TCam's Log - The Road to Elite

Training Training Logs
741

Monday

Paused Bench:
3x6x315
11x315 - 2 rep PR! About RPE 9 too

A1 | DB Floor Press:
3x12x90s

A2 | One-Arm DB Row:
3x10/10x115

Iso-Lateral Crossover Lat Pulldown:
15x100
2x15x120 - Naming exercises is difficult. This was done on the lat pulldown with two separate handles and my right hand was pulling the left handle and vice versa so that they had to crossover, causing me to have to pull both downward and laterally

Band Triceps Pushdown:
3x25xLight

Lying Incline EZ Bar Curl:
2x15x100
2x12x100

B1 | Cable Rear Delt Fly:
3x15/15x15

B2 | Duffin Upright Row:
3x12x50

The only plan I had was that this was a volume bench day and I wanted to work somewhere in the 295-315 range. I chose the weight and reps based on the warm-ups and finished with an AMRAP because the main sets were feeling good. The AMRAP was probably one of the most controlled and smooth looking sets Iā€™ve ever done with 315 honestly. See the video below.

Tyler Campbell | Health & Fitness Coach on Instagram: "Volume bench day resulted in a 4x6+ @ 315. Got a 2 rep PR on the AMRAP with 315x11! #powerlifting #rpowerlifting #fitness #fitnessmotivation #bodybuilding #bench #benchpress #gym #lifting #strong"

742

Tuesday

Paused Sumo:
3x2x425 - Beltless
2x2x455 - Add belt
2x475
2x495 - More benchmark PRs. This was not that hard either!

Box Deadlift - Beltless/Straps:
4x8x315 - Hammies and gloots are dead

Front Squat - Beltless:
5x5x135
3x5x185 - No hip pain, just running into that tightness. Time to start using this as my main rehab to get back into squatting

Band Hip Flexor Thing:
2x10/10xMini - Band around foot, start in hip extension, drive knee explosively forward and up like kneeing someone in the dick, hold for a second and then control it back down

A1| Standing Single Leg Curl:
3x10/10x80

A2 | KB Hollow-Body Hold:
3x3x0:10x70

Iā€™m pretty happy with this workout. Sumo is feeling pretty damn good, which has been surprising from the start. Mixed grip isnā€™t really causing too much of an issue and I think itā€™ll just get better from here. Iā€™m really getting a good amount of fatigue on my glutes and hamstrings, and almost none on my lower back, so thatā€™s pretty much the opposite of my conventional pull. Assuming this keeps going well and I can maintain my control with heavier weights, I have no reason to switch back.

As mentioned, front squats are my new friend, but good news: A friend at the gym has a SSB coming in this weekend that will be available through January. Thatā€™s going to be a huge help.

Also, Trump was elected as the next president today. I didnā€™t support anyone. Iā€™m just here for the chaos.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BMkpoBwh5V7/

743

Wednesday

Paused Bench:
3x1x375 - These felt very heavy in my hands and on the joints. Moved decently well though
2x7x275 - Soft touch, trying not to sink too much

HS Incline Press:
10x90
2x10x180
10x90

Cable Low Row:
2x15x160 - Close pronated
2x15x160 - Close supinated

Lying DB Rear Delt Fly:
3x15x30s

Lying DB Yā€™s:
3x15x10s

Upside-Down KB Overhead Press:
3x8x20s

My ribs and sternum were getting crushed today. This happened last week on my heavy day too. It may be from my 48 hour turnaround on bench days Iā€™ve had to do. I usually sink a good bit, but sometimes itā€™s just painful like today. Also my pecs and shoulders were feeling pretty achy, so I just kept the volume really low and then worked on the opposing muscles.

744

Thursday

Sumo Deadlift - Belt:
5x2x545 - PR. 545 is my previous 1RM from a long time ago

Beltless Squat - Oly Shoes:
8x5x225 - Paused last rep.

Those are the most important things and I did a few accessories that I donā€™t remember now. Deadlift was really difficult on this day. It was about a 36 hour turnaround from the paused sumo on Tuesday, so Iā€™m not surprised by how slow I felt. Iā€™m still happy with it.

Oly shoes allowed me to get in the hole without much hip discomfort, so thatā€™s how Iā€™ll be squatting while I build back up.

