TCam's Log - The Road to Elite

Training Training Logs
1441

Hybrid Conjugate - Volume Phase

Week 2/6 - Day 2

Paused Bench:
6x275
6x295
6x315 - RPE 8

Wide TnG Grip Bench:
2x12x245

A1 | Triceps Pushdown w/ Bandles:
20x110
2x15x110

A2 | EZ Bar Curls:
20x55
2x15x55

Chest-Supported Incline Lever Row:
4x8/8x55 - Jammer attachments at their lowest position on an incline bench

B1 | Trap Bar OHP:
2x25x60

B2 | Lat Pulldown - Wide Grip:
2x25x100

Normal bench continues to feel difficult and spooky, but it’s still progress towards feeling good about it. Decided against any relatively heavy volume and went with the touch and go wide grip, which was harder than pausing since timing leg drive is difficult that way, for me. Writing this the next day and my pecs are big sore.

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1442

Hybrid Conjugate - Volume Phase

Week 2/6 - Day 3

Paused Conventional Deadlift w/ Belt:
3x8x418

Beltless Pin Squats w/ Flats:
5x5x315

Plus accessories

Week 2/6 - Day 4

DB Incline Bench:
5x12x90s

Machine High Row
Triceps Pushdown
Machine OHP
Machine Preacher Curl

Forgot to log these days, but this was the gist. The deadlifts felt better than expected, so I went up at the same rep scheme. Cut the intensity and increased the volume on that day’s squats (from 5x2x405 last week).

Week 3/6 - Day 1

Squat w/ Chains (+75) - Belt/Oly Shoes:
3x5x365+75
10x365+75 @ RPE 8 - PR, closest PR is 7x375+75 @ 7.5

Sumo w/ Belt/Straps:
2x2x525
6x405 - Double paused

Leg Extension
Hypers w/ SSB
Cable Wood Choppers

Decided to go with the chains today due to my left quad pain that I’ve been having, but that hasn’t been affecting the lifts, for the last few weeks. Not terrible, but something to keep an eye on. So, I underloaded the bottom position and got this PR!

I thought it was going to be rough after feeling the previous 3 sets, but it wasn’t bad at all. I was going to cap myself around RPE 9, but was aiming for 10 reps.

Deadlifts felt good warming up but then the top sets didn’t. I was helping someone with things at the same time, so I just backed off there.

1443

Conjugate Hybrid - Volume Phase

RIP Louie Simmons
Week 3/6 - Day 2

Paused Close Grip Floor Press:
6x275
2x8x295 - RPE not especially high, but enough pec discomfort to cut the volume at this load here
20x225 - Wide grip, very easy

Seated Football Bar OHP:
20x95
16x95
12x95

A1 | Incline Band Overhead Triceps Extension:
15x2 Lights
12x2 Lights
10x2 Lights

A2 | EZ Bar Curl Drop Sets:
15 + 12 x 60 + 40
12 + 12 x 60 + 40
12 + 10 x 60 + 40

Lat Pulldown:
2x15x50 - Behind the neck, paused
2x15x120 - Normal

Cable Triceps Kickback
2x15/15x40

This was decent, but not amazing. I wanted to get more sets of 8 on floor press, but it wasn’t there today. Could (maybe should) have backed down to 275 again to finish it out. Not too worried about it though, just going to keep moving forward.

1444

Conjugate Hybrid - Volume Phase

Week 3/6 - Day 3

Conventional Deadlift w/ Chains (+65) - Belt/Straps:
2x8x405+65
15x405+65 - PR, I suppose

Beltless Pin Squat - Flats:
3x5x315 - Cut back on these a bit

Cable Sissy Squat:
2x20x120

Standing Leg Curl:
2 x 10 + 10 x 60 + 40

Hanging Leg Raise:
2x20xBW

In honor of Louie’s passing, I switched from paused to chains for my conventional variation and went for an AMRAP for fun. All felt good with it!

