Tester Workout

First workout back today went well. Definitely didn’t feel great, a little tired, slow, stiff, and definitely not crazy strong. But decent.

Started with paused squats. Did a fair amount of warming up, and mixed in regular squats with the paused stuff just to feel out the movement as a whole. Hit a set with the bar, then 8 at 95, 5 at 135, 4 at 185, 3 at 225, 2 at 255, then a single at 275 and a single at 295. It was a pretty tough rep – I felt pretty confident that I had another 10 or so lbs in me, but there was really no point in pushing there, so I called it there.

Next, benched up heavy. I was playing around with technique, trying to set up differently than my normal setup, and I don’t  know how I liked it. Felt a little weird and unstable, but my feet were definitely more straight than normal. Maybe I just need to find a better hybrid setup. Anyways, bench definitely felt a little weak and sad. Hit warmups with the bar, 95, 135, 185, then a single at 205 and 225. Felt pretty tough and slow so I called it there. I think I am going to keep my setup the same, and just focus on straightening my feet.

Next, hook grip deads. Again, these felt a little slow and shitty. Not sure if the hook grip throws off my form, or if my form was just a little off because I haven’t pulled in like a week and a half. I think perhaps I will have to play around with the same grip-it-and-rip-it mentality, but with a little bit of a more static setup if I am going to pull with a hook grip. Anyways, pulled 135 and 245 easy, 315 was a bit slow off the floor, same with 365, and 405 was just a pretty slow, tough rep. But, the grip was fine. I think I will just have to figure out the setup with the new grip, which should be very easy with all the lighter pulling I have for the next bunch of weeks.

Finally, strict press was kind of the worst haha. Just didn’t feel great. Pressed the bar, 95, 135, and then 165 for a double, and called it there.

So, nothing special today but a good first day back. Gonna do arms and stretch tomorrow, and try and get my body ready to go hard Monday! I’m excited. Today definitely wasn’t amazing, but I need to just focus on the changes I’m making – slight form tweaks on bench and deadlift, and then just focus on ripping through my workouts, eating and living well, and losing all this extra fat. Lets keep at it! 

GOALS for May 2014

So I am currently enjoying my time off from lifting. Eating a lot of shitty food, having some beers, not stressing too much. But in the midst of all the fun, can't help but think about getting back to training, and goals for next year. My goals this year definitely helped keep me motivated and give me direction in my training, and although I didn't nail all of them, I was very happy to hit the press and deadlift PR's with ease, and squat and bench are right there. SO, I've been doing some thinking and planning about what goals I should set for next year this time. So here we go:

Where I am at right now:

Weight: 225
Bodyfat: 20% ish
Arms: 16.25 inches
Squat: 390
Bench: 235
Deadlift: 455
Press: 195

Here is what I am thinking for next year, before the end of may:

Weight: 242
Bodyfat: 12%
Arms: 18.5 inches
Squat: 495
Bench: 305
Deadlift: 565
Press: 225
Total: 1365

Some big goals. But hey, you have to think big to get big. While these goals will not be easy to reach, I think they are ALL attainable. I made similar gains this past year, and hopefully my programming will be smarter and my gains better this time around. Here is my thinking:

Weight and Bodyfat:

I am carrying a lot more fat now than I want. I did a very good job putting on a lot of muscle this semester, but I also put on a lot of fat - I would say about half and half, maybe 15lbs of muscle and 15 of fat. Over the summer, I plan to trim as much of that fat as I can, maybe even put on a few lbs of muscle. So ideally, I would LIKE to be 210 ish with about 10-12% bodyfat. So, over the course of the school year, that means I have to gain about 30 lbs, say 25 ish of muscle and 5-10 of fat. The plan will basically be to carb backload HARD, getting as much whole food in as I can, while still keeping the rest down while I lift and leaving cardio in at least on wednesdays. Hopefully that way I can force myself to gain weight fast and efficiently, while keeping fat loss lower this time around. If I can get to 242 ish with 12% before my free all-you-can-eat food goes away, I think I will be able to maintain that weight while improving composition for the rest of my days.

Arms:

This is the least important goal I suppose. But my bench has been such crap for so long, and I feel certain that if I can get my arms a full 2 inches larger, there is no chance in hell my bench won't improve. Plus, aesthetically my arms have always been a weak point. I would love to just have some huge ass arms, to show myself that I can do it and to look great.

Squat:

495 is a big goal. Over a hundred pounds. However, I think that is totally doable in a year. I will have to train hard and train very smart, but I think I can do it. And, despite missing my goal of a 4-plate squat this year, I think I am RIGHT there, and will hit 405 before I know it... and I'm not going to shoot for a 475 or 485 squat when 5 plates is right there. This will be my redemption.

Bench:

305 is a big deal - 70 lbs on my bench, when I only managed to put 30 lbs on it this past year. However, I actually think my bench is closer to 245, despite my failure at the meet. Plus, while my bench training has improved, I still haven't found a method of training that REALLY works. So I am going to hold out hope that with slight tweaks to my programming, I will find the right combination of volume, intensity, technique, that will yield the best results. That, combined with some serious upper body growth from the arm and back work I'm putting in, should result in some gains like I have never seen. I would LOVE to shoot for 315, and would have if I hit the 255... but I think breaking 300 is a big enough goal.

Deadlift:

Originally I was thinking 545 would be the best goal to make - the next plate increment - but deadlifting has just been going great. My technique is on point, and I'm loving the lift more than I ever have. I BARELY failed 475, so even though my PR is 455 I wouldn't necessarily consider 565 adding 110 lbs, more like 100. I just think I should set my sights higher than 545, so 565 it is.

Press:

One of my better lifts, but I have been hitting some plateau's on this lately. I think 225 is just the next logical goal, however. Maybe it's a little low, or maybe it's going to be a lot tougher than I think to get that 2 plate press. However, I put like 50 lbs on my press this past year, plus I'm adding in all this extra arm and back work, I feel like 30 lbs is a reasonable goal.

So there we go! If I can manage that, I will hit a 1365 total, a full 300 lbs more than what I hit this time around. It is going to take a lot of work, but I am gonna try and take full advantage of this last year of free gym, free food, and a lot of time to dedicate to lifting. I made great gains this year, and if I can be smarter I can make even better gains this time around. Lets keep at it, and crush some shit.

SUMMER + FUTURE PROGRAMMING

SO, now that the meet is behind me I can start to move forward. I have learned a lot from the last year of training. Now, to go forward and make some changes to try and optimize training even more.

