Squats
60kg x 5
80kg x 3
100kg x 2
120kg x 1
137kg x 1
157kg x 1 - was working in with an oly lifter. Bless them and their weird plates .
165kg x 4
165kg x 4
165kg x 4
165kg x 4 - did the first two high bar to set a 5kg PR double
Speed pulls - reverse bands loose at lockout, about 50kg off at the bottom
100kg x 1
120kg x 1
140kg x 1
160kg x 12 x 1 - every 30 seconds
Bench - paused.
65kg x 3
75kg x 3
85kg x 3
97.5kg x 4
97.5kg x 4
97.5kg x 4
100kg x 4 - paused PR I think, and without the massive arch. Pretty happy with that, I have 5 sets of 4 at 97.5 again next week to really own that weight, then I’ll be hitting 100 for decent volume the week after.
I will need all the advice you can give as you adjust your Bench form. I bench similarly to you, but would like to make the transition to relying less on my arch and foot tuck.
Squat
60kg x 5
80kg x 3
100kg x 2
120kg x 1
140kg x 1
160kg x 1
175kg x 2
170kg x 2 - paused. Forgot to stick the 2.5s back on and realized as I sat down into the first squat, so paused it instead. PR
175kg x 2
175kg x 2
175kg x 2
175kg x 2
Bench - paused
Bar x some
40kg x 5
60kg x 3
75kg x 3
85kg x 2
95kg x 1
105kg x 2
105kg x 2
105kg x 2
105kg x 2
105kg x 2
High bar squats
60kg x 3
80kg x 3
100kg x 2
120kg x 2
140kg x 1
160kg x 1 Add belt
180kg x 1 - PR
195kg x 1 - WHAAAAAAAT? Previous best 165kg x 2
Ss/Chins
8 x 3
Did a couple of power clean and push presses but they started feeling off at 100kg
Ohp
60kg x 7 - paused. Pretty sure that’s a PR even unpaused
Been really busy this weekend, only had half an hour in the gym yesterday, so I did squats for singles focusing on speed, form, and flexibility up to 120kg, then did a few sets of one arm cable rows.
Busy weekend and wasn’t able to train, but have most of my work out of the way for now. Big run up to the holidays and I’m going to push the intensity.
Squats
Bar x some
60kg x 5
80kg x 3
100kg x 2
120kg x 1
140kg x 1
145kg x 6
145kg x 6
145kg x 6
145kg x 6
Flew through these
Bench - paused
Bar x some
40kg x 5
60kg x 3
70kg x 2
80kg x 2
87.5kg x 6
87.5kg x 6
87.5kg x 6
87.5kg x 6
Chest supported db rows
40s x 10 x 5 - pretty much a big cluster set, planned to do 5 by 10 but it was harder than I expected so I stayed laid down on the bench and kept busting out mini sets.
Squats
60kg x 5
80kg x 3
100kg x 2
120kg x 1
140kg x 1
160kg x 1
165kg x 4
165kg x 4
165kg x 4
165kg x 4
165kg x 4
Bench - paused.
Bar x some
40kg x 5
60kg x 3
75kg x 3
85kg x 3
97.5kg x 4
97.5kg x 4
97.5kg x 4
97.5kg x 4
97.5kg x 4
I was wrong about not being so busy anymore - won’t be able to lift tomorrow so fit it in today instead. Could still only get to the smaller gym and suffered from motivation issues and crappy bars.
Squat
60kg x 5
80kg x 3
100kg x 2
120kg x 1
140kg x 1
160kg x 1
175kg x 2
175kg x 2
175kg x 2
175kg x 2
175kg x 2
175kg x 2
Felt good, so went for some singles Belt on
185kg x 1
200kg x 1
212.5kg x 1 - 2.5kg PR - better than 210kg a few weeks ago.
Pin squats - 10 inch rom
240kg x 1
260kg x 1 - lol
Bench - paused
Bar x some
40kg x 5
60kg x 3
70kg x 3
80kg x 3
100kg x 1
105kg x 2
105kg x 2
105kg x 2
105kg x 2
105kg x 2
105kg x 2
Since I set a squat PR I reasoned that matching my bench and deadlift PRs would give me a PR total during the course of a workout.
110kg x 1
120kg x F - it came off the chest but I wasn’t strong enough today. Should’ve tried 117.5kg first to have an even total to last meet going into deadlifts.
Pulls
100kg x 1
120kg x 1
140kg x 1
160kg x 1
180kg x 1
200kg x 1
220kg x 1
227.5kg x 1 - 5 kg and 500lbs
Did a few chins.
Ended up being 2.5kg off my PR total while having done 6 sets of squats and bench first
Squats
60kg x 5
80kg x 3
100kg x 2
120kg x 1
140kg x 1
160kg x 1
170kg x 4
170kg x 4
170kg x 4
170kg x 4
Bench - paused.
