Bench 215 x 4

Had a great day today!

Oh my lord what a huge man.

Started with a nice long warmup. Surprisingly, my back (and lower back especially) actually felt great haha. Just goes to show I guess I'm not in imminent danger due to my deadlifting. Anyways, got nice and warm, and started lifting. I was feeling strong and moving fast today. Wanted to hit slightly higher reps today, so decided to work up to a heavy 4. Hit the bar for a slew, then 95 for like 15, 135 x 10, 165 x 6, 185 x 4, which felt solid but a little slow. Then, loaded up 200. Hit that for a nice 4, then 205 x 4, then 210 x 4, and FINALLY loaded up 215 and hit THAT for 4! Pretty happy with that. Just a few weeks ago, when working up to a heavy single, 215 was the heaviest single I could get. Then, got it for 3 a couple weeks ago, and now doing even better. I'm really happy with that set of 4, as well as all the volume working up to it.

Next, dropped back to 165 and did some close grip, feet-up benching and again surprised myself! I thought to myself that I might try and hit it for 3 sets of 10, although I kind of thought it wasn't very likely. However, I hit the first set and 10 was so solid that I hit an 11 and 12th rep! Really awesome. Next set I could only get 10, and the set after only 8, but still very happy with that! Finally, dropped back to 135 and hit it for a set of 15. Last rep was horrible haha, but hey I got it.

Finally, I loaded up my cable row with 100 lbs and hit it for 5 hard sets. Kept the rest low and the reps high, every set was between 15-25 reps. Really got a nice bicep pump and upper back/trap pump.

So, awesome day! Kept it simple with just a couple movements, but worked my ass off, got a great pump, moved some heavy weights, and had a great time. Think I'm gonna do some pullups tomorrow to add is some vertical pulling, and maybe more chest flies friday! Haha maybe they are part of the secret. Lets keep at it.

Deadlift 435 x 1, 465 grip fail

Interesting day today.

So, the play is finally done. I partied hard saturday, drank a lot, didn't sleep, didn't really eat right, then did my best to sleep well last night. Today, I didn't really feel like working hard, so instead tried to do something fun - A heavy single deadlift with the belt. I wanted to see how it felt, how my form looked, and see what kind of weight I could move.

Overall, it was a very interesting session. I warmed up a ton, then started pulling, trying both to keep a flat back and pull with speed, aggression, and with the form that felt the most natural. Hit 155 for a couple sets, including some singles, then 245 x 5, then 335 x 1. Nailed 385, And crushed 435 as well, though my hook grip was a little iffy. Finally, loaded up 465 for a PR and pulled it. I was literally maybe one inch from complete lockout when my hook grip failed, so I won't count it as a PR. However, I basically got it.

Thing is, lower back is insanely round on those later pulls. I don;t know exactly how, when and why this problem came about, but I simply feel the fastest, strongest, and most natural pulling with a rounded lower back. And it's a bummer haha, because it SUCKS to force yourself to lift in a way that feel way less athletic and comfortable. However, I feel like I need to be making moves to fix this. I don't think, at these weights and with a belt, and only maxing fairly rarely, that I am going to hurt myself. However, as I get stronger the risk gets more and more, and I do not want a serious injury. SO, since fixing it is what I want, it seems like I have two options. Option 1 is an extreme assault on the deadlift. Drop the weight so I can move it with perfect form, and then hammer away, forcing myself to pull heavy weights with a perfectly flat back until I learn how to do it again completely naturally. Or, option 2, I continue to hammer squats and hammer my back with lighter weights, doing lighter deadlift variation and back work - improve my quad strength, my back strength, my core strength, and hopefully, as all the pats get stronger, my deadlift will also grow stronger, and I will be able to round less and less.

For  now, I think I will stick with option 2. Focus on squatting, with tons of good mornings, RDL's, snatch grip deadlifts, deficit deads, etc with light weight and a flat back for assistance work. Build my squat, build my back strength, and hopefully the rounding will slowly become less and less without me having to take steps back and be weak for a while. But, if strength and technique doesn't seem to improve, I'll simply have to do what I have done before - take the weight back, start pulling with a perfectly flat back, and build up form and strength that way.

Bench 195, 5 x 5

Good workout today!

Felt like shit warming up haha. I don;t know why, I was just not feeling it today. My lower back has been so shitty lately, I think I need to devote some more time to stretching and decompressing it, Maybe spend some time in the bottom of a squat. Anyways, started benching, bar x a slew, 95 x 15, 135 x 10, 165 x 7. All of which felt fine, except I just was NOT feeling warm at all. Went up to 195 and hit it for the first set of 5. it wasn't BAD, but I just wasn't warm enough so form was a little wonky. Still, made all 5 reps. Then, I settled into a groove and was able to hit it for a 2nd, 3rd and 4th set that were all very nice. Smooth, strong, awesome. Final set was a little shitty though... I decided, based on the other sets, that I could get an extra rep or two on this final set, So I had "rep out" in my mind, and that threw me off. I definitely set up a little differently, which hurt me - my first rep was a sloppy one, and then I was too wound up so I started getting a nasty ass cramp as I moved through the rest of the set. However, I still managed to hit a solid 6 reps, which I am happy with. My PR at 195 is 8 reps, so a solid set of 6 after 20 other reps is very solid.

Next up, incline bench, which went way better than I expected! I haven't done this in a while, so I decided to do 4 sets to failure with 135. I think the most I have ever done at 135 is 5 x 8, but I sat down to hit that first set to failure, and nailed a set of 12! I was pretty freakin happy with that. Kept the rest a little shorter on these, and ended up hitting 3 more sets: 10, 8, and 7. Not too bad! I don't know why I seem to have improved haha. Perhaps it is thr touch n go work I am doing, or the close grip, feet up benching I am doing. But I am happy to have done so well, and to have worked hard.

Next, did some cable rows. Pretty light, 40 lbs, but I did 3 sets of 20 with pretty limited rest, focusing on the squeeze best I could. Felt good.

Next, did some pec flies! pretty light, dumbell handles with 5's on them, did 3 sets of 12. I have never really done these before, and I must say I don;t like how they feel haha. There's a nasty stretch. However, got a pretty good pump even with the light ass weight, and I figure ANYTHING that helps improve pec size or strength is going to help with my bench, so maybe I will play with these more.

Finally, did some straight arm pulldowns with 30 lbs, wider grip, did 3 sets of 16. These felt good, although I think going a little lighter and stricter would have been better. Still, ended with a great pump through my whole upper body - triceps from incline, chest from flies, upper back from rows, and lats from the pulldowns. Feels good man.

So, good workout! Fun and productive. Gonna rest a lot this weekend, and then I will be free from theater! and I can throw myself into training like never before. Lets keep at it.

Squat 315 x (10 x 1)

Today was a fun, productive day. My one complaint is that the things I did took a while, so I didn't do as many exercises/as much work as I might have wanted. But hey, what I did was quality work, and with the play coming to an end I don't really need to be pushing my limits these next couple workouts. 

