Mkral's Rebuilding

Training Training Logs
41

11/24

Bench
295x7
295x5
295x5

Close grip
235x5x4 all last reps paused, easy

Skullcrushers, football bar
95x10
105x10
115x10
125x8

Machine pec flies
4 sets of 12

SA Cable curls
4 sets of 12 each

Reverse fly rear delts x 50

Wish I woulda had a spotter today, cuz Im 75% sure I coulda got another rep with 295, and while Ive benched 320x8, my PR with 295 is still only 7. That weight seems to always run into some issue or another for me. At any rate 295x7 is right in line with where I thought Id be progressing, my bench is slowly comin back up.

42

11/25

Sumo deads against bands
135x3
185x3
225x3
275x3
315x3 (add straps)
365x3
405x1x3 (ditched straps)

Lat pulldowns
4 sets of 15

Light leg curls x 100ish

I dont think ive ever done 405 sumo with straight weight, let alone bands, so this was new. Played around with stance and hand placement on the sets working up. My glutes are cometely out of the picture until the bar gets to my knees, i think thats something that needs work on either sumo or conventional.

Edit: band tension probly only 75ish pounds at lockout. Light short bands.

43

11/26

Bench against bands (light short)
135x3
150x3
165x3
180x3
195x3
210x3
225x2 (fast first rep, not so much second)
225x1 (not any kind of grind, but not fast at all)

High incline smith machine press (two notches from seated)
*weights listed are just plates, dunno what the bar is. Guessing 35ish
50x10
70x10
90x10
110x10
130x10
150x10

BB curl
45x10
65x10
85x10

Pullovers
4 sets of 12

Some light triceps

Some light abs

Some staitionary bike

Flared the shit out my elbows on the seated press, that felt tons better on my shoulders. Will have to try that with a BB next time.

44

11/27

Squats
355x9 PR
355x3 paused
355x3

RDL
135x12x3

Leg press/calf raise
4pps x 15/20
5pps x 15/20
6pps x 12/15
7pps x 10/10

Lying leg curls
3 sets of 10

Still reps in the tank with 355x9. Actually felt like my quads woulda been the first to go had i gone to failure, which is a first.

Went heavier on leg press than usual, felt good. Also RDLs werent as bad as last time, think i can add weight now.

45

11/28

Bench
310x6
310x3 paused last rep

Incline (super flared elbows)
250x3x2

Close grip
250x3x2 all long pauses

DB circuit:
A: pec fly x 10
B: skullcrusher x 10
C: press x 10
4 rounds , on a decline bench

Tricep pushdown machine
3 sets of 20

Some abs

15 min treadmill incline walk

I feel dumb loading up 310, but thats what my programming calls for, and i will take 6 reps with it. Had 1-2 in the tank today too, felt great. Incline felt okay, but im still not sure its worth it, when theres plenty of other bench variations to work on. Close grip is still too light, but i can adjust that by pausing.

46

11/29

Deads
Worked up in singles to:
435x1 easy
475x1 even easier
495x0 lost all upper body tightness, got cramps in both pecs, wtf? Flew off the floor though

Chest supported t bar, wide overhand
1.5 plates x 12
2 plates x 12
2.5 plates x10
3 plates x 5

Lat pulldowns
5 sets of 10

Cable rows
5 sets of 10

Nautilus pulldown machine
4 sets of 12

150 reps of core work

Little pissed about 495, but i know damn well i have it in me and probly a lot more if i fix my weak points. Deadlift day will be more back/core focused the rest of this cycle.

Edit: wanted to note I used straps again today, trying out working my grip separately this cycle.

47

11/30

Speed bench reverse band (short light, -120 or so off at the chest, slack at lockout)
315x3x10ish
365x3 (nice and fast)
405x1 (quick, but I was outta gas)

Straight bar cable tricep pushdowns
5-6 sets of 20

Pushdown machine
5-6 sets of 20

Kind of a blah day, this fuckin cold won’t go away. Im not sure if its the same cold for this long, or if I just got another one, but it seems like I was only 100% for about 24 hours, and that was a week ago. Sore throat was pretty bad layin in bed, but fine once I get the blood flowin a bit.

The one positive I can take, 365 didnt feel heavy in my hands at all, I might have a shot at it straight weight right now. Also 405 felt manageable, hasnt felt that way since I was a fat 240+.

48

12/3

Squats
365x8 PR
365x3x2

Leg press/calf raise
5.5pps x 15/20
3 sets

Leg curl x 20 x 5

Leg ext. x 20 x 3

I had strength for 365x10 i bet, but i puked in my mouth a bit, and 8 was what i went to the gym expecting, and its a 3 rep PR. The following triples were harder than the first set, and the leg press destroyed me today. Bunch of leg curls as usual, and some light leg extensions cuz i really wasnt feeling up to anything else haha.

