'So Fluffy I'm Going to Die!' - Max Makes a Serious Effort to be Proactive Despite Technology Hating Him

Training Training Logs
141

Coan press w5

Press
Bar x some
30kg x 5
40kg x 3
50kg x 2
55kg x 1
60kg x 2 x 5 - 1 set PR

Bench - all paused
40kg x 5
60kg x 10
70kg x 10
85kg x 8 - lost tightness halfway through
85kg x 8 - kept tightness but was too tired, had to be spotted on rep 9
70kg x 13 - tng. Got 18 last week, strength wasn’t there after pushing the paused reps

Facepulls
“30kg” x 20
“35kg” x 20
“42kg” x 3 x 20

Ss/Dips
5,5,5,5,10

Ss/Strict laterals
10s x 5 x 15

Chins
3 x 3

Ss/Hammer curls
12s x 3 x 15

Ss/Rope pushdowns
“56kg” x 30
“70kg” x 20
“91kg” x 10 - funny feeling this stack wasn’t accurately labelled

Db curls
14s x 3 x 10, last set drop set
12s x 10
8s x 10
6s x 15

Not the strongest day but got work done. Still a bit ill, taking it easy tonight and hoping to smash squats tomorrow.

142

Coan squat w6 - was back at the smaller gym because of time constraints, was looking forward to squats with a texas bar and doing more GHR

Squat
60kg x 2 x 5
80kg x 3
100kg x 2
120kg x 2
140kg x 1
160kg x 5
Belt on
160kg x 5
Belt off

Pause squat - 100kg bar weight, the rest hanging chain weight
142.5kg x 5
142.5kg x 5

High bar squat
Start pausing
132.5kg x 5
132.5kg x 5

Lots of beltless work today, and a ton of paused volume (well, 4 sets)

Chins
4 x 4

Barbell cheat curls
60kg x 5 x 6

143

Coan bench w6 - still at the small gym, will have time to get up to the other one for deads this weekend though.

Bench
Bar x some
40kg x 5
60kg x 3
75kg x 2
85kg x 1
92.5kg x 1
100kg x 2 x 5 - one set PR

Cgbp
87.5kg x 2 x 5 - easy, second set paused and straight legged

Push press
77.5kg x 2 x 5

Db bench
20s x 20
30kg x 3 x 10

Ss/Chins
4 x 4

Db overhead extensions
32.5kg x 3 x 10

Ss/Upright Tate press
12.5s x 15

144

Been without a computer for a few days, back log of posts

Coan deadlift w6

Pulls
Hook grip
60kg x 5
80kg x 3 - last rep power clean
100kg x 2 - second rep power clean - impromptu beltless PR
120kg x 2
140kg x 1
160kg x 1
180kg x 1
205kg x 5 felt harder than it should’ve, combination of knackered quads from cycling to the gym, sore hams from swings a few days before, and wasn’t feeling confident with hook grip. Switched to mixed grip for the last rep.
Add straps and belt
205kg x 3 x 1 - felt like I was going to puke when I tensed my abs, stomach was just too full. Final attempted set I had proper pain just below the sternum and it took a good 20 seconds for the pain and nausea to subside. Bugger. Disappointing, but I know that the strength was there, I was limited by the pain. Not going to adjust the weights.

GHR
2 x 4
2 x 5
1 x 10 - well these got easier

Ss/Chins
5 x 4

Db row
30kg x 12 - strict
My right thumb gave out, like it literally just stopped gripping. Maybe some nerve irritation from cycling or deadlifts, I don’t know. It slowly recovered, but I decided to jump in with someone on some squats instead.

Squats - paused on pins in the bottom
100kg x 3
120kg x 3
140kg x 3
150kg x 3
Add belt
160kg x 3

Captain’s chair leg raises
4 x 20

Got the chance to try some oly shoes, did some more back squats and front squats. Worked up to 140kg beltless and failed it twice. Got admiration from the oly lifters for my flexibility though.

More GHR
3 x 10

Back extensions (literally, belly on pad, hips didn’t move, flexing and extending the spine)
3 x 10

Coan press w6

A lot of foam rolling

Press
Bar x some
30kg x 5
40kg x 3
50kg x 2
55kg x 1
62.5kg x 2 x 5 - 1 set PR. First set the lateral part of my left quad suddenly got very right and painful on the second to last rep. Couldn’t actually squat on it at first. Took a while, but I rolled and stretched it and it was fine for set two.

