TCam's Log - The Road to Elite

Training Training Logs
321

Cycle 2 - Intensity - Week 2 - Day 2
Lol Bench/Deadlift

Things for pecs:
Bench with Bar - 3x20, 1x50
DB Floor Press - 2x20 @ 40s
Deficit Push-Ups - 2x10

Sled Facepulls/High Row:
12 @ 180
3x12 @ 225

DB Hammer Curls w/ FatGripz:
3x10/10 @ 40s

4" Snatch Grip Block Pull (Straps/Beltless):
4x315
4x4x365

Band Triceps Pushdown:
2x20 @ Light

Having a hard time quantifying or qualifying this workout. Not sure I even got a training effect. I’m used to recovering for a day between each workout, so my motivation was close to zero. That plus knowing I couldn’t bench because of the injury or deadlift because of the higher priority deadlift workout tomorrow.

Not happy with how the pecs are feeling. I really don’t have the time before the meet to wait much longer if I want to perform well but I also don’t want to rush into it and get more injured and make it even worse.

322

Cycle 2 - Intensity - Week 2 - Day 3
Deadlift/Squat

Deadlift (Spud Belt)(Whippy bar again):
3x455 @ 7
3x495 @ 8
3x525 @ 9 (10 lb. PR regardless of RPE!)(Video)
Rep Drop for Single Prong Practice
3x1x525 (All felt good)
e1RM: 600!

Paused Squat (Beltless):
4x3x315
10x315 (40 lb. PR!)

Ring Pull-Ups (Rotating Grip):
5x5

Hypers on GHR:
2x10
1x20

Back in the Crossfit gym for deadlifts. I’m leaning toward switching over to this gym. Really happy with this workout. Pulls went really well and I absolutely crushed 525 for the triple. I moved closer to the bar like I said I needed to and it made a big difference. I didn’t get much volume in today, but I didn’t need to warm up much honestly.

The singles at 525 with the single prong belt felt fine. I used both the 3rd and 4th holes and the 3rd felt better, despite being slightly loose. But I could actually push into it as opposed to it constricting me. I’ll keep practicing like this with the belt up to the meet.

I did paused squats instead of front squats mostly due to soreness from Monday. I kept them pretty light at 315 and really crushed a PR on the rep out.

Video of 525x3:

323

Cycle 2 - Intensity - Week 2 - Day 4
“Bench”/Deadlift

Seated Military Press (Wraps/Cuffs):
5x155
5x175
5x5x185 (Volume PR)

Paused Deadlift (Beltless/Straps):
4x315
4x4x405

Superset:
A1 | Cable Low Row (Straight Fat Bar):
8 @ “180”
10 @ “180”
12 @ “180”

A2 | Lat Pulldown (Wide Neutral):
8 @ “180”
10 @ “180”
12 @ “180”

A3 | Face Pulls:
8 @ “130”
10 @ “130”
12 @ “130”

Alright, 4 days in a row down. That wasn’t too bad since I took Tuesday pretty easy. I’m pretty happy with everything I did today. The military press was difficult, but most of the reps were fast.

The paused deadlifts I was not looking forward to. Like MP, they felt really difficult but they move well for the most part.

I’ll be out from Friday until either Monday or Tuesday depending on if the gym is open on Monday, so that’s at least 4 days of recovery. Hopefully my pec will be okay to start building back up starting Wednesday and I can continue with the momentum of squat and deadlift.

324

Cycle 2 - Intensity - Week 3 - Day 1
Heavy Squat/Bench

Squat (Spud Belt/Wrist Wraps) (2x2 @ 92.5%, 3x2 @ 87.5%):
2x365
2x405 @ 7
2x435 @ 8
2x465 @ 8.5
2x465 @ 8.5
2x445 @ 8
2x445 @ 8
2x445 @ 8.5
e1RM: 507

Beltless Paused Squat (Pause on concentric above parallel):
4x315
4x335
4x345 (Video)
4x355

Superset:
A1 | Incline DB Bench:
20x40s
3x20x55s

A2 | Lying Band Row w/ Pause (Wide Neutral):
15 @ Doubled Avg. (Too light)
3x12 @ Doubled Avg. (Increased distance)

A3 | Leg Press:
3x20 @ 4pps

A4 | GHR:
3x12

Phew this was difficult. Squats went well considering the speed and form, but they felt pretty tough. This is the heaviest weight I’ve had on my back in a long time. Need to keep working up so that I’m not shocked by it at the meet. Planning on opening with 475 at the moment, so I need to be hitting at least 485 for a double, I’d say. That’d be a 10 lb. PR.

