12/17
Chest sup t bar row close underhand, straps
1p x 5
1.5p x 5
2p x 5
2.5p x 5
3p x 5
3.5p x 4
4p x 1 (seein where im at with these)
Neutral pullups, bodyweight
5 sets of 8
Kroc rows
120s x 12 each, 3 sets
Decline alternating curls
25s x 12 each, 3 sets
Lat pulls x a bunch
Abs x a bunch
20 min incline treadmill
12/18
High bar close stance ATG squats
135x5
185x5
225x5
255x5
285x5
Cleans
45x3
95x3
135x3
160x3
185x3
205x1 super ugly
Leg press/leg curl superset
4pps x 15/light x 20 x 4 sets
Nautilus ab machine
130x10x10
This squat variation went smoother than i thought it would, only uncomfortable thing was the bat way up on my neck (i have neck issues from high school sports)
I fucking suck at cleans from the floor, form is atrocious. Gonna work on those at least every other week.
12/19
Speed bench
185x3x12 (15:00)
Arnold press
30s x 10
35s x 10
40s x 10
45s x 10
50s x 10
Seated DB OHP
60s x 10
70s x 10
80s x 10
90s x 10
Machine circuit:
Pullovers x 12
Triceps push downs x 20
Rev fly x 15
Ab wheel x 5 (lol)
Lateral raises x 10
Nautilus ab crunch x 20
3 rounds
15 min incline walk
Speed bench felt good, think ill add weight rather than adding a set or beating the time. I was not creative with accessory work, just went up the dumbbells haha. It worked pretty well i think. Huge machine circuit cuz it was busy and i just got in where i could. Should not the ab wheel rollouts where not quite full reps, cuz i cant yet. Better than i thought though.
12/20
Squats
340x10 w/ belt
340x10 no belt
Deads
380x5 conv
380x5 sumo
Leg curls x 100
Light abs
I feel like the belt is hurting me on high rep sets, but i can get pounds out of it on higher weights/lower reps. Gonna shelf that a while again. Deadlifts felt light and smooth and fast, but holy shit am i not conditioned for this. To be fair 340x10 is nearly a PR, did that twice, then moved on to the most demanding lift there is, so cant be too upset. I also felt my core was useless halfway through the first squat set.
I have a tender spot on my high hamstring/glute/somethinorother and my lower back on the same side tightened up quite a bit. I imagine the two issues are connected. Its nowhere near where ive strained it before, but im always suspicious with these damn hammies.
Edit: date typo
12/21
Bench
250x17
250x10x2
Close grip
225x10
225x8 (hammy cramp lol)
225x6x2
Skullcrushers, decline EZ bar
4 sets of 12
Straight bar tricep cable pushdowms
4 sets of 10
Tricep pushdown machine
3 sets of 12
Getting closer to where i was on bench, just 5 pounds and a couple reps off a PR today. High rep close grip still kicks my ass, was supposed to get 3 sets of 10, ended up splitting those reps into 4 sets with short rest instead. No abs today, cuz they are sore as shit and i gotta go to work.
12/22
Chest sup rows close underhand
3 plates 5x5
Nuetral grip pull ups
BW 6 sets of 8
Kroc rows
120s 3 sets of 12 each
Decline hammer curls
25s 3 sets of 12 each
Lat pulls x some
Abs x some
12/23
Light/recovery work for lower body. Want my hammy fresh for squats/deads.
12/26
Speed bench against bands, light short
195x3x12 (15:15)
Wide paused bench
135x10
185x10
205x10
225x10
Incline DBs
70s x 10 x 3
Reverse flies
3 sets of 15
Ab circuit:
A: nautilus machine crunches x15
B: rotary torso machine x 10 each way
C: ab wheel rollouts x 5 (full reps!)
3 rounds
Holidays caused me to take time off wheni didnt want to, so i kinda felt flat today, but the weight moved. Speed bench didnt feel too fast but it looked fast, so ill take it.
Im alright with the time increase on speed bench today, because i got stuck on the only non-adjustable bench in the gym. So basically each set started with a 4 board press above my face at a high % of my max with bar weight and tension, so, cant be too upset. Never really done wide grip before, so i didnt really know how wide to go. Went as wide as the bench allowed, and when my hands moved out a hair i couldnt rack the last set haha.
