Bench press 285x2x8
CG bench press 255x2x8
WG paused bench press 245x2x6
Flyes 3x15
Lat pulldowns 140x5x12
Scapular retractions 120x4x15
Paused DB triceps extensions 45x4x12,1x11,1x8
Reverse curls 90x2x13,1x10
Planks 2x1 minute
Side planks 1x1 minute per side
Notes: Good, but tough session. Damn legs were still killing from squats on Sunday and tightened up on me during warmups. Bench press didn’t have quite the same pop as last week, but weight still moved pretty well throughout both sets of 8. My triceps gave out during the 5th set of extensions and there was no way in hell I could muster the required reps on the 6th set, lol. Reverse curls had my arms feeling like spaghetti.
Squat 365x2x5
-Right quad (VM to be exact) got strained either during the last warmup set or the first work set, I’m not sure which one. Regardless, this blows. I don’t think it is anything major, but it sucks all the same. Tried to do SLDLs and I ended up overcompensating with the left leg so I just said screw it. Did my core work and packed it in.
DB side bends 70x2x8
Plate twists BW+25x2x10
Notes: Like I said above, I don’t think this is serious; however, gonna take it easy the next couple of days and focus on stretching, icing, etc.
Little injuries like that are a massive pain in the arse. Sounds like you’re being sensible about recuperating though, so no doubt you’ll be back on track very soon. Hope so anyway - I’m enjoying watching your progress!
Front squats barx5x10; 95x5x10
CG 2-board bench press 275x3x10
Barbell rows 225x3x8
Barbell hip thrusts 160x3x15
Pistol squats BWx3x6
Chins BW+35x6,5,5
Light band pushdowns 4x25
Leg raises (bent knee) 3x12
Leg raises (straight leg) 2x8
Notes: Josh advised me to keep it light and easy on the front squats today just to play it safe with the quad - mainly go for blood flow to the area. The stretching and foam rolling I’ve been doing have helped a bunch and it’s already feeling much better. I could have gone higher on the front squats, but just followed the plan.
The close-grip 2-board presses felt strong this week and I’ll post a video of one of the sets later. For the pistols, I decided to only do them to a high box this time so as not to take a chance with the quad. Worked nicely. Pretty good session, over and done with in about 75 minutes. Good thing, too, because it was a million degrees in the garage today.
Bench press 295x8,7 (rep PRx2)
CG bench press 260x2x8
WG paused bench press 250x2x6
Flyes 3x8
Lat pulldowns 5x8
Scap retractions 4x15
DB extensions 50x6x8
Reverse curls 95x3x8,1x6
Planks 2x1 minute
Side planks 1x1 min/side
Notes: Not a bad day with benching today. This was definitely a rep PR for me, as my previous high water mark with 295 was 5. I stopped at 7 reps during the 2nd set because there was a good chance I would have missed the 8th. Since I started the session late today (gotta love DC-area traffic), I really cut back on rest periods and sped through as best I could. I’ll post the video of the 2nd set of benches later - for now, it’s bed-time.
[quote]Element_26 wrote:
Yeeeeeaaaahhhhh buudddayyy. Nice PR - definitely think you could have got another rep on the second set though…
How’s your quad feeling now?[/quote]
Since I fail near the top, unless the weight is just too damn heavy (duh), I had a pretty good feeling that #8 would likely have come back down to the pins. Damn you Isaac Newton!! Lol. If a spotter/liftoff person was there, I probably would have went for it.
VM is feeling a lot better, thanks, although I will be testing it out this evening on squats and deadlifts - so we will see.
Squats (belt) 375x3x3
Stiff-legged deadlifts (3" deficit) 195,240,290,225x10,10,10,10
Conventional deadlifts 350x3x3
Dead squats 325x3x1
Side bends 75x2x8
Plate twists 25x2x10
Notes: Quad started to get a little iffy during the heavier warm-up sets; however, it’s not like it was hurting a bunch or super tight. Josh had me slated to do 375x2x5, and to be honest I probably could have pulled it off if I had to. Still, I didn’t want to risk causing any harm and instead did 3x3. I think it was a good call on my part.
That heaviest set of 290x10 on deficit SLDLs was a bitch - nice lower back/hamstring pump and my grip was torched since I was doing every set double-overhand. Knee held up well during the dead squats, which surprised the hell out of me. Heck, I even used 10 pounds more than I was supposed to. Not a bad session all in all.
Front squats 225x3x5
CG 2-board press 280x3x10
Barbell rows 225x3x8
Barbell hip thrusts 170x3x12
Pistol squats BWx3x6
Chin-ups BW+45x3x3
Band pushdowns 4x25
Leg raises (bent knees) 3x12
Leg raises (straight) 2x10
Notes: My quad didn’t give me any grief today at all on front squats, so that is a very good thing. Even though I only went up to 225, the fact that everything felt solid has to be a positive indicator. The CG board presses were a good deal harder this week and I had to fight for the 10th rep on the last set. Weighted chins were pretty easy, which is kind of a surprise given how hard reps in the past have been with an extra 45 pounds. My triceps were absolutely scorched from the band pushdowns to the point that I almost cried like a bitch after the fourth set.
[quote]Element_26 wrote:
Glad to hear the VM seems to be feeling better now, and nice front squats… Keep those elbows up in the bottom![/quote]
My past shoulder injuries make it tough to keep the elbows high for sustained periods of time. You should have seen how bad it was when I first started front squatting - how it is now is a huge improvement.
Quick sessions are the main reason I look forward to deload weeks. How long is your course with Josh going to last out of interest? Do you know when you will be testing your maxes on the competition lifts?
