14 December 2017 - Skwaaaaats
340x1+ (6), 355x2, 290x8,8,7,6, 225x10 (77 total reps)
Leg Press 3x10 5 plates each side
Good Mornings 3x10 95lb
GHR 3x10 bodyweight
Notes
Felt pretty good today, but it didn’t show when I tried pushing the intensity. Attempted my first ever joker set with squats and it didn’t go well (355x2) but at least I got the work in. I’m going to start recording how many total extension reps I perform so i can aim to gradually increase (by 3-5 reps every session) my volume and get back to where I was when I was making lifetime PRs every time I got under the bar. Flexion reps aren’t as important to me in terms of recording how much I do, but I generally try to keep flexion & extension about even rep-wise.
I also decided that repping over 100lb under my max (275) wasn’t very helpful, so I’ll be pushing 4/5 set of 8 for my volume sets around 290-310 now to stay in the 70-80% range. 290 is 75% of my 1rm which is perfect for sets of 8.
I’ll do one more squat cycle (310x5+, 330x3+, 345x1+), deload, then test my squat max again. My buddy copped some ammonia for me, and my belt will be here in the next 2 weeks. 405 should be a breeze with sleeves + ammonia + a belt, especially right after a deload, so I’m pumped. I might squat 420 for shits n gigs, just because I’m immature. Rest day tomorrow (11 hour shift 2pm-1am) and bench before work on Saturday morning, 255x1+, going for 7+. That’s all for now, folks.
16 December 2017 - IDK
Speed Bench 4x5 155
Power Clean 6x1 80kg
Curls for the Girls 2xamrap @ 45, 35, 30lb
Band Walks
Clams (with a band)
Notes
It’s been a long time since I’ve had sleep as bad as what I got last night. Got home from work around 2am, was asleep around 2:30. Woke up at 10:30 and just felt like absolute shit. I was hoping that my sleep would be amazing and I would be able to go get my bench day in, but no such luck. If I tried 255 amrap, I would’ve gotten 2-3. So, I just did a little bit of everything to get the blood moving.
I don’t enjoy taking an entire weekend off, but that’s essentially what this weekend is. I’m going to try to sleep for a combined 20 hours between now and Monday’s session, which is in about 48 hours. Tomorrow will be a lazy Sunday (first Sunday with no studying or homework in about 4 months!) where I meal prep. And by meal prep, I mean go buy more chocolate milk and throw some chicken in the oven.
After increasing the volume on squats a little bit, my legs were appropriately sore yesterday, and today they just feel weak. I’m not squatting again until Tuesday, so they’ll have plenty of time to recover. I’m looking forward to 310x5+. I’m almost positive that my belt will be here this week, which would be a huge help with my squats.
Last thing: I went to the doctor for my annual check up, and I weighed in at 216, which is about 15lbs heavier than I was last year at this time. As is his duty, Doc told me I need to watch what I eat and make sure I’m doing cardio. He said “weight training is fine, but you should mix in some cardio days. Just something to work up a sweat and get your heart rate up.” Well, doc, setting a 30lb PR is what gets my fuckin heart rate up. Staring down the weight before I get up under that bar gets my heart racing a lot faster than cardio does. BUT, he has the M.D., not me, so I’ll probably hop on the stationary bike for 10-15 minutes 2-3x/week now. My conditioning is shit anyways which is probably affecting my gains. Thanks for reading, see y’all on Monday
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17 December 2017
My belt came yesterday while I was at work. She’s f*cking beautiful. The velcro strap on my right weightlifting shoe broke off on Thursday, so I ordered a new pair today. The reviews have said that they ship very quickly, so hopefully they’ll be here for my squats on Tuesday.
I’m getting some Harbinger wrist wraps for Christmas, so after the 25th, I’ll have all the gear that I wanted. Belt, knee sleeves, wrist wraps, straps, and new shoes. I don’t think I need elbow sleeves, seeing as I’m not benching a ton of weight yet. When my 5+ gets into the 270-280 range, then I’ll probably cop some.
I worked a lot this weekend and got shitty sleep on Friday night. Last night, I slept for 11 straight hours. 2:30-1:30. Woke up and took one of the longest pisses of my life and I’ve felt energized and happy all day. Getting great sleep is a crazy concept.
Time to go cook my chicken and throw down a gallon of chocolate milk #RoadToSHW
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You’re throwing around a lot of money there. How about some sexy tights or SBD action?
I got SBD sleeves. @khangles suggested it. They’re 13/10. Also don’t have the money to get decked out in SBD everything hahaha
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$85 for these. The reviews I saw said they were solid for an intermediate lifter (me af)
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That Nike Romaleos rip off tho. Not propah. Mildly triggering.
Srsly tho looks solid for 85 bucks (dunno if its actually as rugged as the Romaleos 2 but whatevs). All that heel height is gonna do jackshit for powerlifting but for Oly lifting will probably enable you to get into better positions.
