TCam's Log - The Road to Elite

Training Training Logs
381

Yesterday - Intensity Phase - Week 6 - Day 2
Bench/Deadlift

3 Ct. Paused Bench:
4x275
4x315 @ 8
3x4x335 @ 9 (PR for volume)
4x315 @ 8

Spoto Press (Feet up, wide grip):
5x225
4x275 (Tweaked left pec on 5th. Stopped all benching. More below)

4" Sumo Deadlift (Straps/Beltless):
4x405
4x455 @ 8.5
4x475 @ 9
2x4x455 @ 8.5 and 9

DB Curl:
4x12 @ 40s

BW Triceps Extension:
4x15

Well, another tweak another week off from benching. It’s not too bad really, but I’ve learned to just be patient when this happens and let it do its thing. In retrospect, I should have done a few things differently. (1) I was in an awful mood for lifting after a stressful hour before getting into the gym, so I didn’t take all of the necessary steps like (2) foam rolling between almost every set. My (3) sleep for the 2 days leading up to it was inadequate both in amount and quality, and my (4) hydration was not up to par either. My whole (5) left side was aching and acting up (elbow and shoulder ached, hip cramped). I control 4/5 of those factors and can adjust for the 5th, so I really don’t have an excuse for letting this happen. I’m a little over 11 weeks out from the next meet and I need to go in healthy. I’ll be eating, drinking, and sleeping a lot from here on.

Also, when changing exercises, it’s stupid it to change it by a factor of 3. Should have just done either feet up, wide grip, OR Spoto.

Total Volume: 25,685 lbs
Bench: 9,865
Deadlift: 8,980
Accessory: 6,840

382

Friday - Broooo

Moved my deadlift day to Saturday because I was going to visit a friend in Tuscaloosa to lift with him. Obviously I couldn’t bench because of my pec, so I did like 10 sets of curls, some triceps pushdowns, lateral raises, and light rowing. I’m just going to call in 20,000 lbs. in accessory volume and move on. Not sure it did anything for me.

Saturday - Intensity Phase - Week 6 - Day 4
Deadlift/Squat

Deadlift (Single Prong/Stiff Bar):
3x405
3x455
3x495
3x525 @ 8 (Match 3RM PR and PR for RPE)
3x545 @ 9 (20 lb. PR!)
3x555 @ 9.5 (30 lb. PR!)
1x600 @ 9.5 (10 lb. PR! 6HUNDO)
1x615 @ 10 (25 lbs PR!!!)

Double Pause Deadlift (Beltless/Straps):
4x4x405 (Edit: Couldn’t remember at the time, but turns out these were all 40 lb. PRs)

Squat (Beltless):
4x225 (Front Squat)
4x315 (Paused back squat)
Was too fatigued at this point

SLDL (Beltless/Double Overhand):
3x8x275

Cable Ab Pulldown:
3x15x95

YEAHHH BUDDY. Smashed some deadlift PRs today. The plan was just to work up to a triple at an RPE 9, but I was feeling good and part of auto-regulation is taking PRs if you feel like they’re there. 600 was practically easy and 615 was very hard as you can see in the video. Not sure if it is a true max or if it had more to do with all of the other PRs I got right before it. Either way I’m incredibly happy with it.

Yeah, I wrote down the squats for some reason. My body told me today was a deadlift day.

Total Volume: 29,670 lbs
Deadlift: 23,235
Squat: 2,160
Accessory: 4,275

Total Volume for Week: 115,140 lbs
Squat: 25,455
Bench: 16,255
Deadlift: 32,215
Accessory: 41,215

383

Right on DUDE!!! Congratz on hitting and passing the 600 mark!

384

Nice job, boss!

385

Thanks, FarmerOwen and Alpha! It’s been a long road to that lift.

