March 9, 2013
W/U - Glute Activation Work, 2x5 broad jumps
Deadlift
135 x some, 225x5, 315x5 (one set sumo, one set conventional)
—switched to conventional—
405x2
425x2
450x2 (PR? no idea)
410x4
395x4
—switched to sumo—
(435x3)x2
(475x3)x2
(495x3)x2
(505x3)x4 (technical volume PR?)
The 505 triples started to get hard, but it just wasn’t in me to quit. They ended up getting easier, and I could have gone for some more sets. Ended it there though. Put some work in. Yadda yadda.
March 12, 2013
W/U - some band dislocations/pull aparts
Squat
45 x some
135x8
225x5
275x5
(325x5)x5
First time doing a legit 5x5 in…hell I don’t even know. Squats weren’t feeling strong nor in my favor today, and I wanted to build a bit of momentum to progress on this scheme, so I opted for a paltry 325. Still didn’t feel too light though.
DB Bench
55’s x 15
65’s x 10
75’s x 13
75’s x 8
50’s x 16
lolwut? Total weaksauce here.
Barbell Row
(135x15)x2
(190x5)x2
—cleaned 190 for two singles—
205x6
Did some chins/leg raises and some broad jumps afterwards. I couldn’t fire worth a fuck on the broad jumps and the chins didn’t go very far. Everything felt sub-par this session and I felt like a slug dragging ass.
March 14, 2013
W/U - band dislocations/pull-aparts, box jumps, ab wheel, some jump rope
CGBP
45 x some
135x6
(165x4)x2
(190x3)x2
(220x2)x2 (paused)
(240x2)x4 (paused volume PR)
While the topsets were pretty difficult, my close grip bench is starting to somewhat resemble my best competition grip work, which is obviously a good thing.
Front Squat
45 x some
135x5
175x5
205x3
230x3
245x3
260x3
275x3 (PR)
290x2 (PR, missed 3rd rep)
250x1 (paused, shut it down)
Decided to front squat for the first time in three or four weeks. Ramped slowly, and everything was flying. Hit 275 for a pretty easy triple which is a PR. Put on 290, and the first two reps felt pretty good, but then the bar got too far in front of me. Went for the triple anyway, and it ended up slipping off of my clavicles into my elbows. I tried to let it down with some control, but I ended up banging my right knee in the process. Took 250 after that, but stopped after one paused rep because of sharp pain coming from the area. Called it. Knee is swelled up now, I don’t know how long it’ll stick around, and I’m walking with a slight limp. Not really worried about it though. In retrospect, going for broke wasn’t the best idea I’ve ever had, but I’m happy with how these went. The paused high-bar work definitely seems to be working wonders. 315 in the near future for sure.
Good day.
March 16, 2013
W/U - Glute Activation Work, a few BW squats
Sumo DL
135 x some, 225x5, 315x3, 375x3 - (one set sumo, one set conventional)
(435x3)x2
(460x3)x4
—added 4" blocks—
460x4
(485x4)x5
Kept pulls pretty light due to my knee and the fact that I was already planning on doing this regardless. There was some pain I had to push through, and I feel that some of the sets involved slightly-too-high hips due to it. I tried not to fire quite as hard as I usually do, as well. But all in all, it went just fine.
March 19, 2013
Squat
45 x some
135x8
225x5
275x5
315x5
(335x5)x5 (technical PR?)
Knee was hurting, but held up through these. The 5x5 felt sort of tough mentally, but rather light physically.
Incline Bench
45 x some
135x8
(155x8)x2
(170x6)x2
Kept feet flat because I can’t set up without hurting my knee. Still went well enough.
High Pull
(225x3)x2
(285x3)x6
March 21, 2013
W/U - some ab wheel work, jump rope, and chins
CGBP
45 x some
(135x6)x2
(165x4)x2
(190x3)x2
(210x3)x4 (rather difficult)
(195x3)x2
Took everything with my feet up and mixed in plenty of pauses.
Front Squat
45 x some
135x6
175x5
210x3
225x2 (paused)
(240x2)x6 (paused)
Knee held up pretty well.
Just another day. Went fair enough.
March 23, 2013
W/U - glute activation work
Deadlift
135 x some, 225x5, 315x3, 385x3 - one set sumo, one set conventional
—sumo—
(435x3)x2
(475x3)x2
(515x2)x2
(540x2)x6 (volume and all-time weight PR)
The first set of 540 was obnoxiously speedy. I don’t know how that happened. After that I had to take my time per usual…pace the grinds.
OHP - 135x6,6,5,2 lol…just did these cold (staggered with face pulls)
Addendum: Knee gave little to no trouble during the session, but it was inflamed afterwards. May have to use more glute at lockout, too.
March 26, 2013
Squat
45 x some
135x8
225x5
275x5
320x5
(345x5)x5 (volume PR…I guess)
These still suck, but I gutted through them relatively smoothly.
Incline Bench
45 x some
135x8
(160x8)x3
Still sans arch. Felt alright.
