Normally today would be a cardio/abs day but for whatever reason I just can’t get myself to go to the gym.
Mesocycle 4
Week 1
Day 1 (41)
Squat
Squat (ATG)
95 x 7
155 x 5
195 x 5
235 x 5
252.50 x 5
267.50 x 9
195 x 6
DB Lunge (Stationary)
35 x 10
35 x 10
Hack Squat
200 x 11
200 x 11
200 x 12
Leg Extension
100 x 21
100 x 22
100 x 20
100 x 19
Lying Leg Curl
105 x 12
105 x 12
105 x 12
105 x 12
Alt. DB Curls
40 x 10
45 x 8
40 x 10
4 sets weighted decline situps
Cardio: Tabata FAILED - not sure if I was going too fast or too slow but here’s what I tried. I did this on the treadmill; 8.5mph @ 9.0 incline. I lasted 3 minutes. My legs were fine but I was just gassed
Gym time = 79 minutes
Thoughts
Pretty good workout coming off the deload week. I decided to repeat my squat numbers from the last cycle. I struggled a bit so I felt it’d be best to just do it over again. I’ll be increasing everything else. I gave DB lunges a shot but I sucked at them. I need to practice those. Those two sets really took a lot out of me and I struggled on leg extensions. Overall I’d say a thumbs up workout!
Mesocycle 4
Week 1
Day 2 (42)
Bench
Bench Press
95 x 9
135 x 7
165 x 6
185 x 2
200 x 5
215 x 5
230 x 9 NO SPOTTER
180 x 8
60-90 seconds rest between sets
DB Incline Press
70 x 11
Barbell Incline
155 x 10
155 x 10
155 x 10
Dips
BW+35lbs x 9
BW+35lbs x 9
BW+35lbs x 9
BW+35lbs x 8
Pec Deck Fly
110 x 15
130 x 12
120 x 16
120 x 16
V-Bar Pushdown
110 x 17
110 x 13
110 x 13
110 x 13
Planks 60 seconds, 60 seconds 60 seconds
Reverse Crunches 4x15
Total Gym time = 78 minutes
Thoughts
I never expected to get nine reps w/o a spotter. To be safe I didn’t go to failure which is awesome b/c I probably could have done another 2 reps with a spotter. I’m really thrilled about the flat bench. On the other hand I absolutely suck at BB incline which is why I switched to it. My gym has only two benches for it so both were occupied and I waited and waited and waited and waited and finally gave up and went to do DB inclines instead. Of course right after my first set of DB inclines both benches were empty, lol. I really wanna get my incline up so hopefully this works.
Mesocycle 4
Week 1
Day 4 (43)
Deadlift
Deadlift
135 x 3
155 x 5
225 x 5
240 x 2
285 x 5
320 x 10
Lat Pulldown
145 x 12
145 x 12
145 x 12
145 x 12
Bent Over Barbell Row
125 x 15
125 x 15
125 x 15
125 x 28
Wide Grip Pull-Up
BW x 5
BW x 6
BW x 6
BW x 5
45-degree back extension
4x12x25lbs
Hanging Leg Raise
4x15
12 minutes cardio on elliptical
Total Gym time = 88 minutes
Thoughts
I was pleased with deads. I left probably two reps in the tank. Right before my final set of rows I ran into a friend and we ended up chatting for a bit. I don’t know how long exactly but it was long enough to the point where when I did my last set it was as light as a feather. I attempted HIIT on the elliptical but I was stealing feeling some minor effects of Monday’s leg workout so I ended up just doing light cardio. I’ll try to hit cardio hard tomorrow. I stretched a lot afterwards and my legs and back feel fine now.
Mesocycle 4
Week 1
Day 5 (44)
Standing Military Press
Standing Military Press
Bar x 10
65 x 8
85 x 5
100 x 2
120 x 5
125 x 5
135 x 11
Seated DB Shoulder Press
55 x 10
55 x 10
55 x 10
55 x 10
BB Upright Row
90 x 12
90 x 12
90 x 12
90 x 12
Face Pulls Done off lat pulldown pulley
40 x 15
55 x 15
55 x 15
55 x 15
Barbell Curl
70 x 12
75 x 10
75 x 10
70 x 12
Cardio: 14 minutes Tabata
-5 min warm-up, 4 minutes at 8.0mph @8.0 incline- 20 seconds on, 10 seconds off & repeat, 5 min cooldown
Thoughts
I’m following what Wendler says for the final set. I’m trying to leave around 2-3 reps in the tank and then on my last week just go all out. I replaced side lats with face pulls. Normally for face pulls I’d use the regular pulley but they were all occupied so I had to be creative and use the lat pulldown. The resistance on that is a lot different so I had no idea what weight to use. I started pretty low for my Tabata session b/c I wanted to make sure I could at least complete it. I think next time I’ll keep the incline the same but increase the speed.
came across an interesting article on PWO myths
Good to know that pretty much everything I said yesterday was complete crap.
