Took a look at the program overview dude, looks tasty! Just keep that lowerback safe and you should get that PR easy! The set up on the ME day looks really interesting combining maximal effort, speed work and circuits, must be a killer 
Nice work in here man! Honestly I didnt like how decline felt…this could mean that I need work in that area hahaha. It took me a little to find where it felt good on my shoulder, they felt tight during it. Was weird too cause I didnt put up more weight than flat bench, around the same.
Diluted: Yeah, the program is gonna be really tough from what I can see. I’ll probably take the circuits a bit easier from now on, but those speed pulls are going to kill me. lol. Thanks for stopping by, man!
PB: That sucks, you may just be weak in that range of motion though. Try it out a couple times a cycle for a few cycles and see if your flat bench goes up. If it doesn’t help your flat bench, then there’s really no reason for you to do it since it’s just a shortened ROM and slight angle change. Try out some reverse band bench if you have any bands. Those help me out a lot I believe. You could also replace decline with weighted dips. Don’t be afraid to add a lot of weight, people generally think you can’t add more than 45 pounds for some reason. lol
ME Upper
Flat Bench:
Bar
15 @ 135
5 @ 225
5 @ 275
3 @ 315 (Felt like shit, couldn’t breathe for some reason, got lightheaded)
2 @ 335
1 @ 355 (Better)
1 @ 365 (Even better)
1 @ 375 (Match PR, goal hit. Grind, definitely max for the day)
15 @ 225 (Close grip)
Pull-Ups:
5x5 (Felt good, explosive)
Plyo Decline Push-Ups:
3x10
Seated Single Arm Lateral Raise:
3x8 @ 35
Felt pretty strong today once I got to 355, before that, I wasn’t feelin it. Very happy that I hit my goal for the day at 375 though. Everything else felt good too. Woot.
Deadlift week 2 happens tomorrow or Wednesday, depends on how I feel. Got 2x470 and 8x3 @ 380 speed pulls scheduled.
Motivation: 4/4
Nutrition: 3/4 (Great choices, I just haven’t been remotely hungry for some reason. Edited, ate more)
Explosiveness: 4/4 (Once I warmed up)
ME Lower - Coan/Phillipi Week 2
Deadlift:
Bar
5 @ 135
5 @ 225
5 @ 315 (Add belt)
3 @ 405
2 @ 455
2 @ 470 (Not that hard, form was decent. Not great though. Edit: This is a PR.)
Speed Deadlift (Conventional):
8x3 @ 380 (Jesus Christ)
Circuit (3 Times, 8 reps each):
Stiff-Leg Deadlift - 225 (Straps)
Bent-Over Row - 225 (Straps)
Reverse-Grip Pulldown - “180”
Good Morning - 135
Uhhhh…this sucks. I’m going to need to not really worry about the “speed” aspect of these speed pulls. They’re too heavy for me. You’ll see in the video how bad my form was. I have 6x3 @ 410 next week, so I’ll probably take my time between each rep and try to keep my lower back safe and flat.
2x470 didn’t really cause any problems, but my form wasn’t the best I’ve had.
I was really excited to get this workout done, but I hate the way it looked.
Circuit wasn’t terrible. Kept everything the same as last week except for the pulldowns. Rest periods ranged from 20-90 seconds, probably 45 on average.
Edit: Video added. You can see my speed pulls just turned into SLDL touch-and-go. On another note, I have a blister on my palm because of this program. Damn shitty bars.
Motivation: 4/4
Nutrition: 3/4
Explosiveness: 3/4
DE Upper
Banded Speed Bench (1 Doubled Mini Per Side):
Bar
Bar+Bands
5 @ 135+Bands
10x3 @ 225+Bands (Alternate close and regular grip)
35 @ 135
DB Seated Military Press:
3x8 @ 50s
Bent-Over Reverse Fly:
4x10 @ 20s
Took it pretty easy today as you can see. I’m decently sore from yesterday but my back did alright during bench. I only cramped once, and that was my hip flexor. That blister on my palm exploded during bench today too. Cool.