CYCLES: so I took a look at the calendar, and this is what training is probably going to look like for the summer: starting next monday the 3rd, I will start a 9 week cycle, which will bring me to a week completely off when I go on vacation. Then, I can do another 3 week "peaking" cycle, which will carry me into the new school year. I can then do another mock meet on the 4th of september. From there, I ca n run two 6 week cycles in the fall semester: 6 weeks, odd lifts meet, 6 more weeks, and another mock powerlifting meet. That december meet would fall on the week of finals, but I think that will be okay because 1) finals shouldn't be as bad next semester, and 2) I can do it later in the week than wednesday, and 3) If I stop training the week of finals and just go in, stretch, lift light, stretch in preparation for the meet, I shouldn't be as under-recovered as I was this past finals week. That will be a good experiment too - if I perform poorly, I will have to plan to max not on finals week in the spring semester.

SUMMER PROGRAMMING: Some changes to my programming that I think will be very good. Lower body stuff is staying much the same, with some slight changes, because it has been working really well. Making some bigger changes to upper body work because bench is still lagging hard.

Focus this summer: Getting in great shape - improve work capacity drastically and lose as much extra fat as I can, while maintaining muscle mass and still adding a small amount of strength. Also, just take a break from the long, slow, strength based workouts. Move fast, have fun, and lift hard.

ACTUAL PROGRAM for 9 weeks in summer

First of all, I will be timing rest for EVERY movement except the first of each workout, and performing sets either on the 2-minutes or on the 3 minutes.

Monday:

5/3/1 squat: gonna take the weight back 4 months, so I don't move a single weight that is more than what I have currently done. Also, I am only going to only the prescribed reps. This will help me keep moving heavy weights with great form, without focusing too much on strength.

Back off squats: after hitting the top set, going to drop back to the other two work sets and do a set of 1-5 pause squats at each weight. I don't want to set the reps, because I don't know how many I will be able to do, but I think pause squats are important for me to work in. I have becoming efficient out of the hole, but always hit a nasty sticking point, and I need to work on exploding out of the hole and through the middle.

Speed deadlifts: Going to take the weight back to 275, 295, and 315 and do my normal speed work, without the deficits for 9 weeks. I haven't taken the weight back since I started doing speed work a year and a half ago, so I think this will be a good opportunity to really move the weight fast, and focus on perfecting my setup from the ground as well - hips low, fast setup.

Snatch grip deads: I am going to use the straps with these, and do 5 sets of 9 for the first 3 weeks, 7 for the middle 3, and 5 for the last 3. I will start at 155, and add 20 lbs each week, ending with 315 x 5 x 5 with minimal rest.

Tuesday:

5/3/1 bench: same deal - taking the weight back, and only doing rx sets. Focus will be on form and moving heavy weight, without pushing even close to failure. Build confidence and speed/strength with heavy weights. 

Back off bench: go to the previous work sets, and do the rx'd reps with a LONG pause. 

Heavy Row: I have been lazy with my pulling. I just hate committing to one movement, so I tell myself I can do whatever... then I don't work hard. So instead I am going to split it up into a "heavy" "light" and "moderate" weight group, decide on a number of sets, and work all the rep ranges/weights. So here; heavy rows for 3 sets. 

Strict press: I am going to do a different kind of linear progression. Instead of being married to a certain set/rep range, and increasing weight when you can do those sets/reps, I am going to commit to a weight, and increase that weight 5 lbs every two weeks no matter what. For those two weeks, I will simply move that weight for whatever sets/reps I want: 3 x 10, 3 x max, 5 x 5, 10 x 3, whatever. For strict press, I am going to start at 135. Also, this is touch and go. I think I lost omething by completely removing touch and go, so I'm going to add it back in. 

Light row: 5 sets. 

Wednesday: 

Running: Going to work on running for the summer, but this will probably change to any kind of "cardio" once I get in shape and return to school. For the summer: 12 minutes the first 3 weeks, 15 the middle 3, and 18 the final 3. 

Arms: No programming for this. Just need to take it really seriously. Possibly some incline or close grip work at the start, just to work on the bench from another angle and get the triceps/shoulders pumped, then straight up direct bicep and tricep work, chasing the pump and trying to grow. 

Thursday: 

High rep squats: Doing this simply to up my work capacity, mental toughness, confidence with weights in the 200's. From week to week, the numbers are: 115 x 30, 135 x 30, 165 x 25, 185 x 25, 205 x 20, 225 x 20, 245 x 15, 265 x 15, 285 x 15. Focus on keeping the reps beautiful and just getting through it. 

5/3/1 Front squats: Taking weight back. These have been going really well. Just going to keep focusing on keeping the reps fast and beautiful, and cutting down the rest. 

Heavy Deadlifts: Basically, I am going to treat this as heavy speed work. I'm going to lighten it up at first, and hit the weight for a single on the 2 minutes instead of the 1 minute, focusing on speed and precision of setup. Start with 365 x 5, then 365 x 8, then 375 x 5, 8, etc. Last week will be 405 x 5, which is basically where I am now - except hopefully they will be faster and more beautiful. 

Friday: 

5/3/1 press, take weight back, only prescribed reps. 

Backoff sets: same as bench, rx'd reps on the two earlier work weights, but with a really long pause. 

Moderate row: 4 sets. 

Bench: similar to press on tuesday. Working with a weight (165 to start) bumping the weight up every two weeks, and doing it for whatever sets/reps suit. Touch n go. Basically just working my ass off. 

Light bodybuilding work: can be back, arms, shoulders, chest, whatever works. Just light for lots of reps. 

Saturday: 

Arms II. Same deal as wednesday. Maybe start with a bodybuilding-oriented bench variant, then just hammer the arms. Gotta get them to 18.5. 

Sunday: Full rest

SO there you have it. Really excited. I think limiting the rest and the added cardio is going to help me get into much better shape, and these are things that (once I adjust to them) I plan on keeping in my programming, so that when I start to focus more on heavy weights and eating a ton, I can keep the fat gain even lower than this last year. 

For diet, Basically going to continue a carb-backloading style, but allowing myself to use more protein powder/shakes to get all my protein in, which will reduce the amount of whole food/calories I have to take in. So basically - coffee pre-workout, shake post workout, big meaty and carby meal with a protein shake for dinner, then another shake before bed. That way, I can keep protein higher and carbs/calories lower. I think that, combined with the faster-paced heavy workouts, will help me lose fat. 

