Soggy Day

Today I felt kind of soggy. Not much intensity in the workout, but it still went very well.

Ideal Physique? + skin, of course

First off, a nice PR on 5/3/1 bench. Crushed my warmups, but got a little nervous for my big set at 200, got a little dizzy and loose under the weight. Even so, hit it for 5 clean reps, a 2 rep PR. I don't think I could have gotten 6 on THAT set, but on a better set I think 6 was a definite possibility. Still, I'll happily take the PR, especially since 200 x 3 is where I failed last time on bench 5/3/1

Next, did 175 for 3 sets of 7 paused bench. This was tough, but very solid.

Finally, hit 155 x 14, which is pretty good for a less - than - ideal state of focus and intensity. I wish it had been a rep or two more, but not bad.

Next, Kroc rows weren't too bad. hit a set of 33 each arm. Gonna keep scootching the reps up on these, build that back big.

Strict press was feeling a bit lagging today, but I had a pretty good day. hit 95 x 5, 135 x 3, 155 x 1, 165 x 1, then went to 170 for 5 singles. All were tough at lockout, but solid reps (though I was a little mad because I felt like I used a little leg drive on the last one, which is something I rarely do). Never hit 170 for that many singles before. Would have been nice to have felt stronger and been able to push up to 175, but maybe next week. After, dropped back to 135 and hit it for 9 paused reps pretty solidly.

Finally, 4 sets of 5 pullups, alternating between regular grip and close chinup grip.

Overall, solid day. Need to be more focused and intense. My music failed me today, but that can't be an excuse, especially if it might continue to fail me haha. Time to dig deep and keep pushing, it's definitely paying off.

Fuck Hurricane Sandy in the Face

Thank Odin the gym opened today at 2. I was right on the verge of scrapping this week.

Started with 5/3/1 squats. Felt stiff for a bit, but once I warmed up I was feeling goooood. Again, warmed up feeling out the paused position, then smoothing the transition between down and up. The secret still lies in controlling it almost until the last second, then rebounding from that beautiful position. Hit 125 for a few sets, then 185 (my jumps were a little weird today). Then I hit 230 x 3, 265 x 3, and finally 300 x 7. First 5 were great, 6 was hard as fuck, and then 7 was hard and ugly as fuck. But I made them all. So close to my PR too (8). I'm getting stronger for sure. So excited to hit 315 next week now.

Next, speed deads were a little sleepy. 265 x 10 x 1 on the minute wasn't hard, it moved pretty fast, but after the heavy squats I just didn't feel very focused. These lacked intensity. Still not bad.

Louie Simmons, thanks for the idea for speed deads. You look so fucking scary. 

5 x 5 at 245 squats went really well. First few sets were still a little sleepy, but then I focused up and went hard. Form was great, sets were pretty easy, and I psyched up and hit the 5th set for 12 awesome reps. Really worked on that one, and all the reps were really nice.

Finally, finished with some poopy hollow rocks and back extensions.

Overall, hard to focus and be intense today - my brain is a little fried from sitting around. Still, I made today a great day. Excited to bench tomorrow.

Hurricane Sandy

Fucked up my training today. Every gym in the area was closed. SO I decided to just stretch today, and hope I can lift tomorrow. If I can, I'll just move my training back one day (squat tues, bench wed, rest thurs, squat fri, bench sat, rest sun), but If I can't lift tomorrow then I'm going to just have "Fun" the last few days of this week, and start 3 week next monday. 

Hope the weather improves, I really want to squat. 

Saturday

Pause squat: 295 for a solid single

Strict press: 175 for a hard single

Saturday

Pause squat: 295 for a solid single

Strict press: 175 for a hard single

I carry this shit on my fucking back

Crazy day. Motivated by THIS song.

Started with bench. Felt awesome and crazy today. Hit the bar for a few sets, 95, 135, then up to 135. The 10 sets of 3 were cake, like speed work. On the 10th set, I decided to do a set to failure of paused reps. Got 7 great reps, and just BARELY missed the 8th rep at lockout. That's better than my touch and go PR over the summer, and it was after 27 other reps. Sick.

Next, strict press. hit the bar, then 110 x 5, 130 x 5, and finally 145 x 7 or 8. I'm pretty sure it was 8 but either way it's a sick PR. Then hit 130 x 9 paused reps and 110 x 9 paused reps.

Next, did a shitload of pulling volume. Standing cable rowed 110 x 30, 110 x 25, and 120 x 20.

Next, did some dumbell pressing, cause I wanted too. warmed up with 45 x 8 with a pause, then did 55 x 10, 7, and 8 all paused reps.