First of all, last night I decided to take a sleep supplement that I got when I was at the europa. It was fucking awesome. I slept like 11 straight hours, and felt great when I woke up. I am thinking about buying a larger quantity, just for nights when I feel like I need a good night's sleep. 

So today, started warming up and felt great. Started off my squat session with a real focus on form - not rushing into the bottom, but really thinking about pulling into the hole with perfect form, and letting the rest take care of itself. Hit the bar x 10, 135 x 5, 185 x 4, 225 x 3, 275 x 2. All those sets felt awesome. It was great to not care too much about EVERY rep feeling awesome, blah blah blah. I just made every rep as perfect as I could, keeping the load off my back and on my quads, and felt great. My first single at 315 was really the only ugly rep I hit today. It wasn't even too bad, just a bit too forward so that I loaded up my back. But I moved it fine, as I did the next 4 reps. Basically, I kept the first 5 reps calm and smooth. Then, for the second 5, I practiced psyching myself up, but then pulling it back just enough to maintain perfect form. It went really well! this is a skill I have never really had, but today I was really able to get amped up while controlling form and not letting it go to shit. Those second 5 reps were DEFINITELY faster and smoother than the first 5, and form stayed really nice too. On the final 2 reps, I belted up. I think I need to utilize my belt a little bit more in training, both for practice, and because it will allow me to move more weight, faster, with better form, which is going to help me improve. Just can't over use it! 

Next up, dropped to 185 and did 3 sets of 10 front squat at this weight. This really felt fine. Didn't rest much between sets, maybe 4-5 mins. Form was good, really felt these in my back. I have never done this kind of volume at this weight, so that's pretty damn good! 

Finally, did 3 sets of hollow rocks. 

So, overall, good workout! Part of me wanted to get in some deadlift assistance, but honestly I did quite a bit of squatting, and  those front squats in particular were different and harder than anything I have done in a while! So, just hit the abs hard and called it a day. Feeling really good about training, can't wait to be able to focus even more on it. Lets keep at it. 

WOD

Today, I did a little metcon/WOD instead of my normal light cardio followed by light lifting. It was fun! Hard, felt like shit, but fun.

Basically, decided to do power cleans, to work on explosiveness in my lower body/hips, and pushups, to get some more pressing volume/chest work in, plus some running to add to the time the workout would take to complete, so that it would be a nice 20 minute or so session. So this is what I did:

5 power cleans at 135
15 pushups
5 more powercleans at 135
200 meter run

5 rounds

It felt good overall haha. Basically, it was harder than I thought (duh) cause I haven't done a metcon in forever. However, over all it was a super productive workout. Power cleans were light enough that I could do them with good form, and I broke the 10 total reps up, which again helped keep form good. Pushups were really not much of a problem, they weren't hard on my muscles, just on my breathing. Running felt like shit, I tried to use it as recovery time but really I just looked the LEAST athletic I have ever looked haha. I think it would have been better to have done like 50 meter sprint, rest 30 seconds, 50 meter sprint. I would have been ACTUALLY running, instead of the horrible jogging thing I was doing today lol. Basically, I just took my time. Tried not to rest TOO much, but also didn't go as fast as possible. Kept form good on the movements, rested just a little bit after the run, when my heart rate was up anyways. Ended up taking me about 22 minutes, which is perfect! heart rate elevated for that amount of time is exactly what I was looking for.

So, overall, great workout. Things to remember for next time: Pushups can be a little harder. Running should be more like short sprints, so that I am ACTUALLY working hard and running, then I can rest a little more with my heart rate still elevated (maybe RUN then walk a little bit?) But doing the light movements was great to get in the technique/speed/volume work that I needed, and taking my time with the workout allowed me to get a decent length conditioning workout in. Heart rate was high, I ws working hard, but I was more interested than when I am running, getting in more relevant work (i.e. practice lifting, explosiveness, etc.)

SO: I think I should do this more often! just need to pick movements that are A) going to help my lifting, B) light enough to keep good form on, and C) take my time just enough so that my heart rate is elevated for a longer time, and I can execute the whole workout with good form so that it is useful in a number of different ways. Lets keep at it!

Bench 220 x 2, 225 x 1

Good day today. A little less focused than ideal, but good.

Started with max effort bench. Warmed up a lot, then got started. Hit the bar for a slew, then 95 for 10 regular reps and some paused reps. Then hit 135 for 10, 165 x 6, 185 x 4. Then went up to 205, and dropped to doubles. Hit 205 for an easy double, then 215 x 2, then 220 x 2! This was the number I really wanted to hit for the day, but it felt good, so I went up. Hit 225 for a single, that was tough, then attempted the second rep and - although I had a shot at it - failed. However, I REALLY felt like the issue was that my form was a tiny bit weird on that first rep, so I decided to attempt it again, and failed right off the bat haha. I don't know if it was mental, or I just didn't have it today. But either way, I got 220 for a double, which is the heaviest I have gone in a while, and then hit 225 for a very solid single (which I couldn't do two weeks ago). Not half bad.

Next, did some backoff sets with a close grip and my feet up. Instead of doing three sets at a static weight, I decided to do a "drop set" with plenty of rest in between. ended up hitting 175 x 6, 155 x 12, and 135 x 15. This was kind of cool, to get a lot of volue AND some heavier work in.  But I felt unsatisfied with the 175. I think I should have gotten a couple reps more, and maybe I was just a little sloppy on that set since it was the first one and stuff.

Next, yates rows. Did 3 x 20 at 185.

Finally, supersetted some more rows with some overhead press. Loaded up 95 lbs on the press and 40 lbs on the cable, and just did a bunch of high rep work to finish my upper body off. Think I pressed the 95 for 19, 12, and 10, and rowed the stuff to my chest for like 25, 20, 25 or something like that.

So, overall a good workout. I wish I had been a little more focused, I think I could have maybe doubled that 225, gotten more quality reps in on the backoff sets, and been out of the gym quicker. But it was still a good workout. And, I am making progress on my bench! So what I'm doing is working. Just gotta keep at it.

Squat 315 x 6

Today was a good day. A little slow, a little creaky, but a good training session nonetheless.

Started with Max effort squat. I decided to do things a little differently today and instead of doing a max 3 or 5 or whatever, do a max set at a heavy weight. Picked 315 cause it;s a great measuring stick haha, and would allow me to do slightly higher reps than I have done the past couple weeks. Warmed up a lot today, and didn't feel great. Could be for a few reasons - first, I am at a very busy time in life right now, with the play in it's final week and whatnot. Secondly, I drank a bit last night cause I was celebrating the final 5-show week, and thirdly I have felt a little sick lately. Might have a little bug. Anyways, didn't feel great warming up. Not bad, but I kept hitting shittier sets/reps, then I would take the weight again and do much better. Hit the bar for 10, then 5 front squats, 135 x 5, 5 front squats, then 225 for a rough 3, then a solid 1, 275 for a rough 3, then a solid 1. Finally, loaded up 315. Tried to just focus on one rep at a time, treating it like 135. Hit it for a solid set of 6. It was tough. Mentally, I had assured myself that I could get somewhere between 5-10 reps so I stuck with the set, through 5 and hit a 6th. Form was good on all of them, they were just a bit slow. I think I probably had a 7th rep in me, which isn;t bad! My PR being 9, hitting a solid 6 on an alright day, with some in the tank isn't too bad. Definitely part of me was hoping to get 8, 9, 10 reps magically haha. But I'm not unhappy with 6.

