26/09 Extra work:
Just hip stretching, lacrosse balling. Opened up a fair bit.
27/09 ME Upper
Motivation 3/5; Energy 3/5; BW 90kg
Depth pushup 3x5
Close grip bench press
10@20
10@40
5@60
5@80
3@100
Added Slingshot
3@110
1@120
2@130
1@140 spotter had a bit of a prod
3x3@125
Military press
10@20
5@60
3@75
2x2@75
Shrug / Pullup
15@100 / 8@BW
12@180 / 8
5@210 / 8
20@140 / 8
Not bad, but not great today. Arms are feeling a little beaten up. Everything seems to be plodding along slowly at the moment. Looking forward to getting a rest next week and hopefully not getting sick next block.
Extra work:
Meadows rows: 4x8@60
Batwing rows
Curls/rolling triceps
Band triceps
29/09 Extra work:
Stacks of lacrosse ball. My neck hurts like hell
29/09 DE Lower
Motivation 3/5; Energy 3/5; 89.5BW
Kneeling jump to box jump 4x3
14" box squat
2x10@20
Added heavy bands used a different rack and cranked the bands tighter
5@20
3@60
2@80
2@100
8x2@110 pretty rough
Deadlift
3@100
3@140
1@180
8x1@220
Reverse band leg press
6@2pps
6@4pps
6@6pps
12, 10, 8, 8, 8@7pps as many reps as possible without locking out, 4 second eccentric
Toe press
60sec@3pps
3x40sec@4pps
Felt a bit closer to decent today, and I’m happy with the work that was done. The rack I used forced me to choose between a full deload or shit loads of tension in bands at the bottom, so I went with the latter. The rack also has really deep hooks, so setting up was awkward. Contemplating which bands to use next block, whether to go back to the set I used for the first round of intensification.
Deadlifts felt great; heavyish, and there was decent speed. Good to feel the technique improving. Leg press was also pretty brutal; I traded rest-pause reps for constant tension.
Now that I’m deloading, hopefully my body will recover for a better run next block.
03/10 Deload Lower
Lacrosse ball lower body
Good girl/bad girl
3x15 each
Close stance squat
Worked up to 2x3@120 really solid
Band good mornings
3x15
Piece of piss, nothing really to comment on. I do need to up my food intake.
04/10 Deload Upper
Bit of stretching and rolling, upper and lower
Barbell curls
3 sets, about 150 reps
Close grip paused bench
2x12@20
2x12@40
5@60
3x3@80
2x1@100
Pullup / band face pulls
4x10@BW / 4x20
Ate more
06/10 Deload Lower
Good girl/bad girl
3x15 each
Squat
Worked up to an easy 1@140 lower bar position
Deadlift
Up to fast 1@240
Single leg hip extension
4x10 foot elevated
Pretty decent. Didn’t feel like a great deal of effort. The low bar squats were weird; really easy for my legs, but I felt a little off-balance. Could be worth pursuing. Lots of stretching tonight, and maybe some extra abs and legs.
08/10 DE Upper
Motivation 3, energy 4, bodyweight 89.0kg
Med ball slams / clap pushups 3x5
Bench press
10@20
Added light bands
2x5@20
5@40
3@60
10x3@70
Incline DB press / bent over row
8@27.5s / 12@60
8@37.5 / 12@80
9@42.5 / 12@80
5@42.5 / 12@80
Pushups / TRX row
Tabata
Rolling triceps / battling ropes / band scarecrows
6@20 / 60 / 15
10@20 / 60 / 15
10@20 / 60 / 15
Not bad. Everything north of my ribs is feeling huge. I’m trying to throw some supersets etc in to increase my conditioning a little bit. Seems OK, one session in. Rear delts and middle back are pretty well toasted.
Came back later to do some extra work, but my triceps were spasming hard.