Bar x some
40kg x 5
60kg x 3
75kg x 3
87.5kg x 3
100kg x 4
100kg x 4
100kg x 4
100kg x 4 paused, 2 tng - 6 reps tng is my PR so this is a bit of progress
Deads
100kg x 1
120kg x 1
140kg x 1
160kg x 1
180kg x 21 x 1 - 30s between reps. Used straps because screw 20 reps with hook grip. Also, brutal. Add belt, kept straps (I deserved a break from hook grip)
200kg x 1
220kg x 1 Hook grip (strap setup took ages)
230kg x 1 - 2.5kg PR over 5 days ago, and after a lot of volume. Time to ease off on these. Need to work on keeping the bar close. Also a pretty pointless max out - this rep was a lot slower than 227.5kg last week, to the point where I’d say my strength levels were probably around the same.
Squat
60kg x 5
80kg x 3
100kg x 2
120kg x 1
140kg x 1
160kg x 1
180kg x 2
180kg x 2
180kg x 2
180kg x 2
180kg x 5 - 4 set beltless PR and 3 rep beltless PR on the last set
Bench - paused
Bar x some
40kg x 5
60kg x 3
80kg x 2
100kg x 1
107.5kg x 2
107.5kg x 2
107.5kg x 2
107.5kg x 2
107.5kg x 2
Fat grip chins
5 x 5
Swiss bar viper press (bar from knee level to overhead each rep)
Bar x 15
40kg x 5
45kg x 4 x 10
Squats
Bar x some
70kg x 3
100kg x 2
120kg x 2
140kg x 1
150kg x 1
170kg x 1 Add belt
190kg x 1
210kg x F - setup was off
210kg x 1 - slow though
220kg x F - setup was off, lost position in the hole too
220kg x F - came up, upper back rounded over around halfway, grinded hard against it but my knees were caving in and it didn’t feel safe. Looking back at the video I can see that if I’d managed to move the bar an extra 2 inches I would’ve been able to get my hips through, which is annoying. Early next year I’ll get this. There’s no rush right now, my squat is my strongest lift and I also pay most attention to it.
Did some 2 inch rack pulls to see what I could hook grip - got up to 260kg hook grip and it wouldn’t move because my left thumb was hurting. Kept going up using mixed grip, got up to 300kg.
Worked on deadlifts while trying to keep the bar close to me - ended up doing a couple of pause below the knee reps at 200kg, then went up and did 220kg for two singles, one of which felt good.
Chins and straight arm pulldowns to finish the lats.
I’ve got one more session before I’m away from a gym for two weeks, possibly even away from kettlebells. No ideas for what I’ll do over the holiday other than relax and get mobile.
When I get back I need to focus on my upper body. Still being at a 120kg bench is unacceptable, as is maxing out at 5 chins. More upper back strength will help all of my lifts, and I guess my core can always be stronger. I might even curl.
Basic plan is likely to be smolov jr bench with some flexibility applied to rest days, maintenance on squat, and maybe some deadlift focus.
First day back, planning on taking it easy and getting back into the rhythm of things. So I maxed out on high bar and deads.
High bar
Went up to 200kg x 1 - 5kg PR, but pretty ugly. I like my SBDs.
Pulls
Up to 220kg x 3 - 2 rep PR
240kg x F - knew it was a long shot but saw no harm in trying. It didn’t move, so I did a couple of isometric pulls in the bottom position.
So the plan for Q1 2015 was to run Smolov Jr for bench while keeping my calories high in order to get through it, but I need to do some damage control - I’m not happy with how I look at the moment. Macros are getting tracked, and I’m focusing on moving a ton of weight for high reps with the deadlift for 6 weeks - pretty much like last summer. 3 weeks beltless adding 10kg each week, then repeat the process with a a slightly higher starting weight belted.
Started today at 180kg, hoping for 12-15 reps. I hurt my back warming up with 60kg though - no idea if it was hurt from Sunday and I didn’t realise, or if I did something new. Just a muscle strain, it’ll recover fast. It meant that I cut the set short at 10 reps though - I definitely could’ve hit 15 , but wasn’t going to injure myself at the start of a cycle.
Was planning on RDLs, rows, chins, abs, bis, but the spasms stopped any of that - I did a few chest supported rows, some extremely controlled GHRs, and hung from the bar, then worked on mobilising my hips for about an hour and a half. I have a massive knot in either my right glute or my piriformis which I got when it cramped on a long car journey weeks ago. That needs taking care of, acupuncture and lacrosse ball are loosening it up fairly quickly. Most surprising is my lack of hamstring mobility at the moment, it’s affecting my squat depth slightly, and also deadlift positioning - I’m pretty much at the bare minimum I can have in order to be straight backed in the bottom of a pull. Need to loosen up my hip flexors and adductors to help get my knees out in the bottom of a squat as well. On the plus side, upper body is mobile as hell - did a broomstick dislocation with my hands pretty close together.
