TCam's Log - The Road to Elite

Training Training Logs
701

Transition Period - Week 1 - Day 1

DB Flat Bench:
12x100s
2x12x110s

DB Incline Bench:
3x15x80s

Smith Machine Bent Rows:
3x12x140 - Overhand
2x12x140 - Underhand (Yates)

Conditioning
3 Rounds for Time:
500m Row
15 Push-Ups
10/10 KB Row w/ 55 lbs
20 KB Swing w/ 55 lbs
Time: 20:35

Nothing special here. Just a little bit of higher rep pressing to get ready for the volume phase. The conditioning was terrible and really shouldn’t have taken me 20 mins, probably more like 10 mins. One of the main issues was my hip flexors getting wrecked by the rower. I need to figure out my form on those so that I pull in with my hamstrings or something.

702

Transition Period - Week 1 - Day 2 - Wednesday

Beltless Wide Stance Squat:
3x10x315

Beltless Deadlift:
5x6x315

Also some accessories.

Went to NOLA from Thursday-Sunday, so no training since Wednesday. My wide stance on squats is probably about 1.5 times shoulder width, so it’s not anything crazy. I learned that my glutes and especially my adductors are weak as hell. The adductor magnus plays a big role in hip extension in the bottom of a squat: http://strengtheory.com/how-to-squat/#Adductor_Magnus, so I think I will incorporate wide stance into my next cycle to see if I can get something out of it.

703

Transition Period - Week 2 - Day 1

Paused Bench:
9x315 @ 8.5 - Match PR, but no spot, so I didn’t go for more
5x3x315 - 3 Ct pauses

Beltless Snatch Grip Deadlift - Straps:
5x3x405 - Easy

DB Farmer’s Walks:
4 x 100 ft x 100s
2 x 50 ft x 100s - 15 sec rest, failing soon
2 x 10 sec x 100s - 15 sec rest, static hold, to failure

Triceps Pushdown:
3x15/15x50 - Static humerus / Shoulder flexion and extension (ie more momentum)

I had no plan going into this other than wanting to bench and deadlift. I’m happy with how everything went. I should have 315 for about 12 on a good day I think, so that’s pretty cool.

I’ll be doing more farmer’s walks to get my grip strength up. I’ve never stuck with them, but I need to make it a priority so that I don’t keep losing heavy deadlifts for such a stupid reason.

704

Transition Period - Week 2 - Day 2

High Bar Paused Squat - Beltless:
3x405
3x425 @ 8.5 - Big PR. Nothing previously recorded for this exact lift, but my belted low bar paused PR is 3x415 and my beltless high bar PR is 3x435 @ 9.5.
5x5x335

Leg Press - High Foot Position:
10x270
10x360
10x450
10x540
10x450

Standing Single Leg Curl:
2x15/15x80 - Almost cramped, so stopped at 2 sets

Cable Low Row:
3x10x200

Kneeling Cable Crunch:
3x15x75

My plan for this workout was to just have some fun with a squat variation pretty far removed from competition form. I wanted to just do a 3RM and then 5x5 @ ~80% of that. I’m really happy with how easily I was able to basically beat my previous PRs with the disadvantages of the pause and being beltless.

At this point, the meet that I would do this year is too soon to make any sense, so I am going to stay out of competition until probably Feb/Mar 2017. I’m going to run another 12-13 weeks of my program again, with a couple adjustments, and see if I can continue making gains with it. If that is the case, I would likely run it for a 3rd time leading into a meet.

705

Transition Period - Week 2 - Day 3

Feet-Up Paused Bench:
5x275
4x5x295 - PR, I guess. Pretty easy

DB Floor Press:
3x12x100s

T-Bar Row - Wide Underhand:
3x10x135

Cable High Row:
3x15x95

EZ Bar Curl - Slow Eccentric:
3x12x70

Conditioning
5 Rounds, ~45 sec rest between rounds:
A1 | Battle Ropes - 30 sec
A2 | KB Swing - 15x55

Nothing special about this workout really. Battle ropes wreck my rhomboids and traps, so there’s that.