Should note the reason for the two day lay-off and my sucking today, i drank like a goddamn fish saturday night, almost 48 hours later im still not feeling right. I have a hard time learning this lesson.

49

12/4

Bench
320x4x4

Close grip
250x4x4

DB bench
70s x 15 x 3

Football bar skulls
105x12x3

Decline hammer curls
20s x 12 each

Superset with cable rope tricep pushdowns x 15
4 sets

Reverse flies
20s x 15 x 3

20 min incline treadmill walk

I would have liked to go for 5-6 with 320 but i had no spot, so i just went for more volume. All sets were easy til the last one, where i had a spotter. hit a bitch of a sticking point but pushed through it. Close grip was again too easy so i followed suit with that. Also i feel like my assistance work was solid today, so overall pretty good day, even though id have liked to log a higher rep PR with 320.

By the way i feel silly putting 320 on a bar, but i am a big believer in the extra 5 pounds.

50

12/5

Reverse band deads
Worked up to a few triples with 535

Chest supported tbar rows, close neutral grip
1 plate x 15
1.5 plate x 15
2 plate x 15

Lat pulls extra wide
4 sets of 12

Felt like shit, shut er down.

I just realized this “cold” has been on and off since october. Mostly on. Probly time to see a doc. I have felt good lifting though (aside from today) so i dont think its as simple as rest and a deload, but who knows.

51

11/6

Speed bench against bands (light short)
135x3
155x3
175x3
185x3
195x3x7

Dips
BW x 15
+45 x 12
+90 x 8

Bunch of reverse grip SA cable pishdowns

Out of town at a different gym, weights feel lighter here. Didnt spend too much time, got a show to go to

52

12/7

Squats
380x7 PR
380x2 form broke down, good morning style

Leg press
7pps x 12 x 3

Leg curls
6 sets of 15

Today is the first time this cycle where another rep on squats woulda been a significant form breakdown, so I like 380x7 for the most accurate guess at my 1RM so far. On the second set I had a horrible unrack and walkout and lost focus. Leg press was heavy and made a weird feeling in my surgical incision so I shut down accessory work early today.

53

12/9

Bench
330x3
330x2x2

Close grip
260x2
275x2
290x2
305x2

Bunch of triceps acc.

I felt beat up today, crappy sleep the last few days, and winding down this training cycle. The last 47 days has been 11 each heavy squat and bench days, and 10 each speed pull and speed bench/shoulder days, and 5 days off. Depending how i feel after some good sleep i may skip the last few sessions of this one and deload.

On bench today, 4 reps woulda been an all out grinder, gonna use 330x4 as a barometer for my next cycle.

Instead of pausing close grip i ramped it up, i think my ratios were off. 305 close was harder than 330 comp grip but thats after all those work sets so im gonna go ahead with that percentage (90ish)

54

12/10

Deads
dicked around with some bands and stuff, then worked up to a single with 465

Kroc rows with straps
100s x 20 each x 3 sets

Let pulls, close underhand
4-5 sets of 12

some abs

Slightly better sleep today, so I feel slightly less crappy. I will be getting some more work done on my back tattoo tonight, so most likely a nice deload is in order.

55

Overall I consider this cycle a success, my bench went from about 320-325 to easily tripling 330. Squat went from missing 385 to getting 380x7. Also lost a chunk of fat and my BW stayed constant around 225. Grip training separate from the gym has been a success as well.

Negatives/things to work on for the next cycle:
1: Deadlift I kinda left on the back burner, that will get addressed.
2: Abs/core really, really sucks.
3: Not enough heavy back work.
4: I want to do more explosive/DE lower body stuff.

Going to more of a true Coan cycle after a deload now, gonna list my loading parameters. Open to suggestion from anyone following:

Bench day will be 3 sets each of comp grip and close grip instead of 2 each of comp, close, and incline. Incline bugs my shoulders and I get plenty progress out of the first two.