DB Row - (125x15)x4 (sucked hard)
Sumo DL
225x5
315x3
405x4
(440x4)x4
Sucked even harder. The lack of strength behind these was absolutely staggering. Two hundred kay-gees never felt so heavy. But something in me told me to pull 440x4x4, so I listened to my body and did it.
That was all for today.
Oh man, I haven’t been this drained in…I don’t know how long. I’m so fatigued right now that I can barely walk straight. I guess that’s what I get for doing all of this while running off of ~4 hours of sleep and very minimal food intake today.
March 28, 2013
Warmup
Band dislocations and pull aparts
Tricep pushdown - 2 sets
Bench
45 x some
135x6
—switched from CG to POR—
(170x4)x2
(195x3)x2
—switched back to CG—
205x3
(220x2)x3 (all paused)
—POR—
(180x3)x4 (final reps paused)
First time benching POR in a long time. Didn’t feel strong, but it’s a work in progress. The CGBP topsets felt heavy, too. Whatever. Still benching with feet up…knee hasn’t quite come around just yet.
Front Squat
135x5
175x5
210x3
230x3
245x3
260x3
240x3
225x3
I could not for the life of me keep the bar stable on my clavicles.
Very rushed today.
March 30, 2013
Conventional Deadlift
135 x some
225x5
315x3
370x3
-added straps, touch n go-
395x6
(415x8)x4
-added deficit, eschewed straps/TnG-
(380x3)x6
I sort of lost count on the final 415 set. inb4 my OCD. The touch and go stuff was pretty breathtaking and they took some time to polish off. Remembered to sit back and down more for the deficit stuff and they moved better. My knees and shins were destroyed after all of this. So much for toning it down this week…bleh, close enough.
Push Press
(135x3)x2
(160x3)x2
(175x3)x3
First time push pressing in a long time. Not exactly the strongest sets ever.
Pullup/Dip superset - BWx10, BWx10 (three rounds)
I ended up rest-pausing the latter two pullup sets…feels batman.
April 2, 2013
Kneeling Squat Jump
BWx3
BW 45x3
Squat
45 x some
135x8
225x5
275x5
325x5
(355x5)x5 (PR)
I don’t think I’ve ever squatted this much for five reps, let alone for five sets. I didn’t know if I’d get it at first, but the sets got better and I ended up doing it.
DB Bench
55’s x 15
70’s x 10
85’s x 8
75’s x 8
LOL SO bad. FWIW I went basically AMRAP on dips in the AM, but still. Think I might lay off of these for a while. Staggered w/ band pull-aparts
Plate Swings - (45 x lots)x4
Did a 30 second crucifix hold with 25 lb dumbbells, followed by (25’s x 12)x3 lateral raises
Some jumprope work and walking lunges
Glad about the squatting today.
April 4, 2013
Warmup
Band Dislocations and Pull-aparts - 2 sets
Shoulder Traction
Tricep Pushdown - 2 x lots
Bench
45 x some, 135x6, 175x4 (one set CG, one set POR)
—CG only—
(200x3)x3 (3rd reps paused)
(230x2)x5 (all paused)
—POR only—
(190x6)x2
190x5 (missed 6th rep…lolwut?)
Knee was well enough to bench with a setup today. Close grips felt quite strong…the paused doubles moved very smoothly. I’m chalking the 190 miss up to simple acute muscular fatigue. Did a couple sets of chins here and there…not enough.
High-Bar Squat (3 sec pause)
135x5
225x5
275x5
(310x3)x6
(295x3)x4
Form got a little sloppy during the 310 triples, but other than that they moved fairly well.
Good session. Besides the small bench blunder and some iffy squatting form here and there, there was plenty of volume and bar speed remained solid. I need more upper back work though. My elbow has been killing me lately, too. Shoulder has seen worse at this point and is staying cooperative enough.
April 6, 2013
Warmup
Box jump - (BWx5)x2
Chins/Pullups - (BWx5—switch grip—BWx5)x2
Glute Activation Work
Some jumprope work
Power Clean - (135x3)x3
Deadlift
225x5, 315x3, 375x3 (one set sumo, one set conventional)
—switched to all sumo—
(435x3)x2
(470x3)x4 - mis-loaded 1st set, which was technically 467.5x3 lulz…pulled final set sans straps
—added 4" blocks—
470x4
(505x4)x5
Face Pull - 3 sets
Felt a small twinge in my lower back during the 315 conventional set, so I was cautious about that for the rest of the session. My physiological state didn’t seem to be working in my favor today and things weren’t moving was well as they usually do, so I opted for getting some work in and leaving it at that.
