If I am being completely honest, the only firm goals I have had since I started lifting, number wise, are 3/4/5 for bench/squat/dead. I want to lift more than that, and I am fully confident that I will hit these numbers, but I do not think it does me any good to say I want to lift a million pounds in any particular lift. Therefore, I will reassess my long-term goals when my current ones are accomplished.
2014:
Squat - 320 → 365
Dead - 415 → 455
Bench - 250 → 275
I believe these are difficult, yet attainable numbers. My training has, overall, been going well in 2014. I have enjoyed full body training, body part splits, and upper/lower in the past. I will continue to use an upper/lower for the immediate future as this allows me to adequately train the lifts as well as get in some BB type work. Candito’s Linear Program has been very productive for me and I have achieved some all-time volume PRs, which I know will translate to bigger numbers when I decide to go after them again. However, I realize I can’t keep adding weight to the bar every week or two indefinitely, and am therefore strongly considering the implementation of CAT used by Paul Carter. More to follow.
3 sets of facepulls then two sets of bent over db laterals
Goal today was to do 58 with 185. Previously, I have been taking quite of a bit of rest between sets of my main lifts. Since I am trying to figure out this CAT stuff, I have been taking much less rest. I was hustlin today, probably 1-1:30 minute rest periods. That caught up to me and I failed my 8th rep on the third set. Next week I will stick with 185 and keep the rest periods short, but will go for 56 in order to complete all reps explosively. I also tossed in some BB rows as I have been focusing on DB rows for a while. I will probably do DB rows on my pause day and BB rows on this day for the foreseeable future. Overall, decent workout. I felt good enough, and will make the necessary changes to crush it later this week and next.
Singe Leg Press supersetted with calf raises on the leg press
Good workout. It really is taxing when you apply as much force as possible to sub maximal weights. Gonna put in the work and see how I have progressed a few months from now.
Did my squats in around 9 or 10 minutes today, forgot to turn my timer off. Then I realized that there really is no need to time my lifts like this. I don’t think it hurts, but the point is to be as explosive as possible, not complete the work in the shortest amount of time. Of course I should not be sitting around on my ass for 5+ minutes in between sets, but I don’t do this. I typically rest around 1:30 for most sets.
Also, I accidentally did sets of 4 for deads instead of 5s, so I did five sets. Doesn’t really matter in the grand scheme, and I may actually prefer 54 vs. 45.
Good workout overall. My bar speed was decent but I would not describe it as “violent” which is my goal. I’ll get there.
Bent over laterals (3 sets) followed by 2 sets of stretchers
Bench felt ok. Speed was not terribly impressive but definitely did not grind at all. First reps were paused. I am enjoying BB rows, which is reason enough to implement them. Hopefully they also translate into a thicker back. DB press was same as last week, got one more rep on curls but honestly the problem with cheat curls is that it is difficult to say how much I cheated.
Usually after doing high rep BB curls followed by face pulls my forearms are incredibly pumped, which is cool, but I felt like doing bent laterals instead. These are performed as follows: 1st set 20 reps, 2nd set 15ish reps then 15 partial swings, 3rd set 15ish reps then 25 partials. I love stretchers, but the pulldown machine is almost too short, therefore my setup has to be perfect to allow for the maximum stretch. Somewhat annoying, but not a deal breaker.
Solid lift. As Paul Carter would say, an 80% workout.
4 sets of calf raises SS w/ 3 sets of leg curls (did calves first and did a drop set after)
Speed was better today compared to last week. Form felt pretty dialed in for squats. Form was good for most of the deads, although some reps got slightly away from me. That being said, my last set of deads was probably my best set, which is a positive. I want to get totally accustomed to this new programming before I start messing around with over warm-ups or fatigue singles, as described by Paul Carter. I should note also that my legs were moderately sore going into this workout. I attribute that mainly to the hacks I did on Monday, which never fail to crush my quads.
[quote]WhiteFlash wrote:
Killin’ it in here bud. How you liking the program so far?[/quote]
Thanks, man, appreciate it. I’m liking the change a lot, actually. My template is pretty much the same, all I did was change the programming for the main lifts. My only concern before I made the change was that the work would be too easy. I’ve found out that just because the weights have dropped, my perceived effort has not. It takes a lot of focus to make sure I am trying to send the weights through the roof instead of just ‘coasting.’
bent over DB laterals
20, 15+15 partials, 14+26 partials
3 sets of wide NG cable rows (10-12 reps)
Good workout. Bar speed for spoto presses felt good. That, plus the fact that I was not completely sure if I hadn’t lost count of the sets, led me to do an extra set. I need to figure out a way to get a video of these, or set up my phone somehow, so that I can actually see how fast these look.
