Lived to Fight Another Day

Training Training Logs
41

Week 1 - Pushing Hard & the Beginning of the Karelian Bear Dog program

Wednesday

Ramping up volume and frequency

Didn’t have any time for a warm up so I just did a few sets of mace swings and goblet squats. That was a big mistake to skip it…

Legs - 6 sets

A.Buffalo Bar Squats with bands
100-120 lbs in band tension, bands added right out the gate
45 x 2
95 x 2
120 x 2, 2, 2
150 x 2
180 x 2
200 x 2

Thursday

Legs - 10 sets

Warm up
Hip Side to side - 1 x 15
Bulgarian Split Squats - 2 x 10/leg
Hip Air Planes - 1 x 10/leg

  1. Hybrid SSB Squats with bands
    -Double red bands, Approximately 65 in bands
    70 65 x 2
    120 65 x 2
    160 65 x 2
    190 65 x 2
    210 65 x 2 (Second rep got a little sloppy, wasn’t as tight but still pretty decent)
    220 65 x 1, 1 (first set was solid, second set was a grind)

Counted as 3 total work sets

Goal - Train explosively with heavy weights, work on weak points, and technique reinforcement

  1. Leg Extensions - 4 x 10 w. 75 in plates. Just kicking the weight up hard, brief flex

Goal - Supramax pump in the quads

  1. Hybrid SSB 3-5 second Pause Squats with bands
  • Choked Red Bands, Probably somewhere around 30-40 in bands
  • In oly shoes, heels elevated even more by standing on 1 mat, Close Stance
  • No belt or knee sleeves
    70 x 5 (5 second pause)
    70 bands x 5 (5 second pause)
    100 bands x 5 (5 second pause)
    130 bands x 5 (3 second pause)
    150 bands x 3 (3 second pause)
    170 bands x 2 (3 second pause)

Counted as 3 total work sets.

Goal - Build the quads, core strength, TUT, and train explosively

Done. Strong workout and learn a few things. Even with my proper warm up and activation work, my glutes still aren’t firing the way they should. Definitely going to target this over the frequency period in the following weeks.

Friday

Chest -10 sets/Shoulders - 12 sets

  1. Flat dumbbell press
    Worked up to 60’s and used a the grip and elbow positioning I would usually use on bench.Paused 1 second at the bottom, fired up hard and flex 90% of the reps. Goal was 3 sets of 15 with a hard weight, some rep drop off was acceptable. 3 total work sets.
    60’s x 15, 14, 12

Goal - Activate and pump the pecs

  1. Incline Bench
    Normal incline. Sets of 6 until you lost speed. No touch and no lockout. Counted as 3 total work sets.
    95 x 6
    115 x 6
    135 x 6
    155 x 6 (grinded and locked out the last 3 reps I think)

Goal - Train explosively

  1. Decline smith press
    Flat bench elevated by 1, 25 lb plate under the feet. Was supposed to find a hard weight for 10 and do 3 sets with it, then a drop set. Still getting used to smith work so I picked the wrong weight. 4 total work sets.
    I did:
    As if on 45 lb bar (weight in plates)
    175 (130 lbs) x 10, 8
    155 (110 lbs) x 9
    135 (90 lbs) x 8/ 115 (70 lbs) x 8/ 85 (40 lbs) x 8

Goal - Supramax pump

  1. Cable flies
    Good stretch, hard flex for 1 second. 10 partials pumped out at the end. 1 total work sets.
    13 lb plate per arm x 15 with 10 partials tacked on at the end

Goal - Supramax pump and work a muscle from the stretched position

  1. Lateral Raises
    Heavy weight, 30 second rest periods. Used straps and raised to ear level. 3 total work sets.
    10 x 12
    20’s x 8, 8, 8

Goal - Activate and pump the side delt

  1. Cage Press
    Pins at mouth level
    45 x 5
    75 x 5
    65 x 5
    55 x 5, 5
    5 total work sets

Goa - Train explosively

  1. Bent Over Cable Rear Delt Raises - 5 lbs per arm x 22 with 18 partials, 20 with 15 partials. 2 total work sets.

Goal - Supramax pump in the rear delts

This workout felt amazing! God I love this style for upper body.

