TCam's Log - Get Strong(er)

Training Training Logs
821

Intensification Block: Week 2, ME Upper

Bench - Wide Grip Reverse Band (Avg. Bands, ~75 off bottom):
Bar
5 @ 225 (Add bands)
5 @ 275
3 @ 315 (Add wraps)
3 @ 365
1 @ 405
1 @ 425
1 @ 445 (Competition grip PR = 455)
12 @ 315 (PR)

Floor Press:
Bar
6 @ 135
6 @ 225
6 @ 275
6 @ 295 (PR)

HS Iso-Lateral Row:
15 @ 2pps
12 @ 2.5pps
2x15 @ 3pps (5 reps each: Wide neutral, Wide pronated, Narrow neutral)
2x15 @ 3pps (5 reps each: Reverse previous order)

DB Reverse Fly:
3x12 @ 25s

Push-Up:
4x10

I felt great strength-wise today. Only the 445 rep was hard. I raised my ass a bit and I never got tight enough today, so I decided to stop there. I had never done a wide grip max effort movement, and I’m surprised I lifted that much. My right shoulder was a little weird about it, but I survived.

I’m very happy with floor press too. 275 was super easy and 295 wasn’t bad either. 315 shouldn’t be too far off.

Doing the mechanical dropsets for the rows were really rough; especially going backwards. The wide neutral grip really lets me feel my lats actually doing something as opposed to my biceps.

I’ll be doing reverse band deadlift next time I’m in the gym. Not sure what I’m shooting for.

Motivation: 4/4
Nutrition: 4/4
Explosiveness: 4/4
Discipline: 4/4

822

Intensification Block: Week 2, ME Lower

Deadlift - Conventional, Reverse Band (1 Avg. per side):
Bar
5 @ 135
5 @ 225 (Add bands)
5 @ 315
5 @ 365 (Add belt)
3 @ 405
3 @ 455
1 @ 495
1 @ 545
1 @ 585 (PR? This is as much weight as I can get on the bars at this gym because the plates are so thick)
15 @ 405 (PR)

Front Squat:
6 @ 135
6 @ 225 (Ugh…fuck this)

Good Morning (Rounded back):
3x10 @ 135 (Seated)
2x10 @ 135 (Standing)

Pull-Ups (Superset with GM):
3x3 @ BW+45
6 @ BW+45 (+1 rep PR)
10 @ BW

Avg. Band Hamstring Curl:
3x20

Box Jump:
2x3 @ 36"
2x3 @ 40"

I felt strong today. All of the reps were fast until the last one, which I think I locked out, but my grip was failing. Counting it. The bands were setup so that from right below or at my knees, the bands stopped helping.

I’m unsure of the amount of help the bands gave me, but taking into consideration that they stopped helping at my knees, I only had the bands stretched 24 inches or so, which isn’t on the calibrations chart on EFS. Without taking into consideration the elasticity, because fuck that: If you take 2/3 of the 87 lbs for 36 inches, you get about 58 lbs. Not that it actually matters, but that means I was pulling 527 from the floor and 556 (1 lb. above my all time raw PR) at mid shin. In other words, I have the strength to beat my record, I just need to fucking get it off the floor faster.

Accessories were meh. Front squats felt like shit after repping out deadlifts, so I stopped. Good mornings felt fine since they were light. Pull-ups went well.

Motivation: 4/4
Nutrition: 3/4
Explosiveness: 4/4
Discipline: 3/4

823

Intensification Block: Week 3, DE Upper

Speed Bench - 1 Short Mini per Side (+65 at top):
Bar
Bar+Bands
5 @ 135+Bands
10x3 @ 215+Bands (Switch between the 3 grips)
40 @ 135 (Somewhere between a 7-10 rep PR)

Incline Bench:
Bar
5 @ 135
5 @ 185
3 @ 225
1 @ 275
3x5 @ 185 (Paused)

Bent Over DB Row (Strict):
5x10 @ 75s

Light Band Face Pull:
3x25

Band Curl (1/2 Mini per Hand):
3x10

I was incredibly sore from yesterday, but I felt strong today. I used less band tension than last week since I wasn’t fast enough. I was happy with my performance today.