Intensity Phase - Week 7 - Day 1
Heavy Squat/(No Bench)

Squat (Single Prong)(Plan: 2x2x92.5%, 3x2x87.5%):
2x315
2x365
2x405
5x2x455 (These felt horrible. Did not accomplish the plan, not unexpected though)

Paused Squat (Beltless):
6x4x315 (Did the last 2 sets CAT style)

Lat Pulldown:
3x8 @ 180
16 @ 180

Bulgarian Split Squat:
3x15/15 @ BW+50

Weighted Plank:
3x0:30 @ BW+45

I’m not really discouraged by this (edit: due to the deadlifts from Saturday), but in retrospect I should have just done something with auto-regulation rather than the Cube today for these squats. My mid and upper back were just not going to work for me basically. My groove was different on all 10 of the reps at 455. Some I leaned forward too much and ended up on my toes, some looked like Kevin Oak’s which is an awful position for me, and some I got curled over like I was using a safety squat bar. I could have kept doing shitty doubles, but I decided I’d rather not hurt myself and come back better another day.

Still not benching as I knew I’d be waiting a full week at least. I’m now thinking about extending it to two weeks to give me the best chance to come in and hit a good 10 weeks of training instead of coming back too soon and hurting again myself 6 weeks out or something.

Total Volume: 27,330 lbs
Squat: 14,280 (Lowest of the cycle, need to do a lot on Friday)
Accessory: 13,050

386

Wednesday - Intensity - Week 7 - Day 2
Bench/Deadlift

Military Press:
3x95
3x135
3x155
3x175 (Speed reps through this set)
4x185 (From pins at chin level for remaining sets)
3x205 (Failed 4th)
3x205
3x185
5x185
5x185

2" Block Pull (Straps/Beltless):
6x4x405

Barbell Curls:
3x25 @ 45

BW Triceps Extension:
3x20

This week accidentally became a bit of a deload week. Not sure if it has to do with the deadlifts on Saturday or something else, but I’m feeling very beat up. Almost all my joints ache, especially the elbows, so I’m going to take it slightly easy for the remainder of the week. Next week is supposed to be a transition week, so I suppose that will end up being a high volume week to lead me into the next cycle.

Military press for me is always hit or miss. If I’m not in the right position, I can’t fight the rep out usually. That’s why I only got 3 reps at 185 after the 205s and then proceeded to do it for 2 sets of 5 right after. Meh. Got lots of reps in regardless.

Deadlift felt pretty weak, but the weight still moved well. It’s hard to describe. It was easy, but felt bad.

Total Volume: 22,150 lbs
Bench: 6,055
Deadlift: 9,720
Accessory: 6,375

387

Friday - Intensity Phase - Week 7 - Day 3
Deadlift/Squat

Deadlift (Spud Belt/Straps):
5x365
5x405
5x5x455 (Add straps on 2nd set)

Cambered Bar Squat (Beltless):
3x8x335

Reverse Hyper:
3x12 (Pause at top, controlled descent)

Turns out a simple 5x5 @ 75% is now 455 for me, because math. That’s much heavier than I’m used to for a supposedly “light” volume session. But I guess that’s what happens when you hit a 25 lb. 1RM PR. I tried to keep all the reps as controlled as possible, they weren’t meant to be explosive. I think I held my positions pretty well other than my knees wanting to lock out too soon sometimes.

I didn’t log it, but I tried a couple other squat movements before doing the cambered bar. I tried front squats with the safety squat bar and I have no idea how people do it, unless the bar I have access to is made differently. Then I tried to do bottom up SSB squats from chains and it just was not working. I was pretty mentally drained from frustration with those two movements, but the cambered bar was easy enough in the end. Sometimes I just mentally can’t get into the idea of front squatting, despite the fact that I know I need to.

