9/17
Bench
135x5
185x3
225x3
275x2
315x2
345x1
375x1
345x1
385x1
Flat Dumbbell Presses
65x3x8 on 44X tempo w/90 sec. rest
Neutral Grip Chins
1-5 ladder (30 sec. rest)
4,3,2
Dumbbell External Rotations
25x2x8
Barbell Curls
65x5x10
9/19
Clean Grip Deadlift (5/4/3/2/1, 2-3 minutes between sets)
135x5
225x5
275x5
295x4
315x3
335x3
355x1
Military Press (Single Cluster, 15s)
135x3
155x3
185x6x1
Omni Grip Pull-ups (2 minutes rest between sets, 34 total reps)
12-2-2
8-1-1
6-1-1
HS High Row (Drop Set)
115 per side x 8 - 70 per side x 6 - 45 per side x 10
Good workout today. Felt fairly strong, though I am still getting back into heavy deadlifting. My pull-ups are improving steadily. On Monday, I am going to start using the 1-6 Principle for a three weeks on my key lifts, and then I’ll start another four weeks of German Body Comp.
9/21
Bench Press
135x5
185x5
225x3
275x2
315x1
345x1
375x2x1
385x1
Just messed around today with one of my buddies. I only got about 4 hours of sleep last night, but I felt pretty good on bench regardless. My first single with 375 was slow, but the second flew up, and so did 385.
9/22
Bench (1-5 Rep Ladders, 30 sec.)
135x5
185x5
225x5
275x1-5, 1-4 (3/5)
275x1-4 (2/5)
Wide Grip Pullups (1-5 Rep Ladders)
1-5, 1-4 (3/5), 1-3 (2/4)
Dips (1 & 1/4 Reps)
6
Kroc Rows
90x20 per side
Dumbbell External Rotation
25x6-2 ladder
THis is the workout from two days ago that I tried to put up twice, but for some reason wasn’t posted. This was the beginning of a hypertrophy phase over the next 12 weeks or so. Doing this the day after heavy benching (friday) and on little sleep pretty much destroyed me, but the workout was good nonetheless.
9/25
Deadlift (1-5 Rep Ladders)
295x1-5, 1-4
Military Press (3 rounds of 2x3 Rep Clusters with 15 sec. between clusters and 90 sec. between rounds)
135x3x2x3
Omni-Grip Pull-Ups (37 reps)
12-2-2
8-2-1
7-2-1
Barbell Curls (Rep Ladder)
65x1-8
Dumbbell External Rotation
25x6-1
9/28
Bench (1-5 Rep Ladders, 30 sec.)
135x5
185x5
225x3
275x1-5 (x2), 1-3 (2/4)
Wide Grip Pull-Ups (1-5 Rep Ladders, 30 sec.)
1-5 (x2), 1-3 (2/4)
Circuit - Barbell Curls, Flat Dumbbell Presses, and Dumbbell External Rotations (20 sec. rest between exercises)
Barbell Curls - 95x2x12, 8
Flat DB Press - 55x2x8 on 44X tempo
DB External Rotation - 25x2x8
Wide Grip Pull-Ups (1-5 Rep Ladders, 30 sec.)
1-4 (4/5), 1-3 (x2)
Great workout today. I slept about nine hours last night (though I woke up for two hours in the middle), and I took a Spike double shot before the workout, which really woke me up. My bench improved significantly from last week; it certainly helped that I hadn’t done heavy bench the day before. My pull-ups saw the greatest improvement - I’ve never been able to complete 2 full rep ladders before. Altogether, I performed 64 total pull-ups today - I’m very happy with that.
You’re a strong ass dude! And your username is pretty awesome. Will be following!
10/1
Deadlift
135x5
185x4
225x3
275x2
315x6
Military Press
95x3
115x3
135x3
155x2
185x1
205x1
135x5x2x3 (Clusters - 15 sec. between sets of 3, 90 sec. between rounds)
Omni-Grip Pullups
12-2-2
6-2-1
So ridiculously tired today. I think the erratic sleep schedule has finally caught up with me. Thib says that one of the first signs of neurological fatigue is that the bar feels very heavy in your hand. My sets of deadlifts felt find muscle wise - I was lifting the weight with ease - but in my hands the weight felt like a million pounds. Plus some personal trainer affiliated with my school came over and told me not to “slam the weights into the floor at the end of each rep.” My lifting partner and I moved on to overhead presses instead, which killed my traps. We finished with 2 sets of pull-ups which were surprisingly good for how tired I was. My primary goal over the next two days is to get as much sleep as possible.