12/27
Squats
355x8x2
Deads
390x5 sumo
390x5 conv
Leg curls
5 sets of 12 with varying foot position
20 min of treadmill action, HR ~140
God this session looks slim on paper, but it was pretty rough. Im feeling very confident about my programming though, sets today were hard but room for the same reps plus some weight next week.
I cant decide if im stronger sumo or comventional. Ill worry about that later and keep training both.
Edit: want to note my sleep sucked last night cuz my abs were busy spasming, and the DOMS is almost bad enough to worry about. Probly will have to scale bad on core for a bit. Other injury note: my low back didnt light up like last week, but my high hamstring still feels messed up. Think im on the right track here, gotta keep loosening up my hips/quads.
12/28
Bench
265x13 (1-2 in the tank, no spot)
265x8x2
Close grip
240x8x3
Tricep rope pushdown
1 set of 10 (hurt abs)
DB skullcrushers
30s x 10
40s x 10
50s x 8
SA reverse grip cable pushdowns
4 sets of 20 each
Well, today settles it, pushed my core too hard. Also a fun note, agter my last pressing set i felt a very sharp centralized pain in my right pec near the sternum. From what i can gather this is a huge warning sign for a rupture or ‘pec tear’. Pecs have been tight lately but nothing that worried me too much, but this was different. Looking back, i think i have to blame weighted dips for kicking it off, then this high frequency not letting it recover. Ive read too much bad stuff about dips, so this is the last straw for that movement.
Gonna have to do some reading and planning for what to do with this now.
12/31
Tbar close under
3plates 5x5
Chins, various grips
7 sets of 8
Kroc rows
120s for two sets of 12 each and one of 15 each
Seated decline hammer curls
25s x 12 each, 12 each, 15 each
Lat pulls x some
Abs x some
20 min incline walk
Pecs feel better but still a little iffy, but my research is showing im not lookin at a common pec tear, those happen on the tendon that ties in to the humerus, not near the sternum. Not those tissues are immune to tearing though. Just gonna keep a close eye on em and play it safe, if they hurt i will shut down pressing and destroy my ticeps instead. Hammy also isnt showing too much improvement but i feel confident im okay there. Same thing, if something tweaks it i will stop.
Far as this back day goes, im pretty happy with the progression, which is just adding random volume to the first 4 movements. I really feel like im getting good work in that will carry over to all three lifts, plus the extra day im the rotation is helping recovery.
Edit: gym got a new rower machine, so i threw in two 500m sprints. 2:03 and 1:57. I dont think thats a great time so i have another thing to work on now.
1/1
Cleans
135x2
155x2
165x2
175x2x some (6-7ish sets or so)
Trap bar deads against bands
185x2 (weights listed are assuming 45# trap bar)
295x2
385x2
435x1
Add straps
435x1
465x1 (felt awesome)
Note: band tension about 100# at lockout
Leg press/calf raise
20/20x4
Leg curls x 100ish
300m rower sprints (0:57, 1:01, 0:59)
Sets of abs inbetween
20 min incline walk
Solid day. Trap bar deads feel so much more natural as indont have to worry about horsing the bar around my knees. 465 wasnt an overly easy rep, but i feel like it didnt hit my CNS or my recovery near as much as an equal weight/tension straight bar pull. Who knows though.
With the cleans, i like the low rep sets so my form doesnt fall apart. Should be able to mark some progress in those now.
Leg press tweaked the hammy a hair, but it felt fine on the heavier work so im okay with it.
1/2
Bench against bands
200 for 36 reps in 14:00
(Was gonna do 12 triples but those third reps were slow so i moved to doubles and went for the same amount of reps for time instead)
Seated DB OHP
70s x 8
80s x 8
90s x 8
100s x 8
Football bar skulls
4 sets of 15
Bunch of super light machine pec flies
Pecs felt off again, almost shut er down, but about halfway through my benching they started feeling better so i pished through. I aint too good at knowing if im risking injury or being a pussy. On a positive note, felt pretty stong today, if not super fast. 100s overhead felt about as light as they ever have.
Left abs/conditioning/cardio alone today because A: im hungover and had to walk to the bar to get my car before the gym, and B: got a big squat/dead session comin up.
