Mkral's Rebuilding

2/19

Paused bench
285x8x2
300x1
315x1
330x1
345x1

Close grip paused
225x8x2

DB bench
100s x 5
110s x 5
120s x 5
130s x 5

Skullcrushers
110x12x3

Tricep rope pushdowns x 100

Light pec flies x 100

20 min incline walk

Edit: was in a hurry and didn’t get a chance to log some notes:

285 took a lot outta me, don’t know if id have hit a third set with good pauses so I did singles. All of em were super smooth. Close grip was also way smoother than last week. Creeping the volume up on accessory work again, work capacity is coming along nicely

2/20

Deads
395x5x2
415x1
435x1
455x1
475x1

Lat pulldowns
4 sets of 10

Rows x some

Deads felt light, but i was so short on food and sleep thats about all i got done. Im not sure how 495 woulda felt but im fairly sure i woulda got it today. I dont wanna grind any deads til the meet so i held off. Slacked on acessory work cuz its lunch and then nap time, i think ive gotten maybe 6 hours of sleep in the last two nights combined.

2/21

Bench against bands
135x3
155x3
185x3
195x3x12 (13 min)

Seated DB press
70s x 12
80s x 12
90s x 12
100s x 9

Skulls, football bar
4 sets of 20 @ 85ish

Machine circuit;
A: laterals x 20
B: rear delts x 20
C: tricep push downs x 20
4 rounds

5 min stair master

20 min incline walk

All done in 1:30, pretty solid pace. Bench felt strong but I was dying on accessory work today.

2/22

Squats
375x5x2
395x1
415x1 (high)
435x1 (deep)

Leg press
500x20
550x20
600x20
650x20
700x20

Lying leg curls superset with light leg ext
4 sets of 12 each

SL leg press
5 sets of 8 reps each leg

Superset with calf raises
5x20

Instead of cardio today, i sat my fat ass in the hot tub. I thought it was a solid trade.

Lower back was more than a little tight, but weights moved okay. 435 was slow but not a grind, and i went deeper than i needed to cuz i overcompensated after cutting the previous rep high. Puked after that last set of leg press, that was a killer.

I was good for more, but i prefer frequency over crazy volume lately so i shut it down. If i continue to feel good i will slowly up the volume, but i dont want to sacrifice the frequency to do so. Solid day overall.

2/23

Extra day

BB curls (in the squat rack!)
45x10x2
55x8
65x8
75x8
85x8
95x8
105x4

EZ bar preacher curls
65x8x4

Seated decline hammer curls
20s x 15 each x 5 sets

Ab circuit:
A: machine crunches x 20
B: rotary torso machine x 10 each way
C: ab wheel rollouts x 6
4 rounds (wanted more but i was cramping)

8 min stairmaster intervals

22 min incline walk

Curls in the squat rack, abs, and cardio. I feel like a douche haha. No one was here though, and kinda justna dick around day so whatever. I could benefit from more bicep work, and ive been slacking on my abs, but interestingly enough, that break seemed tombe what they needed. My core feels a lot more resilient overall.

2/24

Meshuggah show. Fucking awesomeness.

2/25

Paused bench
295x5x2
315x1
335x1
355x1

Paused close grip
260x5x2

DB bench
105s x 6
115s x 6
125s x 6
140s x 4

Tricep rope pushdowns
4 sets of 25

Rev grip SA pushdowns
3 sets of 25 each

5-2-1 tempo push ups to failure x 3 sets (15, 10, and 6 or so)

I believe 355 matches a paused PR, and i got it through a back cramp. Wasnt a fast rep but it wasnt really a grind either. I think any heavier and im ‘testing’ rather than building strength. Im likin the pause work, and im likin the extra singles. I think after the meet im gonna try pushing those even harder and try to destroy myself.

2/26

Deads
405x5x2
425x1
445x1
465x1

Lat pulldowns, wide neutral grip
10x10

Face pulls, single hand grips
5 sets of 25

Rower sprints x 3 (1 min, 316, 319, 318 meters)

25 min incline walk

The lifting itself was okay, but i just feel like garbage today. I think i farted once per rep all day, and i did a couple hundred reps.

Edit: should note, my lats are sore as shit from umm, benchin i guess. Thats why today was just some quick volume for lats and rower work to get some blood to em.

2/27

Bench against bands, short med
95x3
115x3
135x3
155x3
175x3
165x3x10
(17 min for all 15 sets)

Strict OHP feet together
95x5
110x5
125x5
140x5
155x5
170x5
185x4 (didnt attempt 5, woulda been a huge grind)

Seated arnold press
4 sets of 15

Side laterals
3 sets of 10s

Rear delts
3 sets of 12

Another solid day.

2/28

Squats
385x5x2
405x1
225x10x5

Leg curls
4 sets of 10

Squats were rough, both sets at 385 were grinders on the last rep. 405 didn’t feel great so no more singles. 225 for sets of 10 felt like cardio. Yuck.