706

##The Road to Elite
Cycle 2 - Week 1 - Day 1

Beltless Wide Stance Squat:
4x7x365 - Solid. Pretty hard conditioning-wise.

Paused Bench:
4x7x285 - Was supposed to be T-shirt pause, but it my left pec was being weird, so I just did my normal sinking pauses and it was good.

Beltless Paused Deadlift - Mid-Shin:
7x3x405 - Felt good

Cable Low Row:
10x180
3x10x200

Cable Fly:
3x20x20s

Kneeling Cable Crunch:
15x80
15x87.5
15x95

I had to move my lifting days to M/W/F/S/S since I’ll be playing kickball on Thursdays. Basically the biggest issue this will cause is that each Monday will now be my 4th day in a row. No telling how that’s going to feel, but will just need to bring the rage.

So yes, I am following the same program as I did that allowed me to hit some great PRs at my mock meet. There are a few changes, but I will talk about those on Wednesday.

707

#The Road to Elite
Week 1 - Day 2

Deadlift w/ Belt:
7x1x500 - All good. 90 sec rest.
7x500 @ RPE 9 - Should have gone for another rep to get that 5 lb PR.
3x3x455 - Straps. Forgot I wanted to do these from blocks.

Beltless Double Paused High Bar Squat:
6x3x335 - Tough. Pause at bottom and on concentric.

Fat-Man Pull-Ups - Paused:
4x8xBW

Lying Leg Curl:
4x12x95

Cable Pull-Through:
3x12x95

Farmer’s Walk:
8 x 50 ft x 100s w/ 20 sec rests

About 2 hours before this workout I finally came up with what I wanted to do for my heavy deadlift days for this cycle. Matt Gary at SSPT uses only singles for his deadlift work and I do like that idea for heavy pulls at least, but I also have had success with AMRAPs on deadlift. So I decided to incorporate his deadlift chart but with an AMRAP on the end. I did not include any AMRAPs in my previous cycle and I did get a lot out of that on squat and bench, but I do think that they are useful for me here. Each of the 7 singles went really well and it definitely helps with confidence going forward. Around this time last cycle I was struggling with doubles with 510, so I’m off to a good start. Seeing some progress in all 3 lifts would be really cool.

I said I’d talk about some of the changes in the program today, but I need sleep right now. Will do next time.

708

##The Road to Elite
Weekend - Week 1 - Days 3-5

Friday - Day 3

Paused Bench:
1x355
4x4x335

Close Grip Incline Bench:
3x6x230 - Easy. Just moving up 5 lbs for these over last cycle.

Floor JM Press:
4x12x115 - Slow eccentric on these made them very hard

DB Curl:
4x12x55s

Cable Fly:
3x20x25s

Cable Crossover Rear Delt Fly:
3x20x10s

Nothing special on the main bench sets today. I’m starting 10 lbs up from last cycle. The bench I was on has taller hooks, so I struggled to get it out of the rack and it is also slippery so I wasn’t able to maintain a great position throughout. But the weight still moved and I didn’t ever need to think about getting a spot at any point.

Saturday - Day 4

Squat w/ Belt:
1x480
4x4x435

Beltless Snatch Grip Deadlift - Straps:
3x7x375 - Not easy

DB Split Squat - Front Foot Elevated:
2x12/12x110 - These nearly killed me. I was going to do 3 sets, but felt like I was going to tear a quad and/or throw up. Didn’t realize I started with 75 on the last cycle. lol

A1 | DB Incline Row:
3x12x100s

A2 | Standing Single Leg Curl:
3x15/15x60

90/90 Hip Lift:
Don’t have a way to quantify this. Just did it for a few minutes.

Main squats didn’t feel great today, but they moved well enough. It was just one of those days where the weight felt heavy. But it was the first time I’ve had over 425 on my back since my mock meet, so I’m not surprised.