Monday

Floor Press w/ Chains (+40):
5x225+40
5x245+40
5x255+40
3x5x275+40

OHP:
5x3x185

HS Iso-Row:
4x10x290

Single-Arm DB Curl - Alternating w/o Rest:
3x12/12x35

Reverse BB Curl:
2x20x50

Lying DB Yā€™s:
3x15x10s

Pin-floor press really. Iā€™ve mentioned before that I canā€™t do floor press in this gym and I still canā€™t, but the gym was a shitshow tonight, so I had to press somehow. The rack stops me about 1/2 inch from where my elbows would hit, so my triceps are just starting to hit the ground when the bar stops. Not a huge deal though, it hit my pecs and triceps pretty hard. Chains were set up so that they werenā€™t touching the ground at all on the lift-off, so there wasnā€™t a ton of accommodation.

OHP is just confirming more and more how useless it is for bench (for me). My PR closet to 185 is 190x9 and I was struggling with these triples tonight. My bench is doing fine, so clearly OHP doesnā€™t matter.

745

Wednesday

Beltless Sumo - Straps:
10x2x455 - ~60 sec rest. Speed pulls

Beltless Squat - Oly Shoes:
5x3x315

Beltless Paused Squat - Oly Shoes:
5x3x315

A1 | Lat Pulldown:
4x12x180

A2 | Band Ab Pulldown:
4x15xAvg

Lying Leg Curl:
3x15x80

My QL issue flared up after I finished my squats and Iā€™m feeling it a bit the next day. I felt no issues at all during deadlift or squats, but did during my ab work, so I guess something happened. Iā€™ll have a few days off of lower body work for a PT school interview, so hopefully it will be fine by then.

For the actual lifting, sumo felt pretty good. I just used straps so that I could focus on the rest of my body instead of my grip. Squats felt pretty good, the hip is starting to settle, but thereā€™s still some resistance there.

746

Saturday

Paused Bench:
2x345
2x375
2x405 - 20 lb PR! Reppin 4 plates!
3x2x365

A1 | Decline Push-Ups:
4x20xBW

A2 | HS Iso-Row - Low Handles:
4x10x270

B1 | Cable Fly:
3x20x20s

B2 | Band Pushdown:
3x20xLight

B3 | Band Facepull:
3x20xLight

This wasnā€™t planned at all, but as soon as I started warming up with the bar, 405 for a double entered my mind. There was zero tightness or aches to work through, so I knew I could hit something good. Very, very happy with how it moved. The video is below. The first rep didnā€™t have a solid pause, but it was a quick rep. The second rep slowed down very early and I thought I was going to miss it, but it kept on moving instead of stalling.

The drop down sets with 365 were really easy and I could have kept doing them for a while, but figured I should quit while I was ahead.

Also this was the second time Iā€™ve ever tried to wear a belt during bench, the last time being like 2 years ago. It seemed to help for lateral stability.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BM_6oZFB-8r/

747

Sunday

Sumo w/ Chains (+60) - Belt/Straps:
2x495+60
2x515+60
2x535+60
2x545+60 - 50 lbs PR over 4 weeks ago. This was closer to max effort than that though.

Beltless Front Squat - Oly Shoes:
5x5x275

Reverse Lunge - KB Goblet:
8/8x45
2x8/8x55

A1 | Kneeling Cable Ab Crunch:
3x15x75

A2 | Standing Single Leg Curl:
3x15/15x80

This was a really good but difficult workout. Sumo felt great and I figured Iā€™d stop and do 3 sets at 515 to go up 20 lbs over my 3x2 from 4 weeks ago. But the weight kept movin, so I kept going up. The 535 and 545 were significantly harder and slower off the floor, but once they got above mid-shin, they sped up a lot.

Iā€™m surprised by front squat. I havenā€™t been able to hold even 225 comfortably on my shoulders, but 275 wasnā€™t that bad. I focused a lot on thoracic extension and they moved well. Still no SSB at the gym, unfortunately. Flaky people apparently holding it up.

Video of 535. Didnā€™t get one of 545 since I needed music from my phone on that one.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BNC3nbABfLW/

748

Monday

3 Ct. Paused Bench:
8x3x315

Incline DB Bench:
10x80s
2x10x90s
15x90s

Cable Low Row:
3x12x220

Single Arm Cable Curl:
20/20x15
3x10/10x20
20/20x15

Band Pull-Apart:
2x30xLight

My spinal erectors and everything touching my thoracic vertebrae are rekt from sumo and front squats, but I managed to get into and maintain my arch just fine somehow.

Iā€™m trying a bit of lower focus on accessory work than I have been using. Iā€™m thinking that I just donā€™t need to spend as much time on it to assist my main lifts. I donā€™t feel like itā€™ll matter if I progress on accessories weekly. Iā€™ll just do 3-4 hard sets on the compound accessories and then some pump work and go home. Minimum effective dose and such.

