Conventional Block Pull - 5" Below Kneecap
6 x 135 x 1
225 x 1
3 x 315 x 1
405 x 1
495 x 1
545 x 1
610 x 2 RIR 1-2 (Pec Cramp)
Barbell Row
315 x 8
365 x 4
415 x 8
Tempo Paused Squat - 3-1
135 x 7
225 x 7
245 x 7
Ed Coan Suitcase Holds
45 x 15s
115 x 15s
3 x 135 x 15s
Paused Larsen Press
135 x 7
3 x 185 x 7
Lots of rep work and compounds today. 610 felt TOUGH, wasn’t prepared for the grind. Also ended up cramping pretty bad. Rows turned out decently good and is a PR in terms of control.
Tempo Squats and Larsen Pressing for recovery and technique reasons, decided to skip out on any accessory work because I felt smoked after all this.
Suitcase Holds were absolutely brutal. Hands locked up and super shaky afterwards. I like it.
Video for technique reasons , was a little sloppy but I’ll take it. Can tell how much the physique is popping out, cut is paying off haha
There could be some general wear and tear issues at play as I’m going high frequency at the moment but I did some pallof presses today which have always been a favourite of mine and I was definitely weaker than usual. Going to have a couple of weeks of hitting obliques and abs alternately and see how we go.
Not heard of these before, going to take a look on youtube a bit later and check it out.
I have been unironically eating pizza sprinkled with cinnamon roll flavor almost every night to keep my sanity at bay.
I HIGHLY recommend it on cheese stuff crust pizza from Di Giorno. I know the cinnamon is a weird combo but it’s incredible. Especially biting into the melty cheese, tastes like cinnabon flavored, cheese stuffed bread
Paused Incline Bench - Mid Grip
135 x 8
135 x 4
185 x 5
225 x 2
260 x 6 (Miscounted) RIR 5
Incline DB Flye (Paused at bottom)
45 x 15
60 x 12
70 x 10
DB Skullcrusher (One DB Each Hand)
30 x 15
50 x 12 RIR 3-4 (stopped here)
Plate Loaded Dip
3p x 10
5p x 10
6p x 10
2 x 7p x 10
Pete Rubish Hyperextension
135 x 8
185 x 6
235 x 4
275 x 8 RIR 4
Kneeling Cable Crunch (Facing Away)
140 x 8
Full Stack
2 sets of 12
Week 5 of the cut going strong. Down to 218.
Honestly, 260 on the incline felt easy as hell. It didn’t feel like I needed to make it up with another set with how many reps I had left, so I called it there after I miscounted. Gives me room to recover.
Incline Flyes are progressing quickly, which is expected. Part of this is muscle memory.
I’m gonna back off on the incline benching for a couple sessions though, feel something starting to crop up. Using that time to hit some Log Press PRs.
My tricep tendon itself feels just… Weird on the Skullcrusher. Its hard to explain. I’m usually not sketched out with movements but there’s a little voice telling me to back off. I was originally supposed to do 60x10 but it just didn’t feel right with the 50s. Its still a PR. Can’t be too greedy.
The switch back to my old Off-season type routine is a much needed break. I am significantly stronger in almost all my accessories. Alot of this strength uptick is due to 1) Muscle Memory and 2) Recruiting the mass i’ve gained since my last offseason period (which was maybe… 4-5 months ago?). What this tell’s me is that I did get genuinely stronger and bigger even with the pure, minimal strength training I was doing. Which is interesting to see.
Recovery wise, I’m doing great. I’m pretty sore the day after each workout but it’s not terrible. There’s nothing concerning popping up. But this will change around Week 8 (as it always does).
Nutrition wise, I still eat junk shit but it’s cleaned up significantly (Very little sugars and high GI carbs, bread, cereal and fast food are a big one i’ve avoided, also dairy), outside of pizza which is my kryptonite, i’ve been doing pretty good. I’ve mainly been cooking meals at home. I’m averaging about 18 hours fasting and my diet has slowly shifted more towards an OMAD-esque format.
Training:
Bench
Upper Body Lifts like the Log Press and Incline Bench are progressing very rapidly. Ever since I started Log Pressing (Strict, not a push press) it feels like my Incline Bench has been boosted up significantly. Almost session to session at this point.
I still have a big amount of room to grow on my Log Press. My goals here are to hit 180x15 reps. Bit ambitious but won’t know till I try.
After this goal is reached, my plan is to switch back to the Seated OHP. I know a Strict Standing Press (Let’s not even mention the fucking akward log shape), is significantly harder than seated. I can’t even imagine how easy it’ll feel going back to my seated OHP after a good 10-12 weeks of this.
Incline Bench goals will be adjusted. With the way it’s progressing, 275 for 12 would be a good goal to shoot for and build up a significant base for my Seated OHP and Larsen Press. I’ll give it a 7-8 week time frame.