Finally, lat pulldowned 180 x 3 sets of 10.

Awesome day. Double press PR's with reps, and tons of pulling volume. I am starting to get visibly huger. My abs are still almost as visible as when I started the diet, and my arms and traps are starting to look much bigger. after only 1 month of eating big. Gotta keep downing as much good food as I can and keep lifting HARD as a motherfucker. And keep having fun.

Sick Day

I was afraid of today. Thursdays tend to be tough, and I was worried that the week off would make this day even more painful. however, it went fucking awesome.

Warmed up the same way I did monday, starting with a pause at the bottom and then gradually mimicking my pause movement, but accelerating into the bottom at the last second and then rocketing up. Felt good. Finally got to my 10 x 3 at 280, and it went awesome. Probably the LEAST number of bad reps in a 10 x 3 that I have done. It really wasn't too tough. Mostly, the bad reps come from one of 3 things. Either I rush the descent, or I dip my chest and get caught forward, or I get caught back a little too much. I just need to be careful to come down slow and controlled at first, and hold off on the acceleration and stretch reflex a little. When I get it right, it's awesome. Gonna keep working on form, but MAN squatting is looking good. Lets keep at it.

Front squats went awesome at well. back was a tad bit soft, but hit 155, 180, and 205 for sets of 5, then hit 225, 235, and finally 245 for a single! I've been chasing that 245 for a while now, it's awesome to finally get it. Hopefully I will keep pushing forward and getting more PR's soon.

Deads went great too. Hit 205 x 3 singles, then 285 x 2. Then, for 335, REALLY focused on squeezing my back tight, and hit it for 3 awesome singles, with a very flat back. That's cool progress. When I started, 315 for a flat back single was really rough. I'm gonna bump this weight to 345 next week. Gonna be tough, but these are doing me GOOD.

Finally, HLR's, 2 sets of 15 and a set of 12, and then a huge set to failure of back extensions, starting with the 25 lb plate. My core is getting stronger too.

Awesome day. I'm so excited for tomorrow. Gonna be a lot of fun. Lets keep at it.

Arms Day

Had a great arms day yesterday. Actually worked hard, had fun, and got  great pump.

Pretty much I supersetted close grip benching and dumbell curls again. Worked up to 135 / 30 lb dumbells, and hit those things for 3 max sets. For bench, got 16, 12, and 14, which is pretty fukign awesome. For curls, got something like 16, 14, and 18 (last reps were crap hahaha). Arms felt hooge after. I am going to grow them.

Excited for my workout today. Gonna be harddddd.

Crazy Day

Today was a crazy day.

First off, got a huge bench PR. Today I was repping out 185, which is obviously a benchmark weight.  As recently as last march, hitting 185 for 3 was a solid day. Over the summer, I had gotten it for 6, but I haven't taken a crack at it in a while, so I was excited today. Started with some nice warmups, pausing the first few reps of each set, and then working on moving the weight as IF I was going to pause it, but then moving it quickly and explosively without a pause. Felt great. Hit 145 and 165 for sets of 5 with ease, then racked up 185. Something just went right when I got under that weight, and I managed to hit it for an easy 8, and THEN paused a 9th rep, fighting hard as a motherfucker for that lockout. That's an awesome 3 rep PR, which is unheard of in my benching career haha.

Next, dropped back to 165, and hit that for 3 sets of 7 paused reps. Again, pretty awesome. PAused benching feels great to me, and I seem to get stronger at it every week. Going to keep pushing it, as it obviously has been helping my bench a lot. It feels so great to be actually making progress, and ENJOYING all the upper body pressing haha.

Unfortunately, my rep out at 145 sucked. I think it was simply a combination of me being tired from the rest of the benching, and me wanting to hit a ton of reps, but I was downright FLOPPY on this set. The first 3-5 reps were a trainwreck of form. I tightened up after, but only managed 13, most definitely due to the waste of energy on the first third of the set. But honestly, it was such a great day that I just laughed it off, cause it was fucking stupid haha. Next week, I will make sure to 1) rest more before that final rep-out, and 2) not rush the reps and be soft. Take it like every other set, one beautiful rep at a time, and it will definitely be more successful than it was today.

Kroc rows kick my ass every time I do them. Hit the 100's for 30 reps each side, making sure to use a really full range of motion. I think I'm gonna try and do 33 next week, then 35, 37, 40, etc, building up to a set of 50 beautiful reps each side. It's gonna hurt but I need to keep building my back.

