Love how detailed the entries in this log are. And keep up the great work!
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@IronEnthusiast08 thanks for the kind words! And will do, the grind doesnāt stop! 
8/25/25 - Chest + Biceps
Paused Flat Bench - 275 x 1, 215 x 9, 215 x 9
Seated Barbell Overhead Press - 75 x 10, 75 x 10
Incline Dumbbell Flies - 20 x 10, 20 x 10
Incline Dumbbell Curls - 25 x 12, 25 x 12
Dumbbell Concentration Curls - 25 x 12, 25 x 12
EZ Bar Spider Curls - 55 x 12, 55 x 12
Summary
This workout was divided into two separate and distinct parts:
- Pushing movements (yay!)
- Absolute biceps destruction and annihilation
So for the first part of the workout I decided to start out on flat bench with a pause to hopefully build a bit more pop off the chest with a variation that should carryover to standard flat bench quite nicely. I was pausing every rep for about 2 seconds and I was super happy to hit 275 for a single, thereās something very satisfying about breaking a PR and then being able to do it with a pause a week or two later. I was also trying out a new form cue for leg drive and I think that worked quite well, which was great.
Now, I will admit that this whole workout was a bit dumbbell-heavyā¦yeah. I admit it. I was on a bit of a dumbbell kick tonight lol. Hitting my arms from different angles between the incline and spider curls, plus concentration curls in between, absolutely trashed my biceps tonight. One of the more painful pumps Iāve had recently in the best way possible.
Meme I found from the interwebs that I thought of today:
It was kinda the mood today, apart from ramping up to max effort territory to warm up. Nothing fancy, just PRs and hard work.
4 Likes
Good job!
1 Like
8/29/25 - Back + Triceps
Weighted Chin Ups - 80 x 8, 80 x 7
Jumping Bar Pull Ups - 100 x 8, 100 x 8
Wide Mag Grip Cable Inverted Rows - 180 x 11, 180 x 11
Rope Pushdown - 60 x 11, 60 x 11
Unilateral Cable Overhead Extensions - 25 x 10, 25 x 10
Summary
Was running a bit short on time for this one so I had to cut the last isolation but other than that this one was okā¦was feeling kinda meh and my vertical pulls were mid. I feel like ever since I got flu and pneumonia last February my vertical pulls have been a bit more mid, to be honestāespecially the top. I did try some jumping pull ups, I had heard about them a bit ago and wanted to try them. Essentially itās an overloaded concentric, a great way to overload the movementāsimilar in theory to using a slingshot for bench. I think itās going to be a very useful movement to start incorporating when I start hitting my vertical pulls hard. Next time I try them I want to try it really heavy for a couple sets of 1-3ish reps. The whole workout felt mid but still got it in, regardless.
9/1/25 - Legs
Box Squats - 225 x 8, 225 x 8
Romanian Deadlifts - 185 x 12, 185 x 12
Summary
Was running super short on time with the holiday weekend and family over and suchā¦had just enough time for a quick little mini session today before I had to go to work. Decided to try 225 on the bar for box squats and it was pretty brutal but very rewarding, the leg pump was pretty awesome afterward! I have a bit more to go than I thought before I hit my little goal of two sets of twelve with this weight but I think it wonāt be too hard to build up to it soon. Was bummed I couldnāt do a full day but itās better than nothing and Iāll hit it hard next time. I also just ordered some crash pads so I can finally start working on heavier deadlifts and such without destroying the floor, which is going to be fun.
I also took the opportunity to do some math this weekend since Iāve been curious for a while. My belt squat setup is a Bells of Steel lever arm belt squat rack attachment (instead of one plate peg that goes vertically I use two BoS utility horns so that I can have both going horizontally for more weight capacity), itās been super great and I love itāespecially how it feels when I go heavy compared to barbells. What Iāve been wondering is the actual vs. perceived weight of that setupāsay, if I load 100 pounds on it, does it feel like an actual 100 pounds or is it less due to the lever setup? My brother is a mechanical engineer and we had a great discussion on this and he helped me understand how it works in that in slightly more sciency terms what I want to find is the amount of force required to lift a load from a Class 2 lever, which is what my belt squat setup is. Some quick measurements and plugging that info into this handy calculator means that my belt squat has a mechanical advantage ratio (sorry to my bro and any math/physics people here if Iām using the wrong terminology for that) of approximately .544:1, meaning that if I load 100 pounds on the lever arm setup it takes roughly 54.4 pounds of force to lift it (which is what the weight will end up feeling like to me). This explains why I can belt squat 500+ on this setup and my barbell squats are less. So my current belt squat max of 500 correlates to 272 lbs. when you consider that mechanical advantage ratio.