Other stuff in this training cycle involves higher rep benching 2x a week, a decent amount of pressing volume overall, high bar squats with the goal being to get up to 160kg x 10 beltless, and arm stuff.
Z press - off pins
Bar x 10
30kg x 10
40kg x 8
50kg x 8
60kg x 3 - suddenly got ridiculously hard
50kg x 10
50kg x 10
Did Z press today cos my back’s not 100% yet, but I actually quite liked them and will stick with them for a couple of weeks at least.
Incline bench
40kg x 12
60kg x 12
60kg x 12
60kg x 10
60kg x 8
Bench - bar path felt really weird at first after incline
60kg x 12
70kg x 9
70kg x 10
70kg x 8
First pressing of any kind in 3 weeks. I felt weak as hell by the time I got to bench. That 90kg predicted max.
Laterals
8s x 4 x 10
Ss/Facepulls
“42” x 4 x 20
Ss/Pushdowns
“42” x 4 x 20
The idea with this day is to prioritise some pressing muscles and planes which I usually neglect, with the intention of building those muscles up. Progression is going to be more volume based instead of adding weight, although I’d like to get up to 80kg on flat bench for 15+ reps.
High bar
Bar x some
60kg x 5
80kg x 5
100kg x 2
120kg x 8 Add belt
140kg x 8
160kg x 10 - maybe a PR even for low bar, definitely a high bar PR
Block pulls - 3" below knee Hook grip
100kg x 2
140kg x 2
160kg x 1
180kg x 1 Add belt
200kg x 5 Belt off, straps on
200kg x 5 Belt on, straps on
200kg x 10 - smashed it, confident about 10 reps with this from the floor this training cycle, either in a couple of weeks beltless, or a couple of weeks after that belted.
GHR
Bw x 10
5kg x 10
10kg x 10
15kg x 8
Deadish. First high rep leg session since coming back, squats were tiring and I’ll definitely be sore. Easy on the volume, that’ll increase over the coming weeks, and I’ll be doing a couple more exercises too.
Bench
Bar x some
40kg x 10
60kg x 10
70kg x 10
80kg x 10
90kg x 9 - wasn’t going for 10 with no spot. Strength is still down, but not awful. Slippery bar too, the new January crowd have arrived in the gym and I got dumped with the only non-Texas bar.
80kg x 10
80kg x 10
80kg x 6,3,2
Progression on this bench day is ramped sets of 10 adding 10kg a set until I don’t hit 10. Then drop down to the last weight and get more volume in. So next week I’ll probably get 100kg for 4-5 then hit volume at 90kg. Very brotardy idea, two plates for max reps each week. I’m basically going to keep at it with the goal being 10 at 100kg, which might not be achievable in the next 6 weeks, it’ll depend on how quickly strength comes back after the layoff. In any case, the volume should put me in a good position to move to something more Smolov-esque later.
Dips
6,3,3,3,4
Ss/Neutral chins
4,3,3,3,3 - gah
Laterals
12s x 10,10,10,20 - surprised myself there
Ss/Facepulls
“42” x 4 x 20
Ss/Db curls
12s x 10,10,10,20
Ss/Rope Pushdowns
“42” x 15,15,15,20
Ss/Rest
High bar squats in oly shoes
Up to 100kg for a long ass pause. Wanted to work flexibility, ended up irritating my back. Day off tomorrow, then pulls on Wednesday if it’s better.
Deadlift Doh no hook
70kg x 5
90kg x 3
120kg x 2
140kg x 2
150kg x 2
170kg x 2 Add straps
190kg x 12 - 1 rep PR with lots left.
Reverse bands
210kg - purples x 2 x 1 - didn’t feel great, no need to do them, didn’t do them
Rdls Straps off
120kg x 12
140kg x 11
140kg x 6, reset grip, 5 Add straps
140kg x 15 - need to recover grip on these.
Ss/Chins
4,4,4,5
Deadlift row - break off the floor like a deadlift, when the bar hits your knees pull it to your hips with lats, upper and lower back.
120kg x 4 x 8
Ss/Captains chair leg raises
4 x 20
Back raises
100 total
Ss/Swiss bar curls
100 total
Back felt at 80% today, good enough to blaze through a ton of assistance work, but not secure enough to go all out on the top set of deads - the moment I started to lose lat tightness I called it. Otherwise I would’ve hit another 2 reps at least. Good session overall, can add both weight and volume to assistance if I need to. 200kg next week, if I hit 10 or more I’ll beat my belted PR.
Assistance work is all focused on around the knee strength since that’s where the bar stalls (case in point, 220kg x 3 video further up this page). RDLs done Leemanish, explosive out of the bottom instead of milking the stretch, stupid aggressive heavy rows, and block pulls on leg day all focus on getting the weight moving quickly from the point where I’m weakest.