Next, deficit deadlifts! These are a little tricky. I still have trouble telling if my back is rounding at all. All I can feel is "used a lot of back" or "didn't use a lot of back" haha. Part of me wanted to film all my reps to keep an eye on form, blah blah blah. But I decided not to. I think, at this point, my best bet is to simply focus on getting stronger... getting my quads, hips, butt, hamstrings, back and core stronger. So, I did these high deficit deadlifts, which rely way more on leg drive than normal deads, and I just tried not to use to much back. Simple as that. Standing on top of a 55 lb plate (so maybe 3-4 inch deficit) I pulled 135 x 10, 185 x 8, 225 x 6, 275 x 4, 315 x 2, then 335, 355, 365, and finally 375. Felt that I used a lot of back on 375, so I called it there. Dropped back to 315 and hit it for 2 triples, and a final set of 4. Would have done more, but 4 was tough, I let go without really thinking of it, and decided - ehhh, why push?

Finally, did a set of hollow rocks to failure, and called it a day.

So, not bad! A 375 deadlift is pretty good from a pretty big deficit, with no belt and no psyching up whatsoever. Just gotta keep working, building up my leg drive, back strength, and my core's ability to hold strong, and then with my belt and a real attention to speed and aggression, I think I'll be able to smash some big weights. Probably thursday, I'll focus on some lower rep-higher set squat work to get some form/speed work in with heavier weights, and maybe hammer some front squats since it's been a while. Lets keep at it!

Hike and Rest

Today, took it easy. Part of me wanted to lift, but instead I just went for a nice long hike to get my cardio in, then stretched for a bit. Now, I'm resting. It has been a hard, tough week of training and I think I could use the recovery. Gonna come back hard Monday. Lets keep at it.

Bench - 5 x 10 165

Had a good workout today.

First of all, want to say I was FUCKED up from my workout yesterday. But, it ended up being a good thing! my lower back was bothering me SO much that I googled "ways to sleep for lower back health" and discovered that I pretty much always sleep on my stomach. So, I forced myself to sleep on my side with a pillow between my knees, and oh my god my back felt better this morning than it has in weeks! I think that the way I have been sleeping may account for all the lower back pain and stiffness I have had recently.

Anyways, warmed up and got to work! Had the idea of doing a 5 x 10 at 165 today, with the option to increase weight! went really well. Hit the bar for a slew, then 95 x 10 and 135 x 10. Then, got to work. Hit 165 x 1, then a second set of 10. Didn't feel great - my elbow joints were super stiff and whatnot from squatting yesterday. But both sets were pretty solid and pretty easy, so I went up! Hit 175 for 10, 10, and then a final set of 10. Felt great. Very bodybuilder-esque. Reps weren't fast or easy, but very controlled, very solid, I was able to muscle through even when they FELT hard. Really great! I think I might need to simply to slightly less reps with more weight. Sets of 10 felt great in terms of form and strength, so I should probably work with slightly heavier weights to challenge my form and my ability to push through.

Next, did some chinups. Shot for 20 total reps. Hit a set of 50, followed by 5 sets of 3. Form could have been stricter on the last couple sets, but I was trying not to rest to much so what can you do.

Finally, did a superset to end the day - Overhead press with 135 and straight-arm pulldowns with like 20 lbs. Press doesn't feel great, but you know what - I think that is okay. I have ALWAYS been good at press, far better than I am at benching. And I think it's a case of me "majoring in the minors." Everyone says pressing is important, and I agree! However, that's more for people who are good at benching and suck at pressing. I am good at pressing and suck at benching haha. So I don't think it's really a big deal for me to shift focus away from it, and really treat it only as assistance. Anyways, hit 135 for a set of 8, 6, and 7. In between, I hit the straight arm pulldown for sets of 15-25. Those pulldowns felt GREAT. Really blew up my lats. It's a great exercise because you can use light weight and REALLY focus on squeezing the lats. I think I need to use these more, they feel like they will really help with back mass and width.

Anyways, good workout! I am feeling very tired out and worn down - its been a hard week of training! gotta rest up this weekend, probably take it a little easy tomorrow and really rest a lot sunday, then come back strong and ready to work! Lets keep at it.

Squat 225 x 8 x 8

Wow, killer workout today. So hard.

Warmed up today, tried to get a good warmup in, stretch, warm up my ankles and stretch them out particularly. Then, started squatting. I felt strong on monday, and form was good, but I felt slow. So today, I decided to do lighter weight and just try and move it fast, smooth and easy. However, being the masochist I am I couldn't just do speed work haha. So I did a TON of volume. Hit the bar for 8, then hit 4 front squats. Then jumped to 135 and hit it for 8, and 4 front squats. Then, went up to 225. The first two sets of 8 were a little tough and sloppy. However, after that I settled into a groove, sets 3 and 4 were great. Form was great, reps were fast and smooth. However, 8 sets of 8 is a LOT. My legs were holding up fine, but my calves started to cramp, my back started to get raw from the back, and my mind was tired. But I pushed on. Hit 5, 6, and 7 and each set was faster and better than the last.

Finally, after set 7 I got some endorphins and had the sadistic idea to rep out the last set haha. So I did. I started by just focusing on 8, then 10, then 12, then 14 because that would make it an even 70 reps. However, once I got to 14 I knew I had to have 15... and then when I got to 15 I realized how close I was to 20. I mentally made a deal with myself that I wouldn't have to do any more in the workout if I just pushed to 20. So I kept going. Form got a little rougher, but I fucking made it haha. 20 reps at 225 is a feat in and of itself, nevermind AFTER 56 reps. Really proud and happy with that. Almost threw up, and I am currently HURT. But I am happy and proud of this workout.

And finally, did a set of hollow rocks haha. I need to keep working my abs and trying to keep strong in that hollow body position. I think that will keep my deadlifts strong and my back from rounding.

Anyways, great workout. So hard, truly a test mentally and physically. Lets keep at it.

Push press 165

Today was a pretty shitty day.

Started with mowing the lawn. Hey it's nothing crazy, but it's more cardio than sitting.

Next, did a nice warmup, then jumped some rope. I did 10 rounds of 30 jumps, short rest, then 5 rounds of 50 jumps, short rest. I like this for cardio. Keeps the heart rate up and is way more fun/interesting than running. Problem is, it seems a little too easy. But still, it's a good tool to have in the tool box.

Then, decided to do some overhead work. This felt like shit today. Pressed the bar, 75, 95, 115, then 135 x 8 or so, then 155 x 3 hard ass reps and 2 push presses. Then did 165 x 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. This is pretty sad. Recently, I have pressed 155 x sets of 8, and I have STRICT pressed 165 x 5, nevermind push pressed it. But I think it was a combination of not having pressed in a while, not having push pressed in WAY longer, being tired from yesterday, not eating enough, and the heat. So the remedy? Eat a lot today! start pressing overhead a little more. And that's that. I actually don;t know if it's a bad thing that I have been doing so much horizontal pressing... my press has always been way better than my bench, so maybe ignoring it a little isn;t bad. I think I will try to use more push pressing and stuff as assistance, however.