So thatās super helpful and was a cool convo and I learned a thing or two, which was great (my brother is awesome!). I might start notating the ratio or the perceived weight on my future belt squat sets, or just mentally take note of that moving forward. Either way, they still feel better than other variations lolā¦I just got another set of 45s this weekend so I want to see if I can hit 600 on my current setup soon (~325 pounds after the mechanical advantage is calculated out).
5 Likes
9/2/25 - Chest/Shoulders + Biceps
Low Incline Bench Press (~23 degrees) - 225 x 1, 175 x 10, 175 x 9
Lying Cuff Cable Lateral Raise - 10 x 15, 12.5 x 14
Paused Weighted Dips - 90 x 10, 90 x 10
Standing Alternating Dumbbell Curls - 40 x 7, 30 x 9
Dumbbell Preacher Curls - 25 x 11, 25 x 11
Bayesian Curls - 27.2 x 11, 27.2 x 10
Summary
Solid workout today, which was great after a mid last couple sessions. Tried benching with a low incline today and focusing on getting those elbows deep at the bottom for some serious stretch. Iāve done a higher incline before (~37 degree incline) but I decided on low incline paired with dips to hit some different angles while addressing my weak points on bench by targeting getting my elbows deep on incline bench and pausing on dips to really drive it home and kill the stretch reflex to target that position even more.
Also gave lying cuff lateral raises a try, they actually felt really good! Lying on a bench in front of the cable tower felt really great and the strength curve felt really good, def a different feel than the dumbbell variation.
4 Likes
9/3/25 - Back + Triceps
Weighted Chin Ups - 80 x 8, 80 x 7
Wide Mag Grip Ghetto Lat Pulldown - 155 x 12, 155 x 11
Seated Cable Row (Straight Bar) - 130 x 12, 130 x 12
Straight Bar Pushdown +19 lbs. chains - 70 x 11, 70 x 11
Lying Dumbbell Extensions - 20 x 13, 20 x 13
Summary
Felt ok about this workout, I went into it a bit tired from being up late the night before and I was pretty rushed, really wanted to finish out with three isolations but couldnāt quite squeeze it in. Decent workout regardless though!
9/5/25 - Legs
Box Squat - 225 x 9, 225 x 9
Barbell Calf Raises - 245 x 15, 245 x 15
Barbell Good Morning - 135 x 10, 135 x 10
Standing Unilateral Cable Hamstring Curls - 40 x 10, 40 x 10
Behind the Back Barbell Shrugs - 165 x 12, 165 x 12
9/8/25 - Chest/Shoulders + Biceps
Cambered Swiss Bar Bench - 290 x 1, 220 x 9, 220 x 8
Seated Barbell Overhead Press - 75 x 11, 75 x 10
Weighted Dips +38 lbs. chains - 45 x 11, 45 x 11
Barbell Curl - 90 x 8, 90 x 8
Dumbbell Preacher Curls - 25 x 12, 25 x 12
Summary
I did not expect 290 today on a cambered bar, wow! The neutral grip of the Swiss bar feels great on my shoulders so I can push this variation really hard, and I think my backdown sets suffered a little bit because I went so hard on the max attempt, but I donāt really mind after a PR like that lol. I think after considering the extra range of motion the camber brings I could probably get 305 up right now on a standard barbell. Planning on trying for that on my next Push day, so weāll see how that goes. Didnāt have time today for my third isolation which I wasnāt a big fan of but it happens and it was still a really good workout.
