Thank you! Putting in the work!
1 Like
1/16/26 - Pull + Triceps
Weighted Pull Up +38 lbs. chains - 90 x 1, 60 x 5, 60 x 4
Ghetto Lat Pulldown (Straight Bar) - 165 x 12, 165 x 11
Bent Over Rows - 175 x 11, 175 x 11
Incline Cable Pushdowns (Tricep Strap) - 65 x 11, 65 x 9
Cable Overhead Extensions (Tricep Strap) - 40 x 11, 40 x 11
Summary
Great day today, I really liked using the tricep strap for my cable work today. Hits different in a good way. I was super excited to do a bilateral incline curl today too, itās been like 8 months or something like that because of how my cable tower would start to tip from that angle with heavier weight. Not a problem now! Felt absolutely fantastic.
Back was ok, I didnāt feel amazingly strong or locked in but it happens. The chin ups were very deliberately chosen, since chin ups are easier overall but a bit harder at the top than pull ups it seemed like a good fit to strengthen my weak point. The full set of chains really amplified that effect to the max and it really showed, I was like lightning out of the bottom but the top really got me. My 1RM was ok but my rep work cut the reps down a lot from what I was expecting. Definitely going to be rotating in a bunch of chain work this spring for my pull ups!
Been covering a lot of graveyard shift this past week and thatās going to be the norm moving forward for probably a couple weeks so Iām going to have to pay close attention to my recovery. Iām curious to see how that impacts leg days especially since theyāre so demanding.
4 Likes
1/17/2026 - Legs
Zercher Squats - 225 x 1, 135 x 12, 135 x 12
Bilateral Cable Calf Raises - 230 x 17, 230 x 17
Barbell Good Mornings - 145 x 11, 145 x 11
Summary
Shorter workout today since I didnāt sleep very well today and today was super busyā¦bad combo. Shooting for the minimum effective dose to maintain right now, tbh. I was a bit disappointed with the squat max since I failed 275, but so far thereās almost no grinding, just instant fail. WIth bench I can grind a rep out or fail after a lot of effort but squat is just a smooth rep or absolutely nothing so far.
On the plus side I added a rep to my good mornings. Not sure if thatās because my deadlift is going up recently or if that means my deadlift is about to go up but Iām in. Squats feel ehh right now but deadlifts Iām feeling good about right now tbh. Steady progress is steady progress, Iāll take whatever comes my way.
4 Likes
1/18/26 - Push + Biceps
Board Press (1 Board) +38 lbs. chains - 225 x 10, 225 x 8
AD Press +38 lbs. chains - 70 x 12, 70 x 9
Unilateral Rope Cable Curls - 20 x 16, 25 x 15
Dumbbell Preacher Curls - 35 x 9, 35 x 9
Summary
Ok session, I think I wasnāt fully recovered coming into this one and on the first set of bench I aggravated a slight strain in my back, right behind my right shoulder blade. Iāve noticed that gets hit pretty hard whenever I do anything like front squats or Zercher squats and I donāt know why. I also felt like I would just give out when things got hard instead of being able to grind a few more reps out like I thought I could. Lost two reps on my second set of bench compared to last time and the whole workout, even with this low volume, was a grind to complete. Persistence tho.
6 Likes
I would imaging your work hours as of late arenāt helping.
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Oh yeah, working graveyard has been a lot tougher this week. Usually I come into a session and feel fresh and on top of it, the past few workouts have felt like rolling out of bed on a Monday morning. 
Also 
ā¦ty. I smiled at that one and it helped remind me of some perspective. 
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1/21/26 - Pull + Triceps
Jumping Bar Pull Ups - 160 x 1, 115 x 9, 115 x 8
Small Mag Grip Ghetto Pulldown - 170 x 12, 170 x 10
Barbell Helms Row - 135 x 8, 135 x 8
Unilateral Rope Pushdown - 25 x 12, 25 x 10
Cable Skull Crusher (Straight Bar) - 50 x 13, 50 x 13
Summary
Solid session today, I still feel drained but the workout was good so Iāll take it. Not hitting any massive PRs this week but it is what it is. Started out with jumping pull ups, it really helps smooth out the strength curve and overload. Itās sort of the same idea as benching with a sling shot, and the sets were really good.
I also tried cable skull crushers by dragging a bench over to the cable station and doing the skull crusher motion with a straight bar on a low cable and it was really nice. It felt like a cross between a lying dumbbell extension and an incline pushdown. I was pretty happy that a new movement worked so well. Felt really good and I think itās going to be something that I can really grind out reps on next time, I wish I had learned about this when I was focused on bench.