After benching I felt like matching sets of bench with sets of rows, and my pauses were good and controlled for the sets of 4. However, my AMRAP set sucked. Not worried because the last couple of weeks many of the reps in this set were basically partials. Got an extra rep of DB press and DB curls, and 4 more on BB curls. My forearms were exploding by the end of this workout, and I think I am starting to notice some growth there. Now if I could get my damn calves to grow.
Ran 12 sprints total at the park by my house. First couple I gradually accelerate, by the end I am going all out. Often I will take a good amount of rest, but today I did not because the goal was more conditioning than power development.
Evening: Yoga
My original intent was to sprint yesterday and do yoga today, but I ended up taking Saturday off. I then thought that I would just do yoga, but I have been slacking on sprints lately. I was somewhat torn because I was afraid that sprinting would negatively affect my squats/deads tomorrow. Eventually I decided to stop being a bitch and get the work in. Finally, yoga was beneficial after sprints because I felt pretty tight.
3 sets of hacks supersetted with 3 sets of calves, then 1 more set of calves after
Bar speed for squats was decent. It took me a couple of work sets before I felt truly warmed up. Form was pretty good. My legs were slightly sore from sprints yesterday, and of course it impacted the workout slightly. I am not upset about this because I am really buying in to the concept of raising my baseline strength. My bar speed was ok on a day where I felt slightly fatigued before the workout. Eventually I will be murdering this weight even on a bad day.
I decided to do 53 with a slightly heavier weight on deads today for a couple reasons. First of all, that is the protocol recommended by Paul Carter in his basebuilding method. Secondly, I am already lifting 44 with 315 lbs on my pause day, so I felt that it might make sense to make this day slightly heavier. Form was good, as was bar speed.
I have been doing hacks with 2 plates on each side, getting 10-12 reps per set, but not really worrying about adding weight per se. I hit 12 reps for each set today, so it is probably time to slap some 10s on each side and work back up from there. I love this damn machine as it gives me a serious quad pump, although I do often feel nauseous and have a slight headache afterward. No idea why. I go extremely low as I believe John Meadows recommended at some point.
Finally, I have an interesting foot soreness from sprinting, and my calves are sore as well. I will not let myself slack on sprints in the future.
Very solid workout. Bar speed with 185 was good. Hit a paused single with 225 before my working sets just to feel it out. Happy with my 1 rep PR on DB press. I consider myself fairly weak at overhead pressing and, while I’m not prioritizing it at present, would like to keep improving this overhead weakness.
Added a rep to each set of rows this week. My form is decent but could improve. I will stick with 185 until I absolutely destroy it at this volume.
Bar speed was good on squats. At my friends gym and didn’t have my chalk so deads were a little tough because I sweat a lot when I workout. They were still ok and speed was good.
3/10/14 - Lower
Squats
5*5 @ 225
Deads
5*3 @ 335
Really good training session. Bar moved well, especially on deads. No assistance work.
3/12/2014 - Upper
Bench:
5*6 @ 185
BB Row
55 @ 185
117 @ 135
DB Press
11 @ 65
15 @ 60
DB Curl
1*9 @ 60s
BB Curl
1 set of 80 with the bar
3 sets of facepulls followed by 3 sets of wide grip cable rows
Good workout. 65s were almost too heavy to get in position so I could only do one rep with em when I finally go em ready.
I’ve been way behind on my log entries, but I have been lifting. I’ve been playing a ton of tennis lately, neglected my yoga however.
Went out to some trails and rode about 9 or 10 miles with the gf. After the ride, I ran 10 sprints. Did the sprints barefoot which I like doing when I can because I feel quicker.
3/16/2014 - tennis for about 2 hours. If I keep playing as much as I have been and improving I might look into a local league. I haven’t played competitively since middle school.
3/17/2014 - Lower
Squats:
5*5 @ 225
Deads:
5*3 @ 335
3 sets of hacks and 5 sets of calves. calves were done in between some sets of hacks as well as afterwards.
Squats felt somewhat sluggish initially, although I did warm up more as the sets went on and my last two were probably my best. I got a new pair of shoes recently that may be slightly more cushioned than my old shoes, so I am still feeling them out.