Sunday

Legs - 13 sets

Focusing on Glutes and the Vastus Lateralis

  1. Glute Kickbacks on Leg Curl machine
    25 lb plate x 8
    35 lb plate x 8 (5 sec iso hold at the top)
    35 lb plate x 8 (10 sec iso hold at the top)
    35 lb plate x 8 (15 sec iso hold at the top)
    35 lb plate x 8 (20 sec iso hold at the top)

4 total work sets

Goal - Activate and pump the glutes

  1. Duck Stance Leg Press (Focusing on Vastus Lateralis)
    -Used a controlled tempo, constant tension
    1PPS x 20
    2PPS x 20
    3PPS x 20

Counted as 3 total work sets

Goal - Activate and Pump the Quads, Specifically the Vastus Lateralis

  1. Hybrid SSB with KB Squats (see video, shown at 3:34)
    See video Used the Meadows KB Squat technique. Lowered slowly trying to feel it digging into my Vastus Lateralis. I started to come up slowly, but then accelerated through the rep and flexed my outer thighs and glutes the best I could. Did sets of 6 until I couldn’t maintain the technique and accelerate at the midpoint to lockout. 3 total work sets

70 x 6
70 with 25 lb KB x 6
90 with 35 lb KB x 6
110 with 35 lb KB x 4

  • video shows the 90 lb with 35 lb set

Goal - Train explosively and supramax pump

  1. Meadows KB Squats - 3 sets of 10 with 35 lb KB. 3 total work sets

Goal - Supramax pump in glutes and Vastus Lateralis

Done. Had some band goodmornings I had planned to do but I ran out of time, not complaining though. This was an awesome workout. Felt great, hit muscles I never focused on before, and dug the exercises.

Monday

Back - 13 sets

  1. Meadows Rows
    25 x 8 (warm up)
    50 x 10 (too heavy, knew I wasn’t going to be able to hit the number of reps for 4 sets)
    35 x 10, 9 (shit… I guess the first work set was way too heavy)
    25 x 10
    4 total work sets

Goal - Get some blood flowing and pre-pump your lats

  1. One-Arm Supinated Pulldowns
    40 x 8
    50 x 8, 8, 8
    4 total work sets

Goal - Supramax pump in lower lat

  1. Meadows Pullovers
    45 x 12, 10
    35 x 12, 12
    4 total work sets.

Goal - Work a pumped muscle from the stretched position.

  1. Smith Deadstop rows
    Pulled from just below the knee to the belly button.
    95 x 6 (warm up)
    145 x 6, 6, 6, 6
    4 total worksets

Goal - Train explosively

  1. Banded Back Extension on leg curl machine (see video, shown at 4:40)
    Red band x 15
    Blue band x 15
    Dropset: 2 red bands + blue band x 15, Blue band x 1 (not much of a drop set lol)
    3 total worksets

Goal - Supramax pump in your spinal erectors

Tuesday (Doing this today, will fill in later)

Biceps - 0 sets/Triceps - 13 sets

Band Pushdowns
worked up to:
3 x 15 w. 3 red bands
Drop set:
3 red bands x 10, 2 red bands x 10, 1 red bands x 10, 1/2 red band x 10, 1 red band x 14 pumping partials
4 total work sets

Bench dips
worked up to:
4 x 12 w. 90 lbs in plates
Drop set:
90 lbs x 10, 70 lbs x 8, 45 lbs x 6, bw x 5, close-grip push ups x 5
5 total work sets

Decline lying triceps extensions
Worked up to:
85 x 6
75 x 8, 8
Drop set:
75 x 8, 65 x 8, 55 x 6, 45 x 8
4 total work sets

Cable Curls -

DB hammer curls -

Machine preacher curl -

It was 3:15 AM and I needed to be in bed soon so I decided to skip biceps so I had time to eat and get more than 4 hours of sleep. But holy shit are my triceps pumped…

42

Week 2 - Failure and Making Big Changes so I can move forward

Friday - Squats

After warm up

  1. Hybrid SSB Squats with bands
    65 lbs in bands
    worked up to:
    220/65 x 2, 2 (moved better then the 220 x 1, 1 last week)