Sunday - Day 5

Bench w/ Chains (+40):
8x3x250+40 - 60-70 sec rest

DB Bench:
3x10x110s

Hyperextension w/ Band:
3x12xBW+Light

A1 | Triceps Pushdown:
3x12x70

A2 | Cable Curl - High Angle:
3x15x70

B1 | Cable Crossover Facepull:
3x15x15s

B2 | Upside-Down KB Walk:
3x 60 ft x 25s

Bench moved well. Just hoping I can survive today (Monday) now. So basically the differences in this cycle are these:

  • Replaced my 8 weeks of high bar squats with wide stance in my volume slot (Day 1) since it is a weakness and unused foot position (weak ass adductors). The high bar position has moved to the power slot (Day 2).
  • My volume deadlift slot has moved from Day 5 to Day 4 because I no longer have a rest day between Day 5 and Day 1, and I don’t want to deadlift 2 days in a row. That will make the volume slot, like snatch grip above, harder because it is right after my heavy squats.
  • I explained my deadlift programming in my last entry, but the idea is that I am consistently pulling heavy singles unlike what I was doing before the last cycle, which was detrimental to the cycle. The block pulls are because I suck at them.
  • The biggest change is just the days of the week that I have to be in the gym. It was previously T-Th-F-S-S and it is now M-W-F-S-S, so my 4th day in a row is no longer Sunday, but is now Monday of the following week each time. Day 1 is always one of my harder workouts since it is all 3 lifts. This part is up in the air, because right now (Monday) my quads are sore as hell and I just benched yesterday. If it is going to be a dangerous environment for my knees and pecs, then I’ll have to change this aspect. We will see this evening.
709

##The Road to Elite
Week 2 - Day 1

Beltless Wide Stance Squat:
5x6x375 - Also knee sleeveless because I’m an idiot. This moved well but damn it’s a hard movement for me.

Wide Grip Bench - TnG:
5x6x295 - Not bad. But notes below.

Beltless Paused Deadlift:
7x3x420 - Straps after set 3 because of small callous issue. Wanted to save it for heavy pulls next workout.

Cable Low Row:
4x10x200

A1 | Cable Fly:
3x20x25s

A2 | Kneeling Cable Crunch:
3x15x95

Woo I survived. I’ll be looking for ways to shift things around though. Bench being on Friday, Sunday, and Monday seems and feels way too dangerous for the pecs. Just not enough rest time. Best option would be M/W/F, but I also have to be aware of squat timing for my knees. I’m not sure if I can figure out a reasonable setup, but I’m not a fan of the current one.

Really happy with how deadlift moved today and especially my positioning. Here’s the last set:
Tyler Campbell | Health & Fitness Coach on Instagram: "Last set of paused deadlift at 7x3x420. This was after beltless wide stance squats 5x6x375 and wide grip bench 5x6x295. Proud of the positioning on this one, @tylerwilliams_cp2 #powerlifting #powerlifter #powerliftingmotivation #bodybuilding #fitness #fitnessmotivation #gym #workout #lifting #strength #strong #deadlift"

710

##The Road to Elite
Week 2 - Day 2

Deadlift w/ Belt:
7x1x515 - 90 sec rest
5x515 @ 9 - Eh…none of this felt great. 540 is my PR for 5, though that was with an Okie bar.

A1 - Beltless Double Paused High Bar Squat:
6x3x345

A2 - 3" Block Pull w/ Belt - Straps:
3x3x470

Cable Pull-Through:
3x12x95

Fat-Man Pull-Up:
4x10xBW

Lying Hamstring Curl:
12x95
12x110
2x12x95

Suitcase Barbell Hold - Alternating Left/Right:
0:30/0:30x135
0:27/0:30x135
0:18/0:24x135
3x0:15x225 - Double overhand

I had a pretty tough time getting tight during my deadlifts today. All of the first 7 reps felt slower than they should have been. The AMRAP felt much better, but my back was rounding a good bit, so I’m not super happy with that.

The real issue was that I forgot about the block pulls until after I already got set up for squats. I had my Oly shoes on and everything. I almost just skipped the pulls, but I decided to not be a bitch and alternated squats with the block pulls, with full rest but my lawd the back pump. This also meant I’d have to just squat with my flat shoes too. Next week I’ll wear the Olys in this slot to avoid any knee issues.