Still having some quad discomfort on the squats, despite performance being fine, so I went ahead and cut the volume on those leading into the deload next week.

1445

Conjugate Hybrid - Volume Phase

Week 3/6 - Day 4

Paused Bench:
3x8x275
19x225 - Miscounted to 20

Alternating DB Meadows Row:
3x10/10x85

Single Arm Cable Low Row:
2x15/15x70

Cable Fly:
3 hard sets with 45-60 lbs per side high and low positions

Cable Lateral Raises:
2 hard sets amount with 30-40 lbs per side

Cable Shoulder ER:
70 reps at 25 lbs mixed between 0 and 90 degrees of abduction

Pretty standard session here. Bench was around RPE 6 on average, just getting some reps in. Goal with the next wave of bench will be to work primarily above 315 before we head into a strength phase. But it’s also time to start adding in some accommodating resistance.

1446

Love the work, keep it going

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1447

Conjugate Hybrid - Volume Phase

Week 4/6 - Deload - Day 1

Squat w/ Bands - Belt/Oly Shoes:
4x3x315+135 (Lights)
3x3x315 - 4 ct eccentrics

A1 | Hypers:
2x15xBW+60

A2 | Cable Sissy Squat:
15x120
15x150

B1 | Lat Pulldown - Semi-Supinated MAG Grip:
2x15x120

B2 | Lat Pulldown - Wide Grip BTN to Squat Position:
2x15x60

Cable Side Bends and Rotational Work

Wew lad those bands were setup to a lot of tension. I’ve previously measured them to be about 100 lbs added at the top and it turns out the most band tension I’ve used was +150 lbs with just 225, so bar weight being 315 with 135 added up to feel like a shitload. But, they all moved decently well regardless. Volume was low for the deload.

No deadlifts for today. Just accessories.

1448

Conjugate Hybrid - Volume Phase

Week 4/6 - Deload - Day 2

Paused Wide Grip Bench:
3x3x315

A1 | Triceps Pushdown:
3x15-20x90-110

A2 | Push-Ups:
3x15xBW

Chest-Supported T-Bar Row:
2x12x90

Machine Pec Fly:
10/10/10x110 - “21s” but with 10s instead of 7s (Bottom half > Top half > Full ROM)

Lateral Raises:
20x20s
15x30s

Simple workout here, just feeling out some weight on bench and trying to get the pecs feeling better with the push-ups and flyes.

Edit:
The Rest of The Week

I went in for Day 3 and felt like pure garbage. Deadlifting 405 was difficult and squatted just up to 225 before deciding to pack it in. Day 4 didn’t happen as the result of traveling. Perhaps the banded squats were too much at the time and I needed a bigger deload, because the next workout was good.

1449

Conjugate Hybrid - Volume Phase

Week 4/6 - Day 1

Squat w/ Belt/Oly Shoes:
3x5x405
10x405 - PR is 12, so not far off

Hyper:
10x90
10x135
12x135 + 8x90 + 5x45 + 5xBW - Dropset

Leg Press - Quad Focused - Myo-Rep Cluster (3 Breaths Between):
13+5+3 x 360
10+5+3 x 360

Lying Leg Curl - Myo-Rep Cluster:
12+5+3 x 70 - Biased loading toward shortened position

KB Sidebends:
3x10/10x50

Implemented the RP guys’ version of clusters or myo-reps today for multiple exercises and I think this is how I’m going to do a lot of my accessories from now on. Things got done quickly and very effectively.

Probably helps the effectiveness by hitting 25 reps with 405 right before though. The 3x5 leading up to it was solid for the most part, so I decided to knock out the remaining 2x5 on the 5x5 I was hoping for.

I’ve called back before to one particular workout that seemed to really trigger my bilateral quad tendinopathy a few years back and marked the beginning of my strength plateau. It was a 5x5+ with 455 with 7 on the AMRAP. It was by a pretty wide margin my best non-1RM squat day. It would be great to be able to beat that with the capacity to recover from it, because what that day really marked was my peak all time squat strength. Got a ways to go, but today was a good indicator day.