All I had time for today

Saturday - Attempting Legs again

  1. Lying leg Curls
    3 x 10 w. 50 lbs

  2. Landmine Belt Squat standing on band
    Worked up to 110/black short band x 22

tried to repeat for a second set but the whole set up fell apart and nearly got killed… called it…

43

Hit some problems last week that made me take a hard look at my squat program, set up, and room for progression and I decide to make a few changes. I am dropping the band tension and am going to focus on bar speed and small gradual progressions on straight bar weight with bigger progressions in band tension. I’m going to outline my entire 16 week plan; it may seem like I am setting my goals too high for my finishing weights; however I plan out really pushing it the next 16 weeks and I don’t think it is unrealistic at all. I need to set the bar high right? Besides all the numbers from week to week are subject to change based on how I perform, when I start getting worn down from the volume, and so on.

Here is the FULL plan:

(Numbers plugged in from my workout this week)

Week 1
175/40 lbs in bands x 2
205/40 in bands x 2
225/40 in bands x 2

Week 2

  • 175/40 in bands x 2
  • 200/40 in bands x 2
  • 230/40 in bands x 2, 2 (Third set optional based on speed)

Week 3

  • 195/75 in bands x 2
  • 215/75 in bands x 2
  • 230/75 in bands x 2

Week 4

  • 190 x 2
  • 215/75 in bands x 2, 2, 2 (this is the minimum goal, if i can get 5, I go for it. This is roughly same weight at top as week 2, so it will be a PR)
  • 230/75 in bands x 2

Week 5 - No Squats this week (semi-deload)

Week 6

  • 205 x 2
  • 235-255/100 in bands x 1-2
  • 215-235 x 3, 3*, 3*, ect. (Doing at least 1 set; 5 sets max. Depends on bar speed)

Week 7

  • 195-210/120-135 in chain x 2, 2, 2, 2
  • 205-225/120-135 in chain x 2

Week 8

  • Work up doing singles to a heavy but fast double
  • Goal: 300 - 330 x 2

Week 9

  • 205-225/120-135 in chain x 2, 2, 2, 2*, 2* (Number of sets based on bar speed)

Week 10

  • 165-180/120-135 in chain x 7*, X*, X** (Using the Hybrid SSB, using a weight somewhere between 165-180 and just repping it but still using compensatory acceleration style reps until it is at the speed where I usually stop at)

Week 11

  • 215-235/120-135 in chain x 2, 2, 2, 2*, 1-2*

Week 12

  • 235-255/120-135 in chain x 1 (20 lb jumps)

Week 13

  • 250-270/120-135 in chain x 1 (30 lb jumps)

week 14

  • 260-280/120-135 in chain x 1 (40 lb jumps

Week 15 - Semi-Deload; still want to use the heavy chains but keep it light with low volume

Week 16
-Work up to a near max double
goal: 350-375

Week 17

  • Work up to a near/all out max
    Goal: 365-400

I also be doing a high volume of belt squatting the first 6 weeks.

Week 1 - 5 days a week
Week 2 - 5 days a week
Week 3 - 7 days a week
Week 4 - 6 days a week
Week 5 - 6 days a week
Week 6 - 4 days a week

44

What is your current max for squat? Do you feel like you’re getting stronger by doing so many different types of movements?

45

[quote]lift206 wrote:
What is your current max for squat? Do you feel like you’re getting stronger by doing so many different types of movements?[/quote]

No idea what my current max is, I moved 280 for 2 a few weeks ago at a decent speed. I know I could’ve gotten 300 easy, maybe around 315-325 for a grind. I am not focusing on strength for anything but the squat right now, everything else is just bodybuilding work. As far as variation on the squat goes I am sticking to a straight bar with just varying amounts of tension for a few reasons. 1: I need to get used to having heavy weight on my back again, 2: I need to refine my technique to where I am keeping everything tight and transferring power from my legs to my core and I am making progress each week doing so, 3: I am using the added resistance because I need to get better at firing out of the hole with the proper set up and speed. I definitely feel my squat is moving up. I may not be able to walk in and hit a PR yet but only because I just am not confident or comfortable yet enough beyond a certain weight range. For my squat basically the only lifts I am focusing on for strength is the squats on squat aday, belt squats, and belt squat marches. Anything beyond that is for hypertrophy. However; I am getting stronger on my bodybuilding days as well.