I was pretty quick for most reps despite the weight feeling heavy, but my lockout was slower than the rest of the ROM. I know I used bands but they don’t usually slow me down much.
I had pull ups scheduled for today but fuck that.
Motivation: 3/4
Nutrition: 3/4
Explosiveness: 3/4
DE Lower
Banded Speed Squat (1 Avg. Per Side):
Bar
Bar+Bands
5 @ 135+Bands
10x2 @ 225+Bands
BB Suitcase Rack Pull with Iso-Holds (5 seconds):
3x5 @ 135 (Last set with straps)
BB Side Bends:
2x5 @ 135 (Straps)
Westside Avg. Band Abs:
5x15
Bumper Plate “Prowler” Push:
3x~90ft
Sleep schedule last night went like this: Sleep 8:30-10pm, wake up, go to party at bar, sleep 4:30-6:30am, drive back to Birmingham, sleep 9:00am-Noon. Oddly, felt pretty damn good when I woke up at noon.
Hamstrings were tight as hell today, but I don’t think it affected me negatively, maybe even helped get my squats low.
I like these suitcase rack pulls too.
Motivation: 4/4
Nutrition: 3/4 (Not enough before the gym, otherwise perfectly fine)
Explosiveness: 4/4
At first I thought those suitcase rack pulls were rather light for you, but remembered you’re doing the C/P DL program. What makes you like the suitcase rack pulls?
Aqua: 135 is actually pretty difficult with the holds at the top. Otherwise, you’d be completely right. I rarely do any direct oblique work like side bends because the movement is awkward to me, but the stabilizing exercises like that one seem to work better than the movement based ones.
ME Upper
Reverse Band Bench (Avg. Band, about -95 at bottom):
10 @ 135
5 @ 225
5 @ 315
3 @ 365 (Add wrist wraps)
3 @ 385
2 @ 405
1.5 @ 425 (Got above my usual sticking point, just couldn’t finish)
2 @ 425 (Huge PR! Insane grind.)
DB Floor Press:
10 @ 100s
2x7 @ 120s (Wrist wraps)
15 @ 60s
Facepulls:
3x15 @ “70”
I had the most incredibly intense moment of focus during the second rep of that PR at 425. There was a time around the top 3rd of the lift when I could feel my eyes widen and I finished the lift. My girlfriend was spotting me and told me she was scared because my eyes were bloodshot as hell. lol
I got up and my back was super tight. Hurt for a while.
I like my new wrist wraps as well.
Motivation: 4/4
Nutrition: 4/4
Explosiveness: 4/4
Music: As I Lay Dying (all of “An Ocean Between Us”)
Nice PR! I may have to give those suitcase rack pulls a try some time then.
ME Lower - Coan/Phillipi Week 3 - Thank Jebus for the Superglue Edited for stupidity.
Deadlift:
Bar and Band Work
10 @ 135
5 @ 225
5 @ 315
3 @ 405 (Add belt)
1 @ 455 (Callous fucked, superglue!)
2 @ 495 (+25 lb. PR!, Large jump but I didn’t have the energy to not go ahead and go for it)
Speed Deadlift (Conventional, Straps):
6x3 @ 410 (Last 2 sets were sumo)
Circuit (3 Times, 8 reps each):
Stiff-Leg Deadlift - 225 (Straps)
Bent-Over Row - 225 (Straps)
Reverse-Grip Pulldown - “180”
Good Morning - 135
Sweet tits of vengeful Christ. This is definitely going to be the hardest thing I have ever done.
As you’ll see in the video, 2 @ 495 wasn’t pretty. I knew I just had to get the shit done, so I did. Speed pulls went better this week despite the weight being heavier. Maybe not as fast, but the form was better I think.
Circuit took longer than the other times. Actually rested almost appropriately.
Also, I’ve been taking caffeine and ephedrine this week kind of just for shits n gigs. Took my first full dose (400 mg C, 50 mg E) half when I woke up and half when I went to the gym. Potentially helping me power through this program.
