Light little leg session, started out with the deep deadlift, the deficit is crazy (and itās a true six inch deficit, Iām standing on a 12 inch plyo box to create the actual deficit from my crash pads) and being a shorter guy I definitely have to bend way over to get to the bar, when I finish the rep it feels like Iām going to smash all of my toes lol. Added 30 pounds from last time, the rep was a real grind the whole way but a rep is a rep and the form was good so yay.
Finished out with some good old SSB squats and calf raises, added weight to both (10 and 5 pounds, respectively) so that was good. For being a bit minimalistic today due to time it was a decently productive session.
I just got a Nordic curl strap that Iām going to attach to my cable tower to make the setup a bit easier, so I was playing around with that a bit and did some negativesā¦didnāt quite get it right so some more experimentation is going to have to happen. Have a couple more ideas to try out so weāll see how it goes.
Reverse Grip Bench Press - 225 x 10, 225 x 10
Seated BTN Press - 80 x 12, 80 x 10
Weighted Dip - 95 x 11, 95 x 11
Straight Bar Cable Curl - 70 x 11, 70 x 11
EZ Bar Preacher Curl - 75 x 11, 75 x 10
Dumbbell Hammer Curls - 40 x 12, 40 x 12
Summary
Great workout, felt really good for this one. Added a rep to my second set of bench and everything went really good, minor progress on a bunch of it. The behind the neck presses really trashed my side delts, which was great because I can definitely use some more focus on my side and rear delts in the next little while.
15 weeks down, 5 full weeks to goā¦time for the penultimate T-ransformation update.
Iāve been largely not traveling far away for the last five weeks (a nice change from the previous five as far as my workout schedule is concerned lol), which helps out a lot with staying a bit more consistent and slightly less busy overall, which is great. Work is still impacting recovery since itās still graveyard and Iām doing 60+ hours per week, and I donāt foresee that changing in the next month either, although you never know tbf. I also foresee a few other busier things on the horizon soon that are going to add to my list of things on the front burner in the next month or two, but itās all good and weāll keep going as much as we can! Training is hitting a groove right now and Iām stoked to finish out strong, so far Iām happy with how things are going right now. Specifics below for my three main goal lifts:
Weighted Pull Up: new lifetime PR of 135x1, which was my first 300 pound total pull up. Itās slow going but after 100 pounds every five pounds added to my max is an accomplishment. I would love to add five or ten more pounds in the next five weeks and pull 140 or 145 for single, weāll see what happens. Very pleased with how things are feeling at the moment though and hitting the 300 total has been a goal of mine for a few years now, so thatās been sweet.
Squat: Getting the SSB has been a game changer and I think itās helping. Hatfields have been a newfound favorite and thatās been making my quads look juicyyy after some recent leg days lol. Hitting 425x1 on Hatfield squats (with a pause and on ramps to boot) was a recent highlight and Iām sure thereās carryover to my barbell squat as well. Iām not sure what my max would be right now on that but if I were maxing out tomorrow I would probably shoot for 365x1 and reasonably expect to get it up with decent form, so maybe +40 pounds from the start with a bit more depth? Either way I finally feel a lot better about my squats as a whole for probably the first time during this entire challenge. Not sure if itās feasible but I would love a 405 barbell squat on ramps by the end of this challenge but either way Iām happy with the progress I think Iāve made and it sets me up nicely going into the summer even if nothing else.
Deadlift: After a really nice run throughout the first ten weeks, my deadlift progress hasnāt really done anything noteworthy in the last five weeks and Iāve hit a bit of a plateau, the noteworthy exception being a 545x1 hack dead and 30 pounds added to my deficit dead this past week. Iāve been failing a few attempts at the ground or right at the very start so Iām going to push paused, sumo, and deficit deads a lot harder at the end to build up my strength at the bottom end of the range of motion. I really want 500 off the floor by Memorial Day but at my current rate of progress thatās going to be an absolute grind, Iām down to push for it though! And if I donāt get it by then it shouldnāt be too long after that before I get five plates off the ground, so Iām feeling ok about my progress there at the moment.
My plan is to keep up the grind for the next five weeks, and probably about one and a half weeks to one week out from the end Iām going to test my three goal maxes again on camera for the final results (need a bit of time to edit to blur my face out), and then Iāll get a physique pic right before the submission deadlineāmaybe Iām a smidge bigger but I probably look the exact same as January lolā¦physique is not my goal this year but itās really just to have something for the poll lol. Going to be a fun final five weeks!! Stoked to push it and see where things land.
aw thanks internet mom. The first third of this year has been great and Iām stoked to see what else I can do!! Always appreciate you and your kind words and your interest in what Iām up to, it means a lot.
4/18/26 - Legs
Hatfield Box Squats - 425 x 1, 245 x 10, 245 x 10
SSB Calf Raises - 290 x 14, 290 x 14
Partial Nordic Curls (60 degrees) - 6, 6
Summary
I knew going into this one that I didnāt have a lot of time so I tried to push and make it as intense as possibleā¦mission accomplished, this did not feel pleasant lol.
I was super happy with my squats today, I did get four plates up and unfortunately the bar caught the J cup on the left side of my rack so I had to pause for a second and get the bar back in front of it and then rack it. So technically my setup blunder of placing the box a few inches too close to the rack emphasized the mid-to-top of my top single, shall we say. XD
I think I finally know what Iām going to do for Nordics as well, both in setup and execution. The setup is finally thereā¦I bought a Nordic curl strap, the kind you can put under a door and use. Instead of using it with a door, I clipped a carabiner to it and attached that to the utility shackle attachment I have for my power rack that I havenāt really used for anything useful yet. Then I attached the utility shackle to the front upright of my cable tower. The length of the Nordic curl strap is a bit long to use on the floor but it works pretty good if I pull my bench over and use that. The execution Iām going to roll with for now is to do partials while slowly increasing the range of motion. Since Iām already sitting on a bench, setting it to an incline and letting that standardize the range of motion is the easiest, then as I hit my target rep range I can put it back a notch and make it harder. As I get closer to flat I plan on starting assisted reps using the cable tower to make it easier until I decrease the weight to zero.
60 degrees is the first stop down from 90 on my bench, and this cramped my hamstrings like nothing Iāve ever done before. I was glad I didnāt have time to do Good Mornings today because I really wasnāt keen on doing them after I tried these, my hamstrings were feeling it that bad. Itās going to be a long road to get a full Nordic curl but if I stick with it Iām probably going to get some freaky hammies along the way so Iām down. Iām not sure if Iām going to become a bit more acclimated to the movement and my hamstrings will stop cramping like that. If yes I can rotate this in and out as much as I want, if not then Iām going to have to be careful when I program this to not affect other lifts as much, but this is such a great exercise and I need all the help I can get on my hamstrings so Iām not that worried about it lol. Why overthink it now when Iāll have more info and a better picture of how things are a bit later? Keep it simple, you know.
The first third of this year has been great and Iām stoked to see what else I can do!! 
Always appreciate you and your kind words and your interest in what Iām up to, it means a lot.