09/10 ME Lower
Motivation 4, energy 4, bodyweight 88.5kg
Seated box jump 6x3
Squat
10@20
8@40
8@60
5@80
3@100
1@120
Added belt
1@140
1@150
1@155
1@160
1@165
2x2@140
Good morning
6@60
4@100
4@110
6@120 Nice nice
Natural GHR / lunge
10@BW / 12@BW
3x10 / 3x12@32
Weighted plank
20 sec each at:
15kg, 35kg x3, 20kg x2
Bulgarian split squat
Tabata, alternating sides every other set
Good and bad today. The warmups on squats felt brilliant, but the working sets felt less than solid. My guess is that I’m getting more explosive, but I need a stronger midsection to get the power to the bar. On a side note, I’m trying to use a tip from Stan Efferding (via Supertraining). I’m ‘coiling-up’ on the descent, and exploding out of the hole. Seems mostly mental, but it felt effective.
Good mornings were timely, then, and I handled a bit more weight. Got the shakes on planks; abs feel good. I couldn’t stand for a while after the split squats; that was fun 
11/10 ME Upper
Motivation 4, energy 2, bodyweight 90.5kg
Med ball throws 3x3
Bench press
8@20
8@40
5@60
3@80
3@100
Added 2 board
2@110
2@120
3x2@110
Z-press / lateral raise
5@20 / 12@15s
5@50 / 12
5@60 / 12
3@70 / 12
Chinup / cable curl / band scarecrows
10@BW / 10@21 / 15
10 / 6@24 / 15
7 / 8@21 / 15
7 / 10@18 / 15
Weird cable, has an awkward force curve
Pushups / TRX row
Tabata
Work got done in spite of life being a turd. Reasonably pleased with exercise selection and how everything feels now.
Extra
Lots of pec stretching
Floor press for reps
12/10 Extra
Lacrosse ball everything
Hip, quad and hamstring stretching
13/10 DE Lower
Motivation 4, energy 2, bodyweight 90.5kg
Seated box jump 4x3@BW, 3x3@10kg
14" box squat
10@20
Added medium bands
2x5@20
5@40
5@60
3@80
12x2@90 Low rest
5@110 Because.
4" deficit pulls against heavy band
3@60
1@100
12x1@120 Fast and piss easy, low rest
Back extension / weighted plank
5x10@20 / 20sec@20, 4x20s@40
Bulgarian split squat
Tabata, used 8kg KBs for the second round only on each side.
Kind of pleased with the work today. I was really mentally prepared, but my body felt really stiff and unresponsive even after a long warmup.
I’ve started trying to use the box just as a depth gauge, and just lightly touching it before exploding up. Still reaching back with my hips.
Everything else was pretty cruisy. Pulls felt good, despite my hips and back being reasonably fatigued. Probably could have used a little more weight for planks too. It’ll be interesting to see if I get much benefit from them.
Extra
Stretching and flossing
Band good mornings 5x10
15/10
Sick since yesterday, feeling pretty crap. Probably going to sit this week out and do the planned sessions next week, then reevaluate going into the taper.
Could be worse; at least I can still eat. Might do some empty bar/band stuff later in the week if I improve dramatically
17/10
Lots of lacrosse ball
18/10
Stretching and lacrosse balling
Squats for many sets at 20, 40 and 60kg, then eased up to 120
Back extensions 4x10@BW
Natural GHR / weighted plank
Starting to feel almost well, but my hips feel crap, hence the amount of accessory work for an ‘off’ day. Getting a little gift of energy, though. Feeling really hungry to finish this block off. All things progressing as they are now, I’m going to do this week’s DE Lower day as planned, and take a half week deload into the transformation.
