Rebuilding - Week 2 - Day 1
Wide Grip Bench - Middle Fingers on Rings:
5x10x225
Seal Row:
3x8x225
Seal Shrugs:
2x10x225
OHP:
4x10x95 - Real controlled and such
A1 | EZ Bar Curl:
3x12x75
A2 | French Press:
3x15x75
B1 | Band Fly/Press:
3x15/10x2 minis
B2 | Facepull:
3x20x40
High volume benching today. Really really focusing on what my scapula are doing during bench and trying to get them pulled back in general during the day. My injuries started happening basically right when I got out of college and starting sitting at a desk all day, so Iām trying to undo all of that, especially the rounding at the shoulders. I think if I can, then my pecs will have a much easier time with benching.
Rebuilding - Week 2 - Day 2
Belt Squat:
10x45
2x10x90
Squat w/ Belt:
5x3x405
Paused Sumo w/ Belt/Straps:
3x3x495
Sumo w/ Belt/Straps:
3x8x405
A1 | Band Seated Leg Curls:
3x12x2 Light
A2 | Band Crunches:
3x12xAvg
Last time I had 405 on my back was during my meet on May 13 and the last time I squatted 405 without knee wraps was April 2. Thatās 74% of my 1RM PR and thatās 114 days. This is a big step in feeling confidence with my new form and it couldnāt have gone much better. I maintained my spinal position and was able to control my depth without knee pain. Each set was below RPE 7 too.
The only thing I need to get really used to is having my sticking point be at the very bottom of the lift, as opposed to the middle, since I used to bounce past this position. But paused squats are something that will actually help me now, since I wonāt just sink into the pause, Iāll have to control it.
Here are the 5 sets.
Rebuilding - Week 2 - Day 3
A1 | Farmerās Walk:
3 x 50 yds x 230 - Turn around at 25 yds
A2 | Prowler Push - Low/High Handles:
3 x 25/25 yds x Sled+90
Reverse Hyper:
4x15x90
Lat Pulldown:
3x10x150
Cable Curl:
3x10/10x20
Conditioning/extra day. The farmerās and prowler nearly killed me. I donāt think Iāve ever had something wipe me out as fast. I was like, āokay Iāll do like 8 sets of this.ā Nope. I felt pretty weak on the lat pulldowns too, so maybe it just wasnāt an on day for me, but Iāll be trying this again.
Also did some shoulder/pec/quad smashing after.
Rebuilding - Week 2 - Day 4-5
Friday
3 Ct. Eccentric Bench w/ Bands:
3x3x135+Dbl minis
9x2x185+Dbl minis - Alternated 3 grips, wore elbow cuffs
BW Triceps Extension:
20xBW
3x12xBW+Mini
20xBW
Cable Low Row:
12x180
2x12x210
12x180
Side Lying DB Triceps Extension:
2x15/15x20
30/30x20
Seated Facepull:
3x15x40
Maybe forgot an exercise. Idk. Bench was explosive, but my right elbow/triceps is bothering me a bit. Itās the one I strained or something a while back. Donāt want to get into an injury cycle with that.
Saturday
Paused Squat w/ Bands - Belt:
6x3x315+Lights - Bands not doubled, set up a little weird, so not sure of the weight. Kept tension at the bottom though
Snatch Grip Deadlift - Belt/Straps:
4x6x405
A1 | Single Leg Lying Leg Curl:
3x15x25 - This was a plate loaded thing
A2 | Leg Extension:
3x20x90 - Also plate loaded
Standing Ab Pulldown:
3x15x100
Iām home from school for a couple of weeks, so I wonāt be in my usual awesome gym. But this was still a good workout. Squats felt good and I am in control of my pauses with my new form. I used to just sit in the hole, basically just resting there, but now Iām going to get something out of them.
Rebuilding - Week 3 - Days 1-2
Monday
3 Ct. Bench:
5x3x275
Z Press:
10x135 - Standing OHP, then moved to floor
5x5x135
Pull-Ups:
10x5xBW - Various grips, mostly neutral
Machine Row:
3x15x90 - Some kind of X shaped machine that let me focus the stress on my rear delts and rhomboids
A1 | Pec Fly/Press:
2x20/15x20s
A2 | Band Triceps Pushdown/Skullcrusher:
2x20/20xLight
First time using 275 in a few weeks. First rep was actually too explosive and sort of hurt and threw me off balance, so I slowed down and they felt better. The bench was low and super narrow too.