Hey, I’m diggin’ your bench. I’m trying, at 43, to get my bench back. Any chance you’d look over my log and make some suggestions? I’ve been doing a size/strength routine, and I love volume, but maybe it’s why I’m not progressing? Just trying to get back to 315, at 295 now, but the first time I hit it was last week.
Strangemeadow’s Log is the title. Thanks.
King-
I did find your post from last night. It didn’t show up on my log, but I went to your posts and it was there. You are right, way too much volume before 1RM attempts. Did less volume this morning and upped my bench to 305. I do like the volume, mentally and physically, but it’s not going to help my 1RM. I’m gonna switch it around to your suggestions and see what happens. Thanks for taking the time, I appreciate you input!
10/3
Bench (1-5 Rep Ladders, 30 sec. rest)
135x2x5
185x4
225x3
275x2
285x1-5, 1-3 (3/4, 3/5)
Wide Grip Pull-Ups (1-5 Rep Ladders, 30 sec. rest)
1-5 (x3), 1-3
Flat Dumbbell Presses (60 sec. rest)
65x3x8
Neutral Grip Pull-Ups (1-5 Rep Ladders, 30 sec. rest)
1-5
3, 4, 5
Relatively short workout today; didn’t have a lot of time before I had to take the bus. I was super tired - I got up at 6:00 AM and didn’t get to work out until 3:00. Worse, on my first rep ladder on bench, I had 5 lb. too much on one side (2x45’s, 1x25, and 1x10 rather than 1x5). I didn’t realize it until after my first set of 4. Nevertheless, I am still happy with my performance today overall. I also did a ridiculous number of pull-ups. Next week I have no doubt I’ll hit two full rep ladders with 285. Then we start German Body Comp!
10/6
Close Grip Bench (5/4/3 Wave Loading, 2 minutes rest between sets)
135x5
185x4
225x3
275x5
285x4
295x3
285x5
295x4
305x3
Wide Grip Pull-Ups (1-5 Rep Ladders, 30 sec. rest)
1-5 (x3), 1-4 (3/5)
Dumbbell External Rotations
30x3x6
Barbell Curls
65x5x10
More of an arm day than anything else. Felt like working out so I went and did some triceps, back, and biceps work. Hadn’t done close grip bench in a little while, but I felt strong the whole way through and definitely could have gotten 2 more with 305 at the end. Pretty happy with how much I have been improving on the pull-ups. Deadlifts on Monday.
10/8
Bench Press (1-5 Rep Ladders, 30 sec. rest)
135x2x5
185x4
225x3
275x2
295x1-5, 1-3 (got 3 on set 4)
Omni Grip Pull-ups (2 minutes rest)
12-3-1
7-1-1
7-2-1
Flat Dumbbell Presses
65x2x6 on 44X tempo
Dumbbell External Rotation
30x2x6
Barbell Curls (Rep Ladders- alternating with my workout partner)
65x1-7, 1-5
Exhausted today. I had no pre-workout supps and I got less than six hours of sleep last night, but I definitely felt great on the bench press and pul-ups regardless. I was supposed to do deadlifts today, but I just wasn’t up to it. I’ll try for them on Wednesday or Friday instead.
10/10
Squats (60-90 sec. rest between sets)
Bar x6
135x6
185x6
205x6
225x6
Neutral Grip Chins to Chest (1-3 Rep Ladders, 30 sec. rest)
1-3x5 rounds = 30 reps
Dumbbell External Rotations
30x3x6
Barbell Curls
65x5x10
Didn’t have a lot of time today. I definitely felt those chins-to-chest in a brand new way in my back. Felt awesome. I also haven’t squatted in weeks and I didn’t want to get too sore, so I just did a couple of easy sets to build up. Pretty sparse but fun day.
10/12
Close Grip Bench (5/4/3 Waves, 2 minutes rest between sets)
45x5
95x5
135x5
185x4
225x3
275x2
285x5, 295x4, 305x3
295x5, 305x4, 315x3
Wide Grip Pull-Ups (Escalating Rep Ladders to Failure, resting only while other two partners perform reps)
1-6 (4/7, 5/8, 4/9, 4/10) = 38 total reps
Rope Tricep Extensions (just did this for the pump; drop sets on that last round)
60x12
65x10
70x8
80x6 - 70x4 - 60x6
Neutral Grip Chins-to-Chest (1-3 Rep Ladders, resting only while other two partners perform reps)
1-3 (x3) = 18 reps
Barbell Curls (100 Reps, squeezing the biceps hard at the top)
45x40
45x24
45x16
45x20
Arm and back workout today. Felt pretty good. Last really focused workout before German Body Comp, which my workout partners and I are starting next week. Cannot wait.