After the 9 weeks, I will fine-tune those final 3 weeks to be very similar to the summer training, but as more of a "peaking" cycle, move some heavier weights to get ready for the meet at the start of school. At that meet, I will try to set very small PR's - just 5-10 lbs each lift would be more than enough - and then really buckle down, start smashing PR's through the fall and winter, and hopefully get a BIG pr total in december. 

So that's that. Coming up next, goals for the next year. 

Mock Meet II

Good day today. Far from perfect, as I have been saying, but still a really good day, fun, hit some solid PR's, and learned (which is always the goal)

Started with squats. Warmed up a ton, all sorts of stuff, and that worked really well - felt great when I started squatting. Hit the bar for 10, then 135 x 5, 3, then 225 x 3, 1, and 275 x 1,1, and then 315 x 1. Felt really good as far as form, but maybe a little bit slower and weaker than I have felt on REALLY good days at 315. Loaded up 345, threw on the belt, and hit it for a single. Pretty solid, not too hard or slow. Loaded up 375 (old PR) and hit it for a very solid rep, and it was just tougher and slower than I wanted. I felt very bummed for a second, because I really wanted to take a crack at 405 but based on 375 I just didn't think I would get it. So, I took josh's advice, didn't get stuck on the number, and loaded up 390. Hit it for a great rep, form was awesome. It was incredibly hard and slow, but that means it was a really good decision to load up 390. And that is a 15 lb pr, even though it's 15 lbs lighter than I wanted.

Next, I totally fucked up bench. While with squat, the much more minimal warmup with weight forked really well, with bench I think it was a huge mistake. I hit the bar x 10, 95 x 5, 135 x 4, 185 x 2, then 215 x 1 with the belt. All were easy, but simply did not feel good at all. I then loaded up 240. My thinking was that, although it was a big jump, there should be NO chance of me missing 240, seeing as how I doubled 235 just a week ago. However, my body was just not prepared to deal with taht heavy weight, and completely shut down. I got 100% stapled by 240 not once by twice, which should NOT have happened. I thought it was mental at first, but honestly in hindsight I think it was physiological - my nerves simply shut off because the weight was too much of a shock. Disappointing, but I got over it fast.

Finally. deadlifts went really well. Got really amped up for these and it was a good choice - no-explode and really good music and focus. Hit 155 x a few, then 245 x 2, 315 x 1, 365 x 1, all super fast and awesome. Hit 415 x 1 with the belt and destroyed it, so I loaded up 455. Again, I destroyed it, exactly the way I was hoping to. So, loaded up 475, got crazy amped, took a whiff of amonia, and Went after it hard. It was a really close miss - pulled it well to about mid-thigh and then just could not squeeze my hips through for the life of me. I tried to without hitching, then resorted to hitching and got SO close before my grip gave out. But hey, that was a REALLY big reach (for a 40 lb PR) and I ALMOST got it. Nothing to be ashamed of. I just let my back get a little too round and didn't force my hips quite low enough. But still, definitely not bad - easy 20 lb PR AFTER max squat and bench.

Here's the video.

SO, even with the horrible benching, I end up with a 1060 total, 25 lbs better than in December. Really happy and proud of that progress. So what are some things I have learned from today?

1) Squat is the most nerve-wracking lift. Don't get hung up with numbers on this. Set an opener you know you can make, and then make realistic jumps based on how you feel that day. Rather than having huge goals, just feel it out. After the squat, it's all fun.

2) Bench - I need more warmup, not just in meets but until I am better at them. For squats and deadlifts, I am good enough that a minimal warmup simply saves energy, as long as I do a longer general warmup. But on bench, I need to do more warmup reps and make smaller jumps. May not be ideal, but if I don't my nerves shut right down.

3) Getting really amped up for deadlift works great. Form stayed really nice - only thing to be careful of is to keep working to start with my hips lower, always. I have recently figured out how to use my back, and that's great, but too much back makes lockout incredibly hard haha. Gotta keep working to find the balance.

Anyways, great day. Now, to rest, eat, replenish my body and my mind, then I start on a new journey - getting in shape, and paving myself to make insane gains next years. Coming soon, my summer programming, and some goals for a year from now. Lets rest up and keep at it!

Second Light day

Nice light day today.

Didn't sleep great last night, but did a nice, long warmup with all sorts of extra band and shoulder stuff, as per my new, long-warm up ideal. Then went out to the gym, did a set of 10 with the bar, and then benched 95 for 3 sets of 5. Felt decent. Not great, my back was a bit crampy and tight today, but not bad either. Definitely felt warmer than usual, form felt good.

Next, did some light overhead press - 10 reps with the bar, then another 3 x 5 with 95 lbs.

Finally, just some mobility and prep work for tomorrow! Did some sitting in the bottom of the squat, put the bar on my knees to get a nice ankle stretch, put my legs up on the bench and stretched the glutes/hip, put my foot up behind me to stretch the quad/hip flexor, did some light curls and extension to move the elbows, rolled my back on the lacrosse ball a little bit, went for a nice walk, and took a short cold shower. Been taking my vitamin c and my fish oil.

So basically, the day has arrived! I'm gonna eat as much as I can the rest of today/tonight, try and load up on calories and carbs, try and get a really good nights sleep tomorrow, and then just have fun! I really think I will be able to smash my year goals - but even if I do not, I am certain that I am withing 5-10 pounds of each goal, so even if tomorrow goes terribly, I need to just keep the chin up, enjoy the rest, and get back to work. LEts rest hard, have some fun tomorrow, and most importantly keep at it!

Light day 1

Today was just a light leg workout to get me moving weight again, try and get my muscles and nerves primed to lift so that wednesday I can smash some weight! It went well

Started by doing a longer, more intensive warmup (as per my new ideal). Did my normal general warmup of arm circles, leg swings, etc. Then, did some quick pushups and squats, some quick dislocates to warm up my shoulders, then did a bunch of deep lunges to open up my hips, knees and ankles, some light quad stretches and calf stretches, and some jumping squats to make sure I was all warmed up.

Then, went out to the new home gym! Hit a set of 10 squats with the bar, then 5, 5, 5 with 135. Definitely felt the best squats have felt n a while haha. Ideally, I want my warmup to now look something like this: 135 x 5, 3, 225 x 3, 1, 275 x 1, 315 x 1, etc. HOWEVER, I'm not sure if it's a great idea to implement this on wednesday, and change my routine the day I am max squatting. However, maybe I will. depends how I feel.