So, not a great day, but no worries. Lets keep at it.

Bench 215 x 3

Good day today. Bench still isn't feeling great, but I'm working on it.

Started with a nice warmup - I was pretty stiff and not having an easy time moving today, but I warmed up best I could, took my time, and got moving alright. I had in the back of my mind that I wanted to do some triples today, so I warmed up with that in mind. Hit the bar for some reps, moved up to 95 and did a set of 3 reps with a long pause, and then a set of touch n go reps, then did the same with 135. The long pause stuff really felt good on friday before the touch n go work, so I figured I would work it into my warmup a little. After that, switched to triples. Hit 155, 175, 195 for triples. Form wasn't great, but got better with more reps - which is why I did a lot of warmup sets, to try and get in the groove. I always bench better with more, rather than less warmup reps. Finally, hit 205 as my first "work set." It was actually a bit tougher than I wanted, so I loaded up 210. I tried to picture myself moving 135 x sets of 20 the other day, and tried to focus on moving the heavier weight as if I was doing it for a set of 20. Hit 210 and it was really solid, so I went up to 215. Went through the same mental preparation and hit it. It was a tough triple, but solid! I MIGHT have had 220 today, but 215 was pretty hard so I left it there. I'm happy though! My best triple ever is only 225, so 215 isn't bad. And, while last week I hit an easy 215 and then just failed, this week I got solid triples in at 195, 205, 210, and 215, so wayy more quality reps. Very happy with that.

Next, dropped back to 155 and did some close-grip, feet-up benching. My idea is to just try and hit my chest and triceps hard, with as little stability and aid from my legs as possible. If I can increase my raw pressing strength, that can't be a bad thing. First set was a little shitty - I think I was expecting it to feel easier than it did after the 215. Bar was a little wobbly and shit, but I still managed to get a solid 11 reps in. Rested a good bit, hit it for another set of 11, then rested again and managed a 3rd set of 11. Felt good.

Next, felt like I needed to hammer my back. I kind of wanted to just do some pullups or cable stuff, but i felt like that was kind of an easy way out. So instead, I put 135 on the ground and started pendelay rowing it, with my bench grip. I decided to do 100 total reps, broken up however. It was tough! It is a hot day and I was sweating and bummed out. But I made it. worked hard, really trained my back well, and I feel good about it.

Finally, rigged my cable system up and did a 1-arm pec fly type thing with really light weight (like 10 lbs) for 3 sets of 10 each side. Didn't really feel like a super productive or revolutionary exercise haha, but it was just a little extra chest work to finish out the day. I have been thinking lately that I want to start doing some pec flyes, just cause i think a little more chest size, strength, endurance, whatever, can't hurt my bench.

Anyways, good workout! Some quality heavy pressing, lighter work, and a ton of pulling. I wanted to do some overhead press and pullups, but just couldn't today - so I think maybe tomorrow I will do a vertical pressing/vertical pulling workout, doesn't have to be very hard but just try and get some moderate volume in after my cardio and (maybe) some jumping. We will see. Lets keep at it.

Squat 365 x 1

Great workout today! Really great. 

Started with squats. Did some things differently warming up today which I think really paid off! Went through my normal warmup, and I was already feeling pretty solid, but then I 1) really stretched out my calves/ankles before starting, and 2) worked in some front squats to my warmup sets. I think both things helped me to really keep my technique nice, my knees and hips forward and my torso more upright because I must say form felt GREAT today. Hit the bar for 5 regular squats and then 5 front squats, in 1 set. Then, hit 135 x 5, put it back, and hit it for 5 front squats. Hit 225 x 3 which were a little wonky and forward, so then I racked it and hit it for another single, really focusing on keeping my torso upright, and I nailed it. Went to 275 and again, focused on not rushing the descent and keeping my torso upright and my knees/hips forward, and smashed a double. Then, smashed 315 for a single. Up until that rep, I wasn't sure how heavy I was going to go, but after 315 I decided I wanted to hit 355. Either I would hit it for a single, and just be happy that I went heavier than last week, OR if I felt great I could try and hit it for a double, to beat last weeks double by 10 lbs. I jumped to 335 and hit that for again a very solid single - a bit tougher than I wanted, but still a great rep. So, I loaded up 355. Hit it, and definitely knew I couldn't get a double - however, the rep was great, fairly smooth, and strong. So I was torn - should I try and hit it again? but I decided that, hard as it was, I think I had a little more in me! So, I loaded up 365, rested, and hit it. Form was great, and what resulted was probably the hardest squat I have ever squatted in my life. Considering that, beltless, 365 x 2 is my PR, 365 for a single isn't half bad! especially compared to last week. Making gainzz already. Man that rep was hard lmao. Here's a vid. 

Next up, did some front squats. Felt so light after the 365 lol. Hit 135 for a quick set of 5, then loaded up 225 and hit it for 3 sets of 5. These were really great. Form felt awesome, back was strong and solid, only giving way a little bit on the final rep of each set. 225 is a really good weight for me to work at. Light enough so that I can keep rep quality and quantity really good, but heavy enough that I really feel like I am working my quads and back. 3 x 5 is a lot of volume at that weight for me. I feel like the more I hammer front squats, the better - the added quad and back strength, and the constant work on a more upright posture while squatting seems to address all my weaknesses. 

Lmao at this picture. 

Finally, did some deadlifts. I was playing around with form, trying to emulate mikhail koklaeyev's setup when he pulls, because I like the way it looks. When I pulled off the floor, my back still rounded, and because the form was pretty unfamiliar the heavier pulls of the floor looked pretty ugly. However, I actually like the way this kind of pull felt, and I feel like with some experimentation I could improve greatly. I might keep playing with it. Anyways, my focus was more on touch-n-go deadlifts today, to try and work my backside. I hit 135 x 10, then 225 x 10, and finally strapped myself to 315 and hit THAT for a set of 10. It was hard, but also a lot of fun. As I said, pull off the floor was pretty shitty, but on all the reps my back stayed beautifully flat and the weight moved nicely. DEFINITELY need to do more of these. Work on breaking the weight with a nice flat back, then keeping the back flat and repping it out touch and go... I will get my back and butt and hamstrings SO strong. Then, if I can just get my quads stronger with squats and front squats, and amp up hard when I max.... I think I will pull a TON. 

So, great day today. Awesome heavy squat, some really quality rep work with front squats, and a great set of deadlifts to crush my posterior chain. One thing I would say I feel like wasn't perfect today was speed... definitely felt a little bit slow on the squats. The more perfect my form, the more controlled, the slower I was. So maybe I will try to focus a bit on speed thursday. We will see. Lets hope tomorrow is as good as today! And as always, lets keep at it. 