Squat:
Alright. At first I was thinking Tempo Pauses would be good, but I said fuck that, I don’t think it’ll help me much outside of good positioning and TUT (which would indirectly help me) but I think it’s going to fuck up my style of squatting in wraps where the objective is NOT to go slow after I ingrain that movement pattern.
I didn’t realize my gym has 60lb chains. I’m thinking that Paused Squatting with Chains is the way i’m going forward. This would serve me better. Don’t quote me on this because I’m not sure if I saw 1 or 2. If it’s only 1 then fuck me I guess.
If that’s not an option, i’ll just go back to Yury Belkin’s Squat Recommendation with the Frog Stance, that shit got my adductors extremely strong. I think I left off at 480x7. I’d be focused on trying to match my paused squat PR. These are a magnitude harder.
Deadlift/Back Work
Unlike the Squat and Bench, I don’t have as much focused structure here. I’m taking a blunt force approach which i’ve kinda always adopted with my Back. Just focused on getting every single thing here brutally strong.
Pretty much the kitchen sink approach. Focused on driving my Weighted Pullups up, Rows (DB and Barbell), Bunch of Lat work since i’m lagging there, fuck ton of block pulls, core work and hyperextensions. Avoiding RDLs though, I think Barbell Rows smoke it enough.
After this Deficit run, i’ll be lowering the deficit down to 1" and adding a 2-3 second pause. I feel like it’ll be just enough of a deficit to make it hard while also not seriously messing up my positioning.
Notes on raw training:
The last 2-3 weeks i’ve noticed a couple things. My wrists no longer cock back when i’m doing any type of pressing. They stay tight and stacked the entire way through every movement. I attribute this to them actually getting stronger now that I don’t have wrist wraps to hide behind.
My Core genuinely feels like a bunch of steel cables. I no longer have any give even on maximal deadlift attempts or maximal squat attempts. Not using a belt has also really helped fix alot of old habits I had, especially with bracing.
Other Notes
I’m always listening to podcasts. Lately it’s been alot of Pete Rubish and Alexander Bromley. I have a few videos I might link.
The philosophy i’ve adopted entirely is John Haack’s idea of constant, steady progression. This ties into Ed Coan’s idea of keeping training fun. Ever since i’ve adopted this philosophy, training has seemed to just… make sense. It genuinely feels like it all works like clockwork and I don’t need anything else but time and staying injury free. I eat good, rest enough, put some thought into my variations, and I get stronger. That simple, haha.
Colorado will be a big step in the right direction. There’s plenty more powerlifters there and powerlifting gyms are much more common. They’ll set me straight and tell me what to do and what to fix. The “Big fish in a small pond” mentality is something I don’t want to be in. I want a good crew that can push me and I want to learn from those stronger than me.
Conventional Beltless Block Pull - 5" Below Kneecap
135 x 2
225 x 1
315 x 1
405 x 1
495 x 1
610 x 2 RIR 2
Paused Leg Press - Conventional DL Stance
235 x 4
315 x 4
405 x 4
495 x 4
585 x 4
675 x 4
765 x 4 RIR 3
Seated Leg Curl
135 x 8
165 x 8 (?)
3 x 220 x 8 RIR 5-6
Weighted Pullups (DL Width Grip)
BW x 12
BW + 25lbs
2 Sets of 15 Reps RIR 2
Reverse Grip Lat Pulldown with Cable Flye
140 x 8
170 x 4
2 x 220 x 8 RIR 1
PR Session, everything improved one way or another. Down to 217.
Block Pulls felt easier this time around, I’m adapting quickly. I’d say I need another week or so to feel confident with doing this from a deficit.
Seated Leg Curls are a big weakness of mine and these felt easy. I can definitely go up to the full stack next time. Leg Press also felt great now that I have a sleeve I can put on for my fucked up knee, I’d like to work up to 1000lbs eventually on these because it’s a big round number.
Pullups are also feeling so damn strong. They haven’t been like this ever.
Larsen Press - Static Holds (110% of Max)
135 x 15s
225 x 15s
315 x 15s
365 x 15s
395 x 15s
410 x 15s
Standing Log Press
70 x 12
115 x 14 RIR 3-4
175 x 9 (Counted one extra) RIR 2
Incline DB Flye (Paused At Bottom)
60 x 10
70 x 10
80 x 10 RIR 5-6
Neutral Grip Shoulder Press Machine
100 x 8
150 x 8
2 x 220 x 8 RIR 2
Rear Delt Flye Machine
140 x 12
2 x 190 x 10 RIR 3-4
Sitting Face Pull w/ Rope (Pause at Contraction, Slow Tempo)
140 x 12
190 x 10
2 x 230 x 8 RIR 5+
Larsen Press Paused - Close Grip (Technique Stuff)
3 x 155 x 7
Paused Beltless Squat (Technique Stuff)
3 x 205 x 7
Taking it straight from my playbook with an OG Workout Sesh haha. Haven’t done these accessories or rep ranges in a long time, feels nice going back home lol.