20/10 DE Lower
Motivation 4, energy 4, bodyweight 90.0kg
Seated box jump 4x3@BW, 2x1@BW, 2x3@10kg
14" box squat
2x10@20
Added medium bands
5@20
5@40
5@60
12x2@100 Low rest
3@120
4" deficit pulls against heavy band
3@60
1@100
8x1@130
Back extension / weighted plank
12@20 / 25sec@20
3x12@40 / 3x25@40
Bulgarian split squat
Tabata, used 8kg KBs for rounds 1 & 3
Not too explosive today, but it was good to be back to normal training. Squats and pulls felt OK to start with, then dragged a bit. Still got through with pretty low rest (~50 seconds). Need to smash up my back, glutes and abs as much as I can until the meet, I think. Also more food. Still on antibiotics.
Extra
Foam rolling
Band good mornings 5x10
Band curls x some
22/10 DE Upper
Motivation 2, energy 4, bodyweight 90.0kg
Med ball slams 3x5
Bench press
2x10@20
Added light bands but couldn’t get them even so took them off
2x5@40
5@60
10x3@77.5 loose and crap
Incline DB press / bent over row
8@25s / 12@60
8@30 / 12@80
6@37.5 / 12@80
8@42.5 / 12@80
Band triceps 4x30
Fat man row 3x15@BW
Slow, weak and sad. Nothing resembling explosiveness. Ate too much carbohydrate beforehand because I was training late, and felt like crap. Tried to do some extra triceps after pressing, but my elbows just felt like fire.
Extra
Band curls
23/10 ME Lower
Motivation 2, energy 3, bodyweight 89.5kg
Seated box jump 5x3
Deadlift
5@60
5@100
5@140
3@180
1@220
1@@240
3x1@220
Good morning
5@60
5@100
3@110
Went to a different gym, ano location of the same globo-gym that I work at; reason being I was told they had a full rack that I could do reverse band squats in. Turns out they were smith machines. I was absolutely ropable.
Did deadlifts instead with the shitty bars. Good mornings sucked; the squat bars were 5’ long and had no centre knurling. Gave up pretty quickly; too pissed.
Extra
Band good mornings
25/10 ME Upper
Motivation 3, energy 2, bodyweight 90.5kg
Depth pushup / med ball slam 3x5/3
Floor press
2x6@20
6@40
5@60
5@80
3@100
2@110
1@120
3x2@110
Z-Press / lateral raise
5@40 / 12@15
5@60 / 12
2x3@40 / 2x12
Chinup / cable curl
10@BW / 12@21
5x8 / 5x8@23 dropped to 12@16 last set
Feeling pretty uninspired this week. Today was a bit of an improvement, though. Didn’t have much push, but I found a good groove on floor press. I think I’ve been tucking my elbows too much, and I managed to get a better feeling from my shoulders by reducing the tuck a bit.
Extra
Band triceps
26/10 Extra
Lacrosse ball whole body
Flossing
Squats for lots of sets
27/10 DE Lower
Motivation 3, energy 3, bodyweight 89.0kg
Band swing/Box jump: 5x5 28kg KB/ up to 48" box
14" box squat
2x10@20
Added medium bands
5@20
5@40
3@60
2@80
2@100
10x2@110 Low rest
2@130
2@140
4" deficit pulls against heavy band
3@60
1@90
1@120
6x3@140 Fast setup
Back extension / weighted plank
12@20 / 30sec@20
3x12@40 / 3x30@40
Natural GHR
3x10@BW
Still really flat energy-wise. Not unhappy with today’s training, though. Squats were reasonably tight. I knew I wouldn’t have much fun with deadlifts unless I was really fast; tried to spend as little time as possible setting up, and it seemed to make a difference.
Now I feel like I’ve been run over. Not sure if it’s the come-down from the gram of caffeine I had pre-workout (which didn’t do much) or if I’m just suffering from severe intensification block disease. Having a ton of assessments due surely isn’t helping. Anyway, I’m trying to be smart with recovery to counteract being stupid in training.
In other news, I’m signed up for a meet on the 18th of next month. Looking forward to it. I want to see how close I can get to a 600 kilo total.