April 9, 2013
some kneeling squat jumps
Squat
45 x some
135x8
225x5
275x5
315x5
340x5
(365x5)x3
365x4 (missed 4th rep)
I knew as I went down for the 5th rep, I wouldn’t be able to get it up, but I tried anyway. Technique went down the gutter for that set, and I guess I sort of had this coming anyway. Guess I’m not strong enough to do this yet. Meh…no fun in nonstop gains anyway. I’m thinking about still trying to progress on 5’s and just taper down the sets to a 2x5 or a 3x5, followed by some lighter triples afterwards to compensate. I also have what seems to be some type of mild lower back inflammation as of late to report. Probably just typical aches and pains…just throwing that out there. Contemplated doing more squatting afterwards, but I ultimately decided not to…there was somebody wanting to use the rack anyway.
Incline Bench
45 x some
135x8
(165x8)x3
150x8
Felt fairly decent. Polished off the 3x8 sans much difficulty. Shoulder was slightly nagging, but didn’t give any real problems. Did 10 chins here and there during this.
Back Raise - (BW band x lots)x3
Walking Lunges - (110 x up and back some arbitrary distance)x3
April 11, 2013
Warmup
Some shoulder traction and pullups/chins
Bench
45 x some
(135x6)x2
(175x4)x2
(195x3)x3
(210x3)x4
225x3
235x3
215x3
(195x3)x2
Paused the final rep of each set from 210 to 195 sans the 235 set. First day fully back to POR. Felt meh. Needs work. Shoulder and elbow bitching. Ugh.
High-Bar Squat (3 sec pause)
135x5
225x5
275x5
(285x4)x8
Did some more chins during these. Kept the weight lighter due to my tight lower body.
April 13, 2013
Warmup
Glute Activation Work
Deadlift
135 x some, 225x5, 315x3, 375x3 (one set conventional, one set sumo)
—conventional—
415x2
440x2
465x2
(425x4)x2
—sumo—
(460x3)x3
(485x3)x2
515x3
I’m not sure if I ever technically pulled that much weight for reps conventional, so that may be a PR. Felt pretty easy and I had a good bit more in me. I couldn’t break 515 for any more sets than one, which wasn’t exactly unexpected considering how the sumo work was feeling today, so I left it there. I think I’m going to take a pseudo-deload on my deadlift for a bit…there seems to be some chronic fatigue that I’d like to see dissipate.
April 16, 2013
Squat
45 x some
135x8
225x5
275x5
325x5
355x5
375x5
375x2
(340x3)x4
The goal for today was 375x5x2. I did the first set, which I managed to polish off without killing myself, but I stopped the second set early because I didn’t feel like I would be able to get five again and I was using a squat rack, which I have to walk all the way out of (power rack curlers are the bloody worst). Technique felt so-so…probably drifted more than it should, especially on the backdown sets, which sucked the life out of me. I’m also having some minor pain near my right SI joint, but it’s probably nothing. I hate to say it, but I just wanted to this over with today. I could tell that I wasn’t too fresh today and things weren’t working in my favor…felt achy in general.
Back Raise
BW x some
(BW bands x 30)x3
Seated DB Press
(55’s x 10)x2
(65’s x 8)x2
April 18, 2013
Warmup
Band dislocations/pull-aparts, shoulder traction, chins, box jumps, some jumprope
Bench
45 x some
(135x6)x2 (first set POR, 2nd set CG)
(175x5)x2 (2nd set CG w/ feet up)
(205x3)x4 (first three sets CG w/ feet up and pauses)
(225x3)x5
Some sets felt substantially better than others. I was wearing new shoes which didn’t offer as much traction. Not sure how that affected things. Just trying to grease the POR motor pattern once again. Started staggering some rear delt flyes during the 225 sets.
Front Squat
135x5
175x5
(210x3)x2
235x5 - bar kept slipping
235x4 (missed 5th rep) - paused this set to see if that helped…lost it…wtf?
After this I held 235 in the hole for as long as I could as a pseudo-punishment. I don’t know why keeping the bar stable on my clavicles has suddenly become such a bloody struggle…maybe I just need more practice with front squats again.
Standing Cable Abs - 3 sets
April 20, 2013
Warmup
2x12 chins
Jump-rope work
Glute Activation Work
Sumo DL
135 x some
225x5
315x5
385x5
440x9
Decided to pull for some reps during this pseudo-deload. I couldn’t even finish the set without pausing to regroup more than once. Bar also got off center and it started to look sloppy, I’d say. It makes me want to work on reps more.
High Pull
(275x3)x2
(305x3)x2
(285x3)x4
Wasn’t getting 305 high enough. Backed down. Realized I had my grip narrower than usual, too. Kept on losing balance on the way down.
Incline Bench
45 x some
135x8
155x8
170x8
170x7 (missed 8th rep)
160x6
Did some more chins during these.
Bleh day.
April 23, 2013
Squat
45 x some
135x8
225x5
275x5
(325x4)x2
345x4
(360x4)x6
Had to loosen my hips a bit. The topsets felt hard as hell. I didn’t know if I would be able to finish all of them, but the final set felt easier than some of the prior sets. Used more rebound out of the hole…maybe that did it. It seems like when the weight really gets challenging, my knees inevitably come in at least a little bit.