Almost died overhead pressing. Not really, but it was a whacky day. Felt great warming up, crushed 155 and 165, so i threw on 175, planning to hit it for a few solid singles. Unfortunately, I got a bit excited, and went after it a little fast, and without watching my breathing. End result - took me about 5 seconds to lock the rep out, and then I blacked out and dropped the weight from overhead. Luckily, it did not crack my skull open. I really have to be careful to breathe out when I press, cause that was dangerous. I was pissed too, cause I was having such a good day and that took a lot of energy haha. So, I went to 165 and just hit that for 5 solid singles, then dropped back to 145 and hit that for an easy 5 paused reps.

Finally, did 4 x 4 neutral pullups. Even though my shoulder is like 95% better, these still bother it a little bit. I pushed through anyways, but if it's still bugging me next week I might fool around with some other pulling options. We will see.

Overall, a crazy day. But I hit my press PR, after a shitload of benching, and crushed hat 185. Lets hope the upper body days keep coming this good.

YAY SQUATS!

So happy to be back to squatting again.

Started with 5/3/1. Felt awesome today. Warmup sets with the bar felt good. With 125, I paused the first few reps, then on the rest of the reps lowered myself as if I was going to pause, but then dropped hard into the bottom and rocketed out of the hole. It felt amazing. After a few warmup sets with 125, I went to 215 and crushed it for 5, then 250 and crushed it for 5. Then, went to 280. Psyched up and went after it hard. The first few reps were solid, and got my 5 without much trouble - then 6 was a horrible rep. I got caught in an awful position and it took a LOT to get that weight up. Almost called it there, but then I sucked it up and went for 7 and then finally 8. Both were much better reps, but incredibly hard because of the 6th. I still made it though. It was an awesome set. I wish I didn't have that shit 6th rep, but even so I pushed like crazy and I'm happy with those 8 reps.

Next were speed pulls. 265 from no deficit for 12 reps on the minute. Wasn't easy, but moved pretty fast. Setting up a little farther from the bar still, and it's feeling very good.

Finally, 5 x 5 squats was at 245 today. Pretty heavy, but my form was on point again. As long as I control my way down and make sure my feet stay planted and my chest stays up, I can drop hard into that bottom and shoot up with my stretch reflex. The sets of 5 were tough but beautiful, and I just got better as they went on. Did 7 on the final set, just to push.

Finally, did 3 sets to failure of hollow rocks, and one hard, badass set of back extensions.

So happy to be lifting hard again, and I ate my FACE off today. Gotta keep pushing super hard and eating and sleeeeping and growing. So excited for the future strength and hugeness. Lets keep it up.

Strong Again

Today I actually felt strong again. Thank god deload is over.

Started with pause squats. They went awesome. Worked up in smaller jumps, to try and get a bit more practice in, and it felt really good. hit the bar x a few sets of 5, 95 x 5, 135 x 5, 185 x 3, 205 x 2, 225 x 1, 245 x 1, 265 x 1 275 x 2 sets of 1, and finally 285 x 1. Then, I hit 285 for 2 normal singles. Pause squats felt awesome. They really weren't even tough until about 275. Hopefully, these will really help my ability to control weight, help my confidence, and help my strength out of the hole.

Next, decided to strict press up heavy, even though yesterday was shitty. Today went much better though. Felt shitty at first, but then I started to feel better. hit 135 x 2 sets of 3, then 155 was toughish. But then I crushed 165, crushed 170, and got 175. I even tried 180 - got it to the top of my head, bad no shot at it. but THEN, I dropped back to 135, and hit it for a max set. Got 10 reps, which is awesome, a 2 rep PR.

Overall, an actual strong day! It's been a while. Can't wait to start lifting for real monday. the power is coming in the next 9 weeks.

Deload week: upper body 2

Got really sick of deloading this day, so I broke out the belt and did some heavy bench with it.

Decided to work up to a max in 3 attempts, with the belt and a pause. Crushed all my warmups, including 185 for a double. Then, destroyed 195. Went up to 210, and hit that for a 5 lb paused pr. Wasn't cake but wasn't bad either. Went up to 220, but just didn't have it. Not a bad miss though.

Next, strict pressed heavy with the belt too, but this was fairly rough. Worked up to 165 for 2 tough singles, then failed 170. After that, I was pretty much done.

Deload week: legs 2

Today was aight.

Squats felt good. Teaching myself to sit my ass inbetween my feet and spread my knees, instead of kicking my ass back and dropping my chest. It's not easy or natural yet, but doing it keeps me far more upright and, when I do it right, I catch the stretch reflex really well. Did a bunch of warm - ups with 135, then 10 x 1 at 225, then a few singles at 275.

