The End Is Neigh

Today was my last official workout of cycle 5. One cycle left, then a week of eating and relaxing on the beach and maxing out my lifts before I start anew. And it was a great way to end this cycle.

Started with Chaos and Pain bench. Today was 205 (my nemesis) for 9 sets of one, and I did great. warmed up with 95, 135, 165, 185, then hit the 205. It wasn't easy, but almost all of the reps were very nice and solid, with the exception of rep 8 which was a little sloppy and rough. But then I pulled it together and crushed 9, a beautiful rep. It makes me very proud that I was able to move this weight so many times today. I was stuck at 205 for the longest time, and it feels good to finally be past that plateau. Granted, I'm not THAT far past it hahaha, but it shows that hard work and time are the only things that really matter. I've hated benching for so long, but I never gave up trying to find a solution, and now I'm finally progressing.

Next up was overhead press. Hit 110 for 3, then 125 for 3, and finally 140 for 5. I started going for 6, and gave up on it because my quads felt like they were about to cramp up from all the squeezing. I don't think I would have locked it out anyways, but who knows. Either way, 5 reps at 140 is a new 5rm. and rep 5 was tough, but not so tough that I didn't try for 6. AND, after that I dropped back to 125, and from completely dead stops I pressed that for 8 reps, which is more than I could even do it for 6 months ago. My OP has really progressed as well, and dropping my 5/3/1 weights back was the best decision I've ever made. Hit 110 for max dead stop reps as well.

Next were bent over rows. I worked up heavier, going to 165, and hit it for 2 sets of 10 and then a final set of 20. I still don't love these, but I'm gonna keep playing with them I think. They definitely won't hurt... I just don't feel like they are that effective for my back. Don't know.

Next was my pushup game - sets of 10, every 30 seconds, with the goal being to get 100 reps. I did better this week, getting 8 full rounds and 5 reps in round 9. My form was better in that I touched with my chest/quads/nose pretty much every rep, but my elbows are pretty flared and my hands are a bit out in front of me - very "chest dominant." I think next week I'll try to tighten up a little, and keep pushing towards that 100. And once I get it, I'm thinking I'll play a similar game... only with dips. We will see.

Finally, ended with some t-bar rows. These are kind of silly, but I liked them. You can go pretty heavy on them and do a lot of reps. The rom is small, but I think just supporting and moving a lot of weight like that will help my back grow. did sets of 10 with (I'm just going to refer to the weights as if both sides were loaded, because it's easier to think of it that way) 135, 225, 275, 315, and then did a set to failure (13 reps) with 365.

Overall, a very strong day. Heavy squats tomorrow, but aside from that ONCE CYCLE LEFT!

The growing.