Tuesday
Squat w/ Belt:
3x365
3x405
3x3x425
2x10x315
TnG Sumo w/ Belt/Straps:
4x10x315
Squat Press:
3x15x270 - Various foot positions
Lying Leg Curl:
3x12x110
Abs:
Some things
Another 20 lbs up on squats. These were a little rougher than the 405 sets I did last week. My low back, hips, and elbows were pretty achy coming in, due to yard work, so I think that limited me a bit. But Iām still happy to be confident with my form and stuff. The 10s with 315 after felt really smooth.
Rebuilding - Week 3 - Days 3-4
Wednesday
3 Ct. Eccentric Bench:
5x5x225
Snatch Grip Bent Over Row:
5x12x135
Couple of other light things. This was just a shoot-the-shit workout with a friend at his home gym. Biceps tendons were sore from the 275 sets, so I chose to focus on the eccentric to help them recover.
Thursday
A1 | Squat w/ Belt:
3x315
3x3x365
2x3x315
A2 | Paused Sumo w/ Belt/Straps:
6x3x405
SSB Hypers:
4x12xBar
Squats and deadlift werenāt a true superset, I just alternated the exercises at a moderate pace. The squats werenāt comfortable today, so I just used weights that I could maintain perfect form.
Rebuilding - Week 4 - Day 1
A1 | Lat Face Pulls:
3x20x50 - Face pulls done on a lat pulldown with a bar
A2 | Band Pushdowns:
3x30xMini
TnG Bench:
5x8x245
Single Arm DB Incline Bench:
4x15/15x50
Machine High Row:
10x140+2 dbl minis
4x10x100+2 dbl minis
Cable Overhead Triceps Extension:
3x15x50
Cable Rope Curls:
3x15x50
B1 | Band Curl:
3x20x2 minis
B2 | Band Triceps Kickback:
3x20x2 minis
Lat Face Pull:
3x20x50
Spent the last 3 days in Nashville for a fun trip. 4 days of lifting straight plus 3 days off is not optimal for feeling good on the day back. Definitely felt like shit today and it took me until my 4th set of 245 to feel remotely okay under the bar. But the rest of the light, high volume stuff felt great.
Started with a Matt Wenning style warm-up sort of. Not sure if adding a light bench press in the circuit would be useful, but I will try it. It was done without any rest between sets, so it only took like 3 minutes.
Finished with the face pulls too and they do feel good on the shoulders and light up the traps.
Rebuilding - Week 4 - Day 2
Squat w/ Belt:
5x3x405
Beltless TnG Conventional Deadlift w/ Straps:
4x6x405
12x405 - Burning the hammies, but otherwise had several in the tank
Squat Press:
3x15x270 - First set normal, then 3 ct eccentrics for remaining
Lying Leg Curl:
3x15x90
Abs:
2 sets of McGillās Big 3 with 8 reps per side
This one hit me pretty hard today. I wasnāt feeling it going in, but I was decently strong, so I went with it. The squats werenāt perfect and felt heavy, but Iām still happy to keep getting 405 on my back. Hopefully Iāll feel comfortable enough with my new form to move up soon.
The touch-n-go deadlifts that I do are very controlled, similar to how Jesse Norris does it. Iām really happy about the 12 rep set at the end, because my form was holding up easily. I think the new squat form is strengthening my back and core.
Rebuilding - Week 4 - Day 3
Warm-Up - 3 Rounds, No Rest:
a. Lat Face Pull - 20x50
b. Band Pushdown - 30xMini
c. Single-Arm Cable Press - 15/15x30
Bench:
4x3x275
10x275 - RPE 7-ish
Low Incline DB Bench:
4x10x75s
Incline BB Row:
5x10x195
Incline EZ Bar Curl:
3x15x90
Floor DB Rolling Extensions:
15x27.5s
15x27.5s+Dbl Micro Mini
10x27.5s+Dbl Micro Mini + 5x27.5s - These were rough, took me to failure
Seated Facepulls:
3x15x50
Single-Arm Cable Reverse Fly:
3x15/15x30
Left shoulder is still giving me issues. Whether itās a pec issue, biceps tendon issue, delt issue, or rotator cuff issue, I really canāt tell. But as far as I can tell, it isnāt affecting me too much other than some discomfort and instability. I wasnāt expecting 10 reps on my plus set, but it moved pretty fast despite some instability at the bottom. Regardless, I want the shoulder to feel good before I move up much.