Total Volume: 25,065 lbs
Deadlift: 15,225
Squat: 8,040
Accessory: 1,800

388

Saturday - Intensity Phase - Week 7 - Day 4
Bench Accessory/Deadlift

Crazy Bells Bench:
5x12x115 (95 straight weight + 16 kg bells per side)

Barbell Row:
5x10x225

JM Press w/ Chain:
12x95+40
4x12x95+80

Cable Pullover:
4x10x95

Dips w/ Chain:
4x12xBW+40

Lat Pulldown:
8x195
8x210
8x225

Speed Deficit Deadlift (Beltless)
8x3x315

Weighted Plank:
3x0:45 @ BW+45

Oof this was a lot of accessory volume. Really happy that I was able to figure out a good sequence of exercises, because I usually just spin in circles when I don’t have a major exercise to start with. I’m writing this on Sunday and my pecs are really sore in a good way, something I’m definitely not used to. Hopefully I’ll be ready to bench again this coming Tuesday or whenever I can bench around Christmas. Also, about 30 minutes after this workout, my triceps started cramping horribly. I literally had my arm in full range flexion, where the triceps should be as stretched and relaxed as possible, and it was still contracted as if it was fully extended. Never seen that before.

Decided to keep the deadlifts really light today. Just got some volume in for speed.

Total Volume: 48,275 lbs
Bench: 6,900 (Just counting Crazy Bells)
Deadlift: 7,560
Accessory: 38,855 (lol)

Total Volume for Week: 122,820 lbs
Squat: 22,320
Bench: 12,955
Deadlift: 32,505
Accessory: 60,080

389

Transition Phase - Week 8 - Day 1
Squat/(No Bench)

Beltless Squat:
5x315
5x365
5x5x405

10 Second Breathing Pause Squat (Beltless):
5x3x315

Lat Pulldown (Interesting setup described below):
4x10x165

Reverse Hyper:
4x12 (Pause at top, controlled descent)

Band Ab Pulldown:
4x12 @ Avg

I’m not sure why I keep doing these 5x5’s at 75%, because they suck. Obviously they’re a quick way to get a lot of volume in though, so that’s why I’m doing it. 395 is the actual 75%, albeit going off of a belted and in a meet squat, but fuck 395. My transition week is going to be high volume and an intro back into bench. I’ll probably stick around 75% for everything.

My groove was okay for the most part, I just gotta figure out where to descend to relative to my torso angle and area of the foot to keep the pressure. Not sure why it’s been such an issue recently.

10 second breathing paused squats aren’t very fun. I tried to contract my mid and upper back as much as possible and I’m going to feel it tomorrow, I bet. Very difficult exercise. I’m counting the volume as usual, but feels like I should double it considering the time under tension.

Lat pulldowns were done with 2 separate D-handles in the pulley rather than 1 V-handle. It’s just one pulley, not a double, so when you’re at the top, your knuckles are touching and as you come down, you pull them apart to the width of a V-handle. Gave me a big stretch at the top and pulling them apart hit the lats and grip really hard.

Total Volume: 29,650 lbs
Squat: 18,250
Accessory: 11,400

390

Transition Phase - Week 8 - Day 2
Bench/Deadlift

Bench (Touch and Go):
5x10x225

Incline Bench (Touch and Go):
8x225
10x225
12x225

Rack Pull (Straps/Beltless)(About 4" Below Knee):
5x315
3x5x405 (This is an awful position for me. This was really difficult)

Meadows Row (Straps):
10/10 @ 75
10/10 @ 100
3x10/10 @ 125

Band Triceps Extension:
3x20 @ Avg

Band Pull-Apart:
3x20 @ Mini

First day back from being off bench for 2 weeks exactly. I decided to keep it light and go high volume. I’ve never gone this high on volume with 225 and it was pretty much a joke. 18,000 lbs all between an RPE 5 and 6 at the most. This was the first time doing touch and go in like a year also.

I was able to set up incline at about 30-35 degrees and it felt good, instead of the fixed incline bench that’s way too high. I want to definitely get that into the program a lot more because I think that it will help keep my pecs healthier and hopefully get my bench movin’ on up!