5 Likes
9/9/25 - Back/Rear Delts + Triceps
Weighted Behind the Neck Pull Ups - 45 x 7, 45 x 7
Small Mag Grip Cable Inverted Rows - 185 x 12, 185 x 12
Unilateral Cable Face Pulls - 30 x 11, 30 x 12
Straight Bar Pushdown - 75 x 11, 75 x 11
Dumbbell French Press - 40 x 12, 40 x 12
Barbell Skull Crushers - 75 x 10, 75 x 10
Summary
Solid lift today, I came into it both tired and on a time crunch which is usually not a combo that yields a great workout but I was pretty happy with how it turned out. Behind the neck pull ups are one of my worst variations in terms of absolute loads so I decided to run those today and probably at least next pull day too. Everything went pretty great be my triceps were really pumped and sore from this one, especially after the pushdowns + French presses back to back. Also did a bit of rear delt workā¦I know I said a while ago I wanted to do that more in the near future but since Iāve been doubling down on horizontal pulls and rows recently I honestly havenāt felt as pressing of a need to isolate them regularly at the moment since thereās some indirect stimulus there with the rows and that works well enough for the moment I think.
Looking ahead to legs tomorrow, I have a set of crash pads coming in the next couple days so I might break out a deadlift variation tomorrow if the mail gets here early enough, weāll see. 
Been super excited about getting them since itās really the only good way I can start doing deads regularly without worrying about trashing the floor. If snail mail is slowā¦eh Iāll deadlift again soon enough, no fear. XD
5 Likes
9/10/25 - Legs
Hack Deadlift 455 x 1
Box Squats - 225 x 10, 225 x 10
Barbell Calf Raises - 265 x 13, 265 x 13
Seated Barbell Good Mornings - 135 x 9, 135 x 9
Standing Unilateral Cable Hamstring Curls - 40 x 11, 40 x 11
Lying Unilateral Cable Shrugs - 75 x 15, 75 x 15
Summary
The mail came on time today, so you know I had to do some testing to see if these crash pads work wellā¦I think after a PR I can conclude that they do indeed work. XD Def going to get some great use out of them! The only thing Iām thinking about is how to load and unload plates easilyā¦I donāt have a deadlift jack, just a pair of wedges. The pads sink in just enough when going heavy that the wedges are a bit hit or miss so Iām not sure how to make that work better. Other than that these pads are sick! 10/10 buy for the home gym. 
Started out with hack deads which is probably my favorite deadlift variation right now, it just feels so much better on my lower back than conventional. Props to Eugene Teoās YouTube channel for showing up in my feed with a video on them. I was also really pleased with the box squats and how those went up, especially after the heavy single on deadlift. I also tried a lying cable shrug and doing shrugs unilaterally with a cable feels very different in a good way, I really liked it! Great session all around.
5 Likes
New to your thread. Just catching up. Will be following now. Keep at it.
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@BethB thanks for reading and for the kind words! Greatly appreciate it! 
Anyone who comments, drops a like, reads every word, or just simply skims through once in a while - I appreciate you! Thanks for being interested in what Iām up to, it means a lot that others in this community care enough to follow what Iām doingā¦Iām grateful! 
9/11/25 - Chest/Shoulders + Biceps
Flat Bench - 285 x 1, 225 x 10, 225 x 8
Dumbbell Lateral Raises - 15 x 11, 15 x 11
Incline Dumbbell Flies - 20 x 11, 20 x 11
Incline Dumbbell Curls - 30 x 11, 30 x 11
Dumbbell Hammer Curls - 30 x 12, 30 x 12
Unilateral Cable Floor Curl - 30 x 12, 30 x 12
Summary
Started out with high hopes for flat benchā¦and was very disappointed. 285 for a single was the highest I got as I was ramping up, after that I decided to shoot for a little bit more than my previous max and failed 305. Rested a good three minutes and failed it again. -_- Iām pretty sure this stemmed from accumulated nervous system fatigue from the day before since I went pretty heavy on legs (especially that heavy hack deadlift single and those box squats). In hindsight if I wanted to maximize my performance on bench I should have taken a rest day in between legs and push but itās not the end of the world as long as I continue to minimize muscular overlap. I was disappointed but so be it. I failed both reps of 305 at around the midpoint/lower midpoint, maybe around the 90 degree sticking point so Iām going to rotate in floor press again and probably Larson press to work those joint angles a bit more during my next couple sessions. In terms of overall goals and timing, I really want to hit 315 by 10/18 at the absolute latest since thatās the one year anniversary of hitting 225 and that would be super awesome to add 90 pounds in one year. Regardless, Iām not going to let one ehhhh kind of day drag me down. Iām still trending up and if I keep going Iāll hit it soon, I know I can hit 305 on a good day and then itās just a short 10 pound step up to three plates. I did add a rep to my first work set and matched my previous 8 reps on the second so a small plus one was goodā¦a tiny smidge of progress that Iāll gladly take.