46

IMO, if you’re focused on technique then the added resistance, speed out of the hole and anything else doesn’t really matter. Technique is about starting tight and staying tight throughout the entire repetition. It took me a year to rebuild my technique but I made progress by rotating between front squat, high bar squat and low bar squat. Each time I learned how to recruit certain muscle groups and keep them tight. I kept adding in more muscle groups as I kept rotating lifts and eventually got to a point where I’m recruiting the same muscle groups consistently across squat variations, although the load distribution changes.

Technique actually feels consistent now. I feel like you would benefit more by learning how to recruit the same muscle groups when using squat variations with varying stance widths and torso angles instead of using added resistance and worrying about speed. Focus more on how everything feels.

47

[quote]lift206 wrote:
IMO, if you’re focused on technique then the added resistance, speed out of the hole and anything else doesn’t really matter. Technique is about starting tight and staying tight throughout the entire repetition. It took me a year to rebuild my technique but I made progress by rotating between front squat, high bar squat and low bar squat. Each time I learned how to recruit certain muscle groups and keep them tight. I kept adding in more muscle groups as I kept rotating lifts and eventually got to a point where I’m recruiting the same muscle groups consistently across squat variations, although the load distribution changes.

Technique actually feels consistent now. I feel like you would benefit more by learning how to recruit the same muscle groups when using squat variations with varying stance widths and torso angles instead of using added resistance and worrying about speed. Focus more on how everything feels.[/quote]

That is why I was running with the Hybrid SSB bar for so long, I was relearning how to tie everything together without being hindered by my poor shoulder mobility. My Technique no longer is a problem; the problem is not being able to explode with it. I can stay tight up to a max weight, but the weight will be a smooth and slow on all my sets starting as low as 70-80% of my max. It’s when I try to explode is when shit falls apart and my hips drift back and I bend over and what not. I’ve tried the whole focusing on technique and sticking with lighter to moderate weights and it has never fixed my problem so I am just trying something different. I just have to try and see first; but you may end up being right, I’m just the type of person who needs to find out the hard way.

48

[quote]kjmont wrote:

[quote]lift206 wrote:
IMO, if you’re focused on technique then the added resistance, speed out of the hole and anything else doesn’t really matter. Technique is about starting tight and staying tight throughout the entire repetition. It took me a year to rebuild my technique but I made progress by rotating between front squat, high bar squat and low bar squat. Each time I learned how to recruit certain muscle groups and keep them tight. I kept adding in more muscle groups as I kept rotating lifts and eventually got to a point where I’m recruiting the same muscle groups consistently across squat variations, although the load distribution changes.

Technique actually feels consistent now. I feel like you would benefit more by learning how to recruit the same muscle groups when using squat variations with varying stance widths and torso angles instead of using added resistance and worrying about speed. Focus more on how everything feels.[/quote]

That is why I was running with the Hybrid SSB bar for so long, I was relearning how to tie everything together without being hindered by my poor shoulder mobility. My Technique no longer is a problem; the problem is not being able to explode with it. I can stay tight up to a max weight, but the weight will be a smooth and slow on all my sets starting as low as 70-80% of my max. It’s when I try to explode is when shit falls apart and my hips drift back and I bend over and what not. I’ve tried the whole focusing on technique and sticking with lighter to moderate weights and it has never fixed my problem so I am just trying something different. I just have to try and see first; but you may end up being right, I’m just the type of person who needs to find out the hard way.[/quote]

It seems like technique is still the problem. Focusing on lighter weights doesn’t do anything if you don’t intentionally change how you perform the movement. This applies to a weight that is 10% ,25% ,80% ,90% of 1RM, or any type of loading. When you see form breakdown while exploding like you describe, it means that you were never truly stable. Instability can be described as when there is any deviation from the intended path, it becomes very difficult to return to the same path. On the other hand, stability prevents being pulled out of position in the first place. You have to be aware of how to develop it.