Not sure what the rest of the week looks like for my training, I have a couple commitments the next few nights and snow coming this weekend (yay lol) so thatās probably going to shake some things up I would imagine. Excited to hit some deadlifts again next workout, whenever that is!
5 Likes
Iāve also been toying around a bit with tweaking my split to further my current goals. I think my frequency on pull ups is fine at the moment with my asynchronous PPL split but Iām wondering about my leg frequency since Iām not feeling as great about my lower body training at the moment, especially squats.
What Iām wondering is, since Iām also focusing on squats and deads at the same time, is adding in another leg day to go to an asynchronous Push-Legs-Pull-Legs split (PLPL) to get more lower body frequency in (while still giving time to recover). Right now Iām training legs maybe every five to ten days on average and Iām wondering I adding a second leg day to push a bit more frequency will help keep my leg training more consistent right now and give me a bit better results.
I donāt want to go to an upper lower split because I like separating push and pull (even though PLPL is essentially an Upper-Lower split, of sorts). Since I like PPL and I have really no complaints about it Iām leaning toward PLPL instead of Upper-Lower. Since I split my squat and dead maxes on separate leg days I think adding another leg day per week and keeping that same format might get me more results but Iām not sold on it. Anyone have any thoughts? Curious to hear what people think about this potential tweak to my split.
1 Like
only one way to find out
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I started to read this and thought āoh he has over complicated upper/lowerā. But then you answered that a paragraph later.
Would it be push, legs, rest, pull, legs, rest? Or do you just rest as you feel you need to?
I dont see why it wouldnt work, just be cautious about adding another taxing workout in per week without making some recovery allowance.
On squats, consider doing a squat as main lift on one day, as a supplemental lift or accessory on the other leg day. Frequency seems to help a lot on the squat.
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You know what, I love this mentality. I think Iām going to full send the Push-Legs-Pull-Legs and see what happens, then adjust as needed.
So my split is currently asynchronous because my job is unpredictable and I often end up working long and/or weird hours. Plus itās so much easier to fit my training into the rest of my life instead of trying to fit my whole life around my training. The key is that I love working out enough that I try to workout as much as I can and that plus the rest of my life check and balance each other out to make it so that I have decent workout frequency with usually enough rest in between. So Iāll keep this asynchronous and rest when I have to (work/life) or need to (so I donāt overtrain).
Thank you for this! My current plan is to max out and do some working sets on one leg day and then on the other (when I max out on deads) to do just a couple working sets for frequency. I really want to see what a bit more frequency does to my squat.
3 Likes
1/25/26 - Legs
6" Deficit Deadlift - 355 x 1
Box Squats - 185 x 5, 135 x 12
Barbell Calf Raises - 275 x 10, 225 x 12
Cable Belt Squats - 90 x 16, 140 x 8
Unilateral Lying Hamstring Curls (Facing Away) - 30 x 13, 30 x 12
Summary
Lot happening for this one. Firstly, the deadlift maxā¦was looking forward all week to trying this after @alex_ukās suggestion to try deficit deads. I was a little unsure if the setup would work but it actually went quite well! Was able to get off 355 for a single, which was not that bad considering the steep deficit. I think Iād rather do a 2" or 4" deficit but true 6" deficit was definitely doable and I liked it. Pic taken just before my top single:
On to squats, calf raises, and belt squatsā¦Iām pretty much using my squat ramps for everything I possibly can and the good news is that itās so much easier to get deeper! The bad news is that itās slashing so much weight from everything and itās super humbling, especially when combined with the sleep deficit Iām running since Iāve started working graveyard shift for a while. The box squats went super deep and the calf raises were definitely harder, which was awesome.
The cable belt squats were interesting, Iāve never done them before. I put my squat ramps on top of my 12" plyo box and stood on that. The closer stance and the ramps combined with a cable squat was a new one and it burned so much. Thought I was going to do a much heavier weight and that was quickly nixed haha.
I have to remind myself that itās not necessarily an absolute load that is going to build my legs, itās that muscles respond to tension, not simply a numerical value of load. If I get a tough workout from 185 then thatās what Iām going to do.