Rest of the workout was good, did a lot of dumbbell work again. Honestly been eating it up recently, and had a fabulous bicep pump after hitting them in three different ways.
Also took a moment to think about the significance of this day. While I was very young on 9/11, I still was alive and can remember growing up in a world shaped by the events of that day and the subsequent War on Terror. A reminder that freedom is always only one generation away from extinction, as the saying goes.
9/12/25 - Back + Triceps
Weighted Behind the Neck Pull Ups - 45 x 8, 45 x 8
Straight Bar Ghetto Lat Pulldown (Supinated) - 165 x 12, 165 x 11
Cambered Swiss Bar Chest Supported Row - 125 x 12, 125 x 12
Unilateral Cable Pushdown - 32.5 x 11, 32.5 x 11
Decline Dumbbell Extensions - 20 x 12, 20 x 12
JM Press - 110 x 12, 110 x 12
Summary
Really good session today! Itās been a minute since Iāve felt that good about my weighted pull ups, especially the BTN variation which is one of my worst. Trying to get stronger at it though! Was contemplating going for 9 reps on both sets and probably could have if I would have committed to a couple pretty grindy reps. Added a bit of weight and a rep or two to my working sets here and there, which is always greatāitās the slow and subtle progress that builds over time. Nasty tricep pump at the end of it all, Iāve been getting a bunch of really great arm pumps on my push and pull days now that I think about it. Been really great to see and I guess it means at the very least Iām putting in some solid effort. XD
7 Likes
9/13/25 - Legs
Box Squat - 225 x 11, 225 x 11
Barbell Calf Raises - 275 x 12, 275 x 12
Romanian Deadlifts - 205 x 12, 205 x 12
Original Barbell Hack Squat - 45 x 10, 45 x 10
Standing Unilateral Cable Hamstring Curl - 40 x 11, 40 x 11
Lying Unilateral Cable Shrugs - 90 x 15, 90 x 15
Summary
Solid leg day today! Box squats coming along nicely (brutal as always but the plus ones add up over time!) and the RDLs were nice to add 20 pounds to, even though I think that was responsible for the cable hamstring curls being harder than usual.
I also gave the original hack squat a try, originally taken from another Eugene Teo video (linked above) that showed up in my YouTube feed a while ago after I was watching a bunch of other videos on the hack deadlift. XD Looked intriguing so I tried it with an empty barbell. Definitely hits the quads differently than anything Iāve ever tried before! I think Iām going to notate it as the OG Hack Squat or the Hackenschmidt Squat to avoid confusion with the hack squat machine.
5 Likes
9/17/25 - Chest/Shoulders + Biceps
Floor Press - 275 x 1, 215 x 10, 215 x 10
AD Press - 95 x 12, 95 x 11
Paused Weighted Dips - 90 x 10, 90 x 7
Alternating Dumbbell Curls - 35 x 9, 30 x 10
EZ Bar Preacher Curls - 70 x 11, 70 x 9
Cable Floor Curls (Straight Bar) - 55 x 12, 55 x 12
Summary
Took a couple days off for a few reasonsā¦I was at a concert this past weekend (birthday present to my brother, 11/10 show!), then overtime at work, then yesterday and today Iām battling a cold. Not too bad to deal with, mostly just annoying and Iām having to pay a bit more attention than usual to recovery and not overtaxing myself. Felt great about lifting today, and it was a great session. Added ten pounds to my floor press PR, which was epic. So excited to see all of my bench variations trending upward. Curious to see what Larson pressing will look like on my next Push workout! I did burn out pretty early on the dips, I think programming them right after the AD Press fried my shoulders and I really just had nothing left on that second set of dips, maybe that was the fatigue getting to me earlier than normal because of my cold, Iām not sureāprobably some of both, tbh. Either way, it was a pretty good lift overall considering the fact that I have a cold at the moment.