Second, put 135 on the ground and pulled it for a set of 5, then 6 singles with some rest in between. Felt really good. After, pulled 235 x 1,1. I didn't really need to, and maybe shouldn't have cause my back wasn't as warm as I might have liked haha, but it moved fine as well. After I was done, did some very light stretches for my ankles and hips.

So that's it for the day. Now, to rest and eat. Gonna have a similar light day tomorrow, and then wednesday is meet day! Very excited. Lets keep recovering.

A few things:

1) I've been resting, eating, and doing some light stretching/mobility, and I'm finally starting to feel alright. Looking forward to light workouts monday and tuesday, to prepare myself for doing great on wednesday!

2) Working on setting up the new and improved garage gym as we speak. Very excited - it should be done either today or tomorrow.

3) Been watching a ton of videos by Bryce Lewis. Awesome dude, crazy strong, big, seems to be natural, and his lifting style is very similar to mine so I feel like I can learn a lot from him. One thing I think I am going to start trying that I have taken from his videos is that I am going to try and do a longer, better warmup - basically, do my general warmup, then some band stretches and drills on bench day, and some stretches to open up my hips, warm up my knees and ankles on squat day. Then, do less reps warming up to my heavy sets. That should be a good way to increase speed of my workout and my strength at top sets, as well as improve form/mobility in the long run.

4) Working a lot on programming lately. Excited to finish it up, but some basic changes - 2-3 mins rest on EVERYTHING except the first exercise, more long-pause work, including squats and presses, as well as adding back in some touch n go bench and press work, some lighter speed deads and turning the heavy deads into more of a "heavy speed" session, programmed running and back work, and more. I'll probably type it up after the meet, when I finalize it, but I am DEFINITELY getting excited to start some new stuff.

Final Workout - and Where From Here?

Today was another terrible workout.

Started with bench. Tried warming up fast.. don't know if that contributed to the shittiness or not, but it sure was shitty. Hit the bar and 95 for a slew, then 155 which felt heavy, hit it for 8. Then, went to 205. Didn't feel good at all. Felt heavy, form felt shitty, reps were slow. Hit it for 5, 5, and 4.

Next, strict press. Hit 95, then 145 x 5 which felt way harder than it should have. Next, 165 x 3, and finally 185 x 1, it was about an 8 second rep. Really hard and shitty. Then hit 165 x 2 and 135 x maybe 8. Form actually was feeling good, but strength was just not there.

Finally, hit my arms. Used the small straight bar with 10's, did 20.20 superset of curls and skullcrushers. Really felt the squeeze in the biceps, got a nice pump.

So here is what I have to say: I am at the end of my rope. Clearly I am severely overtrained and under-recovering. These workouts have been so bad that they aren't even indicative of my current level of strength - because, without a doubt I am the strongest I have ever been. However, progress has clearly stopped. And honestly, I feel as though I am doomed to fail in this meet on wednesday.

HOWEVER, that day is a long way away. I am going to rest, recover, do very light stretching and lifting, and give my all to preparing to be my absolute best on meet day. And despite how I feel now, I am going to do my best to smash these goals I set over a year ago. as little as two weeks ago I was INSANELY confident that I could do it. Yes I am beat up, yes I have had some bad workouts. But with rest, food, and sleep, I think I can crush 405, 255, and 455.

The question is, where do I go after wednesday? I am going to wait for the meet before I set anything in stone - I think it is important to see where I am and how I perform before I decide anything. However, regardless of how I perform, I KNOW that I am stronger than I have ever been, so it's important to keep that in mind. In any case, I think I am definitely on track with my ideas for training this summer - namely to shift focus away from strength and heavy weights, and instead try and up volume while decreasing the weight, and also decreasing rest time. The emphasis, then, will be on building and maintaining muscle mass and strength while losing fat, and getting in better shape so that this under-recovering thing will not be a problem for a while. However, I think maybe my plan before didn't take it far enough. After the last few workouts, I am thinking that, in addition to the changes I outlined before, I should re-set my 5/3/1 work on squat, bench, and front squat, do some lighter speed deads, and decrease the weight/increase reps on the heavy deadlifts. Basically, take the weights back even further, and really give myself a mental and physical break from the strength demands I have been placing on my body. I think this might be the best way to really get in shape, look and feel good this summer, while keeping myself fresh and excited to lift AND preparing myself both physically and mentally to make bigger, better strength gains when I return to school in the fall.

No decisions yet. Going to rest up and hit this meet hard. I'm really excited for the future, whatever it may be. Lets keep at it.

Pretty shitty workout

Today was really bad. I guess I shouldn't be too surprised, after literally not sleeping at all tuesday and being totally out of whack, but I was still hopeful it might be good, cause of the tons of recovery catch-up I was doing. Still, recovery isn't easy these days, so I need to cut myself a little slack.

Started with squatting. Goal was to go up to 315 for 5 easy and fast sets of 2 today. Worked up as I am planning to when I max out - 155 x 10, 6, 225 x 8, 275 x 4, then up to 315 x 2. Form was mediocre at best haha. Kept getting caught forward, and my speed down/rebound out of the bottom was shit. I was really tight and my calves/shins were aching, and it blew. Still, I got the 315 x 5 x 2 without much trouble. Not easy, but not bad.

Next, front squats. Plan was to max out (if it was a good day). So, I did work up heavy. Hit 215 x 3, 245 x 2, then 275 x 1 with the belt. Wanted to go 295 x 1 then 315 x 1, but when I hit 295 it was like a 7 second rep, absolutely a 10 out of 10 in terms of difficulty. Shows me that it really was just a rough day, because just last week I was feeling confident I could smash 315. My form was just not on point, I was not fast into or out of the bottom, and just not very strong either. All around rough day.

Deadlifts were probably the best part of the workout. Hit a weight on the 3 minutes - 155 x 3, 245 x 2, 315 x 1, and 365 x 1, all fast, smooth and solid. Then went to 415, and it just was heavy and hard. First rep was pretty smooth and nice. Second was REALLY hard, I was just a little far out in front, and it was pure spine and hate that let me lock out that rep. I decided to only try for one more... ended up getting it, definitely easier than the second rep. But I called it there. Not ideal, I wanted to hit 5 singles, but I was not having a great day.

Overall, pretty crappy day. Not the worst I've ever had, that's for sure, but it just would have been nice to have a better, confidence building day for my last leg workout. But here's the thing: there are good reasons for today sucking. After tomorrow, I just need to focus up on resting a ton this weekend, eating a ton, then going through some nice movements on monday and tuesday so that, when wednesday rolls around, I am not only fully rested and recovered, but my body is mobile and feeling great so that I can be fast with my lifts and feel good. I'm gonna do great in this mock meet, I just need to give recovery/preparation my all, and I will kick ass. Lets keep at it.