Video of my plus set at 515:
Tyler Campbell | Health & Fitness Coach on Instagram: "5x515 on the end of a 8x1+ @ 515. Didn't feel great on any of the sets and my back rounded more than I would like, but I made it through. #powerlifting #powerlifter #powerliftingmotivation #bodybuilding #fitness #fitnessmotivation #gym #workout #lifting #strength #strong #deadlift #rpowerlifting"

711

#The Road to Elite
Week 2 - Day 3

Paused Bench:
1x370 - Smooth
4x4x345 - Easier than I was expecting. Last set was RPE 7ish

Close Grip Incline Bench:
4x6x230 - Got hard by the end. Pecs were being iffy too.

A1 | Floor JM Press:
4x12x135 - Phew…barely finished these.

A2 | DB Curl:
4x12x55s

B1 | HS Chest Press:
3x20/20x45

B2 | Cable Crossover Rear Delt Fly:
3x20x12.5s

I’ve been having some pec tightness for the past couple of days, so I did a bunch of mobility stuff on them the night before this workout. I think that got me through the main sets, but after that I was feeling them. During the JM press, I was feeling it in my upper arm, like either the insertion point or maybe it was the biceps tendon. Regardless, I’ll be spending more time working on that issue and possibly skipping my power bench workout that’s coming up.

Gotta remember that a big part of my success in the last cycle was being smart about recovery and not pushing through pain.

Last set of the 4x4x345:
https://www.instagram.com/p/BJ1kme2jk8U/

712

##The Road to Elite
Week 2 - Days 4-5

Saturday

Squat w/ Belt:
1x490
4x4x450 - Not bad at all. RPE 8-ish

Beltless Snatch Grip Deadlift - Straps:
4x6x405 - Got ugly at the end

Incline DB Row:
3x12x100s

Standing Single Leg Curl:
3x15/15x45

Hollow-Body Hold w/ Crunch:
3x15x25

If you read the equivalent workout from last cycle (4x4x445), you saw that it was stupidly difficult, so it’s nice that this was pretty easy. There was no hype up or anything, I just got it done. I was in Mobile visiting my GF, so I wasn’t using the same plates as usual. But I was also using a bar I could bend with my hands while it sat on the rack, so whatever missing weight there may have been was offset by that IMO.

Snatch grip sucked. Skipped DB split squats due to time constraints.

Sunday

Bench w/ Band:
8x3x265+Light - 60-75 sec rest. Not sure how heavy the band was, felt like it was at least 40 lbs, so it replaced the chains just fine

DB Bench:
3x10x100s

A1 | Triceps Pushdown:
3x12x110

A2 | Cable Curl - High Angle:
3x15x110

Facepull:
3x15x130

Walking Lunges:
2x18/18xBW

I wasn’t sure if my pecs were going to feel good enough to bench at all on this day, but they seemed fine during the banded work. The issues more so popped up during DB bench. I was supposed to do 4x10x110s, but 100s were all that were at this gym and I didn’t want to push the pecs with that extra set.

Otherwise the workout went well, bench was fast.

713

##The Road to Elite
Week 3 - Day 1

Beltless Wide Stance Squat:
6x5x385

Beltless Paused Deadlift:
3x440
6x2x440

KB Swing:
4x12x100

This was yesterday (Monday/Labor Day). I drove from Mobile to Birmingham, which usually takes 3.5 hours. Well it took 5.5 hours instead because of accidents and shit. It was incredibly frustrating and it ate up my cushion for getting to the gym with plenty of time. So instead of going home first, I just went straight to the gym, which closed at 8pm. I got started at around 6:30pm, so I couldn’t get any accessories in really. I’m planning on going to the gym today for those and possibly bench, which was purposefully skipped due to my pecs.

I had surprisingly good mobility for squats, but my stability wasn’t great. My lower back got pumped to hell by set 2 of 6. But the reps still moved well enough.