Ended by destroying my bicepsā¦I measured my arms (cold flexed) before the workout and finally hit a cold 15 inches (last time I measured was a pumped 15 inches at the beginning of August). Was very excited to see it! At this point my strategy of adding a third arm isolation to my upper days is paying off, and I can always train arms at the beginning of my workouts if I want to focus a bit more on making those an even bigger priority in the future. Iām feeling good about future progress there!
3 Likes
9/18/25 - Back/Rear Delts + Triceps
Weighted Behind the Neck Pull Ups - 45 x 9, 45 x 8
Yates Row - 155 x 12, 155 x 12
Dumbbell Rear Delt Flies - 10 x 11, 10 x 11
Straight Bar Reverse Grip Cable Pushdowns - 60 x 11, 60 x 11
Straight Bar Cable Overhead Extensions - 55 x 12, 55 x 12
EZ Bar Overhead Extensions - 65 x 12, 65 x 12
Summary
Tried a few new movements in this workout, I did like the Yates Row and the dumbbell rear delt flies were pretty decent, I think Iāll like them better when I understand the technique more. The reverse grip pushdowns were midā¦my wrists did not like doing that grip on a straight bar at all. I want to try them unilaterally sometime to see if thatās better but I donāt know if I can get into the bilateral version right now. Did great right after that on four sets of extensions, the cable extensions always light up my arms like nothing else.
4 Likes
9/20/25 - Legs
Box Squats - 225 x 12, 225 x 12
Barbell Calf Raises - 275 x 12, 275 x 12
Original Barbell Hack Squat - 45 x 12. 45 x 12
Lying Dumbbell Hamstring Curls - 20 x 10, 20 x 10
Behind the Back Barbell Shrugs - 175 x 12, 175 x 12
Summary
Finally hit twelve reps on both of my sets for box squats! Was brutal but pushing the plus ones each leg day definitely adds up over time.
The last two workouts Iāve taken the opportunity to try some new movements, which has been cool. Today I tried the lying dumbbell hamstring curl, which seemed great and Iām always down to try something new for hamstrings since I donāt have a huge exercise library of things I do for my hams at the moment. Honestly, I didnāt like this one at all. The muscle felt good but the setup was so difficult and so awkward that I really canāt enjoy it. This would have been better with a regular dumbbell instead of my plate loaded dumbbells, I think. I currently have been spamming standing cable hamstring curls and I also have in rotation a cable hamstring curl lying on my back in front of the cable station, which essentially mimics a seated hamstring curl. I want to try the same motion as the dumbbell curl on the cable tower but lying facing away from the cable, maybe that will work a bit better to do the cable version.
4 Likes
9/22/25 - Chest/Shoulders + Biceps
Larson Press - 285 x 1, 215 x 10, 215 x 10
Seated Overhead Press - 75 x 11, 75 x 10
Barbell Curls - 90 x 9, 90 x 8
Dumbbell Concentration Curl - 30 x 10, 30 x 10
Bayesian Curls - 27.5 x 11, 27.5 x 10
Summary
Good session today, I was on a time crunch today before work so I had to skip my last compound for the day but still put in some good work regardless. Larson press was awesome, added ten pounds to the max and the backdowns improved from last time which was fabulous. Biceps were pumped from those three curl variations, concentration curls seem to really pump up my arms the last few times Iāve done them! Been trying to be super consistent during the month of September and itās been great, everything is trending up and as long as I stay on top of my recovery I think itās going to be a really good wave to ride for a bit to close out the month and hit next month!
