45X10 hit the bottom of my jaw, lip bleeding
65.75.85X5
90X5
105X5
120X5
135X5
115X10 3 sets bar misload very difficult
Bench experiment
45.95.135.185X5
Thought to do 6-8 sets of 3 at 225
225X3 not doing 6 sets no way
205X5 5 sets
I did some reverse flys while pressing but no other accessory work. Wasn’t planning on training today because I’m leaving to go hunting, but snuck this in to avoid 4 consecutive days off. Happy with the bench experiment, probably try adding 5 pounds per week until I can’t hit all the reps. Now it’s time to load up and go looking for monster deer in western Oklahoma.
Took 4 days off and was supposed to come back to my week 5 deadlift. Seemed like a bad place to start so…
Week 6 Bench Friday 11/20
45.95.115.135X5
170X5
190X5
215X5
245X1
275X1 PR
I went back through my logbook and I’m convinced my bench is suffering from lack of direct tricep work. I took out floor press and CGBP 2 months ago. On the PR lift, the hardest part was 4” off my chest, right where the triceps really take over. So next block will be hammering the triceps again.
Bench 5X5
210X5 5 sets
Did 205 last week just simple progression, although I don’t know if 5 pounds per week is really sustainable.
Incline
3X10 95.135.135
Just something to say I did an accessory movement, still mentally fatigued from a couple things outside the gym.
5s Pro is getting tougher as my TM get closer to my 1RM. Wanted to hit the deadlift I skipped yesterday so stopped squat here.
Deadlift
135.225.315X5 Double ohh
365X5
405X5 nope
405X1
Called it there. None of this feels important today. Anxiety is pretty high the last 3 days leaving me considerably fatigued. Try to get in a press session tomorrow morning, but if not, no big deal. Family has friendsgiving tonight with our neighbors. Feel really blessed to have them as part of our circle, plus thanksgiving gains are real, 2 weeks in a row make it even better.
Accessories won’t be specifically planned, but generally speaking will hit specific muscle groups.
Bench/Bis Tris
Squat/Glutes Hamstrings
Press/ Tris Lats
Deadlift/Back Quads
Not mentally where I’d like to be going into this, but here we are. I have 4 days before I head back to Pennsylvania to work so I can get in a “week” to get moving then travel and a week before I start working again.
Absolutely fantastic session with my kiddos. My son did 5X5 at 225# squat and 5X5 140# bench. Daughter squared 65# and benched 55#. I got a great pump, bench moved really well after a week off. Triceps felt the brunt of the work and that felt right, if that makes sense.
IT band not thrilled with today’s work, but got through it without nothing more than an RPE 7/8. Squat seems to just keep building which is probably why it’s my favorite.
Good Mornings
4X10 135#
Leg Press
2 sets of rest pause style with no lockout. Not exactly sure if reps, but about 50 first set and 40 second set.
Stretched for 15-20 minutes afterwards and got my low back/hip to pop a couple times. Left feeling pretty good, soreness crept in an hour or so later.
95X5
110X5
125X5
135X5
145X3
115XAMRAP
Cut it off at 10 reps
Ouch all the way through, my triceps were not thrilled with any of this.
CGBP
45.95.135X10
185X5 5 sets
Triceps were better, didn’t love this though, didn’t seem to hit me where I wanted. May lower the weight and go to a JM Press.
Superset CGBP with Lat Pullover machine?
90 per side X10
115 X10
125X10
135X10 2 sets
Interesting machine, it’s free weights vs cables and feels really good in my upper back, lats, and even some tricep squeeze at the bottom. Not something my other gym has, but a nice alternative to pull-ups.
Shoulder Giant Set
45 degree front raise
Side raises
Rear Delt raises
3X8 for each 12.5# DBs
Took 10-15 seconds between exercises and 30-45 seconds between sets. I like this approach better than no rest as I feel My delts “tire” out before I get half way through a set.
Bis/Tris Superset
DB Curls
4X8 30#
OH Tricep DB Extension
4X10 tried 1 handed for 2 sets and 2 handed for 2
I like the dB extension but only 2 handed, 1 handed seems to bring the shoulder too much into play and I don’t want or need that.
Incline Curls
4X8 25.20.15.10
I was sore before this session started, but not so much as to make hitting my numbers difficult. Took a full 2 hours between doing my bible study and plenty long rests on the main work, lol. I like it relaxed like this though. 10 days from now when I go back to work, I’ll be trying to cram it all back into an hour. Might want to start shortening them in advance.
Evening activities: climb on roof and replace every other light in our Christmas lights (my wife said the red bulbs looked orange). Tweaked my back causing spasms for 30 minutes or so. Then we sat down as a family and ate a fantastic meal of smoked chicken breast. Finish it off with a 30 minute epsom salt bath (I don’t remember the last bath I took, prefer showers.) my wife was happy with the new lights, a win, and my back settled down. See how it feels in the morning deadlifting
Not 100% sure why this went so well, but looks to be very comparable numbers to my conventional pulls. I will say it did not feel as “hard” as my typical deadlift day. I felt less need to take big rests between sets. I actually had to force myself to take them. As for cheating, lol, I couldn’t care less. My goal is to pull as much as possible.
Conventional Deadlift
365X3 3 sets
These were fast. No grind at all, though it felt a bit odd getting into position after all the sumo.
Assistance superset
BB Lunges
2 sets of 10 each leg
Hanging leg raises
2X12
Little bit of stretching and off to pack for Pennsylvania. I think if I can dial in my form on sumo, I may be able to pull 500 sooner than I expected. The meet I wanted to do got cancelled (COVID) so I’m going to be looking for something around March/April. Training went really well for 6 months planning to compete this month so need to keep that focus.
Videos of sumo, any thoughts would be appreciated.
You look like you’re in a way safer and stronger position with sumo. I’m doing a block of sumo pulls right now and while I definitely don’t feel like I have them 100% down, my positioning feels way less risky.
It’s a bit harder to tell but your lower back looks way better in the top one than the bottom one.
Does it count as sumo if you’re not in danger of crushing your toes? That almost looks like a squat stance deadlift which might suit you better. You seem to be good at squatting so why not use that for your deadlift?
You’re not wrong, I tried getting a little wider, but my hips don’t open up enough for that. I like that way of phrasing it. Squat stance deadlift makes it sound like I’m cheating just within the rules, lol.
Just looking at that picture makes me think my back should hurt. It never did, but I’ve been somewhat nervously waiting on it to start as I’ve gotten heavier.
Yea, I took some videos a few months ago that looked a lot like that and realized I needed to fix it. Got to a pretty decent spot but never great and made the switch to sumo. Will probably cycle in some conventional just so I don’t lose all sense of form.
It’s a real thing! There is this guy around here who goes by @littlesleeper who used to use it. He stopped due to hip flexor issues (I think) and switched to sumo. If memory serves me correctly, he was knocking on the door of a 700 lb pull.
To save you some time, here was a video of my semi-sumo pulling that I found just looking quickly. It looks like the first set was semi-sumo/squat stance and the second was conventional.
Like JM said, it was a bit of a transition from conventional to sumo. Sumo was much stronger and more comfortable for me (with a much better ability to grind), but it seemed to flare up my hip flexors. The squat stance seemed to be a bit of a blend for me. After I corrected some weaknesses (glutes/hams) I was able to pull sumo without causing pain, and haven’t switched back.