Cardio, Back + Biceps

Today I intentionally took it easy. I actually felt pretty decent, but it has been a long and tough week. I haven't trained with this sort of volume or intensity in a while, so I wanted to make sure I took the weekend to recover.

Started with cardio. I was thinking about doing some kind of sprinting or jump rope intervals, but in the end went easier than that - I just went for a nice long walk/hike, for about an hour or so. Nothing too hard, just got out and moving while still fasted.

Then, spent a little bit of time stretching. Not too long, but my right hip/calf/ankle has been really tight while squatting, and I wanted to take some time to loosen it up. I honestly think my biggest squatting obstacle right now is being too tight to easily get into the proper positions. So, I warmed up as normal, then did a butterfly stretch, some hamstring stretching, sat in the bottom of a squat, used the bar on my knees to stretch out my ankles, and finally specifically hit my ankle with a stretch against the rack. Definitely felt like I could have done more, but it feels pretty loose and good now, so that's good. I might have to simply work on specifically loosening it up monday before I squat heavy.

Finally, I decided to just do some easy, high-rep back and bicep work today. I feel like I did a lot of pressing and chinups this week, which is great except the pressing volume is way higher than the pulling. So I just did a TON of pulls today. Loaded up the cables and hit 20 x 20, 40 x 20, 60 x 20, 80 x 20, then 60 x 20, and 40 x a ton, pulling to different places (chin, chest, belly button) to try and really work all parts of my back. Felt good. Then, with 20 lbs on, I did 3 sets of curls, between 15-25 reps. Got a nice little pump.

Overall, easy but productive workout. Gonna try and recover well tomorrow, and then come back strong monday! Lets keep at it.

Long Pause bench 205 x 3 x 2

Good day today. So much benching.



Started with a nice warmup, then hit the bar for a set and 95 for a set. Then switched to benching with a long pause (around 5 seconds at bottom). I decided to do this just to work on my tightness, and my explosiveness. Hit 95 x a slew, then 135 x 5, 165 x 4, 185 x 3, all of which felt solid. Then, loaded up 205 and attempted to triple it - first two reps went up nice and solid, and then I failed the 3rd. A little bit of a bummer, but I really wasn't sure whether triples or doubles would be better - and that answered my question lol. So, I rested a bit and hit it for 2 more doubles. Felt good! The second reps of those doubles were very hard and grindy, but I feel like it really gave me a chance to work on my tightness and explosiveness out of the bottom. Plus, I think handling the heavier weight, for reps, with a difficult variation, is good for my confidence and comfort benching.

Next, dropped back to 135 and switched to touch n go reps. However, I really tried to focus on keeping form really nice and precise, and really maintaining tightness/control over the bar - basically, keeping everything the same as with the long pause reps, except no long pause haha. This went great! My focus on each rep was really good, form stayed beautiful, and I ended up hitting 135 for 20, 19, and then 18 reps. I'm pretty sure my PR at 135 was only like 17 haha, so that's really pretty cool! It's pretty light weight, but still that is a LOT of quality volume - really nice reps, fast reps, and a TON of them. Felt really good. I need to remember - focusing on each rep individually is always the way to go on bench.

Now I just need to get my 225 bench to where my 135 is lol. Then I won't be so depressed about my pressing. 

Next up, basically supersetted pullups/chinups and klokov presses. For pullups/chinups, I basically did a pullup, then did a chinup x 10 rounds. Felt pretty good, not too hard, but I ended up being REALLY sore after doing those chins on wednesday, so I feel like it is genuinely working. On the final set, I did 2 pullups and 2 chins. Definitely felt a little shy of clearing the bar on those second reps, but hey not too bad.

For klokov press, I started with the bar x 12, 75 x 12, then 95 x 8, 105 x 5, 115 x 3, then back down to 105 x 5 and finally 95 x 8. I really love these, but they definitely are a little rough on my shoulders. There is a reason I stopped doing them for a while lol. I think I just need to keep in mind that this variation is a lot better do do with light weight for high reps, to burn out my shoulders and really make my rear delts grow. However, if I want to go heavy I need to do regular strict press or a variant, not behind the neck stuff.

So overall good day! I look good, feel good. Tons of hard work today. Didn't pull as much as I wanted to, so I'm thinking that tomorrow I will cardio, stretch, and then maybe do some light pulling/bicep work if I am up to it. I definitely need to focus on recovery this weekend, though, I have really been working my ass off this week. Having so much fun, looking big, feeling strong, eating well... stuff is good man. Lets keep at it.

Squat 275 x 10

After todays squats, I feel like smeagol. Sickly and crazy. That being said, good day!

Started with a nice long warmup, then some high rep squatting. Felt alright, so I started working. Focus was on sets of 10, trying to keep form really nice and speed/explosiveness at the top of my list of priorities. Hit the bar for 10, then 95 x 10, 135 x 10, 185 x 10, 225 x 10, and finally, 275 x 10. Form was really good up until the 275, where it definitely fell apart a little bit, probably due to lack of focus on each rep because of the set at large. Still, 275 x 10 is nothing to be bummed about, especially since I got in 50 quality reps before it. And, I DEFINITELY had another rep or two in the tank, no question. However, because form wasn't PERFECT, I decided to do a few more singles at 275. I ended up hitting 5 more reps, trying to really focus on nice form, and the reps were all solid, smooth, faster and cleaner.

Next, decided to do a ton of front squats. Originally, I was thinking about going up heavy with them, then doing some deadlifts as well, but instead I decided to just work my ass off on front squats. Hit 135 x 5, 165 x 4, 185 x 3, 205 x 2 all with beautiful form - flat back, fast, smooth. Then switched to singles. Hit 225 x 1, 245 x 1, then 255 for a hard but solid single. I was planning on trying to do a slew of singles at 255 with limited rest, but unfortunately I failed the next rep! So I dropped back a little bit and hit (for singles) 225, 225, 235, 245, 255, 255, 255. These were hard, but my form is really great up until 245. Those 255's were UGLY, every one of them lol. Back goes, I hit a gnarly sticking point, and I REALLY have to fight to make the rep. But hey, I had already done a TON of squatting. And besides, the point of going heavy on front squats is to work on my back strength and ability to fight it wanting to round over. I think I need to keep doing heavier front squats, maybe at like 225 ish, for reps to just work on keeping that back locked into place.

So, simple workout today, but pretty brutal. Definitely got a ton of quality volume in. I am pooped. Time to rest up and eat so that tomorrow isn't miserable lol. Lets keep at it.

Cardio, plyometrics, and bodyweight movements

Had an eclectic but fun day today.

Started with a nice warmup, then some cardio. Today, basically, decided that for 5 songs I was gonna just try and keep my heart rate up. Essentially, this equated to me jogging flat or downhill parts of my path, and then walking up hills or when I needed a break from jogging. Not to hard or crazy, just tried to keep my heart rate nice and elevated for all of those 18-20 minutes or so. And, when the 5th song ended I was still about  half mile from home so I got some bonus walking time in, which never hurts.