4 Likes
9/23/25 - Back + Triceps
Weighted BTN Pull Ups - 45 x 9, 45 x 9
Unilateral Cable Inverted Row - 85 x 11, 85 x 11
Chest Supported Barbell Row - 125 x 12, 125 x 12
Straight Bar Pushdown +19 lbs. Chains - 70 x 12, 70 x 11
Rope Cable Overhead Extensions - 40 x 10, 40 x 9
Barbell Skull Crushers -75 x 10, 75 x 10
Summary
Slowly but surely adding a rep here and a rep there to the BTN pull ups! Gratifying to be making slow progress on what is probably my hardest variation. Threw a couple rows in after that, I wanted to do rows that arenāt as hard on the lower back since Iām planning on doing a heavy deadlift single tomorrow and probably some RDLs as well and I donāt want my lower back to be fatigued for that. Pump was awesome after the rows and my triceps got lit up on the isolations! I did try the cable overhead extensions with the rope attachment this time and I found it a bit harder than I thought. It felt awesome and Iām definitely going to keep that in my exercise rotation.
4 Likes
I love your log. 
1 Like
@BethB thank you! I really appreciate that
1 Like
9/24/25 - (Heavy) Legs
Hack Deadlift - 495 x 1
Belt Squat[1] - 540 x 1, 450 x 12, 450 x 12
Barbell Calf Raises - 275 x 12, 275 x 12
Romanian Deadlifts - 215x 12, 215 x 12
Weighted Pendulum Sissy Squat - 85 x 11, 85 x 11
Standing Unilateral Cable Hamstring Curls - 40 x 11, 40 x 11
Barbell Shrug - 175 x 12, 175 x 12
Summary
Went for max volume yesterday to try something a bit fun! I was pretty wiped by the end of it and was feeling a bit under recovered this morning, so I took today off other than 30 minutes of light riding on the air bike just to stay a bit more active than just skipping all exercise entirely. Was super excited to reach five plates on the hack deadlift, and with the way it went up I think I could maybe get to 545 by Christmas without too much extra effort. I wanted a longer session like this to really push myself to dig deep and it was a grind but went pretty well! Great session all around, and Iām hoping to kick off tomorrow by finally breaking 300 on flat bench if all goes well.
Keep in mind that thereās a roughly .54:1 mechanical advantage ratio to my setup, so these sets actually feel like 292x1, 243x12, 243x12 ā©ļø
4 Likes
9/30/25 - Chest/Shoulders + Biceps
Flat Bench - 305 x 1, 225 x 10, 225 x 8
Lying Cuff Lateral Raises - 12.5 x 13, 12.5 x 13
Incline Dumbbell Flies - 20 x 11, 20 x 11
Incline Dumbbell Curls - 30 x 11, 30 x 11
EZ Bar Curls - 80 x 12, 80 x 10
Straight Bar Cable Curls - 60 x 11, 60 x 11
Summary
Finally ended up doing this workout! Due to a scheduling issue beyond my control I couldnāt get it done last Friday then was traveling this weekend in addition to being very sleep deprived and fatigued, none of which is a good recipe for heavy bench progress. Was excited to push myself today! Honestly the whole workout felt meh. I didnāt add any weight or sets on any of my curls, the flies, or my bench back down sets, just matched what I did last time. I was feeling super meh the whole workout, pushing myself hard and enjoying that but everything just felt a bit more difficult and uninspiring than it shouldāve. But Iām thankful for progress made on the meh days too. And the max effort single took a bunch out of me, so everything in context.
Finally hit 305 on bench this workout. Now, Iām not going to lieāthat rep was one of the biggest grinders Iāve had in a very long time and it wasnāt the cleanest. But it did get done, and Iām finally in the 300s. Iām a bit unsure what variations to program for bench next to address weaknesses, since it was really just a big grinder the whole way up and I canāt tell what the weak point isāfor a long time it was the lockout, then the pop of the chest recently, but now that I hit 305 the whole thing is just a slow grind from bottom to top. Iām probably going to go a bit intuitively and roll with what I feel my weaknesses are and adjust as needed. A little intuition and a lot of common sense honestly go a long way. Super stoked about the progress, only ten pounds to go. 
3 Likes