I got my pump on with the incline bench. Pausing felt like it was doing something at least.

I like doing the bent over DB rows too.

Motivation: 4/4
Nutrition: 4/4
Explosiveness: 4/4
Discipline: 4/4

824

Intensification Block: Week 3, DE Lower

Speed Box Squat - Parallel or Slightly Lower, Avg. and Mini Bands (+185 at the top):
Bar
Bar+Bands
5 @ 135+Bands
2 @ 225+Bands
12x2 @ 275+Bands

Speed Pulls - 2 Short Minis + 2 Short Monsters (+155 at top):
2 @ 135+Bands
2 @ 225+Bands
8x2 @ 255+Bands

Ab Pulldown:
12 @ “125”
12 @ “140” (Too much to use good form)
2x12 @ “125”

Cable High Row (Neutral):
3x15 @ “105”

Cable Pull-Through:
10 @ “155”
2x10 @ “170”

This was very tough. I’m in training for my new job, so we’re just fuckin sitting around all day, which I thought would ruin my hips. But I’m okay after 2 days so far. I was very explosive today actually. Not on every single rep, but the majority were fast.

Speed pulls were fast but difficult to get through since my lower back was pumped after speed squats.

This was the first time I’ve ever done cable pull-throughs, and they will definitely stay in the rotation. I could actually feel my glutes and hamstrings finally.

My schedule should generally be Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday from now on. I’ll switch my days around when I deload to get my max efforts on the weekend. This Thursday will be close grip bench for a single.

Motivation: 4/4
Nutrition: 4/4
Explosiveness: 4/4
Discipline: 4/4

825

Intensification Block: Week 3, ME Upper

Bench - Close Grip:
Bar
5 @ 135
5 @ 225
5 @ 275
3 @ 315 (Add wraps)
1 @ 345
1 @ 365 (Match PR. Probably the fastest I’ve ever moved 365)
1 @ 385 (20 lb. PR!)
0 @ 405
10 @ 275 (PR)

Cable Low Row (Wide Neutral):
10 @ “150”
4x8 @ “210”

Mini Band Triceps Extension (1 Band per hand):
30, 25, 20

Reverse DB Fly:
4x10 @ 30s

Mini Band Incline Curl (1 Band per hand):
3x20

Apparently whatever I’ve been doing has been helping my close grip bench. I’m really happy with this PR. I was confused when I got to 275, because it was excessively easy, and then 365 flew up. I’m kind of surprised I didn’t get 405 today based on the 365. When I did try 405, it didn’t feel heavy coming out of the rack or on the decent, but I only got it a few inches above my chest. It may be a form thing at this point.

I kept the accessories pretty simple and easy. I basically just skipped my usual incline work, since close grip is pretty rough on my shoulders.

I’m considering extending this phase to 5 weeks for a couple of reasons:

  1. Christmas week will be annoying, so deloading then would be optimal timing.
  2. I feel great strength-wise, so I might as well keep doing things that make me stronger.

Motivation: 4/4
Nutrition: 4/4
Explosiveness: 4/4
Discipline: 4/4

826

Yesterday: Intensification Block: Week 3, ME Lower

Squat - Reverse Band (Avg. Bands. Probably 50-70 off the bottom):
Bar
5 @ 135
5 @ 225 (Add bands)
5 @ 275
5 @ 315 (Add belt)
3 @ 365
3 @ 405
1 @ 455
1 @ 475
1 @ 495 (Grinder in the middle)

RDL:
6 @ 135
6 @ 225
6 @ 275 (Add straps)
6 @ 315
6, 5, 4 @ 365

Weighted Pull-Up (Neutral):
2x3 @ BW+45
2x5 @ BW+45
10 @ BW

Box Jump (32"):
4x5

Pretty shitty workout. I was on my feet all day at my job and I’m not used to that after sitting around for the past several months. I also didn’t eat well enough.