The rest was some bodybuilding style stuff like usual. On DB presses, Iām working on not over-tucking so that I actually hit my pecs with them. Also controlling the eccentric a lot more.
Rebuilding - Week 4 - Day 4 - Saturday
Paused Squat w/ Bands - Belt:
5x3x315+2 Lights
3x3x315 - No bands
1.5 Rep Sumo - Belt/Straps:
4x5x405 - So thatās 10 starts per set
Squat Press:
3x10x360
Cable Pullover:
3x15x50 - Done in sumo stance, mimicking how to use lats in deadlift
Cable Ab Pulldown - Paused:
3x15x85
Nothing too special here. Most of the squats felt solid despite some knee pain. The 1.5 rep deadlifts were very hard. All of my deadlifting over the past couple of weeks has been with a stiff bar since I was home on break.
Rebuilding - Week 5 - Day 1-2
Monday - Back in Augusta
Soft Pause Bench:
5x3x275
2x10x225 - Closer grip (thumb length from smooth)
Viking Press:
4x8x90 - New machine at the gym
Machine Pulldown - Supinated:
4x10x230 - Another new machine. Very high row. Itās a Watson Front Pulldown
Floor DB Rolling Extensions:
3x15x30s
DB Curls:
3x12x35s
Lying Rear Delt Raise:
15x20s
2x15x20s+Micro Mini
Blah. Left shoulder is still giving me issues and I didnāt feel very in control today. Not much to comment other than that.
Tuesday
Sumo w/ Belt/Straps:
3x495
3x545
3x585 - 3RM PR! Really bad last rep with a misgroove at the top, leading to downward motionā¦twice. But counting it.
3x3x495
Beltless Cambered SSB Squat:
6x245
3x6x295 - New bar at the gym. Canāt tell if itās easier or harder than the normal SSB, but itās still hard AF as expected
Vertical Leg Press:
2x10x290
2x10x190 - Another new machine
Standing Single Leg Curl:
12/12x"14" - Stack is 18 plates, marked as such, so idk what the weight is
12/12x"16"
12/12x"18" + 12/12x"14" - Drop set
Deadbugs - Arms Isometrically Resisted with Band:
4x8/8xMini
This was basically an impromptu test day for deadlifts, just because I hadnāt pulled on a deadlift bar in a couple of weeks and wanted to have fun. I think the TnG and 1.5 rep pulls helped me learn how to open up my hips and get closer to the bar, so I will likely keep those in the rotation. Video is below of the 545 and 585 sets to show the comical 3rd rep of 585.
IG video link.
I love how your log is set up.
Thank you! Any specific reason? Iāve always been amused that my log has a ton of views, but people rarely say anything. haha
Rebuilding - Week 5 - Days 3-4
Thursday
Lat Face Pulls:
3x20x90
Soft Pause Bench:
6x5x275
A1 | Duffalo Bar Bench:
4x8x195
A2 | Seal Row:
4x15x135 - Light because I retracted my scapula prior to every rep, like a horizontal shrug then row
B1 | Single-Arm Cable Triceps Pushdown - Reverse/Normal Grip Supersets:
3x10/10x25
B2 | Lat Face Pulls:
3x20x90
Bench didnāt feel great. I wanted to get something other than a 5x3 in though. The left shoulder is still bothering me and so is my right triceps. The next day, I asked one of my professors about the shoulder and he believes itās the biceps tendon. He suggests doing 5x20s in place of my pressing strength work and also external rotation and lower trap exercises, so that is what Iām going to do.
Saturday
Cambered Bar Box Squats w/ Chains:
4x2x330+75
6x2x330+120
Beltless TnG Conventional Deadlift - Straps:
4x6x405
Standing Single Leg Curl - Pause at Top:
4x12x"14/18"
Mountain Climber Planks - Band Resisted:
3x10/10 - Short Mini
This was done hungover, so I took it very slowly. This allowed me to go somewhat heavy on the squats since I was recovering fully between sets. The first couple of sets with only 2 chains per side were throwing me off because both the cambered bar and the chains basically keep the weight shifted forward at the bottom, so it was doubly hard. But once I got the hang of it, it felt good.
Getting better at TnG deadlifts. Hopefully they translate well to competition form.