Did the paused on the concentric squats again and they went well. If you watch the video, I want to pause where I did on the second rep. The rest were paused too high and put me in a strong position rather than a weak one. When I do it right, I can actually feel my abs working really hard to control the weight and restart the movement.

The giant set at the end was done because of time restrictions and I was there for almost 2 hours at that point. The incline DB bench went well without any pec pain at all, so that’s good. I’m ready to ease back into horizontal pressing I think.

325

Lights Out - Cycle 2 - Intensity - Week 3 - Day 2 - Bench

Paused Bench w/ Chains (+50):
2x5x135
2x5x225
6x4x225+50 (Gym lost power right before 5th set, used phone light for remainder)

Superset:
A1 | Decline Deficit Push-Ups:
15 @ BW
10 @ BW+2 Mini Bands
10 @ BW+1 Mini Band + 5 @ BW
15 @ BW

A2 | Single Arm Triceps Pushdown:
3x12/12 @ “60” (Stepped away from station to put peak contraction at lockout, much harder this way)

Lat Pulldown (Narrow Neutral):
3x10 @ “180”

I was supposed to do sumo pulls today as well, but the lack of light in the gym was an issue. Pretty disappointed that it happened when I need to be hitting all of my lifts now that I’m getting close to the meet. I’ll try to make up the volume on Friday and Saturday I suppose, but still annoyed.

This was my first time benching in several weeks and it felt like it. 225 felt heavy in my hands. My pec felt fine during the movement and even after, the only issue was during the lift off, when it felt tight. I can’t really avoid contracting it. Getting a hand off helped though. The work sets moved fast enough for me to be happy with it, just hope that I can lift heavy for the next 8 weeks or so before the meet.

326

Nice work TCAM, seems like the reactive training is still treating you nicely! What initially happened to your pec, was it a tear?

Overall, how do you like working with the RPE system over %'s? Do you feel it is easier to ‘overdo’ it with RPEs (going for PR’s too often)?

I was having some good results with my upper-lower body split doing each lift 2x per week, but I started getting a nasty pain at the base of my spine doing deadlifts which started hurting while doign squats after another week went by. The only thing I can think of is take a few weeks off lower body training and hopefully it will heal up, then ease back into things. There is a meet I want to do in the spring, so I rather take some time off now than keep limping along and have a bad injury closer to the meet! Still frustrating though!

327

Iron: Sorry to hear about your injury. Sounds like you’re doing the right thing taking some time off. When you get back into it, just do it slowly and carefully. Try some light hyperextensions and stuff like that for blood flow, ab work for stability, ice/heat and recover for now.

Nothing really initially happened to my pec that’s different than what has happened each time after. They’re just strains as far as I can tell, but they happen pretty randomly. I just need to figure out how to feel them coming on and take the time off before it actually happens. And yeah, I like RPE a lot for bench and deadlift. Squatting seems to work better when I tell myself something like 5x2 @ 80% or higher. I don’t overdo it with PRs really, because the PRs are almost always RPE 9 sets anyway, so there’s a rep left each time.

Yesterday - Cycle 2 - Intensity - Week 3 - Day 3
Deadlift/Squat

Deadlift (Single Prong):
1x475
1x515 @ 8
1x545 @ 9
1x575 @ 9.5 (Heaviest I’ve pull with this belt.

~8" Rack Pulls (Single Prong/Straps):
1x495 (Easy)
0x585 (Didn’t even budge. Guess I found my weak position to work on)
0x495 (Same)

SSB Squat (Spud Belt):
4x3x285
8x285 (PR)

Superset:
A1 | KB Swing:
3x12x80

A2 | Decline Sit-Ups (Weight behind head):
3x10xBW+25

A3 | Hyperextension w/ Med Ball:
3x10xBW+100

Didn’t feel particularly strong during this workout. I hit my previous deadlift PR without too much of an issue according to the video, but it felt pretty slow. I could have probably hit 590 today to match my PR, but not beat it, so I decided to move on.

No sure what to think of the rack pulls. I’m going to put them into the rotation though, since I’m awful at them.

SSB squat wasn’t bad. I mean, I fucking hate SSB squat, but I got some good sets in with a decent weight. AMRAP set was horrible.

328

7 Weeks Out - End of Cycle 2 - Intensity - Week 3 - Day 4
Bench/Deadlift

Paused Bench w/ Chains:
4x225+50
4x4x225+90 (All around RPE 7)

Paused Wide Grip Bench (PoR):
3x10x225

2" Deficit Deadlift (Beltless/Straps):
5x4x405
9x405 (Beltless PR)

A1 | Band Facepull:
3x12 @ 2 Light

A2 | DB Flies:
3x15 @ 25s

Happy with how benching felt today. No pec pain and all of the reps moved quickly. Definitely need to keep having a hand-off to avoid making the pec tight taking it out of the rack.