Extra
Tabata bodyweight squats (160 total reps)
Foam rolling and stretching
29/10 DE Upper
Motivation 3, energy 2, bodyweight 90.5kg
Med ball slams 3x5
Bench press
2x10@20
2x5@40
3@60
8x3@85
Incline DB press / bent over row
8@27.5s / 12@60
8@35 / 12@80
6@45 / 12@100
12@35 / 6@100>12@60
Lacking energy and hating the bench at the moment. Not sure what my problem is. Just not feeling as solid as I should. DB press went OK, so maybe there’s hope.
Extra work
Band curls
30/10 ME Lower
Motivation 4, energy 3, bodyweight 89.5kg
Band swing / box jump 5x5/3
Pin squat
2x10@20
5@40
5@60
3@80
3@100
3@120
Added belt
1@140
1@150
1@160 Finally got it!
3x1@150
Good morning
6@60
6@100
6@110
6@120
Natural GHR / weighted plank
4x12@BW / 30sec@20, 3x30sec@40 Moved my arms further forward to make it harder
Bulgarian split squat
Tabata, 10kg KBs on round 2
Today was a big change from the last few sessions. Actually felt semi-decent, although still sore from Saturday. Didn’t feel super-strong, but I had some strain. Feeling buggered afterwards, but not terrible.
Really trying to smash my food intake, seeing as my weight’s still low 3 weeks out.
Extra work
Tabata bodyweight squats (160 total reps)
Foam rolling and stretching
1/11 ME Upper
Motivation 3, energy 3, bodyweight 90.0kg
Clap pushup 3x5
Bench press
10@20
10@40
5@60
5@80
3@100
1@110
5x5@60 ultra wide
Shrug / Meadows row / DB pullover
4x12@140 / 4x8@40 / 4x8@35
Fat man row
15@BW
x12 feet elevated
3x12 Fatgripz
Band triceps
Some
Back, neck and chest were horrible, full of junk and knots. Had a good smash with the lacrosse ball, but didn’t feel like I could push bench too much. Felt comfortable with the form, just not very strong.
Starting the taper on Saturday, going to get some heavy singles in over the next week.
2/11 Extra work
Chinup / cable curl / HSPU / overhead extension circuit for the pythons.
Grip and forearm work…needs work
Pushups
Lacrosse ball, foam roll, barbell roll, stretch hips, quads, hamstrings, adductors, triceps, rotator cuff.
3/11 DE Lower
Motivation 4 , energy 3, bodyweight 91.5kg
Box jump 4x3
Squat
2x10@20
2x5@40
5@60
3@80
3@100
1@120
Added belt
1@140
1@155
3x1@165
Deadlift
5@60
5@100
3@140
1@180
1@220
Natural GHR / weighted plank
4x12@BW / 30sec@20, 3x30sec@40 arms out as far as I could take
Bulgarian split squat
Tabata, 12kg KBs on round 1
This was the last heavy lower body session. Still sore in the abs and hamstrings from Tuesday, and from the extra upper body work yesterday. Squats felt pretty good, though. Didn’t want to go too hard on pulls, just enough to work the form a bit.
Planks were brutal, had to fight pretty hard with the greater lever length. Other than that, I’m kind of at a loss. Have to get some quality extra work in this week to keep everything healthy and in line. Weight’s climbing up.
Extra work
Tabata bodyweight squats
Pushups
Foam rolling, stretching
05/11 DE Upper
Motivation 4 , energy 3, bodyweight 92kg
Clap pushup 3x3
Bench press
2x10@20
5@40
5@60
3@80
1@100
6x1@110
5x5@70 ultra wide
Fat man row
12@BW
Added Fatgripz
5x12@BW
Band triceps
5x25
Forearms
Everything came together smoothly today. I feel like my form is good enough for competition. Particularly liked the way the pause felt. Shoulders, elbows and wrists seem healthy. Trying to get more grip into accessories, hence the Fatgripz rows, and I think it’s making a difference.
Still have some wiggle room bodyweight-wise, just going to keep getting as much as I can down, relatively clean for the most part.