Rebuilding - Week 5 - Day 5
Blackburns:
3x0:30x5s - Shoulder prehab/warm-up. Google āBlackburns Dan Blewettā. I did them in a dynamic way holding 5 lb plates and moving in a random sequence slowly for 30 seconds
A1 | Cable Low Row:
10, 12, 15, 12, 10 x 180
A2 | Incline Push-Ups:
5x20xBW - Like I said in the previous post, pressing will be replaced with this type of stuff for a couple of weeks
B1 | Grenade Handle Triceps Pushdown:
3x12x55
B2 | Grenade Handle Curls:
3x12x40
C1 | Chaos Push-Ups:
3x10xBW - These are push-ups done on a band, another Googleable thing
C2 | Lat Pulldown - Semi-supinated MagGrip:
3x10x150
D1 | Band Shoulder External Rotations:
3x15/15xMicro Mini
D2 | Band Scapular Retraction/Depression:
3x15/15xLight
I wasnāt really planning on going to the gym today, but I decided to go ahead and get some healthy shoulder focused stuff in. Pretty much everything I did was there for getting my bench back in working order.
Chaos push-ups are very hard but I could see them being really useful. The last two exercises were killer on my lower traps and shoulders. They pulled my posture right back into position after the set, so they will a big focus for the next couple of weeks.
I frequent your log, but have really noThing to say because you seem to have such a great handle on things. Ha
Haha it doesnāt feel like I have a handle on things most of the time. Thanks for following along though!
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Rebuilding - Week 6 - Day 1
Squat w/ Belt:
5x2x405
2 Ct. Paused Squat w/ Belt:
3x3x315
Beltless Paused Sumo - Straps:
3x5x405
Reverse Hyper:
15xBW+50
3x15xBW+100
DB Curls:
3x15x25s
GHR:
3x12xBW
Pretty disappointing session. I felt weak and the weights felt heavy. Started out with some low back and hip instability, which did go away, but my left shoulder was getting painful with the bar pushing on it. Hopefully the work Iām doing on it will get that fixed soon.
I may just let this be a deload week since this felt so bad. I assuming I can get everything fixed up in the next 6 weeks, Iād like to start an actual program.
Rebuilding - Week 6 - Day 2 - Wednesday
Bench:
5x20x135 - Couple sets feet up, varied grips slightly
Bamboo Bar Bench:
3x10x72 - Hanging KBs
Chest-Supported Incline BB Row:
3x12x225
Band Seated Overhead Triceps Extension:
3x20x2 Minis
A1 | Cable Fly:
3x20x20s
A2 | Band Shoulder External Rotation:
3x10xMini
Band Scapular Retraction/Depression:
3x15xDbl Mini
Pretty boring workout since Iām not doing any real pressing. The benching felt fine on the anterior shoulder, but the posterior portions were getting tight as hell. Maybe from trying to stay tight for such long sets and externally rotating into the bar? Iām not sure.
Rebuilding - Week 6 - Day 3-4
Friday
Squat w/ Bands - Belt:
8x3x315+Lights (+100 lbs at top) - Bought a luggage scale to measure band tension
Conventional Deadlift w/ Belt/Straps:
7x1x495
1x585 - Rounded, but pretty fast for doing everything before it
Vertical Leg Press - Single Leg:
3x10x100
Saturday
Football for 2 hours
Sunday
FatGripz Bench w/ Bands:
2x10x135
4x10x135+Dbl Minis (+70 at top)
Single Arm DB Row - Straps:
10/10x80s
10/10x120s
8/8x160s
6/6x200s - First time trying these out. Mostly hard on my core honestly. Wore my belt to be safe too
Machine Pulldown - Supinated:
10x90
10x180
10x230
13x270+13x180+13x90 - Dropset
Cable Low Row - Semi-Supinated Close MagGrip:
12x105
12x150
12x180
12x205
DB Concentration Curls:
15/15x30
15/15x35
15/15x40
DB Squeeze Curls:
2x20x20s
I lifted with a friend/classmate on Sunday and decided to do his bodybuilding back/bis day after my shitty light pressing. I usually donāt include warm-ups in the log, but he counts those towards his working sets. It was a good workout and my lats actually cramped for the first time ever some time later. lol
I think I have more hip mobility to gain before squats can improve, especially in the left hip. I didnāt realize it until I did the single leg press and my knee was hurting and noticed that I was guarding from externally rotating the hip.
Also, football or something may have tweaked my right knee a bit. I bought cleats, so I could just be sore from the extra torque I havenāt felt in a while.
So, lots of things to still work on before I can get into really lifting again, unfortunately.