5)
Squat: 271lbs (4/3)
CGBP: 95lbs (1x15)
Bicep Curls: 17.5lbs x some reps
02/03/10:
OH Press: 116lbs (2x5) [5-min break]- 2nd set much easier than 1st, due to form
Squat: 256lbs (5/5/4); 246lbs (5) [5,6,7-min breaks] - last set with 246lbs was easy
DB Chest Press: 60lbs (10) - should have used 65lbs
Pulling my shoulder blades and traps together helps my OH Press a lot. I need to remember: keep everything extremely tight and stable from the moment I grip the bar.
I should have used a lighter weight on squats. I’ll try 251lbs next time. If it’s too light, I can always go for 5 sets.
02/05/10:
Bodyeight: heavier
OH Press: 117.25lbs (2x5) [3:30 break] - feels lighter
Deadlift: 216lbs (1x10) - had to re-chalk after the 6th rep; these were heavy and tough
CGBP: 96lbs (1x17) - had more in the tank, possibly 19
Pullups: BW (3x6) - left shoulder was aching after these, so I did some rehab after pullups, not sure if it helped though
02/06/10:
Squat: 251lbs (5x5) [5,5.5,6.5,7-min breaks] - first 3 sets were tough, last 2 were easy due to form
DB Curls: 20,15,10,5 lbs x many reps
Sitting back doesn’t work for me, I just need to accept that lol. I squat more with an erect chest and knees more forward. I have a weak back, and I need to get my deadlift stronger. The last 2 sets today felt incredibly easy compared to how tough the first 3 were.
I narrowed my grip today and as a result my left elbow began to ache afterwards. Massage perhaps.
02/08/10:
OH Press: 118.5lbs (5/4) [pretty long break] - barely got that 4th one up
Deadlift: 221lbs (6+“4”) - re-chalked after the 6th rep; felt a little strain on the 10th rep but I appear to be fine
DB Chest Press: 65lbs (1x10) - definitely till failure
T-Bar Rows: 50lbs (3x10) - these feel great and really hit my back well
Decline Abs: +95lbs (10+5+2)
I didn’t expect to fail my OH Press today. I didn’t sleep much last night, that could be it? Try again in 2 days.
Why do I suck so much at deadlifts? 
02/11/10:
OH Press: 118.5lbs (2x5) [3:45] - second set was tough, had to fight for the last rep
Squat: 256lbs (3x5) [5/6mins] - tough; dreadful form on that last rep (extreme back rounding), I was supposed to do 4x5 with this…
CGBP: 96lbs (1x20) - tough! on to 100lbs next time
I slept poorly this entire week and got sick, that might have something to do with the decrease in squat strength. I kept my eating up though.
02/13/10:
OH Press: 119.75lbs (2x5) - just barely got that last one up, weightlifting shoes threw me off balance and I stepped forward actually before locking out
Squat: 261lbs (5/5/4) [6,7 mins] - I felt I could have gotten that last one up… but didn’t, lol; moved my feet in narrower, feels a little more comfortable perhaps
DB Chest Press: 70lbs (1x7) - all of these were hard, stabilization issues
Pullups: BW (3x6)
Curls: some weights x some reps
I’m going to try squatting 2 times/week, Fridays and Tuesdays, for 3x5. I can deadlift on Sundays and Wednesdays.
My quads are tight (left quad very tight). I need to massage.
02/14/10:
Deadlift: 225lbs (1x5) - forgot chalk, grip started slipping on the 2nd rep; I could have done more than 5 with chalk I think
T-Bar Rows: 55lbs (2x10); 45lbs (1x14) - 10lb plate got removed without my noticing until the middle of the set, so I just repped it out
Decline Abs: 95lbs (15+2)
DB Curls: some weights x some reps
My grip is definitely affecting my deads, I’m going to try straps next time, if I can find them.
