Bench 235 x 5

Really solid day today. And more importantly, my last heavy day before the mock meet!

Felt truly sore and shitty today haha. Overtraining has surely set in  my joints and muscles just hurt, all the time. But, I took my time, got nice and warm, and got to work benching. Hit the bar, then 95 x 5, 135 x 3, 185 x 1, then jumped straight to 235 and got to work. Technique felt a little bit off today - I wasn't controlling the weight as well as I would like, yet I still hit a really strong set of 5. Went for a 6th rep and got caught halfway, tried to fight for a second and thought I might push through but I just couldn't. Not too bummed though, 5 reps is still a PR and it was a good 5. After, loaded the bar back up and hit it for max paused reps. Had to take a long pause on the final rep, but I managed 4 reps with a pause, which isn't half bad! The first couple reps again were just not technically my best.... a little wobbly and off. But again, I think this has to do with the fact that I am beat to shit by now. Overall, some solid benching!

Next, did some dumbell floor press. I want to start incorporating this for a few reasons: first, I think it might help with my specific sticking point, second, I think it will work on raw pressing power through the chest/front delts and tricep lockout strength, and third I think using my arms separately might be good for me. Anyways, started light and just hit high rep sets with a pause at the bottom. Hit 15's, 35's, 50's for sets of 15, then hit 70's for 3 sets of 10. Felt good.

Next, 4 x 25 band rows and then 4 x 15 band pull aparts. Shoulders were really feeling beat up.

Finally, 3 sets of bar starz to get in some grip work.

So, overall a good day! Felt strong, hit some Pr's. I feel the same today as I did yesterday: Although these workouts weren't perfect, they were REALLY good. And they were this good despite the fact that I am both sick AND overtrained as a mo fo. So, I think I should be VERY close to my goals, even beat to shit. However, IF I can really recover right this next week, and come into next tuesday 100% recovered, with supercompensation at it's max, I should be able to SMASH second attempts and have a really good shot at some BIG weight. 455 - 275 - 525? Maybe even shoot higher on the deadlift. We will see. Lets keep at it.

Squat 405 x 3

Good day today! Not perfect, but really good.

Started with squats. DEFINITELY was feeling better than last week - lower back felt better after the rest this weekend, food definitely felt better than no food haha. Got nice and warm, and started squatting. Form was really solid. Hit the bar x 8 or so, then 135 x 5, 225 x 3, 315 x 1, then put on a loose belt and hit probably the easier 365 of my life. So, racked it, loaded 405, tightened the belt and went after it. Hit a very solid 3 reps - solid enough that I caught my breath at the top and went for a 4th. Even if it had been a perfect rep, it would have been very tough and I might have failed - and it was not perfect haha. I got off balance, and my body responded by letting go of the bar with my left hand and grabbing my left leg. Somehow, I actually managed to stand that weight up haha, which tells me that perhaps that 4th rep was in there. But that was a stupid and dangerous move, and I need to be careful not to do that shit in the future. Anyways, 3 reps is really good! I would have preferred 4 or 5, that's for sure. But here's the thing - it was a really solid 3, and considering the fact that I am a) a bit sick right now, and b) at the end of a cycle, where overtraining sets in, I am really happy with that 3! That tells me that, even today when I am a bit under the weather because of hard training and sickness, I would have a crack at 445, my goal next week. Now, if I can recover really well, get better from this sickness, eat right, and really just keep the training light/mobility work high this next week hopefully I will feel amazing on tuesday and will SMASH 445 and be able to take a shot at 455, which would be really awesome.

Next, in order to keep up with the heavy weight and the "peaking," I decided to push my beltless paused squats up heavy for the first time. I started doing these at the beginning of this cycle, and feel like they have helped me a ton. I started with just a few sets of 3 at 225, and recently hit 315 for a couple sets, 3 being the most. So, today I simply decided to work up heavy. Hit 225 x 2, then 275, 315, 335, 350, and finally 365. 365 was VERY slow, probably a 98% effort haha. However, it was a smooth rep, and that is REALLY good, better than I had even hoped for! A 50 lb pr. Clearly I have significantly improved my power out of the hole, and the fact that that rep was beltless is pretty badass too.

Finally, kept light on the deadlifts, both to aid recovery/keep the lower back feeling good. Just pulled 185 for a bunch of deadlifts - sets of 5-10, some double overhand, some snatch grip, some touch n go and some dead stop.

So, good day! I would have preferred 4-5 squats at 405, but I'm still clearly stronger, and with proper recovery I will only improve over the next week. Also, that paused squat is a pleasant and well-earned surprise! One more hard workout tomorrow, then just focus on healing up and christmastime food/relaxation! Lets keep at it.