Rack pulls felt awful. Lower back was getting pumped immediately. No big deal, still got a bit of volume in.

Merry Christmas and such.

Total Volume: 41,150 lbs
Bench: 18,000
Deadlift: 7,650
Accessory: 15,500

391

Holy shit, you are beastly. What program are you running at the moment? Also, I saw earlier in your log (and read through a few pages of it) that you ran the Cube. What is your opinion on the cube method/any pointers on it? I am currently running my first cycle of the cube after coming off of using the westside method for a long time, and seem to be doing well off of it.

392

Destrength: Thanks! I’ve been running an auto-regulation program for the past 24-30 weeks or so. If you go back page 15 to my post on 10/30/14, I explain everything that I’m doing in the program. I did run the Cube Kingpin for almost a year, I believe, and I think the main thing I learned is that I just don’t need speed work. I’m already explosive naturally, so the speed days became unnecessary deloads almost. If you’ve been doing DE days in the Westside method, then you may get some use out of it. I would rather focus solely on rep and heavy work though. I would say just do at least 2 cycles (20 weeks) of the Cube as is and see what you get out of it, and then make adjustments as you see fit.

Friday - Transition Phase - Week 8 - Day 3
Deadlift/Squat

Deadlift (Single Prong):
2x405
2x455
2x495
1x545 (Planned on a double, but just didn’t feel right)
1x495 (Same. Moving on)

Front Squat (Beltless) (Plan: Work up to top single and drop to 75% of it for volume):
1x225
1x255
1x275
1x295
1x315
1x345
4x6x255

SLDL:
4x10x185

Band Situps:
3x15

Hyperextension:
3x12 @ BW+55 (Buffalo bar in Zercher position)

Hey, look, a decent front squat session. Deadlifts felt very off today, so I decided that I’m not pushing any more volume on them at all for the week. I’ll get back to them on this next cycle.

I’m surprised that I got 345 on front squat considering how awful they’ve been feeling. That’s 20 lbs off my PR from like 3 years ago or something. I like this method and I think I will keep doing it as long as time permits it.

Total Volume: 25,010 lbs
Deadlift: 11,150
Squat: 7,830
Accessory: 6,030

Saturday - Transition Phase - Week 8 - Day 4
Bench

Bench (Back to normal w/ pauses):
5x275
5x5x315 @ RPE 8-8.5

Slight Incline DB Bench:
12x75s
3x12x100s

Cable Low Row:
4x10x165

Triceps Pushdown Dropset:
10 @ 150, 140
8 @ 130, 120, 110, 100

Facepull w/ Pause:
4x12 @ 100

Pecs felt decent during this workout, I guess. Some tightness is still there though. I think I’m good to keep moving on as long as I’m careful. I’ll probably add chain work back into the mix to accommodate the dangerous ROM.

Writing this on Sunday, I’m ready to get back into the real programming. I start tomorrow with rep squats mainly!

Total Volume: 36,230 lbs
Bench: 18,250
Accessory: 17,980

Total Volume for Week: 132,040 lbs
Squat: 26,080
Bench: 36,250
Deadlift: 18,800
Accessory: 50,910

393

Beginning of Cycle 5 - Volume Phase - Week 1 - Day 1
Rep Squat/Bench

Squat (Single Prong)(Working up to daily max):
1x315
1x365
1x405
1x455
1x485
1x505 @ RPE 9

Squat (Beltless)(3x8x70%):
3x8x375 (Another 5 lbs up from previous cycle)

Paused Squat (Beltless):
4x4x365

DB Floor Press:
3x15 @ 90s

Single Arm Lat Pulldown:
10/10 @ 105
2x10/10 @ 90

GHR:
3x12

So I may be working up to daily maxes on squats for most of the squat days. One of the things that is missing from my programming is handling heavy singles moderately often (literally 1 week per cycle). I think this will help me see where I am on a weekly basis and get my confidence up for the meet, which is 9 weeks away. The 505 felt pretty tough, but looked good. My biggest PR from the meet before the last cycle was 505x2 and I think I could have gotten that again today. That’s good because I have another 9 weeks to get stronger than ever.