02/19/10:
OH Press: 121lbs (2x5) [5-min break] - hard, form was sloppy, used a lot of stretch reflex
Squat: 241lbs (5x5) - easy, powered through these; took longer than I should have due to talking to people
CGBP: 101lbs (1x20) - move onto 106lbs then lol
Pullups: BW (3x7) - long breaks but still got hard as the sets progressed
DB Curls: 20lbs (1xfailure)
Texas method for squats, DE box squats on Sundays, Maxout on Tuesdays. I’m looking forward to this new phase of programming.
Deadlifts once/week (Tuesdays), I’m going to add in power cleans as well (Sundays).
02/21/10:
Bodyweight: ~162lbs waking up
Squat: 191lbs (2x5) - left quad was very tight
OH Press: 122.25lbs (4/3) - tight quad affected my form, dunno if that made a difference in reps though
Deadlift: 236lbs (1x5) - not bad, back rounding on last rep though, grip slipped on that last one as well, even with chalk
DB Chest Press: 70lbs (1x7) - no improvement
T-Bar Rows: 55lbs (3x10) - last set was pretty tough
Massage time.
02/24/10:
Bodyweight: 161.4lbs waking up
OH Press: 122.25lbs (2x5) [5:00] - heavy but not bad, about what I expected
Squat: 296lbs (1x3) [belt and knee sleeves] - these felt great, I could have gotten a 4th one perhaps if I had kept my chest up
CGBP: 106lbs (1x20) - surprisingly very easy, the creatine must be helping on this
Band Deadlifts: 136lbs & 145lbs + single orange band x random reps- unsure about how effective this is, I’m going to ask around
Pullups: BW (3x7) - long breaks
Forgot to do abs.
02/27/10:
Bodyweight: 161.8lbs waking up
OH Press: 123.25lbs (2x4) [5:30] - very hard, had to really grind that last rep out
Squat: 246lbs (5x5) [4/4/4/5-min breaks] - probably cut depth a little short on the last reps of the last set
Just about died after squatting, so I decided to go home. I’ll come back tomorrow to do the upper body stuff.
03/02/10:
OH Press: 123.5lbs (5/4) [5:30] - the weight felt lighter than it did last time
Deadlift: 241lbs (1x5) - sort of tough but did not feel extremely heavy, getting better at these
CGBP: 106lbs (1x20) - I made these harder on myself by holding the bar at the bottom rather than resting it completely on my sternum
T-Bar Rows: +60lbs (3x10) - did not pull all the way up on that last reps of the last set, I’ll repeat this next time
Bicep Curls: 30lbs (7); 15lbs (2x6) - first set of 15lbs done immediately after the 30lbs
I skipped a workout because of my Orgo midterm. I was supposed to max out on squats today, but I forgot my belt. I have to do it tomorrow I guess.
03/04/10:
OH Press Partials: 136lbs (x1); 125lbs (2x2) - for some reason I can’t partial press more than I regular press…
Squat: 301lbs (x3) [belts & knee sleeves] - fell forward on the second rep, but I hit depth pretty well
DB Chest Press: 70lbs (x8) - yay, extra rep
DE Deadlifts: 141lbs + 2 Monster Minis (7x2) [1-min clock] - this exercise is really great for upper back work I feel
DB Curls: 25lbs (x13)
03/06/10:
Bodyweight: ??, not the same scale either
OH Press: 123.25lbs (5/4) [5:30] - no improvement
Squat: 251lbs (5x5) [~4:00, ~4:30, ~5:00, ~5:00] - took all of these deep, consistently good form throughout
CGBP: 111lbs (1x15)
Pullups: BW (3x8) - last set was chins actually
I’m going to start doing chins instead of pullups. My left rotator cuff gets irritated when I do pullups.
03/08/10:
Deadlift: 246lbs (x5) - back rounding, I’m not going to add weight until that issue is fixed
OH Press: 123.5lbs (x5); 116lbs (x6) - bleh, that first set was so difficult I knew I wasn’t going to come close on the second, so I lowered the weight
DE Box Squat: 141lbs (6x2); 146lbs (2x2) [2 x Light Bands, 1-min clock] - I need to focus more and explode off the box better
T-Bar Rows: 60lbs (3x10) - better than last time, but I still couldn’t pull all the way up on the last reps of the last set
DB Curls: 25lbs x some reps