Deadlift
225 - 2 x 5
240 x 3
285 x 5
325 x 5
370 x 5
285 - 5 x 10 - this sucked less than squats for some reason…
Assistance
Hanging leg lifts - 20, 12
Upright rows - 45 lbs - 2 x 25 3-0-1-0 tempo
Push ups - 2 x 15
Got moving today, full session counting warmup and jumps was 70 minutes. Deadlifts felt really good, my back was stable and legs did a lot of the work. They didn’t enjoy it but it’s their damn job. Assistance was good, leg lifts are awful and the tempo of the upright rows made me nauseous. I’m having fun with lifting and love the challenge this is giving me.
That is pretty aggressive my man. I think that might be a good goal if your timeline was longer. I think in 6 weeks gaining 10 lbs as a natural is going to be mostly soft. You will get stronger, but just be sure that it is worth the trade off.
I’m OK with it being a bit softer than a smarter gain just because I can afford to gain some without looking terrible. Food choices are 90% whole/healthy and I think that’ll make a difference. If I get to +5 pounds and look terrible I’ll dial things back a bit. Mostly hoping for a jump-start for strength between adding some muscle and getting a lot of extra practice.
Press
45 x 5
50 x 5
65 x 5
80 x 3
95 x 5
110 x 5
125 x 5
95 - 5 x 10 - again, fuck my whole life this sucked
Assistance
SS w/ press - Chin/Pull ups - 10 x 5
SS w/ each other
BSS - 25 lbs - 2 x 15 reps/leg
Push ups - 2 x 15
This was another tough workout but I enjoyed it. There’s something special about gutting through something that hurts bad. Press moved well and felt strong/stable, assistance was good. It was nice to take pull ups to a reasonable intensity instead of dropping a nut to hit 10 reps each set.
This session was real tough but went well, especially considering I drove 16 hours between Friday and Sunday, drank a good bit at a wedding, and slept a total of 12 hours over 3 days. Legs are super pumped and rest of body feels good.
Deadlift
225 - 2 x 5
260 x 3
305 x 5
350 x 5
390 x 5
305 - 5 x 10
Assistance
Hanging Leg Lifts - 3 x 15
BB upright rows - 65 lbs - 3 x 15
Push ups - 15, 10, 10
Good session again today. Deadlifts were abnormally hard on my back, which has been pretty rowdy sore the last 2 days. I need to do some walking today to help it. Weight moved fast though. Leg lifts were a bitch as always, but they made my back feel better. Rows beat my delts/traps up pretty good and push ups were just done to get some blood into my tris/pecs/front delts.
Every time we go to Iceland we hike a shit ton - average like 70 miles a week - and my back feels amazing when we get home. I just got lazy. Even running helps my back as long as I don’t go full shithead about it.
I try to make my vacations ones in which I come back in better shape than I left. Stuff like natural parks. I hike a ton, although I need to be careful not to piss the wife off. One time I didn’t read a trail map correctly, and it resulted in a 22 mile hike in the mountains. It was a lot of vertical change. I think it was about a 10 hour hike lol. She wasn’t the happiest with me. Going in we expected 14 miles.
Made the same mistake. Took a “family” hike and bouldered up a mountain for 5 hours. Turns out GarageRockerette is terrified of heights. Neither her nor I knew that beforehand.
Press
45 x 5
55 x 5
70 x 5
85 x 3
100 x 5
115 x 5
130 x 5
95 - 5 x 10
Assistance
SS w/ press
Chin/pull ups - 12 x 5
SS w/ each other
Dips - 15, 10 - elbow hurt
BSS - 25 lbs - 2 x 20
Decent session today, made a revelation in my grip for press that helps a lot. I need to bury the bar in the webbing of my palm and then rotate my hands into an almost bulldog grip. I had been using plain bulldog and it doesn’t work for me. Assistance was great but tough.
2.27 miles in 17:25. That’s a huge record for me. I have a biometric screening this week and wanted to make sure BP and labs look good. I feel good, I feel motivated, and I’m enjoying myself on this program. My wife and friends already see a physical difference, which is awesome. 4 more weeks
Squat
45 x 5
175 x 5
210 x 5
245 x 3
280 x 5
320 x 5
355 x 5
280 - 2 x 10
190 - 3 x 10
Hanging leg lifts - 20, 15, 10
BB curl - 55 lbs - 2 x 10; 45 lbs - 12
DB lateral raises - 12 lbs per arm - 20, 15
I probably should have eaten more this weekend. Just ran out of steam on the BBB sets, honestly the 355 set felt rough. Everything prior flew. I re-pinched the nerve in my neck somehow and that’s really bothering me, feels like the right side of my head wants to explode. Luckily I have a chiro appointment tonight.
Bench
115 x 5
140 x 5
165 x 3
190 x 5
215 x 5
240 x 5
190 - 3 x 10
165 - 2 x 10
Assistance
SS w/ each other
TRX Rows - 20, 15, 15
Dead bugs - 3 second hold per side - 3 x 15 reps/side
No SS
Banded Triceps pressdowns - 30, 20
I ate a lot and ate very well yesterday thanks to GarageRockerette, and could tell today. I’m sore, but feel decently recovered. Bench was good, it was a fight with my neck still pinching, but I tucked my chin hard and was OK. Assistance was great, good pump and I feel good.
Chiro Writeup
4 ribs out
Cervical spine all outta whack
Suboccipital region all messed up
Thoracic spine OK
Lumbar great
I was worried BP would come up as I tried gaining weight. It went down and I’m considering it fully under control. Coulda cartwheeled out of the clinic after seeing that - I’m really, really proud that I’ve been able to get it under control.
Deadlift
225 x 5
235 x 5
280 x 3
325 x 5
370 x 5
415 x 5
325 - 5 x 10 - jesus h tapdancing christmas sweater this was awful
Assistance
Hanging leg lifts - 3 x 15
Upright row - 65 lbs - 3 x 15
Push ups - 1 x 30
Deadlift felt awesome on the 225 set and 415 set. The other sets of 5 felt clunky and uncoordinated. Then the BBB sets…did the first 2 at normal stance, but realized by rep 7 that my feet would be 3-4" wider apart than they started. The last 3 I did semi-sumo which felt strong and stable, but required a lot more muscular effort than normal sumo. Not a bad thing. Back and ass are broken. Assistance was good.
Big thing I need to focus on for my neck is really tucking my chin during my sets. My neck feels a lot better today between swapping pillows with GarageRockerette (whose neck also feels a lot better today) and keeping my chin where it belongs.