Week 1: Bench 240x10x3, Close grip 215x10x3
Week 2: Bench 250x10x3, Close grip 225x10x3
Week 3: Bench 265x8x3, Close grip 240x8x3
Week 4: Bench 275x8x3, Close grip 250x8x3
Week 5: Bench 290x5x3, Close grip 260x5x3
Week 6: Bench 300x5x3, Close grip 270x5x3
Week 7: Bench 310x5x3, Close grip 280x5x3
Week 8: Bench 325x3x3, Close grip 290x3x3
Week 9: Bench 335x3x3, Close grip 300x3x3
Week 10: Bench 345x2x3, Close grip 310x2x3
Week 11: Bench 355x2x3, Close grip 320x2x3
Week 12: Bench 365, Close grip 330

For squat and dead, I haven’t decided yet if Im gonna do em on the same day as Coan has CSEagles doin, but I have the weights figured I think:

Squat:
Week 1: 330x10x2
Week 2: 340x10x2
Week 3: 355x8x2
Week 4: 365x8x2
Week 5: 380x5x2
Week 6: 390x5x2
Week 7: 400x5x2
Week 8: 415x3x2
Week 9: 425x3x2
Week 10: 440x2x2
Week 11: 450x2x2
Week 12: 465

Deads
Week 1: 365x8x2
Week 2: 380x5x2
Week 3: 390x5x2
Week 4: 400x5x2
Week 5: 410x5x2
Week 6: 420x5x2
Week 7: 435x3x2
Week 8: 445x3x2
Week 9: 455x3x2
Week 10: 470x2x2
Week 11: 480x2x2
Week 12: 495

56

Well, two full days off felt like a full week. My original plan was to go in and do some light full body deload stuff, but I quickly changed my mind. Did a mock meet in the gym. I shot for about 90-95% so as not to miss anything, and took videos for form checking purposes.

Squat: 95% of my 1RM. Felt lighter than that, but I may not quite have gotten depth. Could just be the angle though:

Bench: Also 95% of my estimated 1RM, but went way too smooth for that.

Deadlift: 91%. Wasnt feelin too great by this time, so this seems accurate.

A few notes: I just got a tattoo on my upper back, so bar/hand/elbow placement was a little weird on squats. Also my core was GONE for bench, so I didnt get quite as much arch/leg drive as usual. Deadlift, I was dead, so form flaws are slightly magnified. I definitely see some things I need to work on, but Im gonna hold my own self critique to see what other folks say.

57

12/15

Squats
345x10 PR
345 for a few doubles, workin on walkout and hand placement etc

Some light deads, i think up to 405 for a few

Edit: some light hamstring and ab work as well

Requiring a PR off the bat, for two sets, then doing deads? While tweaking form? Not sure why i thought this was a good idea. Gonna stick to my above template ghe rest of the way. I was basically out of gas after that first work set, which says a lot about my conditioning. Hint: its awful.

Anywho, for those squats, i went slightly higher bar position, moved my hands in just a hair, and tried to get my elbows under the bar. Took video to see how i did on that, will upload that soon.

What i noticed, my upper back and core got hit way harder with even these minor adjustments. This is probly why im better with the lowbar.

58

12/16

Bench
240x18 (at least 2 in the tank)
240x10x2

Close grip
215x10x3

DB circuit:
A: pec fly x 12
B: skulls x 12
C: press x 12
35s for 4 rounds

Gym closed.

Little bit of a rant here: i got done with a cycle and started over thinking and over planning and nitpicking shit. Then i looked back and realized i got some pretty fuckin awesome progress doin what i did. Im gonna do it again, with just a few minor tweaks based on the weaknesses i saw myself and taking a few tips from other people, rather than revamping shit. Gonna count yesterdays squat/dead day and todays bench day as the first two of the following program:

Day one: squats and deads by above template. Very little assistance work. Squats will be done with the moderate bar position. I will go for extra reps if i feel like it.

Day two: bench x3 and close grip x3 as per above template, again extra reps if i feel like it. Assistance will be mainly triceps.

Day three: back day. Not gonna structure this too much, any good heavy work will be helpful

Day four: DE lower. This will kinda be a dick around day really, gonna play around with accomadating resistance and other variations on squats and deads. ( different stances, bar placements) i think this is preferable to working a whole new program on new shit. Also might do stuff like cleans, jumps or conditioning on this day.

Day five: DE upper. Bench against bands with 185 for 12 triples, gonna time it and try to beat that time every week, or add bar weight and match the time. aka i want clear progression this cycle rather than just doin it. Assistance will be more shoulder oriented.

And thats it.

Edit: forgot to note, abs every day.

59

480×640 77.8 KB

Squats from yesterday

All the adjustments as very minor, but they are there. Walk out is a hair better, elbows are a touch more under the bar, and depth is down a bit. It sucks cuz strength wasnt the limiting factor in this set, my conditioning is. Oh well.

Progress pics: I’m not a bodybuilder, and Ive never trained for size or ‘aesthetics’ in my life, but lets be honest, looking better is a nice bonus. This first pic is rolling out of bed some time in late September. I might have had a few light days back in the gym after being laid up for 7 weeks. BW 225-230.

60

1936×2592 1.56 MB

Well, I dunno what Im doin with embedding pics haha, but you can figure it out. Heres the second pic today with a bit of upper body pump. Less than 3 months between pics. BW here 220.