The deadlift was rough. I was supposed to do a 7x3, but after the first set of 3 I decided I would be safer doing doubles. My back just wasn’t holding for that extra rep.

Edit:
Alright I figured out what I’m doing about bench. Previously I was benching heavy Friday, power Sunday, and volume Monday. As I’ve mentioned, that’s way too close together for my pecs to recover. So what I’m doing now is moving power to Wednesday and volume to Sunday. That way I’m benching Wednesday, Friday, Sunday, giving me 1 full day off between each one.

What that changes otherwise is that my Mondays will no longer be my marathon session, but instead Wednesday will be. Monday was volume squat and bench, then power deadlift. Wednesday is now heavy deadlift and power squat and bench.

This also allows me to continue the week without benching today to make up for yesterday. I will just do some accessories today and then pick up with power bench on Wednesday and the volume bench I had missed will just happen on Sunday. Woop woop.

714

##The Road to Elite
Week 3 - Day 1.5

Cable Low Row:
2x10x200
2x10x220

Lying Leg Curl:
12x95
12x110
12x125
12x95

EZ Bar Curl:
3x15x60

Kneeling Cable Crunch:
3x15x95

These were just my accessories that I didn’t get to on Monday.

715

##The Road to Elite
Week 3 - Day 2

Deadlift w/ Belt:
7x1x530 - Straps on the last set to save callous and get used to it for the AMRAP.
4x530 - Straps. Ugly.

3" Block Pull w/ Belt - Straps:
3x3x485

Beltless Double Paused High Bar Squat - Oly Shoes:
6x3x355

Paused Bench w/ Chains (+40):
8x3x275+40 - About 75 sec rest. Felt good.

Fat Man Pull-Ups:
2x12
2x10

Cable Fly:
20x20s
20x30s
20x25s

Hyperextension w/ Band:
3x12xBW+Light

Landmine Suitcase Hold - Alt Right/Left:
0:30/0:30x90
0:30/0:30x90
0:30/0:26x90 - So close

2 hours and 45 mins later and I’m done with this damn workout. Not necessarily happy with how deadlift is going. The singles weren’t terrible, but I felt like I was going to shit out my spine on the last rep of the AMRAP and it’s wasn’t a PR or anything. Straps didn’t help my setup though.

So glad I’m done increasing weight on these double paused squats. They are super rough, but I think they were useful for practicing control.

Bench went as well as I could have hoped. Only a couple of small instances with any pec feels at all and all of the reps were fast.

716

##The Road to Elite
Week 3 - Day 3

Paused Bench:
1x380 - Super smooth
4x4x355 - First set was tough, but the rest were great

Close Grip Incline Bench - Paused:
5x6x230 - PR. Haven’t tagged paused in this until today, since I actually paused every rep. Rough

A1 | Floor JM Press:
3x10x135 - Normal slow eccentric
16x135 - Faster pace. Triceps dead

A2 | DB Curl:
4x12x55s

B1 | HS Chest Press:
3x20/20x45

B2 | Cable Crossover Rear Delt Fly:
3x20x17.5s

GET HYPE. Pretty great bench workout tonight. I didn’t have any pec issues today. My first set of 355 was a little wonky and I was flaring too soon, so my pecs ended up stressed a lot during that set and got pumped basically. But they ended up working just fine the remaining sets. I think taking the few extra days and then doing the power bench instead of volume was really helpful.

380 and last set of 355:
Tyler Campbell | Health & Fitness Coach on Instagram: "Solid heavy bench session tonight. 1x380 followed by 4x4x355, all pretty easy! 380 and last set of 355 shown. #powerlifter #powerlifting #powerbelly #fitness #fitnessmotivation #bodybuilding #bodybuildingmotivation #bench #gym #workout #strong #rpowerlifting"

717

##The Road to Elite
Week 3 - Days 4-5

Saturday

Squat w/ Belt:
1x500
4x4x465 - Tough. All between RPE 8.5 and 9.5. Nearing PR levels though.