Bench - all paused
40kg x 5
60kg x 10
70kg x 10
80kg x 10
85kg x 10 - good, got 2 sets of 8 last week
80kg x 6 - close grip, feet up, lost my balance and got wonky. Feet were up because the hip/it band/quad was tight. It was hurting to use leg drive and the tightness was throwing off my setup anyway.

Facepulls
“30kg” x 30
“35kg” x 25
“42kg” x 3 x 20

Ss/Dips
5 x 8 - really want to get comfortable with the movement and assess how it feels on my shoulder(s) before adding weight

Ss/Strict laterals
12s x 5 x 10

Facepulls
“91kg” x 4 x 10 - lolololololol

Ss/Rope pushdowns
“91kg” x 4 x 15

Ss/Hammer curls
18s x 4 x 10

Thumb/palm is still odd today, didn’t do too much direct back work because of it. Also squatting tomorrow and want to be fairly fresh. Odd that my quad cramped that badly, it normally gets a minor amount of soreness medially, never enough to limit a squat or on the lateral side. Another evening of recovery planned.

Coan squat w7

Squat
60kg x 2 x 5
80kg x 3
100kg x 2
120kg x 2
140kg x 1
160kg x 1
167.5kg x 5 - 7.5kg beltless PR
Belt on
167.5kg x 5
Belt off

Pause squat - 100kg bar weight, the rest hanging chain weight
147.5kg x 5
147.5kg x 5

High bar squat
Start pausing
140kg x 5
140kg x 5

Neutral chins
5,4,3,3,3

Ss/GHR
4 x 8
10kg x 8, drop to BW x 8 - these are just getting stupidly easy, I feel like I must be doing them wrong. Could maybe alter the setup so that my knees are further up the pad.

Hip (back) extensions
20kg x 4 x 15, last set drop to BW for 10 extremely controlled reps which made me want to cry

Ss/Neutral chins
4 x 3

No real issues with the funny quad/it band today, enough to make me avoid the treadmill though.

145

Coan bench w7

Bench
Bar x some
40kg x 5
60kg x 3
75kg x 2
85kg x 1
95kg x 1
105kg x 5 - 2 rep PR
105kg x 2 x 4 - first time I lost tightness, the second I was too fatigued

Cgbp
92.5kg x 2 x 5

Incline bench
80kg x 2 x 5 - such a weird feeling movement

Dips
4 x 8

Rolling db extensions
12s x 4 x 15

V bar pushdowns
“91kg” x 5 x 20

I think if I want to hit my bench numbers from now on I need to make sure I’m very fresh and in the right zone. I wasn’t there today, I pretty much just turned up, sat under the bar and went for it. I probably won’t need to adjust my numbers, but I do need to focus more.

Did incline bench instead of push press because I finally have access to a bench and it’s what Coan prescribes. Not used to it at all, felt very wobbly, but the strength is there, just no idea how to apply it yet.

146

Coan deadlift w7

Pulls
Hook grip
60kg x 5
80kg x 3
100kg x 2
120kg x 1
140kg x 1
160kg x 1
180kg x 1
200kg x 1
210kg x 3 - beltless PR
Add straps and belt
210kg x 3

No free squat rack, did glute ham raises before front squats and suffered.

GHR
6 x 10

Ss/Chins
6 x 4

Front squat
Bar x some
70kg x 5
90kg x 3
100kg x 2 x 5 - paused
Front squats felt off, bit fatigued but mainly I felt inflexible and was struggling to breathe.

Made myself feel better by working up to a heavy klokov style single on back squats - got 170kg

More GHR and some static holds

Neglected direct back work today, thumb is still a bit funny and hook grip is tearing my hands up

147

Coan press w7

Press
Bar x some
30kg x 5
40kg x 3
50kg x 2
55kg x 1
62.5kg x 2 x 5 - kept the weight the same, the minimum jumps of 2.5kg I’ve been having to make on press have meant it’s progressed a bit too quickly, and I wouldn’t have made 5 reps at 65kg today. Owned a weight that I grinded last week while pulling my quad in the process.