10/15
German Body Comp
Circuit 1 - Push Press alternated with lunges (45 sec. rest between exercises)
Push Press- 185x4x6
Lunges- 30x4x12
Circuit 2 - Bench Press alternated with Squats (45 sec. rest)
Bench- 275x8,8,6,5
Squats- 225x4x6
Circuit 3 - Neutral Grip Chins alternated with Lying Hamstring Curls (45 sec. rest)
NG Chins- 4x6
Hamstring Curls- 110x4x8
First day back into German Body Comp, and it really sucked. The push press trashed my shoulders, so by the time I got to bench press, even warming up with 135 hurt. Next time, I am going to substitute snatch pulls for the push press. Also, my hamstrings were destroyed after the lunges, so every rep on the squat felt like I was going to tear something. That session certainly did the trick, however - I was completely wiped afterwards. Cannot wait for tomorrow. Hopefully by next week I’ll start seeing some weight loss…
10/16
German Body Comp Day 2
Superset 1- Snatch Grip Deadlifts and Wide Grip Pull-Ups (45 sec. between exercises)
SG Deads- 225x5x6
WG Pull-Ups- 5x5
Superset 2- Dips and Box Jumps (45 sec. between exercises)
Dips- 4x8 on 31X tempo
Box Jumps- 4x5
Superset 3- Snatch High Pull from Hang and Barbell Curls (45 sec. between exercises)
SHP- 115x3x5
Barbell Curls- 65x3x12
Dumbbell External Rotation
30x2x6
My second day of German Body Comp, and I am absolutely exhausted. Thibs talks about the bar feeling heavy in your hand when you are neurologically fatigued; the deadlifts were easy to perform, but the bar definitely felt heavy in my hand. Metabolic fatigue was high as well, as I had spent most of the day walking around the city and was tired going into the workout. In any case, it was a very difficult workout, but profitable.
Since I am going to follow this program for 4-6 weeks, I decided to start out light on the pull-ups, doing only sets of 5 despite knowing I could have gone higher. The dips were actually the hardest exercise today - I’ve been spending so much time working on proper bench press form that my pecs have really tightened up. I think the stretching was really good for them. I finished with Snatch high pulls, which I have never done before, supersetted with barbell curls. I really like the high pulls - after just the first set, I was already feeling them substantially in my traps. Good workout overall; I’m thankful for a having tomorrow off, though I may do a neural charge workout or something light in the morning.
The new w/out sounds brutal. Yeah!
Friday is my 3rd chest day w/ your suggestion, 275x6x3, I’m still a little sore from Sunday’s chest w/out 
Where you at in Illinois?
[quote]strangemeadow wrote:
The new w/out sounds brutal. Yeah!
Friday is my 3rd chest day w/ your suggestion, 275x6x3, I’m still a little sore from Sunday’s chest w/out
Where you at in Illinois?[/quote]
It’s one of the hardest workouts I’ve ever done, that’s for sure. Really exhausting, really fast. I’ve tried to underestimate the starting weights a lot, but the quick movement from one exercise to another is just brutal. Once I get through this phase, though, I am going to HAVE to include some form of regular conditioning work. What’s your preferred method of conditioning? I don’t have access to a prowler, but other than that, I have a lot of options.
Hope you’re enjoying that workout still! I know it gets tedious, but after a cycle or two, it really starts to pay off.
I live out in Wheaton, but I go to grad school in Chicago. Do you live in Illinois?
[quote]KingKai25 wrote:
[quote]strangemeadow wrote:
The new w/out sounds brutal. Yeah!
Friday is my 3rd chest day w/ your suggestion, 275x6x3, I’m still a little sore from Sunday’s chest w/out
Where you at in Illinois?[/quote]
It’s one of the hardest workouts I’ve ever done, that’s for sure. Really exhausting, really fast. I’ve tried to underestimate the starting weights a lot, but the quick movement from one exercise to another is just brutal. Once I get through this phase, though, I am going to HAVE to include some form of regular conditioning work. What’s your preferred method of conditioning? I don’t have access to a prowler, but other than that, I have a lot of options.
Hope you’re enjoying that workout still! I know it gets tedious, but after a cycle or two, it really starts to pay off.
I live out in Wheaton, but I go to grad school in Chicago. Do you live in Illinois?[/quote]
Are you kidding me? I live in Wheaton! Dude, we gotta hook up.
I have no access to a Prowler either, I just jump rope, do hill sprints or sets of kettle bell swings, or a combo or all three. The chest work out is great, I dig it. It gives me more of a plan to follow. I’ve also changed my back plan to less reps and more weight as a strong back is gonna help my bench as well.
I’m out of town this weekend, but around after that.