749

Tuesday

Paused Squat w/ Belt - Oly Shoes - No Knee Sleeves:
4x3x315
3x365
3x3x405 - Real hard. First time over 315 in 10 weeks.

Sumo w/ Belt + Ohio Power Bar:
3x2x405 - Double Pause
3x2x405 - Single Pause
3x2x405 - No Pause

Trap Bar Farmerā€™s Walk:
2x200ftx225

Hanging Knee Raise:
3x15

Sliding Reverse Lunge:
3x10/10xBW

Really annoyed myself today by forgetting my knee sleeves, but it was what it was. My knees felt fine during all of the squats, but theyā€™re already achy now. The 405 sets were very hard, as I noted, and not the prettiest, but I wanted to test my hip and back under some difficult reps. The hip took a while to warm-up to the idea, but the back felt fine.

When I pulled my first sumo set at 405 without the belt, my QL thing popped up a bit. So I added the belt from there. I think Iā€™ll just be doing belted work for a couple of months and not worry about beltless stuff for now.

The OPB for sumo is hell compared to the DL bar. Itā€™s like doing a deficit pull. Actually, the double pauses felt better than the other sets because I could stay in a better position. This being the first attempt at the OPB for sumo doesnā€™t make this surprising. Just another variation to work on.

750

Saturday

Floor Press:
2x345
3x2x365
8x315
7x315

HS Dip Machine:
2x8x180+2 dbl minis
2x15x180

Lat Pulldown:
15x145
3x15x160

DB Curl:
3x12x35s

Some ab stuff

I was out of the gym from Wednesday through Friday due to Thanksgiving travels and such. This workout was done at a different gym than usual, so I was able to actually floor press here. The 3x2x365 went reasonably well, the second set was difficult only because I just struggled to unrack it because it was stuck on the J-hook. The two back down sets with 315 were around an RPE 8.5.

My pecs are getting pretty beat up, so I really need to focus on some recovery efforts there before I bench again.

Also, very big life news. I have been accepted into a couple of physical therapy schools! I still have another interview and I want to hear from one other school, but I am definitely going to become DPT in 2020!

751

Monday

1" Sumo Block Pull - Belt/Straps:
1x495
1x545
4x1x585 - Had some left upper hamstring issues coming in, so this was more difficult than it should have been. But I came out unscathed.
2x10x405

Beltless Paused Front Squat:
5x3x275 - Focusing on not squishing into the bottom, but remaining upright, helps a lot. Itā€™s also really hard, but I think I now get how people get something out of front squats

Leg Press - Blood Flow Restriction:
30, 15, 15, 15, 15 x 180 - 30 sec rest between sets. This was real burn-y.

Seated Band Leg Curl:
3x30x2 minis - Partial reps by the end

Machine Ab Pulldown:
3x15x100

This wasnā€™t my best workout ever, but I was able to match the total reps from my 1x2, 2x1x585 a few weeks ago. During my warm up, the upper hamstring and maybe glute got tight for some reason, so I had to be careful. I didnā€™t feel it other than at lockout though.

Front squats continue to be the bane of my existence, but at least I can confidently hold 275 now. A new SSB has been purchased by a friend at the gym, so now I know that one is being delivered in the next couple of weeks. But honestly, I may keep the SSB and front squats as my two main squats and not worry about back squats for a few weeks straight.

752

Wednesday

Paused Bench - IPF Style:
2x5x275
2x8x275
2x5x275

I donā€™t remember anything else from this workout. I was gone on Thursday and Friday for another PT school interview, so I didnā€™t commit this to memory. Iā€™m considering a USAPL meet next year, so thatā€™s why I was practicing the head/heels down style. Iā€™m not great at it. Hit my upper pecs a whole lot and my shoulders didnā€™t feel great after. Iā€™m undecided on whether or not I care enough to try for the USAPL since Iā€™m not putting up record numbers or anything.

Saturday

Beltless Paused Sumo - Straps:
8x2x460 - High hamstring still tight, but this was pretty easy

Beltless Front Squat:
8x225
4x275 - Pulled an intercostal on the third rep. sigh

Beltless Paused Squat:
3x5x315 - Slow eccentric too. Hard to breathe with the intercostal thing

Hyperextension:
4x10xBW+100

Couple ab things and static hip stability things.

More stupid small injuries racking up. Woo. But itā€™s fine, Iā€™ll just die. Really though, itā€™s getting better pretty quickly. Iā€™ve done this before, but only on Zercher squats.