Bench - all paused
40kg x 5
60kg x 10
70kg x 10
80kg x 10
80kg x 10 - close grip - PR even without pausing
90kg x 10 - decent paused PR

Ss/Facepulls
30kg x 6 x 25

Laterals, curls, oh extensions
7.5s x 5 rounds of 20 - 30 each

Considering a deload. I’ve been fighting a cold for weeks and it’s not going away, uni workload is starting to go up, and the weights are starting to get heavy. Right now it feels like I’m about to have the busiest week of my life. I don’t know whether that feeling is accurate or if it’s just the sense of fatigue speaking, but I think I’d be better off both with work and with the weights if I took the time to get myself closer to 100%. I don’t think I’ve had a week off since the start of summer anyway.
Other reasons, thumb is getting irritated consistently both by weights and cycling. I think it’s a nerve issue that I started with the cycling and haven’t let recover. The muscle around there is pretty consistently sore now and could probably use some time with massage and heat instead of mashing it constantly. I don’t necessarily expect the nerve thing to get better quickly, and might need to find a way around the cycling. I also think in general a week of foam rolling and stretching without worrying about eating into my recovery time would do my hips and shoulders a favour.

148

A good 30 minutes of stretching and foam rolling before light squats - up to 80kg and just got down in the bottom position and worked my hips around for what was probably a 30 second pause.

Then did some db presses, the 20s for sets of 5 - 20 at a ton of different incline angles.

Wrist is bad, getting sporadic pain, tingling, and weakness all around my hand. Doctor’s appointment tomorrow. I suspect nerve irritation from cycling, but the fact that I stopped cycling 5 days ago and it’s since spread worries me a bit.

149

Coan squat w8 and a hockey match

Squat
50kg x 5
70kg x 3
100kg x 2
120kg x 2
150kg x 1
175kg x 3 - Beltless PR
Belt on
175kg x 3
Belt off

Pause squat - 70kg bar weight, the rest hanging chain weight. Less bar weight = wobbly as fuck
155kg x 3
155kg x 3

High bar squat
Start pausing
145kg x 3
145kg x 3 - next week I might want to add a belt or not pause.

Deadlift
120kg x doubles every 30 seconds for about 10 minutes. Bit of variety in the styles - some sumo, some snatch grip, mainly conventional. Been like a week and a half since I last pulled, so just did some light reps.

Did some chins and ghr, and a small amount of upper back. Nothing worth tracking.

While I waited for the rest of the hockey team to show up I hung out with some rugby guys who were working on sprint technique. I just ran four 60m bursts at around 85%.

The game was easy, the team is mainly meant as a social thing so it’s basically an opportunity to run around and have a bit of run. I used to play in goal so I did that for the first half, then had a bit of time outfield in the second half.

150

MMMMMMMMMMMMM

151

Yesterday I did bench and it was crap so I’m trying again tomorrow when I actually feel capable of doing it.

152

Coan bench w8 (ROUND 2)

Bench
Bar x some
40kg x 5
60kg x 4
75kg x 3
85kg x 1
95kg x 1
105kg x 1
110kg x 3 - last rep paused. 1 rep PR.
110kg x 2 - dang
110kg x 3 - I shifted my feet back so I was on my toes for this set - much tighter back, bigger arch, stronger feeling and more leg drive. I don’t care if it’s not meet legal, I can work on switching back when I need to.

Cgbp
95kg x 2 x 3 - as always, smoked them

Incline bench
82.5kg x 2 x 3 - good, actually touching my chest this time around, movement felt easier

Football bar ohp - hands angled towards me
Bar (assuming 20kg) x some
30kg x some
40kg x 3 x 10
50kg x 6
50kg x 10

Straight bar pushdowns - used a different stack, felt heavier
“91kg” x 8
“70kg” x 5 x 10

Dips
Green band assisted x 3 x 10 - just enough assistance to take the strain off my shoulders in the bottom, then slack about halfway up. Good stretch on the chest without worrying about my shoulder slipping.

153

Coan deadlift w8

Pulls
Hook grip - calluses in all sorts of new places. Tore my thumb up pretty badly today.
60kg x 5
80kg x 3
100kg x 2
120kg x 1
140kg x 1
160kg x 1
Add straps - snatch grip
180kg x 1 - 10kg PR and beltless
Straps off, back to regular
180kg x 1
200kg x 1
215kg x 3 - 5kg PR - most I’ve ever pulled, even for a single
Add straps and belt
215kg x 3 - good, hard reps but that’s what I expected. 220kg for triples next week. Issue on both sets where the first couple of reps the bar floated away from me, need to focus on keeping my lats tight. Will be doing some RDLs on squat and deadlifts days and really focusing on that aspect of the lift.

