Good looking session Greg! Good to hear that you have added toys to your gym. That’s always fun!
It’s hard to believe it’s been over a year since I posted on here. I’ve been keeping busy the whole time lifting, running, and doing family stuff. Waylon is a freshman in high school now. He ran cross country this year and I’ve been helping him train for track and cross country for next year, so that’s been fun.
I turn 50 on January 23, and I’ve got some big goals for the coming year to commemorate it. I plan to bench press 400 pounds, deadlift 500 pounds, and run a 50k race in July. For the bench I’m using an EliteFTS shoulder saver pad so they’re not 100% full reps, but following my shoulder surgery that’s OK by me. I hit 325 for a single a few weeks ago so 400 should be doable. Also, for the deadlifts I’m using Wagon Wheel plates as those are easier on my soon-to-be 50 year old back and hips. For the 50k, there aren’t any special notes…except for I’m slow as a tortoise at this point.
I’ve largely been using 531 still over the past years. In order to help me reach my goals, however, I’ve hired James Strickland (a.k.a SwimHack) for some custom programming. At one point he nearly got to a 700 pounds raw bench press, so it seems that he knows what he’s talking about LOL. Check him out on YouTube or Instagram.
This morning I completed a Bench Press workout as follows:
12/11/2023 – 6:18 am - Home
Bench Press Paused - 3-135, 3-165, 3-195, 3-225, 3 sets of 6 @ 240
Purple Band Facepulls - 10 sets of 10
Incline Bench Press - 3-135, 6-165, 6-185, 6-210
T-Bar Rows - 3-120, 3 sets of 8 @ 170
DB Flies (5 sec negative) - 2 sets of 8 @ 40
Triceps Pushdowns - 3 sets of 8 @ 85
Bodyweight: 216.4
Workout Duration: 1:01:24.0 h:mm:ss.ms
I’m really enjoying the programming, and am excited to see where it takes me. Also, I just rejoined Untamed Strength so that should give me a few extra pounds on the lifts too. 
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Welcome back Greg. Sounds like life is going well. Big 50 on the horizon and a lot of big goals. Good luck crushing them.
Don’t be a stranger.
Thanks Shane. Definitely some big goals. As my wife says, not always in a complimentary way, I never do anything halfway LOL. I plan to be on here documenting the journey.
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Glad to see you back Greg. Looks like the lifting is going well. Strong work on that bench workout. I’ve enjoyed the running videos on IG. I really miss being able to do that and love that you are still crushing it. Looking forward to seeing you work toward your goals!
Thanks Trent. It’s good to be back on here and catch up with you guys.
After the foot injury and the surgery for it I didn’t know if I’d be able to run again. Now that I’m able to get back at it I look at each run as a gift and really appreciate them.
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That’s very good to hear. I remember it was hard after your surgery. Glad you have been able to do that again. 
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This morning I completed a Deadlift workout as follows:
12/13/2023 – 6:25 am - Home
Sumo Wgn Wheel Deadlifts 3-135, 3-185, 1-225, 6-270, 3-270, 3-270
Conventional 2” Deficit Wgn Wheel Deadlifts 5-245, 5-245, 5-245
Leg Extensions 6-65, 6-75, 6-85
Standing Leg Curls 8-35, 8-45, 8-60
Seated Cable Rows 10-130, 10-155, 10-180
Decline Situps 3 sets of 10 w/ 20 pound dumbbell at chest
Lat Pulldowns 3 sets of 12 @ 155
Bodyweight: 217.0 Workout Duration: 0:55:33.19 h:mm:ss.ms
Today’s workout was pretty good. My coach has been starting the deals off pretty light. I’ve been having some left-side SI Joint pain for the past week, though, so that’s actually worked out well for me. The conventional deficit deads felt better than the Sumos, so next week I might use Conventional for both exercises.
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Solid work on that deadlift session Greg! It still looked heavy to me. 
Sorry to hear about the pain. Hopefully that resolves soon.
Thanks Trent. Ironically, I think the trail runs and lifting together keep everything in balance. I was only able to get in one trail run over the last 2 weeks due to weather and getting dark so early. I did some road runs instead, and running on the road really seems to aggravate my SI Joint so I’ll stay away from that for now.
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Solid session Greg. Glad you are still able to trail run and that you are able to pin point the running in the greet as the culprit.
Easy enough to fix.