Incline DB Flyes are a PR in terms of Effort and Control. One of my goals is to match my incline db press PR from 2 years ago (the last time I did them) which was 120x10 (?) I think. I am confident I can hit this. In the next 5-6 weeks.
Log Press was a huge PR. I accidently counted another rep, which my training partner pointed out. PRs on the shoulder press machine.
Barely ate yesterday and ended up dropping another half a lb or so.
Standing Log Press
70 x 15
115 x 16 RIR 5+
175 x 10 RIR 1-2
Incline DB Flye (Paused At Bottom)
70 x 10
2 x 80 x 13 RIR 3
DB Skullcrusher
40 x 17 RIR 5
50 X 14 (Gassed out here) RIR 0
Plate Loaded Dip
2p x 4
4p x 4
6p x 4
7p x 12 RIR 4
Overhead Tricep Extension (Slow Tempo)
140 x 8
2 x 190 x 8 RIR 4-5
Deficit Conventional Deadlift (Technique)
8 x 225 x 1
3 x 315 x 1
Larsen Press Paused - Close Grip (Technique)
3 x 155 x 7
Super gassed the entire workout, jittery and shaky. Coming in fasted. PRs on the Log Press, Skullcrushers and DB Flyes though. I’m going to be going back to the incline next session depending on how I feel, 270x7 should be a walk in the park.
Tomorrow will be some intense upper back destruction, going to be loading up on Thanksgiving food. Partially the reason I did technique pulls today.
And a note on the technique stuff, I finally found what I was doing wrong with my deads as well. It’s a positioning issue. Just got to work on being consistent with the pull.
Don’t have dental insurance, so if the dentist doesn’t offer some sort of a payment plan or it’s gonna be an expensive fix, I’ll just ask to see if they can rip it out, I know that’s cheaper.
Zercher Squat Beltless
135 x 10
225 x 10
315 x 10
365 x 10
Weighted Pullups (DL Grip)
3 x BW x 15
BW + 25 x 17 RIR 1-2
BW + 35 x 6 (Prepping Myself To Go Up)
DB Row (Paused At Bottom)
3 x 160 x 10 RIR 2-3
Ed Coan Suitcase Holds
3 x 155 x 15s
Decided to skip on thanksgiving. Me and my wife don’t like big gatherings and there was going to be like 20-30 people at my family’s place, we’re very much loners so we’re going to vibe and game.
I was super fatigued coming in because I barely ate yesterday. I’m going to be going back to the gym to do Core Work and Cardio later, felt like I half assed alot of the work and that irritates me. Going to be loading up on a bunch of carbs and food the next 2 days, my body is starting to feel the weight drop.
Zerchers where on the menu because I wanted something fun, hurt as usual, but got the work in. Progressed on my Pullups and Rows, albeit it was so slow and grindy. The gym was empty at least, felt a little surreal at this time.
The cut is seriously catching up to me. The last two days it’s hit me like a ton of bricks and I’ve had this “oh fuck, I’m actually cutting” feeling crop up.
Paused Incline Bench
5 x 135 x 5
185 x 4
225 x 3
245 x 2
270 x 7 RIR 3
Incline DB Flye (Paused at bottom)
70 x 10
80 x 10
90 x 10 RIR 4
Rear Delt Flye Machine
140 x 7
2 x 190 x 12
Sitting Face Pull w/ Rope
120 x 7
2 x 230 x 12 (Slow Tempo)
Conventional Deadlift (Technique)
3 x 225 x 7
Great PR on incline. Felt hard but had reps left. E1RM is 360 which sounds about right. Since these are paused reps, the one rep max carryover is Pretty Realistic vs. Touch and Go. This should put me around 410 on my comp bench, 430ish with wraps.
The cut is getting to me. I’ve been lowering the deficit from 1200 to 600-700 just to give me some room to recover better.
Pain. The first 5 Weeks I was doing good and its hit me hard this week. So tight, can’t recover for shit.
Hips and Knees especially are obliterated, enough so that I’m actually calling it quits on the deficit deadlifts. I can’t do it. This will be one of the first times I’ll be cutting one of my blocks short, objective wise. My hips are way too beat to continue here. I’ve been having trouble even recovering from my last block pull, so ill be taking it easy the next week or two on my pulls. Reassess and regroup.
As much as I like to PR, I also realize getting injured will get me nowhere closer to my goal total, I’m seeing this as a steady jog, pacing myself.