The 3x8 after the singles felt really tough. I had a hard time catching my breath after the last set. I think my form stayed somewhat clean, but all of the muscles in my back were done. Not sure how I did the heavy paused squats after. But that’s also why I didn’t do the usual lighter 6’s.

Bench work was just to feel it out and get a bit of movement in the pecs. Did a contrast shower on both pecs after the workout.

9 WEEKS OUT LET’S FUCKING GO. 1600 OR BUST.

Total Volume: 32,970 lbs
Squat: 17,370
Bench: 8,100
Accessory: 7,500

394

Wednesday - Volume Phase - Week 1 - Day 2
Bench/Deadlift

Chain Bench (Comp. Pause, as usual):
5x225+50
5x5x275+50 @ RPE 7-8 (Easy, but pecs/shoulders were very tight, so I kept it somewhat light)

Incline Bench (High Angle):
2x7x225 (Groove way off)
1x10x225

4" Sumo Deadlift (Straps):
4x405
8x455 @ RPE 8
9x455 @ RPE 7.5
10x455 @ RPE 7 (PR. These got better as my groove got lubed up)

Chain Flies:
3x12 @ 20s

Band Triceps Extension:
3x20 @ Avg.

Cable Facepull:
3x25 @ 95

Benching did not go as well as I had hoped it would, in regard to how my pecs felt. They were just tight and pulling on the eccentric phase of every rep. Still survived a decent amount of volume though. Incline didn’t hurt my pecs, so that’s good, just had a tough time grooving the reps because of the high angle.

Deadlift on the other hand was ridiculous. For this slot, I have been going in with the plan of 4 reps at RPE 8, but this time I decided to do 3 AMRAPs at RPE 8 and it was so much better. I have been getting like 4x4s @ 455, but this time I got 27 reps in three sets. I may be implementing this idea a lot more often. The set of 10 was practically easy, if I can work my way down to the floor with sumo and keep my position, I may actually make the move to sumo for competitions.

Total Volume: 39,695 lbs
Bench: 14,225 (Chains counted as half chain weight plus full bar weight)
Deadlift: 13,905
Accessory: 11,565

395

Friday - Volume Phase - Week 1 - Day 3
Deadlift/Squat

Deadlift (Single Prong):
4x365
4x405
4x455
4x495
4x515 (10 lb. PR!)
4x535 @ 10 (30 lb. PR!)
2x3x515

Paused Front Squat (Singles not paused):
1x225
1x245
1x275
1x295
0x305 (Straight up failed the shit out of this, dropped it to the chains)
5x5x225

SLDL (Beltless/Double overhand):
4x8x275

Weighted GHR Situps:
3x12 @ BW+32 lb KB

Really happy with hitting a big 4 rep max PR. I’ll post the video in an edit tomorrow (Edit: See). I barely got the fourth rep because my grip started to give out on my left hand around a foot off the ground. Usually when I have grip issues, I can’t finish the rep, but I was able to hold on and grind the shit out of it. My groove was thrown off because of it and I was shaky, but I’m really happy I was able to focus and finish.

Front squats were embarrassing. It just one of those movements that will be vary wildly from week to week. I don’t care as long as my competition squat goes up.