3/1

Paused bench
305x5x2
325x1
345x1
365x0

Paused close grip
275x5x4

Skullcrushers, football bar
75x15
85x15
95x15
105x15

Tricep cable rope pushdowns x a million

First bench rep ive missed in over half a year, and just barely missed. 345 felt so awesome, im not sure how 365 didnt go up. Oh well, im good for it.

My math may be off on the rope pushdowns, what i did was go dowm the entire stack with a set of 15 at each weight, then back up. Something like 30 sets in 20 minutes. If you want to be bored and have a tricep pump, do this.

Edit: forgot to specify, goin back up the stack on ropes was sets of 10. 425 total reps.

3/2

Deads
415x5x2
435x1
455x1

First time in my 26 years i had to run to the shitter unsure i was gonna make it on time. And it happened inbetween deadlift sets. Again, felt pretty crappy today but the lifts themselves felt fine. Ill say again, this low 4s range for 3-5 reps just feels like a sweet spot for good work sets. But, after those two sets of 5… Near disaster haha.

Ill make up for back acessory work tomorrow.

3/4

Mantathalon day

Bench
225x25

BW chins x 14

Strict OHP
115x20

BB curl
115 x 6

BWx1.25 dips x 20

Total score = 80/100 (only count 20 on any one movement). Super Man!

Bench, its NFL combine time so i thought id squeeze a rep out in there. Turns out 225 is also bodyweight and that article came out, so i gave it a run. 20 felt too easy so i popped off another couple, realized i wasnt gonna break my old PR of 29 and stopped a rep or in the tank. Chins, my PR is 20 but i rushed into it, worried about the time ( finished in 15 min). Ohp was cake. I am crap at curling. I still hate dips but they were easy.

3/7

Squats
395x5x2
415x1

Leg press
5, 6, 7 pps x 15s with some pausing
8pps x 10
9pps x 4ish, started slipping up the seat

Standing cable leg curls
4 sets of 15 each (love these)

Bulgarians
3 sets of 12

At a different gym helping a few buddies out. 395 felt as light as ever, but 415 wasnt particularly great.

Had a few days off that im not happy about, will be lifting every day for a stretch so i dont wanna kill myself.

3/8

Paused bench
315x5x3

Paused CG
285x5x3

Reverse grip SA cable pushdowns
6 sets of 20 each, superset with

Cable pec flies, same reps x sets, no rest

Pullovers superset with tricep pushdown machines
3 sets of 20 each

Good day. Acessory work kinda sucked, but who cares

3/9

Deads
425x3x2
445x1
465x1
485x1

Chest sup tbar rows close under
2p x 5
2.5p x 5
3p x 5
3.5p x 5

Pull ups
BW x 5
+15x5
+30x5
+45x5

Lat pull downs
5 sets of 10

25 min incline walk

I wanted to do 5s for my DL reps, but i lost my chalk. Every set was outmof my palm and into my fingers, but the pulls themselves went well. 485 felt a little heavier than my opener should be i think.

3/11

Bench against bands
135x3
155x3
175x3
190x3x12 (15 min)

Strict OHP, feet together
105x3
120x3
135x3
150x3
165x3
180x3
195x3

Seated DB press
70s x 6
80s x 6
90s x 6
100s x 6
110s x 6

Straight bar cable pushdows
3 sets of 12

20 min incline walk

3/12

Squats
405x3x2
425x1
445x1

Leg press
6pps x 10
7pps x 10
8pps x 10
9pps x 10
10pps x 10

Leg curls
3 sets of 25

Leg ext
3 sets of 25

425 and 445 feel like around where my opener and second attempt will be.

3/15

Paused bench
325x3x3
345x1
365x1 (ugly T&G)
365x1 (super smooth T&G, coulda tripled it)

Paused Close Grip
295x3x3

Skullcrushers
4 sets of 15

Straight bar cable pushdowns
6 sets of 15

Tricep pushdown machine
3 sets of 20

First rep at 365, I dunno what happened, bar dipped a bit at lockout, thats never happened to me once. I think my upper back is spasming or something. Second rep was crazy smooth.

3/16

Deads
435x3x2
455x1
475x1

some chins/curls/muscle-ups

Its gonna be a battle staying sober tonight.

3/19

Strict OHP feet together
135x5
155x5
170x5
185x3
200x3
215x2 (lost balance on both reps bad)
225x1

Bench against bands
Worked up in speed triples from 135 to 225 in 15 or 20 sets. All very fast until 215. 16 minutes.

10x10 face pulls superset with 10x10n tricep push downs, no rest

22 min treadmill moderate intensity

215 on OHP was intended to be a 5/3/1 style rep out but I was flopping around like an asshole. Still pressed through two reps which is still fair I guess, and then decided I didn’t wanna putz with reps anymore and popped off 225. Went nice and easy.