Next, pause front squats with 135 - 3 x 5. Easy and fun.

Finally, speed deadlifts, 10 x 1 with 225. Still setting up a little farther back, and it feels great.

Can't wait to lift for real. Side note: I think on saturdays, I'm gonna start going a heavy single PAUSE squat, instead of a real squat, with a ton of volume working up to the heavy rep. Reason? I think it will be mentally better for me than constantly "testing" how strong I am once a week. AND pause work has helped every single lift I started doing it for, so why not squat with a pause too? AND I still will be getting under some heavy weight.

More to come.

Hard Arms

Today I was in a bad mood. Because it's a deload, I was actually planning on taking this day fully off, but the bad mood prompted me to go in and work my ass off.

Pretty much, I supersetted curls and close grip bench with about a minute - two minutes rest, for 5 sets. Close grip bench feels like shit, it totally fucks up my normal bench setup, but it definitely was hitting my triceps. I did the curls heavier, with more body-language, and today was one of the only times ever that I REALLY got a great pump doing them this way, and felt like I worked hard.

After warming up a ton, did close grip with 135, basically to failure, and curls at differrent weights to failure. Went like this:

12 @ 135, 20 @ 25
8 @ 135, 11 @ 30
9 @ 135, 12 @ 27.5
8 @ 135, 12 @ 25
8 @ 135, 15 @ 25

My arms were pumped like crazy. It was hard work, but fun. I haven't really worked very hard on arms day at all. Normally I just don't feel like working hard, and I don't want to take away from my real workouts. However, I think I need to start pushing this day a bit harder. It still should be a day that I'm okay with skipping or taking it easy on, if I need to... but if I have more days like this, My arms will definitely grow, and I bet that will help my upper body lifts quite a bit.

Deload week: Upper body 1

Deload week is ROUGH. It's so hard to stay motivated when you're not working hard at all. Still, had a fine day that hopefully will push me faster to recovery.

Started with pause bench. Took a long ass time warming up, benching a shitload of warmup reps with the bar / 95. Went to 15 and hit it for 13 paused reps, then 2 more sets of 10 paused reps.

Next, did a couple sets of dumbell rows with 50 lb dumbells.

Next, 3 x 10 strict press with 95 lbs

Finally, did some stupid rowing with an empty bar, just to move a little more.

Boring, not glamorous, but hopefully it will help me heal up nice and I can come back and wreck shit next week. Hopefully thursday and friday will be a LITTLE less painful. We will see.

Deload week:Legs 1

SO, It's been forever since I have taken a rest week - 9 weeks exactly. AND, it's been FAR longer Since I've DELOADED, instead of just taking the time off. Whenever I take a full week off, it always hurts my lifts, so I am playing around with this deload to try and rest a LOT, but keep myself in tip top shape so I don't lose any strength in this short space.

Today was lower body. I started with 3 sets of 5 pause squat at 185. Light enough so they're not hard at all, but heavy enough so that I had to work to stay in the right positions and fire hard out of the body. Pushed to a set of 10 on the third set, got a leg and ass pump.

Next, did 10 singles at 185 for speed deadlifts. Doing these really light was actually really good, because I figured out that I've been setting up a little too close to the bar. Setting my feet about an inch further back from where they were felt WAY better, and I was firing really fast today.

Then, did 5 x 5 squats at 135. Again, these were actually very helpful - I started feeling that I have been sitting my butt back a little too much when I'm squatting, which is hurting my ability to catch the stretch reflex without dropping my chest. If I instead think about sitting my butt down between my feet, (almost forward), I can nail that stretch reflex without losing balance forward. After the 5 x 5, I did one single at 225 that felt great, but called it there. It is a deload after all.

Finally, did one set of 50 declined situps.

Overall, it SUCKS not to be able to lift heavy. BUT, the light work is gonna help me heal up, and I'm feeling out some form stuff that could definitely help me a lot when I'm back to going heavy. Lets keep at it.

Final Power

So I didn't have the chance to lift yesterday, and I really wanted to get in one last heavy day before my deload week. So I went in today.

Squatting felt pretty awesome actually. Felt strong. Form was good, not great - still am not consistent with hitting that bottom and rocketing out. Did a bunch of bar work, then 135 moved easy, but a little choppily. 225 was cake. 275 for a double was easy, but choppy, but then I hit a nice single. 315 was slow moving the first rep, so instead of going up I hung out at that weight, hitting it for a total of 5 singles. The last 2 were the nicest as far as form goes, though my muscles started to get tired. I went up to 335, just to take a crack at it - form was good, but I just didn't have the speed or the strength to get through the sticking point. Still, a good day.