1/3
Squats
365x8,5,3
Deads
400x5 sumo
400x5 conv
Leg curls
4 sets of 15
SL leg press x some
Squats were supposed to be two sets of 8 but i felt something in the hammy and hesitated just out of the hole on that sixth rep. The first set matches a PR so, meh. Not happy but not upset.
Deads, played around with stance again warming up, and i think i felt strongest in a semi-sumo stance, basically just wide enough that i could get my arms dropping straight down. Full sumo seems to cut my glutes out of the movement, and full conventional, becuase of my proportions i have to go around the knees a bit. 400x5 feels like a good solid work set to me, im interested to see how the few weeks go.
1/4
Bench
275x8
275x8
275x12(might be a PR i dunno. Think im good for 15ish at this weight)
Close grip
250x8x3 (last rep was a grinder)
Tricep cable ez bar pushdowns
6 sets of 20
(Worked my way down the stack so the first couple were pretty light)
Decline DB skulls
30s x 10
35s x 10
40s x 9(wtf)
Tricep pushdown machine
4 sets of 15
Bunch of super light pec flies
Edit: 15 min incline walk
Half hour warmup, and two work sets in my pecs still felt crappy. Decided on extra reps on the third anyways, felt okay. My ass was coming off the bench on close grip, which never happens. Gonna leave my pecs alone til next heavy bench day now.
1/5
5 min jog
Rower sprints
251m 0:45
256m 0:45
241m 0:45
223m 0:45
219m 0:45
Seta of abs in between, no rest
1000m cooldown 5:24
1/7
Chest supported rows close under
3 plates 5x5
Kroc rows
120s x 15each x 3 sets
Seated decline hammer curls
25s x 15each x 3 sets
Chins, various grips, 64 reps scattered throughout the day
Abs
30 min incline walk
Gym was busier than normal, and there isnt much for pull up bars (2, and one of em is on a squat rack) so i just got in chins when i could. Hit abs harder than normal today, i think i found the sweet spot for getting some quality work on em without being destroyed the next day.
1/9
Cleans
135x2
155x2
175x2
185x2x7
Trap bar deads, speedish
(Weits are goofy cuz this trap bar weighs 35)
125x3
215x3
325x3
415x3 (add straps)
445x1 (moved to singles cuz the bar was rotating with reps)
475x1 (not super fast, but smooth)
495x1 ( had to get this for the hell of it. Slowish off the floor but smooth. Exploded up once it got up halfway)
Bulgarian split squats, DBs
45s x 5 each
55s x 5 each
65s x 5 each
75s x 5 each
Lying leg curls
2 sets of 10
Hammy cramped when i stretched my quads so i cut these short
25 min incline treadmillin
Hammies felt great until bulgarians, and those seemed to take more outta me than deads. Trap bar deads just seem “easy”, CNS-wise. I dunno.
Pecs feel tons better but ill probly still do some vertical pressing instead of speed bench tomorrow.
1/10
Strict OHP
135x3
155x3
175x3
195x3
210x1
Arnolds
30s x 12
35s x 12
40s x 12
45s x 12
Machine circuit:
A: pullovers x 12
B: tricep pushdowns x 20
C: lateral raises x 15
4 rounds
Ab circuit:
Exercise ball crunches
8 reps straight, 8 reps twisting each way, adding 2.5kg each set
Rotary torso machine 8 each way
5 rounds
20 min incline treadmill
Warmed up on flat bench to feel out my pecs, they are a lot better but still not 100%. So on OHP i have stength for at least 225 but my core cant support it. That was a weakness for this lift before surgery.
1/11
Squats
380x5 moderate bar
380x5 low bar
Deads
410x5x2 both conv, picked a bar with no knurling in the center for some reason
Good mornings
135x10x5
Leg curls
4 sets of 15
I was not recovered for this session, but it went well anyways. Squats felt a little heavier than they shoulda, but this is a volume PR after all. All squat sets goin forward will be PRs. Deads felt great, ive never been this confidant in this lift and that goes a long way.
Hammies felt tons better but that may be becuase my entire back and my glutes and also fried haha.
http://www.powerliftingwatch.com/powerlifting-meets/ibpa/2012/upper-midwest
My next meet. For some reason i have troubles finding this link (doesnt show up on plwatch search, i emailed the guy running it, only found it with google) but i keep forgetting the date and my log seems like a decent place to stash it. My training isnt gonna change much until this meet, then after that i may give sheiko a whirl.