Monday, 6/11/12:
Bench (touch and go):
45x5
95x5
135x5
155x3
185x1
225x1
255x1
285x 7 singles
Chin-ups: 10, 10
Neutral Grip Cable Row SS w/ Face Pulls:
120x10, 50x12
130x8, 50x12
140x8, 60x12
150x8, 60x12
Tricep Pushdown SS w/ Trap Raise:
140x8, 15x10
150x8, 15x10
160x8, 15x10
Very good day. I wanted to go higher than 285, but I didn’t have anyone to give me a lift off or spot me. When I was leaving the gym, I noticed that my left hand was swollen. It could just be from the new wrist wraps I was using today. Overall, I felt strong today.
Tuesday, 6/12/12:
Deadlift: Dynamic Effort
285 - 8x2
DB Front Lunge:
60x8
65x8
65x8
Rack Pull w/ straps:
405x6
455x6
455x6
Pallof Press:
30x10
30x10
30x10
30x10
*Rack pulls are pretty lame, but they have helped increase my deadlift and I believe that they work for me, so that’s all that really matters. The swelling in my hand was gone this morning. It was strange that it would be swollen all day without any pain or significant stiffness. Didn’t bother me or cause any problems during todays training. Looking forward to friday, SQUATS!
Wednesday, 6/13/12:
SMR w/ Foam Roller, Medicine Ball, and Lacrosse Ball
Body Weight/Mobility Circuit - 20 mins.
Static Stretching
Easy stuff in my living room. I barely even feel the foam roller on my IT bands and quads anymore, so I opted for the medicine ball. I’ll use that, a rolling pin, and the lacrosse ball from now on.
Thursday, 6/14/12:
Speed Bench w/ Pause:
9x3 - 155 (close grip, normal grip, wide grip)
Lat Pulldown SS w/ Face Pulls with External Rotation:
110x10, 50x12
120x10, 50x12
120x10, 50x12
130x10, 50x12
Overhead Press:
95x8
115x8
135x8
145x8
Zottman Curls SS w/ CoC Gripper Holds
25x10, 150x20
25x10, 150x20
30x10, 150x20
Very pleased with today’s performance. I guess it’s time for a new gripper 
. I was thinking that I should start including my meals into my training log, but I pretty much eat almost the same things everyday. I’ll put all that stuff in later today. Spoiler alert, I eat a lot of meat.
Friday, 6/15/12:
Squat:
95x5
135x5
225x3
275x1
315x1 (add belt)
365x1
405x1
455x 5 singles
BB Reverse Lunge w/ Front Squat Grip:
135x6
155x6
165x6
Rack Pulls w/ no straps:
405x6
425x6
425x6
Medicine Ball Toe Touch SS w/ Reverse Crunch: 3x15, 3x10
Today was great. I am amazed at how my squat has progressed since December. 455 was my previous PR in December, but then in May I hit 500. If only my bench could progress like that. I am a horrible bencher. I didn’t post diet because it pretty much is the same thing every day. I’ll put it in a new post.
Saturday, 6/16/12:
SMR w/ Medicine Ball, Rolling Pin, and Lacrosse Ball
Bodyweight/Mobility Circuit - 20 mins.
Sweep, Scrub, and Mop the kitchen floor
Static Stretching
Now I get to go lay on the couch, watch the Phillies, and eat.
Update:
Haven’t logged in a while. I sprained my wrist that last week of my old program and also had some bad tendonitis in my elbow. I saw the Doc and luckily I only had to take a week off from training. I did the boring stuff like icing, stretching, and some SMR. The plan was to dedicate a month of addressing the issues that caused it while still getting something done in the weight room. I read some articles from Mike Robertson and Eric Cressey just to get started in the right direction.
The month of light work ended and I felt a lot better, so I started 5/3/1 so that I can progress while getting comfortable with heavy weight again. So far I’m on the 3’s week of my 2nd cycle. I only went for required reps on the last cycle. I feel comfortable enough to start pushing this week.
Training Today:
Prowler Push - 10x40yds 90lbs.
Static Stretching
Thursday, 8/30/12:
Bench Press SS w/ Chin-ups (3’s week)
205x3
230x3
260x8
Incline Bench:
135x10
155x8
175x6
Dead Stop Row:
155, 4x10
Push-ups SS w/ Face Pulls
3x15, 3x15
*My left elbow was a little tight today. During my warm-up I rolled it out with the bar. Very pleased with my performance. My estimated max from today’s reps is 329, so that’s good news. After lifting I spent about 10 minutes of static stretching focusing on triceps, chest, and internal/external rotators. I have established as goals that in December I want to Bench 350, Squat and Deadlift 600. As long as I don’t do anything stupid again and screw up my progress, these should be attainable.
Friday, 8/31/12:
Squat (3’s Week):
320x3
370x3
415x6
Strap Bar Good Mornings:
155x10
175x8
185x6
KB Swings: 25kg - 3x15
Hanging Leg Raise - 4x10
*Six was the goal for today and I was very happy with getting it. For those of you that don’t have access to a Safety Squat Bar you could try using the “Strap Bar”. I took the idea from Clint Darden after seeing one of his videos explaining it.
Here’s the video:
Saturday, 9/1/12:
Prowler Pushes - various distances with various weights
*Pushing the Prowler on weekends has now turned into 1-2 sets of 90lbs followed by sets of pushing my step-daughter and the neighborhood kids around. I guess that when the metal scrapes on the pavement it registers the same in a child’s brain like music from the ice cream truck. It’s nice to know I don’t need to buy plates anymore.
Monday, 9/3/12:
Overhead Press SS w/ Chin-ups (5/3/1 week):
145x5
165x3
185x4
Wide Grip Bench Press:
155x10
185x8
205x6
Stretchers: 120, 4x10
DB Curl SS w/ DB Front Raise:
25x10, 15x10
30x10, 15x10
30x10, 20x10
*Today was good. Still plugging away. I’m gonna stick with wide grip benching as an assistance movement for the next couple months. I wanna see if a theory that I have is right. I had read somewhere during my recovery phase, (I don’t remember where I read it or who wrote it and I’m pretty sure that I will butcher it and make this statement sound false) that during a max effort lift the stronger muscles will tend to want to take over for the weaker muscles, correct me if I’m wrong, showing an imbalance. Since I bench with a close grip and did a lot extension work, it became clear that my triceps were not the issue with my bench, my chest was. So because of this weakness coupled with elbow tendonitis, I ditched extensions, kept pushdowns (worked in every so often), and focused my assistance work on more chest emphasis. Simple.
Tuesday, 9/4/12:
Deadlift (5/3/1 week):
355x5
405x3
450x6 - PR
Strap Bar Low Paused Box Squat:
185x10
225x8
245x6
KB Swings: 25kg - 3x15
Decline Sit-ups: 4x20
*Estimated 1RM is approximately 540. That number doesn’t really mean much until I actually lift it. Patience is now key. I’m on schedule towards my goal of 600. Also, my elbow and wrist are feeling 100%. Good times.
Wednesday, 9/5/12:
Prowler Pushes: 10x40yds w/ 90lbs (rest 1 min.)
Static Stretching
*Nothing exciting, just getting the work done.