Another common mistake is making a timeline for strength progression when rebuilding technique. It means you’re forcing your weakest muscles to go through the greatest amount of adaptation when you can’t really even quantify how weak they are in the first place. If you set your training max at 300 lbs because you can squat 300 lbs but your hip adductors and abductors are only good for 150 lbs, they won’t even be engaged during your working sets because they automatically fail and stronger muscles take over. It’s common for people to think certain exercises will always build certain muscles but this isn’t always true. For example, an athlete with poor technique can be using 5 muscle groups to squat 225 lbs while an elite level athlete may be utilizing 25 muscle groups for the exact same load.

The first step is learning what muscles aren’t firing. Then isolating them and developing the mind-muscle connection to know when it’s “on”. Then working them into a complex movement while knowing it’s “on”. Then removing the ego so that the weights are adjusted to allow those muscle to do work in order to grow. The 300 lb max should be thrown out the door. It can be used as a starting point for programming but everything must be adjusted based ONLY on feel. Weights don’t matter when rebuilding technique. The intended muscles must be engaged and doing work. It should be heavy enough to force adaptation and light enough to put in enough work so the muscles grow bigger and stronger.

A true beginner can develop technique in just a couple months because all muscle groups are typically weak and develop together. A more experienced person can take much longer because those weak muscles have to catch up to much stronger muscles and the thought that “I should be this strong so I’ll do this much weight” can cause people to get stuck in the cycle. I’m not trying to grill you on your approach. Just providing another perspective and hopefully you won’t waste as much time as I did.

49

Week 3 - Hitting the Reset Button on Training

Ramping up the Frequency with a Challenging Schedule

Tuesday - Birthday Squats

Legs - 10 sets

Warm up:
Mace Swings - 3 x 10 per side
Bodyweight Bulgarian Split Squats x 10, 3
Hip Airplanes x 10

  1. Squats (Finally enough shoulder mobility to use a straight bar!)
  • 40 in bands
    45 x 2
    45/40 x 2
    95/40 x 2
    135/40 x 2
    added knee sleeves
    175/40 x 2
    205/40 x 2
    225/40 x 2 (had at least 5 in me, 8 max)

-Focusing on leaving a decent amount in the tank the first 2 weeks of this reset. I wanted to leave plenty of room for progression because I am gradually going to add weight to the bar as well as band tension the next 5 weeks. Since I am also working up to doing daily belt squats, I called it here.

A. DIY (Do it yourself) Belt Squat Machine
45/doubled red band x 5
90/doubled red x 5
90/doubled red x 5-5-4 (10 seconds of rest between mini sets; technically I got 5 on the last set but I fell forward and had to catch myself so I didn’t count it)

B1. DIY Belt Squat Machine Marching
Set 1 - 135/Doubled red x 50
Set 2 - 135/Doubled red x 50 — Imediately to 135 x 50

B2. Band Bad Girls - short black band x 15, 15

  • Definitely going to have to tweak the DIY Machine; the cable seems to stick quite a bit and this definitely needs fixing. The difference in tension between the eccentric phase and the concentric phase is unreal; to put it into perspective the negative feels like its 45 lbs and the positive feels like its almost 200 lbs. Might’ve slightly tweaked my knee on these because of this but if I did it is very mild.

Friday - Deads

Warm Up:
Mace Swings - 3 x 10/side
Bulgarian Split Squats - bw x 10, 8
Hip airplanes - bw x 10, 2

  1. Duffin RNT Sumo Deads off 4 mats (Raised 3 inches off of floors)
    135 x 5
    185 x 5
    255 x 2-2-3 (20 seconds of rest between sets)

Didn’t have enough time to really do anything else, let alone workout at all so I walked in, did what I could, and called it here.

Saturday - Leg Day Attempt 1/Deadlift Assistance

A. Standing Leg Curls
25 x 12 (3 sec neg)
30 x 10 (3 sec neg)
35 x 8 (3 sec neg) + 25 bottom partials

  1. RDLs off 3 inch blocks
    135 x 5
    175 x 5
    Straps
    200 x 5
    Straps and belt
    225 x 5
    260 x 6

It was 3 AM, was exhausted and my back was rounding over a little on the last set of the RDLs. Frustration set in and called it again here, but this was still a PR on how easy it went.