Made a calorie bomb shake when I got home:
2 Cups Milk, 2 Eggs, 2 Scoops Protein, 3 TBSP Peanut Butter, 1 Banana, 1.5 TBSP Chocolate Syrup, 10g Creatine, 10g Leucine, and 10g Glutamine.
Protein: 98.5g, Carbs: 105g, Fat: 48g, kCal: 1246, Diagnosis: Delicious
Motivation: 4/4
Nutrition: 3/4 (Need more calories before these workouts)
Explosiveness: 3/4
Nice DL man! That 495 double was sweet!
PB: Thanks! It’s killin me though. lol
DE Upper
Bench:
Bar
15 @ 135
3 @ 225
10x3 @ 245
35 @ 135 (15 wide, 15 normal, 5 close grip)
Pull-ups:
5 or 6x5 (Distracted, did an extra set though)
EZ Bar Standing Curls (with a bit of body english):
2x5 @ 90+Bar (Narrow)
3x5 @ 90+Bar (Wide)
Avg. Band Tricpes Pushdown:
4x10 (Moved hands up each set making it harder)
Seated Single Arm Lateral Raise:
2x8 @ 35
Felt great today surprisingly. I’m definitely sore, but I was actually very explosive on all my lifts. My hamstrings are very sore, but my back isn’t all that bad. It’s usually the other way around. I think taking my time on the speed pulls helped my form.
I’m leaving on Friday for the beach, so I’m having to do all four workouts in four days.
Motivation: 4/4
Nutrition: 2/4 (Carbs. Lots. Also, sloppy joes, sloppy, sloppy joes)
Explosiveness: 4/4
DE Lower
Speed Box Squat:
Bar
5 @ 135
2 @ 225
9x2 @ 255
Suitcase Rack Pull with Iso-Hold (5 seconds):
3x5 @ 135
Westside Cable Abs:
3x15 @ “85”
Needed to get in and out quickly today, so I didn’t really have time to get my hips ready for free squats. Box felt just fine though. My hamstrings were more sore than yesterday too, so that didn’t help.
I almost didn’t go today because I was just exhausted all day and still am. I don’t know why honestly. The next few days at the beach should help me relax though.
Going to sleep now.
Motivation: 1/4 (Got better once I was there)
Nutrition: 3/4
Explosiveness: 4/4
ME Upper
Incline Bench:
Bar
10 @ 135
5 @ 225
3 @ 255
1 @ 275
1 @ 295 (Goal achieved)
1 @ 315 (Got a bit of help at lockout, I’m counting it though because I think I had it in the bag)
10 @ 135
Pull-Ups:
5x5
JM Press from Pins:
10 @ Bar
10 @ 95
10 @ 135 (Gigantic PR?) (Add wrist wraps)
8 @ 155 (Same?)
5 @ 175 (Again?)
Confused about the JM presses. I used a barbell instead of an EZ bar and obviously pressed from pins. One of those changed something dramatically, because I was doing like 95 for a hard 5 before.
Incline press didn’t feel very good on my shoulder. I’m not surprised though. I probably need to just drop them before I hurt myself.
Got a sunburn at the beach, so relaxation didn’t really happen for long. Nor did sleep.
On another note. I was kind of tricked by my mom into getting another horseshit job with a contracting company. “…just a summer construction (plumbing) assistant. They hire students all the time, they’re great people. No travel, good pay.” I had an interview (that was really just me applying and then having the job) at 7am this morning, which is ridiculous in-and-of itself. That took 5 hours. Literally. Well at noon, I was done, whatever, might as well ask a few questions.
Little did I know, the job starts at 6:30am and goes till 5pm daily. It’s over 30 (edit: 50 actually) minutes away, meaning I’d have to be up at 5am (edit: 4:45 actually). They’re nice, but they’re also dumbass rednecks. It also involves a harness and being above ground. Oh yeah, it’s outside in Alabama, which means 95 degrees and up. Now my mom “bargains” with me that I work 55 hours a week for 5 weeks and then take the rest of the summer off.