When I got home, I did a little more warming up and then did some plyometrics. I did 3 clapping pushups, followed by a broad jump, vertical jump, and tuck jump - 5 rounds with whatever rest I wanted in between. Felt good! I was just thinking that I have always wanted to incorporate more jumping into my programming - it makes sense to me that it would be very positively correlated with strength, speed, and athleticism to be able to jump well. It was fun. Clap pushups were less explosive than I wanted them to be, but I guess that's the point of doing them haha.

Finally, did some bodyweight exercises. After yesterdays somewhat sorry display of benching, I felt like I needed more pressing work. Pushups have never been a great thing for me, ever since I started gaining weight, so perhaps dedicating more energy to them would really pay off in terms of muscle gain and athleticism. Also, I have always blown at pullups haha so I need to start doing them more, period. So today, did 8 rounds of 2 chinups, 8 pushups, with a moderate amount of rest. Actually felt really good! Chins were with really strict form and genuinely weren't too hard, and the pushups were also with strict form and were fairly easy. On the last set, I pushed myself and got 4 chinups and 20 pushups. Not bad. Definitely I think doing more of these very basic movements, at my size, with strict form for lots of volume, will probably pay off really well.

So, fun, experimental, and productive. Really loving the changes I have made, I feel happier, I'm having more fun training, and I think I am going to make WAY better gains. Lets keep at it.

Bench 215 x 1

Today was not a great day. But that's okay, gotta start somewhere.

So, started with max effort bench today. Besides being pretty fucking sore from lower body yesterday, I actually felt quite good. Did a nice long warmup, then started benching, touch n go. Hit the bar, then 95, then 135 for reps to start, and I really was feeling great. Hit 165 for 6, then 185 x 3, then 205 x 2. Then I decided to just work up to a heavy single. Hit 215 x 1 that was pretty easy - definitely had to push hard to lockout, but it was pretty quick and easy. Went up to 225, thinking I would get it for sure, and then decided whether to call it there or go up based on how hard it was - and failed. Then, took another crack at it and failed again. That's pretty disheartening and disappointing to me. Just based on how I was feeling, I thought I would get it  but beyond that, I thought I had 225 bench no problem. But I didn't let myself get too bummed out. As with the squats, I haven't been handling heavy weight! I haven't touched a 225 bench in like 8 weeks, so it shouldn't be much of a surprise that I failed. That's the whole point of this change. Hopefully, after a few weeks of handling heavier weights, that bench PR will start to climb, no problem. Although, I will say that perhaps I should be more open to making 5-lb jumps if I need to. Better to get 3 or 4 heavy sets in and maybe not get a TRUE max, then to fail too quickly after only 1 or 2 reps at 90% +.

Next up, dropped back to 135 and did a sort of "dip substitute." Close-grip, feet up bench with a totally flat back. Ripped through 3 sets of 10 with very little rest. Then hit the 4th set and only managed 9, so I rested a little bit more and finished off with a tough set of 10. Got a nice pump from these.

Next, did some yates rows. Kept them lighter, 165, but hit it for 3 sets of 20. Really blew up my lower lats and my traps, doing the higher rep stuff with slightly more body language.

Next up, Bodyweight rows with a chin-up grip, 5 sets of 8. I was so weak at these haha. It's pretty sad how hard it is for me to move around my own bodyweight. definitely felt these more in my biceps and less in my back, but I was really looking for a bicep movement anyways, so that's okay. Had to do a LOT of "kipping" to get through the 5 sets of 8, but got a good bicep pump from it.

Finally, felt like I needed to press a little more so I did some klokov presses. Hit the bar, then 95 lbs for 3 sets of 8. Kept the rest low, and HOLY SHIT these got hard as fuck by the end. First set was really not too bad, but by rep 8 of the second set the lockout was crazy slow and my rear delts were BURNING. Third set, I got to 6, failed the 7th, then finished the set by push pressing the weight up, and even so lockout was insane and my shoulders were scorched. This is a really great movement for my shoulders, and I definitely need to work it in more.

Overall, had a ton of fun with the assistance work and definitely worked my ass off. Wish the ME bench went better, but no biggie. I'm gonna eat a ton today, put in work friday, and hopefully have a better time next week. Lets keep at it.

Free Your Mind: Squat 345 x 2

So I decided to free myself from all the constraints. No more hard programming, no more hard dieting. I've simplified everything. Here's the basics

Max effort lower body monday, with assistance for quads, back and posterior chain

Max effort upper body, with assistance for back, arms, shoulders, whatever.

Rep effort lower - move light weight with an emphasis on reps, to improve form, speed, and build muscle. Same assistance type stuff.

Rep effort upper body - Same assistance.

Easy and simple. Then, 20 minutes of cardio on wednesday and saturday, with whatever lifting or stretching I feel like doing. And for diet, plain and simple: More protein the better, less carbs the better. If I'm feeling a little chubby, cut down the carbs. If my workouts are feeling shitty, up them a little. Healthy food is a no brainer, so don't make it too complicated.

So, here's what I did today:

Max effort squat, started warming up and didn't feel too great. I was stiff and firing a little weird today, plus I was on the rack that I didn't want lol. So, hit the bar for a set, then 135 for 5,5, 225 for 3, 1, 275 x 3. Then I loaded up 315 and hit i for a double. Didn't feel great - I think I am simply not very used to heavy weight, cause it felt like shit lol. But I went up to 335 and hit that for a double as well - definitely hard. But I felt especially tenacious today, and committed to pushing myself towards a true max effort. So, I loaded up 345 and hit it for a double! Hard, grindy, but also very solid. It's the first time I have been really happy and proud of a squat set in a while. And, that's only 20 lbs less than my best double EVER, beltless or otherwise. Not half bad, considering how long it's been since I had heavy weight on my back.

Next, dropped back to 135 and hit it for a warm-up front squat. Then went to 185 and hit it for sets of 5, pausing the 5th rep. Really tried to focus on using my quads and keeping my back tight and upright, and I was feeling it. Did 5 x 5, with pretty limited rest. Felt hard, but good too. Definitely wiped me out.

Finally, did snatch grip, stiff-leg deadlifts from a deficit of maybe an inch and a half. These felt great. Started with 135 and hit it for 2 sets of 8 to warm up and feel it out. Then I went up to 185 and hit it for 2 sets of 8 and a set of 10 with relatively little rest. Did these touch n go - definitely crushed my butt and hamstrings, and my back to a lesser extent. On the last set, I held the weight at the top for maybe 30 seconds to try and really tire out my traps, upper back, and all the muscles that support pulls.

And I feel great. It's hard not to doubt myself, but I need to be free! Use my common sense, work my ass off, listen to my body, and I will SUCCEED! I feel like I got a GREAT workout today, and that is a good feeling. And I truly can't wait for tomorrow. Lets keep at it.

Thinking

Man, I am going to have to do a lot of thinking after these 9 weeks are over.

I have a lot of paths I could go down with my training. Here's what I know for sure:

1) I am going to keep a tighter eye on my diet, so that I can get bigger and stronger without getting fatter.

2) I am going to keep in some moderate cardio, and keep at least the "assistance exercise" portion of my workouts timed, so that I keep my heart rate up and keep my body fat down/ gpp up.