1450

Conjugate Hybrid - Volume Phase

Week 4/6 - Day 2

Paused Bench:
5x5x315 - First 2 sets felt weak, moved the grip in by a finger and it felt much better, still capped at 5s though

Football Bar OHP - Myo-Rep Cluster:
13+5+3 x 115
10+4+4 x 115

Cable Low Row - Myo-Rep Cluster:
12+5+3 x 200
10+4+3 x 200

A1 | Triceps Pushdown - Leaned Over Skullcrusher Angle:
15x100
15x130
12x130 + 7x100 + 5x70 - Dropset

A2 | DB Spider Curl - Dropsets
15+15 x 30+15
10+12 x 30+15

Pecs are still feeling iffy day-to-day for whatever reason. Working around it while working on them via warm-ups, but I need to work in more recovery and push-up variations.

Last couple of sets at 315 moved easily with no issue, likely need to vary my grip width more often, the same way I’m alternating flats and Oly shoes for squats for my knees and hips.

Still enjoying the heavier myo-rep cluster style, but I don’t think it’s appropriate for a standing OHP. Too much inherent instability vs. the effect that’s actually desired with that lift.

1451

Conjugate Hybrid - Volume Phase

Week 5/6 - Day 3

Sumo w/ Belt/Straps:
2x4x545 - Not easy
16x495 - Oh, well okay. +1 rep PR. Video here.

Paused Squat w/ Belt/Flats:
3x3x375

GHR Hyper w/ Bent Knees:
3x15xBW+20

Cable Wood Choppers:
Couple sets of 10-15

Definitely not much of a volume focused session, but that’s okay. I need to be working with 545+ more often because it’s feeling heavy despite clearly being at PR levels for lower weights. So I’m conditioned for high reps currently, but I need to be prepared for heavy weights heading into the strength phase.

Week 5/6 - Day 4

Incline Bench - Moderate Grip:
6x225
5x255
3x6x225 - Paused

EZ Bar + Band Skullcrusher:
12x60+2 Minis
10x60+2 Minis + 5x60 + 7x1 Mini - Dropset

Seated Cable Chest Press - High Angle (Sternal/Costal Pecs):
15/15x45
15/15x65
15/15x85

Lat Pulldown w/ Angles90 Grip - Myo-Rep Clusters:
12+5+4 x 150
12+5+5 x 150

Cable Rear Delts:
2x15x60

Good mostly bodybuilding day here!

1452

Conjugate Hybrid - Volume Phase

Week 6/6 - Day 1

SSB Squat w/ Belt/Oly Shoes:
5x6x390 - Possibly a volume PR

Leg Press w/ Oly Shoes - Myo-Rep Clusters:
12+5+3 x 450
12+4+3 x 450

Beltless Conventional Deadlift - 5 Ct Stiff Legged Eccentric + Normal Paused Concentric:
3x6x315

Seated Leg Curl - Myo-Rep Clusters:
10+8+4 x 120
12+6+4 x 100

I’ve been having some really deep aching right foot pain for the past couple of days and I think it was from walking to the dog park through a rocky trail with my Notorious Lift shoes on after the gym on Saturday. It hurt like shit but I didn’t think about it after it was done until now. Feels like a bone bruise or something. Very hard to walk on. So protip: Those shoes are ultra minimalist without the insole, don’t walk on small rocks.

Regardless, I went into this session yesterday not sure how squatting would feel. But it was clearly fine, no pain at all actually. Unfortunately later last night the pain went up and now today it’s worse. Not sure what the rest of the week will entail.

But I’m still really happy with how these squats went. I still had some upper back rounding with the SSB, but I’m able to control it much better than I have been able to previously.

1453

Conjugate Hybrid - Volume Phase

Week 6/6 - Day 1

Paused Bench:
3x345 @ RPE 7
8, 6, 6 @ 315

Mostly forget the specifics of the accessories by now, but DB high incline, triceps pushdown, lat pulldown, and cable curls were done.