Bench 205 x 9

Today was a good little rep bench day. Feeling very crampy and tight and beat up, so I really need to focus on healing this weekend in order to survive the final workouts of this cycle. But still had a really solid day.

Started with bench. Got really warm, and then did my more minimal warmup sets - bar, 95 x 5, 135 x 3, 185 x 1. It is REALLY working well for me. Loaded up 205 and hit it for max paused reps - hit a great set of 9, and then tried to hit a 10th with a rest at the bottom, and just couldn't get it. Still, that ties my PR with that weight, only with a pause! Not bad. One thing - I DID feel like I was relying on movement a little too much, sort of letting the bar sink in at the bottom/not holding tension as best I could. But other than that, form and strength were on point. Loaded up 175 next, and hit that for a set of 12, this time trying a little harder to barely rest the bar on my chest, rather than letting it settle in. Then, dropped once more to 145 and did another set, probably of 8-12 reps, with the same focus. Felt strong, got a great pump.

Next, dips. Hit an initial set of 2, then had to adjust my setup, then hit 3 sets - 6, 7, 5. Not bad. Then, did 3 sets of pushups, going to almost failure each time and moving my hands wider and narrower at different times, depending on the set. Got a nice pump, felt good.

Next, did a variety of pulling work involving bands - 25 higher rows, 25 face pulls, 25 pull aparts, and then 25 lower rows.

Finally, for grip work I just grabbed some 20 lb dumbells and curled them/pressed them/wrist curled them until my fingers started to go numb.

So overall, good day! feeling beat up, and in need of some serious food and rest in order to recover. However, I am feeling strong and accomplished. Just one more week left, if I can really heal this weekend I think I can SMASH these last heavy workouts, then heal up and truly destroy my mock meet in 10 days. Lets keep at it.

Front squat 365

Awesome day today, with a really good PR. 

Started with front squats! Felt pretty great today. Lower back was giving me trouble - I'm like 99% sure it's not really injured, but that my muscles are simply a little tired/sore/overtrained and therefore take a long time to warm up, don;t feel particularly tight, etc etc. However, aside from the lower back I felt great - the weight felt so light today. Took quite a while getting warm, moving around, etc, then got to work squatting. Hit the bar for 7 or so, then 95 x 5, 135 x 4, 185 x 3, 225 x 2, 275 x 1. Weight felt light, but reps were a little wonky cause I was having to pay too much attention to my lower back, which was making me a little hesitant and weird. However, once I belted up (loosest setting) for 315, it felt pretty much fine. 315 went up easy, so I loaded up 345, belted up for real, and smashed it. Without hesitating, I loaded up 365. Rested, Belted up, and smashed that too! I thought it would be harder than it was, but man I nailed that rep. That is a 30 lb PR from 7 weeks ago, and honestly I think it was easier than 335 was for sure. So that is freakin awesome. Here's the vid. 

Next, dropped to 135 and did a bunch of lighter long paused squats, for more reps - I need to start tapering back the heavy weights/volume and doing more light stuff so I can recover. For 5 second paused reps, hit 135 x 4, 185 x 3, 225 x 2, 225 x 2, 185 x 3, 135 x 4. Felt good. 

Finally, skipped the deadlifts and instead did 2 sets of 25 back extensions with just my bodyweight. Got a nice lower back pump, and the lower back felt much better afterwards. I think I need to be doing this high rep lower back stuff more, to help keep those muscles healing, strong, and to make sure that I don't end up hurting myself with all this heavy squat and high rep deadlift work. 

So, great day! working on tapering thurs + fri back, but I kicked ass today and hit a huge PR! Hopefully that 30 lb FS PR will directly correlate to my gains on squat and deadlift. We will see. Let keep at it. 

Great bench day, 225 x 7, 5

Really good day today! I cracked down on my eating yesterday, and today's success shows me that I was right; diet (lack of creatine and carbs, specifically) was a huge contributor to my shittier workout yesterday. 

Post-workout weight. Right on the money baby

Started with bench! Got warm, THEN did my normal shoulder warmup stuff, THEN did a bunch of extra shoulder/chest/back warmup stuff, to really get warm before I started benching. Then, I started working up, using significantly less reps than normal - I hit the bar with my feet up, then 95 x 5, 135 x 3, 185 x 1. I had a little trouble getting the weight out of the rack (new equipment), but overall felt alright. A little tentative, but otherwise good. Loaded up 225 and went after it. The first rep or so honestly didn't feel that great, but I just kept moving it, hit my old pr (5), and a really solid 6... thought about calling it there, cause my lower back was crampy and that was a PR. BUT, I tightened my glutes, tried to keep the weight smooth, and although it was a hell of a fight and my lockout was a touch uneven, I got rep 7! Really happy about that, it's a big PR, and only one rep shy from my IDEAL, which would have been 8. I rested up, then went at it again, this time with a pause. Felt really solid - my paused reps simply feel stronger and more consistent, and I can grind through the hard ones better. I hit a really good 5 and was just about to rack it when I changed my mind. I haven't really pushed to failure on the paused stuff, so I decided to try a 6th - and promptly failed haha. But it's really alright. I kicked ass today, so that's good. Creeping ever closer to that 275. 