Motivation: 2/4
Nutrition: 1/4
Explosiveness: 1/4
Discipline: 2/4

Intensification Block: Week 4, “DE” Upper

Bench - FatGripz:
Bar
2x3 @ 135
3x3 @ 185
2x3 @ 225
3x3 @ 275

Bent Over DB Row (Strict):
5x10 @ 85s

Mini Band Triceps Extension (1 Band per hand. Superset with rows):
30, 20, 25, 20

Military Press from Pins (at chin level):
Bar
5 @ 95
3 @ 135
5x3 @ 185

Cable Facepull:
3x25 @ “95”

I’m not sure why my elbows were aching all day, but they were. It could have been the fact that it has been raining all day, or it could be from close grip the other day. Hopefully it’s just the rain, but I’m starting to think there’s a limit to the weight my joints can handle. I may need to start wearing elbow sleeves too.

Either way, I decided to basically skip the speed work today as a result. FatGripz slow me down, so my elbows felt fine. After the band extensions, there was no pain at all.

I haven’t done any sort of military press in a long time. They felt good today.

On another note, I really didn’t want to go to the gym today. Zero motivation. I really need to take some vitamin D. Working in an office all week and then the rain today made me depressed as shit.

Motivation: 1/4
Nutrition: 2/4 (I’ve mass cooked breakfast and lunch for this week. So it’ll be better)
Explosiveness: 3/4
Discipline: 3/4

827

Intensification Block: Week 4, “DE” Lower

Squat - Full, Some Paused:
Bar
5 @ 135 (P)
2x3 @ 225 (P)
3x3 @ 275 (P. Add belt)
2x3 @ 315
3 @ 365
5x1 @ 405

Speed Pulls - 2 Short Minis + 2 Short Monsters (+155 at top):
3 @ 135+Bands
3x2 @ 225+Bands
5x2 @ 315+Bands

Cable Pull-Through:
8 @ “155”
3x8 @ “200” (Whole stack. Need more plates for mah glutes)

Light Band Rotary Hold:
3x3x10 seconds L/R

This workout was of the same ilk as the last one. I didn’t want to do speed squats, but I didn’t want to do anything easier either. The paused squats were tough on my glutes, so I think I’ll try to fit them in elsewhere. I was very fast on the concentric portion either way. I think warming up that way made me faster out of the hole, but I was slower at the top (once I stopped pausing, I mean). Opposite of what I’m used to.

Speed pulls were tough at 315 (470 at the top), but I wasn’t slow.

Good workout overall.

Motivation: 4/4
Nutrition: 4/4
Explosiveness: 4/4
Discipline: 4/4

828

Intensification Block: Week 4, ME Upper

Bench - Decline:
Bar
10 @ 135
5 @ 225
5 @ 275
3 @ 315 (Add wraps)
2 @ 345
1 @ 365
1 @ 385
1 @ 405 (Super fast)
1 @ 415 (10 lb. PR!)
0 @ 425 (Right wrist rolled back before it hit my chest)
21 @ 225 (+1 rep PR)

HS Iso-Lateral Row (Mechanical Dropset. Wide Neutral, Wide Pronated, Narrow Neutral. 5 reps each):
15 @ 2pps
3x15 @ 3pps

Cable Facepull:
25, 20, 20 @ “95”

Light Band Curl:
3x12

I’m very happy to finally get a PR on decline. It’s been like a year and a half or something close to it. Really makes me wonder what the fuck I’ve been doing for that whole time. I’m not going to stop doing the real Westside waves and exercises for a long time, I imagine. No more changing programs. I just need to work on speeding up the workouts and adding another accessory exercise each day. I’m already at the gym for 75 minutes for these workouts, and I don’t want to rush my main lift, but it generally takes like 45 minutes just to do that. So clearly my conditioning for accessory work needs to improve if I want to add another lift.

One thing I should note: My right arm locked out after my left on the 415 press, and that is the wrist that rolled back on the 425, as well as my most bothersome elbow. Just something to look out for.

Motivation: 4/4
Nutrition: 4/4
Explosiveness: 4/4
Discipline: 4/4

829

Intensification Block: Week 4, ME Lower, Saturday

I’m not going to write everything down because I don’t remember everything.