Deads moved well, despite forgetting (losing?) my chalk. I don’t necessarily need it to hold on to this weight, but I like to have it regardless because it helps my hook grip.
3 sets of 12 on the hack squats with 2 plates and a 10 on each side. I’ll probably add either another 10 or do 2 45s and a 25 next time.
BB curl
85 reps with the bar. this wasabi on the sushi i’m eating is intense
bent over db laterals with the 30s:
20 reps
15 + 15 partials
14 + 26 partials
medium width cable rows: 10, 10, 8
Very solid training. I felt good all around. Speed was good. Forearms nearly exploded. I managed to take some videos of my first and last sets of bench and rows, although I will likely not be able to fool around with uploading them until this weekend. I have a test on Thursday and will be studying during my waking hours until then. As a matter of fact, time to go study.
Did Yoga in the middle of the night (around 1 AM) as a study break.
3/20/2014 - Lower Control
Pause Squats:
6*4 @ 225
Pause Deads:
4*4 @ 315
I was moving slowly in the beginning due to lack of sleep. I was happy however because my speed increased after the first set or two of pause squats. Still not the most powerful day I’ve had, but I was squatting with decent force by the end. Deads felt pretty good, the last rep of the last set was possibly my best.
Went home after the two main movements as I didn’t have a lot in the tank. Will hit the gym late tonight for upper body work and a study break. Probably won’t do this today, but I have been debating whether I should implement some close grip bench work. Maybe do close grip for my Spoto presses? Probably something I will keep in mind for future tweaks down the road.
3/22/2014 - Tennis for about two hours. Serve was feelin good, backhand not so much.
3/24/2014 - Lower
Squats:
5*5 @ 225
1 at 245
1 at 275
1 at 295
1 at 315
Deads:
5*3 @ 335
One of the best days I have had in a while, if not the best, which is surprising because I slept for about 5 hours last night due to my test today. Nevertheless, went in and the bar was popping (literally) off of my back. Because I felt so good, I decided to go for a “fatigue single.” The protocol is to hit the EDM with speed. 245 felt like air, 275 flew up, and 295 moved quickly as well.
315 was slower than 295, but easier than it has ever felt before. It felt somewhat heavy on my back because I haven’t squatted with more than 275 in a few months, and I felt myself start to slow. Where I normally would have started grinding and experienced form breakdown, I just finished the lift. That’s it. It was strange, but really encouraging. I wish I had filmed it; I definitely will in the future.
Deadlifts were also successful, with minimal rest between sets necessary to accelerate the weight with force. I did not go for a fatigue single, because I felt like it was overkill to do for both lifts in one session.
Haven’t updated the log in a while. Missed a day or two but I’ve been working out since Thursday when my tests were done.
3/27/2014
Basketball for probably an hour and a half
3/28/2014 - Upper
Bench:
5 sets of 6 with 185
BB Row:
5 sets of 6 with 185
At this point, I think I pressed the 60 lb DBs overhead a few times then said fuck it. Horrible lift. Hadn’t slept much due to school and my diet had been terrible. Not a big deal, it just told me I needed to rest. -10%
3/30/2014
Basketball again. What can I say Florida is in the final four, and I’ve been watching the shit out of some tournament television.
3/31/2014 - Lower. Business as usual.
Squats:
5*5 with 225
Deads:
5*3 with 335
SS hack squats 3*12 with 3 sets of calf raises. I seriously need to up my calf raise game. Solid lift, speed was good, but not great.
3 sets of bent laterals then 3 sets of WNG cable rows
Need to reset standing DB press. Maybe start doing them seated. I preferred them seated but started doing them standing because I would occasionally have to wait for a bench. Tried to do the DB curls a little stricter. Tried to tweak my bench sets by adding a rep to each set. Ran out of gas on the last set, but that’s not totally unexpected. I felt ok today, not great but not terrible. 80%
4/2/2014 - Tennis
I wanted to do yoga today but decided to play tennis instead. Because I was skipping yoga, I warmed up for tennis with some random mobility shit: supine hip circles, some time in a 3rd world squat, then foam rolled the life out of my thoracic spine, lats, and quads/IT band. My lower back has been tight from all the time I spent seated and slumped while studying the past couple of weeks. On top of that I am pretty sore today from my previous two sessions, but I felt a lot better after all of this, and I only played one set of tennis (I won, 6-3), so I’m hoping to feel good for pause squats tomorrow. About to kill some steak for dinner.