Sunday

Bench - Soft Pause:
8x315
7x315
6x315
6x315

Trap Bar Bent Over Row:
5x8x225

A1 | DB Overhead Triceps Ext:
3x10x75

A2 | Hammer Curl:
3x10x75s

Band Triceps Pushdown:
30, 20, 20 x Light

Cable Rear Delt Fly:
3x20x15s

Not much to say about this. The bench went well, I just stuck with about RPE 8. The last one was closer to RPE 9 though. My endurance is down a good bit apparently.

Anyway, Iā€™m struggling to come up with a plan of action for finally getting healthy, if I keep getting injured. Iā€™m going to try to do more prehab stuff outside of the gym and come up with more whole body stability focused warm-ups. Past that, I donā€™t know. I just want to lift without constantly worrying about little bullshit.

753

Tuesday - The Comeback?

Squat w/ Belt - Back to Flat Shoes:
3x5x405

Beltless SSB Squat:
3x8x295

Sumo w/ Belt - Stiff Bar/Straps:
10x2x405 - 60 sec rest

Iso-Lateral Lat Pulldown:
4x15x120

Stir-the-Pot Swiss Ball Planks:
3x10/10

This was my first really good workout in a while. I was wanting to start with the SSB, but it was locked in a room, so I just worked with the straight bar til I could get it. (Turns out the door wasnā€™t locked. The handle was, but I could have just pushed the door open. lol). So I worked up on the straight bar and ended up actually hitting a few good sets with 405. I wasnā€™t expecting to get there today, but Iā€™m really happy with how they felt. Lots of control and such.

Moved on to the SSB and I love it. I hate it too. But itā€™s perfect for my weakness of my back rounding. Iā€™m going to be using this bar a ton.

The intercostal injury thing doesnā€™t bother me at all while lifting. It hurts all the time outside of the gym, but whatever. I expect that to be gone very soon. High hip thing was still there during sumo. I may need to do conventional for a week to take it easy on that.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BNszMF8hs3u/

1 Like
754

Wednesday

TnG Bench w/ Bands:
12x2x255+2 dbl minis - 60 sec rest

Incline DB Bench:
4x12x85s

Cable Low Row:
4x12x200

A1 | Cable Fly:
3x15x20s

A2 | Band Facepull:
3x15xLight

Starting to implement some conjugate training. Iā€™m formulating a plan where I wonā€™t necessarily have to write a program, but I can have a weekly scheme to follow. Iā€™ve found that Iā€™m good at writing 12-16 week peaking programs, but I have a hard time writing long term plans and I think that will have more to do with a general outline to follow rather than a specific progression.

Iā€™m thinking about a program on a Week A/B style so that Iā€™m hitting heavy squats and volume deadlifts on one week and heavy deadlifts and volume squats on the other week, but regardless, both have 2 days per week due to the DE session. The max effort days are more like heavy volume, things like 4x4, 5x3, 5x2, etc. This will be 4 days per week instead of the 5 Iā€™ve been doing for a couple of years.

755

Friday

Conventional Deadlift w/ Belt:
5x2x495 - Pretty speedy actually

Paused SSB Squat w/ Belt:
10x2x335 - 60 sec rest fuuuuu

SSB Good Morning - Beltless:
2x10x155 - Narrow
3x10x155

Leg Press:
3x20x270

Cable Ab Pulldown:
4x15x100

First time doing heavy conventional pulls since I hurt my QL or whatever a few months ago. Was avoiding the left upper hamstring or hip pain that Iā€™ve been feeling with sumo. These felt pretty good today. The first rep on each set was very fast and clean, the second reps were a little more rounded, but Iā€™m happy overall.

SSB is love, SSB is life. This thing is so brutal. When I move for PT school, if I donā€™t end up in Augusta (where thereā€™s an insane EFS decked out gym), Iā€™ll probably buy one of these for myself.

Saturday

Paused Bench:
5x2x365

CG Pin Incline Bench:
5x5x225

HS Iso-Row:
3x10x270

Machine Preacher Curl:
2x12x110
2x12x90

Machine Pec Fly:
25x70
2x25x90

I was having some pec pains today, so this wasnā€™t super fun. I was also on the crooked bench since the others were being used, adding to the danger. But I survived, I just need to stretch and roll on the pecs between now and the next benching. This upper lower split means that wonā€™t be until Wednesday, so plenty of recovery time.