Next, strict press went awesome. hit the bar for a few, then 135 x 3. 155 x 1 flew up, but I learned from my mistakes and went to 165 instead of heavier. Crushed that, and THEN went to 175. I was nervous, but ended up nailing the rep - honestly, barely slower than 165. I ALMOST went up again, but then rethought it, instead hitting 175 for 2 more singles. The second two reps were a lot harder, but still solid.

Overall, an amazing final day. PR on my strict press, which makes 20 lbs since this summer. And some solid squat work as well. Now, time to deload and heal.

Final Press day

Today is the final press day of this cycle. Went really well. 

Shoulder is feeling alright. Not perfect, but better than tuesday. 10 x 1 bench at 205 went great. Had a few less than perfect reps, but even those weren't tough at all. Last few were really solid, so I went up after rep 10 and hit 215 for a fairly easy single. Even though it was a big jump, I went to 225, figuring why not? Went for it, and it was a nice rep, that just got stuck halfway up. I couldn't quite get through that sticking point, but it wasn't a bad miss. That weight is gonna be mine soon. 

Next, did really well strict pressing. Worked up to 155 x 4, which is a PR, then hit 140 x 8 paused reps, which is another PR, and 125 x 9 paused reps. 

Finally, just did a shitload of high rep pulling and pressing to help my shoulder on it's way. 

Overall, an awesome day. Gonna rest up this deload week and come back hard. 

Weird Squat

Writing this the next day.

Had a weird squat day. Felt strong, but kept getting weirdly out of position, so a lot or reps were harder than they should have been. Still, over all a good day.

305 x 10 x 1 was solid. Some really nice reps, some really slow reps, but overall I handled the weight fine, just had a few off reps.

Front squats wee really good. Hit 220 for 4 reps, which is a huge PR, then missed 235 cause I was out of position, got it for 2 singles, missed it again, then got it for a 3rd single.

Deads were good, hit 335 for 3 singles without much rounding of the back - not perfectly flat, but getting better.

Finally, one big set of HLR's and back extensions.

Rehab Day

Shoulder felt aight today. Did a bunch of rehab work, hopefully to get it nice and healed asap.

Started with basic stretching and warmup, stretched out my legs a lot and sat in a bottom of a squat. Hopefully that will loosen me up a little and tomorrow will feel better than last thurs. Then, did some highhhhh rep shit. Took 10 lb dumbells and did 2 sets of 50 bicep curls and overhead press, and then a final set where I pushed it - 75 curls and 60 presses. Got a lot of blood flowing and hopefully shoulder will feel better tomorrow.

Also, started doing some fun light programming for my deload week. The priority has to be shoulder healing, but If it's feeling good I think I can have some fun and be productive next week. More to come.

Many PR's

My shoulder was nagging me a lot more than I hoped it would today - but luckily it didn't feel like anything I did was making it worse. So, I pushed through with caution, and ended up having an awesome day.

Started with 5/3/1 bench. Weight felt pretty light, but unfortunately setting up/unracking just made my shoulder tweaky, so I was kind of concerned about that. Also, even though the weight felt light, my form was a little wonky. hit 95 x 10, 135 x 10, then 160 x 5 - easy, but a little wobbly. 180 x 3 was also fairly easy, but a little wobbly. Finally, set up for 205. Got under it, shoulder felt alright. Hit it for the first rep, and that was a pice of shit - it got totally weird and wobbly, but I got it. The second rep, however, was much nice and went up easy, so I took a big breath and hit 3, which was a nice rep, but difficult and I had to really fight to get through the sticking point. 3 reps at 205 is a PR, which I'm pretty happy with considering my shoulder situation, and the fact that my first rep was horrible haha. Hopefully next time I will be a little more in the groove and able to focus, and I'll be able to make that 3 look easy, maybe even get 4.

After that, dropped to 180, and pushed hard with these, doing 3 sets of 5. That's fuckin awesome, considering my rep PR at 180 is only 7 touch and go hahaha. I love paused bench.

Finally, dropped to 160 and ended up hitting this for a pr - got 12 touch and go reps and then paused a 13th. Very nice.

Instead of doing kroc rows as heavy as usual, I instead did a ton of reps at a light weight, hoping to help my shoulder along. Used a 50 lb dumbell, and rowed it for a set of 75 followed quickly by a set of 25 for each arm. That's a lot of reps, but it wasn't too hard. Got a lot of blood flowing though, hopefully it will help the shoulder.