Squat 365 x 2, Bench 235 x 2

Today was a bit whacky. Definitely wasn't 100% recovered from... everything haha. Also, had to deal with the changeof equipment and setting, which threw off my form and my focus a bit. However, overall a really killer day.

Started with 5/3/1 squat. Warmed up fast, hitting the bar, 155 x 10, 6, 225 x 8, then 285 x 5. Loaded up 325 and hit it for a really shitty 3 - something about the setup at mu home gym just makes me get caught forward on squats. First rep was okay, but the second was so forward that I had to take a stop to prevent myself from falling. Hit a third, but it was tougher cause of the shitty second. Loaded up 365 (even though weight was 360, f that haha) and hit it for a double, no belt. First rep was a bit forward, but still fairly solid despite the bad position. Second rep was better, but really tough, had to work my ass off to grind it out. But that is still pretty kickass, never done that beltless before. Plus, I moved my squat rack forward haha, I think the ground was just a little uneven, so hopefully the shift forward will make form tighter.

Next, speed deads were solid. Not very fast, but solid. Feet were maybe a little closer than normal cause of the setup - smaller plates. Pulled 335 x 8 singles from a two-plate deficit.

Finally, snatch deads went well. Not easy, but really good. Strapped up and hit 155 x a slew, then 225 x 3, 275 x 3, 315 x 3, and finally 365 x 3 solid reps. Probably had another in there if I felt like doing it.

Rested for maybe a half hour, then decided that, since I will have no time to train tomorrow and I actually felt pretty good, I would do the benching part of my workout today. Warmed up with the bar, then 95, then 135 and despite some extra crampy ass and having to play with form to adjust to my new bench, felt good. Loaded up 185 and hit it for 5, then 210 for a really solid 3. Loaded 235 and finally was good with the setup/lift. Hit it for a really solid single, and then a second rep that was certainly a max attempt, but I got it. Pretty happy with that. Ass was a tiny bit off the bench, but that was just cause it's a new bench. Backed off to 210 and hit it for 3 really nice easy singles with a very long pause.

So, good day. Doubled my squat PR from december, beltless and on a not-great day. Doubled my bench pr from december, beltless and without being even the least bit fresh. Pretty cool. Gonna finish that upper body workout on wednesday. Lets keep at it.

205 bench for 3 x 6

Nothing crazy today. Took it a little easy, had a pretty good day.

Started with bench. Warmed up really fast, combining my normal warmup with bench sets, which felt awesome. I loved going faster, cause then rest time on the top sets felt SO restful. Also, focused a lot on flexing my lats to break the bar off my chest, which felt good. Hit 205 for a solid 6, but decided not to try for 7. Then hit a second, tougher 6, followed by a final set of 6 that was easier than the second, but still not so easy that I thought I could get 7.

Next, strict press. Started at 95, then hit 135 x 3, 155 x 3, and finally 175 x 2 and then another 2. Couldn't get the third. Kind of lame... I definitely think on a better day I could have gotten it. But at the same time, I'm not really too bummed. First of all, last time I stalled was the exact same situation, only thirty pounds lighter... and clearly the re-set helped haha. Secondly, My press has kind of been poopy lately so I'm thinking maybe this re-set is exactly what I need. I was brainstorming, and thinking that maybe this summer I will reduce pressing volume a lot, take a break from all these reps I'm doing (maybe in both bench and strict press work). I'm thinking I will keep up 5/3/1 with the prescribed reps, and maybe do a "work up to a heavy single" thing to try and get my body back to being used to what it feels like to move really heavy weight efficiently. Then, I can really put the focus this summer on volume for my back/arms. I can try and grow those guys, and see what kind of impact it has on my pressing lifts. At the very least, it will build a great foundation to make progress in the fall.

Finally, did some more lighter arms stuff. Put 5's on the curl bar this time, and did 5 rounds as fast as I could, 15 curls and 15 skullcrushers. Just that little bit of weight made a HUGE difference. Got a pretty crazy pump. Also, no real bicep pain or even weirdness. I'm very happy that it seems to be feeling much better.

So overall, nothing crazy today, but a pretty decent session. Gotta rest up best I can this weekend, prepare for my final training week, and continue to make plans for the future! Lets keep at it.

Strong Day: Squat 355 x 4

Today was the first really good workout I have had in like a week haha. Everything went really well. It took a lot though - taking it really easy yesterday, laying around all day, eating as much as I could stomach, and sleeping like 10+ hours to feel okay haha. But hey, glad I made it through this last truly tough workout. It's a nice mental break from the slew of rough workouts.

Started with squats. Warmed up really well, then hit the bar x 10, 125 x 10, 6, and 205 x 9. Actually felt pretty good, so I went straight to 285 and hit it for 4. Felt a little bit heavy (probably cause of the bigger jump), but form was solid and I was fast out of the bottom which was good. Went up to 325 and hit hit for a fast and easy single, then loaded up 355. Hit it with focus and tenacity. Rep 1 was great. Rep two was a little bit off, I felt a knee caving a tiny bit which tells me I was a little off, but it still moved fast and easy. Rep 3 was fast down and I got a great bounce out of the bottom, but was maybe not QUITE as tight as I could have been... and rep 4 was pretty much the same, a little tighter and a little slower/harder. Definitely a great tough set of 4. Very happy with that, it's a PR and one that is coming at a VERY tough time for rep PR's.

Next, dropped back to 205 for front squats. Hit it for a double, then 230 for a double. I was definitely a little creaky and not feeling great, but I focused up and loaded the 260. Hit it for the 3 sets of 2 with about 2 and a half minutes rest, as usual. Definitely wasn't cake. Upper back was definitely giving a bit, elbows dropping, and therefore I was a bit more forward than ideal. But hey... it's after a big squat PR, there was NO chance of me missing any of the reps, with very limited rest, and that is some seriously heavy front squat PR sets. I'm very excited to max this out next week.

Finally, deadlifts were tougher than I would have liked, but still very good. Did my earlier sets from a deficit, thinking maybe it would make the later sets easier, but I didn't really like it. I need the earlier sets to practice my precise and vicious setup. Anyways, pulled 245 x 3, 315 x 2, then 365 x 1 and finally 415 x 4 x 1 on the 3 minutes. Reps were tough. First one was slow, second 3 were better because I did a better job being fast in the setup/pull. But even though they weren't easy, I got them, and that's after a very tough workout. Plus, the bicep was fine, so that's good.