Yesterday I completed a workout as follows:
12/17/2023 – 10:23 am - Untamed Strength
SSB Box Squats - 5-65, 3-135, 3-165, 3-205, 3-245, 3-275, 3-310
Machine Calf Raises - 10-80, 10-160, 10-180, 10-200
Reverse Pec Deck - 10-20, 10-30, 10-40
Reverse Hypers - 12-0, 12-25, 12-25, 12-0
45 degree Hypers - 15-0, 10-25, 10-45
Bodyweight: ???
Workout Duration: 0:56:26.37 h:mm:ss.ms
This morning I completed a Reload Bench Press workout as follows:
12/18/2023 – 6:20 am - Home
Bench Press Paused - 10-45, 3-135, 3-165, 3 sets of 6 @ 180
Purple Band Facepulls - 6 sets of 10
Incline Bench Press - 3 sets of 8 @ 135
DB Flies (5 sec negative) - 2 sets of 8 @ 30
Triceps Pushdowns - 3 sets of 8 @ 65
Bodyweight: ???
Workout Duration: 0:37:04.31 h:mm:ss.ms
This week is a deload. I usually dread deloads but this week my body is feeling a bit beat up so I’m looking forward to it and thinking it’ll do me some good.
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Nice squats Greg. That is some strong weight in those SSBs.
Enjoy your Deload
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+1 to Shane’s post. Solid work on those SSB squats. Also a good looking deload session. If your body is feeling beat up then heck yeah, get some rest!
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It’s hard to believe it’s been over a year since I logged a workout on here. I’ve been working out steadily but am really trying to increase my focus this year and plan to log the journey.
My 3 major goals this year are to:
- Bench 400 pounds
- SSB High Box Squat 500 pounds
- Run 500 miles this year
Last year I had the same bench goal but I also wanted to run a 50k trail race. I wound up missing both goals. At 50 year old I realize that I don’t recover well enough to excel in both areas. I also realized that somewhere in my late 40’s my ability to run over 20 miles at a time vaporized. Now a half-marathon is probably my limit if I don’t want to do structural damage and pay the price long-term. Given that I’ve modified my goals a bit.
For lifting, I plan to focus on bench and squat. I’m still trying to decide whether to do a more Conjugate-based plan or a 531-style periodization scheme. My new workout program starts tomorrow…so I’ll decide tonight (or tomorrow morning). 
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Welcome back. Time to log some of this progress. Stick around, I want to see you hit that 400 pound bench!
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Good to see you Greg! Sounds like some good goals to me. I hear you on the running. I haven’t ran at all in almost two years now as my feet won’t tolerate it anymore. Glad young guys like you can still pull that off! 
Looking forward to seeing you work toward all of those goals!
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Saturday I completed a workout as follows:
1/4/2025 – 10:30 am - Untamed Strength
531 Cycle 93 - Concurrent Program - Cycle 1, Week 1, Workout A
Bench Press - 3-135, 3-185, 3-205, 2-235, 1-255, 1-285, 3-325, 4 sets of 1 @ 285, 5-255
superset with:
Orange Band Facepulls - 5 sets of 10
Viking Press Machine - 5-65, 5-75, 5-85, 5-95
Lat Pulldowns - 3x8 @ 140
superset with:
Triceps Pressdowns - 3x10 @ 110
Bodyweight: ???
Workout Duration: 0:58:31.30 h:mm:ss.ms
Sunday I completed a workout as follows:
1/5/2025 – 10:04 am - Home Gym
531 Cycle 93 - Concurrent Program - Cycle 1, Week 1, Workout B
SSB 18” Box Squats - 3-65, 3-155, 3-205, 3-245, 3-295, 1-335, 1-385, 1-425, 1-450, 1-405
Back Raises - 3x10
superset with:
Bench Leg Raises - 3x10
Bodyweight: 222.8
Workout Duration: 0:39:35.21 h:mm:ss.ms
I had a couple of good workouts to start the new year. I wound up sticking to the 531 Concurrent Program I’ve been running for a while. It’s similar to concurrent programming from Westside.
Also, different from normal 531, on days when I’m feeling good and strong I’ll work up to a new 1RM without getting greedy. Basically, I’ll shoot for 5 pounds over my previous max and stop there. I did this on the SSB Box Squats.
On Bench I stuck to my program and did a Joker set of 3 @ 325. I could’ve done more reps there too but this is the beginning of the 12 week cycle and but the end of the cycle I’ll be doing much more than 325 (hopefully), so I didn’t want to burn myself out on the first day.
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That’s some strong squats and benching Greg.
Is concurrent 531 just 531 programmed with consideration for additional cardio?
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Man, you are putting up some unbelievable numbers nowadays Greg! Way to get after it man! Loving the heavy weight/low rep sets! 
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