[quote]JLD2k3 wrote:
Good to know that pretty much everything I said yesterday was complete crap.[/quote]
haha, well I don’t know. I’ve found other articles contradicting a lot of what was said here so who knows. I think all you can do is whatever works for you. I’m going start following your advice and see how it works.
Mesocycle 4
Week 2
Day 1 (45)
Squat
Squat (ATG)
95 x 10
145 x 6
205 x 5
225 x 2
252.50 x 5
267.50 x 3
282.50 x 6
205 x 8
DB Lunge (Stationary)
35 x 10
35 x 10
35 x 10
Hack Squat
200 x 10
200 x 9
Leg Extension
100 x 20
100 x 20
100 x 20
100 x 20
Lying Leg Curl
105 x 12
105 x 12
105 x 12
105 x 12
Alt. DB Curls
40 x 10
45 x 8
40 x 10
Cardio: 14 minutes Tabata
-5 min warm-up, 4 minutes at 8.0mph @8.0 incline- 20 seconds on, 10 seconds off & repeat, 5 min cooldown
Thoughts
On paper this may not look like a bad workout but it was. It took me forever to get through this. Normally I blitz my workouts with a lot of focus and intensity but I struggled the entire way through. Squats were REAL heavy. I’m not sure if I’m overthinking this but wondering if Friday’s lack of food had any effect. I missed my entire PWO b/c I fell asleep. Then on Saturday & Sunday I didn’t get in a whole lot of clean carbs. It wasn’t a major deficit but just didn’t get in as many as I normally do. Oh well, crappy workout, shook it off and time to kick ass tomorrow!
How’s the Tabata treating you? Feel like you’re going to puke?
It’s funny because the first minute or so isn’t that bad so you get a little cocky but by the end you’re hurting. I still gotta try pushing it with the treadmill turned off.
Mesocycle 4
Week 2
Day 2 (46)
Bench
Bench Press
95 x 8
135 x 6
175 x 5
185 x 2
215 x 5
230 x 3
242.50 x 8 spotter assisted a bit on final rep
185 x 6
60-90 seconds rest between sets
Barbell Incline
155 x 9
155 x 9
155 x 9
155 x 9
Dips
BW+35lbs x 9
BW+35lbs x 9
BW+35lbs x 9
BW+35lbs x 8
Pec Deck Fly
110 x 10
120 x 12
120 x 12
120 x 12
CGBP
135 x 10
135 x 10
V-Bar Pushdown
110 x 15
110 x 15
Weighted decline crunches 4x15
Reverse Crunches 4x15
Total Gym time = 85 minutes
Thoughts
Good session. Like yesterday it took me some time to get through this. At times I was losing focus & intensity. So when that would occur I’d simply rest until I felt good to go. The spotter said I was around 3/4 of the way up if not more until he helped me finish it off. I still can’t figure out why I’m so bad at bb incline. I think it’s because I can never figure out where exactly the seat should be. Once I get my form down I should be good to go.
Mesocycle 4
Week 2
Day 4 (47)
Deadlift
Wide Grip Pull-Up
BW x 8
BW x 6
BW x 5
BW x 5
BW x 5
Deadlift
135 x 5
185 x 5
225 x 5
250 x 2
300 x 5
320 x 3
337.50 x 8
Lat Pulldown
145 x 10
145 x 10
145 x 10
145 x 12
Bent Over Barbell Row
125 x 18
125 x 18
125 x 18
125 x 18
45-degree back extension
4x10x35lbs
Hanging Leg Raise 4x15
Planks 60 seconds, 60 seconds, 60 seconds
Cardio: 14 minutes Tabata
-5 min warm-up, 4 minutes at 8.8mph @6.5 incline- 20 seconds on, 10 seconds off & repeat, 5 min cooldown
Thoughts
Solid workout. Deads were heavy and I had a feeling that may happen. My diet was really out of whack today. I pretty much had all bad carbs besides breakfast. Breakfast carbs were 3/4 oats & banana. Lunch carbs one white hamburger roll w/ pasta primavera & green beans and dinner carbs consisted of a rather small serving of penne vodka & green beans. As most of you know I’m real strict with my diet and like to keep things in order. Unfortunately sometimes that’s not possible and you just gotta eat whatever is there. So anyway going into the deads I wanted no less than 7 reps so I’m pleased. I’ve never been someone who can dead for high reps anyway. I bet if I tried 185 I probably couldn’t get more than 12. Cardio was real tough. I was hurting toward the end. I lowered the incline from my last session but upped the speed. I know there was something else I wanted to talk about but I can’t think of it right now and that’s probably a good thing; will stop boring y’all now .