3) I need to push myself, hard, if I want to achieve the goals I have set for myself.

But aside from those things, I really could go a few ways with my training and diet. Most importantly, I need to decide what to do with my training: I've been thinking of a lot of things... For example, my "doubletime 5/3/1" idea. Also, this bench program I just found by eric spoto. Plus, my deadlift back work extravaganza, and my arms.... All those things. But what I am thinking tonight... my programming is getting awfully complicated. What if I just simplified, hard?

I'm thinking a very simple 4-day split. Max effort lower, upper, rep effort lower, upper. Essentially, monday I go heavy on squats. Doesn't matter if it's a 10, 3, 5, 2, 8, 1, whatever. Work up to a heavy set however I want. Really push myself, and really take advantage of good days to try and hit PR's. After that, simply do whatever assistance work I need to - basically hammer my quads, posterior chain, and back. Upper body, same deal. Heavy bench, whatever that means, REALLY push myself, even to failure. Then, assistance work to hammer my upper body - rowing, strict pressing, arms, pullups, pushups, whatever. Then, Thursday will be rep work, plain and simple. Submaximal weights for lots of reps, don't push to failure. Use it to build tons of muscle and perfect speed and form. Then again, hammer the assistance exercises - quads and backside. And again, same deal on upper body day. Hammer reps on my bench, then as much of whatever assistance work as I need.

Wednesday and Saturday I will just do some light cardio, plus whatever stretching/ lifting I want.

I think this could work great. It lets me go by feel a little more, which is dangerous but also potentially the best way to get bigger and stronger without overtraining, under-reaching, etc. And it's not complicated! I don;t need to plan cycles, know EXACTLY when I am doing whatever, blah blah blah. As long as I am committed to going into the gym and working hard 99% of the time, I will get better! I will hammer heavy work and rep work (aka how you get stronger lol), and can go by feel! If I am having an awesome monday - boom, work up to a new PR squat! If I feel great one week... go ahead and train hard 6 days. Or, if I feel beat up I will go higher reps on monday and light ass weight on thursday for speed work, and that week will be a sort of deload. Could be really great.

Anyways, I am faced with some tough decisions. What do I choose? If I decide to go this new route, do I start right away, or finish out these 9 weeks and then start? I don't know. A HUGE part of me just wants to start anew tomorrow. Maybe I will. Lets keep at it.

Arms 2

Nice little workout today.

Kept it short and sweet. I'm feeling a little tired and unenthused, probably because this week has been so busy, so I tried to focus and work hard, but keep the workout short to help. Started with incline bench. I kept the reps higher today, because I am probably going to keep them lower wednesday. So, I decided to work up to a heavy set of 7. Hit the bar for 2 sets, then 75 x 7, 95 x 7, 115, 125, 135, 145, and finally 150 x 7. Wasn't easy, but also not TOO hard! I might have had 155 x 7. Afterwards, instead of dropping back, I just hit 150 for another set (6) and then a final set (5).

Then, I hit curls. Hit the bar, then 20 lbs, then 40, then loaded up 60 and hit it for max reps, then dropped to 40 and hit it for max reps, then back down to 20 and hit it for max reps. Got a nice little pump. Decided to call the workout there.

So, nothing crazy, although I do think I am improving my incline press! Lets keep at it/

Press 165 x 3

Great little workout today! attitude was good, had fun, kicked ass.

Started with press. Warmed up a bunch, hit the bar for a slew and then 95 for a bunch too, trying to get a little bit of a pump before moving on to my work sets. Then moved on to 135. Kept my grip a tiny bit narrower today. Hit 135 for a triple, then 150 x 3, then moved up to 165. Did really well today! Triple was easier and faster than pressing has been lately! Really happy about that. After, backed off to 150 and hit it for a long pause triple, then hit 135 for a long pause triple on the 3 mins. All felt really good.

Next up, Yates rows with 175. Did 4 sets of 12 on the 2 minutes. Felt okay, a little less focused than ideal but not bad.

Next, had a lot of fun benching. Loaded up 175 and hit it on the 3 minutes - I was doing max sets, but put a cap at 10 reps (don't do any more in a set if you hit 10) and 5 reps (don't do any more sets if you get 5 or less). So, I hit it for 10, 8, 6, and finally 5 reps. Felt pretty good! Happy with that 175 x 10 without any sort of benching warmup.

Finally, did some fun bb stuff to finish out the workout. Hit a bunch of sets of curls, plate raises, and tricep pushdowns just to get a nice pump.

Overall, workout felt good. Felt strong, looked good, had fun! need to keep up the good attitude, focus, and just keep at it!

Squat 205 x 20

Interesting day today. Had a bit of an attitude shift, trained in a commercial gym... it was fun.

Commercial gym. Full of upper bodies

So, to start, let me say that training has been a little rough lately. I am in an in-between phase in my diet, where it is harsh enough that I don't feel particularly strong, my workouts are very tiresome and don't feel exciting or powerful - and at the same time I don't look particularly lean. So I have just been feeling very sluggish and unmotivated lately. To remedy this, I think I need to simply improve my attitude. I downloaded a couple new albums to keep me focused and training hard, and I really just need to stick to my program and keep positive and working hard. Yes, strength gains are hard to come by when you are dieting - everyone knows this. Yes, there is a period where I just look deflated from lack of carbs, but not lean enough to look ripped so I just feel like I look like shit. It happens. But I need to just keep my chin up, lift hard, have fun, and know that this is a SMART thing to do.

Anyways, in addition to the attitude change, I also trained in a commercial gym today... really for the first time ever. It was pretty interesting. Not too bad, except for the lack of squat racks and the prevalence of mirrors lol. But it was a nice change, good way to kick-start my attitude shift.

Anyways, started with high rep squats. These were HARD today. Hit the bar for a set of 10 or so, then 135 for like 5 and 5. Then, went straight to 205 and got at it. Definitely felt different from previous weeks. I did not get as much of a leg pump. HOWEVER, weight was heavy enough that the mental game came into play a lot earlier. With weights like 165, it was cake until about 15, then exhaustion made it hard. With 205 I was at like rep 5 and I was like "oh shit this was a bad idea." Furthermore, the weight just is a BITCH to have on your back for the whole set. That was worse than the squats, and a big part of the reason that I wanted to stop haha. However, from a purely physical standpoint, reps were  pretty clean and not too hard. It's really tough mentally, though. 225 might be a very painful set. I will make it though, that's for sure.

Next, front squats. These simply do not feel good lately. Not sure exactly why, but probably largely it has to do with the fact that I am a) doing them after very high-rep squats, and b) I am doing them on the 2 minutes lol. So I can't be too hard on myself. Anyways, hit 190, 215 x 2 easy, then 245 x 3 sets of 2. First set was pretty ugly, cleaned the others up. My major issue is just rounding over as I hit a sticking point, but that's not abnormal. Still, I need to fight it best I can.