Beltless Snatch Grip Deadlift:
5x5x415 - Better than last week but still very hard

DB Split Squat - Front Foot Elevated:
3x12/12x100

Incline DB Row:
3x12x110s

A1 | Standing Single Leg Curl:
3x15/15x60

A2 | Hollow-Body Hold w/ Crunch:
3x15x30

Woo I’m done with 4x4s. Last cycle was 495 and 460 and I noted that there was significant form breakdown on a couple of the sets. This one was not as bad form-wise. Of course it was still hard as hell, but it’s good progress. 5x3s start in the next block.

Sunday

Wide Grip Bench - TnG:
6x6x305 - Easy, no pec issues

DB Bench:
2x10x110s
2x10x100s

A1 | Triceps Pushdown:
12x72.5
12x85
12x95

A2 | Cable Curl:
2x15x65
15x52.5

Facepull:
3x15x52.5

Upside-Down KB Walk:
3 x 60 ft x 30s

Nothing super special here. The last volume bench slot I had was two weeks ago because of the bench rearrangement. That was 5x6x295 and it didn’t feel great, so I’m happy with how it went today with more reps and weight.

Going into the deload week now.

718

##The Road to Elite
Week 4 - Day 1 - Deload

Beltless Wide Stance Squat:
5x225 - I’m fine
3x315 - Easy
2x365 - Oh my oblique or something decided to be injured on the first rep.
2x2x365 - Belted. Testing pain. Yep, hurts.

Lying Leg Curl:
3x12x95

Well this is annoying. I had no issues warming up and my form was completely fine, and then at the bottom of the first rep with 365, I feel a pop in my right side, like an inch up from the iliac crest and kind of deep. I stood there for like 10 seconds wondering if it was just some bullshit, so I narrowed my stance and did another rep. I didn’t injure it further with the remaining reps, but it didn’t feel good. Just went home and iced and tried to compress it by corseting myself with a knee wrap.

I’m not even that mad at myself about it, like I usually would be, because there wasn’t anything that I did wrong. Same warm-up, setup, and bracing. The only thing that changed was that I had a 90 min leg focused massage on Saturday. This workout was over 50 hours after that, but maybe something was still a bit loose that I couldn’t feel. No hindsight revelations or anything, just basically some random shit.

So, here’s me trying to determine what it is for fun:

  • Twisting my torso to the left does hurt, to the right does not.
  • Posterior pelvic tilt hurts when I also include spinal flexion with my abs, anterior tilt does not.
  • Leaning both to left and right hurt in different ways.
  • Hip flexion plus abduction is uncomfortable.
  • So I’m thinking it’s either the quadratus lumborum, the psoas major, or an oblique. I have a hard time imagining that the oblique is the case when no twisting was involved in the movement and I can crunch to the side, just not lean.
  • Let’s assume it’s the either the QL or the psoas.
  • The pain sort of radiates depending on how I move, so that’s not helpful. But the pain is centralized mostly very laterally, slightly posteriorly, right above the iliac crest, where the QL originates. There is also some radiating into my hip, where the psoas inserts.
  • Hiking my hip does hurt, which is what the QL does.
  • Pure hip flexion does not hurt, which is what the psoas does. It only hurts in two cases: When I include spinal flexion or posterior pelvic tilt, which would stretch the QL. Or when I include hip abduction, which would then cause the hip to hike a bit, hitting the QL.
  • Let’s go with it being the QL. Will focus rehab there.

Knock on wood, but I don’t think this will be an issue that lasts over 2 weeks, but I’m considering just taking that time as a long deload so that I don’t feel like I have to lift heavy next week. I should still be able to bench without any issues, but I’ll probably deload it as well to keep everything in line.

719

##The Road to Recovery
Week 1 - Day 2

Tuesday was my off day and I did some light mobility along with just resting. Today (Wednesday) I went to the gym to feel some things out. Started off with my usual foam rolling. Can’t feel the injury with that though. I then did KB suitcase deadlift with 55 lbs for 10 on each side and felt no pain. Then I stood up and did a goblet squat and it hurt a lot at the bottom where the original injury happened. So anything right around parallel and below is definitely a no-go for a bit.