Mesocycle 4
Week 2
Day 5 (48)
Standing Military Press
Standing Military Press
Bar x 8
55 x 7
75 x 6
85 x 4
105 x 2
125 x 5
135 x 3
142.50 x 9
105 x 7
Seated DB Shoulder Press
55 x 11
55 x 11
55 x 11
55 x 11
BB Upright Row
90 x 12
90 x 11
90 x 11
90 x 11
Face Pulls
100 x 20
100 x 20
110 x 15
110 x 15
Barbell Curl
70 x 13
75 x 10
75 x 10
75 x 10
3 sets kneeling rope crunch
3 sets roman twists
Thoughts
Arms got a real nice burn tonight. I rested a few more minutes than normal before doing BB curls. I was pretty pleased with those; was expecting worse. I wish my gym would stay open later on Saturdays so I could switch shoulders. By doing shoulders on Saturday I’d have a day off between back & shoulders. I may try to make the switch anyway but it’s definitely going to be an inconvenience at times.
That looks like a good, healthy number for your press. How’s your progress going on the lifts? My spreadsheet is showing me all over the place, but if you take out the “bad days” when I just say F it, all the lines go up.
[quote]JLD2k3 wrote:
That looks like a good, healthy number for your press. How’s your progress going on the lifts? My spreadsheet is showing me all over the place, but if you take out the “bad days” when I just say F it, all the lines go up.[/quote]
I’m kind of all over the map as well. Sometimes my lifts have been inconsistent and impossible to explain. I’ve had one week where I’m god awful then the very next week put up great numbers. That really skews your numbers a bit. It’s kind of like a relief pitcher who has been great all year but then has two bad outings where he gets lit up and doesn’t record an out.
Mesocycle 4
Week 3
Day 1 (49)
Squat
Squat (ATG)
95 x 8
135 x 5
165 x 2
195 x 5
215 x 2
240 x 5
265 x 3
300 x 2
300 x 2 2nd attempt
DB Lunge (Stationary)
35 x 10
35 x 10
Hack Squat
200 x 10
200 x 10
220 x 8
Leg Extension
100 x 20
100 x 20
100 x 20
100 x 20
Lying Leg Curl
105 x 12
105 x 12
105 x 12
115 x 10
Alt. DB Curls
40 x 10
45 x 8
40 x 10
Cardio: 14 minutes Tabata
-5 min warm-up, 4 minutes at 8.5mph @7.5 incline- 20 seconds on, 10 seconds off & repeat, 5 min cooldown
Total Gym time = 75 minutes
Thoughts
This session was both disappointing and positive. Obviously I was disappointed in my squats. I just repeated this cycle from a few weeks ago and last time I got three reps and this time I hit 2. My warm-ups felt great but when I got to the final set it was just too heavy. I think for my next cycle I may lower the squat. I hope to have great lifts on everything else this week so I’m hoping only my squat has suffered a bit. I said this was a really positive workout because the poor squatting did not affect me at all. I simply just said whatever I suck at squatting right now and moved on. I still maintained great focus throughout the session. I was never sluggish and pretty much blitzed through this thing. I was very pleased that I didn’t let the squats get the best of me. It probably sounds corny but I’m really glad that I’ve been able to do this. The old me would just be pissed forever. I really can’t put my finger on why I’ve been having trouble squatting. I even increased the carbs on my day off before squatting as well as my preWO meal. Oh well, like I said not the end of the world. Now if I suck at everything this week I’ll be friggin pissed!!
Reggie Miller used to say he was never in a shooting slump because the only way you get into a slump is when you’re not ready to take the next shot and nail it. I’m confident you’ll hit some big numbers this week.
Good point man, thanks.
Mesocycle 4
Week 3
Day 2 (50)
Bench
Bench Press
105 x 7
145 x 6
165 x 5
185 x 3
200 x 5
230 x 3
255 x 4 spotter assisted a bit on final rep
185 x 6
Barbell Incline
155 x 10
155 x 10
155 x 9
155 x 9
Dips
BW+35lbs x 10
BW+35lbs x 9
BW+35lbs x 9
BW+35lbs x 8
Pec Deck Fly
120 x 12
120 x 12
120 x 12
120 x 12
CGBP
135 x 10
135 x 10
135 x 8
V-Bar Pushdown
110 x 10
110 x 10
Random ab stuff
Thoughts
The goal was to hit 5 reps on bench but instead I did 4, no big deal. I’m getting better with barbell incline. I think I’m gonna extend the rest period between sets on that one. I figure it can’t hurt to rest a little more.