Finally, romanian deads went really well. Haven't done these in forever, but they are part of my new plan to get my back to superhuman levels of strength. on the 2 mins, hit 135 x 8, 155 x 8, 185 x 8, 205 x 8, then 225 x 8. Then, switched to on the 3 mins and hit 245 x 5, 255 x 5, and finally 265 x 8. These feel good - really trying to focus on loading up my back, even more than my hamstrings and glutes (which are also getting a good workout for sure). Lots of volume and hard work is going to make my weakness my strength.

So, good day! Squats are quite difficult, but I think pushing through I will be able to start making some strength gains, despite the diet. Front squats are a bitch, but I just have to keep working hard and know that even if I don't feel strong, I am working them REALLY hard under less than ideal conditions, that is for sure. And I think the romanian dead/snatch grip dead combo is really gonna work on my back. OH! And did I mention that I weighed myself this morning and I'm 217.4? That's about 8 lbs weight loss since the diet started, and a whopping 4 lbs since last thursday. So I need to know that my plan is working. Just gotta keep at it.

Arms 1 and Running

Rough day today

Just was not feeling like training. At all. I don't know if I am just mentally not all there cause I feel shitty from this diet, or I am burned out from the play right now, or what, but I felt crappy today.

Started with running. Ran 15 minutes, felt like shit, but made it like 50 yards further than last time.

Next, close grip benched to a heavy single, which didn't feel great but not bad either. Watched a really interesting supertraining video the other day about pulling the bar in the bench press, and tried to utilize some of those tips in todays session... I think they might be really good cues for me, but perhaps better with my normal bench. Anyways, hit the bar for some, then 95, then 135, then 165 x 5, 185 x 3, 205 x 1, 215 x fail and finally 215 x 1. Second rep was much better, something just went wrong on the first 215. After, dropped back to 185 and hit it for 3 sets of 4.

Finally, did 5 sets of 20 curls with the curl bar + 20 lbs. That was all I could bring myself to do.

Not a good day. Im exhausted, feeling shitty, and mentally just unhappy with lifting and dieting right now. But I'm gonna try my best to stay the course and keep myself motivated. Lets keep at it.

Bench 210 x 3

Little bit of a slow, stiff, rougher day today. Wasn't feeling great, but still had a good workout.

Started with 5/3/1 bench. Warmed up, then started hitting the barbell. Bar x a bunch, then 95 x 12 or so, 135 x 9, and finally 165 x 3, 190 x 3, and then 210 x 3. Everything felt really solid today, although perhaps a little slower and tougher than ideal. My knee is sore and acting up today, my back is a little beat up today, and I think perhaps these things contributed to it not feeling the best ever.

After, backed off and hit 190 x 3 reps with a long pause, and then 165 x 3 long pause reps on the 3 minutes. These both felt fine. Long pause stuff always feels great. I think perhaps my upper body benching muscles just take a while to get warmed up, and maybe the best thing I can do to try and make bench feel better it to hit more reps on my warmup sets. I think getting a little bit more of a pump in my chest and triceps before moving heavy weight might help me out.

Next, heavy yates rows. I actually kept these a little bit lighter today, hitting 185 x 3 sets of 12 on the 3 minutes. Kept my back and form really tight, and the rows really weren't too tough - hit a set of 15 on the last set. Next week I will probably go up to 205, maybe for sets of 10, then perhaps start pushing up to 225. I just wanted to be sure my form was locked in with a flat back before pushing heavier.

Next, did something a little different with press. Weight was up to 145 today. Goal was to hit it, on the minute, for 5,4,3,2,1,5,4,3,2,1. I got the first 5 sets, but was really doubting I would be able to get the second 5. However, I pumped up and smashed the 6th set, getting all 5 reps! After that I was pretty toasted however, only getting 2, then 0, then making the 2 and 1 round. Overall, only missed 5 reps, so that is a total of 25 reps in like 10 minutes. Not half bad, although next week I think I will do something a bit more traditional.

Finally, light rows I did pendelays, but with my grip closer and a real focus on keeping my back tight and flat. hit 135 for 5 x 10 on the 2 minutes. Man this took it out of me. Didn't necessarily crush my back, but it just sapped my energy. I was totally done by the end of this workout. Hit the last set for 13.

So overall, good day. Not my strongest workout, but solid nonetheless. Still very hard for me to feel like I am progressing at all when I don;t feel particularly strong, nor particularly lean at this point. However, I am losing weight, and I need to just remember that if I can get to the end of this summer and have maintained my strength while losing 10 - 15 lbs of body fat, it will have been a very successful summer. That is hard to keep in mind, because all I WANT is to get stronger and leaner immediately. However, it's not all about what I want, it's about what I know I need. I need to not question myself and just push on. If at the end of the summer I feel I wasted my time, then so be it - I learned some valuable lessons. However, I can't know that until I have stuck with what I am doing. Lets keep at it.

Squat 325 x 3

Good and interesting day today.

Started with squats. Definitely had a good day, but also definitely wasn't 100%. My lower back is still feeling a little tired, painful and soft, which was apparent during warmups. However, it felt better as I went along. Did a nice long warmup, then slid on my brand new knee sleeves and got started squatting!  Sleeves feel great, make my knees feel super warm and definitely help to remind me to be pushing my knees out and forward as I squat. Also, form felt so much better today when I focused on keeping a cool head and squatting each rep of each set as if it was a single at 135. Hit the bar, then 135 x 5,3, then 205 x 3. Then, loaded up 250 x 3, 290 x 3, and finally 325 x 3. All felt good. As per usual. 325 definitely felt harder and slower than I would have liked. But the form was way better, which is what is most important. Harder and slower is to be expected, since I am doing a TON of higher rep, work capacity stuff, eating less, training more, and I'm busy with RENT and whatnot. However, as long as I keep focusing on getting every rep that is prescribed, I will be fine.

Next up, dropped back to 290 and hit it for a set of 2 reps with a long pause, then on the 3 mins hit 250 for a set of 4 with a long pause. These especially did not really feel good on my lower back. Normally they don't bother it at all, but since it was especially tender today, they just didn't feel great. However, 290 x 2 was really solid, and I probably could have hit a 3rd if I wanted to.

Finally, my first day of hard back training! It was a bit strange, but overall really good. Put 135 on the ground and hit the bar every 3 minutes, doing widest possible grip snatch grip deadlifts, with mostly stiff legs to keep the load on my back. Hit 135 x 10, 155 x 8, 175 x 6, 195 x 4, 215 x 4, then 235 for like 4-5 sets of 3. It wasn't much weight, but those triples were pretty tough - the lockouts got nasty on the 3rd rep of each set. Then, dropped back to 215 and did it for a touch n go set of 7. Overall, working my back this way is a bit strange. The weights are so light, and it is hard to feel like you are training a muscle when you aren't contracting it, but just keeping it locked in. But despite how they feel, these deads were DEFINITELY not easy, and if I simply keep doing them each monday till I am wiped, I don't see HOW my back is not gonna get way stronger. And I definitely worked my ass off today. So I'm just gonna keep at it.

Overall, great day. Squats are solid as a rock, getting slowly better at the long paused reps, and getting started building an invincible back! Lets keep at it.