756

Monday - RE Deadlift and DE Squat

Conv Deadlift w/ Chains (+75) - Belt:
4x8x405+75 - Default PR, I think. Lower back pump from hell started after the 2nd set

Squat w/ Belt:
8x2x405 - 60 sec rest other than 5th set for 2 mins

Side Step-Ups:
3x10/10xBW - This was just a hip control exercise. Tried to control the eccentric. Also, ankle stabilizers because squishy bench

Lat Pulldown - Straps:
180x20
180x15
180x12

Hollow-Body Rocks:
30, 25, 15 - Couldnā€™t get 3 full sets. Exhausted from bracing

This was a fun workout, but my lawd my lower back was pumped for about an hour straight with the deadlift and squats. High hip thing is still a no-go for sumo, but I canā€™t feel it at all on anything else, so I opted to make as much noise as I could in the crowded gym with sets of 8 with chains. They were hard as hell to keep myself going, but the RPE ended up around 7.5 average.

I wanted 10x2 on squats, but I was starting to feel somewhat unsafe around the 7th set. I was losing some control of the weight around my hips and my back was taking over, despite being fried. But almost all of the reps moved really well and there was barely any form discrepancies, so Iā€™m happy with it.

757

Wednesday - DE Bench

Paused Bench w/ Chains (+40):
12x2x275+40 - 60 sec rest

Incline DB Bench:
3x10x100s

Chest-Supported T-Bar Row:
3x15x135 - First set was RPE 8, other two were RPE 10

Triceps Pushdown:
3x12x70

BB Curl:
40, 20, 20, 20 x 45 - 30 sec rest

One-Arm KB Bent-Over Shrug:
2x12/12x70 - Just a scapular movement for shoulder health

I was really tired and in a bad mood going into this workout, just from an incredibly boring work day and then fighting traffic. My caffeine intake is down as of the past couple of weeks just because I havenā€™t taken any preworkout during the week. So, I was surprised when the weight actually moved well on the DE bench sets. Iā€™m not entirely sure Iā€™ll keep DE bench in the rotation since Iā€™m already explosive. Considering every other week with a volume day on the opposing week. I already have it set up to where I do RE bench twice weekly as accessories, but maybe I should do it with a more specific lift too.

Anyway, the remainder of the workout is where the fatigue set in and I wasnā€™t able to get in as much volume per set as I thought I would. No big deal though.

758

Friday - Heavy Squats and DE Deadlift

SSB Squat w/ Belt:
3x385
3x405 - Very hard. RPE 9.5-10
4x3x385

Sumo w/ Belt/Straps:
12x1x425 - 30 sec rest. First time doing sumo in a while. Hip felt mostly fine

A1 - Leg Press - High/Wide Feet:
3x20x270

A2 - Lying Band Pulldown:
3x20x2 Lights

74% of my competition crushes me on the SSB. Man this thing is brutal. If I can get better at it, I canā€™t imagine my back wonā€™t get significantly stronger with it.

Saturday - Heavy Bench

Paused Bench:
3x365 - Wasnā€™t feeling very strong today. Decided to go up to a match PR.
3x385 @ RPE 10 - Turns out this was a 10 lb PR! I had no idea until today (Monday)
4x3x345

CG Incline Pin Press:
4x8x225

HS Low Row:
4x8x270

Cable Fly:
20x20s
2x20x25s

Single Arm Cable Rear Delt Fly:
3x15/15x20

Woop woop. This was a cool surprise once I looked at my PR spreadsheet. I treated the set like I had done it before, because I thought I had, and I wasnā€™t nervous as a result. Iā€™d like to be able to think that way on all of my PR attempts.

759

Monday - RE Squats and DE Deadlift

Paused Squat w/ Belt:
5x4x405 - I think this is a PR

Paused Sumo w/ Belt/Straps - Ohio Power Bar:
15x1x455 - 60 sec rest. Alternated pause at knees and off the ground every 3 reps

Lat Pulldown:
4x10x160 - Facing away from stack, so no leg support holding me down

Hyperextension:
3x10xBW+150

Deadbugs:
3x5/5

Paused squats were very hard by the last rep of each set. My form broke down in the form of my hips shooting up. But my upper back held, so I think the SSB work is already paying off.

I did hook grip up to 405 on the paused sumo and it hurt like a bitch, but I was able to hold on.

760

Tuesday - DE Bench

3 Ct. Paused Bench:
6x3x315

Standing Cable Low Row:
2x15x95
2x15x105

Underhand Triceps Pushdown:
3x15x50

BB Curl - Reverse/Normal:
2x25/25x45

Band Facepull/Pull-Apart:
3x20xDbl Micro

I was having some pec discomfort, so I decided to go with a lower volume day and it went well. No rest period restrictions and a more control focused lift (3 ct pauses) let me avoid any pain.

Third day in a row coming up since I have Christmas plans that will interfere with gym life.