345 felt heavy, but moved well. Just an overwarm set for the volume backdowns.

Day 3

Wide Stance Squats - Belt/Flats:
2x3x315
2x8x315

2.5" Conventional Block Pull w/ Belt/Straps:
3x5x375

GHR w/ Band:
2x15xBW+Monster Mini

Leg Extension - Paused:
20x100
20x130
20x160

Hyper:
2x15xBW+80

Testing out loading the foot with the plantar fasciitis going on, so I capped myself on squats to 315 to assess afterwards. All felt easy and the foot is continuing to improve.

Deadlifts were trash and still didn’t want to load the foot much, so didn’t push anything there. Foot is sitting at about 80% now, so that last 20% is always a bitch to clear, but I can train on it.

Day 4

Incline Bench:
3x255
3x275
3x305 - 10 lb PR!

A1 | DB Floor Press:
2x20x90s

A2 | Chest Supported Row w/ American Press Bar:
2x15x175

Seated Cable Chest Press - High Angle (Sternal/Costal Pecs):
2x15x80

Band Cross-Over Rear Delt Fly:
2x20xMinis

Very happy with hitting over 300 for reps on incline. I first hit 315 for a single like.. 6 years ago or more? Then I did 3x295 in July 2019 for a PR, but other than those, I haven’t tried to improve those numbers. Interested to see how actually getting stronger on incline might affect my normal bench.

1454

Hybrid Conjugate - Strength Phase

Week 1/6 - Day 1

Paused Squat w/ Belt/Oly Shoes:
3x405
3x435
3x455 - PR! Watch here!
3x5x315

Sumo w/ Belt - Hook Grip:
10x1x463 - 30 seconds rest, ow my thumbs

Lunge Crawls:
2x10/10

Step Ups - Slow Eccentric:
2x15/15

Really, really happy with this PR today. Not just because of it being a PR, but because generally when I go from a couple of months without touching heavier weights, it feels like it’s crushing me, but this felt solid and very controlled. See the video above.

Week 1/6 - Day 2

Paused Bench w/ Chains (+70):
2x2x295+70
5x295+70 - Failed on 6th

A1 | Cable Skullcrusher:
15x110
15x130
15x150

A2 | Lat Pulldown:
10x180
10x200
10x220

Rear Delt Fly Complex:
3 x 10+5+5 x 30s - Shoulder: Horizontal abduction + Extension at 30 deg abduction + Extension

Cable Curl:
Superset incline/lengthened position and normal shortened position

Top set was an attempt at a 20 lb PR in the 6RM. Would have gotten it at 285-290, but I didn’t go for that. Still a good set though.

1455

Hybrid Conjugate - Strength Phase
Week 1/6 - Day 2

Wide Stance Squat w/ Belt/Flats:
6x3x365

Sumo w/ Belt/Straps:
3x5x485

A1 | Single Leg Leg Press:
2x20/20x90

A2 | GHR:
3x12xBW+25

Hanging Leg Raise:
2x20

I was able to actually get to depth and stay in a decent position with wide stance for once. This is a good sign that I’m gaining some control and likely leg strength relative to my back. I would usually lean way forward here. Hips were also really fatigued after these, so I know I’m doing something different.

Sumo wasn’t easy as a result, but that’s okay. I’ll be alternating weeks for squat/deadlift for which will be heavy and which will be more of a 5-6 rep range submax day, like I did here with deadlifts.

Week 1/6 - Day 4

A1 | Mid-Incline DB Press:
2x8x105s
15x105s

A2 | Inverted Row:
4x10xBW

Smith-Machine Flexion/Extension Row:
15x145
12x145

B1 | Lat Pulldown - Wide Grip:
2x12x110

B2 | Band Triceps Pushdown:
33, 15, 12 x 2 Monster Minis

DB Hammer Curls - Myo-Rep Clusters:
15, 12, 8 x 30s
12, 8, 6 x 30s

Good day, nothing to note particularly.