I was tentative about strict pressing, but the pressing wasn't really hurting me - getting into the position was a little bothersome, but I just kept moving slow, and ended up working up to 165 for 5 singles. these were solid - 2 or 3 of them moved fast and smooth, the other 2 were tougher, getting caught before lockout. But I still got all 5, and again considering the shoulder situation that's great. Dropped back afterwards to 135, and hit it for 8 paused reps, which ties my touch and go PR and that weight. Again, very cool.

Finally, did a couple neutral pullups, but these more than anything else bothered my shoulder so I stopped, and did a bunch of re-hab straight arm cable pulls instead, again just trying to get a lot of blood flowing. As of now, shoulder looks a little swollen and it a little more inflamed/painful than yesterday and this morning, but overall feels decent. Hopefully rest/rehab tomorrow, in conjunction with the work I did today, will get it healing up, and I won't need to factor it in for  thursday and fridays workouts. However, either way I'll make it through, and then it will have all of deload week to rest from heavy weights.

Great day. Lets keep at it.

Nasty Day

Had a nasty day in the gym today. In a good way.

Although the shoulder was bashed on saturday, it felt exponentially better yesterday, and again exponentially better this morning. Although it's definitely not all better, it is far less painful and swollen, and didn't affect my workout negatively today at all. Which is a good sign that it's not a serious injury. I still might have to take my upper body days as they come, but I'm very hopeful that I will be able to do them hard and heavy without further hurting my shoulder.

Anyways, squats today went great. Felt pretty strong - a little stiff, but that got worked out out pretty fast. Hit the bar for a bunch, then 125 moved nicely. 205 started feeling really good. I was controlling the weight, but started hitting that bottom nicely (like last monday), and was catching the stretch reflex and driving through hard. 245 x 5 was very nice. 275 x 3 was a little rougher, but still not bad. Loaded up 305. My expectations weren't too high, because of the rough shoulder stuff, but I went after it calm and determined, and the weight moved really nicely. Hit 3 pretty easy, then a 4th which was going to be my last rep except it moved so nicely... so I took some breaths and hit a 5th rep, very tough but solid. That's pretty awesome. My best 5 ever is only 315, and these were far deeper and nicer than those were. Really getting the hang of the new form and getting strong - Gonna start PRing very soon I think.   It still varies a lot from day to day, but every workout form is getting cemented more and more, and I'm definitely getting stronger.

Speed deadlifts were very nice. 8 singles at 285 from a high deficit. The weight moved very nice. I think my stance was a little closer on these than it typically is, but the reps felt really good and moved fairly fast. Next cycle, my weight move up - 265, 285, 305. That's getting pretty fucking heavy for speed work. Pretty cool, considering 305 was my 1rm this time last year hahahaha. Just gonna keep at it, try and move that shit the best I can, and If I can get 305 moving fast from a two plate deficit, hopefully that means I definitely have a new deadlift PR waiting for me.

Finally, 5 x 5 squats at 235 were fine. I was pretty tired by the time I got here, and the last rep or two of every set was tough, but the first reps were moving really nice. After set 5, I went up to 275 and hit it for a nice single, then went straight to 315 and hit it for a very nice rep - the best I've squatted that weight in a few weeks. I ALMOST went up, to 325 or 335, but I realized it was an ego thing, not gonna make me better at anything, and I would probably miss hahaha, so I called it. Still, really happy with e pretty rep at 315 after everything today.

Finally, ended with 3 sets of hollow rocks, and then 1 big set of back extensions with a plate/bodyweight when I got too tired with the plate. I kind of like doing the back extension for one big set, might do that more often.

Anyways, a really solid day today. Very happy, especially considering my expectations weren't that high today. Hopefully on thursday, 305 will move nicely and I can get a bunch of quality reps in before taking the deload week. And hopefully my shoulder will be well enough to go hard on my upper body day tomorrow as well. We will see.

Shoulder pain

Fucking shoulder is shit. Hurts a lot, in a weird place - top part of my shoulder, where a front squat would sit. Feels almost like a bruise, except it hurts to stretch, do arm circles, press overhead, etc. And it is visibly swollen. I'm hoping, because the pain isn't to sever, and because I didn't feel any specific popping or tearing or "moment" of injury yesterday, that it's just a little inflamed/aggravated, and that it will get better on it's own quickly.

Went into the gym and squatted even though I did not want to. It hurt to get the bar in position on my back, and then as the weight got heavier it hurt a LOT to have the weight sitting on it. It's a shame, because I was actually feeling pretty good today, but I didn't go that heavy because it just hurt to much. hit 315 for a tough but solid single and said that was enough.