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Yeah the sole looks the same. If you can’t beat them join them lol
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Flat heels are better for PL? My old ones were raised 3cm and seemed pretty solid, 3.5cm doesn’t seem like it’ll be that big of a jump.
@guineapig amen brother
Nah just that extra heel beyond like 0.75inches (Romaleos, Adipowers etc.) confers no additional benefit for powerlifting purposes. Since you do some Oly it’ll probably be handy for you.
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18 December 2017 - Bench
255x1+ (6), 4x8 215, 1x10 185
DB Floor Press 4x10 80lb
Face pulls 4xamrap
band pull aparts 4xamrap
Notes
Yeah, my bench isn’t progressing. Gotta eat more or something, idk.
19 December 2017 - Squat
6x5 310
Notes
I tried using my belt for the first time and it really didn’t help. I know how to brace into a belt, and I did, but it made me very slow. It’s hard to describe.
I felt much tighter and the weight felt lighter unracking it. The descent was slow, and I lost tightness in my core at the bottom. Coming out of the hole, I felt a sharp (not large or inhibitory in any way) pain running vertically from the very top of my glute to my lower back.
I just need to practice with my belt until I can squat at normal speeds without losing tightness. On my amrap set for 310, I got 5, but it felt so awkward and uncomfortable that I just stopped. All the pressure was on my low back, and my legs felt totally unphased after my first set of 310. Any advice on how to wear a belt like a normal person would be MUCH appreciated.
Wear belt. Descend. Bounce? Dafuq you mean the belt makes you go slow.
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How are you wearing the belt?
In general a new belt tends to be quite stiff and uncomfortable until its worn in but Ive never heard of it causing a slow down.
As for losing tightness in the hole, Its possible that you might be breathing into your chest and not using the belt to brace because its uncomfortable.
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It feels bulky and weird, but it was also my first time ever wearing one so I’m not surprised. It’s probably all mental. Wore it today and felt a lot better, so I just need to keep practicing with it.
I am breathing into my stomach, I’m not sure what it is but it seems to have already fixed itself. I did about 20 reps with some light weight today and I didn’t lose tightness. And to answer your question, yes, the belt is brand new. Today was the second time I’ve worn it.
is probably faulty. Send to me pls so I can check it.
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21 December 2017 - Bench
235x5+ (9), 225 5x5
DB floor press 4x8 85s
Facepulls 4xamrap
Banded Pullups 3x10, 1x6
Notes
My bench sucks now, if you assassinate me I wouldn’t be mad
22 December 2017 - Squats
330x3+ (9), 315 5x5, 225 2x5, 275 2x5
Biceps & facepulls superset, 4 rounds of amrap for each
Notes
My work sets were all beltless. Set a 330lb PR and a 9 rep PR with 330x9. Squatting is all mental and today I just wanted a PR, I’m sick of coming in the gym and sucking ass. The belt felt a lot more comfortable today than it did on Monday or Tuesday. I have 345x1+ on the 26th which I’d like to get for 7-8. All squats today were ATG and I tried to not abuse the stretch reflex because that’s cheating just like sumo.
Very happy with today. 315 5x5 felt very easy. Nuff said. Active rest tomorrow with some light cardio and olympic lifts and beer. yay
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23 December 2017 - Active Rest
I didn’t stick to any specific sets or reps today. Did a few sets of front squats at 225, a few power cleans at 90kg. 3 sets of 2-4 reps with 275 back squat and 3 sets of 10-12 bench at 185. Followed that up with an intense 20 minutes of basketball for cardio.
I wanted to hit everything today since I won’t be back in a gym until the 26th. After a long night last night, it felt good to get moving and sweat a little bit. I get 2 full days of rest with a lot of food, so I’ll be ready to hit the bench hard again on Tuesday.
I think I’ll end up testing my maxes in the first week of January. I have 2 more bench sessions and one more squat session where I’m going to push the volume to the max, and then I’m going to take a 4 day deload. I’m cautiously optimistic. I know I can go 315/405, but since I’ve been Olympic lifting and not deadlifting, I don’t really expect to make any sort of PR in the deadlift.
As much as I’m looking forward to finding out how strong (or weak) I am, I’m also excited to just get back to the grind and focus 100% on setting rep PRs. Seeing new weights at my 1+ every week, and then seeing those 1+ weights become my 3+, then 5+ is all the proof I need that I’m getting stronger.
I might take a month or two off from 5/3/1 when I stall eventually and use the program my best friend is on (something the Ohio State PL Club writes for their guys), because he’s been seeing crazy gains since he started around the same time I did. He’s around 255/435/485 right now. He’s a poverty bench guy and I’m a poverty squat guy, so we’re perfect gym partners. I digress. Very excited to be committed to PL for 2018 (as opposed to 365 days ago when I thought bodybuilding was the way to go…smfh), very excited to look back a year from now and see my progress as well as everyone else’s.
Have a Merry Christmas everyone! And if you aren’t Christian, have a beautiful December 25th. Enjoy your holiday season regardless of who you worship 
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ffs stop putting bench first lel