1456

Hybrid Conjugate - Strength Phase

Week 2/6 - Day 1

Squat w/ Chains (+75) - Oly Shoes:
3x5x365+75
3x365+75 + Catastrophic failure - The carabiner on the right side dislodged itself rubbing on the rest of the chains and disconnected right after I completed my 3rd rep. Suddenly having 37.5 lbs extra on one side brought me down from the top and I had to bail as I hit the bottom. Video here

Sumo RDL w/ Belt/Straps:
3x5x485

A1 | Sissy Squat on Belt Squat:
3x8x180 - Very hard

A2 | Seated Leg Curl:
15x110
13+8+6 x 130 - Myo-rep cluster

DB Side Bend:
2x15/15x70

I had no pain at all following the squat catastrophe, but the following day, my low back big time freaked out with significant pain. Sometimes it takes a bit to happen that way. Fortunately I wasn’t under a max effort load and this was my submax day. I wasn’t sure if I wanted to do 3 or 4 sets at about RPE 7-8, so I guess the chains decided for me lol

I’ll recover shortly via my own low back protocol and be back to normal soon enough. Definitely frustrating and very painful, but shit happens.

Day 2

Feet Up Bench:
6x275
6x315
2x4x315

A1 | Deficit Push-Ups:
5x20

A2 | Chest Supported Cable Row:
3x15x140 - Partials at the end of each

Back Rehab Things

Bench was alright with the feet up, though getting off and on the bench was painful. The push-up position was really painful, so I see planks in my future for this rehab.

Did some banded lumbar flexion/extension and unweighted half-kneeling windmills. Later I lied prone propped up into lumbar extension, since extension is limited and painful.

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1457

Hybrid Conjugate - Strength Phase
Week 3 - Day 1 - Injury Recovery

Beltless Paused Squat w/ Oly Shoes:
3x10x225

Pendulum Squat on Belt Squat (Better description than sissy squat, same as I’ve been doing though):
3x10x180

DB Deadlift w/ Hips Banded:
2x10x80s + Avg band

Push-Up Position Banded Plank:
3 x 3 x 10 sec w/ Avg band

KB Half-Kneeling Windmill:
2x8/8x16

Lat Pulldown:
20x120

This injury just happened to come when I had a weekend trip to the beach planned, so I didn’t bother trying to lift for the rest of the week. Days 1 and 2 following the mishap were very painful with most movements, and then on Day 3 it began clearing up. Driving 4 hours both ways to the beach and back wasn’t awesome for it, but no big deal.

I did this workout with mostly minimal discomfort and no real pain to speak of. The squats were the only things that provided any negative feelings and it was mostly if I allowed myself to lean forward a bit at the top. More of a reactive spasm to avoid that, probably. Happy with the immediate progress though. I’ll continue pushing the boundaries conservatively.

1458

Im sorry to hear about the injury, pretty epic bail on the squat. Hopefully you get back to 100% without too much trouble.

1459

@atlas13 Thank you! I think I’m around 90% better already. Just a matter of reintroducing heavy squats and deads to see what happens.

1460

Hybrid Conjugate - Strength Phase

Week 3/6 - Day 2

Reverse Band Bench (~30-35 off at the bottom, 0 mid-way up):
3x3x365

Close Grip Bench:
2x15x225

A1 | Lat Pulldown:
4x15x150

A2 | Cable Tate Press w/ Bandles:
15x70
2x15x90

DB Lying Shoulder Extension:
2x20x20s

Plate Carry:
2 x 250 ft x 55 - Carried in front with 90 deg elbow flexion, for low back rehab

Half-Kneeling Moving Pallof:
2x12/12xMonster Mini

Had some issues with unracking today with some right pec discomfort. It wasn’t an issue during the press itself, but benching in the rack on a free bench changed some positioning. So, stayed conservative with the RPE, which was around an 8.5, instead of going up to a 3RM.

Otherwise it was a good workout!

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