Total Volume: 32,587 lbs
Deadlift: 22,970
Squat: 6,665
Accessory: 2,952

396

Saturday - Volume Phase - Week 1 - Day 4 - 8 Weeks Out
Bench/Deadlift

Close Grip (Comp. Pause):
4x275
4x315
4x4x335 @ 8.5/9/9/9.5

(Pecs were tight after bench, no other barbell bench movements)

Weighted Dips:
3x10 @ BW+72 (40 in chains on neck / 32 KB hanging)
1x30 @ BW

Rubish Rows (Straps/Spud Belt):
12x315
10x315
8x315 (All of this was a PR)

(Edit)Lat Pulldown (Wide Neutral):
8x180
8x210
8x195

Cable Curls:
3x15x95

DB Fly:
3x20x10s

Weighted GHR Situp:
3x12 @ BW+20 chain

I wasn’t sure if was going to be able to bench at all going into the gym. Both pecs have been sore or tight since my last workout, despite stretching and foam rolling them several times. I tried out a few grips with 135 and settled with close grip being my best bet for staying safe and strong. My PR is 350x4, so doing a 4x4 at lower RPEs with just 15 lbs less sounds like I could have hit a PR if I wanted to.

As I noted, my pecs were starting to tighten up during close grip, so I didn’t do any SlingShot work like I thought I might. I’m counting the dips as a bench supplement, as I consider it on the same level as military press. BW is counted as 100 for volume calculation.

I set up deficit deadlift and started doing them but it was just a mess. I got to 495 and it was practically stapled. I knew I had a lot of deadlift volume from the past 2 workouts, so I’m not worrying about it. I decided to hit up some rows to get in the required deadlift supplement slot. They were going to be Pendlay rows but body english dictated Rubish rows this time.

Total Volume: 38,005 lbs
Bench: 15,880
Deadlift: 9,450
Accessory: 12,675

Total Volume for Week: 143,257 lbs
Squat: 24,035
Bench: 38,205
Deadlift: 46,325
Accessory: 34,692

397

Volume Phase - Week 2 - Day 1
Heavy Squat/Bench

Squat (Single Prong)(Daily max followed by 5x2 >80%):
1x325 (55 lb. bar)
1x375
1x415
1x455
1x485
1x495
1x515 @ 10 (Pretty bad rep. Upper back got rounded way over)
2x2x445
2x2x455
2x465

Paused Squat (On Concentric. Beltless):
4x325
4x345
4x365
4x375 (40 lbs. more than I’ve ever used for this exercise)

High Incline DB Bench:
10x75s
3x10x100s

Lat Pulldown (Fat Neutral):
3x10x185

Lying Leg Curl:
3x20x70

This was a pretty rough workout overall. For one, the 55 lb. bar shredded my back, so that was fun. As I noted, the 515 single was pretty ugly due to upper back rounding, so I’d say it was pretty much a real 1RM for the day. Upper back is always the first thing to go on my squat, but I’m trying to fix it with front squats. I’m still happy that I’m 10 lbs. over last week’s single and within 15 lbs. of my meet PR from October. I want 545 pretty badly at the meet, 30 lbs. over today will be rough, but if I want it badly enough…

I did a single paused-at-the-bottom squat at 365 and my knees felt like garbage, so I changed it to the harder version and ended up using more weight anyway. I think this version is better for my upper back development, but I probably need to get more weight on the bar for it to matter.

Incline bench went well. No pec pain or anything.

Total Volume: 30,485 lbs
Squat: 13,235
Bench: 7,500
Accessory: 9,750

398

Volume Phase - Week 2 - Day 2
Bench/Deadlift

Bench (Comp Pause):
3x275
3x305
3x3x335 @ RPE 8s (Pecs, elbows, shoulders feel terrible)

SlingShot Bench (Paused):
12x315 @ RPE 7 (Time to play it safe and move on to deadlift)

2" Sumo Deadlift (Beltless/Straps):
4x405
9x455 @ RPE 8
8x455 @ RPE 8
8x455 @ RPE 9

Inverted Row (Against SlightShot):
4x10

SlingShot Push-Ups:
3x35

Band Pull-Apart:
3x25 @ Light

DB Side Bend:
3x10/10 @ 80

Just this Saturday I did a close grip 4x4 at the same weight as I used today for a competition grip, obviously a really off day for bench. I think I’m about ready to drop the benching on Mondays to spare my pecs for Wednesdays and allow for complete recovery. I felt really bad all over my upper body today.