As I was squatting, I worked in a few sets of 50 lateral raises/front raises, and overhead presses with the 5 lb dumbells, just trying to move, get blood to the area, and work out some of the pain. After the 315 squat, did a set of 100 overhead presses with those 5's. Then, used the cable/rehab machine and did a bunch of straight-arm pulling with that side, a set of 50 with light weight and then a set of 35 with another 10 lbs thrown on. Then, took a hot shower and tried to keep heat on the area.

It looks fuckin swollen and it hurts like a bitch in certain positions, but hopefully I got some blood to the area and it's going to get working on healing very soon. The rest of today and tomorrow I'll try my best to rest it, and hope it's in okay shape for next week. I really want to make it through, because then I have the whole deload week to rest. But I need to stay healthy, that takes priority.

Shoulder Pain

Today I have shoulder pain. It's not too bad, but it's fucking bugging me. I think I just pulled a muscle in my back and my joints are just shitty and achey and shit cause it's my 8th week on. I don't know. Hopefully it will feel better tomorrow, cause it's annoying me right now.

Anyways, aside from that bullshit, I actually had a great day today. Bench felt really god. Reps were flying up and smooth. I pushed myself to go faster, so as I went on the reps got tougher, but really only because I was making myself go with 1-2 mins rest max. Rested up for the final set, and hit it for 4 solid reps, which is pretty fuckin awesome.

Next, strict press went really well. Hit the bar for a slew, then 95 x 5, 115 x 3, 130 x 3, and finally 150 x 4. Pretty happy with that - ties my PR at that weight, after a shitload of volume before. I was pretty dizzy and shit, but I think form was pretty nice, and the 4 were solid enough that I tried for 5. So that's pretty awesome. Dropped back to 130 and hit it for 9 paused reps, then dropped to 115 and hit that shit for 10 paused reps.

Next, did my upright rows. 130 x max, 120 x max, 110 x max.

Next, did some bodyweight pressing. Did a max set of HSPU (7) a max set of dips (11) and a max set of pushups (25).

Finally, three sets of lat pulldowns at 200 for 10 reps.

So my benching and strict pressing went awesome. The rest of the workout felt pretty shitty, but that's no biggie. I don't know what the fuck aggravated my shoulder but I hope it goes away soon, and I can squat / press tomorrow without it hurting. We will see I guess. Keep at it.

Rough Day

Today was just one of those tough days. Nothing came easy today. Still, pushed hard and did well.

Warming up to Chaos & Pain squats, I knew I didn't have the same pop and fluidity that I had on monday. I was trying my best to keep form nice, and I felt okay, but I kept getting a little bit forward, and wasn't hitting the stretch reflex as hard and smooth as the other day. Hit the bar for a bunch, then 125, 205, then 265 x 3, and finally up to 290. I was able to get through all 15 sets without missing a single rep, which was awesome. But it was ROUGH. There were a lot of close calls, a lot of reps where I got caught forward, dropped my chest, my knees caved, etc. For the most part I was able to keep the first rep pretty nice and smooth, but the second reps were just really hard and not pretty. Still, they were all to depth and I didn't miss a single one. Right knee was ACHING though, Not cause I hurt it or anything, just going deep and heavy and it was a stiff day. Hopefully that goes away soon cause it's still aching.

Afterwards, front squatted. 3's at 165 and 185 were easy, and even 205 for a triple was alright. went up to 225, and THAT felt pretty heavy - solid but heavy - so I just stayed there and hit it for another 2 singles.

Next, Deadlifts. Hit 2 at 205, 2 at 285, and then jumped straight to 335. Hit the first single, and it was pretty nice, with only a little back rounding at lockout. Went for a second one and it was a lot rougher, back went pretty round, and I just called it there. No shame in that, It was a really tough day but I fought through.

Finally, did 3 sets of hollow rocks. Didn't do back stuff, figured my back took enough punishment for one day.

Not easy, not pretty, but I pushed through and I think it will definitely pay off and help me progress. Though my legs are KILLING me right now hahaha. Hopefully tomorrow's workout will be more fun, I'm excited.

Pause

Today was just an arms day, but I felt like doing a bit more. In between stretching and curling, I did some paused bench, working up to 185 x 3 and 205 for a very solid single. It was so good that I even tried 215, but got stapled. Still, considering I benched yesterday, A very nice 205 is pretty good, and a paused - bench pr. So that's cool. Afterwards, banged out some more curls and got the hell out of there. Gonna heal up and hit it hard tomorrow.