Sunday - A great Deadlift Assistance Day/Lower back and core Building day

  1. Cambered SSB Goodmornings deadstop from pins
  • Same lower back position and stance as Sumo Dead
    70 x 5
    90 x 5
    110 x 5
    120 x 5
    140 x 5
    160 x 7

  1. Rolling 5-sec Pause Cambered SSB Squats
    70 x 3 (3 rolls/1 squat = 1 rep, done for 3 reps)
    95 x 3 (3/1)
    135 x 3 (3 rolls/1 squats, 3 rolls/1 squat, 1 roll/1 squat)

  2. Cambered SSB Goodmornings - 70 x 7 (no belt)

A. Hack Squats - Empty machine x 8 (knees were a little achy after I was done the set, so I decided to scrap these)

Didn’t have time for anything else so I called it a week here. Better explanation as o why I am using the exercises that I am on this day is explained in video as well as what the hell happened this week.

50

November Week 2

Increasing training volume through a more balanced training schedule

Monday - Belt Squats

Legs - 3 sets

  1. Cambered Bar rig Belt Squats with doubled red bands
    70 x 5
    120/bands x 5
    160/bands x 5
    210/bands x 5
    250/bands x 5

Dropset:
300 x 5/rested 10 sec/ 2
250 x 5
210 x 5

3 total work sets
Goal - Supramax pump

  • Was supposed to do a set of 5-5-5 but the new rig turned this exercise and weight into a guessing game, so by the 2nd leg of the rest pause set it quickly made me realize I worked up too heavy. Back to having difficult with depth because of the different set up but it does feel a million times more stable and sturdy than the cable belt squat rig.

Tuesday

Chest - 16 sets/Shoulders - 12 sets

A. Flat Machine Chest Press
Slow acceleration out of the hole for the first half of the movement, then exploded by flexing my pecs hard. 3 total work sets

worked up to:
95 x 8, 8, 8

Goal - Activation and supramax pump

B. Smith Incline Press

  • Used a slight incline by using the lowest setting on the adjustable bench with 2 stacked 25 lb plates under the foot of the bench. Used paused reps 2" above chest to kill momentum and increase my ability to feel my upper chest. No lockout. 5 total work sets

50 lbs x 15 (1 x 25 lb PPS)
65 lbs x 13 (1 x 25, 1 x 5, 1 x 2.5 lb PPS)
80 lbs x 11 (1 x 25, 1 x 10, 1 x 5 lb PPS)
95 lbs x 9 (1 x 45, 1 x 2.5 lb PPS)
110 lbs x 7 (1 x 45, 1 x 10 lb PPS)

Goal - Supramax pump

C. Reverse Band Incline Bench

  • Used a slight incline by using the lowest setting on the adjustable bench with 2 stacked 25 lb plates under the foot of the bench. Done for speed. Used paused reps 2" above chest to kill momentum and increase my ability to feel my upper chest for the first 3 sets, then switched to regular speed reps on the last 2 sets because speed was starting to drop off. Used 30 seconds of rest between sets.

135 x 5 (warm up)
175 x 5 (paused)
175 x 5 (paused)
175 x 5 (paused)
175 x 5
175 x 5

Goal - Train explosively

D. Pech Minor dips with machine assisted dips

  • Each set I Started off by doing as many pec minor dips as I could til failure, then I set up the machine assist option and banged out as many more dips as I could trying to total 20 reps each set between the two exercises. On the regular dips I kept my chin tucked, leaned back and bent over at the waist creating a 45 degree angle with my torso, and got a good stretch on each rep. 3 total work sets

Goal - Work the pec minor and train a muscle from the stretched position

E. Lateral Raises

  • Just your standard lateral raises. Tried to use a slowish tempo to increase the mind muscle connection. Used a fast pace here. 4 total work sets

5’s x 10 (warm up)
10’s x 12, 12, 12, 12

Goal - Activate and pump the delts

F1. 6 ways - 2.5’s x 7, 5, 3
-moved immediately to
F2. Spidercrawls with red band - 3 x up and down the wall 3 times

6 total work sets via 3 supersets
Goal - Supramax pump and take whatever life was left in the front and side delts

G. Band Pull aparts - 2 x 12. 2 total work sets

Goal - Supramax pump in the rear delts

Wednesday

Biceps - 12 sets/Triceps - 12 sets

A. Lying Low Pulley Rope Pushdowns
Kept my arms out in front and elevated my back on a 6 inch block to keep my shoulders out of the movement. Flared my elbows at the bottom and spread the rope apart to hit all of the heads of the triceps.