Training
the end goal right now will still be 205. Strong position for me to either go up and down at this weight.
Bench
Nothing changing here. 270x7 Today has shown me what I can hit realistically in the next 4-6 weeks. I’d say 300x7 would be my top end and a realistic but difficult number to hit.
After this, Larsen Press is back on the menu, most likely WITH wraps because I just want to go heavier, lol.
Squat
Still taking it easy here. Frog Squatting OR Front Squatting is on the menu. I checked, and my gym does not have more than one chain. So that’s off the list.
Pretty simple reasoning behind these variations, they’re hard as shit. Front Squatting is kinda itching me a bit more than Frog Squats are right now.
Deadlift
This Next Block will be extremely submax. It will mirror my squat training pretty similarly in that I intend not to push it to failure like I usually do. No grinders until the last 3-4 weeks.
Paying Homage to Eastern Europe with this choice, I envision a sort of step progression method here. I’ll be focusing on 1" Deficit Pauses. It’ll help me work on positioning which I desperately need to focus on.
Accessories will be rotated as usual.
Other Thoughts
Crunching numbers, I can realistically say that before the cut started, I could’ve achieved 660/395/675. I’m being extremely conservative on the deadlift since I’m genuinely confident I could pull 700+ Sumo. When I hit 665x1 I could only do 585 for a sloppy double conventional, I am WELL past this point even on my cut.
This puts me at 1735 in the gym, I’d say I’m in a very strong position right now. As time goes on, I’m realizing that the entire point of this cut is to give me room to “grow” into the 220s and push those numbers up higher.
Hindsight is 20/20, and I realize I did it wrong the first time around and got unnecessarily fat, my intention isn’t to stay at 200 forever, but give myself good room to grow without looking excessively sloppy (a little slop is fine).
My approach the second time around will be much smarter and slower. I’m setting 12 week goals now, it’s no longer week by week. I feel like powerlifting for long enough leads to this eventuality. It took me a long time to realize it, but this is the end game in a sense.
A big part of this rant is because I had a good talk with the gym owner, I had an epiphany after he said that the level of strength I’m at is unnecessary for anyone and carried real risk of injury yet I still keep grinding away. It made me realize that I’ve been doing this for the love of it and I WANT to keep getting stronger.
I love this shit lol. At this point these recaps are becoming a personal diary.
Paused Incline Bench
4 x 135 x 3
185 x 3
2 x 225 x 7
DB Skullcrusher (Neutral Grip, One Each Hand)
40 x 15
60 x 13 Massive 3 Rep PR RIR 2
Standing Log Press
115 x 18
175 x 12 Massive 2 Rep PR RIR 1-2
Plate Loaded Dips
3p x 4
5p x 4
6p x 4
2 x 7p x 15
Larsen Press Static Holds (100% of Max)
225 x 20s
315 x 20s
2 x 365 x 20s
Pushups Burnout
2 sets of 40
Felt like an animal today., everything easy. 2 Rep PR on the Log and 3 Rep PR on the Skullcrushers. Realizing that I’m getting legitimately close to Dumbell skull crushing my bodyweight and this is awesome. Goals here are to skullcrush the 80s for good clean reps, plate Loaded dips are starting to become redundant, plan here is to let the “pot simmer” before i transition to actual weighted dips in a few weeks.
Kept this one shorter on the excercise selection. I’m going to be smoked from this one the next few days.
Static Holds are feeling easier as the weeks go by. I added an extra 5s to every set. Plan here is just to keep doing them until I can reach 45 seconds. On paper, static holds sound easy but holy fucking shit these are brutal… Especially on a Larsen, the sheer amount of tension I need to maintain my position is tremendous. I love it.
Dropped another lb. Going to be eating closer to maintenance but still maintain a small deficit.
1" Paused Beltless Deadlift
135 x 3
225 x 2
315 x 2
365 x 7
2 x 405 x 1
Weighted Pullups
BW x 5
2 x BW + 35 x 8 RIR 3-4
Barbell Row (Sloppy)
225 x 5
315 x 4
385 x 2
425 x 8
Lat Pulldown Reverse Grip w/ Cable Flye Attachment
70 x 5
150 x 5
2 x 200 x 10
This was a very heavy session. The Rows were sloppy as shit, obviously I was fatigued. Not my prettiest set but not worrying to much about it.
Still got some extremely effective work in. This was the first time I ever tried Hook grip, they felt great and I got a TON of power off the floor, it actually really surprised me. I could also setup faster and didn’t seem to worry as much about positioning, but it wasn’t so great with my rep work.
I could see me using this grip for heavy, maximal pulls in the singles and doubles range.
It starts me off at a more tipped forward position which kinda throws me off a bit. Have to fight to stay center.