Back off man

Today was a mixed day. Overall, I performed very well, but I am a little annoyed with myself for pushing perhaps a little further than I should have on strict press.

Started with 5/3/1 bench. Hit the bar, then 95 x 12 and 135 x 10, then 150 x 3, 170 x 3, and finally 195 x 5. Very happy with that set, weight moved really nice. One issue - I was trying to move the weight really smoothly and fast, and I think I ended up slamming my chest a little harder than I want to, especially on the last rep or two. I want to move fast, and it feels good when it's in the groove like that, but I don't want to be bouncing the bar or out of control. BUT, I did a paused rep after a short rest, and demolished it, which made me feel better. Just gonna try and be a little more careful and controlled on thursday when I do this weight for a ton of doubles.

Next, destroyed my paused reps at 170. Did 3 sets of 5 with no problem. These are awesome, I'm gonna keep pushing them hard.

Finally, rep out at 150 went pretty well. Got 14 reps, and did a better job keeping the groove without slamming the weight. And considering I worked very hard on the 195 and 170, That's a pretty good rep - out.

Next, kroc rows were a bitch. These are just so fuckin hard. Did a set of 40 each side with the 100. Gonna keep pushing these till I get sets of 50, then probably start doing 2 sets.

Next, strict press. I felt really good today, which was a curse almost as much as it was good. What I have BEEN doing (and has been working amazingly) is working up to a heavy weight, and hitting it for a bunch of singles. BUT, because I felt good today, I got a PR in my head. hit the bar, 95 x 5, 135 x 3, and crushed 155 x 1. Then I jumped straight to 175, but my rep was a little sloppy (shrugged it a bit), AND I missed it over my head. It was stupid, I should have taken advantage of the good day and gone to 165 and WRECKED shit, but instead I did a shitty half rep at 175. Luckily, I think I salvaged it okay - dropped to 155 and did 5 doubles at that weight. Just light enough that I could get the weight after losing all morale and intensity after that miss, but heavy enough to be a grind. After those 5 doubles I dropped to 135 and hit it for 7 paused reps.

Finally, intermingled with my final pressing sets, did 3 x 6 neutral pullups.

SO, my performance was great today. Gotta make sure not to do silly things. PR's are fun but they're not going to make me as strong as smarter, harder work. Still, I'm in week 8 and still doing great. 6 more real workouts, then my "deload." Hopefully that will heal me enough that I can demolish the final 9 weeks of this program, and I will be SO much stronger by christmastime. We will see.

Great squat workout

Today, I was nervous about squatting. Yesterday, for the first time in a long time, I had a full rest day, not even going in to stretch. I was worried that I was going to feel like shit, but actually I felt incredible.

Started with 5/3/1 squat. Hit the bar for a bunch, then 125. At first these felt okay, but then about halfway through the set I started feeling awesome. I was moving incredibly fast, hitting the bottom and catching the stretch reflex better than I ever have before. Not really sure what was different, other than that I was really thinking about sitting down with my knees out, and I was just moving much faster and more beautifully than I have before. 125 felt so good I went straight to 225, crushed it for 3, then 255, crushed that for three. Loaded up 290 and attacked it really well; I was focused and didn't make the same mistake I did last week of amping up too much. I made every rep beautiful, crushing it for 7. Only the 7th rep was a little tough and ugly, but that was purely because it was a max effort, not because I was sloppy at all. This is absolutely sick, and a huge PR since I switched styles. Low bar, my best day ever was probably 300 x 8, and 290 x 7 is right up there. Cannot wait to start surpassing my PR's again with this new awesome style.

Next, speed deadlifts were great as well. 10 x 1 on the minute with 265. Deficit is deep, but the weight moved nice. Also, I noticed that lately I've been taking a little too much time in the bottom. It's only about a seconds pause, but it makes a HUGE difference when I get rid of that. If I can just drop my hips and pull immediately, the weight moves so much faster and cleaner. Need to make sure Iget rid of that pause, especially when I pull heavy on thursdays.

Finally, 5 x 5 at 235 squat was good. I wanted to just cement that beautiful motor pattern in my mind. This was absolutely no problem today, and I hit the final set for 10 reps, just to push myself and practice good form when I'm exhausted.

And last but not least, 3 x 12 hanging leg raised supersetted with 25 lb back extensions.

Overall, an amazing day. I hope that I can make more and more of my squat days feel like this one. The weight was moving so beautifully. Gonna keep pushing myself, try to REALLY take advantage of my rest days (it payed off today), and just enjoy moving this heavy ass weight.