Deadlift:
1 @ 545 (Sumo)
12 @ 405 (Conventional, Touch-and-Go. 2 rep PR)

Cable High Row (Neutral):
4x10

Paused Box Squat - Moderate Stance:
6 @ 275
2x6 @ 315 (Was fried by now)

Light Band Abs:
15, 15, 8

Deadlift felt great. 545 was shaky and pretty slow. I wouldn’t call it really difficult though. I just didn’t have the strength to get more this day. It’s only 10 lbs. under my PR though.

Everything else felt horrible. After the 12 rep deadlift set, I was done. I couldn’t recover aerobically for the rest of the workout, it seemed. I would just keep breathing hard. I also had a pretty good headache going on. The paused box squats were very hard with a moderate stance.

I’m deloading now, thankfully.

Merry Christmas

830

Deload: DE Upper - Yesterday

Warm-up aching elbows with mini bands and push-ups.

Bench - DB:
15 @ 40s
10 @ 75s
4x10 @ 100s
7.9 @ 100s (Failed on this last set. Pretty sure this was close to, if not a, PR)

Pull-Ups (Neutral. Superset with Bench):
5x10 (PR, I think)

Mini Band Triceps Extension (1 band per hand):
30, 20, 20

Odd DB Curl:
3x15 @ 15s (Forearms were destroyed at this point)

Cable Facepull:
3x20 @ “95”

It was nice getting back into the gym after 3 days of sitting on my ass in one form or another (work or home). I was scared my elbows were going to hurt the whole time, but once I got warmed up, they were completely fine.

I’m happy with DB bench. I haven’t tried to do high volume in a while and this was fairly easy, minus the last set. My chest was just done at that point.

Pull-Ups were good as well. I’m pretty sure I haven’t done a 5x10 before. Weighted pull-ups clearly helped.

Motivation: 4/4
Nutrition: 2/4
Explosiveness: 3/4
Discipline: 4/4

831

Deload: DE Lower

Box Squat:
Bar
5 @ 135
5 @ 225
5x10 @ 275 (Belt)

Avg. Band Ab Pulldown (Superset with Squat):
5x15

Speed Pulls:
3 @ 135
8x2 @ 225

Avg. Band Seated Hamstring Curl (Superset with Deadlift):
4x20

Simple workout. I liked the (attempted) 5x10 yesterday with bench, so I figured I’d do another with box squat. It worked out pretty well. 275 was enough to elicit a training response, but light enough that I could move it fast.

My lower back, right side especially, was really tight after squats. Working at a cubicle isn’t going to work too well unless I start making sure I roll around on a tennis ball a few times a week.

Deadlift went well regardless. It was pretty much effortless, I just focused on my form and speed.

Motivation: 4/4
Nutrition: 4/4
Explosiveness: 4/4
Discipline: 4/4

832

Deload: ME Upper

Bench - DB:
10 @ 60s
15 @ 100s
13 @ 100s
11 @ 100s (39 total)

Inverted Row (Superset with Bench):
2x10

Snatch Grip Bent Row:
8 @ 135
5 @ 225
2x8 @ 225 (Straps)
20 @ 225 (Straps. PR)

Mini Bands Triceps Extension:
30, 25, 20

Odd DB Curl:
3x12 @ 20s

Mini Bands Facepull:
3x20

Everything went well today. I followed the DB deload outlined in the Westside thread. 2 sets near failure, then 1 set to failure. The last rep was barely finished, I definitely would have failed at 12. I’m happy with 39 total though.

My right shoulder was hurting a good bit. It wasn’t intra-articular, it was muscular. I just couldn’t tell if it was my anterior delt or the insertion point of the pec. The high volume with a decent amount of weight from the other day may have something to do with it.

Motivation: 4/4
Nutrition: 4/4
Explosiveness: 4/4
Discipline: 4/4

833

Deload: ME Lower

Didn’t know what I wanted to do today. I just knew I wanted to try out my new belt my girlfriend gave me. It’s a 10mm Single Prong from bestbelts.net. I went in without a plan and was already sore.