Hoping to get in my push workout soon, then back to legs I guess lol
6 Likes
1/27/26 - Push + Biceps
Floor Press - 225 x 10, 225 x 10
Lying Cuff Cable Lateral Raises - 12.5 x 12, 12.5 x 12
Weighted Sling Shot Dips - 135 x 9, 135 x 9
Cable Spider Curl (Straight Bar) - 50 x 11, 50 x 11
Incline Cable Curl - 25 x 11, 25 x 11
Summary
Good session, nothing really to write home about but it was ok and incremental progress was made. I matched my previous rep work on floor press and maybe could have scratched out another rep but it was late at night and I didnāt want to push it super hard so I was happy matching my previous rep work. I did add another rep on the dips though so that was awesome. Not a bad day.
4 Likes
1/29/26 - Legs
Paused Squat - 185 x 12, 185 x 12
Barbell Calf Raise - 235 x 12, 235 x 12
Romanian Deadlift - 235 x 10, 235 x 10
Summary
Only one more day of graveyard shift this week and then I switch to daylight for a week starting Monday, and Iām so excited. Been cutting volume, especially from leg days, because itās been a lot to recover from. Today I also only slept maybe three hours during the day so Iām pretty wiped (still, graveyard is so hard on me tbh). Because of all that, I cut the exercises (again :/) and skipped the max on the squat, instead I went for good technique at a weight that I can build up with. Honestly squats and RDLs today felt amazing, and despite the lack of volume it was a good session. With better recovery beforehand I probably could have done the regular six exercise-workout and progressed on just about everything.
I think starting out where Iām at now for squats and focusing on small gains is going to be what keeps things moving forward. First session Iāve felt good about legs in a while, so weāll take it for now and get back to my regular volume soon when my nervous system is able to take it a bit better.
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I worked thirds for a few years. Itās misery. I feel for you.
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Well, I just finished my last third shift before switching for next week so Iām going home to sleep, work out, chillā¦and then sleep again haha 
And thank you. Shared misery, no? 
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Worked shifts in some manner for 15 years and Iām more than certain itās one of the contributing factors to my body self-destructing in my mid 30s. So youāre among good company! Haha.
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I worked shifts many years ago, much of it driving a forklift. I have to agree with you, it was hard on the body.
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1/31/26 - Pull + Triceps
Weighted Pull Ups + 19 lbs. chains - 105 x 1, 60 x 9, 60 x 7
Unilateral Ghetto Pulldown - 80 x 12, 80 x 11
Unilateral Cable Inverted Row - 90 x 9, 90 x 9
Incline Cable Pushdowns (Straight Bar) - 75 x 10, 75 x 10
Cable Overhead Tricep Extensions (Tricep Strap) - 40 x 12, 40 x 12
Dumbbell French Press - 50 x 12, 50 x 12
Summary
Great workout, solid pump and I had good effort. I didnāt really want to do a unilateral pulldown and a unilateral cable row in the same workout since it seemed a bit too much overlap but it was ok. Triceps work was awesome and that was some quality work. Finally felt like I could really push myself for the first time in a little bit and had a fine time doing it.
5 Likes
2/4/26 - Legs
Trap Bar Deadlift - 445 x 1
Bulgarian Split Squats - 135 x 12, 135 x 12
Barbell Calf Raises - 235 x 12, 235 x 12
Seated Barbell Good Mornings - 135 x 12, 135 x 12
Cable Belt Squats - 120 x 12, 120 x 12
Standing Unilateral Hamstring Cable Curls - 40 x 12, 40 x 12
Summary
I realize now as Iām writing this up that yesterdayās workout has a ton of 12-rep sets lol. Not something I planned but it was nice to push myself and know that if would do the exact same workout again that I would be going up in weight on just about everything, which is cool. I know 8-12 is the common bodybuilding rep range, and I really like two sets of 8-12 for most things but mostly because it feels best for me. Any higher reps and itās not as challenging but when I go for stuff like 2-4 reps itās generally heavy enough that itās harder to keep my form tight on a working set. Iām wondering if pull ups might benefit from keeping it strictly in between 4-6 though, I donāt know.
Anyway. Back to legs. Started out by going to the fitness center at work for deads and then driving home (short drive, thankfully) for the rest of the workout. Got 10 more pounds on my trap bar deadlift which was awesome, I was pretty happy with the effort. Then jumped into Bulgarians, and despite the low absolute load my legs were feeling it.
Iām also loving the cable belt squats, the tension from the cable hits so much harder and my legs were burning after the Bulgarians + belt squat combo. The burn after that was real. Really great session! Iāve been liking the deadlift leg days especially recently, my hinging work has been steadily progressing recently.
5 Likes