So overall a kick ass workout! Need to be prepared that tomorrow might be tough, but I will do my best  to keep everything healing and keep my mind straight even if tomorrow is rough. Can't wait to max my front squat, and then rest up and SMASH some PR's in two weeks time! Lets keep at it.

Arms 1

Took it really easy today. Overtraining is setting in hard with the stress of finals and the fact that I am in the last weeks of my 9 week cycle. That, plus this little bicep injury, are total bummer mentally, so I decided to just try and use today as a recovery day, take it easy on my body to try and prepare it for tomorrow (which is probably the hardest workout I have left), And feel out the bicep. Good news: Finals are officially done! Hopefully now I can start recovering better and feeling alright. The move home and change of schedule/pace might wreak some havoc as well. Either way, just gotta keep the chin up and keep at it.

Dear god... this picture is too many things to put into words. 

Started with a nice warmup, then a good walk instead of running. Got on the treadmill and just started walking at a moderate pace. Over the course of a half hour I bumped the pace up maybe a half a mile an hour, and added an incline, then went back down. Nothing hard, just something to try and get my blood flowing and help reverse all the fucking sitting I have been doing.

Next, went downstairs and did some light stretching. Sat in the bottom of a squat and banged out a few air squats to try and get my knees feeling okay (didn't really work haha). Did some light stretches for my glutes and hamstrings and ankles. Nothing crazy, just trying my best to get my legs prepared so it won't be such a struggle to make squats feel okay tomorrow.

Finally, did some really light high-rep arm stuff. Basically, grabbed an easy curl bar and did 3 x (3 x 10 curls, 10 skullcrushers), with 2 minutes rest between macro-rounds and no rest between micro-rounds. At first, bicep felt a little weird, but as I warmed up and went though the sets it started feeling BETTER, not worse, which is a good sign. Got a decent pump, without any real problems. I feel good about that. Ideally, I would like to go a little heavier than this, but it was good to show myself that I can still get a nice pump with limited weight, limited range of motion, and just focusing on squeezing and keeping rest down. I will probably try and keep the arms work like this until the bicep is feeling much better.

I gotta get me a tank top like that... and some fucking HGH to look like these two. 

So overall, took it pretty easy today. Just trying to do what I can to get the body healing, and leave it at that. It's not ideal, but I only have a little bit left and I want to stay healthy for this mock meet. Might skip saturday training altogether to give myself more recovery time, or, might just do another something like today, I'm not sure. Either way, lets hope tomorrow goes well, and lets keep at it... two weeks to maxes!

Bench 220 x 3

So today was a pretty horrible day. BUT, it wasn't a complete waste, because I figured out something cool. Basically, I watched a ton of great benchers recently, and noticed something they do that is different from me. I have always tried to BLAST weight off my chest, THROUGH lockout. Basically throwing that shit up as hard as I can. One thing I noticed with guys like Eric Spoto and CT fletcher, however, is they seem to squeeze to lockout, rather than trying to blast through it. Basically, as I was benching today, I had an end-point of the rep in mind, and tried to squeeze the weight to that end point, rather than just trying to blast it with everything I had. The result? I felt much more in control of the weight, reps seemed more consistent and uniform, and I felt my chest muscles working much better than usual. Although it certainly didn't result in a magical bench PR, I think it is a step in the right direction and something I am going to continue to do in future training sessions.

Started with 5/3/1 bench. Felt good warming up with this style change. Hit 95, then 135, then went to 170 x 3 and 195 x 3. Neither felt easy, but the control felt good. Finally, loaded up 220 and hit it for a very solid 3, and went for a 4th that pretty much pinned me. Pretty disheartening, but again I need to keep in mind all the stressors holding me back. I can't worry about bad workouts. One thing I definitely noticed was that the muscular fatigue was way easier to predict with this style of benching. Instead of hitting 3 easy reps, then all of a sudden failing, rep 1 was medium, 2 was tough, 3 was tougher, etc. Dropped back to 195 and hit it for 3 doubles, with a  long pause on at least 1 rep of each set. Weigh definitely moves a little slower with this style, but something about it just feels right. I think I am going to stick with it for a bit, and see if maybe I have an easier time making gains with this.

Next, did 3 x 16 rear delt flyes with 12.5 dumbells.

Next, strict press was atrocious. Hit the bar, then 115, then 155... I wanted to try and go 3 x 8 today, but I only got 6, 5, 4. Really bad. But it almost made me feel better, because that tells me that today was just an overall shitty day, which excuses the benching a little. 220 x 3 is pretty bad, but if today was a pretty terrible day through and through, then 220 x 3 might indicate that I am actually making some progress haha.

Finally, ended with some high rep cable pulling.

So, pretty terrible day, but I just have to keep my chin up. Bicep is feeling slightly differrent today - less bothersome in the morning, before I trained, started to feel it while I trained, but still not painful at all on it's own. However, now it is sore to the touch - when I press is, it feels like a bruise or some doms. That could be a good sign (i.e. it's on it's way to healing) or a bad one. But it's still not really affecting my workouts or painful unless I press it, so I'm not too worried. I think tomorrow, however, I am going to take it REALLY easy, simply because I need the recovery - probably walk instead of run, and so some really light weight, high rep arm stuff and that's it. I need to really err on the side of recovery this next week and a half. I'm so close to the finish line, just got to stay mentally strong and be very careful. Lets keep at it.

Squat: 345 x 3

Today was an okay day. The battle is a mental one - physically, I am just beat up a little. It's the end of the semester, stress and schoolwork (and sitting all day) is at an all-time high, recovery is low, and now is when I need to recover the most - right at the end of these 9 weeks. The trick is just to accept that these workouts will be less than perfect and not let it get you down... which is tough. However, I'm doing okay, I'm hitting all the numbers I need to and being smart about my workouts. Just have to keep my chin up and keep at it.