3 x 12 w. 30 lbs in plates and 2 reverse red bands

Dropset:
30 x 10
20 x 10
20 and 2 reverse red bands x 10
Band pushdowns with 2 red bands x 10
Band pushdowns with 1 red band x 10

4 total work sets

B. Bent over Reverse grip Pushdowns on low pulley station
Squeezed hard at the top end of the ROM.

4 x 12 w. 20 in plates

Dropset:
20 x 10
20 and 2 reverse red bands x 10
Bent over reverse grip band pushdowns with blue band x 10
Bent over reverse grip band pushdowns with 2 red bands x 10
Bent over reverse grip band pushdowns with 1 red band x 10

5 total work sets

C. Overhead Triceps Press
Dickspress: 75 x 6
JM Press: 75 x 6
2 total work sets

D. Band Pushdowns - Red band x 50 1 total work set

E. Cable Curls
Kept my arms out in front of me and kept my elbows glued to my sides. Squeezed hard at the top for 1-2 count. Used 10 seconds of rest between sets. Last set done for as many reps as possible. 5 total work sets

20 lbs in plates x 10
20 x 10
20 with 2 reverse red bands x 10
20 with 2 reverse red bands x 10
20 with 2 reverse red bands x 12

F. DB Hammer Curls
Brought the dumbbells all the way up and flexed hard for a second. Used 10 seconds of rest between sets. On the last set I tacked on as many partials as I could bear. 4 total work sets

10’s x 10
8’s x 10
8’s x 10
8’s x 10 with 4 partials

G. Machine Preacher Curls
Squeezed hard at the top of each rep for 1 second. 10 seconds of rest between sets. Last set I performed a drop set. On the last drop weight I repped it out for as many reps as I could. 3 total work sets

40 x 8
40 x 8
Dropset:
40 x 6
30 x 6
20 x 8
10 x 24

Thursday

Squats - Playing and Figuring out my new Push Band

  1. Squats with 45 lbs in bands
    45/45 x 2, 2, 2
    135 x 2 (0.59, 0.63 m/s)
    175 x 2
    205 x 2 (0.45, 0.6 m/s)
    230 x 2 (0.25, – m/s) (didn’t record the second rep, so I decided to repeat the set)
    230 x 2 (0.19, 0.12 m/s)

Friday - Deads

  1. Duffin Deads (20 lbs in band tension around hips, 15 around shoulders)
    135 x 5
    175 x 5
    210 x 5 (lower back was fatiguing so I decided to drop to 3 reps on the next set)
    240 x 3
    265 x 5

Very solid. I was actually hoping and thought I got 6 but I miscounted… the first and last reps were from a deadstop. Only 2 reps were recorded and both stayed above 0.3 m/s was in a one-two hundredth within each other. I used a controlled touch and go to try and get the push band to record but it still only did 2 reps of the set.

A. Pull Ups (45 sec of rest)
Wide-Overhand - bw x 10, 10
Medium-Underhand - bw x 8
Close-Neutral - bw x 6

B. Strap Plate Kb Swing/Upright Rows
At the bottom swung the plate between my legs a tad like a kb swing than upright rowed it up. These felt awesome for my midback. Used 30 sec of rest.
25 x 15, 15 12

C. Dimel Deads - Bar with Doubled reds x 15, 15

Weight was too light and I was tired and out of time anyway.

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November Week 3

Ramping up the Intensity, Volume, & Dialing in on a few lifts

Focusing on Increasing Work Capacity and Strength

Wednesday - Work Capacity and Deadlifts

A. Banded Leg Press with doubled red bands
-Driving to 3/4 lockout
Unloaded x 20 (Warm up)
1 PPS x 12 (Warm up)
2 PPS x 10 (Warm up)
3 PPS x 8
4 PPS x 8
5 PPS x 8, 8 (PR. I think the most I’ve ever done on these before was 4 PPS, not sure though)

  1. Sumo Deadlifts
    135 x 2 (Beltless, double overhand)
    Added Straps
    185 x 1
    225 x 1
    Belt and straps
    265 x 5 (Touch and go)