Deficit deadlifts felt good today, surprisingly since I was pretty sore waking up.

Well, cycle 2 is over and I’m happy with it overall. The pec thing can’t be blamed on the program at this point, so I’m thinking I’ll stay healthy and get stronger through the next cycle after a one week transition phase and then the meet will happen.

329

Transition Phase - Day 1
Rep Squat/Bench

Squat (Single Prong)(4x6 @ 80%):
3x365
3x6x405 @ 8’s
7x405 @ 8 (Form was breaking down too much to continue set)
(Volume PR at 405)

Paused Squat w/ Chains (Pause on concentric)(Beltless):
4x275+50
4x4x315+50

A1 | Seated DB Military Press:
10 @ 50s
3x12 @ 70s

A2 | One-Arm Cable Low Row:
3x10/10 @ “105”

Transition phase started, it’ll last one week and then I’ll be 6 weeks out, hitting nothing above 4 reps probably. So this week is going to be my last heavy volume week before the meet. I decided to drop the tier 3 work (direct quads/hamstrings) so that it’s some what of a deload as well. The transition phase is basically whatever you need it to be and I think rounding it out with a bunch of volume should help and also I’m using it to transfer over to using my competition gear (single prong belt mainly).

The squats were really exhausting. My form was a little all over the place because I moved back over to the monolift (wall directly in front of me). I have to find a good amount to lean forward without coming on my toes and not too far back that it’s tough to get out of the hole.

Paused on concentric squats continue to be really hard. Adding the chains made it fun.

330

Yesterday - Transition Phase - Day 2
Bench/Deadlift

3 ct. Paused Bench w/ Chains:
4x225+50
2x4x245+50
2x4x255+50 @ 7 (Some pec discomfort)

Incline DB Press:
2x15 @ 50s
20 @ 50s
30 @ 50s

A1 | ~8" Rack Pull (Spud Belt/Straps):
4x4x405

A2 | One-Arm DB Row:
10/10 @ 80
4x10/10 @ 100

B1 | Single Arm Triceps Pushdown:
3x12/12 @ “60”

B2 | Barbell Curl (Slow):
3x15 @ 45

Not very happy with how I felt today. I found that my pec hurts in the position of letting the weight back down into the rack, about which I cannot think of an explanation. Other than holding it at the top, the rest of the movement feels fine, but the pec was still getting tight so I needed to shut it down. Foam rolling between sets helped though.

It is really difficult to find a strong position on rack pulls, which I guess is a good thing because I need to get stronger there. I end up using all back almost, I can barely get my glutes involved. Will work on that.

331

Yesterday - Transition Phase - Day 3
Deadlift/Squat

Deadlift (Spud Belt/Straps):
6x405
3x6x455
10x455 (+2 reps PR!)

Paused Front Squat (Spud Belt):
3x3x275 (These felt terrible)

Front Squat Hold (Beltless):
3x3x365 @ 10 seconds

Stiff-Leg Deadlift (Beltless):
8x225
3x8x275 (Double over-hand)

I haven’t done over 4 reps on my competition deadlift on this program, so this was exhausting. I’m really surprised I was able to beat my 8x455 PR from last year, which I considered my biggest deadlift accomplishment at that point. Obviously I used straps this time, but my actual grip strength isn’t a limiting factor, I just don’t want to shred my hands at this point.

Front squats just weren’t going to happen today. My upper back must have been really fatigued from pulling. The front squat holds felt like death. I’ve hit a 365 front squat before, but just holding it for the 10 second intervals made everything from my mid back up feel like it was going to cave in. Great core exercise clearly.

332

Transition Phase - Day 4 - 6 Weeks Out
Bench/Deadlift

Paused Wide-Grip Bench:
3x4x225
7x4x275 (Mostly no pec pain. Was tightening up after last set. Strength was there for another 10 sets though probably)

DB Flies (Some before bench, some after):
4x20 @ 15s

A1 | Paused Deadlift (Below knees)(Spud belt):
4x365
4x4x405

A2 | Band Low Row w/ Pause:
4x10 @ 1 doubled light

A3 | Dips:
3x15
1x20

I’m happy with how easy benching was, just wish I could push it and get stronger. Wide grip lets me press with pretty much no pain, so maybe I’ll keep doing that until I know I’m healed.

Deadlift felt horrible, but it was expected after the volume of last night’s workout.