Started with 5/3/1 squat. Took longer warming up, which definitely helped with form and coming out of the bottom more smoothly, but still my reps just aren't as fast as normal, and the weight just feels heavier than normal. Haven't had a GOOD day in a while. Still, I would say warmups felt better today than they have been. Hit the bar x 10, then 125 x 10, 6, then 205 x 10 which actually felt pretty solid. 265 x 3 didn't feel awesome, but 305 x 3 was pretty solid, especially the third rep. Loaded up 345 and focused best I could - hit it for the first rep, which was definitely tougher than I would have liked, but the second rep was very solid, and the third, although slow and tough, was also very solid. Called it there. I honestly don;t know if I would have had another rep today, which might be a little disheartening under other circumstances. But taking into account all the crap goign on, and the fact that I trained later than normal, after taking two exams (and the fact that I threw an extra 5 lbs on my actual 5/3/1 weight), this is totally fine. I just need to focus up, rest up, and sack up come thursday, and I think I will definitely be able to hit the 355 x 4. Just gonna take some tenacity.

Next, speed deads had me a little bit nervous because of the bicep issue. Definitely felt it a little bit, which to me confirms that there is, in fact, a slight strain or something. But overall it wasn't a problem at all. Hit 315 x 10 x 1 from a 2 plate deficit on the minute. First 2 reps were a little out in front, but I quickly settled into a nice groove and the weight was moving very well. Just had to focus on getting my hips low enough, and keeping the weight in close to my body. Nice and fast overall, though.

Can't tell if this is real.... that's awesome

Finally, snatch deads went pretty well. Hit 125 x a slew, then 205 x 3, 265 x 3, and 305 x 3, all very solid, felt better than a lot of recent snatch grip warmups. Loaded up 365 and went after it. For the second time, I tried to pull it and something was slightly amiss, so I picked it up say an inch, put it down and immediately pulled it for the first rep, then the second, and finally got the third about to my knees before my left hand's grip slipped. I definitely could have finished the pull though. and 365 x 2 is still a PR, so that's cool. I think next week I will just strap up, try to get rid of that shitty first quarter-rep, and try and triple 365. I think I will definitely be able to, if I just focus up and work.

So overall, a really decent workout. Squats weren't AMAZING, but the thing I have to keep in mind is 1) I'm beat to shit for a thousand reasons, and 2) squatting 345 x 3 on a not-great day is something that was unthinkable just a short while ago, so I am definitely and without a doubt stronger. I just have to trust that, keep training the best I can despite not having the best of workouts, and the only true test of my strength gains will be when I max out in just over 2 weeks.

Finally, I think I know what I am going to do about this bicep issue. There is definitely something not quite right, and yet it isn't at all painful, bruised, etc. Probably it is just a little inflamed, or perhaps a little bit strained. But I can't let that get in my head too much. I think I am basically just going to keep training as normal, and just know that if it gets worse, I need to be aware. I am even going to keep training arms - with some slight modifications. Triceps I am pretty much going to train normally. Basically, going relatively heavy and pushing close to failure on extension and pressing movements (8-12 rep range) seems to work great for getting a tricep pump, so I am going to try and stick with that. Biceps, I am going to be especially careful with the next few days - but essentially, I am goign to stop training curls heavy and stop single arm training. I am going to stick with curl variations that involve both arms (cables, straight bar, curl bar), and keep the weight light - weight I can do 20+ reps with, strict. In order to increase intensity, I am going to do things like increase number of sets, decrease rest, and focus on squeezing the muscle harder with more controlled reps, rather than increasing weight. Hopefully, as long as I am careful, the bicep will heal up nice and quick, and the bicep work will even help it heal faster. Over time, I'm sure the tendons and connective tissue will strengthen. Still, I would rather do a shittier workout (lighter) consistently than a better, heavier workout that risks injury, or even just makes me paranoid. If it isn't getting better, I will need to consider, but for now that's the plan. So, lets keep the chin up, and keep at it. Can't wait to max out.

Arms 2

Okay day. Wasn't quite right, and I'm feeling a little bummed right now.

Started with close grip, feet up bench to hit my triceps. Warmed up to 185, then tried to hit it for 20 reps as fast as I could. Got 5 in the first set, then pretty much just did sets of 2-3 with 30 seconds rest or so till I got to 20, took me about 7 minutes. No great pump from this.

Did some heavier straight bar curls next.

Did some skullcrushers with the straight bar after that.

Finally, tried to do some concentration curls but they felt so shitty I did cable curls instead. But I started feeling a weird, tingling warm sensation in my left elbow that made me completely paranoid that I was going to tear my bicep, so I stopped early.

I am feeling irritated about the whole thing. My elbow and tendons still feel kind of weird - not painful, just weird- and I can't get out of my head that there might be a problem and it is stressing me out. I really want to keep hitting my arms hard and often, but I am just feeling very uptight about this whole thing. I put a post on tnation about it though, in the hopes that some experienced BBers might be able to help me 1) know if anything is wrong, 2) know how to prevent it, and 3) maybe just chime in with advice about arm training in general, because I still haven't really figured out/decided what I like best - heavier arm training, 8-12 reps stuff, or high-ass rep shit. This type of training just isn't my strong suit, so I think asking for some advice is a good idea. Anyways, gonna try to keep my chin up and act like nothing is wrong. Lets keep at it.

Imperfect pressing: Bench 205 x 6,6,5

Wasn't a bad day yesterday, but there were some mistakes and problems that caused the benching to be less than ideal for sure. But it wasn't BAD, and the pressing work was pretty decent.

Holy shit this dude is huge

Started with bench. Felt pretty good warming up. I wasn't using the better bar, which might have taken a little bit away from me because that bar is the proper thickness, which I think helps my pressing. Also, I was a bit tight in my back from thursday's training, and I think that hard workout might have hurt friday a little bit. Hit the bar, then 95, then 135, then 185 x 3, then went up to 205. First set was pretty solid. I hit a nice set of 6, and went for a 7th rep that I got pretty sloppy on in order to try and make it, and still missed it. I don't necessarily regret going for it, because the point is to progress and I got 3 x 6 last week, but rep 6 wasn't SO easy that I thought I would get 7. Rested a bunch and hit the weight again, but this time I hit the hooks on one of the first reps, which threw off that rep, but also my tightness, and I started getting an ass cramp from being crooked. However, I still managed to hit 6 reps, which isn't half bad. Last set I tried to make the best, but I think I was pretty tired out, probably largely from that bad second set. I hit a tough 5 and then went for the 6th and just didn't have it in me. Overall not bad, I attempted the 7th on a set. If I had made it and gone 7,6,5 I would have felt better, rather than simply losing a rep from last week but hey, what can you do? It wasn't a great day, but not bad either. And despite not REALLY feeling the "squeezing it down" as well as last week, my chest got pretty pumped haha, so maybe that's a good sign.