Squat:
Bar (Went ahead and added the belt here to get the feel for it)
5 @ 135
5 @ 225
5 @ 315
3 @ 365
1 @ 405 (Very fast)
8 @ 405 (PR. Previous PR = 395x5)

Deadlift - Sumo, Mostly:
5 @ 135
5 @ 225
3 @ 315
3 @ 365 (Switch to Spud Belt after this. New one made it too hard to get into position)
5 or 6x2 @ 405 (Rep 1 Sumo, Rep 2 Convo)

Cable Ab Pulldown:
3x15 @ “125”

Average Band Pull-Through:
10 @ 1 Band
3x10 @ 2 Bands

Very happy with my performance today. The belt helped a lot on my squat. It’s obviously more supportive than my deadlift belt, so it helped me stay upright. My main concern was that it’d be like the lever belt (which I gave to my girlfriend) that basically broke my ribs. The only pain I had today was from it cutting into my hip a bit. That’s just skin though.

The 405x8 definitely threw me off guard. I just wanted to get 4 or 5 clean reps. But only the 8th rep was not perfect.

Deadlift went well. Conventional is starting to beat out sumo for what I’ll use in competition. It seems much faster now.

Pull-Throughs with bands are pretty difficult. Not sure it’s worth it though, the bottom of the movement is too light.

Motivation: 4/4
Nutrition: 4/4
Explosiveness: 4/4
Discipline: 4/4

834

Accumulation Phase: DE Upper, 53 Days Out

Speed Bench:
Bar
5 @ 135
20x3 @ 205 in 12:45 (-1:45 PR. Switch between 3 grips each set)

Weighted Pull-Up (Neutral):
5 @ BW
2x3 @ BW+45
3 @ BW+70
2 @ BW+90
10 @ BW

Cable Triceps Push-Down:
3x10 @ “95”
10 @ “50” (No rest between previous set and this. My triceps were barely working)

2 Mini Bands Facepull:
4x20

I called to have my entry form mailed to me for the SPF Lifting for a Miracle meet in Tuscaloosa on Febuary 23. I’m 53 days out right now. That leaves me with 2 weeks of accumulation, 3-4 weeks of intensification, 1 week deload, and 1-2 weeks of transformation. This will finally be my first meet to compete in. I should be in the 220 class, but I’m not really worried about it. I have no idea how I’ll perform, but I’d like to get 495/385/555.

Anyway, today went well. I don’t think I could beat 12:45 by much. I was pretty much moving as fast as I could without it being one long set. All but a couple wide grip sets were very explosive. My shoulder was bothering me after this though. May be from the high volume DB work last week.

Motivation: 4/4
Nutrition: 3/4
Explosiveness: 4/4
Discipline: 3/4

835

Accumulation Phase: DE Lower, 51 Days Out

Speed Box Squat (Parallel or slightly below):
Bar
2x3 @ 135
2 @ 225
20x2 @ 265 in 12:25 (-2:15 PR. Spud Belt)

Speed Pull:
2x3 @ 135
8x3 @ 225 (Spud Belt)

Hyper/GHR:
3x20

Decline Sit-Up:
3x20

Average Band Hamstring Curl:
3x20

This was brutal. My head was about to explode for the last 3 hours of work and then up until I got to the gym. So I was in the mood to kill things.

I decided to add 15 lbs. to the squats to increase the challenge. The bar was lifting off my shoulders almost every rep though. Very explosive. My lower back was getting sore at the end though. As a result, speed pulls suffered a bit. Not horrible though.

Motivation: 4/4
Nutrition: 3/4
Explosiveness: 4/4
Discipline: 4/4

836

Accumulation Phase: ME Upper, 49 Days Out (Yesterday)

Floor Press:
Bar
5 @ 135
5 @ 225
5 @ 275
3 @ 315 (Add wraps)
3 @ 335 (10 lb. PR)
3 @ 345 (20 lb. PR)
3 @ 355 (30 lb. PR)

Pull-Up (Wide Pronated):
4x8

Military Press:
Bar
5 @ 95
5 @ 135
3x3 @ 185

Cable Facepull:
3x20 @ “110”

I haven’t done max effort floor press in a pretty long time. I didn’t pause at all at the bottom like I did before, I just touched my elbows and pressed. I’m sure that took away some of the difficulty, but I’m still really happy with the 30 lb. PR. The best part was that it wasn’t even that hard. I don’t think I would have gotten 365, but 355 wasn’t horrible.