Next, did some CGFUBP, again focusing on squeezing down, pausing, and pressing hard. Hit 185 for a set of 6, then 165 x 8 (had to touch n go the last rep), then hit 135 for 10. Finally, as a "finisher," grabbed 45 lb dumbells and did some dumbell bench, really trying to flare the elbows and squeeze up with the chest. Hit 15 I think. 

Next, band rows. Man, these blow up my back. Hit 4 sets of 25 with a blue band. 

Finally, BArs Stars! it;s been a while since I have done this, and the pullup cages at CFD are so useful for this. Did 3 sets, really monkeybarring around. 

Also, measured the legs today... they were 26 inches over the summer. GAINZ

So, overall good day! Need to keep eating plenty, and stretch to get ready for thursday! I wanna smash my heavy front squat. Other than that, I need to start really honing in my recovery. Can't wait to max out in 2 weeks! Lets keep at it. 

Friday 12/13 Bench 195 x 10

Didn't realize I never wrote this post.

Last fridays bench was good. Warmed up a lot and kept the warmup bench reps to a minimum, which felt good Hit 195 x 10, failed an 11th, then hit 165 x 14, and 135 x 15.

Next, did some dips! hit a set of 9, then a set of 5. Then did a bunch of pushups.

Next, did some band pull aparts and rows, high rep.

Finally, some easy grip work.

So, decent day. 195 x 10 was a pr, so can't complain. Lets keep at it.

Squat 385 x 4

Not a great day today. I was pretty disgruntled with my workout. But overall, it wasn't terrible, and I think I know largely what was up, so that is good.

Started with squat. Felt pretty good warming up, lower back was feeling a little shitty, but not bad. Got nice and warm, and smashed the bar for a set, then 135 x 5, 225 x 3, 315 x 1. So, I loaded up 385, belted up, and hit it for a max set. Reps were a little slower and tougher than I expected, but I just kept going, breathing, going again. Hit a really solid 4, then went for 5 and I was SO close to getting it, pushed as hard as I could but I just couldn't lock it out. After, re-racked 385 and tried it again and failed right away - my mind failed me. And I shouldn't have tried again, because the problem wasn't mental or technical - I simply wasn't strong enough on this day. So here's the deal: I wanted 6 reps, only got 4, which made me very angry. Very very angry. But I have to remember that it's not like I barely got 4, I ALMOST had 5, just barely missed it, which definitely matters. Secondly, There are a number of small reasons why today might not be a great day: First, new equipment/a new gym. Second, a lot of sitting around since I got home. Third, I have been working hard on thursdays with my front squat (hitting that 315 x 5 last thurs) and maybe I'm getting to a point where I need to be tapering that off, cause I'm a tiny bit overtrained. But most of all, I think a big part of the problem is dietary. Since I got home, I have had NO problem getting my protein in, cause food is so much tastier here haha. Problem is, I am eating a FRACTION of the carbs I was eating at school because I just don't need them to choke down the protein. But that is NO good for squat day. So, I think the solution to todays bad squat session is simple: Eat more calories/carbs this next week, adjust to the new gym, stay active/mobile during the day and don't just sit around, and don't push too hard at the end of the week, because I need to extra recovery. And next monday, I will make 405 feel like 385 felt today. Gonna hit that shit for a STRONG 4, and then push through that 5th rep this time.

Rest of the workout was actually pretty good, although I couldn't shake the crankiness. Dropped back to 225, hit it for a paused single, 275 x 1, then went to 315 and hit it for 3, then 2, then 1. It wasn't easy but it was strong and solid, and double the volume of last monday's pause squats, so that's cool.

Finally, deadlifts felt great. Pulled 275 x 3 x 10 touch n go, without much rest. By the end, my lower back was feeling TIRED, but those 3 sets of 10 weren't hard at all, and I really haven't ever done that much dead lift volume at that kind of weight.

Finally, just rolled around and stretched a bit. Hopefully tomorrow will be a little better, although bench is often the toughest lift to transition to a new gym space. However, I'll eat right today and just give it my best and hope it is a stronger day tomorrow. And I need to not get down about my squats - I have had 4 AMAZING, pr squat workout in a row, and today was ANOTHER pr squat workout haha, yet I'm crabby about it. But I'm gonna recover right, SMASH a 365 front squat thurs, recover right again, and come back a week from today and let 405 have it. Lets keep at it.