Beltless Deadlift - Texas DL Bar - Double Overhand:
10x3x315 - No issues here. Friend in the gym just got this bar just in time for my dumb ass to be injured.

Paused Bench:
5x275
4x3x275 - Just messing around, these flew. Arch is not affected by the injury.

Beltless Pin Squat - ~4" Above Parallel:
5x10x135 - Dbl mini band around knees with a wide stance for last 3 sets. Definitely some pain here.

Lat Pulldown - Close Neutral:
2x8x160
15x160

Machine Leg Press:
50 or something x 60 - Unilateral
20x100 - Unilateral - No pain
20x200 - Bilateral - No pain, was going deep too

Then I laid on the ground with a band pulling my leg out from my hip for about 3 sets of 2:00. It felt good when I got up, so I did a couple sets of 10 of goblet squats. On the second set, the pain hit on the 6th rep, so I stopped. I also try to feel my psoas with the handle of the KB jabbing my guts, but I didn’t feel anything other than wanting to fart, so I think I can rule out the psoas.

I’m not completely certain it’s my QL since deadlift is fine and the pain is radiating too, and sometimes seemingly, from my hip, though that is apparently a trigger point for the QL. I’ve had some twitching happening throughout the day in my back around my last ribs, the insertion point of the QL. It all points to that, which I would be fine with relative to a hip issue. Another factor is that the leg press was fine, which includes no pelvic or trunk movement where the QL would be used. My only qualm is that the pain during the goblet squat is more in the hip.

I think my plan is to avoid any loaded deep squat for at least a week, if not two. I’m feeling a little less optimistic than the other day about the severity, so I may be pushing my program out for a bit, because I think I’ll need to take a longer amount of time to build back up safely.

720

##The Road to Bench Specialism
Week 1 - Day 3 - Still Deloading

Paused Bench:
1x355
3x3x335 - All of this was fast, it was just hard on my general structure

Close Grip Incline Bench:
4x4x260 - Pretty hard but it got better with practice

Landmine Suitcase Deadlift:
3x10/10x45

Box Pistol Squat:
2x10/10xBW - High box

And I think a couple of other things. Everything I did today basically confirmed the QL being the issue. All of the contralateral movements hit it hard.

Week 1 - Day 4

2xComplex:
10/10 Bird Dog + 0:30/0:30 Side Plank + 0:15 RKC Plank + 0:15 Hollow Hold

KB Overhead + Farmers Walk:
2x100/100ft x 50s - One KB locked out overhead while the other is hanging by my side

Banded Leg Press:
2x15x90+2 Dbl Light
5x10x180+2 Dbl Light - A couple inches higher than I usually go to be safe. Not bad though.

Unilateral Landmine Row - Holding Fat End:
10/10x70
2x10/10x90

Unilateral Cable Low Row:
3x10/10x100

Probably some other stuff. Mainly just messing around. No real pain at any point during any of this, it was a good stability test.

Week 1 - Day 5

Wide Grip TnG Bench:
4x5x285 - Super easy

DB Bench:
3x10x100s

Chest-Supported T-Bar Row:
4x10x135

BB Shrugs - Short Pause at Top:
4x10x225 - Hook grip on 3rd set. Fuck me.

Lat Pulldown - Medium Neutral:
3x8x200

A1 | Band Triceps Pushdown:
3x15xLight

A2 | Leaning Lateral Raise:
3x15/15x50

One-Arm Hyperextension:
2x10/10xBW+60 - Probably a mainstay for this rehab.

B1 | Jettison Curls:
2x10/10/10 - BB+Mini/BB/Mini

B2 | Stair Lunges:
2x10/10xBW - Skipped 2 stairs, so I as at full squat depth. No pain at all with these.

This was just a long slow workout, messing around trying to get a good amount of rowing volume and then test out the back. I’m happy that I have a bunch of non-painful things that I can do to maintain strength while I wait for it to heal.