Badass old dude

Next, pressing went pretty well. I hit the bar, then 95, then work sets: 125 x 5 and 145 x 5. That second set actually felt pretty shitty, and I KNEW it was because I was pressing the bar out in front, looping it around my face. SO, I loaded up 165, and really focused on a) using my shoulders to move the weight, and b) pressing the bar up and back, keeping it in a completely straight line. I hit it for a really solid 6. Probably didn't go for 7 cause I wouldn't have gotten it, but it wasn't a really tough 6, and that's a pr. Then, hit 145 x 9 and 125 x who knows how many, again trying to focus on keeping the bar in tight - but as I got tired, I lopped it out in front. I think that's a bad habit I got into from doing so much light volume. the weight was light enough that I didn't tire too quickly from the inefficient bar path, and the momentum from rep to rep was more important. But now that I am being much more strict with my hips and trying to focus on the muscle instead of purely the movement, I need to make sure that I am pressing in that straight bar path - it will make a huge difference as I hit heavier weights.

Finally, did a mini bodybuilding circuit on the cables upstairs. Did a set of 20 face pulls, followed by 12 bicep curls and 12 tricep extensions, heavy, with maybe a minutes rest between 3 sets of that. Got a nice little pump, especially the biceps - I don;t know why, but I have a much easier time feeling the muscle with the cables. I'll have to play around more on there before I leave for the summer, see if it can help me better establish my mind-muscle connection.

Anyways, not a bad day, but not great. A little disappointing after some of the really good workouts I have been having. But that's actually pretty stupid.... I just barely missed a bench PR, and GOT a strict press PR with great form, and all on a "meh" day. So overall, pretty happy. Lets keep at it.

Legs: squat 345 x 4

Today was a tough day. Last slew of workouts have been very tough - probably a combination of me drawing to the end of my programming and needing a rest, and the stress and sickness holding me back a little bit. Either way, I have been delicate and smart with my training, and thusly haven;t had a TRULY awful fail day yet haha. But no matter what, I need to keep my chin up and soldier on. I'm almost at the end!

I desire this man's legs 

Started with squats. Using 345 as my top set today allowed me to practice the way I'm gonna warm up when I max, except instead of just hitting 345 for a single with the belt and then going heavier, I just hit it for a set of 4. Started with the bar x 10, then 135 x 10, 6, then 225 x 8, then 275 x 4, then 315 x 2. Didn't feel great, but not too bad - basically, I felt like a much better version of monday. Just a little bit slow, a little creaky, not very explosive out of the bottom or very fast through the middle. Definitely not a great day, but not a bad day either. I took 345. First 3 reps were pretty much exactly the same - tough but very solid. 4th rep, I got a little bit out of position forward so it was harder and slower than the others. However, I think it was really only hard cause it was a little crappy, not cause my strength was going away, and if I needed to I think I could have taken a crack at a 5th rep. Not as easy as I might have liked it, but I think it's pretty cool that I can hit this kind of weight for reps on a mediocre day.

Next up, front squats. Hit 190 x 3, then 225 x 3, and finally 245 x 3 x 3. These were tough, definitely one of the hardest front squat sessions I have done, but I'm pretty cool with that because this was the single workout that I was the most worried about. 245 was more than I could do a single with, with the belt, when I started this, so hitting it for 3 triples definitely had me nervous, but I stepped up and got it done. They were tough, and definitely not perfect, but considering a) it wasn't a great day, b) I did heavy back squats first, and c) I didn't change the way I do these despite how heavy they were (I still only rested like 2:30 between sets). Pretty cool.

Finally, put 135 on the ground for some timed deads. I think these were probably the hardest part of my workout today. I set my times so I would hit a set every 3 minutes, - hit 135 x 3, 225 x 2, 315 x 1, 365 x 1, and then 415 x 1,1,1 with 3 mins rest. The reps were tough. I think part of the problem was that my legs were a little spent after all of those heavy sqizzy squats, so I was definitely using probably more back than ideal. Also, the weight was a tiny bit out front, again maybe because my legs weren't all there. And finally.... I was wearing shorts, and I severely underestimated how shitty locking out a heavy deadlift is with the bar sticking to your sweaty thighs haha. I need to make sure to wear fucking long pants on thursdays from now on. And to bring baby powder when I finally do a meet haha. Still, got all 3, which again isn't bad for the end of a tough workout under less than ideal conditions.

SO, overall a pretty kickass workout, despite not feeling great. I have really done a good job walking the line of overtraining, and I need to keep it up these next couple weeks. Probably going to try and stick closer to the prescribed reps monday, then nail the 355 x 4 thurs, maybe go all out the next monday, and then just have some fun with heavy front squats on my last leg day. Just need to be careful to rest, eat, and listen to my body these next couple weeks. But no matter how good or bad these workouts are, I know I have made a ton of great progress, so I just need TO..... keep at it.

Arms 1: good not great

Today was a good day, but not great. Still experimenting with different movements in different combinations. It went alright, didn't feel the mind-muscle connections as well as I'd like, but I still got a pretty decent pump.

Started with a light run for 8 mins at 5.5, then went to the weights

Started with biceps. Grabbed the easy curl bar and started doing sets on the 2 minutes - 15 with the bar, then 12 with 5's, 10 with 10's, 8 with both, then back down. Got an okay pump, but not great.

Started doing the exact same with skullcrushers, only it didn't feel heavy enough, so I did 3 tough sets of 12 at the heaviest weight instead of doing 8 then dropping back down. Got a solid pump from this - I should have done this with curls too I think.

Next, supesetted some heavier curls - used the 32.5 dumbells and did one arm at a time - and lying triceps extensions with that same weight. Again, for whatever reason I wasn't quite squeezing right with my biceps, didn't get a great pump. However, definitely got a really good triceps pump from the heavier weight, less reps.

Finally, ended with 3 x max single-arm preacher curls with 20 lb, with some forced reps on the last set.

Still couldn't really feel as much squeezing as I would have liked. Pump was okay, but not great. Maybe I just need to go heavier, for less reps overall. I think maybe the problem is that the weight isn't heavy enough to feel my bicep working, and then the muscle gets fatigued too fast so it feels jelly-like and not good and pumped. Maybe by upping the weight I will be able to squeeze harder from the beginning, and I will come up to failure before my muscle gets so tired that the rep quality is shitty.

Anyways, still a solid day. Not great, I want to leave the gym after arms day feeling like I really hammered my muscles and looking huge from the absurd pump I got, and today was definitely a little softer than ideal. However, I'm still working out the kinks, so no worries. Lets just keep at it.