Pull-ups, on the other hand, sucked. I can’t seem to stay close the the bar when I’m using a pronated grip. I float away towards the top of the movement and I only feel my biceps working. Weak lats or low traps I guess.

Military press felt pretty good. I didn’t really have a reason to do it. Shoulders, I guess.

High box squat for 3 in a couple of hours. Got 465x3 last accumulation phase.

Motivation: 4/4
Nutrition: 4/4 (From now til the meet, this will be referring to amount of food shoved into my face basically)
Explosiveness: 4/4
Discipline: 4/4

837

Accumulation Phase: ME Lower, 49 Days Out (Yesterday)

High Box Squat (1" Above):
Bar
10 @ 135
5 @ 225
3 @ 315 (Add Single Prong Belt)
3 @ 405
3 @ 455
3 @ 475 (10 lb. PR)
3 @ 495 (30 lb. PR)

Rack Pull (3" Below Knees):
5 @ 135
5 @ 225
3 @ 315
4x3 @ 405 (Add straps and Spud belt)
10 @ 405

Hyper/GHR and Decline Sit-Up Superset:
3x20 and 3x20

This kills the glutes.

Very happy to get two 30 lb. PRs in two days. Feeling very strong right now. Hopefully it carries over to the platform.

Box squats felt great obviously. My form held up very well and I was able to stay completely upright. I only felt unstable at 475, but fixed it at 495.

Rack pulls felt great too, since my back wasn’t fatigued from squats. Just felt a lot of glute action going on.

Motivation: 4/4
Nutrition: 4/4 (PWO: Ice cream protein shake and Chipotle)
Explosiveness: 4/4
Discipline: 4/4

838

Accumulation Phase: Week 2, DE Upper

Speed Bench:
Bar
9 @ 135
20x3 @ 225 (~14-15 Minutes. Forgot my phone in the car = No stopwatch)

Pull-Up (Neutral):
12, 10, 8, 5, 5, 5, 5 = 50

2 Mini Bands Triceps Extension (Superset with Pull-Ups):
25, 20, 15, 10

2 Mini Bands Facepull:
3x20

First of all: ROLL TIDE.

I didn’t feel especially strong today, but this wasn’t bad. I’ve been using 205 for my speed work, so I decided to move up to 225. They all moved pretty fast. I just haven’t gotten enough sleep in the past two days, so I wasn’t able to focus as much as usual.

Motivation: 2/4
Nutrition: 3/4
Explosiveness: 3/4
Discipline: 4/4

839

Accumulation Phase: Week 2, DE Lower

Speed Box Squat (1" Below Parallel):
Bar
2x3 @ 135
3 @ 225
20x2 @ 275 in 13:00 (Spud Belt)

Speed Deadlift:
2x3 @ 135
8x3 @ 225 (Spud Belt)

Light Band Pallof Press:
4x10 L/R

Raised the speed squats by another 10 lbs and took them back under parallel. It only took 35 seconds off my PR. My lower back was tired and tight as hell from the 10th set on. I wasn’t remotely recovered between any of the remaining sets, but I just did them and they ended up being mostly fast.

Speed deadlift went well surprisingly. I thought my back wouldn’t work, but they were all fast.

Motivation: 4/4
Nutrition: 4/4
Explosiveness: 4/4
Discipline: 3/4 (Should have done another exercise)

840

Accumulation Phase: Week 2, ME Upper, Yesterday

Bench - Reverse Avg. Band Close Grip:
Bar
5 @ 225 (Add bands)
5 @ 275
5 @ 315 (Add wraps)
3 @ 345
3 @ 365
2 @ 385 (Eh, fucked up the pins. Read below.)

JM Press:
10 @ 135
3x8 @ 185

2 Average Band Low Row (with V-Handle):
5x10

Cable Facepull:
50 @ 95
2x20 @ 95

When I got to 385, I set the pins up as spot, but they were just barely too high. The bar tapped them and threw me off balance. I definitely had the strength for another triple like last accumulation phase, but my back started cramping up from having to stabilize. Not a huge deal.

I like the heavy band rows.

Motivation: 3/4
Nutrition: 4/4
Explosiveness: 3/4
Discipline: 3/4