Starting the next cycle on Monday. 6 weeks out.

333

Start Cycle 3 - Volume Phase - Week 1 - Day 1
Heavy Squat/Bench

Squat (Single Prong)(Wrist Wraps):
2x365
2x405
2x425
5x2x455 (Mostly at RPE 9)(PR at 455)

Paused Squat (Spud Belt)(Wrist Wraps):
4x315
3x4x365 (PR)

Military Press:
4x135
4x155
4x4x185 (PR)

Seated Band Leg Curl:
1x20 @ Avg. (Hamstring cramped right after. Shit pickles)

Pull-Ups:
4x6 @ BW (Not full range. Avoided top end to keep tension on lats and avoid elbow strain)

It’s the final countdown. Dododo do. Dododo do do. Alright, cycle 3 started and I’m somewhat happy with how it started. I didn’t have a lot of focus during the squats, like I wasn’t sure where to look and couldn’t figure out how far to lean forward. But, I still hit a volume PR at 455, so that’s great. Doing a 5x2 @ 90% is supposed to be hard anyway. The 3rd set was the best and I probably could have matched my 475x2 PR if not beat it on that set.

Paused squats were just something I needed to get done. I want to get them heavier now, so that’s why I went up to 365. PR is 405x4.

On military press, if I can keep going, I’m stopping the ROM before lockout like I do during seated MP. The reason is because I want to be able to use a weight that will actually provide a training effect on my shoulders and also to keep the tension on my shoulders.

334

Cycle 3 - Week 1 - Day 2
Bench/Deadlift

Paused Wide Grip Bench w/ Chains (+50):
4x225+50
4x255+50
4x4x275+50 (All around RPE 7)

Sumo Deadlift w/ Chains (+40)(Spud Belt/Straps):
4x365+40
4x4x405+40

Dips:
3x15
1x25

A1 | Incline DB Fly:
3x20 @ 15s

A2 | Band Triceps Pushdown:
3x20 @ Avg

A3 | DB Front Raise:
3x10/10 @ 40

I’m happy with the fact that my strength is there for bench, but I’m having to tread oh so carefully as I hit heavier loads. The sets today were easy, but again the pec was telling me to stop between sets. I had planned on doing some Spoto press as well, but I took 95 for a couple reps and decided against it. It’s just a bad position for now and it seems like any reduced ROM causes pain.

Sumo pulls were sumo pulls. They were difficult feeling because I’m not good in that position, but most of the reps still moved like speed work.

Dips cause me no pec pain, so that seems to be the only triceps exercise I can do that’s heavy enough for now. Just gotta make it past the meet without hurting it.

335

Cycle 3 - Week 1 - Day 3
Deadlift/Squat

Deadlift (Spud Belt):
3x405
3x455
3x495 @ 9

Reverse Band Deadlift (Single Prong)(Bands = 50 lbs off bottom, 0 from below knees to lockout):
3x495
1x535
1x545
1x565
1x585
1x600 (PR)
Edit: 7x495 (Straps/Spud Belt)

High Bar Squat (Beltless)(No pausing at lockout):
7x4x315

SLDL:
4x225
4x315 (Everything over 275 is a PR technically)
4x365
4x385
4x405 (Straps)

Really happy with the reverse band PR. 600 is the most I’ve ever had in my hands at lockout. The bands only really provided tension for about 6 inches of the lift. I think if I’m hitting this 5 weeks out from the meet, I’ll be able to hit 600 at the meet, which would be awesome.

High bar for me is barely high bar, only about 2 inches above my low bar form, but I made sure to stay more upright and keep my upper back as tight as possible.

I saw Jonnie Candito SLDL’ing like 320 the other day, so I figured I could do more than 275. If I can start getting like 365 for 8’s, then I think I could get a really good training effect out of it.

There’s a video of the reverse band deadlift up on my Instagram if anyone is interested. @teekamble

336

Yesterday - Cycle 3 - Week 1 - Day 4 - 5 Weeks Out
Bench/Deadlift

A1 | Bench (Comp Pause)(Grip 1" from rings = Probable Comp Grip):
8x4x225 (Like speed work)

A2 | Lying Cambered Bar Row:
5x8x195

B1 | 2" Deficit Deadlift (Beltless/Straps):
4x365
4x4x405

B2 | DB Larsen Press (Feet in air):
10x80s
3x10x100s

C1 | Rope Cable Curls:
10 @ “100”
10 @ “120”
2x10 @ “130”

C2 | GHR:
4x10 @ BW

C3 | Deficit Push-Ups:
3x15

Pretty happy with how everything moved today. The deadlifts were tough because of last night’s big reverse band pulls, but they still moved quickly enough.