Block pulls - 2-3 inches below knee, directly where I tend to fail.
Belt off, straps stayed on
200kg x 3
Belt on
220kg x 3
227.5kg x 3 - crazy grind on the last rep. Maybe the first time I’ve ever struggled with the last few inches of lockout. Also, 500lbs :slight_smile:

GHR
4 x 10
1 x 20 against a horizontal light band, barely anything at the bottom, but it pulls you forward at the peak. Different feel to it, calves activated more and for some reason I hit more reps.

Ss/Chins
5 x 4

Hammer strength low row
1.5pps x 15
2.5pps x 4 x 10
Last set ^ dropset to
2pps x 10
1pps x 20 very slow reps with big squeezes

154

Coan press w8

Press
Bar x some
30kg x 5
40kg x 3
50kg x 2
55kg x 1
65kg x 2 x 3

Bench - all tng explosive as possible. Crap bar. Not a lot of rest.
40kg x 5
60kg x 3
70kg x 3
80kg x 3
90kg x 3
100kg x 3

Ss/Facepulls
“40kg” x 6 x 15

Facepulls
“15kg” x 50
“25kg” x 4 x 30

Ss/Klokov press
30kg x 5 x 10

Ss/Strict laterals
12.5s x 5 x 10

Hammer curls
17.5s x 4 x 10

Ss/Posterior chain/hip stretching

Shoulder is feeling funky while I write this up

155

Coan squat w9

Squat
60kg x 5
80kg x 3
100kg x 2
120kg x 2
140kg x 1
160kg x 1
180kg x 2 - got properly pinned on the last rep, went down and didn’t move. 1 rep beltless PR.
Belt on
180kg x 3 - PR matched
180kg x 2
180kg x 1 - just to hit the volume.
Belt off

Pause squat - 100kg bar weight, the rest hanging on chains
160kg x pinned
Belt on
160kg x 3
160kg x 3

High bar squat
These aren’t getting paused anymore
150kg x 3
150kg x 3

Squats felt like ass today, warmed up too quickly and lower back felt sore (I think I pushed my mobility on the early sets). Had zero confidence and the movement pattern felt off. Just a bad day, I can still hit next week’s doubles. Mental victory in that I hit pretty much every set despite just wanting to quit. Belt will be used a lot more from now on.

Neutral chins
3,3,3,3,3

Ss/RDLs
Belt still on
100kg x 5 x 12 - big focus on keeping the bar close

Hip (back) extensions
Some very gentle reps and some stretching

I don’t think my lower back was recovered from pulls, and then I pushed it by taking my warmups too deep. It didn’t appreciate anything today.

156

157

Coan bench w9

Bench
Bar x some
40kg x 5
60kg x 4
70kg x 3
80kg x 2
92.5kg x 1
102.5kg x 1
110kg x 3
112.5kg x 3 - 2.5kg PR - happy with the one set

Cgbp
100kg x 2 x 3 - 5kg PR

Incline bench was taken, did some machine chest press for reps.

Tired today, had an exam which took ages.

158

Dude awesome squatting

159

Never happy with it.

Coan deadlift week 9

I forgot my belt today :frowning:

Pulls
Hook grip
Warmup
200kg x 1 - shit rep
220kg x F - off floor
220kg x F - barely broke floor
Add shitty belt (literally about 5mm thick, and 3 cm across the waist)
220kg x 1 - PR
Add straps
220kg x 2 x F

So 220kg was meant to be for two sets of 3. Instead I get a load of misses and a crappy single. Probably means the end of this cycle for Coan. I can ride it out for everything else, and maybe a couple of weeks off pulls will put me in a better position moving on. I should be capable of more based off of the past few weeks and what I got up to over the summer, but 220kg is a PR, and also 5 plates in metric-land. Disappointing, but I know what I need to do to move on. More leg strength, more speed off the floor. Moving towards a higher frequency training template once this cycle is finished, squat should appreciate that, and reduced deadlift load will enable me to work on setup and speed.

Did a few more pulls at 200kg and 180kg, then dropped all the way to 100kg and tried to make everything perfect.
Hammered the GHR afterwards.

160

Not happy with the weight or the form.