Long story short, I don’t know if I’ll be able to get the gym and finish the deadlift program. We’ll have to see. Because I won’t have any energy, let alone enough to deadlift with.
Motivation: 1/4 (Not overtraining, just incredibly pissed about this job)
Nutrition: 1/4 (5 hour application process)
Explosiveness: 4/4
Sorry about the job man.
buuuttttttt great work on the 315 incline! big weight.
Bug: Thanks, dude. I’m hoping to get a call from Best Buy to get interviewed. Until then, the job isn’t all that bad. It’s just the 10.5 hours of constantly sweating and waking up before 5am that is getting to me.
ME Lower - Coan/Phillipi Week 4
Deadlift:
Bar
10 @ 135
5 @ 225
5 @ 315 (Add belt)
3 @ 405 (Feeling good surprisingly)
1 @ 455 (Not so good)
1 @ 495 (Ripped hands apart)
2 @ 525 (Ridiculous +30 lbs. PR!, With straps. Few seconds of rest in between reps)
Speed Deadlift:
3x3 @ 440 (So slow, was scheduled for 5 sets, but I wouldn’t be able to do them safely)
Circuit (3 Times, 8 reps each):
Stiff-Leg Deadlift - 135
Bent-Over Row - 135
Neutral Grip Pull-Ups - Body Weight
Good Morning - 135
I’m so surprised and happy that I was able to get the 2x525! That was just about the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I thought I had strained my left glute at the top of the first rep actually, but I’m okay now. I’m extremely exhausted after getting up at 5 and working/sweating for 10.5 hours, and then doing week 4 of C/P. Holy shit.
The circuit was obviously changed slightly from pull-downs to pull-ups. It was more convenient and I figured it’s the same damn thing. I lowered the weights for the circuit and did it all a lot faster than before. Like 30 seconds or less between exercises AND sets.
Thankfully next week is the deload of sorts.
In the video, you can hear me saying “Woo, fuck” after the 2x525. lol
Also, the speed pulls don’t look all that slow, but they felt like shit.
Motivation: 4/4
Nutrition: 3/4
Explosiveness: 4/4
Wooo fuck!!
NICE work man, that is especially impressive considering the day you had before the DL session. From what I read week 4 is the toughest, nice job making it through! 585 is gonna be yours very soon.
Yeah, I’d say the hardest is either 4 or 8 considering I’ll have to double my previous max plus 10 lbs. I’m very sore already, I can’t wait to feel what I’ll feel tomorrow. At least there’s no work Saturday. Thanks, pb!
Very nice pulling! Even more so considering how tiring your job sounds.
Thanks, Aqua. Definitely doesn’t help the program. haha
DE Upper
Banded Speed Bench (1 Doubled Mini per Side):
Bar
Bar+Bands
5 @ 135+Bands
3 @ 225+Bands
9x3 @ 245+Bands (Alternate wide and normal grip. Last 3 sets w/ wrist wraps)
Hanging Kettlebell Bench (Like this, but with a regular barbell: Bamboo Bar Bench Press at Westside Barbell - YouTube):
10 @ 55
3x10 @ 115
DB Seated Military Press:
3x8 @ 60s
Scapular Retraction/Depression Iso-Holds (Get under a bar like you’re going to do inverted rows, but just pull your scapulae back and down and hold yourself off the ground. Squeeze hard.):
30 sec. Narrow grip
2x15 sec. Wide grip
15 sec. Narrow grip
Standing EZ Bar Curls (w/ Body English):
3x8 @ Bar+70
Speed bench felt pretty good. Heavier than I’ve ever done for speed.
Tried some new things today. The hanging kettlebell bench was pretty damn difficult even with a regular bar. I wish I had a bamboo bar to try it out with. The scap holds went pretty well too. Apparently I wanted to do some stability work today, huh?
My hand is all fucked up from yesterday, so the curls were hard to do with out cheating.
Motivation: 4/4
Nutrition: 2/4 (Not nearly enough. Need to make bulk meals so I can eat a solid meal breakfast)
Explosiveness: 4/4