Pec seems to feel fine with the grip I described. The only time I feel it is when I unrack and hold it. Really confused about that actually, since it doesn’t hurt at any other point. But, the moderately wide grip is starting to feel strong, so I’m probably going to keep with that through the meet for safety and giving me something to actually work with for the next 5 weeks.

337

Cycle 3 - Week 2 - Day 1
Squat/Bench

Squat (Single Prong)(Wrist Wraps):
3x405
3x435
3x455
3x475 @ 9 (Previous 2RM - PR!)
3x485 @ 9.5 (Huge PR!)
3x455
e1RM: 529

Paused Squat (Single Prong)(Wrist Wraps):
3x315
3x365
3x385
3x365

A1 | DB Incline Press:
4x8x80s

A2 | Lat Pulldown:
4x8x"165"

Lying Leg Curl:
3x15x"80"

I said about 20 days ago that I’d like to be able to hit a double at 485 before the meet, so getting a triple instead is absolutely awesome. If I can keep riding this momentum I could hit a big PR at the meet. The only issue I was having was I was coming up on my toes on the first rep of a few of the sets. I was fine by the time I got to 475, but I need to perfect my groove so that I don’t fuck it up with a 1RM on my back.

475 was almost easy for the amount of weight it was. Moved very quickly. Videos of both below.

Paused squats were difficult. Trying to get heavier on them now. DB press felt fine, 80’s aren’t that heavy, just awkward to get into place, so I just stayed there. Plus it’s about time to cut that part of bench training out and just have 2 days for it.

338

Cycle 3 - Week 2 - Day 2
Bench/Deadlift

Paused Bench w/ Chains (+50):
3x225+50
3x245+50
3x275+50
2x315+50 (Cut this set short because pec was pulling at the top of the second rep)
2x3x315+50 @ 9’s

Paused Bench:
3x3x315 @ 7’s

A1 | 2" Block Pulls (Single Prong/Straps):
3x405
3x455
3x3x495 @ 9’s (I think this is a PR)

A2 | DB Larsen Press:
8x75s
4x8x100s

B1 | Pull-Ups:
4x6

B2 | Triceps Pushdown:
2x20

It’s hard to figure out how to feel about the bench portion of this workout. The weight felt heavy as all hell on that first set of 315+50, like my elbows were going to explode, but I threw on the compression cuffs and I was fine from there. The weight moved well from then on, just worries me that I won’t be able to feel a good weight in my hands before the meet and it’ll feel like it’s crushing me there. But I’m just taking it as safely as possible right now.

Really happy about the block pulls. I don’t know if they have ever felt that good, it’s usually my weak point. Single prong worked fine for this ROM, those extra 2" of bending over ruins it for reps from the floor.

339

Friday - Cycle 2 - Week 2 - Day 3
Deadlift/Squat

Deadlift (Single Prong):
2x455
2x495
2x515
2x535 @ 9

Reverse Band Deadlift (Single Prong)(-50 from bottom):
2x535
2x545
2x565
1.9x585 (So fucking close to locking out)

High Bar Squat (Beltless):
5x3x365

SLDL (Beltless)(Double Overhand):
4x4x315

Kneeling Cable Crunch:
3x12 @ “150”

I wasn’t feeling all that strong during this workout. I didn’t have much speed off the floor really at all so it killed me at lockout.

Squats were feeling pretty tough too. Not sure if it was because I’m not good at high bar or because I was still fatigued from the PR on Monday.

340

Yesterday - Cycle 2 - Week 2 - Day 4 - 4 Weeks Out
Bench/Deadlift

Paused Bench (Wrist Wraps):
3x275
3x295
3x315
3x335
3x345 @ 8.5

SlingShot Bench (Wrist Wraps/Elbow Cuffs):
3x345
3x365
3x385 @ 8.5

A1 | Paused Deadlift (Spud Belt):
2x3x405
3x3x455 (PR)

A2 | Deficit Push-Ups:
4x15

A3 | KB Swing:
4x8x80

A4 | Fat Barbell Curls:
4x15x45

Success! Another bench day done without injuring my pec further. I stopped where I did on raw and SlingShot for safety reasons, not because it was difficult. I’m really happy with how easy it felt considering how long it’s been since I’ve been able to actually bench heavy. 3 more heavy weeks of training and I’ll be good to go.

Paused deadlifts were incredibly difficult today, but I think it’s the last time I’ll do them before the meet, so I went heavy. 455 was just ridiculous. Gotta get those up after the meet.

4 weeks out!