AM workout
Press 5x145
Bench 5x5x180
BTN press 3x8x95
Dumbbell curl 3x20x20
Reverse fly 3x12x5
Five weeks down on this program. Bar is moving well & I’m noticeably filling out a little bit more. Looking forward to smashing the heavy week next week
AM workout
Squat 5x5x245
Deadlift 1x10x275
Pendlay rows 3x6x185
Back extension 3x6
Deadbugs 2x10
Bar hang 1:20 (pull-up at 0:30 & 1:00)
Lots of stress on my low back from today. I need to do a slower ramp up to this amount, or I can tell something will go wrong sooner rather than later. That said, I feel fine after today. This was a good session, lots of really good barbell work
AM workout
Bench 5x210
Press 5x5x135
Paused low incline CGBP 3x12x135
Fat grip dumbbell curls 3x15x20
Reverse flies 3x12x5
Barbell moved well given it’s the heavy week, & got a tremendous pump from the assistance. Really good stuff today
AM workout
Squat 5x275
Deadlift 3x5x225
Chin-ups (pause at bottom) 3x8
Back extension 3x10
Deadbugs 1x6
Realizing I want to really focus on the main four lifts which doesn’t really change much for my training right now, but I want to be mentally alright with shortening the assistance to keep the main work high quality. Listened to some Jim Wendler podcasts recently, and he really emphasizes quality of work, which I can be quick to let go to the wayside in order to get more work in. So, today I cut deadbugs to just one set, and I’m gonna do the same with rear delt work on upper body days while trying to keep the main two movements the best they can be
AM workout
Press 5x150
Bench 4x5, 1x10x190
Incline curls 3x12x20
Tricep press 3x10x65
Reverse flies 1x20x5
Good end to the cycle. Pushed the last set of bench to get an idea of where I’m at. 10 isn’t a crazy number, but I had more in the tank & it’s not bad after a heavy-ish set of press & four other sets of bench. A good data point to have if nothing else. Plan is to keep running this program until the wheels fall off or I find something new that I really want to try (which is usually what happens), but for now I’m thinking I’ll start another cycle of this next week
AM workout
Squat 5x5x230
Deadlift 1x10x230
Pendlay row 3x8x155
Back extension 3x8
Deadbugs 1x5
First day of the light week. Quality work today
AM workout
Press 5x140
Bench 5x5x175
Barbell curls 3x12x65
DB pullover/tricep extension combo 3x10x20
Reverse fly 20x5
Press & bench both moved quick. To be expected for the light week, but still happy with this. The pullover tricep extension thing took a bit to figure out, & I might need to use a barbell for it next time, but by the last set it felt like a decent exercise
AM workout
4 mile easy airdyne
Woke up a bit early this morning and couldn’t fall back asleep, so I hit a quick, easy airdyne workout. Trying to get some walking in throughout this training phase as well, in an effort to not let conditioning/health slide too much while helping my lifting
AM workout
Squat 5x255
Deadlift 3x5x225
Neutral grip chin-ups 3x10
Back extension 3x10
Deadbugs 1x5
Squats and deads both moved fast. Felt really strong at these weights. The unfamiliar grip on chin-ups made those very difficult though, so I had to push pretty hard to complete the reps on those
AM workout
Bench 5x195
Press 5x5x125
Fat grip db curls 3x15x20
Skullcrushers/pullover 3x10x65
The Skullcrusher/pullover that I had trouble figuring out on Monday was just WAY better with the barbell. Crazy tension on the triceps. Curls blew up my forearms as well. Good end to the session and the training week
AM workout
Squat 5x5x245
Deadlift 5x295
Pendlay row 3x5x205
Back extension 3x5
Deadbugs 1x5
Thinking after the heavy week next week I ought to take a deload. It will have been 9 weeks of this program, and while it hasn’t gotten super heavy, the cumulative fatigue is building up a bit. And I’ve always had really good training blocks right after deloading, so it could set me up to be smashing through the next cycle
AM workout
Press 5x150
Bench 5x5x185
Incline curls 12,10,8x20
Body weight tricep extension 12,10,8
Band pull aparts 1x40
No rest between sets of curls & extensions, which made the last two sets very difficult. The bar moved easy on both the press and bench. Feeling really strong honestly. Can tell there is benefit in this mindset shift I’m having away from assistance movements and more towards making the main work the best it can be & not caring as much about the rest
AM workout
Woke up earlier than expected, so I messed around with a bit of training. Did some broad jumps then some 5-10-5’s. At the end I did one max vertical jump in the garage. I’ve only ever hit the ceiling once before, and that was two years ago when training for speed/explosiveness and on a deload week. Well today, on my one vertical jump, at the end of a training session, in the middle of week 8 in a strength block, had my head hitting the ceiling pretty solidly. Now, I am getting the itch to do a little bit of athletic stuff at the beginning of training, especially with my recent drift away from assistance work, but this was a good reminder that strength is so important for that. If I go that direction, I need to keep getting stronger as a priority
AM workout
10 mins of “get up and jump”
Squat 5x270
Deadlift 3x5x245
Chin-ups accumulate 30 reps
Should be getting a reverse hyper later today. Looking forward to having that as a tool
AM workout
Easy 5 mile airdyne- 13:46
Had the day off work yesterday & don’t go back until Monday. Had time before the family woke up this morning to get in some work, so I hit this easy bike. I’ve been scheming a bit on how to add a bit of sprinting/jumping into my training. At first, I thought I’d do it before every lift, 4x a week. BUT, upon further thought & remembering I jumped high a couple days ago with no specific training, I might just do two days a week, one of jumping then one of sprints + jumps. This will kind of “protect” two of my lifting workouts, and keep strength as a priority. Also, in the past when I have done 4 days of explosive work, it doesn’t seem to push the needle more than what I think two can do. It might just add more fatigue, so I think two high quality pieces of explosive work, while having two days of just lifting where I can really dig in on the squats, will work well. I am thinking, instead of an upper/lower split, I’ll do three days (m/w/f) full body, with jumps on Wednesday, then a sprint/jump session + some hypertrophy work on Saturday. Might pilot that this coming week, as I’m planning to keep the same volume/intensity structure & reps for squat & bench, so I could just roll right into it. Although, I’m planning to deload after next week, so I might just ride out what I’m doing until then & start afresh after. We will see
AM workout
Bench 5x205
Press 5x5x135
Barbell curls 10,8,8x75
Skullcrushers 3x8x75
Bench & press both moved really well. Really pleased with the way I can feel myself getting stronger. Then got a good pump on the arm work
AM workout
Sprint 6x~10 yds w/various starts
Triple broad jump 5 sets
Did one standing vertical at the end & hit my head on ceiling again. Feeling good about where I’m at as a starting point
AM workout
Bench 5x5x195
Squat 5x5x255
Db curls 1x15x20
AM workout
Power skips for distance 5x3
Deadlift 3x5x275
Press 3x10x115
Reverse hyper 3x10x70
Pull-ups accumulate 30 reps
10’s on press after two months of fives was brutal. Even with the relatively light weight, the second and third set were super tough. Good training stimulus there and in the whole workout today. Liked the reverse hyper as well, which finally came in earlier this week. Starting very light on it to make sure I get a good feel for the movement
AM workout
Bench 1x5x215
Squat 1x5x285
Pendlay rows 3x5x205
Reverse hyper 2x10x70
Fat grip barbell curls 1x20x45