Work Capacity Circuit

Thursday - Squats

Warm up

  1. Squats with 95 lbs in band tension
    135 x 2
    175 x 2
    205 x 2, 2 (Wasn’t happy with my speed on my first set so I did another set)
    230 x 2 (1st rep: 0.36 m/s; 2nd rep: 0.38 m/s)

Back tightness wasn’t holding so I called it here

A. Band Bad Girls - short black band x 25, 22, 19, 16

Friday - Pause Squats

A. Front Squat and High Bar Back Squat combo
7 sec pause at bottom, 15 hold at lockout (heels elevated)/ 5 sec pause at bottom
95 x 1/3
115 x 1/3
135 x 2/2

B. Double Pause Front Squat and High Bar Back Squat combo (2 count pause)
Paused at parallel and mid-range
115 x 3/3
115 x 3/3

All I had time for and it felt more than enough

Went out of town for the weekend so this was all I did this week.

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So it’s been awhile…

I haven’t stop training but it had become intermittent and boring so it frankly hasn’t been worth updating. I learned some things after the conclusion of my last training cycle and I decided to take a few steps back so I could move forward.

After the conclusion of my last cycle I hit an easier 280 x 2 squat with a fair amount of speed and jumped right to trying to hit 320; I walked it out and am fairly confident I could have hit it, however my core just couldn’t handle it and remain braced so I called it.

Since then I have been spending a lot of time on mobility, core bracing strategies, and relearning proper movement function.

Even though I am going out of town the next 2 weeks I am going to be ramping up my training again and doing more of what I need to get my lifts up as well as energy systems work to increase my work capacity.

Stay tuned…

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December - Week 4

Day 1 - Bench

A. Hover Press Paused 1" off Chest
45 x 20 (No Pause)
95 x 8 (No Pause)
135 x 1 (Paused)
185 x 1 (Paused)

205 x 3 (Paused)
225 x 3 (Paused)

B. CAT Bench - 6 x 4 w. 185 (60-120 sec rest between sets)

  • Speed remained good and stayed above 0.3 m/s on all the reps, but technique is still inconsistent.

C. Dead Bench - 185 x 1, 1, 0, 1, 1, 1, 1 (10-60 seconds rest between sets)

D. Kayak V-Bar Chins
BW x 4 per side (Alternating Sides)
BW x 4 per side (Alternating Sides) ~ Rested 5 seconds ~ BW x 5 second Iso-Holds per side

E. DB Flyes (3 second negative) - 25’s x 8, 7, 7

F. Strip the Rack Kaz Press with band (Band around back and attached to hand) - Bar w. black band x 5, 5, 3, 5, 3 (10-30 seconds rest)

G. Chest Supported Deadstop KB Rows (Semi-Suminated and Neutral Grips) - 40’s x 12, 12, 11

Done.

Was really surprised by how well the 225 moved considering how little I had been training bench since I started my training back up. Even though strength is going up I need to shift a lot of my focus to remaining consistent with my technique again because I am losing tightness on the concentric of the lift. The Dead Benches should really help fix this problem as well as the high number of sets via the CAT Bench. This is way more volume than what I have been doing but I need a serious overall on my upper body strength and conditioning in addition to the muscle mass that is lacking and is needing to be built back up.

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Last week isn’t really worth updating because it was filled with injuries and I just worked around the pain.

Week 1 of new phase

Tuesday: Chest - 9 sets/Shoulders - 13 sets

A. Chest Supported Rear Delt Flies (1 sec hold at top)
5’s x 12
8’s x 20
5’s x 20, 20, 20

B. Strip the Rack Bench with doubled reds (2 sec pause on chest, 2 sec flex at lockout)
45 x 6
95 x 8, 6, 6

C. Incline Bench (Paused 2" off chest, drive to 3/4’s lockout. Done Explosively)
95 x 6
115 x 6

95 x 9, 9

D. Incline Tilt KB Press - 45’s x 8, 5, 8

E1. DB Front Raise (Raise over head) - 8’s x 10, 10, 10
E2. Lateral Raises - 8’s x 10, 10, 10
E3. Rear Delt Band/Face Pulls - red band x 10, 10, 10

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For the record for anyone who used to follow this log, I am posting under a new one titled “Taking a Diagnostic Approach”