The SlingShot bench went fine and I could have done another set, I just wanted to survive to fight another day. It’s an important lesson that I’ve had to learn the hard way.

I moved the block pulls down 2 mats from the past week to move closer to the floor. I only got 2 reps less than last time at the same weight, so I’m really happy with that.

Total Volume: 37,455 lbs
Bench: 8,535
Deadlift: 12,9958
Accessory: 15,925

399

Volume Phase - Week 2 - Day 3
Deadlift/Squat

Deadlift (Single Prong. Stiff Bar):
3x365
3x405
3x455
3x495
3x535 @ 9.5
2x535 + 1x535 Sumo for lawlz (Straps added for remainder)
3x3x515 @ 9-9.5
5x515 @ 10 (PR)

Paused Squat (Beltless):
4x315
4x365
2x4x385 (PR)
4x365
2x8x315

Abs: Did various amounts of reps with average band ab pulldowns throughout the rest periods. Just calling it a 4x10.

This is a laughable amount of exercises but this legitimately took me like 2 hours. I wasn’t planning on doing anything else anyway, but still.

There’s two bars in the gym that I use mainly and they look exactly alike, but one is stiff as hell and hates being deadlifted. That was this bar. I wasn’t sure how many reps I wanted to do coming in, but I wanted to go at least moderately heavy. 535 is 20 lbs. off my 3RM of 555 (which happened on a great day when I pulled 615), so I’m pretty happy to have gotten that almost a couple of times. The 2nd set I was just way out of position. I threw that sumo rep in about 30 seconds later. I haven’t pulled sumo from the floor above about 315 in around 3 years. But I guess the block pulls are helping.

I think I’m going to try moving my paused squats to this day and front squats to Mondays after my main squats. I’m not sure if it will help, but it will force lighter back off work on Monday, since I suck at front squat, and also promote heavier paused work on Fridays. I worked up to 385 for a couple sets of 4, which I’m considering a PR (I hit 405x4 a long time ago).

Total Volume: 29,880 lbs
Deadlift: 15,580
Squat: 12,300
Accessory: 2,000

400

Saturday - Volume Phase - Week 2 - Day 4 - 7 Weeks Out
Bench/Deadlift

Bench (First 2 reps paused; last 3 TnG):
5x275
5x315
5x335
5x345
3x365 (All paused. Failed HARD on the 4th, very surprisingly. I was going for 5. Decided to move on from bench and come back later)

Paused Deadlift (Straps/Beltless):
4x315
4x365
4x4x385

Chest-Supported Incline DB Row (Pause at Peak):
10x80s
3x10x100s

Floor Press:
10x225
3x10x275 (PR)

Band Triceps Extension:
2x25 @ 2 minis

Band Facepull:
2x20 @ 2 minis

This wasn’t the best workout, but as always, I am happy that my pecs survived. If I had just hit that 4th rep at 365, it would have been a 10 lb. PR. When I say I failed hard and surprisingly I mean that if I had stopped at the 3rd rep, I would have called it an RPE 8. I haven’t failed like that in over a year probably. Maybe I just got out of the groove without realizing it. I definitely have the strength for 5 reps, which would be a huge PR.

Paused deadlifts were feeling pretty rough today. Lower back was pumped almost immediately. Still moved pretty fast though.

I was a bit hesitant to both go back to bench at all and also for it to be floor press. The last time I did floor press was also the last time I had a significant pec strain. The were definitely feeling it, but I stayed in the same groove the whole time and made sure to be perfect. I ended up with a PR, so I’m happy.

Total Volume: 38,925 lbs
Bench: 17,945
Deadlift: 8,800
Accessory: 12,100

Total Volume for Week: 136,745 lbs
Squat: 25,535
Bench: 33,980
Deadlift: 37,445
Accessory: 39,775